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Like, literally, you've never teamed up with anyone. We're all taking notes. It's fast. You can follow that up if you're excited. You can follow that up if you're excited. You can follow that up if you're excited. You can follow that up if you're excited. You can follow that up if you're excited. You can follow that up if you're excited. You can follow that up. You can follow that up. You can follow that up. You can follow that up. You can follow that up if you're excited. You can follow that up if you're excited. You can follow that up if you're excited. You can follow that up if you're excited. You can follow that up if you're excited. You can follow that up if you're excited. You can follow that up if you're excited. You can follow that up if you're excited. You can follow that up if you're excited. You can follow that up if you're excited. You can follow that up if you're excited. You can follow that up if you're excited. You can follow that up if you're excited. 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And can it be On the first And can it be That I should gain An interest in The Savior's blood Died He for me Caused His pain For me Him to death pursued Amazing love How can it be That Thou, my God Shouldst die for me Amazing love How can it be That Thou, my God Shouldst die for me He left His Father's throne above Soul-free, so infinite His grace emptied Himself All God loved and bled For Adam's helpless race Tis mercy all Immense and free For you, O my God It found out me Amazing love How can it be That Thou, my God Shouldst die for me Long my imprisoned spirit lay Last found in sin And may choose nigh Fine I diffuse The quickening rape I woke the dirge Enflamed with light My chains fell off My heart was free I rose before And followed Thee Amazing love How can it be That Thou, my God Shouldst die for me Amen. Brother Moses, will you open us with a word of prayer, please? Thank you, Mark, for the day. Today is so fast to go. I'm not the host here. I just want to take a moment to get on track. And I pray that I will become a great friend to all our hearts. Amen. All right, let's turn this on for 212, O Happy Day. There's a lot to be thankful for. Song number 212, O Happy Day. Sing that one. On the first. Oh, happy day That makes my choice On me, my Savior and my God May this glory, heart rejoice And tell His raptures all abroad Happy day, happy day When Jesus washed my sins away He taught me how to watch and pray And live rejoicing every day Happy day, happy day When Jesus washed my sins away Happy bond that seals my vows To Him who merits all my love The cheerful land that spilt His house While to that sacred shrine I move Happy day, happy day When Jesus washed my sins away He taught me how to watch and pray And live rejoicing every day Happy day, happy day When Jesus washed my sins away It is done, a great transaction done I am my Lord and He is mine He drew me and I followed on Charmed to confess the voice divine Happy day, happy day When Jesus washed my sins away He taught me how to watch and pray And live rejoicing every day Happy day, happy day When Jesus washed my sins away Now rest my long, divided heart Fix on this blissful center rest Forever from my Lord depart With Him of every good possess Happy day, happy day When Jesus washed my sins away He taught me how to watch and pray And live rejoicing every day Happy day, happy day When Jesus washed my sins away Sunday evenings at 6 and Wednesdays at 7pm Underneath that is a list of our soul winning times We've got Saturday mornings at 1030 meeting right here Sundays at 2 with brother David Mondays at 630 with brother Mauser Wednesdays at 11am with brother Briley Thursdays about 630 For the next few Thursdays we will be meeting here Do me a favor and call or text me if you're going to go Thursday 208-391-5323 Praise report So we're at 6 salvations for August Which is 72 year today 8 baptisms Let's see last Sunday morning we had 40 in attendance 16 in the evening service and 27 on Wednesday And we had 14 soul winners out in the community So praise God for all of that Let's see here back page So tonight will be in 2 Samuel chapter number 12 Also next weekend Come join us for kids day September 5th So there's going to be a special message geared towards the kids Not just totally for the kids, it will be for everybody But mostly I guess the main focus for the kids And a special gift after the service for everyone under 18 And a nacho lunch party provided by the church after the morning service So that's what everybody is really looking forward to Alright birthdays and anniversaries So last on the list there is Skolk and Maribel's anniversary So he wasn't going to come up and sing for us But we'll get him next week Alright this week's memory verse Luke chapter 2 verse 52 And Jesus is increased in wisdom and stature And in favor with God and man We are a family integrated church What that means is we don't separate children from the parents for any reason We have a daddy baby room right over here to your left And a mother baby room right across the hallway there All set and ready to go Tithes and offerings for August are right below that Don't forget to turn your phones off or place them on silence And we've got a new toaster oven back there We saw that so if you need help working it ask somebody that knows how to work it I don't know how to do that It's kind of weird You've got to figure something out We tested it out the other day and I came back And like an hour later it was still on And I'm certain I turned it off So I'm not sure what that's all about Something weird is probably me So the very bottom line says When you get even you become equal That was from last Sunday morning So with all that being said we'll have one more song Before we receive the offering Let's grab those handbooks one more time please And turn to Psalm 407 Psalm 407 Faith of our fathers Living still Psalm 407 Faith of our fathers On the first Faith of our fathers Living still In spite of dungeon Fire and sword Oh how our hearts Beat high with joy When e'er we hear That glorious word Faith of our fathers Holy faith We will be true To thee till death Our fathers Chained in prison's dark Who were still in harm And conscience free How sweet would be Their children's pain If they like them Could die for thee Faith of our fathers Holy faith We will be true To thee till death Faith of our fathers We still strive To win all nations Unto thee And though the truth That comes from God Mankind shall then Indeed be free Faith of our fathers Holy faith We will be true To thee till death Faith of our fathers We will love Both friend and friend Both friend and foe In all our strife And preach thee too As love knows how By kindly word And virtuous life Faith of our fathers Holy faith We will be true To thee till death Amen Well, let's go ahead and pray. Thank you so much, Lord, for allowing us to be able to meet here this morning. Let's pray you bless the service, Lord, and fellowship and everything that we have going on today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Open your Bibles to Micah chapter 7. Micah chapter 7. Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Zechariah. Micah chapter 7. Micah chapter 7, starting in verse 1 Woe is me, for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits as the grape cleanings of the vintage. There is no cluster to eat. My soul desires the first striped fruit. The good man has perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood. They hunt every man his brother with a net. That they may do evil with both hands earnestly. The prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward. And the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire, so they wrap it up. The best of them is as a briar. The most upright is sharper than a thorn edge. The day of the watchman and thy visitation cometh. Now shall be thy, now shall be their perplexity. Trust ye not in a friend. Put ye not confidence in a guide. Keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For the sun dishonereth the father. The daughter riseth up against her mother. The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. The man's enemies are the man of his own house. Therefore I will look unto the Lord. I'll wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy. When I fall, I shall rise. When I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. I'll bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me. He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness. Then she, that is mine enemy, shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the Lord thy God? Mine eye shall behold her. Now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets. In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed. In that day also, he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from the sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain. Notwithstanding, the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings. Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell in solitary, in the wood, in the midst of Carmel. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. According to the days of the coming out of the land of Egypt, will I shew unto him marvelous things. The nation shall see and be confounded at all their might. They shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be death. They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth. They shall be afraid of the Lord our God, and shall fear because of thee. Woe is a god like unto thee, that pardoneth inequity, and passeth by transgression of a remnant of his heritage. He retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion on us, he will subdue our inequities, and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform the truth of Jacob, and mercy to Abram, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old. Victor, you want to pray for us? All right, amen. Well, the title of the sermon this morning is family beefs. Family beefs. I thought about starting it off with Lot and Abram, you know, their men debating over the cattle and the space and all that, but I was like, ah, we'll just get right to it today. So the topic is obvious by the title. It's about family fights, family tension, how to manage this, why does it happen, what happens if you can't get away from them, how do you live peaceably, is it even possible, so we're going to take a look at that sort of thing this morning. Now, we're in Micah chapter number six. Look down, I'm sorry, Micah chapter seven, look at verse number six, it says this, it says, for the son dishonors the father, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, a man's enemies are the men of his own house. Now, again, that might sound familiar to you, and if so, it's because it's from Matthew, well, Jesus quotes that in Matthew chapter 10, we'll look at that later on. So again, the title, family beefs. Now, I've been married over 20 years, I've got teens, I'm no stranger to family beefs, I've seen all of it, at least I think I've seen all of it, and so learned a lot about the subject and everybody in here, if you haven't, you will go through this, but I know pretty much everybody in here and we've all had family beefs. Not just talking about your immediate family, but also your extended family, you know, that's for us a lot of times with us, B, for these problems, if you will, this tension where it comes from, you know, your extended family being like, well, hey, you know, you're not acting like you used to, what's gotten into you? You know, it's like they develop this, I don't know, these expectations just from knowing you or maybe even investing in you, your aunts, your uncles, your outside family, you know, you moved out of the house, your parents, and it's like all of a sudden now they want to monopolize your time, they want to monopolize your presence, they want to monopolize your own opinions and everything like that. How do you manage that? How do you get away with having that zeal for the Lord, but yet still maintaining peace? And we're going to talk about that again. So, just to give you some context, we're in the book of Micah, not a very popular book, but it is a very informative book. So, just to give you the background here, Micah was a prophet during the time of Isaiah. So, Isaiah was a prophet during the kings of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Just remember Ahaz, he was a wicked king, king of Judah, all three of those guys, kings of Judah. Just think of Ahaz, okay? It seems Ahaz, but Ahaz, that will kind of help you to remember that Ahaz, oh yeah, he was a bad guy. So, Ahaz was a guy who actually went and adopted help from the Assyrians, adopted their policy. He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, so definitely not a good guy. Now, Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah, his mission was largely driven towards the kings, to get them to understand the religious system of the time. He was there to get basically the big dogs, if you will, to get their attention and to explain to them what's coming on not only the nation of Judah, but the nation and kingdom of Israel. Whereas Micah, he was a prophet mainly geared towards the people, so that was his mission. He was the prophet to the people. Now, they both obviously intersect and their message is the same, but Micah wrote, well, his book under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, basically geared towards the common man and getting them to understand, hey, these are some things that you're going to have to deal with. There are some things that you're going to have to adapt. There are some things that you're just going to have to be okay with seeing in your life because you've largely rejected the word of God and his ways and his statutes. And I'm going to show you how this applies to today. So just to continue on here, back up to verse number two, Micah 7, look at verse number two. It says this, the good man is perished out of the earth and there is none upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood. They hunt every man his brother with a net. So you can see here, he's giving us some insight on the condition of the people. Now, you say, does that mean that nobody was saved back then? No, there were people that were saved, but the majority of people during Micah, during Isaiah's day, were obviously not saved. They were out for themselves. It's kind of the same thing that we're seeing today. It's the same thing that Jesus saw in his day. And I'll show you why this is so important here. Look at verse number four. So jump down to verse number four. It says this, the best of them is as a briar. The most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge. The day of thy watchman and thy visitation cometh, now shall be their perplexity. So Micah's, again, describing the attitude that most people have. And what does he say there? At the beginning of that verse, he says, the best of them is as a briar. Well, what's a briar? Well, it's like a sticker bush, you know, it's something that's very sharp. He says the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge. So what he's saying is, hey, you guys need to understand, you need to learn to function in a society that when you do dealings with other people, it's going to be a real sticky situation. That's really what he's saying here. And then he goes at the end of the verse and he says, now shall be their perplexity. So you say, well, what does that mean? What's the inability to deal with or understand something complicated? So people are just, they're just not understanding what's going on. Like why is finding a friend so hard today? Why is getting along with my family so difficult today? Well, we understand from reading the story because we get the front, we get the back, that it's because of the condition of the people. Okay. This is, I mean, so important today. Just think like 50 years ago, 60 years ago, your average person walking down the street, you know, was somebody you could probably just start a small conversation with and probably even develop a friendship a lot quicker. Right. But that's not really the case today, is it? It seems like the average person today is extremely apathetic regarding the things of God. They don't want to hear it. You know, I would say the average patriot here in the Treasure Valley, you knock on their door, they got the big old wreath, you know, the July 4th wreath with the American flag, knock on the door, oh, you know, get out of here. Right. Extremely hostile. People didn't act like that just 20 years ago, it seems like. I mean, just, you know, heck, back in 2013 when I first started going soul winning, you know, I feel like people were more receptive. But as the day approaches, more people are abandoning truth or abandoning the Word of God. And you have to understand that that affects your family. That affects your extended family because they will go the way of the world. Okay. But yet we're still stuck with having our mission, our zeal, our values, and we need to make peace when possible with those people. Okay. And so that's what Micah is saying. You know, the best of them is as a briar. You know, you just need to realize when you go to the store people are going to be just difficult to deal with, just real sticky. And I'm going to throw Kinley under the bus. So last Sunday we went to Panda Express for lunch and the lady was just super rude. And we didn't give her any reason to be rude, you know, and just being rude to everybody. I was watching her. We get in the vehicle, right, and she's holding the food and she's like, this is why I can't go to these places by myself. It was just so funny. Sorry, Kinley. But it's just redhead ideology, you know. You got to give her a pass. That's just how they are, you know. Whereas Kylan would just knock her out. I'm just kidding. You know, just unprovoked. You know, that just seems to be the norm now. Where you go into a business and people are just upset that you're even there. Oh, I've got to work now. And it's like, well, isn't that what you signed up for? You know, which you're not thankful for anything. That's the condition of the people and that does affect our families. It affects everything. Look at verse number five. So he says this, Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide. Keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. So again, the message here overall, he's not saying, hey, you know, don't go out and make friends. Don't try to, you know, witness to people or that sort of thing. He's basically saying, hey, don't look to your friend for your comfort. You obviously should be looking to someone else, which is God. And by the way, he's also letting them know your ability to find friends and to maintain relationships is going to be extremely difficult as the day approaches. And remember, what was Micah doing? Well, he was telling the people of Judah, hey, Samaria is going to fall. The Assyrians are going to take over and carry those people away. And guess what? Several years later, it's going to be your turn. And that was his message. Look at verse six. Again, for the son dishonereth the father, the daughter is rise up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law, a man's enemies are the men of his own house. And so, again, you know, this is what we are up against today, even in the best of times when people were putting on the front and things weren't as wicked. There's always going to be family beef. There's always going to be striving. Right. But I don't believe it was as intense as it is today or going to be. You got to keep in mind, we're headed to a date where people are literally going to start calling the police. And this has already started on their own families, you know, calling people's jobs. Hey, my dad or my mom or my aunt, my uncle didn't get the vaccine. They're lying to you. You know, that sort of thing's happening on a daily basis, even right here where we live. There are people snitching on each other like it's like it's just the right thing to do, you know, without conscience, just this dough egg the Edomite type attitude. And so, what are you saying? Hey, get ready for perplexity. You need to learn how to function in perplexity and that's the message of us. Because, you know, culture, what does culture tell us today? You know, what's one of the things that's common? Oh, well, blood's thicker than water. Right. Who's ever heard that? Blood's thicker than water. You know, I'm willing to bet that many people in your families probably have that mentality. Well, blood's thicker than water. You know, why are you choosing church? Why are you choosing somebody, you know, at your church's needs over mine? I don't like that. That's not right. You know, you're in a cult. You know, and isn't that the truth? Isn't that what they say? Blood's thicker than water. But what you have to understand is that the blood of Christ is pure, lasts for eternity, and is much thicker, much better, much more profitable than the blood of your own family. I mean, think about it. This is why Jesus says, hey, refer to one another, you know, brother, sister, treat each other like family. So, this doesn't just, you know, apply to your immediate family. This applies to the church. It applies to your extended families. It applies across the entire board. And so, just understand when people say that, you know, and your family comes up to you, hey, blood's thicker than water, you know, you just need to understand. They just don't understand what you're about. And we're going to talk about that here in a second. Look at verse number seven. It says this. Therefore, I will look unto the Lord. I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. So, what Mike is saying is, hey, the world's falling apart. All this stuff is going on. You can't trust people. People are just sharp. They're just stickery. You know, they're just not loyal anymore. There's just all sorts of issues here. And he says, that's fine, you know, but guess what I'm going to do. He says, therefore, I will look unto the Lord. I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. Now, you can leave your place there and go to Luke chapter number two. Luke chapter number two. And so, we're going to take the advice of Mike, and we're going to try to look, you know, what would the Lord do in a situation where there's tension in the family? What would he say? How would he operate? And so, we're going to go ahead and look at some passages here in Luke chapter number two and apply those to our lives. But I want to give you the key thought for the sermon this morning, which is this. You are in control. Understand this. You are in control when you understand, but you are not in control when you are understood. You might be thinking, what in the world does that mean? Well, I'm going to explain that to you, okay? We're going to spend the rest of the sermon basically unpacking that statement here, okay? Because I'll just kind of tell you right up front, one of the big reasons people like us have fights with our family is because we spend so much time, so much energy trying to get our family to understand what we are about and to prove to them, hey, we're right, we're right, we're right, we're right. And I'm going to show you this morning why you can eliminate that, why you don't need to be like that, as long as you understand. Because look, who's got peace here in the story? Micah. He's like, look, Israel's done. They're going to get carried away. Judah, you're done. You're going to get carried away. Everybody sucks. You guys are a bunch of losers, okay? You guys just keep here. God sends you profit, after profit, after profit, and all you do is turn your back. You don't want to hear it. He's like, that's fine. And he's saying, I'm going to look to the Lord. Well, what he's letting us know is, hey, society is going to look at him and be like, what's wrong with you? You need to get on board with this program here. Hey, you know, we're your brothers. We're your sisters. We're your fathers. We're your aunts. We're your uncles. We're all of these things. Why are you going in that direction? And he's like, hey, you don't have to understand why I'm doing this. I understand it. And that gives him the peace and the ability to stay mission minded, okay? So we are going to unpack that statement this morning. So Luke chapter 2, look at verse number 41. Luke chapter 2, look at verse number 41. It says this, now his parents, talking about Jesus, now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. Verse 42, and he was, I'm sorry, and when he was 12 years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast, and when they had fulfilled the days as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem, and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. Verse 44, but they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. Let's stop right there for a second. So understand the situation here. We get one glimpse into the childhood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and what do we see? Family tension. Controversy in the family. That's what we're going to see here. So understand how important this is. I mean, God said, okay, I'm going to give you one look into the childhood of the Son of God. One. We don't see him again for 18 years after this. You get one look, and what is it about? It's about family tension. So you need to understand how important it is to really study what he's trying to tell us here in this passage. Now, obviously, they've gone a day's journey, you know, we'll talk about that here in a second. Like, wait, something's not right here. Where's our son? Where's he at? Look at verse 45. It says this, And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. Verse 46. And it came to pass that after three days, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions. Now, just a kind of a side note here. I like how it says there, after three days, where do they find him? Well, after three days, they find him asking questions, basically teaching doctrine, at a young age. That's a miracle. Because what do we learn later on about him? People are like, how does he know to write letters when he's never learned? But also, this is a picture of the resurrection, because you don't have to turn there, but Luke 24, 36, it says, this is after the resurrection, it says, And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. Right? That's kind of what you're seeing here is like a foreshadowing, even back in his childhood. So if somebody ever gets up here and says, you know, Jesus broke the law, you know, he did have some sin, he got spanked, he got corrected as a child, that, I don't believe that, you know, I don't believe that to be true at all. Because here we see him asking questions, right? Three days after he'd been lost or misplaced. Look at verse 47, it says this, And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. Verse 48, And when they saw him, they were amazed. And his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought the sorrowing. So again, what do we see here? Tension, controversy. Mary is confused. Everyone in this situation is confused, obviously, except the Lord Jesus Christ. She's like, hey, why are you, why did you deal with us like this? That's literally what she's telling him. You know, she's, and obviously she's emotional. Everyone's emotional because they're probably thinking, we just lost the Son of God. And I think I've told this story before. I heard a pastor one time say, see, this story here proves that if you lose your salvation, it could take a period of three days, three months, three years, three decades to get it back. That's not what this is talking about, though. We understand how stupid that is, right? So she says, why hast thou thus dealt with us? And it's interesting here. Think about this. Who's in the wrong here? Well, it's Mary, right? Look, if this was anybody else, okay? And I'm sure we've all probably been here to some degree where we've, like, gone out in the parking lot, loaded up our car, maybe even headed out of the parking lot and been like, uh-oh, we're missing one, right? I almost left Kayden a couple, it was about a couple months ago. I started the car, started backing up, and he's like running out. I'm like, oh, whoops, you know what I mean? But at least it wasn't three days, Kayden, right? So you're good there. But just understand this. She's in the wrong. She's the one who has done the offense, okay? And she's also the one that's offended. And so here's the first thing that I want you to understand this morning about family tension, about family fights, is to understand that those in your family committing the offenses are going to be the ones that are offended. You just have to know this. You just have to understand this. Go to Matthew chapter number 10. This is really the point that Micah's making in chapter number 7, and you're going to see that same point here in Matthew chapter number 10. Because, again, what did Micah tell us? The good man is perished out of the earth. He said, hey, the best of you is like a sticker bush, you know? So just dealing with people is going to be rough. And obviously the culture of a nation, you know, it infects the people of that same nation. And so we need to understand the conditions are similar in Micah's day to the day of Jesus, right? What do we have in Micah's day? A warning that the kingdom's going to fall, right? And that's what he's going around, prophesying, hey, the Lord says, Israel's going to get carried away. Judah, your turn is next. You're going to get carried away. Well, it's the same thing in Matthew chapter 10. The nation of Judea, now under Roman control, is actually about to be just completely wiped out. You know, 70 AD is approaching. They're just going to get completely smoked. And God's saying, hey, I've been talking about this since the days of the Old Testament, that my nation is no longer going to be physical, but made up of every single believer on the planet. And so here in Matthew chapter 10, Jesus is commissioning the 12th to go out and to preach to the lost sheep for the house of Israel. So it's very similar. The culture's the same. People are very, you know, ignorant. I mean, think about John chapter 3, for example, when Jesus is trying to explain the basic doctrine of salvation to who? To Nicodemus, right? A leader. And he's like, you're a leader here in Israel? You're a teacher? And you don't understand what it means to be born again? You know what I mean? That's what we're dealing with. That's the condition. And that's, hey, these things are exactly what we see in today's day and age, right? We run into people every week. Hey, how long have you been going to church? 30 years. And they have no idea if they're saved. They have no idea how to be saved. Okay. Same thing going on in this chapter here. But look at verse number 16. It says this, Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. And really that's, I mean, that statement there sums up this entire sermon. You know, that's the wisdom that we need to apply to our lives, right? We're not out looking, oh, you don't agree with me? Let's fight. You know, we don't want to be physically fighting our family members. But look at verse 17. It says, But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues. Same thing that Micah said, right? He said people are going to be like briars. They're going to be like thorns. They're going to be very difficult to deal with. This is going to affect your family. Don't trust in man. Jump down to verse number 34. So he says this, Think not that I am come to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword. Again, we talk about this all the time because this is missing from Christianity today. They do not want to talk about this verse because they preach a different Jesus. Look at verse 35. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And notice verse 36. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. So it's interesting that Jesus is quoting Micah chapter 7 verse 6 during the same time. Why? Because it's identical. The culture is the same. The circumstances are the same in Matthew chapter 10 that they were back in Micah's day, back in Isaiah's day. And guess what? When you read Matthew chapter 10, you can tell that he's not just speaking to them for that day. If any hermeneutic professor tries to tell you that, he's off of his rockers. The guy needs to go get some serious help because that's not true. There's obviously double meaning as you read this entire chapter. This is meant for us in today's day and age. We are commanded to be harmless, right? We are commanded to be wise. We are commanded to follow these things. And he's just letting us know, hey, guess what? There's coming a day as the day approaches where people are going to turn their own family members in and I'm going to set a sword in the midst of your family. That's what he said in verse 34. Well, we know that that sword is the word of God. That's what gives us our direction. That's what gives us our motivation. That's what gives us our zeal. But that's also what causes problems. But we're not left without a strategy on how to maintain peace in our families. Now, can you get along with everybody? Absolutely not. Okay, but you can get along with most people and I'm going to show you how that is possible today. Now, you don't have to turn there, but I just want to show you how we're going to apply this point here. Okay, so understand, most of the time the people committing the offenses in your family will be offended simply by the fact that you want to go to church, simply by the fact that they can't control your presence, your places, your spaces, your opinions, your drive, your zeal, your decisions, your whereabouts, all of that stuff. They can't control it. And here's why. Psalm 119, 165 says this, great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them. Well, we just got done showing you Matthew chapter 10 and the culture of that day, the culture of today, the culture of Micah's day, right? The culture that is just so popular which says we don't need God, we got this thing on our own. Well, guess what? That means you have a lack of people who love the law of the Lord. And you need to pay attention to this fact here that when people don't love the law, I don't, you know, I'm talking to Christians, I'm talking to people that haven't made up their minds yet, they are easily offended by the things of God. That's why Micah said, hey, this world's literally going to hell in a hand basket, but I'm just going to look to God. And he found peace in that, right? He went and he preached his message and whoever listened, listened and got blessed by it, but whoever didn't, he was just like, I'm shaking the dust off of my feet. In fact, that's what Jesus told the disciples to do at the same time he sent them out. Shake the dust. Don't spend your time trying to convince people that don't want to listen, that you're right. It is a waste of the precious oxygen that God has allowed you to breathe. Please understand that. When people in your family don't want to listen to why you are the way you are, it's better to just let it be. Don't keep bringing it up. Don't keep leaving little things out on the table that are going to trigger an argument or a conversation because today's the day I'm going to get through to them. Look, when pride reigns, guess what? People just don't want to listen. They don't want to be told. They have to like, you have to pray for them. You might, you know, this kind comes out by you, but no other way than praying and fasting. You know, try those things first. You know, don't just constantly be this person that has always got to be right. You go home, you call up, hey, guess what I learned today? You suck. You're wrong. I can smoke you. Now, sometimes we have to do that, okay? Sometimes there's a time and a place to be aggressive and to be like that, especially when it comes to false prophets. You know, especially when people come in here and they want to argue about, you know, any doctrine that we believe, you know, and they're not listening or they're trying to cause damage or you're out soul winning and, you know, these false prophets come up to you and they're like, oh, are you really saying that you don't have to do any works? Yeah, you know, it's time for war. It's time for battle. But we're talking about maintaining a situation of peace amongst people that you can't escape from, that you can't get away from, okay, that are your family. And what else does this do? Well, this opens up an avenue later on to possibly get them saved because you don't know what's going to happen. You don't know when life's going to come crashing down on them and they just say, you know what, maybe you're right because you've behaved yourself wisely. You were harmless as a dove. You never hurt me. They might look at you and say, you know what, this person never hurt me. I don't agree with them. I don't like the decisions they've made, but they've never actually tried to hurt me. They've never spent their time and their energy fighting me, just constantly having to be right. Look, when you're right, you're right. You know these things. Let that bring the peace in order to dictate the direction that you want to go in your life. So go back to Luke chapter number two. So again, point number one is just understand that these people that are causing the offenses in your family, they are going to be the ones, the first ones to be offended. When you say, I'm going to the soul-winding marathon, I'm going to church today, I'm going to do this. No, I'm not going to go to that. You know, I'm not going to go to that wicked event. Whatever it is. Okay, just understand they are going to be the ones that are offended because what do we see here? We see Mary's offended, you know, and of course, you know, any mom would be upset if, you know, your child was hiding on you and you're trying to get out there and leave. But this is a different situation here. Okay, look at verse number 49. So remember what Mary just said. She said, Thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. Right? What's Jesus' response? Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. No, look at verse 49. And he said unto them, How is it that you sought me? Wish ye not that I must be about my father's business. Now, if you've got a modern version of the Bible, which hopefully you don't, you know, you have a different doctrine right now. You need to put that down. Go back there. Grab a King James so you can actually follow the sermon and actually get taught something here. So what does he say? He corrects her. He's 12 years old. And he's like, No, you don't understand, Mom. What's going on? Right? And she's furious. Three days. She has nowhere sons at. And then they find him. He's teaching these doctors stuff. His insights are just amazing people. They're just like, How did you come up with that? Well, because it's the word of God. But here's point number two. Family fights or family tension are often because they don't know you like they think they do. OK, this is obvious. This is a huge source of fights, you know, and I've look I've experienced this. You know, as my kids get older, I'm starting to realize, you know what? There are things about them that I don't really even know. And I'm like, Whoa, that's a scary thought. You know, here the last couple of months, especially, I feel like I've been spending a lot of time with it. But I realize, you know, I need to do a better job at, you know, really starting to learn them because they're getting older. Their interests are changing and, you know, the things that they're into and the things that they talk about, you know, are going to be changing and naturally so as they get older. OK, but you have to understand that Mary doesn't really know Jesus like she thinks she does. She doesn't understand the mission like she thinks she does. And that's OK if you were, you know, for any one of us would say the same thing back in that day. But here's the situation here. You know, our families will say, well, you know, all of my kids, I don't get why they're all going off in different directions. They're all raised together. They're all raised the same. You know, they should have the same opinions. They should have the same values. They should have the same mission. They should have the same interests, direction, all those things. I've been through that. You know, especially with like Jessica's parents and Jessica's family. Her parents are great. You know, they one thing that they have never done is they have never gotten like super involved in our lives and try to tell us what to do. Do they agree with this church and the things we stand for? No, not necessarily. But they're great people. Right. But oftentimes they're left wondering, like, why, you know, why, why did she go one way? You know, and the other three kids are going different directions. And it's because we've failed to learn our kids. We don't know them like we think we do. You know, and you have to understand that about your family and your extended family and those that are upset at you. And why that tension's there. It's there because they don't know you like they think they do. They have a vision for how they see you. And when you don't follow that, it upsets them. And, you know, I know this is simple, but just understanding that again can bring you peace. When you have peace, you're in control. And that is the entire goal for this sermon. How to function amongst those we cannot get away from. So we see here that Jesus has to correct his own mom. He's been missing for three days and he straightens her out on this subject, so to speak. Now, look at verse number. Let's see here, actually. Real quickly, turn to First Corinthians, Chapter 15, First Corinthians, Chapter number 15. You see this all throughout the Bible, right? Joseph, he was misunderstood, you know, with the dreams and such. Now, I'm not saying he necessarily had it all correct, but, you know, he was misunderstood. David was misunderstood. Again, I've talked about this a few weeks ago and we'll talk about it again here actually next week. But, I mean, when Samuel came to the son of Jesse, or, you know, came to Jesse, rather, and said, Hey, let me see all your kids. What does he do? He brings out seven of them. Well, they misunderstood David. I mean, you see this all throughout the Bible. People getting misunderstood. The apostles, they were greatly misunderstood. Jesus was misunderstood even after he started his ministry here. But I want to show you something here. First Corinthians 15, look at verse 58. It says this. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. How well do we really know this verse? I mean, this is a commandment to be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. You say, How do I manage this tension here? Well, here's one of the ways that you do it is by being mission minded. That's how Micah was. That's how Jesus is. That's how he instructed the disciples to be. That's how we are being instructed to be. Be mission minded. Now, understand when you become zealous, when you're, you know, you're a religious zealot, you know what? There's going to be a need for adjustment in your life. And that adjustment, you know, I'm going to change my schedule so I can go to church and do these things. Pray for people, go sowing, read the Bible. You just need to realize that's going to upset some people. Right? But when you understand that that labor is not vain in the Lord, you know what? That's going to bring you that peace that you need. Because, again, you know, that old man's like, Hey, don't upset mom. Don't upset dad. Don't upset the brother. Just compromise a little bit here. But when you do, are we really laboring in the Lord? We're actually failing when we do that. When we compromise for other people, you need to realize we are failing the Lord. Rest on the words that Jesus said in Matthew Chapter 10. I came not to bring peace, but a sword. So when you're using the sword, you are doing the right thing. And his blood's thicker than the blood of your own family. And again, I'm not saying you have to be aggressive towards them. You just need to be OK with that. You just need to understand that. You need to make peace with that. I would rather please the Lord Jesus Christ any day than any family member. That is the attitude. And when you realize that, you get that peace that we all so much long for. Now go back to Luke Chapter number two. We'll keep reading here. Luke Chapter chapter number two. Look at this in verse number 50. It says, And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And when he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them, but his mother kept all these sings in her heart. So he corrects her. Right. She doesn't go any further than that. She's like, OK, you know, I'm just glad he's safe. And she's just like, let's just go. Let's just get out of here and be done with this. But notice what the narrator tells us here. And they understood not. So Joseph, he didn't understand. Mary, she didn't understand. Nobody that was with them understood. Right. But look at this verse 51. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them. But his mother kept all these things in her heart. So here's point number three and the most important one of all. You have to exist with your family without being understood by your family. OK. This is very important. If you don't get anything today, you have to get this. You just have to realize you need to learn to exist with them without being understood by them. That is what you see here in these two verses. They didn't understand Jesus. What does he do? Hey, you listen to me. You understand? I'm right. You don't get the reprobate doctrine here. Let's watch sodomite deception again. OK. No, he doesn't say that. What does he do? And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them. But his mother kept all these things in her heart. So he just says, OK, in order to exist here, in order to be a good functioning member of our families, you know what? Sometimes it's better to just not bring things up, not spend our time and our energy just always having to be right. I mean, think about this. This was Joseph's thing. You know, when he was getting them dreams like, ha, you guys are going to bow down to me. It wasn't quite that bad. But look at verse 52. This is on the bulletin. This is obviously our application here. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. So you know what that tells me? It tells me when we adopt this attitude, you know what? I am a super mega fan boy. I am going to make sure that you know this. I'm going to make sure that you know that I am right. And that becomes your mission. That becomes your focus. Guess what? You will not increase in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man like he did. This is important here. You want to maintain that peace. You want that peace in your family. You want that tension to be managed. This is how you do it. Let go of that need to always be known as right. If you can get this, if you can understand this, look, your problems are going to dwindle down. You need to understand this. We need to understand this. Look, I've been thinking back. I'm writing this and I'm like, okay, I'm thinking back to all these beefs, all these problems I've had. I'm like, yeah, a lot of it was stemmed from me. Just I'm going to go over there. I'm going to let them know that I am right. I get the temptation because we are right. We've got the word of God. We've got the sword here and we've seen what it can do and we've seen what it does. And look, that old man, when you're right, man, it feels good, don't it? Just like I talked about last week. Getting even feels good, but it's not wise. It's definitely not wise. So you say, well, how do you do this? Well, we need to just give up that need to constantly be understood. Right. You need to know that I'm right. It's not right. It's not correct. When you know that you're right, guess what? You're in control. And that was that's exactly what Micah was saying. He's saying, hey, I'm going to look to the Lord. I'm going to look to the God of heaven. And he's going to help me out. I'm going to do things his way. That's exactly what Jesus was saying. Hey, I want you to go out into these walls and amongst these people that are like briars, that are like thorns, that are going to try and harm you. But I want you to be harmless as a dove. And why is this serpents? You say, well, how do you do that? What can be difficult? It can be real difficult. But as far as the family goes, you know, when you realize, wait a second here. I have steak and all of these problems do. Right. And you realize and you say, wait a second here. Have I been going around just really trying to pour it on that I'm right? And if you have, that is just going to set the other person off. Jesus understands that. And so he says, OK, you know, mom, guys, you don't understand. You will someday. Right. Think about it. That's what his actions tell us. You will understand someday. We need to realize the same thing. You know, everybody who's against us about the rapture. OK. About the reprobate doctrine. They're going to see something. Now, that doesn't mean you don't try to teach. You know, if it gets brought up and they're interested. Yeah. Yeah. Throw it out there and tell them. But when they just keep resisting and then your family members, you know, and you know, you know, you got to maintain this peace here. Just let it go. Because you know that you're right. You know that you're correct. So what good does it do to day after day? You know, get up. OK. Well, today I'm going to say this. They're going to say this. And I'm going to be able to bring up Romans one and go back to June, you know, and we're just going to go crazy. I'm going to pull up these are now. All that's going to do is cause you to cease from increasing in your maturity, which we desperately, desperately need today. You say, why? Well, how society doing today? Yeah. We live in an era where people are just gunning people down. Their goal is to get us in trouble. There are people that can't even sleep at night until they know that they have done something to harm someone else, especially a Bible believing Christian. And that attitude is contagious. It rubs off on other people. Your family members are in the world. They go to work. They go to the schools, the meetings, stores, all these different things. That attitude is going to rest on them. And you need to know that you need to be ready for it. It's a lot of things that we are supposed to get ready for as the day approaches. And this is definitely one of them. And think about this by doing this, by applying this wisdom here, you know, choosing to be wise over choosing to just be right all the time can save relationships. Can't tell you, you know, how many times I've heard somebody say, you know, I've been praying for my family member, whether it be a spouse, a brother, a sister, a child, you know, to get saved and to finally one day wake up. You know what? That never happens until they let go and just realize I'm in control when I understand, but I lose control when I'm understood. And when they let go of that and they get rid of that, you know what? Then that person begins to see, OK, they're not trying to beat me over the head with this. They're not budging either. They're not wishy washy. They're not. They're not like, you know, just a trendy, you know, just always, you know, going up and down with the trends of the world. And they see that steadfastness. You know what? That speaks volumes to them. And again, you never know when that time is going to come where they're like, OK, let's have a conversation now. Now I'm interested. Right. Because we all want to see our family members saved. And the only chance that you have is to do it wisely because this constant I'm right. You are wrong. It doesn't work. And you know that we see it all the time. We've all been there. And so, again, that is the main thing that I want you to understand today. Let go of that need to be constantly understood and to be known that you're right. Speak the truth. Preach like Micah did. Preach like the disciples did. But after that. Just go on about your mission, your mission minded. You know the truth. You know these things are going to happen. You know that someday you will be proven right. It's better to be proven right from those outside circumstances. Right than it is, you know, by getting in someone's face and just come look, look at this right now. You know what I mean? Especially when it comes to your family. OK, that's the whole goal. That's the whole point. So with that being said, let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Thank you so much, Lord. There's wisdom in your word. I just pray that it would all resonate well with us, Lord. And you help us to apply this to our lives so that we can live peaceably as much as possible with our family members, with our family members, Lord, and with each other and continue to be steadfast and labor in you, which is not in vain. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. All right. So for our final hymn this morning, let's turn to number 369. I know the Bible is true. Amen. Psalm 369. I know the Bible is true. 369 on the first. I know the Bible was sent from God, the old as well as the new. Inspired and holy, the new. I know the Bible is true. I know, I know, I know, I know the Bible is true. Divinely inspired the whole way through. I know the Bible is true. I know the story of Christ is true. His virgin, glorious birth. His life, His death, and the open tomb, and His return to earth. I know, I know, I know, I know the Bible is true. Divinely inspired the whole way through. I know the Bible is true. I know the Bible is full of truth. Peace it gave me within. It binds me, comforts me deep, my deep, and gives the victory or sin. I know, I know, I know, I know the Bible is true. Divinely inspired the whole way through. I know the Bible is true. I'm the last who goes, didn't I, with a spear below. The message of the still new. This truth is sweeter each time I'm told. I know the Bible is true. I know, I know, I know, I know the Bible is true. Divinely inspired the whole way through. I know the Bible is true. Amen, Brother David. Thank you, Father God, for this morning that we could come and congregate with each other and sing praises to you and hear what we preach. So we just ask you to please help us be a people that are wise and willing to be wise rather than just be right all the time. Lord, let me just ask you to please bless the fellowship today, Lord, and bless the soul in the name of the Lord. We love you, and in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen.