WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:00.820 Jesus Christ, amen. 00:01.640 --> 00:01.960 Amen. 00:02.720 --> 00:04.060 So here in chapter six, 00:04.340 --> 00:06.240 we're kind of continuing the thought 00:06.240 --> 00:07.920 that was left off in chapter five 00:07.920 --> 00:11.380 of the idea of being reconciled unto Christ. 00:11.640 --> 00:13.060 And I wanna just remind ourselves, 00:13.500 --> 00:15.380 it's been a few weeks, verse 18 that says, 00:16.020 --> 00:17.060 and all things are of God 00:17.060 --> 00:20.080 who have reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ 00:20.780 --> 00:25.400 and have given to us the ministry of reconciliation 00:25.400 --> 00:27.760 to wit that God was in Christ 00:27.760 --> 00:30.060 reconciling the world unto himself, 00:30.460 --> 00:32.940 not imputing their trespasses unto them 00:32.940 --> 00:36.220 and have committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 00:36.680 --> 00:39.660 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ 00:39.660 --> 00:41.880 as though God did beseech you by us, 00:42.200 --> 00:45.980 we pray you in Christ stead be reconciled to God. 00:46.100 --> 00:47.560 Now this is interesting in verse 20 00:48.040 --> 00:50.640 because he's telling them a direct commandment 00:50.640 --> 00:54.620 to be reconciled, but then he already told us previously 00:54.620 --> 00:56.580 that we've been reconciled. 00:56.580 --> 00:57.560 It says in verse 18, 00:57.700 --> 00:58.500 and all things are of God 00:58.500 --> 01:01.380 who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ. 01:01.600 --> 01:04.620 So why would the apostle Paul say, 01:04.680 --> 01:06.540 hey, you've been reconciled to Jesus Christ, 01:07.080 --> 01:08.260 now be reconciled? 01:08.260 --> 01:10.600 That sounds contradictory on the surface. 01:10.740 --> 01:12.580 And I think that this is something 01:12.580 --> 01:14.280 that's very important for us to unpack, 01:14.680 --> 01:17.040 especially regarding the chapter we're gonna roll into. 01:17.700 --> 01:20.380 But really, I tried to give a lot of thought 01:20.380 --> 01:24.180 to an example of how I could articulate this 01:24.180 --> 01:25.020 in another word. 01:25.020 --> 01:27.560 And I think another word that is similar 01:27.560 --> 01:29.680 to what we're talking about here is the word freed. 01:30.400 --> 01:32.760 So if you think about someone that's a slave, 01:33.580 --> 01:36.620 someone that's been in bondage, someone that's been a slave, 01:37.100 --> 01:39.520 they could be legally freed, 01:40.360 --> 01:44.740 and yet they choose not to necessarily take advantage of 01:44.740 --> 01:46.760 the freedom that's been granted to them. 01:47.100 --> 01:48.800 So someone that's been freed, 01:49.080 --> 01:52.460 they have a legal status of being freed. 01:52.460 --> 01:56.440 They're a free man, but they choose to still live in bondage. 01:56.540 --> 01:59.180 They still just choose to live in that same state 01:59.180 --> 02:02.260 and work for the same master and work in the same field 02:02.260 --> 02:03.700 and still do all the same things. 02:04.200 --> 02:06.140 And so someone that's been freed legally, 02:06.580 --> 02:09.340 you could still say to them, hey, be freed. 02:09.420 --> 02:11.880 Meaning, hey, now that you are legally free 02:11.880 --> 02:14.020 and you're no longer in bondage to this master, 02:14.160 --> 02:16.280 you don't have to serve in this manner. 02:16.720 --> 02:19.140 Now act as a freed man. 02:19.360 --> 02:21.000 Now go and be freed. 02:21.000 --> 02:22.700 And so in the same way, 02:22.960 --> 02:25.060 I believe the Bible is trying to articulate to us 02:25.060 --> 02:28.320 that even though you've been reconciled in a legal status, 02:28.680 --> 02:31.160 by identity we've been reconciled to God, 02:31.360 --> 02:34.440 that we're no longer gonna have our trespasses imputed 02:34.440 --> 02:36.340 unto us, as the Bible is saying here, 02:36.620 --> 02:39.240 that we should still then act on that reconciliation. 02:40.100 --> 02:42.080 And while we have the status of reconciliation, 02:42.340 --> 02:44.840 we should act like we've been reconciled 02:44.840 --> 02:47.900 and be reconciled because the sins, 02:48.440 --> 02:49.980 as a lot of libs would say, 02:51.260 --> 02:53.160 we've been separated from God, 02:53.540 --> 02:54.920 but that's a true point. 02:55.020 --> 02:57.160 There is a true separation in the sense that 02:57.160 --> 02:59.940 when we're dead and trespasses and sins, 03:00.180 --> 03:02.340 we're alienated from the life that is in God. 03:02.780 --> 03:04.760 And so we weren't really serving God. 03:05.120 --> 03:06.300 We had dead works. 03:06.440 --> 03:08.520 We weren't doing anything with God. 03:08.600 --> 03:09.800 We didn't have fellowship with God. 03:10.160 --> 03:11.700 People that say they have a relationship with God 03:11.700 --> 03:12.460 and they're not saved, 03:12.740 --> 03:14.620 unfortunately they're deceived and they don't realize 03:14.620 --> 03:16.380 they don't actually have a relationship with God. 03:16.380 --> 03:20.960 And so the point is, hey, now that you have been reconciled, 03:21.080 --> 03:24.840 then be reconciled and actually join with God 03:24.840 --> 03:27.460 and draw near to God and come close with God 03:27.460 --> 03:31.080 and act as someone who's been reconciled with God. 03:31.460 --> 03:33.600 Now you have this opportunity to have that relationship. 03:34.300 --> 03:35.200 You know, you could think of, 03:35.840 --> 03:39.000 and this isn't necessarily the right example, 03:39.120 --> 03:41.160 but it illustrates the point is when David 03:41.620 --> 03:43.440 kind of refusing to see Absalom. 03:44.120 --> 03:46.260 And so there's kind of this separation. 03:46.940 --> 03:50.220 But if hypothetically, David said, hey, I will see Absalom. 03:50.560 --> 03:53.060 So it's possible, but then he chooses not to. 03:53.480 --> 03:55.560 Well, then you can see, hey, you've been reconciled, 03:55.560 --> 03:57.520 so then go ahead and be reconciled to your father. 03:57.820 --> 04:00.220 In the same sense that, hey, we've been reconciled, 04:00.440 --> 04:02.180 we can now have a relationship with God. 04:02.580 --> 04:04.240 We can now draw near to God. 04:04.460 --> 04:07.500 So then we need to exercise that opportunity 04:08.110 --> 04:10.220 that's presented to us to be reconciled. 04:10.520 --> 04:12.360 So there's a difference between the state 04:12.360 --> 04:15.120 of, hey, having the identity of freed 04:15.640 --> 04:17.200 and then acting as if you're freed 04:17.200 --> 04:18.760 and taking opportunity of being freed 04:18.760 --> 04:21.400 in the same way that you've been reconciled, 04:21.400 --> 04:23.500 but then that doesn't mean that you're now 04:23.500 --> 04:25.580 in perfect fellowship with God 04:25.960 --> 04:28.080 and that you've reconciled all aspects 04:28.080 --> 04:29.000 of your life with God. 04:29.260 --> 04:32.200 And so he's trying to tell them to be reconciled. 04:32.560 --> 04:34.160 Now again, this is important as we're gonna get into 04:34.160 --> 04:35.740 chapter six and another point, 04:35.800 --> 04:38.320 but I just really want us to kind of grasp 04:38.320 --> 04:40.380 the thought that's being communicated here. 04:40.380 --> 04:43.220 When he's saying to them, hey, be reconciled. 04:43.460 --> 04:46.060 So you've been reconciled, so then be reconciled, right? 04:46.600 --> 04:48.540 As ambassadors for Christ, verse 21, 04:48.760 --> 04:50.360 for he hath made him to be sinned for us, 04:50.800 --> 04:52.800 who knew no sin, that we might be made 04:52.800 --> 04:53.880 the righteousness of God in him. 04:54.320 --> 04:56.380 One of the aspects of salvation now 04:57.000 --> 04:58.900 is that we would then live better, 04:59.380 --> 05:01.560 that we would then walk in newness of life, 05:01.900 --> 05:03.980 that we would be ambassadors for Christ, 05:04.240 --> 05:08.020 that we would exemplify the righteousness of God, 05:08.020 --> 05:10.840 that we would exemplify the attributes 05:10.840 --> 05:13.780 of the Holy Spirit, the peace and the joy and the love 05:13.780 --> 05:15.660 and that we would love the brethren 05:15.660 --> 05:18.020 and that we would go out and we would love the lost 05:18.020 --> 05:19.560 and that we would be good examples 05:20.190 --> 05:22.060 of Christ in this world. 05:22.560 --> 05:26.100 And so we want to exemplify the righteousness of God. 05:26.500 --> 05:28.620 We don't want to be a bare minimum Christian. 05:29.100 --> 05:31.600 We don't want to be someone that's getting in 05:32.170 --> 05:34.720 to the kingdom and has no reward, 05:35.220 --> 05:37.360 has nothing that we've ever done for God. 05:37.360 --> 05:41.040 In chapter five, it's really motivating us through reward 05:41.040 --> 05:43.620 and the fact that we will one day stand before God 05:43.620 --> 05:45.360 and our works will be judged, 05:45.600 --> 05:49.300 whether we've been laying up wood, hay and stubble 05:49.300 --> 05:51.620 or we've been laying up gold, silver and precious stone. 05:52.320 --> 05:55.180 And not only this, but we are the ambassadors of Christ 05:55.560 --> 05:58.580 and we are to have a reconciliation with God now. 05:58.820 --> 06:00.300 We'll be eventually in heaven. 06:01.040 --> 06:02.200 We'll eventually be in heaven 06:02.200 --> 06:04.540 and we'll eventually have a unique relationship 06:04.540 --> 06:05.740 with God than we do now. 06:05.740 --> 06:07.460 Our faith will become sight. 06:07.960 --> 06:09.380 But before you get to heaven, 06:09.480 --> 06:11.660 you can still have a relationship with God now. 06:12.240 --> 06:15.080 And so he's saying, hey, have a relationship with God now. 06:15.680 --> 06:17.140 Be reconciled now. 06:17.840 --> 06:18.780 Do it now. 06:19.060 --> 06:21.380 This is the time to be reconciled. 06:21.420 --> 06:23.240 This is the time to draw near unto God 06:23.240 --> 06:25.280 and to be the righteousness of God. 06:25.780 --> 06:27.340 Crisis freed us from sin. 06:27.460 --> 06:28.980 We're no longer servants of sin. 06:29.520 --> 06:31.200 There's a lot of language you see in Romans 06:31.750 --> 06:33.720 that it'll talk about in chapters number six 06:33.720 --> 06:34.940 and seven and eight. 06:35.320 --> 06:37.720 You're really trying to drive home the point that, 06:38.060 --> 06:39.560 hey, we should walk in the new man 06:39.560 --> 06:41.360 and we should not fulfill the lust of the flesh 06:41.360 --> 06:42.940 and we've been freed from sin. 06:43.300 --> 06:44.400 And because we've been freed, 06:44.520 --> 06:45.720 now we need to act freed 06:46.250 --> 06:49.540 and we need to serve God and not serve mammon, 06:49.860 --> 06:52.200 not serve ourselves, not serve carnality. 06:52.600 --> 06:54.540 And we need to be good ambassadors. 06:54.740 --> 06:56.240 We're representatives of Christ. 06:56.740 --> 07:00.160 So it's a shame if every Christian 07:00.160 --> 07:01.460 was a bare minimum Christian, 07:02.060 --> 07:03.020 because then they would say, 07:03.100 --> 07:05.740 oh, well, what's the point of being saved? 07:05.980 --> 07:07.360 Everyone acts the exact same. 07:08.160 --> 07:08.680 But you know what? 07:08.740 --> 07:10.760 That's an embarrassment to the cause of Christ 07:10.760 --> 07:14.000 if those who are saved don't act different, 07:14.200 --> 07:17.080 if they don't actually reconcile themselves with God, 07:17.280 --> 07:19.640 if they don't actually walk in newness of life, 07:19.800 --> 07:22.300 if they don't actually walk in the righteousness of God, 07:22.560 --> 07:25.220 that's a shame and embarrassment to the cause of Christ 07:25.220 --> 07:28.340 and we as ambassadors should behave ourselves 07:28.340 --> 07:30.180 as good ambassadors for Christ. 07:30.580 --> 07:32.100 Just like if you were nominated 07:32.100 --> 07:33.820 to be an ambassador for Texas 07:34.420 --> 07:36.300 and they're like, oh, you know, 07:36.420 --> 07:38.180 hey, this is great, make me a Texas meal. 07:38.460 --> 07:39.260 And they're like, all right, 07:39.340 --> 07:41.220 here's chili with beans in it. 07:42.360 --> 07:44.220 It's like, no, be reconciled 07:44.220 --> 07:46.440 and make a legitimate Texas chili. 07:47.160 --> 07:49.240 Or hey, it's like, hey, make me a meal 07:49.740 --> 07:51.800 and they just make you an Italian dish. 07:52.520 --> 07:53.860 And it's just like, what, this is, 07:53.920 --> 07:54.960 I thought you were from Texas. 07:55.760 --> 07:56.840 You know, you would kind of think 07:56.840 --> 07:57.800 that you would have adopted, 07:58.380 --> 07:59.940 you know, if you're an ambassador for Texas, 08:00.160 --> 08:01.300 you would think you would kind of embody 08:01.300 --> 08:02.400 something from Texas. 08:02.900 --> 08:05.320 You would actually, you may wear the cowboy hat, 08:05.620 --> 08:07.200 have some cowboy boots on, 08:07.720 --> 08:09.420 that you'd be a little rough, you'd be a little tough, 08:09.620 --> 08:10.700 you'd have the chili right, 08:10.900 --> 08:12.100 you know, you'd have something right. 08:12.660 --> 08:14.500 You wouldn't be afraid of guns or something. 08:14.960 --> 08:17.120 You know, you would embody Texas. 08:17.260 --> 08:18.160 And you know, it's a shame, 08:18.300 --> 08:19.500 it's like people come and visit Texas 08:19.500 --> 08:20.740 and you know what they see? 08:21.160 --> 08:23.360 Muslims, they see Hindus. 08:23.940 --> 08:25.660 You know, they see Hindu statues. 08:26.200 --> 08:30.620 They were gonna put like all these foot washing stations, 08:30.800 --> 08:33.060 like $300,000 worth of foot washing stations 08:33.060 --> 08:34.380 in the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. 08:35.100 --> 08:37.060 It's like, what does that have to do with Texas? 08:38.020 --> 08:39.260 You know, it's like, it used to be, 08:39.280 --> 08:40.220 you don't mess with Texas 08:40.220 --> 08:41.960 and now you walk all over Texas. 08:42.120 --> 08:42.920 And you know, it's embarrassing. 08:43.560 --> 08:45.640 It's embarrassing when you have a reputation, 08:46.220 --> 08:48.460 when you have a specific aspect of culture 08:48.460 --> 08:49.720 that's just not being embodied. 08:50.060 --> 08:52.040 In the same way that it's like, hey, you're a Christian 08:52.460 --> 08:54.160 and yet you don't follow the Bible, 08:54.160 --> 08:55.480 you don't believe the Bible, 08:55.740 --> 08:57.200 you're not walking in the midst of life, 08:57.540 --> 08:58.720 you don't talk like Jesus, 08:59.140 --> 09:00.580 you don't reference the Bible, 09:00.800 --> 09:02.760 then it just kind of seems like a mismatch. 09:03.560 --> 09:06.060 And so we as Christians should be good ambassadors of Christ. 09:06.560 --> 09:07.460 He says in verse one, 09:07.620 --> 09:09.420 we then ask workers together with him, 09:09.960 --> 09:12.640 beseech you also that you receive 09:12.640 --> 09:13.840 not the grace of God in vain. 09:14.460 --> 09:16.880 He's saying in coordination to what we just said 09:16.880 --> 09:17.940 about being an ambassador of Christ, 09:18.500 --> 09:20.060 we are the workers with God. 09:20.180 --> 09:21.400 We're the ones that are gonna do the work. 09:21.860 --> 09:23.700 Jesus isn't gonna come down from heaven 09:23.700 --> 09:24.660 and do the work for us. 09:25.400 --> 09:26.680 Jesus isn't gonna come down 09:26.680 --> 09:28.620 and Jesus isn't gonna force you to do the work. 09:29.100 --> 09:31.280 You know, we have free will, we have autonomy. 09:31.880 --> 09:34.300 The spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophets. 09:34.780 --> 09:36.060 You are in control. 09:36.540 --> 09:38.500 And so therefore if the work of Christ 09:38.500 --> 09:39.400 is gonna be accomplished, 09:40.000 --> 09:41.460 it's accomplished through us. 09:41.720 --> 09:44.840 Through us allowing obviously the Holy Spirit 09:44.840 --> 09:47.260 allowing God to work through us and with us. 09:47.520 --> 09:48.080 But here's the thing, 09:48.160 --> 09:50.040 we have to be a willing participant as well. 09:50.520 --> 09:53.220 And we should not receive the grace of God in vain. 09:53.220 --> 09:54.360 What would that mean? 09:54.760 --> 09:56.380 Meaning it was kind of meaningless 09:57.000 --> 09:59.640 that we were saved and we didn't do anything with it. 10:00.260 --> 10:01.860 Hey, you've been reconciled. 10:01.960 --> 10:03.380 You've been made an ambassador 10:03.960 --> 10:06.000 and then you didn't really do anything with it. 10:06.180 --> 10:07.600 Well, then it's kind of meaningless. 10:07.940 --> 10:08.900 It's kind of in vain. 10:09.340 --> 10:10.600 It didn't accomplish anything. 10:10.980 --> 10:12.140 And we shouldn't be ones 10:12.140 --> 10:13.900 who've received the grace of God in vain. 10:14.240 --> 10:16.460 Because he could have just took it straight to heaven. 10:16.920 --> 10:18.000 But he left you here 10:18.000 --> 10:20.380 not so that you could selfishly live 10:20.380 --> 10:22.120 the remaining days of your life, 10:22.120 --> 10:23.360 pleasuring yourself, 10:23.720 --> 10:25.280 but rather serving God. 10:25.640 --> 10:27.740 Rather serving the Lord 10:27.740 --> 10:30.780 and not having a vain conversation, a vain lifestyle. 10:31.500 --> 10:32.940 You know, the Bible talks about the widow 10:33.430 --> 10:35.520 that she's dead while she lives in pleasure. 10:36.060 --> 10:38.280 Okay, because that's not the point. 10:38.380 --> 10:39.620 The point of us being a Christian 10:39.620 --> 10:41.320 is not to serve ourselves. 10:41.920 --> 10:43.360 It's not to live for ourselves. 10:44.040 --> 10:45.520 It is to work with Christ. 10:45.760 --> 10:46.900 It is to serve God. 10:47.400 --> 10:48.660 Oh man, these smaller churches, 10:48.800 --> 10:49.820 they always try to put me to work. 10:50.060 --> 10:50.240 Good. 10:52.120 --> 10:52.800 You're supposed to, you know, 10:52.840 --> 10:54.580 you don't go to church to be entertained. 10:54.840 --> 10:56.860 You go to church to be prepared to go work, 10:57.660 --> 10:59.320 to be motivated to go work. 11:02.240 --> 11:04.240 Oh, they make me feel bad that I'm not doing anything. 11:04.460 --> 11:04.680 Good. 11:05.640 --> 11:06.660 Because we don't want you 11:06.660 --> 11:08.120 to receive the grace of God in vain. 11:08.840 --> 11:09.820 Now, of course, 11:10.240 --> 11:12.320 why is this important to go to church 11:12.320 --> 11:13.680 to be motivated to work? 11:13.880 --> 11:16.920 Because since we realize that salvation is not by works, 11:17.160 --> 11:18.500 we don't have motivation 11:18.940 --> 11:20.360 to do works to get to heaven. 11:20.940 --> 11:22.840 So then we go to church to be reminded of, 11:22.880 --> 11:25.540 hey, the reason why is so that you're a good ambassador. 11:25.740 --> 11:26.820 So you don't make things look bad 11:26.820 --> 11:28.080 because you're gonna reap what you sow. 11:28.600 --> 11:29.100 There's all these different, 11:29.300 --> 11:30.580 because you wanna be rewarded 11:30.580 --> 11:33.440 because you don't want Christ to be ashamed of you 11:33.440 --> 11:35.120 at the judgment seat of Christ. 11:35.380 --> 11:37.640 You know, there's all these different reasons why we work, 11:37.920 --> 11:39.100 but at the end of the day, 11:39.240 --> 11:40.680 you know, it's not to go to heaven, 11:41.580 --> 11:43.140 but that doesn't mean there's no motivation. 11:43.600 --> 11:44.980 That doesn't mean there isn't any consequence. 11:45.480 --> 11:46.500 And of course, you know, 11:46.700 --> 11:48.600 why do you want Christianity to just look bad? 11:49.860 --> 11:52.900 Don't be someone that received the grace of God in vain 11:52.900 --> 11:54.260 where you didn't accomplish anything. 11:54.740 --> 11:56.300 It was wasted on you. 11:56.820 --> 11:58.880 You wanna be someone that actually accomplishes 11:58.880 --> 12:00.480 something for Christ. 12:01.000 --> 12:01.840 He says in verse two, 12:02.000 --> 12:02.280 for he said, 12:02.500 --> 12:03.720 I've heard thee in a time accepted 12:03.720 --> 12:04.720 in the day of salvation. 12:04.840 --> 12:05.580 Have I suckered thee? 12:06.220 --> 12:07.520 Behold, now is the accepted time. 12:07.620 --> 12:10.100 Behold, now is the day of salvation. 12:10.240 --> 12:11.700 Now this is a parenthetical statement 12:12.580 --> 12:13.600 that's being alluded to. 12:13.920 --> 12:15.660 It's actually referenced in the book of Isaiah. 12:15.880 --> 12:16.620 You can keep your finger here. 12:16.700 --> 12:17.840 Go to Isaiah chapter 49 12:17.840 --> 12:18.960 if you wanna look at it real quick. 12:19.280 --> 12:22.260 But this is actually a quote from the Old Testament. 12:23.340 --> 12:24.700 Isaiah chapter 49. 12:26.500 --> 12:28.100 And look at verse number eight. 12:28.340 --> 12:28.800 The Bible says, 12:28.920 --> 12:29.840 Thus sayeth the Lord, 12:30.620 --> 12:32.060 In an acceptable time, 12:32.640 --> 12:33.340 have I heard thee? 12:33.860 --> 12:35.540 And in the day of salvation, 12:35.740 --> 12:36.640 have I helped thee? 12:37.120 --> 12:38.320 And I will preserve thee 12:38.320 --> 12:40.780 and give thee for a covenant of the people 12:40.780 --> 12:41.980 to establish the earth, 12:42.360 --> 12:44.580 to cause, to inherit the desolate heritages, 12:45.140 --> 12:46.500 that thou mayest say to the prisoners, 12:46.500 --> 12:48.640 go forth to them that are in darkness, 12:49.180 --> 12:49.960 show yourselves, 12:50.560 --> 12:52.360 they shall feed in the ways 12:52.360 --> 12:54.860 and their pastures shall be in all high places. 12:55.060 --> 12:57.000 Now, one thing that kinda helps you 12:57.000 --> 12:58.380 when you find some of these quotes 12:58.380 --> 13:00.340 is notice that in verse eight, 13:00.740 --> 13:02.420 it says I have helped thee. 13:03.060 --> 13:04.400 In the New Testament quotation, 13:04.760 --> 13:05.980 it says I have suckered thee. 13:06.700 --> 13:08.980 The word sucker there means to help. 13:09.320 --> 13:10.260 So that's what it means. 13:10.400 --> 13:11.440 It's a parallel word. 13:11.640 --> 13:13.280 It's a synonymous word, okay? 13:13.800 --> 13:15.060 So it means the same thing. 13:15.680 --> 13:17.340 And it's saying God helped them 13:18.020 --> 13:20.880 and what was it that they were gonna do then 13:20.880 --> 13:22.540 that thou mayest say? 13:22.940 --> 13:24.360 So notice God helped them 13:24.360 --> 13:26.380 so that they could then say something. 13:27.140 --> 13:30.780 So the help was so that they could then preach something. 13:31.020 --> 13:32.480 And what is it that they're preaching? 13:32.800 --> 13:33.840 They're preaching to prisoners 13:34.660 --> 13:35.920 and what are they teaching the prisoners? 13:36.240 --> 13:36.840 Go forth. 13:37.180 --> 13:40.360 So they're liberating their freeing 13:40.360 --> 13:41.980 other people that were prisoners. 13:42.440 --> 13:44.260 And of course, what is the illusion here? 13:44.260 --> 13:47.320 The illusion here is to salvation itself 13:47.320 --> 13:50.000 and the fact that, hey, you're a captive of sin, 13:50.480 --> 13:51.700 you're a captive of the devil 13:52.120 --> 13:54.020 and when you preach the gospel to people, 13:54.480 --> 13:56.880 you are giving them the chance to be freed from that 13:56.880 --> 13:58.540 and to have liberty. 13:58.880 --> 14:00.680 And that's the whole point of being an ambassador of Christ 14:00.680 --> 14:02.620 is to preach the gospel and to get people saved. 14:03.600 --> 14:05.600 And of course, to draw people out of darkness 14:05.600 --> 14:06.420 as it says here. 14:06.760 --> 14:09.180 Notice that it said to them that are in darkness. 14:09.640 --> 14:11.060 Of course, we call them to light. 14:11.260 --> 14:13.060 Those that are not saved are in the darkness 14:13.560 --> 14:15.240 and of course we called them to light. 14:15.460 --> 14:17.100 This draws back the imagery 14:17.100 --> 14:19.180 in 2 Corinthians chapter four. 14:19.840 --> 14:21.660 If you look at chapter four again 14:22.900 --> 14:24.500 and look at verse number three, 14:24.760 --> 14:26.220 2 Corinthians chapter four, verse three, 14:26.360 --> 14:27.620 but if our gospel be hid, 14:28.280 --> 14:29.900 it is hid to them that are lost 14:29.900 --> 14:31.940 and in the God of the sort of blinded, 14:31.980 --> 14:33.560 the minds of them, which believe not, 14:34.340 --> 14:36.720 lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, 14:36.900 --> 14:39.580 who is the image of God, should shine under them. 14:39.680 --> 14:41.000 For we preach not ourselves, 14:41.140 --> 14:42.560 but Christ Jesus the Lord 14:42.560 --> 14:46.200 and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. 14:46.520 --> 14:48.560 For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness 14:48.560 --> 14:50.900 hath shined in our hearts to give the light 14:50.900 --> 14:52.600 of the knowledge of the glory of God 14:52.600 --> 14:53.920 in the face of Jesus Christ. 14:54.280 --> 14:56.360 So all these things are illustrating the same point 14:56.740 --> 14:58.880 that God helped us, why? 14:59.360 --> 15:01.580 So that we could then preach to others 15:01.580 --> 15:03.780 so that we could say to others that are in darkness, 15:04.100 --> 15:07.000 hey, go forth and be free and get out of the darkness. 15:07.300 --> 15:08.460 And we're telling to the prisoners 15:08.460 --> 15:11.260 to no longer be prisoners and be captives of sin 15:11.260 --> 15:13.400 that they themselves can also be freed 15:13.400 --> 15:15.240 and it's through the preaching of the gospel. 15:15.400 --> 15:16.300 And if our gospel be hid, 15:16.580 --> 15:18.640 it's hid to them that are lost, that are in the darkness. 15:18.900 --> 15:20.400 And we don't wanna be those that have received 15:20.400 --> 15:21.660 the grace of God in vain 15:21.660 --> 15:23.700 where we don't warn others in darkness, 15:23.920 --> 15:25.620 that we don't liberate other prisoners 15:25.620 --> 15:27.360 that have been taken captive, 15:27.580 --> 15:29.560 but rather we save as well. 15:29.980 --> 15:32.980 Now, some important points about verse number two 15:32.980 --> 15:34.960 is number one, notice that salvation, 15:35.280 --> 15:37.300 according to the Bible, happens in a day. 15:38.720 --> 15:40.940 It doesn't say this is the week of salvation. 15:41.560 --> 15:43.560 This is the month of salvation. 15:44.160 --> 15:47.160 This is the lifestyle or lifetime of salvation. 15:47.680 --> 15:51.000 It's a day, meaning that salvation happens in a day. 15:51.160 --> 15:52.580 Like there's a day that you get saved. 15:53.440 --> 15:54.760 And of course we all believe that. 15:55.060 --> 15:57.900 And notice there's a time in which you get saved. 15:58.040 --> 16:00.940 It says now, so that sounds immediate. 16:01.480 --> 16:02.900 So when does someone get saved? 16:03.340 --> 16:06.320 A certain day at a specific moment, right away. 16:06.770 --> 16:09.000 And of course, the Bible teaches that there's no delay. 16:09.620 --> 16:13.360 You know, when someone asks me or when someone responds to me 16:13.790 --> 16:15.820 when I'm soul winning, like, hey, I'll pray later. 16:15.940 --> 16:16.420 I wanna do this later. 16:16.540 --> 16:17.740 It's like, no, the Bible says now. 16:19.040 --> 16:20.820 You know, modern versions will say today 16:20.820 --> 16:21.640 is the day of salvation. 16:21.740 --> 16:24.000 And I'm not necessarily saying that's a bad phrase, 16:24.040 --> 16:25.820 but it's not accurate because this says now. 16:26.520 --> 16:28.940 It doesn't even say like later today or today. 16:29.120 --> 16:32.500 It's like, hey, now, now is the except the time. 16:33.100 --> 16:34.760 Now is the day of salvation. 16:35.130 --> 16:36.700 You need to respond now. 16:37.360 --> 16:40.020 You need to have an immediate response to the gospel 16:40.020 --> 16:41.800 and you need to get saved right now. 16:42.560 --> 16:47.380 Now, of course, I do believe that the illusion here 16:47.970 --> 16:51.560 of verse two is clearly to just being saved, right? 16:51.860 --> 16:53.240 And we can make that illusion. 16:53.640 --> 16:56.500 But I also think that we have to understand 16:56.500 --> 16:58.320 that the broader context 16:58.320 --> 16:59.760 and what we're really talking about here 16:59.760 --> 17:02.460 isn't about us being saved, okay? 17:03.070 --> 17:07.160 In the sense of the identity and us going to heaven. 17:07.540 --> 17:10.740 It's talking about what we mentioned earlier 17:11.230 --> 17:12.100 of the reconciliation. 17:12.760 --> 17:14.460 We were already reconciled, 17:14.560 --> 17:16.680 but then the Bible is telling us to be reconciled. 17:17.180 --> 17:20.020 And I use this example of, hey, someone that was freed, 17:20.540 --> 17:22.640 they need to then act freed, okay? 17:23.000 --> 17:25.520 So I believe it's the same context that we have here 17:25.520 --> 17:28.340 in this idea of salvation that he's saying, 17:28.740 --> 17:31.520 hey, you're saved, but you need to act saved. 17:31.840 --> 17:33.100 You need to be saved. 17:33.380 --> 17:35.240 And again, what is it that we're saved from? 17:36.100 --> 17:38.520 We're saved from sin, okay? 17:38.920 --> 17:40.480 Sin is what takes us to hell. 17:40.980 --> 17:42.960 And we've been saved from sin. 17:43.060 --> 17:44.540 We've been saved from our iniquities. 17:45.060 --> 17:48.180 So here's the thing, if I've been saved from my iniquities, 17:48.480 --> 17:49.620 what does that mean? 17:49.740 --> 17:52.300 Well, again, if we go back to Romans chapter number six 17:52.300 --> 17:55.000 and seven and eight, the Bible makes it clear 17:55.000 --> 17:57.080 that we're no longer a servant to sin. 17:57.500 --> 17:59.600 We don't have to serve sin. 17:59.600 --> 18:02.040 We've been saved from sin, 18:02.220 --> 18:04.340 meaning we can act different. 18:04.740 --> 18:06.880 We don't have to be in bondage to sin. 18:07.200 --> 18:08.280 We can be saved. 18:08.760 --> 18:10.680 And so you're saying, instead of just continuing 18:10.680 --> 18:13.380 to be in bondage to sin, you need to be saved. 18:14.120 --> 18:14.760 And you know what? 18:14.840 --> 18:15.800 You need to do it right now. 18:16.300 --> 18:17.780 Meaning you need to act saved 18:17.780 --> 18:19.760 and you need to get away from that bondage 18:19.760 --> 18:21.060 and you need to get away from that sin. 18:21.520 --> 18:24.100 Now again, what is the sin that we're talking about? 18:24.280 --> 18:25.980 There's a couple sins that are highlighted 18:26.530 --> 18:28.540 in this chapter that he's trying 18:28.540 --> 18:30.020 to get them saved from right now. 18:30.580 --> 18:32.220 And one of them is idolatry specifically. 18:32.600 --> 18:34.300 Look at verse number 14. 18:36.880 --> 18:39.160 Let's just skip to verse 16 for sake of argument. 18:39.660 --> 18:41.020 And what agreement at the temple of God 18:41.020 --> 18:43.640 with idols for year the temple of living God 18:43.640 --> 18:45.060 has God has said, I will dwell on them 18:45.060 --> 18:46.980 and walk in them and I will be their God 18:46.980 --> 18:47.820 and they shall be my people. 18:48.260 --> 18:49.600 So what does he want them to do? 18:49.760 --> 18:51.440 Well, I know you're saved and you're going to heaven 18:51.440 --> 18:52.580 but you know what you need to do? 18:52.720 --> 18:53.800 You also need to save yourself 18:53.800 --> 18:54.960 from idolatry right now. 18:55.720 --> 18:57.520 You need to be saved right now 18:57.520 --> 18:59.440 and get out of that idolatry. 18:59.960 --> 19:01.580 And again, he's going to elaborate on this 19:01.580 --> 19:02.640 as we get further in the chapter 19:02.980 --> 19:04.080 but I'm just trying to explain 19:04.080 --> 19:05.200 why he's using this language 19:05.200 --> 19:06.980 is because now is the day of salvation. 19:07.500 --> 19:09.200 You got saved from idolatry. 19:09.580 --> 19:10.320 So you know what you need to do? 19:10.760 --> 19:12.340 Walk away from the idolatry. 19:12.940 --> 19:14.620 It's like you got someone saved at the door 19:14.620 --> 19:16.860 that's a Catholic and they're wearing the crucifix 19:17.220 --> 19:18.760 and it's like, hey, I know you're saved 19:18.760 --> 19:19.460 but you know what? 19:19.560 --> 19:21.420 You need to get saved from this crucifix 19:21.420 --> 19:22.520 you have and throw it in the trash. 19:23.220 --> 19:24.000 Hey, you need to get saved 19:24.000 --> 19:25.400 from this Mary stat that you have 19:25.400 --> 19:26.400 and throw it in the trash. 19:26.400 --> 19:27.620 Hey, you need to get saved 19:27.620 --> 19:29.180 from this Catholic church you've been going to 19:29.180 --> 19:31.500 and come with me to a Baptist church. 19:31.880 --> 19:33.840 Okay, and it says when right now? 19:34.380 --> 19:34.820 Why? 19:35.100 --> 19:37.120 Because hey, you want to be a good ambassador 19:37.120 --> 19:39.800 for Christ, you want to be reconciled to God 19:39.800 --> 19:42.140 and look, you're not going to be reconciled to God 19:42.140 --> 19:44.720 when you're still involving yourself in idolatry. 19:44.880 --> 19:47.760 When you're still hanging out in the temple of idols. 19:47.920 --> 19:50.000 When you're still part of this pagan culture 19:50.000 --> 19:52.080 you need to save yourself from that. 19:52.300 --> 19:53.560 You need to get away from that. 19:53.560 --> 19:56.440 You need to act like a saved Christian 19:56.980 --> 19:58.760 and then be reconciled to God. 19:58.880 --> 20:00.160 Be freed from that. 20:00.380 --> 20:01.600 And that's the whole point 20:01.600 --> 20:03.220 that he's really emphasizing and driving here. 20:03.540 --> 20:06.840 Okay, I'm not saying that you can't take verse two 20:06.840 --> 20:09.560 and make spiritual illusions. 20:10.000 --> 20:11.480 I'm not saying that there can't be double meanings. 20:11.660 --> 20:13.780 I'm not saying that he isn't using this in that way 20:13.780 --> 20:16.660 but the real context is he's trying to get them 20:16.660 --> 20:18.580 to understand that they need to be saved 20:19.540 --> 20:21.640 because it says behold now is the accept the time 20:21.640 --> 20:22.980 behold now is the day of salvation. 20:23.680 --> 20:25.560 Why is he telling them to save people that? 20:26.420 --> 20:28.400 He's saying right now is the time 20:28.400 --> 20:29.740 to walk away from idolatry. 20:30.220 --> 20:32.460 Right now is the time to be saved 20:33.000 --> 20:35.080 from all this wicked stuff, okay? 20:35.660 --> 20:37.380 And God already saved us, we get it. 20:37.660 --> 20:39.420 God's already reconciled us, we get it. 20:39.700 --> 20:40.180 But you know what? 20:40.260 --> 20:41.940 You need to also walk away from idolatry. 20:42.000 --> 20:43.820 And again, that's the main call of this chapter. 20:44.180 --> 20:45.440 The whole point of this chapter 20:45.440 --> 20:47.320 is to separate ourselves under God, 20:47.540 --> 20:48.760 to be reconciled under God, 20:48.980 --> 20:50.300 to be good ambassadors under God 20:50.300 --> 20:52.320 and to act like good Christians. 20:52.860 --> 20:55.120 He says also in this passage, 20:55.700 --> 20:56.860 it says in verse 14, 20:57.000 --> 20:59.680 be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. 21:00.220 --> 21:03.700 So you wanna not have fellowship with unbelievers. 21:04.500 --> 21:06.860 These are sins that they are guilty of. 21:07.180 --> 21:09.220 The church at Corinth is clearly 21:09.900 --> 21:11.720 dealing and struggling with idolatry. 21:12.380 --> 21:13.980 It's all over the pages. 21:14.600 --> 21:15.760 It's a constant issue. 21:16.160 --> 21:17.940 And 1 Corinthians chapter number five, 21:18.060 --> 21:19.520 it's brought up as a sin. 21:19.520 --> 21:21.640 In 1 Corinthians chapter, I believe 10, 21:21.940 --> 21:23.060 it's like nine and 10, 21:23.480 --> 21:25.460 he's happened to deal with the fact 21:25.460 --> 21:27.880 that this church is misunderstanding that, 21:28.240 --> 21:29.840 hey, that which they're sacrificing in idols. 21:30.100 --> 21:31.680 I know it's just a rock, 21:32.120 --> 21:32.800 but you know what? 21:32.920 --> 21:34.220 They're sacrificing unto devils. 21:34.400 --> 21:36.300 And I would not that you should have fellowship with devils. 21:36.520 --> 21:38.580 And he's trying to help them understand 21:38.580 --> 21:41.700 the spiritual implications of involving yourself 21:41.700 --> 21:44.180 with demonic spirits, with devils, 21:44.280 --> 21:45.480 with pagan idolatry. 21:46.060 --> 21:47.260 You know, the Roman Catholic Church 21:47.260 --> 21:50.540 is part satanic because of the idolatry. 21:51.400 --> 21:55.220 You know, you can't mix Christ with the demonic. 21:55.920 --> 21:58.360 And look, the statues are demonic according to the Bible. 21:58.900 --> 21:59.960 The idolatry is demonic. 22:00.520 --> 22:02.640 And look, even if someone was saved, 22:03.280 --> 22:06.880 which is a statistical rarity in the Catholic Church, 22:07.580 --> 22:09.860 that they're not gonna be fruitful 22:10.360 --> 22:11.600 being a part of that fellowship. 22:12.180 --> 22:13.020 They're not gonna be fruitful. 22:13.140 --> 22:14.700 If you got saved and then you decide 22:14.700 --> 22:16.120 to just join the Catholic Church somehow, 22:16.120 --> 22:16.800 I don't know how, 22:17.160 --> 22:18.800 but just say, I don't know, 22:18.820 --> 22:21.080 you single guys, you find a really cute 22:21.080 --> 22:22.760 Catholic girl or something, I don't know. 22:23.140 --> 22:25.820 You just follow her into that den of iniquity or whatever. 22:26.300 --> 22:28.440 You're gonna not be very fruitful as a Christian. 22:29.520 --> 22:30.540 And someone can say, hey, 22:30.620 --> 22:32.220 you need to save yourself from that girl. 22:32.780 --> 22:35.200 You need to save yourself from that false religion. 22:35.460 --> 22:37.280 You need to save yourself from that idolatry. 22:37.520 --> 22:38.900 He's not saying go to heaven. 22:39.280 --> 22:40.840 He's saying, hey, you need today. 22:41.200 --> 22:42.460 And he's like, when should I do that? 22:42.740 --> 22:42.900 Today. 22:43.920 --> 22:45.160 And in fact, right now. 22:45.940 --> 22:48.320 Now is the accepted time to get out of that. 22:48.600 --> 22:50.040 Now is the accepted time to quit. 22:50.440 --> 22:51.880 It's like, hey, you got someone saved to the door 22:51.880 --> 22:53.400 and they're like, hey, when should I switch churches? 22:53.760 --> 22:53.960 Now. 22:55.020 --> 22:56.940 Come with us right now to church. 22:57.360 --> 22:58.940 There's not like a delay, 22:59.500 --> 23:01.640 because the Bible talks about in acts and stuff. 23:02.260 --> 23:04.800 In times past, God winked at these things 23:04.800 --> 23:06.980 or God was maybe a little bit more gracious, 23:07.120 --> 23:09.240 but now he commanded all men everywhere to repent. 23:09.500 --> 23:10.160 Meaning like, hey, 23:10.540 --> 23:12.200 I'm not gonna tolerate that idolatry anymore. 23:12.620 --> 23:14.200 You need to get right with God right now. 23:14.200 --> 23:15.880 You need to get away from this. 23:16.480 --> 23:18.920 You even see what Naaman, I believe, 23:19.420 --> 23:20.740 isn't it Naaman, he gets saved. 23:20.860 --> 23:22.680 And then he's just like, hey, can I still like, 23:23.100 --> 23:25.340 when I go back, can I like kind of do this? 23:25.400 --> 23:27.120 I'm gonna bow down to this one pagan God. 23:27.480 --> 23:29.260 Please just say that it's okay now. 23:29.580 --> 23:32.760 It's just like idolatry is a big issue. 23:33.100 --> 23:33.380 Okay. 23:33.660 --> 23:35.040 And again, for us as Americans, 23:36.380 --> 23:37.780 especially if you're not Catholic 23:37.780 --> 23:38.940 or we're never raised Catholic, 23:39.280 --> 23:40.800 you may not necessarily realize 23:40.800 --> 23:43.600 how much idolatry plays a role in many people's lives. 23:44.040 --> 23:45.760 But for those that have been Catholic 23:45.760 --> 23:47.460 or maybe even other religions, 23:48.120 --> 23:50.980 idolatry is still a major component of this world 23:50.980 --> 23:52.220 and a false religion today. 23:52.700 --> 23:54.160 And for those who are saved, 23:54.280 --> 23:56.320 they need to save themselves from that idolatry. 23:56.660 --> 23:58.440 But even if you've never experienced idolatry, 23:58.520 --> 24:01.060 it just don't have best friends that are unsaved. 24:02.900 --> 24:04.780 You need to save yourself from bad friends. 24:05.320 --> 24:07.580 You need to save yourself from worldly influences 24:08.100 --> 24:10.460 and not have them be your closest buddies 24:10.460 --> 24:11.540 and your closest friends 24:12.100 --> 24:14.560 and be doing all the things with them 24:14.560 --> 24:16.500 because they're gonna drag you down. 24:17.060 --> 24:19.480 Evil communications corrupt good morals. 24:20.280 --> 24:21.540 And at the end of the day, 24:21.880 --> 24:23.580 evil communications corrupt good habits 24:23.580 --> 24:24.960 and good works and everything. 24:25.160 --> 24:26.700 I mean just everything that you could think of, 24:27.120 --> 24:29.700 good manners as the Bible literally says, 24:29.980 --> 24:31.780 but it's just like anything that you do 24:31.780 --> 24:33.620 can be corrupted by bad friends. 24:34.500 --> 24:37.080 And so therefore you need to be careful 24:37.080 --> 24:38.980 to not have these relationships. 24:38.980 --> 24:40.480 You need to save yourself from them. 24:41.040 --> 24:41.880 When, now. 24:42.340 --> 24:43.360 When, today. 24:44.160 --> 24:44.880 This is the day. 24:45.440 --> 24:47.980 God saved you so that you wouldn't be friends with them. 24:48.420 --> 24:50.680 God saved you so you wouldn't have to be 24:50.680 --> 24:52.060 in the pagan house of idolatry. 24:52.480 --> 24:54.320 God saved you so you wouldn't be Catholic, 24:54.660 --> 24:56.220 so stop being Catholic and be a Baptist. 24:56.860 --> 24:59.160 That's the whole point that he's trying to drive in here. 24:59.880 --> 25:01.620 And again, it's a parenthetical statement 25:02.160 --> 25:03.400 because he doesn't want you to receive 25:03.400 --> 25:04.360 the grace of God in vain. 25:04.600 --> 25:06.700 Someone who got saved and then stays 25:06.700 --> 25:07.940 with all their unbelieving friends 25:07.940 --> 25:09.800 and stays with all the idolatry. 25:10.120 --> 25:13.040 It's like, well, you're not really doing anything with this. 25:13.300 --> 25:15.220 You're not really being reconciled to God. 25:15.640 --> 25:17.360 You're staying with the wrong crowd. 25:17.660 --> 25:18.960 You're not really being freed. 25:19.560 --> 25:21.260 You're staying as a servant of sin. 25:21.820 --> 25:23.060 You're not really being, you know, 25:23.120 --> 25:24.540 you're not being saved from those sins. 25:25.080 --> 25:26.880 You're just continuing in those sins. 25:27.220 --> 25:30.360 And should we continue in sin that grace may abound? 25:30.760 --> 25:31.400 God forbid. 25:32.020 --> 25:34.220 Okay, now can you do that and still go to heaven? 25:34.520 --> 25:37.040 Yes, can you do that and have reconciliation 25:37.040 --> 25:38.940 with God, be a ambassador with God, 25:39.060 --> 25:40.860 be freed from your sin and being saved from your sin? 25:40.920 --> 25:41.060 No. 25:41.620 --> 25:44.920 And so there's a difference between your legal identity 25:45.520 --> 25:47.520 and your actions and behavior. 25:47.820 --> 25:48.340 Yeah, that's right. 25:48.940 --> 25:50.980 You can be freed and act like a slave. 25:52.520 --> 25:54.760 You can be reconciled and act like an enemy. 25:55.420 --> 25:59.320 You can be saved and still act like you are corrupted 25:59.320 --> 26:00.640 and adaptive of sin. 26:00.940 --> 26:02.340 And so he's trying to command them 26:02.340 --> 26:04.320 and instruct them and encourage them, 26:04.420 --> 26:06.020 hey, do this, why? 26:06.020 --> 26:07.920 Verse three, giving no offense in anything 26:07.920 --> 26:09.340 that the ministry be not blamed. 26:09.960 --> 26:12.940 Hey, why would I get saved from all this stuff? 26:13.300 --> 26:15.080 It's so that we're not blaming the ministry. 26:15.300 --> 26:17.020 So we don't make the ministry look bad. 26:17.240 --> 26:18.940 So it'll make Christianity look bad. 26:19.360 --> 26:21.420 Okay, you have to interpret verse two 26:21.420 --> 26:23.440 in the sandwich of everything else 26:23.440 --> 26:24.300 that's being communicated. 26:24.300 --> 26:26.360 And it's very clear what we're talking about, 26:26.440 --> 26:28.840 being reconciled, not receiving the grace of God in vain. 26:29.220 --> 26:31.500 Number three, not giving offense in anything 26:31.500 --> 26:32.960 that ministry be not blamed. 26:33.420 --> 26:35.800 Notice verse four, but in all things approving ourselves 26:36.420 --> 26:38.760 as the ministers of God and much patience 26:39.240 --> 26:41.540 and afflictions and necessities and distresses 26:41.540 --> 26:43.240 and stripes and imprisonments and tumults 26:43.240 --> 26:45.820 and labors and watchings and fastings. 26:46.660 --> 26:48.400 Now this is a long sentence, okay? 26:48.940 --> 26:50.020 It's like verse three. 26:50.500 --> 26:52.320 I think all the way to verse 10 is one sentence. 26:52.500 --> 26:54.800 So we'll kind of unpack it here in chunks, 26:54.880 --> 26:56.740 but he's saying, hey, I don't want the ministry 26:56.740 --> 26:57.380 to be blamed. 26:58.040 --> 27:00.360 We need to approve ourselves. 27:00.620 --> 27:01.960 Who are we approving ourselves to? 27:02.600 --> 27:04.560 To God as what? 27:04.720 --> 27:06.640 The ministers of God, meaning we're the servants of God. 27:07.140 --> 27:08.260 And as the servants of God, 27:08.340 --> 27:09.420 we're gonna go through difficulties. 27:09.900 --> 27:11.300 Okay, what are some of these difficulties? 27:11.600 --> 27:12.100 Well, there's a lot. 27:12.480 --> 27:13.560 We have to be patient sometimes. 27:14.080 --> 27:16.480 We have to go through afflictions, necessities, 27:16.920 --> 27:17.880 distresses, stripes. 27:18.560 --> 27:20.280 Of course stripes would be like literally 27:20.890 --> 27:22.440 getting beaten for the cause of Christ. 27:23.180 --> 27:26.020 He says imprisonment, tumults, labors, 27:27.060 --> 27:28.480 watchings, fastings, you know, 27:28.560 --> 27:29.540 times where you're not eating. 27:29.920 --> 27:33.420 And again, the apostle Paul experiences this to an extreme 27:33.420 --> 27:35.260 that most of us have never experienced 27:35.260 --> 27:36.260 and probably will never experience. 27:36.600 --> 27:37.860 But he's being shipwrecked. 27:38.160 --> 27:39.420 He's literally going without meals, 27:39.600 --> 27:41.020 skipping meals, being hunted down, 27:41.500 --> 27:43.280 having been beat with rods, 27:43.760 --> 27:46.660 having been stoned five times I believe, 27:47.140 --> 27:49.280 being shipwrecked a night and day in the deep. 27:49.520 --> 27:51.120 I mean, he's really going through it. 27:51.780 --> 27:55.200 And so when he's saying this, it's not hyperbole. 27:55.920 --> 27:57.340 It's not exaggerative. 27:57.400 --> 27:58.340 It's not bombastic. 27:58.340 --> 27:59.220 It's literal. 27:59.840 --> 28:00.900 And for those that are gonna be 28:00.900 --> 28:02.060 on the front lines of Christianity, 28:02.600 --> 28:05.240 I believe that you're gonna see these type of things 28:05.240 --> 28:07.100 being more literal. 28:07.940 --> 28:08.920 You know, if you're just a, 28:09.140 --> 28:11.260 I go to church on Easter and Christmas, 28:11.560 --> 28:14.000 you probably won't have to be shipwrecked 28:14.000 --> 28:15.060 a night and day in the deep. 28:15.560 --> 28:17.520 Okay, you probably won't be imprisoned 28:17.520 --> 28:18.460 for your Christianity. 28:19.040 --> 28:20.880 You probably won't go through some of these things. 28:21.200 --> 28:22.700 You know, if you go to the Liberal Fund Center, 28:22.900 --> 28:24.560 you probably won't have to experience this 28:24.560 --> 28:26.860 because you're already filled with heresy 28:26.860 --> 28:29.340 and you're basically accomplishing nothing anyways. 28:29.660 --> 28:30.560 So what's the point? 28:31.060 --> 28:32.620 Yeah, those that are on the front lines, 28:32.680 --> 28:33.960 actually getting a lot of people saved, 28:34.140 --> 28:35.340 they actually face opposition. 28:35.520 --> 28:36.400 They face persecution. 28:36.720 --> 28:37.600 They face difficulty. 28:38.140 --> 28:39.140 They have problems. 28:39.500 --> 28:40.420 They get evicted. 28:41.040 --> 28:41.940 They have protests. 28:42.800 --> 28:44.140 They have people bomb their church. 28:44.560 --> 28:45.780 They have people shut them down 28:45.780 --> 28:47.460 and cancel all their finances. 28:48.180 --> 28:50.200 And in fact, in places in this world, 28:50.240 --> 28:52.120 there are some Christians that are even being beaten, 28:52.560 --> 28:53.540 put in prison or killed. 28:54.300 --> 28:56.120 And of course that threat is real 28:56.120 --> 28:58.000 for those that are on the front lines. 28:58.520 --> 29:00.500 But you know, we're not supposed to, 29:01.760 --> 29:03.920 according to the Bible, live unto ourselves, 29:04.260 --> 29:07.020 but hey, even the Apostle Paul is putting his life 29:07.020 --> 29:09.420 on the line and he doesn't want to be the only one. 29:09.720 --> 29:11.540 He wants everybody else to join him 29:12.030 --> 29:14.940 and hey, to live his Christ and to die his gain, 29:15.600 --> 29:17.000 as the Apostle Paul would say. 29:17.440 --> 29:19.380 Now, of course, what should be our attitude 29:19.380 --> 29:20.580 while going through this? 29:20.820 --> 29:23.780 Verse six, by pureness, by knowledge, 29:23.780 --> 29:27.520 by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, 29:27.700 --> 29:30.200 by love unfamed, by the word of truth, 29:30.580 --> 29:32.820 by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness, 29:33.200 --> 29:35.780 on the right hand and on the left. 29:35.960 --> 29:38.140 So we go through this difficulty, 29:38.540 --> 29:39.980 but then what should we be like? 29:40.080 --> 29:41.300 Well, we should keep ourselves pure. 29:42.160 --> 29:43.840 We should be pure from idolatry, 29:43.960 --> 29:45.860 pure from fellowship with unbelievers, 29:46.060 --> 29:47.840 pure from the iniquities and sins 29:47.840 --> 29:51.420 that so easily doth compass and set us around about. 29:51.420 --> 29:53.940 And according, we should have longsuffering. 29:54.060 --> 29:57.000 We should tolerate people 29:57.480 --> 30:00.580 and we should allow people to do us wrong and harm 30:01.110 --> 30:02.920 and we should be patient with them. 30:03.440 --> 30:04.140 We should be kind. 30:04.380 --> 30:05.540 That should be our normal disposition 30:05.540 --> 30:06.920 is we should be kind to people. 30:07.380 --> 30:08.620 Should be nice people. 30:09.160 --> 30:11.060 And of course, you read about us online 30:11.060 --> 30:12.500 and you think, oh man, they're scary, 30:13.000 --> 30:13.920 but hopefully when you visit, 30:14.060 --> 30:15.320 you're like, wow, they're actually pretty nice, 30:15.440 --> 30:16.180 they're pretty kind. 30:16.560 --> 30:20.620 And of course, that should be our natural disposition, 30:20.620 --> 30:24.300 kind, nice, longsuffering, you know? 30:26.400 --> 30:29.220 Unfortunately, when I first came to Steadfast, 30:29.800 --> 30:31.840 it was told me, I didn't really experience that much, 30:31.880 --> 30:32.680 but other people told me 30:32.680 --> 30:34.220 that there's a little bit of hostility 30:34.220 --> 30:35.560 if you visited our church. 30:35.900 --> 30:37.340 You'd show up and you're kind of grilled 30:37.340 --> 30:38.580 about why you're even there, 30:38.980 --> 30:41.340 if you're an infiltrator, if you're a rapper, 30:41.500 --> 30:43.080 and you just like all these weird questions, 30:43.860 --> 30:45.280 you know, just like an interrogation. 30:45.740 --> 30:47.120 And again, I'm not saying 30:47.120 --> 30:48.200 that we shouldn't try to figure out 30:48.200 --> 30:49.140 if people are saved or not, 30:49.140 --> 30:50.420 but we should try to be kind. 30:50.920 --> 30:52.240 And even if they're not saved, 30:52.460 --> 30:54.400 not being like, well, you're just a heretic freak, 30:54.640 --> 30:56.960 or you know, I can't believe that you're unsaved 30:56.960 --> 30:58.140 and you would visit our church or something, 30:58.280 --> 30:59.820 you know, be nice, try to get them saved, 31:00.020 --> 31:01.100 try to give them an opportunity. 31:01.680 --> 31:03.400 That should be our disposition, 31:03.720 --> 31:04.840 even when we're in the world 31:04.840 --> 31:06.460 and we're around people that are sinful. 31:07.540 --> 31:08.860 Oh, that's you too as well. 31:09.260 --> 31:10.380 Don't, let me remind you. 31:11.220 --> 31:12.260 You're around sinful people, 31:12.320 --> 31:13.820 that's called anyone, all right? 31:14.500 --> 31:15.820 It's like, hey, they're not dressed right. 31:16.000 --> 31:17.100 Well, we're not gonna sit there 31:17.100 --> 31:18.060 and make fun of them. 31:18.580 --> 31:20.360 We're not gonna sit there and criticize them 31:20.360 --> 31:21.260 and tear them apart. 31:21.460 --> 31:23.460 We're gonna see people doing things that are wrong 31:23.940 --> 31:24.980 and doing things that are sinful. 31:25.400 --> 31:26.780 And we have to pick our battles there, 31:26.800 --> 31:29.220 but for our general, you know, disposition, 31:29.500 --> 31:30.620 we should still be kind to them, 31:30.700 --> 31:31.540 trying to give them the gospel, 31:32.100 --> 31:33.700 trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, 31:33.900 --> 31:34.880 try to be nice to them. 31:35.280 --> 31:36.780 You know, we live in such a wicked and evil, 31:36.960 --> 31:38.860 you know, generation that obviously, 31:38.980 --> 31:41.100 I'm not gonna get mad at a Christian 31:41.100 --> 31:43.500 standing for what's right or speaking truth, 31:43.660 --> 31:45.600 but in general, we should be kind about it. 31:46.120 --> 31:47.720 And we should try to pick our battles there 31:48.160 --> 31:49.120 and try to be nice. 31:49.740 --> 31:50.960 Of course, according to the Bible, 31:51.160 --> 31:52.360 we should be kind to the brethren, 31:52.600 --> 31:54.820 and I think that's where we really see 31:55.380 --> 31:57.300 a lot of these attributes as the most important. 31:57.800 --> 31:59.800 What is your disposition to the saved and to the brethren? 31:59.960 --> 32:00.660 We should be kind to them. 32:01.140 --> 32:02.620 Even if they don't, you know, love your enemy, 32:03.100 --> 32:05.480 you know, not necessarily just the people 32:05.480 --> 32:07.700 that are kind to you, everyone does that. 32:08.260 --> 32:09.880 You know, it's funny, I saw this, 32:11.220 --> 32:14.440 there's this like popular thing on the internet now 32:14.880 --> 32:18.340 where they have a podcaster or an influencer 32:18.900 --> 32:21.560 do this like one-on-twenty debate style event 32:21.560 --> 32:24.040 where they have like 20 liberals or something, 32:24.240 --> 32:25.760 going on to one conservative or something. 32:26.420 --> 32:28.280 And it's kind of popular, and I saw one, 32:28.360 --> 32:31.540 it was like a woman that's a female podcaster, 32:32.060 --> 32:34.020 she's like a Christian, Ali Beth Stuckey. 32:34.260 --> 32:35.460 Does anybody know who this is? 32:35.900 --> 32:36.800 A few people might know. 32:36.920 --> 32:38.560 This is like a Christian woman podcaster. 32:39.040 --> 32:41.340 And she's like doing an entire show 32:41.340 --> 32:43.100 with like 20 fags or something. 32:43.100 --> 32:44.780 I don't know, it's just like, really? 32:45.660 --> 32:48.560 Like, you know, and so like half of them 32:48.560 --> 32:50.480 are like in ministry or something like this, 32:50.580 --> 32:53.440 so like one of them is like a pastor or something like that. 32:55.420 --> 32:57.460 And they're debating about all this stuff, 32:57.640 --> 32:59.940 and this like, sodomite freak pastor 32:59.940 --> 33:01.800 is there just explaining about, 33:02.340 --> 33:05.120 well, if we were so bad and we're not Christian, 33:05.240 --> 33:07.520 then how come our church, you know, 33:07.560 --> 33:09.260 models all the different fruits of the spirit? 33:09.360 --> 33:10.520 Because you know, at our church, 33:10.520 --> 33:12.200 everybody's so kind, everybody's so nice, 33:12.200 --> 33:13.760 and everybody seems so loving, and whatever. 33:14.160 --> 33:16.820 And it's like, look, the Bible does not teach 33:16.820 --> 33:18.960 that being kind just means you're of God. 33:19.620 --> 33:22.440 Okay, the Bible teaches that everyone is kind 33:22.440 --> 33:23.960 to the people they like, 33:24.120 --> 33:25.840 and the people that are kind to them, everyone. 33:27.080 --> 33:30.600 Even the most wicked, evil, you know, 33:30.780 --> 33:33.240 disgusting people on this planet are kind to some people, 33:33.500 --> 33:35.080 and kind to some people they like. 33:35.180 --> 33:36.800 I mean, even Herod and Pilate were friends. 33:37.840 --> 33:40.460 Are they now exhibiting the attributes of the spirit? 33:40.460 --> 33:43.440 Because Pilate, oh, they made up forgiveness. 33:44.320 --> 33:46.480 Look, they're modeling the fruits of the spirit. 33:46.860 --> 33:49.880 We see forgiveness and kindness and friendship and love 33:49.880 --> 33:51.560 between Herod and Pilate. 33:52.140 --> 33:53.680 You know, that's stupid, okay? 33:54.220 --> 33:55.460 That's not what the Bible's teaching. 33:55.720 --> 33:58.540 The Bible is teaching that you have kindness 33:58.540 --> 34:00.160 toward those that don't love you, 34:00.660 --> 34:02.400 and that don't accept you. 34:02.660 --> 34:05.080 And let's see, do you think the fag community 34:05.640 --> 34:07.240 is the ones that are the most tolerant 34:07.240 --> 34:08.760 of people that disagree with them? 34:09.660 --> 34:12.940 They're the most kind and the most loving and compassionate 34:12.940 --> 34:14.960 and they're the most filled with the fruits of the spirit. 34:15.180 --> 34:17.000 Look, it's alive from the pit of hell. 34:17.880 --> 34:20.020 You know, when people are not saved, 34:20.600 --> 34:23.200 they always point to things that the Bible doesn't bring up 34:23.200 --> 34:25.260 to try and justify how they're saved. 34:25.880 --> 34:27.840 It's like fags, you're like, oh, we're kind, nice, 34:28.060 --> 34:29.540 and we're just so sweet and whatever. 34:30.000 --> 34:31.640 And it's like, you're a child molester. 34:31.820 --> 34:32.460 How are you sweet? 34:32.620 --> 34:33.760 You're not sweet at all, okay? 34:34.360 --> 34:36.580 Or it's like, hey, you look at the Mormons, 34:36.580 --> 34:38.780 and it's like, hey, look at the Mormons. 34:39.700 --> 34:42.200 They have such nice families, right? 34:42.340 --> 34:43.780 Oh, look, they have such nice families 34:43.780 --> 34:45.100 and they're all productive in society. 34:45.360 --> 34:46.240 That must mean they're of God. 34:46.580 --> 34:48.780 That doesn't prove you're of God, okay? 34:49.220 --> 34:51.040 You know, the Bible isn't saying like, hey, 34:51.100 --> 34:53.580 you wanna know if it's a man of God or not, 34:53.720 --> 34:55.200 look if he has good children or not, 34:55.320 --> 34:56.820 or his children like him or not. 34:57.340 --> 34:59.520 It says, hey, we know them by their fruits. 35:00.120 --> 35:00.860 And what's that fruit? 35:01.020 --> 35:02.100 It's what they preach, my friend. 35:02.680 --> 35:04.520 Are they preaching a right gospel or a false gospel? 35:04.620 --> 35:05.600 Are they preaching the right doctrine 35:05.600 --> 35:06.300 or the false doctrine? 35:06.440 --> 35:08.400 And look, the right doctrine and the right gospel 35:08.820 --> 35:11.020 will yield positive Christian results, 35:11.140 --> 35:13.280 getting people saved and bringing people to Christ. 35:13.840 --> 35:16.000 And the false prophet will be dragging people away 35:16.000 --> 35:19.100 from Christ into heresy, into lies, into false doctrine. 35:19.500 --> 35:21.660 It doesn't matter how sweet and nice they are about it. 35:22.360 --> 35:24.620 Okay, so when we're talking about kindness here, 35:24.980 --> 35:28.480 let us not get this weird, worldly idea of, 35:28.820 --> 35:31.480 oh man, the tranny at Starbucks is so nice 35:31.480 --> 35:33.400 when he hands me a coffee, he must be of God. 35:33.940 --> 35:37.640 He must be saved because he just has such a smile on his face. 35:38.360 --> 35:40.560 Look, they're not kind, they're not kind, 35:40.660 --> 35:41.520 just use the wrong pronoun. 35:43.400 --> 35:44.840 They'll show you, they're not long suffering. 35:45.780 --> 35:47.800 They'll show you that they're not filled 35:47.800 --> 35:48.860 with the spruits of the spirit. 35:49.720 --> 35:51.080 It's silly to think. 35:51.880 --> 35:53.360 Like, and of course these things 35:53.360 --> 35:55.320 are always kind to dogs and animals, right? 35:55.400 --> 35:57.080 They just love animals and they just love 35:57.080 --> 35:58.860 their little pet and they love their little doggie 35:58.860 --> 35:59.080 and stuff. 35:59.520 --> 36:01.920 That doesn't prove that you're saved, okay? 36:02.520 --> 36:06.800 Now, look, if someone is not even nice to their own pet, 36:07.260 --> 36:09.820 if they're not even nice to their own family members, 36:10.180 --> 36:11.920 well then that's probably an issue, okay? 36:12.480 --> 36:15.300 Obviously, serial killers are like harming animals 36:15.300 --> 36:17.360 and like they hate everyone and I get that. 36:17.780 --> 36:20.840 But look, being kind to your own family 36:20.840 --> 36:22.820 and your own friends and those that are your own circle, 36:23.280 --> 36:25.740 that's just default for everybody, okay? 36:25.820 --> 36:26.940 If you're not even at that level, 36:27.140 --> 36:28.520 you're something wrong with you, okay? 36:28.980 --> 36:30.360 Cause everybody should be at that level. 36:30.800 --> 36:31.960 But what is the Bible describing? 36:32.480 --> 36:34.420 Hey, it's kindness to other brothers and sisters of Christ 36:34.420 --> 36:35.680 that aren't kind to you. 36:36.300 --> 36:39.360 It's kindness to people in this world that are lost 36:39.360 --> 36:41.480 and they don't even necessarily like you 36:41.480 --> 36:43.200 or care about you and you're kind to those people. 36:43.420 --> 36:44.920 That's where we really see the fruits 36:44.920 --> 36:47.780 of the spirit being embodied and really played out 36:47.780 --> 36:49.420 and a major and important role. 36:49.780 --> 36:53.160 And yes, Democrats are not kind to take your tax dollars 36:53.160 --> 36:54.380 and give it to other people. 36:54.820 --> 36:57.240 That doesn't make them kind, okay? 36:57.240 --> 37:00.200 So don't get confused on what the real fruits 37:00.200 --> 37:02.600 of the spirit are and what this is talking about, 37:02.680 --> 37:04.320 by kindness, by the Holy Ghost. 37:04.720 --> 37:07.660 Hey, you know, if your kindness is in opposition 37:07.660 --> 37:08.980 of what the Bible is actually saying, 37:09.220 --> 37:10.300 it's not really kind. 37:10.900 --> 37:12.100 It's not really love. 37:12.220 --> 37:13.760 It's not really what the Bible is saying. 37:14.180 --> 37:15.540 We should be doing things with the power 37:15.540 --> 37:17.420 of the Holy Ghost, through the power of the Holy Ghost, 37:17.520 --> 37:18.660 through the knowledge of the Holy Ghost. 37:19.020 --> 37:20.340 By love on faith, notice this, 37:20.600 --> 37:21.780 not by something that's fake. 37:22.960 --> 37:24.600 There's an insincere, sincere love. 37:24.740 --> 37:25.520 There's a fake love. 37:25.520 --> 37:26.960 There's a flattering type of love. 37:27.540 --> 37:29.300 And we as Christians should not be fake. 37:29.860 --> 37:31.600 I just can't stand fake people. 37:32.680 --> 37:34.880 And you know what, just be honest. 37:35.700 --> 37:37.640 Let's be honest, honest people. 37:37.860 --> 37:39.040 We're the pillar and ground of the truth. 37:39.420 --> 37:41.620 We should love the things that we say that we love. 37:42.240 --> 37:43.460 We should mean what we preach. 37:43.940 --> 37:45.440 If someone's getting up and they're never meaning 37:45.440 --> 37:47.420 what they preach behind the pulpit, that's a problem. 37:48.140 --> 37:50.000 And we should love the Word of God. 37:50.440 --> 37:52.180 When we say we love something, we should mean it. 37:52.260 --> 37:53.980 When we say we hate something, we should hate it. 37:54.400 --> 37:56.220 We shouldn't get up and say I was young and immature 37:56.220 --> 37:57.040 and didn't really mean it. 37:58.040 --> 37:59.760 We shouldn't say we're just riling up the base. 38:00.140 --> 38:01.700 We shouldn't just say, you know, again, 38:02.020 --> 38:04.180 I'm not saying that we can't exaggerate a point. 38:04.300 --> 38:06.700 I'm not saying that people don't sometimes, 38:08.380 --> 38:09.760 stretch something a little bit. 38:10.020 --> 38:12.200 But in general, we should be meaning what we're saying. 38:14.240 --> 38:17.540 And we should be people that really are not loving 38:18.420 --> 38:19.220 for gain. 38:20.140 --> 38:21.840 You know, the Pharisees are giving money away. 38:22.920 --> 38:24.780 First Corinthians chapter 13 talks about people 38:25.600 --> 38:27.640 letting their body be burned and giving all their goods 38:27.640 --> 38:29.160 to the poor and that you don't even have charity. 38:29.880 --> 38:31.920 Many, you could actually give everything you have 38:31.920 --> 38:33.360 to somebody and still not even love them 38:33.900 --> 38:35.440 because you're not really doing it for them. 38:35.500 --> 38:36.300 You're doing it for yourself. 38:36.440 --> 38:37.120 You're doing it for attention. 38:37.420 --> 38:39.480 You're doing it for other ulterior motives. 38:39.760 --> 38:42.920 And so when we love somebody, we need to do it sincerely. 38:43.780 --> 38:46.080 You know, it would be sad to give all this money away 38:46.080 --> 38:46.960 and you didn't even mean it. 38:47.500 --> 38:48.980 You know, it did that and it's this viral. 38:50.080 --> 38:51.320 They gave a lot of money away 38:51.320 --> 38:52.540 and then God killed them for it 38:53.000 --> 38:54.360 because they weren't doing it of sincerity. 38:54.760 --> 38:56.300 They were doing it for attention seeking. 38:56.700 --> 38:59.340 They were doing it for a name or for accolades 38:59.340 --> 39:02.420 or position in the church or whatever motives 39:02.420 --> 39:03.760 may have existed at that time. 39:03.880 --> 39:05.560 It was not a sincere motive. 39:05.700 --> 39:08.440 It was not a love for Christ and a love for the church 39:08.440 --> 39:09.780 and a love for doing things right. 39:10.100 --> 39:12.680 They wanted either attention or praise of men. 39:13.340 --> 39:16.680 And so they said, oh, we gave our entire land, 39:17.240 --> 39:19.340 which it's silly because when you read the story, 39:19.340 --> 39:21.260 it's like they still probably gave 39:21.260 --> 39:22.840 an extraordinary amount of money. 39:24.540 --> 39:26.840 It's just that they wanted like a full credit. 39:27.240 --> 39:28.660 You know, they just want all the attention. 39:28.880 --> 39:29.900 They're like, yeah, we gave it all. 39:30.560 --> 39:31.320 I gave it all. 39:31.700 --> 39:33.040 But you know, you didn't do it in charity, 39:33.420 --> 39:34.900 you're nothing, you're nothing. 39:35.360 --> 39:37.760 And so of course, when we talk about our Christianity, 39:38.320 --> 39:41.000 we wanna actually love people and be sincere about it. 39:41.320 --> 39:42.020 Not be fake. 39:42.520 --> 39:43.920 And I say this because, you know, 39:44.020 --> 39:46.000 I've been in a lot of churches, even Baptist churches 39:46.540 --> 39:48.300 and a lot of people, they're fake. 39:49.780 --> 39:50.600 They're fake. 39:51.000 --> 39:53.000 And they're really fake about how they love 39:53.000 --> 39:54.220 all the people in the room. 39:54.960 --> 39:57.120 And you know, what's the wind of the ways 39:57.120 --> 39:58.960 that it appears that someone's fake 39:58.960 --> 40:00.360 is they talk nice to your face, 40:00.480 --> 40:01.800 but then they talk behind your back. 40:03.180 --> 40:04.720 They talk behind your back. 40:05.400 --> 40:07.580 And you know, when they criticize other Christians, 40:07.780 --> 40:09.180 they're not doing it because they want them 40:09.180 --> 40:10.680 to actually get better or they love them. 40:11.080 --> 40:13.600 They just have a hateful, mean spirit about them. 40:13.940 --> 40:16.100 And they just wanna see other people's lives destroyed. 40:16.560 --> 40:18.260 And they wanna see other people dragged down. 40:18.820 --> 40:20.540 You know, we shouldn't have this kind of 40:20.540 --> 40:22.460 a hateful attitude about ourselves. 40:23.080 --> 40:25.660 We wanna be people that are sincerely loving. 40:25.820 --> 40:28.500 And look, we all struggle with negative thoughts 40:28.500 --> 40:29.660 or being mean or the flesh. 40:30.040 --> 40:31.060 But you know, when we have those thoughts, 40:31.240 --> 40:33.960 we just suppress them, not say them, not bring them out. 40:34.100 --> 40:36.240 When other people say them, we should shut them down. 40:36.660 --> 40:38.720 We should not encourage that behavior. 40:39.220 --> 40:41.680 We should be people that love and love sincerely 40:41.680 --> 40:43.860 and love the Lord and love God. 40:44.500 --> 40:46.800 I don't wanna be in a fake church with fake people. 40:47.360 --> 40:50.960 You know, it's just, life's too short to have fake friends. 40:52.640 --> 40:55.460 Verse seven, by the word of truth, by the power of God, 40:55.560 --> 40:57.200 by the armor of righteousness on the right and on the left. 40:57.300 --> 41:00.600 So, you know, everything that we do should be doing 41:00.600 --> 41:04.340 with spiritual weapons, spiritual warfare. 41:04.900 --> 41:06.020 And what is our spiritual warfare? 41:06.200 --> 41:06.900 It's the word of truth. 41:07.100 --> 41:07.680 It's the word of God. 41:08.260 --> 41:09.960 And it's by the power of God. 41:10.340 --> 41:12.200 Because I don't get people saved 41:12.740 --> 41:16.240 because I, Jonathan Shelley, came up with clever ways 41:16.240 --> 41:17.080 to get someone saved. 41:17.380 --> 41:18.720 I just preached what this said. 41:19.420 --> 41:21.840 Okay, you know, I don't wanna build a church 41:22.330 --> 41:24.640 because Jonathan Shelley is funny. 41:25.360 --> 41:27.300 You know, or Jonathan Shelley is charismatic. 41:27.840 --> 41:31.220 Or Jonathan Shelley is just a great orator. 41:31.680 --> 41:33.800 Or I just love the sound of Jonathan Shelley's voice. 41:33.920 --> 41:34.280 You know what? 41:34.560 --> 41:36.720 I want this church to be built because people heard 41:36.720 --> 41:38.860 the word of truth and the power of God 41:38.860 --> 41:41.100 coming off the pages when they showed up at church. 41:41.280 --> 41:44.280 That the message was of God and that's why they came. 41:44.280 --> 41:45.880 Because you know, you can build a church 41:45.880 --> 41:46.800 on lots of different things. 41:47.280 --> 41:48.740 You can build a church on race. 41:49.780 --> 41:51.960 I mean, how many churches a day are literally 41:51.960 --> 41:54.640 just a demographic, just homogenous center. 41:55.060 --> 41:58.020 It's all white or it's all black or it's all Asian 41:58.020 --> 41:59.700 or it's all Indian or it's whatever. 42:00.300 --> 42:03.440 It's just a demographic church, Asian church. 42:04.020 --> 42:05.980 Or it's a geography church. 42:06.440 --> 42:07.740 It's just everyone's five minutes 42:07.740 --> 42:08.880 from the specific location. 42:09.640 --> 42:11.900 Now again, we get that geography is gonna play a role 42:11.900 --> 42:15.000 but in some senses, you know, that shouldn't be 42:15.000 --> 42:16.880 the only reason people are there is just because 42:16.880 --> 42:18.460 it's the closest proximity to my house. 42:19.580 --> 42:21.160 You know, some people are gonna build a church 42:21.160 --> 42:22.800 on the fact they have a roller coaster inside. 42:23.840 --> 42:25.820 And that's not even a joke. 42:26.760 --> 42:28.640 Some people are gonna build it on the fact that, 42:29.060 --> 42:31.500 you know, it's just, it's really nice and comfortable 42:31.500 --> 42:32.720 to lie to them or whatever. 42:33.060 --> 42:35.460 You know, there's all these reasons for a church to grow. 42:35.900 --> 42:38.500 You know, there was a preacher that I was listening 42:38.500 --> 42:41.160 to when I was younger and he was hilarious. 42:41.900 --> 42:44.740 I mean, like every sermon he just started the sermon 42:44.740 --> 42:46.660 with a joke and it was kind of funny. 42:46.820 --> 42:48.080 Like it wasn't like a bad joke. 42:48.320 --> 42:50.380 Like a lot of times when someone tries to be funny, 42:50.460 --> 42:50.760 they're not. 42:51.620 --> 42:53.240 And this guy's obviously trying to be funny 42:53.240 --> 42:54.020 but it was actually funny. 42:54.180 --> 42:56.500 Like he was good and it almost seemed like 42:56.500 --> 42:58.680 it was a comedy routine wrapped around a sermon. 42:59.700 --> 43:01.860 And I mean, I'm like, I guess if you're getting 43:01.860 --> 43:03.120 people to listen, go for it. 43:03.260 --> 43:04.900 And look, I'm not against someone using humor 43:04.900 --> 43:05.920 in a sermon if they can. 43:06.300 --> 43:07.140 And God bless you. 43:07.160 --> 43:09.280 If you could tell a funny joke every sermon, go for it. 43:09.440 --> 43:10.420 But you know, at the end of the day, 43:10.420 --> 43:12.260 I don't really want to build a church on comedy. 43:15.400 --> 43:17.340 Gateway, you know, with Robert Morris, 43:17.940 --> 43:20.300 they had a guy basically on staff or, 43:20.720 --> 43:22.340 I don't know if he was literally on staff, 43:22.520 --> 43:24.920 but at least was in coordination with them. 43:25.200 --> 43:26.760 Was always in the church, pretty much 43:26.760 --> 43:29.520 on their payroll in some way, whether it's 1099 or not. 43:30.240 --> 43:33.240 That was a Christian comedian just by train. 43:33.500 --> 43:34.400 Like that was his gig. 43:34.780 --> 43:36.820 And he would just go to all the big nom-the-noms 43:36.820 --> 43:37.960 and just do a comedy skit. 43:38.520 --> 43:40.960 And then like, he would come and preach for them 43:41.440 --> 43:42.360 on a regular basis. 43:42.960 --> 43:44.420 And it wasn't really preaching. 43:44.580 --> 43:45.360 It was a comedy skit. 43:45.920 --> 43:47.720 And he just did, he just did a comedy routine. 43:48.260 --> 43:50.120 And I mean, I remember going to church 43:51.260 --> 43:53.380 and it was a comedy routine, literally. 43:54.280 --> 43:56.220 Like it wasn't a sermon, there was no Bible. 43:56.440 --> 43:57.280 We were opening our Bibles. 43:57.800 --> 43:59.700 It was just some black guy on stage 43:59.700 --> 44:00.540 giving a comedy routine. 44:00.700 --> 44:02.460 And I'm just thinking like, you know, 44:02.540 --> 44:03.980 I like Dave Chappelle and all, but you know, 44:04.100 --> 44:05.820 I don't want, not a church, you know? 44:06.660 --> 44:08.560 Like that's not where we're building our church on. 44:09.180 --> 44:10.380 It's not a comedy routine. 44:10.480 --> 44:11.300 That's a comedy club. 44:12.040 --> 44:14.460 And look, we're not building comedy clubs here. 44:14.820 --> 44:17.020 We're separating from the fellowship of the unbelievers. 44:17.200 --> 44:19.260 We're separating from the idolatry. 44:19.440 --> 44:20.960 We're separating from the unbelievers 44:20.960 --> 44:24.200 and people that don't have a commonality with us. 44:24.660 --> 44:26.640 We're coming together for the word of truth. 44:27.080 --> 44:28.600 We're coming together for the power of God. 44:28.680 --> 44:30.620 We're coming together for the unity of the gospel. 44:31.140 --> 44:32.860 And that's what our church should be built on. 44:33.920 --> 44:36.420 There are churches today that are just built on, 44:36.540 --> 44:39.340 the non-the-nom church is built on virtually nothing. 44:40.180 --> 44:42.740 Just, we're gonna try and make it as kind 44:42.740 --> 44:43.480 and as palatable. 44:44.000 --> 44:46.020 Lake Point with Josh Howerton, you know? 44:46.380 --> 44:49.640 Just make it as comfortable and smooth and nice as possible. 44:50.340 --> 44:52.160 Josh Howerton and Lake Point, 44:52.300 --> 44:54.100 it's somewhere over there in Garland or something like that, 44:54.340 --> 44:57.920 becoming one of the biggest churches in the world again. 44:58.540 --> 45:00.680 It's just, I guess the DFW just has to build up 45:00.680 --> 45:01.800 some false prophet somewhere. 45:03.040 --> 45:05.460 And I mean, this guy, I was listening to him speak, 45:05.600 --> 45:07.900 he was saying something like it's 17 or whatever, 45:08.820 --> 45:10.600 that he was just, he knew he had to be, 45:10.660 --> 45:12.160 he knew he was gonna be a pastor or something. 45:12.660 --> 45:15.340 And he like, he has this big elaborate story 45:15.340 --> 45:16.940 about going to the most famous preacher 45:16.940 --> 45:18.620 in the United States and going, 45:18.780 --> 45:20.760 getting advice from him on how to become a pastor 45:21.240 --> 45:22.840 and he's just planning his whole life 45:22.840 --> 45:23.740 around being a pastor. 45:24.680 --> 45:27.840 But you know, the reality of Josh Howerton is, 45:28.400 --> 45:30.160 God told him he's gonna be a pastor at 17 45:30.160 --> 45:33.220 and he's already mapped up his entire life to be a pastor 45:33.700 --> 45:34.980 and then something didn't happen, 45:35.520 --> 45:38.900 him ever having a kid, zero kids. 45:40.240 --> 45:42.120 But he already knows he's gonna be a pastor. 45:43.780 --> 45:45.700 So then what is, oh, so then him and his wife 45:45.700 --> 45:49.040 adopt like three kids, just three Randos. 45:49.780 --> 45:52.360 And of course it's a virtue signal, they're all black. 45:52.880 --> 45:54.520 So him and his wife that are pale white 45:54.520 --> 45:56.460 have these three black adopted children 45:56.460 --> 45:58.160 because God called him to be a pastor. 45:58.160 --> 46:00.240 Now look, I'm not against a white person 46:00.240 --> 46:04.180 adopting a black person, but I don't think it was sincere. 46:05.140 --> 46:07.060 I don't think that Josh Howerton is like, 46:07.160 --> 46:09.040 you know what, I just sincerely love black, 46:09.280 --> 46:10.420 this black child, I wanna get it. 46:10.620 --> 46:11.640 I think it was virtue signaling. 46:12.020 --> 46:14.900 I think that he wants to just show how loving he is 46:14.900 --> 46:16.260 and how awesome he is. 46:16.520 --> 46:17.740 And look, I've been in these cultures 46:17.740 --> 46:18.700 and I've been in these churches 46:18.700 --> 46:21.460 where they almost act like killing your kids 46:21.460 --> 46:23.780 with birth control and adopting a black kid from Africa 46:23.780 --> 46:25.700 makes you more righteous than just having kids. 46:26.600 --> 46:28.580 Because you show up at church and you're like, 46:28.620 --> 46:30.900 hey, here's my six, seven, eight kids 46:30.900 --> 46:32.440 that I had with my wife and they're like, 46:32.500 --> 46:33.560 when are you gonna stop, man? 46:34.740 --> 46:36.700 But then it's like you kill all of them 46:36.700 --> 46:39.060 and adopt a kid from Africa and you are a superstar. 46:39.660 --> 46:41.120 Wow, you're so godly. 46:41.420 --> 46:42.820 Wow, you're just so amazing. 46:43.580 --> 46:45.380 And look, I'm not against adoption. 46:45.640 --> 46:46.300 Don't hear me wrong. 46:47.520 --> 46:49.400 I'm not against adopting a black kid. 46:49.680 --> 46:50.220 Go for it. 46:50.820 --> 46:52.000 Adopt as many as you want. 46:52.260 --> 46:53.360 But you know what, you better do it 46:53.360 --> 46:53.880 if you love them. 46:54.900 --> 46:56.840 And you better not do it just so you can have 46:56.840 --> 46:59.520 a little trinket to put on yourself 46:59.520 --> 47:01.220 so that you can say, now I can be a pastor 47:01.220 --> 47:02.840 because I adopted these kids or whatever. 47:03.680 --> 47:05.780 You know, if God wanted to be a pastor so bad, 47:05.840 --> 47:07.940 why did you have to resort to adoption to become one? 47:09.060 --> 47:10.840 And of course, they preach his Lordship's salvation 47:10.840 --> 47:13.040 in a false gospel and use the false Bible version. 47:13.400 --> 47:15.060 And he's just, he has women preachers 47:15.060 --> 47:16.100 at his church all the time, 47:16.380 --> 47:17.920 but this is just who America loves. 47:18.600 --> 47:20.340 You know what, they're not building a church 47:20.340 --> 47:21.420 by the word of truth. 47:21.460 --> 47:23.120 They're not building a church on the power of God 47:23.570 --> 47:27.180 and again, he admitted that during the 2020 COVID 47:27.180 --> 47:28.920 and all this stuff, he would preach things 47:28.920 --> 47:31.480 he didn't even believe because he was infected by wokeism. 47:31.820 --> 47:32.480 Let me explain something. 47:32.600 --> 47:33.860 You're still infected with lies. 47:34.580 --> 47:36.360 And what kind of a preacher gets up and admits 47:36.360 --> 47:38.380 he was preaching lies and things he didn't even believe. 47:39.040 --> 47:40.580 And then just, oh, but now I'm not. 47:41.460 --> 47:43.320 Oh, now he's not going to do it. 47:43.640 --> 47:45.900 Yeah, you've been faked from the very beginning. 47:47.480 --> 47:49.160 And you know what, we don't want to build churches 47:49.160 --> 47:50.000 on these kinds of people. 47:50.700 --> 47:53.120 We need to build churches on the word of truth 47:53.120 --> 47:55.260 by the power of God and by the armor of righteousness. 47:55.800 --> 48:00.240 Hey, God will protect us in our lives 48:00.240 --> 48:01.420 if we do what's right, 48:01.680 --> 48:03.900 but we're going to face that opposition that he brought up. 48:04.280 --> 48:06.440 Now, in verses eight through 10, 48:07.100 --> 48:09.680 I believe that we understand this through context, okay? 48:09.800 --> 48:13.720 Cause he says like two diametrically opposed ideas 48:13.720 --> 48:15.560 or two conflicting things. 48:15.900 --> 48:17.600 He says here by honor and dishonor. 48:17.820 --> 48:19.240 Well, those are the exact opposite. 48:19.240 --> 48:20.180 How is that possible? 48:20.740 --> 48:22.360 I believe that we understand all these things 48:22.360 --> 48:24.700 as saying like there's going to be a group of people 48:24.700 --> 48:27.320 in this world that look at you with honor 48:27.800 --> 48:29.420 and there's going to be a group of people in this world 48:29.420 --> 48:31.240 that look at you with dishonor 48:32.040 --> 48:33.360 when you do the exact same thing. 48:34.220 --> 48:36.320 You upload a sermon, some of them are gonna be like, 48:36.420 --> 48:37.200 that's an honorable sermon. 48:37.700 --> 48:38.520 The same sermon. 48:38.740 --> 48:40.000 So this is a dishonorable sermon. 48:40.580 --> 48:43.340 It's just like, it's just what context you have. 48:43.700 --> 48:44.920 And you know, serving God, 48:45.060 --> 48:46.180 you're never going to be loved of all. 48:46.500 --> 48:47.300 You're never going to be liked of all. 48:47.640 --> 48:49.140 By evil report and good report. 48:49.780 --> 48:51.060 Some people are gonna say, hey, 48:51.540 --> 48:53.220 this guy's an awesome guy, good reputation. 48:53.600 --> 48:54.820 This is when you look at the Google reviews, 48:54.960 --> 48:56.920 five stars and one stars, right? 48:57.420 --> 48:59.900 Evil report and good report. 49:00.640 --> 49:02.840 As deceivers and yet true. 49:03.280 --> 49:05.040 Meaning, hey, there's gonna be a lot of people 49:05.040 --> 49:06.160 that say, oh, this guy's a deceiver. 49:06.280 --> 49:07.180 This guy's a false prophet. 49:07.260 --> 49:08.040 This guy's a false teacher. 49:08.380 --> 49:09.180 And then there's gonna be other people. 49:09.280 --> 49:10.200 This is a true guy. 49:10.340 --> 49:11.020 This is a good guy. 49:11.180 --> 49:12.440 This guy's preaching the right gospel. 49:13.000 --> 49:15.380 You're gonna have conflicting testimonies. 49:15.380 --> 49:16.220 Who are you gonna believe? 49:17.880 --> 49:19.080 He keeps going and says, 49:20.080 --> 49:21.820 specifically as unknown yet well known. 49:22.500 --> 49:24.960 You know, I think we realize that, 49:25.200 --> 49:26.260 especially considering how many people 49:26.260 --> 49:27.100 on this planet today, 49:27.700 --> 49:28.560 there's gonna be a lot of people 49:28.560 --> 49:29.560 that are just not paying attention. 49:30.160 --> 49:31.300 There's a lot of people that don't even know 49:31.300 --> 49:32.100 what's going on with Christianity. 49:32.720 --> 49:33.940 There's a lot of people that have no idea. 49:34.300 --> 49:36.700 I mean, we knock on doors 49:37.140 --> 49:39.140 that are just a stone's throw 49:39.140 --> 49:40.760 from our building that's being protested 49:40.760 --> 49:41.280 every single week. 49:41.380 --> 49:42.200 They have no idea who we are. 49:43.000 --> 49:45.280 Yet there's the knock on the next door 49:45.280 --> 49:46.660 and they know exactly who you are. 49:46.900 --> 49:47.840 You're well known. 49:48.520 --> 49:50.400 Oh, you're the pastor of that church, right? 49:50.780 --> 49:52.560 There's gonna be people, you know, 49:52.940 --> 49:55.780 the apostle Paul is unknown to some. 49:56.340 --> 49:59.720 You know, at Rome, in the book of Acts, 49:59.840 --> 50:01.460 towards the end, when he shows up there, 50:02.780 --> 50:04.200 the Jews, they're kind of like, 50:04.640 --> 50:05.660 we don't even know any of this. 50:05.700 --> 50:06.980 We've not heard about any of this. 50:07.240 --> 50:08.340 Like Paul's showing up kind of thinking 50:08.340 --> 50:09.480 like they've heard about all the stuff 50:09.480 --> 50:11.320 that's been going down and they know a situation. 50:11.320 --> 50:13.240 And they're just like, we haven't even heard about this. 50:13.540 --> 50:14.620 And like, tell us all about it. 50:15.040 --> 50:17.120 Yet you go to some places and it's like, 50:17.280 --> 50:19.660 hey, these are the guys that have turned the world upside 50:19.660 --> 50:21.500 down hither and come hither also. 50:21.860 --> 50:23.160 They've turned the world upside down with the gospel 50:23.160 --> 50:24.180 and they're come hither also. 50:24.660 --> 50:27.380 So it's like, to some, you're gonna be super well known. 50:28.140 --> 50:30.640 And it's like, look, to the Baptist paying attention, 50:31.720 --> 50:32.500 Steadfast is known. 50:33.220 --> 50:35.000 But you knock on the random door over here, 50:35.300 --> 50:37.100 they have no idea what Steadfast is. 50:37.200 --> 50:38.380 They can't even spell it, all right? 50:39.280 --> 50:41.900 And it's just, that's kind of the reality, you know? 50:42.020 --> 50:45.420 It's just like, there's gonna be this variance here. 50:45.600 --> 50:48.440 There's gonna be this difference or confliction. 50:49.060 --> 50:51.120 He says, also as dying and behold, 50:51.320 --> 50:52.840 we live as chasin' and not killed. 50:53.380 --> 50:56.100 So of course you're gonna have just these varying contexts, 50:56.300 --> 50:57.460 these varying situations. 50:58.180 --> 51:01.560 Hey, in some ways, it seems like we're dying, 51:01.980 --> 51:02.920 but hey, we live. 51:03.820 --> 51:06.060 You know, the death, the fall of the new IFB. 51:07.780 --> 51:09.500 Yeah, we live, you know? 51:10.260 --> 51:13.560 It's like, hey, you know, oh, they're chasin'. 51:13.560 --> 51:15.000 But hey, we're not killed. 51:15.780 --> 51:16.500 You know, and of course, 51:16.820 --> 51:19.720 everybody has their own interpretation of the events 51:19.720 --> 51:22.620 of what's going on, but it doesn't really matter. 51:22.740 --> 51:25.880 Verse 10, as sorrowful and yet always rejoicing as poor, 51:26.300 --> 51:28.080 yet making many rich as having nothing 51:28.080 --> 51:29.540 and yet possessing all things. 51:29.640 --> 51:31.580 Now some of these, I think as we get in verse 10, 51:31.840 --> 51:34.220 maybe change a little bit to where they're both true. 51:34.880 --> 51:36.820 It can be true that, you know, 51:37.060 --> 51:40.460 we're sorrowful in the persecution, 51:40.800 --> 51:41.840 like we don't like the persecution, 51:42.080 --> 51:43.680 but then we rejoice that we were persecuted 51:43.680 --> 51:44.560 for the cause of Christ. 51:45.060 --> 51:47.320 Or we're gonna experience sorrow for losses 51:47.320 --> 51:49.900 and hardships, but at the same time, 51:49.960 --> 51:51.520 we're gonna have the joy of getting people saved 51:51.520 --> 51:53.260 and the fellowship of the brethren 51:53.260 --> 51:55.260 so we can have these different opinions. 51:55.660 --> 51:58.200 You know, we can be poor in a carnal sense 51:58.200 --> 52:00.040 and yet rich in a spiritual sense. 52:00.420 --> 52:01.580 We could not have money, 52:01.980 --> 52:02.960 we could have our money stolen, 52:02.960 --> 52:05.260 yet we're rich with the blessings of God 52:05.260 --> 52:07.420 and with the doctrine of God. 52:07.760 --> 52:10.120 And so, you know, you can have some of these things 52:10.120 --> 52:11.400 being simultaneously true. 52:11.540 --> 52:13.400 It's just context, it's just perspective. 52:13.520 --> 52:14.740 It's just how some people look at it. 52:15.280 --> 52:16.760 You know, the Catholic church would look at us 52:16.760 --> 52:18.340 and say, oh, you guys are so poor. 52:18.520 --> 52:20.420 Look at, look how small your building is 52:20.420 --> 52:22.900 or look how, you know, gross your building is. 52:23.520 --> 52:26.340 And yet we have the riches of the gospel 52:26.340 --> 52:28.240 and we have the riches of the King James Bible. 52:28.760 --> 52:30.840 And so they're the ones that are actually poor, 52:30.880 --> 52:31.700 blind and naked. 52:32.080 --> 52:34.020 And we're the ones that actually have the riches. 52:34.440 --> 52:36.880 And if you think about it from a spiritual bank account, 52:37.200 --> 52:38.320 we're the ones that are rich 52:38.320 --> 52:39.880 and they're the ones that have nothing. 52:40.340 --> 52:42.620 They're the ones that are destitute and without. 52:43.480 --> 52:45.940 You know, the non-the-dom church looking down on us 52:45.940 --> 52:48.420 and saying, oh, look, we have a $60 million budget. 52:49.540 --> 52:51.880 Yes, Gateway publishes their finances 52:51.880 --> 52:53.880 and say they have $60 million annually. 52:55.400 --> 52:56.920 That would go pretty far, wouldn't it? 52:57.500 --> 53:00.980 And it's like, look at our budgets, it's embarrassing. 53:01.800 --> 53:02.360 But you know what? 53:03.260 --> 53:05.060 Let's look at their spiritual bank account 53:05.060 --> 53:07.840 and let's look at our spiritual bank account, okay? 53:08.080 --> 53:09.640 And so, you know, it's all context, 53:09.860 --> 53:11.800 it's all how you look at it, you know, 53:11.860 --> 53:12.600 which kind of framing. 53:14.080 --> 53:15.680 And it says, in having nothing 53:16.180 --> 53:17.520 and yet possessing all things, 53:17.920 --> 53:19.500 you could lose everything in this world, 53:19.740 --> 53:20.480 but you know what? 53:20.900 --> 53:22.980 You're gonna be in charge of 10 cities 53:22.980 --> 53:24.820 and the millennial kingdom. 53:25.840 --> 53:27.220 Hey, we're gonna have everything. 53:27.360 --> 53:28.500 The meek shall inherit the earth. 53:28.940 --> 53:30.700 The Christians, oh, they didn't get everything. 53:31.320 --> 53:33.080 The Jews have it all, but guess what? 53:33.360 --> 53:35.120 Nope, the Christians are gonna have everything 53:35.120 --> 53:36.280 and the Jews are gonna have nothing. 53:36.780 --> 53:38.440 And so there's all kinds of different ways 53:38.440 --> 53:41.640 that we could look at these different contexts. 53:42.320 --> 53:43.460 Verse 11, oh, you Corinthians, 53:43.640 --> 53:45.540 our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. 53:46.420 --> 53:49.600 Yet, I'm sorry, ye are not straightened in us, 53:49.720 --> 53:51.220 but you're straightened in your own bowels. 53:51.280 --> 53:52.460 Now, for a recompense and the same, 53:52.580 --> 53:53.600 I speak as unto my children, 53:54.160 --> 53:55.120 be also enlarged. 53:55.160 --> 53:56.400 Now, this is a really difficult language, 53:58.300 --> 54:00.580 but I wanna make it clear what he's saying. 54:01.160 --> 54:02.780 In verse 11, he's saying, 54:03.060 --> 54:04.880 our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. 54:04.960 --> 54:08.400 He's saying, I have professed my love to you. 54:08.820 --> 54:11.580 I'm making it known, like I'm opening my mouth 54:11.580 --> 54:13.980 to tell you how much I love you guys 54:13.980 --> 54:16.300 and how much I'm proud of you guys 54:16.300 --> 54:18.200 and how pleased I am with y'all. 54:18.820 --> 54:20.860 But then he's contrasting this in verse 12, 54:21.280 --> 54:22.780 ye are not straightened in us, 54:22.780 --> 54:24.400 but ye're straightened in your own bowels, 54:24.420 --> 54:27.760 meaning you guys aren't reciprocating our love. 54:28.040 --> 54:30.360 Like, you're not telling us that you love us back 54:30.360 --> 54:34.000 in the same way, you're not as proud of us in the same way, 54:34.340 --> 54:37.680 but it's not because we didn't express our love to you, 54:38.420 --> 54:40.160 it's because you just don't feel that way. 54:40.560 --> 54:43.620 In some way, your affections are not 54:43.620 --> 54:45.480 matching our affections. 54:45.980 --> 54:47.980 And so then he's asking them in verse 13, 54:48.100 --> 54:49.560 now for a recompense and the same, 54:49.700 --> 54:50.480 I speak as unto my children, 54:50.480 --> 54:51.460 be also in large, 54:51.520 --> 54:52.820 you're saying I want you to love me back. 54:53.560 --> 54:56.920 Now, I would say in one aspect, 54:56.940 --> 54:58.220 this is a couple of ways I wanna look at this, 54:58.220 --> 54:59.880 go to 2 Kings chapter 10 for a second, 55:00.500 --> 55:02.540 but with your children, 55:03.420 --> 55:05.600 you should not necessarily expect 55:06.160 --> 55:08.560 for them to love you back 55:09.160 --> 55:11.060 the same way you would love them initially. 55:11.820 --> 55:14.380 And one of the ways that this looks like 55:14.380 --> 55:18.100 for me practically is we try our best as parents 55:18.100 --> 55:19.720 to tell our children that we love them 55:20.220 --> 55:22.980 daily, and especially before we put them 55:22.980 --> 55:24.000 down to bed or something, 55:24.180 --> 55:25.800 that would be a specific timing. 55:26.200 --> 55:27.320 Now we say it more than that, 55:27.440 --> 55:29.740 but I'm just saying on a regular basis, 55:29.920 --> 55:31.360 we're just saying, hey, love you or whatever. 55:31.820 --> 55:33.760 And I'll just be honest, our kids don't reciprocate. 55:34.680 --> 55:37.400 Now they do, but not every time, okay? 55:37.940 --> 55:39.220 Well, there's lots of times where you're like, 55:39.620 --> 55:40.960 you just say love you, and they're just like, 55:43.480 --> 55:45.040 just walk away or whatever. 55:45.820 --> 55:47.820 And it's like, my mouth is opened unto you, 55:48.340 --> 55:50.320 my heart is enlarged toward you, 55:50.740 --> 55:53.240 but you're not necessarily always saying it. 55:53.560 --> 55:56.020 But the goal is, God willing, 55:56.880 --> 55:58.800 that by constantly loving your child 55:58.800 --> 56:01.340 and affirming them and telling them that you love them, 56:01.620 --> 56:04.520 that at some point when you say it, they'll say it back. 56:04.900 --> 56:06.080 They'll say, hey, I love you too, 56:06.320 --> 56:08.380 or hey, I love you back, or whatever. 56:08.840 --> 56:10.920 And that's special, and of course my kids do reciprocate 56:10.920 --> 56:13.800 and they do tell me this, but it's not automatic 56:13.800 --> 56:15.740 and it takes time, and sometimes you have to, 56:16.290 --> 56:17.940 sometimes it feels like with some kids, 56:18.560 --> 56:21.140 you're telling them and they're just going through a stage 56:21.140 --> 56:22.880 or then they become a teenager, 56:23.480 --> 56:25.300 it's not cool to love back or whatever. 56:25.860 --> 56:27.240 But it's like, hey, you're hoping that they'll get, 56:27.300 --> 56:29.820 snap out of that cool teenager phase or whatever, 56:30.200 --> 56:32.020 and they'll actually just say they love their parents. 56:32.840 --> 56:35.080 God forbid you'd actually love your parents, right? 56:35.740 --> 56:37.380 You'd actually communicate that verbally. 56:38.100 --> 56:40.360 Like, I'm a big believer in expressing 56:40.360 --> 56:42.320 how you feel verbally regularly. 56:43.420 --> 56:45.380 Husbands should tell their wives that they love them 56:45.380 --> 56:48.260 and that they're beautiful daily and regularly. 56:48.920 --> 56:50.840 And I think vice versa, and I think that parents 56:50.840 --> 56:52.260 should be telling their kids that they love them 56:52.260 --> 56:53.280 and kids should be telling their parents. 56:53.600 --> 56:55.380 We should be expressing ourselves verbally 56:55.380 --> 56:57.540 on a regular basis, and of course the apostle Paul 56:57.540 --> 56:58.760 has no problems. 56:58.920 --> 57:00.180 I love the Corinthian church. 57:01.020 --> 57:02.360 I love the church at Corinth. 57:02.940 --> 57:04.040 I love these guys. 57:05.180 --> 57:06.740 They're my homies, you know? 57:07.420 --> 57:10.000 It's like, hey, I love First Works Baptist Church. 57:11.220 --> 57:13.660 I love those Mexicans over there, 57:13.660 --> 57:14.120 and I'm just kidding. 57:14.540 --> 57:16.460 I love those gangsters over there, right? 57:18.060 --> 57:18.940 They know how to roll. 57:19.540 --> 57:20.720 You know, they're super cool. 57:21.360 --> 57:22.600 I'm not afraid to say I like them. 57:22.800 --> 57:25.120 I'm not afraid to say I like Faithward Baptist Church. 57:25.920 --> 57:28.220 I'm not afraid to say that I like Anchor Baptist Church. 57:28.440 --> 57:29.700 You know, I'm not afraid to say that I love 57:29.700 --> 57:31.120 Pastor Matthew Stuckey and I love 57:31.120 --> 57:32.320 soul-winning Baptist Church. 57:32.980 --> 57:34.920 You know, I'm not afraid to say that I love people 57:34.920 --> 57:35.960 and that I love other Christians. 57:36.280 --> 57:38.100 And look, I'm not gonna sit here 57:38.100 --> 57:40.020 and give a testimony to all my friends 57:40.020 --> 57:41.540 because there's so many other churches 57:41.540 --> 57:43.220 and friends that I love, but you know what? 57:43.220 --> 57:45.520 I wanna be open and honest and say I love them. 57:46.140 --> 57:47.400 You know, I love Pastor Aaron Thompson. 57:47.560 --> 57:48.500 He's one of my best friends. 57:49.240 --> 57:51.360 I'm not afraid and embarrassed and ashamed 57:51.360 --> 57:52.460 to say that I love these people. 57:52.760 --> 57:53.360 And you know what? 57:53.660 --> 57:55.100 It's possible for you to like someone 57:55.100 --> 57:55.800 or really love someone 57:55.800 --> 57:57.940 and they don't necessarily feel exactly the same way back. 57:58.140 --> 57:58.780 And that's okay. 57:59.360 --> 58:00.980 But especially from a Christian perspective, 58:01.160 --> 58:02.780 he's loved this church and done good on this church. 58:03.000 --> 58:04.800 So he's saying, you should kinda love me. 58:05.240 --> 58:06.280 But they're hesitant. 58:06.900 --> 58:10.940 They're not necessarily wanting to proclaim their love. 58:11.400 --> 58:13.360 You know, it's like Paul, it's like, yeah. 58:14.060 --> 58:15.680 Yeah, we know him, but you know. 58:15.900 --> 58:17.660 It's like, no, they wanna be like, we love Paul. 58:18.240 --> 58:20.300 You know, we're not embarrassed of Paul. 58:20.500 --> 58:22.240 We're not ashamed to be friends with Paul. 58:22.720 --> 58:23.960 No, no, no, we love Paul. 58:25.620 --> 58:26.940 We embrace Paul. 58:28.180 --> 58:31.580 And it's similar to what I would see in Second Kings, 58:31.820 --> 58:33.360 chapter 10, I had you turn there for a moment. 58:33.700 --> 58:36.280 But look at Jehu kind of saying, 58:36.400 --> 58:38.500 the same thing Paul's saying in verse 15. 58:40.100 --> 58:40.680 He says, 58:43.180 --> 58:44.560 and when he was departed thence, 58:44.580 --> 58:46.380 he lied it on Jehonadab, the son of Recap, 58:46.520 --> 58:48.640 coming to meet him and saluted him and said to him, 58:49.260 --> 58:53.660 is thine heart right as my heart is with thy heart? 58:54.220 --> 58:56.420 And Jehonadab answered, it is. 58:56.780 --> 58:58.080 If it be, give me thine hand. 58:58.200 --> 58:58.980 And he gave him his hand 58:58.980 --> 59:00.160 and he took him up into the chariot. 59:00.300 --> 59:02.540 So it's kind of like this love test 59:02.540 --> 59:04.240 between Jehu and Jehonadab. 59:04.320 --> 59:06.440 He's saying, hey, is thine heart right 59:07.040 --> 59:09.820 as my heart is with thine heart? 59:09.920 --> 59:12.280 Saying like, I love you, I'm with you. 59:12.420 --> 59:14.040 We're buds, I'm loyal to you. 59:14.400 --> 59:16.940 Are you the same way, you feel the same way to me? 59:17.140 --> 59:18.600 And we want to have love unfaigned. 59:18.740 --> 59:20.100 We don't want to say things that we don't mean. 59:20.520 --> 59:22.060 And he's asking and he's like, it is. 59:22.200 --> 59:23.240 And he's like, all right, then prove it 59:23.240 --> 59:26.060 and get in here and go with me to the battle 59:26.480 --> 59:27.800 and go with me to the work. 59:28.080 --> 59:30.020 And it's like, hey, you love me. 59:30.360 --> 59:31.700 You love the apostle Paul. 59:31.960 --> 59:34.240 All right, then get in that chariot 59:34.240 --> 59:37.060 and let's go to work and let's get people saved 59:37.060 --> 59:39.520 and let's stop fellowshiping with unbelievers 59:39.520 --> 59:41.480 and let's stop fellowshiping with idols 59:41.480 --> 59:43.500 and let's stop playing games here 59:43.500 --> 59:45.200 and let's be reconciled to God. 59:45.480 --> 59:47.020 And you know, we need to do that right now. 59:47.440 --> 59:50.280 Just like Jehu's saying, hey, here's my hand. 59:50.600 --> 59:52.100 Get in the chariot and let's go. 59:53.720 --> 59:54.680 If your heart's right, 59:54.800 --> 59:56.760 then you have no problem getting in the chariot. 59:57.940 --> 59:59.940 But if you're gonna say that you love me 59:59.940 --> 01:00:01.500 and then you're not getting in the chariot, 01:00:01.580 --> 01:00:02.320 well, there's a problem. 01:00:03.440 --> 01:00:05.820 It's like all these pastors, they love Jesus 01:00:05.820 --> 01:00:07.700 and they love the Bible and they're such good Christians. 01:00:08.100 --> 01:00:10.340 Well, then where's your soul winning right now? 01:00:12.520 --> 01:00:14.220 Where's your missions right now? 01:00:15.080 --> 01:00:16.920 Where's your good sermons right now? 01:00:18.200 --> 01:00:20.100 You know, if you really love these things, 01:00:20.200 --> 01:00:23.020 then let's show it right now, okay? 01:00:23.340 --> 01:00:25.440 It's the heart check that he's asking them for. 01:00:25.900 --> 01:00:27.440 He'll be good back and we'll finish this chapter. 01:00:28.500 --> 01:00:30.580 But we've been making some good points here 01:00:30.580 --> 01:00:32.180 and we're just trying to emphasize this idea 01:00:32.180 --> 01:00:33.780 of being reconciled, being a good ambassador 01:00:34.300 --> 01:00:36.520 for the cause of Christ and, hey, 01:00:36.940 --> 01:00:37.780 recompensing in the same. 01:00:37.920 --> 01:00:41.180 Now, again, no one is forced to just automatically 01:00:41.180 --> 01:00:43.920 love someone back, but obviously children 01:00:43.920 --> 01:00:45.080 should love their parents back. 01:00:45.700 --> 01:00:47.540 Obviously a spouse should love their spouse back 01:00:48.060 --> 01:00:49.960 and obviously, hey, the guy that got you saved 01:00:49.960 --> 01:00:51.420 and is leading you to the things of Christ 01:00:51.420 --> 01:00:52.380 and is a follower of Christ, 01:00:52.760 --> 01:00:53.840 you should love that guy back 01:00:53.840 --> 01:00:54.960 because he's a brother in Christ 01:00:54.960 --> 01:00:56.520 and the Bible says they were supposed 01:00:56.520 --> 01:00:58.480 to love the brethren, okay? 01:00:59.100 --> 01:01:00.600 So there's certain relationships 01:01:00.600 --> 01:01:03.220 where there is an expectation of reciprocal love 01:01:03.220 --> 01:01:04.400 and that we should reciprocate. 01:01:04.760 --> 01:01:06.840 You know, we love God because he first loved us 01:01:06.840 --> 01:01:09.400 and in some cases we have to love someone first 01:01:09.400 --> 01:01:11.460 before they would reciprocate. 01:01:11.960 --> 01:01:13.300 It says in verse number 14, 01:01:13.520 --> 01:01:15.540 be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers 01:01:16.000 --> 01:01:18.340 for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness 01:01:18.340 --> 01:01:19.680 and what communion hath light with darkness 01:01:19.680 --> 01:01:21.640 and what concord hath Christ with Belial 01:01:21.640 --> 01:01:23.760 or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel 01:01:23.760 --> 01:01:25.880 at what agreement hath the temple of God with idols 01:01:26.360 --> 01:01:27.660 for year the temple of the living God 01:01:27.660 --> 01:01:28.920 as God has said, I will dwell in them 01:01:28.920 --> 01:01:30.280 and walk in them and I will be their God 01:01:30.280 --> 01:01:31.340 and they shall be my people. 01:01:31.740 --> 01:01:32.820 Wherefore come out from among them 01:01:32.820 --> 01:01:33.940 and be separate, sayeth the Lord 01:01:33.940 --> 01:01:35.320 and touch not the unclean thing 01:01:35.320 --> 01:01:36.840 and I will receive you 01:01:36.840 --> 01:01:38.180 and will be a father unto you 01:01:38.180 --> 01:01:39.500 and ye shall be my sons and daughters, 01:01:39.880 --> 01:01:40.540 sayeth the Lord almighty. 01:01:41.060 --> 01:01:43.880 So we finish with the general idea of separation 01:01:43.880 --> 01:01:45.120 and of course this is where 01:01:45.120 --> 01:01:47.680 most independent fundamental Baptist will go to 01:01:47.680 --> 01:01:49.400 if they wanna teach the doctrine of separation 01:01:49.920 --> 01:01:51.060 or to be sanctified, 01:01:51.160 --> 01:01:52.740 to set yourself apart from this world. 01:01:53.280 --> 01:01:54.620 Now, what does that look like? 01:01:54.980 --> 01:01:56.220 Not having your best friends 01:01:56.220 --> 01:01:57.700 and your closest friends being unbelievers, 01:01:58.280 --> 01:02:00.280 not having anything to do with idolatry 01:02:00.280 --> 01:02:02.140 and false religions, being ecumenical. 01:02:02.660 --> 01:02:04.780 We as Baptist believe that we should be having 01:02:04.780 --> 01:02:06.480 our closest fellowship with those that are saved. 01:02:06.880 --> 01:02:08.140 Those that are not only just saved 01:02:08.140 --> 01:02:10.480 but apart from things like idolatry 01:02:10.480 --> 01:02:11.700 which is clearly forbidden 01:02:11.700 --> 01:02:13.720 in the church discipline chapter 01:02:13.720 --> 01:02:15.720 of 1 Corinthians chapter number five. 01:02:15.960 --> 01:02:17.160 And so we would have to separate 01:02:17.160 --> 01:02:18.400 from those type of things. 01:02:19.100 --> 01:02:20.660 This is what we believe in in separation. 01:02:21.440 --> 01:02:23.780 Now again, I think some people can take separation 01:02:24.360 --> 01:02:26.000 to an unhealthy extreme 01:02:26.640 --> 01:02:28.340 where it's like if you don't agree with me 01:02:28.340 --> 01:02:29.580 on all of my standards 01:02:30.160 --> 01:02:32.040 and all of my personal preferences 01:02:32.540 --> 01:02:34.500 and my specific friends list 01:02:35.620 --> 01:02:37.240 that you're not separated, 01:02:37.980 --> 01:02:39.660 I don't like that kind of stuff 01:02:39.660 --> 01:02:40.800 and I don't agree with that kind of stuff. 01:02:41.240 --> 01:02:42.500 I think everybody has their right 01:02:42.500 --> 01:02:43.820 to preferences and friend lists 01:02:43.820 --> 01:02:45.020 but at the end of the day, 01:02:45.100 --> 01:02:47.160 the only separation that the Bible is demanding 01:02:47.700 --> 01:02:50.740 is that from unbelievers, idolatry 01:02:51.140 --> 01:02:53.680 and the clear church discipline issues. 01:02:54.340 --> 01:02:55.880 And even from a test of fellowship, 01:02:56.340 --> 01:02:58.700 if a church was King James only 01:02:58.700 --> 01:02:59.660 and right on the gospel, 01:03:00.040 --> 01:03:01.880 that's pretty much always been my litmus test 01:03:01.880 --> 01:03:04.720 of my boundary for who I had fellowship with. 01:03:06.240 --> 01:03:08.080 If they're right on those two things 01:03:08.080 --> 01:03:10.460 then I could consider potentially 01:03:10.460 --> 01:03:11.480 having fellowship with a person. 01:03:11.820 --> 01:03:15.400 I'm not saying I wouldn't consider other things. 01:03:15.960 --> 01:03:18.000 I'm not saying that if they are hostile 01:03:18.000 --> 01:03:19.560 towards me I wanna be their friend. 01:03:19.660 --> 01:03:22.300 I'm not saying that if they have a woman preacher 01:03:23.680 --> 01:03:24.980 I don't know how that's possible. 01:03:25.460 --> 01:03:27.400 They have a woman preacher with a church that's right 01:03:27.400 --> 01:03:28.100 and has the right Bible. 01:03:28.260 --> 01:03:29.500 I wouldn't fellowship with that, okay? 01:03:29.820 --> 01:03:31.860 So I'm not saying that I wouldn't have lines. 01:03:32.200 --> 01:03:34.260 I'm not saying that I wouldn't have boundaries here 01:03:34.260 --> 01:03:36.240 but you know, I'm not gonna say like, 01:03:36.360 --> 01:03:38.800 oh, they don't have a shirt and tie 01:03:39.280 --> 01:03:41.800 so I wouldn't have any fellowship 01:03:41.800 --> 01:03:42.840 or any relationship with them. 01:03:43.600 --> 01:03:47.380 I also don't think that we should have this attitude 01:03:47.380 --> 01:03:49.600 that when we're outside of church itself 01:03:49.600 --> 01:03:51.900 that we can't be friendly to save people 01:03:51.900 --> 01:03:56.040 who are involved in various denominations, okay? 01:03:56.660 --> 01:03:58.300 You know, if I were out at the supermarket 01:03:58.300 --> 01:04:00.380 and I run into a guy and he's Calvinist or something 01:04:01.780 --> 01:04:03.000 and we strike up a conversation 01:04:03.000 --> 01:04:04.680 I'm not gonna be like, oh, you're a Calvinist. 01:04:04.880 --> 01:04:05.980 Get away from me or something. 01:04:06.600 --> 01:04:08.880 Or you know, hey, I'm working with a Calvinist. 01:04:08.960 --> 01:04:10.700 I'm like, I don't even know if I can work with you 01:04:10.700 --> 01:04:11.640 because you're a Calvinist. 01:04:11.940 --> 01:04:12.820 You know, that'd be silly. 01:04:13.540 --> 01:04:14.060 That would be weird. 01:04:14.140 --> 01:04:15.600 Now again, are they wrong on doctrine? 01:04:15.880 --> 01:04:16.200 Absolutely. 01:04:17.100 --> 01:04:18.680 Are they kind of being prideful 01:04:18.680 --> 01:04:19.740 and arrogant with their doctrine? 01:04:19.920 --> 01:04:20.240 Absolutely. 01:04:20.740 --> 01:04:23.180 You know what, in meekness I should instruct him 01:04:23.600 --> 01:04:25.020 and hope that he would come to the knowledge 01:04:25.020 --> 01:04:28.220 of the truth on this issue and come to our side. 01:04:28.680 --> 01:04:30.000 I'm not even saying that he's not saved. 01:04:30.080 --> 01:04:31.060 I'm sure there's plenty of people 01:04:31.060 --> 01:04:32.560 and other denominations that are saved 01:04:32.920 --> 01:04:35.200 but you know what, when it comes to church 01:04:35.200 --> 01:04:36.460 and it comes to this institution 01:04:36.960 --> 01:04:39.280 we're gonna have some boundaries 01:04:39.280 --> 01:04:41.260 when it comes to the fellowship. 01:04:41.640 --> 01:04:43.020 I'm not gonna let somebody get up here 01:04:43.020 --> 01:04:43.980 and preach a sermon to you 01:04:43.980 --> 01:04:44.980 that's not gonna use the right Bible. 01:04:45.660 --> 01:04:47.340 I would never let someone get up here 01:04:47.340 --> 01:04:48.820 and teach to you that is not saved. 01:04:49.280 --> 01:04:50.840 So that's just your guarantee 01:04:50.840 --> 01:04:52.120 that you won't have a Jew get up here 01:04:52.580 --> 01:04:54.540 and never preach anything, okay? 01:04:54.960 --> 01:04:57.300 I'm not gonna let someone get up here 01:04:57.800 --> 01:04:59.300 and you know, just completely contradict 01:04:59.300 --> 01:05:00.860 the core doctrines of our faith 01:05:00.860 --> 01:05:02.440 and the core doctrines of our beliefs. 01:05:03.020 --> 01:05:04.600 But on secondary issues, 01:05:04.660 --> 01:05:05.960 we've had people that are pre-trib 01:05:05.960 --> 01:05:06.900 preach for us before. 01:05:07.480 --> 01:05:08.840 We've had people that are Zionists 01:05:08.840 --> 01:05:09.920 come and preach for us before. 01:05:10.200 --> 01:05:12.020 And if I would let a Zionist and a pre-tribber, 01:05:12.140 --> 01:05:13.240 I mean, that's pretty liberal already. 01:05:13.440 --> 01:05:14.960 I mean, what do you want? 01:05:16.120 --> 01:05:17.320 But you know, at the end of the day, 01:05:17.840 --> 01:05:20.440 I think that we can stretch across the aisle 01:05:20.440 --> 01:05:21.360 and love other people. 01:05:21.700 --> 01:05:22.980 So we're not trying to say here, 01:05:23.180 --> 01:05:24.860 you have to be a part of our church 01:05:24.860 --> 01:05:27.620 and our friend list and our group of standards. 01:05:28.140 --> 01:05:31.060 You know, God standards, God standards. 01:05:31.240 --> 01:05:32.180 And then this is what they'll call you. 01:05:32.500 --> 01:05:33.320 Oh, you're deceivers. 01:05:33.540 --> 01:05:34.160 Oh, you're a cult. 01:05:34.680 --> 01:05:35.820 No, we're just Christians. 01:05:36.720 --> 01:05:39.140 Okay, you can call us whatever labels you want. 01:05:39.340 --> 01:05:41.300 This is what the Bible demands with the Bible commands. 01:05:41.660 --> 01:05:43.360 And of course, notice in this language, 01:05:43.440 --> 01:05:44.920 he says that I'll be a father unto you. 01:05:45.800 --> 01:05:48.460 We understand this exactly like we understand everything else. 01:05:49.100 --> 01:05:51.420 We were reconciled the moment we got saved, 01:05:51.820 --> 01:05:53.840 but then we need to be reconciled, okay? 01:05:54.520 --> 01:05:56.920 We were freed the moment we got saved, 01:05:57.180 --> 01:05:59.100 but then we need to be freed from our sin. 01:05:59.400 --> 01:06:00.960 We were saved the moment we believed, 01:06:01.340 --> 01:06:02.820 but then we need to be saved from that sin 01:06:02.820 --> 01:06:05.020 and separate ourselves from these evils. 01:06:05.480 --> 01:06:06.800 And when we believe in Jesus Christ, 01:06:06.960 --> 01:06:11.080 God became our father in identity and relationship. 01:06:11.540 --> 01:06:12.840 But he wasn't necessarily, 01:06:13.580 --> 01:06:15.240 we're not necessarily benefiting 01:06:15.240 --> 01:06:17.740 from the functions of the father 01:06:18.480 --> 01:06:20.700 when we're fellowshiping with unbelievers, 01:06:20.800 --> 01:06:21.980 when we're outside of the church, 01:06:22.060 --> 01:06:25.260 when we're hanging out with idolatry. 01:06:25.760 --> 01:06:28.160 But here's the thing, when you come into the church, 01:06:28.800 --> 01:06:32.860 God is gonna be functionally acting like a father unto you. 01:06:33.280 --> 01:06:35.020 And again, what does a father do? 01:06:35.140 --> 01:06:39.000 A father provides, a father protects, a father guides. 01:06:39.800 --> 01:06:41.320 And so when you're in church 01:06:41.320 --> 01:06:42.780 and you're drawing near to the father, 01:06:43.360 --> 01:06:45.020 he's gonna respond by what? 01:06:45.260 --> 01:06:48.000 Protecting you and providing for you and guiding you. 01:06:48.420 --> 01:06:51.680 When you decide to walk away from the things of God 01:06:51.680 --> 01:06:54.920 and you hang out with idolatry and you hang out this stuff, 01:06:55.120 --> 01:06:58.320 well, he's not gonna be functioning as a father for you 01:06:58.320 --> 01:07:00.700 because you've left his guidance and his provision. 01:07:01.020 --> 01:07:02.600 It's similar to the prodigal son. 01:07:03.220 --> 01:07:04.020 I mean, the prodigal son, 01:07:04.140 --> 01:07:08.440 he didn't lose his identity whenever he left the house. 01:07:09.140 --> 01:07:10.240 But then he left what? 01:07:10.400 --> 01:07:12.700 The provision, protection and guidance of his father. 01:07:13.020 --> 01:07:15.200 Whereas the other son was receiving the provision, 01:07:15.440 --> 01:07:17.160 the guidance and everything from his father. 01:07:17.420 --> 01:07:18.280 But when he came back, 01:07:18.640 --> 01:07:19.580 remember he was saying like, 01:07:19.660 --> 01:07:21.600 I'm no longer worthy to be called thy son? 01:07:22.140 --> 01:07:22.920 But guess what? 01:07:23.160 --> 01:07:25.340 He came back and his father continued his role 01:07:25.340 --> 01:07:26.960 and function as father for him 01:07:27.460 --> 01:07:29.120 and slaughtered the fatted calf 01:07:29.120 --> 01:07:31.380 and treated him like a son again 01:07:31.940 --> 01:07:35.680 and provided for him, provided a blessing for him. 01:07:35.900 --> 01:07:37.320 And so when you go to church, 01:07:37.740 --> 01:07:40.600 you're allowing God to provide for you 01:07:40.600 --> 01:07:43.520 and to be a blessing unto you and to protect you. 01:07:44.000 --> 01:07:46.840 You know, it's kind of like when you're a teenager 01:07:46.840 --> 01:07:48.720 or a young adult and you live at home. 01:07:49.080 --> 01:07:51.440 In many cases, sometimes dads will pay in the bills for you. 01:07:52.140 --> 01:07:53.200 You know, I don't know. 01:07:53.440 --> 01:07:54.840 Some of you have like a rent agreement. 01:07:55.180 --> 01:07:56.340 I don't care if you do or not. 01:07:56.460 --> 01:07:57.260 I mean, you can do whatever you want. 01:07:57.640 --> 01:07:58.980 But in some cases, 01:07:59.060 --> 01:08:01.240 you're probably still getting a good rate, right? 01:08:01.800 --> 01:08:04.000 And I guarantee there's some things that he's providing. 01:08:04.380 --> 01:08:05.540 You know, when I was young married, 01:08:06.180 --> 01:08:07.500 I was poor, okay? 01:08:08.000 --> 01:08:08.880 I was super poor. 01:08:09.060 --> 01:08:10.000 We didn't have anything hardly. 01:08:10.320 --> 01:08:11.900 I would sometimes go grocery shopping 01:08:11.900 --> 01:08:12.820 at mom and dad's house, 01:08:13.060 --> 01:08:14.340 because I lived really close. 01:08:15.060 --> 01:08:18.300 So, you know, for you, the kids that live close at home, 01:08:18.780 --> 01:08:20.980 I would just talk to my parents 01:08:20.980 --> 01:08:22.180 and she'd be like, yeah, just go home. 01:08:22.360 --> 01:08:23.200 I'm just going in the cupboard. 01:08:23.340 --> 01:08:24.940 I'm like, oh, like, this cereal looks good. 01:08:25.260 --> 01:08:27.200 And oh, they got some ground beef, sweet. 01:08:27.460 --> 01:08:29.100 You know, I'm gonna get this ground beef or whatever. 01:08:29.840 --> 01:08:31.900 And not only that, like I would go to church 01:08:31.900 --> 01:08:32.620 with my parents. 01:08:33.400 --> 01:08:34.020 I was married. 01:08:34.100 --> 01:08:34.840 Me and my wife were married. 01:08:34.840 --> 01:08:35.840 We'd go to church with my parents. 01:08:36.060 --> 01:08:37.320 And then after church, 01:08:37.440 --> 01:08:39.440 they would always take us out and they would buy dinner. 01:08:40.240 --> 01:08:43.120 And it was Jason's deli every time, okay? 01:08:43.620 --> 01:08:44.740 Every, you know, but I loved it. 01:08:44.820 --> 01:08:45.820 You know, we really loved it. 01:08:45.920 --> 01:08:46.260 It was great. 01:08:46.740 --> 01:08:48.360 Then I noticed there was other family members 01:08:48.360 --> 01:08:48.980 of our that were going. 01:08:49.560 --> 01:08:51.520 And I think they were sick of Jason's. 01:08:51.560 --> 01:08:53.260 So what they did is their kids 01:08:53.260 --> 01:08:55.440 would magically ask to go somewhere else. 01:08:55.980 --> 01:08:57.880 You know, we were always kind of suspicious of like, 01:08:58.060 --> 01:08:59.460 who came up with this idea or whatever. 01:09:00.000 --> 01:09:01.360 But they'd be like, can we go to Outback? 01:09:01.900 --> 01:09:04.240 You know, grandpa, can you take us to Outback 01:09:04.240 --> 01:09:04.620 or whatever. 01:09:05.300 --> 01:09:07.320 But it was like, hey, there's some benefits 01:09:07.320 --> 01:09:08.680 to hanging around mom and dad. 01:09:09.880 --> 01:09:11.580 There's some benefits to having a relationship 01:09:11.580 --> 01:09:12.320 with mom and dad. 01:09:13.780 --> 01:09:15.320 And the same as with God. 01:09:15.640 --> 01:09:17.580 It's not like, oh, I go to church 01:09:18.080 --> 01:09:19.620 and there's no benefit to me. 01:09:20.300 --> 01:09:22.740 It'd be the same as if I'm just not going to church 01:09:22.740 --> 01:09:23.500 and just living my own. 01:09:23.680 --> 01:09:25.460 I'm having church right now at my house. 01:09:26.200 --> 01:09:26.600 False. 01:09:27.600 --> 01:09:28.680 It's not out works. 01:09:29.400 --> 01:09:31.680 No, you come to church so you can get some groceries. 01:09:31.900 --> 01:09:32.260 You know what I mean? 01:09:32.380 --> 01:09:33.920 You can shop, get some groceries. 01:09:33.920 --> 01:09:35.280 You can get some Jason's deli. 01:09:35.400 --> 01:09:35.780 You can get whatever. 01:09:36.260 --> 01:09:37.560 You know, maybe in Outback throwing in 01:09:37.560 --> 01:09:38.400 every once in a while. 01:09:38.900 --> 01:09:41.060 But it's like, hey, God will bless you 01:09:41.060 --> 01:09:41.800 and provide for you. 01:09:42.000 --> 01:09:43.800 He's like, I'll be a father under you. 01:09:44.800 --> 01:09:45.080 Okay. 01:09:45.560 --> 01:09:47.540 If you're King Saul, you're still saved. 01:09:48.040 --> 01:09:49.600 God's not treating you like a father. 01:09:50.560 --> 01:09:53.740 He's gonna discipline you and even be your enemy 01:09:53.740 --> 01:09:56.320 in some cases and fight against you. 01:09:56.560 --> 01:09:57.800 And he's not gonna act like someone 01:09:57.800 --> 01:09:59.140 that's protecting you and guarding you 01:09:59.140 --> 01:09:59.920 and everything like that. 01:10:00.140 --> 01:10:02.480 And so, you know, the way that God responds to us 01:10:02.480 --> 01:10:03.720 is how we respond to him in many cases. 01:10:04.120 --> 01:10:04.600 And you know what? 01:10:04.780 --> 01:10:08.480 You kids out there, I guarantee your parents' response to you 01:10:08.480 --> 01:10:09.860 is often how you're responding to them. 01:10:10.420 --> 01:10:11.200 You follow their rules. 01:10:11.340 --> 01:10:11.760 You do good. 01:10:12.060 --> 01:10:12.820 You draw night of them. 01:10:13.080 --> 01:10:14.480 You're gonna have a good relationship with mom and dad. 01:10:15.080 --> 01:10:16.000 You're always obedient. 01:10:16.600 --> 01:10:18.100 You roll your eyes at them. 01:10:18.340 --> 01:10:18.940 You're stubborn. 01:10:19.480 --> 01:10:19.900 You're difficult. 01:10:20.340 --> 01:10:22.940 And you're like, oh, they don't ever treat me 01:10:22.940 --> 01:10:25.880 like the favorite, you know, the favorite kid. 01:10:26.380 --> 01:10:29.860 And it's like, is the favorite kid more obedient? 01:10:31.780 --> 01:10:34.460 Is the favorite kid like talk to the mom and dad more? 01:10:35.440 --> 01:10:38.080 And this is like, the favorite kid's just better at hiding, 01:10:38.360 --> 01:10:40.420 you know, their transgressions or whatever. 01:10:40.820 --> 01:10:43.260 Well, then they're just better at hiding then, okay? 01:10:43.320 --> 01:10:44.560 Then hide your transgressions more. 01:10:44.680 --> 01:10:45.040 I don't know. 01:10:45.400 --> 01:10:47.300 But it's like, I guarantee you the favorite, 01:10:47.880 --> 01:10:49.540 there's probably a reason why they're the favorite. 01:10:51.480 --> 01:10:52.860 You know, and again, it's like, 01:10:52.980 --> 01:10:54.200 oh, you're just God's favorite. 01:10:54.380 --> 01:10:55.740 Well, there's gonna be a reason. 01:10:56.780 --> 01:10:57.860 You know who's God's favorite? 01:10:58.400 --> 01:10:58.740 Abraham. 01:10:59.960 --> 01:11:01.380 He was called the friend of God. 01:11:01.620 --> 01:11:02.220 You know why? 01:11:02.920 --> 01:11:04.280 Because he did the works of God. 01:11:04.780 --> 01:11:06.260 And so, hey, you wanna be justified 01:11:06.260 --> 01:11:07.600 in being called the friend of God? 01:11:07.920 --> 01:11:09.500 You want God's blessing, you want God's favor? 01:11:09.840 --> 01:11:10.800 Draw a line to him. 01:11:11.120 --> 01:11:12.160 Get away from idolatry. 01:11:12.280 --> 01:11:13.200 Get away from unbelievers. 01:11:13.900 --> 01:11:15.600 You know, be reconciled unto him. 01:11:16.100 --> 01:11:16.540 Hey, when? 01:11:17.280 --> 01:11:17.600 Now. 01:11:18.100 --> 01:11:19.240 Now's the accepted time. 01:11:19.800 --> 01:11:20.860 Now's the day of salvation. 01:11:21.700 --> 01:11:23.160 And hey, you've been struggling with sins. 01:11:23.760 --> 01:11:25.100 Now's the time to get rid of that sin. 01:11:25.500 --> 01:11:26.880 Now's the time to get rid of that temptation. 01:11:27.060 --> 01:11:28.300 Now's the time to make that change. 01:11:28.300 --> 01:11:30.240 Now's the time to get right with the Lord. 01:11:30.620 --> 01:11:32.900 There's never been a bad time to give up sin. 01:11:33.520 --> 01:11:34.860 It's a good time right now. 01:11:35.980 --> 01:11:37.780 And so, what's the point of this chapter? 01:11:38.440 --> 01:11:40.860 Hey, draw a night of God and he'll be a father unto you. 01:11:41.560 --> 01:11:42.080 Let's close in prayer. 01:11:42.460 --> 01:11:44.540 Thank you, Heavenly Father, so much for your provision 01:11:44.540 --> 01:11:47.040 and your protection and your love towards us. 01:11:47.100 --> 01:11:49.880 I pray that we would not just take the grace of God 01:11:49.880 --> 01:11:51.520 and be in vain. 01:11:52.300 --> 01:11:55.380 We'd not waste the opportunity we have to serve you now. 01:11:55.740 --> 01:11:58.680 We wouldn't waste the opportunity to have a relationship 01:11:58.680 --> 01:11:59.280 with you now. 01:11:59.680 --> 01:12:01.840 We wouldn't waste the opportunity to go to church now, 01:12:02.120 --> 01:12:03.840 but rather we would serve you now 01:12:03.840 --> 01:12:04.960 and we'd draw close to you now 01:12:04.960 --> 01:12:08.400 that we'd separate ourselves from the evils of idolatry, 01:12:09.060 --> 01:12:09.920 of false religion, 01:12:10.420 --> 01:12:13.260 that we wouldn't be fellowshiping with unbelievers 01:12:13.260 --> 01:12:14.840 but rather be fellowshiping with believers 01:12:14.840 --> 01:12:16.500 and with Christians and those in church 01:12:16.500 --> 01:12:17.520 and those that love God. 01:12:18.040 --> 01:12:19.680 And I pray that whatever afflictions 01:12:19.680 --> 01:12:20.980 and difficulties we go through, 01:12:21.360 --> 01:12:22.620 we'd still be motivated 01:12:22.620 --> 01:12:24.060 through the power of the Holy Spirit. 01:12:24.500 --> 01:12:25.960 And I pray you would help this church 01:12:25.960 --> 01:12:28.520 to be a bright and shining light to such a dark world 01:12:29.020 --> 01:12:32.000 that you've suckered us so that we could say 01:12:32.000 --> 01:12:33.800 and preach the gospel and pull others 01:12:34.320 --> 01:12:35.960 out of captivity and out of darkness. 01:12:36.100 --> 01:12:36.860 In Jesus' name we pray. 01:12:36.960 --> 01:12:37.040 Amen.