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This is Pastor Dan. Just want to thank you for choosing this podcast by New Heights

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Fellowship Baptist Church of East Toledo today. I hope that as you listen you'll be able to reach

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New Heights in Jesus with us. Listen during the inspirational moment time for some exciting study

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on behalf of a few different members of the congregation. Pastor Dan's sermon from First

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Thessalonians chapter 2. Also listen for Undo Me as performed by New Heights Fellowship,

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not of this world praise band. What a powerful worship experience that was this Sunday.

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Thank you, God bless you, and enjoy.

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We're spring to come this year. I was kind of getting tired of the cold and the ice and stuff

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and we had a couple of good snows but I do I enjoy the snow too so I you know by fall you're

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like okay we're gonna get some snow and by in the winter it's always yay for sun so you know they

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don't get that down south and stuff they only get the yay for sun like almost the whole year

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or they get they get snowed you know so praise God we get both and the variants and we get pretty

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colorful trees uh changing the colors in the fall and get a ton of rain in the spring usually so

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and the tomato farmers are real glad for that so we got some change going on we also got folks

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that move they live in different places now and thankfully uh all nearby praise God for that and

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um watching the story at the brister household is unfold to get your stuff set up and that's really

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awesome and Tommy got moved into the apartment and we're sharing our domiciles now so Tommy's

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living in the first result apartment so praise God for that and it's a good situation all right

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you like it so far good awesome um so we're going to go ahead and pray together there are no meetings

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or anything like that scheduled today but the pantry is open from two to three um and then uh

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next week will be next week will be the membership meeting right that's next fourth week next week

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you know all right and and rapidly approaching the crosswalk so it's supposed to be inviting

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people to come and march with us it's okay they could stay at their church they're trying to win

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away from their church and if I said they come represent their church wear their church t-shirts

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their church youth group can make their own cross whatever if you think of anybody you could take

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up some advice do that we're going to be doing the same thing through social media texting and

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all that kind of stuff there will also be firing dates coming in the next couple weeks a couple

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firing dates coming up so you can come out walk a little bit go around put the flyer in the

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neighborhood and if you think of another way that you'd like to do something and if you approach

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Alicia with it um she can help or I can help we'll get it started I got a little money if it takes

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a little bit of money you know we want to get the word out about that event because that's really

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glorifying God I looked at what somebody else is doing online on Friday and it was pretty cool and

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so I'm excited for that I hope we'll have fun doing it nothing else we'll come out we'll glorify

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the Lord by marching and recognizing what he did for us and that would be awesome okay and that's

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the day before Easter which is the 17th of the 17th and 18th is Easter resurrection Sunday which

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we celebrate resurrection every Sunday that's resurrection Sunday is the day of the we celebrate

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the resurrection is coming up fast so you can be prepared for that okay I'm gonna pray real quick

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and then uh I have no idea what song we're doing next we're going out onto the gates next is that

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next great and mighty great and mighty oh that's what we just did and it's the 16th and 17th sorry

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Saturday the 16th and Saturday Sunday the 17th is Easter would you pray for us then as we go on into

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the service

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recognize the freedom of religion pray for everyone here that we can be safe and healthy and not

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unseated that's great for the status of the world right now and the all the scariness going on on

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the other side of the planet and you would be there and help that resolve in the best way possible

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your name I pray thank you thank you all right so if you could please stand up we're going to

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do great and mighty next and then you're worthy of my praise after that

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so

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I'm gonna give you all my birthday I'm gonna give you all my praise

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You are all I long for, world change You are the remedy of my grave

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You are the remedy of my grave

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I will worship with all of my heart I will never change you with all my praise

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I will give you all of my praise

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I will never fall apart, oh, all your ways

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I'll give you all my birthday I'll give you all my praise

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You are all I long for, world change You are the remedy of my grave

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Oh, I'm about to kill you as me

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I will serve you, give you everything I will lay my life at your door

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And I will trust you, Lord, I trust in you alone I'll give you all my worship

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I'll give you all my praise You are all I long for, world change

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You are the remedy of my grave, remedy of my grave

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I will worship you with everything I do

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I'll give you all my worship I'll give you all my praise

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You are all I long for, world change You are the remedy of my grave

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I'll give you all my worship I'll give you all my praise

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You are all I long for, world change You are the remedy of my grave

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Alright, so right away we've been involved with our impact or focus on study

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So I've been encouraging you to study

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So this morning out of the blue I texted a few guys, just a few texts

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If you didn't get my text it's okay

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I know some people didn't respond, okay

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If you see it later maybe look at it for next week or whatever

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That's fine, and I didn't text everybody

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But you may get one

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So I asked a few people to maybe get a look at a verse

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Write one sentence down about that verse

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Or at least think of one sentence about that verse

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And then come and share it with us today

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So, who's got one ready?

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Alright, Tom first then Ron

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So he gave me Luke 24, 45

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The verse is, then he opened their mind that they may understand the scriptures

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I wrote that, I think this verse suggests that God is the one who brings the truth of his word to you

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And when you study it's important to remember that

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I kind of put it, what's the best way to receive wisdom

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You need to understand God's word

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I put James 1, 5, says ask God for wisdom and he will give it

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So when we study we don't have to forget to stay open to God in humility

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Amen, that's a good word brother

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Listen, what he just did right there is a good example of study

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And a lot of people do it a lot of different ways

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But the bottom line is, there is no better

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You can go to the store and buy a $20 study book

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It will work you through an entire book

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And what they'll do is what he just did right there

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You write your own stuff

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You don't have to spend money on other people's study books

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You should have a Bible, or at the very least a Bible app

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And if you don't, see me, I'll make sure you have a Bible

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I can't make sure I'm buying that necessarily

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But I can make sure you have a Bible

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And you can do that

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You take the verse, you look at it, what does it say, what does it mean

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What are we supposed to do about it, that's basically it, alright

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There are other methods and different ways that you can do it too

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But there are no better methods than that

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Just other methods, brother Rob

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So, Pastor Dan gave me the verse, Philippians 1, 12

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And he put it in the text message, but I would

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But ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me

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Have fallen out rather unto the brethrens of the gospel

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I think you might understand that at first, so I wouldn't lift it up

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Because of my Bible, and the NIV, and it was a little more clear to me

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Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me

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Has actually served to advance the gospel

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So, Paul's speaking as he's imprisoned and in chains

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And I don't know exactly where

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But maybe you can tell me, brother

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I think it was Rick from the Philippine, I don't know

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So anyways, basically he's letting them know that this is what was going to happen

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And that it's being used for God's benefit

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Paul did not give in to self-pity or complaining

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He chose to see Christ in all situations

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Which allowed him to see that through his imprisonment

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The gospel of Jesus would not only be spread to those that he shared with

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But also everyone whom they touched as well

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That is in reference to verse 13, which the next verse says

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As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard

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And to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ

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So, not only are the people that are directly over Paul

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Being affected by his message

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Everybody that they tell in the palace, which is the entire palace guard, is being affected as well

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It's really interesting

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You may think that what you're going through sucks

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And that's probably a lot of times not a bad assessment

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I mean, we know what's bad, right?

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I got hit, I shared with a brother this week

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It felt like I was being attacked so many times spiritually this week

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It was like death in a thousand cuts, it was that bad

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It wasn't anything huge, it was one thing after another after another

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And then there was a couple of pretty big things

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And sometimes you think what you're going through is bad

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But remember that it can be used to do an amazing work

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Between you and somebody else or whatever

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We were just starting the worship today

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Aww, she fell on her head

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Anyway, as we were just starting the worship today

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I was thinking about that first song that we sang

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And I said out loud, but I don't know if anybody else heard me

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I said, until you have sung that song weeping

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Until you are broken over your condition

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And still worshiping God

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You don't necessarily know the meaning of the word

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And I didn't really have that thought, it just kind of came out of my mouth

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And so, I think we have to see certain things in our life

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Through the eyes of difficulty and pleasure

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We have to go through difficulty to understand some of what life is about

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And know how blessed we are in Christ

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Anybody else got one?

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You're sending me the Luke 8-10

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I'm not going to lie, I just looked at it like 10-10

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It's okay, go

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This is pretty positive, it doesn't take that long

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It says, and he said

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To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God

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But to the rest it is in parables

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So that seeing they may not see and hearing they may not understand

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I'm looking back a little bit farther and it's after the parable of the sower

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And his disciples were questioning him

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And so one of the, I guess one of the things that really sticks out to me right now

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Is how we have the knowledge, if we believe in God, we believe in Jesus

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And have the Holy Spirit, we have that knowledge inside of us to understand

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More about the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God

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Other than people who are not seeing

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So we have that ability in us

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But yet there are so many times when we still refuse to see

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We still refuse to hear

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Because we have on this side, we have the world pushing against us

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Saying that what we believe isn't true and what we believe isn't right

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But deep down if we truly fully believe in Jesus

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We know that that is not true

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Although we still get stuck sometimes in those moments where we question

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Whether or not something is real or not

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Amen, that's a good word

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That's exactly it

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It's a painful thing actually when you stop and think about the fact that during Jesus' day

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There were those who were around him, wait for it, who were not supposed to believe

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We can't just explain the gospel to anybody and they might believe in Jesus and get saved

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We want that for everybody, that's our existence now

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Because Christ is our guide, Holy Spirit has come, the church exists as ministers of the gospel

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That's what we do, we're supposed to be bringing people to Christ

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So we always think, well you can share with anybody

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And anybody at any point in time might get saved

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But God is still over all that, God is still in control over all that

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And there are people who are quote unquote ready to get saved

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And there are people who are not ready to get saved

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And it largely comes down to whether they understand and believe or not

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And I'll never forget right before I got saved as I was actively

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I had to go to my church to actively come to God

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There were literally truths that the pastors, the people at church would preach

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The pastor or whoever had come to preach were things I read in my Bible

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And I'm going like, I can't understand this

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I just don't understand, I could tell, I mean I did

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I've been through school and read and studied and I knew what I knew and I knew what I didn't know

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And I would read it and I'd be like, I just don't understand this, I can't get it

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So if this works for you, if you're reading your Bible and you can read the Bible and understand it

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Don't take it for granted, that is a gift from God

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If you're saved, you believe in Christ, when you read your Bible you go, yeah I get that

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If you actually do get it, you understand it, you can apply it, do not take that for granted

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And if you're not going to take it for granted, then we're back around to study your Bible

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Write something down and I would suggest share it with anyone who will listen

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You literally could go, we leave here today, you could write something down out of the sermon

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Or if you don't want to do that, then Monday morning you could write something down out of your study Monday morning

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And then you could all week long, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

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You could come up with a little question, like out of the verses that I already just read

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You could go to everybody that's in your friend group, everybody that you work with

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You're like, hey you know I did this little study the other day and I got to thinking about this

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And now I'm polling my friends and my family and I want to see everybody, what do you think about this?

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And you could say, out of that verse, do you think the Bible is hard to understand?

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And they would answer you, because you know that, right? They know you by name, they don't care

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Nothing is really at stake, so they'll answer you, yes I think it's hard to understand

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No I don't think it's hard to understand, right?

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Then out of that you've begun a spiritual conversation with that person

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See the disciplines work together, the study fuels everything else

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I was in a men's pastor's group, which is redundant to say, but I was in a pastor's group about 10 years ago

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And it was like 10am on a Thursday morning and we were sitting there

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And we were going to pray together and stuff like that

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And at that time I was doing what I'm doing now, what I've been doing for the last two months

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Which is doing study every morning before I do anything else, praise God, all glory to God

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But anyway, so every morning I was just about getting a sermon

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You know what I'm saying, like this morning my study followed up on what I'm going to preach today

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And so it added something to my thinking about the sermon

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Last week on Thursday morning I got the entire sermon in less than an hour, right, studying my Bible

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And I'm in this pastor's group and one of the guys says, I just want to be out in the open and put this out there and explain this

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He said, sometimes I have a hard time writing a sermon

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Like I'll read my Bible, I'll read whole chapters, I'll read a whole book of this or that or I'll just read vast stretches

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And I can't find anything in there to preach on

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And when he said that I was like, oh, that's so weird, that's so different from my experience

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So what RJ just read, is there anybody in this room, and let's be really realistic

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Is there anybody in this room, if he said what he just said, that couldn't go, well there are roughly three main things in there that really we need to hear

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And you could do that, couldn't you? If you really had to, take these paper and a pen and go, well he said this

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If I was going to tell somebody what he said, I'd say he said this, and he said this, and he said this

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And then you pray over the three things and go, oh that was not that important, he did say this

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And now you have three things, right? You're halfway to writing a sermon

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The disciplines all work together, you're going to pray, right? You're going to pray for your family members

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How many people in here, this is interactive, okay, it's us working together as a group to figure this out

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I don't know the answer to this until I ask it, alright

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How many people in here this week have prayed for somebody in your family, either outlawed by name or in your head?

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Raise your hand

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Okay, so take your hands down, hands down

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Not the spiritual, you can put them down, okay, not the spiritual discipline impact on prayer

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But let me tell you, you probably should be praying for your family, but so let's say you prayed for your family this week

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Now if you did the study that we just heard about, any of these, right, so RJ's study on understanding

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You pray for your family, like I pray for my wife like three to five times a day that her neck and shoulder will be healed, okay

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But now I did that study, do I not now also need to pray that she would understand God's amazing grace

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That she would understand the mysteries of God, that she would be able to live out the amazing that God's doing in her

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Or, based on the study, if I did the study that Ron did, could I not, would it not be right to pray that God could use

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What she's going through to spread the gospel, right, so you can do that and you just add it in

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And if you just pray, I'm just being transparent, if all you ever do is just pray God heal those people who are sick in my life

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Just pray God heal, nothing really wrong with that, but it's about like dipping your toe in the Atlantic Ocean

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Anybody here ever go to an ocean and you got there and you didn't get in it at all, like you didn't get wet

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You didn't get sprayed, you didn't put your foot in, you didn't take your shoes off and walk in the water, nothing

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I mean, if you're going to drive 2,000 miles to go to the ocean or 1,000 if you're going east, right

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If you're going to drive 500 miles to get to the ocean, you're going to interact with the ocean somehow

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Well that's what it's like when we pray and the study fuels our prayer

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Worship, how many songs, worship leaders especially, how many songs of the songs we just sung are based on Scripture

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How many of the three that we just sung are based on Scripture, does anybody know for sure?

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All of them

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Alicia says all of them, do we concur on that? I think they all are

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Now, based on all three of those songs, this would be easier if they were in order, but we've changed the order today

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So I will enter as Gates, great and mighty, and you're worthy of my praise

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All three of those songs are based on Scripture, now can anybody find any of the verses in their Bible that go with those songs?

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The answer is yes, every one of you could do that, all you have to do is look up the word Gates

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or great and mighty is actually a phrase that comes out of the Psalms, right, or worthy and praise

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Just look those words up in your Bible and you can find them, and then you can study the verse

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Now, if you happen to study the verses that go along with those songs yesterday, that was your study

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and then you came in here today and sung the songs, would the songs seem different?

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They would, you could look at them through a completely different lens, right

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Our dance had a number of guys in our church, there's a bunch of guys in our church, right, that have had a bunch of training with cars

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They've done all kinds of stuff, fixed all kinds of stuff, all that kind of stuff on cars, replaced stuff, fixed stuff, whatever

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So when they hear the cars making a noise, their first thought is probably what the noise could be

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When I hear cars making a noise, I don't have a clue most of the time

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Because they were trained in cars, they know that kind of thing, so they might already have like three ideas in their head of what it could possibly be

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And then they go, that's definitely this and you're out of luck, man, your engines are going out, your toast, that's what it's doing

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But I'd be going like, maybe I just need an oil change, you know what I'm saying, or what I really need to do is get RJ or Tony or somebody to look at my car

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So it totally changes the way you do the rest of the disciplines

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It's the fuel, yet it's the governor, yet it's the steps, like how do you do it, it's all in there

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I'll tell you right now, there is nothing that we do on a Sunday morning, nothing, not one thing

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People will tell you otherwise, and if they argue that, they tell you otherwise, you need to be ready to correct them

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There is nothing that we do on a Sunday morning that is not livable, nothing

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Some churches all dress up, right, they all dress up on Sunday morning

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We don't all dress up, is either of those things wrong?

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Not really, right, they're not wrong, because God's really concerned about what you look like on the inside, that's really what He's about, that's just fine

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Somebody will try to come and say, no, you have to go to church dressed up, that's biblical

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And you can say, well, no, you show me where that's biblical because I know it's not there, right, and so on

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Tithes and offerings, absolutely biblical, first 10% of your income goes to God, after that it's an offering

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If you get 5% of your income, that's not an offering because it's not the first 10%, and it's not a tithe because it's not the first 10%

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It's part of a tithe, it's part of a tithe until it's a tithe, that's biblical, it's Malachi 3, Jesus speaking of tithes, it's in the scripture

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Singing praise, we have worship leaders, in the New Testament church they had worship leaders, but it wasn't structured

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Right, in the early days, in Acts, they didn't have that, it wasn't pretty, they had some little girl or some guy who happened to be able to sing, had a nice voice

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And he'd get up there and he'd sing, and he'd say, okay, now repeat after me, come on, sing the next verse

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It's changed a lot, but it's the same exact thing, right, it's all biblical, and study fuels everything that we do

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So quick

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So on YouTube I found this video, there's this 5 year old girl that sung 10,000 musians, she did a song

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And it's amazing what little kids like her could do when they don't even know what they're going to grow up to be

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And if you think about it, you can find a verse that goes right along with what you just said

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That's all I'll say, so maybe next week I'll do it again, but here was the object lesson of the whole thing, you don't need me to do that

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I'll do it if you want to, I'll send out a few people every week, but we came in here last week, and we're not chastising, I think

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We came in and nobody really had anything to share, so this week I made sure, I stacked the deck, I wouldn't say cheated, but I stacked the deck

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And not everybody I sent to was able, and I did not send to everybody, there's a lot more people that could do it

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But you don't need me to send you something, all you have to do is you literally could go like, okay, I'm going to have something to say about this

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That's all you got to do, read one verse or a little paragraph or something, and think about what you would say about it

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And then I encourage you to use it, like what we preach about today, brother Tony Tate does this, he's not here because he's having a little bit of a difficulty at the moment

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But he may be here yet, but I would encourage you to that, whatever you study or whatever you hear in the sermon or whatever you do on Tuesday night

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Which is Tuesday night, this Bible study, we're almost done with it, but it's been awesome, it's been amazing

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Whatever you do, then that you can take to your friends and family, wherever, and they're like, well I know, the ABC is a salvation

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I would love to go take the ABC is a salvation to every person who doesn't know Jesus and share them all the time

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We all know that just doesn't work, right, but you need to have something to talk to them about, then we'll lead that conversation

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Study something, make a little note for yourself, and then go ask them, what do you think about this?

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Or get one question out of it to ask them, and then that's your conversation to lead to sharing the gospel

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When we use the spiritual disciplines, we will see people get saved, that's the bottom line, including us

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Including us, because it's required by the Lord

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Alright, we're going to pray together, I would ask you to remember Miss Sherry

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The pain today is in both of her arms, and so that's in relatively new development and not a good situation

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And so, just pray for her, Amalia is sick, was throwing up, so remember her

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As you can see, Carson is feeling much much better, but I'm sure Sherry whatever it was that he had with his mother

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So that's kind of how that goes, and then Miss June has been going through a lot

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And still really needs to free herself from smoking and be able to get the surgery that she needs for her back

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And do the other things she needs to do, and Stacey has a thing in her head, physical, what they call it, a tumor?

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Is that what it's called?

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No, she's a, it really don't know the cause of it, she started having seizures, and soon after we moved in her house

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And they would keep, she would have seizures at night when she sleeps, so they would change their medications around and stuff

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So her head was like, she's like, whew

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Okay, so pray for her, and then pray for Perry, because he's got blockages in his heart, and there are others as well

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It's not an exhaustive list, but let's pray for one another and lift each other up

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I feel wonderful today, man

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Praise God, praise God

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I walked into the church, it was like, what's going on?

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Praise the Lord

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No, no, look at that

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Listen, I'm praying that this morning the Lord cleared the percentage of blockage in your heart, and this is what we like every day going forward

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That's what I'm praying, I pray that's true

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Alright, let's pray together

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Father in heaven, you've heard these names as they are called

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You've heard these brothers speak on your word

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We ask you Lord to add blessings to the speaking of your word, add blessings to the people who come looking to you

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We look in solidarity, we look in unity, we seek you together today

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In this room there are the smallest children who have no clue what's going on

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And the oldest, longest living of us

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We're calm, and yet just under the surface lies that frustration

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Because Lord, the world is not going in the way that we would like it to go

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We're struggling with this or that or the other thing

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We know that's all part of your grand design

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You are infinite in living, power, knowledge, design, giving, loving

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Lord, you are infinite in all good things

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We also know that your wrath is a very real thing

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For those of us who are going against you, not doing what it is that we should do

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We understand that we are under chastising, for those of us who see it in the world

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We see so much going on around us in the house next door, across the street, on the news

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It's everywhere, Lord, that there is so much unrighteousness

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And we can sit back and we can judge that and we can say, hey, that's at least a style

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I'm not that bad, I'm not like them

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Lord, but we realize that there is unrighteousness in our choices as well

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And so we come confessing it to you and asking you to forgive us

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And set us now on the path of holiness the best we can

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We're never going to be like you completely in this lifetime

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We can be like you as gifted to us by Jesus, your Son

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We thank you, Lord, that we have so much

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We thank you that we do so well

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We thank you that we have so many opportunities to worship and give and share and study

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Lord, I thank you that there are amongst us who have so much going on

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That we say, well, I just don't have time to study my Bible

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We know it's not true

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We realize we're kidding ourselves, but

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Lord, we thank you that we could ever be in a position that there's so much good in our lives

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So many things in our lives that we're focusing on that that's not that high of priority

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We do ask your forgiveness

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But we thank you for our health such as it is

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Even those of us who are suffering and struggling

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We ask you to use the suffering and struggling that we're going through

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For your glory to leave people to you

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Father, we ask you to give us wisdom

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Please open our eyes that we may understand your Word

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That we may live according to your Word

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I love that word understand because it means to stand under

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Lord, help us to stand under your Word today

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And be the church as you have us to be

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Standing in this building that you blessed us with

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On this corner that you blessed us with

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In this city that you blessed us with

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In this sunshine that you blessed us with

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With breath in our lungs

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Blood in our veins

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Please Lord let us serve you

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Let us follow you

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Let us reach you in Christ Jesus today

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Please Lord heal our suffering and hurting in these names who are called

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And heal us too

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That we might have unity not just amongst us

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But unity with you

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And we pray for this in Jesus name

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Amen

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You know where it is

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So turn your head

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And look at the other side

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Okay

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Maybe it's on the outside

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So you can see it

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Okay, sit

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Okay

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So you can see it

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Okay

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So you can see it

413
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Okay

414
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So you can see it

415
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So you can see it

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Okay

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Come on now

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Get in

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Remember I think I missed something

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And something I did was something I said

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Don't mean to do you wrong

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It's just a way of implementation

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Woo

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Sister I know I let you down

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You've come a long way back

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You'll never come around

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You don't have to say a thing

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I can tell by your eyes

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Exactly what you mean

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I'll take you down on my knees

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And pray

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Lord I'm doing it

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The way the church has called me

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To hold

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To save you from what you've done

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I do it

437
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I do it

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Come on

439
00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:35,000
So I made you cry

440
00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:37,000
But I never meant for her to

441
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:40,000
I never meant to lie

442
00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:43,000
When the world should just end in shame

443
00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:49,000
I let you take the blame

444
00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:53,000
Brother I know you've lived so far too long

445
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:56,000
Yeah, yeah, yeah

446
00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:58,000
But I've cut you down

447
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:03,000
And I left you on your knees

448
00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:05,000
Well I know it must be

449
00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:06,000
Yeah

450
00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:09,000
Time to get down on my knees

451
00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:12,000
And pray

452
00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:15,000
Lord I'm doing it

453
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:18,000
The way the church has called me

454
00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:20,000
To hold

455
00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:24,000
To give you to me, boy

456
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:31,000
I am walking on me

457
00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:35,000
You tear and break

458
00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:44,000
Brother I just unholy unto me, unto me

459
00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:48,000
I'm crying, what was the wine?

460
00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:52,000
More times than fear I had tonight

461
00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:58,000
Three nails and a cross to prove I hold my life

462
00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:01,000
You turn into you, brother

463
00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:06,000
Time to get down on my knees and pray

464
00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:09,000
Lord I'm doing it

465
00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:12,000
The way the church has called me

466
00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:14,000
To hold

467
00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:18,000
To give you to me, boy

468
00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:32,000
I am walking on me

469
00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:34,000
Wow!

470
00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:35,000
Wow!

471
00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:37,000
Woo!

472
00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:49,000
Applause

473
00:39:49,000 --> 00:40:00,000
In Christ alone

474
00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:03,000
My hope is found

475
00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:07,000
He is my life, my strength, my soul

476
00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:10,000
This calm is strong

477
00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:13,000
This silent crowd

478
00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:17,000
Burnt through the fiercest trial and storm

479
00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:20,000
What has to blow

480
00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:22,000
What sets a fear

481
00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:25,000
When fears are still

482
00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:27,000
When strife is seen

483
00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:29,000
My comfort zone

484
00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:32,000
My all-in-one

485
00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:37,000
Here in the paradise that stands

486
00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:44,000
Here in the paradise that stands

487
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:46,000
In my soul

488
00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:49,000
To a child of God

489
00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:53,000
Who lives in my inner space

490
00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:56,000
This is the life

491
00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:59,000
That I write to God

492
00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:03,000
By the one He gave to save

493
00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:05,000
So long as hope

494
00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:08,000
That dreams are tried

495
00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:10,000
The breath of God

496
00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:13,000
Was satisfied

497
00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:15,000
For everything

498
00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:18,000
My life was laid

499
00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:24,000
Here in the paradise that stands

500
00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:29,000
Here in the paradise that stands

501
00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:32,000
There in the ground

502
00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:35,000
This is how you make

503
00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:39,000
The life of the world by darkness slain

504
00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:42,000
As rising stars

505
00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:44,000
Sing glorious praise

506
00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:47,000
Up from the crazy world

507
00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:49,000
I stand

508
00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:51,000
As empty shoes

509
00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:54,000
In victory

510
00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:56,000
Since host and death

511
00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:59,000
Since grief on me

512
00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:01,000
For I am this

513
00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:04,000
And He is mine

514
00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:05,000
Watch as the crash

515
00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:07,000
The sun

516
00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:09,000
The flames

517
00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:18,000
This life

518
00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:20,000
From fear and death

519
00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:24,000
Is the power of Christ in me

520
00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:27,000
The life that's rising

521
00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:29,000
I know right

522
00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:34,000
Jesus commands my destiny

523
00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:36,000
So far apart

524
00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:39,000
I'll see my family

525
00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:41,000
Never lost

526
00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:43,000
In the distance

527
00:42:41,500 --> 00:42:48,500
Losers or the cause beyond

528
00:42:48,500 --> 00:42:49,500
I stand

529
00:42:49,500 --> 00:42:50,500
To the

530
00:42:50,500 --> 00:42:58,500
Losers or the cause beyond

531
00:42:58,500 --> 00:42:59,500
Here in the

532
00:42:59,500 --> 00:43:01,500
Paradise

533
00:43:01,500 --> 00:43:11,500
I stand

534
00:43:17,500 --> 00:43:18,500
From the highest

535
00:43:18,500 --> 00:43:19,500
In the highest

536
00:43:19,500 --> 00:43:20,500
In the highest

537
00:43:20,500 --> 00:43:21,500
In the highest

538
00:43:21,500 --> 00:43:26,500
Of the sea

539
00:43:26,500 --> 00:43:34,500
The creation's revealing your destiny

540
00:43:34,500 --> 00:43:36,500
From the colors of lost

541
00:43:36,500 --> 00:43:42,500
In the fragrance of the stream

542
00:43:42,500 --> 00:43:44,500
And the pageant

543
00:43:44,500 --> 00:43:48,500
Of your song that it makes me

544
00:43:48,500 --> 00:43:51,500
The strongest thing

545
00:43:51,500 --> 00:43:53,500
Very despicable

546
00:43:53,500 --> 00:43:56,500
The world's strongest

547
00:43:56,500 --> 00:43:58,500
Kindest thing

548
00:43:58,500 --> 00:44:00,500
My name

549
00:44:00,500 --> 00:44:02,500
One day

550
00:44:02,500 --> 00:44:05,500
Take me down

551
00:44:07,500 --> 00:44:09,500
Oh, how I'm full

552
00:44:09,500 --> 00:44:11,500
Of fear and

553
00:44:11,500 --> 00:44:12,500
Lost in the

554
00:44:12,500 --> 00:44:15,500
Losers or the cause beyond

555
00:44:15,500 --> 00:44:17,500
Oh, my name

556
00:44:17,500 --> 00:44:19,500
One day

557
00:44:19,500 --> 00:44:24,500
Take me down

558
00:44:24,500 --> 00:44:25,500
To the

559
00:44:25,500 --> 00:44:27,500
Every light before the

560
00:44:27,500 --> 00:44:29,500
Where is your name

561
00:44:29,500 --> 00:44:33,500
Oh,

562
00:44:33,500 --> 00:44:34,500
Oh, to the

563
00:44:34,500 --> 00:44:35,500
Every storm

564
00:44:35,500 --> 00:44:36,500
To the

565
00:44:36,500 --> 00:44:41,500
Where is your name

566
00:44:41,500 --> 00:44:43,500
To imagine someone

567
00:44:43,500 --> 00:44:49,500
To change his life

568
00:44:49,500 --> 00:44:51,500
To change his career

569
00:44:51,500 --> 00:44:55,500
To save someone's life

570
00:44:55,500 --> 00:44:57,500
To change his life

571
00:44:57,500 --> 00:44:58,500
There's a sky

572
00:44:58,500 --> 00:44:59,500
In the

573
00:44:59,500 --> 00:45:00,500
From the

574
00:45:00,500 --> 00:45:01,500
From the table

575
00:45:01,500 --> 00:45:03,500
You will find

576
00:45:03,500 --> 00:45:04,500
A sky

577
00:45:04,500 --> 00:45:07,500
To the highest

578
00:45:07,500 --> 00:45:08,500
You're all

579
00:45:08,500 --> 00:45:13,500
The way you are

580
00:45:13,500 --> 00:45:15,500
Oh, how I'm full

581
00:45:15,500 --> 00:45:16,500
Of fear and

582
00:45:16,500 --> 00:45:17,500
Lost in the

583
00:45:17,500 --> 00:45:20,500
Losers or the cause beyond

584
00:45:20,500 --> 00:45:21,500
Oh, my name

585
00:45:21,500 --> 00:45:22,500
One day

586
00:45:22,500 --> 00:45:27,500
Take me down

587
00:45:27,500 --> 00:45:28,500
To the

588
00:45:28,500 --> 00:45:30,500
Every light before the

589
00:45:30,500 --> 00:45:35,500
Where is your name

590
00:45:35,500 --> 00:45:42,500
One day

591
00:45:42,500 --> 00:45:43,500
It's crawlable

592
00:45:43,500 --> 00:45:45,500
I get terrible

593
00:45:45,500 --> 00:45:47,500
In the face of stars

594
00:45:47,500 --> 00:45:48,500
There's a sky

595
00:45:48,500 --> 00:45:49,500
In the

596
00:45:49,500 --> 00:45:50,500
The night

597
00:45:50,500 --> 00:45:53,500
By the

598
00:45:53,500 --> 00:45:54,500
Days and

599
00:45:54,500 --> 00:45:58,500
Times

600
00:45:58,500 --> 00:46:00,500
Oh, how I'm full

601
00:46:00,500 --> 00:46:02,500
Of fear and

602
00:46:32,500 --> 00:46:49,780
Anybody else want to take notes?

603
00:46:49,780 --> 00:46:52,780
I've got three more passes.

604
00:46:52,780 --> 00:47:16,300
That reference actually is first Thessalonians 1.8 through 2.12, so don't think you're getting

605
00:47:16,300 --> 00:47:18,460
off like a 15 minute sermon or anything here.

606
00:47:18,460 --> 00:47:20,500
We want to get your hopes up.

607
00:47:20,500 --> 00:47:24,940
It's going to be good stuff.

608
00:47:24,940 --> 00:47:32,060
So this is my thought process and I want to kind of get you on board with me.

609
00:47:32,060 --> 00:47:39,540
The sermon is entitled, it was never going to be okay again, and the okay is like in

610
00:47:39,540 --> 00:47:40,540
parentheses.

611
00:47:40,540 --> 00:47:46,300
So I want you to think for a moment about how the world views okay.

612
00:47:46,300 --> 00:47:48,660
This is what actually happened in my life.

613
00:47:48,660 --> 00:47:50,660
So I'm saved and I know that.

614
00:47:50,660 --> 00:47:51,660
I believe in my heart.

615
00:47:51,660 --> 00:47:53,820
I don't expect you to believe it necessarily.

616
00:47:53,820 --> 00:47:56,540
That's between me and God, that kind of thing.

617
00:47:56,540 --> 00:47:57,540
But I believe I'm saved.

618
00:47:57,540 --> 00:47:59,940
I believe that the Holy Spirit testifies in my heart that I'm saved.

619
00:47:59,940 --> 00:48:04,340
I believe that I'm going to heaven when I die and I've been through some stuff.

620
00:48:04,340 --> 00:48:06,340
Now I have not had a full blockage in my heart.

621
00:48:06,340 --> 00:48:10,700
I have not had a problem with my neck where I've had pain down my arm.

622
00:48:10,700 --> 00:48:14,220
I have not had pain every day while I'm working, although I did for a couple years, but then

623
00:48:14,220 --> 00:48:18,500
it went away so I don't have that now.

624
00:48:18,500 --> 00:48:23,340
I haven't lost a really close loved one like my wife or one of my kids or grandkids, praise

625
00:48:23,340 --> 00:48:25,820
God, we've been very blessed like that.

626
00:48:25,820 --> 00:48:29,940
But I've been through some stuff and when I've been going through some stuff, this is

627
00:48:29,940 --> 00:48:36,220
what I've done for the last, I want to say, probably 10, 12 years.

628
00:48:36,220 --> 00:48:39,300
When I'm going through some stuff, someone will say, are you okay?

629
00:48:39,300 --> 00:48:42,180
And I'll say, yeah, I'm okay.

630
00:48:42,180 --> 00:48:47,980
Because I know I'm mad, I'm hurting, I'm sad, whatever, but I also know that in the Lord,

631
00:48:47,980 --> 00:48:50,460
I should be okay.

632
00:48:50,460 --> 00:48:55,380
So for example, I went to my doctor when I was living in Parisburg and I was struggling

633
00:48:55,380 --> 00:49:00,720
with some symptoms like depression and I later found out that my actual problem was more

634
00:49:00,720 --> 00:49:05,300
physical and I had anemia, which is when you don't have enough red blood cells or iron

635
00:49:05,300 --> 00:49:06,860
or whatever in your blood.

636
00:49:06,860 --> 00:49:09,460
And so I was feeling weak.

637
00:49:09,460 --> 00:49:13,740
And she said, is there any possibility you're depressed?

638
00:49:13,740 --> 00:49:15,900
And I was serving the Lord at that time.

639
00:49:15,900 --> 00:49:19,660
I think it was when I was a deacon, but I may have been, no, because it was after I

640
00:49:19,660 --> 00:49:20,660
came back.

641
00:49:20,660 --> 00:49:23,940
So I was called to preach the gospel and it was right about the same time, right after

642
00:49:23,940 --> 00:49:26,620
we had started planting new heights.

643
00:49:26,620 --> 00:49:28,820
And the doctor said, is there any possibility you're depressed?

644
00:49:28,820 --> 00:49:31,700
And I said, oh no, I'm okay.

645
00:49:31,700 --> 00:49:36,460
Because my logic was, and she said this and I understood what she was saying, she said,

646
00:49:36,460 --> 00:49:39,580
well, it could be that you're depressed, you understand that, right?

647
00:49:39,580 --> 00:49:43,900
Just because you're a Christian and called to the ministry or whatever like that doesn't

648
00:49:43,900 --> 00:49:44,900
mean you can't be depressed.

649
00:49:44,900 --> 00:49:47,660
And which is true, because we all can get depressed, anybody can get depressed.

650
00:49:47,660 --> 00:49:50,820
And the real problem is not whether or not you get depressed, it's if you stay depressed

651
00:49:50,820 --> 00:49:54,220
for too long, because once you get stuck there, it's hard to get out.

652
00:49:54,220 --> 00:49:57,940
And it takes some process, some work, and sometimes some medicine, some counseling,

653
00:49:57,940 --> 00:50:01,220
whatever to get out of being depressed if you stay there for too long.

654
00:50:01,220 --> 00:50:04,580
But I was first operating under the principle you can't possibly be depressed if you've

655
00:50:04,580 --> 00:50:06,460
got the kingdom of God, right?

656
00:50:06,460 --> 00:50:08,300
And you're a child of God, can't possibly be.

657
00:50:08,300 --> 00:50:11,340
And then she burst my bubble and said, no, you can be.

658
00:50:11,340 --> 00:50:13,820
And I said, well, yeah, that makes sense, you can be.

659
00:50:13,820 --> 00:50:17,980
And then after that, for however long it's been since then, I've always been operating

660
00:50:17,980 --> 00:50:21,940
under the principle that you should be okay.

661
00:50:21,940 --> 00:50:24,780
If you're a Christian and you're going to heaven, no matter what you're going through,

662
00:50:24,780 --> 00:50:28,260
and I kind of get that out of Philippians 4, Paul's talking about, I have learned to

663
00:50:28,260 --> 00:50:31,140
be content in all things, but I have much or I don't have much or whatever, right?

664
00:50:31,140 --> 00:50:32,380
And he says you should be okay.

665
00:50:32,380 --> 00:50:35,780
Well, I'm here to tell you today that that is a falsehood.

666
00:50:35,780 --> 00:50:37,580
I was wrong.

667
00:50:37,580 --> 00:50:44,100
In fact, the topic of the sermon is never going to be okay again.

668
00:50:44,100 --> 00:50:45,100
All right?

669
00:50:45,100 --> 00:50:48,660
So grab your Bibles, if you will, and maybe take a little breath in your lungs and go

670
00:50:48,660 --> 00:50:52,860
with me as we go to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1.

671
00:50:52,860 --> 00:50:53,860
Thank you.

672
00:50:53,860 --> 00:50:55,580
We have now committed ourselves into the hands of the Lord.

673
00:50:55,580 --> 00:50:58,220
Whatever this here says, we're going to respond to it.

674
00:50:58,220 --> 00:51:01,380
If you're here operating under some other principle than that, then I would ask you

675
00:51:01,380 --> 00:51:06,500
to kind of adjust and join us as we go to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, beginning in verse

676
00:51:06,500 --> 00:51:07,820
8.

677
00:51:07,820 --> 00:51:12,220
Now, it does begin sort of in the middle of the thought, but we're already reading quite

678
00:51:12,220 --> 00:51:15,260
a bit, so I think we'll get the gist of it.

679
00:51:15,260 --> 00:51:20,560
Verse 8 says, for or because the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only

680
00:51:20,560 --> 00:51:26,060
in Macedonia and Achaia, and I probably mispronounce that, I usually do, but also in every place

681
00:51:26,060 --> 00:51:31,260
your faith toward God has gone forth so that we have no need to say anything.

682
00:51:31,260 --> 00:51:35,660
In other words, the people that had gotten saved there in Thessalonica, that's the name

683
00:51:35,660 --> 00:51:39,540
of that city, the people that had gotten saved there were spreading the gospel amongst the

684
00:51:39,540 --> 00:51:43,380
Thessalonians, the other people that lived in Thessalonica, and then from there it was

685
00:51:43,380 --> 00:51:47,860
spreading out across the region, to other cities, etc.

686
00:51:47,860 --> 00:51:52,500
Paul was aware of that, and so he says, I don't really have to say anything about that

687
00:51:52,500 --> 00:51:55,800
because we're hearing how it's already spreading from you.

688
00:51:55,800 --> 00:52:00,460
Just an aside, this is not the sermon, but just an aside, if we could be known as a church

689
00:52:00,460 --> 00:52:06,260
that spreads the gospel and the love of Jesus, that would be the one and only chalk mark

690
00:52:06,260 --> 00:52:09,780
that I would think would win the day.

691
00:52:09,780 --> 00:52:15,020
If there are people who live in East Toledo who have met Jesus, who don't go to church

692
00:52:15,020 --> 00:52:20,740
anywhere, they are waiting for, looking for, or they're hurt over something in the past,

693
00:52:20,740 --> 00:52:24,700
or they're tempted and distracted by the things of the world, or whatever, but they're

694
00:52:24,700 --> 00:52:28,820
waiting for, looking for, a church will come in, it really is the church of the Bible,

695
00:52:28,820 --> 00:52:32,100
it really is doing what it is that God has called them to do.

696
00:52:32,100 --> 00:52:37,580
Now I believe that we are at least on the cusp of that, if not already there as a church.

697
00:52:37,580 --> 00:52:40,060
So don't think I'm saying that we're not.

698
00:52:40,060 --> 00:52:44,460
But I also believe that people on the other side of Toledo don't necessarily know the

699
00:52:44,460 --> 00:52:49,700
name, or well we may have people in South Dakota or Iraq that know the name, New Heights

700
00:52:49,700 --> 00:52:54,940
Fellowship Baptist Church of East Toledo, we may not be reaching anybody in Indiana

701
00:52:54,940 --> 00:52:56,700
or Illinois, right?

702
00:52:56,700 --> 00:53:02,900
So this was, the regions were smaller, so that's a little unfair analysis, he wasn't

703
00:53:02,900 --> 00:53:05,700
talking about the world over, they didn't have the world over then, it was just the

704
00:53:05,700 --> 00:53:07,460
Middle East, right?

705
00:53:07,460 --> 00:53:10,860
But he was saying that because we've seen it, it's happening, the gospel is spreading,

706
00:53:10,860 --> 00:53:16,180
that's something I want for us, and maybe we get that out of the text overall, but it

707
00:53:16,180 --> 00:53:18,020
isn't one of the points, okay?

708
00:53:18,020 --> 00:53:23,260
So verse 9 then says, for they themselves report about us, so these are the people that

709
00:53:23,260 --> 00:53:27,180
are hearing the gospel, right, these are other people that have heard the gospel from the

710
00:53:27,180 --> 00:53:34,820
Thessalonians, follow this, report about us, what kind of a reception we had with you,

711
00:53:34,820 --> 00:53:38,960
and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God.

712
00:53:38,960 --> 00:53:44,580
So attached to the gospel is the faithfulness of God's people, also not one of the sermon

713
00:53:44,580 --> 00:53:48,900
points, but realize that as they were spreading the gospel from Thessalonica out across the

714
00:53:48,900 --> 00:53:52,820
region, with it went the understanding that God's people was doing what they were supposed

715
00:53:52,820 --> 00:53:54,460
to be doing, right?

716
00:53:54,460 --> 00:54:00,460
That Paul and the others had come, shared the gospel with the people of Thessalonica,

717
00:54:00,460 --> 00:54:04,180
and some of them had gotten saved and formed the church there, and that it then went on,

718
00:54:04,180 --> 00:54:10,100
and they attached the story of God's people being faithful to the gospel.

719
00:54:10,100 --> 00:54:12,500
It doesn't save, right?

720
00:54:12,500 --> 00:54:18,480
It's not a saving part of the story, but it is a testimony about being saved, okay?

721
00:54:18,480 --> 00:54:23,880
So your testimony, what you came out of, what you've done, is attached to the gospel now.

722
00:54:23,880 --> 00:54:28,940
If you were, let's see, I'm trying to research from some of our history, if you were a brawler

723
00:54:28,940 --> 00:54:33,580
in high school, or sneaking around behind your parents' back, or if you were a drug

724
00:54:33,580 --> 00:54:39,380
dealer or a prostitute, or if you were violent and beating people up, or whatever, and now

725
00:54:39,380 --> 00:54:44,480
you're not, you're saved following Jesus, if there's been that change in your life,

726
00:54:44,480 --> 00:54:49,340
and that is now attached to the gospel, it makes a statement about the gospel, it is

727
00:54:49,340 --> 00:54:54,460
a witness to the gospel, and it is attached to the gospel in the sense that if I go out

728
00:54:54,460 --> 00:54:58,340
and talk about our church, and I don't name names, and you're probably glad for that,

729
00:54:58,340 --> 00:55:01,460
but I don't name names, but I tell them that we have a drug dealer, I tell them we have

730
00:55:01,460 --> 00:55:05,340
a prostitute, I tell them we have a registered sex offender, I tell them that we have former

731
00:55:05,340 --> 00:55:11,500
military guys who have had in the past issues with anger, I tell them we have a guy who

732
00:55:11,500 --> 00:55:13,620
went through high school, and I'm talking about me, of course, when I say this, but

733
00:55:13,620 --> 00:55:16,460
I don't tell them my name either, but I'll tell them that we have somebody who used to

734
00:55:16,460 --> 00:55:21,180
fight all the time, was in trouble all the time, that we have thieves and liars who are

735
00:55:21,180 --> 00:55:25,100
saved and no longer those things, because that's the kind of church we are, and it's

736
00:55:25,100 --> 00:55:26,700
attached to the gospel.

737
00:55:26,700 --> 00:55:30,020
If you tell people I have accepted Jesus Christ, I'm living for the Lord, and you're living

738
00:55:30,020 --> 00:55:33,620
and you're all kind of like clean now, then they're not going to go, oh, well, God really

739
00:55:33,620 --> 00:55:38,940
did a mighty thing in that person, they're going to say, well, so, you're all that and

740
00:55:38,940 --> 00:55:43,140
a bag of chips, I mean, I see you're up on cloud nine, you're set up on a pedestal,

741
00:55:43,140 --> 00:55:47,140
you're so much better than anybody I know, so of course you're living for the Lord, but

742
00:55:47,140 --> 00:55:50,900
then when you throw in the fact of what you used to be, that gives testimony to the power

743
00:55:50,900 --> 00:55:52,100
of the gospel.

744
00:55:52,100 --> 00:55:57,800
And what Paul was saying was, we have heard that testimony, not about the Thessalonians,

745
00:55:57,800 --> 00:56:03,260
but about Paul and those who came to them, we've heard the power of what God did in the

746
00:56:03,260 --> 00:56:05,980
testimony, okay, that's what he's saying.

747
00:56:05,980 --> 00:56:09,520
Then verse, let's go back to the beginning of 9, for they themselves report about us

748
00:56:09,520 --> 00:56:16,020
what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve

749
00:56:16,020 --> 00:56:19,620
a living and true God, so they were worshipping false idols, they had other things that were

750
00:56:19,620 --> 00:56:23,700
important put up on a pedestal like God, and they put those things away and focused on

751
00:56:23,700 --> 00:56:28,220
God from that moment on, and it's in the testimony of the other people in the other parts of

752
00:56:28,220 --> 00:56:31,820
the region that Paul says he hears this.

753
00:56:31,820 --> 00:56:38,620
It says, a living and true God, and to wait for his son from heaven whom he raised from

754
00:56:38,620 --> 00:56:39,620
the dead.

755
00:56:39,620 --> 00:56:44,020
I'm going to say to you that the word wait there is probably the most difficult and challenging

756
00:56:44,020 --> 00:56:45,020
word in the gospel.

757
00:56:45,020 --> 00:56:49,700
I was putting Ariana to bed a few nights ago, and we were talking about when Jesus comes

758
00:56:49,700 --> 00:56:53,220
again, and we were talking about how, and she said, well, you know, one day we're all

759
00:56:53,220 --> 00:56:54,260
going to die and go to heaven.

760
00:56:54,260 --> 00:56:58,180
I said, well, not necessarily, and she said, well, no, that's true, because if Jesus comes

761
00:56:58,180 --> 00:57:02,260
again then we won't die, and she said, Teddy, I really want him to come.

762
00:57:02,260 --> 00:57:05,620
She doesn't want to die, I don't want to die.

763
00:57:05,620 --> 00:57:09,860
If you want to die, I suggest you see a psychologist, I might be able to help you a little bit by

764
00:57:09,860 --> 00:57:12,580
introducing you to Jesus, but the bottom line is people don't want to die, I don't want

765
00:57:12,580 --> 00:57:14,500
to die, I don't want to die.

766
00:57:14,500 --> 00:57:17,500
And so I would like it if Jesus came again before I die, even though I know that that

767
00:57:17,500 --> 00:57:20,580
will be an end to the people getting saved, and I explained that to her, and I said, well,

768
00:57:20,580 --> 00:57:24,720
you know, Jesus really wants to see everybody get saved, and I said, he's not slow like

769
00:57:24,720 --> 00:57:28,540
some count slowness, but he's patient that all men may come to repentance, and he's patient

770
00:57:28,540 --> 00:57:29,540
with us.

771
00:57:29,540 --> 00:57:32,620
So we're supposed to be living for Jesus so that others can come, all right?

772
00:57:32,620 --> 00:57:37,460
And so the point is, we are waiting, and it's painful sometimes, and I get that, we've talked

773
00:57:37,460 --> 00:57:41,660
about that, for Jesus to come from heaven.

774
00:57:41,660 --> 00:57:47,660
That Jesus whom God raised from the dead, he says, that is Jesus who delivers us from

775
00:57:47,660 --> 00:57:48,860
the wrath to come.

776
00:57:48,860 --> 00:57:50,060
We remember the wrath to come.

777
00:57:50,060 --> 00:57:53,420
Listen, ain't nothing you've been through that compares with what would happen if you

778
00:57:53,420 --> 00:57:59,460
made it to judgment day and don't know Jesus, right?

779
00:57:59,460 --> 00:58:04,860
And so I have saved for vacation, and when the first day of vacation come, I've had my

780
00:58:04,860 --> 00:58:07,280
vacation canceled, even though I saved up money.

781
00:58:07,280 --> 00:58:10,460
We had to get our refund, our deposit from our cabin in Tennessee during COVID, because

782
00:58:10,460 --> 00:58:14,180
we didn't get to go, and it's saved, and we're all excited to get some time off work, get

783
00:58:14,180 --> 00:58:17,580
out of town, it's beautiful in the hills of Tennessee, it's going to be wonderful, and

784
00:58:17,580 --> 00:58:20,740
then to find out we can't go because of COVID, because the place is closed, everything's

785
00:58:20,740 --> 00:58:22,620
closed, right?

786
00:58:22,620 --> 00:58:26,060
But I also have saved for vacation and got to the first day of vacation, packed up the

787
00:58:26,060 --> 00:58:29,460
vehicle, which is always a lot of work, and get in the vehicle and driving, and we turn

788
00:58:29,460 --> 00:58:33,020
on 75 south, most of the times, we're usually going south, not always, but a lot of times,

789
00:58:33,020 --> 00:58:37,140
and we're going south, and I sing, south bound and down, picking up and trucking, and they

790
00:58:37,140 --> 00:58:41,020
all chuckle because they knew I was going to do it, and we go, and the sun is shining,

791
00:58:41,020 --> 00:58:45,780
even as if it's cold outside, the sun is shining, it's always shining, and we go on vacation.

792
00:58:45,780 --> 00:58:49,880
When we get to the day of judgment, you're going to be looking at what could have happened

793
00:58:49,880 --> 00:58:55,980
that day, how bad it could have been, and you're going to look at your aches, your pains,

794
00:58:55,980 --> 00:58:59,620
your struggle with lust, your temptations, your family broken relationships, the people

795
00:58:59,620 --> 00:59:02,820
who lost loved ones that died, and you were mourning their loss, you're going to look

796
00:59:02,820 --> 00:59:09,940
at all of that and go, oh boy, that's all over now, I made it through, and here I am,

797
00:59:09,940 --> 00:59:16,420
and I don't have to face the wrath of God now for an eternity, and you're going to praise

798
00:59:16,420 --> 00:59:23,340
Him, and that's what the Thessalonians had turned to, that's what Paul preached, and

799
00:59:23,340 --> 00:59:30,820
let's be realistic, that is what we are supposed to be teaching and indeed living out today.

800
00:59:30,820 --> 00:59:35,340
And the fact that we forget when we're in the midst of trials about that day that is

801
00:59:35,340 --> 00:59:39,520
coming, if you're believing every day on the day of judgment, if you're believing every

802
00:59:39,520 --> 00:59:45,720
day on Jesus coming again, then when things go badly, it should be in your mind, Jesus

803
00:59:45,720 --> 00:59:51,100
may be coming again, or He could be coming today, or next year, or whatever, all I have

804
00:59:51,100 --> 00:59:56,380
to do is get through this to that moment in time when Jesus comes again.

805
00:59:56,380 --> 01:00:01,940
And it totally transforms your thought process because it should be with you every waking

806
01:00:01,940 --> 01:00:07,500
moment of every day, because it is who we are, this is what we are claimed by, and it's

807
01:00:07,500 --> 01:00:09,500
also what we do.

808
01:00:09,500 --> 01:00:12,220
Now we're on chapter 2.

809
01:00:12,220 --> 01:00:18,300
He says, for you yourselves know, brethren, that at our coming to you, I'm sorry, that

810
01:00:18,300 --> 01:00:24,140
our coming to you was not in vain, and that just simply means it was not without effect.

811
01:00:24,140 --> 01:00:26,020
It definitely did something.

812
01:00:26,020 --> 01:00:29,500
And they've already talked a little bit about what the something was, but He says it definitely

813
01:00:29,500 --> 01:00:30,500
did something.

814
01:00:30,500 --> 01:00:35,520
If you've heard the gospel of Jesus and you cannot connect to it a number of things that

815
01:00:35,520 --> 01:00:39,460
were changed after you embraced the gospel, if you can't find anything, I'm basically

816
01:00:39,460 --> 01:00:42,960
the same person but now I believed in Jesus, then there's a good chance that your believing

817
01:00:42,960 --> 01:00:44,540
in Jesus didn't actually do anything.

818
01:00:44,540 --> 01:00:47,260
You say, but that can't be possible.

819
01:00:47,260 --> 01:00:48,460
Yes it can.

820
01:00:48,460 --> 01:00:53,180
The demons believe in God and now have seen Jesus revealed and they tremble at the whole

821
01:00:53,180 --> 01:00:54,180
thing.

822
01:00:54,180 --> 01:00:58,740
The legion begs Jesus, are you going to torment us before the time?

823
01:00:58,740 --> 01:01:01,100
They know who God is and they know the end.

824
01:01:01,100 --> 01:01:03,080
They see the judgment day.

825
01:01:03,080 --> 01:01:06,060
They know that they're going to spend an eternity in torment.

826
01:01:06,060 --> 01:01:11,100
And if you are not affected by your knowledge of who Jesus is, then you're probably not

827
01:01:11,100 --> 01:01:15,160
saved by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

828
01:01:15,160 --> 01:01:19,540
For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain, but after we

829
01:01:19,540 --> 01:01:25,460
had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, and they were, Paul and Silas got

830
01:01:25,460 --> 01:01:28,740
in trouble for preaching the gospel there and wound up in jail and chains.

831
01:01:28,740 --> 01:01:32,500
That's that episode where they're in the stocks and it's midnight or later and they're singing

832
01:01:32,500 --> 01:01:37,820
praises in the prison in the stocks and sore and hurting on the ground and haven't eaten

833
01:01:37,820 --> 01:01:42,380
and the jailer is home with his family next door or whatever and they're singing praises

834
01:01:42,380 --> 01:01:45,500
and there's an earthquake and all the chains fall open and all the lights go out and the

835
01:01:45,500 --> 01:01:49,060
jailer comes rushing in a little bit later and he's going to kill himself and Paul says,

836
01:01:49,060 --> 01:01:50,280
no, no, no, we're all still here.

837
01:01:50,280 --> 01:01:51,280
We didn't leave.

838
01:01:51,280 --> 01:01:52,280
Don't kill yourself.

839
01:01:52,280 --> 01:01:54,260
And the jailer says to him, what must I do to be saved?

840
01:01:54,260 --> 01:01:55,700
That whole incident.

841
01:01:55,700 --> 01:02:01,940
He says, though we were suffering and had been mistreated in Philippi, as you know,

842
01:02:01,940 --> 01:02:08,460
we had the boldness in our God to speak to you, the gospel of God, amid much opposition.

843
01:02:08,460 --> 01:02:11,700
So even though they were suffering, they went through all that in Philippi, they didn't

844
01:02:11,700 --> 01:02:16,420
come over to Thessalonica and they're able to preach again the gospel in Thessalonica

845
01:02:16,420 --> 01:02:18,420
amid much suffering.

846
01:02:18,420 --> 01:02:22,980
There was a lot of bad things going on even though it was getting really bad and they

847
01:02:22,980 --> 01:02:25,780
were being threatened, believers were being threatened, people were persecuted in the

848
01:02:25,780 --> 01:02:26,780
streets, whatever.

849
01:02:26,780 --> 01:02:28,900
The persecution was breaking out in fullness.

850
01:02:28,900 --> 01:02:35,700
Even though that was true, they had the boldness in their God to speak the gospel of God, to

851
01:02:35,700 --> 01:02:40,620
lead those people to Christ, even though they might die for it.

852
01:02:40,620 --> 01:02:48,620
Once you've seen God, known God, been in God, once he's been in you, the fear is of losing

853
01:02:48,620 --> 01:02:53,860
that, not of having that and losing the world.

854
01:02:53,860 --> 01:02:58,680
And Paul says, so we were able to come with boldness to you amid, it means it was going

855
01:02:58,680 --> 01:03:02,180
on right then, much tribulation.

856
01:03:02,180 --> 01:03:06,820
Verse three, four, because, this is another because, a lot of becauses in here, because

857
01:03:06,820 --> 01:03:12,580
our exhortation, our encouragement, that which comforts us, exhorts us, the word basically

858
01:03:12,580 --> 01:03:15,140
in the Greek has several meanings, but it basically means that that which was pushing

859
01:03:15,140 --> 01:03:21,500
them forward to do what was right, for our exhortation does not come from error, that

860
01:03:21,500 --> 01:03:24,500
means it's not wrong.

861
01:03:24,500 --> 01:03:27,140
I'm going to come back and break these down in my point, so I'll just go on, you know

862
01:03:27,140 --> 01:03:28,140
what error is.

863
01:03:28,140 --> 01:03:33,940
So error or impurity, means uncleanness or badness, or by way of deceit, that means not

864
01:03:33,940 --> 01:03:35,620
through trickery.

865
01:03:35,620 --> 01:03:40,700
But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, in other words,

866
01:03:40,700 --> 01:03:46,900
God deemed us worthy, he tested us and saw us as fit to receive the gospel, just as we

867
01:03:46,900 --> 01:03:54,700
have been entrusted by him with the gospel, so we speak.

868
01:03:54,700 --> 01:04:00,180
They had to, God realized they were going to be worthy, they were going to do what he

869
01:04:00,180 --> 01:04:02,420
wanted, that's why he shared the gospel with them.

870
01:04:02,420 --> 01:04:06,820
He entrusted to men that he knew, or to women that he knew would go and take the gospel,

871
01:04:06,820 --> 01:04:11,620
he entrusted the gospel to them.

872
01:04:11,620 --> 01:04:15,580
He says we speak then, not as pleasing men, but God.

873
01:04:15,580 --> 01:04:18,980
Again, if you know God and you know what God has done, then there's no reason to be worried

874
01:04:18,980 --> 01:04:22,160
about what people think with regards to what God has done.

875
01:04:22,160 --> 01:04:24,580
Let them take it up with him.

876
01:04:24,580 --> 01:04:29,660
He says God who examines our hearts, God's testing our hearts, checking our hearts, knowing

877
01:04:29,660 --> 01:04:32,460
where we actually stand, right?

878
01:04:32,460 --> 01:04:37,340
Verse 5, for we never came with flattering speech, there's no reason to praise people

879
01:04:37,340 --> 01:04:40,840
and say, oh I see you're smart, I see you're so good about that, please listen to the gospel

880
01:04:40,840 --> 01:04:41,840
that I want to share with you.

881
01:04:41,840 --> 01:04:43,480
You don't have to do that.

882
01:04:43,480 --> 01:04:47,340
They never came with flattering speech, it's not comfortable, in case you hadn't noticed

883
01:04:47,340 --> 01:04:51,060
this my preaching is rather kind of annoying.

884
01:04:51,060 --> 01:04:52,740
I figured that out early on.

885
01:04:52,740 --> 01:04:56,180
I say things that chafe.

886
01:04:56,180 --> 01:05:00,140
It's not me, I'm saying what I think God wants me to say and so that's why I'm okay with

887
01:05:00,140 --> 01:05:01,140
it.

888
01:05:01,140 --> 01:05:02,140
And that's what he's saying, what we're teaching.

889
01:05:02,140 --> 01:05:05,660
We're okay with saying that which you don't necessarily want to hear because it isn't

890
01:05:05,660 --> 01:05:09,660
about what we want to say or about what you want to hear, it's about what God wants to

891
01:05:09,660 --> 01:05:10,660
say.

892
01:05:10,660 --> 01:05:11,660
And God will examine our hearts.

893
01:05:11,660 --> 01:05:17,140
So if I stand before you and I'm gentle with you to the point that I don't share the gospel,

894
01:05:17,140 --> 01:05:18,420
I'm doing you no service.

895
01:05:18,420 --> 01:05:23,060
If I would come in here every Sunday and preach a fun loving gospel, we might get a heck of

896
01:05:23,060 --> 01:05:25,820
a lot more people to come, but I'm doing you no service.

897
01:05:25,820 --> 01:05:27,980
There's no growth in that and Paul said that too.

898
01:05:27,980 --> 01:05:29,820
God examines our hearts, verse 5.

899
01:05:29,820 --> 01:05:35,380
But we never came with flattering speech as you know, nor with a pretext for greed.

900
01:05:35,380 --> 01:05:38,740
It doesn't benefit me.

901
01:05:38,740 --> 01:05:41,240
God is witness.

902
01:05:41,240 --> 01:05:43,140
God knows this is true.

903
01:05:43,140 --> 01:05:45,140
Nor did we seek glory from men.

904
01:05:45,140 --> 01:05:49,420
I'm doing this so that lots of people will come and put me on a pedestal.

905
01:05:49,420 --> 01:05:52,060
Either from you or from others.

906
01:05:52,060 --> 01:05:56,740
There was no one that Paul wanted validation from on this earth, I'll say.

907
01:05:56,740 --> 01:06:00,420
Now he had validation from the church and if he hadn't, he would have wanted it, but

908
01:06:00,420 --> 01:06:03,460
he didn't need to want it because he had it.

909
01:06:03,460 --> 01:06:07,340
Outside the church, there's no validation necessary.

910
01:06:07,340 --> 01:06:12,700
And if he didn't have it and the church would never get it, he would still have been great

911
01:06:12,700 --> 01:06:13,940
because he was serving God.

912
01:06:13,940 --> 01:06:17,660
He would have still been doing exactly what God wanted him to do.

913
01:06:17,660 --> 01:06:22,060
So then it says, back to the nor did.

914
01:06:22,060 --> 01:06:26,420
Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles

915
01:06:26,420 --> 01:06:30,420
of Christ, we might have asserted our authority.

916
01:06:30,420 --> 01:06:31,420
Hear that phrase?

917
01:06:31,420 --> 01:06:34,860
He's saying, I could have told you what to do.

918
01:06:34,860 --> 01:06:37,900
I could have told you that you needed to buy me a house.

919
01:06:37,900 --> 01:06:39,820
Or that you needed to buy me a car.

920
01:06:39,820 --> 01:06:42,580
Or that you needed to show up and do this for me or that for me.

921
01:06:42,580 --> 01:06:44,060
Or that you needed to praise me.

922
01:06:44,060 --> 01:06:46,140
I could have done all of that as a gospel.

923
01:06:46,140 --> 01:06:48,060
I had the authority to tell you what to do.

924
01:06:48,060 --> 01:06:50,180
I could have asserted my authority.

925
01:06:50,180 --> 01:06:52,060
And he didn't.

926
01:06:52,060 --> 01:06:53,740
He's saying, but I didn't.

927
01:06:53,740 --> 01:06:55,700
That was not the point.

928
01:06:55,700 --> 01:06:59,180
Verse 7 says, but we proved to be gentle among you.

929
01:06:59,180 --> 01:07:03,180
Now, it doesn't mean gentle as in it doesn't bother you because the gospel is caustic.

930
01:07:03,180 --> 01:07:06,980
It means gentle as in I wasn't trying to control you.

931
01:07:06,980 --> 01:07:07,980
I'm not forcing you.

932
01:07:07,980 --> 01:07:09,420
I'm not manipulating you.

933
01:07:09,420 --> 01:07:14,540
I'm not preaching the gospel so that you will be and do exactly as I prefer rather than

934
01:07:14,540 --> 01:07:16,380
as what God would prefer.

935
01:07:16,380 --> 01:07:18,980
So we proved to be gentle among you.

936
01:07:18,980 --> 01:07:20,500
And he uses this illustration of gentle.

937
01:07:20,500 --> 01:07:26,980
He says, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children.

938
01:07:26,980 --> 01:07:28,900
Having thus a fond affection for you.

939
01:07:28,900 --> 01:07:30,460
In other words, I really wanted what was best for you.

940
01:07:30,460 --> 01:07:31,620
I really cared about you.

941
01:07:31,620 --> 01:07:36,700
He says, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God.

942
01:07:36,700 --> 01:07:37,700
And we'll start there.

943
01:07:37,700 --> 01:07:38,700
Not only the gospel.

944
01:07:38,700 --> 01:07:42,940
I really wanted to share with you the truth of the gospel of God because I saw you were

945
01:07:42,940 --> 01:07:45,340
and I longed for good things for you.

946
01:07:45,340 --> 01:07:49,180
I loved you and wanted you to do well.

947
01:07:49,180 --> 01:07:55,180
So not only to impart the gospel of God, but also our own lives.

948
01:07:55,180 --> 01:07:59,260
And you can read that back into there was persecution developing and he's like, okay,

949
01:07:59,260 --> 01:08:04,620
maybe they'll kill me for sharing the gospel, but I'm not gonna stop sharing the gospel

950
01:08:04,620 --> 01:08:11,060
even if I should die because I'm willing to spend my life that people might come to Christ.

951
01:08:11,060 --> 01:08:17,340
And then he says, because you had become very dear to us.

952
01:08:17,340 --> 01:08:21,940
For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be

953
01:08:21,940 --> 01:08:26,820
a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

954
01:08:26,820 --> 01:08:31,940
You are witnesses and so is God how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward

955
01:08:31,940 --> 01:08:32,940
you believers.

956
01:08:32,940 --> 01:08:38,020
Just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you

957
01:08:38,020 --> 01:08:43,820
as a father would his own children so that you may walk in a manner worthy of God who

958
01:08:43,820 --> 01:08:47,780
calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

959
01:08:47,780 --> 01:08:52,340
Which is the end goal, essentially, is that we all, me, you, everybody, people wouldn't

960
01:08:52,340 --> 01:08:56,780
even know yet, who might share the gospel with, that we might eventually walk in a manner

961
01:08:56,780 --> 01:09:00,420
worthy of the God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

962
01:09:00,420 --> 01:09:03,020
Okay, there's a few things I want you to see in here.

963
01:09:03,020 --> 01:09:06,080
And the truth is this could have been a sermon series, but it'll go by pretty quickly.

964
01:09:06,080 --> 01:09:09,340
So if you're writing down, get ready.

965
01:09:09,340 --> 01:09:13,420
Okay, so the first thing is I want you to see that this passage of scripture lays out

966
01:09:13,420 --> 01:09:19,860
for us one of or some of the defining characteristics of the real gospel.

967
01:09:19,860 --> 01:09:25,100
There is a gospel that is the real gospel and then there is a gospel that is altered

968
01:09:25,100 --> 01:09:31,860
slightly to not be true or there is a gospel that is altered to be a complete falsehood.

969
01:09:31,860 --> 01:09:32,860
Right?

970
01:09:32,860 --> 01:09:36,740
There is a gospel in the world today which lots of folks, I don't usually do this or

971
01:09:36,740 --> 01:09:39,980
use these words very much, but called the prosperity gospel basically says if you follow

972
01:09:39,980 --> 01:09:42,860
Jesus then you'll have everything you want.

973
01:09:42,860 --> 01:09:44,180
He'll take care of you.

974
01:09:44,180 --> 01:09:45,460
And it's a big deal.

975
01:09:45,460 --> 01:09:47,220
It's in mega churches all over the world.

976
01:09:47,220 --> 01:09:48,220
Right?

977
01:09:48,220 --> 01:09:52,900
There's a gospel that says unless you can speak in tongues, unless you can babble in

978
01:09:52,900 --> 01:09:55,820
tongues in the worship service, you're not saved.

979
01:09:55,820 --> 01:09:58,940
The Holy Spirit is not coming to your life unless you can speak in tongues.

980
01:09:58,940 --> 01:10:00,340
That's a false gospel.

981
01:10:00,340 --> 01:10:01,340
Okay?

982
01:10:01,340 --> 01:10:05,820
There are other false, there's lots of false gospels, but there is a real gospel and this

983
01:10:05,820 --> 01:10:12,760
passage of scripture lays out some of the characteristics for us of the real gospel.

984
01:10:12,760 --> 01:10:16,900
First of all, the real gospel is boldly delivered.

985
01:10:16,900 --> 01:10:24,860
If somebody comes to you meekly or if they come to you by way of manipulation or whatever

986
01:10:24,860 --> 01:10:32,500
means and they're sharing the truth of Jesus Christ and they're not bold about it, they're

987
01:10:32,500 --> 01:10:37,060
not sure about it, they're not firm about it, they act like well I think this is true,

988
01:10:37,060 --> 01:10:38,060
right?

989
01:10:38,060 --> 01:10:40,620
I want to talk to you about Jesus but I kind of don't know, whatever.

990
01:10:40,620 --> 01:10:41,620
That's not the gospel.

991
01:10:41,620 --> 01:10:45,060
That's a problem because we all know in this room, I hope you did if you haven't because

992
01:10:45,060 --> 01:10:48,760
we talked about it just during the inspirational moment, that we're supposed to be sharing

993
01:10:48,760 --> 01:10:53,340
what we learn about a disciple as somebody who learns from Jesus, not learns from Dan

994
01:10:53,340 --> 01:10:58,420
or Pastor Bob or some guy in Texas doing an evangelistic show on TV or something, but

995
01:10:58,420 --> 01:11:04,620
learns from Jesus and then takes what they learn from Jesus and shares it with other

996
01:11:04,620 --> 01:11:10,060
people and I submit to you that if it is the gospel, if what you're learning from Jesus

997
01:11:10,060 --> 01:11:15,220
is attached to the gospel, then you will boldly share it and if you cannot boldly share it,

998
01:11:15,220 --> 01:11:19,060
then you need to go back and ask yourself if what you learned was the gospel of Jesus

999
01:11:19,060 --> 01:11:20,500
Christ.

1000
01:11:20,500 --> 01:11:26,020
And that's a problem because I see a lot of lack in ourselves and in others of boldly

1001
01:11:26,020 --> 01:11:28,020
sharing the gospel in the world today.

1002
01:11:28,020 --> 01:11:31,180
So I'm wondering, are we coming to the point in time where Jesus is going to come again

1003
01:11:31,180 --> 01:11:35,540
very soon because he's going to go, well we're pretty much at the point where the real gospel

1004
01:11:35,540 --> 01:11:38,620
of Jesus isn't being shared that much so people aren't really going to get saved and so once

1005
01:11:38,620 --> 01:11:41,380
nobody else is going to get saved, may as well end it, right?

1006
01:11:41,380 --> 01:11:42,380
Call it.

1007
01:11:42,380 --> 01:11:44,380
It's done.

1008
01:11:44,380 --> 01:11:48,580
The gospel is boldly delivered, always.

1009
01:11:48,580 --> 01:11:51,140
You don't say, I think Jesus came to save our sins.

1010
01:11:51,140 --> 01:11:52,140
You say, I know Jesus.

1011
01:11:52,140 --> 01:11:54,300
You don't even have to say I know.

1012
01:11:54,300 --> 01:11:57,700
Just say, Jesus came to save us from our sins.

1013
01:11:57,700 --> 01:11:58,700
Period.

1014
01:11:58,700 --> 01:12:02,340
Or exclamation point, depending on the argument that you're in or our discussion you're having.

1015
01:12:02,340 --> 01:12:03,340
Whatever.

1016
01:12:03,340 --> 01:12:05,020
Just Jesus came to save us.

1017
01:12:05,020 --> 01:12:08,180
Not only that, but he definitely did do that.

1018
01:12:08,180 --> 01:12:10,940
He became sin for us.

1019
01:12:10,940 --> 01:12:13,980
He who knew no sin became sin for us.

1020
01:12:13,980 --> 01:12:16,500
That we might become the righteousness of God through him.

1021
01:12:16,500 --> 01:12:17,700
I know that.

1022
01:12:17,700 --> 01:12:18,700
I can say it.

1023
01:12:18,700 --> 01:12:23,060
When I was in high school I was writing essays and I would write in my essay, I think.

1024
01:12:23,060 --> 01:12:24,060
I know.

1025
01:12:24,060 --> 01:12:26,820
It is my point or my conclusion that.

1026
01:12:26,820 --> 01:12:29,620
My teacher came up to me and she said, listen you don't have to do that.

1027
01:12:29,620 --> 01:12:32,460
This is a personal essay.

1028
01:12:32,460 --> 01:12:36,380
Everyone that's reading this essay knows who wrote the essay and they know when you say

1029
01:12:36,380 --> 01:12:38,460
something that it's your opinion.

1030
01:12:38,460 --> 01:12:42,340
You don't have to say, in my opinion, Jesus was in heaven before he came to earth.

1031
01:12:42,340 --> 01:12:44,340
He came down to earth and was revealed among men.

1032
01:12:44,340 --> 01:12:46,120
The angels recognized him.

1033
01:12:46,120 --> 01:12:49,140
He was eventually proclaimed in the nations.

1034
01:12:49,140 --> 01:12:50,220
Believed on by men.

1035
01:12:50,220 --> 01:12:51,380
Rose again in glory.

1036
01:12:51,380 --> 01:12:53,100
You don't have to say those things like, that's my opinion.

1037
01:12:53,100 --> 01:12:54,100
I think it's true.

1038
01:12:54,100 --> 01:12:56,180
I know you disagree but, no you just say it.

1039
01:12:56,180 --> 01:12:58,860
When they say to you they don't believe it, you still just say it.

1040
01:12:58,860 --> 01:12:59,860
You say, well I get it.

1041
01:12:59,860 --> 01:13:01,220
I understand that's not what you think.

1042
01:13:01,220 --> 01:13:03,160
I also understand you're wrong.

1043
01:13:03,160 --> 01:13:04,160
And I know.

1044
01:13:04,160 --> 01:13:06,340
Because I have met the risen savior.

1045
01:13:06,340 --> 01:13:08,860
He lives within me.

1046
01:13:08,860 --> 01:13:11,780
You stop going it's my opinion or I think.

1047
01:13:11,780 --> 01:13:14,100
You may have to ask them what their opinion is.

1048
01:13:14,100 --> 01:13:20,460
But once they've told you what their opinion is, you just tell them what the truth is.

1049
01:13:20,460 --> 01:13:22,620
Have you read what the bible says about that?

1050
01:13:22,620 --> 01:13:24,620
It says, this is what's true.

1051
01:13:24,620 --> 01:13:27,820
I know it's true because this is what's happened to me.

1052
01:13:27,820 --> 01:13:31,620
The gospel is delivered boldly.

1053
01:13:31,620 --> 01:13:33,100
Gospel is also delivered gently.

1054
01:13:33,100 --> 01:13:37,300
You're going to run into some people who just don't agree with you.

1055
01:13:37,300 --> 01:13:38,300
You know?

1056
01:13:38,300 --> 01:13:39,860
And they'll say don't talk to me about it anymore.

1057
01:13:39,860 --> 01:13:42,740
I had a good friend of mine who did that.

1058
01:13:42,740 --> 01:13:45,580
And for five years I obeyed his wishes and didn't talk to him.

1059
01:13:45,580 --> 01:13:48,780
And I wrote him a letter and I said, I'm writing you this letter explaining you to the truth

1060
01:13:48,780 --> 01:13:51,780
about Jesus because you asked me not to talk to you about it.

1061
01:13:51,780 --> 01:13:55,580
I apologize in advance that this letter offends you but if you have some response I'd love

1062
01:13:55,580 --> 01:13:56,580
to hear it.

1063
01:13:56,580 --> 01:13:59,980
A couple days later he said, get this.

1064
01:13:59,980 --> 01:14:01,620
I read your letter.

1065
01:14:01,620 --> 01:14:03,420
We can talk about that some more.

1066
01:14:03,420 --> 01:14:04,420
See?

1067
01:14:04,420 --> 01:14:06,420
It was delivered gently.

1068
01:14:06,420 --> 01:14:09,700
If they don't want to hear it, they don't have to hear it.

1069
01:14:09,700 --> 01:14:13,180
But if they've never heard it and they don't want to hear it, they do have to hear it.

1070
01:14:13,180 --> 01:14:18,220
You say, I understand you don't want me to talk to you about Jesus but I need to tell

1071
01:14:18,220 --> 01:14:21,380
you just one time.

1072
01:14:21,380 --> 01:14:22,740
I don't want to hear it.

1073
01:14:22,740 --> 01:14:23,740
Okay.

1074
01:14:23,740 --> 01:14:24,740
Then listen.

1075
01:14:24,740 --> 01:14:27,700
If you're not going to even hear it just one time from me, if you will not understand or

1076
01:14:27,700 --> 01:14:31,420
care about what I believe in at all, then you and I are done.

1077
01:14:31,420 --> 01:14:35,460
Shake the dust off your feet and walk away.

1078
01:14:35,460 --> 01:14:38,740
But if they'll hear it one time and disagree with it, then you can come back again and

1079
01:14:38,740 --> 01:14:41,300
again and gently deliver the truth.

1080
01:14:41,300 --> 01:14:43,900
And treating them to accept the truth.

1081
01:14:43,900 --> 01:14:48,400
Not your opinion, but boldly, simply put, this is what's real.

1082
01:14:48,400 --> 01:14:49,740
This is the reality.

1083
01:14:49,740 --> 01:14:51,220
Will you believe it?

1084
01:14:51,220 --> 01:14:54,580
The gospel is also gently delivered.

1085
01:14:54,580 --> 01:14:59,720
In other words, when you're talking to a sailor on the port side telling them about Jesus,

1086
01:14:59,720 --> 01:15:00,720
you don't cuss like he does.

1087
01:15:00,720 --> 01:15:02,500
You say, but he may not understand me.

1088
01:15:02,500 --> 01:15:03,980
No, he'll understand you.

1089
01:15:03,980 --> 01:15:04,980
Okay.

1090
01:15:04,980 --> 01:15:08,660
He'll wonder why are you not cussing at him probably because everybody does it.

1091
01:15:08,660 --> 01:15:13,420
But you just explain gently the truth and ask for a decision.

1092
01:15:13,420 --> 01:15:18,780
You may say to somebody that's a perfect stranger, like I would never do this, but you just might

1093
01:15:18,780 --> 01:15:21,420
want to do this because it's exactly what God called us to.

1094
01:15:21,420 --> 01:15:26,140
You're talking to them for a few minutes and they said, listen, I love you.

1095
01:15:26,140 --> 01:15:29,100
I would be remiss if I didn't explain this to you.

1096
01:15:29,100 --> 01:15:32,940
I know you think we're just having a professional conversation or we're talking about whatever

1097
01:15:32,940 --> 01:15:37,300
here, but if I don't explain this truth to you, I am remiss.

1098
01:15:37,300 --> 01:15:39,340
I will not have been doing what God wanted me to do.

1099
01:15:39,340 --> 01:15:42,900
So I'm asking you, please just listen to me and treat them.

1100
01:15:42,900 --> 01:15:47,660
I recently had a confrontation with a brother who was a Christian and I couldn't figure

1101
01:15:47,660 --> 01:15:48,660
out how to handle it.

1102
01:15:48,660 --> 01:15:50,300
I didn't handle it well.

1103
01:15:50,300 --> 01:15:51,700
I didn't.

1104
01:15:51,700 --> 01:15:56,340
And after the fact, a couple of days later, I said to the Lord, I said, Lord, I did everything

1105
01:15:56,340 --> 01:15:59,380
I could do to get this person to understand what I was talking about.

1106
01:15:59,380 --> 01:16:01,540
I tried to explain it to them.

1107
01:16:01,540 --> 01:16:03,140
And the Lord said, no, you did not.

1108
01:16:03,140 --> 01:16:05,340
And I was like, but Lord, I tried to explain to them.

1109
01:16:05,340 --> 01:16:08,580
I used all my guile and all that, everything I could.

1110
01:16:08,580 --> 01:16:10,340
And I prayed to you for wisdom.

1111
01:16:10,340 --> 01:16:11,340
I asked for everything.

1112
01:16:11,340 --> 01:16:16,060
And he said, you didn't get down on your knees.

1113
01:16:16,060 --> 01:16:20,180
And I realized that had I gotten down on my knees in front of that man who was virtually

1114
01:16:20,180 --> 01:16:24,540
a stranger to me, now I hadn't talked to him in almost 10 years, but had I gotten down

1115
01:16:24,540 --> 01:16:28,860
on my knees in front of that man, he would have listened to what I said.

1116
01:16:28,860 --> 01:16:29,860
He might not have agreed.

1117
01:16:29,860 --> 01:16:30,860
It might not have gone well.

1118
01:16:30,860 --> 01:16:35,300
But had I got, I was in a public, in a restaurant, and had I gotten down on my knees in the restaurant,

1119
01:16:35,300 --> 01:16:39,340
and I said, please just listen to me for a moment.

1120
01:16:39,340 --> 01:16:41,380
I do not want this rift between us.

1121
01:16:41,380 --> 01:16:45,340
Had I done that, at the very least, he would have said, now get up.

1122
01:16:45,340 --> 01:16:47,460
You're making a scene, at the very least.

1123
01:16:47,460 --> 01:16:54,580
But I was still stuck, still too prideful, still too arrogant.

1124
01:16:54,580 --> 01:16:56,380
He said, no, that's not me.

1125
01:16:56,380 --> 01:16:57,980
And I don't think of myself that way.

1126
01:16:57,980 --> 01:17:02,020
And the more you don't think you're prideful and arrogant, probably the more you are.

1127
01:17:02,020 --> 01:17:03,580
But I never even considered it.

1128
01:17:03,580 --> 01:17:08,660
But if I had gotten down on my knees in that restaurant, in front of him, our problem would

1129
01:17:08,660 --> 01:17:10,300
be resolved now.

1130
01:17:10,300 --> 01:17:11,940
But I didn't do it.

1131
01:17:11,940 --> 01:17:15,980
The gospel is delivered gently.

1132
01:17:15,980 --> 01:17:20,260
The gospel is delivered faithfully, on and on and on.

1133
01:17:20,260 --> 01:17:22,300
It's in your mind all the time.

1134
01:17:22,300 --> 01:17:28,260
I'm saved, freed from the day of judgment, inhabited by the Holy Spirit all the time.

1135
01:17:28,260 --> 01:17:29,260
Literally everything.

1136
01:17:29,260 --> 01:17:33,300
It doesn't matter if you're cranking on a wrench or pushing a broom or watching TV.

1137
01:17:33,300 --> 01:17:34,700
The gospel should be in your head.

1138
01:17:34,700 --> 01:17:35,700
It should be there.

1139
01:17:35,700 --> 01:17:36,700
You're thinking about it.

1140
01:17:36,700 --> 01:17:37,700
It's in your heart.

1141
01:17:37,700 --> 01:17:39,020
It's being risen up by the Holy Spirit.

1142
01:17:39,020 --> 01:17:45,700
He literally witnesses to the gospel and against sin in the hearts of all people, including

1143
01:17:45,700 --> 01:17:46,700
the saved.

1144
01:17:46,700 --> 01:17:47,700
The main difference is in the saved.

1145
01:17:47,700 --> 01:17:48,700
We know what's happening.

1146
01:17:48,700 --> 01:17:51,340
I know you don't want to hear that you're screwing up when you're screwing up.

1147
01:17:51,340 --> 01:17:52,340
Nobody does.

1148
01:17:52,340 --> 01:17:53,340
I don't want to either.

1149
01:17:53,340 --> 01:17:54,340
But he's there all the time.

1150
01:17:54,340 --> 01:17:56,980
And so he should be there all the time.

1151
01:17:56,980 --> 01:18:00,300
If you're more worried about what you're ordering than whether or not your server's going to

1152
01:18:00,300 --> 01:18:02,660
hell, don't go to a restaurant.

1153
01:18:02,660 --> 01:18:06,660
If you're more worried about paying the right amount for your groceries than whether the

1154
01:18:06,660 --> 01:18:10,700
cashier is going to hell or not, don't go to a grocery store.

1155
01:18:10,700 --> 01:18:12,300
Pretty soon you'll be a recluse.

1156
01:18:12,300 --> 01:18:15,900
And it'll be the opposite of what Jesus called you to because he said, my power will come

1157
01:18:15,900 --> 01:18:20,420
upon you and you will go and be my witness to the nations.

1158
01:18:20,420 --> 01:18:23,860
The gospel is faithfully delivered.

1159
01:18:23,860 --> 01:18:27,380
You know somebody who has said they don't want to hear it and you've not talked to them

1160
01:18:27,380 --> 01:18:30,980
about it for a long time or they just clearly live in a lifestyle that's contrary to the

1161
01:18:30,980 --> 01:18:31,980
gospel.

1162
01:18:31,980 --> 01:18:34,540
You're not talking to them about it.

1163
01:18:34,540 --> 01:18:36,880
But the gospel is faithfully delivered.

1164
01:18:36,880 --> 01:18:39,940
You might have to say something like, well you know what Jesus would say about that.

1165
01:18:39,940 --> 01:18:41,940
And they'll go, yeah, yeah, I don't want to hear it.

1166
01:18:41,940 --> 01:18:44,000
But at least you brought up the name of Jesus.

1167
01:18:44,000 --> 01:18:45,000
You did something.

1168
01:18:45,000 --> 01:18:47,660
What is going on with this gospel of ours?

1169
01:18:47,660 --> 01:18:52,100
We are supposed to be faithfully, gently, and boldly delivering it all the time.

1170
01:18:52,100 --> 01:18:53,540
That is the nature of the gospel.

1171
01:18:53,540 --> 01:18:57,580
And any gospel that is some kind of gospel that you have that's not boldly, gently, and

1172
01:18:57,580 --> 01:19:00,260
faithfully delivered is not the gospel that Paul preached.

1173
01:19:00,260 --> 01:19:02,460
And Paul only preached the gospel of Jesus Christ.

1174
01:19:02,460 --> 01:19:08,300
And so by correlation and substitution, if your gospel is not gently, faithfully, and

1175
01:19:08,300 --> 01:19:12,420
boldly delivered, you might want to reassess and start back from ground zero and build

1176
01:19:12,420 --> 01:19:18,180
something that will last for an eternity.

1177
01:19:18,180 --> 01:19:28,200
And our gospel exists and remains true in the middle of and over top of opposition.

1178
01:19:28,200 --> 01:19:30,540
So you're hurting today.

1179
01:19:30,540 --> 01:19:34,460
The gospel is the same gospel today as it was yesterday.

1180
01:19:34,460 --> 01:19:35,860
So you're headed for trouble today.

1181
01:19:35,860 --> 01:19:36,860
You see it developing.

1182
01:19:36,860 --> 01:19:39,100
Oh man.

1183
01:19:39,100 --> 01:19:44,200
The gospel is the same today as it was yesterday.

1184
01:19:44,200 --> 01:19:45,200
You lost a loved one.

1185
01:19:45,200 --> 01:19:46,200
You're hurting in your heart.

1186
01:19:46,200 --> 01:19:47,200
You're aching in pain.

1187
01:19:47,200 --> 01:19:49,060
You don't know if they were saved or not.

1188
01:19:49,060 --> 01:19:50,060
Join the club.

1189
01:19:50,060 --> 01:19:51,060
You don't know if I'm saved.

1190
01:19:51,060 --> 01:19:52,060
I don't know for sure you're saved.

1191
01:19:52,060 --> 01:19:53,060
Nobody knows who's saved.

1192
01:19:53,060 --> 01:19:54,060
Only God knows that.

1193
01:19:54,060 --> 01:19:56,060
There's a wide spectrum.

1194
01:19:56,060 --> 01:20:00,180
Well, I'm pretty sure they weren't saved because they live like a piece of dirt wrapped up

1195
01:20:00,180 --> 01:20:02,420
in drugs and alcohol and violence all the time.

1196
01:20:02,420 --> 01:20:05,140
And I've had families come to me and ask me, I don't do funerals for people who are not

1197
01:20:05,140 --> 01:20:06,140
connected to the church.

1198
01:20:06,140 --> 01:20:09,580
But I've had families ask me that, will you come do this funeral for this person?

1199
01:20:09,580 --> 01:20:10,580
And he was a dirt bag.

1200
01:20:10,580 --> 01:20:12,120
And he's definitely not saved.

1201
01:20:12,120 --> 01:20:14,460
But my family will be there and I want them to hear the gospel.

1202
01:20:14,460 --> 01:20:19,060
And I'll say, I'm sorry, I don't do funerals for folks who are not attached to the church.

1203
01:20:19,060 --> 01:20:20,060
So you need to be in a church.

1204
01:20:20,060 --> 01:20:21,060
Have your pastor do it.

1205
01:20:21,060 --> 01:20:23,860
Well, I'm living for the Lord, but I'm not in the church.

1206
01:20:23,860 --> 01:20:27,220
Well, you know what Jesus says about that, don't you?

1207
01:20:27,220 --> 01:20:31,380
Well, yeah, I know what he says, but I don't go to church because I don't need that.

1208
01:20:31,380 --> 01:20:35,940
And I'll say, for all I know, the person you're talking about that was a dirt bag wrapped

1209
01:20:35,940 --> 01:20:38,380
up in drugs and alcohol is just as saved as you are.

1210
01:20:38,380 --> 01:20:40,740
Because you're telling me you're not in the church.

1211
01:20:40,740 --> 01:20:43,340
You're telling me he's not in the church.

1212
01:20:43,340 --> 01:20:46,460
But you're telling me about his sins.

1213
01:20:46,460 --> 01:20:48,780
Shall we talk about yours?

1214
01:20:48,780 --> 01:20:52,420
This is bold.

1215
01:20:52,420 --> 01:20:53,900
I try to be as gentle as I can.

1216
01:20:53,900 --> 01:20:57,540
And the truth is sometimes I don't say it because I'm a coward inside other than in

1217
01:20:57,540 --> 01:21:03,460
Christ when Jesus speaks through me.

1218
01:21:03,460 --> 01:21:10,020
The gospel is boldly, gently, faithfully delivered in the middle of all opposition and over top

1219
01:21:10,020 --> 01:21:14,920
of all opposition, or it ain't the gospel.

1220
01:21:14,920 --> 01:21:18,600
And this chastises me as much as it might anybody because I've gone to the grocery store

1221
01:21:18,600 --> 01:21:23,140
in the middle of my most difficult days and never mentioned how blessed I was, never mentioned

1222
01:21:23,140 --> 01:21:26,340
Jesus, never mentioned God, never shared the gospel.

1223
01:21:26,340 --> 01:21:28,340
I need to get my stuff ready.

1224
01:21:28,340 --> 01:21:29,340
I'm going to get paid.

1225
01:21:29,340 --> 01:21:30,340
Okay.

1226
01:21:30,340 --> 01:21:31,340
Put your car in the machine.

1227
01:21:31,340 --> 01:21:32,340
Okay.

1228
01:21:32,340 --> 01:21:34,660
I couldn't tell you the hair color of the person who rang me out.

1229
01:21:34,660 --> 01:21:39,940
Because I've been in the middle of opposition and I have dismissed the gospel offhand.

1230
01:21:39,940 --> 01:21:43,260
And having seen this in the text, I'm telling you right now I have repented and I pray it

1231
01:21:43,260 --> 01:21:44,700
never be so.

1232
01:21:44,700 --> 01:21:50,060
Because the gospel of Jesus Christ is boldly, gently, faithfully delivered in the middle

1233
01:21:50,060 --> 01:21:55,300
of and over top of all opposition, or it is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.

1234
01:21:55,300 --> 01:22:00,400
Maybe it's the gospel of Jesus Christ from Mexico.

1235
01:22:00,400 --> 01:22:05,700
But it ain't the gospel of Jesus unless it's boldly, gently, faithfully in the middle of

1236
01:22:05,700 --> 01:22:08,880
and over top of all opposition delivered.

1237
01:22:08,880 --> 01:22:13,420
And I will not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus because in it is the power of salvation.

1238
01:22:13,420 --> 01:22:18,340
Secondly, in this text, that was just the first one.

1239
01:22:18,340 --> 01:22:20,380
The real gospel.

1240
01:22:20,380 --> 01:22:27,300
Secondly, we keep going gently and boldly because, need a little encouragement, don't

1241
01:22:27,300 --> 01:22:28,300
we?

1242
01:22:28,300 --> 01:22:30,780
After that first one, God's got to help me.

1243
01:22:30,780 --> 01:22:33,660
Because next week I'm going to be having a rough day and I'm now committed to share the

1244
01:22:33,660 --> 01:22:37,140
gospel or talk about being, like I always use the, I'll say, how are you doing today

1245
01:22:37,140 --> 01:22:38,260
and I say blessed.

1246
01:22:38,260 --> 01:22:42,480
And I've had people go right from there to, let's talk about Jesus.

1247
01:22:42,480 --> 01:22:45,860
Saved and unsaved people both because they know the word blessed is a Bible word.

1248
01:22:45,860 --> 01:22:48,140
It's like a trigger, right?

1249
01:22:48,140 --> 01:22:53,100
One old lady, she's probably like 75 years old, but she was working as a receptionist

1250
01:22:53,100 --> 01:22:57,140
at the dentist or something and I said to her, she said, how are you doing today?

1251
01:22:57,140 --> 01:22:58,800
And I said, I'm blessed.

1252
01:22:58,800 --> 01:23:00,940
And she said, oh, I like that answer.

1253
01:23:00,940 --> 01:23:02,060
I like that answer.

1254
01:23:02,060 --> 01:23:03,060
Let's talk about that.

1255
01:23:03,060 --> 01:23:04,060
Just like that.

1256
01:23:04,060 --> 01:23:09,060
And it turned out she was already a professing Christian and saved and she's a member of

1257
01:23:09,060 --> 01:23:13,180
something something Methodist church or whatever and we agreed to meet at the tree when we

1258
01:23:13,180 --> 01:23:15,820
get to heaven.

1259
01:23:15,820 --> 01:23:23,800
We keep going gently and boldly because, number one, our encouragement to us and from us has

1260
01:23:23,800 --> 01:23:24,800
these traits.

1261
01:23:24,800 --> 01:23:28,380
Number one, it is not based in error.

1262
01:23:28,380 --> 01:23:29,700
Listen to me, I'm going to say it.

1263
01:23:29,700 --> 01:23:32,580
I probably never said it.

1264
01:23:32,580 --> 01:23:35,300
This is the simple truth.

1265
01:23:35,300 --> 01:23:40,380
When there was no mediator for men, when there was no one who could go to God and say, forgive

1266
01:23:40,380 --> 01:23:42,500
them for what they have done, no one was left.

1267
01:23:42,500 --> 01:23:43,500
Moses did it.

1268
01:23:43,500 --> 01:23:44,500
Abraham did it.

1269
01:23:44,500 --> 01:23:45,500
But now no one is left.

1270
01:23:45,500 --> 01:23:48,260
There was no righteous man anywhere on the earth left that could go to God and say, please

1271
01:23:48,260 --> 01:23:50,260
forgive them for what they had done.

1272
01:23:50,260 --> 01:23:57,260
God himself came in the flesh as Jesus Christ the son, lived a sinless life, died on the

1273
01:23:57,260 --> 01:24:03,180
cross, a sinner's death, though he was found not guilty by the only person who legally

1274
01:24:03,180 --> 01:24:05,260
could have put him on the cross.

1275
01:24:05,260 --> 01:24:09,260
He washed his own hands and said, I will not be guilty of the blood of this man because

1276
01:24:09,260 --> 01:24:12,340
he has done nothing wrong to deserve crucifixion.

1277
01:24:12,340 --> 01:24:15,060
But he turned him over to what should have been his own people.

1278
01:24:15,060 --> 01:24:16,800
You think you got proud with your own people?

1279
01:24:16,800 --> 01:24:20,780
People look down on you, people give you trouble, people make a space between you and them.

1280
01:24:20,780 --> 01:24:22,700
His own people took him to the cross.

1281
01:24:22,700 --> 01:24:26,980
He's in the guard that had been assigned to the temple, Roman soldiers, and they crucified

1282
01:24:26,980 --> 01:24:31,840
him until to take a breath, he had to push up to exhale so he could get another breath

1283
01:24:31,840 --> 01:24:34,620
as his ripped open back ground along the cross.

1284
01:24:34,620 --> 01:24:36,620
I get it's crucifixion.

1285
01:24:36,620 --> 01:24:41,260
Jesus died on that cross 100% absolutely certain.

1286
01:24:41,260 --> 01:24:44,760
To be sure when they came and checked him, normally they'd break your legs so you couldn't

1287
01:24:44,760 --> 01:24:48,020
breathe anymore and you die pretty quickly after that, like within a minute or two.

1288
01:24:48,020 --> 01:24:50,060
But they didn't have to break his legs because he was already dead.

1289
01:24:50,060 --> 01:24:54,300
He's a Roman trained Roman soldier who knew he was already dead.

1290
01:24:54,300 --> 01:24:57,620
But because he could not risk because if that man comes out of that cross and it's somehow

1291
01:24:57,620 --> 01:25:01,580
resuscitated that Roman soldier sacrifices his life.

1292
01:25:01,580 --> 01:25:06,980
Because he couldn't risk it, he ran his spear through his side into his heart and penetrated

1293
01:25:06,980 --> 01:25:11,220
his heart and out flowed blood and water.

1294
01:25:11,220 --> 01:25:13,380
Water first and then blood.

1295
01:25:13,380 --> 01:25:17,340
And the doctors of that day couldn't have explained it to you, but we know it's because

1296
01:25:17,340 --> 01:25:19,820
around your heart when you're under extreme duress, water develops.

1297
01:25:19,820 --> 01:25:23,940
And so when he punched that spear into his heart and pulled it back out, the water came

1298
01:25:23,940 --> 01:25:29,660
out first and then the blood in that order, in the text, because they couldn't know why,

1299
01:25:29,660 --> 01:25:31,040
but that's what happened.

1300
01:25:31,040 --> 01:25:34,940
He died on the cross, not when he stabbed him in the heart, he was already dead.

1301
01:25:34,940 --> 01:25:37,540
Then Joseph of Arimathea came, claimed the body.

1302
01:25:37,540 --> 01:25:42,740
They took him to a grave that he had set aside for himself and buried him there, put him

1303
01:25:42,740 --> 01:25:46,980
in the tomb, but it was getting dark and going into the festival Sabbath and they couldn't

1304
01:25:46,980 --> 01:25:51,500
do any work to put him in the grave.

1305
01:25:51,500 --> 01:25:52,900
They didn't stay in the grave.

1306
01:25:52,900 --> 01:25:59,820
On the third day, he rose again, came back to life, was seen by many hundreds, thousands

1307
01:25:59,820 --> 01:26:04,180
of people teaching at one point in time, 500 people at once, staying with the disciples

1308
01:26:04,180 --> 01:26:09,820
for 40 days, teaching them everything they needed to know to start the church.

1309
01:26:09,820 --> 01:26:16,940
Then ultimately in the garden, they stood there and they watched him arise into heaven

1310
01:26:16,940 --> 01:26:20,380
until he was blocked by a cloud, the scripture says.

1311
01:26:20,380 --> 01:26:24,100
While they were standing there still gazing into heaven, two men dressed in dazzling white

1312
01:26:24,100 --> 01:26:28,700
clothes came and said to them, why are you standing here staring up in the cloud?

1313
01:26:28,700 --> 01:26:31,140
Don't worry about it, just as he left, he's going to come back.

1314
01:26:31,140 --> 01:26:33,140
It's going to be a big deal.

1315
01:26:33,140 --> 01:26:35,780
You don't have to stand here and wait, it ain't going to be right now.

1316
01:26:35,780 --> 01:26:37,060
Go do what he told you to do.

1317
01:26:37,060 --> 01:26:42,380
And then they went and they hid in the upper room because they were afraid themselves of

1318
01:26:42,380 --> 01:26:45,260
being crucified or persecuted to that point and they hid.

1319
01:26:45,260 --> 01:26:50,220
But then on Pentecost, they came out and they preached to a crowd of people of all kinds

1320
01:26:50,220 --> 01:26:53,920
of mixed people who had different languages from all over the place and couldn't possibly

1321
01:26:53,920 --> 01:26:54,920
understand them.

1322
01:26:54,920 --> 01:27:00,140
They said, this is what happened.

1323
01:27:00,140 --> 01:27:02,780
They told the truth.

1324
01:27:02,780 --> 01:27:07,580
And all those people who didn't speak common, which would have been Greek, they didn't speak

1325
01:27:07,580 --> 01:27:10,940
a language that could be understood like English and American, now spread throughout the world.

1326
01:27:10,940 --> 01:27:11,940
They didn't have that language.

1327
01:27:11,940 --> 01:27:14,340
They understood in their own language.

1328
01:27:14,340 --> 01:27:21,180
And that day, three thousand people were baptized, men plus how many other women and children.

1329
01:27:21,180 --> 01:27:24,420
And then they went back to cities all over, because they were there for festivals.

1330
01:27:24,420 --> 01:27:26,340
They left there and they went everywhere.

1331
01:27:26,340 --> 01:27:29,820
And they started to share the truth of Jesus Christ, that he was God of the flesh, died

1332
01:27:29,820 --> 01:27:33,940
on the cross, rose again, proved once and for all the death of sin.

1333
01:27:33,940 --> 01:27:39,660
And sin itself was dead.

1334
01:27:39,660 --> 01:27:42,660
Rose again to prove that there is resurrection.

1335
01:27:42,660 --> 01:27:46,420
Listen to me.

1336
01:27:46,420 --> 01:27:51,180
That's all true.

1337
01:27:51,180 --> 01:27:54,220
It's all true.

1338
01:27:54,220 --> 01:27:57,980
A little bit of it and more.

1339
01:27:57,980 --> 01:28:04,340
The gospel of Jesus Christ, we keep sharing it faithfully, boldly, gently, in the middle

1340
01:28:04,340 --> 01:28:09,740
of opposition and over top of opposition, first of all, because it is not based in error.

1341
01:28:09,740 --> 01:28:11,940
There is nothing wrong with the truth.

1342
01:28:11,940 --> 01:28:18,980
And if the world is trying to do away with it, that only proves how valuable it is.

1343
01:28:18,980 --> 01:28:20,700
The truth is the truth.

1344
01:28:20,700 --> 01:28:24,680
If you want to take the gentle out of it and be a jerk, if you want to take the boldness

1345
01:28:24,680 --> 01:28:28,420
out of it and be a coward, if you want to take the faithfulness out of it and be lazy

1346
01:28:28,420 --> 01:28:31,900
or distracted by the world, you're too busy, you want to go camping, you want to go to

1347
01:28:31,900 --> 01:28:35,860
Cedar Point, you want to go to auctions, you want to go to flea markets, you want to go

1348
01:28:35,860 --> 01:28:40,380
to the gun show, you want to go to work on your car some more, put on some new tires,

1349
01:28:40,380 --> 01:28:46,960
you want to, you got things you got to do other than share the gospel.

1350
01:28:46,960 --> 01:28:52,220
That gospel is in error, but the gospel of Jesus Christ is not.

1351
01:28:52,220 --> 01:28:57,500
The truth is the truth.

1352
01:28:57,500 --> 01:29:04,020
That gospel is also, and therefore we can proclaim it this way, not based in impurity.

1353
01:29:04,020 --> 01:29:05,220
I mean, let's get real.

1354
01:29:05,220 --> 01:29:10,260
I want to say this to you about me, about Dan Stevenson.

1355
01:29:10,260 --> 01:29:18,580
Only everything except for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the fruit it has fostered, everything

1356
01:29:18,580 --> 01:29:23,300
except for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the fruit it has fostered that's in me is

1357
01:29:23,300 --> 01:29:25,900
in impurity.

1358
01:29:25,900 --> 01:29:29,180
Left to myself, I would have ruined my marriage.

1359
01:29:29,180 --> 01:29:34,060
Left to myself, I would have spent years wrapped up in pornography.

1360
01:29:34,060 --> 01:29:36,580
I would have been with other women.

1361
01:29:36,580 --> 01:29:40,980
Odds are I would have gotten wrapped up in drugs or alcohol.

1362
01:29:40,980 --> 01:29:43,860
I would have pursued money and the freedom that money offers.

1363
01:29:43,860 --> 01:29:47,980
I know because I was doing that.

1364
01:29:47,980 --> 01:29:53,180
Dan Stevenson outside the gospel of Jesus Christ and the fruit that it makes in me is

1365
01:29:53,180 --> 01:29:59,340
a worthless piece of dirt doomed to go back into the dust and soul rot in hell for eternity.

1366
01:29:59,340 --> 01:30:04,820
That's who I am if it were not for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the effect that it has

1367
01:30:04,820 --> 01:30:08,980
had in me and he has had in me.

1368
01:30:08,980 --> 01:30:15,620
If you can't boldly understand and faithfully proclaim and gently deliver, you need to understand

1369
01:30:15,620 --> 01:30:18,740
you still think it's something about you is good.

1370
01:30:18,740 --> 01:30:22,260
You still think it's something about you is worthy of eternity.

1371
01:30:22,260 --> 01:30:24,420
I'll tell you what about you is worthy of eternity.

1372
01:30:24,420 --> 01:30:26,700
It's the love of Jesus Christ.

1373
01:30:26,700 --> 01:30:27,700
That's what about you.

1374
01:30:27,700 --> 01:30:30,020
God made you, started you, you're intelligent.

1375
01:30:30,020 --> 01:30:31,660
Yes, you're capable.

1376
01:30:31,660 --> 01:30:32,940
Yes, you can fix it.

1377
01:30:32,940 --> 01:30:34,620
Yes, you can break it.

1378
01:30:34,620 --> 01:30:39,580
Yes, you can do a lot of things but it ain't none of that any good outside of Jesus.

1379
01:30:39,580 --> 01:30:44,660
Jesus said outside of me, you can do nothing.

1380
01:30:44,660 --> 01:30:49,780
Until you figure that out, you're still thinking about some kind of gospel that's just blessing

1381
01:30:49,780 --> 01:30:56,620
you because you're a pretty good person.

1382
01:30:56,620 --> 01:31:01,640
The gospel, the truth of Jesus, that synopsis I just gave you, His Holy Spirit coming to

1383
01:31:01,640 --> 01:31:06,180
live in the church, the church being called to minister the gospel to other people, all

1384
01:31:06,180 --> 01:31:08,220
of that is absolutely true.

1385
01:31:08,220 --> 01:31:20,020
There is no error in it and it is not based in impurity.

1386
01:31:20,020 --> 01:31:26,900
You just can't do what you would otherwise want to do but you can do everything He wants

1387
01:31:26,900 --> 01:31:29,180
you to do.

1388
01:31:29,180 --> 01:31:44,880
You're able and He will make you able beyond your wildest dreams, ultimately for an eternity.

1389
01:31:44,880 --> 01:31:50,380
This gospel that we're talking about also did not come by way of deceit.

1390
01:31:50,380 --> 01:31:54,380
That means we were not deceived, tricked into believing what we believed.

1391
01:31:54,380 --> 01:31:57,620
We actually believed it because it was actually true.

1392
01:31:57,620 --> 01:31:59,380
It didn't come by any way of deceit.

1393
01:31:59,380 --> 01:32:06,540
There are those who will pay you, they will literally pay you money to be saved.

1394
01:32:06,540 --> 01:32:08,020
They'll flatter you.

1395
01:32:08,020 --> 01:32:12,860
They'll literally encourage you and tell you how beautiful, how strong, how smart.

1396
01:32:12,860 --> 01:32:15,740
Now we should be encouraging one another all the time using those kinds of words toward

1397
01:32:15,740 --> 01:32:23,820
each other and that's all good but they'll do that in order to get you to come to Jesus.

1398
01:32:23,820 --> 01:32:27,660
There are people, you know how many times the Jehovah's Witnesses have said they knew

1399
01:32:27,660 --> 01:32:34,060
the exact date and time when Jesus was coming back?

1400
01:32:34,060 --> 01:32:37,560
Their order grew because they put out the date.

1401
01:32:37,560 --> 01:32:41,460
They knew they had discovered and could argue for how they knew that Jesus was coming back

1402
01:32:41,460 --> 01:32:42,460
on a certain day.

1403
01:32:42,460 --> 01:32:46,540
They did that either two or three times.

1404
01:32:46,540 --> 01:32:56,700
In apprehension of that date every time, many people got saved in their halls.

1405
01:32:56,700 --> 01:33:01,100
Not in their church because they're not the church.

1406
01:33:01,100 --> 01:33:04,780
And if somebody watches this video or listens to our podcast later, I'll stand in front

1407
01:33:04,780 --> 01:33:09,140
of you today and tell you that the Jehovah's Witness religion is a cult and anybody who's

1408
01:33:09,140 --> 01:33:12,340
wrapped up in it has bought into a false gospel.

1409
01:33:12,340 --> 01:33:15,100
I'm not trying to be political but I'll tell you it's a fact.

1410
01:33:15,100 --> 01:33:16,700
Just look at what they believe.

1411
01:33:16,700 --> 01:33:18,860
It's a lie.

1412
01:33:18,860 --> 01:33:21,060
It stands in contrast to Jesus Christ.

1413
01:33:21,060 --> 01:33:23,220
So they get people to come.

1414
01:33:23,220 --> 01:33:27,220
Years ago, Josh, if you remember this, Josh was working at a little grocery store downtown

1415
01:33:27,220 --> 01:33:28,220
in Toledo.

1416
01:33:28,220 --> 01:33:32,540
There was a guy who came in and was talking to him and he was interested in things of

1417
01:33:32,540 --> 01:33:34,780
Christ but really he was in a bad spot.

1418
01:33:34,780 --> 01:33:36,660
He didn't have anywhere to live.

1419
01:33:36,660 --> 01:33:39,020
He needed some help.

1420
01:33:39,020 --> 01:33:40,020
That's basically his profession.

1421
01:33:40,020 --> 01:33:43,860
So Josh called me up and he said, you know, he's going to come in again tomorrow.

1422
01:33:43,860 --> 01:33:45,500
He's been coming in day after day.

1423
01:33:45,500 --> 01:33:46,500
What do I tell him?

1424
01:33:46,500 --> 01:33:49,020
And I said, well, first of all, you tell him we'll help him.

1425
01:33:49,020 --> 01:33:50,020
We'll figure it out.

1426
01:33:50,020 --> 01:33:51,020
Share Jesus.

1427
01:33:51,020 --> 01:33:52,020
Tell him about Jesus.

1428
01:33:52,020 --> 01:33:53,020
Whatever.

1429
01:33:53,020 --> 01:33:57,900
But the next time he came in, he had run into two Mormon guys who were living downtown.

1430
01:33:57,900 --> 01:34:02,300
And those guys brought him with them to live in their apartment.

1431
01:34:02,300 --> 01:34:05,060
They put a roof over his head.

1432
01:34:05,060 --> 01:34:07,860
And they told him about their version of the gospel.

1433
01:34:07,860 --> 01:34:13,660
They told him about Mormonism, which is not the gospel.

1434
01:34:13,660 --> 01:34:17,740
But he believed it because they did something for him.

1435
01:34:17,740 --> 01:34:24,620
Because they showed him compassion for their version thereof.

1436
01:34:24,620 --> 01:34:28,920
And unfortunately, if he believes the gospel, that is what the Mormons teach.

1437
01:34:28,920 --> 01:34:31,500
That means he didn't, he's not going to heaven.

1438
01:34:31,500 --> 01:34:33,180
He's not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

1439
01:34:33,180 --> 01:34:34,180
He's not become a follower.

1440
01:34:34,180 --> 01:34:37,060
Now, that doesn't mean there can't be a person who calls themselves a Jehovah's Witness wrapped

1441
01:34:37,060 --> 01:34:40,180
up in that false gospel that saved or the person who calls themselves Mormon, but they're

1442
01:34:40,180 --> 01:34:41,340
actually saved.

1443
01:34:41,340 --> 01:34:42,340
It can happen.

1444
01:34:42,340 --> 01:34:44,060
And those religions are false religions.

1445
01:34:44,060 --> 01:34:45,900
They're cults and they're teaching lies.

1446
01:34:45,900 --> 01:34:49,620
A warped version of the gospel that does not lead people to Jesus.

1447
01:34:49,620 --> 01:34:56,340
But amazingly, they have continued to faithfully and boldly proclaim it in the middle of opposition.

1448
01:34:56,340 --> 01:34:58,900
Even gently.

1449
01:34:58,900 --> 01:35:02,900
But they've left out the truth.

1450
01:35:02,900 --> 01:35:05,460
It's in error.

1451
01:35:05,460 --> 01:35:10,260
And people are led to it out of their desires to be part of something.

1452
01:35:10,260 --> 01:35:14,820
The gospel that we preach, the gospel that we teach is boldly, gently, faithfully delivered

1453
01:35:14,820 --> 01:35:16,260
in the middle of an over opposition.

1454
01:35:16,260 --> 01:35:21,060
That gospel is not in error and it is not of impurity and it does not come by way of

1455
01:35:21,060 --> 01:35:22,820
deceit.

1456
01:35:22,820 --> 01:35:25,460
That's why it's so important that if you're witnessing somebody and they ask you a question,

1457
01:35:25,460 --> 01:35:26,620
they say, well, what about this?

1458
01:35:26,620 --> 01:35:30,900
If you don't know the answer, you don't make it up.

1459
01:35:30,900 --> 01:35:34,860
And you don't say, I think it's this.

1460
01:35:34,860 --> 01:35:39,660
You say, I'll help you find the answer and we'll be sure.

1461
01:35:39,660 --> 01:35:42,420
Because our gospel doesn't come by way of deceit.

1462
01:35:42,420 --> 01:35:49,820
Also, our gospel, and the last thing on this list, is not fruitless.

1463
01:35:49,820 --> 01:35:52,820
Those who believe and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, those who come into relationship

1464
01:35:52,820 --> 01:35:57,820
with Him and He comes and lives in them through God's Holy Spirit, will be affected.

1465
01:35:57,820 --> 01:35:59,940
They will be changed.

1466
01:35:59,940 --> 01:36:03,820
They will deliver a fruit into their lives that could not have otherwise been there.

1467
01:36:03,820 --> 01:36:08,620
It will be not a fruit of impurity, not a fruit of deceit, not a fruit in error.

1468
01:36:08,620 --> 01:36:12,340
It will be good things, love, peace, patience, kindness, and you know the list.

1469
01:36:12,340 --> 01:36:14,660
Or you can look it up, Galatians 5.22.

1470
01:36:14,660 --> 01:36:18,580
I could probably do the whole thing, but you get the point.

1471
01:36:18,580 --> 01:36:22,540
God is doing a work in His church.

1472
01:36:22,540 --> 01:36:28,420
And if God is not doing a work in you, then you need to go back and look at the gospel

1473
01:36:28,420 --> 01:36:30,520
of Jesus Christ such as it was delivered unto you.

1474
01:36:30,520 --> 01:36:33,660
Make sure that it was delivered not in error, not in impurity, not in deceit.

1475
01:36:33,660 --> 01:36:39,260
You need to ask yourself, is it a boldly proclaimed, gently delivered, faithfully delivered, in

1476
01:36:39,260 --> 01:36:47,020
the midst of opposition, overtop of opposition gospel, or is it not?

1477
01:36:47,020 --> 01:36:53,140
This will lead them to us and we will have to do a little less hunting to find somebody

1478
01:36:53,140 --> 01:36:56,900
because they will see the difference, they will know the difference, and they will come

1479
01:36:56,900 --> 01:36:59,380
looking.

1480
01:36:59,380 --> 01:37:05,480
The third point then is that we were able to do this.

1481
01:37:05,480 --> 01:37:13,300
We are able to do this because, number one, we were approved by God to be entrusted with

1482
01:37:13,300 --> 01:37:15,980
this message.

1483
01:37:15,980 --> 01:37:20,240
If you are here today and have never truly accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior,

1484
01:37:20,240 --> 01:37:25,180
the fact that you are receiving the invitation today means that God is checking your heart.

1485
01:37:25,180 --> 01:37:30,420
He is deciding, are you able, worthy, in me, with my help?

1486
01:37:30,420 --> 01:37:34,540
All the time I do marriage Bible study with husbands and wives and I ask the husband to

1487
01:37:34,540 --> 01:37:38,180
look at the woman by lesson four and I say, I want you to look at her, the husband to

1488
01:37:38,180 --> 01:37:42,500
be, I say I want you to look at her and decide, with God's help, can she be the woman for

1489
01:37:42,500 --> 01:37:43,500
you?

1490
01:37:43,500 --> 01:37:48,100
Now, I look at her and I say, with God's help, can he be the woman for you?

1491
01:37:48,100 --> 01:37:51,860
It's believing in God, it's trusting in God, but it's trusting in God if they are going

1492
01:37:51,860 --> 01:37:54,620
to use that person.

1493
01:37:54,620 --> 01:37:58,500
And it's the same way.

1494
01:37:58,500 --> 01:38:03,220
We have been approved by God to be entrusted, if we have become followers of Jesus Christ,

1495
01:38:03,220 --> 01:38:08,620
with this powerful message that meets these characteristics and more.

1496
01:38:08,620 --> 01:38:11,940
If you were entrusted with it and then you put it in your closet, kept it in your wallet

1497
01:38:11,940 --> 01:38:20,460
or under your dusty Bible, then you are betraying the trust with which you were entrusted.

1498
01:38:20,460 --> 01:38:27,780
We are approved by God to be entrusted with this Gospel.

1499
01:38:27,780 --> 01:38:30,620
And to do so not as pleasing men.

1500
01:38:30,620 --> 01:38:35,020
In other words, you can proclaim the Gospel, tell people about Jesus, this truth about

1501
01:38:35,020 --> 01:38:36,020
Jesus.

1502
01:38:36,020 --> 01:38:40,180
It is very, just go try to tell a Muslim that Jesus Christ died on the cross.

1503
01:38:40,180 --> 01:38:43,420
They don't believe in Jesus as Lord and they don't believe that he was the Son of God.

1504
01:38:43,420 --> 01:38:49,620
They think he was a prophet like Mohammed, but they deny that he died on the cross.

1505
01:38:49,620 --> 01:38:53,060
Not because the body of Jesus, they say, and correct me if I get this wrong, but I think

1506
01:38:53,060 --> 01:39:00,420
I got it right, they say that Judas' soul was transported into Jesus' body on the cross.

1507
01:39:00,420 --> 01:39:06,260
And so it was Jesus' body, but it was Judas who died.

1508
01:39:06,260 --> 01:39:10,440
Because they can't believe that a prophet of God would die on the cross.

1509
01:39:10,440 --> 01:39:11,980
You follow my logic?

1510
01:39:11,980 --> 01:39:14,340
Just go try to tell them Jesus died on the cross.

1511
01:39:14,340 --> 01:39:18,980
It will be a sticking point, it won't be the only one, there will be many.

1512
01:39:18,980 --> 01:39:23,940
We are approved and trusted with the Gospel, we need not worry about pleasing men.

1513
01:39:23,940 --> 01:39:27,740
It doesn't have to be something you like, that if you don't follow Jesus you'll spend

1514
01:39:27,740 --> 01:39:28,920
hell and eternity.

1515
01:39:28,920 --> 01:39:30,900
You don't have to like that.

1516
01:39:30,900 --> 01:39:33,660
And delivering that part of the message is usually not going to be gentle, you shouldn't

1517
01:39:33,660 --> 01:39:37,660
go there until you really know God wants you to go there.

1518
01:39:37,660 --> 01:39:38,660
And treat them to heaven.

1519
01:39:38,660 --> 01:39:42,540
I do the evangelist cube and it shows heaven on the top and hell on the bottom and there's

1520
01:39:42,540 --> 01:39:46,860
got Jesus' hand helping the guy to get up to the top, you know, to get up to heaven.

1521
01:39:46,860 --> 01:39:49,260
And I say, and that's what we believe, and Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, we'll go

1522
01:39:49,260 --> 01:39:50,260
to heaven.

1523
01:39:50,260 --> 01:39:54,460
And then I say, and if not, there's the alternative, and I just tap the fire.

1524
01:39:54,460 --> 01:39:57,220
I don't say you're going to hell if you don't believe, I just say, but if not, there's the

1525
01:39:57,220 --> 01:39:58,220
alternative.

1526
01:39:58,220 --> 01:39:59,220
They already know.

1527
01:39:59,220 --> 01:40:02,780
There's not a human on the face of the earth that doesn't know.

1528
01:40:02,780 --> 01:40:06,900
They may disagree with it, they may not like it, not be pleased by it, but there's nobody

1529
01:40:06,900 --> 01:40:09,100
on the face of the earth that doesn't know.

1530
01:40:09,100 --> 01:40:12,740
Because if they were treated the way they treat other people, they would want that person

1531
01:40:12,740 --> 01:40:13,980
to suffer.

1532
01:40:13,980 --> 01:40:17,300
They would want that person to be corrected, to face justice.

1533
01:40:17,300 --> 01:40:20,540
And so then if they really would examine the way they have acted, they'd say, well, I know

1534
01:40:20,540 --> 01:40:22,580
what I deserve.

1535
01:40:22,580 --> 01:40:25,580
You don't have to tell them they're going to hell.

1536
01:40:25,580 --> 01:40:26,580
They already know it.

1537
01:40:26,580 --> 01:40:29,580
The fact is, if they are not knowing Jesus to some degree, they're already living the

1538
01:40:29,580 --> 01:40:31,940
beginnings of it.

1539
01:40:31,940 --> 01:40:36,100
Because they're without God, which is what hell will really be, an eternity without God.

1540
01:40:36,100 --> 01:40:38,220
It's not going to be pleasing.

1541
01:40:38,220 --> 01:40:42,260
It's not going to be pleasing to your kids, it's not going to be pleasing to your friends,

1542
01:40:42,260 --> 01:40:46,540
it's not going to be pleasing to your coworkers, it was not pleasing to me.

1543
01:40:46,540 --> 01:40:49,660
It's still not pleasing to me to think that if I had not accepted Jesus Christ, I would

1544
01:40:49,660 --> 01:40:54,200
be in hell for eternity when I die.

1545
01:40:54,200 --> 01:41:00,940
We don't have to worry about pleasing people, we have to worry about saving people.

1546
01:41:00,940 --> 01:41:06,020
Never ever deliver this with flattering speech because it is clear and simple.

1547
01:41:06,020 --> 01:41:09,540
Don't say, look, I know you're smart enough to understand this, what I'm trying to tell

1548
01:41:09,540 --> 01:41:10,540
you today.

1549
01:41:10,540 --> 01:41:14,700
Don't say, I know you'll get it, give yourself a little time, you're going to come around

1550
01:41:14,700 --> 01:41:15,700
to this truth.

1551
01:41:15,700 --> 01:41:18,940
No, just tell them the truth and ask them to believe.

1552
01:41:18,940 --> 01:41:22,100
Let's stop playing games.

1553
01:41:22,100 --> 01:41:25,400
We were approved to be entrusted with the gospel, we must not add or subtract anything

1554
01:41:25,400 --> 01:41:27,500
to it or from it.

1555
01:41:27,500 --> 01:41:33,660
Also, you cannot preach this gospel with a pretext for greed.

1556
01:41:33,660 --> 01:41:36,980
Entrusted with the gospel such as it is, we cannot benefit by it.

1557
01:41:36,980 --> 01:41:38,280
Do you understand me?

1558
01:41:38,280 --> 01:41:39,280
We do.

1559
01:41:39,280 --> 01:41:41,940
We can do about it, but it's got to be totally in the Lord's hands.

1560
01:41:41,940 --> 01:41:45,260
If you think you're following Jesus to get healed, to feel better, to help your relationships

1561
01:41:45,260 --> 01:41:48,180
so you'll do better, I can't tell you how people come to church and they go, I really

1562
01:41:48,180 --> 01:41:49,620
need God in my life.

1563
01:41:49,620 --> 01:41:51,420
Yes, you do.

1564
01:41:51,420 --> 01:41:54,860
Not the way you think, not what you're saying, not as a protector or provider to give you

1565
01:41:54,860 --> 01:41:57,740
a bunch of stuff, but you need God in your life.

1566
01:41:57,740 --> 01:42:04,500
Ultimately, He is the only thing you need, but we're not there yet.

1567
01:42:04,500 --> 01:42:09,200
Don't do it because you love them more than you love somebody else.

1568
01:42:09,200 --> 01:42:11,980
The saved need Jesus.

1569
01:42:11,980 --> 01:42:16,460
There is, Jesus said, the resources are in the harvest.

1570
01:42:16,460 --> 01:42:19,280
Our church will be blessed and grow and be financially successful.

1571
01:42:19,280 --> 01:42:20,280
We will do well.

1572
01:42:20,280 --> 01:42:23,060
There will be more money in the deacons' fund, which means if you can't pay your rent, there

1573
01:42:23,060 --> 01:42:24,780
will be somebody to pay your rent for you.

1574
01:42:24,780 --> 01:42:27,900
If you go tell more people about Jesus, there's a bigger safety net.

1575
01:42:27,900 --> 01:42:28,900
It's more comfortable.

1576
01:42:28,900 --> 01:42:29,900
The room will be more filled.

1577
01:42:29,900 --> 01:42:32,540
You'll have more authorization, more authentication.

1578
01:42:32,540 --> 01:42:36,220
You'll know that the gospel is true because there will be more people coming.

1579
01:42:36,220 --> 01:42:39,620
So there are 2,000 people that sit in the megachurch that preach the prosperity gospel.

1580
01:42:39,620 --> 01:42:40,960
That has nothing to do with Jesus.

1581
01:42:40,960 --> 01:42:44,420
They don't even mention the name of Jesus for six, nine months at a time.

1582
01:42:44,420 --> 01:42:47,580
Their gospel is more authenticated, right, because they have more people.

1583
01:42:47,580 --> 01:42:49,220
No, that's a lie.

1584
01:42:49,220 --> 01:42:50,460
That's what the world would teach you.

1585
01:42:50,460 --> 01:42:54,820
You cannot deliver this gospel into the world believing that you will benefit by it.

1586
01:42:54,820 --> 01:43:00,420
Otherwise, you are a sorcerer, not a Christian, and you're still going to hell.

1587
01:43:00,420 --> 01:43:06,020
But if you will deliver the gospel because it's who we are and what we do and what we've

1588
01:43:06,020 --> 01:43:12,140
been entrusted with, because it's not based in error, not based in impurity, not by way

1589
01:43:12,140 --> 01:43:13,500
of deceit, not fruitless.

1590
01:43:13,500 --> 01:43:16,840
It changes people, affects people, makes them possible.

1591
01:43:16,840 --> 01:43:19,140
It brings to life the dead.

1592
01:43:19,140 --> 01:43:22,060
You'll do it for that reason.

1593
01:43:22,060 --> 01:43:27,860
Seeking no glory from men, then maybe you're actually saving and sharing the gospel.

1594
01:43:27,860 --> 01:43:29,940
The gospel of Jesus Christ, the one that could save everybody.

1595
01:43:29,940 --> 01:43:34,580
It starts with one man telling as many people as possible, and then every one of them tells

1596
01:43:34,580 --> 01:43:37,460
as many people as possible, and everyone of them tells as many people as possible.

1597
01:43:37,460 --> 01:43:40,500
And this is the plan that Jesus had for saving the world.

1598
01:43:40,500 --> 01:43:44,660
And he is patient with us that all men may come to repentance.

1599
01:43:44,660 --> 01:43:53,020
The last one on this list, and then we're in the conclusion, is not asserting authority.

1600
01:43:53,020 --> 01:43:57,340
I sat with a man and a woman in their living room, and I was trying to share the gospel

1601
01:43:57,340 --> 01:44:02,740
with her, and she was having what was considered to be schizophrenic episodes.

1602
01:44:02,740 --> 01:44:03,740
She was hearing voices.

1603
01:44:03,740 --> 01:44:08,100
But the voices were always telling her things, mostly about God, or about the Bible, or about

1604
01:44:08,100 --> 01:44:09,700
her husband, or about their marriage, or whatever.

1605
01:44:09,700 --> 01:44:12,220
She was hearing all these voices and it was affecting her.

1606
01:44:12,220 --> 01:44:15,900
And so her husband, who was a professing Christian, but not truly a walker of the Lord, called

1607
01:44:15,900 --> 01:44:20,980
me to their house to witness to them, especially her.

1608
01:44:20,980 --> 01:44:24,900
He really wanted her to get saved because he couldn't stand her the way she was.

1609
01:44:24,900 --> 01:44:27,180
So I'm sharing it, and every time I'm trying to share it, he's trying to talk.

1610
01:44:27,180 --> 01:44:30,100
I'm talking about what the Bible says, and every time I would talk, right in the middle

1611
01:44:30,100 --> 01:44:31,100
of the sentence, he'd start talking.

1612
01:44:31,100 --> 01:44:32,100
Yeah, that's that.

1613
01:44:32,100 --> 01:44:33,100
Yeah, it's this.

1614
01:44:33,100 --> 01:44:34,460
He doesn't actually say this, or where is it?

1615
01:44:34,460 --> 01:44:35,460
That's in the book of sons.

1616
01:44:35,460 --> 01:44:37,460
Finally, I looked at him and I said, listen to me.

1617
01:44:37,460 --> 01:44:38,460
And he said, yeah.

1618
01:44:38,460 --> 01:44:42,100
I said, I want you to sit there and shut up.

1619
01:44:42,100 --> 01:44:43,100
Just like that.

1620
01:44:43,100 --> 01:44:45,900
Now that's bold, but I was beyond the point of gentle.

1621
01:44:45,900 --> 01:44:48,980
I had tried cautioning him a couple of times before I got there, but I said, I want you

1622
01:44:48,980 --> 01:44:50,380
to sit there and shut up.

1623
01:44:50,380 --> 01:44:52,440
From that point on, you know what he did?

1624
01:44:52,440 --> 01:44:55,340
He sat there and shut up for roughly 20 minutes.

1625
01:44:55,340 --> 01:44:59,620
She and I, and whoever was affecting her, talked for about 20 minutes through the gospel.

1626
01:44:59,620 --> 01:45:03,340
But ultimately, she prayed to accept Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.

1627
01:45:03,340 --> 01:45:08,740
Later, he would tell me that he felt somehow spiritually compelled to be quiet.

1628
01:45:08,740 --> 01:45:12,700
So then I explained to him that it was probably because he wasn't walking with the Lord, and

1629
01:45:12,700 --> 01:45:15,540
it was evil spirits that were affecting him, trying to get him to talk up so it would stop

1630
01:45:15,540 --> 01:45:19,580
his wife from getting saved, because all I was trying to do was share the simple gospel.

1631
01:45:19,580 --> 01:45:21,060
I had nothing at stake.

1632
01:45:21,060 --> 01:45:25,140
She had everything at stake, and he kept chiming in.

1633
01:45:25,140 --> 01:45:28,180
I could tell you three more stories just like that.

1634
01:45:28,180 --> 01:45:31,820
Perry and I went witnessing to a guy who had evil spirits in his house.

1635
01:45:31,820 --> 01:45:33,380
I'll share this one very quick.

1636
01:45:33,380 --> 01:45:36,220
While we were there, he had claimed to be a Muslim, which is why I took Perry with me.

1637
01:45:36,220 --> 01:45:39,420
About halfway through the conversation, Perry said, you ain't no Muslim.

1638
01:45:39,420 --> 01:45:44,020
The guy said, well, my family is, and if they found out I became a Christian, I'd be in

1639
01:45:44,020 --> 01:45:45,660
all kinds of trouble.

1640
01:45:45,660 --> 01:45:49,260
He wanted us to rebuke the demons in his house, which we'd already done twice.

1641
01:45:49,260 --> 01:45:51,380
Tim Mitchell went with me once, and somebody else went another time.

1642
01:45:51,380 --> 01:45:53,740
We'd already done it twice, and they kept coming back.

1643
01:45:53,740 --> 01:45:56,420
I said, dude, the problem is, you're not saved.

1644
01:45:56,420 --> 01:45:57,420
That's the problem.

1645
01:45:57,420 --> 01:45:58,420
You're not saved.

1646
01:45:58,420 --> 01:46:02,220
I said, until you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, they're not going to leave

1647
01:46:02,220 --> 01:46:03,220
you alone.

1648
01:46:03,220 --> 01:46:04,220
You're at their whim.

1649
01:46:04,220 --> 01:46:05,780
You remember this conversation?

1650
01:46:05,780 --> 01:46:06,780
Yeah.

1651
01:46:06,780 --> 01:46:10,220
He ultimately prayed to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

1652
01:46:10,220 --> 01:46:16,700
He then called me about two months later and tried to pay me $28,000, to which I said,

1653
01:46:16,700 --> 01:46:18,140
no, I wouldn't take it.

1654
01:46:18,140 --> 01:46:19,920
I said, I can't do that.

1655
01:46:19,920 --> 01:46:22,500
That would be like me taking money for explaining the gospel.

1656
01:46:22,500 --> 01:46:23,500
I can't do that.

1657
01:46:23,500 --> 01:46:25,180
I said, if you want to donate that money to the church, you can.

1658
01:46:25,180 --> 01:46:30,020
Bob O'Hara was the treasurer of the church at that time, back when we were on Main Street.

1659
01:46:30,020 --> 01:46:33,380
I said, what I'll do is I'll call Bob, the treasurer, and you and him can meet at the

1660
01:46:33,380 --> 01:46:35,820
bank, and you can give the money to him, and it'll go to the church and proceed.

1661
01:46:35,820 --> 01:46:38,060
Kingdom of God will be advanced, whatever, buy your money.

1662
01:46:38,060 --> 01:46:39,100
I said, that's what you want to do.

1663
01:46:39,100 --> 01:46:40,100
You can do that.

1664
01:46:40,100 --> 01:46:41,100
That's completely on you.

1665
01:46:41,100 --> 01:46:42,420
He said, I'll get the check right now.

1666
01:46:42,420 --> 01:46:43,900
I said, no, I'm not going to take a check from you.

1667
01:46:43,900 --> 01:46:44,900
I won't do it.

1668
01:46:44,900 --> 01:46:47,540
So you can give it to the church, but you can't give it to me.

1669
01:46:47,540 --> 01:46:48,540
He didn't.

1670
01:46:48,540 --> 01:46:53,580
But the point is, we got to the moment where I had authority in his house, and I was able

1671
01:46:53,580 --> 01:46:57,940
to say, listen to me, you will do this, or you will face this over and over again.

1672
01:46:57,940 --> 01:47:01,460
If you're in this room and you're following some kind of gospel, other than that, if you're

1673
01:47:01,460 --> 01:47:04,700
wondering why there are evil spirits roaming your house, it's because you're unwilling

1674
01:47:04,700 --> 01:47:09,380
to boldly declare, unwilling to gently deliver, unwilling to faithfully deliver, unwilling

1675
01:47:09,380 --> 01:47:13,220
to stand up in the midst of trials and oppositions and overtop of trials and oppositions, because

1676
01:47:13,220 --> 01:47:19,800
your gospel is a weak gospel, probably delivered to you in error or in impurity or by deceit,

1677
01:47:19,800 --> 01:47:23,140
or it's fruitless in you, and you need to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior

1678
01:47:23,140 --> 01:47:28,940
and walk into your house and say, Jesus rules here.

1679
01:47:28,940 --> 01:47:33,100
In the movie Prayer Room, the woman comes out of her prayer room and she found out that

1680
01:47:33,100 --> 01:47:38,660
her husband was right then, at that moment, meeting with a woman that he was planning

1681
01:47:38,660 --> 01:47:40,980
on having an affair with, and they'd been fighting.

1682
01:47:40,980 --> 01:47:44,220
And so she prayed, said, God, don't let him do this.

1683
01:47:44,220 --> 01:47:45,220
Don't do it.

1684
01:47:45,220 --> 01:47:48,260
And she had already gone through her house and said, get out of here, Satan.

1685
01:47:48,260 --> 01:47:52,300
And she literally rebuked Satan in the name of Christ and kicked him out.

1686
01:47:52,300 --> 01:47:55,000
And so she's in it, she's in it praying for her husband, said, don't let him do this.

1687
01:47:55,000 --> 01:47:57,020
And he's at dinner, all of a sudden he starts getting upset.

1688
01:47:57,020 --> 01:48:00,660
And he's like, oh, man, he goes to the bathroom, he's like, I'm going to have to pass on this.

1689
01:48:00,660 --> 01:48:03,060
And he goes back to the woman, he says, I'm sorry, I'm not feeling well, I'm going to

1690
01:48:03,060 --> 01:48:04,060
pass on this.

1691
01:48:04,060 --> 01:48:06,060
And then the next day he loses his job.

1692
01:48:06,060 --> 01:48:08,020
And he comes to his wife and he says, I lost my job.

1693
01:48:08,020 --> 01:48:12,260
And she says, God's going to take care of us, we're going to pray about this.

1694
01:48:12,260 --> 01:48:13,940
And he's like, why aren't you coming at me?

1695
01:48:13,940 --> 01:48:16,020
Why are we not fighting and arguing like we always have done?

1696
01:48:16,020 --> 01:48:21,660
And she said, because God is in charge here.

1697
01:48:21,660 --> 01:48:23,580
God is in charge of me.

1698
01:48:23,580 --> 01:48:25,860
I am a Christian.

1699
01:48:25,860 --> 01:48:26,860
And I love you.

1700
01:48:26,860 --> 01:48:32,620
And I want what's best for you.

1701
01:48:32,620 --> 01:48:35,620
I had a young man who was coming to church here and he wanted to meet with me.

1702
01:48:35,620 --> 01:48:37,580
And so I met with him and he said, well, I've got these three problems.

1703
01:48:37,580 --> 01:48:41,860
I'm supposed to do this, this, and this, I've got to deal with.

1704
01:48:41,860 --> 01:48:42,860
What should I do?

1705
01:48:42,860 --> 01:48:45,540
Problem number one, what am I supposed to do?

1706
01:48:45,540 --> 01:48:48,020
And I said, well, that's not how this works.

1707
01:48:48,020 --> 01:48:51,780
And he said, I just want you to tell me what to do.

1708
01:48:51,780 --> 01:48:53,180
And I said, that's not who I am.

1709
01:48:53,180 --> 01:48:54,540
I said, first of all, I'm not your pastor.

1710
01:48:54,540 --> 01:48:56,420
You're not part of my church.

1711
01:48:56,420 --> 01:48:58,660
So I'm just here as your friend today.

1712
01:48:58,660 --> 01:49:02,180
So you want me to tell you what the Bible says, I'll tell you.

1713
01:49:02,180 --> 01:49:03,180
And we'll figure it out together.

1714
01:49:03,180 --> 01:49:06,060
And he said, no, that's too much work.

1715
01:49:06,060 --> 01:49:07,820
I just want you to tell me.

1716
01:49:07,820 --> 01:49:10,900
There is a church in the city of Toledo, and if Tony Tate was here, he'd witness this because

1717
01:49:10,900 --> 01:49:13,780
he's been in that situation, where they'll tell you what to do.

1718
01:49:13,780 --> 01:49:17,180
So if you want to follow Jesus and you need somebody to tell you what to do, you can go

1719
01:49:17,180 --> 01:49:18,180
to that church.

1720
01:49:18,180 --> 01:49:19,780
It's not the gospel.

1721
01:49:19,780 --> 01:49:20,780
You probably aren't saved.

1722
01:49:20,780 --> 01:49:23,820
You probably won't get saved there, but you can go there and they'll tell you what to

1723
01:49:23,820 --> 01:49:24,820
do.

1724
01:49:24,820 --> 01:49:27,580
And it's not just one church.

1725
01:49:27,580 --> 01:49:30,860
The churches like that all over the world will tell you what to do.

1726
01:49:30,860 --> 01:49:31,860
But guess what?

1727
01:49:31,860 --> 01:49:33,740
I'm not going to tell you what to do.

1728
01:49:33,740 --> 01:49:35,180
I'll tell you about the gospel.

1729
01:49:35,180 --> 01:49:36,980
I'll tell you what God wants us to do.

1730
01:49:36,980 --> 01:49:38,580
Now you decide what you're going to do.

1731
01:49:38,580 --> 01:49:39,580
That's what our invitation is all about.

1732
01:49:39,580 --> 01:49:43,060
I don't stand up and I say, OK, Aaron, you've been going through some stuff.

1733
01:49:43,060 --> 01:49:45,620
Come on, come respond to the invitation.

1734
01:49:45,620 --> 01:49:50,540
And many times I stand up here and there's nobody to respond to the invitation.

1735
01:49:50,540 --> 01:49:51,940
And if there isn't, there isn't.

1736
01:49:51,940 --> 01:49:53,420
If you don't need to respond, don't.

1737
01:49:53,420 --> 01:49:57,380
But if God puts it on your heart to do so and you don't, then you answer to Him.

1738
01:49:57,380 --> 01:49:59,980
I have no authority over you.

1739
01:49:59,980 --> 01:50:05,700
However, God has measured my heart and has entrusted to me the gospel of Jesus Christ.

1740
01:50:05,700 --> 01:50:10,580
And I'm entrusting it to you because I believe that He's called you to do and be what it

1741
01:50:10,580 --> 01:50:12,060
is we're talking about.

1742
01:50:12,060 --> 01:50:16,580
And you need to respond.

1743
01:50:16,580 --> 01:50:18,580
But I'm not going to call you out and tell you to respond.

1744
01:50:18,580 --> 01:50:21,940
I'm not going to make you feel guilty if you don't.

1745
01:50:21,940 --> 01:50:24,340
Lots of churches, because they don't want to do that, they just cancel the invitation

1746
01:50:24,340 --> 01:50:25,340
altogether.

1747
01:50:25,340 --> 01:50:31,540
But if there's no invitation, there's no gospel.

1748
01:50:31,540 --> 01:50:32,620
The conclusion is simple.

1749
01:50:32,620 --> 01:50:34,540
It's this.

1750
01:50:34,540 --> 01:50:39,540
Once affected by this truth and the God-given encouragement that they're talking about, which

1751
01:50:39,540 --> 01:50:46,660
comes not based on error, not based on impurity, not by way of deceit, not fruitless, boldly,

1752
01:50:46,660 --> 01:50:56,380
gently, faithfully, that God-given encouragement that comes, you will never be okay again.

1753
01:50:56,380 --> 01:50:58,980
That's what I figured out.

1754
01:50:58,980 --> 01:51:01,900
Since what happened to me, I started attending East Luton Baptist Church.

1755
01:51:01,900 --> 01:51:06,340
I went there for six months and I started thinking what they were saying was true.

1756
01:51:06,340 --> 01:51:11,500
But then I realized on Sunday morning I couldn't be anywhere else because the truth was there.

1757
01:51:11,500 --> 01:51:14,600
So I always came to hear the truth.

1758
01:51:14,600 --> 01:51:17,980
Something was affecting me, but I wasn't saved, so I didn't know what it was.

1759
01:51:17,980 --> 01:51:23,180
And I started saying, I've got to do something.

1760
01:51:23,180 --> 01:51:29,100
Because I know this truth, if I don't respond to it, I'll never be okay again.

1761
01:51:29,100 --> 01:51:34,580
Finally, after six months of sitting in the back pew, and I said, I've got to do something.

1762
01:51:34,580 --> 01:51:38,740
It was like something was pushing me up out of my seat.

1763
01:51:38,740 --> 01:51:41,780
Something had grabbed a hold of my heart and was pulling me forward to tell the church

1764
01:51:41,780 --> 01:51:44,220
that I would live for Jesus.

1765
01:51:44,220 --> 01:51:47,140
When I turned my foot out, I was so afraid of going up there, I didn't think I could

1766
01:51:47,140 --> 01:51:48,140
walk down the aisle.

1767
01:51:48,140 --> 01:51:51,620
But as soon as I turned my foot out, the next thing I know, and I've rehearsed this in my

1768
01:51:51,620 --> 01:51:55,820
mind now for 26 years, the next thing I know, I was standing nose to nose with the pastor

1769
01:51:55,820 --> 01:51:58,180
like this telling him I wanted to live for the Lord Jesus Christ.

1770
01:51:58,180 --> 01:52:02,980
I didn't have to walk the aisle because as soon as I went like this, I was there.

1771
01:52:02,980 --> 01:52:04,780
You say you don't believe in teleportation?

1772
01:52:04,780 --> 01:52:09,860
Well, I blacked out or something, and I was there.

1773
01:52:09,860 --> 01:52:14,500
Because I knew, as long as I knew this truth about who Jesus was and what He had done and

1774
01:52:14,500 --> 01:52:20,300
what He wanted to do in me and through me, I would never be okay again unless I responded.

1775
01:52:20,300 --> 01:52:24,900
Unless I did what it was He was calling me to do.

1776
01:52:24,900 --> 01:52:27,020
And so I did it.

1777
01:52:27,020 --> 01:52:30,420
And then I started living it, and then this is what happened.

1778
01:52:30,420 --> 01:52:31,780
I'm being transparent here.

1779
01:52:31,780 --> 01:52:32,780
Bad things happen.

1780
01:52:32,780 --> 01:52:34,500
I'm in a position, I'm in a difficulty.

1781
01:52:34,500 --> 01:52:35,500
Things fell apart.

1782
01:52:35,500 --> 01:52:36,700
Things didn't go the way I wanted them to.

1783
01:52:36,700 --> 01:52:38,060
This last week, twice.

1784
01:52:38,060 --> 01:52:42,180
This last week, twice, I was so angry, I was literally ready to hurt someone or something

1785
01:52:42,180 --> 01:52:43,620
twice in one week.

1786
01:52:43,620 --> 01:52:47,880
One of them had to do with a dear friend of mine, it was a difficult spot, and I felt

1787
01:52:47,880 --> 01:52:54,300
like that person had been betrayed, they betrayed themselves, and I was ready to hurt somebody.

1788
01:52:54,300 --> 01:52:57,980
And I had to call and confide in a brother, and I'm sure he heard it in my voice and would

1789
01:52:57,980 --> 01:53:00,460
testify if I gave him permission to, of what I was saying.

1790
01:53:00,460 --> 01:53:01,580
It was a confidential conversation.

1791
01:53:01,580 --> 01:53:05,620
And then there was another time, and the other time I confided in my wife.

1792
01:53:05,620 --> 01:53:09,060
And I told her, I said, you don't understand, I am so angry right now.

1793
01:53:09,060 --> 01:53:11,380
I am literally ready to hurt, I'm like going to explode.

1794
01:53:11,380 --> 01:53:14,500
I have to say this, you have to hear what I have to say, and we have to try to figure

1795
01:53:14,500 --> 01:53:18,060
out what we're going to do about this because it is an injustice and we've got to fix it.

1796
01:53:18,060 --> 01:53:21,580
I was so angry.

1797
01:53:21,580 --> 01:53:28,460
But in the midst of that, I thought, well, but I'm okay.

1798
01:53:28,460 --> 01:53:30,780
But that's not in the gospel.

1799
01:53:30,780 --> 01:53:33,860
The world of God is in the gospel.

1800
01:53:33,860 --> 01:53:36,820
Heir and joint heir of Jesus, that's in the gospel.

1801
01:53:36,820 --> 01:53:40,900
Headed for eternity in heaven, that's in the gospel.

1802
01:53:40,900 --> 01:53:44,260
Saved from the judgment that will come on the day Jesus returns again, that's in the

1803
01:53:44,260 --> 01:53:46,940
gospel.

1804
01:53:46,940 --> 01:53:51,860
None of those things sound like okay.

1805
01:53:51,860 --> 01:53:59,020
If at the beginning of the football season, the coach came and he said, listen, I know

1806
01:53:59,020 --> 01:54:00,020
for a fact.

1807
01:54:00,020 --> 01:54:03,860
I had a time machine, I traveled to the end of the season.

1808
01:54:03,860 --> 01:54:07,300
I saw us winning state.

1809
01:54:07,300 --> 01:54:11,060
We went all the way through the season, good enough record, whatever that was, and we went

1810
01:54:11,060 --> 01:54:13,020
to the playoffs and we won, and we went to state.

1811
01:54:13,020 --> 01:54:14,020
I read the headlines.

1812
01:54:14,020 --> 01:54:20,300
I know for a fact, I've just come back from a time machine, I know for a fact that I have,

1813
01:54:20,300 --> 01:54:23,620
this team, the team that's right here in this room, we won state this year.

1814
01:54:23,620 --> 01:54:25,900
I know it because I was there and I saw it.

1815
01:54:25,900 --> 01:54:27,660
Can't be changed.

1816
01:54:27,660 --> 01:54:33,420
If the team believes in, they can't be okay after that.

1817
01:54:33,420 --> 01:54:34,420
Right?

1818
01:54:34,420 --> 01:54:40,540
They're not going to go, oh, you know, we just gave up a touchdown, but we're okay because

1819
01:54:40,540 --> 01:54:42,420
at the end of the season, we win state.

1820
01:54:42,420 --> 01:54:44,580
They're going to go off the field, you know how they like shake their finger in the fist

1821
01:54:44,580 --> 01:54:45,580
of another player.

1822
01:54:45,580 --> 01:54:49,940
They're going to say, yeah, but we win state, baby.

1823
01:54:49,940 --> 01:54:51,940
Not okay.

1824
01:54:51,940 --> 01:54:53,260
Right?

1825
01:54:53,260 --> 01:54:56,860
If we win in the end, we're not okay.

1826
01:54:56,860 --> 01:54:58,060
We're great.

1827
01:54:58,060 --> 01:55:03,820
If Jesus is actually building a mansion for you in heaven right now with the color furniture

1828
01:55:03,820 --> 01:55:07,420
you like, you're not okay.

1829
01:55:07,420 --> 01:55:08,820
You're not okay when you're dying.

1830
01:55:08,820 --> 01:55:13,060
You've heard the song, Eyes of the Storm, possibly, if you haven't, look it up.

1831
01:55:13,060 --> 01:55:17,540
Arianna and I were singing it like two days in a row, singing it, we sang it like 40 times

1832
01:55:17,540 --> 01:55:20,460
and I still can only remember like 10% of the words, but when he's singing, I can do

1833
01:55:20,460 --> 01:55:22,860
more.

1834
01:55:22,860 --> 01:55:32,460
You get that notice that there's nothing more they can do, that it's not going right and

1835
01:55:32,460 --> 01:55:34,380
there's nothing you can do to change it.

1836
01:55:34,380 --> 01:55:38,760
And you're just like, oh, if only I could just elevate myself to be content like the

1837
01:55:38,760 --> 01:55:41,980
Bible says I should be right now.

1838
01:55:41,980 --> 01:55:44,740
Maybe that ain't the gospel of Jesus.

1839
01:55:44,740 --> 01:55:49,180
The gospel of Jesus is you are a child of God.

1840
01:55:49,180 --> 01:55:52,540
You're Lord and master Jesus paid for your sins.

1841
01:55:52,540 --> 01:55:58,260
You will never see the burning of hell, but you will see the glory of heaven for eternity.

1842
01:55:58,260 --> 01:56:00,560
You're not okay.

1843
01:56:00,560 --> 01:56:04,340
You are soaring above the tribulations.

1844
01:56:04,340 --> 01:56:09,300
You are better off than anybody else could be who doesn't know Jesus, even if they were

1845
01:56:09,300 --> 01:56:16,220
billionaire sleeping with a different person every night, flying their private jet to 20

1846
01:56:16,220 --> 01:56:20,960
different mansions in the world, buying and selling companies to make another hundred

1847
01:56:20,960 --> 01:56:23,780
million dollars today.

1848
01:56:23,780 --> 01:56:25,460
You're not okay.

1849
01:56:25,460 --> 01:56:30,580
You're better than that because ultimately they're going to stand in front of the judgment

1850
01:56:30,580 --> 01:56:38,220
and be sent into hell for an eternity and you're going to go into heaven.

1851
01:56:38,220 --> 01:56:39,840
You're not okay.

1852
01:56:39,840 --> 01:56:46,300
This gospel that we're talking about, if you hadn't accepted it, you could never be okay

1853
01:56:46,300 --> 01:56:50,460
because it would always be rattling around in you trying to have its work, trying to

1854
01:56:50,460 --> 01:56:51,460
have its way.

1855
01:56:51,460 --> 01:56:55,020
You'd always be pushing it away and you just get more and more chasing, more and more hard

1856
01:56:55,020 --> 01:56:56,020
away from God.

1857
01:56:56,020 --> 01:56:57,540
So you can never be okay.

1858
01:56:57,540 --> 01:57:06,300
So the truth is once meeting this gospel, you can never be okay again.

1859
01:57:06,300 --> 01:57:14,180
If you are saying the next time you face opposition, but I'm okay, hear me saying you're way better

1860
01:57:14,180 --> 01:57:17,380
than that.

1861
01:57:17,380 --> 01:57:21,380
You're way better than that.

1862
01:57:21,380 --> 01:57:24,800
You're amazing.

1863
01:57:24,800 --> 01:57:33,060
He's awesome and he's in you and nobody could ask for more unless of course they don't know

1864
01:57:33,060 --> 01:57:35,260
him.

1865
01:57:35,260 --> 01:57:37,340
Do you know him?

1866
01:57:37,340 --> 01:57:43,380
Then the next time it's broken or it's running out or it's falling down or it's not there

1867
01:57:43,380 --> 01:57:49,140
when you want it or the words aren't right.

1868
01:57:49,140 --> 01:57:56,980
If you know him, praise him for the afflictions, for the tribulations and deliver this gospel

1869
01:57:56,980 --> 01:58:05,100
boldly, gently, faithfully in the midst of that opposition, not based in error, not based

1870
01:58:05,100 --> 01:58:10,580
in impurity, not by way of deceit and definitely not fruitless.

1871
01:58:10,580 --> 01:58:19,780
Ain't nobody ever starved who had fruit, nor will you nor will I.

1872
01:58:19,780 --> 01:58:20,780
God help us.

1873
01:58:20,780 --> 01:58:22,040
Choose your side today.

1874
01:58:22,040 --> 01:58:30,180
This gospel that Jesus has called us to and entrusted us with or some other.

1875
01:58:30,180 --> 01:58:35,480
In fact is that the others are pretty good by earthly standards, but they're nothing

1876
01:58:35,480 --> 01:58:37,720
by God's standards.

1877
01:58:37,720 --> 01:58:41,340
That's illustration and I'm through.

1878
01:58:41,340 --> 01:58:44,700
Friend of mine, I don't know, friend, he's a friend on Facebook.

1879
01:58:44,700 --> 01:58:49,140
An associate of mine posted a text message on Facebook this week.

1880
01:58:49,140 --> 01:58:55,140
He said, today I was present and ministered to a woman in my congregation whose husband,

1881
01:58:55,140 --> 01:59:02,060
young husband, 23 I think, had climbed up in a tree to trim some branches and he fell

1882
01:59:02,060 --> 01:59:03,060
and he broke his neck.

1883
01:59:03,060 --> 01:59:09,180
And the pastor happened to be there at that time and they ministered to him CPR until

1884
01:59:09,180 --> 01:59:12,940
the paramedics arrived and said that he was dead on the scene.

1885
01:59:12,940 --> 01:59:17,660
23 years old, two kids.

1886
01:59:17,660 --> 01:59:22,700
So I encouraged her the best I could, the best I knew how.

1887
01:59:22,700 --> 01:59:27,740
Then he said, I had to go home and finish my sermon for Sunday on how the deacons of

1888
01:59:27,740 --> 01:59:35,300
our church should love the congregation and serve them.

1889
01:59:35,300 --> 01:59:45,140
After pumping that guy's chest for six or seven minutes until the paramedics got there,

1890
01:59:45,140 --> 01:59:50,100
over the years serving in the Heights Fellowship Baptist Church, previously the Heights Fellowship

1891
01:59:50,100 --> 01:59:57,380
of Mission of East Little Baptist Church, I've had people make promises.

1892
01:59:57,380 --> 01:59:58,740
I've had people and break them.

1893
01:59:58,740 --> 02:00:03,140
I've had people respond to invitation, didn't do what they said they were going to do.

1894
02:00:03,140 --> 02:00:06,340
People say, I know God's calling me to this ministry only to start it, only to later to

1895
02:00:06,340 --> 02:00:07,340
decide to not.

1896
02:00:07,340 --> 02:00:12,140
I've had people that I trusted with my life come to me and say, you know, I've been thinking

1897
02:00:12,140 --> 02:00:17,780
I'm going to go to a different church.

1898
02:00:17,780 --> 02:00:21,260
People get saved and baptized and we dump them in the water and they come out and they're

1899
02:00:21,260 --> 02:00:22,260
not sure it's the next Sunday.

1900
02:00:22,260 --> 02:00:27,580
And then I go talk to them and they're like, yeah, we're not going to go to church right

1901
02:00:27,580 --> 02:00:31,020
now or we're going to go to church at a different church.

1902
02:00:31,020 --> 02:00:32,740
People in our church say, I need this.

1903
02:00:32,740 --> 02:00:33,740
Can you do this for me?

1904
02:00:33,740 --> 02:00:35,460
Yep, I'll get that done for you.

1905
02:00:35,460 --> 02:00:39,900
A week goes by, a month goes by, six months goes by, still not done.

1906
02:00:39,900 --> 02:00:41,900
So I do it myself.

1907
02:00:41,900 --> 02:00:43,500
It's not about me.

1908
02:00:43,500 --> 02:00:52,700
What I'm saying to you is, I'm going to be here, faithfully, gently, boldly, through

1909
02:00:52,700 --> 02:00:59,100
opposition, over top of opposition, proclaiming this gospel that I know to be without error,

1910
02:00:59,100 --> 02:01:04,620
not out of impurity or deceit.

1911
02:01:04,620 --> 02:01:08,780
If you realize you accepted some other gospel, I'd ask you today to accept Jesus Christ as

1912
02:01:08,780 --> 02:01:13,340
Lord and Savior in earnest and become a student of the gospel, the real gospel, the gospel

1913
02:01:13,340 --> 02:01:14,340
of Jesus.

1914
02:01:14,340 --> 02:01:20,020
If you're here today and you realize you have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior,

1915
02:01:20,020 --> 02:01:25,940
but you haven't thought about what he called you to, that you're a minister of the gospel,

1916
02:01:25,940 --> 02:01:31,820
that you're reconciling people to him, that you're sharing the truth, just how vital that

1917
02:01:31,820 --> 02:01:32,820
truth is.

1918
02:01:32,820 --> 02:01:38,900
And you can lose it every time you face opposition and you go, oh, what was me?

1919
02:01:38,900 --> 02:01:39,900
No.

1920
02:01:39,900 --> 02:01:41,540
No more what was you.

1921
02:01:41,540 --> 02:01:42,540
Not ever.

1922
02:01:42,540 --> 02:01:50,180
Then if you realize that's where you've been, then you say, I repent today and I'm turning

1923
02:01:50,180 --> 02:01:57,380
back to the Lord to become a bearer of that which he gave me to bear, this gospel.

1924
02:01:57,380 --> 02:02:00,780
I ask the praise team to come forward, lead us in this final song, but this is your opportunity

1925
02:02:00,780 --> 02:02:01,780
to respond.

1926
02:02:01,780 --> 02:02:05,900
Do not respond out of guilt, do not respond out of deceit.

1927
02:02:05,900 --> 02:02:08,860
If the Lord is looking into your heart, then you can respond.

1928
02:02:08,860 --> 02:02:12,780
You can just raise your hand right where you are, you don't have to walk and just say,

1929
02:02:12,780 --> 02:02:16,260
I got to say, I know this to be true.

1930
02:02:16,260 --> 02:02:18,260
And tell us the truth.

1931
02:02:18,260 --> 02:02:20,260
And that's all.

1932
02:02:20,260 --> 02:02:24,260
But we are truth bearers and truth sayers.

1933
02:02:24,260 --> 02:02:27,260
We are people of the truth.

1934
02:02:27,260 --> 02:02:28,260
We're ready?

1935
02:02:28,260 --> 02:02:31,260
Stand with us and sing if you're able.

1936
02:02:31,260 --> 02:02:58,260
Just as I am in love with God, God and the God, the share of me and the dog that's me,

1937
02:02:58,260 --> 02:03:13,260
I'm ready to come to the old lamb of God.

1938
02:03:13,260 --> 02:03:16,620
Thanks for joining us for this podcast from New Heights Fellowship Baptist Church of East

1939
02:03:16,620 --> 02:03:17,620
Toledo.

1940
02:03:17,620 --> 02:03:19,180
A word of encouragement to you today.

1941
02:03:19,180 --> 02:03:22,860
I hope you really enjoyed and grew from this podcast.

1942
02:03:22,860 --> 02:03:32,220
And then please check us out online at churchtoledo.com and also download our app now available in

1943
02:03:32,220 --> 02:03:36,940
Google Play Store and on the iOS app system.

1944
02:03:36,940 --> 02:03:37,940
Harvey say that.

1945
02:03:37,940 --> 02:03:39,580
Anyway, so download it.

1946
02:03:39,580 --> 02:03:43,740
It's Life, the number four, Toledo.

1947
02:03:43,740 --> 02:03:45,660
Life for Toledo.

1948
02:03:45,660 --> 02:03:50,300
That's the name of the app and there's opportunities on there to serve and also opportunities to

1949
02:03:50,300 --> 02:03:53,420
be served with groceries if you happen to be a need in the Toledo area.

1950
02:03:53,420 --> 02:03:55,180
Just want to know what's going on.

1951
02:03:55,180 --> 02:03:56,900
Please download that app.

1952
02:03:56,900 --> 02:04:02,940
Then if you like it, give us a nice review and pass it on to all your friends and let

1953
02:04:02,940 --> 02:04:05,740
everybody know about it because we want to get as many people in that community as we

1954
02:04:05,740 --> 02:04:20,740
possibly can.