 reading a church. Love you guys love the energy in here a lively bunch of Jesus freaks in here am I right come on now it's good hey awesome to be with you my name's John the campus pastor here at Richland also infamously known as the holiday pastor so I'm trying to figure out is this the holiday weekend because the fourth is on a Wednesday or is next weekend the holiday but then I remembered I'm speaking both weekends so all is safe in the holiday world and it's awesome to be with you and pastor Lee is on vacation for a few weeks he's going to be back when Rita Springer's here and Jared Anderson's here so make sure you're here and maybe even more importantly bring somebody with you it's the whole purpose is to have more people experience the presence of God here at radiant so we're super excited about that couple things before we get started number one I just wanted to tell you because I know you've been losing sleep over it but the Zonervins have officially moved into a home thank you yes so thank you for your prayers during this transition we moved on Friday because I only move on days when it's 175 degrees and so to my friends who helped me move thank you I did provide chili and hot chocolate for everyone though so we could stay hydrated anyway we're super excited to be back there also you may or may not know Pastor Andrew who was up here heads our youth ministry and they just came back a group of young people from a trip to the bold conference with David Perkins and Kansas City and I just want to be the first to tell you guys that there was some serious God encounters that happened in the lives of those young people I'm sure you're going to hear more about it but I just want you to know that not like hey we kind of had a good time but like God imparting gifts of the spirit on kids praying and prophesying over each other kids young people being radically impacted by the presence of God so I'm here to tell you yes revival is starting in this generation at Radiant Church so come on let's get the Lord praise in this place it's happening it's happening it's happening so could not be more thrilled there was 41 spontaneous baptisms that just took place and I want to just honor Pastor Andrew and Pastor Zach and Pastor Brandon imported you did an incredible job not just facilitating it but pastoring the young people through some of these encounters and experiences it's it's the real deal and so are they as leaders so I love them and speaking of baptisms we are going to have baptisms after this service there are 22 people in this service who are taking their next step to be identified with Jesus through water baptism let's give them a huge hand amazing so here's here's what that looks like for you it's going to be taking place outdoors by the cafe sort of on that patio and what I would encourage you to do is after service me about five minutes after just stop by out there and just kind of gather around and help support them and if you don't have to leave right away maybe just be a part of of their experience and it's going to be super powerful and and there's two tanks out there and we're just going to give God all the glory and it's perfect weather for it so enjoy what's going to be amazing so yeah we're excited it's going to be awesome stick around for that if you brought your Bibles turn to the book of Daniel and we're in a series called heroes so if you haven't been here for the summer what we're doing is each week we're taking an old testament character or person man or woman who God use raised up to be used to advance the kingdom of God to rescue deliver many times his people leaders that God use normal people elevated a positions of authority and said you're going to be used mightily in the kingdom and what we're doing through this series is trying to make sure every believer knows that that's still what God is doing today he's using his people to impact culture to impact the world around us and last week pastor Lee gave an amazing amazing message on the life of Gideon in the book of judges and if you grew up in church you're probably familiar with Gideon the wine press and the fleeces and things like that but if you didn't grow up in church you don't have a church background you might not know who Gideon is but today we are looking at Daniel and almost everyone in America probably can think of something that they know about Daniel because he is in the Sunday School Hall of Fame basically how many of you grew up with felt board Sunday school yes lions and things like yeah of course everybody understands that Daniel was an incredible you know character of the Old Testament because the first six chapters of the book of Daniel are just stock full of incredible stories encounters and miracles that God did to the life of Daniel so we know about Shadrach Meshach and a bed to go there's the fiery furnace you know where the fourth man in the fire then there's handwriting where the finger of God literally shows up at a banquet and he writes words with just a hand and a finger on the wall in front of King Nebuchadnezzar and then most famously probably is the story of Daniel in the lion's den yes we all know that Daniel refused to worship the image of Nebuchadnezzar he was tricked the king was into passing a law that said if you worship any other God you're gonna be thrown in the den of lions so he had to stand by his new law even though he didn't want to and he put Daniel in the lion's den and he was miraculously spared and not harmed and the Bible tells us that an angel actually closed the mouth of the lions but some scholars believe that the reason the lions were very passive and docile and refused to be aggressive is because they were Detroit lions ah sorry sorry this has not gone over well in any service I mean Super Bowl this is our year come back to me okay sorry sorry it was a miracle it really was an angel just like when they win the Super Bowl it's gonna be a miracle this year maybe okay so here's how you know I'm just gonna give you a quick quick background this is how you know you've reached Bible character infamy as Daniel has you have a book named after you Daniel but others you know Joshua Ruth after they have books but he has a fast named after him right Daniel fast I mean you've ever done a Daniel fast only fruits vegetables okay 11 of us that's good I was thinking about what if they named a fast after me and all you ate was Nutella and it was like biblical but that's probably not that impactful but then you have Rack Shack and Benny who are moguls of the veggie tales so Daniel made it there how many of your kids have watched Rack Shack and Benny and how many adults can't get it out of your head yes okay few of us and lastly little known fact about Daniel as he was mentioned in Reverend Brown's sermon in coming to America anyone know what I'm talking about you need to trust the Lord because it helped Joshua fight the battle at Jericho and it helped Daniel get out the lines then it helped get off the island anybody remember that no okay I promised my wife I wouldn't do that but I did so it's good it's good be sure to tip your waitress I'll be here all week okay seriously though we're in Daniel I promise you it's gonna get biblical what I want you to remember more than just the Bible stories more than just the incredible things that stand out in that book is what we're going to talk about that Daniel needs to be remembered and honored for is this Daniel stood firm in his faith firm in his conviction and dedication to God in the midst of a culture where it was increasingly difficult Daniel was besieged with Israel taken captive and raised in Babylonian culture as a young man and it was wicked and it was full of pagan gods sexual immorality everything you can think of in a dark culture and Daniel not only survived Daniel thrived in this culture Daniel was able to be an influencer in culture even though it was dark and even though it was going in a direction that was opposite the current was pulling them away from God and I think many of us in this room can identify with the challenge that Daniel had we're Christians we want to serve Jesus we want our lives to reflect Jesus but we're in a culture where it is increasingly difficult to follow God there is increasing pressure on us to conform to culture to not be too outspoken to not dig our heels in per se or if you believe this then that means that or you're a bigot or you're a whatever there's so much pressure on Christians and I don't think we're bad people we're just honestly like how do we navigate culture in a way where we stand true and stay true to God but we're also not hating people I mean what does that look like for us as Christians and that's what Daniel did and that's what we're going to look at so in Daniel's chapter one I want you to read along with me we'll get a little background to this it says in the third year of the reign of Jehiakim king of Judah Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon Babylon is modern day Iraq came to Jerusalem and besieged it and the Lord delivered Jehiakim king of Judah into his hand along with some of the articles from the temple of God these he Nebuchadnezzar carried off to the temple of his God in Babylonia and put in the treasures of the house of his God here's what happened and it's generationally what happened many times in the history of Israel as they rejected God they turned their back on God as his people and when they did there was a price to pay there were consequences that were involved every culture in every nation that has turned their back on God has paid a price and there has been consequences and the Bible says they were besieged they were exiled they were taken captive not only them but all the things in the temple that should have been in the house of God are now in the house of Babylonian gods and I believe the United States of America is at a crossroads in many ways and culture we're one of those nations are we going to be one nation under God as it says or which direction are we going to be pulled where are we going to be as a people as a nation and that's exactly what happened to Israel and then it says so then the king ordered Ashkenaz chief of his court officials to bring into the king's service some of the Israelites from the royal family and nobility so Ashkenaz is the leader he's second in command and Nebuchadnezzar and the king says to him I want you everybody's our slaves all of Israel but some of them are going to go do manual labor some of them are going to put out and in the fields but some of them the smart ones the ones from noble background the educated ones you're going to bring into the courts of the king and we're going to train them and we're going to indoctrinate them and we're going to make them influencers of our culture and so this is what he says in verse four so they they got young people they got young men without any physical defect handsome showing aptitude for every kind of learning sounds like a campus pastor doesn't it to you guys just kidding don't laugh too hard okay quick to understand qualified to serve in the king's palace and look at this and he Ashkenaz was to teach them the language and the literature of the Babylonians that was his job you're going to take our culture our dark culture and you're going to cause it to influence these young men these educated people and we're going to get them to operate on our behalf so the king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table which might sound great you know hey cool they're gonna eat like kings but every single thing that they would have been asked to eat would have been sacrificed to an idol and would have broke every kosher dietary law that he would have known as a Jew so this wasn't good news to him and they were to be trained for three years and after that they were to enter in to the king's service among those who were chosen were some from Judah Daniel, Hananiah, Michelle and Azariah the situation Daniel is in as he's been captured he's a young man he grew up knowing God loving God and now he finds himself in Babylonian culture he finds himself being brought before the wicked king and saying now we're going to train you and indoctrinate you and make you a part of who we are and I feel like today that's exactly how the enemy is trying to use culture in our society in our world culture in itself isn't necessarily evil but it's a it's a tool the enemy is influencing so that there is a moral slide among people in general even the people of God and it's different we're generations removed from where everybody kind of went to church and and and if someone was a Christian that was a great thing and and they were respected now pastor Lee talked about it last week you go to church you're considered a zealot you're considered a religious kind of you know freak and if you believe this about the bible then they're gonna call you that and there's a ton of pressure that's on Christians how are we gonna live what are we gonna do how are we responding and that's where Daniel found himself and a fight against culture just like many of us are today as Christians and so I want to give you a couple things about this battle what do we need to know to be like Daniel and not just survive but influence thrive in the midst of culture and the first thing is this is understand the battle you're in is a spiritual battle it's spiritual and what I mean by that is and I want you to hear this people are not the enemy say people are not the enemy people aren't the enemy people are the prize that we're fighting for and what the enemy wants us to do is to to camp out and to get behind our church walls or our Christian walls and say they're the problem they're the problem we're at war with Muslims we're at war with atheists we're at war with the homosexuals we're at war with whoever and they're against us and they're not for us so we're in this battle with them Paul said in Ephesians 6 we do not wrestle or struggle against flesh and blood people are not the problem instead it's rulers and authorities and powers of the dark world and spiritual forces everything about the battle that's happening in culture is a spiritual battle people are not the enemy they're the prize but the enemy wants satan wants us to be divided wants us to be in division wants us to be in discord that is the arena that he thrives in so he's loving this political banter and the racial divides and the political divides and the economic divides I don't know that in my lifetime I've ever seen our nation more divided obviously the political part is a big part of it oh you voted for him then you're this or you voted for her then you're that one one picture is is trump with horns and he's the devil and another one and he's hugging Jesus and which is it I mean we are it's people against people and social media has only exasperated it to fever pitch if you ever want to ruin a good day just go on twitter and read some of the responses to either someone who likes trump or someone who doesn't it's insane it's terrible and it's a strategic move of the enemy to get our minds and our hearts away from praying against the powers of darkness and making us mad at people and christians have to be different we have to love people they're not the problem they're the prize and I love what Jimmy Evans said when he was here in in in person we're gentle and lovable when we're in our prayer closet we are shouting at the devil and we are aggressive and we are mean mean in your prayer closet nice to people that's what we need to be because the world culture wants us to hate everybody they really do we can't have civil discord we can't disagree if you're not with me you're against me we have to be mad it's why they put two lanes and drive-throughs at mcdonald's they want you mad at that other person it's like i ordered first i can't help but i have three kids and they don't know what they want yet you know and now i'm mad at you that's that's what the world wants i might not be biblical but it's true recognize the war you're in is a spiritual war it's not people second thing is realize this culture wants to redefine who you are culture wants to change your identity it's the first thing satan wants you to do is to wants to do is move you off of who you are in christ and cause you to be influenced and to be identified by culture around us and it is a strong battle it's a strong battle i don't care how strong of a christian you are you are going to be fighting for your identity in christ because culture wants to say no no this is who you are this is what identifies you this is what's going to fulfill you and make you happy so we have young people girls maybe in particular who who see themselves on instagram and it's like how many likes am i getting i don't have the body that they have i don't physically match up to these other people and my identity is built around that and now i'm shattered and i'm broken and i'm not as good and and all of these fights for our identity young men growing up thinking that maybe sexual conquest or what make you a man or money or or prestige or fame or power authority all of it twisted by culture listen to me when culture shifts not if when culture shifts you have to know who you are in christ you have to know who god says that you are because the battle is real and it's for our minds and it's for an entire generation wants to change our identity my name is john henry zander van maybe you didn't know that i think henry was my mom's great grandpa's name apparently john henry was also a steel driving man i didn't know that but whatever i can barely drive a car much less steel but that's my name and then i have zander van which carries its own kind of connotations you know people associate it with the bible and publishing so when i was in bible school i told people yes we wrote the bible if you want my autograph it's cool i better get an a in this class you know so uh but but i'm i'm tell you i didn't i didn't grasp who i really was until later in life because in middle school and in high school john zander van was so insecure i was overweight i didn't hit puberty until i was 27 years old super late bloomer and i didn't fit in and i was so scared and and and i wanted people to like me and i wanted other kids to to accept me and i i felt like way below and behind where everybody else was so i became something i wasn't i became that kid who would do anything the crazy kid who would say anything and drink anything and smoke anything and all through high school that was my identity and i let something else to find me because i wanted so badly to fit in i wanted so badly to belong and god had to do something miraculous on march 14th 1999 and i and i had to have god speak to my identity and god say no this is who you are there's something so powerful about recognizing who you are in christ there's power in a name there's power in the name and look at i don't have a lot of time on packet but look what they did to these men it says a king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine but then in verse seven it says the chief official gave them new names the first thing that ashman has did when he said we're going to immerse you in culture we're going to make you like us he said we're going to change your name we're going to change your identity we're going to change who you are and daniel his name means god is my judge and my defender that's what daniel means they change his name to belt a shazard which means lady protect the king they gave daniel a girl name and i'm telling you you can research it for yourself if you look at every single pagan culture in history they all had gender confusion on some level and do you know why that is it's not just to demonize a group of people or anything it's because the enemy doesn't want you to just not know who god is he doesn't even want you to know who you are he wants confusion in every arena of your life because that's where he thrives and they changed his name and hananai means god has been gracious god has been good to me the bible says god says i'll never leave you i'll never forsake you no matter where you go or where you've been i am always for you they change his name to shadrack which means i am fearful i'm fearful you can't trust god he's not for you he's not always good michiel means this his name who is like my god this confident statement there's no other god that's like my god my god can move the mountains my god is victorious who is like my god they change his name to mishak which means i am despised contemptible and ashamed they mark them they said no this is who you are azariah means god is for me and they changed his name to a bednik oh slave of nibba god is for me i'm a child of god this is who i no no no you're a slave to a babelonian god and that's your new name and your new identity and if we aren't sure of who we are in christ the culture around is going to say this is who you are you're a loser you're not good enough you're not pretty enough you're not smart enough you'll never succeed and the voice of the enemy wants to drown out the voice of the lord so when culture shifts you have to know who you are in christ you have to third thing about the battle is this is that you're going to be tested you're going to be tested they're going to want to know are you really believing what you say you're believing so they change his name in verse eight it says this but daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine but he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way i think it's interesting that he asked he didn't yell he didn't say i'm not doing this you babelonians are the worst you're all going to hell this is your problem he asked he said look this is who i am i have standards i grew up differently and look what it says god caused the official to show favor and compassion to daniel so so espanel's like them but he told daniel i'm afraid of my lord the king who has assigned your food and drink for why should he see you looking worse than the other young men if that happened the king would have my head he says look i like you i get it i appreciate you saying something but if you're skinnier or scrawnier than these other guys i'm going to get killed so i can't do it and daniel said this then daniel said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over daniel hand and i and michiel and asriah please test your servants for 10 days give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink and then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food and treat your servants in accordance with what you see so he agreed to this and tested them for 10 days when you take a stand like daniel did he said i don't want to defile myself i still want to follow god there's going to be a testing that takes place and some of you are probably already feeling that in your workplace in your families where you go to school people looking at you and saying what do you believe which side are you on who are you for and you're going to be tested faith is always tested the bible says actually in james to consider it joy when you go through trials for your for your faith when there's testing of your faith because then you know that it's being strengthened and your character is getting formed in a way that only god can do through some trials and through some testing a faith that hasn't been tested really can't be trusted so daniel said i'm gonna serve god just test us let us do it god's way and see what happens and for me as a young man again i i gave my heart to the lord after a life of partying and and drugs and alcohol at 24 years old and i had to go back to a restaurant that i'd worked at and i'd done all those things and that was a test for me because people looked at me and my friends looked at me and it's okay great whatever john's a christian but are we going to the bar are we going to the strip club are we doing the things that we always used to do and i'd love to be able to sit here and say it was easy for me to say harken unto the employees i'm a christian now but it's hard i get it it's hard to go into work and be strong for lord it's hard sometimes to to pass these tests and the reason that that daniel there's these amazing stories of furnaces and of lions dances because he kept passing tests i'm not gonna bow i'm not gonna serve nebuchadnezzar well then you're gonna get thrown into alliance then well then you get thrown into a fiery furnace testings happen every season of daniel's life and they're gonna happen to us as christians so ask the question what are we gonna do how are we going to respond to culture as it changes how can we be like daniel and not just survive but thrive in culture influence the culture around us and last week pastor lee talked about sometimes there's a temptation to be like gideon and to just hide and just say okay we're just gonna wait this out and hopefully the lord will come again i can thresh a little bit of wheat to get by but hopefully nobody sees me and we know that's not god's plan for his people but i fear that there are responses the church is having to culture around us that are not beneficial and that are not helpful and i want to talk about them and i want to strike a balance as to how do we respond to culture so we can be like daniel the very first thing i think we do where we fall into a ditch is we have a dogmatic approach we have this approach as christians that says we're right and you're wrong and we have the bible and you don't and we're living right and you're living wrong and that's your fault and that's your problem and if you can't get it right and you end up going to hell too bad for you you're not listening you're not getting it you keep living that way i'm frustrated you guys are the worst and i'm tired and and there's a picture look at this picture this is someone from westboro baptist church who says this life giving message america's doom and this wasn't the worst one by any means i just googled it for images and there's some with little kids holding signs that god hates filling the blank god hates gaze god hates whatever just absolute terrible vitriol statements and somehow these people think that they're christians and they're just telling the truth hey this is true we need to repent god is coming maybe america is doomed i don't know but i'm telling you that is not the response we need to have to the world listen you can you can be right and still not be helpful there may be some things where you're like look i am right and you may be right but if your rightness isn't helping people get to Jesus you're still wrong you're still wrong then you can be right and still be wrong Ephesians 4 15 says therefore speaking the truth in love so that others may grow into the fullness into the stature of the lord jesus christ yes we speak the truth we do it in love this isn't that this isn't helping but then there's another ditch that we fall into sometimes and that's the the the ditch of it's all good it doesn't really matter i mean god loves everybody everybody's welcome and basically no one should have to change i mean come on just just come on in god is love it's good and however you are whatever you believe it's great just come on be part of our club and here's a picture this is this is a generation love is love is love is love is love is love is love it doesn't matter it's all good i'm telling you that's not truth that's not our approach either listen to me there's an entire generation in america of young people who in the name of love are willing to lay aside the bible is the truth of god's word are willing to just say this isn't right it's antique it's ancient god got it wrong and in the name of love they are somehow proclaiming that they love people more than god does this is our generation god is wrong because this can't be right and this isn't how we feel and this isn't lining up with with our beliefs and we've we've we've we've swung the pendulum so far that we're not the ones who are changed by god's word we're the ones who change god's word and that's not the response that's not it's not what god asks us to do the response for every single christian to the arena of culture is a balance between grace and truth grace and truth daniel knew that daniel didn't yell at the commander he didn't say we're not doing that he talked he had discord he built relationship and god gave him favor with the people around him and he stood strong and he stood firm and daniel did it and jesus christ did it perfectly perfectly john won verse 14 says this the word became flesh and it dwelt among us jesus and we beheld his glory the glory the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth jesus modeled the balance between grace and between truth that it's not either or it's both and it's not we're right and you're wrong it's also not hey everybody come in you're fine it's grace and it's truth and you know how jesus did it perfectly because he never sinned he was perfect in his humanity perfect in righteousness never ever compromised and yet the bible says he hung around tax collectors and prostitutes and lepers and people accused him you're the friend of sinners he never compromised his stance and yet people who we would call sinners felt comfortable around him felt like they could approach him felt like he cared about them grace and truth is the answer to the culture around us we need truth you say what's truth truth is god standard truth is god's word john 17 17 says sanctify them oh lord by your truth your word is truth the grass withers the flowers fade but the word of the lord endures forever listen to me church we do not compromise the word of god or set it aside in order to be a part of culture or to be politically incorrect or to have people like us we can't do that truth is still truth and jesus never did that he never compromised he never said it's fine he never no truth is still truth and we need truth but we also need grace we can't tell people okay this is the standard and when you get here then you can be one of us and when you get to this level then you can hang out with us and you can come to church with us but until then you're over there and we're over here no the world needs to hear yes there's truth because without truth we have no moral compass we have nothing to build our lives upon we'd all follow the desires of our own heart there needs to be truth but there has to be grace that says you're welcome here come in be a part of god's family nothing you've done disqualifies you nowhere you've been erases you from the love of god grace you say what's grace grace is god's unmerited favor he loved you when you were unlovable he died for you when you were enemies with him and it's a gift none of us can earn it none of us are going to say well i i i made it because i did enough good things so you can't do anything too bad but you also can't do anything too good that's part of grace you can't get baptized enough you can't pray enough you can't come to church enough to earn the love of god i couldn't earn it i don't deserve it still you give yourself away is anyone writing this down i feel like it could be a song no never mind probably wouldn't work wouldn't be that popular you can't earn it you don't deserve it that's the grace of god you can do nothing so this is what grace and truth looks like listen grace says come as you are come as you are you don't have to worry about cleaning yourself up you don't have to worry about getting to a point where god's not too disgusted with you know wherever you're at come but the truth component says god loves you too much to let you stay there god loves you exactly the way that you are broken bent off the christian grid whatever that looks like but he loves you too much to say okay just stay there it's fine that's grace and truth we come as we are we can't listen we can't have a church where we act like we're this christian country club and all of us have it all together and until you have it all together you can't come in here all of us have issues raise your hand if you have some issues in your life okay there's a few of us so don't feel bad about that some of us just got to the hospital before you did but that's what the church needs to be full of grace and truth not not us shouting at the darkness we're supposed to shine into the darkness not us saying hey you can't get in here until this happen no come as you are but then the church has to be people who say now grow in the grace and the knowledge of the lord jesus christ be a part of what god's doing be a part of of growing into who god says you are not culture it's you can obey your feelings or you can obey god's word but eventually the two aren't going to go the same path and you're going to have to choose and that's what culture wants us to do is compromise and say no no no this is okay and you can be filled with grace and truth and you can impact people around you like jesus did you want to know something do you know why people who carry picket signs that say repent or turn or burn or just yell at people on the streets to come to christ you know why they're not very effective have you ever seen one where hundreds of people said you know what i have been living far from god and i'm really glad that you yelled that at me because now i feel like i want to make a decision to know this god you're yelling about have you no one's ever seen that because because they're just angry and yelling and do you know why it's not effective because coming to christ and giving jesus your life is a real decision that takes accountability it takes people walking with you it takes turning from something to god and nobody wants to do that when a stranger just yells at them to it takes relationship but listen here's my point it's not going to happen if we're in here and everybody else is out there and we're never building bridges to reach people where they are they're not our enemies it takes relationship to bring people into the kingdom of god it takes relationship it takes love it takes saying i love you it's okay we don't feel the same not i'm affirming you not i think that's okay but i love you and i believe god has a plan for your life and and we start to build bridges that reach people grace and truth i want to close with just one story and john chapter eight and you've probably heard of it it's the it's the ultimate example of what i'm talking about so the religious leaders they want to trick jesus they want to they want to get him in a situation so they take a woman who they say they caught in the act of adultery they didn't take the man i don't know why probably because of culture at the time but obviously it takes two to tangle but they just picked on this woman and they brought her naked and ashamed and dragged her in front of all of these people and in front of jesus and said we caught her she's sinning she's in adultery the bible says the law says she has to be stoned just to be killed what do you say and i'm telling you part of the test every one of us is going to face is culture and people we work with are going to point at us and say what do you say what's your stance who do you side with and they were trying to trap jesus is he gonna say yep sorry that's truth we got a killer or is he gonna say no no no it's fine it's fine it's fine it's not her fault and and ignore the truth that's what they wanted to see and they wanted to trap jesus and the bible says he would not respond to them this woman standing there and the bible says that jesus kneels down next to her and he begins to write in the dirt and we don't know what he said we don't know what he did but i imagine maybe this woman is trembling she's scared she's ashamed she's probably waiting maybe for the first stone to hit her and jesus maybe just writing it's okay your redeemer's here i love you for you nothing you can do can separate me from your love and then he stands up and he looks at her accusers and he says if you're without sin then you cast the first stone and then he goes back down he begins writing in the dirt and maybe these men were convicted of their sin i don't know maybe there was a god moment where they saw through the lens of jesus but the bible says one by one they began to leave starting with the oldest and jesus kneels down to this woman and he says where are your accusers is there no one here who will condemn you and she says nothing they're all gone and jesus looks at her and he says neither do i condemn you but then he didn't say so now go back do whatever you want i don't condemn you said now go and leave your life of sin he cared for her he built a bridge of relationship with her when they wanted to stone her he defended her against the attacks of religious people who only wanted to see the plank in her or the speck in her eyes and didn't see the plank in their own jesus did all of that first before he said now go and leave your life of sin and too often the church is trying to hurl truth bombs at the world in that culture and saying leave your life of sin you people but jesus didn't do that he built a bridge he showed that he cared he honored her and every time listen if you're in here and you're struggling and there's things you're dealing with in your life i want you to know that jesus is never going to shame you he's never going to expose you he didn't drag this woman and say anything while people were around he was gentle and kind with her and that's how our god addresses us and that's how gods ask us to reach culture we have to have to have to protect ourselves from the temptation of wanting to retaliate and be mean and be angry they'll know your jesus' disciples by your one for another grace and truth it's how god responds to you and it's how god asks us to respond to the world you guys stand up with me i want to pray with you and we'll close just want you to bow your head and close your eyes and let the spirit of god speak to you what is god saying to you right now pastor andrew said it's not a dialogue it's a monologue and god is speaking and maybe what he's saying to you is what he said to that woman you don't have to fear you don't have to be ashamed guilt doesn't define you i'm here i'm your redeemer i'm your protector i'm a strong tower i love you i'm for you and i can take the broken pieces of your life and put them together if you'll let me if you'll allow me access if you'll surrender your life god is real his presence is real and listen it's the grace of god that says to every one of us come as you are come receive my love right now you can't earn it you don't need to pay for it but it's the truth of god that sets us free grace and truth is in this place today and it's found in the person of jesus christ and if you're here and you say i need to give my heart to the lord i know i'm not right with god i know i need jesus to wash me and cleanse me and give me a new identity i just want to pray with you it's a real real prayer that actually activates the heart of god it's not just a religious thing we do and if you're feeling that tug and you know today is the day you want your heart sealed with god forever i want you to just raise your hand right now boldly raise your hand no one's looking around thank you awesome leave your hand up it's a new day awesome raise it high awesome thank you god bless you god bless you grace and truth is in this place grace and truth i want everyone to repeat this prayer after me listen if you mean it from your heart the bible says you confess with your heart or you believe in your heart you confess with your mouth that jesus is lord you will be saved listen today is a brand new day for you a brand new day in jesus everybody repeat after me say dear heavenly father i come in jesus name thank you for loving me when i was unlovable thank you for dying for me when i had nothing to give i receive your grace i receive your truth i receive your love i am a new creation my past is gone my future is sealed today i am a child of god in jesus name amen amen if you prayed that prayer welcome to the kingdom of god come on it's good it's good it's good it never gets old it never gets old and listen i'm gonna ask the prayer team if they they would come forward and and before we dismiss i just want to admonish you the same grace that god shows you he's asking us to show the world and the same way that the love of god impacted your life he wants to use you to reach culture to reach our community to see kelamazoo and southwest michigan become a revival town because god's love grace and truth is pouring out on people and you're a part of it nobody is on the bench when it comes to the playbook of Jesus christ all of us have a part and i want to remind you that when you leave this place you're not leaving radiant church you're leaving as the church the people of god sent to be salt and light to the world around you if you prayed that prayer if you raised your hand i'm gonna ask you when everybody else is dismissed come forward let us pray with you we have a book that we want to give you that will help you 10 steps towards christ also if you have anything that you need prayer for this is the culture of radiant church we want to believe god to move in your situation so leave here hang out for the baptism it's going to be powerful we have people that are getting identified with jesus through baptism we love you god bless you we'll see you next week happy fourth of july