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Hello and welcome to the
Middletown Baptist Church podcast,

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where we are proclaiming the
truth to the world.

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My name is Pastor Josh and I
want to thank you for listening to

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this podcast.

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I hope that this podcast can
be a blessing to you and strengthen

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you in the word of God.

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Now come along, let's look
into the Bible and see what God has

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for us here today.

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I'd like you to turn with me,
if you can, with your bibles, to

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two corinthians, chapter six.

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Second Corinthians, chapter six.

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Last week we looked at what it
means to be a faithful servant of

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the Lord, an ambassador, as
the Bible calls here in two corinthians.

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And we looked at what it means
to be characterized by faith and

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endurance.

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How can we be servants of God,
characterized by faith and endurance

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as ambassadors of God, we're
called to be faithful to him in the

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ups and in the downs, in the
easy and in the difficult.

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Sometimes it is very
convenient for us to be ambassadors

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for Christ when everything's
going our way, when everything's

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going well.

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But the true test for us as
christians is to stay faithful, as

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the Bible says here, patient
with endurance when the difficulties

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come.

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Now, I want you to be there in
two corinthians, chapter six, and

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probably just look back a few verses.

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Maybe for you it's one page
back, maybe for you it's on the same

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page, but two Corinthians,
chapter five, verse 14.

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Paul explains his motivation
behind all of this.

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He explains his motivation as
being an ambassador for Christ.

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He explains his motivation for
faithful servant, for service.

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He explains his motivation to
be patient in endurance.

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He says it here in verse 14.

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He says, for the love of
Christ, constraineth us.

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What that means is this.

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He says, it's the love of
Christ that compels me to do this.

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It's not necessarily a fear of
missing out.

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It's not necessarily a fear of judgment.

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But it is God's love that he
has demonstrated for me that causes

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me to be compelled to do this
for the Lord.

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And so as he lays out that new
thought about being an ambassador,

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he says, it's because of the
love of Christ.

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And then he goes through what
that means to experience the love

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of Christ.

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In verse 17, he says,
therefore, if any man be in Christ,

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he is a new creature.

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Old things are passed away.

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Behold, all things are become new.

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And so he says, hey, this is
what it looks like to experience

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the love of God, to be a new
creation, to put your faith in the

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Lord and for him to forgive
you for him to free you from the

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bondage of sin and for him to
give you the opportunity to serve.

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And then he says in verse
number 20 of chapter five, now then,

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we are ambassadors for Christ.

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As though God did beseech you
by us, we pray you in Christ's stead

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be reconciled to God.

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So he says, hey, now that you
have experienced what it means to

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be an ambassador for Christ
and your salvation, it's your job

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now to represent him so that
others can become ambassadors.

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And then he gets into chapter
six and he starts talking about what

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it means to be a faithful servant.

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It means to have endurance.

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It means to go through the ups
and downs.

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And last week we looked at, he
explained some difficulties.

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He says in verse five of
chapter six, in stripes and imprisonments,

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and even before in verse four,
he says, in afflictions and necessities

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and distresses.

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And so he says, there's going
to be some difficulties.

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Remember, he gave the three
groups of three.

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He said, the struggles that
you're going to face, that we all

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face, the struggles that other
people are going to bring to you,

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the struggles that you bring
to yourself.

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But then he says, hey, there's
also blessings in the difficulties.

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And he says in verse six, by
pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering,

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by kindness, by the Holy
Ghost, by love unfeigned, so he says,

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by authentic love.

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Then he says in verse seven,
by the word of truth.

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Now we're going to refer back
to verse seven quite frequently in

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this sermon this morning,
because we have to go back to the

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word of truth to trust in what
God has told us in our lives when

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we don't see it in front of us.

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So there's going to be times
in our life where we are tempted

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to start to think that, hey,
you know what?

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Maybe God doesn't love me.

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Maybe God has forgotten about me.

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Maybe it's not worth it to sacrifice.

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Maybe it's not worth it to
preach the truth.

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Maybe it's not worth it to
proclaim our thanksgiving to God.

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He says, no, you have to go
back to the word of truth.

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It's by the word of truth that
you can know these things.

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He says, by the word of truth,
by the power of God, by the armor

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of righteousness on the right
hand and on the left.

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And so we left off last week.

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In verse seven, he says, it
must be by the word of truth.

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It must be by the power of God.

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It must be by the armor of
righteousness that we have in our

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lives, that we are able to
stay faithful to the Lord.

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And so in the passage we will
look at this morning, we'll see how

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Paul ministered with differing
results, but still kept his eyes

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on the truth.

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He's going to say, there's
going to be times where people are

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going to praise you, but
there's also going to be times where

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people condemn you.

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There's going to be times
where people accept you, and there's

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gonna be times where people
reject you.

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It doesn't mean that we quit
in the difficult.

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It says here that we stay
faithful in all of these things.

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And so Paul explains that this
type of inner peace is found in what

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verse seven says, by the word
of truth, by the power of God, and

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by the armor of righteousness.

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And so Paul keeps ministering
in faithfulness because he keeps

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his eyes fixed on the truth,
the truth of the love of goddess.

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And so Paul explains that this
type of satisfaction can come in

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our lives when we open our
hearts to the message of God and

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the move of God in our lives.

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And so the question is this
morning, as you are serving God,

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and that's the assumption,
that you're serving God as an ambassador

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for Christ.

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The first question that I want
to ask you this morning is, who do

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we love the most?

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The second question is, what
do we love the most?

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These are questions that matter.

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Why?

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Because the Bible says is what
we love, is what we're gonna spend

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time on.

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What we treasure in our life
is gonna be manifested by what we

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do, by what we invest, by
where we struggle.

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Folks, if you love something,
you're gonna struggle for it.

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If you love something, you're
willing to endure.

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I love my children with all of
my heart, and I know that some of

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you that are parents can
attest to that.

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And there are days when I want
to look at my children and say, you

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know what?

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Oh, I just don't want to be
dad today.

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I don't want to discipline today.

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I don't want to go through
this struggle today.

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But it's my love for them that
trumps my struggle, because I say,

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you know what?

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I love them so much.

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I want them to be the adults
that God wants them to be.

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So I'm going to invest.

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It's not because I feel good
that day.

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It's not because everything's
going well.

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It's because of my love for
them overwhelmingly overpowers the

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struggle and the distress that
I face in my life.

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It's the same thing when it
comes to the purpose of God.

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If we love God more than
whatever is in the blank here, we

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will be willing to go through
the stresses and the struggles.

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There's a passage of scripture
in the book of Matthew.

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Actually, it's Jesus teaching.

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In Matthew, chapter six, he
teaches this very same principle.

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It matters what we love.

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It matters what we put our
affections in.

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He says in Matthew, chapter
six, verse 19, lay not up for yourselves

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treasures upon earth, where
moth and rust doth corrupt and where

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thieves break through and steal.

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But lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven.

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So these are things that are
going to last for eternity, where

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neither moth nor rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves do not

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break through nor steal.

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For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.

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The Bible says that what we
treasure, what we love, what we desire

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for in our lives, that's where
we're going to spend our time.

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That's where we're going to
spend our affections.

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And so the truth is that as we
minister in the message of the gospel,

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as we minister as Christians,
as ambassadors for Christ, there

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are going to be some really,
really good times, times where we

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feel comfortable, times where
we feel exalted, times where we feel

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strengthened in the truth.

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But then there's also going to
be times where we're tempted to fall

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into the trap of thinking
that, you know what?

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It's not worth it.

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And Paul is going to list a
few of those things here.

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He's going to list the paradox
or the contradictions of ministry.

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And so I want you to look at
verse number eight with me.

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This is our main text here
this morning.

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And what Paul is going to
describe for us this morning in this

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passage is if our heart is not
set on the love of God, the difficulties

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that we face in our lives will
outweigh the blessings that God gives

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us in service.

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So it goes back to the love, right?

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If I love God enough, the
difficulties are nothing.

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If I don't love God, and I
love the things of this world, I

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love my ego, I love my flesh,
I love my praise, I love my position.

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When the struggles come, it's
easy to say, you know what?

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These struggles outweigh the
blessings, and I'm going to quit.

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I'm going to lose my patience.

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I'm going to lose my endurance.

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And so you have to remember
the context of what Paul is dealing

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with here.

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If you go all the way back to
the beginning of two corinthians,

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the corinthian church was
accusing Paul of not loving them.

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That's where this all started.

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They said, paul, you don't
love us.

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You say one thing and you do another.

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Your ministry doesn't match
your heart.

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You are not the type of person
that you told us you would be.

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You are not a faithful minister.

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And so he's facing accusations.

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He's actually facing the
accusation of not loving them enough

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to not love them in a proper way.

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And so the corinthian
Christians loved themselves and the

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things of this world more than
the love of God and his word.

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I.

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And so they blame the flaws
that they find in their own life

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on Paul and other ministers as
an excuse for the problems.

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So they have some issues in
their life, and they go, you know

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what?

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It's your fault, Paul, that
we're not who we're supposed to be

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because you don't love us enough.

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You weren't the type of pastor
that we expected you to be.

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So therefore, we're in these struggles.

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And so they're blaming,
they're deflecting their problems

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on the issues of another
instead of looking into their own

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hearts to see if they've
received the love of God in their

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lives.

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And so Paul is going to
address their love problem in this

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passage.

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Paul had no expectation of
smoothness within ministry, and he

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doesn't portray that to them.

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And though there are blessings
in ministry, there will be difficulties.

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But in the end, the source of
Paul's faithfulness and the source

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of our faithfulness is in the
truth of God and in his love.

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And so let's look at verse
number eight.

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He says, by honor and dishonor.

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He says, sometimes in
ministry, you will have honor.

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People will honor you.

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But there will also be times
where people dishonor you.

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He says, by honor and dishonor
by evil report and good report.

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There's gonna be people that
give evil news about you, news that

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isn't true.

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But there's also gonna be
people that give the truth, he says,

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as deceivers and yet true.

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Some people are gonna call you
a liar.

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Some people are gonna call you
a deceiver.

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00:11:11,652 --> 00:11:15,402
Other people are gonna call
you true as unknown and yet well

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00:11:15,466 --> 00:11:18,178
known, meaning some people are
going to act like you're an unknown

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00:11:18,234 --> 00:11:19,730
person, and they're going to
treat you that way.

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00:11:19,770 --> 00:11:22,602
Other people are going to give
you the respect of being a known

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speaker or a known pastor or a
known christian, he says, as dying.

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And behold, we live.

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00:11:29,130 --> 00:11:32,210
And that idea of dying is
always being in threat of death,

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meaning there's going to be
persecution around us in the threat

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00:11:34,658 --> 00:11:39,492
of death, but in the same
vein, always living as chastened

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00:11:39,586 --> 00:11:44,264
and not killed as sorrowful,
yet always rejoicing as poor, yet

246
00:11:44,312 --> 00:11:49,248
making many rich as having
nothing and yet possessing all things.

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00:11:49,304 --> 00:11:51,792
He says there's gonna be times
in ministry where there's ups and

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00:11:51,816 --> 00:11:52,072
downs.

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00:11:52,096 --> 00:11:53,392
That's what he's explaining here.

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00:11:53,496 --> 00:11:55,856
He's saying, hey, there's
gonna be times where people praise

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00:11:55,888 --> 00:11:56,880
you and give you honor.

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00:11:56,960 --> 00:11:59,088
There's gonna be times where
they dishonor you.

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00:11:59,144 --> 00:12:01,072
There's gonna be times where
you have all the things that you

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00:12:01,096 --> 00:12:03,168
ever thought you needed, and
there's gonna be times where you

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00:12:03,184 --> 00:12:04,144
feel like you have nothing.

256
00:12:04,232 --> 00:12:05,192
It's gonna be up and down.

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There's gonna be a time where
you feel like you're about to die.

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00:12:07,216 --> 00:12:09,536
There's also gonna be a time
where you feel like you're living.

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00:12:09,648 --> 00:12:12,624
And there's all of this, in
this contradiction of ministry.

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Folks, I wanna tell you here
this morning that as you serve God,

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there will be difficulties.

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It will not be easy.

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00:12:18,168 --> 00:12:21,312
There will be high, high
blessings, but there will also be

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00:12:21,336 --> 00:12:22,056
low times.

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00:12:22,168 --> 00:12:24,568
I'm not here to tell you today
that you should be like this all

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00:12:24,584 --> 00:12:26,776
the time and emotionless
throughout your life.

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00:12:26,808 --> 00:12:30,152
There's gonna be shadows, and
there's gonna be valleys, and there's

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gonna be difficulties.

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00:12:31,352 --> 00:12:35,000
But what Paul says is that we
can stay faithful to the truth of

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God and we can be faithful to
his love in our life, so that those

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struggles and those
difficulties don't define us.

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We see here that there were
the descriptions of how the world

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00:12:45,072 --> 00:12:48,088
defined him, and there's the
descriptions of how God defined him.

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00:12:48,264 --> 00:12:48,824
You know what?

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00:12:48,872 --> 00:12:51,832
If someone comes and tells you
something about yourself, it may

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00:12:51,856 --> 00:12:54,808
be true or it may not be true,
but they're not the ones that are

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00:12:54,824 --> 00:12:55,776
going to be defining you.

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00:12:55,808 --> 00:12:57,440
They're not the ones that are
judging you.

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00:12:57,560 --> 00:13:00,372
Ultimately, my concern is, how
does God see me?

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00:13:00,496 --> 00:13:02,548
So if someone comes up to me
and they're mad, then I'm preaching

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00:13:02,564 --> 00:13:03,420
the truth to them.

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00:13:03,540 --> 00:13:06,108
At the end of the day, am I
concerned about their opinion of

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00:13:06,124 --> 00:13:08,460
me, or am I concerned about
the opinion that God has of me?

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00:13:08,540 --> 00:13:10,196
Have I been faithful to him?

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00:13:10,388 --> 00:13:12,684
Folks, my goal is to be
faithful to the church.

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00:13:12,732 --> 00:13:14,716
My goal is to be faithful to
my family.

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00:13:14,788 --> 00:13:16,900
My goal is to be faithful to
those around me.

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00:13:16,980 --> 00:13:20,252
But ultimately, my
faithfulness should be to the one

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00:13:20,276 --> 00:13:21,280
who saved me.

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00:13:21,940 --> 00:13:24,932
And that's hard because so
many times we set our affections

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00:13:24,956 --> 00:13:27,246
on the things of this world,
because this is what we know.

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00:13:27,348 --> 00:13:30,986
We set our affections on the
things that we can taste and we can

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00:13:31,018 --> 00:13:33,738
smell, and that we can touch
and that we can see.

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00:13:33,834 --> 00:13:36,362
But what the Bible says back
in two corinthians is.

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00:13:36,386 --> 00:13:38,150
That's not what we're living for.

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00:13:38,530 --> 00:13:41,510
We're not living for the
things of this world.

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00:13:42,010 --> 00:13:44,034
We're living for the things
that we don't see.

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00:13:44,162 --> 00:13:48,946
If you go back to second
Corinthians 418, Paul has been prepping

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00:13:48,978 --> 00:13:49,778
them for this.

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00:13:49,914 --> 00:13:52,282
Paul has been explaining to
them that you don't live for what

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00:13:52,306 --> 00:13:53,070
you see.

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00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:55,600
Second Corinthians, chapter
four, verse 18.

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00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:58,464
He says, while we look not at
the things which are seen, but at

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00:13:58,472 --> 00:14:01,184
the things which are not seen,
for the things which are seen are

305
00:14:01,232 --> 00:14:02,056
temporal.

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00:14:02,208 --> 00:14:04,552
That's what Jesus was talking
about in Matthew six.

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00:14:04,656 --> 00:14:06,392
Those things that you're
living for in this world, they're

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00:14:06,416 --> 00:14:07,072
going to be corrupted.

309
00:14:07,096 --> 00:14:08,592
They're going to be gone one day.

310
00:14:08,776 --> 00:14:12,328
He says, but the things which
are not seen are eternal.

311
00:14:12,504 --> 00:14:16,592
So Paul says, in your service
as an ambassador for Christ, focus

312
00:14:16,656 --> 00:14:18,072
on the things that are eternal.

313
00:14:18,176 --> 00:14:20,240
Focus on the souls of Mendez.

314
00:14:20,270 --> 00:14:23,620
Focus on the eternal
investments that are gonna last forever,

315
00:14:23,700 --> 00:14:26,468
instead of the things that
don't matter here on this earth,

316
00:14:26,524 --> 00:14:27,480
in this world.

317
00:14:28,100 --> 00:14:32,708
So he says, this is the
contradiction of ministry.

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00:14:32,844 --> 00:14:37,564
Honor, dishonest, dishonor,
honesty, dishonesty, evil.

319
00:14:37,612 --> 00:14:38,220
Report good.

320
00:14:38,260 --> 00:14:41,600
Report, deceivers yet true,
unknown, yet well known.

321
00:14:41,980 --> 00:14:45,160
Then he gets down to verse
number eleven.

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00:14:45,550 --> 00:14:48,390
We're gonna pause here right
now, because I want you to see, number

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00:14:48,430 --> 00:14:52,774
one, as a Christian, as an
ambassador, you can have stability

324
00:14:52,902 --> 00:14:53,970
and instability.

325
00:14:54,510 --> 00:14:56,006
Stability and instability.

326
00:14:56,078 --> 00:14:57,134
What do I mean by that?

327
00:14:57,262 --> 00:15:02,366
There's gonna be times in your
life where you have instability.

328
00:15:02,518 --> 00:15:05,870
There's gonna be unforeseen circumstances.

329
00:15:06,030 --> 00:15:08,822
We cannot control the
circumstances that are around us.

330
00:15:08,966 --> 00:15:11,690
So around us, there can be instability.

331
00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:16,160
But the Bible says that as
believers, as ambassadors for Christ,

332
00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:19,780
in the midst of instability,
we can have stability.

333
00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:23,088
And that's all of what he's
talking about there in verses eight

334
00:15:23,144 --> 00:15:24,180
through ten.

335
00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:27,472
It's the stability and instability.

336
00:15:27,576 --> 00:15:31,352
Sometimes in the christian
life, we will be accepted and loved,

337
00:15:31,376 --> 00:15:34,120
but other times, we will be
rejected and despised.

338
00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:38,908
And so Paul explains that no
matter how we are treated, we find

339
00:15:39,004 --> 00:15:43,572
our stability in Christ, not
in our surroundings.

340
00:15:43,756 --> 00:15:45,388
Where do you find your stability?

341
00:15:45,484 --> 00:15:47,300
Where do you find your foundation?

342
00:15:47,420 --> 00:15:49,972
Where do you find that center
point in your life where you say,

343
00:15:49,996 --> 00:15:50,548
you know what?

344
00:15:50,644 --> 00:15:53,076
Whatever happens to me, I know
this to be true?

345
00:15:53,108 --> 00:15:56,412
Well, if we use our
circumstances for that stability,

346
00:15:56,556 --> 00:15:57,076
guess what?

347
00:15:57,108 --> 00:15:59,148
Our circumstances are going to
be up and down.

348
00:15:59,324 --> 00:16:03,040
By honor and dishonor, by the
truth and by lies.

349
00:16:03,390 --> 00:16:06,886
Folks, I could tell you that
there are Sundays that I leave the

350
00:16:06,918 --> 00:16:09,326
service, and I'm like, wow,
man, that was great.

351
00:16:09,478 --> 00:16:10,542
People came to Christ.

352
00:16:10,606 --> 00:16:11,894
People joined the church.

353
00:16:11,942 --> 00:16:12,854
People were baptized.

354
00:16:12,902 --> 00:16:16,958
And I'm, you know, running out
on, you know, not even touching the

355
00:16:16,974 --> 00:16:17,150
ground.

356
00:16:17,190 --> 00:16:18,406
Like, I'm so excited.

357
00:16:18,598 --> 00:16:21,734
But there are also some days
that things are difficult.

358
00:16:21,902 --> 00:16:25,102
Maybe some people, you know,
didn't like what I said.

359
00:16:25,206 --> 00:16:28,430
Maybe there were times that,
you know, the Sunday morning service

360
00:16:28,470 --> 00:16:30,206
didn't go the way that I
expected it to go.

361
00:16:30,238 --> 00:16:33,450
Maybe I couldn't preach myself
out of a wet paper bag that morning.

362
00:16:33,490 --> 00:16:35,274
And I'm like, I don't know
where I'm at today.

363
00:16:35,322 --> 00:16:35,946
Okay?

364
00:16:36,098 --> 00:16:40,114
The truth is, is that
sometimes as a minister of the gospel,

365
00:16:40,242 --> 00:16:43,514
I would find my satisfaction,
I would find my stability.

366
00:16:43,682 --> 00:16:47,034
I would find my confidence in
what was going on around me, how

367
00:16:47,082 --> 00:16:49,030
people reacted to my preaching.

368
00:16:49,330 --> 00:16:51,282
Well, if they all said, amen,
I must feel good.

369
00:16:51,306 --> 00:16:52,330
And so it's a good day.

370
00:16:52,410 --> 00:16:53,842
If no one said anything, you
know what?

371
00:16:53,866 --> 00:16:55,310
Then it's like, oh, I failed.

372
00:16:55,610 --> 00:16:59,072
Do you know how much of a
rollercoaster that is?

373
00:16:59,226 --> 00:17:02,092
And you know how much you can
be so devastated when things don't

374
00:17:02,116 --> 00:17:02,932
go your way?

375
00:17:03,076 --> 00:17:04,132
I think some of you know that.

376
00:17:04,156 --> 00:17:06,148
I think some of you understand
that in your life.

377
00:17:06,284 --> 00:17:09,396
The Bible says that our
stability cannot be found in our

378
00:17:09,428 --> 00:17:10,132
surroundings.

379
00:17:10,236 --> 00:17:13,348
Our stability has to be found
in our savior Jesus Christ.

380
00:17:13,404 --> 00:17:16,244
If you look at Philippians
chapter four with me, Philippians

381
00:17:16,292 --> 00:17:19,520
chapter four, Paul speaks to
this very same principle.

382
00:17:21,740 --> 00:17:25,406
He's talking in Philippians
chapter four about having joyous

383
00:17:25,508 --> 00:17:27,790
and rejoicing in the Lord.

384
00:17:28,090 --> 00:17:30,338
And we would expect Paul to
say, you know what?

385
00:17:30,434 --> 00:17:32,830
Rejoice in the Lord when
everything's going well.

386
00:17:33,250 --> 00:17:36,954
Well, yes, but he also says,
rejoice in the Lord when everything

387
00:17:37,002 --> 00:17:40,350
is going on a more difficult path.

388
00:17:42,090 --> 00:17:44,522
And so Paul in Philippians
chapter four is explaining to us

389
00:17:44,546 --> 00:17:47,298
that we should be rejoicing,
that we should have joy.

390
00:17:47,394 --> 00:17:48,666
Rejoice in the Lord always.

391
00:17:48,738 --> 00:17:49,874
And again I say, rejoice.

392
00:17:49,922 --> 00:17:51,646
That's Philippians chapter
four, verse four.

393
00:17:51,738 --> 00:17:54,534
But then we get down to verse
number ten, and he says, but I rejoice

394
00:17:54,582 --> 00:17:58,342
in the Lord greatly, that now
at the last your care of me have

395
00:17:58,366 --> 00:17:58,702
flourished.

396
00:17:58,726 --> 00:18:02,086
So he says, hey, you guys have
taken care of me, wherein ye were

397
00:18:02,118 --> 00:18:04,798
also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.

398
00:18:04,854 --> 00:18:06,810
Not that I speak of respect,
of want.

399
00:18:07,110 --> 00:18:07,798
Verse eleven.

400
00:18:07,854 --> 00:18:13,046
For I have learned in
whatsoever state I am therewith to

401
00:18:13,078 --> 00:18:13,670
be content.

402
00:18:13,750 --> 00:18:15,942
Folks, that's what it means to
be a faithful minister.

403
00:18:16,086 --> 00:18:17,086
I don't care.

404
00:18:17,238 --> 00:18:18,924
I'm what my surroundings are.

405
00:18:19,052 --> 00:18:22,124
I have learned that whatever
situation that I have, I am content

406
00:18:22,212 --> 00:18:23,004
in Christ.

407
00:18:23,172 --> 00:18:26,252
He goes on to say in verse
twelve, I know both how to be abased

408
00:18:26,316 --> 00:18:27,676
that means to be brought low.

409
00:18:27,788 --> 00:18:28,940
I know how to abound.

410
00:18:29,020 --> 00:18:32,204
That means I know what it
means to be lifted up everywhere.

411
00:18:32,252 --> 00:18:35,188
And in all things, I am
instructed both to be full and to

412
00:18:35,204 --> 00:18:35,636
be hungry.

413
00:18:35,668 --> 00:18:37,668
So he says, I face having a lot.

414
00:18:37,764 --> 00:18:41,580
I face being hungry both to
abound and to suffer need.

415
00:18:41,700 --> 00:18:44,292
And then he says, verse 13,
you guys are all familiar with this

416
00:18:44,316 --> 00:18:44,840
verse.

417
00:18:44,980 --> 00:18:47,776
I can do all things through
Christ, which strengtheneth me.

418
00:18:47,848 --> 00:18:49,768
Now, he's not saying I can do
whatever I want to do.

419
00:18:49,784 --> 00:18:52,976
He's saying I can do anything
that God has brought me to in my

420
00:18:53,008 --> 00:18:55,300
life because he's equipped me
to do so.

421
00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:58,936
So Paul isn't talking here in
verse 13 of Philippians four about,

422
00:18:59,008 --> 00:18:59,512
hey, you know what?

423
00:18:59,536 --> 00:19:00,192
I want to go do that.

424
00:19:00,216 --> 00:19:01,952
So I'm just going to go do it
and God's going to bless me.

425
00:19:01,976 --> 00:19:02,904
That's not what he's saying.

426
00:19:02,992 --> 00:19:05,792
He's saying God has brought
this into your life in the ministry,

427
00:19:05,896 --> 00:19:08,096
and therefore he's going to
get you through it.

428
00:19:08,128 --> 00:19:11,032
You can do all those
difficulties in Christ because he

429
00:19:11,056 --> 00:19:11,944
strengthens you.

430
00:19:12,072 --> 00:19:13,816
That's what he's talking about here.

431
00:19:14,008 --> 00:19:17,080
Now, it doesn't mean that
we're hopeless and that we're helpless.

432
00:19:17,120 --> 00:19:20,400
It just means that if God has
brought us to a place of victory,

433
00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:21,544
he's going to get us through that.

434
00:19:21,632 --> 00:19:24,568
If he's brought us to a place
of difficulty, he's going to get

435
00:19:24,584 --> 00:19:25,460
us through that.

436
00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,896
And so stability in our
service comes from inner peace that

437
00:19:29,928 --> 00:19:32,960
we find in a relationship with
Christ and his word.

438
00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:35,312
And so go back to second
corinthians with me.

439
00:19:35,456 --> 00:19:38,414
What does he say in second
corinthians, chapter six, verse seven?

440
00:19:38,592 --> 00:19:40,498
It's by the word of truth.

441
00:19:40,634 --> 00:19:44,282
That is where we find our
stability and service by the word

442
00:19:44,306 --> 00:19:47,190
of truth and by the power of God.

443
00:19:47,570 --> 00:19:50,274
That is where we go back to, folks.

444
00:19:50,322 --> 00:19:55,066
We have to think about our
life as an ambassador, as a life

445
00:19:55,218 --> 00:19:57,018
based in the word.

446
00:19:57,114 --> 00:19:58,850
Therefore difficulties come.

447
00:19:58,890 --> 00:20:00,270
We think about it biblically.

448
00:20:01,570 --> 00:20:02,378
Conflict comes.

449
00:20:02,434 --> 00:20:03,790
We think about it biblically.

450
00:20:04,700 --> 00:20:05,444
Loss comes.

451
00:20:05,492 --> 00:20:06,540
We think about it biblically.

452
00:20:06,580 --> 00:20:11,404
Folks, the greatest advice
that I've ever had from a person

453
00:20:11,452 --> 00:20:13,732
who was mentoring me in my
life, he says, are you thinking?

454
00:20:13,756 --> 00:20:17,252
He asked me this question
before and after I bring them all

455
00:20:17,276 --> 00:20:17,796
my struggles.

456
00:20:17,828 --> 00:20:18,732
Okay, I'll call them on the phone.

457
00:20:18,756 --> 00:20:21,308
I'll say, I won't say who it
is, but I'll say, brother so and

458
00:20:21,324 --> 00:20:21,524
so.

459
00:20:21,572 --> 00:20:23,572
I'm going through this and
this problem and he goes, are you

460
00:20:23,596 --> 00:20:24,972
thinking about it biblically?

461
00:20:25,156 --> 00:20:26,764
And I'm like, that's so mean.

462
00:20:26,812 --> 00:20:27,652
Why did he say that?

463
00:20:27,716 --> 00:20:29,668
He's supposed to tell me,
yeah, those people are mean to me

464
00:20:29,684 --> 00:20:30,662
and that this is a bad.

465
00:20:30,756 --> 00:20:31,850
He doesn't say that, though.

466
00:20:31,970 --> 00:20:34,066
He says, I'm sorry that you're
going through that, but are you thinking

467
00:20:34,098 --> 00:20:35,230
about this biblically?

468
00:20:35,690 --> 00:20:38,530
And that's a question that we
all have to ask ourselves, because

469
00:20:38,570 --> 00:20:40,986
the truth is, is that many
times we don't think about struggles

470
00:20:41,018 --> 00:20:41,410
biblically.

471
00:20:41,450 --> 00:20:42,990
We think about it in our flesh.

472
00:20:43,330 --> 00:20:44,818
Well, that person hurt me.

473
00:20:44,914 --> 00:20:46,290
That person was mean to me.

474
00:20:46,370 --> 00:20:47,002
So you know what?

475
00:20:47,026 --> 00:20:47,282
I just.

476
00:20:47,306 --> 00:20:47,458
I'm.

477
00:20:47,474 --> 00:20:48,978
Woe is me, and I can't get
through this.

478
00:20:49,034 --> 00:20:52,162
The bible says that thinking
biblically about it doesn't mean

479
00:20:52,186 --> 00:20:53,370
that I think about it in my flesh.

480
00:20:53,410 --> 00:20:55,786
It doesn't mean that I think
about it from the perspective of

481
00:20:55,818 --> 00:20:56,250
humanity.

482
00:20:56,290 --> 00:20:58,114
I think about it from the
perspective of God.

483
00:20:58,202 --> 00:20:59,992
And what does the word of God
have to say about this?

484
00:21:00,026 --> 00:21:02,080
And it could be different in
different situations.

485
00:21:03,380 --> 00:21:05,932
Speaking of loss, you know,
what does this loss mean for me?

486
00:21:05,956 --> 00:21:09,276
Well, biblically speaking, it
means that ultimately God is never

487
00:21:09,308 --> 00:21:12,332
gonna leave me with something
that I can't handle.

488
00:21:12,476 --> 00:21:13,804
You say, what does that mean?

489
00:21:13,972 --> 00:21:14,924
It means this.

490
00:21:15,052 --> 00:21:17,356
If God has allowed something
to happen in my life, he's given

491
00:21:17,388 --> 00:21:17,700
me.

492
00:21:17,780 --> 00:21:20,100
This is one corinthians,
chapter ten.

493
00:21:20,180 --> 00:21:23,188
He's given me an opportunity
to overcome this in his power and

494
00:21:23,204 --> 00:21:24,120
in his grace.

495
00:21:24,700 --> 00:21:28,116
And so stability in our
service comes from the inner peace

496
00:21:28,148 --> 00:21:30,252
that we have with a
relationship with Christ and his

497
00:21:30,276 --> 00:21:30,412
word.

498
00:21:30,436 --> 00:21:31,412
I want you to think about that.

499
00:21:31,476 --> 00:21:35,228
So how can I have stability
and instability to have a deeper

500
00:21:35,284 --> 00:21:37,520
relationship with Christ and
his word?

501
00:21:37,940 --> 00:21:41,680
And then when struggles come,
we begin to think about things biblically

502
00:21:42,660 --> 00:21:44,840
and believe in those things biblically.

503
00:21:45,740 --> 00:21:49,620
So we have here what it means
to have stability and instability.

504
00:21:49,700 --> 00:21:52,540
But then I want you to see,
number two, misplaced love.

505
00:21:52,660 --> 00:21:55,716
Because one of the reasons why
we can have instability in our life

506
00:21:55,748 --> 00:21:59,080
is having our love
appropriated to the wrong place.

507
00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:01,900
And that's what Paul talks
about here in verse number eleven.

508
00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:05,220
He says, o ye corinthians.

509
00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:07,340
He's pleading with them.

510
00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:10,696
We're going to see later on in
the next few verses that he's treating

511
00:22:10,728 --> 00:22:12,280
them as his spiritual children.

512
00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:13,808
It's how you speak to your child.

513
00:22:13,864 --> 00:22:15,024
Come on, oh, Corinthians.

514
00:22:15,072 --> 00:22:17,448
Come on, o ye Corinthians.

515
00:22:17,584 --> 00:22:20,128
Our mouth is open unto you.

516
00:22:20,264 --> 00:22:22,696
He says, we've preached to you
the truth.

517
00:22:22,808 --> 00:22:25,152
We've given you the truth,
because, remember, what are they

518
00:22:25,176 --> 00:22:25,872
accusing him of?

519
00:22:25,896 --> 00:22:28,176
They're accusing him of not
loving them.

520
00:22:28,288 --> 00:22:30,064
And he says, I've told you the truth.

521
00:22:30,192 --> 00:22:32,552
I'm speaking the truth in love
to you.

522
00:22:32,656 --> 00:22:35,216
He says, we've opened our
mouth unto you.

523
00:22:35,288 --> 00:22:37,128
Our heart is enlarged.

524
00:22:37,304 --> 00:22:39,808
Now, that's a phrase that we
don't use very frequently, but what

525
00:22:39,824 --> 00:22:42,300
he's saying here is, he says,
I've opened my heart to you.

526
00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:43,256
Okay.

527
00:22:43,328 --> 00:22:46,696
I've opened my mouth in the
truth, but I've opened my heart in

528
00:22:46,728 --> 00:22:47,696
love to you.

529
00:22:47,888 --> 00:22:51,670
What he's saying here is, I've
given you the truth in love.

530
00:22:52,810 --> 00:22:55,074
I love you enough to tell you
the truth.

531
00:22:55,242 --> 00:22:56,698
I've opened my heart to you.

532
00:22:56,754 --> 00:22:59,362
And the Bible speaks very
clearly that the type of love that

533
00:22:59,386 --> 00:23:03,150
God calls us to have for other
believers is agape love.

534
00:23:04,570 --> 00:23:06,474
A love that demonstrates.

535
00:23:06,522 --> 00:23:08,234
A love that proves.

536
00:23:08,402 --> 00:23:10,818
Now we know the greatest
example of that is Jesus Christ.

537
00:23:10,914 --> 00:23:12,530
Jesus died on the cross for
our sins.

538
00:23:12,570 --> 00:23:14,066
He proved his love for us.

539
00:23:14,098 --> 00:23:15,858
God proved his love for us.

540
00:23:15,874 --> 00:23:19,170
And so, therefore, what Paul
is saying here is this, I don't care

541
00:23:19,210 --> 00:23:20,162
what you feel.

542
00:23:20,306 --> 00:23:22,310
I've already proven my love
for you.

543
00:23:22,650 --> 00:23:24,250
I've opened my heart to you.

544
00:23:24,290 --> 00:23:26,270
I've enlarged my heart to you.

545
00:23:27,050 --> 00:23:28,738
And that's the thought that
he's giving here.

546
00:23:28,754 --> 00:23:32,442
And so then he says, ye are
not straitened in us.

547
00:23:32,466 --> 00:23:34,390
Now, you would say, what is he
talking about here?

548
00:23:34,890 --> 00:23:37,898
They're telling him that
they're constricted in their love

549
00:23:38,034 --> 00:23:39,746
because of what Paul has done.

550
00:23:39,898 --> 00:23:41,994
And so he says here, that's a
word, straighten.

551
00:23:42,042 --> 00:23:46,346
It means to constrict or to
squeeze or to stomp out.

552
00:23:46,538 --> 00:23:49,922
You're not strained in us,
meaning we are not the ones holding

553
00:23:49,946 --> 00:23:51,350
you back for your love.

554
00:23:51,810 --> 00:23:54,586
We are not the ones that have
stopped your love for God and for

555
00:23:54,618 --> 00:23:55,194
others.

556
00:23:55,362 --> 00:24:00,474
And for us, he says, but ye
are straitened or constricted or

557
00:24:00,522 --> 00:24:04,682
squeezed in your own bowels,
you would say, okay, what are we

558
00:24:04,706 --> 00:24:05,750
talking about here?

559
00:24:07,130 --> 00:24:11,498
Bowels was a common reference
to their affections, their love,

560
00:24:11,634 --> 00:24:11,986
okay.

561
00:24:12,018 --> 00:24:15,250
In that culture, they didn't
always see the heart as the seat

562
00:24:15,290 --> 00:24:16,378
of their love.

563
00:24:16,514 --> 00:24:19,738
It was their bowels that, you
know, you feel it in your gut, is

564
00:24:19,754 --> 00:24:20,754
what they would say.

565
00:24:20,922 --> 00:24:24,538
A lot of times, the reference
to heart was their mind actually

566
00:24:24,674 --> 00:24:25,978
different than our culture today.

567
00:24:26,074 --> 00:24:29,690
Now, when people say, trust
your heart, we mean trust your emotions.

568
00:24:29,850 --> 00:24:32,218
But back then, when they were
talking about their heart, they were

569
00:24:32,234 --> 00:24:33,554
talking about their intellect.

570
00:24:33,682 --> 00:24:35,970
But in this case, they're
talking about the.

571
00:24:36,090 --> 00:24:37,362
The affections.

572
00:24:37,466 --> 00:24:38,706
And so what does he say here?

573
00:24:38,778 --> 00:24:41,538
So you could say that word
bowels could be affections.

574
00:24:41,554 --> 00:24:42,882
And so what he's saying here
is this.

575
00:24:42,986 --> 00:24:46,258
Okay, in everyday English,
what Paul is explaining to them is

576
00:24:46,274 --> 00:24:46,830
this.

577
00:24:47,250 --> 00:24:49,250
It's not our fault that you're
not loving.

578
00:24:49,370 --> 00:24:52,066
It's your fault that you're
not loving properly because of your

579
00:24:52,098 --> 00:24:53,270
own affections.

580
00:24:53,810 --> 00:24:59,066
Your love has changed from a
healthy love to an unhealthy love,

581
00:24:59,258 --> 00:25:01,322
an unhealthy love for the
wrong things.

582
00:25:01,386 --> 00:25:04,696
And so what he's saying here,
he's saying this, you've misplaced

583
00:25:04,728 --> 00:25:05,728
your affections.

584
00:25:05,824 --> 00:25:07,880
You've misplaced your love.

585
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:14,020
Your love for God has been
changed to a love for this world.

586
00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:19,060
Your love for others has been
changed for a love for yourself.

587
00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:21,300
It's misplaced love.

588
00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:24,984
And so the corinthian
Christians accuse Paul of not loving

589
00:25:25,032 --> 00:25:28,352
them, but Paul tells them that
they can't blame him for the lack

590
00:25:28,376 --> 00:25:30,650
of love that they have for the Lord.

591
00:25:31,750 --> 00:25:35,990
It's their own struggle, it's
their own affections that have been

592
00:25:36,030 --> 00:25:38,750
changed from the appropriate
to the inappropriate.

593
00:25:38,910 --> 00:25:41,570
Now, you would say, what did
the corinthian church love?

594
00:25:41,870 --> 00:25:45,230
Well, by context, we're gonna
talk about it next week, they love

595
00:25:45,270 --> 00:25:46,430
the world too much.

596
00:25:46,590 --> 00:25:48,918
We're gonna talk next week
about what it means to be unequally

597
00:25:48,974 --> 00:25:50,078
yoked with the world.

598
00:25:50,174 --> 00:25:53,494
And so we know by context, the
corinthian church loved the world

599
00:25:53,542 --> 00:25:53,926
too much.

600
00:25:53,958 --> 00:25:55,746
They loved the things of this
world too much.

601
00:25:55,838 --> 00:25:57,550
They love themselves too much.

602
00:25:58,250 --> 00:26:01,930
And so what we see here is the
reason why many christians are not

603
00:26:01,970 --> 00:26:04,506
where we need to be when it
comes to our faithfulness to God

604
00:26:04,538 --> 00:26:08,402
and our service to God is
because our love has been misappropriated

605
00:26:08,466 --> 00:26:11,546
away from him and to the
others that he calls us to love to

606
00:26:11,578 --> 00:26:13,190
ourselves and to this world.

607
00:26:13,530 --> 00:26:16,066
We love ourselves too much to
love others.

608
00:26:16,258 --> 00:26:18,710
We love the world too much to
love God.

609
00:26:19,250 --> 00:26:20,990
You say, well, I don't love
the world.

610
00:26:21,410 --> 00:26:23,274
I love God with all my heart.

611
00:26:23,442 --> 00:26:26,306
Go back to that first question
that I asked you.

612
00:26:26,498 --> 00:26:28,070
What do you love in this world?

613
00:26:28,450 --> 00:26:30,506
What you love is what you
spend time with.

614
00:26:30,538 --> 00:26:32,994
What you love is what you
sacrifice for.

615
00:26:33,082 --> 00:26:35,746
What you love is what you're
willing to suffer for.

616
00:26:35,938 --> 00:26:38,514
The true test is not what you say.

617
00:26:38,642 --> 00:26:40,550
The true test is what you do.

618
00:26:41,170 --> 00:26:43,842
So if you want to really take
an account of what you love in your

619
00:26:43,866 --> 00:26:46,590
life, look into your life,
inspect your life.

620
00:26:47,210 --> 00:26:47,962
Well, you know what?

621
00:26:47,986 --> 00:26:51,024
The first time someone comes
against me, when it comes to ministry,

622
00:26:51,072 --> 00:26:51,592
I'm gone.

623
00:26:51,656 --> 00:26:52,416
Forget it.

624
00:26:52,528 --> 00:26:54,180
They don't deserve my love.

625
00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:55,496
You don't love God?

626
00:26:55,528 --> 00:26:59,512
Then what if my wife came up
to me and she said, you know, honey,

627
00:26:59,656 --> 00:27:01,480
I think that, you know, you
should wash the dishes.

628
00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:02,776
You're not really helping me
with anything.

629
00:27:02,848 --> 00:27:04,416
Well, come on, you don't love
me I'm gone.

630
00:27:04,448 --> 00:27:05,340
See you later.

631
00:27:06,120 --> 00:27:07,008
Do I really love her?

632
00:27:07,024 --> 00:27:07,152
No.

633
00:27:07,176 --> 00:27:08,740
I'm just looking for an excuse
to go.

634
00:27:09,120 --> 00:27:10,472
First thing comes up, problem.

635
00:27:10,536 --> 00:27:11,200
All right, I'm gone.

636
00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:12,072
I don't love her.

637
00:27:12,176 --> 00:27:15,032
I'm not willing to do anything
for her if I'm not willing to do

638
00:27:15,056 --> 00:27:16,546
that same thing with God.

639
00:27:16,578 --> 00:27:19,122
If we truly love him, we're
willing to go through the ups and

640
00:27:19,146 --> 00:27:21,850
the downs and the struggles
and say, no, I'm pushing forward

641
00:27:21,890 --> 00:27:23,150
for the bigger picture.

642
00:27:23,970 --> 00:27:25,030
That's love.

643
00:27:25,690 --> 00:27:29,754
So the reason why we love God
is because of what he has done for

644
00:27:29,802 --> 00:27:30,322
us.

645
00:27:30,466 --> 00:27:34,058
The Bible says in one john,
chapter four, we love him because

646
00:27:34,154 --> 00:27:35,746
he first loved us.

647
00:27:35,938 --> 00:27:38,642
We don't start loving him and
then receive his love and go, wow,

648
00:27:38,666 --> 00:27:39,370
that love's pretty good.

649
00:27:39,410 --> 00:27:42,442
No, it's because of his love
for us that we even have an opportunity

650
00:27:42,466 --> 00:27:44,060
to love him and to love love others.

651
00:27:45,360 --> 00:27:49,260
And so we are designed as
human beings to love.

652
00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:53,096
But sometimes we love the
wrong things and therefore miss the

653
00:27:53,128 --> 00:27:56,776
opportunity to experience the
overwhelming love of God.

654
00:27:56,808 --> 00:27:59,040
So go back to second
corinthians, chapter six.

655
00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:02,592
He says, you are not
straitened in us, but ye are strained

656
00:28:02,656 --> 00:28:04,968
in your own bowels or your own affections.

657
00:28:05,104 --> 00:28:09,456
Now for a recompense in the
same I speak as unto my children,

658
00:28:09,648 --> 00:28:11,704
be ye also enlarged.

659
00:28:11,752 --> 00:28:14,240
He says, open your hearts to
the love of God.

660
00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:17,008
And when you open your hearts
to the love of God and live in the

661
00:28:17,024 --> 00:28:20,352
love of God, you're able to
reciprocate that love to him and

662
00:28:20,376 --> 00:28:23,500
then ultimately love those
around you.

663
00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:29,248
And so Paul is explaining to
them that your love is in the wrong

664
00:28:29,304 --> 00:28:34,088
place, and Paul is showing
them love by telling them the truth.

665
00:28:34,224 --> 00:28:36,832
That's one of the best things
that we can do to someone that we

666
00:28:36,856 --> 00:28:38,374
love, is to tell them the truth.

667
00:28:38,552 --> 00:28:41,066
And so Paul is right here
proving his love for the corinthian

668
00:28:41,098 --> 00:28:42,450
church, whether they like it
or not.

669
00:28:42,530 --> 00:28:47,794
Because when we do things in
love, a lot of times people expect

670
00:28:47,842 --> 00:28:50,394
it to be like we talked about,
I think, last week.

671
00:28:50,482 --> 00:28:52,362
Oh, well, it's condoning everything.

672
00:28:52,466 --> 00:28:53,642
It's accepting everything.

673
00:28:53,706 --> 00:28:56,650
No, the Bible says that that
is not the true test of love.

674
00:28:56,730 --> 00:28:59,674
The true test of love is, are
we willing to tell someone the truth.

675
00:28:59,762 --> 00:29:03,868
Now, sometimes we can tell
people the truth without love, but

676
00:29:03,884 --> 00:29:06,468
when we've proven our
faithfulness to somebody, then we

677
00:29:06,484 --> 00:29:07,604
can tell them the truth.

678
00:29:07,732 --> 00:29:12,052
We do it in grace, we do it in
patience, we do it in sacrifice.

679
00:29:12,156 --> 00:29:16,000
And so he says, it is now time
for you to open your hearts.

680
00:29:16,700 --> 00:29:17,988
And so they blame Paul.

681
00:29:18,044 --> 00:29:21,548
But the truth was, it was
their responsibility to rest in the

682
00:29:21,564 --> 00:29:24,884
love of God that drives us
forward in our service.

683
00:29:25,052 --> 00:29:29,604
And so the real problem was
that the corinthian church was restricted

684
00:29:29,652 --> 00:29:31,440
by their own affections.

685
00:29:31,750 --> 00:29:34,398
They were held back by their
own affections.

686
00:29:34,574 --> 00:29:38,622
And so it wasn't that Paul,
like, didn't love them or didn't

687
00:29:38,646 --> 00:29:41,086
love them enough, which was
the claim that they had.

688
00:29:41,238 --> 00:29:45,742
It was that they loved
themselves too much, that they loved

689
00:29:45,766 --> 00:29:46,974
the world too much.

690
00:29:47,102 --> 00:29:49,970
It was their own affections
that restricted them.

691
00:29:50,390 --> 00:29:53,918
I want you to see in one John,
and obviously one John has a lot

692
00:29:53,934 --> 00:29:58,232
to say about love, but if you
go to one John, chapter two, I want

693
00:29:58,256 --> 00:30:00,480
you to see something about
what the Bible says about loving

694
00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:01,300
the world.

695
00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:04,168
The Bible says that as
christians, one of the temptations

696
00:30:04,224 --> 00:30:06,820
that we will have is to love
the world too much.

697
00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:09,224
We're in the world, but we're
not of the world.

698
00:30:09,312 --> 00:30:11,952
That's what should be our testimony.

699
00:30:12,056 --> 00:30:14,216
Hey, I'm living in this world,
but I don't love it enough.

700
00:30:14,368 --> 00:30:15,660
I don't love it at all.

701
00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:17,420
I shouldn't love it.

702
00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:20,180
One John 215.

703
00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:24,880
This is God's call for us as
christians when it comes to loving

704
00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:25,660
the world.

705
00:30:26,850 --> 00:30:29,906
Love not the world, neither
the things that are in the world.

706
00:30:30,018 --> 00:30:32,682
If any man loved the world,
the love of the father is not in

707
00:30:32,706 --> 00:30:33,270
him.

708
00:30:33,570 --> 00:30:36,298
For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh, the lust of

709
00:30:36,314 --> 00:30:39,122
the eyes, and the pride of
life, is not of the father, but is

710
00:30:39,146 --> 00:30:39,730
of the world.

711
00:30:39,810 --> 00:30:42,210
And the world passeth away,
and the lust thereof.

712
00:30:42,290 --> 00:30:45,550
But he that doeth the will of
God abideth forever.

713
00:30:46,890 --> 00:30:52,030
The Bible says here that all
that is in the world is this.

714
00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:57,416
The lust of the flesh, the
lust of the eyes, and the pride of

715
00:30:57,448 --> 00:30:58,020
life.

716
00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:04,240
What feels good, what looks
good, and what lifts you up, right?

717
00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:07,440
Lust of the flesh, what feels
good, lust of the eyes, what I want,

718
00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:10,576
what I desire, and the pride
of life, what lifts me up.

719
00:31:10,728 --> 00:31:14,816
And so to be opposite of that
would be to not go after the things

720
00:31:14,848 --> 00:31:18,280
that feel good, to not seek
after those things that catch my

721
00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:22,320
eye in selfishness, in
covetousness, and then ultimately

722
00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:24,808
not what lifts me up, but what
lifts the Lord up.

723
00:31:24,824 --> 00:31:28,456
So what Satan does, Satan
always tries to twist what God has

724
00:31:28,488 --> 00:31:29,980
already created to be good.

725
00:31:30,360 --> 00:31:31,688
You see that, right?

726
00:31:31,864 --> 00:31:33,296
God defines something.

727
00:31:33,368 --> 00:31:34,176
Satan twists it.

728
00:31:34,208 --> 00:31:35,448
Satan is not a creator.

729
00:31:35,544 --> 00:31:36,856
The enemy is not a creator.

730
00:31:36,888 --> 00:31:38,344
He doesn't create something new.

731
00:31:38,432 --> 00:31:41,232
All he tries to do is twist
what has already been created.

732
00:31:41,376 --> 00:31:43,168
See it from the very beginning
in the garden, right?

733
00:31:43,184 --> 00:31:45,704
He was just trying to twist
already what was there.

734
00:31:45,872 --> 00:31:47,400
Satan tries to redefine marriage.

735
00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:51,456
He tries to redefine truth, he
tries to redefine sexuality, he tries

736
00:31:51,488 --> 00:31:53,912
to redefine all these
different things, right?

737
00:31:53,976 --> 00:31:56,576
He tries to redefine what the
word of God says.

738
00:31:56,688 --> 00:31:59,040
You see that back with Jesus
in Matthew, chapter four.

739
00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:01,904
Satan comes and tries to twist
the word to Jesus, right?

740
00:32:02,072 --> 00:32:04,936
He tries just to move it just
a little bit away from the truth

741
00:32:04,968 --> 00:32:06,480
so that there can be sin.

742
00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:09,696
And so what we can see here in
this case is that there is the opposite

743
00:32:09,728 --> 00:32:12,882
of the lust of the eyes, the
lust of the flesh and the pride of

744
00:32:12,906 --> 00:32:13,066
life.

745
00:32:13,098 --> 00:32:18,290
And that is to exalt Christ,
to worship him, to die to our flesh,

746
00:32:18,370 --> 00:32:18,658
right?

747
00:32:18,714 --> 00:32:20,778
What does the New Testament
say that a Christian should do to

748
00:32:20,794 --> 00:32:21,386
our flesh?

749
00:32:21,498 --> 00:32:24,970
Die to it, mortify our
members, put it on a cross, kill

750
00:32:25,010 --> 00:32:25,570
it.

751
00:32:25,730 --> 00:32:27,990
It's not our desires that we
should follow.

752
00:32:28,290 --> 00:32:32,514
The Bible says the love of
money, the love of covetousness,

753
00:32:32,642 --> 00:32:36,230
is the root of all evil, all
kind of evil.

754
00:32:36,820 --> 00:32:40,020
And so we see over and over
again the opposite that the world

755
00:32:40,060 --> 00:32:41,804
preaches is what God preaches.

756
00:32:41,972 --> 00:32:42,892
The pride of life.

757
00:32:42,956 --> 00:32:45,680
The pride of life is
essentially this, worshiping yourself.

758
00:32:46,620 --> 00:32:49,508
We are beings created to worship.

759
00:32:49,644 --> 00:32:50,868
All of us worship something.

760
00:32:50,924 --> 00:32:53,084
Some of us worship a celebrity.

761
00:32:53,132 --> 00:32:54,556
Some of us worship ourselves.

762
00:32:54,668 --> 00:32:56,820
Some of us worship a sports figure.

763
00:32:56,860 --> 00:32:57,924
Some of us worship money.

764
00:32:57,972 --> 00:33:00,280
Some of us worship whatever it is.

765
00:33:00,660 --> 00:33:03,108
But the truth is, is that all
of us are created to worship.

766
00:33:03,164 --> 00:33:03,404
Really.

767
00:33:03,452 --> 00:33:05,532
There's only one person to
worship, and that is God.

768
00:33:05,556 --> 00:33:08,028
That's the only person, as we
sang this morning, that's worthy

769
00:33:08,044 --> 00:33:09,964
of our worship and worthy of
our praise.

770
00:33:10,132 --> 00:33:11,560
Why do we worship him?

771
00:33:12,060 --> 00:33:15,724
Well, I'll give you an analogy
that I think is the case.

772
00:33:15,852 --> 00:33:19,156
And I think this is something
that we can say is point number three.

773
00:33:19,268 --> 00:33:22,600
We had misappropriated love,
and now we see authentic love.

774
00:33:23,980 --> 00:33:25,284
How do we prove our love?

775
00:33:25,332 --> 00:33:27,452
Why should we prove our love
to God?

776
00:33:27,636 --> 00:33:30,940
Well, because the Bible calls
us to have authentic love.

777
00:33:30,980 --> 00:33:34,752
If you go back and look with
me to verse number six, what was

778
00:33:34,776 --> 00:33:36,840
one of the character traits of
being a faithful servant?

779
00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:39,448
At the end of verse number
six, in two corinthians, it says,

780
00:33:39,584 --> 00:33:42,160
love unfeigned, authentic love.

781
00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:46,784
And so instead of
misappropriated love, there's authentic

782
00:33:46,832 --> 00:33:49,360
love that we are supposed to
have in our lives for God.

783
00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:53,060
Now let me give you a little
bit of an example about this.

784
00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:58,784
I go to my son's flag football
games, okay?

785
00:33:58,952 --> 00:34:02,188
And Mike is out there playing
flag football, and I'm sitting on

786
00:34:02,204 --> 00:34:03,052
the front row.

787
00:34:03,196 --> 00:34:04,724
I'm so invested, right?

788
00:34:04,812 --> 00:34:07,612
Come on, Micah, get in the
play, run the ball, you know, catch

789
00:34:07,636 --> 00:34:09,996
the ball, tag this guy, pull
the flag.

790
00:34:10,148 --> 00:34:15,332
Now if Micah did not play flag
football, do you think I would be

791
00:34:15,356 --> 00:34:19,180
showing up on a Saturday
morning and being like, I want to

792
00:34:19,220 --> 00:34:21,880
watch third and fourth grade
flag football?

793
00:34:22,300 --> 00:34:23,396
Okay, no.

794
00:34:23,588 --> 00:34:24,756
So let me give you a hint.

795
00:34:24,908 --> 00:34:27,840
Third and fourth grade flag
football means nothing to me.

796
00:34:28,640 --> 00:34:34,020
But it's because my son, who I
love, is playing.

797
00:34:34,720 --> 00:34:37,736
And so I get excited at a
third and fourth grade flag football

798
00:34:37,808 --> 00:34:41,608
game when someone scores a
touchdown because my son's involved.

799
00:34:41,744 --> 00:34:45,100
It's my love for him that
drives my excitement.

800
00:34:45,920 --> 00:34:48,616
It's not the actual event
itself that drives the excitement.

801
00:34:48,648 --> 00:34:50,600
So you say, why do we worship God?

802
00:34:50,680 --> 00:34:53,180
We worship God because we love him.

803
00:34:54,129 --> 00:34:57,625
Everything that we do in our
lives should be an excitement because

804
00:34:57,697 --> 00:34:59,665
of what Jesus Christ has done
for us.

805
00:34:59,777 --> 00:35:02,961
We worship him because of our
love for him.

806
00:35:03,145 --> 00:35:05,737
We get excited for our
children because of our love for

807
00:35:05,753 --> 00:35:06,025
them.

808
00:35:06,097 --> 00:35:09,945
We get excited for t ball
games because of our love for the

809
00:35:09,977 --> 00:35:11,417
person in the tee ball game.

810
00:35:11,553 --> 00:35:13,721
Now, if some of you guys were
like, I like to go out and watch

811
00:35:13,785 --> 00:35:15,961
five year old t ball games,
they're just so intrigued.

812
00:35:15,985 --> 00:35:17,073
No, come on.

813
00:35:17,201 --> 00:35:18,615
We do it because we love them.

814
00:35:18,697 --> 00:35:20,172
And so why do we worship?

815
00:35:20,316 --> 00:35:23,612
Well, we worship because we
get together on Sunday mornings and

816
00:35:23,636 --> 00:35:25,360
God commands us to worship.

817
00:35:26,140 --> 00:35:27,420
Does God command us to worship?

818
00:35:27,460 --> 00:35:30,468
Yes, but if the reason why we
come in and worship is because God

819
00:35:30,524 --> 00:35:35,996
commands us to worship the
heart of it's not there, I guess

820
00:35:36,028 --> 00:35:37,900
I gotta get up on Sunday
morning and worship.

821
00:35:37,980 --> 00:35:40,996
This is my 1 hour of worship
today, folks.

822
00:35:41,028 --> 00:35:44,202
The Bible says that we are to
live lives characterized by worship.

823
00:35:44,316 --> 00:35:46,982
Whatsoever you do in your
life, whether you eat or drink or

824
00:35:47,006 --> 00:35:49,542
whatsoever you do, do all the
glory of God, we're to worship him

825
00:35:49,566 --> 00:35:50,450
all the time.

826
00:35:51,310 --> 00:35:54,734
Well, I gotta go ahead and pry
myself out of bed, get my coffee,

827
00:35:54,782 --> 00:35:55,582
get to church.

828
00:35:55,686 --> 00:35:57,518
And how long is that preacher
gonna preach today?

829
00:35:57,654 --> 00:35:59,262
We got things we gotta get to today.

830
00:35:59,406 --> 00:35:59,942
I get it.

831
00:35:59,966 --> 00:36:02,166
I understand, I understand that.

832
00:36:02,358 --> 00:36:07,374
But the truth is, is that if
we are needing exterior motivation

833
00:36:07,422 --> 00:36:09,770
to worship our God, we have an
issue with our love.

834
00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:14,480
We need to worship him out of
a love that God has already given

835
00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:16,016
us in one John, chapter four.

836
00:36:16,128 --> 00:36:18,064
We love him because he first
loved us.

837
00:36:18,192 --> 00:36:22,384
And so Paul's call to action
for these people was to open their

838
00:36:22,432 --> 00:36:27,032
hearts to the love of God, to
really understand the love of God,

839
00:36:27,136 --> 00:36:31,016
so that we can love him by our
worship and so that we can love others

840
00:36:31,088 --> 00:36:32,660
as he's called us to worship.

841
00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:36,326
So how do we genuinely display
the love of goddess.

842
00:36:36,348 --> 00:36:39,594
Well, it's ultimately this
keeping our eyes fixed on him.

843
00:36:39,682 --> 00:36:43,426
And the Bible says in
scripture, this is not Pastor Josh's

844
00:36:43,458 --> 00:36:43,770
opinion.

845
00:36:43,810 --> 00:36:46,642
You can check me on this, but
in many passages of scripture, it

846
00:36:46,666 --> 00:36:51,430
says that loving God is proven
by how we obey him.

847
00:36:51,930 --> 00:36:57,270
Okay, the Bible says there's a
lot of things that we can do as christians,

848
00:36:57,890 --> 00:37:03,028
but the thing that shows our
love for him is to hear his word,

849
00:37:03,164 --> 00:37:05,596
heed his word and obey his word.

850
00:37:05,668 --> 00:37:06,280
Right?

851
00:37:06,580 --> 00:37:07,876
That's the true test.

852
00:37:07,988 --> 00:37:11,520
Do I love God enough to be changed?

853
00:37:12,140 --> 00:37:14,868
Do I love God enough to say
this is what his word says?

854
00:37:14,964 --> 00:37:17,308
And I'm willing, even though
it's not something that I want to

855
00:37:17,324 --> 00:37:19,320
do, I will do it because I
love him?

856
00:37:19,700 --> 00:37:20,940
That's the true test.

857
00:37:21,060 --> 00:37:21,972
The true test is not.

858
00:37:21,996 --> 00:37:22,532
Well, you know what?

859
00:37:22,556 --> 00:37:24,388
I come every Sunday, pastor.

860
00:37:24,564 --> 00:37:26,492
What else do you ask from me?

861
00:37:26,596 --> 00:37:27,954
I could be out at the beach.

862
00:37:28,092 --> 00:37:29,622
I could be at the ball game.

863
00:37:29,766 --> 00:37:32,590
Well, yeah, this is one step
of being here.

864
00:37:32,710 --> 00:37:35,862
But we all know that we can be
in our place on Sunday morning and

865
00:37:35,886 --> 00:37:37,130
have zero love.

866
00:37:37,630 --> 00:37:40,038
Just like we know that there
can be marriages that a husband and

867
00:37:40,054 --> 00:37:41,926
wife can be in the same room.

868
00:37:42,078 --> 00:37:43,850
But there could be issues.

869
00:37:45,350 --> 00:37:47,782
We know that there could be
instances where, you know what?

870
00:37:47,806 --> 00:37:48,430
I go to work.

871
00:37:48,470 --> 00:37:50,850
Every Monday morning, I'm here
at work.

872
00:37:51,710 --> 00:37:54,222
But how many of us could say,
hey, I can be at a job that I don't

873
00:37:54,246 --> 00:37:55,512
love, right?

874
00:37:55,656 --> 00:38:01,312
So we can actually, at some
point in time see our christian faith

875
00:38:01,416 --> 00:38:05,904
as a job that I come in and I
punch my ticket and I do my stuff

876
00:38:05,992 --> 00:38:08,232
and I go home and I'm not, you
know what?

877
00:38:08,256 --> 00:38:10,544
I got this problem and this
problem and this problem, and you

878
00:38:10,552 --> 00:38:12,920
know, it's that person's Fault
or it's that person's fault.

879
00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:16,928
Paul says it's not anybody
else's fault except for you and the

880
00:38:16,944 --> 00:38:21,800
fact that you have constricted
your love for God because of your

881
00:38:21,840 --> 00:38:22,832
own affections.

882
00:38:22,856 --> 00:38:24,868
And so there must be this
authentic love.

883
00:38:24,984 --> 00:38:28,492
Colossians chapter three says
for us to keep our eyes fixed on

884
00:38:28,516 --> 00:38:32,460
the Lord, our eyes fixed on
the things which are above.

885
00:38:32,500 --> 00:38:33,476
I want you to go see that.

886
00:38:33,508 --> 00:38:34,684
Colossians chapter three.

887
00:38:34,772 --> 00:38:38,116
Colossians chapter three is
talking about setting our affections

888
00:38:38,148 --> 00:38:39,100
in the right place.

889
00:38:39,220 --> 00:38:43,708
Now, there is going to be
times in our life where we are tempted

890
00:38:43,804 --> 00:38:45,400
to lose sight of this.

891
00:38:46,260 --> 00:38:47,052
Like so.

892
00:38:47,076 --> 00:38:51,972
For example, when I wake up in
the morning as a husband, I wish

893
00:38:51,996 --> 00:38:54,316
I could tell you that every
morning that I wake up as a husband,

894
00:38:54,428 --> 00:38:56,756
I'm like, wow, this is like
sunshine and rainbows.

895
00:38:56,788 --> 00:38:57,492
It's a movie.

896
00:38:57,556 --> 00:38:59,244
It's a love movie every single day.

897
00:38:59,332 --> 00:39:00,876
And my wife and I just get up and.

898
00:39:00,948 --> 00:39:01,804
Good morning, honey.

899
00:39:01,852 --> 00:39:02,900
And everything's just great.

900
00:39:02,980 --> 00:39:06,428
No, there is going to be times
where I wake up and because of whatever

901
00:39:06,484 --> 00:39:08,900
happened this time or
whatever's happening in my own life,

902
00:39:08,980 --> 00:39:12,332
that there could be a strain
on the love that I have with my wife.

903
00:39:12,476 --> 00:39:14,596
And some of you that are
perfect in your marriage go.

904
00:39:14,628 --> 00:39:15,564
We've never had that problem.

905
00:39:15,612 --> 00:39:19,388
Okay, well, come on out to the
next marriage conference and you

906
00:39:19,404 --> 00:39:20,036
could be the speaker.

907
00:39:20,068 --> 00:39:21,840
Okay, but here's the thing.

908
00:39:22,420 --> 00:39:26,652
As a husband and wife, because
many of us know that analogy, it

909
00:39:26,676 --> 00:39:27,956
doesn't mean that our love is gone.

910
00:39:27,988 --> 00:39:31,188
It just means that our love
can be strained for whatever reason.

911
00:39:31,364 --> 00:39:34,540
And so there's things in our
life as a Christian that even though

912
00:39:34,580 --> 00:39:37,484
we know that God loves us and
even though we have a desire to love

913
00:39:37,532 --> 00:39:40,444
our lord, there can be things
that strain that love.

914
00:39:40,572 --> 00:39:41,468
And we could say, you know what?

915
00:39:41,484 --> 00:39:42,620
My eyes are not on the right.

916
00:39:42,660 --> 00:39:46,766
My eyes are on the fact that,
hey, hey, that stuff in the kit,

917
00:39:46,798 --> 00:39:48,702
you know, I don't know if any
of you guys have ever played this

918
00:39:48,726 --> 00:39:49,406
game before.

919
00:39:49,558 --> 00:39:53,502
Okay, there's dirty dishes in
the sink and who's going to touch

920
00:39:53,526 --> 00:39:54,230
it first?

921
00:39:54,390 --> 00:39:56,838
Okay, we're just going to keep
walking by and go, okay.

922
00:39:56,894 --> 00:39:59,486
Hopefully she saw that and
we're going to do a stalemate.

923
00:39:59,518 --> 00:40:00,886
We're going to see how long
it's going to go.

924
00:40:00,918 --> 00:40:01,566
Right now.

925
00:40:01,598 --> 00:40:03,286
Some of you go, no, we never
have that problem.

926
00:40:03,318 --> 00:40:05,742
Okay, well, for you it might
be something else, but the truth

927
00:40:05,766 --> 00:40:08,446
is that there's times in our
life where we can say, you know what?

928
00:40:08,478 --> 00:40:11,038
I'm not going to look to the
vow that I made to my spouse.

929
00:40:11,174 --> 00:40:14,398
I'm not going to look to what
they have done over and over and

930
00:40:14,414 --> 00:40:15,886
over again by proving their
love to me.

931
00:40:15,918 --> 00:40:17,734
All I'm going to do is look at
that very moment.

932
00:40:17,862 --> 00:40:19,966
They hate me because they're
not doing that.

933
00:40:20,118 --> 00:40:22,422
And the truth is that there's
some times in our christian life

934
00:40:22,446 --> 00:40:24,766
that we don't go back to the
word of truth.

935
00:40:24,958 --> 00:40:27,702
We don't go back to everything
that we know about God and his covenant

936
00:40:27,726 --> 00:40:29,054
to us and his love for us.

937
00:40:29,142 --> 00:40:32,502
We go to that very instance of
that circumstance and go, no, he

938
00:40:32,526 --> 00:40:35,478
must not love me because
that's not what he would do if he

939
00:40:35,494 --> 00:40:37,538
loves me and therefore, I'm
not going to love him.

940
00:40:37,614 --> 00:40:39,810
But what does colossians
chapter three, verse one says?

941
00:40:39,890 --> 00:40:43,946
It says, if ye then be risen
with Christ, seek those things which

942
00:40:43,978 --> 00:40:47,466
are above, that's the eternal,
where Christ sitteth on the right

943
00:40:47,498 --> 00:40:48,178
hand of God.

944
00:40:48,274 --> 00:40:49,698
And then here it is, verse two.

945
00:40:49,794 --> 00:40:54,938
Set your affections on things
above, not on things on the earth,

946
00:40:55,034 --> 00:40:57,890
for ye are dead and your life
is hid with Christ in God.

947
00:40:57,970 --> 00:41:01,482
When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall ye also

948
00:41:01,546 --> 00:41:02,674
appear with him in glory.

949
00:41:02,722 --> 00:41:05,528
So he says this, he says,
don't set your affections on the

950
00:41:05,544 --> 00:41:07,536
things of this world that are
pulling your attention away from

951
00:41:07,568 --> 00:41:09,392
God, your affections away from God.

952
00:41:09,496 --> 00:41:12,568
Set your affections, set your
eyes on the things of God and the

953
00:41:12,584 --> 00:41:13,400
things that are eternal.

954
00:41:13,440 --> 00:41:14,152
Because you know what?

955
00:41:14,216 --> 00:41:16,460
It's not going to matter what
happens on the day to day.

956
00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:19,912
It's not going to matter what
happens in the case of the ups and

957
00:41:19,936 --> 00:41:22,472
downs of life, because you're
going to stay faithful to him.

958
00:41:22,496 --> 00:41:25,432
And that's endurance, keeping
your eyes fixed on what God has done

959
00:41:25,456 --> 00:41:28,200
for you, what he's already
proven to you in his love.

960
00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:30,220
God has proven his love
towards you.

961
00:41:30,850 --> 00:41:35,394
First, John, chapter four,
verse 16.

962
00:41:35,482 --> 00:41:38,874
And we have known and believed
the love of God hath to us.

963
00:41:38,922 --> 00:41:42,754
God is love, and he that
dwelleth in love dwelleth in God

964
00:41:42,802 --> 00:41:43,938
and God in him.

965
00:41:44,034 --> 00:41:47,030
I can say that that's maybe
the summary verse here this morning.

966
00:41:47,810 --> 00:41:53,590
And we have known and believed
the love that God hath to us.

967
00:41:53,890 --> 00:41:56,722
At some point in your life, if
you're a believer this morning, you

968
00:41:56,746 --> 00:42:00,280
have known and believed in the
love of goddesse.

969
00:42:01,010 --> 00:42:05,426
And we have to know and
believe that God is love and that

970
00:42:05,458 --> 00:42:09,970
he dwelleth in love, dwelleth
in God.

971
00:42:10,010 --> 00:42:13,298
He that dwelleth in love, he
that is known by love, he that rests

972
00:42:13,314 --> 00:42:16,050
in the love of God, is resting
and dwelling in God.

973
00:42:16,170 --> 00:42:20,258
And so to rest in God is to
rest in love, love for God and love

974
00:42:20,314 --> 00:42:21,110
for others.

975
00:42:22,250 --> 00:42:25,314
And so I would tell you here
this morning, the fix is not just

976
00:42:25,362 --> 00:42:27,994
try really, really hard to
keep loving other people and loving

977
00:42:28,042 --> 00:42:28,418
God.

978
00:42:28,514 --> 00:42:31,316
It's dwelling in Christ, it's
dwelling in him.

979
00:42:31,348 --> 00:42:32,836
It's living in that love.

980
00:42:32,948 --> 00:42:35,220
It's being bathed by that love
every single day.

981
00:42:35,260 --> 00:42:37,060
Lord, I know that you love me.

982
00:42:37,220 --> 00:42:38,676
I know what your word says.

983
00:42:38,788 --> 00:42:40,716
I know what you've shown me in
my life.

984
00:42:40,788 --> 00:42:43,500
And so therefore, I'm not
going to allow these affections of

985
00:42:43,540 --> 00:42:46,572
my own flesh to pull me away
from the affections that I have for

986
00:42:46,596 --> 00:42:47,160
you.

987
00:42:47,740 --> 00:42:52,820
I go back to the marriage
situation because I know that's applicable

988
00:42:52,860 --> 00:42:53,920
for many of us.

989
00:42:54,420 --> 00:42:56,980
Even if it's not applicable to
you, you can understand the marriage

990
00:42:57,020 --> 00:42:57,600
love.

991
00:42:59,060 --> 00:43:02,640
If my wife, if I go to my wife
and I say, hey, I love you so much,

992
00:43:03,180 --> 00:43:05,360
but all I do is spend time
with other people.

993
00:43:06,500 --> 00:43:08,240
I go spend time with other women.

994
00:43:08,620 --> 00:43:12,164
And she goes, well, he says he
loves me, but he's showing those

995
00:43:12,212 --> 00:43:13,680
people love all the time.

996
00:43:13,980 --> 00:43:17,700
What I'm doing is I'm loving,
but I'm misappropriating that love.

997
00:43:17,740 --> 00:43:21,340
That should go to her, to
somebody else, right?

998
00:43:21,460 --> 00:43:24,204
I'm taking the love that I
should give to her, and I say, you

999
00:43:24,212 --> 00:43:24,428
know what?

1000
00:43:24,444 --> 00:43:26,816
I'm going to give it to
someone else, someone who does not

1001
00:43:26,848 --> 00:43:28,260
deserve that type of love.

1002
00:43:28,920 --> 00:43:30,980
That's the exact same thing we
do to God.

1003
00:43:31,600 --> 00:43:34,656
The love that we are to have
in worship, the love that we are

1004
00:43:34,688 --> 00:43:38,480
to have in devotion and
sacrifice and service should all

1005
00:43:38,520 --> 00:43:38,976
go to him.

1006
00:43:39,008 --> 00:43:39,936
But what do we do?

1007
00:43:40,048 --> 00:43:41,560
We take little parts of that love.

1008
00:43:41,600 --> 00:43:44,112
We might not take all of it,
but we might take portions of that

1009
00:43:44,136 --> 00:43:46,688
love and appropriate it to
someone else or something else in

1010
00:43:46,704 --> 00:43:47,460
our lives.

1011
00:43:47,920 --> 00:43:48,712
So what do we say?

1012
00:43:48,736 --> 00:43:49,624
We say, well, God, I love you.

1013
00:43:49,632 --> 00:43:50,736
I give you this much.

1014
00:43:50,888 --> 00:43:52,136
You should be thankful with
this much.

1015
00:43:52,168 --> 00:43:53,724
He doesn't want part of us.

1016
00:43:53,912 --> 00:43:55,476
He doesn't want a little bit.

1017
00:43:55,588 --> 00:43:56,720
He wants everything.

1018
00:43:57,180 --> 00:43:58,412
He wants us all.

1019
00:43:58,556 --> 00:44:01,748
He wants us to be completely
committed to him in every way.

1020
00:44:01,844 --> 00:44:04,320
And that is what it means to
dwell in him.

1021
00:44:04,940 --> 00:44:08,080
And so Paul says, that is endurance.

1022
00:44:08,500 --> 00:44:12,740
That is patience, that is sacrifice.

1023
00:44:12,860 --> 00:44:16,692
That is what it means to be an
ambassador for Jesus Christ, to love

1024
00:44:16,756 --> 00:44:20,662
him completely and to dwell in
him and allow the love of God to

1025
00:44:20,686 --> 00:44:23,654
compel us to service and to sacrifice.

1026
00:44:23,822 --> 00:44:28,382
Folks, I'm gonna tell you here
this morning, you can set your affections

1027
00:44:28,406 --> 00:44:29,370
on other things.

1028
00:44:30,070 --> 00:44:31,326
You have the freedom to do that.

1029
00:44:31,358 --> 00:44:33,054
God's not gonna strike you
dead here this morning.

1030
00:44:33,102 --> 00:44:36,490
If you love something else, it
doesn't make him happy.

1031
00:44:37,750 --> 00:44:40,838
It doesn't give him joy in
your life, but you have the freedom

1032
00:44:40,854 --> 00:44:41,966
to love whatever you wanna love.

1033
00:44:41,998 --> 00:44:45,214
But why would we set our
affections on anything else outside

1034
00:44:45,382 --> 00:44:46,822
of the truth of Jesus Christ?

1035
00:44:46,926 --> 00:44:48,814
That's what Paul was telling
the corinthian church.

1036
00:44:48,902 --> 00:44:51,750
You guys are constricting
yourselves because of your affections.

1037
00:44:51,830 --> 00:44:54,382
Now we're gonna look next week
at what their affections really were.

1038
00:44:54,486 --> 00:44:57,022
It was essentially they were
yoking up with the things of this

1039
00:44:57,046 --> 00:44:58,078
world too much.

1040
00:44:58,254 --> 00:45:01,990
They were loving the things of
this world too much, and they were

1041
00:45:02,070 --> 00:45:08,982
trying to meld together the
world and their faith, and they wanted

1042
00:45:09,006 --> 00:45:10,570
the best of both worlds.

1043
00:45:10,880 --> 00:45:13,608
And what the Lord's going to
tell us in this passage is that you

1044
00:45:13,624 --> 00:45:15,648
can't love the world and love
God at the same time.

1045
00:45:15,784 --> 00:45:17,100
It's not going to work.

1046
00:45:17,480 --> 00:45:19,704
And so next week, I want you
to come back because we're going

1047
00:45:19,712 --> 00:45:22,152
to talk about what it means to
be unequally yoked.

1048
00:45:22,336 --> 00:45:23,856
Some of you might say, well, I
know what that means.

1049
00:45:23,888 --> 00:45:27,584
That means when a husband and
wife are not christians, like one

1050
00:45:27,632 --> 00:45:29,480
is a believer and one's not a believer.

1051
00:45:29,520 --> 00:45:30,696
That's one instance of that.

1052
00:45:30,728 --> 00:45:33,552
Yes, we will talk about that,
but we're also going to talk about

1053
00:45:33,576 --> 00:45:36,192
the deeper understanding of
what it means to be unequally yoked

1054
00:45:36,216 --> 00:45:37,060
with this world.

1055
00:45:37,200 --> 00:45:39,948
And it ties right together
with that last phrase that Paul gave.

1056
00:45:40,044 --> 00:45:40,796
Your affections.

1057
00:45:40,828 --> 00:45:44,732
You're constricted by your own
affections, the love for this world.

1058
00:45:44,916 --> 00:45:47,900
Now, you would say, well,
pastor, do you completely love God

1059
00:45:47,940 --> 00:45:49,356
and never love this world?

1060
00:45:49,388 --> 00:45:51,028
No, folks, these are things
that we're going to struggle with

1061
00:45:51,044 --> 00:45:52,196
for the rest of our lives.

1062
00:45:52,348 --> 00:45:52,660
Why?

1063
00:45:52,700 --> 00:45:54,180
Because the world is attractive.

1064
00:45:54,340 --> 00:45:55,484
The world is what we see.

1065
00:45:55,532 --> 00:45:57,092
The world is what we know.

1066
00:45:57,196 --> 00:45:59,868
And therefore, that is why we
as christians are so attached to

1067
00:45:59,884 --> 00:46:00,692
this world.

1068
00:46:00,876 --> 00:46:05,632
But the more we love God and
the more we spend time with him and

1069
00:46:05,656 --> 00:46:08,760
the more we appreciate his
love for us, our grip on this world

1070
00:46:08,800 --> 00:46:09,672
becomes less and less.

1071
00:46:09,696 --> 00:46:13,280
And eventually that grip
hopefully is released, and hopefully

1072
00:46:13,320 --> 00:46:15,616
we can cling on to him more
and more, and those things of earth

1073
00:46:15,648 --> 00:46:19,144
will go strangely dim in the
light of his glory and grace.

1074
00:46:19,272 --> 00:46:22,576
And so I want you to think
about those three things here this

1075
00:46:22,648 --> 00:46:27,860
morning, starting out with
that idea of stability and instability,

1076
00:46:28,280 --> 00:46:31,502
and then what missed a place
love looks like.

1077
00:46:31,606 --> 00:46:34,814
And ultimately God's call for
us to have authentic love for him

1078
00:46:34,942 --> 00:46:36,130
and for others.

1079
00:46:36,550 --> 00:46:38,662
I'm gonna ask if you're able
to stand with me, every head bowed,

1080
00:46:38,686 --> 00:46:40,062
every eye closed, as the music plays.

1081
00:46:40,086 --> 00:46:42,570
This morning, we're gonna have
an opportunity to respond to him.

1082
00:46:44,310 --> 00:46:47,694
I hope that that very first
question that I asked you this morning

1083
00:46:47,742 --> 00:46:49,370
is something you've been
thinking about.

1084
00:46:50,230 --> 00:46:54,250
Who or what are you setting
your affections on?

1085
00:46:54,910 --> 00:46:56,850
Who do you love the most in
this world?

1086
00:46:59,090 --> 00:47:02,738
Many of us, if we were honest,
at some point in our lives, we would

1087
00:47:02,754 --> 00:47:05,954
say, man, I love me more than
anything else.

1088
00:47:06,122 --> 00:47:08,470
I'm willing to do anything to
protect me.

1089
00:47:09,170 --> 00:47:11,950
The truth is, the Bible says
that's the pride of life.

1090
00:47:13,810 --> 00:47:16,042
So I would ask you this
morning, who do you love?

1091
00:47:16,226 --> 00:47:17,470
Who do you love most?

1092
00:47:18,250 --> 00:47:20,250
The second question is, what
do you love most?

1093
00:47:20,370 --> 00:47:22,506
What things are you loving in
your life?

1094
00:47:22,538 --> 00:47:24,390
What are you spending the most
time on?

1095
00:47:24,880 --> 00:47:28,256
The Bible says it is the word
of God that we should base our faith

1096
00:47:28,288 --> 00:47:30,620
off of, not circumstances.

1097
00:47:32,760 --> 00:47:34,536
I know it's easy to love those things.

1098
00:47:34,568 --> 00:47:37,664
But the Bible says that we
have to have that stability and instability

1099
00:47:37,752 --> 00:47:40,304
by having authentic love
instead of misplaced love.

1100
00:47:40,392 --> 00:47:42,780
Maybe you've been misplacing
your love here today.

1101
00:47:43,240 --> 00:47:46,776
Maybe you've been misplacing
your love when it comes to your family,

1102
00:47:46,888 --> 00:47:49,358
when it comes to the Lord,
when it comes to your service.

1103
00:47:49,544 --> 00:47:51,938
Maybe you've been so focused
on the things of this world that

1104
00:47:51,954 --> 00:47:54,018
it's been stealing your love
from the things that it should be

1105
00:47:54,034 --> 00:47:54,674
going to.

1106
00:47:54,802 --> 00:48:00,050
Maybe you're allowing the
world to steal your love from your

1107
00:48:00,090 --> 00:48:00,546
spouse.

1108
00:48:00,618 --> 00:48:02,866
Maybe you're allowing the
world to steal your love for your

1109
00:48:02,898 --> 00:48:03,138
children.

1110
00:48:03,194 --> 00:48:07,826
Maybe you're allowing, most
importantly, the love of this world

1111
00:48:07,858 --> 00:48:10,310
to steal your love away from
God and his word.

1112
00:48:10,930 --> 00:48:13,418
There's no shame in that other
than the fact that, hey, I need to

1113
00:48:13,434 --> 00:48:14,290
get that right.

1114
00:48:14,450 --> 00:48:16,110
I need to respond right now.

1115
00:48:16,250 --> 00:48:18,646
I don't want to be like the
corinthian christians who have been

1116
00:48:18,678 --> 00:48:21,630
so constricted by my own
affections that I'm not able to open

1117
00:48:21,670 --> 00:48:24,326
and enlarge my heart to the
truth of God.

1118
00:48:24,398 --> 00:48:26,910
The title of the sermon this
morning was essentially this, open

1119
00:48:26,950 --> 00:48:28,570
your hearts to the love of God.

1120
00:48:29,150 --> 00:48:30,126
Open your hearts.

1121
00:48:30,158 --> 00:48:34,502
Be willing to be used by God
and allow his love to compel you.

1122
00:48:34,526 --> 00:48:38,134
Maybe you need to go back to
say, Lord, it is your love that drives

1123
00:48:38,182 --> 00:48:38,782
me to serve.

1124
00:48:38,806 --> 00:48:40,822
It is your love that drives me
to study.

1125
00:48:40,926 --> 00:48:43,372
It is your love that drives me
to sacrifice.

1126
00:48:43,476 --> 00:48:46,356
It is your love that drives me
to a place of submission.

1127
00:48:46,428 --> 00:48:47,240
To you.

1128
00:48:49,860 --> 00:48:52,156
Lord, I pray that you be in
this time of invitation.

1129
00:48:52,308 --> 00:48:54,084
Pray that you work in hearts
and lives.

1130
00:48:54,252 --> 00:48:56,404
Pray if there's someone here
this morning who does not know you

1131
00:48:56,412 --> 00:49:00,996
as savior, maybe they have not
tasted the love of forgiveness and

1132
00:49:01,028 --> 00:49:04,012
truth, that today can be the
day of salvation, that today can

1133
00:49:04,036 --> 00:49:05,720
be the day of forgiveness.

1134
00:49:06,180 --> 00:49:09,116
We thank you for loving us so
much that you sent your only begotten

1135
00:49:09,148 --> 00:49:09,776
son.

1136
00:49:09,948 --> 00:49:12,552
We thank you for the hope that
we can have that when we trust in

1137
00:49:12,576 --> 00:49:16,416
you, in faith, that we can
know you and to live and dwell in

1138
00:49:16,448 --> 00:49:19,392
you and ultimately know that
we have eternal life with you in

1139
00:49:19,416 --> 00:49:20,008
heaven forever.

1140
00:49:20,064 --> 00:49:24,144
Because of your forgiveness of
our sins and because of your sacrifice.

1141
00:49:24,192 --> 00:49:27,136
We thank you for conquering
death and giving us hope in life.

1142
00:49:27,328 --> 00:49:29,260
Pray that you be in this time
of invitation.

1143
00:49:29,680 --> 00:49:31,880
Pray that you work in hearts
and lives in Jesus name.

1144
00:49:31,920 --> 00:49:32,152
Amen.

1145
00:49:32,176 --> 00:49:37,562
As the music plays, come here,
the altar this morning set your affections

1146
00:49:37,586 --> 00:49:40,690
on the things above, not the
things which are of this earth.

1147
00:49:40,850 --> 00:49:42,978
If you need Jesus Christ as
your savior this morning, we have

1148
00:49:42,994 --> 00:49:43,986
some folks standing up here.

1149
00:49:44,018 --> 00:49:46,938
We can show you in the word of
God, what it means to know him and

1150
00:49:46,954 --> 00:49:47,990
to trust in him.

1151
00:49:48,450 --> 00:49:51,034
Thank you again for listening
to the Middletown Baptist Church

1152
00:49:51,082 --> 00:49:51,866
podcast.

1153
00:49:52,018 --> 00:49:54,590
I hope that this sermon has
been a blessing for you.

1154
00:49:54,970 --> 00:49:57,226
If you would like to find out
more information about our church

1155
00:49:57,258 --> 00:50:01,558
or this sermon, you can find
us@middletownbaptistchurch.org or

1156
00:50:01,654 --> 00:50:03,810
find us on Facebook or YouTube.

1157
00:50:04,310 --> 00:50:09,550
You can also email me directly
at joshmissaro@middletownbaptistchurch.com.

1158
00:50:09,710 --> 00:50:13,198
if you've enjoyed this
podcast, please subscribe and follow

1159
00:50:13,254 --> 00:50:16,290
along for future podcasts and updates.

1160
00:50:16,710 --> 00:50:17,766
Thank you so much.

1161
00:50:17,878 --> 00:50:18,734
God bless.

1162
00:50:18,862 --> 00:50:19,910
Have a wonderful day.