In Rebellion Against God…Your Options

Introduction

I want to begin tonight with a parable in Matthew chapter 21. The intensity of the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders of the Jews is intensifying. We have arrived at the final week of Jesus’ public life and ministry. Begin reading with me in Matthew 21, verse 33. Listen to another parable.

Who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it and built a tower and rented it out to vine growers and went on a journey. And when the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine growers to receive his produce. And the vine growers took his slaves and beat one and killed another and stoned a third. Again, he sent another group of slaves, larger than the first, and they did the same thing to them. But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, They will respect my son. But when the vine growers saw the sun, they said among themselves, This is the heir.

And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Anticipating what is about to happen. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine growers? It’s amazing how they could understand the point of the story, but not see how it applied to them. They said to him, he will bring those wretches to a wretched end. And will rent out the vineyard to other vine growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons. Jesus said to them, Did you never read in the scriptures? The stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief cornerstone. This came about from the Lord. And it is marvelous in our eyes. A quotation from Psalm 118. Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it.

And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust. And when the chief priests of the Pharisees heard his parables, they understood he was speaking about them. And when they sought to seize him, they feared the multitudes because they held him to be a prophet. That’s another one of those occasions in Scripture where I wish I could have been there to hear Jesus tell the story and see the reaction of the religious leaders. Now, this story comes upon the heels of another parable, the parable of two sons. If you go back in the context of verse 28, remember the son who said, I will go, and then does not go? And of course, that’s the Pharisees, who saw themselves as the son who was compliant with the Father, but in their hearts they weren’t.

And then he tells about the second son who said, I will not, but then he has a change of heart. He regrets that decision. He repents. And then he goes out into the vineyard and says, which of the two did the will of his father? Now again, they got the story right, didn’t they? They said, the latter son. But the conclusion, the moral of the story, they didn’t like. Truly I say unto you, the tax gatherers and harlots will get into the kingdom of God before you.

And you seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterwards, so as to believe him. And so upon the heels of the two sons parable, and he says, Listen to another parable. The implication is put your seatbelts on, boys. This is going to hurt. The denunciation of the religious leaders is stinging as he tells these parables.

About this parable, a few observations in introduction tonight. Number one, we need to remember to whom the vineyard belongs. Sometimes the caretakers get a little bit carried away with their role in the vineyard. And if you will indulge me to quote the verse that I’ve been quoting a lot lately that I’ve just been enthralled with because of what it’s really saying. Romans 11 and verse 36, which really is about, Bruce and I were talking about this week, but what the book of Romans is really all about is yes, it’s about justification by faith, but even more than that, it’s about God’s decision to bring the Gentiles and the Jews into one body together and his sovereign right to do so. And after he explains all of that through the first 11 chapters, he comes to the end and says, remember who this is all about.

For from him and through him and to him are all things. I tell you, the more I see Romans 11, verse 36, it would solve a lot of our problems if we would not only acknowledge it and say amen, but we would truly grasp what that means. From him are all things, and through him are all things, and to him are all things. This is his vineyard. It’s not ours. We’re caretakers. And a lot of the problems that I’ve seen in local churches is because of people who forget their role.

There’s also a message here about being careful in your treatment of God’s representatives. As he sends the prophets to them in the story, they mistreat them and persecute them. And finally, he sends his son. Now, I know there’s a limitation here that preachers and elders are not inspired representatives as prophets were. But when they preach God’s word in truth, and when elders are making righteous decisions in the leadership of a church, they deserve respect and support. Not needless criticism. So, Tony, that sounds a little self-serving. I’m just making a point the scriptures make about his representatives, and particularly in relation to the elder. That’s one of the reasons why it says, do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses.

1 Timothy chapter 5, verses 17 through 19. Watch your judgments. James 4 and verse 11, we’re going to get to that in our study on James on Sunday morning. Be careful. Judge not one another. Oh, I know there’s a realm where judgments have to be made. But there are a lot of judgments rendered that would cause us to be in violation of James chapter 4 and verse 11. And you do not want to do that. There is only one ultimate lawgiver and judge. And so let me just bait you for a further conversation we’re going to have about James chapter 4 and verse 11, Lord willing. And what that means about being careful in judgment. And remember, those who serve as God’s representatives don’t feel that it’s your personal obligation to trim them down to size, after all.

They will give an account. Teachers receive a stricter judgment according to James chapter 3 and verse 1. And elders must give an account of the souls that they shepherd according to Hebrews 13 and verse 17. So let’s not whittle on God’s end of the stick. There’s another observation that I would make from this parable, and that is don’t rest in the fact that in the past you had a healthy relationship with God. The history of the Jews was not a totality of spiritual disaster. There were times of faithfulness to God. There were times of blessing from God’s people, but now we have arrived at a time where those who are among the religious leadership of God’s people who were not in good standing with him. And that’s some of the basis of what Jesus says on the Sermon on the Mount.

Not everyone that says to me, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven. We usually make a broad application of that. But I think he’s speaking specifically of those of the covenant of Israel who are going to tout their familiarity with God and the fact that they were God’s people, and that’s going to be enough on the day of judgment. Something had gone terribly wrong in their relationship with God, and they had not perceived it. Even as Jesus is telling them this parable, they think they’re in a right relationship with God. How dare this fellow say that there’s something wrong with our standing before God? Do you think that ever happens today? People sitting in pews among the Lord’s people? You think that ever happens today?

That over a period of time they’ve grown away from the Lord and it’s not perceptible to them that this has occurred. A fourth observation, this is just going quickly. You’re really going to get two sermons of one here, maybe three. Our powerful God can overturn and trump evil to accomplish his purposes. I know that from the quotation of Psalm 118. The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. Psalm 118 anticipates this very rejection of the Son, and through that rejection, of course, God is going to provide the solution for sin and the hope of glory through his resurrection from the dead. God can trump evil, and of course, the whole Old Testament is telling the story. That God is not going to be thwarted by the evil deeds of men.

And really the whole context of that statement in Psalm 118, the part that says, This is the day which the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in it, is speaking more than just to a single day of life where we can say, I’m thankful that God’s given me this day. But it is thankfulness of the salvation, the day of salvation that God provides for his people, quoted in 2 Corinthians 6 and verse 2. And finally, I would make this observation about the parable. He’s going to give it to a nation producing the fruit of it. And if you want to talk about an area where the Pharisees had failed, it was in regard to who they were inside. Their inner thinking and character, their attitudes, the development of attitudes and character, as much as it involves obedience in regard to acts of worship and areas of service.

True fruit production begins with what’s going on in here. And as proof for what I just said, the Sermon on the Mount is sufficient. That’s what Jesus is addressing when he says, Blessed are the poor in spirit. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And all that follows in that context. For example, even an act of hospitality is not an end in and of itself. In 1 Peter chapter 4, because the judgment of God is at hand and he is encouraging them to be sober and to be praying continually, he says, be hospitable to one another without complaint. You see, what good are we really doing in this particular act of service if we’re complaining the whole time about it? And I understand. I mean, sometimes it is very taxing and difficult.

There’s a lot of work to do, there’s a lot of cleanup to do when that hospitality involves having other people into your home. And so you can degenerate into it’s a duty, it’s a responsibility. Rather than it should be a joy to be able to serve the Lord’s people in that way. Okay, so here you are, you’re the recipients of this parable, and you find yourself not in a good relationship with God. We talked this morning about wasting away in sin and how devastating and dangerous that is. But let’s say that’s where you find yourself. I want to talk to you tonight about your options. When you find yourself in rebellion, and again, this was sparked by something that Bruce said while he was here. As he said something, I thought, wow, that gives me an idea.

1. Deny God

When people find themselves in rebellion against God, are informed that they are in rebellion against God, what are their options? What can they do? When you’ve been in rebellion against God, what were your options? Let me tell you a popular option. One popular option is to deny God. That is a common approach. When one finds themselves not living in accordance with the scriptures, let’s even deny that there is a God, and obviously then that this book is not his. It is not the work of our Creator, thus I do not have to listen to it nor comply to it. And Bruce made an interesting conversation, interesting point about that. He says, usually, and this is right, people don’t think their way out of the kingdom. They behave their way out.

But what comes first is not the great theological concerns. Maybe there’s evidence for evolution. Maybe God really isn’t the creator, and maybe the Bible isn’t really the word of God. Sometimes people start there, but a lot of times they get to that after they’ve already behaved in a certain way that has brought them into conflict with the Scripture. And instead of dealing with that and the guilt thereof, let’s just eliminate God and his word altogether. Some immoral vice that has gripped them, some immoral relationship. The Pharisees believe confidently in the miracles of the Old Testament and the stories of their past as a nation, and had even witnessed miracles in the ministry of Jesus. So, you know, that really wasn’t an option for them. The recipients of the Matthew 21 parable couldn’t really say, okay, God doesn’t exist.

2. Change the Standard, Change God

They do too much. So let me tell you the more popular option. This is one option that some people choose in rebellion. But the far more popular option that people choose not to deny God, but will change. You change the standard of acceptable behavior in an attempt to manipulate God. You see, you mess with the word of God and make it come out in a different place that somehow approves of your conduct. All of a sudden, even though I’m practicing what the Bible says immoral, all of a sudden, I’m now reasoning, it’s good. It’s not bad at all. My behavior does not bring me in conflict with God. Or as we saw this morning in Psalm 50, you thought that I was just like you in your misdeeds.

You see, you change God. You probably know this verse before I even start quoting it. Isaiah 5 and verse 20. Woe to those who call evil good. And who call good evil. Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. And darkness for light and light for darkness. See, that’s always been the way of man. Let me just offer this little interesting note about Isaiah chapter 5 and verse 20. It comes on the heels of a similar parable about a vineyard in the first part of chapter 5, which connects us back to Matthew 21. And that in the Isaiah 5 vineyard, there’s even more said about all that God has done for the vineyard to make it flourish. That’s interesting. And so people come to this self-justification, and to do so, they must manipulate the standard.

God approves of my immorality, my favorite story in regard to this. It’s another whole sermon. I won’t preach it. You may get four sermons in one tonight. Oh boy, that’s going to be long. Judges 17. Judges 17. That Judges 17 is sort of the setting of the table for the last five chapters of the book of Judges, and they all go together. And really what they’re saying is that in these times that we’ve been reading about, in the cycle of the judges, bad oppressor, God sends a deliverer. That’s the whole what the judges are all about. You come to the last five chapters, and what we’re really being told is there is no king in Israel. And everyone is doing what is right in his own eyes.

And that’s even stated in the middle of the story in Judges chapter 17. And it has to do with this fellow by the name of Micah, this not notable person, except for the fact that he is reflective of the times. He’s an Ephraimite, and he sets up this shrine, and the way the shrine comes about is interesting in and of itself. It’s because of an illicit gain of financial means. But he takes this money, makes this shrine, and he needs a priest to serve at his shrine. First of all, this whole idea of a worship center in Ephraim, okay, we’ve done that before in the northern kingdom. So he’s going to set up his own worship shrine. He consecrates his son to be priest. Well, that’s a little bit of a problem because he’s not a Levite.

He’s an Ephraimite. But that’s okay because that’s what he wanted to do, you see. And then this Levite happens to come along. This is a great story. This Levite comes along and says, ooh, I can really do this upright now. His son is no longer the priest, and he makes the Levite his priest. And again, right in the middle of the story, it says, there is no king in Israel, and everyone is doing what is right in his own eyes in verse 6. And so he comes to the end of the story. Now he’s got a Levite serving at his shrine, and he says, Now the Lord may prosper me. Well, you were okay with your son serving as a priest, but now that you’ve got a Levite, maybe it’s a little bit closer to the pattern, and God’s going to approve of me now.

You see, that’s the mindset. I’m going to take the scriptures and I’m going to mold them after my liking and my choosing. And that’s really what’s going on in James chapter 2 as well as we studied this morning. Stumble at one point is guilty of all. Okay, you don’t commit murder, you don’t commit adultery, but you’re you’re treating this fellow with contempt who comes into your assembly. It’s really not going to help you much that you don’t commit adultery and you don’t commit murder. Because you’re failing in the royal law, which is the basis of all treatment of other people. Love your neighbor as yourself. You see, we come along and we want to make religion a smorgasbord. Here, we’re gonna take this part, we like this part, and I’m not gonna do that part.

Because that part is hard.

And so we change God. Very popular choice. But again, those are not the only two choices that some people make in rebellion. There’s always.

3. Blame Others

Blame others. And this goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden when God is walking in the cool of the day and says, hey Adam, where are you? And he quirks, why are you hiding yourself? Well, it’s the woman. And you know, men have been blaming women ever since.

It’s the woman that you gave me. She gave me of the fruit and I did eat. You know, he’s not only blaming Eve, he’s blaming God. This woman that you gave me. Well, we could go all day talking about how men would have blamed their conduct on their wives. After all, she pushed all the buttons. And listen, your spouse knows how to push your buttons. They know you better than anybody else. And they might do things occasionally. They shouldn’t do this, but they might do things occasionally to get you a little riled up.

So I’m justified. Or somebody says, it’s my peers that made me behave this way. You know, they just pulled me along, kicking and screaming against my will. The next thing you know, I found myself in sin. That’s the way people reason. I’m not responsible. And my parents, they shoved religion down my throat. No wonder I’m rejecting this. They were just shoving it and ramming it down my throat all the time. You’d be tired of it too. It’s my parents false. That I’ve left the Lord. You know, we could play this blanket. It’s that brother in Christ who treated me so poorly. It’s that brother who set the bad example for me. And listen, let me just say about all of that. All of those people who’ve done the things that have contributed to my sin, they’re going to answer for that.

The spouse that tried to encourage you to get provoked. The person who misbehaved and set the poor example that said, oh man, there’s all kinds of hypocrites in the church, and I’m not going to do that anymore. But I’ll tell you what you’ll find out if you leave the church because they’re hypocrites in it, you’re going to find yourself with them in eternity. Because lust, when it is conceived, brings forth sin, and sin, when it comes to fruition brings forth death. There’s no passage in James chapter 1 that says, oh, but you’re exempt if somebody else contributes. If someone else influences you or causes it. And listen to this love is not easily provoked. One of the characteristics of love in 1 Corinthians 13 and verse 5.

And so we could play the I’m exempt because of the behavior of others’ games all day long. But ultimately, if you’re in rebellion, you have no one to blame but yourself. And I like that when Saul comes back with the Amalekites and King Agag and all the animals. And what is this that I hear? Samuel the prophet says the bleeding of sheep and the lowing of oxen. You’ve obviously not obeyed the command of the Lord. He says, Well, it was the people’s idea. The people, the people brought them back for sacrifice. No, God gave you some instruction, Saul, and you didn’t comply. And he called it rebellion. So when you’re in rebellion, don’t play the blame others game because, again, you chose whatever that conduct was.

4. I Know I've Done Wrong, I Admit It

Now I want to tell you the fourth option that you can do, and this is the one that is going to require some intestinal fortitude at least. This is the option that says, I know I’ve done wrong. I admit it. And if I die in this condition, I’m lost.

Perhaps, I mean, I have a lot more respect for this than points one, two, and three. At least this person is not trying to blame someone else, is not denying God or trying to manipulate or change the standard. This person is saying, I realize my life does not conform to God’s teaching. My only concern about this position is that it doesn’t fix the problem. And the longer you go with living with the guilt and not fixing the problem. The evil days come. When thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. And that’s why we’re encouraged to remember our Creator in the days of our youth. Don’t get so hardened in the path of sin that recovery becomes a huge mountain to climb. It is infinitely better to choose to do the right thing and trust in God’s help and provision to see you through.

5. Quit the Conduct and Set Yourself on Change

And so I recommend to you the final option. The only option that really works for your soul’s salvation. And that is, you’ve got to quit the conduct. You must express, as we saw this morning, godly sorrow for the rebellion that you have committed against God, and then set yourself on the course of change. The call of the gospel is unto a very new way of living. A new king, a new purpose, a new way of thinking, better attitudes, a new perspective. It is the life of thanksgiving and rejoicing. A new creation.

They want the sins cleansed part. They want the treasure in heaven part. But they stop short of growing in his likeness and growing in his image part. Which is essential. And yes, it is equally enhancing and rewarding. To be such an integral part of the gospel message. It is amazing that the word repent is so misunderstood. I like what Bruce did with Psalm 51. When he says the essence of true confession to repentance is to see, first of all, sin for what it is, to see God for who he is, and to see ourselves for who we can be. Those were great points. Repentance is an initial step, is the beginning step in obedience to the Lord, but it will likewise be an ongoing step. This new course that we’ve committed ourselves to, as we saw this morning, as we rise to walk to a life of new purpose and a new perspective, that initial repentance that got us there, that got our sins cleansed, that’s only the beginning.

There will be more rough edges that we will have to deal with. And I will take you to two passages briefly to indicate that is so. In 1 Peter 2 and verse 1, and notice how these passages are dealing with what’s going on inwardly in the disciple. Therefore, Peter writes to believers, and he says, putting aside all malice. Okay, that’s an attitude in the heart. Putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy, inconsistency in action with our profession, that’s what hypocrisy is. And envy, a common malady, and all slander. Be like babes who long for the pure milk of the word. And we’ve got a few of those in the audience tonight, don’t we? Babes who long for the pure milk of the word.

That’s Christians. That by it you may grow in respect to salvation if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. Lay aside all that remains of wickedness and receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls, and flowing from that be doers of the word. James 1, verses 21 and 22. Now, as I talk about what it means to produce the fruit of the kingdom, as Jesus refers to in that parable.

I sort of got away from that, so I’m sort of going back to it tonight. He asked, and this is the part where I get to say, if the rest of the sermon doesn’t go well, Samuel Paul. What is the work involved in seeking wisdom? What is the work involved in seeking wisdom? What do we need to do to change our habits so that we can produce the righteousness? How do we turn study into application? That’s a good question. I think the first thing you have to do is look at things differently. I believe there are some filters through which you have to look at your life and circumstances. I think this is important. If we’re going to become the righteousness of God in him, 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21, if we’re going to grow in his likeness, if we’re going to grow and respect the salvation as we saw in 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 2, we’ve got to look at things a certain way.

And do so consistently. And one of the things that we have to do, going back to lessons that I preached not very long ago, we must realize that we are people who are defined no longer by sin. We have a new name, we have a new identity. That I am a narrow way person. There’s a narrow gate and a narrow way that leads to life, and few there be that find it. And it’s interesting in the context of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus says, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. That speaks to some very real expectations that he has about how we’re going to approach our lives. You’ve got to look at this. I have a new identity now that I’m in Christ.

I’ve been raised up to sit with him. I am a narrow way person. I am the temple of the living God. And we talked about that. How that’s to be a place of holiness and purity and sanctity. And I think there’s another filter we need to employing. That as God’s people, there is heavenly assistance, heavenly assistance that’s provided for us.

I was telling Bruce about a sermon I’ve preached here and that I preached at Eastide, and I’ve preached in meetings and a good sister in Crosby who has listened to it far more times than I preached it. And it’s called It’s Hard to Be Lost. And some of you heard that sermon that I preached here. And I told Bruce about I said, hey, I need something to preach on Sunday. Could you give that to me? So I shared it with him. I think he’s preaching it today, or at least a version of it. There’s so many things going for us in our salvation. We have angels that minister to us, Hebrews chapter 1. We have so great a salvation, Hebrews 2 and verse 3. We have Jesus, our high priest, whoever lives to make intercession for us and is able to save forever those who draw near to him.

We’ll sing about that next Sunday night, Lord willing. And we have a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us. We have the examples of all the faithful of the past who lived their faith all the way to the end of their lives. We have so much going for us. And we need to remember that. And I would suggest to you that if we’re going to be successes spiritually and grow in righteousness, we need to be focused on others. And that’s not just a first day of the week consideration. That’s an every day of the week consideration. Because the reason why that’s important is not only are we God focused, we are others focused. Because what does that do? That takes the focus off of ourselves. And I think that’s a big part of our problem.

And that’s why we start whining and complaining, and we’re not thankful and rejoicing, and that’s why we get so sideways with other people in our relationships, because we’re thinking about ourselves all the time. And as long as that’s the filter, we will not grow spiritually. But if you take that focus off of yourself and put it on someone else, a brother or sister who needs encouragement or assistance, or your family members, your spouse, your children. And totally remove self from the equation for some time, you will be on your way to becoming more like Jesus. Because that’s who he was. And we can call ourselves Christians all day long, but if we don’t learn this, we are not like Him.

Now, if you get those filters in place, then steady work must follow. You know, there’s no shortcut to spiritual growth. And it doesn’t happen in a day, it doesn’t happen in a week. It’s going to require ongoing effort. We can talk about poor in spirit all day long, but I want to tell you becoming poor in spirit is a lifetime work. Good days and bad days. But here’s the thing. The more you pursue the principles of righteousness and this new way of thinking and living, over time, what happens is that becomes more of your nature and your character. Not just one day of doing this, but an ongoing effort and pursuit of these things will develop these as a part of our character. Steady work. And that’s going to involve.

Didn’t have enough room. Meditation and prayer. Don’t underestimate the importance of communion with God in regard to this growth and development and producing the fruit of the kingdom. And one more thing. It’s going to require persistence and patience. Changing character will involve doing the right things for a long time. And we sometimes get weary in well doing.

And it may be perhaps, I don’t know, the least popular of all the songs. And that’s the song about being a fixer up. It’s the song trolls sing in relation to Anna and Christoph. And of course, they’re totally ignoring the fact that there’s another guy in the equation. They see this potential blossoming relationship between Anna and Christoph. She goes, They go, What’s the issue, dear? Why are you holding back from such a man? Is it the clumsy way he walks or the grumpy way he talks? And I like this. Or the pear-shaped, square-shaped weirdness of his feet. And though we know he washes well, he always ends up sort of smelly. But you’ll never meet a fella who’s so sensitive and sweet. So he’s a bit of a fixer upper.

He’s got a few flaws. But this we’re certain of, you can fix this fixer upper with a little bit of love. I think it may be the most insightful song of all of the songs in Frozen. That if we would love each other, truly apply the characteristics that we read about in 1 Corinthians 13 in our homes and among our brethren, that just perhaps it might assist the improvement and growth of those closest to us. If we weren’t just so negative and critical all the time. Well, of course, she’s a bit of a fixer-upper, too, because after all, she’s engaged to someone else. And so they say, She’s a bit of a fixer upper. That’s a minor thing. Her quote, engagement is a flex arrangement. And by the way, I don’t see no ring.

So she’s a bit of a fixer upper, they say. We’re not saying you can change him, they go back to him, because people don’t really change. We’re only saying that love’s a force that’s powerful and strange. Here’s the thing, but people do really change. And if they’re intent on change, and if I’m assisting their change, throwing a little love their way, you’ll bring out their best. True love brings out the best. Everyone’s a bit of a fixer upper. That’s what it’s all about. Father, sister, brother. We need each other to raise us up and round us out. Everyone’s a bit of a fixer upper. True. Love. The song ends. And then the troll priest says to you, Anna, take Christoph, to be your trollfully wedded husband.

Wait, what? The truth is that all of us, when we come into Christ, are a bit of a fixer-upper. And some of us have been at this for a little bit of time. But we still got some fixer-uppering to do. And we need each other’s help. And that’s what these assemblies are all about. And that’s what the teaching of God’s word is all about. But I think sometimes we sort of view ourselves as being all fixed up, and we get fixated on how the other person needs to be fixed up. Again, maybe we need to focus upon our own growth and improvement. Because after all, I can’t grow for Sherry, and Sherry can’t grow for me. I can assist and help, but really, that’s our own choice.

Conclusion

What a tragedy it would be in all of our association with truth, with the message of salvation that all of us have had.

And here we are in association with the truth, the message that’s saved, and what a horrible thing. If God would say about us as He did the Jews in the first century, you’re not getting it.

You’re not going to make it. And don’t think that can’t happen. Remember what the fruit of the kingdom really is all about. And that’s how we’re thinking about things. Our perspective. The filters we’re using to define what I’m going to pursue, what effort I’m going to give to my faith, and how I’m going to live each day for God. If God presently looks at you as one in sin or rebellion to him, what are you going to do? You’re going to deny exists? Bad road, trust me. You’re going to try to change God, that’s not going to work either. Going to blame other people. Or just live with the guilt. Or are you going to repent and change and be a fixer up? If you’re subject to the invitation of our Lord, come now as we stand in tonight.