All right. Hey everybody, welcome to Valley Creek. We're so glad you're here with us. Come on. Whatever campus you're at today, Denton, Flower Mound, Gainesville, Lewisville, online, somewhere in the world. Can we just welcome each other? We are so glad you're here with us. We are a movement of hope for the city and beyond – a people on a great journey together. And this year is a really big year in the life of our church. I guess it's a really big year in the life of our church which means it's a really big year in your life because church is not a building, an event, a gathering, a service, an experience. Church is a people. It's a, it's the community of God. It's a, it's a family on mission. You are us and we are you. So if it's a big year for us, it's a big year for you and it's a big year for us because we're right in the middle of Missional Move: Create the Future where we're creating a future that doesn't exist for the good of others and the glory of God. We're creating a Prayer Center, VC College, Argyle Campus, University Campus, 7 Continent Strategy.

And we said that we have to become the kind of people that can steward the future we're creating – that every one of us right now is in the process of becoming the kind of person we will be for all eternity. Do you like who you're becoming? Are you maturing? Are you growing? Are you changing? Are you becoming the kind of person that can not only live in but steward the future that we are creating and that you are creating? And so all year that's really all we've talked about is becoming this kind of people.

If you remember, the whole first half of the year was all about Fuel the Fire. We said we want to fuel the fire of God in our lives and be people with radiant faces, burning hearts, holy and powerful lives. We want to keep the fire burning. And then we talked about 60 Days of Enjoying God and the Life He's Giving Us. We said we don't want to just go through this life. No, we want to enjoy God and the life He's given us. And then we did Prophetic Reset. We talked all about aligning our lives with what God is saying. And now we are in this Invitation to a Good and Beautiful Life.

And all of this is about becoming the kind of person that you will be for all eternity. The kind of person that can live in and steward the future that we're creating. And so this Invitation to a Good and Beautiful Life is a wrestle through the Sermon on the Mount – the, the greatest thing that's ever been preached, the most important thing that's ever been said. And yet, it is the most misinterpreted and least applied thing probably that Jesus ever spoke. But it is profound in every way. The Sermon on the Mount is not a try harder, behave better, do more rules and regulation speech. No, it is this Invitation to a Good and Beautiful Life. And if you've been in church for any period of time, you've heard probably hundreds of sermons. Some of them have been great and amazing and life-changing. Some of them have just been terrible, and a whole bunch of them have just been meh. And you don't even remember them. But you have never heard anything like the Sermon on the Mount because nothing else like it has ever been spoken.

Jesus is not just the greatest teacher of all time. He's not just the greatest preacher of all time. He's the greatest philosopher of all time. He's greater than Socrates and Aristotle and Oprah Winfrey and Joe Rogan. He's the great philosopher. What? Why? Because only Jesus has a handle on reality. Only Jesus can actually tell you things the way they actually are. Only Jesus knows what is good and true and right. Only Jesus knows how humanity was supposed to live. And so when we look at the Sermon on the Mount, it is this treaty on life, if you will. And, and what Jesus is saying is that this is not only possible. It's not only probable. This is normative. This is how I've created you to live. And if we look at all the things in the Sermon on the Mount, we've accepted them as normal ways of living – anger and worry and judgement and greed and, and lying. We act like that's the normal way of human life. And Jesus says that is so far beneath you. That is the unhealthy, broken life. And I've come to invite you to a good and beautiful life.

So, are you willing to change your thinking? Which is why His only message was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He shows up and He says, "Think differently about life." I know what Oprah says. I know what Joe says. But do you want to know what I say? Think differently about life. The kingdom has come. There's a new reality. Consider how you're living and what's now available. Repent. Change your mind. Change your direction. The kingdom of heaven – the rule and reign of God, the with-God life, another kind of life, life from above – is at hand – available and accessible – to anyone and everyone who wants it.

And you have to understand that this is His message to understand the Sermon on the Mount because the Sermon on the Mount is just an unfolding of this great invitation to repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. A good and beautiful God has brought a good and beautiful kingdom and has invited you to experience a good and beautiful life. And so last week we really kind of broke this apart and talked about it and we talked a lot about repentance. And we said repentance. There's two different kinds of repentance. There's sin repentance and there's revelation repentance. Sin repentance is I'm going my own way. I'm doing my own thing. I've turned my back on God. I'm living in the world – living in a land of darkness. And somewhere along the way, I am convicted, confronted, or challenged by the people of God, the word of God, or the Spirit of God. And in that moment when I am confronted, repentance is I've changed my thinking, and I've changed my direction. I'm turning from dead works and of faith towards God. I'm turning from an unhealthy, broken life towards a good and beautiful life in Jesus’ name. Sin repentance is I am grieved because I realized I have sinned against the Lord. So I turn.

And then there's revelation repentance. Revelation repentance is something that's hidden that I didn't know. And when it gets uncovered, when it gets revealed to me, it changes everything. So, it changes my thinking and it changes my living and it changes what I'm doing and where I'm going and how I'm talking and how I'm acting and how I'm believing because that revelation that I did not know now changes my entire world. Yes.

And so last week as we were working through the outline of the Sermon on the Mount and going through each structure that Jesus sets up for us because we talked about how they all connect and they work together. As we were working through them, we got to treasure. And when we got to treasure, there was this moment where I felt like the Holy Spirit like stopped everything. It was this moment. I was standing right here and many of you were sitting right there. It was this moment where the kingdom of heaven was at hand. It was like the veil between heaven and earth was so thin. It was like Jesus was here, but so much more of Him wanted to come because He can come where he already is. And the kingdom of heaven was at hand. And God wanted to break through and He wanted to do something. And the only way to access it was one simple word – repentance. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The only way to have brought the kingdom into the reality of our lives was to repent. And out of 20 years of doing this – 20 years of preaching – there's only been one or other two other times where there was a moment so pregnant with the kingdom of God that wanted to break into our room that I can even remember. It was right here and we ran out of time. And I told you time is done, but, but God is not. So, so, so don't rush out or work it out this week or walk it out.

So my question for you is was there any at hand moment that through your repentance, changing your thinking, changing your direction, changing what you're doing, living, believing, that brought the kingdom into your life this week? “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” Repent because the good and beautiful life is right here – not – again, remember your view of God determines how you hear this. So if you think God is a mean and angry God, you hear repentance as the worst word possible. But if God is life, then you hear repentance as an invitation to a good and beautiful life, from a good and beautiful God, into a good and beautiful kingdom that will bring waves of refreshment into my life.

I mean, the Holy Spirit is with you and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know Him better. The Spirit wants to reveal things to you so that you have the wisdom to turn from the things of this world towards God and the good and beautiful life so that you may know Him better. The problem is is so many of us think we already have figured out the good and beautiful life for ourselves. “The way of the fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.” I wonder how many times in my life am I the fool because I have a way and I have a thought and I think I know. And no matter what anyone else wants to say, no matter how anyone else wants to convince me, no matter what the work of the Spirit is in my life, I've already decided this is what I believe. This is what I think. This is what Joe and Oprah have told me. So this is how I will live. But the wise man is willing to repent, to change their thinking. Remember, we've talked about how the ear hears what the mind already believes. And so, if I never repent, if I ever renew my mind, I'll never hear what God is actually saying. I'll just hear what I already believe. But when I renew my mind, my ear will hear what God is actually trying to say to me.

I mean, do you remember the story when Jesus first tells the disciples He's going to the cross and Peter - in only the way Peter can – gets in front of him and says, "No, Lord, I will never allow this to happen." And Jesus looks right at him and says, "Get behind me, Satan. You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of man." Whoa. You think you've heard some hard preaching? I promise you, ain't nobody from a platform ever called you Satan. So, is Peter Satan in the flesh? Is Peter filled with Satan? No. What is Jesus saying? He's saying worldly thinking is agreement with darkness. He's saying when you think like a man, understand you're in agreement with the demonic. Why? Because God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts.

So it's only when we renew our mind through repentance that we think like God. And only then are we in agreement and alignment with God. That's what repentance is. Repentance is changing our thinking. So we don't think like a man. We don't think like a human. We don't think like an unrenewed mind in this kingdom of darkness. No, we now think like God. So we can think good and beautiful thoughts. So we can live a good and beautiful life. I mean there's this verse. This verse absolutely terrifies me. The Apostle Paul is preaching the gospel while in jail to the Governor Felix. And look what it says. While Paul is preaching to Felix, “Felix was afraid and said, ‘That's enough for now! You may leave. And when I find it convenient, I will send for you." There's a humor to that verse. And there's a terror to that verse. How many times when God is trying to speak to us like Felix, do we become afraid? Say, "That's enough for now." When I find it convenient, then, then we can talk about this again.

But here's what I want you to understand. Repentance is never convenient. But boy, it's refreshing. When I find it convenient or when I get married, then, then I'll be interested in that. Or when the kids leave the house, then we can talk about those things. When I get that new job, then we can do that. When I get the debt paid off, then we can do that. When this situation and storm clears out, then we can talk about it. No, today is the day of salvation. Today is the day of God's favor. Today is the day when He wants to offer you a good and beautiful life in that area of your life. The only question is is are you willing to open yourself up to it?

See, we as a church, we have 10 values. You don't have to worry about all these. Let me just give you, break it down for you. You get the first two like anger and lust. If you've been tracking with us, you get the rest of them. We are Jesus-focused, Spirit-filled, Life-giving, and we are quick to repent. We focus on Jesus and whatever Jesus says, we want to live with a spirit of repentance to quickly change our mind, change our direction, come into obedience, agreement, and alignment with Him. You get those two, you got the rest of them. We want to be people that live with this like spirit of repentance. No matter what it is, it's from Him. And so therefore, it is for us. In fact, look at what Jesus says, “A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.” In other words, when you've decided to follow Jesus, He becomes your teacher. You're His disciple. You enroll in training. He is now form, forming you, shaping you, molding you. It's not a class or a program. It's a life. And He is shaping you into His image and likeness. And He does this through your partnership, through the process of repentance.

And so the question you have to ask yourself – question that I would like to ask you is when was the last time you repented? Like actually changed thinking and changed direction over something Jesus said. Because here's what you have to understand. If I'm never repenting, okay, if I'm never repenting, then one of three things is true. One is I'm not following Jesus. Two is I think I know better than He does in this particular area. Or three, I'm fully formed into the image and likeness of Jesus. So I have no need of repentance. If I never repent, change my thinking, change my direction, one of three things is only one of I don't follow Him, I know better in this area, or I'm already fully formed and I don't have to. Let me help you. It's not this one. Cuz none of us in this room are fully formed yet into the image and likeness of Jesus, have a full revelation of the knowledge of God. So that means every place I'm not repenting, I I'm either have to like question whether or not I'm actually a disciple or I think I'm king in this area and He's not.

And when was the last time you were just like cut to the heart over your thoughts, your life, your action, over the lack of revelation and just responded. “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourself, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.” Can I ask you when was the last time you were like, I have sinned against the Lord and I'm alarmed and I have an indignation to make it right and I'm eager and I'm earnest and I have a passion and I have to figure out what to do and how do I confess and repent and change my thinking and change my living? Because repentance isn't just for salvation. It's for all of life. Because all of life is about seeing you saved, free, set free, set free, delivered, and made whole. And this has nothing to do with what you think it has to do with. It has everything to do with do you have a spirit of repentance?

In fact, the Lord's Prayer that's right there in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, you're like, "Yeah, I've been waiting for you to talk about this." Well, I'm not, but I'm going to show you this. “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Do you realize Jesus tells us that's how we should pray? Do you understand that's a prayer of repentance? Tell me what kind of prayer that is if it's not a prayer – it's a prayer of repentance. For His name to be hallowed, mine has to be humbled. For His kingdom to come, mine has to go. For His will to be done, mine has to surrender. And for His heaven to come to my earth, I have to repent because He says the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And the only way His heaven comes to my earth is through repentance – repentance. Do we have a spirit of repentance? Are we quick to repent? Not because we have to, but because we want to. Because He is the Lord, the creator, the sustainer, the redeemer of all things, the good and beautiful God, the God of life. So everything He says is life. So even if I don't like it, even if I don't feel comfortable with it, even if I'm not interested in it, even if I showed up and I was like, "Bro, don't say that cuz now I'm responsible for it." Yes, you are. It's life. It's life.

I mean, do you remember the story of the Road to Emmaus? Jesus has been crucified. He's dead. He's buried. They think He's gone. Two disciples leave Jerusalem, go on a seven mile walk. They're heading towards Emmaus. And when they're walking, the resurrected Jesus comes and walks with them, but they don't realize it's Jesus. They think it's somebody else. And, and Jesus starts talking to them after they say, "We're so defeated. We think Jesus is gone." And He says, "’How foolish you are and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken…’ and beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself... then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight. And they asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’ They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem… saying, ‘It is true! The Lord has risen.’" That's repentance. I'm going in one direction. I have a certain thought. I have a certain action. I have a certain life. Jesus Himself brings me revelation and shows me something I didn't know or wasn't doing and it changes my direction and I run seven miles in the other direction full speed with a burning heart because I have now come into agreement and alignment with that which is good and beautiful.

I have gotten the thoughts of man out of my head. Jesus is dead and gone. No, Jesus is resurrected and alive. That's repentance that changes the game. Repentance creates this burning heart. And I want you to see, we're not our hearts burning within us. What's the opposite of a burning heart? A slow heart. It doesn't say the opposite of a burning heart is a wicked heart, an evil heart, a negative heart. It's a slow heart – slow to repent, slow to agree, slow to align, slow to respond, convince me, wow me, woo me. When I find it convenient, I will let you speak a little more in. But a burning heart is because You say so, Lord, I'll believe it because You're truth and You are the great philosopher of life. Because You are life. So only You actually get to speak into how it actually is designed to function. So which one of the two of us is wrong is probably not You. It's me. So I want to repent. Does this make sense to you? There's these moments when the kingdom is at hand and it's only some of us are just waiting. Some of you think revival is just sitting there waiting for God to break in. Revival is us repenting and taking the kingdom that He says is right here and bringing it into our life and then it begins to burn amongst us.

And so I'd like to say one last thought for you about treasure. What I'd like to say to you about treasure is out of all of the things in the Sermon on the Mount, it's the only thing that Jesus likens to another god. “No one can serve two masters. He will either hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money (mammon).” Mammon is a demonic power and principality. It's a spirit that rules over the love of money. So what Jesus is saying is is that the spirit of the love of money is actually a foreign god, a foreign power, a foreign principality. And you can't serve both mammon and God because there's only one throne in your heart. So you've got to decide which one of the two is going to sit on it. And He lets you decide which one of the two is going to sit on it. And it's really interesting to me that on everything in the Sermon on the Mount, this is just a bonus. He doesn't liken anything else to a struggle with another god. He doesn't liken lust to the spirit of Jezebel. He doesn't liken anger to the spirit of rage. He doesn't take worry and judgement and put it with another god. No, only treasure – only treasure. And it's kind of like if you've ever seen those Lord of the Rings movies, if you've ever seen like a castle with a bunch of treasure inside of it and it's guarded by this dragon. The dragon is asleep. The dragon can sit there for hundreds of years unbothered. But the moment someone comes in to mess with that treasure, that dragon awakes with a ferocity. That is a prophetic picture of the spirit of mammon in your heart. It's a demonic serpent with wings that blows fire that sits over the treasure and as long as it's untouched, it doesn't awaken. But the moment you come for one coin out of that thing, it awakens and erupts. And that's why when we talk about treasure, it is like this dam that breaks inside of people's souls. This emotion and this defensiveness and this this this like resistance and you're like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Where is all this coming from? It’s coming from the spirit of mammon that rules in your heart. It's the only place in the Sermon on the Mount. That might be something worth thinking about that He likens it to another god.

And here's another interesting thought for you on this is it's so fascinating to me how when we get to treasure, it's the one we defend, get offended by, and explain away our lack of obedience to the Lord by saying things like, "Well, I'll get around to it," or, "I'm working towards it," or, "I'm chipping away at at doing money God's way," or whatever it is. We have some debt or we have some dreams or we have some things and we get caught up. Do you realize there's nothing else in the Sermon on the Mount that we would accept that excuse from? No one – you would never accept the excuse from someone saying, "I know I shouldn't be in this affair, but I can't break it off with her right now. It'll hurt her feelings. So, over the course of a year, I'm going to slowly let her down. I mean, if I break it off with her right now, she has kids, and when she goes home sad, she's going to take it out on the kids. I, I got to protect the kids. I mean, I work with her and if she tells my boss that's going to be the end of my job and I mean I can't so I got to I mean it's give me two years.” And you would say now no one would accept anger in the home as if you're just raging, smashing things, being like I, you know what, it's just a hard season and when the situation changes I'll stop smashing things and hitting my children but for some reason when it gets to treasure that's how we talk about it – when I can, I'm working on something. Today is the day. Today is the day to say, "Do I want a good and beautiful life in His name or not in this area or not?" And this is the best part of the Sermon on the Mount. It's an invitation, not an obligation. You get to decide.

But you have to keep reminding yourself, you get all of it or you get none of it. He doesn't say you get a good and beautiful life in all these things and you can keep your treasure, too. He says, "No, this is one of the biggest areas of your life." So, I want to make it good and beautiful, too. Do you trust that I know better than whoever you podcast? So, the question is, is, are you working out your salvation with fear and trembling? Remember, I told you this. Listen, anybody that's bothered or whatever, here's just what I want to say. I told you day one, I said, "I'm not going to answer all your questions. I'm going to create them, and I'm going to create some tension." He did it. Yeah, he sure did. Because these are the things you have to work out with the Lord. And the fact that we get emotional about these things proves it's a treasure because how have we defined treasure? It's something you pursue, keep, and protect. Oh, I don't get emotional about things I don't treasure. I don't care about them. You can pick up my garbage anytime you want. Scatter it, take it, burn it, whatever, because I don't treasure it. So, I don't protect it.

So the fact that I protect something shows I already treasure it. That's okay. Now Jesus has revealed that to me. Now am I willing to ask Jesus how He wants me to respond and what He wants me to do? Because I think sometimes we just want to have arguments or deflect or talk about Jesus. You tell me that I can't serve both You and money at the same time. What do You want me to do next? Can You help me work this out in my heart? That's how you work through things. It's not just about treasure. Could be about anger. Could be about lust. Could be about lying. Could be about any of the things we're talking about. Just do you have a spirit of repentance that says He is the great philosopher on life?

And this is why, I don't have time for this, but this is why podcasting all of these worldly people is so bad for your soul. I don't know how to say it any nicer to you. You're like, well, you started I don't want to do a podcast. And you wouldn't listen to it anyway, so it doesn't matter. But we pick all these worldly people to wash over our mind and then wonder why we have in mind the things of man, not the things of God, because we're letting them tell us what they think is good and beautiful instead of Jesus telling us what is good and beautiful and then like working that out with fear and trembling. Is there any fear and trembling in your life? Is there any awe and wonder? Is there any He is the Lord and I am not? If there is not, that's okay. Just understand that it's impossible to enter into the good and beautiful life that way because the only way in is by surrendering my kingdom to a greater king. The problem is is we're convinced we're the greatest king. We take a little bit from Joe and a little bit from Oprah. I'm sorry, young adult people. I don't even know who you all is. I don't care. I don't podcast. None of that junk. I don't even want it in my soul. So, I don't even know what the good analogy would be for you. And that person, right? It's like we take all that and we learn a little bit from them to strengthen our kingdom as opposed to no, there is a greater king – the only one who will forever be king – and He's the one that I want to enter into His life which is why repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

You realize the good and beautiful life is a life of repentance. Yes, you repent to get in. You repent to stay. You repent to live. You repent to grow. You repent to move. You repent to advance. You repent to actually experience the fullness of the rule and reign of God in your life over every situation, over every circumstance, over every reality without repentance, you may have gotten in and have a ticket when you die. But maybe, don't just be like, I don't have time for this either. But if you don't live a lifestyle of repentance, and this isn't to scare anyone, it's to help you think a you actually have to ask yourself, am I actually saved? Because Jesus says, "We will know who belongs to Him by our fruit." If there's no fruit coming from my life, I have to question whether or not the root has been changed. Now, those of you that are like, "I'm following Jesus and I just got scared." Rebuke that spirit of fear in Jesus’ name. That's got nothing to do for you. That's that's the person that thinks this whole game is getting in and going back to my life so when I die, I can have whatever is better than what I'm doing in the here and now – which is the weirdest irony, by the way, is is we we we want to go to heaven when we die, but we don't want heaven on earth. Now, it's a weird, it's a weird thought for me.

Do you realize in heaven there will be no anger or lust or lying or vengeance or people pleasing or treasuring the things of this world or worry or judgement? And yet we choose them in the here and now. So if I have no interest of being free of the main things that Jesus says are a part of His kingdom. Why do I think I want it for all eternity? That would be something to think about. Just think about in your own life. Find some time. Be like, "That's an interesting question. I like to love money now. Why would I think I would enjoy heaven?" That, that's it's just a question. I really like sexual immorality now. Why do I think I would enjoy heaven? You think that that's just like you're just going to die and all of a sudden like no, you're becoming the kind of person who you will be for all eternity right now. So in choosing those things day after day, week after week, month after month, that's the kind of person I'm becoming for all eternity. And this isn't a message about where you go when you die. This is a message about where you go when you live – how you live right now.

That's why we're starting every service with the same – the kingdom is here and now. It's here and now. Do you want it? It's not then and there. It's here and now. Does this make sense? Some of you are like, "Yeah, this guy's lost his mind. I, you know what? Maybe. It was the guy in the green shirt last week that ruined everything. It's the guy in the beige shirt this week. I think it's the same guy. That's why you wouldn't listen to my podcast. You don't even know my name. That's the irony. It's that guy. Yeah, that's okay.

So, if you'll take a deep breath and maybe open yourself up to the Lord. What I'd like to do is just finish the rest of that outline because we're just about done with it. And maybe you can hear it with a spirit of repentance and let the Lord share with you what He wants to share with you. Because if you understand us, you understand we're more interested in transformation than information and entertainment and all that stuff. If you get that, you, you really will get us.

And I just want to build your faith, man. Just want to build your faith because there's such a great life waiting for you. See, here's the order of the Sermon on the Mount. And the order matters. We talked about who is blessed, how to enter in the kingdom, how to be free of anger that comes from control and fear. And then we addressed lust, which I have to be willing to be free not of just the consequences, but the actual brokenness of it. We talked about lying. Said you lie to get what you want or so you don't get what you don't want. And then we talked about vengeance – that we're now people of love. We can love our enemies. We talked about no longer being people pleasers. vain pride uh vain glory, pride, the fear of man, trying to win the approval of others but now living for the approval of God. We talked about treasure that we can't serve both God and money. And then He goes to worry, to worry.

He says this beautiful analogy. He says there's, there's no worry in my kingdom. Look at the birds of the air and the grass of the fields. They do not labor or spin or sow and reap and store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? In other words, Jesus says, "My kingdom is a perfectly safe place to be." In fact, it's the only safe place to be. You have to ask yourself the question, what is worry and why do we do it?

Well, I would define worry for you as unhealthy fear that doesn't have the power to change anything. That's what worry is, isn't it? Unhealthy fear that doesn't have the power to change anything. It's this unhealthy fear. What does fear do? Fear steals, kills, and destroys. Fear steals the hope of my future while killing and destroying the joy and the peace of the present. And it has no power to change anything because has worry ever changed your situation or your circumstance? That's why Jesus says, who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? It’s like, it's like you can't even do that with your worry. Why do you think you can do this with your worry?

And yet, why do we worry? We worry because worry gives us an illusion of control. If I'm worrying, I'm doing something. I'm still in control. It's still my kingdom. And maybe somehow, someway my worry will change some things. And Jesus says, "No, trust. Trust. Seek first my kingdom and my righteousness and everything else will be given unto you." You got to remember, put it in context. Seek first is not just this arbitrary line in the Sermon on the Mount that has to do with just all these other things. No, it's it's it's in worry. Which what is He saying? He's saying when you're worried, you're not seeking my kingdom and when you're seeking my kingdom, you're not worried. You can't worry and seek God's kingdom at the same time. You get to pick. He says you can have whichever one you would like but worry is unhealthy fear that doesn't have the power to change anything. But if you seek my kingdom first then all these things will be added unto you. In other words, Jesus won't always give you what your flesh wants, but He will always give you what your spirit needs.

And you have to ask yourself the question, why do I worry? Well, I think, like we keep telling, you got to track it back. I think we worry because we haven't gotten free of treasure. We treasure things where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal. What does that mean? We treasure the things of this earth. We treasure money and time and possessions and stuff and and and reputation and success and significance and all of these things. Well, all those things are of this earth. They're temporary. They're finite. And moth and rust can destroy and thieves can break in and steal. And that's why there's so much worry in our life because we're treasuring the wrong things.

Think about this question: Have you ever worried over something that's eternal? Have you ever worried over what Jesus would call the treasures of heaven? Have you worried over the Word of God, the Spirit of God, the grace of God, the kingdom of God, the presence of God? You've never worried over those. Why? Because they're unshakable. They're eternal. You would never worry over something that is unshakable. So, if we're worrying, it's telling us that we're already treasuring things that are shakable and are the wrong things to treasure.

How about just your body? You know how much we worry about our bodies, the way we look and our health? Do you understand that this body is of this earth? This body is aging. It's breaking down. It's coming apart. And yes, we're supposed to steward it and offer it to God as a living sacrifice, but I'm not meant to treasure it. That's why there's so much worry over over health and the way we look because we're treasuring something of this earth. Do you realize when Jesus comes back, He will give you a new body that will be glorious and it will be incorruptible in every way. It will be eternal. So, we need to change what we think. And nope, there we go. I am God's beloved son or daughter living free in my Father's unshakable kingdom, creating the future with Him. That's what Jesus is trying to tell us when we get to worry.

He then goes on to judgement. And He says, "In my kingdom, there's no place for judgement." What is judgement? Well, here's the, here's the problem. We forget that Jesus was judged so we don't have to be. Jesus was judged which means He was condemned, accused, found guilty, and deserving of punishment, even though He did nothing wrong. And He was judged so that we'll never have to be. We're now God's righteousness in Christ Jesus. He was judged so we'll never have to be. But He was also judged so they will never have to be. And so He says, "In my kingdom there's no place for judgement, criticism, gossip, slander, maligning, trying to shape people into your good." See, here's why we judge. We judge people for two reasons: to change them for our good or to make ourselves feel better about ourselves. That's the motivation of judgement. I'm going to change you for my good. I'm going to critique you, criticize you, come against you for I'm trying to change you for my good, not for your good. I don't like the way you talk. I don't like the way you act. I don't like the way you behave. I don't like how you are in this marriage. I don't like how you are as a child. I don't like how you are as an employee. So, I am going to judge you, to shape you for my good or I want to put you down to make me feel better about myself. Because if I can put you down in my eyes, I can feel better about myself in my eyes. But if I can put you down in someone else's eyes, I can make them think better of me. And Jesus says, "Hey, in my kingdom, there's no place for this."

So He says, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" And we hear that and we think, "Oh yeah, what Jesus is saying is I got a lot more to work on than they do." That's not what He's saying. What is He saying? He's saying judgement is a plank. Judgement is this plank – this judging, the slandering, this maligning, this criticism. It's like this giant plank sticking out of your eye that's knocking everyone around and creating more chaos and more damage. He says, "First deal with the judgement. Get the plank out of your eye, then you can get in close enough to help them with their speck.” Here's what judgement does: it keeps you very distant from other people. That plank in your eye keeps you. Have you ever felt close or connected to someone you're judging? When you're criticizing and gossiping and slandering and coaching for their good, have you ever felt connected to them? How about this? Have they ever felt connected to you?

Hey, do you realize this is the typical marriage? It's like two jousting matches – judgement because I'm going to shape you for my good. I'm going to change you cuz I don't like how you are for my good. So this is why most marriages have no connection, no intimacy, no relationship because we're jousting with each other. And Jesus says if you take it out of your eye, you can get in close to actually help them, which the point is to help them. In fact, Jesus says, "You have no right to even criticize or coach somebody if you're not willing to bear their burden to help them become free."

This is why it says in Galatians, "Bear one another's burdens. In this way, fulfill the law of Christ." In other words, you want to live a good and beautiful life? Bear their burden and be willing to walk it all the way to the end. If not, don't criticize, don't coach, don't get involved, step back because all you're going to do is judge and it's not good for them. And this is why He says, "Do not give dogs what is sacred. Do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under feet and turn and and and come against you." What is Jesus saying there? He's not saying the people we judge are dogs or pigs and they're unworthy of your life. He's saying if you throw something sacred to a dog, they're just going to destroy it. And pearls are not helpful to pigs. They can't eat them or digest them. So eventually they'll track them under feet and turn and tear you to pieces.

What is He saying there? He's saying, "Hey, we have all these things that we think are so helpful for everybody else, and we want to throw them at them." And He's like, "It's not helpful for them, so they can't receive them, so they're going to turn and come against you because they're tired of being whacked by your log." He says, "Instead, ask, seek, and knock." We think that's a prayer. It's not really a prayer as much as it is is how would you approach someone who you are genuinely willing to carry the burden of so they can become free. You ask them if you can help them, and you seek after them, and you knock on the door of their heart until they open. Which is why He says right there, so in everything do unto others, treat your neighbor as you would want to be treated. It feels like the weirdest statement in the entire Sermon on the Mount. That's the one that has always bothered me the most. And it's like, no, what's His point there? It's in judgement. He's saying you don't want to be judged, so don't judge them. How do you want to be addressed? You want someone to ask, seek, and knock and pick up your burden and carry it with you as far as it needs to go till you become free in love.

I mean, do you remember Peter when He's being restored by Jesus in John 21 and Jesus shows up and He says to Peter, He's like, basically Peter, hey, at the end of your life, you're going to have to go some places and do some things and go through some stuff you're not going to want to go through. And Peter's first response is to look over at John and say, "But what about him, Lord? What about him?” And Jesus' response is, "What is that to you? You follow me."

Okay, here's the problem with judgement. We get so worried about whether or not someone else is living a good and beautiful life. And Jesus' response is, "What is that to you? You live a good and beautiful life." See, here's the great problem for a lot of us. If you've worked through anger and lust and treasure and worry, you get all the way to judgement. If you start judging everyone else because they're not getting free of those things, you are equally as guilty of living an unhealthy and broken life through the spirit of judgement that has just arisen in you to have the Pharisee spirit of putting everyone else down instead of being the person of love that is willing to get involved and pick up their burden and carry it with them as far as it needs to go. With me on that?

Then He goes into the wide and the narrow gate. Enter through the narrow gate. Wide is the road. Broad is the gate that leads to destruction. Narrow is the road. Small is the gate that leads to life. What is He saying? He's saying He is the narrow gate that leads to an ever-widening life. And what He is saying is this – that there, this is so important – there are only two ways. There's the wide and the narrow. There is Jesus and there is everything else. And we are convinced there is a third road. There's Jesus and all the other things of this world. Jesus right here shuts that down once and for all. He says, "There's me or there's everything else. There's not both. There's not both." And so, you have to think about this. He says, "You're gathering or you're scattering. You're with me or you're against me. There is the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."

In Deuteronomy, He says, "I've set before you life and death, blessings and cursings. Now, choose life." He's saying there's only two options. And if you think of everything we've gone through in the Sermon on the Mount, there's only two. There's, there's anger or there's love. There's lust or there's love. There's lying or there's truth. There's vengeance or there's love. There's, there's performing for man or or living for God. There's treasuring money or there's treasuring God. There's worry or there's trust. There's judgement or there's love. There is no third road.

And the reason we struggle living this narrow road even though our heart often wants to is because we haven't gotten free of the fear of man and we still want to be on the wide road with everybody else to be accepted and included and valued by everyone else. But Scripture tells us anyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. In other words, not everybody's going to appreciate it.

Here, see if you can catch this. Listen to me. Beauty either inspires or offends. That's it. Beautiful things – they inspire people or they offend people. They captivate people or they convict people. Jesus was the most beautiful thing to ever walk this earth. And He captivated and He convicted. Some shouted, "Blessed is he." And others shouted, "Crucify. Crucify." So if you're going to live a good and beautiful life, you can't be waiting for everyone else to tell you how awesome it is. It will inspire some, but it will offend and confront and convict many, and they will want to tear it down. And Jesus says, "That's okay. It did that for me, too."

He then goes on to talk about the root and the fruit – that if our roots are good, our fruit will be good. And ever, in other words, your heart leads your life. Whatever's in you when it's squeezed will come out of you. I will talk more about this in a couple weeks. He then talks about not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom. Many will say to me on that day, didn't we prophesy and drive out demons and and perform miracles? And he tells them, I never knew you away from me. What is He telling us there? That you are not what you do. You are what He has done – prophesying, driving out demons, performing miracles, spectacular things. We think we are our accomplishments, our awards, our achievements, our success, our looks.

And He's saying you are not what you do. You are whose you are. You are now mine. And your life is not in what you have done. Your life is in who you know. So the question is is do you know Him? Not know about Him. Do you know Him? And it's interesting when He says away from me for I never knew you. Question is is does He know you? Oh, He knows everything about you. He made you. Question is, is does He know you? Have you let Him in through interactive relationship to actually be known?

And then the last thing is He says, "Whoever hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Rains came down, streams rose, winds blew and beat against that house. Yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. But the foolish man, foolish man who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. The rains came down, the streams rose, the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell with a great crash.” What is He saying there? He's saying at the end of the day, the last thing He says in the Sermon on the Mount and He's saying it's all about obedience. Whoever hears these words of mine and puts them into practice, whoever has the spirit of repentance, whoever is willing to change what they believe about what is good and beautiful will build their life on the unshakable rock of my kingdom. And you will be, you will be completely safe from any attack that comes from above you, below you, or either side of you. Rains come down, streams rise, winds blow, and yet you stand strong because your life in here is the unshakable kingdom. So nothing out here can shake it. But if you don't practice, obey, repent, align with Him, you've built your life on sand. And Jesus says, you can do that. And you're just taking a big risk. You've built your life on shaky realities. And you never know when the rain will come, the streams will rise, and the winds will blow. But when, not if, they do, they will crash because they are shaky realities built on a philosophy of this world, of human wisdom and intellect.

At the end of the day, what is love for Jesus? Obedience. If you love me, obey my commands. This is love for God to obey His commands and His commands are not burdensome. If I believe God is a taskmaster, I hear His commands as burdens. If I believe He is life, I believe His commands are good and beautiful and leading me to life. So here's your invitation. You get to decide whether Jesus knows what He's talking about or not. Is this possible? Is this probable? Is this normative? Is this the kind of life that you would like to live? What I love about Jesus is He sets it all out there and He basically says it's up to you. He won't make you. He doesn't force you. He's so kind. He's so gentle. He's so gracious. He's gentle and humble at heart. Does, does Jesus – this is the question. Does Jesus know what He's talking about? That's probably the question you really have to ask. It's not really about are you worried or are you judgemental or what do you treasure or does Jesus know what He's talking about? Because if Jesus knows what He's talking about, then He is worth the pursuit of my entire life to figure out how to put into practice that which He said is the way we were created to live. Because only down that road is good and beauty. On the wide road – destruction, unhealthy, and broken. The narrow road – life, the good, and the beautiful. And I know there is nothing I can say, there is nothing I can do, there is no logic, there is no wisdom, there is no reasoning that will unseat the things in your heart. Not by might, not by power, not by reason, not by intellect, but by the Spirit, says the Lord. So the Spirit of wisdom and revelation is here and His kingdom is at hand. When I do it, I look up there just to show you, but it's really it's at hand. I don't even have to reach. It's at hand. It's at hand. Will I open? It's at hand. Will I take it? It's at hand. Do I want it?

So close your eyes. Come on. What's, what's the Spirit of wisdom and revelation trying to say to you today? The Spirit of wisdom and revelation is in this room, is in your life, is right here, right now – drawing, speaking, loving, empowering. What does being quick to repent look like today and this week? We keep telling you that our sense is is that this is not a series where we're going to try harder, behave better. This is a series about thinking differently about God – just who He is and what He is like and what He has to say.

So good and beautiful Jesus, thank You for speaking good and beautiful words to us. Thank You for inviting us into a good and beautiful kingdom. Thank You for offering us a good and beautiful life. Jesus, would You give us a good and beautiful faith through Your good and beautiful Spirit to help us trust You and follow You and obey You and in Your name turn from the things of this world and towards this good and beautiful God who offers us life. Lord, I bless my friends today. I bless them this week with Your Spirit and Your word and Your grace, helping them become who they are going to be for all eternity. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.