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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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We're going to go ahead and
continue on in our sermon series

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looking at the, the rhythms of
up in and out.

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You guys have been with us the
last three weeks, have seen that

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we have a new theme for the
year, a new vision for the year,

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and that's focusing on up in
and out, our up relationship with

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God, our personal relationship
with Him.

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The end is that relationship
with others within our church family.

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And the out is our
relationship with others in the community

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that need Jesus Christ as Savior.

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And so last week, if you were
with us in the live stream, we talked

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about the up relationship with
God, the importance of growing in

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our personal walk with Him.

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And that starts with faith,
and that starts with trusting in

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him for his work that he
offered for us on the cross and his

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work in the resurrection and
the gift of grace that he extends

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to all of us.

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And so that's the first and
foremost priority for the believer

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is to have our relationship
right with the Lord.

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And so the second rhythm that
we're going to be looking at here

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in this study is the rhythm of
church culture inwardly.

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So our church culture in the,
in relationships that we have.

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And when.

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Anytime I use the word in, in
this context, we're talking about

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relationships with other
Christians, particularly in the church

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that we are in here at
Middletown Baptist Church.

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And so last week we looked at
Colossians, chapter three, and we

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saw that those first four
verses speak of this idea of, of

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the Christian, the believer,
to commit themselves to a relationship

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with God, to seek those things
which are above, to seek the things

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of the Lord.

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And so our first priority must
be an authentic growing relationship

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with the Lord.

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But the Bible says that if we
are in love with him, if we're growing

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in our love with him, it will
manifest itself through love and

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devotion to others.

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And so it looks like this, if
I love God, I love others.

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If I serve God, I serve others.

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And so it starts with that
relationship with God.

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What happens often in our
world today is that many people try

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to skip the part of their
relationship with God.

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And they say, you know what?

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I'm just going to be a good
person to other people.

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And that's what's going to
save me, I'm going to give to the

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poor.

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I'm.

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I'm going to help those in need.

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And those are good things, but
those are things that don't save

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us of for Christ.

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So I serve others because I
love God, and, and I.

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And I serve others because God
calls me to follow that path in my

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life.

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And so ultimately, what we can
see here in this case is that our

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love for God will be
manifested through our love and devotion

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to others, especially for
those that are believers.

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And so there's a few passages
of Scripture that we can look to

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when it comes to that teaching.

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There's, There's a lot that we
could look up to in the New Testament,

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but particularly In John
chapter 13, we see Jesus speaking

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to his followers, and he gives
us a few different thoughts.

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Here In John chapter 13, he's
already talked about sacrifice and

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service and servant leadership.

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But then later on in John
chapter 13, he says in verse number

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34, a new commandment I give
unto you, that ye love one another

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as I have loved you, that ye
also love one another.

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So Jesus says, I have shown
you what it means to love one another.

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And now this new commandment
that's giving is to love one another,

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to love each other.

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And then he says something
very interesting in verse number

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35, because oftentimes I do
believe that sometimes as Christians,

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we feel like it's an optional
thing to love others.

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Well, I'll be a testimony for
Christ in other ways.

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But.

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But what does it say in verse
number 35?

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He says, by this, by this love
for others, by this, all men know

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that ye are my disciples if ye
have love one to another.

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So the mark of a disciple is
one who cares and serves and takes

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care of other believers.

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That's the idea.

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And so the way that the world
can see if we're authentic in our

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belief to the Lord is, is by
the way that we treat others.

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So the way that we treat
others specifically within the church

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matters.

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It matters to our testimony,
it matters to our faith, it matters

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to our spiritual growth.

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And so there's other passages
of Scripture that speak to this.

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In First John 1 John, chapter
4, the.

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The apostle John is writing
here, and he's speaking to the idea

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of love.

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And he's speaking to the fact
that God has manifested his love

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for us.

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As we read this morning, that,
that God demonstrated his love toward

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us.

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Why, that he sent his only
begotten Son into this world, that

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we might live through him.

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But then later on in that
passage, he says in verse number

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16, 1st John 4.

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16.

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And we have known and believe
the love that God hath to us.

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God is love.

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And he that dwelleth in love
dwelleth in God, and God in him.

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Herein is our love made
perfect or basically matured, that

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we may have boldness in the
day of judgment.

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Because as he is, so are we in
this world.

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So, meaning this, as
Christians, we are to live our lives,

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to be more and more like
Christ, because ultimately we will

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be like him one day.

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Then it says in verse 18,
there is no fear in love, but perfect

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love casteth out fear, because
fear hath torment.

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He that feareth is not made
perfect in love.

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We love him because he first
loved us.

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If a man say, I love God and
hateth his brother, he is a liar.

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For he that loveth not his
brother whom he hath seen, how can

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he love whom he hath not seen?

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And this commandment have we
from him that he who loveth God,

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love his brother also.

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So it can't be any more clear
in the fact that if we say we love

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God, if we say we're devoted
to him, if we're.

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If we're growing as
Christians, it's directly connected

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with how we deal with other people.

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And he says, particularly with
those that are fellow believers.

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And so what does this look like?

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What does this love look like?

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Well, ultimately, it's shown
in Matthew, chapter 22.

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You remember the Pharisees are
talking to Jesus, and.

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And Jesus is being tested.

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And we see a young lawyer who.

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He's a professional in the law
of God.

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And he comes and he asks Jesus
this question that is there basically

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to tempt him.

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What's the greatest commandment?

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And the greatest commandment
Jesus gives him is to love the Lord

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thy God with all thy heart.

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That's Matthew, chapter 22,
verse 37.

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So that's the up relationship.

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He says the first and greatest
commandment is to love God with everything,

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to believe in him, to trust in
him, to allow him, to guide our lives.

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And he says, thou shall love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart,

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with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind.

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And so that speaks to the
first priority of our relationship

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in.

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In our Christian walk is our
relationship with God.

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But then secondly, he says this.

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This is the first and great commandment.

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And the second is like unto
this, thou shalt love thy neighbor

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as thyself.

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And so right behind, loving
God with everything that we have

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is to love our neighbor as ourself.

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And then he says something
very interesting in verse 40 on these

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two commandments hang all the
law and the prophets, meaning everything

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that you see in Scripture
hangs on these two core principles.

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To love God with everything
and to love our neighbor as ourself.

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And that speaks to both the up
relationship and the inward relationship.

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To love our neighbor.

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And so even in the great
commandment as this is called, Jesus

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calls us as Christians to love
our neighbor as ourself.

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And so we could go to many
passages of Scripture in the New

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Testament that speak to the
importance and the examples of Christian

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relationships.

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I would encourage you at some
point in time, we're not going to

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be able to have the time to do
it here today, but I would encourage

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you to do an extensive study
on the one another passages in Scripture.

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To love one another, to
forgive one another, to forbear one

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another.

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There's so many passages of
Scripture that speaks of our relationship

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with one another, but one that
I'd like us to turn to, which picks

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up where we studied last week,
is the book of Colossians, Colossians

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chapter three.

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This is going to be our main
text here this morning, and we will

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be digging deeper into what
the Bible has to say about our relationships

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with others when it comes to
the Christian walk.

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And so here this morning, I'm
going to ask you to pray with me

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right now as we get started.

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That's a long Runway.

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We're going to hit the ground
running and we're going to look here

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in Colossians chapter three
what it means to walk in this in

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rhythm when it comes to our
relationship with others.

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Lord, I pray that you be with
us in this time.

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I pray that you work in our lives.

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I pray that you clear our
minds and clear our hearts.

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Allow us to see your word this
morning not just as something that

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can help us, but but as your
word says, that's it's profitable

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for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction and righteousness

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that we can be spiritually
mature Christians, that we can see

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the importance of not only
loving you, but also loving others

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and serving others and
fellowshipping with one another and

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growing in the truth of the
word of God.

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And so, Lord, I pray that you
be in this time.

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I pray that if there's someone
here today that does not know you

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as personal Savior, that today
can be the day of salvation, that

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we can all walk with the
confidence of knowing that you are

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our God, that you are our
Savior, that you are our king, and

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that we can live in light of
that in our daily walk here.

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And so, Lord, we thank you for
your love and your grace.

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And we ask all these things in
Jesus name.

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Amen.

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Well, in Philippians chapter
three, we looked at this last week.

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The first four verses in
Excuse me.

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Colossians, chapter three,
Colossians, chapter three, verses

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one through four, speak of
this relationship that we have with

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God.

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It says in verse number two,
to set your affections on the things

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above, not on things on the earth.

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And so the idea is not to get
distracted, not to get pulled away

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from our priority of loving
God and serving God and having that

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eternal perspective in
everything that we do.

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But then we see in verse
number five that the way that we

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deal with God affects our life
by the way that we respond, by the

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way that we live.

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And he says in verse number
five, mortify therefore your members.

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Now, what does mortify mean?

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Mortify means to kill, to
slay, to remove.

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So he says, remove, Kill
therefore your members which are

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upon the earth.

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Meaning this.

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Don't allow yourself to be so
materialistically focused, so fleshly

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focused, that we're directed
by the things of this world.

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He says, don't focus on the
things of this world.

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And he lists those things.

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Fornication, uncleanness,
inordinate affection, evil concupiscence

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and covetousness, which is idolatry.

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He says, these are things that
the world is characterized by.

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And if we live like the world,
that's what we're going to look like.

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And so if we want to have
victory over these things, verses

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1 through 4 says that the way
that we fight that is by growing

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closer to God.

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Verse 6.

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For which things sake, the
wrath of God cometh on the children

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of disobedience.

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We want to.

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We.

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We want to be characterized by
children of obedience, not disobedience.

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And he says, this is the way
that we used to walk, verse 7, in

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which ye also walk sometime
when you lived in them.

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But now he says, now that you
are different, now that you are a

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child of God, now that you
have been saved, now that you have

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been forgiven.

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He says, now ye also put off
all these things.

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Anger, wrath, malice,
blasphemy, filthy communication out

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of your mouth.

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Lie not one to another.

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And seeing that ye have put
off the old man with his deeds.

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And so one of the elements of
the principle of spiritual growth

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is putting off the old ways, turning.

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Turning away from those things
which characterized us before we

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came to Christ.

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And that starts with that
relationship with God.

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So we can't have this type of
transformation unless we have that

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relationship with God, unless
we're growing in his truth.

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But Then what we also
understand is that this is connected

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to our relationship with others.

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If we don't handle these
struggles in our life, if we don't

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deal with these fleshly things
that are distracting us, we're not

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going to be able to have the
relationships with others that we're

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called to have.

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And so verses 5 through 9
speak of putting off the old man,

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putting off the old ways.

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And then verse 10 talks about
putting on the new.

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And so anytime we see in
scripture it talking about removing

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the old things.

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It doesn't just say remove the
old things.

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It says, put on the new.

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So it's like taking off a coat.

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We take off the coat and we
put a new one on.

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Putting off the old ways and
putting on the new.

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So verse number 10, it says this.

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And have put on the new man,
which is renewed in knowledge after

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the image of him that created him.

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And so what's the new man?

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The new man is the Holy Spirit
guiding our lives, working in our

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lives, changing our hearts,
changing our passions, changing our

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actions.

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And so the Christian life is
not just about avoiding bad things,

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even though that is part of it.

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The Christian life's not just
about stopping all of the sin in

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our life.

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But on top of that, as we see
in Ephesians chapter four and Colossians

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chapter three is, it's about
putting in and infusing in the good

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that God has equipped us with.

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Verse 11, where there is
neither Greek nor Jew circumcision,

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nor uncircumcision, barbarian,
cynthian bond, nor free.

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But Christ is all and in all
he says, how can you find this new

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man?

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How can you find this new path?

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How do you change your life?

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Well, it's not through any of
these other things that the world

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characterizes us by.

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It's not about being from this
tribe or this tribe, about being

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in this socioeconomic class or
this one over here.

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No, the answer is Christ.

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He says that in verse number 11.

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There's no more distinction as
a believer in Jesus Christ.

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We are now walking in his identity.

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So it's Christ in us.

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It's in Christ that we find
this transformation.

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And it's in Christ that we can
live this way within the church culture.

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Because it's not normal.

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00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:21,920
It's not typical for us to act
the way that Colossians chapter three

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tells us to act.

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00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:24,880
That's not the way that we act
in our humanity.

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00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:27,120
In our flesh, we don't want to
be patient.

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00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:29,080
In our flesh, we don't want to
be loving.

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In our flesh, we don't want to
be sacrificial.

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But he says, the way that you
can find this type of culture, the

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way that you can find this
type of focus is by walking in this

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newness of life that we can
only find in Jesus Christ.

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00:13:41,510 --> 00:13:44,870
So starting in verse number
12, he begins to talk about this

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relationship that we have not
only with God, but with his family,

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with his children.

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He says, verse 12, put on,
therefore, as the elect of God, as.

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As the family of God, as those
that are chosen for a.

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A path, a.

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00:14:00,470 --> 00:14:01,190
A purpose.

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He says, holy and beloved.

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00:14:03,230 --> 00:14:05,830
And so I love that phrase,
we're holy and beloved.

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00:14:05,830 --> 00:14:09,130
Holy means to be set aside for
a specific purpose.

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00:14:09,530 --> 00:14:11,090
It doesn't mean completely sinless.

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00:14:11,090 --> 00:14:13,530
We can't be completely sinless
on this side of heaven.

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00:14:13,530 --> 00:14:16,810
But that word holy means to be
set aside for a specific use.

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00:14:16,810 --> 00:14:18,250
And that's what we are as Christians.

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00:14:18,410 --> 00:14:19,850
God has a purpose for us.

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00:14:20,170 --> 00:14:22,450
But then he says holy and beloved.

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00:14:22,450 --> 00:14:23,770
Beloved just means that we are.

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We are loved.

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00:14:24,610 --> 00:14:27,650
And we know that as first
John, chapter four, said that we

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00:14:27,650 --> 00:14:29,450
love him because he first
loved us.

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00:14:30,330 --> 00:14:32,930
And so he says, this is what
you're supposed to do if you are

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00:14:32,930 --> 00:14:33,770
a child of God.

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00:14:34,970 --> 00:14:36,890
And then he goes on and say,
and says this.

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00:14:37,450 --> 00:14:38,410
Put on what?

338
00:14:38,490 --> 00:14:39,930
Bowels of mercy.

339
00:14:39,930 --> 00:14:41,610
Now, that's a strange phrase.

340
00:14:42,010 --> 00:14:43,130
Vowels of mercy.

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00:14:43,130 --> 00:14:43,850
What does that mean?

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00:14:43,930 --> 00:14:46,330
Essentially, that's a way to
say compassion.

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00:14:47,050 --> 00:14:50,930
We are to have compassion as
Christians towards other believers

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00:14:50,930 --> 00:14:52,090
within the family of God.

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00:14:52,410 --> 00:14:54,850
Now, now, I know that we're
supposed to have compassion on the

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00:14:54,850 --> 00:14:57,890
loss, but particularly in this
case, this is specifically talking

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00:14:57,890 --> 00:15:00,330
about the family of God
looking at those around us.

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00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:03,680
And sometimes we're tempted to
have compassion for the loss, but

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00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:06,000
maybe not have compassion for
those brothers and sisters that are

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00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:06,600
around us.

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00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:09,560
And compassion essentially
means this, that we can understand

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00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:12,400
the pain that they're going
through, that we can weep with those

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00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:14,720
that are weeping, that we can
laugh with those that are laughing,

354
00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:17,680
that we can be with them
through the midst of their pain.

355
00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:20,680
And the Bible says that the
greatest act of compassion is Jesus

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00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:23,560
Christ saying, look, I can
identify with you.

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00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:24,800
I can understand your pain.

358
00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:27,970
Even though he did not sin,
the Bible says that he knew all those

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00:15:27,970 --> 00:15:30,970
things that we have gone
through, and yet he lived that perfect

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00:15:30,970 --> 00:15:31,170
life.

361
00:15:31,170 --> 00:15:32,730
And so Jesus showed compassion.

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00:15:32,890 --> 00:15:35,890
The Bible says in Matthew,
chapter 9 that Jesus was moved with

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00:15:35,890 --> 00:15:38,890
compassion, that his bowels
were moved with compassion.

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00:15:38,890 --> 00:15:43,970
Anytime you see the word
bowels in the text here, back then,

365
00:15:43,970 --> 00:15:46,650
the bowels, the stomach was
the seat of emotions.

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00:15:46,730 --> 00:15:48,170
Today we use the heart, right?

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00:15:48,170 --> 00:15:51,570
We say, you know, My heart
really broke for that person or my

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00:15:51,570 --> 00:15:53,050
heart was moved for that person.

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00:15:53,050 --> 00:15:56,230
Back in this culture, they
would say my bowels were moved.

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00:15:56,230 --> 00:15:58,910
And that speaks to that
feeling that you have there in the

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00:15:58,910 --> 00:16:01,030
pit of your stomach, that
emotional feeling.

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00:16:01,030 --> 00:16:04,350
And so the idea here is to
have compassion for those in need,

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to have bowels of mercies.

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00:16:06,110 --> 00:16:09,750
And so one element of how we
should live with one another within

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00:16:09,750 --> 00:16:12,870
the church is to have
compassion on those that might be

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00:16:12,870 --> 00:16:15,670
going through a struggle,
might be not where we're at in our

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00:16:15,670 --> 00:16:16,750
spiritual growth process.

378
00:16:17,230 --> 00:16:19,870
By the way, that what we do
need to understand is that within

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00:16:20,450 --> 00:16:23,090
the church culture, they're
going to be people that are different

380
00:16:23,090 --> 00:16:24,370
levels of maturity.

381
00:16:24,370 --> 00:16:27,690
And with different levels of
maturity comes different aspects

382
00:16:27,690 --> 00:16:32,650
of growth and pain and, and
confusion and miscommunications.

383
00:16:32,650 --> 00:16:36,289
And so as a Christian, we're
challenged to live in light of that

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00:16:36,289 --> 00:16:37,010
compassion.

385
00:16:37,010 --> 00:16:37,890
But there's more.

386
00:16:38,210 --> 00:16:39,330
He says kindness.

387
00:16:39,970 --> 00:16:41,330
Now, kindness is kindness.

388
00:16:41,490 --> 00:16:45,250
Kindness is basically showing
that compassion, right?

389
00:16:45,490 --> 00:16:48,610
It's one thing to have
compassion for somebody, it's another

390
00:16:48,610 --> 00:16:50,370
thing to move on that compassion.

391
00:16:50,370 --> 00:16:51,930
And that would be an act of kindness.

392
00:16:52,570 --> 00:16:55,090
So the Bible says it's not
just about the feeling of having

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00:16:55,090 --> 00:16:58,970
compassion for somebody, but
within the church, I identify something

394
00:16:58,970 --> 00:17:02,490
that I can do, and therefore
acting in that kindness allows me

395
00:17:02,650 --> 00:17:06,330
to show my compassion, to show
my love, to demonstrate my love.

396
00:17:06,970 --> 00:17:09,930
The Bible speaks over and over
again about, it's one thing to say

397
00:17:09,930 --> 00:17:12,290
something, it's another thing
to do it right.

398
00:17:12,290 --> 00:17:12,690
Demons.

399
00:17:12,690 --> 00:17:13,010
God.

400
00:17:13,010 --> 00:17:15,530
God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten son.

401
00:17:15,530 --> 00:17:18,539
God loved us so much that he
demonstrated his love towards us.

402
00:17:19,099 --> 00:17:20,939
And you've heard me say this
over and over again.

403
00:17:21,739 --> 00:17:24,379
I can say all day that I'm a
loving husband, that I'm a loving

404
00:17:24,379 --> 00:17:27,739
father, but until I
demonstrate that, until I show that

405
00:17:27,739 --> 00:17:29,819
I'm not a loving husband and a
loving father.

406
00:17:29,899 --> 00:17:33,659
And so to be a loving
Christian means to act in kindness.

407
00:17:33,819 --> 00:17:34,939
But, but, but there's more.

408
00:17:34,939 --> 00:17:37,659
Again, this is a parallel to
Ephesians chapter 4.

409
00:17:37,819 --> 00:17:40,979
If you get a chance to read
Ephesians 4 and Colossians 3 together,

410
00:17:40,979 --> 00:17:43,179
you're going to see how
they're tied together.

411
00:17:43,790 --> 00:17:45,550
You're going to see how
they're so interrelated.

412
00:17:45,630 --> 00:17:48,030
And I think it's important for
us to see this within the church

413
00:17:48,030 --> 00:17:48,510
culture.

414
00:17:48,590 --> 00:17:52,550
And so the next thing that we
see after having kindness, he says,

415
00:17:52,550 --> 00:17:53,870
humbleness of mind.

416
00:17:54,510 --> 00:17:55,470
That's humility.

417
00:17:56,830 --> 00:17:58,950
We've talked about this before
when we were talking about church

418
00:17:58,950 --> 00:17:59,389
culture.

419
00:17:59,389 --> 00:18:03,550
One core element to our
culture within the church must be

420
00:18:03,630 --> 00:18:07,750
a Spirit of humility, let no
man think better of himself than

421
00:18:07,750 --> 00:18:08,510
he actually is.

422
00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:10,840
Jesus gave us the perfect example.

423
00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:12,120
In Philippians chapter two.

424
00:18:12,120 --> 00:18:13,320
He humbled himself.

425
00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:15,080
He took the form of a servant.

426
00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:18,080
If all of us have the spirit
of humility, we're all going to be

427
00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:19,720
able to put one another before ourselves.

428
00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:22,280
And what's going to happen is
we're going to see a community built

429
00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:24,280
upon this humbled spirit.

430
00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:26,600
So he says, having humbleness
of mind.

431
00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:27,880
Meekness.

432
00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:29,400
Meekness is strength under control.

433
00:18:30,120 --> 00:18:35,560
Meekness is being able to
identify where and when we can act

434
00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:38,020
with discernment and wisdom and.

435
00:18:38,020 --> 00:18:41,180
And having discretion on how
we do things within the church.

436
00:18:41,260 --> 00:18:44,260
There are certain times within
the church setting that, yes, we

437
00:18:44,260 --> 00:18:47,740
might be in the right, but it
doesn't always mean that we act out

438
00:18:47,740 --> 00:18:48,260
in anger.

439
00:18:48,260 --> 00:18:50,540
It doesn't always mean that we
act out in judgment.

440
00:18:50,620 --> 00:18:51,660
Jesus could have.

441
00:18:51,660 --> 00:18:55,180
If you think about Jesus as he
walked this earth, if we believe

442
00:18:55,180 --> 00:18:57,780
that Jesus is who he says he
is, he knew everything about every

443
00:18:57,780 --> 00:18:59,100
person that he was walking by.

444
00:18:59,340 --> 00:19:02,580
Jesus could have had every
right to judge every single person

445
00:19:02,580 --> 00:19:03,820
as he was walking by them.

446
00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:06,280
He knew every thought, he knew
every action.

447
00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:09,680
But he picked those
opportunities to minister at the

448
00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:10,880
right place in the right time.

449
00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:12,920
That's what we would consider discernment.

450
00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:16,120
And Jesus showed love, he
showed compassion.

451
00:19:16,120 --> 00:19:17,560
Jesus showed judgment.

452
00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:20,440
Jesus showed, in many cases, strength.

453
00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:24,680
And so meekness is essentially
allowing God to control us and not

454
00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:26,920
our emotions to control us.

455
00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:30,770
Moving further here, he says
there is long suffering.

456
00:19:30,770 --> 00:19:33,570
That's patience, to have
patience with one another.

457
00:19:34,450 --> 00:19:37,410
Now, in a few moments, we're
going to look at how these can practically

458
00:19:37,490 --> 00:19:38,050
live out.

459
00:19:38,050 --> 00:19:40,730
But I want you to see these
character traits that we should be

460
00:19:40,730 --> 00:19:42,450
striving for within the ministry.

461
00:19:43,010 --> 00:19:44,530
So we see patience more.

462
00:19:44,690 --> 00:19:46,930
Verse 13, forbearing one another.

463
00:19:47,250 --> 00:19:51,050
Forbearance is again looking
to this idea of putting others before

464
00:19:51,050 --> 00:19:54,130
ourselves, being patient with
other people, offering forgiveness,

465
00:19:54,130 --> 00:19:56,360
offering mercy, offering grace.

466
00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:59,640
More forbearing one another
and forgiving one another.

467
00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:00,040
Why?

468
00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:03,800
If any man have a quarrel
against any, even as Christ forgave

469
00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:05,320
you, so also do ye.

470
00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:09,640
This is exactly what we see in
Ephesians 4:32, forgiving one another.

471
00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:10,040
Why?

472
00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:11,800
Because God has forgiven you.

473
00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:16,520
The Bible very clearly teaches
that within the church culture, within

474
00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:19,880
our setting of Christianity,
we should be ready to forgive.

475
00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:22,040
We should be excited to forgive.

476
00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:22,360
Why?

477
00:20:22,780 --> 00:20:25,900
Because we have been forgiven
for so much in our life.

478
00:20:26,140 --> 00:20:28,700
Think about the great
forgiveness that you can find in

479
00:20:28,700 --> 00:20:29,420
Jesus Christ.

480
00:20:29,820 --> 00:20:32,500
Think about all the sin in our
life and think about how when we

481
00:20:32,500 --> 00:20:35,740
come to Christ in repentance,
and in faith that he wipes that away.

482
00:20:35,820 --> 00:20:38,140
Think about how much, how.

483
00:20:38,140 --> 00:20:41,380
How bad it really is when we
as Christians aren't willing to forgive.

484
00:20:41,380 --> 00:20:44,540
When someone comes up to us in
repentance, well, I'm never forgiving

485
00:20:44,540 --> 00:20:45,980
them, I'm never releasing them.

486
00:20:46,380 --> 00:20:50,180
Who are we to do that if our
great Savior has released us from

487
00:20:50,180 --> 00:20:52,060
the guilt and condemnation
that we have faced?

488
00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:54,200
And so the Spirit is forgiveness.

489
00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:59,160
Now, again, I think biblical
forgiveness needs to be discussed

490
00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:02,080
because a lot of times people
think that you have to forgive in

491
00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:02,920
any situation.

492
00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:05,840
And we know that Jesus doesn't
forgive everybody.

493
00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:07,040
He offers forgiveness for all.

494
00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:07,960
That's forbearance.

495
00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:11,840
Forgiveness is the restoration
process in which a person comes in

496
00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:14,080
repentance, and then there's
that forbearance and there's grace

497
00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:15,480
and there's that restoration.

498
00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:19,370
And so what I would tell you
is that again, I think that sometimes

499
00:21:19,370 --> 00:21:22,610
people think that forgiveness
means that I have to overlook somebody's

500
00:21:22,610 --> 00:21:22,810
sin.

501
00:21:22,810 --> 00:21:24,850
No, God never overlooks our sin.

502
00:21:25,330 --> 00:21:28,010
But what it is, it's that
repentant heart that comes back and

503
00:21:28,010 --> 00:21:31,290
there's that extension of
forbearing gift of grace that can

504
00:21:31,290 --> 00:21:32,330
ultimately be found.

505
00:21:32,330 --> 00:21:34,850
And so at the end of
forgiveness is always restoration.

506
00:21:35,010 --> 00:21:36,810
And that's what we can find
within the church.

507
00:21:36,810 --> 00:21:38,810
And so furthermore, he says
that there's.

508
00:21:38,810 --> 00:21:39,730
There's more to this.

509
00:21:39,730 --> 00:21:40,450
Verse 14.

510
00:21:40,530 --> 00:21:43,090
And above all these things,
put on charity.

511
00:21:43,750 --> 00:21:44,630
Charity is love.

512
00:21:45,190 --> 00:21:46,870
Charity is sacrificial love.

513
00:21:47,830 --> 00:21:50,710
We know that within the church
that the motivation must be love.

514
00:21:50,710 --> 00:21:54,550
If I'm serving other people
out of anger, that's eventually gonna

515
00:21:54,630 --> 00:21:57,590
hit the roof, it's gonna be a
problem, it's gonna be an issue.

516
00:21:57,750 --> 00:22:00,910
If I'm serving out of any
other motivation other than love,

517
00:22:00,910 --> 00:22:03,870
I'm going to get to a place
where I don't have the desire to

518
00:22:03,870 --> 00:22:05,590
serve and to care for one another.

519
00:22:05,590 --> 00:22:09,110
Again, so he says here at the
end, basically, have a heart of love,

520
00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:13,520
which is the bond of
perfectness, which, which essentially

521
00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:14,600
brings this place of peace.

522
00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:15,120
Verse 15.

523
00:22:15,120 --> 00:22:17,800
And let the peace of God rule
in your hearts.

524
00:22:18,120 --> 00:22:19,200
Peace is only found.

525
00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:21,400
And we can see this in
Philippians chapter 4.

526
00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:24,080
Let the Peace of God which
passeth all understanding, rule your

527
00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:25,639
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

528
00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:29,440
This type of peace can only be
found with the unity found in a relationship

529
00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:30,840
with Jesus Christ within the church.

530
00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:34,560
There's a lot of people
looking for peace, and they try to

531
00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:36,040
find peace in all the wrong places.

532
00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:39,400
And the only way that we can
find peace within the church, the

533
00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:41,800
only find we can place, we can
find peace within this world.

534
00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:43,840
Is finding it in the unity of
Jesus Christ.

535
00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:46,880
Verse 15, he says, and let the
peace of God rule in your hearts,

536
00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:49,200
to which also you're called in
one body.

537
00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:50,480
This speaks to unity.

538
00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:53,840
One body and be thankful.

539
00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:55,040
Thankfulness.

540
00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:56,640
And so within the church
there's unity.

541
00:22:56,880 --> 00:23:00,800
You'll hear me over and over
explain that unity is not uniformity.

542
00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:03,480
Uniformity would be that we
all need to look the same.

543
00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:04,320
We all need to agree.

544
00:23:04,530 --> 00:23:05,640
We on every single point.

545
00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:09,000
We all need to essentially be
robots, Baptist robots.

546
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:10,600
That's not what the Bible is teaching.

547
00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:14,160
The Bible is teaching that
uniformity is not necessarily what

548
00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:15,320
God calls us to be in.

549
00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:17,320
God actually calls us to be diverse.

550
00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:19,480
But in the diversity comes the unity.

551
00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:22,200
Not all of us can serve it the
same capacity.

552
00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:25,040
Not all of us are gifted in
the same ways, and that's a good

553
00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:25,320
thing.

554
00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:28,760
But the Bible says that, that
we can come together with our distinct

555
00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:33,260
differences in our makeup and
come together with one purpose, and

556
00:23:33,260 --> 00:23:33,860
that is unity.

557
00:23:33,860 --> 00:23:34,860
And what does that bring us?

558
00:23:34,860 --> 00:23:37,060
That brings us thankfulness,
he says, and be thankful.

559
00:23:37,940 --> 00:23:40,500
One of the things within the
church that we forget about is just

560
00:23:40,500 --> 00:23:43,300
the opportunity to thank the
Lord and to thank others for what

561
00:23:43,620 --> 00:23:45,060
is happening in our lives.

562
00:23:45,700 --> 00:23:50,100
We often live in such a very
critical environment.

563
00:23:50,900 --> 00:23:53,900
Many times within our life we
have a lack of gratitude.

564
00:23:53,900 --> 00:23:57,060
And essentially we're living
in bitterness because we're not thankful

565
00:23:57,060 --> 00:23:58,420
for anything that we have in
our lives.

566
00:23:58,810 --> 00:24:00,010
We can never be satiated.

567
00:24:00,010 --> 00:24:01,330
We always want more, right?

568
00:24:01,330 --> 00:24:04,850
If we, we get five things, we
want six things, okay, if someone

569
00:24:04,850 --> 00:24:07,370
was nice to me for a week, I
want them to be nice to me for two

570
00:24:07,370 --> 00:24:08,130
weeks, then.

571
00:24:08,130 --> 00:24:09,210
Then I can love them.

572
00:24:09,370 --> 00:24:11,530
We're never satisfied in our
human nature.

573
00:24:11,610 --> 00:24:13,690
We're never satisfied in our flesh.

574
00:24:13,690 --> 00:24:16,170
And so what the Bible says is
there's a point that we say, lord,

575
00:24:16,170 --> 00:24:17,450
I am so thankful.

576
00:24:17,690 --> 00:24:19,770
I'm so thankful for what
you've given me.

577
00:24:19,930 --> 00:24:23,170
And that thankfulness should
spill out to thankfulness for other

578
00:24:23,170 --> 00:24:23,450
people.

579
00:24:23,850 --> 00:24:26,250
And the way that we show our
thanks for other people is by telling

580
00:24:26,250 --> 00:24:29,020
them, by demonstrating our
thankfulness, and by reciprocating

581
00:24:29,020 --> 00:24:31,740
that love to them that God has
called us to, to show.

582
00:24:31,900 --> 00:24:35,260
And so verse 16, after he says
being thankful, he says, this is

583
00:24:35,260 --> 00:24:36,180
what it's supposed to look like.

584
00:24:36,180 --> 00:24:36,700
Verse 16.

585
00:24:36,940 --> 00:24:38,460
Let the word of Christ.

586
00:24:38,940 --> 00:24:42,060
Let the word of God dwell in
you richly in all wisdom.

587
00:24:42,860 --> 00:24:46,940
One core element to the inward
relationship is that it's all based

588
00:24:46,940 --> 00:24:47,900
on the Word of God.

589
00:24:48,780 --> 00:24:50,300
We talk about the Word of God.

590
00:24:50,300 --> 00:24:52,060
We meditate upon the Word of God.

591
00:24:52,060 --> 00:24:53,480
We share the Word of God.

592
00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:55,770
We we testify of the Word of
God, folks.

593
00:24:55,770 --> 00:24:59,210
The Bible should be the core
element to our conversation.

594
00:24:59,690 --> 00:25:02,330
I know for me, the, the
tendency is to be so comfortable

595
00:25:02,330 --> 00:25:05,850
talking about the weather,
talking about sports, talking about

596
00:25:05,930 --> 00:25:09,250
the things of this world, and
we just kind of miss the point of.

597
00:25:09,250 --> 00:25:11,970
The conversations that we
should be having are predominantly

598
00:25:11,970 --> 00:25:14,250
based around the truths of
God's word and his wisdom.

599
00:25:14,410 --> 00:25:17,530
And then it goes on to say,
teaching and admonishing one another.

600
00:25:18,090 --> 00:25:21,570
The idea here would be that
we're to teach one another in classroom

601
00:25:21,570 --> 00:25:25,470
settings, in settings in
private, in settings in public, on

602
00:25:25,470 --> 00:25:26,910
one, on one relationships.

603
00:25:26,990 --> 00:25:30,350
All of this could be explained
with the idea of teaching.

604
00:25:30,350 --> 00:25:34,070
And then he goes on to say,
exhorting, we're teaching and admonishing.

605
00:25:34,070 --> 00:25:35,870
Admonishing is another word
for exhorting.

606
00:25:35,870 --> 00:25:38,830
Exhorting just means to
challenge one another, to encourage

607
00:25:38,830 --> 00:25:39,310
one another.

608
00:25:39,630 --> 00:25:43,350
And then it's manifested in
what it says in psalms and hymns

609
00:25:43,350 --> 00:25:45,790
and spiritual songs, singing
with grace in your hearts to the

610
00:25:45,790 --> 00:25:46,070
Lord.

611
00:25:46,070 --> 00:25:47,190
So it's corporate worship.

612
00:25:47,190 --> 00:25:48,750
That's why we get together and
worship together.

613
00:25:49,390 --> 00:25:52,310
You could worship God from
home, you can worship God from your

614
00:25:52,310 --> 00:25:54,430
car, you can worship God from
anywhere individually.

615
00:25:54,830 --> 00:25:56,470
But corporate worship is unique.

616
00:25:56,470 --> 00:25:59,630
And the Bible calls us to come
together, to do this together, so

617
00:25:59,630 --> 00:26:02,470
that we can encourage one
another, so that we can teach one

618
00:26:02,470 --> 00:26:02,750
another.

619
00:26:03,950 --> 00:26:07,870
In verse 17, he says, and
whatsoever ye do in word or deed,

620
00:26:08,190 --> 00:26:11,310
so the Bible says we're to do
things in our words and what we say

621
00:26:11,310 --> 00:26:15,070
and in deeds, and what we do,
whatsoever we say in word and deed,

622
00:26:15,070 --> 00:26:18,790
do all in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God and the

623
00:26:18,790 --> 00:26:19,870
Father by him.

624
00:26:20,510 --> 00:26:24,230
And so the Bible tells us that
what we do within the church should

625
00:26:24,230 --> 00:26:27,470
be in what we say, it should
be in what we do.

626
00:26:27,630 --> 00:26:29,430
But it's all wrapped around what?

627
00:26:29,430 --> 00:26:33,510
Not around myself, not around
money, not around a program, not

628
00:26:33,510 --> 00:26:34,189
around a building.

629
00:26:34,189 --> 00:26:39,110
But he says, do all in the
name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks

630
00:26:39,110 --> 00:26:40,830
to God and the Father by him.

631
00:26:41,470 --> 00:26:44,870
And so we essentially see the
marching orders for how the relationships

632
00:26:44,870 --> 00:26:47,740
that we're supposed to have
should look like within the church.

633
00:26:47,740 --> 00:26:50,060
And so again, like I
mentioned, this is a parallel to

634
00:26:50,060 --> 00:26:51,140
Ephesians, chapter 4.

635
00:26:51,460 --> 00:26:54,420
Both of those passages speak
of how we should live our lives in

636
00:26:54,420 --> 00:26:54,740
Christ.

637
00:26:54,900 --> 00:26:57,420
And so it starts in
Colossians, chapter three, verse

638
00:26:57,420 --> 00:27:01,340
one, with that up relationship
with God, which changes what we believe

639
00:27:01,340 --> 00:27:05,180
in, it changes how we act in
our personal life, and it changes

640
00:27:05,180 --> 00:27:08,500
how we act when it deals with
other people, when it comes to other

641
00:27:08,500 --> 00:27:08,900
Christians.

642
00:27:08,900 --> 00:27:11,500
And so how will this look
practically for the next few Minutes.

643
00:27:11,500 --> 00:27:14,200
I just want us to look at
biblically speaking, how does this

644
00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:16,280
practically live out within
the church?

645
00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:17,640
Well, it looks like this.

646
00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:19,440
It looks like edification.

647
00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:20,360
What is edification?

648
00:27:20,360 --> 00:27:22,040
Edification is building up one another.

649
00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:27,240
We saw in Colossians chapter 3
this idea of building one another

650
00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:30,080
up in the truth, building one
another up in love, building one

651
00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:31,320
another up in forgiveness.

652
00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:36,800
And so with patience, with
meekness, with kindness, with thankfulness,

653
00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:40,830
all these character traits,
it's done so that we can build one

654
00:27:40,830 --> 00:27:42,150
another up in Christ.

655
00:27:43,190 --> 00:27:47,230
The idea of edification would
be this picture of not just building

656
00:27:47,230 --> 00:27:50,430
them up, but leaning on them
and actually holding somebody up.

657
00:27:50,430 --> 00:27:52,910
There's times in our life
where we need to hold up others in

658
00:27:52,910 --> 00:27:54,070
the truth of Jesus Christ.

659
00:27:54,150 --> 00:27:56,510
How we do that is through
those character traits that are listed

660
00:27:56,510 --> 00:27:57,830
there in Colossians chapter three.

661
00:27:58,390 --> 00:28:00,750
One of our goals should be,
when we come into the church, is

662
00:28:00,750 --> 00:28:02,550
to edify other Christians.

663
00:28:02,870 --> 00:28:06,770
I often hear within the church
setting, what is going to be done

664
00:28:06,770 --> 00:28:07,370
for me today?

665
00:28:07,370 --> 00:28:08,290
Okay, I'm coming in.

666
00:28:08,290 --> 00:28:09,690
What is the church going to do
for me?

667
00:28:10,410 --> 00:28:13,330
And I understand what we mean
by that because we live in a culture

668
00:28:13,330 --> 00:28:14,250
that's about us.

669
00:28:15,530 --> 00:28:18,810
But what if we came into the
church setting, the church culture

670
00:28:18,970 --> 00:28:21,290
and said, what can I bring to
other people?

671
00:28:21,530 --> 00:28:23,370
How could I build someone else
up today?

672
00:28:23,530 --> 00:28:27,450
How could I intentionally
today look to strengthen another

673
00:28:27,530 --> 00:28:28,170
Christian?

674
00:28:28,650 --> 00:28:32,130
And I think it would change
the way that our churches responded

675
00:28:32,130 --> 00:28:36,060
and reacted and fellowshiped
and served and had classes.

676
00:28:36,060 --> 00:28:38,940
All of these things would
change if we came in saying, how

677
00:28:38,940 --> 00:28:41,020
can I build another Christian
up in Christ today?

678
00:28:41,580 --> 00:28:44,060
So edification, there's
another word.

679
00:28:44,060 --> 00:28:47,020
It's a biblical word, but I've
already mentioned it this, this morning

680
00:28:47,180 --> 00:28:48,380
and other settings.

681
00:28:48,460 --> 00:28:49,300
Exhortation.

682
00:28:49,300 --> 00:28:50,180
Exhortation is.

683
00:28:50,180 --> 00:28:54,700
Is simply challenging,
encouraging, and ultimately coming

684
00:28:54,700 --> 00:28:58,020
alongside of someone and
pulling them through and lifting

685
00:28:58,020 --> 00:28:59,620
them up in the midst of difficulty.

686
00:28:59,850 --> 00:29:02,170
So edification is more about
building that person up.

687
00:29:02,570 --> 00:29:04,650
Exhortation is about spurring
them forward.

688
00:29:05,050 --> 00:29:08,610
There's a time and a place to
edify somebody because they might

689
00:29:08,610 --> 00:29:11,050
be needing that strength in
the Lord, but there's that time and

690
00:29:11,050 --> 00:29:12,170
a place to move someone forward.

691
00:29:12,170 --> 00:29:14,210
Because a lot of us have
gotten comfortable with where we

692
00:29:14,210 --> 00:29:14,970
are in church.

693
00:29:15,130 --> 00:29:17,650
A lot of us have gotten
comfortable where we are in our Christian

694
00:29:17,650 --> 00:29:17,930
walk.

695
00:29:18,010 --> 00:29:20,850
A lot of us have gotten very
comfortable in our marriages and

696
00:29:20,850 --> 00:29:22,570
our homes and our workplaces.

697
00:29:22,570 --> 00:29:26,570
And the Bible says there is a
time and a place for us to be spurred

698
00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:30,560
forward for the cause of the
kingdom, a passage of Scripture that

699
00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:31,680
speaks directly to that.

700
00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:34,000
And you're going to hear Me
talk about it a lot this year when

701
00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:36,640
it comes to our church
culture, that it's found in Hebrews

702
00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:37,240
chapter 10.

703
00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:42,080
Hebrews chapter 10, verse 24
speaks specifically about this very

704
00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:43,320
thing about exhortation.

705
00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:47,640
Now, now, oftentimes
exhortation is taken in the wrong

706
00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:50,040
setting, either for two, two reasons.

707
00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:52,040
One, people don't exhort in love.

708
00:29:52,370 --> 00:29:54,930
Or number two, people don't
receive exhortation with the right

709
00:29:54,930 --> 00:29:55,410
spirit.

710
00:29:55,490 --> 00:29:57,170
It's received in the spirit of pride.

711
00:29:57,570 --> 00:30:01,450
So Hebrews chapter 10, verse
24 says, and let us consider one

712
00:30:01,450 --> 00:30:05,410
another, let us think about
one another to provoke unto love

713
00:30:05,730 --> 00:30:06,650
and to good works.

714
00:30:06,650 --> 00:30:07,130
Meaning this.

715
00:30:07,130 --> 00:30:09,810
I need to think about my
fellow brother or sister in Christ.

716
00:30:10,210 --> 00:30:13,090
I need to care for them, I
needed to have compassion for them.

717
00:30:13,170 --> 00:30:14,530
I need to have love for them.

718
00:30:14,530 --> 00:30:16,250
And in doing so, what will I do?

719
00:30:16,250 --> 00:30:18,530
It says, and provoke unto
love, unto good works.

720
00:30:19,490 --> 00:30:25,050
Now, provoke literally means
to stir up, to poke, to, to turn

721
00:30:25,050 --> 00:30:25,370
over.

722
00:30:25,370 --> 00:30:28,330
And it doesn't mean, in a
negative sense, provoking someone

723
00:30:28,330 --> 00:30:28,930
to sin.

724
00:30:28,930 --> 00:30:30,890
That's actually what we often
do within our lives.

725
00:30:30,890 --> 00:30:34,609
We, for knowing it or not
knowing it, we provoke other people

726
00:30:34,609 --> 00:30:35,210
to sin.

727
00:30:35,210 --> 00:30:39,810
The Bible says exhortation is
to exhort one another in love and

728
00:30:39,810 --> 00:30:40,690
in good works.

729
00:30:41,010 --> 00:30:44,820
Sometimes exhortation is done
with the wrong spirit, like, hey,

730
00:30:44,820 --> 00:30:45,740
what's wrong with you?

731
00:30:45,740 --> 00:30:46,860
Why aren't you in church?

732
00:30:46,860 --> 00:30:49,340
What's your unrepentant sin
that you need to deal with today?

733
00:30:49,340 --> 00:30:51,380
And it comes from a very
judgmental spirit.

734
00:30:51,380 --> 00:30:53,900
We've got to, again, when
we're exhorting, do it with the spirit

735
00:30:53,900 --> 00:30:56,580
of love, a spirit of
restoration, a spirit of building

736
00:30:56,580 --> 00:30:57,420
one another up.

737
00:30:57,420 --> 00:30:59,380
And so what I would encourage
you to do is think about ways in

738
00:30:59,380 --> 00:31:02,060
which you could come into the
church and say, I want to exhort

739
00:31:02,060 --> 00:31:02,300
others.

740
00:31:02,300 --> 00:31:04,300
I want to provoke others to
love and good works.

741
00:31:04,620 --> 00:31:07,180
That might mean just serving
as an example.

742
00:31:07,180 --> 00:31:09,700
It might mean to share with
someone something that you're going

743
00:31:09,700 --> 00:31:11,180
through in your life by way of testimony.

744
00:31:11,500 --> 00:31:14,860
It might mean that you need to
call someone or text someone or encourage

745
00:31:14,860 --> 00:31:15,100
someone.

746
00:31:15,100 --> 00:31:17,100
If you haven't seen them in
church for three or four weeks.

747
00:31:17,100 --> 00:31:18,060
Hey, how you doing?

748
00:31:18,940 --> 00:31:19,700
What's going on?

749
00:31:19,700 --> 00:31:20,780
How can I pray for you?

750
00:31:21,980 --> 00:31:24,860
And the idea for us in
exhortation is to come alongside

751
00:31:24,860 --> 00:31:26,060
and push people forward.

752
00:31:26,060 --> 00:31:28,860
And then verse 25, not
forsaking the assembling of ourselves

753
00:31:28,860 --> 00:31:32,300
together as the manner of some
is, but exhorting, there's our word,

754
00:31:32,300 --> 00:31:33,340
exhorting one another.

755
00:31:33,340 --> 00:31:36,540
And so much the more, as you
see the day approaching, some people

756
00:31:36,540 --> 00:31:38,580
ask, pastor, why do we Meet so
much at our church.

757
00:31:38,580 --> 00:31:40,540
Why do we have Sunday morning,
Sunday night, Wednesday night?

758
00:31:40,700 --> 00:31:42,460
Why do we have something
almost every night of the week?

759
00:31:43,020 --> 00:31:44,740
The reality is, is I take.

760
00:31:44,740 --> 00:31:45,820
I take this verse as.

761
00:31:45,820 --> 00:31:46,780
As something that's important.

762
00:31:46,940 --> 00:31:49,580
I want to meet all the more as
we see the day approaching.

763
00:31:49,740 --> 00:31:52,780
I know that not everyone can
be at every single situation, every

764
00:31:52,780 --> 00:31:54,860
single day, every single opportunity.

765
00:31:54,860 --> 00:31:57,340
But what I will say is I want
you to have as many opportunities

766
00:31:57,340 --> 00:32:01,300
as you can at this church to
fellowship and to assemble with other

767
00:32:01,300 --> 00:32:04,540
Christians so that you can be
provoked and to provoke others to

768
00:32:04,540 --> 00:32:05,740
love and to good works.

769
00:32:05,900 --> 00:32:07,900
And so we see edification, exhortation.

770
00:32:07,900 --> 00:32:08,860
We see fellowship.

771
00:32:09,130 --> 00:32:10,890
Koinonia, that's the Greek
word for it.

772
00:32:10,890 --> 00:32:12,210
We need to fellowship more.

773
00:32:12,210 --> 00:32:13,490
We need to be around each other.

774
00:32:13,490 --> 00:32:16,730
But that word fellowship is so
much more than just getting together

775
00:32:16,890 --> 00:32:17,450
physically.

776
00:32:17,530 --> 00:32:19,930
Fellowship means getting
together with a purpose.

777
00:32:20,090 --> 00:32:24,570
The purpose of exhortation,
the purpose of edification, the purpose

778
00:32:24,570 --> 00:32:27,730
of education, the purpose of
all of these things that we've been

779
00:32:27,730 --> 00:32:28,250
talking about.

780
00:32:28,330 --> 00:32:30,730
We fellowship so that we can
strengthen one another.

781
00:32:31,050 --> 00:32:33,850
Proverbs tells us that iron
sharpens iron.

782
00:32:34,740 --> 00:32:34,940
So.

783
00:32:34,940 --> 00:32:37,380
So does a man sharpen the
countenance of his friend.

784
00:32:38,580 --> 00:32:39,620
We need each other.

785
00:32:40,100 --> 00:32:41,740
God does not want us to be alone.

786
00:32:41,740 --> 00:32:43,540
God does not want us to be isolated.

787
00:32:43,620 --> 00:32:46,380
God does not want us to try to
figure out this path on our own.

788
00:32:46,380 --> 00:32:49,580
Yes, you have God, but also
God says that it's a gift to have

789
00:32:49,580 --> 00:32:52,100
other fellow brothers and
sisters in Christ coming alongside

790
00:32:52,100 --> 00:32:52,580
of us.

791
00:32:53,060 --> 00:32:56,500
Some of us typically have more
of an inclination either to be around

792
00:32:56,500 --> 00:32:58,020
people or not to be around people.

793
00:32:58,420 --> 00:33:01,140
I would encourage you, whether
you're introverted or extroverted,

794
00:33:01,140 --> 00:33:01,300
find.

795
00:33:01,450 --> 00:33:03,450
Find connections within the church.

796
00:33:03,850 --> 00:33:06,250
Find connections with other
brothers and sisters in Christ.

797
00:33:06,570 --> 00:33:09,170
We're going to be offering as
a church multiple ways in which you

798
00:33:09,170 --> 00:33:10,010
can get involved.

799
00:33:10,010 --> 00:33:12,570
We're going to be talking a
lot about small groups this year.

800
00:33:13,130 --> 00:33:15,490
Small groups are essentially
smaller groups than what you see

801
00:33:15,490 --> 00:33:16,330
right here, right now.

802
00:33:16,330 --> 00:33:19,370
This is, depending on your
perspective, this could be considered

803
00:33:19,370 --> 00:33:20,450
a small church or a big church.

804
00:33:20,450 --> 00:33:21,690
It depends on where you come from.

805
00:33:22,010 --> 00:33:24,290
But this is definitely more
than who you could be personal with

806
00:33:24,290 --> 00:33:24,810
at one point.

807
00:33:24,810 --> 00:33:26,010
Okay, I've tried it.

808
00:33:26,010 --> 00:33:28,640
I've tried to sit at the front
door as everyone leaves and tried

809
00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:30,240
to make a personal connection
with every person.

810
00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:32,680
It's completely impossible to
do every single Sunday.

811
00:33:33,160 --> 00:33:36,840
But what I can say is that
there is a time and there is a way

812
00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:39,840
in which all of us can make
some personal connections with a

813
00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:40,360
few people.

814
00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:42,000
And I would encourage you to
do that.

815
00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:43,559
I would Encourage you to find
a small group.

816
00:33:43,559 --> 00:33:45,960
We're going to be starting
many small groups within our church.

817
00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:47,720
Want you to be involved with one.

818
00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:49,320
We're going to have some in
the morning, we're going to have

819
00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:49,920
some in the evening.

820
00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:51,000
We're going to have some on Sundays.

821
00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:52,760
We're going to have some every
night of the week.

822
00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:53,020
Every.

823
00:33:53,090 --> 00:33:55,090
And I want you to try to find those.

824
00:33:55,170 --> 00:33:57,650
But what I would say is I want
you to pray about three different

825
00:33:57,650 --> 00:33:59,250
options for you to get
involved with.

826
00:33:59,810 --> 00:34:00,210
Okay?

827
00:34:00,210 --> 00:34:01,890
There's three different ways
that you can get involved with a

828
00:34:01,890 --> 00:34:02,890
small group within our church.

829
00:34:02,890 --> 00:34:07,010
Number one, which is probably
the most difficult at the beginning

830
00:34:07,170 --> 00:34:08,850
is, Is leading a small group.

831
00:34:09,250 --> 00:34:12,370
Maybe some of you, God is
pressing on your heart to lead a

832
00:34:12,370 --> 00:34:12,770
small group.

833
00:34:12,770 --> 00:34:14,370
You might say, I have no clue
how to do that.

834
00:34:14,770 --> 00:34:15,850
Well, you're not going to be alone.

835
00:34:15,850 --> 00:34:17,130
We're going to help you, we're
going to train you.

836
00:34:17,130 --> 00:34:19,210
But ultimately, it's going to
take leadership.

837
00:34:19,210 --> 00:34:21,010
It's going to take commitment,
it's going to take planning.

838
00:34:21,440 --> 00:34:23,520
Maybe some of you could lead a
small group within your home, within

839
00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:24,960
the church, within the community.

840
00:34:25,200 --> 00:34:25,520
Also.

841
00:34:25,520 --> 00:34:27,720
I'd say number two, though,
another thing that you can get involved

842
00:34:27,720 --> 00:34:32,000
with is if you don't know how
to lead a small group, you can be

843
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:33,920
what's called an apprentice there.

844
00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:36,440
We have multiple small group
leaders within the church that would

845
00:34:36,440 --> 00:34:38,880
love to sit with you and show
you what they do in their small group.

846
00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:41,320
And maybe eventually you could
get to a place of leading a small

847
00:34:41,320 --> 00:34:41,520
group.

848
00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:42,800
That would be a wonderful thing.

849
00:34:43,680 --> 00:34:46,240
But then thirdly, if you don't
want to lead and you don't want to

850
00:34:46,240 --> 00:34:48,480
be an apprentice, to be a
member, to be a part of one.

851
00:34:48,970 --> 00:34:51,090
And so for the next few
months, you're going to be seeing

852
00:34:51,090 --> 00:34:53,290
various small groups popping
up within our church.

853
00:34:53,290 --> 00:34:55,970
I would encourage you to get
involved with one in one of those

854
00:34:55,970 --> 00:34:56,570
three ways.

855
00:34:57,530 --> 00:34:58,810
Then we see another thing.

856
00:34:59,050 --> 00:35:00,730
Within fellowship, we see service.

857
00:35:01,290 --> 00:35:03,530
The Galatians, chapter 6,
verse 10.

858
00:35:03,690 --> 00:35:06,410
I want you guys to see this
with me because I love the way that

859
00:35:06,410 --> 00:35:07,010
it's worded here.

860
00:35:07,010 --> 00:35:08,570
Galatians, chapter 6, verse 10.

861
00:35:08,810 --> 00:35:12,490
He talks about this idea of
doing good to others, specifically

862
00:35:12,810 --> 00:35:14,490
those that are in the
household of faith.

863
00:35:14,970 --> 00:35:17,890
Now, we're called to do good
to others, whether they're saved

864
00:35:17,890 --> 00:35:18,730
or unsaved.

865
00:35:18,890 --> 00:35:23,610
But the Bible says to
particularly be more careful to serve

866
00:35:23,610 --> 00:35:25,730
others that are inside of the
household of faith.

867
00:35:25,730 --> 00:35:29,450
Galatians, chapter 6, verse 10
says, as we have, therefore, opportunity,

868
00:35:29,450 --> 00:35:31,250
meaning you can't do good for everybody.

869
00:35:31,250 --> 00:35:32,010
It's just not Possible.

870
00:35:33,130 --> 00:35:33,650
I can't.

871
00:35:33,650 --> 00:35:36,930
I can't do everybody do.

872
00:35:36,930 --> 00:35:39,890
Everyone's like, for example,
let's say someone was like, hey,

873
00:35:39,890 --> 00:35:43,950
Pastor, I really need you to
help me out with this today, okay?

874
00:35:43,950 --> 00:35:45,630
Need you to come over, maybe
my car.

875
00:35:45,630 --> 00:35:47,710
You wouldn't want me working
on your car, but let's just pretend

876
00:35:47,710 --> 00:35:50,110
in a perfect world that I know
how to work on your car, okay?

877
00:35:50,110 --> 00:35:52,710
And I want to come help, but I
can't do everybody's car.

878
00:35:52,950 --> 00:35:54,150
I don't have the capabilities.

879
00:35:54,150 --> 00:35:55,030
I don't have the time.

880
00:35:55,510 --> 00:35:57,910
But at the end of the day,
some of us might say, you know what?

881
00:35:57,910 --> 00:36:01,790
As the opportunity arises, as
the door opens, so.

882
00:36:01,790 --> 00:36:04,030
So a lot of times people get
so overwhelmed with this idea of

883
00:36:04,030 --> 00:36:06,870
how can I serve other people,
I can't keep up with everybody.

884
00:36:06,870 --> 00:36:07,030
They.

885
00:36:07,180 --> 00:36:08,700
It doesn't ever ask us to do that.

886
00:36:08,700 --> 00:36:10,660
It says, as the opportunity arises.

887
00:36:10,660 --> 00:36:14,340
And so verse 10 says, as we
therefore have the opportunity, let

888
00:36:14,340 --> 00:36:17,780
us do good unto all men,
especially unto them who are of the

889
00:36:17,780 --> 00:36:18,700
household of faith.

890
00:36:19,180 --> 00:36:21,940
The idea would be, is God
opens doors for you to find service

891
00:36:21,940 --> 00:36:25,580
opportunities and projects in
which you can help others do it.

892
00:36:25,740 --> 00:36:28,620
Find that as the outlet to
show your love for other people.

893
00:36:29,260 --> 00:36:31,820
And so that's another aspect
of how this looks practically.

894
00:36:31,980 --> 00:36:33,100
Then we see teaching.

895
00:36:33,100 --> 00:36:34,188
2nd Timothy 2.

896
00:36:34,252 --> 00:36:34,508
2.

897
00:36:34,572 --> 00:36:37,580
2nd Timothy 22 tells us that
there is this.

898
00:36:37,580 --> 00:36:41,660
Paul says to Timothy, timothy,
as I have taught you, you teach others

899
00:36:41,660 --> 00:36:43,020
so that they can teach others.

900
00:36:43,900 --> 00:36:44,460
I wouldn't.

901
00:36:44,460 --> 00:36:47,420
I would encourage you to think
about how you can be in some element

902
00:36:47,420 --> 00:36:50,300
of teaching, whether it's in a
classroom setting or whether it's

903
00:36:50,300 --> 00:36:51,380
just by the way that you live
your life.

904
00:36:51,380 --> 00:36:53,860
You know, some of the greatest
lessons I've learned have been from

905
00:36:53,860 --> 00:36:56,300
people that weren't teaching
me in a classroom setting.

906
00:36:56,460 --> 00:36:59,220
It's by a lesson that they
taught me in a real life principle,

907
00:36:59,220 --> 00:37:00,380
a real life scenario.

908
00:37:00,970 --> 00:37:04,650
And so I would ask you to pray
about maybe how you could allow yourself

909
00:37:04,650 --> 00:37:07,210
to teach others or be taught
by others within the church.

910
00:37:07,530 --> 00:37:10,650
Teaching is such a huge aspect
that we need to be thinking about

911
00:37:10,650 --> 00:37:11,370
within the church.

912
00:37:11,530 --> 00:37:14,810
And so if we took all those
things, edification, exhortation,

913
00:37:14,970 --> 00:37:18,170
fellowship, service, teaching,
what does that look like?

914
00:37:18,410 --> 00:37:21,210
Well, that essentially
encapsulates what we talk about when

915
00:37:21,210 --> 00:37:22,890
we talk about the word discipleship.

916
00:37:23,690 --> 00:37:31,260
So our goal for the UP
relationship is faith growth and

917
00:37:31,260 --> 00:37:34,260
ultimately confidence in Jesus
Christ as your savior.

918
00:37:34,420 --> 00:37:36,660
But then what's our goal in
the inward relationship?

919
00:37:36,660 --> 00:37:39,660
Our inward relationships
within the church is a relationship

920
00:37:39,660 --> 00:37:40,660
of discipleship.

921
00:37:41,140 --> 00:37:43,660
So if you hear me say the word
discipleship now, you Know what I

922
00:37:43,660 --> 00:37:43,940
mean?

923
00:37:44,020 --> 00:37:47,500
It's, it's the edification,
it's the exhortation, it's the teaching,

924
00:37:47,500 --> 00:37:50,340
it's the service, it's the
fellowship, it's the loving, it's

925
00:37:50,340 --> 00:37:51,780
the caring, it's the compassion.

926
00:37:52,120 --> 00:37:56,520
It's showing people
essentially what it means to be a

927
00:37:56,520 --> 00:38:01,320
follower of Christ, to be a
disciple maker, I must be a disciple

928
00:38:01,320 --> 00:38:01,800
myself.

929
00:38:02,200 --> 00:38:05,880
So that's how we work it up in
and then eventually we're going to

930
00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:07,000
talk next week about out.

931
00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:10,920
But I want you to pray about
your inward relationships, your relationships

932
00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:13,960
with other Christians and in
this context within the church.

933
00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:15,480
Do you know anybody?

934
00:38:15,480 --> 00:38:17,560
You say, well, Pastor, I've
been coming to this church for 20

935
00:38:17,560 --> 00:38:18,760
years and I don't know anybody.

936
00:38:20,740 --> 00:38:23,420
Well, I'm going to say, I'm
going to try to say a few things

937
00:38:23,420 --> 00:38:24,900
that are kind in that regard.

938
00:38:25,140 --> 00:38:27,980
Number one, I understand that
maybe you're shy, maybe you haven't

939
00:38:27,980 --> 00:38:29,100
come out of your comfort zone yet.

940
00:38:29,100 --> 00:38:31,780
But I would encourage you to
do is find a relationship with someone.

941
00:38:32,020 --> 00:38:34,220
Sometimes it takes to get out
of our comfort zone and introduce

942
00:38:34,220 --> 00:38:35,220
ourselves to somebody.

943
00:38:35,700 --> 00:38:37,660
If you say, well, Pastor, I
don't know if that's something that

944
00:38:37,660 --> 00:38:38,060
I can do.

945
00:38:38,060 --> 00:38:40,420
Come to me and I promise you
I'll go introduce you to somebody,

946
00:38:40,420 --> 00:38:41,700
I'll get you involved in those.

947
00:38:41,700 --> 00:38:44,420
I got a small group, I got
like four small groups this week

948
00:38:44,420 --> 00:38:47,220
that you can come to and you
can come and you can be my special

949
00:38:47,220 --> 00:38:47,580
guest.

950
00:38:47,580 --> 00:38:48,820
I would love for you to meet people.

951
00:38:49,690 --> 00:38:52,610
And so it's a matter of not
just the opportunity, but also the

952
00:38:52,610 --> 00:38:55,850
willingness to be involved
with somebody, be involved with a

953
00:38:55,850 --> 00:38:58,970
community and be involved with
a relationship, friendships.

954
00:38:59,130 --> 00:39:01,410
You're not going to be able to
be personal friends with every single

955
00:39:01,410 --> 00:39:02,410
person within the church.

956
00:39:02,410 --> 00:39:04,450
But what I would encourage you
to do is really think about those

957
00:39:04,450 --> 00:39:05,770
one another relationships.

958
00:39:05,930 --> 00:39:08,450
Think about those character
traits that are laid out there and

959
00:39:08,450 --> 00:39:09,970
don't just think about those
character traits.

960
00:39:09,970 --> 00:39:11,610
Well, I hope that people are
loving to me.

961
00:39:11,770 --> 00:39:13,450
I hope that people are kind to me.

962
00:39:13,530 --> 00:39:15,450
I hope that people are going
to be forgiving to me.

963
00:39:16,060 --> 00:39:17,340
Well, yeah, we hope that too.

964
00:39:17,420 --> 00:39:19,620
But at the end of the day, I
want to take the initiative to be

965
00:39:19,620 --> 00:39:21,900
the change that I want to see
within the culture.

966
00:39:22,620 --> 00:39:24,860
You know, if I want to be
friendly, you know, the best thing,

967
00:39:24,860 --> 00:39:27,020
you know, if I want people to
be friendly to me, the biblically

968
00:39:27,020 --> 00:39:29,100
speaking, the best thing for
me to do is to be friendly to others.

969
00:39:29,500 --> 00:39:31,899
If I want to experience
forgiveness, the best thing to do

970
00:39:31,899 --> 00:39:33,180
is extend forgiveness to others.

971
00:39:33,500 --> 00:39:33,860
Why?

972
00:39:33,860 --> 00:39:36,540
Because Jesus has given Us
that demonstration in our life, to

973
00:39:36,540 --> 00:39:39,900
take the initiative to start
that motion, to, to move forward

974
00:39:39,900 --> 00:39:43,870
and to not let my decisions be
predicated upon other people's decisions

975
00:39:43,870 --> 00:39:46,910
in the church, but allow my
decisions to be predicated upon what

976
00:39:46,910 --> 00:39:48,310
Jesus Christ has done for me.

977
00:39:48,710 --> 00:39:50,870
And so, folks, none of us are
going to get this perfectly.

978
00:39:50,950 --> 00:39:55,110
I, I'm, I'm not perfect in
this, but one of my prayers for 2026

979
00:39:55,190 --> 00:39:58,750
and for the rest of my
Christian walk is that I find the

980
00:39:58,750 --> 00:40:03,110
value in those inward
relationships within the church culture.

981
00:40:03,510 --> 00:40:05,750
That, that we need to build
each other up, that we need to pray

982
00:40:05,750 --> 00:40:08,830
for one another, that, that,
that we need to share with one another,

983
00:40:08,830 --> 00:40:10,070
that we need to help one another.

984
00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:13,640
And the way that we do that
is, yes, corporate worship is, is

985
00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:14,000
amazing.

986
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:15,840
We need to get together in
corporately worship.

987
00:40:15,920 --> 00:40:18,800
Sunday mornings are the
highlight of my week.

988
00:40:18,800 --> 00:40:21,680
I think about this, I pray for
this, I get excited for this.

989
00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:23,080
I wish church could.

990
00:40:23,080 --> 00:40:25,000
I wish it was like the old
days where we could just do church

991
00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:25,360
all day.

992
00:40:25,360 --> 00:40:28,000
But I understand that we don't
live in that culture anymore.

993
00:40:28,240 --> 00:40:32,560
But what I will say is this,
on top of corporate worship, we should

994
00:40:32,560 --> 00:40:36,560
also find a secondary
connection within the church, within

995
00:40:36,560 --> 00:40:41,220
the families, that we can find
those personal relationships that,

996
00:40:41,220 --> 00:40:44,100
that we can grow together and
that we can do life together.

997
00:40:44,260 --> 00:40:47,740
And it might be someone that's
similar to your demographic, it might

998
00:40:47,740 --> 00:40:50,380
be someone that's similar in
your age group, it might be someone

999
00:40:50,380 --> 00:40:52,020
similar to your lifestyle.

1000
00:40:52,020 --> 00:40:54,460
But at the end of the day, I
do believe that there's value in

1001
00:40:54,460 --> 00:40:58,460
seeing difference ages and
different maturity levels meeting

1002
00:40:58,460 --> 00:40:58,780
together.

1003
00:40:58,780 --> 00:40:59,140
Right?

1004
00:40:59,140 --> 00:40:59,660
That's the.

1005
00:40:59,660 --> 00:41:02,500
What the Bible talks about in
the book of Titus, that the mature

1006
00:41:02,500 --> 00:41:04,980
folks pass along those things
to the younger folks.

1007
00:41:05,720 --> 00:41:08,600
So I would really challenge
our church to say this.

1008
00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:09,360
Hey, hey.

1009
00:41:09,360 --> 00:41:11,760
How about some of the older
folks connect with some of the younger

1010
00:41:11,760 --> 00:41:13,480
folks and see that connection there.

1011
00:41:13,480 --> 00:41:15,920
It might be a little
uncomfortable at first, but through

1012
00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:18,560
that process, we can see
amazing things happening the way

1013
00:41:18,560 --> 00:41:19,800
that God ordained it to be.

1014
00:41:20,280 --> 00:41:22,560
Maybe someone from a different
culture meet someone from a different

1015
00:41:22,560 --> 00:41:25,560
culture and we come together
and we talk about Jesus and how Jesus

1016
00:41:25,560 --> 00:41:28,680
changed our life and how he
works in our life today.

1017
00:41:29,160 --> 00:41:30,360
So I would have you pray.

1018
00:41:30,770 --> 00:41:34,090
I'm going to be praying about
how God can work in our lives to

1019
00:41:34,090 --> 00:41:37,370
see the spiritual growth
happen with the inward relationships

1020
00:41:37,370 --> 00:41:38,450
here at our church.

1021
00:41:38,690 --> 00:41:41,290
Well, we're going to go ahead
and have a time of invitation now.

1022
00:41:41,290 --> 00:41:43,370
What I'm going to ask you to
do, if you can stand with me, every

1023
00:41:43,370 --> 00:41:45,970
head bowed, every eye closed
as the music plays, we're going to

1024
00:41:45,970 --> 00:41:49,170
have a time of reflection,
we're going to have a time of response.

1025
00:41:49,410 --> 00:41:51,610
And here this morning, what
I'd like you to do is I'd like you

1026
00:41:51,610 --> 00:41:53,010
to inspect your life on your.

1027
00:41:53,330 --> 00:41:56,720
Not only your relationship
with God, even though that's the

1028
00:41:56,720 --> 00:41:59,280
first and foremost, biggest
priority that you should have is

1029
00:41:59,280 --> 00:42:00,600
your relationship with the Lord.

1030
00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:04,520
But secondly, speaking, I
would say this, where's your relationship

1031
00:42:04,520 --> 00:42:05,440
with others within the church?

1032
00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:07,320
Remember those verses that we
read at the very beginning?

1033
00:42:07,480 --> 00:42:09,160
If we love God, we love others.

1034
00:42:11,400 --> 00:42:14,880
If, if we want people to see
that we're disciples of Jesus Christ,

1035
00:42:14,880 --> 00:42:15,520
what do we do?

1036
00:42:15,520 --> 00:42:16,520
We love one another.

1037
00:42:17,240 --> 00:42:19,720
And so I would encourage you
and challenge you to think about

1038
00:42:20,200 --> 00:42:22,840
what that means for you within
the church setting.

1039
00:42:24,300 --> 00:42:26,660
Maybe you say, I, I haven't
gotten involved with anything for

1040
00:42:26,660 --> 00:42:27,180
a long time.

1041
00:42:27,180 --> 00:42:30,300
My life has just been busy,
been difficult.

1042
00:42:32,220 --> 00:42:33,100
I understand that.

1043
00:42:33,100 --> 00:42:35,260
But it's never too late to
just get that right right now.

1044
00:42:36,140 --> 00:42:38,700
It's never too late just to
come forward and say, you know what,

1045
00:42:38,700 --> 00:42:39,860
I need to get my life straight.

1046
00:42:39,860 --> 00:42:42,540
When it comes to the area of,
of discipleship.

1047
00:42:42,780 --> 00:42:45,660
Either I want to be someone
that's leading or I want to be someone

1048
00:42:45,660 --> 00:42:46,220
that's following.

1049
00:42:46,300 --> 00:42:49,620
I want to be someone that's
growing in the truth of who Jesus

1050
00:42:49,620 --> 00:42:51,820
Christ is and what he has done
for me and for others.

1051
00:42:52,160 --> 00:42:53,280
So I'm going to pray now.

1052
00:42:53,280 --> 00:42:56,000
If you need Jesus as your
personal savior, maybe you haven't

1053
00:42:56,000 --> 00:42:57,600
even started that upward relationship.

1054
00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:00,760
What I would say now is
initially start with that.

1055
00:43:00,760 --> 00:43:02,240
Start with faith in Jesus Christ.

1056
00:43:02,720 --> 00:43:04,800
Start with knowing that he
alone can save.

1057
00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:07,840
Jesus died on the cross for
your sins.

1058
00:43:07,999 --> 00:43:10,520
He resurrected from the dead
on the third day and he gives us

1059
00:43:10,520 --> 00:43:10,960
new life.

1060
00:43:10,960 --> 00:43:14,280
And so if we just believe and
trust, he can give us salvation.

1061
00:43:14,280 --> 00:43:16,520
Lord, I pray that you be in
this time of invitation, work in

1062
00:43:16,520 --> 00:43:17,200
hearts and lives.

1063
00:43:17,690 --> 00:43:21,210
I pray that you can challenge
us to grow in those inward relationships

1064
00:43:21,210 --> 00:43:22,410
that you've called us to live in.

1065
00:43:22,490 --> 00:43:24,010
We ask all these things in
Jesus name.

1066
00:43:24,010 --> 00:43:24,330
Amen.

1067
00:43:24,330 --> 00:43:26,330
As the music plays, follow as
the Lord leads here this morning.

1068
00:45:29,820 --> 00:45:32,300
Thank you again for listening
to the Middletown Baptist Church

1069
00:45:32,300 --> 00:45:32,940
podcast.

1070
00:45:33,180 --> 00:45:35,500
I hope that this sermon has
been a blessing for you.

1071
00:45:36,220 --> 00:45:38,500
If you would like to find out
more information about our church

1072
00:45:38,500 --> 00:45:41,980
or this sermon, you can find
us at middletownbaptistchurch.org

1073
00:45:42,220 --> 00:45:44,780
or find us on Facebook or YouTube.

1074
00:45:45,580 --> 00:45:50,020
You can also email me directly
at Josh Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch

1075
00:45:50,020 --> 00:45:54,430
dot com if you've enjoyed this
podcast, please subscribe and follow

1076
00:45:54,430 --> 00:45:57,270
along for future podcast and updates.

1077
00:45:57,910 --> 00:45:58,790
Thank you so much.

1078
00:45:59,110 --> 00:45:59,830
God bless.

1079
00:46:00,070 --> 00:46:01,350
Have a wonderful day.