1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,680 , Marcel: we're going to continue a sermon series that we 2 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:04,710 started last week, Become More. 3 00:00:07,817 --> 00:00:08,417 There you go. 4 00:00:08,417 --> 00:00:09,347 I like that for sure. 5 00:00:09,357 --> 00:00:09,847 All right. 6 00:00:10,217 --> 00:00:12,177 And so it's called Become More in 24. 7 00:00:12,177 --> 00:00:13,327 That's the slogan of the year. 8 00:00:13,327 --> 00:00:16,447 So you can hashtag that because we want to become more. 9 00:00:16,447 --> 00:00:17,457 We want to be transformed. 10 00:00:17,457 --> 00:00:18,217 We want to grow. 11 00:00:18,227 --> 00:00:21,707 We want to be the spiritual, mature men and women of Christ 12 00:00:21,707 --> 00:00:24,027 that God has designed for us. 13 00:00:25,597 --> 00:00:30,157 And so we're studying now 2 Peter chapter 1 and some would call this the ladder of 14 00:00:30,157 --> 00:00:32,336 transformation or the ladder of growth. 15 00:00:32,607 --> 00:00:35,306 We're going to be studying out the attributes listed in 16 00:00:35,306 --> 00:00:38,427 2 Peter 1 verses 5 through 7. 17 00:00:38,776 --> 00:00:39,976 And so there actually is a. 18 00:00:40,056 --> 00:00:41,986 series, uh, handout and guide. 19 00:00:41,986 --> 00:00:45,696 I know they gave out some hard copies last week, but on our church app, if you just 20 00:00:45,696 --> 00:00:50,456 go to the inbox, uh, you'll see a series, a guide there that can help you understand 21 00:00:50,456 --> 00:00:55,136 a little bit more of the context for this letter written by the apostle Peter, who 22 00:00:55,136 --> 00:01:00,336 was one of Jesus's top friends, top, uh, protegees, and was one of the main leaders 23 00:01:00,336 --> 00:01:02,356 in the church in the first century. 24 00:01:03,092 --> 00:01:05,242 And so one of the things to recap, we know we have some 25 00:01:05,242 --> 00:01:06,592 people here that weren't with us. 26 00:01:06,592 --> 00:01:10,952 In fact, I heard that we have some brothers and sisters from Taiwan and 27 00:01:10,952 --> 00:01:13,182 Canada that are in here in the house. 28 00:01:13,182 --> 00:01:14,642 Okay, is that y'all over here? 29 00:01:14,852 --> 00:01:16,471 Can you go ahead and stand on up? 30 00:01:16,822 --> 00:01:17,271 Let's go. 31 00:01:17,271 --> 00:01:20,401 And we have Vancouver as well. 32 00:01:20,401 --> 00:01:21,112 Come on. 33 00:01:22,420 --> 00:01:24,912 If you didn't know, we are an international fellowship. 34 00:01:24,912 --> 00:01:28,182 So we have churches and brothers and sisters all across the globe. 35 00:01:28,192 --> 00:01:28,702 Welcome. 36 00:01:28,982 --> 00:01:30,122 I wish I knew. 37 00:01:30,342 --> 00:01:35,752 Uh, how to say hello in those particular languages, but hello, uh, so there you go. 38 00:01:36,021 --> 00:01:36,542 All right. 39 00:01:37,551 --> 00:01:38,192 There you go. 40 00:01:38,502 --> 00:01:38,902 All right. 41 00:01:38,912 --> 00:01:46,282 So we learned last week here is that, that God desires for you and me to not 42 00:01:46,282 --> 00:01:52,662 only be converted in Christ, but to become more like Christ so that in our 43 00:01:52,662 --> 00:01:58,232 nature and our character, our desires, the way we think to be more aligned. 44 00:01:58,612 --> 00:02:04,262 With God our creator and God has given us everything we need But 45 00:02:04,602 --> 00:02:11,062 Peter tells us we need to make every effort To add to our faith. 46 00:02:11,782 --> 00:02:15,812 And so although God has provided all he has given us the tools or resources 47 00:02:15,991 --> 00:02:20,091 Everything but now we have to actually utilize those things so that our 48 00:02:20,091 --> 00:02:25,782 faith Our lives can be transformed and we can become more like God. 49 00:02:25,782 --> 00:02:30,361 And so we talked about this and we'll share this real quickly again, is that at 50 00:02:30,361 --> 00:02:38,832 the intersection of God's empowerment and human effort, transformation takes place. 51 00:02:39,341 --> 00:02:42,811 But if you remove either of these, it's like lemonade. 52 00:02:42,811 --> 00:02:46,551 If you remove the lemon or the water, you're not going to get lemonade. 53 00:02:46,997 --> 00:02:50,897 And so when we remove one of these, we won't see the transformation take place. 54 00:02:51,137 --> 00:02:56,286 But when we have those and they intersect, we begin and we continue on 55 00:02:56,286 --> 00:02:59,477 this transformation journey and process. 56 00:02:59,746 --> 00:03:03,007 And so today, we're going to be looking at goodness. 57 00:03:04,016 --> 00:03:05,457 Let's go ahead and let's pray. 58 00:03:05,457 --> 00:03:08,597 Father, thank you so much for the chance already to worship you. 59 00:03:08,597 --> 00:03:12,007 I know, uh, just holding back from, from singing from my voice, just 60 00:03:12,017 --> 00:03:13,977 hearing the voices was so encouraging. 61 00:03:14,362 --> 00:03:18,442 To me, and it made me just think, wow, God, how pleased you are when you hear 62 00:03:18,442 --> 00:03:23,082 your children singing out to you and God, I pray right now for my voice to make it 63 00:03:23,082 --> 00:03:28,252 through, but I pray God that your word is communicated by the every soul will 64 00:03:28,252 --> 00:03:34,262 be, uh, inclined and inspired to, to make every effort to add to our faith. 65 00:03:34,302 --> 00:03:35,642 We pray in Jesus name. 66 00:03:35,772 --> 00:03:36,252 Amen. 67 00:03:36,962 --> 00:03:37,542 Amen. 68 00:03:37,542 --> 00:03:37,902 All right. 69 00:03:37,902 --> 00:03:38,612 So let's go ahead. 70 00:03:38,612 --> 00:03:40,862 Let's go to second Peter chapter one. 71 00:03:41,142 --> 00:03:45,082 Uh, again, you can look at the series handout to get more of an overview 72 00:03:45,102 --> 00:03:49,982 of the context of the letter, but he says here in verse three, his 73 00:03:49,982 --> 00:03:54,041 divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our 74 00:03:54,041 --> 00:03:59,942 knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness through these. 75 00:04:00,102 --> 00:04:02,772 He has given us very great and precious promises. 76 00:04:03,317 --> 00:04:06,957 So that through them, check it out again, this, this helps us understand everything. 77 00:04:07,187 --> 00:04:10,997 You may participate in the divine nature. 78 00:04:11,276 --> 00:04:14,756 Again, becoming more like God. 79 00:04:15,436 --> 00:04:19,336 Having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 80 00:04:19,555 --> 00:04:26,206 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness. 81 00:04:27,296 --> 00:04:28,736 We'll stop right there. 82 00:04:29,026 --> 00:04:32,776 One thing I want to mention as we talk about this adding to our faith, 83 00:04:32,996 --> 00:04:35,316 it's not necessarily like stages. 84 00:04:35,316 --> 00:04:38,266 Like first I got to get to the goodness stage and once I complete 85 00:04:38,266 --> 00:04:41,496 that stage then I can move on forward to the knowledge stage. 86 00:04:41,676 --> 00:04:43,396 It's more like ingredients. 87 00:04:44,337 --> 00:04:46,626 If you're baking something, or you're making something, 88 00:04:46,626 --> 00:04:47,857 you put the ingredients in. 89 00:04:47,857 --> 00:04:51,736 So you need all those ingredients in order for the transformation to take place. 90 00:04:51,746 --> 00:04:55,506 So it's not, Oh, let me focus on this area, and once I get to that area or 91 00:04:55,506 --> 00:04:57,066 arrive, then I can go on to another. 92 00:04:57,227 --> 00:05:01,417 No, we're all these, we can actually make every effort in our lives here. 93 00:05:01,767 --> 00:05:04,446 But we want to go ahead and look at this word, goodness. 94 00:05:04,926 --> 00:05:08,696 And now the Bible, this letter was written originally in Greek. 95 00:05:09,586 --> 00:05:12,936 And so this word in Greek is Arate. 96 00:05:13,026 --> 00:05:13,606 There you go. 97 00:05:13,606 --> 00:05:15,576 So that's my international language for the day. 98 00:05:16,706 --> 00:05:22,226 And this word really means moral excellence or moral goodness or virtue. 99 00:05:23,586 --> 00:05:28,916 So it's not goodness as in, uh, being really good or talented at something. 100 00:05:29,196 --> 00:05:31,296 It's not saying add talent to your faith. 101 00:05:31,676 --> 00:05:37,756 It's saying add goodness, moral excellence, moral goodness, moral 102 00:05:37,766 --> 00:05:41,906 purity, virtue to our faith. 103 00:05:42,216 --> 00:05:46,356 And here's what's really cool is that this same Greek word that's used in 104 00:05:46,356 --> 00:05:49,056 verse 5 is the same word in verse 3. 105 00:05:49,371 --> 00:05:53,151 When he says, by his own glory and goodness. 106 00:05:54,381 --> 00:05:55,281 Did you catch that? 107 00:05:56,042 --> 00:05:58,021 He has this goodness. 108 00:05:58,021 --> 00:05:59,561 That's who he is. 109 00:06:00,221 --> 00:06:05,301 So now we're being called to add to our faith what he is so that what? 110 00:06:05,371 --> 00:06:08,741 We will eventually become more like him. 111 00:06:09,821 --> 00:06:11,071 This is just so cool. 112 00:06:12,011 --> 00:06:14,401 It's like, God, we've already got a picture and a glimpse of this. 113 00:06:14,402 --> 00:06:18,681 And so you need to add what he's liking to your life. 114 00:06:20,371 --> 00:06:22,721 And so I started asking the question, okay, well, what 115 00:06:22,721 --> 00:06:25,371 does goodness look like then? 116 00:06:26,351 --> 00:06:28,861 What does this arete look like? 117 00:06:28,871 --> 00:06:31,681 Well, it means to do what's good. 118 00:06:31,691 --> 00:06:34,481 To do what's right morally. 119 00:06:35,351 --> 00:06:39,911 Being moral and righteous in our conduct, in our interactions, 120 00:06:40,341 --> 00:06:42,571 and in our dealings with others. 121 00:06:44,461 --> 00:06:51,261 A good or righteous life in response to God's mercy in our lives and 122 00:06:51,261 --> 00:06:53,852 therefore also doing good to others. 123 00:06:54,292 --> 00:06:55,311 You guys get what I'm saying. 124 00:06:55,861 --> 00:07:00,051 So my conduct is good because of the grace and mercy of God. 125 00:07:00,282 --> 00:07:03,081 And because of that grace and mercy in God, because of the character 126 00:07:03,081 --> 00:07:07,961 of God, I also want to do good to those I come in contact with. 127 00:07:09,431 --> 00:07:12,301 So living a morally excellent life. 128 00:07:12,301 --> 00:07:13,792 Now think about this for a second. 129 00:07:14,751 --> 00:07:20,282 Does anyone come into mind in all of history who lived an exemplary 130 00:07:20,681 --> 00:07:23,811 exemplary life of moral excellence? 131 00:07:25,102 --> 00:07:27,461 Jesus, right? 132 00:07:27,842 --> 00:07:29,592 Of course it's Jesus. 133 00:07:29,842 --> 00:07:34,441 Again, this is so cool because if you think about this, again, Jesus 134 00:07:34,501 --> 00:07:37,032 models and exemplifies what this is. 135 00:07:37,032 --> 00:07:38,621 He's the epitome of this. 136 00:07:38,782 --> 00:07:41,012 So when we think, well, what does goodness look like? 137 00:07:41,142 --> 00:07:42,842 All we need to think about and look to is. 138 00:07:43,236 --> 00:07:44,206 Jesus. 139 00:07:45,136 --> 00:07:48,296 His lifestyle, his character, his ambition. 140 00:07:49,666 --> 00:07:52,706 And, you know, Peter saw the goodness of Jesus. 141 00:07:52,706 --> 00:07:57,016 Again, he was one of his top followers, one of his top protégés, one of the 142 00:07:57,026 --> 00:07:59,106 leaders in the first century church. 143 00:07:59,556 --> 00:08:02,456 And so he saw this up close and personal. 144 00:08:03,106 --> 00:08:07,116 And now he challenges us and encourages and directs us, hey, 145 00:08:07,196 --> 00:08:10,166 become more like our Lord and Savior. 146 00:08:10,721 --> 00:08:15,341 And it's really cool in 2 Peter if we go down in the letter He says this for we 147 00:08:15,341 --> 00:08:19,551 did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our 148 00:08:19,551 --> 00:08:26,861 Lord Jesus Christ in power But we were eyewitnesses of his majesty He says we 149 00:08:26,861 --> 00:08:30,801 were eyewitnesses and he talks about it later on the transfiguration that Jesus 150 00:08:30,811 --> 00:08:34,900 has to talk about the splendor and the awe and the Miracles, but he also saw his 151 00:08:34,900 --> 00:08:40,802 majesty in his life and in his character and in his teachings And so it makes 152 00:08:40,802 --> 00:08:49,091 me think, okay, all right, we know what it means to add to goodness, but how 153 00:08:49,521 --> 00:08:52,301 then can we add goodness to our faith? 154 00:08:52,641 --> 00:08:57,102 And so here are a couple ways, and really how we add goodness is 155 00:08:57,102 --> 00:09:00,781 going to be how we add any of the things that are listed in 2 Peter. 156 00:09:00,781 --> 00:09:04,151 So they're really applicable to everything that we'll study out. 157 00:09:04,571 --> 00:09:08,151 But how do we add goodness to our faith and to our lives? 158 00:09:08,151 --> 00:09:09,122 Well, number one. 159 00:09:11,132 --> 00:09:17,162 We're going to always accomplish growth by praying to God, praying for these 160 00:09:17,172 --> 00:09:21,071 things, but we're not talking about just a simple, quick, Hey God, can you help 161 00:09:21,071 --> 00:09:23,252 me be good today, prayer, and that's it. 162 00:09:25,867 --> 00:09:29,307 Many years ago, my friend and former mentor, uh, Reese Nealon, 163 00:09:29,537 --> 00:09:33,197 we were, uh, having, uh, what we call a discipling time together. 164 00:09:33,197 --> 00:09:34,067 It's short in our church. 165 00:09:34,067 --> 00:09:35,226 We call it a D time. 166 00:09:35,227 --> 00:09:39,966 And praise God for discipleship partners and, and discipleship times. 167 00:09:39,967 --> 00:09:44,117 I, I, I just would not be here if it wasn't for God using people 168 00:09:44,117 --> 00:09:45,577 and those times in my life. 169 00:09:45,577 --> 00:09:46,477 You know what I'm saying? 170 00:09:47,146 --> 00:09:50,016 And so we're sitting there, Reese, and, and, and he gave me this challenge. 171 00:09:50,016 --> 00:09:52,867 He said, hey, why don't you go find out, uh, from your friends. 172 00:09:54,047 --> 00:09:57,727 Uh, like ask him, what are like three of your strengths and one weakness? 173 00:09:58,177 --> 00:10:01,867 So I went to all my close friends at the time and I asked and they gave me some 174 00:10:01,867 --> 00:10:06,386 feedback and almost to a tee, everybody said, well, the weakness, uh, is pride. 175 00:10:07,467 --> 00:10:09,266 I was like, man, these guys are so wrong. 176 00:10:13,107 --> 00:10:15,896 No, I didn't, but I'm sure in my heart I did, you know? 177 00:10:16,137 --> 00:10:18,927 And so I said, okay, you know, so I, so I came back and said, Reese, here you go. 178 00:10:18,927 --> 00:10:19,797 He goes, Hey, well, you know what? 179 00:10:19,797 --> 00:10:22,867 If you really want to grow after this, if you want to go after this and you 180 00:10:22,867 --> 00:10:25,727 want to see this change your life, you're going to have to focus in on this. 181 00:10:26,242 --> 00:10:28,732 It has to be something you really, truly focus in on. 182 00:10:29,082 --> 00:10:31,722 And when you pray about it, it can't just be a simple prayer. 183 00:10:31,842 --> 00:10:33,242 Hey, God, just help me with this. 184 00:10:33,662 --> 00:10:34,482 It's gonna be more. 185 00:10:34,482 --> 00:10:36,711 And so then I started to pray more about it and I learned, 186 00:10:36,711 --> 00:10:37,932 I was like, it's so true. 187 00:10:38,232 --> 00:10:41,842 This praying about it isn't just, hey, real quickly, before I eat. 188 00:10:41,842 --> 00:10:44,181 Hey, God, also, hey, can you just help me be good today? 189 00:10:44,441 --> 00:10:47,842 No, it, it, desire, there had to be a desire, a commitment. 190 00:10:48,587 --> 00:10:55,027 And an earnest plea to God, God, help me to become this, not just 191 00:10:55,037 --> 00:11:02,366 to want this, but to become this, not to just deny myself, but to be 192 00:11:02,537 --> 00:11:03,996 this, you guys get what I'm saying. 193 00:11:04,637 --> 00:11:07,527 And so for a long time, and I'll share about it in a minute, 194 00:11:07,726 --> 00:11:09,817 I started to pray about this. 195 00:11:10,781 --> 00:11:14,411 And you know what I realized, too, as well, is that when we pray about things, 196 00:11:14,801 --> 00:11:18,141 God helps our desire for those things. 197 00:11:19,821 --> 00:11:20,661 What I mean is this. 198 00:11:20,842 --> 00:11:22,421 Look at this verse that many of us are familiar with. 199 00:11:22,821 --> 00:11:26,071 Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. 200 00:11:27,021 --> 00:11:30,901 Now, I think you can read this, and it's okay to interpret this and 201 00:11:30,901 --> 00:11:33,031 go, Okay, hey, I delight in God. 202 00:11:33,031 --> 00:11:33,931 He's going to give me what I want. 203 00:11:34,301 --> 00:11:37,431 Now, we know that's a general truth, not an absolute truth, because some things I 204 00:11:37,431 --> 00:11:38,921 want, guys, like that's not good for you. 205 00:11:40,562 --> 00:11:44,371 But I think it's also, you can still, and I think it's safe, to interpret 206 00:11:44,372 --> 00:11:47,022 this as, you know what, he's not just going to give me the things that I want, 207 00:11:47,051 --> 00:11:49,781 no, he's going to give me new desires. 208 00:11:50,762 --> 00:11:51,771 You guys get what I'm saying? 209 00:11:52,442 --> 00:11:55,581 It's that now God's going to give you the desires of your hearts. 210 00:11:55,812 --> 00:11:59,962 I used to desire this, but now that I take delight in God, 211 00:11:59,982 --> 00:12:02,862 He's given me desires from Him. 212 00:12:04,672 --> 00:12:07,492 And I have to pray about these things. 213 00:12:08,072 --> 00:12:11,862 In order for this transformation process to continue church. 214 00:12:11,862 --> 00:12:17,652 Are you getting what I'm saying here second not only prayer We have to develop 215 00:12:17,692 --> 00:12:23,007 a conviction This is where it becomes the desire, but the standard for our lives. 216 00:12:23,786 --> 00:12:25,467 I have a conviction, as you can see. 217 00:12:25,697 --> 00:12:29,706 Uh, I need to get some water, but I have a strong conviction about USC. 218 00:12:32,176 --> 00:12:35,026 Some will say, Marcel, you know what, on the, uh, the rankings, 219 00:12:35,036 --> 00:12:37,686 it's like number 25 or 26. 220 00:12:37,686 --> 00:12:41,036 Somehow, some way, some UCLA paid people off and they surpassed 221 00:12:41,036 --> 00:12:42,296 USC in the last couple years. 222 00:12:42,556 --> 00:12:43,857 But we'll get that fixed. 223 00:12:45,066 --> 00:12:46,257 I have a strong conviction. 224 00:12:46,257 --> 00:12:47,906 I say, you know what, it might say 26. 225 00:12:48,597 --> 00:12:51,467 But in my heart, it's number one, and then Cal State Fullerton and 226 00:12:51,487 --> 00:12:52,867 Chapman, you guys get what I'm saying. 227 00:12:54,316 --> 00:12:56,146 But it's number one, I have a conviction. 228 00:12:56,156 --> 00:12:58,026 You can't tell me a thing about this. 229 00:12:58,926 --> 00:13:00,496 I'm convinced of this. 230 00:13:00,726 --> 00:13:04,346 And so if we want to add to something, we need to pray about it. 231 00:13:04,507 --> 00:13:08,276 But it must become our conviction for our lives. 232 00:13:09,017 --> 00:13:10,197 Something that's unshakable. 233 00:13:10,197 --> 00:13:13,387 It's the standard now by which we live. 234 00:13:14,356 --> 00:13:18,007 And the way we can do this is through scripture. 235 00:13:18,952 --> 00:13:23,372 Scripture plays a huge role in developing a conviction about something. 236 00:13:23,901 --> 00:13:26,382 If I tell you, do you have a conviction about sharing your faith? 237 00:13:26,552 --> 00:13:29,921 You will probably say, yes, because of this verse right here. 238 00:13:30,372 --> 00:13:32,201 Do you have a conviction about how you should live? 239 00:13:32,331 --> 00:13:34,451 Yes, and I think of this verse right here. 240 00:13:34,711 --> 00:13:37,790 So if we're going to add to our faith any of these attributes, especially 241 00:13:37,790 --> 00:13:41,790 goodness, we need to have a conviction that is inspired from Scripture. 242 00:13:43,832 --> 00:13:45,682 Going back to this time with Reese. 243 00:13:46,877 --> 00:13:48,787 And he said, hey, you know, you're going to have to really go after it. 244 00:13:48,847 --> 00:13:49,867 So I made this decision. 245 00:13:49,977 --> 00:13:52,687 I can't remember if he encouraged me or not, but I made a decision. 246 00:13:52,737 --> 00:13:56,516 I'm going to study out humility and pride throughout the whole Bible. 247 00:13:57,327 --> 00:13:58,507 I thought, okay, this would be quick. 248 00:13:58,807 --> 00:14:02,697 I ended up going on a three year journey studying out from Genesis 249 00:14:02,707 --> 00:14:06,267 to Revelation every instance I could find pride or humility. 250 00:14:07,217 --> 00:14:12,767 And this developed a rock solid conviction to be humble. 251 00:14:13,357 --> 00:14:16,346 I wish I could say I'm like Moses, the most humble man on the earth. 252 00:14:16,346 --> 00:14:16,787 I'm not. 253 00:14:18,026 --> 00:14:21,257 But when challenged and confronted, I can quickly go, you know what? 254 00:14:21,257 --> 00:14:24,707 I see that now because there's a conviction about being this, and so 255 00:14:24,707 --> 00:14:27,717 I'm quicker to respond when pride is. 256 00:14:28,742 --> 00:14:29,742 Exposed in my life. 257 00:14:29,742 --> 00:14:30,832 You guys get what I'm saying? 258 00:14:31,742 --> 00:14:34,222 And so we have to develop a conviction if we're going to add. 259 00:14:34,352 --> 00:14:38,682 And then thirdly, we have to have intentional decisions and actions. 260 00:14:39,611 --> 00:14:44,942 I'm going to be good to this person at work tomorrow. 261 00:14:45,452 --> 00:14:49,112 I'm going to be honest to my mom or my dad. 262 00:14:49,382 --> 00:14:52,931 I'm going to be respectful to my classmates. 263 00:14:53,161 --> 00:14:54,290 I'm going to do. 264 00:14:54,842 --> 00:14:57,621 I might not want to do it, but I'm going to do it. 265 00:14:57,622 --> 00:14:58,472 You guys get what I'm saying? 266 00:14:59,057 --> 00:15:02,227 Because if we just pray, God, help me and I got a scripture, but then 267 00:15:02,227 --> 00:15:05,906 I don't have anything intentional, then the growth isn't going to 268 00:15:05,916 --> 00:15:07,217 take place the way it could. 269 00:15:07,946 --> 00:15:12,396 So we have to be very intentional in our decisions and in our actions. 270 00:15:12,786 --> 00:15:20,757 Asking ourselves, the famous WWJD, what would Jesus Another good question 271 00:15:21,006 --> 00:15:22,666 that God has helped me to see. 272 00:15:22,976 --> 00:15:26,266 Is to ask, is this holy? 273 00:15:27,752 --> 00:15:33,242 Not is this a sin, but is this holy? 274 00:15:34,052 --> 00:15:37,702 Because then God starts to reveal the heart and the essence of what 275 00:15:37,702 --> 00:15:39,542 it is that I'm thinking about. 276 00:15:40,162 --> 00:15:42,352 And what it is that I truly desire. 277 00:15:42,352 --> 00:15:45,401 Is it to be right, please and honor God and be like God? 278 00:15:45,561 --> 00:15:48,882 Or is it to have whatever it is that I'm thinking of? 279 00:15:49,972 --> 00:15:53,302 And so we need to then put it into practice. 280 00:15:54,092 --> 00:15:57,192 I ask these questions that God starts to reveal or I get input. 281 00:15:57,902 --> 00:15:59,292 And then I make sure to follow. 282 00:16:00,562 --> 00:16:05,192 So let's really, let's quickly talk about what subtracts goodness from our faith. 283 00:16:06,072 --> 00:16:10,271 We know how, some ways how, but what are some things that are challenging? 284 00:16:10,271 --> 00:16:14,891 Maybe our natural tendency and takes away from goodness in our faith. 285 00:16:14,891 --> 00:16:20,241 Well, number one is the flesh or what some scholars translate as 286 00:16:20,241 --> 00:16:22,141 the flesh being our sinful nature. 287 00:16:22,972 --> 00:16:29,192 You know, many times we, we, we are attracted and desire what's not good. 288 00:16:30,867 --> 00:16:31,347 Right? 289 00:16:32,026 --> 00:16:35,357 I know I'm attracted to things that maybe aren't good for my soul or 290 00:16:35,357 --> 00:16:38,947 they're not in the right context or they're outside of my boundaries. 291 00:16:38,947 --> 00:16:41,546 And so therefore, they're not good for me at that moment. 292 00:16:41,876 --> 00:16:44,776 And many times in our flesh and in our sinful nature, we 293 00:16:44,776 --> 00:16:46,697 desire really what's evil. 294 00:16:46,896 --> 00:16:51,656 And the problem is then we give in so easily or too quickly to our impulses, 295 00:16:51,887 --> 00:16:54,387 our feelings and emotions and our desires. 296 00:16:55,357 --> 00:16:58,747 And we make poor choices and then that stunts our growth. 297 00:16:59,342 --> 00:17:02,031 And then we don't become good. 298 00:17:02,562 --> 00:17:05,202 The other thing that I want to hit on and talk a good amount 299 00:17:05,202 --> 00:17:06,702 about is some stinking thinking. 300 00:17:08,762 --> 00:17:10,571 Also from my friend Reece Nealon right there. 301 00:17:10,732 --> 00:17:11,882 Some stinking thinking. 302 00:17:12,661 --> 00:17:17,151 And what, what do I mean by this is that really, the world's philosophy, 303 00:17:17,151 --> 00:17:23,202 the world's rules and ideas and, and, and, and, and worldview influence us 304 00:17:23,281 --> 00:17:26,632 more than God's Word and God's Spirit. 305 00:17:28,342 --> 00:17:36,037 And we start to adopt, whether consciously or subconsciously, the, Society's views 306 00:17:36,127 --> 00:17:44,337 about life and that takes away from the goodness that we desire and that God has 307 00:17:44,357 --> 00:17:48,157 implanted in our hearts and in our faith. 308 00:17:48,776 --> 00:17:53,657 And so some of the rationale and thinking that's become pretty popular of late. 309 00:17:53,716 --> 00:17:56,097 Things like, you know, it's a couple of years old now, but 310 00:17:56,227 --> 00:18:01,147 YOLO, you only live once, right? 311 00:18:01,147 --> 00:18:02,417 So I better, it's YOLO, right? 312 00:18:02,427 --> 00:18:03,147 That was a big thing. 313 00:18:03,157 --> 00:18:03,677 Drake, right? 314 00:18:03,677 --> 00:18:03,687 YOLO. 315 00:18:03,687 --> 00:18:05,007 You know what I'm saying? 316 00:18:05,857 --> 00:18:07,047 Some of you are like, who is he talking about? 317 00:18:07,047 --> 00:18:07,787 Just ask your kids. 318 00:18:07,787 --> 00:18:08,017 All right. 319 00:18:09,567 --> 00:18:14,467 Another one, do you, or I'm going to just do me this thinking. 320 00:18:14,467 --> 00:18:17,027 Just do you do me another one. 321 00:18:17,787 --> 00:18:19,046 Live your best life. 322 00:18:19,047 --> 00:18:20,987 Well, I'm just trying to live my best life. 323 00:18:22,666 --> 00:18:23,656 There's another phrase. 324 00:18:24,137 --> 00:18:25,157 That's who I am. 325 00:18:25,496 --> 00:18:27,186 Well, that's just who I am. 326 00:18:28,836 --> 00:18:30,797 And last but not least here. 327 00:18:30,837 --> 00:18:32,107 Well, that's my truth. 328 00:18:34,127 --> 00:18:41,017 You know, in a very limited, very limited way, these things can be right, accurate 329 00:18:41,017 --> 00:18:43,096 and helpful in a very limited way. 330 00:18:44,217 --> 00:18:49,737 But overall, this is the antithesis of Jesus and being good. 331 00:18:51,517 --> 00:18:56,717 Because all of these things are about me, I, and what I feel, and what I think. 332 00:18:58,436 --> 00:19:00,566 Not the Bible, not God, not goodness. 333 00:19:02,277 --> 00:19:04,486 And here's the problem, if we're gonna be honest. 334 00:19:05,067 --> 00:19:07,517 I don't want to be a politician, I want to be a prophet. 335 00:19:07,537 --> 00:19:08,017 Amen? 336 00:19:10,327 --> 00:19:15,197 Some of this thinking has influenced several of us here in the congregation. 337 00:19:16,142 --> 00:19:21,302 It's infiltrated the church and we don't go out and consciously say, yeah, I'm 338 00:19:21,302 --> 00:19:24,542 just all about that YOLO life or I'm just going to do me, forget Christ. 339 00:19:24,722 --> 00:19:27,672 We don't say that consciously, but subconsciously, that's 340 00:19:27,672 --> 00:19:28,621 the way we're living. 341 00:19:29,561 --> 00:19:32,901 And we make decisions based on this thinking. 342 00:19:35,452 --> 00:19:39,351 And so being good and being holy, it's not appealing, nor is it honored. 343 00:19:41,142 --> 00:19:44,162 So we say, you know what, I'm a talk and cuss. 344 00:19:44,982 --> 00:19:45,822 The way I want to. 345 00:19:45,982 --> 00:19:47,122 Speak however I want to. 346 00:19:47,532 --> 00:19:51,412 I'm going to dress however I want to and feel. 347 00:19:51,582 --> 00:19:54,371 I'm going to hold a grudge and I'm going to get even. 348 00:19:55,582 --> 00:19:59,482 I'm going to seek to get from this relationship as opposed to seeking 349 00:19:59,521 --> 00:20:06,312 to give in this relationship because that's what I think and feel. 350 00:20:07,882 --> 00:20:09,252 Again, it might not be consciously. 351 00:20:09,342 --> 00:20:12,632 We might not say that out loud, but in our hearts, that's what's going on. 352 00:20:14,831 --> 00:20:17,662 Brethren and sisters, this is ungodly. 353 00:20:19,312 --> 00:20:24,032 This subtracts, it removes the goodness of Christ in our lives. 354 00:20:25,562 --> 00:20:28,212 It is the opposite of goodness. 355 00:20:28,262 --> 00:20:31,671 Therefore, it is the opposite of Jesus. 356 00:20:33,122 --> 00:20:36,862 And what happens again when we have this mentality, when challenged or 357 00:20:36,862 --> 00:20:39,162 confronted about this, we get upset. 358 00:20:40,147 --> 00:20:41,397 We get offended. 359 00:20:41,497 --> 00:20:42,577 We get defensive. 360 00:20:42,587 --> 00:20:43,877 How dare you? 361 00:20:43,887 --> 00:20:45,027 Who are you? 362 00:20:45,277 --> 00:20:51,317 And we push away and we cancel these people in our lives with 363 00:20:51,327 --> 00:20:54,186 humanistic arguments and logic. 364 00:20:55,047 --> 00:20:56,407 Not with scripture. 365 00:20:58,257 --> 00:20:59,306 You don't know what you're talking about. 366 00:20:59,316 --> 00:21:01,016 That's just your opinion. 367 00:21:02,186 --> 00:21:02,726 What, what, what? 368 00:21:02,846 --> 00:21:04,186 Oh, this is what I feel. 369 00:21:04,186 --> 00:21:05,526 This is what I think. 370 00:21:06,856 --> 00:21:08,066 This is my truth. 371 00:21:09,742 --> 00:21:13,042 Jesus didn't talk about truth being subjective. 372 00:21:13,052 --> 00:21:14,552 He says He is the truth. 373 00:21:15,742 --> 00:21:17,402 He is the life and He is the way. 374 00:21:19,352 --> 00:21:24,402 And so brothers and sisters, if we're going to add to our faith goodness, 375 00:21:24,442 --> 00:21:27,696 then we need to recognize what's taking away the goodness from our life. 376 00:21:29,157 --> 00:21:32,987 And once we acknowledge it, and just accept, you know what, this has been me, 377 00:21:32,987 --> 00:21:38,647 or it has been me in some degree, or I had this subconsciously, this thinking, 378 00:21:39,197 --> 00:21:42,787 acknowledge it, because if you acknowledge it, then you can repent from it. 379 00:21:44,256 --> 00:21:46,236 So we have to acknowledge it. 380 00:21:46,236 --> 00:21:47,467 And say, you know what, yes. 381 00:21:48,957 --> 00:21:51,867 But deep down, I want to be godly. 382 00:21:52,607 --> 00:21:57,347 Because of the mercy and the grace that God has lavished on my life. 383 00:21:58,537 --> 00:22:01,177 And so therefore, I'm going to address it. 384 00:22:02,427 --> 00:22:05,607 And I'm going to get help from my brothers and sisters. 385 00:22:05,857 --> 00:22:09,726 Because I have blind spots, or I don't know how, or I can't see it. 386 00:22:09,867 --> 00:22:13,536 So that they can help me, so that I can become godly and 387 00:22:13,537 --> 00:22:16,607 participate in the divine nature. 388 00:22:16,607 --> 00:22:19,016 Church, are you with me here? 389 00:22:20,667 --> 00:22:25,997 And I believe every single one of us, deep down, all of us want to be good. 390 00:22:25,997 --> 00:22:29,987 We want to be like Jesus, but we must recognize what's 391 00:22:30,007 --> 00:22:32,167 preventing us and address it. 392 00:22:33,607 --> 00:22:36,876 So made me think, okay, well, what are some of the benefits of 393 00:22:36,917 --> 00:22:39,296 adding goodness to our life here? 394 00:22:39,587 --> 00:22:43,477 And so some of the benefits, these are just some that, that, that came to mind 395 00:22:43,477 --> 00:22:48,387 for me is that when we add goodness, it helps us to actually be truly human. 396 00:22:49,982 --> 00:22:52,552 You know, in our family group last week, uh, again, it was mentioned 397 00:22:52,552 --> 00:22:56,442 where our family groups and so these are geographic, uh, uh, groups that we 398 00:22:56,442 --> 00:22:59,622 get together, call them family groups because we want to be a spiritual family. 399 00:22:59,811 --> 00:23:03,221 And in our family group, Charles Lennox, uh, we were talking, he said, you know 400 00:23:03,221 --> 00:23:06,461 what, uh, Jesus, man, he was truly human. 401 00:23:07,267 --> 00:23:09,917 I guess he's God in the flesh, but he was truly human. 402 00:23:09,917 --> 00:23:12,307 He's a definition of what it means to be human. 403 00:23:12,427 --> 00:23:16,106 And when we become like Jesus, we therefore start to really 404 00:23:16,247 --> 00:23:20,357 live out our true intention by God, by truly being human. 405 00:23:20,797 --> 00:23:22,206 I thought, man, that's really good. 406 00:23:22,217 --> 00:23:26,807 That's a good Thought and insight right there because Jesus was truly human. 407 00:23:26,807 --> 00:23:32,277 So when we become like him we become more of what God Intended so adding 408 00:23:32,277 --> 00:23:37,786 goodness will lead us to experience more and more of God our Creators 409 00:23:37,897 --> 00:23:42,906 design another benefit real quickly here is assurance of God's pleasure. 410 00:23:43,487 --> 00:23:47,157 We know when we do what's right We know God is pleased with that. 411 00:23:47,867 --> 00:23:51,676 We also know that we feel good about ourselves What happened 412 00:23:51,676 --> 00:23:55,712 when you do something, you know was good You feel good, right? 413 00:23:56,022 --> 00:23:58,662 You're like, yeah, you know, let me get myself a pat on the back. 414 00:23:58,782 --> 00:24:01,582 Now, if you go and broadcast it, then, then you lose your reward. 415 00:24:01,592 --> 00:24:04,121 But, you know, we feel good about that. 416 00:24:04,222 --> 00:24:05,212 And I don't think that's bad. 417 00:24:05,212 --> 00:24:07,821 I think that's a good thing because we're acknowledging, wow, something. 418 00:24:07,821 --> 00:24:09,122 I think this is what God designs. 419 00:24:09,382 --> 00:24:10,801 We know it feels good. 420 00:24:10,801 --> 00:24:14,491 And therefore we rejoice because that's what God wanted us to live. 421 00:24:14,492 --> 00:24:16,062 And that's how he wanted us to be. 422 00:24:16,982 --> 00:24:19,702 And we also see our relationships improve. 423 00:24:20,302 --> 00:24:21,841 Well, we're good to others. 424 00:24:21,841 --> 00:24:22,841 The relationships. 425 00:24:24,902 --> 00:24:29,702 And one more thing here is that we're treated, therefore, with goodness. 426 00:24:30,392 --> 00:24:33,891 People treat you with goodness when you treat them with goodness. 427 00:24:34,332 --> 00:24:38,612 Even people with no faith in Christ, they can respond to this. 428 00:24:39,272 --> 00:24:43,011 Now again, this is a general truth, not an absolute truth that everybody you 429 00:24:43,011 --> 00:24:44,812 come in contact with will be good to you. 430 00:24:45,352 --> 00:24:54,142 But we know that in general, when we live a Christ life, it will 431 00:24:55,062 --> 00:24:57,322 reciprocate in how we are treated. 432 00:24:58,597 --> 00:25:01,867 And so I look at this and I go, why would I not want to add goodness? 433 00:25:02,557 --> 00:25:04,687 Which one of these things doesn't sound appealing? 434 00:25:06,097 --> 00:25:07,947 I want every single one of these in my life. 435 00:25:08,107 --> 00:25:10,347 And I want others to have this as well. 436 00:25:11,937 --> 00:25:15,926 And so what's our response to what we're seeing here in the scriptures? 437 00:25:15,927 --> 00:25:20,437 I believe our response is this week as it was last week, as it probably really 438 00:25:20,437 --> 00:25:23,166 will be every week as we study this out. 439 00:25:23,167 --> 00:25:25,057 And that's to make every effort. 440 00:25:26,132 --> 00:25:28,312 You know, Ramon Diaz was on here, on stage there. 441 00:25:28,312 --> 00:25:29,042 That's so cool, right? 442 00:25:29,042 --> 00:25:30,262 The whole family up here, right? 443 00:25:30,492 --> 00:25:33,292 Or at least part of the family, uh, uh, uh, being recognized. 444 00:25:33,472 --> 00:25:36,321 But we're in our family group on Wednesday, and Ramon, uh, 445 00:25:36,332 --> 00:25:37,342 he used to be a wrestler. 446 00:25:37,592 --> 00:25:39,361 And, uh, we're talking like legit wrestling. 447 00:25:39,361 --> 00:25:41,392 We're not like Hulk Hogan wrestling, you know what I'm saying? 448 00:25:42,302 --> 00:25:44,122 We're talking, all the wrestlers are like, Yeah, that's that 449 00:25:44,122 --> 00:25:45,026 real wrestler right there. 450 00:25:45,597 --> 00:25:46,567 And so he was big time. 451 00:25:46,567 --> 00:25:49,627 He was like going all across the world and he actually even got invited 452 00:25:49,647 --> 00:25:51,477 recently to do something international. 453 00:25:51,637 --> 00:25:53,457 And so he was a real big time wrestler. 454 00:25:53,577 --> 00:25:55,727 And he says, you know, this idea of making every effort. 455 00:25:55,947 --> 00:25:59,527 I realized, man, when I was wrestling, I made every effort. 456 00:26:00,267 --> 00:26:04,747 I would watch what I, what I was eating, my sleep schedule, 457 00:26:04,747 --> 00:26:05,907 my, my workout schedule. 458 00:26:05,927 --> 00:26:07,697 He goes, man, I was dedicated. 459 00:26:07,697 --> 00:26:08,237 I was committed. 460 00:26:08,257 --> 00:26:09,617 I made every effort. 461 00:26:11,127 --> 00:26:13,646 And so what would that look like spiritually then? 462 00:26:15,027 --> 00:26:18,347 And so we have to make every effort, not little efforts. 463 00:26:19,252 --> 00:26:25,472 Not half stepping, but we need to make a full effort in adding to our phase. 464 00:26:26,347 --> 00:26:30,187 And so let's get real practical here for the week here action steps this 465 00:26:30,187 --> 00:26:34,527 week number one similar last week Let's pray for the church Let's pray for all 466 00:26:34,527 --> 00:26:40,476 of us to grow in the things listed in second Peter 1 every day this week God 467 00:26:40,487 --> 00:26:45,467 help us as a church to grow in goodness and knowledge self control all these 468 00:26:45,467 --> 00:26:49,467 different things God Lead us to this help us not to just choose this help it to 469 00:26:49,737 --> 00:26:53,727 us to become Let's pray for one another. 470 00:26:53,857 --> 00:26:58,197 And then number two, real simply, do something good each day this week. 471 00:26:59,057 --> 00:27:00,267 I'm just going to do something good today. 472 00:27:00,287 --> 00:27:01,707 Picking maybe something real simple. 473 00:27:01,707 --> 00:27:02,306 You know what? 474 00:27:02,437 --> 00:27:03,957 Maybe it's, I'm going to take out the trash. 475 00:27:03,957 --> 00:27:05,546 I know my wife's been hitting me over the head. 476 00:27:05,546 --> 00:27:07,276 I need to take out your, I'm going to take out the trash today. 477 00:27:07,336 --> 00:27:08,886 If that's what it is, then please do good. 478 00:27:08,887 --> 00:27:09,927 Cause that'll help your marriage out. 479 00:27:09,936 --> 00:27:10,727 You get what I'm saying? 480 00:27:11,657 --> 00:27:14,086 But just pick something, something simple, whatever it is. 481 00:27:14,276 --> 00:27:15,556 Is this the fix all? 482 00:27:15,586 --> 00:27:18,126 No, but this will start to take root. 483 00:27:18,937 --> 00:27:23,377 In your habit and in your character and we can see the benefit of it. 484 00:27:23,907 --> 00:27:28,187 And as we pray more about it and we make intentional decisions, we'll see 485 00:27:28,187 --> 00:27:31,737 us become more and more like Jesus. 486 00:27:33,006 --> 00:27:36,886 Right now we're going to take communion and Jesus is the example 487 00:27:37,136 --> 00:27:40,207 of goodness and his goodness is seen. 488 00:27:41,127 --> 00:27:45,167 Through the cross in Luke 23 as Luke a doctor. 489 00:27:45,167 --> 00:27:48,987 He's documenting what what happened to Jesus life and he's recounting 490 00:27:48,997 --> 00:27:51,387 the Jesus dying upon a cross. 491 00:27:51,387 --> 00:27:52,417 He says something interesting. 492 00:27:52,417 --> 00:27:56,387 He says Jesus called out with the loud voice father into your hands I 493 00:27:56,387 --> 00:28:01,047 commit my spirit when he has said this he breathed his last the centurion 494 00:28:01,067 --> 00:28:07,477 seeing what had happened praised God and said Surely this was a righteous. 495 00:28:08,807 --> 00:28:13,132 Let's pray Father, we thank you so much for Jesus. 496 00:28:13,582 --> 00:28:15,112 We thank you for his example. 497 00:28:15,532 --> 00:28:19,832 God, every time we think of any attribute in the scriptures, Father, 498 00:28:19,832 --> 00:28:21,802 we know that Jesus modeled it. 499 00:28:22,882 --> 00:28:25,952 And we're so grateful that Jesus, even on the cross, his 500 00:28:25,952 --> 00:28:27,652 righteousness was displayed. 501 00:28:27,662 --> 00:28:29,482 His goodness was seen. 502 00:28:30,142 --> 00:28:33,482 And we thank you that he was good because therefore he could be the 503 00:28:33,482 --> 00:28:35,912 sacrificial lamb for our salvation. 504 00:28:36,851 --> 00:28:39,851 Thank you that we have an example of what it means to be human. 505 00:28:39,852 --> 00:28:41,631 What it means to be good. 506 00:28:41,631 --> 00:28:42,412 I ought to take. 507 00:28:43,052 --> 00:28:47,802 And God, we pray that as we reflect upon Jesus life, death, and resurrection. 508 00:28:47,802 --> 00:28:52,291 As we take the emblems that represent his body and his blood that was sacrificed. 509 00:28:52,902 --> 00:28:59,672 Father, may we be inspired to give you our very, Father, may we make every 510 00:28:59,772 --> 00:29:06,272 effort to add to our faith so that we can participate in your divine nature. 511 00:29:06,732 --> 00:29:11,341 We thank you for Jesus perseverance on the cross and for our salvation that comes 512 00:29:11,341 --> 00:29:13,632 through the cross and his resurrection. 513 00:29:13,811 --> 00:29:15,711 In Jesus name, Amen.