1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,520 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast, 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,480 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,720 My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:10,480 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,680 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,080 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,160 Now, come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has 8 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:21,440 for us here today. 9 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:26,480 All right, let's go ahead and get our Bibles out, and we're going 10 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:28,740 to turn to Habakkuk chapter two. 11 00:00:28,740 --> 00:00:30,940 I'll give you a few moments to turn there with me. 12 00:00:31,100 --> 00:00:33,020 Habakkuk, chapter two. 13 00:00:33,100 --> 00:00:38,060 And by way of review, we're looking here at the prophet Habakkuk. 14 00:00:38,300 --> 00:00:43,660 He is hearing from the Lord what he is to proclaim to God's people. 15 00:00:43,739 --> 00:00:46,140 And essentially, it's a message of judgment. 16 00:00:46,140 --> 00:00:48,620 It's a message of their need for repentance. 17 00:00:49,020 --> 00:00:51,580 And what God tells Habakkuk is this. 18 00:00:51,580 --> 00:00:54,700 Look, the people of Israel, specifically in this case, the people 19 00:00:54,700 --> 00:00:58,080 of Judah, are going to be judged for their sin. 20 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:02,200 And obviously at this point in time, Habakkuk is struggling with 21 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:02,720 that message. 22 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:02,920 And. 23 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:05,320 And he's struggling with this God, why are you allowing this sin 24 00:01:05,320 --> 00:01:06,080 to just keep going? 25 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:09,440 And God answers that question with, well, I'm going to bring judgments, 26 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:10,160 don't worry. 27 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:13,200 And I'm going to bring it from the Chaldeans or the Babylonians. 28 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:15,640 Now, there's some more confusion with Habakkuk on that. 29 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:19,000 Habakkuk is like, lord, okay, you're judging us, but why are you 30 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:20,880 going to judge us with these evil people? 31 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:23,880 And God doesn't answer him right away. 32 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:27,360 And Habakkuk, chapter two, verse one, tells us that Habakkuk 33 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:30,120 was going to wait, he was going to be patient, and he was going 34 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:32,840 to listen for the Lord to answer him and be ready to change 35 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:33,440 his mind. 36 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:35,080 And God does answer him. 37 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:40,440 And God essentially tells him, look, I have the authority to judge, 38 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:45,120 and I can use whoever I would like to do that instrument of judgment. 39 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:47,920 But ultimately, God says, I don't overlook sin. 40 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:50,960 The Chaldeans are going to be judged for their sin. 41 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:55,800 And God assures Habakkuk that no sin will go unnoticed. 42 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:59,680 And then he says in verse four, at the end of verse four, but 43 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:01,640 the just shall live by his faith. 44 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:04,640 And that is really the thesis, that is the main thought. 45 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:06,640 He says, you can live two different ways. 46 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:10,520 You can live in faith or you can live in your own pride. 47 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:14,760 And he is talking here about the pride of the Chaldeans, the pride 48 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:15,800 of the Babylonians. 49 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:17,140 And he says, you really. 50 00:02:17,220 --> 00:02:18,740 Pride and faith don't mix. 51 00:02:19,300 --> 00:02:22,220 An individual who is characterized by pride will not be 52 00:02:22,220 --> 00:02:23,380 characterized by faith. 53 00:02:23,380 --> 00:02:26,300 And a person characterized by faith will not be characterized by 54 00:02:26,300 --> 00:02:26,580 pride. 55 00:02:26,580 --> 00:02:30,100 Because to have faith means to have humility, right? 56 00:02:30,180 --> 00:02:34,340 Going to someone and trusting in them because they have something 57 00:02:34,340 --> 00:02:36,100 that I cannot accomplish. 58 00:02:36,260 --> 00:02:38,980 And ultimately, that's what the whole gospel message is. 59 00:02:39,060 --> 00:02:40,420 I cannot save myself. 60 00:02:40,580 --> 00:02:41,580 I am not good enough. 61 00:02:41,580 --> 00:02:42,740 I need someone more. 62 00:02:42,740 --> 00:02:45,510 I must humble myself, I and come to Christ because he's the only 63 00:02:45,510 --> 00:02:46,550 way for salvation. 64 00:02:46,550 --> 00:02:50,910 So it says here that the just or the justified shall live by faith. 65 00:02:50,910 --> 00:02:52,790 So you can think about two different things here. 66 00:02:53,350 --> 00:02:55,870 What we're hearing here is that God says there are some who 67 00:02:55,870 --> 00:02:56,630 are justified. 68 00:02:57,110 --> 00:03:00,310 Remember that word justified means to be declared righteous by 69 00:03:00,310 --> 00:03:00,710 God. 70 00:03:01,030 --> 00:03:04,150 And essentially God is looking at us and saying, yes, there is sin, 71 00:03:04,550 --> 00:03:07,110 yes, there, there should be judgment. 72 00:03:07,110 --> 00:03:10,790 But because of your faith, I'm granting you forgiveness. 73 00:03:10,790 --> 00:03:12,820 And ultimately, ultimately, ultimately we know that's through 74 00:03:12,820 --> 00:03:13,420 Jesus Christ. 75 00:03:13,820 --> 00:03:16,460 We know that that is through God's grace. 76 00:03:17,020 --> 00:03:20,820 So you can either live a life of those that are justified, or you 77 00:03:20,820 --> 00:03:22,540 can live a life of those who are judged. 78 00:03:22,860 --> 00:03:25,180 But none of us want to face the judgment of God. 79 00:03:25,900 --> 00:03:28,219 All of us deserve the judgment of God. 80 00:03:28,300 --> 00:03:32,220 And so here, what Habakkuk chapter two is doing is contrasting 81 00:03:32,460 --> 00:03:38,080 what it means to be in God's good grace, to be in God's judgment, 82 00:03:38,230 --> 00:03:40,550 justification, or to be in God's judgment. 83 00:03:40,870 --> 00:03:43,590 And so he says, okay, the just shall live by faith. 84 00:03:43,670 --> 00:03:46,030 And if you don't live by faith, you're living in yourself. 85 00:03:46,030 --> 00:03:48,590 You're living in your pride, you're living in your sin, and you're 86 00:03:48,590 --> 00:03:50,230 going to face judgment. 87 00:03:50,310 --> 00:03:55,150 And now he's going to describe four woes to four different individuals 88 00:03:55,150 --> 00:03:59,270 or groups of people that are living in these sins that are manifested 89 00:03:59,270 --> 00:03:59,910 in pride. 90 00:04:00,310 --> 00:04:03,110 And so look, look at it there with me in. 91 00:04:03,110 --> 00:04:04,550 We're going to start in verse number nine. 92 00:04:04,990 --> 00:04:10,030 Verse number nine, he starts these descriptions of these individuals 93 00:04:10,030 --> 00:04:11,550 who are living in sin. 94 00:04:11,550 --> 00:04:14,070 And so this would be contrasting someone who's living 95 00:04:14,070 --> 00:04:17,390 in faith, someone who's living in their flesh, someone who is living 96 00:04:17,390 --> 00:04:17,830 in sin. 97 00:04:17,830 --> 00:04:21,350 And he says, folks who live like this are going to face the judgment 98 00:04:21,350 --> 00:04:21,870 of God. 99 00:04:22,430 --> 00:04:24,430 And so he describes this here. 100 00:04:24,590 --> 00:04:28,470 And really what we're seeing is if we remove God from the equation, 101 00:04:28,470 --> 00:04:32,280 this is how people act, and this is how people are characterized. 102 00:04:32,280 --> 00:04:34,920 And God says, that's not going to go unnoticed. 103 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:38,280 That will be unnoticed and there will be judgment. 104 00:04:38,280 --> 00:04:43,760 So verse nine, he says, woe to him that coveth and does his Best 105 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:46,120 to do his own bidding, right? 106 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:46,880 You see it there. 107 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:50,520 The end of verse nine says that he may set his nest on high. 108 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:52,480 So he's trying to save himself. 109 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:55,400 He's greedy, and he's trying to make it all about him. 110 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:56,410 He's trying to find. 111 00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:00,040 Find a place of safety that he may be delivered from the power of 112 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:00,440 evil. 113 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:01,520 So what is it saying here? 114 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:05,040 The greedy man tries to avoid judgment by his own works. 115 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:06,960 The greedy man says, it's all about me. 116 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:08,240 I'm going to try to figure this out. 117 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:11,080 I'm going to try to do this in my own pride, in my own strength, 118 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:12,160 in my own wisdom. 119 00:05:12,479 --> 00:05:16,880 So he says, this man, or characterized by these type of people 120 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:19,760 are characterized by covetousness or greed. 121 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:21,120 They're going to try to save themselves. 122 00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:23,040 They're going to save themselves from this thing. 123 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:25,090 And ultimately we know that they can't. 124 00:05:25,090 --> 00:05:25,650 Verse 10. 125 00:05:25,650 --> 00:05:28,210 Thou hast consulted shame to thy house. 126 00:05:28,210 --> 00:05:32,050 So you bring shame to your house, to your family, to your people, 127 00:05:32,450 --> 00:05:33,810 by cutting off many people. 128 00:05:33,810 --> 00:05:36,130 And so what the Bible says here is that a greedy person cuts 129 00:05:36,130 --> 00:05:39,970 off other people, bring shame to his family, bring shame to himself, 130 00:05:40,530 --> 00:05:43,330 because a person who is greedy is willing to cut other people down. 131 00:05:43,970 --> 00:05:46,810 And ultimately we know that there is judgment in them. 132 00:05:46,810 --> 00:05:49,900 And it says, and hath sinned against thy soul, verse 11. 133 00:05:49,900 --> 00:05:54,420 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the 134 00:05:54,420 --> 00:05:55,660 timber shall answer it. 135 00:05:56,060 --> 00:05:57,660 It's kind of interesting here what he does. 136 00:05:57,900 --> 00:06:01,660 Habakkuk, basically from, from God, is picturing a beautiful house 137 00:06:01,660 --> 00:06:03,900 built by this man who is greedy. 138 00:06:04,380 --> 00:06:07,940 And the very stones of the house that he is building, his own 139 00:06:07,940 --> 00:06:12,860 work actually turns on him and cry out against him in his greed. 140 00:06:13,260 --> 00:06:15,460 And so the picture that he's painting here is that we can try 141 00:06:15,460 --> 00:06:18,260 to build our own house, we can try to build our own kingdom in our 142 00:06:18,260 --> 00:06:18,620 greed. 143 00:06:18,940 --> 00:06:22,780 But eventually even that will turn on it on us, and it'll turn 144 00:06:22,780 --> 00:06:25,660 and it'll make us condemned in our own works. 145 00:06:25,660 --> 00:06:29,180 And so here he says, look, you bring shame because you're cutting 146 00:06:29,180 --> 00:06:29,980 other people down. 147 00:06:30,060 --> 00:06:32,700 The things that you think are valuable, the things that you think 148 00:06:32,700 --> 00:06:35,380 are going to last forever, the things that you think you did are 149 00:06:35,380 --> 00:06:37,740 going to crumble, and ultimately you're going to face judgment. 150 00:06:38,060 --> 00:06:41,180 And so as much as the greedy man wants to run away from judgment, 151 00:06:41,180 --> 00:06:44,500 wants to save himself, wants to build his own kingdom, ultimately 152 00:06:44,500 --> 00:06:45,380 that all crumbles. 153 00:06:45,380 --> 00:06:46,700 Ultimately that turns on him. 154 00:06:46,700 --> 00:06:49,240 And so he says, if you're living in pride, you're living in 155 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:49,520 greed. 156 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:51,920 If you're living in greed, you're living in judgment. 157 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:55,760 Ultimately, here we see this played out through these individuals 158 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:56,600 that he points to. 159 00:06:56,600 --> 00:07:01,040 So then we see verse number 12, woe to him that buildeth a town 160 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:05,200 with blood, establisheth a city by iniquity. 161 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:05,960 What is he saying here? 162 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:09,720 He's saying, woe to those who are violent, those who live through 163 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:10,680 violence in their life. 164 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:12,560 They try to get what they want through bloodshed. 165 00:07:12,890 --> 00:07:17,290 And so the Lord was obviously displeased with greed, and now he 166 00:07:17,290 --> 00:07:20,730 pronounces a woe against those who live in violence. 167 00:07:20,730 --> 00:07:23,130 And so obviously God hates violence. 168 00:07:23,210 --> 00:07:26,730 Obviously God hates this violence based in selfishness. 169 00:07:26,730 --> 00:07:29,850 And so he says, woe to them who build a town with blood. 170 00:07:29,930 --> 00:07:30,570 Verse 13. 171 00:07:30,570 --> 00:07:34,290 Behold, is it not of the Lord's host that the people shall 172 00:07:34,290 --> 00:07:37,890 labor in the very fire and the people shall weary themselves for 173 00:07:37,890 --> 00:07:38,730 very vanity? 174 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:42,280 No, no, he's obviously speaking here to this, this vanity, 175 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:46,240 this emptiness, this way of going will eventually lead to hopelessness 176 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:49,000 and emptiness, for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge 177 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:51,440 of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea. 178 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:55,400 And so the violent man thinks that, you know, you ever heard the 179 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:56,600 phrase might makes right? 180 00:07:56,840 --> 00:07:59,480 Whoever is the strongest is the one who takes control. 181 00:07:59,960 --> 00:08:02,960 And sometimes it's whoever is yelling the loudest sometimes tries 182 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:03,680 to be the one who. 183 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:04,280 Who wins. 184 00:08:05,010 --> 00:08:07,730 So the violent man thinks that, hey, if I'm powerful, I'm right. 185 00:08:09,170 --> 00:08:13,770 So he feels as if he can abuse people for his gain physically and 186 00:08:13,770 --> 00:08:15,170 in some cases, emotionally. 187 00:08:15,250 --> 00:08:18,530 And so there's this idea that living in my pride leads me to a 188 00:08:18,530 --> 00:08:21,170 place where I can abuse others for my gain. 189 00:08:21,410 --> 00:08:22,770 And God hates that. 190 00:08:23,090 --> 00:08:26,890 And so what we see here as, as the correction is this, that. 191 00:08:26,890 --> 00:08:31,090 That God ultimately triumphs no matter what we do, no matter how 192 00:08:31,090 --> 00:08:33,090 we try to fight against others and against Him. 193 00:08:33,090 --> 00:08:36,179 It says, for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the 194 00:08:36,179 --> 00:08:36,979 glory of God. 195 00:08:36,979 --> 00:08:40,699 That speaks to the covering of the power of God upon this world. 196 00:08:40,699 --> 00:08:44,299 And it says, as the waters cover the sea, so just as there's 197 00:08:44,299 --> 00:08:47,379 so much water out there, the expanse of water as far as the eye 198 00:08:47,379 --> 00:08:50,859 can see, so the power of God is greater than any fighting, any 199 00:08:50,859 --> 00:08:54,099 violence that can ever be done here in our world. 200 00:08:54,099 --> 00:08:56,779 And so God always prevails. 201 00:08:57,099 --> 00:09:02,290 And so he corrects the violent man, he rebukes the violent man and 202 00:09:02,290 --> 00:09:06,450 reminds this man that God is ultimately triumphant in his judgment. 203 00:09:06,770 --> 00:09:10,730 And we talk about this, you know, you have this idea that one 204 00:09:10,730 --> 00:09:15,010 day, one day the Bible says that every knee shall bow and every 205 00:09:15,010 --> 00:09:17,490 tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. 206 00:09:17,570 --> 00:09:20,610 Some will do that through faith and through salvation. 207 00:09:20,930 --> 00:09:23,330 Others will do that through fear and judgment. 208 00:09:23,650 --> 00:09:26,490 And the ultimate thing that will happen one day is that there 209 00:09:26,490 --> 00:09:26,930 will be many. 210 00:09:26,930 --> 00:09:31,420 There will be at one point in time, there will be, there will be 211 00:09:31,420 --> 00:09:34,660 complete agreement with everyone who has ever lived throughout 212 00:09:34,660 --> 00:09:36,220 history that Jesus is Lord. 213 00:09:37,100 --> 00:09:40,260 Some will come and say, yes, I believe in him in faith, I trusted 214 00:09:40,260 --> 00:09:40,420 him. 215 00:09:40,420 --> 00:09:43,140 I had my opportunity to believe in Jesus, and I believe in 216 00:09:43,140 --> 00:09:43,300 him. 217 00:09:43,300 --> 00:09:47,100 Others will have doubted him and rejected him and lived a life 218 00:09:47,100 --> 00:09:50,660 of rebellion and ultimately see God's judgment upon them and 219 00:09:50,660 --> 00:09:51,700 say, well, Jesus is Lord. 220 00:09:51,700 --> 00:09:52,860 That doesn't mean that they're saved. 221 00:09:53,020 --> 00:09:55,700 It doesn't mean like they, they get salvation at the very end. 222 00:09:55,700 --> 00:09:57,450 It means that time has run out. 223 00:09:57,450 --> 00:10:00,850 And now they can't deny the fact that Jesus is God. 224 00:10:00,850 --> 00:10:02,330 But at this point, it's too late. 225 00:10:02,570 --> 00:10:05,130 And so what's being said here is this. 226 00:10:05,850 --> 00:10:08,410 No matter what the violent man does, no matter how much it seems 227 00:10:08,410 --> 00:10:11,050 like he's conquering now, no matter how many kingdoms he builds 228 00:10:11,050 --> 00:10:14,410 with blood, ultimately God will reign supreme. 229 00:10:14,490 --> 00:10:17,370 So that's the woe to the violent man. 230 00:10:17,370 --> 00:10:20,890 So we have the woe to the covetous or the greedy man, the woe 231 00:10:20,890 --> 00:10:22,250 to the violent man. 232 00:10:22,980 --> 00:10:26,340 And then we're going to see here in verse 15, woe unto him that 233 00:10:26,340 --> 00:10:27,620 giveth his neighbor drink. 234 00:10:27,780 --> 00:10:29,940 And so this is the woe to the drunkard. 235 00:10:29,940 --> 00:10:33,500 This is the one who is controlled by outside substances. 236 00:10:33,500 --> 00:10:36,900 And, and, and we see in this context, it's, it's talking about 237 00:10:37,700 --> 00:10:38,340 the drink. 238 00:10:38,740 --> 00:10:42,420 But in our context today, in our world today, any substance that 239 00:10:42,820 --> 00:10:47,260 controls us and allows us to leave sobriety and being led by the 240 00:10:47,260 --> 00:10:47,620 spirit. 241 00:10:47,620 --> 00:10:49,760 The Bible says, be filled with the spirit. 242 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:52,440 Be not drunk with wine, whereas an excess, but be filled 243 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:52,960 with the spirit. 244 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:55,800 So the Bible basically says, are we going to allow a substance 245 00:10:55,800 --> 00:10:58,480 to control us, or are we going to allow the spirit to control us? 246 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:02,800 And so here he addresses the one who takes outside supplements 247 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:07,120 and substances and tries to appease himself with, with what he 248 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:10,560 thinks is comfort and, and peace, which eventually we're going 249 00:11:10,560 --> 00:11:11,360 to see what that brings. 250 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:14,730 So it says, woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink that puttest 251 00:11:14,730 --> 00:11:17,530 thy bottle to him and make us him drunken also. 252 00:11:17,530 --> 00:11:20,570 And so what we see here is that an individual's drunkenness 253 00:11:20,570 --> 00:11:22,090 eventually leads to affecting others. 254 00:11:22,090 --> 00:11:24,930 And that's what it says here, that he is going to not only be drunk 255 00:11:24,930 --> 00:11:27,970 himself, but put us the bottle in the hands of another to make him 256 00:11:27,970 --> 00:11:31,290 drunk, that thou mayest look on their nakedness. 257 00:11:31,290 --> 00:11:33,610 And so it speaks here through. 258 00:11:33,930 --> 00:11:37,290 Through the prophet Habakkuk from God that he is rebuking those 259 00:11:37,530 --> 00:11:39,530 who are not only drunk themselves. 260 00:11:39,530 --> 00:11:39,930 Yes. 261 00:11:39,930 --> 00:11:44,730 But also that are leading and promoting that lifestyle around others. 262 00:11:45,210 --> 00:11:48,170 And it's kind of unique that he talks about this because I know 263 00:11:48,170 --> 00:11:50,930 many of you have different walks of life and have gone through 264 00:11:50,930 --> 00:11:54,170 different seasons, and maybe you can relate to the fact that other 265 00:11:54,170 --> 00:11:58,010 people who are allowing substances to control them seem to 266 00:11:58,010 --> 00:11:59,730 want other people to join in with them. 267 00:11:59,730 --> 00:12:00,810 Like, you're not having fun. 268 00:12:00,810 --> 00:12:02,090 Come on, have fun with me. 269 00:12:02,090 --> 00:12:04,930 And there's that pool, and there's that desire to have more 270 00:12:04,930 --> 00:12:05,490 come with them. 271 00:12:05,490 --> 00:12:07,370 And that's what he's addressing here in this case. 272 00:12:08,130 --> 00:12:11,330 And so though they thought that this substance, in this case 273 00:12:11,330 --> 00:12:15,930 alcohol, made them feel good, God says that it fills them with 274 00:12:15,930 --> 00:12:17,530 not goodness. 275 00:12:17,530 --> 00:12:18,650 What does it say in verse 16? 276 00:12:18,650 --> 00:12:21,170 Thou art filled with shame for glory. 277 00:12:21,810 --> 00:12:24,330 Drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered. 278 00:12:24,330 --> 00:12:27,970 The cup of the Lord's right hand shall be turned unto thee, and 279 00:12:27,970 --> 00:12:30,850 shameful spewing shall be on thy glory. 280 00:12:31,010 --> 00:12:34,490 And so he says, instead of the good outcome that someone who abuses 281 00:12:34,490 --> 00:12:37,690 these substances expects, it's actually shame. 282 00:12:37,690 --> 00:12:38,970 It's actually the bad outcome. 283 00:12:38,970 --> 00:12:42,210 And it addresses here nakedness, and it addresses here 284 00:12:42,210 --> 00:12:44,650 being uncovered and being in shame. 285 00:12:44,650 --> 00:12:46,690 And what we can see here is this. 286 00:12:46,770 --> 00:12:48,530 What it does, is it. 287 00:12:48,850 --> 00:12:52,330 Any substance that is going to control us allows us to get to a 288 00:12:52,330 --> 00:12:54,850 place in our life where we're not making the right decisions. 289 00:12:55,090 --> 00:12:56,770 Modesty's thrown out the window. 290 00:12:57,170 --> 00:12:58,050 Shame is. 291 00:12:58,130 --> 00:12:59,770 Is ultimately the outcome. 292 00:12:59,770 --> 00:13:02,630 And actually, many people lose their shame when they taken these 293 00:13:02,630 --> 00:13:03,070 substances. 294 00:13:03,070 --> 00:13:04,950 And so that's what it's talking about here, in this case, 295 00:13:04,950 --> 00:13:06,110 Ephesians, chapter 5. 296 00:13:07,070 --> 00:13:07,390 We. 297 00:13:07,390 --> 00:13:10,190 We see that Paul says, be not drunk with wine, whereas an ex. 298 00:13:10,430 --> 00:13:12,110 Excess, but be filled with the spirit. 299 00:13:12,270 --> 00:13:14,550 And so the contrast to this would be someone who is filled with 300 00:13:14,550 --> 00:13:14,910 the spirit. 301 00:13:14,910 --> 00:13:19,630 So the, the damage of drunkenness goes beyond just the. 302 00:13:19,870 --> 00:13:21,630 Just the act itself, right? 303 00:13:21,630 --> 00:13:23,470 I mean, that is destructive for the individual. 304 00:13:23,470 --> 00:13:26,390 So let's say someone who's abusing drugs or abusing alcohol, 305 00:13:26,390 --> 00:13:27,790 it is destructive for them. 306 00:13:28,070 --> 00:13:30,590 But what we actually see in this passage that Habakkuk is talking 307 00:13:30,590 --> 00:13:33,710 about is it is destructive for that person, but it's also destructive 308 00:13:33,710 --> 00:13:34,510 for those around them. 309 00:13:34,510 --> 00:13:35,230 So, so it's a. 310 00:13:35,230 --> 00:13:38,510 It's one of those sins that will inevitably impact others around 311 00:13:38,510 --> 00:13:38,870 us. 312 00:13:39,030 --> 00:13:40,110 And, and that's what he's. 313 00:13:40,110 --> 00:13:42,710 What he's saying here is he's saying, hey, look, as you can see, 314 00:13:42,790 --> 00:13:43,110 you. 315 00:13:43,110 --> 00:13:45,190 You pass that cup to the other person. 316 00:13:45,590 --> 00:13:49,310 And, and in that case, it says here that they go uncovered and that 317 00:13:49,310 --> 00:13:52,190 their, their shame on them, and then shameful spewing shall be 318 00:13:52,190 --> 00:13:52,910 on thy glory. 319 00:13:52,910 --> 00:13:55,870 Which means basically, we're not able to control what we say. 320 00:13:55,870 --> 00:13:57,550 We're not able to control what we do. 321 00:13:57,710 --> 00:14:01,670 And instead of God controlling us, we are having that substance 322 00:14:01,670 --> 00:14:02,310 control us. 323 00:14:02,310 --> 00:14:04,830 And so this speaks to someone who is living in pride. 324 00:14:04,830 --> 00:14:07,150 This speaks to someone who is living outside of faith. 325 00:14:07,710 --> 00:14:11,470 It doesn't mean that someone of faith is, is, is in, you know, 326 00:14:11,630 --> 00:14:13,710 immune to having these sins in their life. 327 00:14:13,710 --> 00:14:15,910 But essentially, as Christians, we know that we can either 328 00:14:15,910 --> 00:14:17,950 walk in the spirit or we can walk in the flesh. 329 00:14:18,350 --> 00:14:21,430 And so an individual who's walking in the spirit will walk in 330 00:14:21,430 --> 00:14:22,910 accordance to the things of God. 331 00:14:23,180 --> 00:14:26,620 An individual who's walking in the flesh will act in accordance 332 00:14:26,620 --> 00:14:27,900 these things that are listed here. 333 00:14:28,300 --> 00:14:32,220 And so we see a woe to the drunkard, the woe to those who allow 334 00:14:32,540 --> 00:14:35,980 substances to appease them and control their life. 335 00:14:36,700 --> 00:14:41,060 And so what we can see here is that God says, you know what, you 336 00:14:41,060 --> 00:14:44,140 think that cup is going to give you some, some type of sub, 337 00:14:44,380 --> 00:14:46,140 substantial sufficiency? 338 00:14:46,140 --> 00:14:46,460 No. 339 00:14:46,620 --> 00:14:49,660 God promises a cup for them, but that is the cup of judgment, 340 00:14:50,290 --> 00:14:51,410 not the cup of pleasure. 341 00:14:51,810 --> 00:14:52,450 Though sin. 342 00:14:52,450 --> 00:14:55,330 The Bible does say that sin is, is pleasurable for a season, 343 00:14:55,570 --> 00:14:57,490 but in due time there will be judgment. 344 00:14:57,730 --> 00:15:00,050 And ultimately, what we have to understand is that we don't want 345 00:15:00,050 --> 00:15:01,730 to be judged in the sins that we have committed. 346 00:15:02,370 --> 00:15:05,450 All of us to some degree can recognize in our life that, hey, 347 00:15:05,450 --> 00:15:08,450 we are characterized by some of these elements here in this passage. 348 00:15:08,690 --> 00:15:12,850 I mean, all of us, maybe we haven't gone to a place of total 349 00:15:12,850 --> 00:15:16,150 destruction in our life, but many of us in our life have carried, 350 00:15:16,300 --> 00:15:20,220 turned our hearts over to the flesh and allowed the sin of pride 351 00:15:20,380 --> 00:15:21,500 to pervade our life. 352 00:15:21,500 --> 00:15:24,140 But what the Bible says is that when we come back to faith and 353 00:15:24,140 --> 00:15:27,220 when we understand who God is and what he has done for us, we're 354 00:15:27,220 --> 00:15:28,700 able to walk in the spirit. 355 00:15:28,700 --> 00:15:29,620 So he's. 356 00:15:29,620 --> 00:15:32,140 This is a warning to those who are walking this way. 357 00:15:32,300 --> 00:15:36,780 And so the last woe here is in verse 18, woe to the idolater. 358 00:15:37,980 --> 00:15:41,740 And typically, when we read about idolatry in the Old Testament, 359 00:15:42,230 --> 00:15:45,430 in our culture today, there's a temptation to just kind of skim 360 00:15:45,430 --> 00:15:50,790 over idolatry because we are under the understanding. 361 00:15:50,790 --> 00:15:55,390 And by the way, it's a, it's a lie that we don't have an idolatry 362 00:15:55,390 --> 00:15:56,550 problem in our culture today. 363 00:15:56,550 --> 00:15:56,830 Why? 364 00:15:56,830 --> 00:15:59,950 Because we don't build statues and worship them, even though many 365 00:15:59,950 --> 00:16:00,550 people do. 366 00:16:00,870 --> 00:16:03,750 But what we can tell through scripture is that idolatry is not 367 00:16:03,750 --> 00:16:05,910 just based to golden idols that are built. 368 00:16:05,990 --> 00:16:09,110 Idolatry is based in worshiping anything outside of God, 369 00:16:09,420 --> 00:16:12,540 putting anything above God, putting any graven image, whether 370 00:16:12,540 --> 00:16:16,860 it's a, you know, I don't know, it could be a vehicle, it could 371 00:16:16,860 --> 00:16:17,620 be a hobby. 372 00:16:17,620 --> 00:16:20,060 It could be, you know, something that we're watching on 373 00:16:20,060 --> 00:16:20,620 the television. 374 00:16:20,620 --> 00:16:21,460 It could be anything. 375 00:16:21,460 --> 00:16:22,220 It could be money. 376 00:16:22,460 --> 00:16:25,339 We know that anything that takes place of God is an idol. 377 00:16:25,339 --> 00:16:26,620 And so that's what we're seeing here. 378 00:16:26,620 --> 00:16:30,180 And actually, I would say that America and the world has an idle 379 00:16:30,180 --> 00:16:30,460 problem. 380 00:16:30,700 --> 00:16:33,740 It's, it's, it's looking at things and it's putting things above 381 00:16:33,740 --> 00:16:34,140 God. 382 00:16:34,790 --> 00:16:35,870 So look at verse number 18 with me. 383 00:16:35,870 --> 00:16:38,150 It says, what profiteth the graven image? 384 00:16:38,790 --> 00:16:42,430 So anything that's made that the maker thereof hath graven it. 385 00:16:42,430 --> 00:16:43,590 The molten image. 386 00:16:43,750 --> 00:16:48,190 A teacher and a teacher of lies that the maker of his work trusted 387 00:16:48,190 --> 00:16:50,070 therein to make dumb idols. 388 00:16:50,629 --> 00:16:52,470 He's basically asking a question here. 389 00:16:53,270 --> 00:16:57,830 He's saying, what, what profit does a graven image have when we 390 00:16:57,830 --> 00:16:59,430 know that there's someone who's made it? 391 00:16:59,590 --> 00:16:59,950 It's. 392 00:16:59,950 --> 00:17:01,190 It's a teacher of lies. 393 00:17:01,990 --> 00:17:02,550 Verse 19. 394 00:17:02,790 --> 00:17:08,070 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, awake to the dumb stone, arise. 395 00:17:08,630 --> 00:17:10,070 He says, that's really what we're doing. 396 00:17:10,150 --> 00:17:13,590 We're taking something that's dead and trying to make it alive. 397 00:17:13,670 --> 00:17:18,110 That's how foolish it is to take an item or a possession or a 398 00:17:18,110 --> 00:17:21,950 thing that we worship and spend time with and say that it's 399 00:17:21,950 --> 00:17:22,910 something that is worth it. 400 00:17:22,910 --> 00:17:25,510 And he's saying here, like this is how silly it is. 401 00:17:26,790 --> 00:17:31,170 He says, you're going to expect wood and a stone to teach. 402 00:17:31,730 --> 00:17:33,170 You know, how crazy is. 403 00:17:33,170 --> 00:17:34,850 He says it's like saying this. 404 00:17:34,850 --> 00:17:36,850 Arise, stone, it shall teach. 405 00:17:36,850 --> 00:17:39,970 Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no 406 00:17:39,970 --> 00:17:41,890 breath at all in the midst of it. 407 00:17:42,770 --> 00:17:43,650 And so in. 408 00:17:43,650 --> 00:17:48,130 In contrast to this lifeless idol, the Lord says, hey, there is 409 00:17:48,130 --> 00:17:49,690 something that you can worship that's alive. 410 00:17:49,690 --> 00:17:50,290 Verse 20. 411 00:17:50,290 --> 00:17:53,250 But the Lord is in his holy temple. 412 00:17:54,220 --> 00:17:56,300 Let all the earth keep silence before him. 413 00:17:56,460 --> 00:17:59,580 So he says, there's things that are worth worshiping, okay? 414 00:17:59,580 --> 00:18:02,580 And the only thing that is worth worshiping is, as we see here, 415 00:18:02,580 --> 00:18:03,660 the true Lord God. 416 00:18:03,740 --> 00:18:04,460 Verse 20. 417 00:18:04,460 --> 00:18:07,020 That's the only thing that we should be worshiping. 418 00:18:07,180 --> 00:18:09,500 Anything outside of that is idolatry. 419 00:18:10,060 --> 00:18:14,300 And so he says, the, the problem with the idolater is that 420 00:18:14,620 --> 00:18:18,700 there is a Huge discrepancy between the thing that he's worshiping, 421 00:18:19,100 --> 00:18:22,540 whether it's a piece of stone or a piece of wood or an item. 422 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:26,640 It compare that lifelessness to the God of all the universe. 423 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:27,720 He says, that's the problem. 424 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:28,600 That's the issue. 425 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:32,960 And so he deals with the greedy man, he deals with the violent 426 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:34,440 man, he deals with the drunkard. 427 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:37,880 And now he's dealing with the individual who is the idolater, who. 428 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:41,960 Who treats inanimate objects like they are alive with intelligence 429 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:43,640 that can teach him things. 430 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:47,000 And so through it all, the point is, is clear. 431 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:51,050 Habakkuk is basically being told by God and communicating to 432 00:18:51,050 --> 00:18:55,650 others that ultimately all of these individuals that are falling 433 00:18:55,650 --> 00:18:58,730 into the trap of these sins will eventually be judged if they 434 00:18:58,730 --> 00:19:00,290 don't come in faith to God. 435 00:19:00,370 --> 00:19:02,130 And it's the same thing for our society today. 436 00:19:02,130 --> 00:19:04,930 Our society today is going down the path of all of these things. 437 00:19:04,930 --> 00:19:08,050 If you look at it, I mean, you could characterize our society as. 438 00:19:08,290 --> 00:19:09,570 As covetous. 439 00:19:11,490 --> 00:19:15,030 You characterize our society by violence, you can characterize 440 00:19:15,030 --> 00:19:18,150 our society by drunkenness, and you can characterize our society 441 00:19:18,150 --> 00:19:19,230 by idolatry. 442 00:19:19,470 --> 00:19:20,830 And it's always been that way. 443 00:19:20,910 --> 00:19:23,390 The fact of the matter is, is that that's man's nature. 444 00:19:23,390 --> 00:19:24,510 That's sinful nature. 445 00:19:24,590 --> 00:19:27,590 It's not like it just got bad after 2020, okay? 446 00:19:27,590 --> 00:19:28,950 There are seasons of. 447 00:19:28,950 --> 00:19:31,470 Of change within the world, and there's. 448 00:19:31,470 --> 00:19:33,950 There's es and flows with societies. 449 00:19:34,190 --> 00:19:36,390 But I would encourage you at some point, if you're. 450 00:19:36,390 --> 00:19:38,910 If you are a studier of history, which I would encourage 451 00:19:38,910 --> 00:19:41,850 you to do if it helps you understand about things about scripture. 452 00:19:41,850 --> 00:19:42,810 I think it's a good thing to study. 453 00:19:43,210 --> 00:19:45,690 Go back and study the Roman Empire. 454 00:19:46,090 --> 00:19:49,450 Go back to study the things that were happening back at the time 455 00:19:49,450 --> 00:19:51,530 of Paul that he was preaching against. 456 00:19:52,410 --> 00:19:55,250 It wasn't like the Roman Empire were these great people that 457 00:19:55,250 --> 00:19:57,610 were really just moral and just missed the point of God. 458 00:19:57,850 --> 00:20:00,370 The people in the Roman Empire were doing the same things that are 459 00:20:00,370 --> 00:20:03,250 happening today, and in many cases, even more public than it is 460 00:20:03,250 --> 00:20:03,530 today. 461 00:20:03,770 --> 00:20:06,730 And you can't even imagine that, but that's how bad it was. 462 00:20:08,210 --> 00:20:11,370 There are passages of scripture that allude to this in 463 00:20:11,370 --> 00:20:13,170 First Corinthians about the people in Corinth. 464 00:20:13,170 --> 00:20:17,130 I mean, to be someone who was evil, to be someone who was a fornicator, 465 00:20:17,130 --> 00:20:20,410 to be someone who was just completely given over to the flesh 466 00:20:20,410 --> 00:20:21,850 meant they would call them. 467 00:20:21,850 --> 00:20:24,130 Hey, you're being a Corinthian, okay? 468 00:20:24,130 --> 00:20:25,730 So the point I'm trying to make is this. 469 00:20:26,210 --> 00:20:27,490 These Sins are not new. 470 00:20:27,650 --> 00:20:30,610 I mean, obviously, thousands of years ago, these individuals were 471 00:20:30,610 --> 00:20:31,970 characterized by these sins. 472 00:20:31,970 --> 00:20:34,690 And thousands of years later, we are still characterized by these 473 00:20:34,690 --> 00:20:36,130 sins in our culture today. 474 00:20:36,130 --> 00:20:36,930 So what do we do? 475 00:20:36,930 --> 00:20:38,650 Well, as believers, we stand up. 476 00:20:38,650 --> 00:20:39,850 And where does it start? 477 00:20:39,850 --> 00:20:41,890 It starts with individual repentance. 478 00:20:42,130 --> 00:20:42,730 Okay? 479 00:20:42,730 --> 00:20:46,770 We cannot expect our society to be effective for the cause of 480 00:20:46,770 --> 00:20:50,290 the truth of God unless we as Christians stand up, right? 481 00:20:50,450 --> 00:20:52,290 Always in the Old Testament, what was it? 482 00:20:52,290 --> 00:20:55,650 It was the call for God's people to stand up to those pagans, 483 00:20:55,810 --> 00:20:56,210 right? 484 00:20:56,450 --> 00:20:58,970 God wasn't looking at the pagans and saying, well, you know 485 00:20:58,970 --> 00:20:59,250 what? 486 00:20:59,410 --> 00:21:01,490 They should be acting like, like believers. 487 00:21:01,490 --> 00:21:04,290 Because you know what the truth is, is that it was Israel's. 488 00:21:04,570 --> 00:21:07,730 Was Israel's responsibility to stand up and to make that change 489 00:21:07,730 --> 00:21:09,770 and to impact those societies around them. 490 00:21:09,770 --> 00:21:11,730 And that's the same thing for us as Christians today. 491 00:21:11,730 --> 00:21:14,650 We are called to impact those people around us. 492 00:21:14,650 --> 00:21:18,330 And so the problem comes is when believers, the people of God 493 00:21:18,650 --> 00:21:21,770 live characterized by these things that the world are characterized 494 00:21:21,770 --> 00:21:22,090 by. 495 00:21:22,410 --> 00:21:25,530 And what we have to see is that at the end, and it's all summarized 496 00:21:25,530 --> 00:21:26,970 in verse 20, right? 497 00:21:26,970 --> 00:21:30,490 The only one that's worthy of our worship, the only one that's 498 00:21:30,730 --> 00:21:31,480 worthy of. 499 00:21:31,630 --> 00:21:34,830 Of our commitment, the only one that's worthy to teach us is 500 00:21:34,830 --> 00:21:35,510 the Lord God. 501 00:21:35,510 --> 00:21:37,910 And at that time, we know that the Lord was dwelling in the holy 502 00:21:37,910 --> 00:21:40,870 temple, and that was his presence. 503 00:21:40,870 --> 00:21:42,510 That's where he was at that time. 504 00:21:42,670 --> 00:21:47,150 But today, okay, theologically speaking, God is not dwelling in 505 00:21:47,150 --> 00:21:50,950 the temple there in Israel, okay, where is God dwelling today? 506 00:21:50,950 --> 00:21:53,710 The Bible says that our bodies are the. 507 00:21:53,710 --> 00:21:54,670 The temple of God. 508 00:21:54,670 --> 00:21:58,590 And so we as Christians are indwelled by the Spirit, therefore 509 00:21:59,010 --> 00:22:00,970 we are carrying around God with us, right? 510 00:22:00,970 --> 00:22:03,250 And the opportunity for us is to say, you know what? 511 00:22:03,330 --> 00:22:08,130 As a believer today, I know that I have the presence of God in 512 00:22:08,130 --> 00:22:11,570 my life, and therefore I cannot be characterized by these 513 00:22:11,570 --> 00:22:11,810 things. 514 00:22:11,810 --> 00:22:15,730 And if I do fall into the trap of these sins, specifically the sin 515 00:22:15,730 --> 00:22:18,490 of pride, that leads to these four outcomes. 516 00:22:18,490 --> 00:22:22,170 I have to come back and die to my flesh and yield the spirit. 517 00:22:22,170 --> 00:22:25,010 If I find myself into a place of idolatry, I need to be. 518 00:22:25,010 --> 00:22:27,640 I need to be aware of that, and I need to have a heart of repentance. 519 00:22:28,110 --> 00:22:31,070 Repentance is turning myself away from that action. 520 00:22:31,710 --> 00:22:34,190 Repentance is not feeling sorry for what I'm doing. 521 00:22:34,990 --> 00:22:39,950 You guys know that there is the reality that I can feel bad for 522 00:22:40,030 --> 00:22:41,790 committing this sin, but keep doing it. 523 00:22:42,750 --> 00:22:44,350 You've seen that happen in your own life, right? 524 00:22:44,350 --> 00:22:47,070 You and I've seen it happen in my life, man, I really wish I didn't 525 00:22:47,070 --> 00:22:49,550 do that, but I'm just going to keep back, keep doing it. 526 00:22:49,710 --> 00:22:52,630 And the truth is that true biblical repentance starts with a 527 00:22:52,630 --> 00:22:54,850 broken heart, a broken and contrite heart. 528 00:22:54,850 --> 00:22:58,090 And it comes to a place where we have to understand that sin is. 529 00:22:58,090 --> 00:22:59,690 Is an offense against God. 530 00:23:00,090 --> 00:23:02,210 You remember when David was dealing with his. 531 00:23:02,210 --> 00:23:06,210 His sin and his repentance, specifically with the sin with Bathsheba, 532 00:23:06,210 --> 00:23:08,410 he talks to God and he says, God, I've sinned against you. 533 00:23:08,970 --> 00:23:12,930 And, and so every time that we fall into the trap of pride or we 534 00:23:12,930 --> 00:23:13,850 fall into the trap of. 535 00:23:13,850 --> 00:23:17,650 Of covetousness or, or any of these sins, we have to realize that, 536 00:23:17,650 --> 00:23:19,450 hey, I need to have a broken heart over this. 537 00:23:19,450 --> 00:23:20,410 I need to have humility. 538 00:23:20,410 --> 00:23:21,530 I need to have repentance. 539 00:23:21,530 --> 00:23:21,850 Why? 540 00:23:22,180 --> 00:23:24,660 Because to get back to a place where I'm living in faith, I have 541 00:23:24,660 --> 00:23:25,780 to be living in humility. 542 00:23:25,860 --> 00:23:28,980 And to be living in humility, I have to understand that I don't 543 00:23:29,300 --> 00:23:31,860 have the strength to do this on my own. 544 00:23:31,860 --> 00:23:33,060 Just like that covetous man. 545 00:23:33,060 --> 00:23:34,820 He tried to build his nest on high. 546 00:23:34,980 --> 00:23:37,780 He tried to avoid the judgment of God. 547 00:23:37,939 --> 00:23:42,460 There's no way that we can avoid God's wrath if we are living 548 00:23:42,460 --> 00:23:43,220 in our own sin. 549 00:23:43,220 --> 00:23:44,020 So what does that mean? 550 00:23:44,260 --> 00:23:46,820 As number one, as believers, we don't have to live under God's 551 00:23:46,820 --> 00:23:47,460 wrath anymore. 552 00:23:48,110 --> 00:23:48,670 That's the beauty. 553 00:23:48,670 --> 00:23:49,630 Romans, chapter 8. 554 00:23:49,870 --> 00:23:52,350 No more condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. 555 00:23:52,990 --> 00:23:55,030 But at the same time, you know what? 556 00:23:55,030 --> 00:23:56,430 It would be just like this. 557 00:23:57,310 --> 00:24:01,270 I was watching this documentary where I forget what animal 558 00:24:01,270 --> 00:24:01,510 it was. 559 00:24:01,510 --> 00:24:03,550 It might have been a tiger or a bear or something. 560 00:24:03,710 --> 00:24:07,510 And they had this animal who had been injured, and he had been 561 00:24:07,510 --> 00:24:09,710 living in captivity for a long time. 562 00:24:10,190 --> 00:24:12,910 And there was that day where they said, okay, we're going to release 563 00:24:12,990 --> 00:24:15,950 him back into the wild to have freedom again, right? 564 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:18,720 Every animal's dream, to be back and running in the wild. 565 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:22,880 And so they get him out there, and I don't know if you guys ever 566 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:23,640 seen a video like this. 567 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:23,840 They. 568 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:25,680 They throw open the cage and everyone gets back. 569 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:28,160 And the animal just sat there and he just stayed in the cage. 570 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:29,200 He didn't know what to do. 571 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:33,200 And in his mind, he was like, the door was open. 572 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:36,520 He had the freedom, but he stayed there in bondage because he 573 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:37,400 didn't know anything else. 574 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:39,280 He was comfortable with getting fed every day. 575 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:41,980 He was comfortable with everything, how it was going, and 576 00:24:41,980 --> 00:24:43,380 he didn't want to go back to that freedom. 577 00:24:43,380 --> 00:24:44,820 And I think that's what happens as Christians. 578 00:24:44,820 --> 00:24:46,020 Sometimes we are the. 579 00:24:46,020 --> 00:24:48,100 The door is thrown wide open of the jail cell. 580 00:24:48,100 --> 00:24:51,260 Like we are free from the bondage of sin and death. 581 00:24:51,420 --> 00:24:54,460 But so many times we're living like we used to live back in those 582 00:24:54,460 --> 00:24:55,220 old ways. 583 00:24:55,220 --> 00:24:58,180 And we're basically going back into the jail cell, putting those 584 00:24:58,180 --> 00:24:59,700 chains back on and trying to live that way. 585 00:24:59,700 --> 00:25:01,180 And God says, no, you're free from that. 586 00:25:01,500 --> 00:25:04,260 And so the beauty is, is that we no longer have to live under the 587 00:25:04,260 --> 00:25:05,180 judgment of God. 588 00:25:05,340 --> 00:25:08,940 When we are believers, we are free from that condemnation. 589 00:25:09,300 --> 00:25:12,500 Now, are there still consequences for our sin? 590 00:25:12,500 --> 00:25:13,300 Sure, right. 591 00:25:13,300 --> 00:25:14,820 There's still consequences for our sin. 592 00:25:14,820 --> 00:25:16,340 And ultimately we have to be aware of that. 593 00:25:16,340 --> 00:25:18,940 But the Bible says if we're living by faith, this is not going 594 00:25:18,940 --> 00:25:22,900 to be our desire anymore because we are saved from our sins, 595 00:25:22,900 --> 00:25:24,180 past, present and future. 596 00:25:24,900 --> 00:25:29,340 But what I would say is this, and this is sometimes a common false 597 00:25:29,340 --> 00:25:31,940 teaching within the church is this, hey, you know what? 598 00:25:31,940 --> 00:25:34,500 I'm a sinner, you're a sinner. 599 00:25:34,890 --> 00:25:35,930 We're just humans. 600 00:25:36,410 --> 00:25:37,530 So therefore, you know what? 601 00:25:37,530 --> 00:25:38,890 Just, just give up the fight. 602 00:25:38,890 --> 00:25:40,250 We're all going to sin anyway. 603 00:25:40,650 --> 00:25:43,610 And it's almost like a justification for just keeping on 604 00:25:43,610 --> 00:25:44,250 in sin. 605 00:25:44,250 --> 00:25:46,770 Well, the Bible says in Romans, chapter six, verse one, Paul 606 00:25:46,770 --> 00:25:49,530 says, don't continue in sin, God forbid that. 607 00:25:50,090 --> 00:25:53,210 The reality is, is that none of us can live a perfect life, but 608 00:25:53,210 --> 00:25:56,210 all of us can strive to be more and more like Christ and avoid 609 00:25:56,210 --> 00:25:58,250 those sins that so easily beset us. 610 00:25:58,250 --> 00:26:00,010 As the Bible said, lay aside every weight. 611 00:26:00,580 --> 00:26:02,740 And so here in this passage of scripture, the, the. 612 00:26:03,300 --> 00:26:05,460 We're really dealing with two different types of people. 613 00:26:05,860 --> 00:26:09,260 For the unsaved person, they're still living under the guilt 614 00:26:09,260 --> 00:26:10,100 of their sin. 615 00:26:10,260 --> 00:26:12,740 And the Bible says ultimately they're going to be living in the 616 00:26:12,740 --> 00:26:15,460 judgment of God one day if they don't repent. 617 00:26:16,180 --> 00:26:20,700 Now we as believers are no longer living under the bondage of 618 00:26:20,700 --> 00:26:20,940 sin. 619 00:26:20,940 --> 00:26:22,620 We are living in the freedom in Christ. 620 00:26:22,620 --> 00:26:24,740 And so in the New Testament, it talks all about that. 621 00:26:25,060 --> 00:26:28,580 But what can happen is that we can revert back to that old way of 622 00:26:28,580 --> 00:26:31,740 living and, and lose the joy of our salvation and lose the impact 623 00:26:31,740 --> 00:26:35,180 of what God has called us to have and miss the opportunity to 624 00:26:35,500 --> 00:26:39,740 serve him and to love him and to ultimately lead people to the 625 00:26:39,740 --> 00:26:40,580 truth of Jesus Christ. 626 00:26:40,580 --> 00:26:43,180 And so when we see this passage of scripture, I think a lot 627 00:26:43,180 --> 00:26:47,100 of times we say, well, oh man, I was prideful today. 628 00:26:47,180 --> 00:26:48,940 Does that mean I'm going to be judged by God? 629 00:26:48,940 --> 00:26:52,540 Well, the reality is, is no, none of us can live perfectly. 630 00:26:52,620 --> 00:26:55,860 But at the end of the day we should be striving to be living as, 631 00:26:55,860 --> 00:26:58,300 as verse four says in Habakkuk chapter two. 632 00:26:58,860 --> 00:26:59,300 Okay? 633 00:26:59,300 --> 00:27:01,500 The just shall live by faith. 634 00:27:02,380 --> 00:27:03,420 Live by faith. 635 00:27:03,580 --> 00:27:04,380 We're saved. 636 00:27:04,380 --> 00:27:05,620 I talked about this on Sunday morning. 637 00:27:05,620 --> 00:27:07,260 We are saved by faith. 638 00:27:07,420 --> 00:27:09,020 And that's a one time thing. 639 00:27:09,020 --> 00:27:10,220 That's justification. 640 00:27:10,620 --> 00:27:15,100 But the Bible also calls us to live by faith, to live and to walk 641 00:27:15,100 --> 00:27:15,900 in faith. 642 00:27:16,220 --> 00:27:18,540 And that's something that's harder for me, right, because it's 643 00:27:18,540 --> 00:27:21,100 very easy for me to go back to that day where I trusted in Jesus 644 00:27:21,100 --> 00:27:22,060 Christ as my Savior. 645 00:27:22,140 --> 00:27:24,780 It's very easy for me to go back to that moment where I knew 646 00:27:24,780 --> 00:27:28,420 that no longer am I bound for the destination of destruction in 647 00:27:28,420 --> 00:27:30,620 hell, but now I have the destination of heaven. 648 00:27:30,620 --> 00:27:34,020 But sometimes it's difficult for me to live in faith in the day 649 00:27:34,020 --> 00:27:34,540 to day. 650 00:27:35,020 --> 00:27:37,660 And so I, I want you to see another passage of scripture that 651 00:27:37,660 --> 00:27:40,780 we can address and that is Hebrews chapter 11. 652 00:27:41,660 --> 00:27:44,420 And, and I want you to see Hebrews 11, verse 6. 653 00:27:44,420 --> 00:27:46,620 And some of you are very familiar with this passage. 654 00:27:46,780 --> 00:27:50,700 But I think it's important for us to go and understand this passage 655 00:27:51,020 --> 00:27:57,260 because I think that so many times in, in Christianity, the broad 656 00:27:57,260 --> 00:28:01,620 scope of faith, people think that faith is just this one time 657 00:28:01,620 --> 00:28:02,460 thing that we do. 658 00:28:03,020 --> 00:28:07,180 So I put my faith in God back in 1985 or whatever. 659 00:28:07,260 --> 00:28:10,060 And so I, I have faith in God because I placed my faith in God 660 00:28:10,060 --> 00:28:10,620 that day. 661 00:28:10,940 --> 00:28:14,460 And yes, you put faith that God would save you, but there are 662 00:28:14,460 --> 00:28:17,860 things that we have to do on our daily walk to trust in him and 663 00:28:17,860 --> 00:28:18,780 to rely on him. 664 00:28:19,270 --> 00:28:22,830 Because I, I don't know if this is something that you struggle 665 00:28:22,830 --> 00:28:26,110 with, but for me I struggle with the fact that yes, I believe 666 00:28:26,110 --> 00:28:27,830 God can save me from my sins. 667 00:28:27,830 --> 00:28:31,750 I believe God can send me on a path to eternal life with him. 668 00:28:31,750 --> 00:28:34,790 But I struggle with God taking care of my day to day. 669 00:28:35,189 --> 00:28:37,390 Which is, which is what Satan wants to have happen. 670 00:28:37,390 --> 00:28:39,670 Satan wants us to doubt God on the day to day. 671 00:28:39,830 --> 00:28:42,070 So we go to Hebrews chapter six and we're talking about this 672 00:28:42,070 --> 00:28:42,670 idea of faith. 673 00:28:42,670 --> 00:28:45,030 The just shall live by faith. 674 00:28:45,030 --> 00:28:48,140 Not just, just be saved by faith, but be living by faith. 675 00:28:48,140 --> 00:28:52,420 And so it says here in verse 6, but without faith it is impossible 676 00:28:52,420 --> 00:28:53,380 to please him. 677 00:28:54,180 --> 00:28:57,980 Now there, there are some scholars that look at that and they 678 00:28:57,980 --> 00:28:59,620 say, well that just means salvation. 679 00:28:59,620 --> 00:29:01,380 You can't please God unless you're saved. 680 00:29:01,460 --> 00:29:04,540 But I believe that, you know, obviously as Christians we can walk 681 00:29:04,540 --> 00:29:06,420 and please God by our actions today. 682 00:29:06,980 --> 00:29:10,340 And so I think here what it's saying is that we can't live a life 683 00:29:10,580 --> 00:29:14,700 of faithlessness in the day to day and please God and obey him. 684 00:29:14,700 --> 00:29:16,660 Because what does it take to obey Him? 685 00:29:16,660 --> 00:29:17,340 It takes faith. 686 00:29:17,340 --> 00:29:20,220 Like, I'm not going to obey the things that God has called me 687 00:29:20,220 --> 00:29:22,700 to do unless I trust that he is going to keep his word. 688 00:29:23,260 --> 00:29:26,020 So let's say, for example, hypothetically speaking, God calls 689 00:29:26,020 --> 00:29:29,980 you to do something in the ministry, in the church, and you 690 00:29:29,980 --> 00:29:33,540 say, well, Lord, I know you're calling me to do that, you've made 691 00:29:33,540 --> 00:29:36,940 it very clear to me, but I don't think that I can do that. 692 00:29:37,020 --> 00:29:39,960 So therefore what I'm going to do is, is I'm just going to trust 693 00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:43,200 in my own understanding of this and not trust in you. 694 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:45,960 Now there's no way that we can please him in that because we're 695 00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:47,280 disobeying Him. 696 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:48,880 He's called us to do something. 697 00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:52,640 We're disobeying him because we don't trust that his call is sufficient. 698 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:54,600 We're trusting in what we do. 699 00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:57,560 So what we have to understand here in this case, it says, but without 700 00:29:57,560 --> 00:29:59,080 faith, it's impossible to please him. 701 00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:00,320 Verse 6 of Hebrews 11. 702 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:02,200 And then, I love this second part. 703 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:08,240 He says, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and 704 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:11,920 that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. 705 00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:17,120 And so it's, it's real life things that test our faith. 706 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:21,680 And for us to understand that if we seek after him in faith, he 707 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:22,560 will reward us. 708 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:25,440 It says, diligently seeking him, He's a rewarder of them. 709 00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:29,120 So, so God is not going to punish us if we trust him. 710 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:31,360 That's just the reality of things. 711 00:30:31,830 --> 00:30:36,510 And then if you go through all of Hebrews chapter 11, right by faith, 712 00:30:36,510 --> 00:30:40,830 Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with 713 00:30:40,830 --> 00:30:42,870 fear, prepared an ark, right? 714 00:30:42,870 --> 00:30:47,510 So he, his faith was proved or demonstrated by building the ark. 715 00:30:47,990 --> 00:30:50,150 Okay, you could go through all these by faith. 716 00:30:50,150 --> 00:30:53,590 Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should 717 00:30:53,590 --> 00:30:56,510 after receive a for inheritance, obeyed, and he went 718 00:30:56,510 --> 00:30:56,870 out. 719 00:30:58,270 --> 00:31:01,510 And so it's not the action that saves us, it's not the action 720 00:31:01,510 --> 00:31:05,910 that keeps us saved, but it is the action that demonstrates true 721 00:31:05,910 --> 00:31:06,350 faith. 722 00:31:06,510 --> 00:31:09,550 And for us as believers, that's the test of faith. 723 00:31:10,350 --> 00:31:13,149 We can say all day that we have faith, but when God tests our 724 00:31:13,149 --> 00:31:17,150 faith, are we willing to say, look, I'm trusting in him and I'm 725 00:31:17,150 --> 00:31:17,870 not preaching that. 726 00:31:17,870 --> 00:31:20,110 Hey, it's works that save you. 727 00:31:20,270 --> 00:31:22,670 It's not, it's authentic faith that saves us. 728 00:31:22,670 --> 00:31:24,510 It's authentic faith that grows us. 729 00:31:24,900 --> 00:31:27,700 For by grace are you saved through faith and then not of yourselves. 730 00:31:27,860 --> 00:31:30,100 But what I am saying, and I don't think we can get around it 731 00:31:30,100 --> 00:31:32,860 in Scripture, when we are tested with faith, we can't just 732 00:31:32,860 --> 00:31:33,700 say, well, I've got faith. 733 00:31:33,700 --> 00:31:34,260 Here's the test. 734 00:31:34,260 --> 00:31:35,260 Well, I'm not going to trust God. 735 00:31:35,260 --> 00:31:36,260 That's not having faith. 736 00:31:36,260 --> 00:31:39,380 What it is, having faith is taking a step in trusting in him 737 00:31:39,460 --> 00:31:42,460 to do the things that he has called us to do and to not do the 738 00:31:42,460 --> 00:31:43,780 things that he has called us not to do. 739 00:31:43,780 --> 00:31:46,420 And each one of these examples in the book of Hebrews has a real 740 00:31:46,420 --> 00:31:47,020 life example. 741 00:31:47,020 --> 00:31:47,940 It's not theoretical. 742 00:31:48,900 --> 00:31:52,190 It's not like he and Abraham sat on that hill and said, I do believe 743 00:31:52,190 --> 00:31:53,070 that God exists. 744 00:31:53,070 --> 00:31:54,270 I do believe God will send. 745 00:31:54,270 --> 00:31:55,190 No, what did he do? 746 00:31:55,190 --> 00:31:57,630 He took action to demonstrate that he trusted. 747 00:31:57,870 --> 00:32:00,150 And every case that you look at here, there's. 748 00:32:00,150 --> 00:32:02,350 There's action tied to that faith. 749 00:32:02,430 --> 00:32:05,750 It's not the action that is the faith, it's the faith that produces 750 00:32:05,750 --> 00:32:06,030 that. 751 00:32:06,269 --> 00:32:10,390 And so I say all that to, to demonstrate what Habakkuk chapter 752 00:32:10,390 --> 00:32:11,470 2, verse 4 is saying. 753 00:32:11,470 --> 00:32:14,390 The just, those that are saved will live by faith. 754 00:32:14,390 --> 00:32:18,680 We are saved by faith, and we are sanctified by faith. 755 00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:22,440 Okay, A lot of people think, well, I know I'm not saved by my 756 00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:25,960 works, but I feel like I have to work to grow as a Christian. 757 00:32:26,760 --> 00:32:31,040 You grow in your faith, you grow in your spiritual walk. 758 00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:33,000 Just as you were saved, you're saved by faith. 759 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:34,520 You were sanctified by faith. 760 00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:37,160 Now ultimately, it's the actions that get us there. 761 00:32:37,160 --> 00:32:38,240 But we're not going to. 762 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:40,800 You know, I can sit here and memorize Bible verses all day. 763 00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:42,840 That means nothing unless I'm doing it in faith. 764 00:32:44,150 --> 00:32:44,310 I. 765 00:32:44,310 --> 00:32:45,430 I can feed the hungry. 766 00:32:45,430 --> 00:32:47,950 I can, I can serve in a ministry of the church. 767 00:32:47,950 --> 00:32:49,870 It means nothing unless I'm growing in faith. 768 00:32:49,870 --> 00:32:52,230 I want, I want to take you to one other passage here because I 769 00:32:52,230 --> 00:32:56,390 think that so many times we think that the spiritual growth comes 770 00:32:56,390 --> 00:33:00,630 through just being more of a good person. 771 00:33:01,030 --> 00:33:03,110 Just, I need to try harder to be a good person. 772 00:33:03,270 --> 00:33:05,550 But, but I want you to see First Corinthians, chapter three. 773 00:33:05,550 --> 00:33:07,590 And this will be the last passage of scripture that we look 774 00:33:07,590 --> 00:33:07,830 at. 775 00:33:07,910 --> 00:33:11,430 The Bible very clearly tells us how spiritual maturity happens. 776 00:33:12,370 --> 00:33:16,810 How do we get to that place where we are people of faith, characterized 777 00:33:16,810 --> 00:33:17,570 by our faith? 778 00:33:18,690 --> 00:33:20,250 Well, some might say, well, you know what? 779 00:33:20,250 --> 00:33:22,370 I just need to, I need to be in more Bible studies. 780 00:33:22,370 --> 00:33:24,570 I need to follow Pastor Josh's Bible study more. 781 00:33:24,570 --> 00:33:28,970 And I need to, I need to make sure I have all of my eyes dotted 782 00:33:28,970 --> 00:33:32,130 and my T's crossed in his class or whatever class. 783 00:33:32,450 --> 00:33:35,050 But what we're going to see here in this passage is that true 784 00:33:35,050 --> 00:33:39,010 growth can ultimately only come from one source. 785 00:33:40,010 --> 00:33:42,330 So look at it here with me in 1st Corinthians 3. 786 00:33:43,370 --> 00:33:46,490 Paul is talking to the Christians in Corinth, and he's saying, 787 00:33:46,490 --> 00:33:48,170 look, you should be on the meat. 788 00:33:48,810 --> 00:33:52,370 I need to teach you about some things about spiritual growth, but 789 00:33:52,370 --> 00:33:53,210 you're not ready. 790 00:33:53,690 --> 00:33:54,210 Verse 1. 791 00:33:54,210 --> 00:33:57,330 He says, and I brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual. 792 00:33:57,330 --> 00:33:59,690 He's like, I can't speak to you in spiritual matters. 793 00:33:59,690 --> 00:34:00,010 Why? 794 00:34:00,890 --> 00:34:06,290 But as unto carnal or fleshly, even as unto babes in Christ, he 795 00:34:06,290 --> 00:34:08,170 says, you guys are still spiritual babies. 796 00:34:08,360 --> 00:34:09,400 You're still in the flesh. 797 00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:11,480 I use this analogy all the time. 798 00:34:11,640 --> 00:34:13,960 A baby is selfish, okay? 799 00:34:14,040 --> 00:34:18,800 As, as cute as they are, as, as, as cuddly as they are, they are 800 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:19,240 selfish. 801 00:34:19,240 --> 00:34:20,360 All they want is their food. 802 00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:21,480 All they want is their sleep. 803 00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:22,720 All they want is their comfort. 804 00:34:22,720 --> 00:34:23,760 And so what is he saying here? 805 00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:26,880 He says, I can't even speak to you on spiritual growth and, and, 806 00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:28,760 and maturing because why? 807 00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:30,800 You're still fleshly, you're still selfish. 808 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:31,960 You're still all about you. 809 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:33,200 You're babes in Christ. 810 00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:36,200 He says, I have fed you with the milk, and the milk is a necessity. 811 00:34:36,200 --> 00:34:37,600 Everyone needs milk, okay? 812 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:38,600 Everyone does. 813 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:42,840 All babies need that formul formula or milk to give them that 814 00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:43,200 growth. 815 00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:44,400 And he says, I. 816 00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:46,360 But I've not been able to feed you with me. 817 00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:48,200 I have fed you with milk and not with me. 818 00:34:48,200 --> 00:34:49,360 I can't feed you with me. 819 00:34:49,680 --> 00:34:51,160 That, that's the solid foods. 820 00:34:51,160 --> 00:34:52,320 That's, that's maturity. 821 00:34:52,720 --> 00:34:55,160 And really, when people talk about meat, they're not just talking 822 00:34:55,160 --> 00:34:58,240 about deep things like, not just talking about end times and, 823 00:34:58,320 --> 00:34:59,640 and, and, and tough stuff. 824 00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:02,720 It's talking about deeper things of the faith that are actually 825 00:35:02,720 --> 00:35:04,120 applied, okay? 826 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:07,280 Because we can sit here and be theoretical, but really the meat 827 00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:11,760 is the, the more difficult things to do within our faith. 828 00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:16,479 And so it says here, I wanted to feed you with meat. 829 00:35:16,479 --> 00:35:17,040 I couldn't. 830 00:35:17,040 --> 00:35:20,400 For hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet. 831 00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:21,280 Now are ye able. 832 00:35:21,280 --> 00:35:22,560 He says, you're not ready for it. 833 00:35:22,720 --> 00:35:26,120 And we do need to give people the appropriate nutrition at the 834 00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:26,800 appropriate time. 835 00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:29,160 So Paul recognizes that, but he's like, you need to get to that 836 00:35:29,160 --> 00:35:30,080 spiritual maturity. 837 00:35:30,710 --> 00:35:31,270 Verse 3. 838 00:35:31,510 --> 00:35:32,150 For our. 839 00:35:32,230 --> 00:35:37,590 For ye are yet carnal Fleshly, selfish, walking in the flesh. 840 00:35:38,150 --> 00:35:39,630 For whereas there is among you. 841 00:35:39,630 --> 00:35:43,430 And then he says, this is how I know that you're still like fleshly. 842 00:35:43,590 --> 00:35:44,630 You're still carnal. 843 00:35:45,270 --> 00:35:49,030 Because with them comes envying, envy or greed. 844 00:35:49,190 --> 00:35:49,830 Okay? 845 00:35:49,990 --> 00:35:51,350 Kind of similar to Habakkuk. 846 00:35:52,310 --> 00:35:56,570 For whereas there is envying and strife, strife is fighting, conflict, 847 00:35:56,570 --> 00:35:57,450 divisions. 848 00:35:58,170 --> 00:36:03,130 Are ye not carnal and walk as men, walk as fleshly men. 849 00:36:03,130 --> 00:36:05,010 He says, you're not walking spirit led. 850 00:36:05,010 --> 00:36:08,410 You're walking as a man of this world, not a man of God. 851 00:36:08,650 --> 00:36:09,210 Verse 4. 852 00:36:09,210 --> 00:36:11,889 For while one saith, I am a Paul, so he says, some of you are 853 00:36:11,889 --> 00:36:13,090 like, I'm from Paul, Paul. 854 00:36:13,090 --> 00:36:14,410 I'm a follower of Paul. 855 00:36:15,610 --> 00:36:17,290 In other, I am of Apollos. 856 00:36:17,450 --> 00:36:18,450 I follow Apollos. 857 00:36:18,450 --> 00:36:19,050 He's my man. 858 00:36:19,050 --> 00:36:19,930 That's who I'm following. 859 00:36:20,170 --> 00:36:20,490 He. 860 00:36:20,490 --> 00:36:25,030 He says, here though, are you not carnal? 861 00:36:25,030 --> 00:36:25,830 That's fleshly. 862 00:36:25,910 --> 00:36:28,070 It's fleshly to follow a person. 863 00:36:28,550 --> 00:36:30,630 So the spiritual growth does not come from Paul. 864 00:36:30,710 --> 00:36:32,710 Spiritual growth does not come from Apollos. 865 00:36:33,750 --> 00:36:35,630 He says in verse five, who then is Paul? 866 00:36:35,630 --> 00:36:36,390 Who is Paul? 867 00:36:36,470 --> 00:36:37,510 Who is Apollos? 868 00:36:37,589 --> 00:36:42,430 But ministers are servants by whom ye believed, even as the Lord 869 00:36:42,430 --> 00:36:43,150 gave to every man. 870 00:36:43,150 --> 00:36:45,430 He says, so you're not learning from a man. 871 00:36:46,310 --> 00:36:49,820 Ultimately, they're just servants professing the truth of 872 00:36:49,820 --> 00:36:50,180 God. 873 00:36:50,740 --> 00:36:53,220 I'm going somewhere with this, so just follow me for a second. 874 00:36:53,300 --> 00:36:54,820 He says, Paul speaks. 875 00:36:54,820 --> 00:36:56,420 He says, I have planted some. 876 00:36:56,420 --> 00:37:01,220 Plant the seed Apollo's watered, but God gave the increase. 877 00:37:01,620 --> 00:37:03,620 That word increase also means growth. 878 00:37:03,859 --> 00:37:06,420 Okay, The Greek word there just means growth or fruit. 879 00:37:06,980 --> 00:37:07,740 So what does that mean? 880 00:37:07,740 --> 00:37:12,180 That means, yeah, God uses Paul, or God uses you and me to plant 881 00:37:12,180 --> 00:37:13,420 the seed in other people's lives. 882 00:37:13,420 --> 00:37:14,340 The truth of God. 883 00:37:15,290 --> 00:37:16,890 God uses a palace to water. 884 00:37:16,890 --> 00:37:18,530 God uses other Christians to water. 885 00:37:18,530 --> 00:37:22,130 But ultimately spiritual growth only comes through God, through 886 00:37:22,130 --> 00:37:24,770 a relationship with him, through trusting in him, from. 887 00:37:24,770 --> 00:37:26,010 From growing in him. 888 00:37:26,490 --> 00:37:26,810 And. 889 00:37:26,810 --> 00:37:30,130 And so he says, so then neither is he that planted anything, 890 00:37:30,130 --> 00:37:33,770 neither the he that watereth, but is God that gives the increase. 891 00:37:33,770 --> 00:37:34,570 And so we. 892 00:37:34,570 --> 00:37:37,730 We could go further on that, but ultimately what he's saying is 893 00:37:37,730 --> 00:37:37,930 this. 894 00:37:37,930 --> 00:37:41,610 He says, if you want to grow, if you want to mature, if you want 895 00:37:41,610 --> 00:37:43,450 to be characterized by faith, it's not faithful. 896 00:37:43,520 --> 00:37:46,960 Faith in a person outside of Jesus Christ is not faith in a pastor. 897 00:37:46,960 --> 00:37:48,160 It's not faith in a teacher. 898 00:37:48,320 --> 00:37:49,760 It's not just faith in myself. 899 00:37:49,760 --> 00:37:50,960 It's not just hard work. 900 00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:56,560 Ultimately, true growth comes from the word of God being planted 901 00:37:56,560 --> 00:37:59,880 in people's lives, being watered and fostered. 902 00:37:59,880 --> 00:38:01,920 But ultimately it's God who gives that increase. 903 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:04,640 And so when we look at that book of Habakkuk and we say, the 904 00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:07,160 just shall live by faith, man, I just really need to strive harder 905 00:38:07,160 --> 00:38:08,240 to be more faithful. 906 00:38:09,210 --> 00:38:11,210 It's not so much of us trying harder. 907 00:38:11,530 --> 00:38:15,450 It's us relying on God more and understanding him more. 908 00:38:15,450 --> 00:38:21,010 And so faith is dying to self, surrendering ourselves over to God 909 00:38:21,010 --> 00:38:24,250 and saying, God, I know you're a rewarder of those who diligently 910 00:38:24,250 --> 00:38:26,010 seek you, so I'm seeking after you. 911 00:38:26,170 --> 00:38:29,130 And that's what it means to not only be saved by faith, but also 912 00:38:29,850 --> 00:38:31,530 to live by faith. 913 00:38:31,530 --> 00:38:34,730 And so I hope that that is something that can help us. 914 00:38:35,050 --> 00:38:36,250 Especially if you look at those. 915 00:38:36,250 --> 00:38:37,090 Those four areas. 916 00:38:37,090 --> 00:38:39,210 And some of you would say, well, Pastor, I'm not. 917 00:38:39,610 --> 00:38:44,410 I'm not a idolater, I'm not a drunkard, I'm not a violent person, 918 00:38:44,490 --> 00:38:47,210 and I'm not even someone who is very covetous. 919 00:38:47,530 --> 00:38:48,890 Well, you know, it, it. 920 00:38:48,890 --> 00:38:52,050 All of us to some degree, have fallen into that trap at some point 921 00:38:52,050 --> 00:38:54,170 in our life, whether, whether it's to the. 922 00:38:54,250 --> 00:38:54,650 The. 923 00:38:54,890 --> 00:38:57,850 The tenth degree or the second degree, but all of us to some varying 924 00:38:57,850 --> 00:39:00,010 degree have fallen into that trap of pride. 925 00:39:00,500 --> 00:39:02,740 And what I would encourage you to do is think about, hey, you know 926 00:39:02,740 --> 00:39:07,220 what, am I characterized by faith, or am I characterized by me 927 00:39:07,220 --> 00:39:08,820 trying to handle it on my own? 928 00:39:08,900 --> 00:39:11,260 And that's what Habakkuk 2 is all about. 929 00:39:11,260 --> 00:39:13,220 Just, are you gonna live by faith or are you gonna live by your 930 00:39:13,220 --> 00:39:13,740 own works? 931 00:39:13,740 --> 00:39:16,860 And if you live by faith, the Bible says we don't have to face 932 00:39:16,860 --> 00:39:19,060 the judgment of God, so we can live in those two areas. 933 00:39:19,220 --> 00:39:23,580 We can either live in humanity itself, not just us, but you can 934 00:39:23,580 --> 00:39:25,940 either live in justification or live in judgment. 935 00:39:26,140 --> 00:39:28,380 And none of us want to live in the judgment of God. 936 00:39:28,380 --> 00:39:30,700 We want to live justified in his truth. 937 00:39:30,700 --> 00:39:33,820 And so I hope that that was encouraging for you. 938 00:39:33,820 --> 00:39:37,300 We're going to come back next week and we're going to look at Habakkuk 939 00:39:37,300 --> 00:39:37,900 chapter three. 940 00:39:37,900 --> 00:39:41,580 We're going to essentially see the conclusion of the book. 941 00:39:41,580 --> 00:39:43,020 And really, it's a prayer. 942 00:39:43,420 --> 00:39:49,140 Starting In Habakkuk chapter 3, verse 1, there is a prayer of 943 00:39:49,140 --> 00:39:49,700 revival. 944 00:39:49,700 --> 00:39:52,180 And that's really what the outcome should be, right? 945 00:39:52,180 --> 00:39:52,860 So when we. 946 00:39:53,020 --> 00:39:55,420 And essentially what's happening here is God says, okay, 947 00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:58,320 here is the truth. 948 00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:00,800 Here is why you need the truth. 949 00:40:01,280 --> 00:40:04,040 Here's why you need God, because this is what you characterize. 950 00:40:04,040 --> 00:40:06,160 Greed, selfishness, all these things. 951 00:40:06,320 --> 00:40:08,960 And then he says, and ultimately, what does that produce? 952 00:40:08,960 --> 00:40:11,759 Well, it produces as we're going to See in chapter three, a 953 00:40:11,759 --> 00:40:12,880 prayer for revival. 954 00:40:13,040 --> 00:40:14,400 And that's really where our heart should be. 955 00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:19,560 If we know where we are and we know where God is and we know where 956 00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:22,540 our world is, really, we should come to a place of revival. 957 00:40:22,540 --> 00:40:25,820 And we want, you know, I think a lot of times churches want. 958 00:40:25,820 --> 00:40:26,220 We, we. 959 00:40:26,220 --> 00:40:27,940 We use the word revival a lot. 960 00:40:28,740 --> 00:40:29,260 Revive. 961 00:40:29,260 --> 00:40:30,100 We want revival. 962 00:40:30,660 --> 00:40:32,100 And, and I don't know if. 963 00:40:32,100 --> 00:40:35,060 If everyone even knows what that word mean. 964 00:40:35,300 --> 00:40:40,020 Means revival means new life to be re. 965 00:40:40,980 --> 00:40:45,540 Re not reborn so much as the idea of just being revitalized in 966 00:40:45,540 --> 00:40:46,340 the truth of God. 967 00:40:46,420 --> 00:40:49,430 But anytime in scripture, we see revival. 968 00:40:49,830 --> 00:40:53,630 It's always tied to repentance because we're not going to be revived 969 00:40:53,630 --> 00:40:55,910 in the truth of God if we just think that everything's okay. 970 00:40:55,910 --> 00:40:58,070 We need something to change, to move forward. 971 00:40:58,150 --> 00:41:01,310 And so in many cases, that means that we have to come to a place 972 00:41:01,310 --> 00:41:02,070 of repentance. 973 00:41:02,070 --> 00:41:04,950 We have to come to a realization of what I need to do. 974 00:41:05,030 --> 00:41:07,990 Because sometimes we think of corporate revival like, hey, you 975 00:41:07,990 --> 00:41:09,070 know, it's a church in America. 976 00:41:09,070 --> 00:41:10,390 We need to get on fire for God. 977 00:41:10,630 --> 00:41:14,590 The way that we get on fire for God in America is that I need 978 00:41:14,590 --> 00:41:15,550 to get on fire for God. 979 00:41:15,550 --> 00:41:15,710 Right? 980 00:41:15,710 --> 00:41:19,140 I can't affect anybody else other than ultimately I can do what 981 00:41:19,140 --> 00:41:20,220 I can do for the Lord. 982 00:41:20,220 --> 00:41:24,940 And hopefully my revival that's happening in my life is spurring 983 00:41:24,940 --> 00:41:25,900 other people's revival. 984 00:41:26,460 --> 00:41:28,700 But ultimately I can't wait for somebody else. 985 00:41:29,100 --> 00:41:29,740 Okay? 986 00:41:29,980 --> 00:41:31,740 And I think that's a lot of times what we do. 987 00:41:31,740 --> 00:41:31,940 We. 988 00:41:31,940 --> 00:41:33,420 We say, well, someone else start. 989 00:41:33,739 --> 00:41:34,940 I don't want to be the first one. 990 00:41:35,180 --> 00:41:38,860 And so the Bible says very clearly the revival and the repentance 991 00:41:38,860 --> 00:41:39,780 starts in our own heart. 992 00:41:39,780 --> 00:41:41,740 So we'll talk about that next week when we come back. 993 00:41:42,780 --> 00:41:45,420 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 994 00:41:45,420 --> 00:41:46,060 podcast. 995 00:41:46,300 --> 00:41:47,920 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing. 996 00:41:47,990 --> 00:41:48,710 Blessing for you. 997 00:41:49,350 --> 00:41:51,550 You would like to find out more information about our church 998 00:41:51,550 --> 00:41:55,030 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 999 00:41:55,350 --> 00:41:57,910 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 1000 00:41:58,630 --> 00:42:03,070 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch 1001 00:42:03,070 --> 00:42:05,750 dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast. 1002 00:42:05,910 --> 00:42:10,390 Please subscribe and follow along for future podcast and updates. 1003 00:42:11,030 --> 00:42:11,910 Thank you so much. 1004 00:42:12,230 --> 00:42:12,950 God bless. 1005 00:42:13,190 --> 00:42:14,470 Have a wonderful day.