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I hope these chapels and the
Essentials of Faith have helped you

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to grasp the significance of what.

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C.S.

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Lewis summarized.

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Christianity, if it's false,
is of no.

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Importance, and if it's true,
is of infinite importance.

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The only thing it cannot be is
moderately important.

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That's why I wanted to focus
this semester on the essentials of

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faith.

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Because I think too often in
the Christian world we get caught

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up on the things that divide
us, the non essentials of faith,

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those things that are part of
our study of faith, but people look

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at them in different ways and
that's where the focus becomes.

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Or unfortunately, especially
this time of year, faith gets all

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woven into politics.

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And so our political position
becomes more important than our faith.

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And people are going through
the Bible trying to prove text their

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candidate's position over the
other one by this verse or that verse,

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and we lose the essentials of
what faith is all about.

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And that's why in this series
I really wanted us to focus on the

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essential things that matter
the most.

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And so that's what we've been doing.

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We talked first about the
nature of God, his goodness, his

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holiness, his justice, his truth.

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And then we looked at our
relationship to God.

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That we are sinners separated
from God, and grace and forgiveness

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is given to us freely by Christ.

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We don't do anything other
than receive it.

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And then we have the promise
of heaven.

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And then last week we talked
about how God gives us his truth

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in his scripture.

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And through the life of
Christ, God come to earth to live

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among us, to see how the
Christian life is lived.

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And you look at all that and
you come to this conclusion that

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I shared with you from Philip
Yancey that I like so much, that

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there's nothing I can do to
make God love.

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Me more, and there's nothing I
can do to make God love me less.

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But that doesn't mean we do nothing.

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The next four weeks I want us
to talk about what we do in response

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to the nature of God and our
relationship with God.

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How do we respond to that, to
worship him.

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So I want to talk about
character today and next week about

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love.

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And the week after that about trust.

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And then we'll talk about
purpose for life.

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And then we'll finish with the
most important day in the history

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of the.

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World, the resurrection of Christ.

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So that's where we're headed.

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And this is why these are
building on each other in this kind

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of way.

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So I want to talk today about character.

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No place to hide.

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The Christ who said come as
you are, didn't say stay as you are.

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The result of a genuine
relationship with Christ is that

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we want to reflect his character.

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We are children of God.

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He puts his power and spirit
in us and we want to reflect his

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character, how he relates to
his people and the nature of who

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he is as we seek to become
like him.

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That's our goal.

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In response to what he's done
for us, we start to conform to the

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nature and the image of God.

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In theological circles they
talk about conforming, conforming

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to the nature of God and to
live a life that reflects him.

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And the scripture is pretty
specific in what that looks like.

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And best place to look is in
Galatians chapter three, where it

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says the Holy Spirit produces
this kind of fruit in our lives.

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Love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness,.

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Gentleness and self control.

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That's the measure of how
we're doing in our relationship with

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God.

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Does our life look like that?

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So how are you doing?

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Does it look a little like that?

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Does it look like that some days?

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Do you want it to look more
like that or do you not want.

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It to look like that at all?

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You see, the Holy Spirit is
among us.

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Jesus said he had to go away
so the Holy Spirit could come, which

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was another form of God which
to come and live and be among us.

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And in the Holy Spirit living
with us, he produces this kind of

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fruit.

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In our lives with these characteristics.

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Well, this is fruit.

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You gotta understand the fruit
doesn't grow if it's not connected

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to something.

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So the first thing we gotta
understand is it's connected to a

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vine or it's connected to a tree.

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You can't have an apple just
grow by itself.

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It's gotta be connected to to
that tree.

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And if you want these kinds of
characteristics in your life, if

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you want to reflect God in
this way, we've got to be connected

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to the vine or the tree.

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And anytime that connection is
broken, we will not develop these

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characteristics in our lives
that are genuine character that reflect

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God.

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We start to act out in other ways.

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So the connection is first important.

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The second is the fruit seeks light.

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It's got to have light to grow.

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You can't grow anything of
significance unless there is light.

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Truth.

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That's what we talked about
last week in the Scripture and the

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life of Christ.

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And In John chapter 3, Jesus
talks very specifically about this

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need for light and why some
people don't want light.

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In fact, this comes right
after John 3:16, a verse you know

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very well.

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For God so loved the world
that he gave his only Son, that whoever

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believes in him would not
perish but have eternal life.

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And then he talks after that
and says this.

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God's light came into the
world, but the people loved the darkness

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more than the light, for their
actions were evil.

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All who do hate evil hate the
light and refuse to go near it for

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fear their sins will be exposed.

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But those who do what is right,.

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Come to the light.

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Do you have a desire for the.

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Light in your life or do you
try to stay away from the light?

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Do you have a desire for the
truth of God that you want to find

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out more and study more in
God's word and study the life of

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Christ, or do you want to stay
away from it?

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Yeah, it almost works in our
spiritual life physically as well.

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There are people who want to
stay away from the light.

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Of day.

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It's a pretty good barometer.

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Are there things you will do
at night or in the darkness that

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you'd be really uncomfortable
during the daytime or in the light?

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Avoiding light, either
physically if it's sin.

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Driven, or in the truth of the
light, can be deadly to your spirit.

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So fruit has to have light in
order to grow.

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And then, you know, fruit has
to have water in order to grow.

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That's regular nourishment.

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You know, you can't take an
apple tree and just dump gallons,

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gallons, gallons of water on
it and say, well, that's fine for

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a year.

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We won't do that anymore.

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No, it's got to have
nourishment on a regular basis, and

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you and I need that as well.

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If the fruit of God is going.

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To grow in our lives, we have.

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To have regular nourishment.

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And then for a fruit tree to
grow well, it has to be pruned.

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People who tend the fruit
trees go through and they cut off

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the parts that aren't growing
well, the parts that are pulling

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energy from the parts that are
growing well.

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And that pruning has to go on
in our life.

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And in that process of these
four steps of water and light and

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pruning and connected to the
tree, that's how.

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We grow in the fruits of the Spirit.

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And that will be evidenced in
the life of Christians now at different

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levels.

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Nobody's perfect.

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And some people do it really
well and some people just get it

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once in a while.

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But if there's a desire for it
and you're a Christian, you will

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start to see that fruit, fruit.

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People can sometimes say,
well, so and so says they're Christian.

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I don't know if they're not,
but who am I to judge?

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Well, you're not to judge.

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But at the same time, if you
say you're a Christian and there's

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no fruit, it's not working.

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You're not connected to the
tree, you're not watering, you're

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not getting the light,.

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You're not doing the pruning.

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Because if you do that, there
is eventually.

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Now, sometimes that can take time.

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You know, if you plant an
apple tree from a seed, it'll take

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six.

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Years before you're going to
eat an apple.

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And the first apple you eat
six years later isn't going to be

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the best apple.

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That's probably going to take
another 10 or 15 or 20 years before

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it really gets good.

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That's the nature of fruit.

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This is the lifelong
commitment to building.

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The fruits of the Spirit in
our lives.

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And then this scripture goes
on and says, those who belong to

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Christ Jesus have nailed the
passions and desires of.

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Their sinful nature to his
cross and crucified them there.

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Galatians says, yes, we're forgiven.

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And then we want to give up
our passions and our desires, and

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you have to nail them to the cross.

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You've got to give them to Jesus.

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A lot of us want to give to
Jesus the parts of life we got cleaned

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up a little bit.

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No, he's saying, give the
parts that.

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Are dirty and need help, the
parts that are overwhelming.

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Give those to Christ and let
him put those on the cross.

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You got to acknowledge that
there is sinfulness.

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The sinfulness is strong.

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It's a strong pull.

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He uses the word here,
passions and desires.

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It isn't that I'm interested
in something.

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It isn't that I like to do
something because it's nice diversion.

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It isn't that, you know, I
like to be involved in this or that.

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No, it's a passion and desire.

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That's where our sinful
natures are rooted in things that

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pull us.

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There's a lot of emotion in that.

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And giving that up, committing
that to Christ is when the fruit

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grows.

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He said, you have to
purposefully do that.

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And then the change begins to
come and your character begins to

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reflect God.

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Well, then he goes on and
says, since we're living by the Spirit,

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let.

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Us follow the Spirit's leading
in every part of our lives.

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You see, the Holy Spirit is in
all of our life, not just certain

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parts.

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For some people, they just
want to let God into their life in

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certain parts.

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So, you know, I'll do it when
it's convenient.

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I wake up Sunday morning and
feel good.

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I'll go to church, because
then I'll feel better and okay, I'll

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give God that part, but the
rest of it, not so much.

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Or I want to be that kind of person.

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I want to be that Christian
person when it helps my reputation

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or my goals.

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But it doesn't really change character.

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Some people, probably too many
people, think,.

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Well, there are parts of my life.

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I don't want anybody to know about.

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There are parts of our life
nobody should see.

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But you know what?

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God already does.

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God knows.

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So why not ask him to help you
change that and to create something

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new in you?

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David.

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King David, after he had gone
through so many horrible sins of

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adultery and murder, and on
and on and on it went, and destroyed

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his life, finally got to that
point of repentance.

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And he said, lord, create in
me a clean heart and give me a willing

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spirit to follow you.

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That's nailing your passions
and desires to the cross.

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God already knows it.

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There is no place to hide.

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So why not ask him to help you with.

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With the things that are the
very hardest in life to change in

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order to build the kind of
character that honors God?

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The psalmist talks about this,
says, o Lord, you've examined my

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00:13:00,020 --> 00:13:01,860
heart and know everything
about me.

245
00:13:02,180 --> 00:13:04,260
You know when I sit down or
stand up.

246
00:13:04,260 --> 00:13:06,580
You know my thoughts, even
when I'm far away.

247
00:13:07,220 --> 00:13:10,260
You see me when I travel and
when I rest at home.

248
00:13:10,260 --> 00:13:11,500
You know everything I do.

249
00:13:11,500 --> 00:13:14,940
You know what, what I'm going
to say before I say it.

250
00:13:14,940 --> 00:13:18,500
Lord, you go before me and
follow me.

251
00:13:18,500 --> 00:13:20,740
You place your hand of
blessing on my head.

252
00:13:21,380 --> 00:13:23,540
Such knowledge is too
wonderful for me,.

253
00:13:23,540 --> 00:13:25,780
Too great for me to understand.

254
00:13:27,620 --> 00:13:28,980
That is wonderful.

255
00:13:28,980 --> 00:13:32,900
That's amazing that God knows
us that well, that he knows everything

256
00:13:32,980 --> 00:13:33,780
about us.

257
00:13:35,460 --> 00:13:36,740
Or you may look at that and.

258
00:13:36,740 --> 00:13:41,580
Say, that is really scary that
he knows everything about us.

259
00:13:44,460 --> 00:13:49,380
And if that's your position,
you've yet to understand that Christianity

260
00:13:49,380 --> 00:13:52,540
cannot be modestly important.

261
00:13:54,140 --> 00:13:56,220
It's critical to our lives.

262
00:13:58,300 --> 00:13:59,340
No place to hide.

263
00:13:59,340 --> 00:14:02,220
When it comes to character,
God knows it all.

264
00:14:03,100 --> 00:14:07,300
God knows every bit of your
life and every bit of my life.

265
00:14:07,860 --> 00:14:11,140
So take the parts that are
hard and give them to him.

266
00:14:11,620 --> 00:14:16,700
Character, if it's genuine in
you, is moving closer to reflecting

267
00:14:16,700 --> 00:14:17,140
God.

268
00:14:18,820 --> 00:14:21,380
Every day, every week, every
month, every.

269
00:14:21,380 --> 00:14:23,860
Year, you get more in tune with.

270
00:14:23,860 --> 00:14:26,780
Reflecting God, and these
fruits of the Spirit come out.

271
00:14:26,780 --> 00:14:27,780
Yes, there'll be missteps.

272
00:14:27,780 --> 00:14:29,380
Yes, there'll be times you
won't do it well.

273
00:14:29,460 --> 00:14:31,860
Yes, there'll be times you
really blew it all together.

274
00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:33,040
That's okay.

275
00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:37,800
You've got to continue to want
to move Closer or you can resist

276
00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:41,680
that and you want then your
character rooted in selfishness.

277
00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:46,520
And that shows fruits in your
life just as the opposite of the

278
00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:47,440
fruits of the spirit.

279
00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:50,160
When that's true, you see it doesn't.

280
00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:52,960
Matter what you really do as
much as who you are.

281
00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:55,200
Your character really matters.

282
00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:57,920
I got this book a few years ago.

283
00:14:59,450 --> 00:15:00,570
Title caught my attention.

284
00:15:01,450 --> 00:15:03,370
Who you are when no one's looking.

285
00:15:05,770 --> 00:15:08,970
Choosing consistency,
Resisting compromise.

286
00:15:09,610 --> 00:15:10,330
Character.

287
00:15:11,370 --> 00:15:12,170
Really good book.

288
00:15:13,290 --> 00:15:15,370
I read it, got a lot of good
ideas from it.

289
00:15:16,570 --> 00:15:20,010
This book was written by Bill
Hybels, who established one of the

290
00:15:20,010 --> 00:15:21,450
biggest churches in America.

291
00:15:21,610 --> 00:15:25,530
Church started from almost
nothing in Chicago with just a handful

292
00:15:25,530 --> 00:15:27,770
of people and grew to 25,000 people.

293
00:15:28,180 --> 00:15:30,660
He was the most influential
pastor in America.

294
00:15:30,980 --> 00:15:33,700
He spoke at all the big
conferences, he held conferences,

295
00:15:33,700 --> 00:15:37,500
he developed the denomination
of churches that were tied into who

296
00:15:37,500 --> 00:15:37,900
he was.

297
00:15:37,900 --> 00:15:39,860
He'd written probably 30
different books.

298
00:15:39,860 --> 00:15:43,300
This is one of them about character.

299
00:15:44,820 --> 00:15:47,940
A few years ago, Bill Hybels was.

300
00:15:47,940 --> 00:15:50,500
At one of those conferences
and he got caught in a hotel room

301
00:15:50,820 --> 00:15:51,100
with.

302
00:15:51,100 --> 00:15:52,500
A woman who's not his wife.

303
00:15:54,350 --> 00:15:58,590
When that became public, a
number of women started to come forward

304
00:15:58,750 --> 00:16:02,270
and talked about his sexual
harassment and his sexual assault.

305
00:16:02,510 --> 00:16:04,230
And within just a few days, he.

306
00:16:04,230 --> 00:16:07,710
Was gone from that church and
his books were canceled.

307
00:16:11,310 --> 00:16:13,790
Who are you when no one's hiding?

308
00:16:16,910 --> 00:16:19,550
It really doesn't matter what
your accomplishments are.

309
00:16:20,590 --> 00:16:24,750
If you don't have character,
it really doesn't matter.

310
00:16:29,470 --> 00:16:31,870
Character, there's no place to hide.

311
00:16:31,950 --> 00:16:34,590
Character is not a set of your accomplishments.

312
00:16:34,670 --> 00:16:37,550
Yes, I hope you will do great
things for Christ.

313
00:16:38,270 --> 00:16:40,190
Cl telling his story about his life.

314
00:16:40,190 --> 00:16:42,510
He's doing wonderful things
for Christ.

315
00:16:42,510 --> 00:16:44,510
And you will, and many of you
already are.

316
00:16:44,510 --> 00:16:46,190
And there will be
opportunities in your.

317
00:16:46,190 --> 00:16:47,410
Life that to are going great
things for Christ.

318
00:16:47,410 --> 00:16:48,370
And I hope you will.

319
00:16:49,650 --> 00:16:51,570
Character is not your reputation.

320
00:16:52,130 --> 00:16:55,890
I hope you be a person who has
a great reputation, a stellar reputation.

321
00:16:56,210 --> 00:16:59,330
But reputation is what others
think about you.

322
00:17:01,730 --> 00:17:05,930
Character is what you think
about you, what you really know about

323
00:17:05,930 --> 00:17:10,770
you, and how much you want to
honor God by reflecting him.

324
00:17:12,540 --> 00:17:14,620
Character is not a set of resolutions.

325
00:17:15,180 --> 00:17:17,020
I'm going to do this, I'm
going to do that.

326
00:17:17,020 --> 00:17:20,740
And once I do that a to do
list, then I'll be a person of character.

327
00:17:20,740 --> 00:17:21,820
It doesn't work that way.

328
00:17:22,380 --> 00:17:23,900
Character is not perfection.

329
00:17:24,940 --> 00:17:28,099
You can beat yourself up by
never being perfect because no, you're

330
00:17:28,099 --> 00:17:29,660
not going to be this side of heaven.

331
00:17:29,740 --> 00:17:31,580
But when your life begins to grow,.

332
00:17:31,580 --> 00:17:33,700
Those fruits of the Spirit,
they begin.

333
00:17:33,700 --> 00:17:34,820
To dominate your life.

334
00:17:34,820 --> 00:17:40,160
So when you do not hit the
mark all the way Character still

335
00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:40,880
stands up.

336
00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:46,400
Holy Spirit produces these
fruits in our life.

337
00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:48,640
But how do we develop this character?

338
00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:51,440
First, by understanding how
important it is.

339
00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:54,240
How important it is God made you.

340
00:17:55,120 --> 00:17:59,680
God knows you'll have a better
life if you follow and build his

341
00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:03,440
character into your life and
reflect his character by your fruits.

342
00:18:03,670 --> 00:18:06,230
The Holy Spirit is ready to
empower you.

343
00:18:06,230 --> 00:18:09,150
Remember we talked about the
power being there, but you got to

344
00:18:09,150 --> 00:18:10,070
plug into it.

345
00:18:11,430 --> 00:18:15,110
And it's the highest form of
worship is to reflect the God who

346
00:18:15,110 --> 00:18:16,310
loves you most.

347
00:18:17,430 --> 00:18:20,390
That's where character
development begins.

348
00:18:21,350 --> 00:18:22,790
You know what the greatest sin is?

349
00:18:23,830 --> 00:18:25,430
Our sins are not really ranked
in order.

350
00:18:25,430 --> 00:18:28,870
They're all bad, separated
from God.

351
00:18:28,870 --> 00:18:30,310
But you know what the greatest
sin is?

352
00:18:31,470 --> 00:18:33,670
The greatest sin is not
becoming the.

353
00:18:33,670 --> 00:18:35,630
Person God created you to be.

354
00:18:37,070 --> 00:18:38,350
That's the greatest sin.

355
00:18:40,990 --> 00:18:48,310
God wants to build into you
these characteristics because that's

356
00:18:48,310 --> 00:18:52,670
his character and he wants you
and me to reflect it.

357
00:18:54,270 --> 00:18:55,870
So we've got to start there.

358
00:18:56,610 --> 00:19:00,370
And then Paul writes in Romans
about the importance of character.

359
00:19:01,170 --> 00:19:03,130
Because of what Christ has
done for us.

360
00:19:03,130 --> 00:19:04,490
He starts this foundation.

361
00:19:04,490 --> 00:19:07,130
I'm going to show you how he
gets to the building of character.

362
00:19:07,130 --> 00:19:10,610
There are four steps, but
first he kind of summarizes again

363
00:19:10,610 --> 00:19:14,850
this foundation that we've
been forgiven, that we're in relationship

364
00:19:14,850 --> 00:19:16,850
with God and we don't deserve this.

365
00:19:17,090 --> 00:19:18,490
But we're children of God.

366
00:19:18,490 --> 00:19:19,450
So he wants us for.

367
00:19:19,450 --> 00:19:20,930
So he kind of goes through that.

368
00:19:20,930 --> 00:19:25,200
Since we've been made right by
God's sight, by faith, we have peace

369
00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:28,960
with God because of what Jesus
Christ, our.

370
00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:30,280
Lord, has done for us.

371
00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:31,640
Because of our faith.

372
00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:37,320
Christ has brought us into
this place of underdeserved privilege,

373
00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:39,840
undeserved privilege, where we.

374
00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:44,360
Now stand and look confidently
and joyfully looking forward to sharing

375
00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:45,160
God's glory.

376
00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:46,440
You see, he starts there.

377
00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:48,280
He starts to remember.

378
00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:51,260
That's why we did these in
order to building these essentials.

379
00:19:51,260 --> 00:19:53,260
Because if you don't have that understanding,.

380
00:19:53,340 --> 00:19:55,660
You can't just start into the
character issue.

381
00:19:56,060 --> 00:19:57,980
You gotta have this
understanding to forgive.

382
00:19:57,980 --> 00:19:59,300
And we're in relationship with God.

383
00:19:59,300 --> 00:20:00,300
We don't deserve this.

384
00:20:00,300 --> 00:20:01,500
We're children of God.

385
00:20:01,740 --> 00:20:03,660
And then the scripture goes on.

386
00:20:03,900 --> 00:20:08,780
He says because of that, we
can rejoice when these four steps

387
00:20:08,780 --> 00:20:10,060
happen in our life.

388
00:20:10,700 --> 00:20:15,580
First, when we run into
problems and trials, rejoice in that.

389
00:20:16,230 --> 00:20:16,470
Why?

390
00:20:17,030 --> 00:20:19,350
Because that's where character
gets built.

391
00:20:19,670 --> 00:20:21,750
That's where character gets tested.

392
00:20:22,230 --> 00:20:26,750
You can't grow and I can't
grow without pressing harder on whatever

393
00:20:26,750 --> 00:20:28,870
it is that you're trying to
grow about.

394
00:20:29,670 --> 00:20:32,790
Say you play a sport, you're
in the arts you're in stem.

395
00:20:33,030 --> 00:20:36,150
If you don't do tougher stuff
every week, you're never going to

396
00:20:36,150 --> 00:20:37,430
get any better, are you?

397
00:20:37,670 --> 00:20:38,950
You're just going to stay the same.

398
00:20:39,990 --> 00:20:41,830
Or Christian faith is the same way.

399
00:20:41,830 --> 00:20:43,430
You have to exercise it.

400
00:20:43,950 --> 00:20:48,110
And so character is tested
when we run into problems and trials.

401
00:20:48,110 --> 00:20:50,750
And Paul doesn't say here, if
you run into trials.

402
00:20:50,750 --> 00:20:52,190
He said, no, when you'll run into.

403
00:20:52,190 --> 00:20:56,030
Trials, because you will run
into trials and problems.

404
00:20:57,070 --> 00:21:00,070
And then he says in that.

405
00:21:00,070 --> 00:21:04,830
For we know that those trials
and problems will develop endurance

406
00:21:04,830 --> 00:21:05,310
in us.

407
00:21:05,870 --> 00:21:06,430
Okay?

408
00:21:06,430 --> 00:21:08,190
So the first step is the
trials and problems.

409
00:21:08,190 --> 00:21:10,820
Second step is they develop
endurance in it.

410
00:21:10,820 --> 00:21:12,620
The Christian life is not a sprint.

411
00:21:13,740 --> 00:21:15,500
The Christian life is a marathon.

412
00:21:16,460 --> 00:21:20,980
And a lot of Christians who
miss the mark because they try for

413
00:21:20,980 --> 00:21:23,100
the sprint, you can't keep it up.

414
00:21:23,100 --> 00:21:25,740
You've got to keep some level
of balance in your life.

415
00:21:25,820 --> 00:21:27,980
And when you leave that
balance of.

416
00:21:27,980 --> 00:21:30,620
Growing in Christ, then you
crash and burn.

417
00:21:31,420 --> 00:21:33,260
Christian life is a marathon.

418
00:21:34,060 --> 00:21:37,690
You will fail when it comes to
the fruits of the Spirit.

419
00:21:38,250 --> 00:21:40,970
And the more you try, the more
you will fail because you're taking

420
00:21:40,970 --> 00:21:41,930
more attempts at it.

421
00:21:42,010 --> 00:21:44,410
The difference between success
and failure is what are you going

422
00:21:44,410 --> 00:21:45,370
to do when you do fail?

423
00:21:46,250 --> 00:21:48,010
We will learn endurance.

424
00:21:48,250 --> 00:21:51,890
Paul says, now you got to
understand, 1, 2, 3, 4 points up

425
00:21:51,890 --> 00:21:52,970
here are mine.

426
00:21:52,970 --> 00:21:55,570
Those are not in the
Scripture, but that's how the scripture

427
00:21:55,570 --> 00:21:56,170
breaks down.

428
00:21:56,170 --> 00:21:57,450
So we're going to have trials.

429
00:21:57,450 --> 00:21:59,650
The trials develop endurance
in us.

430
00:21:59,650 --> 00:22:01,050
And what does endurance do?

431
00:22:01,660 --> 00:22:06,060
Endurance develops strength of character.

432
00:22:07,580 --> 00:22:10,540
Character comes out when we endure.

433
00:22:11,100 --> 00:22:13,500
It's kind of like the best
fruit on that apple tree.

434
00:22:13,660 --> 00:22:17,459
That first apple that comes
six years after it's planted is not

435
00:22:17,459 --> 00:22:18,300
going to be the best one.

436
00:22:18,300 --> 00:22:22,220
It's the one 10, 15, 20 years
later that are going to be the really

437
00:22:22,220 --> 00:22:22,940
good ones.

438
00:22:24,220 --> 00:22:25,500
It takes endurance.

439
00:22:25,500 --> 00:22:29,910
It takes building those
spiritual muscles in our life in

440
00:22:29,910 --> 00:22:31,270
order to develop the.

441
00:22:31,270 --> 00:22:35,390
Fruits of the Spirit that
really develop character.

442
00:22:36,430 --> 00:22:39,470
And what's the outcome of all
this if you have character?

443
00:22:40,110 --> 00:22:44,990
The payoff for character is
character strengthens our confident.

444
00:22:45,070 --> 00:22:47,230
Hope in salvation.

445
00:22:48,670 --> 00:22:50,590
Confidence in salvation.

446
00:22:50,910 --> 00:22:54,190
How would your life be
different if you knew without a question

447
00:22:54,570 --> 00:22:55,920
I the Bible was true?

448
00:22:57,280 --> 00:22:59,760
How would your life be
different if you knew without a question

449
00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:02,320
what Jesus teaches is the way
to live?

450
00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:05,840
How would it be different if
you knew without a question?

451
00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:07,440
Heaven's for real.

452
00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:12,160
You see, when we go through
trials and problems, they develop

453
00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:15,360
endurance, which develops
strength of character, those fruits

454
00:23:15,360 --> 00:23:16,000
of the Spirit.

455
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,080
And that's what gives us
confidence in.

456
00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:21,130
Our faith in Christ.

457
00:23:22,090 --> 00:23:23,370
So we have no doubt.

458
00:23:23,930 --> 00:23:28,090
And you can live at a whole
different level of joy and happiness

459
00:23:28,410 --> 00:23:29,050
and success.

460
00:23:29,690 --> 00:23:36,970
When you have that confidence,
it comes out of character, love and

461
00:23:36,970 --> 00:23:39,010
joy, peace,.

462
00:23:39,010 --> 00:23:42,810
Patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self control.

463
00:23:44,170 --> 00:23:46,250
See the beginning point of all
that is love.

464
00:23:48,860 --> 00:23:50,380
All the rest of them come from love.

465
00:23:50,540 --> 00:23:53,180
They're all an outgrowth of love.

466
00:23:53,180 --> 00:23:54,620
So you've got to have love at.

467
00:23:54,620 --> 00:23:57,820
The cornerstone of these
fruits of the spirit.

468
00:23:59,180 --> 00:24:01,100
And that's what we're going to
talk about next week.

469
00:24:01,820 --> 00:24:06,620
We're going to talk about love
and how it is the greatest of these.

470
00:24:07,900 --> 00:24:10,860
We may think the greatest of
these is our accomplishments or what

471
00:24:10,860 --> 00:24:12,700
we do, or our degrees or our
job or.

472
00:24:12,700 --> 00:24:13,500
Our money or whatever.

473
00:24:13,500 --> 00:24:14,620
That's not even close.

474
00:24:16,270 --> 00:24:20,110
First Corinthians 13 says,
these three will remain.

475
00:24:21,150 --> 00:24:26,430
Only three will endure faith,
hope and love.

476
00:24:27,710 --> 00:24:31,230
And the greatest is love.

477
00:24:32,430 --> 00:24:35,070
And that's what we're going to
focus on next week because it is

478
00:24:35,070 --> 00:24:37,230
the essential of faith.

479
00:24:37,390 --> 00:24:38,270
Let's pray together.

480
00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:41,920
Lord, we thank youk for your gift.

481
00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:48,400
Of the Holy Spirit that allows
us to develop the fruits of the Spirit

482
00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:52,760
in our life that reflect yout
and in so we worship and we honor

483
00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:58,720
your and we have joy in life
because we live as yous designed

484
00:24:58,720 --> 00:24:59,000
us.

485
00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:02,520
Thank youk your name, we ask it.

486
00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:03,080
Amen.

487
00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:04,640
Thanks for listening.

488
00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:04,920
Today.