WEBVTT 00:00:03.819 --> 00:00:10.599 All right, we're in Ephesians again this evening 00:00:10.599 --> 00:00:56.719 So we're in Ephesians chapter 6 Let's read these 00:00:56.719 --> 00:00:59.479 first few verses again here. So Ephesians 6, 00:00:59.479 --> 00:01:02.240 10. Finally, be strong in the Lord and the strength 00:01:02.240 --> 00:01:04.799 of his might. Put on the full armor of God so 00:01:04.799 --> 00:01:06.959 that you will be able to stand firm against the 00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:10.040 schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not 00:01:10.040 --> 00:01:12.000 against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, 00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:14.099 against the powers, against the world forces 00:01:14.099 --> 00:01:16.439 of this darkness, against the spiritual forces 00:01:16.439 --> 00:01:19.480 of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, 00:01:19.579 --> 00:01:21.760 take up the full armor of God so that you will 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:25.099 be able to resist in the evil day. Having done 00:01:25.099 --> 00:01:27.920 everything to stand firm stand firm therefore 00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:29.959 having girded your loins with truth and having 00:01:29.959 --> 00:01:32.959 put on the breastplate of righteousness and Having 00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:35.359 shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:38.659 of peace in addition to all taking up the shield 00:01:38.659 --> 00:01:41.640 of faith which is with which you will be able 00:01:41.640 --> 00:01:44.299 to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil 00:01:44.299 --> 00:01:47.140 one and Take the helmet of salvation and the 00:01:47.140 --> 00:01:50.099 sword of the spirit, which is the word of God 00:01:50.099 --> 00:01:55.030 with all prayer and so on there so We're gonna 00:01:55.030 --> 00:02:02.069 talk this evening about The breastplate of righteousness 00:02:02.069 --> 00:02:05.849 here in verse 14 so we talked last week about 00:02:05.849 --> 00:02:09.150 girding our loins with truth and Now he says 00:02:09.150 --> 00:02:15.909 to put on the breastplate of righteousness a 00:02:15.909 --> 00:02:19.370 Couple things it's good. So hopefully you know 00:02:19.370 --> 00:02:22.389 we read those few verses every week and when 00:02:22.389 --> 00:02:25.729 I'm And any time I'm preaching or teaching, I'm 00:02:25.729 --> 00:02:29.550 reading those verses multiple times a week. Usually 00:02:29.550 --> 00:02:31.629 every time I begin to study, I read that whole 00:02:31.629 --> 00:02:34.909 passage. Okay. So I would encourage you that 00:02:34.909 --> 00:02:36.750 throughout the week, as you think about these 00:02:36.750 --> 00:02:39.389 things, read those first, those whatever that 00:02:39.389 --> 00:02:43.669 is seven verses, because it becomes familiar 00:02:43.669 --> 00:02:46.530 and you may not be able to quote it perfectly 00:02:46.530 --> 00:02:49.909 after doing that, but it will become very familiar 00:02:49.909 --> 00:02:53.210 so that you'll know where it is and you'll have 00:02:53.210 --> 00:02:55.370 a good idea of what's being said and of course 00:02:55.370 --> 00:02:58.210 you could always take the time to memorize those 00:02:58.210 --> 00:03:02.349 seven verses which would be beneficial. So usually 00:03:02.349 --> 00:03:05.870 by the time I'm done teaching something I have 00:03:05.870 --> 00:03:09.430 a very good working knowledge of that portion 00:03:09.430 --> 00:03:12.490 and I'm able to recall it to mind because I've 00:03:12.490 --> 00:03:15.330 just read it time and again and so that's helpful. 00:03:15.610 --> 00:03:18.110 Even if I don't memorize it intentionally, it's 00:03:18.110 --> 00:03:20.490 at least very profitable in that regard. So let 00:03:20.490 --> 00:03:23.069 me encourage you in that Secondly here. I want 00:03:23.069 --> 00:03:27.430 to remind us that As we because we go on here 00:03:27.430 --> 00:03:29.870 and talk about each piece that we're to put on 00:03:29.870 --> 00:03:37.389 here each piece of this armor Keep in mind what 00:03:37.389 --> 00:03:42.300 this armor is for okay, so What is it for? Why 00:03:42.300 --> 00:03:44.719 does Paul tell us to put the armor on? What's 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:51.099 the reason for it? It's to stand, to stand firm 00:03:51.099 --> 00:03:54.060 against the devil, right? That's his whole point. 00:03:54.120 --> 00:03:56.219 That's the reason he's writing all this. He says, 00:03:56.780 --> 00:03:59.039 do this so that you'll be able to stand firm, 00:03:59.180 --> 00:04:02.000 so that you'll be able to resist. So each piece 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:05.780 of this armor is meant for our resistance of 00:04:05.780 --> 00:04:10.860 the devil, sin, the world. Okay, so keep that 00:04:10.860 --> 00:04:13.379 in mind. So if you're wondering what does this 00:04:13.379 --> 00:04:15.379 mean? How does this apply? How does it apply 00:04:15.379 --> 00:04:18.459 to our lives in our resistance against sin and 00:04:18.459 --> 00:04:22.800 our striving against Satan? Okay So again that 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:24.980 helps us in the context of what we're talking 00:04:24.980 --> 00:04:28.040 about that it's not some thing over here that 00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:31.279 has nothing to do with my resistance Against 00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:35.000 sin and Satan Anyway, I just think that that's 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:36.740 always helpful to keep in mind as we go through 00:04:36.740 --> 00:04:39.810 these things All right, so he says to put on 00:04:39.810 --> 00:04:44.370 the breastplate of righteousness So this breastplate 00:04:44.370 --> 00:04:47.230 We're probably familiar with it if you if you 00:04:47.230 --> 00:04:50.449 think of a soldier. He's got this chest protector 00:04:50.449 --> 00:04:53.889 going from his neck down to his hips or his loins 00:04:53.889 --> 00:04:56.670 here and Usually it's going to be front and back 00:04:56.670 --> 00:05:00.610 and so it's protection for his vital organs Other 00:05:00.610 --> 00:05:02.870 than his head obviously, but his organs there. 00:05:03.449 --> 00:05:08.089 So what does what? What does that represent? 00:05:08.810 --> 00:05:11.750 Anybody have any ideas when we're talking about 00:05:11.750 --> 00:05:14.569 these vital organs? How does scripture represent 00:05:14.569 --> 00:05:17.910 these things? What does it mean when we're talking 00:05:17.910 --> 00:05:23.589 about our heart, bowels, and so on? What is the 00:05:23.589 --> 00:05:27.250 Bible speaking of often when it speaks of those 00:05:27.250 --> 00:05:48.620 things? Good answer though Okay How about we 00:05:48.620 --> 00:05:53.300 heard of the bowels of mercies Okay, our emotions 00:05:53.300 --> 00:05:57.139 our feelings our sensibilities Okay, it's not 00:05:57.139 --> 00:06:01.680 it's not our mind All right, it's it's these 00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:03.939 inner thoughts and feelings that we're talking 00:06:03.939 --> 00:06:08.579 about maybe we could we could Conscience our 00:06:08.579 --> 00:06:11.540 conscience our heart The sensitive parts, our 00:06:11.540 --> 00:06:15.920 feelings, our affections, those are the things 00:06:15.920 --> 00:06:20.079 here that the Bible often uses to speak of these 00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:23.019 parts of our body. So that's what we're talking 00:06:23.019 --> 00:06:25.300 about here. That's what we're protecting with 00:06:25.300 --> 00:06:29.740 this breastplate of righteousness. So the next 00:06:29.740 --> 00:06:49.899 question then is, what is righteousness? God's 00:06:49.899 --> 00:07:02.319 goodness. There's more than one. Yes, yes and 00:07:02.319 --> 00:07:18.670 yes. Okay. It was a Psalm where David says, Oh 00:07:18.670 --> 00:07:22.769 God of my righteousness. So did we hear Jake? 00:07:22.769 --> 00:07:25.389 He mentioned imputed righteousness. And so we'll 00:07:25.389 --> 00:07:28.529 talk about that. He also said imparted righteousness. 00:07:28.629 --> 00:07:34.750 Is that something different? Yes. Okay. So imputed, 00:07:34.990 --> 00:07:39.110 imparted, but what is it? I want to go back here 00:07:39.110 --> 00:07:45.550 to what is righteousness? Just a simple definition. 00:07:45.870 --> 00:07:48.250 Different than what Jake gave if we're talking 00:07:48.250 --> 00:07:52.230 about righteousness if I say Caleb you should 00:07:52.230 --> 00:08:01.689 live a righteous life What do I mean? Okay, upright 00:08:01.689 --> 00:08:09.350 Doing what's right, you know living virtuously 00:08:09.350 --> 00:08:15.910 Morally we could say Again, righteousness here, 00:08:16.610 --> 00:08:19.649 we could say, obeying God's commands, living 00:08:19.649 --> 00:08:23.689 in a right way according to God's precepts, his 00:08:23.689 --> 00:08:28.670 ordinances, right living, righteous living. So 00:08:28.670 --> 00:08:32.389 righteousness. Now there is this righteousness 00:08:32.389 --> 00:08:35.889 that Jake mentioned. Imparted righteousness and 00:08:35.889 --> 00:08:38.210 imputed righteousness. What is imputed righteousness? 00:08:38.350 --> 00:08:46.309 What do we mean by that? Okay, we're made righteous. 00:08:47.070 --> 00:08:49.289 Is there another way that we would say that? 00:08:49.610 --> 00:08:58.710 What does it mean to impute? Okay, I wrote down 00:08:58.710 --> 00:09:00.730 here, and I don't know where I got this from, 00:09:01.269 --> 00:09:03.950 taking what belongs to one person and giving 00:09:03.950 --> 00:09:07.929 it to another. All right, so imputed righteousness 00:09:07.929 --> 00:09:12.409 is the righteousness of Christ being given to 00:09:12.409 --> 00:09:16.830 us. So that now we have the righteousness of 00:09:16.830 --> 00:09:27.269 Christ. What's another word for that? Having 00:09:27.269 --> 00:09:30.250 the righteousness of Christ, being righteous. 00:09:34.350 --> 00:09:39.289 Justification. That's this imputed righteousness. 00:09:39.429 --> 00:09:42.389 Having the righteousness of Christ. Okay, where 00:09:42.389 --> 00:09:46.909 does that Bible talk about that? How about we 00:09:46.909 --> 00:09:58.990 just turn to one? Second Corinthians 521. Okay, 00:09:59.110 --> 00:10:02.389 Second Corinthians 521. He made him who knew 00:10:02.389 --> 00:10:06.309 no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might 00:10:06.309 --> 00:10:10.809 become the righteousness of God in him. Okay? 00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:14.639 So there we have this idea of this exchange, 00:10:14.899 --> 00:10:18.799 right? This exchange, our sin to Christ, Christ's 00:10:18.799 --> 00:10:22.399 righteousness to us. Imputed righteousness, being 00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:26.259 made righteous, all right? So that's one righteousness 00:10:26.259 --> 00:10:31.320 that scripture talks about. And again, if we 00:10:31.320 --> 00:10:33.159 were gonna talk about that, we would say that's 00:10:33.159 --> 00:10:35.679 our justification that has to do with being made 00:10:35.679 --> 00:10:40.809 right with God, all right? Another righteousness 00:10:40.809 --> 00:10:44.409 is this imputed righteousness, or I'm sorry, 00:10:44.929 --> 00:10:48.669 imparted righteousness. This is, we would say, 00:10:48.950 --> 00:10:51.250 a result of what has happened to us. So this 00:10:51.250 --> 00:10:54.429 is a result of our regeneration, our being born 00:10:54.429 --> 00:10:58.850 again, our being made new. So all of those things 00:10:58.850 --> 00:11:01.450 that the Bible talks about, the newness of the 00:11:01.450 --> 00:11:05.110 Christian, his new life, his new birth, a new 00:11:05.110 --> 00:11:08.129 heart, a new creation, a new creature, okay. 00:11:08.350 --> 00:11:11.990 We've been made new and because of that then, 00:11:12.149 --> 00:11:21.409 what happens? We live in a righteous way, okay? 00:11:21.990 --> 00:11:25.190 So now, something has happened to us, we've been 00:11:25.190 --> 00:11:29.090 saved, we've been justified, and now we're living 00:11:29.090 --> 00:11:31.809 a righteous life. That's our desire, that's our 00:11:31.809 --> 00:11:35.899 goal. That's what we're striving after. So it's 00:11:35.899 --> 00:11:38.500 a result of something that has happened to us 00:11:38.500 --> 00:11:43.299 and we are being transformed then and changed 00:11:43.299 --> 00:11:48.080 Made more like Christ and living a more righteous 00:11:48.080 --> 00:11:53.899 life in that way. Okay, so What's Paul talking 00:11:53.899 --> 00:11:56.460 about here what righteousness is Paul talking 00:11:56.460 --> 00:11:59.399 about when he says to put on the breastplate 00:11:59.399 --> 00:12:08.990 of righteousness Okay, Christ's righteousness 00:12:08.990 --> 00:12:13.169 in what way? You mean like the imputed righteousness 00:12:13.169 --> 00:12:26.169 of Christ? The result of Christ's work on our 00:12:26.169 --> 00:12:29.509 behalf and our regeneration. Well that's what 00:12:29.509 --> 00:12:32.049 I would say. So that when Paul says here put 00:12:32.049 --> 00:12:34.509 on the breastplate of righteousness, I think 00:12:34.509 --> 00:12:39.879 he has in mind here this idea of living in this 00:12:39.879 --> 00:12:46.580 way in this righteous way now do you do you disagree 00:12:46.580 --> 00:12:49.259 with that dad do you think it refers more to 00:12:49.259 --> 00:12:56.639 the imputed righteousness of christ okay i was 00:12:56.639 --> 00:13:08.940 just wondering yes yes so so right and we'll 00:13:08.940 --> 00:13:11.360 talk about that here well here i'll just say 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:15.659 right here so what is this then if we're talking 00:13:15.659 --> 00:13:18.759 here about right living just say it simply there 00:13:18.759 --> 00:13:21.820 that this breastplate has to do with living rightly 00:13:21.820 --> 00:13:26.039 and living rightly then is a protection against 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:30.120 the attacks of satan how does that apply how 00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:32.279 does that correlate does anybody does anybody 00:13:32.279 --> 00:13:35.250 know what i'm asking there How does this, living 00:13:35.250 --> 00:13:37.690 rightly, how is that a breastplate for us? How 00:13:37.690 --> 00:14:05.330 does that give protection to us? If you've fallen 00:14:05.330 --> 00:14:07.870 into sin, it's hard to have a clear conscience, 00:14:07.889 --> 00:14:12.690 isn't it? What's the result of living an unrighteous 00:14:12.690 --> 00:14:17.830 life as a Christian? Conviction. Conviction. 00:14:19.669 --> 00:14:28.049 You feel guilt. Notice I said you feel. You feel 00:14:28.049 --> 00:14:32.659 guilty. You don't have a clear conscience. What 00:14:32.659 --> 00:14:36.799 else what else happens here Communion with the 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:47.580 Lord is affected what else? Okay lack of joy 00:14:47.580 --> 00:14:54.399 Okay, it's hard to have assurance right if you're 00:14:54.399 --> 00:14:58.779 in sin and you're continuing in that pattern 00:14:58.779 --> 00:15:03.850 Should you have any assurance? Probably not, 00:15:04.269 --> 00:15:12.330 right? So, living rightly, living in a way that 00:15:12.330 --> 00:15:17.169 honors the Lord, gives us more confidence that 00:15:17.169 --> 00:15:19.269 we are walking with the Lord. We can look at 00:15:19.269 --> 00:15:22.330 our life and say, my life and my profession seem 00:15:22.330 --> 00:15:27.470 to go together here. I have reason to hope. I'm 00:15:27.470 --> 00:15:31.070 not just talking. I'm not just saying I'm a Christian. 00:15:31.720 --> 00:15:35.299 I'm actually living like one, okay? What else 00:15:35.299 --> 00:15:38.559 does that do? What does Satan do through all 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:42.360 of this? He wants us to doubt, right? He wants 00:15:42.360 --> 00:15:45.960 us to doubt our salvation. He wants us to condemn 00:15:45.960 --> 00:15:50.159 ourselves. He wants us to live joyless, miserable, 00:15:50.899 --> 00:15:54.480 guilty, condemned lives, right? That's his goal. 00:15:54.889 --> 00:15:57.029 Because when we're living in that way, we're 00:15:57.029 --> 00:15:59.570 not living in the way that God designed us to 00:15:59.570 --> 00:16:01.570 live as Christians, and we're not being fruitful 00:16:01.570 --> 00:16:04.830 in the kingdom, and we're not producing in our 00:16:04.830 --> 00:16:07.149 own Christian lives the way that we should be 00:16:07.149 --> 00:16:11.669 in growing and maturing. So living rightly is 00:16:11.669 --> 00:16:16.309 this breastplate. It protects us against all 00:16:16.309 --> 00:16:20.950 of these lies and attacks of Satan. There's a 00:16:20.950 --> 00:16:22.809 balance here, of course, right? Because just 00:16:22.809 --> 00:16:24.909 because we live a good life, that doesn't make 00:16:24.909 --> 00:16:27.429 us a Christian. But we're living in this way. 00:16:27.750 --> 00:16:31.570 And where is our hope on that imputed righteousness 00:16:31.570 --> 00:16:35.009 of Christ? That Christ's righteousness is mine. 00:16:35.649 --> 00:16:39.110 I'm trusting in Christ's work. I'm trusting in 00:16:39.110 --> 00:16:42.649 His righteousness on my behalf. And I'm living 00:16:42.649 --> 00:16:46.529 in this way that He's told me to live. And therefore, 00:16:47.370 --> 00:16:51.090 I'm walking boldly and confidently into the battle 00:16:51.090 --> 00:16:55.490 with this breastplate on, okay? So I think that's 00:16:55.490 --> 00:17:01.870 what Paul's talking about. We all surely know 00:17:01.870 --> 00:17:06.970 what it is to walk through this life when we've 00:17:06.970 --> 00:17:09.369 fallen into sin. And maybe we've continued in 00:17:09.369 --> 00:17:13.190 that sin for a few days or a few weeks, maybe 00:17:13.190 --> 00:17:17.569 even months, maybe it's been years. Do you have 00:17:17.569 --> 00:17:22.769 confidence? Do you have assurance? Are you a 00:17:22.769 --> 00:17:27.509 joyful Christian in that time? No. No, you're 00:17:27.509 --> 00:17:32.910 not. So living rightly, living in a way that 00:17:32.910 --> 00:17:35.910 honors the Lord, living in a way that matches 00:17:35.910 --> 00:17:40.349 the profession that we make is a guard and a 00:17:40.349 --> 00:17:58.199 help in our battle here on this earth. Okay, 00:17:58.199 --> 00:18:01.299 I feel like we should say a little bit here just 00:18:01.299 --> 00:18:08.099 about this whole Again conscience feelings emotions 00:18:08.099 --> 00:18:10.619 I think that's again all that's being mentioned 00:18:10.619 --> 00:18:13.279 here. We don't live our lives based on feelings. 00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:19.099 All right it is It is however a reality in our 00:18:19.099 --> 00:18:21.460 world, right and if we let it we have emotions 00:18:21.460 --> 00:18:26.079 we have feelings And so, we're not here to say, 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:28.839 oh, you know, you shouldn't have feelings, there 00:18:28.839 --> 00:18:31.200 shouldn't be emotion, there shouldn't be experience 00:18:31.200 --> 00:18:34.839 in the Christian life. We have all of those things, 00:18:34.859 --> 00:18:38.480 and those things are good, but we don't live 00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:42.960 based on those things. We live based upon truth, 00:18:43.799 --> 00:18:48.200 reality, what Scripture says, having our loins 00:18:48.200 --> 00:18:50.680 gird about with truth. Alright, and then we're 00:18:50.680 --> 00:18:55.240 gonna talk about faith later on. We walk by faith, 00:18:55.619 --> 00:18:58.619 not by sight, not just what we see and experience 00:18:58.619 --> 00:19:02.400 here on this earth, but what the scripture says 00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:06.200 about who we are, about what Christ has accomplished, 00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:09.779 and all of those things. So I don't want to minimize 00:19:09.779 --> 00:19:14.319 the reality of feelings in this world. We just 00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:20.559 can't live based on our feelings. We have to 00:19:20.519 --> 00:19:27.599 Face our feelings upon truth and not just what's 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:53.900 going on around us If Christians don't have any 00:19:53.900 --> 00:19:57.440 feelings in their walk or in their life, then 00:19:57.440 --> 00:20:00.980 that's another reason to wonder if they're Christians. 00:20:02.519 --> 00:20:05.920 The emotions are great. They're definitely part 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:08.660 of the Christian life. The only good problem 00:20:08.660 --> 00:20:12.519 is that we've got to guard our emotions even 00:20:12.519 --> 00:20:14.859 in the practical ways that you already said. 00:20:15.519 --> 00:20:20.420 But there's no limit in the amount of... of joy 00:20:20.420 --> 00:20:23.180 that we can experience, the amount of peace that 00:20:23.180 --> 00:20:28.759 we experience, the love, we can have mounds of 00:20:28.759 --> 00:20:33.160 emotional experiences as Christians. Right. Yeah. 00:20:33.839 --> 00:20:36.460 And yeah, absolutely. And I was thinking more 00:20:36.460 --> 00:20:41.000 along the lines of negative or the not good feelings. 00:20:41.259 --> 00:20:44.119 Okay. Right. Just what dad said, the Christian 00:20:44.119 --> 00:20:47.059 life is one of experiential, is an experiential 00:20:47.059 --> 00:20:50.670 life. Feeling I mean surely we've all felt the 00:20:50.670 --> 00:20:54.509 love of God We've all experienced that in a deep 00:20:54.509 --> 00:20:59.410 way That's a good thing So much better than the 00:20:59.410 --> 00:21:01.910 world's ever experienced any love that the world's 00:21:01.910 --> 00:21:16.009 ever experienced so yeah absolutely Just a couple 00:21:16.009 --> 00:21:20.089 things here That I wrote down here walking worthy 00:21:20.089 --> 00:21:22.069 of our calling right? That's what we're told 00:21:22.069 --> 00:21:24.309 walk worthy of the calling with which we've been 00:21:24.309 --> 00:21:29.410 called That's walking with this breastplate on 00:21:29.410 --> 00:21:40.769 I Think it was I Forget who it was That I read 00:21:40.769 --> 00:21:46.980 about this this today talking about Who is able 00:21:46.980 --> 00:21:52.160 to really engage confidently and boldly in the 00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:57.160 battle? The one with a clear conscience and so 00:21:57.160 --> 00:22:00.059 when when you've got that clear conscience that 00:22:00.059 --> 00:22:03.819 breastplate on You can charge ahead full steam 00:22:03.819 --> 00:22:07.380 But if you don't have that clear conscience if 00:22:07.380 --> 00:22:10.559 you don't have that conviction that that assurance 00:22:10.559 --> 00:22:13.619 and all of those things that we mentioned You 00:22:13.619 --> 00:22:15.400 want to just back away from the fight you're 00:22:15.400 --> 00:22:17.420 like, I'm just not real sure right now. I'm not 00:22:17.420 --> 00:22:20.960 sure that this is for me Not sure if I'm really 00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:24.000 armed properly and if I'm gonna win But when 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:26.460 we have that confidence when we have that clear 00:22:26.460 --> 00:22:28.980 conscience when we're walking in the way that 00:22:28.980 --> 00:22:32.539 we're called to walk We can walk boldly and confidently 00:22:32.539 --> 00:22:39.839 fearlessly into battle Another thing here Galatians 00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:44.670 5, right? We could talk about that in regard 00:22:44.670 --> 00:22:59.630 to this breastplate of righteousness In 16 but 00:22:59.630 --> 00:23:01.990 I say walk by the spirit and you will not carry 00:23:01.990 --> 00:23:04.990 out the deeds of the flesh For the flesh sets 00:23:04.990 --> 00:23:07.230 its desires against the spirit and spirit against 00:23:07.230 --> 00:23:10.130 the flesh for these are in opposition to one 00:23:10.130 --> 00:23:12.029 another so that you do not do the things that 00:23:12.029 --> 00:23:14.589 you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, 00:23:14.690 --> 00:23:16.670 you are not under the law. Now the deeds of the 00:23:16.670 --> 00:23:20.210 flesh are evident. Immorality, impurity, sensuality, 00:23:20.349 --> 00:23:22.750 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, 00:23:22.990 --> 00:23:26.869 outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 00:23:27.170 --> 00:23:29.670 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like 00:23:29.670 --> 00:23:33.730 these, of which I forewarn you. And then he goes 00:23:33.730 --> 00:23:35.829 on here, he says, but the fruit of the Spirit 00:23:35.829 --> 00:23:39.069 is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, 00:23:39.400 --> 00:23:43.500 Faithfulness, gentleness, self -control. So again, 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:45.339 there's the contrast. That's what we're talking 00:23:45.339 --> 00:23:49.500 about. Right living. Living a life that is pleasing 00:23:49.500 --> 00:23:56.920 to the Lord. Living a righteous life. And then 00:23:56.920 --> 00:24:00.799 I may as well say this, of course. We're not 00:24:00.799 --> 00:24:05.460 trusting in those righteous works. We're called 00:24:05.460 --> 00:24:07.579 to a life of righteousness. We're called to a 00:24:07.579 --> 00:24:10.220 life of works. Right? Faith without works is 00:24:10.220 --> 00:24:14.859 dead. But our works, that's not what saves us. 00:24:14.859 --> 00:24:17.500 That's not what we're relying on. So when we 00:24:17.500 --> 00:24:20.259 look at our life and we say, yes, I'm doing these 00:24:20.259 --> 00:24:24.579 things. Be encouraged. But we're doing those 00:24:24.579 --> 00:24:29.420 things because Christ is in me. Because what 00:24:29.420 --> 00:24:32.619 Christ has done for me. Because I'm relying upon 00:24:32.619 --> 00:24:34.819 Him. And I want to please Him. I want to serve 00:24:34.819 --> 00:24:44.980 Him. I love Him. I'm a new man. It is It's amazing 00:24:44.980 --> 00:24:48.619 to think again this I was I read this Sunday, 00:24:48.660 --> 00:24:53.940 and I mentioned it Sunday, but Part of this breastplate 00:24:53.940 --> 00:24:58.819 is what Jake said there is having assurance And 00:24:58.819 --> 00:25:04.380 so in Romans here Romans 4 16. I'm sorry Romans 00:25:04.380 --> 00:25:11.490 4 16 For this reason it is by faith in order 00:25:11.490 --> 00:25:14.069 that it may be in accordance with grace so that 00:25:14.069 --> 00:25:17.990 the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants 00:25:17.990 --> 00:25:27.829 The promise being guaranteed all right If it 00:25:27.829 --> 00:25:31.410 was based upon our works our salvation that's 00:25:31.410 --> 00:25:34.349 what he's talking about here a he's talking about 00:25:34.349 --> 00:25:40.150 Abraham in that passage If it was based on works, 00:25:40.369 --> 00:25:43.349 was there any guarantee? Was there any assurance? 00:25:44.829 --> 00:25:49.549 Could Abraham confidently say, I'm gonna reach 00:25:49.549 --> 00:25:53.890 the goal, I'm gonna meet my God, I'm gonna make 00:25:53.890 --> 00:25:58.390 it to glory? No, he would have no confidence. 00:25:59.349 --> 00:26:01.730 But because it wasn't on works, but it was on 00:26:01.730 --> 00:26:05.589 grace and based upon it, because he had exercised 00:26:05.589 --> 00:26:10.539 faith in God. He's been given that gift. He could 00:26:10.539 --> 00:26:14.960 confidently go on. It was guaranteed. It was 00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:20.099 a sure thing. It's a terrible thing to think. 00:26:22.779 --> 00:26:25.319 Those folks, and some of them are Christians, 00:26:25.319 --> 00:26:30.539 I would imagine, but who are basing whether or 00:26:30.539 --> 00:26:34.119 not they're going to make it to heaven on their 00:26:34.119 --> 00:26:38.089 successful life as a Christian. Oh, I've sinned, 00:26:38.109 --> 00:26:40.950 I'm going to hell. All right, I've repented, 00:26:40.990 --> 00:26:43.250 now I'm going to heaven, and I'm gonna press 00:26:43.250 --> 00:26:47.329 on. Oh, I've sinned, now I'm back in hell. There's 00:26:47.329 --> 00:26:50.650 no confidence there. There's no assurance. There's 00:26:50.650 --> 00:26:53.490 no guarantee in anything because they're looking 00:26:53.490 --> 00:26:56.430 at their works rather than Christ, the finished 00:26:56.430 --> 00:27:01.690 work. Catholicism, do, do, do, do, do all of 00:27:01.690 --> 00:27:04.670 these things. There's no assurance that they're 00:27:04.670 --> 00:27:07.630 gonna make it to heaven. And they tell you that. 00:27:08.049 --> 00:27:13.289 There's no guarantee. Well, you know, worst case, 00:27:13.430 --> 00:27:14.950 you know, you're gonna have to go to purgatory 00:27:14.950 --> 00:27:18.450 for a while, or maybe best case. And then maybe 00:27:18.450 --> 00:27:21.029 you can work your way through that and, you know, 00:27:21.109 --> 00:27:25.049 hopefully you'll get to heaven. Where's the hope? 00:27:25.490 --> 00:27:27.789 Where's the confidence to go through this world? 00:27:28.930 --> 00:27:31.369 The sure expectation of glory, there is none. 00:27:32.009 --> 00:27:35.109 That's not what the Bible teaches the Bible teaches 00:27:35.109 --> 00:27:38.869 that we can walk confidently boldly with full 00:27:38.869 --> 00:27:42.230 assurance of our salvation Because of what Christ 00:27:42.230 --> 00:27:46.569 has accomplished That breastplate that's that 00:27:46.569 --> 00:27:49.769 breastplate that we're looking to put on and 00:27:49.769 --> 00:27:56.210 to wear daily All right questions or comments 00:28:08.380 --> 00:28:12.339 Okay He goes on then he says having put on the 00:28:12.339 --> 00:28:14.980 breastplate of righteousness And then he says 00:28:14.980 --> 00:28:17.660 your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel 00:28:17.660 --> 00:28:22.859 of peace All right, so what is this? What are 00:28:22.859 --> 00:28:27.059 the feet that are shod? What is this preparation 00:28:27.059 --> 00:28:30.740 of the gospel of peace? So again, this is part 00:28:30.740 --> 00:28:33.579 of the armor This is a piece of armor that was 00:28:33.579 --> 00:28:38.579 put on the shoes or the greaves both and the 00:28:38.579 --> 00:28:42.240 Roman soldiers were ahead of their time and they 00:28:42.240 --> 00:28:46.500 had spikes they had shoes with some either some 00:28:46.500 --> 00:28:48.700 nails in them or some bumps and things like that 00:28:48.700 --> 00:28:52.099 for traction for sir for uh getting getting where 00:28:52.099 --> 00:28:55.380 they needed to go and so that's what we're talking 00:28:55.380 --> 00:28:57.160 about here well what were these for what did 00:28:57.160 --> 00:29:00.539 it give what was what were these shoes good for 00:29:00.539 --> 00:29:06.230 i mentioned one thing there What are shoes good 00:29:06.230 --> 00:29:14.789 for? Okay, I mean they're good for running Getting 00:29:14.789 --> 00:29:17.690 around their protection right you're able to 00:29:17.690 --> 00:29:21.549 move much more easily on rough terrain with some 00:29:21.549 --> 00:29:25.190 shoes on I Don't know about anybody else when 00:29:25.190 --> 00:29:28.470 I was a kid. Maybe we used to run around barefoot 00:29:28.470 --> 00:29:33.109 That's tough now as a grown man that is hard 00:29:34.029 --> 00:29:37.190 I do it every now and then like when you go floating 00:29:37.190 --> 00:29:40.150 and you're getting out of the canoe and you don't 00:29:40.150 --> 00:29:42.829 have your shoes on Forget about it. You're not 00:29:42.829 --> 00:29:45.369 going anywhere fast and you're probably falling 00:29:45.369 --> 00:29:50.089 So these shoes they were protection they were 00:29:50.089 --> 00:29:53.630 support they enabled you to cross rough terrain 00:29:53.630 --> 00:29:57.930 all of those things They were they said that 00:29:57.930 --> 00:30:01.349 the Romans one of the reasons they were such 00:30:01.349 --> 00:30:09.230 conquerors and then Grease before them was they 00:30:09.230 --> 00:30:12.029 were able to move swiftly because they could 00:30:12.029 --> 00:30:15.650 travel quickly on rough terrain because of the 00:30:15.650 --> 00:30:20.990 protection that they had. So it gave traction, 00:30:21.170 --> 00:30:25.269 stability, agility, able to move freely, able 00:30:25.269 --> 00:30:29.910 to advance, and able to hold your ground. So 00:30:29.910 --> 00:30:33.529 this word preparation then being have the preparation 00:30:33.529 --> 00:30:37.769 another way that could be translated would be 00:30:37.769 --> 00:30:41.430 equipped being equipped or having to do with 00:30:41.430 --> 00:30:45.789 readiness being ready and then he goes on here 00:30:45.789 --> 00:30:50.049 and say the gospel what's the gospel when we 00:30:50.049 --> 00:30:53.170 say gospel was not what is the gospel what do 00:30:53.170 --> 00:30:58.970 we what's the word gospel mean good news okay 00:30:58.970 --> 00:31:03.660 so the gospel is good news All right, so we're 00:31:03.660 --> 00:31:08.920 talking about good news So the preparation of 00:31:08.920 --> 00:31:14.819 the gospel of peace What's he mean here, what 00:31:14.819 --> 00:31:19.279 is this gospel of peace that he's talking about 00:31:19.279 --> 00:31:36.559 Okay, so peace with God Forgot everything you 00:31:36.559 --> 00:31:38.940 said there mom no no more. Did you say wrath? 00:31:40.460 --> 00:31:43.519 Okay, enemy we are not we are no longer enemies 00:31:43.519 --> 00:31:49.759 The wrath of God has been propitiated that's 00:31:49.759 --> 00:31:53.400 some good news God is for us. He's not against 00:31:53.400 --> 00:31:57.339 us. We're no longer aliens and strangers But 00:31:57.339 --> 00:32:02.440 we're heirs were children. I mean those are all 00:32:02.440 --> 00:32:07.930 That's all good news That's all good news. How 00:32:07.930 --> 00:32:11.750 about reconciliation? The restoration of fellowship 00:32:11.750 --> 00:32:27.009 with God? Romans 5, 1. Therefore, having been 00:32:27.009 --> 00:32:29.789 justified by faith, we have peace with God through 00:32:29.789 --> 00:32:34.480 our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of this justification 00:32:34.480 --> 00:32:38.339 because of what has happened here. We are at 00:32:38.339 --> 00:32:45.480 peace with God So there's good news Has to do 00:32:45.480 --> 00:32:49.279 with the peace of God peace with God what else 00:32:49.279 --> 00:32:56.299 what else is good news and peace related to I 00:32:56.299 --> 00:32:59.140 Mean peace with God what other kind of peace 00:32:59.140 --> 00:33:06.759 could we talk about? Okay, peace with men. Does 00:33:06.759 --> 00:33:16.279 the gospel bring peace with men? Yes. The answer 00:33:16.279 --> 00:33:20.720 is yes. Anybody got any references for that? 00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:33.160 I've got a couple. So, Romans 12. 17 I have written 00:33:33.160 --> 00:33:40.700 down here. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. 00:33:41.519 --> 00:33:43.880 Respect what is right in the sight of all men. 00:33:44.359 --> 00:33:47.319 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be 00:33:47.319 --> 00:33:51.119 at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, 00:33:51.259 --> 00:33:53.599 beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God. 00:33:54.079 --> 00:33:56.380 For it is written, vengeance is mine, I will 00:33:56.380 --> 00:34:01.569 repay. Anything else? Does that bring anything 00:34:01.569 --> 00:34:07.670 else to mind that maybe was taught by Jesus? 00:34:11.570 --> 00:34:17.889 Being peacemakers, what else did he say? Turn 00:34:17.889 --> 00:34:23.170 the other cheek, right? Don't give evil for evil. 00:34:25.230 --> 00:34:29.079 That is a result of the gospel. That is the result 00:34:29.079 --> 00:34:32.360 of our justification, of our being made new. 00:34:33.559 --> 00:34:37.139 We are no longer, we should no longer be at war 00:34:37.139 --> 00:34:41.360 with men in this sense, repaying evil for evil. 00:34:42.039 --> 00:34:44.460 We should be able to turn the other cheek. We 00:34:44.460 --> 00:34:48.679 should be able to be ridiculed, be spoken evil 00:34:48.679 --> 00:34:54.030 of, mistreated, all of those things, okay? And 00:34:54.030 --> 00:34:56.809 so, again, are we at peace when that's going 00:34:56.809 --> 00:35:01.250 on? Not necessarily, but we should be able to 00:35:01.250 --> 00:35:03.469 live at peace with men. Even though those things 00:35:03.469 --> 00:35:06.869 happen, we can still love our neighbor. When 00:35:06.869 --> 00:35:09.610 our neighbor treats us wrong, when we're treated 00:35:09.610 --> 00:35:12.630 wrong at work, when we're treated wrong by friends 00:35:12.630 --> 00:35:15.769 or family or whatever it is, we can still live 00:35:15.769 --> 00:35:20.050 peaceably with them. We can walk peaceably. The 00:35:20.050 --> 00:35:23.329 world seeks revenge. We should not. There's a 00:35:23.329 --> 00:35:28.230 huge change that should have taken place as Christians, 00:35:28.469 --> 00:35:32.469 as those who are walking righteously, according 00:35:32.469 --> 00:35:36.190 to what Christ has taught us. Any other kind 00:35:36.190 --> 00:35:42.590 of peace? Peace with God? Peace with men? Peace 00:35:42.590 --> 00:35:55.630 within. Peace within Do we have peace within? 00:35:57.530 --> 00:36:01.530 We should Because of what has because of who 00:36:01.530 --> 00:36:07.570 we are We should have no anxiety We shouldn't 00:36:07.570 --> 00:36:14.090 be walking in fear Right as Christians living 00:36:14.090 --> 00:36:18.219 at peace with ourselves Living at peace in our 00:36:18.219 --> 00:36:20.500 world and in our circumstances we could say being 00:36:20.500 --> 00:36:23.900 content Being content where the Lord has put 00:36:23.900 --> 00:36:27.639 us. It's a big part of our anxiety Because we're 00:36:27.639 --> 00:36:33.059 not content with what's going on Preaching to 00:36:33.059 --> 00:36:38.880 myself right there Just applied that to my own 00:36:38.880 --> 00:36:42.539 life. I'm anxious. I'm anxious at work all the 00:36:42.539 --> 00:36:46.420 time Things going wrong people messing up things 00:36:46.420 --> 00:36:50.420 not where they're supposed to be anxiety why 00:36:50.420 --> 00:36:57.900 Is God sovereign God didn't know that was did 00:36:57.900 --> 00:37:00.940 God not know that wasn't part of his plan For 00:37:00.940 --> 00:37:03.119 that thing to get cut wrong for that thing not 00:37:03.119 --> 00:37:08.340 to show up you name it Somebody that acts foolish 00:37:08.340 --> 00:37:13.510 Anxiety stress sin that's all it is right We're 00:37:13.510 --> 00:37:16.570 not trusting the Lord. We're not at peace with 00:37:16.570 --> 00:37:21.489 everything that's going on. Be at peace. Be at 00:37:21.489 --> 00:37:27.650 peace. Be content. Walk in a way that we're called 00:37:27.650 --> 00:37:31.570 to walk. Walk worthy of that calling. That's 00:37:31.570 --> 00:37:36.670 walking in contentment and peace. With no fear. 00:37:37.110 --> 00:37:41.423 Again, that's a big one too, isn't it? Fear of... 00:37:41.420 --> 00:37:47.579 What? What if? What if this happens? What if 00:37:47.579 --> 00:37:49.659 that happens? What if I lose my job? What if 00:37:49.659 --> 00:37:54.760 I get sick? I mean, you name it. You name it. 00:37:54.960 --> 00:38:00.699 Living in fear. The sovereignty of God, folks, 00:38:01.000 --> 00:38:06.179 is such a wonderful truth that we do not lay 00:38:06.179 --> 00:38:15.230 hold of. Am I going to get sick and die? Yeah 00:38:15.230 --> 00:38:21.650 when When the Lord says I will and I can't do 00:38:21.650 --> 00:38:31.230 anything to change it Am I right I Could go out 00:38:31.230 --> 00:38:35.329 tomorrow today And completely change the way 00:38:35.329 --> 00:38:38.949 I eat the way I exercise the way you name it. 00:38:38.949 --> 00:38:45.030 I could be a beacon of Just health and I could 00:38:45.030 --> 00:38:48.869 die the next day I Could live like that for ten 00:38:48.869 --> 00:38:51.289 years and then just keel over dead with a heart 00:38:51.289 --> 00:38:56.369 attack It's God's plan. He'll do That does that 00:38:56.369 --> 00:39:00.210 mean I should? Not be healthy. No doesn't mean 00:39:00.210 --> 00:39:02.650 that right? I'm not saying that I'm just saying 00:39:02.650 --> 00:39:07.309 if that's my fear. It's unfounded I Should be 00:39:07.309 --> 00:39:10.429 responsible and I should leave it in the Lord's 00:39:10.429 --> 00:39:17.579 hands with no fear, with no anxiety. Death, life, 00:39:17.940 --> 00:39:21.460 you name it. It's in the Lord's hands. My children, 00:39:22.179 --> 00:39:27.280 now there's some anxiety, right? I mean, you 00:39:27.280 --> 00:39:33.420 new parents, you got some anxiety going on. Am 00:39:33.420 --> 00:39:39.800 I being heard in there? Right? We've all been 00:39:39.800 --> 00:39:43.570 there. That newborn baby. I remember the day 00:39:43.570 --> 00:39:48.030 we brought Caleb home. Forget about it. I was 00:39:48.030 --> 00:39:51.610 just like, what do we do now? We got to keep 00:39:51.610 --> 00:39:56.210 this baby alive. Laura came over and she's like, 00:39:56.210 --> 00:39:58.429 oh, I just want to see him. And then I leave. 00:39:58.530 --> 00:40:00.769 We're like, no, no, we don't know what to do. 00:40:01.110 --> 00:40:07.869 Stay. But right. I mean, that's that's real. 00:40:07.989 --> 00:40:12.329 That's life. Caring for a baby is a big deal 00:40:12.329 --> 00:40:17.190 And then they grow up and they're out there getting 00:40:17.190 --> 00:40:19.789 married they're driving around flipping cars 00:40:19.789 --> 00:40:25.190 I Mean it just it doesn't change from the time. 00:40:25.190 --> 00:40:27.610 They're little to the time. They're gone, and 00:40:27.610 --> 00:40:33.110 I'm sure I mean gone out of the house Trust in 00:40:33.110 --> 00:40:37.030 the Lord relying upon the Lord we can't change 00:40:37.030 --> 00:40:42.179 a thing his plan is what it is. So living at 00:40:42.179 --> 00:40:46.639 peace in all these things. Again, what does Satan 00:40:46.639 --> 00:40:52.000 desire for us in all of this? The exact opposite. 00:40:52.900 --> 00:40:59.179 He wants us to live with no peace. So no peace 00:40:59.179 --> 00:41:04.579 with God. Does God really love me? Does God really 00:41:04.579 --> 00:41:10.230 care about me? Am I really his child? Am I really, 00:41:10.909 --> 00:41:16.929 whatever, you name it, all those things. Doubts, 00:41:17.070 --> 00:41:22.090 fears, personal doubts, personal fears, anxieties, 00:41:22.289 --> 00:41:26.809 stresses. And then again, with mankind, the Satan 00:41:26.809 --> 00:41:30.150 would desire us to be at odds with everyone. 00:41:31.510 --> 00:41:34.050 Everyone in the world and everyone in the church. 00:41:34.949 --> 00:41:42.679 That's the goal, disunity. Walk with our feet 00:41:42.679 --> 00:41:49.760 shod, with this peace in mind. Is this something 00:41:49.760 --> 00:41:55.900 that we have to feel? We don't have to feel it. 00:41:55.900 --> 00:41:59.000 It is a reality. We should feel it. We should 00:41:59.000 --> 00:42:02.219 experience it. That we should have that emotion 00:42:02.219 --> 00:42:09.659 of peace, of rest, satisfaction in God. It is 00:42:09.659 --> 00:42:12.679 true. If we are in Christ, these things are all 00:42:12.679 --> 00:42:17.820 true. All these things that we just said. Our 00:42:17.820 --> 00:42:20.059 relationships with man, our relationships with 00:42:20.059 --> 00:42:32.820 God. They're all true. Alright. I will just say 00:42:32.820 --> 00:42:40.610 this. So some think that this refers to the spread 00:42:40.610 --> 00:42:44.670 of the gospel and I don't necessarily think it 00:42:44.670 --> 00:42:51.809 does but It may and so again, we can certainly 00:42:51.809 --> 00:42:56.050 apply it in that way, right? Our feet shod with 00:42:56.050 --> 00:42:59.010 the preparation of sharing the gospel knowing 00:42:59.010 --> 00:43:03.170 the gospel knowing the truth taking it abroad 00:43:03.170 --> 00:43:08.309 whether that's to foreign lands or in our home 00:43:08.309 --> 00:43:12.969 or our places of work. Standing against Satan. 00:43:13.690 --> 00:43:16.969 If we're talking about stability and moving forward 00:43:16.969 --> 00:43:20.530 in battle, we war against Satan in that way and 00:43:20.530 --> 00:43:22.469 spreading the gospel that the kingdom of God 00:43:22.469 --> 00:43:29.869 would expand and grow. I don't forget. That's 00:43:29.869 --> 00:43:33.389 all true. Whether or not Paul thought of it here, 00:43:33.389 --> 00:43:35.170 I don't know. I don't think he did, but maybe 00:43:35.170 --> 00:43:39.059 he did. But that's another aspect of our salvation 00:43:39.059 --> 00:43:41.619 is the spread of the gospel. That's what we're 00:43:41.619 --> 00:43:46.639 called to do is proclaim the good news and so 00:43:46.639 --> 00:43:49.719 if it's not here, it's on all kinds of other 00:43:49.719 --> 00:43:53.699 places and so that's part of our part of our 00:43:53.699 --> 00:44:01.840 walk as Christians is to spread the gospel Well, 00:44:01.840 --> 00:44:05.159 that's all I've got we're not going to jump into 00:44:05.159 --> 00:44:10.429 faith here with just Five minutes left. Any comments 00:44:10.429 --> 00:44:39.500 or questions? And then I just, I thought of something 00:44:39.500 --> 00:44:41.960 with that last comment you were talking about 00:44:41.960 --> 00:44:45.099 that it could mean sharing the gospel, knowing 00:44:45.099 --> 00:44:48.000 the gospel, things like that. And I was just 00:44:48.000 --> 00:44:54.260 reminded of how like Jesus fought temptations 00:44:54.260 --> 00:45:02.000 with scripture. So. It seems like everything 00:45:02.000 --> 00:45:07.139 always goes back to the beginning of just. We're 00:45:07.139 --> 00:45:36.039 gonna stand by knowing the truth So the more 00:45:36.039 --> 00:45:40.659 you know God, the more you can apply these things. 00:45:42.940 --> 00:45:48.019 Absolutely. The more truth you know, the more 00:45:48.019 --> 00:45:53.860 you're able to apply, and the more victorious 00:45:53.860 --> 00:45:56.039 we should live, the more mature lives we should 00:45:56.039 --> 00:46:06.099 live, and everything else. My inclination was 00:46:06.099 --> 00:46:09.260 to say no, because Matthew 10 and 14 says, I 00:46:09.260 --> 00:46:14.719 did not come to bring peace but a sword. So would 00:46:14.719 --> 00:46:17.460 you just, would the explanation for that be like 00:46:17.460 --> 00:46:22.679 the gospel is something that causes some division? 00:46:23.000 --> 00:46:30.159 Well again, we should still be able to live peaceably, 00:46:30.559 --> 00:46:37.079 on our part. Right. Right. But yeah, the gospel, 00:46:37.219 --> 00:46:38.980 the truth is definitely going to bring division. 00:46:39.420 --> 00:46:41.059 I mean, Jesus says, I don't, you know, I'm just 00:46:41.059 --> 00:46:45.960 going to divide father, father and mother and 00:46:45.960 --> 00:46:59.909 all of that. thinking that the gospel of peace 00:46:59.909 --> 00:47:02.429 I was wondering like is that a unique description 00:47:02.429 --> 00:47:05.530 of the gospel like in scriptures but then I thought 00:47:05.530 --> 00:47:07.550 of the verse in Isaiah that says how beautiful 00:47:07.550 --> 00:47:10.269 on the mountains are the feet of him who brings 00:47:10.269 --> 00:47:15.409 good news who announces peace and then when Jesus 00:47:15.409 --> 00:47:19.050 was born and the angels came to the shepherds 00:47:19.050 --> 00:47:21.090 suddenly there appeared to the angel a multitude 00:47:21.090 --> 00:47:22.829 of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying 00:47:22.829 --> 00:47:25.869 glory to God in the highest and on earth peace 00:47:25.869 --> 00:47:30.139 among men So I just thought that is just encouraging 00:47:30.139 --> 00:47:33.579 and consistent with the scriptures, the gospel 00:47:33.579 --> 00:47:38.420 of peace. And then I have a question. I think 00:47:38.420 --> 00:47:42.579 I know some of the answers, but. So, you know, 00:47:42.800 --> 00:47:46.500 what would you, what's the best advice for somebody? 00:47:47.830 --> 00:47:52.889 who struggles whether just in general with anxiousness 00:47:52.889 --> 00:47:56.070 and It's like we you know, you know in your head 00:47:56.070 --> 00:47:59.349 these things are true But day in and day out 00:47:59.349 --> 00:48:02.409 you encounter the things and your first responses 00:48:02.409 --> 00:48:06.730 anxiousness nervousness So whether it be just 00:48:06.730 --> 00:48:10.590 like in general or about a specific thing or 00:48:10.590 --> 00:48:17.699 person you worry about Was good helpful advice 00:48:17.699 --> 00:48:27.139 well Again It is Rehearsing these truths in our 00:48:27.139 --> 00:48:31.199 minds. Okay, that's key. We have to dwell upon 00:48:31.199 --> 00:48:36.019 truth so You know what in the Psalms I always 00:48:36.019 --> 00:48:38.539 think of this when I'm going through depression 00:48:38.539 --> 00:48:40.940 or discouragement Why are thou cast down on my 00:48:40.940 --> 00:48:45.130 soul? Hope in God That's what David tells us 00:48:45.130 --> 00:48:48.590 to do they're hoping God and He's talking to 00:48:48.590 --> 00:48:50.829 himself. He's telling himself to do these things 00:48:50.829 --> 00:48:54.469 and so that's that's a huge part of it We have 00:48:54.469 --> 00:48:57.550 to we have to tell ourselves these things and 00:48:57.550 --> 00:49:01.230 we have to believe them. We really do So it's 00:49:01.230 --> 00:49:04.630 it's easy to say all things work together for 00:49:04.630 --> 00:49:06.789 good to those who love God, right? We we probably 00:49:06.789 --> 00:49:12.230 all know that verse If we don't we should It's 00:49:12.230 --> 00:49:14.429 one thing to say that it's another to really 00:49:14.429 --> 00:49:17.449 believe that Right that all things are really 00:49:17.449 --> 00:49:20.010 good You know when our kids are sick or they're 00:49:20.010 --> 00:49:22.289 dying or all these terrible things are happening 00:49:22.289 --> 00:49:25.530 around us Can we really say all things work together 00:49:25.530 --> 00:49:30.070 for good? Do I really believe that? We should 00:49:30.070 --> 00:49:33.889 right we have to that's faith that's walking 00:49:33.889 --> 00:49:36.829 by faith and not by sight I don't understand 00:49:36.829 --> 00:49:41.460 it and so it's the same You're speaking the truth. 00:49:41.500 --> 00:49:43.860 What does the Bible say in this situation? It 00:49:43.860 --> 00:49:47.639 says to make my requests known to God. To pour 00:49:47.639 --> 00:49:51.059 my heart out to God. Tell God about it and then 00:49:51.059 --> 00:49:56.639 trust Him. I've got to let it go. So maybe that 00:49:56.639 --> 00:49:58.539 means I'm not going to think about it anymore. 00:49:59.760 --> 00:50:02.619 I told God, I poured my heart out to the Lord 00:50:02.619 --> 00:50:05.320 and that's it. I'm not going to think about it 00:50:05.320 --> 00:50:07.780 the rest of the day. Because to think about it 00:50:07.780 --> 00:50:11.019 is to be anxious over it. And so you can sit 00:50:11.019 --> 00:50:12.619 there and say, well, I've just been praying about 00:50:12.619 --> 00:50:15.179 it all day. Well, if you've truly been praying 00:50:15.179 --> 00:50:20.599 about it and just, you know, not in an anxious 00:50:20.599 --> 00:50:22.920 way and truly trusting the Lord, then that's 00:50:22.920 --> 00:50:26.559 great. But so often folks just dwell upon these 00:50:26.559 --> 00:50:29.900 things and they think that that's praying about 00:50:29.900 --> 00:50:33.480 it. Dwelling on it, being anxious about it, thinking 00:50:33.480 --> 00:50:36.320 about it, praying about it all day. That's anxiety. 00:50:36.900 --> 00:50:40.670 That's sin. And so you've got to give it to the 00:50:40.670 --> 00:50:43.429 Lord. And part of that giving it to the Lord 00:50:43.429 --> 00:50:46.110 and trusting in is just to pray about it and 00:50:46.110 --> 00:50:49.230 that's it. I'm done. I've done what I can do 00:50:49.230 --> 00:50:53.409 and that is pray and trust God. And so I'm leaving 00:50:53.409 --> 00:50:58.110 it there. I'm walking on. So that's, you know, 00:50:58.250 --> 00:51:02.230 again, speaking the truth to ourselves. Of course, 00:51:02.230 --> 00:51:05.110 asking for faith, asking for faith to walk by 00:51:05.110 --> 00:51:08.800 faith and those things. But to leave it in the 00:51:08.800 --> 00:51:22.480 Lord's hands and to be content with it Yeah, 00:51:22.559 --> 00:51:25.719 I mean again, it's like I said we know these 00:51:25.719 --> 00:51:29.300 things we know the Bible says these things But 00:51:29.300 --> 00:51:32.780 do we really act upon them? Are we really putting 00:51:32.780 --> 00:51:35.579 this truth into practice? Are we really walking 00:51:35.579 --> 00:51:40.099 by faith? It's easy to say that this is true, 00:51:41.780 --> 00:51:45.219 but to live in that way is difficult. It requires 00:51:45.219 --> 00:51:46.679 faith. It requires trust.