WEBVTT

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you And the last thing your life will shine.

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Consume me from the inside out. Let justice and

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grace become my embrace. To love you from the

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inside. Thank you. Thank you. We choose to wear

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a crown that isn't scarred to win my heart. What

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kind of love tells me I'm the reason? You've

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done it already. Praise God. This is going to

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be something you've never seen before. So hold

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on. Even though this is a text that you may have

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heard before. I hope you have. My goodness, it

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would be terrible if you hadn't. But this is

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going to be something. Okay, here we go. Alright,

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so the sermon title is Responding in the Moment.

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The text is Matthew 7, 7 -12. I am going to read

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that to you now. Amen. Thank you, sir. Ask, and

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it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find.

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Knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone

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who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and

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to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what

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man is there among you? When his son asks for

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a loaf, we'll give him a stone. Or if he asks

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for a fish, will he not give him a snake? Will

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he? If you then, being evil, Know how to give

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good gifts to your children. How much more will

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your Father who is in heaven give what is good

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to those who ask him? In everything, therefore.

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In other words, after all of that that we just

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read, because all of that is true, in everything,

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therefore. Treat people the same way you would

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want them to treat you. For this is the law and

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the prophets. The first thing I want you to see

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in this text that is very obvious, if you don't

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know this, if you do not know this point that

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I'm about to give you right now, then I'm sorry

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to say it's probably that you're not saved. And

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you might want to think about it kind of seriously

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and ask yourself if that's true, what do I need

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to do? And it is this. God is responding. God's

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not dead, and he's checking his mail. Email is

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fast. I sent an email to my wife with some details.

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She has the notification turned on her phone.

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I was sitting in the living room. I pushed the

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button send. I heard one, not even a second,

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like a quarter of a second later, she received

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the email in the office. And I thought, you know

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what's funny about that? Because it left my phone.

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It went to the cell tower. It went to the internet,

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probably toured Europe, came all over the place

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and back to her cell phone. One room away, 10

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feet away, less than half a second later. Email

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is fast, but calling out to God is faster. I

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could tell you a dozen stories about how people

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said, I am going to, I see God wants me to, and

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they confessed the need for God to do something,

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and God was already miraculously intervening

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on their behalf before the words had ever gotten

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out of their mouths. I think I'll start tithing,

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and the phone calls are coming, and the money

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is aligning, and so on, and it's already done

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before ever. They've written a check. I think

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I'll start praying more. And already they feel

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the presence of God at work in them and affecting

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them before they ever have actually prayed any

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more than they had previously. I think I'll start

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studying the word of God and taking the Bible

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in more. And already it starts cropping up in

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them and they begin to remember verses that they

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had memorized way back in the day and how God's

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word can work daily in and out just because they

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made the commitment before ever they actually

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picked up their Bible again and began to read

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more words or listen to more sermons online or

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anything like that. God is responding. He's not

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dead and he's checking his mail. And there's

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no faster moving mail than prayer or a commitment

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to God. Here in these verses, it says, when a

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person seeks, they find. When a person knocks,

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it's opened. He says, look at you evil people.

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When your child asked for a loaf, would you give

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him a stone? When your child asked for a fish,

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would you give him a snake? Who do you think

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God is? That God would be cried out to? by a

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people that desperately need him to intervene,

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and he would just ignore them. No, God is responding.

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In Mark 11, verses 24 to 26, it says this. It

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says, Therefore I say to you, all things for

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which you pray and ask, believe that you have

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received them, and they will be granted to you.

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That's Jesus. Whenever you stand praying, forgive

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if you have anything against one so that your

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father who is in heaven will also forgive you

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your transgressions. But if you do not forgive,

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neither will your father who is in heaven forgive

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your transgressions. And so this verse says that

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God is not dead and he's checking his mail. And

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if you will lift the things that you care about

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up to God, he will hear you and he is actively

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responding to prayers. But notice. It also says

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that you have a responsibility. You have a call

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by God to forgive others their transgresses against

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you. And if you will not forgive them, then God

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will not forgive you either. Thereby saying that

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God's response is tied to something. And here,

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that something takes its form in forgiveness.

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In Galatians 6, 7 -11, it says, Do not be deceived.

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God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, this

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he will also reap. See, people start to think

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that God is not responding. That they can do

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this or that, or they can fail to do this or

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that, and that God is just going to sit on his

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hands. He's not going to do anything. But Paul

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tells the Galatians very clearly, God is not

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mocked. Don't start to think that someone's getting

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away with something. Do not be deceived. He says,

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for the one who sows to his own flesh, that means

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when you do what your body wants instead of what

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God wants, the one who sows to his own flesh

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will reap from the flesh corruption. But the

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one who sows the Spirit will from the Spirit

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reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing

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good, for in due time we will reap if we do not

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grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity,

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let us do good to all people, and especially

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those who are of the household of the faith.

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So again, this understanding that God is not

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mocked, and that ultimately He will pay back

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every bit of... our doing on this earth, this

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understanding of that is tied then deeply to,

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he says, doing good to all people and especially

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those who are of the household of faith. In John

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14, Jesus says, I will ask the Father and he

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will give you another helper. There's a response

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for you that he may be with you forever. That

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is the spirit of truth whom the world cannot

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receive because it does not see him or know him.

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But you know him because he abides with you and

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will be in you. God is responding. In Joel 2

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.32, Acts 2 .21, and Romans 10 .13, essentially

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the Acts verse and the Romans verse are quoting

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the Joel verse. It says, if anyone calls upon

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the name of the Lord, they will be saved. That's

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how I got saved. I called upon the name of the

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Lord. I'm like, I don't know what this is going

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to be. I don't know what's going to happen. I

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don't know what I'm going to have to do. I don't

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know what I've got to give up. I don't know what

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life's going to be like, but here's what I know.

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I can't die and go to hell. That can't be the

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end of my story. And so I need salvation. And

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I said, Lord, will you save me? As if I wasn't

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sure. And he said, oh yes, and he did. Those

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who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved

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because God is actively responding. So saith

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the Bible all over the place. The second thing

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to see on this text then is that everyone is

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on a journey to meet God. Every single person,

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lost or saved, doesn't matter, smart or quote

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unquote dumb, ignorant, informed, weak, poor,

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rich, healthy, unhealthy. Every skin color, every

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social background, every economic standing, everybody

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is on a journey to meet God. In Hebrews 9, 27

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to 28, it says, a pretty famous verse that you

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may not remember the reference, it says, inasmuch

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as it is appointed for men to die once and after

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this coming the judgment. So Christ also, having

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been offered once to bear his sins, to bear the

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sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation

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without reference to sin to those who eagerly

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await him. God is responding. And everyone is

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on a journey and God knows it. And God knows

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exactly what response those people need. And

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essentially, his greatest response then is sending

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Jesus. But notice that we are on a journey because

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everyone will die once and then comes the judgment.

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Unless, of course, Christ comes first and then

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we'll skip right to the end. 2 Corinthians 5,

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verses 6 to 10 says this, Therefore, being always

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of good courage and knowing that while we are

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at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord.

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For we walk by faith, not by sight. One of my

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favorite verses. We are of good courage, I say,

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and prefer rather to be absent from the body

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and to be at home with the Lord. In other words,

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we'd rather that there. If you walk by faith,

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not by sight, you will realize that it's going

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to be better there. It doesn't matter how good

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you get it here. When you get there, it's going

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to be better. So all your efforts to make it

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better here are going to come up feeble compared

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to what it's going to be like there that's already

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being prepared for you. And there's nothing you

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can really do about that. It's already being

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prepared for you. If you are a follower of the

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Lord Jesus Christ. He says, we are of good courage,

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I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the

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body. and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore,

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we also have as our ambition, whether at home

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or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For, here it

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is, we must all appear before the judgment seat

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of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed

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for his deeds in the body, according to what

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he has done, whether good or bad. Who's each

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one? Everybody. Everybody is on a journey to

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God. Doesn't matter what they're doing right

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now or whether you like what they're doing right

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now or whether you can communicate with them

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or understand them or what your barriers might

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be. Everyone, everyone, everyone is on a journey

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to God. Each of us will answer. It may well be

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said that all of us will experience regret. The

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truth is there are things in my background now

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that if I allowed evil spirits to get a hold

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of me, I regret them now. I think about now,

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oh, it's almost like a traumatic flashback when

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I think about some of the terrible things I did.

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But I also realize that evil spirits are trying

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to slow me down from doing what and being what

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God would have me do and be now. And so I push

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that stuff away and I get on with the business

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of the Lord. But in that moment, all of us are

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going to hear about all the things that we did.

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Now, judged by the righteousness of Christ, I

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understand you can still go to heaven. It isn't

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that we did not honor God the way God would have

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had us do. But the chief thing a person will

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be judged for is what he has done with the Son

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of Christ or with the Son of God, who is Christ.

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So in other words, Jesus did not come to condemn

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the world. You recognize that? Jesus did not

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come to condemn the world, but they're condemned

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already by what they have done with the Son of

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God. So the question is, what did you do with

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the Son of God? And if you're here today and

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you did not accept the Son of God fully to be

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in charge of your life, you're still taking part

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of that for yourself or letting something else

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take place or anything else rise up into the

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presence as a God, get your worth, get your love,

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instead of all of that being dedicated to the

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Lord, then you've got a problem. And your problem

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is, you're ultimately going to stand before God

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because you're on a journey. And everybody's

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journey, in some sense, will meet at that point.

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Everybody, everybody will answer. And I would

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submit to you that everybody will have regret.

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But the ultimate question is, what have you done

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with the Son of God? In that moment, maybe again,

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we'll experience, like, for the first time, an

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unending gratitude. Why do I say that? Because

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I feel like if we were experiencing unending

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gratitude now, we wouldn't be sinning against

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God like we are. Even accidentally or incidentally,

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we'd be thinking about, Oh, I shouldn't do that,

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right? If we were eternally grateful. Once you

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get there and it's no longer a matter of faith

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and our faith fluctuates day by day as to whether

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we make the right decision or not, whether we

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were found faithful or not, when we get there,

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that'll be done. We'll be like, yeah, it was

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all true. Here I stand in front of Jesus. And

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he says, well done, good and faithful servant.

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Come on home. But still, there's that moment

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where you're like, oh, I shouldn't have done

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that. I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't

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have done that. And it's probably going to go

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by in a blink of an eye because time there is

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not like time here. It's not like you're going

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to spend an hour regretting it. It's going to

00:15:52.340 --> 00:15:55.799
be quick. But the truth is, from then on, eternal,

00:15:55.940 --> 00:15:58.559
unending gratitude that we have been accepted,

00:15:58.700 --> 00:16:01.460
that we did accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

00:16:02.100 --> 00:16:04.240
Unending because it will no longer be in faith,

00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:07.860
but it will be seen. Unwaning and waxing. That's

00:16:07.860 --> 00:16:09.580
what waning and waxing means, going up and down

00:16:09.580 --> 00:16:13.159
like the moon does. Regardless, we are all headed

00:16:13.159 --> 00:16:15.120
to that meeting. All of us are headed to that

00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:18.279
meeting. And then Jesus says, in light of that,

00:16:18.519 --> 00:16:21.539
in light of the fact that God, you can get lost

00:16:21.539 --> 00:16:25.440
in the... seek and find and knock and he'll open.

00:16:25.559 --> 00:16:27.360
You can get wrapped up in those words. There's

00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:29.600
a lot of good sermons in there probably. But

00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:32.299
in light of the fact that God is responding and

00:16:32.299 --> 00:16:34.799
in light of the fact that we are all on a journey

00:16:34.799 --> 00:16:36.980
to that moment at which we will stand before

00:16:36.980 --> 00:16:39.299
God, in light of all that, it says, therefore,

00:16:39.480 --> 00:16:42.500
because all of that is true, treat others as

00:16:42.500 --> 00:16:44.179
you would want to be treated. It's an interesting

00:16:44.179 --> 00:16:47.820
command, actually. James warms that it probably

00:16:47.820 --> 00:16:50.019
will be our tendency to be partial to certain

00:16:50.019 --> 00:16:53.090
people over other people. He says, if however

00:16:53.090 --> 00:16:55.330
you are fulfilling the royal law, according to

00:16:55.330 --> 00:16:57.149
the scripture, you shall love your neighbor as

00:16:57.149 --> 00:16:59.730
yourself, you're doing well. But if you show

00:16:59.730 --> 00:17:02.230
partiality, if you choose some people over other

00:17:02.230 --> 00:17:04.490
people, for example, you're committing sin and

00:17:04.490 --> 00:17:08.930
are convicted by the law as transgressors. For

00:17:08.930 --> 00:17:10.990
whoever keeps the whole law and yet offends in

00:17:10.990 --> 00:17:14.069
one point, he has become guilty of all. For he

00:17:14.069 --> 00:17:15.910
who said, do not commit adultery, also said,

00:17:15.950 --> 00:17:18.150
do not commit murder. Now, if you do commit murder,

00:17:18.250 --> 00:17:20.509
but do not commit... I'm sorry, if you do commit

00:17:20.509 --> 00:17:23.089
adultery, but do not commit, I'm going to say

00:17:23.089 --> 00:17:25.049
that again. Now, if you do not commit adultery,

00:17:25.089 --> 00:17:27.769
but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor

00:17:27.769 --> 00:17:31.349
of the law. So speak and so act as those who

00:17:31.349 --> 00:17:34.349
are to be judged by the law of liberty, for judgment

00:17:34.349 --> 00:17:36.309
will be merciless to the one who has shown no

00:17:36.309 --> 00:17:40.049
mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. I get it

00:17:40.049 --> 00:17:41.829
that the world is filled with people that make

00:17:41.829 --> 00:17:44.470
your skin crawl. I get it that the world is full

00:17:44.470 --> 00:17:46.710
of people that make you go, I'm talking to them,

00:17:46.769 --> 00:17:48.730
but they're just not hearing me. Or they're doing

00:17:48.730 --> 00:17:50.569
things that I can't hardly stand to be around.

00:17:51.049 --> 00:17:53.069
I don't know what percentage of society is like

00:17:53.069 --> 00:17:54.390
that, but I'll tell you that on some days it

00:17:54.390 --> 00:17:56.950
feels like 99%. People that I just can't be around.

00:17:57.049 --> 00:17:58.829
They're just not doing the things that I can

00:17:58.829 --> 00:18:02.089
tolerate. Judgment will be merciless to the one

00:18:02.089 --> 00:18:08.009
who has shown no mercy. We think about correction,

00:18:08.329 --> 00:18:12.190
vengeance, hate, or sin. Leviticus 19, 17 -18

00:18:12.190 --> 00:18:14.630
says, You shall not hate your fellow countrymen

00:18:14.630 --> 00:18:17.460
in your heart. You may surely reprove your neighbor.

00:18:17.579 --> 00:18:18.880
In other words, you can correct them when they're

00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:20.740
doing what's wrong, but you can't hate them in

00:18:20.740 --> 00:18:22.779
their heart, in your heart. And this is the problem.

00:18:22.839 --> 00:18:25.099
What we do is we don't want to reprove because

00:18:25.099 --> 00:18:27.940
society says you can't correct somebody. Society

00:18:27.940 --> 00:18:29.599
says none of your business. Society says leave

00:18:29.599 --> 00:18:31.839
me alone. Society says shut up. That's just your

00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:34.460
opinion. Walk your own truth, which is all a

00:18:34.460 --> 00:18:36.940
falsehood, by the way. Society is pushing you,

00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:40.680
lying to you. The Bible says you can. reprove

00:18:40.680 --> 00:18:42.740
your neighbor. That means you can go to the person

00:18:42.740 --> 00:18:44.460
who lives in the same country as you. Whether

00:18:44.460 --> 00:18:45.859
they're in the church or not, you can go to the

00:18:45.859 --> 00:18:47.380
person who lives next door to you. You can tell

00:18:47.380 --> 00:18:48.859
them when they're doing something wrong. Even

00:18:48.859 --> 00:18:50.099
though you don't know them. You may not know

00:18:50.099 --> 00:18:52.140
their first name. You can be in the grocery store

00:18:52.140 --> 00:18:54.119
and you can see a parent that's disrespecting

00:18:54.119 --> 00:18:56.920
their child. It's probably hurting them maybe

00:18:56.920 --> 00:18:59.299
or psychological abuse or even a child that's

00:18:59.299 --> 00:19:01.319
disrespecting their parents. You can walk up

00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:02.740
to somebody that you don't even know and you

00:19:02.740 --> 00:19:05.720
can say, You really should do this. And I understand

00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:07.339
that's not going to save them. And if they would

00:19:07.339 --> 00:19:08.619
correct it and make it better, it's not going

00:19:08.619 --> 00:19:10.559
to make it any better for them. And yes, it'll

00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:12.079
be a lot easier for you to keep your nose out

00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:14.740
of it. But the scripture says very clearly, you

00:19:14.740 --> 00:19:17.559
may surely, you surely should, you may surely

00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:20.440
reprove your neighbor, but you shall not incur

00:19:20.440 --> 00:19:22.539
sin because of him. In other words, you don't

00:19:22.539 --> 00:19:24.640
do anything that would be sinful against God.

00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:27.240
You don't hurt them. You don't get an angry feeling

00:19:27.240 --> 00:19:29.680
in your heart. You don't abuse them verbally.

00:19:29.940 --> 00:19:33.039
You don't blow them up on social media. You don't.

00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:37.119
Slash their tires or storm off saying bad things

00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:39.140
over your shoulder. You don't do any of that

00:19:39.140 --> 00:19:41.460
because you don't incur sin even though you see

00:19:41.460 --> 00:19:43.599
what they're doing is wrong. And I would take

00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:45.079
that one step further and say you don't incur

00:19:45.079 --> 00:19:47.880
sin as in you don't dismiss them. You don't forget

00:19:47.880 --> 00:19:49.480
the thing that we're studying today that what

00:19:49.480 --> 00:19:51.359
you ought to do to them is what you would have

00:19:51.359 --> 00:19:53.940
them do to you. No matter how bad they are, you

00:19:53.940 --> 00:19:56.140
do to them what you would have them do to you.

00:19:56.220 --> 00:19:59.369
That's what it says. Back to the top of verse

00:19:59.369 --> 00:20:01.710
17, it says, You shall not hate your fellow countrymen

00:20:01.710 --> 00:20:03.950
in your heart. You may surely reprove your neighbor,

00:20:04.009 --> 00:20:06.430
but shall not incur sin because of him. You shall

00:20:06.430 --> 00:20:09.410
not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against

00:20:09.410 --> 00:20:11.750
the sons of your people. But you shall love your

00:20:11.750 --> 00:20:14.950
neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. That's like

00:20:14.950 --> 00:20:17.089
a period there. He's just saying, you shall love

00:20:17.089 --> 00:20:19.549
your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. You're

00:20:19.549 --> 00:20:21.329
going to question me. Go ahead. Walk away from

00:20:21.329 --> 00:20:23.609
me. Go ahead. We're going to meet again. I'm

00:20:23.609 --> 00:20:26.170
not done responding. You will reap what you sow.

00:20:26.390 --> 00:20:28.319
I am the Lord. Love your neighbor as yourself.

00:20:28.599 --> 00:20:32.960
Mark 12, 29 to 31, Jesus answered, the foremost

00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:36.259
is, talking about the great commands that essentially

00:20:36.259 --> 00:20:38.119
sum up all of scripture, says the foremost is,

00:20:38.180 --> 00:20:40.480
hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord,

00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:42.880
and you shall love the Lord your God with all

00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:44.279
your heart, with all your soul, with all your

00:20:44.279 --> 00:20:45.920
mind, and with all your strength. And then in

00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:48.019
verse 31, he says, the second is this, you shall

00:20:48.019 --> 00:20:50.140
love your neighbor as yourself. Then he says,

00:20:50.259 --> 00:20:52.900
there is no other commandment greater than these.

00:20:53.119 --> 00:20:55.799
Oh. Be holy as I am holy. Oh, well, that guy

00:20:55.799 --> 00:20:57.279
is not holy. I can't have anything to do with

00:20:57.279 --> 00:20:59.579
him. Well, you just made be holy as God is holy

00:20:59.579 --> 00:21:01.279
a greater commandment than love your neighbor

00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:03.380
as yourself. Careful. He says there is no greater

00:21:03.380 --> 00:21:07.000
commandment than these. There is no other commandment

00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:09.920
greater than these. Recapping briefly then, we

00:21:09.920 --> 00:21:11.559
have essentially three points that we noticed,

00:21:11.740 --> 00:21:14.339
didn't we? The first one is that God is responding.

00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:17.620
God's not dead and he's checking his mail. realize

00:21:17.620 --> 00:21:20.299
also that everyone is on their way. Everyone

00:21:20.299 --> 00:21:22.779
is on a journey to come before God. Everybody

00:21:22.779 --> 00:21:24.759
and everybody that you encounter, that will be

00:21:24.759 --> 00:21:26.319
true. If they're still taking breath, their brains

00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:28.359
are still waving, then they're on their way to

00:21:28.359 --> 00:21:30.059
meet God. They might have a while yet before

00:21:30.059 --> 00:21:32.460
they get there in human terms, but it'll seem

00:21:32.460 --> 00:21:35.059
like a blink of an eye measured against eternity.

00:21:35.400 --> 00:21:37.579
So you may dismiss them for three decades, like

00:21:37.579 --> 00:21:39.559
30 years. Then both of you get there. They're

00:21:39.559 --> 00:21:41.859
there. You're there. And if they're saved, you're

00:21:41.859 --> 00:21:43.640
going to spend an eternity with them after having

00:21:43.640 --> 00:21:45.380
nothing to do with them for 30 years. Are you

00:21:45.380 --> 00:21:48.680
comfortable with that? Everybody is on a journey

00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:51.299
on their way to God. And then, therefore, treat

00:21:51.299 --> 00:21:53.640
others as you want to be treated. It does not

00:21:53.640 --> 00:21:56.119
say treat others as they treat you. It says treat

00:21:56.119 --> 00:21:58.740
others as you want to be treated. And that brings

00:21:58.740 --> 00:22:01.859
us to our conclusion already. It's a doozy, including

00:22:01.859 --> 00:22:03.599
an object lesson that will probably take you

00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:06.980
by surprise, most of you. And our conclusion

00:22:06.980 --> 00:22:09.900
is this. We need to realize that in reading this

00:22:09.900 --> 00:22:11.579
scripture and the scriptures that support it,

00:22:11.640 --> 00:22:14.619
that it's not your image or my image that's at

00:22:14.619 --> 00:22:16.819
stake. It doesn't matter what you look like in

00:22:16.819 --> 00:22:19.140
front of people. It doesn't matter what people

00:22:19.140 --> 00:22:21.900
think of you. It doesn't matter if they spam

00:22:21.900 --> 00:22:24.119
your social media with nasty comments about your

00:22:24.119 --> 00:22:26.259
hairstyle. It doesn't matter if they don't like

00:22:26.259 --> 00:22:27.940
your shade of makeup or the clothes that you

00:22:27.940 --> 00:22:30.099
choose. It doesn't matter whether you can accurately,

00:22:30.140 --> 00:22:32.319
perfectly convey what it is that you're trying

00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:34.359
to say or you stumble over your words because

00:22:34.359 --> 00:22:36.500
it's not about your image at all. It's not your

00:22:36.500 --> 00:22:39.700
image that's at stake. In Genesis 1, God said,

00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:43.859
let us make man in our own image. But then things...

00:22:44.220 --> 00:22:46.779
went downhill from there. Those who are made

00:22:46.779 --> 00:22:48.960
in the image of God, Adam and Eve, the first

00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:51.339
man and woman to ever live, they sinned against

00:22:51.339 --> 00:22:54.099
God. They chose a form of provision that they

00:22:54.099 --> 00:22:56.599
thought would give them what they desired outside

00:22:56.599 --> 00:23:01.759
of God. An internet guru defines it this way.

00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:04.700
Human beings are made in the image of God in

00:23:04.700 --> 00:23:07.500
a few points. First of all, we have evaluative

00:23:07.500 --> 00:23:10.029
thinking. That means we can think. We have the

00:23:10.029 --> 00:23:12.329
capacity to evaluate circumstances, draw conclusions,

00:23:12.569 --> 00:23:14.549
and we see God doing this all throughout Scripture.

00:23:14.730 --> 00:23:17.250
God is responding, and he's logical, reasonable,

00:23:17.569 --> 00:23:21.150
and faithful in his responses. Humans, like God,

00:23:21.230 --> 00:23:23.130
can think, evaluate, and draw conclusions. We

00:23:23.130 --> 00:23:26.029
were created in the image of God. Also, we have

00:23:26.029 --> 00:23:28.670
purposeful choosing. Both God and humanity have

00:23:28.670 --> 00:23:31.569
the capacity of agency. God and humans both have

00:23:31.569 --> 00:23:34.029
the capacity to decide on a goal and a course

00:23:34.029 --> 00:23:35.890
of action to reach that goal. Animals don't do

00:23:35.890 --> 00:23:38.130
that. Nothing else does that. Humans were created

00:23:38.130 --> 00:23:40.329
in the image of God. We have an emotional experience.

00:23:40.470 --> 00:23:42.609
We know that people have emotions. We experience

00:23:42.609 --> 00:23:46.089
our world through emotions. Our emotions can

00:23:46.089 --> 00:23:48.309
lie to us and so on, but the reality is we experience

00:23:48.309 --> 00:23:51.130
our world through emotions as we perceive them,

00:23:51.250 --> 00:23:53.170
and they even affect our senses. People will

00:23:53.170 --> 00:23:54.990
believe something is true, feel something is

00:23:54.990 --> 00:23:57.329
true emotively, and then it makes them see that,

00:23:57.450 --> 00:23:58.930
even though that's not what's actually there

00:23:58.930 --> 00:24:01.769
to be seen. We are not detached machines. What

00:24:01.769 --> 00:24:04.089
many people forget is that this is true of God

00:24:04.089 --> 00:24:06.730
as well. God has emotions. The scripture is very

00:24:06.730 --> 00:24:08.609
clear, both in the Old and New Testament, that

00:24:08.609 --> 00:24:10.809
we see emotional expressions ascribed to God.

00:24:10.970 --> 00:24:13.309
Our emotions come from the fact that we are made

00:24:13.309 --> 00:24:15.910
in God's image. They're only messed up now because

00:24:15.910 --> 00:24:18.390
the image is messed up. And then we have deep

00:24:18.390 --> 00:24:22.519
longing. Humans have deep longings at the core

00:24:22.519 --> 00:24:25.140
of the soul. Parents know the anguish of a child

00:24:25.140 --> 00:24:27.420
who has scorned their love. We know the longing

00:24:27.420 --> 00:24:29.599
for relationships to be restored and for the

00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:32.740
broken to be healed. We cannot define such things

00:24:32.740 --> 00:24:35.099
as simply expressions of emotions. They go way

00:24:35.099 --> 00:24:37.539
deeper. You try to control your emotions, but

00:24:37.539 --> 00:24:40.940
they're spewing out of some deep part of you

00:24:40.940 --> 00:24:44.400
that is longing for something that's not yours

00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:47.559
to have. Like when we lose a loved one and we

00:24:47.559 --> 00:24:49.759
long to have them back or we long to have a reason.

00:24:50.119 --> 00:24:51.880
We long to be able to bargain and we long to

00:24:51.880 --> 00:24:53.819
be able to negotiate with the powers that be

00:24:53.819 --> 00:24:56.420
and hope even God, if we believe in God. We defend

00:24:56.420 --> 00:24:58.799
ourselves with our emotions against our own deep

00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:00.519
longing for the person that we've lost and we

00:25:00.519 --> 00:25:02.960
get angry. And because of sin entering in and

00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:04.940
the effect of that sin being passed down, we

00:25:04.940 --> 00:25:08.299
were all present in Adam and Eve's DNA. And because

00:25:08.299 --> 00:25:10.279
of sin and the effects of that sin being passed

00:25:10.279 --> 00:25:13.519
down to us, our heart was corrupted and twisted.

00:25:14.059 --> 00:25:16.059
Instead of being inclined toward God, its basic

00:25:16.059 --> 00:25:18.579
direction is now toward self. We want what we

00:25:18.579 --> 00:25:20.460
want and we don't care what he thinks when we

00:25:20.460 --> 00:25:23.720
are in our self, in our flesh. The mind, the

00:25:23.720 --> 00:25:25.920
understanding that was given to us by God was

00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:28.440
darkened. To put it simply, fallen humans simply

00:25:28.440 --> 00:25:31.099
don't think straight. The heart gives the basic

00:25:31.099 --> 00:25:34.099
direction toward self and so the mind processes

00:25:34.099 --> 00:25:36.859
everything through that grid and devises strategies

00:25:36.859 --> 00:25:39.200
to preserve the illusion of independence so we

00:25:39.200 --> 00:25:42.559
think we can be okay without God. Since the mind

00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:44.720
is now darkened, fallen humanity choices are

00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:47.299
now foolish. It's not that we have lost the ability

00:25:47.299 --> 00:25:49.079
to choose. It's rather that our choices are made

00:25:49.079 --> 00:25:51.339
on the basis of a deceitful heart and a darkened

00:25:51.339 --> 00:25:53.200
understanding. And so we think we can take what

00:25:53.200 --> 00:25:56.599
we want or what we want. We think that evil things

00:25:56.599 --> 00:25:59.180
will actually be good for us. How else to explain

00:25:59.180 --> 00:26:01.200
choosing temporary satisfaction that ultimately

00:26:01.200 --> 00:26:03.940
leaves us empty over the full satisfier of our

00:26:03.940 --> 00:26:06.380
soul? We wind up in addiction. Dopamine addiction

00:26:06.380 --> 00:26:12.109
even. Watching screens. TV. Reading. playing,

00:26:12.109 --> 00:26:16.990
sex, music, all of these things we use to temporarily

00:26:16.990 --> 00:26:21.650
satisfy when the full satisfier of our soul exists

00:26:21.650 --> 00:26:25.730
where everything is silent, in a room with absolute

00:26:25.730 --> 00:26:29.509
deprivation of sound and stimulus, just you and

00:26:29.509 --> 00:26:34.829
God. Not only does fallen humanity experience

00:26:34.829 --> 00:26:38.390
unpleasant emotions, but these unfulfilled longings,

00:26:38.390 --> 00:26:40.809
these longings that we have in our soul for relationship

00:26:40.809 --> 00:26:43.789
and purpose remain largely unfulfilled. And that

00:26:43.789 --> 00:26:45.970
explains the search of most people. We crave

00:26:45.970 --> 00:26:48.890
for that emptiness to go away, so we search for

00:26:48.890 --> 00:26:51.069
some form of relief. Finally, fallen humanity

00:26:51.069 --> 00:26:54.410
lives in a state of disconnection. That's the

00:26:54.410 --> 00:26:56.660
one we kind of get. We look at the scripture

00:26:56.660 --> 00:26:58.700
and we see very clearly that God kicked them

00:26:58.700 --> 00:27:01.119
out of the Garden of Eden. We see that they didn't

00:27:01.119 --> 00:27:03.380
walk in the coolness of the garden with God anymore.

00:27:03.640 --> 00:27:05.759
We see that their relationship between them was

00:27:05.759 --> 00:27:07.859
screwed up. And then as we get outside, we see

00:27:07.859 --> 00:27:09.299
that it's a relationship between men and men

00:27:09.299 --> 00:27:12.119
because we see Cain, Kill, Abel, murder and anger

00:27:12.119 --> 00:27:16.299
and lust and deceit and slander and gossip. Idolatry

00:27:16.299 --> 00:27:19.099
of all forms takes up residence in people because

00:27:19.099 --> 00:27:21.839
the longing, the disconnection from God. We were

00:27:21.839 --> 00:27:24.400
created to have. Jeremiah 2 says it this way

00:27:24.400 --> 00:27:27.079
in verses 12 to 13. He says, be appalled. And

00:27:27.079 --> 00:27:30.019
that means disgusted. It's like, be sick, oh

00:27:30.019 --> 00:27:32.200
heavens. That's what he's saying. So the heavens

00:27:32.200 --> 00:27:35.680
should be sick at this and shudder. Be very desolate.

00:27:35.720 --> 00:27:37.420
That means alone, wiped out without anything.

00:27:38.069 --> 00:27:40.630
declares the Lord, for my people have committed

00:27:40.630 --> 00:27:43.170
two evils. The people of God have committed two

00:27:43.170 --> 00:27:45.970
evils. One, they have forsaken me, the fountain

00:27:45.970 --> 00:27:48.730
of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns,

00:27:48.730 --> 00:27:51.250
a cistern is a well, broken cisterns that can

00:27:51.250 --> 00:27:53.970
hold no water. So the first great evil that they

00:27:53.970 --> 00:27:56.769
had perpetrated was that they had found another

00:27:56.769 --> 00:27:59.410
source. See, the lie that was perpetrated against

00:27:59.410 --> 00:28:01.690
Eve was that God was somehow stingy, that he

00:28:01.690 --> 00:28:04.279
wasn't giving her everything that was. And she

00:28:04.279 --> 00:28:05.779
could just reach out and take it for herself

00:28:05.779 --> 00:28:08.359
against God's wishes and find sustenance and

00:28:08.359 --> 00:28:10.779
fulfilling in her soul, in mode of stability,

00:28:11.220 --> 00:28:15.299
relationship, wisdom, clear thought, all just

00:28:15.299 --> 00:28:17.640
by taking that fruit that she was not allowed

00:28:17.640 --> 00:28:20.819
to take. And so God through Jeremiah reminds

00:28:20.819 --> 00:28:23.200
us that the first of the great evils was that

00:28:23.200 --> 00:28:26.380
we forsook God. And the second was that we carved

00:28:26.380 --> 00:28:30.230
out. These cisterns, wells that have holes in

00:28:30.230 --> 00:28:32.009
the bottom, they cannot hold water. We found

00:28:32.009 --> 00:28:34.369
other solutions and people are still trying to

00:28:34.369 --> 00:28:37.140
do that today. But when we are born again, when

00:28:37.140 --> 00:28:39.680
we turn these concerns and all other significant

00:28:39.680 --> 00:28:41.859
concerns over to the God of heaven through His

00:28:41.859 --> 00:28:43.779
Son, Jesus Christ, which, by the way, is the

00:28:43.779 --> 00:28:45.660
only way to have them dealt with, then we are

00:28:45.660 --> 00:28:47.619
born again and we are given a fresh start, a

00:28:47.619 --> 00:28:49.599
new heart, a new mind. Our transgressions and

00:28:49.599 --> 00:28:51.400
our willingness to accept those transgressions

00:28:51.400 --> 00:28:54.099
as the norm are gone behind us. That's what chapter

00:28:54.099 --> 00:28:56.900
5 of 2 Corinthians is all about. And we are given

00:28:56.900 --> 00:29:00.180
the sacred responsibility which mankind was created

00:29:00.180 --> 00:29:03.339
for, which is what? To represent God. To represent

00:29:03.339 --> 00:29:06.150
Him. To be created in His image. And an image

00:29:06.150 --> 00:29:08.309
is a thing. I have miniatures that don't represent

00:29:08.309 --> 00:29:11.450
anybody. But I have pictures that represent my

00:29:11.450 --> 00:29:13.690
loved ones. And I don't go and talk to the pictures.

00:29:13.809 --> 00:29:15.329
And I don't hug the pictures. And I don't lick

00:29:15.329 --> 00:29:18.190
the pictures. We don't dance together. And we

00:29:18.190 --> 00:29:19.730
don't eat dinner together. I eat dinner with

00:29:19.730 --> 00:29:22.190
real people. And I hug them. And I don't usually

00:29:22.190 --> 00:29:25.029
lick them. But I hold pictures in my hand. But

00:29:25.029 --> 00:29:27.450
that ain't them. But the people are the people.

00:29:27.890 --> 00:29:31.039
And we are supposed to be... miniature representatives,

00:29:31.380 --> 00:29:32.900
if you will. If God is bigger than everything,

00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:34.519
then we are miniature at best representatives

00:29:34.519 --> 00:29:37.930
of the God of the universe. Created in His image.

00:29:37.950 --> 00:29:40.210
And as a born -again Christian, that's what you

00:29:40.210 --> 00:29:43.829
must do. His image is on you as a Christian.

00:29:43.990 --> 00:29:46.789
His image is moving through you as a Christian.

00:29:46.849 --> 00:29:49.150
And that's what's at stake. To this end, we are

00:29:49.150 --> 00:29:51.190
His agents of forgiveness and His heralds of

00:29:51.190 --> 00:29:53.450
righteousness and His ministers of reconciliation,

00:29:53.750 --> 00:29:56.910
one and all. We become the body of Christ and

00:29:56.910 --> 00:29:59.210
His body sacrifices itself for those who would

00:29:59.210 --> 00:30:01.710
hear. Let me say that again. We become the body

00:30:01.710 --> 00:30:06.470
of Christ and His body sacrifices itself for

00:30:06.470 --> 00:30:09.109
an image in the minds of those who would know

00:30:09.109 --> 00:30:12.109
God. You just need them to hear. You just need

00:30:12.109 --> 00:30:15.450
them to see. You just need them to be reconciled.

00:30:15.569 --> 00:30:18.450
Love others and do for them what you would have

00:30:18.450 --> 00:30:20.910
done for you as an image bearer of the living

00:30:20.910 --> 00:30:23.390
God. Now, there is an important aside here that

00:30:23.390 --> 00:30:25.029
I have to say to you. It's important. It's very

00:30:25.029 --> 00:30:29.049
important. And that is that snapshots are dangerously

00:30:29.049 --> 00:30:32.210
misinterpreted. I've never played professional

00:30:32.210 --> 00:30:34.470
football. But it would be entirely possible for

00:30:34.470 --> 00:30:37.529
somebody to put me in a professional jersey and

00:30:37.529 --> 00:30:39.869
uniform and pads and all that kind of thing and

00:30:39.869 --> 00:30:42.910
then take me to a professional stadium with my

00:30:42.910 --> 00:30:44.609
foot dragging across the line and I'm hovering

00:30:44.609 --> 00:30:46.329
above the ground. I dive and catch a football

00:30:46.329 --> 00:30:49.009
and someone who does not know me at all and I'm

00:30:49.009 --> 00:30:50.829
wearing a helmet, whatever, and says Stevenson

00:30:50.829 --> 00:30:52.789
across the back might think, oh, there's that

00:30:52.789 --> 00:30:55.029
guy who played for whatever and think that I'm

00:30:55.029 --> 00:30:57.430
a professional football player. Snapshots are

00:30:57.430 --> 00:31:00.569
dangerous. What you see in a snapshot in a moment

00:31:00.569 --> 00:31:04.019
in time, what you assimilate, causes people to

00:31:04.019 --> 00:31:07.180
judge, causes people to feel a certain way about

00:31:07.180 --> 00:31:10.259
people, and it can be bad. And it can be bad

00:31:10.259 --> 00:31:12.480
for Christians. It's not what I'm talking about,

00:31:12.539 --> 00:31:15.359
per se, and I'll show you why. At one point in

00:31:15.359 --> 00:31:18.000
time, I met Elvis' half -brother at a conference,

00:31:18.180 --> 00:31:20.539
and he told me a story. I'm just going to tell

00:31:20.539 --> 00:31:21.960
you the first part of it so you can see the snapshot.

00:31:22.119 --> 00:31:24.740
He said that he wanted to date a girl when he

00:31:24.740 --> 00:31:27.220
was 17 years old, and she was a professing Christian.

00:31:27.690 --> 00:31:30.170
And she said, no, I don't date. I can't date.

00:31:30.269 --> 00:31:32.390
But what you can do is you can come to church

00:31:32.390 --> 00:31:34.490
with me on Sundays and Wednesdays for youth group,

00:31:34.549 --> 00:31:36.970
and we can see each other there. Not ride together,

00:31:37.170 --> 00:31:38.430
but we'll meet each other there, and we'll see

00:31:38.430 --> 00:31:41.029
each other there. And we're like, every girl

00:31:41.029 --> 00:31:42.390
in the room right now is going like, oh, you

00:31:42.390 --> 00:31:44.730
know, that's kind of a lot, isn't it? Doesn't

00:31:44.730 --> 00:31:46.450
that make it seem like Christianity is kind of

00:31:46.450 --> 00:31:50.250
really stodgy and, like, can't even date? I mean,

00:31:50.269 --> 00:31:53.440
can't even date as a teenage girl? So that snapshot

00:31:53.440 --> 00:31:55.660
makes her look kind of bad, right? It makes Jesus

00:31:55.660 --> 00:31:57.259
look kind of bad because it's taking away from

00:31:57.259 --> 00:32:00.059
us the basic things that seems like every right

00:32:00.059 --> 00:32:03.799
in our society. I had over, I don't know, over

00:32:03.799 --> 00:32:05.720
the last few decades, I've had at least three

00:32:05.720 --> 00:32:07.500
conversations where I sat down with somebody

00:32:07.500 --> 00:32:10.579
who was going to church, but they weren't going

00:32:10.579 --> 00:32:11.980
to just one church. They were going here and

00:32:11.980 --> 00:32:13.900
there and all over, and they weren't the church,

00:32:13.920 --> 00:32:14.880
and they weren't doing ministry. They weren't

00:32:14.880 --> 00:32:16.380
called to ministry in the church. They were just

00:32:16.380 --> 00:32:18.279
kind of all over the place. And I said to them,

00:32:18.299 --> 00:32:20.119
look, you've got to stop just going to church.

00:32:20.660 --> 00:32:22.839
You've got to stop going to church. Because that's

00:32:22.839 --> 00:32:24.079
not what it's about. It's not about just going

00:32:24.079 --> 00:32:25.700
to church. It's about something more than that.

00:32:26.140 --> 00:32:27.740
But if you take that snapshot, if there's that

00:32:27.740 --> 00:32:29.079
conversation where I sit down with that person

00:32:29.079 --> 00:32:30.079
and say, look, you've been coming to our church,

00:32:30.119 --> 00:32:31.779
but I don't want you to come anymore. It's pretty

00:32:31.779 --> 00:32:34.599
bad, isn't it? It's a pretty bad snapshot. Or

00:32:34.599 --> 00:32:37.720
you sit down with somebody who's struggling financially.

00:32:38.180 --> 00:32:40.240
Why are you struggling financially? I'm a Christian.

00:32:40.779 --> 00:32:42.140
I've been struggling financially for years and

00:32:42.140 --> 00:32:43.440
years, and I've never quite been there. We never

00:32:43.440 --> 00:32:45.380
quite got there. And you say, well, I mean, I

00:32:45.380 --> 00:32:46.799
hate to ask you this under these circumstances,

00:32:46.960 --> 00:32:49.119
but do you tithe? Do you manage your money in

00:32:49.119 --> 00:32:51.779
a biblical way? No, you know, I try to tithe.

00:32:52.099 --> 00:32:54.740
I've done that up and down from time to time,

00:32:54.759 --> 00:32:56.759
and I've been close. Sometimes I got close to

00:32:56.759 --> 00:32:58.819
10%, whatever, like that. I say, well, you know,

00:32:58.839 --> 00:33:00.420
if you're not going to do what God wants you

00:33:00.420 --> 00:33:01.319
to do, then there really isn't any way I can

00:33:01.319 --> 00:33:03.200
help you. That's a pretty bad snapshot, isn't

00:33:03.200 --> 00:33:05.480
it? In that moment in time, that looks pretty

00:33:05.480 --> 00:33:07.660
bad for the person who's saying, look, I can't

00:33:07.660 --> 00:33:09.480
help you. I was at the life station. I had two

00:33:09.480 --> 00:33:11.259
young ladies in the back of the room, and they

00:33:11.259 --> 00:33:13.940
were taking turns coming in and out because they

00:33:13.940 --> 00:33:15.599
wanted to hear the preaching, but they had a

00:33:15.599 --> 00:33:16.960
little kid with them who was like less than a

00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:19.180
year old, and they were acting up. and they were

00:33:19.180 --> 00:33:20.799
trying to feed him and everything. So they were

00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:22.259
taking turns going in and out so both of them

00:33:22.259 --> 00:33:23.740
could hear as much of the preaching as possible.

00:33:24.180 --> 00:33:25.839
There's a man sitting two rows in front of them,

00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:27.660
and at the end, he'd come up to me. I'd talked

00:33:27.660 --> 00:33:29.019
to him multiple times before. I'd shared the

00:33:29.019 --> 00:33:30.720
gospel very clearly with him. He'd come up to

00:33:30.720 --> 00:33:32.380
me, and he says, I'm going to ask you a question.

00:33:32.519 --> 00:33:33.940
He started asking me some questions about some

00:33:33.940 --> 00:33:36.400
Old Testament verses. And I said, I'm going to

00:33:36.400 --> 00:33:38.039
stop you right there. So I'm going to stop you

00:33:38.039 --> 00:33:40.279
right there. I'm just going to say to you, did

00:33:40.279 --> 00:33:42.460
I clearly explain the gospel to you, that you

00:33:42.460 --> 00:33:44.400
need to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior,

00:33:44.500 --> 00:33:46.589
and if you accept him, you'll be saved. Then

00:33:46.589 --> 00:33:48.089
after that, we can worry about all these other

00:33:48.089 --> 00:33:49.549
things and maybe we won't even need to. Just

00:33:49.549 --> 00:33:51.509
be born again. And he said, yes. And I said,

00:33:51.529 --> 00:33:52.789
and you have not done that. You're not willing

00:33:52.789 --> 00:33:54.549
to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior,

00:33:54.630 --> 00:33:56.589
correct? And he said, that's correct. And I said,

00:33:56.650 --> 00:33:58.390
okay, well, I'm just going to say it this way.

00:33:58.430 --> 00:34:00.710
I'm done with you. I'm done. I've offered Jesus.

00:34:00.829 --> 00:34:02.490
Jesus has offered himself and you're denying.

00:34:02.609 --> 00:34:04.269
Now, I'm going to be blunt with you. There are

00:34:04.269 --> 00:34:06.490
people in this room right now that's the same

00:34:06.490 --> 00:34:08.710
way. Because you know the gospel. And instead

00:34:08.710 --> 00:34:10.909
of Jesus being first in your life, instead of

00:34:10.909 --> 00:34:12.150
him being Lord, which means he tells you what

00:34:12.150 --> 00:34:14.320
to do and you do it. You're busy with your own

00:34:14.320 --> 00:34:16.159
life, your own idea, fulfilling your own desires,

00:34:16.219 --> 00:34:18.280
your own emotions. And so just the same as I

00:34:18.280 --> 00:34:20.079
said to that person in a snapshot that looks

00:34:20.079 --> 00:34:22.500
kind of ugly, I said, look, I'm just done. What

00:34:22.500 --> 00:34:24.659
if God says that to you? And if you don't know

00:34:24.659 --> 00:34:26.639
that that's possible in scripture, I'll show

00:34:26.639 --> 00:34:27.960
you. It's a different sermon, but I'll show you

00:34:27.960 --> 00:34:29.360
where it's absolutely possible. God said, look,

00:34:29.460 --> 00:34:32.340
I offer, you deny, you decline. I'm done with

00:34:32.340 --> 00:34:34.780
you until you settle this matter. And so, but

00:34:34.780 --> 00:34:36.500
if you look at me in that moment saying to that

00:34:36.500 --> 00:34:38.860
guy, I'm done with you. I've shared the gospel.

00:34:38.940 --> 00:34:40.460
You won't listen. You won't accept Christ. I'm

00:34:40.460 --> 00:34:42.320
done with you. And if you look in that moment,

00:34:42.420 --> 00:34:45.039
that makes me look mean. It makes me look harsh.

00:34:45.139 --> 00:34:47.260
It makes Christianity look judgmental, does it

00:34:47.260 --> 00:34:51.400
not? Snapshots are dangerous. Had a recent conversation

00:34:51.400 --> 00:34:53.340
with the person who professes to be a believer.

00:34:53.500 --> 00:34:55.739
I love this person. I was under the impression

00:34:55.739 --> 00:34:58.019
that this person loves me. In that conversation,

00:34:58.239 --> 00:35:00.539
the person said to me, I was just about to start

00:35:00.539 --> 00:35:03.320
to be faithful to God and do the things that

00:35:03.320 --> 00:35:05.800
God wanted me to do. And now you and your church

00:35:05.800 --> 00:35:07.380
have offended me and I'm not going to do that

00:35:07.380 --> 00:35:09.320
now. To which I said to them, if you were going

00:35:09.320 --> 00:35:11.599
to do it, you'd just do it. We're not going to

00:35:11.599 --> 00:35:12.920
play that game. You're not going to blackmail

00:35:12.920 --> 00:35:14.940
me. So don't say to me you were just about to

00:35:14.940 --> 00:35:17.000
become faithful. I don't want to hear it. Now,

00:35:17.039 --> 00:35:18.840
you take that snapshot. Does that not look mean?

00:35:19.320 --> 00:35:21.599
Now let's go back over the stories again. The

00:35:21.599 --> 00:35:24.179
story of Elvis' stepbrother. That young lady

00:35:24.179 --> 00:35:25.920
that wouldn't date him that went to church, she

00:35:25.920 --> 00:35:27.820
went to her church and got them praying. Twenty

00:35:27.820 --> 00:35:30.760
-two years later, Elvis' stepbrother walks into

00:35:30.760 --> 00:35:32.920
that church. He was in a hotel, read the gospel

00:35:32.920 --> 00:35:35.179
in a Gideon Bible in a hotel, prayed to accept

00:35:35.179 --> 00:35:36.519
Christ, and said, I've got to go to church. And

00:35:36.519 --> 00:35:38.460
he went into that little country church outside.

00:35:39.469 --> 00:35:40.889
I think it's, what is it, Memphis? That's where

00:35:40.889 --> 00:35:43.070
Graceland is, right? Outside down there. And

00:35:43.070 --> 00:35:44.989
he went to that little country church, and they

00:35:44.989 --> 00:35:47.409
all... saw him come in and they got up and they

00:35:47.409 --> 00:35:49.309
surrounded him and they were applauding that

00:35:49.309 --> 00:35:50.630
he was there and they're like, what happened?

00:35:50.710 --> 00:35:52.130
He said, I got saved. I don't know what's going

00:35:52.130 --> 00:35:53.889
on. Why are you all doing this to me? And he

00:35:53.889 --> 00:35:57.570
said, 22 years ago, they had put his name on

00:35:57.570 --> 00:35:59.610
the prayer quest and they had not stopped praying

00:35:59.610 --> 00:36:02.550
for him to be saved for 22 years. And that 17

00:36:02.550 --> 00:36:04.329
-year -old girl who's now 39, married and with

00:36:04.329 --> 00:36:06.050
six kids or something, living in another part

00:36:06.050 --> 00:36:08.170
of the country, wasn't there. But her grandmother

00:36:08.170 --> 00:36:10.789
was there and those people recognized that man,

00:36:10.949 --> 00:36:13.269
the stepbrother of Elvis, the half -brother of

00:36:13.269 --> 00:36:16.150
Elvis, and he was saved. saved and they had been

00:36:16.150 --> 00:36:18.429
praying for him. And she said, as soon as we

00:36:18.429 --> 00:36:19.690
get done with this service, I'm going to go call

00:36:19.690 --> 00:36:22.030
my daughter. The girl that said, I can't date

00:36:22.030 --> 00:36:24.590
you, but I want you to come to church. I'm going

00:36:24.590 --> 00:36:26.210
to go call her because she's been praying for

00:36:26.210 --> 00:36:28.050
you for 22 years. Now, does that girl look mean?

00:36:28.570 --> 00:36:31.550
Does she look harsh? Does that snapshot speak

00:36:31.550 --> 00:36:34.190
of reality? When she said, I can't date you because

00:36:34.190 --> 00:36:36.469
you won't come to God. Does it speak of reality

00:36:36.469 --> 00:36:39.119
now? No, it does not. The reality is that she

00:36:39.119 --> 00:36:42.139
loved him. He didn't love her. She loved him

00:36:42.139 --> 00:36:44.820
in the way that God wanted. She treated him the

00:36:44.820 --> 00:36:47.400
way she would want to be treated. If she was

00:36:47.400 --> 00:36:49.119
lost and going to hell, she would want somebody

00:36:49.119 --> 00:36:50.880
to say what you really need. It's not a date

00:36:50.880 --> 00:36:53.900
with a pretty girl, but God in your life. Jesus

00:36:53.900 --> 00:36:56.099
Christ, the Son of God, to save you. Those are

00:36:56.099 --> 00:36:58.539
true stories, by the way. The individual that

00:36:58.539 --> 00:37:00.820
I spoke with, I said, look, several of them.

00:37:01.099 --> 00:37:03.179
One walked away from our church, didn't come

00:37:03.179 --> 00:37:05.800
back for years, and then said, boy, I screwed

00:37:05.800 --> 00:37:08.019
that up. I should have been here the whole time.

00:37:08.360 --> 00:37:11.380
Because it is another family that I went to have

00:37:11.380 --> 00:37:14.880
that same conversation with. It was a Hispanic

00:37:14.880 --> 00:37:16.619
family. And I'm not saying anything negative

00:37:16.619 --> 00:37:18.539
about that. But when I went to go make my visit,

00:37:18.579 --> 00:37:20.159
I was making a visit with a man and his wife.

00:37:20.260 --> 00:37:22.840
And I got there. And all their kids and grandkids,

00:37:23.059 --> 00:37:25.239
they were all there to visit with me. The pastor's

00:37:25.239 --> 00:37:26.699
coming over. And I go in. There's an audience

00:37:26.699 --> 00:37:29.559
of 13 people to talk to. And I told them all,

00:37:29.760 --> 00:37:31.159
you've got to stop dating the church. You've

00:37:31.159 --> 00:37:32.619
got to get in the church and be faithful in the

00:37:32.619 --> 00:37:34.179
church and be the church. It's not about that.

00:37:34.360 --> 00:37:36.559
And he said, well, you understand. He had come

00:37:36.559 --> 00:37:37.840
to our church. That's how we got the conversation.

00:37:38.019 --> 00:37:39.400
He said, well, you understand, if I do that,

00:37:39.480 --> 00:37:41.420
it won't be your church because your church is

00:37:41.420 --> 00:37:43.980
20 miles away. And I said, why do I care? I said,

00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:45.800
I would love to have you, but you need to be

00:37:45.800 --> 00:37:47.460
faithful and be the church and be fine with God.

00:37:47.659 --> 00:37:49.659
So the very next week, they went to a church

00:37:49.659 --> 00:37:50.960
in their local community where they had been

00:37:50.960 --> 00:37:52.679
before, where they had a problem with the church

00:37:52.679 --> 00:37:54.739
and a problem with the pastor. And he sat down

00:37:54.739 --> 00:37:56.340
and had a conversation, joined that church, and

00:37:56.340 --> 00:37:57.920
they're still there this day. It's been 20 years.

00:37:58.059 --> 00:38:00.199
Now, does that snapshot where I said to them,

00:38:00.239 --> 00:38:01.860
look, I don't want you to stop coming to my church,

00:38:01.940 --> 00:38:03.500
does that make me look the same way as it did

00:38:03.500 --> 00:38:06.210
then? No, it changes the image, right? So we've

00:38:06.210 --> 00:38:08.090
got this idea. If you tell people what they're

00:38:08.090 --> 00:38:10.190
doing wrong, if you reprove them, remember what

00:38:10.190 --> 00:38:11.929
Leviticus said, you can reprove them. But that's

00:38:11.929 --> 00:38:14.530
not love. And that's not true. You can reprove

00:38:14.530 --> 00:38:16.989
and should correct. You can and should. And you

00:38:16.989 --> 00:38:19.570
should point people to God. The verdict is still

00:38:19.570 --> 00:38:22.170
out on the most recent conversation that I had

00:38:22.170 --> 00:38:24.750
with this person. And I said, don't try to blackmail

00:38:24.750 --> 00:38:26.010
me and tell me you're suddenly going to become

00:38:26.010 --> 00:38:27.869
faithful because you could have done that all

00:38:27.869 --> 00:38:28.989
the time. Verdict's still out. I don't know.

00:38:29.050 --> 00:38:31.929
But the fact is this. God loves us. He wants

00:38:31.929 --> 00:38:34.539
to use us as his image bearers. and it is not

00:38:34.539 --> 00:38:39.239
your image that is at stake. It's His. The Christian

00:38:39.239 --> 00:38:40.900
who confronts sin in a church member, the Christian

00:38:40.900 --> 00:38:43.360
who tells someone that he has heard enough promises

00:38:43.360 --> 00:38:45.079
to start being faithful, or tells someone that

00:38:45.079 --> 00:38:46.539
they need to stop dating the church and become

00:38:46.539 --> 00:38:48.559
faithful, or reminds them that tithing is biblical.

00:38:49.039 --> 00:38:50.679
When I had that conversation years ago, I went

00:38:50.679 --> 00:38:52.940
to Judy's house, and this is just one example,

00:38:52.980 --> 00:38:54.460
but there are several. I went to her house, and

00:38:54.460 --> 00:38:57.840
she said, well, I'm $180 short every month. There's

00:38:57.840 --> 00:38:59.139
no possible way I can tithe. I said, well, how

00:38:59.139 --> 00:39:00.380
much is your tithe? She said, well, it's like...

00:39:01.059 --> 00:39:03.000
I'm like 80 bucks short. I'm like, so you're

00:39:03.000 --> 00:39:05.159
$180 short. You tie, that's another $80. Now

00:39:05.159 --> 00:39:07.800
you're $260 short. So it really is $180 short

00:39:07.800 --> 00:39:10.039
or $260 short, that much difference really? I

00:39:10.039 --> 00:39:11.440
mean, you're short anyway, right? And she goes,

00:39:11.500 --> 00:39:13.500
well, you know, duh, that makes perfect sense.

00:39:13.699 --> 00:39:15.460
And so she said, okay, I'm going to do it. From

00:39:15.460 --> 00:39:17.440
now on, I'm going to tie. Took her to the doctor's

00:39:17.440 --> 00:39:19.059
office, dropped her off, came back. By the time

00:39:19.059 --> 00:39:20.239
we got back, she had a message on her answering

00:39:20.239 --> 00:39:22.500
machine saying that they were no longer going

00:39:22.500 --> 00:39:24.019
to require that she keep oxygen in her home.

00:39:24.059 --> 00:39:26.869
That's $100 a month, just like that. And another

00:39:26.869 --> 00:39:29.469
message on her answer machine saying that back

00:39:29.469 --> 00:39:31.530
payment that you had on your oxygen, which is

00:39:31.530 --> 00:39:33.849
almost $200 a month, you no longer have to pay

00:39:33.849 --> 00:39:35.449
that now because you never used any of it anyway,

00:39:35.530 --> 00:39:36.989
so we're going to take that off your bills. All

00:39:36.989 --> 00:39:38.610
she did was say she was going to start, never

00:39:38.610 --> 00:39:40.969
wrote a check, never gave a dollar, and the calls

00:39:40.969 --> 00:39:43.210
were on her answer machine that balanced her

00:39:43.210 --> 00:39:47.309
budget with her tithe in it. God is responding,

00:39:47.530 --> 00:39:50.469
and everybody is on their way to meet him. And

00:39:50.469 --> 00:39:53.949
therefore, we should treat people the way we

00:39:53.949 --> 00:39:56.389
would want to be treated. And that involves love.

00:39:56.469 --> 00:39:59.110
Sometimes the snapshot of what you're doing may

00:39:59.110 --> 00:40:02.289
look harsh, but it really isn't. In the schools

00:40:02.289 --> 00:40:04.530
or in Sunday school, when a teacher takes the

00:40:04.530 --> 00:40:06.289
teenager's phones away and they're all like...

00:40:06.510 --> 00:40:09.090
oh, I got to put my phone in there, right? I

00:40:09.090 --> 00:40:10.670
saw a video online about how they're all walking

00:40:10.670 --> 00:40:11.969
up to the thing, put their phone in there and

00:40:11.969 --> 00:40:13.489
they're putting something else like their calculator

00:40:13.489 --> 00:40:15.309
or whatever. They're keeping their phone in their

00:40:15.309 --> 00:40:16.349
pocket because they don't want to give up. Like

00:40:16.349 --> 00:40:17.710
it's the end of the world if you don't have a

00:40:17.710 --> 00:40:20.210
cell phone. You do realize that adults who are

00:40:20.210 --> 00:40:23.530
over 30, their childhood did not include a cell

00:40:23.530 --> 00:40:25.949
phone. Their teenage years did not include the

00:40:25.949 --> 00:40:28.889
internet. People were living and working and

00:40:28.889 --> 00:40:31.250
enjoying themselves and doing tons of stuff before

00:40:31.250 --> 00:40:33.489
you could ever get on social media. If you watch

00:40:33.489 --> 00:40:35.780
sports or social media, you understand. That's

00:40:35.780 --> 00:40:37.980
a new invention. In fact, the science is now

00:40:37.980 --> 00:40:40.019
coming out saying that the electromagnetic waves

00:40:40.019 --> 00:40:41.900
of your phone is screwing up your body. And by

00:40:41.900 --> 00:40:44.340
the time we're, I'll probably be gone, but by

00:40:44.340 --> 00:40:46.619
the time Ricky's old enough to be 75, we're going

00:40:46.619 --> 00:40:48.260
to find out that cell phones are killing people.

00:40:48.440 --> 00:40:49.960
And I don't know if the science is real, but

00:40:49.960 --> 00:40:51.460
it's out there right now. It's not peer -reviewed

00:40:51.460 --> 00:40:54.329
yet. The bottom line is, you don't need it. And

00:40:54.329 --> 00:40:55.989
when a teacher tells you you don't need it, you

00:40:55.989 --> 00:40:57.510
need to focus on this lesson, you need to learn

00:40:57.510 --> 00:40:59.050
what I've got to teach you today, that's not

00:40:59.050 --> 00:41:01.329
a bad thing. That's an expression of love. They

00:41:01.329 --> 00:41:03.409
care that you get ahead from where you currently

00:41:03.409 --> 00:41:05.630
are. When a police officer writes you a ticket,

00:41:05.730 --> 00:41:07.829
everybody likes to be mad at the police when

00:41:07.829 --> 00:41:09.429
you get a ticket, right? If you're a believer,

00:41:09.530 --> 00:41:10.550
you shouldn't be mad at the police. You should

00:41:10.550 --> 00:41:13.750
realize that police officer is literally dealing

00:41:13.750 --> 00:41:16.590
justice, which is an expression of God's love

00:41:16.590 --> 00:41:18.030
in our community. You know what it would be like

00:41:18.030 --> 00:41:19.469
if we don't have police? Just go live in Detroit

00:41:19.469 --> 00:41:21.389
for a while. You can't get a police officer to

00:41:21.389 --> 00:41:23.590
come unless somebody's bleeding or actively stabbing

00:41:23.590 --> 00:41:26.150
or shooting somebody. For a fist fight, somebody's

00:41:26.150 --> 00:41:27.889
on the ground being kicked in the face, may die

00:41:27.889 --> 00:41:30.110
in the next 30 seconds, they'll say, file a report

00:41:30.110 --> 00:41:31.889
tomorrow. Make sure they get to the hospital.

00:41:32.050 --> 00:41:33.750
Maybe we'll send an ambulance. Do they need an

00:41:33.750 --> 00:41:34.889
ambulance right now? Okay, we'll send an ambulance.

00:41:34.929 --> 00:41:37.139
No police, because it's not in the budget. We

00:41:37.139 --> 00:41:39.099
need the police. And when they write you a ticket,

00:41:39.139 --> 00:41:41.239
you should be grateful that you've gotten a ticket

00:41:41.239 --> 00:41:43.179
because that's an expression of their love towards

00:41:43.179 --> 00:41:46.360
you. All of these pictures, when you have experienced

00:41:46.360 --> 00:41:48.920
Christ's love, loving others as he does, becomes

00:41:48.920 --> 00:41:52.500
an incurable condition because his Holy Spirit

00:41:52.500 --> 00:41:57.099
and your regenerated heart have this reinstated

00:41:57.099 --> 00:42:00.130
purpose to love. The same love does not allow

00:42:00.130 --> 00:42:02.570
you to continue to facilitate sinful behavior

00:42:02.570 --> 00:42:05.809
or encourage ignoring God's offers of repentance.

00:42:06.190 --> 00:42:08.610
Asking for repentance is loving your neighbor

00:42:08.610 --> 00:42:11.929
as yourself because if you or I were in sin and

00:42:11.929 --> 00:42:14.329
headed for hell or chastisement, we would want

00:42:14.329 --> 00:42:16.510
to know that, wouldn't we? We would want to be

00:42:16.510 --> 00:42:19.510
loved. We would want to be called to salvation.

00:42:19.869 --> 00:42:23.269
Our job is not necessarily to respond. and therefore

00:42:23.269 --> 00:42:25.409
protect our image, which we always want to do.

00:42:25.510 --> 00:42:27.789
Explain why we did what we did. We want to say,

00:42:27.849 --> 00:42:30.030
well, that really wasn't me, or I'm so sorry,

00:42:30.050 --> 00:42:31.369
even though there's nothing to be sorry for.

00:42:31.690 --> 00:42:33.809
Protect our image. Even though this may feel

00:42:33.809 --> 00:42:36.550
like protecting our witness, or letting our light

00:42:36.550 --> 00:42:38.929
shine, our job is not necessarily to prepare

00:42:38.929 --> 00:42:41.650
how we should respond in order to protect our

00:42:41.650 --> 00:42:44.369
image. Rather, our job is to learn to do unto

00:42:44.369 --> 00:42:46.889
others the way we... would have them do unto

00:42:46.889 --> 00:42:49.210
us. Is that not what the Scripture said? Because

00:42:49.210 --> 00:42:51.190
our first -hand experience as humans makes us

00:42:51.190 --> 00:42:53.489
uniquely able to understand what they're going

00:42:53.489 --> 00:42:56.489
through and to do this, and because this is how

00:42:56.489 --> 00:43:00.769
God calls us to represent Him. We protect and

00:43:00.769 --> 00:43:04.670
guard and steward the image of God. More, we

00:43:04.670 --> 00:43:07.590
are the image of God when we treat others the

00:43:07.590 --> 00:43:09.989
way we would want to be treated. You came to

00:43:09.989 --> 00:43:13.489
church today expecting a fairly normal sermon.

00:43:13.710 --> 00:43:15.480
I don't know if that's what you're getting. I

00:43:15.480 --> 00:43:18.340
hope you're hearing from the Lord. But now, you're

00:43:18.340 --> 00:43:19.739
going to experience something that you've never

00:43:19.739 --> 00:43:21.719
experienced before, because I'm going to stand

00:43:21.719 --> 00:43:24.699
before you and take my pants off. You ready for

00:43:24.699 --> 00:43:28.219
that? My shoes off because they're interfering

00:43:28.219 --> 00:43:32.039
with my pants. Here we go. You don't have to.

00:43:32.780 --> 00:43:35.119
It's all right. Let them see it, brother. It's

00:43:35.119 --> 00:43:37.920
for the Lord. Okay. Here's my innerwear. Everyone

00:43:37.920 --> 00:43:42.909
see my innerwear? Here's my innerwear. Because

00:43:42.909 --> 00:43:46.150
Sean has never seen my underwear before. Okay.

00:43:46.349 --> 00:43:49.730
Right? So there's my underwear. Right there.

00:43:49.969 --> 00:43:53.349
Okay? Now, if you take a snapshot right now and

00:43:53.349 --> 00:43:55.789
we stop right here, this is going to look like

00:43:55.789 --> 00:43:59.429
not a very good idea. Right? It's probably shooting

00:43:59.429 --> 00:44:01.329
across Europe right now. Right? Because it moves

00:44:01.329 --> 00:44:03.090
pretty fast on the electronics of the internet

00:44:03.090 --> 00:44:06.369
and that kind of thing. But last night, I had

00:44:06.369 --> 00:44:08.800
a dream. I was standing before you. And my innerwear,

00:44:08.840 --> 00:44:10.380
by the way, in my dream was white, but I couldn't

00:44:10.380 --> 00:44:12.119
find my white pair today, so the Lord let me

00:44:12.119 --> 00:44:14.360
use this pair instead. Standing in front of you,

00:44:14.480 --> 00:44:16.460
preaching. I got up this morning, I'm getting

00:44:16.460 --> 00:44:18.739
dressed, and I pray. Every Sunday morning, I

00:44:18.739 --> 00:44:20.159
pray, okay, Lord, what do you want me to wear

00:44:20.159 --> 00:44:21.980
today? He picks out my shirt, he picks out my

00:44:21.980 --> 00:44:24.380
pants, and he picked out that I should wear innerwear.

00:44:24.440 --> 00:44:26.019
I'm like, I want to wear innerwear in front of

00:44:26.019 --> 00:44:27.400
the congregation. Lord, that's got to be kind

00:44:27.400 --> 00:44:29.820
of weird. And he told me exactly how I was going

00:44:29.820 --> 00:44:31.280
to do it, exactly what's going on right now.

00:44:31.659 --> 00:44:34.440
What I want to say to you is, this is what it's

00:44:34.440 --> 00:44:37.199
going to look like sometimes. You do not need

00:44:37.199 --> 00:44:40.699
to protect your image. You don't. Whatever image

00:44:40.699 --> 00:44:42.900
the world can see of you personally right now,

00:44:42.920 --> 00:44:44.940
your mustache, your beard, your shiny forehead,

00:44:45.260 --> 00:44:48.679
your big belly, or your tallness, or your shortness,

00:44:48.780 --> 00:44:51.820
or your long hair, your short hair, your pinkish

00:44:51.820 --> 00:44:53.860
lips, or your red lips, your bright lipsticks,

00:44:53.980 --> 00:44:56.300
anything that you can make them see, it's all

00:44:56.300 --> 00:44:59.159
going to be gone. And if anything about you in

00:44:59.159 --> 00:45:02.219
person would lead you, would lead them to come

00:45:02.219 --> 00:45:04.250
to Christ, the way you look, the way you talk,

00:45:04.369 --> 00:45:06.670
the way you act that is not specifically Christ's

00:45:06.670 --> 00:45:09.070
image, it's not the love of God, then the end

00:45:09.070 --> 00:45:11.269
result of it is going to be they're going to

00:45:11.269 --> 00:45:12.989
go to hell because they're going to get saved

00:45:12.989 --> 00:45:15.590
by Tony or saved by Hannah or saved by Caleb.

00:45:15.750 --> 00:45:17.630
And that's not how you get saved. You get saved

00:45:17.630 --> 00:45:20.510
by Jesus. And so you need to realize that you

00:45:20.510 --> 00:45:22.829
do not need to protect your image. Rather, you

00:45:22.829 --> 00:45:26.449
need to learn how to exhibit His image in every

00:45:26.449 --> 00:45:28.969
situation. And sometime it's going to come out.

00:45:29.289 --> 00:45:32.170
that as you do some of that, maybe take off some

00:45:32.170 --> 00:45:35.610
external trappings that you have, the way that

00:45:35.610 --> 00:45:38.670
you look and so on, that if you strip down far

00:45:38.670 --> 00:45:41.309
enough, get rid of just enough of the trappings,

00:45:41.389 --> 00:45:48.210
suddenly, the message of Christ becomes clear.

00:45:49.250 --> 00:45:51.110
I'm a member of New Heights Fellowship Baptist

00:45:51.110 --> 00:45:54.289
Church, and I know... That God sent his only

00:45:54.289 --> 00:45:56.750
son to die for us. And you may have to strip

00:45:56.750 --> 00:45:58.550
off some layers. You may have to stop talking

00:45:58.550 --> 00:46:00.449
about sports. You may have to stop talking about

00:46:00.449 --> 00:46:02.489
what your opinions are. You may have to stop

00:46:02.489 --> 00:46:04.269
talking about your job. You may have to stop

00:46:04.269 --> 00:46:05.909
talking about your family. You may have to start

00:46:05.909 --> 00:46:07.989
talking about Jesus. You may have to share the

00:46:07.989 --> 00:46:10.769
gospel and so on. Now, here's the great blessing.

00:46:10.929 --> 00:46:13.849
We have a God who is a great provider. And here's

00:46:13.849 --> 00:46:16.110
what's going to happen. When you strip off that

00:46:16.110 --> 00:46:18.369
other stuff and make the image of Jesus the most

00:46:18.369 --> 00:46:20.909
important thing, then the God of heaven is going

00:46:20.909 --> 00:46:23.739
to use you to represent him. And in so doing,

00:46:23.840 --> 00:46:30.019
using you to represent him. Oh, wow. There's

00:46:30.019 --> 00:46:41.099
no way. I can't get my underwear off. In so doing,

00:46:41.099 --> 00:46:48.739
he may give you the kind of clothes that you

00:46:48.739 --> 00:46:52.980
won't mind standing in front of. Not yet. People

00:46:52.980 --> 00:46:57.159
are hard to deal with. They're frustrating. It's

00:46:57.159 --> 00:47:00.599
a common phenomenon that Christians are offended.

00:47:00.900 --> 00:47:04.139
Our sensibilities about how people act. Then

00:47:04.139 --> 00:47:07.039
we feel we have to distance ourselves from them,

00:47:07.119 --> 00:47:09.420
people who do not act according to what we think

00:47:09.420 --> 00:47:14.480
is right. Pull away. And at that point, it simply

00:47:14.480 --> 00:47:18.179
makes us impossible. We cannot represent Christ

00:47:18.179 --> 00:47:20.880
the way we are called to. When you stop talking,

00:47:21.480 --> 00:47:23.659
You have nothing to say. When you start living

00:47:23.659 --> 00:47:27.219
your life as love toward the people that you

00:47:27.219 --> 00:47:29.280
encounter, which is to say treating them the

00:47:29.280 --> 00:47:31.659
way you would want to be treated, the image of

00:47:31.659 --> 00:47:37.559
God is not only marred, it's lost. But if you

00:47:37.559 --> 00:47:39.539
trust the Lord and let him strip some things

00:47:39.539 --> 00:47:41.820
off you that you think you need and begin just

00:47:41.820 --> 00:47:45.400
loving people and living this way, which is to

00:47:45.400 --> 00:47:47.699
say doing unto them as you would have them do

00:47:47.699 --> 00:47:50.869
to you. then Jesus will give you a set of clothes

00:47:50.869 --> 00:47:53.269
that you won't mind being out in public in. Those

00:47:53.269 --> 00:47:56.369
things we call the fruit of the Spirit. And that's

00:47:56.369 --> 00:47:58.429
what it means when he says, you are the light

00:47:58.429 --> 00:48:01.469
of the world. Hang in there when they tell you

00:48:01.469 --> 00:48:03.769
to shut up and love them even though they are

00:48:03.769 --> 00:48:05.630
not treating you the way you would want to be

00:48:05.630 --> 00:48:09.429
treated. Love them even though you are not being

00:48:09.429 --> 00:48:10.929
treated the way you would want to be treated.

00:48:13.110 --> 00:48:16.050
Let Christ's commanded love for them overrule

00:48:16.050 --> 00:48:19.289
your fear, your anxiety, or your concern for

00:48:19.289 --> 00:48:22.929
appearances, and just deliver a gospel -centered

00:48:22.929 --> 00:48:25.909
existence into an otherwise ignorant situation.

00:48:26.289 --> 00:48:29.190
And if you have a new heart, then you must never

00:48:29.190 --> 00:48:32.590
stop saying or showing, I love Jesus, no matter

00:48:32.590 --> 00:48:35.329
what they do to you. If they throw stones, literally.

00:48:35.690 --> 00:48:40.389
Break bones, literally. Crucify, literally. Burn

00:48:40.389 --> 00:48:43.570
us at the stake, literally. That's the examples

00:48:43.570 --> 00:48:46.349
that we have. Real people who are ordinary people.

00:48:47.159 --> 00:48:48.920
Most of whom would never take their pants off

00:48:48.920 --> 00:48:56.139
in public. Crucified, stoned, and burned. No

00:48:56.139 --> 00:48:59.000
matter what they do to us, we must not fail to

00:48:59.000 --> 00:49:02.480
represent Christ. If you fail to represent Christ,

00:49:02.619 --> 00:49:05.519
you throw away everything. Let me say that very

00:49:05.519 --> 00:49:08.619
specifically. If you fail to represent Christ

00:49:08.619 --> 00:49:11.440
in your relationships, you throw away everything

00:49:11.440 --> 00:49:14.260
that Jesus died for. I love to think that Jesus

00:49:14.260 --> 00:49:16.139
died so I can go to heaven one day. That's awesome.

00:49:16.480 --> 00:49:18.880
but that is not what he died for. He died for

00:49:18.880 --> 00:49:21.280
new life, and yes, that means eternal life for

00:49:21.280 --> 00:49:24.219
all of us as we represent him and the Holy Spirit

00:49:24.219 --> 00:49:27.579
resides in us. Don't throw away what he died

00:49:27.579 --> 00:49:30.920
for. You may still be saved, but as through fire,

00:49:31.059 --> 00:49:35.019
as even the image of you, the image of you, the

00:49:35.019 --> 00:49:38.519
image of you must be burnt off so that the image

00:49:38.519 --> 00:49:41.719
of him can remain on you for an eternity. It's

00:49:41.719 --> 00:49:44.000
not your image that's at risk. Stop worrying

00:49:44.000 --> 00:49:46.539
about what you look like. and get busy loving

00:49:46.539 --> 00:49:49.980
people and doing unto them what you would have

00:49:49.980 --> 00:49:53.820
them do unto you. If we fail to exhibit Him,

00:49:53.980 --> 00:49:58.699
we fail in every way. I ask the praise team to

00:49:58.699 --> 00:50:01.000
come forward at this time and lead us in the

00:50:01.000 --> 00:50:03.739
final hymn. I would encourage you today, if you

00:50:03.739 --> 00:50:08.300
realize that you're not exhibiting Christ in

00:50:08.300 --> 00:50:11.519
your life, repent and turn to God and make Him

00:50:11.519 --> 00:50:14.590
first. If you realize that you're not loving

00:50:14.590 --> 00:50:17.730
people and doing unto them what you would have

00:50:17.730 --> 00:50:19.929
them do unto you, even though you know they may

00:50:19.929 --> 00:50:23.329
not, right? If you're not behaving that way,

00:50:23.369 --> 00:50:24.889
if you're not treating people that way, then

00:50:24.889 --> 00:50:28.550
you repent. It's not my command. If it was, you

00:50:28.550 --> 00:50:30.630
could just ignore me. These are the words of

00:50:30.630 --> 00:50:34.190
Jesus. Treat others the way you would have them

00:50:34.190 --> 00:50:36.429
treat you. And remember, that is because we know

00:50:36.429 --> 00:50:39.690
God is responding and everyone is on a journey.

00:50:40.050 --> 00:50:42.880
Therefore, we must. And it's not... Our image,

00:50:43.000 --> 00:50:46.880
that's at stake. Stop it. It's pride, arrogance,

00:50:47.000 --> 00:50:48.840
evil spirits that make you think that you can't

00:50:48.840 --> 00:50:53.219
look a certain way to get the job done. God willing,

00:50:53.320 --> 00:50:56.780
you never will. But if he called you to take

00:50:56.780 --> 00:50:59.539
your pants off in public, and you were sure it

00:50:59.539 --> 00:51:02.539
was him, and souls were at stake, if he called

00:51:02.539 --> 00:51:04.659
you to take a bullet in your brain because you

00:51:04.659 --> 00:51:07.900
refused to renounce the name of Christ, you better

00:51:07.900 --> 00:51:12.289
do it. Just be sure it's him. And then do whatever

00:51:12.289 --> 00:51:14.670
he's called you to as you exhibit the image of

00:51:14.670 --> 00:51:18.789
Christ on earth. As we sing, you respond if the

00:51:18.789 --> 00:51:19.789
Lord's leading you to do so.