Don't Hold Back | Judah Smith

Hey, welcome back, church home. I'm so glad you have joined us for weekly service. Uh if you didn't join us last week, no worries. We actually shared a message from my dad from the early 2000s. And now this week, we're going to share a message from 2023, where I ended up speaking from the exact same passage, Acts 28.

And I remember vividly reading this passage and thinking to myself of that old adage, that old statement, proceed with caution. So much of our life uh kind of comes down to that. And whatever you do, be careful, be cautious, be calculated. Look at all of the uh science and the statistics and the details.

And the truth is, even historically, human history, the people that have changed the world, changed how we've seen each other, seen our world, seen technology, inventions, ingenious, all these different things, artists are people who didn't proceed with caution. They proceeded with courage, with a sense that they were going to do something that never had been done before.

Man, if you need to be infused with some of that courage and some of that fortitude and strength, this message is for you. And the truth is, as a community, we were going through a chapter in a season where we needed courageous living. We needed a vibrant sense that God was asking us and calling us to do something new as we were pioneering uh new models and new opportunities and reaching new people with the story that Jesus loves them. has already forgiven them.

Life is short. Avoiding risk and the pursuit of safety. Um, I'm kind of over it. Uh, we're all going to die someday. Let's live every day to the fullest. I know, I know it sounds like I'm just pumping you up, but I believe that this is the adventure that God invites us to or into every single day.

What if you live the rest of your life with this statement? Do not proceed with caution. Proceed with a sense that God is with you. That God's calling you out. God's beckoning you into the future. And it's unknown and it's wild and it's adventurous, but it's going to be exhilarating and fun.

We we we pretend control, don't we? We pretend predictability. The truth is, none of us are in control. None of us are in control. I laid in bed last night and I do this sometimes and I know it sounds weird but I put my hand on my heart and my own heartbeat is a mystery to me and like you I hope it keeps beating but ultimately I'm not in control.

Now a little less energy drinks might help that but that still we are not in control. God is ultimately in control. We trust him with every day we live. Let's move forward. Um, I don't know who I'm talking to, but before this message begins, God might be telling you to step up, step out, move forward, and trust him in the unknown.

Let's not proceed with caution. So, from 2023, here I am introducing myself, which is kind of weird. Um, but here is a message entitled, "Do not proceed with caution." My message is very simple tonight, and I hope that you'll grasp it. But at the risk that I will be too convoluted, complex, and misunderstood, I'm going to tell you exactly what I'm trying to say before I say it.

So, here it is. Here's my message tonight. Do not, whatever you do, do not proceed with caution. >> For caution is a farce. It's fake. It's a mirage. It's not real. And the safety you seek is not real. You are not safe and I am not safe and we will not be safe until the next life.

So, um I'm going to read the scripture to you, which is the scripture we left off last month. And if you remember that, you're an overachiever because I barely did to be honest. But check out the scripture. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 7. We are like, here's what we're likened to as human beings. were likened to common clay jars that carry this treasure within us.

So that the extraordinary overflow of power will be seen as gods, not ours. That's an interesting verse which essentially means you're so fragile and so finite and so small and have so little power that when people see you do great grand things, they'll be like that must be God.

That's basically the translation. But I want to draw your attention to the metaphor common clay jars. Bear with me. We did this a month ago. I'm going to do it again. Anybody remember Jars of Clay? How cool would it be if like someone from the group was here?

How was Jars of Clay? Dude, that's amazing. Uh I loved Jars of Clay. I'm trying to remember one of their songs. Dang, I can't remember. But anyways, I was going to Right. Yeah. Oh, Elijah can remember, but um we're not going to go there. So we are jars of clay which is to say by definition even the scripture reinforces that you are fragile and you are finite. 120,000 people have died today and that number is climbing as we speak.

The stats on death are crazy, guys. 10 out of 10 die. It's wild. I've done the research. 
[laughter]
 Um it sucks. We're dying. We're dying. We're dying. My teeth tell me that I'm dying. That's for sure. The older you get, your teeth just hurt in strange places. And you go to the dentist and the dentist is like, "You're fine."

I'm like, "No, I'm not fine. My teeth hurt. My jaw hurts." I got more stories. Okay, I got to stop. You're not interested. Moving on. Tough crowd. Um, a great philosopher I read today said, uh, I am, uh, one breath of air or one drop of water away from death.

But you get just a little bit of something wrong in that water, it's over. Am I the only one that like, we're such interesting people. We go to these places to eat. This is why some of you need to be nicer to your server. I'm gonna tell you right now that server has within their power life and death.

You ever you ever get concerned you're going to these restaurants and you know nothing like LA restaurants you know proliferate through this wonderful glorious city that I am in love with. But you know how much trust we give these people? >> Yeah, I'll take the ravioli. What's inside of it?

Cheese. We hope. You know I mean like it's unbelievable. and food poisoning like you can't press charges. It's like the one last thing left on earth you can't press charges about cuz you can't prove it. I know it was the ravioli. Like we are we are one ravioli away from our whole system shutting down.

It's wild. And yet we go through pain and we tell ourselves, I'm going to play it safe. You remember that whole like went down the wrong pike? Remember when we do that? You know, you drink something, you're like, "Oh, went down the wrong pipe." Not true. False. Not true.

One pipe. There's no wrong pipe. Just one pipe. That's not a thing. And you're one little itty bitty pipe takes the water and the food. You are one piece of pizza lodged in the wrong way in your throat and you're facing eternity, friend. Yeah. I mean, it's just funny to me how we think ourselves to be so strong.

I don't fault any one of us. I don't fault any one of us. I do this before competitions. Sport is such an interesting metaphor, but it's not a perfect parallel to life, right? Sports, you get you get out what you put in. Life not so. That's not true.

God made you the way you made you. God life is about gift. It's about grace. Undeserved, unmmerited, unearned. There are people in here that are faster than you. They didn't earn it, deserve it, warrant it. Their feet just move faster. And that's the way it is. But in sports, right, and we often parallel, we use things like sport and we tell ourselves that if I work hard, if I eat good, and I work out, I'll live forever.

No, you will die. >> We're all dying. We're all fragile. We're all finite. We're all broken. Now, again, a sermon like this, a message like this, thoughts like this, concepts like this can lead you to even now double down further on the very thing that we are pulling apart.

Maybe you're listening to me right now and you're like, "Man, I got to chew my food more." That's not a bad concept. As Americans, we probably could breathe a little deeper, chew our food a little more, and drink a little bit more water. Go easy on the hydrogenated oils and red 40 for God's sake.

But we are very, very fragile. That is such a true statement about the human being. We are like little itty bitty pieces of pottery. And if dropped, we shatter. I don't just mean shatter by death, but I also mean that we break into little pieces. We are we are fragile.

It it it hurts. I love how we continue to think people of prominence, whether through athletics or art of any kind, and we talk about these people incessantly online, and we think somehow those people are different from these people, but we are the same people. And in case you're wondering if it hurts people's feelings that we talk about them on the worldwide web, the answer is yes, friends.

Right? >> And anyone who tells you differently is doing a very good exercise to keep themselves going. And that exercise is, "I'm good." Because they're trying to tell themselves, "I'm good." >> But it hurts. >> It's painful. It's challenging. So, what are you going to do? What are you going to do with your fragile, finite frame?

What's your plan? What's your plan? You going to play it safe? What's safe? I mean, seriously, what is safe? Let's just use some common sense and some logic here. What What is safe? What is safe? We went, ladies and gentlemen, we went through a global pandemic and one that still seems to be lingering.

Has anyone around you got COVID lately? And you're like, wait, what? You tested posit. We're still doing that. Someone recently close to me, not my family, but they got they tested positive for CO. I'm like, ah, I forgot. We're still like, haven't we at least, aren't we the generation that's going to at least figure out we're we're we're fragile.

And yet our fragility seems to inform us to play it safe. I would like to argue that your fragility should inform you to never play it safe, whatever that means. Anyways, dream big, friend. >> Think big. Ask God big questions. >> Wonder at what is possible with your life and in your lifespan, in your lifetime.

Eat good food. Laugh with good friends. Drink good drink. Make fun of yourself. Don't take yourself so seriously. Understand that all you have is today. Understand there's no guarantee you wake up tomorrow morning. The old saints used to have a thing. They used to have testimony nights. You heard me talk about this before, but I grew up in church.

I've been in so many church services. We used to have open mic. You can't do that in 2023. That's called the internet. We see how that's gone. But we used to open up the mic. This is a true story. This is crazy. Israel knows what I'm talking about.

We literally used to have an open mic, bro. the dumbest thing the church ever did. God bless them. The people would come up and a lot of people back in my church, in my tradition, in my day, I'd be sitting there with my dad and services would go 2, three, four, five hours and almost everybody back in our tradition, in our church, they would get up on the mic and they would say, "Well, first of all, I just want to thank the good Lord that he woke me up this morning in my right mind.

Can I get an amen?" And the church would say, "Amen. I know that's right. I just want to thank the Lord that I woke up this morning. And the church will say, "Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. I don't I just want to thank God that I got two eyes, two feet at work.

I got a pancreas that's working." I mean, I'm dead serious. This what we used to do in church. We up here praising God for pancreases and stuff. Just want to thank the Lord. What? What? Wait, what did I have removed? Was it my pan? No. Appendix. I get those confused.

Oh, I'm not a scientist. Grow up. My appendix. I want to thank God that I don't need my appendix cuz they took it. I want to thank the Lord. I'm all right without my appendix. I'm being serious though. We used to thank God for the simplest of things, but now we shake our fist at the clouds because our income didn't go up this year. >> And we are prone to want things that are just passing and insignificant. and we lose sight of the gift and fragility of the day that you could hear the bird chirp, you could smell the grass, you're alive.

Thank you. Cuz life is a vape. So, here's what I want to do. I want to show you. I want to give you five points. To be honest, tonight is not too dissimilar from almost a Bible class. Here's what I want to do. I want to take you to some of these early Christians and then we'll end with my superhero, my savior, and my model for living, Jesus.

Now, if you're new to this environment, you're new to church and you're starting to figure out that your friend tricked you into one of these Christian church nights and you're like, "Dang, bro, I thought you said this was like a motivational thing." It is. It is. Relax. Relax.

You're going to find out real quick that the whole goal here is to live, love, and look like Jesus. >> We want to make it very, very clear that everybody is welcome here. Everybody belongs here. There is not a closed door to a single person. The only way that you get uninvited here is by hurting somebody.

And even then, we'll forgive you from a distance. But everybody is welcome here. And we love you. And we think you're a miracle. And we think you're incredible. And we think you're amazing. And we're going to keep thinking that even if you don't think like I think. So tonight's goal is not that you think like Judah.

In fact, that is definitely not the goal. In fact, that's not necessarily my goal. We want to think like Jesus. What if we could see some things differently tonight? What if we could see some of the pain and challenges and difficulties that we're going through, see them as opportunity to lean in and not proceed with caution?

Do not proceed with caution. That is the title of my message. I got bit by a spider one time. I don't want to brag. It didn't kill me. I'm still here. I got bit right here. Right on my bicep. Shut up. I can't even say bicep without you guys laughing.

The meanest church I ever did go to. I'm teasing. I'm teasing. So, I got bit on my bicep back when it was a little bit bigger. And all right, all right, everybody relax. But, um, I woke up, you know, and I was like, ah, kind of itching it.

And if you grew up in the Pacific Northwest like me, you understand like there there are some spiders. There's a brown recluse. That's a problem. Okay, the recluse. In fact, uh, Pastor Elijah right here, one of the ministers here at Church Home, once got bit by a brown recluse.

And we are not getting into that because it left a hole in his body. It is poisonous. It's bad. And the brown recluse. Why are we getting into details about the brown recluse? I have no idea. This is not in my notes. What is? All right. So, but they love stacks of wood, right?

So, I was probably out cutting wood. No, I wasn't. All right. Point is, I woke up with a spider bite. All right. And I was like, "Man, that itches." So, I itched it throughout the day. I think I was at school at this point. And I started to notice that in this spider bite, there was a like a dark, deep navy blue line.

It was one of my veins and it was doing this. And I was like, "That's probably not a good direction." So I told my mom, she always, well, I was the boy that cried wolf, so she was always like, you know, I'm sure it's fine. Which is problematic because when you need your appendix removed, uh, your mom waits at the last minute at a Fourth of July church picnic because she thinks that you're overdramatic and you always think you're dying.

So I almost did die because my mom was negligent and my appendix almost burst and I wouldn't be here today. Thanks a lot, mom. Anyways, this one other time my mom listened to me. I got to the doctor and I love doctors sometimes, not all the time, but if you're a doctor, I love you.

Um, but he said like this, I love the doctors are hilarious. And maybe they're around death and dying so much, you know, but I I'm sitting there on the end of that little, you know, that little crinkly paper and stuff. And I'm just sitting there real dehumanizing, you know, just kind of sitting there and he walks in.

He's like, "How you doing, buddy? How you doing, slugger champ? What are you up to?" And I was like, "Well, they got a spider bite." It's like, "Oh, that's going to the heart." I was like, "What happens then?" Ah, you die, young man. But don't you worry, we'll stop it.

Oh, looked at my mom. I told you I'm out here dying. Life is fragile. Life is fragile. Stuff coming for your heart. A little spider bite think it's no big deal. Ladies and gentlemen, I had seven minutes to live. Okay, he never told me the timeline. I'll be honest.

That will be impressive though. He's like, "You had about six and a half minutes left, son. I'm so glad I came in. And I know you've been waiting for 48 minutes. That's what we do in the medical industry. Let me make you wait. I'm just kidding. I love all medical personnel.

But um I want to take you to my first story tonight. And here's here's what I'm going to tell you to do. These are the five things I think you should do in light of the pain and problems of the modern age. Number one, I think you should shake off snakes.

You need to shake off snakes. You need to shake off stakes because I got news for you and you're not going to like this. You're going to get bit. That's the way it is. You're going to get bit. You want to hear is the weirdest research I read today?

I couldn't believe it. Out of all the people you'll meet in your life, there is 25% of those people, they for sure will end up not liking you. 100% is fat. Research shows. The other 25%, again, we're going to get to 100% here, of all the people you'll meet in your life, the other 25% um can easily be talked out of liking you.

The next 25% will be pretty resilient about liking you, but if you give them a good reason, they'll drop you. And then the last 25% which is mostly your mom, she going to like you no matter what. Welcome to what we like to call life. I'm just telling you like people aren't going to like you sometimes for no particular reason.

No particular reason. Just say I just don't like you. Don't like your teeth. I don't like your breath. I don't like your earlobes. They're connected. You should be loose. You know, whatever it is, life bites. You're going to get bitten. What are you going to do? >> Now, it will behoove all of us before we get bit to talk about what we going to do when we get bit. >> Is he going to get bit?

It gets real painful when the people you love the most bite you. And then what are you going to do? But I want to show you something in Acts chapter 28. We won't go to the verse. I'm just going to quote the verses so you can take my word for it.

But please don't investigate for yourself. You can go to Acts 28:5 and you can discover um this story. There is this man by the name of Paul. He's the artist formerly known as Saul. And he will write half of the New Testament. He is on a mission. He is radical.

He does not proceed with caution. He's planting churches all over the Middle East, all over the known world. And he goes to this island. In fact, he is shipwrecked on an island. He floats to the shore. He gets there. The natives build a fire. He's sitting by the fire and a snake, a viper, comes out of the the bush, if you will, and bites him.

Latches onto his arm. It's a real story. And the Bible says that Paul shakes the snake off into the fire. Now, the natives say, "Look at this story. This is wild because the metaphor is served up in bucket loads. The natives watching this man get bit say this.

This man is such a bad criminal that that ship broke apart. That ship full of criminals broke apart. But he's such a bad criminal that the gods have cursed him. And even after he escapes a shipwreck, he's going to die by a snake bite. Few minutes later, that brown recluse should have got him.

And they say, "Well, he's not dying." And that fickle group of natives go from, "You are damned to, you are God yourself." >> Paul goes from shaking the snake off and they're like, "You going to die. You are a bad bad guy." 15 minutes later, we worship you.

You're God. Why? Cuz you didn't die. Something blocked the venom. You didn't die. Brothers and sisters, God has made provision in your life to block the venom of all the bites you'll get. >> All the bites you get, the venom can be blocked. You got to shake it off. >> I'm going tell you what you're going to be tempted to do.

You're going to be tempted to bite back. That's going to do you no good. Don't bite back. Don't make it about the bite. Don't make it about the snake. Make it about the mission. Make it about the life. You ever met somebody who's still preoccupied with the one bite they got or the two bites they got or the four bites they got?

Back in 1978, somebody bit me. Back in 1989, somebody bit me. 2002, I was about to have this great career. Somebody bit me. And we up here in 2023. >> You talking about some bite you got at a bonfire in ' 89. You know what I say? Let's get on with it. >> I want to let you know that you got my heart and I feel for you and it's hard and it's difficult and I'll be like anybody else, man.

I will sit down with you and we will have a coffee about your bite. But every coffee we have ain't going to be about your bite. >> I can't do that cuz that's just bad pastoring. That's just bad leadership. We can acknowledge the bite every time we get together, but we ain't going to talk the whole time about your bite.

Cuz God didn't birth you to be bit. >> He birthed you for a purpose and a plan and a mission. >> But I'm telling you, when life heats up and a fire starts brewing and burning, vipers come out. That's life. What are you going to do? In nature, the snake is drawn to the heat.

So it is today. Things start cooking in your life. Things start moving in your life. Things get heated up. All of a sudden, you're like, "Woo, I get a little bit of momentum. I got the wind at my back. I'm starting to feel the flow. Man, this is good.

I'm starting to recognize who I am. I'm starting to grow up. This is awesome." And out of nowhere, you get bit. And now you got a decision to make. And I'm telling you, the bite, it really is about the natives and their response because the scriptur is trying to tell us something.

People are fickle and so are you. Cuz you is one. We will change our narrative so fast. Oh, that guy is cursed. He might be God. How much longer are you going to spend listening to the fickle few in the cheap seats of your life? Well, you know I well I think think you know the old saints used to say I'm talking about all the old saints today but they used to say something you know so and so been talking about you.

The old saints used to say well at least somebody's talking about me. I must have done something so good people I don't even know are talking about me. I feel blessed. Gonna get bit. But God will block the venom. It'll hurt. It'll hurt. Some of you know what I'm talking about.

It'll hurt. And I'm not saying we go to coffee and you say, "It don't even hurt me." Well, you're not made of Lego blocks. You're made of skin. It hurts, doesn't it? Yeah. Yeah. It's headed for your heart, but God will block it. And we'll talk about that in a moment, but I just want to say that this is a no vengeance zone.

There will be no vengeance here at this church. We are not a church. A lot of people talking about justice, but justice without forgiveness is vengeance. >> I am not interested in justice concocted and made by man. I am interested in the justice that Jesus walked out and preached.

And that justice is soaked in forgiveness. 
((applause))
 I forgive you. Unfortunately, I got a list of people every morning that I got to forgive. You ever had people like that in your life? You know, there's some people you just forgive them once and you're like, "All right, that'll do."

Then there are people you wake up the next morning, you're like, "Oh, I got to forgive them again cuz I can feel that venom coming in. That venom got in again. I really mean it. Some of you don't even believe in Jesus. I just give you as a g this as a gift.

Out loud say I forgive you, Billy Bob. If your name's Billy Bob, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. But like out loud, I forgive you. I release you. You heard this a thousand times, but I'll say it again. You know, unforgiveness, you know what it's like, right? It's like you drink the poison and you wait for the other person to die.

It's insanity. I will never forgive them. Never. That's translation. Let's replay that. I will always live preoccupied, caught up, bitter, angry, and overlooked >> for the rest of my life. That'll affect the date you go on. I'm being so serious trying to get romantically involved, but you you hadn't Sometimes you got to do it every day.

Let that venom just come out. Nah, nah. No venom here. No vengeance here. We shake off >> snakes. >> Shake it off. >> Shake it off and keep it moving. shake it off and keep it moving. I am preaching to lots of people tonight, but this would definitely be one of those sermons you don't want to be like, "Amen."

You know, cuz then people are like, "Oh, he bit." So, y'all are playing it cool. Like, this is interesting. This This might apply to me at some point. That point would be now, Joker. You and I both know it. >> Shake off snakes. Do not proceed with caution.

What are you going to do? You're going to avoid bonfires for the rest of your life? Cuz that's where snakes are. I got news for you. Snakes are everywhere. And I'm going to tell you, sometimes I have been the snake. How about that? I know people had to shake me off.

And that's humiliating to admit, but I was the gossiper. I was the one spewing venom. So I say, even if I bite you, you better shake me off and keep it moving. So this isn't about tonight is not about, you know what I I want to list my snakes.

Do you guys have a list of people that are snakes in your life? These mean snake people. You got snake skin, too, player. We've all done some biting in our day. >> That's right. But you know what we need? Shake it off. >> Shake it off. And then the narrative totally switch.

And I got good news for you. If you don't believe the God narrative about your life, you're a god. Then you won't believe the devil narrative in your life. You're the devil. I would say just bold like I'm definitely not God. And for the record, I am definitely not the devil.

I am a jar of clay. Shake it off. Second thing, if you if you don't want to proceed with with caution, then I suggest you sing in dungeons. You shake off snakes. And the second thing you do, you sing in dungeons. You sing in dungeons. Paul and Silas in what is I believe Luke chapter 16 or 18 or 19 or 9 or 12 somewhere in the book of Acts.

It's been a long few weeks. Paul and Silas are in the inner dungeon and they are up to human sewage to their waist. An old Scandinavian proverb I read today said that the bird who senses the morning coming sings her song while it's still dark. I was like I like that few things more attractive to me in this life than somebody who can sing in the dark.

I mean when things are really rough. You know why the bird sings, right? You know why the bird sings. Does the bird understand everything that's going on? Does the bird have a brain and a soul like you? You know why the bird sings, right? This is This is my proverb.

You know why the bird That was a joke. Somebody like, "Oo, that's this is his proverb. It was a joke. Relax." I'm like authoring proverbs up here. That's weird. All right. Cuz it has a song. That's all. That was like a Disney bird. I like that one. What is that?

The Seven Stooges or Yeah. Hell was Yeah. Disney owns us. Okay. Gets creepy. You got a song. You ever had a song? Even when everything is bleak and dark in your life, sing I see I'm I'm like you. I read the Bible and I am disinterested deeply deeply disinterested in the traditions that we have, how should I say, um absolved and amalgamated from ancient scripture.

These these traditions these traditions, one of them is um the singing we're about to do. A lot of us call that worship. That's a really bad definition. Uh Amanda and Israel are worshippers, but everything we're doing is worship. Music is not synonymous with worship. You can sing and and and not worship.

Life is worship. And so I see these dudes singing in a dungeon and like you, I go, how does that happen to me? How do I have such a deeprooted song in my soul that I feel like singing when everybody else feels like screaming? I want to be a singer in the dark.

I want to be someone who's got buoyancy when I'm submerged. >> Yeah. That's the kind of person I want to be around. That's the kind of person I want to be. That's the kind of person that I want to follow leading. Paul says to Silas in Luke 16, I remembered Luke 16.

And they're in the inner prison. By the way, complete injustice. Did not belong there. Murderers belonged in the dungeon. Paul says to Silas, let's start singing. I mean, they're in sewage. Let's start singing. You know what I would say to Paul? You start singing, weirdo. I should never have gone with you.

You are the worst mentor anyone has ever had. I hate you. I miss my friends. And I want to go golfing. I don't want to sing. Paul's like, "Let's sing." Some of you think singing that the potency of singing is simply lifting of the spirits. But this story suggests otherwise.

There seems to be a correlation. I can't explain it nor do I pretend to explain it, but I'll at least observe it with you. That these dudes start singing and not soon after there's an earthquake. Now, the earthquake doesn't seem to be everywhere. It seems to be just in the space they're singing. the earth shakes so much that everybody's chains break off.

Ladies and gentlemen, do we we're in LA, we've been through some earthquakes. I've been to earthquake in Alaska. I've been an earthquake here. Like, how much does the earth have to shake for handcuffs to come off? I mean, like, what in the world are we talking about? I mean, for real, how much is there?

You know what I mean? Like this isn't like, "Oh, this is crazy." You know what I mean? Like these people are like, "Oh, oh, dang. Dang." You know, like doors flying open and stuff. You think singing in the dark doesn't have power? >> Your song has power. The elements, the firmament, the soil, the wood.

We know this. These items made up of particles and molecules, they have memory. Science is telling us, we've talked about this. Rooms have memories. It's why feelers feel stuff in rooms. >> It's real. Don't think that your song in the dark can't shake stuff up. >> Because it can. >> I want to shake off snakes and I want to sing in dungeons.

I don't know if you've caught the implicit message of this sermon, but I'm just going to identify it for you in case you haven't picked up what I'm laying down. And that is when you shake off snakes, that means you're out and about where the snakes are. When you're singing in dungeons, it means you're so out and about that you found yourself in a deep dark dungeon because you're out in these streets trying to make a difference, serve humanity, and love your neighbor.

So, I'm implying here that we keep this thing moving. I'm implying here that we find ourselves in some dark spaces, but we keep singing. >> Why do we sing? Because we know the light will come. We are persuaded the light will come. We are persuaded that whether in this life or the next, there will be healing and there will be life and there will be restoration and there will be justice.

So, we will sing when it's darkest. Bible says they started singing at midnight. That's not an accident. Midnight is the darkest point of the night. Most people I know sing when it's bright. How many people do you know that sing when it's night? What are you doing? Surfing the internet, googling my name, seeing all the mean stuff people say.

That's going to help big time. No, that's seriously that's going to be super strategic and helpful. Especially if you start to engage and defend yourself. That will be equally effective. Uh-oh. Nope. When are you going to start singing? How good does it have to get until you start singing?

I want to be a dungeon singer. I just do. I want to be a deep dark dungeon singer and I want people to be like he lost his mind and I want to be like maybe wearing silk. I like to sing. Number three, we're going to shake off snakes.

We're going to sing in dungeons. Number three, we're going to share in money. We're going to share in money. One of the ways we play it safe is with our money. And that's where we get this whole western culture, American concept that he who dies with the most toys wins.

The dumbest bumper sticker ever invented. My favorite is My Boss is a Jewish carpenter. I don't want to get into it. It's my personal fave. I should write a book called My Boss is a Jewish carpenter. That would be sick. That'd be awesome. That'd be healthy, not sick.

But aren't we funny? Aren't Aren't we We really are funny, aren't we? In terms of what we believe to be the truth and what we believe to be what really matters. Money. What an interesting concept. Um, money is one of the most dominant things in our human experience.

It's interesting, isn't it? Because the thing that is attacked the most in my line of work is money. Always has, always will be. What's that preacher doing with his money? What they doing with the money in here? I don't know about the money. If he talks about money, I am out of here cuz this ain't about money.

Uh, they don't give us the theater for free. Guys, grow up. Money is neither good nor bad. It's what you do with it. >> That's all. Money was a massive expression of mission with the first church in the first century. It was prominent. It was prevalent. In fact, the Bible says in Acts chapter 4 that you couldn't find anyone in the sacred community, which at that point was probably numbering five, six,7 thousand, which by the way is like 56 700,000 in today's global population.

They you couldn't find anyone that couldn't pay their bills or have money for food. >> Not because they just collected it up front, which they did. there was a collection, a pooling of resources to help the orphans and the widows and people in need. And we still do that and will continue to do that at this church.

But one of the dynamics I want to identify, one of the ways we play it safe is we are not open-handed and openhearted with our money. And what I mean by that is when you see a need, why not just give to it yourself? >> The Bible calls it alms.

What is these different ways of giving, tithes, offerings? We won't get into it, but alms. alms is the money you spontaneously give when you see a need right in front of you. And the first Christians in the first church, they took it upon themselves to take care of each other in the church.

But now we are taught from a young age two things you never talk about in United States of America. Politics and money. Those two things you can't talk about. Now I support the first one, but not the second one. I'm kidding. Everybody relax. Everybody relax. I didn't mean that totally as a joke.

But anyways, money. Money. And yet money is not its own entity. Money is not a person, a personality. Money is neutral. It's what we do with it. What do you do with your money? Jude, this a good sermon. I like this one. I'm super into this one, bro.

I always be shaking off the haters. Honestly, man, I'm like, "No, no, no." And to tell you the truth, man, I'm always a bubbly, happy, clappy, skipping kind of person. Oo, I like this sermon, bro. Shake off the haters. Keep it moving. Keep a song in your soul and a skip in your step.

I love this sermon. Give me another point, preacher. Share your money. Right. I'm sorry. What' you say? Give your money away. How dare you? You probably want it, preacher, don't you? Are we still doing that? Are we still going to do that? Is that what we're going to do?

Are we still going to be dumb? Let's not be dumb anymore. It ain't about money. Money is what you do with it. So, what are you doing with it? I can tell you what you love based on the trajectory and direction of your money. Don't tell me you love something and I can't find one time in your bank statement that you put money towards what you say you love. >> He said, "Judy, you're being kind of mean.

I'm being honest. Be honest. Judah, what do you love?" Golf. Prove it. Look at my bank statement. Ask my wife. It's a problem. Do you have a plan to give money away? A here come these preachers talking about tie. No, let's not even talk about all the biblical terms.

I'm just asking you human to human. Do you have a plan to let your money go? You know the craziest thing is science and research is now telling us that your brain and your body responds in a supernatural way even at the planning and plotting of generosity. In 2006 they did a research.

They got a group of people together gave each one of them a sum of money and they asked them to start planning how they were going to give it all away. They read their brain waves and their body and they noticed that endorphins were instantly released upon conversation and their body started to molecularly change and started to be turned into a more healthy body.

It is more blessed to give Jesus said than to receive. Translation you will be far happier giving than you ever will be getting. I am telling you, clap if you must. I am telling you, some of you, the whole reason you came to the Sabon tonight is to let go of your money.

I'm being so serious. What do you mean like give it all away? No, just open your hand with it. So many of us came in this theater like this and you think that's serving you. That's not serving you. You're serving it. And money is a terrible taskmaster. Money is to serve you while you serve Jesus. >> Money is to serve you while you serve humanity. >> When money starts leading, greed is eminent. >> Greed is one of the primary reasons we have wars and rumors of wars and pestilence and disease.

It is a self-p preoccupation with me me. Friends, there is one primary sacred act to overcome greed. It's called giving. >> I want to sit in forgiveness. Point number four, which is really an addendum to point number one, shake off, saints. I want to sit in forgiveness. I mean, I want to soak in forgiveness.

I want forgiveness to be my brand. I want forgiveness to be what people know I'm about. I want people to know that I love forgiveness like I love golf. Judah, you were supposed to say your wife. That too for sure. I want church, home, and forgiveness to be synonymous. >> I want us to release people.

I want us to set ourselves free and set others free. I want us to be a forgiving place. I believe the only reason we're all here is because of forgiveness. >> The scripture says, "Freely you have received." Freely. >> Yeah. >> Somebody was telling me about the thief on the cross.

He said, "Remember me." He said, "Remember me." Some people argue whether or not he even knew the man on the middle cross's name. He said, "Remember me." I can imagine he gets to eternity. And he's checking in the front door, the front gates, pearly gates, whatever it is.

Probably not any of those things, but let's have some fun. He checks in and the lead angel at the pearly gates. He's like, "Yo, yo, yo. Welcome." He's like, "Sweet. What's this? Paradise, my man. How'd you get here? I'm not sure. What do you mean you're not sure?

Have you claimed the name of Jesus? Oh, I didn't know that was his name. But the guy in the middle said I could be here. That's how good he is. >> He said, "Remember me." Real convenient. Dying a criminal's death. The man was a murderer. He said, "Remember me."

And Jesus is like, "No problem. I will. You'll be with me in paradise." You want to know how free this forgiveness is? >> You want to know how easy it is to be forgiven? >> And yet we busy holding grudges because somebody took $7,000 from you. I said, "They must need it more than me.

Keep it moving." So today, I'm going to say it again. I said out loud, I think it was seven to nine people their full name. I forgive you, said their name. I forgive you. You know where I get that from, right? Because I've been forgiven. And so my life starts to stay take the shape of freely.

Freely that's me. Freely freely. How'd you get here? Free. How are you not bitter? Free. I just some people I mean what am I going to do? Hold a grudge. Thank God he didn't hold a grudge against me. Am I right? Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing.

Cuz they don't. They don't. People hurting you right now. They don't really know what they're doing, guys. They don't really know what they're doing. They're just being human. They're just trying to survive. Some of it leads to in inexplicable acts causing pain and loss and death, but they don't really know what they're doing.

Are you going to sit in forgiveness or are you going to stew in bitterness and envy, jealousy, and strife and let that venom eat you alive? You going to be a forgiver? You know, all the research is there. I I don't mean to be the research guy tonight, but all the research is there.

One of the most despicable, deplorable things for your human body is bitterness. >> It's like bad for your jaw to begin with. I just grind your teeth, clench your jaw. Oh, you're really really showing them. No, it the venom is hurting you. But the caution mindset, the safe mindset says, I will never let that happen to me again. >> No one will ever hurt me again.

And then you stop living. Yeah. >> When you stop forgiving, you stop living. Forgiving moves you forward. Bitterness hold you in the past. It's time to go forward, church. >> We got no more time to let 2019 tell us who we are in 2023. forgive that person and move on and somebody could come play the piano so this last point really really hits.

Thanks Elijah. It's a good man Elijah. All Elijah I know are good men. Got to tell you that much. You want to live in the past how much longer? Or you want to be a future person? Forgiveness is futuristic. Forgiveness goes forward. Forgiveness keeps you moving. Forgiveness sets you free.

Last but not least, well, let's let's let's let's let's review. We're going to shake off snakes. We're going to sing in dungeons. We're going to share in money. We're going to sit in forgiveness. And this is it might be my favorite. We're going to sleep in storms. We're going to sleep in storms.

We're going to sleep in storms. Everything in our nature says when storms come, you can't rest. That's why I think Jesus brought a pillow to a boat. >> I do. Yeah. >> See, what I understand from ma ma uh I think it's Matthew chapter 8 is that Jesus had a plan to sleep cuz it says in Matthew 8 that when they got out on the boat in the storm that Jesus had a pillow.

And I was like, well, nobody has a pillow out of nowhere. A pillow invokes a plan. This this man brought himself a pillow >> cuz he was like, I'm asleep. I need some rest. Then my favorite part about this is the storm didn't change his plan. He planned for margin and the storm didn't take up the margin.

So, I just want to let you know that if you join this church thinking that I'm going to be the kind of pastor that's frantic in storms, I assure you I would not be. In fact, when things get real tough, you can find me somewhere on a beach and you think I'm teasing.

I'mma turn my phone off, get my eight iron out, and I'm gonna pray for birdies. That's right. Because I don't rule the storm. I don't control the storm. I got to be honest with you, man. Storms come and they go. I got nothing to do with the power, control, dictation, deviate.

It's that's all up to him. The storms are in his hands. Now, I have been plenty of times in my life I told him, "Lord, this little boat can't take many more storms." Okay? I brought a pillow, but my pillow is soaking wet. It's hard to sleep on wet pillows.

Drool's one thing, but this is like a storm, man. And in this story, I remember when this changed my life and I'm done and Israel and Amanda are going to lead us in some singing. And I remember because the Bible says these professional fishermen, you guys heard me talk about this before, they're they're frantic, right?

So they're they're like, "We're going to die." Now, now I I got to be honest with you. Um there's a lot of things you got to learn in life. Like if I was your dad and I was telling you how to prepare for life, I would say this.

Um, you always look if the pro, if the pro in whatever scene or scenario we're in, if there's a pro that's worried, you should be worried. Okay? But if the pros are cool, right? Like if the whitewater raft guide is like, "Everybody keep rowing. You're good. You're good."

In our case, Chelsea and I did a whitewater rafting trip in Washington and she fell out. Now, that's not when I was scared, but when our guide fell out and then she came up out of the water screaming like she was dying, right about then I got scared.

I was hoping she'd come out of the water like, "Just pull me back in. It'll be fine." But she came out screaming and I was like, "We're going to die today. We're going to die today." She's a pro. We're going to die. These professional fishermen are screaming. They're going to die.

Jesus is sleeping. And I remember wrestling with this story, thinking to myself, what does it all mean? And I felt this inkling from God, what the young men should have done instead of being inspired and awed by the fierce wind and the smashing waves. They should have been in awe of the only human being they've ever witnessed who sleeps in the middle of it.

They should have dropped everything and said what? Peter, >> Andrew, James, what if I named all 12? You'd be impressed. But all of you gets no air time. You guys are going to meet Bart someday and be like, "Bro, were you?" Yes, I was one of the 12.

My bad. My bad. My bad. Christian jokes. All right. They should have gathered around and been like, "Is he alive? Peter, check if he's breathing." He's breathing. So, he's really sleeping. Like, he's really sleeping. Dudes are vomiting overboard. Storm's raging. He's sleeping. He's sleeping. And the Bible says he gives his beloved sweet sleep.

I'm going to say this and I wish I had another hour because I would take it, but I don't and I'm done. So relax. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do in life is go to sleep. Sleep. Rest your weary soul. For there is one who neither slumbers nor sleeps. >> And while you are in dream state, the dictator and architect of the ages is putting your life together and healing your soul.

It is vain for the watchman to stay up late. The Bible says unless the Lord builds the house, >> they stay up and bathe. This is not in the father's house is not a place of strife and stress. This is not a place where we come in with our hard hats and prove our value by our work ethic.

This is not a place of work. It's a place of worship. And one of the great acts of worship is rest. We didn't come here tonight to be mere Americans. We came here tonight to be worshippers. And the reason I congratulate you on making it here, even if you came from the grove is because you put everything else aside and you allowed yourself some space to sit, to rest, to listen, to exhale, and trust.

And oh, how it thrills the father that you have come to rest. The Bible says he will make you lie down in green pastures. And then what does it say after that? And he will restore your soul. You are busy batting down the hatches, making sure everything's in order, trying to ride the storm, control the storm, predict the storm.

And God is inviting you to rest in the storm. Because what do we know about storms? They come and they go. It is not by might. It is not by power, says the Lord, but it is by my spirit. The spirit of God will be your guide. And the spirit of God will control the wind and the waves around your life.

So rest well, son. Rest well, daughter. Make plans to rest. Plans to be generous. Plans to rest. plans to forgive, plans to sing, plans to shake it all. You ever had that feeling that your worst nightmare may come true? That pending doom, that sense that what if something terribly goes wrong here?

Uh maybe it's getting on an airplane. Uh maybe it's getting in a car, going on a long trip. My friends the other night came over and were telling me a story about being in a snowstorm going over a mountain pass and the bus they were in was sliding.

They were basketball coaches of a basketball team and they had and and the bus was sliding sideways on the highway and there was this overwhelming feeling that this could end terribly bad. You ever had that feeling? You ever oddly just woken up to the sense that what if something really bad happens?

Well, conversely, what if something miraculous happens? What if life happens and yet God turns it in to a moment of providence, a moment of healing, a moment of a miracle? At the end of that message, I remember the feeling that I was having. I also still wear that shirt even after 2023, which that was a weird feeling, but that is beside the point.

Um, I was watching myself there at the end and I remember feeling very specifically God telling me to tell people the venom's not going to reach your heart. But that's the feeling we get. We get bit in life and we wonder in a few minutes will the venom hit my heart and life as I know it be over.

Um I am believing for that again right now in real time for you. What does it mean when the venom reaches your heart? life. You know, first what comes is unforgiveness, and then it turns into bitterness, and then it turns into a life with a hard heart, a life that's critical and squinty eyed at everyone for the rest of your life, a life of suspicion and agitation with people.

That's not the life God has for you. You want your heart to soften. The venom's not going to get to your heart. You're going to forgive. You're going to let go. You're going to have a soft, pliable, gentle heart. Oftenimes, I don't know why I say these things, but I think I'm talking to somebody.

The venom is not going to reach your heart. Don't play it safe. Trust God that the thing that has hurt you most in life, he can heal and you can forgive and you can move forward. That really is my thought for you today. It's my prayer for you today.

I'm so grateful you watch this message. The preacher does preach a long time around here. So, thank you for bearing with us. And um maybe the most important thing I'll say, we got people right now waiting to talk to you, waiting to pray with you, waiting to listen and encourage you.

It's called Pastor Chat because there's a bunch of pastors ready to chat and they want to chat with you and pray with you and encourage you. So, I'm excited for this month. Again, if you're not picking up on what we're doing, we're doing some oldies but goodies in the month of September.

So, I'm excited about next month as we're going to share another message with you. In fact, my wife of 25 years is going to join me on some of these intros and outros, and we're going to share um some amazing life-changing messages that she has shared over the years as well.

So, I'm looking forward to this month together. Thank you for watching. Don't you forget the venom is not going to get to your heart. There's so much more life to live. Let's not proceed with caution. Love you, church. 
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 I found rest in your safe refuge. Waves they toss and they turn me, breaking me down.

I need you now. You're my rest and my hiding place in this place. Be exalted. Great is your love. Great is your love. Stronger than my fears, my anchor in the darkness, wrapped within your love. Here with me now. Fortress, Savior, calm in the storm. 
((music playing))
 God in the shadow of your wings.

Lord, I am saving you. Saving you for Savior, come in the storm. God in the shadow of your wings. Lord, I am saving you. Saving you. 
((music playing))
 I find rest in you all my days. In this place be exalted. Great is your love. Great is your love. 
((music playing))
 Stronger than my fears.

My anchor in the darkness. wrapped within your love here with me now. Fortress Savior, come in the storm. God in the shadow of your wings. Lord, I am saving you. Saving you fortress. Savior come in the storm. God in the shadow of your wings. Lord, I am saving you.

Saving you. Saving you. I am saving you. I am saving you. Safe in you. Safe in you. I'm safe in you. Safe in you. Fortress, my savior calming the storm. God in the shadow of your wings. Lord, I am saving you. Saving you. A forress, a savior. Calm in the storm.

God in the shadow of your wings. Lord, I am saving you. Saving you. I am so saving you. 
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