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Foreign.

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So if you have your Bibles,
turn with me to first Timothy, chapter

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four, verses six to ten.

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And we are continuing our
series of overflow.

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And specifically today I want
to talk to you about training for

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godliness.

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Training for godliness.

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So first Timothy, chapter
four, verse six to ten.

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If you have your Bibles, you
can read along with me, but I'll

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read it for you.

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If you put these things before
the brothers, you will be a good

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servant of Christ Jesus being trained.

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Say that with me trained in
the words of the faith and of the

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good doctrine.

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Say good doctrine that you
have followed.

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Have nothing to do with
irreverent silly myths.

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Rather train yourself.

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Say, train yourself for godliness.

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For while bodily training is
of some value, Godliness is of value

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in every way as it holds
promise for the present life and

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also for the life to come.

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The saying is a trustworthy
and deserving of full acceptance.

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For to this end we toil and
strive because we have our hope set

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on the living God, who is the
Savior of all people, especially

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of those who believe.

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Let's pray here together.

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Heavenly Father, let your
words go forth.

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Let it not just be my words,
but I pray here today, Lord, that

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we will be able to understand
that through holiness we are made

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whole.

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And God, you will teach us
your ways.

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So let the words of my mouth
and the meditations of my heart be

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acceptable in your sight, O
Lord, my Redeemer.

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So thank you, God, for what
you're doing in this house.

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In Jesus name, Amen.

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Well, we're in our series
called Overflow.

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And if you were here last
week, I will tell you, go back to

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those and watch those.

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It's very important.

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And we talked about, we dived
into not just how God is more than

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provisional, but God is
actually providential in those times

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in your life as a believer.

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But here's the question that I
want to pose to some of you that

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are here today, maybe those
that are watching online.

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What happens when you become exhausted?

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You ever felt exhausted before?

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How many of y'all you run and
you feel exhausted?

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I just found out that there's
something called a runner's second

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wind.

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Now, I don't run, so I don't.

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I don't know any about that.

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But supposedly there's a
second wind.

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But there are times when you
are in a workout for your soul that

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you just even spiritually feel exhausted.

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You ever had some midnight
prayers that you had to just pray

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through and you're fighting
this fight and you're unable to contend

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with the realities of the world.

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Maybe you get a diagnosis that
you've been inflicted with cancer,

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right?

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Some serious things.

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Maybe something in your life
has happened.

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Maybe that's why divorce rates
are so high.

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And there's this pull from
social media that says you have to

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look like this, you have to
dress like this, you have to act

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like this, you have to do this
TikTok dance, you have to do this,

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right?

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And there's this pull from
every direction.

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So here's my question.

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How can the Christian live a
godly life in a godless world?

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How can the Christian live a
godly life in this godless world?

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So today, what I want to do,
if you will permit me, is I want

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to exegetically walk in
between the lines of Paul's words

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to the young protege Timothy,
and how you and I can be able to

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endure when there is a world
that is trying to derail us.

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And here's.

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If you're taking notes, for
the note takers in the room or those

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that are online, I want you to
understand this.

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A godly life is shaped by what
you feed it, how you shape it and

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who you walk with.

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A godly life is shaped by what
you feed it, how you shape it and

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who you walk with.

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So let's go to 1 Timothy,
chapter 4.

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Let me give you some context
there, because the Apostle Paul,

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in this moment, he's being
released from his first imprisonment.

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And what he wants to do is he
wants to visit key churches that

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where he ministered from.

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And he's specifically focusing
on the church of Ephesus and what

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they have been practicing
because they haven't been living

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up to the standards of Christ.

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And Paul is really concerned
with the godlessness of the people

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there because there have been
an uprise of false teachers and there

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is a culture that is being
bent towards Greek counterparts and

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philosophy.

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So there's false teachers,
there's the influence of the culture,

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right?

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There's the influence of philosophies.

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And what Paul is trying to do
is he's writing to Timothy to help

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the church to persevere in the
face of teachings.

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If you look at first Timothy
4:1, it says there will be some that

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will depart from the faith by
devoting themselves to deceitful

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spirits and teaching of demons.

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Not much has changed in
today's world.

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So what's Paul doing?

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He's writing these, what they
call them pastoral letters, first

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and second Timothy and Titus.

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And he's writing this as his,
like his last words.

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You know, I don't know about
you, but if I Knew this was the last

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time I was going to talk to you.

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I want to give you everything
of the Gospel, right?

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I want to tell you everything
about Jesus.

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I don't want to tell you how
good I look or how great I smell

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or whatever it is.

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I want to tell you the Gospel saves.

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And you need to get right.

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And this is what Paul's doing.

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This is Paul's last letter.

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And in these letters you see the.

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The word for godliness,
especially in first Timothy, is actually

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found all throughout the letter.

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But why does all this matter?

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Church?

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Can't we just all get along?

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Can we just all believe?

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Can we just come to church on
Sunday and do life as regular, right?

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Why do we have to train for godliness?

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Why do I need to pursue this
in my life?

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And I will tell you why.

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Because we have a human
condition and we are a slave to sin

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from the first Adam.

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And as a result, our hearts
have become rebellious against God

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because our flesh is waging
war with our souls.

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Now the question becomes, will
you diet?

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Will you discipline, and will
you disciple your life in active

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obedience?

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So here today, if you're
taking notes, I want to give you

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three pillars, three pillars
that I truly believe in order for

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you to live a godly life in a
godless world.

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So here's the first pillar.

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Number one is diet.

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Feed on the Word.

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Let's go back to first
Timothy, chapter four.

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And let's go line by line,
starting with verse six.

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If you put these things.

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Let me stop right there.

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Because when you say if it's a
condition, what is Paul saying?

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If you put these things, Paul,
what are you talking about?

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Well, you have to go into the
first early chapters.

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What is he saying there?

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He says he's referring to the
gospel message, right?

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Christ came into the world to
save sinners in whom I am of the

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foremost.

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In chapter 1, verse 15.

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In chapter 3, he talks about
the qualifications of an overseer.

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Self control, humility.

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The end of that chapter, he
talks about the mystery of godliness,

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which is Christ.

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So what Paul is saying is if
you put all of these things, Timothy,

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if you put all of these things
before the brothers, you will be

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a good servant.

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That's where we get the word
deacon from Diakonos.

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And it's the.

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And it also means minister.

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We all supposed to be
ministers of the gospel.

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Can I say something?

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It's not just the pastor.

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It's not just the ministry leader.

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You have a responsibility
because Christ lives inside of you

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to minister the Gospel.

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You don't have to know all
about apologetics.

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You don't have to know how
well to defend the faith.

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Because here's the thing, the
burden of proof is not on you.

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The burden of proof is on
other people.

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They got to prove their case
just as much as you got to prove

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yours.

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But guess what?

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You are a living proof.

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And no one can refute your testimony.

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Now, what Paul says, he says,
being trained in the words of faith

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and of the good doctrine that
you have followed.

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So here's the point that Paul
is saying.

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Good Christians need a good
spiritual diet.

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When you lack the spiritual
diet to sustain a godly life, what

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you are essentially doing is
eating a lot of junk food.

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Pick your pleasure.

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Is it Oreos?

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I was a big Oreo guy.

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Still am.

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I just heard my wife say she
just shared my sin to the whole world.

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But that's all right.

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Dulce de leche, tres leche, bustelo.

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There's a lot.

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Name it.

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But here's the thing, Church.

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We are running to these guilty
pleasures to accommodate a God.

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We are running to these things
because we say, oh, I find comfort

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in this.

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Oh, it soothes me.

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Oh, it helps me.

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It helped me to get through
the day.

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I sit and watch Netflix and
eat a whole bunch of Haagen Dazs

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and I just sit there and it
comforts my soul.

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Right?

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And we do these things
thinking that we are going to be

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justified in what we do.

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And sometimes as Christians,
we're eating a poor diet.

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We're not getting enough of
the Word or we're getting too much

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saturated fat and we're
getting a little bit heavy.

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Now look at nobody.

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I'm covering my eyes, but what
I'm saying is sometimes we're eating

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the wrong things in the Word
and we're just using it for our own

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guilty pleasure instead of
dispensing it to people so that they

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can understand it.

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Come on, Church.

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And we're lacking these things.

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But what we have to do is
reject bad doctrine.

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We have to begin to reject it.

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Because doctrine, sometimes
it's all over the place.

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And we don't know what we
should practice and we don't know

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what should we listen to and
what YouTuber is saying this and

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what seminary is saying this.

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We have to reject the bad doctrine.

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Anything that goes against the
deity of Christ, anything that contradicts

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the nature of who God is, we
reject it.

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And here Paul goes on to
describe it as this.

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He says, this is Paul getting
feisty now.

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He says, godless myths and old
wives tales have nothing to do with

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this.

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And it is the silliness of
myths that sometimes comes into our

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world.

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And there are some saints that
are destroying one another.

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And Satan is winning on all fronts.

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He's watching us saying, well,
look, they're just killing themselves.

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They're just hurting themselves.

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They're acting silly with themselves.

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See, what Paul is dealing with
here is he's dealing with a certain

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demon inspired asceticism.

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Asceticism is this doctrine
that says if I just deny all the

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flesh and I renounce all my
physical pleasures, all my personal

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desires, if I do all this and
I just focus on the soul, I'm good.

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Now they also believe this at
this point in the Ephesus, that they

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don't take part in any of the
gifts that God has given them.

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You ever talk to somebody who
was like really super spiritual,

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you know what I'm talking about?

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I know we probably do.

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We have some in the room here
today that we gotta acknowledge,

246
00:12:44,892 --> 00:12:45,292
right?

247
00:12:45,396 --> 00:12:50,502
And you ask them a simple
question, brother, how you doing?

248
00:12:50,686 --> 00:12:55,574
I am blessed, never stressed,
highly favored by the Lord Jesus

249
00:12:55,622 --> 00:12:58,410
the Christ, so help me God.

250
00:13:00,670 --> 00:13:04,166
And you're like, just come
down a little bit to planet Earth

251
00:13:04,198 --> 00:13:06,210
so we can have a conversation here.

252
00:13:09,070 --> 00:13:10,582
But here's the thing, right?

253
00:13:10,606 --> 00:13:14,124
They're so heavily minded that
they have no earthly good.

254
00:13:14,262 --> 00:13:17,536
It's like, you know when you
go into the gym and you see someone

255
00:13:17,608 --> 00:13:19,632
that's all big on the top and
guess what?

256
00:13:19,656 --> 00:13:21,020
They never do leg day.

257
00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:23,700
That's some of y'all Christians.

258
00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:28,784
We're all up here, we're all
up here and then we're just wobbling

259
00:13:28,832 --> 00:13:31,280
around because we got two
legs, right?

260
00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:36,032
Because we don't focus on, we
only focus on what's the spirit and

261
00:13:36,056 --> 00:13:36,704
what's the soul.

262
00:13:36,752 --> 00:13:38,820
But not the body, not the diet.

263
00:13:39,730 --> 00:13:41,710
We got to focus on the diet.

264
00:13:42,210 --> 00:13:45,786
So this diet from false
teachers, what they did, they didn't

265
00:13:45,818 --> 00:13:47,882
hold fast to the person of Christ.

266
00:13:48,066 --> 00:13:52,538
And you are going to have some
diets that maybe some people tell

267
00:13:52,594 --> 00:13:58,698
you that it appears like
wisdom, appears like wisdom, but

268
00:13:58,754 --> 00:14:04,026
it doesn't stop your
indulgence of the flesh if it doesn't

269
00:14:04,058 --> 00:14:08,058
glorify Christ or if it
doesn't defeat flesh church, I don't

270
00:14:08,074 --> 00:14:09,350
want any part of it.

271
00:14:10,370 --> 00:14:14,794
Now listen, not all self
denial is bad, I want to say that.

272
00:14:14,882 --> 00:14:19,578
But if it doesn't point back
to Christ, it's false and it's silly.

273
00:14:19,674 --> 00:14:24,042
What Paul is saying here,
silly is actually like two people

274
00:14:24,226 --> 00:14:27,482
going back and forth gossiping
with one another because they have

275
00:14:27,506 --> 00:14:28,778
nothing else better to do.

276
00:14:28,914 --> 00:14:31,430
That's what it means by silly here.

277
00:14:32,340 --> 00:14:33,388
Let's go a little bit further.

278
00:14:33,444 --> 00:14:34,236
Let's go a little bit deeper.

279
00:14:34,268 --> 00:14:34,716
Is that okay?

280
00:14:34,748 --> 00:14:36,188
Can we go a little bit deeper today?

281
00:14:36,324 --> 00:14:37,160
All right.

282
00:14:37,460 --> 00:14:42,028
The word train here is
understood as an actual workout,

283
00:14:42,204 --> 00:14:42,920
right?

284
00:14:43,220 --> 00:14:47,612
An actual workout is being
nourished with the words and faith.

285
00:14:47,676 --> 00:14:51,040
And what's on the menu is good teaching.

286
00:14:51,700 --> 00:14:54,668
I love the fact that we have
some good teaching in this house.

287
00:14:54,724 --> 00:14:55,372
Amen.

288
00:14:55,516 --> 00:14:55,820
Right?

289
00:14:55,860 --> 00:14:58,160
How many of y'all doing your
daily growth journals?

290
00:14:58,710 --> 00:15:00,510
That's some good teaching
right there.

291
00:15:00,630 --> 00:15:02,542
That's some good diet right there.

292
00:15:02,646 --> 00:15:05,598
That we are growing together
as a community.

293
00:15:05,734 --> 00:15:08,542
And if you haven't got a daily
growth journal, we still have some

294
00:15:08,566 --> 00:15:10,090
more available for you.

295
00:15:10,790 --> 00:15:12,302
But here's the thing.

296
00:15:12,486 --> 00:15:17,650
We don't pick and choose what
we want to eat.

297
00:15:18,790 --> 00:15:19,150
Aw.

298
00:15:19,190 --> 00:15:21,358
Some of y'all just got real
angry right now with me, but that's

299
00:15:21,374 --> 00:15:21,646
okay.

300
00:15:21,678 --> 00:15:24,494
Let me just kind of simmer you
down a little bit.

301
00:15:24,582 --> 00:15:28,312
I remember when I was younger
and my abuela, when we used to eat,

302
00:15:28,406 --> 00:15:30,596
she used to put everything so good.

303
00:15:30,668 --> 00:15:33,080
Rice, beans, chicken, and then broccoli.

304
00:15:35,420 --> 00:15:39,080
And I'm like, grandma, don't
you know I'm Puerto Rican?

305
00:15:39,660 --> 00:15:40,836
I don't eat this.

306
00:15:40,988 --> 00:15:42,244
And I'm like, broccoli?

307
00:15:42,292 --> 00:15:42,880
Why?

308
00:15:43,260 --> 00:15:44,932
I didn't know the purpose of it.

309
00:15:45,036 --> 00:15:45,732
It's green.

310
00:15:45,796 --> 00:15:46,452
It smells.

311
00:15:46,516 --> 00:15:47,812
I don't want it.

312
00:15:47,996 --> 00:15:49,828
Why would I want to eat this?

313
00:15:49,964 --> 00:15:51,396
What is the benefit?

314
00:15:51,508 --> 00:15:54,640
But she saw something that I
could not see.

315
00:15:55,450 --> 00:15:57,030
Oh, come on, Church.

316
00:15:57,770 --> 00:16:02,322
Sometimes God's gonna give you
something that you may like at the

317
00:16:02,346 --> 00:16:02,754
moment.

318
00:16:02,802 --> 00:16:05,630
It don't taste good, but it's
good for you.

319
00:16:07,290 --> 00:16:09,698
And you're like, oh, okay, Lord.

320
00:16:09,874 --> 00:16:11,042
All right, I'll eat it.

321
00:16:11,066 --> 00:16:11,474
I guess.

322
00:16:11,522 --> 00:16:17,550
So like Israel wandering
around for 40 years.

323
00:16:17,930 --> 00:16:21,266
You know, sometimes we're just
wandering around saying, God, when's

324
00:16:21,298 --> 00:16:22,130
the next best thing?

325
00:16:22,170 --> 00:16:22,930
When's the next thing?

326
00:16:22,970 --> 00:16:26,312
God is saying, no, this is the
next thing right here.

327
00:16:26,496 --> 00:16:28,248
What I'm giving you is the
next thing.

328
00:16:28,304 --> 00:16:30,180
This diet is the next thing.

329
00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:34,220
And a good diet makes a good
minister of the gospel.

330
00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:36,856
Now, look, Paul continues to
say that.

331
00:16:36,928 --> 00:16:41,432
2 Timothy 2:15, he says,
Present yourself to God as one approved.

332
00:16:41,576 --> 00:16:45,208
A workman who does not need to
be ashamed, who handles the word

333
00:16:45,224 --> 00:16:45,672
of truth.

334
00:16:45,736 --> 00:16:46,710
2 Timothy 4.

335
00:16:46,777 --> 00:16:47,080
2.

336
00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:50,520
Preach the word, be prepared
in and out of season.

337
00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:51,418
Correct.

338
00:16:51,584 --> 00:16:52,278
Rebuke.

339
00:16:52,374 --> 00:16:54,694
Oh, sure about that.

340
00:16:54,782 --> 00:16:55,478
Yeah.

341
00:16:55,654 --> 00:16:58,406
Correct, rebuke, and encourage
with great patience.

342
00:16:58,518 --> 00:17:04,342
So that's what I love about
our house, is, you know what?

343
00:17:04,446 --> 00:17:08,102
It's okay to correct when you
do it in love, because it's for the

344
00:17:08,126 --> 00:17:09,690
benefit of Your soul.

345
00:17:10,670 --> 00:17:14,742
You can't just look at the
correction or the rebuke.

346
00:17:14,886 --> 00:17:17,302
Because now, if there's no
encouragement that goes along with

347
00:17:17,326 --> 00:17:17,462
that.

348
00:17:17,486 --> 00:17:17,686
Yeah.

349
00:17:17,718 --> 00:17:20,618
Then whoever that person is
has to learn.

350
00:17:20,774 --> 00:17:24,434
But what I'm saying is that a
healthy church rebukes.

351
00:17:24,482 --> 00:17:26,082
A healthy church corrects.

352
00:17:26,146 --> 00:17:28,066
A healthy brother corrects me.

353
00:17:28,138 --> 00:17:30,770
A helpy sister should correct you.

354
00:17:30,810 --> 00:17:33,190
Whatever the case is, it's healthy.

355
00:17:34,090 --> 00:17:35,666
Because here's the thing, Church.

356
00:17:35,778 --> 00:17:37,230
And I want to say this.

357
00:17:37,610 --> 00:17:40,550
I want to be confronted with
my sin.

358
00:17:42,010 --> 00:17:43,938
Confront me with my sin.

359
00:17:44,114 --> 00:17:45,666
I want to be confronted.

360
00:17:45,778 --> 00:17:47,810
Now, my wife, she does this so
well with me.

361
00:17:47,850 --> 00:17:48,670
I don't know.

362
00:17:49,050 --> 00:17:52,458
She has a gift for confronting me.

363
00:17:52,514 --> 00:17:53,910
Yeah, I got you too, girl.

364
00:17:57,090 --> 00:17:59,418
But that's what it means to
love one another.

365
00:17:59,474 --> 00:18:02,550
I'm going to confront you with
your sin whether you like it or not.

366
00:18:02,850 --> 00:18:04,346
That's what love is.

367
00:18:04,498 --> 00:18:09,070
And we need a diet that is
fueled by the word of God.

368
00:18:10,210 --> 00:18:12,110
And let me just say this out loud.

369
00:18:12,530 --> 00:18:15,590
You either kill sin or you
feed it.

370
00:18:19,580 --> 00:18:23,108
You either kill sin or you
feed it.

371
00:18:23,244 --> 00:18:24,228
And here's the thing.

372
00:18:24,284 --> 00:18:28,360
Sometimes we become habitual sinners.

373
00:18:29,340 --> 00:18:31,108
I don't know how to kill it.

374
00:18:31,244 --> 00:18:34,004
I just keep feeding it and
feeding it and feeding it.

375
00:18:34,092 --> 00:18:36,724
I keep eating haagen Dazs at
12 o'clock at night.

376
00:18:36,812 --> 00:18:38,244
And I know it's not good.

377
00:18:38,332 --> 00:18:39,636
I know that's my struggle, y'all.

378
00:18:39,668 --> 00:18:40,440
Sorry.

379
00:18:41,350 --> 00:18:43,850
I just let everybody know, man.

380
00:18:44,790 --> 00:18:47,342
But I keep feeding it and
feeding it and I don't work out.

381
00:18:47,366 --> 00:18:48,238
And guess what happens?

382
00:18:48,254 --> 00:18:49,650
I get lethargic.

383
00:18:50,150 --> 00:18:54,142
I get tired and I don't
exercise and I don't work out and

384
00:18:54,166 --> 00:18:55,054
I don't diet.

385
00:18:55,182 --> 00:18:57,290
I let sin eat me.

386
00:19:00,710 --> 00:19:02,718
But what does true godliness do?

387
00:19:02,774 --> 00:19:08,206
True godliness is cultivated
only through the most godliest book

388
00:19:08,278 --> 00:19:09,224
ever written.

389
00:19:09,382 --> 00:19:10,680
The word of God.

390
00:19:11,820 --> 00:19:13,120
Feed on this.

391
00:19:13,580 --> 00:19:17,092
That's why, again, I love our
daily devotional because we are continuously

392
00:19:17,156 --> 00:19:17,620
feeding.

393
00:19:17,700 --> 00:19:22,580
When you open it up, all it is
is scripture and is some reflection

394
00:19:22,740 --> 00:19:25,240
to help you reflect back on
the word of God.

395
00:19:25,740 --> 00:19:29,320
A spiritual diet that is malnourished.

396
00:19:29,980 --> 00:19:34,324
If your spiritual diet here
today is malnourished, it will produce

397
00:19:34,372 --> 00:19:39,130
unhealthy and unfruitful
Christians that lack deep roots.

398
00:19:40,910 --> 00:19:44,134
That's why I'm a big proponent
of the local church.

399
00:19:44,182 --> 00:19:45,174
I don't know what happened.

400
00:19:45,222 --> 00:19:48,118
20, 30 years ago, the local
church was it.

401
00:19:48,174 --> 00:19:50,310
Now it's like, I don't need
the local church.

402
00:19:50,470 --> 00:19:54,998
I don't understand where in
society and culture we got here,

403
00:19:55,134 --> 00:19:56,966
but the local church is so needed.

404
00:19:56,998 --> 00:20:02,786
If your church is preaching
the right gospel and sound Doctrine.

405
00:20:02,918 --> 00:20:05,710
It shouldn't be a church that
is comfortable.

406
00:20:06,210 --> 00:20:10,650
It should be a church that
makes you uncomfortable in your sin.

407
00:20:10,810 --> 00:20:11,850
That's why I love our house.

408
00:20:11,890 --> 00:20:12,950
We come here.

409
00:20:13,250 --> 00:20:15,210
Rebuke me, correct me.

410
00:20:15,250 --> 00:20:18,298
I'm not just coming here to
coddle your sin.

411
00:20:18,394 --> 00:20:19,834
Oh, it's going to be okay.

412
00:20:19,882 --> 00:20:20,522
Don't worry.

413
00:20:20,586 --> 00:20:24,630
No, get rid of that sin, kill
it, and then move on.

414
00:20:25,090 --> 00:20:28,830
Because what the enemy wants
to do is get you stuck in your sin.

415
00:20:29,150 --> 00:20:31,014
Oh, he wants you to stay there.

416
00:20:31,182 --> 00:20:32,326
He don't want you to move.

417
00:20:32,398 --> 00:20:32,870
Why?

418
00:20:32,990 --> 00:20:35,370
Because then you become a
threat to his kingdom.

419
00:20:36,350 --> 00:20:36,902
Now we know.

420
00:20:36,926 --> 00:20:39,238
For all have sinned and fallen
short of the glory of God.

421
00:20:39,254 --> 00:20:40,518
For the wages of sin is death.

422
00:20:40,574 --> 00:20:43,530
But the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus.

423
00:20:46,350 --> 00:20:51,254
And what Paul is telling
Timothy, he says in 1 Timothy 3:15,

424
00:20:51,342 --> 00:20:56,406
if I delay, you may know how
one ought to behave in the household

425
00:20:56,438 --> 00:21:02,280
of God, which is the church of
the living God, a pillar and a buttress

426
00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:03,900
of the truth.

427
00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:06,460
The church is God's.

428
00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:11,928
It's not a static institution,
everyone, like some have claimed,

429
00:21:11,944 --> 00:21:14,780
but it is the representation
of a living God.

430
00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:16,600
Let's go to number two.

431
00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:17,420
Discipline.

432
00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:20,540
Fight the flesh.

433
00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:23,084
Fight the flesh.

434
00:21:23,272 --> 00:21:25,668
Let's go to the second half of
verse seven.

435
00:21:25,724 --> 00:21:29,444
There rather, train yourself
for godliness.

436
00:21:29,492 --> 00:21:33,268
For while bodily training is
of some value, godliness is of value

437
00:21:33,324 --> 00:21:35,040
in every way.

438
00:21:35,500 --> 00:21:39,604
Train rather yourself for
godliness in the Greek is gumnazi

439
00:21:39,652 --> 00:21:42,260
de saeuton pros eusebia.

440
00:21:42,340 --> 00:21:46,116
I know that's a long Greek
word, but it's train rather yourself

441
00:21:46,228 --> 00:21:47,604
for godliness.

442
00:21:47,732 --> 00:21:54,330
There is a call to exercise
yourself, but it's not all external.

443
00:21:55,230 --> 00:21:59,370
Because some of us, we suffer
from what I call counterfeit godliness.

444
00:22:00,430 --> 00:22:04,490
It's when we imitate without intimacy.

445
00:22:05,150 --> 00:22:06,850
Oh, I just want to look.

446
00:22:07,150 --> 00:22:08,890
I want to look like a Christian.

447
00:22:09,470 --> 00:22:11,250
You know what Christians look
like, right?

448
00:22:12,030 --> 00:22:13,670
Some of y'all say yes.

449
00:22:13,830 --> 00:22:16,048
Some of you have no idea what
I'm talking about.

450
00:22:16,214 --> 00:22:19,948
You know the Christians that
wear the suits and the ties and.

451
00:22:20,004 --> 00:22:21,036
No, no, no.

452
00:22:21,188 --> 00:22:23,132
What does a Christian look like?

453
00:22:23,316 --> 00:22:30,652
A Christian looks like Christ
imitates Christ, but sometimes, and

454
00:22:30,676 --> 00:22:33,196
that's what Jesus had to
confront the Pharisees and say, yo,

455
00:22:33,228 --> 00:22:35,520
y'all some whitewashed tombs.

456
00:22:36,020 --> 00:22:43,730
Inwardly, when you go back to
ancient Greece, the athletes there,

457
00:22:44,270 --> 00:22:47,130
they used to compete without clothing.

458
00:22:47,470 --> 00:22:50,370
Now, thank God that we moved
along from that.

459
00:22:51,630 --> 00:22:53,810
And none of our gyms do that.

460
00:22:54,350 --> 00:22:56,182
But they did that because,
guess what?

461
00:22:56,206 --> 00:22:59,750
The clothing was a hindrance
to them in competition.

462
00:22:59,910 --> 00:23:02,566
And that's where we get that
Greek word there.

463
00:23:02,638 --> 00:23:02,934
Gum.

464
00:23:02,982 --> 00:23:06,170
Nazi is where we get The Greek
word for gymnasium.

465
00:23:07,150 --> 00:23:09,872
Your gym should smell like sweat.

466
00:23:09,966 --> 00:23:11,920
How many of your gyms smell
like sweat?

467
00:23:13,540 --> 00:23:17,228
I'm concerned that if your gym
doesn't smell like sweat, I don't

468
00:23:17,244 --> 00:23:19,080
know what kind of gym it is.

469
00:23:19,860 --> 00:23:22,924
But, right, you go in there
and it's like, oh, wow, I get to

470
00:23:22,932 --> 00:23:24,076
eat pizza here in the gym.

471
00:23:24,108 --> 00:23:26,880
I don't know what this is,
this is weird.

472
00:23:30,820 --> 00:23:35,324
But sweat is sweat and it
doesn't smell good, but it has a

473
00:23:35,332 --> 00:23:36,000
purpose.

474
00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:37,680
Oh, come on.

475
00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:39,940
Sweat don't smell good, but it
has a purpose.

476
00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:46,368
And some of us need to put on
some spiritual deodorant that I call

477
00:23:46,424 --> 00:23:54,992
discipline, so that we could
say, okay, you know what, let me

478
00:23:55,016 --> 00:23:57,920
do you a favor, let me cover
myself in the word.

479
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:01,536
Let me cover myself in prayer,
Let me cover myself in some of these

480
00:24:01,608 --> 00:24:06,450
disciplines that I know that I
have in you.

481
00:24:07,150 --> 00:24:11,718
So you should be sweating also.

482
00:24:11,854 --> 00:24:16,330
Let me say this, your sweat is
attached to your godliness.

483
00:24:16,910 --> 00:24:21,638
It's this inner devotion that
nobody could deny the power because

484
00:24:21,694 --> 00:24:26,410
it's not built on you, it's
not built on your looks.

485
00:24:26,990 --> 00:24:27,730
Right?

486
00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:30,704
Because sometimes when we go
to the gym, we love to look in the

487
00:24:30,712 --> 00:24:31,460
mirror.

488
00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:35,440
I know I'm hitting some nerves here.

489
00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:36,112
Good.

490
00:24:36,296 --> 00:24:40,128
We look in the mirror and we
say, wow, man, that's a good looking

491
00:24:40,184 --> 00:24:40,820
guy.

492
00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:44,960
Or we say, hey, I need to work
on this muscle group.

493
00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:47,180
Or, hey, I need to work on this.

494
00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:52,080
But it's not about your looks,
it's about his likeness.

495
00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:53,776
Do I look like Christ?

496
00:24:53,928 --> 00:24:55,514
Am I loving people?

497
00:24:55,712 --> 00:24:58,742
Am I showing them the validity
of your truth?

498
00:24:58,886 --> 00:25:02,406
Am I demonstrating the gospel
message to them?

499
00:25:02,558 --> 00:25:05,650
That's how people get to know Christ.

500
00:25:07,070 --> 00:25:09,446
God isn't impressed with our piety.

501
00:25:09,638 --> 00:25:13,574
God isn't impressed by our performance.

502
00:25:13,742 --> 00:25:16,294
And true godliness is not automatic.

503
00:25:16,422 --> 00:25:19,050
It is a response to his revelation.

504
00:25:20,590 --> 00:25:24,590
You know, I remember a few
years ago, I actually competed on

505
00:25:24,630 --> 00:25:29,694
stage and, you know, it was
for bodybuilding.

506
00:25:29,742 --> 00:25:33,790
And it was one of the worst
years of my life because I had to

507
00:25:33,830 --> 00:25:37,210
diet and discipline myself for
an entire year.

508
00:25:37,830 --> 00:25:41,262
And if you know anything
about, you know, going on stage and

509
00:25:41,286 --> 00:25:41,854
that commitment.

510
00:25:41,902 --> 00:25:45,246
And I had a coach and he would
tell me, well, you gotta eat X amount

511
00:25:45,278 --> 00:25:47,790
of proteins a day, X amount of carbs.

512
00:25:47,870 --> 00:25:48,606
X amount of fat.

513
00:25:48,638 --> 00:25:49,854
You have to work out this.

514
00:25:49,942 --> 00:25:52,654
It was a whole blueprint that
he gave me.

515
00:25:52,742 --> 00:25:54,618
And I did this for an entire year.

516
00:25:54,674 --> 00:25:59,306
My wife hated me because we
couldn't eat anything that she wanted

517
00:25:59,338 --> 00:26:00,110
to eat.

518
00:26:00,690 --> 00:26:02,790
And the egg whites was a
problem too.

519
00:26:03,810 --> 00:26:05,946
I actually used to just drink
the egg whites.

520
00:26:05,978 --> 00:26:07,270
Just drink it.

521
00:26:07,650 --> 00:26:09,430
I ain't got no time for that.

522
00:26:10,450 --> 00:26:11,990
We got a show to win.

523
00:26:12,930 --> 00:26:15,350
We got to do some hard things here.

524
00:26:16,690 --> 00:26:18,870
But are we willing to do the
hard things?

525
00:26:19,660 --> 00:26:21,600
Are you willing to do the hard things?

526
00:26:22,060 --> 00:26:27,716
Because even for a year, I
only went on stage for 10 glorious

527
00:26:27,828 --> 00:26:28,600
minutes.

528
00:26:31,900 --> 00:26:33,000
Don't laugh.

529
00:26:34,540 --> 00:26:38,004
But only 10 minutes I went on
stage and I'm like, wait a minute.

530
00:26:38,132 --> 00:26:39,120
That's it.

531
00:26:41,180 --> 00:26:41,876
That's it.

532
00:26:41,948 --> 00:26:45,492
But it reminded me of a
scripture in Psalms 84, where it

533
00:26:45,516 --> 00:26:50,910
says, for a day in your courts
is better than a thousand elsewhere.

534
00:26:51,070 --> 00:26:53,262
I don't know about you, but I
want a discipline.

535
00:26:53,406 --> 00:26:56,030
I will take every moment of
every day.

536
00:26:56,150 --> 00:26:57,806
God, show me your way.

537
00:26:57,878 --> 00:26:58,974
Show me your glory.

538
00:26:59,102 --> 00:27:00,366
Discipline myself.

539
00:27:00,478 --> 00:27:04,558
Because even if I'm in the
presence of God for one iota, for

540
00:27:04,614 --> 00:27:07,130
one moment, it was well worth it.

541
00:27:07,910 --> 00:27:09,342
Well worth it.

542
00:27:09,526 --> 00:27:10,570
Come on.

543
00:27:11,030 --> 00:27:12,846
You're not just doing this for you.

544
00:27:12,918 --> 00:27:15,692
You're doing this so that you
understand and see.

545
00:27:15,726 --> 00:27:17,500
See the glory of who he is.

546
00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:23,344
But, Pastor, when it comes to
the things of the Spirit, we struggle

547
00:27:23,392 --> 00:27:26,992
with this discipline because
it sounds a lot like legalism.

548
00:27:27,056 --> 00:27:28,656
I want to talk about legalism.

549
00:27:28,768 --> 00:27:29,376
Is that okay?

550
00:27:29,408 --> 00:27:31,460
Can I talk a little bit about legalism?

551
00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:36,336
But in order for us to
understand how you and I are supposed

552
00:27:36,368 --> 00:27:41,200
to embody Christ and live this
biblical spiritual life, we have

553
00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:43,540
to go back to our human condition.

554
00:27:44,030 --> 00:27:46,550
So if you have your Bibles,
turn with me to Romans chapter 7.

555
00:27:46,590 --> 00:27:48,822
I'm just going to read one
verse here.

556
00:27:49,006 --> 00:27:53,850
But in Romans chapter seven,
and I'm just going to read verses

557
00:27:54,590 --> 00:27:55,686
14 to 15.

558
00:27:55,758 --> 00:27:57,690
We see Paul's language.

559
00:27:58,590 --> 00:28:03,210
And Paul is dealing with law
and sin and our human depravity.

560
00:28:03,950 --> 00:28:07,622
And starting verse 14, he
says, for we know that the law is

561
00:28:07,646 --> 00:28:13,038
spiritual, but I am of the
flesh and I'm sold under sin.

562
00:28:13,214 --> 00:28:14,174
And verse 15.

563
00:28:14,262 --> 00:28:20,650
For I do not understand my own
actions, for I do not do what I want,

564
00:28:20,950 --> 00:28:24,610
but I do the very thing that I hate.

565
00:28:25,110 --> 00:28:27,450
How many of you can say that, man?

566
00:28:28,070 --> 00:28:30,830
There's just some things that
I just continuously do.

567
00:28:30,870 --> 00:28:33,262
I have no idea why I do it.

568
00:28:33,446 --> 00:28:35,486
Why do I struggle with this?

569
00:28:35,638 --> 00:28:37,294
Why do I do this?

570
00:28:37,462 --> 00:28:41,934
It's because we fell in love
and we made that thing idolatrous

571
00:28:41,982 --> 00:28:42,540
to us.

572
00:28:42,670 --> 00:28:44,096
It became sin.

573
00:28:44,208 --> 00:28:46,900
It became our own little
golden calf.

574
00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:50,060
And we love it so much.

575
00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:53,440
Nice little calf, nice.

576
00:28:53,600 --> 00:29:00,704
Nice little pride, nice little
anger, nice little adultery, nice

577
00:29:00,752 --> 00:29:03,744
little porn, nice little this,
nice little that.

578
00:29:03,832 --> 00:29:05,900
And we've made it into that.

579
00:29:08,050 --> 00:29:12,922
But the law and God sets this
spiritual standard on how we are

580
00:29:12,946 --> 00:29:13,750
to live.

581
00:29:14,290 --> 00:29:18,474
The law just tells me and
recognizes me and shows Me, my sinful

582
00:29:18,522 --> 00:29:18,874
condition.

583
00:29:18,922 --> 00:29:20,874
That's what the law is.

584
00:29:21,042 --> 00:29:25,866
And it happened through the
seed of Adam, because Adam, the seed

585
00:29:25,898 --> 00:29:26,890
of Adam, lives in us.

586
00:29:26,930 --> 00:29:30,922
And now sin, what sin has done
is caused the death inside of us

587
00:29:31,026 --> 00:29:34,270
that we always continuously
want to rebel against God.

588
00:29:36,610 --> 00:29:40,394
But we are to imitate his character.

589
00:29:40,522 --> 00:29:42,474
We are to imitate his conduct.

590
00:29:42,522 --> 00:29:42,730
Right?

591
00:29:42,770 --> 00:29:45,786
He says it in Leviticus 19, be holy.

592
00:29:45,898 --> 00:29:48,890
Because I, the Lord your God,
am holy.

593
00:29:49,050 --> 00:29:51,146
Well, that's just Old
Testament, New Testament.

594
00:29:51,178 --> 00:29:55,274
Jesus tells his disciples to
be perfect, as your heavenly Father

595
00:29:55,322 --> 00:29:56,378
is perfect.

596
00:29:56,554 --> 00:30:01,258
And this is only possible
through a renewal in the image of

597
00:30:01,314 --> 00:30:01,674
Christ.

598
00:30:01,762 --> 00:30:03,822
And how do we imitate God?

599
00:30:03,886 --> 00:30:04,610
Church?

600
00:30:05,110 --> 00:30:09,070
We come up with so many ways
on how we imitate God and what we

601
00:30:09,110 --> 00:30:12,238
need to do and what mode we
need to go into.

602
00:30:12,374 --> 00:30:14,462
This is how you imitate God.

603
00:30:14,606 --> 00:30:16,650
Love one another.

604
00:30:17,750 --> 00:30:22,302
Oh, I know that wasn't
revolutionary, but that's what it

605
00:30:22,326 --> 00:30:22,702
is.

606
00:30:22,806 --> 00:30:24,142
You imitate God.

607
00:30:24,206 --> 00:30:29,510
When I love you, when I love
you despite of you, when I'm able

608
00:30:29,550 --> 00:30:33,606
to love my Judas, when I'm
able to love that person that backstabbed

609
00:30:33,638 --> 00:30:36,902
me, when I'm able to love that
person that hurt me, when I'm able

610
00:30:36,926 --> 00:30:40,102
to love that person that
betrayed me, when I'm able to love

611
00:30:40,126 --> 00:30:42,450
that person that still owes me
some money.

612
00:30:45,550 --> 00:30:46,630
Don't turn to the person.

613
00:30:46,670 --> 00:30:50,310
I see some of y'all turning
some of y'all in the chat right now.

614
00:30:50,350 --> 00:30:51,130
Mm.

615
00:30:51,470 --> 00:30:52,742
Johnny, I'm coming for you.

616
00:30:52,766 --> 00:30:53,730
Johnny, no.

617
00:30:56,360 --> 00:31:01,900
And we do that by loving one
another as Christ has loved us.

618
00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:05,168
That is how we love one another.

619
00:31:05,304 --> 00:31:13,808
But we live in a culture that
has forgotten love or they have misplaced

620
00:31:13,824 --> 00:31:14,432
it.

621
00:31:14,616 --> 00:31:19,040
And I truly believe, as the
church of the living God, as us as

622
00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:24,060
believers, we have lost what
it was to fear God.

623
00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:32,136
We love our sin, but we have
to hate it because God does not approve

624
00:31:32,168 --> 00:31:32,900
of it.

625
00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:35,880
We have to fear the Lord.

626
00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:38,100
Ecclesiastes 12:13.

627
00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:41,464
Fear God and keep his what?

628
00:31:41,552 --> 00:31:42,744
His commandments.

629
00:31:42,872 --> 00:31:45,540
For this is the whole duty of man.

630
00:31:45,940 --> 00:31:47,404
Keep his commandments.

631
00:31:47,532 --> 00:31:50,348
We're still obligated under
the moral law.

632
00:31:50,404 --> 00:31:55,308
And I remember my son Ethan,
we put the Ten Commandments there

633
00:31:55,364 --> 00:31:56,732
and on his wall.

634
00:31:56,796 --> 00:32:01,400
And he went to the store, and
by accident, he took something.

635
00:32:01,940 --> 00:32:02,668
Now, this was.

636
00:32:02,724 --> 00:32:04,428
This is young Ethan.

637
00:32:04,604 --> 00:32:05,720
He was four.

638
00:32:06,020 --> 00:32:06,508
Okay?

639
00:32:06,524 --> 00:32:07,480
He was four.

640
00:32:07,860 --> 00:32:09,740
And then we say, hey, you
can't do that.

641
00:32:09,780 --> 00:32:11,250
You can't do that.

642
00:32:11,420 --> 00:32:14,934
And then we go back later on
and we're trying to, you know, discipline

643
00:32:14,982 --> 00:32:15,894
him and not to steal.

644
00:32:15,942 --> 00:32:16,294
Right?

645
00:32:16,382 --> 00:32:17,542
That's a good thing.

646
00:32:17,726 --> 00:32:21,606
And then we noticed that one
of the commandments that's erased

647
00:32:21,638 --> 00:32:22,086
on his.

648
00:32:22,158 --> 00:32:23,078
On his board.

649
00:32:23,214 --> 00:32:24,970
Do not steal is gone.

650
00:32:26,510 --> 00:32:32,054
And I'm like, I'm pretty sure
in Exodus there are ten commandments

651
00:32:32,102 --> 00:32:37,610
and not just nine, but some of
us, we do that with God.

652
00:32:38,930 --> 00:32:39,866
Come on, let me.

653
00:32:39,938 --> 00:32:41,210
Some of y'all are Ethans.

654
00:32:41,290 --> 00:32:43,354
Well, I was an Ethan.

655
00:32:43,482 --> 00:32:45,546
Oh, God, I don't like this.

656
00:32:45,698 --> 00:32:48,026
But let me say something about
the fear of God, because it goes

657
00:32:48,058 --> 00:32:48,490
back to that.

658
00:32:48,530 --> 00:32:51,070
The fear of God is necessary
for godliness.

659
00:32:51,730 --> 00:32:53,002
It's necessary.

660
00:32:53,146 --> 00:32:57,130
There should be a trauma of
godliness when you come into contact

661
00:32:57,250 --> 00:32:59,306
with the presence of the
living God.

662
00:32:59,418 --> 00:33:02,430
Moses experienced it on Mount Sinai.

663
00:33:03,810 --> 00:33:07,920
Adam became afraid when he
heard the voice in the garden.

664
00:33:08,820 --> 00:33:13,160
But there was no fear prior to
sin, only after.

665
00:33:14,500 --> 00:33:17,676
And there's this working out
of our salvation with what?

666
00:33:17,748 --> 00:33:19,292
Fear and trembling.

667
00:33:19,436 --> 00:33:23,180
The fear of the Lord is not
just isolated to the Old Testament,

668
00:33:23,260 --> 00:33:27,340
but Jesus actually contrasts
it in the New Testament when he says,

669
00:33:27,460 --> 00:33:31,772
do not fear those who kill the
body but cannot kill the soul.

670
00:33:31,916 --> 00:33:33,500
Rather, fear him who.

671
00:33:33,540 --> 00:33:37,920
Who can destroy both soul and
body in hell.

672
00:33:39,620 --> 00:33:41,724
But there are some of us,
we've lacked that fear.

673
00:33:41,772 --> 00:33:42,920
We've lost it.

674
00:33:43,300 --> 00:33:48,284
We've lost the fear of God
because we are still sinning.

675
00:33:48,332 --> 00:33:53,340
We are still doing the same
thing over and over and over again.

676
00:33:53,460 --> 00:33:55,676
And there comes this lack of fear.

677
00:33:55,788 --> 00:33:57,372
So what Paul is saying.

678
00:33:57,476 --> 00:34:00,156
You know what those
individuals are, Timothy?

679
00:34:00,268 --> 00:34:02,156
Those that lack the fear of God.

680
00:34:02,268 --> 00:34:06,572
They hold to a form of
godliness, but they deny the power

681
00:34:06,676 --> 00:34:07,520
thereof.

682
00:34:10,180 --> 00:34:13,760
Church, we are at war with our flesh.

683
00:34:14,980 --> 00:34:17,548
You are at war with your flesh.

684
00:34:17,644 --> 00:34:19,560
Don't concede to it.

685
00:34:20,020 --> 00:34:22,160
The flesh is the enemy.

686
00:34:22,740 --> 00:34:24,460
Don't concede to it.

687
00:34:24,580 --> 00:34:29,056
And what sin wants to do, it
wants an opportunity to not only

688
00:34:29,128 --> 00:34:32,880
strike you, but sin wants an
opportunity to strike your generations

689
00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:33,740
as well.

690
00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:38,020
It wants to go after your kids.

691
00:34:40,040 --> 00:34:44,672
That's how serious we have to
get back to the holiness of God and

692
00:34:44,696 --> 00:34:46,032
the fear of God.

693
00:34:46,176 --> 00:34:48,620
Sin you will not have my child.

694
00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:51,216
Sin you will not have my son.

695
00:34:51,328 --> 00:34:53,344
You will not have my generation.

696
00:34:53,472 --> 00:34:56,440
I need some people to act like
you're in war.

697
00:34:56,560 --> 00:34:58,232
This is wartime here.

698
00:34:58,336 --> 00:35:00,580
And sin will not seduce me.

699
00:35:01,920 --> 00:35:04,220
I will not be seduced by sin.

700
00:35:05,360 --> 00:35:06,520
And it's a struggle.

701
00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:07,240
I get it.

702
00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:09,832
Church It's a struggle until glorification.

703
00:35:09,896 --> 00:35:11,140
We're not there yet.

704
00:35:12,240 --> 00:35:12,936
We're just.

705
00:35:13,008 --> 00:35:16,280
We're in the middle of the
order of salvation.

706
00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:17,944
In sanctification, we're in
the middle.

707
00:35:17,992 --> 00:35:21,358
We're just trying to
understand this walk.

708
00:35:21,414 --> 00:35:25,630
But what we have done is we
have created our own classism or

709
00:35:25,670 --> 00:35:27,650
classification of righteousness.

710
00:35:28,630 --> 00:35:30,734
Well, this is what holiness
looks like.

711
00:35:30,902 --> 00:35:33,182
Let me show you what holiness
looks like.

712
00:35:33,286 --> 00:35:34,650
You got to wear this.

713
00:35:35,110 --> 00:35:39,086
You got to dress a certain
way, you got to talk a certain way,

714
00:35:39,238 --> 00:35:41,050
you got to look a certain way.

715
00:35:42,070 --> 00:35:44,810
Where did we get that theology from?

716
00:35:45,830 --> 00:35:50,706
When Christ is just coming
just as you are, let him do the rest.

717
00:35:50,778 --> 00:35:55,346
And what we have done is we
have become for other people these

718
00:35:55,418 --> 00:35:57,282
self righteous puppeteers.

719
00:35:57,346 --> 00:36:01,830
And we're dangling their lives
over the flames of hell.

720
00:36:03,050 --> 00:36:07,858
When we act self righteous,
oh, you got to do it like this.

721
00:36:07,914 --> 00:36:18,636
Because if you don't fire and
brimstone, sin will seduce you until

722
00:36:18,708 --> 00:36:19,960
it owns you.

723
00:36:20,660 --> 00:36:23,868
It wants to own every facet of
your being.

724
00:36:24,004 --> 00:36:26,972
It wants to own every part of
your life.

725
00:36:27,076 --> 00:36:28,972
It wants to control your finances.

726
00:36:29,036 --> 00:36:32,476
That's why I love that for the
last two weeks we've been talking

727
00:36:32,508 --> 00:36:35,948
about finances because that is
a struggle for so many.

728
00:36:36,004 --> 00:36:37,116
It's a mindset.

729
00:36:37,228 --> 00:36:41,560
Something has to break because
there's a sinful pattern that says,

730
00:36:42,020 --> 00:36:44,734
I don't want to be in a
poverty situation.

731
00:36:44,862 --> 00:36:48,030
But you act like it because
you don't give to the local church.

732
00:36:48,110 --> 00:36:49,774
You don't give to the house of God.

733
00:36:49,902 --> 00:36:54,654
So in some ways you're still
acting poverish because it's a mindset.

734
00:36:54,782 --> 00:36:56,610
If I give, I'm going to lose.

735
00:36:58,470 --> 00:37:01,198
God's saying, no, if you give,
you'll get.

736
00:37:01,254 --> 00:37:03,450
More will be added unto you.

737
00:37:03,830 --> 00:37:06,130
It's abundance is multiplication.

738
00:37:09,190 --> 00:37:11,050
In First Corinthians 9.

739
00:37:11,860 --> 00:37:14,840
It says every athlete
exercises self control.

740
00:37:15,540 --> 00:37:17,612
So I do not run aimlessly.

741
00:37:17,676 --> 00:37:22,508
Some of us, we're just running
this race blindfolded and we don't

742
00:37:22,524 --> 00:37:22,844
know.

743
00:37:22,932 --> 00:37:25,840
You ever been on the treadmill blindfolded?

744
00:37:28,580 --> 00:37:29,404
We don't.

745
00:37:29,532 --> 00:37:31,212
Right, try it next time.

746
00:37:31,236 --> 00:37:31,852
Go ahead, do it.

747
00:37:31,876 --> 00:37:32,140
Do it.

748
00:37:32,180 --> 00:37:32,876
Try it.

749
00:37:33,028 --> 00:37:36,880
Don't tell them that your
pastor said it, but just go do it.

750
00:37:37,060 --> 00:37:41,672
Video record it for me and
then send it to me because it would

751
00:37:41,696 --> 00:37:42,700
be hilarious.

752
00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:48,952
But sometimes we do that with
our walk with God when we don't have

753
00:37:48,976 --> 00:37:50,840
the disciplines in our life.

754
00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:53,384
When you don't have the
disciplines, guess what's happened?

755
00:37:53,432 --> 00:37:54,980
It's an aimless walk.

756
00:37:56,960 --> 00:37:59,688
You know a Christian by how
they pray on their knees.

757
00:37:59,784 --> 00:38:00,600
I want to see you.

758
00:38:00,640 --> 00:38:03,398
I want to see that you're
praying on your knees.

759
00:38:03,494 --> 00:38:06,678
You know someone that's in
their word because it just comes

760
00:38:06,734 --> 00:38:07,286
out of them.

761
00:38:07,358 --> 00:38:10,854
You know someone that
understands solitude and silence

762
00:38:10,902 --> 00:38:12,726
because they've been in the
presence of God.

763
00:38:12,838 --> 00:38:18,710
The disciplines are there so
that you do not walk aimless to keep

764
00:38:18,750 --> 00:38:19,318
you on it.

765
00:38:19,374 --> 00:38:22,870
And Paul says his I do not box
as one beating the air.

766
00:38:22,990 --> 00:38:24,450
And verse 27.

767
00:38:24,750 --> 00:38:28,850
But I discipline my body and I
keep it under control.

768
00:38:30,340 --> 00:38:32,012
It's time to keep it under control.

769
00:38:32,116 --> 00:38:37,820
Saints, we've been out of
control for too long, and the only

770
00:38:37,860 --> 00:38:42,620
way to get back in control is
to bring back the fear of God and

771
00:38:42,660 --> 00:38:44,492
to bring it back now.

772
00:38:44,516 --> 00:38:47,692
I love the word discipline
there because it actually has the

773
00:38:47,716 --> 00:38:49,920
sense of giving somebody a
black eye.

774
00:38:50,420 --> 00:38:52,268
Who here gave somebody a black
eye before?

775
00:38:52,324 --> 00:38:53,724
Someone now, don't raise your hand.

776
00:38:53,812 --> 00:38:54,840
You raise your hand.

777
00:38:55,450 --> 00:38:59,150
Yeah, the hands are all raised
in Brooklyn right here.

778
00:39:02,490 --> 00:39:06,546
But it has that sense of
giving a black eye or to treat roughly.

779
00:39:06,658 --> 00:39:11,426
And Paul is hard on his body
because he doesn't want to be enslaved

780
00:39:11,458 --> 00:39:13,106
or dominated by the flesh.

781
00:39:13,218 --> 00:39:15,730
Let me give you four words
that I want you to write down.

782
00:39:15,850 --> 00:39:18,390
Stay disciplined, you stay dedicated.

783
00:39:20,500 --> 00:39:22,300
You stay disciplined.

784
00:39:22,460 --> 00:39:23,948
You stay dedicated.

785
00:39:24,124 --> 00:39:27,120
You stay disciplined, you stay dedicated.

786
00:39:28,100 --> 00:39:30,476
Obedience and disobedience.

787
00:39:30,588 --> 00:39:34,160
They're opposed to one another
and they want to fight for your soul.

788
00:39:37,460 --> 00:39:43,836
Let's go back to legalism,
because legalism is man's burden.

789
00:39:44,028 --> 00:39:46,160
Discipline is God's calling.

790
00:39:47,470 --> 00:39:52,342
When you have that legalistic
mindset, you're saying, well, I want

791
00:39:52,366 --> 00:39:55,958
to show you how I do it,
because that's your burden to carry.

792
00:39:56,054 --> 00:39:58,890
All you're doing is you're
giving somebody your burden.

793
00:39:59,470 --> 00:40:03,734
But when you focus on the
discipline, it's like, no, the disciplines.

794
00:40:03,782 --> 00:40:06,678
God has called me to live this life.

795
00:40:06,814 --> 00:40:09,942
God has called me to pray
without ceasing.

796
00:40:10,086 --> 00:40:12,678
God has called me to read my word.

797
00:40:12,774 --> 00:40:16,940
God has called me to the
disciplines of my life.

798
00:40:17,240 --> 00:40:19,152
And that's what spiritual
disciplines are.

799
00:40:19,176 --> 00:40:20,980
They're a means of grace.

800
00:40:22,760 --> 00:40:27,168
They are the practices that
actually position us to receive and

801
00:40:27,224 --> 00:40:30,140
to respond to God's work in
our lives.

802
00:40:32,040 --> 00:40:34,624
Now, let me say this about
disciplines, because we got to get

803
00:40:34,632 --> 00:40:37,552
the legalistic mindset out of us.

804
00:40:37,656 --> 00:40:43,130
But they are not ways that we
earn grace, but they are ways that

805
00:40:43,170 --> 00:40:47,750
you and I engage with the
grace that God has freely given us.

806
00:40:50,770 --> 00:40:55,050
Now, lastly, Paul states, this
is a trustworthy statement, that

807
00:40:55,090 --> 00:40:56,938
godliness is of value in every way.

808
00:40:56,994 --> 00:40:58,150
Here's number three.

809
00:40:58,850 --> 00:41:00,110
Discipleship.

810
00:41:00,610 --> 00:41:07,002
Discipleship, follow Jesus,
verse 10.

811
00:41:07,186 --> 00:41:10,730
For to this end we toil and
strive because we have our hope set

812
00:41:10,770 --> 00:41:14,426
on the living God, who is the
Savior of all people, especially

813
00:41:14,498 --> 00:41:15,750
of those who believe.

814
00:41:17,650 --> 00:41:19,386
Now let me say something about discipleship.

815
00:41:19,418 --> 00:41:23,178
It requires more than us
following a whole bunch of practices,

816
00:41:23,354 --> 00:41:27,434
but becoming the discipline
through incarnational discipleship.

817
00:41:27,482 --> 00:41:29,818
Let me explain incarnational discipleship.

818
00:41:29,914 --> 00:41:33,146
It's not just discipleship,
because you could just have discipleship

819
00:41:33,178 --> 00:41:35,070
at your home, but it doesn't
go anywhere.

820
00:41:36,210 --> 00:41:40,030
You could have discipleship
even here at this church.

821
00:41:40,690 --> 00:41:45,670
But if it's not incarnational,
if it doesn't touch with people,

822
00:41:45,970 --> 00:41:49,978
if it doesn't have some
tangibles that are attached to it,

823
00:41:50,114 --> 00:41:54,874
it's not just teaching about
the gospel, but is actively demonstrating

824
00:41:54,922 --> 00:41:58,110
it through our lives and in
our relationships.

825
00:41:59,250 --> 00:42:02,670
Discipleship cannot happen
without incarnation.

826
00:42:04,770 --> 00:42:08,430
I want to be in close
proximity to your pain.

827
00:42:09,490 --> 00:42:11,962
That's what we all should be
saying with one another.

828
00:42:12,146 --> 00:42:14,030
When you hurt, I hurt.

829
00:42:16,850 --> 00:42:20,250
You know, even as a pastor,
you know, we do pastoral care and

830
00:42:20,290 --> 00:42:23,306
sometimes we just hear these
stories and we're like, man, I wish

831
00:42:23,338 --> 00:42:25,722
they would have just told me
about it so I could just pray with

832
00:42:25,746 --> 00:42:26,362
them.

833
00:42:26,546 --> 00:42:31,280
They didn't give me an
opportunity to put my finger on their

834
00:42:31,320 --> 00:42:34,528
side and to feel like Thomas
the Doubter and say, no, no, I'm

835
00:42:34,544 --> 00:42:38,700
real, I'm here, allow me to
minister to you.

836
00:42:42,920 --> 00:42:46,064
I want to stay in that
proximity because I want a thicker

837
00:42:46,112 --> 00:42:47,380
sense of Jesus.

838
00:42:48,040 --> 00:42:49,104
A thicker sense.

839
00:42:49,152 --> 00:42:51,248
Don't give me the shallow
sense of Jesus.

840
00:42:51,344 --> 00:42:52,980
I want something heavy.

841
00:42:54,120 --> 00:42:58,352
Give me the thicker sense of
Jesus that embodies the gospel in

842
00:42:58,376 --> 00:43:02,764
a way that I'm able to see,
to, to and to experience Jesus.

843
00:43:02,892 --> 00:43:04,316
People are craving that.

844
00:43:04,388 --> 00:43:08,492
There was actually a Barna
poll that actually said 7 out of

845
00:43:08,516 --> 00:43:12,796
10 Gen Z's who are practicing
Christians say that they actually

846
00:43:12,948 --> 00:43:17,040
prefer face to face
interactions than digital ones.

847
00:43:18,020 --> 00:43:19,260
We're getting to that point.

848
00:43:19,300 --> 00:43:22,364
Church, even the Gen Z's want
to hang out.

849
00:43:22,532 --> 00:43:26,200
Maybe not with the Gen Xers,
but they still want to hang out.

850
00:43:26,590 --> 00:43:28,130
And I'm okay with that.

851
00:43:28,670 --> 00:43:33,062
Some Gen Xers are fun, but
people need people.

852
00:43:33,246 --> 00:43:35,530
That's what it means to be incarnational.

853
00:43:36,110 --> 00:43:38,822
Because we gotta fight this
fight of faith together.

854
00:43:38,926 --> 00:43:46,490
Church Discipleship without
grace is distorted.

855
00:43:47,310 --> 00:43:51,158
Discipleship without the grace
is distorted.

856
00:43:51,254 --> 00:43:53,142
Because this is what happens
with the legalism.

857
00:43:53,206 --> 00:43:55,094
It comes back into discipleship.

858
00:43:55,142 --> 00:43:59,408
Sometimes legalism can make
its way back into discipleship and

859
00:43:59,464 --> 00:44:02,896
then what ends up happening is
it turns into a whole bunch of rigid

860
00:44:02,928 --> 00:44:08,320
rules and regulations and
obligations without any spirit filled

861
00:44:08,480 --> 00:44:10,420
real relationships.

862
00:44:11,800 --> 00:44:17,136
And without grace, this true
essence of discipleship becomes replaced

863
00:44:17,168 --> 00:44:22,020
by this outward compliance and
behavior modification.

864
00:44:22,640 --> 00:44:25,700
Oh, let me just, let me
explain that a little bit to you.

865
00:44:28,400 --> 00:44:32,600
It's just, I'm just doing
breaker one just for the simple fact

866
00:44:32,640 --> 00:44:33,780
of just doing it.

867
00:44:34,240 --> 00:44:36,664
Because I like somebody in the
church and I want to get close to

868
00:44:36,672 --> 00:44:37,220
them.

869
00:44:40,800 --> 00:44:45,060
Oh, I'm, I'm just doing our
breaker one class because, you know,

870
00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:50,312
I one day want to be, I want
to take over Pastor Eddie's job one

871
00:44:50,336 --> 00:44:50,900
day.

872
00:44:52,160 --> 00:44:53,576
I want to be the next pastor.

873
00:44:53,608 --> 00:44:57,560
I want to be this, I want to
be that, or I'm going to look the

874
00:44:57,600 --> 00:44:58,040
part.

875
00:44:58,160 --> 00:45:01,288
So what I'm saying is there's
this outward compliance that we just

876
00:45:01,344 --> 00:45:07,896
are doing it not for the sake
of grace, not for the sake of incarnation.

877
00:45:08,008 --> 00:45:13,420
We're doing it for the simple
fact of just complying with the rules,

878
00:45:15,130 --> 00:45:16,690
and we're just imitating.

879
00:45:16,850 --> 00:45:20,450
You ever look at an ingredient
going back to the diet, you ever

880
00:45:20,490 --> 00:45:24,390
look at the ingredient and it
says artificial ingredients.

881
00:45:24,890 --> 00:45:26,510
Y'all know what that means, right?

882
00:45:28,170 --> 00:45:29,510
It's artificial.

883
00:45:30,170 --> 00:45:31,362
It's not that hard.

884
00:45:31,466 --> 00:45:36,146
They actually put it in there
for you, and it says it right there.

885
00:45:36,218 --> 00:45:37,650
Artificial ingredients.

886
00:45:37,730 --> 00:45:38,866
It's not real.

887
00:45:39,018 --> 00:45:44,372
It looks like may taste like
it, but it's not it.

888
00:45:44,476 --> 00:45:48,660
And a lot of us are living
artificial ingredient lives in our

889
00:45:48,700 --> 00:45:52,820
discipleship that we look like
it, we taste like a Christian, I

890
00:45:52,860 --> 00:45:56,560
look like it, but, oh, God, I
want the real thing.

891
00:45:57,580 --> 00:45:59,172
I want the real thing.

892
00:45:59,276 --> 00:45:59,700
I want.

893
00:45:59,740 --> 00:46:02,916
When people see me, they see
the realness.

894
00:46:03,108 --> 00:46:08,550
The real vitamins come out,
the real, real amino acids come out.

895
00:46:09,890 --> 00:46:14,310
That's what real biblical
discipleship is about.

896
00:46:17,330 --> 00:46:21,050
Now, Paul here is saying in
that last.

897
00:46:21,090 --> 00:46:25,050
If you go back to first
Timothy, chapter four, he says, who

898
00:46:25,090 --> 00:46:28,950
is the savior of all people,
especially of those who believe,

899
00:46:31,570 --> 00:46:32,522
especially of those.

900
00:46:32,546 --> 00:46:36,922
I want you to underline that,
highlight that, and then I want to

901
00:46:36,946 --> 00:46:38,154
talk real quickly.

902
00:46:38,282 --> 00:46:40,250
Matter of fact, you could
stand to your feet, and maybe those

903
00:46:40,290 --> 00:46:40,538
that.

904
00:46:40,594 --> 00:46:42,314
That are watching you could
come up.

905
00:46:42,482 --> 00:46:44,250
I know some of y'all are
taking some notes.

906
00:46:44,330 --> 00:46:45,306
You can take notes standing.

907
00:46:45,338 --> 00:46:46,190
That's okay.

908
00:46:48,290 --> 00:46:49,290
But he says this.

909
00:46:49,330 --> 00:46:49,578
There.

910
00:46:49,634 --> 00:46:53,706
There's a confidence in your
salvation that is for the possession

911
00:46:53,738 --> 00:46:58,950
of the believer, a possession
for you.

912
00:47:00,570 --> 00:47:03,074
And it's those Christians who
have placed their hope in the living

913
00:47:03,122 --> 00:47:04,370
God, and they.

914
00:47:04,490 --> 00:47:07,826
Those Christians that pursue
godliness, you will not be disappointed.

915
00:47:07,938 --> 00:47:09,330
Can I say that to you all?

916
00:47:09,450 --> 00:47:14,550
You will never be disappointed
when you follow and you pursue godliness.

917
00:47:14,970 --> 00:47:16,110
It's not.

918
00:47:16,810 --> 00:47:19,538
It's against his nature to do it.

919
00:47:19,674 --> 00:47:20,882
Oh, but I'm struggling.

920
00:47:20,946 --> 00:47:21,826
But why don't you?

921
00:47:21,898 --> 00:47:25,234
In your struggle, maybe
there's something God wants to reveal

922
00:47:25,282 --> 00:47:26,030
to you.

923
00:47:26,540 --> 00:47:29,920
And sometimes you have to look
at it like Job looked at it.

924
00:47:31,340 --> 00:47:33,796
Now, sometimes having friends
like Job is a different story.

925
00:47:33,868 --> 00:47:36,120
But that's a whole nother sermon.

926
00:47:38,140 --> 00:47:41,840
Matthew 10:32 says this.

927
00:47:43,260 --> 00:47:47,284
So everyone who acknowledges
me before man, I will also acknowledge

928
00:47:47,332 --> 00:47:49,188
before my Father who is in heaven.

929
00:47:49,284 --> 00:47:55,028
But whoever denies me before
man, I will also deny before my Father,

930
00:47:55,124 --> 00:47:56,244
who is heaven.

931
00:47:56,372 --> 00:48:00,820
Now, don't just stop reading
there, but if you continue, it does

932
00:48:00,860 --> 00:48:02,228
more than just denial.

933
00:48:02,404 --> 00:48:05,620
But there's division as well
in verse 34.

934
00:48:05,740 --> 00:48:07,924
Do you not think I come to
bring peace on the earth?

935
00:48:07,972 --> 00:48:09,236
Jesus said, I didn't come to
bring peace.

936
00:48:09,268 --> 00:48:10,680
I came to bring a sword.

937
00:48:11,580 --> 00:48:17,924
The sword is the metaphorical
way of saying it signifies this kind

938
00:48:17,932 --> 00:48:21,412
of separation between those
who believe in Christ and those who

939
00:48:21,436 --> 00:48:23,360
are on the fringe looking in.

940
00:48:25,750 --> 00:48:27,930
And here today we've been
looking in.

941
00:48:30,390 --> 00:48:35,502
A godly life is shaped by what
you feed it, how you shape it, and

942
00:48:35,526 --> 00:48:36,686
who you walk with.

943
00:48:36,838 --> 00:48:41,710
And it is through godliness
that we will make the living God

944
00:48:41,790 --> 00:48:43,850
more attractive to others.

945
00:48:46,150 --> 00:48:51,580
I want you to see this image
here that we have.

946
00:48:56,840 --> 00:49:04,928
I took this image, I went away
for my doctoral residency in South

947
00:49:04,984 --> 00:49:05,648
Carolina.

948
00:49:05,744 --> 00:49:10,640
And you know, there in the
back of the seminary, there's a place

949
00:49:10,680 --> 00:49:12,912
where they could do prayer
walks and stuff like that, which

950
00:49:12,936 --> 00:49:14,262
I thought was really cool.

951
00:49:14,456 --> 00:49:17,002
I was so nervous, I thought a
bear or something was going to come

952
00:49:17,026 --> 00:49:19,290
out and just jump me, you
know, so.

953
00:49:19,330 --> 00:49:24,830
But I look at this picture and
I stopped here and I began to weep.

954
00:49:25,250 --> 00:49:27,790
And I began to weep and weep
and weep.

955
00:49:28,530 --> 00:49:31,978
And I put myself right in the
middle, and I said, well, if I go

956
00:49:32,034 --> 00:49:35,946
this way, the road is already
paved for me.

957
00:49:36,098 --> 00:49:40,030
It already looks like, oh,
this is a nice road to travel.

958
00:49:40,460 --> 00:49:45,520
And there's light at the end,
and I can see what's happening over.

959
00:49:46,620 --> 00:49:51,572
But then I looked at the
right, and then I said, why would

960
00:49:51,596 --> 00:49:53,320
I ever want to go down this path?

961
00:49:55,820 --> 00:49:59,200
There's no delineation between
where you're going in life.

962
00:49:59,580 --> 00:50:03,684
There's no view, and there's
just trees that are covering.

963
00:50:03,732 --> 00:50:06,920
There's a clear path, and I
have to go through this, Lord.

964
00:50:08,140 --> 00:50:09,680
I have to go through this.

965
00:50:10,860 --> 00:50:15,540
But what some of us have done
is instead of choosing two paths,

966
00:50:15,620 --> 00:50:19,080
we've created a middle one
called compromise.

967
00:50:21,580 --> 00:50:23,880
I'm not going to take either, God.

968
00:50:24,860 --> 00:50:28,840
I'm going to make my own path,
and I'm going to call it compromise.

969
00:50:32,140 --> 00:50:36,164
And now Jesus warns us in the
Sermon on the Mount about these roads

970
00:50:36,212 --> 00:50:36,800
here.

971
00:50:37,610 --> 00:50:40,110
And he says this in Matthew,
chapter 7.

972
00:50:40,810 --> 00:50:42,950
Enter through the narrow gate.

973
00:50:43,450 --> 00:50:47,378
For wide is the gate and broad
is the road that leads to destruction,

974
00:50:47,474 --> 00:50:49,202
and many entered through it.

975
00:50:49,306 --> 00:50:54,066
But small is the gate and
narrow the road that leads to life,

976
00:50:54,138 --> 00:50:56,370
and only few find it.

977
00:50:56,410 --> 00:50:58,030
Can you put that picture back up?

978
00:51:02,100 --> 00:51:04,492
When I look at this, I see
some narrow gate, women.

979
00:51:04,596 --> 00:51:05,360
Amen.

980
00:51:07,300 --> 00:51:10,520
But when I see this, I see
some narrow gate men as well.

981
00:51:11,140 --> 00:51:14,780
They're about to Rise up and
say, I'm going to do the hard things.

982
00:51:14,900 --> 00:51:18,412
I'm going to do the hard
things even when society says to

983
00:51:18,436 --> 00:51:21,148
me, oh, you got to do it like
this, man.

984
00:51:21,204 --> 00:51:23,164
And there's toxic masculinity.

985
00:51:23,292 --> 00:51:27,612
No, I want to be a narrow gate
man that actually says no, I'm going

986
00:51:27,636 --> 00:51:29,872
to be different from the rest
of the world.

987
00:51:29,976 --> 00:51:32,048
I'm not just going to be a
baby daddy.

988
00:51:32,144 --> 00:51:35,424
I'm going to care for some
things and love on some children

989
00:51:35,512 --> 00:51:38,260
and build a legacy for a lifetime.

990
00:51:42,680 --> 00:51:43,232
Come on.

991
00:51:43,256 --> 00:51:45,260
Narrow gate men, narrow gate women.

992
00:51:46,200 --> 00:51:48,240
There's only few that will
find it.

993
00:51:48,280 --> 00:51:50,592
And maybe you're here today
and maybe you're watching and you

994
00:51:50,616 --> 00:51:54,340
say, well, I thought I was a
Christian until after this sermon.

995
00:51:55,950 --> 00:51:56,790
And you know what?

996
00:51:56,830 --> 00:51:58,450
I rather you say that.

997
00:52:00,350 --> 00:52:04,210
I rather you say that than
leave here the same.

998
00:52:08,510 --> 00:52:11,610
The wide gate is self centered.

999
00:52:12,270 --> 00:52:14,410
The narrow gate is God centered.

1000
00:52:15,550 --> 00:52:19,878
The wide gate wants the crowds
and the applause of people.

1001
00:52:20,014 --> 00:52:23,150
The narrow gate just desires commitment.

1002
00:52:24,130 --> 00:52:28,170
The wide gate is concerned
with the comfort of this world.

1003
00:52:28,290 --> 00:52:31,882
The narrow gate is not
concerned with the comfort, but just

1004
00:52:31,906 --> 00:52:33,070
looks to the cross.

1005
00:52:34,290 --> 00:52:36,430
The wide gate is temporary.

1006
00:52:37,170 --> 00:52:39,150
The narrow gate is eternal.

1007
00:52:40,450 --> 00:52:43,550
The wide gate wants the
world's approval.

1008
00:52:45,330 --> 00:52:49,016
The narrow gate, all that the
person wants to hear is, well done,

1009
00:52:49,088 --> 00:52:50,780
good and faithful servant.

1010
00:52:53,520 --> 00:52:57,608
The wide gate goes after the
ease of religion.

1011
00:52:57,784 --> 00:53:01,500
The narrow gate craves true discipleship.

1012
00:53:05,280 --> 00:53:12,472
I want you to pray with me
here today and do an altar call in

1013
00:53:12,496 --> 00:53:13,700
your heart right now.

1014
00:53:15,120 --> 00:53:17,384
Because this is a moment I
believe and maybe for those that

1015
00:53:17,392 --> 00:53:21,416
are watching right now that
you said, I want to walk, I've been

1016
00:53:21,488 --> 00:53:23,224
walking a compromised life.

1017
00:53:23,312 --> 00:53:27,060
I want to go in the narrow way.

1018
00:53:28,080 --> 00:53:28,712
I don't know.

1019
00:53:28,736 --> 00:53:30,820
I thought I knew what it
looked like.

1020
00:53:31,600 --> 00:53:34,168
I thought I understood good doctrine.

1021
00:53:34,264 --> 00:53:35,976
I didn't have a proper diet.

1022
00:53:36,088 --> 00:53:37,720
I wasn't disciplined enough.

1023
00:53:37,840 --> 00:53:39,352
I wasn't discipled enough.

1024
00:53:39,456 --> 00:53:43,112
Well, now is your time to say,
God, I'm getting back on the narrow

1025
00:53:43,176 --> 00:53:43,780
road.

1026
00:53:46,820 --> 00:53:51,868
Because in Revelation, when
you're lukewarm, there's a price

1027
00:53:51,924 --> 00:53:53,680
to that consequence of sin.

1028
00:53:58,900 --> 00:54:00,000
Let's pray.

1029
00:54:03,540 --> 00:54:16,730
Lord, I pray God that the
holiness of God makes us whole.

1030
00:54:18,430 --> 00:54:20,530
The holiness of who you are.

1031
00:54:21,390 --> 00:54:25,782
Lord, we haven't been training
the way that you have given us the

1032
00:54:25,806 --> 00:54:26,690
plan for.

1033
00:54:26,990 --> 00:54:28,010
You haven't.

1034
00:54:28,510 --> 00:54:32,022
You've given us a blueprint
right here in your word.

1035
00:54:32,166 --> 00:54:33,958
And we have compromised it.

1036
00:54:34,014 --> 00:54:36,468
And we have not looked at it
the way.

1037
00:54:36,614 --> 00:54:38,648
The way with spiritual eyes.

1038
00:54:38,824 --> 00:54:44,120
God, we have not seen it, but
we have been inclined to do it our

1039
00:54:44,160 --> 00:54:48,040
own way and put the
preferences before the person of

1040
00:54:48,080 --> 00:54:48,780
Jesus.

1041
00:54:49,360 --> 00:54:55,688
But here today, God, we want
to stand in your presence, show us

1042
00:54:55,744 --> 00:54:56,776
your glory.

1043
00:54:56,968 --> 00:54:58,712
Same way Moses wanted to.

1044
00:54:58,736 --> 00:54:59,576
Just see.

1045
00:54:59,648 --> 00:55:02,520
Just show me the back part of
who you are.

1046
00:55:02,560 --> 00:55:06,012
Oh God, that's all my heart's desire.

1047
00:55:06,156 --> 00:55:10,492
Better is one day in your
courts than a thousand elsewhere.

1048
00:55:10,556 --> 00:55:15,660
God, I will do this every
second, every minute of every day.

1049
00:55:15,700 --> 00:55:22,220
Oh God, if it just says I just
get a glimpse of who you are, the

1050
00:55:22,260 --> 00:55:24,280
glorification that is to come.

1051
00:55:25,620 --> 00:55:32,170
But God, if I have constructed
a middle road of some sorts, whether

1052
00:55:32,210 --> 00:55:36,394
I call it whatever sin or
whatever pleasure, Heavenly Father,

1053
00:55:36,442 --> 00:55:41,790
I just pray right now that we
leave here repented and changed.

1054
00:55:42,530 --> 00:55:48,470
Where grace, where sin
abounds, grace abounds so much more.

1055
00:55:50,850 --> 00:55:55,082
So, God, I pray for each and
every one that is here and watching

1056
00:55:55,146 --> 00:56:02,830
online that this day, Lord, we
bring holiness back to where it should

1057
00:56:02,870 --> 00:56:03,450
be.

1058
00:56:03,990 --> 00:56:05,486
We don't compromise it.

1059
00:56:05,558 --> 00:56:07,970
We don't make it artificial.

1060
00:56:08,950 --> 00:56:11,406
We make it real, incarnational.

1061
00:56:11,598 --> 00:56:17,758
So that when people see us,
they see and they see Christ in us,

1062
00:56:17,814 --> 00:56:19,970
the hope of glory.

1063
00:56:21,510 --> 00:56:23,850
So thank you, Lord, for what
you're about to do.

1064
00:56:24,780 --> 00:56:25,332
Come on.

1065
00:56:25,356 --> 00:56:27,120
Every hand just lifted right now.

1066
00:56:28,940 --> 00:56:30,724
I want you to just maybe take
this moment.

1067
00:56:30,772 --> 00:56:31,652
Just take a few moments.

1068
00:56:31,716 --> 00:56:36,820
I even believe this is a holy
moment for some of you and just start

1069
00:56:36,860 --> 00:56:38,004
to just cry out to God.

1070
00:56:38,052 --> 00:56:38,820
Just take some time.

1071
00:56:38,860 --> 00:56:42,388
Right now, I want to take a
few moments to just get this right.

1072
00:56:42,444 --> 00:56:45,652
This is not just me just
giving you another sermon so that

1073
00:56:45,676 --> 00:56:47,700
you could just take home and
listen to later.

1074
00:56:47,820 --> 00:56:49,920
This has to be life to you.

1075
00:56:51,400 --> 00:56:52,480
So come on, lift up your hand.

1076
00:56:52,520 --> 00:56:53,380
Say God.

1077
00:56:54,280 --> 00:56:56,976
Greater is he that is in me
than him of the world, Lord.

1078
00:56:57,008 --> 00:56:58,752
Come on, let's just praise him
right now.

1079
00:56:58,856 --> 00:57:00,096
Just give him some praise.

1080
00:57:00,208 --> 00:57:02,368
Just acknowledge his presence
in your life.

1081
00:57:02,504 --> 00:57:04,480
Say, God, I want more of you.

1082
00:57:04,600 --> 00:57:06,224
I want more of you.

1083
00:57:06,392 --> 00:57:08,180
I want more of you, Lord.

1084
00:57:09,560 --> 00:57:10,272
More of you.

1085
00:57:10,296 --> 00:57:15,900
Lord, forgive me, o wretched
man that I am.

1086
00:57:18,440 --> 00:57:20,820
Deal with my sin, oh God.

1087
00:57:22,200 --> 00:57:25,060
Deal with my complacency, oh God.

1088
00:57:25,960 --> 00:57:30,976
Deal with the sinful clutter
that is in my soul, oh God, I've

1089
00:57:31,008 --> 00:57:35,504
cluttered it, God, I filled it
and it's overflowing now with goodness.

1090
00:57:35,552 --> 00:57:38,256
And mercy is flowing with sin.

1091
00:57:38,368 --> 00:57:39,984
It's flowing with hate.

1092
00:57:40,112 --> 00:57:43,568
It's flowing with pain, oh
God, I'm in pain.

1093
00:57:43,664 --> 00:57:46,180
But there is purpose in my pain.

1094
00:57:48,860 --> 00:57:50,772
There's purpose in my pain.

1095
00:57:50,836 --> 00:57:58,020
God, God, you have not given
us that which we are not able to

1096
00:57:58,060 --> 00:58:01,800
bear, but you provide a way of escape.

1097
00:58:03,500 --> 00:58:07,076
But Lord, if we've been
escaping into the world's arms, forgive

1098
00:58:07,108 --> 00:58:12,382
us if we've been escaping into
the narrative that we have to be

1099
00:58:12,406 --> 00:58:14,302
a morally good person.

1100
00:58:14,406 --> 00:58:19,486
Forgive us if we have
compromised the way we do discipleship

1101
00:58:19,598 --> 00:58:21,150
and discipline and diet.

1102
00:58:21,230 --> 00:58:22,622
Forgive us, God.

1103
00:58:22,686 --> 00:58:28,126
Today we want to train for
godliness because as a good soldier,

1104
00:58:28,238 --> 00:58:33,246
we don't entangle ourselves
with the affairs of this world.

1105
00:58:33,398 --> 00:58:39,608
But we are going to fight this
fight of faith to the very end.

1106
00:58:39,664 --> 00:58:40,300
Lord.

1107
00:58:41,440 --> 00:58:45,140
No Christian left behind.

1108
00:58:46,160 --> 00:58:49,780
No true believer left behind.

1109
00:58:53,040 --> 00:58:59,032
So, Father, thank you that you
are all powerful for such a time

1110
00:58:59,056 --> 00:58:59,860
as this.

1111
00:59:00,720 --> 00:59:02,702
In Jesus name we pray.

1112
00:59:02,896 --> 00:59:03,458
Come on.

1113
00:59:03,514 --> 00:59:04,594
Amen and amen.

1114
00:59:04,642 --> 00:59:04,962
Come on.

1115
00:59:04,986 --> 00:59:06,114
Put your hands together.

1116
00:59:06,282 --> 00:59:06,722
Come on.

1117
00:59:06,746 --> 00:59:07,930
Just praise the Lord what you are.