WEBVTT 00:00:10.389 --> 00:00:12.710 Now, this should make a lot of sense, right, 00:00:12.890 --> 00:00:15.609 as we're going to be talking about that. But 00:00:15.609 --> 00:00:17.289 I want to pray before we get started because 00:00:17.289 --> 00:00:22.570 it's important that we really grasp one of the, 00:00:22.710 --> 00:00:26.710 if not the most, one of the most important, not... 00:00:27.239 --> 00:00:29.379 The most important is the gospel. One of the 00:00:29.379 --> 00:00:32.560 most important principles or lessons the Lord 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:36.100 is teaching us in his word, obedience. How do 00:00:36.100 --> 00:00:41.219 we obey? What does it mean to obey? And I'm going 00:00:41.219 --> 00:00:45.719 to destroy some misconceptions about obedience 00:00:45.719 --> 00:00:48.960 before we really dig in. So Father, I just want 00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:51.579 to thank you so much for your goodness. I thank 00:00:51.579 --> 00:00:54.119 you for your word. I thank you that you have 00:00:54.119 --> 00:00:56.990 not only called us. and that you've commanded 00:00:56.990 --> 00:01:01.950 us. But in commanding us, we are to act. And 00:01:01.950 --> 00:01:05.810 in our acting, we should also gird the reality 00:01:05.810 --> 00:01:10.489 that to love you is to obey you. Help us to walk 00:01:10.489 --> 00:01:13.150 in the truth of what biblical obedience looks 00:01:13.150 --> 00:01:16.810 like, that we would honor you, and we would commit 00:01:16.810 --> 00:01:19.250 to pleasing you in every way. We do thank you, 00:01:19.250 --> 00:01:23.829 and we do praise you. In Jesus' name, amen. Obedience. 00:01:25.819 --> 00:01:30.560 This has been a heavy burden on me, especially 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:34.140 over the last month or so, if not almost around 00:01:34.140 --> 00:01:38.159 two months, but mostly a month or so, that there 00:01:38.159 --> 00:01:49.799 is a clear... That's the word I'm only looking 00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:51.319 for. I want to make sure I say this correctly 00:01:51.319 --> 00:01:53.819 so you get what I'm saying. There's a clear... 00:01:54.239 --> 00:02:01.599 disregard for the sacred, for the holy in church. 00:02:04.040 --> 00:02:08.580 It's in a lot of churches, but the church specifically 00:02:08.580 --> 00:02:14.419 in America, that we are really not understanding 00:02:14.419 --> 00:02:21.699 the importance of the holy. Why? What happens? 00:02:22.830 --> 00:02:27.830 To us because we disregard the holy. We take 00:02:27.830 --> 00:02:31.169 for granted the sacred. In reality, you know 00:02:31.169 --> 00:02:35.750 it's real because when you have communion, the 00:02:35.750 --> 00:02:40.030 reverence of the importance of communion is diminished. 00:02:42.330 --> 00:02:46.849 Because church or Jesus has been a means to an 00:02:46.849 --> 00:02:53.000 end. He's not a... He's not the holy God that 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:55.900 we come to revere, to honor and worship, but 00:02:55.900 --> 00:03:04.259 he is a God who gives me what I want. And so 00:03:04.259 --> 00:03:11.479 this drawl away from the holy stems from the 00:03:11.479 --> 00:03:17.840 attitude that I don't have to obey. I don't have 00:03:17.840 --> 00:03:22.319 to revere the holy. I don't have to honor or 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:27.340 sanctify Christ as master Lord. And the scripture 00:03:27.340 --> 00:03:30.400 says very clearly we are to. How do we do that? 00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:37.719 How do we settle the heart in the holy, honor 00:03:37.719 --> 00:03:42.139 and revere the sacred without getting into ritualism 00:03:42.139 --> 00:03:49.080 or legalism? And I think one of the most pervasive 00:03:49.080 --> 00:03:52.780 teachings of our day, especially in the modern 00:03:52.780 --> 00:03:58.039 church, is to obey the commands is legalism. 00:03:59.719 --> 00:04:05.099 We live under grace, not under the law. I will 00:04:05.099 --> 00:04:11.580 tell you, that's a lie. We live under grace and 00:04:11.580 --> 00:04:18.750 truth. So we are going to, my attempt today is 00:04:18.750 --> 00:04:22.670 to stir in your hearts this understanding of 00:04:22.670 --> 00:04:26.569 obedience and to stir in your hearts the reality 00:04:26.569 --> 00:04:31.209 of the importance of the sacred. And in Psalm, 00:04:31.370 --> 00:04:33.029 I was listening to this song on the way. It was 00:04:33.029 --> 00:04:35.050 really cool. It's For Him. How do you guys remember 00:04:35.050 --> 00:04:40.069 For Him? Ah, I loved him. And this song is called 00:04:40.069 --> 00:04:44.899 Psalm 112. Blessed is he who fears the Lord is 00:04:44.899 --> 00:04:48.540 the chorus of the song. But Psalm 112 verse 1, 00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:54.620 praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears 00:04:54.620 --> 00:04:58.860 the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments. 00:04:59.879 --> 00:05:05.720 Do you get that? My fear of God drives my delight 00:05:05.720 --> 00:05:09.680 in his commandments. The law of the Lord is perfect, 00:05:09.740 --> 00:05:14.290 reviving the soul. It's as sweet as honey, the 00:05:14.290 --> 00:05:17.569 scripture says. But yet we disregard the law 00:05:17.569 --> 00:05:21.170 as if it's not of value because Christ fulfilled 00:05:21.170 --> 00:05:24.310 it. I don't need to obey it. And the reality 00:05:24.310 --> 00:05:27.829 is that if Christ lives in you, you now can obey 00:05:27.829 --> 00:05:30.850 it because Christ does it through you. And you 00:05:30.850 --> 00:05:34.750 must be obedient as a reflection of who's in 00:05:34.750 --> 00:05:39.209 you. Now we'll dig in. Principle number one. 00:05:40.620 --> 00:05:45.420 There is the call to obedience. God calls all 00:05:45.420 --> 00:05:53.360 men to obey. Calls all men to obey. How do we 00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:56.079 know that? Does he not call all men to repentance? 00:05:58.139 --> 00:06:01.360 Is not the gospel a call to every single human 00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:03.240 being that has ever been born and ever will be 00:06:03.240 --> 00:06:07.040 born to repent and believe in the name of the 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:10.959 Son of God? Yes. And as I told you before, the 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:15.220 gospel is more than just an imitation. The gospel 00:06:15.220 --> 00:06:22.959 is a command. It's commands. It's an imperative. 00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:28.180 It's not suggested. So the call to obedience 00:06:28.180 --> 00:06:33.319 is to obey Christ, is to love Christ. To obey 00:06:33.319 --> 00:06:36.730 Christ is to love Christ. That's the call. He's 00:06:36.730 --> 00:06:40.069 calling you to obey Christ in your reflection 00:06:40.069 --> 00:06:44.790 of love for Christ. Deuteronomy 6, 4 through 00:06:44.790 --> 00:06:49.410 9. Here it says, Hear, O Lord, O Israel. Do you 00:06:49.410 --> 00:06:53.769 hear that? That's the call. Hear, O Israel, the 00:06:53.769 --> 00:06:59.129 Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall, command, 00:06:59.449 --> 00:07:02.810 love the Lord your God with all your heart, with 00:07:02.810 --> 00:07:05.579 all your soul, with all your might. And these 00:07:05.579 --> 00:07:09.300 words that I command you today shall be on your 00:07:09.300 --> 00:07:12.339 heart and you shall teach them diligently to 00:07:12.339 --> 00:07:15.439 your children and shall talk of them when you 00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:17.579 sit at your house and when you walk by the way 00:07:17.579 --> 00:07:20.120 and when you lie down and when you rise up. You 00:07:20.120 --> 00:07:24.699 shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they 00:07:24.699 --> 00:07:27.839 shall be as frontlets between your eyes and you 00:07:27.839 --> 00:07:30.740 shall write them on the doorposts of your house. 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:33.720 I want you to get something very important here. 00:07:36.260 --> 00:07:38.300 You shall love the Lord your God with all your 00:07:38.300 --> 00:07:44.800 heart, mind, soul, and strength. Do you get that? 00:07:45.660 --> 00:07:49.740 Love God. What is it to love God? These words 00:07:49.740 --> 00:07:54.759 I command you today shall be on your heart. Do 00:07:54.759 --> 00:07:58.000 you get that? Do you see the importance of the 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:04.279 word of God deeply implanted in you? They shall 00:08:04.279 --> 00:08:09.360 be in you. You shall teach them. The commands 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:13.259 that God has given you is for you to give away. 00:08:16.579 --> 00:08:20.300 You shall teach them diligently to your kids. 00:08:20.480 --> 00:08:22.579 In other words, you shall teach them without 00:08:22.579 --> 00:08:28.240 ceasing, consistently, with purpose to your children. 00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:32.259 You shall talk of them when you sit in your house. 00:08:32.279 --> 00:08:36.580 So you teach them and you talk about them. And 00:08:36.580 --> 00:08:41.019 when you walk by the way, and when you lie down 00:08:41.019 --> 00:08:42.799 and when you rise up, in other words, you should 00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:46.159 be teaching your kids every moment of every day, 00:08:46.299 --> 00:08:52.019 the wonderful laws of the Lord. You shall bind 00:08:52.019 --> 00:08:59.080 them as a sign on your hand, as a reminder. And 00:08:59.080 --> 00:09:02.080 they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 00:09:02.200 --> 00:09:08.590 They should be pressed into your mind. Not only 00:09:08.590 --> 00:09:10.590 that, everyone who comes into your house and 00:09:10.590 --> 00:09:12.870 leaves your house is a reminder that this is 00:09:12.870 --> 00:09:18.929 God's house and we obey his word. You shall write 00:09:18.929 --> 00:09:24.529 them on your doorposts and on your gates. So 00:09:24.529 --> 00:09:28.090 when people come onto your yard, God's word is 00:09:28.090 --> 00:09:30.750 there. When they go into your house, God's word 00:09:30.750 --> 00:09:33.110 is there. When they walk out of your house, God's 00:09:33.110 --> 00:09:34.809 word is there. And when they leave your property. 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:38.480 God's word is there. You are a family belonging 00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:46.080 to Jesus. John 14, 5 says this. If you love me, 00:09:46.179 --> 00:09:51.399 you will keep. Take reo. Now, I have my wife's 00:09:51.399 --> 00:09:55.320 Puerto Rican. Hello. This is for the Spanish 00:09:55.320 --> 00:09:59.580 people. You got to roll the R. Italians. You 00:09:59.580 --> 00:10:04.500 got to roll the R. Roll it. Take reo. You shall. 00:10:04.940 --> 00:10:11.860 Obey or guard. This word, to keep, means to guard, 00:10:11.940 --> 00:10:15.559 to guard up. It's not that you're just putting 00:10:15.559 --> 00:10:18.600 them there. You're now guarding your life by 00:10:18.600 --> 00:10:25.259 doing what it says. My commandments. You shall 00:10:25.259 --> 00:10:30.080 guard my commandments. You shall obey my commandments. 00:10:30.259 --> 00:10:33.789 Do you see that? That's in John. Jesus is saying 00:10:33.789 --> 00:10:39.350 here, verse 20 and 21, John 14. In that day, 00:10:39.370 --> 00:10:43.070 you will know that I am in the Father and you 00:10:43.070 --> 00:10:49.730 in me and I in you. In what day? And then he 00:10:49.730 --> 00:10:54.590 says, whoever has my commandments and keeps them, 00:10:54.750 --> 00:11:03.620 he it is who loves me. Have we ever really thought 00:11:03.620 --> 00:11:08.480 about what genuinely loving God is like? Or do 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:14.240 we just love God because of what he does? Here 00:11:14.240 --> 00:11:17.720 God clearly measures what love is. Obedience. 00:11:18.759 --> 00:11:22.759 And he who loves me will be loved by my father 00:11:22.759 --> 00:11:25.980 and I will love him and manifest myself to him. 00:11:26.059 --> 00:11:28.600 And why does he say that? Because the one who 00:11:28.600 --> 00:11:33.059 keeps the word of God. is the one who loves God. 00:11:33.539 --> 00:11:36.600 And because the word of God is kept and implanted 00:11:36.600 --> 00:11:39.799 in the person, the manifestation of the Holy 00:11:39.799 --> 00:11:43.580 One is seen and experienced in the life of the 00:11:43.580 --> 00:11:47.399 person. That's what he means here. The one who 00:11:47.399 --> 00:11:52.179 obeys me, I reveal myself more and more and more 00:11:52.179 --> 00:11:56.200 to him. Does he reveal himself more and more 00:11:56.200 --> 00:12:00.220 to those who hate him? No. But to those who love 00:12:00.220 --> 00:12:04.730 him. Don't you want to know more about him? Don't 00:12:04.730 --> 00:12:08.529 you want to understand him more? Don't you want 00:12:08.529 --> 00:12:12.350 to love him more? And Peter understands this 00:12:12.350 --> 00:12:15.710 because he thought he knew Jesus well. But you 00:12:15.710 --> 00:12:22.250 guys know the story. Jesus says, Lord. Jesus 00:12:22.250 --> 00:12:25.470 says to Peter, Peter, do you love me? You already 00:12:25.470 --> 00:12:34.120 know. Says it three times. That's okay. Just 00:12:34.120 --> 00:12:39.379 ignore it. The command of obedience. So first 00:12:39.379 --> 00:12:43.940 we have the call to obedience. Now we have the 00:12:43.940 --> 00:12:46.279 command of obedience. God calls his people to 00:12:46.279 --> 00:12:50.139 obey and he commands his people to obey. The 00:12:50.139 --> 00:12:52.419 command of obedience to love Christ is to obey 00:12:52.419 --> 00:12:56.799 the gospel and to live the gospel. And the reality 00:12:56.799 --> 00:12:59.500 of this obedience is the reassurance of our faith. 00:13:02.330 --> 00:13:05.990 10 27 and he answered you shall love the lord 00:13:05.990 --> 00:13:07.610 your god with all your heart with all your soul 00:13:07.610 --> 00:13:09.190 with all your strength and with all your mind 00:13:09.190 --> 00:13:14.450 and your neighbor as yourself very important 00:13:14.450 --> 00:13:17.570 here how do i express the reality of my love 00:13:17.570 --> 00:13:21.149 for god by how i love you if i love god i will 00:13:21.149 --> 00:13:24.590 love you and look what it says in first john 00:13:24.590 --> 00:13:29.179 3 19 through 24 by this We shall know, gnosko 00:13:29.179 --> 00:13:31.820 is the word here. It means to know intimately, 00:13:31.960 --> 00:13:38.820 to know deeply that we are of the truth. Isn't 00:13:38.820 --> 00:13:42.840 that nice to know? That we can know intimately 00:13:42.840 --> 00:13:48.299 that we are of the truth because of God's commands. 00:13:48.419 --> 00:13:50.279 And we see this, which you're going to see in 00:13:50.279 --> 00:13:53.000 a minute, gnosko, that we are of the truth and 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:56.440 reassure. That means to urge on or incite our 00:13:56.440 --> 00:14:00.059 hearts before him. In other words, to know intimately 00:14:00.059 --> 00:14:04.200 that we are children of the truth is because 00:14:04.200 --> 00:14:06.639 we are settled into the truth, living the truth, 00:14:06.679 --> 00:14:09.539 being obedient to the truth, and that reassures 00:14:09.539 --> 00:14:13.960 us, it incites us, it incites our heart before 00:14:13.960 --> 00:14:19.299 him that we are his children. Matter of fact, 00:14:19.299 --> 00:14:22.419 he clarifies that in verse 20. For whenever our 00:14:22.419 --> 00:14:26.740 heart... condemns us, finds fault with us, accuses 00:14:26.740 --> 00:14:31.639 us. God is greater than our heart. And he knows 00:14:31.639 --> 00:14:33.220 everything. And the word everything here is the 00:14:33.220 --> 00:14:35.840 word pas. And what Peter is implying here, it's 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:39.840 not that God not only knows everything, because 00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:42.580 he does, he's omniscient. It's not what he's 00:14:42.580 --> 00:14:45.080 implying here. What Peter's implying here is 00:14:45.080 --> 00:14:50.820 he knows everything about you. God is greater 00:14:50.820 --> 00:14:52.820 than our hearts and he knows everything about 00:14:52.820 --> 00:14:57.820 you. So let's read this a little bit more. By 00:14:57.820 --> 00:15:00.519 this we shall know, we shall know intimately 00:15:00.519 --> 00:15:06.179 that we are of the truth and that we incite our 00:15:06.179 --> 00:15:10.000 hearts before him. For whenever our heart condemns 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:12.940 us, God is greater than our heart because he 00:15:12.940 --> 00:15:17.940 knows everything about me. Should that not incite 00:15:17.940 --> 00:15:22.500 you? excite you, keep you pushing forward in 00:15:22.500 --> 00:15:26.700 the faith? Absolutely. Then he says, beloved, 00:15:27.019 --> 00:15:31.039 if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence 00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:34.419 and boldness before God. So if we are being obedient 00:15:34.419 --> 00:15:36.139 and we are honoring him, which is going to be 00:15:36.139 --> 00:15:40.600 clarified in verse 22, if we are honoring him 00:15:40.600 --> 00:15:43.139 and obeying him, then there's nothing that our 00:15:43.139 --> 00:15:46.179 heart can do to condemn us. Then we go boldly 00:15:46.179 --> 00:15:50.250 before God. And we can ask from him anything 00:15:50.250 --> 00:15:55.090 we want and we will receive it from him. Get 00:15:55.090 --> 00:15:59.590 this. I told you last week. Every promise in 00:15:59.590 --> 00:16:03.610 Christ is yes according to his will. When you 00:16:03.610 --> 00:16:07.330 ask. You ask according to his will. Why? Because 00:16:07.330 --> 00:16:10.009 you've been obedient and living his will. And 00:16:10.009 --> 00:16:12.289 by living and being obedient to his will, you 00:16:12.289 --> 00:16:14.690 will ask according to his will. And the God who 00:16:14.690 --> 00:16:18.990 keeps his promises, every promise, is yes. The 00:16:18.990 --> 00:16:21.470 only time God says no is because you're being 00:16:21.470 --> 00:16:30.940 disobedient. It's yes. You can go to God. knowing 00:16:30.940 --> 00:16:33.659 you've lived the word as he has intended, you 00:16:33.659 --> 00:16:37.340 have checked yourself, your mind is fully focused 00:16:37.340 --> 00:16:40.659 and on the point, and you can go to him and say, 00:16:40.740 --> 00:16:43.960 Father, I know that I'm asking according to your 00:16:43.960 --> 00:16:46.700 will, and you have promised you will do it, and 00:16:46.700 --> 00:16:51.100 it is yes. And that's what you see in Carol's 00:16:51.100 --> 00:17:02.730 testimony. Verse 22. Why? Why are they yes? Why 00:17:02.730 --> 00:17:06.890 can I go boldly before God, be fully confident 00:17:06.890 --> 00:17:11.930 that what I ask I will receive because we te 00:17:11.930 --> 00:17:17.130 reo, we keep his commandments and do what pleases 00:17:17.130 --> 00:17:21.670 him. You want God to answer your prayers? Yes. 00:17:22.829 --> 00:17:26.670 Do his word and commit to pleasing him in every 00:17:26.670 --> 00:17:37.500 way. Verse 23. How is this seen? Two things. 00:17:39.099 --> 00:17:42.599 Just like I said before. Love the Lord your God 00:17:42.599 --> 00:17:43.960 with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:48.619 And love your neighbor as yourself. It's seen 00:17:48.619 --> 00:17:52.619 right here. How do we love God? Obedience. How 00:17:52.619 --> 00:17:55.599 do we love our neighbor? By being obedient to 00:17:55.599 --> 00:17:57.819 God, we can love our neighbor. And this is the 00:17:57.819 --> 00:18:02.640 commandment that we believe. In the name of his 00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:08.400 son Jesus Christ. That's to love God. If you 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:11.619 are here. And you do not believe in the name. 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:17.789 Of the only begotten son of God. I pray. By the 00:18:17.789 --> 00:18:20.910 power of the Spirit, He will convict you and 00:18:20.910 --> 00:18:24.049 you will come in repentance before Him and surrender 00:18:24.049 --> 00:18:27.170 His life to the reality that He died on the cross 00:18:27.170 --> 00:18:29.630 for your sin, was buried and rose again on the 00:18:29.630 --> 00:18:33.789 third day. That is His command to you. Come and 00:18:33.789 --> 00:18:39.390 repent and believe. Obey the command of God. 00:18:43.069 --> 00:18:47.619 And if we believe in His name, We are to love 00:18:47.619 --> 00:18:51.619 one another. This is a problem in churches today. 00:18:55.500 --> 00:18:58.640 Because in churches today I won't love you unless 00:18:58.640 --> 00:19:04.700 I get what I want from you. I won't love you 00:19:04.700 --> 00:19:10.460 unless you demand unless you fulfill the demand 00:19:10.460 --> 00:19:16.220 that I give. I won't love you And show that I 00:19:16.220 --> 00:19:19.200 forgive you unless you apologize the way I say 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:26.839 you should apologize. That's disobedience. And 00:19:26.839 --> 00:19:33.640 that's prevalent in a lot of churches. Whoever 00:19:33.640 --> 00:19:37.279 keeps his commands abides in God and God in him. 00:19:37.539 --> 00:19:42.380 Isn't that wonderful? I can lovingly nestle into 00:19:42.380 --> 00:19:46.220 the Lord and abide in him. Because I keep his 00:19:46.220 --> 00:19:49.660 commandments. Keeping his commandments ensures 00:19:49.660 --> 00:19:54.539 that I'm abiding. You know that little message 00:19:54.539 --> 00:20:02.039 that Jesus gave concerning abiding? If I abide 00:20:02.039 --> 00:20:06.039 in you, you abide in me. And he commands, abide 00:20:06.039 --> 00:20:10.740 in me. To abide is to know. To know is to obey. 00:20:12.490 --> 00:20:15.569 It's a beautiful, beautiful synergy of the reality 00:20:15.569 --> 00:20:19.809 of my engrafting into the tree, into Christ, 00:20:20.009 --> 00:20:25.509 into the vine. He's my life giver and my abiding, 00:20:25.529 --> 00:20:30.250 my abidingness is seen or my life is seen that 00:20:30.250 --> 00:20:33.210 it is being seen throughout my life because I'm 00:20:33.210 --> 00:20:37.130 abided in Christ. And the reality of my abiding 00:20:37.130 --> 00:20:41.170 is proven by the spirit whom he has given us. 00:20:41.630 --> 00:20:45.710 How do you know you abide? The word of God lives 00:20:45.710 --> 00:20:52.750 in you. How could you not want to obey? And this 00:20:52.750 --> 00:21:00.190 reality points to verse 24 in John 14, which 00:21:00.190 --> 00:21:05.269 we just read. And verse 24, I mean, yes, verse 00:21:05.269 --> 00:21:13.630 23 points to Luke 10, verse 27. 1 John 4, 21. 00:21:14.730 --> 00:21:18.349 And this commandment we have from him. Whoever 00:21:18.349 --> 00:21:22.750 loves God must love his brother. Do you get that? 00:21:23.670 --> 00:21:27.569 To love Christ is to obey Christ. To obey Christ 00:21:27.569 --> 00:21:30.829 is to love you. If I'm disobedient to Christ, 00:21:30.950 --> 00:21:36.289 am I loving you? I can't love you. Do you ever 00:21:36.289 --> 00:21:38.210 notice when you go to somebody out there and 00:21:38.210 --> 00:21:40.410 they're out there, you know, killing their cigarettes 00:21:40.410 --> 00:21:44.230 and they're... Having their fun and they're acting 00:21:44.230 --> 00:21:48.970 up like a fool. Do you love Jesus? Oh, yeah, 00:21:48.990 --> 00:21:53.990 I love Jesus. Oh, I love Jesus. Jesus is good 00:21:53.990 --> 00:22:00.769 to me. Oh, really? You love Jesus? How would 00:22:00.769 --> 00:22:03.289 you feel if your kid disobeyed you? Would you 00:22:03.289 --> 00:22:05.170 think your kid loves you? Oh, they love me. They 00:22:05.170 --> 00:22:11.890 just don't love me right. Okay. A lot of people 00:22:11.890 --> 00:22:13.789 say they know Jesus and they love Jesus, but 00:22:13.789 --> 00:22:18.609 in reality, their life says they hate him. And 00:22:18.609 --> 00:22:20.230 we know that because that's what Jesus says in 00:22:20.230 --> 00:22:25.670 John chapter 3. To love God so be him. This is 00:22:25.670 --> 00:22:27.509 not an issue of legalism. This is an issue of 00:22:27.509 --> 00:22:30.289 freedom. The fact that the living God lives in 00:22:30.289 --> 00:22:35.009 me, the word, and that's what he promised me, 00:22:35.029 --> 00:22:36.849 that I will send you a helper and he will live 00:22:36.849 --> 00:22:39.700 in you. He will come to you and he will guide 00:22:39.700 --> 00:22:41.579 you in all truth is the reality that I can obey 00:22:41.579 --> 00:22:44.440 the word of God because God lives in me. And 00:22:44.440 --> 00:22:46.599 we know that because in Galatians 2 .20 it says, 00:22:46.660 --> 00:22:49.160 for I've been crucified with Christ, yet I no 00:22:49.160 --> 00:22:52.140 longer live the life I now live in the body. 00:22:52.220 --> 00:22:54.339 I live by faith in the son of God who loved me 00:22:54.339 --> 00:22:58.700 and gave himself for me. So if the obedient one 00:22:58.700 --> 00:23:00.680 lives in me, then I can be obedient because he 00:23:00.680 --> 00:23:03.640 saved me and made me alive and regenerated me 00:23:03.640 --> 00:23:06.960 and I'm new and now I can do. What he's commanded 00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:13.259 me to do because he's in me. And by doing so, 00:23:13.259 --> 00:23:17.539 I'm loving you. The greatest example of obedience, 00:23:17.880 --> 00:23:20.579 if someone's truly being obedient in the word, 00:23:20.759 --> 00:23:24.779 they're living the truth of the word out in their 00:23:24.779 --> 00:23:29.000 life is how they love the brother, how they love 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:34.380 the family. The act of obedience. So here's this. 00:23:34.460 --> 00:23:36.680 So we know we have a call to obedience. We have 00:23:36.680 --> 00:23:39.180 a command of obedience. Now there's the act of 00:23:39.180 --> 00:23:43.359 obedience. And I kind of started off on 421 of 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:45.880 1 John. But now we're going to settle into 1 00:23:45.880 --> 00:23:49.359 John chapter 5 for a little bit. Because there's 00:23:49.359 --> 00:23:52.000 the act of obedience. The reality of obedience 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:56.619 lived. Applied. To obey the gospel and to live 00:23:56.619 --> 00:24:02.460 the gospel is to love the family. To believe 00:24:02.460 --> 00:24:07.920 is to obey. I cannot say I believe and not obey. 00:24:08.119 --> 00:24:11.140 That's not faith. Because the word believe is 00:24:11.140 --> 00:24:16.279 pastuo. Pastuo is faith. Being sure of what I 00:24:16.279 --> 00:24:17.680 hope for and the evidence of what I don't see. 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:19.900 And the reality is that it's expressed in my 00:24:19.900 --> 00:24:24.039 doing. Faith without deeds is dead. We know that. 00:24:24.099 --> 00:24:28.380 We did James. You guys remember? I show you my 00:24:28.380 --> 00:24:34.029 faith by what I do. In John 15, 10, it says, 00:24:34.150 --> 00:24:37.490 if you keep my commandments, you will abide in 00:24:37.490 --> 00:24:41.069 my love, just as I have kept my father's commandments 00:24:41.069 --> 00:24:43.609 and abide in him. He is the greatest example 00:24:43.609 --> 00:24:45.970 of obedience displayed because of the love he 00:24:45.970 --> 00:24:49.829 has for the father. But as Christians, we don't 00:24:49.829 --> 00:24:54.190 demand that from our family because after all, 00:24:54.190 --> 00:24:57.529 we live in grace, not under the law. It's okay. 00:24:59.490 --> 00:25:09.339 Just be. But my joy is complete in Jesus. True 00:25:09.339 --> 00:25:11.539 happiness is freedom is found in the obedience 00:25:11.539 --> 00:25:14.480 to the commands of God. And his commands aren't 00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:20.160 just the 10. The gospel is a command. There's 00:25:20.160 --> 00:25:25.920 a lot of imperatives. You guys can read it. 1 00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:31.519 John 5, 1 through 5. Everyone who believes. Everyone 00:25:31.519 --> 00:25:37.920 who pastuo, that Jesus Christ believes that Jesus 00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:41.980 is the Christ, has been born of God. So we know 00:25:41.980 --> 00:25:44.000 what John's talking about because he says anyone 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:48.779 who denies the Son and the Father is an antichrist. 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:53.259 And anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ 00:25:53.259 --> 00:25:56.480 is an antichrist. John makes this very clear 00:25:56.480 --> 00:25:59.720 in this letter. What he's saying though is the 00:25:59.720 --> 00:26:01.720 opposite of that is everyone who believes that 00:26:01.720 --> 00:26:05.599 Jesus is the Christ and everyone who believes 00:26:05.599 --> 00:26:09.480 that Jesus is the son and that the father sent 00:26:09.480 --> 00:26:15.880 the son is born of God. I am born of God. Can 00:26:15.880 --> 00:26:18.859 you sit and just relish in the reality that you 00:26:18.859 --> 00:26:21.519 are not a child of wrath, but a child of the 00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:25.660 living God? You're born of God, regenerated by 00:26:25.660 --> 00:26:29.460 God, given life by God to reflect him in how 00:26:29.460 --> 00:26:36.660 you live your life. What a beauty. Not even Solomon 00:26:36.660 --> 00:26:39.339 in all the splendor was dressed like one of these, 00:26:39.380 --> 00:26:42.240 but my father loves me more than the flowers 00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:49.700 of the field. Everyone who believes that Jesus 00:26:49.700 --> 00:26:51.559 is the Christ has been born of God. And everyone 00:26:51.559 --> 00:26:54.960 who loves the Father loves whoever has been born 00:26:54.960 --> 00:26:57.579 of Him. Do you see that now? That was the point, 00:26:57.640 --> 00:27:02.160 right? Like I took like half of the message to 00:27:02.160 --> 00:27:04.619 this point. That the reality of my reflection 00:27:04.619 --> 00:27:06.900 of Christ, my love for Him is being obedient 00:27:06.900 --> 00:27:09.559 to His commands. And in my obedience to His commands, 00:27:09.599 --> 00:27:13.259 I am loving the family. And that is expressed 00:27:13.259 --> 00:27:16.759 clearly in how I care for you and I walk with 00:27:16.759 --> 00:27:20.900 you and I talk with you and how you walk and 00:27:20.900 --> 00:27:28.180 talk with each other. Notice this, verse 2. By 00:27:28.180 --> 00:27:32.279 this we know, that means to know intimately again, 00:27:32.500 --> 00:27:37.339 gnosis, that we love the children of God. Oh, 00:27:37.400 --> 00:27:39.759 here it is. How do we know we love the children 00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:43.140 of God? How do we know we love one another when 00:27:43.140 --> 00:27:48.339 you love God and obey his commandments? What? 00:27:49.420 --> 00:28:00.079 What? Oh, it's beautiful. So four, verse three, 00:28:00.180 --> 00:28:04.200 for this is the love of God. Do you hear this? 00:28:06.640 --> 00:28:10.119 It's not about the feelings. For all my Gen Z 00:28:10.119 --> 00:28:14.279 people, it's not about the feels, man. I'm feeling 00:28:14.279 --> 00:28:22.980 it. It's really about what I do. For this is 00:28:22.980 --> 00:28:26.500 love. For this is the love of God, that we keep 00:28:26.500 --> 00:28:29.740 his commandments. And you know what's wonderful 00:28:29.740 --> 00:28:31.799 about his commandments? It's his commandments 00:28:31.799 --> 00:28:35.500 that aren't burdensome. They're not burdensome. 00:28:36.220 --> 00:28:39.160 So here's the principle I want you to get. To 00:28:39.160 --> 00:28:45.400 disobey his commandments is death and prison. 00:28:48.079 --> 00:28:54.000 Sin has killed us and shackled us as a slave 00:28:54.000 --> 00:28:57.839 to sin. It's a prison for the disobedient and 00:28:57.839 --> 00:29:02.019 then death for the disobedient. That's what God's 00:29:02.019 --> 00:29:05.240 law is. How do you know? Paul says that the law 00:29:05.240 --> 00:29:09.200 is a teacher. It scolds us. The law also kills 00:29:09.200 --> 00:29:12.619 us. Not that it has killed me, but my sin that 00:29:12.619 --> 00:29:15.460 is in me has killed me. And the law is the revealing 00:29:15.460 --> 00:29:22.980 of that death. And Paul says, does that mean 00:29:22.980 --> 00:29:25.980 that the law became death to me? By no means. 00:29:28.019 --> 00:29:32.819 But it reveals that I'm dead. For this is the 00:29:32.819 --> 00:29:35.230 love of God. that we keep his commandments. And 00:29:35.230 --> 00:29:37.250 his commandments aren't burdensome. Why? Because 00:29:37.250 --> 00:29:42.210 his commandments are freedom for you. You are 00:29:42.210 --> 00:29:49.109 free. When you're obedient, you are free. For 00:29:49.109 --> 00:29:51.589 everyone who has been born of God overcomes. 00:29:51.690 --> 00:29:54.990 This word overcomes means to conquer. I don't 00:29:54.990 --> 00:29:58.190 know if I like the ESV's overcomes, meaning I'm 00:29:58.190 --> 00:30:02.950 going to. No, you know what this implies? Everyone... 00:30:03.240 --> 00:30:06.180 Who has been born of God. Conquered the world. 00:30:08.940 --> 00:30:12.880 I am a conqueror. In Christ. And we know what 00:30:12.880 --> 00:30:14.599 this story is. Because we read about the four 00:30:14.599 --> 00:30:19.579 horsemen. Do you not? The white horseman. He 00:30:19.579 --> 00:30:25.779 conquered. And conquering. We are conquerors. 00:30:26.279 --> 00:30:29.960 And this is the victory. Nike. You guys know 00:30:29.960 --> 00:30:34.069 that word. Everybody likes that Nike. Has overcome. 00:30:34.190 --> 00:30:36.849 That has conquered the world. What? Our faith. 00:30:38.210 --> 00:30:40.769 And our faith is not the issue of what we believe. 00:30:41.529 --> 00:30:46.470 It's the issue of who we believe in. Christ is 00:30:46.470 --> 00:30:51.609 our faith. He has overcome the world. He has 00:30:51.609 --> 00:30:53.809 conquered the world. He has given us victory. 00:30:54.029 --> 00:30:56.109 And as a result, because he lives in us, we are 00:30:56.109 --> 00:31:01.509 conquerors and are victorious now. Who is it 00:31:01.509 --> 00:31:06.289 that? Conquers the world. Except the one who 00:31:06.289 --> 00:31:11.670 believes that Jesus is the son of God. Do you 00:31:11.670 --> 00:31:16.150 believe? Then you're a conqueror. In Christ. 00:31:18.049 --> 00:31:20.650 Last one. Told you it's going to be a long message 00:31:20.650 --> 00:31:25.710 today. 45 minutes. I like long ones. But I've 00:31:25.710 --> 00:31:27.109 been giving you some really short ones over the 00:31:27.109 --> 00:31:29.250 last couple weeks. So you can settle in for a 00:31:29.250 --> 00:31:32.069 little bit. I'll be done in about. Five, ten 00:31:32.069 --> 00:31:36.910 minutes. Those who love Christ gird. So we have 00:31:36.910 --> 00:31:40.609 call. We have the call to obey. The command to 00:31:40.609 --> 00:31:44.609 obey. The act to obey. And then what do you do? 00:31:44.690 --> 00:31:49.049 You gird in your obedience. This word gird. Those 00:31:49.049 --> 00:31:52.690 who love Christ gird. They make ready for action 00:31:52.690 --> 00:31:55.789 and secure their minds by obeying the truth. 00:31:56.369 --> 00:31:59.309 That's what this word means. To make ready for 00:31:59.309 --> 00:32:03.299 action and secure. Set your mind on things above, 00:32:03.440 --> 00:32:06.420 not on things of the earth. You have the mind 00:32:06.420 --> 00:32:11.480 of Christ. Are you ready for action? Are you 00:32:11.480 --> 00:32:17.480 busy working, serving, living obediently? Psalm 00:32:17.480 --> 00:32:22.319 143 .10. Love this. Love this verse. So good, 00:32:22.480 --> 00:32:26.579 so simple, so easy. Because I can't, apart from 00:32:26.579 --> 00:32:31.099 Christ, obey. So the psalmist goes and he says, 00:32:31.200 --> 00:32:36.220 teach me to do your will. For you are my God. 00:32:39.339 --> 00:32:46.299 You are my God. I want to be like you. Let your 00:32:46.299 --> 00:32:51.440 good spirit lead me on level ground. I will send 00:32:51.440 --> 00:32:54.000 you a helper and he will guide you in all truth. 00:32:54.079 --> 00:32:57.119 There is no more level ground than the truth 00:32:57.119 --> 00:33:02.200 of the word of God. Walk in it, relish in it, 00:33:02.279 --> 00:33:08.319 bathe in it, eat it, enjoy it. It's a wonderful 00:33:08.319 --> 00:33:11.480 thing. And the crazy part is, every single human 00:33:11.480 --> 00:33:16.680 being on the planet can have access to it, but 00:33:16.680 --> 00:33:23.279 only those who love God want it. 1 Peter 1, 13 00:33:23.279 --> 00:33:28.460 through 15. Therefore, preparing, gird up. Your 00:33:28.460 --> 00:33:32.539 mind's for action. There it is. And being clear 00:33:32.539 --> 00:33:36.460 -headed, sober -minded, set your hope fully on 00:33:36.460 --> 00:33:38.500 the grace that will be brought to you at the 00:33:38.500 --> 00:33:40.259 revelation of Jesus Christ. Here's what he means. 00:33:40.500 --> 00:33:44.039 So if I am being obedient to the word, I'm loving 00:33:44.039 --> 00:33:48.539 God, I am girding myself, being ready and busy 00:33:48.539 --> 00:33:51.400 for action because I'm being clear -headed to 00:33:51.400 --> 00:33:55.369 do the work of God. What do I do? I am being 00:33:55.369 --> 00:33:59.650 found busy because I have set my hope fully on 00:33:59.650 --> 00:34:02.730 the grace that Christ will come and take me home. 00:34:02.869 --> 00:34:06.390 But I don't want to be slothful and not be seen 00:34:06.390 --> 00:34:12.710 busy working. But what do many Christians do 00:34:12.710 --> 00:34:17.110 today? You know what their busyness is for Jesus? 00:34:18.789 --> 00:34:23.239 One day a week. That's their busyness for Jesus. 00:34:26.039 --> 00:34:30.900 I did my part. And that's not busy for Jesus. 00:34:31.579 --> 00:34:34.420 Because busy for Jesus is being obedient. And 00:34:34.420 --> 00:34:36.920 being obedient comes out in how I love you and 00:34:36.920 --> 00:34:41.360 care for you and invest my life in you and pour 00:34:41.360 --> 00:34:45.880 my life out in you because I want to love him 00:34:45.880 --> 00:34:50.980 and please him in everything I do. Verse 14. 00:34:51.980 --> 00:34:57.900 As obedient children, do not be conformed to 00:34:57.900 --> 00:35:00.679 the passions of your former ignorance. This is 00:35:00.679 --> 00:35:04.099 what he's saying. Obedient children live and 00:35:04.099 --> 00:35:08.619 reflect Jesus. Disobedient children live for 00:35:08.619 --> 00:35:11.820 the passions of their former ignorance. They 00:35:11.820 --> 00:35:13.699 go back to their old way of life. Because they 00:35:13.699 --> 00:35:16.500 don't want Jesus, really. So if you are obedient 00:35:16.500 --> 00:35:20.539 children, don't live for your sin. Live for Jesus. 00:35:21.519 --> 00:35:26.039 How do you do that? Obedience. Love for God reflected 00:35:26.039 --> 00:35:28.719 in my action to doing what he asked me to do. 00:35:28.960 --> 00:35:33.719 It's not rocket science. But as he who called 00:35:33.719 --> 00:35:36.679 you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct. 00:35:37.639 --> 00:35:42.559 Do you hear that? Be holy in all your conduct. 00:35:43.320 --> 00:35:46.659 How is one holy in the conduct? Obedience to 00:35:46.659 --> 00:35:49.760 the word. What does obedience to the word mean? 00:35:49.900 --> 00:35:52.690 I love God. Love the Lord your God with all your 00:35:52.690 --> 00:35:56.510 heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, 00:35:56.630 --> 00:35:59.949 with all your strength. My whole being is loving 00:35:59.949 --> 00:36:02.610 God because I'm committed to walking and being 00:36:02.610 --> 00:36:06.110 holy in conduct. And holiness is only found in 00:36:06.110 --> 00:36:10.989 obedience. And in obedience is when you honor 00:36:10.989 --> 00:36:15.750 the sacred. By honoring the sacred, you are reflecting 00:36:15.750 --> 00:36:19.750 Christ for all to see in a dark, sinful world. 00:36:21.739 --> 00:36:24.940 since it is written, you shall be holy, for I 00:36:24.940 --> 00:36:27.219 am holy. You shall be different, for I am different. 00:36:27.559 --> 00:36:31.199 And Jesus says, if I've obeyed the Father, you 00:36:31.199 --> 00:36:39.480 will obey. If I am holy, you will be holy, because 00:36:39.480 --> 00:36:46.420 Jesus is holy. 1 Peter 1, 22 through 25. This 00:36:46.420 --> 00:36:50.559 is the end. having purified your souls by obedience 00:36:50.559 --> 00:36:55.280 to the truth. Oh, isn't that beautiful? I purified, 00:36:55.280 --> 00:36:59.579 or God really, purified my soul to the obedience 00:36:59.579 --> 00:37:04.480 of the gospel toward a sincere brotherly love. 00:37:04.559 --> 00:37:07.199 That word for, not really happy, the word for, 00:37:07.460 --> 00:37:11.360 the word is really toward. Having purified my 00:37:11.360 --> 00:37:15.099 souls by your obedience to the truth. toward 00:37:15.099 --> 00:37:18.599 a sincere brotherly love. That my obedience to 00:37:18.599 --> 00:37:21.480 the truth of the word of God, to the gospel of 00:37:21.480 --> 00:37:25.139 Christ, is being seen toward my love for him, 00:37:25.260 --> 00:37:29.500 which is toward my love for you. You want to 00:37:29.500 --> 00:37:34.320 love each other better? Obey. Isn't that beautiful? 00:37:37.940 --> 00:37:43.800 Look what it says here. Love one another earnestly 00:37:43.800 --> 00:37:48.480 from a pure heart. What's a pure heart? An obedient 00:37:48.480 --> 00:37:51.579 heart. Be holy for I am holy. Since you have 00:37:51.579 --> 00:37:55.380 been born again, if you have been born again, 00:37:55.500 --> 00:37:58.159 you know, since you have been born again, not 00:37:58.159 --> 00:38:02.119 of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through 00:38:02.119 --> 00:38:07.559 the zao, is the term here, through the exerting 00:38:07.559 --> 00:38:14.400 power. and enduring word of God. I love that. 00:38:14.639 --> 00:38:16.840 I wish they translated that way because that's 00:38:16.840 --> 00:38:19.519 exactly what it means. Oh my gosh. Do you understand 00:38:19.519 --> 00:38:24.159 that the very words of God are the exerting power 00:38:24.159 --> 00:38:27.699 and the enduring power of his word for your victorious 00:38:27.699 --> 00:38:32.460 conquering life? Like get that. The exerting 00:38:32.460 --> 00:38:36.539 power. Like I woke up this morning. I'm sleeping. 00:38:36.820 --> 00:38:39.000 Now I know why I woke up this morning like this. 00:38:39.599 --> 00:38:44.210 Just as an example. And I, my wife's like, you 00:38:44.210 --> 00:38:49.309 okay? I was like, yeah, I thought, I'm late. 00:38:49.889 --> 00:38:55.750 I look and it's 541. And I've been like this 00:38:55.750 --> 00:39:03.369 since I woke up. Holy smokes. And I was 40 minutes 00:39:03.369 --> 00:39:09.349 early. I could have some of those moments more 00:39:09.349 --> 00:39:15.920 often, Ben. Man, I got za -oh. And the reality 00:39:15.920 --> 00:39:19.659 is the word of God is the exerting power and 00:39:19.659 --> 00:39:24.880 the enduring word. It exerts power in the believer 00:39:24.880 --> 00:39:30.179 and it is enduring. It's the word of God. Why? 00:39:30.679 --> 00:39:34.539 Here's the friendly reminder. For all flesh is 00:39:34.539 --> 00:39:41.250 like grass. I'm a blade of grass. Hopefully a 00:39:41.250 --> 00:39:43.630 green one. Some yellow ones out there. I want 00:39:43.630 --> 00:39:47.150 to be that. It's one where reality is all flesh 00:39:47.150 --> 00:39:50.769 is like grass and all its glory like the flower 00:39:50.769 --> 00:39:57.269 of grass. Interesting. You know what a flower 00:39:57.269 --> 00:39:58.889 of grass is? You know that little tiny white 00:39:58.889 --> 00:40:02.889 flower that's sitting out there and the wood 00:40:02.889 --> 00:40:06.489 bees come out and they take it away. That's sort 00:40:06.489 --> 00:40:08.949 of like what he's talking about. Oh, I can't 00:40:08.949 --> 00:40:13.800 be like a lily. Or something. Just a grass flower. 00:40:15.500 --> 00:40:17.940 Why? The grass withers and the flower falls. 00:40:18.179 --> 00:40:21.719 What's the reminder? The reality of my physical 00:40:21.719 --> 00:40:28.119 being is temporary. But get this. But the word 00:40:28.119 --> 00:40:31.699 of the Lord remains forever. What's that guarantee? 00:40:32.139 --> 00:40:36.840 Not only does his word exert power and is enduring. 00:40:37.710 --> 00:40:41.829 but it's promised me life, and I will live forever 00:40:41.829 --> 00:40:47.829 with him. That is the point. I can lean and know 00:40:47.829 --> 00:40:50.730 fully on the word of God that I belong to my 00:40:50.730 --> 00:40:53.389 God, that he has died for me, that he's been 00:40:53.389 --> 00:40:55.690 buried, and he rose again on the third day to 00:40:55.690 --> 00:40:58.230 give me life, and I will be with him forever. 00:40:58.329 --> 00:41:01.690 That's what he means here. And this word is the 00:41:01.690 --> 00:41:06.570 good news that was preached to you. Oh. Isn't 00:41:06.570 --> 00:41:10.429 that beautiful? So what should you do? God has 00:41:10.429 --> 00:41:12.110 called you to obedience. He's commanded you to 00:41:12.110 --> 00:41:15.050 do obedience. You have to act in obedience. You 00:41:15.050 --> 00:41:18.809 have to gird that obedience. Gird the word in 00:41:18.809 --> 00:41:23.329 you. What should you do? 1 Corinthians 16, 13 00:41:23.329 --> 00:41:28.690 through 14. Be watchful. Stand firm in the faith. 00:41:29.769 --> 00:41:32.510 Pay attention. Stuff's happening around the world. 00:41:33.230 --> 00:41:36.110 Don't get wrapped up in it. Stand firm in the 00:41:36.110 --> 00:41:39.210 faith. Stand firm in the truth of Christ and 00:41:39.210 --> 00:41:43.170 his word. Act like men. Now, typically, I'm just 00:41:43.170 --> 00:41:46.329 letting you know, men, that's coming Father's 00:41:46.329 --> 00:41:50.050 Day. The women didn't get a Mother's Day message, 00:41:50.110 --> 00:41:55.909 but the men might get a Dad's Day message. But 00:41:55.909 --> 00:42:00.789 let's turn this, use this word men, meaning Anthropos, 00:42:00.949 --> 00:42:06.130 to God's people. Be watchful. Stand firm in the 00:42:06.130 --> 00:42:12.269 faith. Act like Christians. Act like God's people. 00:42:13.090 --> 00:42:16.969 Act like the regenerated man and woman you are. 00:42:17.690 --> 00:42:22.389 Reflect Jesus. Be strong. Let all that you do 00:42:22.389 --> 00:42:26.630 be done in love. And what is love? Obedience 00:42:26.630 --> 00:42:29.469 to the word. Obedience to the word is I'm loving 00:42:29.469 --> 00:42:32.409 you. And if I'm loving you, then I will absolutely 00:42:32.409 --> 00:42:37.750 love the stranger. Father, I want to thank you 00:42:37.750 --> 00:42:39.510 so much for your faithfulness. Thank you for 00:42:39.510 --> 00:42:43.989 this reality, this powerful truth that to love 00:42:43.989 --> 00:42:47.809 you is to obey you. We give you praise. Thank 00:42:47.809 --> 00:42:50.429 you, Holy Spirit, that you live in us, that you 00:42:50.429 --> 00:42:53.889 have regenerated us, and that, Lord Jesus, you 00:42:53.889 --> 00:42:57.250 have given us life, and that you will guide us 00:42:57.250 --> 00:42:59.989 in all truth as you have promised. And may we 00:42:59.989 --> 00:43:02.820 be reflecting your love. in our obedience to 00:43:02.820 --> 00:43:05.199 you, that we love one another so that the world 00:43:05.199 --> 00:43:07.320 may know that we are your disciples. We give 00:43:07.320 --> 00:43:07.699 you praise.