WEBVTT 00:00:07.690 --> 00:00:10.169 Thank you for listening to this message from 00:00:10.169 --> 00:00:18.410 Lifehouse Church. For those of you who don't 00:00:18.410 --> 00:00:21.170 know, we took about a week's vacation. And then 00:00:21.170 --> 00:00:24.390 last week, all of last week, we were at our International 00:00:24.390 --> 00:00:27.710 General Assembly for the Church of God in Orlando, 00:00:27.910 --> 00:00:31.769 Florida. And just an amazing time. A lot of business 00:00:31.769 --> 00:00:34.509 meetings, a lot of church services. But I got 00:00:34.509 --> 00:00:37.899 to brag on God just a little bit. The General 00:00:37.899 --> 00:00:39.619 Assembly for the Church of God takes place every 00:00:39.619 --> 00:00:43.979 two years. And two years ago, the moderator, 00:00:44.359 --> 00:00:48.500 really Pastor Gary Lewis, who heads up all of 00:00:48.500 --> 00:00:51.740 the Church of God internationally, he came and 00:00:51.740 --> 00:00:54.920 he really issued a challenge for the church internationally 00:00:54.920 --> 00:00:57.679 with the Church of God and said he would love 00:00:57.679 --> 00:01:01.200 to see a million souls saved and for us to plant 00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:03.840 churches. And when they came back two years later 00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:07.180 to report on what took place, Three million people 00:01:07.180 --> 00:01:10.159 have given their lives to Christ. Yeah, come 00:01:10.159 --> 00:01:13.480 on. Three million. Incredible. We're part of 00:01:13.480 --> 00:01:16.239 that with what we do here. And then they planted 00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:20.340 10 ,000 churches internationally. I'm just praising 00:01:20.340 --> 00:01:23.120 God. We're a church plant that has now matured 00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:25.939 some, and we're just grateful for all that God's 00:01:25.939 --> 00:01:27.840 doing. We don't say that to brag on the denomination. 00:01:28.060 --> 00:01:30.739 We say that to brag on Jesus. Amen. He's the 00:01:30.739 --> 00:01:32.959 one. He's the one who does all the work. So could 00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:34.519 you give the Lord a hand for all that's taking 00:01:34.519 --> 00:01:38.560 place? And with that, we're going to take a moment. 00:01:38.659 --> 00:01:40.200 I'll get you to stand on your feet real quick. 00:01:40.260 --> 00:01:41.780 We're going to do church aerobics this morning. 00:01:41.959 --> 00:01:44.859 We're going to pray over these invitations because 00:01:44.859 --> 00:01:48.079 part of that number that took place, the salvations, 00:01:48.079 --> 00:01:50.480 these orange balls and the invitations are part 00:01:50.480 --> 00:01:52.859 of what's taking place around the globe. And 00:01:52.859 --> 00:01:55.159 we're just trusting God for a harvest here. We're 00:01:55.159 --> 00:01:57.700 believing God to bring people in that don't know 00:01:57.700 --> 00:01:59.939 Jesus, that are far from Jesus, and they're going 00:01:59.939 --> 00:02:02.159 to come to know Him. And that happens through 00:02:02.159 --> 00:02:04.400 these invitations, praying over them. If you 00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:06.540 invite somebody to church, if you invite somebody... 00:02:06.540 --> 00:02:09.280 buddy, in any kind of way, please write their 00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:11.900 name or initials on the ball, put a date on, 00:02:11.939 --> 00:02:13.939 stick it in here so we can pray over them because 00:02:13.939 --> 00:02:16.120 we're believing God for them with you. Amen. 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:18.599 Raise your hands this way if you would. Just 00:02:18.599 --> 00:02:20.620 point them this way. Father, we come in the matchless 00:02:20.620 --> 00:02:23.159 name of Jesus Christ. Lord, we ask that you would 00:02:23.159 --> 00:02:25.439 touch, Lord, these invitations that have gone 00:02:25.439 --> 00:02:28.280 out. I pray, Lord, that you would somehow step 00:02:28.280 --> 00:02:31.180 out ahead. Holy Spirit, go ahead of the words 00:02:31.180 --> 00:02:33.800 that we'll bring in this invitation or behind 00:02:33.800 --> 00:02:36.199 the words that we've already spoken. Lord, that 00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:38.819 it might be effective in the hearer's heart. 00:02:38.939 --> 00:02:40.979 And, God, that they might begin to look to you. 00:02:41.060 --> 00:02:42.740 And, Lord, we're believing, God, that they'll 00:02:42.740 --> 00:02:44.979 draw near to you, that they'll come close. And, 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:46.689 Lord, that they'll come to faith in you. you 00:02:46.689 --> 00:02:48.870 and a commitment to Jesus Christ. And we just 00:02:48.870 --> 00:02:51.110 give you praise and glory. We ask that you would 00:02:51.110 --> 00:02:53.090 have your hand upon the Word today as we listen. 00:02:53.330 --> 00:02:55.889 God minister to our hearts and our ears, and 00:02:55.889 --> 00:02:58.449 we just give you praise in Jesus' name. And everybody 00:02:58.449 --> 00:03:01.629 said together? Amen. Amen. Listen, because you 00:03:01.629 --> 00:03:03.629 pray over it, you get to celebrate. All right? 00:03:03.650 --> 00:03:08.569 Come on. Give Him glory. Yeah. You may be seated 00:03:08.569 --> 00:03:11.689 this morning. Thanks for getting up and praying. 00:03:11.729 --> 00:03:13.699 Thank you for worshiping this morning. heard 00:03:13.699 --> 00:03:16.020 the great worship just bellowing in behind me 00:03:16.020 --> 00:03:19.319 and love every bit of it. But I came across this 00:03:19.319 --> 00:03:22.020 story a couple of weeks ago and I thought I'd 00:03:22.020 --> 00:03:24.599 kind of read it to you. And this is about a man 00:03:24.599 --> 00:03:27.069 named Jimmy and his son, Davey. And they were 00:03:27.069 --> 00:03:29.870 playing in the beautiful, clear waters of the 00:03:29.870 --> 00:03:32.830 Gulf in Mexico while his family was on vacation. 00:03:32.949 --> 00:03:35.990 It was him, his wife, his daughters, his parents, 00:03:36.129 --> 00:03:38.669 and a cousin that had come along with them. And 00:03:38.669 --> 00:03:41.189 they were on the beach, and suddenly a rogue 00:03:41.189 --> 00:03:45.569 riptide swept Davey out to see the sun. And immediately 00:03:45.569 --> 00:03:48.229 his dad, Jimmy, jumped into the water and began 00:03:48.229 --> 00:03:51.409 to swim to Davey to try to get him back to shore. 00:03:51.590 --> 00:03:54.960 But before he knew it, he too was caught in the 00:03:54.960 --> 00:03:59.860 web or the draw of the riptide, and it began 00:03:59.860 --> 00:04:03.319 to pull him out as well. And he began to realize 00:04:03.319 --> 00:04:06.180 that he was powerless in this situation. Although 00:04:06.180 --> 00:04:09.979 he got to his son, he couldn't swim back in either. 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:12.719 And this man, Jimmy, was an Olympian. This man 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:16.160 was strong, but he was being carried away by 00:04:16.160 --> 00:04:18.540 the waters. And he says that he had this one 00:04:18.540 --> 00:04:20.959 chilling thought as they were being swept out 00:04:20.959 --> 00:04:23.579 into the ocean. thought this. He thought, my 00:04:23.579 --> 00:04:25.899 wife and my daughters are going to have to have 00:04:25.899 --> 00:04:28.360 a double funeral. This is what he was thinking. 00:04:29.379 --> 00:04:32.779 Meanwhile, on the shore, the family didn't hear 00:04:32.779 --> 00:04:35.139 their cry for help. They didn't, except for the 00:04:35.139 --> 00:04:39.110 cousin. And the cousin, being a little more familiar 00:04:39.110 --> 00:04:42.209 with the ocean, knew not to run in and try to 00:04:42.209 --> 00:04:44.529 swim to him, but actually went down the shoreline 00:04:44.529 --> 00:04:46.470 where they were headed and knew where there was 00:04:46.470 --> 00:04:49.110 a sandbar that went extended out into the ocean, 00:04:49.189 --> 00:04:52.470 ran out in through the water, out onto the sandbar. 00:04:52.550 --> 00:04:55.050 And as he got close to him, or as they began 00:04:55.050 --> 00:04:57.529 to sweep down towards him, he started yelling, 00:04:57.649 --> 00:05:01.769 come to me, you come to me. And he pulled him 00:05:01.769 --> 00:05:04.509 out of the water. And you might say, well, why 00:05:04.509 --> 00:05:07.350 tell this story? Because there's a lesson here. 00:05:08.269 --> 00:05:12.290 Sometimes if you jump in on your own, you're 00:05:12.290 --> 00:05:15.730 going to die, right? Sometimes you can be swept 00:05:15.730 --> 00:05:18.350 out to sea. Sometimes you jump out in your own 00:05:18.350 --> 00:05:21.769 wisdom. Sometimes you jump out in your own thinking 00:05:21.769 --> 00:05:24.769 in some way. Sometimes if you jump in without 00:05:24.769 --> 00:05:27.910 consulting God and reaching out, you can pray, 00:05:28.050 --> 00:05:30.370 you can wish, you can do all those things. But 00:05:30.370 --> 00:05:34.519 if you get swept out to sea, You could die. It's 00:05:34.519 --> 00:05:37.800 true. And Jesus began to tell us something very 00:05:37.800 --> 00:05:40.660 similar in Matthew chapter 5. If you've got your 00:05:40.660 --> 00:05:42.860 Bibles, you can head to Matthew chapter 5. We're 00:05:42.860 --> 00:05:45.699 going to go to verse 27. And Jesus started to 00:05:45.699 --> 00:05:50.160 talk about sin and being swept out into the ocean 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:55.480 or the sea of sin. Sometimes, if we simply try 00:05:55.480 --> 00:05:58.439 to follow our flesh, we're going to be swept 00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:02.389 away or we could die. I know, what a way to come 00:06:02.389 --> 00:06:04.509 back and start from vacation, right? Y 'all are 00:06:04.509 --> 00:06:07.649 like, oh, come on, Pastor. But this is particularly 00:06:07.649 --> 00:06:12.680 true with sin. It's true with the sea of iniquity 00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:16.459 that can pull us out into the depths. If I just 00:06:16.459 --> 00:06:19.339 jump into sin and I try to make them wade my 00:06:19.339 --> 00:06:22.439 through it on my own wisdom, my own instinct, 00:06:22.680 --> 00:06:26.120 right, my own reasoning of some kind, my own 00:06:26.120 --> 00:06:29.600 excuses sometimes, whatever it is, it can sweep 00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:32.439 me and take me away. It can begin to draw me 00:06:32.439 --> 00:06:34.600 out. Jesus said there's going to be times, many 00:06:34.600 --> 00:06:36.740 times, that you're going to have to ignore your 00:06:36.740 --> 00:06:38.800 gut. You're going to have to ignore your instinct. 00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:40.500 You're going to have to... Ignore your intellectual 00:06:40.500 --> 00:06:44.680 ideas. You're going to have to completely ignore 00:06:44.680 --> 00:06:46.879 your momentary thought, and you're going to have 00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:51.259 to do it his way. Do it his way. Amen? Amen. 00:06:51.379 --> 00:06:54.660 To survive, to live, and to not die, to get back 00:06:54.660 --> 00:06:57.600 into the shore of safety, sometimes, most times, 00:06:57.680 --> 00:07:00.120 dare I say, all the time, you're going to have 00:07:00.120 --> 00:07:03.740 to do it his way. And ignore what you're thinking 00:07:03.740 --> 00:07:06.120 or what you're feeling. And as he's on the hillside 00:07:06.120 --> 00:07:09.139 in Galilee, Jesus begins to instruct the multitude 00:07:09.139 --> 00:07:13.300 on what to do and what not to do. It's the series 00:07:13.300 --> 00:07:15.000 we've been in. It's what we've been talking about 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:17.220 for the last couple of weeks. What to do and 00:07:17.220 --> 00:07:20.100 what to not do to keep you out of the riptide 00:07:20.100 --> 00:07:23.319 of sin. To keep you from getting pulled into 00:07:23.319 --> 00:07:28.060 the sea of iniquity and death. So Matthew 5, 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:30.560 27 says this, for you have heard that it was 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:33.300 said to those of old, you shall not commit adultery. 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:35.660 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman 00:07:35.660 --> 00:07:38.139 to lust for her has already committed adultery 00:07:38.139 --> 00:07:41.199 with her in his heart. If your right eye causes 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:43.680 you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:46.620 For it is more profitable for you that one of 00:07:46.620 --> 00:07:48.500 your members perish than for your whole body 00:07:48.500 --> 00:07:50.980 to be cast into hell. And if your right hand 00:07:50.980 --> 00:07:53.980 causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from 00:07:53.980 --> 00:07:56.339 you. For it's more profitable for you that one 00:07:56.339 --> 00:07:59.079 of your members perish than your whole body be 00:07:59.079 --> 00:08:04.680 cast into hell. Jesus begins this, he's talking, 00:08:04.779 --> 00:08:06.980 he's doing this Sermon on the Mount, and he starts 00:08:06.980 --> 00:08:09.040 this portion of Scripture off and he says, he 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:12.680 names the sexual sin of adultery. And he's saying, 00:08:12.779 --> 00:08:15.759 don't do it. Right? Don't cheat on your spouse. 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:18.680 Don't engage in that kind of activity. Don't 00:08:18.680 --> 00:08:20.620 even think about it because adultery is kind 00:08:20.620 --> 00:08:23.279 of one of those sins that can draw you out. You 00:08:23.279 --> 00:08:25.639 can get caught in the riptide, and it'll begin 00:08:25.639 --> 00:08:27.680 to sweep you out, and it'll leave you wondering, 00:08:27.819 --> 00:08:31.060 how did I get here? When did I get here? How 00:08:31.060 --> 00:08:33.899 did I end up in the middle of the ocean of sin? 00:08:34.100 --> 00:08:36.159 You can feel like you're drowning. I've worked 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:38.279 with people that have got caught in this, you 00:08:38.279 --> 00:08:40.779 know, caught up in this, and they feel like they're 00:08:40.779 --> 00:08:43.480 drowning. They feel like the ocean's coming in. 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:46.779 around them. And Jesus isn't just repeating the 00:08:46.779 --> 00:08:49.019 law of God that was given to Moses in the Ten 00:08:49.019 --> 00:08:52.120 Commandments. He wasn't just speaking about the 00:08:52.120 --> 00:08:55.960 law that God spoke, that Mosaic law. Jesus repeats 00:08:55.960 --> 00:08:58.840 this law so that he can begin to take it to a 00:08:58.840 --> 00:09:02.120 deeper level. He takes it a step further, and 00:09:02.120 --> 00:09:06.490 he begins to speak to the root of sin. The causation 00:09:06.490 --> 00:09:10.450 of sin, the genesis of any sexual sin or really 00:09:10.450 --> 00:09:13.590 any sin at all. And he goes on to say in verse 00:09:13.590 --> 00:09:15.850 27, right? He says, you've heard that it is said 00:09:15.850 --> 00:09:18.210 to those of old, you should not commit adultery. 00:09:18.269 --> 00:09:20.909 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman 00:09:20.909 --> 00:09:24.049 to lust after her has already committed adultery 00:09:24.049 --> 00:09:28.360 with her in his heart. Jesus is telling this 00:09:28.360 --> 00:09:31.299 massive crowd on the hillside that don't get 00:09:31.299 --> 00:09:34.360 swept away into the sea of sin. And he begins 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:36.580 to talk about the genesis of where this takes 00:09:36.580 --> 00:09:40.480 place, which is in the heart. We end up in this 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:44.019 sea of sin. We end up getting pulled out by a 00:09:44.019 --> 00:09:47.139 riptide of sin. And that begins in our heart 00:09:47.139 --> 00:09:50.440 long before it ever manifests on the outside 00:09:50.440 --> 00:09:54.169 of us. long before it ever shows up where people 00:09:54.169 --> 00:09:57.350 can see or where we see it, right? We toy with 00:09:57.350 --> 00:10:01.029 sin sometimes in our head and our heart before 00:10:01.029 --> 00:10:05.250 we ever get to our hands or our body, right? 00:10:05.529 --> 00:10:09.750 We mess with it in our head. It starts with us 00:10:09.750 --> 00:10:12.309 maybe fixing our eyes, fixating on something 00:10:12.309 --> 00:10:14.929 that we shouldn't fixate on. And then our heart 00:10:14.929 --> 00:10:17.309 and our head begin to desire what we're fixating 00:10:17.309 --> 00:10:19.789 on because we shouldn't be fixating on it, right? 00:10:20.389 --> 00:10:23.769 That's where it begins. It starts staring at 00:10:23.769 --> 00:10:26.909 something. And I'm going to just kind of G -rate 00:10:26.909 --> 00:10:28.590 this whole thing a little bit because I know 00:10:28.590 --> 00:10:32.230 we got some young listeners in there. It starts 00:10:32.230 --> 00:10:36.149 with looking at the cookie. Amen? Come on, I'm 00:10:36.149 --> 00:10:40.149 trying to lighten it up, folks. Right? I'm trying 00:10:40.149 --> 00:10:42.850 to keep it G -rated this morning. I'm going to 00:10:42.850 --> 00:10:44.649 replace a little bit of the word here. And listen, 00:10:44.970 --> 00:10:47.490 don't email me and don't send me anything. I'm 00:10:47.490 --> 00:10:49.230 not changing the word of God. I'll preach the 00:10:49.230 --> 00:10:51.370 word of God as it is, but I'm just going to try 00:10:51.370 --> 00:10:53.730 to keep this G -rated, right? Because Jesus said, 00:10:53.789 --> 00:10:55.649 I said to you, whoever looks at a woman to lust 00:10:55.649 --> 00:10:58.029 after has already committed adultery with her 00:10:58.029 --> 00:11:00.210 in his heart. Just for illustration purposes, 00:11:00.649 --> 00:11:03.509 let the woman be a cookie today. Amen? You okay 00:11:03.509 --> 00:11:05.409 with that? Say amen if you're all right with 00:11:05.409 --> 00:11:09.120 that. So whoever looks at the cookie to lust 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:12.080 after her, our cookie's female today, by the 00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:17.379 way, right? Gentlemen, a lustful look at the 00:11:17.379 --> 00:11:21.299 cookie is not just a quick glance at the shapely 00:11:21.299 --> 00:11:24.039 cookie in front of you, and it's not even a recognition 00:11:24.039 --> 00:11:29.440 of attractiveness. Lust of the cookie is when 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:32.720 you begin to look for a long time, when it leads 00:11:32.720 --> 00:11:35.620 to your heart changing, and I want the cookie. 00:11:36.190 --> 00:11:39.370 I must have the cookie, right? I will stare at 00:11:39.370 --> 00:11:41.610 the cookie. Even if I can't have the cookie, 00:11:41.669 --> 00:11:44.529 I'm just gonna stare at the cookie as long as 00:11:44.529 --> 00:11:48.129 I can. Jesus said, if you're lusting for the 00:11:48.129 --> 00:11:51.210 cookie, you've already committed cookie sin in 00:11:51.210 --> 00:11:55.169 your heart. It's already happened, right? And 00:11:55.169 --> 00:11:58.409 that sin's just waiting to mature and manifest 00:11:58.409 --> 00:12:02.730 on the outside. And if the desire remains long 00:12:02.730 --> 00:12:06.389 enough inside of you, I can assure you, What's 00:12:06.389 --> 00:12:10.389 on the inside is going to appear on the outside. 00:12:10.750 --> 00:12:14.830 James 1 .5 says this. Then when desire, lust, 00:12:14.950 --> 00:12:18.070 right, has conceived, it gives birth to sin. 00:12:18.250 --> 00:12:20.889 And sin, when it is full grown, brings forth 00:12:20.889 --> 00:12:25.110 death. Say death. You need to know. You need 00:12:25.110 --> 00:12:27.230 to know what it brings, right? It begins on the 00:12:27.230 --> 00:12:31.409 inside and it grows to the outside. Desire, in 00:12:31.409 --> 00:12:36.970 its nature, always births something. Desire itself 00:12:36.970 --> 00:12:39.450 is going to birth something in you, good or bad. 00:12:39.899 --> 00:12:42.279 Both sides of this. On one side of the fence 00:12:42.279 --> 00:12:44.960 or the other. If you've got desire, it's going 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:47.440 to gestate, right? You're going to conceive. 00:12:47.620 --> 00:12:49.799 It's going to gestate. And it's going to bring 00:12:49.799 --> 00:12:52.480 forth something in your life. It's going to manifest 00:12:52.480 --> 00:12:55.639 something. If we desire God, righteousness and 00:12:55.639 --> 00:12:57.580 a relationship with God is going to show up. 00:12:57.679 --> 00:13:00.299 It's going to begin to birth out of you. It starts 00:13:00.299 --> 00:13:02.559 with the desire to come to Christ. It starts 00:13:02.559 --> 00:13:04.960 with the desire, I want to know the king. I want 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:07.360 to know the God of the universe. I want to know 00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:09.779 the Savior who went to the cross. and died for 00:13:09.779 --> 00:13:12.980 me. And when you begin that desire and that begins 00:13:12.980 --> 00:13:16.480 to birth inside of you, you want to come to faith. 00:13:16.559 --> 00:13:19.039 You want to confess your sins. You want to do 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:23.399 that. It's a desire. But if we desire sin, any 00:13:23.399 --> 00:13:27.759 sin, it bursts action in us. It's going to lead 00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:30.320 to change that's taking place in here. And it'll 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:32.820 eventually go from your head, your heart, and 00:13:32.820 --> 00:13:36.500 it'll hit your soul. And James tells us that 00:13:36.500 --> 00:13:40.379 if it's not repented of, If we don't change directions, 00:13:40.679 --> 00:13:44.860 it leads to death. It can kill you. It can pull 00:13:44.860 --> 00:13:48.899 you out into the ocean. It's what sin does. And 00:13:48.899 --> 00:13:52.100 sin takes its job seriously. It might seem like 00:13:52.100 --> 00:13:54.980 a casual swim. You might be out doggy paddling, 00:13:55.159 --> 00:13:58.820 right, in the ocean of sin. But all of a sudden, 00:13:58.820 --> 00:14:01.200 a riptide is going to get you, and it's going 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:03.700 to begin to pull, and it's going to begin to 00:14:03.700 --> 00:14:08.539 draw. And Jesus goes on, right, to explain that 00:14:08.539 --> 00:14:12.799 this sin is so dangerous that he gives some radical 00:14:12.799 --> 00:14:16.580 steps as an illustration to eradicate the sin 00:14:16.580 --> 00:14:19.360 in our lives. In Matthew 5, 29, he says, if your 00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:22.919 right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:25.480 cast it from you. For it's more profitable for 00:14:25.480 --> 00:14:27.159 you if one of your members perish than for your 00:14:27.159 --> 00:14:29.139 whole body to be cast into hell. And if your 00:14:29.139 --> 00:14:31.480 right hand caused you to sin, cut it off and 00:14:31.480 --> 00:14:33.740 cast it from you. For it's more profitable for 00:14:33.740 --> 00:14:35.559 you that one of your members perish than for 00:14:35.559 --> 00:14:38.000 your whole body to be cast into hell. Plucking 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:40.299 out your eye, cutting off your, how many know 00:14:40.299 --> 00:14:43.000 that's radical? Amen. Turn your, turn the person 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:45.200 besides them. That's radical. Or come on, that's 00:14:45.200 --> 00:14:48.320 radical. But what Jesus was getting across, he 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:51.139 was using an illustration here, a very strong 00:14:51.139 --> 00:14:54.750 illustration. He was saying to us in these verses, 00:14:54.909 --> 00:14:57.909 Jesus said that we need to cut off and cast out 00:14:57.909 --> 00:15:00.669 what is causing us to sin. And if you go back 00:15:00.669 --> 00:15:02.470 to what I talked about just a few minutes ago, 00:15:02.490 --> 00:15:05.830 Jesus referenced back to what's going on on the 00:15:05.830 --> 00:15:09.230 inside of you. There's some things on the inside 00:15:09.230 --> 00:15:11.970 of us that we've got to learn to cut off and 00:15:11.970 --> 00:15:15.480 to cast away from us. So that we don't get caught 00:15:15.480 --> 00:15:19.080 in sin. So something, temptation doesn't begin 00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:22.220 to turn into desire and then grow into sin, which 00:15:22.220 --> 00:15:25.220 eventually leads to death. We got to learn to 00:15:25.220 --> 00:15:28.679 cut it off. And there's ways that I'm going to 00:15:28.679 --> 00:15:30.840 share that with you this morning. You know, how 00:15:30.840 --> 00:15:34.039 do we do that? But you need to learn how to do 00:15:34.039 --> 00:15:36.220 this because how many know, you know, it'd be 00:15:36.220 --> 00:15:39.360 awesome, you know, plucking out your eyes. That's 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:42.009 radical. And I know that would solve part of 00:15:42.009 --> 00:15:44.110 the problem, right? You pluck out your eyes, 00:15:44.210 --> 00:15:47.889 you can't see the cookie anymore. But how many 00:15:47.889 --> 00:15:50.950 know if the lust is in your heart already, the 00:15:50.950 --> 00:15:52.629 sin still can be there even if you don't have 00:15:52.629 --> 00:15:54.610 it? That's not what Jesus is talking about. It's 00:15:54.610 --> 00:15:56.429 talking about casting something away that's on 00:15:56.429 --> 00:15:59.580 the inside of you. Something that you can cast 00:15:59.580 --> 00:16:01.840 away because there's always going to be a cookie 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:04.279 that's going to walk by you in some way and create 00:16:04.279 --> 00:16:06.919 a temptation. I was just at the ocean. We were 00:16:06.919 --> 00:16:09.000 at the beach the first week on vacation. Let 00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:10.519 me tell you, there were some half -dressed cookies 00:16:10.519 --> 00:16:14.330 there. True, right? They need to put some more 00:16:14.330 --> 00:16:18.669 clothing on, right? Just my opinion. And it's 00:16:18.669 --> 00:16:21.070 a great idea to turn your eyes from those kind 00:16:21.070 --> 00:16:23.370 of things. You should practice getting your eyes 00:16:23.370 --> 00:16:26.529 away, closing your eyes to those things. Guys, 00:16:26.769 --> 00:16:29.070 gentlemen, right? You got to turn from that. 00:16:31.370 --> 00:16:35.129 It's what we do in our heart. It's what's happening 00:16:35.129 --> 00:16:38.909 inside of us that begins to start that desire. 00:16:39.389 --> 00:16:42.129 And this is where we got to learn to throw the 00:16:42.129 --> 00:16:44.750 desire. We got to be able to cast it. Do this 00:16:44.750 --> 00:16:46.750 for me one time. Just do it like that. Like you're 00:16:46.750 --> 00:16:48.610 throwing a basil. That's what cast means. That 00:16:48.610 --> 00:16:50.789 means to throw something. We got to learn how 00:16:50.789 --> 00:16:53.789 to throw what's going on inside of us so we don't 00:16:53.789 --> 00:16:57.120 get into sin. It's powerfully tossing it. We 00:16:57.120 --> 00:16:59.740 don't remove sin from our lives by just simply 00:16:59.740 --> 00:17:02.799 closing our eyes. It's good practice, great practice, 00:17:02.919 --> 00:17:05.480 right? Don't keep your eyes fixed on it, but 00:17:05.480 --> 00:17:08.660 it isn't gonna fix the problem. Outside practices, 00:17:08.900 --> 00:17:11.240 right, are not gonna touch what's gonna take 00:17:11.240 --> 00:17:14.180 place on the inside if it's already in your head 00:17:14.180 --> 00:17:17.720 or in your heart. We gotta be able to cast it. 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:20.099 So how do I do that? How do I do that? I wanna 00:17:20.099 --> 00:17:21.839 answer this one. I don't wanna get you all up 00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:23.619 to this point and just leave you hanging. What 00:17:23.619 --> 00:17:26.710 do I do? Well, here's what has to happen in our 00:17:26.710 --> 00:17:29.789 hearts and lives. We've got to develop new desires. 00:17:30.569 --> 00:17:32.289 We've got to develop. Say, develop new desires. 00:17:33.730 --> 00:17:35.690 And some of you are like, well, you mean you 00:17:35.690 --> 00:17:38.880 can do that? Yes, you can. right? You can develop 00:17:38.880 --> 00:17:41.259 new desires. One of the greatest benefits of 00:17:41.259 --> 00:17:44.599 being a child of the King, being saved by the 00:17:44.599 --> 00:17:47.900 blood of Jesus Christ, being restored and rejuvenated 00:17:47.900 --> 00:17:51.240 by Jesus, one of the great benefits is that you 00:17:51.240 --> 00:17:55.039 can actually be empowered, right, to develop 00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:59.740 new desires. You really can. Romans 6, 12 says 00:17:59.740 --> 00:18:03.559 this, therefore do not let sin reign in, inside, 00:18:03.740 --> 00:18:05.980 right, in your mortal body, that you should obey 00:18:05.980 --> 00:18:08.400 it in its lust. And do not present your members 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:10.779 as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but 00:18:10.779 --> 00:18:12.960 present yourself to God as being alive from the 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:15.619 dead and your members as instruments of righteousness 00:18:15.619 --> 00:18:19.660 to God. For sin shall not have dominion over 00:18:19.660 --> 00:18:23.450 you. All right? Sin shall not have dominion. 00:18:23.710 --> 00:18:27.029 Shall is not maybe, possibly, could be. Shall 00:18:27.029 --> 00:18:30.109 not have dominion over you, for you are not under 00:18:30.109 --> 00:18:32.849 the law, but under grace. It is the grace of 00:18:32.849 --> 00:18:35.450 God through faith in Jesus Christ that we are 00:18:35.450 --> 00:18:40.470 saved and we have dominion over sin. You got 00:18:40.470 --> 00:18:43.210 to know this. You got to understand this. You 00:18:43.210 --> 00:18:45.130 got to get this in your heart and your spirit. 00:18:45.269 --> 00:18:49.920 Sin does not have dominion over you. We have 00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:53.000 dominion over it. It does not have rule over 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:57.819 me. I can have rule over it. I can rule over 00:18:57.819 --> 00:19:00.519 my desires. The world's not going to tell you 00:19:00.519 --> 00:19:04.359 this. In Christ, this is true. We can rule. And 00:19:04.359 --> 00:19:07.779 we got to develop new desires. We got to build 00:19:07.779 --> 00:19:10.460 new desires. We have the power to do it. We know 00:19:10.460 --> 00:19:12.920 how to use it, right? We just got to know. We 00:19:12.920 --> 00:19:15.799 just got to do the steps. And how many know that? 00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:19.140 That if you have something powerful and you have 00:19:19.140 --> 00:19:21.599 authority and dominion over something, that you 00:19:21.599 --> 00:19:23.359 can move a lot of rubble, right? You can move 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:24.880 a lot of things. You can cut a lot of things 00:19:24.880 --> 00:19:27.000 out of your life. It's true. How many of you 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:29.119 have ever used a chainsaw? Raise your hand in 00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:33.059 here. Come on, go. Yeah, that's awesome, right? 00:19:33.180 --> 00:19:36.579 I love chainsaws. Why? Because they're powerful, 00:19:36.799 --> 00:19:40.339 man. You can move a lot of stuff with a chainsaw. 00:19:40.359 --> 00:19:42.660 You can move people. It scares them, right? You 00:19:42.660 --> 00:19:46.740 can cut logs. You can cut trees. You can move 00:19:46.740 --> 00:19:49.819 a lot of rubble with a chainsaw because it's 00:19:49.819 --> 00:19:52.660 powerful. God gave you the Holy Spirit. When 00:19:52.660 --> 00:19:55.279 you get saved, the indwelling of the Spirit takes 00:19:55.279 --> 00:19:58.519 place. You got power in your life. You got power 00:19:58.519 --> 00:20:01.640 that others don't have as you follow Jesus. And 00:20:01.640 --> 00:20:04.690 all you've got to do is use that power. That 00:20:04.690 --> 00:20:07.930 power is there for you to remove the rubble. 00:20:07.990 --> 00:20:10.390 Amen? Say it. Come on. If you agree, say amen. 00:20:10.970 --> 00:20:13.829 He wants you to remove that rubble, and he'll 00:20:13.829 --> 00:20:16.529 use the Holy Spirit to do it. It's one of the 00:20:16.529 --> 00:20:20.589 first parts of the way that you begin to change 00:20:20.589 --> 00:20:24.710 your desires. You begin to develop new desires. 00:20:25.309 --> 00:20:29.329 It's knowledge first of knowing this. Philippians 00:20:29.329 --> 00:20:32.039 4, 6 says this. Be anxious for nothing. But in 00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:34.400 everything, prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, 00:20:34.480 --> 00:20:37.059 let your requests be known to God, and the peace 00:20:37.059 --> 00:20:39.119 of God which surpasses all understanding will 00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:40.740 guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 00:20:40.980 --> 00:20:43.779 Let me read that first part. Be anxious for nothing, 00:20:43.880 --> 00:20:47.619 but in everything, by prayer. Say prayer. By 00:20:47.619 --> 00:20:52.440 prayer. One step you need to take is to pray 00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:55.730 about the desires that are in your heart. If 00:20:55.730 --> 00:20:59.670 you want to remove and cast out old desires and 00:20:59.670 --> 00:21:03.029 develop the new desires that are in Christ, you 00:21:03.029 --> 00:21:06.150 need to pray about those. The desires that are 00:21:06.150 --> 00:21:09.210 not good, the desires that are sinful, bring 00:21:09.210 --> 00:21:12.670 it to God. Sometimes our desires don't change 00:21:12.670 --> 00:21:15.910 because we don't ask them to change them. We 00:21:15.910 --> 00:21:18.349 just keep motoring along in life, and we keep 00:21:18.349 --> 00:21:20.849 thinking we can overcome it on our own, and we'll 00:21:20.849 --> 00:21:24.150 just keep it hidden. We'll keep it under the 00:21:24.150 --> 00:21:28.630 radar, right? I'll just keep closing my eyes 00:21:28.630 --> 00:21:32.309 to the cookies when I can. And sometimes we don't 00:21:32.309 --> 00:21:34.589 bring it to him, and we say, Lord, I need you 00:21:34.589 --> 00:21:36.750 to remove this desire in my life. I need the 00:21:36.750 --> 00:21:39.539 Holy Spirit active in my life. And you might 00:21:39.539 --> 00:21:42.759 say, well, why don't you sometimes? Why don't 00:21:42.759 --> 00:21:45.460 some people pray and ask God to remove those 00:21:45.460 --> 00:21:48.680 desires, those sinful desires? Well, a couple 00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:50.460 reasons, right? One, they don't believe that 00:21:50.460 --> 00:21:52.819 the power of God is strong enough to remove those 00:21:52.819 --> 00:21:54.400 desires. Maybe they've been dealing with those 00:21:54.400 --> 00:21:56.539 desires for a long time, and they feel like the 00:21:56.539 --> 00:21:58.819 desire is much stronger than anything God can 00:21:58.819 --> 00:22:02.019 do, and they won't pray it. Or maybe sometimes 00:22:02.019 --> 00:22:03.900 they really don't even want to remove the desire. 00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:06.660 How many know sometimes you just don't want to 00:22:06.660 --> 00:22:09.839 get caught? Amen? Sometimes you just don't want 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:12.180 to get caught. And it's not about removing the 00:22:12.180 --> 00:22:13.960 desire. It's just like, oh, man, I just don't 00:22:13.960 --> 00:22:15.480 want to get caught in the middle of the desire 00:22:15.480 --> 00:22:18.680 or whatever it is. And it really has to be this 00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:21.359 part of us that we're willing to stop. We're 00:22:21.359 --> 00:22:23.559 willing to go to God and say, God, I got to confess 00:22:23.559 --> 00:22:26.480 something to you. Jesus, I need to confess. There's 00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:29.200 this desire inside of me that does not line up 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:31.000 with your word. It does not line up with you. 00:22:31.099 --> 00:22:35.299 And I need you to help me. I need the Holy Spirit 00:22:35.299 --> 00:22:38.529 active in my life to begin to walk past. and 00:22:38.529 --> 00:22:43.009 to change my desire. Amen? Step two, say step 00:22:43.009 --> 00:22:46.710 two. Step two, Philippians 4 .8 says this. Finally, 00:22:46.750 --> 00:22:49.009 brethren, whatever things are true, whatever 00:22:49.009 --> 00:22:51.269 things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever 00:22:51.269 --> 00:22:52.970 things are pure, whatever things are lovely, 00:22:53.269 --> 00:22:55.369 whatever things are of good report, if there 00:22:55.369 --> 00:22:57.670 is any virtue, if there's anything praiseworthy, 00:22:57.910 --> 00:23:02.019 meditate. Say meditate. Meditate on these things. 00:23:02.119 --> 00:23:04.220 The things which you've learned and received 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:07.440 and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:11.779 of peace will be with you. It is what I think 00:23:11.779 --> 00:23:15.559 on, right, that feeds my desire, that drives 00:23:15.559 --> 00:23:19.000 me to taste something. And it's what I taste 00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:22.480 that begins to feed my desire, right, to continue 00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:26.609 to think on that thing, whatever it is. I used 00:23:26.609 --> 00:23:29.609 to drink a lot of Pepsi back many, many years 00:23:29.609 --> 00:23:32.950 ago. I used to desire to have a Pepsi every single 00:23:32.950 --> 00:23:35.710 day of my life, right? I used to dream about 00:23:35.710 --> 00:23:38.210 the end of the day when I would get a Pepsi and 00:23:38.210 --> 00:23:42.109 it was nice and cold and open that can, pour 00:23:42.109 --> 00:23:44.349 it over a nice glass of ice, and I was going 00:23:44.349 --> 00:23:47.009 to drink me some Pepsi. I admit it, right? I'm 00:23:47.009 --> 00:23:49.390 confessing right now in front of you all, right? 00:23:49.990 --> 00:23:53.059 And it's not that Pepsi is a sin. It's just I 00:23:53.059 --> 00:23:56.880 desire to have a Pepsi. I remember drinking a 00:23:56.880 --> 00:24:01.720 Pepsi almost every day. But there was somewhere 00:24:01.720 --> 00:24:05.380 along the way that in my mind began to shift, 00:24:05.500 --> 00:24:07.579 my thinking began to shift because I realized 00:24:07.579 --> 00:24:09.480 it's not all really that good for you to drink 00:24:09.480 --> 00:24:12.920 a soda every single day. And I began to think 00:24:12.920 --> 00:24:15.400 of something different. My mind began to meditate 00:24:15.400 --> 00:24:18.359 on something different than the desire for the 00:24:18.359 --> 00:24:20.880 Pepsi. My mind began to meditate on like, hey, 00:24:20.900 --> 00:24:23.059 this isn't really healthy for me. And I probably 00:24:23.059 --> 00:24:24.700 shouldn't be drinking this. And can I tell you, 00:24:24.740 --> 00:24:26.960 I haven't had a Pepsi in a long time. I haven't 00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:28.700 even thought about a Pepsi until I started preparing 00:24:28.700 --> 00:24:31.019 this message. Didn't even think about it, right? 00:24:31.220 --> 00:24:34.140 And it's because I began to meditate on something 00:24:34.140 --> 00:24:36.460 different than the message I was feeding myself 00:24:36.460 --> 00:24:39.700 about the desire. I began to meditate on something 00:24:39.700 --> 00:24:41.549 that was healthy. And it's the same thing with 00:24:41.549 --> 00:24:43.789 God's word. When you begin to meditate on what 00:24:43.789 --> 00:24:46.049 God says versus what the desire is telling you, 00:24:46.089 --> 00:24:48.309 because there will be two, right? And if you 00:24:48.309 --> 00:24:50.769 allow it, the desire will be a lot louder than 00:24:50.769 --> 00:24:52.930 the word of God. But if you let the word of God 00:24:52.930 --> 00:24:55.089 begin to meditate, you begin to meditate on the 00:24:55.089 --> 00:24:56.789 word of God, you begin to take in the word of 00:24:56.789 --> 00:25:00.589 God, your desire begins to shift. You begin to 00:25:00.589 --> 00:25:04.170 feed on something different that changes your 00:25:04.170 --> 00:25:06.960 desire. This is how you change it. This is how 00:25:06.960 --> 00:25:10.500 you shift it. The taste and what you feed on 00:25:10.500 --> 00:25:13.420 regularly, by the way, you'll begin to desire 00:25:13.420 --> 00:25:16.619 in your heart. It's true. It's true in the physical. 00:25:16.700 --> 00:25:19.500 It's true in the spirit. What you taste, what 00:25:19.500 --> 00:25:24.140 you feed on regularly, what you meditate on will 00:25:24.140 --> 00:25:29.500 begin to shift your desire. It's true. What I 00:25:29.500 --> 00:25:33.160 eat, I desire, and what I desire, I eat. What 00:25:33.160 --> 00:25:36.740 are you meditating on? The devil's job is to 00:25:36.740 --> 00:25:40.259 get you meditating on the wrong thing, to get 00:25:40.259 --> 00:25:44.000 you thinking about meditating, running in circles 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:45.599 in your head. How many of you go in circles in 00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:46.980 your head? Just go ahead and raise your hand. 00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:49.140 It's all of you. I know it is, right? You'll 00:25:49.140 --> 00:25:50.980 get on a thought, and that thought will just 00:25:50.980 --> 00:25:52.700 keep running around. It has nothing to do with 00:25:52.700 --> 00:25:54.319 God. It has nothing to do with God's Word. And 00:25:54.319 --> 00:25:55.880 you'll keep running that thing around in your 00:25:55.880 --> 00:26:00.279 head over and over and over, and it will build 00:26:00.279 --> 00:26:04.470 a desire in your spirit. It might be something 00:26:04.470 --> 00:26:06.630 different than a sexual sin. It could be hate. 00:26:06.730 --> 00:26:09.109 It could be envy. It could be a host of other 00:26:09.109 --> 00:26:13.029 things. When Satan came to Jesus in the desert 00:26:13.029 --> 00:26:15.769 in Matthew chapter 4 -1, he used some of these 00:26:15.769 --> 00:26:18.369 tactics. It says in Matthew 4 -1, when Jesus 00:26:18.369 --> 00:26:19.890 was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness 00:26:19.890 --> 00:26:21.710 to be tempted by the devil. Now, you've got to 00:26:21.710 --> 00:26:23.990 understand something where this portion of Scripture 00:26:23.990 --> 00:26:26.690 is. Jesus is on the front end of his earthly 00:26:26.690 --> 00:26:29.549 ministry. He's been in the desert for 40 days 00:26:29.549 --> 00:26:32.529 and for 40 nights. He's been fasting. He's pushed 00:26:32.529 --> 00:26:35.630 food aside, right? He's denied himself food, 00:26:35.690 --> 00:26:38.089 and he's desiring the Father. He's listening 00:26:38.089 --> 00:26:41.119 for the Father. meditating on the Father. He's 00:26:41.119 --> 00:26:44.779 been intentional in pushing the physical food 00:26:44.779 --> 00:26:47.619 away to get spiritual food. And he's feeding 00:26:47.619 --> 00:26:50.539 on these. And the devil comes to Jesus, and he 00:26:50.539 --> 00:26:54.180 tries to shift Jesus' eyes back to the physical 00:26:54.180 --> 00:26:57.960 thing. He tries to get Jesus to look and meditate 00:26:57.960 --> 00:26:59.940 on the thing that he puts before him. Because 00:26:59.940 --> 00:27:02.680 in verse 2, it says, when he had fasted 40 days 00:27:02.680 --> 00:27:05.380 and 40 nights afterward, he was hungry. Now, 00:27:05.400 --> 00:27:07.140 when the tempter came to him, he said, if you're 00:27:07.140 --> 00:27:09.410 the Son of God, command that the stones become 00:27:09.410 --> 00:27:12.150 bread. But he answered and said, it is written, 00:27:12.309 --> 00:27:14.970 man shall not live by bread alone, talking about 00:27:14.970 --> 00:27:18.329 physical bread, but by every word that proceeds 00:27:18.329 --> 00:27:23.369 out of the mouth of God. Devil, I'm not going 00:27:23.369 --> 00:27:26.710 to be looking at the bread today, right? I don't 00:27:26.710 --> 00:27:28.430 care if it's Italian bread. I don't care if it's 00:27:28.430 --> 00:27:29.990 poppy seed bread. I don't care if it's potato 00:27:29.990 --> 00:27:34.089 rolls smothered in four pounds of butter. That's 00:27:34.089 --> 00:27:36.509 not what I'm meditating on. That's not what I'm 00:27:36.509 --> 00:27:39.759 looking at. I'm going to meditate on every word 00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:43.480 that proceeds out of the mouth of God. It changes 00:27:43.480 --> 00:27:47.940 your desire. It shifts it. He can't mess with 00:27:47.940 --> 00:27:53.440 you. He can't. We develop our desires by the 00:27:53.440 --> 00:27:57.680 supernatural help of the Holy Spirit, but also 00:27:57.680 --> 00:28:02.200 by meditating on his promises, meditating on 00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:05.950 his word. We start a Bible in a year. Just a 00:28:05.950 --> 00:28:07.710 little while back, we're going to do it again. 00:28:08.470 --> 00:28:13.289 Why? So that your desires change. So as you read 00:28:13.289 --> 00:28:16.230 God's word, things begin to shift. So you begin 00:28:16.230 --> 00:28:19.630 to cast out some of the junk and the rubble that's 00:28:19.630 --> 00:28:23.329 in your heart and in your mind, right? So I don't 00:28:23.329 --> 00:28:27.289 lust after the cookies. Amen? It's true. Worship 00:28:27.289 --> 00:28:33.579 team, if you'd come. Know this. Know this. The 00:28:33.579 --> 00:28:36.980 devil will try to keep you in the riptide of 00:28:36.980 --> 00:28:39.420 iniquity. He'll do it. He'll do it to you. He'll 00:28:39.420 --> 00:28:42.200 do it to me. He did it to Jesus. He did it to 00:28:42.200 --> 00:28:47.839 Jesus. And to keep us from there, right? He'll 00:28:47.839 --> 00:28:50.279 try to keep you from swimming to the sandbar 00:28:50.279 --> 00:28:53.859 where Jesus is going, come to me. Come to me. 00:28:54.400 --> 00:28:58.279 Come to me, right? He'll try that. He'll try 00:28:58.279 --> 00:29:02.500 to convince you that our desire, he'll try to 00:29:02.500 --> 00:29:04.960 shift your desire to something outside of God 00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:07.960 and convince you that it's better in some kind 00:29:07.960 --> 00:29:10.200 of way. It's what he did in the Garden of Eden. 00:29:10.599 --> 00:29:13.519 When Eve was in the garden, you know, God told 00:29:13.519 --> 00:29:16.000 him not to touch of the fruit of the tree of 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:18.180 the knowledge of good and evil. And Satan came 00:29:18.180 --> 00:29:20.839 along and said, did God really say that? You 00:29:20.839 --> 00:29:25.519 know, I think this is okay for you. And Eve believed 00:29:25.519 --> 00:29:29.039 the deceiver. Oh, yeah, this probably is good 00:29:29.039 --> 00:29:32.079 for me. So I'm going to just take of the fruit 00:29:32.079 --> 00:29:35.839 that God said not to. The Word of God says in 00:29:35.839 --> 00:29:38.799 Genesis that God commanded and said, don't do 00:29:38.799 --> 00:29:42.920 that lest you die. Lest you die. Don't buy it. 00:29:43.480 --> 00:29:47.339 Don't buy the lie of the devil. The devil will 00:29:47.339 --> 00:29:51.079 try to convince you that you have no power over 00:29:51.079 --> 00:29:55.990 sin. I'm going to ask you to stand. And I want 00:29:55.990 --> 00:30:01.190 you to hear this because this is so common. Maybe 00:30:01.190 --> 00:30:04.069 you've tried to overcome the sin in your heart 00:30:04.069 --> 00:30:07.089 in the past. Maybe you failed. And maybe it's 00:30:07.089 --> 00:30:09.109 not just the sin in your heart. Maybe it's sin 00:30:09.109 --> 00:30:12.809 that has manifested in your life. And I can tell 00:30:12.809 --> 00:30:16.309 you why you maybe failed in that particular riptide 00:30:16.309 --> 00:30:19.779 of life. I really can. First, it's not the lack 00:30:19.779 --> 00:30:21.500 of power because we know that the Holy Spirit, 00:30:21.599 --> 00:30:23.579 that God has power over all things. As a matter 00:30:23.579 --> 00:30:25.279 of fact, Jesus said, authority has been given 00:30:25.279 --> 00:30:27.900 to me in heaven and earth. He has all power. 00:30:28.299 --> 00:30:30.839 He has all power. So it's not a power issue, 00:30:31.000 --> 00:30:35.059 right? It's not that. It's not that we don't 00:30:35.059 --> 00:30:36.880 have access to it because we know we have access 00:30:36.880 --> 00:30:41.210 to it. But sometimes... What happens is that 00:30:41.210 --> 00:30:43.549 you've been in it so long, and it's repeated 00:30:43.549 --> 00:30:47.690 so many times in your life that you don't know 00:30:47.690 --> 00:30:50.789 the way to the sandbar. You don't know which 00:30:50.789 --> 00:30:52.869 way to swim. You don't even know how to get there. 00:30:53.049 --> 00:30:55.470 And just like Jimmy's cousin who was out on the 00:30:55.470 --> 00:30:58.410 sandbar, you're not swimming that direction. 00:30:58.410 --> 00:31:00.029 You didn't even know you could go that direction. 00:31:00.250 --> 00:31:02.230 And sometimes you're going to need somebody. 00:31:02.390 --> 00:31:04.210 You're going to need the Holy Spirit in your 00:31:04.210 --> 00:31:06.430 life, and you're going to need another person 00:31:06.430 --> 00:31:10.710 in your life. to help you walk out of this. Sometimes 00:31:10.710 --> 00:31:14.009 it's sin that we get caught in and we feel like 00:31:14.009 --> 00:31:16.289 we can't overpower it and we feel like we don't 00:31:16.289 --> 00:31:18.349 have any power over it. It's just because you 00:31:18.349 --> 00:31:20.269 don't know how to swim. How many of you have 00:31:20.269 --> 00:31:23.150 ever got swimming lessons? Amen. You got in a 00:31:23.150 --> 00:31:25.769 pool or your parents or somebody got you in a 00:31:25.769 --> 00:31:27.650 pool and they begin to show you. And if you guys 00:31:27.650 --> 00:31:30.410 would play lightly. You just say, you began to 00:31:30.410 --> 00:31:33.789 swim, right? And if you don't know what you're 00:31:33.789 --> 00:31:37.509 doing, how far do you get? Not very far. Right? 00:31:37.650 --> 00:31:40.150 Somebody taught you the doggy paddle. Somebody 00:31:40.150 --> 00:31:43.089 told you how to stroke, or the backstroke, or 00:31:43.089 --> 00:31:45.690 how to float on your back. And they begin to 00:31:45.690 --> 00:31:49.609 give you instruction. The Holy Spirit will provide 00:31:49.609 --> 00:31:53.349 the power. But sometimes you need a coach. Sometimes 00:31:53.349 --> 00:31:56.289 if there's a desire that you can't kick, and 00:31:56.289 --> 00:31:59.950 you can't change that desire, you need somebody 00:31:59.950 --> 00:32:03.170 in your life that will help you walk out. Do 00:32:03.170 --> 00:32:05.150 you know the good thing about a coach? A lot 00:32:05.150 --> 00:32:07.289 of times a coach is somebody who's been where 00:32:07.289 --> 00:32:10.150 you already are right now. And they've done, 00:32:10.269 --> 00:32:12.470 and they've came through successfully, and that's 00:32:12.470 --> 00:32:15.349 why they can coach other people. And if you're 00:32:15.349 --> 00:32:19.710 here this morning, and I want to alleviate any 00:32:19.710 --> 00:32:21.410 type of guilt or pressure you're feeling right 00:32:21.410 --> 00:32:23.130 now, I want you to take a look around the room. 00:32:23.190 --> 00:32:24.990 Take a look beside you, left and right. Take 00:32:24.990 --> 00:32:27.569 a look right now, left and right. Can I tell 00:32:27.569 --> 00:32:30.839 you something? Every single person in this room, 00:32:30.900 --> 00:32:33.400 everybody listening to us online has been caught 00:32:33.400 --> 00:32:37.319 in the riptide of sin. We're here because Jesus 00:32:37.319 --> 00:32:41.779 saved us from sin. Amen. We're here because he 00:32:41.779 --> 00:32:45.099 redeemed us. We're here because we still mess 00:32:45.099 --> 00:32:47.160 up at times and we got to come back and confess 00:32:47.160 --> 00:32:50.440 and repent. At General Assembly this year, 2 00:32:50.440 --> 00:32:53.980 ,000 ordained bishops, one of whom I am, right, 00:32:54.059 --> 00:32:55.920 came down and we were going to do business on 00:32:55.920 --> 00:32:57.220 the floor. You know what the first thing the 00:32:57.220 --> 00:32:59.259 general overseer did? He pulled us all down. 00:32:59.319 --> 00:33:01.900 He said, we need to all repent together. That's 00:33:01.900 --> 00:33:04.079 what he said. We need to all repent of sin. We 00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:06.339 need to get our hearts pure and our minds clear. 00:33:06.900 --> 00:33:09.960 So I'm not picking anybody out. We've all been 00:33:09.960 --> 00:33:12.180 there. But sometimes you're going to need somebody. 00:33:12.589 --> 00:33:14.009 You're going to need the Holy Spirit to provide 00:33:14.009 --> 00:33:15.990 the power. You're going to need somebody to walk 00:33:15.990 --> 00:33:19.069 beside you and help you get past these desires 00:33:19.069 --> 00:33:21.390 that if you don't deal with them, if you don't 00:33:21.390 --> 00:33:23.390 repent, if you don't confess, if you don't get 00:33:23.390 --> 00:33:25.950 somebody walking beside you, they'll pull you 00:33:25.950 --> 00:33:31.950 out and kill you. They'll kill you. Guys, I'm 00:33:31.950 --> 00:33:34.009 going to pick on us a little bit. I don't know 00:33:34.009 --> 00:33:37.069 if you know this or not, 60 % of the men in church, 00:33:37.329 --> 00:33:40.269 in church, not outside the church, in the church, 00:33:40.369 --> 00:33:43.960 are hooked on pornography. 60%. That's what the 00:33:43.960 --> 00:33:47.859 numbers are. And it rises when you go up, when 00:33:47.859 --> 00:33:54.039 you go outside the church. I want us to do something 00:33:54.039 --> 00:33:56.200 here at LifeHouse. We're going to continue to 00:33:56.200 --> 00:33:57.680 do this, and this isn't just for this morning. 00:33:58.019 --> 00:33:59.380 You're going to keep hearing about this more 00:33:59.380 --> 00:34:02.059 and more. We talk about don't do life alone. 00:34:02.140 --> 00:34:03.779 I heard this morning we talk about a circle. 00:34:05.339 --> 00:34:07.160 And you're going to hear me talk more and more 00:34:07.160 --> 00:34:09.760 about a circle and about who's in your circle 00:34:09.760 --> 00:34:12.760 because you need to have a circle. And the people 00:34:12.760 --> 00:34:14.699 in your circle need to be people that are people 00:34:14.699 --> 00:34:17.320 of God. I'm not talking about just community, 00:34:17.559 --> 00:34:19.019 right? You can go anywhere and get community. 00:34:19.179 --> 00:34:21.460 You can go out to any organization outside these 00:34:21.460 --> 00:34:23.679 walls and get community. I'm talking about a 00:34:23.679 --> 00:34:25.460 community of people who are following Jesus. 00:34:25.860 --> 00:34:27.719 I'm talking about a community of people who will 00:34:27.719 --> 00:34:30.019 support you. I'm talking about a community of 00:34:30.019 --> 00:34:32.460 people that will keep you accountable. A community 00:34:32.460 --> 00:34:34.460 of people, right? And this might be only one, 00:34:34.519 --> 00:34:36.400 two, or three to start off that you can begin 00:34:36.400 --> 00:34:39.059 to talk to and confess. Like, I'm struggling 00:34:39.059 --> 00:34:42.289 in this, man. I got hate in my heart. I hate 00:34:42.289 --> 00:34:43.889 this person. I had somebody tell me that not 00:34:43.889 --> 00:34:45.809 too long ago. I hate this person, and I don't 00:34:45.809 --> 00:34:47.630 even know what to do with this. They're getting 00:34:47.630 --> 00:34:51.210 pulled out to sea. Because hate leads to murder, 00:34:51.289 --> 00:34:53.429 man. That's where it begins, right? Starts in 00:34:53.429 --> 00:34:55.510 here and comes to the outside. We got lots of 00:34:55.510 --> 00:34:57.409 police officers in the house. They'll tell you 00:34:57.409 --> 00:35:01.030 where it'll go, right? That's where it'll go. 00:35:02.150 --> 00:35:04.389 So I want you to begin to pray. And here's how 00:35:04.389 --> 00:35:05.750 we're going to pray this morning. We're going 00:35:05.750 --> 00:35:08.130 to pray that if you got something in there, you 00:35:08.130 --> 00:35:11.500 need to get it circled. And I'm asking you, who's 00:35:11.500 --> 00:35:13.980 in your circle? And you need to find godly people 00:35:13.980 --> 00:35:16.300 to get in your circle. And it might only be one. 00:35:16.340 --> 00:35:18.360 It might only be two. And I know this morning, 00:35:18.519 --> 00:35:20.099 you know, I could get you to try. We're going 00:35:20.099 --> 00:35:21.780 to get in circles to pray. But I'm not going 00:35:21.780 --> 00:35:24.000 to get you to try to confess here because I know 00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:25.780 some of this is sensitive, right? It could be 00:35:25.780 --> 00:35:28.519 a cookie issue. And I don't need you. That's 00:35:28.519 --> 00:35:30.059 an uncomfortable thing. And you're not going 00:35:30.059 --> 00:35:33.280 to speak it out anyway in that circle. Maybe 00:35:33.280 --> 00:35:35.559 you shouldn't. But you should find a group of 00:35:35.559 --> 00:35:39.739 people. Guys with guys. Women with women. They're 00:35:39.739 --> 00:35:41.559 going to pray together. You've got to find somebody 00:35:41.559 --> 00:35:43.420 that's going to walk with you and pray with you 00:35:43.420 --> 00:35:45.820 and help you come out of that riptide because 00:35:45.820 --> 00:35:48.179 they've come out of the riptide and they've stepped 00:35:48.179 --> 00:35:52.159 through it so that we are free. Jesus came so 00:35:52.159 --> 00:35:56.119 that you're free. He whose son sets free is free 00:35:56.119 --> 00:35:59.179 indeed. He's got a plan. He's got a pattern. 00:35:59.619 --> 00:36:01.659 So I want you to bow your heads right now. Who's 00:36:01.659 --> 00:36:04.559 in your circle? who's in your circle because 00:36:04.559 --> 00:36:07.320 you'll walk into sin. You'll be out floating 00:36:07.320 --> 00:36:09.119 in the ocean and you won't even realize you're 00:36:09.119 --> 00:36:12.800 getting pulled out in a riptide. Bitterness will 00:36:12.800 --> 00:36:15.920 set in. Hate will set in. Envy will set in. Lust 00:36:15.920 --> 00:36:21.400 will set in. You name the sin. You need somebody 00:36:21.400 --> 00:36:24.559 in your circle. You need somebody that's going 00:36:24.559 --> 00:36:28.440 to help you swim out of that mess and help you 00:36:28.440 --> 00:36:32.219 swim to Jesus. The Holy Spirit will empower you. 00:36:32.769 --> 00:36:35.230 Just have somebody there to help you walk through. 00:36:35.670 --> 00:36:37.530 And I can tell you, if you haven't done it by 00:36:37.530 --> 00:36:41.369 now, you need somebody else with you. If you 00:36:41.369 --> 00:36:42.809 could have done it on your own, it would have 00:36:42.809 --> 00:36:46.110 already been done. Father, we come to you in 00:36:46.110 --> 00:36:48.429 the matchless name of Jesus. Lord, I thank you 00:36:48.429 --> 00:36:51.349 for each person in the house. God, I thank you 00:36:51.349 --> 00:36:54.469 for your wisdom and your direction. I thank you 00:36:54.469 --> 00:36:56.550 for your guidance. Lord, I'm asking right now, 00:36:56.610 --> 00:36:58.150 individually first, we're going to pray for one 00:36:58.150 --> 00:37:01.269 another in just a moment. But God, I... I'm just 00:37:01.269 --> 00:37:02.889 asking in the house right now, individually, 00:37:03.070 --> 00:37:05.929 Lord, God, those are listed online. Lord, let 00:37:05.929 --> 00:37:08.969 them admit, confess to you first, Lord, that 00:37:08.969 --> 00:37:11.269 they need somebody. God, that their desires in 00:37:11.269 --> 00:37:13.610 their heart, they're struggling with. They can't 00:37:13.610 --> 00:37:15.530 get it to shift. They can't get it to change. 00:37:15.710 --> 00:37:17.349 They know it's not right. They know it's against 00:37:17.349 --> 00:37:19.550 the word. And Lord, they need somebody to walk 00:37:19.550 --> 00:37:21.809 with them. And there's no judgment in this house. 00:37:22.030 --> 00:37:24.429 We are all sinners saved by grace in this house. 00:37:24.570 --> 00:37:26.610 So Lord, I pray, God, that they would just confess 00:37:26.610 --> 00:37:28.809 that to you. God, that they would admit it to 00:37:28.809 --> 00:37:30.690 you. And God, that you would meet them right 00:37:30.690 --> 00:37:32.829 where they are. And God, they need to know. And 00:37:32.829 --> 00:37:34.230 Lord, if somebody's here and they don't know 00:37:34.230 --> 00:37:36.590 you as Lord and Savior, they can today. All they 00:37:36.590 --> 00:37:38.929 got to do is believe in their heart and confess 00:37:38.929 --> 00:37:41.289 with their mouth that Jesus, you are Lord. And 00:37:41.289 --> 00:37:43.150 the word of God says they'll be saved and they'll 00:37:43.150 --> 00:37:45.469 be forgiven of the sin just the same as the rest 00:37:45.469 --> 00:37:48.610 of us are. So Lord, if that person's in the house, 00:37:48.710 --> 00:37:50.829 let them first, Lord, pray and say, I want you 00:37:50.829 --> 00:37:54.050 in my life, Jesus. I want to walk with you, Jesus. 00:37:54.090 --> 00:37:56.130 I want to know your presence and your power. 00:37:58.030 --> 00:38:02.590 But we got to confess it first. That's what leads 00:38:02.590 --> 00:38:08.449 to salvation. And then repentance, Lord, is doing 00:38:08.449 --> 00:38:11.130 something different. It's going a different way. 00:38:11.170 --> 00:38:13.530 It's turning from where I was, the direction 00:38:13.530 --> 00:38:16.269 I was walking. So I want you to look at me now. 00:38:16.389 --> 00:38:19.730 Okay, look up, please. I want you to form circles. 00:38:19.789 --> 00:38:22.050 I want you to get in circles of guys and ladies. 00:38:23.869 --> 00:38:26.369 A couple guys, a couple ladies. And here's what 00:38:26.369 --> 00:38:28.949 I want you to pray for the other person. Lord, 00:38:29.090 --> 00:38:32.750 lead them to a circle. Lead them to a circle. 00:38:32.809 --> 00:38:35.630 Who's in your circle? Who's in your circle? No 00:38:35.630 --> 00:38:39.929 more. But we allow. I know it's going to be hard 00:38:39.929 --> 00:38:43.449 for me to please, but I'm going to say it. You 00:38:43.449 --> 00:38:46.809 know what happens when you walk alone? Take an 00:38:46.809 --> 00:38:49.449 example from the shepherd and the sheep. A sheep 00:38:49.449 --> 00:38:51.449 that's out there walking alone, that's the one 00:38:51.449 --> 00:38:54.840 the wolf gets. Doesn't happen when they're all 00:38:54.840 --> 00:38:57.440 together in a flock. It's the one that's out 00:38:57.440 --> 00:38:59.500 by themselves. We're not going to let people 00:38:59.500 --> 00:39:03.960 go out and wander by themselves. Amen? Safety 00:39:03.960 --> 00:39:23.989 in the circle. personally affected by our ministry 00:39:23.989 --> 00:39:26.750 and you would like to partner with us as we love 00:39:26.750 --> 00:39:27.750 God, love people