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Howdy all, welcome back to the Preacher Man Podcast.
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I'm Bland Crane, the Preacher Man.
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Um hope you had a great week so far.
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We're recording this on Friday and really excited about it because um got a pretty eventful weekend and starting of a new week coming up for uh us and my family.
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Um get to go to a a wedding.
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One of my daughter's high school friends and still and college friend for that matter was is getting married.
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We get to go and and and watch that, and my daughter's gonna be a bridesmaid in the wedding, so that'll be an extra bonus.
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And then we'll have some other things happening, of course, on Sunday.
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We'll be worshiping here at Northcrest.
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And then uh Sunday evening I will be uh preaching at the Westside Church of Christ with uh Brother Willis Ratcliffe and the congregation that meets there.
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It is always, always a wonderful experience to go to West Side and worship with them, sing with them, pray with them, and um I hope that my uh lesson that I will be presenting will be something that will be worthwhile, uh encouraging and uplifting.
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So we are in the middle of well, yeah, well I can say that we're in the middle of our new series of uh Fix and 26 theme.
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Uh we've been focusing on the relationships of the chord of three strands.
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And last Sunday I concluded that part of the lesson with the subject of or with the understanding of what happens when the new you is revealed to your friends.
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And um many times we there is an assumption out there that many times when we give our lives to Christ, when we obey the gospel, we have to um shun the people in the world.
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Uh there's even biblical scripture that if you were to I guess you could say misinterpret it, it would say that you know we're we're called to be um not in the uh in the world but not of the world.
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In other words, uh the things that we have done in the past when we were um a slave to sin we don't do anymore.
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And so part of that some and I can see how some of that could be uh interpreted to saying, well, you've got to shun your friends and remove and and and not be friends with the people of the world because, you know, uh the bad influences.
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And I I I I kind of wanted to bring in that verse in Corinthians where uh Paul writes that uh bad company corrupts good morals.
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And I didn't want to go there uh particularly because part of our uh new life, uh part of the new you is to show yourself, reveal yourself, and let your friends who are your real friends and or family members or co-workers experience that new you and in turn will want to be able to follow in your footsteps.
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They're gonna want to know why you are the way you are now, and ex and and all those good things that come from being a Christian.
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That good example, that uh that that uh that that that integrity that you have, you know, it's and it's not it it's not like you are uh acting like you're better than them or you think you have something over them or anything like that.
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You're not you're not supposed to be self-righteous, you're supposed to be just righteous.
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And so this new you is um should be attractive.
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This new you should be um inspiring.
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And this new you should get people's attention.
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And you can't do that if you are um not associating with not being around family and co-workers and friends to be that new example.
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When you become a Christian and you change your ways and it has an effect on you, the Holy Spirit is living inside of you, it's gonna get noticed.
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At least it should.
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We're not supposed to become hermits, we're supposed to become ambassadors.
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And so um this morning I'm going to uh go ahead and roll the sermon that we looked at last Sunday, titled The New You based off of Second Corinthians 5, verses 14 through 18.
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And after that, we'll be back for some closing thoughts.
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Open your Bibles or hope you still have your Bibles turned on to 2 Corinthians 5.
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2nd Corinthians 5, the verses that were read will be what we will be looking into this morning.
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I appreciate uh also the uh privilege to be able to lead a communion, uh lead in our Lord's Supper.
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Um, every so often the opportunity is given to me at a very short notice, and uh I'm always thankful to be able to be a part of that as well.
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Many of you remember um, many of you remember Duck Dynasty's uh founder, Phil Robertson.
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He's no longer with us anymore, the Duck Commander.
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Um many of you know that uh I guess you could call him Brother Robertson because he was a member of the church.
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He was um a very, very outgoing, unashamed uh leader in the church, did a lot of good for uh for his uh church and for us in general.
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And we all know his story.
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A movie was made about his life story and his biography, and he wrote a biography about how he uh turned from being a heathen as he called himself to a Christian.
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And one of those stories, and what's interesting about this is that I he talks about it in his book, but he gives more detail about what happened to him just, I mean, it wasn't weeks after he became a Christian, weeks after he reconnected with his wife and his boys, because uh he left and uh they had to they had to fend for themselves for a while, and while he was out finding himself, uh he was able to realize that not only did he need his wife and his family, he needed help.
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And so a preacher came and studied with him, and after a while he obeyed the gospel, became a Christian, and never looked back, many of what he was saying.
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But shortly after all that took place, he really, I guess you could say he really had his one of, he faced one of his first temptations.
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His old drinking buddies finally found him.
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Everything had been, when his wife started over after he left her, he she put everything, Miss K put everything in her name.
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And so really Phil was off the radar.
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I mean, he just, you know, kind of for the most part disappeared.
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And when they and when they reconciled their marriage and he moved back into the house where her and the boys were living, he didn't change anything about that.
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He just kind of said, I'm gonna I still think I want to stay below the radar.
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Well, his old drinking buddies found him one night.
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And they were, hey, glad to see you.
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Didn't know if you were still alive or not, etc.
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etc.
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He goes, Come on, Phil, let's get in the truck.
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Let's go out to the places where we would go when we were before all this, and let's knock a few back.
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Let's do this and that.
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And Phil tells in a couple of videos and a couple of podcasts, he basically the conversation went something to the point of boys, the Phil Robertson that you're looking for died, and he ain't here no more.
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He said, You're looking at a new Phil Robertson, and this Phil Robertson is going nowhere with any of you ever again because he knew how powerful that temptation would be.
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Now we are looking into a uh starting off this series of of uh of understanding what it means to uh work on our relationships, to fix our relationships.
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We uh well last Sunday we started a new series with the Court of Three Strands analogy that's found in the Old Testament, and as we start this new lesson on a new you, I want you to think about this question.
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What is one of those old habits that you had previously before you made Jesus Christ your Lord and Master?
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What was an old habit or a reaction that God has already removed from your life that changed the way your friends, your co-workers, maybe even some of your family members saw.
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That's what I want you to think about.
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Phil chose to ostracize himself, to remove himself from those men, not because necessarily he was weak, and not necessarily because his buddies were just evil.
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He did not want to be around the temptation that they were offering.
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Bible says, you run from the devil, flee from the devil, he will flee from you.
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Phil knew that in his state, in his present, the state that he was in, he probably would not have been able to fight off that temptation.
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So he told his buddies to hit the road.
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Now, Phil will also tell you that 12 years later, one of his buddies came back and said, You remember that night you said you had died?
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What did you mean by that?
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And Phil was able to sit down with him, study with him, and baptize him into Christ.
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That's a really neat little story.
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In Corinthians, Paul explains that Christ's death for sin changes the way he regards people.
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Instead of looking at each person as a mere human being, Paul says, now we are challenged to view those who are in Christ as something entirely different from what they were in the past.
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Those who are in Christ are those who have faith in him.
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Their sins have been forgiven by Christ's death in their place.
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And so such a person is literally a new creature.
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Those in Christ have become something that no one has ever seen before.
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Almost brand new.
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Their identity has changed from being an enemy of God, a fallen enemy of God, to a version of themselves that is associated with the righteousness of Christ.
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That's who they are now.
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So many of you can relate to this idea of a new you.
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You recall the moment that you got convicted that the message, that the study convinced you that you were living in sin, that you were separated from God, and you knew that you needed to correct this problem immediately.
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Many of you remember your baptism and what all that took place, and what took place after you came out of the water.
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My message to you this morning is that part of that coming out of the water and that new life, that new you, doesn't necessarily mean that you have to do anything drastic when it comes to your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family members.
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Who knows?
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God may have put you there for a specific reason.
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Because you know that you've changed, but they're only going to see the change in your life unless you're around them, with them, surrounding yourself with them.
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When we think about this in the in the verses that we're going to look at, what Paul says something, it kind of makes me think about uh what compels, what motivates, what pushes or drives the act of love down the road of life?
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What propels it?
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What moves it?
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Paul says in the text that it is Christ's love that compels us.
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Look at verse 14 of 1 Corinthians 5, um, where he says that for the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all have died.
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And he died for all, so that those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for him.
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Paul says the motivation behind this is that explains and demonstrates a brand new you or a new you in general isn't driven by a new set of rules that you have to follow.
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It's not driven by a special religious performance where you, in many ways, try to be something that you're really not.
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It's driven simply by the love of Christ.
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The love of Christ and what he did for us is the driving force that calls us to do all these things that might be different now than it was then before you became a Christian.
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I know I've told this story hundreds of times, but when I was little, I would joke with my mom about who she loved the most.
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And I'd go down the list of all my brothers.
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Mom, do you love me more than Terry?
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Yes, Blan, I love you more than Terry.
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Mom, do you love me more than Randy?
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Yes, Blan, I love you more than Randy.
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Mama, do you love me more than dad?
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Don't tell him, but yes, Bland, I love you more than dad.
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Well, I was just, I mean, I'm oh man, mama loves me.
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Mama, do you love me more than God?
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Mom put the dish towel down, laid it by the sink, turned around and walked to the table where I was sitting, eating my chicken pot pie for lunch.
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Put her hands on her knees, bent down so she could look me right in the eye.
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And says, baby, it's because I love God I can love you.
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I'll never forget it.
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Probably gonna put it on her tombstone anyway if I ever have to get a chance to do that.
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But the point is, is that when you realize Christ died for you, there should be a priority shift.
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And that priority shift, it's real simple.
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It's gonna leave self-interest and go to a new form of interest called Christ's interest.
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So if it's important to Christ, then it's gonna be important to you.
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If it's something important enough that Jesus to say it more than once, repeat it.
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If anybody wrote about it in God's word, then it's important to you.
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It's what helps us reflect Jesus in our lives.
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So that this brand new you won't look like some self-righteous snob.
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Instead, you come, you just get a little softer around the edges, you get a little more, you get a little uh a better attitude, um, more joy, more more uh being uh happy with what you got.
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And your coworkers see it, your friends see it, your buddies at school see it.
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Maybe even, dare I say, some of your family members see it.
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There should be a change coming in you as you start your journey as a Christian.
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When your friends and your coworkers notice it changing you, it should it should look like you've suddenly become, it shouldn't look like you've become better than them.
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It should look like you've suddenly become just more loving than you were before.
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This new you might make you, well, it should make you more compassionate.
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And here's a little warning sign.
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If the new you makes you less compassionate, then you well, I wrote you have the wrong version of Christianity.
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You that's not Christianity at all.
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If the new you makes you less compassionate, you've you've been reading the wrong book, been worshiping the wrong Lord.
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You need to get back and maybe review some things.
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And this new you has a new kind of nature to it.
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He says in verse 17 of 1 Corinthians 5.
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Says therefore, if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation.
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The old things have passed away.
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Behold, the new things have come.
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Being new doesn't mean changing your personality.
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Being new doesn't mean that you have to change your hobbies.
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I mean, unless your hobbies are really bad.
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I mean, if you something, if you know, if you got some bad habits, yeah, you got to get rid of them.
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But the point is that the new you shouldn't change your sense of humor.
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It didn't change mine.
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The new you means your core identity has moved, like I said, from self to Christ.
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People will notice.
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They should notice.
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People will see a different reaction to things like stress.
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They should see a difference in the way you talk to others.
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They should see Christians, church, they should see a difference in the way we talk to each other.
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The decisions that you make on that board or in that office before, the decisions should be different now that you are a child of God.
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They should have that they should see maybe that you are being, you have a little more peace in your life.
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Often we feel like we have to double down and do even extra more than what Phil did.
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And that is when I become a Christian, I've got to just completely shun all my former friends who may or may not have been a bad influence, who may or may not have led me astray.
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I mean, they're my buddies, they're not perfect, but still, I'm a Christian now.
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I've got to say no to the world and everything in it.
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But our friends are supposed to see the new you.
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We have something new that makes us more significant.
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Very simply put, we're called to be ambassadors, not called to turn ourselves into little hermits.
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Y'all know what a hermit is?
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Someone who becomes just totally, you know, exclusive, goes off and hides in the hills, turns off all the phones and computers and lives off the land, you know, just you know, hermit.
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No, that's not what we're called to be.
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We're called to be ambassadors.
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Look at verse 18 of chapter 5.
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Now, all of these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us a ministry of what?
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Say it with me.
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Reconciliation.
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I thought we had, I thought we were supposed to have the ministry of the gospel.
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Yeah.
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The gospel is all about reconciliation.
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I thought the gospel was the good news of Jesus Christ.
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Uh-huh.
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And part of that good news of Jesus Christ is that He has come to seek and save the lost.
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He has come to reconcile you.
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God didn't save you to take you out of the world.
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He saved you to put you back in it as His ambassador.
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You don't have to lose your friends.
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You don't have to lose your co-workers.
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You don't have to lose your buddies at school.
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You don't have to lose any of your family members.
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In fact, they are the very people that you are now equipped to be able to love deeper.
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When someone is Christ-centered and has that kind of love, you work where you're planted.
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The new you is constantly, should be constantly looking for new ways to heal broken relationships, to bring peace in storms of strife, to show grace when the world is doing anything but being graceful.
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You are one of those strands that is called to work on that relationship while you're staying connected to the source.
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That's called being an ambassador.
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That's called having a ministry of reconciliation.
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That strand gets tighter and winds and winds and winds, and you just start and you collect more and more and more.
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So what's the takeaway this morning?
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Real simple.
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First of all, don't what do we teach our little kids?
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Hide it under a bushel.
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No.
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I'm gonna let it shine.
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Don't hide it, shine it.
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You don't have to leave your workplace, you don't have to leave your school, you don't have to leave your home, you don't have to uh uh banish all your friends to be saved.
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You're there for a reason.
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You're there for a reason.
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People will notice the new you when they see you responding to them with grace instead of judgment.
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That's evidence of love in your life.
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Your new perspective and this new you will have a drive to really and do your best to try to fix the relationships in your life, not in them.
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We're not shunning, we're trying to collect more.
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Now they got to be willing to work with.
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I mean, they I mean, you know, what's the whole saying, lead a horse for water, can't make them drink?
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That kind of thing.
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They gotta be willing to be, they gotta be receptive and everything else.
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But that doesn't stop you from trying.
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That doesn't stop you from doing all these things.
00:29:51.440 --> 00:29:55.519
With this whole series of lessons is based around the core to three strands.
00:29:55.599 --> 00:30:01.119
And and what you need to remember, this that this new you is part of those strands.
00:30:01.680 --> 00:30:06.000
You're never meant to be a lone a strand by yourself.
00:30:06.960 --> 00:30:10.720
A single strand of rope can be broken really, really easy.
00:30:10.880 --> 00:30:21.680
But when you and your friends and Jesus are all woven together and that bond is nice and good, it is almost impossible to be broken and snapped into.
00:30:22.160 --> 00:30:24.799
You so don't pull away from your friends.
00:30:25.039 --> 00:30:34.559
Don't don't uh don't give up on your family members, don't give up on your co-workers, don't give up on that person who you that one.
00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:37.039
I know each and every one of you have one person, you know, man.
00:30:37.119 --> 00:30:43.759
If I could just get them to come to church, you don't you don't give up on them.
00:30:44.160 --> 00:30:53.119
You don't stop, you don't pull away from your friends, you find a way to be that influence in their lives.
00:30:54.799 --> 00:30:55.759
Good, I got two minutes.
00:30:55.839 --> 00:30:57.119
I can close with this.
00:31:04.799 --> 00:31:06.240
But it's really, really good.
00:31:07.759 --> 00:31:10.000
This is this is the invitation, really.
00:31:10.559 --> 00:31:14.000
So there's a fellow by the name of Joey Chestnut.
00:31:14.240 --> 00:31:16.000
Anyone know who Joey Chestnut is?
00:31:16.240 --> 00:31:18.319
You probably, if you didn't know, you would miss him.
00:31:18.559 --> 00:31:29.279
Joey Chestnut holds the world record for eating the most hot dogs in a 10-minute time span.
00:31:30.400 --> 00:31:42.480
Last year, Joey ate 70 and a half hot dogs in 10 minutes and a half a second.
00:31:44.559 --> 00:31:53.759
That that is that is that is like I don't know, what, seven or eight hot dogs for every three or eight or eight seconds?
00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:57.279
I can't, I'm the math is just still turning around.
00:31:57.599 --> 00:32:02.559
Now, the reason why this got my attention is because hey, I'm I'm like a good hot dog.
00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:11.039
Especially when you got some chili on it and it fixed up on ice and everything else, but man, that's a lot of hot dogs in ten minutes.
00:32:12.160 --> 00:32:14.799
So they asked him a question one time.
00:32:14.880 --> 00:32:17.599
They kept, Joey, why do you do it?
00:32:18.079 --> 00:32:25.200
Why do you keep coming back every year to try to uh eat more hot dogs and break the record?
00:32:26.240 --> 00:32:27.599
You know what he said?
00:32:29.039 --> 00:32:45.279
He said, This is my mission to eat hot dogs and chicken wings faster than anybody else.
00:32:45.440 --> 00:32:47.200
That's the mission I'm on.
00:32:48.559 --> 00:33:03.839
And then he said, and the second reason why I do it is that eating the most amount of hot dogs and chicken wings in ten minutes, that's what gives me significance.
00:33:16.319 --> 00:33:18.319
What's your mission in life?
00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:21.759
Do you know?
00:33:22.240 --> 00:33:23.200
You have one?
00:33:23.519 --> 00:33:25.519
Have you thought about that that way?
00:33:26.319 --> 00:33:28.000
What's your mission in life?
00:33:29.759 --> 00:33:31.359
Here's another question.
00:33:33.039 --> 00:33:38.799
What gives you significance?
00:33:41.759 --> 00:33:44.240
Not many people can say it's hot dog and chicken wings.
00:33:45.279 --> 00:33:46.799
Have you thought about that?
00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:50.000
What gives your life significance?
00:33:50.160 --> 00:33:51.599
What gives you significance?
00:33:54.160 --> 00:33:59.599
Paul Paul closes out chapter five this way in verse two to one.
00:33:59.920 --> 00:34:27.760
He said, He, God, who made him, Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, here we go, mission and significance, I would submit to you, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
00:34:30.079 --> 00:34:34.800
That right there is what you call a gos the gospel in one sentence.
00:35:18.800 --> 00:35:24.320
Um it's no secret that I'm a big fan of the Robertson family.
00:35:24.559 --> 00:35:27.360
Um I'm a big fan of um what they do.
00:35:27.519 --> 00:35:31.599
They have an unashamed podcast that is listened to often.
00:35:33.039 --> 00:35:35.360
And uh this gets talked about a lot.
00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:48.000
And when so I told the story of how Phil basically told his his old drinking buddies that the Phil Robertson that they were looking for is dead and gone.
00:35:48.320 --> 00:35:51.920
He got buried, referring to as baptism.
00:35:52.719 --> 00:35:59.519
And um he's not that way no more, and he's not gonna be hanging around with them no more.
00:35:59.599 --> 00:36:04.159
If they're going to do those kinds of things, he's not gonna be a part of it.
00:36:04.480 --> 00:36:07.360
This is a a brand new person they're looking at.
00:36:09.920 --> 00:36:15.760
And that according to Phil, that really uh threw them for a loop.
00:36:16.719 --> 00:36:48.000
But it's important to remember that while Phil did not associate with them because of he knew the power and how and how big that temptation would have been for him not to go back to the boozing and the drinking and the drugging, that he did for all terms and purposes, disassociate himself from them, but it wasn't because of the people, it was because of the temptation.
00:36:48.800 --> 00:37:08.719
And he makes a point to talk about the fact that twelve years later, one of his best one of his best buddies who he hang around with during that time, came to him later on and and asked him, He says, What did you mean by that whole thing of being buried and no longer going to be running around and and and boozing boozing and drinking with us?
00:37:09.679 --> 00:37:24.159
And through that question, Phil was able to um study with him, show him what the Bible was all about, show him who Jesus was all about, and was able to baptize one of his closest friends.
00:37:25.519 --> 00:37:31.760
And and and so it it worked out in the end for both Phil and one of his buddies.
00:37:34.880 --> 00:37:44.400
Sometimes it's gonna take people a while to appreciate this new you.
00:37:47.039 --> 00:38:14.480
This world will cause us to lose faith and trust in people simply because too many times we have heard, we have seen, we've probably even said it, we're turning over a new leaf and then we don't do any of those things that we say we're doing we we just we just revert back.
00:38:16.480 --> 00:38:21.119
Now that's not necessarily a a bad thing.
00:38:21.199 --> 00:38:33.840
I mean w anyone who will tell you that after they're a Christian after they became a Christian, they no longer had any problems or issues or fell back into patience, they're they're they're gonna be lying to you.
00:38:35.119 --> 00:38:54.800
But just like we understand that the Christian faith is not a sprint, it's a marathon, we evolve, and I know that's probably a a word that doesn't like to be talked about amongst uh Christian people and church people, but we do evolve into something that is new.
00:38:56.239 --> 00:39:03.599
And if it's done right through the Lord, through the Bible, through the Holy Spirit, it's gonna get noticed.
00:39:05.440 --> 00:39:11.119
The change that people see in you, like I said before, should be attractive.
00:39:12.719 --> 00:39:27.039
And it should open doors for you both in your Christian walk and in opportunities to talk about how you got how you were saved by the blood of Jesus.
00:39:28.320 --> 00:39:29.679
And that's what's important.
00:39:30.559 --> 00:39:34.559
This new you is supposed to bring people to Christ.
00:39:39.599 --> 00:39:40.880
I appreciate all the feedback.
00:39:40.960 --> 00:39:48.000
Um I got a lot of good feedback from um the some of the podcasts that I've put on recently, and uh I'm thankful.
00:39:48.159 --> 00:39:49.920
I'm thankful for all my listeners.
00:39:50.079 --> 00:39:54.400
I would love to hear from you, and uh anytime you want to contact me, you can.
00:39:54.639 --> 00:39:59.519
We um my email address is preacherman1178 at gmail.com.
00:39:59.840 --> 00:40:03.760
That's preacherman1178 at gmail.
00:40:04.880 --> 00:40:07.039
And just send me a little note.
00:40:08.079 --> 00:40:11.280
Um if you have a question, I'd love to be able to try to answer it.
00:40:11.360 --> 00:40:14.400
Maybe it can maybe it can be a topic of conversation on our podcast.
00:40:14.559 --> 00:40:17.119
Maybe we can uh develop a study into that.
00:40:17.280 --> 00:40:20.079
I don't know, but um I'd love to hear from you.
00:40:20.239 --> 00:40:23.679
Please contact me and let me know what you think about the show.
00:40:24.000 --> 00:40:28.960
And um I hope that uh this weekend will be a good weekend for you.
00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:40.639
The title of this uh coming Sunday's sermon will is called The Third Strand at Work.
00:40:42.480 --> 00:41:10.639
And we're gonna be focusing on something that it may not be a very deep theological discussion, but it will be a very practical one and in understanding what does it mean to be a Christian employee, but also what does it mean to be a Christian boss, manager, supervisor, and in the workforce today.
00:41:12.400 --> 00:41:24.559
And I hope that uh it will be uh something that we can all learn from and pull from and use uh not only in the next coming weeks, but in our daily walk as Christians.
00:41:24.800 --> 00:41:26.880
This is the Preacher Man signing off.
00:41:27.039 --> 00:41:33.280
Hope you have a blessed day, and always remember who you are and whose you are.
00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:22.719
Howdy all, welcome back to the Preacher Man Podcast.
00:00:22.800 --> 00:00:24.480
I'm Bland Crane, the Preacher Man.
00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:26.879
Um hope you had a great week so far.
00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:41.920
We're recording this on Friday and really excited about it because um got a pretty eventful weekend and starting of a new week coming up for uh us and my family.
00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:44.880
Um get to go to a a wedding.
00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:51.759
One of my daughter's high school friends and still and college friend for that matter was is getting married.
00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:59.200
We get to go and and and watch that, and my daughter's gonna be a bridesmaid in the wedding, so that'll be an extra bonus.
00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:04.239
And then we'll have some other things happening, of course, on Sunday.
00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:06.480
We'll be worshiping here at Northcrest.
00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:18.239
And then uh Sunday evening I will be uh preaching at the Westside Church of Christ with uh Brother Willis Ratcliffe and the congregation that meets there.
00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:37.519
It is always, always a wonderful experience to go to West Side and worship with them, sing with them, pray with them, and um I hope that my uh lesson that I will be presenting will be something that will be worthwhile, uh encouraging and uplifting.
00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:48.879
So we are in the middle of well, yeah, well I can say that we're in the middle of our new series of uh Fix and 26 theme.
00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:56.319
Uh we've been focusing on the relationships of the chord of three strands.
00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:20.879
And last Sunday I concluded that part of the lesson with the subject of or with the understanding of what happens when the new you is revealed to your friends.
00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:39.360
And um many times we there is an assumption out there that many times when we give our lives to Christ, when we obey the gospel, we have to um shun the people in the world.
00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:54.879
Uh there's even biblical scripture that if you were to I guess you could say misinterpret it, it would say that you know we're we're called to be um not in the uh in the world but not of the world.
00:02:55.039 --> 00:03:04.080
In other words, uh the things that we have done in the past when we were um a slave to sin we don't do anymore.
00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:20.159
And so part of that some and I can see how some of that could be uh interpreted to saying, well, you've got to shun your friends and remove and and and not be friends with the people of the world because, you know, uh the bad influences.
00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:29.439
And I I I I kind of wanted to bring in that verse in Corinthians where uh Paul writes that uh bad company corrupts good morals.
00:03:32.240 --> 00:04:07.199
And I didn't want to go there uh particularly because part of our uh new life, uh part of the new you is to show yourself, reveal yourself, and let your friends who are your real friends and or family members or co-workers experience that new you and in turn will want to be able to follow in your footsteps.
00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:18.000
They're gonna want to know why you are the way you are now, and ex and and all those good things that come from being a Christian.
00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:36.480
That good example, that uh that that uh that that that integrity that you have, you know, it's and it's not it it's not like you are uh acting like you're better than them or you think you have something over them or anything like that.
00:04:36.560 --> 00:04:40.319
You're not you're not supposed to be self-righteous, you're supposed to be just righteous.
00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:47.759
And so this new you is um should be attractive.
00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:51.199
This new you should be um inspiring.
00:04:52.480 --> 00:04:56.879
And this new you should get people's attention.
00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:11.839
And you can't do that if you are um not associating with not being around family and co-workers and friends to be that new example.
00:05:13.759 --> 00:05:25.279
When you become a Christian and you change your ways and it has an effect on you, the Holy Spirit is living inside of you, it's gonna get noticed.
00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:26.959
At least it should.
00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:33.279
We're not supposed to become hermits, we're supposed to become ambassadors.
00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:52.879
And so um this morning I'm going to uh go ahead and roll the sermon that we looked at last Sunday, titled The New You based off of Second Corinthians 5, verses 14 through 18.
00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:56.959
And after that, we'll be back for some closing thoughts.
00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:30.000
Open your Bibles or hope you still have your Bibles turned on to 2 Corinthians 5.
00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:37.360
2nd Corinthians 5, the verses that were read will be what we will be looking into this morning.
00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:48.560
I appreciate uh also the uh privilege to be able to lead a communion, uh lead in our Lord's Supper.
00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:59.600
Um, every so often the opportunity is given to me at a very short notice, and uh I'm always thankful to be able to be a part of that as well.
00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:13.360
Many of you remember um, many of you remember Duck Dynasty's uh founder, Phil Robertson.
00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:16.399
He's no longer with us anymore, the Duck Commander.
00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:23.759
Um many of you know that uh I guess you could call him Brother Robertson because he was a member of the church.
00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:39.439
He was um a very, very outgoing, unashamed uh leader in the church, did a lot of good for uh for his uh church and for us in general.
00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:41.519
And we all know his story.
00:07:41.920 --> 00:07:53.920
A movie was made about his life story and his biography, and he wrote a biography about how he uh turned from being a heathen as he called himself to a Christian.
00:07:54.240 --> 00:08:35.360
And one of those stories, and what's interesting about this is that I he talks about it in his book, but he gives more detail about what happened to him just, I mean, it wasn't weeks after he became a Christian, weeks after he reconnected with his wife and his boys, because uh he left and uh they had to they had to fend for themselves for a while, and while he was out finding himself, uh he was able to realize that not only did he need his wife and his family, he needed help.
00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:49.120
And so a preacher came and studied with him, and after a while he obeyed the gospel, became a Christian, and never looked back, many of what he was saying.
00:08:50.720 --> 00:09:00.879
But shortly after all that took place, he really, I guess you could say he really had his one of, he faced one of his first temptations.
00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:06.159
His old drinking buddies finally found him.
00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:17.200
Everything had been, when his wife started over after he left her, he she put everything, Miss K put everything in her name.
00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:21.519
And so really Phil was off the radar.
00:09:21.600 --> 00:09:26.879
I mean, he just, you know, kind of for the most part disappeared.
00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:36.559
And when they and when they reconciled their marriage and he moved back into the house where her and the boys were living, he didn't change anything about that.
00:09:36.720 --> 00:09:40.639
He just kind of said, I'm gonna I still think I want to stay below the radar.
00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:44.639
Well, his old drinking buddies found him one night.
00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:47.919
And they were, hey, glad to see you.
00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:50.399
Didn't know if you were still alive or not, etc.
00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:50.720
etc.
00:09:51.279 --> 00:09:54.159
He goes, Come on, Phil, let's get in the truck.
00:09:54.639 --> 00:10:02.080
Let's go out to the places where we would go when we were before all this, and let's knock a few back.
00:10:02.320 --> 00:10:04.000
Let's do this and that.
00:10:05.759 --> 00:10:23.919
And Phil tells in a couple of videos and a couple of podcasts, he basically the conversation went something to the point of boys, the Phil Robertson that you're looking for died, and he ain't here no more.
00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:44.879
He said, You're looking at a new Phil Robertson, and this Phil Robertson is going nowhere with any of you ever again because he knew how powerful that temptation would be.
00:10:47.120 --> 00:11:02.240
Now we are looking into a uh starting off this series of of uh of understanding what it means to uh work on our relationships, to fix our relationships.
00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:22.480
We uh well last Sunday we started a new series with the Court of Three Strands analogy that's found in the Old Testament, and as we start this new lesson on a new you, I want you to think about this question.
00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:37.679
What is one of those old habits that you had previously before you made Jesus Christ your Lord and Master?
00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:58.320
What was an old habit or a reaction that God has already removed from your life that changed the way your friends, your co-workers, maybe even some of your family members saw.
00:12:00.720 --> 00:12:02.639
That's what I want you to think about.
00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:24.320
Phil chose to ostracize himself, to remove himself from those men, not because necessarily he was weak, and not necessarily because his buddies were just evil.
00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:32.159
He did not want to be around the temptation that they were offering.
00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:40.399
Bible says, you run from the devil, flee from the devil, he will flee from you.
00:12:42.080 --> 00:12:52.320
Phil knew that in his state, in his present, the state that he was in, he probably would not have been able to fight off that temptation.
00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:55.120
So he told his buddies to hit the road.
00:12:56.159 --> 00:13:03.039
Now, Phil will also tell you that 12 years later, one of his buddies came back and said, You remember that night you said you had died?
00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:04.159
What did you mean by that?
00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:08.399
And Phil was able to sit down with him, study with him, and baptize him into Christ.
00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:13.600
That's a really neat little story.
00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:29.440
In Corinthians, Paul explains that Christ's death for sin changes the way he regards people.
00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:50.480
Instead of looking at each person as a mere human being, Paul says, now we are challenged to view those who are in Christ as something entirely different from what they were in the past.
00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:58.399
Those who are in Christ are those who have faith in him.
00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:10.080
Their sins have been forgiven by Christ's death in their place.
00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:18.799
And so such a person is literally a new creature.
00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:27.120
Those in Christ have become something that no one has ever seen before.
00:14:27.919 --> 00:14:29.840
Almost brand new.
00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:48.240
Their identity has changed from being an enemy of God, a fallen enemy of God, to a version of themselves that is associated with the righteousness of Christ.
00:14:48.879 --> 00:14:51.120
That's who they are now.
00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:59.200
So many of you can relate to this idea of a new you.
00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:20.799
You recall the moment that you got convicted that the message, that the study convinced you that you were living in sin, that you were separated from God, and you knew that you needed to correct this problem immediately.
00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:31.039
Many of you remember your baptism and what all that took place, and what took place after you came out of the water.
00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:55.120
My message to you this morning is that part of that coming out of the water and that new life, that new you, doesn't necessarily mean that you have to do anything drastic when it comes to your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family members.
00:15:58.080 --> 00:15:58.720
Who knows?
00:15:58.960 --> 00:16:02.639
God may have put you there for a specific reason.
00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:20.960
Because you know that you've changed, but they're only going to see the change in your life unless you're around them, with them, surrounding yourself with them.
00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:42.399
When we think about this in the in the verses that we're going to look at, what Paul says something, it kind of makes me think about uh what compels, what motivates, what pushes or drives the act of love down the road of life?
00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:43.840
What propels it?
00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:45.039
What moves it?
00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:50.480
Paul says in the text that it is Christ's love that compels us.
00:16:50.639 --> 00:17:10.559
Look at verse 14 of 1 Corinthians 5, um, where he says that for the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all have died.
00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:20.240
And he died for all, so that those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for him.
00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:39.200
Paul says the motivation behind this is that explains and demonstrates a brand new you or a new you in general isn't driven by a new set of rules that you have to follow.
00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:51.440
It's not driven by a special religious performance where you, in many ways, try to be something that you're really not.
00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:56.960
It's driven simply by the love of Christ.
00:17:58.799 --> 00:18:14.720
The love of Christ and what he did for us is the driving force that calls us to do all these things that might be different now than it was then before you became a Christian.
00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:23.680
I know I've told this story hundreds of times, but when I was little, I would joke with my mom about who she loved the most.
00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:26.160
And I'd go down the list of all my brothers.
00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:27.680
Mom, do you love me more than Terry?
00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:29.359
Yes, Blan, I love you more than Terry.
00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:30.960
Mom, do you love me more than Randy?
00:18:31.039 --> 00:18:32.960
Yes, Blan, I love you more than Randy.
00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:34.720
Mama, do you love me more than dad?
00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:38.319
Don't tell him, but yes, Bland, I love you more than dad.
00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:43.039
Well, I was just, I mean, I'm oh man, mama loves me.
00:18:43.519 --> 00:18:45.519
Mama, do you love me more than God?
00:18:48.000 --> 00:19:00.880
Mom put the dish towel down, laid it by the sink, turned around and walked to the table where I was sitting, eating my chicken pot pie for lunch.
00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:06.480
Put her hands on her knees, bent down so she could look me right in the eye.
00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:11.920
And says, baby, it's because I love God I can love you.
00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:16.079
I'll never forget it.
00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:20.400
Probably gonna put it on her tombstone anyway if I ever have to get a chance to do that.
00:19:20.880 --> 00:19:28.480
But the point is, is that when you realize Christ died for you, there should be a priority shift.
00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:32.480
And that priority shift, it's real simple.
00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:43.279
It's gonna leave self-interest and go to a new form of interest called Christ's interest.
00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:49.359
So if it's important to Christ, then it's gonna be important to you.
00:19:52.240 --> 00:19:57.039
If it's something important enough that Jesus to say it more than once, repeat it.
00:19:57.200 --> 00:20:01.119
If anybody wrote about it in God's word, then it's important to you.
00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:09.279
It's what helps us reflect Jesus in our lives.
00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:14.960
So that this brand new you won't look like some self-righteous snob.
00:20:15.359 --> 00:20:30.400
Instead, you come, you just get a little softer around the edges, you get a little more, you get a little uh a better attitude, um, more joy, more more uh being uh happy with what you got.
00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:36.319
And your coworkers see it, your friends see it, your buddies at school see it.
00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:39.680
Maybe even, dare I say, some of your family members see it.
00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:46.640
There should be a change coming in you as you start your journey as a Christian.
00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:59.279
When your friends and your coworkers notice it changing you, it should it should look like you've suddenly become, it shouldn't look like you've become better than them.
00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:07.039
It should look like you've suddenly become just more loving than you were before.
00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:16.000
This new you might make you, well, it should make you more compassionate.
00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:17.759
And here's a little warning sign.
00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:29.680
If the new you makes you less compassionate, then you well, I wrote you have the wrong version of Christianity.
00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:31.839
You that's not Christianity at all.
00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:43.279
If the new you makes you less compassionate, you've you've been reading the wrong book, been worshiping the wrong Lord.
00:21:44.319 --> 00:21:49.200
You need to get back and maybe review some things.
00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:55.359
And this new you has a new kind of nature to it.
00:21:56.240 --> 00:21:59.759
He says in verse 17 of 1 Corinthians 5.
00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:05.279
Says therefore, if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation.
00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:06.960
The old things have passed away.
00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:08.960
Behold, the new things have come.
00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:16.400
Being new doesn't mean changing your personality.
00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:20.880
Being new doesn't mean that you have to change your hobbies.
00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:22.720
I mean, unless your hobbies are really bad.
00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:26.160
I mean, if you something, if you know, if you got some bad habits, yeah, you got to get rid of them.
00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:30.319
But the point is that the new you shouldn't change your sense of humor.
00:22:30.559 --> 00:22:31.920
It didn't change mine.
00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:46.240
The new you means your core identity has moved, like I said, from self to Christ.
00:22:49.119 --> 00:22:50.720
People will notice.
00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:52.559
They should notice.
00:22:53.279 --> 00:22:58.799
People will see a different reaction to things like stress.
00:23:02.160 --> 00:23:07.200
They should see a difference in the way you talk to others.
00:23:07.839 --> 00:23:15.440
They should see Christians, church, they should see a difference in the way we talk to each other.
00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:30.240
The decisions that you make on that board or in that office before, the decisions should be different now that you are a child of God.
00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:43.359
They should have that they should see maybe that you are being, you have a little more peace in your life.
00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:52.799
Often we feel like we have to double down and do even extra more than what Phil did.
00:23:52.880 --> 00:24:10.079
And that is when I become a Christian, I've got to just completely shun all my former friends who may or may not have been a bad influence, who may or may not have led me astray.
00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:15.839
I mean, they're my buddies, they're not perfect, but still, I'm a Christian now.
00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:21.200
I've got to say no to the world and everything in it.
00:24:26.720 --> 00:24:32.079
But our friends are supposed to see the new you.
00:25:01.519 --> 00:25:04.799
We have something new that makes us more significant.
00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:17.519
Very simply put, we're called to be ambassadors, not called to turn ourselves into little hermits.
00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:19.279
Y'all know what a hermit is?
00:25:20.160 --> 00:25:37.359
Someone who becomes just totally, you know, exclusive, goes off and hides in the hills, turns off all the phones and computers and lives off the land, you know, just you know, hermit.
00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:40.240
No, that's not what we're called to be.
00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:41.440
We're called to be ambassadors.
00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:44.799
Look at verse 18 of chapter 5.
00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:54.079
Now, all of these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us a ministry of what?
00:25:54.319 --> 00:25:55.359
Say it with me.
00:25:55.680 --> 00:25:57.039
Reconciliation.
00:25:59.519 --> 00:26:03.279
I thought we had, I thought we were supposed to have the ministry of the gospel.
00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:04.400
Yeah.
00:26:05.599 --> 00:26:08.400
The gospel is all about reconciliation.
00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:12.319
I thought the gospel was the good news of Jesus Christ.
00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:13.119
Uh-huh.
00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:18.880
And part of that good news of Jesus Christ is that He has come to seek and save the lost.
00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:21.359
He has come to reconcile you.
00:26:33.599 --> 00:26:38.079
God didn't save you to take you out of the world.
00:26:38.319 --> 00:26:42.880
He saved you to put you back in it as His ambassador.
00:26:46.480 --> 00:26:49.839
You don't have to lose your friends.
00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:52.640
You don't have to lose your co-workers.
00:26:52.799 --> 00:26:55.119
You don't have to lose your buddies at school.
00:26:55.359 --> 00:26:58.240
You don't have to lose any of your family members.
00:26:58.480 --> 00:27:06.240
In fact, they are the very people that you are now equipped to be able to love deeper.
00:27:08.559 --> 00:27:19.119
When someone is Christ-centered and has that kind of love, you work where you're planted.
00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:47.759
The new you is constantly, should be constantly looking for new ways to heal broken relationships, to bring peace in storms of strife, to show grace when the world is doing anything but being graceful.
00:27:51.839 --> 00:28:05.359
You are one of those strands that is called to work on that relationship while you're staying connected to the source.
00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:10.000
That's called being an ambassador.
00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:14.000
That's called having a ministry of reconciliation.
00:28:15.920 --> 00:28:22.000
That strand gets tighter and winds and winds and winds, and you just start and you collect more and more and more.
00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:25.119
So what's the takeaway this morning?
00:28:26.240 --> 00:28:27.200
Real simple.
00:28:27.440 --> 00:28:34.079
First of all, don't what do we teach our little kids?
00:28:34.319 --> 00:28:36.160
Hide it under a bushel.
00:28:36.559 --> 00:28:36.880
No.
00:28:37.519 --> 00:28:39.440
I'm gonna let it shine.
00:28:39.759 --> 00:28:41.759
Don't hide it, shine it.
00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:54.079
You don't have to leave your workplace, you don't have to leave your school, you don't have to leave your home, you don't have to uh uh banish all your friends to be saved.
00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:56.160
You're there for a reason.
00:28:56.480 --> 00:28:58.559
You're there for a reason.
00:28:59.039 --> 00:29:08.079
People will notice the new you when they see you responding to them with grace instead of judgment.
00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:15.039
That's evidence of love in your life.
00:29:16.640 --> 00:29:29.359
Your new perspective and this new you will have a drive to really and do your best to try to fix the relationships in your life, not in them.
00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:34.400
We're not shunning, we're trying to collect more.
00:29:36.079 --> 00:29:37.519
Now they got to be willing to work with.
00:29:37.759 --> 00:29:41.759
I mean, they I mean, you know, what's the whole saying, lead a horse for water, can't make them drink?
00:29:41.839 --> 00:29:42.480
That kind of thing.
00:29:42.559 --> 00:29:45.359
They gotta be willing to be, they gotta be receptive and everything else.
00:29:45.519 --> 00:29:48.079
But that doesn't stop you from trying.
00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:51.279
That doesn't stop you from doing all these things.
00:29:51.440 --> 00:29:55.519
With this whole series of lessons is based around the core to three strands.
00:29:55.599 --> 00:30:01.119
And and what you need to remember, this that this new you is part of those strands.
00:30:01.680 --> 00:30:06.000
You're never meant to be a lone a strand by yourself.
00:30:06.960 --> 00:30:10.720
A single strand of rope can be broken really, really easy.
00:30:10.880 --> 00:30:21.680
But when you and your friends and Jesus are all woven together and that bond is nice and good, it is almost impossible to be broken and snapped into.
00:30:22.160 --> 00:30:24.799
You so don't pull away from your friends.
00:30:25.039 --> 00:30:34.559
Don't don't uh don't give up on your family members, don't give up on your co-workers, don't give up on that person who you that one.
00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:37.039
I know each and every one of you have one person, you know, man.
00:30:37.119 --> 00:30:43.759
If I could just get them to come to church, you don't you don't give up on them.
00:30:44.160 --> 00:30:53.119
You don't stop, you don't pull away from your friends, you find a way to be that influence in their lives.
00:30:54.799 --> 00:30:55.759
Good, I got two minutes.
00:30:55.839 --> 00:30:57.119
I can close with this.
00:31:04.799 --> 00:31:06.240
But it's really, really good.
00:31:07.759 --> 00:31:10.000
This is this is the invitation, really.
00:31:10.559 --> 00:31:14.000
So there's a fellow by the name of Joey Chestnut.
00:31:14.240 --> 00:31:16.000
Anyone know who Joey Chestnut is?
00:31:16.240 --> 00:31:18.319
You probably, if you didn't know, you would miss him.
00:31:18.559 --> 00:31:29.279
Joey Chestnut holds the world record for eating the most hot dogs in a 10-minute time span.
00:31:30.400 --> 00:31:42.480
Last year, Joey ate 70 and a half hot dogs in 10 minutes and a half a second.
00:31:44.559 --> 00:31:53.759
That that is that is that is like I don't know, what, seven or eight hot dogs for every three or eight or eight seconds?
00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:57.279
I can't, I'm the math is just still turning around.
00:31:57.599 --> 00:32:02.559
Now, the reason why this got my attention is because hey, I'm I'm like a good hot dog.
00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:11.039
Especially when you got some chili on it and it fixed up on ice and everything else, but man, that's a lot of hot dogs in ten minutes.
00:32:12.160 --> 00:32:14.799
So they asked him a question one time.
00:32:14.880 --> 00:32:17.599
They kept, Joey, why do you do it?
00:32:18.079 --> 00:32:25.200
Why do you keep coming back every year to try to uh eat more hot dogs and break the record?
00:32:26.240 --> 00:32:27.599
You know what he said?
00:32:29.039 --> 00:32:45.279
He said, This is my mission to eat hot dogs and chicken wings faster than anybody else.
00:32:45.440 --> 00:32:47.200
That's the mission I'm on.
00:32:48.559 --> 00:33:03.839
And then he said, and the second reason why I do it is that eating the most amount of hot dogs and chicken wings in ten minutes, that's what gives me significance.
00:33:16.319 --> 00:33:18.319
What's your mission in life?
00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:21.759
Do you know?
00:33:22.240 --> 00:33:23.200
You have one?
00:33:23.519 --> 00:33:25.519
Have you thought about that that way?
00:33:26.319 --> 00:33:28.000
What's your mission in life?
00:33:29.759 --> 00:33:31.359
Here's another question.
00:33:33.039 --> 00:33:38.799
What gives you significance?
00:33:41.759 --> 00:33:44.240
Not many people can say it's hot dog and chicken wings.
00:33:45.279 --> 00:33:46.799
Have you thought about that?
00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:50.000
What gives your life significance?
00:33:50.160 --> 00:33:51.599
What gives you significance?
00:33:54.160 --> 00:33:59.599
Paul Paul closes out chapter five this way in verse two to one.
00:33:59.920 --> 00:34:27.760
He said, He, God, who made him, Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, here we go, mission and significance, I would submit to you, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
00:34:30.079 --> 00:34:34.800
That right there is what you call a gos the gospel in one sentence.
00:35:18.800 --> 00:35:24.320
Um it's no secret that I'm a big fan of the Robertson family.
00:35:24.559 --> 00:35:27.360
Um I'm a big fan of um what they do.
00:35:27.519 --> 00:35:31.599
They have an unashamed podcast that is listened to often.
00:35:33.039 --> 00:35:35.360
And uh this gets talked about a lot.
00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:48.000
And when so I told the story of how Phil basically told his his old drinking buddies that the Phil Robertson that they were looking for is dead and gone.
00:35:48.320 --> 00:35:51.920
He got buried, referring to as baptism.
00:35:52.719 --> 00:35:59.519
And um he's not that way no more, and he's not gonna be hanging around with them no more.
00:35:59.599 --> 00:36:04.159
If they're going to do those kinds of things, he's not gonna be a part of it.
00:36:04.480 --> 00:36:07.360
This is a a brand new person they're looking at.
00:36:09.920 --> 00:36:15.760
And that according to Phil, that really uh threw them for a loop.
00:36:16.719 --> 00:36:48.000
But it's important to remember that while Phil did not associate with them because of he knew the power and how and how big that temptation would have been for him not to go back to the boozing and the drinking and the drugging, that he did for all terms and purposes, disassociate himself from them, but it wasn't because of the people, it was because of the temptation.
00:36:48.800 --> 00:37:08.719
And he makes a point to talk about the fact that twelve years later, one of his best one of his best buddies who he hang around with during that time, came to him later on and and asked him, He says, What did you mean by that whole thing of being buried and no longer going to be running around and and and boozing boozing and drinking with us?
00:37:09.679 --> 00:37:24.159
And through that question, Phil was able to um study with him, show him what the Bible was all about, show him who Jesus was all about, and was able to baptize one of his closest friends.
00:37:25.519 --> 00:37:31.760
And and and so it it worked out in the end for both Phil and one of his buddies.
00:37:34.880 --> 00:37:44.400
Sometimes it's gonna take people a while to appreciate this new you.
00:37:47.039 --> 00:38:14.480
This world will cause us to lose faith and trust in people simply because too many times we have heard, we have seen, we've probably even said it, we're turning over a new leaf and then we don't do any of those things that we say we're doing we we just we just revert back.
00:38:16.480 --> 00:38:21.119
Now that's not necessarily a a bad thing.
00:38:21.199 --> 00:38:33.840
I mean w anyone who will tell you that after they're a Christian after they became a Christian, they no longer had any problems or issues or fell back into patience, they're they're they're gonna be lying to you.
00:38:35.119 --> 00:38:54.800
But just like we understand that the Christian faith is not a sprint, it's a marathon, we evolve, and I know that's probably a a word that doesn't like to be talked about amongst uh Christian people and church people, but we do evolve into something that is new.
00:38:56.239 --> 00:39:03.599
And if it's done right through the Lord, through the Bible, through the Holy Spirit, it's gonna get noticed.
00:39:05.440 --> 00:39:11.119
The change that people see in you, like I said before, should be attractive.
00:39:12.719 --> 00:39:27.039
And it should open doors for you both in your Christian walk and in opportunities to talk about how you got how you were saved by the blood of Jesus.
00:39:28.320 --> 00:39:29.679
And that's what's important.
00:39:30.559 --> 00:39:34.559
This new you is supposed to bring people to Christ.
00:39:39.599 --> 00:39:40.880
I appreciate all the feedback.
00:39:40.960 --> 00:39:48.000
Um I got a lot of good feedback from um the some of the podcasts that I've put on recently, and uh I'm thankful.
00:39:48.159 --> 00:39:49.920
I'm thankful for all my listeners.
00:39:50.079 --> 00:39:54.400
I would love to hear from you, and uh anytime you want to contact me, you can.
00:39:54.639 --> 00:39:59.519
We um my email address is preacherman1178 at gmail.com.
00:39:59.840 --> 00:40:03.760
That's preacherman1178 at gmail.
00:40:04.880 --> 00:40:07.039
And just send me a little note.
00:40:08.079 --> 00:40:11.280
Um if you have a question, I'd love to be able to try to answer it.
00:40:11.360 --> 00:40:14.400
Maybe it can maybe it can be a topic of conversation on our podcast.
00:40:14.559 --> 00:40:17.119
Maybe we can uh develop a study into that.
00:40:17.280 --> 00:40:20.079
I don't know, but um I'd love to hear from you.
00:40:20.239 --> 00:40:23.679
Please contact me and let me know what you think about the show.
00:40:24.000 --> 00:40:28.960
And um I hope that uh this weekend will be a good weekend for you.
00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:40.639
The title of this uh coming Sunday's sermon will is called The Third Strand at Work.
00:40:42.480 --> 00:41:10.639
And we're gonna be focusing on something that it may not be a very deep theological discussion, but it will be a very practical one and in understanding what does it mean to be a Christian employee, but also what does it mean to be a Christian boss, manager, supervisor, and in the workforce today.
00:41:12.400 --> 00:41:24.559
And I hope that uh it will be uh something that we can all learn from and pull from and use uh not only in the next coming weeks, but in our daily walk as Christians.
00:41:24.800 --> 00:41:26.880
This is the Preacher Man signing off.
00:41:27.039 --> 00:41:33.280
Hope you have a blessed day, and always remember who you are and whose you are.
