WEBVTT

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I didn't get a message. I didn't get a message.

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Hello! Good morning, New Heights. Good morning,

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Carrie Jo. Good morning. Good morning. Oh, that's

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not the announcement. So, we do have some announcements

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this morning. First announcement is for Team

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Leader. There's a Team Leader meeting today,

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immediately following service. Yay. And this

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one is coming from our fatherhood watchman team

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leader, Tony Tate. You are a man willing to make

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encouragement contacts with new husbands or outside

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men. Please see. Tony, for those of you who don't

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know, this is Tony. All right, and now this is

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for on -call. This would be an on -call volunteer

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position that would help out our pantry. For

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items that are going to be nearing their expiration

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date, we want to move those out to people in

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our community who may not be able to come. So

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if you are interested in helping to deliver those

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items, please see me, and then I will get you

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on the list. for, it'd be like a rotating on

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-call thing. So if you can only deliver once

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a month on the third Sunday, if there's nothing

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to deliver, then I'll just say, hey, Ron Mack,

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there's nothing to deliver this week. You are

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good to go. All right. And your questioneers,

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if you are a member and you have not filled those

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out yet, please get those filled out and turn

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it in. Carrie and Christopher, of course, came

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on us. And then remember, we are participating

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in the Bless Every Home to pray for people in

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your neighborhood and in the church community

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and in the church. Pastor Dan can send you a

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registration link. And also there are paper directions.

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Yes. There will be at the Baptist Sanctuary.

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And if you're unable to hear the sermon or you're

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just like, hey, I'd really like to know what

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was happening because we had to work. or you're

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sick, or whatever, you can text LISTEN to 409

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-409 -0095 for a link to the podcast, or the

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podcast link is actually in your bulletin, and

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that was a lot to type out. You can't just click

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on it, guys. And also, on our church website,

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if you are feeling the need to get some random

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encouragement throughout the week, you can sign

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up. for an encouragement. I don't know, how do

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those come up? Do they text? Do they email? Yeah,

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right. We email, we text, and we do voice calls.

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All right. And you can sign up for that on the

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church website, New Heights Fellowship. It's

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newheightsfellowshipchurch .org. And there's

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a tab that says, Encourage Me. Also, we've got

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a couple more. We've got enough for this week,

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guys. So today continues our sermon series. on

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spiritual circumcision. And today, if you, again,

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nursery, children's records, if you're not in

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here, the text this week can be found in Romans

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2 .29. And Pastor Dan's sermon today is titled

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Spirit Over Letter. And for those of you who

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don't know, on the back of your bulletin, there's

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just a whole slew of random things that you want

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to know knowledge about. such as information

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on the church, how to give online or electronically.

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We also have help and listen. Those are all located

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on the back of your bulletin if ever you are

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trying to tell someone about them and you can't

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remember, they are listed right here, right up

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under our vision statement. Alright, that's what

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I have. Are there any announcements that I'm

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missing? Do Lord, we thank you for this day.

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Thank you for this opportunity to be here in

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your house. We thank you for those that you've

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brought with us. We ask your blessing as we go

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throughout this week as we attack all of these

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things that you've set before us and this long

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list of announcements that is getting us back

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to the things that we should be doing for you.

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And we ask especially that you watch over those

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of us who are not able to be here in this forum

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this morning that may be joining us online. or

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that may be in a different place. We ask your

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guidance and that you bring them back to us safely.

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In Jesus' name, amen. Okay, praise God. So I

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have before me the list of names from our neighborhood.

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We're going to do this first. I had a little

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bit of technical difficulty. I thought I had

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printed them off, but apparently I had not printed

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them off. I was going to do it from paper. And

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then there's my phone. So that's my easiest way

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to access my email. And so people are watching

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us via my phone right now, so I couldn't access

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my email. So then I thought, oh, I'll give my

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wife's phone. And then right after I asked her

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if I could do the phone, I remembered I could

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do it on here. So that's it right there. That's

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the list. Also, I confess to you before we ever

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pray that I have already clicked the click when

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done button. So we're committed now. We must

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pray for these folks today. Because I wasn't

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sure if it was going to work. It looked like

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it was copying in there. I thought, oh, I don't

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know if it's going to work or not. So I clicked

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when done, and then I had to sign in. So it's

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already registered that we prayed, so we're going

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to do that. And then you'll have an opportunity

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after we pray to possibly share something that

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God has spoken to you about this week or shown

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you in the scripture or something like that.

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And I had a couple of interesting experiences

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myself that I may or may not share with you.

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Let's just hear what we're all hearing from the

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world. Okay, so first of all, these are the names.

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They are John Ritchie of 1932 Kelsey Avenue.

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Charlene and Joseph Maggard of 1922 Kelsey Avenue.

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We're working our way down Kelsey. Linda and

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Mandy Reif of 1916 Kelsey. Israel Jimenez of...

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1910 Kelsey Avenue, and Hannah Hedges of 1910

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Kelsey. And there's a suggested prayer in the

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box, and it's always based on a scripture. And

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so we'll pray. Let's pray together. Father in

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heaven, you are an awesome God. And even as we

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begin to talk today about what you've been saying

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to us, what you've been doing in our lives, what

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you've been showing us, how you've been urging

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our hearts in your direction, we look now to

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you for the ultimate in sustenance. amidst a

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world pandemic with some people so fearful about

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what may come next or about what they're going

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to experience, about whether or not they are

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going to get COVID. And some have already had

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it and gotten over it and some have lasting residual

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effects. But Lord, we're grateful that you've

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been with us during such a difficult time and

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activated us and allowed us to serve. At the

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same time, that brings us to conviction because

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perhaps we haven't served the way that we could.

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And we ask your forgiveness. Thank you that that's

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available through Jesus, your Son. And we ask

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you, Lord, to now bless us as we seek to pray

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for this list and for one another and to come

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together, united to worship you. We pray for

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those who are still hurting, of course. And then

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we pray, Lord, for those who are on our minds

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and hearts and also for these names that we've

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called, that they may experience your perfect

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love. Lord, I guess we would have to pray that

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for ourselves. We want you to experience your

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perfect love. Father, we know the scripture says

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such love has no fear because perfect love expels

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all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of

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punishment. And this shows that we have not fully

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experienced this perfect love. God, help us.

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Help these we've listed. Help our friends, our

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family, our co -workers, students at our school,

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clients, visitors. whether they know you or not.

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Lord, we are praying them into your presence

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to experience your perfect love. We pray this

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in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you very much. Okay,

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so how has the Lord been speaking this week?

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What have you seen? What have you heard? Brother

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Frank. Just recently, a lot of you guys know

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that I've been going through something that applies

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to everything else. And the last couple of days...

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The healing process has been great. The last

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two days, I've been ready to run around the block.

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Well, I can't do that, but, you know, it's just

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great how the Lord works, you know, the blessings,

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the healing, and everything. And God is good.

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Thank you. We've been praying for you. Okay,

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who else? Well, I just want to say thank you

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for all you guys. I have no idea how much courage

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I've come from a lot of songs. Just everything.

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It's the Lord anyways, but just awesome. The

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Lord just kept it in my heart. You don't know

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who you are. You don't know who you are. You

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don't go very far. Even though it's a podcast,

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just a reminder of just... I've got to say, I

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go with my testimony. When I was 23 years old,

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I didn't know who I was. I was condemned and

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I was forsaken by God. I wouldn't even know who

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I was. But today I was able to call on the Lord

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and the Lord accepted me through Christ Jesus.

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You know, I've been under his lordship, his workmanship.

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I've been under his conviction, his mercy. And

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the last 16 years, I couldn't even tell you why

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I've been out of control. Can't keep my heart

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right. Don't know why I got things going on,

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all this stuff. But there was so much foolishness

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that I didn't ever deal with in my life. You

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know, I got to say, I've never felt like this

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in my entire life. And it was from a lot of here

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and there, on the scene, behind the scenes, churches

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I've gone to. There's been a lot of false hope

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and false truth, but there's also been some true

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hope, some true love, some true truth. So I'm

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very grateful for a lot of things that people

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don't even know what they said or did just by

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stepping out. And I just want to say thank you.

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And this verse, I just love this. You know, I

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love the word. It's 2 ,000 years. The oldest

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books are like the Iliad and Odyssey. They're

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about the closest there is. There is nothing

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as close to the Bible that is to stand the test

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of time. This is Titus 2, verses 11 -13. This

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is my go -to monthly scripture. I've got nothing

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else to go to. But it says, For the grace of

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God to bring salvation has appeared to all men.

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It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly

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passions and to live self -controlled. upright

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in Godly lives in this present age. There's a

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comma. While we wait for the blessed hope, the

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glorious appearing of our great God and Savior,

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Jesus Christ. Another comma, 14. Who gave himself

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for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to

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purify for himself a people that are his very

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own. Comma. That are his very own. Eager to do

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what is good. Period. Drop the mic. Very much

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to say. But it's just so awesome that God appeared

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in everyone. God is here today. Anybody that

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wants to accept him, we're condemned to forsake

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him without Christ Jesus. But we come under his

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workmanship, his lordship, his purity, his holiness,

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his righteousness. He nails our unrighteousness

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to the cross and helps us deal with that unrighteousness.

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And then... Someday He will come back again.

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And we're waiting, patiently serving, living.

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I got my GPS on. I'm glorifying God, pleasing

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God, serving God. Easier said than done. But

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it's God that strengthens me. And I said it before,

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you know, I'm strong right now. The others are

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strengthening me. But even if they don't, I can

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actually finally say it. That the Lord is always

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strong. He can strengthen me. If I don't get

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what I need from others, I have this sustenance

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from God. His supper, His table, giving me strength

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every day. And then 14, you know, He sets us

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apart for Himself. He sets us apart for Himself.

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It's for Himself. He's not doing it because,

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you know, we need to do this. No, it's for Himself.

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You belong to Him. He loves you. He adores you.

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He almost, not say worship, but He sees the image

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of Christ and He draws near to it. Draws near

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to us. for Himself and then for His own and then

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to do what is good. Not just to do good things,

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but His goodness and His righteousness. What

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He says is good and what He says is right. Just

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so awesome. Hope you're highly encouraged. Have

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a great day. Amen. God bless you. Alright, anyone

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else? Whether you know it or not, we don't follow

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the... I don't know what you call it, ecumenical

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calendar or whatever, but the way they tell you

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to do church. We don't do church the way they

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tell you to do church. We do church the way God

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tells us to do church. But it's Transformation

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Sunday. And so in a lot of churches all over

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the place, especially those who are following

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that calendar, they're celebrating today the

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transformation of Jesus. And they're leading

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up into Easter. It's one of the earlier texts

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that they sort of like to attribute to Easter

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and so on. And it's when Jesus went up on the

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mountain and he saw... We took a couple of disciples

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with him, and we saw some pretty incredible people

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there, Moses and Elijah. And I remember Peter

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saying, oh, Lord, it's good that we're here.

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We can build you all some tents, you know, like

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that. But Jesus was transformed there, and they

00:21:17.660 --> 00:21:21.740
saw what he would look like after all. And so

00:21:21.740 --> 00:21:24.980
it's a great celebration because we, too, are

00:21:24.980 --> 00:21:27.779
in the process of being transformed. It's a long

00:21:27.779 --> 00:21:30.220
road for us, it feels like, because we're kind

00:21:30.220 --> 00:21:32.000
of still in the midst of it, still in the midst

00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:36.319
of it. But today, I just want to kind of put

00:21:36.319 --> 00:21:41.420
in your minds that thought when Jesus came up

00:21:41.420 --> 00:21:44.099
out of the water and God said, you know, this

00:21:44.099 --> 00:21:47.779
is my son with whom I am well pleased. Listen

00:21:47.779 --> 00:21:51.559
to him. And so be encouraged today to listen

00:21:51.559 --> 00:21:54.980
to him. Whether I get it right or wrong, whether

00:21:54.980 --> 00:21:56.819
we write scripture today or not, all scripture

00:21:56.819 --> 00:21:59.240
speaks about Christ. That's the unifying theme

00:21:59.240 --> 00:22:01.960
from Genesis to Revelation. It's all about Jesus.

00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:05.200
And so, listen to Him today. Not the person that's

00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:06.980
next to you, the person that came with you, or

00:22:06.980 --> 00:22:09.720
there's somebody else in the room. But listen

00:22:09.720 --> 00:22:13.259
to Him today. Okay? This is my son who I'm well

00:22:13.259 --> 00:22:16.400
pleased. Listen to Him. Alright? So we're going

00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:18.059
to pray together at this time, and then transition

00:22:18.059 --> 00:22:19.960
to tithes and offerings, a little more worship,

00:22:20.059 --> 00:22:23.480
and then I'll have a word. Brother Frank, would

00:22:23.480 --> 00:22:25.180
you kindly pray for us and remember the lesson

00:22:25.180 --> 00:22:28.539
of tithes and offerings? Lord, as we gather today

00:22:28.539 --> 00:22:31.619
to receive Your Word, We bless these words, Lord,

00:22:31.940 --> 00:22:35.140
that we're inclined to hear. Be blessed to offer

00:22:35.140 --> 00:22:38.380
me, Lord, that it may help the church grow even

00:22:38.380 --> 00:22:42.420
stronger. Bless the people that are sick and

00:22:42.420 --> 00:22:45.740
cannot be here. Be with us and our families.

00:22:46.680 --> 00:22:52.720
And as we see new heights in the hour, we pray

00:22:52.720 --> 00:22:59.519
that it may grow also. Bless us, Lord. All right,

00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:58.789
thank you. Thank you. Something hopefully quicker.

00:24:01.069 --> 00:24:03.930
There's a little bit of controversy about this

00:24:03.930 --> 00:24:09.190
song, Reckless Love. And so I thought maybe I'd

00:24:09.190 --> 00:24:13.930
better say something about that. The basic argument

00:24:13.930 --> 00:24:17.750
is that God's love is not reckless. And I would

00:24:17.750 --> 00:24:20.910
agree with that. So there's a certain context

00:24:20.910 --> 00:24:24.740
of listening to this song in that sense. God's

00:24:24.740 --> 00:24:26.700
love is not reckless. It's very intentional.

00:24:27.099 --> 00:24:33.079
Amen. He knows what he will do. But there are

00:24:33.079 --> 00:24:35.319
certain things that God will not do on our behalf.

00:24:35.500 --> 00:24:38.299
He will not change his character. He will not

00:24:38.299 --> 00:24:41.119
become something else for us. He is God. He's

00:24:41.119 --> 00:24:43.900
eternal. He's the same yesterday, today, or tomorrow.

00:24:44.660 --> 00:24:49.579
So he may, for example, tolerate our sin for

00:24:49.579 --> 00:24:52.099
a little while, but it will be dealt with at

00:24:52.099 --> 00:24:57.150
some point. He will and has gone to incredible

00:24:57.150 --> 00:25:00.390
lengths to save us from our sins. But our sins

00:25:00.390 --> 00:25:04.089
still have to be dealt with. And whether it's

00:25:04.089 --> 00:25:06.609
through Christ on the cross or whether it's hell,

00:25:06.849 --> 00:25:09.529
it's dealt with one way or another in the end.

00:25:10.130 --> 00:25:14.630
So from God's standpoint, his love is very intentional.

00:25:14.809 --> 00:25:16.869
He knows exactly what he's doing. There's no

00:25:16.869 --> 00:25:19.890
chaos. There's no uncertain outcome from his

00:25:19.890 --> 00:25:22.740
perspective. But from our point of view, it does

00:25:22.740 --> 00:25:24.980
seem reckless, out of control maybe sometimes,

00:25:25.259 --> 00:25:28.980
or, you know, no bounds to what he'll do for

00:25:28.980 --> 00:25:33.259
us. But I just wanted to put that out there.

00:40:17.960 --> 00:40:19.519
Sometimes after worship I feel like there just

00:40:19.519 --> 00:40:27.679
isn't anything left to be said. We began a sermon

00:40:27.679 --> 00:40:29.940
series last week and I want you to know that

00:40:29.940 --> 00:40:31.900
it has happened to me a number of times in my

00:40:31.900 --> 00:40:34.219
life that we are in the midst of a sermon series

00:40:34.219 --> 00:40:36.780
or just beginning a sermon series and I come

00:40:36.780 --> 00:40:40.099
under heavy attack. Usually I find that that

00:40:40.099 --> 00:40:42.219
means that I'm about to say or the Lord would

00:40:42.219 --> 00:40:46.159
want me to say something that We'll glorify him

00:40:46.159 --> 00:40:48.500
and help us to better understand his nature,

00:40:48.539 --> 00:40:52.079
draw us to him, and encourage us to apply what

00:40:52.079 --> 00:40:57.719
we've learned. And so I have already been adjusting,

00:40:57.860 --> 00:41:00.000
trying to adjust to what I'm about to try to

00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:02.380
explain. It is a relatively complicated thing,

00:41:02.440 --> 00:41:03.480
and we're going to come at it. You know how to

00:41:03.480 --> 00:41:05.619
roller coaster? You do the chink, chink, chink,

00:41:05.619 --> 00:41:07.039
chink, chink, and then you hit the hill down

00:41:07.039 --> 00:41:08.760
and you get the speed? We're going to skip the

00:41:08.760 --> 00:41:10.000
chink, chink, chink, and we're going to go straight

00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:12.820
to the hill down, all right? So if you're a fan

00:41:12.820 --> 00:41:14.780
of the chink, chink, chink, as you prepare yourself

00:41:14.780 --> 00:41:17.280
to go down the fast hill, we don't get to do

00:41:17.280 --> 00:41:20.820
that today because we have to recap where we're

00:41:20.820 --> 00:41:22.679
at and the sermon series a little bit, so we

00:41:22.679 --> 00:41:24.300
make sure everybody's on the same page, and we're

00:41:24.300 --> 00:41:25.659
going to do that very quickly, very briefly.

00:41:25.739 --> 00:41:26.920
So you're going to have to start with your thinking

00:41:26.920 --> 00:41:29.840
cap on, start by absorbing right away, and then

00:41:29.840 --> 00:41:33.199
into the text, which is moderately lengthy, so

00:41:33.199 --> 00:41:36.159
you will not get an explanation of every word

00:41:36.159 --> 00:41:39.440
or every phrase because we're looking at it as

00:41:39.440 --> 00:41:42.530
an overview. And then we have to come out of

00:41:42.530 --> 00:41:44.449
that with how to be affected and how to live

00:41:44.449 --> 00:41:47.190
our lives according to what the text said. So

00:41:47.190 --> 00:41:50.250
to get all that in and to do it in a way that

00:41:50.250 --> 00:41:52.869
makes sense and is God -honoring, it's going

00:41:52.869 --> 00:41:54.809
to go fast -paced the majority of the time. It

00:41:54.809 --> 00:41:57.130
is nice occasionally to slow down, but we don't

00:41:57.130 --> 00:41:59.489
really get that opportunity to slow down today.

00:41:59.849 --> 00:42:03.110
So now you've been warned. Put your thinking

00:42:03.110 --> 00:42:06.800
caps on. Alright, here we go. So we started a

00:42:06.800 --> 00:42:09.380
sermon series last week, and we basically began

00:42:09.380 --> 00:42:12.639
in Genesis 17. You'll recall, it was God's promises

00:42:12.639 --> 00:42:15.320
to Abraham. And basically God was saying, I'm

00:42:15.320 --> 00:42:17.019
going to do all this for you. And then he right

00:42:17.019 --> 00:42:18.980
away afterwards, and we stopped there the first

00:42:18.980 --> 00:42:20.840
time we looked at it, but he right away afterwards

00:42:20.840 --> 00:42:22.579
says, and you're going to be circumcised for

00:42:22.579 --> 00:42:25.440
me. He went on to say that everybody who is circumcised

00:42:25.440 --> 00:42:27.179
is of me and everybody who is not circumcised

00:42:27.179 --> 00:42:29.679
is not of me. In fact, he said, if there is a

00:42:29.679 --> 00:42:31.420
stranger amongst you or if you yourself or any

00:42:31.420 --> 00:42:33.179
person amongst you is found not to be circumcised,

00:42:33.219 --> 00:42:36.539
they have no part with me. That caused us then

00:42:36.539 --> 00:42:39.179
to begin to look at what Christian circumcision

00:42:39.179 --> 00:42:41.920
is. It is not the snipping of the physical foreskin.

00:42:41.960 --> 00:42:44.099
We obviously have put that behind us. It is not

00:42:44.099 --> 00:42:46.980
of the flesh. And though the works of God, if

00:42:46.980 --> 00:42:48.780
you are living for the Lord and following the

00:42:48.780 --> 00:42:51.079
commands of the Lord, they may count for you

00:42:51.079 --> 00:42:53.219
as circumcision if you did that completely. We

00:42:53.219 --> 00:42:55.159
discovered it is not that because nobody does

00:42:55.159 --> 00:42:58.559
that completely. rather than we looked at what

00:42:58.559 --> 00:43:00.980
circumcision would be. In Deuteronomy 30, Moses

00:43:00.980 --> 00:43:03.400
is speaking, and he talks about how there would

00:43:03.400 --> 00:43:05.159
come a time when God's people would not be following

00:43:05.159 --> 00:43:06.440
him. Remember, they were the stewards of the

00:43:06.440 --> 00:43:08.539
word. They would not be following him, and they

00:43:08.539 --> 00:43:10.460
would essentially be shunted off into other nations

00:43:10.460 --> 00:43:13.199
in captivity. They would lose the land, the promised

00:43:13.199 --> 00:43:15.119
land that God had offered them, the ability to

00:43:15.119 --> 00:43:16.760
be blessed in the land that God had offered them.

00:43:17.289 --> 00:43:19.510
Then God would call them back to himself. He

00:43:19.510 --> 00:43:21.110
would put in them where there was a heart of

00:43:21.110 --> 00:43:22.889
stone, a heart of flesh. He would give them compassion.

00:43:23.070 --> 00:43:24.989
And most importantly, he would give them his

00:43:24.989 --> 00:43:27.050
Holy Spirit. And so last week we discovered,

00:43:27.190 --> 00:43:30.809
looked at how circumcision for Christians is

00:43:30.809 --> 00:43:35.769
largely internal. It is a circumcision of the

00:43:35.769 --> 00:43:38.530
heart. It is being affected by God internally.

00:43:40.319 --> 00:43:44.159
We were basically heavily getting out of Romans

00:43:44.159 --> 00:43:48.800
2, verses 27 -29, and ending in 29, this sermon

00:43:48.800 --> 00:43:50.880
series to better understand this circumcision

00:43:50.880 --> 00:43:53.300
of the heart that God would do bless you. Verse

00:43:53.300 --> 00:43:56.519
27, chapter 2 said, And will not he who is physically

00:43:56.519 --> 00:43:58.420
uncircumcised, if he keeps the law, will not

00:43:58.420 --> 00:44:01.519
he judge you, who though having the letter of

00:44:01.519 --> 00:44:03.420
the law and circumcision are a transgressor of

00:44:03.420 --> 00:44:05.179
the law? That's that same thing that we said.

00:44:05.239 --> 00:44:07.659
Will they not clearly see that we have not followed,

00:44:07.719 --> 00:44:09.320
even if we are circumcised, we have not followed?

00:44:09.960 --> 00:44:13.539
the law completely as we're supposed to. Those

00:44:13.539 --> 00:44:16.280
who are uncircumcised, if they themselves are

00:44:16.280 --> 00:44:18.019
following the law. Okay? And we talked about

00:44:18.019 --> 00:44:20.699
that last week. Then 28. For he is not a Jew

00:44:20.699 --> 00:44:23.780
who is one outwardly, neither is circumcision

00:44:23.780 --> 00:44:26.340
that which is outward in the flesh. And then

00:44:26.340 --> 00:44:29.039
29 essentially becomes the overarching verse

00:44:29.039 --> 00:44:31.539
for the entire sermon series. It is this. But

00:44:31.539 --> 00:44:35.039
he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision

00:44:35.039 --> 00:44:38.619
is that which is of the heart, by the spirit,

00:44:39.079 --> 00:44:41.280
not by the letter. And that's our phrase for

00:44:41.280 --> 00:44:42.980
our title today, by the Spirit, not by the letter,

00:44:43.039 --> 00:44:45.800
or a brief phrase to say Spirit over letter.

00:44:46.039 --> 00:44:47.920
But our circumcision of the heart will be by

00:44:47.920 --> 00:44:50.579
the Spirit, not by the letter. And His praise

00:44:50.579 --> 00:44:54.900
is not from men, but from God. Okay, so now you're

00:44:54.900 --> 00:44:56.780
there. Now grab your Bibles if you would, take

00:44:56.780 --> 00:44:58.760
a deep breath, hoot, holler, say amen, whatever,

00:44:59.079 --> 00:45:04.199
as we go to Romans chapter 7. This is God's Word.

00:45:05.619 --> 00:45:07.440
You're caught up to where we're at in the sermon

00:45:07.440 --> 00:45:11.119
series now. I expect that you will digest it

00:45:11.119 --> 00:45:12.980
and allow God to affect you. I hope you're excited

00:45:12.980 --> 00:45:15.800
about God's work in your life today. Romans 7,

00:45:15.880 --> 00:45:19.840
1 begins like this. Or do you not know, brethren,

00:45:20.039 --> 00:45:22.179
for I am speaking to those who know the law,

00:45:22.320 --> 00:45:24.000
so he's talking to those who know the Bible,

00:45:24.139 --> 00:45:27.059
right? Or do you not know, brethren, that the

00:45:27.059 --> 00:45:29.360
law has jurisdiction over a person as long as

00:45:29.360 --> 00:45:32.559
he lives? For the married woman is bound by law

00:45:32.559 --> 00:45:35.500
to her husband while he is living. So if her

00:45:35.500 --> 00:45:37.400
husband is alive, she's bound by law to him.

00:45:37.679 --> 00:45:40.440
But if her husband dies, she is released from

00:45:40.440 --> 00:45:43.460
the law concerning the husband. So then, if while

00:45:43.460 --> 00:45:45.159
her husband is living, she is joined to another

00:45:45.159 --> 00:45:47.340
man, she shall be called an adulteress. But if

00:45:47.340 --> 00:45:50.559
her husband dies, she is free from the law, so

00:45:50.559 --> 00:45:52.579
that she is not an adulteress, though she is

00:45:52.579 --> 00:45:54.840
joined to another man. So because her husband

00:45:54.840 --> 00:45:57.039
dies, she is free from the law to be joined to

00:45:57.039 --> 00:46:00.099
her husband, and rather is free to be joined

00:46:00.099 --> 00:46:02.719
to another man. So she has escaped the burden

00:46:02.719 --> 00:46:06.759
of the law because her husband died, right? Therefore,

00:46:06.759 --> 00:46:11.239
my brethren, you also were made to die to the

00:46:11.239 --> 00:46:14.159
law through the body of Christ that you might

00:46:14.159 --> 00:46:18.179
be joined to another, to him who was raised from

00:46:18.179 --> 00:46:20.360
the dead, that we might bear fruit from God.

00:46:20.460 --> 00:46:22.539
Now there is a doctrine -packed verse right there.

00:46:22.639 --> 00:46:23.960
We're not going to digest it all, but I do want

00:46:23.960 --> 00:46:25.340
to give you just a basic understanding in case

00:46:25.340 --> 00:46:27.699
you didn't get it on the first read -by. Therefore,

00:46:27.820 --> 00:46:32.059
we died with Christ to the law. So we escaped

00:46:32.059 --> 00:46:35.519
the burden of the law. We escape the burden of

00:46:35.519 --> 00:46:37.659
thinking we would be saved by the law or even

00:46:37.659 --> 00:46:39.760
in the requirements of following all the law

00:46:39.760 --> 00:46:44.039
short of fulfilling the law. Short of the completeness

00:46:44.039 --> 00:46:45.699
of the law. We don't follow individual pieces

00:46:45.699 --> 00:46:47.699
of the law. He says you escape the burden of

00:46:47.699 --> 00:46:50.000
the law because you died with him who is Christ.

00:46:50.840 --> 00:46:53.960
And you live to him who was raised from the dead

00:46:53.960 --> 00:46:56.960
who is Christ. that we might bear fruit for God.

00:46:57.079 --> 00:46:59.119
So in other words, our lives might be made effective.

00:46:59.300 --> 00:47:01.159
And is that not what we want? We want our lives

00:47:01.159 --> 00:47:03.239
to be effective. Our lives might be made effective

00:47:03.239 --> 00:47:06.420
by this process. At least it is made possible

00:47:06.420 --> 00:47:08.480
that our lives might be made effective, that

00:47:08.480 --> 00:47:11.219
we died with Christ and now live after that event.

00:47:11.699 --> 00:47:14.460
Verse 5. For while we were in the flesh, the

00:47:14.460 --> 00:47:17.300
sinful passions which were aroused by the law.

00:47:17.639 --> 00:47:19.739
Okay, so your sinful passions are the things

00:47:19.739 --> 00:47:22.599
that your flesh wants, your internal man, your

00:47:22.599 --> 00:47:28.210
carnal man wants. that are not godly. Okay? Sinful

00:47:28.210 --> 00:47:30.670
passions. They were aroused. It means they were

00:47:30.670 --> 00:47:33.449
awakened. They were activated. Empowered, if

00:47:33.449 --> 00:47:37.590
you will, by the law. They were at work in the

00:47:37.590 --> 00:47:40.909
members of our body to bear fruit for death.

00:47:41.869 --> 00:47:43.949
Did you catch all that? So the sinful passions,

00:47:44.070 --> 00:47:45.989
that's what was at work. Our sinful passions

00:47:45.989 --> 00:47:48.750
were at work in the members, that's the parts,

00:47:48.789 --> 00:47:50.630
not like your limbs, but your whole parts of

00:47:50.630 --> 00:47:54.070
your body. to bear fruit for death. So that's

00:47:54.070 --> 00:47:56.190
the wrong way. That's not what you want. Death,

00:47:56.190 --> 00:47:58.809
separation from God. Verse 6. But now we have

00:47:58.809 --> 00:48:01.989
been released from the law, having died, to that

00:48:01.989 --> 00:48:05.150
by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness

00:48:05.150 --> 00:48:08.429
of the Spirit, capital S, and not in oldness

00:48:08.429 --> 00:48:11.230
of the letter. And so now our lives are lived

00:48:11.230 --> 00:48:14.530
in newness of the Spirit, not in the way the

00:48:14.530 --> 00:48:18.150
law was written and given to men. Not in the

00:48:18.150 --> 00:48:20.769
understanding of what it says in Scripture, simply

00:48:20.769 --> 00:48:23.369
do this, okay, if I do that, I'm right by God.

00:48:23.389 --> 00:48:25.750
If I don't do that, I'm wrong by God. But rather,

00:48:25.809 --> 00:48:28.650
we are walking in the Spirit, not in the oldness

00:48:28.650 --> 00:48:31.630
of the letter. Verse 7, we'll come back to that

00:48:31.630 --> 00:48:34.429
in the points. What shall we say then? Is the

00:48:34.429 --> 00:48:38.849
law sin? May it never be. So remember what just

00:48:38.849 --> 00:48:40.650
happened. Because then the law came in, then

00:48:40.650 --> 00:48:43.449
our sinful passions were arised, and we began

00:48:43.449 --> 00:48:46.710
to bear essentially fruit for death. They were

00:48:46.710 --> 00:48:50.269
aroused. So the power that is empowering those

00:48:50.269 --> 00:48:52.329
sinful passions to essentially destroy us was

00:48:52.329 --> 00:48:56.269
what? Was the law. Okay? And he says, we don't

00:48:56.269 --> 00:48:58.030
want to think that the law is sin, may it never

00:48:58.030 --> 00:49:00.449
be. On the contrary, I would not have come to

00:49:00.449 --> 00:49:02.369
know sin except through the law. See, the law

00:49:02.369 --> 00:49:05.949
was informing what sin was. It was highlighting

00:49:05.949 --> 00:49:08.849
it, shining a light on it, making it obvious.

00:49:09.030 --> 00:49:11.730
That make sense? If you go in the dark in a completely

00:49:11.730 --> 00:49:14.389
pitch black room and you're in there with an

00:49:14.389 --> 00:49:17.670
axe murderer, With a sharpened blade and a wicked

00:49:17.670 --> 00:49:20.650
look in his eye. And it's completely dark. And

00:49:20.650 --> 00:49:22.650
somebody flips on the light and the axe murderer

00:49:22.650 --> 00:49:25.309
kills you. It was not the light that killed you.

00:49:25.530 --> 00:49:28.150
It was the axe murderer. Okay, you understand?

00:49:28.449 --> 00:49:30.909
So he was there anyway. And he was probably going

00:49:30.909 --> 00:49:33.050
to start swinging regardless. You understand

00:49:33.050 --> 00:49:35.969
what I'm saying? So it's not the law that did

00:49:35.969 --> 00:49:39.110
it, but the sin that did it. And we're going

00:49:39.110 --> 00:49:41.070
to see that a little bit more in this text. So

00:49:41.070 --> 00:49:43.010
it says, Is the law sin? May it never be. On

00:49:43.010 --> 00:49:44.929
the contrary, I would not have come to know sin

00:49:44.929 --> 00:49:46.909
except through the law. For I would not have

00:49:46.909 --> 00:49:49.170
known about coveting if the law had not said,

00:49:49.309 --> 00:49:52.489
You shall not covet. But sin, taking opportunity

00:49:52.489 --> 00:49:55.349
through the commandment, produced in me coveting

00:49:55.349 --> 00:49:58.829
of every kind. So sin produced in me a desire

00:49:58.829 --> 00:50:00.530
for all this other stuff that I'm not supposed

00:50:00.530 --> 00:50:06.190
to desire. Once I knew, or as I knew, or because

00:50:06.190 --> 00:50:09.530
I knew, or because it was clear. The forbidden

00:50:09.530 --> 00:50:13.550
fruit always seems to be desirable, look better,

00:50:13.730 --> 00:50:16.730
etc. And the law lays out what is forbidden,

00:50:16.869 --> 00:50:19.150
and so people go after it, is basically what

00:50:19.150 --> 00:50:22.570
he's saying. For apart from the law, sin is dead.

00:50:22.849 --> 00:50:25.010
Hang on, that may be one of the most important

00:50:25.010 --> 00:50:27.170
things you need to hear. Apart from the law,

00:50:27.409 --> 00:50:33.380
sin is dead. Nine. And I was once alive apart

00:50:33.380 --> 00:50:38.840
from the law. Hear that? But when the commandment

00:50:38.840 --> 00:50:44.420
came, sin became alive and I died. And that's

00:50:44.420 --> 00:50:45.800
where Paul would elsewhere write in Ephesians

00:50:45.800 --> 00:50:47.659
2, we were dead in our transgressions and sins,

00:50:47.800 --> 00:50:51.139
right? Sin became alive and I died. So there's

00:50:51.139 --> 00:50:54.519
a trading of places there. Sin was dead and I

00:50:54.519 --> 00:50:57.519
was alive. then the law and the commandment became

00:50:57.519 --> 00:50:59.860
obvious, and the truth became obvious, and then

00:50:59.860 --> 00:51:03.219
sin became alive, and I died. And what this actually

00:51:03.219 --> 00:51:05.219
looks like in your life, very practically speaking,

00:51:05.500 --> 00:51:07.539
is when you have a choice to make, and you can

00:51:07.539 --> 00:51:09.500
go the wrong way, or you can go the right way.

00:51:09.659 --> 00:51:12.139
And the moment you go the wrong way, decide to

00:51:12.139 --> 00:51:14.139
go the wrong way, or even yearn to go the wrong

00:51:14.139 --> 00:51:16.179
way, think about going the wrong way, the moment

00:51:16.179 --> 00:51:20.360
that you do that, you give life to the wrong

00:51:20.360 --> 00:51:22.809
way. The wrong way becomes a thing. Once you've

00:51:22.809 --> 00:51:25.369
done it a few times, it becomes a well -beaten

00:51:25.369 --> 00:51:30.309
path, a way to go. Don't give life, but it happens.

00:51:30.590 --> 00:51:33.489
Sin became alive and I died, verse 10. And his

00:51:33.489 --> 00:51:35.630
commandment, which was to result in life, so

00:51:35.630 --> 00:51:37.769
God gave us the commandments to result in life,

00:51:37.889 --> 00:51:41.150
proved to result in death for me. For sin, taking

00:51:41.150 --> 00:51:43.969
opportunity through the commandment, deceived

00:51:43.969 --> 00:51:47.289
me and through it killed me. You can almost hear

00:51:47.289 --> 00:51:49.769
the conflict in the Garden of Eden between Adam.

00:51:50.699 --> 00:51:54.019
And Eve and the serpent, right? She looks at,

00:51:54.079 --> 00:51:56.420
oh, that's a good tree. That fruit looks good

00:51:56.420 --> 00:51:58.639
to eat. Yeah, well, they all look good to eat,

00:51:58.679 --> 00:52:01.039
right? All the trees were good. But this is the

00:52:01.039 --> 00:52:04.260
one tree that she was told to leave alone. It's

00:52:04.260 --> 00:52:06.099
the one tree that they were told not to eat from.

00:52:06.219 --> 00:52:08.670
They had to tend it, but don't eat from it. And

00:52:08.670 --> 00:52:10.909
she warped God's word and the law was misquoted

00:52:10.909 --> 00:52:13.510
and then she took of the tree and she ate, deceived,

00:52:13.610 --> 00:52:16.170
believing that she would not be killed. But indeed,

00:52:16.289 --> 00:52:18.030
she was killed, believing that she would not

00:52:18.030 --> 00:52:19.730
be poisoned, believing that sin would not be

00:52:19.730 --> 00:52:22.190
wrong for her life. But indeed, sin was wrong

00:52:22.190 --> 00:52:24.349
for her life and it always will be. It says,

00:52:24.389 --> 00:52:28.349
taking opportunity through the commandment deceived

00:52:28.349 --> 00:52:31.280
me and through it killed me. So then the law

00:52:31.280 --> 00:52:33.900
is holy and the commandment is holy and righteous

00:52:33.900 --> 00:52:36.659
and good. That's a great verse to memorize, by

00:52:36.659 --> 00:52:39.480
the way, right there, verse 12. Therefore, did

00:52:39.480 --> 00:52:42.099
that which is good become a cause of death for

00:52:42.099 --> 00:52:45.880
me? Was it the law or the teachings of the Bible

00:52:45.880 --> 00:52:48.099
that were the cause of death for me? May it never

00:52:48.099 --> 00:52:50.960
be. Rather, it was sin in order that it might

00:52:50.960 --> 00:52:55.139
be shown to be sin by affecting my death through

00:52:55.139 --> 00:52:57.940
that which is good. In other words, sin, because

00:52:57.940 --> 00:53:01.460
sin is sin, And it's 100 % sin and there's nothing

00:53:01.460 --> 00:53:03.760
about it. There's no grades or shades or shadows

00:53:03.760 --> 00:53:06.420
about it. It's sin, right? Sin leapt up and became

00:53:06.420 --> 00:53:11.219
sin. Surprise! I'm sin. 100 % sin. And given

00:53:11.219 --> 00:53:14.960
an opportunity to warp our understanding of the

00:53:14.960 --> 00:53:17.940
word, sin will do that. We have churches that

00:53:17.940 --> 00:53:19.599
claim to be churches all over the world who are

00:53:19.599 --> 00:53:21.260
warping an understanding of the word. Rather

00:53:21.260 --> 00:53:23.340
than taking it for what it says, they want to

00:53:23.340 --> 00:53:25.519
tweak it a little bit and make it authorize a

00:53:25.519 --> 00:53:27.099
certain lifestyle, authorize a certain thing,

00:53:27.099 --> 00:53:28.679
or command a certain thing to get people to do

00:53:28.679 --> 00:53:31.780
a certain thing, whatever. Sin will always take

00:53:31.780 --> 00:53:35.800
every opportunity to be sin. Rather it was sin,

00:53:36.039 --> 00:53:38.059
back up a little bit, in order that it might

00:53:38.059 --> 00:53:40.519
be shown to be sin by affecting my death through

00:53:40.519 --> 00:53:43.000
that which is good. That through the commandment,

00:53:43.019 --> 00:53:48.639
sin might become utterly... Sinful. It's absolutely

00:53:48.639 --> 00:53:51.340
beyond a shadow of a doubt. Clearly, it only

00:53:51.340 --> 00:53:53.940
has one identity. Its integrity is complete.

00:53:54.079 --> 00:53:56.179
Ours is lacking, but its integrity is complete.

00:53:56.320 --> 00:53:59.619
Verse 14. For we know that the law is spiritual.

00:54:00.019 --> 00:54:02.880
That's the word of God, spiritual. But I am of

00:54:02.880 --> 00:54:05.820
flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For that which

00:54:05.820 --> 00:54:08.260
I am doing, I do not understand. For I am not

00:54:08.260 --> 00:54:10.380
practicing what I would like to do, but I am

00:54:10.380 --> 00:54:13.619
doing the very thing I hate. So the things that

00:54:13.619 --> 00:54:15.559
I don't want to do, the things that are bad for

00:54:15.559 --> 00:54:17.960
me, the things that I know are wrong as a Christian,

00:54:18.119 --> 00:54:22.760
sometimes we do them still. He says 16. But if

00:54:22.760 --> 00:54:26.099
I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree

00:54:26.099 --> 00:54:28.320
with the law. In other words, I know what side

00:54:28.320 --> 00:54:30.079
I'm on, I know what's right, but I'm doing what

00:54:30.079 --> 00:54:32.300
I don't want to do or what I shouldn't do, right?

00:54:33.779 --> 00:54:35.480
confessing that it is good. I'm confessing that

00:54:35.480 --> 00:54:38.199
the law is good, but I'm not following it for

00:54:38.199 --> 00:54:40.039
whatever reason. 17, he's going to tell us what

00:54:40.039 --> 00:54:43.159
the reason is. So now, no longer am I the one

00:54:43.159 --> 00:54:46.340
doing it, but sin which dwells in me. Now notice,

00:54:46.539 --> 00:54:50.699
nowhere in here has sin been killed. At the mix,

00:54:50.800 --> 00:54:55.820
if you will, of the law and sin, sin came to

00:54:55.820 --> 00:54:59.880
life. Sin is alive. It's a living thing in you

00:54:59.880 --> 00:55:07.349
or in me. And I died. But then in Christ, we're

00:55:07.349 --> 00:55:10.050
about to see something different for me. But

00:55:10.050 --> 00:55:15.150
sin is still alive. And he says, so now, no longer

00:55:15.150 --> 00:55:18.429
am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells

00:55:18.429 --> 00:55:22.000
me. For I know. That nothing good dwells in me

00:55:22.000 --> 00:55:25.559
that is in my flesh. So he's clarifying. For

00:55:25.559 --> 00:55:28.079
the wishing is present in me, but the doing of

00:55:28.079 --> 00:55:31.159
the good is not. In other words, and I always

00:55:31.159 --> 00:55:32.559
use this example when I'm talking to somebody

00:55:32.559 --> 00:55:34.559
about spiritual warfare. If you know who you

00:55:34.559 --> 00:55:36.139
are and you're in your right mind, and then suddenly

00:55:36.139 --> 00:55:38.159
you have a thought that does not agree with who

00:55:38.159 --> 00:55:40.219
you are, that is spiritual warfare. That is an

00:55:40.219 --> 00:55:42.760
evil spirit trying to get you to buy into, or

00:55:42.760 --> 00:55:44.539
it can be your sinful nature, or it can be the

00:55:44.539 --> 00:55:46.320
world, or trying to get you to buy into an idea

00:55:46.320 --> 00:55:50.239
that is not your own. If, for example, you would

00:55:50.239 --> 00:55:52.920
never strike out in anger and punch or hit a

00:55:52.920 --> 00:55:55.659
family member, and then you're having a difficult

00:55:55.659 --> 00:55:57.619
time, going through difficulty, whatever, and

00:55:57.619 --> 00:55:59.639
you feel an urging to do something like that,

00:55:59.679 --> 00:56:01.420
but you know you would never do that, but in

00:56:01.420 --> 00:56:03.139
that moment you think, maybe actually you would

00:56:03.139 --> 00:56:06.820
do that. Which one of those is really you? Well,

00:56:06.860 --> 00:56:08.900
if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, you would

00:56:08.900 --> 00:56:11.650
never do that. Right? So in the moment that you're

00:56:11.650 --> 00:56:13.190
tempted to do that, the moment you feel that

00:56:13.190 --> 00:56:14.750
you're compelled to do that, or you have a thought

00:56:14.750 --> 00:56:16.050
that you might even do that, even if it begins

00:56:16.050 --> 00:56:18.989
with I, I think I'll do that, whatever. The moment

00:56:18.989 --> 00:56:22.090
that you do that, you realize that's spiritual

00:56:22.090 --> 00:56:24.329
warfare. That's a thought coming from somewhere

00:56:24.329 --> 00:56:27.489
else. And you have to defeat that or take it

00:56:27.489 --> 00:56:30.289
captive or destroy it, even if possible. Kill

00:56:30.289 --> 00:56:34.110
it, as we're about to see. But the problem is,

00:56:34.269 --> 00:56:36.730
at certain times, you don't. And then you realize,

00:56:36.889 --> 00:56:39.239
oh, I should have done what... I knew to do was

00:56:39.239 --> 00:56:41.079
right. And that's what he's talking about. Verse

00:56:41.079 --> 00:56:44.619
19 says, For the good that I wish, I do not.

00:56:45.039 --> 00:56:48.380
But I practice the very evil I do not wish. But

00:56:48.380 --> 00:56:51.179
if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I

00:56:51.179 --> 00:56:53.360
am no longer the one doing it, but sin which

00:56:53.360 --> 00:56:57.219
dwells in me. Be clear, there's two people, two

00:56:57.219 --> 00:56:59.159
persons, if you will, talked about in this that

00:56:59.159 --> 00:57:00.760
are living inside you. That's becoming obvious,

00:57:00.900 --> 00:57:03.880
isn't it? 21. I find then the principle that

00:57:03.880 --> 00:57:06.800
evil is present in me, the one who wishes to

00:57:06.800 --> 00:57:10.460
do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of

00:57:10.460 --> 00:57:12.719
good in the inner man. So in other words, that

00:57:12.719 --> 00:57:15.199
part of myself that is internal, my heart, my

00:57:15.199 --> 00:57:18.079
mind, when I am calm, when I know who I am, when

00:57:18.079 --> 00:57:20.699
I'm thinking out of my strength, out of God's

00:57:20.699 --> 00:57:24.840
love for me, I know who I am. And I joyfully

00:57:24.840 --> 00:57:26.900
agree with the law. I would do all the things

00:57:26.900 --> 00:57:29.619
that it tells me to do. Verse 23 says, But I

00:57:29.619 --> 00:57:32.199
see a different law in the members of my body.

00:57:32.480 --> 00:57:34.480
which is yearning to do things that it should

00:57:34.480 --> 00:57:37.800
not, waging war against the law of my mind and

00:57:37.800 --> 00:57:41.559
making me a prisoner of the law of sin, which

00:57:41.559 --> 00:57:45.199
is in my members. So this principle that you,

00:57:45.360 --> 00:57:47.360
and the world teaches this, by the way, is a

00:57:47.360 --> 00:57:49.260
very hearty thing. You can take what you want.

00:57:49.639 --> 00:57:51.800
You can stand up for yourself. You can go after

00:57:51.800 --> 00:57:54.900
it. You deserve it, etc. And those principles

00:57:54.900 --> 00:57:58.500
are at war, coming out of the flesh, against

00:57:58.500 --> 00:58:00.760
the real you, against the you that is in Christ,

00:58:00.800 --> 00:58:03.800
if you've become a Christian. 24. He says, Wretched

00:58:03.800 --> 00:58:07.260
man that I am! Who will set me free from the

00:58:07.260 --> 00:58:11.500
body of this death? Thanks be to God, through

00:58:11.500 --> 00:58:14.849
Jesus Christ our Lord. So then on the one hand,

00:58:14.909 --> 00:58:17.610
I myself with my mind am serving the law of God.

00:58:17.670 --> 00:58:20.030
But on the other, with my flesh, the law of sin.

00:58:20.070 --> 00:58:21.869
In other words, there is a war, a battle going

00:58:21.869 --> 00:58:24.010
on. That's what he just said. There's a battle

00:58:24.010 --> 00:58:27.429
going on. My body wants to do one thing. Myself,

00:58:27.429 --> 00:58:30.570
my inner man, my regenerated man, my follower

00:58:30.570 --> 00:58:33.269
of Jesus man, wants to do another thing. And

00:58:33.269 --> 00:58:36.429
so there is a conflict, a war going on with my

00:58:36.429 --> 00:58:40.559
flesh. between my flesh and the Spirit of God

00:58:40.559 --> 00:58:42.840
in me, or between my regenerated spirit, if you

00:58:42.840 --> 00:58:45.599
want to say it that way. Chapter 8, verse 1,

00:58:45.760 --> 00:58:50.659
or over two -thirds of the way done. There is

00:58:50.659 --> 00:58:54.139
therefore now no condemnation for those who are

00:58:54.139 --> 00:58:56.760
in Christ Jesus. Now, right away, you want to

00:58:56.760 --> 00:58:58.639
say, I want to say, I've always quoted this verse

00:58:58.639 --> 00:59:01.139
to say, there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus

00:59:01.139 --> 00:59:04.920
because Jesus died on the cross to pay for all

00:59:04.920 --> 00:59:08.849
my sins. Right? That's what we teach. That's

00:59:08.849 --> 00:59:10.309
what we actually believe about this verse. That's

00:59:10.309 --> 00:59:12.349
why there is no condemnation, because Jesus died

00:59:12.349 --> 00:59:14.070
to pay for all my sins, past, present, and future.

00:59:14.550 --> 00:59:18.869
That isn't even what it said, is it? There is

00:59:18.869 --> 00:59:20.969
therefore, meaning it's based on the previous

00:59:20.969 --> 00:59:25.230
verses, right? What is the reason in the previous

00:59:25.230 --> 00:59:27.630
verses that tells us what the there is therefore

00:59:27.630 --> 00:59:31.949
is? It is that there is a war going on in us

00:59:31.949 --> 00:59:36.719
between sinful man and regenerated man. And when

00:59:36.719 --> 00:59:41.900
sinful man wins out and we sin, sinful man gets

00:59:41.900 --> 00:59:44.679
the blame. Because God sees the righteousness

00:59:44.679 --> 00:59:47.800
of Christ in us, sinful man gets the blame for

00:59:47.800 --> 00:59:50.440
what we did wrong. This is why there is now,

00:59:50.539 --> 00:59:52.820
therefore, no condemnation because there is a

00:59:52.820 --> 00:59:56.599
war going on in me between sinful man, carnal

00:59:56.599 --> 01:00:01.199
man, if you will, and regenerated God man. And

01:00:01.199 --> 01:00:07.619
sometimes it appears I'm losing. But it isn't

01:00:07.619 --> 01:00:13.199
me. If I am carrying $100 in my pocket and I

01:00:13.199 --> 01:00:15.340
go down a dark alleyway and I encounter a man

01:00:15.340 --> 01:00:21.280
who is 7 '5 and 410 pounds and armed and mean

01:00:21.280 --> 01:00:23.260
and nasty or whatever and he asks me for my $100,

01:00:23.420 --> 01:00:26.840
I'm going to give it to him. He can have it.

01:00:27.340 --> 01:00:31.440
And guess what? I am not going to feel the least

01:00:31.440 --> 01:00:33.860
bit guilty about giving it to him. I'm not going

01:00:33.860 --> 01:00:35.920
to come out of the alleyway and go, oh, I'm a

01:00:35.920 --> 01:00:37.739
stupid fool. I never should have given my hundred

01:00:37.739 --> 01:00:39.920
bucks. Why didn't I fight back? Why didn't I

01:00:39.920 --> 01:00:42.000
do whatever? Because he's bigger than me. He

01:00:42.000 --> 01:00:44.460
has already won the fight before the fight begins.

01:00:44.559 --> 01:00:47.460
Now that is not the case with sin. But once the

01:00:47.460 --> 01:00:50.059
other person has won the fight, it's a foolish

01:00:50.059 --> 01:00:55.139
mistake to beat yourself up over the other person

01:00:55.139 --> 01:00:57.869
having won the fight. There is a battle going

01:00:57.869 --> 01:01:00.869
on in you. And when there is sin, give sin the

01:01:00.869 --> 01:01:04.429
credit because sin is utterly sinful. And the

01:01:04.429 --> 01:01:06.750
commands were brought out to show that sin is

01:01:06.750 --> 01:01:09.269
utterly sinful. And taking an opportunity when

01:01:09.269 --> 01:01:10.989
the commands were brought out, sin originally

01:01:10.989 --> 01:01:14.309
killed me. Because I have thus died in Christ,

01:01:14.429 --> 01:01:17.170
I have escaped the demands of the law, and I

01:01:17.170 --> 01:01:20.130
am no longer dead. I am alive. And being alive,

01:01:20.309 --> 01:01:24.610
I am at war. And because I am at war, because

01:01:24.610 --> 01:01:27.699
I am participating in the war, There is no condemnation

01:01:27.699 --> 01:01:30.400
of me now. I will not be judged as a lost sinner

01:01:30.400 --> 01:01:34.719
unsaved going to hell because I am taking part

01:01:34.719 --> 01:01:37.639
in the conflict. The battle is still going on

01:01:37.639 --> 01:01:40.159
and ultimately I will be the winner. Verse 2.

01:01:40.320 --> 01:01:43.900
For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus

01:01:43.900 --> 01:01:47.099
has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

01:01:47.219 --> 01:01:49.820
You would die and go to hell based on your actions.

01:01:50.119 --> 01:01:53.150
Let's be very realistic. Not just... Whether

01:01:53.150 --> 01:01:54.590
or not you accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and

01:01:54.590 --> 01:01:56.570
Savior, that's the final determiner of whether

01:01:56.570 --> 01:01:58.550
you'll go to hell or not. But if you take Jesus

01:01:58.550 --> 01:02:01.369
out of the mix, everybody would die and go to

01:02:01.369 --> 01:02:04.730
hell based on what the law demands. We are all

01:02:04.730 --> 01:02:08.170
sinners. We have all been sinners. And we would

01:02:08.170 --> 01:02:11.150
die and go to hell if it were not for the salvation

01:02:11.150 --> 01:02:14.309
that Jesus Christ has provided. But then Jesus,

01:02:14.530 --> 01:02:17.690
the Holy Spirit of God in us, has provided a

01:02:17.690 --> 01:02:21.230
sustenance, an escape from the law. We died with

01:02:21.230 --> 01:02:23.369
Jesus, therefore we are free from the law. That's

01:02:23.369 --> 01:02:26.909
where we began. Verse 3. For what the law could

01:02:26.909 --> 01:02:30.489
not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God

01:02:30.489 --> 01:02:34.309
did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful

01:02:34.309 --> 01:02:37.429
flesh as an offering for sin. So in other words,

01:02:38.090 --> 01:02:40.349
what the law, which was intended to give life,

01:02:40.489 --> 01:02:43.630
could not do because our flesh man, as it was

01:02:43.630 --> 01:02:46.630
corrupted in Adam, our flesh man was corrupted

01:02:46.630 --> 01:02:48.929
and could not follow the rules and the laws and

01:02:48.929 --> 01:02:50.590
whatever, did not, could not, whatever you want

01:02:50.590 --> 01:02:53.489
to say. God took care of it. He sent his own

01:02:53.489 --> 01:02:57.510
son. And he sent him in the flesh so that he

01:02:57.510 --> 01:03:01.130
too had that sinful nature where we did not succeed

01:03:01.130 --> 01:03:03.889
and avoid all sin. Jesus did succeed and avoided

01:03:03.889 --> 01:03:06.909
all sin. And so he succeeded and avoided all

01:03:06.909 --> 01:03:11.110
sin. In the weak flesh, same as we have, at war.

01:03:11.250 --> 01:03:14.389
So Jesus was at war in himself, if you will,

01:03:14.489 --> 01:03:18.429
with his fleshly desires, and he won. And then

01:03:18.429 --> 01:03:23.690
died the death of someone who didn't win. That's

01:03:23.690 --> 01:03:27.289
getting off on another topic. The end of verse

01:03:27.289 --> 01:03:31.010
3 says, Sending his own son in the likeness of

01:03:31.010 --> 01:03:33.210
sinful flesh, and as an offering for sin, he

01:03:33.210 --> 01:03:37.320
condemned sin in the flesh. in order that the

01:03:37.320 --> 01:03:39.320
requirements of the law might be fulfilled in

01:03:39.320 --> 01:03:42.179
us who do not walk according to the flesh, but

01:03:42.179 --> 01:03:44.559
according to the Spirit. In other words, you

01:03:44.559 --> 01:03:47.679
don't follow your body. Your body follows God.

01:03:48.019 --> 01:03:50.199
Your body follows you as you choose to follow

01:03:50.199 --> 01:03:53.380
God. For those who are according to the flesh

01:03:53.380 --> 01:03:55.960
set their minds on the things of the flesh. If

01:03:55.960 --> 01:03:58.820
you're being driven by your desires, if you want

01:03:58.820 --> 01:04:00.480
a bigger car and you're doing things to get it,

01:04:00.679 --> 01:04:02.139
If you want a better relationship, then you're

01:04:02.139 --> 01:04:03.380
doing things to get it. You want to feel better

01:04:03.380 --> 01:04:04.860
about yourself, then you're doing things to get

01:04:04.860 --> 01:04:07.840
it. If those are your motivations, albeit fairly

01:04:07.840 --> 01:04:11.980
normal, those are fleshly motivations. That's

01:04:11.980 --> 01:04:14.579
not what we're called to. We follow the things

01:04:14.579 --> 01:04:17.300
of the Spirit. Our mind is not on the things

01:04:17.300 --> 01:04:19.940
of the flesh, but those who are according to

01:04:19.940 --> 01:04:21.980
the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. Verse 6,

01:04:22.099 --> 01:04:25.900
For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the

01:04:25.900 --> 01:04:28.960
mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. because

01:04:28.960 --> 01:04:31.380
the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God,

01:04:31.559 --> 01:04:34.500
but it does not subject itself to the law of

01:04:34.500 --> 01:04:39.860
God, for it is not even able to do so. And those

01:04:39.860 --> 01:04:42.199
who are in the flesh cannot please God. It is

01:04:42.199 --> 01:04:45.760
not possible to please God by any method other

01:04:45.760 --> 01:04:50.760
than being reborn. Verse 9. However, you are

01:04:50.760 --> 01:04:52.719
not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed

01:04:52.719 --> 01:04:54.800
the Spirit of God dwells in you. So here is your

01:04:54.800 --> 01:04:57.559
hope. If actually the Spirit of God dwells in

01:04:57.559 --> 01:04:59.059
you, meaning if you have accepted Jesus Christ

01:04:59.059 --> 01:05:00.760
your Lord and Savior, been born again, and are

01:05:00.760 --> 01:05:03.119
actually following Jesus, a desire to follow

01:05:03.119 --> 01:05:06.599
Jesus, then even when you screw up, that's sin

01:05:06.599 --> 01:05:09.500
in you, not you, right? Which is no excuse to

01:05:09.500 --> 01:05:12.900
continue to do it because your goal is to be

01:05:12.900 --> 01:05:18.960
a person of the Spirit. Verse 9 again. However,

01:05:19.079 --> 01:05:20.619
you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit,

01:05:20.780 --> 01:05:23.179
if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But

01:05:23.179 --> 01:05:25.460
if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,

01:05:25.780 --> 01:05:28.420
he does not belong to Him. There's only one way.

01:05:28.960 --> 01:05:31.980
Verse 10. And if Christ is in you, though the

01:05:31.980 --> 01:05:35.000
body is dead because of sin, yet the Spirit is

01:05:35.000 --> 01:05:37.059
alive because of righteousness. In other words,

01:05:37.119 --> 01:05:42.079
your flesh died with Jesus. And because of sin,

01:05:42.239 --> 01:05:44.460
and sin was then taken by Jesus onto the cross,

01:05:44.639 --> 01:05:47.260
right? It's kind of how that goes. But now you

01:05:47.260 --> 01:05:50.400
are alive because of righteousness that God has

01:05:50.400 --> 01:05:52.860
bestowed upon you. But if the Spirit of Him who

01:05:52.860 --> 01:05:56.239
raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, in

01:05:56.239 --> 01:05:57.739
other words, if the Holy Spirit lives in you,

01:05:58.219 --> 01:06:00.239
He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will

01:06:00.239 --> 01:06:02.519
also give life to your mortal bodies through

01:06:02.519 --> 01:06:04.380
the Spirit who dwells in you. So eventually,

01:06:04.599 --> 01:06:08.480
God is going to do this. It's in process. It's

01:06:08.480 --> 01:06:11.139
even being done now. Verse 12. So then, brethren,

01:06:11.400 --> 01:06:13.780
we are under obligation. We have a job to do.

01:06:13.860 --> 01:06:15.900
There's something that is required of us. Not

01:06:15.900 --> 01:06:18.000
to the flesh to live according to the flesh.

01:06:18.239 --> 01:06:20.219
For if you are living according to the flesh,

01:06:20.300 --> 01:06:24.099
you must die. But if by the Spirit you are putting

01:06:24.099 --> 01:06:27.320
to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

01:06:27.420 --> 01:06:29.920
There's your obligation. By the Spirit, putting

01:06:29.920 --> 01:06:33.019
to death the deeds of the body. And verse 14,

01:06:33.059 --> 01:06:36.659
our last verse. For all who are being led by

01:06:36.659 --> 01:06:41.239
the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. You

01:06:41.239 --> 01:06:43.500
understand? For all who are being led by the

01:06:43.500 --> 01:06:46.219
Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Okay, so

01:06:46.219 --> 01:06:48.679
we've read the verses, and now there's a couple

01:06:48.679 --> 01:06:50.579
of things in there, a few things in there, very

01:06:50.579 --> 01:06:52.719
powerful things I felt like, because it really

01:06:52.719 --> 01:06:55.639
affected me, that you need to see. The first

01:06:55.639 --> 01:07:00.659
one is failure without fail. Failure without

01:07:00.659 --> 01:07:06.280
fail. A carnal mind cannot keep the law of God.

01:07:07.289 --> 01:07:10.869
A fleshly mind, a mind driven by the passions

01:07:10.869 --> 01:07:13.230
that are in your flesh, the lust of the flesh,

01:07:13.409 --> 01:07:14.969
the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, which

01:07:14.969 --> 01:07:18.829
all men deal with before, during, and after getting

01:07:18.829 --> 01:07:23.210
saved. They don't go away. So at a cellular level,

01:07:23.389 --> 01:07:28.050
I've counseled a number of people over the years

01:07:28.050 --> 01:07:30.909
who are attempting to get rid of an addiction.

01:07:31.190 --> 01:07:33.550
And some people have lengthy success in getting

01:07:33.550 --> 01:07:36.250
rid of an addiction. But they forget after a

01:07:36.250 --> 01:07:38.650
month or six months, nine months, a year, two

01:07:38.650 --> 01:07:41.969
years, whatever, that addiction is actually at

01:07:41.969 --> 01:07:44.150
a cellular level. There are certain chemical

01:07:44.150 --> 01:07:46.409
addictions, for example, that your cells, literally

01:07:46.409 --> 01:07:49.210
every little cell that's in your bicep is addicted

01:07:49.210 --> 01:07:51.869
to that substance. And so you can feel like you're

01:07:51.869 --> 01:07:54.070
completely clean and beyond it. And then all

01:07:54.070 --> 01:07:56.269
of a sudden, some cell in your body calls out

01:07:56.269 --> 01:07:58.230
for a thing and it becomes like a, remember the

01:07:58.230 --> 01:08:00.789
viral, it's like a viral tweet where everybody

01:08:00.789 --> 01:08:02.630
starts retweeting it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh yeah,

01:08:02.690 --> 01:08:04.360
yeah, that's right. I remember, I remember. I

01:08:04.360 --> 01:08:05.980
used to get alcohol. I used to get cocaine. I

01:08:05.980 --> 01:08:08.019
used to get heroin. Whatever. And they go, well,

01:08:08.119 --> 01:08:09.840
I need that. I need that. We used to have that.

01:08:09.880 --> 01:08:12.159
Why don't we have that anymore? Right? And pretty

01:08:12.159 --> 01:08:14.099
soon all your cells are crying out for it and

01:08:14.099 --> 01:08:18.180
you're taking it back in to fulfill that. The

01:08:18.180 --> 01:08:22.380
carnal mind cannot fulfill the works of the law.

01:08:23.149 --> 01:08:26.050
If you should decide as a non -Christian to not

01:08:26.050 --> 01:08:30.569
lie, you may not lie for a day, a month, a year,

01:08:30.750 --> 01:08:34.909
a decade, 50 years, and then in one moment tell

01:08:34.909 --> 01:08:39.229
a lie and be right back into it. If you should

01:08:39.229 --> 01:08:42.109
use 12 -step program and your higher power is

01:08:42.109 --> 01:08:44.670
not Jesus Christ, the Lord of the universe, and

01:08:44.670 --> 01:08:46.989
He does not actually rebirth you, He does not

01:08:46.989 --> 01:08:50.539
actually save you, and then... You may give up

01:08:50.539 --> 01:08:52.520
alcohol or whatever your particular addictive

01:08:52.520 --> 01:08:55.479
substance is for however long and go right back

01:08:55.479 --> 01:08:58.979
into it at some point in time. The carnal mind

01:08:58.979 --> 01:09:03.800
cannot fulfill the law. It isn't even your fault

01:09:03.800 --> 01:09:06.239
that it's like that. It goes all the way back

01:09:06.239 --> 01:09:09.779
to Adam and Eve. It goes all the way back from

01:09:09.779 --> 01:09:11.560
the moment that Adam was corrupted. And you know

01:09:11.560 --> 01:09:13.640
who was present in Adam when he was corrupted?

01:09:14.039 --> 01:09:19.510
Every one of us. All of us were in the seed of

01:09:19.510 --> 01:09:22.869
Adam. All of us were in his DNA. All of us were

01:09:22.869 --> 01:09:25.569
represented in him. And so when he sinned, he

01:09:25.569 --> 01:09:28.130
sinned for all of us. And from that point on,

01:09:28.189 --> 01:09:31.350
we all have this fleshly nature. We all have

01:09:31.350 --> 01:09:34.390
this ability to drift off into the things that

01:09:34.390 --> 01:09:39.529
we want that are not actually good for us. In

01:09:39.529 --> 01:09:42.529
the Royal Navy, which is the tall ships era,

01:09:42.649 --> 01:09:45.689
is one of my favorite eras. In the Royal Navy,

01:09:46.320 --> 01:09:48.220
When they would go to war, they would enlist

01:09:48.220 --> 01:09:51.979
more and more and more men into the navy. And

01:09:51.979 --> 01:09:54.000
they would build more ships and they would put

01:09:54.000 --> 01:09:57.399
them out to sea. They were a very strong seafaring

01:09:57.399 --> 01:09:59.420
nation. They traveled all around the world. They

01:09:59.420 --> 01:10:03.899
would go around the horn and over to the Spanish

01:10:03.899 --> 01:10:07.800
main and all that kind of thing. On every ship,

01:10:07.840 --> 01:10:12.060
there was consistent discipline. And if the captain

01:10:12.060 --> 01:10:14.260
over -disciplined the men, if he whipped them

01:10:14.260 --> 01:10:16.579
for a small offense, like not saluting an officer,

01:10:16.859 --> 01:10:20.720
then morale on the ship would sink. And if the

01:10:20.720 --> 01:10:23.359
captain under -disciplined them, like they could

01:10:23.359 --> 01:10:25.100
not salute officers and he didn't say anything,

01:10:25.319 --> 01:10:28.560
or somebody stole an extra ration of food and

01:10:28.560 --> 01:10:30.779
they didn't get whipped for it or whatever, then

01:10:30.779 --> 01:10:34.579
morale would sink. And every way that was not

01:10:34.579 --> 01:10:38.779
perfectly right, mutiny would become more imminent.

01:10:40.010 --> 01:10:42.970
Now here's what's amazing. After they served

01:10:42.970 --> 01:10:45.550
on a sea ship, on a sea vessel like that for

01:10:45.550 --> 01:10:48.090
months or years, usually years, they would go

01:10:48.090 --> 01:10:49.590
to come off and they would go live somewhere

01:10:49.590 --> 01:10:52.109
else and you know what would happen? They couldn't

01:10:52.109 --> 01:10:54.770
function. They didn't want to function. They

01:10:54.770 --> 01:10:56.689
didn't want to live on land because there was

01:10:56.689 --> 01:10:59.109
no discipline on land. You can do anything you

01:10:59.109 --> 01:11:01.250
want, anytime you want. There's no healthy way

01:11:01.250 --> 01:11:05.140
of living. People to this day, I can't tell you

01:11:05.140 --> 01:11:06.140
the number of people I've counseled with who've

01:11:06.140 --> 01:11:07.800
been in prison. They went to prison. They've

01:11:07.800 --> 01:11:09.359
been there for 10 years. They come out and they

01:11:09.359 --> 01:11:11.619
find that they cannot function in prison. Their

01:11:11.619 --> 01:11:14.000
life was ordered. They knew when they had to

01:11:14.000 --> 01:11:15.579
eat. They knew when they had to clean up. They

01:11:15.579 --> 01:11:17.199
knew when they had to be bed down. They knew

01:11:17.199 --> 01:11:18.619
when the lights would go off. They knew when

01:11:18.619 --> 01:11:20.920
they had to shower. What days they had to shower.

01:11:21.000 --> 01:11:23.180
They knew everything was laid out for them. And

01:11:23.180 --> 01:11:25.279
they began to function like that. And after that

01:11:25.279 --> 01:11:27.000
period of time, it was perfectly all laid out

01:11:27.000 --> 01:11:29.840
for them. They come out and they go, oh, and

01:11:29.840 --> 01:11:31.539
they're shaky and they don't know how to live

01:11:31.539 --> 01:11:33.039
because now I don't have to shower on Wednesday

01:11:33.039 --> 01:11:35.680
morning at exactly 9 a .m. anymore. And my bedroom

01:11:35.680 --> 01:11:38.600
doesn't go off at 10 like it used to. And they

01:11:38.600 --> 01:11:41.760
just don't know how to function. The carnal mind

01:11:41.760 --> 01:11:44.460
would need the utmost indiscipline. They would

01:11:44.460 --> 01:11:47.640
need a separate section of rules perfectly laid

01:11:47.640 --> 01:11:50.609
out. everything exactly and followed to a T.

01:11:50.869 --> 01:11:53.310
And if you don't follow it, the punishment better

01:11:53.310 --> 01:11:57.949
be severe. If you lie, or if you slander, or

01:11:57.949 --> 01:12:00.250
if you misbehave by not following your parents'

01:12:00.350 --> 01:12:02.590
direction, you should be taken outside the camp

01:12:02.590 --> 01:12:05.590
and killed. Because if everybody doesn't have

01:12:05.590 --> 01:12:09.529
the perfect disciplinary system, or if they don't

01:12:09.529 --> 01:12:12.289
follow that disciplinary system, morale declines

01:12:12.289 --> 01:12:14.069
and people fall apart, people start to abuse

01:12:14.069 --> 01:12:16.109
each other, and pretty soon you have no society

01:12:16.109 --> 01:12:18.390
that's worth anything at all. What am I describing?

01:12:20.149 --> 01:12:23.550
We're talking about the law that God gave through

01:12:23.550 --> 01:12:26.409
Moses for their society when they moved in. And

01:12:26.409 --> 01:12:28.729
they needed to follow it to the letter perfectly

01:12:28.729 --> 01:12:32.409
and have extremely strict discipline. But what

01:12:32.409 --> 01:12:34.710
is it about the flesh? I don't like to get whipped

01:12:34.710 --> 01:12:35.970
when I do something wrong, so I'm just going

01:12:35.970 --> 01:12:39.789
to cover up my mistakes. I already made a mistake

01:12:39.789 --> 01:12:43.430
anyway, so now I can lie about it. And it's another

01:12:43.430 --> 01:12:45.630
sin, sure, but I'm already a sinner, so what

01:12:45.630 --> 01:12:48.560
the heck? You know? The people in this land,

01:12:48.619 --> 01:12:50.779
they worship a false god. They worship Baal or

01:12:50.779 --> 01:12:53.619
Asherah. We can do that too, right? Look how

01:12:53.619 --> 01:12:55.479
good they look worshiping. Going up in their

01:12:55.479 --> 01:12:58.060
high places and they're on their knees and they

01:12:58.060 --> 01:13:00.880
have such meaningful worship experiences and

01:13:00.880 --> 01:13:03.439
they're raising their hands and they're bowing

01:13:03.439 --> 01:13:06.399
down and they're giving great offerings and they

01:13:06.399 --> 01:13:08.300
get to sleep with the prostitutes in the temple

01:13:08.300 --> 01:13:11.479
to make it rain. We can do that too, can't we?

01:13:12.199 --> 01:13:16.850
Well, God is a God of love and mercy. And he's

01:13:16.850 --> 01:13:19.050
the one who put us there. He's the one who made

01:13:19.050 --> 01:13:21.149
us. If we have this desire to do these things,

01:13:21.250 --> 01:13:23.989
then that must be okay, right? No. The carnal

01:13:23.989 --> 01:13:26.829
man cannot function in any system that is not

01:13:26.829 --> 01:13:30.729
complete and total and perfectly followed. And

01:13:30.729 --> 01:13:33.189
since Adam, we have not been able to function

01:13:33.189 --> 01:13:35.369
in a system like that, which rules it all out.

01:13:35.409 --> 01:13:38.250
The law was given to demonstrate to us what a

01:13:38.250 --> 01:13:40.010
system like that would look like and how we would

01:13:40.010 --> 01:13:44.970
have to live, and then they didn't do it. Neither

01:13:44.970 --> 01:13:52.699
did we. Failure without fail. All have sinned

01:13:52.699 --> 01:13:56.000
and fall short of the glory of God. Wicked is

01:13:56.000 --> 01:14:02.060
the heart who can know it. We are not able. We

01:14:02.060 --> 01:14:05.300
would fail. In fact, taking that opportunity

01:14:05.300 --> 01:14:09.300
when the law came in and people began to know

01:14:09.300 --> 01:14:11.479
what was wrong. In fact, Romans 1 says when those

01:14:11.479 --> 01:14:15.180
who do not have the law Still have rules for

01:14:15.180 --> 01:14:17.100
themselves. They have things that they're required

01:14:17.100 --> 01:14:21.979
to do. They show they become a law unto themselves.

01:14:22.899 --> 01:14:25.180
And then they break the law. So you set a rule

01:14:25.180 --> 01:14:28.180
for yourself. January 1, 10 years ago, I'm not

01:14:28.180 --> 01:14:30.279
going to overeat or I'm going to start working

01:14:30.279 --> 01:14:33.920
out or I'm going to not lie anymore or I'm going

01:14:33.920 --> 01:14:35.359
to go to bed at a good time and get up at a good

01:14:35.359 --> 01:14:37.100
time. It's called New Year's resolution. You

01:14:37.100 --> 01:14:38.680
set a rule for yourself. Then you break the rule.

01:14:39.220 --> 01:14:41.380
It's the same as if you broke the law of God

01:14:41.380 --> 01:14:42.819
because you made a rule for yourself and then

01:14:42.819 --> 01:14:46.100
you broke it. We don't have integrity outside

01:14:46.100 --> 01:14:50.779
of God anymore. We cannot keep it. Failure was

01:14:50.779 --> 01:14:54.779
imminent and happened. Then taking an opportunity

01:14:54.779 --> 01:14:56.720
as we knew what we were supposed to do and didn't

01:14:56.720 --> 01:15:00.840
do it, sin, being utterly sinful, destroyed us.

01:15:01.779 --> 01:15:04.939
Tore us down. Tore us apart. Put us in a position

01:15:04.939 --> 01:15:08.939
of utter destruction. Death. Separation from

01:15:08.939 --> 01:15:11.920
God. The second thing to see in this text then

01:15:11.920 --> 01:15:15.529
is that God has facilitated a successful split.

01:15:15.630 --> 01:15:17.189
The first was that it was going to be failure

01:15:17.189 --> 01:15:19.789
without fail. The second thing is that God has...

01:15:19.789 --> 01:15:23.949
I just noticed something I hadn't noticed before.

01:15:24.229 --> 01:15:27.869
Praise the Lord. God has orchestrated a successful

01:15:27.869 --> 01:15:34.689
split in us. Our inner man resurrected versus

01:15:34.689 --> 01:15:38.289
sin which still lives in us. That's the battle.

01:15:39.630 --> 01:15:44.680
Here for you today. from sunup to sundown. In

01:15:44.680 --> 01:15:49.180
this corner, the sinful, fleshly desires of Dan

01:15:49.180 --> 01:15:52.380
Stevenson. And in this corner, fully regenerated,

01:15:52.399 --> 01:15:56.760
rejuvenated, just back from death, completely

01:15:56.760 --> 01:16:00.159
capable of destroying his opponent, despite the

01:16:00.159 --> 01:16:05.880
obvious differences in size. Dan Stevenson, the

01:16:05.880 --> 01:16:10.689
Christian. Our inner man resurrected versus the

01:16:10.689 --> 01:16:13.890
sin which still lives in us. Because we died

01:16:13.890 --> 01:16:17.050
with Christ, we are freed from the laws, natural

01:16:17.050 --> 01:16:22.710
ramifications as used by sin. It's happened a

01:16:22.710 --> 01:16:26.510
number of times as I have been studying the Bible

01:16:26.510 --> 01:16:29.130
that I have been impressed by one doctrine that

01:16:29.130 --> 01:16:30.970
occurs from the beginning to the end. It is not

01:16:30.970 --> 01:16:33.010
the doctrine that explains everything per se.

01:16:33.560 --> 01:16:35.359
It's not a theology that I'm about to describe

01:16:35.359 --> 01:16:37.220
to you, but it is a doctrine that occurs from

01:16:37.220 --> 01:16:38.260
the beginning to the end. It is the doctrine

01:16:38.260 --> 01:16:41.439
of the remnant. Is anybody here familiar with

01:16:41.439 --> 01:16:43.680
friendship bread? You ever heard of friendship

01:16:43.680 --> 01:16:46.420
bread? It's like a little baggie of nasty stuff.

01:16:46.500 --> 01:16:49.119
It's yeast and like that. And then you use it

01:16:49.119 --> 01:16:52.800
to let it grow in the bag for a while, which

01:16:52.800 --> 01:16:54.560
it does all by itself under the right circumstances.

01:16:54.640 --> 01:16:56.439
And then you take half of it and you use half

01:16:56.439 --> 01:16:57.819
of it to make bread. And then you take the other

01:16:57.819 --> 01:17:00.010
half. And you let it grow some more and divide

01:17:00.010 --> 01:17:01.670
it down, whatever, and you give it to your friends,

01:17:01.810 --> 01:17:03.289
and then they all do it. They take half of it

01:17:03.289 --> 01:17:06.289
and make bread. What's that? Sourdough syrup.

01:17:06.449 --> 01:17:07.510
Yeah, it's a sourdough syrup, but they call it

01:17:07.510 --> 01:17:09.510
friendship bread. And so, because you can give

01:17:09.510 --> 01:17:11.270
it to people, right? And you put a little sticker

01:17:11.270 --> 01:17:13.369
on there, whatever says a nice thing, that kind

01:17:13.369 --> 01:17:16.329
of thing. It's the remnant. The remnant is completely

01:17:16.329 --> 01:17:20.130
capable of making another loaf of bread. I submit

01:17:20.130 --> 01:17:22.489
to you that God has always reserved for himself

01:17:22.489 --> 01:17:24.470
a remnant, and the doctrine is present all throughout

01:17:24.470 --> 01:17:26.229
Scripture. There's always been a piece that God

01:17:26.229 --> 01:17:30.310
could work with. When the prophet said to God,

01:17:30.369 --> 01:17:33.689
God, I can't go on. God said back to him, I have

01:17:33.689 --> 01:17:36.050
300 prophets that I have reserved for myself

01:17:36.050 --> 01:17:38.649
that have not bowed the knee to Baal. You just

01:17:38.649 --> 01:17:42.890
won. God has always reserved for himself a remnant.

01:17:43.409 --> 01:17:45.109
And the nation of Egypt, when they worshipped

01:17:45.109 --> 01:17:47.069
every false god and made up all kinds of things,

01:17:47.090 --> 01:17:49.029
the god of the toads and the god of the Nile

01:17:49.029 --> 01:17:51.810
and the god that was Pharaoh and the god of the

01:17:51.810 --> 01:17:54.010
gnats and everything else, in there were the

01:17:54.010 --> 01:17:56.350
Israelites. And God called his remnants out of

01:17:56.350 --> 01:17:58.590
Egypt and remade his people and sent them back.

01:17:58.909 --> 01:18:01.970
into the promised land. But He made it go for

01:18:01.970 --> 01:18:04.670
400 years because for over 400 years, Israel

01:18:04.670 --> 01:18:07.130
had to suffer in Egypt. And you remember why?

01:18:07.369 --> 01:18:11.210
Was it because they were sinful? Uh -uh. Because

01:18:11.210 --> 01:18:13.670
400 years prior, when God gave the prophecy and

01:18:13.670 --> 01:18:15.890
said it's going to wait, it's going to be a while,

01:18:16.029 --> 01:18:18.710
the people that were in the promised land at

01:18:18.710 --> 01:18:21.569
that time, God wasn't done calling out to them

01:18:21.569 --> 01:18:23.569
yet. In fact, He even said, there are some people

01:18:23.569 --> 01:18:25.710
left in there yet. Their sin has not come to

01:18:25.710 --> 01:18:27.960
full measure. You're going to have to wait. And

01:18:27.960 --> 01:18:30.920
so they suffered in Egypt and then finally God

01:18:30.920 --> 01:18:33.920
called them out and He said, okay, there is no

01:18:33.920 --> 01:18:36.380
remnant left amongst this people. Kill them all!

01:18:38.800 --> 01:18:40.500
There is the doctrine of the remnant throughout

01:18:40.500 --> 01:18:43.319
Scripture. Some years ago, Brother Tony and I

01:18:43.319 --> 01:18:45.100
were way back at East Toledo and I was a young,

01:18:45.119 --> 01:18:49.880
young Christian. And we were playing on the softball

01:18:49.880 --> 01:18:52.810
team. Sherry and I came out to softball practice

01:18:52.810 --> 01:18:54.569
at Pearson Park. There were about 15 people on

01:18:54.569 --> 01:18:56.390
the team, and Brother Tony was there, and I was

01:18:56.390 --> 01:19:00.270
there, and Sherry, and I don't know, maybe it

01:19:00.270 --> 01:19:02.729
was before Michael was even old enough to play.

01:19:03.750 --> 01:19:07.170
I want to say maybe three other people. And we're

01:19:07.170 --> 01:19:08.750
standing there afterwards talking with Brother

01:19:08.750 --> 01:19:13.029
Tony, and he was confessing how he was kind of

01:19:13.029 --> 01:19:14.529
frustrated that he couldn't get the whole team

01:19:14.529 --> 01:19:16.890
out. But this is what he told, Brother Tony said

01:19:16.890 --> 01:19:18.829
this to me. He said, my dad used to say to me,

01:19:19.550 --> 01:19:24.369
You work with what you got. And that stuck with

01:19:24.369 --> 01:19:28.310
me. And in the church, you got 30 people, 40

01:19:28.310 --> 01:19:29.989
people in the church, and only 5 of them really

01:19:29.989 --> 01:19:32.350
want to follow God? You work with what you got.

01:19:32.789 --> 01:19:36.289
The remnant of the Lord in this day is the church.

01:19:37.069 --> 01:19:39.989
But the real remnant of the Lord is in the church.

01:19:40.350 --> 01:19:42.289
Do you want to work with God? Do you want to

01:19:42.289 --> 01:19:44.250
follow God? Do you want to do what it is that

01:19:44.250 --> 01:19:45.869
God wants you to do even though sometimes you

01:19:45.869 --> 01:19:48.069
don't? Well, that don't part, that's sin in you.

01:19:48.130 --> 01:19:49.989
That isn't even you. If you want to follow God,

01:19:50.170 --> 01:19:53.149
you work with what you got. You work with the

01:19:53.149 --> 01:19:54.949
parts of you that want to do what God wants you

01:19:54.949 --> 01:19:57.050
to do. You work with the skills that God has

01:19:57.050 --> 01:19:58.689
given you and the gifts that God has given you.

01:19:58.970 --> 01:20:02.149
Inside you, there is a successful split. God

01:20:02.149 --> 01:20:05.010
has resurrected a man to live in the house that

01:20:05.010 --> 01:20:07.649
is you. Or a woman to live in the house that

01:20:07.649 --> 01:20:10.529
is you that is completely capable of doing what

01:20:10.529 --> 01:20:13.649
it is that God wants them to do. But also still

01:20:13.649 --> 01:20:17.170
living in the house that is you is sin. Brought

01:20:17.170 --> 01:20:21.289
back to life when you first died and still with

01:20:21.289 --> 01:20:26.710
you. God has orchestrated in us a successful

01:20:26.710 --> 01:20:32.789
split. I was working at Pizza Hut years ago.

01:20:32.810 --> 01:20:34.329
I was a Pizza Hut manager for seven and a half

01:20:34.329 --> 01:20:37.090
years. In my restaurant, I determined there were

01:20:37.090 --> 01:20:40.310
certain things I wanted to accomplish. And I

01:20:40.310 --> 01:20:43.449
looked at my crew. I had 40 people. And I asked

01:20:43.449 --> 01:20:45.369
this question. And it was judgmental. I understand

01:20:45.369 --> 01:20:46.970
that. But as a manager, sometimes you've got

01:20:46.970 --> 01:20:49.949
to do that. I said, of all of them, who's with

01:20:49.949 --> 01:20:53.850
me? I went down the list. Is she with me now,

01:20:53.890 --> 01:20:56.789
really? Is he with me? Everything I say, he's

01:20:56.789 --> 01:20:59.569
a yes man. Is he with me? He fights pretty hard.

01:20:59.630 --> 01:21:02.029
He tries pretty hard. I think if I could get

01:21:02.029 --> 01:21:03.489
him sold on the idea, he'd be with me. I went

01:21:03.489 --> 01:21:05.760
down the list. I bought 11. 12, something like

01:21:05.760 --> 01:21:09.600
that. And so I had a meeting. And I didn't invite

01:21:09.600 --> 01:21:12.439
40 people to the meeting. I paid all 40 people

01:21:12.439 --> 01:21:14.880
their normal wage that week. When I had the meeting,

01:21:14.920 --> 01:21:16.880
I invited 11 people. Some were managers, some

01:21:16.880 --> 01:21:19.720
were not. Some of the managers who were managers

01:21:19.720 --> 01:21:22.920
weren't invited. The people that were invited

01:21:22.920 --> 01:21:24.880
were the people that were with me. It was a subgroup.

01:21:25.020 --> 01:21:27.220
It was a remnant. It was people that would do

01:21:27.220 --> 01:21:32.939
what it is that I asked them to do. There is

01:21:32.939 --> 01:21:36.489
a subgroup within you. You work with the one

01:21:36.489 --> 01:21:39.229
that is you that will do what you're supposed

01:21:39.229 --> 01:21:44.350
to do, what it is that God wants you to do. And

01:21:44.350 --> 01:21:45.909
in a second, we're going to talk about how God's

01:21:45.909 --> 01:21:49.489
going to handle the other part. But understand

01:21:49.489 --> 01:21:52.750
that there is a failure without fail. The carnal

01:21:52.750 --> 01:21:55.430
mind cannot follow God, would not follow his

01:21:55.430 --> 01:22:00.310
law, his ways, his rules. But God has orchestrated

01:22:00.310 --> 01:22:02.989
within us a successful split. There is now a

01:22:02.989 --> 01:22:06.569
war, and that war will rage on in you until the

01:22:06.569 --> 01:22:08.529
moment in which you are complete in the presence

01:22:08.529 --> 01:22:13.449
of God. And some days it may feel like you're

01:22:13.449 --> 01:22:16.529
losing. But the truth is, if you're a follower

01:22:16.529 --> 01:22:20.329
of the Lord Jesus Christ, you cannot lose. You

01:22:20.329 --> 01:22:25.829
will win. And I'm reminded then of Jacob at the

01:22:25.829 --> 01:22:27.800
side of the river. with all of his family and

01:22:27.800 --> 01:22:29.819
friends watching, and the sun just came up, and

01:22:29.819 --> 01:22:31.300
he's been wrestling the angel all night long,

01:22:31.399 --> 01:22:34.140
and the angel said, just let me go. It's enough.

01:22:34.319 --> 01:22:38.420
I'm done. And he had to have every reason, every

01:22:38.420 --> 01:22:40.779
reason, embarrassed in front of everybody that

01:22:40.779 --> 01:22:42.600
knew him that he had wrestled all night long,

01:22:42.640 --> 01:22:46.680
sweaty, nasty, dirty, no significant wounds just

01:22:46.680 --> 01:22:50.859
yet, but scraped up for sure, and just let me

01:22:50.859 --> 01:22:55.710
go. And Jacob said, I have not lost. Why shouldn't

01:22:55.710 --> 01:23:01.210
I win? You will win if you continue to fight.

01:23:01.409 --> 01:23:04.529
No matter what the day feels like, you will win

01:23:04.529 --> 01:23:09.369
ultimately. You may as well win. The third thing

01:23:09.369 --> 01:23:11.710
to see in the text then is that we have an obligation

01:23:11.710 --> 01:23:14.050
to overcome. And this is the part that can, if

01:23:14.050 --> 01:23:16.369
you are not willing. Actually, if you're not

01:23:16.369 --> 01:23:18.189
a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, if you have

01:23:18.189 --> 01:23:20.029
said you are, if you're making it up as you go

01:23:20.029 --> 01:23:21.930
along, if you're pretending Jesus is Lord and

01:23:21.930 --> 01:23:23.949
Master rather than actually having a Lord and

01:23:23.949 --> 01:23:25.890
Master, if you're pretending you were reborn

01:23:25.890 --> 01:23:28.630
rather than actually having been reborn, this

01:23:28.630 --> 01:23:30.789
is the part that will offend. It is the part

01:23:30.789 --> 01:23:32.590
that you will not want to participate in. It

01:23:32.590 --> 01:23:35.949
is the part that is difficult, if you will, to

01:23:35.949 --> 01:23:37.949
the point that we will not succeed. Why? Because

01:23:37.949 --> 01:23:40.270
the carnal mind, which is what you have if you've

01:23:40.270 --> 01:23:42.609
not actually been born again in Christ, the carnal

01:23:42.609 --> 01:23:49.789
mind cannot follow. will not fight. And it is

01:23:49.789 --> 01:23:53.430
this. We have an obligation to overcome. We have

01:23:53.430 --> 01:23:57.789
an obligation to overcome. Broken down this way,

01:23:57.930 --> 01:24:01.130
the Holy Spirit must occupy you, otherwise you

01:24:01.130 --> 01:24:04.189
have no part with God. If God's Holy Spirit has

01:24:04.189 --> 01:24:06.109
not taken up residence in you, you have no part

01:24:06.109 --> 01:24:07.909
with God. Now, how do you get to the place where

01:24:07.909 --> 01:24:10.210
you know that? There's three very simple, very

01:24:10.210 --> 01:24:12.050
quick things. Number one thing, there must have

01:24:12.050 --> 01:24:14.250
been a change in you. Talked about that last

01:24:14.250 --> 01:24:16.850
week. Even the lost person understands that if

01:24:16.850 --> 01:24:19.050
the Holy Spirit of God took up residence in you,

01:24:19.130 --> 01:24:20.930
something happened, something changed. It's got

01:24:20.930 --> 01:24:24.569
to be a change. No change, no God, period. Second

01:24:24.569 --> 01:24:26.670
thing is, if the Holy Spirit is in you, then

01:24:26.670 --> 01:24:29.449
you've been gifted, affected, moved in a certain

01:24:29.449 --> 01:24:31.390
direction, able to do something maybe that you

01:24:31.390 --> 01:24:33.949
couldn't do before, moved to see things in a

01:24:33.949 --> 01:24:36.270
way that you couldn't see before, etc. He is

01:24:36.270 --> 01:24:38.550
at work in you. There has been a change, an affected

01:24:38.550 --> 01:24:41.149
change in your capabilities, as well as an affected

01:24:41.149 --> 01:24:43.800
change in your personality. The third thing is

01:24:43.800 --> 01:24:46.659
the Holy Spirit testifies with your spirit. So

01:24:46.659 --> 01:24:50.699
in the quietness, not when you're arguing with

01:24:50.699 --> 01:24:52.699
your significant other, not when you just got

01:24:52.699 --> 01:24:55.479
abused by your parents verbally, not when your

01:24:55.479 --> 01:24:57.800
paycheck just turned out, not in the middle of

01:24:57.800 --> 01:25:03.180
the trouble, but in the quietness, in the solitude,

01:25:03.199 --> 01:25:06.020
when it's just you talking to God and listening

01:25:06.020 --> 01:25:10.380
to God, you recognize that there is a third being

01:25:10.380 --> 01:25:13.689
in the conversation. Not a demon or an evil spirit.

01:25:13.810 --> 01:25:15.310
He doesn't mean you any harm. He's not trying

01:25:15.310 --> 01:25:16.750
to make you feel guilty. If he's trying to make

01:25:16.750 --> 01:25:18.609
you feel guilty, that's not God. That's not the

01:25:18.609 --> 01:25:22.630
Holy Spirit. But he's encouraging you. He's convicting

01:25:22.630 --> 01:25:24.789
you. He's helping you to understand the Word,

01:25:25.029 --> 01:25:29.090
etc. He's the Holy Spirit. And if he's in you,

01:25:29.329 --> 01:25:31.550
then you have part with God. And if he's not,

01:25:31.590 --> 01:25:33.050
you have no part with God. And if you have no

01:25:33.050 --> 01:25:34.350
part with God, then you'll have no part with

01:25:34.350 --> 01:25:36.430
God in eternity. And you're not going to win

01:25:36.430 --> 01:25:41.810
the fight. Sin, instead, has you captive. And

01:25:41.810 --> 01:25:45.869
basically, you're dead already. But if the Holy

01:25:45.869 --> 01:25:49.590
Spirit of God is in you, then it's not so. We

01:25:49.590 --> 01:25:52.250
have an obligation to occupation. He must be

01:25:52.250 --> 01:25:57.510
in you in order for you to be saved. Next, we

01:25:57.510 --> 01:26:00.170
have an obligation to leading. Now understand,

01:26:00.470 --> 01:26:02.810
we have to let the Holy Spirit of God lead us,

01:26:02.909 --> 01:26:05.569
and this takes people some very dangerous places.

01:26:06.050 --> 01:26:08.329
People say, well, I've let the Spirit, and they

01:26:08.329 --> 01:26:11.210
dance naked before the Lord, or they... Kill

01:26:11.210 --> 01:26:13.189
people, they slay people in the Spirit, or they

01:26:13.189 --> 01:26:15.890
prophecy things that aren't of God at all, have

01:26:15.890 --> 01:26:18.069
nothing to do with what God would say, or people

01:26:18.069 --> 01:26:20.510
exercise their gifts, they shout crazy words

01:26:20.510 --> 01:26:23.090
in service because they've heard that people

01:26:23.090 --> 01:26:26.289
speak in tongues, or whatever. This can be very

01:26:26.289 --> 01:26:28.810
dangerous, being led by the Holy Spirit, especially

01:26:28.810 --> 01:26:30.270
if you're not actually being led by the Holy

01:26:30.270 --> 01:26:32.970
Spirit. It's in no way contrary to the Word.

01:26:33.329 --> 01:26:35.810
The Holy Spirit is not going to throw out your

01:26:35.810 --> 01:26:37.909
Bible. It's not going to have you read a passage

01:26:37.909 --> 01:26:39.270
of Scripture in the Bible and go, well, that

01:26:39.270 --> 01:26:41.649
doesn't exactly mean what it says, because, wait

01:26:41.649 --> 01:26:44.529
for it, this means everything it says exactly.

01:26:45.609 --> 01:26:47.729
There may be a deeper meaning, a place you have

01:26:47.729 --> 01:26:49.210
to go with it, something you have to do because

01:26:49.210 --> 01:26:52.109
of it, but there's no eliminating, not one word

01:26:52.109 --> 01:26:55.270
of it. It all means exactly what it says, verbatim,

01:26:55.270 --> 01:27:00.449
perfectly. So Holy Spirit leadership in you is

01:27:00.449 --> 01:27:03.170
not going to do anything contrary to the Word.

01:27:03.250 --> 01:27:05.050
Your friends will try to talk you out of it.

01:27:05.130 --> 01:27:07.310
Your money will certainly plead with you to go

01:27:07.310 --> 01:27:10.409
another direction. Your heart will yearn to get

01:27:10.409 --> 01:27:12.609
your spouse, your friend, your kid, your situation

01:27:12.609 --> 01:27:14.949
to be what you want it to be. Your flesh will

01:27:14.949 --> 01:27:16.770
argue with you as to whether or not you should

01:27:16.770 --> 01:27:18.729
commit yourself, give your time, your talents,

01:27:18.829 --> 01:27:21.029
your efforts, your money, etc. to do what it

01:27:21.029 --> 01:27:23.149
is that God would have you to do. Everything

01:27:23.149 --> 01:27:26.270
in the world will stack up against you. Because

01:27:26.270 --> 01:27:28.229
almost everything in the world is on the side

01:27:28.229 --> 01:27:33.829
of the enemy. When you look at the stars, which

01:27:33.829 --> 01:27:38.149
you can't have anyway, they talk about the glory

01:27:38.149 --> 01:27:43.630
of God. When you're hugged innocently by a child,

01:27:43.729 --> 01:27:47.729
and they love you, despite how stupid you are,

01:27:47.909 --> 01:27:51.770
how mean you are, whatever, and they're loyal,

01:27:51.930 --> 01:27:55.199
and they love you anyway, they talk about the

01:27:55.199 --> 01:27:57.500
glory of God. When you think for a moment about

01:27:57.500 --> 01:28:00.199
the incredible complexity of your body from top

01:28:00.199 --> 01:28:02.439
to bottom and how it screwed up one day and okay

01:28:02.439 --> 01:28:05.859
the next and healing works and addiction works

01:28:05.859 --> 01:28:08.600
and DNA works and people try to say, oh, it's

01:28:08.600 --> 01:28:10.500
just a coincidence. It happened in a mud puddle

01:28:10.500 --> 01:28:12.880
a few million years ago or something. No, no.

01:28:13.479 --> 01:28:16.579
This testifies about the glory of God. And that's

01:28:16.579 --> 01:28:19.119
on the side of God to get you to listen, to follow

01:28:19.119 --> 01:28:22.310
the leading of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy

01:28:22.310 --> 01:28:24.149
Spirit's leading is in practical application

01:28:24.149 --> 01:28:26.909
of the Word. In defining things. You read things

01:28:26.909 --> 01:28:28.569
and you go, well, according to English, this

01:28:28.569 --> 01:28:30.710
word means X. But according to God, it clearly

01:28:30.710 --> 01:28:33.550
also means X. And I understand that because the

01:28:33.550 --> 01:28:37.229
Holy Spirit is in me. He provides a healthy motivation.

01:28:37.329 --> 01:28:40.329
While keeping at bay sin, He seals and regenerates

01:28:40.329 --> 01:28:44.670
us. He keeps the sin at bay that is still alive

01:28:44.670 --> 01:28:47.710
in us, sustaining us against sin's death -dealing

01:28:47.710 --> 01:28:50.350
effects. You want to go after what your flesh

01:28:50.350 --> 01:28:53.579
wants? It's in the Word. It's in the want. You

01:28:53.579 --> 01:28:58.260
want to go after what your flesh wants. But the

01:28:58.260 --> 01:29:01.279
Holy Spirit in you will show you a better way.

01:29:04.600 --> 01:29:07.319
And amazingly enough, the Holy Spirit takes up

01:29:07.319 --> 01:29:09.159
the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of

01:29:09.159 --> 01:29:12.659
God. It's His sword. And I think you will not

01:29:12.659 --> 01:29:14.560
be surprised to find out that He knows how to

01:29:14.560 --> 01:29:23.140
use it. So in occupation, He must be in us. And

01:29:23.140 --> 01:29:26.100
in leading, He must be leading us. And then finally,

01:29:26.180 --> 01:29:28.000
and most importantly perhaps, because there's

01:29:28.000 --> 01:29:34.460
a contingency built on it, in killing sin. We

01:29:34.460 --> 01:29:37.439
allow God's Holy Spirit to work in us in killing

01:29:37.439 --> 01:29:41.979
sin. Sin is alive. And multiplying. You ever

01:29:41.979 --> 01:29:44.100
see one of those shows where they put the gremlins

01:29:44.100 --> 01:29:45.640
together and suddenly there's gremlins everywhere?

01:29:46.720 --> 01:29:49.140
Or we just watched one on the Justice League.

01:29:49.579 --> 01:29:51.359
She had two little bunnies and she was supposed

01:29:51.359 --> 01:29:53.060
to babysit them and keep the bunnies apart no

01:29:53.060 --> 01:29:54.939
matter what. And the bunnies got together and

01:29:54.939 --> 01:29:56.500
all of a sudden there's bunnies everywhere! And

01:29:56.500 --> 01:29:57.539
they're fighting the bunnies and they're flying

01:29:57.539 --> 01:29:58.880
through the bunnies and smashing the bunnies

01:29:58.880 --> 01:30:00.239
and trying to capture the bunnies and everything.

01:30:00.399 --> 01:30:02.300
And then the bunnies were so proliferous that

01:30:02.300 --> 01:30:04.020
they became this huge monster which was going

01:30:04.020 --> 01:30:05.920
to swallow up the whole city. And every time

01:30:05.920 --> 01:30:07.539
she'd try to punch it, they'd just open up and

01:30:07.539 --> 01:30:11.439
let her fly through. Sin is like that. That's

01:30:11.439 --> 01:30:13.600
what sin is. Sin is not something you take like

01:30:13.600 --> 01:30:14.800
a vitamin. Like, I'm just going to take a little

01:30:14.800 --> 01:30:16.140
bit of sin today and I'll feel better because

01:30:16.140 --> 01:30:18.500
I'll get what I want. Sin is not something you

01:30:18.500 --> 01:30:19.920
control. I'm going to keep it in a box in my

01:30:19.920 --> 01:30:21.619
bedroom. I'm going to whip it out whenever somebody's

01:30:21.619 --> 01:30:23.439
messing with me. It'll chase them away because

01:30:23.439 --> 01:30:25.600
I'll be mean, I'll be loud, I'll be vicious or

01:30:25.600 --> 01:30:27.039
something. And then they'll go away, leave me

01:30:27.039 --> 01:30:28.560
alone, and then I'll put it back in the bedroom

01:30:28.560 --> 01:30:33.319
in the box and only use it when I need it. Sin

01:30:33.319 --> 01:30:37.420
is not a firearm that has a safety and only works

01:30:37.420 --> 01:30:42.560
if it's loaded. Sin is a nuclear bomb that invades

01:30:42.560 --> 01:30:44.560
you at a cellular level and will blow up your

01:30:44.560 --> 01:30:50.829
life and make you dead. And you want to kill

01:30:50.829 --> 01:30:55.409
it. What you really want is to kill it. Not in

01:30:55.409 --> 01:30:57.569
your flesh, I understand. But what you really

01:30:57.569 --> 01:31:01.649
want, what God really wants is to kill sin. Proven.

01:31:01.670 --> 01:31:04.050
Because Jesus became sin on the cross and what

01:31:04.050 --> 01:31:09.029
did God do to him? He killed him. God wants to

01:31:09.029 --> 01:31:18.029
kill sin. Sin wants to kill you. God in you can.

01:31:18.720 --> 01:31:22.399
Kill sin a little bit more, repeatedly, successfully,

01:31:22.600 --> 01:31:26.880
day after day after day. If you would wield the

01:31:26.880 --> 01:31:29.500
Holy Spirit the way He was meant to be wielded,

01:31:29.520 --> 01:31:32.640
you would be actively killing sin. Every time

01:31:32.640 --> 01:31:34.640
you snuff it out, you say, God, help me in the

01:31:34.640 --> 01:31:40.039
power to destroy this sin. Search it out. Not

01:31:40.039 --> 01:31:43.079
so you can enjoy it or covet it or hide it or

01:31:43.079 --> 01:31:45.699
snatch it or use it or wield it or put a handle

01:31:45.699 --> 01:31:49.859
on it or put a cage around it. Or forget it?

01:31:50.659 --> 01:31:55.659
But so you can destroy it. Because that is what

01:31:55.659 --> 01:31:59.140
we are obligated to do. And because He is in

01:31:59.140 --> 01:32:02.220
us, and because we are successfully split, and

01:32:02.220 --> 01:32:07.380
because He is leading us, and because He is killing

01:32:07.380 --> 01:32:12.000
sin in us on a daily basis, there is now, therefore,

01:32:12.159 --> 01:32:19.600
no more condemnation for you and for me. But

01:32:19.600 --> 01:32:21.079
if that's not the way you're living your life,

01:32:21.260 --> 01:32:23.840
if you're not actively seeking out and destroying

01:32:23.840 --> 01:32:26.899
sin that you would slip into, if you're not cutting

01:32:26.899 --> 01:32:30.800
out temptations, if you're not turning off dirty

01:32:30.800 --> 01:32:34.359
movies, if you're not throwing away addictive

01:32:34.359 --> 01:32:38.779
substances, if you're not forcing yourself to

01:32:38.779 --> 01:32:42.079
say encouraging things and chase out every opportunity

01:32:42.079 --> 01:32:44.180
to say something discouraging, slanderous, or

01:32:44.180 --> 01:32:49.180
false, If you're not actively squashing in yourself

01:32:49.180 --> 01:32:52.979
that part of you that remains alive and would

01:32:52.979 --> 01:32:55.520
be called sin, that is leading you to do things

01:32:55.520 --> 01:32:59.340
that you should not do, you better ask yourself

01:32:59.340 --> 01:33:07.420
how comfortable God's Holy Spirit actually is

01:33:07.420 --> 01:33:12.699
going to be occupying you when all He wants to

01:33:12.699 --> 01:33:17.760
do is destroy sin. And all you want to do is

01:33:17.760 --> 01:33:21.000
keep the lion and the lamb on a chain and unleash

01:33:21.000 --> 01:33:24.380
sin in your life. We've come to our conclusion.

01:33:26.699 --> 01:33:28.819
We've been talking about circumcision and really

01:33:28.819 --> 01:33:30.500
what we're talking about here is the circumcision

01:33:30.500 --> 01:33:33.859
of the inward man. The circumcision of the inward

01:33:33.859 --> 01:33:37.880
man results in application of God's Word and

01:33:37.880 --> 01:33:41.319
more importantly, God's Holy Spirit at work to

01:33:41.319 --> 01:33:47.220
defeat an enemy that once killed us. See, we're

01:33:47.220 --> 01:33:49.960
already resurrected. We were dead, and now we

01:33:49.960 --> 01:33:53.739
live. We were dead in our transgressions and

01:33:53.739 --> 01:33:57.340
sins, and now we live. And then Paul writes in

01:33:57.340 --> 01:34:01.279
1 Corinthians 15, 54 -58, he says, But when this

01:34:01.279 --> 01:34:06.680
perishable, that's this, have put on the imperishable,

01:34:06.800 --> 01:34:12.560
and this mortal have put on immortality, then

01:34:12.560 --> 01:34:15.369
will come about the saying that is written, Death

01:34:15.369 --> 01:34:19.930
is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is

01:34:19.930 --> 01:34:23.510
your victory? O death, where is your sting? Remember

01:34:23.510 --> 01:34:26.369
what the sting of death is? We read it. Do you

01:34:26.369 --> 01:34:29.529
remember what the sting of death is? Sin. So

01:34:29.529 --> 01:34:32.170
while we are not dead, we can still feel the

01:34:32.170 --> 01:34:35.229
sting. O death, where is your victory? O death,

01:34:35.289 --> 01:34:37.670
where is your sting? The sting of death is sin.

01:34:37.810 --> 01:34:41.460
And the power of sin is the law. But thanks be

01:34:41.460 --> 01:34:44.140
to God who gives us the victory through our Lord

01:34:44.140 --> 01:34:46.539
Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren,

01:34:46.899 --> 01:34:50.840
be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in

01:34:50.840 --> 01:34:53.220
the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil

01:34:53.220 --> 01:34:58.460
is not in vain in the Lord. Join with me, remnant.

01:34:58.560 --> 01:35:02.220
Join with me, church. Join with me, kingdom occupiers.

01:35:02.399 --> 01:35:05.020
Join with me, conquerors, more than conquerors.

01:35:05.060 --> 01:35:08.680
Let us destroy sin in ourselves. The greatest

01:35:08.680 --> 01:35:11.520
sin you will ever face is the sin that you yourself

01:35:11.520 --> 01:35:15.649
have propagated and continue. That very sin,

01:35:15.770 --> 01:35:18.210
if you are unwilling to destroy it in you, will

01:35:18.210 --> 01:35:20.649
take you to hell one day because if you are unwilling

01:35:20.649 --> 01:35:22.869
to destroy it, then you have not united yourself

01:35:22.869 --> 01:35:25.010
with the Holy Spirit of God who hates it and

01:35:25.010 --> 01:35:27.289
can destroy it. You have not understood the Word

01:35:27.289 --> 01:35:29.449
of God as a liberator, a light, and a truth,

01:35:29.529 --> 01:35:32.970
but rather you are trapped in it. And I see people

01:35:32.970 --> 01:35:34.529
all the time who claim to be Christians and they

01:35:34.529 --> 01:35:36.489
say, well, I've got to do this by the Ten Commandments

01:35:36.489 --> 01:35:38.090
and I've got to do this, what Paul said, and

01:35:38.090 --> 01:35:39.930
I've got to do that. And that's the way they're

01:35:39.930 --> 01:35:42.729
living their life. And it's not entirely wrong.

01:35:43.439 --> 01:35:47.359
It just isn't enough. You can't do that. You

01:35:47.359 --> 01:35:50.180
have to live by the Spirit. It's not by the letter

01:35:50.180 --> 01:35:52.899
of the law, but by God's Holy Spirit who inspired

01:35:52.899 --> 01:35:55.920
the law and the fullness of the law. The fullness

01:35:55.920 --> 01:35:58.140
of the law is the salvation and sacrifice of

01:35:58.140 --> 01:36:02.220
Jesus Christ. He did it. It's done. Be free.

01:36:02.779 --> 01:36:13.039
Join the fight. And yet, I want to read just

01:36:13.039 --> 01:36:14.760
very briefly from an essay, and we are in our

01:36:14.760 --> 01:36:17.359
conclusion. This is my last illustration, I think.

01:36:19.800 --> 01:36:23.100
21 ways to build a stronger life. A stronger

01:36:23.100 --> 01:36:27.159
spiritual life. Be a river, not a swamp. The

01:36:27.159 --> 01:36:29.039
Bible says, Rivers of living water will flow

01:36:29.039 --> 01:36:31.279
from the heart of those who believe in me. Remember,

01:36:31.380 --> 01:36:33.039
it is the mountain stream that carries fresh

01:36:33.039 --> 01:36:36.180
life -giving water because it flows out. A swamp

01:36:36.180 --> 01:36:38.119
collects and retains water that comes its way.

01:36:38.520 --> 01:36:40.279
Don't be the kind of person who seeks to accumulate

01:36:40.279 --> 01:36:42.359
much before allowing a little to flow through.

01:36:43.979 --> 01:36:47.300
As Christians, we are to let blessings flow through

01:36:47.300 --> 01:36:49.640
us and on to others. When we hoard and damn the

01:36:49.640 --> 01:36:51.380
blessings in our lives, we are in danger of becoming

01:36:51.380 --> 01:36:53.939
spiritually stagnant, emotionally detached, and

01:36:53.939 --> 01:36:56.520
intellectually cynical. Resolve to break up the

01:36:56.520 --> 01:37:04.220
dam and let the blessings flow. Be like Moses,

01:37:04.279 --> 01:37:07.949
speaking words of blessing. May the Lord bless

01:37:07.949 --> 01:37:10.050
you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you,

01:37:10.069 --> 01:37:11.949
be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his

01:37:11.949 --> 01:37:15.350
favor and give you his peace. And this, by the

01:37:15.350 --> 01:37:16.970
way, to Christians and non -Christians alike,

01:37:17.010 --> 01:37:18.470
because there are lost people who need to hear

01:37:18.470 --> 01:37:24.170
that. They're at war trying to come to life.

01:37:24.770 --> 01:37:26.430
You've already come to life and are at war with

01:37:26.430 --> 01:37:31.810
sin. Nurture a shared prayer life. Find somebody

01:37:31.810 --> 01:37:34.010
to pray with. Take time alone with the Lord.

01:37:34.109 --> 01:37:36.609
Take a step of faith. Stop debating with yourself

01:37:36.609 --> 01:37:38.350
whether you can do it or not. If God has called

01:37:38.350 --> 01:37:39.970
you to do it, then do it. If it gets you crucified,

01:37:40.189 --> 01:37:44.090
so what? It worked for Jesus. Just decide to

01:37:44.090 --> 01:37:46.090
take the step of faith and become the kind of

01:37:46.090 --> 01:37:47.949
person that God really wants you to be. Leap

01:37:47.949 --> 01:37:51.010
out. Spend yourself on something that is bigger

01:37:51.010 --> 01:37:54.229
than you can possibly imagine. You get an inkling.

01:37:54.270 --> 01:37:55.970
I think I can do it. That's what God wants me

01:37:55.970 --> 01:37:59.050
to do. Yeah, just do it. Take a leap of faith.

01:38:01.029 --> 01:38:03.710
Restore someone else's faith. Help somebody pick

01:38:03.710 --> 01:38:07.789
up the pieces of a broken dream. You'll never

01:38:07.789 --> 01:38:09.770
become more grateful than when you realize exactly

01:38:09.770 --> 01:38:11.550
how much suffering others have gone through.

01:38:11.890 --> 01:38:15.250
It doesn't matter how much you've suffered. You

01:38:15.250 --> 01:38:17.310
made it through to this point. Then when you

01:38:17.310 --> 01:38:19.050
begin to see exactly how much they've gone through,

01:38:19.310 --> 01:38:23.810
you'll be humbled and grow as a Christian. Be

01:38:23.810 --> 01:38:26.270
a grateful person. Start every day with a...

01:38:26.430 --> 01:38:28.409
Morning prayer of gratitude to God for the gift

01:38:28.409 --> 01:38:30.890
of a new day. Do this even if the day appears

01:38:30.890 --> 01:38:33.329
ominous. Conclude every day with an evening prayer

01:38:33.329 --> 01:38:35.649
of gratitude to God for the gift of the preceding

01:38:35.649 --> 01:38:38.390
hours. Do this even if you've had a very tough

01:38:38.390 --> 01:38:43.850
day. Share the journey. Make a point of finding

01:38:43.850 --> 01:38:45.710
another believer who wants to grow spiritually

01:38:45.710 --> 01:38:48.430
and a set of time to meet with them, to talk

01:38:48.430 --> 01:38:50.210
with them, to study the Bible, to pray with them,

01:38:50.270 --> 01:38:53.550
whatever. Share the journey. Serve. Look for

01:38:53.550 --> 01:38:55.689
ways to serve in your community, in your church.

01:38:56.119 --> 01:39:01.319
Read and reflect on the actions of Jesus. Cultivate

01:39:01.319 --> 01:39:07.279
a little solitude. Sit down. Shut up. Block out

01:39:07.279 --> 01:39:10.600
the noise. And get back to who you are in Christ.

01:39:14.600 --> 01:39:16.760
Fast and pray. The next time somebody asks you

01:39:16.760 --> 01:39:19.430
to pray for something because it's urgent, Right

01:39:19.430 --> 01:39:21.010
then, that moment, say, okay, I'm not going to

01:39:21.010 --> 01:39:24.010
eat or I'm not going to do X until I hear a result

01:39:24.010 --> 01:39:27.390
or for 24 hours or for three days or whatever

01:39:27.390 --> 01:39:30.449
the Lord leads you to do. And it doesn't have

01:39:30.449 --> 01:39:32.310
to be giving up all food, but you can do that.

01:39:33.550 --> 01:39:35.550
If you do it and you know it's going to conflict

01:39:35.550 --> 01:39:37.170
with your medical conditions, then talk to your

01:39:37.170 --> 01:39:38.949
doctor first and ask them, how do I do that?

01:39:42.930 --> 01:39:45.899
You turn your worries over to God. The scripture

01:39:45.899 --> 01:39:47.520
tells us to turn our worries over to God. What

01:39:47.520 --> 01:39:49.399
are you fretting about anyway? If he's for you,

01:39:49.420 --> 01:39:52.560
who can be against you? Do it every time a worry

01:39:52.560 --> 01:39:53.779
crops up in your head. When you start thinking,

01:39:53.800 --> 01:39:55.340
I wonder how that's going to turn out. Turn it

01:39:55.340 --> 01:39:59.579
over to God. Spread love wherever you go. First

01:39:59.579 --> 01:40:03.029
of all, in your own house. Mother Teresa of Calcutta

01:40:03.029 --> 01:40:04.609
once advised, she said, spread love everywhere

01:40:04.609 --> 01:40:06.050
you go. First of all, in your own house. Let

01:40:06.050 --> 01:40:09.430
no one ever come to you without leaving better

01:40:09.430 --> 01:40:12.210
and happier. Be the living expression of God's

01:40:12.210 --> 01:40:14.350
kindness. Kindness in your face, kindness in

01:40:14.350 --> 01:40:16.550
your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in

01:40:16.550 --> 01:40:21.350
your warm greeting. Or are you afraid that somehow

01:40:21.350 --> 01:40:24.689
the world's going to get one over on you? If

01:40:24.689 --> 01:40:25.789
you're afraid somehow the world's going to get

01:40:25.789 --> 01:40:27.170
one over on you, then you probably don't realize

01:40:27.170 --> 01:40:32.500
the big dog you're running with. Keep your priorities

01:40:32.500 --> 01:40:35.720
straight. Know what is ultimately important and

01:40:35.720 --> 01:40:37.760
what is not. Consider the words of former President

01:40:37.760 --> 01:40:40.039
George Bush. I am blessed with a close and wonderful

01:40:40.039 --> 01:40:42.119
family and I want to spend the rest of my life

01:40:42.119 --> 01:40:44.899
letting them know how much I love them and appreciate

01:40:44.899 --> 01:40:47.739
them, he said. One of my most important accomplishments,

01:40:48.039 --> 01:40:50.680
one I am still working on, is to be a huge success

01:40:50.680 --> 01:40:53.119
in the grandfather business. I would like to

01:40:53.119 --> 01:40:55.699
be remembered for integrity, service, and family.

01:40:56.960 --> 01:41:03.609
What's really important? It ain't your job. If

01:41:03.609 --> 01:41:05.609
you think it is, you got your priorities screwed

01:41:05.609 --> 01:41:10.529
up. Strive for excellence. Whatever you do, do

01:41:10.529 --> 01:41:14.850
it well. Use it or lose it. Gifts that will wane

01:41:14.850 --> 01:41:17.289
and die. Remember those transforming gifts that

01:41:17.289 --> 01:41:18.630
you got from the Holy Spirit when He came and

01:41:18.630 --> 01:41:19.909
took up residence in you? If you don't use those

01:41:19.909 --> 01:41:22.029
gifts, you just might lose them. They'll certainly

01:41:22.029 --> 01:41:25.010
shrink down in a way and not seem important to

01:41:25.010 --> 01:41:28.180
you. Meditate on Scripture. Make it a habit to

01:41:28.180 --> 01:41:30.199
read and study your Bible in a regular, disciplined

01:41:30.199 --> 01:41:33.840
way. Meditate on what you read. Think about it.

01:41:33.840 --> 01:41:35.819
Ask questions in your mind about it. Let God

01:41:35.819 --> 01:41:39.279
answer. Be reliable. Do what you say you will

01:41:39.279 --> 01:41:41.659
do, whether it is convenient or not. If you get

01:41:41.659 --> 01:41:42.819
to the end of the day and you promise somebody

01:41:42.819 --> 01:41:43.920
you would do something and you didn't do it,

01:41:43.960 --> 01:41:47.659
go out. Don't come in until it's done. Keep your

01:41:47.659 --> 01:41:53.300
word. God does. Ask God to make you a blessing

01:41:53.300 --> 01:41:56.189
today. A great way to grow in wonder and amazement

01:41:56.189 --> 01:41:58.270
is by asking God to turn your life into a blessing.

01:41:58.430 --> 01:42:00.909
Do this each morning before resuming your daily

01:42:00.909 --> 01:42:03.329
activities. Offer a short, simple prayer like

01:42:03.329 --> 01:42:05.529
this one. Dear God, on this day, make my life

01:42:05.529 --> 01:42:07.970
a blessing to someone somewhere. Then pay close

01:42:07.970 --> 01:42:09.649
attention to every person you encounter during

01:42:09.649 --> 01:42:12.229
the day as God will honor your prayer, sometimes

01:42:12.229 --> 01:42:17.170
in surprising ways. If these are not your priorities,

01:42:17.489 --> 01:42:20.710
you're missing out on opportunities to live a

01:42:20.710 --> 01:42:23.829
powerful spiritual life. The last one on this

01:42:23.829 --> 01:42:26.789
list is the one that touched me most and caused

01:42:26.789 --> 01:42:30.210
me to add it in. Exercise your power of choice.

01:42:30.529 --> 01:42:32.649
No matter what happens to you, you always have

01:42:32.649 --> 01:42:35.810
the freedoms to choose. You can select joy over

01:42:35.810 --> 01:42:38.029
despair. You can select love over hate. You can

01:42:38.029 --> 01:42:39.949
select forgiveness over revenge. You can select

01:42:39.949 --> 01:42:42.369
growth over stagnation. Remember that a crisis

01:42:42.369 --> 01:42:44.710
can evoke the best in us or the worst in us.

01:42:44.729 --> 01:42:49.390
The choice is yours. Who will win? Sin? In you?

01:42:50.250 --> 01:42:53.329
Or you? I'm going to pray with you briefly, and

01:42:53.329 --> 01:42:58.529
we'll go to the invitation. Father in heaven,

01:42:58.630 --> 01:43:03.989
we have known, and it comes as no great surprise

01:43:03.989 --> 01:43:09.750
to us, that our amazing God made an amazing creation.

01:43:12.609 --> 01:43:23.680
Right down to the DNA level. You decided where

01:43:23.680 --> 01:43:26.479
we would live and when, who we would experience

01:43:26.479 --> 01:43:32.380
and how. You gave us access to all the knowledge

01:43:32.380 --> 01:43:35.899
that we needed to make a genuine decision to

01:43:35.899 --> 01:43:40.699
take Jesus as Lord and Master, to believe, to

01:43:40.699 --> 01:43:43.500
be died on the cross for our sins, and to be

01:43:43.500 --> 01:43:53.609
born again. You did this for us. And the effect

01:43:53.609 --> 01:44:00.090
in this lifetime of being born again, of being

01:44:00.090 --> 01:44:04.090
circumcised in the heart, of being inhabited

01:44:04.090 --> 01:44:08.970
by your Holy Spirit, alive again, and at war,

01:44:09.170 --> 01:44:18.029
it would be realistic to say a daily fight. And

01:44:18.029 --> 01:44:21.069
there is no one here who can say that they have

01:44:21.069 --> 01:44:25.810
not lost that fight. on certain days. Claiming

01:44:25.810 --> 01:44:29.189
we do not have sin is to make our God and his

01:44:29.189 --> 01:44:32.989
word out a liar. We've lost the fight on certain

01:44:32.989 --> 01:44:40.390
days. That's not the problem. The problem is

01:44:40.390 --> 01:44:45.149
whether or not we're willing to fight. Having

01:44:45.149 --> 01:44:50.170
been born again, we know what's right. And again

01:44:50.170 --> 01:44:53.739
and again, Learn more of what's right. Led by

01:44:53.739 --> 01:44:56.800
your Holy Spirit to better understand the word

01:44:56.800 --> 01:45:03.520
of God. He wields his sword and allows us to

01:45:03.520 --> 01:45:07.579
wield his sword under his leadership with such

01:45:07.579 --> 01:45:13.779
power and such freedom. Lord, give us hearts

01:45:13.779 --> 01:45:21.060
of flesh. Send into us your Holy Spirit. Let

01:45:21.060 --> 01:45:29.039
us join the fight. Day in and day out. Strike

01:45:29.039 --> 01:45:32.819
one more blow against that sin that is alive

01:45:32.819 --> 01:45:40.739
in us. He's got a lot of hit points. He's going

01:45:40.739 --> 01:45:45.340
to take a lot of strikes. But ultimately, this

01:45:45.340 --> 01:45:48.439
carnal body, this fleshly body that does perceive

01:45:48.439 --> 01:45:53.869
and desire these things, We'll put on the immortal,

01:45:54.010 --> 01:45:56.989
resurrected body that you are ready to give.

01:45:58.590 --> 01:46:02.930
And then it'll just be me. People always ask

01:46:02.930 --> 01:46:04.970
me, well, I don't know what my personality will

01:46:04.970 --> 01:46:06.329
be like. I'm not sure what I'll be like when

01:46:06.329 --> 01:46:11.670
I'm fully saved and in heaven with God. And we

01:46:11.670 --> 01:46:14.229
can get a pretty good understanding, a pretty

01:46:14.229 --> 01:46:17.010
good answer to that question. We just look at

01:46:17.010 --> 01:46:20.600
us. When we're doing what we're supposed to be

01:46:20.600 --> 01:46:24.359
doing. When we're not doing what we're not supposed

01:46:24.359 --> 01:46:28.899
to be doing. When we're letting you reign in

01:46:28.899 --> 01:46:32.439
us. There might be a person here in the room

01:46:32.439 --> 01:46:38.279
who had not previously truly accepted you. Let

01:46:38.279 --> 01:46:41.739
you take over the leadership of their life through

01:46:41.739 --> 01:46:44.899
Jesus your son. And we know he is the only way.

01:46:46.500 --> 01:46:50.680
Please entreat them now. for once and for all

01:46:50.680 --> 01:46:55.479
and in earnest to really release themselves into

01:46:55.479 --> 01:47:02.439
your hands to be brought to life and to begin

01:47:02.439 --> 01:47:05.760
to warn against this living sin that is in us

01:47:05.760 --> 01:47:10.039
maybe someone here today who would say I am a

01:47:10.039 --> 01:47:11.800
follower of the Lord Jesus Christ I know to whom

01:47:11.800 --> 01:47:14.140
I belong and I know what I have entrusted unto

01:47:14.140 --> 01:47:15.619
him and that he is able to keep it unto that

01:47:15.619 --> 01:47:19.000
day but I also realize now that I have not been

01:47:19.000 --> 01:47:24.079
an active participant in winning the fight against

01:47:24.079 --> 01:47:28.300
my own sin. And they'd like to pledge themselves

01:47:28.300 --> 01:47:34.380
into your service again today. There may be other

01:47:34.380 --> 01:47:36.020
decisions as well that you may make, whatever

01:47:36.020 --> 01:47:37.699
they might be, whatever's on people's hearts,

01:47:37.800 --> 01:47:39.520
whatever they're committing themselves to, whatever

01:47:39.520 --> 01:47:43.560
they believe you happen to do. As we sing this

01:47:43.560 --> 01:47:52.260
song, Move us to respond to you. We pray this

01:47:52.260 --> 01:47:55.859
in Jesus' name. Amen. I ask that you come forward

01:47:55.859 --> 01:47:58.579
at this time. Lead us in a closing hymn. This

01:47:58.579 --> 01:48:00.180
is a hymn of worship, but it's also a hymn of

01:48:00.180 --> 01:48:02.539
response. And so if you're responding, whether

01:48:02.539 --> 01:48:05.399
you're with us in person or online, please make

01:48:05.399 --> 01:48:10.119
your decision known and say, okay, God, as you

01:48:10.119 --> 01:48:12.619
will, not as I will. If you're comfortable and

01:48:12.619 --> 01:48:14.399
able to do so, please stand where you are and

01:48:14.399 --> 01:48:15.979
sing along. And if you're making a decision,

01:48:16.140 --> 01:48:17.739
you can respond. Walk forward to the front of

01:48:17.739 --> 01:48:19.239
the room or raise your hand right where you are

01:48:19.239 --> 01:48:24.640
or write a comment online. You're responding

01:48:24.640 --> 01:48:50.520
to God, not to me. As we sing. I was reading

01:48:50.520 --> 01:52:34.479
the wrong bulletin. See ya! Okay, we're done

01:52:34.479 --> 01:52:36.600
singing right now. We've got a word coming your

01:52:36.600 --> 01:52:40.439
way from Sister Kristen. So, a few weeks ago

01:52:40.439 --> 01:52:43.020
I was in here and I talked about the difference

01:52:43.020 --> 01:52:48.220
between feeling and emotion. Pastor Dan just

01:52:48.220 --> 01:52:53.859
spoke in his sermon about how we can feel that

01:52:53.859 --> 01:52:59.859
defeat. That's right. The definition of feeling

01:52:59.859 --> 01:53:03.600
is a belief, especially a vague or irrational

01:53:03.600 --> 01:53:08.640
one. So, when you are in Christ, when you know

01:53:08.640 --> 01:53:14.100
Jesus Christ, and you feel defeated, that is

01:53:14.100 --> 01:53:18.260
a lie. Amen. That's right. It's a lie because

01:53:18.260 --> 01:53:23.140
it's irrational. Because you know that God conquers

01:53:23.140 --> 01:53:25.979
everything. We've been told this in the Bible.

01:53:27.850 --> 01:53:31.710
So just remember, if you know Jesus and you start

01:53:31.710 --> 01:53:36.430
thinking you can't do this, then it's a lie.

01:53:37.909 --> 01:53:40.369
Amen. Does anyone else have a word before we

01:53:40.369 --> 01:53:45.029
close? Thank you for a wonderful service. Praise

01:53:45.029 --> 01:53:48.970
the Lord. We give you all the glory. As I said,

01:53:49.029 --> 01:53:51.329
this sermon series is speaking to my heart, so

01:53:51.329 --> 01:53:54.460
I hope you all get something out of it. and maybe

01:53:54.460 --> 01:53:56.600
going across the world. We've got people listening

01:53:56.600 --> 01:53:58.220
to the podcast from literally all over the place,

01:53:58.260 --> 01:53:59.859
and it's growing and growing, so praise God for

01:53:59.859 --> 01:54:03.699
that. But it's God's Word. It's not about us.

01:54:04.260 --> 01:54:06.619
The truth is, without His Holy Spirit, we wouldn't

01:54:06.619 --> 01:54:12.340
understand it. You'd be set to fail. But with

01:54:12.340 --> 01:54:15.380
Him working in us, convicting us, and helping

01:54:15.380 --> 01:54:18.680
us to understand, we can do amazing things. And

01:54:18.680 --> 01:54:20.079
so we're going to pray together at this time

01:54:20.079 --> 01:54:21.979
and close, and then go out and be the church.

01:54:22.140 --> 01:54:24.649
We do ask that you lift up. Those who are hurting

01:54:24.649 --> 01:54:26.670
and suffering, there's a lot of that going on.

01:54:26.930 --> 01:54:29.229
But sometimes it isn't just enough just to pray.

01:54:29.409 --> 01:54:31.409
You need to reach out and find out what people

01:54:31.409 --> 01:54:33.029
are really going through. And that's something

01:54:33.029 --> 01:54:34.729
we're not very good at. And the reason we're

01:54:34.729 --> 01:54:36.989
not very good at is our sinful nature, our flesh.

01:54:37.189 --> 01:54:40.050
We're busy fighting, and sometimes it's a good

01:54:40.050 --> 01:54:42.930
fight, but sometimes it's about our desires or

01:54:42.930 --> 01:54:45.789
our wants or whatever. You don't need half of

01:54:45.789 --> 01:54:48.329
what you have. You have it because you're blessed

01:54:48.329 --> 01:54:52.289
by God and able to share it. Alright, let's pray.

01:54:52.850 --> 01:54:54.729
Brother Ron Mack, would you close us in prayer

01:54:54.729 --> 01:54:58.130
today? Lord, Father in Heaven, thank you so much

01:54:58.130 --> 01:55:00.229
for the opportunity to be here today in your

01:55:00.229 --> 01:55:04.229
house, Lord, to hear the words laid on Pastor

01:55:04.229 --> 01:55:08.390
Dan's heart. I pray, Lord, that they will inspire

01:55:08.390 --> 01:55:14.850
us, that they will draw us closer to you. Father,

01:55:14.869 --> 01:55:17.930
thank you for the healing that you've imparted

01:55:17.930 --> 01:55:22.750
on Frank. Lord, we ask more healing to all those

01:55:22.750 --> 01:55:26.409
that are sick and hurting in our midst and around

01:55:26.409 --> 01:55:33.149
us. Lord, please heal this nation. Unite us together.

01:55:33.189 --> 01:55:38.329
Draw us closer together. Father, please be with

01:55:38.329 --> 01:55:40.770
us as we go from this place. During the team

01:55:40.770 --> 01:55:44.210
leader meeting, I pray we'll hear your will spoken.

01:55:45.670 --> 01:55:50.409
And help us to remember that We're always one

01:55:50.409 --> 01:55:55.850
body under you. Father, please help us to be

01:55:55.850 --> 01:56:00.289
that body and to work together to see your will

01:56:00.289 --> 01:56:04.750
and your roles done. In Jesus' name. Amen. God

01:56:04.750 --> 01:56:06.529
bless you all. Vote me therefore and be the church.