Big Brother // Judah Smith

James chapter 1 verse 1 it reads James a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the twelve tribes in the dispersion greetings greetings greetings we're going to stop right there and this is an introduction to the book of James again this is week one the title of my sermon is week one of the 6-week journey this is kiddy you call it big brother - if you want like a really cool title big big brother will you pray with me Jesus thank you so much for your grace and your love for us lord I pray for every single person under the sound of my voice those watching online are those here in this room and space that you would meet us in a very real way God your love is extravagant wherever we find ourselves in our spiritual journey I thank you you will meet us there help us to see how real and big and magnificent and glorious you are and thank you today the Cougars are gonna beat the Huskies in Jesus name Amen uh uh as you know my dad started this church I am officially a preacher's kid and if you don't know I've said this multiple times my dad's dad was a preacher my dad's dad's dad was a preacher I don't know if I could do it again my dad's dad's dad's dad was a preacher I think I can do it again and my dad's dad's dad's dad's dad what I don't know if I did it but point is seven generations of preachers right which means my family probably has more dysfunction than yours but a lot of generation of preachers and so like I don't know everybody I can't say that I understand everyone but but I understand preachers kids you understand it like I I know what it's like to be a preacher's kid and one of the blessings of being a preacher's kid is when your mom and dad start talking they're not gonna stop for a long time I'm not talking about on the stage I'm not talking preaching sermon I'm talking about you know at the table I'm talking about like in your bedroom late at night saying son where were you now sit down I want to share something with you now when my dad told me and my older sister to sit down cuz mom and dad wanted to talk with them first of all mom didn't do a lot of talking she did a lot of a minute dad did most of the talking now when dad said Judah Wendy sit down your mom and I have something we want to talk to you about listen I knew right then and there it's time to settle in get some snacks make sure you get plenty of electrolytes cuz it is going to go down it's gonna be a long time these sir my mean these talks that Dad were give we're so long I remember as a as a young man thinking to myself I will never do this to my kids never this is this is this is evil this is wrong this is ridiculous dad please but then I had my own kids and I'm not gonna lie to you something hit me if I had to go through it they should have to go through it you know I'm talking about that's just real so I think I think I'm longer now in my talks with my kids than even my dad my dad would be it would go on and on and on and at the end of his talks we would always take up an offering I'm just kidding oh man but in fact recently one of my three children we got a 13 11 an 8 year old I will not say which one went to my wife my wife privately behind my back and said mom can I talk to you and she said yeah what's going on mom I just you just dad when he talks to us he just goes for so long and it's just difficult I found that out I'm telling you very next day Zion Elliot Gracie sit down your mom and I have something we want to talk to you about get some Gatorade you're gonna need it right like let them have it now one thing we asked of our dad Wendy and I is dead like you know and of course you you tell your dad not to do long talks he's gonna do long talks oh but we just said dad can we just make a deal with you can we make a deal with you make a deal with you my dad was not a dad you make deals with but we tried we attempted that when we have friends over can you not do the talks can we not do any dinner sermons when our friends are over it's embarrassing he's like what do you say I said well it's it's awkward what you say it's difficult excuse me and it's one of my dad's favorite lines he's like I made you I brought you into this world I will take you out and make another one you understand me don't tell me what to do right so we begged him there was this one night this one evening we're having dinner and I had one of my friends over now this is one of my cool friends and I don't mean to delineate but it's true when you're a kid you got friends that are like man you come over you're like it's all good but then you got cool friends friends you're trying to impress friends you're like dad this guy's the man please write and of all nights right like I am praying under my breath I am speaking in tongues at the dinner table you know talking about I'm like oh god please please please don't let dad have one of those and something triggered him I'm sure was my older sister she was very rebellious and we were we were so close to getting out of there right we got up from the dinner table and Wendy had said something I don't exactly remember what it is he said excuse me Judah Wendy sit down your mom and I have something we'd like to talk to you about and then he turns to my cool friend who's also a part of the church and he's like now son you you don't have to join us unless you'd like to and he's like yes sir pastor I'd love to like I'm like dad my friends are not gonna walk away they feel forced into these things right so we sit down and dad goes on and on and on and I'm I'm not hearing anything my dad is saying I'm just trying to read the body language of my cool friend I'm like all he hates this he hates me he hates God now we're 20 minutes in he hate he doesn't even believe he's turned into an atheist this is terrible right I'm all of these ideas and so finally my dad said and and and Amen or whatever how he ended his speech and he said you're you you can go now and and by that time I was in my 20s but I got up and was walking away and me and my friend went upstairs and getting ready for for betty was sleeping over and I thought me I don't even know how to approach this this is this is bad this is bad and my friend speaks up he says your dad do that a lot and I was like at a crossroads I'm like do I lie because if I say no not at all he then he can never come back over to the house because next time he comes chances are very likely it's gonna happen again right so I was like I might as well just tell him to I said yeah yeah he does a lot and I kind of brace for the worst like he's like dang man sucks to be you you know like that's exactly what I was prepared for and I'll never forget what my friend said that evening in my house he said wow that's cool and I remember like I don't know was doing probably putting toothpaste on my toothbrush I was like oh yeah yeah yeah yeah man cool yeah yeah my dad is so cool this is unbelievable yeah he said he said I don't know man I guess I don't know things kind of got a little awkward you know he just kind of started to hesitate a little bit he's like I guess I guess I just kind of wish I had a dad to tell me how to live and I'll never forget it's probably about 10 or 11 years old standing there realizing that that that and forgive me buck me a decade as a young boy to realize that there are men and women boys and girls who who don't have the opportunity that I was begrudging that I thought was a little long-winded a little over-the-top a little heavy-handed dad only to realize my cool friend was expressing that that sure would be nice I remember laying in bed that night for the first time having to face a social reality that there are men and women who don't have the opportunity to have a loving parent who will train them and teach them and sit them down now if by chance if you are one of those individuals today who have not had the opportunity of a father or a father figure to speak into your life I'd like to announce that the book of James is your book the book of James is your book because in reality this is Dada language James is inspired by the spirit of Jesus of course it's called the letter of James or the book of James but we know the author is Jesus the author is God we know there are 66 books that make up the Bible 44 different authors as best we can tell but ultimately there is one source and that source is God for whatever reason James is inspired by the Spirit of Jesus to talk like a father in fact you'll find it interesting when this book was originally written it was in Greek then Latin and then translated into English now the English translators did their best but in fact in the Greek language there is no James in the Greek language so many scholars argue that this book could actually be called the book of Jacob for James is the root of James is Jacob now for right now that might not mean a lot but actually it can unlock and open up this book for you if you'll see it now I'm gonna read to you James 1:1 again see if you can pick it up in fact I'm gonna replace James with Jacob just for this initial exercise Jacob a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the of tribes in the dispersant now wait a second I've heard of Jacob and 12 tribes before in fact this this letter originally is written to almost an entirely Jewish audience and when they would have read it in the Greek it would have read to them Jacob a servant of God allured Jesus Christ to the twelve tribes in the dispersion it is abundantly clear to me that from the outset of this book God evidently wants us to know that father Jacob is still speaking to his twelve sons for 1,800 years before this letter one of the first letters of the New Testament written eighteen hundred years before that there was the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob and Jacob was the one who had twelve sons which formed the twelve tribes of Israel eighteen hundred years later James whose name is also Jacob is inspired to speak again to the twelve sons if you will and what the author God Himself is telling us is this book the orientation of this book is father Jacob still speaking to his twelve sons that's why you're gonna find such direct language in this book a lot of people find this book to be contradictory to the gospel of grace but in fact it is not and we'll explain that in a moment but you need to understand the tense the mood the directness is exactly like my dad at the dinner table in front of my cool friends not pulling any punches look at look at verse 2 this is the second verse in the whole book count it all joy by the way brothers and sisters can also be translated sons and daughters count it all joy sons and daughters when you meet trials of various kinds like ease us into it James right give us a couple of complementary verses hey love you guys miss you oh my gosh wow but no he's just like put a smile on your face when times get tough geez dad just you know ease me into it no you're my son you're my daughter I'm gonna speak direct if you have ever wanted guidance from a father you have a Heavenly Father that put together the book of James in such a way that it will speak to you they call it the New Testament proverbs it's like a father sitting you down saying your mom and I have something we'd like to talk to you about the fact the five major themes of the book of James prepare yourself prepare yourself the first one is wisdom this is dad language this is dad talk James is going to give you wisdom for life you need to understand him you need wisdom second major theme of James get ready for this one it's really exciting tests and trials oh great life's gonna happen son it's gonna be difficult there's gonna be good times absolutely but there's gonna be challenging times and difficult times keep a smile on your face a skip in your step a twinkle in your eye and keep your face towards God yes sir yes sir third major theme of the book of James is the royal law of love it sounds so royal but the royal law of love bare-bones is love your neighbor as yourself the fourth major theme of the book of James is money legally these these are such dad themes money in fact father James wants you to know how to relate to rich people and poor people and everybody in between he's gonna talk to you about money and how it affects life and how it affects your perspective and last but certainly not least and what the book of James is mostly known for is he will talk to you about faith and good works faith actually working itself out in your life if you have ever wanted somebody to shoot straight with you and tell you the truth of what it looks like to follow Jesus and live an ordinary day with him this is your book now if next week things get a little direct and you get a little uncomfortable don't blame me you chose the book of James you know like we had an online you know voting we didn't but let's if we did you chose I blame you Church not me it's it's in the book now of those five major themes I said a moment ago faith and good works has come under the most debate in fact Martin Luther himself the man who nailed the Reformation on a door in the Catholic Church Martin Luther himself wrestled profoundly with the book of James Martin Luther who of course issued or assured in justification by faith the recovering of this absolutely essential doctrine he himself wrestled with the book of James now keep in mind James is the half-brother of Jesus which is to say his mother was Mary but Jesus is God and his father is God so they're they're their half-brother but they're related James again with probably Galatians is the very first couple of books in the New Testament remember James is writing to Jewish people the twelve tribes dispersed in the known world and at the time of this writing they are coming under incredible persecution and scrutiny there are believers being martyred marginalized overlooked and so James writes with an urgency of a father whose children have come up under attack and assault he wants to speak to them question is is James the book of James which it's overwhelming emphasis is if you have faith let's see it if James was here he'd basically say that if you have faith let's sit you can imagine a dad looking at his kids you got faith why doesn't it affect your lifestyle if you have faith where is it if you have faith why hasn't it shown up much has been debated in four instance put this on the screen this will help you much debate between James and Paul Paul who writes more than half of the New Testament and James the half-brother of Jesus James in James chapter 2 and verse 17 says this and then Paul in Romans 11:6 says this let's read this together says so also faith by itself if it does not have works is dead that's what James says Romans 11:6 Paul says but if it is by grace it is no longer on the basis of works otherwise grace would no longer be great so who's right you can see over the corridors of history like some of argued the book of James should not be in the Bible I would disagree with that I think we need both James and Paul James if James was here if James was here and Paul was here James would say what good is the salvation that saves you and leaves you exactly the same way and apart was here on the other side he would say well how good is the salvation if you can earn it on your own and then you got look at both of these dudes and say yo those are really good points both of you guys got really good points neither one is competing with each other they are complement each other and they are revealing to us a beautiful truth now when it comes to interpreting Scripture you cannot eisegesis which is to take one verse and build a doctrine you've got exegesis which is put it in the context of the story understand the Bible the current the consistent thread throughout scripture is the thread of God's extraordinary love for Humanity so James as he speaks direct as a father is not here to negate the love and grace of God I would like to present to you I would like to put before you that I believe father James understands divine order given to us in the book of Ephesians Ephesians says this Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 for by grace have you been saved by grace you have been saved through faith this is not your own doing it is the gift of God not a result of works so that no one may boast now let's pause here for a second and let's own this moment when it comes to the reputation of Christians or Jesus followers I don't know if you know this but we have carried ourselves in such a way we actually come across as elitist did you know this globally speaking now if you're here today and you don't know Jesus or follow Jesus this is a fantastic six weeks for you to sit in and observe because if you've ever really wanted to know the bare bones and nuts and bolts of what it looks like to follow Jesus you about to get it okay so stick around and kind of observe for those of us that do follow Jesus and worship Jesus and consider ourselves to be little Christ or Christians our global reputation speaking in generalities is we carry ourselves as ëletís our bumper stickers are elite right our verbage is elite the fact that maybe we don't curse or elite right all kinds of things that we think make us elite but actually the Bible says no one can do what boast so there's no room in Christian doctrine for any of us to be like ha ha ha I'm a Christian you're not sucks to be you I'm going up you're going down if you get my drift no no no it is not of works lest anyone could develop an elite attitude not allowed not allowed we are all the same all have sinned and fallen short of God's glorious standard there are not ends there are not outs we're all in this together we got far more in common than we doubt I'm getting there we'll start preaching the second so no one can boast we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for what for what for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them do you see the divine order of evens two eight nine and ten it's always this way you must keep this order in all of your scripture reading and lifestyle applying it always starts with Amazing Grace you were saved by grace grace the gift of God in Jesus Christ and the Bible says John 3:16 written by Tim Tebow I mean God for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever whosoever with no strings attached no guarantees god while we were still sinners died for us we didn't earn it we didn't deserve it there's nowhere in scripture that teaches that there were desperate people on earth going oh god save us come down be with us we miss you we love you we need you there was none of that we could not care less and yet God because he is who he is all by himself he is he is the consummation of love he is the personification of love within himself he was moved by himself to act by himself on behalf of humanity it is amazing grace and that amazing grace produces in us the second gift that comes from God which is faith do you know the faith you have towards jesus was given to you by jesus so you could believe in jesus I mean there is no room for elitism there's no room for exclusivity there is no room for bragging and boasting and arrogance know all of us are recipients of Amazing Grace and great faith so the Bible says we we see this grace and Wow maybe we never saw it before but God in His grace says now I want you to see my Grace and we go WOW and then what what bubbles up in our spirit and our soul is this I this that's what faith is it's just a reception I received this now what Ephesians is describing for us I believe is assumed by James that you understand salvation is Amazing Grace faith the ghosts I receive it and then a life that goes wait Lord what about him what about her and he says they're hurting well I want to help them I have so much to give or go son and help them yes sir and this progression happens that is supposed to be the salvation experience and the Christian life every day is a WoW I receive it wait what about him and what about her and without anybody telling you you need to work out your faith you fall in love with broken humanity and you move towards them not away from them James would like to ask why isn't that happening in your life James wants to sit his twelve sons down if you will and say hey you receive this amazing grace this faith is great faith given to you why isn't it changing your Monday good boy you can shout on Sunday but you won't even care for your coworker because they got a raise and you didn't on Tuesday so actually there is no contradiction here there's beautiful complimenting and it is an emphasis this is exactly what a father would emphasize he would say son I'm grateful that you sing I see your Bible is highlighted I think that's wonderful but you're not kind to people you're not considerate to people you're not you don't listen you do all the talking you're the biggest deal in the room you you you you you you what where is your faith where's your faith and that is an appropriate conversation for a father to have with his children and it in no way minimize or takes away at all from Amazing Grace keep in mind this letter is written to who people who have already see the grace of God already receive the grace of God and in different places Paul is writing to a different audience James is a sign to talk to the 12 sons if you will so if you are here today and you consider yourself to be a Jesus follower Jacob or James would like to sit down with you and say let's talk bare-bones face-to-face actual boots on the ground your average Thursday morning where is your faith so I have given you full disclosure if you come back next week you come at your own risk kitty-kitty it's gonna be great you're gonna hit your love is gonna be so awesome but if you're like me I want to I don't want to be how should I say I don't want to be religious you know what religious is right it's formal its formalities its verbage but it's no heart change it's no lifestyle alteration it's cheap is what it is and you know who you're robbing and I'm robbing ourselves from life and life more abundantly now in conclusion I'd like to read this verse one more time because there are words here that move me it says James or Jacob a servant of God of the Lord Jesus Christ of the Lord Jesus Christ now that word servant there's so much sexual connotations in our culture I hesitate sometimes to actually translate it accurately but but the original Greek it would have read love slave love slave of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ now those words see were like oh that's powerful what a second context it's back up James is the half-brother of Jesus we don't know if he shared a room with Jesus we don't know if they you know competed to who could put up posters of their favorite player we don't know this but we do know that James did not believe in Jesus did you know that the entire life and Ministry of Jesus James did not believe it says in John chapter four I believe it is or John chapter five and verse seven do we have that I'm not dyslexic or anything John chapter 7 and verse five I am okay so not even his brothers believed in him boy that must have been painful for Jesus not even his brothers believed in him did I don't know did James say stuff about him we're talking about brothers here we're talking about siblings here and your big brother is God can you imagine if you don't believe that he's God what kind of stuff do you say about your big brother who thinks he's so great he's God thinks he's so amazing he's Messiah how did that hurt Mary Mary and Joseph believed that must have been so much pain in this home pain that now we can kind of step back and go wow Jesus experienced really all levels of pain did he not as his own brothers did not believe in him can't imagine the things James must have said about his big brother but later the death burial and resurrection of Jesus just before the Ascension first Corinthians 15 tells us this that Jesus appeared to James he appeared to James then to all the apostles I just love the directness of this verse I love how what this verse communicates about Jesus that he appeared it could have just said he appeared to the Apostles and his brothers but it says he appeared to James then to all the apostles how did that go how did that go is it alright if we can use some of our imagination I don't know James is just kicking it and all of a sudden you know Jesus walks through walls during this time it makes a lot of appearances he's a full-scale and he walks through a lot of walls you know and and I mean did he just walk through the wall into James's space what did he say James he goes hey it's me I'm God and James is like yeah you are I'm sorry it's okay I love you I mean how did that conversation go Jesus is so thankful if you're here today and you're doubting Jesus he's not mad at you his own brothers doubted him you here today and you're like I don't know about Christianity you know what I don't blame you a lot of horrific things have been done in the name of Jesus a lot of horrible acts have been committed by people who claim to be Christians if you've done any work in your history books you understand why people could hesitate at the idea of following Jesus and I'm here to say the leader of our global movement Jesus Christ of Nazareth is not mad at you or intimidated by your doubt in fact he's God enough to meet you where you are if he can meet his brothers he can meet you and reveal to you and show you I say let God be God if God is God then he will show up and he in fact will be God now you would imagine that James his life from this point would only know progress and growth and extraordinary influence and though it did we read later that though James has met his big brother he has come to the conclusion his big brother is the Messiah he is king he is God and he is following him and he is teaching his ways to others there yet remains a sin in James life before we discover later that James unless you are a Jew you're not welcome in the church unless you're a Jew you're not welcome at his dinner table I'm reading this and I got a step back how to push away from my desk and go you use this guy the guy who didn't hide you your entire life and ministry no doubt mocked you and then once you reveal yourself to him you physically you physically appear to him he still harbors prejudice and racism in his heart you used him all the sudden I got a lot of hope for Humanity hold a sudden I got a lot of hope for people everywhere if God can change James I am convinced he can change you James is recorded in Galatians recorded as resisting he wanted separation resistance but later in acts 15 no 14 he becomes an advocate in front of religious leaders this man goes from whoa whoa whoa any non-jews not allowed gross uh by acts he's actually in front of religious leaders say no all people are God's children and all are welcome are you doubtful are you discouraged do you have trouble with people who don't look like you and if all of us say no in this room all of us are wrong in this room he struggle with that that a challenge for you can I just say that's pretty normal unfortunately it's pretty normal even for Jesus brother after Jesus appeared to him and he accepted him as Lord and Savior he still was struggling with people not of his ethnicity and background but God is so faithful he's so faithful and boy he is slow to anger and he is long-suffering with his children and over time he changes his own brother until what was once an accuser and a separator and a marginalize er becomes an advocate of all people for all our gods brothers and sisters Josephus and other scholars record how James dies we don't know this a hundred percent but it seems the consensus is that he was killed for his faith in his big brother he believes so vehemently in his big brother the Lord Jesus Christ committed his entire life and even in death the story goes they took him up on a high building a horrific way to kill a man and they pushed him off hoping he would die he didn't die he laid there wheezing but not dead then they stoned him and he remained still not dead and they finally clubbed him to his death the Bible records when Stephen was stoned for his faith as a martyr that the Lord Jesus Christ stood got up off his throne he does not stand for his enemies for his enemies are defeated but he stands for precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his children his Saints and he stands to honor the death of Stephen can you imagine I think it is safe to say that as his half-brother is beaten to the end of his life that the Lord Jesus Christ his big brother stood at his throne to honor the death of his wants unbelieving and prejudiced brother can you imagine what that encounter and reunion was like in eternity as James enters into attorney I don't know how it happens I don't know if there is a gate and I don't know if Peter is there checking names I don't know but can you imagine as James walks it is ushered into eternity and there is the Lord Jesus Christ his big brother and what he must have said brother I love you it was an honor to die for you is it safe just for a moment can we pan the camera out Church and I know you got so much going on in your life you got a job and you got bills and you got a minivan you got kids to get to soccer practice and you forgot the Capri Suns again I know there's so much going on in life but maybe James wants us to pan back and pick up the big picture again isn't this all about our big brother isn't this all about that before him all we were were mockers and unbelievers with no real point of living but he was faithful and he revealed himself to us and boy we were so selfish and self-serving we couldn't even see past our own issues and our own desires but God helped us to lift up our eyes and see the pain of others in the need of others and to care for others even those who don't even look like ourselves can we pan back the picture and just imagine for a moment that there's going to be a day much like to have brother of Jesus where we are assured into eternity and it may not come by stones and clubs but if it does it'll be an honor we stand there we finally look in the eyes that blazed with pure unconditional love and say Jesus I love you and he will look back at us with the same love care and condition unconditional love that he had for James so look at you and say I'm so proud of you I love you so much enter in to the joy of eternity I think maybe at the very least James wants us to know his story and all of the sudden you start to read his direct words and you're like I get it you've done a lot of stuff James in your life and this is the only way the truth and the life and you want to set your kids down and say you listen to me nothing else matters but him so if you're going through the worst season in your life you still have him the joy the desire of all nations you have him or let us never forget why we are here today we are not just here to improve our portfolios and improve our performance and make ourselves feel better about ourselves we are here for our big brother a friend that sticks closer than a brother King of Kings Lord of lords and our whole life culminates on to him he he and he alone is life and it is our privilege to serve Him no no no we can't we can't take the next five weeks and even for a second remove it from the love passion and the love slave that his little brother was because you'll lose it you'll lose it if you take it clinical an you take it James just going you need to do this you need to that you're good you're gonna miss it this is this is a man who didn't believe in his big brother but then he did and and he claimed it was his honor to be a slave of love to him and ultimately died for him so let's keep that in mind and may these words breed in us the same courageous insatiable love for Jesus and lifestyle that James had that whatever may come it is an honor to follow and serve Jesus can I get an amen can I pray for you today Jesus we thank you so much you you you you hadn't just changed James you changed me you changed us and you are still changing us we thank you God your grace is enough we thank you we sense your bigness we sense your grandeur we sense your love we since your care in this room this morning oh you're amazing you're astounding you're extraordinary our adjectives do not even come close or scratch the surface describing the magnitude of your glory and your beauty and your majesty we consider it our highest honor on this earth to be numbered amongst your family to be considered your sons and your daughters and we will take every day by the grace that you have given us to follow you and to live for you and if necessary to give our life in service to you thank you if we haven't thanked you lately thank you for the privilege of being in your family for the privilege of following you Lord we had rejected you but you moved towards us anyways and revealed yourself to us I am praying right now for men and women boys and girls under the sound of my voice who have their doubts maybe even if walked away from you maybe who have rejected you maybe who don't know you I asked Lord right now that in the same way you revealed yourself to James and you'd be faithful to reveal yourself to each and every person in this room and watching Thank You God if you're here today you say Judah I'd like to follow Jesus I'd like to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and I'm gonna ask you to respond in a moment I'm gonna ask eyes closed just for a few seconds as this decision begins ultimately between you and God if you'd like to receive the free gift of forgiveness that only Jesus offers the forgiveness for your past your present and your future sins that's right you can be forgiven in one moment of faith it is the gift of God if you'd like to receive this gift that you can only receive through Jesus on the count of three I'm gonna ask you to lift up your hand and put it right back down you know who you are God loves you so much I absolutely know for a fact that you are not here on accident so on the count of three you lift up your hand put it right back down people ask me all the time why do you have people lift their hand I believe when you respond on the outside to what's happening on the inside it makes it more real to you personally to you personally you feel your hand going up something triggers in your brain this is real I believe and I receive Jesus as my king my God my Savior my best friend you know who you are one God loves you too you'll never be the same three if that's you would you lift your hand up all over the room I received I received the free gift of forgiveness that only Jesus offers this amazing so many ends anybody else you lift it up and put it right back down god I thank you for every single hand in this room I thank you Lord for the forgiveness that flows freely from your grace and your goodness we love you we thank you we are forgiven forever we thank you there is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus we are free whom the Sun sets free is free in deed if you're here today second secondly you say Judah I've had my doubts I've been beating myself up I've been so discouraged because I've been second-guessing Jesus I've been doubting the presence of God in my life I've been doubting his goodness and His grace and his saving power if you've had your doubts lately I want you to raise your hand because I believe the grace of God flows freely to you god I thank you there is no condemnation I think you've not given us a spirit of confusion but a power the spirit of fear but of power love and a sound mind and we thank you Lord for strength we thank you God for courage that we face the next five weeks he's six and five six - five weeks together I thank you God you're gonna meet us in cafes you're gonna meet us in living rooms you're gonna meet us in conversations may you become more and more real in our life in Jesus name in Jesus name if you're physically able and willing would you stand to your feet and come on church let's sing out what we believe about our great God come on hey we hoped he loved it we hope you had a good time there's more for you if you want to subscribe grace what do they do and if you want to see more videos click right over here perfect we love you goodbye

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Keywords: Churchome, Judah, Judah smith, church, message, anxiety, depression, how to, elevation, Steven, Hillsong, oceans, sermon, the city church, church home, Chelsea smith, bobby Houston, td jakes, pastor, pastor preaching, carl lentz, Jesus, conference, guest speaker, sermon jam, worship, Justin Bieber, la Hillsong, Selena, preaching, Judah message, performance

Id: 3r60COz4np0

Length: 46min 7sec (2767 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 22 2018