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Well, we were actually driving
on the way to church, and my son

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asked me, dad, what book of
the Bible are we going to be studying

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now that we're done with Joshua?

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And I love when my kids ask questions.

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And it makes me understand
that I'm conditioning them to know

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that we do book studies.

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But I actually had to tell
them, we're not going to do a particular

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book study now for a little
bit because we're going to be doing

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a series for the rest of the summer.

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And different people define
summer different ways.

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And so that gives me a little
bit of freedom to know that I can

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go a little bit longer, a
little bit shorter.

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But we're going to be going
through a sermon series entitled

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Summer of Spiritual Strength.

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And so for the rest of the
summer, we're going to talk about

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what spiritual growth is.

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Number one, what is spiritual growth?

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Number two, how can we grow,
and how can we even gauge if we're

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growing?

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And I do believe that the
Bible speaks quite a bit about spiritual

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growth.

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But if we were to pull the
church, I think all of us would agree

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that spiritual growth is important.

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I think if I said, hey, how
many of you believe spiritual growth

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is important?

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All of us would raise our
hands, all of us would agree.

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But then I might ask the
question, and you probably have the

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answer.

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But let's just pretend like
the church doesn't have the answer

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so that we can grow in our understanding.

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If I might ask, how do we
spiritually grow, or what does spiritual

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growth look like?

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We might get different answers.

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Talked a little bit about this
in our small group this morning.

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But some people might say,
well, it's going to church.

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Spiritual growth is, I go to
church more.

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But we all know that church
attendance does not necessarily equate

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spiritual growth.

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Why?

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Because people can come to
church and go home and leave unchanged.

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It's just, hey, I'm at a
different place today.

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I'm walking into a building,
sitting down, going home, and I'm

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the same.

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So just going to church
doesn't change us in our spiritual

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growth process.

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Some people might even say,
well, I read my Bible, so that means

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I'm spiritually growing.

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Well, we all know that there
are unsaved people that read the

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Bible.

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It doesn't mean that they're
spiritually growing.

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So those two things might
necessarily be spiritual growth.

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They might be ways that we can
grow in our walk with Christ.

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Others might say prayer,
others might say service.

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And these are all good things,
but they're not necessarily spiritual

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growth.

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And so we have to go down to
the most basic level of what is spiritual

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growth.

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And I believe that we can go
to a few passages of scripture that

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might give us a working
understanding of what spiritual growth

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is.

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And then I would like to take
us to a larger passage of scripture

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that speaks to the first step
of that spiritual growth process.

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So go with me, if you will, to
Romans chapter 8.

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We were just here in our
Romans study, but I do believe that

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Romans chapter 8, verse 29
gives us a good definition of what

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spiritual growth is.

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Romans chapter 8, verse 29 is
a passage of scripture that many

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people use as a proof text for determinism.

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Basically, God selects a
certain group of people at the beginning

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of time and he makes those
people Christians and others, he

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makes non Christians.

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And I don't believe that
that's what this verse is talking

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about.

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If you want to know more about
that study, you can go back to our

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Romans 8 study on the live stream.

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But Romans chapter 8:28 says,
for whom he did for know, he also

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did predestinate.

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Now, who did he for know?

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Well, this is, I believe,
speaking about those that he knew

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in the past with his
relationship with them, the the saints

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of old.

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And those that he knew before
he predestined to be conformed to

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the image of His Son.

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So just as God has been
faithful to those that he knew before,

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so he will be faithful to us
today as Christians.

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And he predestinates those
that are part of the family of God.

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To do what?

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To be conformed to the image
of His Son.

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I believe that is a great
definition of what it means to grow

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spiritually.

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And that is to be more like
Christ, to be conformed to the image

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of Christ.

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Now you might say, what does
that mean?

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That means just simply this.

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To look like Christ, to act
like Christ, to talk like Christ,

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to respond to like Christ, to
deal with pain like Christ, to deal

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with conflict like Christ.

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It list goes on and on.

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But the Bible says the way
that we can gauge our spiritual growth

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is are we living more and more
like Christ?

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And you might say, well,
Pastor Josh, I'll never be like Christ.

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I'll never be perfectly like Christ.

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Well, on this side of heaven,
there's no way that we could be like

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Christ.

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But the Bible tells us very
clearly here that it's God's plan

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for us to be conformed to the
image of His Son, meaning it's God's

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plan for us as believers to be
more Christ.

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Like every single day.

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It's a spiritual growth process.

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So how do we get on that
process, how do we get on the road

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of spiritual growth?

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How do we start that process?

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Because the Bible tells us in
second Peter, chapter three, verse

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18, that we're to grow in grace.

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Second Peter, chapter one
tells us that we're to add to our

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faith.

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So you say, well, how can we
add to our faith?

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How can we grow in grace?

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Other passages of Scripture,
like Colossians chapter two, tell

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us to be rooted in Christ, to
be grounded in Christ, to be established

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in his word.

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Well, how can we do all of that?

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Well, we do that not through
hard work, not, not through our own

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will, not through our own
success, but through the working

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of the Spirit of God in our life.

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Now, the first question that I
might have you think about here this

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evening, other than what is
spiritual growth?

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Is this how can we in the
biblical sense grow in our spiritual

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walk with Christ?

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And how do we have the Spirit
living within us?

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Because to grow in our
spiritual life, we have to be doing

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it through the Spirit and not
the flesh.

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Galatians tells us that we can
choose the walk of the flesh or the

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walk of the Spirit.

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And he talks about all the
works of the flesh and he talks about

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the fruit of the Spirit, which
we're going to talk about in this

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study.

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But how do we start that process?

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Well, we start that process of
the Spirit indwelling us through

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something called salvation.

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Or we could call it justification.

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We could call it putting faith
in our Lord.

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We could talk about John
chapter three being born again.

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But the way that we start the
process is to believe in Jesus Christ

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through faith that not of ourselves.

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It is a gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast.

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And so Ephesians chapter two
is where we're going to start this

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study, because this talks
about the starting point to our spiritual

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growth process.

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And if I'm walking anybody
else through the spiritual growth

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process, I need to start here.

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I can't start with, well, how
much Bible have you read today?

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I can't start with how long do
you pray every day if they don't

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have faith in Jesus Christ, if
they don't have the Spirit indwelling

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them?

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Romans chapter 8 tells us that
the indication that we're born again

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is that the Spirit indwells us
that we are called the children of

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God through the indwelling of
the Spirit.

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So in Ephesians chapter two,
we're going to look at the first

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ten verses here this evening,
and what we're going to see is who

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we were before we came to
Christ, how We can come to Christ

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and who we are after that.

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And that's really a good
outline to any of our testimonies.

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When we were in Rwanda, we
walked the men through a basic outline

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of how to share their testimony.

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And it was a really basic
three step process.

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Who you were before you came
to Christ, how you came to Christ,

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and who you are now in Christ.

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And then we told them, hey,
try to find a Bible verse that you

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can go back to as a
foundational truth that you can come

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back to when you're doubting
or when you're struggling.

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So we go to Ephesians chapter
2 and we see who we were before we

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came to Christ.

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It says in verse one, and you
hath he quickened or brought to life

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who were dead in trespasses
and sins.

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The Bible tells us here in
Ephesians 2:1 that before we came

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to Christ, we were dead in our
sins and he brought us to life.

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Now, there's a lot of debate
about what this phrase dead in our

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trespasses and sins means, but
I do believe that if we could take

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it from the most basic level,
we could say that in our sin, we

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deserve death.

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In our sin, the wage.

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As Romans chapter 6, verse 23
says, the wage of our sin is death.

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And so what we deserve and
what our outcome will be if we are

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not brought to life is death.

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But the Bible says that God
makes us alive.

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And so we go from death to
life, we go from darkness to light.

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It's a huge transition.

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It's not like, well, my life
is getting a little bit better.

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No, I'm not even on the path
of hope.

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I'm not even on the path of light.

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I am dead in my sins, I'm
stuck in darkness.

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He says in verse two, wherein
in times past ye walked according

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to the course of this world.

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He says, when we were in our
sins, when we were dead in our sins,

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we were walking in the ways of
this world.

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Now what's the ways of this world?

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Well, we could see it in a lot
of places, but I think the most succinct

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list of what the world brings
is First John, chapter two.

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First John, chapter two tells
us what the world provides for us.

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If we love the world, if we
want to walk in the ways of the world,

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what will be the result?

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Well, First John, chapter 2,
verse 15 says, Love not the world,

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neither the things that are in
the world.

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If any man love the world, the
love of the Father is not in him.

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So the Bible says, as we walk
in the world, we are not walking

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with the love of Christ.

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We're not walking with the
confidence in our heavenly Father.

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We're walking in the
confidence of this world.

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And what does the world bring?

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He says, for all that is in
the world, the lust of the flesh,

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the lust of the eyes and the
pride of life is not of the Father,

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but is of the world.

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And then he goes on to say
something more interesting.

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He says, and the world passeth
away, and the lust thereof.

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And he that doeth the will of
God abideth forever.

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So there's so many points that
we see here, but essentially, when

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we're walking in the ways of
the world, we're walking with the

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lust of our flesh, what feels
good, lust of the eyes, what looks

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appealing, and the pride of
life, what lifts me up.

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Then he says, what is that
going to produce?

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Verse 17.

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It's going to pass away.

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It's going to go away.

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You might feel good for a season.

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You might feel like you have
everything you've ever desired, but

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that will eventually slip out
of our grasp and we will have nothing

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at the end.

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He says, no, that is not the
hope that we find in the Lord.

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That's the hope that we find
in the world.

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The hope that we find in the.

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In the.

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In the Lord is what that we
will abide forever.

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So he says, before we came to
Christ, before we start in this process,

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we were walking in the course
or the way of this world.

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The way of this world is what
feels good, what looks good, what

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lifts you up.

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And the promise of that.

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If you go back to even Satan's
temptations with Jesus in the wilderness,

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what did he do?

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He appealed to all of these things.

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The lust of the flesh.

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Jesus was hungry.

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He said, hey, make those
stones turn to bread.

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It'll make you feel good then.

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Then remember.

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He took him to a place and he
says, I'll give you all the kingdoms

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of the world.

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He.

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He appealed to the lust of the
eyes, then eventually said, hey,

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Jesus, just want you to jump
off the temple because the angels

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will catch you.

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You know, you aren't you Messiah.

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He appeals to Jesus's pride of life.

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He says, hey, Jesus, get it now.

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Don't wait for the Father's way.

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Don't wait for the Father's timing.

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Do what you want to do now.

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That's what Satan always
attacks us with.

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And that's what we see here is
ultimately the course of this world.

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And he says, you're walking in
the course of this world according

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to the prince of the power of
the air.

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Now, you might not understand
what that means, but essentially

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what he's saying is this, that
we're walking in the way of the devil.

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We're walking as enemies of God.

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Then he goes on to say a
little bit more.

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He says, and the Spirit that
now worketh in the children of disobedience.

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So before we came to Christ,
who were we?

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We were dead walking in the
ways of this world, which brings

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destruction.

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And what does it say, children
of disobedience?

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Not a very bright picture of
who we were before we came to Christ.

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Then he says in verse three,
among whom also we have all had our

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conversation or our lifestyle
in times past, in the lust of our

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flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and

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were by nature children of
wrath, even as others.

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So he paints the picture a
little bit more detailed here.

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He says, okay, all of us, no
matter if you were saved 20 years

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ago or you were saved two
minutes ago, if you were saved when

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you were seven, or if you were
saved when you were 70, this is who

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you were before you came to faith.

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He says, you were fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the

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mind.

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By the way, there's a lot there.

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Because what that tells us is
that we don't just sin with what

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we do, but we also sin with
how we think.

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Jesus addresses that on the
Sermon on the Mount.

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There were.

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There were people at the time
of Jesus and even people today that

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say, well, as long as you're
not doing something, you can think

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whatever you want to think.

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But what Jesus said was this.

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No, you know what?

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It's more than what you do,
even though what you do is bad.

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Also, if you think these
things, they can lead to a place

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of sin in your life.

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And so he says this.

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We were characterized by our sin.

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Now you might say, well,
Pastor, isn't that the condition

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of man?

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Aren't we all just human?

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Yes, that shows all the more
reason why we need to get on the

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path of Jesus Christ.

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And so he says, that's who you were.

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And then he goes on to say this.

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And we're by nature the
children of wrath.

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So you were children of disobedience.

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I was a child of disobedience.

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And I was a child of wrath.

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Verses 1, 2, and 3 tell us
that before we come to Christ, it's

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hopelessness.

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We might think that we have
hope, we might think that we have

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direction.

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00:13:35,370 --> 00:13:39,370
We might think that we have
some sort of salvation in something.

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00:13:39,370 --> 00:13:42,809
But he says, no, really, if
you look at it from the most basic

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00:13:42,809 --> 00:13:47,010
level, we are all lost and we
are all hopeless and we are all children

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of the enemy.

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00:13:47,970 --> 00:13:50,450
We are all children of
disobedience and we're children of

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wrath.

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00:13:51,130 --> 00:13:53,890
But then I like in verse
number four, two words come on the

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scene and totally flipped the
script, totally changed the direction,

322
00:13:57,810 --> 00:14:03,850
says, but God, who is rich in
mercy, what is mercy?

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00:14:03,850 --> 00:14:05,330
Well, we all know what mercy is.

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00:14:05,410 --> 00:14:09,330
Mercy is God withholding
something from us that we deserve.

325
00:14:09,330 --> 00:14:10,210
What do we deserve?

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00:14:10,210 --> 00:14:11,090
We deserve death.

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We deserve punishment.

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00:14:12,930 --> 00:14:16,690
We deserve all the things that
we earned in the lifestyle of our

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00:14:16,690 --> 00:14:17,010
sin.

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00:14:17,010 --> 00:14:18,170
But he says, no.

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00:14:18,170 --> 00:14:23,250
God came on the scene who is
rich in mercy for his great love,

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00:14:23,570 --> 00:14:25,730
wherewith he loved us.

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00:14:26,450 --> 00:14:29,170
We see that we have a God who
is merciful and loving.

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00:14:29,650 --> 00:14:33,090
Folks, if you're a believer
today, you have a reason to celebrate.

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00:14:33,490 --> 00:14:35,170
You have a reason to be joyful.

336
00:14:35,490 --> 00:14:36,970
You have a reason to have hope.

337
00:14:36,970 --> 00:14:37,250
Why?

338
00:14:37,250 --> 00:14:41,570
Because you have a God who is
merciful and you have a God who loves

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00:14:41,570 --> 00:14:41,890
you.

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00:14:42,530 --> 00:14:45,410
You know, John 3:16, for God
so loved the world.

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00:14:45,820 --> 00:14:49,620
And oftentimes we, we
distinctly look at that verse and

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00:14:49,620 --> 00:14:52,300
we think, well, that's talking
about God just loving the general

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00:14:52,300 --> 00:14:52,860
population.

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00:14:53,100 --> 00:14:56,420
And though that means, yes,
that God loves us all, it also means

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00:14:56,420 --> 00:14:57,340
that God loves you.

346
00:14:58,540 --> 00:15:01,100
And that can change the way
that we see a situation.

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00:15:02,060 --> 00:15:06,260
If we're having a bad day, or
if we're going through loss, or if

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00:15:06,260 --> 00:15:09,180
we're going through pain, or
if we're going through confusion.

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00:15:09,580 --> 00:15:12,980
If we go back to understanding
that the God of this universe, and

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00:15:12,980 --> 00:15:16,110
we truly believe this, that
the God of this universe, who did

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00:15:16,110 --> 00:15:21,750
not need to love me, who I
owe, who really truthfully I owe

352
00:15:21,750 --> 00:15:27,350
everything to, came and loved
us and displayed, as it says here

353
00:15:27,350 --> 00:15:31,270
in verse number five, even
when we were dead in sins, hath quickened

354
00:15:31,350 --> 00:15:32,870
us together with Christ.

355
00:15:32,950 --> 00:15:34,710
By grace you're saved.

356
00:15:34,710 --> 00:15:37,870
It's through Christ and His
sacrifice for us that he proved his

357
00:15:37,870 --> 00:15:38,470
love for us.

358
00:15:39,030 --> 00:15:42,070
And so as Christians as we're
starting the spiritual growth process,

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00:15:42,860 --> 00:15:44,340
we take someone and we show them.

360
00:15:44,340 --> 00:15:49,140
This is who Jesus is, this is
what he does for you, and this is

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00:15:49,140 --> 00:15:51,100
what puts you on the path to
spiritual growth.

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00:15:51,100 --> 00:15:52,940
It's not about being a better person.

363
00:15:53,980 --> 00:15:57,580
So often I'll hear people say
this, and maybe you have as well.

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00:15:58,700 --> 00:16:00,100
I need to get to church.

365
00:16:00,100 --> 00:16:01,540
I need to clean up my life.

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00:16:01,540 --> 00:16:04,580
I need to get everything in
order and then I can start trying

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00:16:04,580 --> 00:16:05,300
to serve God.

368
00:16:05,300 --> 00:16:07,260
No, folks, that's not how it goes.

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00:16:07,340 --> 00:16:11,940
You come to Jesus in your
brokenness, you come to his grace

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00:16:11,940 --> 00:16:13,740
with all of your dirtiness.

371
00:16:13,740 --> 00:16:15,300
And he washes us clean.

372
00:16:15,620 --> 00:16:17,940
And so it's not a matter of
coming and saying, you know what?

373
00:16:18,100 --> 00:16:21,220
I need to start the spiritual
growth process by finding a good

374
00:16:21,220 --> 00:16:22,020
ministry, by.

375
00:16:22,020 --> 00:16:23,940
By getting involved, by.

376
00:16:23,940 --> 00:16:26,980
By thinking about all these
different things and by getting into

377
00:16:26,980 --> 00:16:29,780
this Bible study, this Bible
study, even though those can help

378
00:16:29,780 --> 00:16:31,380
us in the spiritual growth process.

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00:16:31,620 --> 00:16:35,660
The first place to start is
knowing Jesus and knowing him in

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00:16:35,660 --> 00:16:36,740
a personal way.

381
00:16:37,060 --> 00:16:37,820
And that's what he says here.

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00:16:37,820 --> 00:16:38,980
It starts with Jesus.

383
00:16:39,460 --> 00:16:43,820
We know that in the book of
Hebrews it says that Jesus is the,

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00:16:43,820 --> 00:16:47,300
what, the author and finisher
of our faith.

385
00:16:48,020 --> 00:16:51,220
It's not just where we start,
but it's where we finish.

386
00:16:51,300 --> 00:16:55,540
It's not just where we start,
but we are sustained by him in our

387
00:16:55,540 --> 00:16:56,820
spiritual growth process.

388
00:16:57,460 --> 00:17:02,140
So many people are looking to
grow in their spiritual growth with

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00:17:02,140 --> 00:17:03,700
their own fleshly actions.

390
00:17:04,120 --> 00:17:06,360
We talked about it this
morning in our morning service.

391
00:17:06,600 --> 00:17:08,200
Some people are list followers.

392
00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:10,280
Others are led by their emotions.

393
00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:13,160
Others are led by maybe a
movement or a person.

394
00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:16,040
Folks, none of those things
will equate spiritual growth.

395
00:17:16,040 --> 00:17:19,080
What equates spiritual growth
is fighting spiritual things with

396
00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:19,880
spiritual things.

397
00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:23,680
It's a submission to God and
allowing God to rule and reign in

398
00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:26,600
our hearts and in our lives
and that he directs us.

399
00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:30,750
And so it says in verse number
six, and hath raised us up to together

400
00:17:30,830 --> 00:17:35,390
and made us sit together in
heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

401
00:17:35,550 --> 00:17:37,390
You'll see a theme in this chapter.

402
00:17:37,630 --> 00:17:42,470
You'll see in Christ Jesus
with Christ Jesus through Christ

403
00:17:42,470 --> 00:17:42,990
Jesus.

404
00:17:43,070 --> 00:17:45,870
You'll see it over and over
again in this passage because it's

405
00:17:45,870 --> 00:17:50,790
a reminder that not only are
we saved through Christ Jesus, but

406
00:17:50,790 --> 00:17:54,270
we grow in Christ Jesus on a
daily basis.

407
00:17:55,310 --> 00:17:59,360
And so I can't emphasize it
enough that spiritual growth is not

408
00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:02,200
just working harder, even
though it does sometimes take hard

409
00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:05,840
work, but that hard work comes
through a relationship with Jesus

410
00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:06,040
Christ.

411
00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:09,520
And so he says in verse seven
that in the ages to come he might

412
00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:14,680
show the exceeding riches of
his grace and his kindness towards

413
00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:16,440
us through Christ Jesus.

414
00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:20,680
So what we can understand
through this is that, yes, we're

415
00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:21,080
saved.

416
00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:25,660
But then God continues to pour
out his exceeding riches over the

417
00:18:25,660 --> 00:18:28,300
time and his kindness over our lifetime.

418
00:18:28,300 --> 00:18:31,020
And what we can see is that's
all through Christ Jesus.

419
00:18:31,180 --> 00:18:33,740
And then of course, the famous
two verses that you're all familiar

420
00:18:33,740 --> 00:18:33,900
with.

421
00:18:33,900 --> 00:18:37,180
For by grace are ye saved
through faith.

422
00:18:38,220 --> 00:18:39,500
Now, faith is not a work.

423
00:18:39,740 --> 00:18:42,100
We know that because this
verse would be contradictory if it

424
00:18:42,100 --> 00:18:42,380
was.

425
00:18:42,700 --> 00:18:43,980
Faith is believing.

426
00:18:44,300 --> 00:18:46,620
Faith is trusting in the work
of Jesus Christ.

427
00:18:46,940 --> 00:18:50,460
So it is salvation by works,
but not Our work, by God's work.

428
00:18:50,460 --> 00:18:54,360
And we are, we are believing
and having faith in what he has done

429
00:18:54,360 --> 00:18:54,680
for us.

430
00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:58,160
So for by grace are you saved
through faith and that not of yourselves.

431
00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:00,960
Your salvation is not your work.

432
00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:02,720
It's not your merit.

433
00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:05,120
It is the gift of God.

434
00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:10,080
Now, if we think about our
salvation from that frame of mind,

435
00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:13,880
we will not fall into the trap
of thinking that it's something that

436
00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:16,160
we've earned and then it's
something that we're entitled to.

437
00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:16,960
Folks.

438
00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:19,880
When we fall into that trap of
entitlement, it's when we start thinking

439
00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:20,610
that, you know what?

440
00:19:20,610 --> 00:19:21,530
I'm a pretty good person.

441
00:19:21,610 --> 00:19:23,530
I clean myself up pretty nicely.

442
00:19:23,690 --> 00:19:24,810
I would love me too.

443
00:19:25,770 --> 00:19:27,690
I'm the best person in this church.

444
00:19:27,690 --> 00:19:29,850
I'm the best person probably
in Delaware, right?

445
00:19:29,930 --> 00:19:32,890
We can start to see that pride
building, building, building.

446
00:19:33,050 --> 00:19:37,450
And what we have to do is go
back to Ephesians 2:8 and 2:9 and

447
00:19:37,450 --> 00:19:41,530
realize that it's not by our
own works, not of works, lest any

448
00:19:41,530 --> 00:19:42,570
man should boast.

449
00:19:43,050 --> 00:19:44,410
So what does verse nine tell us?

450
00:19:44,810 --> 00:19:48,610
That the salvation that we
have and, and the spiritual growth

451
00:19:48,610 --> 00:19:51,410
that we have is not something
that we can boast about.

452
00:19:51,890 --> 00:19:54,530
We know that it's connected to
our spiritual growth because of the

453
00:19:54,530 --> 00:19:55,410
very next verse.

454
00:19:56,690 --> 00:20:01,330
Oftentimes we might be tempted
to maybe boast in our salvation.

455
00:20:01,330 --> 00:20:02,770
But maybe you're not tempted
in that.

456
00:20:02,929 --> 00:20:06,010
Maybe you are grounded in your
faith and you say, yeah, I know that

457
00:20:06,010 --> 00:20:07,010
I didn't save myself.

458
00:20:07,250 --> 00:20:09,330
I know that it's only because
of Jesus Christ.

459
00:20:09,650 --> 00:20:13,430
But sometimes even people who
recognize that when will fall into

460
00:20:13,430 --> 00:20:15,710
the trap of thinking that
spiritual growth is something that

461
00:20:15,710 --> 00:20:16,750
they have succeeded in.

462
00:20:17,230 --> 00:20:17,910
Look at me.

463
00:20:17,910 --> 00:20:18,950
I've accomplished everything.

464
00:20:18,950 --> 00:20:20,430
I've read through the Bible.

465
00:20:20,670 --> 00:20:21,790
Well, praise God.

466
00:20:21,790 --> 00:20:22,990
We should read through the Bible.

467
00:20:23,390 --> 00:20:24,070
But guess what?

468
00:20:24,070 --> 00:20:26,790
When you read through the
Bible, start over again because there's

469
00:20:26,790 --> 00:20:27,470
more to learn.

470
00:20:27,870 --> 00:20:30,350
You know, I've been going to
church for, for 50 years.

471
00:20:30,830 --> 00:20:33,630
Well, if God lets you go for
50 more, go for 50 more, right?

472
00:20:33,630 --> 00:20:34,990
Because there's still
something to learn.

473
00:20:34,990 --> 00:20:36,350
There's still something to
grow in.

474
00:20:36,750 --> 00:20:40,260
But the Bible tells us is that
what we do in our spiritual life

475
00:20:40,260 --> 00:20:43,660
should never be worn as a
badge of honor for ourselves, but

476
00:20:43,660 --> 00:20:46,340
it always should be pointed
back to the one who did it for us.

477
00:20:47,060 --> 00:20:48,260
Glory be to God.

478
00:20:48,660 --> 00:20:51,860
And so he says here in verse
8, 9, your salvation is by faith.

479
00:20:52,340 --> 00:20:54,420
Your salvation is through
Christ Jesus.

480
00:20:54,740 --> 00:20:57,180
Your salvation is not
something that you have done, but

481
00:20:57,180 --> 00:21:00,500
something that you have
received by the gift of our Lord.

482
00:21:00,580 --> 00:21:03,300
And then a lot of times we
don't think about verse number 10.

483
00:21:03,300 --> 00:21:06,890
We stop at verse number nine,
and we go, yep, that's salvation.

484
00:21:07,530 --> 00:21:09,450
Now, like we said this
morning, you're saved.

485
00:21:09,450 --> 00:21:10,330
Now figure it out.

486
00:21:10,970 --> 00:21:13,450
But what we see in verse
number 10 is that there's more to

487
00:21:13,450 --> 00:21:13,930
the story.

488
00:21:14,810 --> 00:21:17,770
It says, for we are his workmanship.

489
00:21:17,770 --> 00:21:20,890
Now that we're saved, God is
working on us.

490
00:21:21,690 --> 00:21:22,290
He's.

491
00:21:22,290 --> 00:21:26,970
He is tooling us to a place in
our life in which we are going to

492
00:21:26,970 --> 00:21:32,630
be more and more like Him,
Created in Christ Jesus unto good

493
00:21:32,630 --> 00:21:33,070
works.

494
00:21:33,070 --> 00:21:35,950
This goes back to our original
definition back in Romans, chapter

495
00:21:35,950 --> 00:21:38,070
8, to be conformed to Christ.

496
00:21:39,030 --> 00:21:42,550
So God is working in us to be
more like Christ.

497
00:21:43,430 --> 00:21:47,590
You would say, well, Pastor
Josh, I was driving this week.

498
00:21:47,990 --> 00:21:49,110
Someone cut me off.

499
00:21:50,150 --> 00:21:51,830
I don't think I was very Christlike.

500
00:21:52,390 --> 00:21:54,310
Okay, I understand that.

501
00:21:55,270 --> 00:21:58,270
The reality is, is that we
have to recognize those moments where

502
00:21:58,270 --> 00:21:59,670
we don't act like Christ.

503
00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:03,880
And we have to recognize that
I face that moment not in the spirit,

504
00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:09,440
but in the flesh, because I
cannot act in the flesh and in the

505
00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:10,320
Spirit at the same time.

506
00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:12,760
The Bible says in Galatians
that they're warring against each

507
00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:13,040
other.

508
00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:16,079
So if I don't act like Christ,
what is the result?

509
00:22:16,079 --> 00:22:19,760
The result is I was acting in
the flesh just as if I act in the

510
00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:22,640
flesh, I, I, I'm not going to
be doing good things for the Lord.

511
00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:25,040
If I'm acting in the flesh
now, it might look good to other

512
00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:25,360
people.

513
00:22:26,420 --> 00:22:29,140
I mean, how many times have we
seen people who looked apart act

514
00:22:29,140 --> 00:22:32,500
apart, did everything that
they should do, but we find out later

515
00:22:32,500 --> 00:22:34,020
that it was not legitimate?

516
00:22:34,020 --> 00:22:36,100
Well, it's because people are
good at hiding things.

517
00:22:36,100 --> 00:22:37,540
People are good at being frauds.

518
00:22:37,940 --> 00:22:39,620
But that doesn't mean that
they were spiritually growing.

519
00:22:39,620 --> 00:22:42,300
It just means that they knew
how to mimic spiritual growth on

520
00:22:42,300 --> 00:22:42,740
the outside.

521
00:22:43,060 --> 00:22:46,100
And so in verse number 10, he
says, we are created in Christ Jesus

522
00:22:46,100 --> 00:22:47,460
unto good works.

523
00:22:48,420 --> 00:22:51,060
Well, Pastor Josh, I thought
you said that the good works aren't

524
00:22:51,340 --> 00:22:51,700
saving us.

525
00:22:51,700 --> 00:22:52,300
Well, they're not.

526
00:22:53,260 --> 00:22:55,900
The good works aren't what's
bringing spiritual growth.

527
00:22:56,300 --> 00:22:58,300
Spiritual growth brings the
good works.

528
00:22:58,300 --> 00:22:59,260
I hope you understand that.

529
00:22:59,340 --> 00:23:01,500
It's not the good works that
brings the spiritual growth.

530
00:23:01,500 --> 00:23:04,700
It's the spiritual growth in
my life that produces those good

531
00:23:04,700 --> 00:23:06,060
works in the right motivation.

532
00:23:06,460 --> 00:23:10,420
And he says, which God hath
before ordained that we should walk

533
00:23:10,420 --> 00:23:10,860
in them.

534
00:23:10,860 --> 00:23:16,300
It's God's plan for his
family, for his church to walk in

535
00:23:16,300 --> 00:23:19,330
the good works that he's
called us to do in conformity to

536
00:23:19,330 --> 00:23:20,090
Christ Jesus.

537
00:23:20,170 --> 00:23:23,890
So I say all that to say this,
we have to have a good working definition

538
00:23:23,890 --> 00:23:27,170
of what spiritual growth is,
and we have to understand what it

539
00:23:27,170 --> 00:23:32,650
means to walk in that process
as we start this series on spiritual

540
00:23:32,650 --> 00:23:32,970
growth.

541
00:23:32,970 --> 00:23:36,850
So Ephesians 2, really, verses
1 through 10 tell us so much.

542
00:23:36,850 --> 00:23:40,090
We could go further in that
chapter where he talks about this

543
00:23:40,090 --> 00:23:43,210
understanding of Christ is our
peace, Christ is our cornerstone.

544
00:23:43,290 --> 00:23:45,050
We're all building upon him.

545
00:23:45,050 --> 00:23:48,560
And I think that very last
verse of Ephesians chapter two is

546
00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:48,880
so important.

547
00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:54,000
He says, in whom we are also
builded together for habitation of

548
00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:54,440
God.

549
00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:55,240
Through what?

550
00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:56,440
Through the Spirit.

551
00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:03,000
So just as God is building us
up in him, he's building us together.

552
00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:06,440
And it says how he does that
through the Spirit.

553
00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:11,720
So I want to take you to the
place that I think we can start with

554
00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:15,650
as an evaluation process, and
that is Galatians chapter 5.

555
00:24:16,530 --> 00:24:20,330
Galatians chapter 5 tells us
what it looks like to walk in the

556
00:24:20,330 --> 00:24:20,690
Spirit.

557
00:24:20,690 --> 00:24:24,450
So if we are to spiritually
grow, we must understand that it's

558
00:24:24,450 --> 00:24:29,330
a process of walking in the
Spirit, responding in the Spirit.

559
00:24:29,810 --> 00:24:31,250
So let me give you an example
of this.

560
00:24:31,810 --> 00:24:36,530
Let's say I'm walking out of
the building here today, and someone

561
00:24:36,850 --> 00:24:39,860
says something to me that
isn't very nice, okay?

562
00:24:39,860 --> 00:24:43,660
I'm walking out, and they say,
you know, hey, I don't like your.

563
00:24:43,660 --> 00:24:44,980
Your shirt that you're wearing today.

564
00:24:44,980 --> 00:24:46,580
I think it's terrible, or
whatever it is.

565
00:24:47,060 --> 00:24:49,060
And they offend me, right?

566
00:24:49,300 --> 00:24:53,660
I can respond in the flesh and
say what I think I should say to

567
00:24:53,660 --> 00:24:58,660
either hurt them or to make a
joke or to do whatever that my flesh

568
00:24:58,660 --> 00:24:59,260
wants to do.

569
00:24:59,260 --> 00:25:03,180
Or I can respond in the Spirit
and choose to follow Christ and say,

570
00:25:03,180 --> 00:25:03,580
you know what?

571
00:25:03,580 --> 00:25:05,140
What would Jesus do in this situation?

572
00:25:05,790 --> 00:25:07,750
Now, as Christians, we don't
have a lot of time.

573
00:25:07,750 --> 00:25:08,230
Sometimes.

574
00:25:08,230 --> 00:25:09,710
Sometimes I wish we could just pause.

575
00:25:10,030 --> 00:25:12,070
You ever seen one of those
movies where they have, like, a pause

576
00:25:12,070 --> 00:25:12,350
button?

577
00:25:12,350 --> 00:25:14,270
They can stop everything, but
they can still keep going.

578
00:25:14,430 --> 00:25:17,070
I've always wanted that as a
Christian, like, something happens.

579
00:25:17,070 --> 00:25:19,030
Let me just pause and really
think about this and think about

580
00:25:19,030 --> 00:25:20,030
every Bible verse, right?

581
00:25:20,190 --> 00:25:20,550
But.

582
00:25:20,550 --> 00:25:22,750
But the truth is that we don't
always have that.

583
00:25:23,150 --> 00:25:26,630
So it's good to preemptively
be prepared to be walking in the

584
00:25:26,630 --> 00:25:31,350
Spirit so that when the
outward stimuli come to us in our

585
00:25:31,350 --> 00:25:33,620
life, we're able to say, you
know what?

586
00:25:33,700 --> 00:25:34,140
That's.

587
00:25:34,140 --> 00:25:35,860
This isn't in the Spirit.

588
00:25:35,860 --> 00:25:36,620
This is in the flesh.

589
00:25:36,620 --> 00:25:37,540
I don't need to do this.

590
00:25:37,620 --> 00:25:40,700
So Galatians chapter 5, verse
16, it says this.

591
00:25:40,700 --> 00:25:45,660
I say, then walk in the Spirit
and Ye shall not fulfill the lust

592
00:25:45,660 --> 00:25:46,140
of the flesh.

593
00:25:46,140 --> 00:25:50,260
The Bible tells us right here
how we can walk in the spirit and

594
00:25:50,500 --> 00:25:52,260
how we can spiritually grow.

595
00:25:52,500 --> 00:25:55,540
It's walking in the spirit and
not of the flesh.

596
00:25:55,540 --> 00:25:58,140
It's not yielding to those
fleshly desires.

597
00:25:58,140 --> 00:26:01,370
And he talks about it in verse
17, that the flesh lusteth against

598
00:26:01,370 --> 00:26:03,410
the spirit and the spirit
against the flesh.

599
00:26:03,570 --> 00:26:05,890
So we see it's this inward
battle that we have.

600
00:26:06,610 --> 00:26:09,330
And, and Paul even mentions
that in Romans, chapter seven.

601
00:26:09,730 --> 00:26:12,970
And he says, and these are
contrary to one to another, so that

602
00:26:12,970 --> 00:26:14,530
you cannot do the things that
you would.

603
00:26:15,170 --> 00:26:17,650
But if ye be led by the
spirit, you're not under the law.

604
00:26:18,050 --> 00:26:19,090
Praise God for that.

605
00:26:19,090 --> 00:26:21,850
And then he goes on to list
all these things that are the works

606
00:26:21,850 --> 00:26:22,530
of the flesh.

607
00:26:23,170 --> 00:26:26,330
He talks about adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

608
00:26:26,330 --> 00:26:30,280
that's lewdness, idolatry,
witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations,

609
00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:33,240
wrath, stripes, additions,
heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness,

610
00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:34,120
revelings.

611
00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:35,960
And you say, what are all
those things?

612
00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:39,640
Well, he goes on to say in the
next phrase and such like meaning

613
00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:43,560
anything like this, anything
that is remotely close to these things,

614
00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:45,800
talking about fleshly desires.

615
00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:48,160
And by the way, all of these
things fall under those categories

616
00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:50,920
of the lust of the flesh, lust
of the eyes, pride of life.

617
00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:53,400
But he doesn't leave it at
those sins.

618
00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:56,920
He says anything like this of
the which I tell you before, as I

619
00:26:56,920 --> 00:27:00,200
have told you in times past,
that they which do such things shall

620
00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:01,360
not inherit the kingdom of God.

621
00:27:01,360 --> 00:27:03,440
He says, if you're
characterized by those things, you're

622
00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:05,600
not walking in the Spirit,
therefore you don't have the Spirit

623
00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:06,200
living within you.

624
00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:09,520
And he says, this is the mark,
verse 22.

625
00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:11,680
But the fruit of the Spirit is what?

626
00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:14,880
Love, joy, peace, long suffering.

627
00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:18,720
That's patience, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.

628
00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:19,600
That's self control.

629
00:27:19,760 --> 00:27:21,200
Against such there is no law.

630
00:27:22,010 --> 00:27:25,690
And so he says, if you want to
know if you're walking in the Spirit,

631
00:27:26,330 --> 00:27:29,130
see if these elements are in
your life.

632
00:27:29,930 --> 00:27:33,490
Do you walk with a growing
love for God and for others?

633
00:27:33,490 --> 00:27:37,890
Do you walk with this type of
joy that's bigger than circumstantial

634
00:27:37,890 --> 00:27:38,290
happiness?

635
00:27:38,290 --> 00:27:39,370
Do you walk in peace?

636
00:27:39,370 --> 00:27:40,570
Do you walk in patience?

637
00:27:40,730 --> 00:27:42,010
Do you walk in gentleness?

638
00:27:42,010 --> 00:27:42,930
Do you walk in goodness?

639
00:27:42,930 --> 00:27:44,010
Faith, meekness, temperance?

640
00:27:44,010 --> 00:27:46,770
You might say, well, Pastor
Josh, I'm trying, but I, I'm.

641
00:27:46,770 --> 00:27:48,010
I'm not where I need to be.

642
00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:48,840
Well, guess what?

643
00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:50,600
None of us are where we need
to be.

644
00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:52,440
We all need to be growing in
these areas.

645
00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:56,920
The process is that growth to
be more and more strengthened in

646
00:27:56,920 --> 00:27:57,520
these areas.

647
00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:00,240
And the only way that we can
do that is through understanding

648
00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:02,200
where we've come from and
where we're going.

649
00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:05,480
Where we come from is who we
were before we were saved.

650
00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:07,960
Then we find Jesus when it
comes to faith.

651
00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:11,560
And then through faith, we're
able to grow in our spiritual walk

652
00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:12,680
and have these areas.

653
00:28:13,810 --> 00:28:17,570
I. I hope and I pray, growing
more and more in our life on a daily

654
00:28:17,570 --> 00:28:18,050
basis.

655
00:28:18,930 --> 00:28:21,010
So here's the test.

656
00:28:21,650 --> 00:28:23,890
Pastor JOSH I don't know if
I'm walking in the Spirit today.

657
00:28:24,210 --> 00:28:25,010
I'm not sure.

658
00:28:26,050 --> 00:28:27,570
It's like this mystical thing.

659
00:28:27,570 --> 00:28:31,330
Sometimes churches and
Christians make the Holy Spirit something

660
00:28:31,330 --> 00:28:32,530
that's, like, unobtainable.

661
00:28:32,530 --> 00:28:35,010
It's like, I don't know for
sure if I'm in the Spirit.

662
00:28:35,010 --> 00:28:36,290
I don't know if I'm in God's will.

663
00:28:36,690 --> 00:28:38,130
The basic test is this.

664
00:28:38,210 --> 00:28:40,230
Run it through the ringer.

665
00:28:40,790 --> 00:28:44,230
The way that I responded to my
wife today wasn't characterized by

666
00:28:44,390 --> 00:28:46,750
love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness.

667
00:28:46,750 --> 00:28:47,670
All those ones there.

668
00:28:48,310 --> 00:28:49,030
Well, you know what?

669
00:28:49,030 --> 00:28:49,470
None of.

670
00:28:49,470 --> 00:28:50,790
I couldn't see any of that in there.

671
00:28:50,790 --> 00:28:54,150
Well, I can guarantee you then
I responded in the flesh.

672
00:28:54,470 --> 00:28:55,990
Why are you sure that it was
the flesh?

673
00:28:56,230 --> 00:28:57,070
It's biblical.

674
00:28:57,070 --> 00:28:59,390
Okay, so if I responded in love.

675
00:28:59,390 --> 00:29:02,070
Now, by the way, this isn't
the type of love that the world calls

676
00:29:02,070 --> 00:29:02,470
love.

677
00:29:02,630 --> 00:29:03,910
The world's love is this.

678
00:29:04,230 --> 00:29:06,150
Do unto others as they do to you.

679
00:29:06,790 --> 00:29:08,150
If they love you, love them.

680
00:29:08,710 --> 00:29:10,950
Be patient with those that are
patient with you.

681
00:29:11,030 --> 00:29:12,310
No, this is agape.

682
00:29:12,390 --> 00:29:13,830
This is sacrificial love.

683
00:29:14,070 --> 00:29:16,070
This is a love that does not reciprocate.

684
00:29:16,390 --> 00:29:19,350
So there's that type of love
that is not based on circumstance.

685
00:29:19,830 --> 00:29:20,950
Love is the choice.

686
00:29:21,510 --> 00:29:22,550
Joy is a choice.

687
00:29:23,030 --> 00:29:25,670
This joy here is not
circumstantial happiness.

688
00:29:25,910 --> 00:29:30,150
Happiness is, hey, you know, I
got a raise today, or I got to eat

689
00:29:30,150 --> 00:29:32,670
my favorite meal, or I had a
lot of fun today.

690
00:29:32,670 --> 00:29:33,270
That's good.

691
00:29:33,350 --> 00:29:36,310
In the Christian walk, there's
nothing wrong with being happy.

692
00:29:36,950 --> 00:29:40,630
But what the Bible tells us is
that we can have a bigger type of

693
00:29:40,630 --> 00:29:44,950
joy that can be found in not
our circumstances, but in our standing

694
00:29:44,950 --> 00:29:45,590
in the Lord.

695
00:29:45,670 --> 00:29:48,590
And so that I can be going
through a very difficult time, a

696
00:29:48,590 --> 00:29:50,910
painful time, but yet still
have the joy of the Lord.

697
00:29:50,910 --> 00:29:55,390
Now, it might not manifest
itself by happiness and the emotive

698
00:29:55,390 --> 00:29:58,630
joy that we think about, but
there's that inner contentment of

699
00:29:58,630 --> 00:30:02,640
joy that we can find within
our lives because of the Spirit indwelling

700
00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:02,880
us.

701
00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:04,360
And that goes for all of these.

702
00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:08,640
Peace, long suffering,
patience, gentleness, goodness, faith,

703
00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:12,160
meekness, temperance, these
are not based on what other people

704
00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:13,160
are doing to us.

705
00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:15,400
Because I think a lot of
people would say this.

706
00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:18,320
If I could just get all those
people in my life out of the way,

707
00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:19,480
I could be a good Christian.

708
00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:21,720
Well, that's not the way that
it works.

709
00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:25,400
If I could just remove all
these people's voices and this person

710
00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:26,800
who cut me off in food.

711
00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:30,920
Lions line here, and the
person who is rude to me at work,

712
00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:33,660
if I could just get rid of all
that, I'd be a really great Christian.

713
00:30:33,660 --> 00:30:37,780
The truth is, is that look at
every single in instance in Scripture.

714
00:30:38,260 --> 00:30:40,980
It's not about necessarily
removing the obstacles.

715
00:30:40,980 --> 00:30:43,460
It's about being able to
navigate the obstacles with the power

716
00:30:43,460 --> 00:30:47,580
of God in our life and saying,
yes, there's persecution, yes, there's

717
00:30:47,580 --> 00:30:50,820
hardship, yes, there's trials,
but I can still have all these things.

718
00:30:50,820 --> 00:30:51,100
Why?

719
00:30:51,100 --> 00:30:55,220
Because the Holy Spirit is in
my life and he's guiding me and directing

720
00:30:55,220 --> 00:30:59,020
me and moving where I should
move, and it's holding me back from

721
00:30:59,020 --> 00:31:02,100
where I should go sometimes,
in certain instances, and give me

722
00:31:02,100 --> 00:31:05,460
the words to say and the words
not to say think just as much as

723
00:31:05,460 --> 00:31:05,740
sometimes.

724
00:31:05,740 --> 00:31:07,660
We should ask the Lord to give
us the words to say.

725
00:31:07,740 --> 00:31:11,100
We should also ask, ask him to
not give us words in our life.

726
00:31:11,180 --> 00:31:13,220
Because sometimes we get in
trouble by saying something.

727
00:31:13,220 --> 00:31:14,700
Sometimes it's better not to
say something.

728
00:31:15,100 --> 00:31:18,460
Sometimes it's better just to
pray over something and let it just

729
00:31:18,460 --> 00:31:18,820
ride.

730
00:31:18,820 --> 00:31:21,340
Because oftentimes I think
that we can get ourselves in trouble

731
00:31:21,340 --> 00:31:23,100
by just talking in the flesh.

732
00:31:23,740 --> 00:31:28,340
And so Galatians chapter 5
tells us that there is this inner

733
00:31:28,340 --> 00:31:29,420
turmoil that's happening.

734
00:31:29,420 --> 00:31:33,020
And if we're walking in the
flesh, we're not going to spiritually.

735
00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:37,960
So the basic introduction of
this study would be this.

736
00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:39,080
What is spiritual growth?

737
00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:41,480
Spiritual growth is being more
and more like Christ.

738
00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:42,720
How do we do that?

739
00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:44,120
We're guided by the Spirit.

740
00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:45,520
How do we live in the Spirit?

741
00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:48,680
We die to the flesh and we
yield to the Spirit in our lives.

742
00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:53,960
The book of Ephesians talks
about putting off and putting on,

743
00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:56,520
putting off the old man and
putting on the new.

744
00:31:57,320 --> 00:31:59,960
So it's not just about, I need
to stop the bad.

745
00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:05,000
It is, yes, to reject the bad
in my life, but it's also to embrace

746
00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:07,320
what God is doing in my life
in the good.

747
00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:11,520
So it's not enough, as it says
in the book of Ephesians, it's not

748
00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:15,240
enough just to stop stealing,
but we should stop stealing, then

749
00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:17,200
earn money and give to those
that are in need.

750
00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:20,120
That's really the Christian
life It's not just about avoiding

751
00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:20,440
things.

752
00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:23,600
If we're only characterized by
what we're against, we're really

753
00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:27,000
not living boldly for Christ
because we really should be characterized

754
00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:29,400
not only for what we're
against, but also what we're for.

755
00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:33,600
And so the spiritual growth
process is that process in which

756
00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:37,040
we're learning every single
day how to yield to the Spirit.

757
00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:40,920
And when we don't yield to the
Spirit, we recognize it by the conviction

758
00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:41,760
of the Holy Spirit.

759
00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:46,240
And we're taught by the Holy
Spirit to walk in the comfort and

760
00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:47,400
the confidence of the Lord.

761
00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:50,080
So think about these things as
the role of the Holy Spirit within

762
00:32:50,080 --> 00:32:50,560
your life.

763
00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:53,280
Number one, he is a convictor.

764
00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:54,640
He should convict us.

765
00:32:55,690 --> 00:33:00,450
When we're walking and
growing, we should regularly be feeling

766
00:33:00,450 --> 00:33:01,930
the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

767
00:33:03,450 --> 00:33:07,410
I. I would challenge you to
think about the last time the Holy

768
00:33:07,410 --> 00:33:10,450
Spirit has convicted you in an
area you say, well, Pastor Josh,

769
00:33:10,450 --> 00:33:11,609
I'm living a good life.

770
00:33:12,090 --> 00:33:13,330
I haven't made any mistakes.

771
00:33:13,330 --> 00:33:16,010
The Holy Spirit hasn't told me
anything I've done wrong in the last

772
00:33:16,170 --> 00:33:16,890
two years.

773
00:33:16,970 --> 00:33:22,300
Well, maybe, just maybe,
you've been, you know, death to the

774
00:33:22,300 --> 00:33:23,780
Holy Spirit's conviction in
your life.

775
00:33:24,820 --> 00:33:28,260
A spiritually growing
Christian is a sensitive Christian.

776
00:33:28,260 --> 00:33:30,340
What I mean by sensitive
Christian, I'm not talking about

777
00:33:30,340 --> 00:33:32,420
they cry every single time
someone looks at them.

778
00:33:32,420 --> 00:33:32,820
Wrong.

779
00:33:32,980 --> 00:33:35,780
I'm talking about they're
sensitive to the Holy Spirit's conviction

780
00:33:35,780 --> 00:33:36,340
in their life.

781
00:33:36,740 --> 00:33:37,460
You know what, man?

782
00:33:37,460 --> 00:33:40,380
Maybe, maybe the way I said
that to that person might not have

783
00:33:40,380 --> 00:33:41,260
been received well.

784
00:33:41,260 --> 00:33:44,420
I need to go back and make
sure that that was received the right

785
00:33:44,420 --> 00:33:44,740
way.

786
00:33:45,300 --> 00:33:46,700
It's not because you're paranoid.

787
00:33:46,700 --> 00:33:49,950
It's because you want to make
sure that if God brings it to your

788
00:33:49,950 --> 00:33:51,270
heart that you need to deal
with that.

789
00:33:51,270 --> 00:33:55,030
I remember a time we had a new
church member coming into the church,

790
00:33:55,030 --> 00:33:57,070
and I said something in passing.

791
00:33:57,310 --> 00:34:00,270
It wasn't with bad motivation,
it wasn't with bad intention.

792
00:34:00,830 --> 00:34:03,470
And I thought about it and I'm
like, he might have took that the

793
00:34:03,470 --> 00:34:03,950
wrong way.

794
00:34:04,350 --> 00:34:06,230
And I can't sleep well tonight if.

795
00:34:06,230 --> 00:34:07,830
And so I was like, 11 o' clock
at night.

796
00:34:07,830 --> 00:34:08,990
And I'm going, I can't call him.

797
00:34:08,990 --> 00:34:10,830
That's going to even freak him
out even more.

798
00:34:10,910 --> 00:34:14,630
So I waited till the next day
and I got to be a regular hour.

799
00:34:14,630 --> 00:34:17,969
And I called him and I said,
hey, brother, I need to talk to you

800
00:34:17,969 --> 00:34:18,289
about something.

801
00:34:18,289 --> 00:34:19,409
He's like, yeah, what's going on?

802
00:34:19,649 --> 00:34:21,409
I said, yeah, I said something yesterday.

803
00:34:21,409 --> 00:34:24,249
It wasn't anything bad, but,
you know, I just Want to make sure

804
00:34:24,249 --> 00:34:25,849
that you understand what I
meant by that.

805
00:34:25,849 --> 00:34:27,329
And he was like, what are you
talking about?

806
00:34:27,329 --> 00:34:28,449
I don't even remember what you said.

807
00:34:28,449 --> 00:34:31,809
I said, okay, so it shows you
that sometimes you'll come with the

808
00:34:31,809 --> 00:34:35,209
Holy Spirit's conviction, and
it might not even be an issue, but

809
00:34:35,209 --> 00:34:36,369
sometimes it might be an issue.

810
00:34:36,609 --> 00:34:38,569
So the Holy Spirit's
convicting your heart on something

811
00:34:38,569 --> 00:34:41,169
that you've said, something
that you've done, something that

812
00:34:41,169 --> 00:34:41,809
you thought about.

813
00:34:42,790 --> 00:34:43,510
Deal with that.

814
00:34:43,830 --> 00:34:46,550
Because with that Holy Spirit
conviction comes teaching.

815
00:34:46,630 --> 00:34:50,150
The Bible says in, in the Book
of John that he will come to teach

816
00:34:50,150 --> 00:34:51,990
us or to guide us into all truth.

817
00:34:52,630 --> 00:34:55,710
So one aspect of the Holy
Spirit is not only his conviction,

818
00:34:55,710 --> 00:34:56,630
but his teaching.

819
00:34:57,030 --> 00:34:59,510
He will teach us how to grow
in that area.

820
00:34:59,590 --> 00:35:02,390
So let's say, for example, I
keep messing up in this area in my

821
00:35:02,390 --> 00:35:02,630
life.

822
00:35:02,710 --> 00:35:05,110
I keep running my mouth and
saying things I shouldn't say.

823
00:35:05,350 --> 00:35:07,550
Well, what do we do with our kids?

824
00:35:07,550 --> 00:35:09,750
What do we do with people
within our workplaces?

825
00:35:10,020 --> 00:35:11,620
Hey, you need to learn from
your mistakes.

826
00:35:11,620 --> 00:35:14,300
And so the Holy Spirit's there
to teach us that, hey, there is a

827
00:35:14,300 --> 00:35:16,820
way to overcome this barrier
in my life.

828
00:35:17,140 --> 00:35:20,460
And the Holy Spirit will teach
us through the word of God how we

829
00:35:20,460 --> 00:35:24,780
can find tools and be
empowered to overcome those fleshly

830
00:35:24,780 --> 00:35:25,860
temptations in our life.

831
00:35:26,340 --> 00:35:30,100
So the Holy Spirit convicts,
the Holy Spirit teaches.

832
00:35:30,980 --> 00:35:34,220
But the Holy Spirit also
brings some level of comfort in our

833
00:35:34,220 --> 00:35:35,380
life, right?

834
00:35:35,380 --> 00:35:38,460
Because we know that the Bible
tells us that the Holy Spirit is

835
00:35:38,460 --> 00:35:39,060
the comforter.

836
00:35:40,670 --> 00:35:44,310
Now, oftentimes we want to
embrace the comfort of the Holy Spirit,

837
00:35:44,310 --> 00:35:47,070
but we don't want to embrace
the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

838
00:35:47,790 --> 00:35:51,310
And you can't embrace the
comfort of the Holy Spirit and reject

839
00:35:51,310 --> 00:35:52,670
the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

840
00:35:53,070 --> 00:35:54,910
I heard one commentator say it
this way.

841
00:35:54,910 --> 00:36:01,550
The Holy Spirit is a prod of
conviction, but also a pillow for

842
00:36:01,550 --> 00:36:02,110
comfort.

843
00:36:02,590 --> 00:36:05,230
And I want the pillow of
comfort, but I also should embrace

844
00:36:05,230 --> 00:36:06,510
the prod for conviction.

845
00:36:07,170 --> 00:36:07,450
It's.

846
00:36:07,450 --> 00:36:08,050
It's like this.

847
00:36:08,850 --> 00:36:11,130
I use this as an analogy and
it's probably not a good analogy.

848
00:36:11,130 --> 00:36:12,370
So I need to be careful about this.

849
00:36:12,530 --> 00:36:15,330
Let's say there's a
hypothetical man, okay?

850
00:36:15,330 --> 00:36:18,570
Not me, not my wife, not my
family, okay?

851
00:36:18,570 --> 00:36:20,970
There's a hypothetical man
that likes to sit down at the end

852
00:36:20,970 --> 00:36:23,410
of his workday, especially on
Monday nights, and watch a football

853
00:36:23,410 --> 00:36:24,450
game, right?

854
00:36:24,450 --> 00:36:28,050
And he wants to turn the TV on
and he wants to just enjoy an ice

855
00:36:28,050 --> 00:36:31,730
cold soda and sit there and,
you know, eat chicken wings and watch

856
00:36:31,730 --> 00:36:32,450
the football game.

857
00:36:33,250 --> 00:36:35,610
And let's say this
hypothetical man's Wife's like, hey,

858
00:36:35,610 --> 00:36:36,130
you know what?

859
00:36:36,530 --> 00:36:38,770
As soon as he sits down, hey,
can you do this?

860
00:36:39,490 --> 00:36:40,050
Can you?

861
00:36:40,130 --> 00:36:40,490
And.

862
00:36:40,490 --> 00:36:42,130
And so the man's like, well,
you know what?

863
00:36:43,010 --> 00:36:44,810
I'm just gonna tune it out, right?

864
00:36:44,810 --> 00:36:47,170
And some of you men, you guys
don't do this, okay?

865
00:36:47,170 --> 00:36:49,490
I don't, I don't do this
either, but maybe someone that I

866
00:36:49,490 --> 00:36:53,450
saw in a movie did one time,
you just tune it out, you say, well,

867
00:36:53,450 --> 00:36:55,330
I don't want to hear anything
that's negative.

868
00:36:55,410 --> 00:36:56,850
I'm coming home to relax.

869
00:36:57,090 --> 00:36:57,890
I'm coming home.

870
00:36:57,890 --> 00:36:58,810
I'm just gonna shut it down.

871
00:36:58,810 --> 00:37:00,170
I'm actually going to put
earplugs in.

872
00:37:00,170 --> 00:37:02,370
I'm just going to listen to
the game on my headphones, okay?

873
00:37:03,130 --> 00:37:07,450
Problem with that is, hey,
maybe there's good news being told.

874
00:37:07,610 --> 00:37:10,930
Maybe it's, hey, we got a
check in the mail for X amount of

875
00:37:10,930 --> 00:37:12,730
dollars, or maybe we've got
our favorite meal.

876
00:37:12,730 --> 00:37:15,170
Instead of eating chicken
wings, I'm gonna cook you a steak

877
00:37:15,170 --> 00:37:15,450
or something.

878
00:37:15,450 --> 00:37:16,970
I don't know, whatever that
might be.

879
00:37:17,210 --> 00:37:20,210
And oftentimes what happens is
as Christians, we want to try to

880
00:37:20,210 --> 00:37:20,610
tune.

881
00:37:20,610 --> 00:37:22,890
We think of conviction as a
negative thing.

882
00:37:22,970 --> 00:37:25,850
And so we try to tune out the conviction.

883
00:37:25,930 --> 00:37:28,570
And while we're tuning out to
conviction, we're missing the comfort

884
00:37:28,570 --> 00:37:29,450
that's there as well.

885
00:37:29,970 --> 00:37:31,010
And so it's a two way street.

886
00:37:31,010 --> 00:37:33,330
I need to hear the difficult things.

887
00:37:34,530 --> 00:37:38,170
And so in this scenario of
this hypothetical guy, maybe he does

888
00:37:38,170 --> 00:37:39,810
need to get up and do some
chores, okay?

889
00:37:39,810 --> 00:37:43,450
But maybe he's trying to avoid
all those stresses that he thinks

890
00:37:43,450 --> 00:37:44,450
that come along with that.

891
00:37:44,690 --> 00:37:47,850
Sometimes there's Christians
who want to avoid the Lord telling

892
00:37:47,850 --> 00:37:49,010
them things that they need to do.

893
00:37:49,010 --> 00:37:49,250
Why?

894
00:37:49,250 --> 00:37:51,530
Because it makes them feel
uncomfortable, takes them out of

895
00:37:51,530 --> 00:37:52,450
their comfort zone.

896
00:37:52,530 --> 00:37:55,810
But at the same time, God is
there giving us the comfort in the

897
00:37:55,810 --> 00:37:57,850
midst of the teaching and in
the midst of the conviction.

898
00:37:57,850 --> 00:38:00,340
So we can't just plug our ears
because we're going to miss everything.

899
00:38:00,580 --> 00:38:03,780
So what we need to do is be
open and sensitive to the conviction

900
00:38:03,940 --> 00:38:05,060
and the teaching.

901
00:38:05,140 --> 00:38:07,220
And then ultimately that
brings the comfort.

902
00:38:07,220 --> 00:38:09,860
And with that comfort comes
the confidence, right?

903
00:38:10,020 --> 00:38:14,340
We can walk in the confidence
of the Lord when the Holy Spirit's

904
00:38:14,340 --> 00:38:16,100
the one guiding us and we're
not guiding ourselves.

905
00:38:16,900 --> 00:38:20,340
And so I hope you see that
progression is that we're walking

906
00:38:20,340 --> 00:38:21,140
in the Spirit.

907
00:38:21,140 --> 00:38:23,140
He convicts us, he teaches us.

908
00:38:24,190 --> 00:38:27,110
He gets us to a place of
comfort and he gets us to a place

909
00:38:27,110 --> 00:38:30,110
of confidence, which
eventually leads to a place of conformity.

910
00:38:30,350 --> 00:38:34,110
Not conformity to this world,
but conformity to Christ.

911
00:38:34,430 --> 00:38:37,230
And that's where we started
with that conformity to Christ, that

912
00:38:37,230 --> 00:38:38,030
spiritual growth.

913
00:38:38,510 --> 00:38:42,030
And so I hope that all of us
can get to a place in our life where,

914
00:38:42,190 --> 00:38:45,790
though it might not be an easy
thing to hear, but we're open and

915
00:38:45,790 --> 00:38:48,110
ready to hear the Holy Spirit
working in our life.

916
00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:52,080
I know for me, some of the
hardest things that I've had to do

917
00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:56,680
in my life have centered
around going back and apologizing.

918
00:38:56,680 --> 00:38:59,840
I don't know about you guys,
but sometimes apologizing is a difficult

919
00:38:59,840 --> 00:39:01,400
thing because we have to
swallow our pride.

920
00:39:02,600 --> 00:39:05,960
We have to, we have to do
something that doesn't feel good

921
00:39:06,520 --> 00:39:07,040
sometimes.

922
00:39:07,040 --> 00:39:11,800
And that's what the Bible says
is the way of the Lord, His Word,

923
00:39:12,120 --> 00:39:14,800
the way of the world is lust
of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride

924
00:39:14,800 --> 00:39:15,160
of life.

925
00:39:15,950 --> 00:39:18,110
So the world tells you, don't
apologize for nothing.

926
00:39:18,110 --> 00:39:20,670
Just do you just live your life.

927
00:39:20,910 --> 00:39:22,190
Who cares what people think?

928
00:39:22,670 --> 00:39:25,390
The other side of it is the
coin as a Christian is that we don't

929
00:39:25,390 --> 00:39:27,470
have to be paranoid about how
we're living.

930
00:39:27,470 --> 00:39:29,870
We don't need to be living in
fear of everyone judging us.

931
00:39:29,870 --> 00:39:33,190
But there is a balance between
understanding that if God has called

932
00:39:33,190 --> 00:39:35,830
me to spiritually grow, there
has to be marked difference in my

933
00:39:35,830 --> 00:39:38,670
life, how I'm dealing with him
and how I'm dealing with other people.

934
00:39:39,470 --> 00:39:42,430
And as a mature Christian,
because we're going to, we're going

935
00:39:42,430 --> 00:39:45,490
to get to this in this study,
as a mature Christian, our focus

936
00:39:45,490 --> 00:39:49,370
should leave the it's all
about me, it's all about me and move

937
00:39:49,370 --> 00:39:51,610
to how can I help other Christians?

938
00:39:52,810 --> 00:39:54,330
You know, like Silas isn't.

939
00:39:55,050 --> 00:39:58,730
Sometimes he'll hug his
siblings and feel bad when they fall.

940
00:39:58,810 --> 00:40:01,850
But Silas isn't sitting around
concerned about everyone else's well

941
00:40:01,850 --> 00:40:02,370
being, right?

942
00:40:02,370 --> 00:40:06,170
He's like, I got my food, I
got my entertainment, now I just

943
00:40:06,170 --> 00:40:07,370
want to go do what I want to do.

944
00:40:07,450 --> 00:40:08,490
That's immaturity.

945
00:40:09,050 --> 00:40:11,810
But as a child continues to
grow, we would hope that they would

946
00:40:11,810 --> 00:40:14,850
start having some concern for
other people and eventually maybe

947
00:40:14,850 --> 00:40:17,210
they have a family, eventually
they have a job.

948
00:40:17,210 --> 00:40:20,250
Maybe eventually they have a
role within the church and they should

949
00:40:20,250 --> 00:40:22,690
be concerned about the health
and well being of other people.

950
00:40:22,850 --> 00:40:24,250
That's the same thing as our
Christian walk.

951
00:40:24,250 --> 00:40:27,010
I mean, a newly saved
Christian isn't supposed to be going

952
00:40:27,010 --> 00:40:28,050
in and teaching a class.

953
00:40:28,530 --> 00:40:31,970
They should be getting all the
nutrients they can as a newborn babe.

954
00:40:32,050 --> 00:40:34,730
But there is a point in our
spiritual growth process where we

955
00:40:34,730 --> 00:40:36,850
have to say, look, it's not
just all about me.

956
00:40:36,850 --> 00:40:39,170
Now I have to start thinking
about How I'm imparting this knowledge

957
00:40:39,580 --> 00:40:43,780
and this wisdom and hopefully
the love of Christ to those that

958
00:40:43,780 --> 00:40:44,700
are around me.

959
00:40:44,940 --> 00:40:46,220
So that's what we're going to
get to.

960
00:40:46,220 --> 00:40:50,220
Hopefully, this study will
start with where we start this path,

961
00:40:50,220 --> 00:40:53,900
this discipleship direction,
and where we will get to the end,

962
00:40:53,900 --> 00:40:57,100
where we're ultimately a
living sacrifice unto God.

963
00:40:57,580 --> 00:41:00,980
Wholly acceptable as our
reasonable service is, and I hope

964
00:41:00,980 --> 00:41:02,020
it'll be beneficial for you.

965
00:41:02,020 --> 00:41:03,780
I know all of you know what
spiritual growth is.

966
00:41:03,780 --> 00:41:06,470
I know all of you have
spiritually grown.

967
00:41:06,550 --> 00:41:09,510
But I think it's good for all
of us to have clear definitions and

968
00:41:09,510 --> 00:41:13,270
know the direction that we're
on, because sometimes that path winds.

969
00:41:13,750 --> 00:41:14,070
We.

970
00:41:14,070 --> 00:41:17,590
We were at the wilds and we
were hiking, and I thought about

971
00:41:17,590 --> 00:41:18,070
this and.

972
00:41:18,150 --> 00:41:20,470
And I even thought about this
as we were driving up the mountain.

973
00:41:20,789 --> 00:41:22,310
Like, why aren't these roads
just straight?

974
00:41:22,550 --> 00:41:25,190
Like, why does every road have
to turn like this and almost, like,

975
00:41:25,190 --> 00:41:25,990
back on itself?

976
00:41:25,990 --> 00:41:26,670
I know why.

977
00:41:26,670 --> 00:41:29,350
Like, it's the terrain and all
that, but sometimes I think that's

978
00:41:29,350 --> 00:41:30,350
how it is with the Christian life.

979
00:41:30,350 --> 00:41:30,710
We're.

980
00:41:30,970 --> 00:41:33,570
We're not always going to be
moving in the same direction with

981
00:41:33,570 --> 00:41:36,010
no problems, no issues, no
bumps, no turns.

982
00:41:36,010 --> 00:41:38,410
There's going to be times
where we do go backwards.

983
00:41:38,410 --> 00:41:40,210
There's going to be times
where we do stumble.

984
00:41:40,210 --> 00:41:41,850
There's going to be times
where we get stuck.

985
00:41:42,330 --> 00:41:44,650
But ultimately, what we have
to understand is that it's the power

986
00:41:44,650 --> 00:41:47,530
of God who's going to pick us
up and move us out and move us on

987
00:41:47,530 --> 00:41:49,770
and lead us to a place of understanding.

988
00:41:49,770 --> 00:41:51,290
I think that there was.

989
00:41:52,090 --> 00:41:52,610
We were.

990
00:41:52,610 --> 00:41:55,770
We were driving and the GPS
was on.

991
00:41:56,900 --> 00:41:59,220
And I. I know that some of you
don't trust gps.

992
00:41:59,300 --> 00:42:00,060
I usually do.

993
00:42:00,060 --> 00:42:01,860
I'm like, man, GPS never
failed me yet.

994
00:42:02,100 --> 00:42:03,820
Well, it failed me in North
Carolina, actually.

995
00:42:03,820 --> 00:42:04,820
It was South Carolina.

996
00:42:04,900 --> 00:42:08,980
We were driving, and it gave
me the weirdest instructions.

997
00:42:09,140 --> 00:42:09,900
What did it say?

998
00:42:09,900 --> 00:42:14,100
It was like, aft, but it said
turn left, but it didn't tell me

999
00:42:14,100 --> 00:42:14,620
on a road.

1000
00:42:14,620 --> 00:42:16,260
It just said turn left after.

1001
00:42:16,260 --> 00:42:18,340
And it said something in
another language or something.

1002
00:42:18,980 --> 00:42:20,060
It was like a store.

1003
00:42:20,060 --> 00:42:20,980
I was like, what.

1004
00:42:20,980 --> 00:42:21,740
What road is it?

1005
00:42:21,740 --> 00:42:24,460
So I'm looking for a road, and
they said, turn left after the store.

1006
00:42:24,460 --> 00:42:26,260
And I'm like, it was the
weirdest instructions.

1007
00:42:26,260 --> 00:42:31,060
And so I think about, in my
life, what am I trusting it?

1008
00:42:31,460 --> 00:42:33,060
Who's giving me the directions?

1009
00:42:33,780 --> 00:42:35,740
Who's giving me the GPS coordinates?

1010
00:42:35,740 --> 00:42:37,020
Who's telling me to turn left here?

1011
00:42:37,020 --> 00:42:38,780
It was kind of like when
you're in the south and they say,

1012
00:42:38,780 --> 00:42:42,420
yeah, you Find the tree that's
broken down and turn right there

1013
00:42:42,420 --> 00:42:44,900
and go another, you know, 10
minutes and turn left.

1014
00:42:44,900 --> 00:42:45,380
It's like, what?

1015
00:42:45,380 --> 00:42:46,300
Just give me the roads.

1016
00:42:46,300 --> 00:42:47,860
Well, there's no names on
these roads.

1017
00:42:48,100 --> 00:42:49,620
The, the, the idea would be this.

1018
00:42:49,620 --> 00:42:52,180
For us, who are we trusting in
for our directions?

1019
00:42:53,280 --> 00:42:57,200
Because if we're trusting in
the world system that Ephesians chapter

1020
00:42:57,200 --> 00:43:00,520
two tells us, the world's
gonna lead you so far away from where

1021
00:43:00,520 --> 00:43:03,360
you need to be that you're
gonna get to a place where you never

1022
00:43:03,360 --> 00:43:03,920
wanna be.

1023
00:43:04,960 --> 00:43:08,599
A false teacher is gonna lead
you astray, even yourself.

1024
00:43:08,599 --> 00:43:12,200
I mean, some, some people say
trust yourself, trust your instincts,

1025
00:43:12,200 --> 00:43:13,040
trust your heart.

1026
00:43:13,440 --> 00:43:14,800
That's not a biblical thing.

1027
00:43:14,960 --> 00:43:17,040
Because, you know, what my
heart has told me to do many times

1028
00:43:17,200 --> 00:43:19,200
is not what God wants me to do.

1029
00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:22,280
My heart and my flesh has told
me to do something the opposite of

1030
00:43:22,280 --> 00:43:23,360
what the word of God says.

1031
00:43:23,920 --> 00:43:24,800
So what do I do?

1032
00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:28,960
I go to what God has told me
and use him as my GPS in life.

1033
00:43:28,960 --> 00:43:31,120
As he's going to tell me to
turn left, he's going to tell me

1034
00:43:31,120 --> 00:43:31,680
to turn right.

1035
00:43:31,760 --> 00:43:34,560
And when there is a roadblock,
there's a time and place where I

1036
00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:36,240
ask the Lord, Lord, where do
you want me to go?

1037
00:43:36,240 --> 00:43:37,360
What do you want me to do?

1038
00:43:37,360 --> 00:43:40,120
This might seem like a closed
door, but I'm not sure what's the

1039
00:43:40,120 --> 00:43:40,440
next step.

1040
00:43:40,440 --> 00:43:41,800
Will we prayfully consider that?

1041
00:43:41,800 --> 00:43:45,890
And oftentimes we're not able
to go 75 miles an hour down the road

1042
00:43:45,890 --> 00:43:46,690
of the Christian life.

1043
00:43:46,690 --> 00:43:48,970
There's going to be times
where we're clearly running and there's

1044
00:43:48,970 --> 00:43:51,490
going to be times where we
need to go at a snail's pace.

1045
00:43:51,570 --> 00:43:54,370
But the reality is, is that
we're always moving towards that

1046
00:43:54,370 --> 00:43:56,970
spiritual growth process to be
more and more like Christ.

1047
00:43:56,970 --> 00:44:00,330
And so next week we're going
to come back and we're going to talk

1048
00:44:00,330 --> 00:44:04,050
a little bit more about this
process of growing in grace.

1049
00:44:04,690 --> 00:44:07,090
The Bible says that we're to
add to our faith and we're going

1050
00:44:07,090 --> 00:44:10,410
to talk about how we as
Christians can add to our Christian

1051
00:44:10,410 --> 00:44:13,940
walk certain things that can
allow us to reach that spiritual

1052
00:44:13,940 --> 00:44:17,700
maturity on a more effective
and an empowering way.

1053
00:44:17,700 --> 00:44:20,380
And I hope that it'll be a
blessing to you as we go through

1054
00:44:20,380 --> 00:44:22,060
this study looking at
spiritual growth.

1055
00:44:22,060 --> 00:44:25,740
I know this is not a typical
book study, but I hope that this

1056
00:44:25,740 --> 00:44:29,060
topical study on spiritual
growth will help you identify areas

1057
00:44:29,060 --> 00:44:32,020
in your life where you can
spiritually grow and where you can

1058
00:44:32,020 --> 00:44:33,740
teach others to spiritually grow.

1059
00:44:34,540 --> 00:44:37,380
Really, the main goal for
anything that I Teach or anything

1060
00:44:37,380 --> 00:44:37,900
that I preach.

1061
00:44:37,900 --> 00:44:41,100
I know Pastor Ethan believes
the same thing, is that we want you

1062
00:44:41,100 --> 00:44:44,100
to be able to take that
knowledge and pass that on to somebody

1063
00:44:44,100 --> 00:44:44,460
else.

1064
00:44:45,420 --> 00:44:48,540
What if I told you no one else
can learn unless you're here under

1065
00:44:48,540 --> 00:44:49,260
my teaching?

1066
00:44:49,500 --> 00:44:51,660
Well, that's a really sad way
to live your life.

1067
00:44:52,380 --> 00:44:56,740
The goal is, is that you can
learn from the Word so that you can

1068
00:44:56,740 --> 00:44:59,580
teach others, so that they can
teach others and that can pass on.

1069
00:44:59,660 --> 00:45:02,060
And that's a wonderful thing
to see within the church.

1070
00:45:02,780 --> 00:45:06,790
Folks, I want you to
understand that it's not about having

1071
00:45:06,790 --> 00:45:07,790
a Bible degree.

1072
00:45:07,950 --> 00:45:13,230
It's not about having all of
the, the Bible study tools and concordances,

1073
00:45:13,230 --> 00:45:14,750
even though all those things
can help.

1074
00:45:14,910 --> 00:45:17,950
It's about having that walk
with Jesus Christ and he will reveal

1075
00:45:17,950 --> 00:45:20,750
to you the truth and the Holy
Spirit will guide you.

1076
00:45:20,990 --> 00:45:23,870
And the best thing that you
can do is not be an accomplished

1077
00:45:23,950 --> 00:45:24,910
theologian.

1078
00:45:25,230 --> 00:45:28,150
The best thing that you can do
is be a humble servant to the Lord.

1079
00:45:28,150 --> 00:45:29,710
Remember how Paul introduces himself?

1080
00:45:29,950 --> 00:45:33,520
Because I'm a servant of Jesus
Christ, he doesn't say all the things

1081
00:45:33,520 --> 00:45:34,360
that he could say.

1082
00:45:34,360 --> 00:45:36,760
Paul had a lot of credentials,
but what did he say?

1083
00:45:36,760 --> 00:45:38,280
He says, I'm a servant of
Jesus Christ.

1084
00:45:38,840 --> 00:45:39,960
That's how we have to be.

1085
00:45:40,120 --> 00:45:42,560
Because that pride can fill
our hearts and we can start thinking,

1086
00:45:42,560 --> 00:45:43,720
well, look how good I am.

1087
00:45:44,120 --> 00:45:45,560
No, look how good God is.

1088
00:45:45,560 --> 00:45:46,720
And that's spiritual growth.

1089
00:45:46,720 --> 00:45:48,040
That's the starting place for it.

1090
00:45:48,280 --> 00:45:51,280
So as we close here this
evening, I hope that it can be a

1091
00:45:51,280 --> 00:45:54,040
study that we all glean
certain elements of truth.

1092
00:45:54,120 --> 00:45:57,760
And if there's things that you
already know, great, pass it on to

1093
00:45:57,760 --> 00:45:58,440
somebody else.

1094
00:45:58,700 --> 00:45:59,740
Invite somebody else.

1095
00:45:59,900 --> 00:46:02,340
Encourage them to turn on the
live stream, encourage them to get

1096
00:46:02,340 --> 00:46:05,500
on the podcast, encourage them
to get as much intake as they can

1097
00:46:05,500 --> 00:46:08,460
of the word of God, because
that is what's going to change lives.

1098
00:46:09,340 --> 00:46:13,780
Romans chapter 1, verse 16
says, For I'm not ashamed the power

1099
00:46:13,780 --> 00:46:14,860
of the gospel, right?

1100
00:46:15,500 --> 00:46:17,580
Don't be ashamed of the power
of God.

1101
00:46:18,300 --> 00:46:22,500
Don't, don't turn your backs
to the importance of following His

1102
00:46:22,500 --> 00:46:22,820
Word.

1103
00:46:22,820 --> 00:46:26,010
You know, I think a lot of
times there is this shame in.

1104
00:46:26,170 --> 00:46:26,970
Well, you know what?

1105
00:46:26,970 --> 00:46:28,930
Maybe, maybe it's narrow minded.

1106
00:46:28,930 --> 00:46:31,930
Maybe it's, we're don't follow
the ways of the world.

1107
00:46:31,930 --> 00:46:35,090
The world wants us to work by
their parameters.

1108
00:46:35,090 --> 00:46:36,170
Well, don't use the Bible.

1109
00:46:36,330 --> 00:46:37,690
Don't, don't use this, right?

1110
00:46:38,010 --> 00:46:39,530
Well, of course we're going to
use the Bible.

1111
00:46:39,530 --> 00:46:40,010
The Bible.

1112
00:46:40,090 --> 00:46:44,410
The Bible is everything in our
lives when it comes to doctrine.

1113
00:46:44,650 --> 00:46:48,250
For, for reproof for
correction, for instruction and righteousness,

1114
00:46:48,650 --> 00:46:54,100
that a man of God would be
thoroughly furnished unto all good

1115
00:46:54,100 --> 00:46:55,940
works, man be perfect or mature.

1116
00:46:56,340 --> 00:46:58,940
And so the reality for us is
that the way that we're going to

1117
00:46:58,940 --> 00:47:00,380
spiritually grow is, yes,
through the Bible.

1118
00:47:00,380 --> 00:47:02,020
It doesn't mean that the Bible is.

1119
00:47:02,340 --> 00:47:04,420
If I read the Bible, I'm going
to automatically grow.

1120
00:47:04,420 --> 00:47:07,500
But if I'm looking at the
Bible as the word of God and as my

1121
00:47:07,500 --> 00:47:11,060
guide, I'm able to be fueled
and equipped for that work.

1122
00:47:11,060 --> 00:47:14,780
And we can hide God's word in
our hearts and that we can live in

1123
00:47:14,780 --> 00:47:17,330
a life of temptation, not with
failure, but with.

1124
00:47:17,480 --> 00:47:21,080
But a life of victory over
those things that are coming up.

1125
00:47:21,080 --> 00:47:23,480
And I hope that it'll be
something that you can grow in.

1126
00:47:23,480 --> 00:47:26,000
So we'll go ahead and close
with a word of prayer.

1127
00:47:26,000 --> 00:47:27,880
And then after that I'll have
a few announcements and then we'll

1128
00:47:27,880 --> 00:47:28,520
be dismissed.

1129
00:47:28,520 --> 00:47:30,040
Lord, I thank you for this
time that you've given us.

1130
00:47:30,040 --> 00:47:33,719
I thank you for the love and
the grace that you have for us.

1131
00:47:33,800 --> 00:47:34,160
Lord.

1132
00:47:34,160 --> 00:47:38,280
We're thankful for the fact
that we can be on this path to spiritual

1133
00:47:38,280 --> 00:47:44,930
growth, Lord, as we're, as
we're Christians who oftentimes are

1134
00:47:44,930 --> 00:47:47,890
forgetful of who we were
before we came to Christ.

1135
00:47:48,210 --> 00:47:50,850
Lord, I pray that we're
reminded of who we were, but also

1136
00:47:50,850 --> 00:47:53,010
reminded of who we are now in you.

1137
00:47:53,330 --> 00:47:56,050
And I pray that we can be
strengthened and that we can grow

1138
00:47:56,210 --> 00:48:00,730
here this summer as we look to
you for the answers for all that

1139
00:48:00,730 --> 00:48:01,810
we might be facing.

1140
00:48:02,130 --> 00:48:04,370
I pray that you be with those
who are searching.

1141
00:48:04,370 --> 00:48:06,810
I pray that you be with those
who are struggling.

1142
00:48:06,810 --> 00:48:09,540
I pray that you be with those
who are confused.

1143
00:48:09,540 --> 00:48:13,220
I pray that you be with those
who are in pain now, both physically

1144
00:48:13,220 --> 00:48:14,060
and spiritually.

1145
00:48:14,460 --> 00:48:17,740
But I pray that they can see
you as the answer to all of their

1146
00:48:17,740 --> 00:48:18,300
problems.

1147
00:48:18,620 --> 00:48:22,300
And we pray that your word, we
know it's your word because your

1148
00:48:22,300 --> 00:48:26,100
word says that it's inspired
by you, Lord, breathed by you to

1149
00:48:26,100 --> 00:48:30,300
us so that we can not only use
it as a guide, but we can use it

1150
00:48:30,780 --> 00:48:32,980
for every need in our life.

1151
00:48:32,980 --> 00:48:36,090
And Lord, we just thank you
for the grace that you extend to

1152
00:48:36,090 --> 00:48:38,330
us through this relationship
that we call salvation.

1153
00:48:38,410 --> 00:48:40,850
I pray that you keep us safe
as we go our separate ways this evening.

1154
00:48:40,850 --> 00:48:42,410
We thank you for all that you
do for us.

1155
00:48:42,410 --> 00:48:45,410
And I pray that you can help
us be the salt and light that you

1156
00:48:45,410 --> 00:48:46,370
called us to be here this week.

1157
00:48:46,370 --> 00:48:48,090
And we ask all those things in
Jesus name.

1158
00:48:48,170 --> 00:48:48,730
Amen.