LIFE Podcast Show

Dez: You. Welcome to the Life podcast, where we offer real hope to real people dealing with real life. We filter our thoughts through God's thoughts and our ways. Through God's ways, we pray. You're blessed by this podcast. Enjoy the show. Hey, welcome back to the Life podcast. I'm des glad you can join me. Thank you all for all your support so far. I really appreciate those who leave comments, those who are watching the short videos I'm putting out on social media, Instagram and Facebook. If you ever have a chance, check out my YouTube page. We're still in the middle of reconstructing, but I have some help now. So I'm thankful for what's going on over there today. I want to talk to you about something that's been pressing on my heart. When I was growing up playing basketball, I always played up, meaning I always played with people older than I was. A large part of that was because I had an older brother who's five years older than me, who was probably the greatest basketball player I've ever seen in my life to be five, six, maybe a buck 80. He was dominant. He played with board dog, tenacity. He was not scared of anyone or anybody once that ball was in his hand, and I really respect him for that. And because of that, he played me the same exact way. He wouldn't let me win. He would talk trash to me. He would bash me, sometimes a little bit too critically, but it only made me stronger. So when I played versus people my age, it wasn't even a contest in basketball. It was because of that tenacity and the competitiveness that I was surrounded around all the time, from big cousins to my big brother to even my little cousin. We were always pushing up against each other, fighting each other, shooting basketball, throwing the football, throwing the baseball, wrestling, WWE. We were doing something. But we used to laugh, we used to go to the park, me and my brother especially. We will see somebody out there. We could tell he was an organized basketball player. He had his shoes and he had the sweats and he had the people following him and he getting his bag, doing all that type stuff. Because we will look at him and say, oh, he's too cool to play basketball. When the game start, he ain't going to have nothing. All that stuff is just flaying fluff 90% of the time. We were right. Now sometimes dudes really had that thing. But for the most part, those dudes who was playing, trying to be cool and trying to do all the moves, and I mean those who listen on audio, you don't see what I'm doing, but I'm making chests. Those dudes who tried to look pretty while they played, we knew when it got time to get on the court, we was going to snag them. We was taking their lunch. So my brother. On the other hand, if you put him in dribbling drills or doing tryouts, he needed to do the drills that shows off his professional side of basketball, he would be horrible and you wouldn't think he ever picked up a basketball in his life. But when it came to the game, when it came to the game for you to get a bucket, for you to win the game, for you to play tough defense, that dude had it again. Five, six buck 70 maybe. Dude was tenacious. He was a beast. That's not hating, he just was. But when it came to the game, he's gonna get it done. All that coolness went out the window. All that coolness went out the window. So today I want to talk about what happens when you actually get in the game of Christianity. Not pregame warm ups, not prep, but the real dangers, the real battles, the real warfare of being a Christian. I'm titling this episode. Cool Christianity. Cool Christianity. And I hope that gets people antennas rising. Like, what is he talking about? Because my thesis is what I want to lay out, is that Christianity is not cool. The prophets, the forefathers, the elders, the patriarchs, they had the Bible, they had battles, they had testing of faith, they suffered loss, they suffered persecution, they suffered death. There's nothing cool about that. But the cool thing about anything, about Christianity is that we get to live intentionally for eternity. We look forward to a greater reward, god's reward. So with that being said, our life point comes today from Two Peter 310 through twelve. For y'all who's listening, you won't see me looking back and forth at my notes, but those who are actually watching you'll see me looking at my computer over there with all my notes. So Two Timothy 310 through twelve says this but you have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, and endurance, along with the persecutions and sufferings that came to me in Antioch, Coneyum, and Listras what persecutions I endured. And yet the Lord rescued me from them all. In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ will suffer persecution. That last line. In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. It does not say you may be persecuted. It didn't say sometimes you'll face it, it said you will. Just like going back to the basket basketball analogy, dudes can look cool on that court, working out pregame. But when the game comes, when you actually get fouled and you have people in your face trying to take the ball from you, have people trying to stop you from getting a bucket, it's going to happen. You can't frail away and all that coolness don't matter at that point. Can you actually perform under pressure? Now, we know we've been saved by grace through faith. We can't boast about this, and our performance doesn't earn us any merit of Christ. It's only the blood stained cross of Christ and his righteousness being appealed to us that makes us save by believing Him, by repenting our sins and keep on believing and repenting of our sins and growing in faith and growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. We all know that's true. But there is a truth to the fact that if you are Christian, you will bear fruit. Jesus said, does good trees produce bad fruit and does bad trees produce good fruit? No. The same way good fruit can't come from a bad tree and bad fruit can't come from a good tree. As a Christian, you are called to bear fruit. That's the evidence of your faith. Are you bearing fruit? Is there any Godliness, holiness, righteousness, love, suffering, joy? Is that true in your life? Right. So cool Christianity doesn't always produce that, right? So cool Christianity, in no sense of the word, is Christianity. So here's my little what I think cool Christianity is. So cool Christianity is promoted everywhere in America. And it says that as long as you go to church or have been to church, you say grace before dinner. You wear Christian T shirts, speaking Christian knees, know all of Maverick City songs, listen to Christian radio and listen to Skinny Jean handsome, charismatic, ted talking preachers. Then you made it. You got your Christianity starter pack, right? No, it's about your everyday life. It's about your everyday life because all those things I just name are not bad things. And I think true Christian, true Christians actually do that. But what I am saying is that is not what makes you a Christian. Because you do all those things. You have to realize that people are highly religious. People are highly religious. People love to pay the part, and they love external acts of righteousness. Or they like to externally look like something that that's not happening inwardly, internally. Jesus told the Pharisees, once you are whitewashed tombs on, outside you look pretty, but inside you're full of dead man bones. There's no life. There's no life in you. And I think that's what Cool Christianity represents. Remember, Jesus says that the Pharisees love they love to go to the marketplace and people say, pastor, rabbi, teacher, they love to sit at the front of the table. That's cool Christianity. That's the Christianity that says, See me, see me, see me. That's the dude pregame workout, dribbling. ******* going behind his back. But the fourth quarter, he got nothing. He probably on the bench because it's insufficient for the real game. You know what I'm saying? So what does cool Christianity look like? What does cool Christianity look like? The first thing I would say is it's dramatically emotional, emphasizing feelings and revelations with human charisma. Emphasizes fillings, highly emotional, emphasizes revelations, and is highly charismatic. Now, I love to go to a good church service where people are jumping, skipping, dancing, singing, praises to our Lord. I think Psalms is littered with us to be singing praises to our Lord God and doing it emphatically, but at the same time not at the cost of truth. Jesus says that God is looking for true worshipers. Who will worship him in spirit and in truth? You know what one thing the truth does? It humbles you. It silences you. It makes you think deeply meditate. Take in what's being said and try to see how to apply it to your life. If this is really true, truth makes you be like a Berean. After you go home from hearing your pastor speak, no matter how good he speaks, how well he executes the text, how well he preaches, you go home and says, now, does that line up with that text he just preached on today or was he just saying things? That's going to tickle my ear? Who thinks like that? Cool Christians. Do real Christians think like that? They're like, bereans cool Christians. Long as it make me feel good, I'm cool with it. Second thing, it lasts only for a season. Cool Christianity lasts only for a season. But when real life hits and suffering comes and pain comes and persecution comes, and you have to deny yourself and you have to be bold about your faith, and you have to proclaim it to the top of the hills. That's when cool Christianity kind of sizzles out, because that person that Christianity was cool when they came in, right? As one pastor said, however you get them, you got to keep them. However you get them in the church. That's the same way you got to keep them. So if you preach a message just that's cool. And everything will be once you follow Jesus, you have to keep preaching that message because that's the only way you won't get people listen because you tickled their ears in the beginning and then towards the end you had to keep them that way. Listen to this, I love this. Jesus talks about the parable of the Sowers. The parable of the sower. Listen to this. I'm going to be looking to my right, so bear with me. He says, so listen to the parables of the Sower. When anyone hears the Word about the kingdom and doesn't understand it, the evil One comes and snatches away what was Sown in his heart. This is the one sewn along the path and the one Sown on rocky ground. This is the one who hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy. But he has no root in his short live. When distress or persecution comes because of the world, because of the Word, immediately he falls away. Now the one sewn among the thorns, this is the one who hears the Word. But the worries of this age and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the Word and it becomes unfruitful. But the one Sown on the good ground, this is the one who hears and understands the word, who does produce fruit and yields some 100, some 60, some 30 times what was. Sown, by the way, quick side note that is about bearing fruit, not about tithing. Many times we've been to church and they say some sold 150 and they reap the harvest. That was talking about being fruitful. It was talking about hearing the word of God, applying it to your life and producing fruit from it. I don't know why we do that. Anyway, I think that second part, the second one that the rocky heart, the rocky ground is the one that I would say cool Christianity is. They receive it with joy. They go to a Maverick City concert. They go, here a great preacher, someone who speaks well, like a Michael Todd or Steven Furdick or there's a lot of other ones out there, people who speak well and they know how to pull on your heartstrings and some of it can even be sincere. But they think that's what Christianity is when it's not. So if you baptize in that type of gospel when the world does what the world do my wife always says, when life be life in when the world does what the world does, like be anti God, like hate God and his law, like hate you because you love God and his law. When that stuff comes, cool Christianity cools out. You become not hot or cold, but you're indifferent. You're lukewarm, you playing both sides. And Jesus said, I'm a spit that type of person out my mouth. No one wants lukewarm water or tea. You want it to be hot or if you want those weird people cold. That's just the reality of what that's the reality, what God is saying. So just to recap ku christianity is highly emotional, emphasizes feelings and revelations and is basically built on charisma. Two, it only lasts for a season. When the true work of following Christ, living by the Spirit, denying yourself, comes. It cools out. It doesn't want to do that. Third thing is it often produces false converts. It often produces false converts. What do I mean by that? I was this type of person. You go. For me it was more so gospel go. I didn't really do a lot of concerts. So it's a genre for those who don't know, in the DMV area called go. Go is a mixture of percussion, so Congos drums, you have guitars, bass, lead, you have something called tambalis, you have keyboards, you have a front line, you got a lot of different stuff going on. And they all come together to make a beautiful sound and symphony that I love to this day. So you go to gospel go. You can do a concert or Bethel or Maverick City or something like that. And you're caught up in the high and the emotions and they're telling you, if you want to follow Jesus, raise your hand and shout to the top of your voice and you do it. You all in. I want to follow Jesus. And it's an overwhelming emotional thing going on. Your heart may be like yes. You immediately receive it with joy. And then you have for that first week or first month or first year, and then life happens and your test is faith. It your test is your faith is tested. And guess what happens? You walk away. You walk away first. John says, if they left us, if they left our fellowship, they were never a part of our fellowship. You have to know that in your church, even if it's a doctrinally sound, theologically sound, pastor preaches exegetical sermons, they go book by book. I have to know, even in those churches there are many false converts. People don't want faithful. They don't want to be faithful, have fidelity and have a fruitful life. They want fireproof assurance. People just want to know they're not going to hell. They don't want Jesus for Jesus sake, which only the Spirit can do, by the way. They want Jesus so that they can have their fireproof insurance. Kind of like indulgences back in the day with Catholics. They want that piece of paper. They want that pastor to say they saved so they can go out and do whatever they want to do without feeling the burden of heaven or hell. That's just being a practical atheist. That's what it is. But a true disciple of the Lord is faithful, shows fidelity to Christ, and is fruitful. The three F's, he's faithful shows fidelity to Christ and he's fruitful. Cool. Christianity does not promote that type of Christian. It actually produces the opposite. It actually produces the opposite. So this is what Jesus says not everyone who says to me, lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, lord, Lord, then we prophesy Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name. Then I will announce to them, I never knew you depart from me, you law breakers. Matthew 721 to 23 in essence, what Jesus saying is, yes, for a moment you looked apart. You did all these things, you prayed for people, you may even went to church a lot. But at the end of the day, you never had a faithful, fruitful life, all because you love Me and you wanted to obey My commandments. You did not obey My commandments because you did not build your life on My word, because your life, your Christianity, was built on emotions. And everyone knows you cannot make true, lasting decisions on emotions. Jesus says, count the cause. Count the cause. James and John, they said, the disciples of Jesus. And their mother said, lord, when you die, can we sit on your left and right hand in glory? Jesus said it's not for me to say who's going to sit on my left and right hand, but what I will tell you is you'll be persecuting, you'll suffer. Are you willing to drink from the cup of raft that I'm about to drink from the bitter cup of God's wrath that I'm about to drink from? James and John say, yes, we're willing to do it. Jesus say, oh, yeah, you going to. But it's not my decision to tell you who's going to sit in my left or right hand. That's for the father. James died as a martyr. He was the first one John was sent to the Alice of Patmos. He suffered. But they wanted cool Christianity. Now, by God's grace, they end up being faithful and fruitful. But at the same time, what they wanted was, man, Jesus doing miracles. People excited. People love them. I want that. Jesus like, nah, you really don't know what this is all about, brother. I came to serve, not to be served. I came so people can see God, not so they can just see what I'm about. I want to open up the eyes of the blind. I want them to see. I want them to see what's really important in life. And you worried about sitting in my left and right hand. That's what Cool Christianity produces. Two more things. It produces ears that would be tickled, that want to be tickled, instead of ears that want to hear and submit to the truth. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. They will turn away from hearing the truth and turn aside to myths. People want to hear what makes them feel good. That's what Cool Christianity produces. That's why when you have these false pastors and these people out here that say the most ridiculous things and people still go to their churches, it's because those people are not true worshippers that want to listen to the word in spirit and in truth. Want to be like Berens, go home, study to make sure what this pastor saying is true. They want to go to church, feel good about themselves. They don't want any conviction. They do not want to repent. They do not want a holy life. They just want to feel good about themselves, hear that they're going to be blessed, hear that they are loved, and they're going to want to go home and do whatever God whatever they want to do that God may say, I don't want you to do. That's just real. That's what Cool Christianity produces. It produces weak, sinful, unrepentant, unholy Godless Christians. And you know what's crazy about Cool Christianity? It grows bigger than true Christianity. Why? Because true Christianity comes with a cross. Cool Christianity comes with T shirts, nice songs. But Jesus knows not many are going to go through that narrow gate in that narrow way. That's what's scary to me. That's what's scary to me. It also lastly, it cheapens grace. It cheapens grace and repentance. You must repent of your sins and believe in order to enter the kingdom of God. Let me give you a quick testimony. When I was in Gospel Go. Gospel Go Go? We were just young kids, man. We were young kids. I think my brother and them started when they were in their teenage years and it went for about 15 years. I know I was a part of the band for ten years, mission band. And at that time in our band, and I don't need to speak about anyone else but myself. The difference between Gospel Go Go and regular Go is that we prayed before practice. That was pretty much it. Our songs typically reflected some sense of God. There was some true sense of God's word in our songs, but we were flipping songs. We wanted to crank, we wanted to sound good. We were very immature, but we was trying to do something for the Lord. I think it came from a good place. But the problem is Romans eight seven, those who live in the flesh can never please God, nor will they ever want to please God. And we were in the flesh. We weren't Christians, so a lot of times we were doing things in the name of the Lord. But it was all from a heart that was not saved, not born again or not regenerate. So we were blaspheming God's name with our life. I was blaspheming God's name with my life after shows. The things that I would do, the things that I would say, putting on a facade like, I'm this person, but I'm not. And I remember people back in the day would challenge me. People who love me will say, man, how you do this? Say this up there on the stage, but how your life like this? How you cussing? How are you dipping in immorality? How are you doing that? I remember I used to be livid, ******. Like, who do they think they are? They judging me. Why are they saying that about us? We're just trying to please the Lord. But they knew what true Christianity was. They were sincere. They were willing to bear my anger and my distaste, my distaste for them and how unresponsive I was, how I avoided them because they love God's name more than they love me. And they did not want God's name to not be honored. They were true Christians. I was just a faith. But those same Christians, the few that were in that 2010 2015 16 type era, same ones that God used to bring me to the true faith, I heard a Paul Washer. I heard the gospel of my life was changed the first time I ever saw my sin for what it really was that I really saw that at the core who I am. I am a sinner. And I have no hope to stand up to the rightful, just judgment and wrath of God. But by God's grace, someone paid the cost for me. They paid the cost for me. And that person is Jesus Christ. There's only one mediator between man and God. That man. Jesus Christ, the holy son of God and the son of man. And he changed my life. So I practiced cool Christianity for a long time, so I know what I'm talking about. And God was patient. He was patient with me. I was reflecting on that the other day with tears in my eyes. He was so patient as I was blaspheming him his name up on the stage singing God's praises, honoring him with my lips. My heart was so far from Him and I didn't care. I was proud. Then I remember I heard the gospel and I went to my next show. It just was empty. There's nothing there anymore. It was facade. I had been figured out. I had to give it up. My life didn't match up with my words. I had to go. I made that decision almost ten years ago. I haven't looked back. Love those guys. Miss them, want the best for them. But God has called me out from among that. He called me to something greater. To a greater level of glory, to a greater level of commitment, to a greater level of faithfulness, to a greater inheritance and that's eternity. Praise be to God. This is how that's cheapen faith. This is how it cheapens grace and repentance. Listen to Romans two, four through eight. Or do you despise despise the riches of his kindness, restraint and patience, not recognizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance because of your heart and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves. In the day of wrath, when God's righteous judgment is revealed, he will repay each one according to his works. Eternal life to those who by persistence in doing good, seek glory, honor and immortality. But wrath and anger to those who are self seeking and disobey the truth while obeying unrighteousness. Cool christianity does not understand the measure of grace god pours out to the sinner to be saved. Again. I've taught on this show and what's been taught to me. Grace is God not giving you grace is God giving you what you do not deserve. And mercy is God not giving you what you do deserve. Praise be to God. He was patient for me. One of my favorite parts of the Bible was Exodus 34, verse six through seven. The Lord is patient, slow to anger, full of unfelling love. But cool Christianity doesn't get that because their heart hasn't been changed by God's love, starting with God's wrath. It's not until you really understand what you deserve, but you really understand how good God is. So it has to be bad news before you hear the good news about Jesus Christ. God may have to scare the hell out of you so you can see the joy of heaven. Just a reality. Jesus never said you will suffer for coolness sake. He said you will suffer for righteousness sake. Cultivating a righteous holy life brings suffering and persecution. Because we live in a world that hates God and everything that God has to offer. And you are different. You are different when you actually want to do right and good from your heart. People hate that. You would think people love it. When I became a Christian, I thought, man, people going to love this. Oh, no, sir. Immediately hit with persecution. Immediately. Family members, friends, church folk, regular folk. Who do you think you are? Oh, now you holier than thou. You never made a mistake. You don't sin. You're judging us now. I got hit with all that stuff. My faith didn't fail because Christ helped me fast. Christ helped me fast. So my last point is this the Bible gives us no indication that Christianity is meant to be cool. Ever was cool or ever will be cool. On the contrary, the Bible speaks of persecution, suffering, pain, loss, disappointment, death, overcoming and intense hatred for the Savior. You say you will follow. The Bible never promises that Christianity will be cool, that following Christ will be cool. But it does promise. It promise that it will be worth it. The Bible never promises that Christianity will be a cool thing. But the Bible does promise that Christianity will be a worth it thing in the end, at the end of the age when Jesus comes back, judges the world, ushers in the new kingdom, and we see God's face to face, that's when Christianity will be cool, because God's righteousness will run the whole world. God's glory will be permanently here, and we, for the rest of eternity will be able to be cool, because we'll be the only ones here. That's when Christianity be cools. That's why we live intentionally for eternity. People, to be clear, this is my last point to be clear. Fighting sin is not cool. Fighting the flesh is not cool. Fighting the devil is not cool. It's war. It's not always cool. Obeying God's law. Galatians Five teaches this that it's a battle inwardly between the flesh and the Holy Spirit. It's war. It's not cool. It's not cool loving your neighbor who's hard to love. It's not cool loving the children that's disobedient. It's not cool when you're not lovable to your spouse or she's not lovable to you, or he's not lovable to you. It's not cool to be persecuted because you stand out against LGBTQ. You don't affirm them, but you don't condemn them. It's not cool because people say you're bigot, insensitive, you're evil. Nobody wants to be called those names. It's not cool. It's not cool when you got a lover world who hates. You. It's nothing cool about that. Are we teaching it? Are we teaching it? It's not cool laying down your life for others. It's not cool living for others instead of yourself. Not serving yourself, but serving others. Nothing cool about that. People walk over you. People take advantage of you like they took advantage of your Savior. But in the end of the day, we want to hear, well done, good and faithful servant. Now enter to eternity and receive your reward. That's what we living for. It ain't cool, though. Nothing cool about that. But it's worth it. And God promised that it'll be worth it. Even when I don't feel it, even when I don't think it, even when I don't even believe it. God said it, and he cannot lie. One thing God can't do, and that's lie, it's impossible for him to lie. So I'm a trust in him. It's not always cool following Christ, being faithful to Him and loving Him with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, but it's worth it. It's worth it. God uses these things to test us, to build us up in our most holy faith. It's worth it. It may not look all pretty like that dude in the beginning of the game. May not look all that cool. Like that dude that can got the bag in the beginning of the game going to Kyrie Layups, it'll look all cool. But when the game come down to a line, will you be found faithful? You gonna be clutch. You gonna step up, then take on true Christianity. Because at the end of the day, we want to be on the right side, not the cool side. Only time I want to be on the cool side is at night in my bed. I do love the cool side. At night, in my bed, I want the cool pillow. You know what I'm saying? But other than that, I want to be righteous. I want to see God's glory revealed in my life. I want to pursue the things that God says, pursue it. I want to hate the things God says. Hate. Nothing cool about it, but it's worth it. Last pageant, then we out of here. Take up your cross. Jesus says this and then he said to them, if anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself. Take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life because of me will save it. For what does it benefit someone if he gains the whole world? That's cool, right? And yet loses or forfeits his soul or himself. That ain't cool. For whoever's ashamed of me and my words, the Son of man will be ashamed of him when he comes into glory with my Father and that one, that of the Father and the Holy angels. Sorry, my computer went out. So what you want to be? You want to take up your cross now and be goofy or be hated. But when the age comes, you want to be found on the right side, or you want to have cool Christianity and go to hell. It ain't cool in hell. Which one you want? I pray, brothers and sisters, that you fight the good fight of faith and you end up on the right side of the track. Don't be like that dude that we used to take their lunch money because he thought he was something. He thought he was cool, but when it came down to the game, you ain't had nothing. Don't be a false convert. Don't always go for the emotions and the revelations and the charismatic stuff. That stuff is cool, but don't follow people who promise you Lucky Charms and rainbows at the day. These stupid young youth pastors and pastors trying to make it seem like it's cool and they just so holy. Nah, man, tell them the truth. So that when they make a decision for Christ, they know what they get themselves to get themselves into. Jesus says, count the calls. Does a man start working on a project before he gets counsel on what to do? They start building before he has plans and blueprints? Or does he just start building? Then when that project is done, if it doesn't finish, people going to walk past like, look at this foolish man put all this money on something he didn't finish. That's how it's going to be for a lot of people make decisions for Christ and they don't finish the race. We call it to finish the race, fight for the good, fight of faith and receive our reward. So that's my thoughts on Ku Christianity. I pray that this has blessed you. Remember, in life we like to filter our perspectives through God's perspectives. We like to filter our thoughts through God's thoughts. We like to filter our ways through God's way. Keep fighting the good. Find a face. Love.