The Ugly Truth About 'Good' Christians: A Bold Sermon!

I've been excited to wrestle with this text all week long, and I just want to slow walk this and get out of here so we can go watch. I got the Chiefs tonight. Who else has the Chiefs? Anybody else have the Chiefs tonight? All right. At least they got a quarterback. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. That was too soon. That was too soon. All right, I'm sorry.

Okay, so first Peter.

Hey, listen, listen. We had a quarterback on the Packers. He just didn't know how to throw football. So listen, I can make fun. First Peter, chapter two, verse number one. It says this. Therefore rid yourselves of all malice and deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies crave spiritual milk so that by it you may grow up in your salvation. Now that you've tasted that the Lord is good. Somebody say, the Lord is good. So because of that, as you come to him, the living stone, rejected by humans, but chosen by God and precious to him, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a royal priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in scripture it says, see, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame. Look at somebody around you say, that's you. Come on. Look at somebody say, that's you. Because of Jesus will never be put to shame. Now, to who believe the stone is precious. But if you don't believe, the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. And a stone that makes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. They stumble because they disobey the message, which is also what they were destined for. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession. Do you see the layers of chosenness? I want to read this again. You are chosen people. What does that mean? I'm a royal priesthood. I am a holy nation. I. I am God's special possession that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful life. Here's why. Because once you weren't, but now you are people of God. Once you didn't have mercy, but now you've received mercy. The word of the Lord is blessed. Look at some. I just want you to pray this prayer. Just repeat after me. Say, God, give me my future back. You may be seated even in the presence of the Lord, give me my future back. First, Peter, I said this last week just to remind us, those of you who've grabbed the devotionals have seen this as well in context is written to a group of mature Christians some 30 years after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The overall movement of this book was to utilize Christ's suffering and salvation as motivation for the faithfulness and the hope of and the purity of God's saints. This book was not written to new converts. This book was written to those who were saved and mature in Jesus. And the goal of this book was to encourage Christians to be faithful to what they knew about Jesus. Because there were false teachers who were coming into the community who were equating their faith with moral requirements. I don't want us to miss this. They knew Jesus, these individuals. It was only 30 years since the resurrection of Jesus. So some of these individuals walked with Jesus. They were in the community. They were part of the 5,000 that were fed by Jesus. They were some of the individuals who in the Decapolis, when the man ran in there and said he was freed from demons. They were individuals who knew about and heard or even saw or witnessed. They were there when the world went black because Jesus died. And Peter is reminding them, listen, I want you to be faithful to what you know to be true, because there are false teachers coming in trying to tell you that your faith is equal to the world's standards. You know, church, the worst thing we can do is box Jesus into the world instead of making the world bow at the feet of Jesus. So first Peter, chapter two comes along as a response to one Peter, chapter one. So whenever you see the word therefore in Scripture, you have to ask yourself the question, what is it there for? Right? So if you have your Bibles, go back with me a little bit. Go to 1 Peter, chapter 1, verse number 22. I want you to see what this is there for. So look at verse chapter one, verse number 22, right? So now that you have been purified, you purified yourselves by obeying the truth, so that you have a sincere love for each other. Love each other deeply from the heart, for you have been born again not of perishable seed, but of imperishable seed through the living and enduring word of God. Then he quotes Isaiah 40, all people are like grass, and their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fade. I want to pause there. Do you see? I want you to see this. That we as individuals, without Jesus, the text says, are just like grass. And the glory we receive is just like the flowers of the field. What happens? The grass is going to wither and the flowers are going to Fall. But the word of the Lord will endure forever. It speaks to the perishable seed. You see this in the text. That the perishable seed. But we have been born again through Jesus. We have been given something that never dies, the word of the Lord. And this word Peter says, was preached to you. So therefore, we get to verse number chapter two. Therefore, because we have been given and been gifted and been born again with seed, something that never dies, chapter two says this. So rid yourselves of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. I want us to see this. Rid yourselves because of the Word and rid yourselves because you can rid yourself. You ever hear so often, the devil made me do it. No, he didn't. You wanted to. That wouldn't make you do nothing. The devil didn't sit there like, yes, I'm your puppet. The devil didn't make you do anything that. Or they hear the statement, that's just who I am. No, it. That's a problem. Anything that we do that is against the movement of the gospel. We have gotten more comfortable with Satan being at work. Because it's not cute to be evil. I think I'm gonna say that again. It is not cute to be evil. So the text says, because I have been given, I have been baptized. I've been born again with the word of God. Rid yourselves because you can do it. So what am I getting rid of? Look at the text. It's gonna come up on the screen. I want you to see all the things that Peter lists out here. He says, first of all, I want you to rid yourselves of malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slanders. Let's walk through these. Malice is all evil. Every unkind disposition, deceit, sinful tempers and practices. It's abusing your anger. Scripture tells us, be angry, but don't sin. When we abuse our anger, we are deceitful. Then it moves to hypocrisy. Is feigning to be what we are not. Assuming a false appearance of religion, cloaking a wicked purpose under the appearance of piety. Then it goes to envy, hatred of others on some account of excellency which they have, or something which they possess, which we do not, and then slander all reproachful or unkind speeches concerning other people. I want us to see this. He says, rid yourselves of everything that is evil. What he does here is, he says, malice is any type of evil. Then he describes the malices. It's like it's the same language you see here at the same sorry building we see in Psalm number one, where he talks about the steps towards sin. So he says here there's, first of all, deceit, hypocrisy, and jealousy. Those are all instances of concealed malice. The first one, deceit, plots evil. The second one, hypocrisy, pretends not to plot evil. The third one rejoices envy that evil is succeeding, and then slander is. The ways that we vocalize how evil we really are. I want us to see this. Peter saying here, because you've been born again by the imperishable seed of the gospel, get rid of this. Archbishop Blyton put it like this. The apostles sometimes name these evils and sometimes other ones, but they're inseparable. They're all one, all under one word. The old man, which Paul tells us in Ephesians 4. 22, Paul says, put off the old man. Literally, take this off. And here, because of new birth and the furtherance of their spiritual growth, that these. These habits must be thrown away. They are ragged, filthy habits, unseeming of the word of God. These vices, natural vices to the Jews, contrasted with the power we have in the gospel is what. First, Peter is giving us that because we have the word of God, get rid of this. So it's very easy. You can bring me on the screen. It's very easy for us. Then we read things like this. Immediately. It's, well, yeah, that's somebody else. Peter is not telling you to look at somebody else today. Peter is saying, put a mirror up to yourself. Where are the places where you are plotting evil? Where? And I know, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I'm not going to make it some, like, lighter word, like Pastor Justin. I just got to give him a piece of my mind. You are evil. Where are you plotting evil? Where are you pretending not to plot evil? Because if we don't name it, we can't overcome it, right? So I want to name it. Where are you plotting evil? Where are you pretending not to plot evil? Where are you rejoicing in evil that you're plotting, succeeding? And then where are you speaking evil over somebody else? Peter says, I'm not here to beat you up. Peter says, because you have the word of God, get rid of it. Consider this. I want you to consider. When you gave somebody a piece of your mind, what did it do good for you?

Like, for real, when you cuss somebody.

Out, did it, like, make your marriage better? Like, I mean, just come on, let's talk let's have a conversation.

Like when you know you are full.

And well, a hypocrite. Were they like, oh, my God, you are like, I want to go to your church, you hypocrites. I just can't wait to like, oh, please tell me what more hypocrites are. So why are we holding on to it? Peter says, because we have the word of God. Get rid of it. And then. So then what do I do? Pastor Jeff? So now I do that two days a week. I do that two hours a day. What do I do? Well, then Paul's Peter says this, or I love Paul. Peter says it like this. In verse number three, he says, so crave what comes directly from God. Empty yourself of malice, envy, deceit and slander and fill yourself with the presence of God. Why verse three? Because we know the Lord is good. In essence, you can grow in Jesus with a deepened hunger for God. How hungry are you for God? And I think the issue and the reason we can stop here is because we get to this place in our faith where, like, God is good and we know that God is good, but we don't put these things away. We don't throw away those things that keep us from a good God. And I wonder how long we're going to stay worshipping, worshiping a good God because I wonder what our lives would look like if you begin to see God not just as good, but as a great God. I'm tired of worshiping a good God, because a good God, the way that I call God good makes me comfortable with malice and envy and slander. I think I can hide things from a good God. I can sing God is good, but sin all week and take communion on Sunday because he's just good. When I serve a good God, I'm a hypocrite with a good God. But now I want to see here what would my life be like if I wanted to see a great God. Jim Collins in his work From Good to Great said, the enemy of great is good. I don't just want a good God. I want to see the manifestation of miracles, signs and wonders.

And because I want God, I have.

To stop being evil. When you want a great God, evil is not an option. So why is that so important? I want you to see this. Look at verse number four. So as you come to him, the living stone. So remember we've been baptized which. That which is imperishable. So we come to the living stone, and we also are living stones. Look at the text. Built to be spiritual Blessing to a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, offering sacrifices to God. You, all of us are being built to do two things. To be and to offer. We're built to be a holy priesthood, and we are built to offer sacrifices unto God. And all of that fulfills verse number nine. Because we are. This is what God calls you. This is why putting away evil is so important. This is why craving spiritual milk is so important. Because we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. God's special possession so that we can declare praises unto God. Why? Because God brought us out of darkness into marvelous light. Here's the writers reminding them. He's telling them their history and their future. He says, you have been chosen. You are a holy nation. And how do we know? Jesus came to fulfill the promise that God had given to the children of Israel. You are my promised people. And there is nothing you can do to distance yourself from me. And even in God's great anger, he still sent Jesus. You have been holy, so act holy. I wish I had a way to this. You've been chosen, so live chosen. You've been royal, so act royal. You've. Okay, let me talk to my brothers and sisters today.

We've been king, Kings and queens, so.

Act like kings and queens.

You've been royal, so act royal. Talk royal. You are it because God has given it to you. I don't need people who don't like me to tell me what God has.

Already spoken over me.

I've been chosen.

You ain't got to like me. I've been chosen.

I've been royal. I've been holy.

Because Jesus calls me holy. And so he says, let me remind you of your purpose. Because the things that happen in this world is that the world will get you distant from your purpose. But I want to remind you what scripture says your one purpose is. You were created to declare praises unto God. That's your whole purpose. We live in a world, purpose driven life. We got all these books. What's your purpose? I gotta find my purpose. I gotta find myself. And so what happens is. Watch this. The quest for self keeps us from being ourselves. Because we live all of our lives going from place to place, bed to bed, life coach to life coach, therapist to therapist, school to school, church to church, book to book, conference to conference, convention to convention. Because we're trying to find our purpose. When God says, I gave you one purpose, you were created to praise me. Okay, I'm gonna show you in scripture. Cause y' all don't get it. Go to First Corinthians, chapter 10. I want you to see this. What is your purpose? I want to kill the these purpose conversations and I want you to build who you are when we kill these purpose conversations. You were created to praise God. First Corinthians, chapter 10, verse number 31. Look at the text. First Corinthians, chapter 10, verse number31. Whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it for the glory of God. Let me pause here. Let me talk about wine real quick, because I want. I'm just. Let me just get this. Let me talk about wine and all this alcohol and things were made. So remember back in biblical days, water was so filled with bacteria, it was so nasty, that what they did, they started creating wine. They would ferment that which is natural. So they did not drink to get drunk. They drank because that was really all they could drink that wouldn't kill them. Sin came along and said, if we get people drunk, we can make more money. This. Oh, my God, I'm gonna talk today. This stuff was originally created to glorify God. Okay, let's talk about sex. So sex in its original creation was to be fruitful and to multiply. When sin came in the world, they said, oh my God, I'm naked. They covered themselves. God gave them what they needed to cover themselves. Because now their bodies, which God created for us to see and to be beautiful, they now saw with shame. We were create. Everything we eat and we do and we drink has one purpose, to glorify God. Go to Colossians, chapter 3, verse number 23. Look at the text. And whatever you do, work heartily as unto the Lord and not unto men. Someone repeat after me. Just say, I am created to glorify God. I'm going to say it again. Someone say, I am created to glorify God. So what the world will do is they give you moral requirements. They'll tell you these are the world's standards. And if you adhere to the world's standards, they would make you think that you have to do what the world says in order to be who God already said you are. You were created to glorify God. That's the end of the story. And in this world full of moral requirements, this quest to become ourselves in light really of. Of whitewashed Christianity, in the new form of slavery called capitalism, we have hindered our spiritual growth in the quest for appeasing people who don't care about you. God already told you who you are if you don't believe me. My last scripture. Now I'M going to finish. Go to Isaiah 43. I want you to see this. Isaiah 43. Look at what the word of the lord says. Isaiah 43 says this. But now this is what the Lord says. He who created you, Jacob, who formed you, Israel, do not fear, for I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name. What is your name? You are mine. Someone just say I'm his. Someone else say I'm his. And because I am his, I am created to glorify God. So let me give you four truths from this text. Just really quickly, they'll come up on the screen. Let me give you four truths on this next. Number one, don't stop at a good God. Desire a great God. I want you to grow in your faith and stretch your faith a little bit. Don't just desire a good God, desire a great God. What would it like? What would it be like for you in your life for God to manifest miracles, signs and wonders? Desire a great God. Number two, I want you to grow beyond your excuses. Number are the excuses that you've given to not grow in Jesus Christ. I want you to grow beyond your excuses. Number three, I want you to own the truth that you were created to glorify God. Everything you do doesn't bring God glory. And if you're looking at it saying, I don't think it can, what can you do to shift to ensure that you're glorifying God? Third, fourthly, and finally, you've already been chosen. God is not in heaven waiting to choose you. He chose you. In creating you, you have been chosen. So that's beautiful. Here's the issue in the text, and I'm finished. More requirements and popularity have become more important than kingdom building. I don't think we live in a Christian culture that desires to build God's kingdom more than we desire to build our kingdom and for God to fit into our kingdom. So get this. In a truest form, a kingdom is the place where a person's will is done. So wherever your will is carried out, that's your kingdom. So if a king is in charge of a country, that will is carried out and that kingship, that's their kingdom. The same way you're in charge of your business, that's your kingdom. You're in charge of your money, that's your kingdom. Even a child is in charge of their bedroom. That's their little tiny kingdom. Wherever your will is carried out, that's your kingdom. And as you think about the kingdom of God, the same definition applies. God's kingdom is wherever his will is carried out. The kingdom is the rule of God over anything. That's why Jesus ended the model prayer by saying this. Your kingdom come, your will be done where God on earth. As the kingdom is already finished in heaven, the work of Jesus is complete. Our responsibility is to make it known as the hands and feet of Jesus on earth. How do we do that? By trusting the imperishable seed of the Word and put away malice, envy, deceit, greed, jealousy and slander, and crave that which is of God. A Christian is a person who turns to Jesus and says, everything in my life is negotiable except you. I want to say this again. A Christian is a person who turns to Jesus and says, everything in my life is negotiable except you. That's what it means to be a citizen of God's kingdom. But I want you to consider the ways we negotiate the presence of God on a regular basis. I want you to consider the ways that we negotiate God's involvement in our lives. Because a lot of us are, we, let's be real. We don't want all of God's will done on earth. I want God to conform to what I need done. And if he can just bless it, like that's how we like altar calls. We want to, we like prophecy. When it's like, show me the future, but just like, don't give me everything because I need God to finish. I need to finish this. And if God can just sprinkle a little grace on something else, everything will be okay. We don't really value kingdom in this Christian culture. Culture, because if we're to have the future, remember this. Nothing is a surprise to God. The future is a memory to God. Okay, so think about prophecy in the Old Testament, literally in the Old Testament, they told us the full story of Jesus's entire life. A thousand years before he even came. God literally told us what was going to. That's why Matthew was so confused because Matthew couldn't put together, wait, literally everything that is happening. Every word that Jesus said on the cross. David and Zechariah already told us exactly what he was going to say. Every single miracle. Nehemiah told us what was going to happen. Every single friend of his, like literally Isaiah, told us the entire story of Jesus. A thousand years. The future is a memory to God. So when we pray prophesy, we are just revealing God's memory. So nothing is a surprise to God. So let's talk about culture. Rap music is not a surprise to God. We just used it the wrong way. So now we have gospel rap. And it's like, oh, my God, these folk are just so unsaved. Why are they rapping about Jesus? Because God gave the vision to someone who let sin tell them, you can make more money rapping about sex than you can make money rapping about me. Oh, come here. I ain't scared of none of y' all. This morning.

I'm.

I'm comfortable. I got some Jordan threes on. I am good today. Y' all know. Y' all see my shoes, though?

It's cool.

Our relationships were made to glorify God. Then we decided to make them something else. Our music and sex and dance and everything was made to glorify God. None of this was a future. And our responsibility as Christians is to see what culture is doing and not.

Guilt trip or bully, but to turn.

It on its head for the glory of God.

That when I desire kingdom, I look for opportunities to teach the gospel with clarity in season and out of season, when it's popular or when it's not popular, when I first feel comfortable or when I don't feel comfortable. Because as long as I'm making known the will of God, and in season and out of season, I want to see God glorified. So if that's with sex workers, I'm going to talk about Jesus. If that's dancing, I'm going to talk about Jesus. If that's rapping, I'm going to talk about Jesus. If that's relationships, I'm going to talk about Jesus. If that's music on guitars, on pipe organs, I'm going to talk about Jesus. Because I refuse to refuse to let sin have any dominion in the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because God created everything to glorify God's self. I know this sounds real fire and brimstone, but, y', all, the future is a memory to God. The very things you're worried about God already worked out. And I don't want you just to apply the sovereignty of God to your money. I don't want you just to apply the sovereignty of God, God to your job. I don't want you to justify the sovereignty of God to some worship service. But the same way that God blessed you with a job in your prayer time two years ago is the same way God will tell you exactly how.

We will change politics here in Vallejo.

The same way that God revealed to you that he was going to heal your body is the same way that we turn relationships over in valeo the Same way way that God revealed to you how to spend your money. The same sovereignty of God that was good at home is good in the church, is good in your community, because the future is a memory to God. So I don't know about you, but I don't want my memory.

I want God's memory. I don't want my dreams. I want God's dreams.

I don't want my thoughts. I want God's thoughts. And when you grab a hold of God's thoughts, put. Paul, put it like this.

Eyes have not seen and ears have not heard.

Nor has it entered into the hearts of men the great things that God has in store for his people. But here's what blesses me. But the Holy Spirit already knows. And he will reveal himself to those who believe. Y' all missed the text. I said, eyes haven't seen, but the Spirit knows. Ears haven't heard, but the Spirit knows. And when I'm Faithful unto God, 1st Corinthians 10. God will reveal the future to those.

Who trust in him. That's the scriptures, y'. All. So because of that kingdom. Because of the kingdom. How, Pastor Justin, can we value the kingdom? I'm finished. Four things. It might be uncomfortable, but I swear, if we apply this. I've been wrestling with this. I'm so excited. Number one. How can we grow the value kingdom to want God's future? Number one, get over other people's sin. I am in it today. I said get over other people's sins. Look at yourself before you look at other people. Okay, if I get another person, come to me. Pastor Justin, we got to have a conversation about former adulterers, the LGBTQ community form. Oh, I ain't scared. None of y' all formerly incarcerated people. What we got to do about weed and these folk in church. What we got to do about all these things? You know what they did last year? They. You letting them preach. Pastor Justin, do you know who they are? Can I tell you something? Let me just. Let me tell you something. I care. Oh, okay. Come here, you pious.

See?

See, we love naming other people's sins. Well, you know what it is. Let me. Let me talk. Because when we talk about a lot of these, especially sexual sins, I'm loving. I'm talking about the kids and sex. It's really this weird curiosity and suppressed curiosity about other people's sex lives. And Peter comes along and says, stop it, because all we're doing is finding ways to reject God's anointed. Okay, If God forgot their sin, why are you Remembering it. Come here. No, I'm going to keep talking. I'm gonna keep talking. We only an hour in. We normally here for two hours. So I got 58 more minutes to keep talking. Y' all can talk to me if you want to. I want to get you out by 9:30, but I really don't care. I'll run both services together.

Church.

If we are going to be the church to make known in Vallejo, as it is in heaven, get over other people's sins or your assumptions about other people's sins, your curiosity about other people's sins, your status is about other people's sins, your stories about other people's sins.

What you think other people may be.

Doing because you think they doing it because get over. Peter says, look at yourself. You're evil. That's the scripture. I'm sorry. He says, get rid of your malice, your deceit, your hypocrisy or your envy. Maybe the reason we can't see people clearly is because you're not looking at yourself. My name is Justin Lester and I approve this message for the good of the kingdom of God. If we are going to grow as a congregation, we gotta get over what we assume or what you know about somebody else's sin. If they have talked to God, that's between them and God because you've got some malice, some hypocrisy, some jealousy, some envy and some slander that you and God have to have a conversation about. So I wonder what our worship would be like if we worshiped to see God in his fullness for ourselves and for our families, instead of worshiped, to leave out and say, I hope so and so. Heard that. That is good, isn't it? It is good.

Right?

Okay. I thought so. That was a snap for. So I want us to get over other people's sins. I want us to move past my first couple weeks here. I remember I got here and I knew so much about other people's sins, I didn't even know what people's gifts were. My first couple months here, I could tell you who cheated on who, who got divorced more than once, who lost their home. And I was like, I've only been here two weeks and I knew about what the wrong people did, and I didn't even know what. Hold up. Who can sing, who can preach, who can teach, who's gifted, what deacons know how to pray? What are the gifts of our deacons? And I'm sitting here in a meeting we had on Thursday with our deacons, excited because I Can see the good gifts of our people coming out. I can see the smiles of people coming out on the screen. And I'm so excited to work together. But I'm like, man, what if I knew this a year ago? But I could tell you who slept with who was with who, who lost this car, who stole money, who lost this? I could care less. Because if God forgot it, then why? You reminded them of what God already forgot about. Peter says, let's get over our own envy, our own malice, our own hypocrisy, our own jealousy, and stop slandering others because of your assumptions about them. That's scripture. That's verses one and two, number two, because of that. So then what do you do then? I crave the spiritual milk that comes from God. So what do I do then? Track your growth. Track your growth. My wife and I, I started working out and we're really being intentional about it. I'm excited to see things, I'm seeing pounds at them, wearing clothes that were smaller, they're fitting looser. I'm so excited about it. But when I realized what we did is that this time around, instead of just like saying we're going to go to the gym, we started marking off the days we go to the gym. So we've downloaded an app that keeps us accountable called MyFitnessPal. We log what we eat. I drink this much water, I drink this much tea. Can't eat after this hour, can't eat before this hour. We have all this stuff we are tracking. And then we see that when I track my movements, I get excited about the little monuments that are growing. I want you to apply the same thing to your spiritual walk. Because we're not all heathens. A whole bunch of us are further along than what you're telling yourself. God is not far from you. He's right next to you. I want you to track your growth. You know more scripture than you give yourself credit for. So I want you to build a movement by honoring your movement. What scriptures did you memorize last year? It might have been one, might have been 20. But I want you to track your movements with God. What did you learn about God last year? What scriptures, what conventions, what places, what people? Did you talk about God? And what you'll see here is when you track your growth, you'll see your movement. The way that Satan begins to get us and distract us is by telling you you're not moving fast enough. You're not doing enough, you're not growing enough. But when you track your growth you begin to build a movement because you're seeing your momentum. The word momentum is so beautiful. Literally, I love putting it like this. The word momentum is, what am I going to do with this moment? And when I use every moment, my moments create momentum, and my momentum move makes a movement. What are you gonna do with every moment as you grow with God? Track your growth, the text says. Here you are being built into a spiritual house to offer sacrifices unto God. Track your growth with God. Thirdly, I want us to acknowledge that there is another way. Look at verses six through eight. Here's the truth, y'. All. There's another way. If I don't crave God and if I don't remove malice, envy, slander, and jealousy. The text says, there's a heaven and there's a hell. And I don't choose which one you go to. You choose which one you go to. The hardest moment in funerals is when someone asks me, are they going to heaven? And I hate sitting and having an honest conversation with them, because I'm going to be very clear with you today. Pastor Groff and I had a great conversation. He put it so succinctly. If you are not one with Jesus, hell is your option. I know this is like real fire and brimstone, but it's just the truth. Because if we don't talk about heaven and hell, we can't rejoice over heaven because we're not understanding that. I don't want to go to hell. If you are not with Christ and there has been no confession and repentance of sin, hell is an option. Okay, you can choose God's way, or you can choose the other way. And our responsibility as Christians is to make known to all of the people we encounter who want to know about Jesus, there is a heaven and there is a hell. And there's another way. If you don't rid yourself of malice, jealousy, envy, hypocrisy, and slander, you have chosen the other way. Okay, I'll show you in the text. I'm not making it up. Look at verse number six. For in Scripture says, see, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen, precious cornerstone. The one who trusts in him will never be put to shame. Period. When you desire Jesus and walk with the Savior, you will never be put to shame. But then there's the other way. Verse number seven. Now you believe the stone's precious, but those who don't believe, the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. And the stone that causes people to stumble, the rock that makes Them fall, they stumble because they disobeyed the message. What's the message? Chapter one, verse number 22, the word of Truth. They were destined for this because they chose the other way. Church. That's why salvation is so wonderful, why spiritual growth is so important. And it's not just a matter of having a church home. Have you confessed and repented unto God and have you built a relationship with Jesus that's just period, point blank? I want to be really clear with us today. I'm not talking about joining a church. Have you given your life over to Jesus, the imperishable seed, so that when this body fails, all flesh is grass? The grass withers and the flowers fade. But the word of God will stand forever. Because there's another way. There's another way. Are you choosing a life to be that Jesus is pleased with or are you choosing a life that Satan is pleased with? If you don't want to know what Satan is pleased with, it says here verse number six, you will never be put to shame. Satan lives in shame. The devil comes to steal, to kill and to destroy. When you are living with malice, envy, jealousy, hypocrisy and slander, you are living a life that's going to be stolen, killed and destroyed. That's the other way. But the good news of the gospel is that Jesus gave us the right way. Jeremiah 6:16 says, literally, God tells the children of Israel, stand at the crossroads and look. Ask me which way to go and I will tell you. And they said, lord, we don't want to go. That, my friends, Jeremiah 6 and 16 is what led them to 70 times 7 years of captivity. But imagine if they would have said, God, what is the right way? Are you going down the right path or are you going down the path of destruction and folly and pain? That's the right way. So I do all these things. If I get over other people's sins, I track my growth. I acknowledge of the way. If I want to build kingdom. Fourthly and finally, I trust the name that God put on me. God called you chosen from the beginning. When God was looking for a way to get his story started, he looked at you. Then he equipped you and he protected you and he gave you gifts and he clothed you in righteousness for his name's sake. And then he said, I walk with you. When God wanted to get the God gospel to Vallejo, he picked you. When God wanted to get the gospel to your children, he picked you so that he can get his will done in Earth. You were created because God chose you. He equipped you.

He protected you.

So you are a chosen nation.

You are a royal priesthood. You are the selected of God.

God put his name on you, Pastor Justin. But you don't know what I've done. You don't know where I've been. You don't know what I've said. You don't know what's wrong in my life. You don't know the broken pieces of my life. Pastor Justin, you just don't understand how bad things have been. You don't know the decisions that I've made. You're telling me that I'm chosen? Yes, because God called you chosen. You're telling me I'm selected? Yes. Because God called you selected. Pastor Justin, you don't understand the sins I've committed. You don't understand what's in my closet. You don't understand the skeletons in my closet. You don't understand the words I've said, the organizations that I've joined, the money that I've stolen, the life that I've lived. And God says, I get it. But what I did to show you how much I love you is I sent my son down to you. And while though your sins are like scarlet, I wash them whiter than snow that while you were yet still in sin, Christ decided to die.

So every, every single broken piece you keep trying to pick up Jesus reaches around and says don't you worry about trying to fix because what you've broken, you can't fix what you've torn apart you can't put back together again. Oh, but there was a cross on Calvary that made sure that every broken piece can still have brand new life that you don't have to worry about trying to figure it out. God says I put my name on you, I put glory on you I put my hand on you I put my blood on you. So yes, I know all about you But I put my hand on you Yes, I know where you went and what you did But I put my hand on you. Yes, I know you're too young but I put my hand on you. Yes, I know your body is full of falling apart But I put my hand on you and you don't have to figure it out because I've already mapped it out I wiped away every tear I've restored every relationship I've restored every ounce of your body so the reason they can't fire you is I put my hand on you. The reason your life is blessed is because I put my hand on you and so come with Me what may my hands. Am I talking to anybody up in this building who can give God glory that I can't build Kingdom Cuz his hands on me I can be debt free. Cause his hands on me I don't have to worry Cuz his hand my.

A couple years ago, A couple years ago I took my son, took my son to a roller coaster. And we get on the roller coaster and we got on the roller coaster and my son was freaking out saying daddy I don't want to get on the roller coaster because he's just got the age, he's got the size to be on a roller coaster because my son's a big kid. So we got on the roller coaster. So we sat there and said son don't worry, we get on the roller coaster, all I'm going to do is I'm going to put my hand on your arm. So no matter what happens to you, it's got to happen to me too. So son gets on the roller coaster and we're chug, chug, chugging up the roller coaster and my son starts screaming. But then he tries to lift his hand. But he couldn't lift his hand because daddy had his hand on his arm. When the roller coaster went up and down in twists and turns, he didn't worry because daddy, I wish I had somebody had his hand on his arm. When he started screaming, we went upside down. He didn't have to worry because daddy had his hand on his arm.

And then eventually when we got to the end of the roller coaster, my son was smiling. I said, son, what are doing you smiling about? He said, daddy, I wasn't scared. I was a big boy today. I said, why were you a big boy? He said, because daddy, your hand was on my arm and I'm talking to somebody in the building. That's why sickness couldn't kill you because his hand was on you. That's why Covid couldn't take you out because his hand was on you. That's why I don't need a PPP load cause his hand was on me. That's why. That's why I can testify like my grandmama I came to the garden alone while the dew was fresh on the roses but in the back of my mind the voice of God discloses that he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own and the joy we share as we tarry there none other has ever known. Is there anybody in the building that's glad his hands on you? His hands on my marriage his hands on my children his hands on my job his hands on my church his hands on my money his hands on my car his hands on my children so be not dismayed Whatever may be tied God will take care of you his hand.

So build the kingdom Share the gospel because his hand is on you Everybody's standing all over the building.