WEBVTT 00:00:03.950 --> 00:00:08.990 That was my fault. I waited too long to turn 00:00:08.990 --> 00:00:11.949 my microphone on. We'll get it adjusted here 00:00:11.949 --> 00:00:14.189 in a minute. I invite you to open your Bibles, 00:00:14.230 --> 00:00:19.469 please, to Colossians chapter 4, verses 5 and 00:00:19.469 --> 00:00:24.809 6. I had two conversations recently that I want 00:00:24.809 --> 00:00:28.070 to introduce this message with. One of them was 00:00:28.070 --> 00:00:32.049 by email, another was face -to -face. A friend 00:00:32.049 --> 00:00:34.490 of mine who was a missionary in Eastern Europe 00:00:34.490 --> 00:00:38.490 wrote me by email a few weeks ago telling me 00:00:38.490 --> 00:00:41.130 of the stress his family has been under because 00:00:41.130 --> 00:00:46.350 of several years now in that place. And he said 00:00:46.350 --> 00:00:50.090 that he had before him the option of coming back 00:00:50.090 --> 00:00:53.149 to the United States and getting involved in 00:00:53.149 --> 00:00:57.350 business here in the Twin Cities or staying in 00:00:57.350 --> 00:01:01.699 another part of Eastern Europe in ministry. Where 00:01:01.699 --> 00:01:04.859 the pressure is not so extreme as in the country 00:01:04.859 --> 00:01:08.599 where he is now And he said what would you advise 00:01:08.599 --> 00:01:13.079 me to do? Well, of course my first thought was 00:01:13.079 --> 00:01:15.040 for his ministry and the fact that he has learned 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:17.239 the language and knows the culture to be good 00:01:17.239 --> 00:01:19.980 to stay in that part of the world But my second 00:01:19.980 --> 00:01:22.579 thought and the one that I mentioned to him first 00:01:22.579 --> 00:01:27.340 was this My counsel to you is not to bring your 00:01:27.340 --> 00:01:35.849 children back into the American culture. Just 00:01:35.849 --> 00:01:38.109 last week I had a conversation with a pastor 00:01:38.109 --> 00:01:41.150 friend of mine here in the Twin Cities, and he 00:01:41.150 --> 00:01:44.310 said to me, Galen, I have had the privilege of 00:01:44.310 --> 00:01:48.230 traveling in 50 countries now around the world. 00:01:49.430 --> 00:01:53.849 And he said, I can say to you without any hesitation 00:01:53.849 --> 00:01:58.939 that this culture is the most difficult in the 00:01:58.939 --> 00:02:02.439 world in which to be a leader, whether in the 00:02:02.439 --> 00:02:06.739 home, in the church, or in society at large. 00:02:09.659 --> 00:02:11.580 Those are interesting commentaries, aren't they, 00:02:11.580 --> 00:02:14.080 on the culture in which you and I are immersed 00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:18.520 and in which we must live. The pop culture of 00:02:18.520 --> 00:02:24.780 this nation seems to be geared toward anarchy 00:02:24.780 --> 00:02:30.719 and destruction. It is living out the philosophy 00:02:30.719 --> 00:02:36.340 of Nietzsche. Everyone, in the terms of the book 00:02:36.340 --> 00:02:39.319 of Judges, seems to want to do what is right 00:02:39.319 --> 00:02:44.340 in his own eyes. And so we have an America that 00:02:44.340 --> 00:02:48.159 is drowning in the sewage of its popular culture. 00:02:49.419 --> 00:02:52.819 Chuck Colson was talking about this a few months 00:02:52.819 --> 00:02:57.460 ago on his broadcast, Breakpoint. and had this 00:02:57.460 --> 00:03:02.139 to say as he is referring to pop culture and 00:03:02.139 --> 00:03:05.319 talking about a book that he was particularly 00:03:05.319 --> 00:03:07.919 interested in at that point. He says, in All 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:12.639 God's Children and Blue Slave Shoes, written 00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:16.139 by Ken Myers, the author says, the challenge 00:03:16.139 --> 00:03:18.580 of living with popular culture may well be the 00:03:18.580 --> 00:03:21.780 most serious challenge facing Christians today. 00:03:22.649 --> 00:03:25.229 In some ways, it is even more difficult than 00:03:25.229 --> 00:03:28.090 the persecution Christians faced in earlier centuries. 00:03:29.069 --> 00:03:31.050 Of course, being thrown to the lions is pretty 00:03:31.050 --> 00:03:33.689 gruesome, but at least it was an easily recognized 00:03:33.689 --> 00:03:37.009 threat. Popular culture, on the other hand, is 00:03:37.009 --> 00:03:40.389 a very subtle threat. It can cause a gradual 00:03:40.389 --> 00:03:42.830 erosion of character that many Christians don't 00:03:42.830 --> 00:03:47.030 even recognize. What do you mean, we don't recognize 00:03:47.030 --> 00:03:50.990 it, you may ask, writes Colton. Any Christian 00:03:50.990 --> 00:03:53.370 can tell you that the level of sex and violence 00:03:53.370 --> 00:03:56.990 has risen sharply in movies, rap music, and dime 00:03:56.990 --> 00:04:01.810 store novels. True enough, Myers says, but these 00:04:01.810 --> 00:04:05.810 are concerns about content. What is often overlooked 00:04:05.810 --> 00:04:10.030 is the form. The form of popular culture can 00:04:10.030 --> 00:04:13.349 shape the way we respond, regardless of the message. 00:04:14.289 --> 00:04:17.310 For comparison, consider the music and art of 00:04:17.310 --> 00:04:23.699 high culture. A classical poem or symphony has 00:04:23.699 --> 00:04:26.699 a complex structure that takes some effort to 00:04:26.699 --> 00:04:30.279 understand. It challenges the mind. You have 00:04:30.279 --> 00:04:35.360 to work to appreciate it. But Harlequin romances, 00:04:35.959 --> 00:04:38.360 soap operas, and rock music don't require any 00:04:38.360 --> 00:04:42.199 intellectual discipline. They're easy to understand. 00:04:42.500 --> 00:04:46.649 They offer immediate gratification. Colson goes 00:04:46.649 --> 00:04:49.949 on to say, over time these things affect us. 00:04:50.730 --> 00:04:54.310 By focusing on immediate experience, pop culture 00:04:54.310 --> 00:04:58.529 discourages sustained attention. Pop culture 00:04:58.529 --> 00:05:02.490 is a bit like junk food. There's nothing inherently 00:05:02.490 --> 00:05:05.709 sinful about it, but too much of it can spoil 00:05:05.709 --> 00:05:10.149 our appetite for healthy food. And then he poses 00:05:10.149 --> 00:05:14.449 this question, how can Christians survive in 00:05:14.449 --> 00:05:19.779 a junk food culture. You and I are living in 00:05:19.779 --> 00:05:26.240 a culture today that is shaping us, and I'm talking 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:30.660 to those of us who are Christians. We Christians 00:05:30.660 --> 00:05:35.720 are being molded by the values, the addictions, 00:05:35.920 --> 00:05:42.079 the mindsets, and the expectations of life that 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:48.839 are essentially pagan. And the reality is, as 00:05:48.839 --> 00:05:52.060 Myers points out, that most of us don't even 00:05:52.060 --> 00:05:55.899 recognize that this process of conforming to 00:05:55.899 --> 00:06:00.819 culture is happening. That's why the text in 00:06:00.819 --> 00:06:06.100 Colossians is so important today. We are not 00:06:06.100 --> 00:06:11.819 here to be conformed to the world, but we are 00:06:11.819 --> 00:06:18.529 here to be transformed and to be transformers, 00:06:19.410 --> 00:06:23.410 God calls us as those who are alive from the 00:06:23.410 --> 00:06:28.230 dead in Jesus Christ to live in the midst of 00:06:28.230 --> 00:06:34.269 a post -Christian, perhaps neo -pagan, culture. 00:06:36.069 --> 00:06:40.290 And he calls us to live in this culture so distinctively 00:06:40.290 --> 00:06:47.449 that we will stand out from it. and make a difference. 00:06:49.910 --> 00:06:52.149 Until I asked the question that Francis Schaefer 00:06:52.149 --> 00:06:59.209 posed years ago, how should we then live? What 00:06:59.209 --> 00:07:02.910 should characterize us as those who are alive 00:07:02.910 --> 00:07:07.649 from the dead in the midst of a culture like 00:07:07.649 --> 00:07:11.370 we're living in? The Apostle Paul in our text 00:07:11.370 --> 00:07:14.959 points to two important areas of life. and he 00:07:14.959 --> 00:07:18.240 gives us a starting place for the answer to that 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:22.180 question. Conduct yourselves, he says, verse 00:07:22.180 --> 00:07:28.019 5, conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, 00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:31.959 making the most of the opportunity. Let your 00:07:31.959 --> 00:07:36.120 speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:40.980 so that you may know how you should respond to 00:07:40.980 --> 00:07:46.329 each person. Notice he talks about conduct and 00:07:46.329 --> 00:07:51.990 conversation. With regard to conduct, he says, 00:07:52.550 --> 00:07:58.670 be wise. Notice that he mentions those who are 00:07:58.670 --> 00:08:03.110 outsiders in verse 5. This is not a term that 00:08:03.110 --> 00:08:06.269 Paul uses only here. He uses the same idea in 00:08:06.269 --> 00:08:10.529 1 Thessalonians 4 .12, 1 Timothy 3 .7, and in 00:08:10.529 --> 00:08:14.279 some other places. But when you use the term 00:08:14.279 --> 00:08:18.600 outsiders, there is an implication. And that 00:08:18.600 --> 00:08:26.279 is that there are insiders. I don't mean insiders 00:08:26.279 --> 00:08:29.339 in some elite aristocratic sense, but I'm talking 00:08:29.339 --> 00:08:32.679 here about biblical insiders in a spiritual sense. 00:08:34.539 --> 00:08:37.799 What this word outsiders does is remind us that 00:08:37.799 --> 00:08:43.519 God discriminates. God discriminates. Not on 00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:46.659 the basis of skin color or some superficial thing, 00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:50.480 but God discriminates between persons based upon 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:55.820 their relation to Jesus Christ. God discriminates 00:08:55.820 --> 00:09:00.100 at a fundamental level of one's spiritual identity. 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:06.200 Insiders are those who come to Him, to Jesus 00:09:06.200 --> 00:09:09.860 Christ, kneeling at His cross in repentance and 00:09:09.860 --> 00:09:15.879 faith. And in trusting Him, they become insiders. 00:09:17.259 --> 00:09:19.200 The Colossians that are being written to here 00:09:19.200 --> 00:09:21.519 were insiders. Go back to chapter one and verse 00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:26.120 two, where Paul addresses them as, to the saints 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:31.419 and faithful brethren, what's the next phrase? 00:09:32.419 --> 00:09:36.720 In Christ. They are the insiders. That is, they 00:09:36.720 --> 00:09:39.460 are in Jesus Christ because they have trusted 00:09:39.460 --> 00:09:43.980 Him. Conversely, the outsiders are those who 00:09:43.980 --> 00:09:48.080 are not in Jesus Christ, who have not placed 00:09:48.080 --> 00:09:50.960 their faith in Him, who have spurned His cross 00:09:50.960 --> 00:09:55.019 as a means of salvation. They're outside the 00:09:55.019 --> 00:09:58.179 family of God. They're outside the provision 00:09:58.179 --> 00:10:01.059 that God has made for forgiveness of sin. They're 00:10:01.059 --> 00:10:05.639 outside the place of protection from God's wrath 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:11.019 upon sin. They are fundamentally the outsiders. 00:10:14.220 --> 00:10:16.320 I don't know about you, but I sang a children's 00:10:16.320 --> 00:10:19.379 chorus as a little boy that says, only one door 00:10:19.379 --> 00:10:22.960 and only one. Remember that one? And yet its 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:31.299 sides are two. Inside and outside. On which side 00:10:31.299 --> 00:10:35.559 are you? You see, in that little chorus it says 00:10:35.559 --> 00:10:38.940 the same thing. There are those who are inside 00:10:38.940 --> 00:10:41.940 the door of salvation and then there are those 00:10:41.940 --> 00:10:48.279 who are outside Paul writes to insiders and he 00:10:48.279 --> 00:10:51.220 says you live in a world where there are many 00:10:51.220 --> 00:10:57.200 outsiders With regard to your conduct among them 00:10:57.200 --> 00:11:04.620 be wise as a habit of life Behave according to 00:11:04.620 --> 00:11:11.100 wisdom Wisdom is insight that God gives us as 00:11:11.100 --> 00:11:16.320 to the true nature of things. Wisdom means to 00:11:16.320 --> 00:11:20.200 see life and all of its issues with a Christian 00:11:20.200 --> 00:11:26.480 worldview. And he says that you and I are to 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:32.350 live in a world of outsiders With the kind of 00:11:32.350 --> 00:11:35.009 insight that God would give us because we belong 00:11:35.009 --> 00:11:41.149 to him Now in Ephesians chapter 5 verses 15 16 00:11:41.149 --> 00:11:45.250 and 17 There's a parallel text that further elaborates 00:11:45.250 --> 00:11:48.509 upon what Paul means here. I invite you to turn 00:11:48.509 --> 00:11:52.210 back there For he says in verse 15 therefore 00:11:52.210 --> 00:11:56.549 be careful how you walk same word is conduct 00:11:56.549 --> 00:12:02.220 or conduct in Colossians Be careful how you walk 00:12:02.220 --> 00:12:06.059 or conduct yourselves, not as unwise men, but 00:12:06.059 --> 00:12:09.620 as wise, making the most of your time because 00:12:09.620 --> 00:12:12.480 the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, 00:12:13.220 --> 00:12:16.200 but understand what the will of the Lord is. 00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:21.320 We are to walk in this world wisely. That means 00:12:21.320 --> 00:12:27.419 to walk carefully. It means accurately, due to 00:12:27.419 --> 00:12:31.850 being careful. It's a word that might describe 00:12:31.850 --> 00:12:36.789 how some of the boys and girls in school do their 00:12:36.789 --> 00:12:40.909 homework. It's possible to get homework done, 00:12:41.730 --> 00:12:46.850 but not to do it accurately. That is to go through 00:12:46.850 --> 00:12:49.070 the problems in a hurry and put down something 00:12:49.070 --> 00:12:52.809 on the paper, and yet not to be careful to be 00:12:52.809 --> 00:12:56.860 accurate. The apostle says to you and me here 00:12:56.860 --> 00:12:59.659 that we are to conduct ourselves in this world 00:12:59.659 --> 00:13:03.100 being careful about how we live, not just living 00:13:03.100 --> 00:13:07.120 through the day, not just going through the motions 00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:12.440 of life, but accurately living according to the 00:13:12.440 --> 00:13:15.799 wisdom that God gives. And why? Because he says 00:13:15.799 --> 00:13:22.179 the days are evil. That word evil means malignant 00:13:22.179 --> 00:13:25.299 evil. It doesn't mean benign evil. It means it's 00:13:25.299 --> 00:13:29.039 evil like a cancer That is out to kill and to 00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:33.799 destroy He says that our culture the day in which 00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:41.320 we live is evil Actively evil and therefore we 00:13:41.320 --> 00:13:46.440 need to live wisely and Avoid the evil of our 00:13:46.440 --> 00:13:50.549 age We're to show wisdom with how we deal with 00:13:50.549 --> 00:13:55.190 this pagan culture. And we are to be very, very 00:13:55.190 --> 00:14:04.970 careful of it. And yet, many of us listen to 00:14:04.970 --> 00:14:10.129 the same music lyrics. We attend the same concerts 00:14:10.129 --> 00:14:16.250 and shows. We watch the same videos. We spend 00:14:16.250 --> 00:14:20.769 money the same way. We use Sunday the Lord's 00:14:20.769 --> 00:14:25.490 Day the same way. We make certain moral choices 00:14:25.490 --> 00:14:33.129 the same way as our pagan culture. And when we 00:14:33.129 --> 00:14:35.490 do that, we are not living according to the Word 00:14:35.490 --> 00:14:38.669 of God, for God says we are to conduct ourselves 00:14:38.669 --> 00:14:46.210 with wisdom. Being very careful of this evil 00:14:46.210 --> 00:14:52.190 culture. That is destructive to us as persons 00:14:52.190 --> 00:14:57.210 to our families and as we see sadly also to our 00:14:57.210 --> 00:15:03.110 nation And so if you think about your lifestyle 00:15:03.110 --> 00:15:05.190 and the choices that you make and the way that 00:15:05.190 --> 00:15:09.149 you live day in and day out It behooves you to 00:15:09.149 --> 00:15:14.509 carefully Make those choices now he says with 00:15:14.509 --> 00:15:20.990 regard to conversation were to be winsome. The 00:15:20.990 --> 00:15:24.269 point that he's making in Colossians 4 -6 is 00:15:24.269 --> 00:15:27.610 that we need to know how to answer or to respond 00:15:27.610 --> 00:15:35.129 to outsiders in what they say. And whether it 00:15:35.129 --> 00:15:37.389 be something that is written or something that 00:15:37.389 --> 00:15:43.590 is verbally communicated, he wants us to be filled 00:15:43.590 --> 00:15:48.759 with winsomeness. in the way that we relate to 00:15:48.759 --> 00:15:53.580 outsiders. Peter comes alongside of Paul here, 00:15:53.899 --> 00:16:22.019 and he says, My impression of the Promise Keepers 00:16:22.019 --> 00:16:24.759 Conference this weekend is that it met with much 00:16:24.759 --> 00:16:29.159 less controversy and confrontation here in the 00:16:29.159 --> 00:16:33.559 Twin Cities than last year. Maybe that's only 00:16:33.559 --> 00:16:36.340 my limited and improper perspective, but that 00:16:36.340 --> 00:16:38.860 would be my view and what I have read and seen 00:16:38.860 --> 00:16:42.509 on television about it. And I think the reason 00:16:42.509 --> 00:16:45.710 for that is that people who have answered for 00:16:45.710 --> 00:16:50.190 that movement, and men who have been interviewed, 00:16:50.470 --> 00:16:52.990 as I heard some people interviewed yesterday 00:16:52.990 --> 00:16:57.929 by the media, have answered with winsomeness. 00:16:59.289 --> 00:17:03.389 They have been ready to give an answer about 00:17:03.389 --> 00:17:05.869 the things that they're being flandered about, 00:17:06.509 --> 00:17:11.650 and because of that winsome answer, Those who 00:17:11.650 --> 00:17:15.009 would attack them have been forced to keep quiet, 00:17:15.890 --> 00:17:18.750 being put to shame. That's what Peter said here. 00:17:19.730 --> 00:17:22.690 There are two descriptive phrases to embellish 00:17:22.690 --> 00:17:25.549 this standard that Paul gives. When he says, 00:17:25.789 --> 00:17:29.329 let your speech be winsome, he says, let it be 00:17:29.329 --> 00:17:35.809 with grace always. This is the same word in chapter 00:17:35.809 --> 00:17:40.059 3, verse 16, translated Thanksgiving. always 00:17:40.059 --> 00:17:45.579 with Thanksgiving or always with grace. He's 00:17:45.579 --> 00:17:48.119 talking about, let your speech be that which 00:17:48.119 --> 00:17:51.400 causes delight, that which is beautiful, that 00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:54.960 which is pleasing. He's talking about more than 00:17:54.960 --> 00:17:59.180 just being charming, but he's talking about imparting 00:17:59.180 --> 00:18:02.700 to others through your speech the grace that 00:18:02.700 --> 00:18:08.240 God has given you in your life. As it says of 00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:12.539 Jesus in Luke chapter 4 verse 22, all were speaking 00:18:12.539 --> 00:18:16.000 well of him and wondering at the greatest words 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:22.339 which were falling from his lips. Now it quickly 00:18:22.339 --> 00:18:26.400 changed. Not the words from his lips, but the 00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:30.059 attitude that they had toward him in that chapter. 00:18:31.140 --> 00:18:33.980 But the fact is that as Jesus ministered to people, 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:39.289 he ministered with grace. upon his lips. That's 00:18:39.289 --> 00:18:47.009 how we want to minister to our wives, men. Children, 00:18:47.029 --> 00:18:49.369 that's how you want to be ministering to your 00:18:49.369 --> 00:18:53.829 mothers on this Mother's Day, to your fathers. 00:18:55.289 --> 00:18:58.170 That's how we want to minister to each other, 00:18:58.509 --> 00:19:02.890 with grace upon our lips. But not only in the 00:19:02.890 --> 00:19:07.420 circle. He's saying here out outside, in the 00:19:07.420 --> 00:19:11.299 world where we live, in this pagan culture, grief 00:19:11.299 --> 00:19:15.460 must be upon our lips. And our speech, he says, 00:19:15.579 --> 00:19:17.920 should be seasoned with salt. That is, there 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:23.599 should be a holy pungency about it. He's not 00:19:23.599 --> 00:19:26.700 telling us here that we always have to be Minnesota 00:19:26.700 --> 00:19:33.039 nice in our speech. There are times when hard 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:36.259 things must be said, or controversial things. 00:19:37.640 --> 00:19:41.880 But he says, let your speech be seasoned with 00:19:41.880 --> 00:19:45.460 salt. Let it not be dull or insipid, but let 00:19:45.460 --> 00:19:49.539 there be potency to it, a sanctified potency. 00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:54.200 Salt has at least two purposes, to purify and 00:19:54.200 --> 00:19:57.700 to preserve. And so let your speech and mine 00:19:57.700 --> 00:20:01.819 be the kind of speech that is wholesome. that 00:20:01.819 --> 00:20:06.200 will purify others, not dirty up their minds 00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:08.819 or their motives, or cloud the issues in their 00:20:08.819 --> 00:20:14.059 lives, but clarify things for them. And let our 00:20:14.059 --> 00:20:18.180 speech be that which preserves from corruption. 00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:25.220 I tell you, a spirit -filled, gracious, and potent 00:20:25.220 --> 00:20:30.759 tongue is an asset to any Christian. Words matter, 00:20:30.980 --> 00:20:38.359 don't they? State Senator Ember Young, a DSLR 00:20:38.359 --> 00:20:42.339 from New Hope, spent some time this last session 00:20:42.339 --> 00:20:45.319 just writing down things that she heard her fellow 00:20:45.319 --> 00:20:49.039 legislators say. Listen to some of the things 00:20:49.039 --> 00:20:54.829 that she heard in the Senate chamber. There comes 00:20:54.829 --> 00:20:59.589 a time to put principle aside and do what's right. 00:21:01.089 --> 00:21:05.630 It's a great statement, isn't it? Another man 00:21:05.630 --> 00:21:09.410 said, it takes real courage to vote against your 00:21:09.410 --> 00:21:17.230 convictions. Anyone can carry a good bill. It's 00:21:17.230 --> 00:21:20.529 really hard to get a bad bill passed, though. 00:21:22.509 --> 00:21:25.130 These are not my figures I'm quoting they're 00:21:25.130 --> 00:21:27.150 the figures of someone who knows what they're 00:21:27.150 --> 00:21:36.470 talking about Remember if you conquer yourself 00:21:36.470 --> 00:21:43.609 you conquer the greatest evil on earth Someone 00:21:43.609 --> 00:21:48.150 else said I misquoted myself that takes some 00:21:48.150 --> 00:21:54.720 work doesn't it? Mr. President, before I give 00:21:54.720 --> 00:21:56.920 you the benefit of my remarks, I'd like to know 00:21:56.920 --> 00:22:03.339 what we're talking about. Good idea. And I think 00:22:03.339 --> 00:22:06.259 my favorite one is this. We're caught between 00:22:06.259 --> 00:22:13.319 the dog and the fire hydrant. That says it pretty 00:22:13.319 --> 00:22:23.650 well. We're saying something, don't we? And what 00:22:23.650 --> 00:22:27.269 the apostle says is that as you and I conduct 00:22:27.269 --> 00:22:32.970 ourselves among the outsiders, our speech is 00:22:32.970 --> 00:22:36.150 to carry the fragrance of Jesus Christ to the 00:22:36.150 --> 00:22:41.190 world. It is to be with His grace upon our lips 00:22:41.190 --> 00:22:49.710 and our speech having a holy pungency so that 00:22:49.710 --> 00:22:56.579 what we say makes a difference. When we talk 00:22:56.579 --> 00:23:00.720 about our society being pagan or neo -pagan perhaps, 00:23:01.640 --> 00:23:04.240 we're not saying our society is irreligious. 00:23:05.400 --> 00:23:08.440 A poll conducted three years ago now said that 00:23:08.440 --> 00:23:13.180 90 % of Americans profess belief in God. More 00:23:13.180 --> 00:23:15.660 than half of Americans say they pray at least 00:23:15.660 --> 00:23:21.130 once a day. And get this one. More than 40 % 00:23:21.130 --> 00:23:24.009 claimed to have attended worship services in 00:23:24.009 --> 00:23:28.349 any given week. 40 % and yet another survey showed 00:23:28.349 --> 00:23:36.950 that half of the 40 % were lying about it. You 00:23:36.950 --> 00:23:42.250 see, religion pervades American life, but only 00:23:42.250 --> 00:23:47.589 a minority take it very seriously. Hopefully 00:23:47.589 --> 00:23:51.650 those of us who are insiders, because we have 00:23:51.650 --> 00:23:55.869 trusted Jesus Christ, are among those who take 00:23:55.869 --> 00:24:00.569 our faith seriously. And as a result of that, 00:24:00.569 --> 00:24:03.990 in our speech and in our conduct in the world, 00:24:04.990 --> 00:24:09.069 we make a difference. You know, it's time for 00:24:09.069 --> 00:24:14.930 all of us who name the name of Jesus Christ to 00:24:14.930 --> 00:24:19.210 put aside the one grain. that we have done in 00:24:19.210 --> 00:24:22.150 our culture and the experimentation with this 00:24:22.150 --> 00:24:28.529 idea and that value. It's time for us to stop 00:24:28.529 --> 00:24:35.990 being conformed to the world. And to come to 00:24:35.990 --> 00:24:39.349 Jesus Christ afresh and repent of our waywardness 00:24:39.349 --> 00:24:43.789 and our sinfulness, to come home to Him and to 00:24:43.789 --> 00:24:46.930 say, Jesus Christ, I seek to be your man and 00:24:46.930 --> 00:24:49.859 your woman. in the midst of a world like this. 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:55.140 I want to live my Savior for you in this world. 00:24:58.039 --> 00:25:02.559 The apostle reminds us in Ephesians chapter 5 00:25:02.559 --> 00:25:07.119 that we only have a brief opportunity to live, 00:25:07.500 --> 00:25:11.119 and so to live wisely. I close with the words 00:25:11.119 --> 00:25:13.839 of William F. Taylor who writes, we travel through 00:25:13.839 --> 00:25:18.359 this world only once, so let us live. to some 00:25:18.359 --> 00:25:22.099 purpose. The day that dawned this morning will 00:25:22.099 --> 00:25:25.279 never come again. The opportunities it brought 00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:29.640 will never return. If we fail to fill our measure 00:25:29.640 --> 00:25:34.220 of time with the service it requires of us, there 00:25:34.220 --> 00:25:37.220 will be no possibility of returning to this day 00:25:37.220 --> 00:25:42.039 to repair the mystery. The wheels of time's chariot 00:25:42.039 --> 00:25:52.259 have ratchets on them, and they move only And 00:25:52.259 --> 00:25:55.359 so, by God's grace, you and I have tomorrow, 00:25:56.660 --> 00:26:00.119 and perhaps another week before we meet again 00:26:00.119 --> 00:26:06.859 together like this. As we would gather in seven 00:26:06.859 --> 00:26:12.500 days, let us speak by God's grace to have our 00:26:12.500 --> 00:26:15.700 speech and our conduct among the outsiders in 00:26:15.700 --> 00:26:20.460 the world. be such that they will see Jesus Christ 00:26:20.460 --> 00:26:25.940 in us and be drawn to want to know Him and be 00:26:25.940 --> 00:26:29.859 drawn by the Spirit of God to trust Him so that 00:26:29.859 --> 00:26:36.799 they too can get on the inside of the door. Let's 00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:45.329 pray. Father, I pray that you will apply this 00:26:45.329 --> 00:26:48.609 message to our hearts and our lives as you see 00:26:48.609 --> 00:26:54.890 it needs to be. There's not a husband or a wife. 00:26:57.269 --> 00:27:03.910 There's not a father, a mother, a child. There's 00:27:03.910 --> 00:27:08.250 not one of us young or old, but who needs to 00:27:08.250 --> 00:27:11.900 hear what this text says. Forgive us for where 00:27:11.900 --> 00:27:19.200 we have conformed to the culture, and so mightily 00:27:19.200 --> 00:27:23.359 work in us that we will be transformers, even 00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:26.140 as we are being transformed by the Spirit of 00:27:26.140 --> 00:27:33.339 God. Let's stand together as we sing, please. 00:27:33.779 --> 00:27:36.000 Friend, ask us to sing without accompaniment, 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:41.170 just a simple chorus, in my life, Lord. be glorified. 00:27:42.589 --> 00:27:44.970 And if this morning you would like to have special 00:27:44.970 --> 00:27:47.750 prayer regarding a need in your life, or if you 00:27:47.750 --> 00:27:50.890 need to come and in coming say today I would 00:27:50.890 --> 00:27:55.650 trust the Savior, or come and say I need a new 00:27:55.650 --> 00:27:58.190 beginning in my life. I've been away from God 00:27:58.190 --> 00:28:02.069 and today I want a new start. I want to invite 00:28:02.069 --> 00:28:04.309 you to slip out and come and stand here in the 00:28:04.309 --> 00:28:08.619 front. We'll dismiss everyone and I'll have an 00:28:08.619 --> 00:28:11.839 opportunity to pray to talk with you briefly. 00:28:13.759 --> 00:28:16.059 As we sing the chorus with our heads down, I 00:28:16.059 --> 00:28:18.599 invite you to slip out if you desire this special 00:28:18.599 --> 00:28:49.089 time of prayer. In my life, Lord, be glorified. 00:28:49.829 --> 00:28:52.630 Not only in our life and our conduct, but in 00:28:52.630 --> 00:29:01.829 our speech, Lord, be glorified. In our speech, 00:29:02.210 --> 00:29:27.579 Lord, be glorified. Lord, hear the prayer of 00:29:27.579 --> 00:29:31.859 our hearts, and answer it, we pray, for your 00:29:31.859 --> 00:29:36.599 glory and for our good. In Jesus' name, amen.