WEBVTT - Remove The Grave Clothes 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:02.880 No one likes to talk about money. Am I saving enough? 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:05.040 Can I buy a house? Am I paying too much 0:00:05.040 --> 0:00:07.760 in taxes? Will I be able to retire? What if 0:00:07.760 --> 0:00:10.360 you could unlock insights about your finances in less than 0:00:10.360 --> 0:00:12.840 five minutes, with a clear picture of where you stand 0:00:12.880 --> 0:00:15.720 today and where your money can work harder. Now you 0:00:15.760 --> 0:00:18.759 can visit facet dot com to take the free quiz 0:00:18.800 --> 0:00:23.400 and get your financial wellness score today. That's Facet dot com. 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:25.360 This ad is sponsored by Facet. Fast Wealth in Corporated 0:00:25.440 --> 0:00:27.280 is an sec registered investment advisor. 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See terms and conditions at UNEs 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:30.080 dot co. 0:01:31.200 --> 0:01:32.800 We're so glad to have you with us on the 0:01:32.840 --> 0:01:36.480 podcast today. Twenty nineteen is going to be an awesome 0:01:36.560 --> 0:01:39.560 year in your life. When you're finished listening, I hope 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:42.160 you'll take a minute and write a quick review. Your 0:01:42.280 --> 0:01:45.840 encouragement will help others to be inspired and encouraged. 0:01:46.120 --> 0:02:00.240 Enjoy the message now well, God bless you. 0:02:00.680 --> 0:02:03.120 It's a joy to come into your homes and if 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:05.480 you're ever in our area, please stop buying. 0:02:05.760 --> 0:02:08.280 Be a part of one of our services. I promise you. 0:02:08.480 --> 0:02:11.120 We'll make you feel right at home. I like to 0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:14.240 start with something funny. And I heard about these three people, 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:19.400 a Russian, an American, and a blonde. They were talking together, 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:22.639 and the Russian said, proudly, we were the first ones 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:23.240 in space. 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:25.600 The American said, well, we were. 0:02:25.520 --> 0:02:28.760 The first ones on the moon. The blonde said, that's nothing. 0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:31.040 We're going to be the first ones on the sun. 0:02:31.880 --> 0:02:34.360 The American the Russian. They laughed, you can't go to 0:02:34.400 --> 0:02:37.560 the sun. It's too hot. You'd be burned up. Blonde said, 0:02:37.800 --> 0:02:40.000 we know that. We're not that dumb. We're going to 0:02:40.040 --> 0:02:44.080 go at night. Say it like you mean it. This 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:46.799 is my Bible. I am what it says. I am. 0:02:47.360 --> 0:02:49.600 I have what it says I have. I can do 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:52.320 what it says I can do. Today I will be 0:02:52.440 --> 0:02:56.240 taught the word of God. I boldly confess. My mind 0:02:56.320 --> 0:02:59.520 is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be 0:02:59.639 --> 0:03:04.359 the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want 0:03:04.400 --> 0:03:07.400 to talk to you today about remove the grave clothes. 0:03:08.320 --> 0:03:11.440 There are people God has put in our lives on purpose, 0:03:11.800 --> 0:03:16.120 so we can help restore them. They're off course, they're addicted, 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:20.120 they're broken. It's easy to judge and think they should 0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:21.279 make better decisions. 0:03:21.520 --> 0:03:22.560 It's their own fault. 0:03:23.280 --> 0:03:25.520 But if it was not for the grace of God, 0:03:25.800 --> 0:03:28.880 that could be us. We didn't get to where we 0:03:28.919 --> 0:03:34.160 are because we're so talented, so disciplined, so obedient. That 0:03:34.200 --> 0:03:36.800 may be true on the surface, but where did you 0:03:36.840 --> 0:03:40.080 get the talent, Where did you get the discipline? It 0:03:40.120 --> 0:03:43.840 came from your heavenly Father. Wasn't anything we chose. 0:03:44.040 --> 0:03:45.880 It's simply the goodness of God. 0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:49.600 But too often we look at others and think, why 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:53.200 are they still making poor choices, Why are they still addicted? 0:03:53.520 --> 0:03:56.040 Why do they get in bad relationships? Again and again? 0:03:56.320 --> 0:03:57.280 I wouldn't do that. 0:03:57.920 --> 0:04:01.400 It's because God has given you grace in that area. 0:04:02.040 --> 0:04:05.400 Without his grace, you would be where they are. And 0:04:05.480 --> 0:04:08.280 instead of looking down on them pointing the finger, you 0:04:08.320 --> 0:04:13.400 should know better. They don't need more condemnation. God didn't 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:15.720 put them there so you could judge them. 0:04:16.120 --> 0:04:18.760 He put them there so you could love them. 0:04:19.400 --> 0:04:24.520 Love heels, love restores, love lifts up all around. 0:04:24.600 --> 0:04:27.720 You are hurting people, broken people. 0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:30.760 People that may not have had the advantages that you had. 0:04:31.320 --> 0:04:34.960 They weren't raised by parents that invested in them. They've 0:04:35.000 --> 0:04:37.320 never felt the love of the approval. 0:04:36.800 --> 0:04:37.839 That you felt. 0:04:38.120 --> 0:04:41.200 It's easy to criticize, but you don't know where you 0:04:41.240 --> 0:04:44.200 would be if you had walked in their shoes. The 0:04:44.279 --> 0:04:48.719 longer I live, the less judgmental I am. I realize 0:04:49.080 --> 0:04:52.680 everyone didn't get what I got. It's easy for me 0:04:52.760 --> 0:04:57.800 to feel secure, valuable, confident, believe big. I had parents 0:04:57.880 --> 0:05:02.039 that guided me, family that supported me. I was born 0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:05.120 in a great country with opportunity and resources. 0:05:05.720 --> 0:05:08.200 Life is not a level playing field. 0:05:09.000 --> 0:05:12.080 When you're tempted to be judgmental, you need to remind 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:16.680 yourself most likely they didn't get everything you got. If 0:05:16.720 --> 0:05:19.240 it was not for the mercy of God, you would 0:05:19.279 --> 0:05:23.279 be making the same decisions that they're making. God has 0:05:23.440 --> 0:05:28.080 freely given you mercy. Here's my challenge, Freely give it 0:05:28.120 --> 0:05:32.080 to others. Don't be stingy with your mercy. God is 0:05:32.120 --> 0:05:35.960 counting on us to lift the fallen, to restore the broken, 0:05:36.360 --> 0:05:39.880 to heal the hurting. There's enough judgment in our world. 0:05:40.360 --> 0:05:42.600 There's enough fault finding criticism. 0:05:43.000 --> 0:05:45.800 Where are the healers? Where are the restorers? 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:49.200 Where are the people that, instead of running away from 0:05:49.240 --> 0:05:53.520 the herding, they run to the hrding Instead of condemning 0:05:53.560 --> 0:05:57.880 the broken. They help heal the broken John Chapter eleven. 0:05:58.120 --> 0:06:01.800 Lazarus was very sick. His two sisters sent word to 0:06:01.880 --> 0:06:05.279 Jesus to come pray for him, but Jesus didn't arrive 0:06:05.480 --> 0:06:09.920 in time. Lazarus died. Jesus showed up four days later. 0:06:10.440 --> 0:06:13.320 He spoke to Lazarus, said, Lazarus. 0:06:12.839 --> 0:06:13.440 Come forth. 0:06:13.920 --> 0:06:16.839 Instantly he woke up. He was raised from the dead, 0:06:17.240 --> 0:06:21.800 a great miracle. The problem was Lazarus was wrapped with 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:27.080 grave clothes. In those days, when someone died, very often 0:06:27.279 --> 0:06:30.960 they would wrap them up like a mummy. Verse forty 0:06:30.960 --> 0:06:35.480 four says Lazarus came out bound in grave clothes. 0:06:36.320 --> 0:06:37.120 Jesus said to. 0:06:37.120 --> 0:06:41.880 Them, unwrap him and let him go. Even though Lazarus 0:06:41.960 --> 0:06:45.320 was alive, even though God had done something amazing on 0:06:45.400 --> 0:06:50.200 the inside, he was still bound on the outside. Somebody 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:53.440 had to remove his grave clothes or he would have 0:06:53.520 --> 0:06:56.680 never experienced the fullness. 0:06:56.000 --> 0:06:57.800 Of what God had done. 0:06:57.839 --> 0:07:00.320 You can imagine when they went to take off the 0:07:00.360 --> 0:07:04.479 grave clothes after being dead for four days, the smell 0:07:04.920 --> 0:07:06.320 was almost unbearable. 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:13.520 Every layer they unwrapped, the stench got worse. It was dirty, messy, smelly. 0:07:14.240 --> 0:07:17.760 They had to be incredibly dedicated They must have loved 0:07:17.840 --> 0:07:21.160 Lazarus a whole lot to have been willing to endure 0:07:21.280 --> 0:07:25.360 all it took to remove his grave clothes. This is 0:07:25.400 --> 0:07:28.680 what God has called us to do. There are people 0:07:28.800 --> 0:07:33.160 around us wearing grave clothes. God has done something on 0:07:33.200 --> 0:07:37.200 the inside, He's breathed life into them, given them purpose. 0:07:37.840 --> 0:07:41.680 But they're still bound on the outside. They have addictions, 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:45.000 they struggle with their tempers, they're loosing their morals. 0:07:45.160 --> 0:07:47.760 The problem is it's messy. 0:07:48.080 --> 0:07:51.400 It's tempting to think when they clean themselves up, then 0:07:51.440 --> 0:07:54.920 I'll help them when they get back on course, Joel, 0:07:54.920 --> 0:07:57.520 when it's not so messy, when they come back to church, 0:07:57.680 --> 0:07:58.840 then I'll encourage them. 0:07:59.760 --> 0:08:00.920 Can they get free? 0:08:01.400 --> 0:08:04.960 If someone doesn't step up to remove their grave clothes? 0:08:05.600 --> 0:08:08.920 Where are the people that are willing to get dirty 0:08:09.240 --> 0:08:12.240 to help someone else, to go out on a limb, 0:08:12.520 --> 0:08:15.840 to befriend someone that others think are too far down, 0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:19.240 to reach out to that relative that's struggling with an 0:08:19.240 --> 0:08:20.280 addiction that. 0:08:20.320 --> 0:08:21.400 Others have written off. 0:08:22.320 --> 0:08:25.080 It would be easy to remove grave clothes if they 0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:29.040 were nice and tidy, if people were making good decisions 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:33.400 on the high road. That's not reality. Grave clothes are dirty. 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:38.040 Grave clothes are messy. Grave close stink, and we think 0:08:38.200 --> 0:08:41.520 when someone still has issues, they still have an addiction, 0:08:41.920 --> 0:08:45.319 They compromise, they're bitter, they're jealous, they have a long 0:08:45.440 --> 0:08:49.640 way to go. But just because they're wearing grave clothes, 0:08:50.120 --> 0:08:53.960 just because they're still dirty, doesn't mean they're not clean 0:08:54.160 --> 0:08:58.680 on the inside. Jesus spoke life to Lazarus. He was 0:08:58.760 --> 0:09:02.599 free on the inside, but still bound on the outside. 0:09:02.760 --> 0:09:05.359 What am I saying? Don't judge by appearance. 0:09:05.960 --> 0:09:09.440 The grave clothes may stink, they may be dirty, but 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:13.400 on the inside there's a free person. There's a clean person. 0:09:13.760 --> 0:09:16.880 There's a forgiven person. There's a victorious person. 0:09:17.960 --> 0:09:20.360 They're just waiting for someone. 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:23.400 That won't be put off by the outside, someone that 0:09:23.440 --> 0:09:24.800 will step up to. 0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:27.640 Help remove the grave clothes. How do you do this? 0:09:28.080 --> 0:09:32.000 By speaking faith into them, not telling them what they are, 0:09:32.520 --> 0:09:35.880 but telling them what they can become, by loving them, 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:38.920 by taking time to care, by going. 0:09:38.760 --> 0:09:40.680 Out of your way to be their friend. 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:45.080 They have enough people pushing them down, pointing out their faults, 0:09:45.360 --> 0:09:48.760 complaining about their grave clothes. You can be the one 0:09:48.880 --> 0:09:51.720 to push them up to see the best in them, 0:09:52.120 --> 0:09:53.280 to help them get free. 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:56.199 You can be a grave clothes remover. 0:09:57.120 --> 0:09:59.480 For years, my mom prayed for a man by the 0:09:59.520 --> 0:10:04.240 name of She would see his name on marquees around town. 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:08.160 Bill was a popular entertainer country Western singer. 0:10:08.800 --> 0:10:10.599 He grew up singing in church. 0:10:10.640 --> 0:10:14.280 As a little boy. His parents were missionaries. He was 0:10:14.400 --> 0:10:18.200 raised in a strong family of faith. But as a teenager, 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:21.520 Bill god off course, started running with the wrong crowd, 0:10:22.080 --> 0:10:26.080 not making good decisions. Instead of singing in churches, now 0:10:26.120 --> 0:10:29.680 he was singing in bars and clubs. But the scripture 0:10:29.760 --> 0:10:34.800 says God's calling on your life is irrevocable. That means 0:10:34.840 --> 0:10:37.680 you may run away from God, but God won't run 0:10:37.679 --> 0:10:38.240 away from you. 0:10:38.920 --> 0:10:40.960 His grace will come looking for you. 0:10:42.080 --> 0:10:46.120 Paul wrote about the grace in Romans that God freely 0:10:46.200 --> 0:10:51.240 gives us. One translation of the word freely is promiscuous. 0:10:52.040 --> 0:10:56.400 When someone is promiscuous, they're loose, they're unrestrained. 0:10:56.559 --> 0:10:57.680 They'll be with anyone. 0:10:58.000 --> 0:11:01.079 That's the way God's grace is. You can be in 0:11:01.160 --> 0:11:04.600 a bar and Grace will come looking for you. You 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:07.400 can be high on drugs and Grace will come knocking 0:11:07.480 --> 0:11:10.480 at your door. You can be in the wrong places, 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:14.040 doing the wrong thing with the wrong people, and when 0:11:14.080 --> 0:11:17.480 you least expect it. Out of nowhere, you'll hear that 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:20.080 still small voice saying, come back home. 0:11:20.640 --> 0:11:24.839 I love you. I have something better. God doesn't say. 0:11:25.640 --> 0:11:28.800 If you clean yourself up, I'll show you mercy. If 0:11:28.800 --> 0:11:31.040 you get back on course, I'll think about being good 0:11:31.080 --> 0:11:36.280 to you. God's grace is promiscuous. It goes to unlikely places. 0:11:37.000 --> 0:11:40.840 And every time my mom saw Bill's name under her breath, Lord, 0:11:40.840 --> 0:11:43.360 thank you for bringing Bill back home. Thank you that 0:11:43.440 --> 0:11:47.160 he'll fulfill his destiny. She had never met him, had 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:50.960 no connections, but year after year she kept praying for him. 0:11:51.559 --> 0:11:54.880 Didn't look like anything was happening, but you don't know 0:11:55.120 --> 0:11:59.400 what God is doing behind the scenes. One day, that 0:11:59.559 --> 0:12:03.480 grace convinced Bill to turn his life around. He wanted 0:12:03.480 --> 0:12:06.600 to go to church, but he thought nobody'd want somebody 0:12:06.720 --> 0:12:09.520 like me. I've made a lot of mistakes, lived a 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:13.000 rough life. I'm known as a partier. He turned on 0:12:13.080 --> 0:12:17.160 the television and saw my father talking about the goodness 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:22.120 of God. That Sunday, he walked in Lakewood, first time 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:25.240 since he was a teenager. Sat way in the back. 0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:27.960 Someone recognized him and brought him down. 0:12:27.920 --> 0:12:28.679 To see my mom. 0:12:29.360 --> 0:12:31.640 She told how she had been praying for him and 0:12:31.720 --> 0:12:35.120 how that was a dream come true. That day was 0:12:35.160 --> 0:12:38.520 a turning point in Bill's life. A few months later, 0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:42.800 he gave his first Christian concert at Lakewood and he's 0:12:42.840 --> 0:12:47.840 been using his talents for the Lord ever since. Like Lazarus, 0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:52.200 Bill needed someone to help remove the grave clothes. That's 0:12:52.200 --> 0:12:57.160 what my mother did. She recognized underneath the mess, the partying, 0:12:57.559 --> 0:13:02.199 the compromising, there was a freeman, a man destined. 0:13:01.720 --> 0:13:03.120 To do great things. 0:13:03.640 --> 0:13:06.600 There are a lot of bills out there, people that 0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:10.320 are bound on the outside, but they have greatness on 0:13:10.360 --> 0:13:11.160 the inside. 0:13:11.920 --> 0:13:13.920 They just need someone that. 0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:17.280 Won't be afraid to get dirty, someone that won't be 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:20.320 judgmental and say, he used to be in church, he's 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:21.840 in the bars, what's wrong with him? 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:24.400 Instead of judging them. 0:13:24.679 --> 0:13:27.720 Why don't you take that same time to pray for them, 0:13:28.360 --> 0:13:30.840 to reach out to them, to let them know. 0:13:30.720 --> 0:13:31.880 That you believe in them. 0:13:32.720 --> 0:13:36.240 What if when Jesus raised Lazarus, no one was willing 0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:39.720 to remove the grave clothes, Nobody wanted to deal with 0:13:39.760 --> 0:13:43.600 the stink, nobody wanted to get dirty. Lazarus wouldn't have 0:13:43.640 --> 0:13:46.840 lived that long. He was bound, not able to move. 0:13:47.679 --> 0:13:51.280 Jesus did his part, but he was counting on Lazarus's 0:13:51.360 --> 0:13:54.079 friends and family to do their part. 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:56.760 Are there people in your life. 0:13:56.760 --> 0:14:00.720 Waiting for you to help remove their grave clothes? They're 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:03.800 off course, struggling in some area. 0:14:03.920 --> 0:14:07.719 It's easy to make excuses. They brought the trouble on themselves. 0:14:07.720 --> 0:14:10.880 It's their fault. I'm too busy. I've got enough problems 0:14:10.880 --> 0:14:14.120 of my own. No, take time to make a difference. 0:14:14.880 --> 0:14:17.719 Don't look at them through eyes of judgment. Look at 0:14:17.720 --> 0:14:21.200 them through eyes of love. Maybe deep down they want 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:24.480 to change. Maybe grace has been knocking at their door, 0:14:24.640 --> 0:14:28.160 getting stronger and stronger, but they don't know the next step. 0:14:28.960 --> 0:14:32.640 A phone call from you, a kind word, taking them 0:14:32.680 --> 0:14:35.560 out to dinner, not to try to straighten them out, 0:14:36.240 --> 0:14:39.040 but just to let them know that you care. That's 0:14:39.080 --> 0:14:42.280 what speaks volumes that you're not there to condemn them, 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:45.520 to point out their faults. You are there to simply 0:14:45.560 --> 0:14:50.480 love them. John chapter eight. These religious leaders brought a 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:52.800 woman to Jesus threw her down. 0:14:52.640 --> 0:14:53.440 At his feet. 0:14:53.640 --> 0:14:57.760 She was caught in the act of adultery. They said, Jesus, 0:14:58.120 --> 0:14:59.600 the law says stone her. 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:01.400 What do you say we should do? 0:15:02.120 --> 0:15:06.360 Seemed obvious the law was clear the lady was guilty. 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:10.320 One thing I love about Jesus is he broke religious 0:15:10.520 --> 0:15:13.840 rules in order to be good to people. In the 0:15:13.880 --> 0:15:18.000 Old Testament, God gave them ten commandments, but the people 0:15:18.080 --> 0:15:22.600 turned them into over two thousand laws. When Jesus came, 0:15:22.880 --> 0:15:25.760 he said, in the fact, I'm getting rid of all. 0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:28.640 These religious rules, all these heavy. 0:15:28.360 --> 0:15:31.720 Demands you put on people that only make them guilty 0:15:31.840 --> 0:15:35.600 and condemned. Instead, I'm going to condense them down into 0:15:35.600 --> 0:15:39.520 two commandments. Love the Lord your God with all your heart. 0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:44.680 And love your neighbor as you love yourself. He was saying, 0:15:45.200 --> 0:15:49.960 people are more important than religious rules. Everything is not 0:15:50.040 --> 0:15:53.360 going to fit perfectly into our theology. They have to 0:15:53.400 --> 0:15:56.160 do this, they have to do that. They can't do that, 0:15:56.320 --> 0:16:00.160 They can't go there. If you convince people to fall 0:16:00.320 --> 0:16:04.320 all your religious rules but you don't have love, the 0:16:04.360 --> 0:16:08.800 scripture says, we're like a loud, clinging symbol. I don't 0:16:08.840 --> 0:16:12.240 want to be known for what I'm against. I want 0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:15.160 to be known for what I'm for. I'm for people. 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:19.000 I'm four second chances, I'm for mercy. I'm not in 0:16:19.040 --> 0:16:22.080 the condemning business. I'm in the loving business. I'm in 0:16:22.120 --> 0:16:25.600 the healing business. I'm in the lifting business. I want 0:16:25.600 --> 0:16:29.920 to be known as a grade clothes remover, as someone 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:32.920 that saw the best in people, that helped push them 0:16:32.920 --> 0:16:37.080 into their destiny, as someone that was willing to get dirty, 0:16:37.680 --> 0:16:41.960 to go after messy people, broken people, people that society 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:44.840 has written off. But let me warn you, when you 0:16:44.960 --> 0:16:48.600 love people who are messy, you may be criticized, You 0:16:48.640 --> 0:16:49.600 may be talked about. 0:16:50.280 --> 0:16:52.200 One time, Jesus was walking through. 0:16:52.000 --> 0:16:56.320 A crowded town, thousands of people around. He looked up 0:16:56.520 --> 0:17:00.680 and saw zach kias the chief tax collector. He was 0:17:00.800 --> 0:17:04.359 known as one of the most dishonest people. He lied, 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:07.800 he cheated, he didn't keep his word. Yet Jesus said, 0:17:08.320 --> 0:17:11.919 I want to go to dinner with you today. Of 0:17:12.080 --> 0:17:15.919 all the people there that day, there were priests, rabbis, 0:17:16.440 --> 0:17:21.320 elders in the synagogue, but Grace goes to unlikely places. 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:26.040 Jesus didn't see just what Zachieus was. 0:17:26.480 --> 0:17:28.399 He saw what he could become. 0:17:29.440 --> 0:17:32.879 He was bound on the outside by grave clothes, but 0:17:32.960 --> 0:17:36.160 he knew on the inside was a man of integrity, 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:40.600 a man of honor. Jesus went to dinner with zachieas 0:17:40.920 --> 0:17:45.760 someone that people considered dirty, messy broken. In fact, the 0:17:45.800 --> 0:17:49.600 scripture says the religious leaders complained that he went to 0:17:49.680 --> 0:17:53.880 dinner with a notorious sinner. When you go after the broken, 0:17:54.359 --> 0:17:58.320 the hurting, the addicted, people may criticize, they may. 0:17:58.160 --> 0:18:00.720 Talk about you, but you're in god good company. 0:18:01.080 --> 0:18:04.080 You are never more like God than when you go 0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:09.800 after messy people. This lady was on the ground in 0:18:09.840 --> 0:18:15.879 front of Jesus, surrounded by all these men. She was afraid, embarrassed, 0:18:16.280 --> 0:18:17.439 expecting the worst. 0:18:18.160 --> 0:18:20.359 Jesus knelt down and wrote in the ground. 0:18:20.960 --> 0:18:24.800 He said to them, whoever is without sin, throw the 0:18:24.880 --> 0:18:28.720 first stone. They all put their heads down. They were convicted. 0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:33.040 When you're tempted to be judgmental, ask yourself, have I 0:18:33.080 --> 0:18:36.680 ever done wrong? Am I qualified to throw the first stone? 0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:39.639 None of us are. The men walked out, from the 0:18:39.720 --> 0:18:43.239 oldest to the youngest. He said to her, where are 0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:44.160 your accusers? 0:18:44.640 --> 0:18:48.800 Hasn't anyone condemned you? She said no. Man, Lord, he said, 0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:53.200 neither do I Now go and sin no more. Our 0:18:53.240 --> 0:18:55.959 religious minds go tilt tilt, tilt. 0:18:56.320 --> 0:19:00.560 Grace for somebody that committed adultery, Grace for a man 0:19:00.600 --> 0:19:03.920 that's known for being dishonest, Grace for a guy that's 0:19:03.920 --> 0:19:05.000 singing in clubs. 0:19:05.320 --> 0:19:07.480 God's grace is promiscuous. 0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:11.040 Why don't you go after someone that doesn't deserve it, 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:15.520 someone that's made mistakes, someone that's hurting. You can be 0:19:15.600 --> 0:19:18.600 the one that helps put them back on their feet. 0:19:19.240 --> 0:19:22.240 Nobody's too far gone, nobody's. 0:19:21.760 --> 0:19:22.959 Made too many mistakes. 0:19:23.440 --> 0:19:27.520 All some people need is one person to believe in them, 0:19:28.040 --> 0:19:30.800 one person to say, hey, I'm praying for you, one 0:19:30.880 --> 0:19:32.960 person to breathe new life back. 0:19:32.800 --> 0:19:33.640 Into their spirit. 0:19:34.480 --> 0:19:37.679 Years ago, there was a minister that was touching the world, 0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:41.919 doing great things, but someone accused him of having a 0:19:42.000 --> 0:19:46.159 lack of integrity. Rumors started to spread. They took on 0:19:46.200 --> 0:19:48.800 a life of their own, and he had made mistakes, 0:19:48.920 --> 0:19:52.040 but it was blown way out of proportion. He was 0:19:52.080 --> 0:19:55.600 so devastated he got out of the ministry for months. 0:19:55.640 --> 0:19:58.959 You didn't hear anything from him. I didn't know him. Well, 0:19:59.359 --> 0:20:01.560 it's much old, older than I am, But I felt 0:20:01.600 --> 0:20:04.320 like I was supposed to reach out to him, but 0:20:04.400 --> 0:20:06.680 my mind came up with all these excuses. 0:20:07.160 --> 0:20:08.720 Joey, he's not going to listen to you. 0:20:09.320 --> 0:20:11.760 If people find out you're talking, you're going to be 0:20:11.840 --> 0:20:15.840 drug into this mess. You better leave him alone. He 0:20:15.880 --> 0:20:20.399 doesn't have a good reputation, he's tainted, he's messy. But 0:20:20.480 --> 0:20:25.199 I found God loves messy people. God loves broken people. 0:20:25.720 --> 0:20:29.840 He loves people that are at a disadvantage, not just 0:20:30.040 --> 0:20:33.040 people that have had bad breaks, but he even loves 0:20:33.119 --> 0:20:37.240 people that have brought the trouble on themselves. And this 0:20:37.320 --> 0:20:40.600 is where human nature says, they're getting what they deserve. 0:20:41.200 --> 0:20:42.159 Let them deal with it. 0:20:42.200 --> 0:20:46.440 They're guilty, but only the guilty need mercy. 0:20:46.680 --> 0:20:48.720 Where are the healers, Where. 0:20:48.480 --> 0:20:51.560 Are the restores, the people that are not too self 0:20:51.640 --> 0:20:55.359 righteous to get down? Where someone is hurting with the 0:20:55.400 --> 0:20:58.880 broken to help heal the wounds. I didn't know if 0:20:58.880 --> 0:21:01.840 you'd take my call, but I felt strongly about it. 0:21:02.280 --> 0:21:05.880 He answered the phone. I could barely hear him speak. 0:21:06.400 --> 0:21:09.800 He said, Joel, I don't have any more fight left 0:21:09.840 --> 0:21:10.119 in me. 0:21:10.520 --> 0:21:11.680 I'm done. 0:21:11.840 --> 0:21:14.520 I didn't talk long, but for the next three minutes 0:21:14.760 --> 0:21:16.240 I spoke faith into him. 0:21:16.560 --> 0:21:17.800 I spoke restoration. 0:21:18.400 --> 0:21:21.280 I told him that we needed him, that the nations 0:21:21.320 --> 0:21:24.600 were waiting on him, that God's mercy is bigger than 0:21:24.640 --> 0:21:28.199 our mistakes, that his best days were not behind, they 0:21:28.240 --> 0:21:31.000 were still out in front. He said, in a real 0:21:31.160 --> 0:21:34.919 soft voice, thank you and hung up. Didn't seem like 0:21:34.960 --> 0:21:38.560 it did any good. But six months later he called 0:21:38.600 --> 0:21:43.040 back and sounded like a different person. He had his fireback, 0:21:43.359 --> 0:21:46.840 his passion back. He was about to go overseas. He 0:21:46.920 --> 0:21:50.640 said something I'll never forget. He said, Joel, it all 0:21:50.680 --> 0:21:56.479 turned around that day. You called something reignited in my spirit. 0:21:56.600 --> 0:22:01.080 Something came alive on the inside. When after the hurting, 0:22:01.600 --> 0:22:06.280 the broken, the discourage, the anointing on your life will 0:22:06.320 --> 0:22:09.480 break yokes that are holding them back. You may not 0:22:09.600 --> 0:22:13.640 feel it, they may not respond right away. But when 0:22:13.680 --> 0:22:18.359 you speak faith change or breaking. When you show Love's 0:22:18.440 --> 0:22:23.879 strongholds for coming down, when you're merciful, compassionate, forgiving you 0:22:24.040 --> 0:22:28.320 pouring oil on the wounds, you're being a healer, a restorer, 0:22:28.640 --> 0:22:32.080 a lifter. There was a young prophet in the Old 0:22:32.119 --> 0:22:35.640 Testament named Hosea. He lived at a time when the 0:22:35.720 --> 0:22:40.840 Israelites were worshiping idols and not honoring God. Hosea was 0:22:40.920 --> 0:22:44.840