WEBVTT - Producing Fruit with Christ 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:04.360 Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio. 0:00:04.720 --> 0:00:08.120 This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:00:08.520 --> 0:00:15.360 The interesting thing about. About music is that it grabs 0:00:15.360 --> 0:00:19.840 our soul. It really does. And it's going to take 0:00:19.840 --> 0:00:21.840 you one way or another. 0:00:22.760 --> 0:00:23.520 There's the catch. 0:00:23.560 --> 0:00:25.680 That's the that's the deal, isn't it? 0:00:26.200 --> 0:00:28.200 Absolutely. That's the bull's eye. You hit it. 0:00:28.560 --> 0:00:31.080 The interesting thing about music, and this is why we 0:00:31.080 --> 0:00:36.640 love interspersing, uh, especially songs that enthrall our minds with God, 0:00:36.680 --> 0:00:39.080 is that it can capture us in a big way. 0:00:39.120 --> 0:00:43.479 I mean, there's a whole hymnal in the scriptures. 0:00:44.520 --> 0:00:45.200 The book of Psalms. 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:49.440 The Book of Psalms, which were sung. You know, I 0:00:49.440 --> 0:00:52.360 was in Jerusalem on one of our visits there, and 0:00:52.360 --> 0:00:55.240 I was with our guide, Omer Eshel, and we began 0:00:55.240 --> 0:00:58.600 to open up the songs of ascent, and he and 0:00:58.600 --> 0:01:02.320 I arm in arm with the Bible open, put music 0:01:02.320 --> 0:01:04.880 to the song of ascent as we climb the steps 0:01:05.200 --> 0:01:06.199 into Jerusalem. 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:06.720 Oh wow. 0:01:06.760 --> 0:01:07.200 Isn't that. 0:01:07.200 --> 0:01:09.040 Fun? Must have been an awesome experience. 0:01:09.200 --> 0:01:10.280 Had me crying. 0:01:10.319 --> 0:01:12.360 Oh boy. Had me crying about it. 0:01:12.440 --> 0:01:16.559 Oh, isn't that something? So they can they they are 0:01:16.560 --> 0:01:20.480 used mightily of the Lord to to capture something that's 0:01:20.480 --> 0:01:25.880 just beautiful. You know, I had a thought early this morning, 0:01:26.360 --> 0:01:29.360 and it is early, but early for us is earlier 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:36.520 than early. So. And you know, you're the boom crew. 0:01:36.640 --> 0:01:39.360 Let me tell you what that means. It means that 0:01:39.400 --> 0:01:42.080 we took this word boom. Because I had this crazy 0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:44.880 habit of going boom when people would call in and 0:01:44.880 --> 0:01:48.720 share testimonies. It's just an affirmation. It's even more than 0:01:48.720 --> 0:01:52.600 a modern day Amen. It's just a yes. Let's go. 0:01:52.920 --> 0:01:55.520 What a what a great thing you've just shared. And 0:01:55.520 --> 0:01:58.470 we try to we try to boom you if it's 0:01:58.510 --> 0:02:02.350 if it's crazy out of the blue nutso. We give 0:02:02.390 --> 0:02:03.270 what's called a. 0:02:03.830 --> 0:02:04.350 A boom. 0:02:04.390 --> 0:02:04.870 A triple. 0:02:04.910 --> 0:02:07.750 Boom. It's like a three exclamation point. Yes. 0:02:08.750 --> 0:02:14.070 So it's and it all revolves around a few key things. 0:02:14.070 --> 0:02:16.950 So let me give you an analogy from Commercial Fishing. 0:02:16.950 --> 0:02:19.510 I used one of these yesterday. I spent eight seasons 0:02:19.510 --> 0:02:24.030 commercial fishing in Alaska. And one of the things you 0:02:24.030 --> 0:02:27.389 need to know if you're going the objective of commercial 0:02:27.389 --> 0:02:31.030 fishing in Alaska. I was on a driftnet boat. It's 0:02:31.070 --> 0:02:34.790 called a limited entry. There's only so many permits that 0:02:34.790 --> 0:02:37.630 are given for Bristol Bay on the west coast of Alaska. 0:02:38.270 --> 0:02:42.990 The waves are always pretty strong at times. There's times 0:02:42.990 --> 0:02:46.510 there's just absolutely flat ocean, but those are rare days 0:02:46.510 --> 0:02:51.389 and everybody's just like pumped up. But it's it's rocky. 0:02:51.790 --> 0:02:55.710 It it can be a bit dangerous at times. But 0:02:55.710 --> 0:02:58.590 if the objective is to get fish on the boat 0:02:58.590 --> 0:03:01.109 and that is the objective as many red salmon or 0:03:01.110 --> 0:03:05.230 sockeye salmon as we can, there's a couple key things 0:03:05.230 --> 0:03:07.630 that you want to do. One is you want to 0:03:07.630 --> 0:03:10.870 get the net down in the right place. Make sense? 0:03:10.910 --> 0:03:12.750 Yeah. So to go where the fish are. 0:03:12.790 --> 0:03:16.269 Gotta thank you. Ali. She's. Boy, she's a commercial. 0:03:16.270 --> 0:03:17.550 Fisherman, yes I am. 0:03:17.590 --> 0:03:20.310 You got to go where the fish are. And and 0:03:20.310 --> 0:03:23.590 you want to make sure that you're caring for those 0:03:23.590 --> 0:03:29.230 fish as you bring that net in. And what that 0:03:29.230 --> 0:03:33.310 means for us in radio is very simple. There's a 0:03:33.350 --> 0:03:36.869 couple key messages that are going to allow us to 0:03:36.910 --> 0:03:39.790 do Christian radio. And I've got that in air quotes, 0:03:39.790 --> 0:03:42.230 because Christian radio can be a lot of different things. 0:03:42.750 --> 0:03:46.310 But there's a couple key things that we have observed 0:03:46.310 --> 0:03:49.990 that God has put into our heart that are absolutely essential. 0:03:50.550 --> 0:03:52.950 One is, if we're going to put our nets down, 0:03:52.950 --> 0:03:56.900 we got to put our nets down in the waters 0:03:56.900 --> 0:04:01.620 of clarity of the gospel. The gospel has been lost 0:04:01.620 --> 0:04:05.340 for a lot of years here in the Western world. 0:04:05.580 --> 0:04:08.620 Really lost. It's been dumbed down. What do I what 0:04:08.620 --> 0:04:10.020 do I mean when I say that? 0:04:10.340 --> 0:04:12.380 I mean, I think it's been when you think about 0:04:12.380 --> 0:04:14.740 the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, it's been 0:04:14.740 --> 0:04:20.339 reduced to church attendance, church membership, even, um, doing or 0:04:20.339 --> 0:04:23.500 not doing certain things even. I mean, you think about 0:04:23.500 --> 0:04:27.180 today's climate, even having a certain political position or affinity 0:04:27.180 --> 0:04:27.860 or not. 0:04:27.900 --> 0:04:31.539 Yeah. So it can be that and but generally speaking, 0:04:31.580 --> 0:04:36.620 wouldn't you say people define themselves as Christians very culturally, 0:04:36.660 --> 0:04:38.180 whatever those drivers are. 0:04:38.220 --> 0:04:39.339 For all of the above reasons. 0:04:39.339 --> 0:04:41.420 Yeah, for all of the above. And so you get 0:04:41.460 --> 0:04:44.980 what is commonly called christers, right, which is Christmas and 0:04:44.980 --> 0:04:47.340 Easter attenders. And by the way, I happen to be 0:04:47.339 --> 0:04:49.900 of the mindset I have no knock on that. I'm like, 0:04:49.900 --> 0:04:52.780 if they're coming twice a year. Let's go. Let's be 0:04:52.779 --> 0:04:56.740 clear with the gospel. I'm not one that says let's 0:04:56.740 --> 0:05:01.059 target them, but let's be clear when they're there. Yeah. 0:05:01.339 --> 0:05:04.700 What's what's going on? And let's cast that net. So 0:05:04.740 --> 0:05:08.940 there's a lack of clarity about what the gospel really is, 0:05:09.260 --> 0:05:13.739 and then there's lack of clarity around what sanctification is 0:05:13.779 --> 0:05:16.300 and how we get there. Fair enough guys. 0:05:16.339 --> 0:05:16.820 Fair enough. 0:05:16.860 --> 0:05:19.900 Those are two huge places that we try to lower 0:05:19.900 --> 0:05:23.780 our nets around here. And what we've seen is an 0:05:23.779 --> 0:05:28.260 incredible harvest. And it's humbling. And I want you to 0:05:28.300 --> 0:05:31.900 know that I am convinced that God and this is 0:05:31.900 --> 0:05:38.220 for you. God never elevates the messenger. He always elevates 0:05:38.220 --> 0:05:41.659 the message, which is huge. 0:05:42.100 --> 0:05:44.460 Because God can use anyone. 0:05:44.500 --> 0:05:46.940 He proves it all the time with us. 0:05:47.260 --> 0:05:51.970 Anyone? I mean, you think about a donkey spoke truth? Yes. 0:05:52.010 --> 0:05:54.890 So true. It's all about the message. 0:05:54.930 --> 0:05:57.210 And I mean, look at what Jesus said. Let the 0:05:57.210 --> 0:05:59.849 little ones or the children come to me. And that 0:05:59.850 --> 0:06:03.890 word for children is Nepos. It means one without words. 0:06:03.930 --> 0:06:06.370 God is pleased to have someone come to him and 0:06:06.370 --> 0:06:09.290 use them, when they all they have is open arms 0:06:09.290 --> 0:06:15.010 and lifted hands, saying, I can't even form a word. God, 0:06:15.170 --> 0:06:18.530 here I am. And he loves to use that. So 0:06:18.529 --> 0:06:20.850 I want to clarify what that means coming up. And 0:06:20.850 --> 0:06:23.089 then this half hour, we're going to ask a question 0:06:23.130 --> 0:06:25.490 out of that. That's going to open up phone lines 0:06:25.490 --> 0:06:26.930 today in a fun way. Sound good. 0:06:27.089 --> 0:06:28.410 Friday. So that's what we do. 0:06:28.450 --> 0:06:31.010 Yeah. And we're going to hear your freedom stories. 0:06:31.570 --> 0:06:34.610 He was sharing the gospel on the radio and then 0:06:34.610 --> 0:06:38.930 he got saved. Young thunders in the crew. It's Carl 0:06:38.930 --> 0:06:40.690 and crew on Moody Radio. 0:06:40.930 --> 0:06:43.610 So we want to be lowering our nets where the 0:06:43.610 --> 0:06:47.130 fish are using a little commercial fishing metaphor from Alaska. 0:06:47.410 --> 0:06:50.450 We had a spotter pilot back in the day, and 0:06:50.690 --> 0:06:53.050 that was a 180 or a Super Cub that was 0:06:53.050 --> 0:06:56.770 flying above the fishery that we were in, covering a 0:06:56.770 --> 0:07:00.529 good amount of square miles. And at times they would say, 0:07:00.529 --> 0:07:04.130 go south, go south. And I remember one afternoon the 0:07:04.130 --> 0:07:07.130 sun baking down must have been 60 degrees out. 0:07:07.170 --> 0:07:11.290 Ali sounds delightful. That's way too. 0:07:11.290 --> 0:07:14.290 Cold. It was actually really warm that day for Alaska 0:07:14.290 --> 0:07:17.369 temperatures in the summer. And they were like, go south, 0:07:17.410 --> 0:07:21.090 go south, and we're on VHF radios. And and I'm 0:07:21.090 --> 0:07:23.730 hearing the through the squawk box on the flying bridge 0:07:23.730 --> 0:07:26.090 where my captain is and, and we're going south, and 0:07:26.090 --> 0:07:29.050 I'm watching nets that have fish that are coming into them. 0:07:29.050 --> 0:07:31.250 And I'm like, man, we got to throw it out, Marvin. 0:07:31.250 --> 0:07:34.090 And then the spotter and he's saying, spotter pilots saying, 0:07:34.090 --> 0:07:37.610 go south. And I'm like, ah, man, we're we're driving 0:07:37.610 --> 0:07:41.730 right past paydays here. Well we went further south, further south, 0:07:41.730 --> 0:07:45.170 further south. And then, then the pilot of the 180 0:07:45.320 --> 0:07:48.200 who was flying up in the sky and we saw 0:07:48.200 --> 0:07:51.160 him up there. He said, throw it out. There were 0:07:51.160 --> 0:07:55.280 no boats around us and we threw it out. And 0:07:55.280 --> 0:07:58.520 it's called smoke on the water. In the commercial fishing grounds, 0:07:58.520 --> 0:08:02.800 we put out 300 yards of net, and as we 0:08:02.800 --> 0:08:06.080 laid that net into the water, we have corks on 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:08.520 the surface of the water, but we would see that 0:08:08.520 --> 0:08:11.760 cork line just surge with hundreds of salmon, hit it, 0:08:11.760 --> 0:08:14.640 and then we would see splashes of tails and heads 0:08:14.640 --> 0:08:18.760 up and down the whole thing. And we're just celebrating going, 0:08:18.800 --> 0:08:23.880 look at this. And he said, I told you I'd 0:08:23.880 --> 0:08:26.320 put you on him. I heard him in the squawk box. 0:08:26.360 --> 0:08:30.600 Told you I'd put you on him. And what God 0:08:30.600 --> 0:08:36.000 is doing here, even this week, is is putting us 0:08:36.040 --> 0:08:38.560 on him. What is that? We want to go where 0:08:38.559 --> 0:08:43.640 the fish are. There's a couple key messages that God 0:08:43.640 --> 0:08:46.040 has called us to hear with Carl and crew, and 0:08:46.040 --> 0:08:48.760 we're so grateful that you're along for the ride. But 0:08:48.760 --> 0:08:51.720 one of them is we want to be super clear 0:08:51.920 --> 0:08:54.760 with the gospel. Why I'm going to touch on this 0:08:54.760 --> 0:08:57.720 quickly next week. We're going to unpack it totally. Matthew 0:08:57.720 --> 0:09:00.520 seven Jesus spoke to the people and he said, many 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:02.480 will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, and 0:09:02.480 --> 0:09:07.079 he's going to say, I never knew you. And these 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:10.600 are not people bellied up to a bar at happy hour. 0:09:10.640 --> 0:09:13.440 I know we want to think in our minds, well, 0:09:13.600 --> 0:09:15.680 those that God's going to say I never knew you. 0:09:15.679 --> 0:09:19.120 It's like they've been far from him. No, the hallucination 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:23.000 of salvation is real. These are people who preached in 0:09:23.000 --> 0:09:25.800 Jesus name and cast out demons in his name, and 0:09:25.800 --> 0:09:28.560 did mighty works in his name, and that might make 0:09:28.559 --> 0:09:30.719 you a little bit wiggy in your heart right now. 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:33.680 You could say, oh, Carl, my goodness, what's going to 0:09:33.960 --> 0:09:38.640 what's happening here? If you are asking the question, how 0:09:38.640 --> 0:09:40.920 can I know that? I know you can. And we're 0:09:40.920 --> 0:09:43.470 going to we might even give a resource out today 0:09:43.750 --> 0:09:45.829 so that people can know they stand with God, and 0:09:45.830 --> 0:09:50.870 he stands with you, because that's very important to know. Yesterday, 0:09:50.870 --> 0:09:55.710 in just a 35 minute span, we saw 117 people 0:09:55.710 --> 0:10:01.709 surrender to Christ across the United States of America and Canada. Incredible, incredible. 0:10:01.910 --> 0:10:04.830 And those are just the ones that that texted in 0:10:04.830 --> 0:10:08.910 a link to get new, uh, new follower material that 0:10:08.910 --> 0:10:13.670 have surrendered fully to Jesus. But that that that salvation 0:10:13.670 --> 0:10:17.870 experience is the total surrender of oneself to the lordship 0:10:17.870 --> 0:10:21.150 and leadership of Jesus Christ. So that's where we want 0:10:21.190 --> 0:10:24.270 to lower our nets here constantly. The other one is 0:10:24.270 --> 0:10:29.310 what happens after God harvests those. And and then we 0:10:29.350 --> 0:10:32.590 work in partnership with God to say this big fancy 0:10:32.630 --> 0:10:37.790 word here, sanctification, which just means growing up in Jesus Christ, 0:10:37.790 --> 0:10:41.470 is all about a vision of what we've been hitting 0:10:41.470 --> 0:10:46.790 this week. Bearing fruit 30, 60, 100 fold. The abundant 0:10:46.790 --> 0:10:49.950 life that is promised in John 1010. I came to 0:10:49.950 --> 0:10:54.190 give you life and life more abundant. It's found in 0:10:54.190 --> 0:10:58.390 Psalm one one through three. Man, you walk away from fools, mockers, 0:10:58.390 --> 0:11:00.670 and scoffers, but you hang out with the Word of 0:11:00.670 --> 0:11:03.190 God and you meditate on it, and you're going to 0:11:03.190 --> 0:11:06.910 be like a tree planted by streams of water. Your 0:11:06.910 --> 0:11:09.949 leaf will never wither in. All you do will prosper. 0:11:10.350 --> 0:11:14.150 The promise was to Joshua from God Himself. He said, listen, 0:11:14.150 --> 0:11:17.790 you're going across the Jordan. Young man, listen to me. 0:11:17.870 --> 0:11:20.110 Here's what you got to know. You camp out on 0:11:20.110 --> 0:11:22.670 the Word of God. You meditate on it day and night, 0:11:23.070 --> 0:11:27.550 and you will have success and prosperity in all that 0:11:27.550 --> 0:11:31.350 you do. Our God is a God of abundance. And 0:11:31.350 --> 0:11:36.230 so that's the blue sky vision. And here's the interesting thing. 0:11:36.429 --> 0:11:39.180 Ali was in Romans six yesterday as we were praying 0:11:39.179 --> 0:11:43.700 about how God would craft today and a huge epiphany 0:11:43.700 --> 0:11:50.220 that we find everybody's bearing some kind of fruit. Right, Ali? 0:11:50.260 --> 0:11:53.140 Absolutely. And you think about the questions that you start 0:11:53.140 --> 0:11:56.660 to ask in life, whether it's a midlife crisis or 0:11:56.700 --> 0:11:59.300 much earlier, you start to look at what's the fruit 0:11:59.300 --> 0:12:01.780 of my life? Even if people don't use that language, 0:12:01.780 --> 0:12:05.059 people take stock of what have I produced? What is 0:12:05.059 --> 0:12:10.060 my life produced? And sometimes people have great grief over 0:12:10.100 --> 0:12:14.059 looking at a life that has produced fruit that doesn't 0:12:14.220 --> 0:12:15.380 benefit anyone. 0:12:15.420 --> 0:12:19.459 Yeah, and that's okay. That's okay. Because here's what we 0:12:19.500 --> 0:12:25.380 find as as we look at Galatians, you find a contrast. 0:12:25.380 --> 0:12:28.620 You got fruit of the spirit, which is a result 0:12:28.620 --> 0:12:31.020 of the abiding life in Christ. And then you've got 0:12:31.059 --> 0:12:34.100 deeds of the flesh. Here's what we have in our life. 0:12:34.980 --> 0:12:38.340 The question isn't will we have fruit? The question is, 0:12:38.340 --> 0:12:39.740 what kind of fruit will we have? 0:12:39.780 --> 0:12:41.340 Kind of fruit are we bearing? 0:12:41.380 --> 0:12:44.939 Yeah. Now, God doesn't do that to freak us out. 0:12:44.980 --> 0:12:49.300 He loves us so much, he's allowing us to look 0:12:49.340 --> 0:12:52.540 at Galatians five and go, boy, what's coming out of 0:12:52.540 --> 0:12:56.220 my life? Now here's the beauty. When you catch a 0:12:56.220 --> 0:12:58.900 vision of what God wants to do in your life, 0:12:59.300 --> 0:13:03.140 and you begin to cultivate this abiding life in Christ, 0:13:03.179 --> 0:13:06.580 as we've been talking from John 15 all week, the 0:13:06.580 --> 0:13:11.340 promise is that you will bear much fruit and glorify God. 0:13:11.620 --> 0:13:13.860 And so we got a really cool question for you. 0:13:13.860 --> 0:13:16.420 And we're going to open up phone lines. And I'm 0:13:16.420 --> 0:13:18.820 asking you, as you are led by the Spirit of God, 0:13:18.860 --> 0:13:20.540 just call in with your story. 0:13:20.740 --> 0:13:23.220 You know, you experience a change of heart when you're 0:13:23.220 --> 0:13:26.620 new in Christ, but you also experience a change of fruit, 0:13:26.620 --> 0:13:29.740 the result, the consequences of how you're living. So we 0:13:29.740 --> 0:13:31.660 want to know from you this morning on this Freedom Friday, 0:13:31.660 --> 0:13:35.170 what was the biggest change of fruit that you noticed 0:13:35.170 --> 0:13:37.690 when you experience new life in Christ. Maybe you went 0:13:37.690 --> 0:13:41.250 from anxiety to peace. Maybe you went from lust to 0:13:41.290 --> 0:13:43.610 all of a sudden you produce the fruit of self-control. 0:13:43.610 --> 0:13:46.890 What was the biggest change of fruit you noticed in 0:13:46.890 --> 0:13:51.890 yourself when you became new in Christ? 800 555 7898 0:13:51.929 --> 0:13:55.090 855 57898. 0:13:55.809 --> 0:13:57.570 We are ready, aren't we, guys? 0:13:57.730 --> 0:13:59.890 Absolutely. Yeah. It's freedom Friday. 0:13:59.929 --> 0:14:03.130 800 555 7898. 0:14:04.010 --> 0:14:07.090 This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:14:07.770 --> 0:14:09.770 All right, let's go right to the word of God. 0:14:09.770 --> 0:14:10.850 Paint a picture here. 0:14:11.090 --> 0:14:13.209 You know, when you look at Galatians five, you see 0:14:13.290 --> 0:14:16.490 two different lists here. I want to read to you 0:14:16.570 --> 0:14:18.890 starting with verse 16. But I say to you, walk 0:14:18.890 --> 0:14:21.410 by the spirit, and you will not gratify the desires 0:14:21.410 --> 0:14:23.850 of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are 0:14:23.850 --> 0:14:26.090 against the spirit, and the desires of the spirit are 0:14:26.090 --> 0:14:28.650 against the flesh. For these are opposed to each other 0:14:28.650 --> 0:14:31.130 to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 0:14:31.250 --> 0:14:33.330 But if you are led by the spirit, you are 0:14:33.330 --> 0:14:36.170 not under the law. Then here it comes. Verse 19. 0:14:36.170 --> 0:14:44.650 Now the works of the flesh are evident sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, 0:14:44.690 --> 0:14:50.010 fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and 0:14:50.010 --> 0:14:53.850 things like these. I'll stop there. That's fruit. 0:14:53.970 --> 0:14:54.210 Yeah. 0:14:54.210 --> 0:14:56.690 That's the fruit of a life lived apart from God. 0:14:56.730 --> 0:14:59.770 Yeah. And what's what's amazing about what Paul does here. 0:14:59.770 --> 0:15:03.450 If you notice, he's got orgies in fits of anger 0:15:03.450 --> 0:15:06.890 in the same list. Yes. And I think sometimes we 0:15:06.890 --> 0:15:12.130 want to almost spiritualize or somehow dumb down some of 0:15:12.130 --> 0:15:16.450 those things. But here's the power of this contrast. When 0:15:16.450 --> 0:15:20.690 we are abiding in Christ, the Spirit of God is 0:15:20.690 --> 0:15:23.490 filling us up and what comes out of our life 0:15:23.810 --> 0:15:27.730 becomes this fruit that we can't take credit for. 0:15:27.770 --> 0:15:28.170 No. 0:15:28.530 --> 0:15:29.410 It's all God. 0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:32.600 No. Then you jump down to verse 22. But the 0:15:32.600 --> 0:15:40.200 fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:43.880 Against such things there is no law. Your life is 0:15:43.880 --> 0:15:47.240 producing fruit. It's just a question of what kind of 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:49.200 fruit are you producing? 0:15:49.280 --> 0:15:54.160 So bang, that's the point. We're all producing some kind 0:15:54.160 --> 0:15:56.920 of fruit. Yes. In fact, Jesus said this. You can 0:15:56.920 --> 0:16:02.120 tell a tree by the fruit that it bears, which 0:16:02.120 --> 0:16:06.200 means you can also tell what root system that tree has. 0:16:06.760 --> 0:16:10.680 So as we get grounded and rooted in Jesus Christ, 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:14.240 and that's that's where we lower our nets around here 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:17.440 with Carl and crew helping us know that we are 0:16:17.480 --> 0:16:22.640 truly born again. And then what that abiding, empowering life 0:16:22.640 --> 0:16:26.560 looks like by God to bear fruit in keeping with 0:16:26.560 --> 0:16:29.560 being disciples of Christ. Got a really cool question for 0:16:29.560 --> 0:16:32.120 you this morning asking you to call in as the 0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:36.560 Spirit of God leads. What was the biggest change of 0:16:36.560 --> 0:16:40.240 fruit you noticed when you experienced new life in Christ? 0:16:40.240 --> 0:16:43.680 Come on, break it down right now. Just one word 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:47.880 or a sentence or a paragraph of testimony. Call in 0:16:47.880 --> 0:16:51.880 right now. What was the biggest change of fruit you 0:16:51.920 --> 0:17:00.320 noticed when you experienced new life in Christ? 800 555 7898. 0:17:00.600 --> 0:17:02.520 That's why we call you the Boom Crew. This is 0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:10.280 your show. Call us right now. 800 555 7898 800 0:17:10.440 --> 0:17:15.359 555 7898. What's the biggest change of fruit? 0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:18.480 Your shot of hope to help you through the day. 0:17:18.760 --> 0:17:21.800 This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:17:22.400 --> 0:17:26.630 We are asking a question right now. That is Freedom Friday, 0:17:27.270 --> 0:17:30.870 and Freedom Friday is an opportunity for you to stand 0:17:30.869 --> 0:17:33.950 up and testify to the goodness and the power of 0:17:33.950 --> 0:17:36.310 God in your life. All week long, we've been talking 0:17:36.310 --> 0:17:39.310 about the beautiful promise of Jesus to His disciples and 0:17:39.310 --> 0:17:42.550 to us. Today. I am the vine. You're the branch. 0:17:42.550 --> 0:17:45.310 You abide in me. You will bear much fruit. Now 0:17:45.310 --> 0:17:48.510 here's the aha moment. If you look at Romans six, 0:17:48.510 --> 0:17:52.429 you will find out that we are all bearing fruit. 0:17:52.670 --> 0:17:57.270 Yes, Romans 621 says, but what fruit were you getting 0:17:57.270 --> 0:17:59.350 at that time from the things of which you are 0:17:59.350 --> 0:18:02.950 now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 0:18:02.950 --> 0:18:05.070 But now that you have been set free from sin 0:18:05.109 --> 0:18:08.110 and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get 0:18:08.150 --> 0:18:11.590 leads to sanctification and its end eternal life. So there's 0:18:11.990 --> 0:18:14.870 fruit everywhere you look at the fruit of your life. 0:18:14.869 --> 0:18:17.429 What is your life producing when you are new in Christ? 0:18:17.430 --> 0:18:20.310 What was the biggest change of fruit that you noticed? 0:18:20.310 --> 0:18:23.310 800 555 7898. 0:18:23.350 --> 0:18:26.670 Princess in Illinois. First time caller. What was that fruit 0:18:26.670 --> 0:18:28.709 that changed when you were in Christ? 0:18:29.910 --> 0:18:34.230 Hi. Good morning. My fruit is joy, peace, and that 0:18:34.230 --> 0:18:38.310 peace that surpasses all understanding. You know, I'm dancing on 0:18:38.310 --> 0:18:42.870 the grave that I once lived in. Well, yes. And 0:18:42.910 --> 0:18:46.109 you know. So I am so grateful to God that 0:18:46.109 --> 0:18:48.030 I am set free. 0:18:48.270 --> 0:18:51.790 Isn't that amazing, Princess? Thank you for calling in Sister Boom. 0:18:51.830 --> 0:18:55.030 This is why we call you the boom crew. Mark 0:18:55.030 --> 0:18:59.870 in Florida. What do you say, man? Hello, Mark. We 0:18:59.910 --> 0:19:02.270 got you. We're trying to get you loaded up. There 0:19:02.270 --> 0:19:04.189 we go. Mark in Florida. What do you say? 0:19:05.510 --> 0:19:09.510 Uh, when Christ came into my life, I started to 0:19:09.510 --> 0:19:14.109 experience peace for the first time in a long time. Um, 0:19:15.350 --> 0:19:18.590 and I just touch base with you guys for some reason. 0:19:18.590 --> 0:19:20.750 This is like the third day I've listened to you 0:19:20.790 --> 0:19:25.899 since y'all Joe went nationwide and it's awesome. Thank you. 0:19:26.140 --> 0:19:29.140 Mark. Thank you. First time caller from Florida. Love you man. 0:19:29.619 --> 0:19:33.900 Mark that that is what happens. That's the boom moment 0:19:33.900 --> 0:19:38.100 when Christ takes over our soul. Maybe the one one 0:19:38.100 --> 0:19:41.659 of the greatest evidences is peace. And that's the result 0:19:41.660 --> 0:19:44.540 of of Jesus's promise. Come to me, all who are 0:19:44.540 --> 0:19:47.540 weary and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. And 0:19:47.540 --> 0:19:49.459 it's like, oh my goodness, I've been looking for it 0:19:49.460 --> 0:19:53.780 my whole life. And there it is, found in Jesus Christ. 0:19:54.859 --> 0:19:57.700 It's amazing. Let's go back to the phone lines here, Marcia. 0:19:57.740 --> 0:20:00.500 First time caller in Indiana. What do you say, Marcia? 0:20:02.220 --> 0:20:03.300 Um. My temper. 0:20:03.940 --> 0:20:04.340 Mhm. 0:20:05.020 --> 0:20:09.379 It was, it was, um, when I, when I found Jesus, 0:20:09.380 --> 0:20:11.300 I prayed, let me do whatever it takes to make 0:20:11.300 --> 0:20:12.260 me like Jesus. 0:20:12.580 --> 0:20:15.900 Ah, beautiful. You know, Marcia, here's the cool thing. One 0:20:15.900 --> 0:20:19.260 of the fruits of the spirit is self-control. Has it 0:20:19.260 --> 0:20:22.820 been awesome for you to witness God get that temper 0:20:22.820 --> 0:20:24.060 under control? Marsha? 0:20:24.980 --> 0:20:28.020 Yeah, he's under control for several years now. 0:20:28.260 --> 0:20:29.380 That's beautiful sister. 0:20:29.420 --> 0:20:30.020 That's awesome. 0:20:30.460 --> 0:20:32.340 And you think about, like, how do you how do 0:20:32.340 --> 0:20:33.540 you do that? 0:20:34.580 --> 0:20:35.260 We don't. 0:20:35.300 --> 0:20:35.740 We don't. 0:20:35.780 --> 0:20:41.220 That's the see, this is this is the point bootstrapping 0:20:41.220 --> 0:20:46.660 Christianity that says, okay, let's just say I've been born again. 0:20:46.700 --> 0:20:50.020 I was at a point of absolute abandonment to the 0:20:50.020 --> 0:20:56.100 Lordship of Jesus Christ. The great misnomer in Western Christianity 0:20:56.100 --> 0:20:58.780 is then I got to get up and I got 0:20:58.820 --> 0:21:04.340 to go. Please, God. Yes and no. Yes, we honor God, 0:21:04.340 --> 0:21:06.859 but the way, the manner in which we do it 0:21:06.859 --> 0:21:12.740 is by utter dependence. Still, the posture in which God 0:21:12.780 --> 0:21:17.220 saves you is the same posture in which God will 0:21:17.220 --> 0:21:21.330 grow you. I was at a men's conference a few 0:21:21.330 --> 0:21:24.850 years ago, and I got on my knees and I said, gentlemen, 0:21:25.369 --> 0:21:29.050 this is where you are born again. Full stop. Jesus 0:21:29.050 --> 0:21:32.129 said it. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Theirs is 0:21:32.130 --> 0:21:39.610 the kingdom of heaven. Spiritual bankruptcy, emptiness, dependence, full surrender 0:21:39.609 --> 0:21:41.290 is where we are born again. 0:21:41.330 --> 0:21:41.770 Yeah. 0:21:42.210 --> 0:21:46.370 Full stop. Here's the irony. You ready for this? That's 0:21:46.369 --> 0:21:51.970 how we grow in that posture of utter dependence on God. 0:21:53.090 --> 0:21:59.290 There's no other way around it. It's a beautiful thing. 0:21:59.290 --> 0:22:01.850 When we fully surrender to our Lord. 0:22:01.890 --> 0:22:04.970 And we experience a change of heart, but also a 0:22:04.970 --> 0:22:08.050 change of fruit. So we're asking you, what was the 0:22:08.050 --> 0:22:10.890 biggest change of fruit you noticed when you experienced new 0:22:10.890 --> 0:22:14.370 life in Christ? The results, the consequences of your life 0:22:14.369 --> 0:22:17.210 were different. rent. Let's go back to the phones. Let's 0:22:17.210 --> 0:22:20.330 go to Michael in Illinois. What was the change of 0:22:20.330 --> 0:22:21.570 fruit that you noticed? 0:22:22.770 --> 0:22:23.570 You know what? 0:22:23.850 --> 0:22:28.570 My compassion kind of like, multiplied by tenfold. I started 0:22:28.570 --> 0:22:33.050 looking at men as trees. Um. And I couldn't judge 0:22:33.050 --> 0:22:36.050 anybody's situation. You know, it's like if it was not 0:22:36.050 --> 0:22:37.649 for God's grace. There go I. 0:22:37.690 --> 0:22:38.250 Yes. 0:22:38.450 --> 0:22:41.850 And it just it just gives you a different perspective. Um, 0:22:42.010 --> 0:22:44.570 as to, you know, why, where someone is in their 0:22:44.570 --> 0:22:46.810 current state and how the compassion that you have to 0:22:46.810 --> 0:22:49.090 have for that person because they just don't know God 0:22:49.090 --> 0:22:51.170 like you do and they're on their way and you 0:22:51.330 --> 0:22:54.210 need to participate and do something about it. But that's 0:22:54.210 --> 0:22:55.610 that's probably the biggest change. 0:22:55.650 --> 0:22:59.730 Michael. Boom, brother. That is spot on when you get 0:22:59.770 --> 0:23:03.970 knocked over by the grace of God, that judgmental spirit, 0:23:04.369 --> 0:23:08.090 that whole idea, when you're truly knocked over by grace, 0:23:08.090 --> 0:23:11.610 you look around and you say, but for the grace 0:23:11.609 --> 0:23:14.000 of God, there go I. Now you have a whole 0:23:14.000 --> 0:23:17.840 new perspective on even caring for people around you. Boom! 0:23:18.400 --> 0:23:21.680 This is why we call you the Boom Crew. Christ 0:23:21.680 --> 0:23:24.159 is alive and well, and he's working in you. Coming up, 0:23:24.160 --> 0:23:27.600 we've got a real treat for you. We got Chip 0:23:27.600 --> 0:23:30.040 Ingram that's going to be coming in here talking about 0:23:30.040 --> 0:23:33.320 what Joy really is and how to take hold of 0:23:33.320 --> 0:23:34.960 it today on this Freedom Friday. 0:23:35.320 --> 0:23:38.000 She was trying to earn her way to God, but 0:23:38.000 --> 0:23:41.520 God showed her she didn't have to. Ali is in 0:23:41.520 --> 0:23:44.880 the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:23:45.040 --> 0:23:47.679 It's Carl and crew. The beauty of the gospel is 0:23:47.680 --> 0:23:50.399 that we can come as we are, overcome what seems 0:23:50.400 --> 0:23:53.960 impossible and live as we never imagined. And it's all 0:23:53.960 --> 0:23:58.480 about God. You know, happiness is an interesting thing, but 0:23:58.520 --> 0:24:02.920 happiness is really linked to happenings. Things that are going 0:24:02.920 --> 0:24:04.000 on around us, right? 0:24:04.040 --> 0:24:04.600 Yes. 0:24:05.160 --> 0:24:08.560 So happiness can be fickle. You can have a happy 0:24:08.560 --> 0:24:11.679 moment at high noon, and by 3:00 things can be 0:24:11.800 --> 0:24:12.439 going south. 0:24:12.480 --> 0:24:13.120 So happy. 0:24:13.440 --> 0:24:20.359 But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, joy, joy, joy. 0:24:20.400 --> 0:24:23.240 Chip Ingram going to unpack it for us coming up 0:24:23.240 --> 0:24:24.680 here in three minutes. 0:24:24.960 --> 0:24:27.679 You can take him out of Alaska, but you can't 0:24:27.720 --> 0:24:31.600 take Alaska out of him. Carl is in the crew. 0:24:31.760 --> 0:24:34.320 It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:24:35.000 --> 0:24:37.439 What a promise. What a vision. All you got to 0:24:37.440 --> 0:24:39.880 do is look at John 15, and you see some 0:24:39.880 --> 0:24:43.520 of the very final words of Jesus as he's making 0:24:43.520 --> 0:24:47.119 his way to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. 0:24:47.320 --> 0:24:51.440 And he tells his disciples, look, guys, it's to my 0:24:51.440 --> 0:24:55.040 father's glory that you bear much fruit. And there's a 0:24:55.080 --> 0:24:57.760 lot of ways to look at that fruit, but it's 0:24:57.760 --> 0:25:01.840 a joy completed, according to Jesus himself in John 15, 0:25:01.880 --> 0:25:05.520 that we would have this abiding relationship, close connection with 0:25:05.840 --> 0:25:09.360 with Christ our Savior. And then the fruit of that, 0:25:09.400 --> 0:25:11.310 all you got to do is go to Galatians five 0:25:11.350 --> 0:25:15.430 and you see love and joy and multiple other attributes 0:25:15.430 --> 0:25:19.270 of those that have this abiding relationship with Christ. We 0:25:19.350 --> 0:25:22.390 got a man with us right now that knows and 0:25:22.430 --> 0:25:26.150 wants for you to experience this in a big way. Chip. Joy. 0:25:26.270 --> 0:25:29.910 I mean, come on. Talk about an attribute of being 0:25:30.190 --> 0:25:32.709 filled with the power of God. That's got to be 0:25:32.710 --> 0:25:34.070 one of the hallmarks, right? 0:25:34.310 --> 0:25:36.510 Yeah, I think after love, I mean, all these are 0:25:36.510 --> 0:25:39.550 an expression of the spirit working inside of our heart 0:25:39.550 --> 0:25:41.550 as we're connected to Jesus by the power of the 0:25:41.550 --> 0:25:45.310 Holy Spirit. But I love C.S. Lewis's quote that joy 0:25:45.310 --> 0:25:49.790 is the serious business of heaven. It's really a byproduct 0:25:49.790 --> 0:25:53.389 of that abiding that gives us incredible strength in the 0:25:53.390 --> 0:25:55.430 midst of very challenging times. 0:25:55.470 --> 0:25:58.590 Chip Ingram, our guest right now, pastor, author, teacher for 0:25:58.590 --> 0:26:01.629 more than three decades. You know the title of this book, 0:26:01.630 --> 0:26:05.830 I choose Joy. Many people would get behind that. I 0:26:05.950 --> 0:26:08.790 spend some time on social media, and I often see 0:26:08.830 --> 0:26:13.630 language around things like choosing joy, choosing happiness, choosing to 0:26:13.670 --> 0:26:16.870 see your circumstances with a certain set of eyes. And 0:26:16.869 --> 0:26:19.590 it's not all biblical. This is something I think most 0:26:19.590 --> 0:26:21.830 people would embrace, even if they don't know what the 0:26:21.830 --> 0:26:24.869 root is. But what do we miss in that messaging 0:26:24.910 --> 0:26:28.070 of simply choosing to be joyful or choosing to be 0:26:28.109 --> 0:26:30.990 happy in spite of sometimes what we're going through? 0:26:31.270 --> 0:26:33.790 Well, I think the focus often there is that we 0:26:33.790 --> 0:26:36.190 have this power and we can choose this and we 0:26:36.190 --> 0:26:38.949 can choose that. And I think that part of the 0:26:38.990 --> 0:26:42.390 choosing is important. We have a decision. But the fact 0:26:42.390 --> 0:26:46.350 of the matter is, is that it is supernatural, abiding 0:26:46.350 --> 0:26:50.630 presence of Jesus in us. The Apostle Paul is literally 0:26:50.670 --> 0:26:55.630 waiting possible execution. And as you study Philippians chapter one, 0:26:55.910 --> 0:26:59.550 he teaches us how to have God's perspective and to 0:26:59.590 --> 0:27:02.590 be connected in the midst of the worst of circumstances. 0:27:02.590 --> 0:27:06.300 And so it's something that God does. We participate. We choose. 0:27:06.700 --> 0:27:10.180 We're not victims. But at the same time, that perspective 0:27:10.180 --> 0:27:14.780 only comes when you see life circumstance and challenges through 0:27:14.780 --> 0:27:18.100 the lens of an eternal perspective and what the spirit provides. 0:27:18.460 --> 0:27:21.020 Now Chip Joy has some meat to it. It's got 0:27:21.020 --> 0:27:26.460 some substance that actually sets itself apart from happiness. Help 0:27:26.500 --> 0:27:28.379 us delineate between those two. 0:27:28.780 --> 0:27:31.659 Well, happiness by and large. And by the way, I 0:27:31.660 --> 0:27:34.220 think it's a wonderful thing to be happy. Sure, but 0:27:34.220 --> 0:27:38.700 even the word it's based on happenings, good happenings, you're happy, 0:27:38.900 --> 0:27:44.380 bad happenings or circumstances, you're not very happy. Joy supersedes that. 0:27:44.380 --> 0:27:48.180 Joy in the midst of the most challenging times allows 0:27:48.180 --> 0:27:51.740 us not necessarily always to be, oh, life is wonderful 0:27:51.740 --> 0:27:55.620 and great and happy, but there's this sustaining presence of 0:27:55.619 --> 0:27:59.020 God that gives you a perspective. As you look at 0:27:59.020 --> 0:28:01.940 Philippians one, which is the the whole book is based 0:28:01.940 --> 0:28:06.020 on that. You know, Paul's focus is upward on God 0:28:06.020 --> 0:28:10.020 and outward on people while his circumstances are. I mean, 0:28:10.060 --> 0:28:13.620 he's in prison. He's chained. It's that perspective that produces 0:28:13.619 --> 0:28:14.980 the byproduct of joy. 0:28:15.300 --> 0:28:17.860 Chip, was there something going on in your life that 0:28:17.859 --> 0:28:21.659 prompted you to explore the topic of joy? 0:28:22.060 --> 0:28:25.900 Yeah, it's, I guess, part embarrassing and part just real life. 0:28:25.940 --> 0:28:28.180 The quick story is over a period of the last 0:28:28.180 --> 0:28:33.659 7 or 8 years, I had excruciating back problems, multiple surgeries, 0:28:33.700 --> 0:28:37.140 hardware in my back problems. After that, laying on my 0:28:37.140 --> 0:28:40.180 side during Covid for 21 days could not get in 0:28:40.180 --> 0:28:44.100 the hospital and being in pain all the time. Ice packs, 0:28:44.100 --> 0:28:48.260 everything you can imagine almost 24 over seven. And you know, 0:28:48.260 --> 0:28:51.540 it was a long journey and still have considerable pain, 0:28:51.540 --> 0:28:54.060 but nothing like it used to be. And my wife, 0:28:54.060 --> 0:28:57.260 one day I was doing one more rehab, learning to 0:28:57.300 --> 0:29:00.620 walk again in the backyard and shuffling around. And I 0:29:00.660 --> 0:29:05.340 sat down and she said, can I share something just honestly. Oh, yeah. Sure, honey. 0:29:05.380 --> 0:29:08.140 Go ahead. And she goes, do you realize how negative 0:29:08.180 --> 0:29:08.900 you've become? 0:29:08.940 --> 0:29:10.340 Oh, boy. That hurts. 0:29:10.700 --> 0:29:13.660 And I said, what? She said, honey, I love you. 0:29:13.660 --> 0:29:17.700 But I married a positive, upbeat, future oriented, filled with 0:29:17.740 --> 0:29:21.660 kind of faith. And these years, you've been through a lot. 0:29:21.700 --> 0:29:24.420 I understand, but when you get up, you groan and 0:29:24.620 --> 0:29:27.580 people ask a couple questions, and we're always talking about 0:29:27.580 --> 0:29:31.180 your back. And, you know, there's this internal, you know, 0:29:31.220 --> 0:29:34.459 publicly you're doing better. But around me, I see it 0:29:34.460 --> 0:29:37.980 more than others. And I remember, of course, my first reaction, 0:29:37.980 --> 0:29:41.340 because I'm so in tune with the Lord was no, no, no, no, no. 0:29:42.740 --> 0:29:43.460 Oh, man. 0:29:44.660 --> 0:29:46.540 And as those words were coming out of my mouth, 0:29:46.540 --> 0:29:49.620 I was like, oh, you're so right. And I literally 0:29:49.860 --> 0:29:51.940 it was probably three months later, I was to speak 0:29:51.940 --> 0:29:54.780 at the Billy Graham Conference Center, and it was going 0:29:54.820 --> 0:29:58.140 to teach on Philippians one. And as I studied through that, 0:29:58.460 --> 0:30:03.010 what I recognized Was I needed to choose joy. And 0:30:03.010 --> 0:30:05.210 this book is about going into training. This is not 0:30:05.210 --> 0:30:10.010 thinking positive thoughts, declaring you'll be joyful, not looking at reality. 0:30:10.250 --> 0:30:13.490 This is a journey and a process and a practice. 0:30:13.490 --> 0:30:15.970 And I went into training that came out of that 0:30:15.970 --> 0:30:20.490 passage to learn how to look at life through God's purpose, 0:30:20.530 --> 0:30:26.410 God's focus, my ultimate hope, and readjust expectations. Where Jesus 0:30:26.410 --> 0:30:28.890 met me by the power of the Holy Spirit to 0:30:28.930 --> 0:30:34.050 allow me, despite the circumstances, to really experience joy. That's powerful, 0:30:34.090 --> 0:30:36.610 and that is what it grew out of. And so 0:30:36.610 --> 0:30:39.050 a lot of the very practical sides of it are 0:30:39.050 --> 0:30:41.410 things that I've been doing for a number of years now. 0:30:41.410 --> 0:30:43.770 I still have a card right in the front of 0:30:43.770 --> 0:30:48.490 my desk that has a passage about rejoicing always. And 0:30:48.490 --> 0:30:53.330 then be thankful. Be positive. Choose. Don't complain. And then 0:30:53.330 --> 0:30:56.370 I have these four questions that flow out of that 0:30:56.370 --> 0:31:00.170 passage that have transformed my thinking and therefore my life. 0:31:00.370 --> 0:31:02.850 You know, Chip, I think your wife and my went to. 0:31:02.890 --> 0:31:07.010 The Great Wife Clinic together on how to have tough 0:31:07.010 --> 0:31:08.850 questions for their husbands. 0:31:09.170 --> 0:31:11.330 You mentioned those four questions. Can you give us a 0:31:11.330 --> 0:31:12.810 quick rundown on what they are? 0:31:13.050 --> 0:31:15.610 Sure. The first one is where's your focus when our 0:31:15.610 --> 0:31:18.410 focus is upward? You don't have to feel like it, 0:31:18.410 --> 0:31:21.050 but you choose to worship an outward you. You care 0:31:21.050 --> 0:31:24.730 and pray for other people. Versus your focus on yourself. 0:31:24.970 --> 0:31:28.530 Things change when the question is, what's my purpose? What's 0:31:28.570 --> 0:31:32.530 God's agenda in this challenging situation? Versus why me? This 0:31:32.530 --> 0:31:35.290 isn't fair. I hate this, I can't believe God will 0:31:35.290 --> 0:31:38.290 let this happen. And the third question is where's my hope? 0:31:38.450 --> 0:31:42.010 Is it in circumstances? Is it in this person? Is it? 0:31:42.050 --> 0:31:44.050 You know things are going to turn out right, is it? 0:31:44.090 --> 0:31:46.650 My marriage is going to completely get better. Is it that, 0:31:46.690 --> 0:31:48.450 you know, until God gives me a husband or a 0:31:48.530 --> 0:31:51.330 wife or until my finances? We play a game where 0:31:51.330 --> 0:31:54.050 we put our hope in places. And so when you ask, 0:31:54.050 --> 0:31:57.680 where's my hope? And you realize the only anchor of 0:31:57.680 --> 0:31:59.880 your hope can be the person of Christ and what 0:31:59.880 --> 0:32:02.560 he's promised. And then the last question has probably the 0:32:02.560 --> 0:32:05.800 most helpful is, what are my expectations toward the end 0:32:05.800 --> 0:32:09.280 of that passage in Philippians one, he says, while he's 0:32:09.320 --> 0:32:13.200 awaiting execution, he says to these Philippians, it has been granted. 0:32:13.200 --> 0:32:15.120 The word is grace. It has been granted to you 0:32:15.160 --> 0:32:18.400 not only to believe, but to suffer for his sake. 0:32:18.800 --> 0:32:22.280 And sometimes we get disillusioned because we're in difficult times. 0:32:22.280 --> 0:32:25.120 We think, God, I obey you, I love you, I'm 0:32:25.120 --> 0:32:28.840 following you. We unconsciously think if we do x, Y, 0:32:28.840 --> 0:32:31.920 and Z that somehow God is obligated to make our 0:32:31.920 --> 0:32:36.240 life wonderful and no problems and healthy. And the fact 0:32:36.240 --> 0:32:39.280 of the matter in a fallen world, part of the gift. 0:32:39.320 --> 0:32:42.320 And this is hard for Americans to hear, especially part 0:32:42.320 --> 0:32:44.560 of the gift of God, is the gift to believe, 0:32:44.600 --> 0:32:47.520 to be connected, to be forgiven, to have His Spirit 0:32:47.560 --> 0:32:51.480 taken up residence in us. And we go through suffering 0:32:51.480 --> 0:32:55.520 with us. That process in a fallen world is actually 0:32:55.520 --> 0:32:58.480 one of the key elements that allow us to become 0:32:58.480 --> 0:33:01.720 more and more like Jesus. It creates a dependency that 0:33:01.720 --> 0:33:04.880 can't happen any other way. He allows it to happen. 0:33:04.880 --> 0:33:08.920 God isn't angry. He's not punishing people. But suffering is 0:33:08.920 --> 0:33:11.200 a part of the journey. And if you expect it 0:33:11.200 --> 0:33:14.040 to be great all the time because you've done X, Y, 0:33:14.040 --> 0:33:17.360 and Z your expectations, you set yourself up to be 0:33:17.360 --> 0:33:20.800 very disillusioned with God, with life, and with other people. 0:33:20.840 --> 0:33:23.920 Yeah, and that's a performance metric rather than a proximity 0:33:23.920 --> 0:33:27.840 to Jesus metric. And it always fails us. On that note, 0:33:27.840 --> 0:33:31.400 we've been talking all week about the abiding life. I 0:33:31.440 --> 0:33:34.200 have this new conviction, having been a pastor and a 0:33:34.200 --> 0:33:36.840 leader for a lot of years. And sometimes I look 0:33:36.840 --> 0:33:39.480 back and go, Carl, why didn't you learn this stuff sooner? 0:33:39.840 --> 0:33:42.840 But the Lord's been gracious to me, and I feel 0:33:42.840 --> 0:33:47.719 like the church has put before people a bit of 0:33:47.720 --> 0:33:51.400 a hamster wheel of performance, and they're all good things. 0:33:51.400 --> 0:33:54.470 So it's. Read your Bible and pray and and give 0:33:54.470 --> 0:33:56.510 and find your gifts and use them. And those are 0:33:56.510 --> 0:34:00.790 all great. But I feel like we've neglected those abiding 0:34:00.790 --> 0:34:06.910 disciplines of silence, solitude, aloneness with God, uh, where we 0:34:06.910 --> 0:34:09.950 can cry out, search me, know me, try me in 0:34:09.950 --> 0:34:13.030 the darkness of the morning. And I've been doing this 0:34:13.030 --> 0:34:19.470 for goodness sakes, probably six months now, really regularly. And 0:34:19.510 --> 0:34:25.630 I'm finding that that's the fuel for this fruit producing life. 0:34:25.670 --> 0:34:29.350 It's it's him. It's his presence. It's not even activity. 0:34:29.390 --> 0:34:30.710 Speak to that chip. 0:34:31.030 --> 0:34:34.390 Well, I would have to say that I agree with you. And, um, 0:34:34.430 --> 0:34:37.750 I think we have a transactional perspective. I'm going to 0:34:37.750 --> 0:34:42.109 do these things. So. So that it's the so that 0:34:42.110 --> 0:34:44.670 that kills us so that my life will be better, 0:34:44.670 --> 0:34:46.750 my work will be better, my kids will turn out right, 0:34:46.750 --> 0:34:49.510 my finances will go up, my marriage if I have one. 0:34:49.670 --> 0:34:52.990 And so that is what kills us, because God refuses 0:34:53.230 --> 0:34:55.549 to be a means to an end. And we don't 0:34:55.550 --> 0:34:57.149 have to wait till we get to heaven to be 0:34:57.150 --> 0:35:00.469 with him. The same spirit that raised Jesus from the 0:35:00.469 --> 0:35:04.589 dead dwells in us, and its intimacy with him that 0:35:04.590 --> 0:35:09.150 sustains you. It's intimacy that brings joy. And it's not. 0:35:09.310 --> 0:35:13.230 I've read my two chapters. I've prayed through these three things. Okay, God, 0:35:13.230 --> 0:35:16.990 here we go now. Make my life work. Yeah. It's 0:35:16.989 --> 0:35:20.750 the byproduct. The blessings. Every good and perfect gift, in fact, 0:35:20.750 --> 0:35:24.190 comes from him. But when the gifts get more important 0:35:24.190 --> 0:35:27.550 than the giver, that's where we get in trouble. You know, 0:35:27.590 --> 0:35:29.549 I've done a lot of counseling in my many, many 0:35:29.550 --> 0:35:31.910 years as a pastor, and people come with all kinds 0:35:31.910 --> 0:35:34.629 of problems and struggles, and I try to listen and 0:35:34.630 --> 0:35:37.590 lean in and ask questions and be very, very concerned. 0:35:37.590 --> 0:35:39.950 But I always get around to tell me a little 0:35:39.989 --> 0:35:42.870 bit about your own private worship. Tell me about your 0:35:42.870 --> 0:35:47.029 time Unhurriedly in God's Word and hearing from God and 0:35:47.030 --> 0:35:50.060 being connected to him. And how do you practice his 0:35:50.060 --> 0:35:53.379 presence throughout the day? And the correlation I've seen after 0:35:53.380 --> 0:35:58.620 these many decades, Carl, is this little time with God really, 0:35:58.620 --> 0:36:02.660 really big problems? I mean, the average follower of Jesus 0:36:02.660 --> 0:36:06.340 doesn't spend any time with Jesus. And as a result 0:36:06.340 --> 0:36:09.380 of that, they can't figure out why all the promises 0:36:09.380 --> 0:36:11.900 of Jesus they're not experiencing in their life. 0:36:11.940 --> 0:36:13.100 And joy is there. 0:36:13.140 --> 0:36:15.700 If you want more from our guest, Chip Ingram. He's 0:36:15.700 --> 0:36:19.620 a pastor, author, teacher, teaching pastor for living on the edge. 0:36:19.739 --> 0:36:25.580 Just text the word joy to (800) 555-7898. Text joy to 0:36:25.620 --> 0:36:30.620 800 555 7898. You'll get to his website. You can 0:36:30.620 --> 0:36:32.739 see where to get the book. How to get a 0:36:32.739 --> 0:36:37.620 free download. Text joy to 800 555 7898. 0:36:38.620 --> 0:36:41.700 This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:36:42.780 --> 0:36:46.020 Well, let me give you a metaphor from commercial fishing 0:36:46.020 --> 0:36:48.740 that'll fit with why in the world we lower our nets. 0:36:48.780 --> 0:36:52.780 Where we do here we're called to be fishers of men, right? Yes. 0:36:52.820 --> 0:36:56.700 And by the way, fishing for men is not a 0:36:56.700 --> 0:37:02.219 conversion discipline alone. It's not like getting people converted. Really? 0:37:02.219 --> 0:37:05.660 Fishers of men is getting people on this path, which 0:37:05.700 --> 0:37:09.700 includes regeneration, salvation of soul. But then growing up in 0:37:09.700 --> 0:37:14.899 this relationship with God is. That's when the work begins. 0:37:15.180 --> 0:37:17.419 I mean, talk to any pastor out there, they will 0:37:17.420 --> 0:37:20.580 tell you. Yeah, it's easier to gather a crowd than 0:37:20.580 --> 0:37:24.219 it is to make disciples. Disciple making is hard work. 0:37:24.820 --> 0:37:27.819 But if, uh, let me take you to Alaska. Let's 0:37:27.820 --> 0:37:30.860 go north. Come on. The rush is on. Here we go. Um, 0:37:31.060 --> 0:37:34.700 so eight seasons I commercial fished in Bristol Bay, Alaska. 0:37:34.700 --> 0:37:36.340 It's on the west coast of Alaska. It's on the 0:37:36.380 --> 0:37:40.700 Bering Sea. 32 foot boats were the largest vessels that 0:37:40.700 --> 0:37:43.299 you could have. I'm sitting here thinking about this now, 0:37:43.340 --> 0:37:45.529 many years later, going now, why did they limit it 0:37:45.530 --> 0:37:48.850 to 32ft? I don't know. Those are small boats for 0:37:48.850 --> 0:37:52.810 some rough water, I'll tell you that. And I've known 0:37:52.810 --> 0:37:56.570 people that we lost in Bristol Bay. It's a dangerous. 0:37:56.610 --> 0:37:59.890 It's a dangerous fishery. There was one young man that 0:37:59.890 --> 0:38:03.090 was fishing in the Dillingham district. I had met him 0:38:03.090 --> 0:38:05.410 in King Salmon, Alaska. He was a young guy. We 0:38:05.450 --> 0:38:07.489 were all in our 20s back, way back in the 0:38:07.489 --> 0:38:11.290 day when I started, I was 19. Commercial fishing in Alaska. 0:38:12.010 --> 0:38:16.009 And he was a great kid, but he was on 0:38:16.010 --> 0:38:18.250 the bow of a boat throwing out an anchor. And 0:38:18.450 --> 0:38:20.210 one of the things you got to do is stay 0:38:20.210 --> 0:38:24.970 away from the lines. Stay away from the lines. And 0:38:24.969 --> 0:38:28.169 he got his foot into a half hitch. And that 0:38:28.170 --> 0:38:31.930 means that the the line is wrapped around your leg. 0:38:32.650 --> 0:38:36.410 And that anchor took him overboard. And we found him 0:38:36.410 --> 0:38:40.050 three days later. Washed up on a beach. Life comes 0:38:40.050 --> 0:38:43.089 at you fast in Bristol Bay. A he can. It's 0:38:43.090 --> 0:38:48.370 a very dangerous fishery, but there's great lessons that come 0:38:48.370 --> 0:38:51.330 out of tough stuff. Have you ever noticed that the 0:38:51.330 --> 0:38:55.410 best illustrations of life come out of tough stuff? Yeah. 0:38:55.450 --> 0:38:59.090 And one of the things that we learned commercial fishing 0:38:59.090 --> 0:39:03.290 in Bristol Bay. Number one, job one, get on the fish. 0:39:03.410 --> 0:39:04.930 You don't want to set a net out in the 0:39:04.930 --> 0:39:07.730 open ocean where there's no fish. And the other one 0:39:07.730 --> 0:39:09.810 is when you get them on board, care for them 0:39:10.450 --> 0:39:12.450 because there's nothing like. In fact, Ali and I were 0:39:12.450 --> 0:39:17.650 just talking here about wild caught Alaskan salmon. There's nothing 0:39:17.650 --> 0:39:21.370 like wild caught Alaskan salmon. But not all of them 0:39:21.370 --> 0:39:25.490 are cared for in the way that you might really 0:39:25.489 --> 0:39:29.130 make it palatable for, for you on your dinner table. 0:39:30.810 --> 0:39:33.050 And that kind of drives what we do around here. 0:39:33.050 --> 0:39:36.850 We want to get on the fish, so to speak, 0:39:36.850 --> 0:39:39.129 because we're called to be fishers of men, and we 0:39:39.130 --> 0:39:42.839 want to care for those rather than just be reckless 0:39:42.840 --> 0:39:46.000 with them when they come on board. And here's the 0:39:46.000 --> 0:39:50.360 beautiful thing about it. This is all God's work. He's 0:39:50.360 --> 0:39:52.919 the one that reels him in. He's the one that 0:39:52.920 --> 0:39:56.359 casts the net. We're just partnered with him in his 0:39:56.360 --> 0:40:00.799 greater ministry. And then we are charged with here in 0:40:00.800 --> 0:40:04.320 the morning show to help you not only be found 0:40:04.320 --> 0:40:08.400 in Christ, but then cared for as we grow and grow, 0:40:08.400 --> 0:40:11.239 and as we've been talking about this week, really bear 0:40:11.239 --> 0:40:13.760 fruit in Christ. One time we were on the west 0:40:13.760 --> 0:40:17.440 coast of Alaska. We were in the Ugashik district, so 0:40:17.440 --> 0:40:20.880 it was way south and east. And so we're out 0:40:20.880 --> 0:40:23.840 in high seas. We got big old sea swells, big 0:40:23.840 --> 0:40:27.600 rolling sea swells that come in from Russia, and these 0:40:27.680 --> 0:40:31.759 sea swells are just humongous. And then sometimes you'll get 0:40:31.760 --> 0:40:34.879 breakers in those sea swells. But we had our eyes 0:40:34.880 --> 0:40:36.879 focused on one thing. Let's get on the fish. Let's 0:40:36.880 --> 0:40:39.360 not worry about the weather. Let's get to those fish. 0:40:39.360 --> 0:40:42.960 And we had a 180, which is a small little 0:40:43.239 --> 0:40:50.200 plane that was had a spotter on board. So that spotter, 0:40:50.200 --> 0:40:53.879 it's an amazing thing because the vantage point and I've 0:40:53.880 --> 0:40:56.960 flown over those districts and seen fish from above, there's 0:40:56.960 --> 0:41:01.399 things that you can see from a thousand 2000ft that 0:41:01.400 --> 0:41:04.680 you can't see at water level. Boy, there's another analogy 0:41:04.719 --> 0:41:05.640 for life, isn't it? 0:41:05.840 --> 0:41:08.440 Our perspective is pretty limited, in fact. 0:41:08.440 --> 0:41:10.239 So I'm going to throw this in for free. This 0:41:10.239 --> 0:41:14.000 is why we talk with God every morning, because he 0:41:14.000 --> 0:41:17.680 is our ultimate spotter pilot. He can tell us, go south, 0:41:17.719 --> 0:41:20.880 go north, throw the net out. And this is what 0:41:20.880 --> 0:41:23.359 I want you to do here. God can do that 0:41:23.360 --> 0:41:26.439 for us. So the spotter pilot had us going south, south, south. 0:41:26.440 --> 0:41:28.440 And he's like, go south. And I'm hearing him on 0:41:28.440 --> 0:41:31.000 the squawk box. So we got this kind of open air. 0:41:31.000 --> 0:41:33.319 It's called a flying bridge where the captain is and 0:41:33.320 --> 0:41:36.710 he's up in the wheelhouse and there's there's sea waves 0:41:36.710 --> 0:41:38.989 coming over that bow, but he's in his rain gear 0:41:38.989 --> 0:41:41.790 and so he's taking whitewater over the front. Isn't that great? 0:41:42.150 --> 0:41:43.270 It's like a movie. 0:41:43.790 --> 0:41:44.910 I'm in an adventure. 0:41:44.950 --> 0:41:47.710 It is. It's called Deadliest Catch, and I used to 0:41:47.750 --> 0:41:51.670 deliver fish to all those boats that are in Deadliest Catch. 0:41:51.710 --> 0:41:55.310 I've been on board almost all of them. Not the 0:41:55.310 --> 0:41:57.830 newer ones, but I've been on the high spirits and 0:41:57.830 --> 0:42:00.550 all those. I've been cool. I've been in the kitchen 0:42:00.550 --> 0:42:03.390 and in the galley, having coffee with the captains. Isn't 0:42:03.390 --> 0:42:03.910 that wild? 0:42:04.110 --> 0:42:04.509 I love it. 0:42:04.550 --> 0:42:07.430 So we would deliver fish to them, though, in these 0:42:07.510 --> 0:42:11.669 off seasons for crab fishing. And it's just an amazing thing. 0:42:11.710 --> 0:42:13.629 A lot of whitewater, a lot of rough water. So 0:42:13.630 --> 0:42:17.670 he's yelling at us on the VHF radio, very high frequency. 0:42:18.590 --> 0:42:22.150 And he's saying, go further south, and we're going past 0:42:22.150 --> 0:42:25.350 boats that have their nets out 300 yards a gear, 0:42:25.550 --> 0:42:27.989 and there's little plunk in and you can see fish 0:42:27.989 --> 0:42:32.070 when they hit that net. And I'm like, Marvin we're 0:42:32.070 --> 0:42:35.589 we're on we're on them. Shouldn't we throw it out? 0:42:35.630 --> 0:42:38.950 And he said, he's telling me, keep going south and 0:42:38.950 --> 0:42:41.469 we're yelling over the waves. I mean, yeah, we're. Are 0:42:41.469 --> 0:42:41.830 you there. 0:42:41.830 --> 0:42:43.830 With me, guys? I'm on the boat. We're there. 0:42:44.270 --> 0:42:47.350 And finally we go south. And now we're going further south. 0:42:47.350 --> 0:42:50.510 Now we're away from any boats. And he says, throw 0:42:50.510 --> 0:42:53.230 it out and we get this buoy. At the end 0:42:53.230 --> 0:42:55.950 of the gear, big orange buoy. And I throw that 0:42:55.950 --> 0:42:59.390 thing out over the stern roller, and then out comes 0:42:59.390 --> 0:43:02.230 300 yards of gear, one cork at a time. And 0:43:02.230 --> 0:43:05.390 the cork sit on the surface of the water. And 0:43:05.390 --> 0:43:09.350 I mean, immediately we got about one fathom of gear 0:43:09.390 --> 0:43:12.350 out and we call it smoke on the water. The 0:43:12.350 --> 0:43:17.030 fish started pouring in. We couldn't see it, but that 0:43:17.030 --> 0:43:20.470 spotter pilot put us right over the sweet spot of 0:43:20.670 --> 0:43:23.989 thousands of salmon that haul that day. We brought in 0:43:23.989 --> 0:43:26.590 in one set £10,000 of fish. 0:43:27.270 --> 0:43:27.670 Wow. 0:43:27.790 --> 0:43:28.229 I like. 0:43:28.230 --> 0:43:29.230 That you thought. 0:43:29.230 --> 0:43:32.069 You saw it before you saw it. You were like, hey, 0:43:32.070 --> 0:43:35.500 there's something over here. But the guy who saw the 0:43:35.500 --> 0:43:40.340 whole picture was like, just wait. Something better is coming. Yeah. 0:43:40.420 --> 0:43:41.339 Stay impatient. 0:43:41.380 --> 0:43:46.780 We were just going by faith. Yeah. Which great metaphors here, right, guys? 0:43:47.020 --> 0:43:47.860 He's got it coming. 0:43:47.900 --> 0:43:50.380 I mean, God often says to us, go further south. 0:43:50.420 --> 0:43:52.859 Go further south, a little further, a little further. And 0:43:52.860 --> 0:43:55.740 then God will say, slap it out, slap it out. 0:43:56.219 --> 0:43:58.940 So what we do here with Carl and crew is 0:43:58.980 --> 0:44:02.180 we're trying to get over. We're trying to get over 0:44:02.180 --> 0:44:05.740 the sweet spot of where God would have us. And 0:44:05.739 --> 0:44:08.060 so one of the two things that drives us here 0:44:08.060 --> 0:44:10.500 is we want to be able to give a clear 0:44:10.540 --> 0:44:14.580 gospel message so that we can make sure that we're 0:44:14.580 --> 0:44:17.700 doing everything to honor God, to be fishers of men. 0:44:19.620 --> 0:44:22.860 We believe that. So next week, we're going to be 0:44:22.860 --> 0:44:28.259 unpacking this incredible hallucination of salvation and and setting you 0:44:28.260 --> 0:44:31.100 free from fear of do I know? How do I know? 0:44:31.100 --> 0:44:32.980 I stand with God and He stands with me. And 0:44:32.980 --> 0:44:34.500 those are great questions, right? 0:44:34.500 --> 0:44:34.820 Yes. 0:44:34.860 --> 0:44:37.819 I mean, everyone is going to face those questions, even 0:44:37.820 --> 0:44:41.420 those of you that are born again. The other thing, though, 0:44:41.460 --> 0:44:45.620 is this whole dynamic of how in the world did 0:44:45.620 --> 0:44:48.660 we grow in Christ when God catches us, by the way, 0:44:48.660 --> 0:44:51.420 we don't catch God. Let's get the metaphor right here. 0:44:51.620 --> 0:44:54.660 God grabs us and he calls us out of darkness. 0:44:54.660 --> 0:44:56.180 He did that for me. He took a kid with 0:44:56.180 --> 0:45:00.100 a raging cocaine addiction and in his young 20s, raised 0:45:00.100 --> 0:45:04.020 in church. Pretty good kid. Lost my mind. Type A 0:45:04.060 --> 0:45:07.700 personality working in the oil fields of Alaska. Got a 0:45:07.700 --> 0:45:10.540 raging cocaine addiction and I was so far from God 0:45:10.540 --> 0:45:13.540 in my life. Was just a mess. And God said, 0:45:13.540 --> 0:45:15.419 are you done yet? And on that day he saved 0:45:15.420 --> 0:45:18.660 my soul. But here's what's awesome he not only saved 0:45:18.660 --> 0:45:22.379 my soul, he put me on this path, guys, and 0:45:22.380 --> 0:45:25.739 it's like he brought me on board his boat. But 0:45:25.739 --> 0:45:30.969 then he's caring for me and he's he's nurturing me 0:45:30.969 --> 0:45:33.609 and helping me grow. And and by the way, he's 0:45:33.610 --> 0:45:36.570 not condemning me. So I hit my lips about three 0:45:36.570 --> 0:45:40.210 weeks after I was born again and got my Tookie 0:45:40.210 --> 0:45:43.130 and a swisher. Big time. And I'll share with you 0:45:43.170 --> 0:45:46.689 next week that story, because that was a disaster. It 0:45:46.690 --> 0:45:50.490 even caused me to question. Did did God save me? 0:45:50.969 --> 0:45:52.810 And there's a lot of you that have that that 0:45:52.850 --> 0:45:55.170 have had that experience where you're you're called out of 0:45:55.170 --> 0:45:57.330 darkness into the light, you're truly born again. And then 0:45:57.330 --> 0:46:01.930 you're like, ah, I just did something so dumb. God 0:46:01.930 --> 0:46:05.690 must be fed up. God loves you and he's patient 0:46:05.730 --> 0:46:13.450 and he's forbearing. Then he gives us a vision. And 0:46:13.450 --> 0:46:15.049 this is the second part of what we want to 0:46:15.050 --> 0:46:17.730 do around here is be these nurturers of you that 0:46:17.730 --> 0:46:20.690 have been caught by the grace of God and brought 0:46:20.690 --> 0:46:23.810 on board into the kingdom of God and help you 0:46:23.810 --> 0:46:26.210 grow and go, and God with God. And this is 0:46:26.210 --> 0:46:30.049 why we've been talking about bearing fruit this week. This 0:46:30.050 --> 0:46:33.770 is why we've been talking about this. Because John 15 0:46:33.810 --> 0:46:37.890 is clear. And I'm sorry. Sometimes I come uncorked. And 0:46:37.890 --> 0:46:40.410 some of you may be new. Listening to us here 0:46:40.410 --> 0:46:44.530 might think, is this guy for real? I'm. My joy 0:46:44.530 --> 0:46:48.050 in the Lord. Started many years ago. But man, it's 0:46:48.050 --> 0:46:51.570 built with passion over the years and I'm more sold 0:46:51.570 --> 0:46:55.370 out to this thing called the sanctification process than ever before. 0:46:55.370 --> 0:46:58.090 And it's a big fancy word for growing up in Jesus. 0:46:58.090 --> 0:47:01.970 But what a promise. When Jesus looked at his disciples 0:47:01.969 --> 0:47:06.850 and said, guys, you've been brought on board. You're my kids. You. 0:47:06.890 --> 0:47:10.370 I caught you, by my grace. Now I want to 0:47:10.370 --> 0:47:12.650 grow you. And that's when he looked at those grapes 0:47:12.650 --> 0:47:13.370 and he says. 0:47:13.370 --> 0:47:16.850 That's what I want you to have. It's to my 0:47:16.850 --> 0:47:22.530 father's glory that you bear much fruit. Now, here's the kicker. 0:47:22.530 --> 0:47:23.330 With that. 0:47:23.330 --> 0:47:25.720 We've been exploring all week what it is to abide 0:47:25.719 --> 0:47:28.920 in Christ. Because we've we all know the pain of 0:47:28.920 --> 0:47:32.040 trying to produce fruit in our own power. Take it away, Ali. 0:47:32.080 --> 0:47:33.120 How painful is that? 0:47:33.160 --> 0:47:36.480 It is. I mean, when you're trying to do good. 0:47:36.520 --> 0:47:37.880 Things for God. 0:47:38.600 --> 0:47:39.440 How painful. 0:47:39.480 --> 0:47:40.120 Painful. 0:47:40.480 --> 0:47:42.600 And we know what it is to go. I can 0:47:42.600 --> 0:47:44.560 do it, I got this. And we know what it is. 0:47:44.560 --> 0:47:46.680 That in the 11th hour, God comes in and he 0:47:46.680 --> 0:47:48.960 can do more than we did in the prior ten. 0:47:50.840 --> 0:47:52.560 But here's what we're going to talk about on this 0:47:52.560 --> 0:47:55.040 Freedom Friday, because some of you have stories and they 0:47:55.040 --> 0:48:00.319 are mighty stories. We want to talk about measuring the 0:48:00.320 --> 0:48:04.680 fruit that you now have in Christ. It's been a 0:48:04.680 --> 0:48:07.560 change of fruit. Now, Ali was talking with me yesterday 0:48:07.560 --> 0:48:09.960 and she had a great insight came out of Romans six. 0:48:10.000 --> 0:48:10.480 Take it away. 0:48:10.800 --> 0:48:13.520 Yeah. Romans six, starting with verse 20. It says, for 0:48:13.520 --> 0:48:15.560 when you were slaves of sin, you were free in 0:48:15.560 --> 0:48:18.799 regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at 0:48:18.840 --> 0:48:21.840 that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? 0:48:22.040 --> 0:48:24.919 For the end of those things is death. But now 0:48:24.920 --> 0:48:27.000 that you have been set free from sin and have 0:48:27.040 --> 0:48:30.040 become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to 0:48:30.080 --> 0:48:35.200 sanctification and its end eternal life. Our life is bearing fruit. 0:48:35.200 --> 0:48:36.400 It's producing. 0:48:36.520 --> 0:48:36.840 Something. 0:48:36.880 --> 0:48:37.919 Every everyone. 0:48:37.960 --> 0:48:41.640 Everyone's life is producing something. And sometimes people get it. 0:48:41.680 --> 0:48:44.520 Takes stock of it and go, what? What am I producing? 0:48:44.560 --> 0:48:44.960 Yeah. 0:48:45.200 --> 0:48:49.760 Anger. Am I producing fits of rage? Am I producing jealousy? Envy? 0:48:49.800 --> 0:48:52.839 You see a whole list in Galatians five. So we're 0:48:52.840 --> 0:48:55.600 asking you, when you experienced a change of heart, you 0:48:55.640 --> 0:48:58.640 were new in Christ. What was the biggest change of 0:48:58.640 --> 0:49:03.040 fruit that you noticed? You went from a change of 0:49:03.040 --> 0:49:09.600 heart to then a change of fruit. Tell us about it. 800, 555, 78, 98. 0:49:09.640 --> 0:49:11.719 We'll illustrate it with our own stories coming up, but 0:49:11.719 --> 0:49:13.840 we want to hear from you on this Freedom Friday. 0:49:13.960 --> 0:49:17.359 Biggest change of fruit you experienced when you experienced new 0:49:17.360 --> 0:49:21.510 life in Christ. 800 555 Five, 7898. 0:49:22.110 --> 0:49:26.630 A basketball mom who's mastered the dad joke. Ali is 0:49:26.630 --> 0:49:30.270 in the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:49:30.989 --> 0:49:31.910 It's a beautiful. 0:49:31.910 --> 0:49:36.150 Thing when you can stop for a moment to look 0:49:36.150 --> 0:49:38.950 at the fruit born in your life, and then you say, all, 0:49:38.950 --> 0:49:41.870 glory to God. I didn't do this. This is God 0:49:41.910 --> 0:49:44.830 at work in me. We're asking you a simple question 0:49:44.830 --> 0:49:47.549 today on this Freedom Friday, what's the biggest change of 0:49:47.550 --> 0:49:52.830 fruit you've noticed as you've experienced new life in Christ? Christina. 0:49:52.830 --> 0:49:54.910 Right here in Illinois. What do you say? Christina. 0:49:56.070 --> 0:49:58.750 Hey, Carl. I'm glad to speak with you guys. I 0:49:58.750 --> 0:50:00.950 would say the biggest change I've noticed so far is 0:50:00.950 --> 0:50:03.150 just the peace of knowing that I don't have to 0:50:03.150 --> 0:50:05.910 respond in a back and forth, argumentative way to people 0:50:05.910 --> 0:50:09.510 who bring offenses or criticisms to me, and just instead 0:50:09.550 --> 0:50:12.669 let God handle it because he says vengeance is his. 0:50:12.710 --> 0:50:14.870 And instead I just pray for that person because we 0:50:14.870 --> 0:50:17.510 don't know what kind of hurts they're experiencing to cause 0:50:17.510 --> 0:50:20.310 them to be that way. because I used to argue 0:50:20.350 --> 0:50:22.550 with them all the time and now I just pray 0:50:22.550 --> 0:50:23.150 for them. 0:50:23.550 --> 0:50:26.830 Christina. That is power, sister. That's why we call you 0:50:26.830 --> 0:50:31.390 the Boom crew. When you get released from that kind 0:50:31.390 --> 0:50:35.630 of slavery, when you feel like I've got to get 0:50:35.630 --> 0:50:38.110 my point across, I got to get them around the corner. 0:50:38.110 --> 0:50:41.109 When you can say, no, this is God. He's going 0:50:41.150 --> 0:50:43.270 to handle it. I'm going to let him fight my battles. 0:50:44.790 --> 0:50:45.830 That's fruit. 0:50:45.870 --> 0:50:48.790 That's a change of fruit. Thank you. Christina. You proved it. 0:50:49.070 --> 0:50:51.910 Let's go back to the phones. Elena calling in from Illinois. 0:50:51.910 --> 0:50:54.790 What was the biggest change of fruit you noticed when 0:50:54.790 --> 0:50:56.070 you had a change of heart? 0:50:57.430 --> 0:51:05.069 Forgiveness. I was in a 30 year abusive relationship, and 0:51:05.070 --> 0:51:07.870 I was able to forgive. I was set free. 0:51:08.110 --> 0:51:10.230 It's a big deal. And I want to bring some. 0:51:10.630 --> 0:51:14.109 That's powerhouse, Elena, and we need that. And I just 0:51:14.110 --> 0:51:16.860 want to say, boom, sister, you're in the boom crew. 0:51:17.420 --> 0:51:19.580 Some perspective on this one that I want to give 0:51:19.580 --> 0:51:22.020 to make sure that we're on with this one. This 0:51:22.020 --> 0:51:25.540 is we got to be accurate here. Forgiveness does not 0:51:25.540 --> 0:51:30.939 mean forgetting, and forgiveness does not mean that you are 0:51:30.940 --> 0:51:36.100 somehow reintroducing a person who betrayed you, hurt you, injured 0:51:36.100 --> 0:51:39.860 you back into your life. That's a twisted form of forgiveness. 0:51:40.700 --> 0:51:44.300 But a healthy forgiveness is allowing yourself to be off 0:51:44.300 --> 0:51:48.140 the hook of that person and dragging that offense around. 0:51:48.500 --> 0:51:53.259 And candidly, a spirit of forgiveness, although full forgiveness really 0:51:53.260 --> 0:51:57.859 would would benefit from an admission, a desire to make 0:51:57.860 --> 0:52:00.540 right what was wrong, a confession of that sin so 0:52:00.540 --> 0:52:03.779 that you can grant them that forgiveness is very transactional, 0:52:04.180 --> 0:52:06.859 that freedom that you find by saying, I'm not going 0:52:06.900 --> 0:52:09.860 to I'm not going to drag this dead carcass around anymore. 0:52:09.900 --> 0:52:14.740 That's liberty. That is liberty. Why is this so important, ally? 0:52:15.260 --> 0:52:17.900 You know, because when you think about what your life 0:52:17.900 --> 0:52:22.140 is producing, it is producing fruit. And I think it's 0:52:22.140 --> 0:52:24.819 good to take stock in a healthy way of what 0:52:24.820 --> 0:52:27.779 am I producing? And I think people get to a 0:52:27.780 --> 0:52:30.220 point in their life where they kind of grapple with that. 0:52:30.219 --> 0:52:32.700 This is why people go through midlife crisis is because 0:52:32.700 --> 0:52:35.140 they look back on their life and they don't see 0:52:35.140 --> 0:52:38.060 the kind of fruit they were hoping for. They don't 0:52:38.060 --> 0:52:40.100 see the kind of legacy building, and maybe they don't 0:52:40.100 --> 0:52:42.819 have words for it. If there's not been a worldview 0:52:42.860 --> 0:52:47.020 or a heart change. But people, everybody wants to leave 0:52:47.140 --> 0:52:49.620 the kind of legacy that the world is better off 0:52:49.620 --> 0:52:52.540 because of them, that their family is blessed because of 0:52:52.540 --> 0:52:55.140 the choices that they made. But a change of heart 0:52:55.180 --> 0:52:57.540 has to happen before we can have a change of fruit. 0:52:57.540 --> 0:53:01.020 So true. There's a guy, his name's Dore. He wrote 0:53:01.020 --> 0:53:04.060 a book called Measure What Matters. It's very popular. If 0:53:04.060 --> 0:53:06.940 you're a business leader or you've got an MBA or 0:53:06.940 --> 0:53:09.500 anything like that, you know of that book. But the 0:53:09.500 --> 0:53:14.090 principle from it is great. His contention is that businesses 0:53:14.250 --> 0:53:19.450 succeed or fail by one thing. They don't measure what matters. 0:53:20.450 --> 0:53:25.890 And if you measure your life, your spiritual life in Christ, 0:53:26.650 --> 0:53:29.770 by how many times you're going to church, wrong measurement. 0:53:31.050 --> 0:53:34.890 It's good, but it's a field from the right one. 0:53:34.890 --> 0:53:37.970 If you measure it by how many chapters you're getting 0:53:37.969 --> 0:53:40.330 through in a day in the Bible, that's good, but 0:53:40.330 --> 0:53:44.770 it's not the best measure. If you measure it by boy, 0:53:44.770 --> 0:53:47.130 am I using my spiritual gifts or how much money 0:53:47.130 --> 0:53:51.690 am I giving? Those are measures, but those are secondary measures. 0:53:51.930 --> 0:53:54.810 The primary measure is found in Galatians five is the 0:53:54.850 --> 0:53:58.250 fruit of the spirit. Being born in your life? Is 0:53:58.250 --> 0:54:02.330 God altering you? And everything we're doing here with Carl 0:54:02.330 --> 0:54:04.930 and crew is to help you see the need for God, 0:54:04.930 --> 0:54:08.489 for salvation, and the need for God, for sanctification. And 0:54:08.489 --> 0:54:11.850 the rest works itself out. How awesome is that?