1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,540 Yes, Christian said, I'm very thankful for everybody 2 00:00:02,540 --> 00:00:05,520 who could come out and gather this morning. 3 00:00:05,520 --> 00:00:08,160 I really didn't want my preaching calendar to be messed up. 4 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:10,680 So I'm glad we can meet. 5 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:13,000 And it's always good to be together. 6 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:14,680 We're gonna be in Colossians. 7 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,400 And we're in chapter one still. 8 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:19,080 And for many years, if you don't know this about me, 9 00:00:19,080 --> 00:00:22,200 I was a lifeguard and swim lesson instructor 10 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:25,840 for the YMCA for probably five or six years. 11 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:27,280 And it was a really fun job, 12 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,880 but I'll never forget the test that I had to take 13 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:34,440 in order to become a lifeguard because it was no joke. 14 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:37,480 And I remember at the time thinking, 15 00:00:37,480 --> 00:00:38,580 this is gonna be no problem, 16 00:00:38,580 --> 00:00:40,880 because at this point in my life, 17 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:42,880 I was working out seven days a week. 18 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:46,360 So I was in the best shape I have ever been in 19 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:49,920 and will ever be in again because I'm getting old now. 20 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:52,000 So, but I was in the best shape of my life. 21 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:53,760 If you were to look at me at the time, 22 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:56,280 you'd say, man, this guy looks like a lifeguard. 23 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:00,120 Like he looks like this test is gonna be no problem for him. 24 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:01,160 That's what I thought too. 25 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:06,160 So first test, you had to swim 100 meters freestyle, 26 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:07,320 nonstop. 27 00:01:07,320 --> 00:01:09,600 And I thought, that's a cake walk, all right? 28 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:11,220 100 meters, that's it. 29 00:01:11,220 --> 00:01:12,480 I've been swimming my whole life. 30 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:14,440 So I jump right in, I start swimming. 31 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:16,880 And I've been swimming for about five seconds 32 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:18,800 when the aquatics director, 33 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:21,520 who's at the side of the pool, starts screaming to me, 34 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:23,880 put your face in the water. 35 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:26,440 And I was like, but then I won't be able to breathe. 36 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:29,000 So clearly I didn't actually know how to swim 37 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:30,280 like you were supposed to know how to swim. 38 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:31,360 But I get through that test, 39 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:33,600 I get through the next couple of ones. 40 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:37,920 But then came a test that still scares me to this day. 41 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:40,320 And it was called the 300. 42 00:01:40,320 --> 00:01:43,240 Okay, and what you had to do was basically 43 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:46,720 you had to swim 100 meters freestyle, 44 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:48,840 100 meters breaststroke. 45 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:51,120 And then you got to pick your last 100 meters. 46 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:53,360 It could be either freestyle, backstroke, 47 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:54,960 or butterfly. 48 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:57,680 And you had to do this nonstop. 49 00:01:57,680 --> 00:01:59,860 And you couldn't hold on to the side of the pool. 50 00:01:59,860 --> 00:02:02,520 You had to do a flip underwater and keep going. 51 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:04,520 Now, I see a lot of faces that are like, 52 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:06,080 okay, I don't know if that sounds bad. 53 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:08,520 I encourage you to try it, okay? 54 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:12,240 Go to the indoor pool and try to swim 300 meters nonstop. 55 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:14,160 I thought it was gonna be no problem, 56 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:16,280 but I nearly died in that water 57 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:18,080 and barely made it back to the side. 58 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:19,480 And then I had to go to the bathroom 59 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:21,080 where I found my breakfast again. 60 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:23,320 So it was a really hard test, right? 61 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:26,080 But all of that is to say that even though 62 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:29,480 I had the look of a lifeguard, 63 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:32,940 I didn't necessarily have the skills to back up that look. 64 00:02:32,940 --> 00:02:34,320 And if you were to look at me back then, 65 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:36,280 you would think, oh yeah, he's gonna get a free pass 66 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:38,640 because he looks like he's a lifeguard, 67 00:02:38,640 --> 00:02:41,320 but that's not how it worked out for me. 68 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:42,880 And I'm concerned that in the same way, 69 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:46,600 just because you have the look of a Christian, 70 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:49,460 just because your life has the appearance 71 00:02:49,460 --> 00:02:51,900 of a Christian life does not mean 72 00:02:51,900 --> 00:02:55,200 that you are necessarily pleasing to God. 73 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:58,120 In fact, I'm concerned that we have too many people today 74 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,360 who merely have the appearance of the Christian life, 75 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:05,360 but do not actually have the life of a Christian life 76 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:06,920 to back that up. 77 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:07,880 We have a lot of people today 78 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:10,440 who look the part of a mature Christian, 79 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:12,400 a lot of people who call themselves Christians, 80 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:13,960 who come to church, 81 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:15,720 a lot of people who look like they can handle 82 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:17,700 just about anything that comes their way. 83 00:03:17,700 --> 00:03:19,040 We've got a lot of people 84 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:21,440 that you could probably even point to in this room this morning 85 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,080 and say, that person is living a life 86 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:25,920 that is pleasing to God. 87 00:03:25,920 --> 00:03:27,640 And yet for many of these people, 88 00:03:27,640 --> 00:03:30,720 they lack the walk to back up their talk. 89 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:34,940 There's a difference between being able to talk 90 00:03:34,940 --> 00:03:39,320 like a Christian and actually live like a Christian. 91 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:40,160 And in the same way, 92 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:42,480 my appearance didn't enable me to perform well 93 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:43,880 on my lifeguard test, 94 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:48,000 your Christian appearance will not actually enable you 95 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:51,280 or equip you to live a life that is pleasing to God. 96 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:53,560 And yet that's exactly what Jesus wants from all of us. 97 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:54,660 Is it not? 98 00:03:54,660 --> 00:03:56,800 I mean, Paul even says so in these verses here. 99 00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:00,280 He says that he wants us to live lives 100 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:01,440 that are worthy of the gospel. 101 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:05,680 He wants us to be found pleasing in the sight of the Lord. 102 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:09,040 And so what he's trying to get to here in these verses 103 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:13,640 is that unequipped disciples are unpleasing disciples. 104 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:18,640 Meaning if all you have is the facade of Christianity, 105 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:23,360 without actually having the substance of Christianity, 106 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:25,640 God is not actually pleased with you. 107 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:29,040 If you're lacking in certain areas, 108 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:32,040 it means that you're not equipped in those areas spiritually. 109 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:33,440 And if you're not equipped spiritually, 110 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:35,480 it means that you're not gonna walk in a manner 111 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:37,640 where you're not actually pleased with you. 112 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:40,640 And so what he's trying to do is he's trying to get you 113 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:42,640 to live a life that is pleasing to God. 114 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:44,840 You're gonna walk in a manner worthy of the gospel 115 00:04:44,840 --> 00:04:47,000 and you're not gonna be found pleasing 116 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:48,200 in the sight of the Lord. 117 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:50,680 And so one of the best things that you can do, 118 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:53,880 and I have found through studying this passage, 119 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:55,240 is one of the best things you can do 120 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:58,600 is you can begin to pray for all the areas 121 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:02,560 where you're lacking and ask God to equip you 122 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:04,640 to better be able to walk and step with him. 123 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:06,320 So here's what I wanna do this morning. 124 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:08,120 I'm gonna do something a little different. 125 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:10,840 I wanna give you four prayers 126 00:05:10,840 --> 00:05:13,600 that you should start praying immediately 127 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:17,280 for yourself and for others, especially for our church. 128 00:05:17,280 --> 00:05:20,360 These are four prayers that you should start praying 129 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:24,000 immediately if you want to begin to live a life 130 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:25,960 that is worthy of the gospel 131 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:28,800 and be found pleasing in the sight of God. 132 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:30,040 So does that sound good with everybody? 133 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:30,880 Good? 134 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:31,720 Good? 135 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:32,560 All right, here's the point where we talk, all right? 136 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:33,880 So yeah, introductions out, 137 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:34,960 and now we're gonna get in the sermon. 138 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:36,920 All right, so everybody, let's let out a sigh of relief 139 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:38,080 or give me an amen or something. 140 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:39,080 I just wanna know you're alive. 141 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:39,920 Everybody? 142 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:40,760 Yeah? 143 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:41,720 All right, there we go, man. 144 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:44,360 I was real concerned there for a second. 145 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:46,200 The eyes froze everybody's voices. 146 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:47,320 All right, verse nine. 147 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:49,320 First prayer is a prayer for spiritual wisdom. 148 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:50,440 Look at what he says. 149 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:54,320 And so from the day we heard, 150 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:56,360 we have not ceased to pray for you, 151 00:05:56,360 --> 00:06:00,840 asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will 152 00:06:00,840 --> 00:06:04,040 in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 153 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:05,000 Now I want you to notice this. 154 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:07,400 Paul's gonna use three words here, 155 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:10,960 and it's three words that we typically lump together 156 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:12,160 as being synonymous. 157 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:16,920 He uses the words knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. 158 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:18,600 And we tend to lump those together, 159 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:21,720 but the thing is there are some important differences 160 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:22,560 between them. 161 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:25,840 For instance, knowledge is just brute facts. 162 00:06:25,840 --> 00:06:29,440 It's just the content of what you know. 163 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:33,560 Understanding is the comprehension of those facts, 164 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:37,920 and then wisdom is the right application of those facts. 165 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:39,800 And I can show you what this looks like practically. 166 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:44,040 So here's some knowledge for you if you did not know this. 167 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:47,800 Studies have shown that when a father is the first 168 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:49,960 in the family to come to faith in Christ, 169 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:51,800 there's a, do you know what the percentage chance is 170 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:53,920 that the rest of the family comes to Christ? 171 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:55,480 Anybody? 172 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:57,480 90. 173 00:06:57,480 --> 00:06:59,960 If a father is the first one in the family 174 00:06:59,960 --> 00:07:04,160 to come to Christ, there is a 90% chance 175 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:06,920 the rest of the family will come to Christ. 176 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:08,800 If only the mother is a Christian, 177 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:11,560 the likelihood of the rest of the family coming to Christ 178 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:16,280 is between 17 and 20%. 179 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:17,160 Now that's knowledge. 180 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:19,560 Those are just brute facts, okay? 181 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:24,160 Understanding then is realizing how essential 182 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:27,760 the father is, not only for the sake of his own soul, 183 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:29,800 but for the sake of the souls of his family. 184 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:32,360 How important and essential the father is 185 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:35,120 for the spiritual wellbeing of his family. 186 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:39,600 And then wisdom then is a call, men. 187 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:44,040 Wisdom here is a call for every single man 188 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:46,840 to begin to get right with Christ immediately 189 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:50,600 and to step up and be the spiritual leader of his household 190 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:54,080 that God has called him to be, because your family 191 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:57,240 and your family's souls are depending on it. 192 00:07:57,240 --> 00:07:59,680 So that's knowledge and understanding 193 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:03,000 and wisdom, and Paul is saying that Christians need 194 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:06,240 all three of these when it comes to God's will 195 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:07,240 and spiritual matters. 196 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:09,960 In other words, listen to me, it's not enough 197 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:12,600 to just know a lot of stuff about God. 198 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:15,520 I think everybody in here knows a lot of stuff about God. 199 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:16,720 Do we not? 200 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:19,520 We can give you facts, we can talk theology, 201 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:21,240 we can quote the Bible to you. 202 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:24,560 We have a lot of content, and the Bible is saying here, 203 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:26,880 the content isn't enough. 204 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:30,600 You need to understand it and you need to live it out. 205 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:32,480 If it only ever stays in your head 206 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:34,680 and it never moves to your hands and your feet, 207 00:08:34,680 --> 00:08:35,840 you've got a problem. 208 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:39,640 In fact, Paul says he wants us to be filled 209 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:40,480 with these things. 210 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:41,600 Notice that word there, filled. 211 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:43,680 You can circle it, underline it. 212 00:08:43,680 --> 00:08:47,520 It's a really important word, because when Paul says filled 213 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:51,560 here, he doesn't mean that he wants Christians 214 00:08:51,560 --> 00:08:54,640 simply to possess a lot of this stuff. 215 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:56,880 Now, obviously he does want that. 216 00:08:56,880 --> 00:08:59,840 But he's not saying, I want you to be filled 217 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:01,760 so that you can just be full of this stuff. 218 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:05,440 The word filled here has the idea in Greek 219 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:07,680 of being controlled by something. 220 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:11,320 To be so full of something that you're actually 221 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:12,440 controlled by it. 222 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:13,840 We still use it in this way today. 223 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:18,320 Think about if you say a person is filled with rage. 224 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:19,680 What are we saying? 225 00:09:19,680 --> 00:09:22,520 We're not just saying that they're really angry. 226 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:25,520 We're saying that they're so angry that they've lost 227 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:29,040 all sense of common sense and now their anger 228 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:30,280 is literally controlling them. 229 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:33,920 It's determining what they say, what they do, how they act. 230 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:35,400 That's what it means to be filled with something. 231 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:36,800 It means to be controlled. 232 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,400 The same thing is true if we say a person is filled 233 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:40,560 with lust. 234 00:09:40,560 --> 00:09:41,400 What are we saying? 235 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:43,160 We're not just saying they have a lot of lust. 236 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:45,120 We're saying they've lost the ability 237 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:47,720 to make good decisions and now that lust 238 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:50,520 is controlling them in what they do. 239 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:52,840 And so in the same way Paul's prayer is that Christians 240 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:55,560 would be so filled with the knowledge and wisdom 241 00:09:55,560 --> 00:09:57,880 and understanding of God's will that they would begin 242 00:09:57,880 --> 00:09:59,920 to be controlled by it. 243 00:09:59,920 --> 00:10:01,480 And so here's a prayer that you should start 244 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:04,560 praying immediately for yourself and for the church. 245 00:10:04,560 --> 00:10:05,400 Here's what you say. 246 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:08,680 You say, Lord, fill me with spiritual wisdom 247 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:13,680 so that it controls my thoughts, attitudes, motivations, 248 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:15,040 and actions today. 249 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:19,080 Lord, fill me with spiritual wisdom so that it controls 250 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:24,080 my thoughts, attitudes, motivations, and actions today. 251 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:29,600 I think one of the biggest problems we have 252 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:32,840 in the church today is that we have a lot of people 253 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:35,880 who are desiring to be wise in the Lord 254 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:38,360 and live lives that are pleasing to God 255 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:40,280 and yet they never actually pray for God 256 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:42,280 to make that a reality. 257 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:44,400 The Bible tells us in James chapter one 258 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:47,120 that you can pray and ask God for wisdom 259 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:49,800 and the Bible says that he will give generously 260 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:51,600 to those who ask for it. 261 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:53,400 In fact, as far as I know, it is the only thing 262 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:55,280 in the Bible that if you pray for it, 263 00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:56,760 you are guaranteed to get it. 264 00:10:56,760 --> 00:11:01,760 If you ask God for wisdom, he will give you wisdom. 265 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:04,400 The problem is we're not asking for it. 266 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:06,680 We rarely take time to pray for it. 267 00:11:06,680 --> 00:11:08,440 And so we're going, God, why am I not wise? 268 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:11,880 Why am I not living a life that is showing 269 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:13,440 that I have spiritual maturity and wisdom? 270 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:14,960 It's because we're not praying for it. 271 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:17,000 We're completely neglecting it. 272 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:18,560 But let me ask you a question, church. 273 00:11:18,560 --> 00:11:22,240 Can you imagine how different our church would be 274 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:23,640 and how different the world would be 275 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:26,480 if we started to pray something like this every single day? 276 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:30,920 If we no longer let our feelings control how we speak 277 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:32,920 or act in any given situation. 278 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:37,200 If we were no longer motivated by selfish ambition, 279 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:38,920 but instead we are motivated by living 280 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:41,440 in accordance with God's will. 281 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:43,360 What if we were no longer acting towards 282 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:45,760 our own selfish ends, but we were acting 283 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:48,120 and doing everything for the glory of God alone? 284 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:53,120 What if we stopped letting our thoughts control us 285 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:56,760 and instead we took every thought captive 286 00:11:56,760 --> 00:11:58,360 and made it submissive to Christ 287 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:01,840 and we were controlled by the knowledge of God and His will. 288 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:04,560 I think the world would look drastically different. 289 00:12:04,560 --> 00:12:06,080 I think the church would look different. 290 00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:09,160 And listen, I guarantee you that your life 291 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:10,840 would look different. 292 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:13,160 And so we need to start praying this prayer immediately 293 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:14,760 because we want to be a people 294 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:16,600 who are pleasing in the sight of God. 295 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:19,160 We want to live lives that are worthy of the gospel 296 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:21,520 and we're not gonna do that if we're not controlled 297 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:25,720 by the knowledge, understanding and wisdom of God's will. 298 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:27,320 But I want you to notice what he says next. 299 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:30,200 It's a prayer for obedient lives. 300 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:32,400 There in verse 10, 301 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:39,080 he says, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, 302 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:42,360 fully pleasing to Him. 303 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:44,160 Now here again is interesting 304 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:47,120 because if I were to take a poll of the room 305 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:48,800 and I'm tempted to have you raise your hands, 306 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:49,640 but I'm not gonna do that. 307 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:51,760 But if I were, and I said, 308 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:55,880 how many Christians in here want to live a life 309 00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:57,000 that is pleasing to God? 310 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,560 I think we'd see everybody's hands go up, right? 311 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:01,040 Yes, amen. 312 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:02,080 I think we'd all raise our hands. 313 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:04,360 We all want to live a life that is pleasing to God. 314 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:06,040 But here's where the problem comes in. 315 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:08,760 I think that we all have different definitions 316 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:10,440 of what that actually looks like. 317 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:13,480 I'm convinced that most Christians 318 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:17,360 are subconsciously thinking or hoping 319 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:19,760 that God is gonna grade on a curve. 320 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:22,360 If you remember back to school, 321 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:24,440 I doubt Lorraine ever did this, 322 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:26,880 but there were some teachers, okay? 323 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:29,600 Yeah, no, she's saying, no, she never did this, all right? 324 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:31,360 This doesn't apply to her. 325 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:32,520 But there were some teachers 326 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:35,800 where if every student did poorly enough, 327 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:36,640 what would they do? 328 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:38,200 They would grade on a curve. 329 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:41,880 So now even those who did really bad have a passing grade. 330 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:42,800 What did the teacher do? 331 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:44,800 The teacher lowered the standard. 332 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:47,160 And they said, okay, since everybody's doing bad, 333 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:49,040 the standard's now gonna be lowered, 334 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:51,920 so everybody is looking pretty good now, 335 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:53,200 according to the state. 336 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:55,480 Well, I think a lot of Christians 337 00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:57,520 think that way about God. 338 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:00,120 There are many Christians who are looking around going, 339 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:02,760 hey, listen, God, if I'm just judging myself here, 340 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:05,600 everybody's doing pretty badly down here, okay? 341 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:07,760 Like with a few exceptions or a couple of exceptional people, 342 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:10,400 but pretty much everybody's doing bad. 343 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:13,440 So God's probably gonna lower the standard, right? 344 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:15,520 That's not how it works. 345 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,800 God doesn't change his standard based on human performance. 346 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:20,520 So we understand that church. 347 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:23,120 God's not gonna lower his standard 348 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:25,880 because most people on earth are doing poorly. 349 00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:28,880 In fact, the Bible says in Matthew chapter five, 350 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:32,080 Jesus tells us that we must be perfect 351 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:35,480 as our heavenly father is perfect. 352 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:39,200 That is God's standard, and God's not changing that standard. 353 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:41,800 Now, you can never reach that standard on your own. 354 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:44,360 It is only by being justified, 355 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:46,680 declared right on the side of God, 356 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:49,160 that you can actually obtain the perfection of Christ 357 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:51,640 that he earned for us through his life. 358 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:56,320 But listen to me, God's standard does not change. 359 00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:58,120 He does not grade on a curve. 360 00:14:58,120 --> 00:14:59,800 And so what you need to understand 361 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:01,400 is that partial obedience 362 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:04,560 will never be fully pleasing to God. 363 00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:06,880 I know a lot of us here this morning are thinking, 364 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:09,360 I'm probably good in the eyes of God, right? 365 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:12,200 I'm probably good in the eyes of God. 366 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:15,040 If I'm looking around, I'm doing better than most people. 367 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:17,160 I come to church when I can. 368 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:18,720 I try to be nice to others. 369 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:21,960 I try not to cuss or do horrible things. 370 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:24,760 I try to help out and be a friendly person. 371 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:28,080 So I'm pretty sure God is pleased with me. 372 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:31,160 And I wanna suggest to you this morning 373 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:34,160 that maybe the reason that you think 374 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:36,040 God is pleased with your life 375 00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:38,120 is because there's actually too much distance 376 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:39,480 between you and Jesus. 377 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:42,120 There's this artist that I like. 378 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:45,400 And he does this thing where sometimes 379 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:50,000 he will try to paint a famous painting from memory 380 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:51,480 without any reference. 381 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:52,600 And it's really cool. 382 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:54,840 And so he posted a video recently 383 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:57,840 where he posted a video of him painting 384 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:00,720 the Mona Lisa from memory. 385 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:02,640 And when he got done with it, I was looking at it 386 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:04,600 and I was like, yeah, that's the Mona Lisa. 387 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:07,880 If anybody was going to walk by, they would see that 388 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:09,800 and they'd clearly go, yeah, that's absolutely 389 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:10,640 the Mona Lisa. 390 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:12,120 In fact, when I was looking at it, 391 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:14,040 I couldn't even really tell you what was wrong. 392 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:17,040 I could tell something was off, 393 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:19,000 but I couldn't even pinpoint it. 394 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:20,040 And so at the end of the video, 395 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:23,280 what he did is he got a picture of the actual Mona Lisa 396 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:25,480 and he put it next to the one he painted. 397 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:27,320 And then I was like, buddy. 398 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:29,480 Like, I don't even know that I could say 399 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:30,960 the first one's the Mona Lisa anymore. 400 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:35,960 But once you put the real thing next to his imitation, 401 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:39,280 you could see all the ways that his fell short. 402 00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:41,120 It was very clear where all the flaws were 403 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:43,000 and where all the areas where he messed up. 404 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:44,680 And so I tell you that to tell you 405 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:48,720 that maybe the reason that you think your life is so good 406 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:51,520 in the eyes of God is because you're spending a lot of time 407 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:53,640 looking at just your life 408 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:54,880 and you don't really want to hold it up 409 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:56,440 next to the life of Jesus. 410 00:16:57,240 --> 00:16:58,720 Because let me ask you, what happens 411 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:02,160 when you put the life of Jesus next to your life? 412 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:04,600 Does your life look so good anymore? 413 00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:05,720 No. 414 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:08,160 When you do that, when you put the life of Jesus 415 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:09,600 next to yours, all of a sudden, 416 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:12,680 all of your flaws are very obvious. 417 00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:16,280 All of the ways you fall short, they are very obvious. 418 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:18,360 And all the ways that you need God's help, 419 00:17:18,360 --> 00:17:21,080 they are very obvious. 420 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:23,240 In fact, I want to tell you one of the most humbling things 421 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:26,000 you can do, open up your Bibles 422 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:27,480 and go read one of the Gospels, 423 00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:29,640 Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John 424 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:32,960 and just read any story about Jesus. 425 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:35,480 And when you do that, here's what I want you to do. 426 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:38,320 Read any story about Jesus and ask yourself, 427 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:41,200 how would I have responded in this situation? 428 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:45,440 What would I have said if I were Jesus in this situation? 429 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:46,800 What would I have done? 430 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:49,600 And if you're honest in this exercise, 431 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:53,800 you're gonna see just how different you are from Jesus. 432 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:55,120 I mean, there are a lot of times 433 00:17:55,120 --> 00:17:57,520 where I would have lost my patience on the Pharisees, 434 00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:00,160 the Sadducees, and Peter, bless his heart, 435 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:02,520 and Peter, I would have lost my patience. 436 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:04,880 And yet you see Jesus, and he is just so loving 437 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:08,400 and kind and patient and merciful and gracious. 438 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:12,560 And when I see that, I go, God, that is not what I am. 439 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:15,560 I am so far from your standard. 440 00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:18,520 I'm so far from where you need me to be. 441 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:19,720 But the point is this church, 442 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:22,160 the further away we are from Jesus, 443 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:24,000 the more likely we are going to be 444 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:25,200 to think we're doing okay. 445 00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:28,800 But the closer you are to Jesus, 446 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:30,600 the more likely you are to realize 447 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:32,200 how much you need God's help. 448 00:18:33,360 --> 00:18:36,640 In fact, that is true of all the best Christians I know. 449 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:38,120 There's some Christians in my life, 450 00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:41,040 and I look up to them, they are mentors to me, 451 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:44,800 I respect them, and I would say they are so close to God. 452 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:46,320 But if you were to ask any one of them, 453 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:49,680 they would tell you, I love the Lord, but man, 454 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:52,080 I'm just a sinner saved by grace. 455 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:55,600 I'm just a sinner in desperate need of God's grace daily. 456 00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:58,520 And yet it's these other Christians, 457 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:01,320 the ones that I know are not walking with the Lord daily. 458 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:04,320 The ones that I know are entertaining sin in their lives. 459 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:07,040 They're the ones who tell me, Pastor, I'm good. 460 00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:08,240 God's happy with me. 461 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:11,320 It's because there's too much distance 462 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:13,040 between us and Jesus. 463 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:14,160 If we're not close to Him, 464 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:15,320 we're gonna be tempted to think 465 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:17,400 God's pretty pleased with what we're doing. 466 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:18,240 And so here's the prayer 467 00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:19,840 that I want you to start praying immediately. 468 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:24,000 You say, Lord, draw me closer to Jesus 469 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:26,640 so that my flaws are exposed 470 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:29,200 and I may walk more in step with Him. 471 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:34,560 Pray this prayer every day, Lord, draw me closer to Jesus 472 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:36,640 so that my flaws are exposed 473 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,920 and I may walk more in step with Him. 474 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:40,760 In other words, church, 475 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:45,040 we do not want to settle for partial obedience anymore. 476 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:47,200 We don't wanna just keep patting ourselves on the back 477 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:48,960 because we're mostly obedient 478 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:52,280 because being mostly obedient, being partially obedient, 479 00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:56,200 it will never be fully pleasing to God. 480 00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:59,320 And we need Jesus to expose our sins 481 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:01,720 because here's something I know about everybody in here. 482 00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:04,600 Most of us are pretty blind to our flaws most of the time. 483 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:05,960 Are we not? 484 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:07,240 I mean, we might think you're doing great 485 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:09,080 and then someone comes right alongside of you 486 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:10,120 and they go, hey, have you noticed 487 00:20:10,120 --> 00:20:12,120 you've got a problem with patience? 488 00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:14,120 You're like, no, I did not notice that. 489 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:17,040 I can't believe anybody did. 490 00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:20,400 We're pretty blind to our flaws most of the time, right? 491 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:23,080 We need someone to come and expose that 492 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:25,960 and the best person to expose that would be Jesus. 493 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:27,800 And so your prayer every day should be, 494 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:30,960 Lord, I don't want sin in my life. 495 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:34,840 I want it to be exposed so that I can repent of that sin 496 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:36,320 and so that I can start living a life 497 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:37,760 that is more pleasing to you. 498 00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:41,520 So draw me closer to Jesus so that I can see those flaws, 499 00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:44,000 repent of them and then keep me close 500 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:47,160 so that I can walk more in step with Jesus every day. 501 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:49,200 Listen, I would love it if you would start praying this 502 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:51,160 for other Christians too. 503 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:54,040 Because here's another tendency we have in the church today 504 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:57,920 is we have a tendency to get frustrated more than we pray. 505 00:20:57,920 --> 00:20:59,760 And so what we'll do is we'll see Christians 506 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:01,880 who are struggling in sin 507 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:03,960 or we'll see Christians who are getting lax in their walk 508 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:06,240 and we go, what is wrong with them? 509 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:08,960 Like, I thought they were so on fire for the Lord 510 00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:11,680 for a time and they were coming to church 511 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:13,120 and I saw them here on Sunday morning 512 00:21:13,120 --> 00:21:13,960 and they were getting active 513 00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:14,960 and they were doing all these things 514 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:17,360 and now I don't know the last time I've seen them. 515 00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:19,320 They're not reading their Bible, they're not praying. 516 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:21,280 Like they're drifting from God 517 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:24,080 and we have a tendency to get frustrated then. 518 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:25,680 But what if instead of getting frustrated, 519 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:27,680 we started praying for them? 520 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:31,440 And we started saying, Lord, draw them back to you. 521 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:34,600 Show them how much they need you in their lives 522 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:37,440 on a daily basis, expose their sins 523 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:39,120 and then keep them close to you 524 00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:42,240 so that they will live a life that is pleasing to you. 525 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:44,160 What would the change look like, church, 526 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:45,840 if we stopped getting frustrated 527 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:47,720 and actually got down on our knees 528 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:51,000 and started praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ? 529 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:52,440 Do you think there'd be a noticeable difference 530 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:53,880 in the church? 531 00:21:53,880 --> 00:21:54,720 I do. 532 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:58,400 And so I think you should start praying this prayer immediately 533 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:01,040 and then Paul says we should pray for a fruitful ministry. 534 00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:02,160 Look at verse 10. 535 00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:05,440 In the last part of verse 10, 536 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:09,040 he says, bearing fruit in every good work 537 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:12,800 and increasing in the knowledge of God. 538 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:15,080 Now, I don't know if you've ever worked 539 00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:17,200 on a job site with someone. 540 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:19,000 Could be an actual job site. 541 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:20,680 Greg Berryhill's done this a lot. 542 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:23,240 Or if you're working on a project with someone 543 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:25,840 or a group project or any environment 544 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:28,080 where you have to work with other people. 545 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:29,040 But if you've done this, 546 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:30,440 you'll notice there are typically 547 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:33,120 about three kinds of people, maybe more, 548 00:22:33,120 --> 00:22:35,760 but here are my general three categories. 549 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:38,880 You've got your leaders and they plan everything. 550 00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:41,800 They oversee the project, they help out. 551 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:43,400 Then you've got your laborers. 552 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:44,680 And as you can imagine, 553 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:47,440 they're the ones who do the majority of the work 554 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:48,840 and heavy lifting. 555 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:53,160 And then you got the people that I call the lookers. 556 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:56,160 Why do you call them the lookers, pastor? 557 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:57,880 I'm glad you asked. 558 00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:02,160 It's because these people always look 559 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:04,560 like they're busy with something, 560 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:07,840 but they never actually do a thing. 561 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:09,160 You know people like this? 562 00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:10,560 Yeah, don't look around. 563 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:13,240 But okay, you've met a couple of these. 564 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:16,200 No matter what, they always have their hand on something. 565 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:18,880 They always are running around looking busy 566 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:20,720 and looking like they're working. 567 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:22,000 But then if you're close to it, 568 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,360 you're like, hold on a second, he didn't do a thing. 569 00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:26,120 He was just standing there the whole time. 570 00:23:26,120 --> 00:23:29,080 This also applies to mission trips. 571 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:31,440 Anybody who's been on a mission trip knows this. 572 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:33,240 You're going and you're doing a bunch of work. 573 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:35,560 And then there's a group of people who never do any work, 574 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:37,800 but the camera comes out and all of a sudden, 575 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:40,080 they're carrying two by fours and a drill, 576 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:42,400 has no bid in it, but they've got the drill in there. 577 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:44,000 And they're like, we're doing this for Jesus. 578 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:46,360 And again, there's no bid, but it's for Jesus. 579 00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:48,160 And they're in every single picture. 580 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:49,880 So that's the lookers. 581 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:52,960 My point is there's a big difference 582 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:57,960 between being busy and looking busy and being productive. 583 00:23:58,000 --> 00:23:59,840 There's a big difference. 584 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:02,120 And my concern for Christians today 585 00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:06,760 is that a lot of us are really good at looking busy 586 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:11,760 and being busy, but not a lot of us are very productive. 587 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:17,040 I think we've got a lot of Martha's and not a lot of Mary's. 588 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:18,520 You remember the story of Mary and Martha? 589 00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:20,160 That's one of my favorite in the Bible. 590 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:22,920 Jesus comes to the house of the two sisters 591 00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:25,920 and Martha's like, I know what I'm gonna do. 592 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:27,640 I'm gonna start serving. 593 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:28,920 I'm gonna start doing everything. 594 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:31,080 I'm gonna start cooking and cleaning and tidying up 595 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:31,960 and getting everything ready. 596 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:34,480 And the Bible even says she distracted herself, 597 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:37,160 and she's busy herself with much serving. 598 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:39,280 And so she's doing all this, and the problem is what? 599 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:41,760 Her sister is not helping her. 600 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:43,880 And she's like, well, this isn't fair. 601 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:44,720 I'm doing all this work. 602 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:45,640 And she even goes to Jesus. 603 00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:47,600 She's like, hey, I don't know if you've noticed this. 604 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:48,680 I've done everything. 605 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:50,040 She hasn't done a thing. 606 00:24:50,980 --> 00:24:52,080 But where was Mary? 607 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:56,280 She was sitting at the feet of Jesus. 608 00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:59,680 And Jesus tells Martha, I'm not gonna scold her 609 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:03,880 because Mary has chosen the better portion. 610 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:06,400 She's chosen the good portion. 611 00:25:07,360 --> 00:25:10,000 And I think a lot of people today, 612 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:11,080 you know, look at our church, 613 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:12,920 and something that's true about our church 614 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:14,800 is pretty much everyone in here 615 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,520 is wearing 10 different hats. 616 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:18,360 And that's great. 617 00:25:18,360 --> 00:25:19,200 I appreciate that. 618 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:21,200 I'm wearing about 15 or so myself. 619 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:23,920 So I love you and I appreciate you doing that. 620 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:26,040 But one of the problems is people get so busy 621 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:27,360 that they end up burning out. 622 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:28,640 And I think one of the reasons 623 00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:30,760 that so many people burn out in church 624 00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:32,840 is because we've got a lot of people today 625 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:36,120 who are much more eager and willing to serve Jesus 626 00:25:36,120 --> 00:25:38,120 than they are to simply sit with Jesus. 627 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:42,640 And if you never take the time to sit with Jesus 628 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:45,400 and all you ever do is serve Jesus, 629 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:47,880 you're gonna end up burning out real quick. 630 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:52,840 Because it's no longer gonna be about serving a living savior. 631 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:54,800 It's gonna be about making sure you do 632 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:57,120 as much as you possibly can. 633 00:25:57,120 --> 00:25:58,160 And you're gonna end up doing it 634 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:00,160 in your own strength and power, 635 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:02,520 which is absolutely pointless. 636 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:04,280 Because we can do nothing in our own power. 637 00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:07,200 The Bible tells us that we can either plant a seed 638 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:08,960 or we can water a plant. 639 00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:11,160 But who is it that gives the growth, church? 640 00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:13,400 God, that's an easy answer. 641 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:15,400 You could have said Jesus is the Sunday school answer. 642 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:17,560 Who gives the growth, church? 643 00:26:17,560 --> 00:26:18,600 Jesus, God, okay. 644 00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:20,680 Again, not a lot of response there. 645 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:23,160 We'll chalk it up to cold weather, but it'll be all right. 646 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:25,560 God is the one who gives the growth. 647 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:28,880 God is the one who causes something to bear fruit. 648 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:32,800 The Bible says unless the Lord builds the house, 649 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:37,080 those who labor do so in vain. 650 00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:40,160 And so if you want your life in ministry to be fruitful, 651 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:41,680 you need to remember who it is 652 00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:45,560 that actually brings forth the fruit in the first place. 653 00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:46,440 And so here's the prayer. 654 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:48,960 You should start praying immediately. 655 00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:53,960 Lord, remind me to sit with you before I serve you. 656 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:58,960 So that I will depend on you for a fruitful life in ministry. 657 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:04,960 Lord, remind me to sit with you before I serve you 658 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:08,960 so that I will depend on you for a fruitful life in ministry. 659 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:11,240 Church, we need to be praying this for each other 660 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:12,640 on a daily basis. 661 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:15,640 We need to be praying this for our church on a daily basis 662 00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:18,760 because I am praying that the Lord will continue 663 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:21,760 to produce and bear much fruit in this church. 664 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:25,160 We want to have a fruitful ministry here at George's Creek. 665 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:28,400 And I want to just take this opportunity to remind you 666 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:31,040 that we have seen a lot of fruit over the past five years. 667 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:32,560 Have we not, church? 668 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:35,240 We've seen some wonderful blessings over the past five years. 669 00:27:35,240 --> 00:27:37,880 We've seen tons of fruit here in this church. 670 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:39,760 So let me remind you, 671 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:44,760 I am not the one who is responsible for the fruit 672 00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:46,960 that we have seen in this church. 673 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:49,560 I am not the one who made this church grow. 674 00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:52,360 I am not the one who made this church effective. 675 00:27:52,360 --> 00:27:56,000 I am not the one who made this church produce fruit. 676 00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:59,160 It was all God and God alone. 677 00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:00,440 Are we all clear on that? 678 00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:02,360 It was not Alex, it was God. 679 00:28:02,360 --> 00:28:05,680 To God alone belongs the glory. 680 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:07,960 And we want to continue to see this fruit. 681 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:11,600 And so we need to pray that we would be a people 682 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:15,200 who are not just busy, but bountiful, 683 00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:19,200 making sure that we never disconnect our service to God. 684 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:21,960 And we need to be a people who are not just busy, 685 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:25,240 but are busy with our service to the Lord 686 00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:27,840 from our relationship with the Lord. 687 00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:31,000 Because if you start removing Jesus from that relationship, 688 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:33,440 you're just going to turn into a bunch of Pharisees. 689 00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:35,600 And this church will die out quickly. 690 00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:39,040 We need to be like Mary and not like Martha. 691 00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:41,160 So notice this final thing that Paul says 692 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:42,560 we should be praying for. 693 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:47,040 And it is joyful perseverance in verses 11 through 12. 694 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:49,760 According to his glorious might for all endurance 695 00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:53,400 and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father 696 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:57,080 who has qualified you to share in the inheritance 697 00:28:57,080 --> 00:28:59,760 of the saints in light. 698 00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:01,840 Now as Paul's talking about perseverance here 699 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:04,720 and having joy, he's alluding to the fact 700 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:08,840 that the Christian life is not a sprint. 701 00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:12,200 It is a marathon and it is grueling. 702 00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:14,200 You don't just come to faith 703 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:16,760 and then you're immediately perfected and that's it. 704 00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:18,360 You just sit around and wait. 705 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:21,480 You come to faith in Christ, God saves you, 706 00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:23,840 and then he puts you on this journey 707 00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:27,240 of getting to walk with Christ throughout all of your life 708 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:31,280 and having the Holy Spirit slowly make you more and more 709 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:32,120 like Christ. 710 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:37,120 And Paul is saying God wants you to enjoy that journey. 711 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:38,280 I think I've told you all before 712 00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:42,960 that I am absolutely no fun to hike with whatsoever. 713 00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:44,920 And I don't think I can overstate that enough. 714 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:47,440 I mean, you don't want me on a hike with you, okay? 715 00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:52,080 Because if you tell me we're gonna go hike to a waterfall, 716 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:54,160 I'm gonna get us to that waterfall, okay? 717 00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:56,280 And we're gonna be going like left, right, left, right, 718 00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:58,120 drill sergeant type stuff out there. 719 00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:00,640 Let's get going and get to that waterfall. 720 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:05,720 Anna and Judah are not like that, however. 721 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:08,360 And that's because they actually know how to hike. 722 00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:10,720 So that's not on them, but they move at a snail's pace 723 00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:12,160 or a little slower than a snail, 724 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:15,120 but they move there about at a snail's pace. 725 00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:16,760 Oh, I got to look there, okay? 726 00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:19,040 But here's what they do. 727 00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:21,440 When they're hiking, they're gonna stop and look 728 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:25,680 at every snail, every tree, every branch, every leaf, 729 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:27,600 every rock, every body of water, 730 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:29,240 every little critter they can find. 731 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:31,480 They're gonna be stopping constantly. 732 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:33,600 And the whole point is, oh, we'll get to the waterfall 733 00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:34,440 when we get there. 734 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:35,280 It's not moving. 735 00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:37,520 It's still gonna be there by the time we get there. 736 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:39,720 And I'm like, well, then what's the point of even going? 737 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:44,280 But anyways, the whole point is that the purpose of hiking 738 00:30:44,280 --> 00:30:46,840 is not to get to the destination. 739 00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:50,640 The whole point of hiking is to enjoy the journey 740 00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:52,680 to that destination. 741 00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:53,960 And I think if we're not careful, 742 00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:55,440 we can make this same mistake 743 00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:58,000 when it comes to our spiritual lives. 744 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:01,760 We can get so called up in reaching that end goal 745 00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:04,680 of perfection that we fail to appreciate 746 00:31:04,680 --> 00:31:07,640 that the journey the Lord has us on right now. 747 00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:09,440 But I want you to understand something this morning. 748 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:12,360 The Lord actually does care about that journey. 749 00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:14,080 And I can prove it to you too. 750 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:17,880 Because as I said, God is all powerful, yes? 751 00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:22,880 So when he saved you, he could have just made you perfect 752 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:24,640 at that time, yes? 753 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:26,360 He could have removed all the sin, 754 00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:28,600 made it to where you were never tempted again, 755 00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:31,280 made it to where you never walked in disobedience again. 756 00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:33,280 He could have said they're perfect right now, 757 00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:35,400 but he didn't do that. 758 00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:40,400 Instead, he chose to allow you to start on this journey 759 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:46,480 of walking with Christ and slowly learn obedience, 760 00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:49,520 slowly learn to turn away from sin more and more, 761 00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:53,800 slowly learn to enjoy the Lord more and more and more. 762 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:57,240 And this journey just gets sweeter the longer you're on it. 763 00:31:57,240 --> 00:31:58,400 Does it not? 764 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:00,320 I mean, the more you walk with the Lord, 765 00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:02,040 the sweeter that walk gets. 766 00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:03,280 And so I need you to understand 767 00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:06,920 that God actually does care about that journey. 768 00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:09,280 God doesn't want you to view your spiritual growth 769 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:11,280 like I view hiking. 770 00:32:11,280 --> 00:32:13,280 He doesn't want you to just white knuckle your way 771 00:32:13,280 --> 00:32:14,200 to perfection. 772 00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:17,480 He wants you to enjoy the journey of growing in him 773 00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:20,080 and walking with him. 774 00:32:20,080 --> 00:32:21,320 And it's beautiful. 775 00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:24,200 I mean, there are gonna be some bumps along the road, 776 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:25,960 but few things are more satisfying 777 00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:28,760 than embracing that journey and seeing the progress 778 00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:32,400 and change that God brings about in your life. 779 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:33,800 And I love witnessing this journey. 780 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:36,000 One of my favorite examples is Kaylee. 781 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:39,080 I got her permission before service to mention her. 782 00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:40,720 Kaylee is a horrible no-goods. 783 00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:41,720 No, can you imagine? 784 00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:46,720 No, I love seeing what the Lord has done in Kaylee's life. 785 00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:50,600 And she posted recently on Facebook 786 00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:52,680 and it really just, it made me so proud 787 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:54,680 as her pastor is one of my proudest moments 788 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:56,720 because she said in this post 789 00:32:56,720 --> 00:32:58,760 that before she came to George's Creek, 790 00:32:58,760 --> 00:33:02,760 she had never read a full chapter of the Bible 791 00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:05,040 before she came to this church. 792 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:07,440 But she said last year by God's grace, 793 00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:11,160 she read through the entire Bible for the very first time, 794 00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:15,760 every single word of the Bible and she read through it. 795 00:33:15,760 --> 00:33:17,880 And now, listen, again, 796 00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:19,480 Kaylee would be the first one to tell you this. 797 00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:21,800 If you were in my gospel group, 798 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:23,800 she would be the one to tell you this, okay? 799 00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:25,960 Kaylee's not perfect. 800 00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:27,040 She is far from perfect. 801 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:29,320 She still has her problems and her difficulties 802 00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:31,720 and her challenges that she's working through, 803 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:34,400 but you can look at where she was 804 00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:36,360 and where God has brought her 805 00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:39,080 and see the change that he has brought about in her life 806 00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:41,120 in such a short amount of time. 807 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:42,440 And she even said in her post 808 00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:44,800 that she was eternally grateful to God 809 00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:48,040 for giving her a desire, not obligation, 810 00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:51,040 a desire to be closer to him every day. 811 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:54,840 And she said, I'm finally learning to hear his voice 812 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:58,000 and to recognize it above all the noise. 813 00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:00,160 And church, that's what God does. 814 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:01,360 That's what God can do. 815 00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:04,400 He can take any person on earth, 816 00:34:04,400 --> 00:34:06,640 he can save them and then he can put them 817 00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:11,040 on a spiritual journey to transform their life. 818 00:34:11,040 --> 00:34:12,440 And notice what she did there. 819 00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:15,400 She didn't focus on where she wasn't, 820 00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:17,840 she focused on where she had been. 821 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:19,680 I just want to tell you this morning, 822 00:34:19,680 --> 00:34:24,360 if you will stop focusing solely on the destination 823 00:34:24,360 --> 00:34:26,760 and learn to appreciate the change 824 00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:28,760 and how far God has brought you, 825 00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:30,720 you're gonna start enjoying walking with him 826 00:34:30,720 --> 00:34:32,400 a whole lot more. 827 00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:33,800 And so here's what I want you to pray. 828 00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:35,640 This prayer you should pray immediately. 829 00:34:35,640 --> 00:34:40,640 Lord, help me to have joy in my walk with Christ 830 00:34:40,720 --> 00:34:43,440 and give thanks for becoming more like Christ. 831 00:34:44,720 --> 00:34:47,600 Lord, help me to have joy in my walk with Christ 832 00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:51,240 and give thanks for becoming more like Christ. 833 00:34:51,240 --> 00:34:52,360 In other words, church, 834 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:57,080 I want you to start learning to celebrate small victories. 835 00:34:57,080 --> 00:34:59,160 I want you to learn to celebrate the progress 836 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:01,400 and not just the perfection. 837 00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:03,440 And so if you're here this morning, listen to me, 838 00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:08,040 if you were praying more now than you were a year ago, 839 00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:10,160 then that has changed, that has progressed 840 00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:12,480 and you should take time to praise God 841 00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:15,720 because he's the one who made that a reality in your life. 842 00:35:15,720 --> 00:35:18,840 If you're studying the Bible more than you were a year ago, 843 00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:21,160 then praise God because that's progress. 844 00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:23,720 And that's something that God has done in your life. 845 00:35:23,720 --> 00:35:26,600 If you're learning more, growing more, trusting more, 846 00:35:26,600 --> 00:35:28,520 if you're walking with God more closely 847 00:35:28,520 --> 00:35:30,080 than you were a year ago, 848 00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:34,040 then you need to take time to praise God for that change 849 00:35:34,040 --> 00:35:36,920 and for that progress that he's brought about in your life. 850 00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:39,520 So don't get so focused on the destination 851 00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:42,160 that you fail to appreciate the journey 852 00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:44,560 and what God is doing all around you. 853 00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:46,760 And I'm just gonna tell you this joy, 854 00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:49,320 it doesn't come naturally to us, 855 00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:52,400 which is why Paul says we need to be praying for this joy. 856 00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:56,960 God, give me joy in my walk with Christ 857 00:35:56,960 --> 00:35:59,120 so that I'll learn to appreciate it 858 00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:03,000 and give thanks for what you're doing in my life. 859 00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:06,040 And so if you want to live lives that are pleasing to God 860 00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:07,600 and be found worthy in his sight, 861 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:10,280 then we need to be equipped to live those kind of lives, 862 00:36:10,280 --> 00:36:11,120 do we not? 863 00:36:12,040 --> 00:36:13,920 And one of the best ways that you can be equipped 864 00:36:13,920 --> 00:36:17,640 for that kind of life is to start praying for it 865 00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:20,200 and praying for all the areas where you were lacking 866 00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:21,760 and needing help. 867 00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:22,920 One of the best things you can do 868 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:25,640 for your spiritual life here in 2025, 869 00:36:25,640 --> 00:36:27,880 the sermon insert that you normally throw away 870 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:32,320 on your way out the door, do me a favor, keep that one, okay? 871 00:36:32,320 --> 00:36:34,880 I want you to keep that one, put it on your fridge, 872 00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:37,760 keep it in your Bible, add it to your daily prayer list 873 00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:41,280 and start praying these prayers every single day 874 00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:44,240 for yourself and for this church, 875 00:36:44,240 --> 00:36:46,720 because only through this will God begin 876 00:36:46,720 --> 00:36:49,200 to make us live lives that are worthy 877 00:36:49,200 --> 00:36:51,920 of the gospel of Christ and pleasing in his sight. 878 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:53,240 And that's exactly what we want. 879 00:36:53,240 --> 00:36:54,800 Is it not church? 880 00:36:54,800 --> 00:36:55,880 Amen. 881 00:36:55,880 --> 00:37:17,880 All right, let's pray.