WEBVTT 00:00:15.400 --> 00:00:18.760 privilege of knowing these folks for quite a 00:00:18.760 --> 00:00:22.660 while. We've actually been in partnership. I've 00:00:22.660 --> 00:00:24.879 been over to their church several times, probably 00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:28.079 three or four, and so I'm way overdue from inviting 00:00:28.079 --> 00:00:32.420 them to come and speak. Pastor Mark Bryan, some 00:00:32.420 --> 00:00:35.700 of you know that we've had, you know, I know 00:00:35.700 --> 00:00:38.899 Dave Bryan had Jess Parker here. Well, Dave Bryan... 00:00:39.790 --> 00:00:43.710 Mark is his brother. And so they pastor a great 00:00:43.710 --> 00:00:46.549 church in Meridian, Idaho. And we are thrilled 00:00:46.549 --> 00:00:49.329 to have them here today. His wife, Dee Dee, is 00:00:49.329 --> 00:00:52.009 also someone that you might recognize. She is 00:00:52.009 --> 00:00:54.329 one of the daughters of Brother Dick Iverson. 00:00:54.409 --> 00:00:59.250 So they are a great stalwart family, great inheritance. 00:00:59.549 --> 00:01:02.250 Would you welcome Mark and Dee Dee? Dee Dee, 00:01:02.289 --> 00:01:03.810 would you just come and say hello to the church 00:01:03.810 --> 00:01:06.430 as well? Just give them a Life Bible welcome. 00:01:06.569 --> 00:01:10.700 Welcome them to the podium. Thank you. What an 00:01:10.700 --> 00:01:13.700 amazing church. You guys should look at each 00:01:13.700 --> 00:01:18.099 other and say, we got an amazing church. You 00:01:18.099 --> 00:01:19.719 know, during the prayer meeting, you guys had 00:01:19.719 --> 00:01:21.560 an awesome prayer meeting. The presence of the 00:01:21.560 --> 00:01:24.060 Lord was very strong. And I'd encourage every 00:01:24.060 --> 00:01:26.980 one of you to come to prayer and to intercede 00:01:26.980 --> 00:01:29.799 for what God wants to do in this region. The 00:01:29.799 --> 00:01:33.000 thing the Lord was speaking to me about you was 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:37.170 that he has set his love upon you. Individually, 00:01:37.170 --> 00:01:40.689 he's drawn you here to this place with his plan 00:01:40.689 --> 00:01:44.069 upon your life. His hand is upon individually 00:01:44.069 --> 00:01:47.469 you for good. And when God's people who've been 00:01:47.469 --> 00:01:50.250 drawn by his spirit come together, that have 00:01:50.250 --> 00:01:53.030 been responding to the wonderful love of God, 00:01:53.049 --> 00:01:54.810 sometimes we think we have to do all the work. 00:01:56.140 --> 00:01:58.560 Do you sometimes feel like, oh, I should do this, 00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:00.120 and I didn't read my Bible yesterday, and I didn't 00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:03.040 do this? But the Spirit of God is drawing you 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:06.879 with cords of love that cannot be broken. He 00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:12.800 loved us first. He loves us first. We love him 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:17.020 because he loves us. Yeah. And I just really 00:02:17.020 --> 00:02:19.219 believe that the love of God is here in such 00:02:19.219 --> 00:02:22.199 a powerful way. And God is bringing you guys 00:02:22.199 --> 00:02:25.879 together. He's joining you together. The barriers, 00:02:26.039 --> 00:02:29.259 they're just gone. They're just gone. They're 00:02:29.259 --> 00:02:31.419 just going. You know, if you think, oh, I feel 00:02:31.419 --> 00:02:33.879 I'm brand new. God is placing you in this church. 00:02:33.960 --> 00:02:37.080 God is blessing you. And you guys continue to 00:02:37.080 --> 00:02:39.860 believe on for what God is going to do. This 00:02:39.860 --> 00:02:42.460 double service on Easter, it's not going to end 00:02:42.460 --> 00:02:45.659 at Easter. God is doing a mighty work. of his 00:02:45.659 --> 00:02:53.800 spirit. Amen. Amen. Thank you, honey. And it's 00:02:53.800 --> 00:02:56.280 good. From my heart, again, greetings. It's good 00:02:56.280 --> 00:02:58.740 to see you. We bring you greetings from our congregation, 00:02:59.099 --> 00:03:01.879 Harvest Church in Meridian, Idaho, and our family, 00:03:01.879 --> 00:03:05.719 which has had the privilege of knowing your pastors 00:03:05.719 --> 00:03:07.960 and had them over for ministry. And it's just 00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:10.400 such a privilege for us to be able to come here. 00:03:10.560 --> 00:03:13.639 And by the way, congratulations on this beautiful 00:03:13.639 --> 00:03:16.520 facility that you have finished. It's such a 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:18.860 beautiful facility. Come on, give the Lord a 00:03:18.860 --> 00:03:28.669 hand for what he's enabled you to do. I believe 00:03:28.669 --> 00:03:31.490 that you will go out of here better than you 00:03:31.490 --> 00:03:35.430 came in because the presence of the Lord is here, 00:03:35.530 --> 00:03:39.289 and in His presence we change for the better. 00:03:39.969 --> 00:03:41.789 Turn to your neighbor and say, you look better 00:03:41.789 --> 00:03:50.259 than you did last week. The Bible says the path 00:03:50.259 --> 00:03:52.740 of the just is as a shining light that shines 00:03:52.740 --> 00:03:56.199 more and more to the perfect day. And if we have 00:03:56.199 --> 00:04:00.560 been justified by faith in Jesus Christ and have 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:04.319 peace with God, then that is speaking of us. 00:04:04.439 --> 00:04:07.199 And it's a progressive journey, and it is beautiful, 00:04:07.419 --> 00:04:10.060 and it is daily, and it is moment by moment. 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:13.379 And just congratulate yourself that you made 00:04:13.379 --> 00:04:15.300 the right choice to be in church today, all right? 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:18.899 Turn in your Bibles, if you would, to Ephesians 00:04:18.899 --> 00:04:24.000 chapter 4. I want to share a word that is from 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:27.500 my heart that is very real and practical and 00:04:27.500 --> 00:04:30.899 down to earth and where we live, but very strong 00:04:30.899 --> 00:04:35.459 in the Scripture as a theme. And it's the theme 00:04:35.459 --> 00:04:39.399 of the togetherness of the body of Jesus Christ. 00:04:41.899 --> 00:04:44.480 Now, any of us that have ever been upon a tragic 00:04:44.480 --> 00:04:49.720 car accident or seen a body in trauma knows what 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:55.259 it is to the human eye and mind to see blood 00:04:55.259 --> 00:04:59.100 or to see dismemberment, and it is considered 00:04:59.100 --> 00:05:04.339 tragic. Yet, if we in the spiritual realm use 00:05:04.339 --> 00:05:08.379 that analogy and realize that God put us together 00:05:08.379 --> 00:05:14.019 as a body, And it is traumatic to take us apart. 00:05:15.060 --> 00:05:18.120 And use that analogy as an overlay of what we're 00:05:18.120 --> 00:05:21.040 going to say today when the Bible repeatedly 00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:25.000 gives us the illustration. We are the body of 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:28.920 Jesus Christ. We are members, individual, but 00:05:28.920 --> 00:05:33.459 set in a many -membered body, just as your own 00:05:33.459 --> 00:05:39.279 body has many members, but you are one. Now let 00:05:39.279 --> 00:05:42.939 us read Ephesians chapter 4 and verses 1 to 5. 00:05:43.100 --> 00:05:46.600 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you 00:05:46.600 --> 00:05:50.879 to walk in a manner worthy of the calling which 00:05:50.879 --> 00:05:53.720 you have been called. And then he describes what 00:05:53.720 --> 00:05:57.819 this might involve. With all humility and gentleness, 00:05:57.939 --> 00:06:00.459 with all patience, bearing with one another in 00:06:00.459 --> 00:06:04.360 love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit 00:06:04.360 --> 00:06:08.699 in the bond of peace. Verse 4 says, there is 00:06:08.699 --> 00:06:12.600 one body. Everybody say one. There is one spirit. 00:06:12.740 --> 00:06:15.759 Everybody say one. Just as you were called with 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:19.759 one hope, everybody say one. That belongs to 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:23.139 your call. One Lord. Everyone say one. One faith. 00:06:23.319 --> 00:06:29.720 One again. One. One baptism. One God. Come on, 00:06:29.720 --> 00:06:33.040 say one, one, one, one, one, one, one. Try it 00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:34.720 again. Ready? One, one, one, one, one, one, one. 00:06:34.740 --> 00:06:39.120 Go. Come on. Everybody say it with me. One, one, 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:44.639 one, one, one, one, one. That's seven ones. What's 00:06:44.639 --> 00:06:51.740 the point of Ephesians 1 to 4? One. One is obviously 00:06:51.740 --> 00:06:56.279 the point of Ephesians 1 to 4. One Lord, one 00:06:56.279 --> 00:07:01.279 faith, one spirit, one baptism, one God, who 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:05.860 is over all and in all through you all. urge 00:07:05.860 --> 00:07:08.720 you this this concept where he says I urge you 00:07:08.720 --> 00:07:12.120 in verse 1 to walk and I want to bring out just 00:07:12.120 --> 00:07:15.379 some clear foundational points here as we start 00:07:15.379 --> 00:07:18.839 the urging here of the apostle Paul to the Ephesian 00:07:18.839 --> 00:07:23.139 church is an urging that denotes an object to 00:07:23.139 --> 00:07:27.100 be carefully and earnestly watched over and promoted 00:07:27.100 --> 00:07:31.259 I urge you to carefully and earnestly watch over 00:07:31.259 --> 00:07:37.100 and promote this walk of worthiness to your call 00:07:37.100 --> 00:07:40.920 how with humility gentleness patience bearing 00:07:40.920 --> 00:07:46.120 with one another in love eager to maintain the 00:07:46.120 --> 00:07:52.480 unity of the spirit and this eager again is this 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:57.240 spirit of diligence this spirit of earnestness 00:07:57.240 --> 00:08:02.649 this spirit of i i give all heed and care to 00:08:02.649 --> 00:08:06.009 this thing, and that is maintaining a unity in 00:08:06.009 --> 00:08:08.550 the spirit, in the bond of peacefulness. The 00:08:08.550 --> 00:08:12.689 Bible talks actually more about unity than it 00:08:12.689 --> 00:08:16.129 does other important subjects like heaven and 00:08:16.129 --> 00:08:19.529 hell. It's that important, the togetherness of 00:08:19.529 --> 00:08:22.829 the family of God, the overcoming the human tendency 00:08:22.829 --> 00:08:27.670 of offense and criticism and negativity and doing 00:08:27.670 --> 00:08:29.889 exactly the opposite of what the Bible tells 00:08:29.889 --> 00:08:32.269 a Christian, thinking the worst about people 00:08:32.269 --> 00:08:34.289 instead of thinking the best about people. The 00:08:34.289 --> 00:08:36.409 Bible says to think about the good things, think 00:08:36.409 --> 00:08:38.830 about praiseworthy things, and there is just 00:08:38.830 --> 00:08:41.129 something about our human nature that wants to 00:08:41.129 --> 00:08:43.470 think about the bad things and think about the 00:08:43.470 --> 00:08:46.309 terrible things about people. And if somebody 00:08:46.309 --> 00:08:48.649 hears something terrible, it's like, can you 00:08:48.649 --> 00:08:54.870 believe? Did you hear that? Well, we want to 00:08:54.870 --> 00:08:58.850 talk today about how we walk worthy of the call 00:08:58.850 --> 00:09:03.129 and what it is to obey the Apostle Paul. You 00:09:03.129 --> 00:09:05.590 know, a lot of people think that the goal of 00:09:05.590 --> 00:09:09.029 Christian life is a destination or a ministry 00:09:09.029 --> 00:09:13.159 when really in... the words of Oswald Chambers, 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:15.700 the goal of the Christian life is the process. 00:09:17.500 --> 00:09:21.000 Because it's in the process of all the variety 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:24.980 of lives that you are living that as you live 00:09:24.980 --> 00:09:28.679 them with grace and peace and patience and wisdom 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:31.299 and carefulness over your spirit, cleansing your 00:09:31.299 --> 00:09:33.679 mind and heart from things that interfere, that 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:36.580 God is glorified in your daily walk and it sets 00:09:36.580 --> 00:09:39.000 you apart from the heathen that don't know him. 00:09:40.240 --> 00:09:43.059 It is more your walk Monday through Friday that 00:09:43.059 --> 00:09:45.620 sets you apart from the unsaved than your attendance 00:09:45.620 --> 00:09:49.320 here today. Because you can be unsaved and attend 00:09:49.320 --> 00:09:52.120 here today. But you can't be unsaved and walk 00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:53.899 with righteousness, peace, and joy Monday to 00:09:53.899 --> 00:09:57.740 Friday. The Bible is concerned about your walk. 00:09:58.500 --> 00:10:00.799 Now walking to church is a part of that walk. 00:10:00.980 --> 00:10:03.460 And being here today is definitely biblical and 00:10:03.460 --> 00:10:05.379 a part of it. I'm here today. I'm glad I'm here 00:10:05.379 --> 00:10:07.080 today. And I'm really glad you're here today. 00:10:07.879 --> 00:10:09.799 This would be an exercise in public speaking 00:10:09.799 --> 00:10:12.940 futility if none of you were here. So I am thrilled 00:10:12.940 --> 00:10:17.820 that you're here. But let's start with a couple 00:10:17.820 --> 00:10:20.059 of clear understandings. The first one is this. 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:24.559 Jesus said in Matthew 16, 18, I will build my 00:10:24.559 --> 00:10:28.639 church and the gates of hell will not prevail 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:32.580 against it. Now, I want to look at this. statement 00:10:32.580 --> 00:10:35.519 of Jesus, which comes right after, of course, 00:10:35.580 --> 00:10:38.059 this is when the disciples were in Caesarea Philippi, 00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:41.559 and Jesus asked the disciples, who do men say 00:10:41.559 --> 00:10:43.720 that I am? And they said, Elijah, prophets, all 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:45.259 this stuff. And then he said, who do you say 00:10:45.259 --> 00:10:47.919 that I am? And Peter, in one of his great moments 00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:49.960 of strength, said, you are the Christ, the Son 00:10:49.960 --> 00:10:53.360 of the living God. It was like, who? Way to go, 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:59.480 Peter. For once, it's the right thing. And Jesus 00:10:59.480 --> 00:11:02.320 said, flesh and blood has not revealed this to 00:11:02.320 --> 00:11:05.559 you, but my Father in heaven and upon this rock, 00:11:05.779 --> 00:11:09.440 not Petros the rock. This is an imagery Jesus 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:12.919 is using on the rock of the revelation of who 00:11:12.919 --> 00:11:17.460 Jesus is, the church will be built. So it's Jesus 00:11:17.460 --> 00:11:20.620 is going to build his church, and then the gates 00:11:20.620 --> 00:11:25.659 of hell cannot prevail against it. Or the terminology 00:11:25.659 --> 00:11:28.909 there, let me just... Tell you if I may that 00:11:28.909 --> 00:11:31.730 gates are symbolic in the Bible of places that 00:11:31.730 --> 00:11:34.850 elders meet. So you could say the leadership 00:11:34.850 --> 00:11:39.370 of hell. Or the strategies of the devil and his 00:11:39.370 --> 00:11:43.450 lieutenants. Cannot prevail against the church. 00:11:43.690 --> 00:11:45.870 Now again going into the Greek word prevail. 00:11:45.990 --> 00:11:49.750 It's actually talking about it cannot stop or 00:11:49.750 --> 00:11:54.059 hinder us. Not that. It's talking basically not 00:11:54.059 --> 00:11:56.539 about us being the aggressors and we're holding 00:11:56.539 --> 00:11:59.519 up the gates so they don't knock it down. It's 00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:02.139 like we're the defenders, excuse me. It's talking 00:12:02.139 --> 00:12:04.740 about us being the forward moving church building 00:12:04.740 --> 00:12:08.120 blocks of the kingdom. My life being built along 00:12:08.120 --> 00:12:11.480 your life into the house of God. And that process 00:12:11.480 --> 00:12:14.259 of me becoming a godly Christian connected to 00:12:14.259 --> 00:12:17.080 the people that God's planted me around. Having 00:12:17.080 --> 00:12:19.539 healthy marriages and families and knowing how 00:12:19.539 --> 00:12:21.440 to raise our kids in the fear and admonition 00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:24.950 of the Lord. Lord, this cannot be prevented by 00:12:24.950 --> 00:12:33.149 the devil's strategies. Come on now. This is 00:12:33.149 --> 00:12:37.230 exciting news. That what God has called us to 00:12:37.230 --> 00:12:41.490 do, me to be, and us all to walk in is a victorious 00:12:41.490 --> 00:12:46.570 walk of breaking down the gates of hell, not 00:12:46.570 --> 00:12:50.639 holding on against it. And sometimes in today's 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:52.980 world we can feel like we're just holding against 00:12:52.980 --> 00:12:56.440 the press of hell. But Jesus is building a church 00:12:56.440 --> 00:13:00.080 that will march to the gates of hell. Reach in 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:03.940 and take captive the ones that Jesus paid for. 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:06.659 And we're going to march on and overcome the 00:13:06.659 --> 00:13:09.580 works of darkness because of the power of resurrection 00:13:09.580 --> 00:13:13.519 life in us. I love the scripture in the book 00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:17.340 of Acts. I love the scripture in the book of 00:13:17.340 --> 00:13:20.580 Acts where Peter talking about Jesus raised from 00:13:20.580 --> 00:13:24.639 the dead. He says it was not possible that the 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:29.500 chains of death could hold him. It's not possible 00:13:29.500 --> 00:13:33.360 that he raised in resurrection life because of 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:37.620 the impossibility of him not raising. And that 00:13:37.620 --> 00:13:40.980 impossibility is the same impossibility of the 00:13:40.980 --> 00:13:45.039 resurrection life in you. It's not possible that 00:13:45.039 --> 00:13:48.940 those chains of death will bind him. It is not 00:13:48.940 --> 00:13:51.460 possible that the work of darkness against you 00:13:51.460 --> 00:13:55.620 will succeed. Of course, unless you want it to 00:13:55.620 --> 00:13:58.799 and believe it will and always confess it will 00:13:58.799 --> 00:14:02.340 and tell everybody else that it is. But if you 00:14:02.340 --> 00:14:04.860 will learn the lesson of the spirit of faith 00:14:04.860 --> 00:14:06.879 and the lesson of obedience to Scripture and 00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:09.509 the lesson that... Faith has a language just 00:14:09.509 --> 00:14:12.029 like doubt was. And the Christian ought to get 00:14:12.029 --> 00:14:14.470 his vocabulary straight. And know how to speak 00:14:14.470 --> 00:14:17.289 words of faith. And speak the words of the Bible. 00:14:17.409 --> 00:14:20.750 And speak the truth of Jesus. And let God's word 00:14:20.750 --> 00:14:23.610 wash my mind and my heart. My attitudes and my 00:14:23.610 --> 00:14:27.769 spirit. Until I am an overcoming Christian. Because 00:14:27.769 --> 00:14:31.309 that's what all of us are called to be. Now you 00:14:31.309 --> 00:14:35.389 say that sounds like a big vision. And it is. 00:14:36.750 --> 00:14:39.470 But it's not because you don't have to do it 00:14:39.470 --> 00:14:45.710 all at once. Remember, we're only called to obey 00:14:45.710 --> 00:14:54.750 the Lord right now. Everybody say now. You can't 00:14:54.750 --> 00:14:56.830 live the minute that just passed. It's already 00:14:56.830 --> 00:14:59.669 gone. You can't live the minutes that's coming 00:14:59.669 --> 00:15:02.590 because it ain't here yet. You can only live 00:15:02.590 --> 00:15:07.179 right now. The kingdom of God is a... now thing. 00:15:07.799 --> 00:15:11.240 Bible says now is your salvation nearer than 00:15:11.240 --> 00:15:13.740 when you first believed. The redemption of your 00:15:13.740 --> 00:15:16.159 life. But here we're talking about the walk and 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:19.980 the walk of a Christian is like every other walk 00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:24.980 one step at a time. You don't get saved, baptized, 00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:28.080 come through the basic membership, join the church 00:15:28.080 --> 00:15:30.740 and all of a sudden be told you're going to run 00:15:30.740 --> 00:15:33.179 some kind of a spiritual marathon next week. 00:15:34.059 --> 00:15:39.720 No, no, no. You are taught you'll grow up by 00:15:39.720 --> 00:15:42.240 walking one step at a time. The Bible says, as 00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:45.679 you have received the Lord, so walk in him. How 00:15:45.679 --> 00:15:48.899 did you receive him? With just enough knowledge 00:15:48.899 --> 00:15:52.779 to do it. You didn't have a degree in basic doctrine 00:15:52.779 --> 00:15:54.879 or theology when you accepted the Lord. You just 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:58.480 knew enough to believe. And you just didn't know 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:02.840 enough today to make it. For the next hour, serving 00:16:02.840 --> 00:16:04.740 the Lord with your mind and your heart and your 00:16:04.740 --> 00:16:06.899 soul and your strength. That's all you need. 00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:09.779 After that, you'll need another hour. And after 00:16:09.779 --> 00:16:13.500 that, another hour. It's step by step. It's really 00:16:13.500 --> 00:16:17.059 not that complicated. There's a guy in our church 00:16:17.059 --> 00:16:22.100 that actually had some kind of neurological disorder 00:16:22.100 --> 00:16:25.500 in his legs and slowly lost his ability to walk. 00:16:25.980 --> 00:16:29.980 And he's a big six foot three or four. you know, 00:16:30.019 --> 00:16:34.000 early 40s businessman and, you know, just a specimen 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:36.299 of health in every other way, except he can't 00:16:36.299 --> 00:16:39.539 walk. And he walks with a cane, and he's gotten 00:16:39.539 --> 00:16:44.120 so bad the last few years that when he goes to 00:16:44.120 --> 00:16:47.059 get up or move, people almost gasp and run around 00:16:47.059 --> 00:16:48.419 him because it looks like he's going to fall 00:16:48.419 --> 00:16:51.620 over. He's that weak in his legs. He's barely 00:16:51.620 --> 00:16:57.720 able to walk, honestly. And recently, he walked 00:16:57.720 --> 00:17:03.840 into the church. And he said to me, 782 steps 00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:09.180 yesterday. And I said, what did you say? He said, 00:17:09.240 --> 00:17:19.339 782 steps yesterday without my cane. And he said, 00:17:19.420 --> 00:17:22.619 I had it with me, and then all of a sudden it 00:17:22.619 --> 00:17:25.140 dawns on me what he's saying. I haven't counted 00:17:25.140 --> 00:17:27.819 steps in the... Hundreds for a long, long time. 00:17:28.059 --> 00:17:29.799 I mean, last time I was counting steps, it was 00:17:29.799 --> 00:17:31.400 my mama counting over me, and I was a little, 00:17:31.420 --> 00:17:33.640 little boy. Hey, he's taking three steps across 00:17:33.640 --> 00:17:35.359 the room. You know, I mean, that went out a long 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:41.640 time ago. But when your walk is taken from you, 00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:47.539 then every step is significant. And that's the 00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:52.099 point of this illustration. Every step is significant, 00:17:52.140 --> 00:17:56.099 and that's all you need to do to make it. is 00:17:56.099 --> 00:17:59.900 take the next step. Just take the next step. 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:01.900 You say, I don't know if God can keep me from 00:18:01.900 --> 00:18:04.200 the disasters of the past. He really only has 00:18:04.200 --> 00:18:06.900 to keep you from the disaster of today. And if 00:18:06.900 --> 00:18:08.680 you have enough grace for right now, you're going 00:18:08.680 --> 00:18:11.160 to make it. Because you'll have more grace tomorrow. 00:18:11.339 --> 00:18:14.819 It'll be okay. You can do this. One step at a 00:18:14.819 --> 00:18:19.819 time. Serve the Lord right now. One person said, 00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:26.799 every moment is contained in this moment. We 00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:30.700 serve God right now. Our past is in the Lord's 00:18:30.700 --> 00:18:32.880 hands. Forgiven. Thank the Lord. How many are 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:35.940 thankful for the past being in? Our future is 00:18:35.940 --> 00:18:39.420 in the Lord's hands. So about the only thing 00:18:39.420 --> 00:18:42.160 you can do anything about is right now. So I 00:18:42.160 --> 00:18:43.579 encourage you to stay awake and listen to the 00:18:43.579 --> 00:18:48.750 message. That's what you have to do. Jesus is 00:18:48.750 --> 00:18:51.710 building a strong, victorious church and the 00:18:51.710 --> 00:18:54.230 church is able to overcome Satan's kingdom by 00:18:54.230 --> 00:18:56.849 the power of Christ working in you dynamically, 00:18:56.910 --> 00:19:00.349 day by day, moment by moment, step by step. We 00:19:00.349 --> 00:19:03.470 are the people of God and we are being built 00:19:03.470 --> 00:19:06.029 into an overcoming church. Can I hear an amen? 00:19:06.789 --> 00:19:10.609 God blesses a unified church. Many churches have 00:19:10.609 --> 00:19:12.589 tremendous potential but don't realize their 00:19:12.589 --> 00:19:16.130 potential because people spend too much time 00:19:16.130 --> 00:19:19.829 criticizing one another. Too much energy is focused 00:19:19.829 --> 00:19:23.930 inward. And self -focus, of course, is the opposite 00:19:23.930 --> 00:19:30.569 of God -focus. Now, so the first primary understanding 00:19:30.569 --> 00:19:32.609 I want you to have is that Jesus is building 00:19:32.609 --> 00:19:34.869 a strong, victorious church. The second primary 00:19:34.869 --> 00:19:38.049 understanding I want you to have is that Satan's 00:19:38.049 --> 00:19:44.220 primary goal is discord in the church. It's not 00:19:44.220 --> 00:19:46.720 addiction on skid row. That's not his primary 00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:51.559 goal. His primary goal is frustrating the instrument 00:19:51.559 --> 00:19:56.160 of God in the earth today any way he can. And 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:59.859 he's just found out that one of the easiest ways 00:19:59.859 --> 00:20:05.220 is to get people sensitive and offended and willing 00:20:05.220 --> 00:20:09.140 to betray one another. That's just his one easiest 00:20:09.140 --> 00:20:14.490 tool. He's figured that out. And I'm quite frankly 00:20:14.490 --> 00:20:18.650 shocked at how prevalent this is in Christianity. 00:20:19.549 --> 00:20:22.890 In fact, Jesus talked about it when he talked 00:20:22.890 --> 00:20:26.390 about the last days. In Matthew 24, he said, 00:20:26.529 --> 00:20:30.910 many people will be offended and will betray 00:20:30.910 --> 00:20:34.170 one another. And they will hate one another. 00:20:34.329 --> 00:20:37.130 And because, listen to this, and because this 00:20:37.130 --> 00:20:44.029 lawlessness will increase. This lawlessness, 00:20:44.109 --> 00:20:46.930 which lawlessness? Offended, betray, hate. Offended, 00:20:46.950 --> 00:20:49.809 betray, hate. Offended, betray, hate. Disobedience 00:20:49.809 --> 00:20:51.470 to Scripture. Not being willing to reconcile. 00:20:51.690 --> 00:20:53.250 Not being willing to forgive. Not being willing 00:20:53.250 --> 00:20:58.170 to work it out. Because that lawlessness will 00:20:58.170 --> 00:21:01.970 increase. The love of many will wax cold. And 00:21:01.970 --> 00:21:05.309 that's not the brotherly love. That's the agape 00:21:05.309 --> 00:21:07.930 love. That means people will lose their love 00:21:07.930 --> 00:21:11.920 for God because of offense and division. and 00:21:11.920 --> 00:21:15.940 bitterness, and hatred. It's a big deal. Now, 00:21:16.019 --> 00:21:17.819 I'm not coming here saying it's worse in Harrisburg 00:21:17.819 --> 00:21:19.859 than it is in Meridian, Idaho at all. I'm just 00:21:19.859 --> 00:21:22.180 saying it's a big deal everywhere. In fact, I 00:21:22.180 --> 00:21:24.859 come here to testify to you of some of the scars 00:21:24.859 --> 00:21:28.119 that I bear on my body in the dying of the Lord 00:21:28.119 --> 00:21:30.519 Jesus, like Paul said, from divisive people. 00:21:33.700 --> 00:21:37.480 Divisive people. Offended, betraying, divisive 00:21:37.480 --> 00:21:39.019 people. I had a man leave our church one time. 00:21:39.980 --> 00:21:41.920 And I'd known him for years, since he was a kid, 00:21:41.980 --> 00:21:45.039 actually. We were both from the church in Portland. 00:21:46.279 --> 00:21:49.619 And he looked at me, sitting right in my pickup, 00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:53.279 and he said, Pastor, I'm so sorry that my wife 00:21:53.279 --> 00:21:56.240 and my sister are offended and will not forgive. 00:21:56.359 --> 00:21:59.700 I've begged them to let it go and to forgive. 00:22:00.440 --> 00:22:03.509 I'm sorry. but we're just going to leave the 00:22:03.509 --> 00:22:06.049 church. I said, why leave? Why don't we work 00:22:06.049 --> 00:22:08.210 this out? Well, I just think it's time for me 00:22:08.210 --> 00:22:11.470 to go do something else. Well, please, let's 00:22:11.470 --> 00:22:15.410 don't end this way. Can I help? No, I just think 00:22:15.410 --> 00:22:19.269 it's time. Again, there you have it. Too bad. 00:22:19.309 --> 00:22:20.869 It's the way it is. Let's go do something else. 00:22:20.970 --> 00:22:24.109 We can't make the Bible work in our situation 00:22:24.109 --> 00:22:27.410 for some reason, which we don't think is the 00:22:27.410 --> 00:22:31.220 Bible. We probably think it's our faith in the 00:22:31.220 --> 00:22:36.000 Bible, right? Did you all go to sleep on me right 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:39.900 there? If we can't work it out, according to 00:22:39.900 --> 00:22:42.240 the Bible says, is it the Bible problem or is 00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:45.839 it the we problem? It's the we little us problem. 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:48.000 We can't work it out according to what the Bible 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:50.420 says. Our faith is small. We don't get it somehow. 00:22:50.559 --> 00:22:54.240 We are not empowered somehow. And so here we 00:22:54.240 --> 00:22:57.859 have one of the strong and clear teachings of 00:22:57.859 --> 00:23:03.180 the Bible. Now, going to this, I also want to 00:23:03.180 --> 00:23:05.619 say, in just relationship to Satan's primary 00:23:05.619 --> 00:23:08.480 plan is to bring discord, that the Bible tells 00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:10.859 us in Ephesians 6 that we're to put on the whole 00:23:10.859 --> 00:23:13.799 armor of God. You know that passage. Paul is 00:23:13.799 --> 00:23:16.180 telling the Ephesians church to put on the whole 00:23:16.180 --> 00:23:20.079 armor of God. That you may be able to stand against 00:23:20.079 --> 00:23:23.799 the wiles of the devil. That always reminds me 00:23:23.799 --> 00:23:27.930 of the wily coyote chasing a rabbit. Anyway, 00:23:28.049 --> 00:23:31.109 so you may be able to stand against the wily 00:23:31.109 --> 00:23:34.009 coyote, the devil, for we don't wrestle against 00:23:34.009 --> 00:23:35.910 flesh and blood, but against principalities and 00:23:35.910 --> 00:23:37.289 powers. Now, you probably know this because you're 00:23:37.289 --> 00:23:39.089 in a well -taught church and your pastors are 00:23:39.089 --> 00:23:42.150 good pastors. But that Greek word for wiles of 00:23:42.150 --> 00:23:45.549 the devil means the meticulous schemes. It's 00:23:45.549 --> 00:23:48.029 actually translated schemes in other translations. 00:23:48.450 --> 00:23:54.210 It means a meticulous, thought -out plan to destroy. 00:23:55.819 --> 00:23:58.059 Did you know the devil has a meticulous thought 00:23:58.059 --> 00:24:02.119 -out plan to destroy you? You say, man, how can 00:24:02.119 --> 00:24:05.359 I survive that? Only one way, my friend. That's 00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:07.180 with the Lord, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit. 00:24:07.740 --> 00:24:09.619 And if you don't think that's true, peek out 00:24:09.619 --> 00:24:11.259 of your window at the culture and see what's 00:24:11.259 --> 00:24:13.440 happening to the secular culture of America right 00:24:13.440 --> 00:24:17.660 now. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, 00:24:17.759 --> 00:24:21.079 but against principalities and powers. We have 00:24:21.079 --> 00:24:24.160 then to take on this armor of God so we have 00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:28.519 an ability to stand up against the orderly, detailed 00:24:28.519 --> 00:24:35.480 procedure in the craft of deception. The orderly, 00:24:35.480 --> 00:24:40.220 detailed procedure in the craft of deceiving 00:24:40.220 --> 00:24:47.680 you. I had a leader one time who came to me with 00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:54.740 a list of beefs. But all of the beefs had people's 00:24:54.740 --> 00:24:58.859 name attached to them. And they were spread over 00:24:58.859 --> 00:25:05.140 10 years. And I said to him, why are we talking 00:25:05.140 --> 00:25:09.680 about this now? He said, well, there are issues. 00:25:11.099 --> 00:25:15.019 I said, if they were just issues, they wouldn't 00:25:15.019 --> 00:25:17.910 have people's name attached to them. The Bible 00:25:17.910 --> 00:25:19.710 calls that offense. You're offended with this 00:25:19.710 --> 00:25:21.529 person for doing that. You're offended with this 00:25:21.529 --> 00:25:23.589 person for doing that. You're offended with this 00:25:23.589 --> 00:25:26.049 person for doing that. No, no, no, no. Listen, 00:25:26.170 --> 00:25:28.650 here's one of the most deceptive phrases of the 00:25:28.650 --> 00:25:30.490 devil in the church today. Are you ready for 00:25:30.490 --> 00:25:38.529 it? I'm not offended. Oh, you're not, huh? Maybe 00:25:38.529 --> 00:25:42.299 you... I remember the... movie, Princess Bride, 00:25:42.339 --> 00:25:44.680 and the guy kept saying, inconceivable, inconceivable, 00:25:44.740 --> 00:25:46.259 and finally the Spanish guy looked at him and 00:25:46.259 --> 00:25:48.240 said, I don't think inconceivable thinks what 00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:51.640 you mean inconceivable means. Remember that? 00:25:53.339 --> 00:25:56.920 You that have watched old classics, I don't think 00:25:56.920 --> 00:25:59.380 you know what inconceivable means. And I feel 00:25:59.380 --> 00:26:00.920 like saying to the whole church, I don't think 00:26:00.920 --> 00:26:04.380 you know what being offended means. I don't think 00:26:04.380 --> 00:26:06.799 you know what that means. Let's ask it a different 00:26:06.799 --> 00:26:10.410 way. Have you got any ruffled feathers with anybody 00:26:10.410 --> 00:26:14.829 for any reason? Here's my favorite statement 00:26:14.829 --> 00:26:18.029 about that. The Bible says, love covers a multitude 00:26:18.029 --> 00:26:22.150 of sins. So we need the love of God, right? Poured 00:26:22.150 --> 00:26:23.970 out in our heart by the Holy Spirit every day 00:26:23.970 --> 00:26:26.069 and every night and all the time. And he does 00:26:26.069 --> 00:26:29.450 that willingly if we're open to it. But it doesn't 00:26:29.450 --> 00:26:34.170 say all sin. But, according to the scripture, 00:26:35.649 --> 00:26:38.009 That's where forgiveness and reconciliation principles 00:26:38.009 --> 00:26:40.690 come in. Love can cover it. And this is what 00:26:40.690 --> 00:26:42.470 I tell people. Cover it with love if you can. 00:26:43.369 --> 00:26:46.150 You say, how do I know if I can? If it doesn't 00:26:46.150 --> 00:26:51.269 stay covered. Like if it comes up again and again 00:26:51.269 --> 00:26:54.210 and again. It peeks its head out from under the 00:26:54.210 --> 00:26:57.269 cover. And you're going, oh yeah, they hurt me. 00:26:57.410 --> 00:27:02.309 I said, if you can't cover it with love, then 00:27:02.309 --> 00:27:05.680 it's pretty easy. Go to the Bible which says 00:27:05.680 --> 00:27:11.119 be reconciled. I said to this leader, why haven't 00:27:11.119 --> 00:27:13.519 you reconciled with these people? Most of them 00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:17.079 are staff and other leaders. This was his answer. 00:27:17.160 --> 00:27:20.119 Think of how weak and sympathetic this is. How 00:27:20.119 --> 00:27:27.660 deceived. He said, I've tried. Think about it. 00:27:28.700 --> 00:27:33.000 Does the Bible say try? Is that what it says? 00:27:33.690 --> 00:27:37.269 Give it your best Boy Scout shot. Maybe it'll 00:27:37.269 --> 00:27:42.910 work. Maybe it won't. No, it says be reconciled. 00:27:43.730 --> 00:27:46.910 That means get it done. Fix it, pal. Go do it. 00:27:46.910 --> 00:27:51.750 Deal with it. I don't know how. It's the scripture. 00:27:51.950 --> 00:27:53.329 What do you mean you don't know how? Listen to 00:27:53.329 --> 00:27:56.109 me. Let's go back to how we started. It's not 00:27:56.109 --> 00:28:02.529 possible for that offense to keep you shut out. 00:28:03.160 --> 00:28:07.480 from resurrection life and power unless you will 00:28:07.480 --> 00:28:11.900 it so. Because you are a free will agent able 00:28:11.900 --> 00:28:15.920 to choose your moral and spiritual destiny. And 00:28:15.920 --> 00:28:18.240 you can call upon the name of the Lord and be 00:28:18.240 --> 00:28:22.059 saved or you can disbelieve in the Lord and be 00:28:22.059 --> 00:28:26.400 damned according to the Bible. Just say it like 00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:29.839 it is, my friends. Not a cuss word, a Bible word, 00:28:29.900 --> 00:28:36.769 right? So it's our choice. So you have the power 00:28:36.769 --> 00:28:40.829 of choice. What is addiction? Addiction is the 00:28:40.829 --> 00:28:44.710 seduction of the human will, the yieldedness 00:28:44.710 --> 00:28:48.849 of free moral agency. When an addicted person 00:28:48.849 --> 00:28:51.170 gets free, what do you have to tell them they 00:28:51.170 --> 00:28:54.309 can pick up now? Free moral agency once again. 00:28:54.390 --> 00:28:58.190 The ability to choose. They've yielded that and 00:28:58.190 --> 00:29:00.690 said, I don't think I can. Well, I didn't last 00:29:00.690 --> 00:29:02.430 time and I haven't for 30 times and I guess I'm 00:29:02.430 --> 00:29:04.700 just addicted. One of the things you have to 00:29:04.700 --> 00:29:06.660 energize, you don't have to just take out the 00:29:06.660 --> 00:29:10.019 addictive tendency or substance or opportunity. 00:29:10.039 --> 00:29:12.720 You have to then say to them, start where you 00:29:12.720 --> 00:29:16.619 were when you were 12. Before you got into all 00:29:16.619 --> 00:29:22.920 that and recapture this thought, you can choose. 00:29:24.240 --> 00:29:28.400 You are not a plant or an animal. You are a free 00:29:28.400 --> 00:29:31.460 will, moral agent. birthed in the image of God 00:29:31.460 --> 00:29:34.220 into the universe of moral choice, and you have 00:29:34.220 --> 00:29:39.539 the power to choose. So choose life, like God 00:29:39.539 --> 00:29:42.619 said, before you use a choice, life and death. 00:29:43.460 --> 00:29:47.019 Choose life. How could the God of heaven and 00:29:47.019 --> 00:29:49.200 earth and hell and the ruler of everything and 00:29:49.200 --> 00:29:52.400 the ultimate judge of the universe say that to 00:29:52.400 --> 00:29:56.220 people who did not have the choice? It's morally 00:29:56.220 --> 00:29:59.410 impossible. He couldn't. Say that. He can't judge 00:29:59.410 --> 00:30:03.910 you for that which you cannot choose. How many 00:30:03.910 --> 00:30:05.730 ever had that happen in school? You got tagged 00:30:05.730 --> 00:30:08.150 for something you didn't do. You got tagged for 00:30:08.150 --> 00:30:10.049 something somebody else did. And you think, it 00:30:10.049 --> 00:30:12.990 just ticks you off. It's unfair. You go and say, 00:30:13.049 --> 00:30:14.430 I didn't do that. They did that. They put my 00:30:14.430 --> 00:30:17.309 name on that paper. I didn't. It's not fair. 00:30:18.549 --> 00:30:21.170 Well, you think the God of the universe is worse 00:30:21.170 --> 00:30:24.690 than the blind teacher or coach or leader that 00:30:24.690 --> 00:30:26.190 treated you unfair? You think that's the way 00:30:26.190 --> 00:30:28.730 he is? He's worse than that? No, he's not. He's 00:30:28.730 --> 00:30:31.809 fair. He's just. He's good. He knows what he's 00:30:31.809 --> 00:30:34.089 doing. You say, life isn't fair. Well, I'll give 00:30:34.089 --> 00:30:36.930 you that. It's not really fair. But God is just, 00:30:36.930 --> 00:30:39.549 and over time, justice reigns and truth reigns. 00:30:39.549 --> 00:30:43.549 And you'll do best, always and forever, by grabbing 00:30:43.549 --> 00:30:46.269 onto his train and following it down the track 00:30:46.269 --> 00:30:50.369 by your choice. So you have to choose to forgive. 00:30:50.529 --> 00:30:54.710 You have to say, okay, I will. Here's the answer 00:30:54.710 --> 00:30:57.849 to the I tried thing. It goes back to a little 00:30:57.849 --> 00:31:02.029 saying we learned a long time ago. If at first 00:31:02.029 --> 00:31:13.670 you don't, then no kidding. What does the Bible 00:31:13.670 --> 00:31:16.670 say about that? Go with a brother. If your brother 00:31:16.670 --> 00:31:19.009 hears you, you've gained your brother. If he 00:31:19.009 --> 00:31:23.630 does not, take another to your brother. If he 00:31:23.630 --> 00:31:28.420 does not. Tell it to the church. If he does not 00:31:28.420 --> 00:31:31.980 hear the church, a step most Christians miss, 00:31:32.180 --> 00:31:35.740 most pastors miss. If he doesn't hear the church, 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:38.819 what on earth does that mean? Well, the first 00:31:38.819 --> 00:31:41.720 one meant you talk to him. And the second step 00:31:41.720 --> 00:31:45.039 meant to talk to him. So the third step must 00:31:45.039 --> 00:31:48.380 mean that a bunch of people talk to him. Right? 00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:53.140 Now, if you had... Everybody in this room loved 00:31:53.140 --> 00:31:54.880 a person sitting right here that had been here 00:31:54.880 --> 00:31:57.880 for years. They got offended and left. And every 00:31:57.880 --> 00:32:01.359 member of this church, core member of this church, 00:32:01.420 --> 00:32:03.400 called them and said, please don't be offended. 00:32:03.559 --> 00:32:05.980 Please don't leave this way. Come on, in Jesus' 00:32:06.059 --> 00:32:08.079 name. I'm praying for you. I'm fasting one day 00:32:08.079 --> 00:32:11.660 a week for you. You cannot fail here. I will 00:32:11.660 --> 00:32:14.980 not let you stay offended. Well, that would be 00:32:14.980 --> 00:32:18.519 amazing if it happened once. But it would be 00:32:18.519 --> 00:32:21.980 1 ,000 % more amazing if it happened 100 times. 00:32:24.299 --> 00:32:27.680 Think if it happened 150 times. Think if every 00:32:27.680 --> 00:32:30.279 friend you ever had at this church went to you 00:32:30.279 --> 00:32:33.680 and pleaded with you in Jesus' name. I remember 00:32:33.680 --> 00:32:36.559 years ago we were having some pastors stay with 00:32:36.559 --> 00:32:38.940 us for a few days. And they'd come through our 00:32:38.940 --> 00:32:41.559 city and they were in transition. And they actually 00:32:41.559 --> 00:32:44.460 lived there for a few months. We were having 00:32:44.460 --> 00:32:47.619 a conversation, and Dee Dee said to this pastor's 00:32:47.619 --> 00:32:50.660 wife, well, that lady's offended with you. And 00:32:50.660 --> 00:32:52.279 she wheeled around and looked at her, and she 00:32:52.279 --> 00:32:55.400 said, well, I won't let her stay offended. I'm 00:32:55.400 --> 00:32:58.240 going to go to her. I will seek her out. I will 00:32:58.240 --> 00:33:00.920 win her back. I will not let her stay offended 00:33:00.920 --> 00:33:03.640 with me. And I thought to myself, now that is 00:33:03.640 --> 00:33:07.240 a Christian attitude. Right there. A Christian 00:33:07.240 --> 00:33:09.700 attitude. Oh, well, they're offended. Let them 00:33:09.700 --> 00:33:13.980 go. That is a lazy, carnal. Cultural attitude. 00:33:14.420 --> 00:33:18.400 That's an attitude of the flesh. The Christian 00:33:18.400 --> 00:33:21.680 attitude is reconciled. Come on. Walk worthy 00:33:21.680 --> 00:33:27.799 of the call. 1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1. Not 2 -2 -5 00:33:27.799 --> 00:33:31.299 -5 -6 -6. Whatever you want. I've said to people, 00:33:31.440 --> 00:33:34.279 if we treated our jobs or our marriages like 00:33:34.279 --> 00:33:37.559 we treat the church, we would be divorced and 00:33:37.559 --> 00:33:43.390 broke. You got to have better attitudes to keep 00:33:43.390 --> 00:33:45.789 a job. You got to be on time more to keep a job. 00:33:45.950 --> 00:33:48.750 You can come late to church for months without 00:33:48.750 --> 00:33:53.869 them throwing you out. Usually. Usually. I'm 00:33:53.869 --> 00:33:55.470 not saying that's good. I'm just saying that 00:33:55.470 --> 00:34:00.900 is. Come on, you got to give yourself to anything 00:34:00.900 --> 00:34:03.720 that amounts to anything. So let's give ourselves 00:34:03.720 --> 00:34:06.779 to the Lord. Let's give ourselves to the house 00:34:06.779 --> 00:34:08.960 of God. Let's give ourselves to the kingdom. 00:34:09.119 --> 00:34:11.699 Let's be faithful. Let's be diligent. Let's overcome 00:34:11.699 --> 00:34:14.719 evil with good. Let's reconcile. Let's forgive. 00:34:14.940 --> 00:34:18.219 Let's keep it together. Come on, friends, keep 00:34:18.219 --> 00:34:21.980 it going on. We know that churches are made up 00:34:21.980 --> 00:34:24.340 of people and there aren't any perfect people. 00:34:25.519 --> 00:34:27.780 My dad used to say, if I find a perfect church, 00:34:27.860 --> 00:34:31.559 I can't join it because I'll wreck it. Because 00:34:31.559 --> 00:34:36.119 I'm imperfect, right? So, you know, the grass 00:34:36.119 --> 00:34:39.400 isn't greener on the other side. The pastor isn't 00:34:39.400 --> 00:34:42.780 nicer at the other place. He's got a weak spot 00:34:42.780 --> 00:34:49.679 too. It will rub you too. Sooner or later, you're 00:34:49.679 --> 00:34:53.599 going to have to deal with you. But here's what 00:34:53.599 --> 00:34:56.460 happens. People don't deal with them because 00:34:56.460 --> 00:34:59.960 they're deceived. So they think they're all right, 00:35:00.019 --> 00:35:02.340 and they're not offended. So they go to church 00:35:02.340 --> 00:35:06.300 B. And that doesn't last as long as church A. 00:35:06.360 --> 00:35:09.239 Why? Because they carried their problem with 00:35:09.239 --> 00:35:12.619 them. Because, in fact, the problem wasn't the 00:35:12.619 --> 00:35:14.739 church. I didn't say the church didn't have any 00:35:14.739 --> 00:35:17.969 problems. I said the. problem was not the church. 00:35:18.070 --> 00:35:21.190 It was their offense, their sensitivity, their 00:35:21.190 --> 00:35:23.630 willingness to be offended. Did you hear me? 00:35:24.289 --> 00:35:29.130 Willingness to be offended. A long time ago when 00:35:29.130 --> 00:35:32.449 I was a young man, I think I was just married, 00:35:32.590 --> 00:35:37.690 my brother, the one he referred to, looks older 00:35:37.690 --> 00:35:39.849 but actually he's younger. That's just a joke. 00:35:42.909 --> 00:35:46.550 My baby brother Dave Came to me and he said, 00:35:46.590 --> 00:35:48.769 how are you doing? And I poured out my offense 00:35:48.769 --> 00:35:51.329 with the leader of Bible Temple. One of the leaders 00:35:51.329 --> 00:35:52.630 there had offended me and something had done. 00:35:52.969 --> 00:35:54.590 And I just said, I can't believe he said this 00:35:54.590 --> 00:35:56.010 and I can't believe he did this. And I'm pouring 00:35:56.010 --> 00:35:57.789 out. We're just like two years out of Bible college. 00:35:57.849 --> 00:36:01.010 And I'm just blah, blah, blah. And my brother 00:36:01.010 --> 00:36:04.170 looked at me and he said, well, why did you let 00:36:04.170 --> 00:36:08.809 it hurt you that bad? You know what he was doing? 00:36:09.369 --> 00:36:11.769 He was saying, get a hold of your will, brother. 00:36:13.150 --> 00:36:16.369 You're willing to be hurt. And you're hurting 00:36:16.369 --> 00:36:19.929 yourself more by talking about it. And you'll 00:36:19.929 --> 00:36:22.429 hurt yourself again when you dream about it. 00:36:22.469 --> 00:36:24.090 And when you think about it. When you talk again 00:36:24.090 --> 00:36:25.969 about it. You get so locked into that wound. 00:36:26.349 --> 00:36:28.269 We're like the person that walks in with an arrow 00:36:28.269 --> 00:36:30.869 in them. And they've had this wound so long it 00:36:30.869 --> 00:36:33.250 becomes their identity. I'm the wounded Christian. 00:36:34.030 --> 00:36:35.869 And if you walk up to them and bump that arrow, 00:36:35.929 --> 00:36:40.889 they go, Ouch! Don't touch the arrow. I've had 00:36:40.889 --> 00:36:45.269 it for years. You go, you need to take that out. 00:36:45.889 --> 00:36:47.909 You need to take that out. You tell, don't, don't, 00:36:47.909 --> 00:36:50.110 don't touch that out. That arrow doesn't come 00:36:50.110 --> 00:36:53.570 out. Well, the Bible says it does. I'm different. 00:36:57.190 --> 00:36:59.369 I had this arrow before I knew about the Bible. 00:37:02.190 --> 00:37:04.110 How many of you have seen, how many of you have 00:37:04.110 --> 00:37:06.309 seen the video called The Nail, or It's All About 00:37:06.309 --> 00:37:08.820 the Nail? Seen that? The lady has the nail in 00:37:08.820 --> 00:37:10.199 her forehead and you can't see it. And they're 00:37:10.199 --> 00:37:11.539 arguing. She's saying, there's just something 00:37:11.539 --> 00:37:13.480 between us I can't figure out. Says, oh, honey, 00:37:13.539 --> 00:37:15.139 I love you. And they go to kiss and the nail 00:37:15.139 --> 00:37:17.500 in her forehead hits him. And he says, the nail. 00:37:17.599 --> 00:37:20.260 And she said, don't talk about the nail. It's 00:37:20.260 --> 00:37:23.739 not the nail. Something between us. Every time 00:37:23.739 --> 00:37:26.820 we go to kiss, it hurts. She got a nail sticking 00:37:26.820 --> 00:37:28.980 out of her forehead. Same picture. Same picture. 00:37:29.039 --> 00:37:31.019 You can find it on the tube if you do those kind 00:37:31.019 --> 00:37:37.900 of things. Come on now. Are we going to get this 00:37:37.900 --> 00:37:41.059 on and do it right as Christians? You can't be 00:37:41.059 --> 00:37:43.539 easily offended. You know, when the Bible talks 00:37:43.539 --> 00:37:46.840 about offense, the Greek word for offense is 00:37:46.840 --> 00:37:52.059 the word picture of a snare, a trap. Skadzalizo, 00:37:52.119 --> 00:37:53.980 skadzalizo, or whatever it is. I'm sorry I didn't 00:37:53.980 --> 00:37:56.199 look it up. But anyway, it's the, it's, I speak 00:37:56.199 --> 00:38:00.039 English, by the way. It's a snare. It's a snare. 00:38:00.260 --> 00:38:02.059 And what is a snare? Do you know what a snare 00:38:02.059 --> 00:38:06.699 is? That's a trap set in the brush. In a way 00:38:06.699 --> 00:38:10.840 that the animal can't see it. On a path the animal 00:38:10.840 --> 00:38:13.420 usually travels. Come on now. We're talking about 00:38:13.420 --> 00:38:17.539 a meticulous plot to destroy you. So what's your 00:38:17.539 --> 00:38:24.260 thing? Self -worth. I have to be doing something 00:38:24.260 --> 00:38:26.099 to feel good about myself. So if I don't have 00:38:26.099 --> 00:38:28.320 a place of service in the church. I'm of no value. 00:38:28.420 --> 00:38:31.019 That's a problem. Your value is supposed to be 00:38:31.019 --> 00:38:37.909 in Christ. Not in your good works. Well, I was 00:38:37.909 --> 00:38:39.969 hurt by my dad. So I've got an authority wound 00:38:39.969 --> 00:38:41.909 or a dad wound or whatever your thing is. Just 00:38:41.909 --> 00:38:44.989 remember, you better know it because the devil 00:38:44.989 --> 00:38:48.829 does. And he's strategizing on how to reach around 00:38:48.829 --> 00:38:52.550 and touch that sore spot in this church. So you 00:38:52.550 --> 00:38:55.369 blow out again, go to another church for a shorter 00:38:55.369 --> 00:38:57.289 period of time. And in a few years, you don't 00:38:57.289 --> 00:38:59.789 go to church at all. You're a burdened over has 00:38:59.789 --> 00:39:02.489 been used to go to church. Hate them all. Their 00:39:02.489 --> 00:39:04.670 pastors are mean. They don't love you. All they 00:39:04.670 --> 00:39:06.550 want is money for their building. Blah, blah, 00:39:06.590 --> 00:39:10.880 blah. blah, blah, offended person. There's so 00:39:10.880 --> 00:39:13.320 many of them in our valley. Pastors call that 00:39:13.320 --> 00:39:17.559 group of people the walking, wounded, unchurched. 00:39:19.840 --> 00:39:24.139 Want to be a part of that crowd? Well, then don't. 00:39:26.679 --> 00:39:31.260 Don't do that. Let's get practical. Ephesians 00:39:31.260 --> 00:39:34.150 chapter 4. Let's go down to verse 12 where he 00:39:34.150 --> 00:39:37.389 says that the gifted ministries are for the equipping 00:39:37.389 --> 00:39:40.570 of the saints. Everybody say, I'm a saint. For 00:39:40.570 --> 00:39:44.829 the work of the ministry. And that means I help 00:39:44.829 --> 00:39:48.750 train you to do your job of ministering to the 00:39:48.750 --> 00:39:51.610 people of God. And this is a lesson on how to 00:39:51.610 --> 00:39:55.690 keep yourself in the ministry mode. One thing 00:39:55.690 --> 00:39:58.110 you learn as a pastor is you cannot have thin 00:39:58.110 --> 00:40:01.679 skin. People say all manner of evils against 00:40:01.679 --> 00:40:05.239 me falsely. And I still have a hard time rejoicing 00:40:05.239 --> 00:40:07.480 and being glad. Even though that's what Jesus 00:40:07.480 --> 00:40:09.880 said to do. Because they persecuted the prophets 00:40:09.880 --> 00:40:12.000 too. So just rejoice. Count yourself honored 00:40:12.000 --> 00:40:14.940 that they speak evil of you. I have to confess. 00:40:15.320 --> 00:40:18.099 I don't always feel emotions of honor when that 00:40:18.099 --> 00:40:28.070 happens. But. I think the reason pastors have 00:40:28.070 --> 00:40:30.730 to deal with a lot of relational and verbal abuse 00:40:30.730 --> 00:40:32.630 and things said about them, written about them. 00:40:32.650 --> 00:40:34.510 We've got bitter bloggers that say all kinds 00:40:34.510 --> 00:40:36.969 of wicked things about our church. We actually 00:40:36.969 --> 00:40:40.969 rented, we actually paid, we bought a $10 ,000 00:40:40.969 --> 00:40:46.809 internet reputation program from the biggest 00:40:46.809 --> 00:40:49.510 company in America that defends Forbes and Fox 00:40:49.510 --> 00:40:52.010 News and everybody else. They said, we're reputation 00:40:52.010 --> 00:40:55.909 .com. Get those bitter bloggers off of your front 00:40:55.909 --> 00:41:02.150 page. They worked for about two months. Called 00:41:02.150 --> 00:41:06.530 our person in our office and said, you got a 00:41:06.530 --> 00:41:11.769 problem. We cannot, listen to me, the biggest 00:41:11.769 --> 00:41:16.090 company in the nation that deals with the biggest 00:41:16.090 --> 00:41:19.869 company couldn't help our little church from 00:41:19.869 --> 00:41:23.360 the bitterness of the body of Christ. They just 00:41:23.360 --> 00:41:25.719 said, the guy said to our staff member on the 00:41:25.719 --> 00:41:27.940 phone, the only thing different, the only thing 00:41:27.940 --> 00:41:30.079 that could be worse at your church this Sunday 00:41:30.079 --> 00:41:32.699 is if you had live picketers with signs out front. 00:41:33.039 --> 00:41:36.079 You got it bad as it gets on the media page. 00:41:37.059 --> 00:41:39.500 And we were just going, and you know who started 00:41:39.500 --> 00:41:42.239 it? The daughter of the guy who sat in my truck 00:41:42.239 --> 00:41:44.059 and said, I'm so sorry, my wife and daughter 00:41:44.059 --> 00:41:47.380 will not forgive and get over their bitterness. 00:41:50.699 --> 00:41:53.980 And so. I think one of the reasons that those 00:41:53.980 --> 00:41:56.159 kind of things happen is so that I can be an 00:41:56.159 --> 00:41:59.480 example to my people of how to just forgive and 00:41:59.480 --> 00:42:01.739 forget, love those people anyway, pray for them. 00:42:01.960 --> 00:42:04.440 Bible says pray for your enemies. I have a great 00:42:04.440 --> 00:42:11.559 prayer life. I got a lot of them. I got a lot 00:42:11.559 --> 00:42:16.460 of them to pray for. It's sad. That's very sad. 00:42:16.960 --> 00:42:19.659 I mean, I'm laughing with you, but isn't that 00:42:19.659 --> 00:42:22.849 sad? What's the matter with the body of Christ? 00:42:23.030 --> 00:42:24.849 And then we're worried about our nation. We got 00:42:24.849 --> 00:42:26.969 more Christians worried about the economy of 00:42:26.969 --> 00:42:29.230 our nation than the spiritual condition in our 00:42:29.230 --> 00:42:31.989 nation. Come on, don't you realize that economy 00:42:31.989 --> 00:42:35.349 came from liberty and liberty came from Christianity. 00:42:35.590 --> 00:42:38.710 If we lose Christianity, we lose liberty and 00:42:38.710 --> 00:42:44.010 we lose the blessing of God on our economy. That's 00:42:44.010 --> 00:42:47.809 the fact of the matter. We are blessed of the 00:42:47.809 --> 00:42:50.829 Lord. And unless we get back to godliness and 00:42:50.829 --> 00:42:53.829 a revival in America and see 50 million people 00:42:53.829 --> 00:42:56.530 born again in the next few years, there's little 00:42:56.530 --> 00:42:59.170 hope that you're going to have the economy you 00:42:59.170 --> 00:43:02.269 want in the next generation. Because the blessing 00:43:02.269 --> 00:43:04.489 of the Lord is not upon our nation right now. 00:43:05.090 --> 00:43:11.010 But it can be. And it is upon you. So you need 00:43:11.010 --> 00:43:14.659 to use it wisely. You need to promote it everywhere. 00:43:15.139 --> 00:43:17.659 I like what Charles Finney said when he said 00:43:17.659 --> 00:43:21.139 when Jesus gave the Great Commission, he gave 00:43:21.139 --> 00:43:24.059 it to the whole church of the day. All the people 00:43:24.059 --> 00:43:26.139 gathered there. He didn't gather Peter and James 00:43:26.139 --> 00:43:29.119 and John. He said it to everybody. That he said 00:43:29.119 --> 00:43:32.719 it to everybody means that anybody who is a Christian, 00:43:32.840 --> 00:43:36.019 who calls themselves a part of the church, it 00:43:36.019 --> 00:43:40.570 is their... obligation to make it their, listen 00:43:40.570 --> 00:43:47.590 to me, life work to convert the world. Your life 00:43:47.590 --> 00:43:52.329 work. What if we actually took that seriously? 00:43:52.530 --> 00:43:54.809 People said, what do you do? Say, I'm converting 00:43:54.809 --> 00:43:57.769 the world. You're what? Well, I'm a plumber by 00:43:57.769 --> 00:44:00.340 trade, but I'm actually... More than that, I'm 00:44:00.340 --> 00:44:02.739 a mighty, mighty Christian, and me and my band 00:44:02.739 --> 00:44:05.320 of friends, we're working at the conversion of 00:44:05.320 --> 00:44:08.219 a million people in the Willamette Valley. What 00:44:08.219 --> 00:44:10.960 if we just had that kind of view, that kind of 00:44:10.960 --> 00:44:15.199 faith? It's the power of the gospel. All right, 00:44:15.300 --> 00:44:17.179 so people get into conflict with each other. 00:44:17.219 --> 00:44:18.960 As Christians, we need to learn how to deal with 00:44:18.960 --> 00:44:23.519 these situations. Jesus said in John 17, and 00:44:23.519 --> 00:44:26.920 this is where I want to bring it down. Jesus 00:44:26.920 --> 00:44:31.139 said that they may all be one. Just as you, Father, 00:44:31.239 --> 00:44:38.480 are in me, and I in you, that they also may be 00:44:38.480 --> 00:44:45.519 in us. Think about those words. Jesus is praying 00:44:45.519 --> 00:44:48.579 in his high priestly prayer just before he goes 00:44:48.579 --> 00:44:52.159 to the cross. Father, this is the scripture where 00:44:52.159 --> 00:44:53.679 he said, I'm not praying for these alone, but 00:44:53.679 --> 00:44:55.800 for everybody that will hear and believe because 00:44:55.800 --> 00:44:58.340 of their words, which means all of us. Every 00:44:58.340 --> 00:45:00.320 Christian in history from the time of the apostles. 00:45:01.719 --> 00:45:05.280 Jesus is praying for them that, listen to these 00:45:05.280 --> 00:45:08.019 words, that they, that's us, everybody say us. 00:45:08.539 --> 00:45:12.920 Say one, one, one, one, one, one, one. That they 00:45:12.920 --> 00:45:20.199 should be one, listen to the words, as we are 00:45:20.199 --> 00:45:28.239 one. I in you and you in me. That part messes 00:45:28.239 --> 00:45:31.880 with us. Did you know we're supposed to be that 00:45:31.880 --> 00:45:35.039 a part of each other? We're supposed to know 00:45:35.039 --> 00:45:37.539 each other and love each other with a pure heart 00:45:37.539 --> 00:45:41.840 fervently. Think about that. Let the word of 00:45:41.840 --> 00:45:45.159 God have its effect in your life today. Do you 00:45:45.159 --> 00:45:46.780 need more love for others? Of course you do. 00:45:46.860 --> 00:45:51.300 So do I. We all do. I think this fervency has 00:45:51.300 --> 00:45:56.059 to do with purity. You can't love fervently. 00:45:57.550 --> 00:46:00.050 If you're not pure in your heart. If you haven't 00:46:00.050 --> 00:46:02.989 walked in blamelessness. Not perfection, blameless. 00:46:03.869 --> 00:46:06.429 That means you keep yourself maintained before 00:46:06.429 --> 00:46:09.409 the Lord. Jesus said, Father, I'm praying that 00:46:09.409 --> 00:46:14.670 they know supernatural unity. I'm praying that 00:46:14.670 --> 00:46:18.309 the body of Christ, listen to these words, know 00:46:18.309 --> 00:46:23.869 the unity of the Trinity. You know what we say 00:46:23.869 --> 00:46:27.489 about the Trinity in basic doctrine? Our statement 00:46:27.489 --> 00:46:33.750 about the Trinity is that the Trinity is distinguishable 00:46:33.750 --> 00:46:39.909 but indivisible. You know, three persons known 00:46:39.909 --> 00:46:43.610 as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, like and essential 00:46:43.610 --> 00:46:47.210 and all their attributes. And then we say this 00:46:47.210 --> 00:46:52.650 phrase, distinguishable, however, absolutely, 00:46:52.989 --> 00:46:58.690 totally unable. to divide. And Jesus prayed that 00:46:58.690 --> 00:47:01.670 about you and I. Paul said in 1 Corinthians, 00:47:01.809 --> 00:47:04.130 he said, you should all be one, have the same 00:47:04.130 --> 00:47:06.230 mind and the same judgment. I'm telling you, 00:47:06.250 --> 00:47:08.070 one of the things that works against this is 00:47:08.070 --> 00:47:12.340 our individuality. Our independence. We celebrate 00:47:12.340 --> 00:47:14.920 a day of independence for goodness sake. We grow 00:47:14.920 --> 00:47:16.920 up being told we should be independent. And then 00:47:16.920 --> 00:47:18.539 we grow up and find out we've got to be dependent 00:47:18.539 --> 00:47:20.940 upon God. We've got to be dependent upon one 00:47:20.940 --> 00:47:22.739 another. We've got to love one another. We've 00:47:22.739 --> 00:47:25.099 got to lock arms. None of us is as good as all 00:47:25.099 --> 00:47:27.480 of us. So let's all go together. Stay together. 00:47:27.599 --> 00:47:30.699 Love each other. Forgive one another. Work it 00:47:30.699 --> 00:47:34.760 out. Love the Lord. Avoid situations that cause 00:47:34.760 --> 00:47:39.079 arguments. Teach troublemakers to repent. warn 00:47:39.079 --> 00:47:41.820 those that cause trouble that their negative 00:47:41.820 --> 00:47:45.260 words are hurting others, and make an appeal 00:47:45.260 --> 00:47:50.000 for harmony and unity. Paul said in Philippians 00:47:50.000 --> 00:47:53.840 2, I plead with Euodia and I plead with Cynthia 00:47:53.840 --> 00:47:57.829 to agree with each other in the Lord. There were 00:47:57.829 --> 00:48:00.570 two very strong women in the church that Paul 00:48:00.570 --> 00:48:03.489 named who were causing so much friction in the 00:48:03.489 --> 00:48:06.590 church that Paul pleaded with them personally 00:48:06.590 --> 00:48:10.110 and their names got in the Bible. How would you 00:48:10.110 --> 00:48:11.809 like your name to be in the Bible for division 00:48:11.809 --> 00:48:14.670 and strong will? Think about it. Their names 00:48:14.670 --> 00:48:17.670 got in the Bible. And he just said, I plead with 00:48:17.670 --> 00:48:20.750 you women. You two strong leaders, good leaders, 00:48:20.929 --> 00:48:23.369 love people, working hard in the ministry and 00:48:23.369 --> 00:48:25.429 came up with the difference. I plead with you. 00:48:28.650 --> 00:48:34.329 Come together. Stay united. Fighting in the church 00:48:34.329 --> 00:48:37.309 doesn't just affect the combatants. It affects 00:48:37.309 --> 00:48:40.710 the whole church and the world. Jesus said, come 00:48:40.710 --> 00:48:47.050 together in supernatural unity so that the world 00:48:47.050 --> 00:48:54.050 may believe. You want a revival? It starts with 00:48:54.050 --> 00:48:57.150 your unity. You want the testimony of Christ 00:48:57.150 --> 00:49:00.030 to be strong in the Willamette Valley? It starts 00:49:00.030 --> 00:49:02.969 with everybody in the room says, I'm committed. 00:49:03.110 --> 00:49:05.010 This is my house. I'm going to let my roots go 00:49:05.010 --> 00:49:07.429 down, my fruit grow up like the Bible says. I'm 00:49:07.429 --> 00:49:10.369 not going to be waved and pushed around. I'm 00:49:10.369 --> 00:49:12.050 not going to be offended if I hear somebody talk 00:49:12.050 --> 00:49:13.710 and smack about somebody else. I'm going to go 00:49:13.710 --> 00:49:16.349 and say, hey, you shouldn't talk that way. I 00:49:16.349 --> 00:49:19.010 don't get a spirit of faith and joy and fervent 00:49:19.010 --> 00:49:20.690 love of the brethren out of this conversation. 00:49:20.710 --> 00:49:23.139 Come on now. Let's not be doing that. You say, 00:49:23.199 --> 00:49:24.800 well, hey, pastor, you need to go talk to so 00:49:24.800 --> 00:49:26.539 -and -so. Go talk to so -and -so yourself. What's 00:49:26.539 --> 00:49:28.719 your problem? You're supposed to be the person 00:49:28.719 --> 00:49:31.079 in the ministry. It's not the pastor's job to 00:49:31.079 --> 00:49:33.000 do that. It's your job to do that. You go up 00:49:33.000 --> 00:49:35.320 to your brother or your wife or your son or your 00:49:35.320 --> 00:49:37.659 daughter or anybody. Say, well, I'm not going 00:49:37.659 --> 00:49:39.440 to do that in my family. Why? Jesus said, come 00:49:39.440 --> 00:49:42.159 on, I didn't bring peace but a sword. What is 00:49:42.159 --> 00:49:45.199 the sword of Christ in the gospel? It's a sword 00:49:45.199 --> 00:49:47.440 between those who obey and those who will not. 00:49:48.010 --> 00:49:50.090 And it doesn't matter who they are relationally 00:49:50.090 --> 00:49:53.349 to you. If you don't obey Christ and stand for 00:49:53.349 --> 00:49:56.329 the truth in those times, then you deny Christ 00:49:56.329 --> 00:49:59.750 and you stand with the devil's strategy to undermine 00:49:59.750 --> 00:50:05.050 and destroy the church. You cannot do that. Remember, 00:50:05.110 --> 00:50:11.590 one of the things that God hates, and I have 00:50:11.590 --> 00:50:16.730 enough problems with me and the devil. I don't 00:50:16.730 --> 00:50:20.110 need any hatred from God coming my way. If you 00:50:20.110 --> 00:50:23.190 get my meaning. One of the things that God hates 00:50:23.190 --> 00:50:25.730 is a person that sows discord among the brethren. 00:50:26.289 --> 00:50:28.429 Killing people with small talk. Well, I heard. 00:50:28.530 --> 00:50:34.250 Did you hear? You get this. Love for juicy morsels. 00:50:34.809 --> 00:50:38.989 The Bible categorically condemns that. It condemns 00:50:38.989 --> 00:50:42.320 it. It says don't do that. Don't slander. Don't 00:50:42.320 --> 00:50:44.960 be a busybody. Don't gossip. Don't spread an 00:50:44.960 --> 00:50:46.579 evil report. You know what an evil report is? 00:50:47.199 --> 00:50:51.900 Truth. True facts. True events. True things. 00:50:53.480 --> 00:50:57.579 Spoken with the kind of doubt that destroys faith 00:50:57.579 --> 00:51:02.039 in the vision or the leader. That is what Numbers 00:51:02.039 --> 00:51:05.940 13 calls an evil report. Don't be going around 00:51:05.940 --> 00:51:08.519 giving an evil report about the pastor, about 00:51:08.519 --> 00:51:10.320 something more. Well, I didn't. I just said a 00:51:10.320 --> 00:51:12.159 lot of blah, blah, blah. I had a guy come to 00:51:12.159 --> 00:51:14.079 me. I had to confront him. I gave him a whole 00:51:14.079 --> 00:51:15.619 list. I gave him all the Bible words it says 00:51:15.619 --> 00:51:17.699 to avoid. I said, I've had several men come to 00:51:17.699 --> 00:51:20.900 me and say that you've been saying things critical, 00:51:21.000 --> 00:51:22.460 negative, and you need to talk to me. Two men 00:51:22.460 --> 00:51:24.000 have told me they've sent you to me. You haven't 00:51:24.000 --> 00:51:26.360 come yet. I'm coming to you. What's the problem? 00:51:27.079 --> 00:51:33.880 Pastor, I have no problem with you. We're brothers. 00:51:34.900 --> 00:51:39.440 I love you. I just opened up the page. Don't 00:51:39.440 --> 00:51:42.469 slander. Don't gossip. Don't be a busybody. Don't 00:51:42.469 --> 00:51:44.349 spread evil reports. I had the whole page with 00:51:44.349 --> 00:51:46.510 scriptures and definitions. I said, read this 00:51:46.510 --> 00:51:50.369 for your devotions with your wife. I said to 00:51:50.369 --> 00:51:52.550 him, I said, if you love me and you're not saying 00:51:52.550 --> 00:51:56.090 critical things of me, why do other people say 00:51:56.090 --> 00:51:59.010 to me they feel like when you talk, they've been 00:51:59.010 --> 00:52:05.389 vomited on? You know what that did? Made him 00:52:05.389 --> 00:52:09.590 mad at that guy. Okay, now he's getting some. 00:52:10.079 --> 00:52:14.719 Of his own medicine. He's vomited on him. He 00:52:14.719 --> 00:52:17.480 tells me, I think I got vomited on by him. He 00:52:17.480 --> 00:52:19.340 needs to talk to you. And I told him, I give 00:52:19.340 --> 00:52:21.300 him a week. In eight days, I go to him and I 00:52:21.300 --> 00:52:22.920 say, quit vomiting on people. And he gets mad 00:52:22.920 --> 00:52:24.579 at the guy that he vomited on because he told 00:52:24.579 --> 00:52:26.000 about the vomit to the pastor who had to confront 00:52:26.000 --> 00:52:29.940 him for the vomit. Come on now. I'd say that's 00:52:29.940 --> 00:52:33.000 strategy. Come on. How many of you want to be 00:52:33.000 --> 00:52:35.480 a mighty, mighty Christian? How many of you want 00:52:35.480 --> 00:52:38.059 to see a mighty revival in our land? How many 00:52:38.059 --> 00:52:40.280 of you say, I'm going to give myself to love 00:52:40.280 --> 00:52:44.900 covering everything? What love can't cover, forgiveness 00:52:44.900 --> 00:52:49.099 and reconciliation will. I just close with this 00:52:49.099 --> 00:52:51.780 statement of unity. It is that worked for and 00:52:51.780 --> 00:52:54.519 carefully guarded quality brought about by the 00:52:54.519 --> 00:52:57.440 convictional habit of biblical forgiveness and 00:52:57.440 --> 00:53:02.119 reconciliation, which God has promised to bless. 00:53:02.599 --> 00:53:05.440 He's promised on this particular part of Christianity, 00:53:05.679 --> 00:53:09.699 he'll bless you. If you work it out. I love you. 00:53:09.780 --> 00:53:13.000 I'm proud of you. I'm praying for a biblical 00:53:13.000 --> 00:53:17.460 supernatural unity that will command a blessing 00:53:17.460 --> 00:53:21.400 and will command a harvest to come in to this 00:53:21.400 --> 00:53:25.940 house. Because Jesus said in John 17, Father, 00:53:26.079 --> 00:53:29.960 I give them the glory that you've given me that 00:53:29.960 --> 00:53:35.360 they may be one. Could it be that Jesus' prayer 00:53:35.360 --> 00:53:37.460 was not that we glorify ourself with ministry, 00:53:37.619 --> 00:53:40.820 but we glorify ourself with unity? We always 00:53:40.820 --> 00:53:42.820 think I need to do something great for God. Maybe 00:53:42.820 --> 00:53:46.780 you need to be something great for God. Unified 00:53:46.780 --> 00:53:55.820 together. And one, one, one, one, one, one, one. 00:53:56.440 --> 00:54:04.730 God bless you. I love you. Come on, let's give 00:54:04.730 --> 00:54:06.909 him a big hand. Thank you, Mark. Pastor Mark, 00:54:07.130 --> 00:54:26.090 great work. If you are interested in hearing 00:54:26.090 --> 00:54:28.849 other podcasts or contacting Life Bible Church, 00:54:29.210 --> 00:54:33.369 go to www .lifebiblechurch .org or call us at 00:54:33.369 --> 00:54:36.389 541 -995 -8282.