The Sin We Don’t Take Seriously | Francis Chan

Man, I It's It's crazy, you know, listening to his story and just his pursuit of God in that prison because all the stuff I was going to talk about you just spoke about. When you were explaining like when you were alone in that cell and it's just you and God and that focus.

I know a lot of you are listening to that and you're going that's crazy. I don't get that. That's weird to me. I've never had anything close to that. I I don't know what you're talking about. But man, I know what you're talking about. Like what you were talking about was the exact thing that the Lord was putting on my heart about just me and this time with him almost being in a cell like tuning everything else out.

I You see, I I was I just got back from India. I was in India this week. Um If you don't know anything about India, talk to Jonathan. Yeah. Yeah, he's people. Um everyone looks like him there. Um billions of people like him. And uh but amazing time.

I I mean, just one of the coolest trips of my life. But uh God taught me so so much. I was only there for a few days. Um but uh which is crazy cuz it's like 24 hours of flying to get there. Um it's just It's brutal. But uh but when I was there, I was speaking to a bunch of pastors.

These These guys are like my heroes. And uh there were like 500 of these men and each of them were over like hundreds of churches. Okay? So like one guy had like 800 churches that he helped start. You know, and now here's 500 of these types of guys.

And I gave the talk that I gave here like 2 months ago. Remember when I talked about 1 suffering for the gospel and how suffering is a good thing and and and and we got to learn and understand that. And I'm teaching this and then when I'm done, the leader of everything gets up there and he starts calling these guys forward.

He goes, "Brother so-and-so, brother you know, Naraj, Sanje, whatever, you know, come forward." And uh and then he puts his arm around and he goes, "This This man here was in prison for 10 years for preaching the gospel in Nepal. This brother here was in prison for 5 years in this place for preaching.

In fact, his his his daughter was one when he went in and she's 11 now, you know, and just And and he's just going on and And he goes, "In fact, all of you that have been in prison for the gospel, would you come forward?" And these guys walk forward, you know, that have spent time.

Not Not time like a lot of you guys did, you know, but time because it was illegal to talk about Jesus there. It was illegal to convert other people to Christianity there. But they're like, "Man, I'm I'm not going to shut up. I'm going to throw it out there."

And And they had to leave their families and everything else. And I remember just sitting there going, "Man, like these guys have done it. I'm preaching about it. These guys have done it. They're living it out. They're the real thing." And And it was just this real humbling sense there where, you know, these guys are like spiritual giants.

And then And then they're showing me videos of these women. Okay? We're We're training up these women in India right now and you're a part of it. Okay? Cuz we support them. And these women, they they uh I was watching the video. They're called the Sisters of Compassion and there's hundreds of them now.

And they go to the leper colonies. Okay? India's already insane. Like nothing you've seen out here. I mean, the TL, that's like paradise to them. Okay? I mean, you're you're just talking about bodies everywhere just looking for any type of food to eat. But then you go to these leper colonies where where people still have leprosy like thousands of people.

They have these places where they're ostracized away from society. And I'm just watching film of them with their fingers gone, you know, faces distorted. And these women, these Sisters of Compassion, they just go to these leper colonies and just love on people all day. Or Or the women out there.

There's women that are just sent off to these islands because they were raped or something like nothing of their own fault, but because of their belief system, man, they put rats up here and these women down here, you know? So it's like, "Man, don't you ever kill a rat.

You better, you know, feed the rats, you know?" And the rats are eating all of their food. Meanwhile, the women, they're just treated like trash. And these Sisters of Compassion are just all day long just I'm just watching these women like are you kidding me? They just wake up, go to the most disgusting places to the people that we would be afraid to even touch or come near.

People that the rest of the country are just sending off to these camps cuz we don't want them anywhere near us in the worst places. I'm just going, man, it was like the closest thing I've seen to seeing Jesus. I'm looking at these women going, "Oh my gosh, they're the most beautiful people on Earth."

You are the most beautiful people on Earth. And so I'm just sitting here in the midst of these types of people that have gone in prison for the Lord that spend their days not thinking about themselves, not dreaming of all my life's going to be like this. It's just let me empty myself.

Let me make myself a servant. And I'm just sitting there. Honestly, I'm embarrassed of my life. Honestly, I was thinking, "Jesus, I don't want you to return right now cuz I think I'd be embarrassed." It's almost like a This is what it felt like. It felt like being at a party where everyone's bringing their gift and he's unwrapping presents and you realize this guy sold his house to buy this present for you.

And I'm sitting there like, "Man, I stopped by the dollar store beforehand and got you a yo-yo." You know, it's like that's seriously how I felt like, "Man, you guys have given your lives." Like everything I read about in this book, like it was all about him and and and and it was like, "Jesus, I don't want you to return."

And I start thinking about it, even my mind and my connection with him. You know, like my intimacy. And here I am, I'm the one that was supposed to be preaching to them. I'm the one that they're saying, "We want you to share with us." And And I was supposed to give like seven messages and I'm like, I I seriously felt like, you know, the Golden State Warriors called me to teach a clinic.

You know? It's like, "What?" I I You know, I mean, I'm pretty good, but you know, I I can't. But in the same way, it's like before them, I'm just like, "God, what am I doing here? What am I doing here?" And I realized that God was speaking to all of us.

He didn't send me as a preacher over there. He sent me and he had a message for all of us, you know, even those leaders out there. And it was just like this beautiful, you know, time of harmony and just coming before God. And it all started um it all started on my plane ride there.

God revealed some sin in my life that I'm going, "God, I I didn't realize how bad that was." You know how we've been reading scripture and like you read the book of Numbers and you see people complaining and God strikes them dead and you're like, "Whoa, I didn't realize it was that bad to complain."

And then you see people rebel against leadership and God opens up the ground and swallows them and you think, "Whoa, I didn't know that was that big of a sin to rebel against leadership." Because we live in America and it's like no big deal to do these things.

But you look at scripture and go, "Whoa, that's no joke. I don't want I don't want to do that. I won't do that." But I was noticing on the airplane, you know, my friend and I were walking on. This is the second flight. I got to New Jersey.

It's like 6 hours whatever. And the next flight's like 14 hours. And we're walking past the first class section to go to coach where I'm sitting. And I'm looking at first class, you know, cuz you can lay down there. They bring you ice cream sundaes as you're laying down and just watching a movie or something.

It's like a vacation. And then you're walking back to coach and I'm like, "Oh, I hate this. I hate walking past this." And then I >> 
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 >> said to my friend, I go, "Wait a second. This is coveting." I go, "This is actually coveting." That's one of the 10 Commandments.

Thou shalt not covet. That means you shouldn't want something that's not yours. You shouldn't desire But But that's so It's like who doesn't covet? We kind of make that like a no big deal. And I'm walking back to my seat going, "Wait, God, you want me content with you all the time, not looking at something going, 'Oh, I wish that was mine.'

I wish I could lay down in one of these seats." And I just confess. I go, "God, I don't know why I think it's no big deal to covet. That's one of the 10 Commandments." But none of us takes that one seriously here. What's wrong with wanting something?

I I even remember being a a part of this those church gathering where everyone was selling stuff, you know, this Amway thing and they're telling us, "Hey, cut out pictures from magazines of anything you want. You want a You You want a Ferrari, paste it up on your wall.

You want a jet, paste it on your wall. You want money, just put pictures there. And you want this, you want this." And go go after it and dream of these things. And it's like, "You're trying to make me covet." And that's the goal of every advertisement, every commercial, every billboard has one goal to make you covet.

I want that. I want that. I want her. That would be my dream. I want to be a billionaire so freaking bad. Right? I want this. I want this. I want this. What is that? That's all coveting. And we're like, "Oh, no big deal. That's just That's just what we do."

And so, man, even just walking to my seat, I'm sitting there going, "God, I am so sorry. I The Lord is my shepherd. I don't covet. I got you. What do I want?" That's what the psalmist says. It's like, "My cup's overflowing. Like I I got more than I even know what to do with."

That's the picture of cup overflowing. Like, "Oh my gosh. Here, come come under me." And And he just takes some of this stuff that's spilling out. That's the way we're supposed to be. It's like, you know, like the psalmist in Psalm 73, "There's nothing in heaven I want On earth, there's nothing I desire besides you."

I just be so content. Like, "Are you kidding me?" And so, I'm just sitting in my seat going, "God, you know what? I am sorry. I am so happy. I'll sit back here. I'll sit in the toilet. I'll I'll, you know, whatever." Like, "I'm a child of God.

I got all the riches of heaven before me." And it was just such a cleansing time to say, "God, sorry. I've been coveting. I've been coveting. I've been coveting." And the flight attendant comes over to my seat and says, "Hey, Mr. Chan, you've been bumped up. Two guys didn't show up."

I'm like, "Yeah, you know? I learned my lesson and I got first class." You know, and so, I'm laying there in first class and I was reading this passage that I want to share with you. It was uh >> 
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 >> It was Colossians 3. And uh I just looked at it like a Abraham-Isaac moment.

It's like, man, I was going to sacrifice and I was And he gave it back. Um >> 
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 >> So, Colossians 3 it says this, "If then you've been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." "Put to death, therefore, what's earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these, the wrath of God is coming." "Covetousness, which is idolatry.

Covetousness, which is idolatry, because of these, the wrath of God is coming." And God said, "I hate when you covet. This is why my wrath is coming. You You might as well set up an idol and worship it, which I just saw thousands of them in India. It's like, you know what?

It's the same thing. You You're You're looking at this giant I mean, it was You know, we we drove by like this 200-ft monkey idol. And I'm just thinking, "Wow, that's crazy." And God says, "So is your coveting. It's just It's just no different. They're worshiping that. You're worshiping this car, these shoes, this shirt, this look." "You want something you don't Like, I'm not enough for you?

You want something else? Oh, me and those shoes would make you happy? Me and a house Like Like Like So, I'm not enough. Me and an apartment Your own apartment. That would make you happy. Okay. That's great." It's like that coveting, that longing versus what he's saying. Like Like, "Seek the things that are above."

And I was thinking, "God, like imagine right now like God up there and Christ seated at his right hand." Okay, imagine every part of your body just seeking that right now. Saying, "God, I just You know, like the psalmist says, this is the one thing I seek. One thing I desire is just to be in your presence.

I just want to dwell in your temple all the days of my life. This is all I want, God. I just want to be there, right there." Like, ah, "It's me. And there's the Father and there's Jesus seated at his right hand. Jesus, my savior. God almighty, the lightning, the thunder, the fire, the angels.

And I'm right there." You just seek that. Just for your soul, every bit of you to be in fellowship with him. Where you go, "God, this is the best. This is the best. This is the best." It's what you're talking about in that cell. It's like, "This is it.

I'm in that holy of holies." You're not thinking about anything else. Any other relationships. You're just like, "God, this is the best." "Seek the things above." And I realized, man, I don't think about that stuff. He He He I mean, he says specifically, "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."

So, I'm not setting my mind on things of the earth. Like things that I can see. It's Anything you can see, man, that's something on the earth. Look beyond that. Don't even look at people's physical being and appearance. Look in in their soul that you can't see. It's like, "That's eternal.

That's forever." Don't be like the rest of the world. A person looks a certain way, you give them more favor? Like that's what man does. It's like, man, "Seek the things above, not the things on the earth." I start thinking, "How much time?" Cuz this is This isn't a suggestion here.

Cuz these are commands. He's like, "I want your mind focused on heaven. I want you going, 'God, I'm just thinking about you right now.' Like even right now, I'm not thinking about what you guys think of me. I'm thinking about him in heaven. God, am I doing a good job?

Am I Am I pleasing you? Like cuz you're awesome and I want to please you and I want to be right before you. This is my gift to you." And like, "How often is my mind that way? Seeking things above versus things of the earth." Cuz this is commanded.

And he says, "Cuz you've died." Like all those desires, he's saying, "Put them to death because you died." Let me put it this way. Like Okay, I I'm easily startled. Like uh Like if I'm just walking past there and you just jump out, I'll just go You know, I'll just jump.

I remember my old office, you know, with my assistant. Like she would just walk into my office and I would just jump and And she was the same way. Like if I'd walk in here, she would jump. And And so, we had to just start making signals. Like, "I'm coming.

I'm coming. 
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 I'm coming." Like we seriously did this because we're so jumpy. Like Like something like just scares me. I'll be in a movie. Like there've been times like Lisa and I'll be at a movie and there'll be a scene, I'LL JUST GO YOU KNOW, I'LL JUST YELL.

And And then I'll just start laughing. Like, "I'm so dumb. Why do I scream like that? It's just It's so embarrassing." But things startle me. You know who I have a friend who He He never gets startled. It's It's my dad. My dad. You could You could scream.

You could throw water on him. He'll just lay there. Cuz he's dead. Okay? He's been dead. Yeah, I know. Since I was a little kid. But you can't You can't startle I know you can't. Try. He's buried in Daly City. You can't You can't startle the guy. I mean, I've tried.

LIKE, "BAH! DAD! DADDY! HE HATES ME!" NOTHING. NOTHING. HE just He just lays there. I know. Terrible illustration. But that's the picture. I know that's gross. I know that's morbid. But I wanted to make a point to you. That's the way God wants us to be about sin and the things of the world.

It's just like Girl walks by. Nice car. Apartment. I don't care. Dead to it. That's not going to take my attention. Why do I need that? Like dead. Dead body. Picture a dead body. That's the way he says we should be to the things of the world. I mean, someone famous walks in here to our gathering.

Fame. What's fame? Someone in the world would say, "Oh, she's beautiful." I'm dead to that. I'm dead That's good That's My mind's so on the things of heaven. Like, "Oh my gosh. I know God. I know Jesus. I have a relationship with me. He knows me. I've been saved by this stuff?"

He goes, "You died to that." And it was just a picture. I know it's a very graphic one, but I'm going, "God, that's what I want to be. I want to be dead. I want to be dead to it all. Anything. Anything in the world. I'm not going to covet.

When a commercial comes on, "Oh, I want one of those." Now, I'm like a dead man to it. Don't phase me. That's what God wants. Us to be. It's like, "I'm so in love with you. You kidding me? You make me lay down by, you know, green pastures, streams of water.

You set a table before me for my enemies. I'm dead to the things of the world. I've got you." "Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things." And those two things really come together. And so, I got to ask you like the Bible says to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all your soul, all your mind.

He wants us to seek the things above and just to be dead to the earthly things. I just got to ask, how are you doing with that? See, God was opening my eyes during this trip and even with the pastors and everything else out there in India, where he was teaching us all together.

Like, okay, we're not supposed to be stained by the world. We're dead to it. How are you doing with that? Are some of you discontent? Like you need more? You're coveting something cuz Jesus isn't enough for you? Then I go, you must not really be in his presence.

Now, here's where the typical church service ends right here. Where we're convicted, we're off, and then we go home and do nothing. See, and for me, I'm like, God, I I got to do something. This is the most important thing in my life. Like, if I don't want you to return because we're not intimate and I'm not content in you, then something else has to go.

Like, everything else has to go. If I'm distracted by you, I mean, distracted by other things that I'm not seeking you, then I have to make a change. Not just amen, not just feel bad and walk away from a church service or walk away from a time alone with the Lord.

I got to do something. And the Lord, you know, I told God, I told him that. I said, God, I need to love you more. I I want to love you more. I want to be more focused on you. Help me. Help me. Help me. And I felt like the Lord gave me some direction.

And uh and it was like, you know what? If you're distracted by all this stuff, why don't you get rid of this stuff? So, I'm leaving my wife. I'm kidding. No, so I uh Kidding. Kidding. Kidding. Um What is this distraction? And uh I realized, you know, some of it's just my phone.

You know, you guys know it. You ever talk to someone who's constantly texting? Is that the most annoying thing on Earth? Cuz they're not giving you 100% undivided attention. They're giving you maybe 10%. And I think we're used to like 50% from people. That's just expected. If you get 50, that's cool.

Um the emails, the movies, everything. I said, God, you know what? Let me just fast from that. Let me take a month and I'm just going to get rid of my phone for a month. Not answer texts. And I'm just going to trust that the world will still be spinning when I'm done.

That you can handle it without me, you and Donald Trump. You know that I'll just remove myself from everyone having to get a hold of me. Um Let me just not open my computer for a month. Let me just not I just don't want to I don't want to screw anything up, Lord.

I just want to be like you and me in a cell, you know? Like, when I'm alone, I I hate the way all these thoughts start running in my head and my phone's buzzing and I got all these people I got to get back to. And I know it's going to cause problems.

I know it's going to be an inconvenience and different things. But I'm willing to do it. You know, it's like, man, I don't even know how to get anywhere without GPS. Yeah, I'll get lost. I'll get whatever. But what I can't sacrifice is this. And I got to figure this out.

And if it takes something drastic like this, which is crazy that we think this is drastic. You know? Like, some of you are people are that I tell, they're like, "No way. That's impossible." And I'm like, dude, I I remember I used to not have a phone. I I lived through that.

And my time with God was actually awesome during that time. And my relationships were amazing. I'd look people in the eyes and I was 100% there, listening to them. And for years, I haven't ever been 100% with anyone. Especially God. And now that I've been clean and sober for a week, um from my phone and computer, it's like, oh my gosh.

To see him clearly. And just every time I reach for that or each time I panic cuz I'm thinking instead, I go, okay, I rejoice in the Lord instead. Cuz he's he commanded me, "Rejoice in the Lord always." And I thought, I don't ever do that. I'm always fixing problems.

I'm always responding to people. I don't rejoice in the Lord. So, lately, I've just been rejoicing. Like, every time I'm I'm like, oh, I should Oh, wait wait, no. I don't have a phone. Let me rejoice. God, you know what? It's so good. Let me think about you in heaven.

To seek you seated at the right hand of God. I don't want anything. This is good. This is good. This is good. And I don't know what I'm going to do at the end of the month. I'll probably do some altered version of this. But I just knew I had to do something right so that I could focus on him again.

And again, like I like I said, I think some of you are going, "What is he even talking about?" I prayed this morning. I go, God, you know what? Your sheep will listen to your voice. I I can't make anyone listen to you. I can't tell someone how beautiful, how wonderful he is to where you're just so content in him that you don't covet anything.

That's just something you put in their heart. And I don't I'm not saying everyone needs to throw out their phones and and computers for a month. But I would encourage you to try it for a week. You'd be amazed. It It's really like being on drugs. I I've never been on drugs.

I'm guessing, you know, from hearing from guys that have been like all of you. And uh you know how it's like, man, once I came clean and sober, I had to deal with stuff. And it's like the world was different. I'm telling you, I'm in a zone now.

Like, whoa. I didn't realize how screwed up my mind was. But it may be something else for you that you've been coveting. And I'm just saying, take your eyes off of it. That's not a minor sin. The lack of rejoicing in the Lord and going, God, it's so good to be God.

It's so good to know you. Man, it's Like, the lack of that in your life, that's a sin. That's as That's as big a sin as do not commit adultery. Do not murder. Do not covet. Who made murder over covet? You know? Who said rejoice in the Lord always isn't a serious command?

In fact, there's no other command like it in scripture. He says, "Rejoice in the Lord always." I'll say it again. Rejoice. He doesn't do that with any other command. He doesn't go, "Thou shalt not murder. I'll say it again. Don't kill anyone." He doesn't do that. It's like this rejoicing.

Like, he wants his kids like constantly going, God, it's so good to know you. Gosh, it's so good to So good to be known by you. So good to be your child. I just love you. I just love you. Like, all day, man. And just I don't I'm dead to all this other stuff.

See, you're so good. You're so good. You're so good. And so, right now, my prayer for you guys, man, I love you guys. I love this. And we're worshiping up there. I'm just enjoying the moment for once. And I'm thinking about all things I got to do cuz I I I don't know what I got to do today.

I just was enjoying the moment going, God, this is what I dreamed about. Being with people like you guys that understand what it means to be saved. I was thinking about your faces as I was singing going, God, thank you that he's here, that she's here. I love these guys.

My daughter's up 
[clears throat]
 here leading worship. I'm going, man, that's my daughter. You know, this is awesome. And then I'm starting to think, oh man, she's going to leave soon. I'm like, no, just enjoy right now, you know? What are you doing? Like, rejoice in the things that are right now in your face that God has given you.

And don't covet. This is for your own good. I I feel like I've been happier than I've been in years. And God, that's what God's commands are for. He's not saying don't covet cuz he's trying to ruin your life. But he's just saying, man, sometimes it's good to just stop and realize what you have and rejoice in that.

And not want anything more. And then pretty soon, you're like, God, I I am a spoiled brat. I got way more than I could ever need in you, the things above. If any of you are just today, you're going, man, I I need this in my life. I'd like to just pray for you right now.

Um Some of you right now hear this and you're just going, God, feel like I know the change I need to make. And I want to make it in you. It's not like a earning thing. Like, I got to do this. I got to do this. It's just It's a receiving thing.

Like, I just want to enjoy you. And I need to love him like that. I just feel so connected to God right now. It's only been a week. And I can't imagine at the end of the month and at the end of my life if I keep seeking him first.

And so, I would just like to pray for you. If you right now are just going, gosh, I hear what he's saying down there. I'm not there, but I want it. Would you just stand where you are right now? Let me pray for you. Father, I just lift up these people that are standing, God.

Satan is trying to make us covet and we're falling for it. And God, we want to be dead to it. Want to be like a dead body to the things of the world. Like, man, I don't care. I've got God. Lord, that we be people like that, focused on you, seeking the things that are above, not things on the Earth.

Not fame that's going to last until we take our last breath. Not stuff that can be stolen or rust or fall apart. Just you. Oh, God, you're so good. And I just want my brothers and sisters in this room we don't just get busy doing stuff and running after things and not realizing how good you are.

Oh, Jesus, I love you. Jesus, you're everything to me. I'm so sorry for just taking my eyes off you and onto the things of the world. It's like stupid stupid stupid compared to you. Oh, God, help us see you clearly. Help us get out of our fog. Just be alone with you.

Enjoying you. Loving you. In Jesus' name. Amen. You can be seated.