Harvest with Pastor Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie - Time To Clean House

July 10, 2025 | S25 E164 | 27:40

Join Pastor Greg Laurie for a time of encouragement, worship, and Bible study.

#inActive #Trials-HardTimes #Challenges #Struggle #Jesus #LoveofGod #Sin #Repentance #RenewingtheMind #Obedience

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Harvest with Pastor Greg Laurie | Greg Laurie - Time To Clean House | July 10, 2025

Greg laurie: sometimes the lord will come into your heart
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And life and say, "this needs to go, that needs to change,
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This needs to be looked at in a new way, that sin needs
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To be confronted, that vice needs to be repented of,
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Even your mind needs to be clean."
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You need to have a mind that's in alignment with
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What god wants you to have.
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And as scripture says, "bringing every thought into the captivity
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Of the obedience of jesus christ."
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♪ this is the day, ♪
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♪ the day when life begins. ♪
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♪ this is the day, ♪
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♪ the day when life begins. ♪♪
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Greg: all right, let's take a quick poll.
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How many of you are super neat organized people?
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Raise your hand. super neat and organized.
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Okay, how many of you are messy people?
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Raise up your hand.
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Wow, it's almost evenly split.
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How many of you who are messy and are neat--how many messy
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People are married to a neat person and vice versa?
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See, that's funny, isn't it?
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And that's how it is in my home as well.
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My wife cathe, total slob.
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Why are you laughing?
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Because that's not true, she's the opposite, she's very neat,
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Very organized, always cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.
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And i am not that person.
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In fact, i think we all know what it's like if you're one of
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Those messy people who have messes get so big that you
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Just--i can't live in this space anymore, right?
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So finally i have to do something about it.
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You have two choices in life, you can undertake the greg way
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Of cleaning or the cathe way of cleaning.
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The greg philosophy on cleaning is never do today which you can
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Put off until tomorrow.
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And if you don't know what to do with something, throw it in a
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Random drawer.
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So i have drawers filled with stuff, just all kinds of stuff,
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Pens, and this and that, and i don't even know what's in it
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Anymore and i don't even wanna open it.
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It frightens me a little bit.
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The cathe way of cleaning is always clean,
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Always, stay on top of it.
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There's dust on the floor, greg sweeps it under a rug,
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Cathe sweeps up properly.
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And i think the same is true of the christian life, always
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Maintaining your relationship with god because you can wait
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Until major problems develop as a result of neglect.
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It might be a fascination that turns into a habit,
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That then becomes an addiction, and soon a little thing
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Becomes a big thing.
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Suddenly that little problem is like a goliath in your life.
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You know what i mean by a goliath?
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He was that giant of a man in the story of david.
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Nine feet, six inches solid muscle taunting david, and the
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Rest of the people of israel.
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And we can have giants in our life like that.
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That frighten us, that taunt us, that scare us.
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But you know, goliath wasn't always a giant,
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He was a little baby once.
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I bet he was a big baby, right?
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I bet no one wanted to change his diaper.
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Would you want it?
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"it's time to change goliath's diaper."
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"ah, i did that yesterday and it took hours.
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I don't wanna do it again.
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I was traumatized by it."
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And imagine him having a temper tantrum as a little toddler.
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But one day he grows into a giant of a man and our giants,
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Our problems, so to speak,
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Start small but little things turn into big things.
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Little liberties turn into big vices.
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And then one day they're a full grown giant.
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So what we need to do is ask god to cleanse us of our sin
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On a regular basis.
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Don't wait till it builds up to some giant problem or horrible
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Mess, every day it's maintenance in the christian life.
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Jesus taught us in the lord's prayer to pray as follows, "our
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Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name; your
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Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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Give us this day our daily bread.
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And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those
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Who have sinned against us."
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Just as surely as you should pray on a daily basis for god's
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Provision as in your daily bread, you should also pray
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On a daily basis for the forgiveness of god in your life.
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All right, well let's read now this story which was actually
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The second sign of jesus as recorded in john chapter 2,
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The cleansing of the temple.
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I'm reading from the new living translation
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Starting in verse 13.
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"it was nearly time for the jewish passover celebration,
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So jesus went to jerusalem.
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In the temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep,
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And doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables
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Exchanging foreign money.
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So jesus made a whip," i love that, underline that.
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"jesus made a whip."
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I almost gave that as the title of this message.
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"jesus made a whip
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From some ropes and chased them all out of the temple.
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He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money
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Changers' coins over the floor, and he turned over their tables.
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Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them,
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'get these things out of here.
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Stop turning my father's house into a marketplace!'"
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Okay, we'll stop there.
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So this is sign number two, seven signs in the gospel
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Of john.
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Sign number one, turning the water into wine.
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Sign number two, overturning the tables.
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If you were one of the disciples, you might've said,
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"lord, are you sure you want to make this your second sign?
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Because the first one was really popular."
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I mean, jesus shows up at a wedding, he turns water into
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Wine, everybody's happy, everyone's having a great time,
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They're all singing together.
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Jesus is just all right with me.
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Yeah, we like jesus.
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Jesus is a good guy to have around.
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Maybe lord, your second sign could be healing a blind man, or
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The recovery of the ability to hear or how about raising
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Someone from the dead?
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Jesus says, "i'm kind of thinking of going with this
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Right up front."
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And it was a radical thing.
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You know, to overturn tables, that's kind of a big deal.
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We've seen it in a million westerns, haven't we?
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The cowboys, the gamblers sitting around the smoke filled
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Bar playing cards.
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Everybody lays their hand on the table and one guy says to the
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Other guy, "i think you're cheating."
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And all of a sudden he turns the table over and the cards go
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Flying and the money goes flying and the piano player, the piano
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Player, always has a little derby hat on.
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It's mandatory if you're a piano player, wear the little derby
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Hat, not a cowboy hat.
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And he always has a little garter thing on his sleeve and
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He's playing, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding,
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Ding, ding, ding, ding.
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He stops.
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Everyone stops and looks and a fight breaks out, it's a violent
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Act to overturn a table.
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Money went flying.
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He did it to get their attention.
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Kind of reminds me of our own lives.
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You know, we invite jesus to our table,
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We invite him into our life.
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He brings, as the bible calls it,
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Joy unspeakable and full of glory.
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He brings us a peace that passes human understanding.
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It's fantastic.
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Suddenly for the first time perhaps, we have hope,
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We have purpose.
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We say it's great to invite jesus to your table
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Until he turns it over.
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Because he might come and say, "well, there's some things in
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Your life that need to change.
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You can't do this anymore this is destroying you,
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It's destroying other people.
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Why does he do this?
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He tears something down in order to build it back right.
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Jesus compared it to someone pruning, pruning a fruit tree.
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In john 15:2 he says, "he prunes the branches that do bear fruit,
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So they will produce even more."
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So jesus and his disciples are headed into jerusalem, it's
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Passover time.
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That was when friends and family would gather kind of a happy
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Time, maybe a sense of joy in the air.
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And now all of a sudden jesus is getting irritated.
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He's hot and bothered.
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He walks into the temple and what does he see?
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He sees this outer area known as the court of the gentiles,
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Filled with all of these tables, with these money changers.
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Now, what is this all about?
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These are people that stepped in and said to you, "you come in
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With your little lamb."
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It's all you could afford, it's unblemished,
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It meets the criteria.
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The money changer says, "i'm sorry but this lamb
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Does not pass muster.
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But we're having a deal on temple approved lambs that you
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Can buy for a jacked up price."
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And so you would pay it because you wanted to approach god.
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And in fact, even in the old covenant, before christ came and
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Died on the cross for our sins establishing the new covenant,
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God non-jews to believe.
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You could still believe in the god of abraham,
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Isaac, and jacob.
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So the court of the gentiles was for those folks, but as they're
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Trying to get in to approach god, they have this barrier put
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In front of them and this made jesus angry.
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Bible commentator warren wiersbe, made this statement and
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I quote, "you can tell a lot about a person by how they
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Answer these three questions, what makes you laugh?
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What makes you weep?
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And what makes you angry?"
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Good question.
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What makes you laugh?
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What makes you cry?
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And what makes you angry?
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Jesus was clearly angry.
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This is righteous indignation.
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Verse 15, "jesus made a whip."
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"wait a second, is this indiana jones or jesus of nazareth?
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Are you kidding me, a whip?
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[humming indiana jones theme song]
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What? a whip?
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Seriously, overturning tables is this necessary?"
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Apparently so.
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It flies against the stereotypical false image
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Of jesus that we so often see in religious art,
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Where jesus is scrawny, anemic,
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Sometimes even feminine in appearance
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And we think "this dude needs a sandwich," okay.
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"you're making fun of jesus?"
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No, i'm making fun of a false religious portrayal
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Of jesus that is not biblical.
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The jesus of the bible.
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I think he was strong.
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I think he was a man's man.
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If you would've met him as a guy, you'd say,
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"i admire that man."
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It takes strength to overturn a table, it takes strength to
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Carry a 400 pound cross through the streets of jerusalem after
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Your back has been ripped open with a roman whip.
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Jesus was strong but he was meek.
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And there's a difference between being meek and weak.
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You know, sometimes someone is very weak and they'll say,
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"well, i'm just meek."
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No, you're actually weak, you're not meek, you're weak.
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The word meek means power under constraint.
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It's someone who has the ability to do something
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But chooses not to.
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So christ is meek but in this particular instance, he's
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Showing righteous indignation, bringing me to point number one
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If you're taking notes.
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There are things that make god angry.
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This perverting of his purpose was something that clearly made
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Jesus angry.
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Listen, i don't know about you, but i wanna know
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What angers god.
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I wanna know what god loves as well as what he hates.
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In the book of proverbs the lord says, "there are seven things
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I hate."
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It's good to know what those things are because you don't
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Wanna do something that god hates and you don't want
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To make him angry.
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By the way, it takes time to make a whip.
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You know, it took, i don't know, a couple of hours.
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So this is not an explosion of anger,
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This is not god losing his temper.
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Can you imagine if god just went on a temper tantrum.
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Planets flying around.
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"i'm mad, i want breakfast,"
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You know, whatever makes someone angry.
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God's not like that.
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When he's angry, it's for a reason,
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It's righteous indignation.
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You almost wonder if the disciples were a bit embarrassed
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Like, "really lord, seriously?
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You're doing this?"
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"yes, i'm doing this."
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But then they remembered psalm 69, verse 17 of john 2.
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"his disciples remembered it was written:
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'zeal for your house will consume me.'"
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That brings me to point number two,
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God cares about his house.
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He likes to maintain it and he likes to keep it clean and he
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Will not tolerate evil.
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And so if you come to jesus he will accept you as you are, but
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He does not want to leave you that way.
00:13:43.354 --> 00:13:46.858
Yes, jesus was a friend of sinners, yes, he welcomed tax
00:13:46.858 --> 00:13:50.528
Collectors, and thieves, and prostitutes and other people
00:13:50.528 --> 00:13:55.433
Like that but he didn't leave them that way.
00:13:55.433 --> 00:13:58.703
Matthew was a tax collector that meant that he worked for rome.
00:13:58.703 --> 00:14:03.508
He would've been hated by his fellow jews because he being a
00:14:03.508 --> 00:14:06.411
Jewish man was perceived as a turncoat,
00:14:06.411 --> 00:14:10.181
A benedict arnold, if you will.
00:14:10.181 --> 00:14:12.450
And yet matthew hears jesus say, "follow me," and he gets up
00:14:12.450 --> 00:14:17.555
And leaves his table and follows christ.
00:14:17.555 --> 00:14:19.858
And i think of all the disciples he gave up the most materially
00:14:19.858 --> 00:14:23.895
Because he had a very lucrative career.
00:14:23.895 --> 00:14:26.598
But he was the tax collector.
00:14:26.598 --> 00:14:28.766
Then he became matthew the apostle and also matthew,
00:14:28.766 --> 00:14:31.736
The author of a gospel.
00:14:31.736 --> 00:14:34.138
Saul of tarsus was a murderer on his way to hunt down christians,
00:14:34.138 --> 00:14:39.244
Torture them and put them to death.
00:14:39.244 --> 00:14:41.279
And he met jesus on the road to damascus and he was transformed
00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:45.083
From being saul of tarsus to being the apostle paul
00:14:45.083 --> 00:14:48.920
And wrote so many of the great epistles.
00:14:48.920 --> 00:14:50.855
And it just goes on and on.
00:14:50.855 --> 00:14:52.824
Yes, we serve a god of mercy, but he's also a god of majesty.
00:14:52.824 --> 00:14:58.897
And he doesn't want sin in his church, and he doesn't want sin
00:14:58.897 --> 00:15:04.202
In our lives.
00:15:04.202 --> 00:15:07.272
And so he hates anything that opposes us.
00:15:07.272 --> 00:15:11.042
He loves us and because he loves us,
00:15:11.042 --> 00:15:13.378
He hates anything that would hurt us.
00:15:13.378 --> 00:15:16.948
So we should love what god loves, and we should also hate
00:15:16.948 --> 00:15:21.386
What god hates.
00:15:21.386 --> 00:15:25.757
Greg: you know, the bible tells us to not give
00:15:29.761 --> 00:15:31.496
The devil a foothold.
00:15:31.496 --> 00:15:33.298
What does that mean?
00:15:33.298 --> 00:15:34.632
It's sort of the idea of don't let something happen in your
00:15:34.632 --> 00:15:38.369
Life that gives the devil an advantage over you.
00:15:38.369 --> 00:15:41.940
Here's what ephesians chapter 4 verse 25 says,
00:15:41.940 --> 00:15:45.743
"stop telling lies.
00:15:45.743 --> 00:15:47.245
Let us tell our neighbor the truth, for we're all parts
00:15:47.245 --> 00:15:49.380
Of the same body.
00:15:49.380 --> 00:15:51.082
Don't sin by letting anger control you.
00:15:51.082 --> 00:15:53.818
Don't let the sun go down while you're still angry for anger
00:15:53.818 --> 00:15:56.754
Gives a foothold to the devil."
00:15:56.754 --> 00:15:59.857
Anger, bitterness, resentment, these things give a foothold to
00:15:59.857 --> 00:16:05.530
The devil.
00:16:05.530 --> 00:16:06.864
You say, "but greg, someone hurt me.
00:16:06.864 --> 00:16:08.299
I have a right to be angry."
00:16:08.299 --> 00:16:09.634
Well, listen, if you allow anger or resentment to control you, it
00:16:09.634 --> 00:16:14.005
Can give the enemy a foothold in your life and then that
00:16:14.005 --> 00:16:17.542
Separates you from the lord.
00:16:17.542 --> 00:16:19.577
So don't give a place for the devil.
00:16:19.577 --> 00:16:22.413
He'll knock on the door of your mind with temptations.
00:16:22.413 --> 00:16:25.383
"oh, why don't you do this?
00:16:25.383 --> 00:16:26.851
Why don't you do that?"
00:16:26.851 --> 00:16:28.319
Don't listen to him.
00:16:28.319 --> 00:16:29.654
Listen to this, it's not the bait that constitutes sin, it's
00:16:29.654 --> 00:16:34.325
The bite.
00:16:34.325 --> 00:16:35.893
By that i mean, it's not a sin when the devil comes with a
00:16:35.893 --> 00:16:39.664
Temptation or something to allure you, the problem is when
00:16:39.664 --> 00:16:42.500
You open the door and invite him for tea, right?
00:16:42.500 --> 00:16:45.403
So don't give the devil a foothold.
00:16:45.403 --> 00:16:48.072
What does the bible say?
00:16:48.072 --> 00:16:49.907
It says, "resist the devil and he will flee from you."
00:16:49.907 --> 00:16:54.412
Greg: bringing me to point number three.
00:16:56.681 --> 00:16:58.349
God gets angry when people are kept from coming to him.
00:16:58.349 --> 00:17:03.121
God is angry when people are kept from coming to him.
00:17:03.121 --> 00:17:07.258
Why does the church exist?
00:17:07.258 --> 00:17:10.128
There's three reasons the church exists, the exaltation of god,
00:17:10.128 --> 00:17:14.399
The edification of the saints, and the evangelization
00:17:14.399 --> 00:17:17.802
Of the world.
00:17:17.802 --> 00:17:19.504
So when we gather together as believers, we're here to glorify
00:17:19.504 --> 00:17:22.807
God, to lift up the name of the lord, we do that in worship, but
00:17:22.807 --> 00:17:26.811
Now we're here for the edification of the saints.
00:17:26.811 --> 00:17:29.781
Edification means to build up one another.
00:17:29.781 --> 00:17:32.283
So when we study the word of god, we're being edified or
00:17:32.283 --> 00:17:35.586
Built up.
00:17:35.586 --> 00:17:37.221
But listen, we also are here for the evangelization of the world.
00:17:37.221 --> 00:17:42.026
I'm glad when people who don't think like us, or look like us,
00:17:42.026 --> 00:17:46.364
Or live like us, come and join us because my prayer
00:17:46.364 --> 00:17:50.668
Is they will become one of us through faith in jesus christ.
00:17:50.668 --> 00:17:55.073
So you might ask, "what does jesus cleansing the temple
00:17:55.073 --> 00:17:58.409
Have to do with me right here, right now?"
00:17:58.409 --> 00:18:02.880
Well, number one, the temple is not the church.
00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:05.917
Or let me restate that, the church is not the temple.
00:18:05.917 --> 00:18:09.187
Sometimes we say the church is a sacred building.
00:18:09.187 --> 00:18:13.524
So when you walk in, "don't speak loudly, whisper,
00:18:13.524 --> 00:18:19.330
We're in the church.
00:18:19.330 --> 00:18:21.265
Don't laugh, don't laugh you're in the church."
00:18:21.265 --> 00:18:23.568
Come on, this is just a building.
00:18:23.568 --> 00:18:25.803
This is not the church, you're the church.
00:18:25.803 --> 00:18:28.840
I'm the church.
00:18:28.840 --> 00:18:30.274
Wherever we gather together, that's a church.
00:18:30.274 --> 00:18:32.810
If we're in a stadium, if we're in a movie theater, if we're at
00:18:32.810 --> 00:18:35.713
A beach, wherever we are worshiping god, honoring god,
00:18:35.713 --> 00:18:39.083
That's the church, right?
00:18:39.083 --> 00:18:41.586
But you, your body is the temple of the holy spirit.
00:18:41.586 --> 00:18:46.924
The bible actually teaches this.
00:18:46.924 --> 00:18:48.926
Revelation 3:20, excuse me, 1 corinthians 6:19, i meant to
00:18:48.926 --> 00:18:53.531
Say, "don't you know that your body is the temple
00:18:53.531 --> 00:18:56.067
Of the holy spirit who is in you,
00:18:56.067 --> 00:18:59.137
Who you have received from god, you're not your own.
00:18:59.137 --> 00:19:02.273
You were bought at a price; therefore, honor god
00:19:02.273 --> 00:19:05.076
With your body."
00:19:05.076 --> 00:19:06.944
Your body, my body is the temple of the spirit.
00:19:06.944 --> 00:19:12.049
And sometimes god wants to do a little temple cleansing.
00:19:12.049 --> 00:19:16.487
Sometimes the lord will come into your heart and life and
00:19:16.487 --> 00:19:18.856
Say, "this needs to go, that needs to change, this needs to
00:19:18.856 --> 00:19:25.296
Be looked at in a new way, that sin needs to be confronted,
00:19:25.296 --> 00:19:30.601
That vice needs to be repented of, even your mind needs
00:19:30.601 --> 00:19:35.139
To be clean."
00:19:35.139 --> 00:19:37.108
You need to have a mind that's in alignment with what god wants
00:19:37.108 --> 00:19:39.977
You to have and as scripture says, "bringing every thought
00:19:39.977 --> 00:19:43.948
Into the captivity of the obedience of jesus christ."
00:19:43.948 --> 00:19:48.352
You know, and we need periodic house cleanings.
00:19:48.352 --> 00:19:50.821
By the way, did you know this?
00:19:50.821 --> 00:19:53.357
Jesus cleansed the temple.
00:19:53.357 --> 00:19:55.059
Not once, but twice.
00:19:55.059 --> 00:19:57.261
Some people are confused because they read about it two times
00:19:57.261 --> 00:19:59.730
In the bible.
00:19:59.730 --> 00:20:01.332
One time he has a whip, the other time he doesn't.
00:20:01.332 --> 00:20:03.768
Well, that's because he did it two times.
00:20:03.768 --> 00:20:06.137
He cleansed the temple when he started his ministry and again,
00:20:06.137 --> 00:20:09.473
He cleansed the temple when he was bringing his earthly
00:20:09.473 --> 00:20:12.176
Ministry to a close, you see.
00:20:12.176 --> 00:20:15.146
And why did he have to cleanse it twice?
00:20:15.146 --> 00:20:17.348
Because it got cluttered again.
00:20:17.348 --> 00:20:20.051
Probably started with one guy set his table up, another guy
00:20:20.051 --> 00:20:23.254
Shows up, someone else shows up and pretty soon
00:20:23.254 --> 00:20:25.923
All the junk is back.
00:20:25.923 --> 00:20:28.125
Maybe it's even worse than it was before and can that not
00:20:28.125 --> 00:20:30.428
Happen in our life as a christian?
00:20:30.428 --> 00:20:33.631
You know, we come to jesus, we repent of all these sins, this
00:20:33.631 --> 00:20:36.567
Lifestyle is gone, everything's fresh and new, but then we make
00:20:36.567 --> 00:20:41.105
A little compromise here and lower the guard over there and
00:20:41.105 --> 00:20:44.809
Next thing you know, all this stuff has come back and maybe
00:20:44.809 --> 00:20:47.845
It's even worse than it used be before it's time
00:20:47.845 --> 00:20:50.448
For another house cleaning.
00:20:50.448 --> 00:20:53.584
It's time for the lord to come and say,
00:20:53.584 --> 00:20:55.219
"let's deal with those things."
00:20:55.219 --> 00:20:56.954
We need to be constantly cleansed in our relationship
00:20:56.954 --> 00:21:00.658
With jesus christ.
00:21:00.658 --> 00:21:02.560
One final movement to the story and i find
00:21:02.560 --> 00:21:04.528
It really interesting.
00:21:04.528 --> 00:21:06.130
Look at john 2 verse 23.
00:21:06.130 --> 00:21:09.567
I'm reading now from the new king james version.
00:21:09.567 --> 00:21:11.869
"now when he was in jerusalem at the passover, during the feast,
00:21:11.869 --> 00:21:14.939
Many believed in his name."
00:21:14.939 --> 00:21:17.208
Underline that phrase.
00:21:17.208 --> 00:21:18.843
"many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did.
00:21:18.843 --> 00:21:23.681
But jesus did not commit himself to them."
00:21:23.681 --> 00:21:26.884
Underline that too.
00:21:26.884 --> 00:21:28.786
"because he knew all men, and had no need that anyone should
00:21:28.786 --> 00:21:32.089
Testify of man, for he knew what was in man."
00:21:32.089 --> 00:21:36.661
Wow!
00:21:36.661 --> 00:21:37.995
"many believed in his name when they saw the signs he did."
00:21:37.995 --> 00:21:41.966
What signs did they see?
00:21:41.966 --> 00:21:43.868
At this point, water being turned to wine.
00:21:43.868 --> 00:21:46.604
They had seen them cleanse the temple.
00:21:46.604 --> 00:21:49.106
These were significant signs.
00:21:49.106 --> 00:21:50.775
They were very impressed and they believed, right?
00:21:50.775 --> 00:21:53.511
Well, maybe not because it says,
00:21:53.511 --> 00:21:56.347
"jesus did not commit himself to them."
00:21:56.347 --> 00:22:00.184
See, here's the thing with jesus, he knew all things.
00:22:00.184 --> 00:22:05.423
So you might almost translate this verse, they believed in
00:22:05.423 --> 00:22:08.726
Him, but he didn't believe in them.
00:22:08.726 --> 00:22:12.263
Or they trusted in him, but he didn't trust in them.
00:22:12.263 --> 00:22:17.568
Why?
00:22:17.568 --> 00:22:18.969
Because he knows all things.
00:22:18.969 --> 00:22:20.671
You're saying, "but wait i thought god welcomed all people.
00:22:20.671 --> 00:22:23.341
Doesn't god want everyone to believe?"
00:22:23.341 --> 00:22:25.676
Yes, if they come with the right motives.
00:22:25.676 --> 00:22:29.080
But these people saw the signs but the problem was their faith
00:22:29.080 --> 00:22:32.116
Was superficial and it was hollow and he could look
00:22:32.116 --> 00:22:35.519
Right through them.
00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:36.921
He was always looking through people.
00:22:36.921 --> 00:22:38.823
In fact, when jesus called matthew,
00:22:38.823 --> 00:22:40.257
I mentioned matthew earlier.
00:22:40.257 --> 00:22:42.426
He says to matthew, "follow me."
00:22:42.426 --> 00:22:44.362
And the actual verse says, "he looked at matthew," and that
00:22:44.362 --> 00:22:48.165
Phrase looked at could be translated, "he looked right
00:22:48.165 --> 00:22:52.236
Through matthew," looked right through him.
00:22:52.236 --> 00:22:55.940
Have you ever had anyone look right through you?
00:22:55.940 --> 00:22:59.210
Let me restate the question, do you have a mother?
00:22:59.210 --> 00:23:03.948
Maybe when you were a teenager you're out a little bit late and
00:23:03.948 --> 00:23:07.051
Your mother says, "where have you been?"
00:23:07.051 --> 00:23:09.286
"nowhere mom."
00:23:09.286 --> 00:23:10.755
"look at me," she says.
00:23:10.755 --> 00:23:12.356
And you just started confessing everything.
00:23:12.356 --> 00:23:14.058
You confess things you didn't even do, right?
00:23:14.058 --> 00:23:17.428
Jesus could look right through people.
00:23:17.428 --> 00:23:20.097
He knew the backstory, he knew the thoughts,
00:23:20.097 --> 00:23:22.166
He would call people out periodically.
00:23:22.166 --> 00:23:24.268
"why are you thinking this in your heart?"
00:23:24.268 --> 00:23:25.970
How do you know that?
00:23:25.970 --> 00:23:27.705
Because he was god, he was omniscient and
00:23:27.705 --> 00:23:30.007
He knew all things.
00:23:30.007 --> 00:23:31.509
And he saw that these people who thought they believed in him
00:23:31.509 --> 00:23:35.546
Really did not at all.
00:23:35.546 --> 00:23:37.648
Bringing me to my next point, jesus knows
00:23:37.648 --> 00:23:39.917
Everything about you.
00:23:39.917 --> 00:23:42.353
Let me add one thing to that.
00:23:42.353 --> 00:23:44.054
Jesus knows everything about you, but yet he still loves you.
00:23:44.054 --> 00:23:50.361
No one knows how dark your heart is except you.
00:23:50.361 --> 00:23:55.699
No one knows how dark my heart is except me.
00:23:55.699 --> 00:23:59.570
The bible says, "the heart is deceitfully wicked above all
00:23:59.570 --> 00:24:04.141
Things, who can know it?"
00:24:04.141 --> 00:24:06.010
That's why we shouldn't walk around saying,
00:24:06.010 --> 00:24:07.678
"i'm just trusting my heart.
00:24:07.678 --> 00:24:10.314
The heart wants what it wants."
00:24:10.314 --> 00:24:12.349
Yeah, don't trust your heart.
00:24:12.349 --> 00:24:14.685
Your heart can get you into trouble, you see?
00:24:14.685 --> 00:24:17.321
So god sees through you but yet he loves you because even though
00:24:17.321 --> 00:24:20.558
You're a sinner, he also knows if you're a seeker, "and those
00:24:20.558 --> 00:24:25.629
That seek him will find him."
00:24:25.629 --> 00:24:28.199
And here's a great illustration.
00:24:28.199 --> 00:24:30.334
So john 2 ends with, "many believed but jesus did not
00:24:30.334 --> 00:24:35.272
Commit himself to them."
00:24:35.272 --> 00:24:37.374
But then john 3 opens with the words, "now there was a pharisee
00:24:37.374 --> 00:24:40.878
Named nicodemus," and then it goes on to tell the story of
00:24:40.878 --> 00:24:44.648
Jesus and nicodemus, that religious leader who wanted to
00:24:44.648 --> 00:24:49.453
Know jesus who ended up becoming a believer.
00:24:49.453 --> 00:24:52.523
So these people didn't really believe and so he didn't commit
00:24:52.523 --> 00:24:56.193
Himself to them but then there's this guy named nicodemus that
00:24:56.193 --> 00:24:59.363
Showed up and he did believe and jesus revealed himself to him.
00:24:59.363 --> 00:25:04.201
God will reveal himself to any true seeker.
00:25:04.201 --> 00:25:08.005
That's my last point.
00:25:08.005 --> 00:25:09.740
Jesus will always reveal himself to the true seeker.
00:25:09.740 --> 00:25:14.612
And sometimes will say, "you know what?
00:25:14.612 --> 00:25:16.146
Prove it to me. show me and i'll believe."
00:25:16.146 --> 00:25:19.783
And effectively jesus would say, "believe and i'll show you.
00:25:19.783 --> 00:25:24.788
Come with as much faith as you have,
00:25:24.788 --> 00:25:27.491
And let me change your life."
00:25:27.491 --> 00:25:29.593
Maybe you've tried to clean up your life.
00:25:29.593 --> 00:25:31.896
You've thought, "you know what?
00:25:31.896 --> 00:25:33.364
My life's a mess and i'm gonna become a christian.
00:25:33.364 --> 00:25:36.400
I'm in the process of converting.
00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:39.470
I'm gonna cuss a little bit less, be a little less angry,
00:25:39.470 --> 00:25:45.009
Do a little less of that."
00:25:45.009 --> 00:25:47.077
Yeah, but that's not conversion.
00:25:47.077 --> 00:25:49.313
See, you don't clean up your life and come to christ, you
00:25:49.313 --> 00:25:51.782
Come to christ and he'll clean your life up.
00:25:51.782 --> 00:25:55.986
Greg: hi, i'm greg laurie. i've got some good news for you.
00:26:00.124 --> 00:26:02.826
God loves you, and god has a plan for your life.
00:26:02.826 --> 00:26:06.697
Here's the problem, we're separated from god by our sin
00:26:06.697 --> 00:26:10.134
Because we've all broken his commandments.
00:26:10.134 --> 00:26:12.903
But the good news is, 2,000 years ago god sent his son jesus
00:26:12.903 --> 00:26:17.241
Christ to die on the cross for your sin, and then to rise again
00:26:17.241 --> 00:26:21.845
From the dead.
00:26:21.845 --> 00:26:23.247
The same jesus who died and rose is alive and ready to come
00:26:23.247 --> 00:26:26.784
Into your life right now.
00:26:26.784 --> 00:26:29.086
Would you like your sin forgiven?
00:26:29.086 --> 00:26:31.121
Would you like to know that when you die you will go to heaven.
00:26:31.121 --> 00:26:34.058
If so, pray this simple prayer with me right now.
00:26:34.058 --> 00:26:37.394
Just say, "lord jesus, i know i'm a sinner, but i believe
00:26:37.394 --> 00:26:40.631
You're the savior who died on the cross for my sin.
00:26:40.631 --> 00:26:44.335
I turn from my sin now, and i choose to follow you
00:26:44.335 --> 00:26:47.805
From this moment forward."
00:26:47.805 --> 00:26:49.974
Did you just pray that prayer with me?
00:26:49.974 --> 00:26:52.276
If you did, god in heaven has heard you and i wanna send you a
00:26:52.276 --> 00:26:56.313
New testament to start reading.
00:26:56.313 --> 00:26:58.248
♪ for god so loved the world that he gave us ♪
00:27:00.985 --> 00:27:05.522
♪ his one and only son to save us ♪
00:27:05.522 --> 00:27:10.427
♪ whoever believes in him will live forever ♪
00:27:10.427 --> 00:27:19.970
♪ the power of hell forever defeated ♪
00:27:19.970 --> 00:27:24.942
♪ now it is well i'm walking in freedom ♪♪
00:27:24.942 --> 00:27:24.942

Greg Laurie - Time To Clean House

July 10, 2025 | S25 E164 | 27:40

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