Sermon #S042 - The
Inner-Pivot (Part 1)
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Pastor Snell: And so for those
who are in the building, do me a
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favor, stand to your feet as we
get ready to go to work today.
The book of St. Luke Chapter
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Five. Luke Chapter five. And we
will begin together at verse 27,
St. Luke chapter five and we'll
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begin together at verse 27.
Again, we've been talking about
the need to pivot, to adjust, to
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amend plans and path, to adjust
to divine detours and I believe
that there is a particular type
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of detour that we need to be
prepared to make today. Luke
Chapter 5:27. When you get
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there, let me hear you say,
Amen. Luke Chapter 5:27 Luke
5:27, the Bible says, after
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these things, he went out and he
saw a tax collector named Levi
sitting at the tax office. And
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he said to him, follow me. So he
left how much? He left all rose
up and followed him. Then Levi
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gave him a great feast in his
own house and there were a great
number of tax collectors and
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others who sat down with them
and their scribes. And the
Pharisees complained against his
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disciples saying, why do you eat
and drink with tax collectors
and sinners? And Jesus answered
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and said unto them, those who
are well have no need of a
physician, but those who are
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sick... and I think every sinner
ought to rejoice in what I'm
about to read for, he says, I
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have not come to call the
righteous but sinners to
repentance. I'm reading for
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emphasis. Verse 28, the Bible
says, so he left all, rose up
and he followed him. For just a
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little while, we want to talk to
you today under the subject, the
inner pivot. The inner pivot.
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Let's pray together. Father
Lord, we pray that you would
apply unique and rare power to
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today's service. Father, we pray
that your Holy Spirit will not
just feel the physical space,
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but Lord may it feel every
crevice and contour of the
heart, Lord, that we might reach
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our personal saturation point.
And so Father, I'm praying that
in the hearing of the word that
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faith will be multiplied
exponentially. Lord, would you
please hide me in the shadows of
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the cross that Jesus alone might
be seen, that Christ alone would
be heard and at the end of our
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time together, may Jesus alone
be praised. We ask this in the
name of Him who is all together
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lovely. It is in the name of
Jesus that we pray. Let those
who believe say together, Amen.
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And amen. You may be seated in
the house of the Lord. Again,
talking to you today under the
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subject, The Inner Pivot. The
Inner Pivot. Friends, our text
today demonstrates the radical
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nature of grace and it shows why
legalists will always be
offended by it. You see, the
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first thing our story teaches us
is that Jesus calls us while
we're still under construction.
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Christ doesn't just identify
with us after we are finish,
Jesus identifies with us even
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while we're still in formation.
And I don't think friends, I can
rightly express how hated a tax
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collector was in this culture.
First of all, a tax collector
was a reminder to the Jews that
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they were under the oppressive
yoke of the Romans in their
time. In addition to this, a tax
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collector would not just collect
what was due unto Caesar, they
would pad that amount so that
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they might enrich themselves.
And see tax collectors operated
with this arbitrary autonomy so
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that there was no recourse
against the oppression that they
leveled against you. And so
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understand that those who are
tax collectors, in fact, the
term publican, some believed
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that it was somewhat of a slur
reserved for Jewish tax
collectors who simply worked on
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behalf of the state to bring
oppression to their own people
so that a Jewish tax collector
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would be seen as an Uncle Tom or
Chicken George, a traitor of his
own. And so when, if you were to
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have a sliding scale of morality
in the day, at that time you
would have prostitutes, then you
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would have murderers, then you
would have pedophiles, and at
the bottom of the ladder would
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be tax collectors. In other
words, even the murderers look
down on tax collectors. And
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friends, I need you to know that
Jesus is not deceived about who
Matthew actually is. In other
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words, he doesn't run into him
in the supermarket, he does not
bump into him at church. He
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literally calls Levi while he is
in the office collecting taxes.
But friends, isn't it absolutely
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like Jesus to take the most
hated and most reviled and most
repugnant and most offensive and
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allow that person from culture
to stand next to him. And see
friends, I need you to get that
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the love of Christ is so immense
that do you know that Jesus
never becomes ashamed of his
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children? Let me say it again.
See, I need you to know that
Jesus loves us so much that no
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matter what we've done, he never
becomes ashamed of us. In fact,
friends, man, I am on 10 that he
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never disowns us. He never shuns
us. He never disassociates
himself with us. And isn't it
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crazy that even when we're a
little nervous about claiming
Jesus, Jesus is still bold about
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claiming us. And in fact, it's
trippy to me because sometimes
we get a little tentative about
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claiming Jesus out loud. In
fact, some of us won't claim him
in public. Some of us are with
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Jesus on the down low. Some of
us won't tag Jesus on his public
page. We're always in his DMs.
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But the good news for the
sinners today is that no matter
how stuck on stupid you have
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been, your savior still publicly
lays claim to you and is never
ashamed of you. How many of us
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know a real father is never
ashamed of his children? In
fact, man, I remember when my
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oldest son was about two or
three years old, we would take
him to the public library where
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he would sit down in the reading
groups. And I remember as I was
getting ready to leave, I got
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caught by two of these
overachieving parents. It was
this dude that had a fanny pack
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on his front and there was this
other Karen in the library. And
it's crazy because you know
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these folk men that's always
bragging about how their kids
read on a fourth-grade level
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when they're three years old and
they're the ones where the kids
are playing Mozart in preschool.
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And it's crazy because I'm
talking to them and you know how
when your kids can see you
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engage with somebody else,
that's when they decide to turn
up on the side. And so it's
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crazy, they're boasting about
their kids. And my son is
pulling books off the bookshelf,
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man, he is writing on the wall.
He is laying down all over the
floor and eventually, they look
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down their proverbial nose and
say, which child is yours? And
it's crazy. I need you to know
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that I didn't care what they
said. I said the one on the
floor, that's the one that
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belongs to me. In other words, I
was not ashamed to claim mine no
matter how he behaved, because
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my pride is not based upon
behavior, it's based upon
belonging. Y'all not hearing me
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today. In other words, Jesus
loves you not because of how you
behave, but because you belong
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to him. Are you hearing me
today, friends? And see, I need
you to get that one of the
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offensive things about Matthew's
call to discipleship is that
there is no cooling period that
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the Pharisees are able to see.
In other words, once he calls
Matthew, Jesus does not sit him
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down for an indefinite period.
He does not make him learn all
27 fundamental beliefs. He does
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not make him go through a
screening period to prove
himself worthy. He goes from
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collecting in the morning to
discipling the same evening. He
is robbing folk at the start of
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the day and passing the offering
tray at the end of the day. That
he starts out the day in
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wretchedness, but he ends the
day in service. And see friends,
the issue is not that the
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Pharisees don't believe that he
can be transformed. The issue is
that they've not seen enough
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evidence that it is authentic.
And see, this shows the
difference between man and God
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because man looks on the outward
appearance. But thank God Jesus
looks at the heart. And see,
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there are some that can't
receive Levi just yet because
all of his bad habits haven't
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fallen off, that he's still got
some griminess connected to him,
that some of the old ways are
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still attached to him. And there
is somebody that can't receive
his testimony because of what he
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was doing earlier that day. And
see, the reason that grace will
sometimes be offensive is
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because of what we know about
people. Sometimes what you know
about their distant or maybe
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even their immediate past makes
it sometimes hard to receive
where God has them at the
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present. In fact, there are
times where some can't receive
somebody in the choir because
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you saw them at the club two
months ago. There are certain
people you can't stand to see
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them upfront because they didn't
speak to you in the hallway.
There are some that you don't
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like to see them greeting in the
hallway because you know how
they are at the job. And see,
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sometimes we see the fallenness
of man as hypocrisy in the
church, but it's not hypocrisy,
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it's just grace being at work. [
Congregation: Amen] See, it
takes a mature mind to
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understand that I am not trying
to lower the standard. I'm just
espousing the power of God's
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amazing grace. You see, the
truth is friends, that if church
life was too sterile, if the
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church was too perfect, if
church folk were too flawless,
then it would be intimidating to
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sinners. In other words, if it
operated too perfectly, then
guess what? Righteousness would
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not be unattainable. But see,
sometimes God positions you to
see somebody's transformation
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from the very beginning and see
it all the way through to the
end. And the reason God wants
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you to see the flaws is so that
you know what's possible for
you. Y'all not hearing me today.
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In other words, if you just saw
the finished product, you would
think that you can never arrive.
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But if you've seen some people
start at A and they wind up at
F, man, if they can do it, it
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becomes proof that you can
do it. Listen, I remember when I
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responsibilities here at Breath
of Life man, one of the things
that made me anxious is, I like
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talking to a crowd but I don't
really like talking directly to
a camera. And it's crazy because
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I would see my peers in media
ministry, they would do these
promos and videos and it would
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be flawless. And I didn't really
think I could pull it off until
I went over to it is written and
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saw my man John Bradshaw. And
when I was with him, what he did
was he allowed me to see him go
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through the process. And so I
was able to see him have to take
three takes. I was able to see
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him flub, I was able to see him
start over. And I need you to
know if all I saw was the video,
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then it would seem like I can't
do it. But once I got to see the
process, I said, even though
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stumbling me can do that. And
see, sometimes God positions you
where you see them error and you
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see them flub and you see them
have to start over and you see
them have to take another take
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because it is proof that just
because you stumble, first took
on my you ain't by yourself. You
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have to start over every now and
then. And if God can bring it
around in them, then God can
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bring it around in you. Are you
all hearing me today, friends?
See, you all looking at me like
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I'm crazy today. See, how many
of us know when they are looking
at a diamond to determine its
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authenticity, if it seems too
perfect, they going to say this
is a fake, it's cubic zirconium,
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but it is the flaws. Y'all not
hearing me today. It's the flaws
that authenticate that there's
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been a process of pressure that
turned it from coal to a
diamond. So guess what? It's the
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flaws that make it real. And do
I have at least seven or eight
flawed folk in this room that
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can thank God for the flaws?
Because it is the flaws that
authenticate that I've gone
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through a process. I don't want
no cubic zirconium Christianity.
Are you all hearing me today,
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friends? [ Congregation: Amen]
Now there is a hypocrisy in the
church and the hypocrisy is
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this. See, when I say God calls
people under construction, we
all shout it. But see, we only
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really shout when the grace is
being applied to us. Oh, you all
about to clap. In other words,
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we feel like our sins deserve
grace but we feel like their
sins don't deserve the same
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grace. Are you all hearing me
today? In other words, we want
God to cover our stuff and
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expose theirs. But see the
offense of grace is that he
doesn't just man filter the
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grace to those like you, but he
covers all of the multitude of
sins so that we can all be
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liberated through his power. Are
you hearing me today friends?
And so I need you to know that
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church ought to be a place where
we hold each other morally
accountable. It ought to be a
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place of correction when we are
erroring. But guess what? We
ought to look at one another
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through the lenses of divine
grace so that if somebody walks
by and don't speak to you, don't
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get mad. Just remember they're
under construction. If somebody
gives an attitude with you on
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the road, don't get mad. Just
remember they're under
construction. If you find out
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some dirt or information, don't
expose it. Just remember they're
under construction. And see, I
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need you to know the good thing
about Jesus is that he doesn't
wait till we are finished. He
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calls us while we are still
under construction. Second thing
that this story teaches us
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family is that sometimes, no,
all the time and outward pivot
must be preceded by an inner
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pivot. Now for instance the
story of the calling of Levi,
this is one of those text, Dr.
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Newborn, when I used to read it,
it would get on my nerves
because it seemed too clean and
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mystical. In other words, like
this stranger shows up at your
office with no context or
00:17:29.74\00:17:37.32
explanation and says, follow me.
And this grown man just leaves
everything that he has and
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begins this pursuit of Jesus. I
don't know about you all, it
just didn't work that way for
00:17:47.23\00:17:53.94
me. In other words, I was
actually nervous. I was like,
man, something is wrong with me.
00:17:53.97\00:18:02.01
Because my response man, at one
point would've been more like
that of the rich young ruler.
00:18:02.04\00:18:08.38
Oh, I'm the only one, than it
would've been of Matthew Levi,
are you all hearing what I'm
00:18:08.42\00:18:20.26
saying? And the reason I'm
nervous is because, man, man, my
journey with Christ did not
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happen with this suddenness and
man, this radical. There was
conflict and there was a tug and
00:18:27.97\00:18:37.41
there was a back and forth. It
took a while for me to ripen to
a place where I could say an
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unconditional yes to Jesus. Am I
preaching to anybody today? But
as I looked at the story a
00:18:43.82\00:18:53.96
little bit closer, I realized
that Matthew operates within the
same parameters of the rest of
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humanity. Because the truth is
that none of us shift radically.
Nobody goes from zero to 60 just
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like that. Matthew goes through
a process that just like we do.
In other words, Jesus does not
00:19:05.37\00:19:13.78
hypnotize Matthew. Jesus plucks
Matthew because he is ripe and
fully developed fruit. Are you
00:19:13.82\00:19:21.89
all with me today Friends? So,
look at this quote here in
Desire of Ages page 272. I want
00:19:21.92\00:19:28.60
to give you some background for
why the yes was so affirmative
and so easy. Ellen White says
00:19:28.63\00:19:36.87
here, in Desire of Ages, the
best book on Jesus ever written.
The Pharisees had judge Matthew
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according to his what?
Employment. But Jesus saw in
this man a heart opened for the
00:19:41.28\00:19:47.95
reception of truth. Matthew had
listened to the savior's
teaching as the convicting
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spirit of God revealed his
sinfulness. He longed, did you
all catch this? To seek help
00:19:51.09\00:20:00.16
from Christ but was accustomed
to the exclusiveness of the
rabbis and had no thought that
00:20:00.20\00:20:05.10
this great teacher would notice
him? Did you all catch this? In
other words, I need you to know
00:20:05.13\00:20:10.41
that Matthew had made an inward
pivot before he ever made an
outward pivot. In other words,
00:20:10.44\00:20:18.65
his decision to become a
disciple was not reactionary. It
was not sudden. This was not
00:20:18.68\00:20:24.05
impulsive that there had been
something that had been brewing
underneath the surface for quite
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some time that basically allowed
him to move into discipleship
when the door was open. And see,
00:20:28.49\00:20:35.63
the reason the Pharisees are
messed up is because they see
this as his first day, when the
00:20:35.66\00:20:42.37
truth is it was just his public
day that he made association
with Jesus Christ. And so the
00:20:42.40\00:20:47.11
reason I'm saying this friends,
is that there are times when
guess what? You can't understand
00:20:47.14\00:20:52.71
everybody's moves. You won't
always be able to understand the
decisions that folk are making.
00:20:52.75\00:20:58.42
You won't always from the
outside be able to really
discern or interpret why it is
00:20:58.45\00:21:05.89
that they're doing the way that
they're doing. But I need you to
know friends of mine that
00:21:05.93\00:21:08.90
sometimes before people make an
outward pivot that there is
somewhere been an inward pivot
00:21:08.93\00:21:17.31
for the good or even for the
bad. Are you all with me today,
friends? In other words, even
00:21:17.34\00:21:20.58
when people walk down to the
aisle, walk down the aisle
during the sermon appeal,
00:21:20.61\00:21:27.48
they're not responding to the
sermon that day. There's been an
inner pivot to took place before
00:21:27.52\00:21:34.49
church even began and now
they're making a public
decision. Are you all hearing me
00:21:34.52\00:21:42.13
today? So there'll be times
where somebody will say, oh
pastor, my child just went crazy
00:21:42.16\00:21:51.81
and decided one day to wake up
and use drugs or have sex or
join a gang. No, they didn't
00:21:51.84\00:22:00.52
wake up that day and decided
there was already an inward
pivot that was somehow
00:22:00.55\00:22:09.39
overlooked. And now the private
pivot has just become public.
There are times where somebody
00:22:09.42\00:22:14.73
will say, well pastor man, my
wife just lost her mind. She
just up and decided to leave and
00:22:14.73\00:22:19.50
take the kids and leave. I said,
no, she didn't make that
decision today. No, she made a
00:22:19.53\00:22:29.84
pivot along time ago and there
was some cries for help that
went unheated and there were
00:22:29.88\00:22:36.48
some warning signs that went
overlooked. In other words, I
need you to know that even when
00:22:36.52\00:22:44.33
somebody leaves the church that
in other words they may transfer
on one Sabbath, but that
00:22:44.36\00:22:50.17
decision was made a long time
ago. So there are times where
the public pivot is simply an
00:22:50.20\00:22:56.14
outgrowth of what's been brewing
underneath. Are you all hearing
me today? And see, one of the
00:22:56.17\00:22:59.81
reasons you need to have an
inner pivot is this. In fact,
what I really want to call us to
00:22:59.84\00:23:07.25
is to just celebrate the
principle of private
deliberation and reflection. I
00:23:07.28\00:23:12.59
want to encourage us before we
start making outward pivots, to
make sure that we take time for
00:23:12.62\00:23:16.69
stillness and prayerfulness to
really get clarity before the
presence of God. In other words,
00:23:16.73\00:23:22.60
I want to encourage some young
adults, stop putting all your
plans out there on Facebook and
00:23:22.63\00:23:24.57
learn how to be still before
Jesus until that thing's become
clear. I need you to get to a
00:23:24.60\00:23:30.67
place where you pivot first in
the spiritual realm before you
begin to pivot publicly in the
00:23:30.71\00:23:36.08
physical realm. Because one of
the things I've learned is that
public pivots are temporary if
00:23:36.11\00:23:43.35
they're not proceeded by a
private pivot. Are you all with
the pastor today? And see there
00:23:43.39\00:23:47.02
are some reasons I need please
young adults to hear me on this
There are some reasons that you
00:23:47.06\00:23:50.83
need to have a private pivot
first. See, the first reason you
need to have an inner pivot is
00:23:50.86\00:23:55.80
so that inwardly you can count
the cost. In other words, before
you make that decision publicly,
00:23:55.83\00:23:58.00
there needs to be a private
exploration and meditation on
how expensive the tolls are on
00:23:58.03\00:24:02.04
the road you're about to travel
on. And in other words, man, you
need to see how expensive it is
00:24:02.07\00:24:05.87
to be a wife. You, need to see
how costly it's going to be to
be a husband. In other words, as
00:24:05.91\00:24:12.21
hard as you think it is, working
for the church, you ain't seen
viciousness till you start
00:24:12.25\00:24:21.09
working in the public sector. If
you think it's hard being
married, man, multiply that pain
00:24:21.12\00:24:23.63
times 10 and that's your life
after a divorce. And I'm not
saying these things to dissuade
00:24:23.66\00:24:31.03
you or try to turn you around,
but what I do need you to do is
give enough thought to the
00:24:31.07\00:24:34.67
decision you are about to make
so that you don't walk around
acting surprised. Ooh, you all
00:24:34.70\00:24:41.88
mad today about the results of
certain decisions. Are you all
hear what I'm saying today? Like
00:24:41.91\00:24:48.25
anybody old enough at an age
where this sounds a little bit
condescending, where you see
00:24:48.28\00:24:58.56
certain folk, man, where they're
surprised by certain things.
Like when the pain to a certain
00:24:58.59\00:25:04.67
extent was somewhat foreseeable.
Are you all hearing what I'm
saying? So man, we have these
00:25:04.70\00:25:10.61
young folk, man, walking around
talking about I didn't know
being a husband was going to be
00:25:10.64\00:25:13.58
this hard. It's because you
didn't count the cost. I didn't
know being a wife was going to
00:25:13.61\00:25:16.81
be this much work. I didn't know
being a parent was going to take
all that. I didn't realize that
00:25:16.85\00:25:21.92
relocation was going to come
with all of these different
factors. I didn't realize that
00:25:21.95\00:25:27.46
starting my own business was
going to require this much
faith. And the reason that we
00:25:27.49\00:25:29.69
are sometimes surprised by the
weight and the gravity of the
responsibility is because there
00:25:29.72\00:25:37.47
was no inner deliberation where
we could count the cost of the
decisions we were about to make.
00:25:37.50\00:25:42.84
Are you all hearing what I'm
saying today, friends? Second
reason you need to make an
00:25:42.87\00:25:47.61
inward pivot is so that you can
strengthen your inner resolve.
How many of us know that when
00:25:47.64\00:25:53.48
you make some decisions
inwardly, that by the time you
implement it that it's going to
00:25:53.52\00:26:04.73
be questioned outwardly? And
see, a part of that inner pivot
is taking the time to deliberate
00:26:04.76\00:26:14.84
so that your will can become
like iron so that you can
withstand the objections that
00:26:14.87\00:26:18.81
are destined to come from those
who don't recognize where it is
that God is leading you. In
00:26:18.84\00:26:22.28
other words, there's going to be
a time where folk are going to
question why you start keeping
00:26:22.31\00:26:29.88
Sabbath. They're going to
question why you start coming
back to church. They're going to
00:26:29.92\00:26:35.96
question why you ended the
relationship. They're going to
question why you decided to go
00:26:35.99\00:26:43.26
back to school. They're going to
question why you decided to do
certain things right now. And
00:26:43.30\00:26:49.37
the truth is that if you don't
have any resolve inwardly, guess
what? The decision is going to
00:26:49.40\00:26:54.84
crumble once people begin to
scrutinize it publicly. Are you
hearing what I'm saying, Church?
00:26:54.88\00:26:59.81
And see, you've got to have
enough spiritual conclusions
inwardly so that when you make a
00:26:59.85\00:27:07.69
move in faith, guess what? It
can withstand the testings and
the question and you will not be
00:27:07.72\00:27:10.93
pushed back the way that you
came because other folk don't
understand where God is leading
00:27:10.96\00:27:18.13
you. Are you all hearing what
I'm saying today, friends? And
see, I need us to get to a place
00:27:18.17\00:27:27.28
where you recognize that
everybody's not going to
understand what it is that
00:27:27.31\00:28:17.86
you're doing. And I need
somebody to hear this. See, the
problem is not that you get
00:28:17.89\00:28:37.45
scrutiny. The problem is that
you can't withstand scrutiny. In
other words, if your decisions
00:28:37.48\00:28:52.49