WEBVTT 00:00:00.494 --> 00:00:02.972 What is another concern or fear 00:00:02.972 --> 00:00:05.274 you might have for this generation 00:00:05.274 --> 00:00:07.705 of young believers that is coming up? NOTE Paragraph 00:00:07.705 --> 00:00:10.238 Jesse: Another concern that I have 00:00:10.238 --> 00:00:11.874 for this generation coming up 00:00:11.874 --> 00:00:16.315 is what I call the eclipsing of the Gospel; 00:00:16.315 --> 00:00:18.736 the eclipsing of Jesus Christ. 00:00:18.736 --> 00:00:21.573 Meaning, whether it's the individual 00:00:21.573 --> 00:00:26.098 or the church finding its identity, 00:00:26.098 --> 00:00:29.494 its hope, its joy, its fellowship, 00:00:29.494 --> 00:00:32.985 its unity in something other than 00:00:32.985 --> 00:00:35.562 Jesus Christ and the Gospel. 00:00:35.562 --> 00:00:37.305 And it's a very subtle shift 00:00:37.305 --> 00:00:38.981 that happens without many people 00:00:38.981 --> 00:00:41.257 noticing that it happens. 00:00:41.257 --> 00:00:43.334 So often, so many people will come 00:00:43.334 --> 00:00:44.719 to the church, 00:00:44.719 --> 00:00:47.464 and they'll begin to discuss with them 00:00:47.464 --> 00:00:50.153 about they're looking for a church. 00:00:50.153 --> 00:00:53.036 And so often, brother, there are so many things 00:00:53.036 --> 00:00:56.077 people are looking for in the church - 00:00:56.077 --> 00:00:58.770 these byproducts of the Gospel; 00:00:58.770 --> 00:01:00.749 these byproducts of Jesus Christ, 00:01:00.749 --> 00:01:02.661 which are good things, 00:01:02.661 --> 00:01:04.790 but they become the source 00:01:04.790 --> 00:01:06.174 of their identity, 00:01:06.174 --> 00:01:08.666 they become the source of their fellowship; 00:01:08.666 --> 00:01:11.170 they're what they're looking for in a church, 00:01:11.170 --> 00:01:14.422 and they don't ask questions about Jesus Christ or the Gospel, 00:01:14.422 --> 00:01:16.204 and that's a great concern. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:16.204 --> 00:01:18.550 James: Maybe you could give some examples there. 00:01:18.550 --> 00:01:20.332 What are things you've seen people 00:01:20.332 --> 00:01:21.659 looking for too much 00:01:21.659 --> 00:01:24.303 instead of the essentials of the Gospel? NOTE Paragraph 00:01:24.303 --> 00:01:28.010 Jesse: I'll start with this. 00:01:28.010 --> 00:01:33.484 How about the whole family integration thought? 00:01:33.484 --> 00:01:36.287 Just this last week, 00:01:36.287 --> 00:01:38.594 a couple of young people came into the church, 00:01:38.594 --> 00:01:40.546 seemed like passionate, 00:01:40.546 --> 00:01:42.268 excited people. 00:01:42.268 --> 00:01:45.118 And the very first comments and questions 00:01:45.118 --> 00:01:47.768 were about family integration, 00:01:47.768 --> 00:01:49.378 family worship. 00:01:49.378 --> 00:01:52.870 Brother, our church worships together in that sense. 00:01:52.870 --> 00:01:56.447 And my home - we practice family worship. 00:01:56.447 --> 00:01:58.555 But when those things become 00:01:58.555 --> 00:02:01.062 the mark and identity of a church, 00:02:01.062 --> 00:02:03.892 or the mark and identity of the believer, 00:02:03.892 --> 00:02:05.382 and the evidence you can see 00:02:05.382 --> 00:02:06.749 that this is happening 00:02:06.749 --> 00:02:09.274 is this is what you talk about most. 00:02:09.274 --> 00:02:11.904 This is what you're passionate about most. 00:02:11.904 --> 00:02:14.903 And this is how you base your fellowship, 00:02:14.903 --> 00:02:17.044 even within the church - 00:02:17.044 --> 00:02:19.197 those who affirm you in these truths, 00:02:19.197 --> 00:02:21.513 those who practice in conscience 00:02:21.513 --> 00:02:22.895 the same things that you do 00:02:22.895 --> 00:02:24.305 whether it's homeschooling 00:02:24.305 --> 00:02:26.263 or how you do family worship. 00:02:26.263 --> 00:02:27.690 And the moment those things 00:02:27.690 --> 00:02:30.763 become the foundation of our relationship 00:02:30.763 --> 00:02:32.911 or the identity of the church, 00:02:32.911 --> 00:02:35.754 and Christ is no longer that foundation, 00:02:35.754 --> 00:02:38.794 inevitably, it will crumble. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:38.794 --> 00:02:40.768 Question: What are the biggest dangers 00:02:40.768 --> 00:02:42.888 confronting the church today? 00:02:42.888 --> 00:02:45.142 The reformed church specifically? NOTE Paragraph 00:02:45.142 --> 00:02:47.151 Jesse: It's kind of getting back to that 00:02:47.151 --> 00:02:49.994 whole eclipsing of Jesus Christ. 00:02:49.994 --> 00:02:51.998 And I'm going to preach on this here 00:02:51.998 --> 00:02:54.156 on Saturday. 00:02:54.156 --> 00:02:55.810 A great concern I have, 00:02:55.810 --> 00:02:58.453 especially in reformed circles: 00:02:58.453 --> 00:03:01.465 all genuine Christians love God, 00:03:01.465 --> 00:03:03.691 they love truth, they love doctrine. 00:03:03.691 --> 00:03:05.625 But in reformed circles, 00:03:05.625 --> 00:03:07.784 it's like we're known for our doctrine. 00:03:07.784 --> 00:03:12.315 Those are the doctrinally focused, sound people. 00:03:12.315 --> 00:03:15.167 We study through Revelation 2 - 00:03:15.167 --> 00:03:17.775 the letter to the church at Ephesus. 00:03:17.775 --> 00:03:20.688 And if you've ever read what Jesus commends 00:03:20.688 --> 00:03:22.013 about that church, 00:03:22.013 --> 00:03:25.247 they're a doctrinally sound church. 00:03:25.247 --> 00:03:27.737 They toil in truth. 00:03:27.737 --> 00:03:28.938 They defend truth. 00:03:28.938 --> 00:03:30.750 They expose false teachers. 00:03:30.750 --> 00:03:32.188 They can't stand evil. 00:03:32.188 --> 00:03:33.913 They can't stand the Nicolaitans 00:03:33.913 --> 00:03:36.041 and they're commended for all of that, 00:03:36.041 --> 00:03:38.712 but then Jesus says to them, 00:03:38.712 --> 00:03:40.452 "But I have this against you, 00:03:40.452 --> 00:03:42.438 you've left your first love." 00:03:42.438 --> 00:03:43.490 Now, you might say, 00:03:43.490 --> 00:03:45.382 well, that was a love for Jesus Christ 00:03:45.382 --> 00:03:46.829 and I would agree with you. 00:03:46.829 --> 00:03:50.111 But here's the concern I have: 00:03:50.111 --> 00:03:52.003 I think our love for Jesus Christ 00:03:52.003 --> 00:03:54.725 is most manifested for its true sense 00:03:54.725 --> 00:03:56.913 in our love for His people. 00:03:56.913 --> 00:03:58.544 In other words, I love Jesus. 00:03:58.544 --> 00:04:00.115 Well, how do I know I love Jesus? 00:04:00.115 --> 00:04:02.130 Well, it's evident in the way that I love 00:04:02.130 --> 00:04:04.487 and treat His people, the church. 00:04:04.487 --> 00:04:06.275 And what that church was warned about 00:04:06.275 --> 00:04:09.852 is what we might call loveless orthodoxy. 00:04:09.852 --> 00:04:13.782 So the concern I have for the reformed church 00:04:13.782 --> 00:04:18.420 is that we can have all of our doctrinal positions right; 00:04:18.420 --> 00:04:22.143 we can debate them left and right, 00:04:22.143 --> 00:04:24.087 but we lack love - 00:04:24.087 --> 00:04:27.493 a love for God and a love for His people. 00:04:27.493 --> 00:04:30.117 And it's a subtle shift again. 00:04:30.117 --> 00:04:32.133 People will say how can I have 00:04:32.133 --> 00:04:34.918 all my doctrine right and still struggle? 00:04:34.918 --> 00:04:37.420 And throughout the Bible, we see examples 00:04:37.420 --> 00:04:40.819 of churches that have their doctrine right, 00:04:40.819 --> 00:04:42.747 but they struggle with love towards God 00:04:42.747 --> 00:04:44.929 and love towards the church. 00:04:44.929 --> 00:04:47.359 Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13, 00:04:47.359 --> 00:04:49.863 if I have all understanding, 00:04:49.863 --> 00:04:52.536 all knowledge, but I have not love... 00:04:52.536 --> 00:04:54.120 So the notion is I can have 00:04:54.120 --> 00:04:55.409 some of these things 00:04:55.409 --> 00:04:57.633 and be lacking in love. 00:04:57.633 --> 00:05:00.128 And I think one of the things we need to do 00:05:00.128 --> 00:05:01.604 in the reformed church 00:05:01.604 --> 00:05:05.227 is mark loveless orthodoxy 00:05:05.227 --> 00:05:08.919 as sin that needs to be repented of. 00:05:08.919 --> 00:05:11.154 It's not something, oh, we should do better in. 00:05:11.154 --> 00:05:12.927 It's sin to be repented of. 00:05:12.927 --> 00:05:14.992 The warning Jesus gave to that church 00:05:14.992 --> 00:05:17.339 is, "Repent and return, 00:05:17.339 --> 00:05:20.382 or I'll take away your lampstand." 00:05:20.382 --> 00:05:22.690 It's as serious as it gets. 00:05:22.690 --> 00:05:25.537 So this eclipsing of Jesus Christ, 00:05:25.537 --> 00:05:28.655 finding identity in something other than Christ, 00:05:28.655 --> 00:05:32.063 or believing we're good because we have our doctrine right, 00:05:32.063 --> 00:05:33.892 but if we lack love, 00:05:33.892 --> 00:05:35.420 we're nothing. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:35.420 --> 00:05:37.984 Here's what I struggle with so much in this, James, 00:05:37.984 --> 00:05:40.269 is that when I preach on this subject - 00:05:40.269 --> 00:05:43.563 and I've preached on it, I think, 00:05:43.563 --> 00:05:45.974 probably ten times between men's meetings 00:05:45.974 --> 00:05:48.033 and the service and different things - 00:05:48.033 --> 00:05:50.237 ten times in the last year. 00:05:50.237 --> 00:05:53.070 And I keep getting accused of: 00:05:53.070 --> 00:05:55.323 well, you just are minimizing doctrine. 00:05:55.323 --> 00:05:58.829 You're saying that parts of God's Word are not important. 00:05:58.829 --> 00:06:01.656 And I'm like, listen, I've given my life 00:06:01.656 --> 00:06:04.819 to the study and preaching and teaching of doctrine. 00:06:04.819 --> 00:06:08.235 But I've come to realize by God's grace, 00:06:08.235 --> 00:06:10.284 you can be right in your doctrine 00:06:10.284 --> 00:06:12.852 and absolutely wrong. 00:06:12.852 --> 00:06:15.191 And I don't think people realize that. 00:06:15.191 --> 00:06:16.914 You can have the right doctrine 00:06:16.914 --> 00:06:20.586 and be nothing. 00:06:20.586 --> 00:06:24.212 And so what's the mark of maturity? 00:06:24.212 --> 00:06:25.695 In the reformed circle? 00:06:25.695 --> 00:06:27.641 Having all your doctrine right. 00:06:27.641 --> 00:06:30.663 What's the mark of maturity in Scripture? 00:06:30.663 --> 00:06:32.804 Love. 00:06:32.804 --> 00:06:34.659 Love. 00:06:34.659 --> 00:06:39.948 We begin to look at people as positions, 00:06:39.948 --> 00:06:43.504 where our conversations are not anymore: 00:06:43.504 --> 00:06:45.788 "how are you doing, brother?" 00:06:45.788 --> 00:06:48.258 "What's going on at your workplace?" 00:06:48.258 --> 00:06:50.529 "How is your marriage going?" 00:06:50.529 --> 00:06:54.941 It is, "where are you at in this position?" 00:06:54.941 --> 00:06:56.906 And brother, they're not people anymore. 00:06:56.906 --> 00:06:59.184 We're just viewing people as positions 00:06:59.184 --> 00:07:02.009 to win over to my camp. 00:07:02.009 --> 00:07:05.656 Be careful. 00:07:05.656 --> 00:07:07.917 Be careful. 00:07:07.917 --> 00:07:10.320 One of the sermons I preached on 00:07:10.320 --> 00:07:13.055 was Romans 14 in this. 00:07:13.055 --> 00:07:15.115 And I'll mention it some in the sermon, 00:07:15.115 --> 00:07:16.925 because this is not only, James, 00:07:16.925 --> 00:07:20.182 in the doctrines that we hold to, 00:07:20.182 --> 00:07:22.865 but it's also in the living out 00:07:22.865 --> 00:07:26.592 of our doctrines and convictions. 00:07:26.592 --> 00:07:29.583 And what I find so interesting about Romans 14 - 00:07:29.583 --> 00:07:32.466 if you say what does Romans 14 about? 00:07:32.466 --> 00:07:34.948 Oh, it's about Christian liberty and conscience. 00:07:34.948 --> 00:07:36.504 No, it's not. 00:07:36.504 --> 00:07:38.790 It's about living out love in the middle 00:07:38.790 --> 00:07:41.783 of a church that has differences. 00:07:41.783 --> 00:07:44.213 And it deals with Christian liberty and conscience, 00:07:44.213 --> 00:07:45.785 but how do you deal with someone 00:07:45.785 --> 00:07:48.659 who has a different understanding? 00:07:48.659 --> 00:07:50.713 You know what I love about Romans 14 00:07:50.713 --> 00:07:52.262 more than anything? 00:07:52.262 --> 00:07:53.802 Is Paul acknowledges: 00:07:53.802 --> 00:07:56.326 this brother has it wrong. 00:07:56.326 --> 00:07:59.199 And he doesn't really correct him. 00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:01.585 His greater concern is this: 00:08:01.585 --> 00:08:05.197 Are we welcoming one another? 00:08:05.197 --> 00:08:07.033 Now think of that. 00:08:07.033 --> 00:08:09.578 This brother - he says he has a wrong understanding. 00:08:09.578 --> 00:08:12.010 He is weak in faith, 00:08:12.010 --> 00:08:14.712 and it's leading him to make decisions 00:08:14.712 --> 00:08:16.924 that are wrong. 00:08:16.924 --> 00:08:18.712 And Paul acknowledges it. 00:08:18.712 --> 00:08:19.996 But he doesn't say: 00:08:19.996 --> 00:08:23.192 Go over there and correct your brother to the right doctrine. 00:08:23.192 --> 00:08:24.940 He says: Are you welcoming him? 00:08:24.940 --> 00:08:26.840 Are you loving him 00:08:26.840 --> 00:08:29.284 as Christ has welcomed you? 00:08:29.284 --> 00:08:31.756 And that doesn't mean we're indifferent to doctrine 00:08:31.756 --> 00:08:33.311 or we don't talk about it. 00:08:33.311 --> 00:08:35.814 But there's a spirit that if it's not there 00:08:35.814 --> 00:08:38.096 you can have all the right doctrine in the world 00:08:38.096 --> 00:08:40.581 and it means nothing. 00:08:40.581 --> 00:08:43.146 So, Lord, help us, brother. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:43.146 --> 00:08:45.086 Question: After studying and preaching 00:08:45.086 --> 00:08:47.130 your recent series on, "Maintaining Unity 00:08:47.130 --> 00:08:48.709 in the Midst of Diversity," 00:08:48.709 --> 00:08:50.378 what do you look back on 00:08:50.378 --> 00:08:52.437 and say most impacted you 00:08:52.437 --> 00:08:54.170 from your studies? NOTE Paragraph 00:08:54.170 --> 00:08:56.749 Jesse: I think the most impactful study 00:08:56.749 --> 00:09:00.884 that I got from the study there personally 00:09:00.884 --> 00:09:06.537 was I thought I was a much more loving person. 00:09:06.537 --> 00:09:10.775 And I realized that the way Paul 00:09:10.775 --> 00:09:14.569 understands love is that we should not 00:09:14.569 --> 00:09:17.836 measure our love based on 00:09:17.836 --> 00:09:20.531 how we get along and respond with those 00:09:20.531 --> 00:09:22.850 who agree with us, 00:09:22.850 --> 00:09:25.597 but rather it's with those who disagree 00:09:25.597 --> 00:09:27.958 or offend us. 00:09:27.958 --> 00:09:30.054 So if we surround ourselves with people 00:09:30.054 --> 00:09:31.047 who just affirm us, 00:09:31.047 --> 00:09:33.016 and who agree on every point of doctrine, 00:09:33.016 --> 00:09:34.656 hold to all the same convictions, 00:09:34.656 --> 00:09:36.597 and have the same passions that we do, 00:09:36.597 --> 00:09:38.872 and we sit around and just affirm each other, 00:09:38.872 --> 00:09:40.364 you might look at that and say, 00:09:40.364 --> 00:09:41.952 look how loving we are. 00:09:41.952 --> 00:09:43.781 And I'm not questioning whether that's 00:09:43.781 --> 00:09:45.476 genuine love or not. 00:09:45.476 --> 00:09:47.218 What I'm saying is though 00:09:47.218 --> 00:09:50.351 the true reality or depth, you could say, 00:09:50.351 --> 00:09:52.946 of your love for people, 00:09:52.946 --> 00:09:55.243 is measured in how you respond 00:09:55.243 --> 00:09:57.511 with those who do not agree; 00:09:57.511 --> 00:10:00.456 with those who hold to different convictions; 00:10:00.456 --> 00:10:03.182 with those who have offended you. 00:10:03.182 --> 00:10:05.852 It is how you respond in those circumstances 00:10:05.852 --> 00:10:08.338 and those situations that reveals 00:10:08.338 --> 00:10:10.877 the depth of our love. 00:10:10.877 --> 00:10:13.086 And I'll go further than that. 00:10:13.086 --> 00:10:17.100 I think it reveals the depth of our love for Jesus. 00:10:17.100 --> 00:10:18.830 I think sometimes we can believe, 00:10:18.830 --> 00:10:22.499 oh, I love Jesus, it's just these immature Christians 00:10:22.499 --> 00:10:24.186 who don't see it the way I do - 00:10:24.186 --> 00:10:25.759 they I struggle with. 00:10:25.759 --> 00:10:27.560 But as I read through Scripture, 00:10:27.560 --> 00:10:30.109 I think of 1 John 3. 00:10:30.109 --> 00:10:32.532 How can you love God 00:10:32.532 --> 00:10:33.844 whom you have not seen 00:10:33.844 --> 00:10:35.618 when you can't even love your brother 00:10:35.618 --> 00:10:37.080 who you do see? 00:10:37.080 --> 00:10:38.446 In other words, this: 00:10:38.446 --> 00:10:41.393 Our love for Christ is always displayed 00:10:41.393 --> 00:10:43.359 in our love for the church; 00:10:43.359 --> 00:10:44.899 in our love for others. 00:10:44.899 --> 00:10:48.605 So our vertical love is always manifested horizontally. 00:10:48.605 --> 00:10:50.741 Or you could say the depth of it. 00:10:50.741 --> 00:10:53.423 And again, to take what Paul said then, 00:10:53.423 --> 00:10:55.939 and the reality of your love horizontally 00:10:55.939 --> 00:10:57.912 is not with those who agree. 00:10:57.912 --> 00:11:00.497 It's with those who disagree. 00:11:00.497 --> 00:11:02.480 So, I went into that thinking, 00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:05.070 I'm a pretty loving guy. 00:11:05.070 --> 00:11:07.927 And I walked away from it realizing, 00:11:07.927 --> 00:11:10.893 I have so much room to grow in my love 00:11:10.893 --> 00:11:12.847 as I look how I respond to those 00:11:12.847 --> 00:11:16.013 who disagree or offend me. NOTE Paragraph 00:11:16.013 --> 00:11:17.885 Another thing I learned from that 00:11:17.885 --> 00:11:20.909 is I've watched people 00:11:20.909 --> 00:11:22.765 when they have disagreements 00:11:22.765 --> 00:11:24.809 maybe in doctrine or convictions 00:11:24.809 --> 00:11:26.820 or how they live out their convictions - 00:11:26.820 --> 00:11:28.648 how they begin to treat 00:11:28.648 --> 00:11:32.194 other genuine Christians, other believers. 00:11:32.194 --> 00:11:35.724 And it's almost like they create subgroups 00:11:35.724 --> 00:11:36.821 or you might say, 00:11:36.821 --> 00:11:39.489 second-class Christians. 00:11:39.489 --> 00:11:41.580 And I want to remind us all 00:11:41.580 --> 00:11:44.997 that there are no second-class Christians. 00:11:44.997 --> 00:11:47.517 That Jesus Christ identifies 00:11:47.517 --> 00:11:49.866 with the genuine believer who holds 00:11:49.866 --> 00:11:52.234 to the lowest view of doctrine; 00:11:52.234 --> 00:11:54.875 the struggling Christian. 00:11:54.875 --> 00:11:56.808 He identifies with them. 00:11:56.808 --> 00:12:00.037 And I'm really struggling in my own life 00:12:00.037 --> 00:12:02.135 and in the church and the church abroad 00:12:02.135 --> 00:12:04.788 with the response I'm seeing 00:12:04.788 --> 00:12:06.709 where people will say things like this: 00:12:06.709 --> 00:12:08.604 "Yes, we agree in the Gospel 00:12:08.604 --> 00:12:09.926 and in Jesus Christ, 00:12:09.926 --> 00:12:11.761 but in this other area of doctrine, 00:12:11.761 --> 00:12:13.283 we don't see eye-to-eye, 00:12:13.283 --> 00:12:17.851 and therefore I can't fellowship with you anymore." 00:12:17.851 --> 00:12:20.446 And that's that eclipsing of Jesus again. 00:12:20.446 --> 00:12:24.300 Brother, if you agree in Jesus Christ 00:12:24.300 --> 00:12:26.272 and the Gospel, 00:12:26.272 --> 00:12:28.713 I'm not minimizing all the other doctrines 00:12:28.713 --> 00:12:30.648 in the Bible - they're important; 00:12:30.648 --> 00:12:32.507 they're God's Word - 00:12:32.507 --> 00:12:34.932 but we have so much in common 00:12:34.932 --> 00:12:37.138 in Christ and the Gospel, 00:12:37.138 --> 00:12:39.188 and then you begin to maximize 00:12:39.188 --> 00:12:41.988 these other areas. 00:12:41.988 --> 00:12:45.438 I struggle to even use the term, because people get so angry at me. 00:12:45.438 --> 00:12:47.584 Non-salvific doctrine. 00:12:47.584 --> 00:12:49.431 But listen, there are other doctrines 00:12:49.431 --> 00:12:52.346 that you can be wrong in and still be saved. 00:12:52.346 --> 00:12:54.256 I think Dr. Mohler did a great job 00:12:54.256 --> 00:12:55.239 in helping in this. 00:12:55.239 --> 00:12:57.489 He called it spiritual triage. 00:12:57.489 --> 00:12:59.234 And he wrote, listen, we don't treat 00:12:59.234 --> 00:13:00.830 a skinned knee like we do 00:13:00.830 --> 00:13:02.991 a gunshot wound to the chest. 00:13:02.991 --> 00:13:06.530 And we have to have a doctrinal triage 00:13:06.530 --> 00:13:09.170 at some level, so that if you and I 00:13:09.170 --> 00:13:12.263 can't agree on some level of eschatology, 00:13:12.263 --> 00:13:14.522 but we see eye-to-eye on Jesus Christ, 00:13:14.522 --> 00:13:16.629 justified by grace through faith alone, 00:13:16.629 --> 00:13:18.259 you're my brother. 00:13:18.259 --> 00:13:19.642 We can be in fellowship. 00:13:19.642 --> 00:13:21.563 We may not be able to pastor together, 00:13:21.563 --> 00:13:23.102 but we can be in fellowship, 00:13:23.102 --> 00:13:25.184 and I need to treat you with the same love 00:13:25.184 --> 00:13:27.082 that I would treat anybody else. 00:13:27.082 --> 00:13:28.747 And brother, I'm not seeing that. 00:13:28.747 --> 00:13:31.925 I'm seeing divisions after divisions after divisions. 00:13:31.925 --> 00:13:34.419 And it's concerning. NOTE Paragraph 00:13:34.419 --> 00:13:36.976 James: And why do you think the devil wants that? NOTE Paragraph 00:13:36.976 --> 00:13:40.325 Jesse: Well, when the church is divided, 00:13:40.325 --> 00:13:42.036 something other than Jesus becomes 00:13:42.036 --> 00:13:44.247 the basis of our unity. 00:13:44.247 --> 00:13:45.866 Something other than Jesus becomes 00:13:45.866 --> 00:13:47.822 the basis of our fellowship. 00:13:47.822 --> 00:13:49.305 And the moment that happens 00:13:49.305 --> 00:13:51.751 and it's not Christ as the foundation anymore, 00:13:51.751 --> 00:13:54.634 the inevitability is we crumble.