and we'll be right back.
Don't get down
when you're seeing the worst
cause the last will be the first
What a day I'm telling you
all things will be new
living up in a down world
Yeah we're living, yeah we're living
living up in a down world
Oh
This is Jimmy and Annette
and we are coming to you
from the Bridge Church
Shreddersburg Studios
with episode number 57
of Living Up in a Down World
How are you doing over there baby girl?
I'm doing great, although I came to work
and I left my computer at home
Oh
which is a big no no
because you do look a little lost
I can't work without my computer
although I can do only so much
with my phone
Your phone's on fire over there
So it's going to be an unproductive day
I know that was not a good move for you
Yeah, you left your iPad at home on Sunday
and you needed that
That was misery because I use it for my music
I know
We use multi tracks and I needed it
and so I ended up having to use paper
which hadn't been that in forever
I was trying to write on paper
I can't do that
so I'm so used to the computer
I get it, I get it
Well listen if y'all hear some noise going on
it's because we've got construction going on
above us, beside us and the wall next to us
And we asked him
Just 30 minutes, just give us 30 minutes
Can you take a coffee break
because we just want to really get this in
This has been a convergence week
It's actually spring break here in Texas
and while everybody seems to be lounging around
we've just pedaled to the metal
We have not stopped
It's been wall to wall
That's for sure
So wow
Yeah
I was so committed to getting this
I really wanted to get this out
because we're talking about
the title of the show today is Coming In Hot
and we're just talking about things that matter
to you, the listener, and matter to us
as followers of Jesus, disciples of Christ
what we would call apprentices of Christ
and so we just have some things we want to share with you
and encourage you with
even if it's going to be a little bit short today
it's no less powerful
because what we have to share is going to matter, right?
Right, right
So where are we getting this amazing information from?
Well, Pastor Brian Mandel preached on Sunday
and we're doing, yes, a series on the mind wars
and I would say it's one of my top series that we have done
which I say we because you and I are one
and so when you're up there, I'm up there
It was actually your idea
You brought this to me a while back
I did, I felt like it was time to do something
that has to do with the mind
and all these wars that we have going on
in our mind
Did I hesitate one bit?
No
It so resonated with me
I was shocked
because sometimes when I say
I feel like we should do this
you'll go, hmm, let me pray about that
I'm a processor by nature
but this time you didn't
You said, no, we need to do this
I knew this was it
It was the right thing
And so Pastor Brian is preaching once a month
and you're preaching the rest of the times
and what he preached on was really powerful
and I think a lot of people don't understand
what our identity is once we become a Christian
that we're no longer sinners
Yeah, I was going to say
so what's the classic line that we hear?
Yeah
Oh, I'm just a sinner
I'm just an old sinner
Sinner saved by grace
Well, yeah, you were
but you're not a sinner now
You're a saint who sometimes sinned
but your identity is not sinner
Nailed it
And I think it's so hard on me
because the Bible talks about
we are a new creation
When we come to Christ
we're totally new
not a new version of our old self
but a new person
So if you're a new person in Christ
He sees you totally whole
You're without blemish
He doesn't see anything else
It doesn't mean that we stay that way
because there are times when we just mess up
We have challenges
Might not make the best decisions
We're not always walking in the Spirit
But our identity is we're a saint
That's good
who sometimes sin
But I love this too
because you've preached this before
and I'm totally on board with this
that we have the capacity
and the power not to sin
That's in the word
That's in the Bible
But people don't realize
that we could literally not sin
And even when Paul talks about
if I sin
He didn't say when
He said if
But we think that we don't have the capacity
to not sin
and yet we don't in and of ourself
But God has given us the power of His Holy Spirit
to keep us from sinning
We're the ones who allow our flesh to get in there
And I think this is where
a lot of people have a hard time
because they don't understand that
We've heard preachers in the pulpit
I could name one
but I don't want to name him
because he's wonderful
But he starts off his sermon saying
What does he say?
How does he say it?
He says you know Lord
I'm a sinner
Just identifying himself to say
I'm a sinner
I just want to stand up and say
I love you but no
No you're not
You're a saint
Nowhere in the Bible
is a Christian
a follower of Jesus Christ
a disciple of Christ
called a sinner
Nowhere
There's only one instance
where it sounds like that
and it's when the Apostle Paul
called himself
the chief of sinners
and so people go
well he called himself a sinner
but actually he was referring
if you read the context
he was referring to
before he became a Christian
His prior life
where he killed people
and he was angry
and hateful
and all those things
He was having Christians killed
Exactly
Which would be the chief of sinners
Exactly
But that's not who he was saying
he is now
Oh my gosh
That is so powerful
If we could get a hold of that
So how do we help people
so you're listening to the show
and you're thinking
well that sounds good
but I still feel like a sinner
I still make mistakes
and one of the things I would say
and I want you to jump off on this
is you're not a sinner
who sometimes saints
You're a saint who sometimes sins
Sins? Right
Sorry, my phone's ringing
Oh
Who's calling you right now?
John Willoughby
Oh, in the middle of our podcast
No, I
Yeah, think about that
You're not a sinner who sometimes saints
You're a saint who sometimes sins
and that is so important
to get that in the right order
Yeah, it is
and yet I think in my past
I was always taught you're a sinner
You're a sinner
I think I've heard that so many times
that you just attend to adopt that
as your moniker and you're a sinner
You're a sinner
and you can't get away from that
and that's what we're here
to try to change your mind
in that wrong thinking
Yeah
That we're saints that sometimes sin
If we could just change
It's just a few words we're changing
It's just a nuance
It can change your whole life
Sounds like a quarter turn
as Bob Goff uses that terminology
It's just a quarter turn
It's a nuance
It is
and it makes the massive difference
It does
because out of the abundance of the heart
the mouth speaks
Well, and as a man thinks
so is he
In his heart, so is he, yes
So if you think that
then you're always
You become that
probably going to become that
So if my identity is
I'm a sinner who every sometimes saints
but I'm a sinner
then whatever you behold
that's what you become
what you concentrate on
and what you gaze upon
is what you gravitate toward
and so many people have a sinner identity
That's true
You're sinner-centric
It's kind of the same thing
as someone who gets sick
at the same time every year
Oh, I hear this all the time
and they say
Oh, well, fall's coming
This is when I always get this sickness
Hey, fever, this time of year
every year at this time of year
Well, sure enough, it happens
I do believe in the power of your words
I do because the power of your words
are not just words that come out of your mouth
but it's what you're thinking in your heart
You say what you think
Some of us say too much of what we think sometimes
Well, it's that scripture I quoted a minute ago
Out of the abundance of the heart
the mouth speaks
Exactly
So whatever is inside of you
is going to come out of you
and I've always said it this way
We leak out what we're full of
Exactly
Good or bad
Right
And so I think this is why we decided
to talk about this on the show
because there's a lot of people out there
probably have never even heard this
Yeah, because even some of the older hymns
really have a sinner-centric
Yeah
Save someone like a wretch like me
And as I read that from the perspective
of being a saint, I go, yeah, that's true
because I was that
I was a wretch, I was a sinner
But it was past tense
But I'm not there anymore
That's all past tense, it's all in the past
Because now in Christ, I'm a saint
who sometimes sins
And when I do, the Bible says
I have an advocate with the Father
which is Jesus Christ the righteous
Because people say this
They say, well, if He has forgiven you
of all of your past sins
your present sins and your future
then what's the point?
They're like, so I can kind of go do whatever I want
because He's going to forgive me
But why would I want to do whatever I want
knowing He's going to forgive me?
Our wants should be because out of love
I want to do right instead of just what I want
Obedience
That's what needs to change
It's that cart before the horse
horse before the cart, which is it?
Which came first, chicken or the egg?
I mean, it's all those metaphors
because you're right, a lot of times we think
if I obey Him, then He'll be pleased with me
and then He'll bless me and then I'll be okay
But that's wrong thinking too
Can you even imagine living that way?
No
And so many people do
because they constantly feel like
I'm such a scoundrel, I'm such a mess
We even use phrases like I'm a hot mess
We're joking, it's funny
and we get what people mean by that
but when your identity is that
and you actually believe that's what you are
then you will behave and you will become what you believe
and out of that center you'll live your life
So everything, it becomes a massive filter
through which you see everything
Center
I'm a sinner
I can't even hardly believe
I'm not worthy
I'm just not worthy
We hear that a lot
Oh, we hear it all the time
From Christians
It's heartbreaking because
we see them like Jesus sees them
He sees them as beloved
He sees them as no condemnation
No judgment
That word condemnation means to judge down
Judge down
I love that
That's what it literally means in the Greek language
And we have new Christians especially
but not just new unfortunately but mostly new
Religious people who have grown up in the church
that they've never heard anything about identity
and the identity is huge
And they've been beat down by a Sunday school teacher
or beat down by a pastor
or beat down by other Christians
where everything is negative and dark
and yet Jesus said in John 10, 10
I came that you might have what?
Life
And that word is zoe
which means the God kind and the God quality of life
He says I've come that you may have zoe
to the full abundant life
And that's what Jesus wants for us
Now you can go into an argument about what is the abundant life
Well it's life that's full of peace and joy
It doesn't mean everything is always going right
but you can have peace in the midst of the storm
You can have a knowing and all knowing that God is there
even when everybody else has rejected you
I mean there's so much more to the Christian life
than us asking God for something like a Santa Claus
and receiving it
I remember a Bible professor one time talking about
God has not called you to be happy
and then somebody slipped their hand up, maybe me
slipped their hand up and said
well the Greek word for blessed means happy
and he went into theological acrobatics
and he shot me down
Which is ridiculous
Because he had this bold statement that
you're not supposed to be happy
you're supposed to be joyful
and I'm like well tell your face that sir
because I didn't say that out loud
Right, you better not have
No, I thought it
You would have probably got
Who knows what would have happened
You're not joyful
Yeah
You're not rejoicing in anything
You're negative, you're critical
You've got a spirit of eor on you
A demonic spirit of eor
Did you know there's one of those?
Oh yeah
Oh, life's not good, not good for me
It's good for you over there
but it's not good for me
So how can you be that light
to the people around you that don't know Christ
if you always have that attitude?
Exactly
The flip side of that is learning what it means
to live up in a down world
to say you know what, life is good
I hit the lottery when I woke up this morning
My pulse was, it was very early by the way
425
I know
But it's because I'm so high on life right now
that I wake up uber early
and I lay in bed to try to force myself to go back to sleep
Because you think, well if I pray I'll go back to sleep
And sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't
Not often
And so what happens is it's like, I just need to get up
I want to get in God's word
I want to meet with Jesus this morning
We have things to talk about
He's ordering my steps and delighting in the details of my life
And I have to tell you
I've always been a positive person for the most part
But not like this
This isn't just having a positive mental attitude, PMA
This is having a Christ-centered attitude
Where I realize every day is bonus time
Every day is a gift, every breath is a gift
Even the hard, challenging days are truly opportunities
And the hard people are opportunities
For growth and for growing ourselves
Also for helping them
So it's not that I'm high on life
Because everything is great
Every day is Friday because it's not
This is Thursday actually
And we're recording two days off
Because we've been so busy this week
But I'm high on life because I'm high on Jesus
Because you trust Him
I do
And trust means you lean on Him
You adhere to Him
You rely on Him
That's the difference
A believing believer
We talked about that earlier
About how you can believe but not know Christ
Because the demons believe
And they tremble, tremble
But they don't know Him
Because they don't trust and rely on Him
They don't adhere to
There's a big difference
So as believers, as someone who does trust, rely, adhere to
We've also got to change our identity
And realize we're not that old person anymore
I love when we did baptisms
The first one we did that was the most meaningful to me
In this last year was when we did Tina's
And then we did Adam's
And then we did Brandy's
And they all said, and I love it
Because Tina was so exuberant
She was so excited about getting
And I think it was her that said, I can't wait
Because when I come out, I'm really going to be a new person
Although she was when she got saved
But it's that picture of what baptism is
Is you're going, that's your old self being
It's dying, it's being buried
And then you're raised up in newness of life
To walk with Him
And we even decided we're going to change
How we're going to do baptism
Because it's meaningful for some, but not for others
We're going to make a change
Starting with this next baptism that we're going to have
That people literally have to go through
At least an hour long class, if not longer
Instead of 15 minutes before
Oh yeah, you're saying, okay
Yeah, we want people to really understand
The significance of this
How powerful it is
And we need to be able to teach on
Well, you're no longer a sinner
Exactly
And they might even look at us funny and say
Well, wait, you didn't know what I did
I said a cuss word earlier
Or I thought this
Yes, no
Here's the deal, can I give you something?
This is something Pastor Brian said
This was really helpful
He said this, so what do you do when you sin?
Well, first of all, you recognize in 1 John 2, 1
We have an advocate with the Father
And the Bible even says, if you sin
If you sin
Not when, but if
If you sin, you have an advocate with the Father
Jesus Christ, the righteous, so there's that
The second piece of that is
What's your response to that?
You need to say out of your mouth
If you can just write this down where you can find it quickly
That when that thought hits you, when that action
When you mess up, when you trip, stumble or fall
The first thing out of your mouth should be
That's not who I am
Right
Because your behavior doesn't identify who you are
It does not
It's just a behavior
It could be a learned behavior
It could be a triggered response from your past
It could be a mistake, a bad choice
Whatever it is in the moment
That doesn't mean that's who you are
And so I love that, I wrote that down in big letters
That's not who I am
Yeah, I always say it this way, not today, Satan
There you go, there you go
It's like, nope, not today
That's more preventative
And sometimes we'll have a day that we're off
Oh yeah
And we just need to look back and go
That's not who I am
That's not me
That doesn't identify me
No, and that doesn't mean I continue in that
It means I make a course correction
Yeah, we're not defined by the silly things we do
Or the sin that we commit
We're defined by who God says we are
And God says, you're my beloved
You're my daughter, you're my son
Love what he said to Jesus when he came up out of the
Being baptized by John, his cousin
He said, this is my son
Son whom I'm well pleased
Isn't that beautiful?
I love that
Just so beautiful
We were talking earlier this morning
As we were kind of batting around what we wanted to share on the podcast
And one of them was, I said this to you, I said
What would it feel like as a parent
If our daughter Faith came to us
She's 23 years old
But at any time in her life she would come to us
And the first thing she would say to us every time she came to us is
I'm so sorry, I'm not worthy
I'm so sorry, I know I messed up
I'm a rotten sinner
I'm a failure, I'm a sinner
And you know me, I'm just an old sinner
How heartbreaking to a parent would it be
To hear that
To hear that out of their mouth every time they made a mistake
And can you imagine
This really hit me hard today
Can you imagine how God feels
When every time someone approaches him
The first thing out of their mouth is
I'm so sorry, I'm such a sinner
I messed up again
I'm an idiot, I can't believe how stupid I was
Or just every time you pray
The first thing you say
I know I'm just a sinner
But God, thank you for what you've done
No
God wants to engage you
Just like a parent wants to hear from their child
He's saying no, no, no
You need to change your vocabulary
Bring me your report card and show me your A plus
And this is the thing too
And I was telling you this earlier
As we were talking about this
When I sin
Yeah, not if, when
And typically at the end of the night
When I'm saying my prayers
Because I want to talk to God before I go to sleep
And then when I wake up I talk to Him all day
But then I talk to Him when I go to bed
I don't say forgive me for all my sins
I say thank you Father
That you have already forgiven me for all my sins
That's how I end
I do not say forgive me for my sins
Because I did this, I did this, I did this
Some people think they have to number their sins
And tell everybody their sins
I'd lay there for another hour every day if I did that
I'd never get to sleep
It'd be longer than that for me
What if I worry if I missed one?
What if I forgot one?
And that's not God
What if I die in my sleep and I forgot to confess one sin?
Am I going to hell now?
People actually believe that
They do believe that
I've talked to many people through the years
I'm 40 years in this now doing ministry
And I've met countless numbers of people who believe
If they don't confess every sin
That they're done
That they're held back
And that if you don't get baptized
And you get saved that you're not going to heaven
Well, that's erroneous teaching as well
Yeah, and all baptism is
It's a beautiful, beautiful thing
And people need to get baptized
Yes, it's an outward expression of an inward reality
You're saying to the world, this is what happened to me
And now I'm identifying as a follower of Jesus, a disciple
But we need to take it seriously
We do
This is why I do have a hard time with children
That are really small getting baptized
And I would never
I don't want to turn anyone away
I don't think God would turn anyone away
But they really
It's hard for them to really understand
And if you realize it
Most of the adults that are getting baptized now
Were baptized as a small child
But their life took a whole different turn
And now they're rededicating their life to the Lord basically
And want to be baptized
And there's nothing wrong with that
I did the same thing when I was young
But this is where I wish we as mature believers
Can help those really understand what being saved means
What being a saint means
What being a sinner means
And really go into detail about that
And help people
You almost have to
You do have to say it over and over and over
It's just like we listen to a message on Sunday
And we're talking about it again
Because we don't
We want to get it down in our spirit, our soul
We don't want to just hear a message and leave it
We want to hear a message and talk about it
And if anybody heard the message on Sunday
And they're hearing us
It might drop in their spirit now where it didn't before
And that's our hope
So can I encourage our listeners to do something?
Yes
So go to our website
BridgeFBG.com
And you can scroll halfway down on the front page
And you'll see the sermons there
And listen to the message by Pastor Brian Mandel
It's a part of the series
I'm going to pick up right where he left off
And keep running down the track on this thing on this Sunday
Until God tells you to move on
Until God tells you
Somebody asked me
How long are you going to stay on this series?
Because it's actually being very helpful
I said I'll stay on it as long as you say it's being helpful
Because we're here to help you
Which is what happened when you did the Holy Spirit series
It's going to be a few weeks and end up being six months
So however long
And it's a great series
It is
Well thank you
And thank you to Pastor Brian
Because he's knocking it out of the park
And we're just so happy to have Pastor Brian and Naomi with us
They're our spiritual kids
Yes they are
And yeah
So I would encourage you to listen to that message
I would too
BridgeFBG.com
Listen to it
And if you want a daily dose of encouragement
Just very short to the point
Scripture based
I write a daily devotional
You can find it on our website
LivingUpInADownWorld.com
And just hit blog
It's one of the tabs
Click on the blog
And there is a daily post
I post it every morning
And it is there to encourage you in your journey of faith
In your journey of discipleship
Being a follower of Jesus
And they're encouraging
And they're inspiring
And they are designed to help you
I've been doing these for 20 years
But they're fresh
Every morning I write it every morning
And post it immediately
So it is hot off the press
It's really good
It's whatever God's downloading to me that morning
I woke up this morning at 425
I said, Father
First of all I said, good morning Holy Spirit
Good morning Lord Jesus
And good morning Abba Father
What do you want to say today?
That's how I do it
And that's how I start
And I get up and get in the Word
And that's what happens
So we want to encourage you and equip you
Listen, we're going to land the plane
Because we've got so much construction
I think they're getting closer to our wall
And it's about to come through
It sounds like they're about to come through the wall
But we wanted to give you something to chew on for the week
So hopefully it will help you
Hey, we love you guys
Hey, do check out our friends podcast
Adam and Tina Curry
Curry and the Keeper
They just released number 80
Yes, last night
We'll never catch up with them now
Because we're both doing weekly
So we'll always be a little bit behind the curve
But also Adam Curry's No Agenda
Fantastic
It's very good
And listen, we want to say thank you to those who have boosted us
In fact, Adam Curry, big time
Of course
A double, a double Strapper boost
I have to do a Strapper boost
And Sir Brian with an I
Always encouraging, always bringing some life there
Also with a Strapper boost
And then, oh man, I've got to pull it up
Because I
You better hurry because it's getting closer
I know, I'm working on it
I'm trying, I'm trying
My Thrill to Learned with 100 Sats
Just very encouraging
Let me read Adam's
Missed my boost on the last show
Making up for it with one of two and two of two
We love hanging out with you guys
Whether at a steak place, a snitchel joint
Or just burgers at Backwoods
Another great show
My Thrill to Learned said
Another great message
I found that working with sleeping Christians
And using my spiritual gifts of encouragement
To awaken them keeps the fire of the Holy Spirit burning
Staying grateful and meditating on Christ's providence
Is so important for wanting to share and give
So anyway, thank you
My Thrill to Learned, Adam Curry
We love you guys
We just love everybody, don't we?
We do, we do
We really do, we're just lovers
Mr. Chevy misses everybody
But with all this construction stuff
We can't have him here
It would be too much
It would be traumatizing
It's traumatizing for me right now
I know, this morning you were like
I'm ready to go home
I can study at home
I can't think, we're straight right now
Well, you're about to
Hey, we love you guys
Have an amazing week on purpose
Remember, live up in a down world
God's got your back
Better yet, He's got you
God bless you