WEBVTT
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Hey, thanks for joining us on the Rethink and Return podcast.
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We're thinking, rethinking, and returning.
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Like we just want to know what did Jesus have to say about stuff?
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How did He want us to live?
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So we're looking at a passage of scripture every week that we preach to a room of people that people are using in house churches in a community here and beyond are doing that too.
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So thanks for joining us for that.
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And as always, my amigo Davito.
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Always great to be back.
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Thanks for hanging out.
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Absolutely.
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I love that we dive into this text each time again, each time this week.
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You know, every week that we're back at it.
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Yeah, me too.
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And I think it's a good discipline.
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I think a lot of people hear a sermon once and they're like, that's it.
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So I like that we have this to return to.
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Yeah, I mean, that's the idea, right?
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Like when I grew up in church, I mean, it was great that Sunday morning, like Sunday school, I'd do one thing.
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The sermon would be on something else.
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Sunday afternoon, I would do one thing at five, and then another thing at six.
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Right.
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Tuesday night or Wednesday night, something else, something else, a lot of good stuff.
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But like I never had a place to really go.
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Let's take what we just did and go talk about it more.
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And here what we're hoping for is we got a lot of we got a lot of things on this passage of scripture.
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We're just trying to milk it because we're not going to probably be back in it again as a church.
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So we have the sermon, we have this, we have a daily devo for you to read every day.
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Really good.
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I've been reading those are really good.
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And um, and then uh, you know, then of course we have house church to sit down with a community of people, diverse people, old, young, different backgrounds, different places in your walk with Jesus, and wrestle through this and help other people grow and help ourselves.
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And then we have this for when you're driving or on a bus or on the plane or walking or whatever you're doing, just to think a little more deeply about it.
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That's right.
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All right, so here we go.
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Paul said, Colossians chapter 1, verse 9, for this reason, since the day we heard about you, we haven't started praying for you.
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What reason?
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Man, they're in the gospel work, bro.
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Yeah.
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They're doing the work.
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The previous verses, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing uh all over the world, and it's it's doing that among you.
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And Paul's like, because of this.
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He said, for this reason, we haven't stopped praying for you.
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Like when you're in the gospel work, when people are in the gospel work, man, you need to pray for them and you need people praying for you.
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Because the war's gonna build up.
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It's just all through scripture.
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It's told by ancient saints, it's a principle of the word, it's happening all around the world today.
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Uh, I mean, we see it all, opposition all through scripture for people who step into the work.
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And so you need, if you're in it, and we have a lot of people who are serving in every way, make sure you have people praying for you.
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It's one thing to not, you know, want attention or want people to, you know, elevate you or whatever, but if you're in the work, you gotta make sure you got people around you praying for you.
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That's right.
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And what are the things that you that people need to be praying for?
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How how do they pray when you say pray for the gospel work?
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Well, I mean, Paul's gonna talk a lot about it here, but you know, Paul's gonna talk about persevering and enduring.
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He's gonna talk about that a lot.
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Yep.
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You know, and so that's a big part of it.
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Help people endure and persevere.
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But he'll be talking about these prayers.
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He's gonna tell us what he prayed, which is really cool.
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And then he's like, since the day we heard about it, we haven't stopped praying, but being heard about for the gospel.
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Man, that's cool because we all want to matter.
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I mean, that's not bad.
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That's right.
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Uh, I mean, God made us that when you find something across every human being, it's it's likely gonna be linked back to the nature of God, and then flesh has corrupted it.
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And so, but we need it, whatever even flesh is corrupted, we can look it for what was the holy thing before flesh corrupted it.
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And part of that is when God made us in his image, like we matter, you know, and uh he we're we're we're cared about, we're occupying space and time made in his image.
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Now it's been corrupted, and we got to look and go, what are we trying to be heard about or known for?
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And a lot of people are trying to be known for this or this.
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But I love that Paul's like, when I heard about you, what I heard about was the gospel was your life, you know?
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I mean, that's a great thing to be heard about.
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That's right.
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And I think it's important to point out, you know, that when we talk about being known for the gospel, we don't mean being weird.
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You ought to what do you mean?
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Well, I mean, we we you know, we talked about you don't want to be a weirdo for Jesus or be a jerk for Jesus.
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Yeah.
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But there's a there's an atmosphere that someone lives their life in when they're for the gospel.
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Like it, like we talked about last week.
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It comes out in our conversation.
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We're able to take the different parts of the gospel and apply it to people's different situations.
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Yeah.
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Like that, you know, like to me, that was one of the things that as you work through these verses, that occurs to me to be about the gospel doesn't mean to be a weirdo about it.
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It just means that your life is like you're you're you have that front and center, and you're thinking about how it applies to every situation you find yourself in.
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Yeah, I mean, I I see these people are going, what I care most about in my city.
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Yeah, that's right.
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And what I care most about in my church is that I'm gonna live so the gospel of Jesus Christ will make its way into the lives of people around me, and then that God would use our church and our city to help, as was happening with them, do gospel work in other places.
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Right.
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And so I just think these people were I'm just fully committed to the gospel.
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And I think part of being fully committed to the gospel is going, how am I the aroma of Christ wherever I go?
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That's good.
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I mean, you know, does that mean I stand on the corner with a sandwich sign and tell people they're going to hell?
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I I don't think so.
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I think what it means is that I'm gonna be, I'm gonna carry the gospel into my community unashamedly, clearly, deliberately, and this is what I'm spending my life doing.
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And so they're heard about the gospel.
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So I think you can be rich, you can be poor, you can be pretty, you can be not pretty, you can be famous, you can be not famous.
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I mean, it doesn't matter where you are, you can be about the gospel, and you should be if you're a follower of Jesus.
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This is why, this is why we're here.
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So true.
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So Paul's like, I'm praying for you, and then this is what he starts praying for people.
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Yeah.
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Like, what uh, you know, one of the things that people ask me when they're like, How can I pray for you?
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This is one of the first thing Paul says here, this is one of the things I I say.
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Verse 9, he says, We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all wisdom and understanding that the spirit gives.
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Yeah, like when I when people ask me how can they pray for me, I generally say these two things.
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Um, I need uh the power to endure and persevere.
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Okay, and I need wisdom and discernment of the spirit.
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Those are the two things I pray for the most.
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Wow.
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God, would you give me the power to endure?
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And Paul's gonna talk about that in a minute.
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But then I ask for this.
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Would you would you ask that God would give me wisdom and I would discern his will through the spirit?
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And so I want to know what is God, where is God leading me?
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Where is he leading us?
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I want to discern his will.
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I want to be sensitive to the spirit.
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We're gonna walk in his word, but also how's the spirit leading us to walk in his will that aligns with his word?
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And so Paul's like, uh, we we want to do the will of God.
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Yeah, you know, that's it.
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I love that you said yesterday you already know the will of God.
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That's right.
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That was a powerful like expound on that for a minute.
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Like, what does that mean?
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Yeah, I you know, uh everybody I think wants to know what is God's will, but I I think I think we do know God's will.
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We already, always know God's will.
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Now we need the discernment of the Spirit to know how his will specifically might apply in our situation.
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But God's word has revealed his will.
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Like, I already, always know he wants me to love my wife.
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Right.
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And how he wants me to love her.
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He's told me that.
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Yep.
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So I'm gonna be on a constant sanctification toward that, but I always, already know.
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Uh I know how he wants me to lead my kids.
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I mean, there's all kinds of things in scripture to teach me.
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Now I'm always on a sanctification towards that, but I I I know I know his will for that.
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I know he wants me to work hard and provide for my family.
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I know he wants me to give financially to the gospel, through the local church.
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Like I don't have to even pray about that.
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Now I I need to certainly like I know he wants me to use my gifts, however, he's made me.
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Now I need to discern by the spirit.
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You know, how much more do you want us to give?
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Am I using my gifts in the way you want me to, where you want me to?
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Like these are all the things, but I already know his will.
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But I need that's why Paul was real clear here.
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I continually ask God to feed you with the knowledge of his will through all wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives.
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I know your will, it's in your word, but give me the discernment through the Spirit to know how to walk out your will.
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That's right.
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And I think that's really freeing for people to go the hit his word.
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There's not an area of your life that his word is not already telling you what the will of God is.
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That's right.
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And I I think it is really freeing because you and I grew up in an environment where they taught the will of God was hidden.
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People are always like, you gotta go find the will of God.
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You gotta feel like that.
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Remember that?
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Like they would always say, You got to get out there and find the will of God.
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It's somewhere out there.
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And I like this for me shifts the whole dynamic to say you already know it, you just need the discernment to know how it's lived out.
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Like there's a lot of freedom in living that way.
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I mean, I think, you know, we were like, Am I gonna did I go to the right or wrong university?
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Right.
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That's right.
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Or, you know, am I is this the right major?
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What is God's will for me to and I mean, we do want discernment that the spirit gives for that, but there are things that we the majority of everything we already know is in his word and we know all of his will.
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I need discernment of the spirit to how to to know how to walk his will out.
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Really good.
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So prol, so if you're praying for somebody, or if you're somebody who's in the gospel work and you need people to pray for you, this would be number one for me.
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Yeah.
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I want help me know how to walk out God's will and discern his will.
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Let me be sensitive to the spirit through this.
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So that's one prayer that I that people here pray pray for me for, and I ask them to.
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And then verse 10, right?
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So that you might live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way.
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I just think we have chosen a way of living with our life.
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Yeah.
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You know, and if you've chosen that your life is gonna be lived in, I'm gonna live along the way of pleasing the Lord.
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That's that's a decided path.
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I think it's the way we decide, am I gonna live my life to please the Lord?
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And um every life has a way that it is being lived.
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Right.
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So what it I think the great question is, what is the way that I am living my life?
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Am I living it to please the Lord?
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Right.
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And any other way I think creates a feeling of condemnation, or sometimes people live with that feeling like I'm not enough.
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I can't live up to this without without seeking the Lord.
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Don't you think that if you're gonna if you're gonna live your life in such a way to please everybody else, like the the result of that is you never feel like you measure up.
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Oh, I gotcha, yeah.
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Right?
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Or if you're gonna live your life, like you say, for people, possessions, pleasure, place power, yeah, possession.
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You know, there there's a result that that comes from.
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That's right, yeah.
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Yeah, you're right.
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I mean, that'll never it'll there's no other way that satisfies.
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But people are choosing, am I gonna live for pleasure?
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And if so, am I living to please myself or other people?
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Am I gonna live for power?
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How much position, how much possessions, how much, you know, platform and fame, what what's enough?
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Like, and God may give or not give any of those things, but the way that I'm living my life should be as a follower of Jesus.
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I'm living to please the Lord.
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Yeah, like what is pleasing to the Lord needs to be our question and our guide.
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Yeah.
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And I think we can get it upside down and go, I want to try to please the Lord so that He'll love me.
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But that we can't see that through the gospel that way.
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Right.
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And so the way that we see that through the gospel is He loved me even while I was a sinner.
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That's right.
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But now I love him because He loved me first, as the word says.
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And so, because of that, man, I just want to please Him.
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Just like a great marriage, I gave an illustration of Brooke, I was doing something for her that I didn't want to do, and it wouldn't have been something I would have chosen.
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But she wanted it done, and I, you know, immediately was like, okay, sure, I'll be glad to do that.
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Just because I love her.
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And um, but if I didn't do it, she wouldn't love me less.
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And so I think we have to see the Lord like through this gospel lens of man, he loves me, he's adopted me, he's sealed me.
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Good, man.
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You know, I have his identity inside of me.
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All that is there, but so I'm not living to please him so that he'll accept me.
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I'm living to please him because I love him.
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And I love him because he loved me first.
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That's powerful.
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It's it's power to live to live from the acceptance of the Lord instead of living for it.
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Yeah.
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Right?
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You just you just you start with, He loves me, he's for me.
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Yeah.
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I'm gonna let everything else that determine everything else I do.
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Like one of the things that you said was, is this pleasing to you?
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And like you kind of clicked off your calendar and you know, the the circumstances, you clicked off some practical things that people would go, I'm just gonna let my acceptance to the Lord to say, okay, I'm I'm gonna evaluate everything in my life based on the fact that I want to I want to please God because He has accepted me, because He loves me, not to earn something from it.
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That's right.
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I mean, for me to go, hey God, how am I spending my time, my life, my one short life on this planet?
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Am I am I doing is this is this the way you would want me to do it?
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Or look in my bank account, is this how you want me to spend my money?
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Right.
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And um, how you want me to, am I giving in a way that's pleasing to you?
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Look at my you know, my Instagram or my Facebook or look in my web browser, is all this pleasing to you?
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Right, right.
00:13:51.840 --> 00:14:03.200
Like I I think as a follower of Jesus, the question would, you know, I mean, you know, when I was a youth pastor growing up, kids would say, like, can I can I do this and still go to heaven?
00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:05.120
I don't know if you ever got that conversation.
00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:06.000
I got that all the time.
00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:09.519
But like, hey, can I do this thing and still go to heaven?
00:14:09.679 --> 00:14:12.399
I'm like, the question doesn't make sense, man.
00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:12.879
Right.
00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:15.200
Like that's not that's not the question.
00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:19.840
You know, I mean, for me, I don't I don't want to go, hey, got it.
00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:23.840
Um, is my search browser pleasing to you so I can go to heaven?
00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:24.320
Right.
00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:26.720
It's just, man, I I love you so much.
00:14:26.879 --> 00:14:28.080
I want to be pleasing to you.
00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:28.799
That's right.
00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:34.960
And um, I want to honor you with my money, with my time, with my body, yeah, with my mind.
00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:35.279
Yeah.
00:14:35.519 --> 00:14:37.679
So I do that just because I want to please them.
00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:39.360
I think that's the question we need to be asking.
00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:40.080
I do too.
00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:41.120
I think that you're right.
00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:50.000
Like in student ministry, that was always the question was how far away can I get from God and still know that He loves me and that I'm gonna go to heaven?
00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:54.399
When the real question is, how close can I be in the midst of all these things?
00:14:56.399 --> 00:15:03.759
What can I do that will maintain my intimacy of all things circumstances, calendars, web browser, all those things.
00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:04.320
That's right.
00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:04.639
Yeah.
00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:07.840
Yeah, I mean, that's why Hebrews says, let's throw off everything that hinders.
00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:08.080
Right.
00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:13.840
I want to get rid of this stuff because I don't want it to hinder my relationship with the Lord or him using me.
00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:18.960
So Paul goes on, hey, I'm praying for this, I'm praying for wisdom, I'm praying that you're pleasing to the Lord.
00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:21.440
I'm gonna pray that you bear fruit in every good work.
00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:33.039
And uh, you know, again, when we look at it through the lens of the gospel, we're like, oh, good works, that's bad, because you know, but that I mean, it's really great to juxtapose Ephesians 2.9 with Ephesians 2.10.
00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:36.480
You know, Ephesians 2.8.9, it's by grace you've been saved through faith.
00:15:36.559 --> 00:15:40.639
It's not of yourselves, it's a gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.
00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:44.960
But verse 10 says, we are created in Christ Jesus to do good works.
00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:45.440
Yeah.
00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:45.759
Right.
00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:50.320
So we're not saved by good works, yet we're created in Christ Jesus to do good works.
00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:50.559
Right.
00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:58.080
That's why James, Jesus' half-brother, said, uh, he's like, Can you show me your faith and not show me your good works?
00:15:58.399 --> 00:16:00.080
I say it doesn't make sense to me.
00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:03.759
And so Paul's like, I I want people to see your good works.
00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:09.120
Like, you know, let your life shine before men that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:14.879
Like, people should just see our goodness and um and the good things that we're doing.
00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:19.519
I think that's collectively as a church that we've done that for so long, which I love about us.
00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:26.399
And then collectively, I mean, and then individually, that people we should be doing good things that make people go.
00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:27.279
Yeah.
00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:29.440
What's different about that guy?
00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:31.039
What's different about that girl?
00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:34.000
And uh, you know, baptism yesterday, which was a beautiful day.
00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:36.799
We do that every couple months, have another one coming up soon.
00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:44.639
But um it's a picture like baptism is showing it something's already happened, and this is the outward picture of that.
00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:45.200
That's right.
00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:46.320
And that's what good works are.
00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:50.320
Like it's not I'm doing I'm not doing good works, so something will happen inside of me.
00:16:50.399 --> 00:16:50.559
Right.
00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:53.039
Something has happened inside of me, and I'm gonna bear fruit.
00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:53.759
That's what Paul said.
00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:55.360
I'm you're bearing the fruit of it.
00:16:55.440 --> 00:17:03.039
The seed of the gospel was planted, the gospel led me to salvation, and salvation produced that's powerful.
00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:06.079
And I think I think a lot of believers get it reversed.
00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:06.640
Sure.
00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:10.079
They think I'm gonna do this to try to earn salvation.
00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:14.240
And you said yesterday, no, really, we're saved, and good works come out of that.
00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:14.480
Yeah.
00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:19.839
Like it's the overflow or it's the fruit, the result of the salvation, the saving work of the Lord.
00:17:20.319 --> 00:17:20.720
That's right.
00:17:20.880 --> 00:17:21.039
Yeah.
00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:22.960
Yeah, that's what Paul told Timothy.
00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:25.599
He's like, He saved us and he called us to a holy life.
00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:25.920
Right.
00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:28.480
He didn't call us to a holy life so that we would get saved.
00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:31.839
He saved us, and out of that salvation, he's called us to a holy life.
00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:32.720
And powerful.
00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:34.559
Our flesh distorts that, right?
00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:37.759
Like we want to be like, oh, I can get Tower of Babel.
00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:38.960
Let me get up to God.
00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:41.599
It's the latter icon on our gospel.
00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:42.000
Yeah.
00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:46.960
Which, you know, and so yeah, no, the the the good works, good works are good.
00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:48.000
They're not bad.
00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:48.400
Right.
00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:55.440
But good works become bad when we think that somehow our good works can undo all the bad we've done.
00:17:55.599 --> 00:17:55.920
Right.
00:17:56.079 --> 00:17:58.160
I mean, that's a that's a distorted gospel.
00:17:58.400 --> 00:17:59.279
Bro, that's profound.
00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:08.160
Well, yeah, and yet it's the basic, you know, elementary truth of the gospel that our good work can't save us.
00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:14.720
And so we're bearing fruit in every good work, and then Paul's still praying for them, he's still in the prayer, growing in the knowledge of God.
00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:23.119
I like the the growing, it's just this ongoing change of status, I mean, change of situation.
00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:28.160
Like I am not where I once was, yet I am not where I will one day be.
00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:28.799
Right.
00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:36.880
And there's there's humility with people who are growing, uh, there is a humility and there's a grace.
00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:41.039
Like when I'm growing, here's what I know.
00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:45.759
Man, I needed to be further along than I was.
00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:46.559
Yeah.
00:18:46.799 --> 00:18:52.880
So we know God gave me grace while I was not there, and it's only by God's grace I came here.
00:18:53.039 --> 00:19:00.319
But if you know you're growing, you're you're you're then living in the grace because you know I'm not near where I will be one day.
00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:00.640
Right.
00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:04.640
Like as long as I'm alive, there'll be more sanctification, more work to do.
00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:10.960
So growing require requires grace, and um requires grace for ourselves.
00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:11.359
Yeah.
00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:12.880
To receive it from the Lord.
00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:13.200
Yeah.
00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:19.039
Because I'm not thank thank you, God, for not leaving me where I was, and thank you for not leaving me where I am now.
00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:19.519
Right.
00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:22.559
It also requires grace uh for other people.
00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:30.160
And we we've got to be people who are growing, and growing requires grace.
00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:49.279
I mean, that and that really is the major, like you like we could go down a rabbit hole and talk about how do you measure growth, and you could talk about memorizing scripture and understanding doctrines, and there's a lot of things you think, well, you know, I'm growing in like you said last week, there's things I know now that I didn't know 10 years ago.
00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:49.920
Yeah, sure.
00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:56.079
But I I think the kind of the catalyst of all this is like where is the grace quotient in your life?
00:19:56.480 --> 00:19:58.799
Is there is it is there more of it or less of it?
00:19:58.880 --> 00:19:59.200
That's right.
00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:00.400
More of it towards yourself.
00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:05.359
I I a lot of my conversations are built around me saying you're gonna have to give yourself some grace.
00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:05.920
That's right.
00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:07.119
Because a lot of people don't.
00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:09.599
They're hard, they're harder on themselves than God is.
00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:11.359
Well, you're you're right.
00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:24.319
And you know, Paul, Paul like understood grace, it seemed more than most of us, if not all of us, but he like the closer he got to the Lord, the more grace he knew he had received from the Lord.
00:20:24.400 --> 00:20:27.759
Yeah, and because of that, he was able to give more grace too.
00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:37.440
And so I think that we know when we're growing in our knowledge of God, like we know God more, and we know more about God too, yeah, when we're growing in grace.
00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:44.559
Because for me to grow is just an admission of wow, I'm not where I needed to be.
00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:45.039
Yeah.
00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:49.039
And you know, and but neither are you, right?
00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:56.079
And so, and neither are you, and so we we all are we're constantly suspended in grace.
00:20:56.960 --> 00:20:58.559
This starts by grace, yeah.
00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:02.000
We're continually sanctified by grace, we're suspended.
00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:03.039
There's your three S's.
00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:05.599
So he starts by grace, suspended by grace.
00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:07.279
We're we're being sanctified by grace.
00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:13.359
It is a grace of God that he would save us, and it's a grace of God that he would keep saving us, which is our sanctification.
00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:13.680
Yeah.
00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:22.000
And so, I mean, what a good gift that God would not just, you know, get me taken care of for heaven and just leave me alone.
00:21:22.079 --> 00:21:22.319
Yeah.
00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:41.279
I mean, he keeps growing me and growing you, and so we've got to here's the thing, like the closer we get to the Lord, like it's not that I become it's not that I it's not only that I become aware that I need more grace, like I I'm completely dependent upon it.
00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:41.759
Right.
00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:48.319
Like I know I am just I need more grace than I than I've ever known I've needed.
00:21:48.640 --> 00:21:57.519
And I think that is, you know, the old heads, the old timers that I talk to, that you talk to, that are really walking with the Lord for a very long time.
00:21:57.680 --> 00:22:01.759
It just seems that their conversation gets to be more about grace.
00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:02.079
Yeah.
00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:04.799
And they give more grace than they used to.
00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:05.279
Right.
00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:07.359
So I want to learn from those people.
00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:16.000
I think it's I think it's that that was a all these points are really powerful, but I think that's especially powerful because it's something that you can measure in your own life.
00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:20.880
You can go, Am I actually growing in grace in my response to people and circumstances?
00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:21.839
And self.
00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:22.480
And self.
00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:23.359
That's right.
00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:24.559
That's good.
00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:26.400
So we're growing in the knowledge of God.
00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:28.720
I've gotten to know God more and more about God.
00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:30.720
And because of that I have more grace.
00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:37.359
And then he said being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience.
00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:44.480
And Paul, you know, he he was saying here like this is the next thing that I'll have people pray for me about.
00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:46.240
Hey, give me strength to endure.
00:22:46.559 --> 00:22:51.279
Being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you have may have great endurance and patience.
00:22:52.160 --> 00:23:02.240
And um you know one time I had a very encouraging note written to me by a a guy who I worked for for I worked for him for like five years.
00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:04.400
And he wrote me this note and it was kind.
00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:19.279
He said you have you have gifts and qualities that I admire he said but the one that I respect the most is perseverance because he said without that the other gifts don't matter if you don't keep going those gifts don't have any impact.
00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:19.839
Wow.
00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:28.000
And that that was many years ago when he wrote that note but I you know that that's the power of encouragement by the way like saying real things that matter to people stick with them.
00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:28.480
That's right.
00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:29.920
So do hurtful things.
00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:32.799
Hurtful things stick with people too yeah that's true.
00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:59.279
But encouraging things uh stick with people too and that guy you know it it it it gave me more strength to endure and that's why when people ask me to pray for wisdom to discern and discernment of the spirit and then strength to endure it's really a combination of a couple of these elements from Paul's prayer that he's praying for this church.
00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:02.240
And so I'll take some good cues from Paul.
00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:16.400
If Paul led by the Spirit is praying for these things for a local church and the people who are serving in it's probably a good thing for me to pray for myself and to have other people pray for me and for me to pray for them.
00:24:16.720 --> 00:24:17.279
That's right.
00:24:17.519 --> 00:24:34.400
I want you to take a minute like when we got to verse 11 uh you used the phrase old man's strength and like I wrote that in my notes because I thought that was I mean there's something to that so just like just explain that just kind of extrapolate on that for a minute.
00:24:34.640 --> 00:25:11.119
Well I mean you know you hear about old man's strength you know how your grandfather or whatever was strong I think it actually goes back I mean who knows how God kept adjusting things in humanity but you know it goes back to the uh the spies went into the land right and they came out and two of them uh were like hey we can do it yeah and the other ten were like we can't and so God told the two that said you can do it he's like when you you're you're gonna miss out on 40 years because of these other people but I'm gonna I'm gonna give you that strength back.
00:25:11.279 --> 00:25:22.720
Yeah and it it it's pretty cool sometimes I think about that when I think of the words old man strength because I'm like these two guys who trusted the Lord and because of other people lost part of their life.
00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:44.400
Yeah God gave them strength uh they ended up not losing it yeah so they had this different kind of old man strength you know and um you know of course in our house we joke about it talk about it right but I mean I think there is really something physiologically to it but I mean Paul was trying to say there's a different kind of strength.
00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:47.119
We'll see it in a couple of weeks in Colossians 1 29.
00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:53.359
He said to this end I strenuously contend with all the energy that Christ so powerfully works in me.
00:25:53.599 --> 00:26:05.920
So like um there's a different kind of strength that we get from the Lord and honestly I don't know if you can be aware of it until you need it.
00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:14.319
That's powerful yeah I think you become more well you become for sure more aware of it when you need it.
00:26:14.559 --> 00:26:24.400
But I don't know if you ever are really aware that it's there until you need it and then you realize he's given me some strength that I didn't have on my own.
00:26:24.559 --> 00:26:25.119
Yeah.
00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:39.119
And um and again I think this is why it's so wise to have older mentors in your life I mean frankly the people the mentors I have in my life don't have mentors anymore because they're so old.
00:26:40.319 --> 00:27:03.359
I mean they've told me they're like I don't when I thank them you know for spending time with me they're like one it's my joy uh two it's my calling um but also someone did this for me but I no longer have that because they've all their mentors like people don't live these guys are 20 years 25 years older than me that have been in my life a long time.
00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:04.079
Right.
00:27:04.319 --> 00:27:07.920
And the people 20 and 25 years older than them are dead.
00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:17.759
Yeah yeah and so you know I think there's something to I want to learn from older wiser people and I've been doing that a very long time by God's good gifts to me.
00:27:17.920 --> 00:27:26.640
Yeah I've had that in my life I have a lot of in my life even still and always have but um yeah we need strength that's not our normal strength.
00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:31.839
Yeah and I think you're right like there's you don't really know it until you need it.
00:27:31.920 --> 00:27:38.319
Like there's a convergence between the the crisis and your need for strength where that's awakened.
00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:38.799
Yeah.
00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:43.200
But we could talk about it all day long and someone would go I intellectually I understand that.
00:27:43.359 --> 00:27:43.759
That's right.
00:27:43.920 --> 00:27:46.240
But when you need it then you'll go oh I see the difference.
00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:47.359
That's right.
00:27:47.680 --> 00:27:58.000
And I will tell you like you know the longer I live and maybe you for you as you live like you realize a big part of strength is just strength to endure.
00:27:58.079 --> 00:27:58.400
Yeah.
00:27:58.640 --> 00:27:59.440
Just to keep going.
00:27:59.599 --> 00:28:00.079
That's right.
00:28:00.240 --> 00:28:06.960
Like Paul said here being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience.
00:28:07.119 --> 00:28:13.839
Like growing stronger has a goal and part of the goal of growing stronger is just to keep going.
00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:14.319
Right.
00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:26.000
The goal is to keep going and um I I have found that at different seasons in my life to be the hardest thing to keep going.
00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:26.559
Right.
00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:30.559
Because there's times when you feel like stopping when everyone feels like it.
00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:35.680
I think so like the people you just hit a wall you go I don't think I can do this anymore.
00:28:35.920 --> 00:28:38.880
Or want to or want to do right or want to do it.
00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:39.200
Yeah.
00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:49.680
And in those moments like how how do you what do you say or what do you do to keep yourself going when you hit that wall that's where that's where the the strength comes in that you didn't know you had.
00:28:49.920 --> 00:28:59.279
Yeah okay that's the yeah that's the I Paul Colossians chapter one verse 29 I strenuously contend with all the energy that Christ so powerful.
00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:00.160
So good.
00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:26.799
And so that's where I mean that's why Paul's praying this man I I want you guys to be aware that there's a strength beyond your own human strength like beyond your own will beyond your own stubbornness beyond your own ability to endure there's a strength that Christ gives you like that's why he said being strengthened with all power like according to his glorious might there's a strength there.
00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:38.559
That's right and you don't really know it until you maybe are in it or you're on the other side of it and you look back and say I didn't get through that by my own strength.
00:29:39.359 --> 00:30:06.240
And I I think I have I don't know maybe three or four different seasons in our staff time this morning I'm yeah we're in a psalm and I'm like hey by the way this psalm right here I got an I got it marked from oh one and oh seven and 2010 and this year like you know there's just we're gonna all have different seasons where we're gonna see God is stronger than me and he's given me some of his strength.
00:30:06.480 --> 00:30:07.119
That's right.
00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:20.240
And I always say like the proof that you're experiencing that strength is not that you it's not like you're taking an injection or have some sort of you know superhero rush it is that you get back up the next day and you live another day.
00:30:20.319 --> 00:30:20.640
Yeah.
00:30:20.799 --> 00:30:21.759
You keep showing up.
00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:22.400
That's right.
00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:24.000
That is the strength of God.
00:30:24.240 --> 00:30:43.440
You know I think on a real personal level we um I think on a real personal level it'd be really good for us to recognize that there are there are people who that we are encountering and it took all the strength they had just to get up that's right and just to keep going.
00:30:43.680 --> 00:30:44.160
So true.
00:30:44.400 --> 00:31:36.480
You know sometimes I'll see like a a young family come in or even a or a single mom on a Sunday and they'll be really late and I'll be like I'll I'll literally say I'll I'll say congratulations just for getting here man that's right super well done like um just getting up and getting going and doing it and and I I'll just add this in here just because I can you know who knows um I I I said a couple weeks ago and I I said it because I'm just sensing it right now like uh yeah it just seems to be for a lot of people I'm listening to the season is so fast and so full and frantic yeah that I'm just seeing some people get really overwhelmed young families especially yeah but I'm like hey man you you know there is a strength to just keep going and sometimes that takes a lot of strength.
00:31:36.640 --> 00:31:39.119
So give going back to give yourself some grace here.
00:31:39.279 --> 00:31:39.680
That's right.
00:31:39.839 --> 00:31:57.599
And like I said hey we had seasons that were so fast so hard didn't know how we were going to make it through I look back and I'm like thank you God that we made it through that and you end up missing a lot of it and some of it you don't but um yeah I mean doing what we do as humans living here it it gets to be a lot.
00:31:57.759 --> 00:31:58.079
It does.
00:31:58.240 --> 00:32:14.960
And so all right so we just got a few more minutes let's jump down to verse 12 where I just really love this who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light like we were disqualified but we have been qualified.
00:32:15.200 --> 00:32:31.920
Yeah like we were he he's qualified us and um that means we were disqualified bro like we think about what that means like we we didn't make it like we we were not going to be able to move forward.
00:32:32.079 --> 00:33:35.839
Yeah and um you know I gave the illustration of you know one of one of uh our kids one of my sons is in um is doing some stuff in the military and he was telling me this week about people who they they got dropped like they just didn't get to move forward in this thing and um and it's like you don't get to you don't get to keep going and uh and that's how we were like it says he was qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light and we were disqualified from that like we were not able to keep going we weren't able to get into his kingdom we were disqualified and uh there's nothing we could have done and then he qualified us yeah like he did it and you know the question is sometimes people say well why why is Christianity so exclusive why do you say Jesus is the only way and I'm like you don't understand your own depravity you don't understand your own disqualification.
00:33:36.000 --> 00:34:15.679
Yeah like what you're trying to tell me is that you were not disqualified which a lot of people believe I I'm good enough to go wherever there is next right so you don't understand your own depravity you were disqualified or you don't you don't understand what it took to overcome your own depravity like it didn't take some humanborn person nobody was qualified to do this except Jesus nobody could qualify us except the qualified one who is God himself who took on human flesh not a prophet not a good man not another sinner born into this world through the bloodline of Adam and Eve who took on human sin.
00:34:15.840 --> 00:34:28.639
No it had to be God himself who took on human flesh is the only qualified one the Messiah Jesus the Savior He's not a man he is God who became a man and um he qualified us.
00:34:28.960 --> 00:34:44.079
I mean he took all the sin that we are he lived a perfect life he died on the cross he rose again and his perfection is transferred to us like that's right I think a lot of people will go well I'm pretty good yeah there's no pretty good when you're disqualified.
00:34:44.320 --> 00:34:50.800
That's right you're you're all the way out that's right and only the perfect life death and resurrection of Jesus could fix it.
00:34:51.039 --> 00:34:51.599
That's right.
00:34:51.840 --> 00:34:59.360
And by the way we all want it to be that way like we don't want God to let pretty get into heaven because then we would take a residue of sin.
00:34:59.599 --> 00:34:59.760
Right.
00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:12.480
Even a half percent of sin, even a tenth of a zero whatever percentage of sin, we don't want that to get into heaven because then heaven there will be death again and divorce again and disease again and sickness and sadness and suffering again.
00:35:12.639 --> 00:35:15.199
We don't want any residue of sin there.
00:35:15.360 --> 00:35:22.639
So it had to be all taken away if we wanted uh heaven and we're all mad at this world that it's not heaven.
00:35:22.719 --> 00:35:28.480
We're mad that there's disease and death and destruction and floods and hurricanes and fires.
00:35:28.559 --> 00:35:38.320
We're all mad about that but sin is what has produced the brokenness in this world and so we don't want to be qualified ourselves because we're broken.
00:35:38.480 --> 00:35:50.239
So we needed him to qualify us and here's the cool thing verse 13 and 14 as we close he rescued us from the dominion of darkness and he brought us into the kingdom of the sun he loves so good.
00:35:50.719 --> 00:36:06.559
I just I love this language like Paul said two things about Jesus here he rescued us and he brought us yeah I just love like he rescued us like he he stepped into the dominion of darkness and and here this language is so loving.
00:36:06.800 --> 00:37:34.320
He brought us brought us like he he did he wasn't like there it is go get it yeah or climb that mountain or cross that bridge or do the best you swim that sea yeah I mean he was like come with me yeah I'll I'll bring you and he brought us into the kingdom of the sun he loves like he brought us he took us from the dominion darkness and he he brought us himself and I I wrote I don't bring myself to Jesus Jesus brings me to him so good I don't bring myself to Jesus Jesus brings me to himself he brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves like how good of God to just himself go get us to rescue us and bring us here and uh yeah this is this is the Jesus that we're following you know so good I mean I I I love that it like when you ended at 14 and I wrote where you it said he brought us in like I wrote he came to get us yeah you know when we couldn't get to heaven he brought heaven to us that's right you know we couldn't get up to where he was he came down to where we are that's right yeah it's the this is the gospel that we're all understanding more of and like uh we become more in awe of it yeah it becomes bigger and more beautiful the gospel doesn't get more boring the more I see it the more I understand it the more words and language and texture I put to it like this the deeper and richer it is it's bigger and more beautiful than it's ever been.
00:37:34.719 --> 00:37:56.480
And that's really our hope for everybody who listens is that the gospel would be deepened and become richer and that they did that the grace would bring them the strength of God that all this would come together in a believer's life that's right grace and strength and at the same time knowing I was disqualified but I've been rescued and brought in like all that stuff converges into the life of every believer.
00:37:56.639 --> 00:37:58.400
I think that's that's it that's our ultimate hope.
00:37:58.639 --> 00:37:59.119
That's right.
00:37:59.280 --> 00:38:15.039
This is beautiful hey thanks Dave and uh hey thanks for watching this if it's helpful for you you know like it share it subscribe to it so other people can see it if it's not helpful for you spend your time doing something better but if it's good for you we'd love to have you do that for us.
00:38:15.119 --> 00:38:19.519
Hey you're great you're loved we look forward to seeing you next time have a great week ahead
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Hey, thanks for joining us on the Rethink and Return podcast.
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We're thinking, rethinking, and returning.
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Like we just want to know what did Jesus have to say about stuff?
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How did He want us to live?
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So we're looking at a passage of scripture every week that we preach to a room of people that people are using in house churches in a community here and beyond are doing that too.
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So thanks for joining us for that.
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And as always, my amigo Davito.
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Always great to be back.
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Thanks for hanging out.
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Absolutely.
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I love that we dive into this text each time again, each time this week.
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You know, every week that we're back at it.
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Yeah, me too.
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And I think it's a good discipline.
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I think a lot of people hear a sermon once and they're like, that's it.
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So I like that we have this to return to.
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Yeah, I mean, that's the idea, right?
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Like when I grew up in church, I mean, it was great that Sunday morning, like Sunday school, I'd do one thing.
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The sermon would be on something else.
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Sunday afternoon, I would do one thing at five, and then another thing at six.
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Right.
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Tuesday night or Wednesday night, something else, something else, a lot of good stuff.
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But like I never had a place to really go.
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Let's take what we just did and go talk about it more.
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And here what we're hoping for is we got a lot of we got a lot of things on this passage of scripture.
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We're just trying to milk it because we're not going to probably be back in it again as a church.
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So we have the sermon, we have this, we have a daily devo for you to read every day.
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Really good.
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I've been reading those are really good.
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And um, and then uh, you know, then of course we have house church to sit down with a community of people, diverse people, old, young, different backgrounds, different places in your walk with Jesus, and wrestle through this and help other people grow and help ourselves.
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And then we have this for when you're driving or on a bus or on the plane or walking or whatever you're doing, just to think a little more deeply about it.
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That's right.
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All right, so here we go.
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Paul said, Colossians chapter 1, verse 9, for this reason, since the day we heard about you, we haven't started praying for you.
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What reason?
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Man, they're in the gospel work, bro.
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Yeah.
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They're doing the work.
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The previous verses, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing uh all over the world, and it's it's doing that among you.
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And Paul's like, because of this.
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He said, for this reason, we haven't stopped praying for you.
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Like when you're in the gospel work, when people are in the gospel work, man, you need to pray for them and you need people praying for you.
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Because the war's gonna build up.
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It's just all through scripture.
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It's told by ancient saints, it's a principle of the word, it's happening all around the world today.
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Uh, I mean, we see it all, opposition all through scripture for people who step into the work.
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And so you need, if you're in it, and we have a lot of people who are serving in every way, make sure you have people praying for you.
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It's one thing to not, you know, want attention or want people to, you know, elevate you or whatever, but if you're in the work, you gotta make sure you got people around you praying for you.
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That's right.
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And what are the things that you that people need to be praying for?
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How how do they pray when you say pray for the gospel work?
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Well, I mean, Paul's gonna talk a lot about it here, but you know, Paul's gonna talk about persevering and enduring.
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He's gonna talk about that a lot.
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Yep.
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You know, and so that's a big part of it.
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Help people endure and persevere.
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But he'll be talking about these prayers.
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He's gonna tell us what he prayed, which is really cool.
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And then he's like, since the day we heard about it, we haven't stopped praying, but being heard about for the gospel.
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Man, that's cool because we all want to matter.
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I mean, that's not bad.
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That's right.
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Uh, I mean, God made us that when you find something across every human being, it's it's likely gonna be linked back to the nature of God, and then flesh has corrupted it.
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And so, but we need it, whatever even flesh is corrupted, we can look it for what was the holy thing before flesh corrupted it.
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And part of that is when God made us in his image, like we matter, you know, and uh he we're we're we're cared about, we're occupying space and time made in his image.
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Now it's been corrupted, and we got to look and go, what are we trying to be heard about or known for?
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And a lot of people are trying to be known for this or this.
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But I love that Paul's like, when I heard about you, what I heard about was the gospel was your life, you know?
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I mean, that's a great thing to be heard about.
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That's right.
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And I think it's important to point out, you know, that when we talk about being known for the gospel, we don't mean being weird.
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You ought to what do you mean?
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Well, I mean, we we you know, we talked about you don't want to be a weirdo for Jesus or be a jerk for Jesus.
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Yeah.
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But there's a there's an atmosphere that someone lives their life in when they're for the gospel.
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Like it, like we talked about last week.
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It comes out in our conversation.
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We're able to take the different parts of the gospel and apply it to people's different situations.
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Yeah.
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Like that, you know, like to me, that was one of the things that as you work through these verses, that occurs to me to be about the gospel doesn't mean to be a weirdo about it.
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It just means that your life is like you're you're you have that front and center, and you're thinking about how it applies to every situation you find yourself in.
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Yeah, I mean, I I see these people are going, what I care most about in my city.
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Yeah, that's right.
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And what I care most about in my church is that I'm gonna live so the gospel of Jesus Christ will make its way into the lives of people around me, and then that God would use our church and our city to help, as was happening with them, do gospel work in other places.
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Right.
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And so I just think these people were I'm just fully committed to the gospel.
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And I think part of being fully committed to the gospel is going, how am I the aroma of Christ wherever I go?
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That's good.
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I mean, you know, does that mean I stand on the corner with a sandwich sign and tell people they're going to hell?
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I I don't think so.
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I think what it means is that I'm gonna be, I'm gonna carry the gospel into my community unashamedly, clearly, deliberately, and this is what I'm spending my life doing.
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And so they're heard about the gospel.
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So I think you can be rich, you can be poor, you can be pretty, you can be not pretty, you can be famous, you can be not famous.
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I mean, it doesn't matter where you are, you can be about the gospel, and you should be if you're a follower of Jesus.
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This is why, this is why we're here.
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So true.
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So Paul's like, I'm praying for you, and then this is what he starts praying for people.
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Yeah.
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Like, what uh, you know, one of the things that people ask me when they're like, How can I pray for you?
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This is one of the first thing Paul says here, this is one of the things I I say.
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Verse 9, he says, We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all wisdom and understanding that the spirit gives.
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Yeah, like when I when people ask me how can they pray for me, I generally say these two things.
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Um, I need uh the power to endure and persevere.
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Okay, and I need wisdom and discernment of the spirit.
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Those are the two things I pray for the most.
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Wow.
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God, would you give me the power to endure?
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And Paul's gonna talk about that in a minute.
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But then I ask for this.
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Would you would you ask that God would give me wisdom and I would discern his will through the spirit?
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And so I want to know what is God, where is God leading me?
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Where is he leading us?
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I want to discern his will.
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I want to be sensitive to the spirit.
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We're gonna walk in his word, but also how's the spirit leading us to walk in his will that aligns with his word?
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And so Paul's like, uh, we we want to do the will of God.
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Yeah, you know, that's it.
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I love that you said yesterday you already know the will of God.
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That's right.
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That was a powerful like expound on that for a minute.
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Like, what does that mean?
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Yeah, I you know, uh everybody I think wants to know what is God's will, but I I think I think we do know God's will.
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We already, always know God's will.
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Now we need the discernment of the Spirit to know how his will specifically might apply in our situation.
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But God's word has revealed his will.
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Like, I already, always know he wants me to love my wife.
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Right.
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And how he wants me to love her.
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He's told me that.
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Yep.
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So I'm gonna be on a constant sanctification toward that, but I always, already know.
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Uh I know how he wants me to lead my kids.
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I mean, there's all kinds of things in scripture to teach me.
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Now I'm always on a sanctification towards that, but I I I know I know his will for that.
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I know he wants me to work hard and provide for my family.
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I know he wants me to give financially to the gospel, through the local church.
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Like I don't have to even pray about that.
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Now I I need to certainly like I know he wants me to use my gifts, however, he's made me.
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Now I need to discern by the spirit.
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You know, how much more do you want us to give?
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Am I using my gifts in the way you want me to, where you want me to?
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Like these are all the things, but I already know his will.
00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:32.000
But I need that's why Paul was real clear here.
00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:36.799
I continually ask God to feed you with the knowledge of his will through all wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives.
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I know your will, it's in your word, but give me the discernment through the Spirit to know how to walk out your will.
00:08:43.279 --> 00:08:43.600
That's right.
00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:47.279
And I think that's really freeing for people to go the hit his word.
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There's not an area of your life that his word is not already telling you what the will of God is.
00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:51.919
That's right.
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And I I think it is really freeing because you and I grew up in an environment where they taught the will of God was hidden.
00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:00.480
People are always like, you gotta go find the will of God.
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You gotta feel like that.
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Remember that?
00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:05.200
Like they would always say, You got to get out there and find the will of God.
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It's somewhere out there.
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And I like this for me shifts the whole dynamic to say you already know it, you just need the discernment to know how it's lived out.
00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:16.080
Like there's a lot of freedom in living that way.
00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:20.159
I mean, I think, you know, we were like, Am I gonna did I go to the right or wrong university?
00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:20.559
Right.
00:09:20.639 --> 00:09:20.879
That's right.
00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:22.879
Or, you know, am I is this the right major?
00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:33.519
What is God's will for me to and I mean, we do want discernment that the spirit gives for that, but there are things that we the majority of everything we already know is in his word and we know all of his will.
00:09:33.759 --> 00:09:37.200
I need discernment of the spirit to how to to know how to walk his will out.
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Really good.
00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:46.320
So prol, so if you're praying for somebody, or if you're somebody who's in the gospel work and you need people to pray for you, this would be number one for me.
00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:46.799
Yeah.
00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:50.799
I want help me know how to walk out God's will and discern his will.
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Let me be sensitive to the spirit through this.
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So that's one prayer that I that people here pray pray for me for, and I ask them to.
00:09:58.559 --> 00:09:59.759
And then verse 10, right?
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So that you might live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way.
00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:06.879
I just think we have chosen a way of living with our life.
00:10:07.039 --> 00:10:07.440
Yeah.
00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:14.879
You know, and if you've chosen that your life is gonna be lived in, I'm gonna live along the way of pleasing the Lord.
00:10:15.120 --> 00:10:17.440
That's that's a decided path.
00:10:17.679 --> 00:10:22.240
I think it's the way we decide, am I gonna live my life to please the Lord?
00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:26.159
And um every life has a way that it is being lived.
00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:26.799
Right.
00:10:27.360 --> 00:10:31.440
So what it I think the great question is, what is the way that I am living my life?
00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:33.440
Am I living it to please the Lord?
00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:34.080
Right.
00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:42.399
And any other way I think creates a feeling of condemnation, or sometimes people live with that feeling like I'm not enough.
00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:46.879
I can't live up to this without without seeking the Lord.
00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:56.320
Don't you think that if you're gonna if you're gonna live your life in such a way to please everybody else, like the the result of that is you never feel like you measure up.
00:10:56.720 --> 00:10:57.360
Oh, I gotcha, yeah.
00:10:57.519 --> 00:10:57.679
Right?
00:10:57.759 --> 00:11:04.000
Or if you're gonna live your life, like you say, for people, possessions, pleasure, place power, yeah, possession.
00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:06.320
You know, there there's a result that that comes from.
00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:07.279
That's right, yeah.
00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:08.080
Yeah, you're right.
00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:10.960
I mean, that'll never it'll there's no other way that satisfies.
00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:13.360
But people are choosing, am I gonna live for pleasure?
00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:16.639
And if so, am I living to please myself or other people?
00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:18.080
Am I gonna live for power?
00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:25.200
How much position, how much possessions, how much, you know, platform and fame, what what's enough?
00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:32.960
Like, and God may give or not give any of those things, but the way that I'm living my life should be as a follower of Jesus.
00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:35.039
I'm living to please the Lord.
00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:39.840
Yeah, like what is pleasing to the Lord needs to be our question and our guide.
00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:40.320
Yeah.
00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:45.279
And I think we can get it upside down and go, I want to try to please the Lord so that He'll love me.
00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:48.559
But that we can't see that through the gospel that way.
00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:48.960
Right.
00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:54.480
And so the way that we see that through the gospel is He loved me even while I was a sinner.
00:11:54.639 --> 00:11:55.120
That's right.
00:11:55.360 --> 00:11:58.720
But now I love him because He loved me first, as the word says.
00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:01.440
And so, because of that, man, I just want to please Him.
00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:09.200
Just like a great marriage, I gave an illustration of Brooke, I was doing something for her that I didn't want to do, and it wouldn't have been something I would have chosen.
00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:15.840
But she wanted it done, and I, you know, immediately was like, okay, sure, I'll be glad to do that.
00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:17.120
Just because I love her.
00:12:17.279 --> 00:12:20.159
And um, but if I didn't do it, she wouldn't love me less.
00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:30.480
And so I think we have to see the Lord like through this gospel lens of man, he loves me, he's adopted me, he's sealed me.
00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:31.360
Good, man.
00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:34.879
You know, I have his identity inside of me.
00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:39.440
All that is there, but so I'm not living to please him so that he'll accept me.
00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:41.519
I'm living to please him because I love him.
00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:43.600
And I love him because he loved me first.
00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:45.039
That's powerful.
00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:49.759
It's it's power to live to live from the acceptance of the Lord instead of living for it.
00:12:49.919 --> 00:12:50.240
Yeah.
00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:50.639
Right?
00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:53.840
You just you just you start with, He loves me, he's for me.
00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:54.159
Yeah.
00:12:54.399 --> 00:12:57.440
I'm gonna let everything else that determine everything else I do.
00:12:57.519 --> 00:13:00.639
Like one of the things that you said was, is this pleasing to you?
00:13:00.799 --> 00:13:21.919
And like you kind of clicked off your calendar and you know, the the circumstances, you clicked off some practical things that people would go, I'm just gonna let my acceptance to the Lord to say, okay, I'm I'm gonna evaluate everything in my life based on the fact that I want to I want to please God because He has accepted me, because He loves me, not to earn something from it.
00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:22.799
That's right.
00:13:23.120 --> 00:13:29.600
I mean, for me to go, hey God, how am I spending my time, my life, my one short life on this planet?
00:13:29.919 --> 00:13:33.679
Am I am I doing is this is this the way you would want me to do it?
00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:39.120
Or look in my bank account, is this how you want me to spend my money?
00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:39.600
Right.
00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:43.759
And um, how you want me to, am I giving in a way that's pleasing to you?
00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:51.200
Look at my you know, my Instagram or my Facebook or look in my web browser, is all this pleasing to you?
00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:51.679
Right, right.
00:13:51.840 --> 00:14:03.200
Like I I think as a follower of Jesus, the question would, you know, I mean, you know, when I was a youth pastor growing up, kids would say, like, can I can I do this and still go to heaven?
00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:05.120
I don't know if you ever got that conversation.
00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:06.000
I got that all the time.
00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:09.519
But like, hey, can I do this thing and still go to heaven?
00:14:09.679 --> 00:14:12.399
I'm like, the question doesn't make sense, man.
00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:12.879
Right.
00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:15.200
Like that's not that's not the question.
00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:19.840
You know, I mean, for me, I don't I don't want to go, hey, got it.
00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:23.840
Um, is my search browser pleasing to you so I can go to heaven?
00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:24.320
Right.
00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:26.720
It's just, man, I I love you so much.
00:14:26.879 --> 00:14:28.080
I want to be pleasing to you.
00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:28.799
That's right.
00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:34.960
And um, I want to honor you with my money, with my time, with my body, yeah, with my mind.
00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:35.279
Yeah.
00:14:35.519 --> 00:14:37.679
So I do that just because I want to please them.
00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:39.360
I think that's the question we need to be asking.
00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:40.080
I do too.
00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:41.120
I think that you're right.
00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:50.000
Like in student ministry, that was always the question was how far away can I get from God and still know that He loves me and that I'm gonna go to heaven?
00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:54.399
When the real question is, how close can I be in the midst of all these things?
00:14:56.399 --> 00:15:03.759
What can I do that will maintain my intimacy of all things circumstances, calendars, web browser, all those things.
00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:04.320
That's right.
00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:04.639
Yeah.
00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:07.840
Yeah, I mean, that's why Hebrews says, let's throw off everything that hinders.
00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:08.080
Right.
00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:13.840
I want to get rid of this stuff because I don't want it to hinder my relationship with the Lord or him using me.
00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:18.960
So Paul goes on, hey, I'm praying for this, I'm praying for wisdom, I'm praying that you're pleasing to the Lord.
00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:21.440
I'm gonna pray that you bear fruit in every good work.
00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:33.039
And uh, you know, again, when we look at it through the lens of the gospel, we're like, oh, good works, that's bad, because you know, but that I mean, it's really great to juxtapose Ephesians 2.9 with Ephesians 2.10.
00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:36.480
You know, Ephesians 2.8.9, it's by grace you've been saved through faith.
00:15:36.559 --> 00:15:40.639
It's not of yourselves, it's a gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.
00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:44.960
But verse 10 says, we are created in Christ Jesus to do good works.
00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:45.440
Yeah.
00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:45.759
Right.
00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:50.320
So we're not saved by good works, yet we're created in Christ Jesus to do good works.
00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:50.559
Right.
00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:58.080
That's why James, Jesus' half-brother, said, uh, he's like, Can you show me your faith and not show me your good works?
00:15:58.399 --> 00:16:00.080
I say it doesn't make sense to me.
00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:03.759
And so Paul's like, I I want people to see your good works.
00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:09.120
Like, you know, let your life shine before men that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:14.879
Like, people should just see our goodness and um and the good things that we're doing.
00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:19.519
I think that's collectively as a church that we've done that for so long, which I love about us.
00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:26.399
And then collectively, I mean, and then individually, that people we should be doing good things that make people go.
00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:27.279
Yeah.
00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:29.440
What's different about that guy?
00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:31.039
What's different about that girl?
00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:34.000
And uh, you know, baptism yesterday, which was a beautiful day.
00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:36.799
We do that every couple months, have another one coming up soon.
00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:44.639
But um it's a picture like baptism is showing it something's already happened, and this is the outward picture of that.
00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:45.200
That's right.
00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:46.320
And that's what good works are.
00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:50.320
Like it's not I'm doing I'm not doing good works, so something will happen inside of me.
00:16:50.399 --> 00:16:50.559
Right.
00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:53.039
Something has happened inside of me, and I'm gonna bear fruit.
00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:53.759
That's what Paul said.
00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:55.360
I'm you're bearing the fruit of it.
00:16:55.440 --> 00:17:03.039
The seed of the gospel was planted, the gospel led me to salvation, and salvation produced that's powerful.
00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:06.079
And I think I think a lot of believers get it reversed.
00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:06.640
Sure.
00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:10.079
They think I'm gonna do this to try to earn salvation.
00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:14.240
And you said yesterday, no, really, we're saved, and good works come out of that.
00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:14.480
Yeah.
00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:19.839
Like it's the overflow or it's the fruit, the result of the salvation, the saving work of the Lord.
00:17:20.319 --> 00:17:20.720
That's right.
00:17:20.880 --> 00:17:21.039
Yeah.
00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:22.960
Yeah, that's what Paul told Timothy.
00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:25.599
He's like, He saved us and he called us to a holy life.
00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:25.920
Right.
00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:28.480
He didn't call us to a holy life so that we would get saved.
00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:31.839
He saved us, and out of that salvation, he's called us to a holy life.
00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:32.720
And powerful.
00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:34.559
Our flesh distorts that, right?
00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:37.759
Like we want to be like, oh, I can get Tower of Babel.
00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:38.960
Let me get up to God.
00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:41.599
It's the latter icon on our gospel.
00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:42.000
Yeah.
00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:46.960
Which, you know, and so yeah, no, the the the good works, good works are good.
00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:48.000
They're not bad.
00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:48.400
Right.
00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:55.440
But good works become bad when we think that somehow our good works can undo all the bad we've done.
00:17:55.599 --> 00:17:55.920
Right.
00:17:56.079 --> 00:17:58.160
I mean, that's a that's a distorted gospel.
00:17:58.400 --> 00:17:59.279
Bro, that's profound.
00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:08.160
Well, yeah, and yet it's the basic, you know, elementary truth of the gospel that our good work can't save us.
00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:14.720
And so we're bearing fruit in every good work, and then Paul's still praying for them, he's still in the prayer, growing in the knowledge of God.
00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:23.119
I like the the growing, it's just this ongoing change of status, I mean, change of situation.
00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:28.160
Like I am not where I once was, yet I am not where I will one day be.
00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:28.799
Right.
00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:36.880
And there's there's humility with people who are growing, uh, there is a humility and there's a grace.
00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:41.039
Like when I'm growing, here's what I know.
00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:45.759
Man, I needed to be further along than I was.
00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:46.559
Yeah.
00:18:46.799 --> 00:18:52.880
So we know God gave me grace while I was not there, and it's only by God's grace I came here.
00:18:53.039 --> 00:19:00.319
But if you know you're growing, you're you're you're then living in the grace because you know I'm not near where I will be one day.
00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:00.640
Right.
00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:04.640
Like as long as I'm alive, there'll be more sanctification, more work to do.
00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:10.960
So growing require requires grace, and um requires grace for ourselves.
00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:11.359
Yeah.
00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:12.880
To receive it from the Lord.
00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:13.200
Yeah.
00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:19.039
Because I'm not thank thank you, God, for not leaving me where I was, and thank you for not leaving me where I am now.
00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:19.519
Right.
00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:22.559
It also requires grace uh for other people.
00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:30.160
And we we've got to be people who are growing, and growing requires grace.
00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:49.279
I mean, that and that really is the major, like you like we could go down a rabbit hole and talk about how do you measure growth, and you could talk about memorizing scripture and understanding doctrines, and there's a lot of things you think, well, you know, I'm growing in like you said last week, there's things I know now that I didn't know 10 years ago.
00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:49.920
Yeah, sure.
00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:56.079
But I I think the kind of the catalyst of all this is like where is the grace quotient in your life?
00:19:56.480 --> 00:19:58.799
Is there is it is there more of it or less of it?
00:19:58.880 --> 00:19:59.200
That's right.
00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:00.400
More of it towards yourself.
00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:05.359
I I a lot of my conversations are built around me saying you're gonna have to give yourself some grace.
00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:05.920
That's right.
00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:07.119
Because a lot of people don't.
00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:09.599
They're hard, they're harder on themselves than God is.
00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:11.359
Well, you're you're right.
00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:24.319
And you know, Paul, Paul like understood grace, it seemed more than most of us, if not all of us, but he like the closer he got to the Lord, the more grace he knew he had received from the Lord.
00:20:24.400 --> 00:20:27.759
Yeah, and because of that, he was able to give more grace too.
00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:37.440
And so I think that we know when we're growing in our knowledge of God, like we know God more, and we know more about God too, yeah, when we're growing in grace.
00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:44.559
Because for me to grow is just an admission of wow, I'm not where I needed to be.
00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:45.039
Yeah.
00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:49.039
And you know, and but neither are you, right?
00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:56.079
And so, and neither are you, and so we we all are we're constantly suspended in grace.
00:20:56.960 --> 00:20:58.559
This starts by grace, yeah.
00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:02.000
We're continually sanctified by grace, we're suspended.
00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:03.039
There's your three S's.
00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:05.599
So he starts by grace, suspended by grace.
00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:07.279
We're we're being sanctified by grace.
00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:13.359
It is a grace of God that he would save us, and it's a grace of God that he would keep saving us, which is our sanctification.
00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:13.680
Yeah.
00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:22.000
And so, I mean, what a good gift that God would not just, you know, get me taken care of for heaven and just leave me alone.
00:21:22.079 --> 00:21:22.319
Yeah.
00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:41.279
I mean, he keeps growing me and growing you, and so we've got to here's the thing, like the closer we get to the Lord, like it's not that I become it's not that I it's not only that I become aware that I need more grace, like I I'm completely dependent upon it.
00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:41.759
Right.
00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:48.319
Like I know I am just I need more grace than I than I've ever known I've needed.
00:21:48.640 --> 00:21:57.519
And I think that is, you know, the old heads, the old timers that I talk to, that you talk to, that are really walking with the Lord for a very long time.
00:21:57.680 --> 00:22:01.759
It just seems that their conversation gets to be more about grace.
00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:02.079
Yeah.
00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:04.799
And they give more grace than they used to.
00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:05.279
Right.
00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:07.359
So I want to learn from those people.
00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:16.000
I think it's I think it's that that was a all these points are really powerful, but I think that's especially powerful because it's something that you can measure in your own life.
00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:20.880
You can go, Am I actually growing in grace in my response to people and circumstances?
00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:21.839
And self.
00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:22.480
And self.
00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:23.359
That's right.
00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:24.559
That's good.
00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:26.400
So we're growing in the knowledge of God.
00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:28.720
I've gotten to know God more and more about God.
00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:30.720
And because of that I have more grace.
00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:37.359
And then he said being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience.
00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:44.480
And Paul, you know, he he was saying here like this is the next thing that I'll have people pray for me about.
00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:46.240
Hey, give me strength to endure.
00:22:46.559 --> 00:22:51.279
Being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you have may have great endurance and patience.
00:22:52.160 --> 00:23:02.240
And um you know one time I had a very encouraging note written to me by a a guy who I worked for for I worked for him for like five years.
00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:04.400
And he wrote me this note and it was kind.
00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:19.279
He said you have you have gifts and qualities that I admire he said but the one that I respect the most is perseverance because he said without that the other gifts don't matter if you don't keep going those gifts don't have any impact.
00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:19.839
Wow.
00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:28.000
And that that was many years ago when he wrote that note but I you know that that's the power of encouragement by the way like saying real things that matter to people stick with them.
00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:28.480
That's right.
00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:29.920
So do hurtful things.
00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:32.799
Hurtful things stick with people too yeah that's true.
00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:59.279
But encouraging things uh stick with people too and that guy you know it it it it gave me more strength to endure and that's why when people ask me to pray for wisdom to discern and discernment of the spirit and then strength to endure it's really a combination of a couple of these elements from Paul's prayer that he's praying for this church.
00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:02.240
And so I'll take some good cues from Paul.
00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:16.400
If Paul led by the Spirit is praying for these things for a local church and the people who are serving in it's probably a good thing for me to pray for myself and to have other people pray for me and for me to pray for them.
00:24:16.720 --> 00:24:17.279
That's right.
00:24:17.519 --> 00:24:34.400
I want you to take a minute like when we got to verse 11 uh you used the phrase old man's strength and like I wrote that in my notes because I thought that was I mean there's something to that so just like just explain that just kind of extrapolate on that for a minute.
00:24:34.640 --> 00:25:11.119
Well I mean you know you hear about old man's strength you know how your grandfather or whatever was strong I think it actually goes back I mean who knows how God kept adjusting things in humanity but you know it goes back to the uh the spies went into the land right and they came out and two of them uh were like hey we can do it yeah and the other ten were like we can't and so God told the two that said you can do it he's like when you you're you're gonna miss out on 40 years because of these other people but I'm gonna I'm gonna give you that strength back.
00:25:11.279 --> 00:25:22.720
Yeah and it it it's pretty cool sometimes I think about that when I think of the words old man strength because I'm like these two guys who trusted the Lord and because of other people lost part of their life.
00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:44.400
Yeah God gave them strength uh they ended up not losing it yeah so they had this different kind of old man strength you know and um you know of course in our house we joke about it talk about it right but I mean I think there is really something physiologically to it but I mean Paul was trying to say there's a different kind of strength.
00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:47.119
We'll see it in a couple of weeks in Colossians 1 29.
00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:53.359
He said to this end I strenuously contend with all the energy that Christ so powerfully works in me.
00:25:53.599 --> 00:26:05.920
So like um there's a different kind of strength that we get from the Lord and honestly I don't know if you can be aware of it until you need it.
00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:14.319
That's powerful yeah I think you become more well you become for sure more aware of it when you need it.
00:26:14.559 --> 00:26:24.400
But I don't know if you ever are really aware that it's there until you need it and then you realize he's given me some strength that I didn't have on my own.
00:26:24.559 --> 00:26:25.119
Yeah.
00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:39.119
And um and again I think this is why it's so wise to have older mentors in your life I mean frankly the people the mentors I have in my life don't have mentors anymore because they're so old.
00:26:40.319 --> 00:27:03.359
I mean they've told me they're like I don't when I thank them you know for spending time with me they're like one it's my joy uh two it's my calling um but also someone did this for me but I no longer have that because they've all their mentors like people don't live these guys are 20 years 25 years older than me that have been in my life a long time.
00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:04.079
Right.
00:27:04.319 --> 00:27:07.920
And the people 20 and 25 years older than them are dead.
00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:17.759
Yeah yeah and so you know I think there's something to I want to learn from older wiser people and I've been doing that a very long time by God's good gifts to me.
00:27:17.920 --> 00:27:26.640
Yeah I've had that in my life I have a lot of in my life even still and always have but um yeah we need strength that's not our normal strength.
00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:31.839
Yeah and I think you're right like there's you don't really know it until you need it.
00:27:31.920 --> 00:27:38.319
Like there's a convergence between the the crisis and your need for strength where that's awakened.
00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:38.799
Yeah.
00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:43.200
But we could talk about it all day long and someone would go I intellectually I understand that.
00:27:43.359 --> 00:27:43.759
That's right.
00:27:43.920 --> 00:27:46.240
But when you need it then you'll go oh I see the difference.
00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:47.359
That's right.
00:27:47.680 --> 00:27:58.000
And I will tell you like you know the longer I live and maybe you for you as you live like you realize a big part of strength is just strength to endure.
00:27:58.079 --> 00:27:58.400
Yeah.
00:27:58.640 --> 00:27:59.440
Just to keep going.
00:27:59.599 --> 00:28:00.079
That's right.
00:28:00.240 --> 00:28:06.960
Like Paul said here being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience.
00:28:07.119 --> 00:28:13.839
Like growing stronger has a goal and part of the goal of growing stronger is just to keep going.
00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:14.319
Right.
00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:26.000
The goal is to keep going and um I I have found that at different seasons in my life to be the hardest thing to keep going.
00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:26.559
Right.
00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:30.559
Because there's times when you feel like stopping when everyone feels like it.
00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:35.680
I think so like the people you just hit a wall you go I don't think I can do this anymore.
00:28:35.920 --> 00:28:38.880
Or want to or want to do right or want to do it.
00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:39.200
Yeah.
00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:49.680
And in those moments like how how do you what do you say or what do you do to keep yourself going when you hit that wall that's where that's where the the strength comes in that you didn't know you had.
00:28:49.920 --> 00:28:59.279
Yeah okay that's the yeah that's the I Paul Colossians chapter one verse 29 I strenuously contend with all the energy that Christ so powerful.
00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:00.160
So good.
00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:26.799
And so that's where I mean that's why Paul's praying this man I I want you guys to be aware that there's a strength beyond your own human strength like beyond your own will beyond your own stubbornness beyond your own ability to endure there's a strength that Christ gives you like that's why he said being strengthened with all power like according to his glorious might there's a strength there.
00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:38.559
That's right and you don't really know it until you maybe are in it or you're on the other side of it and you look back and say I didn't get through that by my own strength.
00:29:39.359 --> 00:30:06.240
And I I think I have I don't know maybe three or four different seasons in our staff time this morning I'm yeah we're in a psalm and I'm like hey by the way this psalm right here I got an I got it marked from oh one and oh seven and 2010 and this year like you know there's just we're gonna all have different seasons where we're gonna see God is stronger than me and he's given me some of his strength.
00:30:06.480 --> 00:30:07.119
That's right.
00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:20.240
And I always say like the proof that you're experiencing that strength is not that you it's not like you're taking an injection or have some sort of you know superhero rush it is that you get back up the next day and you live another day.
00:30:20.319 --> 00:30:20.640
Yeah.
00:30:20.799 --> 00:30:21.759
You keep showing up.
00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:22.400
That's right.
00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:24.000
That is the strength of God.
00:30:24.240 --> 00:30:43.440
You know I think on a real personal level we um I think on a real personal level it'd be really good for us to recognize that there are there are people who that we are encountering and it took all the strength they had just to get up that's right and just to keep going.
00:30:43.680 --> 00:30:44.160
So true.
00:30:44.400 --> 00:31:36.480
You know sometimes I'll see like a a young family come in or even a or a single mom on a Sunday and they'll be really late and I'll be like I'll I'll literally say I'll I'll say congratulations just for getting here man that's right super well done like um just getting up and getting going and doing it and and I I'll just add this in here just because I can you know who knows um I I I said a couple weeks ago and I I said it because I'm just sensing it right now like uh yeah it just seems to be for a lot of people I'm listening to the season is so fast and so full and frantic yeah that I'm just seeing some people get really overwhelmed young families especially yeah but I'm like hey man you you know there is a strength to just keep going and sometimes that takes a lot of strength.
00:31:36.640 --> 00:31:39.119
So give going back to give yourself some grace here.
00:31:39.279 --> 00:31:39.680
That's right.
00:31:39.839 --> 00:31:57.599
And like I said hey we had seasons that were so fast so hard didn't know how we were going to make it through I look back and I'm like thank you God that we made it through that and you end up missing a lot of it and some of it you don't but um yeah I mean doing what we do as humans living here it it gets to be a lot.
00:31:57.759 --> 00:31:58.079
It does.
00:31:58.240 --> 00:32:14.960
And so all right so we just got a few more minutes let's jump down to verse 12 where I just really love this who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light like we were disqualified but we have been qualified.
00:32:15.200 --> 00:32:31.920
Yeah like we were he he's qualified us and um that means we were disqualified bro like we think about what that means like we we didn't make it like we we were not going to be able to move forward.
00:32:32.079 --> 00:33:35.839
Yeah and um you know I gave the illustration of you know one of one of uh our kids one of my sons is in um is doing some stuff in the military and he was telling me this week about people who they they got dropped like they just didn't get to move forward in this thing and um and it's like you don't get to you don't get to keep going and uh and that's how we were like it says he was qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light and we were disqualified from that like we were not able to keep going we weren't able to get into his kingdom we were disqualified and uh there's nothing we could have done and then he qualified us yeah like he did it and you know the question is sometimes people say well why why is Christianity so exclusive why do you say Jesus is the only way and I'm like you don't understand your own depravity you don't understand your own disqualification.
00:33:36.000 --> 00:34:15.679
Yeah like what you're trying to tell me is that you were not disqualified which a lot of people believe I I'm good enough to go wherever there is next right so you don't understand your own depravity you were disqualified or you don't you don't understand what it took to overcome your own depravity like it didn't take some humanborn person nobody was qualified to do this except Jesus nobody could qualify us except the qualified one who is God himself who took on human flesh not a prophet not a good man not another sinner born into this world through the bloodline of Adam and Eve who took on human sin.
00:34:15.840 --> 00:34:28.639
No it had to be God himself who took on human flesh is the only qualified one the Messiah Jesus the Savior He's not a man he is God who became a man and um he qualified us.
00:34:28.960 --> 00:34:44.079
I mean he took all the sin that we are he lived a perfect life he died on the cross he rose again and his perfection is transferred to us like that's right I think a lot of people will go well I'm pretty good yeah there's no pretty good when you're disqualified.
00:34:44.320 --> 00:34:50.800
That's right you're you're all the way out that's right and only the perfect life death and resurrection of Jesus could fix it.
00:34:51.039 --> 00:34:51.599
That's right.
00:34:51.840 --> 00:34:59.360
And by the way we all want it to be that way like we don't want God to let pretty get into heaven because then we would take a residue of sin.
00:34:59.599 --> 00:34:59.760
Right.
00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:12.480
Even a half percent of sin, even a tenth of a zero whatever percentage of sin, we don't want that to get into heaven because then heaven there will be death again and divorce again and disease again and sickness and sadness and suffering again.
00:35:12.639 --> 00:35:15.199
We don't want any residue of sin there.
00:35:15.360 --> 00:35:22.639
So it had to be all taken away if we wanted uh heaven and we're all mad at this world that it's not heaven.
00:35:22.719 --> 00:35:28.480
We're mad that there's disease and death and destruction and floods and hurricanes and fires.
00:35:28.559 --> 00:35:38.320
We're all mad about that but sin is what has produced the brokenness in this world and so we don't want to be qualified ourselves because we're broken.
00:35:38.480 --> 00:35:50.239
So we needed him to qualify us and here's the cool thing verse 13 and 14 as we close he rescued us from the dominion of darkness and he brought us into the kingdom of the sun he loves so good.
00:35:50.719 --> 00:36:06.559
I just I love this language like Paul said two things about Jesus here he rescued us and he brought us yeah I just love like he rescued us like he he stepped into the dominion of darkness and and here this language is so loving.
00:36:06.800 --> 00:37:34.320
He brought us brought us like he he did he wasn't like there it is go get it yeah or climb that mountain or cross that bridge or do the best you swim that sea yeah I mean he was like come with me yeah I'll I'll bring you and he brought us into the kingdom of the sun he loves like he brought us he took us from the dominion darkness and he he brought us himself and I I wrote I don't bring myself to Jesus Jesus brings me to him so good I don't bring myself to Jesus Jesus brings me to himself he brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves like how good of God to just himself go get us to rescue us and bring us here and uh yeah this is this is the Jesus that we're following you know so good I mean I I I love that it like when you ended at 14 and I wrote where you it said he brought us in like I wrote he came to get us yeah you know when we couldn't get to heaven he brought heaven to us that's right you know we couldn't get up to where he was he came down to where we are that's right yeah it's the this is the gospel that we're all understanding more of and like uh we become more in awe of it yeah it becomes bigger and more beautiful the gospel doesn't get more boring the more I see it the more I understand it the more words and language and texture I put to it like this the deeper and richer it is it's bigger and more beautiful than it's ever been.
00:37:34.719 --> 00:37:56.480
And that's really our hope for everybody who listens is that the gospel would be deepened and become richer and that they did that the grace would bring them the strength of God that all this would come together in a believer's life that's right grace and strength and at the same time knowing I was disqualified but I've been rescued and brought in like all that stuff converges into the life of every believer.
00:37:56.639 --> 00:37:58.400
I think that's that's it that's our ultimate hope.
00:37:58.639 --> 00:37:59.119
That's right.
00:37:59.280 --> 00:38:15.039
This is beautiful hey thanks Dave and uh hey thanks for watching this if it's helpful for you you know like it share it subscribe to it so other people can see it if it's not helpful for you spend your time doing something better but if it's good for you we'd love to have you do that for us.
00:38:15.119 --> 00:38:19.519
Hey you're great you're loved we look forward to seeing you next time have a great week ahead
