Scripture referenced
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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John 7:1-36 read aloud in full as the main passage for the sermon
1 After these things, Jesus was walking in Galilee, for he wouldn’t walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him.
2 Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was at hand.
3 His brothers therefore said to him, “Depart from here, and go into Judea, that your disciples also may see your works which you do.
4 For no one does anything in secret, and himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, reveal yourself to the world.”
5 For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.
6 Jesus therefore said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.
7 The world can’t hate you, but it hates me, because I testify about it, that its works are evil.
8 You go up to the feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, because my time is not yet fulfilled.”
9 Having said these things to them, he stayed in Galilee.
10 But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly, but as it were in secret.
11 The Jews therefore sought him at the feast, and said, “Where is he?”
12 There was much murmuring among the multitudes concerning him. Some said, “He is a good man.” Others said, “Not so, but he leads the multitude astray.”
13 Yet no one spoke openly of him for fear of the Jews.
14 But when it was now the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught.
15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How does this man know letters, having never been educated?”
16 Jesus therefore answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.
17 If anyone desires to do his will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is from God, or if I am speaking from myself.
18 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.
19 Didn’t Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill me?”
20 The multitude answered, “You have a demon! Who seeks to kill you?”
21 Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel because of it.
22 Moses has given you circumcision (not that it is of Moses, but of the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a boy.
23 If a boy receives circumcision on the Sabbath, that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me, because I made a man completely healthy on the Sabbath?
24 Don’t judge according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”
25 Therefore some of them of Jerusalem said, “Isn’t this he whom they seek to kill?
26 Behold, he speaks openly, and they say nothing to him. Can it be that the rulers indeed know that this is truly the Christ?
27 However we know where this man comes from, but when the Christ comes, no one will know where he comes from.”
28 Jesus therefore cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, “You both know me, and know where I am from. I have not come of myself, but he who sent me is true, whom you don’t know.
29 I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”
30 They sought therefore to take him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.
31 But of the multitude, many believed in him. They said, “When the Christ comes, he won’t do more signs than those which this man has done, will he?”
32 The Pharisees heard the multitude murmuring these things concerning him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to arrest him.
33 Then Jesus said, “I will be with you a little while longer, then I go to him who sent me.
34 You will seek me, and won’t find me; and where I am, you can’t come.”
35 The Jews therefore said among themselves, “Where will this man go that we won’t find him? Will he go to the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?
36 What is this word that he said, ‘You will seek me, and won’t find me; and where I am, you can’t come’?”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Keep this verse
John 3:16
quoted as the familiar summary of Jesus' ministry that people already know
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
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John 7:31
cited repeatedly as the verse about people believing in Jesus, used as the known baseline against which new wine is contrasted
31 But of the multitude, many believed in him. They said, “When the Christ comes, he won’t do more signs than those which this man has done, will he?”
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John 7:24
quoted as Jesus' command to stop judging by appearances and judge correctly, tied to the sermon's theme of looking beneath the surface
24 Don’t judge according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”
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Habakkuk 3:3-6
read as a prophecy about the manner of Jesus' return, used to show a dimension of Jesus that does not fit a felt-board image
3 God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and his praise filled the earth.
4 His splendor is like the sunrise. Rays shine from his hand, where his power is hidden.
5 Plague went before him, and pestilence followed his feet.
6 He stood, and shook the earth. He looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains were crumbled. The age-old hills collapsed. His ways are eternal.
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Psalm 2
referenced as saying Jesus will rule from earth making enemies his footstool and smashing nations like clay pots
1 Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against his Anointed, saying,
3 “Let’s break their bonds apart, and cast their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens will laugh. The Lord will have them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his anger, and terrify them in his wrath:
6 “Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.”
7 I will tell of the decree. Yahweh said to me, “You are my son. Today I have become your father.
8 Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
10 Now therefore be wise, you kings. Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve Yahweh with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12 Give sincere homage to the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish on the way, for his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all those who take refuge in him.
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Revelation
referenced for the tribulation, the wrath of the lamb, bowls filled with prayers of saints, and the spirit and bride saying come Lord Jesus
Keep this verseRomans 10:9
paraphrased as confess with your mouth and believe in your heart during the salvation prayer
9 that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
This Sunday Brian walked the congregation through John 7 and asked a direct question: is the picture of Jesus you carry big enough to hold everything the Bible actually says about him? The sermon used the image of a wineskin, already familiar to the Tribe fam from recent weeks, to press that question into something personal and immediate, with Tuesday's election sitting one day away.
What was said
Brian opened by saying that most of us have a settled, comfortable picture of Jesus built around John 7:31, the moment when many in the crowd believed. That verse is true and real, he said, but it has become the whole frame for how a lot of Christians think about Jesus and his ministry, and that frame is too small.
He moved to Habakkuk 3 to show that the Bible's portrait of Jesus returning to earth includes things that do not fit on a felt-board flannelgraph: pestilence marching before him, plagues following behind, the nations trembling, mountains leveled. Most people, Brian said, either skip those verses or mentally file them as metaphor because they have no wineskin to hold a Jesus like that. He was not arguing for a particular end-times timeline; he was arguing that if your picture of Jesus cannot stretch to include those passages, new wine will be poured out and you will not be able to receive it.
He then walked back through John 7 more slowly, pointing out everything that surrounds verse 31. Grumbling, accusations of fraud, charges of demon possession, fear, confusion, angry crowds, leaders trying to make an arrest. People in verse 27 were certain they had Jesus figured out and were wrong. Brian's point was that verse 31 always plays out inside that kind of noise, not apart from it, and that Christians who only have eyes for the belief moment will be blindsided and disillusioned by everything around it.
A man in the room offered the analogy of going to the gym and doing the same routine without adding weight, watching someone else strain and grow. Brian picked it up directly: going to church, reading the word, worshiping on Sunday mornings, these are the baseline, not the ceiling. The question the Lord was pressing was whether the congregation would add weight, step into discomfort, let the Spirit lead them toward someone in a grocery store aisle or toward an area of offense they had been quietly controlling.
Brian tied it to the election without making the election the point. He said the days between Tuesday and January could be weeks or months of mayhem, and that the country will need Christians who are calm, steadfast, and able to look beneath the surface rather than getting swept into the swirl. He put the bottom line plainly: do not be distracted by superficial events and opinions, but look beneath the surface to discover what God is up to, which he said is exactly what Jesus told the crowd in verse 24 before anyone got to verse 31.
The service closed with Brian inviting anyone who needed to give their life to Jesus, or to come back to him, to stand where they were. Several people stood, and Brian led the room in a prayer of surrender together before sending everyone out.
Touch points
Things you could actually do this week.
- Before you go to the grocery store or run errands this week, ask the Holy Spirit to interrupt your checklist and lead you to someone who needs prayer, then actually stop and ask them.
- Sit quietly with your Bible open to Habakkuk chapter three, verses three through six, and ask God honestly whether your picture of Jesus has room for attributes of him that make you uncomfortable.
- Pick one area of your life where you have been controlling the outcome rather than surrendering it, name it out loud to God, and ask him to stretch your wineskin to receive what he is already pouring out.
- In the days following Tuesday's election, when the noise online or in conversation pulls you toward anxiety or anger, pause and remind yourself of Brian's line from John seven: look beneath the surface to see what God is actually doing.
- If you stood up during the closing prayer or quietly wanted to but did not, find one of the prayer team members at a future gathering, or simply tell God in your own words today that you are surrendering your life to him.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Brian talked about the prayer 'I want more of you, God' and said it is not a whiny request but a cry for the courage to surrender. Where in your own life do you sense God has already poured something out that you have not yet been able to receive?
- Sarah shared a picture during worship of a bird carrying a crown of thorns and laying it on the cross. What is something you have been carrying that, according to what Jesus has already done, you no longer need to carry?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Resumen en español
El mensaje resumido, en español.
El domingo 4 de noviembre, Brian Hunter predicó a partir de Juan 7:1-36, invitando a la congregación a mirar más allá de lo superficial para descubrir lo que Dios está haciendo. Usó la imagen del odre nuevo y el vino nuevo para plantear una pregunta difícil: ¿tiene cada uno de nosotros la capacidad espiritual de recibir una imagen más completa de Jesús, incluso cuando esa imagen incluye aspectos que nos incomodan o confunden? Señaló que en el mismo capítulo donde muchos creyeron en Jesús (v. 31), también había confusión, acusaciones, miedo y grumbling, y que eso refleja muy bien el momento que vive el país.
También leyó Habacuc 3:3-6 para mostrar que la Biblia describe el regreso de Jesús de maneras que no encajan con la imagen suave y familiar que muchos tienen de él. El punto no era asustar a nadie, sino invitar a cada persona a preguntarse si su fe tiene espacio para el Jesús completo que revela la Escritura, especialmente en tiempos de turbulencia política y social. Varios miembros de la congregación participaron en la conversación, y al final del servicio algunas personas respondieron a una invitación a entregar su vida a Jesús.
Durante la alabanza, una integrante llamada Sarah compartió una imagen que recibió: un pájaro que llevaba una corona de espinas en el pico y la depositaba en la cruz, como recordatorio de que Jesús ya cargó con esa maldición y no hay razón para seguir llevándola.
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Pasajes bíblicos mencionados:
- Juan 7:1-36
- Juan 3:16
- Habacuc 3:3-6
- Salmos 2
- Apocalipsis (referencias generales al regreso de Cristo, la gran tribulación y el final del libro)
- Hechos 1 (referencia al ángel que anunció el regreso de Jesús)
Read the full transcript 12,335 words
Don't move. Nobody move. Look in everyone's attention. Let's stand together this morning. Lord Jesus, we invite your presence into this place.
We tell you that you are welcome here. We thank you for every precious heart in this room. Come have your way in this place as we worship you today. In Jesus name, amen.
Doesn't stand a chance when I stand in your love. My fear doesn't stand a chance when I stand in your love. My fear doesn't stand a chance when I stand in your love.
Let's just surrender to him today.
Shame no longer has a place to hide. And I am not a captive to the lies. I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid to leave my past behind. I won't be shaken.
I won't be shaken. My fear doesn't stand a chance when I'm standing your love. My fear doesn't stand a chance when I'm standing your love. My fear doesn't stand a chance when I'm stand in your
Let's sing that again together just to
clear that this morning. My fear, my fear doesn't stand a chance when I stand in your love. My fear there's power let's sing about it this morning there's power that can break off every chain yes there is there's power that can empty out the grave hallelujah There's resurrection power that can save the power in your name. Power in your name. Sing that there's power.
There's power that can break off every day. Available today. There's power that can empty out of gray. Yeah. There's resurrection power that can save.
Power power in your name power in your name. My fear doesn't stand a chance when... Come on declare in your love. My fear that out. My fear doesn't stand a chance when I stand in your love.
My fear doesn't stand a chance when I stand in your love. My fear up every chain. Yes, there is. There's power that can empty out of the grave. Resurrection.
There's resurrection power that can save. Standing in love now. Yes, we are God. Yes. We are God.
Just ask him right now to remove the distractions of your mind. Just close your eyes and just take a minute. Just exhale. Lord, we're standing in your love right now this morning. No matter what we're going through, we choose to stand in your love and who you are this morning.
We thank you that you are everything and that there's power in your name. Power in your name this morning. We just lay aside anything that we would carry in here that would hinder us from entering into your presence today. We declare who you are over us and over this place today. That you are the Lord, you are the light, you are the salvation today.
Yes, Lord.
Just tell him you've come to worship him.
I've come to worship you today. Lay aside the distractions, God.
Sing the Lord is my light.
The Lord is my light and salvation. Of whom shall I fear? Of whom shall I be afraid. The Lord is my light and salvation, whom shall I fear, whom shall I be afraid, oh I will wait for you, yes we will Lord, oh I will wait for you. Oh, I will wait for you.
Come and speak to us today. I will wait for you and I will remain. I will remain confident in this. Will see God. The Lord is my light and salvation.
Shall I fear of whom shall I be afraid. The Lord is my right and salvation. Whom shall I fear? Whom shall I be afraid? I will trust.
I will trust in you. Oh, yes. I will. Will trust in you. Oh, I will trust in you.
Oh, yeah. And you alone. I will trust in you. Come on. And I will remain.
I will remain confident in this. I will see the goodness of the Lord. I will remain. I will remain confident in this. I will see the goodness of the Lord.
Come on. Declare. I will remain here. I will remain not giving up. Confident in this.
I will see the goodness of the Lord over our families. Yeah. I will remain comforted in this. I will see the goodness of the lord. Oh, we put
our hope in you, Jesus. You and you alone. We don't put our hope in this world. We don't put our hope in government. We don't put our hope in relationships.
We put our hope in you. You and you alone. No job, no status, nothing could satisfy us like you. There's places this morning that you put your hope that is not in Jesus. Let him search your heart today and just shift that this morning.
Tell him I put my hope in you and you alone. Faithful king, lover of my soul, the one who's returning for his bride.
We said our hope on you. We said our hope on your love. We said our hope on the one who is the everlasting God. You are the everlasting God. We declare it.
We declare it. We say it. We say it. Say say everlasting god. You are the everlasting god.
We said our hope on you. We said our on you. We said I hope hope on your love. We said I hope on the one who is the everlasting god. You are the everlasting god.
Come on church sing it. Say, yeah. We said our hope on you. We said our hope on your love. We
the to
God. You are the everlasting God. I will remain, yeah, I will remain confident in this. I will see the goodness of the Lord. I will remain.
Yeah. I will remain. That's right. Sing it out. Oh, we declare it over our families.
Yeah. How we remain over our health,
over our finances, I
will remain confident in this. I will see the goodness of the Lord. One more time, I will remain. I will remain. Yeah.
Comforted in this. I will see the goodness of the Lord. Oh, yes, we will. We declare.
Oh, we just declare there's no place that we would rather be than in your presence right here, right now.
Let everything else fall away today. We press into you. We press into you. Yeah. Come and set a fire down in my soul that I can't contain, that I can't control.
I want more of you, God. I want more of you, God. Set a fire down in my soul that I can't contain, that I can't control. I want more of you, God. I want more of you.
Just hold it here for a second.
As we were just singing this, as we were running through it this morning, I just... There's certain songs that I always feel like, can I say that? Like, do I sound like a whiny baby when I sing that? Like, I want more. Lord, give me more, more.
You know, like when my kids were little and they'd finish the food and firm and they'd go, more, more. And I felt like the Lord say, I love this prayer. And it's not because he hasn't poured it out. It's not because it's not available and he's withholding something from you. And he's like, oh, he's just waiting for you to ask.
He's waiting for you to ask more of his peace. He's waiting for you to surrender more so that you can experience more of what he's already made available to you. Does it make sense? It's already available to you. Everything that you need by the holy spirit.
Everything that you could ever need is available to you if you've surrendered your life to Jesus. So start there this morning. Start there this morning. Start with asking the Lord, have I really surrendered to you? Maybe that's why I'm not experiencing more of your love, more of your peace, more of your patience, more of your gentleness, more of your kindness.
So when we cry out that Lord pour it out pour it out. It's like what we've been talking about about the new wine skin. Ask him, have I constructed a wine skin that can handle what you're trying to pour out? Because he could pour out all day long. And if you're so full of the world and so full of Netflix and so full of whatever it is that we're all tend to lean on in our flesh, he could pour out all that you ask for but you can't receive it.
So that's this cry this morning, God. That's our cry. It's not a whiny baby. More more more. It's Lord, give us give us the surrender, the courage to surrender to you.
The courage to allow you to search us this morning and then it's on us Lord to to construct a new wine skin to receive through surrender what it is you're pouring out. So let's think of this song as that this morning. When you ask him to pour it out, be ready be ready for him to point out things of areas you need to surrender to him this morning. Amen? Make sense?
So let's sing this with that in mind.
So set a fire down in my soul that I can't contain, that I can't control. I want more of you God. I want more of you God. Set a fire down in my soul that I can't contain, that I can't control. I won't bore a review, God.
I won't bore a review, God. We set a fire down in my soul that I can't contain, that I can't control. I want more of you, God. I want more of you, God. We set a fire down in my soul that I can't contain, that I can't control.
I want more of you, god. I want more of you, god. I'm desperate for you, Lord. I need more revelry. Yeah.
For real, set a fire and set a fire down in my soul that I can't contain, that I can't control. I want more of you God. I want more of you God. Set a fire down in my soul that I can't contain control. I want more of you, God.
I want more of you, God. Yes, Lord. I just see
this picture of what that really looks like that I can't control. And I get a picture of someone standing in a grocery store and they've prayed this prayer maybe even after service today. You go to the grocery store and you're like, doodle up, boop, done with church. Check. But you've asked Lord, pour it out and then you're walking down the grocery aisle and the Holy Spirit pricks your heart for someone down the aisle.
They're hurting, maybe is the impression on your heart. Ask them if there's something that you could pray for them for. But I just said, I can't contain it and I can't control it, but I like to control my environment. I don't wanna step out in uncomfortably. What if they look at me like I'm crazy?
What if they what if they're like, nope. No. Thanks. And it's embarrassing. I feel like the Lord's saying to each of us right now, these are the moments when we sing this.
Will you actually surrender control and let me work through you? Whenever. It's easy. It's easy in some ways. We're all here together.
We're all on the same page. We're all believers. We're all worshiping. Carolyn's here. Everything's right
in the world today. But
it's when we step out of these walls. Right? That we're like, okay, here's my list, here's my schedule, here's my thing, I gotta go to do this. Check, check, check, check, check. Right?
In this moment, it's easy, Lord, pour it out. But it's in our daily walk with him that he's speaking and he's asking, will you let me work through you? So when we sing this, ask him, Lord, what are those areas? Maybe it's there's a offense or something you've had in your heart for a long time and you are in your mind so right. And the Holy Spirit saying, do you wanna control that or do you want to surrender that to me?
Because I might ask you
to do something about it.
So as we sing this, just maybe the Holy Spirit would bring things to mind of areas we've controlled. So Lord, that's our prayer this morning that you would truly use us, that you would truly work through us, that these wouldn't just be words we sing when we all get together as Christians on a Sunday morning, but that they would be the way that we long to walk because you paid it all for us. We sung about the... There's power in your name. Let us walk that out in obedience.
I can't contain, can't control. I want more of you, God. I want more of you, God. Set a fire down in my soul that I can't contain, that I can't control. I want more of you, God.
I more of you, God. I need more of you. What is it
that you need more of? What is it that you need more of today? He's here. He's here. He's here.
His spirit lives inside you if you've surrendered your life to Jesus. Sing, there's no place I'd rather be.
No place I would rather be. No place I would rather be. Yeah. No place I would rather be. Then here in your love.
Here in your love. No place I would rather be. Yeah. No place I would rather be. No place I would rather be.
Then here in your love, here in your love. So I said I'll fire down in my soul that I can't contain, that I can't control. I want more of you, God. I want more of you, God. The fragrance of heaven.
So pour your spirit out. Pour your spirit out. Holy anointing. A holy anointing. Power of your presence.
Pour your spirit out. Pour your spirit out. Sing we need because we need a fresh wind today. Fragrance of heaven, pour your spirit out on us. Pour your spirit out holy, a holy anointed.
Pour your spirit out. Pour your spirit out. Oh, yeah.
Father, we just tell you we need you desperately today. Pour your spirit. Continue to pour your spirit out on us. As we dig into your word, we ask that we'll be changed today. Who is sick of just going through the motions in this place today?
Checking a box or just going through the action steps, but never experiencing the presence of God today, today, today. God, we ask that we would experience all that you're pouring out, that we would have the wine skin to receive it, that we would allow you to search us so that we could be a vessel ready for your spirit to pour into us so that when we're at the grocery store, it's just out of overflow. How could we not how could we not share what the Lord is putting on our hearts because we hear your voice and we long to be obedient? That's our heart cry today. So as you pour out, we surrender.
Thank you for every heart in this room. This unique gathering of believers today do something unique and special in us and through us. Give us pictures and words for one another that would build us up, that would make the name your name, Jesus famous. In this bar here in Jackson and to the uttermost bounds of the world, we tell you we love you Jesus and everybody said, amen. Turn around.
It's kalo. It's tight. It's family. It's like a living room. Say good morning.
It's a good day to worship the Lord. Amen. Mic stand for Brian? Do you got that music stand?
So I don't muddle my way over there.
Thank you.
Oh,
that's okay. Okay. Tell me about your picture. Stay there. Summon your courage.
Alright. Good morning, tribe fam. So glad that you are here. If you're new or visiting, welcome to church in a bar. This is great.
I wanna introduce you to someone, and they just came up and were sharing with me that right after you came up to me right after worship, Sarah, and were like, I just saw this really cool picture. And I was like, well, you gotta share that. So I'm gonna invite share... Sarah to share this picture. And just put that mic right here at the bottom of your chin.
Sorry. I'm crying because it was, like, just a really powerful picture. So I've been taught lately just, like, your thought processes can, like, cause repetitive thoughts or negativity and things like that. And I've been taught by somebody that I know that you can take those thoughts and, like, watch them fly away like a bird.
Like Let me turn this mic on for you. Turn on.
I was like, I can't hear you.
It's a whole new world.
Oh, okay. There we go. Okay. So I've been learning lately just, like, how to reframe thoughts. And one of the ways that you can do that that I was taught is when you're in some sort of negative thought pattern to watch it fly away like a bird.
And during... When Lissa was speaking and worshiping, I just saw flying away like a bird. I was thinking about, oh, yeah. That's really cool that you can watch thoughts just kinda fly away. But then in the moment that Alyssa was, like, surrendering, like, everything to the lord, it's like, I watched that bird, but this time it had, like, a crown of thorns in its mouth.
And it went and, like, laid it on the cross, like, on the top. And it was just like, why would you be carrying around these thorns that the Lord has, like, already taken from you and, like, already, like, given you freedom from? And so it was just, like, really, really cool to see that picture, but, like, in a biblical sense.
Love it.
Don't go anywhere.
Yes. Sarah does.
That's awesome. So, Sarah, how often do you stand up here and share pictures and and words? How often? This is Yeah. Yes.
Never. Yes. So number one, your obedience and your bravery and your courage is amazing.
Yes. Amen.
Number two, I think the Lord share... Showed you that picture for you, but then also for maybe somebody else here in the room. And here's what's really cool is, I'm gonna ask you to be even braver and and just pray that picture picture over anybody that has been carrying around the burden of the weight of sin that Jesus has already taken upon himself and been crucified. The the crown of thorn represents the curse that was pronounced as a result of Adam's sin back in the garden. Jesus will wear another crown someday, and it will be the crown of victory, and we will receive the crown of life.
And what are we gonna do with our crowns? Lay them at Jesus' feet because he has won the victory and he's worthy to break the seals on the scroll. And so the crown that you saw was that old life that has been crucified with Christ. So would you pray just whatever the Lord puts on your heart over us?
Dear Jesus, in your name, we just pray for
Thank you.
This service today. We thank you that we can give you these thoughts and these emotions and different things that are going on in our life, Lord. We just thank you that you are an everlasting God, Lord, that you had taken them away already. Jesus, I pray that you will remind us today that no matter what we're walking through, no matter what we're going through, Lord, you've already known and you already took it. Jesus, you're in control, and we just pray that today we can live in the peace of that Mhmm.
And that we can rest in that. Yes. In Jesus name, pray. Amen.
Amen. That was so good. Great job. Okay. Oh, yeah.
I got one. If you have your bibles with you this morning, would you turn to the gospel of John? We're gonna be in John today. And while you're turning to John, this is this is probably gonna come out in some form or another that is gonna be more refined and articulate, but I'm also a verbal processor. So I'm gonna just let a few words tumble out really quickly, and then then I'll probably have to clean up my own words, or we'll do more with it later.
But as many of you know, Tribe just celebrated its eighth birthday, the last Sunday in October. And we had a transformative moment in in my heart and in the life of the church around 2020. So it's been about four years now. And I feel like the Lord has invited me to construct a new wineskin to be able to contain the new wine that he's pouring out just for me and for our family and also for the the the church as a whole. And I'm going to...
I think I'll say more about what this new wineskin looks like at a at a future date, probably before the end of the year, but I don't know that I'll do it on, like, a Sunday morning. Not that it's not appropriate for Sunday morning, but that I think it's a a a little less appropriate for a Sunday morning. So he he... You know, these words are tumbling out. Staff's like, ugh.
But maybe we'll do, like, a Sunday evening service, like, the TMC. TMC stands for Tribe Ministry Center. It's where we have our offices and meetings. Young adults on Tuesday meet there. But...
You might have gone there this morning by accident.
Maybe you went there this... Oh. But, hey, you're here now, and you you found us. So also, Liz, could I ask, is it a little warm in here, or is it I? Alright.
If it's perfect, then that's a little too warm. Would you would you... Because the preaching is gonna be so hot. Michelle, no? Nothing?
No? Okay. Didn't get her. If you would turn it down just a little bit, please. Thank you, Lissa.
That's my wife, Lissa. Worship was amazing this morning. Right? Yeah. Whoo.
Some something wonderful about that. John chapter seven, and we're going together to... Not all at the same time. Like, that would be too liturgical. But we're gonna take turns.
We have a mic in the room, and I would like us to read verses one through 36 of John chapter seven. We're gonna read a passage that we've probably covered, but like you have probably covered it before, but we're going to look at it from a unique perspective today, but we've gotta get the context of all that's happening. So we're going to read John chapter seven verse one through 36. We have a mic. Ella has the mic.
Oh, there she is. Ella has the mic. And so, in just a moment, anybody wants to volunteer, you can kick off reading verses one through 36. And, the reason why that we have the mic in the room is so that we can talk to each other. What I really would like today's service to be, and if you're new to Tribe, this is the vibe of Tribe, is I want this to be a conversation that we have.
I want to hear from you. I know that that all of you came to hear from the lord and that's great. Some of you might have come to hear from the the the guy that that stands here and he may he may or may not be like like sharing the word of the lord. And so to just come for a man, if you if you know Tribe, you're like, oh, it's pastor Brian. It's it's Brian.
It's, like, not anything amazing or incredible. You come for to hear from the lord and he speaks to you, maybe through me, maybe through his word, or what I love is the conversational format that we have is just like we have already heard from the lord through worship and then through that picture that Sarah saw when he, the lord, speaks to you, that's what's transformative and amazing. And I want to be able to hear from you, and we wanna be able to hear from you. So if you have questions, comments, or connections, something that's reminding you of something else, all you have to do is raise your hand. Ella will get the mic to you, and then you can share that.
And if it's messy or weird, well, then I'll just clean it up real quick, and we'll keep on moving. I can imagine how it might seem a little fearful, like you're just... You would give anybody the mic? There isn't anybody that could say anything that we just can't clear up or just shut down if it gets weird. So if you're like, oh, that's really, like, unsettling.
Peace be upon you. Peace. I'm I'm in charge as the lord's delegated authority, and I'm not gonna let it get weird ever, ever, ever, ever. Might get odd, but we are at church in a bar. So we also use the mic in the room for all of the families that are traveling and out of town and watching the livestream.
And so when we have the mic, then they get to hear it on the livestream. So with all of that said, let's get to the good stuff, which is the reading of God's word. So who... Whoever would like to read first, Kat's gonna kick us off and read a few verses and then pass it on. We're gonna go verse one through 36.
35. Thank you.
After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. But soon, it was time for the Jewish festival of shelters and Jesus Jesus' brother said to him, leave here and go to Judea where your followers can see your miracles. You can't become famous if you hide like this. If you can do such wonderful things show yourself to the world for even his brothers didn't believe in him.
Jesus replied, now is not the right time for me to go but you can go anytime. The world can't hate you but it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil. You go on. I am not going to this festival because my time has not yet come. After saying these things, Jesus remained in Galilee.
But after this, after his brothers left for the festival, Jesus also went, though secretly staying out of public view. The Jewish leaders tried to find him at the festival and kept asking if anyone had seen him. There was a lot of grumbling about him among the crowds. Some argued he's a good man, but others said he's nothing but a fraud who deceives the people. But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.
Then midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the temple and began to teach. The people were surprised when they heard him. How does he know so much when he hasn't been trained? They asked.
Alright. We're on verse 16. Correct? Yes. Okay.
Jesus answered, my teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory. But he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth.
There's nothing false about him. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me? Oh, you need to read this.
You are demon possessed, the crowd answered. Who is trying to kill you? Jesus said to them, I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. Yet because Moses gave you circumcision, though, actually, it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs. You circumcise a boy on the Sabbath.
Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man a man's whole body on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearance, but instead judge correctly.
It's good. We're getting there.
Okay.
So you just said, look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly. Is Jesus the messiah? Verse 25. Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem started to ask each other, isn't this the man they are trying to kill? But here he is speaking in public and they say nothing to him.
Could our leaders possibly believe that he is the messiah? But how could it be for we know where this man comes from? When the messiah comes, we will simp... He will simply appear. No one will know where he comes from.
I think that's like a reasonable human question. Yeah? Reasonable.
Say more.
I'll just keep reading. I'll just keep reading. While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he called out, yes. You know me and you know where I come from, but I'm not here on my own. The one who sent me is true and you don't know him, but I know him because I come from him and he sent me to you.
Then the leaders tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him because his time had not yet come. Many among the crowds of the temple believed in him. After all, they said, would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done? When the Pharisees heard that, the crowds were whispering such things and the leading priest sent the temple guards to arrest Jesus. But Jesus told them, I will be with you only a little longer.
Then I will return to the one who sent me. You will search for me, but not find me, and you cannot go where I'm going. The Jewish leaders were puzzled by this statement. Where is he planning to go? They asked.
Is he thinking of leaving the country and going to the... With the Jews and the other lands? Maybe he will even teach the Greeks.
The Lord bless the reading of his word this morning. If you're taking notes for our conversation today, you can write at the top of your notes. Look beneath the surface. That's going to be the title and the theme of the conversation we're having today. Look beneath the surface.
Okay. So let me ask you. Who is the central figure in character in this particular passage that we've just written? Who is the spotlight on? Jesus.
Yes. Jesus. It's about Jesus is speaking. They're questioning Jesus. They're talking about Jesus.
They're talking to Jesus. Jesus is doing a lot of the talking as evidenced by all of the red letters right there in your bible. Jesus is the central figure. And for most of us, the man, the ministry, and the mission of Jesus is really clear. We've been reading about it.
We've been studying it. We've been talking about it. As long as you've been following Jesus as the leader of your life, as long as you've been going to church, as long as you've been reading your bible, yep, yep, yep, it's all about Jesus. And what we think about him mostly could be summed up, and what we look for could be summed up in verse 31. Look look at verse 31 really quickly.
Many among the crowds at the temple believed in him. Verse 31. I've got it. It... It's a note.
It's a slide for you, Andy. Verse 31. Is there not... Oh, so you were right, and I was the one in front of the door. Sorry, Andy.
Verse 31. This is what we think of Jesus. People... Jesus doing his thing, and then people responding and believing. This is what you hear preached from the pulpit.
This is what you see when you read your bible. These are all the podcasts that you listen to. This is the the thrust and the emphasis of Jesus' ministry. Jesus preaches. Jesus shows up.
People believe in him, they get saved, everybody claps, and then you go on your way. And everybody, even like the guy at the football stadium holds up John three sixteen. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only begotten son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. Great. We got it.
That has been the wine that has been poured out for two thousand years, and it's a it's a very good wine to drink from. It's great. I believe, and I'm developing, I use that word intentionally, developing present ongoing. A new wineskin to hold what I believe is the Lord pouring out new wine on the earth. And for anyone who would be willing to pay the price to purchase or construct a new wineskin.
They will be able to receive the new wine that when they look at, for example, this passage, it's been in there all along, but we're going to highlight and examine the context in which people believed. We have the people believe part. Yep. Got it. Great.
But there's new wine that the Lord is pouring out that when you have bought, purchased, constructed, I don't know, a new wineskin, it will help you to be able to see what the Lord is doing within the context of events that are unfolding in The United States and around the world and prepare you to be able to see with clarity, verse 31, in the midst of all that surrounds it. And if right now in this moment you're like, what are you talking about? I'm setting it up so that we can then come back and go slowly and walk through it and unpack so that, hopefully, you will see the reality in which verse 31 plays out. What I'm trying to say is, we all know verse 31. We've all seen it.
Many of us have experienced it. Few of us have seen the context in which verse 31 plays out. And if we only have eyes to see verse 31 in the days ahead, we will be so caught off guard. We will be so confused, disillusioned that there will be a propensity in the human heart to... Among Christians to just be like, it's too much.
I'm checking out. And the lord is saying, it's been in here all along. Well, what is it? Alright. Let let's go.
Let's go. Let's go. We think of Jesus being so clear cut and unambiguous, but that's not always the case. We have this nice flannelgraph felt board Jesus idea and... Oh, that is really outdated.
That that little... How many of you remember, like, Sunday school felt board flannelgraphs? Yes. Yes. Yes.
Yes. How many of you are like... How many of you are old? Yeah. Oh, how many of you are old?
Okay.
Wise. Wise.
Wise. We're getting wiser. But look at... I wanna... I want to to show you.
Alright. Turn turn to Habakkuk. If you don't know where the book of Habakkuk is, you can do one of three things. Just, like, click on Habakkuk. That's cheating.
You can go to the Gospel of Matthew, fairly easy to find, and then hang a left and go back that way. Or all of your Bibles have a table of contents, and you can just go to the front, find the book of Habakkuk, and then turn there. Habakkuk chapter three. This has been in your Bibles all along. We love verse 31, Jesus.
But the Lord is going to release and is preparing people for an expression and a dimension of the nature and character of Jesus that we have previously maybe not been exposed to, read about, or are even comfortable with, but it is part of who he is. Habakkuk chapter three verse three through six. I see God moving across the deserts from Edom. Putting this verse into context, this is a prophecy about the manner, not just the return of Jesus, his second advent, but the manner in which he will return. Some of you, probably many of you in this room are like, Jesus is coming back?
Like, yeah. Okay. Like, I... But you don't know much about it. It...
There's a lot of talk about it in your bible. And if you do, if you are familiar with the return of Jesus, you might think of him as setting foot on the Mount Of Olives that he returns in the manner that he left because that's what the angel said of the book, first part of the book of acts, and you're like, okay. He's gonna touch down the Mount Of Olives, and and then I don't even really know what... But that's as kind of as far as your eschatology goes. This passage is about the return of Jesus.
I see God moving across the deserts from Edom, the holy one coming from Mount Paran, which is another name for Mount Sinai. In the same way that the Lord descended for Israel on Mount Sinai, there's a very good chance that that's how we'll see Jesus return. There's so many amazing parallels. His brilliant splendor fills the heavens, and the earth is filled with his praise. Got it.
I'm tracking with you. His coming is as brilliant as the sunrise. I'm tracking. Rays of light flash from his hands. Yep.
Got it. The nail scarred hands, where his awesome power is hidden. Amazing. I'm tracking with you. Pestilence marches before him.
Legs follow closely behind... What? How does it about Jesus? When he stops, the earth shakes? When he looks, the nations tremble and he shatters the everlasting mountains and levels the eternal hills.
He is the eternal one. Well, here's what most people do. His coming is is as brilliant as the sunrise. Rays of light flash from his hands, whereas awesome powers hidden. Skip on a little bit right down to the end.
He is the eternal one. The bible, it is on the... Look in your bible. Does it say any... Now translation will say something different.
But does it say anything different than what I've just read? Pestilence marches before him. Do you know what pestilence means? Pandemics. I don't like that Jesus.
Plagues follow close behind. I don't like that. Then here's what you do. If you have an old... If you have a picture of Jesus, a wineskin of a picture of Jesus that cannot contain that, here's what you do.
You you're like, oh, the word is escaping me. Dismiss. Not dismissive, but you're like, oh, that's... That me... That means something else.
Help me out, everybody. We're doing this together. Jacob, it's what you think about the book of Revelation. What? What?
Metaphorical. Metaphorical. There we go. See, we need to... We need each other.
Oh, it's metaphorical. It's it's imagery. You you dismiss it. The new wine being poured out, but you have no container with which to hold the idea that according to the bible in many places, Psalms two it says, that he will rule from planet earth when he returns making his enemies his footstool and he will rule the nations with an iron rod. He will smash the nations like clay pots.
The bible says that one of two things, either one, it's bold and dramatic, that either he... When he returns, he will have his robes blood stained or his robes will be red as if they had been stained in blood. The Bible says that a sharp two edged sword will come out of his mouth. Like, the the... This is not the felt board flanograph Jesus that you grew up with.
And if you do not have the wineskin to contain the full image, the nature, and character, and expression of Jesus, the new wine that will be pulled out will be ruined on you. Far be it from me who loves you and cares for you, and will give an account to the judge for how I led and where I've led you, that I would be held responsible for not ever inviting you, challenging you, provoking you, cajoling you to consider the current wineskin that you have and to ask, is there room for Jesus for a verse five Jesus? Yes. That's great that there's room in your heart for a verse 31 Jesus of John. But is there a Habakkuk three five room in your heart for Jesus?
And you're like, I don't know. Well, that's why we're gonna look at John to help to help you. I feel like my job today is kinda like Zach de la Rocha said, what do I got to what do I got to do to wake you up, to shake you up, to break your structure up? Let's look at some words that are surrounding the events that happened in verse 31. So we're gonna go back through this.
Verse three and four. And Jesus' brothers said to him, leave here and go to Judea where your followers can see your miracles. You know that Jesus had half brothers. Right? You can't become famous if you hide like this.
If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world. Even within Jesus' blended family, his brothers didn't believe him. Some. Yeah. Some.
James did. Look at verse 10. It talks about this idea of later Jesus shows up secretly. Oh, I feel a little sermon coming on. Here it goes.
You may be in the midst of circumstances where you had expected Jesus to show up in a profound, pronounced manner. And as of yet, you have not seen evidence of him working in your current situation. Take heart, those of you who are going through trouble. He is in the midst of your circumstance and at this moment, he'll be... He is working secretly, unknown to you.
You may be looking for him in the midst of whatever it is that you're going through, not being able to see him. Take heart. He's working secretly. Nancy. Oh, I like it.
Okay. So the beginning of this where he's telling them... Where they told him, you can't become famous if you're gonna hide like this. They had been with him all this time, and you would think they would know him. And they would know that fame was not his purpose or his goal.
And I think it also can reflect back on us. We think we know him, but do we know him? Are we allowing him to pour new wine into us? That's what I'm saying.
I mean, what a... It's a great picture of of some of Jesus' brothers, stepbrothers, having an old wineskin of what they thought Jesus was like. And he's like, I'm not even gonna waste pouring out the new wine of who I am on you because it can't be contained.
I think it's important also for us to realize all the way back in verse one, it said after these things. What things? Well, basically, in the previous chapter, they had a... What we've called that church split. Jesus was going along, and he had this large host of followers.
And when it gets tough, they're like, I got to split, man. I can't do this with you. I can't let you make me have a new wineskin.
Yes.
I'm not ready to press in more and see what may come, so I'll just catch you on the way back through.
Yes.
Already, it was part of the plan because then Jesus comes right in. It doesn't affect him. He just immediately begins to pour into those who remain with him like nothing ever happened.
I love it. What are
gonna do? Are we gonna let people that split off from us, are we gonna let them affect us in our mind's skin growth? Or are we just gonna say, see you?
That's great. Jesus is the only preacher to ever do a reverse altar call. Now with every head bowed and every eye closed while the music's floating softly on the wind, If you're going to reject my message, just stand up and move on out. It was a good altar call. Look at look at verse 10, Andy.
Secretly, he's working. Is that word up there? Look for it. Alright. Alright.
That's coming. That's coming. That's coming. Alright. Here we go.
So, let's go to verse 12. Surrounding Jesus' ministry in his actions, surrounding verse 31 that we're all familiar with is this idea. Look in in verse 12. There's a lot of grumbling that's taking place around and in the atmosphere of verse 31. Look at also in verse 12.
People were arguing Right in the middle of verse 31, the the thing that we all think of, there's grumbling, there's arguing. Look also at verse 12. People are accusing him of being a fraud.
Good job, Andy.
Some says that he is a deceiver. Most people lacked courage to speak out. Verse 13. Because they were fearful. Verse 14.
People were surprised. And then in verse 20, they accused him of being demon possessed. Verse 23, a lot of people were angry. Oh, and then you you might have... I don't think this is the point that you were trying to make, Amanda, when you were reading.
But verse 24, through... Excuse me. Verse twenty five and twenty seven, there's a lot of of confusion that's happening. And here's what people were were saying about Jesus. But how could this be for...
In verse 27. But how could this be for we know where this man can't... Comes from? When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear. No one will know where he comes from, which is not true because there are prophecies in the Old Testament that says, look on you little Bethlehem for a great light has appeared.
Remember when we were at the TMC and we did a great series on turn your cat around? If this pets your fur the wrong way, what you need to do is turn your cat around, so it can be petted the right way. These people right here in verse 27 couldn't turn their cat around. They they they they couldn't construct... I will say this, they had not purchased a new wineskin with which to hold the new wine of the reality of who Jesus is.
And if you can only hold a picture of Jesus that's only large enough for a verse 31 that that he teaches and he goes, here I am on the way, the truth, and life. And people flock to him and believe in him and everything is great and and wonderful. That is true and valid and real, but there's so much more to it. I'm trying to show you that in the midst of verse 31, look at all of these other things that are playing out and that are happening. Controversy, confusion, bewilderment, conflicting ideas, people raising their voices.
Verse 31, some believed in him. There it is. Some believed in him. But verse 32, there were whispers and rumors. And in verse 35, they were puzzled.
Like, I don't I don't know about this. I'm trying to show you a portrait of Jesus in the context of the reality that we all live in. The reality that we all live in is in a world of competing views and ideas, theologies, and an insistence on forcing Jesus to only fit within the wineskin that we bought maybe when we were kids in in the past. So what it... What's the bottom line of what I'm trying to say?
You can write this down. We'll put it up on the screen. I feel like the holy spirit is trying to show us and tell us, do not be distracted by superficial events and opinions, but look beneath the surface to discover what God is up to. Do not be distracted by superficial events and opinions, but look beneath the surface. Is that not what Jesus said in verse 24?
Look beneath the surface so that you can judge correctly. And when we take this verse and apply it, whereas my Texan friends like to say, grab a hold of this verse and apply it to your life. You look beneath the surface. You will be able to discover what God is up to. Instead of either being confused and disillusioned or not having a wineskin constructed that has the ability to expand to receive the new wine of what Jesus is doing and will do on planet Earth in the days ahead.
Jesus warns. He says that that as his return draws closer and closer, that there will be a great falling away. Why? Why would people fall away? Because of the new wine that will...
That is being poured out that cannot be contained by people that have an old wineskin. If what I'm saying is hard or confusing or maybe offending, it is only because I love you enough to to challenge you, to disrupt your normal pattern of of... In historical and traditional pattern of the wineskin that you thought Jesus has fit into so that when he does begin to do more and when he reveals more of his nature and character and attributes in events that will unfold on planet Earth in the days ahead, you'll be able to say, okay. This is tough. Looks like you're working secretly.
Or the Habakkuk like, man, like, the wheels are falling off. Where's Jesus? Do you have a wineskin can... Bought that can stretch? Talk to me.
Somebody talk to me. Sounds like she wanted to talk to me.
Rachel and I've been discussing it.
Or he wanted to talk to me.
Please forgive me if I haven't paid attention and gotten this, or I'm ignorant, or whatever. We are the white skinned, right?
Ah, okay. Good question. How about how about yes and? Yes, I can. Yes, and.
Your your feel... Your heart, your theological matrix and construct? Can it hold the idea? Can you accept? Can you believe?
Can you worship attributes of Jesus and actions of Jesus that are contrary to what you think how Jesus should act and and behave? So so the wineskin is the totality, very similar to the hat rack, hanging your hat on God's truth, which is a series that we've also done recently about the totality of your beliefs of the nature and character in the mission of Jesus. Is there room for you to see what will unfold in the days ahead and be able to still worship Jesus? The Bible says in the book of Revelation that that as the tribulation unfolds on planet Earth with the church here living in endurance and with with great joy in the midst of persecution and opposition, is there is there... When the world is saying, hide us from the wrath of the lamb, will you be one that has fallen away?
Will you be hiding, saying, hide us from the wrath of the lamb? It's too much. I can't take it. Or like the Bible says, describes another group of saints that are filling the bowls with the prayers of the... Like incense of the saints that our prayers go up to heaven.
Lord, your will come. Your will be done. Like it says in the book of... The end of the book of Revelation, the spirit and the bride in unity and harmony both are together saying, come. Come, Lord Jesus.
Is there room in your heart for what you will see of Jesus? Maybe what he is trying to do in your heart and life today, right now.
Okay. This is a connection.
Okay.
And the picture I saw as we've been discussing is a picture of me in the gym. So I go to the gym four days a week. I do the same workout. Right? I ride, bike.
I do legs one day, set of abs one day, and then arms the next and then the other set of abs that day. K. I do that every day. Now there's a guy at my gym who is progressively getting ripped. And I see him, like, grunting and pulling, and he's straining, and he's causing pain to himself in order to get there.
I get a little bit of pain, but not much. And so I'm not progressing, really.
I'm just...
I'm not so... Spiritually, I'm doing all the things. I'm praying. I'm reading the word. I'm going to church.
I'm worshiping, whatever. But am I in pain? And I saw a... Todd White was in Walmart just walking up to people and saying, hey. You know Jesus loves you?
Can I pray for you? And laying hands on people, and they're being healed. And that's... That was God's challenge to me this week. Like, are you going to the grocery store and just going up to random people and and being led to random
people to pray
for them?
Right? That's my upping my weight, upping my reps. That's where I'm at. And so I feel like, yeah. Sure.
You're not a man. We're, you know, we're we're not, like, getting stuff from you, but you are essentially our trainer in this analogy. Like, do something more. We're living in a dark age, and we need to do something more. And we need to stop hiding and speak without fear of retaliation.
And that... And that's my that's my challenge. Maybe somebody else's challenge is, hey. Get up thirty minutes earlier and give him the word.
That's great.
There's new wine to be had. There's more we can have. There's more fire. There's more power. There's more that we can have, and the world needs us to get there.
How does a good strength coach reward success? What did you say? Cake. Cake. That is not a good strength coach.
A good strength coach rewards success with what? More weight. That's great that you can get under the bar and squat verse 31. Good job. Great.
Fantastic. There's more there's there's more weight to add to the bar. Wineskins and weights. Okay. Holy Spirit, help us.
All of our metaphors and analogies, help us, Lord. Help us. Jesus, you said that most people will not receive the new wine because they... You said this, Jesus. They literally will say, the old wine tastes good enough.
Oh, far be it from our tribe family that we would become sedentary, stale, dull, unable to receive the new wine of what you're doing on planet Earth today. Examine us. Examine our hearts. Stretch us. Stretch us, Lord.
You talk to him and allow him to speak to you. Andy, would you do me a favor and put up that bottom line slide one more time? Don't be distracted. Our nation's about to go to the polls on Tuesday. If you haven't already voted, record numbers of people have voted early in this election.
Millions and millions and millions of people have voted early in this election, unlike any federal election in years past. Why? It's almost as if collectively, as a nation, we can see something being tipped about to be poured out. Right? And would you go back one side, Andy, with all of those, like, words thrown up there?
I mean, could this not be a picture of what's gonna play out between now and January? I'm just thinking of this. But in the midst of that, Jesus is at work. That's right. Will you get caught up in what could be a lot of days or weeks or maybe even months of mayhem?
Will you get caught up in that? Or will you not be distracted and be able to look beneath the surface? Surface? I'm telling you, this nation is on Tuesday, starting on Tuesday, is going to need millions of Christians who are steadfast and who are confident in the nature, in character, in ministry, and mission of Jesus. Because the the nation and the world as spectators are going to get caught up in all of this stuff.
Don't be one of them. You have believed. Be steadfast. Be calm. Be confident.
And if you're like, I I think maybe I fit into one of those words and there's no blue words in my life. Well, you need to get saved. You need to believe in the message, in the ministry, in the person of Jesus Christ. And that happens when you acknowledge that you've been living life on your own either in rebellion to god or in trying to please god on your own but you can't do it. And right now, you are wearing yourself the crown of thorns, the curse.
You're operating on the curse as Sarah talked about a moment ago. Jesus has paid the price for your sin. And if you would believe in your heart and confess with your lifestyle that I'm gonna surrender my life, and I'm gonna invite Jesus to be the leader of my life. And Jesus, I'm asking for you the blue words of your life to just stamp out and write over all of these other words of confusion and chaos and hurt and pain and and and rebellion. He'll do it.
He'll do it. And then you will be one of the ones. We're calm, full of peace, looking for the world in the midst of what I would anticipate as going to be a very bumpy ride for these next couple of weeks or months. And with that said, Amanda, please come share offering announcements with us. That was the best segue I could give you.
Hello,
friends. So as we finish up our time here together today, we always take a moment and we call it at tribe here another act of worship. We've worshiped the Lord today through singing songs to him, through our conversation, through the reading of his word, through the preaching, and one more way corporately together while we're at church, we wanna bring our tithe and our offering to him because we say, in doing so, Jesus, I love and I trust you enough to bring a portion of my finances to you. And if tribe is not your home church, don't worry about it. Give if you want, but this is an act of worship.
And so as we do that today, I just wanna remind you, today's site... Sermon title, thank you, was look beneath the surface. And Renee, that was so beautiful, the analogy that you gave with the weights. And maybe bringing your tithe and your offering is a way that you put on more weight or a way that you look beneath the surface. Maybe it's a challenge for you to give to a church because a church is filled with humans, and humans are messy and hard and not always the greatest.
So I can tell you being on the leadership team here at Tribe, we do our best to steward well what is given. That's our human natural part. But maybe you've been burned by the church or you you know, pastors just want a bigger house, a faster car, so they take up a special tithe and offering. These things happen. Never?
Brian's never done that. Don't worry. But maybe... Some extras. But that's poor stewardship.
And so humans are just messy. So here's the thing when we bring our tithe and our offering to the Lord. Your job is to be obedient to him, and then you just wash your hands of it. I promise at tribe, we do our best to steward it well. But even if we didn't, you be obedient, and then you...
You're done. That's between you and the Lord. So as we bring our tithe and our offering today, I'm gonna pray. But just ask the Lord, what are you asking me to do today? What are you asking me to do in this act of worship to you that maybe you feel like you can give, maybe you feel like you can't?
Honestly, it doesn't matter about your feelings in that regard. It's your obedience to the Lord. And what are you wanting me to do? Are you wanting to challenge me today? You wanting to push me?
Are you wanting to put extra weight? But this keeps us calibrated, reading his word, bringing our our tithe and offering, worshiping, surrendering to him. These things help us look beneath the surface like we talked about today so we can be calibrated with the holy spirit and what he's up to and just hanging on to that truth. So as we go through turbulent times, either globally or personally, at every level, are connected with the Holy Spirit, and we know what he's up to. So let's pray together.
Before I do practical ways to give, we don't pass buckets here at Tribe, but we do, if you... The easiest way you can see on your screen, the way to give is by sending a text to 84321, and you just type the amount you wanna give. It's like tech... Easiest texting a friend. Mhmm.
Then we also... On the website, tribejh.com, there's a giving tab. And then as you leave through the swinging saloon doors today, there's a little box with our logo on it. If you have cash or check, you can give that way too. So let's bow our heads and just pray together as a tribe family.
Heavenly father, you're so gracious. You're so faithful. You're so good, and you don't change. That part, you do not change in that way. We can count on you.
You are the capital t truth, and we say thank you for being that way. Lord, as we be obedient to you the best we know how, first of all, you for meeting us where we're at. Thank you that you can handle our questions and our doubts and our unbelief. You can handle that. But, Lord, thank you that you meet us today where we're at in all areas, but particularly bringing our tithe and our offering to you.
Thank you that as we give, it is an act of obedience and an act of worship where we say, God, you are worthy. It's all yours anyway, and we thank you for the opportunity to partner with you in what you're doing and how you're moving in the local church and beyond to, as we say, the uttermost bounds of the earth. So Lord, I pray that every single penny given will go to do exactly what you want it to do, to do the work of the ministry, to be your hands and feet here on this earth, and to love on people the way that they need so they can be drawn to you and surrender their hearts to you. We thank you for that opportunity and that privilege. In Jesus' name, we all say Amen.
Amen. Just a few quick things, and we'll get out of here. First of all, we are gonna meet here, right here in this space for the whole month of November. So I know sometimes it's not available, and we tell you... Or we'll go to the TMC, but all month long, we're gonna meet here, 10:00 right here.
And the second thing is today at 05:00, we're gonna be meeting on Town Square. This is something we do once a month where we meet together with our Jewish brothers and sisters here in Jackson. And we go... It's not a it's not a rally. It's not a picketing thing.
You know, we're going in support of our Jewish brothers and sisters. And they have said time and time again, like, why why are you here? Why do you love us? And it's because we serve a Jewish Messiah. And we just wanna show them our love, and we also wanna think about the 101 hostages who were taken by Hamas October 7 that still have not been, recovered.
And we just pray for them, and we pray for their families, and we pray for Jackson. So come at 05:00 on the town square today if that's something you're able to do. And then finally, we will have, there's gonna be a worship night, and not here, but at Gateway Church this Wednesday at 06:30. Tribe will be there, First b will be there, and Gateway will all kind of combine our worshipness, and it's all for the worshipness. Our worshipness.
It's all for the Lord anyway, but we're gonna have, yeah, like, an all church worship. So come to Gateway this Wednesday, 06:30, if that's something you're able to do. That's the church in Rafter Jay. Thank you. Brian, will you pray us out?
Yes. Or do whatever you wanna do.
Thank you, Amanda. Happy birthday. Happy birthday. And happy birthday to you too. Just before you leave, couple things are gonna happen.
Number one, I'm gonna invite the Millers, and the Irwins to stand in the back there. If there's anything that you need prayer for when we dismiss here, they would love to rally around you and pray for you. So if there's anything going on, big or small, whatever it is, healing in your body, breakthrough in your marriage, new job of, like, place to live, whatever it is, it don't matter. They would love to pray for you, and they'll be back there by that tribe kids sign, number one. Number two, Lisa was like, do it.
And I was like, yes, Holy Spirit. Not that you are the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit often speaks through your spouse. All the married men in the room said
Amen. So,
yes, I'd... The Lord was putting this on my heart. If you have not invited Jesus into your heart, but while I was talking about this, you felt your heart racing and you're like, I need to do that. Either for the very first time invite Jesus into your heart or if you had done that, but it's been so long that you're like, I don't know. I might as well be like a ball lost in tall weeds, and you need to rededicate your life to the Lord.
People believed in Jesus's message where in what we just read. It wasn't like, well, I'll do that in the stillness of my bedroom. It wasn't like, well, I'll I'll do that as soon as I get out of church. It wasn't like, well, I'll I'll do it. I'll I'll do it later.
It was right in the midst of Jerusalem, right in the midst of all of these people. And right now, you are in a room of people that have all... That many have done that exact same thing, made a public profession of faith and invite Jesus into their heart. And so just before we leave, without making a big deal about it, if there's anybody in here that needs to make a public profession of faith by inviting Jesus into their heart and or rededicate their life to the Lord without all of us bowing our heads and closing our eyes. But just right here in this bar, would you just stand to your feet?
If you're like, that's me, and I need to give my life to Jesus. Just stand up where you are.
Yeah.
Hey. That's awesome. That's awesome. That's some bravery right there. Stay.
That's some bravery. James. Right? Yeah. Well done, young man.
You're just the first. Anyone else? Hi. That's crazy. That's awesome.
Thank you, Lord. Stay standing. Lord, just doing something transformative in your heart as you stand. New life is happening. Old chains are falling off.
Somebody is thinking, I will. I will. I will. But I've got more questions or I need to figure it out or but but but but but leave your butts in your seat and stand to your and and and and stand to your feet and surrender to the invitation of the Holy Spirit saying, I've got answers for you, but I'm waiting for you to make this step of obedience. Would there be anybody else?
Just curious. I love to see all the saints in the room praying. As my pastor used to say, you're... If you are lost and you know it, if you are without Christ and you know it, that what would be keeping you in that seat is death. And what is causing your heart right now to beat out of your chest is the wooing and the invitation of the Holy Spirit.
Life. And it is life that would be pulling you to your feet to respond to the message of the gospel. Just curious. Anyone else? Yes.
Praise the lord. Praise the lord. That's amazing. Let's let's do this. Let's do this.
Stay standing. If they... If you're right near them, just put a hand on them. And then the Bible says that if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart, it's not just you standing. It is not just words that come out of your mouth, but there is a transformative thing that happens when you're honest with him.
And I understand that you might not have to be able to put into articulate words what's going on. So here's what I'll do. I'll help you out. I'll coach you in a prayer, and I'm going to say some words as a prayer, and I invite you to repeat after me. And by way of support, why don't we all say these words?
Right? And so what you say is this, Lord Jesus Lord Jesus. I come to you today
I come to you today.
With a problem.
With a problem.
That problem is The problem is the crown of thorns that I wear. I am under the curse I am under the curse. Of sin and death. I need help. I need help.
Jesus. Jesus. Save me. Save me. Forgive me of my sin.
Forgive me of my sin.
Give me a brand new life. Give a brand new life. Remove my crown of thorns. Now you take just a moment and in your own words, you just talk to him and tell him. Just loud enough for, you know, your own ears to hear him.
And if you wanna tell him thank you, if you wanna tell him that you love him, if you wanna tell him that you're sorry, whatever it is, whatever it is, you just talk to him for just a moment. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Now you say these words. King Jesus.
King Jesus. Thank you. Thank you. For forgiving my sin. For forgiving my sin.
And making me a new creation. Making me a new creation. In the best way that I know how.
In the best way that I know how.
I commit my whole life to following you. Thank you, Jesus. I love you, Jesus. Love you, Jesus. Help me, Jesus.
We pray these things in Jesus' name, and all God's people said Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you. What an amazing...
Thank you for supporting them. Now let's all stand up. What a great day. What amaze... What an amazing day for us all to be together in the house of the Lord in a bar.
Would that be alright if I prayed for you just before we leave? Lord Jesus, thank you. Thank you for every person here. Thank you for every family here. Thank you that Jesus in the...
In... Right in the midst of the swirl and controversy and all of the things that are going on, the chaos in our life and the chaos that could very soon surround this nation, we thank you that in the midst of that, there you are. Solid, steadfast, unchanging. Lord, give us new wineskins so that we can receive the new wine of what you're doing so that we can look beneath the surface surface for clarity in who you are and what you're doing in our in our hearts and in this country around us. I command a blessing over each and every person that is here today for service.
We thank you in Jesus' name. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. I love you.
Have a great week. Lord, help us to fill our freezers full of meat. And remember, you got this.
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