Uh oh
We'll sing out, shout the victory!
We are the people of every battle
We'll spread the fire
Once we're ready
May the heart burn
Now I'm sure I'll fight
When we are in the fight
One day everyone will have to leave
And we all will sing
Jesus will sing
And shout out the victory!
The river of the King
Loved in majesty
And all the earth rejoiced
All the earth rejoiced
In the heavens himself in light
In the darkness drives in light
And turn those eyes towards
Turn those eyes towards
I'll breathe the sour gout
Sing with me, I'll breathe
The sour gout
You'll almost see me I'll break
I'll break
The sour gout
In the age to age this town
The sun has set in its head
We're turning at the end
So come all that's waiting in the world
The Father, Spirit, and Son
You'll find that place
That you'll never find
You'll find that place
Right there!
Alright, inspirational moment in time
This is your opportunity to share how the Lord has been speaking to you this week
What you might have read, what you might have seen, what you might have done
You were there and God said, hey pay attention to that
There's a little something to notice, a little something to learn
What have you got? What have you heard? What have you seen?
What the last seven days have been like for you?
Yesterday, okay we should go ahead
And then, and then, and then, go
So, I have seen for myself this week
And I've seen a little bit in others too
We can talk about it
The power of perseverance
And you know what it is that God wants you to do
And regardless of what's going on in your life
Or what other people are doing or saying
Or how you feel, you do it anyway
I'm struggling with physical pain
Emotional pain
Also suffering from physical pain
Health condition
I got some rough news from my doctor
A couple weeks ago that I've just kind of been
I don't know, not really in denial
But I don't have time for that right now
It's kind of how I feel about it
And try and figure out how to deal with it
Try and figure out how to go about it
How to push through that
And feeling like it's just not something I want to deal with right now
What's the one truth?
But through all of that
I know where God wants me to be
I know what I'm supposed to be doing
And I do that
And I cried in pain all the way here this morning
And I got up there and started playing the guitar
And all the pain went away
And so I'm standing here right now with no pain
I've been in pain since I went to bed last night
And so when you do what it is that God wants you to do
And you lean on Him and you say, God, take this away from me
And you do what you're supposed to do
He will be there
He will help you and He will pull you through that
You just have to show Him that you want to do what you want
Amen. That's a good word. Good word. Here.
On Tuesday
On Tuesday our school band went to Senior Point
And while we were there
Me and my group of friends
We were supposed to do a shat run
But our shat run left us
And we couldn't just find them
And I feel like I was keeping me calm
Even though it was like a stressful situation
Because everybody else was freaking out
And we had to keep calm
And I was really nervous hoping I'd see that
Awesome. It's good to know God has comforted us
In this stressful situation
So I got to watch the movie
If you get a chance to see it
I'll give you a little warning about it
But I would recommend it
It's called Tulsa
Anybody ever seen it?
Good. Want to watch it?
Alright, so I'm not going to ruin the end for you
Don't worry about it. No spoiler alert or anything
But there is a man in the movie
And he tells a story
And I think maybe I had heard this story parable
If you will
Previously but I had forgotten all about it
And so as he was telling it
I'm thinking like I think I've heard this
I think I remember it
But I had forgotten all about it
And it's about a man who's out on a sailing vessel
And he's in the
Sailing on the ocean
Or whatever
And a storm comes up
And it's pretty bad
And the ship begins to get swamped
Gaining a lot of water
It's still afloat
And he's theoretically safe
As long as the ship doesn't sink
Or capsize or whatever
But it's going to be
Pretty close call
Like the ship could sink
The ship might not be serviceable
And he might not be able to get enough water out
To really be able to use it
And he's riding out the storm
And he's praying
And then all of a sudden
Lightning strikes the ship
And when the lightning strikes the ship
A good portion of the ship bursts into flames
And the ship begins to burn
Out of control despite the storms
Rain, the counter would see windy
Dark clouds, everything counter would see
And yet the ship is burning
And they'll do that
And so no solution left
He goes overboard
Grabs a light ring
And goes overboard into the water
And he watches from a little bit of a distance
As the ship is just engulfed in flames
And it's going down
It's definitely not salvageable now
Everything above the water line will burn
And just then
A search light comes shining through the water
And he is spotted
And they haul him aboard the ship
Well as he's in the water
Right before the search light comes
He's saying, God, what is going on?
I trusted you
I trusted you with everything
I've been out here
I take a certain amount of risk
I understand it, but not here
And then the storm comes
And that's bad enough
And I might have survived the storm
But then my boat is being burned out
Now I'm stranded in the ocean on a light ring
And no one is out here to save me
And what is going on?
And he's really kind of accusing God
And then the search light comes up
And he saves me
He gets pulled up on board the boat
And the captain says to him
He says, it's amazing
It's an absolute act of God
That we were able to find you out here in the ocean
He said, did you set your boat on fire?
He said, that was the smartest thing you could have done
Because there's no way we would have found you out here
Lost in the storm, in the dark
If the boat had not been burning
But we saw the flames of the boat in the distance
And we came and I see the boat is gone now
But we came because of the flames
And we found you in the water
And the man in the movie reminded me of kind of the moral of that story
You might find several in there
But one of the key was pointing out
Sometimes your boat's got to get set on fire
In order for you to get saved
And so I look at the world
And I see a lot of burning going on
There's a lot of trouble
A lot of people who are just kind of plugging away day after day
Facing a lot of real difficulty
And feeling alone, feeling stressed, feeling like there is no hope
But we know there is hope in Christ
And in the movie, the man that if he didn't suddenly accept Jesus or anything
But that parable got him thinking
That story got him thinking about how his life had been basically a dumpster fire
For several years, many years
And really wasn't getting any better
He was kind of on the verge of suicide and whatever
And that parable got him thinking
And I just felt like God was saying to me two things
First of all, that we need to remember that sometimes when things are going bad
It sure could be a lot worse
And God may be protecting you from something that's a lot worse than what you're going through
Like when your car breaks down, you could be avoiding head on with a semi
Or when you have a physical ailment that stops you
Truly stops you from doing something that you wanted to do
You could have been hurt worse while you were doing it
Or so, I mean, God knows the future, God knows the variables
God knows what's going to happen
And so sometimes bad things happen to take us to a place where God can do something amazing
And then the other thing was concerning the fact that I had forgotten the parable
And I thought about how we in our own lives
I felt like I was supposed to say to me how we in our own lives, we experienced these things
Maybe we could come in here and talk about it like that
Getting lost from your chaperone at Cedar Point
That's probably not an event you're going to forget anytime soon, right?
Because you're searched and you have to figure it out and solve the problem and whatever
But someday you probably will
And then someday one of your kids might get lost at Cedar Point or whatever
Or as a dad you might be able to prepare them for that circumstance
Because you hadn't forgotten
But if you have forgotten, the amazing thing that God has done
The way your story unfolded
What you experienced, what you learned
What somebody shared in an inspirational moment
Then when you go into that situation
You might have this feeling like
I think I kind of remember this
I think I kind of know what's going to happen here
Maybe I even know what I'm supposed to do
Because so and so shared from across the room when they were in that circumstance
What they did or what God did or so on
And maybe when you're faced with pain and persevering
You can stand firm and see God take your pain away
Even if it's only for a time
But when your boat's on fire
And you leap into the water and think
Okay, there's nothing left for me now
I totally wait for you to realize that God is still there
And he may be at work and no terrible circumstance
Okay, so we're going to pray together at this time
And we have just a couple more songs to worship
I just have a few more songs
I have scheduled my real tape exam for the clinic
And I am super nervous and stressed about it
And I'm trying not to be
Because I know that's only going to make it worse
But I just pray to God
So both things, both for the test
And also that Katelyn will get her mind under control
And submit it to God, right? Amen
We have some more questions
There you go
There's, again, knowing me
I found inspiration from music
There's a new person that I found
It's Brian T.
I've never heard him up until like two weeks ago
I just heard about him two weeks ago
He's a Christian rapper
But his is a lot more, I guess, gospel type rap
Okay, that's cool
And he has a song called Who Told You
And I was listening to it
I just remembered what it was called
Because I couldn't remember what it was called
But I was listening to it at work
I think Thursday or Friday
And I went to lunch break
And I put it on again
So I could actually really listen to the song
There's a couple of things that really stick out
So I'm going to read a little bit of the lyrics
It says, Who told you money makes you real?
Who told you pistols make you tough?
Who said that mercy is for the weak?
Who said forgiveness is for chumps?
The crowd say, they say
A crowd dies a thousand deaths
A soldier dies but one
And they mourn you
Who told you God doesn't exist?
Who told you God was just a myth?
Who planted seeds of disbelief
Inside your mind so you could trip?
So this whole song is like that
It's those kinds of questions that
I feel that we as Christians
We ask ourselves that all the time
Or at least I do it
Because I ask myself that a lot
Why wasn't I told this stuff earlier?
Why wasn't I shown the right way to live for God
When I was a kid instead of in my twenties?
And I look back and I think about all the people
That I had in my life that would spread those kind of lies
That God's not real or God's just a myth
And you can't forgive people because that makes you weak
And in reality it's completely wrong
God wants us to forgive people
God wants us to love people
And he doesn't want us
He doesn't want us to die
But if we have to, serving him
Then we'll go into heaven and what better honor is that?
So if he's asked to pray for Holly
We know her not, but Holly's been going through some
Significant issues, abdominal issues really with her intestines
Please, please be afraid for her
She does have a chance
What's from the past?
Tomorrow?
That's tomorrow
She has that emirate tomorrow
And then spring
Last night she prayed to eat something
And she started getting like
Thinking her stomach upset
And she was starting to get like
To that low moment when she wasn't praying
Why is God doing this to me?
And then I was trying to tell her
Like God isn't doing this
It's just something that's going on
And she was feeling like she will
Be absurd by not actually got to that
And through all the situations that she's been through
And that's
Hearing that she's been through a lot
And she got to the point
She was just like, nervous right now
Something like made her breathe
Footprints in the sand
And I guess it was God
And it just felt like God got to the end of it
When it said he was hearing her
Hearing her through that situation
And it just hit her how often we would forget
That God's always there
And then he would carry us through the difficult moments
That we go through
I love that she got to go back home
And put footprints in the sand for you
He doesn't realize until the very end
He would say, well why does he do that?
And he says, no, there's only one set of footprints
It's not your footprint, it's mine
He did that very well
Great message for being lost from your chaperone
Great message for overcoming pain and persevere
Great message for when you're thinking about an upcoming death
Great message
Alright, let's pray together
Father God, I do thank you
It's true that you sustain us
When the boat's on fire
And we have a week where we think we will not be safe
We know that that week is taking in you
And even for a person who does not know you as Lord and Savior
You still are orchestrating the arrest of the Lord
You still are setting up the parameters
You still are governing every outcome
And as Paul said in Acts 17
That you set all those things up
So that that person might rope around and find you
And realize that you were never far away in the first place
And the key there is you are never far away in the first place
The outcome of events
As we get an MRI to hopefully discover the problem behind
An ongoing pain, an ongoing struggle, abdominally
Lord, the outcome events as we take a test
That's really going to impact our career going forward
Or that's going to give us a certification that allows us to do things that we couldn't otherwise do
And that's compounded on a lot of effort
We put a lot of effort in and that's going to feel like it was wasted
If we don't get the result that we think we were supposed to get
And Lord, in those moments
Those moments when we're facing those challenges
It is great comfort to us to remember that you alone are God
You alone know
And whatever outcome comes out
That is the outcome
That is the best one
That is the one that you can ultimately work for our good
At the same time, Lord, we need the strength
We need your presence to control our minds
To submit to you
Calm our anxiety
And our frustrations
And even our nagging doubts or questions
That's what RJ was talking about
And there might be somebody in this room who has not said, okay
I see it
I realize that it's real
And I'm willing to live it
I'm willing to walk with Jesus for the remainder of my days
And then when I face those trials
Those moments when I'm barely getting by
I remember that it's him carrying me
Lord, the truth is we cannot carry you
We could not carry you
We are not able to carry you in our physical strength
Or even in our spiritual strength
Even if we are an amazing creation
Created in your image
We are bearing at best a portion of your image
Our God
We think of like these old places and you go with us
And the truth is you go ahead of us
You carry us there
You see us there
You work us through whatever it is that we're experiencing
Lord, I thank you for bringing equipment in the sand
Of course, it's mine when he was in a dark moment
And also that he could share with Holly
And that he can encourage his wife
Lord, I thank you for blessing Alicia
And healing her pain
So that she can be doing what it is that you called her to do today
Specifically, Lord, it's not been mentioned here for Amalia
What's been going on with her ear
It's a little better today
But that's a crazy positive term
Because it's been so bad for the last couple of weeks
And she's almost done with this round of antibiotic
Where she really just needs a healing
And I wish there had been somebody around for me
When I did that when I was her age
And I had that ear infection that lasted for nine months
And somebody would have been praying for my healing
And maybe there was and I don't know who they were
And I did finally come out of it
But Lord, it lasted way too long
And I pray that that will not be the case for her
That this round of antibiotics
These remedies that are being utilized
Will be a solution
And the same thing for Holly
That that test, whether it's that test
Or by another means, whatever
That a solution will come into play
That'll be enacted and it'll be good
Just as you've done for others in this room
Even recently in the last month or two
Lord, as you healed people
As you finally got them the surgery that they're waiting on
For a really long time
And you brought them to strength
And you're empowering us to do what you have us to do
Lord, help us move forward
Overcoming all the false teachings of the world
To stand for you
We pray you thank you for your things
Music
Jesus, King of my heart Father, my peace and my life
Sweet King, the truth of my soul in your word
Music
These spousal hills
Will never arrive
The Prince of mighty God
They bring me to my peace and grace
Amazing love, amazing grace
Was on a hill, my Savior on a die
A broken heart
Music
Have you heard before the saying
A rising tide raises all boats?
Raise your hand
Thirty seconds ago
So we've got a few people who have heard it in the past
Does anybody know who popularized or kind of first brought the saying to American culture?
It's a name you'll recognize
No?
Although he did bring a lot, didn't he?
He brought a lot of sayings
Yeah, he's your go-to for a cute saying
Yeah, he was downright sarcastic
In fact, Samuel Clemens made his fortune on being sarcastic
But this was John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy is the one who popularized this saying and brought it to the United States of America
And he actually made the saying in regards to economic changes or economic efforts
That were taking place in the New England states in the 1950s or so
And he said it a number of times and it sort of got common, alright?
And so the concept of a rising tide raises all boats is that if you look at the boats in a marina or in a harbor
When the tide goes up, all the boats go up, right?
Simple concept
The idea of it is if a positive change is made, something good is happening
That everyone who is in the marina or since it's an economical statement, right?
In the economy at that time will be affected
So if they invest money in infrastructure and a lot of guys get jobs
And those guys are going to go spend that money
So now all the restaurants and all the stores and all that, they're going to do better
And then they can employ more people, then they're going to make money
And then they'll go spend their money and it just kind of cycles
So if the government invests money in the economy or if an economic system is designed that benefits the economy
Then everybody in the economy will be benefited
Now we know that it doesn't transfer necessarily all the way across the United States, right?
It has to happen in a more localized environment
And he was talking about specifically the New England states
Which are those states that kind of run up the point in the northeast of America
And I assume would probably include New York, although it's kind of almost a beast of its own
By the time I'm done today, I hope to forever pollute your thoughts
So every time you hear this phrase, a rising tide raises all boats
You will remember some whatever the Lord gives you, whatever the Lord puts in your heart out of this sermon
Whether it's anything I say or not, that is the goal, right?
And I submit to you that scripture probably was kind of instrumental in creating this concept
And if you think about it in our church, for example, if our church does something well
Then everybody in the church is going to be affected by that
And the converse would be if our church does something poorly
Then everybody in the church is going to be affected by that, right?
Because we're all in the same marina, if you will, okay?
So grab your Bibles, if you would, or be prepared to kind of meditate on the Word of God
As we go to 1 Thessalonians chapter 3, amen
So this is God's Word, and whether or not I get right what I'm about to say, I certainly intend to
But whether I do or not, I hope you will get from God's Word whatever He intends for you today
That is the plan
We're going to begin reading in chapter 3 verse 6, and this is 1 Thessalonians
Quick background, this is a letter written by the Apostle Paul
Who was formerly the man Saul, who was both blinded and accosted by Jesus on the road to Damascus
From that point on, he began to share the Gospel
And ultimately became what we call the Apostle to the Gentiles
So you can kind of say of Paul that he is the one responsible for the church at large amongst Gentiles
Which, in case you hadn't noticed, we are, right?
So we can kind of trace our idea, our bringing to Christ, our coming of the church
And all that kind of thing back to Paul
Paul was writing to the church at Thessalonica
And they had been through some tough times
But now he has heard that they are staying true
That they are continuing to be what they're supposed to be
And we sort of pick up with that notion then in verse 6
He says, but now that Timothy has come to us from you and has brought us good news of your faith and love
I want you to remember those two words, faith and love
And that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us, just as we also long to see you
If you were going to sum up longing to see someone with one word, what word might you use?
Say it again
Missing someone
Yeah, so missing someone
And then if you miss them and then somebody calls you on the phone and says, you miss me, right? Yeah, I miss you
And they say, well I'm going to come tomorrow
And you're thinking they're going to come tomorrow
Your missing becomes now?
Excitement
Excitement?
Hope
Energy surrounding the idea that it's coming, right?
Whatever word you want to use for that
So they were longing to see them
And so now you've got in that two verses you've got three main concepts
Faith, hope and longing
Or faith, I'm sorry, faith, love and longing or hope, right?
And so Paul realizes that this is a people capable of the three pillars of what it means to be a Christian
What it means to be the church
And he's frankly excited about that
Verse 7
For this reason, he says brethren, he calls them brothers in Christ
And you could say sisters, but he says brethren
In all our distress and affliction, no matter how bad it got
We were comforted about you through your faith
The fact that we heard that you were staying true to the faith
That comforted us with all the things that we were going through
Verse 8
For now we really live
And that word really, if you're reading the New American Standard, is going to be in italics there
If you're reading in like the King James Version, it's going to say
For now we live
Okay, so of course they lived, right?
He's writing a letter, he lived
So it's not talking about his physical life
And he lived spiritually
Because he was born again, so he was living in Christ
And he lived in the sense that his life was always being put online
Like he could always be killed for his faith
He was always wanting to do that
So all of those things are true
So I submit to you that he's saying something more and we'll come back to that
What is he saying when he says for now we live or now we really live
Emphasizing this new living that he's doing
Coming out of the fact that he's hearing something about them, right?
Alright, so back to verse 7
He said, for this reason brethren, in our distress and affliction
We were comforted about you through your faith
For now we really live
If you stand firm in the Lord
So that life of his is tied to their standing firm
So also we know it's not about him having or losing salvation
Because he's not going to lose his salvation because they don't stand firm, right?
So it's nothing like that, it's something more
Verse 9
For what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy
With which we rejoice before our God on your account
That's a confusing sentence
But just understand it's a literal concept to ask a question
So it's like you say like
If you get a steak and somebody serves you a steak and it's just awesome and you love it
And then you say, man, where could I ever get a better steak than this?
So that's what he's saying
What gratitude or what thanks, how much thanks could we ever give to God
For all of this joy which we have gotten
With which we rejoice before our God on your account
Because we're so excited that we hear these things of you that you are staying in the faith
Verse 10
As we night and day keep praying most earnestly
That we may see your face and may complete what is lacking in your faith
So that's the finish of the sentence of the question that he was asking
So the first part of it was what thanks we might we give
And the second part of it he's saying so we're looking forward to coming to see you
And we will actually be together all of us
And how exciting that's going to be it's really awesome, right?
We've really missed you it's really awesome that we would see you
And maybe could supply something that is lacking in your faith
A teaching, a bit of knowledge that you need to know
And I submit to you the bit of knowledge is in the text
We're going to hear it
Verse 11
Now may our God and Father himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you
So he's praying God bring us there, right?
And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another
And for all men just as we also do for you
So that he may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness
Before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints
Again a long sentence
Now in the Greek that's only about nine words, okay?
But when you stretch it out to make sure you've translated into English
It becomes quite a bit more
And it says and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound
So in other words he's hoping they'll do better, right?
Now I submit to you he's not just hoping they're going to get a promotion
Or a bigger paycheck
That's not what this is about
But he's hoping that they will do better
And to abound that they will be more, right?
In love for one another and for all men just as we also do for you
So that he wants them to love each other and to love everyone else
As Paul was saying as Paul and the people were with him loved them
Why?
So that he may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness
So in other words that you'll be right by God
To be holy is to be right by God and to be different from the world, right?
Holiness is the word of sanctification essentially
And you're going to see that word specifically sanctification in a minute
But basically saying you'll be different from the way the world is
A lot of people say I love you
When I was in high school I had several girlfriends
Three within about a four year span
And I told every single one of them I love them
And as I look back at it I probably did
The best I knew how I wasn't saved at the time, right?
But two of the three of them I told I love you
One of them I told I love you before I met her
We talked on the phone for about seven hours
I'd never met her before
And you laugh at me go ahead
But how many people fall in love over social media
With somebody they don't even know what they look like, right?
So it's still happening today
And so I was very quick to say that
And I submit to you that now that I've learned what real love is
I'm a little slower
You know I love my family
I love brothers and sisters in Christ
I know I am called upon to do that
But to love someone is a significant investment
The truth is if you really love someone
You will never be away from them
At least in heart for the rest of your life
People fall in love, fall out of love
That's a worldly thing
That is not a kingdom thing
So God's concept of love is lasting
It is eternal, alright?
And so they were, He was asking them to love each other
And the people around them that way
So that they could be found blameless
Which is to say if you don't love each other
And the people around you that way
You could be found blamed
And that's bad
That's not where you want to be as a believer
Notice that the ultimate judgment will be
Before our God and Father
At the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints
Chapter 4
Now be aware that in the original text
There were no chapter divisions
Also those cool little titles that exist above
In your chapter above sections
Those weren't there either, right?
That's there for us to study the Bible
So we can have usage
So when Paul wrote this letter
There was no chapter division
In fact, there was no line
There was no segment
There was no space in between the word saints and finally
What comes next is finally, alright?
Finally then, brethren
We request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus
That as you receive from us instruction
As to how you ought to walk and please God
Just as you actually do walk
So basically he's saying
You heard from us what you were supposed to do
We find out that you are basically doing those things
But then he says that you may excel still more, right?
So if you're being fairly faithful in God
You're doing basically what you know to do
By no means is your calling complete, right?
We are required to reach new heights in Jesus
In this verse
So there is growth
There is an excellence yet coming
Even though someone might say
Hey, that person is amazing
They're doing great, whatever
It would be completely reasonable of someone in the Lord
To expect you to excel
To do a little more, still more
And that was Paul's desire for the church there
That they might excel still more
Verse 2
For, that's a because
For you know what commandments we gave you
By the authority of the Lord Jesus
So he's saying you already kind of know
The teachings that we gave you
You have access to the word of God
And so for you to kind of blow that off
And not do what God told you to do
That's not really reasonable
And for you, if you're doing it pretty well
Then you know you can still always do better
Verse 3
For this is the will of God
So this is the desire
Now I want you to see that in this for
This because this is the will of God
He is saying that just doing the things
That God has told you to do
Is not the will of God
That's not enough
That's not the sum total of the will of God
There is something more
And that's why he's saying to excel
Because he's saying for this is the will of God
Your sanctification
Now again, sanctification is that process
By which you become holy
Different from the world
And truthfully different from anybody else
Different from your parents
Different from your friends
Different from your loves
Whatever, different
So different the way God is different
Yes, but different from the world
So he is saying that the real goal of God
In all of this is your holiness
That you're becoming holy
You're being like him
Not holier than thou
Not preachy
Not stand up as an example
Put yourself on a pedestal
And everybody else has got to be like me
But rather different
The way that God truly desired for you
To be different in the faith
So that is the goal of God
Your sanctification
That is that you abstain from sexual morality
So included in everyone's sanctification
Is abstention from sexual immorality
Sexual morality can look like a lot of different things
It is the use of sex in any way that God does not authorize
So it could be as simple as you use sex
To tease someone
Never actually get around to it
But that's how you get your promotion
Or that's how you get them to do what you want
There's no actual sex involved
It could be you watch or see things
That you should not watch
That's all sexual morality, right?
So he's saying abstain from that
It means go without that
He says in verse 4
That each of you know how to possess his own vessel
In sanctification and honor
So here's the problem with sexual morality
That is just laid out for us
When we participate in sexual immorality of any kind
We lose sight of the image that God has of our physical being
It's very easy, for example, to look at too many pretty girls
And start thinking
You'll start thinking negatively of yourself
And you can be a man or a woman and do that
Or to talk about sex with lewd comments or coarse joking
Like jokes about naked women
Or jokes about sexual acts or whatever
And you are essentially despising the image of the vessel that God has given you
And it becomes bad
And then for women or for men, for example, who actually do become active sexually
Then when they get with their spouse
They've screwed up the relationship before it ever begins
And it takes a miracle and healing from God
And so it's not even about being sexually active or not being sexually active
It's about the fact that whenever a person is involved in sexual morality at any level
They lose that ability to possess their own vessel in sanctification and honor
To recognize that this thing that God gave me has a purpose
And that purpose is a purpose that will fuel my whole life, right?
And then that's the part about the honor
And then also the part about the sanctification
This thing that God gave me is supposed to be different
Everybody wants to be unique and different
And the truth is you are
But the problem is you've been programmed to be like somebody else, right?
Your parents taught you to be like somebody else
Society, TV, social media, etc. etc.
You're always getting programmed to be like somebody else
So you're more of a conglomerate of so many various people than uniquely yourself
When you become uniquely yourself in Christ
And that's what that sanctification is all about
When you become uniquely yourself in Christ
You become one
And when you are one and uniquely one
You are then equal to everyone else who is one
This is why in Christ and the Kingdom of God
It does not matter your culture background
It does not matter your skin color
It does not matter your experience
It doesn't matter if you were in prison or not in prison
It doesn't matter if you were caught for tax evasion
It doesn't matter if you molested a child 10 years ago
That's all bad stuff
Everybody's got their bad stuff
But what matters is if you're walking in Christ and allowing him to move you
From that messed up individual that you were
To the one whole being that he's trying to make you into
And because we're all in that process
We're all unique and also equal
Which is why we can say now
There is now therefore no more Jew nor Gentile
And so on
Male nor female and so on
Because this is the goal of God
Let's go back and read it from there
For you know the commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ
For this is the will of God your sanctification
Your wholeness and holiness in God
That is that you abstain from sexual morality
That each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor
Not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God
And that no man transgress
That means you don't cross the line
And defraud his brother in the matter
Because the Lord is the avenger in all these things
So there should be justice and peace amongst us as Christians
Because when you defraud your brother or sister in Christ
When you misuse them in any way
You understand God is the avenger
God is the one who will bring the hammer down
And we know that and because we know that
We should be not willing to hurt others
Certainly not in the body of Christ and truthfully at all
The Lord is the avenger in all these things
Just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you
For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity
But in sanctification
It's a great illustration of this in the fish
Fish swim in water
But do they get waterlogged?
They spend their whole life in water
But do they get waterlogged?
No, they are in the water
But they are not of the water
And that's exactly what we're called to be
We live in this world and we're going to be beset all the time
By things that will try to make us impure
And God's goal for us is purity rather than impurity
Sanctification
Be holy yourself in Christ
We're almost done
Consequently, he who rejects this
In other words, if you reject those things that he was just explaining
That true desire of God to make you sanctified
Is not rejecting man
But the God who gives his Holy Spirit to you
There it is
So
This is the point, if you will
This is what he's trying to say
That there is a method of God at work
And we have a response to that method, whatever it is
And there's just a couple things
So today, instead of three points and a conclusion
We're going to have three points total
So it's two points and one for a conclusion
The first one I want you to see
And I think it's pretty obvious
And we're kind of working backwards through the text
Is this
When the tide rises
You can fight the tide
This verse, these end verses
Are about rejecting God after the fact
You could be in this room and say, I believe in God
You could say, I believe in Jesus
But after believing in God and Jesus
It would still be possible for you to reject him
Now you know
I'm not talking about apostasy or losing your salvation
I'm not talking about you said, Paul wasn't
He was praising the church at Thessalonica
We're not talking about people walking with the Lord
It does happen that people will say, I'm a follower of the Lord
And then later come out and say, I really don't believe all that I said I believed
Now I'm walking my own way
Or I found Islam or I found some other thing
So it does happen to people
But I'm not talking about that
I'm talking about a believer who genuinely believes in God
Genuinely believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
And then as this text says, rejects him
But what does the word reject mean?
The King James here translates this despise of him
So what does that mean?
That's kind of a weird word we don't even use
To despise something, we kind of know what it means
Like to look down on it or whatever
We sort of use it in common language
What it really means is to take a thing
And make it impossible for that thing
To do the thing that the thing was made to do
Is that confusing? I don't think so
If you take this chair and you hit it about five or ten times with a sledge hammer
From that point on, it will no longer be useful as a chair
Someone might be able to reparate it
Make it back into the basic shape of a chair
Add some more legs to it
Something like that might be able to get there
We're talking about taking a thing that has a purpose
And making it not useful for that purpose
If you go take all four of your tires off your car
And wheel them into the garage
And leave your car sitting on blocks
Your car, which is designed to take you from place to place
Will no longer be able to do that
You'll still be able to listen to the stereo
You can slam the doors when you're angry
You can store stuff in the trunk
But the car is not going to be able to take you from place to place
So we're talking about removing the efficacy
Taking the effectiveness out of a thing
Except the thing that we're talking about taking the effectiveness out of is God
Ouch! We are rejecting God in that way
As I was thinking about this
I was thinking of a man who had a big home, a mansion that was left to him
We'd call it a mansion
5,000, 6,000 square feet, whatever
Really big house
Very nicely laid out
Multiple bedrooms
10, 12 bedrooms
5 bathrooms, whatever
And he was living in it alone
He had never found a significant other
And he was reaching middle age
And whatever, he was working for a man at an engineering firm
And the man's daughter was also working there
And she was a polite young lady
And way too young for him
25 years apart in age
Wasn't anything romantic going to go on or anything like that
And the man's boss asked him and said
You know, you got that big house
And my daughter is looking to live near you
Because she wants to go to college
Any possibility that you could let her use that part of the house that you're not using
You hardly ever have to see her
And the man's like, yeah, we can do that
Move her on in, go ahead
And he locked out a couple of bedrooms
One for her and one for her closet
And then the kitchen was accessible
She had her own bathroom and stuff
Moved her into the house
Now they didn't see each other all the way
They were living in the same house
They didn't see each other all that much
But when they did, over a period of time
It started to happen that the man would
This older man was doing things that was annoying her
Walking around in his underwear
Making his coffee in the morning
Kind of not dressed appropriate
Watching stuff on the TV that wasn't good
And she'd wander in the room
And there's something going on in the TV that would kind of bother her mind
Things like that
And so he was letting her stay in the house
But he was offending her
Now she was staying there so that she could go to college
So she started avoiding him
She said, I'm just not going to go in the kitchen in the morning
That solves that problem, right?
I'm just not going to go in the living room when he's in there watching the big screen TV
That solves that problem, right?
But still, occasionally they were living in the same house
They would bump into each other
He would park her car in
Things like that
Ultimately she thought, man
Even though this place is free and it's a beautiful house
And I've got all this room
And everything is taken care of
And it's right near college where I've got to live somewhere else
She called her dad up
And she said, I'm really having trouble living there
I think I'm just going to live somewhere else
And his dad's like, I'm not paying for it
That's where you're living
Just work it out
So she's stuck living there with this guy
Who is seemingly doing intentional things to annoy her
It becomes an untenable situation
It sucks
She's in a horrible spot
Well, this is the very thing that Christians sometimes do to the Holy Spirit
Yeah, you can come and live in me
Yeah, you have a purpose
You have a thing that you like to see happen, whatever
As long as you stay out of my way
You can do whatever you want
But it's for me and my body
It's for me and my hands
For me and my thought processes
I've got some habits I'm going to keep
And the Holy Spirit is like, this is really obnoxious
I have to be here while you watch this stuff you shouldn't watch
While you see and do these things you shouldn't see and do
While you participate in activities
While my heart yearns to heal you
To free you
To make you able to do all the things that God wants you to do
To make you whole and a whole person in the Kingdom of God
Advancing forward new heights in Jesus every day
While my heart yearns to do that
You just keep saying, you're going to do the things that offend me
And the Holy Spirit's like, well, I'll just stay back
I'll just stay out of the way
I'll just be quiet in the corner
Except, He's the Holy Spirit of God
He's not one to stay quiet
He's really being chastised daily and offended daily
By Christians who are going on to do what they want to do
Or what their flesh wants to do
Or misusing the resources of God
While God is there offering them all this power and authority
To transform them into something that will truly honor God
If you say, I'm going to do what I want to do
Regardless of your discomfort or your opinion
That's no welcoming to the Holy Spirit
Rather, that's rejecting Him
Making Him out to be useless
If you think of the Holy Spirit as obligatory
I have to do these things because the Holy Spirit is with me
I have to talk like this
I have to act like this
I've got to follow the rules
That is not welcoming
If you only wear all of your clothes when you have friends over
That's all fine
But there are probably other habits that you have that you're going to offend
And if you do not show respect and act welcoming and hospitable to them
They're going to figure it out
If you leave your underwear laying on the middle of the living room floor for example
Even though you're fully dressed, they're going to go, oh, that's there
I have a problem with that being there
That's offending me
Am I supposed to be?
If your house is a mess
You say, oh, you're welcome, you're welcome
But your house is always a mess
When they come over, it's an issue
It's not welcoming and hospitable
So if you think of the Holy Spirit as obligatory
You're missing out
You're basically making him out to be useless
He is so much more than that
If you think of him as controlling or demanding or needy
You're missing out
You're not realizing that he is God-given
And he is God himself
He absolutely has a right to run the show
And frankly, he's used to doing so
He's not used to people saying no to him
When he's trying to do what's good for them
It's as if you're dangling over a cliff
And he's trying to take your hand or wrap a rope around you to pull you up
And you're like, no, no, no, I'd just rather dangle here, possibly fall
He's absolutely going nuts to try to be your friend
Absolutely going nuts to try to help you
To exhibit your spiritual gifts and to act through the spiritual disciplines
He himself feels rejected
And there is nothing to being changed by the Holy Spirit
He does all the work
And yet, there is nothing to be changed about the Holy Spirit
He is who he is
And so if you're sitting here today and you're not a Christian
And you're thinking about being a Christian
Just realize that when he comes in, he's God
He's not a demon that you can chase out later
And then he'll come back and things will get worse
He's not a teaching of the world that you cannot think about for a while
And then come back around to it if things go well
No, he's God
And you're literally talking about being inhabited by God
Consider it holiness
That is God's goal for you
Rather than safety netting
I went to the circus when I was a child
It was really impressive
In fact, I've been there probably eight or ten times total
And they had these guys, a swing on, they call it the trapeze
And they throw themselves
They had this girl, kind of like a one-piece bikini thing
And she would dangle from this man's hands
And then he would whip her in the air
And they would just go whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh
Like five loops
And come to the other side
And he'd grab her ankles
And then they'd swing away
And then come back and whoosh, whoosh, whoosh
To the other side
And he'd grab her hands
And I'm like, that's incredible
That's amazing
I can't believe that they can do that
And then the announcer came over to the PA
And he said, and now
We'll drop the net
And they'll do all of this with no net
And the crowd went, no
They're too amazing
We don't want to see them splat on the pavement below
And they dropped the net
And they did all the actions
And it was all good
And nobody fell
And nobody got hurt
The holiness of God
Is the Holy Spirit in you at work
Transforming
Yes, it seems crazy
Yes, it seems outside the box
Yes, it seems risky
For you to go and tell somebody about Jesus
Or for you to exhibit your Holy Spirit
Whatever that might be
Or for you to spend time praying
Before you go do something
You're like, I've got an hour and 15 minutes
To do three hours of homework
But I'm going to take seven seconds to pray first
And that seems nuts
Because that seven seconds added to that hour and 15 minutes
Gives you an hour and 15 minutes and seven seconds
That you can do three hours of your homework
You don't have enough time to do all the things in this life
That you want to do anyway
You don't have enough strength
You don't have enough capabilities
You may as well put God first
The God who can multiply it all
Magnify it all
Make it all possible
He may just increase you
And cause you to abound
His desire for you is holiness
Not a safety net that will take care of you
Like, oh, when I screw up
I'm still going to heaven
Yay for you
If that's how you think of the Holy Spirit
As a safety net
If every time you make a decision
You're just kind of hoping
He'll take care of it when it gets screwed up
If that's your goal
That is not the Holy Spirit of God
Not the picture that God has anyway
A rising tide raises all boats
In a particular harbor
And if you're in the harbor
And the tide goes up
You will be raised
But if you're in another harbor
Or if you're creeping up on land
Where you don't belong
Boats don't belong on land
Then when the tide rises
You may not rise
But it is God's goal to raise us to holiness
The second point then is this
In these verses it was very clear
It was where he said
Even though we see you are doing those things
We call upon you to excel
Progress is called for
He's saying let it rise
Prepare to ride the tide
Participate in each other's rising
Right?
And celebrate the rise when it happens
Let's figure out what it is that we can do for God
What it is that God desires of us
What it is that we're capable of
And let's go and do that
But do it better than we ever thought we could
And it might be that you know something
There's a commercial that's playing on streaming like on Roku right now
And it says there
It's talking about the days of your life
And how incredible it is the day you discover what you were made for
The day you got saved
You said okay God show me what I'm made for
Show me what I can do
How can I glorify you and honor you and make something of myself
That nobody else could do it exactly like I do it
Not that I'm going to go be a Christian
Part of some movement that there are 12 million other people doing the exact same things that I'm doing
No I want to be me serving you
With you in me serving me serving you
I want to start this cycle in a way that it never stops
Progress is called for
Let it rise
Prepare to ride the tide
Participate in each other's lives so that everybody has the same opportunity
And then celebrate the rise
1 Peter was a disciple of Jesus and a really close friend of Jesus
And became a leader in the early church
And in the book of 1 Peter in chapter 1
He gives us a word picture of exactly what we're talking about when we talk about rising
Beginning to rise
Celebrating each other's rise
And I'm going to read it I'm not going to break it down as we go through it for the interest of time
I encourage you to study it some more later if that's something you feel the Lord leading you to do
It's 1 Peter chapter 1 beginning in verse 12 and it says as follows
It was revealed to them
This is the people who came before Jesus was living
Died buried rose again
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves
But you and these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you
By the Holy Spirit sent from heaven
Things into which angels long to look
So people before realized they were living for what God was going to do that he hadn't done yet
And even angels wanted to know the part that they knew part that they figured out
Verse 13 therefore
Gird your minds for action
Let's get ready
Let's go
Keep sober in spirit
In other words let's not drift off into all these excesses that the world proposes are good for us
Let's be focused on doing what it is that God would have us to do
Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ
In other words live your life for the free gift of grace that God has given you
And how you will be declared innocent when that time comes
As obedient children do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance
But like the Holy One who called you
Be holy yourselves also in all your behavior
Because it is written
You shall be holy for I am holy
And if you address as father the one who impartially judges according to each man's work
Conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay upon earth
Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life
Inherited from your forefathers
But with precious blood as of a lamb unblemished and spotless
The blood of Christ
For he was foreknown before the foundation of the world
But has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God
Who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in God
Notice that there is a participation that is called for
There is an action
A set of choices
A requirement and a restriction
Who's supposed to put that into place?
Who is the one who's supposed to say you can't watch pornography?
Who is the one who's supposed to say you can't stab your friends or family members in the back?
Who is the one who's supposed to say you can't go around lying?
Is it God?
No!
It's you!
You're the one!
Filled with the Holy Spirit of God, empowered to know right from wrong
Desiring, realizing you will one day receive true grace if you're a Christian
At the coming of Christ again you'll receive true grace at every mistake you've ever made forgiven
And in eternity in heaven with God
Realizing that you live for what that's going to be like then
And you set standards for yourself
Now the problem is the world will also set standards for yourself
But their boats are in another marina
The standards that they set fluctuate from time to time and so on
Peter was saying, focus!
Let it rise!
Let the tide rise!
Let us prepare to ride the tide!
Participate in others rise and celebrate the rise as it happens
We have a job to do, sober minded, we have a job to do
Let God's Holy Spirit reign in you and make those choices
That brings us to our conclusion and also our third point
And it was in those verses where it said either living or really living
It doesn't translate super well into the English and that's why it's like that
But clearly it wasn't talking about being alive like taking breaths and so on
I talked about that before
Let me tell you now what God has revealed to me about what really living is
According to Paul it's just one thing
Just one thing made it
Now he was living in Christ
He had Holy Spirit gifts
He had miraculously healed people by praying and laying on hands
He had preached the gospel in a dozen nations
And started churches all over the Gentile world
Including in Thessalonica which he's now celebrating there continuing
He'd done all that and on top of that he says here is what really living is
As soon as I tell you what it is some of you are going to go, I felt that
I kind of know that, I know what that's like
Really living is loving someone enough to want what's best for them
And then seeing them do well
That's what he said
That's what really living is
Go back and look at 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 8
I got to go back there now
We read it together
He says and I'll go back to the top of 6
But now that Timothy has come to us from you and has brought us good news
Of your faith and love and that you always think kindly of us
Longing to see us just as we also long to see you
They had faith, hope, love
For this reason brethren in all our distresses and afflictions
We were comforted about you through the faith
For now we really live if you stand firm in the Lord
He desired for the church at Thessalonica that they would discover
This very same thing that we're talking about
That God is in the business of rising the tide
He's in the business of bringing people to holiness
He's in the business of bringing people to a relationship with him
That goes on for an eternity
And you become the kind of person that God crafted you to be
That you never were because you had sinned, your parents had sinned
Things were done, things happened, memories plugged in your brain
That you can never quite get rid of
All kinds of programming, etc.
And to be born again, to become a Christian
Is to enter into the marina where God raises the tide
And all boats rise
Unless of course you reject him
Unless of course you refuse to progress
But we're called not to
And when we do not, we find others
And I submit to you that there are other people in this room that you care about
You brought them here
You came here because there are other people here that you love
You came here because there are other people that you want to see do well
Maybe it's me, maybe you're hoping for me
That I'll figure something out today, that I'll do better, whatever
The best thing you could possibly do is love someone
And see them doing well
And you go, whoa, wait a minute, it's not kingdom well
I mean it's not world well, it is kingdom well
It's not world well because people get promotions
And then get fired later from the same job
And by the way, when you get promoted a couple times
You start thinking, oh this is awesome, I'm really loving my job
And then you suddenly get fired, it feels like death
It feels way worse than if you'd have never got promoted in the first place
And so the bottom line is this, it's not world well
Even though we like to see our kids, people go to graduation ceremonies
Isn't it awesome to see kids walk at graduation?
Or college students walk at graduation, that's great
And we're super excited for them
But that is a facsimile
It's a shell
It's there to teach you that what you really can live through
What you really can experience, what's really good for you
What you really feel alive in
Is when you find someone else and you love them enough
That you would actually die for them
And that does exist by the way
In fact, if it's not like that, it's debatably real love
But you love them enough that you would sacrifice for them
And then you see them doing well, kingdom well
Worldly well is a hollow substitute
But if you can do well, even under tribulation
The Thessalonians were under tribulation
Paul was under tribulation, they desired him to do well
He desired that they would do well
And both did well
Yes, he got whipped within an inch of his life
Yes, he was stoned and left for dead
Yes, he had to be lowered in a basket through the wall so that soldiers wouldn't kill him
Yes, he was persecuted
Yes, he had tribulations
Yes, things did not go for him in the world system the way he might have desired
But in the kingdom, he did well
And they were longing to see him and longing to know that he was doing well
And he saw that they did well
That they loved one another and so on
And he was encouraging them to excel and do better
Because that's what's required of us as we move towards sanctification
To put away sexual morality, to put away betrayal
To put those things away and truly live for the Lord
He desired for them to excel and do better
And he said what he was hearing of them made him alive
Now if you're a mother or a father in the room
And you have seen your child do well, exhibit godly behavior
Show patience toward another child
Apologize without being told they had to
Work, pick up, clean, volunteer without being told they had to
Then you have that inkling
You have that beginning of that feeling, you know what he's talking about
I have children who have grown up and are serving the Lord in our church
And when I see them do well
And I realize that they are doing that because they are serving God
Not because I am imploring them to
Not because I desire them to, well that's definitely true, right?
But because they want to serve God
And I see that there is nothing like it
I have never watched a TV show that fulfills like that
I have never eaten a meal that tastes like that
I have never received a word of encouragement unto me that feels like that
There is nothing in life like loving someone and wanting them to do well
And seeing them do well
And in the kingdom it's like that
If you've got a child, if you've got a friend, if there is somebody in this church
You're like, I hope they do well
And you desire good for them even if you are willing to sacrifice yourself
And then to see them do well, Paul tells us
That is living
That is feeling and living life
And I submit to you Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly
And you cannot have abundant life unless you can care about somebody else
Enough that you would sacrifice for them
And then see them do well
That is abundant life
Why? Why is it like that? Because frankly, talk is cheap
You could talk about Jesus
You could talk about God
But living for God, sacrificing for God, serving for God, giving for God
Putting yourself out there without anybody asking you to
Without anybody forcing you to
Your parents not holding your hand, nobody kicking you in the butt
You're just doing it because it's the right thing to do
That's not just talk
That's action
That's embracing the rising tide
I'm going up because God says go up
If God says go down, I'm going down
If God says go out, I'm going out
I am faithful to the Lord
Talk is cheap
Say it, go ahead
I love Jesus
You could be here today and be a Christian
And by the way, if you can't say I love Jesus, you're probably not a Christian
Right? If you can't say Jesus is Lord, you are surely not a Christian
But you could be here today and say I love Jesus and Jesus is my Lord
And you could actually be saved
But you will never experience the life that God has for you
Until you embrace the rising tide of the Holy Spirit
That's intention is to make you holy and different
You, complete, uniquely you
God wrote on your DNA
Like they can identify you down
You might be pretty close to your brother, familial match or whatever
But nobody's got your DNA
And an identical twin has identical DNA
But then out of that DNA, so much happens
They're still not identical
They can look exactly alike
And you've ever hung around identical twins for a minute?
They may have a lot of habits that are the same
A lot of things, but after you get to know them, you realize
They are two uniquely different people
And that's it
Talk is cheap
I'm a man of God
I'll be there to help
I'll give
See how good I'm doing?
It's all cheap
It means squat
But when people actually show up and do what they're supposed to do
And you love that person, you care about this person
Then you see them do what they're doing
And man, that's powerful
Why?
Because track record
This speaks of future likelihood
I would like to say that the people that I'm looking at
That we're going to stand there one day in front of Jesus
And every single one of us is going to get that welcome
Well done good and faithful servant
I'd like to say that
I'd like to know that
Because I only see people in this room that I love
Literally some of you, I know very well
And I still have a feeling of love towards you
And I only see people I love
I want to be there with Jesus
I want Jesus to put his arms around each one of us individually
Or all of us at the same time
I don't care because he's big
He can do whatever he wants
He can multiply himself a million times
And hug us all at once
It'll be awesome
And he said, well done good
I want that to be true for us
And when I see track record
When I see people repeatedly doing
Faithfully showing up
Serving, giving, going out of their way
They push past barriers
They overcome tribulations
And do what it is that God would have them do
I think, maybe
It looks like
It's established
And then once they've done that
Ten times, twenty times, a hundred times
You have every reason to believe
That that person's going to get that well done
Good and faithful servant
Track record
Testifies
Bespeaks of a future likelihood of a rival
And we're all going to spend eternity together
Or are we?
Because somebody's going to be fighting the tide
And I can't do anything about that
And it's just as heartbreaking to watch somebody fight the tide
As it is to see them establish a track record
That makes me think
Oh, we're going to make it
Multiplying glory to God feels good
That's why I love to see it
And we all love
And we can live big, if you will
When someone is seen doing the things
They're supposed to do in the Lord
Because when God gets the glory
And you love God
You're happy
That's great
You go to somebody's birthday party
They're your best friend
You go there, right?
And everybody ignores the birthday boy
Nobody sings happy birthday
There's no cake, no candles, and no presents
I'm going to say something about that
That's a problem
It's his birthday party
Why are we not celebrating his birthday?
Well, because before you got here
He said something nasty
So we just put it all away
Now we're not having a birthday party for him
No, that's not happening
But when you glorify God
Because you love God
And then when you see God being glorified
It feels fulfilling
You recognize, okay, this is what we're supposed to be doing
And because God is pleased
And pleasing God is our desire
So when Brother Chris does something that God would love him to do
And Brother Tommy does something God would love him to do
God is pleased with that
And we want to please him
And so I see God being pleased
I can't see the look on God's face
But I see God being pleased
Overcoming temptation
In the case of the Thessalonica and in the case of Paul
Both of them had been through the wringer
They have literally been tempted by every possible avenue
And if you can overcome temptation to walk away from the Lord
Temptation to not believe
Temptation to do what you want
Instead of what God is teaching you to do
Temptation to be unholy with the world
Rather than holy with God
If you can overcome that temptation
Oh boy
You're going to be somebody
You're going to be somebody in the Kingdom of God
Realize that the greatest in the Kingdom of God
Should be your servant
And you may propel people
You may fall in love
Not worldly
Real
Fall in love with some other people
Your church, your family members, your friends
You may love them
And you may be able to say
I'm going to spend myself
Lifting that person up
Lifting those people up
And they'll be able to do more
Than you ever could do by yourself
And you can lift three
Or five
Or even a hundred
Because you don't have to be there with them every moment of every day
Just every time you see them
You're lifting them, propelling them
Teaching them about the rising tide
Teaching them about what God wants to do
Teaching them about what they can be
Say things like
You're amazing
Everybody makes mistakes
Don't own it
Be amazing
Let's be amazing together
I will be amazing with you
It'll be awesome
Encourage and build people up
And as you do so
And they are lifted
Then allow yourself to receive that great investment of God
That real life that God intends
As you celebrate and rejoice
That they did what they've done
Paul could see in them what I call the collector's set
And you need it
You've got to buy every single one
Faith
Hope
Joy
You need them all
The blessing is Jesus already paid for a full set for you on the cross
You can have your very own set
Just believe
Accept the free gift of salvation through Jesus
You open the channel when you believe
You say, okay God, I believe
Come on, do what you do
Then walk in faith and say
God, just keep doing what you do
Trust in you
Show me the way
Lift me up
Carry me when I can't walk myself
Propel me forward
When all I want to do is crawl on a sleeping bag and hide
Make me to be
What only I can be
Holy in the Lord
And then hope for it
Look for it
He promises he'll do it
And God doesn't break his promises
But there is one possibility to be considered
Remember, as we close out
The saying
A rising tide raises all boats
Is talking about in a certain marina
Or in a certain harbor
The rising tide on the ocean doesn't raise any boats anymore
Than any other
Right?
You're out in the middle of the ocean and the tide rises in the marina
What effect does that have on your ship?
Nothing
The waves go up and the waves go down
Your ship goes up and the ship goes down
That's the way it is in the world
So if you're outside the marina
Or you're in some other marina and God raises the tide
Your ship will not go up
Your boat will not go up
You must be born again, Jesus said
You must have a moment in time in which you say, I'm starting fresh
I'm trusting Jesus
And I'm living for him from now on
We live for the one who died for us
You must be adopted into his family
How could God, who loves you
And wants what's best for you
Not die for you?
And think of the standard that he set for us
That we would be willing to sacrifice for others
But at the same time, think of God's great joy
When he, having died for you
Sees you walking forward in Christ
This is the marina in question
And the tide does not fail to rise
And those who know to whom they belong
Rise with it
Choose Christ as he has chosen you
Follow him day in and day out
Allow his Holy Spirit to convict you
And make those rules, those commands, those decisions
That you have to make, you make them yourself
The Bible gives you some really good models
But you ought to want to do what God wants you to do
Because you know it's what's best for you
Because it takes you where you want to go
And turns you into who you want to be
And then find some people to love
And want what's best for them
You'll be alive in Christ the moment you accept Jesus
But if you really want to be alive
Find some people you love and want what's best for them
Sacrifice yourself as necessary so they can do well
And then watch what happens inside you
When they do well
Amen