Living In The Tension | Pastor Robert Madu | Elevation Church

[Music] wherever you're watching come on would you give God just the best praise that you got if you're in your living room give a praise if you're in your kitchen give employees if you're in the car give a play come on no matter what you're facing right now his name he deserves the glory the honor and the praise compliment because you are here Oh [Music] I'm telling you I sense the presence of the Lord right here I don't know where you're watching from elevation church but I want you to know God is with you his presence knows no limits his presence knows no bounds he is there with you right now and can I tell you you have a reason to give God praise today he said Robert what are you talking about you don't know what I'm facing if there is still breath in your body come on you got a reason to give them praise if you woke up this morning you still got a reason to give him praise I feel you I've had moments especially in the last few weeks I've just had to say Lord I don't know if I got it in me to lift up my voice and had to talk to myself tell me you know you're only crazy if you don't talk to yourself I'll do like David did and say bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless His Holy Name nothing it sounds like this you need to lean into his presence lean into his word and I'm believing he's gonna speak to you today and your life is never going to be the same a man a man you got the people in the room you often be seated I uh I'm absolutely honored to be back at elevation Church there is no place like elevation church I get tempted to move to Charlotte every time that I come here and it's pretty amazing pastor lb mentioned that I am a part of the family now and last time I was here we're at the beginning of Cove in nineteen this virus we're trying to figure out then the challenge of the virus was how do we stay apart so we can stay together now here we are again back at elevation and there's another virus virus of racism has been embedded in this nation now the challenge is we got to come together so we don't fall apart and I'm telling what my hope is and my hope is in the Church of the Living God come on if you're looking for hope and look to Jesus and then look to you we are the hope of world and I'm believing what Jesus prayed his last prayer that we would be one that we would have come together and to that end I'm excited to minister God's Word to you today it's gonna be good I want you to lean in I hope you like who you're watching the Word of God with today if you don't just move to another section II fan wherever you are but this word is gonna bless you it's gonna encourage you and I want to jump straight into and I do bring your greetings from the country of Texas where I live and there with my incredible wife who is here today help me thank God for my wife Taylor sees her with lira left the kiddos at home and you know there's no seminary class you can take on how to lead in a pandemic how to lead in so much turmoil but here's what I love is that elevation Church is Beth less with the best of the best I want you to help me thank God for pastor Steven and Holly Furtick who have set the pace will set the tone not just for elevation but for the church at large if their incredible leadership and how they've laid so well and man if you got something to be thankful for be thankful for the gift that's in pastor Steven Furtick every word he preaches has ministered to our soul this minister to me and you will not find a better preacher and I'm thankful for his friendship come on one more time even in the chat just say thank you so much elevation church thank you so much pastor Steven and Holly and I'm glad to be here today I want you to go with me to the Gospel of John today John chapter number eight and I'm gonna look at verses 1 through 11 John chapter 8 1 through 11 and then I want to look at John chapter 1 verse 14 John chapter 8 starting at verse 1 will land of our some 11 and then John chapter 1 verse number 14 it says but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives early in the morning he came again into the temple and all the people came to him and he sat down and taught them the scribes and Pharisees brought to him a woman caught in adultery and when they set her in the midst they said to him teacher this woman was caught in adultery in the very act now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned but what do you say this they said testing him that they might have something of which to accuse him but Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger as though he did not hear straight up ignoring him so when they continued asking him he raised himself up and said to them he was without sin among you let him throw a stone at her first and again he stooped down and wrote on the ground then those who heard it being convicted by their conscience went out one by one beginning with the oldest even to the last and Jesus was left alone and the woman standing in the midst when Jesus had raised himself up and saw no one but the woman he said to her woman where are those accusers of yours has no one condemned you she said no one Lord Jesus said to her neither do i condemn you go and sin no more can you say Amen he found wherever you're watching been John chapter 1 verse 14 just one verse of scripture here it says and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld the glory the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth full of grace and truth Jesus is full of grace and truth whoo - think of all the adjectives that we could ascribe to Jesus come on we could say he's a provider we could say he's a protector we can say he's our peace he can say he's our shelter we could go on and on but I love John cuz he skips the commas makes it clear and concise and says when you see Jesus you will see two things grace and truth I had an encounter with Jesus that means you had an encounter with grace and true the tension of grace and - I want to talk to you today from this ideal living in the tension living in the tittie there's so much tension right now political tension economic tension racial justice what do you do with grace and just living in the tension I've been working out one time and I had my weights in my hand and the trainer while I was holding the weights put this thing is from the devil put one of those resistance bands on me while I'm holding the weight I said I already got the weight in my hand what is this for just just put the resistance band I had the resistance band on and I thought it was good because it was already heavy and the trailer said no no no you got to keep the tension in the resistance band that's what it's for so here I am already holding a weight but also having to deal with the tension what do you do and you're living in the tension that's what I want to talk about today so let's pray as we go into this father thank you for your word speak today all the EFM said amen amen living in the tension like many preachers during this quarantine and shelter-in-place and gathering restrictions I've had to adjust how I preach and how I communicate off I've learned to calm myself down and preach while sitting in the store I've learned not to say touch your neighbor but to say type in the chat because we've had gathering restrictions I've I've learned that although we have awesome people here in the room I've learned to make sure I stay connected and locked in to the camera in fact in this room right now we got camera there's one two three four about four or five about 80 cameras and this from all over and these cameras are able to get different angles while I'm preaching different angles while I'm preaching to be able to connect to you different angles these cameras will get different shots it doesn't change needs it just gives you a different angle of me a different view and and this is what I love about the Gospels Matthew Mark Luke and John because all four of these Gospel writers are talking about the same Jesus but they give us a different angle thanks give us different views these four camera men if you will there all have their view on the same subject who is Jesus but they're able to give us different angles of who this Jesus is I love almost like for film directors who've been given the same subject of film but have given their own cinema tonic cinematic license to film it they give us a different view of who Jesus is that's why if you like long documentaries please read the book of Matthew because Matthew he's writing to a Jewish audience so he begins this long process of letting you know that Jesus is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies if you like sci-fi movies please read The Book of Luke because Luke is the doctor and so Luke goes in the detail to explain these miracles that Christ did how his miracles could do what medicine could not do if you like action-packed movies please stay in the book of Mark because Mark is all about Jesus in action of Jesus who will roll up on you and does not play games with you he's he's all about the actions of Christ but John Oh John is a love story Sean is a romantic chick flick I love the Gospel of John who else but John the disciple that always had his head on the chest of Jesus he can hear his heartbeat that's why John's Gospel pulsates with the personality of Jesus Christ he gives us insight that none of the other Gospel writers give us a look who else but John would tell us that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever would believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life Oh chunks John does not give you Jesus earthly lineage but John wants you to understand that he is God in the flesh he wants you to understand that he is divine that he is a deity that's what when he begins his gospel it's almost like he's retweeting the book of Genesis because he says in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that has been made and in the verse 14 he turns all the way up and says and the word became flesh and dwelt among us the word let me pause right there the word became flesh and it dwelt among us how many you know there is power in that verse right there that the word became flesh and dwelt among us that is deeper than a Christmas verse there is power in the fact that the word became flesh and dwelt among us hear me the only way we can have hope in a dark world is because the word became flesh and dwelt among us the only way we can have life and hope is because the word became flesh and it swelled among us you understand that the Incarnation is the greatest picture of empathy people want to know how can we change what's going on in our world today we need empathy and that's what Jesus did in his Carnation incarnation he understood that he could not redeem us from heaven he had to put on human skin and feel what we feel and know what we go through and the word became flesh and dwelt among us thank God for a savior who can feel what I feel and know what I go through and can understand when I'm weeping at night because I'm seeing senseless murders can understand what tears come down my face and sometimes I don't want to lift up my head he knows what it feels like to have hurt and pain because the word became flesh and dwelt among us Oh some of y'all not getting to see if I'm sick if I'm sick please don't just throw me a medical No get me a doctor you know why because that doctor personifies the principles that are in the medical book if I'm in trouble with the law please don't just give me a law book give me a lawyer you know why that lawyer personifies the principles that are within the law book somebody are gonna get it in a minute if I'm about to lose my mind please don't give me a book on psychology give me a psychologist because that psychologist is gonna personify the principles that are in the psychology book do you understand when humanity was lost in our sin and we had no hope of redemption we needed more than just the law we needed more than the Ten Commandments we needed Jesus because Jesus personified the principles and the Word of God he is the world made flesh oh and it made his dwelling among us and the Word was made flesh that's what empathy is it's the word becoming flesh he knew he could not redeem us and be removed from us he had to come where we were and he put on human skin and the word became flesh and dwelt among us would you just slap your neighbour or whoever you're watching with at home and make sure you know them and just say the word became flesh no tell him the word became flesh and it dwelt among us we beheld the wonder of his glory the only begun of the father then it says this that he's full of grace and truth he's full of grace and truth and there is the tension how in the world can Jesus be full of grace and truth hold up John those two words don't go together grace and truth how can Jesus be full of grace and truth come on one of these things is not like the other grace and true this is Beauty and the Beast how can Jesus be full of grace and truth on the surface these two words do not go together grace and truth come on just for a moment would you consider if you can the grace of God come on if you can even fathom the grace of our God to think that no matter what you've done no matter where you've been that God's grace can meet you right where you are how many know there's something incredible about God's grace if grace don't make tears well up in your eyes you don't know what grace is to no matter where you've been that God can reach you no matter what you've done that His grace can come to you come on that God would go through a hell that he didn't deserve so that we can receive a heaven that we don't deserve there is something about the grace of God to the point that His grace has been lavished upon us Oh some people are rich and other things God is rich in grace His grace will never run out his grace can meet you right where you are that we can approach the throne of grace with confidence with boldness there's nothing like the grace of God Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me His grace is powerful His grace is intoxicating His grace is wonderful and the right when you rested in His grace then you got his truth his standard his holiness that is so high that is so perfect that is so flawless that on your best day your righteousness is as filthy rags on your best day your righteousness is rachet how in the world can you deal with grace and truth oh yes his truth will set you free but how many know it generally will take you off before it does people can't handle the truth come on I'm the only one during this Cove in 19 that was forced to look at yourself when everything went on pause and you begin to see some things some true that you did not like oh I'm telling you a lot of us can't handle the truth truth is appeal that everybody wants to give out but nobody wants to swallow even right now in the world we're looking at some truth that is ugly to deal with the truth hurts His grace is wonderful amazing grace but then you got truth how could he be full of grace and truth this paradox the tension is in the Grace and the truth and if we're honest most of us go to one of the extremities grace or truth yeah you got the grace people you know where you are you grace people cannot wait for the shelter in place and all these gatherers churches to be gone because you just want to hug everybody you want to love on everybody all you grace keep your like grace grace them I can't we all just get along can't we just hug it out Oh grace people are quick to forgive they're quick to love I always got a smile on your face talking longer than you should the people all grace grace grace all over the place and they just want to love what the problem with the grace people is sometimes in an effort to show grace they lower the standard of truth then you got the truth people it's all you truth people you will tell it like it is truth people aren't afraid of anybody true people will let you know what they think about you I mean they will slap you and not wait to see you hit the ground truth people will get on your Instagram or your Facebook page ain't never liked the picture said anything nice but they will let you know what they think about you in one post truth people are so quick to put their finger in your face and let you know i'ma tell you about you i'ma tell you who you really are but the problem with the truth people is that they're so busy telling their truth and pointing their finger they forget they're gonna need the grace that they refuse to give the tension of life is how do you balance grace and truth because grace without truth ceases to be grace truth without grace crushes people and ceases to be truth to say another way grace without truth is meaningless truth without grace is mean grace and truth is medicine and Jesus says I and the total of malbim ation of grace and truth and it brings healing and in the world where everything is divided where there's chaos how many know we need some believers who are tethered to the tension of grace and truth showing grace when it's needed speaking truth where you have to not 50% to 50% grace but a hundred percent truth a hundred percent grace because hear me the gospel flies on the wings of grace and truth we need both grace and truth attention of grace and truth it's like the strings on a violin at grace if it's too loose if it's too loose how many are you gonna get an ugly sound out of their strength but if you tighten it too tight choose people you're gonna pop the strings on the violin but if you got the perfect tension all of a sudden you will hear beautiful music and the world right now is listening for believers who are full of grace true Jesus lived in the tension of grace and truth this is what the teachers of the law could not understand they could not understand how this rabbi is this rabbi who was supposed to uphold the truth and we kept hanging out with shady messed up dysfunctional tax collectors and prostitutes they could not comprehend that if he's supposed to uphold the truth why in the world is he hanging out with messed up people this is what the teachers of the law could not comprehend because you do know that Jesus had a reputation for hanging out with shady messed up people come on have you got issues you're a great candidate to be connected to God because he always just had this this draw of this pool of marginalized messed up people they loved coming to Jesus and I think we have to ask ourselves as the 21st century Church that if we are not attracting the type of people that Jesus attracted are we really preaching the same gospel that Jesus preached because sinners and tax collectors have messed up people that were just drawn to him he loved them and one day he's in the temple teaching and he sat down to teach and it says all the people came to him as he sat down to teach all of a sudden in the middle of his message the Pharisees the pretentious pompous stuck-up teachers of the law they burst in the middle of the temple with a woman who has just been caught in the act of adultery they come in they throw the woman in the middle of Jesus preaching and they say Jesus stop the salmon you know how religious people do they always look like they smell something in the room they always look like they just caught a whiff of something just Jesus stop the sermon in the middle of the message they throw this woman in front of Jesus and say we just caught her in the act of adultery the law of Moses commands us that she should be stoned but what do you have to say in the middle of his message oh I don't know how you read the Bible here's how I read the Bible when I read the Bible I jump into the page of the Bible okay I imagine what it would be like to be in that situation can you imagine on this illustrious Sunday morning if while I'm preaching all of a sudden in this side door somebody comes in and said Robert stop the sermon we just caught a woman in the act of adultery throws her in the middle of Elevation Church and says what do you have to say hey you looking for pastor fur dick i'ma do Ferdie got no doctor people get us confused out of time can you imagine the shock the tension in the room see church people don't know how to deal with tension can you imagine what the service would have looked like that day can you imagine the gas from air the people that turn their head can you imagine how many people said oh my goodness can you imagine the shock in the room can you imagine what it would have been like to have been her surely she wanted to meet Jesus and not like this she's forced in the middle of the temple in the church and I submit to you of all the people that were shocked that day of all the people who that sucked in air there was one person who didn't and his name is Jesus his name is Jesus he was not shocked in fact I think the whole thing was a setup not by them but by an awesome God who was trying to reveal that I know how to live in the tension of grace and sure I think this is a good place to insert this thought that Jesus is not shocked by your sin I don't know who needs to hear that today but Jesus it's not shocked by your sin I know you're shocked about the messed up things that you did some of you did it last night but can I tell you Jesus is not shocked nor is he a pod or is he go at your sin he can handle it in fact he came from heaven to earth to defeat sin death hell and the grave Jesus is not shocked nor is He intimidated by your sin I know you're shocked but please don't think that he was just he is not shocked by your sins see they thought they could get Jesus and pull a TMZ moment and make him grow he is not shocked by your sin a wicked shot yeah humanity does because we have the tendency to look at sin in categories don't we don't like this big sin and there's little sin we humans look at sin and categories but that is not how Jesus looks at it he just sees sin as sin effect that is the great qualifier of a life that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God but we look at sin in categories don't we we really could send in flavors in flavors I'll never forget we're back when I could go to restaurants and eat and my father and I he travels with me sometimes in and we try to hold you accountable we try to eat healthy and I'll never forget one day we said hey we're gonna eat right on this trip we're not gonna eat bad we go to this restaurant and I leave the waiter says hey do you want dessert I said oh no I'm good I go to the restroom I come back my father is eating pecan pie I said man what you know my Nigerian father seemed comp I said what you doing what we said we're gonna eat healthy why in the world are you eating this pecan pie of course my dad has only he could do is I'm Nigerian says don't worry about me okay don't worry about me I said okay it's cool and the waiter came back said do you want some dessert I said no I'm good I'm good she said are you sure I was like no I'm good unless you got cheesecake or something oh we got cheesecake I said I'll go ahead and bring that cheesecake out real quick and she brings out the cheesecake and there I am eating the cheesecake now how crazy would it be for me to be judging my father eating pecan pies when I got cheesecake all on the side of my face we're not look ridiculous to my can't believe you i eating that chicken least mine has a strawberry on and I'm getting my fruit wouldn't that be crazy cuz I'm you know my body does not care whether it's cheesecake or pecan pie a key lime pie I don't care about the flavor it's just counting the calories and it's easy to look at somebody and then have the sin that you have or the issue that you have and to judge them but can I tell you what you make all of us just come to the throne of grace is to know that all of us have sinned and all of us have fallen short and all of us have something no but it's easy to judge people that don't have the flavor of sin that you have and they came in and thought they were gonna get a reaction out of Jesus said we just caught this woman in the act what do you have to say Jesus and all of a sudden tension is in the room and they're waiting on Jesus response because they had planned this out for a long time oh they have been waiting for this trap they were waiting to trap in fact that's what the text says all this was to trap Jesus but let me tell you why I got to give the Pharisees and the teachers of the law a little bit of credit because this is a good trap oh this is a brilliant trap because you understand that the teachers of the law were actually right because Moses law was clear that the punishment for adultery was to be sown it was in Leviticus it was in Deuteronomy they knew the word oh they had the word memorized the first five books of the Old Testament the whole Pentateuch they had it memorized because they knew the word they were profound in the word they knew it down to the letter O they knew the word they knew they were right but any crazy how you can be right and wrong at the same time any crazy how you can know the letter of the law but not know the spirit of the law any crazy like my grandmother said you can know the word but not know the author and they have forgotten who the author works and they throw this woman down there like haha we got him trapped with the law we got a trapped in the word and it is a good trap because of Jesus stands up and says hold up wait a minute do not stone this woman he is now trampling on the law of Moses and they already downloaded his podcast where he said I did not come to abolish the law I came to fulfill it on the other hand if Jesus says you know what you're right get a big rock knock her out all of a sudden the Savior who's known for his grace and His mercy and his compassion all of a sudden the Savior says come to me no matter who you are now the messages come to me and get stoned to death so what does Jesus gonna do he's caught in this predicament of do i uphold the law or do i protect the woman what do i do he's caught in this tension of do i trample on the word or do i trample on this woman can you see the tension that he is facing oh if that was me I don't know if life has ever hit you with a situation she said I don't know what in the world I'm gonna do about this if this was me I would have been nervous I would have been sweating I would have been looking for a theological book to help me out all I would have been nervous because I am an ordinary man but how many know Jesus was not an ordinary man he was God in the flesh he was the beginning and the end he was the Alpha and the Omega see this is what I love about the God that we serve it's not just that he has power I'm glad there's power and wisdom oh it's one thing to have power it's another thing to have power and wisdom anytime you have somebody has power and no wisdom you need to be scared of that leader but thank God that he has all power and he has infinite wisdom and when you put that together that's a god you should worship that's a god you should turn that's a god you can trust cuz he's got power and wisdom so my question is why are you stressing about what you're stressing about when you got a God who has all power and he has all wisdoms he knew before the pandemic you were gonna be in that situation but hum you know he is working it out for your good he's gonna make sure that in the end you are going to win oh thank God that all things work for the good of those that love the Lord and are called according to his purpose I'm glad yes power but I'm glad he has wisdom too oh can I just stay here for minutes I love that he has wisdom do you realize that your God has never thought of anything that you didn't already think of God has never thought of anything that he didn't already think of because if he can think of some that he hadn't already thought of that means he could learn something and he can't learn anything because he knows everything let him say another way nothing has ever occurred to your God God has never said you know what just occurred to me now he knows everything that means you can trust him even in the darkest season of your life that he will work it out they thought they had him trapped so they demanded an answer they said Jesus we caught in the act what do you have to say the Bible says Jesus standing there sees the woman ashamed and embarrassed sees Pharisees would hatred in their eyes what do you have to say Jesus his immediate response to get down and he started doodling in the dirt all the while they're demanding an answer Jesus we ain't playin law Moses says she should be stoned what do you have to say she just started to legal the Texas he act as if he didn't hear that's a cute way of saying he ignored them and just starts doodling and I think they thought his silence meant that they got is are like come on Jesus she should be stoned what what do you have to say what do I have so he just starts doodling in the dirt and I don't know who this is for today but some of you need to take a cue from Jesus and quit being so quick to react to your critics sometimes the best thing you can do when the enemy comes in your life with all kinds of drama and all kinds of chaos sometimes the best thing you can do is just turn your back and get on your knee and remind yourself that God is the author and the finisher of your faith that he's got you quit being so quick to give a reaction to the enemy because you do know that's what the enemy wants in your life he loves to come in your life with chaos because he wants you to give a reaction but how many know you don't need to give a reaction you need to give a response because there's a difference between a reaction and a response come on somebody there is a huge difference between a reaction and a response the enemy wants a reaction he wants you to react the chaos and the drama that came into your life but don't be a reactor be a responder so can I tell somebody in this season it is important that in all the chaos you don't react but you give a response there's a difference between a reaction and a response a reaction tends to be quick it is to be a knee-jerk it's fast there's a difference between the reaction and response a response is deliberate you're slow when you respond that's why in this season is so critical to remember what God said and James says he says be slow to speak slow to speak slow to anger because when you give a reaction that's what the enemy wants there's a difference between the reactions and a response the enemy wants your reaction have you noticed thank God a pandemic has shown us what the essential workers are have you noticed that they call them an emergency response team not an emergency reaction team can you imagine if it was an emergency reaction team you call Naaman said you know they don't give a reaction to give you a response and the enemy wants your reaction but Jesus never reacted he responded he took a knee and he just doodles in the dirt now we got a pause here because I'm about to land the plane everybody wants to know right what was Jesus riding in the ground that day oh come on this is a hot topic in theology everybody wants to know and many scholars and theologians have postulated what they think he wrote in the ground there's so many different theories some people think that he wrote love the Lord your God thought Oh your heart soul mind and strength love your neighbor as yourself some people say that he wrote the Ten Commandments some people say that he wrote Jeremiah 17 three those who forsake you are written in the dust there's so many different theories one theory is that he wrote the names of all of the men who gathered rocks that day and next to their name he wrote their particular sins so that when they looked in the ground and they saw their name and what they did next to their name they were like you know what I wouldn't even try to be here anyway I have some stuff house do I don't know if that's true but I like that theory I have to study in and reading everything I know to read I have to be honest I don't know what Jesus wrote that day which by the way you do know sometimes it's alright for you to say I don't know I don't know what he wrote that day and to be honest I don't care because I don't want to be so busy trying to figure out what he was writing that I miss out on how he was responding because when the law caught this woman in the act of her sin Jesus responds to the law was to immediately get down on the ground and touch the dirt and after he touched the dirty vibe said something interesting it says he raised himself up and then he gave a response to the accusations of the law when this woman was caught in the act of sin and the law wanted to destroy her Jesus immediate response to the law was to get down on the ground he didn't say anything he just got down and he touched the dirt and then he says he raised himself up and gave a response to the accusations of the law did you hear what I said when this woman was caught in the act and the law wanted to destroy her Jesus immediate response was to get down on the ground he was the only one that was willing to get down on her level and meet her where she was and he touches the dirt and then he raised himself up and gave a response to the accusation of the law come on this is the gospel this is you this is me Humanity is this woman we were all caught in the air and if the law had its way it would have killed us it would have destroyed us but Jesus response was to come down from heaven he came down to earth and humbled himself he touched the dark we are made of that dirt he could feel my humanity and then he raised himself up on a cross and gave a response to the accusation of the law oh I am that woman you are that woman we were caught in the act and Jesus response was to come down to where we were Oh what would our world look like if people would just come down and humble themselves and relate to other PK mown and touch and he raised himself up he raised himself up to the point that he says no man takes my life I lay it down he raised himself up on the cross and he offered her response to the accusation of the law when he raised himself up he looked at and says he was without sin among you she'd be the first to cast the stone and the Bible says one by one starting with the oldest even to the last they dropped their rocks and walked away he'd even wait on him to drop the rock he went right back down to doodling in the dirt and every single one of them walked away he was without sin among you you'd be the first to cast a stone what is Jesus saying with that statement what does he say you know what he's saying he's saying I see you I know what you did do you think you want to uphold the law if you're using this woman you've determined eyes her to trap me and you want to uphold the law well I am the word I am the law and if you really cared about the law the law was clear that if somebody was caught in the act of adultery that there had to be two witnesses seeing him in that and the law was to bring the woman and the man and stone both of them so if you're really about upholding the law quick question wait a man where is it when many believe is that this whole situation was a trap it was a setup not just to get Jesus but they trapped this woman and the reason the man wasn't there is because he was in on it and Jesus could see to the core of who they were and he says I know what you did you set this whole thing up and in one statement they were forced to do the most powerful thing any human can do and that is to look at themselves Oh what would our world look like if we don't looked on the inside of us the depth of truth ask for His grace one by one they came to the understanding I'm not different than this woman who's on the ground they dropped their rock and walked away and Jesus was left alone but the woman left alone in his presence and I can see her because I think her head was down the whole time tears coming down her face I don't even think she noticed that they had left because sometimes you can go through so much and be beating down so much and be so tired and so much pain you don't even realize Jesus is already taking care of the thing that you've been crying about I don't even think she noticed that they were gone and I think he had to get her attention say woman hello hey where are your accusers like you're going Jesus you don't understand what's going on the world you don't see but she realized Jesus had taken care of the thing if she was weeping about all know who this is for today but you need to understand Jesus is taking care of the thing that you're weeping about that you're crying about that you keep beating yourself up about Jesus is handling it one by one they drop the rock she realized they were God's it I have no Lord are you gonna condemn me neither do i condemn you go your way and sin no more not sin no more neither do I continue walk shame free knowing that I did not come to condemn you and that woman walked away after encountering grace and truth you know what I wish those religious stuck-up Pharisees would have done they were right to check themselves and drop their rock but they shouldn't have walked away they should have came and knelt at the feet of this Savior who is full of grace and truth and received him right where he was thanked gods were a savior who is full of grace and truth this Savior is reaching out to all of us today saying have an encounter with my grace and truth he's speaking to the church today saying will you be tethered to my character and will you start to show grace and truth Oh God I'm praying in this season where the world is so dark that we will respond with grace and truth to the people around us give us the wisdom of when the show Grace and when to speak truth that's what we need this time and in this season living in the tension of grace and truth I'm just gonna ask wherever you're watching this that your head bowed your eyes closed no matter where you are maybe you're watching and you feel like this woman so much shame condemnation the enemy's been tormenting you about mistakes in your past can I tell you that if Jesus was a condemned ER God would have sent a condemned ER in the world but he didn't he sent a saviour matter what you're facing no matter what you're going through this wonderful Savior who is full of grace and truth his arms are open to you today if you need to receive him I want you just why were you watching maybe friends are there just lift up your hand and just as a response to say I need to give this Savior in my life my life thank you God maybe you're watching today you say you know what I need to be a person that lives in the tension of grace and truth you you surrendered your life to Jesus but maybe you're too much Grayson don't speak the truth when you need to and maybe it's too much truth and you're crushing people and you don't have the spirit of grace but I'm believing in this season especially the voice of the Holy Spirit is gonna be so strong on the inside of you to let you know when the operating grace and choose and live in the tension of both if that's your hearts cry you ought to just lift up your hair to say Lord let that be me let that be me father I thank you for your word but I thank you in the midst of a world that has so much tension father we can get stronger as we live in the tension of grace and truth in Jesus mighty matchless name come on somebody say Amen and give God some praise thank you for watching the Elevation Church YouTube channel don't stop here join the EFM our online extended family and join us live every Sunday subscribe to this channel so you don't miss a single video or live stream and share this with a friend you can also support the ministry by clicking the give Now button to help us continue to reach people around the world for Jesus Christ thank you again for watching god bless you

Channel: Elevation Church

Views: 317,710

Rating: 4.9233007 out of 5

Keywords: elevation church, pastor steven furtick, living in the tension pastor robert madu, elevation church sermons, elevation church guest sermons, steven furtick sermons, steven furtick, 2020 sermons, robert madu, pastor robert madu, pastor robert madu sermons, empathy, grace, truth, living in the tension, learning to respond not react, jesus was word in flesh, jesus the son of god, the gospel of john, the gospel message, shame, tension, pressure, live in freedom, sermons about grace

Id: F7JbRH-WIZc

Length: 49min 16sec (2956 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 14 2020