White-Washed Religion - Pastor Steve Gray

we're going to go to the Book of Jeremiah a very serious book lots of stuff in there and again place within our hearts and souls the importance of getting this right getting it right for ourselves naturally we have to get the the kingdom of God in the gospel right for ourselves but then we have also just just as a pastor and a leader and and I said knowing what's going on sometimes in people's lives you all you you want you know you want husband's to to speak the truth you want wives to speak the truth parents to speak the truth because this isn't a game this is not something you can afford to almost make right there's no such thing as almost there's nothing in the Bible about getting close you have to hit the target and so on many levels this this is what I want to say is it's very serious to me and I talked to Kathy a couple of weeks ago I remember a preach something and then I visited with her afterwards I said you know I'm starting to talk to myself in a good way in about these sermons I'm just thinking about him because I'm thinking to myself if this was and I told her that two weeks ago I said you know I thought to myself when I was done because I said I don't know I might have said a few not seeker-sensitive things and and then I thought to myself afterwards I thought you know Who am I really trying to please here and then I said to her I said you know it answered it totally because I said to myself if this was it was right back here if this was the last sermon you'd were ever going to preach would you be able to stand before Jesus on that last on this sermon than the one you just preached that was a couple weeks ago and it just immediately I said I wouldn't have done any different I would have done anything different if if my audience was only Jesus but my audience isn't only Jesus it's you too so you're important and and wording things right it's important but that's kind of like this tonight you know it's not that this isn't a terrible rough sermon that's gonna knock you around but after I'm finished is is is Jesus gonna be pleased and say not bad you got it you got it pretty good you got the story and they're pretty good I think you got your point across and that's very important that we understand that rather than we leave a platform are you with your family your kids and everything and you're thinking about I wonder how I sounded I wonder how I looked I wonder if they still like me I wonder if my kids still love me you know or my wife is gonna be mad at me or whatever you know there's there's times to think those things but this is serious business and it's getting more serious in my life I think just as time progresses it's getting more serious to speak out and that's why I'm looking for more more opportunity to tell more people the truth so tonight we're going to go to the Book of Jeremiah and we're going to go to interesting scripture in Jeremiah chapter 8 now the reason it's interesting is because Jeremiah actually says it twice exactly almost word-for-word twice in this book and you don't find that too often even in the Gospels where Jesus tells a story or makes a statement and you turn a couple of pages and he says this exact same thing again there's some close but this is a pretty exact so this is a verse 11 and we'll start going through it now as quick as I can Jeremiah 8:11 says this they dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious peace peace they say when there is no peace and the interesting thing is he says that and this tells me my first lesson I read it my first lesson it tells me that this is a clue of how religion keeps going how does religion that's not really telling the truth that's not really opening up who Jesus is and what he expects of us how do they keep going how do they pull this off well clear back in Jeremiah's day they pulled it off and they pulled it off in Jesus day and they pull it off in in in our day and so religion just keeps going and I asked myself how does this happen how does it keep going when it's not really the right message it's not really like I said maybe it's close but it's it's not really the gospel of what is expected of God's people or what it means to be a Christian or what it means to be a follower and I said how does that keep going and then I I remembered this scripture from Jeremiah and I said how does it happen well here's how here here's how a religion keeps going religion keeps going and I'm talking about empty religion not the good stuff but just the empty self seeking religion that is not really on the mark here's how keeps going they dress the wounds of people as though they're not serious they take the seriousness out now get this this says the people are wounded the people are wounded in this scripture right the people are wounded but the key to keep going is to convince them that their wound is not serious and I try to you notice no wonder I don't fit in I do just the opposite you know I'm trying to I mean I preached out here on a deathbed or something and if you don't do something tonight you might not make it but the key to getting to empty religion to keep it going is to have people are not taking God seriously and then to dress their wound and convince them that it's not serious what's going on what's going on with you it's not serious and then tag on at the end Shalom Shalom or peace peace when as the Prophet says there really is no peace but you want them to walk away with a serious that even though they're wound is serious to walk away at peace and think it's not serious and that's what they did in the day of Jeremiah of course Jeremiah didn't do it the interesting thing is just for fun if you know you don't have to read very far clear back into 6:14 I I was thumbing through this and thought wait a minute I just read that a few minutes ago they dressed the wound of my people as though we're not serious peace peace they say when there is no peace are they ashamed of their detestable conduct he said it there and then you turn over here and he says it again asked the same question so so I thought okay that's that's how it works that's that's how they do it that's how it keeps rolling and rolling and rolling on and then of course if you continue to read which I did we don't have to hear but we begin to understand as we do this that they do this for personal gain I wrote this down and says they the root is all it says all are greedy for for gain all are greedy for gain so that goes back to I guess the love of money and that root of evil that comes with money that they're greedy for gain and so when they're greedy for gain then they're gonna know they know that the people have a wound but the trick is to convince them it's not serious all right so so this is what religion does it happened then and on top of that if you want to I'm trying to think we're going to come back to Ezekiel here but if you want to we could go over to Matthew and get right over into some of Jesus words in Matthew 23 because he's right on the same page because this this this this didn't just happen in Jeremiah's day in Matthew 23 we have the same thing verse 5 I think I can get there quick maybe you can 23 verse 5 this talks about the religious leaders of their days is everything they do is done for people to see now that's Jesus talking and he's not summarizing it in a light way right when you say when Jesus says when Jesus says everything it means everything right everything they do is so they can be seen now you begin to understand the the system how the system keeps rolling on year after year after year even though even though and you know this to be true I hear it all the time I hear it all the time people from all over the for years now since I've been in revival I've heard of all over the world the complaint you know name a city Frankfurt Germany or London or some City I've been in and they'll come and they say you know you know what there's no good churches in our city there's no good churches in our city and I've heard hundreds of cities in America now III take that with a little bit of what do they say grain it's all a little bit of wisdom because I really find it hard to believe that there's there's no good churches in some of our you know a city of eight million people or six million people and there's no good churches there but I hear it over and over and over so they're not saying it to be critical they're saying it because they're looking and they can't find something and what are they looking for you know you that have been here a long time know if you're newer you'll learn as you go with us what happens is people come here visit here come from other places because they know they have a wound and they know it's serious and they can't get anybody in religion to take it seriously they want somebody to take I'm hurting I'm not right with God I'm not getting this I'm not getting this I don't get it I don't have the love I don't have the the spirit or whatever it is and and the reason it works here is not because we have anything special it's just we take it seriously we take people's wounds seriously we take relationships seriously we take worship seriously impressive the all the ingredients of what makes up a church we take it seriously it's important and now suddenly you're around some people that are taking your spiritual life your spiritual temperature seriously and saying you're hot or you're cold or you're lukewarm or whatever and and they're talking to you like this is serious you need to get this right there's no missing in this and so and so that's that's why it works here and so he says everything they do is to be seen and then when you you keep reading you get two other verses like like verse 13 what a classic verse woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees you hypocrites how interesting and thankful I am that Jesus had the courage to become a name caller we can't do that today we can't call people names today because you'll lose your job you will offend someone and to offend someone is the worst crime in America right now right to be offensive right is the worst crime I'm hoping that passes but right now it is the crime of the year that was offensive and in my understanding Jesus said it to be offensive okay but anyway you hypocrites you shut the door listen that just get the revelation of the day we live in to same day you shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people's faces so let's all just imagine that slam there goes the door okay you yourselves do not enter nor will you let those enter get it who are trying to there's all different kinds of people in the world aren't there we have to be discerning people I've watched people mess up witnessing and talking and visiting and sharing that whether it be with relatives or friends or at work or in restaurants or whatever because they're not discerning people you have to be discerning Who am I talking to am I talking to someone who's had that door slam in their face so many times that they're not gonna listen to me unless I take some kind of an approach or I buy their dinner or I invite them over to someplace because it's just they've had the door slammed so many times or am I talking to a person who really wants to go in they are trying but because of the teaching they're getting because of the people they're sitting with on Sunday morning because of the religion they grew up with they are not going to get it they want to they're trying to so what's missing well in their lives all they had to do was find Jesus they had to find the right person and there's millions of people out there that are trying to get into the kingdom of God in a better place with God and they don't know how but they could if they could meet somebody like you if if you tell them the truth if you really go for it you know so so there are all all these kinds of people so it says here they are the leadership those that are in control religion and Jesus they just like in Jeremiah's day they said you're slamming that you're slamming the door shut and you're not going in yourselves this would be a close call to even say such a thing as this but I'll just allude to it for the many years I've been doing this so that and you don't think that I'm really talking about anybody specifically because I'm not but we sang some good songs tonight so don't reflect on any of the songs of tonight just any stupid songs that we sing at any service or there are other churches and it's so funny that I will I have met a lot of the people that preach sermons and written songs and done that and I've watched you worship to the songs that they've written and then I've watched them worship to the songs that they've written and you look like a fanatic singing their song that they wrote that they have no emotion for many of the great songs that are being written the people who wrote them don't even ever raise their hands themselves and here we are trying to jump out of my skin you understand what I'm saying I'm saying to be polite about because I'm not being critical at all I'm not quitting it certainly criticizing the songs I'm just saying do you understand there's a lot of religion going on but that the people that are doing it oftentimes don't go there themselves whether they be preachers evangelists teachers I've told the story too many times probably but not recently so I guess I'll tell it again but a long time I used to tell this story but I was at a big conference and big place and everybody famous that I guess at one time I would have dude a nod over was sitting on the stage with me and I don't want to name names because they they were very friendly to me and I was friendly them I we left being friends but we're all you know so now the music starts this huge place packed out famous people I'm the least famous of the people I just happened to be part of it at that time I had a short fame it's fuse I didn't keep it going long enough but anyway I'm up there with him and so worship begins and I come from a worshiping church because when we first started a church way back when I was how old was I when we first 33 31 if you're 31 32 I can't I have to count but in anyway early 30s imagine quitting everything and saying I'm gonna start a church and this is what it's gonna be like that's what I did I was 30 whatever I can't remember but and I said we're gonna be Catherine reminded me the other day she said you remember the letter P three times right you have to help me remember we're going to be a praying Church a prate yeah we're gonna be a church where there's praise or there's prayer and where there's preaching and we have zero if anything to go on money people are anything but we made those decisions so then some years pass and good things happen and now I'm on the platform with famous people and I come from a church though that praises I come that one that prayer praise and one that preaches the Word of God you know and I'm up there with them and so anyway the music starts music is good I can't remember anything about it I don't even know who was singing playing doing anything I can't remember I just know that we all stood up on the platform and it was so ridiculous because the people out there because most of them come from churches that don't praise much and didn't have near the the band or whoever was up there they didn't have that kind of music it was pretty good music compared to what a lot of churches had so like the people are really getting into it you know I don't know if they do it in their home church but when they got together this big place their hands are up and there and some are dancing and their wave and there are you know they're really getting into it and here I'm standing with these famous guys and they're standing there with their arms folded and their hands in their pockets and then you would know every one of their names well if you're older like me but they were around you know at one time and there they were their arms folded hands in their pockets and I got I kind of got the idea it was like the priesthood who would build they build the pulpits way up high and looked down on the people who were in the little benches you know and the people were there there was no mixing there's like an invisible line and it gave me the idea that that worship and praise was below us that's for the common folk that's that's the feeling I got no I didn't tell em I correct them that's not my job you know they had great ministries and that's between them and God but that's the feeling I got like like just like this is it for us we're the were the Kings kings of the world and cop worship and praise and showing emotion and that's for common lowly people okay so I'm in front of all these people and I just happen to have the in seat that might have not been by chance they may have given that to me on purpose but I'm up there and suddenly the Spirit of God begins to convict me of what I'm seeing and what I'm a actually I'm part of I mean I'm trying to I'm the only God trying even you know and you're up there in front of all these people and suddenly the spirit lure begins to speak to me and says I want you I mean I'm in a suit and tie and everything just like the rest of them we're all dressed up he said I want you to lay flat on the floor on this platform before me and worship me you know and all these guys are standing there like this and there's thousands of people there and well you know me and so all right so I mean in my suit and tie I get over here I push my chair away and I get down flat on the floor and then cameras are everywhere you know it's all being broadcast and all that and I just stretch myself my heart out my nose is right in the carpet and I'm just worshiping my heart out and crying out before God do you don't want to know what happened nothing they still stood there with their arms folded it didn't move them a bit but it did something for me if it didn't do anything for them which I didn't do it for them but if it didn't move them it moved me and if they didn't gain anything out of it I did because I did what I was told to do and and and even some of the people out there probably thought I was nuts you know but other people would mentioned it later huh I was so moving to see you there you know but so the point being is we live in that day to where people who could be causing you meet us all of us your friends your family even people they see on TV or whatever they could be grabbing people by the collar and thrusting them into the kingdom of God but they themselves won't go in and they won't let you or people like you go in either and yet millions of people are in church not experiencing God not walking with God not experiencing God not having God episodes God activities not having God to interrupt their lives with who he is so nor will they let anybody who's trying so there are people I just want to remind you how important it is to be a people that remember that not everybody looks who they really are there are people out there trying to get into something with God and you got a read up you've got a discerning because you're wasting your time if they if they're gonna slam the door back on your face but they are people and we got to discern them and find them and nurture them and pick up on it and and have the message and and say the things so that they can connect with us and realize ah I have just met somebody who's going after the kingdom of God that's running after Jesus that's pursuing the things of God I'm talking to somebody that knows I'm wounded by this I'm hurting but I want to go for God and I finally found somebody else that wants to go for God they are out there and we got to be patient and we gotta and we've got to be consistent and we got to be determined but they are out there and Jesus that's what he did I mean he calls these guys hypocrites but that doesn't mean everybody's a hypocrite cuz he's gonna run into somebody who's not isn't he he's gonna run into a man or a woman that might not even be that great of a person to everybody else but when he found them and they found him it connected it connected this is this is who I've been looking for you have people looking for you and you need to be looking for people okay so this is how they do it so it says they dress their wounds as though they're not serious and they declare peace and so it religions really good at that even in our day friends let's take let's take forgiveness which I I mentioned a lot about that but it's a very serious subject but I've also seen it abused a lot and oh you know talking about being on the platform with all these people you know I've gotten myself in pretty hot water at times just simply by explaining that you just can't go up to somebody on the street that just walked out of the bar and say a two-minute prayer with them and tell them they're going to heaven now and they might not even remember praying with you and they said oh yeah okay what are you talking about say well let me just kinda go over what you say this is what we do this we do this we do this and I said well you know you're missing a big thing because you prayed with them and said you're a reprobate you're no good do you know you're a sinner yeah I know I'm a sinner okay Jesus asked Jesus to forgive you right now and ask him into your heart they do and then they go their way okay and I've seen him do it with regular folks and people on drugs and drunk people and all that and then they go on their way okay now then they go and count up how many they got and then we think good and we kind of think there's no harm in that but then you've got to remember what just took place because we're not doing it the biblical way because that's not what Jesus said nor it's what he did because if you're gonna stand outside the bar and try to really get him in the kingdom of God they can't just be forgiven they have to forgive if you want a royal pardon you have to give a royal pardon clearly scripturally Jesus said it many times so we just gave them something that doesn't exist we didn't give them the truth because it might have shut them down they might have walked away they might have gone had another drink if you say hey you know you have to let go of every debt every unforgiveness everybody's ever harm before you can get into this thing they might walk away then so we don't tell them that but that's the truth just take a simple just a simple thing like that as we do so we we act like so they think they have just gotten a passport to heaven they think they've got a passport to heaven to enter the kingdom of God and as though Jesus the Royal King has just pardoned them of all their sins but that's not how it works and so who's gonna tell them eventually in their life that's not how it works probably nobody probably nobody will ever tell them and so when you since we're in Matthew we could stay in Matthew but Matthew 12 flip flip flip here's an interesting thing talking about just how do you what are we supposed to be telling people you know you say the religion and so what were we supposed to be doing so an interesting thing in Matthew chapter 12 we have two teachers both of them are called teachers one of them's Jesus and the other one is a teacher of the law probably a scribe or Pharisee or at least they call a teacher of the law so there's no dummy right and they're both there at the same time this is Matthew chapter 12 and I'll find it here it's 28 okay well let's we'll back up a little bit before that because I don't want to get to that too quick but two teachers so they come and both of them when the two teachers get together once Jesus ones that both of them one of them tries to test him and they asked Jesus and they say tell me what is the most important commandment you know that that was a big question then and Jesus says what remember well you know what he said he said love the Lord God with all your heart soul mind and strength and what was the other one love your neighbor as yourself okay that's teacher number one that's our jesus said that right okay then teacher 2 he's a teacher of the law says teacher talking to Jesus you have answered correctly you have answered correctly so now we have Jesus who's right on target and a teacher of the law that not wasn't always on target agreeing that this whole thing comes down to loving God with all your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself which is a big assignment have you ever tried to love other people like as much as you love yourself that's a big if this is no cheapy little thing this is a big assignment for us it's a lifelong assignment loving God with all your heart your mind your personality and your strength all in one package that's a tall order it's not something you can take lightly or do in one day it's a lifelong decision a commitment that takes your energy your time your heart and so so they both but here it is Jesus way out there just calling people names hypocrites here's a teacher of the law says you're right we agree on something we agree on something that is what is going it's supposed to be going on and then the teacher of the law says to love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself is more important than every burnt offering or every sacrifice amazing that back in that day someone like that teacher of the law would be able to elevate what this is all about above what most Jewish people were practicing thinking the way we get into the kingdom of God is by burnt offerings and sacrifices that's why we do it that's why we've forced these animals to participate because that's how we get maintain this relationship and here's one comes along and says you know what that might have its place but there's something more important loving God with all your heart and loving your neighbor yoursel outweighs burnt offerings and sacrifices and you know what Jesus said after that he said you know he's like you could feel this amazement come over him he goes you are not far from the kingdom of God now imagine that when people are going to church and churches and religion in our country and for centuries thinking they're near the kingdom of God and don't know the answer who are being told they're not far from the kingdom of God and do not know what they're supposed to be doing do not know and don't feel a sense of responsibility and even if even if they said well I know I know I should love God a little bit more but they're not concerned about it you know why because they were preached that it's not a serious wound am i right they know they don't love God like they should but that's not serious there's nothing serious I don't love my neighbors myself I don't even think about it I don't love my friends my neighbors my family whatever I don't live like I love myself I don't I don't meditate on other people like I meditate on myself but I know I could do better but it's not that serious so you know I know I'm a little wounded in that area but I'm gonna do better next year and so they don't think about it and here's a scribe or a teacher of the law that suddenly realizes you know what this is really important this is what it's all about loving God with everything and loving other people with everything and and maintaining a mental emotional and spiritual position that stays on God and stays on other people that stays on other people and God at the same time you're not on the list you're not even on the list loving yourself caring for yourself thinking for yourself taking care of yourself it's not even on God's list which is what we spend most of our time doing meditating on ourselves worrying about ourselves protecting ourselves justifying ourselves defending ourselves it's not even on the list and when a teacher of the law got it right then Jesus says you are not far from the kingdom of God because you know that and how many people don't even know it and if they do know it a little bit it's not that serious at least to them so you can see how how simple this really is and yet how important it is how important it is when you put this together and so a religion that's why I'm calling that church religion all that stuff takes whatever wound it doesn't just take that one and dresses it up rebellion or love of money or idolatry carnality worldliness and then preaches it's not that serious so we obviously we don't do anything about it I mean it's not on our minds because it's not that serious but it but I'm hoping you agree with me you know what maybe it is a little more serious than we're making it and if we don't take it seriously because you can't really uh am i simplifying this too much by saying you can't really have rebellion and love of money idolatry carnality worldliness and all that and love God with all your heart at the same time you are in conflict with yourself right okay of course so it's serious but if we don't take it seriously then we have just slammed the door the kingdom of God in our own face if we convince somebody else it's not that serious then we just slammed the kingdom of God door in their face because they're not gonna do anything if they don't think it's that serious they're not going to go through the door because they don't think they're there for in the first place that's why it's so amazing what that teacher of the law said and that's why it's so amazing what Jesus said you're so close to the kingdom of God you don't even know it and all these other people think so close to the kingdom god they're not so when we get over here so just some more I don't know how much there's just so many great lines that Jesus says one of them is when he calls them another name besides hypocrites he adds that again to it and then calls them a whitewashed tomb I like that one too because it's it's so descriptive verse 27 from 23 of Matthew woe to you teachers of the long Pharisees you hypocrites you just had to say it again you are like you are like whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of bones of the dead and everything unclean so you have to think about what a remarkable statement that is how how much revelation there is in choosing that example it's a lot of examples you could have just called them hypocrites that would have maybe done it but then when he uses the descriptive language that he does to say you you have whitewash this you're whitewashing this so you so you've got a tomb here's a tomb and people don't know it's a tomb because you just whitewashed it of course whitewashes is a is a cosmetic thing it just covers up it hides what's really behind it it's just I we don't get around things like that that much but it'd be like watering down paint until it's just such a thin coat it's barely there and so you whitewash it's a cosmetic cover and you do it why does anybody why would anybody whitewash anything for looks you whitewash so it'll look better and so what did Jesus say was the part of the route not the only route part of the route is everything they do is to be seen so naturally they would be professional white washers they would have to be because the wounds in Israel at this time they are deep wounds they are under Rome's rule they have lost many of loss their land they are mistreated they are heavy in taxes every direction they went it was a tax to Rome it was a tax to the temple and the Pharisees you know they're living great and there some of them that were more of the corrupt ones and we're in in cooperation with Rome and it's just a mess many many of the poor people were farming the land that they used to own and then after they gave all over the way they get whatever is left over and it was their land and then they took it away from them so there's a lot of serious wounds there's a lot of serious things everywhere Jesus goes people are sick everywhere Jesus goes people are demonized right I mean there's serious things going on in Israel with the people and he's trying to help them and and yet they're being taught by professionals who know how to whitewash so they go away to think in their wounds aren't they're bad while Jesus John the Baptist and Jesus is calling for the people of God to repent the people of God are calling for Rome to repent because the seriousness of the problem was not it's not us it was it's the Romans that's the serious problem how do we get rid of the Romans and Jesus has said none of them together how do you get rid of sin as my message I've come to defeat the devil the real enemy is not Rome and it's not Caesar it's Satan and it's the death that's hanging over you and that's got to be defeated you're fighting the wrong enemy you're looking the wrong direction so he calls them to repent because he's trying to rescue them for death he wants to rescue them from from from a bad future and they won't listen because they're the good guys I mean how can you say that to his pastor say were the ones that came to church tonight and that's kind of how they felt we're the ones that it's like the second brother the the crazy brother goes off and blows all the money and the good brother says I've stayed here the whole time and taking care of things I'm the one that stayed home I'm the one that made sure the lights were on and the carpet was slow remember me and she's in and then we learned he's got just as many wounds as the brother who ran off because he yells at his father you never gave me a fare to camp meal you never threw me over me and I've been here the whole time well he's just as sick as the other one you got two rebellious boys one comes to their senses and the other we don't know what happens he doesn't say whether he did or he didn't so so when you think of whitewash then a whitewashed religion then what's the purpose of it it really doesn't do anything for anybody it just makes people look good right that's the only purpose it's a cosmetic makeover that religion does to us but we don't get better are our wounds are just as serious and they're just as hurting but we can easily fall in the trap of just whitewashing our lives every service every week and then we can do with people I don't know how to say this but I mean we could fall into this trap that we're actually whitewashing life with people we really do love you know what I'm saying I wouldn't tell any of you oh you you know you don't love your children you know anything like that that you really love the people in your lives you really love but we get so blinded by this whitewash that the people we really love we're not even telling them the truth we look the other way we're not even preaching the got the real gospel the real thing to our own families to our own children to the people we loved our own relatives and and and we're not we're not questioning whether we love them or not but if we really do love then we need to take this seriously because at the end of this like I said it's only Jesus that's it that is it and so it's very important and so they're in a Jeremiah's day was in a crisis Jesus day it's a crisis and and yet whitewash makes it all look better and if I'm really good at whitewashing I make I can make myself look pretty good so I'm pretty likable lovable pastor guy and but I'm not not doing you a favor if you've really got a serious wound and and I'm just whitewashing everything so that you don't pay attention to it and you just keep going and that's that's what religion does in fact religion loves to so simplify this we want to get it over as quick as possible we don't want to have like me a person like me get in your face like this and talk to you about wounds that need taken care of that are more serious than you're making them or heart things in your heart that are more serious than you're really taking them because you hear me this much just you know so much a week but you hear everybody else the rest of the week and by the time everybody else gets done with you and you get done with you TV gets done with you movies get done with you you get done with you whatever that my voice fades away and now it's not so serious anymore it was serious when you were here but then it gets not so serious after that and so religion likes to do that that's what they're professionals is the professional religious people that we're talking about here in both Jeremiah and Israel and Jesus day and and they know what they're doing and they know how to do it but so we come up with phrases to make it seem simple so so so our sicknesses or our diseases are and I'm talking about spiritually so we don't seem so serious we tell people well here's what you do just say this prayer that's it yeah just just say this prayer just repeat after me and that's it now of course hundreds and hundreds of times at an end of a service I have people repeat prayers but there's no way by the time you get done hearing me preach that I'm saying just say that prayer I mean if you've listened to me preach you're going like I know what we're doing here we're kind of putting a bow on this and we're all making a fresh commitment here but there's no way that guy's gonna say just say this prayer with me and out the door and into the kingdom you go so so make sure everybody understands that because that prayer is important because we're grabbing people to to focus on Jesus for a minute and tell them they and they're telling him who they believe he is but is that all there is just do that no cuz even that teacher of the law would say no you can't just do that what would he say he'd say by the way you have to love God with all your heart - you got to love other people - so they would tag that honor they knew that so it's just so we just just ask for forgiveness just say the prayer just repeat after me we want to add all those phrases because when we do that if that's all I have to do then this is not that serious is it the becoming a Christian is not that serious and it's not that hard I just got a what yeah you just you just need to good recognize Jesus who he said recognize you're a sinner and ask for forgiveness and there you go and there's no way that in Jesus day that Jesus himself would have ever come up to anybody and said oh by the way yeah just say this prayer in no way John the Baptist him and now even the teacher of the law of the scribe even the teacher of the law wouldn't even say that I mean there might be some that might say that but not this one he's on to something he's not far from the kingdom of God so you don't tell people what we're supposed to be loving well you don't tell yourself but you don't tell people you don't they don't understand then we become part of this of the problem we're part we're part of whitewashed religion because we're not telling people either sometimes not even the people we live with we just look the other way so it's a problem we want to be careful that we don't ever slam the door of the kingdom of God into somebody's face by them believing that what's going on inside of them it's not that serious it is serious this is very serious it's eternally serious let's go one more and I don't know why because I think you already have the point but I'm just not in the mood to quit yet so that's really all it is yaar do you know what I'm saying is you got your point but this is in the book of ezekiel and we'll just put a little cap on it with with that and i don't get sometimes a chance to go to some of these great books jeremiah ezekiel and often as i i'd like to even this is ezekiel 13 so now the only point being is that really the point is jeremiah was concerned about things jesus was obviously concerned about it things and now we're gonna see ezekiel is very concerned too in his day from ezekiel 13 do they get there plus if another thing it does if you never read your bible during the week you're getting more scripture than you've had in a long time so doing you a favor ezekiel 13 let me see where I am verse 10 now it's not the same language but you'll recognize the same feeling coming from God through the Prophet because they lead my people astray would you say that that is similar to what we heard in Jeremiah and what Jesus was saying to woe to you and all that because they lead my people astray get this saying what peace when there is no peace Jeremiah said at least twice right the in the New Testament talks about people who preach peace and safety and here a piece when there is no peace and because when a flimsy wall is built they cover it with whitewash therefore tell those am I to take this seriously what I'm supposed to do what tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall I just read that in the Bible supposedly I am supposed to tell people who cover things in whitewash that it's going to fall it's what it says least or Ezekiel was maybe I'm gonna escape this but I'm reading it personally rain will come in torrents and I will send hailstones hurtling down and violent winds will burst forth when the wall collapses will people not ask you where is the whitewash you covered it with great great powerful scripture isn't it and in Ezekiel's day of course great scripture to wake us up and again how how are the people that are leading the people astray how are they doing it again same way by declaring peace when there is no peace or we could go back to easy to Jeremiah and saying or declaring that what appears to be serious it's nothing serious it's not that serious don't get don't get all and riled now it's not that serious we're doing okay and everything so that that's kind of how they that's how they do it that's how they keep going in and Ezekiel's day that's where they were doing and they're building a flimsy wall and obviously covering with whitewash and what was the purpose of covering it with whitewash so nobody would notice how flimsy it is it's a deception right it's a deception so they won't know how flimsy it is and and then though here's the problem you can whitewash it so it doesn't look flimsy but that's only going to work as long as the wind doesn't blow or a storm comes or the rain comes barreling in it'll work as long as as long as there's no storm as long as there's no wind as long as there's no trouble flimsy holds up okay but that's not the point here and even the point is that the God is saying and speaking about this is that and he does in the New Testament too about storms come winds blow and you know those are all pictures of trouble and storms and things that so he says that this wall won't hold up and then you'll realize whitewash doesn't hold anything up it only disguises it and so they built the flimsy wall then the rain comes in and and basically saying okay where's your whitewash now how good it really hold up and so just so everybody understands this flimsy wall is this weak false religion that's not really saying this is what it means to be a Christian this is what it means to follow Jesus this is what it means to be a believer and the Bible even if you could say I've heard people say you can make the Bible say anything but on those subjects you really can't make the Bible say anything else than what it says love God love your neighbor right serve him him only worship him worship Him only put him first put the kingdom of God first I mean it's a really much interpretation that needs to be explained there it's just like first it's first you don't know how to have a symposium on its first really first or is it second we really don't need that it's clear so flimsy wall is false religion that's not telling people what it really means to be a follower of God to be a follower of Jesus and and and so it's built on it's flimsy because because it's not truthful and then on top of it is the deception of telling people even though we're not telling you what it really means we're not gonna put you we're going to pronounce over you peace and safety we're gonna say peace peace over you we're gonna we're gonna bandage this up so when you leave the service tonight you'll feel like whatever's going on inside of you or somebody else or your children family situation we're gonna preach this so you don't feel like it's that serious and you're gonna go home happy and that's what happens and Jesus is better than that Jesus is not a whitewash Savior he's not a whitewash Messiah he's certainly not a whitewashed tomb and but that's what was happening then way back then then during Jesus day it still happens in our day it's sort of some summing it up by saying folks don't worry about it what we got is enough what you've got is enough you got it you said the prayer you went through them you're doing the emotion you got it you don't need to worry about it don't let this guy stir you up don't let this guy stir you up he's a troublemaker you know or you might even be of the devil as they said about Jesus you know so we have a little bit of a problem some of the preaching today it's not just whitewash we can add another word to it it's also hogwash because that's the symptom of it right you know what hogwash you wash your hog and it goes back to it wallowing in the mire is dirty again and that's that's what art that's our society's hurting I mean we we are just to make this real to us again that I'm not just ranting about bad somebody's a bad preacher or some church and doing it right that's not my point anyway the point is we are living in a wounded hurting society right now very hurting very wounded very hurting disturbed confused and and in my opinion which might be wrong I could be wrong but just in my opinion it appears to me that many people who are hurting and wondering and confused are beginning to turn on a searchlight it feels like that a searchlight is on that I have a seen before or at least it's a different kind of searchlight and there are people wanting to get into something more with God and I've given my whole adult life basically since I was 23 to telling people there's more and finally I'm finding a time in the generation where people might just be ready for more I've always known there was more and I told you that and I preached it and worked in many many people's lives but never have I been in a generate in a time when I think there's a possibility that an entire generation might want more I have to give them time to get there I've got to give you time to get there but nevertheless we have to have our ears up to heaven and say God is it is it coming or are the is is the whitewash coming down is the flimsy wall falling in many people's lives not just in America but in other countries too but particularly in our own country it feels like people are feeling that they've built their lives on something flimsy and they're worried about it and they're concerned and they don't know what to do because the whitewash religion is not an answer is it because it's flimsy too it's just it's just just a makeover it's a cover-up it's a makeover and that's what it feels like to so many people they go to church and they're just getting a makeover that makes things they make some feel better but we don't we're not trying to make you feel better we're trying to make you get better we said well how do I get better love God you got to love God with all your heart you got to press yourself further into this and then you got to notice that you're not on the list that everybody else is on the list but you everybody else I've loved the loveliest look at your love list your name's not on it not even on it and yet we're spending time trying to love ourselves accept ourselves believe in myself why why would I spend any time how many cartoons have I watched it said with my grandkids that told me to believe in myself why when I've got someone else like Jesus to believe in why would I waste my time trying to believe in myself I don't need to it's a waste of time I've got the king of kings and Lord of lords to believe in who can do anything I can't do anything he does everything why would I waste my time trying to believe in myself nice sermon in itself isn't it but so so the point being of course is this whitewash is compared to blood washed right blood washed just transformed I mean when you get blood was just like somebody paid for this and I Oh Oh somebody backed my life because it was it might have been free to me but it wasn't free to Jesus and it wasn't free to God the Father either we can think of to our Father and the Savior himself it wasn't free to them but it was free to me but when I enter into this I've got to feel a sense of there there was blood there there is blood in this there's high cost and so I why wash won't do for me but blood washed would it changed I have to get the real thing and it changes your life and you got to hear the real truth and then one little thing just I just want to remind you as I read as I read this in in Ezekiel and I'm done so God said he said it was whitewashed and flimsy right and then he starts describing this storm and the winds and the hail and all that and I noticed something that problem that I found very very interesting so here's the flimsy wall it's whitewash that we know that here comes the storm and let me tell you what I guess my religious mind wants to finish this story differently okay so here's my version of it that's wrong but just based on being around religion so many years this is what you'd think it says anyway so okay so the wall is flimsy the wall is whitewashed now here comes the storm here it comes a terrible storm is coming and you're not going to be able to to survive it so everybody come to church and and God is going to teach us how to survive and then God is going to come down and he's going to teach us how to be rescued and that's how I think for most of us that's how the story is supposed to end because that's the religion we have so the storm is coming but don't worry God's going to send a prophet that's going to prophesy how to survive and that's not in here God's gonna send us somebody that's gonna say don't worry the storms coming but he's we're gonna get rescued it's not in here you see the rescuing and the survival was taught when he taught them how to build a wall that's when you learned survival that's why you build a wall because you want to survive every storm that's why you build a tower that's why you build a wall that's why you build on solid rock that's why you build your house on the rock Jesus Christ you don't wait for the storm and then say well he'll he's going to send us a survivalist here and teach us how to survive a storm no he told you how to build before the storm was even coming and if you ignore how to build then isn't it interesting at the end he says and say don't worry I got a prophet that's gonna teach you survival techniques it's not in there if you build on flimsy and the storm comes then it gets blown away it falls down and everybody says what happened it looks so good when went before it rained but now the whitewash has washed it all the way so if I were to write this like most modern writers then I would write okay I know it looks bad here comes the storm but don't worry the promise coming and he's gonna promise I God's gonna come and rescue us and it's not in there because the rescue was the way you built it it's just it's the Bible build it right use stones and precious metals and jewels and gold and silver don't use the cheap stuff Paul Rome said don't use straw oh I'm glad you said that ever thought of that cuz straw straw so cheap you know I can just get us so cheap but he says don't don't build with straw or hay or stubble use the best stuff you got to build this because you want to be able to stand you want to be able to survive so you can know certain that's that's that's the survival you survive the great crash by how you build before the storm that's how you survive the great crash and of course some words I'll just throw out real quick that helped us build this is as you hear me for a hundred years if I was that old I still be saying it words like commitment sacrifice loyalty dedication to him all everything they Emmie's it you know that's how you do this that's how you build something solid so ask yourself this before I quit have you heard that voice peace and safety it's not that bad just keep going isn't that what the that Nemo fish says right or whatever told you I had grandkids just keep swimming is that what you're doing so they just keep swimming in the around a flimsy wall then the day is gonna come when you're gonna that that's not the message of Jesus it's a message of Jesus has changed directions is that Alright change directions change your heart your mind change your direction change your priorities change everything that you could possibly change because it's worth it because this is the kingdom of God it's real and at the end of the road that's all that's left so change everything you can possibly change because we can follow this trap of blinding ourselves to where we're hearing that peace and safety just keep going everything's okay it's not that serious and that can go on for years until we can no longer hear the message of Jesus which is I've come to liberate you I've come to liberate my people I've come to liberate them from every serious wound that has ever tried to take them down I've come to liberate the people of God and bring them into real freedom okay stand up that's enough you get the point now see what I'm saying like it's almost enjoyable it's almost enjoyable because it's so like okay but it's not enjoyable because we get caught a little bit in a - right and we should we get caught in it like I'm not really out there rescuing people because I'm so busy focusing on me I put me I'm on the love list and so I'm so busy focusing on me I just I don't have time I don't have energy I don't even think about other people that much and that's not what this is is it this is serious business loving God and loving other people that's it pretty much pretty much if you wanted to narrow it down pretty much that's who we are what we do and so that's going to take some work on your part and the worst thing you can do then is by the time you get in your car and you're leaving or you're driving down the road and you hear that voice this is what we wrote in too bad a sermon but you know I don't think it's really that serious he just you know pastor Steve's always pushing and going overboard you know he just goes too far it's not that serious and you'll start thinking of scriptures you know you'd be going down the road here in our voice they remember Jesus wept and you know and this is serious stuff it's centuries old it's not this year old it's centuries and centuries and centuries old of destructive religion that has its eyes on itself and I don't know if we can change the world I don't know if we can do anything to break this I only know one thing we need to try if we don't try we're wrong right if we if we lose if we lose because we didn't try that's one thing but if we did our best and we tried to tell the world and we tried to tell our families and we told each other and we told ourselves and we did our best then we've won then we've won because when Jesus is hanging on that cross he looks like a miserable failure right this is the world's most miserable failure from what he preached but he knew what he was doing so so whether we get to ever touch nations or peoples around the world again or ever is not the point when I came to the decision that we were gonna move to Kansas City reporter is this is probably also in a book somewhere or someplace but a reporter came to me and was drilling me on why we were moving and all that kind of stuff and so then he finally asked me said well do you think you'll succeed and that's when I said I'm not going to succeed I'm not going there to succeed I'm going there to obey and that's what it is right we hope we succeed but we take this and say I got it pastor Steve I got it this is serious business I'm gonna take it to see it more seriously than I had before loving god I'm gonna put more into this and then I'm gonna tell the world more that you know what you can get closer to God just put a little more into it because there are people right now trying to get in deeper with God some aren't but there's a whole bunch of are and I want to be ready for them and I want to have that message form you know throw yourself into this throw yourself into it with me cuz I'm gonna throw myself into it you're not alone well now it comes that time well let's go get our prayer folks up here and help me remember everybody needs to remember why we put tags on people we do that because we know who they are so that's why we asked you not to pray for people if you don't have a tag [Music] if you don't have a tag on then you're a receiver tonight okay you come and receive these people are designated as givers you're the receiver now we're gonna say that prayer but we're not gonna say just say this prayer right but what we are going to say is we're gonna take a moment to think about this sermon think about these words and then even though we've said it 100 times or a few times we're gonna focus and say okay what I'm doing is I'm pastor Steve I'm saying this prayer in context of what you just preached not outside of what you just preached and say well I just need to say this prayer of course not we just that was what the whole sermon was about but we have to start somewhere where we make some kind of dedication or some kind of commitment so that's why we said so if you'd like to do that with me then say this prayer with me and say dear Jesus I release my life into your hands I believe you're the savior of the world and I take you in as my Savior who died for me who shed his blood that I might live I receive you as my Lord and Savior to serve you all the days of my life and I'm never gonna change my mind and I'm never gonna back down in Jesus name

Channel: World Revival Church

Views: 2,046

Rating: 4.6129031 out of 5

Keywords: world revival church, kansas city revival, steve gray, kathy gray, smithton outpouring, kansas revival

Id: _P5aR4lejsQ

Length: 71min 29sec (4289 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 20 2018