WEBVTT 00:00:01.390 --> 00:00:03.990 Hello, you are listening to Second City Sermons, 00:00:04.370 --> 00:00:07.009 a ministry of Second City Church in Midtown Harrisburg. 00:00:07.769 --> 00:00:09.390 This fall, we're studying the book of Second 00:00:09.390 --> 00:00:12.429 Corinthians. Second Corinthians is a heartfelt 00:00:12.429 --> 00:00:15.330 and practical book calling us back to the life 00:00:15.330 --> 00:00:18.870 of the cross. We, like the Corinthians, so often 00:00:18.870 --> 00:00:22.350 pursue glory, admire eloquence, shun suffering, 00:00:22.670 --> 00:00:26.230 hide hurt, and hoard our goods. And yet the gospel 00:00:26.230 --> 00:00:29.230 of Jesus tells us that resurrection comes after 00:00:29.230 --> 00:00:33.140 a cross. that comfort comes after being crushed, 00:00:33.820 --> 00:00:36.079 that the way up is the way down, that the way 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:39.240 to glory is through suffering, that his strength 00:00:39.240 --> 00:00:44.119 is made perfect in our weakness. We'd love to 00:00:44.119 --> 00:00:46.079 meet you and we hope you'll consider coming and 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:48.380 joining with us each Sunday morning at 10 a .m. 00:00:48.420 --> 00:00:50.960 in the heart of Midtown Harrisburg. You can find 00:00:50.960 --> 00:00:53.880 us online at SecondCityChurch .org and on Facebook, 00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:57.119 Instagram, and YouTube. We hope you enjoy this 00:00:57.119 --> 00:01:02.990 sermon. God bless. Word in heaven pray that we 00:01:02.990 --> 00:01:08.450 would have a posture towards you that is one 00:01:08.450 --> 00:01:13.489 that desires you to speak into our lives. That 00:01:13.489 --> 00:01:16.870 you would speak the foundational words into our 00:01:16.870 --> 00:01:21.329 lives. That we would find our life hidden with 00:01:21.329 --> 00:01:28.750 Christ and God. God speak now. We desire to be 00:01:28.750 --> 00:01:34.129 taught by you. But I pray that so many of the 00:01:34.129 --> 00:01:39.069 words and thoughts that cloud our minds constantly, 00:01:39.489 --> 00:01:43.010 maybe just thinking about the concerns of our 00:01:43.010 --> 00:01:45.689 coming week or the joys of our past week or what 00:01:45.689 --> 00:01:48.890 games might be on today or whatever would go 00:01:48.890 --> 00:01:52.189 to the wayside, that we would hear your voice 00:01:52.189 --> 00:01:55.939 this morning. Now may the words of my mouth and 00:01:55.939 --> 00:01:58.379 the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in 00:01:58.379 --> 00:02:00.480 your sight, O Lord our rock and our redeemer. 00:02:00.980 --> 00:02:06.140 Amen. All right, let me address the elephant 00:02:06.140 --> 00:02:10.860 in the room. Some of you are wondering why this 00:02:10.860 --> 00:02:17.580 soup strainer is above my lips, this crumb catcher 00:02:17.580 --> 00:02:22.340 right here. So let me talk about it for a second. 00:02:23.500 --> 00:02:26.139 You want an explanation? I'll give you an explanation. 00:02:26.979 --> 00:02:29.620 Okay, so whenever I have been shaving recently, 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:32.919 I have these three little people that reside 00:02:32.919 --> 00:02:36.000 in my house, and these three little people have 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:39.460 been begging me and coming to me, oh, don't shave, 00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:45.819 you're a mustache dad. And I have been strong, 00:02:48.780 --> 00:02:54.360 resisted such foolish talk. been successful in 00:02:54.360 --> 00:02:59.620 my resolve, but they won the battle. Until this 00:02:59.620 --> 00:03:02.620 week, I was strong. Their voices, their cute 00:03:02.620 --> 00:03:08.080 little faces, pleading won me over. And part 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:10.960 of it was that these past few weeks, we have 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:15.039 given some of our attention to the Seattle Mariners. 00:03:16.020 --> 00:03:18.740 Amen, amen. Thank you for wearing that shirt, 00:03:18.759 --> 00:03:22.120 Will. Because the Mariners have made it to the 00:03:22.120 --> 00:03:26.199 postseason, they are currently in the American 00:03:26.199 --> 00:03:29.840 League Championship Series. They haven't been 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:34.020 for 24 years. The Mariners have been a franchise 00:03:34.020 --> 00:03:36.419 for 48 years. They've never made it to the World 00:03:36.419 --> 00:03:39.639 Series. They're the only team that has never 00:03:39.639 --> 00:03:41.639 made it to the World Series. And if they win 00:03:41.639 --> 00:03:45.900 tonight, y 'all know this. I'm not hearing any 00:03:45.900 --> 00:03:49.520 cheers. I can see Will smile. Henry knows what's... 00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:52.259 They're gonna make it to the World Series! Woohoo! 00:03:52.740 --> 00:03:59.139 So, anyway... Anyway. I saw all these baseball 00:03:59.139 --> 00:04:00.800 players. We watch more baseball than normal, 00:04:00.819 --> 00:04:03.180 and a lot of them have mustaches. And I'm like, 00:04:03.219 --> 00:04:06.479 well, maybe that is cool. Maybe I need to heed 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:11.840 the voices of these three little people. So I, 00:04:12.219 --> 00:04:15.960 the other night, left my mustache, and then... 00:04:16.500 --> 00:04:19.319 We were at Lily's volleyball game on Friday, 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:23.180 and we saw some friends, and they said, oh man, 00:04:23.259 --> 00:04:26.079 your kids were encouraging my husband to not 00:04:26.079 --> 00:04:28.959 shave his mustache, and they were saying, quote, 00:04:29.279 --> 00:04:35.939 Mr. Rowan has a sick stache, Dad. But then I 00:04:35.939 --> 00:04:38.879 should let you know that as soon as I emerged 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:42.970 from the bathroom with said stache, The most 00:04:42.970 --> 00:04:46.129 important human voice in my life spoke to me 00:04:46.129 --> 00:04:53.470 saying, when are you gonna shave that? Okay, 00:04:53.670 --> 00:04:57.829 so a few things are happening here. I listened 00:04:57.829 --> 00:05:01.250 to the pressure of those around me, the cute 00:05:01.250 --> 00:05:06.629 little voices. I felt the pressure, the social 00:05:06.629 --> 00:05:12.079 pressure of my surroundings. The media I was 00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:15.819 consuming became a louder voice than it had ever 00:05:15.819 --> 00:05:21.360 been. Go Mariners. And isn't it amazing how quickly, 00:05:21.399 --> 00:05:24.079 I mean, just very, this is a silly example, but 00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:28.620 it is amazing how quickly we can pick up on that 00:05:28.620 --> 00:05:33.980 which surrounds us and have our life shaped out 00:05:33.980 --> 00:05:38.790 of that. It's incredible how it happens. It's 00:05:38.790 --> 00:05:41.589 amazing how our surroundings can so influence 00:05:41.589 --> 00:05:46.850 us that we can forget who we are. You and I both 00:05:46.850 --> 00:05:50.389 know probably the truth of that famous quote 00:05:50.389 --> 00:05:52.250 that's attributed to the motivational speaker 00:05:52.250 --> 00:05:55.589 Jim Rohn. You are the average of the five people 00:05:55.589 --> 00:06:00.970 you spend most of your time with. It could be 00:06:00.970 --> 00:06:04.230 modified, of course. Let's admit it today, these 00:06:04.230 --> 00:06:06.329 people don't have to be people that you know. 00:06:07.920 --> 00:06:10.319 They can be a baseball team that you grew up 00:06:10.319 --> 00:06:15.259 following. Maybe it should be you are the average 00:06:15.259 --> 00:06:18.639 of the top five social media accounts that you 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:27.079 consume. I have no doubt that most of us sort 00:06:27.079 --> 00:06:31.540 of discount probably to our harm how influential 00:06:31.540 --> 00:06:38.290 the media consume that we consume is. We think 00:06:38.290 --> 00:06:44.209 I'm an independent person I do me But we all 00:06:44.209 --> 00:06:47.790 know how much of how we live is just simply the 00:06:47.790 --> 00:06:52.189 reality of what we've taken in The voices that 00:06:52.189 --> 00:06:57.230 are loud in our ears How we've learned to think 00:06:57.230 --> 00:06:58.930 and how we've learned to talk and how we have 00:06:58.930 --> 00:07:04.290 learned to feel and behave and all the rest is 00:07:04.290 --> 00:07:08.250 so often formed by what we listen to and what 00:07:08.250 --> 00:07:13.170 we watch in our TVs and our computers and most 00:07:13.170 --> 00:07:15.230 of all that box that just is persistently in 00:07:15.230 --> 00:07:20.449 our pockets. We're not much different than the 00:07:20.449 --> 00:07:24.649 Corinthians. Sure, they were not carrying around 00:07:24.649 --> 00:07:26.889 all the tech that we do, but they had friends 00:07:26.889 --> 00:07:29.490 and they had business partners and they walked 00:07:29.490 --> 00:07:34.029 streets that were lined with temples and businesses. 00:07:35.620 --> 00:07:39.660 called for their attention. Actually, if you 00:07:39.660 --> 00:07:42.660 were in a business with another person, it was 00:07:42.660 --> 00:07:45.319 very common that your business dealings would 00:07:45.319 --> 00:07:48.660 be actually done in the rooms of the temples 00:07:48.660 --> 00:07:51.399 that were reserved for eating the food that had 00:07:51.399 --> 00:07:55.800 been sacrificed to idols. You were called to 00:07:55.800 --> 00:08:00.000 live a certain kind of way. Here in our text 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:05.350 this morning, Paul's telling us, that there is 00:08:05.350 --> 00:08:10.449 a fundamental voice in our life and that fundamental 00:08:10.449 --> 00:08:14.449 voice, that fundamental reality is what has to 00:08:14.449 --> 00:08:17.769 give shape to all others. And he's speaking to 00:08:17.769 --> 00:08:22.910 this fact that we are so often pulled into these 00:08:22.910 --> 00:08:26.930 other things. This other dynamic that shapes 00:08:26.930 --> 00:08:31.550 us, saying that there's a more fundamental reality, 00:08:31.670 --> 00:08:33.409 there's a more fundamental relationship than 00:08:33.409 --> 00:08:36.690 these others. and they inform the others, they 00:08:36.690 --> 00:08:43.929 shape the others. Because of this, we who have 00:08:43.929 --> 00:08:46.769 found our life and put our trust in Jesus, we 00:08:46.769 --> 00:08:49.830 are called to live actually as a distinct people, 00:08:50.710 --> 00:08:53.169 living in distinct lives in a lot of ways from 00:08:53.169 --> 00:08:58.409 those about a separate, holy lives. Here is the 00:08:58.409 --> 00:09:00.710 truth, okay, in the Bible. We are called to live 00:09:00.710 --> 00:09:03.230 in the world. We are called to live for the world. 00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:08.799 for the life of the world. And yet, we're called 00:09:08.799 --> 00:09:15.659 to live distinct from the world about us. As 00:09:15.659 --> 00:09:18.019 the people of God, as people who have found their 00:09:18.019 --> 00:09:22.059 life hidden with Christ in God, what this text 00:09:22.059 --> 00:09:26.480 is telling us is that we are actually to not 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:30.789 pursue unholy unions and to find our life in 00:09:30.789 --> 00:09:33.629 the Holy Union, okay? So that's kind of my two 00:09:33.629 --> 00:09:37.450 points, the unholy unions and the holy union. 00:09:38.269 --> 00:09:40.129 So here's how our passage begins this morning. 00:09:41.389 --> 00:09:45.889 If you open up 2 Corinthians chapter six, starting 00:09:45.889 --> 00:09:48.970 in verse 14, just the first sentence there, do 00:09:48.970 --> 00:09:54.309 not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. It means 00:09:54.309 --> 00:09:56.149 those not of the faith. That's literally what 00:09:56.149 --> 00:10:00.259 it means, not faith. That's the word unbelievers, 00:10:00.460 --> 00:10:07.799 not of the faith. Interestingly, the words together 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:10.240 that we have unequal yoke, that's one word in 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:16.259 Greek. It's just the word heterozyguntase. And 00:10:16.259 --> 00:10:20.179 that does mean two coming together, but some 00:10:20.179 --> 00:10:23.000 translate it, pull the yoke in the opposite direction. 00:10:24.099 --> 00:10:26.399 Which makes a ton of sense why why would you 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:29.799 actually be connected yoke together with ones 00:10:29.799 --> 00:10:31.919 that are going in the opposite opposite direction 00:10:31.919 --> 00:10:34.600 Pulling in different directions. So you all know 00:10:34.600 --> 00:10:38.179 probably the image of of a yoke It's a farming 00:10:38.179 --> 00:10:40.960 instrument. It's a farming tool that's placed 00:10:40.960 --> 00:10:43.220 over different animals to enable those animals 00:10:43.220 --> 00:10:46.700 to pull something together To work together towards 00:10:46.700 --> 00:10:52.419 a certain end This command actually comes from 00:10:52.419 --> 00:10:54.659 the old testament there's a passage in the book 00:10:54.659 --> 00:10:58.100 of deuteronomy in chapter 22 verse 10 says you 00:10:58.100 --> 00:11:01.759 shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together 00:11:01.759 --> 00:11:05.320 and uh it's kind of interesting this has kind 00:11:05.320 --> 00:11:08.440 of two big reasons one's theological one's practical 00:11:08.440 --> 00:11:12.379 the ox was a clean animal the donkey was an unclean 00:11:12.379 --> 00:11:17.289 animal in the old testament law and so Partly 00:11:17.289 --> 00:11:19.570 what's taking place is this prohibition of this 00:11:19.570 --> 00:11:22.350 unequally yoked dynamic in Deuteronomy was to 00:11:22.350 --> 00:11:24.370 be a reminder to the people of God of how it 00:11:24.370 --> 00:11:27.110 just, the clean, the unclean, they're not supposed 00:11:27.110 --> 00:11:29.450 to go together in this way. There's a theological 00:11:29.450 --> 00:11:32.830 reminder that's taking place. The people had 00:11:32.830 --> 00:11:35.590 bound themselves to God and it just went, you 00:11:35.590 --> 00:11:37.549 can't then bind yourself to that which is not 00:11:37.549 --> 00:11:42.149 of God. They found their fundamental relationship 00:11:42.149 --> 00:11:44.779 with the one who had saved them. How can they 00:11:44.779 --> 00:11:47.779 then be united in such a way with those who don't 00:11:47.779 --> 00:11:50.899 follow that God? So there's this theological 00:11:50.899 --> 00:11:53.019 dynamic at play, but there's also very much this 00:11:53.019 --> 00:11:54.799 practical dynamic. If you just think with me 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:59.539 about the ox and the donkey, does that work very 00:11:59.539 --> 00:12:03.700 well? I mean, donkeys are known as stubborn animals. 00:12:04.440 --> 00:12:06.899 Ox are known as very strong, hardworking animals. 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:09.639 That's not gonna be a union that is actually 00:12:09.639 --> 00:12:12.820 just practically very helpful. So you have this 00:12:12.820 --> 00:12:14.539 theological and you have this practical dynamic 00:12:14.539 --> 00:12:20.360 that play there. The yoke was an imagery in agrarian 00:12:20.360 --> 00:12:22.820 society that was, of course, very, very familiar 00:12:22.820 --> 00:12:26.759 to the people of that society. And I think it's 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:30.120 this reason actually why this yoke image has 00:12:30.120 --> 00:12:32.039 brought up quite a bit in the Bible, actually. 00:12:32.519 --> 00:12:35.039 So Israel, when they're said to be in slavery 00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:39.120 in Egypt, were under the yoke of Pharaoh. There 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:42.220 was a theological thing that was going on. There's 00:12:42.220 --> 00:12:44.740 a practical thing that's taking place there. 00:12:45.059 --> 00:12:47.759 When they're freed from Egypt, actually, there's 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:50.519 three different passages in the Old Testament 00:12:50.519 --> 00:12:53.480 when the people of God go back and they worship 00:12:53.480 --> 00:12:56.860 Baal, particularly Baal of Peor, and they're 00:12:56.860 --> 00:13:01.059 told to be under the yoke. Three times they're 00:13:01.059 --> 00:13:03.899 said to be under the yoke when they're worshiping 00:13:03.899 --> 00:13:05.740 a different God. There's a theological dynamic 00:13:05.740 --> 00:13:07.720 that's at play, but it's also a practical dynamic 00:13:07.720 --> 00:13:11.620 that's at play. The prophet Jeremiah talks about 00:13:11.620 --> 00:13:16.679 how God broke the yoke of slavery. He broke the 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:21.179 yoke that the people were carrying also when 00:13:21.179 --> 00:13:24.220 they were under the idols around them. So Jeremiah 00:13:24.220 --> 00:13:25.980 pits these ideas together. There's this theological 00:13:25.980 --> 00:13:28.360 idea of being under yoke. There's also this practical 00:13:28.360 --> 00:13:31.159 thing that's happening. That's in Jeremiah chapter 00:13:31.159 --> 00:13:35.940 2 verse 20. Of course, if you think of yoke, 00:13:36.200 --> 00:13:39.200 You might think of actually the words of our 00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:43.299 Lord Jesus himself right in Matthew chapter 11 00:13:43.299 --> 00:13:46.940 Jesus says these words come to me all you who 00:13:46.940 --> 00:13:50.080 labor and are heavy laden and I will give you 00:13:50.080 --> 00:13:55.059 rest Take my yoke upon you Interesting that he 00:13:55.059 --> 00:13:58.259 actually speaks the idea of labor and rest in 00:13:58.259 --> 00:14:00.679 the context of a tool that was used for labor 00:14:00.679 --> 00:14:03.460 He says take my yoke upon you and learn from 00:14:03.460 --> 00:14:07.620 me for I'm gentle and lowly in heart and you'll 00:14:07.620 --> 00:14:09.779 find a rest for your souls." And then he says 00:14:09.779 --> 00:14:14.840 again, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. 00:14:15.500 --> 00:14:17.899 The Lord is connecting this theological reality 00:14:17.899 --> 00:14:23.100 of coming to him with the practical reality of 00:14:23.100 --> 00:14:28.899 gentleness and lowliness and an easy yoke. Jesus 00:14:28.899 --> 00:14:31.700 is also pitting in this idea that you're going 00:14:31.700 --> 00:14:35.000 to carry a yoke. Whose yoke are you going to 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:37.279 carry? He knows this sort of history in the Old 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:40.059 Testament, the yoke mentioned in light of other 00:14:40.059 --> 00:14:42.340 gods, the yoke mentioned in light of slavery 00:14:42.340 --> 00:14:47.860 and hardship. He's saying, which yoke will you 00:14:47.860 --> 00:14:53.179 put on? One brings freedom, the other servitude. 00:14:53.220 --> 00:14:57.440 So here in 2 Corinthians, Paul is saying that 00:14:57.440 --> 00:15:01.820 you can't be unequally yoked. Don't do it. Don't 00:15:01.820 --> 00:15:07.759 do it. It doesn't work. And the fact is that 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:10.960 the Bible bears this truth out in different stories 00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:18.580 and different commands. When you are yoked with 00:15:18.580 --> 00:15:23.779 unbelief, the sad fact of history is that often 00:15:23.779 --> 00:15:27.700 actually unbelief tends to steer the ship. When 00:15:27.700 --> 00:15:30.519 you find a fundamental relationship in your life 00:15:30.519 --> 00:15:32.720 is with somebody that's not following Jesus, 00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:36.779 it's often the case that that begins to sphere 00:15:36.779 --> 00:15:40.720 the relationship. And actually this is why when 00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:43.559 I say do not be unequally yoked, what is the 00:15:43.559 --> 00:15:45.059 relationship that you're most likely to think 00:15:45.059 --> 00:15:52.919 of? What relationship? Marriage, yeah. Most of 00:15:52.919 --> 00:15:54.480 you will probably think of the relationship of 00:15:54.480 --> 00:16:01.440 marriage. Interestingly, marriage is not necessarily 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:03.740 the main thing that's being talked about in this 00:16:03.740 --> 00:16:08.759 passage. Actually, if you'll remember, this is 00:16:08.759 --> 00:16:11.960 in the context of false teachers who have yoked 00:16:11.960 --> 00:16:15.340 themselves to the traveling teachers about them, 00:16:15.500 --> 00:16:17.720 bringing their resumes and all the rest. They 00:16:17.720 --> 00:16:19.700 are yoking themselves with the way of the world. 00:16:20.019 --> 00:16:23.519 And yet we properly apply this to the institution 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:26.860 of marriage because it's a fundamental relationship 00:16:26.860 --> 00:16:32.279 that you yoke yourself to somebody else in. Marriage, 00:16:32.279 --> 00:16:35.200 you can say, is the closest human yoke that you 00:16:35.200 --> 00:16:41.519 can share with another. And it's true. The Bible 00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:45.720 tells us actually, don't marry somebody that 00:16:45.720 --> 00:16:48.120 doesn't follow Jesus. Don't marry somebody that's 00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:52.000 not committed to the Lord. And you can make positive 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:57.210 arguments for this. for marriage only to be among 00:16:57.210 --> 00:17:00.429 fellow Christians. Think about Jesus' argument 00:17:00.429 --> 00:17:05.769 that we just heard in Matthew 19. He calls the 00:17:05.769 --> 00:17:08.710 people back to the beginning. He says, God is 00:17:08.710 --> 00:17:11.029 the one who makes this institution. And this 00:17:11.029 --> 00:17:15.009 institution is actually seen as two walking together 00:17:15.009 --> 00:17:17.650 with the Lord. That's the ideal. Not hiding from 00:17:17.650 --> 00:17:19.109 the Lord, not one of them hiding from the Lord, 00:17:19.170 --> 00:17:20.890 not one of them hiding from the other person, 00:17:21.170 --> 00:17:24.299 but two walking together, man and wife. husband 00:17:24.299 --> 00:17:27.460 wife, with the Lord. Okay, so right from there, 00:17:27.500 --> 00:17:29.299 right from the very beginning of chapters of 00:17:29.299 --> 00:17:34.779 Genesis where Jesus sort of builds his theology 00:17:34.779 --> 00:17:37.420 of marriage off of we can have that sort of positive 00:17:37.420 --> 00:17:41.099 argument. We also heard from Proverbs 31 that 00:17:41.099 --> 00:17:44.359 it says, a woman who fears the Lord is to be 00:17:44.359 --> 00:17:47.480 praised. So you can make different positive arguments 00:17:47.480 --> 00:17:50.470 for... marriage to be between two Christians, 00:17:50.829 --> 00:17:53.650 but then actually you can make a significant 00:17:53.650 --> 00:17:57.730 sort of negative argument. There's some prohibitions 00:17:57.730 --> 00:18:00.529 in the Bible. You can find them in Deuteronomy 00:18:00.529 --> 00:18:02.829 and Joshua and elsewhere, where it just says, 00:18:03.569 --> 00:18:06.069 don't marry those people who are not following 00:18:06.069 --> 00:18:08.650 the Lord, very specifically. But then actually 00:18:08.650 --> 00:18:10.710 some of the worst and most detrimental stories 00:18:10.710 --> 00:18:14.569 in all the Bible have to do with a leader deciding, 00:18:14.630 --> 00:18:17.309 I'm going to marry somebody who is not following. 00:18:17.529 --> 00:18:23.349 the Lord. And so we can think of kings like Solomon, 00:18:23.750 --> 00:18:27.730 like Ahab. And then we can also think, if you 00:18:27.730 --> 00:18:30.230 actually kind of come a little bit closer to 00:18:30.230 --> 00:18:32.829 the New Testament, when the people of God are 00:18:32.829 --> 00:18:35.329 returned from exile and they're confessing their 00:18:35.329 --> 00:18:39.650 sin, in the book of Ezra, there in the later 00:18:39.650 --> 00:18:42.769 chapters, in chapters 9 and 10, one of the main 00:18:42.769 --> 00:18:46.289 things that they are confessing is how they intermarried 00:18:46.289 --> 00:18:48.130 with people that were not following the Lord 00:18:48.130 --> 00:18:51.670 and that led them astray. There's all kinds of 00:18:51.670 --> 00:18:54.630 things in the Bible that come down to this fundamental 00:18:54.630 --> 00:18:58.210 idea that your fundamental relationship with 00:18:58.210 --> 00:19:03.890 the Lord influences the others. It's just unwise, 00:19:03.930 --> 00:19:07.150 it's theologically wrong, it's practically foolish 00:19:07.150 --> 00:19:12.410 to be yoked to unbelief. So, Paul goes on to 00:19:12.410 --> 00:19:18.430 say verses 14 to 16, says this. Let's go to these 00:19:18.430 --> 00:19:21.769 questions. For what partnership has righteousness 00:19:21.769 --> 00:19:24.450 with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light 00:19:24.450 --> 00:19:28.190 with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? 00:19:29.269 --> 00:19:32.809 What portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 00:19:33.369 --> 00:19:37.349 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? 00:19:40.339 --> 00:19:44.019 Okay, let's think back on marriage for a second. 00:19:46.920 --> 00:19:54.339 We say in our world, if it feels right, it must 00:19:54.339 --> 00:20:00.920 be right. I feel so good though. We connect. 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:05.420 But then think about this. Your marriage relationship, 00:20:05.460 --> 00:20:07.880 if you're married, is the relationship that you 00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:10.220 have to figure out some of the biggest questions 00:20:10.220 --> 00:20:13.359 in life that are going to impact you on so many 00:20:13.359 --> 00:20:17.180 levels. Where are we going to live? What kind 00:20:17.180 --> 00:20:20.579 of questions are going to help you address that 00:20:20.579 --> 00:20:23.799 question? Is the Lord going to guide you? Are 00:20:23.799 --> 00:20:27.539 you going to seek his face in that? Do we have 00:20:27.539 --> 00:20:30.049 kids? How do we train those kids? Do we train 00:20:30.049 --> 00:20:31.890 those kids, as the Bible tells us to, in the 00:20:31.890 --> 00:20:33.289 fear of the Lord and in the admonition of the 00:20:33.289 --> 00:20:37.569 Lord, in the ways of God, or do we not? How do 00:20:37.569 --> 00:20:39.829 we spend our money? How do we give our money? 00:20:41.569 --> 00:20:45.170 How do we spend our time? Just big questions, 00:20:45.789 --> 00:20:49.009 just practically speaking. It's a very foolish 00:20:49.009 --> 00:20:50.509 thing to say, you know, I'm going to have this 00:20:50.509 --> 00:20:52.750 foundation for my life, the Lord, and I'm going 00:20:52.750 --> 00:20:55.269 to unite myself to somebody who has a totally 00:20:55.269 --> 00:20:56.789 different foundation. It's going to approach 00:20:56.789 --> 00:20:58.829 all the main fundamental questions of how I'm 00:20:58.829 --> 00:21:01.630 going to live in my life from a different place. 00:21:04.609 --> 00:21:06.430 How do you have a fundamental partnership when 00:21:06.430 --> 00:21:09.089 the foundation from which you make your big decisions 00:21:09.089 --> 00:21:14.349 of life is different? Suggesting that at the 00:21:14.349 --> 00:21:16.490 very least, there's a theological argument to 00:21:16.490 --> 00:21:18.069 be made, but there is a practical argument to 00:21:18.069 --> 00:21:19.769 be made. This is a foolish way of engaging in 00:21:19.769 --> 00:21:23.990 the world. OK, so Paul asked these questions. 00:21:25.500 --> 00:21:27.880 Well, partnership has righteousness with lawlessness. 00:21:28.119 --> 00:21:30.079 Well, righteousness has to do with right relationship 00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:33.140 with God. It also, righteousness in the Bible 00:21:33.140 --> 00:21:35.519 is not just being right with God, but righteous 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:37.539 living actually has to do with the right relationship 00:21:37.539 --> 00:21:41.140 with those about you. So he says, well, how do 00:21:41.140 --> 00:21:42.960 you do righteousness and lawlessness? Lawlessness 00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:44.859 would be the exact opposite. It's not having 00:21:44.859 --> 00:21:47.599 a right relationship with God and not having 00:21:47.599 --> 00:21:50.700 a right relationship with others. And he says, 00:21:50.700 --> 00:21:53.829 these things don't work together. I mean, one 00:21:53.829 --> 00:21:57.250 is this defined, one is this defined. They don't 00:21:57.250 --> 00:22:01.490 work. What fellowship has light with darkness? 00:22:03.410 --> 00:22:05.509 Of course, the Bible, this is the common thing 00:22:05.509 --> 00:22:08.769 that is pitted against each other in the Bible. 00:22:09.509 --> 00:22:14.309 Darkness is almost always in the Bible an image 00:22:14.309 --> 00:22:17.369 of being morally corrupt. And lightness in the 00:22:17.369 --> 00:22:20.109 Bible is the very presence of God pressing into 00:22:20.109 --> 00:22:23.319 the world. I think of John chapter one. The light 00:22:23.319 --> 00:22:26.819 shines in the darkness. And the darkness can't 00:22:26.819 --> 00:22:29.099 overcome it because these two things are so separate. 00:22:29.920 --> 00:22:34.619 Light, dark. Christ and Belial. You're probably 00:22:34.619 --> 00:22:37.339 scratching your heads, what's that? Belial is 00:22:37.339 --> 00:22:39.960 the Hebrew word. It refers to wickedness and 00:22:39.960 --> 00:22:43.180 worthlessness. It's a word that sometimes refers 00:22:43.180 --> 00:22:45.200 to the enemies of God's people and sometimes 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:48.460 it's a reference to Satan, the enemy of God. 00:22:50.359 --> 00:22:52.259 But the point is that you can't, these things 00:22:52.259 --> 00:22:54.609 don't They're not compatible. They don't work 00:22:54.609 --> 00:22:59.390 together. So what Paul is getting at here is 00:22:59.390 --> 00:23:01.410 that believers and unbelievers, they have different 00:23:01.410 --> 00:23:04.369 moral values, righteousness, lawlessness. They 00:23:04.369 --> 00:23:07.589 have different spiritual spheres within where 00:23:07.589 --> 00:23:10.450 they work, light and dark, Christ and Belial. 00:23:11.569 --> 00:23:14.829 They have different masters that orient their 00:23:14.829 --> 00:23:19.089 lives, that give direction to their life. And 00:23:19.089 --> 00:23:23.329 he also says they worship different things. What 00:23:23.329 --> 00:23:25.390 portion does a believer share with an unbeliever 00:23:25.390 --> 00:23:28.150 was most likely a reference actually to that 00:23:28.150 --> 00:23:33.309 food that is sacrificed in the temples? We can 00:23:33.309 --> 00:23:36.309 think of actually the sacramental meal of Christians. 00:23:36.509 --> 00:23:40.369 It's saying this is our identity. That says what 00:23:40.369 --> 00:23:48.470 agreement has the temple of God with idols? Temple 00:23:48.470 --> 00:23:54.539 of God and a temple of idols. How can you be 00:23:54.539 --> 00:23:58.420 a temple of the Lord and unite yourself fundamentally 00:23:58.420 --> 00:24:02.319 to that which is not united to him? They worship 00:24:02.319 --> 00:24:07.019 different things. Here is a truth. Let me go 00:24:07.019 --> 00:24:10.619 back to it. We pick up quickly to the voices 00:24:10.619 --> 00:24:14.240 and the values of those who are around us. We 00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:19.900 do. You do. I do. Our kids do. This is reality. 00:24:21.219 --> 00:24:23.579 And this happens in the church in Corinth, and 00:24:23.579 --> 00:24:25.700 Paul's calling them out. Of course it happens 00:24:25.700 --> 00:24:27.619 to us today. We might actually, very likely, 00:24:27.700 --> 00:24:29.579 we don't see how this is happening to us today. 00:24:30.279 --> 00:24:34.000 But it's happening. It's happened. And some of 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:38.480 you may know that much of higher criticism as 00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:41.339 it approached the Bible came out of Germany in 00:24:41.339 --> 00:24:43.220 the late 19th century. They approached the Bible 00:24:43.220 --> 00:24:44.779 and they said, you know what, this is the part 00:24:44.779 --> 00:24:46.819 that we probably, this probably isn't really 00:24:46.819 --> 00:24:48.839 true. We'll take this part out. Take that part 00:24:48.839 --> 00:24:51.180 out. There's a history of that. We talked actually, 00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:52.819 in the adult science school, we talked about 00:24:52.819 --> 00:24:54.839 the Marcionites in the early church this morning. 00:24:55.019 --> 00:24:59.359 Come next week, you'll learn more. So people 00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:01.259 have done that, but in German higher criticism 00:25:01.259 --> 00:25:02.880 in the 19th century, that was the approach to 00:25:02.880 --> 00:25:06.799 the Bible. And this actually pushed into the 00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:09.880 early liberal fundamentalist controversy in the 00:25:09.880 --> 00:25:11.359 early part of the 20th century in the United 00:25:11.359 --> 00:25:14.740 States. But this was a huge thing in Germany, 00:25:14.859 --> 00:25:17.710 particularly. And let me tell you about something 00:25:17.710 --> 00:25:22.230 that happened in 1933, it's actually the day 00:25:22.230 --> 00:25:28.890 after Martin Luther's 450th birthday. And that 00:25:28.890 --> 00:25:31.329 day on the 450th birthday of Martin Luther, there 00:25:31.329 --> 00:25:35.869 was a German pastor who spoke and said, actually 00:25:35.869 --> 00:25:37.730 speaking out, you may know that Martin Luther 00:25:37.730 --> 00:25:41.089 had some anti -Semitic stances, and he spoke 00:25:41.089 --> 00:25:46.150 out against that in 1933 in Germany. And he said, 00:25:46.150 --> 00:25:51.470 we must worship the suffering Jew, Jesus. Jesus 00:25:51.470 --> 00:25:55.190 himself is our hope. And the next day, 20 ,000 00:25:55.190 --> 00:25:58.410 Christians gathered together in the German evangelical 00:25:58.410 --> 00:26:02.869 church, led by their church leaders. They gathered 00:26:02.869 --> 00:26:06.470 together in the Berlin Sports Palace. And one 00:26:06.470 --> 00:26:08.230 of the things they did actually is they renounced 00:26:08.230 --> 00:26:11.440 and that man was defrocked actually. The man 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:13.859 who spoke the day before, a well -known pastor 00:26:13.859 --> 00:26:17.700 in the German church. But after they sung, now 00:26:17.700 --> 00:26:22.000 thank we all our God. What a great hymn. This 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:27.880 pastor Joachim Hassenfelder got up and he announced 00:26:27.880 --> 00:26:31.680 that he was implementing the infamous Arian paragraph 00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:35.519 in his diocese. What that did, it had dismissed 00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:39.599 all Christian Jews from holding any office. and 00:26:39.599 --> 00:26:44.599 it was effective immediately. The Bible, at that 00:26:44.599 --> 00:26:50.160 meeting, was re -examined and all of its non 00:26:50.160 --> 00:26:55.359 -German and pro -Jewish elements were said to 00:26:55.359 --> 00:26:59.759 be non -authoritative. And Jesus was placed as 00:26:59.759 --> 00:27:04.960 a proud Jesus and not a suffering servant. And 00:27:04.960 --> 00:27:07.900 again and again it said that that speech was 00:27:07.900 --> 00:27:12.230 interrupted. By the 20 ,000 people he was speaking 00:27:12.230 --> 00:27:21.630 to with applause Fundamental dynamic of who they 00:27:21.630 --> 00:27:28.130 were Had been so yoked to the world about them 00:27:28.130 --> 00:27:30.970 But you could say that the fundamental idea of 00:27:30.970 --> 00:27:35.880 who Jesus is was discarded And the fact is there 00:27:35.880 --> 00:27:38.660 is story after story in church history about 00:27:38.660 --> 00:27:42.559 things like this. Fundamental relationships being 00:27:42.559 --> 00:27:49.000 formed by that which is not Christ and the gospel 00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:58.160 being lost in political alliances, in marriages, 00:28:00.359 --> 00:28:04.910 in friendships. There's no question the primary 00:28:04.910 --> 00:28:06.990 people you spend your life with that you give 00:28:06.990 --> 00:28:12.349 your ear to, you give your heart to shape you. 00:28:13.130 --> 00:28:15.569 And they can bring you closer to the Lord Jesus 00:28:15.569 --> 00:28:20.670 or they can take you farther away. Our passage 00:28:20.670 --> 00:28:25.150 warns us against unholy unions. It also encourages 00:28:25.150 --> 00:28:27.369 us to a holy union. This is a little shorter 00:28:27.369 --> 00:28:29.609 if you're looking at your time as I just did. 00:28:30.650 --> 00:28:33.200 So a holy union. I hope that as I say some of 00:28:33.200 --> 00:28:37.099 this, some of you are asking, well, Pastor, what 00:28:37.099 --> 00:28:45.039 do we do? We're called to be in the world. And 00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:50.220 wasn't Jesus himself partly scandalous and he 00:28:50.220 --> 00:28:52.339 was disregarded by many of the religious leaders 00:28:52.339 --> 00:28:56.140 of his day because he was a friend of sinners 00:28:56.140 --> 00:29:00.319 and he dined with them, lived life with them. 00:29:00.619 --> 00:29:04.599 Or maybe, maybe, you have been reading your Bible 00:29:04.599 --> 00:29:06.420 and you remember back in 1 Corinthians chapter 00:29:06.420 --> 00:29:09.059 5 when Paul, to the same community, wrote this, 00:29:09.380 --> 00:29:11.140 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate 00:29:11.140 --> 00:29:15.420 with sexually more immoral people. Not at all 00:29:15.420 --> 00:29:18.599 meaning the sexually immoral of this world or 00:29:18.599 --> 00:29:22.660 the greedy and swindlers and idolaters. Since 00:29:22.660 --> 00:29:26.809 then you would need to go out of the world. Then 00:29:26.809 --> 00:29:30.730 Paul is very, very clear. You can't just leave 00:29:30.730 --> 00:29:33.690 the world about you. They need to know Jesus. 00:29:34.849 --> 00:29:39.369 Very clear. I think Paul actually addresses in 00:29:39.369 --> 00:29:41.309 some ways this question even to the Corinthians 00:29:41.309 --> 00:29:43.309 in the following verses. So let me read them 00:29:43.309 --> 00:29:57.039 again, okay? Starting verse 16. Therefore go 00:29:57.039 --> 00:29:59.500 out from their midst be separate from them says 00:29:59.500 --> 00:30:03.819 the Lord And touch no unclean thing then I will 00:30:03.819 --> 00:30:07.380 welcome you and I will be a father to you and 00:30:07.380 --> 00:30:10.980 you shall be sons and daughters to me says the 00:30:10.980 --> 00:30:16.980 Lord Almighty I Think he answers this This unholy 00:30:16.980 --> 00:30:19.980 the dynamic that is at play with saying don't 00:30:19.980 --> 00:30:23.420 have unholy unions and yet don't leave the world 00:30:24.980 --> 00:30:27.599 Which by the way, isn't that sort of the temptation 00:30:27.599 --> 00:30:30.180 we others say let's you can do whatever you want 00:30:30.180 --> 00:30:33.900 or let's just live in a ghetto That's how Christians 00:30:33.900 --> 00:30:37.420 tend to do grab it all flee at all. How do we 00:30:37.420 --> 00:30:40.900 do this? I Think the answer Paul is giving us 00:30:40.900 --> 00:30:47.099 is that there is a holy union That is so foundational 00:30:47.099 --> 00:30:52.390 to our lives that if that is the yoke which with 00:30:52.390 --> 00:30:56.970 we are bound to, the yoke of Christ. And if that 00:30:56.970 --> 00:31:01.309 really is the fundamental relationship, the foundation, 00:31:02.769 --> 00:31:06.210 then, and only then, can we press into the world 00:31:06.210 --> 00:31:10.750 about us. So Paul here actually quotes from quite 00:31:10.750 --> 00:31:14.490 a few passages, Leviticus 26, Isaiah 52, Ezekiel 00:31:14.490 --> 00:31:17.710 20, Ezekiel 37, 2 Samuel 7, he does all that 00:31:17.710 --> 00:31:22.880 in that quote there. And he says, This is who 00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:26.240 you are. This is who you are, and if you get 00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:31.779 this, then the other things come. So who are 00:31:31.779 --> 00:31:37.759 we? Paul quotes Leviticus 26, and he says, we 00:31:37.759 --> 00:31:41.259 are God's temple. All right, that's how that 00:31:41.259 --> 00:31:49.079 began. We are the temple of the living God. Leviticus 00:31:49.079 --> 00:31:54.200 26, we are the place where God resides. I mean, 00:31:54.200 --> 00:31:55.720 that's what Christians actually believe, that 00:31:55.720 --> 00:31:58.920 the Holy Spirit is so present in us that it can 00:31:58.920 --> 00:32:06.200 be said of you, you're a temple of God. God finding 00:32:06.200 --> 00:32:11.700 his home within you. And as surely as an idol 00:32:11.700 --> 00:32:14.359 or anything unclean was prohibited from being 00:32:14.359 --> 00:32:16.359 in the temple in Jerusalem, the same is true 00:32:16.359 --> 00:32:19.680 with Christians. We can't follow idolatry, we 00:32:19.680 --> 00:32:23.089 can't follow sin. We have this fundamental identity 00:32:23.089 --> 00:32:26.170 that God is within us. Then Paul goes on to quote 00:32:26.170 --> 00:32:29.609 Isaiah 52, and what he says is, you're God's 00:32:29.609 --> 00:32:32.549 people, you're God's temple, you're God's people. 00:32:32.970 --> 00:32:34.930 I will be their God, they shall be my people. 00:32:35.490 --> 00:32:36.950 And then he says, therefore go out from their 00:32:36.950 --> 00:32:40.910 midst, be separate. Which is saying, how can 00:32:40.910 --> 00:32:43.690 you live for yourself anymore? How can you live 00:32:43.690 --> 00:32:50.009 in this other identity? God's people. Now practically 00:32:50.009 --> 00:32:51.750 this is what one person I read said this the 00:32:51.750 --> 00:32:54.190 Christian might choose to be part of his or her 00:32:54.190 --> 00:32:58.369 corporate corporations family picnic But to refrain 00:32:58.369 --> 00:33:00.910 from participating in the daily water cooler 00:33:00.910 --> 00:33:05.549 gossip session You know what I mean by that this 00:33:05.549 --> 00:33:08.089 idea that you can live and yet you you live you 00:33:08.089 --> 00:33:14.680 live differently Separate And Paul goes on to 00:33:14.680 --> 00:33:17.240 quote 2nd Samuel and Isaiah 43, and he's saying 00:33:17.240 --> 00:33:19.839 this in both of them, you are God's children. 00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:23.400 The temple of God, the people of God, actually 00:33:23.400 --> 00:33:30.859 the family of God, loved by Him, found our life 00:33:30.859 --> 00:33:35.160 through Him. We're also protected by Him, we're 00:33:35.160 --> 00:33:40.319 disciplined by Him, we're provided for by Him, 00:33:40.839 --> 00:33:46.039 and we're cherished. by Him. This is the fundamental 00:33:46.039 --> 00:33:49.400 reality of who we are. This is how Paul addresses 00:33:49.400 --> 00:33:52.500 this question. Who are you? You're God's temple. 00:33:53.420 --> 00:33:56.420 You're God's people. You're God's children. So 00:33:56.420 --> 00:34:00.000 there is a holy union that is the foundation 00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.440 for all of your life, all of your being. What 00:34:04.440 --> 00:34:08.710 does holy mean? Holy means set apart. What it's 00:34:08.710 --> 00:34:10.829 saying is that if you are set apart as the temple 00:34:10.829 --> 00:34:14.130 and as the people and as the family for God, 00:34:14.829 --> 00:34:19.369 then how could you possibly be yoked, bound together 00:34:19.369 --> 00:34:22.769 in such a way that influences your life and directs 00:34:22.769 --> 00:34:26.309 where you go with something that is not connected 00:34:26.309 --> 00:34:31.289 to God? That is the point of this passage. Let 00:34:31.289 --> 00:34:33.590 me give you a couple of quick questions and then 00:34:33.590 --> 00:34:37.769 I'll end. I want you to reflect on some of this 00:34:37.769 --> 00:34:42.469 today, maybe over lunch with a friend or a spouse 00:34:42.469 --> 00:34:47.230 or maybe sometime this week. What does it look 00:34:47.230 --> 00:34:51.949 like for you to live a wholly separate life for 00:34:51.949 --> 00:34:59.989 God? Can you ask each other that? What might 00:34:59.989 --> 00:35:03.610 you need to do to actually distance yourself 00:35:03.900 --> 00:35:09.460 From that which is not in union with Jesus Let 00:35:09.460 --> 00:35:12.739 me ask this is a similar question what ditch 00:35:12.739 --> 00:35:18.079 do you fall into? The total separation ditch 00:35:18.079 --> 00:35:23.099 or the assimilation ditch, what's your inclination? 00:35:27.820 --> 00:35:31.039 How can you live deeper into the life of Jesus 00:35:31.039 --> 00:35:34.570 how can he be the foundation What might you need 00:35:34.570 --> 00:35:38.550 to put on or take off that that relationship 00:35:38.550 --> 00:35:43.750 can be your foundation? How about this? What 00:35:43.750 --> 00:35:48.210 are the five voices that are loud for you? They 00:35:48.210 --> 00:35:49.550 can be your friends, they can be your parents. 00:35:49.869 --> 00:35:53.690 Maybe they are relationships on your phone, not 00:35:53.690 --> 00:35:56.449 in -person relationships. What are the five relationships 00:35:56.449 --> 00:36:00.869 that are loudest, whose voices are loudest? And 00:36:00.869 --> 00:36:03.639 then are they pointing you to Jesus? Are they 00:36:03.639 --> 00:36:10.340 doing that? Okay. For real. So I'm gonna end. 00:36:11.099 --> 00:36:20.699 I'm not keeping this mustache. I'm not. If the 00:36:20.699 --> 00:36:22.920 Marys win tonight, let's be honest, I'll probably 00:36:22.920 --> 00:36:27.599 keep it on during the World Series. But it's 00:36:27.599 --> 00:36:31.769 going away. Why? because there is a voice in 00:36:31.769 --> 00:36:35.329 my life that is more important than kids' friends 00:36:35.329 --> 00:36:39.550 saying, Mr. Rowan has a sick stash. And it's 00:36:39.550 --> 00:36:42.670 my wife's relationship. Her voice is the loudest 00:36:42.670 --> 00:36:46.590 human voice in my life. This most foundational 00:36:46.590 --> 00:36:51.550 human relationship for me. And I think at least 00:36:51.550 --> 00:36:54.429 that invites me to ask, and I hope it invites 00:36:54.429 --> 00:37:00.530 you to ask, is the Lord the foundation. Is he 00:37:00.530 --> 00:37:07.150 the voice? Is he the yoke that directs and steers 00:37:07.150 --> 00:37:11.690 your life? Let me pray for us. Lord, thank you 00:37:11.690 --> 00:37:13.590 for your word. We pray that we would hide it 00:37:13.590 --> 00:37:22.309 in our hearts. God, we feel the tension of living 00:37:22.309 --> 00:37:24.869 in the world and yet being yours in the world. 00:37:27.139 --> 00:37:29.940 God, would you deepen our relationships here 00:37:29.940 --> 00:37:32.219 in this church that we might speak to one another, 00:37:32.300 --> 00:37:34.219 encourage one another towards following you? 00:37:34.539 --> 00:37:37.940 God, would we be circumspect of the voices that 00:37:37.940 --> 00:37:41.000 are influencing us and that are shaping us? God, 00:37:41.019 --> 00:37:47.320 would we be very cautious to bind ourselves to 00:37:47.320 --> 00:37:51.219 that which is not directing us towards you? And 00:37:51.219 --> 00:37:54.710 would all of our life, our whole being, Be offered 00:37:54.710 --> 00:37:58.889 to you in worship as temples of God, as the people 00:37:58.889 --> 00:38:01.349 of God, as the very sons and daughters of God. 00:38:01.469 --> 00:38:24.389 In Jesus' name, amen. God bless.