1 00:00:07,481 --> 00:00:11,286 Last Sunday was so sweet. I 2 00:00:11,286 --> 00:00:14,092 think we had 23 baptisms last week. 3 00:00:18,336 --> 00:00:22,154 I love watching God move. I love the 4 00:00:22,154 --> 00:00:25,909 way that he surprises us with— whether it's a white dog or 4 5 00:00:25,957 --> 00:00:29,785 extra baptisms. I love that he moves the way that he 6 00:00:29,785 --> 00:00:33,359 moves. Amen. I 7 00:00:33,359 --> 00:00:37,103 have to go all Pastor Wayne on you for just a second. He used to 8 00:00:37,103 --> 00:00:40,922 do this all the time. He would go, something would hit him, and 9 00:00:40,922 --> 00:00:44,740 he would stop in the middle of what he was doing and just give us 10 00:00:44,740 --> 00:00:48,332 a sidebar, a teaching. When we have moments like what just 11 00:00:48,332 --> 00:00:52,150 happened in our worship, where we just kind of want to live and 12 00:00:52,150 --> 00:00:55,368 dwell in that Jesus be the name, there's such a sweet 13 00:00:55,368 --> 00:00:59,111 anointing in that. And sometimes you don't really know what 14 00:00:59,111 --> 00:01:02,930 to do with that. And it isn't that you have to do anything in it. 15 00:01:02,930 --> 00:01:06,223 We don't always have to do something. But what I would 16 00:01:06,223 --> 00:01:09,817 encourage you to think about in thushe moments, there is a 17 00:01:09,817 --> 00:01:13,470 word in scripture in Hebrew, and it's H-O-S, and it's hush. 18 00:01:14,305 --> 00:01:17,985 And it is a time between times. And by definition, it is a 19 00:01:17,985 --> 00:01:21,665 place where we can lay before him. We can lay before him. 20 00:01:21,665 --> 00:01:25,345 And one of the specific reasons for that time, like when 21 00:01:25,345 --> 00:01:29,105 that pregnant pause, when you don't really know what— it 22 00:01:29,105 --> 00:01:32,945 says that we can go before him and we can ask questions. And 23 00:01:32,945 --> 00:01:36,545 we can ponder, and we can get answers from him in thushe 24 00:01:36,545 --> 00:01:40,065 moments. And so I encourage you, when the Holy Spirit 25 00:01:40,065 --> 00:01:43,425 begins to move like that, and you begin to feel that 26 00:01:43,425 --> 00:01:47,185 quietness in your spirit, take just a moment and go, God, 27 00:01:47,185 --> 00:01:50,705 what are you trying to say to me? Lord, I really need an 28 00:01:50,705 --> 00:01:54,545 answer here. I need your direction in this. And trust that 29 00:01:54,545 --> 00:01:57,985 if you will get before him in thushe moments, in that 30 00:01:57,985 --> 00:02:01,585 silence, and allow him to speak, you just might get the 31 00:02:01,585 --> 00:02:05,310 answers that you've been looking for. He offers 32 00:02:05,406 --> 00:02:09,173 us a time between times when we don't necessarily know what 33 00:02:09,173 --> 00:02:12,972 to do, but he does. So I encourage you in 34 00:02:13,036 --> 00:02:16,579 that, just to grab hold of that, because I do believe that there's a 35 00:02:16,627 --> 00:02:20,218 teaching spirit in this house today. I believe that there is an 36 00:02:20,314 --> 00:02:23,953 anointing in this house to learn and go deeper and to 37 00:02:24,017 --> 00:02:27,704 grow in today. And so we're gonna step into that in just a 38 00:02:27,704 --> 00:02:31,343 second. I just wanted to thank the Lord for the 23 that 39 00:02:31,391 --> 00:02:32,903 were back there Thank you to all of you who were baptized last week for 40 00:02:32,903 --> 00:02:36,382 your participation in that. I wanted to share with you that I'm no 41 00:02:36,382 --> 00:02:40,054 longer angry with all of the people who are posting their beach pictures 42 00:02:40,086 --> 00:02:43,786 right now. And I expect, 43 00:02:44,045 --> 00:02:47,427 since I'm sure all of them are watching the service this morning, 'cause we— 44 00:02:48,075 --> 00:02:51,460 bring me a seashell and that will be proof that you 45 00:02:51,460 --> 00:02:52,552 watched today. 46 00:02:56,555 --> 00:02:58,034 And it can't say Walmart. 47 00:03:01,992 --> 00:03:05,727 There needs to be some sand on it, people. Anyway, the 48 00:03:05,839 --> 00:03:08,965 other thing I wanted to share with you, a lot of people already know this, 49 00:03:08,981 --> 00:03:12,091 but I felt like I should share it with you. We are not going to 50 00:03:12,091 --> 00:03:15,681 have Fall Fest this year, not the way that we have in the past. 51 00:03:15,938 --> 00:03:19,529 I'm not a huge proponent of Halloween or 52 00:03:20,106 --> 00:03:23,937 all of that. Y'all do whatever the Lord convicts. But for me, you know 53 00:03:23,985 --> 00:03:27,736 what I wanna celebrate? I wanna celebrate the family. So on the 54 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:30,895 24th, rather than on Halloween night, Yeah. On the 55 00:03:30,943 --> 00:03:34,622 24th of October, it's a Saturday, from 10 to 2, we are 56 00:03:34,622 --> 00:03:38,237 gonna have Family Fest. And we are going to have— 57 00:03:38,397 --> 00:03:41,956 Rob and Critter are digging a pit out there. They're gonna kill something and cook 58 00:03:41,956 --> 00:03:45,780 it. And it's gonna be fabulous. We're gonna 59 00:03:45,780 --> 00:03:49,516 have a plethora of desserts brought in by the ladies of 60 00:03:49,564 --> 00:03:53,026 the church. We're gonna have inflatables for the kids. There's gonna be a 61 00:03:53,026 --> 00:03:56,862 basketball tournament. There is, because Justin loves competition, 62 00:03:57,232 --> 00:04:00,643 he is doing a— What's it called, guys? A tailgate 63 00:04:00,755 --> 00:04:04,458 competition. And there are prizes in that. He's gonna share 64 00:04:04,506 --> 00:04:08,145 more about that next week. But I just wanted to encourage you to mark 65 00:04:08,209 --> 00:04:11,752 that day. Come spend time with the family, and let's just enjoy 66 00:04:12,056 --> 00:04:15,695 one another because that's my heart. I would love to spend some time 67 00:04:15,743 --> 00:04:19,542 with you sitting across, preferably across a 68 00:04:19,590 --> 00:04:22,941 coconut pie, but we'll just put that out there. Anyways, a 69 00:04:23,678 --> 00:04:27,477 couple of Wednesday nights ago, Pastor Ronnie brought a message in 70 00:04:28,231 --> 00:04:31,582 on the Wednesday gathering. And when he had finished, And when he finished teaching, 71 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:35,529 I could not wait to get up to him and go, I want you to 72 00:04:35,529 --> 00:04:39,123 teach that again. I need you to teach that again. 73 00:04:39,540 --> 00:04:43,226 It was water to me. And speaking of a teaching 74 00:04:43,226 --> 00:04:47,048 spirit, may he make our hearts— the Word says that he awakens 75 00:04:47,048 --> 00:04:50,717 us morning by morning to be taught of him. May this be one of 76 00:04:50,717 --> 00:04:53,693 thushe mornings this morning, Pastor Ronnie. 77 00:04:54,704 --> 00:04:56,485 Thank you. 78 00:05:00,651 --> 00:05:04,091 Good morning. Good morning. I'm glad all of you are here 79 00:05:05,755 --> 00:05:09,600 since you, like me, were not invited to go with the rest of 80 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:12,619 the family for Fall Fest. 81 00:05:13,587 --> 00:05:16,186 We call this season at our house Left Behind. 82 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:25,154 And yes, in case you're wondering, I have Dropped a few 83 00:05:25,219 --> 00:05:26,700 pounds of hair. 84 00:05:29,828 --> 00:05:33,634 I actually, considering how much hair I had to begin with, I should 85 00:05:33,634 --> 00:05:37,446 maybe say a few grams. But yeah, Friday the gal 86 00:05:37,446 --> 00:05:40,578 was going, well, let's try it. Would you like to try it a little tighter 87 00:05:40,627 --> 00:05:44,098 this time? And I went, well, sure, why not? I did not know what 88 00:05:44,228 --> 00:05:47,714 tight was. Now I 89 00:05:47,845 --> 00:05:51,578 do, but I've been assured that it will grow back. So we'll 90 00:05:51,578 --> 00:05:55,404 see. What are you doing, Doug? Yeah, 91 00:05:59,249 --> 00:06:01,643 I'm— Doug is down there bragging about his beard. 92 00:06:03,921 --> 00:06:05,924 All of his hair fell down here. 93 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:09,342 Yeah. 94 00:06:14,687 --> 00:06:17,171 I don't even know what that was, and I don't want to hear it. 95 00:06:19,905 --> 00:06:23,391 Yes, Barbie was referring to a couple of Wednesday nights ago 96 00:06:23,616 --> 00:06:26,891 when I taught. What she failed to say was 97 00:06:29,743 --> 00:06:32,129 she also said, you won't even have to study. 98 00:06:33,971 --> 00:06:35,197 It doesn't work that way. 99 00:06:38,004 --> 00:06:40,214 And I'm glad it doesn't work that way. Yeah. 100 00:06:41,795 --> 00:06:45,479 And as I was Yeah, I was 101 00:06:45,512 --> 00:06:48,199 teaching in the 2nd chapter of 102 00:06:49,301 --> 00:06:52,636 Colossians and I got hung up. I got hung up on a 103 00:06:52,636 --> 00:06:56,008 passage that we'll look at briefly here. 104 00:06:57,810 --> 00:07:00,965 But rather than it being the launching point, as I was 105 00:07:01,563 --> 00:07:04,994 looking through the scriptures and studying the scripture about 106 00:07:05,835 --> 00:07:07,652 unity, I came across 107 00:07:09,654 --> 00:07:11,428 another place that I got hung up. 108 00:07:13,036 --> 00:07:15,673 Unity has always been a key for me. 109 00:07:17,667 --> 00:07:21,095 I don't know exactly. I can't point back to the point where it went, 110 00:07:21,545 --> 00:07:25,392 oh, this is going to be a theme for your life and for your 111 00:07:25,392 --> 00:07:29,108 ministry. But it basically always has. And certainly for 112 00:07:29,108 --> 00:07:32,463 the 32 and a half years that I was the pastor here, 113 00:07:33,222 --> 00:07:36,851 unity was really a goal, was really a focus 114 00:07:37,032 --> 00:07:40,346 with me. But as I went 115 00:07:40,346 --> 00:07:43,830 through Ephesians chapter 4, verses 1 116 00:07:43,830 --> 00:07:47,422 through 6, where it talks about unity, I 117 00:07:47,422 --> 00:07:51,016 was caught up by another phrase. And the 118 00:07:51,016 --> 00:07:54,610 phrase that I was caught up by— well, I'm 119 00:07:54,610 --> 00:07:57,877 going to put the passage up here. And 120 00:07:57,877 --> 00:08:01,362 normally I ask you to stand, but I don't 121 00:08:01,362 --> 00:08:05,066 want to— don't want you to do that today. I 122 00:08:05,066 --> 00:08:08,771 want you to read through it with me, but in 123 00:08:08,771 --> 00:08:12,365 your mind. Don't necessarily say it out 124 00:08:12,365 --> 00:08:15,849 loud, okay? As a prisoner for the Lord, 125 00:08:15,849 --> 00:08:19,662 then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the 126 00:08:19,662 --> 00:08:23,474 calling you have received. Be completely 127 00:08:23,474 --> 00:08:27,067 humble and gentle; be patient, bearing 128 00:08:27,067 --> 00:08:30,334 with one another in love. Make every 129 00:08:30,334 --> 00:08:33,710 effort to keep the unity of the Spirit 130 00:08:33,710 --> 00:08:37,195 through the bond of peace. There is one 131 00:08:37,195 --> 00:08:40,464 body and one Spirit, just as you were 132 00:08:40,464 --> 00:08:44,059 called to one hope when you were called, 133 00:08:44,059 --> 00:08:47,762 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God 134 00:08:47,762 --> 00:08:51,031 and Father of all, who is over all and 135 00:08:51,031 --> 00:08:54,613 through all and in all. Father, I thank You for Your 136 00:08:55,513 --> 00:08:58,658 presence in this place. I thank You for the Holy Spirit 137 00:08:59,444 --> 00:09:03,280 who brings life where there's death. And 138 00:09:03,841 --> 00:09:07,436 I pray that today You would touch dead 139 00:09:07,532 --> 00:09:10,549 places in us and breathe life 140 00:09:11,303 --> 00:09:12,956 on them. In Jesus' name. 141 00:09:15,696 --> 00:09:18,814 Amen. I grew up with the teaching— and some of you may have as well 142 00:09:18,862 --> 00:09:21,526 depending on if you were brought up in church and if you were brought up 143 00:09:21,574 --> 00:09:25,122 in the certain kind of church. I grew up with the teaching that 144 00:09:25,363 --> 00:09:28,670 the opposite of a kingdom life is a 145 00:09:28,799 --> 00:09:32,235 worldly life. Worldly was about as 146 00:09:32,588 --> 00:09:36,361 bad as you could get in the camp 147 00:09:36,361 --> 00:09:40,199 that I grew up in. And the first thing that 148 00:09:40,199 --> 00:09:43,940 I began to think once I read this passage, and I'll connect it here in 149 00:09:43,988 --> 00:09:47,328 just a minute, was, what does it mean to be worldly? 150 00:09:48,504 --> 00:09:50,866 What does that even mean? 151 00:09:52,290 --> 00:09:56,061 And we tend to think of worldliness 152 00:09:56,093 --> 00:09:58,240 in terms of outward issues. 153 00:09:59,890 --> 00:10:03,634 Sexual immorality is the first thing that comes to mind in our culture and in 154 00:10:03,634 --> 00:10:07,379 many cultures, maybe not all, but certainly in ours, first thing that 155 00:10:07,411 --> 00:10:10,119 comes to mind. But there are other things as well 156 00:10:13,464 --> 00:10:17,204 that are outward. When I was growing up, I 157 00:10:17,268 --> 00:10:21,087 grew up in a place where I was taught, you know, 158 00:10:21,653 --> 00:10:25,442 if you're smoking, you're going to hell. Smoking will send you to hell. Now 159 00:10:25,442 --> 00:10:28,948 about 20 years later when I came back to the Lord and quit 160 00:10:28,948 --> 00:10:29,467 smoking, 161 00:10:33,637 --> 00:10:37,391 the teaching had shifted a little, you know. Oh, can you 162 00:10:37,842 --> 00:10:41,070 smoke and go to heaven? Yes, you can, and you'll get there quicker. 163 00:10:41,478 --> 00:10:42,588 Yeah, exactly. 164 00:10:45,612 --> 00:10:48,717 But smoking, drinking alcohol, 165 00:10:49,639 --> 00:10:52,612 not soda, but alcohol, 166 00:10:55,215 --> 00:10:58,461 bad language. I was telling Michelle 167 00:10:58,991 --> 00:11:02,319 this week, I said, my— I never really heard my dad cuss. 168 00:11:03,415 --> 00:11:06,766 Never really heard him use any of those kind of words. 169 00:11:07,587 --> 00:11:11,268 But I did often wonder what she 170 00:11:12,076 --> 00:11:15,601 meant. Because we all 171 00:11:15,764 --> 00:11:18,522 have things that happen to us. 172 00:11:20,837 --> 00:11:24,630 Worldly amusements. I can't roller 173 00:11:24,630 --> 00:11:28,358 skate because I couldn't go to that 174 00:11:28,471 --> 00:11:31,292 worldly place and learn how to roller skate. 175 00:11:34,148 --> 00:11:37,962 Remember, I did finally get to go bowling and I'm pretty 176 00:11:37,979 --> 00:11:41,046 good. Not that good. 177 00:11:41,915 --> 00:11:45,729 But, and let's see, there was something else I was going to 178 00:11:45,729 --> 00:11:49,376 say about worldly amusements. Hmm? Movies. 179 00:11:49,650 --> 00:11:53,250 Movies, yeah. First, I wasn't ever allowed to go to the 180 00:11:53,250 --> 00:11:56,690 movies. I could watch the Million Dollar Movie at 10 181 00:11:56,690 --> 00:12:00,290 o'clock on TV, but I wasn't ever allowed to go to movies 182 00:12:00,290 --> 00:12:04,130 until John Wayne came out with The Alamo. And my dad took me 183 00:12:04,130 --> 00:12:07,650 and we put on our coats and our ties and we went to the— I 184 00:12:07,650 --> 00:12:10,930 don't even remember what it was called, but it was 185 00:12:10,930 --> 00:12:14,530 downtown on Fifth Avenue. And as we were sitting there 186 00:12:14,530 --> 00:12:18,210 waiting for the movie to start, I'll never forget my dad 187 00:12:18,210 --> 00:12:21,890 sitting next to me and going, Ronnie Allen, we're never 188 00:12:21,890 --> 00:12:25,410 going to do this again. It's the only time this is ever 189 00:12:25,410 --> 00:12:29,250 going to happen. I've never heard a sermon that went quite 190 00:12:29,250 --> 00:12:32,690 this far, but a former elder who used to go here named 191 00:12:32,690 --> 00:12:36,530 Rodney Boyd, I remember before they started coming here, 192 00:12:36,530 --> 00:12:40,130 the last church he had been to, and I think probably the 193 00:12:40,130 --> 00:12:43,970 last sermon he heard at the last church, and this may be why 194 00:12:43,970 --> 00:12:47,650 it was— they stopped going there, was a sermon about men 195 00:12:47,650 --> 00:12:51,330 wearing short sleeves. It was a sermon about, you know, 196 00:12:51,330 --> 00:12:54,370 these men, they needed to cover those arms up. 197 00:12:55,690 --> 00:12:59,467 Muscles. These muscles. Sorry, gals. Yeah, 198 00:12:59,629 --> 00:13:03,195 I don't know what that was all about. Some of these 199 00:13:03,698 --> 00:13:07,241 things are debatable as to whether or not they are 200 00:13:07,436 --> 00:13:07,907 worldly. 201 00:13:12,635 --> 00:13:16,176 But what is not debatable is that just 202 00:13:16,176 --> 00:13:19,895 because one doesn't do these things doesn't mean that they're not worldly. 203 00:13:21,939 --> 00:13:25,240 'Cause you can do those— you cannot do those things and you can, 204 00:13:25,980 --> 00:13:29,797 you can still be quite worldly. Yeah. I 205 00:13:29,909 --> 00:13:33,730 grew up thinking being a Christian was about what you did not do. 206 00:13:35,905 --> 00:13:38,731 But as I got older and began to read the Bible more, I began to 207 00:13:38,731 --> 00:13:42,526 learn that there was a whole lot in there about what you're supposed to do, 208 00:13:43,576 --> 00:13:46,976 what you actually should do. And if you actually do the things that you're 209 00:13:46,976 --> 00:13:49,656 supposed to do, it's a whole lot easier to not do the things that you 210 00:13:49,689 --> 00:13:53,368 don't do— not supposed to do because You don't have time to do 211 00:13:53,433 --> 00:13:55,922 it. Right. 212 00:13:57,312 --> 00:13:58,217 Yeah. 213 00:14:01,524 --> 00:14:05,354 Jesus made it very clear that there are internal— that it's the 214 00:14:05,354 --> 00:14:08,455 internal matters that matters the most. 215 00:14:10,926 --> 00:14:14,638 And so we'll go deeper about what's worldly and identify such things as 216 00:14:14,735 --> 00:14:18,545 greed. You can't look at somebody outwardly and know if they're greedy or not. 217 00:14:19,085 --> 00:14:22,638 Rich people are greedy. Poor people are greedy. Yeah. In-between 218 00:14:22,638 --> 00:14:25,856 people are greedy. You can't tell. 219 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:30,887 Anger. I mean, we all get angry, but there— 220 00:14:32,157 --> 00:14:35,894 Paul talks about fits of anger. And 221 00:14:36,088 --> 00:14:39,811 we'll have fits of anger and not control them. That's 222 00:14:40,214 --> 00:14:44,062 the way the world settles things. That's not how God does 223 00:14:44,177 --> 00:14:47,264 it. Anger that we hold on to. 224 00:14:48,684 --> 00:14:51,185 Paul said, don't let the sun go down on your anger. 225 00:14:54,616 --> 00:14:58,328 Jealousy. You know, sometimes people 226 00:14:58,328 --> 00:15:01,991 think of pastors as they got it all together and they really, 227 00:15:02,489 --> 00:15:05,452 really got that. And of course, a pastor would never be jealous. 228 00:15:08,038 --> 00:15:11,627 Go to a pastors conference and see how 229 00:15:12,158 --> 00:15:14,299 they talk in the side rooms about the guy who's got the biggest church. Right. 230 00:15:16,913 --> 00:15:20,580 That's right. Yeah. Yeah. 231 00:15:21,275 --> 00:15:24,656 Divisiveness often disguised as 232 00:15:24,772 --> 00:15:25,470 holiness. 233 00:15:28,568 --> 00:15:31,167 Well, I don't know if anybody heard me say that. 234 00:15:32,524 --> 00:15:35,398 But divisiveness often disguised as holiness. 235 00:15:36,334 --> 00:15:39,938 We don't need them here. We don't want— one 236 00:15:40,035 --> 00:15:42,816 part of the body saying to another, I don't need you. 237 00:15:46,190 --> 00:15:49,411 Yeah. Proverbs— in fact, Proverbs 6:19 says 238 00:15:49,524 --> 00:15:53,327 divisive— a person who is divisive is one of the 6 239 00:15:53,327 --> 00:15:54,509 things that God hates. 240 00:15:57,910 --> 00:16:01,680 Slander often wrapped up in gossip, often 241 00:16:01,793 --> 00:16:03,339 wrapped up in prayer requests. 242 00:16:06,670 --> 00:16:10,282 You know, if you know that Somebody needs prayer, 243 00:16:10,591 --> 00:16:14,415 pray for them. Why don't you just pray for them? 244 00:16:15,390 --> 00:16:18,936 You know, and gossip, how do you stop gossip? You stop gossip by 245 00:16:18,936 --> 00:16:22,774 stopping it. When it comes to 246 00:16:22,790 --> 00:16:26,584 you, don't take it to somebody else. What do you 247 00:16:26,584 --> 00:16:29,895 think about this? You know, this is— you just stop it. 248 00:16:31,050 --> 00:16:32,096 That's how that works. 249 00:16:34,170 --> 00:16:37,805 Hard-heartedness. I'm not going to spend too much time on 250 00:16:37,805 --> 00:16:41,412 this. These are things that can in fact 251 00:16:41,428 --> 00:16:44,778 point to being worldly. But God— 252 00:16:46,163 --> 00:16:49,563 those are the don'ts. God has called us to 253 00:16:49,563 --> 00:16:51,589 something so utterly other 254 00:16:53,712 --> 00:16:57,307 than being worldly. Something called 255 00:16:57,500 --> 00:17:01,316 kingdom life. And it's defined by what we— 256 00:17:02,154 --> 00:17:04,484 by what we are and by what we do. 257 00:17:06,808 --> 00:17:10,061 And God has called us to experience and practice something that 258 00:17:10,494 --> 00:17:13,362 in the Greek is called koinonia. Now that's an 259 00:17:13,458 --> 00:17:16,855 Anglicized version of the Greek word. 260 00:17:18,185 --> 00:17:21,807 So you want— you're not going to find it in your New 261 00:17:21,807 --> 00:17:24,947 Testament likely unless you've got a Greek New Testament. Yeah. 262 00:17:25,652 --> 00:17:29,338 But the word is usually translated over into English and it's mentioned 263 00:17:29,338 --> 00:17:33,107 some 20 times in the New Testament. And it's usually translated 264 00:17:33,348 --> 00:17:36,512 as fellowship. But this fellowship 265 00:17:37,283 --> 00:17:40,784 goes far beyond hot dogs and 266 00:17:41,699 --> 00:17:45,201 hugs in the foyer and high fives and 267 00:17:45,715 --> 00:17:49,248 ballgame scores. It goes far beyond that. Most of the 268 00:17:49,248 --> 00:17:52,830 fellowship we know is defined by a common 269 00:17:52,846 --> 00:17:55,078 cause. You know, go Vols! 270 00:17:58,130 --> 00:18:01,505 Roll Tide! 271 00:18:02,084 --> 00:18:04,575 Oh, I thought you said, go God. You said, roll Tide. 272 00:18:07,485 --> 00:18:11,219 My hearing. Yeah. But 273 00:18:11,251 --> 00:18:14,747 those are the kinds of things that we have as a 274 00:18:14,747 --> 00:18:18,362 common cause or common belief, especially if we've 275 00:18:18,362 --> 00:18:21,831 got a belief that's a minority opinion and we find another 276 00:18:22,089 --> 00:18:25,257 clump of people who have that same belief. I mean, we've got our tribe now. 277 00:18:26,654 --> 00:18:30,370 Wow. Because we believe that. Yeah. Or 278 00:18:31,947 --> 00:18:35,261 an interest. A golf fellowship is a 279 00:18:35,390 --> 00:18:38,460 fellowship. It actually is. 280 00:18:40,028 --> 00:18:43,390 But it's not koinonia. None of these things are 281 00:18:43,390 --> 00:18:46,519 koinonia because they will all 282 00:18:46,810 --> 00:18:50,633 pass away. The hot dog will 283 00:18:51,068 --> 00:18:53,020 pass away. Don't think about that much. 284 00:18:56,982 --> 00:19:00,746 The balls, the tide, the 285 00:19:00,859 --> 00:19:03,653 teams all pass away. 286 00:19:04,024 --> 00:19:07,051 Yeah. Golf will even pass away 287 00:19:07,627 --> 00:19:11,042 someday. Koinonia actually has a 288 00:19:11,106 --> 00:19:14,448 couple of ways that it works. On a vertical plane, 289 00:19:14,946 --> 00:19:17,774 it is a deep communion with Christ, 290 00:19:18,658 --> 00:19:21,314 with Jesus. Do you know Jesus? 291 00:19:22,263 --> 00:19:26,007 Not, do you know about Jesus? Or do 292 00:19:26,023 --> 00:19:29,434 you not smoke and chew? You know, 293 00:19:29,742 --> 00:19:33,157 do you know Jesus? That's the essence 294 00:19:33,723 --> 00:19:34,241 of things. 295 00:19:37,175 --> 00:19:40,966 Not, I'm not religious, I just love 296 00:19:41,111 --> 00:19:44,805 the Lord. Well, that's a great phrase and hopefully it's true, but you're 297 00:19:44,870 --> 00:19:47,776 probably religious. Hmm. As well. 298 00:19:50,305 --> 00:19:54,050 Because it's true that Christianity is supposed to be a relationship, not a religion. 299 00:19:54,115 --> 00:19:57,568 But the thing is, religion is a lot easier than relationship. 300 00:19:59,460 --> 00:20:03,061 We prefer religion because when it 301 00:20:03,077 --> 00:20:06,016 comes to religion, all I got to do is take care of my stuff. 302 00:20:09,006 --> 00:20:12,484 That's all I got to do. Take care of my stuff. When it comes to 303 00:20:12,484 --> 00:20:16,099 relationship, that's a 304 00:20:16,164 --> 00:20:17,771 lot harder. That's work. 305 00:20:21,726 --> 00:20:25,245 The word koinonia is not used in the Old Testament, and it's not because 306 00:20:25,341 --> 00:20:28,699 it's— the Old Testament wasn't written in Greek. It's not 307 00:20:28,747 --> 00:20:32,376 used because it wasn't available before Christ. 308 00:20:33,666 --> 00:20:37,262 Right. This is something that opened up and was 309 00:20:37,358 --> 00:20:41,073 made available to us, to have koinonia. And like I say, 310 00:20:41,234 --> 00:20:44,786 on a vertical plane, it's deep communion with God, with Christ. 311 00:20:45,075 --> 00:20:48,542 On a horizontal plane, it is the 312 00:20:48,624 --> 00:20:52,403 bond between believers, a 313 00:20:52,484 --> 00:20:56,219 bond based firmly on Christ. Christ is my firm 314 00:20:56,348 --> 00:21:00,103 foundation, the rock on which I stand, something 315 00:21:00,152 --> 00:21:01,739 that does not pass away. 316 00:21:04,833 --> 00:21:07,304 And it is made perfect by love. Amen. 317 00:21:09,444 --> 00:21:13,037 It is the prime outworking of a kingdom 318 00:21:13,249 --> 00:21:16,928 life. It is 319 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:20,590 what Jesus meant when He said, they will know 320 00:21:20,735 --> 00:21:24,529 you're My disciples because you love each other, 321 00:21:25,928 --> 00:21:27,068 because you love one another. 322 00:21:29,972 --> 00:21:33,792 If asked to list the most important elements in 323 00:21:33,792 --> 00:21:37,640 the Christian life, Aside from 324 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:41,256 Christ, he's obviously where it all starts. But if asked to 325 00:21:41,514 --> 00:21:44,500 list the most important elements in the Christian life after Jesus, 326 00:21:45,290 --> 00:21:48,718 many would list matters related to doctrine, 327 00:21:50,630 --> 00:21:51,662 what you're supposed to believe, 328 00:21:54,910 --> 00:21:58,369 standing on current issues. I can't believe that 329 00:21:58,482 --> 00:22:01,102 person is a Christian and they and they 330 00:22:02,361 --> 00:22:06,074 vote for that person that I didn't vote for. Or, I can't 331 00:22:06,090 --> 00:22:09,773 believe that that person is a Christian and they don't think that's wrong. 332 00:22:10,687 --> 00:22:12,792 Or, they do think that's wrong. 333 00:22:17,483 --> 00:22:20,515 Or they might list certain areas of focus 334 00:22:21,434 --> 00:22:24,885 in terms of what we're supposed to do as 335 00:22:24,982 --> 00:22:28,416 Christians. Or maybe they'd list 336 00:22:28,433 --> 00:22:32,185 fulfilling religious duties, etc. Ephesians 337 00:22:32,282 --> 00:22:36,025 chapter 4 is one of the foundational 338 00:22:36,074 --> 00:22:39,478 chapters that defines what the church is supposed to be, 339 00:22:40,026 --> 00:22:43,064 how we're supposed to be, what it's all about. 340 00:22:45,431 --> 00:22:49,200 This is how you live a life worthy of the calling 341 00:22:49,718 --> 00:22:50,947 that you have received. 342 00:22:56,143 --> 00:22:58,848 I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 343 00:23:00,781 --> 00:23:04,586 Okay. If that's all He said, then we'd be left to our own 344 00:23:04,586 --> 00:23:08,181 devices to go, oh, this is a worthy life, or, this is 345 00:23:08,294 --> 00:23:11,768 not a worthy life, and this is— No, He didn't leave it to 346 00:23:11,832 --> 00:23:14,610 chance. He said, let me tell you what that is. Let me tell you how 347 00:23:14,674 --> 00:23:17,895 you do that. Be completely humble 348 00:23:20,950 --> 00:23:21,584 and gentle. 349 00:23:24,270 --> 00:23:28,103 That's something I've got to work on. Something I've been working 350 00:23:28,201 --> 00:23:31,653 on. Yeah. You know, I've been told 351 00:23:32,169 --> 00:23:35,347 a number of times in my life that I 352 00:23:36,670 --> 00:23:40,397 intimidate people. And I think, 353 00:23:41,139 --> 00:23:44,980 I'm 5'8. How could I 354 00:23:44,980 --> 00:23:48,828 intimidate somebody? But apparently, you know, I have 355 00:23:48,893 --> 00:23:52,538 a certain way of speaking sometimes and I have a 356 00:23:52,538 --> 00:23:55,604 certain look. You know, maybe give people sometimes. 357 00:23:57,937 --> 00:23:59,518 And Michelle has pointed out to me 358 00:24:02,673 --> 00:24:06,290 that I need to do something about that. And I'm trying. 359 00:24:06,629 --> 00:24:10,262 I really am. I mean, I've been thinking about it 360 00:24:10,585 --> 00:24:11,618 and trying. 361 00:24:15,684 --> 00:24:18,844 Humble, gentle, be patient. 362 00:24:20,783 --> 00:24:24,454 Bearing with one another in love. Make every 363 00:24:24,631 --> 00:24:28,076 effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 364 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:32,940 That's how you live a life worthy of the calling that you have 365 00:24:32,988 --> 00:24:36,575 received. And now when it 366 00:24:36,575 --> 00:24:39,793 comes to yourself, you know, it's kind of easy to 367 00:24:40,701 --> 00:24:44,091 maybe fool yourself into thinking, hey, I got this. I'm humble. 368 00:24:44,496 --> 00:24:45,794 Let me tell you how humble I am. 369 00:24:49,635 --> 00:24:52,888 I'm gentle. What do you mean I'm not gentle? You know, 370 00:24:54,102 --> 00:24:57,761 I'm patient. I gave you 12 371 00:24:57,761 --> 00:25:01,052 seconds to change your mind. 372 00:25:03,672 --> 00:25:07,032 But of course, these things only matter and they only come 373 00:25:07,129 --> 00:25:10,537 out in relation to others. Yeah. 374 00:25:12,953 --> 00:25:16,697 Bear, bear with one another in love and make every 375 00:25:16,729 --> 00:25:20,006 effort to live in the unity of the Spirit. 376 00:25:20,649 --> 00:25:22,143 I think I'd rather just be religious. 377 00:25:25,121 --> 00:25:26,043 This is hard. Right. 378 00:25:29,405 --> 00:25:32,786 But why? Why should we do this? Because there is one body 379 00:25:34,787 --> 00:25:38,555 and one Spirit. And one 380 00:25:39,390 --> 00:25:42,890 faith, one baptism, one Lord, one 381 00:25:43,002 --> 00:25:46,631 hope that you were called to when you were 382 00:25:46,679 --> 00:25:49,698 called. One God and Father of all, 383 00:25:50,533 --> 00:25:54,049 who is over all and in all and through all. And one 384 00:25:54,306 --> 00:25:57,999 isn't always the loneliest number. That's right. And if you don't 385 00:25:58,015 --> 00:26:01,628 get that reference, ask your parents or your grandparents. 386 00:26:03,201 --> 00:26:05,707 One is the number of unity. 387 00:26:10,998 --> 00:26:14,187 Well, okay, we heard that. That was pretty intimidating. 388 00:26:17,139 --> 00:26:19,848 What's the value though? I mean, what do you get? 389 00:26:21,460 --> 00:26:25,252 Well, unity— when I taught on this 390 00:26:25,623 --> 00:26:29,242 a couple of Wednesday nights ago, I told I told the 391 00:26:29,242 --> 00:26:32,421 people, I said, I was going to say unity is very 392 00:26:32,598 --> 00:26:35,632 underrated. I wrote that down in my notes and then I went, 393 00:26:37,036 --> 00:26:40,612 very is such a lame word. I mean, you know, 394 00:26:40,628 --> 00:26:44,468 nobody uses that anymore. I will use extremely. 395 00:26:45,202 --> 00:26:48,037 And I went, that is exactly the same word as very. 396 00:26:50,071 --> 00:26:53,865 And then the Lord dropped a meaningful adjective 397 00:26:53,865 --> 00:26:57,026 in my heart. Wow. Unity is foolishly 398 00:26:58,174 --> 00:27:00,662 underrated. Foolishly. 399 00:27:04,534 --> 00:27:07,988 We hear sermon after sermon about everything from 400 00:27:07,988 --> 00:27:11,528 evangelism to purity to how to get your miracle. 401 00:27:11,722 --> 00:27:15,460 And I'm not saying that any of those are wrong, 402 00:27:16,846 --> 00:27:20,468 but we rarely hear on a 403 00:27:20,468 --> 00:27:24,213 sermon about how to biblically live a life worthy 404 00:27:24,439 --> 00:27:26,715 of the calling that you've received, 405 00:27:28,651 --> 00:27:30,945 which seems to be a pretty important thing. 406 00:27:32,790 --> 00:27:36,520 And therefore, because I think in large part 407 00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:40,056 because of the imbalance in that teaching-wise, 408 00:27:40,770 --> 00:27:44,153 we willingly sacrifice unity for these other things. Yes. 409 00:27:46,566 --> 00:27:49,980 We willingly sacrifice and will cast aside those who 410 00:27:50,450 --> 00:27:53,913 aren't with us on these other things. 411 00:27:55,558 --> 00:27:59,103 And we're like Esau who will— who sold his 412 00:27:59,216 --> 00:28:02,762 birthright, something he couldn't see, for a bowl of 413 00:28:02,762 --> 00:28:04,268 stew, something I want right now. 414 00:28:06,718 --> 00:28:10,359 Yes. And the Scripture calls him ungodly. So 415 00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:14,059 what is unity worth? Okay, we may not be able to necessarily 416 00:28:14,059 --> 00:28:17,848 see it. And let me just say that when I say unity, I'm not talking 417 00:28:17,848 --> 00:28:21,572 about unanimity. I'm not talking about agreeing about everything. 418 00:28:21,925 --> 00:28:25,664 I'm talking about a life lived with others that is humble, 419 00:28:26,483 --> 00:28:30,254 gentle, patient, bearing with one another 420 00:28:30,816 --> 00:28:34,411 in love, making every effort to keep the 421 00:28:34,427 --> 00:28:37,733 unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. That's what I'm talking about. 422 00:28:37,893 --> 00:28:40,381 Yeah. Psalm 423 00:28:40,381 --> 00:28:43,928 133: Behold how 424 00:28:44,056 --> 00:28:47,877 good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity. For there 425 00:28:48,070 --> 00:28:51,768 the Lord has commanded His blessing, life forevermore. 426 00:28:53,151 --> 00:28:55,774 Eternal life resides in unity. 427 00:28:57,828 --> 00:29:01,515 And what is eternal life? Well, Jesus defined it in 428 00:29:02,097 --> 00:29:05,884 John chapter 17, verse 3. He said, Now this is 429 00:29:05,932 --> 00:29:09,692 eternal life. This is pretty clear as you can 430 00:29:09,724 --> 00:29:12,576 get. This is eternal life, to know You. 431 00:29:14,426 --> 00:29:18,274 The only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. And 432 00:29:18,274 --> 00:29:21,623 the psalmist says that resides where we dwell 433 00:29:21,752 --> 00:29:22,895 together in unity. 434 00:29:26,534 --> 00:29:30,362 The chapter I was teaching out of on that night, Colossians 435 00:29:31,173 --> 00:29:34,378 chapter 2, I got hung up. I got hung— 436 00:29:34,798 --> 00:29:38,461 actually, Wayne had taught a couple of weeks earlier and he got hung up 437 00:29:38,913 --> 00:29:42,560 and didn't get very far in his chapter. And I thought, well, cool, I can 438 00:29:42,576 --> 00:29:46,194 do that. And so I got— and we're both 439 00:29:46,226 --> 00:29:49,350 from the '60s, so we understand hung up. And we— 440 00:29:50,312 --> 00:29:53,612 but I got hung up, and I got hung up on this. Paul says, my 441 00:29:53,676 --> 00:29:57,410 goal, my goal in writing 442 00:29:57,442 --> 00:30:01,031 to the Colossians and all of the people that I've not met personally, 443 00:30:01,367 --> 00:30:04,492 my goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and 444 00:30:04,492 --> 00:30:08,257 united in love so that they 445 00:30:08,337 --> 00:30:11,429 may have the full riches of complete understanding 446 00:30:12,422 --> 00:30:16,103 in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, 447 00:30:16,557 --> 00:30:20,190 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and 448 00:30:20,190 --> 00:30:21,720 knowledge. I kind of went, 449 00:30:24,722 --> 00:30:28,452 wow! Wow! Being brought together in complete 450 00:30:28,549 --> 00:30:32,324 unity, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. That's 451 00:30:32,324 --> 00:30:35,367 worth something! Yes. I do believe. 452 00:30:40,260 --> 00:30:43,994 And later on in Colossians 3, Wayne taught that 453 00:30:44,363 --> 00:30:46,959 chapter this last Wednesday. I'm going to go there in just a minute, 454 00:30:47,327 --> 00:30:50,901 but it says 455 00:30:51,638 --> 00:30:55,020 in verse 14, it says that regarding the 456 00:30:55,036 --> 00:30:58,705 virtues, all of the virtues, the things that we go, okay, 457 00:30:58,785 --> 00:31:02,519 that's good stuff. It says that love 458 00:31:02,893 --> 00:31:05,925 binds them all together in perfect 459 00:31:06,602 --> 00:31:07,054 unity. 460 00:31:10,593 --> 00:31:14,443 One more. John chapter 17. Jesus praying on 461 00:31:14,443 --> 00:31:18,067 the night before He went to the cross, praying for us. He says, I'm not 462 00:31:18,067 --> 00:31:21,616 just praying for the people in this room, Father. I'm praying for 463 00:31:21,616 --> 00:31:25,423 those who are going to come to believe on Me through 464 00:31:25,423 --> 00:31:29,231 their message. I have given them the glory that You 465 00:31:29,231 --> 00:31:32,949 gave Me, that they may be one as We are one, I in them 466 00:31:32,949 --> 00:31:36,122 and You in Me, so that they may be brought to 467 00:31:36,122 --> 00:31:39,749 complete unity then the world will know that you 468 00:31:39,749 --> 00:31:43,557 sent me and have loved them even as you've loved me. 469 00:31:43,557 --> 00:31:46,731 How many of you know someone who won't have 470 00:31:46,731 --> 00:31:50,538 anything to do with the faith or with Christianity 471 00:31:50,538 --> 00:31:53,891 or won't go to church or just is an unbeliever 472 00:31:53,891 --> 00:31:57,045 because of what they saw in the church? Yes. 473 00:31:58,327 --> 00:32:02,161 Because of something that happened in church. I'm not asking you to raise 474 00:32:02,194 --> 00:32:05,986 your hand, but I'm— because I know all of you know somebody who 475 00:32:05,986 --> 00:32:09,504 fits in that description. And Jesus says, if we'll 476 00:32:09,698 --> 00:32:13,161 live a life worthy of the life we've been called to, if 477 00:32:13,161 --> 00:32:16,945 we'll do what He's talking about here, then the 478 00:32:16,945 --> 00:32:20,671 world will know. They'll know Jesus came from God. 479 00:32:21,108 --> 00:32:23,555 They'll know that God loves them. Amen. 480 00:32:27,547 --> 00:32:31,104 Well, now wait a minute, preacher. Are you asking us to compromise 481 00:32:31,284 --> 00:32:32,083 what we believe? 482 00:32:35,478 --> 00:32:38,998 Hmm. Yes 483 00:32:39,336 --> 00:32:42,824 and no. And it also 484 00:32:42,824 --> 00:32:46,296 depends on what you're talking about. Because you see, there are 485 00:32:46,296 --> 00:32:49,384 certain things that are essential 486 00:32:50,630 --> 00:32:54,106 in the faith. And all of them connect 487 00:32:54,106 --> 00:32:57,729 directly to Jesus Christ. Yeah. The essentials 488 00:32:57,938 --> 00:33:01,336 all connect directly to Him. Who He 489 00:33:02,266 --> 00:33:06,033 was, who He is, why He came, that He died on 490 00:33:06,033 --> 00:33:09,463 the cross for our sins, that God raised Him from the dead 491 00:33:10,922 --> 00:33:14,337 for our justification. Those are essential 492 00:33:14,385 --> 00:33:17,815 things. Other things are important. 493 00:33:20,150 --> 00:33:23,765 But— and I did write this down because this is 494 00:33:23,895 --> 00:33:26,781 something that hopefully will get written in here. 495 00:33:28,517 --> 00:33:32,066 Important does not equal essential. Right. 496 00:33:33,152 --> 00:33:36,652 We don't do well in this country, in our culture with 497 00:33:36,652 --> 00:33:40,007 nuance. We want a soundbite. 498 00:33:41,783 --> 00:33:44,850 We want something that we can just go, oh yeah, there it is. I got 499 00:33:44,850 --> 00:33:48,626 that. You know, how many of you had a What Would 500 00:33:48,675 --> 00:33:50,768 Jesus Do bracelet? 501 00:33:52,894 --> 00:33:56,494 I had one. Yeah. How many did you 502 00:33:56,494 --> 00:33:59,214 have? Many. Many. 503 00:34:00,599 --> 00:34:04,399 Yeah. You know, the only issue with— the only problem that I found 504 00:34:04,399 --> 00:34:07,910 with that is that when I would look at that bracelet and think, oh, what 505 00:34:07,910 --> 00:34:11,737 would Jesus do? More often than not, what I came up with was, 506 00:34:12,116 --> 00:34:15,829 What do I really want to do? Yeah, I could see Jesus doing that, you 507 00:34:15,829 --> 00:34:19,629 know. And then 508 00:34:19,629 --> 00:34:23,214 I do that because, hey, what would 509 00:34:23,214 --> 00:34:26,852 Jesus do? You know. 510 00:34:27,210 --> 00:34:30,896 We like sound bites. And 511 00:34:30,976 --> 00:34:34,377 rather than necessarily thinking things through. And what is 512 00:34:34,426 --> 00:34:38,133 important, what is essential, we all have to. 513 00:34:38,181 --> 00:34:41,216 That's right. Yeah. But what is important 514 00:34:42,017 --> 00:34:44,100 to one may not be important to another. 515 00:34:46,019 --> 00:34:49,757 You say, well, now Paul said to watch your life and doctrine closely. 516 00:34:50,895 --> 00:34:54,436 Yeah, let me give you that complete quote. Watch your life and 517 00:34:54,436 --> 00:34:58,138 doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, 518 00:34:58,827 --> 00:35:02,609 you will save both yourself and your hearers. Well, there it is right there. Well, 519 00:35:02,625 --> 00:35:06,313 but you know what's not right there? Watch their life 520 00:35:06,442 --> 00:35:09,116 and doctrine closely. Watch their 521 00:35:10,486 --> 00:35:13,386 life and doctrine closely. It's watch your life and doctrine closely. 522 00:35:15,820 --> 00:35:19,599 Jesus had a lot to say about people who felt like it was 523 00:35:19,615 --> 00:35:23,186 their job to watch their life and doctrine closely. 524 00:35:25,416 --> 00:35:28,770 You know this passage. You know where I'm going. Do not judge or you too 525 00:35:28,835 --> 00:35:32,158 will be judged. For in the same way you 526 00:35:32,336 --> 00:35:36,066 judge others, you will be judged. And with the 527 00:35:36,066 --> 00:35:39,910 measure that you use, it will be measured to you. If those last 528 00:35:39,910 --> 00:35:43,061 2 phrases don't just scare you straight, 529 00:35:43,820 --> 00:35:45,097 then there's no straight in you. Yeah. 530 00:35:48,250 --> 00:35:51,635 The way you judge is how you're going to be 531 00:35:51,635 --> 00:35:55,341 judged. And I, you know, 532 00:35:55,619 --> 00:35:59,323 this has kind of 2 sides to it. Because I— 533 00:35:59,404 --> 00:36:02,644 it's not just a warning that says, well, don't be 534 00:36:02,644 --> 00:36:06,432 judgmental because you're going to get that back at you, but it's also 535 00:36:06,432 --> 00:36:09,302 another side that says, hey, if you don't judge— 536 00:36:14,740 --> 00:36:18,293 that's what I want. That's what I need. 537 00:36:18,855 --> 00:36:20,530 I don't know about you, but I need that. Amen. 538 00:36:24,748 --> 00:36:28,167 With the measure that you use, it'll be measured to you. Nowhere 539 00:36:28,458 --> 00:36:31,940 does God rebuke anyone for being too merciful! 540 00:36:32,037 --> 00:36:35,697 Right. Nowhere does God rebuke 541 00:36:35,697 --> 00:36:39,275 anyone for being too forgiving, for being 542 00:36:39,275 --> 00:36:42,956 too tenderhearted, for being too kind! And 543 00:36:42,956 --> 00:36:46,635 then as soon as Jesus said this, He also went 544 00:36:46,635 --> 00:36:50,416 on to talk about, well, you know, it's pretty 545 00:36:50,416 --> 00:36:54,198 easy to see that speck in your your brother's 546 00:36:54,198 --> 00:36:57,981 eye, but you're looking through a log in your 547 00:36:57,981 --> 00:37:01,558 own. It might be one of your specks. I don't 548 00:37:01,558 --> 00:37:04,318 know. Romans 14, that chapter is 549 00:37:04,318 --> 00:37:07,896 foundational in my walk with God, has been 550 00:37:07,896 --> 00:37:11,678 foundational in my life and my walk with God. 551 00:37:11,678 --> 00:37:15,358 And I would encourage you to read Romans 14. 552 00:37:15,358 --> 00:37:19,038 and go through it. I'm not going to unpack it 553 00:37:19,038 --> 00:37:22,310 this morning. I'm going to mention one 554 00:37:22,310 --> 00:37:25,989 verse, but I would encourage you to do that. 555 00:37:27,090 --> 00:37:30,667 And now it's talking about issues of the day and 556 00:37:31,084 --> 00:37:34,868 issues of the culture. And so it might be things that we could just 557 00:37:34,868 --> 00:37:38,685 pass off as, oh, well, that was for then. This is— but I believe 558 00:37:38,942 --> 00:37:42,534 that the principle that Romans 14 is bringing 559 00:37:43,111 --> 00:37:46,868 is an eternal principle. And 560 00:37:46,868 --> 00:37:48,807 it's contained in this one verse. 561 00:37:50,827 --> 00:37:53,991 Who are you to judge someone else's servant? This is Paul talking! 562 00:37:56,552 --> 00:38:00,385 To their own master servants stand or fall, and they will 563 00:38:00,481 --> 00:38:04,280 stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. If the Lord 564 00:38:04,280 --> 00:38:07,027 can make me stand, He can make anybody stand. 565 00:38:09,304 --> 00:38:13,085 Because I know Right. I know me. 566 00:38:17,313 --> 00:38:20,920 As an adult, hopefully you can understand that 567 00:38:21,275 --> 00:38:24,721 you can only control the decisions and 568 00:38:24,801 --> 00:38:26,032 actions of one person. 569 00:38:28,805 --> 00:38:32,030 Even as a parent, I mean, as a parent, we kind of think for a 570 00:38:32,030 --> 00:38:35,578 while that we can control some others, but we find out we're disabused of that 571 00:38:35,594 --> 00:38:36,449 notion pretty quickly. 572 00:38:40,243 --> 00:38:43,243 Yeah. And children consider it appropriate to complain. 573 00:38:44,415 --> 00:38:48,241 Well, Johnny gets to do it. Mary gets 574 00:38:48,241 --> 00:38:51,801 to do it. Why is it that I'm 575 00:38:51,801 --> 00:38:53,955 not the one who gets any of that? 576 00:38:57,067 --> 00:39:00,672 Paul says over in 1 Corinthians 13 when he's talking 577 00:39:00,769 --> 00:39:03,409 about love, I used to act like a child. 578 00:39:05,752 --> 00:39:09,077 But now that I've become a man, I put away 579 00:39:09,077 --> 00:39:12,911 childish ways. Yes. 580 00:39:12,911 --> 00:39:16,433 Yet we're willing to take a stand on 581 00:39:16,481 --> 00:39:19,569 certain issues or positions to the exclusion 582 00:39:20,405 --> 00:39:22,356 of others who are not where we are 583 00:39:24,184 --> 00:39:27,241 and not about what we are about 584 00:39:28,066 --> 00:39:31,479 and such things. You know, when I was younger, I used to 585 00:39:31,550 --> 00:39:34,569 think that anyone who disagreed with me was wrong. 586 00:39:36,560 --> 00:39:40,367 And now that I have gotten older, I know that anyone 587 00:39:40,416 --> 00:39:44,256 who disagrees with me is someone who disagrees 588 00:39:44,370 --> 00:39:44,677 with me. 589 00:39:48,396 --> 00:39:52,243 Right. And it may be that I'm right and they're wrong. It 590 00:39:52,292 --> 00:39:55,647 may be that they're right and I'm wrong. It may be that we're both right. 591 00:39:55,712 --> 00:39:59,282 I don't know how that works, but, you know, there's the 592 00:39:59,282 --> 00:40:02,594 sovereignty of God and free will of man. You know, there are a lot of 593 00:40:02,594 --> 00:40:06,376 things I don't understand. And probably the most likely thing is 594 00:40:06,472 --> 00:40:07,636 we're both wrong. Hello. 595 00:40:11,319 --> 00:40:15,051 But we're willing to take these things and we're willing to 596 00:40:15,051 --> 00:40:18,350 exclude others. And so we forfeit 597 00:40:18,543 --> 00:40:21,853 unity. We forfeit koinonia. 598 00:40:23,048 --> 00:40:26,425 We forfeit the life to which we are 599 00:40:26,441 --> 00:40:30,219 called, something so completely 600 00:40:30,477 --> 00:40:32,142 other than worldliness. 601 00:40:38,731 --> 00:40:42,510 You should, of course, not compromise on any conviction 602 00:40:42,623 --> 00:40:46,315 God has given you. If God has 603 00:40:46,347 --> 00:40:50,035 convicted you of something— I remember Wayne telling a story 604 00:40:50,132 --> 00:40:53,222 about Don Finto one One time the pastor up at 605 00:40:53,222 --> 00:40:56,925 Belmont was preaching 606 00:40:56,957 --> 00:40:59,463 one Sunday night and he 607 00:41:01,257 --> 00:41:04,797 apparently after Sunday evenings, he would go home and have ice cream. My 608 00:41:04,877 --> 00:41:08,110 kind of man. He'd go home and have ice cream. 609 00:41:08,742 --> 00:41:12,291 And one Sunday night he went home and he 610 00:41:12,291 --> 00:41:14,679 started to get his ice cream and the Holy Spirit said, what are you doing? 611 00:41:16,597 --> 00:41:19,847 He said, well, I'm I'm having ice cream. You don't, 612 00:41:21,154 --> 00:41:24,705 you don't really care if I— do you? 613 00:41:27,270 --> 00:41:31,076 Caused a conviction in his heart. Now that didn't make 614 00:41:31,093 --> 00:41:34,845 me stop eating ice cream. But if it 615 00:41:34,845 --> 00:41:38,630 made— but if Romans 14 at the end 616 00:41:38,630 --> 00:41:41,154 says, whatever is not from faith is sin. Right. 617 00:41:43,608 --> 00:41:45,984 So for Don, that was going to be a sin. 618 00:41:48,742 --> 00:41:52,549 I could give other examples, but that's enough. If you have a 619 00:41:52,549 --> 00:41:56,386 conviction, it's for you. It is for you, and 620 00:41:56,386 --> 00:41:59,760 you need to keep— and it may be something that nobody else thinks, well, what 621 00:41:59,760 --> 00:42:03,392 in the world's wrong with that? Whatever is not from faith is 622 00:42:03,441 --> 00:42:06,876 sin. So it's for you. And I'm not saying 623 00:42:07,069 --> 00:42:10,551 compromise that. What I'm saying is don't tie it up in a package and put 624 00:42:10,551 --> 00:42:12,694 it on your brother's back and go, here, you carry this too. That's right. 625 00:42:15,033 --> 00:42:18,503 That's right. There are 626 00:42:18,568 --> 00:42:22,312 conflicts that exist. I'm getting close to closing 627 00:42:22,344 --> 00:42:26,176 here, guys. So there are conflicts that exist in our world 628 00:42:26,531 --> 00:42:28,935 that are completely irreconcilable. 629 00:42:31,221 --> 00:42:34,538 There is no way to bring them together. 630 00:42:35,730 --> 00:42:39,449 And I used to think, how's this going to work, 631 00:42:39,514 --> 00:42:43,344 God? I mean, we get to heaven and there are going 632 00:42:43,344 --> 00:42:47,115 to be people there who 633 00:42:49,092 --> 00:42:52,788 killed other people's loved ones who are 634 00:42:52,788 --> 00:42:56,217 there, or, you know, you bulldozed my house, 635 00:42:57,293 --> 00:43:00,618 you ruined my life. How is that going to get reconciled? 636 00:43:04,731 --> 00:43:08,475 And yet When we are before the throne, 637 00:43:10,433 --> 00:43:11,884 all of those matters will just be forgotten. 638 00:43:14,860 --> 00:43:17,985 The answer to how they're going to get reconciled 639 00:43:18,617 --> 00:43:21,774 is the answer: Jesus. 640 00:43:24,279 --> 00:43:25,693 He's how they'll get reconciled. 641 00:43:29,282 --> 00:43:32,996 Wayne taught last Wednesday from Colossians 3, and he focused on 642 00:43:33,451 --> 00:43:37,125 on 2 verses. And these are the 2 verses he 643 00:43:37,125 --> 00:43:40,851 focused on. Since then you have been raised 644 00:43:40,851 --> 00:43:44,675 with Christ, set your hearts on things above, 645 00:43:45,738 --> 00:43:49,489 where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds 646 00:43:49,666 --> 00:43:52,985 on things above, not on earthly 647 00:43:53,050 --> 00:43:56,631 things. And then he 648 00:43:56,631 --> 00:44:00,035 emphasized, you do it! You do it! This isn't 649 00:44:00,035 --> 00:44:03,832 something That the Holy Spirit makes you do. It's 650 00:44:03,832 --> 00:44:07,153 something you do. You take your mind and set it up there. 651 00:44:10,245 --> 00:44:14,064 Down here we have differences that seem so important, 652 00:44:15,547 --> 00:44:18,513 but there our minds are set on things 653 00:44:19,754 --> 00:44:22,979 that cause these divides to just, just fade away. 654 00:44:28,871 --> 00:44:32,218 And we can already, we can 655 00:44:32,266 --> 00:44:35,824 already be there if we will do that, if we'll set our 656 00:44:35,824 --> 00:44:39,290 minds there rather than on this 657 00:44:39,786 --> 00:44:43,113 here. My mom and dad are over there. 658 00:44:44,974 --> 00:44:48,483 My dad was a pastor. He couldn't do anything without my 659 00:44:48,500 --> 00:44:50,050 mom. Uh, 660 00:44:52,238 --> 00:44:54,788 And through the years, I saw them, 661 00:44:56,273 --> 00:44:59,905 uh, I saw them be despised. 662 00:45:00,530 --> 00:45:02,090 I saw them be, uh, 663 00:45:04,020 --> 00:45:07,430 betrayed. I saw them be 664 00:45:07,623 --> 00:45:09,778 hurt a bunch of different levels, 665 00:45:11,948 --> 00:45:15,627 most of it in church. Uh, 666 00:45:15,627 --> 00:45:19,123 But I also saw them deal with 667 00:45:19,123 --> 00:45:22,926 those things. I mean, they had 668 00:45:22,926 --> 00:45:26,425 their moments for sure, but 669 00:45:26,425 --> 00:45:29,923 them deal with those things 670 00:45:29,923 --> 00:45:32,508 with humility, with 671 00:45:32,508 --> 00:45:35,854 kindness, with patience, 672 00:45:35,854 --> 00:45:38,744 bearing with those who 673 00:45:38,744 --> 00:45:42,395 offended. Seeking the unity 674 00:45:42,395 --> 00:45:45,740 of the Spirit in the bond of 675 00:45:45,740 --> 00:45:49,390 peace.. And when my dad died, 676 00:45:49,390 --> 00:45:53,039 it was— it's been 18 years ago 677 00:45:53,039 --> 00:45:56,746 now. Whew. My 678 00:45:56,746 --> 00:46:00,282 mom passed away before that, but when my dad died, I put together a 679 00:46:00,282 --> 00:46:03,831 slideshow for the viewing. And the last 680 00:46:03,831 --> 00:46:07,670 slide that I put on there had a picture of my dad 681 00:46:08,400 --> 00:46:10,120 He had a haircut about like mine. 682 00:46:12,902 --> 00:46:15,639 And he had 1916 to 683 00:46:16,380 --> 00:46:19,986 2008. And then I, for 684 00:46:19,986 --> 00:46:22,158 some reason, I wrote, a life well lived. 685 00:46:27,618 --> 00:46:31,207 And I think that's kind of the same thing as a 686 00:46:31,336 --> 00:46:32,726 life worthy. Yeah. 687 00:46:36,622 --> 00:46:40,343 What a glorious day that will be. We 688 00:46:40,343 --> 00:46:43,742 used to sing an old hymn, Sing the wondrous love of 689 00:46:43,790 --> 00:46:47,632 Jesus, of his mercy and his grace. In 690 00:46:47,728 --> 00:46:51,087 the mansions bright and blessed, he's prepared for us a place. 691 00:46:53,267 --> 00:46:55,181 Let us then be true and faithful. 692 00:46:58,475 --> 00:47:02,261 Something serving every day. Just 693 00:47:02,261 --> 00:47:05,777 one glimpse of Him in glory will the 694 00:47:05,777 --> 00:47:07,503 toils of life repay. 695 00:47:09,560 --> 00:47:13,039 What a glorious day that will be. But if we are willing 696 00:47:16,615 --> 00:47:19,972 to not impose our personal convictions, our personal 697 00:47:20,086 --> 00:47:23,086 ideas, our personal— the important things— 698 00:47:28,375 --> 00:47:32,074 On others and be completely humble and gentle, 699 00:47:32,736 --> 00:47:36,434 patient, and bear with one another in 700 00:47:36,450 --> 00:47:40,145 love, then 701 00:47:40,209 --> 00:47:43,327 we can come to complete unity. And the blessings 702 00:47:44,554 --> 00:47:48,077 that are over there, we can bring down here. 703 00:47:48,305 --> 00:47:51,872 Amen. The healing that's 704 00:47:51,872 --> 00:47:55,558 over there, Can be brought down here. That's, 705 00:47:55,558 --> 00:47:59,147 that's something worth doing. That's a life 706 00:47:59,147 --> 00:48:02,736 worth living. Would you stand with me? Those 707 00:48:02,736 --> 00:48:05,937 who are going to pray with people, come. 708 00:48:05,937 --> 00:48:09,332 Whether you're worldly or whether you're 709 00:48:09,332 --> 00:48:12,727 kingdom-minded, life in a fallen world is 710 00:48:12,727 --> 00:48:16,316 hard. And if you have something that you need 711 00:48:16,316 --> 00:48:19,808 Prayer with, prayer for these brothers and 712 00:48:19,808 --> 00:48:23,591 sisters are here. And I want you to just come and 713 00:48:23,591 --> 00:48:26,792 ask them to pray with you. Engage in some 714 00:48:26,792 --> 00:48:30,594 fellowship. Okay? We're going to worship. 715 00:48:31,478 --> 00:48:34,177 If you don't need to come, worship with us for a few minutes.