1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,520 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,480 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,720 My name is Pastor Josh and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:10,480 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,680 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,080 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,120 Now come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has 8 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:21,440 for us here today. 9 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:25,760 If you have your Bibles, we're going to be in a couple different 10 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:26,920 passages here this evening. 11 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:28,880 We're going to start in Ephesians chapter 5. 12 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:32,180 So if you can turn to Ephesians chapter 5. 13 00:00:33,220 --> 00:00:35,700 I am not a resolution person. 14 00:00:35,700 --> 00:00:38,700 As Brother Dan said, I don't think they ever work because I mean, 15 00:00:38,700 --> 00:00:41,940 most of the time as a person we say, okay, we're going to try 16 00:00:41,940 --> 00:00:45,579 to eat better and maybe we make it a couple weeks or if we're 17 00:00:45,579 --> 00:00:47,220 really strong willed, a couple months. 18 00:00:47,940 --> 00:00:52,340 But eventually, inevitably we, we turn back to a way that we weren't 19 00:00:52,340 --> 00:00:53,140 really planning to go. 20 00:00:53,140 --> 00:00:54,860 Now that's not the case for everybody. 21 00:00:54,860 --> 00:00:57,860 Some of you in this room might say, no, I, I kept true to it and 22 00:00:57,860 --> 00:00:59,780 that's great, more power to you. 23 00:01:00,100 --> 00:01:05,540 But the reality is, is that in most resolutions, New Year's resolutions, 24 00:01:06,180 --> 00:01:10,300 we have, as Brother Allen mentioned, that self focus of like 25 00:01:10,300 --> 00:01:11,300 this is on me. 26 00:01:11,700 --> 00:01:13,300 This is something that I have to do. 27 00:01:13,300 --> 00:01:16,140 This is something that I have to just pull myself up on my own 28 00:01:16,140 --> 00:01:17,220 bootstraps and do. 29 00:01:17,220 --> 00:01:20,980 But biblically speaking, as a believer, that is not the method 30 00:01:21,140 --> 00:01:22,660 of seeing change in our life. 31 00:01:22,660 --> 00:01:23,820 To see change in our life. 32 00:01:23,820 --> 00:01:25,770 It's really the complete opposite. 33 00:01:25,770 --> 00:01:28,250 It's a complete reliance on the power of God. 34 00:01:28,490 --> 00:01:33,290 But at the same time, God gives us wisdom, God gives us strength, 35 00:01:33,690 --> 00:01:38,730 God gives us certain elements of what we might call organization 36 00:01:38,970 --> 00:01:42,570 to follow the path that God has given us in his word. 37 00:01:43,050 --> 00:01:47,770 And so there is this methodology that some people live 38 00:01:47,770 --> 00:01:48,370 out in their life. 39 00:01:48,370 --> 00:01:51,350 It's just basically, well, I'm just going to give up and God's going 40 00:01:51,350 --> 00:01:52,190 to work through me. 41 00:01:52,190 --> 00:01:55,190 But at the end of the day, there's no initiative to follow what 42 00:01:55,190 --> 00:01:56,350 God is calling us to do. 43 00:01:56,670 --> 00:02:00,150 So, so there is, there is a action that we have to follow and 44 00:02:00,150 --> 00:02:02,070 that is to be led by the Spirit. 45 00:02:02,070 --> 00:02:04,030 And that's what I want us to talk about here this evening. 46 00:02:04,030 --> 00:02:07,550 I think all of us would be in the right place if we said, Lord, 47 00:02:07,550 --> 00:02:12,430 our goal for 20, 26 and even further, if God gives me time, is 48 00:02:12,430 --> 00:02:13,950 to be led by the Spirit. 49 00:02:14,270 --> 00:02:17,450 Now for many people, that might not make a lot of sense if 50 00:02:17,450 --> 00:02:20,410 you're not a believer to be led by the Spirit makes no sense 51 00:02:20,410 --> 00:02:21,170 because that's gonna. 52 00:02:21,170 --> 00:02:23,330 That sounds something that we can't even obtain. 53 00:02:23,330 --> 00:02:25,690 It sounds like beyond our comprehension. 54 00:02:25,770 --> 00:02:28,610 But a believer should understand what it means to walk 55 00:02:28,610 --> 00:02:29,450 in the Spirit. 56 00:02:30,170 --> 00:02:33,290 And so we think about this time of the year, and it's getting 57 00:02:33,290 --> 00:02:33,730 to the end. 58 00:02:33,730 --> 00:02:35,890 We only have a few more hours left of 20, 25. 59 00:02:35,890 --> 00:02:39,610 And I was thinking about what verse could we go to, what passage 60 00:02:39,610 --> 00:02:42,930 could we go to to discuss using the time that God has given 61 00:02:42,930 --> 00:02:44,200 us to the best of. 62 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:44,640 Of. 63 00:02:44,640 --> 00:02:48,040 Of not just our ability, but in accordance to the word of God? 64 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:50,680 And I came to Ephesians, chapter 5. 65 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:56,920 The passage here is speaking about using our time wisely, using 66 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:00,120 our time for his purpose and not our own. 67 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:01,640 And really there's a. 68 00:03:01,640 --> 00:03:05,640 There's a comparison and a contrast between the wise man and 69 00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:07,080 the foolish man, the. 70 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:09,000 The wise person and the foolish person. 71 00:03:09,450 --> 00:03:13,530 And so the wise person follows the wisdom of God and utilizes the 72 00:03:13,530 --> 00:03:16,850 time for the kingdom of God, for the gospel of Jesus Christ. 73 00:03:16,850 --> 00:03:17,210 The. 74 00:03:17,290 --> 00:03:17,690 The. 75 00:03:17,690 --> 00:03:19,370 As it says here, the foolish person. 76 00:03:19,610 --> 00:03:22,810 The foolish person is focused on himself. 77 00:03:23,130 --> 00:03:23,530 The. 78 00:03:23,610 --> 00:03:26,810 The foolish person is focused on what can be obtained right now 79 00:03:26,890 --> 00:03:28,970 in the here and now, in the material world. 80 00:03:29,210 --> 00:03:34,330 So In Ephesians, chapter 5, verse 15, he says, See then that 81 00:03:34,330 --> 00:03:38,180 you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. 82 00:03:38,180 --> 00:03:41,140 And so Paul says here, walk circumspectly. 83 00:03:41,140 --> 00:03:45,140 Now, circumspectly means to look around you, to be aware of your 84 00:03:45,140 --> 00:03:45,780 surroundings. 85 00:03:45,780 --> 00:03:49,180 I don't think Christians should walk around their life with 86 00:03:49,180 --> 00:03:52,060 blinders on and just focused on what they have in front of them. 87 00:03:52,060 --> 00:03:55,460 No, the Bible says for us to be aware of those things around us. 88 00:03:55,540 --> 00:03:59,820 Be aware of our neighborhood, be aware of the needs in our church, 89 00:03:59,820 --> 00:04:04,100 be aware of the chaos in the world, but don't allow that to dictate 90 00:04:04,690 --> 00:04:06,810 your emotions, your faith. 91 00:04:06,810 --> 00:04:10,530 It says, see then that you walk circumspectly, but not as fools, 92 00:04:10,690 --> 00:04:11,530 but as wise. 93 00:04:11,530 --> 00:04:14,370 Because there's a way that we can walk circumspectly as meaning 94 00:04:14,370 --> 00:04:14,690 this. 95 00:04:15,010 --> 00:04:16,530 We see what's going on around us. 96 00:04:16,530 --> 00:04:18,130 We notice what's going on around us. 97 00:04:18,130 --> 00:04:20,610 We turn on the news and we see what's going on in the news. 98 00:04:20,770 --> 00:04:21,090 We. 99 00:04:21,090 --> 00:04:24,450 We notice what's going on in our neighborhood, and we allow that 100 00:04:24,450 --> 00:04:27,330 to cause us to fall into man's wisdom. 101 00:04:27,330 --> 00:04:29,250 And that is essentially foolishness. 102 00:04:29,570 --> 00:04:32,580 And, and so he says, don't walk as fools circumspectly, but 103 00:04:32,580 --> 00:04:33,060 as wise. 104 00:04:33,060 --> 00:04:33,980 And so the. 105 00:04:33,980 --> 00:04:35,260 The note that I got from that. 106 00:04:35,260 --> 00:04:35,500 The. 107 00:04:35,500 --> 00:04:38,308 The Challenge that I got from that is, as I walk around in 20, 108 00:04:38,372 --> 00:04:40,700 26, what I want to do is I want to notice the things around 109 00:04:40,700 --> 00:04:43,180 me, but I want to do it with God's wisdom. 110 00:04:43,340 --> 00:04:47,500 And then he says in verse 16, redeeming the time, using the time, 111 00:04:47,900 --> 00:04:49,180 buying back the time. 112 00:04:49,180 --> 00:04:52,340 And we even know in James chapter four that, that the Bible 113 00:04:52,340 --> 00:04:54,460 tells us is that life is like a vapor. 114 00:04:55,100 --> 00:04:57,860 You know, it's cold outside, we breathe and we see the smoke and 115 00:04:57,860 --> 00:04:58,460 it goes away. 116 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:02,600 That's the way the Bible gives us in the analogy of how short our 117 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:03,360 life really is. 118 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:05,880 And I didn't think about that when I was young. 119 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:09,440 When I was in school, like, let's say fourth grade, I thought 120 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,800 that life was forever, like I was going to, because I couldn't 121 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:13,600 get through that day. 122 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:15,079 Like, man, it's still 10 o'. 123 00:05:15,079 --> 00:05:15,200 Clock. 124 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:16,160 I'm, I'm so bored. 125 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:16,880 I'm so tired. 126 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:17,920 I just want to go home. 127 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:22,640 But we all know that the older we get, the more we can comprehend 128 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:24,000 how short life really is. 129 00:05:24,970 --> 00:05:28,370 And so with that being said, as Christians, we need to use the 130 00:05:28,370 --> 00:05:29,370 time that God gives us. 131 00:05:29,370 --> 00:05:31,290 Now you might say, how much time do I have? 132 00:05:31,290 --> 00:05:33,050 I don't know how much time you have. 133 00:05:33,050 --> 00:05:34,410 I don't know how much time I have. 134 00:05:34,730 --> 00:05:36,130 But I do know that I have time. 135 00:05:36,130 --> 00:05:39,370 It might be 20 minutes or it might be 20 years, or it might be 136 00:05:39,370 --> 00:05:40,050 even more than that. 137 00:05:40,050 --> 00:05:40,729 We don't know. 138 00:05:41,370 --> 00:05:45,130 I use this as an example many times because it was real to me. 139 00:05:45,610 --> 00:05:49,450 I remember a couple years ago, right before Silas was born, Alicia 140 00:05:49,450 --> 00:05:50,940 was still pregnant with Silas. 141 00:05:50,940 --> 00:05:53,860 I preached a message on a Sunday night right here in this very 142 00:05:53,860 --> 00:05:55,620 spot, behind this very pulpit. 143 00:05:55,620 --> 00:05:56,980 And I preached on trials. 144 00:05:57,060 --> 00:05:59,700 I preached on trusting God through the trials. 145 00:05:59,700 --> 00:06:02,780 And then we get out in our car and we wreck our car and we flip 146 00:06:02,780 --> 00:06:04,820 it and we total the car and the kids are in the back. 147 00:06:04,820 --> 00:06:08,300 And I'm thinking, Lord, I, I, I, I really, some of you know what 148 00:06:08,300 --> 00:06:08,820 I'm talking about. 149 00:06:08,820 --> 00:06:11,340 You see that light flash before your eyes when that car was 150 00:06:11,340 --> 00:06:12,980 flipping, I was like, this is over. 151 00:06:13,140 --> 00:06:14,900 I, I, I didn't know what to think. 152 00:06:15,060 --> 00:06:17,220 All it was was I was just calling out to the Lord. 153 00:06:17,840 --> 00:06:21,040 And, and so with that realization in my mind, it's this. 154 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:22,320 I could have 20 minutes. 155 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:23,600 I could have 20 years. 156 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:25,040 I could have 40, 50 years. 157 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:28,200 But the Bible says to redeem the time that we have now, you might 158 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:30,240 say, well, how much time do I have? 159 00:06:31,280 --> 00:06:32,240 Well, we don't know. 160 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:32,920 So what does that mean? 161 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:36,320 That means that we should Live every moment like it's our last. 162 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:36,960 Not. 163 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:38,400 Not in a way of hopelessness. 164 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:40,960 Not like, well, I'm going to go out and do whatever I want to 165 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:41,680 do with my life. 166 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:44,720 No, but I'm going to live with the passion that God has called me 167 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:45,280 to live with. 168 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:47,040 I'm going to live out my purpose. 169 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:49,200 I'm going to tell other people about Jesus. 170 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:50,120 I'm going to. 171 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:52,840 I'm not going to wait to do the things that God has called me 172 00:06:52,840 --> 00:06:53,280 to do. 173 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:55,160 And so he says, redeeming the time. 174 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:55,440 Why? 175 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:56,800 Because the days are evil. 176 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:57,800 It's evil around us. 177 00:06:57,800 --> 00:06:58,400 We know that. 178 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:02,480 But the truth is, is that as we walk in the wisdom of God, we're 179 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:06,480 able to affect others, to lead other people to the truth. 180 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:11,040 And it says in verse 17, wherefore be not unwise, but understanding 181 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:12,160 what the will of the Lord is. 182 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:13,760 So how do we walk in wisdom? 183 00:07:14,110 --> 00:07:15,590 We walk in the will of the Lord. 184 00:07:15,590 --> 00:07:16,990 Now, how do we know the will of the Lord? 185 00:07:17,870 --> 00:07:19,950 Well, we find the will of the Lord in His Word. 186 00:07:20,430 --> 00:07:20,750 We. 187 00:07:20,750 --> 00:07:23,270 We find how to follow him, we find how to obey Him. 188 00:07:23,270 --> 00:07:26,910 If we love God, we keep His Word, we keep his commandments. 189 00:07:27,710 --> 00:07:30,510 So one of the goals that I would have for this church, one of 190 00:07:30,510 --> 00:07:33,310 the goals that I have for my family, one of the goals that I have 191 00:07:33,310 --> 00:07:37,590 for me is to be so in love with God that we are in love with 192 00:07:37,590 --> 00:07:38,190 His Word. 193 00:07:38,830 --> 00:07:41,440 And sometimes that's difficult, especially if we're not 194 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:44,400 used to studying His Word, especially if it's not something 195 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:46,080 that we are comfortable with. 196 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:47,600 It sometimes is a stretch. 197 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:48,640 It's a discipline. 198 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:51,840 It's out of our comfort zone to make it important in our life. 199 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:54,360 But what I would say is that one of the best goals that we can 200 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:58,480 have in finding the will of God is to be in His Word, to make 201 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:02,520 time for it, to see the importance of it, to know that what 202 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:05,360 the Bible says is that all scripture is given by inspiration 203 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:08,820 of God and His prophetic for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, 204 00:08:08,820 --> 00:08:11,500 for instruction, righteousness, to understand that 205 00:08:11,500 --> 00:08:12,740 it will affect my life. 206 00:08:12,740 --> 00:08:15,140 The Word of God will change me. 207 00:08:15,140 --> 00:08:17,140 The Word of God will grow me. 208 00:08:17,140 --> 00:08:20,140 The Word of God will change the way that I act, the way that 209 00:08:20,140 --> 00:08:23,580 I react, the way that I speak, the way that I love, the way that 210 00:08:23,580 --> 00:08:24,260 I forgive. 211 00:08:24,340 --> 00:08:27,260 If the Word of God is the centerpiece of our lives, we're able 212 00:08:27,260 --> 00:08:29,060 to come back to this as our guide. 213 00:08:29,060 --> 00:08:32,700 And so I would say in 2026, to follow the will of God is to follow 214 00:08:32,700 --> 00:08:33,300 His Word. 215 00:08:33,850 --> 00:08:38,130 And so he says here, don't walk like the unwise, but walk with 216 00:08:38,130 --> 00:08:42,130 understanding what the will of God really is for you and find that 217 00:08:42,130 --> 00:08:43,130 in the word of God. 218 00:08:44,330 --> 00:08:45,690 Read the Bible too. 219 00:08:45,770 --> 00:08:47,050 You have children in your home. 220 00:08:47,290 --> 00:08:49,770 They might not even know how to read, but read them the Bible. 221 00:08:50,170 --> 00:08:51,010 Read them the Bible. 222 00:08:51,010 --> 00:08:54,050 We were reading the Bible to our children before they were walking 223 00:08:54,050 --> 00:08:54,330 around. 224 00:08:54,490 --> 00:08:56,850 We were reading the Bible while they were still in their mom's 225 00:08:56,850 --> 00:08:57,370 bellies. 226 00:08:57,770 --> 00:09:01,410 We want to bathe the life of our children in the word of God. 227 00:09:01,410 --> 00:09:02,850 We want that to be the norm. 228 00:09:03,090 --> 00:09:05,570 Someone accused me one time of brainwashing my children. 229 00:09:06,050 --> 00:09:09,250 I said, yeah, I need to wash their brains from the dirtiness of 230 00:09:09,250 --> 00:09:11,250 this world and give them the word of God. 231 00:09:11,250 --> 00:09:14,130 That is unapologetically the goal of our household. 232 00:09:14,690 --> 00:09:17,290 And the truth is, does that mean my children will be perfect? 233 00:09:17,290 --> 00:09:18,530 We all know the answer to that. 234 00:09:18,530 --> 00:09:22,130 No, they're not going to be perfect because we have the sin nature. 235 00:09:22,690 --> 00:09:26,010 But the counter side of that would be not the wisdom of God, but 236 00:09:26,010 --> 00:09:26,770 the wisdom of man. 237 00:09:26,770 --> 00:09:28,270 The wisdom of man is foolishness. 238 00:09:28,820 --> 00:09:31,620 So to follow the word of God is to follow his will. 239 00:09:31,620 --> 00:09:34,020 And to follow his will means to walk in his word. 240 00:09:34,100 --> 00:09:36,860 But I would also say to understand his will, we must also 241 00:09:36,860 --> 00:09:38,180 walk with life of prayer. 242 00:09:38,420 --> 00:09:39,700 We need communication. 243 00:09:40,660 --> 00:09:42,100 To read His Word is one thing. 244 00:09:42,100 --> 00:09:44,260 To understand what he wants us to know is one thing. 245 00:09:44,260 --> 00:09:47,300 But the other thing is to communicate with him our needs, to 246 00:09:47,540 --> 00:09:49,380 communicate with him our desires. 247 00:09:50,260 --> 00:09:51,740 God already knows what we think. 248 00:09:51,740 --> 00:09:53,220 God already knows what we need. 249 00:09:53,220 --> 00:09:55,140 But it's about the communication line. 250 00:09:56,150 --> 00:10:01,190 It's about relying on him and coming to him humbly and and sacrificially 251 00:10:01,190 --> 00:10:03,190 to say, lord, I want to spend time with you. 252 00:10:03,430 --> 00:10:05,110 Corporate prayer is an amazing thing. 253 00:10:05,110 --> 00:10:06,310 I would echo that. 254 00:10:06,310 --> 00:10:08,070 I think we should get together and pray. 255 00:10:08,070 --> 00:10:10,510 The Bible teaches in the New Testament, the Book of Acts, they 256 00:10:10,510 --> 00:10:11,590 got together and they prayed. 257 00:10:11,590 --> 00:10:13,990 And so I would say corporate prayer is vital. 258 00:10:13,990 --> 00:10:17,830 But also, don't come and pray corporately and not have your private 259 00:10:17,830 --> 00:10:18,230 time. 260 00:10:18,950 --> 00:10:22,310 That's exactly what was condemned at the Pharisees, right? 261 00:10:22,630 --> 00:10:24,710 The Pharisees came together and prayed publicly. 262 00:10:25,110 --> 00:10:27,030 And I'm not saying public prayer is wrong. 263 00:10:27,190 --> 00:10:29,270 I would say we must public pray. 264 00:10:29,910 --> 00:10:32,270 But at the same time, sometimes the temptation is to pray 265 00:10:32,270 --> 00:10:33,590 only when people are around us. 266 00:10:33,590 --> 00:10:35,910 I would encourage you to get some private prayer time. 267 00:10:36,070 --> 00:10:39,030 Get a place, get a time, have a plan. 268 00:10:39,590 --> 00:10:43,070 They sell prayer journals on Amazon for really, really cheap. 269 00:10:43,070 --> 00:10:44,950 Or you can make your own with a spiral notebook. 270 00:10:44,950 --> 00:10:49,410 Track your prayer request, track your praises, attract the answer 271 00:10:49,410 --> 00:10:50,210 to those things. 272 00:10:50,530 --> 00:10:53,290 Allow yourself to track that, and then communicate to people that 273 00:10:53,290 --> 00:10:54,130 you're praying for them. 274 00:10:54,450 --> 00:10:55,770 These are all things that we can do. 275 00:10:55,770 --> 00:10:57,170 Walking in the will of God. 276 00:10:57,170 --> 00:11:00,930 And then it says in verse 18, this is really interesting, says, 277 00:11:00,930 --> 00:11:03,930 and be not drunk with wine, whereas in excess, but be filled 278 00:11:03,930 --> 00:11:04,569 with the spirit. 279 00:11:04,569 --> 00:11:07,410 Now this is a verse that we hear quite frequently dealing with 280 00:11:07,490 --> 00:11:08,570 avoidance of alcohol. 281 00:11:08,570 --> 00:11:10,130 And I would agree with that completely. 282 00:11:10,210 --> 00:11:12,850 I would say that drunkenness is going to lead us away. 283 00:11:13,010 --> 00:11:15,610 But I also would say that this verse has a second piece that we 284 00:11:15,610 --> 00:11:16,290 have to think about. 285 00:11:16,550 --> 00:11:18,150 It says to be filled with the Spirit. 286 00:11:18,710 --> 00:11:22,390 And so what it's basically doing is contrasting the fact that 287 00:11:22,390 --> 00:11:26,550 if I'm allowing any type of substance to control me, any type 288 00:11:26,550 --> 00:11:28,950 of thing to control me, I'm not going to be led by the Spirit. 289 00:11:29,350 --> 00:11:32,830 And in so doing, being led by the Spirit means that's what's going 290 00:11:32,830 --> 00:11:33,750 to direct my life. 291 00:11:34,230 --> 00:11:36,670 And so what the Bible says is that there are many things that can 292 00:11:36,670 --> 00:11:38,630 lead us away from being led by the Spirit. 293 00:11:38,710 --> 00:11:42,070 But what we have to do is be an open vessel for the Lord to use 294 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:45,520 to guide us in his spirit, to yield the spirit. 295 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:50,360 So if there's anything in our lives, anything, any substance, any, 296 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:50,680 any. 297 00:11:50,680 --> 00:11:53,000 Any addiction, any. 298 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:56,960 Any thoughts, any activities that are leading us away from being 299 00:11:56,960 --> 00:11:59,880 filled with the Spirit, we have to ask the Lord to give us strength 300 00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:03,160 to overcome those things and to die to those things and allow 301 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:04,960 the Spirit to fill us and to guide us. 302 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:06,880 The Christian has two choices. 303 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:10,470 Whether or not he or she is going to yield to the flesh or yield 304 00:12:10,470 --> 00:12:11,110 in spirit. 305 00:12:11,670 --> 00:12:12,630 2026. 306 00:12:13,110 --> 00:12:16,830 One of the goals could be, lord, let me walk in your will and 307 00:12:16,830 --> 00:12:19,110 follow the Spirit's guidance in my life. 308 00:12:19,670 --> 00:12:21,350 Verse 19, speaking to yourself. 309 00:12:21,350 --> 00:12:25,510 And so it's not just an individualistic task that we have. 310 00:12:25,510 --> 00:12:26,950 Like, this is my private life. 311 00:12:26,950 --> 00:12:29,950 No, it says here more so speaking to yourself, speaking to 312 00:12:29,950 --> 00:12:33,630 one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing 313 00:12:33,630 --> 00:12:35,950 and making melody in your heart to the Lord. 314 00:12:35,950 --> 00:12:37,590 That's speaking of corporate worship together. 315 00:12:38,290 --> 00:12:39,970 That's why we sing when we come to church. 316 00:12:40,770 --> 00:12:44,650 It's not because we want to perform and, you know, make sure 317 00:12:44,650 --> 00:12:45,690 that we're heard. 318 00:12:45,690 --> 00:12:46,090 It's. 319 00:12:46,090 --> 00:12:49,210 It's about praising God and, and encouraging one another to do 320 00:12:49,210 --> 00:12:49,730 that together. 321 00:12:50,050 --> 00:12:52,210 And that's encouraging us to do so. 322 00:12:53,010 --> 00:12:56,930 Then the Bible says, giving thanks always for all things unto 323 00:12:56,930 --> 00:12:59,570 God the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 324 00:12:59,570 --> 00:13:01,890 And so because of what Jesus Christ has done for us, we can give 325 00:13:01,890 --> 00:13:03,090 thanks, we can give praise. 326 00:13:03,250 --> 00:13:07,570 And so going back, how do we walk at 20, 26 in the will of God. 327 00:13:08,130 --> 00:13:11,370 We walk in the will of God by praising him and thanking him and 328 00:13:11,370 --> 00:13:13,650 giving him the honor and glory for who he is. 329 00:13:13,890 --> 00:13:16,850 Folks, corporate worship is vital. 330 00:13:17,730 --> 00:13:20,289 That's why the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 10, not to forsake 331 00:13:20,289 --> 00:13:21,650 the assembly of ourselves together. 332 00:13:22,850 --> 00:13:25,210 I know I'm speaking to a crowd that's here on a Wednesday night 333 00:13:25,210 --> 00:13:26,530 where you could be anywhere else. 334 00:13:26,530 --> 00:13:29,530 What I would encourage you is to make an effort to say corporate 335 00:13:29,530 --> 00:13:31,090 worship is a priority. 336 00:13:31,090 --> 00:13:35,140 In my family's life, I grew up in an environment that says if you're 337 00:13:35,140 --> 00:13:35,780 not in church, you. 338 00:13:35,780 --> 00:13:36,900 You aren't a good Christian. 339 00:13:36,980 --> 00:13:37,500 Okay? 340 00:13:37,500 --> 00:13:39,580 You got to be in church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday 341 00:13:39,580 --> 00:13:39,900 night. 342 00:13:39,900 --> 00:13:41,340 And I would agree with that. 343 00:13:41,340 --> 00:13:44,100 But that's in some ways a legalistic standpoint, because I 344 00:13:44,100 --> 00:13:46,260 can be in church and be a thousand miles away. 345 00:13:46,260 --> 00:13:48,260 I could be looking on my phone, watching the football game 346 00:13:48,260 --> 00:13:49,820 and going, okay, who's scoring here? 347 00:13:49,820 --> 00:13:50,460 Who's scoring there? 348 00:13:50,460 --> 00:13:50,740 Right? 349 00:13:50,740 --> 00:13:53,540 Just me being in church doesn't mean that I'm worshiping. 350 00:13:53,780 --> 00:13:56,540 What I would say is coming to church with the right heart, the 351 00:13:56,540 --> 00:13:59,160 right spirit, the right motivation, and saying, yes, I'm 352 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:01,840 coming to corporately worship with my fellow brothers and sisters 353 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:05,120 in Christ because this isn't the only place that we should worship. 354 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:07,440 First Corinthians 10:31. 355 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:10,720 Whether, therefore, you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all 356 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:11,760 to the glory of God. 357 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:15,200 That means I can worship God at breakfast. 358 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:18,320 I can worship God hanging out outside. 359 00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:20,960 And so some people even say, well, then why do I need to go to 360 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:23,200 church if I can worship God on my own? 361 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:27,380 Because the Bible says that there's an issue of individualism, 362 00:14:27,380 --> 00:14:29,740 that if we come in corporate worship, we die. 363 00:14:29,740 --> 00:14:30,780 And we say, you know what? 364 00:14:30,780 --> 00:14:33,180 I'm coming together with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ 365 00:14:33,180 --> 00:14:35,420 and I'm encouraging one another, exhorting one another. 366 00:14:35,740 --> 00:14:38,020 Then it says, submitting yourselves one to another in the 367 00:14:38,020 --> 00:14:38,500 fear of God. 368 00:14:38,500 --> 00:14:39,100 Meaning this. 369 00:14:39,180 --> 00:14:42,140 There is that accountability factor. 370 00:14:43,340 --> 00:14:43,700 There's. 371 00:14:43,700 --> 00:14:45,820 There's that factor of exhorting one another. 372 00:14:45,900 --> 00:14:46,820 So what does that mean? 373 00:14:46,820 --> 00:14:50,060 We humble ourselves before one another to encourage one another. 374 00:14:50,380 --> 00:14:50,860 So that. 375 00:14:50,860 --> 00:14:52,860 That's why we're following God is. 376 00:14:53,090 --> 00:14:53,410 Hey, look. 377 00:14:53,410 --> 00:14:54,770 Hey, how you doing your prayer life? 378 00:14:55,730 --> 00:14:57,290 Hey, I haven't seen you at church in a while. 379 00:14:57,290 --> 00:14:59,250 Is there something that I can pray for you about? 380 00:14:59,250 --> 00:15:01,730 Hey, can we study this passage of scripture together? 381 00:15:01,730 --> 00:15:03,450 Hey, do you want to come over and have coffee? 382 00:15:03,450 --> 00:15:05,010 You guys understand the picture here. 383 00:15:05,810 --> 00:15:08,690 Following the will of God is not just focusing on oneself, but 384 00:15:08,690 --> 00:15:11,730 it's looking to Encourage others and worship with others. 385 00:15:12,610 --> 00:15:16,050 That's a goal for 2026 that we could say to follow the will of God 386 00:15:16,130 --> 00:15:19,900 is to fellowship one with another, to disciple one another. 387 00:15:20,540 --> 00:15:24,260 Now the reality is, is that one person cannot disciple every 388 00:15:24,260 --> 00:15:25,300 single person in this room. 389 00:15:25,300 --> 00:15:28,380 Just it's impossible to, to do it right. 390 00:15:28,860 --> 00:15:31,580 Let's say, for example, I said, okay, I'm going to take every 391 00:15:31,580 --> 00:15:35,180 single person out for a one month study together. 392 00:15:35,180 --> 00:15:36,620 We're going to meet every single day. 393 00:15:36,860 --> 00:15:38,180 You know how long that would take me? 394 00:15:38,180 --> 00:15:40,540 I'm not, I'm not a mathematician, but if this room was 395 00:15:40,540 --> 00:15:43,460 full, it would take me years and years and years and I probably 396 00:15:43,460 --> 00:15:44,410 still couldn't keep up with it. 397 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:45,800 So what does that mean? 398 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:47,960 Does that mean just people get lost in the mix? 399 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:51,440 No, what that means is that each individual takes it upon themselves 400 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:52,400 to say, you know what? 401 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:55,920 I want to reach one, someone's reached me, I want to reach one. 402 00:15:56,720 --> 00:15:59,360 And the reality is, is that as Christians, we have to think about 403 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:03,040 that as part of the will of God is to not just keep it for ourselves, 404 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:04,560 but to share with one another. 405 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:06,880 There's another passage of scripture that speaks of time. 406 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:09,880 And I think it's important for us to look at Colossians chapter 407 00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:10,160 four. 408 00:16:11,500 --> 00:16:15,180 Colossians, chapter four kind of speaks a little bit more about 409 00:16:15,180 --> 00:16:17,300 how we can live our lives in the will of God. 410 00:16:17,300 --> 00:16:21,180 And I think it's important for us to note if we're going to make 411 00:16:21,180 --> 00:16:25,420 goals, let's make realistic biblical goals that are achievable. 412 00:16:26,220 --> 00:16:32,300 Let's say, for example, we say, okay, I'm gonna, in one year, 413 00:16:32,380 --> 00:16:33,940 I'm gonna read the whole Bible. 414 00:16:33,940 --> 00:16:35,820 I'm gonna lead a thousand people to Christ. 415 00:16:35,820 --> 00:16:40,210 I'm gonna get three different theology degrees. 416 00:16:40,210 --> 00:16:41,410 I'm going to start a church. 417 00:16:41,650 --> 00:16:44,450 You guys see there's some aspects of like, selfishness there. 418 00:16:44,450 --> 00:16:45,370 Like, I'm going to do all this. 419 00:16:45,370 --> 00:16:46,050 I'm going to do all this. 420 00:16:46,050 --> 00:16:50,130 And sometimes what we do is we make humanistic, lofty goals that 421 00:16:50,130 --> 00:16:51,890 eventually will fail and we get discouraged. 422 00:16:51,970 --> 00:16:53,250 So let's make realistic goals. 423 00:16:53,250 --> 00:16:55,570 And what realistic goal would be is to follow Christ. 424 00:16:55,890 --> 00:16:58,370 Now, if God calls you to start a church, fantastic. 425 00:16:58,370 --> 00:17:01,250 If God calls you to lead a thousand people to Christ, fantastic. 426 00:17:02,050 --> 00:17:04,130 If God calls you to go get a degree, perfect. 427 00:17:04,399 --> 00:17:06,959 But at the end of the day, it's following God's will for you, 428 00:17:06,959 --> 00:17:08,559 not for somebody else. 429 00:17:09,199 --> 00:17:12,519 There, there's things that God is calling me to do that he might 430 00:17:12,519 --> 00:17:13,599 not be calling you to do. 431 00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:16,439 I'm going to tell you, there, there, not everyone's at the same 432 00:17:16,439 --> 00:17:18,239 step, same phase of their life. 433 00:17:18,639 --> 00:17:19,359 But in the. 434 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:23,679 In Colossians chapter 4 and verse 2, it says continue in prayer. 435 00:17:25,439 --> 00:17:26,559 Continue in prayer. 436 00:17:26,559 --> 00:17:27,719 All of us can pray. 437 00:17:27,719 --> 00:17:29,839 All of us can have that prayer life that we already talked about 438 00:17:30,220 --> 00:17:32,940 and watch in the same with thanksgiving again to. 439 00:17:32,940 --> 00:17:36,300 To sit and to rest and to serve and to love. 440 00:17:36,460 --> 00:17:38,780 With thanksgiving giving praise to God. 441 00:17:38,780 --> 00:17:42,460 Verse 3, with all prayer, with all praying also for us that God 442 00:17:42,460 --> 00:17:45,660 would open unto us a door of utterance. 443 00:17:45,740 --> 00:17:48,700 Here's the next step part of following the will of God. 444 00:17:48,700 --> 00:17:52,900 In 2026, we'll be praying that God opens doors of utterance to share 445 00:17:52,900 --> 00:17:54,140 the word of God with other people. 446 00:17:54,620 --> 00:17:56,380 And I'm not just talking about other Christians. 447 00:17:56,890 --> 00:18:00,810 That would be discipleship, but I'm also talking here about evangelism. 448 00:18:00,970 --> 00:18:04,090 That God might open a door for you to share the gospel with someone 449 00:18:04,090 --> 00:18:05,690 who needs the truth of Jesus Christ. 450 00:18:06,650 --> 00:18:08,570 Now, that can be done in many different ways. 451 00:18:08,570 --> 00:18:11,010 But I would say that one of the prayer requests that God has 452 00:18:11,010 --> 00:18:13,890 always answered for me is, lord, give me an opportunity to share 453 00:18:13,890 --> 00:18:14,650 your word today. 454 00:18:15,450 --> 00:18:15,970 And that. 455 00:18:15,970 --> 00:18:18,810 That has always come back to me with someone just. 456 00:18:18,970 --> 00:18:20,970 Just opening the door just a little bit. 457 00:18:21,050 --> 00:18:22,930 Paul said, I pray for a door of utterance. 458 00:18:22,930 --> 00:18:24,250 I pray for an open door. 459 00:18:24,950 --> 00:18:27,190 So maybe that's something that we could pray for in 2026. 460 00:18:27,190 --> 00:18:30,510 Lord, give me an open door to share the gospel with someone that 461 00:18:30,510 --> 00:18:32,470 I know or maybe someone that I don't know. 462 00:18:32,950 --> 00:18:33,950 And so that's the idea. 463 00:18:33,950 --> 00:18:37,230 And then also we see here it's not just us, but it's also praying 464 00:18:37,230 --> 00:18:38,190 for others to do that. 465 00:18:38,190 --> 00:18:41,590 What if we all prayed for one another to say, lord, help brother, 466 00:18:41,590 --> 00:18:43,990 so and so get a chance to share the gospel. 467 00:18:43,990 --> 00:18:46,790 Today, just as much as I want to share the gospel, let me pray 468 00:18:46,790 --> 00:18:49,630 for someone else to have that open door with a family member, with 469 00:18:49,630 --> 00:18:50,470 a co worker. 470 00:18:51,290 --> 00:18:53,850 It moves further here, he says, with all praying also for us, 471 00:18:53,850 --> 00:18:56,970 that God would open us a door of utterance to speak what? 472 00:18:56,970 --> 00:18:58,330 To speak the mystery of Christ. 473 00:18:59,610 --> 00:19:01,330 Some people get tied up with that word mystery. 474 00:19:01,330 --> 00:19:03,450 It just means something that was not known before. 475 00:19:04,170 --> 00:19:05,450 The truth of Jesus Christ. 476 00:19:05,530 --> 00:19:08,810 The people, it is a mystery if they don't trust in Jesus, if they 477 00:19:08,810 --> 00:19:09,530 don't know Jesus. 478 00:19:09,530 --> 00:19:13,410 And so it is to speak the gospel for which I am also in bonds. 479 00:19:13,410 --> 00:19:17,020 What Paul says here is, he says, I'm captive to the gospel. 480 00:19:18,130 --> 00:19:20,290 I can't do anything else but share the gospel. 481 00:19:20,930 --> 00:19:23,890 Now, I know that's a tough thing for us to say because maybe 482 00:19:24,210 --> 00:19:27,970 we're living In a culture that is a little bit different. 483 00:19:29,170 --> 00:19:32,130 We live in a culture that, especially in our Western culture 484 00:19:32,130 --> 00:19:35,290 that has kind of compartmentalized church and the 485 00:19:35,290 --> 00:19:39,090 gospel to something that's private or in our weekends. 486 00:19:39,330 --> 00:19:41,650 But for Paul, the gospel was his light. 487 00:19:42,210 --> 00:19:45,410 And for us, I would encourage us to think about how can I be more 488 00:19:45,910 --> 00:19:48,310 Gospel Focused in 2026? 489 00:19:49,590 --> 00:19:53,110 Doesn't mean that I, I have to go above and beyond and go to a foreign 490 00:19:53,110 --> 00:19:54,790 country to share the gospel. 491 00:19:54,790 --> 00:19:57,590 I have many opportunities to share the gospel right where I'm 492 00:19:57,590 --> 00:19:57,830 at. 493 00:19:58,230 --> 00:20:01,510 And so he says here that he's in bonds to the gospel. 494 00:20:01,510 --> 00:20:04,590 How about we just say this year, hey, if I just give a little 495 00:20:04,590 --> 00:20:08,150 bit of time, a little bit more time sharing the gospel with someone 496 00:20:08,150 --> 00:20:10,110 around me, think about what that would do. 497 00:20:10,110 --> 00:20:14,220 Verse 4, that I may make it manifest as I ought to speak. 498 00:20:15,020 --> 00:20:18,740 He says, I, I want to make clear, I want to make public what 499 00:20:18,740 --> 00:20:19,660 I should be saying. 500 00:20:19,980 --> 00:20:22,260 We're going to get to that here in a second about what we should 501 00:20:22,260 --> 00:20:22,620 say. 502 00:20:23,100 --> 00:20:23,740 Verse 5. 503 00:20:23,740 --> 00:20:24,500 Walk in wisdom. 504 00:20:24,500 --> 00:20:27,260 There's another reminder to walk in the wisdom of God, to walk 505 00:20:27,260 --> 00:20:29,740 in the will of God toward them that are without. 506 00:20:29,740 --> 00:20:32,660 Specifically in this case, he's saying, walk in wisdom on how 507 00:20:32,660 --> 00:20:34,700 to deal with other people around you that aren't Christians, 508 00:20:34,940 --> 00:20:36,180 that aren't acting like Christians. 509 00:20:36,180 --> 00:20:37,420 They don't believe what we believe. 510 00:20:37,660 --> 00:20:39,260 Let's walk in wisdom towards them. 511 00:20:39,260 --> 00:20:43,860 Not walk in anger, not walk in bitterness, not walk in isolation, 512 00:20:43,860 --> 00:20:47,140 but walk in wisdom to know how we can reach those around us who 513 00:20:47,140 --> 00:20:48,300 are without the gospel. 514 00:20:49,340 --> 00:20:51,100 And then he says, redeeming the time. 515 00:20:51,100 --> 00:20:52,100 That's a common theme, right? 516 00:20:52,100 --> 00:20:53,580 Redeem the time, use the time. 517 00:20:54,380 --> 00:20:58,020 I think one of the themes that we could think about in 2026 with 518 00:20:58,020 --> 00:21:01,500 our goals would be to be busy for the cause of God. 519 00:21:01,500 --> 00:21:02,700 Now I would say this. 520 00:21:03,340 --> 00:21:04,620 We can't get too busy. 521 00:21:05,260 --> 00:21:06,460 We can't get burnout. 522 00:21:07,590 --> 00:21:09,590 It's not about being busy, like active. 523 00:21:09,910 --> 00:21:13,510 It just means being focused, using the opportunities that we have. 524 00:21:14,790 --> 00:21:17,670 What someone told me one time is work smarter, not harder. 525 00:21:17,670 --> 00:21:19,750 Sometimes it's just like we were sitting here. 526 00:21:19,750 --> 00:21:21,030 We're trying to do everything that we can. 527 00:21:21,190 --> 00:21:22,190 And hey, you know what? 528 00:21:22,190 --> 00:21:23,390 We could go to church every single day. 529 00:21:23,390 --> 00:21:24,630 We can go out every single day. 530 00:21:24,710 --> 00:21:28,390 And over time, sometimes that can become burdensome to our physical 531 00:21:29,430 --> 00:21:29,830 nature. 532 00:21:29,830 --> 00:21:32,910 But at the end of the day, what we can say is this, Let me just 533 00:21:32,910 --> 00:21:34,230 use the opportunities that I have. 534 00:21:35,050 --> 00:21:36,810 And then he says here something very interesting. 535 00:21:36,810 --> 00:21:40,250 He addresses our speech, how we should talk to others. 536 00:21:41,850 --> 00:21:44,170 This is one of my goals for 2026. 537 00:21:45,050 --> 00:21:46,170 I'm just going to be clear. 538 00:21:46,250 --> 00:21:51,250 One of my goals for 2026 is to think and to meditate upon how I 539 00:21:51,250 --> 00:21:53,130 am talking to other people around me. 540 00:21:54,570 --> 00:21:57,370 And it's not like I'm sitting here saying bad things to people. 541 00:21:57,530 --> 00:21:58,170 Okay? 542 00:21:58,170 --> 00:21:59,290 Trust me, I'm not. 543 00:21:59,450 --> 00:22:02,810 I don't go around saying bad words to people, calling them names. 544 00:22:03,110 --> 00:22:05,030 But at the end of the day, it's not just talking about that. 545 00:22:05,430 --> 00:22:08,150 It's actually talking about how we can build people up in our. 546 00:22:08,870 --> 00:22:12,710 And so he says, let your speech all way with grace. 547 00:22:14,470 --> 00:22:17,230 So, so I thought about that as I was studying this passage. 548 00:22:17,230 --> 00:22:19,830 Like, what does it mean to have grace in our speech? 549 00:22:21,110 --> 00:22:21,910 And, and with. 550 00:22:21,910 --> 00:22:23,550 That's a whole other study for another day. 551 00:22:23,550 --> 00:22:25,910 But what I would say is this, with grace in our speech, it means 552 00:22:25,910 --> 00:22:29,470 this, that, that we want to give people the benefit of the doubt 553 00:22:29,470 --> 00:22:30,310 in loving them. 554 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:32,440 We want to be patient with you. 555 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:36,240 We basically want to talk to people the way that we want to be 556 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:36,840 talked to. 557 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:39,000 We want to give people respect. 558 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:42,040 We want to build other people up. 559 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:47,000 Basically with grace means giving something to someone that 560 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:48,040 they don't deserve. 561 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:52,680 So being nice to the person that is rude to me at Wawa, instead 562 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:55,640 of saying something back, smart alec and you know, because 563 00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:58,940 I'm bad at that, someone will say something sharp to me and my 564 00:22:58,940 --> 00:23:00,420 flesh just wants to say something sharp. 565 00:23:00,420 --> 00:23:00,700 Really? 566 00:23:00,780 --> 00:23:01,180 Really. 567 00:23:03,100 --> 00:23:04,100 What is that going to help? 568 00:23:04,100 --> 00:23:05,740 That gives me an immediate gratification. 569 00:23:05,740 --> 00:23:08,460 But at the end I, I miss an opportunity to be graceful. 570 00:23:09,020 --> 00:23:11,980 So the Bible says to let your speech always be seasoned with grace 571 00:23:12,060 --> 00:23:17,740 season with salt, meaning this giving flavor to our conversations. 572 00:23:17,740 --> 00:23:18,860 Flavor in a good way. 573 00:23:19,260 --> 00:23:22,780 You know, salt brings out the flavor in a dish if properly salted. 574 00:23:23,180 --> 00:23:23,420 Right? 575 00:23:23,660 --> 00:23:24,740 And that's the idea here. 576 00:23:24,740 --> 00:23:28,340 He says, you know, and also another aspect element of salt would 577 00:23:28,340 --> 00:23:32,140 be preservation, building other people up, preserving the truth. 578 00:23:32,460 --> 00:23:35,060 So he says, let your speech be with grace, season with salt. 579 00:23:35,060 --> 00:23:40,860 That you may know how ye ought to answer every man that's walking 580 00:23:40,860 --> 00:23:45,020 in the will of God to respond in the spirit in every situation. 581 00:23:45,660 --> 00:23:47,460 Now are we going to do it in every situation? 582 00:23:47,460 --> 00:23:48,180 Probably not. 583 00:23:48,180 --> 00:23:50,890 That's, that's where we're struggling as humans. 584 00:23:50,970 --> 00:23:53,010 But we could say that a goal could be. 585 00:23:53,010 --> 00:23:56,730 I want to have more opportunities to deal with people 586 00:23:56,810 --> 00:24:00,410 in the right way at the right time for the gospel of Jesus Christ. 587 00:24:01,130 --> 00:24:02,650 And I find that so important. 588 00:24:02,650 --> 00:24:03,650 But where does it start? 589 00:24:03,650 --> 00:24:04,890 It starts with the Word. 590 00:24:05,050 --> 00:24:09,490 And, and I went to another passage of scripture that in Psalm 591 00:24:09,490 --> 00:24:11,490 19, if you, if you have your Bibles turn there with me. 592 00:24:11,490 --> 00:24:13,610 We're going to kind of conclude with this thought here. 593 00:24:16,580 --> 00:24:17,620 Psalm, Psalm 19. 594 00:24:18,340 --> 00:24:20,580 There's a lot that we could talk about here. 595 00:24:20,900 --> 00:24:21,860 Starting in verse seven. 596 00:24:21,860 --> 00:24:24,300 It starts talking about the beauty of the Word of God. 597 00:24:24,300 --> 00:24:26,900 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. 598 00:24:27,540 --> 00:24:32,260 And I truly believe that an individual who is bathing his or 599 00:24:32,260 --> 00:24:41,020 her life in prayer, Bible study, evangelism, yielding to the 600 00:24:41,020 --> 00:24:43,780 Spirit, is going to be a person who is going to ultimately 601 00:24:43,780 --> 00:24:44,500 glorify God. 602 00:24:44,500 --> 00:24:45,660 And we get to verse number four. 603 00:24:45,820 --> 00:24:48,220 Actually, let's go to verse number 10. 604 00:24:49,260 --> 00:24:52,700 In Psalm 19, it says, More to be desired are they than gold. 605 00:24:52,700 --> 00:24:53,980 He's talking about the Word of God. 606 00:24:53,980 --> 00:24:56,300 More to be desired are they than gold? 607 00:24:56,300 --> 00:24:57,500 Yea, than much fine gold. 608 00:24:57,500 --> 00:24:58,140 Meaning this. 609 00:24:59,580 --> 00:25:04,180 The Word of God should be such a treasure to us that if someone 610 00:25:04,180 --> 00:25:08,340 laid out money here for us, it could be gold, or it could be dollar 611 00:25:08,340 --> 00:25:09,660 bills, or it could be whatever. 612 00:25:09,980 --> 00:25:13,100 And we look at that and we would pick the word of God over that 613 00:25:13,100 --> 00:25:13,500 rich. 614 00:25:13,580 --> 00:25:16,780 The rich is there, he says, more to be the desire than they. 615 00:25:16,780 --> 00:25:17,140 Than gold. 616 00:25:17,140 --> 00:25:18,180 Ye, than much fine gold. 617 00:25:18,180 --> 00:25:20,940 Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 618 00:25:21,980 --> 00:25:25,820 You know, at Christmas, there's a lot of sweets around the 619 00:25:25,820 --> 00:25:26,140 table. 620 00:25:26,140 --> 00:25:27,980 At least at our house, there was a lot of sweets. 621 00:25:27,980 --> 00:25:31,700 And I'm typically not a person who indulges in sweets, but this 622 00:25:31,700 --> 00:25:34,340 past season, I've really been not so disciplined on that. 623 00:25:34,340 --> 00:25:35,460 And I've eaten a lot of sweets. 624 00:25:35,460 --> 00:25:40,130 And that's like, wow, for a while there, when I got away from 625 00:25:40,130 --> 00:25:42,810 sweets, I lacked the desire to eat them. 626 00:25:42,810 --> 00:25:45,050 When you stay away from it for a while, you know what it is? 627 00:25:45,050 --> 00:25:46,490 It's like, I don't need that. 628 00:25:46,570 --> 00:25:49,090 But once you start coming back to it and just saying, I'll take 629 00:25:49,090 --> 00:25:49,650 a little bit of. 630 00:25:49,650 --> 00:25:52,850 I'll take a couple of cookies here I have one slice of cake that 631 00:25:52,850 --> 00:25:54,250 after a while I start craving it. 632 00:25:54,250 --> 00:25:56,170 So, like, after every meal now, I'm like, okay, so what are 633 00:25:56,170 --> 00:25:57,050 we having for dessert? 634 00:25:57,130 --> 00:25:57,850 And it's like, what. 635 00:25:57,850 --> 00:25:58,570 Where's that coming from? 636 00:25:58,570 --> 00:25:59,850 You haven't had dessert in like a year. 637 00:25:59,850 --> 00:26:01,330 It's like, well, it's because I want. 638 00:26:02,570 --> 00:26:04,250 Causes that craving, right? 639 00:26:04,690 --> 00:26:05,450 That's what he says here. 640 00:26:05,450 --> 00:26:08,050 He says instead, back then, they didn't have refined sugars. 641 00:26:08,050 --> 00:26:09,570 It was honey was the sweetness, right? 642 00:26:09,810 --> 00:26:11,370 So when that honey. 643 00:26:11,370 --> 00:26:14,050 He's likening the desire that we should have the things of God, 644 00:26:14,050 --> 00:26:15,410 specifically the word of God. 645 00:26:15,410 --> 00:26:18,170 Like, we had that craving for that sugary sweet that. 646 00:26:18,170 --> 00:26:19,330 That I want more of it. 647 00:26:19,330 --> 00:26:20,289 And the more I have it. 648 00:26:20,289 --> 00:26:21,410 The more I want more of it. 649 00:26:21,490 --> 00:26:23,890 So I would say it's okay to, to. 650 00:26:23,890 --> 00:26:28,170 To have that type of insatiable desire for the word of 651 00:26:28,170 --> 00:26:28,610 God. 652 00:26:28,770 --> 00:26:31,410 It's not okay to have that insatiable desire for the things 653 00:26:31,410 --> 00:26:34,800 of our flesh and, or the things of this world, or for money 654 00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:36,760 or for some type of gluttony. 655 00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:40,240 But it says here in this case that it is okay to desire the things 656 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:41,280 of God that way. 657 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:45,120 He says, moreover, by them is thy servant warn, meaning this. 658 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:48,040 That's how you're warned to do what's right and what's wrong and 659 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:49,040 not to do what's wrong. 660 00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:52,080 And he says, and in keeping of them, there is great reward. 661 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:53,560 Following the word of God. 662 00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:54,480 There's great reward. 663 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:56,880 Who can understand his errors. 664 00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:58,640 Cleanse thou me in the secret folds. 665 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:01,240 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins. 666 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:03,320 Let them not have dominion over me. 667 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:06,640 There's a prayer here to say I don't want sin to have dominion over 668 00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:07,160 my life. 669 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:11,080 Then shall I be upright and I shall be innocent from the great 670 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:11,880 transgression. 671 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:12,160 Then. 672 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:15,240 This is really the verse that I want us to think about as our testimony. 673 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:18,680 Maybe for 2026 you could say that this is my prayer. 674 00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:23,040 And I would actually say that there are really great opportunities 675 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:26,990 to pray through certain passages of scripture because a lot 676 00:27:26,990 --> 00:27:27,790 of these are prayers. 677 00:27:28,030 --> 00:27:31,990 And I think that if we mean them, we can take these prayers and 678 00:27:31,990 --> 00:27:34,190 we could ultimately lift them up. 679 00:27:34,190 --> 00:27:38,590 The Lord, so he says, let the words of my mouth, so what I say 680 00:27:39,870 --> 00:27:43,070 in the meditation of my heart, what I think about, what I dwell 681 00:27:43,070 --> 00:27:48,030 on, what I believe in, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, 682 00:27:48,190 --> 00:27:49,870 my strength and my redeemer. 683 00:27:50,590 --> 00:27:53,260 He says what I say and what I do. 684 00:27:53,260 --> 00:27:55,220 I wanted to glorify you, Lord. 685 00:27:55,460 --> 00:27:57,220 I want it to be pleasing to you. 686 00:27:57,220 --> 00:27:57,620 Why? 687 00:27:57,780 --> 00:28:00,620 Because you are my strength and my redeemer. 688 00:28:00,620 --> 00:28:02,420 You are my strength and my Savior. 689 00:28:03,060 --> 00:28:06,340 And if we think about it from that perspective, we will understand 690 00:28:06,660 --> 00:28:09,540 when conviction comes in our life that Lord, what I just said 691 00:28:09,540 --> 00:28:10,980 is not what you want from me. 692 00:28:11,140 --> 00:28:12,460 That's not following your word. 693 00:28:12,460 --> 00:28:13,220 That's not wise. 694 00:28:14,100 --> 00:28:18,700 How I just reacted to my spouse or my child or my co worker. 695 00:28:18,700 --> 00:28:19,580 That's not right. 696 00:28:20,300 --> 00:28:22,540 The beauty is that we have forgiveness. 697 00:28:22,540 --> 00:28:24,580 The beauty is that we confess our sins to the Lord. 698 00:28:24,580 --> 00:28:27,180 He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us 699 00:28:27,180 --> 00:28:28,220 from all unrighteousness. 700 00:28:28,380 --> 00:28:32,940 And so that's the wonderful thing about being a Christian is 701 00:28:32,940 --> 00:28:35,020 that sometimes we will stumble. 702 00:28:35,580 --> 00:28:40,580 The Bible says, though he fall or stumble, he shall not be Utterly 703 00:28:40,580 --> 00:28:42,860 cast down, but the Lord upholds him with his hand. 704 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:50,000 So the, the, the comfort is that Even if in 2026, we have these 705 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:53,840 goals, and let's not call them resolutions, because I think it's 706 00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:56,760 a biblical thing to say, lord, I want to walk in your word, I want 707 00:28:56,760 --> 00:28:57,840 to walk in your will. 708 00:28:57,840 --> 00:28:59,120 I want to walk in your way. 709 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:02,800 But then when we stumble, inevitably we will. 710 00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:07,600 We don't give up, we don't quit, don't get angry. 711 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:09,760 We don't take it out on somebody else. 712 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:13,400 I don't know about you, but sometimes when I'm angry or upset 713 00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:17,200 or frustrated, my Wesley reaction is to try to blame somebody 714 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:17,560 else. 715 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:19,680 Well, it's because of them. 716 00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:21,880 I would have never done this if it wasn't for them. 717 00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:22,840 Right. 718 00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:25,080 My life would be perfect without that struggle. 719 00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:27,920 But no, instead of doing that, taking responsibility and saying, 720 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:29,000 lord, no, it's on me. 721 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:30,240 I'm leading. 722 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:35,240 So as a dad and as a husband, as a pastor, no, this is on me. 723 00:29:35,650 --> 00:29:36,690 This is my responsibility. 724 00:29:37,330 --> 00:29:38,930 No one forced me to do this. 725 00:29:39,250 --> 00:29:40,050 It's my decision. 726 00:29:40,130 --> 00:29:43,250 And, Lord, I need your help to get back on the right path. 727 00:29:44,210 --> 00:29:46,570 And so we can boil it all down to say this. 728 00:29:46,570 --> 00:29:53,770 A goal for 2026 could be to walk in the Lord's will, desire his 729 00:29:53,770 --> 00:29:54,130 will. 730 00:29:55,330 --> 00:29:56,330 What's his will for you? 731 00:29:56,330 --> 00:29:56,730 I don't know. 732 00:29:56,730 --> 00:29:57,810 The ultimate will. 733 00:29:58,290 --> 00:30:02,910 I know his will for you is to fellowship one with another as believers, 734 00:30:03,150 --> 00:30:07,950 to worship him, to share his word, to pray, to study the Bible, 735 00:30:08,990 --> 00:30:12,030 to do all these things that we call the spiritual disciplines. 736 00:30:12,750 --> 00:30:14,550 The spiritual disciplines don't save you. 737 00:30:14,550 --> 00:30:16,030 Reading your Bible doesn't save you. 738 00:30:16,590 --> 00:30:17,830 Praying doesn't save you. 739 00:30:17,830 --> 00:30:21,150 Necessarily, going to church doesn't save you. 740 00:30:22,590 --> 00:30:26,510 But faith in Jesus Christ saves us. 741 00:30:26,510 --> 00:30:30,120 But at the moment of our salvation, the Bible speaks of that 742 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:31,240 desire being changed. 743 00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:34,880 And so the more we grow in our knowledge of who God is and what 744 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:38,200 he has done for us, the more our desire should be for these disciplines. 745 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:42,200 But at the same time, disciplines are, are difficult. 746 00:30:42,200 --> 00:30:43,680 That's why they're called disciplines. 747 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:47,800 I don't know if any of you have gone on an exercise regimen, 748 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:51,880 but the more you do it, the more you grow in your desire to do 749 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:52,280 it right. 750 00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:52,920 You enjoy it. 751 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:54,570 It's something that becomes routine. 752 00:30:54,570 --> 00:30:55,490 You get out of that routine. 753 00:30:55,490 --> 00:30:56,650 It's so easy to regress. 754 00:30:58,090 --> 00:31:00,650 And so I, I would say that maybe some of you have done Bible 755 00:31:00,650 --> 00:31:01,930 reading plans throughout your life. 756 00:31:01,930 --> 00:31:02,970 That's fantastic. 757 00:31:03,130 --> 00:31:06,810 But it might be, it might be a while since you've done it. 758 00:31:06,890 --> 00:31:08,570 So I would encourage you to get back into that. 759 00:31:09,130 --> 00:31:12,210 I would encourage you to get back into maybe talking about the 760 00:31:12,210 --> 00:31:13,290 Lord in your homes. 761 00:31:14,250 --> 00:31:17,370 Husbands, wives, speak about the things of the word of God, pray 762 00:31:17,370 --> 00:31:17,690 together. 763 00:31:18,010 --> 00:31:20,330 If you have children in your home, share the word with them. 764 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:24,240 And it will be uncomfortable at first, just as it's uncomfortable. 765 00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:25,280 You know what I'm gonna start? 766 00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:26,160 I'm starting a new. 767 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:30,440 The Bible does say bodily exercise profit if the little meaning 768 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:31,040 not that much. 769 00:31:31,040 --> 00:31:33,600 And like actually spiritual exercise is better. 770 00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:35,920 And some, sometimes people quote that out of context. 771 00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:39,080 What that's saying is basically physical exercise might 772 00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:40,960 help you a little bit, but it's not going to save you. 773 00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:43,680 Spiritual exercise is better and that does save you. 774 00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:46,800 But what I will say is that I think bodily exercise is a good thing. 775 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:49,390 So here, coming up soon, I'm going to be starting some different 776 00:31:49,390 --> 00:31:50,470 things that I'm trying to do. 777 00:31:50,950 --> 00:31:52,390 I already know it's going to be difficult. 778 00:31:52,390 --> 00:31:53,710 I already know it's going to be painful. 779 00:31:53,710 --> 00:31:55,470 I already going to know I'm going to want to quit the first time 780 00:31:55,470 --> 00:31:55,990 I do it. 781 00:31:55,990 --> 00:31:58,110 And that's the same thing that you're going to do when you sometimes 782 00:31:58,110 --> 00:31:59,830 study the word of God, especially if you've been out of 783 00:31:59,830 --> 00:32:00,870 it reading the Bible. 784 00:32:00,870 --> 00:32:01,630 Oh, I could do this. 785 00:32:01,630 --> 00:32:02,470 I'm going to get back to it. 786 00:32:02,470 --> 00:32:03,830 I'm going to get to it at the end of the day. 787 00:32:04,150 --> 00:32:06,510 Maybe you will, but maybe you won't because you allow other things 788 00:32:06,510 --> 00:32:07,430 to come into your life. 789 00:32:07,430 --> 00:32:09,590 But what I would say is just think about those priorities. 790 00:32:09,750 --> 00:32:11,590 What's your priority for 2026? 791 00:32:12,710 --> 00:32:16,020 My prayer is that our priority is to follow the will of God and 792 00:32:16,020 --> 00:32:18,540 to do that Matthew 6:33. 793 00:32:18,540 --> 00:32:20,060 Seek first the kingdom of God. 794 00:32:20,380 --> 00:32:23,540 And I would encourage you to seek the, the truth of God's word 795 00:32:23,540 --> 00:32:23,820 there. 796 00:32:23,900 --> 00:32:27,980 All right, well, in conclusion here tonight, I. I do want to offer 797 00:32:27,980 --> 00:32:31,380 you an opportunity as you head on out tonight. 798 00:32:31,380 --> 00:32:35,900 There's two tables in the lobby, two round, black, tall tables. 799 00:32:36,140 --> 00:32:39,220 We have two different Bible reading plans out there and some 800 00:32:39,220 --> 00:32:41,540 of you might already have a really good Bible reading plan and 801 00:32:41,540 --> 00:32:42,300 that's fantastic. 802 00:32:42,300 --> 00:32:44,970 You keep doing your Bible reading plan, but I thought that 803 00:32:44,970 --> 00:32:47,130 it would be really appropriate since tomorrow's the first day of 804 00:32:47,130 --> 00:32:47,530 the year. 805 00:32:47,850 --> 00:32:49,370 We can get started on the right foot. 806 00:32:49,610 --> 00:32:50,770 I have two different plans. 807 00:32:50,770 --> 00:32:55,050 One plan is just a read through the Bible 52 week 365 Bible 808 00:32:55,050 --> 00:32:55,530 reading plan. 809 00:32:55,530 --> 00:32:58,010 That's the one that's closer to my right. 810 00:32:58,010 --> 00:32:58,610 Your left. 811 00:32:58,610 --> 00:32:59,130 Okay. 812 00:32:59,130 --> 00:33:00,690 There's another Bible reading plan. 813 00:33:00,690 --> 00:33:04,730 I actually found this one and it's a really good One, it's every 814 00:33:04,730 --> 00:33:08,490 day you're reading a passage from the Old Testament and the New, 815 00:33:08,490 --> 00:33:12,230 I believe, or it might just be Old Testament, but then every single 816 00:33:12,230 --> 00:33:14,510 day there is a proverb to read along with that. 817 00:33:14,750 --> 00:33:17,110 And I think that the Proverbs, if you don't know what the book of 818 00:33:17,110 --> 00:33:17,830 Proverbs is all about. 819 00:33:17,830 --> 00:33:20,350 The book of Proverbs is all about walking in the wisdom of God. 820 00:33:20,670 --> 00:33:24,470 There's 31 chapters and the longest day of the month is 31 days. 821 00:33:24,470 --> 00:33:27,790 So you can technically go through the Book of Proverbs pretty 822 00:33:27,790 --> 00:33:28,590 much once a month. 823 00:33:28,910 --> 00:33:32,390 And I would encourage you to bathe your mind and your heart with 824 00:33:32,390 --> 00:33:34,910 those proverbs so that you're able to walk in that wisdom of God. 825 00:33:34,910 --> 00:33:37,150 So that's one of the Bible reading plans that we have out there 826 00:33:37,150 --> 00:33:40,630 so that you can read, say you read the book of Genesis and then 827 00:33:40,630 --> 00:33:42,270 you read Proverbs 1 that day. 828 00:33:42,350 --> 00:33:46,910 And that sounds like a lot and it might be for you, but I want to 829 00:33:46,910 --> 00:33:48,390 just offer those resources to you. 830 00:33:48,390 --> 00:33:51,790 There's a lot of good online resources I know that we have. 831 00:33:52,430 --> 00:33:55,470 There's the Bible app that has a lot of different Bible reading 832 00:33:55,470 --> 00:33:56,670 plans that many people use. 833 00:33:56,750 --> 00:34:00,070 I would encourage you and challenge you in love to find one 834 00:34:00,070 --> 00:34:00,910 that works for you. 835 00:34:01,470 --> 00:34:02,990 Find a prayer journal. 836 00:34:03,150 --> 00:34:06,090 Or what I would say is, you know, you can make your own prayer 837 00:34:06,090 --> 00:34:06,290 journal. 838 00:34:06,290 --> 00:34:07,650 Get a spiral bound notebook. 839 00:34:07,730 --> 00:34:08,850 Write the date at the top. 840 00:34:09,410 --> 00:34:10,530 Here's what I would suggest. 841 00:34:10,690 --> 00:34:13,410 It's not the only way to do it, but I would suggest this. 842 00:34:13,890 --> 00:34:16,210 Read a Bible passage, even if it's just one verse. 843 00:34:16,530 --> 00:34:18,130 I would meditate upon that verse. 844 00:34:18,130 --> 00:34:19,410 What does that verse mean to me? 845 00:34:19,650 --> 00:34:20,450 And then pray. 846 00:34:20,450 --> 00:34:21,170 And then pray. 847 00:34:21,330 --> 00:34:25,410 And you can pray with this acronym acts Adoration. 848 00:34:25,410 --> 00:34:27,010 Praise God for who he is. 849 00:34:27,250 --> 00:34:28,370 See Confession. 850 00:34:28,450 --> 00:34:31,870 Bring forth the things in your life that you or harboring in your 851 00:34:31,870 --> 00:34:32,110 heart. 852 00:34:32,110 --> 00:34:34,110 And, and maybe something that you've done that you want to bring 853 00:34:34,110 --> 00:34:36,310 to the Lord and seek restoration. 854 00:34:36,470 --> 00:34:38,950 And then you have the T, which is thanksgiving. 855 00:34:38,950 --> 00:34:40,630 And then S, that's supplication. 856 00:34:40,630 --> 00:34:42,070 That's asking God for things. 857 00:34:42,230 --> 00:34:45,190 That's a very basic, that's a very basic outline. 858 00:34:45,190 --> 00:34:48,470 And then at the end, write down your prayer request, write down 859 00:34:48,470 --> 00:34:51,070 your praises and be able to track that day by day. 860 00:34:51,070 --> 00:34:53,910 And I, I, I know that that will help you have a better direction 861 00:34:53,910 --> 00:34:54,950 on your prayer life. 862 00:34:55,830 --> 00:34:58,560 Again, you don't have to do that, not in the word of God, but 863 00:34:58,560 --> 00:35:02,000 I think it's a pretty neat tool to be able to track your prayer 864 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:04,640 life through fellowshipping. 865 00:35:04,640 --> 00:35:06,640 Well, there's a lot of ways that you can fellowship here. 866 00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:11,080 You know, obviously fellowship in the lobby to head on out this 867 00:35:11,080 --> 00:35:15,000 in, in 2026, there's going to be a lot more opportunities for you 868 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:18,400 to find different Bible studies and different small groups 869 00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:19,840 that you can get involved with. 870 00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:23,000 And my prayer and my goal, I know it's a lofty goal and maybe 871 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:26,720 one of those unrealistic goals, but I believe that God would 872 00:35:26,720 --> 00:35:29,440 have every single person at Middletown Baptist Church finding 873 00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:33,240 one group outside of corporate worship defined as a place where 874 00:35:33,240 --> 00:35:37,200 you can study and fellowship and be a part of a tighter knit group 875 00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:38,160 that you can grow in. 876 00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:41,440 And so just be praying about maybe how God would have you be led 877 00:35:41,440 --> 00:35:42,160 in this year. 878 00:35:42,640 --> 00:35:46,200 Later on in 2026, I'm going to be unveiling some opportunities for 879 00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:48,720 everyone in service and in fellowship. 880 00:35:49,210 --> 00:35:51,290 But I would encourage you to think about the church as a family. 881 00:35:52,170 --> 00:35:54,010 The church as a family means this. 882 00:35:54,490 --> 00:35:55,610 Not everyone's perfect. 883 00:35:56,570 --> 00:35:58,810 My family is not perfect in, in any way. 884 00:35:58,810 --> 00:35:59,530 There's, there's. 885 00:35:59,770 --> 00:36:02,570 Everyone's got their strengths and everyone's got their weaknesses. 886 00:36:02,570 --> 00:36:06,450 And we, we, we don't point for the weaknesses out, but we love each 887 00:36:06,450 --> 00:36:07,290 other through that. 888 00:36:07,690 --> 00:36:09,890 And, and I would encourage you to think about the church that way. 889 00:36:09,890 --> 00:36:11,850 Like, not everyone's going to like the same things you like. 890 00:36:12,010 --> 00:36:14,250 You know, not everyone's going to like the same football team that 891 00:36:14,250 --> 00:36:14,650 you like. 892 00:36:14,950 --> 00:36:17,550 Not everyone's going to like the same, the same, different things. 893 00:36:17,550 --> 00:36:17,910 Right. 894 00:36:17,910 --> 00:36:20,470 But at the same time, we can love each other through that and 895 00:36:20,470 --> 00:36:21,270 we have more time. 896 00:36:21,270 --> 00:36:23,990 You can read through Ephesians 4 and it talks about being in one 897 00:36:23,990 --> 00:36:27,430 spirit, one body, one baptism, one Lord, one salvation. 898 00:36:27,830 --> 00:36:29,190 We've got something in common. 899 00:36:29,750 --> 00:36:32,750 Doesn't matter what you look like, what country you're from, what 900 00:36:32,750 --> 00:36:33,990 sports team you go for. 901 00:36:34,150 --> 00:36:36,990 If you love Jesus Christ, if you have faith in Jesus Christ, we 902 00:36:36,990 --> 00:36:38,550 have the same spirit living within us. 903 00:36:38,870 --> 00:36:40,150 That's a pretty exciting truth. 904 00:36:40,150 --> 00:36:42,150 And it's something that I'm really trying to grow into my life 905 00:36:42,150 --> 00:36:46,890 of how I see an individual, to not see them as my different person, 906 00:36:46,970 --> 00:36:50,410 but to see them as Jesus Christ sees them as a soul. 907 00:36:50,810 --> 00:36:52,570 So I wanted to encourage you to think about that. 908 00:36:53,450 --> 00:36:56,090 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 909 00:36:56,090 --> 00:36:56,730 podcast. 910 00:36:56,970 --> 00:36:59,290 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 911 00:36:59,930 --> 00:37:02,210 If you would like to find out more information about our church 912 00:37:02,210 --> 00:37:05,690 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 913 00:37:06,010 --> 00:37:08,570 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 914 00:37:09,470 --> 00:37:13,870 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaro at middletownbaptistchurch 915 00:37:13,870 --> 00:37:14,270 Com. 916 00:37:14,670 --> 00:37:18,190 If you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow 917 00:37:18,190 --> 00:37:21,070 along for future podcast and updates. 918 00:37:21,710 --> 00:37:22,590 Thank you so much. 919 00:37:22,830 --> 00:37:23,550 God Bless. 920 00:37:23,790 --> 00:37:25,070 Have a wonderful day.