WEBVTT

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Bye. Sit at this time. Alrighty, alrighty, alrighty.

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We're going to do the inspirational reading at

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this time, or inspirational moment. as we call

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it. This is that moment in time where we ask

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ourselves, how has the Lord been moving? What

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have we seen? What have we heard? What did you

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read in the Bible this week? What's exciting

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to you? Or maybe what speaks to you about the

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last seven days? And then I will share, to close

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this time, I'll share about our new six -month

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emphasis. As you may or may not know, we do emphasize

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one spiritual discipline for six months at a

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time. We closed out the spiritual discipline

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of stewardship with the end of the month of December.

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We're beginning a new one, which will take us

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through the end of the month of May. And so that's

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where we're at. So how has God spoken to you

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this week? What did you see? What did you hear?

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So many of you know my dad, you know, was this

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week. Pastor Dan gave the... And for the life

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of me, I can't remember at this moment what verses

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he used. But what touched me was the fact that

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Pastor Dan said he learned from the verses from

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my dad's life. And that was inspiring because

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that was the guy. He was a fantastic Christian,

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so I know where he is. All of you in here, you

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don't know Jesus is your Lord and Savior. Please,

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let him as your water. Thank you. Alright, who

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else? The crazy part is, I kind of shared this

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with Chris. I have been doing a Bible study.

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You know, there's a lot of good devotionals.

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If you don't know, check out 2Version. They have

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a devotional for everything. I read this devotional.

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It was like three days. But, you know, when people

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lose someone, we're so quick to say my condolences.

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I'm sorry for your loss. They call them the bereaved.

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And the one deep thing that I read, and I want

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to share with everybody, because you never know

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when it might, you know, we don't know when we're

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going to lose someone. Tomorrow's my promise.

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They kind of explain when you lose someone, especially

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a Christian. You know, you can't call someone

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bereaved because when you get a job and you're

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invested in your 401k, they don't call you bereaved

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when you put your money, when you invest your

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money in your 401k because you're going to get

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that back. And so you have to remember our loved

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ones, our Christian loved ones, our saved family

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members, we're not losing them. We're investing

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them into Jesus and we will see them again. We

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will get them back as long as we continue to

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live our life the way we're supposed to. One

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of the best scriptures that I got from that...

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Let's see if I can pull it back up. One of the

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best scriptures that I found this week with that

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Bible study was... is 1 Thessalonians 4, verse

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14. And it says, For if we believe that Jesus

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died and rose again, even so God will bring with

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him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. So

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as long as you continue to believe those loved

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ones that we invested in Jesus, we will see them

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again. I know that means a lot to you with what

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you want to hear. Okay, who else? Who else? I'm

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behind you now. I'll get to you quickly. So,

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I know I've shared this verse recently, but I'll

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share it again for a different purpose this time.

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In Romans 8 .28 says, And we know that in all

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things God works for the good of those who love

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Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

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So, As an example, you feel called to do something,

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but you feel that you don't have the ability

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or the skill to do said thing. God loves you,

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and if you are called according to His purpose,

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He's going to equip you to do whatever it is

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that He's calling you to do, regardless of your

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feelings of your ability or not. One of the things

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I like to say is God equips the called. He doesn't

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call the equipped. Meaning, he's calling you

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to a specific task, he's going to make sure that

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you have everything at your disposal to complete

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that task. Not the other way around. He's not

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going to call people who already have those skills

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or abilities because what kind of miraculous

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thing would that be if he just called people

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that already knew how to preach or people who

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already knew how to play instruments or whatever.

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Continue to seek God in all things. And when

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something comes up, an opportunity comes up that

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you think is outside your box, I would strongly

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recommend that you consider it through prayer

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and see if this is something that God is calling

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you to do because He's going to make sure that

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you have everything at your disposal to do it.

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That's a good word. That's a good word. When

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I got saved, I got to tell you that it was everything

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in me that crossed the line of the box. All the

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years since then, trying to stay kind of outside

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the box and do the things that God has called

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me to do that I don't necessarily feel comfortable

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to do. Yeah, sometimes it rears its ugly head

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and I'll fall back in. I'll go, I don't want

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to do that. Maybe I'll be lazy or I'll be weak.

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But by, you know, repent, confess unto the Lord

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and he strengthens me. And he is faithful and

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just and cleanses me from all unrighteousness.

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I'm grateful. The pet's true because I eat that

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every day. But that box, it's like it's stalking

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me. Because in my box, I don't talk to you now.

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I don't preach. I don't teach. I don't talk to

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strangers. That's my box. And so most of everything

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that I've been called to do is way so far outside

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the box that I can hardly remember where it's

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at. But then it's real easy for me to, it creeps

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up on me and I don't want to stop doing what

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I'm supposed to be doing. So that's a really

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good word. Okay, anybody else? All right. So

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let me share with you. So our spiritual emphasis.

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For the next six months, roughly, and we'll actually

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be a little bit less than six months, we'll be

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through the last week of May. And so with the

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Christmas season, our emphasis on the birth of

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Christ and celebrating that and so on, we've

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held off until the beginning of this week. Today

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is the beginning of the week, right? We don't

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celebrate on the seventh day of the week. We

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celebrate on the first day of the week, the day

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that Jesus rose from the dead. And so today is

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the beginning of the week, and we go through

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our anniversary, which is May 22nd. And so that

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was the anniversary for the birth of the church,

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the constitution of the church, and also for

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the birth of Brother Tony. And so we'll celebrate

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through that day. And that's the second one,

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just a coincidence. But anyway, so our discipline

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will be silence and solitude. Silence and solitude.

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So very briefly, I'm going to describe to you

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what it is. And we're not going to get into how

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to do it. We'll talk about that during our lessons.

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It'll be in a certain time. We'll do a little

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bit more during our special reading later. But

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not to belabor the point, but silence is solitude.

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So silence is being quiet when there is no noise

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or no disruption, no distraction. You're not

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talking. And that might be a chief thing. You're

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not talking when silence. But ideally, no one

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else is talking. So you're not in the middle

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of a conversation. You just stop and be quiet

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and try. to focus or whatever while somebody's

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still yammering at you, maybe about something

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important, maybe not about something not important.

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So silence is when there's very little sound.

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Total silence would be no sound. So that would

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be not the hum of the lights, not the hum of

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the heater, not the breathing, not the rustling,

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not the moving of cloth in the room, not the

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scratching on the chairs, not the children playing.

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Total silence is when there is no sound whatsoever.

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But the silence that Scripture is talking about

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is something, nothing that will interfere with

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your ability to focus on God. And then solitude

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is aloneness. Solitude has that same beginning

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of the root word, solo. Sol means alone, oneness,

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independent, apart. And so you have to get away.

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To have solitude, you have to get away from people.

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So with people, you can have silence. You can

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be with other people and have silence. And yet

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sometimes, especially now, believers will have

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a moment of silence. During that moment of silence,

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we should be talking to and listening to God.

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So they may not be because they don't believe

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in God or they're not there in their relationship.

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But if somebody has a moment of silence, we should

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be talking to and listening to God. Not necessarily

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talking out loud, because then that would be

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creating the silence. But in our minds, directing

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our attention to the Lord and listening to the

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Lord. And in solitude, you cannot do that with

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other people. You cannot even go... Now, a man

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and a woman who are married and have a good,

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healthy relationship in their marriage... could

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theoretically do it together because they are

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generally considered one person. So you could

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go away with your spouse and have solitude. That

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is possible. Although, because both people are

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still humans, it is also challenging to have

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solitude with your loved one who is your spouse.

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But solitude is aloneness. So just to give you

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one piece to take with you, Psalm 46 .10, which

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says, Be still. and know that I am the Lord,

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that I am God. And it is peace in the Lord. What

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you'll find a lot of times when you try to have

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silence is that there are other voices that don't

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come from models. It could be your self -talk.

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You're talking about yourself. Do I look good?

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Did I do right? Did I do that wrong? How am I

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going to get my bill paid? Is the heat in the

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room too warm? Whatever. Did I wear enough deodorant?

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Whatever your self -talk is, those kinds of things.

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you need to shut that down. It's not silent until

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you shut that down. And then there's evil spirits

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as well. The enemy will speak. And usually the

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enemy will speak things that either intentionally

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make you feel bad, so it's clear and obvious

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that they intend to make you feel bad, or by

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a roundabout way to make you feel bad. And be

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aware that the enemy, just like I could say to

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you, to start a sentence with I, the enemy can

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do the same thing. So he can speak into your

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heart or mind saying, I am a bad person. And

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then you can be confused because you're hearing

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a voice in your head saying, I am a bad person.

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So you think you're saying, you think it's you

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thinking you're a bad person. And so the enemy

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can do that kind of thing. So silence is when

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we rebuke our own self -talk and we rebuke the

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talk of the enemy and we listen only to the voice

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of God. Okay? You can't rebuke God and tell him

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not to talk. If we ever did that, it would be

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very disrespectful. So, silence and solitude.

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So, one last thing. In the interest of understanding

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the beginning of the pursuit of silence and solitude,

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we are going to strive as a larger group, not

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for solitude, because we can't do that together,

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but for silence, for exactly 30 seconds. Okay?

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So, If you have a young child with you, you can

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caution them. We're going to play the silent

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game for 30 seconds. We're going to strive for

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silence for 30 seconds. During this time, if

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you hear voices that are not your own in your

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head, then in your head, or even if you have

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to whisper out loud, you better say it out loud.

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You say, leave me alone in the name of Jesus.

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Say it out loud because they can't necessarily

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read your thoughts. And if it's your own talk,

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then you just shut up inside you. Just keep saying,

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no, I'm not going to think about that right now.

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Just let 30 seconds of silence. Here we go. Give

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it a try. You still know that he is God. Beginning

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now. quiet time, a little singing, a little prayer,

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and a little whatever helps. would say. Word

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of God has been I find myself in the midst of

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you. Is to be with you. And in the quiet. Hear

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your voice. Word of God speak. Please stay with

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us. Don't organize us. We're God's people. Thank

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you. I want to share with you that the references

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that you see on the screen, if you're a person

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who follows along, and I encourage you to do

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so, the John reference is from John chapter 8,

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not John chapter 3. However, we will be briefly

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in John chapter 3 while we're through. And I

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have two more things to share with you, and then

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we'll jump into this. The first thing is, I want

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you to understand that when I began this sermon,

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preparing for this sermon, which I really did

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on Tuesday, I thought, man, this is going to

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be simple and easy, and I love this topic, and

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it's something I've talked about before. But

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by the time I was through, I discovered that

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there was much more here than meets the eye.

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And so you'll need your thinking caps, and you'll

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need to be prepared to listen to what God has

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to say, and I hope I will do a good job of conveying

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what I've discovered. I hope. The second thing

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is we're going to do a little object lesson.

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So I need two people, two young people preferably,

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who would volunteer to come up here and play

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a little game. Back up. In here. Okay. So we're

00:33:53.589 --> 00:33:57.349
going to play the world's smallest game of tag.

00:33:58.289 --> 00:34:01.650
Okay? The boundaries are right here at the chairs.

00:34:01.829 --> 00:34:05.589
You can't go past that. Right here at the edge

00:34:05.589 --> 00:34:07.250
of the door here and right there at the edge

00:34:07.250 --> 00:34:10.110
of the door there. Okay? That's the entire field

00:34:10.110 --> 00:34:12.929
for tag. Alright? So we're going to start. Becca's

00:34:12.929 --> 00:34:25.019
it and tap backs are allowed. Go! Who's it? Okay.

00:34:25.699 --> 00:34:27.980
Aaron thinks it's him. What do you think? Could

00:34:27.980 --> 00:34:33.119
you tell? Okay. Thank you very much. It's kind

00:34:33.119 --> 00:34:35.780
of hard to tell, isn't it? If you play tap backs

00:34:35.780 --> 00:34:37.380
or a lot and you play with somebody who's pretty

00:34:37.380 --> 00:34:39.619
quick to tap you back, sometimes it's hard to

00:34:39.619 --> 00:34:41.599
tell whether you're it or they are. You feel

00:34:41.599 --> 00:34:43.059
that tap and you're like, you're pretty sure.

00:34:43.179 --> 00:34:44.840
But somebody else is watching and they're not

00:34:44.840 --> 00:34:46.659
sure. So you get in there and tap back real fast

00:34:46.659 --> 00:34:49.159
like that. And then both people run and everybody's

00:34:49.159 --> 00:34:50.829
going, who's it? Who's it? because they're all

00:34:50.829 --> 00:34:52.590
trying to run from the person that's it. So I

00:34:52.590 --> 00:34:53.989
want you to bear that in mind as we look at the

00:34:53.989 --> 00:34:55.889
text today. I want to share a little story with

00:34:55.889 --> 00:34:59.710
you. Years ago, I was in fourth grade, and I

00:34:59.710 --> 00:35:01.710
fell madly in love with a young girl who was

00:35:01.710 --> 00:35:05.070
in my class. She was not my first love. I fell

00:35:05.070 --> 00:35:06.389
madly in love the first time in kindergarten.

00:35:08.210 --> 00:35:13.369
I was an early bloomer. Anyway, she was cute.

00:35:13.969 --> 00:35:18.360
She was short. Most of me are cute. She was shorter

00:35:18.360 --> 00:35:19.860
than everybody in our class by at least a foot.

00:35:19.880 --> 00:35:24.000
She had long hair. And I used to try to catch

00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:25.920
her eye, try to get her attention, try to get

00:35:25.920 --> 00:35:27.739
her favor. I'd bring her little gifts and say

00:35:27.739 --> 00:35:30.300
positive things. And once I gave her a little

00:35:30.300 --> 00:35:33.000
necklace, my mom gave it to me so I could give

00:35:33.000 --> 00:35:35.340
it to her. She was starting to get a little creeped

00:35:35.340 --> 00:35:36.940
out at the time, so she didn't receive it too

00:35:36.940 --> 00:35:40.659
positively. But then we went out to recess, and

00:35:40.659 --> 00:35:43.159
one of the boys in our class, who was easily

00:35:43.159 --> 00:35:45.119
a foot taller than me, and he was athletic, very

00:35:45.119 --> 00:35:47.809
athletic and strong, and everybody thought he

00:35:47.809 --> 00:35:52.349
was that, took the necklace and he ran. He was

00:35:52.349 --> 00:35:55.289
playing keep away from her. And while I thought

00:35:55.289 --> 00:35:56.750
at first that she didn't really care about the

00:35:56.750 --> 00:35:59.409
necklace, all of a sudden she was pretty worked

00:35:59.409 --> 00:36:02.150
up about that necklace and not having it. And

00:36:02.150 --> 00:36:04.969
so she called on a couple of the other boys in

00:36:04.969 --> 00:36:06.889
the class to get the necklace back. She called

00:36:06.889 --> 00:36:08.550
on some girls who were her friends and had this

00:36:08.550 --> 00:36:10.329
whole passel of people chasing him around trying

00:36:10.329 --> 00:36:11.889
to get this necklace back while she was sort

00:36:11.889 --> 00:36:14.650
of walking along behind crying. And I thought,

00:36:14.670 --> 00:36:18.329
oh man, here's my chance. And I leapt on my high

00:36:18.329 --> 00:36:21.710
horse. And I charged that big boy down who was

00:36:21.710 --> 00:36:24.769
faster than me and stronger than me. And I tackled

00:36:24.769 --> 00:36:30.369
him to the ground. And I broke him. And he lay

00:36:30.369 --> 00:36:33.250
there and he bawled like a baby. And I thought,

00:36:33.269 --> 00:36:35.730
I am the hero. I am mighty. I have conquered

00:36:35.730 --> 00:36:38.429
him. And then I got in trouble with the teachers.

00:36:39.010 --> 00:36:41.409
And I thought, well, at least I succeeded. I

00:36:41.409 --> 00:36:42.849
got the necklace back and I gave it back to her.

00:36:43.599 --> 00:36:44.840
And I got in trouble with the teachers and had

00:36:44.840 --> 00:36:48.400
to sit the rest of recess. And then we went in.

00:36:48.780 --> 00:36:52.099
She walked over to me. And she scolded me badly

00:36:52.099 --> 00:36:55.280
for hurting him. And said, that was not right.

00:36:56.119 --> 00:37:00.400
And I said, I don't understand. And she just

00:37:00.400 --> 00:37:03.079
walked away. And that was the end of our long

00:37:03.079 --> 00:37:06.519
love affair. And it was pretty obvious to me

00:37:06.519 --> 00:37:08.699
that she didn't like me. Even though I had gotten

00:37:08.699 --> 00:37:10.400
back for her that which no one could get back

00:37:10.400 --> 00:37:12.760
for her. What if you didn't want to be free?

00:37:15.029 --> 00:37:17.969
In the Bible, in Exodus chapter 21, there's a

00:37:17.969 --> 00:37:21.710
passage of Scripture. I threw that one at you

00:37:21.710 --> 00:37:23.590
fast so that no one would hoot and holler because

00:37:23.590 --> 00:37:26.349
it's not our target. But I want you to hear what

00:37:26.349 --> 00:37:29.690
it says. Exodus chapter 21, verses 5 and 6. It

00:37:29.690 --> 00:37:32.690
says, But if the slave plainly says, I love my

00:37:32.690 --> 00:37:36.969
master, my wife and my children, I will not go

00:37:36.969 --> 00:37:40.489
out as a free man. Then his master shall bring

00:37:40.489 --> 00:37:43.170
him to God. or the phrase that's there actually

00:37:43.170 --> 00:37:44.969
doesn't necessarily mean God, but God or God's

00:37:44.969 --> 00:37:46.110
representative. It's talking about bringing him

00:37:46.110 --> 00:37:47.809
to the court or to the high priest or whatever.

00:37:50.289 --> 00:37:52.250
It says, shall bring him to God. Then he shall

00:37:52.250 --> 00:37:55.789
bring him to the door or the doorpost of his

00:37:55.789 --> 00:37:58.989
house. And his master shall pierce his ear with

00:37:58.989 --> 00:38:03.030
an awl, which is a little spike. You use kind

00:38:03.030 --> 00:38:05.949
of a painful process, but more painful than today

00:38:05.949 --> 00:38:07.449
getting your ears pierced, but not, you know,

00:38:07.449 --> 00:38:10.429
horrible. And he shall serve him permanently.

00:38:12.099 --> 00:38:14.039
And I ask you to think for a moment, what are

00:38:14.039 --> 00:38:16.920
some reasons that a slave would not want to be

00:38:16.920 --> 00:38:19.559
set free? Well, some are contained in the text.

00:38:19.800 --> 00:38:22.059
He might have a wife and children. And if he

00:38:22.059 --> 00:38:24.400
has a wife and a child, if the master, the text

00:38:24.400 --> 00:38:26.519
says, if the master provided the wife and the

00:38:26.519 --> 00:38:29.019
child for him, and he goes free, the wife and

00:38:29.019 --> 00:38:30.880
the child stays with the master because they

00:38:30.880 --> 00:38:33.940
belong, they're his property. So he'd have to

00:38:33.940 --> 00:38:35.820
leave his wife and children. And so if he loved

00:38:35.820 --> 00:38:38.559
his wife and children, either emotionally, psychologically,

00:38:39.730 --> 00:38:42.130
If he felt responsible for them, for their safety

00:38:42.130 --> 00:38:44.489
or for their care, he would want to stay. He

00:38:44.489 --> 00:38:47.469
wouldn't want to be set free. If his master was

00:38:47.469 --> 00:38:50.409
a just and kind master, and he thought, well,

00:38:50.469 --> 00:38:51.889
I have to go out in the world and fend for myself,

00:38:52.070 --> 00:38:54.309
and it would be uncomfortable to go out and fend

00:38:54.309 --> 00:38:56.429
for himself, well, then he might not want to

00:38:56.429 --> 00:39:00.510
be set free. Maybe he's living in a good house

00:39:00.510 --> 00:39:03.730
with plenty of supplies, doesn't have to get

00:39:03.730 --> 00:39:06.429
a job, doesn't have to pay his own bills, and

00:39:06.429 --> 00:39:08.650
so it seems like it's easier, it's less work.

00:39:09.230 --> 00:39:13.429
to stay there than to be set free. There might

00:39:13.429 --> 00:39:16.829
be other reasons as well. But if the master is

00:39:16.829 --> 00:39:20.449
a bad master and he has beat him and he has hurt

00:39:20.449 --> 00:39:22.289
him, whatever, he'd be better to go free even

00:39:22.289 --> 00:39:24.570
if his wife and children were not able to go

00:39:24.570 --> 00:39:29.050
free so that he could go earn the money so that

00:39:29.050 --> 00:39:30.769
he could buy his wife and children and set them

00:39:30.769 --> 00:39:32.710
free. This is the only chance they have. They're

00:39:32.710 --> 00:39:34.309
never going to be free from this evil master

00:39:34.309 --> 00:39:38.289
unless he goes and does the work himself. no

00:39:38.289 --> 00:39:43.110
one is going to set them free. And if he has

00:39:43.110 --> 00:39:44.849
a bad master, then even if he lives in a good

00:39:44.849 --> 00:39:47.050
house with plenty of supplies, he's probably

00:39:47.050 --> 00:39:48.989
ill -treated and doesn't have access to the good

00:39:48.989 --> 00:39:50.489
things, and so there would be plenty of reason

00:39:50.489 --> 00:39:53.670
to want to go free. So it has to be an all -around

00:39:53.670 --> 00:39:56.949
good situation to not want to be set free, doesn't

00:39:56.949 --> 00:40:03.889
it? I wish that were so. I want you to imagine

00:40:03.889 --> 00:40:08.260
in your mind for a moment two gray blobs. They

00:40:08.260 --> 00:40:10.980
don't have legs. They don't have tails. They

00:40:10.980 --> 00:40:13.860
don't have heads. They don't have faces. They're

00:40:13.860 --> 00:40:15.500
not cute little animals. They don't have smiling

00:40:15.500 --> 00:40:18.719
faces like a little gray ball emoji. But I want

00:40:18.719 --> 00:40:21.440
you to imagine for a moment two gray blobs, and

00:40:21.440 --> 00:40:23.699
one of the gray blobs is chasing the other gray

00:40:23.699 --> 00:40:27.619
blob around and occasionally punishes it or stomps

00:40:27.619 --> 00:40:29.460
it into the ground. And then suddenly the situation

00:40:29.460 --> 00:40:32.159
is reversed, and the other gray blob chases the

00:40:32.159 --> 00:40:33.420
first one around for a while and occasionally

00:40:33.420 --> 00:40:36.809
stomps it into the ground. They're playing a

00:40:36.809 --> 00:40:40.190
game of cat and mouse. Because one occasionally

00:40:40.190 --> 00:40:45.590
gets the upper hand, or seems to, the game never

00:40:45.590 --> 00:40:50.349
quits. The title of this sermon is, Why Would

00:40:50.349 --> 00:40:52.809
Someone Not Want to Be Free? Or, What If Someone

00:40:52.809 --> 00:40:55.110
Didn't Want to Be Free? But it could very easily

00:40:55.110 --> 00:41:03.809
be entitled, Be the Cat Blob. Be the Cat Blob.

00:41:06.570 --> 00:41:08.429
There's a thing called Stockholm Syndrome in

00:41:08.429 --> 00:41:11.550
one of my favorite spy movies of all time. The

00:41:11.550 --> 00:41:15.429
spy breaks in, defeats all the villains, frees

00:41:15.429 --> 00:41:19.309
the victim, and then turns to fight the way out

00:41:19.309 --> 00:41:21.630
to get the victim out, and the victim shoots

00:41:21.630 --> 00:41:26.429
him in the back. Stockholm Syndrome is when those

00:41:26.429 --> 00:41:30.070
who are captive begin to sympathize with those

00:41:30.070 --> 00:41:35.900
who have them captive. think there's a kind of

00:41:35.900 --> 00:41:39.000
a love or a desire to be with that person, even

00:41:39.000 --> 00:41:40.820
to the point that they will resist being freed.

00:41:40.880 --> 00:41:47.019
It's a real thing. And now, this is the key text

00:41:47.019 --> 00:41:49.519
I think today, and if you would go there with

00:41:49.519 --> 00:41:51.880
me, maybe say amen, hoot, holler, shout, yell

00:41:51.880 --> 00:41:54.900
yahtzee, I don't know. Don't say uno because

00:41:54.900 --> 00:41:56.679
it's not the only text, but you can say uno if

00:41:56.679 --> 00:41:59.039
you want. It's okay. John chapter 8, verse 32.

00:41:59.820 --> 00:42:03.739
Amen! Dos. There you go. It's a new version of

00:42:03.739 --> 00:42:11.420
uno. There you go. It says this, and I'm actually

00:42:11.420 --> 00:42:16.260
reading from 31. Then said Jesus to those Jews

00:42:16.260 --> 00:42:18.900
which believed on him, If ye continue in my word,

00:42:19.059 --> 00:42:25.880
then are ye my disciples indeed. So, to be clear

00:42:25.880 --> 00:42:28.300
of the players here, Jesus, who was the Son of

00:42:28.300 --> 00:42:31.179
God in the flesh, knew the heart of God and the

00:42:31.179 --> 00:42:34.039
desire to bring people to himself. said to the

00:42:34.039 --> 00:42:36.980
Jews who were there, they were Jews, which means

00:42:36.980 --> 00:42:39.340
they were the chosen people of God, expecting

00:42:39.340 --> 00:42:41.179
the Messiah, expecting God to work on their behalf,

00:42:41.639 --> 00:42:44.780
expecting God to free them, right? But not just

00:42:44.780 --> 00:42:49.500
Jews, they believed in Jesus. So, to the Jews

00:42:49.500 --> 00:42:52.719
who believed in Jesus, now this is getting to

00:42:52.719 --> 00:42:54.860
be a fairly smaller group out of the larger group,

00:42:55.000 --> 00:42:57.920
right? To the Jews who believed in Jesus, he

00:42:57.920 --> 00:43:01.199
says these following statements, if you continue

00:43:01.199 --> 00:43:04.710
in my word, Then are ye my disciples indeed.

00:43:04.909 --> 00:43:06.829
In other words, if you continue in the teachings

00:43:06.829 --> 00:43:09.409
that I have taught, and he was teaching the word

00:43:09.409 --> 00:43:11.989
of God, the Old Testament, what it meant, and

00:43:11.989 --> 00:43:14.349
then he was teaching how to live it out, the

00:43:14.349 --> 00:43:16.610
application, the wisdom that extends from the

00:43:16.610 --> 00:43:20.250
Old Testament. Then are ye my disciples indeed.

00:43:20.349 --> 00:43:21.989
In other words, then are you my followers. A

00:43:21.989 --> 00:43:23.650
disciple is somebody who believes the teachings

00:43:23.650 --> 00:43:26.150
of a teacher and then can teach the teachings

00:43:26.150 --> 00:43:28.269
of a teacher, live out, apply the teachings of

00:43:28.269 --> 00:43:32.849
that teacher. And he goes on to say, And ye shall

00:43:32.849 --> 00:43:35.889
know the truth, and the truth shall make ye free.

00:43:36.409 --> 00:43:38.110
Now before we go any further, I want you to see

00:43:38.110 --> 00:43:42.869
this. This is huge. They're about to have a problem

00:43:42.869 --> 00:43:46.590
with what he said. But their problem with what

00:43:46.590 --> 00:43:51.289
he said is not in the being a disciple. You get

00:43:51.289 --> 00:43:54.670
it? It's not like they were willing to be his

00:43:54.670 --> 00:43:57.710
disciple. They were Jews who had believed in

00:43:57.710 --> 00:44:02.219
him. They were willing to be his disciple. But

00:44:02.219 --> 00:44:05.739
then he qualifies being his disciple as continuing

00:44:05.739 --> 00:44:07.440
in his word. And I submit to you that they were

00:44:07.440 --> 00:44:11.480
willing to continue in his word. Except he says,

00:44:11.760 --> 00:44:15.960
and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall

00:44:15.960 --> 00:44:19.219
make you free. And now they have a problem. They

00:44:19.219 --> 00:44:23.260
answered him, we be Abraham's seed, and we're

00:44:23.260 --> 00:44:25.219
never in bondage to any man. In other words,

00:44:25.260 --> 00:44:26.559
we've been free our whole lives. We've never

00:44:26.559 --> 00:44:30.239
been owned as slaves. And we submit only to God.

00:44:30.889 --> 00:44:35.510
That's what they say. How sayest thou, ye shall

00:44:35.510 --> 00:44:38.389
be made free? See, they don't have a problem

00:44:38.389 --> 00:44:40.190
with being a disciple. They don't have a problem

00:44:40.190 --> 00:44:42.769
with continuing in His Word. I want to submit

00:44:42.769 --> 00:44:44.289
to you, they don't even think they have a problem

00:44:44.289 --> 00:44:47.429
with knowing the truth. But they nitpick the

00:44:47.429 --> 00:44:49.630
one thing that they have a problem with when

00:44:49.630 --> 00:44:54.250
He says they are not free. Jesus answered them,

00:44:54.469 --> 00:44:57.760
Verily, verily, I say unto you. In other words,

00:44:57.780 --> 00:45:00.059
this is absolutely true. Absolutely true. I say

00:45:00.059 --> 00:45:04.039
unto you. Whosoever committeth sin is the servant

00:45:04.039 --> 00:45:07.659
of sin. So herein lies the problem. People lie

00:45:07.659 --> 00:45:11.199
and they are now the servant of that lie or of

00:45:11.199 --> 00:45:13.980
the sin that they do. They are stuck. They have

00:45:13.980 --> 00:45:18.340
a master, someone in control of them. So they

00:45:18.340 --> 00:45:21.760
did have a master, you see. But they deny that

00:45:21.760 --> 00:45:23.909
they have a master. But they did have a master

00:45:23.909 --> 00:45:25.730
because they had sin. All have sin and fall short

00:45:25.730 --> 00:45:29.010
of the glory of God. And Jesus said, And the

00:45:29.010 --> 00:45:31.590
servant abideth not in the house forever. In

00:45:31.590 --> 00:45:37.130
other words, this is a temporary state. But the

00:45:37.130 --> 00:45:43.329
son abideth ever. In other words, forever. Continuing.

00:45:43.829 --> 00:45:47.250
Ongoing. If the son therefore make you free,

00:45:47.510 --> 00:45:50.510
ye shall be free indeed. Notice, if I make you

00:45:50.510 --> 00:45:55.300
free, you will be free indeed. So we could say

00:45:55.300 --> 00:45:57.980
of them that maybe they don't get it. They don't

00:45:57.980 --> 00:46:01.519
understand. They're ignorant. They don't understand

00:46:01.519 --> 00:46:04.940
that in sinning against God, they have become

00:46:04.940 --> 00:46:09.980
captive to the sin that they sinned. That would

00:46:09.980 --> 00:46:13.239
be probably the nicest way of observing them

00:46:13.239 --> 00:46:17.440
if you were going to. But they have believed

00:46:17.440 --> 00:46:21.880
Jesus. They have believed... in Jesus and of

00:46:21.880 --> 00:46:25.739
Jesus at this point in time. And so what I submit

00:46:25.739 --> 00:46:28.239
to you is that it's not so much that they are

00:46:28.239 --> 00:46:32.960
ignorant that they don't see that they have sin

00:46:32.960 --> 00:46:36.739
and that sin captivates a man, but that they

00:46:36.739 --> 00:46:39.699
are unwilling to be free, unwilling to transition

00:46:39.699 --> 00:46:45.280
from where they are in their sin to where Jesus

00:46:45.280 --> 00:46:49.039
wants them to be. We'll see a few points first.

00:46:49.480 --> 00:46:51.099
And then I'll give you the evidence on how we

00:46:51.099 --> 00:46:53.019
know that to be true. The first thing I want

00:46:53.019 --> 00:46:55.000
you to see in here is that there are two types

00:46:55.000 --> 00:46:57.760
of people. Jesus is making a shift. He's drawing

00:46:57.760 --> 00:46:59.679
a line in the sand. There are two types of people.

00:47:00.119 --> 00:47:03.940
There are non -followers. And the fact is that

00:47:03.940 --> 00:47:07.099
non -followers of Jesus are in bondage. They

00:47:07.099 --> 00:47:11.340
are slaves. They are servants. You do what you

00:47:11.340 --> 00:47:14.340
do because you have done it. You are who you

00:47:14.340 --> 00:47:19.579
are trapped in what you have done. even as a

00:47:19.579 --> 00:47:23.139
believer, I can sit and think about times that

00:47:23.139 --> 00:47:26.500
I have done things that I know now were wrong,

00:47:26.579 --> 00:47:30.300
and I can feel those things encroach upon me.

00:47:31.179 --> 00:47:33.880
Surely you've been sitting, sipping a cup of

00:47:33.880 --> 00:47:35.780
coffee or watching a TV show or whatever, and

00:47:35.780 --> 00:47:38.380
you wind up daydreaming, thinking about what

00:47:38.380 --> 00:47:41.000
you said or did, the evil that you've done, and

00:47:41.000 --> 00:47:43.320
that impresses upon you the kind of person that

00:47:43.320 --> 00:47:49.039
you are. Or, You tell a lie and you seem to get

00:47:49.039 --> 00:47:52.280
away with it and it gets you what you want. And

00:47:52.280 --> 00:47:55.000
now you know you can do that. That is a capability

00:47:55.000 --> 00:47:56.880
that you have. Like a child learns to walk or

00:47:56.880 --> 00:47:59.460
learns to talk, you are capable of telling a

00:47:59.460 --> 00:48:02.780
little lie and getting what you want. So now

00:48:02.780 --> 00:48:05.099
you are equipped and you know you are equipped

00:48:05.099 --> 00:48:08.340
to do that thing again. And so the world will

00:48:08.340 --> 00:48:11.159
open up again. And you will have to make a choice

00:48:11.159 --> 00:48:15.500
again. And when it seems prudent to do so, you

00:48:15.500 --> 00:48:19.739
will lie again. Notice what I said. When it seems

00:48:19.739 --> 00:48:21.940
prudent to do so, when it seems like wisdom to

00:48:21.940 --> 00:48:26.820
do so. It's not wisdom to do so, because as long

00:48:26.820 --> 00:48:29.980
as you allow yourself that, let's call it a luxury,

00:48:30.059 --> 00:48:33.260
or that avenue, you will always have that avenue

00:48:33.260 --> 00:48:36.079
as an option. And as long as you have it as an

00:48:36.079 --> 00:48:38.280
option, then that's the kind of person that you

00:48:38.280 --> 00:48:42.460
are. A liar. You say, no, no, I only lied once.

00:48:43.420 --> 00:48:46.670
If you lie, and keep the avenue open that you

00:48:46.670 --> 00:48:50.230
can do it again, then you are a liar. Even if

00:48:50.230 --> 00:48:52.369
you say, well, I haven't lied in 10 years. If

00:48:52.369 --> 00:48:54.150
you're keeping the avenue open again to do it

00:48:54.150 --> 00:48:58.650
again, then you are a liar. There are two types

00:48:58.650 --> 00:49:01.789
of people. Non -followers. The non -followers,

00:49:01.789 --> 00:49:04.130
they are, according to Jesus, they are in bondage.

00:49:04.929 --> 00:49:06.929
They do what they do because they have done it

00:49:06.929 --> 00:49:11.010
before. The question is, do they do what they

00:49:11.010 --> 00:49:18.130
do because they want to? Do they do it because

00:49:18.130 --> 00:49:19.929
they're afraid of being something different?

00:49:21.449 --> 00:49:23.409
Do they continue because they are comfortable

00:49:23.409 --> 00:49:28.230
in their certain situation? We were doing street

00:49:28.230 --> 00:49:30.849
ministry over on Platt Street and I knocked on

00:49:30.849 --> 00:49:34.170
a woman's door and we were doing fumble forward.

00:49:34.289 --> 00:49:37.429
So the idea was to say, you know, we have a new

00:49:37.429 --> 00:49:39.909
church. We think somebody might be interested

00:49:39.909 --> 00:49:41.130
in getting involved in the new church. Might

00:49:41.130 --> 00:49:43.730
you be one? She said, maybe. I said, can we tell

00:49:43.730 --> 00:49:45.550
you what we believe? And I explained the gospel

00:49:45.550 --> 00:49:48.619
to her. And in my explanation of the gospel,

00:49:48.739 --> 00:49:52.260
I used the word trust. And she said, well now

00:49:52.260 --> 00:49:57.260
see, here's the rub. I can't come to Jesus. I

00:49:57.260 --> 00:50:00.800
can't follow Jesus because I've had so many experiences

00:50:00.800 --> 00:50:05.699
in my life with people betraying me. My husband

00:50:05.699 --> 00:50:07.000
cheated on me with another woman and eventually

00:50:07.000 --> 00:50:09.400
left me. He left me in a rut. I lost my house.

00:50:09.559 --> 00:50:11.619
Then they sued, took my kids away, whatever.

00:50:11.699 --> 00:50:15.769
So many people have betrayed me that I... cannot

00:50:15.769 --> 00:50:19.989
trust. I have a hard time trusting anyone. And

00:50:19.989 --> 00:50:21.170
I explained to her, and I said, I understand

00:50:21.170 --> 00:50:24.849
that, and I don't trust humans in general. I

00:50:24.849 --> 00:50:27.829
might trust them with minor things, or I might

00:50:27.829 --> 00:50:30.050
trust what they say until I know that they can't,

00:50:30.050 --> 00:50:32.010
things like that. But I don't generally trust

00:50:32.010 --> 00:50:34.690
people, but you can trust Jesus. Because Jesus

00:50:34.690 --> 00:50:38.289
is there for you even beyond death. Even unto

00:50:38.289 --> 00:50:41.050
a new life. Even unto you, with every moment

00:50:41.050 --> 00:50:42.869
of every day, He'll be there, and He keeps all

00:50:42.869 --> 00:50:45.019
of His promises. You can trust Jesus. And she

00:50:45.019 --> 00:50:48.219
said, you say that, but I am standing here as

00:50:48.219 --> 00:50:51.159
a person today and I am telling you, I cannot

00:50:51.159 --> 00:50:58.260
trust. Not any person or Jesus. And I said, by

00:50:58.260 --> 00:51:00.159
that do you mean you cannot believe in Jesus?

00:51:00.239 --> 00:51:02.559
You cannot accept that Jesus paid the price for

00:51:02.559 --> 00:51:03.860
your sins and that he wants something better

00:51:03.860 --> 00:51:07.980
for you? And she said, yes. That's what I'm saying.

00:51:09.199 --> 00:51:11.699
And I would probably normally not have done this,

00:51:11.739 --> 00:51:14.010
but... I felt the Spirit prompt me at that time,

00:51:14.050 --> 00:51:15.849
and I said, well, I'm sorry to say, if that truly

00:51:15.849 --> 00:51:18.750
is, I don't believe that's true. I believe that

00:51:18.750 --> 00:51:20.489
a fresh start in Jesus would allow you to trust,

00:51:20.550 --> 00:51:22.389
but if that's true, if you are absolutely correct,

00:51:22.650 --> 00:51:27.269
then you cannot be saved. If what you are saying

00:51:27.269 --> 00:51:28.969
is true. I don't believe it is, but if it's true,

00:51:29.150 --> 00:51:30.809
you cannot be saved. So what I'm asking you to

00:51:30.809 --> 00:51:33.349
do is to continue to be open to the possibility

00:51:33.349 --> 00:51:35.610
that you do still have the ability to trust,

00:51:35.710 --> 00:51:38.590
and you could trust Jesus for salvation. She

00:51:38.590 --> 00:51:39.909
didn't get saved that day. I don't know if she

00:51:39.909 --> 00:51:42.900
ever did. I'm telling you as an illustration.

00:51:42.920 --> 00:51:45.960
Understand that some people, because of what

00:51:45.960 --> 00:51:48.579
they have experienced, because of what they think

00:51:48.579 --> 00:51:51.380
is true, they're comfortable in their present

00:51:51.380 --> 00:51:53.460
spot or maybe they're not comfortable. They fear

00:51:53.460 --> 00:51:56.559
moving off of that spot because they cannot trust

00:51:56.559 --> 00:52:00.119
or they think they cannot trust. And then, of

00:52:00.119 --> 00:52:03.340
course, there's ignorance. Some people are part

00:52:03.340 --> 00:52:05.079
of the non -follower group because they do not

00:52:05.079 --> 00:52:07.480
know. This is our bread and butter, by the way.

00:52:08.319 --> 00:52:10.639
This is where we go and we explain to them the

00:52:10.639 --> 00:52:12.039
truth and they go, you know, that's interesting.

00:52:12.320 --> 00:52:14.960
I guess I've sort of always known that to be

00:52:14.960 --> 00:52:16.500
true in my heart, but I've never experienced

00:52:16.500 --> 00:52:19.119
it personally. And they accept Jesus right away.

00:52:19.159 --> 00:52:22.039
As soon as they know the truth, they know what

00:52:22.039 --> 00:52:24.920
God has done and that forgiveness of sins is

00:52:24.920 --> 00:52:27.539
available now. The remittance of sins is available

00:52:27.539 --> 00:52:28.920
because of the sacrifice of Christ. They accept.

00:52:29.139 --> 00:52:30.719
That's our bread and butter. Those are the easy

00:52:30.719 --> 00:52:34.800
people to reach. And because of that, some people...

00:52:35.159 --> 00:52:37.559
Just don't try to reach people at all because

00:52:37.559 --> 00:52:39.079
they can't find those people and they're afraid

00:52:39.079 --> 00:52:42.400
of what the other people are going to do. The

00:52:42.400 --> 00:52:50.019
second group is followers. Some folks believe

00:52:50.019 --> 00:52:54.619
in Jesus and they pursue righteousness. They

00:52:54.619 --> 00:52:56.619
live out their lives trying to be a follower

00:52:56.619 --> 00:52:58.840
of the Lord. Even though we get our righteousness

00:52:58.840 --> 00:53:00.920
from Jesus to pursue righteousness is to try

00:53:00.920 --> 00:53:05.380
to do what's right. And they do that. And according

00:53:05.380 --> 00:53:08.300
to what Jesus is saying here, those people experience

00:53:08.300 --> 00:53:13.960
freedom. They're finally set free. But notice

00:53:13.960 --> 00:53:17.460
that it's in the sanctification, not in the salvation.

00:53:17.460 --> 00:53:18.920
Now we've got to stop because those are big kind

00:53:18.920 --> 00:53:21.159
of yucky Christian words. Sanctification is that

00:53:21.159 --> 00:53:22.920
word that means from the moment you believe,

00:53:23.039 --> 00:53:25.420
you continue to reach new heights in Jesus, hence

00:53:25.420 --> 00:53:27.699
the slogan of our church, if you will. You continue

00:53:27.699 --> 00:53:30.139
to reach new heights in Jesus, and in the new

00:53:30.139 --> 00:53:32.340
steps and the new heights and the growth that

00:53:32.340 --> 00:53:36.440
you experience, God reveals new things in you.

00:53:36.579 --> 00:53:38.960
He gifts you in new ways. He makes you stronger.

00:53:39.159 --> 00:53:44.280
He grows you. And in that growth, according to

00:53:44.280 --> 00:53:47.559
Jesus, not my words, but His words, because what

00:53:47.559 --> 00:53:52.920
He said was, if you continue in My Word, then

00:53:52.920 --> 00:53:55.860
are ye My disciples indeed, and you shall know

00:53:55.860 --> 00:53:57.300
the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

00:53:57.320 --> 00:53:59.659
They were already believing in Jesus. So, in

00:53:59.659 --> 00:54:01.800
this group, there are those who believe in Jesus,

00:54:01.880 --> 00:54:05.519
continue in His Word, and find freedom. But notice

00:54:05.519 --> 00:54:07.360
that there are also those, because they were

00:54:07.360 --> 00:54:11.079
those, who believe in Jesus, do not continue

00:54:11.079 --> 00:54:13.500
in His Word, or stumble in His Word, if you want

00:54:13.500 --> 00:54:16.860
to say that, and they do not find freedom. That's

00:54:16.860 --> 00:54:20.420
tough. When I was living up in Michigan, in the

00:54:20.420 --> 00:54:22.800
early days, and we were driving back and forth

00:54:22.800 --> 00:54:26.059
to Toledo all the time, we were serving at East

00:54:26.059 --> 00:54:29.239
Luton Baptist Church, I started gaining a little

00:54:29.239 --> 00:54:33.269
bit of weight. Pretty soon, For the first time

00:54:33.269 --> 00:54:36.349
in my life, I weighed over 210 pounds. That never

00:54:36.349 --> 00:54:39.969
happened to me before. And then as I realized

00:54:39.969 --> 00:54:41.690
that was happening, I started to try to take

00:54:41.690 --> 00:54:43.670
some steps and whatever, and I felt like I, I

00:54:43.670 --> 00:54:45.110
mean, it just really felt like I didn't have

00:54:45.110 --> 00:54:46.949
any energy and stuff, and so that kind of was

00:54:46.949 --> 00:54:50.090
a clue. Now I look back, and I remember there

00:54:50.090 --> 00:54:54.170
was a day. There was a day when I went into my

00:54:54.170 --> 00:54:56.289
closet. Our bedroom up there had a little closet

00:54:56.289 --> 00:54:57.590
off there. There was a window you could see in

00:54:57.590 --> 00:54:59.210
the backyard, so the kids playing in the closet.

00:54:59.789 --> 00:55:02.150
And the boys that lived in the house before us

00:55:02.150 --> 00:55:03.909
used to go up in the window up there. And the

00:55:03.909 --> 00:55:05.769
neighbor used to pay him $5 a head for them to

00:55:05.769 --> 00:55:08.329
shoot the rodents in his garden with their pellet

00:55:08.329 --> 00:55:11.170
guns. So you'd go see his garden, see the backyard

00:55:11.170 --> 00:55:13.710
and like that. And it was well lit. I walked

00:55:13.710 --> 00:55:15.190
to the closet. All my clothes were hanging there.

00:55:16.389 --> 00:55:18.929
And I pulled off a pair of jeans because we were

00:55:18.929 --> 00:55:20.409
hanging up pretty much all our clothes because

00:55:20.409 --> 00:55:22.650
it was a big closet. And I pulled off a pair

00:55:22.650 --> 00:55:23.969
of jeans. I went to put them on. It didn't fit

00:55:23.969 --> 00:55:26.670
so good. It was one of my favorite pairs of jeans.

00:55:27.230 --> 00:55:29.960
It didn't fit so good. And I just said, I'm not

00:55:29.960 --> 00:55:31.440
going to wear these jeans today. I never thought

00:55:31.440 --> 00:55:34.079
a thing of it. Put them back on the hanger. I

00:55:34.079 --> 00:55:37.420
took my relaxed fit pair of jeans and put them

00:55:37.420 --> 00:55:43.179
on. Oh, that's good. Now that was the day. That

00:55:43.179 --> 00:55:47.099
was the day in which I transitioned from I'm

00:55:47.099 --> 00:55:48.480
gaining a little bit of weight and I got to do

00:55:48.480 --> 00:55:50.820
some work to I'm okay with this little bit of

00:55:50.820 --> 00:55:53.239
weight that I'm gaining and I'm not ready to

00:55:53.239 --> 00:55:56.280
start doing any work yet. I'm here to tell you

00:55:56.280 --> 00:56:01.139
today that there are relaxed fit And I'm not

00:56:01.139 --> 00:56:02.599
talking about obesity. I'm not talking about

00:56:02.599 --> 00:56:05.579
weight. I'm talking about sanctification, growing

00:56:05.579 --> 00:56:09.280
in the Lord. There are Christians who say, no,

00:56:09.380 --> 00:56:10.880
I don't have to do that extra work. I don't have

00:56:10.880 --> 00:56:14.519
to jog my schedule around or get a new job or

00:56:14.519 --> 00:56:17.119
situate my appointments to make sure I'm making

00:56:17.119 --> 00:56:19.300
the Bible study or small group or I'm in church

00:56:19.300 --> 00:56:23.400
on Sunday. And you say, some of them will say,

00:56:23.460 --> 00:56:27.079
no, I'm hard working. That's why I'm not available

00:56:27.079 --> 00:56:31.599
to do X. Listen, the hard work that we are called

00:56:31.599 --> 00:56:34.800
to is the hard work of following Jesus Christ.

00:56:36.599 --> 00:56:38.820
And I'm not harping on the work thing because

00:56:38.820 --> 00:56:41.420
it could be relationships. It could be hobbies.

00:56:41.559 --> 00:56:43.159
There's lots of folks who have lots of hobbies.

00:56:43.820 --> 00:56:46.260
Right? Or I have one hobby that they're really

00:56:46.260 --> 00:56:49.139
excited about pouring their lives into. There

00:56:49.139 --> 00:56:51.099
are things in our lives that begin to interfere

00:56:51.099 --> 00:56:54.980
with our discipline. with our intentionality

00:56:54.980 --> 00:56:59.079
to follow Jesus. And on that day when we sense

00:56:59.079 --> 00:57:01.039
or feel that interference, we say, well, it's

00:57:01.039 --> 00:57:04.260
okay. I'll read my Bible on my own. I don't have

00:57:04.260 --> 00:57:05.920
to gather together with other believers. Yeah,

00:57:06.059 --> 00:57:08.340
I'm going to miss just one sermon today, but

00:57:08.340 --> 00:57:11.280
it's just one sermon, right? Or I'm going to

00:57:11.280 --> 00:57:14.320
miss this one opportunity to serve because I've

00:57:14.320 --> 00:57:18.360
got this other thing over here. Now, if your

00:57:18.360 --> 00:57:21.860
salvation and your freedom were contingent on

00:57:21.860 --> 00:57:25.230
that one, one choice, you would never make that

00:57:25.230 --> 00:57:29.869
one choice, right? Or would you? Are you more

00:57:29.869 --> 00:57:33.530
comfortable with living your life your way and

00:57:33.530 --> 00:57:35.550
what fits your personality and maybe even your

00:57:35.550 --> 00:57:38.090
flesh and you're okay with missing a few sermons,

00:57:38.170 --> 00:57:40.670
a few lessons, a few opportunities to serve,

00:57:40.730 --> 00:57:43.929
a few opportunities to give? Well, that's real

00:57:43.929 --> 00:57:46.909
dangerous stuff because what's online is certainly

00:57:46.909 --> 00:57:50.590
nothing other than your freedom. See, it's freedom

00:57:50.590 --> 00:57:52.619
when you can say, Here's a person over here who

00:57:52.619 --> 00:57:55.400
would give me $100 ,000 to miss Tuesday night

00:57:55.400 --> 00:57:56.980
Bible study and it's only an hour and it's just

00:57:56.980 --> 00:57:58.500
one lesson and the pastor told me he'll give

00:57:58.500 --> 00:58:01.340
me the notes afterwards. And you can say, no,

00:58:01.500 --> 00:58:03.559
this is how much I love God. I'm going to that

00:58:03.559 --> 00:58:05.980
Bible study. I'm taking my own notes. I'm going

00:58:05.980 --> 00:58:07.559
to listen to the Holy Spirit while I'm there.

00:58:07.699 --> 00:58:10.500
I will not back down. I will stand up for Jesus

00:58:10.500 --> 00:58:14.559
or as Bob Dylan once said, you stand me up against

00:58:14.559 --> 00:58:17.519
the gates of hell and I will not back down. Not

00:58:17.519 --> 00:58:23.059
for $100 ,000. Not ever, not once. Now that's

00:58:23.059 --> 00:58:26.280
freedom. Because we are driven by everything

00:58:26.280 --> 00:58:30.400
else. We are motivated by everything else. But

00:58:30.400 --> 00:58:32.519
when you can make a choice to honor God above

00:58:32.519 --> 00:58:36.539
all, you're free. You say, now if I have to honor

00:58:36.539 --> 00:58:39.719
God above all, then I'm not free. Well, that's

00:58:39.719 --> 00:58:43.840
true. But this is the beauty of salvation. God

00:58:43.840 --> 00:58:47.280
gave us salvation and gave us the option. You

00:58:47.280 --> 00:58:49.780
can be saved or not. That's up to you. You can

00:58:49.780 --> 00:58:52.139
be free or not. That's up to you. You can pursue

00:58:52.139 --> 00:58:54.179
righteousness or not. That's up to you. God is

00:58:54.179 --> 00:58:56.300
not forcing you. However, there will come in

00:58:56.300 --> 00:59:00.019
a moment in time at which, and this transitions

00:59:00.019 --> 00:59:02.239
into my next point, there will come at a moment

00:59:02.239 --> 00:59:07.460
in time at which God will have those with Him

00:59:07.460 --> 00:59:09.880
who have chosen to be with Him and God will have

00:59:09.880 --> 00:59:11.800
those away from Him who have chosen to be away

00:59:11.800 --> 00:59:14.550
from Him. And even if you think you are free

00:59:14.550 --> 00:59:16.690
now and choose not to follow God, in that moment

00:59:16.690 --> 00:59:18.210
you will not be free. Why? Because you will have

00:59:18.210 --> 00:59:24.530
another master which persists only for as long

00:59:24.530 --> 00:59:32.050
as it's in the house. Alright. So, just to be

00:59:32.050 --> 00:59:35.389
clear, there are followers and non -followers.

00:59:37.469 --> 00:59:39.630
Amongst the non -followers, there are those maybe

00:59:39.630 --> 00:59:41.210
who are ignorant, those who want to stay because

00:59:41.210 --> 00:59:43.210
they're comfortable, those because of fear, they

00:59:43.210 --> 00:59:47.349
find it hard to trust, etc. Amongst the followers,

00:59:47.530 --> 00:59:49.130
there are those who pursue righteousness and

00:59:49.130 --> 00:59:51.610
pour themselves into following the Lord. And

00:59:51.610 --> 00:59:54.170
there are those relaxed fit followers who are

00:59:54.170 --> 00:59:55.650
like, well, as long as it's fairly convenient.

00:59:56.210 --> 01:00:00.110
Or, I'll push really hard, but if I have to bleed

01:00:00.110 --> 01:00:04.070
or really sweat or really suffer, no. That's

01:00:04.070 --> 01:00:08.349
the line. Notice that Jesus is talking about

01:00:08.349 --> 01:00:10.570
a moment of restarting that decides your group.

01:00:12.030 --> 01:00:15.630
It's not if you have encountered the truth, right?

01:00:17.070 --> 01:00:19.409
It's whether or not you believe. And then he

01:00:19.409 --> 01:00:21.489
says to Nicodemus, you know who Nicodemus was,

01:00:21.590 --> 01:00:23.889
I hope. If not, I'm about to tell you. Nicodemus

01:00:23.889 --> 01:00:26.989
was a Pharisee, a holy man. Fasted twice a week.

01:00:27.050 --> 01:00:28.710
That means he went completely without food on

01:00:28.710 --> 01:00:31.530
those days. Memorized whole books of the Bible

01:00:31.530 --> 01:00:33.369
and was in high demand in speaking. And Jesus,

01:00:33.429 --> 01:00:37.039
he comes to Jesus and Jesus tells him, Verily,

01:00:37.039 --> 01:00:38.880
verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born

01:00:38.880 --> 01:00:42.179
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Do not

01:00:42.179 --> 01:00:44.300
marvel, he says four verses later, that I say

01:00:44.300 --> 01:00:47.280
unto you that you must be born again. As holy

01:00:47.280 --> 01:00:50.599
as he was, he had to be born again. That is to

01:00:50.599 --> 01:00:53.780
say that everybody starts out in the non -follower

01:00:53.780 --> 01:00:56.019
group and it takes a fresh start to get in the

01:00:56.019 --> 01:00:59.179
follower group. And I'm going to say to you that

01:00:59.179 --> 01:01:01.159
if you've received that fresh start, then you're

01:01:01.159 --> 01:01:04.199
in the follower group and you know enough not

01:01:04.199 --> 01:01:07.440
to be a relaxed fit follower. You understand

01:01:07.440 --> 01:01:11.239
the payment that was paid. Thank God Jesus was

01:01:11.239 --> 01:01:13.599
not a relaxed, fit follower of his father or

01:01:13.599 --> 01:01:16.360
we'd all be unsaved. Sin would not be paid for.

01:01:16.619 --> 01:01:19.599
But for the joy that was set before him, he endured

01:01:19.599 --> 01:01:22.000
the cross. And that's paraphrased and shortened.

01:01:23.739 --> 01:01:28.019
Being reborn may appear harder than we would

01:01:28.019 --> 01:01:30.699
like. Maybe more painful than we would like.

01:01:32.179 --> 01:01:35.619
But it is a step toward freedom. Now, I know

01:01:35.619 --> 01:01:39.139
you want it to be freedom, and in a sense it

01:01:39.139 --> 01:01:41.639
is, but you have to learn how to live out that

01:01:41.639 --> 01:01:43.119
freedom. You have to follow the Word, and you

01:01:43.119 --> 01:01:45.260
have to be disciplined. That's what Jesus said.

01:01:46.980 --> 01:01:50.159
This rebirthing may hurt a little, but you have

01:01:50.159 --> 01:01:52.400
to let go and accept this free gift. It's about

01:01:52.400 --> 01:01:56.760
trust. Getting born hurts. If you could somehow

01:01:56.760 --> 01:01:58.780
communicate to any unborn baby the experience

01:01:58.780 --> 01:02:00.400
about what they're about to go through before

01:02:00.400 --> 01:02:03.000
they come out of the birth canal, they would

01:02:03.000 --> 01:02:08.380
say, no. I don't want to go through that. Their

01:02:08.380 --> 01:02:10.679
bones are virtually liquefied and they're squeezed

01:02:10.679 --> 01:02:13.000
through a space that's about 40 % too small for

01:02:13.000 --> 01:02:14.920
their existence. Anybody here want to go through

01:02:14.920 --> 01:02:21.039
that? No. That doesn't sound pleasant. But God

01:02:21.039 --> 01:02:23.000
isn't inviting us to pleasant. He's inviting

01:02:23.000 --> 01:02:26.280
us to a salvation that saves our souls and a

01:02:26.280 --> 01:02:28.699
freedom that sets us free and then in eternity,

01:02:28.860 --> 01:02:35.980
pleasant. Getting born hurts. It hurts most because

01:02:35.980 --> 01:02:37.860
we are not calibrated to the new environment

01:02:37.860 --> 01:02:40.940
yet. Babies come out. They're cold. They've got

01:02:40.940 --> 01:02:42.619
to learn to breathe. They're going to have to

01:02:42.619 --> 01:02:45.860
learn to walk. They've got to be cared for. They

01:02:45.860 --> 01:02:48.679
can't do things. They had a cord attached to

01:02:48.679 --> 01:02:51.179
them a moment before and now that's gone. They

01:02:51.179 --> 01:02:55.039
can't crutch on it anymore. The following of

01:02:55.039 --> 01:03:00.159
Jesus leads to the truth. Wisdom applied. And

01:03:00.159 --> 01:03:04.039
the truth sets free. Wisdom applied. Disciples

01:03:04.039 --> 01:03:06.920
are free, but freedom is for disciples who are

01:03:06.920 --> 01:03:12.420
disciples. And continuance, which is wisdom applied

01:03:12.420 --> 01:03:16.739
continuing, is the main trait of a disciple.

01:03:17.539 --> 01:03:21.780
I wonder if the Jews who were there knew what

01:03:21.780 --> 01:03:24.420
we're talking about today. That wisdom is just

01:03:24.420 --> 01:03:26.860
that valuable. That wisdom provides that kind

01:03:26.860 --> 01:03:28.340
of freedom. If you're following along in your

01:03:28.340 --> 01:03:31.590
Bibles, go with me to Proverbs chapter 2. This

01:03:31.590 --> 01:03:33.590
is a book of the Bible that they would have memorized

01:03:33.590 --> 01:03:37.010
most of it, if not many of the entire Proverbs

01:03:37.010 --> 01:03:40.489
for sure, if not the entire book. I am not going

01:03:40.489 --> 01:03:41.809
to break these verses down as I read them because

01:03:41.809 --> 01:03:43.070
there's quite a few of them. I would encourage

01:03:43.070 --> 01:03:45.349
you to read them and study over them later. They

01:03:45.349 --> 01:03:49.329
are pretty straightforward. The writer of Proverbs

01:03:49.329 --> 01:03:52.550
writing says, My son, if you will receive my

01:03:52.550 --> 01:03:54.289
sayings, in other words, the wisdom that I'm

01:03:54.289 --> 01:03:56.210
teaching you, and treasure my commandments within

01:03:56.210 --> 01:03:59.510
you, Make your ear attentive to my wisdom, incline

01:03:59.510 --> 01:04:02.070
your heart to understanding. For if you cry for

01:04:02.070 --> 01:04:03.230
discernment, in other words, if you really want

01:04:03.230 --> 01:04:05.210
to know the difference, lift your voice for understanding.

01:04:05.349 --> 01:04:07.309
When you cry out, that's what you want, wisdom

01:04:07.309 --> 01:04:09.469
and understanding. If you seek her as silver,

01:04:09.710 --> 01:04:11.969
in other words, if wisdom is a treasure to you,

01:04:12.090 --> 01:04:15.170
and search for her as for hidden treasures, then

01:04:15.170 --> 01:04:17.570
you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover

01:04:17.570 --> 01:04:20.969
the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom,

01:04:21.010 --> 01:04:23.670
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

01:04:24.010 --> 01:04:27.230
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. That

01:04:27.230 --> 01:04:28.989
means he doesn't give it to everybody. He gives

01:04:28.989 --> 01:04:30.710
it to those who are pursuing righteousness. You

01:04:30.710 --> 01:04:34.070
hear? He stores up sound wisdom for the upright.

01:04:34.289 --> 01:04:36.610
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity.

01:04:37.130 --> 01:04:38.809
Integrity is when your whole being is wrapped

01:04:38.809 --> 01:04:42.730
up around one thing and it's a good thing. Guarding

01:04:42.730 --> 01:04:45.650
the paths of justice and he preserves the way

01:04:45.650 --> 01:04:48.650
of his godly ones. Then you will discern righteousness

01:04:48.650 --> 01:04:51.070
and justice. You will understand the difference

01:04:51.070 --> 01:04:54.010
between in righteousness and in justice. And

01:04:54.010 --> 01:04:58.559
equity. and every good course. For wisdom will

01:04:58.559 --> 01:05:01.360
enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant

01:05:01.360 --> 01:05:05.000
to your soul. Discretion will guard you. Understanding

01:05:05.000 --> 01:05:07.179
will watch over you. Now we're getting safety.

01:05:07.340 --> 01:05:08.960
Remember, we're feared to come into the kingdom

01:05:08.960 --> 01:05:10.960
because we're afraid we're going to be unsafe,

01:05:11.239 --> 01:05:13.519
because it's dangerous. That's what fear is all

01:05:13.519 --> 01:05:15.840
about. And he says, discretion will guard you.

01:05:15.860 --> 01:05:17.880
Understanding will watch over you. To deliver

01:05:17.880 --> 01:05:20.559
you from the way of evil. It's going to bring

01:05:20.559 --> 01:05:24.000
us out and make us free. From the man, who speaks

01:05:24.000 --> 01:05:27.239
perverse things, from those who leave the paths

01:05:27.239 --> 01:05:30.000
of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness,

01:05:30.099 --> 01:05:32.320
who delight in doing evil and rejoice in the

01:05:32.320 --> 01:05:34.320
perversity of evil, whose paths are crooked and

01:05:34.320 --> 01:05:35.960
who are devious in their ways. He's going to

01:05:35.960 --> 01:05:38.780
free us from being that, free us from being trapped

01:05:38.780 --> 01:05:41.539
in that, to deliver you from the strange woman,

01:05:41.679 --> 01:05:46.000
from the adulteress who flatters with her words,

01:05:46.099 --> 01:05:50.820
that leaves the companion of her youth and forgets

01:05:50.820 --> 01:05:53.099
the covenant of her God, for her house sinks

01:05:53.099 --> 01:05:56.139
down to death and her tracks lead to the dead.

01:05:57.340 --> 01:06:00.639
None who go to her return again. In other words,

01:06:00.659 --> 01:06:03.639
once you go over to unrighteousness, over to

01:06:03.639 --> 01:06:06.800
something that is not godly wisdom, you can't

01:06:06.800 --> 01:06:10.000
come back. Not that God makes it so you can't

01:06:10.000 --> 01:06:12.800
come back, but you choose not to come back. Nor

01:06:12.800 --> 01:06:15.940
do they reach the paths of life. So you will

01:06:15.940 --> 01:06:19.159
walk in the way of good men and keep to the paths

01:06:19.159 --> 01:06:22.719
of righteousness, of the righteous. For the upright

01:06:22.719 --> 01:06:25.159
will live in the land, and the blameless will

01:06:25.159 --> 01:06:30.019
remain in it. What did Jesus say? That the servant

01:06:30.019 --> 01:06:32.360
is in the house only for a while, but the son

01:06:32.360 --> 01:06:36.519
is in the house forever. And he said, whom the

01:06:36.519 --> 01:06:44.980
son sets free will be free indeed. I'm 21. For

01:06:44.980 --> 01:06:46.960
the upright will live in the land, and the blameless

01:06:46.960 --> 01:06:48.920
will remain in it. But the wicked will be cut

01:06:48.920 --> 01:06:51.380
off from the land. and the treacherous will be

01:06:51.380 --> 01:06:54.760
uprooted from it. A little bit further. My son,

01:06:54.960 --> 01:06:57.739
do not forget my teaching, but let your heart

01:06:57.739 --> 01:06:59.639
keep my commandments. For the length of days

01:06:59.639 --> 01:07:02.539
and years of life and peace they will add to

01:07:02.539 --> 01:07:05.380
you. Do not let kindness and truth leave you.

01:07:05.679 --> 01:07:08.599
Bind them around your neck. Write them on the

01:07:08.599 --> 01:07:10.880
tablet of your heart, so you will find favor

01:07:10.880 --> 01:07:13.780
and good repute in the sight of God and man.

01:07:14.579 --> 01:07:17.099
Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not

01:07:17.099 --> 01:07:18.940
lean on your own understanding. We quote that

01:07:18.940 --> 01:07:20.420
verse all the time, but we forget it's in this

01:07:20.420 --> 01:07:24.380
context. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and

01:07:24.380 --> 01:07:27.880
he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise

01:07:27.880 --> 01:07:31.480
in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and turn away

01:07:31.480 --> 01:07:36.679
from evil. It will be the healing to your body

01:07:36.679 --> 01:07:38.760
and refreshment to your bones. Honor the Lord

01:07:38.760 --> 01:07:41.280
from your wealth and from the first of all your

01:07:41.280 --> 01:07:44.079
produce. So your barns will be filled with plenty

01:07:44.079 --> 01:07:47.099
and your vats will overflow with new wine. My

01:07:47.099 --> 01:07:49.300
son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord

01:07:49.300 --> 01:07:52.559
or loathe his reproof. For whom the Lord loves,

01:07:52.579 --> 01:07:54.340
he reproves. That means he corrects those who

01:07:54.340 --> 01:07:56.539
he loves. And when things go bad for us, sometimes

01:07:56.539 --> 01:08:00.900
that's a correction of God. Even as a father,

01:08:01.019 --> 01:08:05.500
the son in whom he delights. How blessed is the

01:08:05.500 --> 01:08:07.980
man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding.

01:08:08.940 --> 01:08:11.360
For its profit is better than the profit of silver

01:08:11.360 --> 01:08:14.440
and its gain than fine gold. And it goes on.

01:08:15.539 --> 01:08:19.859
They knew. It's no joke. They totally understood

01:08:19.859 --> 01:08:24.119
that wisdom would lead to all of these benefits.

01:08:24.560 --> 01:08:27.159
Wisdom applied, not just wisdom. That's a problem.

01:08:27.239 --> 01:08:29.560
Because if you look at the Pharisees and the

01:08:29.560 --> 01:08:31.640
Sadducees of their day, they were teaching the

01:08:31.640 --> 01:08:33.720
word of God. But what did Jesus say about them?

01:08:33.819 --> 01:08:35.779
He called them hypocrites. There are people who

01:08:35.779 --> 01:08:39.079
say it's the right thing to do. But then they

01:08:39.079 --> 01:08:42.119
don't do the right thing to do. They were hypocrites.

01:08:43.180 --> 01:08:45.880
But these are hypocrites who then believed in

01:08:45.880 --> 01:08:50.199
Jesus. And so their holdout was they needed to

01:08:50.199 --> 01:08:54.439
live the wisdom applied in Jesus. They could

01:08:54.439 --> 01:08:57.340
not come to Jesus and just be relaxed, fit Christians.

01:08:57.539 --> 01:09:00.199
That might get them into heaven one day if their

01:09:00.199 --> 01:09:02.319
salvation was real, if they truly had believed.

01:09:02.600 --> 01:09:07.199
But it wouldn't get them free. And Jesus came.

01:09:07.789 --> 01:09:12.449
to set them free. We're in the conclusion, but

01:09:12.449 --> 01:09:17.770
it's a doozy. This was a chosen people, God's

01:09:17.770 --> 01:09:20.250
people, the nation of Jews, and now they were

01:09:20.250 --> 01:09:22.149
hearing the truth and having a hard time embracing

01:09:22.149 --> 01:09:24.109
it because they were in bondage to their own

01:09:24.109 --> 01:09:28.229
sin. And if you can understand it, that had to

01:09:28.229 --> 01:09:32.550
be because they wanted it that way. Because they

01:09:32.550 --> 01:09:38.279
had already believed in Jesus. They didn't really

01:09:38.279 --> 01:09:39.979
want to be free because they were comfortable

01:09:39.979 --> 01:09:44.060
where they were. And they would accept Jesus

01:09:44.060 --> 01:09:46.460
as long as Jesus would fit in where they were.

01:09:48.779 --> 01:09:51.619
But Jesus doesn't fit in in the world system

01:09:51.619 --> 01:09:56.859
ever. He was not of this world. Just like we're

01:09:56.859 --> 01:09:59.060
supposed to be not of this world. So when we

01:09:59.060 --> 01:10:01.300
believe him, we become not of this world as he

01:10:01.300 --> 01:10:02.979
was not of this world. We suffer outside the

01:10:02.979 --> 01:10:12.539
gate with him. Now he's not condemning them for

01:10:12.539 --> 01:10:15.619
their choice. He is explaining the ramifications

01:10:15.619 --> 01:10:18.140
of their choice and explaining that another choice

01:10:18.140 --> 01:10:21.279
would be the one to free them if they stick with

01:10:21.279 --> 01:10:23.600
it in Christ. So if you're here today and you're

01:10:23.600 --> 01:10:26.380
a relaxed, fit Christian, I'm not condemning

01:10:26.380 --> 01:10:29.420
your choice. However, there are ramifications

01:10:29.420 --> 01:10:33.119
for that choice. You have to examine everything

01:10:33.119 --> 01:10:35.060
in your life and how it lines up with Jesus.

01:10:35.140 --> 01:10:37.640
And if you don't, if you don't give him the reins.

01:10:41.630 --> 01:10:44.569
You won't be free. In this lifetime, you will

01:10:44.569 --> 01:10:46.989
not be free. And that's not my words, that's

01:10:46.989 --> 01:10:49.729
Jesus' words. And it's not, if you don't want

01:10:49.729 --> 01:10:51.609
to be free, if you can't muster the strength

01:10:51.609 --> 01:10:53.850
to be free, if you can't follow Jesus in earnest

01:10:53.850 --> 01:10:55.850
with all that you are, if you can't make the

01:10:55.850 --> 01:11:00.810
necessary sacrifices, the only real danger is,

01:11:00.949 --> 01:11:03.069
if that's what your salvation looks like, then

01:11:03.069 --> 01:11:05.289
are you saved? And that's a decision to be made

01:11:05.289 --> 01:11:07.010
between you and God, not with me. It's not about

01:11:07.010 --> 01:11:08.630
what I say. Truth is, it's not about what you

01:11:08.630 --> 01:11:11.680
say. It's about what He says. So if you're saved

01:11:11.680 --> 01:11:14.340
but not free, understand that there's a substantial

01:11:14.340 --> 01:11:17.279
possibility it's because of choices that you

01:11:17.279 --> 01:11:29.000
are making. If you won't choose, if you say,

01:11:29.020 --> 01:11:30.399
well, I'm just not going to make a choice about

01:11:30.399 --> 01:11:32.600
that, then realize that you've already chosen.

01:11:35.720 --> 01:11:38.319
Those verses that we referenced In John chapter

01:11:38.319 --> 01:11:40.100
3, we'll go there just briefly and we're almost

01:11:40.100 --> 01:11:46.920
done. Some folks memorize John chapter 3 verse

01:11:46.920 --> 01:11:49.319
16 as a fairly famous Bible verse. You'll see

01:11:49.319 --> 01:11:51.039
it on placards at football games and things like

01:11:51.039 --> 01:11:53.739
that. For God so loved the world that He gave

01:11:53.739 --> 01:11:55.260
His only begotten Son that whosoever believes

01:11:55.260 --> 01:11:56.520
in Him shall not perish but have everlasting

01:11:56.520 --> 01:11:58.960
life. And that's the truth. If you believe in

01:11:58.960 --> 01:12:01.699
Jesus, you will have everlasting life. Eternal

01:12:01.699 --> 01:12:04.439
life. You will go to heaven and be with God forever

01:12:04.439 --> 01:12:08.050
when the time comes. Verse 17 is the verse that

01:12:08.050 --> 01:12:12.449
talks about that Jesus didn't come. God did not

01:12:12.449 --> 01:12:15.289
send the Son into the world to judge the world,

01:12:15.390 --> 01:12:21.630
but that the world would be saved. Through Him.

01:12:22.069 --> 01:12:27.069
Through Jesus. Verse 18 then says, He who believes

01:12:27.069 --> 01:12:29.750
in Him is not judged. He who does not believe

01:12:29.750 --> 01:12:32.890
has been judged already. In other words, he who

01:12:32.890 --> 01:12:35.770
believes in Jesus is not judged. But if you don't

01:12:35.770 --> 01:12:36.949
believe in Jesus, you've already been judged.

01:12:37.649 --> 01:12:39.550
Because he has not believed in the name of the

01:12:39.550 --> 01:12:42.329
only begotten Son of God. Anybody ever watch

01:12:42.329 --> 01:12:44.949
one of those shows on TV where they rap at each

01:12:44.949 --> 01:12:48.810
other? Or they sing? So, you know what a mic

01:12:48.810 --> 01:12:52.569
drop is? Right? That's it. That settles it. Drop

01:12:52.569 --> 01:12:54.470
the mic. It's all over. It's a relatively new

01:12:54.470 --> 01:12:57.130
thing. When you drop the mic, you're done and

01:12:57.130 --> 01:12:59.390
you've proven your point. Well, this is Jesus'

01:12:59.569 --> 01:13:04.680
mic drop. Because he's talking to John. And in

01:13:04.680 --> 01:13:07.659
verse 20 it says, I'm sorry, in verse 22 it says,

01:13:07.859 --> 01:13:09.880
After these things Jesus and his disciples came

01:13:09.880 --> 01:13:12.619
into the land of Judea. So it's done. So we're

01:13:12.619 --> 01:13:14.479
about to read Jesus' mic drop. And he said, And

01:13:14.479 --> 01:13:16.840
this is the judgment, that the light has come

01:13:16.840 --> 01:13:20.220
into the world, and men loved the darkness rather

01:13:20.220 --> 01:13:23.720
than the light. For their deeds were evil. For

01:13:23.720 --> 01:13:26.640
everyone who does evil hates the light, and does

01:13:26.640 --> 01:13:28.920
not come to the light, lest his deeds should

01:13:28.920 --> 01:13:32.479
be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes

01:13:32.479 --> 01:13:35.180
to the light. that his deeds may be manifested,

01:13:35.439 --> 01:13:38.439
that means made obvious, as having been wrought,

01:13:38.439 --> 01:13:41.579
which means done or worked, in God. I'll read

01:13:41.579 --> 01:13:43.739
that last one again. But he who practices the

01:13:43.739 --> 01:13:46.119
truth comes to the light, that his deeds may

01:13:46.119 --> 01:13:51.140
be manifest as having been wrought in God. Jesus

01:13:51.140 --> 01:13:55.380
came into the world. The people who should have

01:13:55.380 --> 01:14:01.930
known him, they did not. In John 1, 11 -14 it

01:14:01.930 --> 01:14:03.850
says this, He came to His own, and those who

01:14:03.850 --> 01:14:06.670
were His own did not receive Him. But as many

01:14:06.670 --> 01:14:09.189
as received Him, to them He gave the right to

01:14:09.189 --> 01:14:10.869
become children of God, even to those who believe

01:14:10.869 --> 01:14:13.569
in His name, who were born not of blood, nor

01:14:13.569 --> 01:14:15.770
of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man,

01:14:15.850 --> 01:14:19.130
but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt

01:14:19.130 --> 01:14:22.550
among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the

01:14:22.550 --> 01:14:24.569
only begotten from the Father, full of grace

01:14:24.569 --> 01:14:30.479
and truth. Jesus' mic drop was, I came. I did

01:14:30.479 --> 01:14:33.359
it. I showed it. You've seen it. It's settled.

01:14:33.539 --> 01:14:37.300
It's done. Now when you're not choosing me, don't

01:14:37.300 --> 01:14:39.420
kid yourself. You're not not choosing me because

01:14:39.420 --> 01:14:41.520
you're afraid. You're not not choosing me because

01:14:41.520 --> 01:14:43.500
you can't trust because you're wounded. You're

01:14:43.500 --> 01:14:45.319
not not choosing me because you don't understand.

01:14:45.859 --> 01:14:49.119
You're not choosing me either at the moment of

01:14:49.119 --> 01:14:51.539
salvation or after that as a relaxed fit Christian

01:14:51.539 --> 01:14:57.270
because you think you're the cat. You think that

01:14:57.270 --> 01:14:59.750
right where you are right now, you're in charge.

01:15:00.130 --> 01:15:02.590
That you're bigger than the enemy right now,

01:15:02.609 --> 01:15:05.270
right where you are, non -Christian. Or that

01:15:05.270 --> 01:15:07.630
you're bigger than me as a believer, that you

01:15:07.630 --> 01:15:09.810
get to decide, that you get to decide whether

01:15:09.810 --> 01:15:14.630
or not you come, go, pay, die, whatever. You

01:15:14.630 --> 01:15:18.710
think you're the cat. And sometimes you get the

01:15:18.710 --> 01:15:21.210
upper hand. Which reinforces you thinking you're

01:15:21.210 --> 01:15:23.670
the cat. Because God made you incredible. God

01:15:23.670 --> 01:15:25.609
made you able to stomp on the head of the enemy

01:15:25.609 --> 01:15:28.670
even without me. God made you able to do amazing

01:15:28.670 --> 01:15:32.689
things. Create and destroy. But in me, those

01:15:32.689 --> 01:15:34.930
things are refined and the image of God is perfected.

01:15:34.930 --> 01:15:37.930
And you can do even more amazing things. So there

01:15:37.930 --> 01:15:39.770
are those who go, oh, my image is messed up.

01:15:39.789 --> 01:15:41.670
So I accept the redefinition. Then I get over

01:15:41.670 --> 01:15:44.300
here. and they mess up their image again on a

01:15:44.300 --> 01:15:46.159
fairly regular basis because they refuse to be

01:15:46.159 --> 01:15:48.380
free, because they refuse to continue to apply

01:15:48.380 --> 01:15:53.739
the wisdom of God on a daily basis. Because they

01:15:53.739 --> 01:15:57.619
think they're the cat. Remember the two blobs?

01:15:58.199 --> 01:16:02.340
They think they're the cat blob. But I'm here

01:16:02.340 --> 01:16:03.899
to tell you today the same thing that Jesus was

01:16:03.899 --> 01:16:05.880
here to tell you, and that is that if you're

01:16:05.880 --> 01:16:09.539
still wrestling with whether Jesus is real, if

01:16:09.539 --> 01:16:11.319
you're still deciding whether to follow Jesus

01:16:11.319 --> 01:16:13.800
or believe in salvation, you understand, you're

01:16:13.800 --> 01:16:17.359
not the cat blob, you're the mouse blob. And

01:16:17.359 --> 01:16:19.479
you will run and you will hide and you will fight

01:16:19.479 --> 01:16:21.260
back the best of your ability. But the truth

01:16:21.260 --> 01:16:23.000
is, as long as you are not a follower of the

01:16:23.000 --> 01:16:25.420
Lord Jesus Christ, then the enemy will be after

01:16:25.420 --> 01:16:40.180
you continually. But some mice, live happily

01:16:40.180 --> 01:16:45.159
ever after. Some mice hide in the field and no

01:16:45.159 --> 01:16:47.180
eagle comes to eat them, no fox pursues them,

01:16:47.239 --> 01:16:50.439
no cat hunts them down. They don't get mowed

01:16:50.439 --> 01:16:53.460
over and they make babies and they live an old

01:16:53.460 --> 01:16:56.300
life. They live to be as old as mice ever live

01:16:56.300 --> 01:16:58.239
and have multiple generations of great, great,

01:16:58.279 --> 01:17:00.300
great, great grandchildren. And we look at those

01:17:00.300 --> 01:17:02.840
mice and we say, well, but look at those mice.

01:17:03.619 --> 01:17:07.930
Why shouldn't I be happy as a mouse? Why do I

01:17:07.930 --> 01:17:11.210
need to rear up and fight back and be something

01:17:11.210 --> 01:17:16.550
different? Well, I ask you, if the mice live

01:17:16.550 --> 01:17:19.050
happily ever after, then what happens after that?

01:17:20.329 --> 01:17:25.210
What happens after happily ever after? If you

01:17:25.210 --> 01:17:27.130
don't accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior,

01:17:27.329 --> 01:17:30.310
then what's after happily ever after is not another

01:17:30.310 --> 01:17:37.859
happily ever after. And so we live in light of

01:17:37.859 --> 01:17:42.500
that eternity. But I also submit to you, I've

01:17:42.500 --> 01:17:44.319
never seen a mouse that lived to old age and

01:17:44.319 --> 01:17:47.819
wasn't terrified. The mice that live in the field

01:17:47.819 --> 01:17:49.100
that have great, great, great, great grandchildren,

01:17:49.359 --> 01:17:52.600
they're still watching the skies constantly.

01:17:53.340 --> 01:17:55.140
They still live in burrows. They don't build

01:17:55.140 --> 01:17:58.279
big houses or like hives or anything. They don't

01:17:58.279 --> 01:18:00.460
live in huge groups and like have 50 of them

01:18:00.460 --> 01:18:02.000
living together in a little mouse mansion in

01:18:02.000 --> 01:18:03.199
the middle of the field because they feel safe

01:18:03.199 --> 01:18:05.359
and free and happy and are doing a good thing.

01:18:06.260 --> 01:18:08.899
No. They live their entire life thinking the

01:18:08.899 --> 01:18:10.439
cat might be coming, the eagle might be coming,

01:18:10.479 --> 01:18:12.880
the fox might be coming, I've got to stay hidden.

01:18:13.220 --> 01:18:15.640
They run along walls and never out into the open

01:18:15.640 --> 01:18:17.340
in the room unless you chase them out with poison

01:18:17.340 --> 01:18:21.279
or by feeding them psychedelics. Then they'll

01:18:21.279 --> 01:18:24.800
do that. Otherwise they stay concealed. And that

01:18:24.800 --> 01:18:27.439
is not the life that God ordained for you. That

01:18:27.439 --> 01:18:30.859
is not the kind of person God made for you. He

01:18:30.859 --> 01:18:33.369
wants us to be more than a conqueror. He wants

01:18:33.369 --> 01:18:36.869
to be incredible, amazing, world -changing beings.

01:18:38.710 --> 01:18:41.550
Because nothing less than that will represent

01:18:41.550 --> 01:18:50.130
Him. And we were created to represent Him. It's

01:18:50.130 --> 01:18:54.670
wise to accept Christ. It's wise to follow Christ.

01:18:55.369 --> 01:19:02.000
It's wise to continue in the wisdom. That God

01:19:02.000 --> 01:19:04.800
has given you to whatever extent that you have

01:19:04.800 --> 01:19:06.619
it. Paul said, I hold on to that which I have

01:19:06.619 --> 01:19:09.239
already attained. And that's what you are supposed

01:19:09.239 --> 01:19:12.180
to do. It's wise to accept Christ. It's wise

01:19:12.180 --> 01:19:14.760
to follow Christ. It's wise to continue in Christ

01:19:14.760 --> 01:19:18.520
with discipline and strength. To observe the

01:19:18.520 --> 01:19:21.039
word of God. To pursue wisdom and righteousness.

01:19:21.220 --> 01:19:28.100
And in so doing, you become the cat blob. And

01:19:28.100 --> 01:19:32.500
the enemy runs along walls. And the enemy creeps

01:19:32.500 --> 01:19:37.520
in the darkness. And the enemy fears you. And

01:19:37.520 --> 01:19:39.560
when the seven sons of Sceva, who were Jews,

01:19:39.680 --> 01:19:41.060
who might have believed in the name of Jesus,

01:19:41.180 --> 01:19:43.260
came upon the demon that they tried to cast out

01:19:43.260 --> 01:19:48.180
of that man, he reared up, and they tried to

01:19:48.180 --> 01:19:50.619
abjure him, cast him out by the name of Paul

01:19:50.619 --> 01:19:53.060
or by the name of Jesus. And the demon said,

01:19:53.319 --> 01:19:57.399
Paul I know, and Jesus I know, but who are you?

01:19:58.060 --> 01:20:00.560
If they were Christians at all, they were relaxed

01:20:00.560 --> 01:20:03.260
fit Christians. And they had no power to be free.

01:20:03.380 --> 01:20:05.619
They were just invoking the name of Jesus and

01:20:05.619 --> 01:20:07.420
saying, I'm a Christian, I'm a Christian. Or

01:20:07.420 --> 01:20:10.060
invoking the name of God and claiming God's authority

01:20:10.060 --> 01:20:13.279
to cast out that demon. And he didn't let it

01:20:13.279 --> 01:20:16.520
happen. They thought they were the cat, but they

01:20:16.520 --> 01:20:20.680
were the mouse. And they came out all beat up

01:20:20.680 --> 01:20:25.640
and in their underwear. But as a follower of

01:20:25.640 --> 01:20:27.720
Jesus who pursues God's wisdom and lives His

01:20:27.720 --> 01:20:29.220
righteousness to the best of your ability, and

01:20:29.220 --> 01:20:30.880
it's not about perfection, it's doing the best

01:20:30.880 --> 01:20:33.060
you possibly can on any given day, making the

01:20:33.060 --> 01:20:35.119
choices, showing up to study, showing up to serve,

01:20:35.220 --> 01:20:37.819
showing up to work, showing up to... showing

01:20:37.819 --> 01:20:41.399
up, standing up, being free, being courageous.

01:20:43.020 --> 01:20:45.420
That kind of Christian, according to Jesus, not

01:20:45.420 --> 01:20:49.859
according to me, knows freedom. True freedom.

01:20:51.039 --> 01:20:54.539
They are His disciples indeed. And they know

01:20:54.539 --> 01:20:57.180
true freedom. We are called to nothing less.

01:20:58.260 --> 01:21:00.960
Unless you think Jesus only died so that people

01:21:00.960 --> 01:21:03.800
can go to heaven. Then you'd be contradicting

01:21:03.800 --> 01:21:05.539
Jesus himself because he said, I came that they

01:21:05.539 --> 01:21:09.960
may have life and have it more abundantly. And

01:21:09.960 --> 01:21:11.600
if you're contradicting the word of Jesus, then

01:21:11.600 --> 01:21:15.659
are you saved? I'm asking you today to either

01:21:15.659 --> 01:21:18.680
A, first time believe in Jesus. The penalty's

01:21:18.680 --> 01:21:21.720
been paid. Remission of sins is available through

01:21:21.720 --> 01:21:24.560
the penalty that Jesus paid. It's called the

01:21:24.560 --> 01:21:27.739
propitiation. The bill is paid. Stop trying to

01:21:27.739 --> 01:21:32.640
pay it. And if you do believe in Jesus, then

01:21:32.640 --> 01:21:36.579
I'm asking you today to exercise spiritual discipline,

01:21:36.800 --> 01:21:40.039
to make the choices to examine everything from

01:21:40.039 --> 01:21:42.020
God's point of view, the best you're able, instead

01:21:42.020 --> 01:21:45.939
of the world's point of view. If you're motivated

01:21:45.939 --> 01:21:48.800
by a dollar, then you need to understand that

01:21:48.800 --> 01:21:51.199
your priorities are in the wrong place. If you're

01:21:51.199 --> 01:21:53.340
motivated by a relationship with a human being,

01:21:53.460 --> 01:21:58.319
even your spouse, over God, your motivations

01:21:58.319 --> 01:22:01.840
are in the wrong place. If you're motivated by

01:22:01.840 --> 01:22:06.140
a job, if any of these things are distraction,

01:22:06.500 --> 01:22:09.539
we know what Jesus said, don't we? I'm about

01:22:09.539 --> 01:22:12.220
to tell you. Jesus said, friendship with the

01:22:12.220 --> 01:22:17.140
world is enmity with God. Choose today. who will

01:22:17.140 --> 01:22:19.319
be first in your life. And if you're going to

01:22:19.319 --> 01:22:22.600
try to make it you, you better realize you're

01:22:22.600 --> 01:22:26.159
actually the mouse. If you're going to try to

01:22:26.159 --> 01:22:29.260
make it Jesus, he's going to make you the cat.

01:22:30.560 --> 01:22:34.039
And the enemy will run. I want to close this

01:22:34.039 --> 01:22:36.699
story. Some years ago when I was a youth pastor,

01:22:36.800 --> 01:22:40.720
youth minister, there was a young lady who came

01:22:40.720 --> 01:22:44.399
in and did counseling with her. She'd been out

01:22:44.399 --> 01:22:46.479
of church for about a month. Her family was members

01:22:46.479 --> 01:22:50.319
of the church. And things had drifted badly.

01:22:50.439 --> 01:22:54.079
She was 14, I think, 13, 14. Both of them used

01:22:54.079 --> 01:22:57.439
a youth group. They brought her in to talk to

01:22:57.439 --> 01:23:01.640
me. I was a relatively young youth group. Because

01:23:01.640 --> 01:23:04.000
she had, while wearing combat boots, kicked her

01:23:04.000 --> 01:23:06.359
grandmother, who was her guardian, in the face

01:23:06.359 --> 01:23:11.859
and broke her jaw. What am I going to say? What

01:23:11.859 --> 01:23:14.640
do you say to a 13 -year -old who the night before

01:23:15.399 --> 01:23:16.960
kicked her grandmother in the face and broke

01:23:16.960 --> 01:23:20.020
her jaw. Intentionally, not accidentally. Intentionally.

01:23:20.199 --> 01:23:25.380
What do you say? So, I did only what I knew to

01:23:25.380 --> 01:23:28.020
do, which I started with the gospel. And she

01:23:28.020 --> 01:23:31.539
was claiming yes. She said she believed. She

01:23:31.539 --> 01:23:33.319
never said the name Jesus, but she was claiming

01:23:33.319 --> 01:23:35.840
yes, she believed. Now, she'd not been coming

01:23:35.840 --> 01:23:37.439
to Bible study. She wasn't studying the Bible.

01:23:37.520 --> 01:23:39.560
She wasn't praying. She admitted she hadn't worshipped.

01:23:40.460 --> 01:23:42.500
God was not first in her life, but she was claiming

01:23:42.500 --> 01:23:44.539
yes, she believed. But she never said the name

01:23:44.539 --> 01:23:48.659
of Jesus. As I'm talking to her, I start getting

01:23:48.659 --> 01:23:50.359
this eerie feeling that something is desperately

01:23:50.359 --> 01:23:53.359
wrong. And I was not in the room alone with her.

01:23:53.520 --> 01:23:55.479
In all my years, I've never counseled in the

01:23:55.479 --> 01:23:58.420
room alone with a teenage girl. Or if I've done

01:23:58.420 --> 01:23:59.579
it with a woman, then there's somebody right

01:23:59.579 --> 01:24:02.760
outside the door, the door open. And I'm talking

01:24:02.760 --> 01:24:04.039
with her, and I begin to think there's something

01:24:04.039 --> 01:24:06.859
wrong. And I said, well, how about you say it?

01:24:08.340 --> 01:24:11.159
You say, I'm a follower of Jesus. And she said,

01:24:11.260 --> 01:24:16.710
I'm a follower of Jesus. I'm a follower. I said,

01:24:16.729 --> 01:24:19.130
no, no, say I'm a follower of Jesus. She said,

01:24:19.170 --> 01:24:23.149
I'm a follower of... I'm a follower. Just like

01:24:23.149 --> 01:24:24.829
that, just like I'm saying it to you today. And

01:24:24.829 --> 01:24:26.909
I looked at her, and the space behind her eyes

01:24:26.909 --> 01:24:30.350
looked so dark, so deep, like outer space without

01:24:30.350 --> 01:24:34.050
stars. Something is wrong. And the Christian

01:24:34.050 --> 01:24:36.850
woman who was in the room with me was praying

01:24:36.850 --> 01:24:40.050
the whole time. And she sensed it too. Something

01:24:40.050 --> 01:24:41.710
was desperately wrong. And I said, can't you

01:24:41.710 --> 01:24:43.930
say the name Jesus? And she said, yeah, I can

01:24:43.930 --> 01:24:46.250
say it. And I said, well, then say it. And she

01:24:46.250 --> 01:24:49.909
said, and I said, we're dealing with a problem

01:24:49.909 --> 01:24:52.890
here. And I'm thinking at first, it's outside

01:24:52.890 --> 01:24:54.909
me, right? I need an exorcist or something. I

01:24:54.909 --> 01:24:59.010
didn't know. But I said, in the name of Jesus,

01:24:59.289 --> 01:25:02.430
I lay my hands on you and I rebuke the evil spirit

01:25:02.430 --> 01:25:05.380
that's affecting you. And I'm setting you free

01:25:05.380 --> 01:25:07.140
at least to be able to make the choice of what

01:25:07.140 --> 01:25:11.119
you will do next. Will you in earnest become

01:25:11.119 --> 01:25:13.220
a follower of Jesus? Will you in earnest be set

01:25:13.220 --> 01:25:18.359
free? And she said, yes. I prayed a little bit

01:25:18.359 --> 01:25:21.460
more and I said, okay, now say it. And she said,

01:25:21.640 --> 01:25:26.420
I want to be. She said, I am a follower of Jesus.

01:25:26.960 --> 01:25:29.779
And tears streamed down her face. We spent about

01:25:29.779 --> 01:25:32.989
another half an hour or so. So about another

01:25:32.989 --> 01:25:34.890
half an hour or so with some action plans, what

01:25:34.890 --> 01:25:36.590
she was going to do with her house, with her

01:25:36.590 --> 01:25:39.289
problems that she was having. And we agreed to

01:25:39.289 --> 01:25:41.810
get together with her grandmother and talk. She

01:25:41.810 --> 01:25:43.550
committed to writing in a journal and studying

01:25:43.550 --> 01:25:48.489
her Bible and all of these kinds of things. She

01:25:48.489 --> 01:25:52.029
said she was a believer. They said they were

01:25:52.029 --> 01:25:55.210
believers. But she was a relaxed, fit believer.

01:25:55.750 --> 01:25:58.329
Now, I don't know if she was a believer at all.

01:25:58.409 --> 01:26:00.909
But by her profession, she was a relaxed, fit

01:26:00.909 --> 01:26:02.989
believer. And she certainly was not free. She

01:26:02.989 --> 01:26:04.590
couldn't even say the name of Jesus. Now that's

01:26:04.590 --> 01:26:09.109
pretty not free. Now I'm not saying that's you.

01:26:10.189 --> 01:26:14.170
But if you believe in Jesus, tell everyone who

01:26:14.170 --> 01:26:16.609
will listen. Because some folks are just ignorant.

01:26:17.869 --> 01:26:20.550
Encourage people to trust in the Lord. And you

01:26:20.550 --> 01:26:23.989
trust in the Lord with everything. And you can

01:26:23.989 --> 01:26:28.130
be free. And that's how I get out of bed every

01:26:28.130 --> 01:26:30.739
day. And I just want to do that. And I'm not

01:26:30.739 --> 01:26:32.199
saying you're going to be perfect at it. Nobody's

01:26:32.199 --> 01:26:34.420
perfect at it. I'm certainly not. I blow it all

01:26:34.420 --> 01:26:37.899
the time. But what I am saying is, it's your

01:26:37.899 --> 01:26:41.939
choice to be free. If you don't want to, okay.

01:26:42.699 --> 01:26:44.560
Just realize that none of the excuses make any

01:26:44.560 --> 01:26:48.199
sense. And the ramifications remain the same.

01:26:49.300 --> 01:26:51.039
Let me pray for us briefly and we'll have a song

01:26:51.039 --> 01:26:54.420
of invitation to close our services. Father in

01:26:54.420 --> 01:26:56.520
heaven, I do thank you so much for being our

01:26:56.520 --> 01:27:01.239
God. If the price that was paid for our salvation

01:27:01.239 --> 01:27:04.939
was something less, a million dollars.