Go a little deeper
Pastor Brandon Richardson reads John 8, where the religious leaders insult Jesus and question his identity, and where Jesus tells them he existed before Abraham — after which they take up stones. He reads that confrontation alongside 2 Corinthians 3, where Paul describes a veil over hearts and says that those who behold the Lord's glory are transformed into the same image. The message's central claim is that what we stare at, we become, and that the leaders had stared at the law so long they could not recognize righteousness standing in front of them.
After a prayer for wisdom and revelation, Pastor Brandon tells a story about his children and a hot glue gun to make the point that they needed to stop talking and start listening. He then argues that Scripture should be read through a finished-work, christological lens, and he names three signs that righteousness has become blurry to us: we dishonor the word of righteousness, we are easily offended by it, and we cannot properly discern and host the presence of God. Along the way he turns to Romans 6, 1 Corinthians 15, and the account of Martha and Mary in Luke 10, arguing that self-effort produces anxiety while beholding Jesus produces rest.
The message closes with a T-ball story about his son's boldness, an account he heard from another minister about a longtime church member, and a description of a Psalm 23 season of being shepherded into rest. Pastor Brandon prays that young believers would not have to unlearn years of self-effort, and invites anyone who wants rest and righteousness to raise a hand and pray with him. The ruling image is not effort but attention: Jesus asking for our gaze so that, beholding him, we reflect his kingdom instead of our own striving.
Take this with you
What you behold shapes what you become
Drawing on 2 Corinthians 3, Pastor Brandon says that those who behold the Lord are transformed into his image, so what we steadily look at shapes us. Staring at the law and self-effort produces anxiety and insecurity; beholding Jesus as righteousness produces rest and likeness to him.
Fixation on the law can blind you to grace
In John 8, Pastor Brandon says the religious leaders had stared at the law so long that when righteousness stood in front of them, they read it as a threat and reached for stones. He says the same can happen today whenever we evaluate ourselves by performance instead of by what Christ has done.
Self-effort is the offspring of legalism
Pastor Brandon frames legalism as an attempt to add self-effort to what Jesus finished, calling it a different gospel and appealing to Paul's argument in Galatians. He also points to Romans 6, where Paul asks how those who died to sin could live in it, and to 1 Corinthians 15, where the law is described as the strength of sin. Righteousness, in this framing, is received rather than achieved, and growth in sanctification follows that reception.
Presence can be hosted and still missed
In the account of Martha and Mary in Luke 10, Martha welcomes Jesus into her home and then collapses into anxiety over everything she thinks must be done. Pastor Brandon notes that Jesus does not endorse her anxiety or her frustration with her sister, and says one thing is needed.
Rest is the posture for what comes next
Pastor Brandon describes a Psalm 23 season of being shepherded into rest before anticipated momentum, calling the church to labor from interior rest rather than striving. He describes peace and joy as a kind of check engine light for whether one is beholding Jesus or beholding self-effort.
The conversation,
in their words.
Transcript from the recording’s captions. Select any timestamp to hear the original audio.
How many of you guys are enjoying the book of John? Oh my gosh. I I I think we might be able to uh button this thing up like in two two to three years at the pace that we're going. But it's such a beautiful book. It's so it's so fun uh just to be able to go line upon line, verse upon verse. Uh so we're going to jump into uh the Bible this morning. Come on. Would you stand with me as we jump into the text? We're going to read a lot of scripture along with the subtext. How many people brought your Bibles to church? Come on, let's go. John 8:48. Then the Jews answered and said to him, "Do we not say rightly that you're a Samaritan and have a demon?"
Such a fun verse to jump into right off the bat. Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon, but I honor my father." Everybody say, "Honor." Honor. "And you dishonor me, and I do not seek my own glory. There is one who seeks and judges. Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he shall never see death." Then the Jews said to him, "Now we know that you demon Abraham's dead in the prophets. And you say, 'If anyone keeps my word, he shall never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham who's dead and the prophets who are dead? Who do you make yourself out to be? Jesus answered, "If I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It's my father who honors me, of whom you say that he is your God. Yet you have not known him,
but I know him. And if I say I do not know him, I shall be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I keep his word." Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and was glad. Then the Jews said to him, "You're not yet 50 years old and you've seen Abraham." Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. I am." Then they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. And now quickly our subtext is 2 Corinthians 3. 2 Corinthians 3 uh starting at verse 7 says, "But if the ministry of death," talking about the talking about the law
written and engraved on stones was glorious so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance which glory was passing away. How will the ministry of the spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of the law, the ministry of righteousness, somebody say righteousness exceeds much more in glory. Then skip to verse 12. Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech. Unlike Moses who put a veil over his face so the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. Everybody say blinded.
Blinded. For until this day, the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image. Come on, the same image from glory to glory just as by the spirit of the Lord. In other words, we reflect the one that we behold. Come on, will you pray with me this morning? Father, we love you.
G Jesus, we honor your presence. We're so grateful this morning. We don't take for granted even your presence in the room this morning. We don't take for granted the privilege to be able to worship and minister to you together. God, I'm asking for the spirit of wisdom and the spirit of revelation to rest upon us this morning. God, I'm praying that you would give me grace not just to communicate but to communicate your heart to your beloved to the crowning jewel of your creation, your people this morning. God, I pray that you would release the spirit of of Barnabas that would encourage and that would edify your church that they would know that this is good news. Would you give us an ear to hear, anoint our ears to hear this morning in Jesus name. Come on, if you're in agreement, say yes. Come on, you can be seated.
Hey, show of hands how many parents we have in the room. Okay, all over every almost everybody's got kids. Tell me being a parent isn't just the best. It's the best. Like the the greatest privilege of my life, honestly, is to be dad to Isaiah, Damon, Wesley, and Seda. For sure. The greatest privilege of my life. like to be able to watch them experience life for the very first time. Anybody know what I'm talking about? To see life through their eyes, it's incredible. But back when my kids were little, they used to drive me up the wall. They would drive me up the wall. I would be I would be showing them something or teaching them something for the very first time. And while I'm explaining it, I get hit with a, "Yeah, I know, Dad.
Yeah, I And I'm I'd be like, "Bro, I am showing this to you for the very first time. You literally don't know, my guy. Like, don't tell me you know how to play Mario Bros. 3. I lit I just put a Nintendo control in your house for the first time in your in your hand." Like, anybody know what I'm talking about? I know, Dad. So, I would have this ongoing discussion of, "Hey, you guys have to learn how to stop talking and start listening. Stop talking and start listening." And so, I'll never forget uh a number of years ago, my wife decided it was time for them to learn how to use uh the hot stick glue gun for crafts. You guys know what I'm talking
about? Like the hot. And so I caught wind of this and I ran upstairs and I'm like, "Guys, listen. This is a big deal that your mom's entrusting you with this thing, okay? Because we homeschool. And so homeschool means we're all about crafts up in the Richardson household." And I'm like, "These these guys are dangerous." Like this gun will burn you. You understand? Yeah, I know, Dad. I know. I know. I'm like, "Okay." So, a few hours go by and I'm downstairs and all of a sudden we hear my wife and I hear this blood curling scream. Like blood curling scream, which at our house is kind of part for the course cuz we had three boys who were within 3 years of each other. So, they were always at each other like all the time.
But this scream was just a little different. So, I'm like, "Okay, I'll get up. I'm going." And so I start to walk upstairs and within another few seconds there's another boy screaming bloody murder. And so the adrenaline starts to like pump and I'm already I'm already having a fight with my wife in my head. I'm like this is why I know you shouldn't have given him this, you know, I'm already like worst case scenario. I get to the top of the stairs and I find one boy is covering his eye screaming and the other boy is wideeyed screaming, crying while he's holding the glue gun. And so the one boy who was holding the glue gun who will remain nameless. Uh and by the way, I have permission from
my boys to share anytime. I'm sure is I always have permission because there's always there's always somebody that'll come and be like, "Do are your are your kids okay?" Like telling us. I'm like, "Yes, yes, you can call CPS if you want to about us letting them use a glue gun." But we had permission to share this story. So I the boy with the glue gun decided that it would be just really interesting to see what would happen if he just kind of flicked the the gun at his brother. Like you know what? And hey, I they're like six or seven at the time. I'm like, I don't know. Maybe that's something that, you know, would be fascinating to a six-year-old. Maybe it freezes midair. Just bounces off their t-shirt. You I don't know. But it had hit the other boy square on the eyelid.
Long story short, he ended up being just fine like within the moment. Okay. Came off. So once once my son realized that he didn't just blind his brother, they start to calm down and I did what any dad in that moment would do. I got down on one knee and I looked right at him and I said, "Buddy, this is why you listen to your dad. This is why you stop talking and you start listening. How many times have you told that to your kiddos? Paris, come on. Stop talking. Start listening. Okay, it's funny. It's funny, but this is exactly how I'm reading this text in John 8.
I'm like, dear Jewish leader, dear Mr. Pharisee, for the love of God, stop talking and start listening. I'm like, bro, do you not re you guys not realize you're standing in the presence of God? Do you not realize that you're you're talking to the one who upholds all things by the word of his power? Do you know who you're talking to? But the sad reality is, listen, these guys had been staring at the law for so long that when Jesus, who according to Paul in 2 Corinthians 3, who represents righteousness, when righteousness shows up, they couldn't recognize him.
They couldn't recognize him. Why? Because Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 3 that the law creates a veil over your heart. you're blind to righteousness. They had been staring at the law for so long they couldn't recognize righteousness when it showed up. The title of my message this morning is what are you staring at? What are you staring at? Just look at your neighbor. Say, "What you staring at?" What you what you staring at, Willis? Listen, it is it's so imperative that when we open up scripture in 2025, you guys, that we read scripture through a finished work lens.
Okay? It could also be called a christoologgical lens. So, who was here last time I preached last month? Okay, so last month I talked about this word called christoentrism. Christorism is essentially what we do with Jesus, right? We put Jesus first. We put Jesus at the forefront of our lives. We want to make Jesus famous. It's all about, right? But I talked about how vital it is for us to understand who Jesus is and what he's done with us. This is called christologology. The study of who Jesus is and what he's done with us. Christologology is not the study of new age crystals. Every every time I use the word, they're like, "That's I hear people say that sounds like a new age word." But I'm like, it is the most beautiful petristic
word that we have in the in the Christian faith. Okay? Christologology, the study of who Jesus is and what he's done with us. You guys following me this morning? So now, anytime we open up the Bible, if I'm in the Old Covenant, I'm not just reading the Old Covenant. I'm reading it through a finished work lens. When I open up Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, I'm reading it through a finished work or through a christoologgical lens. In other words, I put on my Jesus glasses every time I read the word of God. Okay, you guys track it with me? I put on my Jesus glasses every time I read the word of God. And that's why, if I'm being honest, sometimes people will be like, "Well, listen, bro. We just got to get back to the word of God." You know, like, "We just got to get back to the word." I'm like, that doesn't do anything for me today. Because whose interpretation
of the word of God do you think that we need to get back to? Fox News interpretation, CNN interpretation, LGBTQ interpretation, Proud Boys interpretation, reformed interpretation, Pentecostal holiness, oldtime religion inter whose interpretation of the word of God do you think that we need to get back to? And I'm here to tell us this morning, church, that the only interpretation we need to get, if Paul was standing here this morning, the Apostle Paul, he would tell us the only interpretation that you and I should be reading scripture through is the Jesus interpretation.
We have a saying uh here at Journey Church, we say it's all about Jesus. I'm here to announce to you this morning, it really is all about Jesus. Amen. So, when we read scripture, we have to read it through a finished work lens. We're putting our Jesus glasses on this morning, you guys. Okay? Okay. So, with this in mind, now we can read this passage in John chapter 8 through this finished work lens. And we can see that Jesus, who represents righteousness, is having a little conversation with the Jewish leaders of the day who represent the law. righteousness is having a conversation with the law and it's it's not going well through all of chapter 8. This
story it's it's not going well. It doesn't end well. And can I tell you it's no different in 2025. The individual who is staring at the law will always be in conflict with the person who's staring at righteousness. The individual who's staring at the law will always be in conflict with the person who's staring at righteousness. Now listen, in no way, shape, or form am I standing up here this morning espousing that I think any of us or anybody in the Western church is really trying to live under the law. Okay? And it's whatever it is, 613 uh regulations. Like that's crazy. If that's something you want to do, go knock yourself out. Come talk to me in a year. Let me know. Let me know how that's going.
But to not fully surrender to the revelation of righteousness means that we're continuing to move in a realm of self-effort. And self-effort is the offspring of the law, which has another name. It's called legalism. Legalism. This is this is what Paul is going after in the book of Galatians. is these Jewish leaders had showed up into the church and they're saying, "Hey, it's okay for you to be saved, but you have to add a little self-effort, a little something something to your righteousness." And Paul says, "That's not a go." Paul calls it a fake gospel, number one. And he says, "If anyone adds to my gospel, let him be accursed." Like Paul gets serious real quick. In
other words, Paul's saying, "You can't self-effort your way into the kingdom. You can't hustle and grind your way into the kingdom. You can't hulk smash your way into righteousness. You can't David Gogggins your way into right standing with God. There's nothing that you and I could ever do that would cause us to be righteous before his sight." Right? This is what we talked about last month. You're righteous and it's not your fault. You're perfectly righteous. You don't grow in righteousness. You grow in the renewing of your mind, which is sanctification. We We have to grow in sanctification of this revelation. But you've been made righteous. You're as righteous as Jesus is righteous today. Why? Because it's his righteousness that covers you. The church is waking up to this revelation. This is the gospel and nothing else.
This is what gives us confidence. Listen, this is what actually gives us peace in our interior space. That's why maturity in the kingdom is understanding. It's not what you achieve, it's what you receive that causes you to prosper in your interior heart and mind. I love that so much. I'm going to read it again. That's why maturity in the kingdom is understanding. It's not what you achieve. Shouting me down. Thank you. I agree. It's what you receive that causes you to prosper in your interior space. So my question for us this morning, my question for us this morning is what are we staring at in 2025? What are you staring at? Because if we're not careful, we'll be just like the Jewish leaders when the the revelation of righteousness shows up
right in front of them. They miss it because they were so busy staring at their own self-effort. What are we staring at? So, I want to look at a few different ways to determine if we're currently blind to righteousness or even if even if righteousness is just a little blurry today. Maybe because we're too busy beholding our own self-effort. You guys doing okay this morning? Number one, first way to know you're not fully staring at righteousness is you dishonor the word of righteousness. We pick up in verse 48. The Jewish leaders, what do they do? They they they call Jesus a Samaritan and they say, "Bro, you're demonpossessed." Now, for a for a Jew to call another Jew a Samaritan was like a heavy insult.
Okay? Because Jew the Jewish people believed that Samaritans were like half breeds. They were impure. So, watch this. So, they're essentially saying, "Jesus, you're not who you say you are. You're falsifying your identity and you're demonpossessed. You're falsifying your identity and you're demonpossessed. The religious spirit accuses those who are standing in righteousness and who are preaching Paul's gospel of grace and righteousness today of the same thing. That this I'm serious. They call it a false gospel and a doctrine of demons. Amen. That's what they do. Oh, bro, you just you're just preaching hyper grace. You're just you're just preaching that greasy grace, bro. That's that sloppy agopy.
And this and this is their argument. And listen, this is this is what I this is what I used to believe. You're just giving people a license to sin. How many people have heard this? They're just they're just giving people a license to sin. And I'm like, that's the most ignorant statement because if you've ever read this guy named Paul in Romans 6, he says, "How can we who have died to sin live any longer in it?" Like, it's not even my address anymore. How could I be obsessed with sin when I'm dead to it, right? How can how can we who are now righteous live any longer in sin? And the answer is you can't. You can't. And this is what's crazy. A lot of these
ministries and keyboard warriors out in YouTube land that have gone after guys that are preaching grace and after people that are preaching righteousness, the amount of these guys that have fallen and lost their entire ministry over the last two to three years to sin and moral failure. It's crazy. Why? I'm talking about guys that talked about sin, focused on sin, ended up losing everything to Why? Because Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, the law is the strength of sin. The law is the strength of sin. If I'm staring at the law, sir, if I'm staring at sin, what do you think I'm gonna manifest?
My question to us this morning is, what are we staring at? What are we staring at? How many people uh are meme people? Like you like memes on social media. You send your friends and family memes. Like, I love a good meme. Okay, if you love me, you're gonna get like one or two memes from me a week in your inbox and Instagram. Okay. But sometimes the church comes up with the goofiest stuff that we just do. Okay. Uh last it was like last year there was this meme floating around that said something to the effect of if the Apostle Paul were alive today, the church would be getting a letter. Anybody see that one? If Paul was alive today, the church would be getting a letter. Boy. And I thought, first of all, how goofy is that? Like it's 2025. We wouldn't be getting a letter. It's called an email,
bro. like, "Hello, Mailchimp." Or it'd be something on social media, right? Facebook post. And then two, all Paul would say is, "Dear Church in the West, please go back and read what I already wrote. It will really bless you and solve all your problems. I promise." Sincerely, Paul. PS. Stop getting your theology from social media. Like everything that we need pertaining to life and godliness is already there. You have been made righteous in 2 Corinthians 3 says we reflect the one that we behold. So how about the church
begin to look at him and reflect the kingdom? It's already there. My question to us this morning is what are we staring at? The second way to know you're not fully staring at righteousness is you're easily offended by it. You're easily offended by it. Verse 58, Jesus announces to the Jewish leaders that before Abraham was, he says, "I am." Jesus in that moment announces that he is the eternally begotten son of the living God. As the kids would say today, Jesus says, "I'm him. I'm him." And it so offends the religious spirit in these guys that
it provokes a murderous spirit to rise up on the inside of them, pick up rocks, and try and kill him. Why? Because religion will always try and throw rocks at that which it cannot recognize. Religion will always try and destroy and go after that which it does not recognize. Self-effort religious the religious spirit recognizes that all day. Legalism, you know, it's like game recognizes game. I see you. but a bloodbought son and daughter who stands up boldly and declares, "I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, seated with him in heavenly places, as righteous as Jesus is righteous because it's his righteousness that covers me."
You better get ready to duck. But can I just tell you this morning, who cares? There's another Bible verse that says that the righteous are as bold as lions. Can I tell you? I think it's time for the church for us to grow a backbone in the spirit. It's it's time for us to absolutely be so sure as to who he is and who we are in him. Like it's time for us to stop playing defense and start playing offense. If we know who we are, guess what? We can humbly engage culture, not be afraid of it, and go low and serve. You know why Central Oregon is going to be saved? Because we know who we are. I'm serious. If you know who you are, you can take a city because you realize at that point it's
no longer about me, right? It's no longer about me. Those who know who they are, they're not arrogant. They're the ones that can go low and serve and lay their lives down for their fellow man. Why? Because they've been looking, they've been staring at he who is righteous, and they can't help. They can't help but give their life away. They're bold. I'll never forget when my uh my first born was five. We put him in T-ball. Anybody any T-ball parents in here? Little league parents in here. It was the cutest thing ever. The first the first year the coach had these kids their very first game walk into the batters box and before they could hit, they had to turn around and look at all the people in the stands say their name and their age.
Cutest thing ever. So you have all these kids, you know, walk up, the bat is bigger than them at this age. They turn around and say, "My name is so and so. I'm 5 years old." And then turn around and try to hit the ball, even though they just hit the tea. You know, the tea and the ball goes down at the same time. And then my boy shows up and he he walks up. He walks up. I'll never forget it. Turns around and at the top of his lungs, "My name's Isaiah. I'm 5 years old." And then he turns around and hits the ball. I look right at my wife. I'm like, "That boy is going to preach." There was a a boldness. Listen, when you know who you are, when you're staring at Mr. Righteousness himself, you can't
help but have an excitement in a in a boldness that you walk and carry. Amen. My question today is, what are we staring at? Number three, the third way to know you're not fully staring at righteousness is you can't properly discern and host the presence of God. You can't you can't discern and host the presence of God. Obviously, the Jewish leaders missed the prophetic moment they were in when Jesus is standing right in front of them. But I want us to look at Luke chapter 10 as as a subtext this morning. If we can pull that up. Luke chapter 10. Now it happened as they went that they entered a certain village and a certain woman named Martha welcomed him into her
house and she had a sister called Mary who also sat at Jesus's feet and heard his word. But Martha was distracted with much serving and she approached him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore, tell her to help me." And Jesus answered and said to her,"Martha, Martha, you're worried and you're troubled about many things, but one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her." Watch this. Martha welcomes the presence of God into her home and immediately moves into anxiety.
Martha is around the presence of God and is still super anxious. Why? Because instead of staring at he who is righteous and receiving his word, she was too busy staring at all the things that she thought she needed to do for him. And Jesus refuses to endorse any of it. Doesn't endorse her anxiety. Does not endorse her frustration with her sister. And listen, Jesus loved Martha. Sometimes we hear this story and we're like, Martha or Mary's the favorite and there's Martha. No, Jesus loves Martha. And he says, Martha, only one thing. There's only one thing that's needed. You know what I need you to do?
I just need you to look at me. I just need you to look at me. Can I tell you? I I think the only thing that the Lord's after, I honestly believe this. All of our problems could be solved if we just as the church in the West begin to look at him. If we just begin to look at him. I have seen over 20 years, I have seen this movie played out so many times in the church world and in families. We welcome the presence of God. Holy Spirit, we welcome you. The presence shows up. We get a little breakthrough in our ministries. And then the next thing that we do is we begin to stare at all of the things that we think we need to do. And then we look up 3, five, 10 years later and realize that the Holy Spirit didn't endorse any of it.
People are hurt. We're anxious. frustrated with our brothers and sisters. You weren't working as hard as I was working. You weren't running like I was running. That's why it didn't work. I'm I've seen this play out all over across the country where we start by beholding him and then breakthrough shows up and then we just start staring at everything else that we think we need to do. The answer for us here locally and globally is just to give him our eyes again. He just wants our eyes. And that doesn't mean that we don't do. We go. If you know anything about this house journey, church, we have so many things going on, right?
But our eyes are fixed on Jesus, not the stuff. We can labor and we can go from a place of interior rest. 2 Corinthians 3:18. Listen, you can give your life to beholding Jesus and reflecting the kingdom. Who doesn't want to do that? Who doesn't want to reflect the kingdom? And what is the kingdom, by the way? Righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Watch this. Twothirds of the kingdom is tangible. Like you can feel it. Peace and joy. So if you're ever in a pl I do this all the time. It's like a little check engine light. A kingdom check engine light. If I feel like I'm moving into a realm of anxiety
and my peace and my joy meter is low, I immediately just remind myself of my righteousness. Ho ho ho, Brandon. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You're righteous. So just begin to engage him who has caused you to be righteous. All of a sudden, I can't help but get happy. I'm serious. We behold him. We reflect the kingdom. But listen, you can spend your entire life beholding your own self-effort, your own track record, how well you think you're doing, and all you're going to ever reflect to the world around you is anxiety, worry, and insecurity. That's it. That's it. I'll never forget hearing a man of God share a true story about a woman who gave her life to the local
church. She was a pillar. A pillar. If there was a need, she was the first person there. If there was a financial need, she was the first person that gave what she could. Served faithfully for decade after decade after decade in love with Jesus. And then on her final day when she was on her deathbed, family surrounding her with tears in her eyes, she looked at one of her daughters and said, "I hope I've just done enough. I hope I've just done enough." You can be madly in love with Jesus and still not know that you're perfectly righteous. You you can prophesy over everybody in a Walmart parking lot and be clueless of your righteousness in Christ.
Up until she drew her last breath, she was reflecting anxiety and worry. Can I tell you this morning, family, there's nothing that you or I could ever do that would ever be enough. There's nothing that you and I could do that would ever be enough. We stand on his faithfulness this morning. I think it's time for the church to begin to hang their hat on his faithfulness again, not ours. We reflect the one that we behold as Haley comes. I just I I felt this yesterday when I was praying praying for you that I I feel like the Lord has us in a Psalm 23 moment
where he is shephering us in some things. How many people know Psalm 23? The Lord is my I shall not want. He makes me lie down. He causes us to rest. You know what our breakthrough is right now in this season before we go into what's next? Because God, I'm telling, we're getting ready to come into a season, I believe, of of crazy momentum in the spirit. We're going to see people coming into the kingdom in droves. But we have to move and work from a place of interior rest. And he is wanting us, he is shephering us right now. He's causing us to rest in his finished work.
Rest in his righteousness to where we're no longer reflecting anxiety. Some of the most anxious, insecure people I've ever met in my entire life are church people. I'm serious. It's not people in the world. It's church people. Because we get in church and we make this thing all about what we're going to do do. And we need to clean up the doodoo in the church. I'm serious. He is shephering us right now. I'm not just here, but I' i've seeing this happen across the country to where the finished work message is being put on display again. Listen, the new thing is really the old thing. Revival is out with the old, in with the older. The new path, I'm serious. The new path is the ancient path. It's not some new message. We've just never heard it.
Yeah, we've never heard it. We've heard a little law with a little grace and so we've been anxious, but God is listen. God is saying, "I'm jealous for my church. I'm jealous for my church." And she needs to know what I paid for with royal blood. Like, he is jealous for us to rest. He's jealous for us to rest. Come on. Would you stand with me this morning? If you're a believer in the house this morning, this is an announcement to you that peace and joy is your portion. And if you don't feel like you live from a place of interior rest,
I said this first service, oo, I see these girls up here. I see these young people coming into church who are just on fire for Jesus. And my heart says, "God, don't let them have to unlearn years of stuff that it's taken me 20 years to unlearn. God, do not let the law and selfeffort come in and squeeze out the fiery passion and devotion that they have for you. Would you so root them in the fact that they're righteous, that they're perfectly loved, and let them burn for you for decade after decade after decade. If you're a believer in the house this morning, I want to tell you righteousness, peace, and joy is the kingdom. Peace and joy is your portion. And if you struggle with
anxiety or you feel like you're reflecting anxiety, just begin to look at him. Yes. Begin to remind yourself of your righteousness. And listen, and if you don't know the Lord, this is your day. You're in the right place. You're in the right place. So, with every head bowed, every eye closed, listen. If you don't know the Lord and you're saying, "Not only do I want this eternal life thing. I don't want to be anxious about that. I don't want to be anxious about that, but I also want this rest that you're talking about. I want to be able to experience this rest that comes from this righteousness that Jesus has procured for me. If that's you, if you're in this place this morning and you're saying,"I want to be called the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus because what I'm doing right now isn't working." If that's you right now, just
lift your hand all across the room if you want if you want to be made the righteous. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. I see you. God bless you. Come on. Hands going up. Listen, this is nothing that you could ever do on your own. Today you're saying yes, but tomorrow you're going to want to try to help Jesus. And he's saying, "I don't need your help. I just want you to look at me. I just want you to stare at me." So everybody pray this prayer with me. Say, "Jesus, Jesus, I repent of wrong thinking. I repent of I repent of my sin. I repent of my sin. and I receive your righteousness.
I surrender my life to you. I pray that you would come live your life in me. I am yours. I am yours and you are mine. Today and forever more. Would you give me grace? to stare at you, to stare at you, to behold you, behold you and reflect the image that I behold in Jesus name. in Jesus name. Amen. And amen. And amen.
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Reading Scripture with a finished-work lens
Pastor Brandon argues that Scripture should be read through who Jesus is and what he has done, which he calls a christological lens, and the message contrasts the ministry of the law with the ministry of righteousness in 2 Corinthians 3. This section offers reflection questions on that explicit teaching.
2 Corinthians 3:7-18 · John 8:48-59
- Pastor Brandon says he puts on 'Jesus glasses' every time he reads the Word. How does he describe that lens shaping the way he reads the Old Covenant and the Gospels?
- Paul contrasts the ministry of condemnation with the ministry of the Spirit in 2 Corinthians 3. What does Pastor Brandon say that contrast means for how believers read the Old Testament?
- Pastor Brandon says the only interpretation we need is the Jesus interpretation. What reasons does he give from the text for that claim?
Recognizing righteousness in the person of Jesus
The message reads the confrontation in John 8 as a collision between those staring at the law and the one who is righteousness in person. The leaders call Jesus a Samaritan and say he has a demon, and Pastor Brandon draws a parallel between that accusation and charges that grace teaching gives license to sin, answering from Romans 6 and 1 Corinthians 15.
John 8:48-53 · John 8:56-59 · Romans 6 · 1 Corinthians 15
- Pastor Brandon says religion will always throw rocks at what it cannot recognize. How does he trace that pattern through the end of John 8?
- How does Pastor Brandon answer the charge that grace teaching gives people a license to sin, and what passages does he use?
- What does Pastor Brandon say Paul means when he describes the law as the strength of sin in 1 Corinthians 15?
Self-effort, legalism, and the gift of righteousness
Pastor Brandon describes legalism as adding self-effort to the finished work of Christ, citing Paul's confrontation of a different gospel in Galatians. The message insists that righteousness is received rather than achieved, while sanctification is about the renewing of the mind.
Galatians
- Pastor Brandon says self-effort is the offspring of the law. How does he describe legalism from Paul's argument in Galatians?
- How does Pastor Brandon distinguish being made righteous from growing in the renewing of the mind?
- He says maturity in the kingdom is not what you achieve but what you receive. What does he mean by that, and what does he say it produces in a person's interior life?
Hosting the presence of God without anxiety
Turning to Luke 10, Pastor Brandon contrasts Martha's welcome of Jesus with her distraction, noting that Jesus does not endorse her anxiety or her complaint against Mary but says one thing is needed. The message applies this to churches that start by beholding God and then begin staring at everything they think they must do.
Luke 10:38-42
- Martha welcomed Jesus and still became anxious. What does Pastor Brandon say was the reason for her anxiety?
- According to the message, what is the contrast between Martha's attention to tasks and Mary's attention to Jesus?
- What does Pastor Brandon say is the 'one thing' Jesus was asking of Martha?
Beholding and reflecting: rest as the posture for mission
The closing movement of the message describes a Psalm 23 season in which God shepherds his people into rest, and calls peace and joy a kind of kingdom check engine light. Pastor Brandon prays that young believers would not have to unlearn years of self-effort, and closes with an invitation to receive righteousness and rest.
Psalm 23 · 2 Corinthians 3:18
- Pastor Brandon describes peace and joy as a check engine light. How does he say he uses that signal in his own life, and what does he do when it runs low?
- What does Pastor Brandon mean when he says we should move and work from a place of interior rest?
- Why does he pray that younger believers would not have to unlearn years of self-effort?
Answers from this recording
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What does Pastor Brandon mean by “what you stare at, you become”?+
He draws this from 2 Corinthians 3, where Paul says that those who behold the Lord’s glory with unveiled faces are being transformed into the same image. From that, the message argues that attention is formative. Staring at the law and self-effort produces anxiety, insecurity, and a veiled inability to recognize grace; beholding Jesus as righteousness produces rest and a reflection of his kingdom.
What helps you keep your attention on Jesus rather than on your own performance?
Why were the religious leaders in John 8 unable to recognize Jesus?+
Pastor Brandon says they had stared at the law so long that when righteousness appeared in front of them they could not see it. In this reading, the law creates a veil over the heart, so the confrontation in John 8 is not merely a difference of opinion but a blind spot produced by fixation on self-effort. That is why they called Jesus a Samaritan, said he had a demon, and eventually took up stones.
How does Pastor Brandon distinguish being made righteous from growing?+
The message insists righteousness is a gift received, not a status achieved, and that a believer is as righteous as Jesus is righteous because his righteousness covers them. Growth, in this framing, is sanctification, the renewing of the mind around that already-given identity. Pastor Brandon says maturity in the kingdom is not what you achieve but what you receive that prospers your interior life. He warns that adding self-effort to this is legalism and, as Paul says in Galatians, a different gospel.
How would you describe the difference between sanctification and self-effort in your own words?
What does the story of Martha teach about hosting God’s presence?+
In Luke 10, Martha genuinely welcomes Jesus into her home and then unravels into worry over everything she thinks must be done for him. Jesus does not endorse her anxiety or her complaint against Mary; he says one thing is needed and that Mary chose it. The lesson is that it is possible to be near God’s presence and still be anxious because your eyes are on your own efforts rather than on him.
What tends to distract you from Jesus when you are busy serving?
What kind of response does the message invite at its close?+
Pastor Brandon describes a Psalm 23 season of being shepherded into rest before anticipated momentum, and prays that younger believers would not spend years unlearning self-effort. He then invites anyone who wants rest and righteousness to raise a hand and pray, confessing wrong thinking and receiving Christ’s righteousness. The closing prayer asks for grace to look at Jesus, tied to the 2 Corinthians 3 picture of beholding and reflecting.
What would receiving righteousness as a gift rather than earning it change about your daily life?
