WEBVTT 00:00:01.270 --> 00:00:03.950 Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton, 00:00:04.129 --> 00:00:07.269 the official podcast of Cross Christian Fellowship, 00:00:07.290 --> 00:00:10.769 Route 66, in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico, 00:00:10.990 --> 00:00:14.150 where Burton is the lead pastor. We're glad you're 00:00:14.150 --> 00:00:17.449 here. Father, we thank you for bringing us together 00:00:17.449 --> 00:00:19.929 today. We thank you for this time together, this 00:00:19.929 --> 00:00:21.769 time in fellowship, especially the fellowship 00:00:21.769 --> 00:00:25.750 we're looking forward to after the message. We 00:00:25.750 --> 00:00:28.250 ask that you open our hearts, open our minds. 00:00:29.240 --> 00:00:31.339 Give us knowledge and understanding and how to 00:00:31.339 --> 00:00:34.280 apply what you have prepared for us to our daily 00:00:34.280 --> 00:00:38.780 lives as we leave here. All the Jesus people 00:00:38.780 --> 00:00:42.020 said, amen. All right. So again, good morning, 00:00:42.039 --> 00:00:44.420 everybody. Welcome to the sanctuary. Welcome 00:00:44.420 --> 00:00:46.679 to everybody who's following us online on the 00:00:46.679 --> 00:00:49.399 live stream and on the podcast. It's great to 00:00:49.399 --> 00:00:52.799 have you all with us. Now, last week, we were 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:54.299 really kind of looking more so at kind of slowing 00:00:54.299 --> 00:00:57.880 our roll, right? Knowing when to bite our tongue. 00:00:58.439 --> 00:01:01.640 and not just erupt. And we started looking at 00:01:01.640 --> 00:01:04.120 the smart way to address a lot of the issues 00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:05.640 that are going on in the world as opposed to 00:01:05.640 --> 00:01:07.519 just kind of getting caught up with our pride 00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:11.299 and our emotion, right? So, you know, not being 00:01:11.299 --> 00:01:13.400 in such a rush to open our mouths and be the 00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:16.099 biggest dog in the yard. That's quite the task 00:01:16.099 --> 00:01:20.219 for a lot of us, isn't it? Sorry, my mic is kind 00:01:20.219 --> 00:01:22.640 of wobbling all over on me today. I hope you 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:28.890 can hear me okay. But anyway. We got to a point 00:01:28.890 --> 00:01:31.109 in time where we had to kind of stop. We're going 00:01:31.109 --> 00:01:33.810 to pick up from where we left off there in 2 00:01:33.810 --> 00:01:39.689 Corinthians 2. So for those of you who are eager 00:01:39.689 --> 00:01:41.010 beavers, that's where we're going to be at if 00:01:41.010 --> 00:01:42.230 you want to go ahead and start opening your Bibles. 00:01:43.750 --> 00:01:46.129 As we get started, though, I want to share an 00:01:46.129 --> 00:01:48.680 anecdote. It's going to be like the therefore 00:01:48.680 --> 00:01:50.540 moment. Remember, when we're looking at the Bible, 00:01:50.620 --> 00:01:51.959 it says therefore. It says don't forget everything 00:01:51.959 --> 00:01:54.719 we just went through is going to pertain to what 00:01:54.719 --> 00:01:56.739 we're going to be looking at next, right? So 00:01:56.739 --> 00:01:57.939 this is going to be kind of that therefore moment. 00:01:58.319 --> 00:02:00.920 So during the service in an old synagogue years 00:02:00.920 --> 00:02:05.000 ago, when the Shema prayer, Shema, Shema, I always 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:06.459 mispronounce, I don't know. It's one of those. 00:02:06.519 --> 00:02:08.699 I get confused on that one. But yeah, this prayer, 00:02:08.780 --> 00:02:10.699 it was being said, half the congregation stood 00:02:10.699 --> 00:02:14.169 up and half of them stayed seated. Now the ones 00:02:14.169 --> 00:02:15.469 who were standing, they started barking at the 00:02:15.469 --> 00:02:18.349 ones who were seated. Stand up, stand up. The 00:02:18.349 --> 00:02:19.969 ones who were seated are like, no, no, no, you 00:02:19.969 --> 00:02:24.370 sit down. It got into this big uproar. It was 00:02:24.370 --> 00:02:26.050 this constant thing week after week after week. 00:02:26.310 --> 00:02:29.169 So eventually a number of the congregants, they 00:02:29.169 --> 00:02:32.550 came to the rabbi and said, hey, we have one 00:02:32.550 --> 00:02:37.969 of our old leaders. Why don't you go and talk 00:02:37.969 --> 00:02:39.870 to him to find out what it is that we should 00:02:39.870 --> 00:02:43.520 be doing it and how we should be doing it. Say, 00:02:43.539 --> 00:02:46.360 okay, that's a good idea. Here's the rabbi. He's 00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:48.379 a teacher. He's studying the law and everything, 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:51.680 and even he doesn't know what to do. So he goes 00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:54.860 to find this elder. This guy, he's like 98. He's 00:02:54.860 --> 00:02:57.659 living in a nursing home. He's kind of crotchety. 00:02:57.719 --> 00:03:00.740 He just wants to be left alone. So here comes 00:03:00.740 --> 00:03:03.879 the rabbi, and he has one person kind of representing 00:03:03.879 --> 00:03:05.759 the group that's standing. He has another person 00:03:05.759 --> 00:03:08.599 who's representing the group who's sitting. And 00:03:08.599 --> 00:03:12.000 they all go in together. And they get up with 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:14.090 them. hoping that he can tell them what the actual 00:03:14.090 --> 00:03:18.629 answer is. And as soon as they go in, he says, 00:03:18.770 --> 00:03:21.270 hey, we need you to address an issue for us. 00:03:21.509 --> 00:03:23.189 We go in, we start doing this prayer. Half the 00:03:23.189 --> 00:03:24.870 people stand, half the people sit. It's turned 00:03:24.870 --> 00:03:27.289 into a big argument. So what is it that we are 00:03:27.289 --> 00:03:32.009 supposed to do? And the guy representing the 00:03:32.009 --> 00:03:34.770 people who sit says, oh, we're supposed to sit, 00:03:34.830 --> 00:03:41.259 right? The old man says, no. So the guy who represents 00:03:41.259 --> 00:03:43.099 the people who stand goes, oh, so then we should 00:03:43.099 --> 00:03:48.039 be standing. And he goes, no. That's not it at 00:03:48.039 --> 00:03:51.400 all. And the rabbi says, well, what is it? What 00:03:51.400 --> 00:03:53.419 are we doing wrong then? Because we get together, 00:03:53.520 --> 00:03:55.860 half of them sit, half of them stand, and everybody 00:03:55.860 --> 00:03:58.360 starts fighting every time. That's the tradition. 00:04:00.439 --> 00:04:02.139 That's what they start doing. That's the whole 00:04:02.139 --> 00:04:05.120 point. So it gets them talking. It gets them 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:10.819 talking. And that's the point. You know, we love 00:04:10.819 --> 00:04:13.840 to argue. As people, we love to argue. Everybody 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:17.759 loves to argue. It'd be hard -pressed to find 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:19.620 somebody in here who hasn't argued over something. 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:22.360 In fact, most people in here probably have argued 00:04:22.360 --> 00:04:24.600 over something in the last week, I'd venture 00:04:24.600 --> 00:04:28.759 to say, right? I mean, I'm not a basketball fan, 00:04:28.959 --> 00:04:31.220 but even I've heard some arguments over March 00:04:31.220 --> 00:04:33.959 Madness. There have been some people picking 00:04:33.959 --> 00:04:35.980 teams, talking about players in here, right? 00:04:36.379 --> 00:04:39.839 At least one or two? Yeah. It's okay, I won't 00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:44.819 put you on the spot. But it happens. And the 00:04:44.819 --> 00:04:48.180 Bible is something, it gets people worked up, 00:04:48.279 --> 00:04:51.000 right? It really gets them revved. It gets that 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:55.800 blood pressure boiling. And we've all heard the 00:04:55.800 --> 00:04:58.019 rule of etiquette, right? It's like when you 00:04:58.019 --> 00:05:00.160 get together with people, you don't want to upset 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:02.639 people. You don't want to go against the status 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:04.480 quo. So there's two things you're not supposed 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:07.199 to talk about, right? What are those two things? 00:05:08.180 --> 00:05:12.040 That's right, politics and religion. Every time. 00:05:12.120 --> 00:05:13.420 Oh, you don't want to get in a fight. You don't 00:05:13.420 --> 00:05:24.399 want to offend anybody. I know. But underneath 00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:29.259 it all, that's the point, is people should be 00:05:29.259 --> 00:05:37.410 willing to talk, have a civil conversation. And 00:05:37.410 --> 00:05:39.949 that's the key to it, though, a civil conversation, 00:05:40.149 --> 00:05:43.209 not an argument, not beating our chest. Oh, I'm 00:05:43.209 --> 00:05:46.110 right. I'm wrong. Right? Because all that other 00:05:46.110 --> 00:05:49.589 stuff comes into play. You know, discussions 00:05:49.589 --> 00:05:53.750 are warranted on everything, even politics and 00:05:53.750 --> 00:05:58.050 religion, anything especially those areas, right? 00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:03.680 And we need to have these discussions. They're 00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:06.199 hard discussions. But we need to have them in 00:06:06.199 --> 00:06:12.500 order to foster a better understanding of what 00:06:12.500 --> 00:06:15.680 the problems are. We need to discuss them to 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:17.379 have a better understanding of what's right and 00:06:17.379 --> 00:06:20.540 what's wrong. We need to discuss them so we have 00:06:20.540 --> 00:06:27.480 a better idea of how to live our lives. But nobody 00:06:27.480 --> 00:06:32.269 wants to do that. We let things like emotion 00:06:32.269 --> 00:06:36.110 start creeping in and pride, and it starts clouding 00:06:36.110 --> 00:06:40.129 the subject matter, and it doesn't become about 00:06:40.129 --> 00:06:41.850 the subject anymore. You can have the subject 00:06:41.850 --> 00:06:43.889 there, right? But what are we actually doing? 00:06:45.750 --> 00:06:49.269 We're sparring for who's right, who's the better 00:06:49.269 --> 00:06:52.970 person, right? It turns into a fight. That's 00:06:52.970 --> 00:06:54.389 not the way it's supposed to be. We let these 00:06:54.389 --> 00:07:02.939 things get the better of us. So with that said, 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:04.120 we're going to go ahead and we're going to jump 00:07:04.120 --> 00:07:07.560 into our scripture here. I had it here in my 00:07:07.560 --> 00:07:08.779 notes. I'm glad I put it in the slide because 00:07:08.779 --> 00:07:15.620 I cut it half off. Oops. Happens. So 2 Corinthians 00:07:15.620 --> 00:07:20.620 2, verses 5 through 11. But if anyone has caused 00:07:20.620 --> 00:07:25.660 grief, he has not grieved me, but all of you 00:07:25.660 --> 00:07:31.709 to some extent, not to be too severe. This punishment, 00:07:31.790 --> 00:07:35.769 which was inflicted by the majority, is sufficient 00:07:35.769 --> 00:07:40.250 for such a man. So that on the contrary, you 00:07:40.250 --> 00:07:45.810 ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest 00:07:45.810 --> 00:07:49.750 perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much 00:07:49.750 --> 00:07:56.230 sorrow. Therefore, I urge you to reaffirm your 00:07:56.230 --> 00:08:00.529 love to him. For to this end I also wrote that 00:08:00.529 --> 00:08:04.810 I might put you to the test, whether you are 00:08:04.810 --> 00:08:09.709 obedient in all things. Now whom you forgive, 00:08:09.930 --> 00:08:13.709 anything I also forgive. For if indeed I have 00:08:13.709 --> 00:08:17.370 forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one day 00:08:17.370 --> 00:08:20.790 for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest 00:08:20.790 --> 00:08:24.110 Satan should take advantage of us, for we are 00:08:24.110 --> 00:08:27.980 not ignorant of his devices. Again, we let our 00:08:27.980 --> 00:08:30.500 emotions and our pride cloud our judgment. We 00:08:30.500 --> 00:08:34.279 become angry, resentful, vengeful, and we start 00:08:34.279 --> 00:08:38.159 thinking irrationally. We start lashing out irrationally 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:40.240 instead of loving others the way that we're supposed 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:42.659 to, instead of treating people the way we're 00:08:42.659 --> 00:08:44.720 supposed to and talking to them the way we're 00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:50.799 supposed to. And in doing so, we actually become 00:08:50.799 --> 00:08:57.840 the source of the pain. We lash out and we fall 00:08:57.840 --> 00:09:00.419 into sin ourselves and become the source of the 00:09:00.419 --> 00:09:07.399 hurt for this person or these people. And that's 00:09:07.399 --> 00:09:10.000 what Paul's talking about here. The last time 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:11.860 we got together, last week, we were talking about 00:09:11.860 --> 00:09:14.379 this. Paul had already talked about how he was 00:09:14.379 --> 00:09:16.379 heartbroken because he had actually already gone 00:09:16.379 --> 00:09:18.940 and talked to them and told them, hey, this is 00:09:18.940 --> 00:09:21.039 what's going on. This is what you're doing. This 00:09:21.039 --> 00:09:25.250 is what you need to be doing. He had already 00:09:25.250 --> 00:09:28.190 told them, but they refused to do it. They didn't 00:09:28.190 --> 00:09:29.610 want to listen. They didn't want to repent. They 00:09:29.610 --> 00:09:32.690 just wanted to keep spinning that circle. So 00:09:32.690 --> 00:09:34.190 when they wrote to him and they wanted him to 00:09:34.190 --> 00:09:36.889 come back, he thought about it for a second and 00:09:36.889 --> 00:09:40.809 was like, no. He's like, I'm not going to keep 00:09:40.809 --> 00:09:42.429 coming and beating a dead horse. We've already 00:09:42.429 --> 00:09:44.289 talked about this. You know what to do. Are you 00:09:44.289 --> 00:09:49.230 going to do it or are you not? And here, what 00:09:49.230 --> 00:09:50.610 he's talking about, because one of the issues 00:09:50.610 --> 00:09:52.889 that was going on is there was a person who had 00:09:52.889 --> 00:09:57.740 sinned. And it was a big enough issue that this 00:09:57.740 --> 00:10:01.720 person was subsequently punished by the church 00:10:01.720 --> 00:10:08.299 and asked to step out. So it must have been a 00:10:08.299 --> 00:10:10.620 pretty big issue because it's a pretty hard thing 00:10:10.620 --> 00:10:15.379 when you have to ask someone to leave. So the 00:10:15.379 --> 00:10:20.080 right thing for the church to do is to actually 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:21.759 take a look at this person when they came back. 00:10:23.180 --> 00:10:26.039 And this person, they acknowledged their sin, 00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:28.899 they went out, they prayed, they repented, they 00:10:28.899 --> 00:10:32.919 made changes, and now they're coming back a changed 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:38.139 person, as we all should. But what they were 00:10:38.139 --> 00:10:39.940 doing was they were still staying very hard of 00:10:39.940 --> 00:10:43.960 heart. Like, nope, they didn't want to give them 00:10:43.960 --> 00:10:49.500 another chance. The same thing that Christ went 00:10:49.500 --> 00:10:52.679 to the cross for. was so that we could all have 00:10:52.679 --> 00:10:57.620 another chance. The right thing that they should 00:10:57.620 --> 00:11:03.220 have done was to forgive, accept, and comfort 00:11:03.220 --> 00:11:10.419 this person, not ostracize them. Yet that's what 00:11:10.419 --> 00:11:15.220 they've been doing. As the bride of Christ, as 00:11:15.220 --> 00:11:19.320 the body of Christ, we have an obligation to 00:11:19.320 --> 00:11:24.230 hold each other accountable. Inside these walls 00:11:24.230 --> 00:11:27.750 and out, we have an obligation to hold each other 00:11:27.750 --> 00:11:33.789 accountable. To address the sin when we see it. 00:11:35.090 --> 00:11:40.149 To take action when it's needed. Especially when 00:11:40.149 --> 00:11:43.710 someone is so entrenched in their sin. You know, 00:11:43.730 --> 00:11:45.190 they keep coming back, yeah, I know I shouldn't 00:11:45.190 --> 00:11:46.929 be doing it, and they keep going back to it anyway. 00:11:47.549 --> 00:11:49.610 Smokers. Smokers are a great example of this, 00:11:49.629 --> 00:11:51.639 aren't they? Ah, these things are going to kill 00:11:51.639 --> 00:11:57.159 me. I know I need to quit. Maybe next week. Right? 00:12:00.440 --> 00:12:03.820 Smokers are a great example of it. Drunks, kind 00:12:03.820 --> 00:12:05.840 of the same thing. Yeah, I know, it's killing 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:13.279 my liver. Right? We see that one a lot too. That's 00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:18.100 how a lot of people act though. And so when it 00:12:18.100 --> 00:12:21.629 happens, we have to take, A more stern stance. 00:12:22.289 --> 00:12:25.110 Like, you know what? We've discussed this. You 00:12:25.110 --> 00:12:26.809 know what's wrong. You know what you need to 00:12:26.809 --> 00:12:29.950 do. But you cannot be here until you've fixed 00:12:29.950 --> 00:12:32.970 it. We need to ask you to leave. Once you've 00:12:32.970 --> 00:12:40.409 fixed it, you're welcome to come back. See, that's 00:12:40.409 --> 00:12:42.309 the thing. We have to give them that time to 00:12:42.309 --> 00:12:46.350 go pray, repent. And repentance is true change. 00:12:47.210 --> 00:12:53.860 True change. And it can take a while. It really 00:12:53.860 --> 00:12:56.159 can. However, once they've done so, like I said, 00:12:56.200 --> 00:12:59.000 we need to welcome them back. We can't encourage 00:12:59.000 --> 00:13:01.299 people to continue to sin, nor can we just accept 00:13:01.299 --> 00:13:03.399 it. That's what the world wants us to do. We 00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:06.159 see that a lot these days, right? We have holidays 00:13:06.159 --> 00:13:08.740 and parades that are suddenly being created to 00:13:08.740 --> 00:13:11.659 recognize certain sins or other sins are being 00:13:11.659 --> 00:13:15.080 legalized. Just because something is legal doesn't 00:13:15.080 --> 00:13:17.700 necessarily mean it's good for you. Look at alcohol, 00:13:17.879 --> 00:13:21.730 right? You have to be a certain age, but it's 00:13:21.730 --> 00:13:24.149 legal. You can get it. They stop prohibition. 00:13:26.870 --> 00:13:32.830 But is it good for you? Here's a more painful 00:13:32.830 --> 00:13:34.350 one that might strike a little closer to home 00:13:34.350 --> 00:13:38.909 for some of us. How about McDonald's? Or some 00:13:38.909 --> 00:13:40.870 other fast food joint. That's legal. We can go 00:13:40.870 --> 00:13:42.309 out and get it. There's no age limit on that. 00:13:45.190 --> 00:13:47.269 Moderation, yeah. How many of us actually moderate 00:13:47.269 --> 00:13:49.779 when we go in? and get that meal. I was like, 00:13:49.860 --> 00:13:53.940 no, I want a medium. I want a large. What was 00:13:53.940 --> 00:13:57.700 the big thing? Supersize me. Supersize me, yeah. 00:13:58.419 --> 00:14:00.279 I remember the day when you'd go to Taco Bell 00:14:00.279 --> 00:14:02.379 and they had a 64 -ounce extra -large drink. 00:14:03.620 --> 00:14:06.320 Yeah, I know. I aged myself a little bit there. 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:08.360 I see my niece in the background, right? She's 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:12.379 got this big, like, oh, my Lord. Be running around 00:14:12.379 --> 00:14:16.480 like Beavis and Butthead, right? It's legal. 00:14:17.629 --> 00:14:21.809 But is it good for us? No, not at all. Not at 00:14:21.809 --> 00:14:25.629 all. But the world wants us to accept all this 00:14:25.629 --> 00:14:27.269 stuff and just like, hey, this is good. Let's 00:14:27.269 --> 00:14:29.649 do it. Let's roll with it. I'm not saying McDonald's 00:14:29.649 --> 00:14:31.909 is a sin. The gluttony and the way we eat and 00:14:31.909 --> 00:14:34.269 the way we treat fast food, there's a sin, right? 00:14:36.009 --> 00:14:39.409 So don't take it out of context there. However, 00:14:39.409 --> 00:14:41.590 this is where we fall short ourselves. Instead 00:14:41.590 --> 00:14:44.889 of trusting in the Lord and looking to see if 00:14:44.889 --> 00:14:48.320 repentance has taken place. We just push people 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:50.340 out. We harden our hearts. We close the door. 00:14:50.419 --> 00:14:53.720 Get out of here. Don't let the door hit you where 00:14:53.720 --> 00:14:57.179 the good Lord split you, right? That's how we 00:14:57.179 --> 00:15:01.399 treat them. But we have to remember when we put 00:15:01.399 --> 00:15:04.080 people out, when we ask them to step away, and 00:15:04.080 --> 00:15:06.080 we talked about this last week, we have to leave 00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:10.340 them a lifeline. We have to leave them a lifeline. 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:14.899 Now think of it this way. Somebody falls off 00:15:14.899 --> 00:15:16.950 the ship. You guys have probably seen this in 00:15:16.950 --> 00:15:18.809 TV shows and movies, what happens. They get to 00:15:18.809 --> 00:15:20.450 the life preserver on the ring and it has a rope 00:15:20.450 --> 00:15:22.870 and they throw it out to them so they can grab 00:15:22.870 --> 00:15:25.330 it and they can start pulling them back in. Leave 00:15:25.330 --> 00:15:28.830 them a lifeline. Because at some point we all 00:15:28.830 --> 00:15:32.250 hit rock bottom and we all need to know the Lord. 00:15:33.070 --> 00:15:34.990 And for a lot of people, there's a lot of people, 00:15:35.029 --> 00:15:38.409 they come into church all the time. All around 00:15:38.409 --> 00:15:40.590 the world. They're there, they're doing their 00:15:40.590 --> 00:15:42.250 stuff, they're looking good, they come in their 00:15:42.250 --> 00:15:44.190 three -piece suit and all that. They know the 00:15:44.190 --> 00:15:51.350 words. They don't know Christ. They don't know 00:15:51.350 --> 00:15:56.129 Christ. And eventually something happens, they 00:15:56.129 --> 00:15:57.730 have to go out, and they finally come to that 00:15:57.730 --> 00:16:01.649 point where they know, hey, I need help. I can't 00:16:01.649 --> 00:16:07.409 do this alone. Can you help me? Ah, the lifeline. 00:16:08.570 --> 00:16:12.509 Yeah, absolutely. Come on in. Let me introduce 00:16:12.509 --> 00:16:20.679 you to Jesus. Let me tell you about my God. Let 00:16:20.679 --> 00:16:22.360 me tell you what the Holy Spirit's done for me 00:16:22.360 --> 00:16:25.899 and share my testimony with you. That way you 00:16:25.899 --> 00:16:31.120 know what he can do for you as well. The lifeline 00:16:31.120 --> 00:16:42.360 is important. We can't leave people out. When 00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:43.659 they're ready for that help, we have to give 00:16:43.659 --> 00:16:47.490 it to them. You have to remember, we're called 00:16:47.490 --> 00:16:53.230 to be fishers and men, are we not? How do we 00:16:53.230 --> 00:16:59.009 fish? Take the man part out of the equation. 00:17:00.370 --> 00:17:03.330 You got your rod, you go down to the river, you 00:17:03.330 --> 00:17:09.369 fish. What do we do? There you go. There's our 00:17:09.369 --> 00:17:13.170 first step. You take your fishing line, you've 00:17:13.170 --> 00:17:16.359 got your bait, or you take your net, If you're 00:17:16.359 --> 00:17:18.200 on a big ship, you're out in the ocean, right? 00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:22.940 And you cast out. You throw it out there. You 00:17:22.940 --> 00:17:25.740 throw it wide. You throw it far. Like, ah, I 00:17:25.740 --> 00:17:30.259 believe there's fish over there. And then you 00:17:30.259 --> 00:17:35.119 wait patiently. And eventually what happens? 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:39.099 You get a little nibble, right? You see a little 00:17:39.099 --> 00:17:41.440 bobber where it just goes down. You're like, 00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:48.059 ooh! And we start reeling them in. And eventually 00:17:48.059 --> 00:17:50.720 they come in, provided that you've got a good 00:17:50.720 --> 00:17:54.819 bite or you've got a good heavy net. It's doing 00:17:54.819 --> 00:17:56.779 what it's supposed to. And you pull all this 00:17:56.779 --> 00:18:00.440 in, you pull it out, and you have your fish. 00:18:02.119 --> 00:18:08.299 Hopefully not a dolphin, right? I don't know. 00:18:08.599 --> 00:18:10.859 Sharks are okay. As long as they're not eating 00:18:10.859 --> 00:18:16.700 you, right? Shark fin soup. I'll disagree with 00:18:16.700 --> 00:18:21.059 you on that, but, you know. I've tried it. I 00:18:21.059 --> 00:18:23.440 didn't find it very tasty. That's just me. We're 00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:25.619 not agreeing on every food, though, are we? Some 00:18:25.619 --> 00:18:27.259 of you all love blueberries, and I'm disgusted 00:18:27.259 --> 00:18:32.400 by them. But the point is, we bring in the fish. 00:18:32.460 --> 00:18:34.779 We have the fish. You have your fish on your 00:18:34.779 --> 00:18:35.980 line. You're holding it up. You're so proud. 00:18:36.059 --> 00:18:37.680 Look at this guy. This is Danny. He weighs like 00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:40.420 10 pounds. You know, you got your net. You're 00:18:40.420 --> 00:18:41.839 like, man, I don't even have anywhere to stand 00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:46.609 over here. That fish you caught, is it clean? 00:18:50.210 --> 00:18:54.769 No, not even a little. But as fishers of man, 00:18:54.829 --> 00:18:57.170 when somebody comes in, we expect them to already 00:18:57.170 --> 00:19:03.150 be clean, don't we? We expect them to already 00:19:03.150 --> 00:19:06.690 be clean. We don't want to accept them because 00:19:06.690 --> 00:19:09.509 their clothes are a little ratty. They got a 00:19:09.509 --> 00:19:11.170 little dirt on them, right? Maybe they haven't 00:19:11.170 --> 00:19:14.150 showered in a while. Like, no, get away from 00:19:14.150 --> 00:19:18.410 me, you unclean thing. We treat people like lepers. 00:19:20.990 --> 00:19:24.829 We don't treat them with the love that they deserve. 00:19:27.390 --> 00:19:30.049 We don't give them the love that we're commanded 00:19:30.049 --> 00:19:37.410 by God to show them. It's like, yeah, come on 00:19:37.410 --> 00:19:40.589 in. I got a sink over here. You want to clean 00:19:40.589 --> 00:19:43.180 yourself up a little bit? Are you hungry? Got 00:19:43.180 --> 00:19:45.039 a TV dinner in the freezer. We'll warm it up 00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:47.779 for you. Are you thirsty? Get you a bottle of 00:19:47.779 --> 00:19:54.779 water. See, people come in, and we see it in 00:19:54.779 --> 00:19:56.160 churches, and they come in, and they're asking 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:59.740 for help. Oh, no, this is for members only. Sorry. 00:20:00.619 --> 00:20:02.099 Maybe you could have better luck down the road. 00:20:02.200 --> 00:20:07.940 Bye. It's not right. It's not the way we're supposed 00:20:07.940 --> 00:20:09.339 to act. It's not the way we're supposed to treat 00:20:09.339 --> 00:20:13.140 people. As fishers of men, we're supposed to 00:20:13.140 --> 00:20:16.839 be pulling people in and then cleaning them. 00:20:16.900 --> 00:20:18.759 How do we clean them? We introduce them to Jesus. 00:20:18.839 --> 00:20:26.799 The blood of Christ cleans every sin. So what 00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:28.279 if they got caught up in a little murky water? 00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:37.259 That doesn't make them a bad fish. If it did, 00:20:37.319 --> 00:20:38.740 we wouldn't see anybody out here in the Rio Grande 00:20:38.740 --> 00:20:45.500 fishing ever, would we? What we can't do is we 00:20:45.500 --> 00:20:47.759 can't leave people in a permanent place of separation 00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:50.480 to be, you know, we don't want to be guilty of 00:20:50.480 --> 00:20:52.759 pushing them out of the light of God and back 00:20:52.759 --> 00:21:00.940 into the darkness. We're supposed to be pulling 00:21:00.940 --> 00:21:05.380 them in and showing them the light. When we do 00:21:05.380 --> 00:21:08.670 this, When we push people out and we leave them 00:21:08.670 --> 00:21:10.630 to the darkness, when we don't give them a lifeline 00:21:10.630 --> 00:21:12.609 and we're not willing to open the door back to 00:21:12.609 --> 00:21:15.210 them, we give Satan and we give his ministers 00:21:15.210 --> 00:21:21.450 the upper hand. Every time. We give them the 00:21:21.450 --> 00:21:23.630 upper hand, which is why we need to forgive and 00:21:23.630 --> 00:21:26.130 we need to restore. That is what we need to do. 00:21:27.849 --> 00:21:32.529 And it comes down to biblical discipline. And 00:21:32.529 --> 00:21:35.619 it's not just biblical. We look at this as church 00:21:35.619 --> 00:21:40.660 discipline, but it's not just in the church. 00:21:40.700 --> 00:21:42.960 It's not just the walls. Remember, we are the 00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:46.019 church. The people are the church. The building 00:21:46.019 --> 00:21:47.759 is a building. We can move. The building can 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:52.359 burn down, right? We can live in a zombie movie 00:21:52.359 --> 00:21:55.420 and have to flee to the woods. We are the church. 00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:00.559 So when it comes down to these things, we have 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:04.430 three reasons. Why we need to stand firm and 00:22:04.430 --> 00:22:09.150 we need to apply these things when it comes to 00:22:09.150 --> 00:22:11.269 how we treat people and when we have to take 00:22:11.269 --> 00:22:13.170 corrective measures. Instead of barking at them, 00:22:13.210 --> 00:22:16.190 getting angry, getting frustrated, and falling 00:22:16.190 --> 00:22:18.930 into sin ourselves, we need to, one, make sure 00:22:18.930 --> 00:22:21.430 that we're not too lenient on how we're correcting 00:22:21.430 --> 00:22:26.089 mistakes. Sometimes that's the case, huh? Sometimes 00:22:26.089 --> 00:22:30.789 it's like, ah! But in contrast, we also want 00:22:30.789 --> 00:22:35.029 to make sure that we're not too harsh. Because 00:22:35.029 --> 00:22:40.210 we can be pretty harsh. And third, and most importantly, 00:22:40.390 --> 00:22:48.569 we have to forgive. We have to forgive. All too 00:22:48.569 --> 00:22:50.789 often, people get upset, they push people out 00:22:50.789 --> 00:22:53.450 of their lives, and then they hold a grudge. 00:22:57.279 --> 00:22:59.160 My little brother had a falling out with our 00:22:59.160 --> 00:23:01.960 dad years and years ago before he passed away. 00:23:03.359 --> 00:23:05.660 Held that grudge for years and years and years, 00:23:05.740 --> 00:23:10.119 refused to talk to him. No matter what he did, 00:23:10.240 --> 00:23:16.779 talked to him once right before he died, like 00:23:16.779 --> 00:23:22.619 literally weeks before he died. You could talk 00:23:22.619 --> 00:23:25.660 to him now. He still holds on to part of that 00:23:25.660 --> 00:23:28.990 grudge. Yeah, he has regrets, which he should. 00:23:29.650 --> 00:23:31.210 Those regrets come because of the conviction 00:23:31.210 --> 00:23:34.069 of the Holy Spirit in him. But he still holds 00:23:34.069 --> 00:23:39.589 a grudge. The man's been dead over a decade now. 00:23:41.650 --> 00:23:43.329 My little brother still talks about wanting to 00:23:43.329 --> 00:23:50.509 change his last name. How sad is that? But it 00:23:50.509 --> 00:23:53.150 happens. And we all know people who have done 00:23:53.150 --> 00:23:54.950 it. We ourselves have been guilty at one point 00:23:54.950 --> 00:23:59.279 or another. of doing the exact same thing. We 00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:01.220 see someone who's down and out, coming up, looking 00:24:01.220 --> 00:24:03.140 for a handout, and what do we do? We start rolling 00:24:03.140 --> 00:24:06.099 up our window and locking the doors, looking 00:24:06.099 --> 00:24:07.500 straight ahead, acting like they're not there, 00:24:07.619 --> 00:24:15.200 pulling our phone. Sounds familiar, yeah? Guilty? 00:24:15.599 --> 00:24:26.309 Yeah. Yeah, all of us. We need to... Remember, 00:24:26.309 --> 00:24:29.329 part of forgiveness is comforting people. We 00:24:29.329 --> 00:24:32.630 have to comfort people. And we need to remember, 00:24:32.869 --> 00:24:36.970 hurt people hurt people. My wife and I, we've 00:24:36.970 --> 00:24:39.170 talked about this quite a few times. In fact, 00:24:39.210 --> 00:24:41.390 we were talking about this recently, just this 00:24:41.390 --> 00:24:45.410 week. Hurt people hurt people. So we have to 00:24:45.410 --> 00:24:49.009 tread carefully, and we need to respond to the 00:24:49.009 --> 00:24:51.109 hurt of the world the way Jesus would have us 00:24:51.109 --> 00:24:56.009 do. Because otherwise what happens is Satan and 00:24:56.009 --> 00:24:58.349 his ministers will take that pain, they will 00:24:58.349 --> 00:25:00.630 take that hurt, and they will use it to their 00:25:00.630 --> 00:25:05.789 advantage to create resentment. And resentment 00:25:05.789 --> 00:25:12.910 brings people to unjustly enact disciplines and 00:25:12.910 --> 00:25:19.970 act in an unforgiving way. And the people who 00:25:19.970 --> 00:25:24.589 are hurt start seeing the church. as self -righteous, 00:25:24.690 --> 00:25:29.910 holier -than -thou hypocrites. We've all run 00:25:29.910 --> 00:25:34.170 into them too. We've had them inside these doors 00:25:34.170 --> 00:25:37.829 coming and looking at us the same way because 00:25:37.829 --> 00:25:43.609 they group all churches together because of the 00:25:43.609 --> 00:25:44.930 hurt that they've had at some point in their 00:25:44.930 --> 00:25:49.390 life. Our discipline should be to restore people 00:25:49.390 --> 00:25:52.759 to the body, not to get rid of them. Not to tear 00:25:52.759 --> 00:25:55.819 them down or to cancel them. That's a big one 00:25:55.819 --> 00:26:00.559 today, right? Cancel culture? It's a big one. 00:26:01.819 --> 00:26:05.519 The world cancels. The bride of Christ restores. 00:26:08.019 --> 00:26:11.440 And this is why we have believers coming together 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:15.920 from different parts of the world. The world 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:20.559 does things differently no matter where you go. 00:26:22.320 --> 00:26:24.240 We like to think it's just us. Heck, if we leave 00:26:24.240 --> 00:26:26.039 from here to New Mexico and we go to New York, 00:26:26.059 --> 00:26:27.880 guess what? Life's lived a little differently. 00:26:29.880 --> 00:26:31.920 We go out to California, it's lived even more 00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:36.599 differently. Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, 00:26:36.839 --> 00:26:41.200 Florida, Missouri. Yeah, we're one country, but 00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:46.380 man, we got a pot of different things going on, 00:26:46.440 --> 00:26:48.039 don't we? Different ways of doing things, different 00:26:48.039 --> 00:26:53.390 beliefs. So when we look at the world, we need 00:26:53.390 --> 00:26:58.390 to remember Romans 12, verse 2. The word says 00:26:58.390 --> 00:27:01.630 in Romans 12, 2, And do not be conformed to this 00:27:01.630 --> 00:27:04.430 world, but be transformed by the renewing of 00:27:04.430 --> 00:27:08.809 your mind, that you may prove what it is that 00:27:08.809 --> 00:27:12.329 is good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 00:27:13.269 --> 00:27:15.750 We are different. And people should see that 00:27:15.750 --> 00:27:18.269 difference when they look at us, because as believers, 00:27:18.349 --> 00:27:20.670 as Christians, they should see God in us, not 00:27:20.670 --> 00:27:28.390 us in the world. It is a firm difference. So 00:27:28.390 --> 00:27:30.930 let's go back to 2 Corinthians 2 now. So 2 Corinthians 00:27:30.930 --> 00:27:40.430 2, verses 12 through 17. So 2 Corinthians 2, 00:27:40.549 --> 00:27:42.890 verses 12 through 17, Paul continues to write. 00:27:44.360 --> 00:27:47.519 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's 00:27:47.519 --> 00:27:51.059 gospel and a door was opened to me by the Lord, 00:27:51.180 --> 00:27:54.000 I had no rest in my spirit because I did not 00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:57.640 find Titus, my brother. But taking my leave of 00:27:57.640 --> 00:28:02.920 them, I departed for Macedonia. Now, thanks be 00:28:02.920 --> 00:28:06.440 to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ 00:28:06.440 --> 00:28:10.240 and through us diffuses the fragrance of his 00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:14.150 knowledge in every place. For we are to God the 00:28:14.150 --> 00:28:16.670 fragrance of Christ among those who are being 00:28:16.670 --> 00:28:21.210 saved and among those who are perishing. To the 00:28:21.210 --> 00:28:25.049 one, we are the aroma of death leading to death. 00:28:25.950 --> 00:28:29.490 And to the other, the aroma of life leading to 00:28:29.490 --> 00:28:33.230 life. And who is sufficient for these things? 00:28:34.289 --> 00:28:38.890 For we are not, as so many, peddling the word 00:28:38.890 --> 00:28:46.079 of God. but as of sincerity, but as from God. 00:28:47.039 --> 00:28:54.200 We ask in the sight of God in Christ. Here Paul's 00:28:54.200 --> 00:28:56.740 giving thanks to God. Things haven't gone according 00:28:56.740 --> 00:28:59.920 to plan. He showed up to this place. He's looking 00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:03.279 for his brother to continue on with, right? They 00:29:03.279 --> 00:29:07.460 miss each other. Doesn't get to hook up. He's 00:29:07.460 --> 00:29:08.839 like, you know what? It's okay. God's got me. 00:29:08.900 --> 00:29:11.420 Thank you, God. It's all right. I know you got 00:29:11.420 --> 00:29:13.680 your reason. This is in your will. So I'm going 00:29:13.680 --> 00:29:16.180 to just keep on continuing on. I'm going to keep 00:29:16.180 --> 00:29:21.759 on keeping on. So even though there's obstacles 00:29:21.759 --> 00:29:23.900 in front of him, he realizes God is still using 00:29:23.900 --> 00:29:29.480 him to share the gospel, to reach people. And 00:29:29.480 --> 00:29:32.200 we tend to take that for granted today. The simple 00:29:32.200 --> 00:29:35.480 fact that we actually get to share. Jesus with 00:29:35.480 --> 00:29:37.640 people, and we have opportunities to do it every 00:29:37.640 --> 00:29:41.619 single day, to go out and share the gospel, to 00:29:41.619 --> 00:29:45.619 share our testimony. I'll remind you, our testimony 00:29:45.619 --> 00:29:52.440 is all some people will ever see of God. So you 00:29:52.440 --> 00:29:58.579 are standing in front of them as a Bible. God 00:29:58.579 --> 00:30:01.539 working in your life so that you can take that 00:30:01.539 --> 00:30:03.440 and share it with others, to share his life and 00:30:03.440 --> 00:30:07.329 his glory. And it is all to his glory. Because 00:30:07.329 --> 00:30:09.569 it's not us. Without him, we're all nothing. 00:30:12.190 --> 00:30:14.289 But we take it for granted instead of seeing 00:30:14.289 --> 00:30:18.029 it as the blessing that it is. We're called to 00:30:18.029 --> 00:30:22.170 be fishers of men. We have a mission, and that 00:30:22.170 --> 00:30:24.470 mission is sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:30:27.269 --> 00:30:28.730 Here in the church, though, we have a different 00:30:28.730 --> 00:30:30.430 name for it. This is where we get that little 00:30:30.430 --> 00:30:35.160 bit of legalese. What's our mission called? The 00:30:35.160 --> 00:30:39.539 Great Commission, that's right. Matthew 28, verses 00:30:39.539 --> 00:30:41.400 18 through 20. That's exactly where we could 00:30:41.400 --> 00:30:46.759 find it. And Jesus came back to them saying, 00:30:46.940 --> 00:30:49.759 All authority has been given to me in heaven 00:30:49.759 --> 00:30:54.160 and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples 00:30:54.160 --> 00:30:57.960 of all the nations, baptizing them in the name 00:30:57.960 --> 00:31:01.259 of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy 00:31:01.259 --> 00:31:06.599 Spirit, things that I have commanded you, and 00:31:06.599 --> 00:31:10.680 lo, I am with you always, even to the end of 00:31:10.680 --> 00:31:15.599 the age. Amen. And following Christ, we're in 00:31:15.599 --> 00:31:18.740 a parade of sorts to show the goodness of God 00:31:18.740 --> 00:31:23.480 to the world. When we look back on our passage 00:31:23.480 --> 00:31:25.319 here, it talks about fragrance, and this is important. 00:31:26.539 --> 00:31:28.700 Fragrance is important. One, I mean, it's one 00:31:28.700 --> 00:31:30.859 of the strongest smells. A little whiff of something, 00:31:30.960 --> 00:31:33.450 you talk to anybody with PTSD. Just the slight 00:31:33.450 --> 00:31:35.710 smell of something can actually take you back 00:31:35.710 --> 00:31:41.069 in time, like you're there, right? Smell's important. 00:31:41.890 --> 00:31:43.349 That's why when COVID happened, it's like, oh, 00:31:43.369 --> 00:31:45.210 I can't smell. I can't smell my food. What's 00:31:45.210 --> 00:31:47.069 going on? When you lose your smell, you start 00:31:47.069 --> 00:31:50.450 losing your sense of taste. When you start losing 00:31:50.450 --> 00:31:52.349 that, other things start happening, right? And 00:31:52.349 --> 00:31:56.230 none of them are ever good, are they? So fragrance 00:31:56.230 --> 00:31:58.829 is important. And here it's talking about being 00:31:58.829 --> 00:32:01.539 a parade. And it's especially important because 00:32:01.539 --> 00:32:04.700 when Roman generals would go out and they would 00:32:04.700 --> 00:32:08.500 go and battle and they'd conquer an area, right? 00:32:09.059 --> 00:32:10.819 They'd come back and there'd always be a big 00:32:10.819 --> 00:32:13.799 parade and they'd come trotting back in with 00:32:13.799 --> 00:32:15.880 all the troops in tow and everything. But directly 00:32:15.880 --> 00:32:20.140 behind them, the generals have a number of carts. 00:32:21.119 --> 00:32:23.059 And different things pulling along, all sorts 00:32:23.059 --> 00:32:24.940 of stuff with them. First would be the treasures 00:32:24.940 --> 00:32:28.220 that they took, right? The trophies, the wealth, 00:32:28.380 --> 00:32:32.180 all that kind of stuff. And then following behind 00:32:32.180 --> 00:32:35.500 that, the people whom they had taken captive. 00:32:38.000 --> 00:32:43.160 People who are going to become slaves. And all 00:32:43.160 --> 00:32:46.559 along the while, up and down the roads, they 00:32:46.559 --> 00:32:52.940 would be burning all sorts. of incense now to 00:32:52.940 --> 00:32:56.579 the romans and to the locals this incense it's 00:32:56.579 --> 00:32:59.920 not really good this is a good thing it's very 00:32:59.920 --> 00:33:07.440 sweet the sweet smell of victory right you ever 00:33:07.440 --> 00:33:12.180 wondered where that phrase came from there you 00:33:12.180 --> 00:33:17.759 go but to the others to the slaves to the people 00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:22.359 who are taken captive It did not smell like victory. 00:33:22.460 --> 00:33:27.440 It did not smell like life. It smelled like doom. 00:33:27.799 --> 00:33:32.299 It smelled like death. Because everything that 00:33:32.299 --> 00:33:36.160 they knew had been taken away and their life 00:33:36.160 --> 00:33:47.539 as they'd known it was done. It was done. To 00:33:47.539 --> 00:33:56.559 us, That smell is Jesus. It's his word. The gospel 00:33:56.559 --> 00:33:59.259 is that same aroma to every believer out there. 00:33:59.460 --> 00:34:04.359 Psalm 34, verse 8. So Psalm 34, verse 8, the 00:34:04.359 --> 00:34:07.759 word says, Oh, taste and see that the Lord is 00:34:07.759 --> 00:34:11.019 good. Blessed is the man who trusts in him. When 00:34:11.019 --> 00:34:13.900 I say smell and taste, they go together. But 00:34:13.900 --> 00:34:17.219 just the smell alone. To every believer, we know 00:34:17.219 --> 00:34:19.769 the smell. We know the taste. We know just how 00:34:19.769 --> 00:34:23.829 good it is. We know that this is life. However, 00:34:23.869 --> 00:34:26.289 to nonbelievers, they don't see it that way. 00:34:28.809 --> 00:34:30.449 We look at the word and we know this is something 00:34:30.449 --> 00:34:32.369 that's going to help us grow. This is going to 00:34:32.369 --> 00:34:34.010 give us nourishment. This is going to sustain 00:34:34.010 --> 00:34:39.809 us. This is going to give us strength. But to 00:34:39.809 --> 00:34:45.070 the nonbeliever, it smells foul. So much so that 00:34:45.070 --> 00:34:49.170 they don't even want to taste it. Now, We've 00:34:49.170 --> 00:34:50.730 been talking about being a fisherman. So let's 00:34:50.730 --> 00:34:54.429 go back to that a little bit. To a nonbeliever, 00:34:54.469 --> 00:35:00.429 the word is like cooking certain fish. You go, 00:35:00.590 --> 00:35:03.889 you get your fish, you clean it. You're probably 00:35:03.889 --> 00:35:05.110 going to want to take it outside and throw it 00:35:05.110 --> 00:35:06.690 on the grill. You're not going to want to cook 00:35:06.690 --> 00:35:08.469 it inside most of the time, right? Because you 00:35:08.469 --> 00:35:10.409 take it inside, you're in your kitchen, you start 00:35:10.409 --> 00:35:12.389 cooking it up. What happens? I see I'm seeing 00:35:12.389 --> 00:35:14.369 nods and I'm seeing smiles and giggling because 00:35:14.369 --> 00:35:16.329 they know it's true. The house smells horrible. 00:35:17.199 --> 00:35:19.400 Right? It's absolutely disgusting. You could 00:35:19.400 --> 00:35:21.800 clear the house, not just the kitchen, the whole 00:35:21.800 --> 00:35:26.239 house. I remember there was a time when my mother 00:35:26.239 --> 00:35:27.639 -in -law back here, she actually cooked up some 00:35:27.639 --> 00:35:29.880 fish. She wanted to bring it over, and my wife 00:35:29.880 --> 00:35:32.940 was like, no, I don't want that in my car. Absolutely 00:35:32.940 --> 00:35:36.539 not. They're laughing because, yeah, because 00:35:36.539 --> 00:35:38.800 she did not want her car smelling like that fish. 00:35:40.139 --> 00:35:43.860 Because the smell, it's strong. It's overbearing. 00:35:44.699 --> 00:35:46.860 You know, from a distance, once it's going all, 00:35:46.960 --> 00:35:48.579 it might smell okay. But once you're up there, 00:35:48.599 --> 00:35:55.500 oh, no. Absolutely not. It's a turnoff for a 00:35:55.500 --> 00:35:58.599 lot of people. However, what happens once you 00:35:58.599 --> 00:36:04.480 start eating that fish? Mm -mm, good. Yes. Yes. 00:36:06.980 --> 00:36:11.260 Absolutely. Give me some more. We got some fries 00:36:11.260 --> 00:36:14.929 to go with that. Have some fish and chips. Right? 00:36:14.929 --> 00:36:18.789 Maybe some veggies. Hey, how'd you prepare this? 00:36:19.409 --> 00:36:21.630 Oh, now we're into the fish. We have questions. 00:36:21.750 --> 00:36:27.590 We want to talk about the fish. The Bible is 00:36:27.590 --> 00:36:30.469 the same. The word of God is the same. You go 00:36:30.469 --> 00:36:32.110 from being an anomaly, oh, something's not right 00:36:32.110 --> 00:36:34.329 here, but then you get that little taste. Mmm. 00:36:35.710 --> 00:36:39.269 This is good. What about this? What about that? 00:36:39.369 --> 00:36:42.659 How do I do this in my life? What's God trying 00:36:42.659 --> 00:36:44.699 to tell me here? Oh, the questions start coming. 00:36:46.019 --> 00:36:51.280 And we're hooked. We're in it. Right? It changes. 00:36:52.280 --> 00:36:55.019 Things change. Fish is just one example. There's 00:36:55.019 --> 00:36:57.400 lots of stuff like that. Kimchi is like that 00:36:57.400 --> 00:37:00.239 for a lot of people. Anybody here don't know 00:37:00.239 --> 00:37:06.420 what kimchi is? Yeah? Okay. It's basically cabbage 00:37:06.420 --> 00:37:08.380 that's taken, it's spiced up, and it's fermented. 00:37:09.139 --> 00:37:12.619 It's an Asian dish. To a lot of people, it's 00:37:12.619 --> 00:37:14.559 very strong, and it smells absolutely horrible. 00:37:15.860 --> 00:37:19.500 But I think it's absolutely delicious. I guarantee 00:37:19.500 --> 00:37:21.300 there's people in here, if they've ever tried 00:37:21.300 --> 00:37:22.940 it, they'd try it and they'd disagree, but that's 00:37:22.940 --> 00:37:25.239 okay. Like I said, I'm on the same wavelength 00:37:25.239 --> 00:37:29.840 with you on blueberries. It's the same thing, 00:37:29.940 --> 00:37:31.579 though. The point is, to a nonbeliever, the word 00:37:31.579 --> 00:37:33.800 smells horrible. However, if we could just get 00:37:33.800 --> 00:37:36.519 them to taste just a little bit, just a little, 00:37:36.639 --> 00:37:39.099 they'll realize that smell isn't so bad anymore. 00:37:39.940 --> 00:37:43.840 and that it's worth it. You'll quickly see how 00:37:43.840 --> 00:37:45.820 wrong they were and how wonderful, how loving, 00:37:45.880 --> 00:37:49.599 how graceful, and how merciful our God is. This 00:37:49.599 --> 00:37:51.500 is why when Paul says that we are an aroma that 00:37:51.500 --> 00:37:54.179 brings death to one and life to another, it's 00:37:54.179 --> 00:37:58.199 because everybody has to make a choice. And we 00:37:58.199 --> 00:38:00.860 have to do it now. We don't get to do it after 00:38:00.860 --> 00:38:04.239 we die. We have to do it beforehand. We're either 00:38:04.239 --> 00:38:08.340 for God or we're not. Even if you're sitting 00:38:08.340 --> 00:38:10.780 on the fence, I don't know. Guess what? That's 00:38:10.780 --> 00:38:14.340 already a decision. It means you're not. In the 00:38:14.340 --> 00:38:17.559 server's world, some of you have probably heard 00:38:17.559 --> 00:38:19.059 this term before. If it's not an automatic yes, 00:38:19.159 --> 00:38:23.800 it's a no. Sometimes I take that in sales and 00:38:23.800 --> 00:38:25.239 I try to take that and spin it around. Like, 00:38:25.260 --> 00:38:28.280 it's a no, but we can turn it. Nope. You have 00:38:28.280 --> 00:38:33.139 to do it. You have to do it now. That right there 00:38:33.139 --> 00:38:38.559 is part of why we're here. You're either for 00:38:38.559 --> 00:38:41.019 God or you're not. And Satan and his followers 00:38:41.019 --> 00:38:44.219 know how to parry this. They understand how to 00:38:44.219 --> 00:38:48.860 counter. They're very well versed. They've been 00:38:48.860 --> 00:38:51.619 doing it for a long, long time. And we touched 00:38:51.619 --> 00:38:53.099 on this briefly, so we're going to go back to 00:38:53.099 --> 00:38:55.579 it. We touched on this briefly last week. We 00:38:55.579 --> 00:39:00.039 go to 2 Corinthians 11. And don't worry, we're 00:39:00.039 --> 00:39:01.480 heading for home here, guys. It's not going to 00:39:01.480 --> 00:39:03.280 go on too much longer, I promise. I know we're 00:39:03.280 --> 00:39:06.079 a little long -winded this week. But 2 Corinthians 00:39:06.079 --> 00:39:11.739 11, verses 12 through 15. I'll tell you what, 00:39:11.760 --> 00:39:12.980 this right here is something I could probably 00:39:12.980 --> 00:39:16.880 do a whole series on. Brian and Albert have probably 00:39:16.880 --> 00:39:20.360 heard me go on at length about this. Albert's 00:39:20.360 --> 00:39:21.539 laughing because he's already reading it. He 00:39:21.539 --> 00:39:24.440 knows where I'm heading. But I won't get long 00:39:24.440 --> 00:39:26.780 -winded on this one, I promise. 2 Corinthians 00:39:26.780 --> 00:39:29.699 11, 12 through 15, Paul writes, But what I do, 00:39:29.860 --> 00:39:33.500 I will also continue to do that I may cut. off 00:39:33.500 --> 00:39:36.300 the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity 00:39:36.300 --> 00:39:39.579 to be regarded just as we are in the things of 00:39:39.579 --> 00:39:44.960 which they boast. For such are false apostles, 00:39:45.460 --> 00:39:48.300 deceitful workers, transforming themselves into 00:39:48.300 --> 00:39:52.000 apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan 00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:54.739 himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 00:39:54.840 --> 00:39:59.340 Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers 00:39:59.340 --> 00:40:02.340 also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness. 00:40:03.139 --> 00:40:07.400 whose end will be according to their works. And 00:40:07.400 --> 00:40:10.199 this is directly related to what we just read 00:40:10.199 --> 00:40:14.539 in 2 Corinthians 2 .17. I'll refresh your memory 00:40:14.539 --> 00:40:16.000 on it. It's been a minute, so maybe you forgot. 00:40:18.300 --> 00:40:21.480 2 Corinthians 2 .17, we read it again. It says, 00:40:21.599 --> 00:40:25.980 For we are not as so many peddling the word of 00:40:25.980 --> 00:40:30.400 God, but as of sincerity, but as from God. We 00:40:30.400 --> 00:40:34.219 speak in the sight of God in Christ. Satan isn't 00:40:34.219 --> 00:40:37.440 afraid of people going to a church service. He's 00:40:37.440 --> 00:40:39.460 not even afraid of people picking up a Bible 00:40:39.460 --> 00:40:42.219 and maybe taking a little look here and look 00:40:42.219 --> 00:40:44.780 there at a couple of scriptures. He has no problem 00:40:44.780 --> 00:40:48.800 with that. He has no problem with churches because 00:40:48.800 --> 00:40:52.380 he's already infiltrated. He's been there since 00:40:52.380 --> 00:40:58.340 the beginning. And his ministers are standing 00:40:58.340 --> 00:41:01.900 in pulpits, and they're peddling things like 00:41:01.900 --> 00:41:07.699 health and wealth instead of sacrifice and love. 00:41:08.960 --> 00:41:12.559 And people fall into these traps regularly. We 00:41:12.559 --> 00:41:15.780 see it daily. And we're actually warned of it 00:41:15.780 --> 00:41:22.320 in 2 Timothy 4. So in 2 Timothy 4, verses 2 through 00:41:22.320 --> 00:41:28.219 4, here's the warning. Preach the word. Be ready 00:41:28.219 --> 00:41:31.760 in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, 00:41:31.760 --> 00:41:35.059 exhort, and with all long -suffering and teaching. 00:41:35.860 --> 00:41:38.360 For the time will come when they will not endure 00:41:38.360 --> 00:41:40.840 sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, 00:41:41.000 --> 00:41:43.559 because they have itching ears, they will heap 00:41:43.559 --> 00:41:46.619 up for themselves teachers, and they will turn 00:41:46.619 --> 00:41:50.340 their ears away from the truth and be turned 00:41:50.340 --> 00:41:56.340 aside to fables. It was itching ears. People 00:41:56.340 --> 00:41:58.900 don't always want to hear the truth. They want 00:41:58.900 --> 00:42:00.599 to hear what's going to make them feel good. 00:42:00.820 --> 00:42:03.179 They want to walk out with this happy, happy, 00:42:03.219 --> 00:42:06.559 joy, joy. You know, God loves me just as I am. 00:42:06.639 --> 00:42:09.019 I'm perfect just the way I am. No, if that was 00:42:09.019 --> 00:42:10.880 the case, Jesus would not have come and died 00:42:10.880 --> 00:42:13.940 on the cross for each and every one of us. Would 00:42:13.940 --> 00:42:15.800 not have happened. Wouldn't need it to have happened. 00:42:17.340 --> 00:42:19.579 Nor are we little gods in our own little realm. 00:42:20.690 --> 00:42:23.090 All right? I said I've gone a little long today, 00:42:23.150 --> 00:42:24.329 so I'm going to try to summarize this a little 00:42:24.329 --> 00:42:28.489 quicker here. These are people who are in the 00:42:28.489 --> 00:42:32.730 business of selling Jesus. And when you're in 00:42:32.730 --> 00:42:35.690 the business of selling Jesus, you turn him and 00:42:35.690 --> 00:42:39.690 the church into a prostitute. That's a hard word, 00:42:39.730 --> 00:42:42.630 right? That hurts. People don't want to hear 00:42:42.630 --> 00:42:44.550 that, but that's the truth. When you sell Jesus 00:42:44.550 --> 00:42:47.630 and you sell the church, you're prostituting 00:42:47.630 --> 00:42:51.880 them. So we need to be very careful. We need 00:42:51.880 --> 00:42:54.219 to be very discerning of who we're listening 00:42:54.219 --> 00:42:57.880 to. This is why we need to be like the Bereans, 00:42:57.900 --> 00:43:00.019 and we need to dive into our Bible on a daily 00:43:00.019 --> 00:43:02.860 basis and read it for ourselves and pray on it, 00:43:02.960 --> 00:43:05.900 ask God questions about it to reveal things that 00:43:05.900 --> 00:43:10.159 we're having trouble understanding. We need to 00:43:10.159 --> 00:43:13.420 open them constantly and see what it says, pray 00:43:13.420 --> 00:43:16.000 on it, learn from it, and apply it to our lives, 00:43:16.079 --> 00:43:21.050 and then share it with others. Not only that, 00:43:21.269 --> 00:43:24.429 but when we read it and we learn it, we need 00:43:24.429 --> 00:43:26.650 to take that scripture and we need to write it 00:43:26.650 --> 00:43:30.070 on our hearts. For those times when we're hurting 00:43:30.070 --> 00:43:33.269 and we need the word the most, then we might 00:43:33.269 --> 00:43:36.010 not necessarily have a Bible or a Bible app on 00:43:36.010 --> 00:43:43.670 us to pull out. We as believers, we can go out 00:43:43.670 --> 00:43:46.030 into the world as fishers and men, and we can 00:43:46.030 --> 00:43:50.730 be confident, and we can be empowered. because 00:43:50.730 --> 00:43:53.150 of Jesus and what he's done for us, that empowerment 00:43:53.150 --> 00:43:56.190 comes to us through the Holy Spirit, God in us, 00:43:56.349 --> 00:44:00.409 not us in the world. So we need to pray for knowledge, 00:44:00.510 --> 00:44:02.230 we need to pray for understanding, and we need 00:44:02.230 --> 00:44:04.769 to pray for the ability to discern when to confront 00:44:04.769 --> 00:44:10.570 people and when to comfort people. We need to 00:44:10.570 --> 00:44:14.849 stand firm, but we need to know when to hold 00:44:14.849 --> 00:44:18.690 our tongue and when to let it loose. And with 00:44:18.690 --> 00:44:22.340 that said, let us pray. Lord, we thank you for 00:44:22.340 --> 00:44:25.340 being with us and speaking to us. We thank you 00:44:25.340 --> 00:44:27.719 for the sweet smell and taste of your hope, love, 00:44:27.780 --> 00:44:34.320 mercy, and grace. We ask that you help us to 00:44:34.320 --> 00:44:36.179 apply all this in our lives as we leave here 00:44:36.179 --> 00:44:38.760 today. We ask that you continue to minister to 00:44:38.760 --> 00:44:42.820 us as we minister to others. Guide us in your 00:44:42.820 --> 00:44:47.320 ways to become fishers and men and to become 00:44:47.320 --> 00:44:49.139 the fishers that you intend us to be for your 00:44:49.139 --> 00:44:53.679 glory. and for your kingdom. Amen and amen. Remember, 00:44:53.780 --> 00:44:55.400 when you leave here today, you are loved and 00:44:55.400 --> 00:45:20.880 you are blessed, so go and be the church. Until 00:45:20.880 --> 00:45:23.760 next time, take care and God bless.