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seats and open up our windows to song number 351. Tell it to Jesus. Are you three people for joys? Tell it to Jesus, the Lord. Tell it to Jesus. Tell it to Jesus. He is a friend that's well known. You know others, but you pray for brother. Tell it to Jesus, the Lord. Do the tears flow down your cheeks or within? Tell it to Jesus. Tell it to Jesus. The news is that Jesus is within. Tell it to Jesus, the Lord. Tell it to Jesus. Tell it to Jesus. He is a friend that's well known. You know others, but you pray for brother. Tell it to Jesus, the Lord. Do you fear the gathering of sorrow? Tell it to Jesus. Tell it to Jesus. For you, it is what shall be tomorrow. Tell it to Jesus, the Lord. Tell it to Jesus. Tell it to Jesus. He is a friend that's well known. You know others, but you pray for brother. Tell it to Jesus, the Lord. Are you troubled at the thought of dying? Tell it to Jesus. Tell it to Jesus. Your Christ come with thee, the Lord you study. Tell it to Jesus, the Lord. Tell it to Jesus. Tell it to Jesus. He is a friend that's well known. You know others, but you pray for brother. Tell it to Jesus, the Lord. We need to thank you for that. Would you pray for us? Thank you, Father. Thank you for the day, Lord God. Thank you for this church. Thank you for all you do for us, Lord God. We'll just give you the glory and honor. We'll be worthy of it, Lord. Bless the rest of this service, Lord. We'll just hold you in prayer. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. So we'll be back in Romans 9 in a minute, but we'll go back to Mark 8. I'm going to wrap up Mark chapter 8 tonight. That will take us halfway through the book of Mark. So we'll be at the halfway point by the time the evening service is over. But we'll look back in Romans 9 here in a little bit. Of course you remember from this morning we saw the healing of the blind man, and then we'll pick up the story there after that had taken place in verse 27 and it says and Jesus went out and his disciples into the towns of Caesarea and Philippi by the way that he, excuse me, and by the way he asked his disciples saying unto them whom do men say that I am and they answered John the Baptist but some say Elias and others one of the prophets and carrying on there verse 29 he saith unto them but whom say ye that I am and Peter answerth and say unto him thou art the Christ and he charged them they should tell no man and he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected of the elders and the chief priests and scribes and be killed and after three days rise again and he spake that saying openly and Peter took him and began to rebuke him and we'll pick it up in verse 33 again it says but when he had turned about and looked upon his disciples he rebuked Peter saying get thee behind me Satan for thou savourest not the things that be of God but of men verse 34 and when he had called unto the people unto him with his disciples also he said unto them whosoever will come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me for whosoever will save his life shall lose it but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the Gospels the same shall save it for what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation of him also shall the son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his father and with his angels so that's the conclusion there of Mark chapter 8 and you know this is probably a more well-known passage where a lot of people are pretty familiar with the story about you know Peter rebuking the Lord and then the Lord returned in turn rebuking him in that famous phrase you know get thee behind me Satan right that a lot of people are familiar with the story but there's a couple things I want to pick up on tonight and I want to talk about the idea of disagreeing with God because that's kind of what's going on in the story it's kind of the warning that Jesus gives there at the end that we should not be ashamed of his words that we should not disagree with what God has said and of course I'm not trying to be redundant but I feel like it does kind of tie in with the morning sermon as well that you know we need to see things God's way we need to get on the same page and with the program with God and maybe tonight we'll just serve as kind of maybe more of a warning or just put a little emphasis on this morning's sermon you know I can't help it we're just moving through the passage it's kind of what it's kind of a theme here that I see but again picking it up in verse 27 it says he went out and his disciples in the towns of Caesarea Philippi and by the way he asked his disciples saying unto them who do men say that I am they answered John the Baptist but some say Elias and others one of the prophets now Jesus you know this is something I've covered of course we're going verse by verse so I don't want to just hop over this but this is something that we looked at briefly we'll look at it briefly again tonight in Mark 6 we went through Mark 6 14 through 29 people said similar things of Jesus that he was John the Baptist or or Isaiah's or excuse me Elias or one of the one of the prophets right and I won't re-preach that whole sermon but if you remember what we got out of that in Mark 6 was that Jesus preached as others you know what what was it that made them think oh he's like Isaiah's he's like one of the prophets he's John the Baptist was it the way he looked you know was it was a way he carried himself you know what was it right obviously they didn't know what any of these guys looked like so it couldn't have been that what what they that the similarity that they saw was in the preaching itself the boldness that Christ had and again I don't want to re-preach everything I preached we went through Mark 6 14 through 29 but you know that that's something that's always worth bringing up at least briefly again tonight you know is that Christ is a bold preacher Christ was ripped face Christ was the hardest preacher that ever lived okay and again look at Mark 6 just as a refresher real quick verse 14 and King Herod heard of him for his name was spread abroad and he said that John the Baptist was risen from the dead and therefore mighty works to show themselves in him others said that is Elias and others said it is that it is that it is a prophet or as one of the prophets but when Herod heard thereof he said it is John whom I beheaded he is risen from the dead so we find out oh he beheaded John the Baptist and it goes on and gives us you know the backstory because it says there in verse 17 for Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John and bound him in prison for wrote us his sake his brother Philip's wife for he had married her for what John had said unto Herod it is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife you know that was what got John the Baptist beheaded preaching against adultery okay and so you can see it's always been a sensitive topic it's always been you know a topic that you know can get preachers in trouble right it doesn't make you very popular but you know what we got from that was the boldness that John the Baptist had right he got right up in Herod's face and put his finger you know and said it's not lawful you know this is what the Bible says what you're doing is sinful right and of course that got him in trouble that you know that was that kind of preaching that boldness and we looked at it elsewhere that Jesus had right he called the Pharisees out he'd call you know the religious leadership of his time out he was very bold and very publicly rebuked people often okay and again I don't want to re-preach all that but I can't just jump over you know these two verses without you know at least mentioning that so that's if you want more of that you know that take on mark 8 27 and 28 go back and listen to mark 6 14 through 29 because I expounded that aspect a little bit more but let's move on in our story in Mark chapter 8 because again I want to emphasize here this idea of us disagreeing with God this is something we want to be on guard against in our lives and if we're not careful you know we might find ourselves actually doing this you know God gives us his take on things and we say well no you know I have my own opinion and it looked there in verse 29 it says verse 29 and he saith unto them but whom say he that I am and Peter answerth and saith unto them thou art the Christ and he charged them that they should tell no man of him and he began to teach them he said okay well you now you get who I am let me tell you some things okay that the began to teach them what did he teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things right and be rejected of the elders and the chief priests and scribes and be killed and after three days arise again okay so you can kind of understand a little bit at least humanly speaking Peter's response here right because he says in verse 32 he spake that saying openly and Peter took him and began to rebuke him which is pretty bold thing of Peter to do but you know I believe it is coming from a genuine place of concern and love for God he doesn't like the idea that Jesus is going to be taken that he's gonna suffer many things and that he's going to be ultimately killed by you know the Pharisees and others and Sadducees that he's actually gonna suffer he doesn't like it so he's saying you know not so Lord not don't allow this to happen and he's rebuking him for it but what we learn from this is that no matter what your motive is even if maybe it's a right motive I'm not necessarily saying that you know Peter was in the right here but what the lesson we can get out of that even if we have right motives is that if we disagree with God it's a losing battle you know disagreeing with God is not a battle you're gonna win okay if God says thus sayeth the Lord you're not gonna change his mind you know that if it's written down in the Word of God if this is God's will you know we're not going to sway God okay now this is where Romans 9 comes in if you would want to go back to Romans chapter number 9 you know we want to watch out in our lives that when God touches on something when we read something the Word of God when something is preached upon that are you know if we're defensive about it or our initial reaction is to disagree we have to understand that that's a losing battle you know you got God's not gonna come around on that you have to get on his page you have to get on his program and that's kind of what takes place here in this story right you know Peter here's what's gonna take place Jesus saying here here's what's gonna happen you know I'm gonna suffer I'm gonna die and I'm gonna resurrect again and and he hears the program he hears what God's laying out he says and he's rebuking him for it right and I mean and imagine you know the the the boldness of Peter here to do this right it's misplaced boldness you know this is a very awkward situation really when you think about because it says there in verse 32 that he spake that saying openly right he said this you know publicly in front of people and so Peter took him right Peter literally goes to him and begins to rebuke him now you know anyone who's ever been you know kind of taken and rebuked you know it's not it's not a comfortable situation it's awkward right and it was it's not like you know it doesn't sound like it's one of these like mild rebuffs where he's just kind of like hey you know you might want to consider you know it wasn't like a friendly kind of like recommendation or perhaps a suggestion you know people can you know try to correct others in a very polite and you know respectful way this is a rebuke where Peter's taking him and almost to me in my mind it's like he's like taking saying I'm gonna tell you what Jesus is the way it's gonna be right you know it's kind of like getting in his grill a little bit or getting up in his business and and telling him how it's gonna be I mean and think about who he's talking to the Lord Jesus Christ right you say well you know what how could anybody ever disagree with God who in the world would ever do that you know what Christian would ever read something in the Bible or hear something taught the Word of God and actually disagree with it you know well Peter rebuked the Lord to his face in front of other people so I mean if it's not beneath Peter to be as bold to do that like of course you know we all these thousands of years later who are just reading these things in the Word of God we're not even hearing them directly out of the mouth of Christ you know we might have a tendency to disagree with God you know that this is out there you know I I remember hearing a preacher talk about when he would get up he preached about how husbands or wives husbands wives are supposed to submit to their husbands and be keepers at home and he remember he told I'm ready to tell the story and this old lady came up to me this little sweet old little church lady that no one would ever think would be so bold she turned and she showed him where she she would in her Bible with the black marker went I just crossed that out and she said it was just so smugly I just didn't like what the Bible said there so I crossed it out you tell another story when he'd get preaching and it was something that you know she didn't like she would look it right at him and turn down her hearing aid you just go yeah why cuz she doesn't she doesn't agree with the Bible I mean to be so bold to take a black permanent marker and just cross out the Bible you know so we should never think now that's why I'm taking the time to preach this tonight is that because you know we can be guilty to some degree maybe not be so bold as Peter or that little old sweet lady but even in our own hearts if we're not careful we can find ourselves disagreeing with God hearing something taught of the Word of God say yeah but that's just not how I think that you go that's not how I think we should do things that's not how I should live my life you know and again as I preach this morning you apply this in so many areas in our lives but we have to understand is that when we're disagreeing with God you know that's that's a pretty bold thing and it's a losing battle you're not gonna win that you know I don't want to delve into Romans 9 where he's dealing with you know the nation of Israel and all that but he draws upon and he quotes Isaiah 45 here we're trying to make his point Paul to emphasize his point he says there in verse 18 therefore he hath mercy on whom he will have mercy in whom he will he hardeneth thou will say unto me why did he yet find fault for who resisted his will plenty of people resist God's will now Paul says nay but oh man who art thou that reply ist against God you know that should be a sobering thought like who are we to read God's Word to hear words his were taught and then to and then to reply against it you know who art thou that thou reply ist against God I mean imagine being Jesus in this story in Mark 8 you have your disciples I mean you're you're I mean God you're the son of God they're just Peter's got done professing thou art the Christ and he was right he is the Christ and then just a moment later that same guy is rebuking you to your face I mean like how could we even begin to compare this would be like a young child you know getting rebuking their parent right some you know some parent goes out and tells their five-year-old hey brush your teeth and go to bed you know they drag a chair over and set it down to climb up get right mom's face I don't care what you say I'll have to brush my teeth in my bedtime blah blah blah I mean it would be it would be ridiculous to think that wouldn't it it's a silly example you know what that's it that's exactly what it's got to look like when we as God's people reply against him why I just don't think that's how marriage should work you know we get our little spiritual chairs out and get up in God's face I just don't think that's how you should raise kids you know I just don't think that's how we're supposed to live I don't think that is a sin after all that's that's what it looks like and and Paul here you know to make his point in Romans 9 which I'm not going to go into exactly what his point is is saying basically hey who are you to reply against God about anything you know who are any of us to you know read something the Word of God and start wagging our finger back at him and say I don't agree with this it's like a worm you know trying to like back talk an eagle you know it's like who are we he says in verse 20 shall the thing formed say to him that formed it why hast thou made me thus hath not the powder power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor he's saying look God's the one that formed you who are you to reply against him I'll read to you from Isaiah chapter 5 or 45 go to 2 Timothy chapter 2 he's quoting Isaiah 45 woe unto him that striveth with this maker exclamation point and what is the striving when the when the clay shall say to him that fashioned it what makest thou what do you think you're doing you know might not even be something necessarily in God's Word that we you know want to pick have a bone to pick with God over maybe it's something God is doing in our life you know maybe we find ourselves in a circumstance or going through some difficulty you know we're being tried by God in some way you know the temptation might be to say why are you doing this it's not fair but the reality is who are we to reply against God woe unto him that striveth with his maker let the pot-shirt strive with the pot-shirts of the earth you know it's one thing for me and you for us to go around it and and to disagree with one another because we're all on the same level we can have our disagreements we can have our arguments you'd be nice about it right shall but shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it what makest thou or thy work hath he no hands woe unto him that sayeth unto his father what to get a style or to the woman what hast thou brought forth so that's again the illustration that Paul or Isaiah is using here rather you know he's using that same illustration I just used it's like a child replying to his parent what do you think you're doing it's so out of context it's so just just misplaced it's just so backwards to have a child rebuking his parents that but that's what we do when we reply against God when we disagree with God that's what it looks like to him it isn't that infuriating you I'm sure no one else here has ever experienced it but you know has anyone ever had a child disagree with them has anyone else ever had one of their children talk back to them and tell them why they're wrong or why they're right you know it's hard to believe but you know I've experienced this right my wife experience they tend to are you know kids I think they think they can get away with a mom or they can dad I don't know at least I don't get too much of it but I tell you what I hear it when they do it to my wife he wanted what it infuriates me it infuriates me when I hear my children arguing with their mother and it's not often you know it doesn't happen all the time but you know if I'm around and I hear that like whatever I'm doing I stop what I'm doing and I go deal with it because it and it just makes me mad right because who are they to reply against their mother who are they to be replying against their father right well you know I have to imagine it's the same way God feels when he looks down and he sees us going whatever you read the Bible off can you believe that hearing some preacher we get up preach the word of God well whatever he's out he's out to lunch and God must be just like well who are you to reply that's my word you're disagreeing with that's the Bible that you have a problem with that's what I said that's what you know that's how I feel God probably feels about it it's frustrated so you know here's the thing if we disagree with God that's a losing battle no parents gonna be like well you know maybe we we should reconsider your bedtime now that you bring that up you know I didn't you know that you've made this argument and didn't really let's talk down and have a you know a roundtable discussion with the children about how things are gonna go here let's get their take on it never gonna happen you know that's it's a losing battle for the kids you know yeah you're still gonna brush your teeth and you're still gonna go to bed on time you just you're gonna go to bed you know with the sore butt you go to bed with some tears in your eyes right you know that's a losing battle but you know the opposite is also true if we get on God's program if we agree with God if we say you know what you're right God that goes that'll take us far look at second Timothy chapter number two verse 20 it says in a great house there and only vessels of gold and of silver but also of wood and of earth or clay right earth clay and some to honor and some to dishonor if a man purge himself from these he shall be a vessel unto honor sanctified and meet for the master's use and prepared unto every good work you know if we purge ourselves from the you know the the wood and the clay and from these these vessels of dishonor we make ourselves a vessel of honor a vessel of silver a vessel of gold right if we're a vessel that is submissive or a vessel that receives what's put into it if we're a vessel that God can use to his honor and glory will God will use us we will go far with God we have that promise you know God's not going to use a vessel of dishonor you know that clay pot you know he's just not interested maybe that's a spittoon spiritually or something like that you know it's like it's not going to be used the way that we could be used if we were a vessel of honor you know that's what we need to be in our lives don't disagree with God agree with him be a vessel of honor and he will use you you said Isaiah 64 but now or Lord thou art our father we are the clay and thou art thou our Potter and we are all the work of thy hand that's what we have to realize is that we're the work of God's hands we're just another vessel and if God wants to do something particular with us if God wants to use us in a specific way if God has a will for us we need to just go along with the program and not be found to fight against God don't disagree with God he said why the world would anyone ever disagree with God well you know really the only reason well I'm sure it's not the only reason but one here at least in this passage where we are mark 8 if you want you can go back there I think the reason why at least in this passage people disagree with God is because they're so concerned about being agreeable with man you know we probably all is going to come to news it's not going to come to news to anybody when I say that man's program and God's program aren't the same program they don't agree and I think a lot of times reason the reason why people are found to be disagreeing with God as they're more concerned about being agreeable to man they want to be accepted by man more than God that's kind of what Jesus said here and Peter took him and rebuked him it says in verse 33 but when he had turned about and looked upon his disciples he rebuked Peter and you kind of get the sense here how this all played out you know Peter comes and takes him and rebukes him so it's kind of like a private conversation and then and then Jesus turns to his disciples with Peter standing right there and rebukes him in front of the rest of them it says get thee behind me Satan you know rebuking God disagreeing with God is a losing battle that could be actually quite humiliating but when he turned about and looked at his disciples he rebuked Peter saying get thee behind me Satan why for thou savourest not the things that be of God but the things that be of men what was Peter's problem he was more concerned with the things of men than the things of God and that's often what leads us to be found to be disagreeing with God when we're get more concerned with the things that be of men and being agreeable with them and going along with them often we find ourselves at odds with the Lord at least that's what I see in this passage if you would go to Romans chapter 12 I should have to keep something in Romans but go to Romans chapter 12 I mean it's you have to get have some kind of an explanation why in the world would anyone disagree with God you know at first glance we might even you know kind of scratch our heads and say do people really disagree with God I mean it's not even a thing why are you even preaching this and yet in this passage we have the Apostle Peter himself I mean he walked on water with Jesus he was there for all these miracles and yet we find even him disagreeing with God so if he can do it so can we it's a losing battle why is it how is it the people find themselves to be disagreeing with God when they're more concerned with the things of men than the things of God he said in Romans 3 I'll read to you God forbid yet like let God be true and every man a liar as it is written that thou may be justified in thy sayings and mightest overcome when thou art judged you know Paul said like God be true and every man a liar you know if God said one thing and man said another guess who's lying guess who's got it wrong man every time every single time and I'm telling you Christians today they side with man they side with philosophy of man the viewpoints of man more than they do God why cuz they savor the things that be of men it's sad to even think that there's you know probably a lot of preachers out there today that you know side with man more than they do with God Paul said let God be true and every man a liar if we have to make a decision if there's if these you know there's two you know philosophies or whatever it might be man saying something and God saying something we need to go with God every single time he warned us in James 3 that friendship of the world is enmity with God whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God that's why disagreeing with God is a losing battle you know people hear the preaching the Word of God they can mock at it they can sneer at it they can say it's not true they can reject it and all they're really doing is making God their enemy I'd rather have the whole world as my enemy than God you know the whole world I mean man the world they can only do so much we're not to fear them which can kill the body but fear him which can kill the body and then afterwards cast the soul into hell can destroy both body and soul all the world can do if they want to be my enemy they don't like what I'm saying if they want to destroy me you know all they're really threatening me with this heaven you know we're gonna kill you till you die from it oh yeah but then I'm gonna go to glory and God's gonna say well done now good and faithful servant but if God's my enemy you know he could get me anywhere he can do whatever he wants you know I'm saved obviously I'm still gonna go to heaven no matter what but you know maybe he'll drag it out you know the world might want to tear us limb from limb and and have us you know be done with us as quick as they can God might say oh you want to be my enemy let's just make it a long painful process to get to heaven that's a that's a that's a scary thought oh you want to disagree with me you want to you want to go against what God says you want to disagree with what the Bible says God might just you know say well hey let me punish you hear me punish us here this is gonna go wrong this ain't gonna go right and your life will just end up being a mess why because being a friend of the world is enmity against God that's what the Bible says and if we're gonna be savor the things that be of men more than the things that be of God we're gonna make ourselves the enemy of God because we're going to be disagreeing with God it's a losing battle you can't win that's why he says in Romans 12 where you are in verse 1 I beseech you therefore brethren I mean beseech means to beg it's like pausing please I'm beseeching you for your own sake by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice be that vessel under honor present your bodies a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service as we talked about this morning we've been bought with the price and be not conformed to this world be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind you know if we're going to be conformed to this world if we're gonna be the friend of the world if we're gonna savor the things that be of men one of the things that be of God we're gonna be at odds with God we're going to be disagreeing with God and there will be consequences be not conformed that's what he's beseeching that's what he's begging these people to do to be transformed in the renewing of their mind they may prove it as that good and acceptable and perfect will of God and it's an important message because you know he's saying here we have to be transformed by the renewing of our mind you know like I preached this morning that guy he saw that he got saved right he he had a that was the picture there he Jesus spat in his eyes you know he saw but he didn't see clearly then Jesus had to touch him again and make him to look up and then he saw more clearly you know he had it's like that transforming it has to take place look you get saved that's great I'm glad we're saved but you know now now comes the long process of having our minds transformed to conforming onto the image of Christ to doing the perfect will of God in this life and that's no easy task that's something we have to do you have to be renewed in your mind you have to start saying you know what God's right I'm wrong let God be true every man a liar I used to think this way about whatever it is I used to think this way about this subject or that subject but now I'm reading the Word of God I'm hearing the preaching Word of God I'm finding out it's actually different let me renew my mind so that I may prove what is the good and perfect and acceptable will of God because when we do that when we are transformed and we are proving you know what we'll do is we'll prove it we'll look back and say you know what I didn't agree back then but I said okay God I'll get on your program and now all these years later I can look back and say it's perfect will of God I've proved it I've tried it I tested it's true let God be true in every man a liar I'm glad I got on this program it worked marriages saved children spared addictions overcome God will do a transformative work in our lives if we'll just say let God be true in every man a liar let me get on his program let me do what he tells me to do let my mind be renewed in him and stop you know thinking are doing things our own way that's why I don't have a lot of faith in politics quite honestly because it's a bunch of men trying to figure out man's problems it's like you're the source of the problem and you're the ones trying to figure it out it's probably not gonna go too well okay but you know if we get on God's program in our lives and do things God's way God God's gonna work and we're gonna be able to look back and prove that it's perfect and that it's acceptable that it's good so the question tonight really is whose will do you want to prove who do you want to agree with whose will do you want to prove well let's try it let's just keep trying doing things the way the world does it let's keep taking their approach to marriage and child really keep taking their approach to all these social issues let's just keep taking their approach to all these things about in life and let's just see if it works out we are they've ordered the world's already got a track record long enough to us to see how it's going you know some of us have even experienced it you know some of us are part of those you know unfortunate statistics that come with being you know doing things man's way it's already been proven let's try God's program let's give that a shot and see how it goes like that's kind of he ends the passage here if you look at mark 8 wrap it up and says in verse 34 and when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also he said unto them whosoever will come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me Christians life is a life of sacrifice it's not you don't get to do whatever you want and so many Christians that's that's their approach to the Christian life well I could still get to do whatever I want oh no you don't it's a cross for whosoever will save his life shall lose it and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the Gospels the same shall save it for what shall it profit a man shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul now we apply that you know primarily to salvation you know people they just want to get a bunch of wealth and money and success and they just ignore God they ignore the gospel and what does it profit in the end nothing what shall a man give in exchange for a soul the verse I want to focus in here at the end though is verse 38 whosoever thou shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he shall come in the glory of his father with his holy angels he's saying that if you're ashamed of him and his words he's going to be ashamed of you he shows up in the presence of his father and the angels that I mean Peter got rebuked in front of the disciples right that's that's embarrassing enough right you ever been a rebuked in front of somebody else it's pretty you know it's not even so much to rebuke that's as bad it's just the fact that somebody else is going man and really let him at it all would you do you know everybody else just to join the show it's you know they're popping popcorn like let him have it yeah yeah right well imagine being rebuked imagine being a Christ hanging his head and shame at you and just in front of in heaven's company in glory you know we walk up all heaven's great oh there's Jesus he's just like and what are you doing down there why didn't you listen why didn't you do things my way and that's that's good that's sad you know someone else you know all the guys ahead of us everyone in front of us it's like well done thou good and faithful servant well done they're gonna fit then they get to us he's like welcome to heaven I guess you know next move move along nothing to say here or oh yeah hey all the angels this is the guy I was telling you about yeah this is them yeah you know that'd be embarrassing now look I'm not saying it's exactly how it's gonna play out I don't know but he did say that if we're ashamed of his words when he that he will be ashamed of so the Son of Man be ashamed of that same person when he shall come the glory this father of his father with the only angels it's not like God it's not gonna notice God notices so the question is you know who's will do we want to prove well if it's God God's will then we can't be ashamed of it you know why would people disagree with God because they're ashamed of it because it's foolishness that you know the wisdom of God is foolishness with men you know we we say well here's what the Bible says the Bible that Stone Age book oh you believe some book that was written by a bunch of Bronze Age goat herders it shows they know nothing about history or how the word the Bible who was written the Bible was written by who the physical authors were but that's the mock they scoff at it and say oh well you know you know maybe we're embarrassed or ashamed I mean why do you think there's so many Baptist preachers today that won't get up and preach against the homos I mean do I have to go on and on about it I mean isn't it just as plain as the nose on your face what God thinks of these people we just read Genesis 19 you know why they won't preach it because they're ashamed and they're ashamed in an adulterous and sinful generation they're ashamed in a generation that is spitting in the face of God today that is promoting filth and abomination they're ashamed they're more ashamed of him in front of those people you know what I'm ashamed of them and so and God will be ashamed of them too God is ashamed of them what who would ever do that who would ever disagree with God Peter did it and you know gee I don't think this is just a you know an empty threat hey if you're ashamed of me I'll be ashamed of you like why would Jesus have to say that if weren't a possibility look there's plenty of people today that here know what the Bible says they might even agree with it but they're never gonna practice it they're never gonna espouse it because they're embarrassed they're ashamed because it flies in the face of man's wisdom they'd rather be friends with the world yeah well you know what like God be true and every man a liar I mean what good does it do to to to make yourself a friend this world go to first Peter chapter 4 will close there you know whose will do you want to prove what what wire would be ever be ashamed of God's will in this world makes no sense whosoever do what the will of God shall abide abideth forever so he said in 1st John 2 the world passeth away and the lust thereof people bend over backwards to appease the world preachers today they they they they cower from the hard things the Word of God they you know they capitulate they compromise for a world that's gonna pass away for world that's in that the lust of and the lust of men there with it's just all gonna disappear won't even matter in eternity but he that do with the will of God abideth forever you know all the works that you do for God all the things you do in accordance with God's Word all those rewards that you receive for having done God's will that's gonna last forever you're gonna have it for eternity it's never gonna go away you're never gonna lose it you know you go you do God's will you get before the judgment seat of Christ you stand there and he says well done thou good and faithful servant you know your works are tried there's gold silver precious stones you have that mansion of glory that that glorified body and then which aren't all the same you know one you know there's gonna be variants and glory those that you know some people are gonna be over ten cities some over five and some people are just gonna be told to go sweep the floor there is sweeping in heaven I don't know that's gonna last forever that's a permanent condition it's not like that's gonna run out so why why in the world would we just get on God's program why when the world would be ashamed of his words in the midst of a perverse and adulterous generation that's going to pass away that's gonna be forgotten you know everything everything that we lift up and praise all the works of men everything that just we're so impressed with man in a millennia it's it won't even know I mean it's all that's already the way it is in this world that's why so many people are fascinated with like ancient Greek literature because there's just these few scraps from some ancient far you know long-lost civilization that people can look into and I get it that's kind of cool but I just already it proves my point that even already in this world there's civilizations that have come and gone nobody even knows about them I mean how many people how many civilizations are mentioned in this book how many nations and kings the outside of the Bible if it aren't even heard of if it wasn't for the Bible their name would have been forgotten to history you know thousands of years ago it's the same way in heaven folks so why would we you know spend our lives trying to be friends with this world being ashamed of God's Word of savoring the things that be of men when it's all going to disappear and the only thing that's going to last is what's done in the will of God makes no sense look at first Peter chapter 4 verse 1 for as much then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh arm yourselves likewise with the same mind for he that has suffered in the flesh hath seized from sin you know if we're if we're going to live and do the will of God it's gonna work if there's gonna be suffering that he should no longer live the rest of the time in the flesh to the lust of men but to the will of God don't live the rest of this life just doing the will of men do the will of God agree with God don't disagree with him agree with what God has said savor the things of God and do it I mean what good what good does it do to agree with it if you don't if you don't do it you know we have to believe it and then we have to do it let's go ahead and close in a word of prayer dear Lord again thank you for the Bible Lord thank you for the instruction we receive out of it the encouragement the admonishments Lord help us to be people who are willing ready and able to do your will whatever it is or whatever is asked of us whatever whatever ways we have to change whatever things we have to transform in our lives and our minds in order to be conformed to your word into the image of Christ Lord help us to see the importance of doing it and Lord help us to not be friends with this world help us to not savor the things of men more than of God help us not be ashamed of your word Lord help us to embrace it and help us to do it we ask these things in Christ name amen all right we'll sing one more song before we're dismissed tonight Oh Oh Oh Oh