WEBVTT 00:00:01.969 --> 00:00:08.890 We are going to be talking about today Change 00:00:08.890 --> 00:00:16.269 We're not going to get through everything that 00:00:16.269 --> 00:00:19.429 I want to say about it tonight, so I'm just warning 00:00:19.429 --> 00:00:24.250 you so We can take as much time as is profitable 00:00:24.250 --> 00:00:29.370 to discuss explore converse about anything that 00:00:29.370 --> 00:00:35.350 we Talk about tonight one of the I read two books 00:00:35.350 --> 00:00:39.450 recently one sanctification one on transformations 00:00:39.450 --> 00:00:44.009 and The one on transformation had a big long 00:00:44.009 --> 00:00:47.770 section at the beginning of the book on Anthropology 00:00:47.770 --> 00:00:50.549 what is a man and I you know for the life of 00:00:50.549 --> 00:00:54.130 me. I Just couldn't understand why we had to 00:00:54.130 --> 00:00:57.130 spend so much time talking about anthropology 00:00:57.130 --> 00:01:01.659 neuroscience psychology, psychiatry, and all 00:01:01.659 --> 00:01:05.459 the rest of that. It wasn't until I guess this 00:01:05.459 --> 00:01:07.939 afternoon when I was thinking about what we were 00:01:07.939 --> 00:01:11.579 going to say when it occurred to me that the 00:01:11.579 --> 00:01:16.060 reason that the discussion starts there is because 00:01:16.060 --> 00:01:21.659 whatever change God promises, it's not just to 00:01:21.659 --> 00:01:24.900 affect one small part of us. And so however it 00:01:24.900 --> 00:01:29.620 is that we define who or what a human being is, 00:01:30.760 --> 00:01:34.480 the intention of the gospel in Christ Jesus is 00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:38.480 to transform the entirety of a man. And that's 00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:43.159 really, I think, if you just read our Bibles, 00:01:44.219 --> 00:01:46.480 some of you are on a reading schedule, but as 00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:50.099 we read, that's usually the way that the Bible 00:01:50.099 --> 00:01:53.569 addresses us, is just as a whole being. It doesn't 00:01:53.569 --> 00:01:56.390 talk about if you want to change the physical 00:01:56.390 --> 00:01:58.629 part of you, or if you want to change, you know, 00:01:59.069 --> 00:02:01.709 what all is involved in the physical part of 00:02:01.709 --> 00:02:04.069 man. It just says that it's going to change us. 00:02:04.349 --> 00:02:09.229 You, you are going to be changed. And so I just, 00:02:09.490 --> 00:02:13.069 that's really as far as I want to get on anthropology, 00:02:13.469 --> 00:02:16.270 what it is. If that's an interesting subject 00:02:16.270 --> 00:02:19.590 to you, then you can... certainly study that 00:02:19.590 --> 00:02:21.469 out in your Bible. You can see what the Bible 00:02:21.469 --> 00:02:23.469 has to say. The Bible tells us we're two parts, 00:02:24.250 --> 00:02:27.849 but it consistently addresses only the two parts 00:02:27.849 --> 00:02:32.590 together as a whole, and so it discusses the 00:02:32.590 --> 00:02:37.909 whole man. So that hopefully is encouraging to 00:02:37.909 --> 00:02:42.650 you. I don't suppose there's anything that is 00:02:42.650 --> 00:02:49.240 more... intimidating for us than when we think 00:02:49.240 --> 00:02:52.599 about change. In one of the books there was a 00:02:52.599 --> 00:02:56.860 survey of psychiatrists and psychologists, counselors 00:02:56.860 --> 00:03:01.819 in general. And there is no, in that realm, of 00:03:01.819 --> 00:03:04.219 course we shouldn't be surprised, but in that 00:03:04.219 --> 00:03:07.759 realm, the realm of the world, there is no definitive 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:13.719 definition for change. Back and forth here and 00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:16.879 there hopefully we can affect this person in 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:19.479 this kind of way or in that kind of way one person 00:03:19.479 --> 00:03:24.300 described his experience as a expert and professional 00:03:24.300 --> 00:03:29.240 at counseling as a Rider on an elephant running 00:03:29.240 --> 00:03:33.639 through the jungle not on a path now You can 00:03:33.639 --> 00:03:36.860 see and why is that? Because they're both in 00:03:36.860 --> 00:03:40.469 the same boat Neither the counselor has not achieved 00:03:40.469 --> 00:03:42.349 everything that he is telling the person that 00:03:42.349 --> 00:03:45.449 he's counseling what he can't achieve. And when 00:03:45.449 --> 00:03:47.750 you're bringing only the wisdom of the world 00:03:47.750 --> 00:03:52.949 then we have what is that called? The blind leading 00:03:52.949 --> 00:03:55.990 the blind. You have a blind man leading another 00:03:55.990 --> 00:04:02.110 blind man. It's not like that in Christ. It's 00:04:02.110 --> 00:04:04.310 not like that in the church. It's not like that 00:04:04.310 --> 00:04:07.569 for Christians. we look at things much more positively. 00:04:07.710 --> 00:04:10.610 One other quick note of introduction is that 00:04:10.610 --> 00:04:14.110 it seems that the best and the most successful 00:04:14.110 --> 00:04:18.009 programs in the world are modeled after Alcoholics 00:04:18.009 --> 00:04:21.189 Anonymous. And what is unique about Alcoholics 00:04:21.189 --> 00:04:28.529 Anonymous? It's a whole group. Now, that should 00:04:28.529 --> 00:04:30.689 tell us something about the human psyche. That 00:04:30.689 --> 00:04:33.910 should tell us something about who we are as 00:04:33.910 --> 00:04:39.120 people. And one of the things that we are as 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:42.040 people is we are created to be in relationships. 00:04:43.579 --> 00:04:48.180 And I don't sure what the resonativism is in 00:04:48.180 --> 00:04:50.899 Alcoholics Anonymous, but within the church, 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:53.199 in other words, in this community of people that 00:04:53.199 --> 00:04:55.480 have something in common, we ought to expect 00:04:55.480 --> 00:04:58.800 change. Now what is it that the church has in 00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:03.259 common? We don't have in common what an Alcoholics 00:05:03.259 --> 00:05:05.860 Anonymous meeting would have. What? They all 00:05:05.860 --> 00:05:08.899 have the problem with drinking too much alcohol. 00:05:10.379 --> 00:05:13.160 That's what they have in common besides their 00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:15.660 humanity. But what is it that the church has 00:05:15.660 --> 00:05:22.399 in common? What is the church? Okay, the church 00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:26.660 is the Christians, right? And they have in common 00:05:26.660 --> 00:05:30.620 Jesus Christ in whom we all are and in whom we 00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:34.480 have fellowship. Also in Christ, what do we have 00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:40.620 collectively? the same calling and the same purpose. 00:05:44.420 --> 00:05:49.959 Whatever we say about change and how it is accomplished, 00:05:50.779 --> 00:05:53.240 right off the bat I just want to say that it 00:05:53.240 --> 00:05:55.759 takes place mostly in the context, well it takes 00:05:55.759 --> 00:05:58.360 place completely in the context of relationship. 00:05:59.079 --> 00:06:02.240 The Christian has how many relationships to find 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:07.670 in the Bible? Common to all. The first one is 00:06:07.670 --> 00:06:12.910 what? Our relationship with God. What's the next 00:06:12.910 --> 00:06:20.810 one? Close personal relationship with other Christians. 00:06:21.569 --> 00:06:24.110 Maybe one other Christian. The Bible has a lot 00:06:24.110 --> 00:06:26.490 of things to say about the benefits of friendship. 00:06:27.149 --> 00:06:32.089 About the benefits of being in a relationship 00:06:32.089 --> 00:06:34.569 with someone else where complete honesty and 00:06:34.569 --> 00:06:37.490 total trust exists. That's the second and what's 00:06:37.490 --> 00:06:42.009 the third relationship common to every Christian? 00:06:44.250 --> 00:06:47.850 The church. That's the third relationship that 00:06:47.850 --> 00:06:51.050 every Christian in the Bible has. Your relationship 00:06:51.050 --> 00:06:55.569 with God and God is what or God is who? Father, 00:06:55.589 --> 00:06:59.529 Son and Spirit. You have a relationship or you 00:06:59.529 --> 00:07:02.550 should have a relationship with other Christians 00:07:02.550 --> 00:07:04.810 on a very personal level and then you should 00:07:04.810 --> 00:07:09.889 have a fellowship with the entirety of your local 00:07:09.889 --> 00:07:13.430 church. And it is only in that type of a relational 00:07:13.430 --> 00:07:16.069 structure that any positive change is going to 00:07:16.069 --> 00:07:21.569 come to your life. Any just cursory reading of 00:07:21.569 --> 00:07:24.009 the Bible ought to convince you of that and it 00:07:24.009 --> 00:07:26.329 ought to convince me of that. The question is 00:07:26.329 --> 00:07:31.050 how does the New Testament lay out the process 00:07:31.050 --> 00:07:33.980 of change and expectation. And that's really 00:07:33.980 --> 00:07:37.180 what we want to explore. So I'm just going to 00:07:37.180 --> 00:07:43.120 ask these a few questions. Is change spontaneous 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:54.939 and dramatic or is it minimal? Gradual? Both. 00:07:55.620 --> 00:08:04.060 Very good. Is it visible or invisible? Oh, it's 00:08:04.060 --> 00:08:09.360 a 50 -50. Be brave. Both. Is it deliberate or 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:21.959 is it accidental? What's that? Okay. Is it lasting 00:08:21.959 --> 00:08:30.160 or fleeting? Or we could say is it permanent 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:41.750 or is it temporary? What's that So you're saying 00:08:41.750 --> 00:08:46.570 it's lasting but it's fleeting it's permanent 00:08:46.570 --> 00:08:51.750 but it's temporary We're talking about the change 00:08:51.750 --> 00:08:55.129 of a person into the image of Christ that's what 00:08:55.129 --> 00:09:05.110 the Bible tells us It's both it's both permanent 00:09:05.399 --> 00:09:09.399 and it's temporary. And why do we have these, 00:09:09.860 --> 00:09:14.759 especially on this lasting or fleeting or permanent 00:09:14.759 --> 00:09:19.679 or temporary? Why is that? Anybody got any guess? 00:09:21.240 --> 00:09:23.539 Are you talking about heaven? Eventually, you 00:09:23.539 --> 00:09:27.419 know, this change that you've made as a being 00:09:27.419 --> 00:09:30.919 on earth that's going to be completely finished 00:09:30.919 --> 00:09:34.360 when you get to heaven. So that's one principle. 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:37.419 We call that what? The already and not yet. We 00:09:37.419 --> 00:09:42.080 are already saved. But we are not yet saved in 00:09:42.080 --> 00:09:44.659 the final sense because we are not yet in heaven. 00:09:47.600 --> 00:09:51.860 We see those things because God works in us. 00:09:53.019 --> 00:09:58.500 God does a work in us. But also we progress on 00:09:58.500 --> 00:10:03.340 in our faith and in our knowledge of God. It's 00:10:03.340 --> 00:10:07.159 visible and invisible because what? There is 00:10:07.159 --> 00:10:10.980 a change within us. If you're not expecting God 00:10:10.980 --> 00:10:14.240 to change your desires, if you're not expecting 00:10:14.240 --> 00:10:18.480 God to change your knowledge of Him, if you're 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:20.960 not expecting that, then it's not going to happen. 00:10:22.019 --> 00:10:24.100 If you're not asking Him for that, then it's 00:10:24.100 --> 00:10:27.700 not going to happen. If you have watered down 00:10:27.700 --> 00:10:31.039 your Christian life to a simple keeping of rules, 00:10:31.179 --> 00:10:33.740 then that's the Christian experience you'll have. 00:10:34.059 --> 00:10:39.139 One of frustration. One of relapse over and over 00:10:39.139 --> 00:10:44.100 and over. Who is in charge? This is really, I 00:10:44.100 --> 00:10:46.440 think of all the things, this is the one that 00:10:46.440 --> 00:10:49.240 has just blessed me the most. Who's in charge? 00:10:51.639 --> 00:10:59.139 Who has the authority? Come on. Particularly 00:10:59.139 --> 00:11:03.440 who has the authority? Jesus has how much authority? 00:11:04.820 --> 00:11:08.519 Now, when we usually talk about that, it's in 00:11:08.519 --> 00:11:13.299 what context? He's going to provide for me, right? 00:11:14.240 --> 00:11:16.840 Maybe we think about, or we're going to go out 00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:18.879 and we're going to do some missions work. We're 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:20.740 going to declare the Gospel. We're going to be 00:11:20.740 --> 00:11:24.179 ambassadors for Christ. And we say, He rules 00:11:24.179 --> 00:11:27.919 in that place. I can move about free in the space 00:11:27.919 --> 00:11:30.259 that He's given me as long as I'm doing His will. 00:11:30.509 --> 00:11:33.169 and I can leave the results to him because he 00:11:33.169 --> 00:11:38.230 has the authority. But let's make it personal 00:11:38.230 --> 00:11:40.950 because there's no limit to his authority and 00:11:40.950 --> 00:11:43.789 there's no sphere or realm in which he doesn't 00:11:43.789 --> 00:11:51.169 reign. Does Christ Jesus reign in you? And the 00:11:51.169 --> 00:11:54.289 answer is yes. If I'm a Christian, Christ Jesus 00:11:54.289 --> 00:11:58.059 reigns in me. Do you acknowledge that in the 00:11:58.059 --> 00:12:00.620 way that you think about change in your life? 00:12:03.100 --> 00:12:06.340 Is there somebody who can give you deliverance? 00:12:07.139 --> 00:12:09.259 Is there somebody that can help you, that can 00:12:09.259 --> 00:12:16.940 change your mind? And the answer is yes. Unequivocally. 00:12:18.299 --> 00:12:21.440 And if you don't think about that type of, if 00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:23.419 you don't look at your future, if you don't look 00:12:23.419 --> 00:12:26.399 at your person, If you don't look at your mind 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:29.580 with that kind of optimism, then you're never 00:12:29.580 --> 00:12:33.320 going to see God accomplish in you what He could 00:12:33.320 --> 00:12:35.720 accomplish in you if you were to look to Him 00:12:35.720 --> 00:12:39.019 in faith and trust Him in faith and walk in His 00:12:39.019 --> 00:12:44.539 way. So, I give you that by way of introduction. 00:12:44.899 --> 00:12:49.179 Alright. Here's a, and I think this is a pretty 00:12:49.179 --> 00:12:51.179 good, personal change definition. If you want 00:12:51.179 --> 00:12:53.309 to write this down. Now, this is from Gary Miller. 00:12:53.669 --> 00:12:55.929 He has it all backwards, so I put it in the right 00:12:55.929 --> 00:12:59.330 order for him. Nonetheless, I'll give him credit. 00:13:00.549 --> 00:13:04.429 Personal change involves permanently reshaped 00:13:04.429 --> 00:13:11.029 character. Do you long for that? Permanently 00:13:11.029 --> 00:13:14.149 reshaped character. I should say, do you long 00:13:14.149 --> 00:13:16.629 for that defined expression in the way that you 00:13:16.629 --> 00:13:21.690 think and in the way that you live? It also involves 00:13:21.690 --> 00:13:27.129 modified thinking, choices, and decisions. That's 00:13:27.129 --> 00:13:32.669 a big one. You expect to work change in your 00:13:32.669 --> 00:13:35.370 life. You expect to see progress. You're going 00:13:35.370 --> 00:13:39.029 to have to have modified thinking. You're going 00:13:39.029 --> 00:13:43.149 to have to make choices. Life is nothing if it's 00:13:43.149 --> 00:13:48.129 not a series of one choice after the next. I 00:13:48.129 --> 00:13:52.070 mean, in everything. How am I going to get to 00:13:52.070 --> 00:13:53.990 work? What route am I going to take? What am 00:13:53.990 --> 00:13:56.190 I going to eat? That's just the basics, right? 00:13:56.529 --> 00:13:59.690 What time am I going to go to sleep? Everything 00:13:59.690 --> 00:14:02.909 that we do in life is by choice and a choice. 00:14:04.529 --> 00:14:08.190 And you're going to have to make decisions. It's 00:14:08.190 --> 00:14:11.669 not just going to happen. You're going to have 00:14:11.669 --> 00:14:14.769 to say, this is what I'm going to choose this. 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:18.360 I have these two options. I'm either going to 00:14:18.360 --> 00:14:20.820 go down the same road that I've been down a million 00:14:20.820 --> 00:14:23.679 times, or I'm going to go down another road. 00:14:23.720 --> 00:14:28.179 A choice. Only the Christian can make that choice. 00:14:29.580 --> 00:14:33.860 And then finally, it results in what? Decisively 00:14:33.860 --> 00:14:38.059 altered behavior. In other words, when you get 00:14:38.059 --> 00:14:41.100 your thinking right, when you make the right 00:14:41.100 --> 00:14:44.490 choices, Because you have a reshaped character, 00:14:45.049 --> 00:14:51.350 it's evident in the way that you live. You can't 00:14:51.350 --> 00:14:55.710 mask or hide that. It comes out inevitably. You've 00:14:55.710 --> 00:14:58.870 heard me say it, that a changed life is the inevitable 00:14:58.870 --> 00:15:03.529 result of grace. It's not possible. It's not 00:15:03.529 --> 00:15:06.309 possible to be stagnant if grace is in your life. 00:15:06.830 --> 00:15:10.980 God is going to progress you on. Now that's our 00:15:10.980 --> 00:15:14.820 theory, if you want to put it that way. In our 00:15:14.820 --> 00:15:18.080 study here, are we going to find that those things 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:21.320 are true? And I would say to you that they are 00:15:21.320 --> 00:15:24.440 not only true, but they're obvious. And one of 00:15:24.440 --> 00:15:27.059 the reasons this will take longer than I anticipated 00:15:27.059 --> 00:15:30.299 was that the Bible is full of it. If you just 00:15:30.299 --> 00:15:33.200 look at the Bible in terms of change, or what's 00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:37.169 the Christian life about? You could you have 00:15:37.169 --> 00:15:38.929 to go through the whole New Testament before 00:15:38.929 --> 00:15:42.850 you would explore every Every Avenue and every 00:15:42.850 --> 00:15:47.309 slight nuance in the discussion It's not silent 00:15:47.309 --> 00:15:53.409 at all it is extravagant in the expectation and 00:15:53.409 --> 00:15:59.769 it is Explicit in the way that that change takes 00:15:59.769 --> 00:16:07.159 place Why is change hard Well, first of all, 00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:11.559 does anybody think that changing is hard? Let's 00:16:11.559 --> 00:16:18.080 raise our hands if we think it's hard. Who's 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:22.419 a teenager? Just you two? Okay, even you teenagers 00:16:22.419 --> 00:16:26.159 think that change is hard, huh? Who thinks that 00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:31.159 change is possible? Now, in the world, there's 00:16:31.159 --> 00:16:33.399 two groups of people that think that change is 00:16:33.399 --> 00:16:35.649 probably not going to happen. Take a guess at 00:16:35.649 --> 00:16:40.610 what two groups of people those are. Teenagers 00:16:40.610 --> 00:16:47.230 and old people. Now the Christian is not that. 00:16:47.909 --> 00:16:50.830 So if you're a teenager here and you think that 00:16:50.830 --> 00:16:52.830 you've got it all figured out, you know everything. 00:16:52.909 --> 00:16:55.230 There's no reason for me to change. I know everything. 00:16:56.450 --> 00:16:58.690 Then humble yourself before the Word of God and 00:16:58.690 --> 00:17:00.710 reckon yourself to be those people that have 00:17:00.710 --> 00:17:04.490 a whole lot to learn. and anticipate that in 00:17:04.490 --> 00:17:06.490 the learning there's going to be lots of changes. 00:17:07.750 --> 00:17:10.809 You haven't achieved, you haven't arrived. And 00:17:10.809 --> 00:17:13.089 us old people, one of the most encouraging things 00:17:13.089 --> 00:17:17.630 to me as a pastor was to watch a certain person, 00:17:17.650 --> 00:17:21.829 even in their old age, change. I saw lots of 00:17:21.829 --> 00:17:27.390 growth there. So I'm anticipating that God is 00:17:27.390 --> 00:17:32.000 not too weak to change an old guy like me. So 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:34.019 us old people who are here, maybe that's just 00:17:34.019 --> 00:17:37.539 me and my mom and dad. I guess we'll throw a 00:17:37.539 --> 00:17:45.359 share over there. We can still change. God can 00:17:45.359 --> 00:17:48.740 still do stuff for us. He can still do stuff 00:17:48.740 --> 00:17:52.160 in us. And we can still look forward to a better 00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:57.759 tomorrow. But it's hard. Why is it hard? Right 00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:17.940 off the bat, why is it hard? Okay Okay Well, 00:18:18.119 --> 00:18:20.140 what what's the first thing that has to happen 00:18:20.140 --> 00:18:25.740 before we decide we're going to change Okay Now 00:18:25.740 --> 00:18:29.019 that's foundational and fundamentally the most 00:18:29.019 --> 00:18:35.019 difficult thing What does that require? That 00:18:35.019 --> 00:18:39.279 requires humility it requires some information 00:18:39.279 --> 00:18:43.799 outside of myself. If you're trying to evaluate 00:18:43.799 --> 00:18:46.140 yourself according to your own mind and your 00:18:46.140 --> 00:18:47.960 own imagination, you're always going to come 00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:49.900 to the same conclusion. What's that conclusion? 00:18:51.220 --> 00:18:56.420 I'm pretty good. It's only when that voice comes 00:18:56.420 --> 00:19:00.799 from outside of you and when you submit yourself 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:03.819 and you listen to that voice that you realize, 00:19:03.940 --> 00:19:07.390 I'm not really all that good. There are some 00:19:07.390 --> 00:19:10.130 changes that need to happen in my life. I've 00:19:10.130 --> 00:19:12.589 been doing some things wrong and I've got to 00:19:12.589 --> 00:19:15.849 make some changes The question is whose voice 00:19:15.849 --> 00:19:23.289 are we going to listen to? Sometimes change comes 00:19:23.289 --> 00:19:25.829 from changing circumstances. That's beyond your 00:19:25.829 --> 00:19:30.750 and my control think about it in your life You 00:19:30.750 --> 00:19:33.509 got bored think about something new that you 00:19:33.509 --> 00:19:36.380 decided to do It wasn't that you just decided 00:19:36.380 --> 00:19:39.059 to do something new. It was that you got bored 00:19:39.059 --> 00:19:41.599 with what you were doing. Now that comes from 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:47.680 outside of you. You don't control that. You can't 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:55.539 work that up. Maybe it was a broken relationship. 00:19:56.920 --> 00:19:59.839 I am who I am. I've always been this way. It's 00:19:59.839 --> 00:20:01.819 just part of my personality. And all of a sudden 00:20:01.819 --> 00:20:04.059 you're in a relationship and boom. That person 00:20:04.059 --> 00:20:08.099 is like, whatever you are, I'm done. And you 00:20:08.099 --> 00:20:12.680 realize maybe it's not all the other person. 00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:17.599 Maybe I have to examine myself and look at myself 00:20:17.599 --> 00:20:21.700 and say, I've got to do some changing. Because 00:20:21.700 --> 00:20:27.759 it's not an excuse that I am who I am. That's 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:30.160 outside of you, you see? Until that happens, 00:20:30.180 --> 00:20:32.680 you don't realize it. And you can't work that 00:20:32.680 --> 00:20:37.329 up. Well, there's all kinds, a crisis in life, 00:20:37.450 --> 00:20:40.009 parenthood. I mean, which of us who have been 00:20:40.009 --> 00:20:43.890 parents anticipated the amount of change that 00:20:43.890 --> 00:20:46.009 was going to take place in our life before we 00:20:46.009 --> 00:20:52.750 had kids? None of us. But if there's one thing 00:20:52.750 --> 00:20:57.569 outside of our relationship to Christ that will 00:20:57.569 --> 00:21:01.690 change us, it's kids. Our whole lives are in 00:21:01.690 --> 00:21:03.519 upheaval. All of a sudden, we've got all these 00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:05.460 extra responsibilities. All of a sudden, we've 00:21:05.460 --> 00:21:07.400 got all this extra stuff we've got to think about. 00:21:07.859 --> 00:21:10.500 All of a sudden, I've got to learn that my hobbies 00:21:10.500 --> 00:21:13.759 or my interests have to become secondary to the 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:15.819 interests of my kids and my family and my wife 00:21:15.819 --> 00:21:19.319 and my responsibilities. That affects change. 00:21:20.559 --> 00:21:23.339 If you've ever known an older person that was 00:21:23.339 --> 00:21:28.119 never able to have kids, you can tell. They don't 00:21:28.119 --> 00:21:30.259 relate to what it is to be a parent, because 00:21:30.259 --> 00:21:33.450 they were never parents. It's not a bad thing 00:21:33.450 --> 00:21:35.829 sometimes God gives us children sometimes he 00:21:35.829 --> 00:21:39.930 doesn't But you can see the change and none of 00:21:39.930 --> 00:21:42.569 us said I think I'm going to change so I'm gonna 00:21:42.569 --> 00:21:50.250 have some kids Did anybody ever say that? So 00:21:50.250 --> 00:21:53.130 that's all outside of ourselves right, but God 00:21:53.130 --> 00:21:57.549 does use those things to change us How about 00:21:57.549 --> 00:22:00.029 this one it's complex and it's unpredictable 00:22:00.440 --> 00:22:02.619 Have you noticed that when you try to change? 00:22:03.500 --> 00:22:08.599 It's not always that easy. Well, for one thing, 00:22:08.700 --> 00:22:11.380 because I think it was Brian that said, we're 00:22:11.380 --> 00:22:13.960 still in the flesh. We're still in bodies. We 00:22:13.960 --> 00:22:17.460 still have bodies. Bodies still making their 00:22:17.460 --> 00:22:20.579 demands on us. We've been set free from sin, 00:22:21.079 --> 00:22:29.359 but we still live in these bodies. So we've got 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:34.369 to what? In the midst of crisis or in the midst 00:22:34.369 --> 00:22:38.130 of this just gradual progressive change, we've 00:22:38.130 --> 00:22:40.390 got to see our thinking change, and that's hard. 00:22:41.990 --> 00:22:44.730 What we know about God, what we believe about 00:22:44.730 --> 00:22:47.809 God, what we believe about my relationship with 00:22:47.809 --> 00:22:49.950 God and what He intends for me, that may have 00:22:49.950 --> 00:22:53.750 to change as I read the scripture and I understand 00:22:53.750 --> 00:23:03.380 it. And that's not easy. There is a real physical 00:23:03.380 --> 00:23:08.420 aspect to change. When you think about the way 00:23:08.420 --> 00:23:11.380 your brain works, the way your brain thinks, 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:17.299 the way your brain experiences happiness, the 00:23:17.299 --> 00:23:23.140 way your brain experiences sadness, that's real. 00:23:24.460 --> 00:23:27.579 And that's different for me than it is for you. 00:23:27.799 --> 00:23:30.359 And those things, those of us who were converted 00:23:30.359 --> 00:23:33.500 later on in life have got a whole bunch of wires 00:23:33.500 --> 00:23:37.420 that are crossing our brains. Now that's just 00:23:37.420 --> 00:23:41.579 the truth of it. You cannot hide from that and 00:23:41.579 --> 00:23:45.099 we will not try to paint that as though it did 00:23:45.099 --> 00:23:50.339 not exist. But God is able to overcome that. 00:23:50.680 --> 00:23:55.069 Do you believe that? Am I submitting that to 00:23:55.069 --> 00:23:58.769 the Lord? And am I asking Him, rework this in 00:23:58.769 --> 00:24:03.430 me? Because I want to have my will completely 00:24:03.430 --> 00:24:08.349 consisted in whatever your will is for me. That's 00:24:08.349 --> 00:24:13.309 where I want to be. And God does that. He changes 00:24:13.309 --> 00:24:15.890 our desires. He changes the way that we think. 00:24:17.269 --> 00:24:19.809 How about this one? We're in the middle of, we're 00:24:19.809 --> 00:24:22.309 saying, okay, I see this, I've got to change 00:24:22.309 --> 00:24:26.490 it. Something has to be done. I cannot go on 00:24:26.490 --> 00:24:30.069 like this and we embark down the road of change 00:24:30.069 --> 00:24:34.450 and Before too long all that we realize what 00:24:34.450 --> 00:24:36.769 it is that we've set out and the cost of what 00:24:36.769 --> 00:24:40.250 it's going to be Has anybody here ever experienced 00:24:40.250 --> 00:24:47.730 that? And what seems to happen The price that 00:24:47.730 --> 00:24:51.089 it's going to cost me to bring to see change 00:24:51.089 --> 00:24:56.119 here is not is way more than what I thought. 00:24:56.539 --> 00:25:02.000 And it seems to way outweigh the benefit. Now 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:05.099 that's appearance. That's the way we sense it. 00:25:05.119 --> 00:25:07.099 That's the way we feel it. That's the way we 00:25:07.099 --> 00:25:09.920 experience it. Or that's the way our flesh cries 00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:16.960 out. It makes it hard. What's another reason? 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:20.599 Well, we'll just use the example of the crisis 00:25:20.599 --> 00:25:23.940 in relationship. So I say, okay, I've got to 00:25:23.940 --> 00:25:26.839 change. It gets to be really hard. I start thinking, 00:25:26.980 --> 00:25:30.539 you know what? Maybe it was that other person's 00:25:30.539 --> 00:25:34.480 fault. Maybe there's somebody else I can blame 00:25:34.480 --> 00:25:39.839 besides myself. Or maybe that just is part of 00:25:39.839 --> 00:25:42.160 your decision making process when you're trying 00:25:42.160 --> 00:25:47.720 to evaluate if you need to change. How much blame 00:25:47.720 --> 00:25:49.640 am I going to put on the other person? Am I going 00:25:49.640 --> 00:25:52.650 to take all the responsibility? It's a lot easier 00:25:52.650 --> 00:25:58.410 if I can just point the finger and blame. How 00:25:58.410 --> 00:26:03.170 about this one? I expected that by now, after 00:26:03.170 --> 00:26:06.250 all this effort, this thing would have been changed 00:26:06.250 --> 00:26:11.150 and I'd be over it. Has anybody ever experienced 00:26:11.150 --> 00:26:15.150 that? Reality just doesn't meet your expectations. 00:26:17.069 --> 00:26:19.690 I thought that, I mean I've prayed, I've done 00:26:19.690 --> 00:26:23.089 everything that I'm supposed to do. And yet, 00:26:23.410 --> 00:26:35.549 I'm still waiting for the change to happen. And 00:26:35.549 --> 00:26:38.509 it's also difficult, why? Because it takes sustained 00:26:38.509 --> 00:26:44.069 effort and difficult choices. Consistently. Sustained. 00:26:44.839 --> 00:26:47.779 You can't we don't make one choice and then change 00:26:47.779 --> 00:26:55.779 appears rarely But consistently when confronted 00:26:55.779 --> 00:26:58.259 with this choice, I'm going to make the right 00:26:58.259 --> 00:27:01.619 decision I'm not going to think about it doesn't 00:27:01.619 --> 00:27:04.180 matter to me. I I've thought about it ahead of 00:27:04.180 --> 00:27:06.720 time I thought I knew the cost but even if I 00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:09.220 don't know the cost This is the way that I'm 00:27:09.220 --> 00:27:11.599 going to go and what I'm going to do that by 00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:16.569 faith. I'm going to trust But then each occasion 00:27:16.569 --> 00:27:20.470 a decision has to be made a choice stands before 00:27:20.470 --> 00:27:24.190 you and you have to make a decision and You have 00:27:24.190 --> 00:27:28.289 to make that decision over and over and over 00:27:28.289 --> 00:27:33.250 and over again in your life And this is a this 00:27:33.250 --> 00:27:36.170 is another one why is change hard it's because 00:27:36.170 --> 00:27:38.769 of the of the relationships that are required 00:27:38.769 --> 00:27:44.569 If you're not in Christ, then you're just You're 00:27:44.569 --> 00:27:47.789 without power. You have no authority. You're 00:27:47.789 --> 00:27:52.130 just you're being drug around But for the Christian 00:27:52.130 --> 00:27:57.329 he does have that But how hard is it to be open 00:27:57.329 --> 00:28:02.730 to be honest? To be completely trusting in a 00:28:02.730 --> 00:28:08.369 personal relationship with someone else What's 00:28:08.369 --> 00:28:14.980 the difficulty of that it's hard But it's required. 00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:20.619 And then you've got the whole difficulty of living 00:28:20.619 --> 00:28:29.059 honestly before the church. Again, it's hard. 00:28:31.720 --> 00:28:34.460 Am I willing to invest the time that's needed 00:28:34.460 --> 00:28:37.480 for the people that I worship with that are on 00:28:37.480 --> 00:28:40.079 this road with me together to really know me? 00:28:42.380 --> 00:28:45.460 Am I going to avail myself of the opportunity 00:28:45.460 --> 00:28:51.539 to learn from them? To be used by them? To be 00:28:51.539 --> 00:28:57.000 useful to them? That's not easy. But the Bible 00:28:57.000 --> 00:29:00.079 holds out consistently that change happens within 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:03.980 that framework. These people who are in Christ, 00:29:05.039 --> 00:29:08.059 who have friends, and what's a friend? A friend 00:29:08.059 --> 00:29:11.660 is somebody that is willing to to tell you the 00:29:11.660 --> 00:29:16.660 hard truth. What's the proverb? The strike of 00:29:16.660 --> 00:29:25.680 a friend. I can't quote it. Anybody? No. Okay. 00:29:26.460 --> 00:29:28.839 The strike of a friend is better than the kiss 00:29:28.839 --> 00:29:33.880 of an enemy. But what? That can't come. That 00:29:33.880 --> 00:29:35.779 blow from a friend can't come if he doesn't know 00:29:35.779 --> 00:29:41.569 you. That's a friend. A friend knows you. So, 00:29:42.650 --> 00:29:46.009 are we fostering that type of relationship? What 00:29:46.009 --> 00:29:54.369 is it that the relationship that the world looks 00:29:54.369 --> 00:30:03.089 for? Is this working? Well, if I'm an alcoholic, 00:30:03.190 --> 00:30:05.589 what type of relationship am I looking for? I 00:30:05.589 --> 00:30:10.579 want to change that. What's that? But I want 00:30:10.579 --> 00:30:15.380 to change it. Now where do I go? I find a whole 00:30:15.380 --> 00:30:20.880 bunch of people who are just like me. In this 00:30:20.880 --> 00:30:25.339 day and age with this, you have this segmented 00:30:25.339 --> 00:30:29.000 society that we have. What? If I have any type 00:30:29.000 --> 00:30:32.200 of problem or I perceive myself as a victim in 00:30:32.200 --> 00:30:36.390 any kind of way, then what do I seek out? A whole 00:30:36.390 --> 00:30:38.450 bunch of people that think the same way and have 00:30:38.450 --> 00:30:41.250 the same problems as me. And I just immerse myself 00:30:41.250 --> 00:30:43.990 in that type of relationship. And what do I get? 00:30:44.890 --> 00:30:50.569 I get affirmation. What the world will tell you 00:30:50.569 --> 00:30:54.130 is, yeah, it's OK. Look. Look around the room 00:30:54.130 --> 00:30:56.589 here. We're all in the same boat together. We 00:30:56.589 --> 00:31:01.769 can't all be that bad. Just is what it is. That's 00:31:01.769 --> 00:31:07.569 what we are. And what does that do? Just makes 00:31:07.569 --> 00:31:11.009 it a hundred times harder to see the necessity 00:31:11.009 --> 00:31:14.470 of change and to break free from those type from 00:31:14.470 --> 00:31:18.329 that relationship To get outside of that relationship 00:31:18.329 --> 00:31:20.490 so that something positive can happen in your 00:31:20.490 --> 00:31:28.130 life So whatever you do stay out of those bubbles 00:31:28.130 --> 00:31:31.970 the bubble that you want to be in is this bubble 00:31:31.970 --> 00:31:35.660 right here You don't need somebody to give you 00:31:35.660 --> 00:31:37.880 affirmation that you're okay the way that you 00:31:37.880 --> 00:31:41.079 are You don't need to look around and say well 00:31:41.079 --> 00:31:43.259 look at all these every world. Well. I guess 00:31:43.259 --> 00:31:46.779 just my life is just a life of struggle Everybody 00:31:46.779 --> 00:31:48.940 around me and everybody that I see everybody 00:31:48.940 --> 00:31:52.000 with whom I have a relationship has the same 00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:55.000 problems as me I Don't see anybody else making 00:31:55.000 --> 00:32:03.920 progress Let's be okay So we don't want that. 00:32:04.819 --> 00:32:07.180 Let's get ourselves in the relationships that 00:32:07.180 --> 00:32:13.180 God has given for us. In Him. Friendship. And 00:32:13.180 --> 00:32:16.920 in the church. Alright. Any questions? Discussions? 00:32:17.140 --> 00:32:20.960 Anybody want to add anything to that? Have I 00:32:20.960 --> 00:32:23.460 missed something? Have I exaggerated it? Is your 00:32:23.460 --> 00:32:35.859 experience different? permanently reshaped character, 00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:40.579 consistently modified thinking choices and decisions, 00:32:42.000 --> 00:33:04.160 and decisively altered behaviors. What do you 00:33:04.160 --> 00:33:21.720 want to say, anything? Oh. Spontaneous and dramatic 00:33:21.720 --> 00:33:25.680 or minimal and gradual. Visible or invisible. 00:33:27.339 --> 00:33:32.299 Deliberate, accidental. Okay. Lasting, fleeting, 00:33:32.440 --> 00:33:41.849 permanent, temporary. It's accidental in the 00:33:41.849 --> 00:33:44.349 sense that sometimes the circumstances come from 00:33:44.349 --> 00:33:48.490 outside of us. It's always deliberate in the 00:33:48.490 --> 00:33:54.730 sense that we make choices. Maybe it's not expressed 00:33:54.730 --> 00:34:02.630 exactly right. Okay, so what when we talk about 00:34:02.630 --> 00:34:05.819 transformation or change, what What are you guys 00:34:05.819 --> 00:34:09.460 used to hearing as a term that describes that? 00:34:11.800 --> 00:34:14.880 Anybody? Sanctification. What is it? Sanctification. 00:34:15.920 --> 00:34:21.039 Okay. And probably if I had my way, we would 00:34:21.039 --> 00:34:23.699 understand sanctification as a one -time thing 00:34:23.699 --> 00:34:26.960 and talk about something else. I think more and 00:34:26.960 --> 00:34:28.760 more I'm starting to think it's glorification. 00:34:29.219 --> 00:34:31.340 Paul does tell us we're changed from glory to 00:34:31.340 --> 00:34:36.949 glory as we look into Christ. When we think of 00:34:36.949 --> 00:34:41.409 glorification, what do we think? We think of 00:34:41.409 --> 00:34:48.070 heaven So I'm not trying to rewrite history In 00:34:48.070 --> 00:34:51.210 what we what I say here tonight, we've always 00:34:51.210 --> 00:34:55.110 taught here that sanctification is both a one 00:34:55.110 --> 00:35:01.110 -time act of God on you and an ongoing process 00:35:01.110 --> 00:35:03.710 of being changed into the likeness of of his 00:35:03.710 --> 00:35:05.869 son and that's fine as long as we understand 00:35:05.869 --> 00:35:11.369 that it takes both of those things. In the history 00:35:11.369 --> 00:35:16.030 of the church, what are the three main horrible 00:35:16.030 --> 00:35:18.489 teachings that have affected the way that we 00:35:18.489 --> 00:35:20.230 think about change and the way that we think 00:35:20.230 --> 00:35:25.949 about ourselves as Christians? The first one 00:35:25.949 --> 00:35:28.469 is the holiness movement and that comes from 00:35:28.469 --> 00:35:33.530 who? It all originates back to John Wesley. And 00:35:33.530 --> 00:35:35.769 what did John Wesley believe? Kind of. He was 00:35:35.769 --> 00:35:41.690 doing very good at expressing it. Sinless perfection 00:35:41.690 --> 00:35:52.650 in this world. Is that? It's not. So when we 00:35:52.650 --> 00:35:56.349 think about that, what is our goal as Christians 00:35:56.349 --> 00:36:04.690 in this world? Is that your goal? Or are you 00:36:04.690 --> 00:36:07.710 satisfied with just kind of, maybe if I can just 00:36:07.710 --> 00:36:11.769 get rid of a few sins here and there? I'll call 00:36:11.769 --> 00:36:15.949 it a day or I'll call it a career. So if you 00:36:15.949 --> 00:36:20.869 don't have that as your goal to be perfect in 00:36:20.869 --> 00:36:24.010 this world while I'm in this body, I want to 00:36:24.010 --> 00:36:26.789 be perfect, then you're setting your sights way 00:36:26.789 --> 00:36:31.280 too low. All that you've done is given yourself 00:36:31.280 --> 00:36:33.340 an excuse for all kinds of things. And that's 00:36:33.340 --> 00:36:35.619 exactly what Wesley was trying to protect against. 00:36:36.760 --> 00:36:39.139 He didn't want somebody to think, well, I'm in 00:36:39.139 --> 00:36:42.099 Christ, I'm a Christian, but I can just have 00:36:42.099 --> 00:36:46.599 this stagnated life that's full of sin or maybe 00:36:46.599 --> 00:36:50.139 minimal or no progress at all. But he went too 00:36:50.139 --> 00:36:53.699 far. We always have to be careful of that. We 00:36:53.699 --> 00:36:57.000 see wrong teaching. But what we want to do is 00:36:57.000 --> 00:36:59.679 not try to balance the scale. That's kind of 00:36:59.679 --> 00:37:02.619 the way I think we think. Well, this guy is going 00:37:02.619 --> 00:37:04.860 way too far this way, so I have to go way too 00:37:04.860 --> 00:37:08.119 far this way, and then the middle. What do we 00:37:08.119 --> 00:37:11.599 do as Christians? We're not interested in balancing 00:37:11.599 --> 00:37:14.280 the scale. You got this arrow over here, but 00:37:14.280 --> 00:37:16.519 all I want to do is walk right down that balance 00:37:16.519 --> 00:37:19.079 beam and teach whatever it is that God tells 00:37:19.079 --> 00:37:23.530 me. And if more people believe this, that's their 00:37:23.530 --> 00:37:26.010 problem. But I'm not going to overreact to try 00:37:26.010 --> 00:37:29.150 to compensate for this wrong teaching. I'm simply 00:37:29.150 --> 00:37:33.630 going to study the Word and believe that. So 00:37:33.630 --> 00:37:38.210 there's one, and that's a problem. If you say 00:37:38.210 --> 00:37:42.650 that it is going to happen, then there's never 00:37:42.650 --> 00:37:45.969 been a Christian on this earth that has achieved 00:37:45.969 --> 00:37:49.269 that. Their personal experience has not matched 00:37:49.269 --> 00:37:52.880 up with an unreasonable expectation and it never 00:37:52.880 --> 00:38:06.340 will. I don't think so, no. How could he? Right. 00:38:14.480 --> 00:38:18.349 What's the inevitable result if you believe that 00:38:18.349 --> 00:38:21.250 God has called you to sinless perfection in this 00:38:21.250 --> 00:38:30.590 world and you haven't achieved it. And eventually 00:38:30.590 --> 00:38:36.469 what? Maybe I'm not a Christian. Yeah. If the 00:38:36.469 --> 00:38:38.730 point of salvation is to bring me to sinless 00:38:38.730 --> 00:38:41.690 perfection in this world and I'm not there, I 00:38:41.690 --> 00:38:44.809 guess I'm not a Christian. That's the danger. 00:38:46.090 --> 00:38:50.510 But that doesn't remove from us the command of 00:38:50.510 --> 00:38:53.590 God to have as our goal to be like His Son, which 00:38:53.590 --> 00:39:00.269 is what? Sinless perfection. So we set that as 00:39:00.269 --> 00:39:03.469 the goal, and we don't settle for anything less. 00:39:05.989 --> 00:39:08.929 What's the second one? How about this one? Some 00:39:08.929 --> 00:39:13.900 of you came out of Pentecostal churches. What's 00:39:13.900 --> 00:39:16.880 the big teaching in Pentecostal churches regarding 00:39:16.880 --> 00:39:24.159 being changed? What do you need for that to be 00:39:24.159 --> 00:39:27.920 accomplished? To have this gradual change into 00:39:27.920 --> 00:39:33.280 the image of Christ. You gotta have a second 00:39:33.280 --> 00:39:36.780 work of the Spirit. You gotta have the second 00:39:36.780 --> 00:39:42.289 blessing. Yeah, the Spirit's at work in all people 00:39:42.289 --> 00:39:44.989 to come to faith in Christ. But if you really 00:39:44.989 --> 00:39:47.250 want to progress on in your knowledge of Christ, 00:39:47.309 --> 00:39:50.070 if you really want to progress on in your change 00:39:50.070 --> 00:39:52.269 and transformation of your thinking and of the 00:39:52.269 --> 00:39:54.269 way that you act, then you're going to have to 00:39:54.269 --> 00:39:58.969 have the second work of the Spirit. Now, that's 00:39:58.969 --> 00:40:02.869 just as wrong as sinless perfectionism. And it 00:40:02.869 --> 00:40:04.829 leaves a whole lot of room for a whole lot of 00:40:04.829 --> 00:40:08.639 people to say what? Well, I'm just not in that 00:40:08.639 --> 00:40:10.320 class of Christians that has the second work 00:40:10.320 --> 00:40:12.519 of the Spirit. So I guess I'm doing pretty good 00:40:12.519 --> 00:40:16.699 just the way that I am. I believed in Jesus. 00:40:18.760 --> 00:40:22.679 I still believe in Jesus. I'm trusting Him. That's 00:40:22.679 --> 00:40:25.480 good enough. If God wants me to go further than 00:40:25.480 --> 00:40:27.139 that, I'm going to have to have the second blessing 00:40:27.139 --> 00:40:30.059 of the Spirit. Since I don't speak in tongues 00:40:30.059 --> 00:40:32.739 or I don't have any evidence of it, since I don't 00:40:32.739 --> 00:40:35.119 see it at work in my life, that I've never had 00:40:35.119 --> 00:40:38.980 it, I guess I am what I am. Or you have people 00:40:38.980 --> 00:40:41.940 going the other way. And the only thing that 00:40:41.940 --> 00:40:45.179 they think about, the only thing that they pray 00:40:45.179 --> 00:40:48.980 about, the only thing that they want is the second 00:40:48.980 --> 00:40:53.380 blessing of the Holy Spirit. Their whole life 00:40:53.380 --> 00:40:57.860 revolves around this thing. It's wrong. It's 00:40:57.860 --> 00:41:00.659 unscriptural. It's nowhere found in the Bible. 00:41:03.559 --> 00:41:07.760 The third thing is prosperity. Oh, and as a corollary 00:41:07.760 --> 00:41:12.940 to that, you have the carnal Christian idea. 00:41:13.280 --> 00:41:15.559 I think that comes right from the same place. 00:41:17.440 --> 00:41:20.099 Yeah, they don't chalk it up as you don't have 00:41:20.099 --> 00:41:22.880 the second work of the Spirit. They just chalk 00:41:22.880 --> 00:41:25.639 it up to your own personal will that you haven't 00:41:25.639 --> 00:41:28.079 yet taken Jesus as your Lord. You've only taken 00:41:28.079 --> 00:41:30.239 Him as your Savior. So you can live however you 00:41:30.239 --> 00:41:35.489 want. So instead of you waiting on a second work 00:41:35.489 --> 00:41:39.389 of the Lord in you and name it the second blessing 00:41:39.389 --> 00:41:42.949 of the Spirit What you see is the Lord waiting 00:41:42.949 --> 00:41:46.989 on you to make a second decision to follow him 00:41:46.989 --> 00:41:50.429 as your Lord But they both come from the same 00:41:50.429 --> 00:41:52.929 place and they both result in the same thing 00:41:52.929 --> 00:41:56.530 These people who think that they're Christians, 00:41:56.550 --> 00:42:00.730 but they're powerless These people who think 00:42:00.730 --> 00:42:02.309 that they're Christians, but there's no change 00:42:02.309 --> 00:42:09.789 in their lives. The third thing then is the whole 00:42:09.789 --> 00:42:14.650 prosperity thing. And how does that fit in? Well, 00:42:14.650 --> 00:42:20.329 what are they telling you? Jesus is what? He's 00:42:20.329 --> 00:42:24.309 like the cure -all. Poor? Boy, you need to become 00:42:24.309 --> 00:42:29.039 a Christian. If you just become a Christian, 00:42:29.619 --> 00:42:32.539 Jesus will take care of all of your money problems. 00:42:34.639 --> 00:42:37.739 Struggling in some kind of way? You need to come 00:42:37.739 --> 00:42:41.000 to Jesus and He'll take care of that too. Oh, 00:42:41.000 --> 00:42:43.940 you have a sickness? Well come here, we'll take 00:42:43.940 --> 00:42:47.800 care of it. What's the anticipation in the prosperity 00:42:47.800 --> 00:42:53.599 gospel? What's the expectation? What do they 00:42:53.599 --> 00:42:58.719 hold out as the promise? A life of cross bearing? 00:42:59.420 --> 00:43:03.739 A life of dying? A life of following Christ and 00:43:03.739 --> 00:43:09.039 suffering? Is that what they hold out? Everything's 00:43:09.039 --> 00:43:12.300 going to be fine. The only reason you're suffering 00:43:12.300 --> 00:43:13.760 in this world is because you don't have enough 00:43:13.760 --> 00:43:18.880 faith. Oh, you haven't been cured of your broken 00:43:18.880 --> 00:43:21.860 leg? You haven't been cured of the cirrhosis 00:43:21.860 --> 00:43:23.400 of your liver? It's because you don't have enough 00:43:23.400 --> 00:43:25.679 faith. God doesn't want you to struggle. God 00:43:25.679 --> 00:43:32.559 doesn't want you to suffer. That leaves a person 00:43:32.559 --> 00:43:36.079 what? Completely introspective and without hope. 00:43:36.519 --> 00:43:38.920 Everything is my fault. Everything is dependent 00:43:38.920 --> 00:43:51.760 upon me. Now we're not those people. Hopefully 00:43:51.760 --> 00:43:54.280 we... I know you've never heard any of those 00:43:54.280 --> 00:43:57.380 teachings. Hopefully you've never gotten any 00:43:57.380 --> 00:43:59.639 inkling of them. Hopefully they've been so far 00:43:59.639 --> 00:44:01.400 away that you've never even considered it could 00:44:01.400 --> 00:44:03.920 be true and that's right. You'd be perfectly 00:44:03.920 --> 00:44:07.659 right to think that way and I hope that it is. 00:44:12.199 --> 00:44:17.079 One of the things unquestionably that God uses 00:44:17.079 --> 00:44:23.460 to affect change in our life is what? suffering. 00:44:28.159 --> 00:44:32.559 Now until we settle down in that, until we're 00:44:32.559 --> 00:44:39.039 ready to, what does it take to suffer in faith? 00:44:41.880 --> 00:44:58.909 What do you have to believe? That's hard. This 00:44:58.909 --> 00:45:02.250 is the place. This is the life experience. This 00:45:02.250 --> 00:45:07.590 is where God has put me. This is God's sovereign 00:45:07.590 --> 00:45:10.449 power in my life expressed and it has brought 00:45:10.449 --> 00:45:13.590 me to trial. It has brought me to suffering. 00:45:14.769 --> 00:45:20.210 But God has a plan in all this. This isn't random. 00:45:20.889 --> 00:45:23.289 Now this goes back to what I believe and what 00:45:23.289 --> 00:45:26.599 I know. What do I have to know in order to live 00:45:26.599 --> 00:45:30.000 in that trial? I've really got to believe that 00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:33.320 God is sovereign, that God is almighty, and that 00:45:33.320 --> 00:45:37.000 God has so coordinated events in the entire history 00:45:37.000 --> 00:45:40.260 of the world to bring me to this place with this 00:45:40.260 --> 00:45:45.000 problem and to have this trial in my life. God 00:45:45.000 --> 00:45:48.300 is disciplining me in some kind of way for good. 00:45:49.219 --> 00:45:51.699 But if I don't know that about God, I can't be 00:45:51.699 --> 00:45:55.809 there. If I have somehow bought into the whole 00:45:55.809 --> 00:46:00.130 idea that God has given the devil some kind of 00:46:00.130 --> 00:46:03.510 autonomy, and it's the devil that's bringing 00:46:03.510 --> 00:46:05.909 this to me, and there's no God, it's not God's 00:46:05.909 --> 00:46:11.630 plan, and God doesn't have any authority here, 00:46:13.989 --> 00:46:16.889 then all I'm going to do is what? Kick and scream 00:46:16.889 --> 00:46:19.789 and be resentful. I'm going to kick and scream 00:46:19.789 --> 00:46:27.849 and give up on God. So our thinking has got to 00:46:27.849 --> 00:46:30.789 be right and the prosperity gospel has got to 00:46:30.789 --> 00:46:34.269 be wrong because it is anti the entire teaching 00:46:34.269 --> 00:46:36.650 of the New Testament. That the Christian will 00:46:36.650 --> 00:46:40.130 suffer, that the Christian is intended to suffer 00:46:40.130 --> 00:46:44.190 just the way that our Savior Jesus Christ suffered. 00:46:44.829 --> 00:46:48.610 And it's a laying down of our life consistently. 00:46:49.869 --> 00:46:54.269 Jesus said what? It's real love to lay down your 00:46:54.269 --> 00:47:02.199 life for your friends. Love one another. How 00:47:02.199 --> 00:47:07.500 hard is that? Is there room in your thinking 00:47:07.500 --> 00:47:14.099 for self -love and loving one another? Do you 00:47:14.099 --> 00:47:17.079 anticipate that you're gonna be able to love 00:47:17.079 --> 00:47:19.639 other people with the extra that you have left 00:47:19.639 --> 00:47:23.420 over after you've loved yourself? That's what 00:47:23.420 --> 00:47:27.599 the world says, right? Well, you can't go help 00:47:27.599 --> 00:47:33.659 people unless you first help yourself Because 00:47:33.659 --> 00:47:35.420 that's not I mean that's what the world says 00:47:35.420 --> 00:47:40.400 does it Let's cure up the way that you think 00:47:40.400 --> 00:47:43.800 about yourself. Let's take care of your insecurities 00:47:43.800 --> 00:47:46.519 Let's take care of this. Let's take care of that. 00:47:46.559 --> 00:47:48.500 Let's do whatever it takes to get you where you 00:47:48.500 --> 00:47:52.840 need to be and then Then you can go become an 00:47:52.840 --> 00:47:54.599 influencer and you can tell everybody else how 00:47:54.599 --> 00:47:59.159 they could be perfect and great But that's not 00:47:59.159 --> 00:48:03.860 the way it is in the Bible In the Bible we're 00:48:03.860 --> 00:48:06.820 taught to just forget about yourself and pour 00:48:06.820 --> 00:48:09.699 yourself into the work of God and whatever That's 00:48:09.699 --> 00:48:12.800 going to cost you personally. That's okay because 00:48:12.800 --> 00:48:17.480 it costs Jesus everything He left it behind in 00:48:17.480 --> 00:48:19.920 heaven to come down here to minister and serve 00:48:20.110 --> 00:48:24.210 people that hated him. He came down here to be 00:48:24.210 --> 00:48:27.650 humiliated and to suffer real physical pain, 00:48:28.389 --> 00:48:33.230 mental anguish. And when he suffered all that, 00:48:33.409 --> 00:48:36.630 so what? So he could get to the tree where they 00:48:36.630 --> 00:48:44.510 were going to hang him. If you anticipate that 00:48:44.510 --> 00:48:46.969 your life ought to be better than that, or should 00:48:46.969 --> 00:48:50.170 be better than that, or is going to be better 00:48:50.170 --> 00:48:53.110 than that than you're looking in the wrong place. 00:48:54.170 --> 00:48:57.849 But what you'll find in the struggles and in 00:48:57.849 --> 00:49:01.010 the trials and in the walking with God is what? 00:49:01.269 --> 00:49:04.230 You're going to find God. And you're going to 00:49:04.230 --> 00:49:08.030 find out that the struggle, that the resisting, 00:49:08.170 --> 00:49:11.409 that the consistent effort that's required is 00:49:11.409 --> 00:49:16.690 met with just the closest and sweetest relationship 00:49:16.909 --> 00:49:24.969 with the God who loves you. I don't know if you 00:49:24.969 --> 00:49:26.829 ever thought about this. How did Jesus teach 00:49:26.829 --> 00:49:35.130 us to pray? What's the first two words? And then 00:49:35.130 --> 00:49:44.369 when he prays, what does he say? Father, did 00:49:44.369 --> 00:49:47.409 you notice that? What does that tell you about 00:49:47.409 --> 00:49:57.969 yourself? You make your requests to God in the 00:49:57.969 --> 00:50:01.590 same language that Jesus did. What does that 00:50:01.590 --> 00:50:04.769 tell you about your relationship to God? You're 00:50:04.769 --> 00:50:09.309 a son. Because we are sons, God sent forth the 00:50:09.309 --> 00:50:12.190 Spirit into our hearts to tell us that God loves 00:50:12.190 --> 00:50:16.889 us. And you are what relation to Christ in that 00:50:16.889 --> 00:50:24.210 context? A brother. How much did God the Father 00:50:24.210 --> 00:50:32.489 love God the Son? Completely. We can think of 00:50:32.489 --> 00:50:38.690 some superlatives that we can say. But Jesus 00:50:38.690 --> 00:50:41.789 taught you to talk to his father the same way 00:50:41.789 --> 00:50:49.750 that he does Now you could probably live the 00:50:49.750 --> 00:50:51.869 entirety of your life and just think in those 00:50:51.869 --> 00:50:54.449 terms of trying to wrap your head around that 00:50:54.449 --> 00:51:04.710 But that's your ally God is for you God tells 00:51:04.710 --> 00:51:07.389 you come to come to me tell me what you want 00:51:08.219 --> 00:51:12.960 Tell me what you need. I've given you an advocate. 00:51:13.440 --> 00:51:16.079 I've given my spirit to you. Come and address 00:51:16.079 --> 00:51:20.760 me as a son. I love you. I intend good and purpose 00:51:20.760 --> 00:51:24.840 good things for you in this world. I intend for 00:51:24.840 --> 00:51:28.739 you to live in joy. I intend for you to live 00:51:28.739 --> 00:51:43.480 in a way that makes the world go what? So the 00:51:43.480 --> 00:51:45.119 next time, and I'm not going to teach here until 00:51:45.119 --> 00:51:50.960 we get back, so I would, if you think about this 00:51:50.960 --> 00:51:53.840 and you have questions, maybe your imagination 00:51:53.840 --> 00:51:56.760 has been served, write them down. The next time 00:51:56.760 --> 00:52:00.659 we're going to talk about regeneration, sanctification, 00:52:01.039 --> 00:52:03.699 justification, and glorification as accomplished 00:52:03.699 --> 00:52:06.980 acts, something that has been accomplished by 00:52:06.980 --> 00:52:09.320 God in the Christian. We're going to see some 00:52:09.320 --> 00:52:12.519 New Testament. Here's the reason that I'm going 00:52:12.519 --> 00:52:19.139 at it this way. What the New Testament tells 00:52:19.139 --> 00:52:21.420 us, you can think about this too, is you are 00:52:21.420 --> 00:52:25.579 this. You've been made alive by the Holy Spirit. 00:52:25.579 --> 00:52:32.360 We call that regeneration. Your problem of sin 00:52:32.360 --> 00:52:34.659 has been dealt with in Christ Jesus. You've been 00:52:34.659 --> 00:52:39.079 declared innocent. That's what? Justification. 00:52:39.530 --> 00:52:42.710 You've been cleansed by the blood of Christ and 00:52:42.710 --> 00:52:48.610 you are holy and pure That's called sanctification 00:52:48.610 --> 00:52:53.050 You are glorified in God's from God's perspective. 00:52:53.250 --> 00:52:55.989 The glorification has happened. It's inevitable. 00:52:56.150 --> 00:53:00.809 It cannot be stopped It doesn't matter what happens 00:53:00.809 --> 00:53:03.789 to you in this world. Nothing can separate you 00:53:03.789 --> 00:53:09.559 from the love of God and Christ Jesus It's already 00:53:09.559 --> 00:53:16.679 happened. What the New Testament tells you then 00:53:16.679 --> 00:53:22.559 is what? Live like that. This is who you are. 00:53:23.820 --> 00:53:26.579 Now go and express that in the way that you live. 00:53:27.079 --> 00:53:30.440 Go demonstrate that it's true that you have a 00:53:30.440 --> 00:53:33.960 new heart. That you've been, your sin problem 00:53:33.960 --> 00:53:35.739 has been taken care of. You're covered in the 00:53:35.739 --> 00:53:37.619 righteousness of Christ. You've come near to 00:53:37.619 --> 00:53:40.960 God. You are pure. You are holy. You are set 00:53:40.960 --> 00:53:44.039 apart for this specific reason. And your end 00:53:44.039 --> 00:53:48.039 is sure. It's not in doubt. It's not in question. 00:53:48.340 --> 00:53:53.719 Now just live like that. Guided by the Word. 00:53:54.179 --> 00:53:58.650 Submitting to the Spirit. With father son and 00:53:58.650 --> 00:54:01.570 spirit in communion with you in that type of 00:54:01.570 --> 00:54:04.610 relationship in the context of a church And with 00:54:04.610 --> 00:54:06.949 some good friends who are able to help you straighten 00:54:06.949 --> 00:54:11.570 out your thinking what it needs to be done Go 00:54:11.570 --> 00:54:15.070 and be that but if we don't know what we are 00:54:15.070 --> 00:54:17.949 If we're living in this world thinking that I'm 00:54:17.949 --> 00:54:20.650 going to become somehow more acceptable to God 00:54:20.650 --> 00:54:23.179 if I can just Be more righteous in the way that 00:54:23.179 --> 00:54:25.539 I live. If I can be more holy in the way that 00:54:25.539 --> 00:54:29.400 I live, then I can draw nearer to God. Then you're 00:54:29.400 --> 00:54:32.840 going to be frustrated. Because it's just not 00:54:32.840 --> 00:54:35.860 going to happen. You're not going to work your 00:54:35.860 --> 00:54:39.260 way into a better relationship with God. You're 00:54:39.260 --> 00:54:41.420 not going to feel better about yourself because 00:54:41.420 --> 00:54:45.039 you were doing better today. The better you do, 00:54:45.059 --> 00:54:47.099 the more you realize there's more work to be 00:54:47.099 --> 00:54:50.920 done. And yet, and still, in my current... condition 00:54:50.920 --> 00:54:54.500 because I am in Christ. I am holy, I am pure, 00:54:54.699 --> 00:54:56.820 I am righteous, and I don't have a sin problem. 00:54:57.500 --> 00:55:03.460 I am God's person in this world, and I am called 00:55:03.460 --> 00:55:08.960 to be in relationship with Him. And the maintenance 00:55:08.960 --> 00:55:12.219 of that relationship is all tied up in Christ. 00:55:15.000 --> 00:55:17.559 So that's how we're going to approach it. What 00:55:17.559 --> 00:55:20.909 are we? We've got to know what we are. And then 00:55:20.909 --> 00:55:26.170 we've got to know how God intends, what means 00:55:26.170 --> 00:55:31.050 He intends to use to change us gradually, all 00:55:31.050 --> 00:55:36.170 at once, gradually or dramatically, and positionally 00:55:36.170 --> 00:55:39.769 in this world. All three of those things. We're 00:55:39.769 --> 00:55:43.369 changed positionally, we are changed gradually, 00:55:43.369 --> 00:55:45.769 and then there are times in our life when we 00:55:45.769 --> 00:55:49.440 see a dramatic change. At conversion, for sure, 00:55:49.519 --> 00:55:54.699 but even then throughout our lives, God does 00:55:54.699 --> 00:55:57.179 occasionally bring that type of dramatic change. 00:56:00.079 --> 00:56:03.139 And that's the way we'll handle it. So think 00:56:03.139 --> 00:56:05.880 about that, see how that sparks some questions 00:56:05.880 --> 00:56:10.179 in your minds, and we'll press on from here when 00:56:10.179 --> 00:56:17.570 we come back. Any questions? The plan's clear. 00:56:18.590 --> 00:56:18.789 Okay.