WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:02.860 Amen. Okay, we're in Genesis chapter 35 this evening. 00:03.000 --> 00:05.480 I want to continue with our Thursday night Bible study. 00:05.540 --> 00:09.360 I wasn't able to preach through this on Thursday because I was falling ill. 00:09.620 --> 00:10.800 But of course I'm better today. 00:10.840 --> 00:14.420 So I want to kind of go over this passage here and do some catch up on the 00:14.420 --> 00:16.140 book of Genesis in chapter 35. 00:16.580 --> 00:20.560 We have a continuation here of some of the events that took place in 34, 00:20.680 --> 00:25.140 where you have Israel and his family, essentially dwelling in Sheikham. 00:25.220 --> 00:28.540 And of course we know that that ended, it didn't end very well with them. 00:28.540 --> 00:32.820 God did not intend for Israel and his family to live in Sheikham. 00:32.860 --> 00:34.080 He wanted him to go to Bethel. 00:34.500 --> 00:36.820 And we know that Bethel means house of God. 00:37.340 --> 00:40.260 And of course we know that Jacob is kind of, you know, 00:40.340 --> 00:44.760 he's halfway obeying the commandments of the Lord to leave the land of his 00:44.760 --> 00:46.340 uncle to come back to Bethel. 00:46.500 --> 00:50.580 But instead he ends up pitching his tent in Sheikham dwelling there. 00:50.780 --> 00:52.320 And it causes a lot of problems. 00:52.480 --> 00:55.840 You have his daughter, Dinah, going out to see the daughters of the land. 00:55.840 --> 01:01.600 She ends up committing fornication, invoking the wrath and anger of her 01:01.600 --> 01:05.280 brothers. They end up cunningly deceiving the men of Sheikham, 01:05.620 --> 01:08.380 causing them to be circumcised, essentially stating, 01:08.640 --> 01:12.120 if you become circumcised, we will intermarry one with another. 01:12.600 --> 01:13.660 And of course they were lying. 01:14.100 --> 01:17.420 They ended up coming upon them and slaying them and causing them to 01:17.420 --> 01:20.300 have a bad testimony before the people of the land. 01:20.540 --> 01:22.040 So it's a major mess here. 01:22.420 --> 01:24.640 And of course this is kind of ruining it for Jacob. 01:25.240 --> 01:29.480 And what this demonstrates to us in chapter 34 is the fact that, you know, 01:29.540 --> 01:33.940 it's just worth it to just go all the way through and come back to the house of God, 01:34.400 --> 01:35.300 go to Bethel. 01:35.540 --> 01:38.700 Don't look for some alternative when you're trying to get right with God. 01:39.020 --> 01:40.000 Just go back to church. 01:40.600 --> 01:42.500 You don't have to dwell in Sheikham. 01:42.860 --> 01:44.600 Don't go halfway and say, well, 01:44.620 --> 01:46.120 I'm just going to start listening to preaching. 01:46.560 --> 01:48.580 I'm just going to just be there online. 01:49.000 --> 01:49.960 Just go to church. 01:50.280 --> 01:52.280 Just go to the house of Bethel. 01:52.280 --> 01:55.000 Go all in because at the end of the day, 01:55.220 --> 01:58.400 you know, dwelling in Sheikham, though you're going in the direction of Bethel, 01:58.400 --> 02:01.360 of Bethel, it's not necessarily the same thing, right? 02:01.840 --> 02:03.240 So you have this situation here. 02:03.600 --> 02:07.680 And of course, at this point, Jacob's pretty upset and he wants to move his family 02:07.680 --> 02:10.280 and essentially go to Bethel as he was previously commanded. 02:10.540 --> 02:12.040 And this is what we see in chapter 35. 02:12.180 --> 02:12.720 Look at verse one. 02:12.800 --> 02:17.760 It says, and God said unto Jacob, arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there 02:17.760 --> 02:21.020 and make there an altar unto God that appeared unto them. 02:21.020 --> 02:25.000 When thou fled us from the face of Esau thy brother, then Jacob said into his 02:25.000 --> 02:29.260 household and to all that were with him, put away the strange gods that are 02:29.260 --> 02:33.680 among you and be clean and change your garments. 02:33.880 --> 02:37.100 Let us arise, go up to Bethel and it will make there an altar unto God who 02:37.100 --> 02:41.520 answered me in the day of my distress and was with me in the way which I went. 02:42.020 --> 02:46.820 So of course, God appears once again to Jacob to remind him, hey, 02:47.000 --> 02:48.780 the original commandment was to go into Bethel. 02:48.920 --> 02:50.020 That's where you need to go. 02:50.020 --> 02:52.260 And of course, God is being gracious with Jacob here. 02:52.560 --> 02:57.300 Jacob decides to get serious and he basically says, all right, it's time to 02:57.300 --> 02:59.680 basically put my household in spiritual order. 03:00.120 --> 03:00.260 Okay. 03:01.400 --> 03:04.420 And I commend Jacob for this because even though he's an imperfect man, 03:04.680 --> 03:08.540 even though he's made mistakes in the past, from here on out, he's trying 03:08.540 --> 03:09.960 to make the right decisions, right? 03:10.380 --> 03:14.820 And this is why he says to his household, all right, it's time to put 03:14.820 --> 03:19.180 away the strange gods, it's time to be clean and change your garments. 03:19.180 --> 03:19.840 Why? 03:20.120 --> 03:22.840 Because we're going unto the house of God. 03:23.380 --> 03:24.480 And this is important, right? 03:24.680 --> 03:28.040 Because of the fact that Jacob understands that if he's going to go to 03:28.040 --> 03:30.780 Bethel, he wants to make sure that his family is also right with God. 03:31.560 --> 03:31.980 And you know what? 03:31.980 --> 03:35.600 It's important for us folks to realize that, you know, obviously we are 03:35.600 --> 03:39.720 responsible for our own actions, how we serve the Lord. 03:39.980 --> 03:43.660 But if we are fathers, if we're husbands, we're also responsible 03:43.660 --> 03:46.200 for the spiritual wellbeing of our families as well, right? 03:46.200 --> 03:50.100 We need to make sure that as much as we're doing our best to get 03:50.100 --> 03:53.020 right with God, we need to make sure that we make sure that our 03:53.020 --> 03:54.760 families are also getting right with God as well. 03:55.520 --> 03:58.800 Now, what does he mean by put away the strange gods that are among you? 03:59.420 --> 04:03.520 Well, this kind of tells me that he kind of knows about Rachel's 04:03.520 --> 04:06.380 false gods that she stole from her father. 04:06.540 --> 04:09.060 If you remember a couple of chapters ago, she, you know, when 04:09.060 --> 04:13.720 they're leaving, he ends up or they end up leaving in secret and 04:13.720 --> 04:16.940 Rachel ends up stealing the idols from her father. 04:17.560 --> 04:21.200 She hides it in her tent and of course her father comes 04:21.200 --> 04:21.900 seeking for it. 04:21.960 --> 04:24.820 She lies about it and Jacob's like, oh, what's my crime? 04:24.920 --> 04:25.360 What have I done? 04:25.620 --> 04:26.680 He's kind of playing dumb here. 04:26.840 --> 04:29.800 But apparently, you know, he might have got a caught wind of 04:29.800 --> 04:32.820 this later on or something where he understood like Rachel has 04:32.820 --> 04:33.400 false gods. 04:33.540 --> 04:36.360 These people have false gods and it's time to clean that up. 04:36.660 --> 04:36.820 Okay. 04:37.200 --> 04:38.120 Now, what does this teach us? 04:38.480 --> 04:42.660 It teaches us that part of going to church, you know, is 04:42.660 --> 04:43.860 cleaning up our lives. 04:45.300 --> 04:48.560 You know, part of going to church is kind of examining our 04:48.560 --> 04:51.700 personal lives and recognizing we need to put away the strange 04:51.700 --> 04:52.800 gods which are among us. 04:53.000 --> 04:54.800 Too many times people just treat church as like, well, I'm 04:54.800 --> 04:55.980 just going to go there and learn something. 04:56.480 --> 04:57.780 I'm going to go there and learn doctrine. 04:58.120 --> 05:00.400 I'm there to be sent out to preach the gospel. 05:00.720 --> 05:02.000 I'm there to go soul-winning. 05:02.200 --> 05:03.160 I'm there to fellowship. 05:03.480 --> 05:05.380 But let me just remind you, God also wants you to 05:05.380 --> 05:06.460 clean up your life as well. 05:06.920 --> 05:08.860 It's not just about fellowship. 05:09.260 --> 05:09.800 That's great. 05:10.000 --> 05:11.360 It's not just about learning doctrine. 05:11.540 --> 05:12.480 I'm glad you know doctrine. 05:12.660 --> 05:15.580 But the Bible tells us to be clean, to be holy. 05:16.340 --> 05:17.140 And you know what Jacob is saying? 05:17.300 --> 05:20.540 Hey, put away your strange gods, put away the sin from 05:20.540 --> 05:22.980 among you, be clean and change your garments. 05:23.100 --> 05:25.400 And these are great three points here that we're looking 05:25.400 --> 05:28.440 at where he's basically telling them, Hey, if we're 05:28.440 --> 05:30.660 going to go to the house of God, we're going to 05:30.660 --> 05:33.340 construct an altar to worship the Lord. 05:33.600 --> 05:36.320 We need to make sure that we are cleansed of our 05:36.320 --> 05:37.160 unrighteousness. 05:37.380 --> 05:37.560 Okay. 05:39.020 --> 05:39.540 And you know what? 05:39.880 --> 05:41.900 Anytime we come to church, obviously there's nothing 05:41.900 --> 05:43.300 magical about this building. 05:43.840 --> 05:46.480 There's nothing supernatural about these walls. 05:47.040 --> 05:49.600 There's nothing supernatural about the chairs or the 05:49.600 --> 05:50.940 ground or the ceiling. 05:51.440 --> 05:53.020 This is office space. 05:53.400 --> 05:53.620 Okay. 05:54.100 --> 05:56.080 But at the end of the day, because we're meeting 05:56.080 --> 05:58.800 here and because we are a church, there is a 05:58.800 --> 05:59.860 supernatural element. 06:00.140 --> 06:01.000 You know what God wants you to do? 06:01.080 --> 06:02.420 He wants you to clean up your life when you 06:02.420 --> 06:02.820 come here. 06:04.260 --> 06:06.240 Obviously come as you are, but don't leave as 06:06.240 --> 06:06.600 you were. 06:07.720 --> 06:08.080 Right. 06:08.480 --> 06:09.460 You know, a lot of churches are like, oh, come 06:09.460 --> 06:11.480 as you are and just let them work it out. 06:11.480 --> 06:13.940 And they need to get that ride and stuff like 06:13.940 --> 06:14.080 that. 06:14.140 --> 06:15.860 And I'm all for being patient with people. 06:16.000 --> 06:16.600 You know that. 06:16.800 --> 06:17.240 Okay. 06:17.340 --> 06:19.800 I preached about that last week, but here's the 06:19.800 --> 06:21.920 flip side of that coin is if you're in our 06:21.920 --> 06:23.060 church, clean up your life. 06:23.680 --> 06:26.440 Make sure that you are repenting of your 06:26.440 --> 06:26.860 sin. 06:27.120 --> 06:29.900 Make sure that you are taken inventory of your 06:29.900 --> 06:32.320 spiritual life and that you're better today 06:32.320 --> 06:33.580 than you were last week. 06:33.960 --> 06:36.000 You're better today than you were last year. 06:36.420 --> 06:39.380 You should, as Jacob says here, put away 06:39.380 --> 06:41.980 the strange gods that are among you. 06:42.080 --> 06:43.480 Now go to Colossians chapter three, if you 06:43.480 --> 06:44.620 would Colossians chapter three. 06:45.180 --> 06:46.880 Now look, folks, you know, I don't think 06:46.880 --> 06:51.060 anybody here is, uh, you know, struggling 06:51.060 --> 06:52.660 with idolatry or anything like that. 06:52.760 --> 06:55.280 You know, a couple of years ago, we had a 06:55.280 --> 06:57.120 lot of new Christians and they were 06:57.120 --> 06:57.760 idolaters. 06:57.760 --> 06:59.940 And this is why we had the idol burning 06:59.940 --> 07:01.700 Sunday, whereby we almost burned down 07:01.700 --> 07:03.360 the entire church because we didn't 07:03.360 --> 07:04.480 really know how to control the fire. 07:04.660 --> 07:06.480 But hey, we got the job done, amen. 07:06.860 --> 07:08.660 And, you know, burned a lot of idols. 07:08.660 --> 07:10.280 So I personally don't think there's a 07:10.280 --> 07:12.060 lot of idolatry in our church. 07:12.080 --> 07:12.820 I don't think there's any. 07:13.160 --> 07:14.860 Now there might be, and if you have an 07:14.860 --> 07:16.540 idol, you need to make sure that you burn 07:16.540 --> 07:18.460 it in the fire, that you smash it, you 07:18.460 --> 07:20.800 toss it, and you know, you know, retain 07:20.800 --> 07:23.760 any idols from your grandma, from your 07:23.760 --> 07:24.940 aunt, just because that's sentimental 07:24.940 --> 07:25.380 value. 07:25.760 --> 07:26.840 We need to make sure that we do, as 07:26.840 --> 07:27.940 the Bible tells us in the New Testament, 07:28.060 --> 07:30.080 to keep ourselves from idols, okay? 07:30.880 --> 07:32.400 Even if you don't feel like you're 07:32.400 --> 07:33.700 worshiping it, you know, it's like, 07:33.740 --> 07:35.040 well, I don't really worship it. 07:35.320 --> 07:36.460 I don't view it as deity. 07:37.040 --> 07:39.420 It's just kind of like a heirloom, 07:39.560 --> 07:39.680 you know? 07:39.740 --> 07:42.020 It's something that my aunt gave me. 07:42.100 --> 07:43.340 It just means a lot to me. 07:43.360 --> 07:44.940 There's a little Virgin Mary that I got 07:44.940 --> 07:45.380 going on. 07:45.680 --> 07:47.200 Well, the Bible still considers that 07:47.840 --> 07:49.580 idolatry, because it's an idol. 07:49.840 --> 07:51.540 It's a false God in God's eyes, 07:51.700 --> 07:54.040 and you're provoking the Lord unto 07:54.040 --> 07:56.420 jealousy by, you know, 07:56.500 --> 07:57.840 possessing that false idol. 07:58.080 --> 07:59.340 So you say, what should I do with 07:59.340 --> 07:59.440 it? 07:59.680 --> 08:02.180 Break it, bash it, step on it, 08:02.340 --> 08:03.860 toss it in the fire, just 08:03.860 --> 08:04.920 completely get rid of it. 08:04.920 --> 08:06.160 Just be Jerobail, amen. 08:07.080 --> 08:08.600 Be Jerobail and toss that thing 08:08.600 --> 08:10.300 down, throw it into the trash, 08:10.720 --> 08:12.300 and get right with God and say, Lord, 08:12.440 --> 08:13.940 forgive me of my idolatry. 08:14.280 --> 08:15.840 I kept this in my possession for 08:15.840 --> 08:16.520 sentimental value. 08:16.800 --> 08:18.520 I'm not worshiping it, but in your 08:18.520 --> 08:20.040 eyes, this is still idolatry. 08:20.400 --> 08:22.080 So I repent of this and just 08:22.080 --> 08:23.620 toss it into the fire, into the 08:23.620 --> 08:24.320 trash or whatever. 08:25.140 --> 08:25.900 You know, that's important to do. 08:26.860 --> 08:27.480 But here's the thing. 08:27.640 --> 08:29.840 I would think, I would gather to 08:29.840 --> 08:30.880 say that no one here is really 08:30.880 --> 08:31.760 struggling with idolatry. 08:32.160 --> 08:33.260 You know, I don't think you have 08:33.260 --> 08:34.440 like a Buddha in your house or 08:34.440 --> 08:35.020 something like that. 08:35.740 --> 08:36.500 You know, maybe some of you 08:36.500 --> 08:37.760 Asians do, and if you do, you 08:37.760 --> 08:39.600 need to go burn that fat, 08:39.860 --> 08:42.680 you know, idol and destroy it. 08:43.040 --> 08:44.000 I don't think there's a Virgin 08:44.000 --> 08:45.280 Mary somewhere around here. 08:45.920 --> 08:47.360 You know, I don't think people 08:47.360 --> 08:48.380 struggle with that, but you 08:48.380 --> 08:50.180 know the New Testament actually 08:50.180 --> 08:52.180 defines for us what idolatry 08:52.180 --> 08:53.100 is, and obviously we know that 08:53.100 --> 08:54.260 it's referring to a false God, 08:54.520 --> 08:55.860 but the Bible also gives us 08:55.860 --> 08:57.000 somewhat of a secondary 08:57.780 --> 08:59.200 application or definition of 08:59.200 --> 09:01.160 idolatry, and that's basically 09:01.160 --> 09:03.400 elevating money, right? 09:04.200 --> 09:04.680 Covetiousness. 09:04.900 --> 09:05.920 In fact, look at Colossians 09:05.920 --> 09:07.980 chapter three and verse five. 09:08.140 --> 09:09.340 It says, mortified therefore 09:09.340 --> 09:11.540 your members which are upon 09:11.540 --> 09:12.060 the earth. 09:12.920 --> 09:13.560 Now, what does it mean to 09:13.560 --> 09:13.940 mortify? 09:14.080 --> 09:14.800 It means to kill it. 09:15.400 --> 09:15.440 Okay. 09:15.740 --> 09:16.640 Think of a mortician. 09:17.320 --> 09:19.060 Mortify means to just kill it. 09:19.280 --> 09:20.660 And when it says members, 09:21.120 --> 09:22.400 it's referring to like our 09:22.400 --> 09:23.160 physical body. 09:23.500 --> 09:23.860 Why? 09:23.980 --> 09:25.540 Because the works of the flesh 09:25.540 --> 09:27.240 are made manifest, which are 09:27.240 --> 09:27.540 these. 09:28.100 --> 09:29.240 So this isn't saying you 09:29.240 --> 09:30.760 literally have to saw off your 09:30.760 --> 09:33.060 leg, saw off your arm, 09:33.060 --> 09:34.600 pluck your eyeballs out or 09:34.600 --> 09:35.220 something like that. 09:35.560 --> 09:36.600 When it's referring to 09:36.600 --> 09:37.900 mortifying the members of our 09:37.900 --> 09:39.100 body, it's referring to the 09:39.100 --> 09:40.400 works of our members. 09:40.920 --> 09:40.960 Okay. 09:41.660 --> 09:42.260 And he lists them. 09:42.380 --> 09:43.340 He says, fornication, 09:44.220 --> 09:44.760 uncleanness, 09:45.620 --> 09:46.700 inordinate affection, 09:47.480 --> 09:48.660 evil concupiscence, and I 09:48.660 --> 09:49.440 want you to notice this, 09:49.800 --> 09:51.000 and covetousness, 09:51.460 --> 09:52.800 which is idolatry. 09:53.440 --> 09:54.920 So we see there that the 09:54.920 --> 09:56.640 Bible classifies idolatry not 09:56.640 --> 09:58.880 only as the worship of a 09:58.880 --> 09:59.400 false God. 09:59.880 --> 10:01.900 It also classifies idolatry 10:01.900 --> 10:04.060 as being on par with 10:04.060 --> 10:04.900 covetousness, 10:05.280 --> 10:06.640 being a greedy person. 10:07.140 --> 10:08.640 Now, this particular sin is a 10:08.640 --> 10:09.760 lot easier to hide than an 10:09.760 --> 10:10.940 idol, right? 10:11.580 --> 10:12.880 You know, an idol, you know, 10:12.960 --> 10:14.360 it's pretty out in the open. 10:14.940 --> 10:15.980 You have it on your dashboard. 10:16.680 --> 10:17.480 You see it when you go 10:17.480 --> 10:18.480 soul-winning or something like 10:18.480 --> 10:19.960 that, you know, when you 10:19.960 --> 10:21.020 visit a Buddhist home. 10:22.400 --> 10:23.540 But covetousness, on the 10:23.540 --> 10:24.960 other hand, it's like right 10:24.960 --> 10:25.400 in here. 10:26.040 --> 10:27.840 It's when you desire things 10:27.840 --> 10:28.980 that God does not want you 10:28.980 --> 10:30.340 to have or does not want 10:30.340 --> 10:31.500 you to have at this moment. 10:31.900 --> 10:33.660 And specifically, it's often 10:33.660 --> 10:35.660 tied into money. 10:36.220 --> 10:37.240 Because covetousness, another 10:37.240 --> 10:38.300 word for covetousness in the 10:38.300 --> 10:38.900 Bible is lust. 10:39.860 --> 10:40.780 And when we think of lust, 10:40.860 --> 10:42.120 we think of like sexual 10:42.120 --> 10:44.020 desires, but lust just 10:44.020 --> 10:45.180 simply means to covet 10:45.180 --> 10:46.020 something that doesn't 10:46.020 --> 10:47.320 belong to you, OK? 10:47.680 --> 10:48.540 Or that God does not 10:48.540 --> 10:50.100 intend for you to have at 10:50.100 --> 10:50.660 this moment. 10:51.160 --> 10:52.720 And consistently, covetousness 10:52.720 --> 10:54.200 is often associated with 10:54.200 --> 10:56.480 the desire to be rich, 10:56.920 --> 10:57.240 OK? 10:57.680 --> 10:58.780 And the Bible calls that 10:59.420 --> 10:59.960 idolatry. 11:00.540 --> 11:01.560 Now, don't misunderstand me. 11:01.560 --> 11:02.840 It's important to have money. 11:03.400 --> 11:04.240 Don't be a brokeie, amen. 11:05.360 --> 11:07.420 Pay your bills, pay people 11:07.420 --> 11:09.340 back, you know, make sure 11:09.340 --> 11:10.060 you're taking care of your 11:10.060 --> 11:11.560 family, be a blessing to 11:11.560 --> 11:12.380 others. 11:12.760 --> 11:13.800 The Bible says that money 11:13.800 --> 11:15.020 answereth all things. 11:15.620 --> 11:16.880 It's important to have money, 11:17.080 --> 11:17.400 OK? 11:17.800 --> 11:18.440 But here's the thing, the 11:18.440 --> 11:19.620 Bible says we cannot serve 11:19.620 --> 11:20.700 God and mammon, though. 11:21.200 --> 11:22.540 And when you begin to serve 11:22.540 --> 11:23.960 mammon, which the Bible 11:24.700 --> 11:26.820 renders as money, at 11:26.820 --> 11:27.320 that point, you're 11:27.320 --> 11:28.180 committing idolatry. 11:28.720 --> 11:29.260 Now, what does it mean 11:29.260 --> 11:30.180 to serve mammon? 11:30.340 --> 11:31.140 It means that you're 11:31.140 --> 11:32.600 elevating money to the extent 11:32.600 --> 11:34.060 where you're now excluding 11:34.590 --> 11:36.540 the service of God, church 11:36.540 --> 11:38.240 attendants or anything that 11:38.240 --> 11:38.960 is spiritual. 11:39.440 --> 11:40.600 You're basically putting the 11:40.600 --> 11:41.460 spiritual things on the 11:41.460 --> 11:43.300 back burner because you're 11:43.300 --> 11:44.420 serving money, OK? 11:45.420 --> 11:46.820 And look, you know, this is 11:46.820 --> 11:48.160 a sin that can creep into 11:48.160 --> 11:48.580 church. 11:49.120 --> 11:50.620 And I would even say that 11:50.620 --> 11:51.920 when you look at the sins of 11:51.920 --> 11:53.180 1 Corinthians chapter five, 11:53.640 --> 11:54.740 it's the sin that is very 11:54.740 --> 11:56.440 hard to detect in a 11:56.440 --> 11:57.620 church, OK? 11:58.260 --> 11:58.980 You know, the other sins 11:58.980 --> 11:59.520 are kind of easy. 11:59.680 --> 12:00.900 A drunkard, you look drunk. 12:00.900 --> 12:01.200 Right? 12:01.780 --> 12:02.540 A railer. 12:02.700 --> 12:03.560 We hear about it, right? 12:04.060 --> 12:04.440 Fornication. 12:04.780 --> 12:06.020 Hey, is this your girl 12:06.020 --> 12:06.720 for you guys to live together? 12:06.860 --> 12:08.360 OK, you guys are fornicated, OK? 12:08.980 --> 12:09.800 You know, things of that 12:09.800 --> 12:11.240 nature, you know, extortion, 12:11.620 --> 12:13.180 we can see that covetousness 12:13.180 --> 12:14.600 is more something that's 12:14.600 --> 12:15.600 actually found in the heart. 12:16.120 --> 12:17.540 But it does make its way out 12:17.540 --> 12:19.000 into the into the mouth 12:19.000 --> 12:20.240 because of the fact that out 12:20.240 --> 12:20.980 of the abundance of the heart 12:20.980 --> 12:21.460 the mouth speak. 12:22.220 --> 12:23.660 And according to the Bible, 12:24.000 --> 12:25.460 it's such a grievous sin 12:25.460 --> 12:26.200 that it merits 12:26.660 --> 12:27.480 excommunication if you don't 12:27.480 --> 12:27.900 get it right. 12:29.100 --> 12:29.940 Now, the Bible isn't 12:29.940 --> 12:31.320 forbidding you to make money. 12:31.860 --> 12:33.340 The Bible isn't forbidding you 12:33.340 --> 12:34.380 to be to have a lucrative 12:34.380 --> 12:36.480 business or to make money. 12:36.840 --> 12:38.340 What it does forbid is to try 12:38.340 --> 12:39.560 to bring that into the church 12:39.560 --> 12:40.900 where you now view church 12:40.900 --> 12:42.380 as a business whereby you 12:42.380 --> 12:43.580 can make money, OK? 12:44.040 --> 12:45.400 Or it forbids Christians 12:45.400 --> 12:46.520 from coming into church 12:46.520 --> 12:48.440 and only talking about money, 12:49.040 --> 12:49.940 how to make money, 12:50.080 --> 12:51.160 how much money you have. 12:51.720 --> 12:52.720 You know, God is not 12:52.720 --> 12:54.060 pleased when God's people 12:54.060 --> 12:55.340 come to church and instead 12:55.340 --> 12:56.640 of addressing spiritual 12:56.640 --> 12:58.000 matters and things of that 12:58.000 --> 12:58.860 nature, they elevate 12:58.860 --> 12:59.560 covetousness. 13:00.320 --> 13:01.940 And look, folks, obviously 13:01.940 --> 13:03.360 people become covetous when 13:03.360 --> 13:04.800 they begin to envy others 13:04.800 --> 13:06.100 for the possessions, the money 13:06.100 --> 13:07.020 and the things that they have. 13:07.420 --> 13:08.720 So it's important for us 13:08.720 --> 13:10.440 to realize that, you know, 13:10.600 --> 13:11.660 you don't necessarily have 13:11.660 --> 13:12.940 to be rich to be a covetous person. 13:14.100 --> 13:15.800 You can be a brokey and be 13:15.800 --> 13:17.420 covetous and be greedy, 13:17.740 --> 13:19.100 become envious and it can 13:19.100 --> 13:21.160 ultimately destroy your life. 13:21.260 --> 13:21.680 This is what the Bible 13:21.680 --> 13:23.960 refers to as having the love 13:23.960 --> 13:25.120 of money, which is the 13:25.120 --> 13:25.900 root of all evil. 13:26.460 --> 13:27.360 What does the Bible tell us here? 13:27.360 --> 13:28.420 It says that we need to 13:29.520 --> 13:30.880 mortify the members 13:30.880 --> 13:32.940 of our body covetousness. 13:33.320 --> 13:34.500 So this is something that we 13:34.500 --> 13:35.960 have to make sure that we 13:36.560 --> 13:37.840 constantly put into check, 13:38.040 --> 13:38.940 that we're not becoming 13:38.940 --> 13:40.660 greedy people, that we're not 13:40.660 --> 13:41.840 missing churches just to make 13:41.840 --> 13:43.540 an extra buck, that we're 13:43.540 --> 13:45.580 not spreading covetousness 13:45.580 --> 13:47.520 and envy into the church 13:47.520 --> 13:48.880 where all you do is talk 13:48.880 --> 13:49.820 about your possessions, 13:50.240 --> 13:51.480 how much money you have 13:51.480 --> 13:53.280 and why are you so broke 13:53.280 --> 13:54.860 and you don't have as much 13:54.860 --> 13:56.620 as money as I do or anything 13:56.620 --> 13:57.800 of that nature, that kind 13:57.800 --> 13:59.060 of attitude is a wicked 13:59.060 --> 13:59.800 attitude to have. 14:00.980 --> 14:02.460 Now again, don't misunderstand 14:02.460 --> 14:03.720 me, make money. 14:04.820 --> 14:06.880 Make money, be someone 14:06.880 --> 14:08.860 who is diligent and your 14:08.860 --> 14:09.820 business is thriving. 14:10.040 --> 14:11.800 That's great, but be modest 14:11.800 --> 14:13.280 about the things that you 14:13.280 --> 14:13.920 have, right? 14:15.260 --> 14:16.780 And don't invoke covetousness 14:16.780 --> 14:17.340 in others. 14:17.600 --> 14:18.180 Look at 1 Timothy. 14:18.360 --> 14:18.840 We're going to come back 14:18.840 --> 14:20.440 to Colossians chapter three 14:20.440 --> 14:20.960 in just a bit. 14:21.700 --> 14:22.820 Look at 1 Timothy, if you 14:22.820 --> 14:24.300 would, chapter six. 14:27.600 --> 14:29.700 So Jacob says we're going 14:29.700 --> 14:30.480 to go into Bethel, 14:30.720 --> 14:31.700 but before we do so, 14:31.880 --> 14:33.140 we need to make sure we get 14:33.140 --> 14:34.940 rid of the idolatry 14:34.940 --> 14:36.440 in our household. 14:36.620 --> 14:37.920 They have physical idolatry. 14:38.420 --> 14:38.740 You know what? 14:38.760 --> 14:40.020 It's OK for you to say, 14:40.100 --> 14:40.500 you know what? 14:40.800 --> 14:42.060 We're going to start going 14:42.060 --> 14:42.500 to church. 14:43.060 --> 14:43.920 Let's start cleaning up 14:43.920 --> 14:45.060 our lives a little bit. 14:45.320 --> 14:45.700 OK. 14:46.280 --> 14:47.980 And again, I do think 14:47.980 --> 14:49.160 that when you come to church 14:49.160 --> 14:50.340 and you leave exactly 14:50.340 --> 14:51.520 as you were, you haven't 14:51.520 --> 14:52.280 changed anything. 14:52.840 --> 14:53.360 You know, that's kind 14:53.360 --> 14:53.820 of in vain. 14:54.700 --> 14:55.900 I'm glad you're learning 14:55.900 --> 14:56.320 the Bible. 14:56.320 --> 14:57.360 I'm glad you're learning 14:57.360 --> 14:57.780 doctrine. 14:58.180 --> 14:59.560 I'm glad you understand 14:59.560 --> 15:01.160 replacement theology more. 15:01.480 --> 15:02.520 I'm glad you're learning 15:02.520 --> 15:03.880 the stories, but clean up 15:03.880 --> 15:04.580 your life, though. 15:05.580 --> 15:06.920 Like, get right with God. 15:07.160 --> 15:08.480 Be holy as he is holy. 15:08.780 --> 15:09.740 May there be changes 15:09.740 --> 15:10.520 in your life. 15:10.860 --> 15:11.960 And this isn't a message 15:11.960 --> 15:14.420 to say, oh, a changed life 15:14.420 --> 15:15.740 just automatically means 15:15.740 --> 15:16.600 that you're a safe person. 15:16.960 --> 15:17.700 No, but here's the thing, 15:17.800 --> 15:18.900 folks, you have to put 15:18.900 --> 15:20.120 in the effort to change 15:20.120 --> 15:21.340 your life because God 15:21.340 --> 15:22.000 commands you to. 15:22.300 --> 15:23.900 He commands you to change. 15:24.080 --> 15:24.820 He wants you to change 15:24.820 --> 15:25.500 the way you think, 15:25.500 --> 15:26.560 the way you act, 15:26.780 --> 15:27.480 the way you talk, 15:27.800 --> 15:28.580 the way you behave. 15:28.980 --> 15:29.720 All these things 15:29.720 --> 15:30.940 should change in your life. 15:31.300 --> 15:31.920 Don't be a person 15:31.920 --> 15:32.740 who comes to church 15:32.740 --> 15:34.220 and you have all this baggage 15:34.220 --> 15:35.140 with you, okay? 15:35.260 --> 15:35.640 And look, there's 15:35.640 --> 15:36.340 nothing wrong with baggage. 15:37.080 --> 15:38.000 I came to church 15:38.000 --> 15:38.420 with baggage. 15:39.000 --> 15:39.800 You came to church 15:39.800 --> 15:40.260 with baggage, 15:40.680 --> 15:41.660 but can we shed 15:41.660 --> 15:42.460 some of it off, though? 15:43.160 --> 15:44.020 Can you leave some 15:44.020 --> 15:44.960 of that drama behind, 15:45.160 --> 15:45.320 though? 15:45.760 --> 15:46.780 Can you stop being 15:46.780 --> 15:47.700 a covetous, 15:47.760 --> 15:48.320 can you stop being 15:48.320 --> 15:49.220 a rebellious woman? 15:49.640 --> 15:50.680 Can you stop being 15:50.680 --> 15:51.820 a covetous man? 15:52.280 --> 15:53.360 Can you stop being, 15:53.640 --> 15:54.320 you know, filling 15:54.320 --> 15:55.360 the blank, whatever it 15:55.360 --> 15:56.300 whatever sin 15:56.300 --> 15:57.100 that you're struggling with. 15:57.380 --> 15:58.520 Let's shed some of that 15:58.520 --> 15:59.040 stuff off. 16:00.260 --> 16:01.060 You're like, oh, I thought 16:01.060 --> 16:01.660 this was a place 16:01.660 --> 16:02.760 where you just accept me 16:02.760 --> 16:03.440 for who I am. 16:04.440 --> 16:05.040 We do. 16:05.500 --> 16:05.640 I mean, 16:06.440 --> 16:07.280 not kicking you out. 16:08.180 --> 16:08.800 I'm just saying, 16:09.360 --> 16:10.140 I'm just, here's just 16:10.140 --> 16:11.140 your weekly reminder 16:11.720 --> 16:12.280 that you better be 16:12.280 --> 16:13.240 growing in your faith. 16:13.840 --> 16:14.700 And part of growing 16:14.700 --> 16:15.780 is making sure 16:15.780 --> 16:16.420 that you're putting away 16:16.420 --> 16:17.100 the false gods 16:17.100 --> 16:17.960 which are among you, 16:18.380 --> 16:18.780 okay? 16:19.340 --> 16:20.460 And not just remaining 16:20.460 --> 16:21.600 the same person 16:21.600 --> 16:22.620 year by year. 16:23.140 --> 16:23.400 And look, 16:23.880 --> 16:24.520 I'm not talking about 16:24.520 --> 16:24.880 souling. 16:25.300 --> 16:26.320 I think we know about 16:26.320 --> 16:26.720 souling. 16:27.520 --> 16:28.140 I think that's just 16:28.720 --> 16:29.620 everyone kind of knows that. 16:30.000 --> 16:30.880 We're souling church. 16:31.300 --> 16:32.280 I'm not talking about, 16:32.400 --> 16:33.700 you know, how well you know 16:33.700 --> 16:34.540 anti-ence prophecy. 16:35.120 --> 16:36.060 I know you know anti-ence 16:36.060 --> 16:36.460 prophecy. 16:36.720 --> 16:37.480 Let's just get into 16:37.480 --> 16:38.900 the practicality 16:38.900 --> 16:39.680 of the Christian life 16:39.680 --> 16:41.020 where you're actually 16:41.020 --> 16:42.300 growing in maturity 16:42.300 --> 16:43.000 in your mind 16:43.000 --> 16:44.520 and in your walk with God. 16:45.040 --> 16:45.260 Okay. 16:45.720 --> 16:46.740 Where, you know, 16:46.800 --> 16:47.460 you're maturing 16:47.460 --> 16:49.320 spiritually, emotionally, 16:49.980 --> 16:50.460 mentally. 16:50.740 --> 16:51.420 These are important things, 16:51.500 --> 16:51.840 my friends. 16:53.060 --> 16:54.100 Put away the gods 16:54.100 --> 16:54.640 which are among you. 16:54.780 --> 16:55.360 Look what it says in 16:55.360 --> 16:56.580 1 Timothy chapter 6. 16:57.480 --> 16:58.660 In verse 6 it says, 16:58.820 --> 16:59.420 But godliness 17:00.300 --> 17:01.180 with contentment 17:01.780 --> 17:02.620 is great gain. 17:03.200 --> 17:03.940 For we brought nothing 17:03.940 --> 17:04.660 into this world 17:04.660 --> 17:05.520 and it is certain we can 17:05.520 --> 17:06.540 carry nothing out. 17:07.020 --> 17:08.520 Having food and raiment 17:08.520 --> 17:09.820 let us there with 17:09.820 --> 17:10.880 be content. 17:11.060 --> 17:12.000 So the Bible tells us here 17:12.000 --> 17:13.520 that in order to make 17:13.520 --> 17:14.580 spiritual gains, 17:15.060 --> 17:15.780 in order to increase 17:15.780 --> 17:16.580 spiritual, we need to make 17:16.580 --> 17:17.520 sure we have contentment 17:17.520 --> 17:18.940 coupled with godliness. 17:19.240 --> 17:20.000 Meaning that 17:20.000 --> 17:21.220 people in the world 17:21.220 --> 17:22.100 learn contentment. 17:22.720 --> 17:23.400 There's people who are 17:23.400 --> 17:23.880 not Christians. 17:24.040 --> 17:24.700 They know what it's like 17:24.700 --> 17:25.100 to be content. 17:26.040 --> 17:27.200 What God values is 17:27.200 --> 17:28.100 that when you add to that 17:28.100 --> 17:28.860 godliness, 17:29.320 --> 17:30.300 they're content just 17:30.300 --> 17:31.320 because, you know, 17:31.420 --> 17:33.140 they understand the value 17:33.140 --> 17:35.020 of just not being a greedy 17:35.020 --> 17:35.480 person. 17:35.860 --> 17:37.240 Whereas when it comes to 17:37.240 --> 17:38.620 the Christian economy, 17:38.920 --> 17:39.720 when you couple that 17:39.720 --> 17:40.400 with godliness, 17:40.520 --> 17:41.120 you recognize, 17:41.520 --> 17:42.740 well, the reason I don't 17:42.740 --> 17:43.980 want to be a greedy person, 17:44.340 --> 17:45.020 the reason I don't want 17:45.020 --> 17:46.020 to be a covetous individual 17:46.020 --> 17:47.080 is because I'm looking 17:47.080 --> 17:47.820 into the eternal. 17:48.040 --> 17:49.340 I'm setting my affections 17:49.340 --> 17:50.580 on things above, 17:51.000 --> 17:52.140 not on the things of this 17:52.140 --> 17:52.320 earth. 17:52.680 --> 17:53.180 And this is why it says 17:53.180 --> 17:54.040 that godliness with 17:54.040 --> 17:55.680 contentment is great gain. 17:56.120 --> 17:56.860 Verse nine says, 17:57.400 --> 17:59.140 but they that will be rich 17:59.660 --> 18:00.920 fall into temptation 18:01.500 --> 18:02.280 and a snare 18:02.280 --> 18:03.980 and into many foolish 18:03.980 --> 18:05.340 and hurtful lusts 18:05.340 --> 18:06.120 which drown in 18:06.120 --> 18:06.500 destruction 18:07.320 --> 18:08.360 and perdition. 18:08.880 --> 18:09.940 So this is the will 18:09.940 --> 18:10.560 to be rich. 18:10.880 --> 18:11.620 So what happens when a 18:11.620 --> 18:12.520 person wills themselves 18:12.520 --> 18:13.020 to be rich? 18:13.260 --> 18:14.060 They end up trying to 18:14.060 --> 18:14.920 get rich fast. 18:15.720 --> 18:16.020 Okay. 18:16.700 --> 18:17.220 Lottery. 18:17.760 --> 18:19.200 Or they just refuse 18:19.200 --> 18:19.860 to work. 18:20.120 --> 18:20.980 They rather just do 18:20.980 --> 18:22.160 with the welfare system. 18:22.160 --> 18:23.420 They don't want to really 18:23.420 --> 18:24.560 put in any work 18:24.560 --> 18:26.440 to receive provisions. 18:27.920 --> 18:28.720 And he was notorious. 18:29.160 --> 18:29.940 You know, a group of people 18:29.940 --> 18:31.120 are notorious for this. 18:31.480 --> 18:32.280 Now, I know what you're 18:32.280 --> 18:33.780 thinking, but it's not them. 18:34.640 --> 18:35.580 Believe it or not, 18:36.300 --> 18:37.300 I'm not talking about 18:37.840 --> 18:38.660 the people you think 18:38.660 --> 18:39.260 I'm thinking about. 18:40.700 --> 18:41.860 I'm talking about Jews. 18:43.320 --> 18:44.720 Jews are notorious 18:45.360 --> 18:46.540 for being on welfare. 18:48.280 --> 18:49.540 I'm saying you just 18:49.540 --> 18:50.440 research it. 18:51.020 --> 18:53.180 You know, like 70% 18:53.700 --> 18:54.440 I mean, someone can 18:54.440 --> 18:56.040 fact-check this, but 70% of 18:56.040 --> 18:57.680 like Jews in New York, 18:57.720 --> 18:58.980 for example, are on welfare. 19:00.460 --> 19:01.480 And you know, these guys, 19:01.620 --> 19:02.240 it's so funny because 19:02.240 --> 19:03.980 you know, these orthodox, 19:04.160 --> 19:05.060 ascetic Jews or whatever, 19:05.620 --> 19:06.160 you know, they're like, 19:06.400 --> 19:07.600 they make their wives work, 19:08.420 --> 19:09.380 have these jobs, 19:09.580 --> 19:10.620 they have all these kids, 19:11.460 --> 19:12.600 you know, eight, ten kids 19:12.600 --> 19:13.260 or whatever, but they 19:13.260 --> 19:13.880 make their wives work 19:13.880 --> 19:14.800 and the men don't work. 19:15.540 --> 19:16.340 You say, what are they doing? 19:16.420 --> 19:17.240 They're too busy studying 19:17.240 --> 19:18.020 Torah and Talmud. 19:18.920 --> 19:19.860 And so then they get 19:19.860 --> 19:20.320 welfare 19:21.160 --> 19:22.600 to pay for all their stuff. 19:22.760 --> 19:23.160 And you know, if they 19:23.160 --> 19:23.780 have that many kids, 19:23.900 --> 19:24.440 they're making bank 19:25.060 --> 19:25.860 from the government. 19:26.500 --> 19:26.980 You know, they're getting 19:26.980 --> 19:27.900 all kinds of 19:27.900 --> 19:28.740 kinds of food stamps. 19:29.200 --> 19:30.040 They're getting all kinds of 19:30.040 --> 19:31.300 financial aid 19:31.300 --> 19:32.720 and government aid, 19:32.900 --> 19:34.160 but they refuse to work. 19:35.180 --> 19:36.700 But I mean, the fine irony, 19:36.860 --> 19:37.940 though, they're basically 19:37.940 --> 19:39.100 studying the Old Testament 19:39.100 --> 19:40.000 the entire time. 19:40.300 --> 19:40.840 You know, the Old Testament, 19:40.960 --> 19:41.680 it tells them to work. 19:43.820 --> 19:44.980 And yet they're just 19:44.980 --> 19:45.520 not working. 19:45.620 --> 19:45.960 They're just a bunch 19:45.960 --> 19:46.880 of lazy Jews. 19:47.860 --> 19:48.120 Okay. 19:48.840 --> 19:49.540 And it's just, I thought 19:49.540 --> 19:50.500 Jews were rich. 19:51.160 --> 19:52.180 I thought like Jews had 19:52.180 --> 19:52.660 a lot of money. 19:52.900 --> 19:53.180 They do. 19:54.280 --> 19:54.780 They do. 19:55.800 --> 19:56.640 What did I just say? 19:57.700 --> 19:58.540 I'm not saying they're 19:58.540 --> 19:59.140 getting it by 19:59.140 --> 20:00.100 righteous means, though. 20:01.520 --> 20:02.900 You know, and this is why 20:02.900 --> 20:04.040 sometimes you'll see videos 20:04.460 --> 20:06.000 of people interviewing 20:06.000 --> 20:07.020 Jews on the street, 20:07.620 --> 20:08.300 these Hasidic Jews 20:08.300 --> 20:09.520 and say like, oh, you 20:09.520 --> 20:09.980 know, these men 20:09.980 --> 20:10.700 and they'll say like, 20:10.740 --> 20:11.340 what do you do for a living? 20:11.460 --> 20:12.020 And they don't want to talk. 20:13.040 --> 20:13.740 You say, why? 20:13.900 --> 20:14.300 Because they don't do 20:14.300 --> 20:14.880 anything for a living. 20:15.860 --> 20:16.640 They don't work. 20:17.480 --> 20:18.280 They're just lazy. 20:19.160 --> 20:20.600 And, you know, they're drowning 20:20.600 --> 20:21.920 in destruction and 20:21.920 --> 20:23.160 perdition because of their 20:23.160 --> 20:23.620 laziness. 20:23.940 --> 20:24.120 Okay. 20:24.700 --> 20:25.960 Now, obviously, I personally 20:25.960 --> 20:26.760 believe there's certain people 20:26.760 --> 20:28.320 out there in this world 20:28.320 --> 20:29.880 that would merit some sort 20:29.880 --> 20:31.200 of government financial aid. 20:31.200 --> 20:32.140 If it's like some woman 20:32.140 --> 20:33.580 who has kids, maybe her 20:33.580 --> 20:34.760 her husband passed away, 20:34.760 --> 20:35.340 whatever it may be. 20:35.700 --> 20:36.140 You know, there's a 20:36.140 --> 20:37.020 situation like that. 20:37.220 --> 20:38.460 But not if there's like 20:38.460 --> 20:39.880 both parents and you're 20:39.880 --> 20:40.760 sending your wife off 20:40.760 --> 20:42.700 to work while you yourself 20:42.700 --> 20:44.200 are just studying Torah 20:44.800 --> 20:46.440 all day long, you know, 20:46.460 --> 20:47.740 just doing this all day 20:47.740 --> 20:49.560 or whatever, while you're 20:49.560 --> 20:50.980 studying the Talmud and how, 20:51.100 --> 20:52.040 you know, all this blasphemous 20:52.040 --> 20:53.040 teaching is godless. 20:53.380 --> 20:53.540 Okay. 20:54.440 --> 20:55.620 And so the point that I'm 20:55.620 --> 20:57.280 making here is that, you know, 20:57.360 --> 20:59.060 part of being a covetous person 20:59.060 --> 21:00.900 is being a person who wants 21:00.900 --> 21:02.040 without wanting to put in the 21:02.040 --> 21:02.980 work to actually get it. 21:03.400 --> 21:04.180 Because sometimes people are 21:04.180 --> 21:05.420 just covetous not because 21:05.420 --> 21:06.500 they're not supposed to have 21:06.980 --> 21:07.920 the things that they want 21:07.920 --> 21:09.080 because they're not willing 21:09.080 --> 21:10.140 to get it in the right way. 21:10.580 --> 21:10.820 Right. 21:11.800 --> 21:12.980 For example, some people 21:12.980 --> 21:13.400 want money. 21:13.520 --> 21:14.720 It's not bad to want money, 21:14.760 --> 21:15.580 but it's bad if you get it 21:15.580 --> 21:16.400 through the lottery though. 21:16.840 --> 21:17.660 It's bad if you get it 21:17.660 --> 21:18.420 through theft, right? 21:18.920 --> 21:19.120 It's not. 21:19.220 --> 21:19.940 It's bad if you get it 21:19.940 --> 21:20.940 through dishonest means. 21:21.740 --> 21:23.220 And so look what it goes on 21:23.220 --> 21:23.580 to say here. 21:23.660 --> 21:24.720 First tennis is for the love 21:24.720 --> 21:25.640 of money is the root of all 21:25.640 --> 21:27.480 evil, which while some coveted 21:27.480 --> 21:29.120 after, they have aired 21:29.120 --> 21:30.800 from the faith and pierced 21:30.800 --> 21:32.540 themselves through with many 21:32.540 --> 21:33.000 sorrows. 21:33.460 --> 21:34.940 But thou, O man of God, 21:35.160 --> 21:37.040 flee these things and follow 21:37.040 --> 21:37.780 after righteousness, 21:38.220 --> 21:39.540 godliness, faith, love, 21:39.660 --> 21:40.660 patience, meekness and so 21:40.660 --> 21:40.880 forth. 21:41.200 --> 21:42.120 What is Bible telling us here? 21:42.500 --> 21:43.520 It's telling us that we need 21:43.520 --> 21:45.600 to beware of covetousness. 21:45.920 --> 21:46.140 Okay. 21:47.160 --> 21:49.080 We need to mortify that member. 21:49.440 --> 21:50.300 We need to make sure that 21:50.300 --> 21:51.040 we're seeking the things 21:51.040 --> 21:51.600 which are above. 21:51.800 --> 21:53.080 Seek first the kingdom of God 21:53.080 --> 21:54.400 and his righteousness 21:54.400 --> 21:55.820 and these things shall be 21:55.820 --> 21:56.580 added unto you. 21:57.060 --> 21:57.800 And you know, obviously, 21:57.960 --> 21:59.600 it's really easy to worry 21:59.600 --> 22:00.140 about money. 22:00.940 --> 22:01.680 It's really easy, 22:01.920 --> 22:02.760 especially if you're going 22:02.760 --> 22:03.440 through a tough time. 22:03.900 --> 22:05.020 Super easy to worry about money. 22:05.080 --> 22:05.540 That's one of the things 22:05.540 --> 22:06.260 that just people worry 22:06.260 --> 22:06.860 about the most. 22:07.420 --> 22:08.160 It's just like, 22:08.180 --> 22:09.120 what's going to happen? 22:09.480 --> 22:10.220 Because things are so 22:10.220 --> 22:10.680 uncertain. 22:11.020 --> 22:11.900 We go through seasons 22:11.900 --> 22:12.560 of uncertainty. 22:13.060 --> 22:13.620 We don't know if we're 22:13.620 --> 22:14.140 going to be able to make 22:14.140 --> 22:14.720 ends meet. 22:15.080 --> 22:15.760 We're struggling. 22:15.760 --> 22:16.580 Whatever may be. 22:16.800 --> 22:17.760 But this is why the Bible 22:17.760 --> 22:19.880 tells us to, you know, 22:19.920 --> 22:21.340 sufficient unto the day 22:21.340 --> 22:22.480 is the evil thereof. 22:22.880 --> 22:24.220 Like if you have enough 22:24.220 --> 22:25.540 for today, that's part 22:25.540 --> 22:26.460 of the evil of this world. 22:26.980 --> 22:28.000 If you were fed today, 22:28.280 --> 22:29.500 praise God, leave tomorrow 22:29.500 --> 22:30.260 in God's hands. 22:30.980 --> 22:32.280 You know, and you're 22:32.280 --> 22:33.000 thinking to yourself like, 22:33.040 --> 22:33.660 I feel like I've been 22:33.660 --> 22:34.860 living like that the whole time. 22:35.120 --> 22:35.640 Well, guess what? 22:35.780 --> 22:36.500 You get to have your 22:36.500 --> 22:37.480 faith increased in God. 22:38.000 --> 22:39.280 And if you've had three 22:39.280 --> 22:40.920 square meals, which I'm 22:40.920 --> 22:42.060 just going to say 22:42.060 --> 22:42.940 that most people here 22:42.940 --> 22:43.640 have had more than 22:43.640 --> 22:44.440 three square meals. 22:44.940 --> 22:45.420 Okay. 22:45.660 --> 22:47.020 Then God's taking care of you. 22:47.700 --> 22:48.880 He's taking care of you. 22:49.140 --> 22:50.360 He's taking care of the bills. 22:50.740 --> 22:51.720 You know, I've not seen 22:51.720 --> 22:52.760 the righteous forsaken, 22:52.960 --> 22:55.020 nor his seed begging bread. 22:55.440 --> 22:56.860 Never put money before God. 22:57.400 --> 22:57.880 Okay. 22:59.200 --> 23:00.380 Never put money before God. 23:00.420 --> 23:01.340 Never put finances 23:01.340 --> 23:02.300 before the Lord. 23:02.620 --> 23:03.580 Never compromise your 23:03.580 --> 23:05.100 convictions just because 23:05.100 --> 23:06.000 you want to make an extra 23:06.000 --> 23:06.280 buck. 23:06.580 --> 23:07.620 Never just put church 23:07.620 --> 23:08.460 on the back burner. 23:08.960 --> 23:09.540 You know, the Bible 23:09.540 --> 23:10.360 on the back burner. 23:10.740 --> 23:11.740 Serving God on the back 23:11.740 --> 23:12.620 burner just because 23:12.620 --> 23:13.340 you want to make some 23:13.340 --> 23:13.820 more money. 23:13.820 --> 23:14.440 Right. 23:15.040 --> 23:16.800 And quite frankly, in my 23:16.800 --> 23:17.740 experience, some of the 23:17.740 --> 23:18.800 wealthiest people I've met 23:18.800 --> 23:19.240 are some of the most 23:19.240 --> 23:20.400 faithful people to church. 23:21.000 --> 23:21.980 They're the most faithful 23:21.980 --> 23:23.100 people to God's service. 23:23.280 --> 23:23.720 They're constantly 23:23.720 --> 23:24.680 winning people to Christ. 23:25.280 --> 23:26.520 They are serving God 23:26.520 --> 23:27.960 and they have the right 23:27.960 --> 23:29.600 mentality when it comes 23:29.600 --> 23:29.940 to money. 23:30.160 --> 23:31.140 They recognize like the 23:31.140 --> 23:32.400 reason I even have this 23:32.400 --> 23:33.840 is because God is just 23:33.840 --> 23:34.580 providing it. 23:34.740 --> 23:35.660 So why would I not 23:35.660 --> 23:36.420 be faithful to God? 23:37.100 --> 23:38.700 You know, the reason God's 23:38.700 --> 23:39.660 even blessing me with all 23:39.660 --> 23:41.240 these finances and all this 23:41.240 --> 23:42.120 wealth is because of the 23:42.120 --> 23:43.540 fact that I'm serving 23:43.540 --> 23:43.720 him. 23:44.200 --> 23:45.220 I'm being faithful to him 23:45.220 --> 23:46.480 and you're keeping money 23:46.480 --> 23:48.080 in its rightful place. 23:48.500 --> 23:49.240 You know, a lot of Christians 23:49.240 --> 23:50.160 don't think that way though. 23:50.880 --> 23:51.740 Well, you don't understand 23:51.740 --> 23:52.420 my situation. 23:52.740 --> 23:53.420 Yeah, but you know, God 23:53.420 --> 23:54.520 knows the situation though. 23:54.920 --> 23:56.440 And you're not a novel 23:56.440 --> 23:57.780 situation to God. 23:58.500 --> 23:59.620 Many people have gone 23:59.620 --> 24:00.580 through situations that 24:00.580 --> 24:01.280 you've gone through. 24:01.760 --> 24:02.840 And so it's there's 24:02.840 --> 24:03.900 nothing new under the sun. 24:04.340 --> 24:05.380 So we need to make sure 24:05.380 --> 24:07.140 that if you are struggling 24:07.140 --> 24:08.320 with the sin of 24:08.320 --> 24:09.660 covetousness, you need 24:09.660 --> 24:10.860 to chop that thing off. 24:11.460 --> 24:12.840 Chop off the member 24:12.840 --> 24:14.380 of covetousness in your life. 24:14.680 --> 24:15.920 Confess it before the Lord. 24:16.220 --> 24:17.340 Tell the Lord, I'm 24:17.340 --> 24:18.120 a covetous person. 24:18.860 --> 24:20.920 I am an idolatrous person, 24:21.040 --> 24:22.100 which is covetousness. 24:22.640 --> 24:24.100 And quite frankly, I know 24:24.100 --> 24:24.820 that it's not right. 24:24.940 --> 24:25.920 I want to repent of that. 24:26.020 --> 24:26.800 I want to get that right. 24:27.200 --> 24:28.280 Teach me contentment. 24:28.940 --> 24:29.860 Help me to be content 24:29.860 --> 24:31.460 in whatsoever state I am in. 24:31.840 --> 24:32.740 No matter what I have, 24:32.840 --> 24:33.840 help me to just be grateful 24:33.840 --> 24:35.660 for what I have and not 24:35.660 --> 24:37.660 to just throw away money 24:37.660 --> 24:38.680 on frivolous spending 24:38.680 --> 24:39.500 or whatever it may be. 24:39.980 --> 24:40.600 And obviously, you know, 24:40.780 --> 24:42.400 we need to on top of 24:42.400 --> 24:43.580 that, we need to make sure 24:43.580 --> 24:44.460 that we're just good stewards 24:44.460 --> 24:45.580 of the money that we have, too. 24:46.660 --> 24:46.680 Right? 24:47.900 --> 24:48.840 I'm always broke. 24:49.000 --> 24:49.080 Yeah. 24:49.120 --> 24:49.620 But what are you spending 24:49.620 --> 24:50.180 your money on? 24:51.840 --> 24:53.000 That's that's that's 24:53.000 --> 24:53.580 another thing. 24:53.860 --> 24:54.260 You know what I mean? 24:55.420 --> 24:56.940 Obviously, God expects us 24:56.940 --> 24:58.060 to be good stewards 24:58.060 --> 24:59.620 of the flocks that we have. 24:59.860 --> 25:00.720 We need to, you know, 25:00.800 --> 25:01.860 be diligent to know 25:01.860 --> 25:02.900 the state of our flocks, 25:03.000 --> 25:03.560 the Bible says, 25:04.000 --> 25:05.220 and keep a budget. 25:05.660 --> 25:06.760 And if you don't have 25:06.760 --> 25:07.960 enough money to do certain 25:07.960 --> 25:09.020 things, then don't do them. 25:10.060 --> 25:11.580 Maybe in the future, you will. 25:11.580 --> 25:13.940 But if the if the budget is tight, 25:14.320 --> 25:15.660 you know, no fun. 25:16.420 --> 25:18.440 OK, and look, here's the thing, 25:18.520 --> 25:20.860 folks, is that you need to learn 25:20.860 --> 25:22.460 to be creative and flexible, 25:24.400 --> 25:25.900 creative and flexible. 25:26.620 --> 25:27.960 You know, if you've got expensive 25:27.960 --> 25:30.340 tastes, then you need to like, 25:30.440 --> 25:31.840 you know, get a coupon 25:31.840 --> 25:34.180 on whatever you're looking for. 25:34.540 --> 25:36.500 OK, you need to find a deal 25:36.500 --> 25:37.360 or something like that 25:37.900 --> 25:39.000 because of the fact that God's 25:39.000 --> 25:40.260 not against you having fun. 25:40.260 --> 25:42.000 God's not against you delighting 25:42.000 --> 25:42.780 and the things, you know, he's 25:42.780 --> 25:44.460 giving us all things richly 25:44.460 --> 25:46.580 to enjoy, but he's not 25:46.580 --> 25:48.000 necessarily for you going 25:48.000 --> 25:49.880 in the red for these things, 25:49.880 --> 25:50.960 either. OK. 25:51.560 --> 25:52.540 And so if you could afford it, 25:52.720 --> 25:53.120 then do it. 25:53.460 --> 25:54.320 I don't condemn anybody 25:54.320 --> 25:55.640 for having fun if they got 25:55.640 --> 25:56.480 the money to do it. 25:56.920 --> 25:58.060 You know, why would you 25:58.060 --> 25:58.900 condemn someone for that? 25:59.080 --> 25:59.680 If that's if that's what 25:59.680 --> 26:01.000 they could afford, they come 26:01.000 --> 26:03.200 from money, then do it, right? 26:03.980 --> 26:04.740 But here's the thing. 26:04.880 --> 26:05.940 If if you're just trying 26:05.940 --> 26:06.840 to keep up with the Joneses, 26:06.940 --> 26:08.300 though, and you're just 26:08.300 --> 26:09.320 frivolously spending your money 26:09.320 --> 26:10.940 because you just want to have fun. 26:11.300 --> 26:12.540 This is just what you want to do. 26:13.080 --> 26:14.860 You know, you need to like dial 26:14.860 --> 26:15.960 that back a little bit. 26:16.300 --> 26:17.560 Be a little more flexible. 26:18.060 --> 26:18.800 Be a little more content. 26:19.180 --> 26:20.960 Hey, just go to the park instead. 26:22.260 --> 26:24.140 You know, there's a free playground 26:24.140 --> 26:25.120 that you can go to 26:25.500 --> 26:26.820 and where your kids can go to 26:26.820 --> 26:27.840 and they can have a whole lot of fun. 26:28.020 --> 26:29.240 Oh, my kids won't enjoy that. 26:29.320 --> 26:30.160 Then you need to teach them 26:30.160 --> 26:31.440 how to enjoy the simple things in life. 26:32.220 --> 26:34.860 OK. You know, it's nothing wrong. 26:35.020 --> 26:36.080 Hey, let me just say this. 26:36.360 --> 26:37.500 It's nothing wrong with going 26:37.500 --> 26:38.720 to the Dollar Tree 26:38.720 --> 26:40.120 for Christmas, amen. 26:41.800 --> 26:43.660 No one, all right, no one agrees with me, you know. 26:45.060 --> 26:46.780 Hey, I guarantee if I took my kids 26:46.780 --> 26:47.720 to the Dollar Tree and said, 26:47.740 --> 26:49.340 you guys have five bucks to spend each, 26:50.000 --> 26:51.960 they would worship me for like an entire week. 26:53.040 --> 26:56.060 They're like, no way, no freaking way, you know, 26:56.500 --> 26:57.600 because you can get a lot of stuff. 26:57.820 --> 26:59.400 You know, candy, you know, 26:59.500 --> 27:00.320 toys that break in a week 27:00.320 --> 27:02.400 and it's great because they break 27:02.400 --> 27:03.680 and then you can just get rid of them. 27:04.720 --> 27:06.540 Oh, those kids are so deprived. 27:07.320 --> 27:08.040 Yeah, they are deprived. 27:08.040 --> 27:10.480 I'm depriving my children of covetousness. 27:11.420 --> 27:13.160 I'm depriving my children of greed. 27:13.940 --> 27:14.960 Now, don't worry, kids, I'm not, 27:15.160 --> 27:16.560 you know, you guys are doing Dollar Tree 27:16.560 --> 27:17.600 for Christmas or whatever. 27:18.200 --> 27:18.780 But you know what? 27:18.840 --> 27:20.740 I want my kids to have low expectations, though. 27:21.420 --> 27:22.120 Low expectations. 27:23.100 --> 27:24.840 You know, I'm not trying to spoil my kids 27:24.840 --> 27:26.160 because they're already spoiled 27:26.160 --> 27:27.580 just being in a Christian home. 27:28.040 --> 27:29.640 There's a lot of blessings that my kids get 27:29.640 --> 27:31.700 just for being in a pastor's home, 27:31.800 --> 27:33.320 a Christian home, you know, 27:33.460 --> 27:36.120 having a mom and a dad and all these things there. 27:36.220 --> 27:37.160 That's spoiled enough. 27:37.740 --> 27:39.280 They get to experience things 27:39.280 --> 27:40.920 that dad didn't experience growing up. 27:41.380 --> 27:43.480 They get to avoid things that, you know, 27:43.600 --> 27:45.160 dad didn't get to avoid growing up. 27:45.520 --> 27:46.880 They don't know about certain things 27:46.880 --> 27:47.660 of this world, right? 27:48.100 --> 27:49.800 So they're very spoiled spiritually. 27:50.480 --> 27:51.780 You know, they get to get fed. 27:52.180 --> 27:52.980 They have all these things. 27:53.100 --> 27:53.720 They have a church. 27:54.120 --> 27:56.020 And so teach your children contentment 27:56.020 --> 27:58.000 and don't spoil your kids. 27:58.700 --> 28:00.200 And if you do spoil your kids, 28:00.320 --> 28:02.340 at least make a quarterly or something like that. 28:03.580 --> 28:06.860 You know, it's good to be good to your kids 28:07.160 --> 28:09.080 and spoil your kids every once in a while. 28:09.340 --> 28:10.840 But don't let it be a regular thing 28:10.840 --> 28:12.600 because then you're going to cultivate 28:13.780 --> 28:15.180 covetousness within that child. 28:15.840 --> 28:17.360 It's going to raise their expectation. 28:17.880 --> 28:20.500 And one day your finances might go down the drain 28:21.060 --> 28:22.760 and they're not going to be happy about that. 28:23.300 --> 28:25.120 Or they're going to expect to marry someone 28:25.120 --> 28:26.600 who has that much bank. 28:27.380 --> 28:28.740 They're like, I don't want no brookie, 28:29.140 --> 28:30.860 but a broker is just someone who has a regular job. 28:31.800 --> 28:32.180 To them. 28:32.900 --> 28:33.560 You understand what I'm saying? 28:34.820 --> 28:36.160 The point that I'm making here 28:36.160 --> 28:38.880 is that you need to be aware of covetousness. 28:40.100 --> 28:41.900 And here's one great way 28:43.000 --> 28:45.860 to just tame covetousness in your life. 28:46.680 --> 28:47.840 Don't expect anything. 28:48.980 --> 28:49.800 Just don't expect anything. 28:51.060 --> 28:52.540 Don't expect it so that when you get it, 28:52.560 --> 28:55.500 you're just like, whoa, I promise you, 28:55.680 --> 28:56.180 just do that. 28:56.420 --> 28:58.060 Don't act like you deserve anything. 28:58.840 --> 28:59.800 So that when you get it, 28:59.880 --> 29:01.080 you're just like, man, this is awesome. 29:02.280 --> 29:04.540 You know, last year, 29:04.680 --> 29:05.920 you know, on my birthday, it was great. 29:06.800 --> 29:07.840 I had a birthday, you know, 29:07.920 --> 29:10.380 and the whole Star Wars thing, 29:10.520 --> 29:11.200 I didn't expect that. 29:11.340 --> 29:11.880 I love that. 29:12.120 --> 29:12.880 It wasn't for you guys. 29:13.600 --> 29:14.360 That was all for me. 29:15.660 --> 29:17.400 And people were like, you like Star Wars? 29:17.780 --> 29:19.060 Yeah, just look at this. 29:19.560 --> 29:20.400 Yes, of course I like it. 29:20.540 --> 29:22.120 I want to keep all this right here, you know? 29:22.660 --> 29:24.100 And I didn't expect that. 29:24.560 --> 29:25.740 I was grateful for it. 29:25.760 --> 29:27.760 I was super, I didn't shut up about it 29:27.760 --> 29:28.680 for like an entire week 29:29.680 --> 29:30.900 because I don't expect it. 29:31.420 --> 29:32.140 And you know what? 29:32.360 --> 29:34.700 That keeps me content with the things that I have. 29:34.880 --> 29:35.860 I didn't come to church and be like, 29:35.860 --> 29:38.680 well, they better do something for me. 29:38.760 --> 29:39.820 I mean, I'm a pastor here. 29:40.520 --> 29:41.500 When I was going to give me a gift, 29:41.680 --> 29:43.660 I can't believe no one gave me a gift. 29:44.220 --> 29:45.500 I don't love me, you know? 29:46.340 --> 29:47.560 On freaking believable. 29:50.840 --> 29:52.480 Hey pastor, anything else? 29:53.480 --> 29:54.720 Hey, some of you want to say? 29:54.920 --> 29:55.580 Some of you want to give me? 29:55.760 --> 29:58.900 You're going to just pocket check people or, you know? 29:59.760 --> 30:00.860 I don't expect anything. 30:01.900 --> 30:03.600 And I don't expect anything this year either. 30:04.940 --> 30:06.640 I'm being 100% honest with you. 30:06.700 --> 30:08.220 I don't because I want to be grateful 30:08.220 --> 30:09.140 when I do get something. 30:09.820 --> 30:12.800 I want to have gratitude in my heart and be content. 30:13.320 --> 30:15.840 So even if I get a piece of candy, 30:16.120 --> 30:17.260 and you know, sometimes the kids, 30:17.420 --> 30:18.500 they'll come up to me from the church 30:18.500 --> 30:21.180 and they'll give me a card that they made. 30:21.960 --> 30:23.400 You know, something that they drew 30:23.400 --> 30:25.040 and I'm being honest with you. 30:25.180 --> 30:26.360 I'm super grateful for that. 30:26.980 --> 30:28.720 Like anytime I come, I'm like, wow, thank you 30:28.720 --> 30:30.960 because this means this person, this child, 30:31.640 --> 30:33.780 spent time drawing something. 30:34.100 --> 30:35.860 You guys are like, yeah, but how good was the drawing though? 30:36.060 --> 30:36.200 You know? 30:38.020 --> 30:39.220 I keep that stuff. 30:39.900 --> 30:41.700 Because that means someone thought about me. 30:42.160 --> 30:44.420 They made a card for me, they constructed it 30:44.420 --> 30:45.600 and they thought about me. 30:46.120 --> 30:47.180 That's important folks. 30:47.740 --> 30:49.600 Be grateful for the things that you have. 30:50.600 --> 30:51.220 And you know what? 30:51.760 --> 30:53.580 Another thing that helps you with contentment 30:53.580 --> 30:55.360 is just what if all that was taken tomorrow? 30:55.460 --> 30:56.020 How would you feel then? 30:57.440 --> 31:00.580 Or I think my son or my wife told me this, 31:01.740 --> 31:03.760 this statement, it was very profound. 31:04.320 --> 31:05.840 It was just like, you know, 31:06.380 --> 31:08.300 what if you only had tomorrow 31:09.140 --> 31:11.860 the things that you were grateful for today? 31:12.980 --> 31:15.060 How many things would you thank God for, you know? 31:15.820 --> 31:17.760 What if you only had tomorrow 31:18.540 --> 31:20.760 the things that you're grateful for today? 31:20.960 --> 31:21.160 Amen! 31:22.360 --> 31:23.460 Then you'd be like, oh man, 31:23.580 --> 31:24.660 there's a lot to be thankful for 31:24.660 --> 31:25.660 because I don't want to miss any of this. 31:25.660 --> 31:27.680 Yeah, exactly, you should thank God for those things. 31:28.360 --> 31:28.760 Okay? 31:29.440 --> 31:31.840 So being grateful, giving God thanks, 31:32.100 --> 31:33.240 teaches us contentment. 31:33.580 --> 31:35.860 And part of becoming a covetous person 31:36.340 --> 31:37.740 is you're not really thinking about 31:37.740 --> 31:38.980 the things that you already possess. 31:39.840 --> 31:40.640 You're constantly thinking about 31:40.640 --> 31:41.740 things that you don't possess. 31:42.260 --> 31:43.600 But why don't you make a list of things 31:43.600 --> 31:44.340 that you do have? 31:44.880 --> 31:45.900 Oh, I got a husband. 31:46.300 --> 31:47.060 Oh, I got a wife. 31:47.580 --> 31:48.360 Oh, I got kids. 31:48.640 --> 31:49.440 Oh, I got a home. 31:49.920 --> 31:51.720 Oh, I got a working vehicle sometimes. 31:52.300 --> 31:53.620 You know, oh, I got clothing. 31:54.000 --> 31:54.680 I got a suit. 31:54.680 --> 31:55.700 I got good health. 31:55.920 --> 31:56.980 I got this, I got that. 31:57.360 --> 31:59.480 You know, there's so much to be grateful for. 32:01.020 --> 32:02.260 You know, this week, 32:02.420 --> 32:05.140 I got food poisoning from oysters. 32:06.560 --> 32:08.820 Beware of the oysters, okay? 32:09.880 --> 32:12.600 And, you know, it was just not a pleasant week at all. 32:13.140 --> 32:14.500 It was very painful. 32:15.180 --> 32:16.720 And it was just, it was a misery. 32:16.860 --> 32:18.200 I'll never touch, I'm going back 32:18.200 --> 32:19.320 to the Old Testament laws 32:19.900 --> 32:22.100 and I'm not touching shellfish, okay? 32:22.780 --> 32:23.820 Unless they're like cooked. 32:23.820 --> 32:26.160 And the thing is, we went with Brother Hyde 32:26.160 --> 32:27.260 and Brother John and his wife. 32:27.680 --> 32:28.860 And I remember, I got the oysters 32:29.600 --> 32:30.900 and Katelyn was just like, 32:31.260 --> 32:33.720 I don't eat those because of parasites. 32:34.720 --> 32:35.340 He was like, she said, 32:35.460 --> 32:37.760 and I remember thinking like, nah, come on. 32:37.840 --> 32:38.820 And then I got it, you know? 32:40.000 --> 32:41.060 You said, what's the point of that story? 32:41.400 --> 32:45.000 Well, you know, obviously it was a miserable week. 32:45.320 --> 32:46.620 But you know, I tried to look at the silver lining 32:46.620 --> 32:48.620 and thought to myself, well, at least I lost weight. 32:52.100 --> 32:54.260 You know, accelerated the cut, amen. 32:54.780 --> 32:56.200 God, look at the silver lining and everything. 32:57.140 --> 32:58.660 You gotta be grateful, you know? 32:59.400 --> 33:00.720 Yeah, it was painful, but hey, 33:01.320 --> 33:03.580 you know, I cut a couple of weeks off my cut right there. 33:05.920 --> 33:07.780 You gotta look at the silver lining and everything. 33:08.100 --> 33:11.420 This will teach you contentment in your life, okay? 33:12.160 --> 33:14.760 Be grateful, make sure you work hard 33:14.760 --> 33:15.740 for the things that you have. 33:16.400 --> 33:18.040 That's another thing that will teach you contentment 33:18.040 --> 33:20.000 because when you work hard for something, 33:20.120 --> 33:23.100 then you realize like, this is very valuable, okay? 33:23.580 --> 33:24.580 It's very valuable. 33:25.140 --> 33:27.100 I worked very hard for this. 33:27.240 --> 33:29.560 I'm not just trying to squander this away. 33:30.080 --> 33:32.180 The Lord blessed me with this and I worked hard for it. 33:32.420 --> 33:34.980 That type of stuff keeps you content 33:34.980 --> 33:37.720 and keeps you away from covetousness. 33:37.740 --> 33:38.600 Go back to Colossians. 33:42.540 --> 33:43.680 So he says, therefore, 33:44.180 --> 33:45.280 amortified therefore the members of, 33:45.400 --> 33:46.700 which are upon the earth fornication 33:46.700 --> 33:47.800 and cleanness and order and affection, 33:48.960 --> 33:50.500 evil concupiscence, covetousness, 33:50.960 --> 33:53.340 which is idolatry for which things sake, 33:54.280 --> 33:58.220 the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience. 33:58.820 --> 34:01.220 Now, what else did Jacob say? 34:01.780 --> 34:03.280 He said this, he said, you know, 34:03.420 --> 34:05.880 make sure you put away the false gods which are among you. 34:06.620 --> 34:09.540 Be clean, when we can interpret that in the New Testament, 34:10.020 --> 34:12.060 is to be cleansed of all unrighteousness. 34:12.080 --> 34:13.400 If we confess our sins, 34:13.820 --> 34:15.940 he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 34:15.940 --> 34:19.080 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, right? 34:19.640 --> 34:22.180 So we put away from ourselves the sin, 34:22.640 --> 34:25.100 the covetousness, we confess our sin, 34:25.320 --> 34:28.400 but then he says this, and change your garments. 34:29.120 --> 34:30.400 Isn't that interesting that he said that? 34:31.540 --> 34:32.640 He's like, you know, and I don't, 34:32.780 --> 34:36.120 I don't necessarily exactly know what he meant by that 34:36.120 --> 34:38.620 in the immediate context we can speculate. 34:39.280 --> 34:40.660 I don't know, maybe they were just like 34:41.300 --> 34:43.600 dirty or something, I don't know, you know, 34:43.600 --> 34:45.980 but he's telling them you need to change your clothing 34:46.500 --> 34:48.280 before we get to Bethel, okay? 34:49.820 --> 34:52.700 Now, what's the New Testament application to that? 34:52.920 --> 34:53.540 Well, there's two. 34:54.360 --> 34:59.900 Number one is that if you're putting off the idolatry, 35:00.360 --> 35:01.800 that's synonymous with the old man. 35:02.700 --> 35:04.160 And then what are we supposed to do thereafter? 35:04.580 --> 35:06.800 Put on the new man, right? 35:07.280 --> 35:10.400 So we take off the unrighteous garments, 35:11.260 --> 35:13.920 put away from yourselves, change your garments, 35:14.260 --> 35:17.140 put off the old man and put on the new man, 35:17.200 --> 35:19.560 which after God has created in righteousness 35:20.140 --> 35:21.680 and true holiness. 35:21.840 --> 35:25.600 Look what it says in verse number eight here. 35:25.720 --> 35:28.140 It says, but now he also put off all these, 35:28.700 --> 35:31.940 anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, 35:32.360 --> 35:33.800 filthy communication out of your mouth, 35:34.240 --> 35:36.620 line out one to another, seeing that you have put off 35:36.620 --> 35:38.700 the old man with his deeds 35:39.240 --> 35:40.780 and have put on the new man, 35:40.960 --> 35:42.840 which is renewed in knowledge 35:42.840 --> 35:45.920 after the image of him that created him. 35:46.240 --> 35:47.140 So what does this mean? 35:47.460 --> 35:48.760 It means that when you come to church, 35:49.440 --> 35:52.760 walk in the spirit, put on the new man, 35:53.420 --> 35:54.880 put on the Lord Jesus Christ 35:54.880 --> 35:56.100 and make no provision for the flesh 35:56.100 --> 35:57.180 to fulfill the lustre of. 35:57.680 --> 35:59.600 Meaning that we should intentionally 36:00.220 --> 36:03.920 seek to walk in the spirit when we come to church. 36:04.200 --> 36:05.900 Church is our weekly reminder 36:06.310 --> 36:08.280 that we're supposed to be walking in the spirit, okay? 36:09.740 --> 36:12.160 Now you may think to yourself, well, that's easy. 36:12.400 --> 36:13.520 Yeah, but not many people do it, though. 36:15.140 --> 36:16.180 Not many people do it. 36:17.100 --> 36:18.480 And look, before I came to church today, 36:18.640 --> 36:19.500 I was in the flesh. 36:20.220 --> 36:21.620 I was extremely angry. 36:22.640 --> 36:24.500 I got into altercation with someone 36:25.160 --> 36:26.760 just over the phone with someone 36:26.760 --> 36:28.180 who was harassing us or whatever. 36:28.740 --> 36:32.140 And man, talk about malice and anger and wrath. 36:32.740 --> 36:36.580 You know, just, I was very angry, you know? 36:38.440 --> 36:40.160 And, you know, I didn't threaten him 36:40.160 --> 36:40.900 or anything like that. 36:41.500 --> 36:45.820 But in my heart, I did actually, you know? 36:46.320 --> 36:46.920 I was just angry. 36:47.140 --> 36:49.380 And honestly, I was majorly in the flesh. 36:49.680 --> 36:52.020 I was very, very fleshly, I was very angry. 36:52.640 --> 36:55.120 And, you know, but coming to church, 36:55.240 --> 36:57.560 I realized like, man, I can't preach like that. 36:57.740 --> 37:00.480 I can't come to church being angry 37:00.940 --> 37:03.360 and having a heart full of malice and wrath. 37:03.720 --> 37:05.540 I need to make sure that I check that at the door. 37:05.920 --> 37:07.760 And I need to make sure I put off these things, 37:08.100 --> 37:09.280 ask the Lord for forgiveness, 37:09.620 --> 37:11.540 and put on the new man, you know what I mean? 37:11.980 --> 37:13.480 And, you know, it's not just church 37:13.480 --> 37:15.600 that you do that to, but it should be everywhere. 37:16.000 --> 37:17.540 But church is that weekly reminder 37:17.540 --> 37:18.900 that we're supposed to put off 37:18.900 --> 37:22.720 all of these carnal aspects of our members, 37:23.120 --> 37:25.520 mortify those members, and to put on the new man. 37:26.340 --> 37:28.200 But here's another application 37:28.780 --> 37:30.640 to changing your garments, okay? 37:31.760 --> 37:34.520 And that is, you know, change the way you dress, amen. 37:36.280 --> 37:36.760 Amen? 37:37.860 --> 37:40.100 I mean, this is a New Testament teaching here. 37:40.200 --> 37:41.920 This is a whole Bible teaching here. 37:42.560 --> 37:44.540 So, you know, you have Jacob and he's just like, 37:44.820 --> 37:47.480 hey, put away the false gods which are among you, 37:47.900 --> 37:51.440 make sure you clean yourself up, and change your clothes. 37:52.520 --> 37:52.820 Why? 37:53.040 --> 37:54.460 Because you're going to the house of God. 37:55.500 --> 37:56.280 That's why. 37:56.890 --> 37:57.980 You're going to Bethel. 37:58.240 --> 37:58.780 That's why. 37:59.300 --> 38:02.020 And you know that the house of God is a great place. 38:02.160 --> 38:03.260 It's a holy place. 38:03.620 --> 38:05.120 It's the house of the Lord, 38:05.400 --> 38:06.560 and you should have some respect 38:06.560 --> 38:09.520 for the house of God, you know? 38:10.560 --> 38:15.040 And, you know, obviously there is no New Testament 38:15.600 --> 38:18.660 condition whereby it says you have to wear 38:19.110 --> 38:22.300 a suit, shirt, and tie, and whatnot. 38:22.860 --> 38:27.060 But you shouldn't seek to, like, do the least possible, 38:27.520 --> 38:28.260 either though. 38:29.180 --> 38:31.820 Like, what can I do to just be on the border? 38:33.140 --> 38:33.580 You know what I mean? 38:34.160 --> 38:34.740 Change your garments! 38:37.200 --> 38:38.260 Like, change the way you look. 38:38.600 --> 38:40.200 And look, folks, yes, I get it. 38:40.460 --> 38:42.000 You know, God cares about the heart. 38:43.020 --> 38:44.620 Yeah, we know that already, okay? 38:45.160 --> 38:46.800 Calvary Chapel's been reminding us about that 38:46.800 --> 38:47.640 for the last couple of decades. 38:49.100 --> 38:50.360 God looks upon the heart. 38:51.020 --> 38:51.860 Yeah, we know. 38:52.300 --> 38:52.840 But you know what? 38:52.960 --> 38:54.600 He also says to cleanse the hands, though. 38:55.520 --> 38:59.340 He also wants you to clean the outside of the cup also, 38:59.660 --> 39:00.360 and the platter. 39:01.100 --> 39:01.680 You know why? 39:01.840 --> 39:02.760 Because according to the Bible, 39:03.100 --> 39:04.820 the Bible says ye are our epistles, 39:05.300 --> 39:07.180 written in our hearts, known in red of all men. 39:07.820 --> 39:09.100 That we're ambassadors for Christ, 39:09.200 --> 39:10.380 we're representatives of the Lord. 39:10.720 --> 39:11.080 And you know what? 39:11.160 --> 39:12.300 You should change the way you look. 39:14.680 --> 39:16.380 You know, for the guys, obviously, 39:17.420 --> 39:18.980 you know, you need to make sure 39:18.980 --> 39:20.960 that you wear your sundaes best. 39:21.600 --> 39:23.160 Don't be a sloppy individual. 39:23.780 --> 39:25.000 You're coming in a house of God. 39:26.200 --> 39:27.880 You know, if you're going to the White House, 39:28.420 --> 39:30.400 you would probably dress in a shirt and tie in a suit. 39:30.880 --> 39:32.480 Because it's an important place, I would, 39:32.580 --> 39:33.380 and I'm not even Fortron. 39:35.000 --> 39:36.840 But I would dress in a shirt and tie in a suit 39:36.840 --> 39:37.960 if I was going to the White House. 39:38.540 --> 39:40.920 You know, and I know it's not like this now, 39:41.020 --> 39:43.120 but before, when we used to go to job interviews, 39:43.540 --> 39:46.060 we would wear a shirt, tie, okay? 39:46.180 --> 39:47.640 It was very appropriate to do that. 39:47.640 --> 39:49.680 It was basically expected for you. 39:50.080 --> 39:52.440 In fact, even when I was applying at a restaurant, 39:52.700 --> 39:55.480 we still wore a shirt and tie, okay? 39:55.900 --> 39:56.840 I don't know how it is now, 39:57.100 --> 39:58.500 because I've been pastoring for a while. 39:58.720 --> 39:59.600 I mean, is that how it is now? 39:59.760 --> 40:03.380 Or can you just dress in flip-flops and slip-ons or what? 40:05.080 --> 40:06.400 And they'll guess, is that right? 40:07.840 --> 40:09.360 Yeah, you can kind of wear whatever you want. 40:09.720 --> 40:11.900 Because the standards are so low, right? 40:12.060 --> 40:13.340 But back in our day, it was just like 40:13.340 --> 40:14.600 you wore a shirt and tie. 40:14.960 --> 40:16.220 You want to look professional. 40:16.680 --> 40:17.400 You want to be respectable. 40:17.860 --> 40:20.440 And here's the thing, dressing like that still 40:21.700 --> 40:23.380 causes people to show your respect. 40:24.860 --> 40:27.200 I don't necessarily look at someone in flip-flops. 40:27.720 --> 40:29.240 Like, if you come to church in flip-flops, 40:30.480 --> 40:32.360 I have a hard time taking you serious. 40:34.180 --> 40:36.080 In fact, I'm just going to be honest with you. 40:37.220 --> 40:39.020 I'm talking about dudes, okay? 40:39.520 --> 40:41.180 I know ladies, they got the babies or whatever. 40:41.440 --> 40:42.860 I don't know what kind of shoewear you should have, 40:44.040 --> 40:47.560 but like when guys come in thongs and stuff, 40:48.920 --> 40:50.920 thongs are flip-flops, okay? 40:51.020 --> 40:52.600 That's what they're called, okay? 40:53.180 --> 40:54.620 All right, grow up, okay? 40:55.000 --> 40:56.820 That's what they're called, okay? 40:57.780 --> 41:00.600 When guys come in thongs to church, 41:01.980 --> 41:04.280 you know, it's just like, you don't have shoes? 41:05.280 --> 41:07.240 Does this look like Cambodia to you? 41:07.660 --> 41:08.480 Are we in the Philippines? 41:10.140 --> 41:11.600 What is this, Southeast Asia? 41:12.860 --> 41:13.060 Right? 41:14.220 --> 41:15.660 Oh, I got my slip-ons. 41:16.060 --> 41:16.980 This is in your bedroom. 41:19.500 --> 41:21.320 Put on some dang socks on. 41:22.440 --> 41:23.240 Some shoes. 41:24.540 --> 41:27.000 Are you saying that I have to wear a shirt and tie? 41:27.320 --> 41:29.800 Well, let me ask you, do you own a shirt and tie? 41:30.740 --> 41:31.760 Oh, you do, okay. 41:31.860 --> 41:34.380 So you bought that shirt and tie intentionally 41:34.380 --> 41:37.900 for something that you thought was important, right? 41:38.300 --> 41:40.220 Because you don't just accidentally buy a shirt and tie. 41:40.520 --> 41:41.760 It's not just part of your wardrobe 41:41.760 --> 41:43.080 because this is what you wear throughout the week. 41:44.080 --> 41:46.100 You bought it for a particular occasion, 41:46.640 --> 41:48.980 and that occasion apparently is important for you 41:48.980 --> 41:51.780 in your mind enough that you would wear that there. 41:52.280 --> 41:52.620 Well, guess what? 41:52.680 --> 41:54.960 The house of God is the same way, my friends, okay? 41:55.400 --> 41:56.840 Wear a shirt and tie when you come to church. 41:57.320 --> 41:58.940 Now, look, again, you know, 41:59.040 --> 42:00.340 if you're like, well, I don't really have that 42:00.340 --> 42:01.080 philosophy, okay. 42:01.400 --> 42:03.800 But just put away the thongs which are among you, 42:03.820 --> 42:03.920 though. 42:07.100 --> 42:09.560 Put away, what are those slip-ons called? 42:10.300 --> 42:10.900 What do they call them? 42:10.900 --> 42:11.340 Sliders? 42:13.460 --> 42:14.760 Slides, is that what they are? 42:15.220 --> 42:18.180 Put away the slides, put away the Yeezys, 42:18.900 --> 42:21.640 put away whatever new footwear Kanye's come out with, 42:22.540 --> 42:24.880 and just dress appropriately when you come to church. 42:25.780 --> 42:27.520 This is not Calvary Chapel. 42:27.720 --> 42:28.940 This is not a surfer church. 42:29.340 --> 42:30.620 This is not a hippie church. 42:31.680 --> 42:34.800 This is no sand here, okay? 42:35.000 --> 42:36.740 We're not coming here to share the word of God. 42:37.420 --> 42:39.100 We're not here just to share something, 42:39.100 --> 42:40.860 just a little thought, a little 15 minute. 42:41.080 --> 42:42.160 This is the house of God. 42:42.340 --> 42:45.500 You're getting a higher caliber of preaching and doctrine. 42:45.800 --> 42:46.720 Dress like it. 42:49.640 --> 42:52.200 And look, again, this is not a dress coat 42:52.200 --> 42:54.780 that I have here for anybody, okay? 42:55.340 --> 42:56.520 You know, people often ask me like, 42:56.740 --> 42:57.800 oh, is there a dress coat? 42:57.880 --> 42:58.820 I see you guys are all wearing suits. 42:58.960 --> 43:02.120 I tell them no, just wear clothing for sure, you know? 43:03.540 --> 43:05.960 But here's the thing, most people who've come 43:05.960 --> 43:07.640 to an independent fundamental Baptist church 43:07.640 --> 43:09.900 know exactly what it is. 43:10.100 --> 43:12.560 And look, over the years, I've seen people come to church, 43:12.820 --> 43:15.500 dress down, and then progressively start dressing better. 43:16.320 --> 43:17.700 I mean, that's literally what happened to me 43:17.700 --> 43:18.380 when I came to church. 43:19.080 --> 43:23.560 And keep in mind, BC, Pastor Mejia, okay? 43:24.620 --> 43:26.140 Was pro club, amen? 43:26.900 --> 43:28.140 You know, pro clubs that are so white, 43:28.180 --> 43:28.820 they almost look blue. 43:29.820 --> 43:31.560 They're almost like, no one knows what I'm talking about. 43:32.060 --> 43:33.540 You know, you go to the Swabee, 43:33.640 --> 43:34.900 get yourself a pro club on Friday 43:34.900 --> 43:38.240 with your paycheck, and it's just clean, right? 43:39.020 --> 43:42.800 Dickies, pro club, chucks, and Dickie pants, 43:43.280 --> 43:44.180 that's how I came to church. 43:46.120 --> 43:48.740 Yeah, high socks and all, okay? 43:50.700 --> 43:52.540 Curve, you know, the curve on and everything. 43:53.140 --> 43:53.840 Cool water sometimes. 43:55.120 --> 43:56.480 And, but then I got there and I'm like, 43:57.260 --> 43:58.340 oh, everyone's dressed different. 43:59.280 --> 44:00.740 Like they have like suits on and stuff. 44:01.560 --> 44:03.960 But the environment kind of communicated that, though. 44:04.960 --> 44:07.200 Music communicated that, preaching communicated that. 44:07.780 --> 44:09.960 So then I was just like, oh, I'm gonna go home 44:09.960 --> 44:10.600 and I'm gonna change. 44:10.740 --> 44:11.860 I'm gonna wear some like khakis, 44:12.640 --> 44:14.440 some dress shoes, and a polo. 44:14.800 --> 44:15.220 That's what I said. 44:15.840 --> 44:16.660 I was like, I'll just do that. 44:16.940 --> 44:18.020 Cause I didn't really have a suit. 44:19.200 --> 44:20.460 So then I was just like, I'm gonna do that. 44:20.560 --> 44:23.440 And then I got rid of the hairstyle that I had. 44:23.740 --> 44:24.280 And I was like, you know, 44:24.320 --> 44:26.920 I'm gonna change the way I got my hair going on or whatever. 44:27.460 --> 44:28.760 And then after a while I was like, you know what? 44:28.760 --> 44:30.080 I think I should dress in a suit. 44:31.060 --> 44:31.740 Because everyone's just, 44:31.920 --> 44:32.920 and no one told me like, hey, 44:33.560 --> 44:35.800 you need to get yourself a suit. 44:36.420 --> 44:37.020 No one told me that. 44:37.520 --> 44:39.760 You know, I ended up getting a pinstripe suit. 44:40.480 --> 44:40.660 Okay? 44:41.300 --> 44:43.000 Like one of those, what are those called? 44:44.000 --> 44:45.420 The pinstripe, the really wide, 44:45.780 --> 44:47.220 the pachuko guys or what is it? 44:47.780 --> 44:49.140 Zoot, almost like a zoot suit. 44:49.440 --> 44:50.580 Cause I didn't know any better, you know? 44:51.640 --> 44:53.680 You know, I was just like, with a little chain on it. 44:54.660 --> 44:56.680 And, but I had a suit. 44:58.160 --> 44:59.980 And then, you know, and then little by little, 45:00.160 --> 45:01.580 but no one told me, I just, you know, 45:01.580 --> 45:03.160 things are rather caught and taught, right? 45:03.960 --> 45:05.200 And you know, I've noticed that here. 45:05.820 --> 45:07.500 People come to church and you know what they do? 45:07.580 --> 45:08.340 They change their garments. 45:09.640 --> 45:11.360 Cause you know, one of the reasons why, 45:11.720 --> 45:15.600 from my observation, is that people change the way they look 45:15.600 --> 45:17.080 because they're like, well, there's a change inside. 45:17.560 --> 45:18.460 And I kind of want to show 45:18.460 --> 45:19.880 that there's been a change on the outside too. 45:20.440 --> 45:22.660 I want to change who I am, right? 45:23.240 --> 45:25.240 And I know when I got saved I was just like, you know, 45:25.700 --> 45:27.940 I'm trying to leave a life behind. 45:28.460 --> 45:30.220 I'm trying to like move on with my life 45:30.220 --> 45:33.600 and serve Christ like I want to put on the new man, 45:33.800 --> 45:34.960 which is a spiritual thing, 45:35.200 --> 45:37.320 but I keep seeing over and over in the Bible 45:37.320 --> 45:40.520 that God is also concerned with the outside of the cup 45:40.520 --> 45:41.080 as well. 45:41.520 --> 45:43.120 And I don't think God's just pleased with me 45:43.120 --> 45:46.380 just continuously looking like a thug the entire time. 45:46.920 --> 45:48.180 So I guess I need a change. 45:48.580 --> 45:49.100 And I did. 45:50.020 --> 45:50.540 And you know what? 45:50.600 --> 45:51.820 I think that's a biblical thing. 45:53.500 --> 45:55.860 Now look, if you want to dress down, 45:56.460 --> 45:58.080 you can keep dressing down and come to church. 45:58.160 --> 45:58.740 It's perfectly fine. 45:59.480 --> 46:01.460 But you know, have some respect though. 46:02.260 --> 46:04.360 You know, don't come waltzing in here 46:04.360 --> 46:05.940 like you just got out of bed. 46:06.460 --> 46:08.040 You're in some shorts and thongs. 46:08.480 --> 46:11.880 And you know, you got just a shirt on 46:11.880 --> 46:14.020 and you just look like you just came from the beach 46:14.020 --> 46:14.460 or whatever. 46:14.860 --> 46:17.240 And you just, it's so casual, you know? 46:18.580 --> 46:19.880 There's a cavalry chapel across the street. 46:19.940 --> 46:20.660 You should just go there. 46:21.880 --> 46:23.420 You'd probably be the best dressed over there. 46:26.100 --> 46:27.260 Do that, you know what I mean? 46:28.240 --> 46:29.920 And you're like, oh, you're one of those guys 46:29.920 --> 46:31.820 who wear a shirt and tie like would you paint or something? 46:31.960 --> 46:32.660 No, I don't. 46:33.040 --> 46:34.320 I don't, I don't. 46:34.860 --> 46:35.820 It's when I come to church. 46:36.800 --> 46:39.820 When I come to church, the house of God is important, okay? 46:40.440 --> 46:43.220 And I think it's great when the men wear shirt and ties. 46:43.640 --> 46:45.740 And in fact, I feel like it offers a level 46:45.740 --> 46:48.520 or it presents a level of professionalism in the church. 46:49.240 --> 46:50.340 People have told me that repeatedly 46:50.340 --> 46:51.300 when they come visit our church. 46:51.440 --> 46:53.980 Like wow, this is really, you know, it's very important. 46:54.200 --> 46:55.660 And let's just be honest, how you dress 46:55.660 --> 46:56.880 affects the way you behave too. 46:57.340 --> 46:58.160 That's a fact. 46:58.880 --> 47:00.080 That's a 100% fact. 47:00.560 --> 47:03.340 How you dress ends up determining how you behave. 47:03.560 --> 47:04.700 That's a fact, okay? 47:05.840 --> 47:07.880 So that's for the men, okay? 47:08.980 --> 47:10.760 You know, change your garments, men. 47:11.660 --> 47:15.420 You know, make sure that you give it your best 47:15.420 --> 47:18.580 and don't just lower the bar for yourself. 47:19.200 --> 47:21.060 Make sure you change the way you look, why not? 47:22.140 --> 47:23.620 But it also applies for the women. 47:23.620 --> 47:23.740 Amen? 47:25.340 --> 47:25.600 Amen. 47:26.600 --> 47:27.460 Oh, snaps. 47:29.260 --> 47:31.460 Yeah, this applies to the women as well. 47:32.360 --> 47:33.760 It applies to both, but you know, 47:33.860 --> 47:36.800 I saved the best for last, though, you know? 47:38.080 --> 47:40.620 Because you know, obviously men can struggle 47:40.620 --> 47:41.760 with certain ways of dressing. 47:42.400 --> 47:43.920 Now they kind of look queer and stuff 47:43.920 --> 47:45.340 and they need to change the way they look 47:45.340 --> 47:46.540 and stop being so effeminate 47:47.020 --> 47:48.560 and looking at all gain stuff for sure. 47:49.620 --> 47:52.000 But one thing that just transcends 47:52.520 --> 47:53.780 something over the generations 47:53.780 --> 47:55.280 that people still struggle with 47:55.280 --> 47:57.240 is women just struggling with how to dress. 47:57.920 --> 47:59.520 That's a fact that just always happens. 48:00.200 --> 48:01.580 That's why it's constantly has to be talked about. 48:01.980 --> 48:03.340 Because women have this thing in their, 48:03.960 --> 48:05.880 they just have this stronghold in their mind 48:05.880 --> 48:07.580 that they just like to show off their bodies. 48:08.660 --> 48:09.840 Even if they love the Lord. 48:10.680 --> 48:12.460 Even if they just want to be right with God 48:12.460 --> 48:13.940 and they're serving the Lord, 48:14.340 --> 48:16.120 they're just that Eve in them, you know? 48:16.640 --> 48:18.520 They just want to put on fig leaves or whatever. 48:20.920 --> 48:22.300 They just want to wear fig leaves. 48:23.940 --> 48:25.220 And you know what, change your garments. 48:26.660 --> 48:27.340 Change your garments. 48:27.700 --> 48:28.420 And look, this is something 48:28.420 --> 48:29.820 that I'm not going to back down on. 48:30.840 --> 48:32.440 You know, I am very patient with people 48:32.780 --> 48:34.460 and I want people to grow in their faith 48:34.460 --> 48:36.180 and I think that's great, right? 48:36.740 --> 48:38.820 But you know, progress, progress. 48:39.720 --> 48:40.580 You know, when I get it, you're like, 48:40.660 --> 48:42.020 oh man, I've never worn dresses before, 48:42.520 --> 48:43.700 worn pants my whole life. 48:44.140 --> 48:45.140 You know, I'm just going to start 48:45.140 --> 48:46.720 by wearing dresses at church. 48:46.720 --> 48:49.240 Okay, you know, that's how you start, 48:49.340 --> 48:50.420 then that's good, you know? 48:50.860 --> 48:52.960 But grow, progress. 48:54.360 --> 48:55.320 Don't cap yourself. 48:56.760 --> 48:59.940 Don't, it may be like a personal conviction of yours. 49:00.700 --> 49:02.900 Don't just do it just because we're watching or something, 49:03.160 --> 49:04.460 just because the church is watching. 49:04.980 --> 49:07.100 Do it because this is a personal conviction from the Bible. 49:07.600 --> 49:09.160 Because it is a personal conviction from the Bible. 49:09.900 --> 49:14.600 Dresses on women is a biblical standard, okay? 49:15.120 --> 49:19.320 And you know what, like, it's a biblical standard. 49:19.480 --> 49:21.100 It's very clearly laid out in the Bible, 49:21.180 --> 49:22.420 but it doesn't matter how much you read it, 49:22.440 --> 49:23.740 how much you quote it, how much you demonstrate, 49:24.200 --> 49:26.840 women just struggle with that over and over again. 49:27.300 --> 49:28.180 They just struggle with that. 49:28.720 --> 49:31.800 And so, you know, change your garments, you know? 49:32.000 --> 49:32.720 And here's the thing. 49:32.960 --> 49:34.700 If you're like, well, I just don't believe 49:34.700 --> 49:35.880 I need a dress like that. 49:36.200 --> 49:38.080 Okay, but don't say that the Bible teaches that. 49:39.900 --> 49:41.320 Because you're losing on that. 49:42.200 --> 49:44.180 You're not gonna be able to demonstrate from the word of God 49:44.700 --> 49:46.880 that it's okay for women to wear pants at any given time. 49:47.440 --> 49:48.420 Doesn't exist in the Bible. 49:49.740 --> 49:51.800 Come at me, show me. 49:52.520 --> 49:53.320 Doesn't exist in the Bible. 49:54.340 --> 49:55.900 You're like, oh man, but you know, 49:56.460 --> 49:57.640 my husband's fine with it. 49:57.720 --> 49:59.080 Well, if your husband comes to this church, 49:59.620 --> 50:04.420 then sir, sir, you need to correct your wife 50:04.420 --> 50:05.580 and help her with that. 50:06.460 --> 50:07.400 You're the one in charge. 50:07.580 --> 50:08.480 God left you in charge. 50:09.720 --> 50:11.340 You're supposed to rule over that woman. 50:12.220 --> 50:14.320 Tell her, tell her this is what the Bible says 50:14.320 --> 50:16.180 is what we're doing, okay? 50:16.700 --> 50:17.980 And if she ain't obeying you, 50:18.520 --> 50:20.780 then you know what, there's bigger problems on that end. 50:21.640 --> 50:24.580 You need to make sure that you control your marriage, 50:24.720 --> 50:25.460 control your wife. 50:25.860 --> 50:27.200 Yes, I said, control your wife. 50:28.100 --> 50:29.640 You know, if my wife came to me and was just like, 50:29.720 --> 50:30.780 you know what, I think I'm gonna start wearing pants. 50:30.900 --> 50:31.400 I'll be like, you're funny. 50:33.040 --> 50:33.640 You're funny. 50:34.780 --> 50:36.400 Get back in the kitchen, you know. 50:37.820 --> 50:38.840 That was a funny joke. 50:39.780 --> 50:42.000 You need to make sure that you reign that in 50:42.420 --> 50:44.300 and explain to her, look, this is what the Bible says. 50:44.640 --> 50:46.520 I get that this is what I've allowed you to do 50:46.520 --> 50:47.440 for so many years. 50:47.940 --> 50:50.460 I get that I compromised in this area 50:50.460 --> 50:52.080 and that I allowed you to do this, 50:52.160 --> 50:53.960 but I'm growing in my faith. 50:54.300 --> 50:56.140 I'm growing in my knowledge of the word of God 50:56.140 --> 50:57.600 and I want you to grow with me 50:57.600 --> 50:59.080 and therefore we need to put away 50:59.080 --> 51:01.300 the garments that we have, okay? 51:02.300 --> 51:04.280 And no more pants, no more pantalones. 51:05.360 --> 51:08.640 No more pants, no more, you know, 51:08.880 --> 51:11.020 what is that, the career pants or whatever it may be? 51:11.920 --> 51:13.240 You know, none of that. 51:14.940 --> 51:16.420 Oh, you fundamental Baptist. 51:16.640 --> 51:17.760 I know we're just so biblical, huh? 51:18.800 --> 51:20.380 Yeah, and look, folks, this is something 51:20.380 --> 51:22.980 that everyone struggles, every church struggles with this. 51:23.640 --> 51:26.140 So if you're a woman who just constantly wears dresses, 51:28.240 --> 51:29.200 kudos to you. 51:30.100 --> 51:31.780 If you're a woman who has this conviction, 51:31.780 --> 51:34.040 you're like in the top 1%. 51:35.180 --> 51:37.580 Telling you right now, you know. 51:37.900 --> 51:39.980 Hey, hey guys, if your wife is one 51:39.980 --> 51:41.760 who just has that personal conviction 51:41.760 --> 51:46.000 to only wear dresses, buy her an ice cream after church. 51:48.040 --> 51:49.700 Her a Coke or something, zero. 51:50.620 --> 51:51.060 You know what I mean? 51:53.020 --> 51:54.120 Praise her for that. 51:55.240 --> 51:56.700 Because I'm telling you right now, it's rare. 51:57.800 --> 51:59.200 But you know what, just because it's rare 51:59.200 --> 52:00.720 doesn't mean it's like, oh, everyone else 52:00.720 --> 52:01.200 does it differently. 52:01.420 --> 52:02.580 Yeah, because everyone else is wrong. 52:03.600 --> 52:04.720 That's why, bro. 52:05.500 --> 52:06.720 Because everyone else is wrong, 52:07.040 --> 52:10.060 because you know, either they just are unwilling 52:10.560 --> 52:12.540 to change their garments and get right with God, 52:12.760 --> 52:15.060 or they have a husband who's unwilling to change that. 52:16.020 --> 52:16.760 Plain and simple. 52:18.240 --> 52:19.000 Change your garments. 52:20.480 --> 52:23.980 You know, and look, this is gonna happen 52:24.980 --> 52:26.100 until the end of days. 52:26.800 --> 52:28.840 It's gonna be a struggle for women until the end of days, 52:28.840 --> 52:30.280 but I'm okay preaching about it 52:30.280 --> 52:31.320 until the end of days too, though. 52:32.160 --> 52:34.440 And I'm not gonna just be like, well, you know, 52:34.500 --> 52:35.440 I don't wanna offend people, 52:36.260 --> 52:38.160 and so I'm just not gonna talk about it. 52:38.800 --> 52:40.100 No, cause you need to hear it. 52:40.740 --> 52:44.280 And I don't want you to take my tolerance 52:44.820 --> 52:49.880 or my kindness or graciousness or mercy for compromise 52:50.360 --> 52:51.680 and say, well, you know, 52:52.480 --> 52:54.300 because he doesn't wanna hurt my feelings, 52:54.400 --> 52:55.040 then he's not gonna preach it, 52:55.080 --> 52:55.960 and I'm gonna keep preaching on it. 52:56.200 --> 52:57.040 That's what the Bible says. 52:57.780 --> 53:01.460 Okay, well, how am I supposed to do certain things 53:02.000 --> 53:02.900 with a dress on? 53:03.920 --> 53:04.680 Well, what are you doing? 53:04.900 --> 53:06.080 Are you cartwheeling or something or what? 53:08.580 --> 53:10.580 You know, and here's my philosophy 53:10.580 --> 53:11.800 and the philosophy of my wife 53:12.310 --> 53:13.640 and the philosophy of my mother-in-law 53:14.680 --> 53:17.900 who basically has worn dresses like 24-7. 53:19.060 --> 53:22.260 You know, and that is if a certain activity causes you, 53:22.720 --> 53:24.000 like you feel like you need to wear pants 53:24.000 --> 53:24.640 for a certain activity, 53:24.700 --> 53:25.900 maybe it's an activity you shouldn't be doing. 53:31.930 --> 53:32.230 Yeah. 53:33.930 --> 53:35.330 So like, you know, my daughters, 53:35.570 --> 53:36.550 if there's certain activity, they're like, 53:36.630 --> 53:40.810 oh, you know, we want to do karate or something. 53:41.950 --> 53:42.950 How high you gotta kick? 53:43.650 --> 53:44.770 Pretty high, you're not doing it. 53:45.350 --> 53:45.950 Or kick low. 53:48.730 --> 53:49.970 Leg kicks the whole time. 53:50.990 --> 53:52.930 You know, and if it's too much, then you're not doing it. 53:54.150 --> 53:55.310 You know, it's easy to just be like, no, 53:55.530 --> 53:56.270 you're just not doing it. 53:56.950 --> 53:57.590 Just don't do it. 53:59.210 --> 54:00.510 And you know, women need to be told 54:00.510 --> 54:02.070 no more often, actually. 54:03.090 --> 54:03.890 Should I tell them? 54:04.190 --> 54:04.410 No. 54:05.750 --> 54:07.050 But, but no, that's it. 54:07.270 --> 54:07.790 End of discussion. 54:08.290 --> 54:08.850 You're not doing it. 54:09.130 --> 54:10.170 I want to go horseback riding. 54:10.530 --> 54:12.730 Well, if horseback riding, you know, 54:12.990 --> 54:14.890 causes you to become immodest, 54:14.990 --> 54:17.010 then one of two decisions you gotta make here. 54:17.550 --> 54:19.770 Either one, sit on the side, 54:19.850 --> 54:20.730 like one of those whatever, 54:20.890 --> 54:22.250 back in the day ladies who just, you know, 54:22.610 --> 54:23.270 ride it like that. 54:23.530 --> 54:26.090 If that's too much, then drive a car instead. 54:35.210 --> 54:36.690 Yeah, that's the philosophy I have. 54:37.970 --> 54:38.530 And you know what? 54:38.970 --> 54:40.850 Look, this is something that I even fight 54:40.850 --> 54:42.210 with my kids sometimes. 54:42.590 --> 54:44.190 Cause my girls don't, they're still little. 54:44.730 --> 54:45.610 They don't know any better sometimes. 54:45.910 --> 54:47.490 And sometimes it's just like, what are you wearing? 54:47.730 --> 54:49.770 You know, go put on a longer dress. 54:50.230 --> 54:51.310 You gotta sit right. 54:51.830 --> 54:53.150 You know, sometimes I'm telling them like, 54:53.250 --> 54:55.310 hey, you gotta sit right. 54:55.810 --> 54:56.630 Put your legs down. 54:57.390 --> 54:58.290 Put your dress over. 54:58.430 --> 54:59.130 Cause they just don't know. 54:59.210 --> 54:59.810 They need to be taught. 55:00.590 --> 55:02.190 And look, if you allow a woman, 55:02.510 --> 55:03.690 yes, I'm saying this correctly. 55:03.690 --> 55:06.710 If you allow a woman to just figure it out on her own, 55:06.990 --> 55:08.030 she will be modest. 55:09.110 --> 55:09.870 That's a fact. 55:11.690 --> 55:14.070 If you allow a woman, she's like, oh, you figure it out. 55:14.350 --> 55:15.210 You got it. 55:15.770 --> 55:16.670 No, they need guidance. 55:18.830 --> 55:21.070 Women need to be told what to do. 55:21.670 --> 55:23.290 By number one, their father, 55:23.610 --> 55:25.190 or number two, their husband. 55:27.170 --> 55:28.170 Amen to that. 55:30.370 --> 55:31.570 You're like, what if I don't have either? 55:31.710 --> 55:32.530 Well, I'm telling you right now. 55:34.110 --> 55:35.610 I mean, you got me? 55:37.430 --> 55:38.510 You'll always have me. 55:40.050 --> 55:40.750 But it's a fact. 55:40.890 --> 55:43.130 If you allow a woman to come up with her own standard, 55:43.490 --> 55:46.090 I'm just telling you right now, it's no go. 55:47.230 --> 55:49.130 They need a father, they need a husband 55:49.590 --> 55:51.530 to tell her like, hey, not good. 55:52.150 --> 55:54.030 You need to put away that dress, 55:54.390 --> 55:56.730 put away those pants, put away this, that and the other. 55:57.210 --> 55:58.210 This is what we're gonna do. 55:58.690 --> 56:00.250 You're like, well, I tried to, but then my wife, 56:00.630 --> 56:02.730 you know, she just fights me too much on it. 56:04.150 --> 56:06.170 You know, I can't help you with that, you know? 56:06.810 --> 56:08.630 What do you mean fights you? 56:09.770 --> 56:10.570 What does that mean exactly? 56:12.030 --> 56:12.830 Like she whoops you? 56:14.710 --> 56:15.830 Like she knocks you out? 56:16.730 --> 56:17.630 Does she bully you? 56:19.170 --> 56:21.170 You know, I'm kind of foreign to that. 56:21.210 --> 56:23.470 I don't know exactly how that works, you know? 56:23.970 --> 56:25.370 I'm just telling you husband's like, 56:25.490 --> 56:27.070 I'm just telling you what your responsibility is. 56:27.570 --> 56:29.290 You got to figure out how to control your wife 56:29.710 --> 56:32.070 and tell her like, this is what we're gonna do, okay? 56:32.510 --> 56:33.210 Change your garments! 56:34.890 --> 56:37.410 And look, guys, if you want your wife to change her garments, 56:37.550 --> 56:38.570 you change your garments too. 56:40.030 --> 56:42.890 Okay, if you don't like how your wife dresses, 56:43.230 --> 56:44.710 then you know, you step it up too then. 56:46.110 --> 56:48.170 And obviously she has to do what you told her to do, 56:48.210 --> 56:49.390 even if you choose not to. 56:49.730 --> 56:52.350 Just throwing that out there, you know? 56:52.510 --> 56:54.010 In case you're one of the, you're just like, 56:54.070 --> 56:55.570 well, you know, he says you have to change too, 56:55.610 --> 56:57.390 so once you do it, then I'll do it. 56:57.410 --> 56:58.690 No, no, no, if he tells you to change, 56:58.770 --> 56:59.550 you got to change it, man. 57:01.150 --> 57:04.230 No more booty shorts, okay? 57:05.890 --> 57:08.310 Oh man, it's just, this is so hard for me. 57:08.490 --> 57:10.810 Yeah, it's a hard pill for a lot of women to swallow for sure. 57:11.670 --> 57:14.550 And again, you know, not everyone gets it right off the bat. 57:15.530 --> 57:17.030 I get it, it's hard. 57:17.110 --> 57:18.630 The culture has taught you certain ways. 57:19.010 --> 57:22.210 You grew up a certain way, you know, it's just how it is. 57:23.010 --> 57:24.210 I'm just telling you, 57:24.630 --> 57:26.690 you just got to keep progressively growing. 57:28.190 --> 57:32.410 And don't cap yourself when you grow, okay? 57:32.850 --> 57:34.750 And I'm telling you right now, you think to yourself, 57:34.910 --> 57:36.910 oh man, you know, he might be talking about me. 57:37.090 --> 57:39.170 No, I'm talking about everyone, and every woman in here, 57:39.290 --> 57:42.850 even those who successfully dress in a dress 24 seven, 57:43.170 --> 57:45.170 every single week, they can tell you, 57:45.490 --> 57:46.610 yeah, that was hard for me too. 57:47.850 --> 57:48.410 It's a fact. 57:51.850 --> 57:53.750 But we got to keep growing now, don't we? 57:54.670 --> 57:55.390 We got to keep growing. 57:55.890 --> 57:57.630 And so, you know, Jacob said, 57:58.370 --> 58:00.790 make sure you put away the false gods which are among you, 58:01.310 --> 58:04.670 be clean and change your garments, garments, 58:04.850 --> 58:06.010 meaning clothing, why? 58:06.150 --> 58:07.630 Because we're going to the house of God. 58:08.150 --> 58:09.810 We're gonna serve the Lord. 58:10.190 --> 58:12.070 We're gonna be before His presence. 58:12.370 --> 58:12.850 And you know what? 58:12.930 --> 58:14.650 He does care how we look. 58:15.510 --> 58:15.930 How do you know? 58:16.210 --> 58:18.550 Well, he told Adam and Eve, these fig leaves aren't enough. 58:19.610 --> 58:21.290 It's a little bikini you got going on. 58:22.290 --> 58:23.550 You know, it's not gonna work. 58:24.670 --> 58:27.350 It's a little marijuana bikinis you got going on here. 58:27.930 --> 58:28.950 It's not gonna work. 58:30.210 --> 58:31.690 Okay, you know? 58:32.410 --> 58:34.030 Basically, that's what happens when you, 58:34.190 --> 58:35.750 I'm sure Eve's the one who came up with that. 58:38.170 --> 58:40.290 She's like, we're naked, but I got it. 58:42.090 --> 58:45.270 And Adam's like, I'm wearing this. 58:46.550 --> 58:47.870 Little Speedos or whatever, you know? 58:49.530 --> 58:51.190 And God came and he's just like, this is insufficient. 58:51.890 --> 58:53.470 This is not covering the nakedness. 58:54.230 --> 58:55.870 So you made them coats of skin 58:56.570 --> 58:59.010 to sufficiently cover their nakedness. 58:59.570 --> 59:00.130 Right? 59:01.030 --> 59:03.570 So it's important for us to recognize that, yes, 59:03.750 --> 59:06.370 you know, obviously God cares about the heart, okay? 59:06.850 --> 59:08.490 He wants you to change your heart. 59:09.010 --> 59:09.570 Absolutely. 59:10.370 --> 59:12.930 Cleanse your heart, you sinners, and purify. 59:13.230 --> 59:14.850 No, cleanse your hands, you sinners, 59:15.010 --> 59:15.910 and purify your hearts. 59:16.290 --> 59:17.110 You double-mind it. 59:17.570 --> 59:21.610 He wants you to change how you are on the outside as well. 59:22.110 --> 59:23.310 Don't remain a crack addict. 59:25.430 --> 59:26.990 Don't remain a drunkard. 59:27.310 --> 59:29.350 Don't remain a covetous person. 59:29.890 --> 59:31.450 Don't remain a rebellious woman. 59:32.090 --> 59:33.770 Don't remain an effeminate man. 59:34.890 --> 59:38.590 Don't remain, you know, just a lazy slob. 59:39.230 --> 59:39.610 Change. 59:40.750 --> 59:41.790 And you don't have to change overnight. 59:42.610 --> 59:44.390 You don't, and nobody here expects 59:44.390 --> 59:45.630 for you to change overnight either. 59:46.270 --> 59:47.850 You know, the only people who expect 59:47.850 --> 59:49.090 for you to change overnight are those 59:49.090 --> 59:50.850 who are just overcompensating 59:50.850 --> 59:52.910 because they haven't changed, okay? 59:53.330 --> 59:55.630 No one here expects for you to just change by next week. 59:55.970 --> 59:56.910 You know what we expect? 59:57.330 --> 59:57.610 Growth. 59:58.350 --> 59:59.370 It's Christian growth. 59:59.990 --> 01:00:01.070 It's Christian growth. 01:00:01.330 --> 01:00:02.650 You know what Christian growth requires? 01:00:03.170 --> 01:00:04.510 Me offending you sometimes. 01:00:05.390 --> 01:00:06.490 Telling you how it is, 01:00:06.530 --> 01:00:07.850 because you're not gonna get this at Calvary Chapel. 01:00:08.110 --> 01:00:10.010 Calvary Chapel's okay with you coming in fig leaves. 01:00:11.190 --> 01:00:12.990 Sandals is okay with you coming in fig leaves. 01:00:13.970 --> 01:00:15.290 They hope you come in fig leaves. 01:00:16.310 --> 01:00:19.850 The pastor's wife is in fig leaves, you know? 01:00:21.190 --> 01:00:23.730 And so recognize the importance of that. 01:00:24.070 --> 01:00:26.170 That's what we're getting from Genesis chapter 35 01:00:26.850 --> 01:00:30.190 is when Jacob goes to Bethel, he's realizing, 01:00:30.590 --> 01:00:32.290 and by the way, what do we see later on in the chapter 01:00:32.290 --> 01:00:33.130 in Genesis 35? 01:00:33.630 --> 01:00:36.030 Like what does God tell Jacob? 01:00:36.430 --> 01:00:39.030 Hey, you're Israel, you're not Jacob anymore. 01:00:40.350 --> 01:00:41.350 Didn't he tell him that? 01:00:41.750 --> 01:00:42.570 And he already knew that. 01:00:43.330 --> 01:00:46.090 But you know, Jacob just has that old man still with him. 01:00:46.290 --> 01:00:47.590 And so God has to remind him, 01:00:47.630 --> 01:00:49.130 hey, you're not Jacob anymore. 01:00:49.130 --> 01:00:50.890 Dowshaw can be called Israel. 01:00:51.930 --> 01:00:52.610 You know what this is? 01:00:52.730 --> 01:00:53.870 This is me just reminding you, 01:00:54.130 --> 01:00:56.790 hey, you're Israel, you're a safe person, 01:00:57.110 --> 01:00:59.990 you're a child of God, this is God's standard, 01:01:00.290 --> 01:01:01.750 this is how you need to view yourself. 01:01:02.250 --> 01:01:05.350 You need to allow your identity 01:01:05.950 --> 01:01:08.470 that God views you in to determine how you behave, 01:01:08.990 --> 01:01:09.990 act, and dress, and think. 01:01:10.510 --> 01:01:11.650 It's a fact, okay? 01:01:12.370 --> 01:01:14.910 And so the sermon tonight is simply this. 01:01:15.610 --> 01:01:17.070 Change the way you look every once in a while. 01:01:19.270 --> 01:01:20.450 Grow in that area. 01:01:21.210 --> 01:01:22.650 Don't be a covetous person. 01:01:23.450 --> 01:01:26.190 Make sure you're being cleansed of sin on a regular basis. 01:01:27.430 --> 01:01:29.930 And give those pants unto the Lord. 01:01:32.890 --> 01:01:35.350 Go home and go to that altar. 01:01:36.230 --> 01:01:39.310 That altar of pants you got going on there. 01:01:40.010 --> 01:01:42.430 Though the jeans you got and just be like, 01:01:43.310 --> 01:01:45.250 I've been saving these for a good day 01:01:45.250 --> 01:01:47.070 because just in case I backslide. 01:01:49.130 --> 01:01:51.470 It's just time to get rid of them, you know? 01:01:52.590 --> 01:01:53.990 And throw them away. 01:01:55.030 --> 01:01:56.450 And look, let me say this. 01:01:56.570 --> 01:01:57.950 You're like, well, it's so expensive to buy clothes. 01:01:58.270 --> 01:01:59.910 If it's really that hard, 01:02:01.090 --> 01:02:02.010 I can't believe I'm saying this, 01:02:02.070 --> 01:02:02.890 but I'm gonna say it all. 01:02:03.470 --> 01:02:06.210 If it's really that hard, I'll help you get a dress. 01:02:07.190 --> 01:02:07.810 A dress. 01:02:08.150 --> 01:02:08.490 I'm just kidding. 01:02:11.590 --> 01:02:13.010 I'll tell you right now, it's not that hard. 01:02:13.810 --> 01:02:14.590 It is not that hard. 01:02:15.550 --> 01:02:17.050 You know, don't make excuses. 01:02:17.190 --> 01:02:18.070 Don't say there's a line 01:02:18.070 --> 01:02:19.830 without a lion is in the streets. 01:02:20.650 --> 01:02:22.710 You know, there's just no good clothes out there. 01:02:23.090 --> 01:02:24.290 I don't wanna be Amish. 01:02:25.790 --> 01:02:27.550 I just don't wanna look like that. 01:02:28.350 --> 01:02:30.910 You know, at the end of the day, it's God's standard. 01:02:31.050 --> 01:02:31.950 That's what the Bible says. 01:02:32.370 --> 01:02:34.670 Don't follow the trends of mainstream Christianity. 01:02:35.050 --> 01:02:37.530 They want you to set the bar as low as you possibly can. 01:02:38.610 --> 01:02:38.950 That's great. 01:02:39.050 --> 01:02:40.330 Father, we thank you so much for your word. 01:02:40.830 --> 01:02:42.410 Thank you for Genesis 35. 01:02:42.710 --> 01:02:45.710 Help us to be reminded that when we go to Bethel, 01:02:45.710 --> 01:02:47.050 which means the house of God, 01:02:47.850 --> 01:02:49.790 though you accept us as we are, 01:02:50.890 --> 01:02:52.270 you want change. 01:02:53.050 --> 01:02:54.450 You want us to continue to grow. 01:02:55.370 --> 01:02:56.350 And growth is painful. 01:02:57.310 --> 01:02:58.330 It's very painful. 01:02:59.170 --> 01:03:01.690 It's hard to grow out of old habits, 01:03:02.630 --> 01:03:04.890 but that's what you require of us. 01:03:04.990 --> 01:03:05.810 You want us to change. 01:03:06.690 --> 01:03:08.210 Here I am 19 years later 01:03:08.210 --> 01:03:09.870 and I still have to make changes in my life 01:03:09.870 --> 01:03:11.230 and it's very painful sometimes 01:03:11.870 --> 01:03:14.390 because the old man is still clinging on. 01:03:15.150 --> 01:03:17.290 And so I pray that you'd help us to do so. 01:03:17.710 --> 01:03:20.110 Thank you for our church of filled with people 01:03:20.110 --> 01:03:23.430 that are willing to grow and put off the old man 01:03:23.430 --> 01:03:24.090 and put on the new. 01:03:24.170 --> 01:03:25.010 In Jesus' name we pray amen.