1
00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:03,080
Speaker 1: Burgers, hosts of the Rick Burgers Show. That's my day job.

2
00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:04,560
Speaker 1: If you want to find out about that, go to

3
00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:08,240
Speaker 1: Rick burgershow dot com. We welcome you today to our

4
00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:11,719
Speaker 1: study of the Book of Ephesians. This is a Bible

5
00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:15,319
Speaker 1: study that's been going now and it's eleventh year. Uh.

6
00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:17,720
Speaker 1: If you'd like to find the archives of all the

7
00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:21,320
Speaker 1: Bible studies we've done over the last decade in a year,

8
00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:25,040
Speaker 1: you can find those by going to Themanchurch dot com.

9
00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,720
Speaker 1: Use that media button now if you go for the

10
00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:30,680
Speaker 1: watch options. I ran into this even at my home

11
00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:34,839
Speaker 1: church this past weekend. Some of the older studies sessions

12
00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:38,360
Speaker 1: are dropping off because YouTube has a time limit how

13
00:00:38,400 --> 00:00:40,960
Speaker 1: long they'll archives something. So if you want to catch

14
00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:45,400
Speaker 1: all the archives in their in their entirety, you need

15
00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,680
Speaker 1: to use the audio option, which is listen, which is

16
00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:51,519
Speaker 1: there so we are you know this is part of

17
00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:53,960
Speaker 1: a greater strategy. You can go to the Manchurch dot

18
00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:57,520
Speaker 1: com find out everything that you want to know about

19
00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:01,640
Speaker 1: our discipleship strategy now being implemented over two thousand churches

20
00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:04,520
Speaker 1: all over the country and even in some places around

21
00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:08,200
Speaker 1: the world and Canada and the Bahamas. So one thing

22
00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:10,000
Speaker 1: that we also want to invite you to do is

23
00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:13,000
Speaker 1: just go there and walk through the strategy. It's twofold

24
00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:16,800
Speaker 1: high challenge followed by high equipping. High challenge in the

25
00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:20,680
Speaker 1: form of conferences and men's gatherings, and then high equipping

26
00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:25,040
Speaker 1: in the form of individual devotionals, thirty and forty one

27
00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:28,759
Speaker 1: day full length books, and the thing that we really

28
00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:32,360
Speaker 1: really want to emphasize, and that's our forty week curriculum.

29
00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:36,600
Speaker 1: We have six of those, and so you could really,

30
00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:39,399
Speaker 1: if you desire, go to the Manchurch dot Com turn

31
00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:42,640
Speaker 1: the key and you could have a discipleship plan for

32
00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:45,960
Speaker 1: your men and your church or community for the next

33
00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:48,560
Speaker 1: six years. And we hope to continue to add to

34
00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:52,240
Speaker 1: that because it needs to be sustainable, and sadly, throughout

35
00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:56,600
Speaker 1: the history of Men's ministry, sustainability has been a problem.

36
00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:59,640
Speaker 1: So here we are in our sixth year of doing

37
00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:03,000
Speaker 1: the strategy and our fourth year of doing our own conferences.

38
00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:06,520
Speaker 1: So we are excited about what God has done and

39
00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:10,240
Speaker 1: equally excited about anticipating what He's going to do. So

40
00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:14,000
Speaker 1: we are now in the prison letters from Paul. We're

41
00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:18,079
Speaker 1: in Ephesians chapter two today will be in verses eleven

42
00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:21,880
Speaker 1: through twenty two if you want to turn there. Also,

43
00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:23,720
Speaker 1: let me go ahead and answer something. A lot of

44
00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:26,399
Speaker 1: you will email me or you'll put in the chat

45
00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:29,919
Speaker 1: that you want to know what English translation that I'm using.

46
00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:34,520
Speaker 1: I will most always be using the ESV English Standard version.

47
00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,160
Speaker 1: I'm not saying it is a better English translation. I'm

48
00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:40,880
Speaker 1: just saying it is my preferred when I'm studying the Bible,

49
00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:44,320
Speaker 1: because it's just the way my mind works. It's literal,

50
00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:49,680
Speaker 1: it's not as poetic. But I love this English version

51
00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:53,639
Speaker 1: very much. Now, the new American standard is good. King

52
00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:57,760
Speaker 1: James version is certainly fine. You know, there's some that

53
00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:00,440
Speaker 1: I would stay away from, but you can and ask

54
00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:03,400
Speaker 1: me that privately if you'd like to so. But the

55
00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:05,320
Speaker 1: ones I just mentioned, any of those are good. So

56
00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:09,079
Speaker 1: let's pray and let's jump in. Lord, thank you for today.

57
00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:12,320
Speaker 1: Thank you Lord for the opportunity to open up your

58
00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:16,720
Speaker 1: Holy Word and to glean from it everything you intend.

59
00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:19,120
Speaker 1: I may the power of the Holy Spirit guide us

60
00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:23,840
Speaker 1: as the apostle. Paul reminds us that the church is

61
00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:28,120
Speaker 1: now one under your authority. There is no longer a

62
00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:32,120
Speaker 1: separation of the jew and the gentile. This was something

63
00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:35,200
Speaker 1: that Paul took on and was given and caused a

64
00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:37,520
Speaker 1: lot of problems for him. But by the grace of

65
00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:40,440
Speaker 1: Almighty God, I hope today we remember that. In your

66
00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:44,480
Speaker 1: holy name, we pray Amen. So so we're this is now.

67
00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:46,280
Speaker 1: You know, Paul is trying to give us all the

68
00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:50,080
Speaker 1: different looks in chapter one and chapter two of things

69
00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:52,839
Speaker 1: we need to remember about the New Covenant. What did

70
00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:56,200
Speaker 1: the New Covenant do? What does it do for the redeemed?

71
00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:59,400
Speaker 1: What is the state that we were in? What's the

72
00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:03,080
Speaker 1: state we are are in? Uh? So the dispensation is

73
00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:06,800
Speaker 1: going to change again. Uh. And he's going to talk

74
00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:11,680
Speaker 1: about our natural state, you know, uh, where we were

75
00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:14,760
Speaker 1: now he's mainly talking to gentiles. Remember this is a

76
00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:18,640
Speaker 1: letter to the gentile church, and he's reminding if you're

77
00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:23,400
Speaker 1: a gentile today watching or listening, Uh, the gentiles we

78
00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:25,920
Speaker 1: were we were in bad shape. This was not good. Uh.

79
00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:28,880
Speaker 1: And that we we we were not looked upon, uh

80
00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:33,039
Speaker 1: with very much favor, and we really were seeing in

81
00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,560
Speaker 1: a pretty bad light. And Paul, you know, the you,

82
00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:39,840
Speaker 1: as he said before the Hebrew of the Hebrews, uh

83
00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:43,680
Speaker 1: is reminding us because he knows because he once despised

84
00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:46,479
Speaker 1: us as well. Uh So Uh, here's what he said

85
00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:49,400
Speaker 1: about the new Covenant, that we now are becoming one

86
00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:53,480
Speaker 1: in Christ. This is that wild branch that is grafted in.

87
00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:58,440
Speaker 1: The Gentiles now come into uh the equal state with

88
00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:02,040
Speaker 1: the Hebrew U as far as they're standing before God,

89
00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:07,120
Speaker 1: because of the redemption power of Jesus Christ. So he's

90
00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:09,920
Speaker 1: going to talk about our natural state first. In the

91
00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:13,920
Speaker 1: Blood that invites these is eleven through thirteen, but the

92
00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:16,839
Speaker 1: natural states in eleven and twelve. So he says, therefore,

93
00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:21,560
Speaker 1: remember that at one time you gentiles in the flesh

94
00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:27,159
Speaker 1: called the uncircumcision, by what is called the circumcision, which

95
00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:31,279
Speaker 1: is made in the flesh by hands. Remember that you

96
00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:36,240
Speaker 1: were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the

97
00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:41,360
Speaker 1: commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of Promise,

98
00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:46,400
Speaker 1: having no hope and without God in the world. Okay,

99
00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:50,919
Speaker 1: that does not sound good. So he says, the Holy

100
00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:56,000
Speaker 1: Spirit wants me to emphasize the great change that was

101
00:05:56,040 --> 00:06:02,640
Speaker 1: brought on by Calvary and Pentecost. The charge abolished the

102
00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:08,480
Speaker 1: fundamental difference between the gentile and the jew Before before

103
00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:13,880
Speaker 1: Calvary and before Pentecosts, the gentiles were on the outside

104
00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:17,960
Speaker 1: looking in, not part of the Covenant, the original Covenant.

105
00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:21,440
Speaker 1: That that covenant was with the Hebrews. Okay, and so

106
00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:26,120
Speaker 1: you were either a Hebrew or you were a gentile. Uh.

107
00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:28,120
Speaker 1: And to be a gentile was to be on the

108
00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:31,720
Speaker 1: outside looking in. Now, remember that ever since the days

109
00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:37,240
Speaker 1: of Abraham, the right of circumcision had served as that

110
00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:41,719
Speaker 1: you know that that that covenant sign of the unique

111
00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:47,560
Speaker 1: relationship that existed between God and the Israelites. So this

112
00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:49,920
Speaker 1: was this was what they were told to do. This,

113
00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:53,320
Speaker 1: this was a sign that they were set apart, you know.

114
00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:57,800
Speaker 1: It's uh. It was something that really the New Church

115
00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:01,040
Speaker 1: struggled with all the way through the Jerusalem Council that

116
00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:03,159
Speaker 1: the Hebrews did not want to let this go, even

117
00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:05,640
Speaker 1: the ones that had come to faith in Christ, they

118
00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:09,080
Speaker 1: still wanted the Gentiles to be circumcised because they said, well,

119
00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:13,280
Speaker 1: if Jesus has fulfilled everything, that needs to be fulfilled too.

120
00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:15,520
Speaker 1: But the Paulic going, no, no, if he fulfilled it,

121
00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:18,880
Speaker 1: then it's fulfilled. It's already done. This is not something

122
00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:22,840
Speaker 1: that points to anything whether you're redeemed or not redeemed anymore.

123
00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:29,840
Speaker 1: So the New Covenant circumcision, it, uh, this was different.

124
00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:36,080
Speaker 1: He's saying, because of this New Covenant, the the the

125
00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:42,000
Speaker 1: act of physical circumcision has no spiritual significance. Now, this

126
00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:44,920
Speaker 1: was not very popular it him. It caused him a

127
00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:48,200
Speaker 1: lot of trouble, as you can imagine. And he says,

128
00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:50,880
Speaker 1: and the reason why I'm pointing out, even though he's

129
00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:53,600
Speaker 1: using Abraham's name, he said, I'd just like to point

130
00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:57,680
Speaker 1: out that the original circumcision that was flesh was done

131
00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:01,840
Speaker 1: by human hands. Uh. Now, there's no doubt that it

132
00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:06,240
Speaker 1: was a sign of the Abraham Covenant made with the

133
00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:09,200
Speaker 1: nation of Israel, no doubt about that. But the Church,

134
00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:12,120
Speaker 1: and this is where Paul boy, he gets in a

135
00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:15,960
Speaker 1: lot of trouble with the Hebrews on this kind of stuff.

136
00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:21,520
Speaker 1: The Church isn't Israel. The sill of those in the

137
00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:25,320
Speaker 1: true Church isn't circumcision in the flesh, but the Holy

138
00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:29,680
Speaker 1: Spirit in the heart. The jew and the Gentile are

139
00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:32,880
Speaker 1: now equal in the New Covenant. And let me just

140
00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:36,680
Speaker 1: tell you, ladies and gentlemen, this was not a popular sentiment,

141
00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:41,040
Speaker 1: and it got Paul in trouble all the time. So

142
00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:46,240
Speaker 1: verse twelve, he's talking about the natural state of the gentiles.

143
00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:49,040
Speaker 1: That's us. If you're not Jewish, in here. That's you

144
00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:52,960
Speaker 1: and me before the New Covenant. And the only hope

145
00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:57,200
Speaker 1: for the Gentiles before the New Covenant was through you.

146
00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:01,480
Speaker 1: What for you to convert to Judaism. You converted to Judaism,

147
00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:03,880
Speaker 1: then now you would be in. But if you would

148
00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:06,720
Speaker 1: not convert, then you were out. That there was no

149
00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:11,120
Speaker 1: end for the for the gentile. Uh. So they they

150
00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:15,240
Speaker 1: were they were natural born, we were natural born aliens.

151
00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:18,960
Speaker 1: We had no part in the promises of God, the

152
00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:23,800
Speaker 1: ones that were made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David. Uh.

153
00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:25,600
Speaker 1: The Hebrews would have said, y'all weren't part of any

154
00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:30,200
Speaker 1: of that, y'all, that that's y'all, y'all don't And that's true. Uh,

155
00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:34,040
Speaker 1: but but that they what they missed is that Messiah

156
00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:37,920
Speaker 1: was coming to unite the jew and the Gentile under

157
00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:41,480
Speaker 1: worn Church. Now if you want to, we're not gonna

158
00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:43,600
Speaker 1: We're not gonna land here because if we land here,

159
00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:48,400
Speaker 1: we'll be here all day pontificating this. So we know

160
00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:52,720
Speaker 1: in God's sovereignty that he is all, knowing that he

161
00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:57,280
Speaker 1: is always in the present. He knows that the Hebrews

162
00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:01,520
Speaker 1: are going to reject Uh Jesus as Messiah even though

163
00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:05,600
Speaker 1: in Matthew, you know, is it thirty seven twenty three

164
00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:09,520
Speaker 1: or twenty three thirty seven? I had that backward. Jesus

165
00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:12,400
Speaker 1: is saying to them that he had longed to gather

166
00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:15,120
Speaker 1: them together and protect them from what was coming on

167
00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:18,000
Speaker 1: them by rejecting him. And he said, you know, you

168
00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:21,480
Speaker 1: killed everybody my daddy sent you, You killed the prophets,

169
00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:24,560
Speaker 1: you stone those at my father sent you. And I

170
00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:26,600
Speaker 1: had longed to gather you together as a hen gathers

171
00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:29,680
Speaker 1: her chicks under her wings. But you were not willing.

172
00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:34,400
Speaker 1: So there's a rejection there. God's always in the present,

173
00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:37,760
Speaker 1: So God's allowing a choice, but knowing what the choice

174
00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:42,440
Speaker 1: will be. And can I completely grasp that with my

175
00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:45,080
Speaker 1: finite mind? I can't. But I'm just going to tell

176
00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:46,520
Speaker 1: you this because I'm not God. I understand what the

177
00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:50,959
Speaker 1: scripture say. But he had the plan ready that now

178
00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:54,400
Speaker 1: when they when the Hebrews reject Jesus, I've had people

179
00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:56,319
Speaker 1: ask me all the time, well, what would happen to

180
00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:58,800
Speaker 1: us if they had embraced him? Well, that didn't happen,

181
00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:01,080
Speaker 1: So I'm not worry about that, okay. So, and God

182
00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:04,360
Speaker 1: knew that wasn't gonna happen. So so anyway, But what

183
00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:07,880
Speaker 1: happens now is as the as we study in the Revelation,

184
00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:15,439
Speaker 1: as the Hebrews reject Jesus as Messiah. Now, what they

185
00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:19,480
Speaker 1: were supposed to do was to take Messiah to the world.

186
00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:23,440
Speaker 1: They were supposed to be their original evangelist. We have Messiah.

187
00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:25,200
Speaker 1: We're going to go out to the world. We're gonna

188
00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:28,600
Speaker 1: convert everybody to faith in Jesus, and we're all going

189
00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:32,120
Speaker 1: to become one church. So they didn't like that idea,

190
00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:35,440
Speaker 1: so they reject Jesus because they've got Jesus for the

191
00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:37,640
Speaker 1: second Coming. They want that to be the first coming,

192
00:11:37,920 --> 00:11:41,520
Speaker 1: even though they were told clearly about the first coming. Okay,

193
00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:46,280
Speaker 1: So then they reject him, and now the Gentiles, Paul

194
00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:49,240
Speaker 1: comes on the saying let's go get this Hebrew. Jesus

195
00:11:49,320 --> 00:11:52,720
Speaker 1: converts Paul and says, now you've been persecuting the New Church.

196
00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:54,600
Speaker 1: Now I want you to go out and I want

197
00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:57,800
Speaker 1: you to advance the New Church. Remember, men, this is important.

198
00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:00,280
Speaker 1: And ladies, I'll say this for you too simple to

199
00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:04,840
Speaker 1: you too. God is not trying to change the way

200
00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:08,000
Speaker 1: he made you. He wants to change the way Sin

201
00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:13,439
Speaker 1: made you. So here's Paul, same gift set. Okay, that's

202
00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:16,640
Speaker 1: how God made him, and he was good, But what

203
00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:22,360
Speaker 1: happened he missed Jesus. So the reason why Paul had

204
00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:28,040
Speaker 1: these incredible gifts, his toughness, his tenacity, his passion, his brilliance,

205
00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:31,800
Speaker 1: all of that was to advance the Kingdom of the

206
00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:34,560
Speaker 1: New Covenant, and he missed it. So when he ran

207
00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:37,840
Speaker 1: into Jesus, Jesus corrected that. And guess what Paul did.

208
00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:41,600
Speaker 1: He was just as skilled at advancing the church as

209
00:12:41,679 --> 00:12:44,520
Speaker 1: he was at persecuting it. And that can be the

210
00:12:44,559 --> 00:12:47,520
Speaker 1: same thing for you. I'm telling you, I'm watching it

211
00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:50,760
Speaker 1: happen in my own life. These gifts that God gave me,

212
00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:53,880
Speaker 1: there's not many, but there were times when I used

213
00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:56,680
Speaker 1: them against him and then he converted me and said,

214
00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:58,400
Speaker 1: I don't want you to stop doing what you're doing.

215
00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:00,760
Speaker 1: I just want you to do it for me. And

216
00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:02,640
Speaker 1: so this is what he wants to do for every

217
00:13:02,679 --> 00:13:05,360
Speaker 1: man and woman that is listening to this. He made

218
00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:08,679
Speaker 1: you a certain way, but sin has corrupted that. It's

219
00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:11,920
Speaker 1: why marriage, Shary, I have a marriage conference this weekend.

220
00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:14,680
Speaker 1: The problem that we're having in marriage is not the

221
00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:17,440
Speaker 1: way God designed it. It's the way sin has corrupted it.

222
00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:20,760
Speaker 1: So marriage needs to be redeemed, just like we all

223
00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:24,000
Speaker 1: need to be redeemed. And so what's happening here is

224
00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:28,800
Speaker 1: he's saying, look, you were outside as gentiles. You are deplorable.

225
00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:33,640
Speaker 1: You were outside the covenants, you were outside the commonwealth.

226
00:13:33,679 --> 00:13:38,560
Speaker 1: The Greek here is talking about the body politic. It

227
00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:40,840
Speaker 1: really is talking about you're not in the government of God,

228
00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:43,679
Speaker 1: you're not in the Kingdom of God. So but now

229
00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:47,319
Speaker 1: all of that has changed. Look at thirteen, all that's changed.

230
00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:50,120
Speaker 1: But now there's another. But now we just talked about

231
00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:54,240
Speaker 1: that today, but now an email by a text back

232
00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:56,320
Speaker 1: and forth with one of our brothers in here. But

233
00:13:56,440 --> 00:14:01,480
Speaker 1: now in Christ Jesus, you were once far off. Now

234
00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:04,400
Speaker 1: you've been brought near by. What the blood of Christ,

235
00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:08,199
Speaker 1: That's what did it. So he says, this was your

236
00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:13,360
Speaker 1: old state, outside the covenants, outside the commonwealth, outside the promise,

237
00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:17,200
Speaker 1: outside of redemption, outside of everything that God was doing

238
00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:21,120
Speaker 1: with the Hebrews. But that was your old state. Because

239
00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:24,440
Speaker 1: of Calvary, the blood of Jesus, the very blood of

240
00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:28,480
Speaker 1: Jesus provided a way for the gentile to now being

241
00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:31,680
Speaker 1: a new state. And that new state is you were

242
00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:34,440
Speaker 1: once far off. Let me say that we were once

243
00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:39,160
Speaker 1: far we're not anymore. You remember when Paul was writing

244
00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:41,640
Speaker 1: to the Corinthians and he listed all the horrible things

245
00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:43,920
Speaker 1: that were going on in corinth and he said, and

246
00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:46,600
Speaker 1: you once did these things. You were once this way,

247
00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:50,880
Speaker 1: you know. And I remember Steve Farrar teaching that, and

248
00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:53,680
Speaker 1: he said, I can just imagine the men in that

249
00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:56,000
Speaker 1: church that had done all the horrible things he listed

250
00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:57,440
Speaker 1: look at each other going, yeah, he's right, you know

251
00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:00,920
Speaker 1: we were. And he said, but you're not that way anymore,

252
00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:03,120
Speaker 1: because you've been given the power now not to behave

253
00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:06,760
Speaker 1: like that anymore. That's how you once were. So remember

254
00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:08,880
Speaker 1: that from one point. When you're being gracious with other

255
00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:11,520
Speaker 1: people that haven't been redeemed yet, all they're acting is

256
00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:14,120
Speaker 1: the way they should act. You know, when I was lost,

257
00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:15,760
Speaker 1: you know how I acted. I acted like I was lost.

258
00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:18,360
Speaker 1: But the question is, now that I've been redeemed, do

259
00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:20,680
Speaker 1: I continue to that like I'm lost? So this is

260
00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:23,480
Speaker 1: what he's saying. He says that you can't get bogged

261
00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:27,000
Speaker 1: down on you being told you were deplorable, that you

262
00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:30,400
Speaker 1: were an outcast, because that's the way you were before

263
00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:36,720
Speaker 1: the blood of Jesus, the blood has changed your state.

264
00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:41,200
Speaker 1: Somebody say amen about that. So now in Christ Jesus,

265
00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:45,040
Speaker 1: you who were once far off, have been brought near

266
00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:47,800
Speaker 1: by the blood of Christ. So what happens next next

267
00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:51,360
Speaker 1: the body that unites look at look at fourteen through

268
00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:56,360
Speaker 1: eighteen verse fourteen. For he himself is our peace. Praise

269
00:15:56,440 --> 00:15:59,480
Speaker 1: his name, who has made us both one, and has

270
00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:03,080
Speaker 1: broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility

271
00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:07,920
Speaker 1: by abolishing the law of commandments expressed and the ordinances,

272
00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:12,000
Speaker 1: that he might create in himself one new man in

273
00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:16,120
Speaker 1: place of two, so making peace and might reconcile us

274
00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:20,320
Speaker 1: both to God and one body through the cross, thereby

275
00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:24,560
Speaker 1: killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to

276
00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:28,520
Speaker 1: you who were far off, in peace to those who

277
00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:33,120
Speaker 1: were near. For through him we both have access and

278
00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:37,840
Speaker 1: one spirit to the Father. So there's peace that has

279
00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:43,200
Speaker 1: been procured for us between the Hebrew and in the

280
00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:46,560
Speaker 1: in the in the Gentile, the old barrier fourteen and

281
00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:52,280
Speaker 1: fifteen is now abolished. Now there was I mean enmity

282
00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:57,280
Speaker 1: between Jew and Gentile. It was hostile and in that

283
00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:01,280
Speaker 1: in that culture, I mean, I know a lot of

284
00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:04,400
Speaker 1: you right now. You probably God love you. You keep

285
00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:08,320
Speaker 1: dogs in your house? Okay, I don't understand you. I'd

286
00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:11,280
Speaker 1: rather not come over, you know, And please don't be

287
00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:13,560
Speaker 1: dog bringers and bring them to my house. Okay you

288
00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:16,080
Speaker 1: ever had that happen a person that lives with dogs

289
00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:17,920
Speaker 1: in their house decided to bring their dog to your house.

290
00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:20,800
Speaker 1: And you're not a bring a dog inside person. Why

291
00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:22,880
Speaker 1: is this now coming into my world? You know, you're

292
00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:25,080
Speaker 1: trying to eat. The dog keeps nosing you on the table,

293
00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:28,280
Speaker 1: right in your crotch, you know, and you're just like, see,

294
00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:29,960
Speaker 1: I don't want to live this way. That's why we

295
00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:33,080
Speaker 1: don't have the dogs here. It's one thing that happened

296
00:17:33,119 --> 00:17:36,000
Speaker 1: with your dog, it's quite another one somebody else's. And

297
00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:43,720
Speaker 1: so anyway, they called gentiles dogs dogs in biblical times.

298
00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:46,840
Speaker 1: If somebody, if you told somebody you kept a dog

299
00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:49,280
Speaker 1: in your house, it would be like somebody telling you

300
00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:50,639
Speaker 1: to that you got a rat in your house. I

301
00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:54,040
Speaker 1: gotta keep rats in my house. They walked the streets,

302
00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:57,720
Speaker 1: they ate trash, they cleaned up dead dead things. Uh.

303
00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:00,280
Speaker 1: They were not considered to be desirable to be in

304
00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:05,000
Speaker 1: your house. And the gentiles were called dogs, and they

305
00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:08,720
Speaker 1: were considered to be unclean. So what happened even when

306
00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:12,199
Speaker 1: you went to the temple, there was something called the

307
00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:14,600
Speaker 1: Court of the Gentiles, and this is what Paul's using

308
00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:16,680
Speaker 1: as his analogy here. It was about a four and

309
00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:21,120
Speaker 1: a half foot wall and it warned no gentile could

310
00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:23,359
Speaker 1: go beyond this point. Now, if you want to see

311
00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:27,800
Speaker 1: Paul getting in trouble about this, Acts twenty one, twenty

312
00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:30,000
Speaker 1: eight through thirty one, y'all, remember we studied Acts and

313
00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:33,360
Speaker 1: one of the accusations they tried to get Paul beaten

314
00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:36,200
Speaker 1: and jailed over was what he brought gentiles beyond the wall,

315
00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:40,159
Speaker 1: which he did because Paul didn't care, because Paul said, no,

316
00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:43,200
Speaker 1: they have access now, so he took some beyond the wall.

317
00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:46,119
Speaker 1: But here's the thing. Paul may have been able to

318
00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:49,159
Speaker 1: take some beyond the physical wall, he says, but Jesus

319
00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:53,439
Speaker 1: has abolished the wall completely. So remember you have to

320
00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:56,760
Speaker 1: know that analogy. When they're reading this, they know about

321
00:18:56,760 --> 00:18:59,679
Speaker 1: a physical wall, and Paul is saying, but Jesus has

322
00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:03,919
Speaker 1: a b that wall. You have access now, not just

323
00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:07,200
Speaker 1: not just into the temple, but to the Holy of Holies.

324
00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:12,399
Speaker 1: So the physical middle wall of the partition was not

325
00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:15,960
Speaker 1: destroyed until the temple was destroyed, so it was still

326
00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:18,159
Speaker 1: there physically all the way up to that point. But

327
00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:21,080
Speaker 1: Paul uses this as a word picture that we are

328
00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:26,200
Speaker 1: all one in Christ. Verse sixteen, the new bond is established.

329
00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:30,240
Speaker 1: All members of the church are common members. Now there's

330
00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:36,600
Speaker 1: no division based on any racial origins, religious backgrounds, class

331
00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:40,320
Speaker 1: anything that would be a distinction between human beings. If

332
00:19:40,359 --> 00:19:44,080
Speaker 1: you remember, everybody, remember that we studied James. That's been

333
00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:47,439
Speaker 1: a while back, but we've got we at the conferences

334
00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:50,399
Speaker 1: this last two weeks. We have a new thirty one

335
00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:52,760
Speaker 1: day devotion from James. This is one of the things

336
00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:56,000
Speaker 1: that James came in. Can you imagine you've got the

337
00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:58,679
Speaker 1: New Covenant, You've got this new thing. You thought your

338
00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:01,840
Speaker 1: brother was crazy. You find out he raises and raises

339
00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:05,800
Speaker 1: hisself from the dead. Everything changes, and now you have

340
00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:08,560
Speaker 1: been put in charge. You say out, he kind of

341
00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:10,960
Speaker 1: was like a Caleb of the New Covenant. I'll take

342
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:12,720
Speaker 1: the hardest job. How would you like to plant a

343
00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:15,240
Speaker 1: church in Jerusalem? Can you imagine that you being the

344
00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:19,679
Speaker 1: first church planner of the Jesus movement in Jerusalem? And oh,

345
00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:22,320
Speaker 1: by the way, I realized he was my earthly brother.

346
00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:24,479
Speaker 1: But he is the Lord of lords and the king

347
00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:28,480
Speaker 1: of kings. I serve him now, so he went. When

348
00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:30,960
Speaker 1: James went in, the thing he kept having to correct

349
00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:33,040
Speaker 1: is y'all are trying to set up a class system

350
00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:36,000
Speaker 1: in here. Again. You remember him taking that on. You know,

351
00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:38,000
Speaker 1: some of y'all won't want the best seat. Some of

352
00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:39,960
Speaker 1: you you're looking down on people don't dress as nice

353
00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:41,919
Speaker 1: as you. You know, you know some of you not

354
00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:44,239
Speaker 1: treating you workers well. You think they're less than you.

355
00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:47,240
Speaker 1: He starts to take him to task, because they were

356
00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:51,399
Speaker 1: very accustomed to lots of distinctions. Everybody was not on

357
00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:54,840
Speaker 1: equal standing. But in the New Covenant, Paul went over

358
00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:56,520
Speaker 1: this over and over again. You got to drop your

359
00:20:56,520 --> 00:20:59,840
Speaker 1: ethnicity thinking that makes you better or less than someone.

360
00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:03,639
Speaker 1: You got to drop male and female Females were elevated

361
00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:06,400
Speaker 1: in the New Testament more than anywhere else in biblical

362
00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:11,600
Speaker 1: time to equality. And all this goes away, and he

363
00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:15,040
Speaker 1: says that in verse sixteen that we are all the same,

364
00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:17,639
Speaker 1: and he says it might reconcile us both to God

365
00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:21,840
Speaker 1: and one body through the cross. Therefore, what killing the hostility?

366
00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:25,639
Speaker 1: So there shouldn't be hostility. And now there's some things

367
00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:28,840
Speaker 1: we still have going on today in the Western Church.

368
00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:33,280
Speaker 1: But it's one thing for people to say they have

369
00:21:33,359 --> 00:21:36,240
Speaker 1: a preference for a style of worship, so they're separating

370
00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:40,359
Speaker 1: themselves voluntarily, as opposed to you can't come in here

371
00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:43,080
Speaker 1: unless you're white, you can't come in here unless you're black,

372
00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:45,480
Speaker 1: you can't come in here unless you're this or that.

373
00:21:46,119 --> 00:21:48,359
Speaker 1: We don't have any of that anymore now. Sometimes we

374
00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:50,760
Speaker 1: still cling to some of that stuff, but understand, the

375
00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:53,800
Speaker 1: Church at the end of the day is one church,

376
00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:57,760
Speaker 1: and Paul makes that clear throughout many letters that we

377
00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:01,639
Speaker 1: have studied and will continue to study. So seventeen and

378
00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:06,040
Speaker 1: eighteen he says, there's peace that has proclaimed to us.

379
00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:11,119
Speaker 1: All the differences are are gone, both in equal need

380
00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:14,480
Speaker 1: of redemption. Now you've heard me say this many times,

381
00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:18,840
Speaker 1: and it really really is true. Verse seventeen is saying

382
00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:21,639
Speaker 1: this loud clear, and he came and preached peace to

383
00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:25,000
Speaker 1: you who were far off, in peace to those who

384
00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:29,320
Speaker 1: were near. What he's saying is when Jesus is talking peace.

385
00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:31,840
Speaker 1: I believe I shouldn't do this if I can't remember

386
00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:33,800
Speaker 1: it a bit of a step out, and I know

387
00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:36,840
Speaker 1: Michael correct me if I'm wrong, But I think it's

388
00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:41,320
Speaker 1: Luke fifteen where Jesus is giving the repent or perish speech,

389
00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:44,480
Speaker 1: And what he had was a bunch of Pharisees that

390
00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:46,800
Speaker 1: were trying to ask him, were there're people that need

391
00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:49,240
Speaker 1: to repent more than others? And what they were trying

392
00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:50,920
Speaker 1: to they were trying to catch him on something about

393
00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:54,119
Speaker 1: this inequality again. And Jesus said, no, no, no, how about this.

394
00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:56,640
Speaker 1: You all have to be perfect as my father is perfect.

395
00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:59,960
Speaker 1: Everybody must repent or perish because you must be made

396
00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:03,040
Speaker 1: fully righteous jew and gentile, you must be made fully

397
00:23:03,119 --> 00:23:06,639
Speaker 1: righteous in me. So what he's saying is those that

398
00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:09,679
Speaker 1: were gentiles, y'all had to make peace with God. And

399
00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:11,680
Speaker 1: guess what, those of you that are near to God

400
00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:14,240
Speaker 1: his people, you got to make peace too. And both

401
00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:16,159
Speaker 1: of you make peace the same way now at the

402
00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:20,040
Speaker 1: foot of the cross. And I love to say this,

403
00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:21,879
Speaker 1: and I think it should be said over and over again.

404
00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:24,719
Speaker 1: The world will try and its fallen state to come

405
00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:27,359
Speaker 1: up with some sort of equality. It will never happen.

406
00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:30,040
Speaker 1: It will never happen until the end of time and

407
00:23:30,119 --> 00:23:33,040
Speaker 1: Christ returns. It'll never never happen. But we do have

408
00:23:33,119 --> 00:23:35,879
Speaker 1: a quality right now, and it's at one place at

409
00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:38,919
Speaker 1: the foot of the cross. Every single human being, no

410
00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:41,400
Speaker 1: matter how rich you are, no matter what color you are,

411
00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:43,960
Speaker 1: no matter what gender you are, no matter how old

412
00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:47,199
Speaker 1: you are, everybody is an equal need of redemption at

413
00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:49,119
Speaker 1: the foot of the cross. And that's the only place

414
00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:53,880
Speaker 1: is true equality, our equal need of redemption. And that's

415
00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:56,640
Speaker 1: exactly what Paul is reminding them. And you know who's

416
00:23:56,680 --> 00:24:01,200
Speaker 1: hearing this the loudest, any Hebrew that's listening in Oh yay.

417
00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:04,440
Speaker 1: You tell those those mongrels, you tell those dogs they

418
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:06,480
Speaker 1: need redemption. And you know, Paul says, by the way,

419
00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:09,560
Speaker 1: you do too, and everybody's gonna get it the same way.

420
00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:13,119
Speaker 1: So here we go. Now. Now, the next thing he

421
00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:16,159
Speaker 1: says in nineteen, he says that there's there's a new household.

422
00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:19,600
Speaker 1: I love this. In nineteen We're all in God's household.

423
00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:23,520
Speaker 1: He literally says this in the scripture. So he says

424
00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:27,360
Speaker 1: in verse nineteen, he says, so then you are no

425
00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:32,399
Speaker 1: longer strangers and aliens, but you're fellow citizens with the

426
00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:38,040
Speaker 1: saints and members of the household of God. How good

427
00:24:38,119 --> 00:24:43,440
Speaker 1: does that feel? The foundation of the building. We're gonna

428
00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:45,760
Speaker 1: hear it in just a moment, but a new fellowship.

429
00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:51,840
Speaker 1: Gentiles are no longer strangers and aliens. Before gentiles had

430
00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:56,880
Speaker 1: no citizenship in God's household, no divine covenants. In Christ,

431
00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:02,840
Speaker 1: Gentiles enjoy a new citizenship, up full citizenship in the

432
00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:07,720
Speaker 1: heavenly Jerusalem. They are now also members of the family

433
00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:11,840
Speaker 1: of God, members of God's household. And let me tell

434
00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:14,320
Speaker 1: you something. When the Hebrews looked up from God's household

435
00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:20,480
Speaker 1: and saw us moving in, they were not thrilled. You got, hey, hey,

436
00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:24,639
Speaker 1: guess Who's coming to dinner. Okay, So we're all in

437
00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:27,600
Speaker 1: the same household through the covenant, the new Covenant of

438
00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:32,919
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. So how is this provided? It's a new habitation.

439
00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:36,080
Speaker 1: So first of all, in twenty let's look at that

440
00:25:36,119 --> 00:25:41,160
Speaker 1: for a minute. Built on the foundation of the apostles

441
00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:48,760
Speaker 1: and prophets, Christ, Jesus himself being the corner stone. So

442
00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:54,280
Speaker 1: the foundation of the building is set. Christ is the

443
00:25:54,359 --> 00:26:00,199
Speaker 1: corner stone. Now, before you know some of the some

444
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:02,880
Speaker 1: of the things that the Gentiles were learning here, He's

445
00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:06,679
Speaker 1: now focused on teaching us understand that our legacy is

446
00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:12,200
Speaker 1: gentiles pagan worship, all kinds of gods, all kinds of rituals,

447
00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:16,480
Speaker 1: all kinds of garbage, you know it was. It reminded

448
00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:20,439
Speaker 1: me of from a Hebrew point of view. It reminded me.

449
00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:22,640
Speaker 1: And we talked about this a little bit the last

450
00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:28,640
Speaker 1: two weekends. If you've ever studied the kings, when when

451
00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:32,200
Speaker 1: there were two kingdoms, there was a northern kingdom, which

452
00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:35,280
Speaker 1: was Israel, there was the Southern Kingdom Judah when it

453
00:26:35,359 --> 00:26:37,160
Speaker 1: was split, and of course you know, they had already

454
00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:39,679
Speaker 1: told God they wanted earthly kings and all that. So

455
00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:44,280
Speaker 1: Israel never had a good king never the Northern Kingdom

456
00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:48,560
Speaker 1: they never had one. The Southern Kingdom had maybe three okay,

457
00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:51,359
Speaker 1: two I can name, but there might have been a third.

458
00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:55,560
Speaker 1: But what was the difference? What was the difference? And

459
00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:57,879
Speaker 1: they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord?

460
00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:01,880
Speaker 1: Well what we kept seeing over and over again. Matter

461
00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:03,720
Speaker 1: of fact, I think I have it. I think I did.

462
00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:07,440
Speaker 1: Yes I did. No, I don't let me see if

463
00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:10,480
Speaker 1: I have that. Yes, no I don't, Okay, So anyway,

464
00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:12,439
Speaker 1: I must have taken that out. I had it in

465
00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:16,000
Speaker 1: here somewhere. But anyway, so if you go back and look,

466
00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:19,000
Speaker 1: what was the thing that kept being the problem. The

467
00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:22,320
Speaker 1: problem was even if they decided that they were going

468
00:27:22,359 --> 00:27:26,440
Speaker 1: to remove some of the idols. They were always taken

469
00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:28,600
Speaker 1: to task by God, just about every one of them,

470
00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:31,879
Speaker 1: because they would not go into the high places. They

471
00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:34,560
Speaker 1: wouldn't go there and remove every single idol. So what

472
00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:36,920
Speaker 1: did that mean? And the gentiles we were some of

473
00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:39,320
Speaker 1: the worst at this is that he said, what you're

474
00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:42,159
Speaker 1: trying to do is you're hanging on to some of

475
00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:46,040
Speaker 1: the pagan gods that were worshiped by these gentiles, and

476
00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:48,399
Speaker 1: you're hanging on to them a little bit, almost like

477
00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:51,399
Speaker 1: a safety net. You haven't gone all in, you haven't

478
00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:54,879
Speaker 1: gone into the high places, and you haven't removed every

479
00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:58,960
Speaker 1: single god. Josiah did Asikaya did, even though he had

480
00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:01,640
Speaker 1: a little bind at the end. We can question whether

481
00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:03,800
Speaker 1: he finished well with cutting this deal with God about

482
00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:06,320
Speaker 1: getting to live longer and just kind of passing the

483
00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:08,480
Speaker 1: problems on to his son, and his son kind of

484
00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:11,520
Speaker 1: went south on us. So but anyway, but Hezekai did

485
00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:16,040
Speaker 1: remove the idols from even the high places. But how

486
00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:18,000
Speaker 1: does that look in our life when when you look

487
00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:22,760
Speaker 1: at this on application and you're saying, look, we the

488
00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:26,320
Speaker 1: pagan gods that the hanging on the things that are

489
00:28:26,359 --> 00:28:29,840
Speaker 1: still ahead of me. Because Adrian Roger said this. He said,

490
00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:36,960
Speaker 1: anything that you love more, you serve more, you value more,

491
00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:42,160
Speaker 1: and you fear more than God is an idol. And

492
00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:44,960
Speaker 1: so you go, well, I've taken care of most of that.

493
00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:49,800
Speaker 1: Well we're called to take care of all of it.

494
00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:53,080
Speaker 1: And you say, well, what do you mean by that? Well,

495
00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:56,240
Speaker 1: that means, like, for instance, you know, one of the

496
00:28:56,280 --> 00:28:59,560
Speaker 1: things that you know, men struggle with a lot in

497
00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:03,600
Speaker 1: their life is pornography, and so that's becoming idol to you.

498
00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:06,719
Speaker 1: You actually love it more, you serve it more, you

499
00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:10,560
Speaker 1: value it more, you fear not having it more than

500
00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:13,480
Speaker 1: you do God. And you go, so, I'm done with that.

501
00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:15,960
Speaker 1: I'm not watching that anymore. I've taken that off my

502
00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:19,920
Speaker 1: phone and not doing that at all. And then God says,

503
00:29:20,120 --> 00:29:23,120
Speaker 1: I noticed that you still get the February edition of

504
00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:27,080
Speaker 1: Sports Illustrated, the swimsuit models. I noticed they're still in

505
00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:30,200
Speaker 1: your house. Well that's something still in the high places.

506
00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:33,720
Speaker 1: And are you still have you got a little something

507
00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:37,440
Speaker 1: hit away in your house. It's not that hardcore stuff anymore,

508
00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:40,400
Speaker 1: but you still are having a luss problem because you're

509
00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:42,320
Speaker 1: still hanging on to some of the things in the

510
00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:45,520
Speaker 1: high places. Maybe you're someone that had a problem with drunkenness.

511
00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:47,959
Speaker 1: And you went to God and you said, hey, I'm

512
00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:52,200
Speaker 1: I'm repenting of that. I'm not going to be drunk anymore.

513
00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:55,200
Speaker 1: I'm not going to abuse alcohol anymore. And God said,

514
00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:57,600
Speaker 1: and then then before you know it, you're like, he's

515
00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:01,640
Speaker 1: that was the entire liquor cabinet empty. Well, I got,

516
00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:04,600
Speaker 1: I got, I gotta. I'm hanging on to beer because

517
00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:06,960
Speaker 1: I think I can drink beer and not have this

518
00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:08,920
Speaker 1: issue that's been between you and me. Now I've gotten

519
00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:11,320
Speaker 1: rid of the hard stuff, but I still have beer

520
00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:14,840
Speaker 1: in the fridge, and I'm now gonna see if I

521
00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:18,080
Speaker 1: can't pull off moderation. And I noticed the Lord that

522
00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:20,560
Speaker 1: every time I say the word moderation, I'm starting to

523
00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:25,240
Speaker 1: slur more and more because maybe now I'm not drinking

524
00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:27,720
Speaker 1: hard stuff I'm drinking I'm drinking six beers. Now I'm

525
00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:30,880
Speaker 1: down to four beers. And God would say, no, go

526
00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:33,000
Speaker 1: into the high places and get this out of your

527
00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:35,480
Speaker 1: life completely, because it keeps coming between you and me.

528
00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:38,480
Speaker 1: You're still hanging on to you won't let it go.

529
00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:42,560
Speaker 1: You know, I need to break off that relationship that

530
00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:46,240
Speaker 1: I know is I'm having an emotional affair so I'll

531
00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:47,880
Speaker 1: tell you what I'm gonna do. I'm not gonna go

532
00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:49,960
Speaker 1: have lunch with her anymore. I'm just gonna keep texting.

533
00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:53,000
Speaker 1: You know, you haven't gone to the high places. You

534
00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:56,440
Speaker 1: haven't gone and removed it completely. And so what he's

535
00:30:56,480 --> 00:31:00,440
Speaker 1: saying is, when when y'all come into the New Covenant, Hey,

536
00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:03,120
Speaker 1: two things I want you to do, Gentiles, y'all got

537
00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:05,200
Speaker 1: to leave all this pagan stuff out of the church,

538
00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:06,920
Speaker 1: and you got to go to the high places, and

539
00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:09,360
Speaker 1: you got to remove every bit of it. To the Hebrews,

540
00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:12,680
Speaker 1: I want you all to drop all this these these

541
00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:17,280
Speaker 1: these rabbi induced traditions, you know, these things that we

542
00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:19,640
Speaker 1: stood on that our rabbis taught us, and all these

543
00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:22,680
Speaker 1: things the rabbis added, I want all of that gone.

544
00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:25,120
Speaker 1: And what I what you know, these were things that

545
00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:27,360
Speaker 1: at one time for us, you know, might have been

546
00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:30,239
Speaker 1: firmed to stand on under the New Covenant that they

547
00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:32,560
Speaker 1: were good for a while. But let me tell you this,

548
00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:35,760
Speaker 1: the storm that's coming for the church, these things the

549
00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:39,520
Speaker 1: rabbis did for us, they're going to be inadequate. This

550
00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:41,040
Speaker 1: goes back to the writer of Hebrews. What do he

551
00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:43,680
Speaker 1: kept saying, don't turn back to that now. It was

552
00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:45,760
Speaker 1: there for us for a while, and it was something

553
00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:47,959
Speaker 1: we stood on for a while and that was okay.

554
00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:50,560
Speaker 1: But if you keep standing on that now, would he say,

555
00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:53,440
Speaker 1: trying to find redemption and all that, that ain't gonna work.

556
00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:57,200
Speaker 1: And and so he's saying, the church is when we

557
00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:02,240
Speaker 1: say new Covenant, it's new and everybody is on equal ground,

558
00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:05,440
Speaker 1: and we're all redeemed the same way. And Jesus is

559
00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:09,240
Speaker 1: the only thing, his sacrifice on the cross, Jesus on

560
00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:13,320
Speaker 1: the cross, his blood, his resurrection. That is the only way,

561
00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:16,600
Speaker 1: that is the only truth, and redemption is found there

562
00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:19,880
Speaker 1: and they're only and redemption is found there fully and

563
00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:22,720
Speaker 1: you will be made fully righteous, which is the standard

564
00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:25,760
Speaker 1: only in Jesus, and we're all held to that standard

565
00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:30,240
Speaker 1: and remove anything else. This is what Paul is prepared now.

566
00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:34,080
Speaker 1: I just wonder if we've done that, you know, as

567
00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:38,600
Speaker 1: I mean, is there something that you value more, you

568
00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:43,920
Speaker 1: fear more, you love more, you serve more than God?

569
00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:46,880
Speaker 1: I mean, I've run into men that seem more afraid

570
00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:51,680
Speaker 1: to transfer porter than they are of God. I'm not

571
00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:54,200
Speaker 1: I mean that, I'm serious. They're about to have a

572
00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:56,840
Speaker 1: fit about to state I had a guy called the

573
00:32:56,880 --> 00:32:59,440
Speaker 1: show today asking me how good I thought their team

574
00:32:59,440 --> 00:33:02,080
Speaker 1: would be today. I've been like, I mean, football sits

575
00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:03,640
Speaker 1: not even over. We used to have a super Bowl,

576
00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:06,640
Speaker 1: and what do you think? What do you think transferred

577
00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:09,680
Speaker 1: well about these people we picked up? And I wonder

578
00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:13,360
Speaker 1: when I hear that kind of obsession versus having fun

579
00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:15,560
Speaker 1: with something, which is fine. A lot of these things

580
00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:17,520
Speaker 1: are not bad in and of themselves, as long as

581
00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:22,840
Speaker 1: they're not idols. And uh, but I wonder sometimes if

582
00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:26,760
Speaker 1: we spent the time fearing God as we do fearing

583
00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:31,760
Speaker 1: not having our idols, well the power, we could access

584
00:33:32,920 --> 00:33:37,200
Speaker 1: just the same devotion to Him as we have the

585
00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:40,640
Speaker 1: things that can't redeem us. And I'll tell you the

586
00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:42,680
Speaker 1: biggest problem. If you still have devotion to something that

587
00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:47,720
Speaker 1: comes between you and God, you can't quite get to

588
00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:49,960
Speaker 1: There's always that moment you're like, I'm not quite where

589
00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:52,560
Speaker 1: I need to be because I haven't gone to the

590
00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:56,959
Speaker 1: high places and removed this from my life. I had

591
00:33:56,960 --> 00:34:00,600
Speaker 1: a guy that came forward, was that Mississippi. The thing

592
00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:03,480
Speaker 1: it was, I love this man. And some people treat

593
00:34:03,520 --> 00:34:05,280
Speaker 1: this as this is not one of those stories. You know,

594
00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:07,880
Speaker 1: we always love the stories the more horrible the testimony,

595
00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:10,080
Speaker 1: the more wonderful the story. But I'm gonna tell you

596
00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:12,759
Speaker 1: this one was just as important and probably as the

597
00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:16,640
Speaker 1: problem with most people in the Bible belt. He came

598
00:34:16,680 --> 00:34:18,279
Speaker 1: forward and I said, man, tell me what's going on.

599
00:34:18,320 --> 00:34:22,640
Speaker 1: He said, I'm a ninety percent guy. I said, ninety percent.

600
00:34:22,680 --> 00:34:24,680
Speaker 1: That's I mean, that's a pretty good score. He said,

601
00:34:24,680 --> 00:34:27,279
Speaker 1: but that ain't a hundred percent. I said, no, it's not.

602
00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:31,480
Speaker 1: He said, I'm ninety percent. There there's ten percent of

603
00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:34,239
Speaker 1: repentance and stepping forward under the authority of God that

604
00:34:34,280 --> 00:34:37,680
Speaker 1: I haven't done. I'm gonna do it now now. If

605
00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:40,560
Speaker 1: you want to have the funniest statement, we finish up

606
00:34:40,640 --> 00:34:43,520
Speaker 1: pray with him. Love the courage of that. It would

607
00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:45,200
Speaker 1: been so easy for him to say I'm good enough

608
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:48,160
Speaker 1: and I'm definitely better than the guy behind me, which,

609
00:34:48,160 --> 00:34:51,000
Speaker 1: by the way, he was. And I kid you not.

610
00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:52,960
Speaker 1: That guy comes in behind me heard the conversation. I said,

611
00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:55,759
Speaker 1: what about you? He said, I about forty that's what

612
00:34:55,840 --> 00:34:59,799
Speaker 1: he said. He said, he's about forty percent. Then I said, okay,

613
00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:01,239
Speaker 1: now you do have a failing grade, you know what

614
00:35:01,239 --> 00:35:04,640
Speaker 1: I mean. But I thought, but the fact that a

615
00:35:04,640 --> 00:35:06,759
Speaker 1: man would be bold enough to come under, to be

616
00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:09,720
Speaker 1: willing to be convicted when he's only got ten percent

617
00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:10,960
Speaker 1: of his life and it felt like he is under

618
00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:13,799
Speaker 1: the authority of Christ. Most people would would dream to

619
00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:18,080
Speaker 1: only have ten percent. But he still knew that there's

620
00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:21,240
Speaker 1: more available for me if I could just rid myself

621
00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:23,920
Speaker 1: of these things that hold me back, even if it's

622
00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:27,560
Speaker 1: just ten percent. So now he talks about the framework

623
00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:30,960
Speaker 1: of the building in verse twenty one, and whom the

624
00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:35,840
Speaker 1: whole structure being joined together, grows into a holy temple

625
00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:41,200
Speaker 1: in the Lord. So Paul compares the church to a body,

626
00:35:41,680 --> 00:35:46,240
Speaker 1: a building, and a bride. A body that is healthy

627
00:35:47,719 --> 00:35:53,200
Speaker 1: and complete at birth, but a building that grows by audition.

628
00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:55,880
Speaker 1: Now this is about to get It's where we got

629
00:35:55,920 --> 00:36:00,600
Speaker 1: to be real careful right here, because we as human beings,

630
00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:03,919
Speaker 1: we just can't seem to get our balance, right. Rick

631
00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:07,160
Speaker 1: Burgess included, I'm either too far this way or swing

632
00:36:07,200 --> 00:36:10,239
Speaker 1: the pendulum that way, and sometimes you know, you need

633
00:36:10,280 --> 00:36:12,960
Speaker 1: to look for a little more balance. So this thing

634
00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:21,080
Speaker 1: about addition. So the church body is talking about growing,

635
00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:25,520
Speaker 1: but the church body is something different. The church body

636
00:36:25,719 --> 00:36:27,279
Speaker 1: is one thing we need to and this is the

637
00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:31,840
Speaker 1: proper balance Paul is saying the church body needs to

638
00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:36,360
Speaker 1: grow in maturity. It's not just numbers. But hang on,

639
00:36:36,719 --> 00:36:39,600
Speaker 1: hang on, this is not a numbers don't matter speech,

640
00:36:39,600 --> 00:36:42,640
Speaker 1: because I know it feels like one. Is it true

641
00:36:42,680 --> 00:36:45,480
Speaker 1: that when we're talking about the church body growing, that

642
00:36:45,560 --> 00:36:51,680
Speaker 1: must always be growing in our maturation in the faith? Yes? Yes,

643
00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:56,520
Speaker 1: Can a church be healthy and no matter what the

644
00:36:56,600 --> 00:36:59,920
Speaker 1: number of people there, if the maturation of the body

645
00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:05,279
Speaker 1: is growing. Yes. However, however, I think we have to

646
00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:10,440
Speaker 1: be careful because numbers may not indicate a healthy church,

647
00:37:11,719 --> 00:37:16,200
Speaker 1: but a building does grow by adding to it, So

648
00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:20,920
Speaker 1: numbers aren't the only thing they tell you that a

649
00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:25,680
Speaker 1: church is healthy. But numbers do indicate that the church

650
00:37:25,840 --> 00:37:28,479
Speaker 1: is growing. And numbers if you look at the Church

651
00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:31,240
Speaker 1: of Acts, and I'm not saying that's a certain number.

652
00:37:31,520 --> 00:37:35,440
Speaker 1: I'm certainly not saying that. We were told that the

653
00:37:35,560 --> 00:37:38,720
Speaker 1: Church of Acts they were constantly in all of God,

654
00:37:39,440 --> 00:37:42,759
Speaker 1: so they feared God. They were constantly in awe, awe,

655
00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:48,840
Speaker 1: constantly constantly, they never left being in all of God.

656
00:37:49,760 --> 00:37:53,400
Speaker 1: And the way they operated. The New Testament tells us

657
00:37:53,440 --> 00:37:55,839
Speaker 1: in the Book of Acts that God added to their

658
00:37:55,920 --> 00:38:01,960
Speaker 1: numbers every day, so the grow when of the numbers

659
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:05,959
Speaker 1: in a church are an indication sometimes that God's hand

660
00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:09,960
Speaker 1: is on it, and a church that isn't growing probably

661
00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:12,760
Speaker 1: does have some issues. If it's not adding to itself

662
00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:15,600
Speaker 1: at all, it should be growing. The people within the

663
00:38:15,680 --> 00:38:18,320
Speaker 1: church don't just say, you know, I know some churches,

664
00:38:18,360 --> 00:38:22,040
Speaker 1: and you know, I'm talking to people that attend and

665
00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:24,160
Speaker 1: people that have been involved. They got a lot of numbers,

666
00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:27,319
Speaker 1: but they didn't do the first part, and that is

667
00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:30,239
Speaker 1: it's about an inch an inch deep in about a mile. Why.

668
00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:34,239
Speaker 1: I was told this by gigantic church, someone who said

669
00:38:34,239 --> 00:38:36,399
Speaker 1: they were ready to move on. I said, was there

670
00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:39,080
Speaker 1: anything going They said, no, there's not. There's no heresy

671
00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:41,640
Speaker 1: or anything like that. He just says, you know, there

672
00:38:41,640 --> 00:38:44,239
Speaker 1: comes a point where you know, I come back and

673
00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:47,040
Speaker 1: I realized that I've made my decision, I've been redeemed,

674
00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:50,800
Speaker 1: and I needed this approach to to light of fire

675
00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:53,600
Speaker 1: inside of me for my need for Jesus. They did

676
00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:56,840
Speaker 1: that beautifully. But once that happened, I kept coming to

677
00:38:56,920 --> 00:39:00,840
Speaker 1: grow and it just wasn't happening. Every single worship service

678
00:39:01,239 --> 00:39:03,239
Speaker 1: was like it was designed for people that needed to

679
00:39:03,239 --> 00:39:05,400
Speaker 1: come to Christ. Which is fine. We should weave the

680
00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:08,719
Speaker 1: gospel into every message. But they were saying, I'm trying

681
00:39:08,760 --> 00:39:11,279
Speaker 1: to find a place in here to now grow, and

682
00:39:11,360 --> 00:39:14,080
Speaker 1: it's just not happening. So I feel like this church

683
00:39:14,120 --> 00:39:15,560
Speaker 1: has done its job. Now it's time for me to

684
00:39:15,600 --> 00:39:18,200
Speaker 1: go somewhere else and grow. Now their numbers are through

685
00:39:18,200 --> 00:39:22,160
Speaker 1: the roof. But is the maturation of the body growing

686
00:39:22,239 --> 00:39:24,799
Speaker 1: That I can't answer because I'm not there. But this

687
00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:27,920
Speaker 1: person didn't feel like that. We need to be doing both.

688
00:39:28,040 --> 00:39:31,200
Speaker 1: It's not one or the other. And I think sometimes

689
00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:35,200
Speaker 1: as I was taught by someone who deals with churches

690
00:39:35,239 --> 00:39:38,319
Speaker 1: and works with them all the time about additions, he said,

691
00:39:38,360 --> 00:39:41,440
Speaker 1: I have found that people can be very proud about

692
00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:44,319
Speaker 1: their campuses, but they also can be very proud about

693
00:39:44,320 --> 00:39:47,600
Speaker 1: their lack of facilities. They somehow think they're closer to

694
00:39:47,600 --> 00:39:51,200
Speaker 1: God because they don't have good facilities. And he said, so, see,

695
00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:53,840
Speaker 1: we can't ever get right. What Paul is saying is

696
00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:58,400
Speaker 1: the church should be growing in the maturation of the members,

697
00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:01,799
Speaker 1: but it should also be grow by numbers. It's not

698
00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:03,960
Speaker 1: one or the other. And what we tend to do

699
00:40:04,080 --> 00:40:06,160
Speaker 1: is pick one or the other. You know, if I

700
00:40:06,200 --> 00:40:07,880
Speaker 1: got a lot of people here, I must be healthy.

701
00:40:08,239 --> 00:40:09,879
Speaker 1: And then others are saying, well, as long as we're

702
00:40:09,880 --> 00:40:13,239
Speaker 1: all growing in Christ and we never add anybody, we're healthy. Well,

703
00:40:13,280 --> 00:40:15,200
Speaker 1: it really needs to be both. A healthy church has

704
00:40:15,239 --> 00:40:18,239
Speaker 1: both going so h So anyway, that's that was what

705
00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:21,640
Speaker 1: he wanted us to understand, that that it's not the

706
00:40:21,680 --> 00:40:27,080
Speaker 1: only thing, but steady growth and numbers uh should be happening.

707
00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:30,280
Speaker 1: And what you see is steady growth in numbers, steady

708
00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:33,520
Speaker 1: growth and grace and the maturation of the brothers and

709
00:40:33,560 --> 00:40:37,400
Speaker 1: sisters that are there being discipled and grown. And I

710
00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:41,920
Speaker 1: know that's a tough balance, but I have seen head pastors,

711
00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:45,239
Speaker 1: and I have seen the leadership, and I have seen

712
00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:50,480
Speaker 1: Sunday school teachers, and I have seen lay leaders that

713
00:40:50,640 --> 00:40:53,759
Speaker 1: do it really well, you know, and you're all, you

714
00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:55,919
Speaker 1: never leave the gospel because you always got people coming

715
00:40:55,960 --> 00:40:59,600
Speaker 1: in that that that don't understand. But the ones that

716
00:40:59,680 --> 00:41:03,439
Speaker 1: are able to speak to the redeemed and now you're

717
00:41:03,480 --> 00:41:06,440
Speaker 1: helping them to be sanctified and disciple them while still

718
00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:10,520
Speaker 1: speaking to the secret that just came in. It requires

719
00:41:10,560 --> 00:41:12,680
Speaker 1: the power of the Holy Spirit. But I've seen it

720
00:41:12,680 --> 00:41:15,200
Speaker 1: done quite well. Not because I thought the person was great.

721
00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:17,040
Speaker 1: They're just showing how great God is. If they'll just

722
00:41:17,040 --> 00:41:20,000
Speaker 1: submit to it, you know. And so this is what

723
00:41:20,040 --> 00:41:22,800
Speaker 1: he's saying. Well, we're talking about this back this early

724
00:41:23,520 --> 00:41:26,200
Speaker 1: in the church, and so he is saying in verse

725
00:41:26,239 --> 00:41:29,400
Speaker 1: twenty one, and whom the whole structure being joined together

726
00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:33,400
Speaker 1: grows into a holy temple in the Lord. That's the

727
00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:35,799
Speaker 1: two ways growth, the two ways it grows. J'all track

728
00:41:35,880 --> 00:41:39,480
Speaker 1: with me on that, okay, all right? Twenty two So

729
00:41:39,640 --> 00:41:43,759
Speaker 1: twenty two the function of the building in him. You

730
00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:47,799
Speaker 1: also are being built together into a dwelling place for

731
00:41:47,960 --> 00:41:52,400
Speaker 1: God by the spirit. So the function of the building today.

732
00:41:52,440 --> 00:41:57,520
Speaker 1: God dwells not in a material house, but a spiritual one.

733
00:41:58,640 --> 00:42:07,360
Speaker 1: Believers are they have fellowship with God through the spirit,

734
00:42:08,040 --> 00:42:12,560
Speaker 1: not not so much a place, a dwelling place. God

735
00:42:12,600 --> 00:42:16,279
Speaker 1: resides on earth, in his glorious Church on Earth. And

736
00:42:16,320 --> 00:42:18,000
Speaker 1: here's one thing that I took away from one of

737
00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:21,320
Speaker 1: the commentaries that I thought was beautiful about spiritual warfare.

738
00:42:22,160 --> 00:42:27,000
Speaker 1: It says, the devil may harass a church where the

739
00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:32,560
Speaker 1: spirit of God reigns, but the devil and his demons

740
00:42:33,000 --> 00:42:38,799
Speaker 1: if it is a permanent dwelling meaning God's dwellings there.

741
00:42:38,800 --> 00:42:41,799
Speaker 1: You know, you look at the churches that get the

742
00:42:41,920 --> 00:42:44,040
Speaker 1: letters in the Revelation, and we studied that if you

743
00:42:44,080 --> 00:42:46,360
Speaker 1: want to go back, you know, one of the things

744
00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:49,640
Speaker 1: that has been nothing wrong with it. So don't hear

745
00:42:49,680 --> 00:42:53,280
Speaker 1: me indicting anyone for using the church at Laiah Toicea

746
00:42:53,400 --> 00:42:56,480
Speaker 1: as a gospel message. It certainly is there. But if

747
00:42:56,520 --> 00:42:59,960
Speaker 1: you look at what Jesus is really saying to the church,

748
00:43:00,200 --> 00:43:02,960
Speaker 1: lad to see him. He is saying that y'all are

749
00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:06,320
Speaker 1: doing all these incredible things. You're just doing it without me.

750
00:43:07,040 --> 00:43:10,000
Speaker 1: I stand at the door of the church, and I'm

751
00:43:10,040 --> 00:43:12,360
Speaker 1: knocking nothing wrong. If somebody's taught you that Jesus is

752
00:43:12,480 --> 00:43:15,200
Speaker 1: knocking on your heart and the holy that's fine. But

753
00:43:15,239 --> 00:43:19,000
Speaker 1: that's not what that letter is about. The letter is

754
00:43:19,040 --> 00:43:21,600
Speaker 1: to a church that thinks that they have got it

755
00:43:21,640 --> 00:43:25,719
Speaker 1: going on. They've got wealth, they wan't for nothing. You know,

756
00:43:25,760 --> 00:43:28,439
Speaker 1: they had developed this I salve that had made them rich.

757
00:43:29,440 --> 00:43:32,440
Speaker 1: They got hot water popped in, you know, over that,

758
00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:35,160
Speaker 1: and they had cold water coming in. They were having

759
00:43:35,160 --> 00:43:36,759
Speaker 1: a hard time getting all way to them without it

760
00:43:36,840 --> 00:43:42,880
Speaker 1: becoming luke warm. And Jesus is using that analogy. Remember, please, please, please,

761
00:43:43,360 --> 00:43:46,680
Speaker 1: never ever let anybody teach you about that letter that

762
00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:50,160
Speaker 1: Jesus would prefer that you were against him. Jesus has

763
00:43:50,239 --> 00:43:52,480
Speaker 1: never said he preferred that you were against him. Now

764
00:43:52,520 --> 00:43:54,879
Speaker 1: you either are for him or against him, but that's

765
00:43:54,920 --> 00:43:57,480
Speaker 1: not what he prefers. I would rather you before me,

766
00:43:57,800 --> 00:44:00,279
Speaker 1: or rather you be against me. Know what he's saying is,

767
00:44:00,320 --> 00:44:02,440
Speaker 1: I'd rather you be hot or cold, because those are useful.

768
00:44:03,440 --> 00:44:05,640
Speaker 1: What I can't use is a lukewarm church. It's not

769
00:44:05,719 --> 00:44:08,400
Speaker 1: hot or cold. He's saying, pick one, at least be

770
00:44:08,440 --> 00:44:11,560
Speaker 1: one of them. Just don't be something I can't use.

771
00:44:12,040 --> 00:44:15,640
Speaker 1: And so when he says I'm standing at the door

772
00:44:15,800 --> 00:44:18,680
Speaker 1: and I knock, that is not the door of your heart.

773
00:44:18,840 --> 00:44:21,720
Speaker 1: That is literally the door of the church at Leah

774
00:44:21,760 --> 00:44:25,600
Speaker 1: Desia saying, y'all are conducting church. You're just doing it

775
00:44:25,760 --> 00:44:29,319
Speaker 1: without me, and somebody needs to get up and come

776
00:44:29,360 --> 00:44:31,600
Speaker 1: to the door and let me in the church and

777
00:44:31,680 --> 00:44:34,400
Speaker 1: let me fellowship with you again. So in that case,

778
00:44:35,080 --> 00:44:37,560
Speaker 1: the devil in his demons could wreak havoc on a

779
00:44:37,640 --> 00:44:40,279
Speaker 1: church where he doesn't dwell. You know, I've told you

780
00:44:40,360 --> 00:44:42,359
Speaker 1: all the old joke about the farmer many times. That's

781
00:44:42,360 --> 00:44:44,799
Speaker 1: a great one. You know that he gets, you know,

782
00:44:45,080 --> 00:44:48,240
Speaker 1: ostracized by the pastor for not dressing appropriately for church

783
00:44:48,680 --> 00:44:50,879
Speaker 1: that he was visiting. And he says, come back next

784
00:44:50,920 --> 00:44:52,279
Speaker 1: week and you have a suit on and come in

785
00:44:52,280 --> 00:44:54,759
Speaker 1: here and give your best to God, and you need

786
00:44:54,800 --> 00:44:56,319
Speaker 1: to go pray to God, but how you should dress

787
00:44:56,320 --> 00:44:59,000
Speaker 1: when you come into his house and do? And so

788
00:44:59,040 --> 00:45:01,880
Speaker 1: the farmer comes back next week, still got his overalls on,

789
00:45:02,440 --> 00:45:04,479
Speaker 1: sitting on the back row, and the pastor just doesn't

790
00:45:04,480 --> 00:45:06,000
Speaker 1: even look at the people. They're trying to shake his hand.

791
00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:07,120
Speaker 1: He goes right to him and say, what did I

792
00:45:07,120 --> 00:45:09,040
Speaker 1: tell you last week? He said, you told me to

793
00:45:09,040 --> 00:45:10,960
Speaker 1: go to pray to God and ask him how I

794
00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:13,399
Speaker 1: should dress to come to this church. He said, that's right.

795
00:45:13,640 --> 00:45:15,200
Speaker 1: What did he say? He said, he doesn't know, he's

796
00:45:15,200 --> 00:45:21,200
Speaker 1: never been here, and so so so, so that that

797
00:45:21,520 --> 00:45:25,239
Speaker 1: is that that is a problem. So the beautiful thing

798
00:45:25,280 --> 00:45:27,120
Speaker 1: about when we're in the church, we need to be

799
00:45:27,239 --> 00:45:30,360
Speaker 1: praying for God to be with us and for God's

800
00:45:30,480 --> 00:45:33,800
Speaker 1: presence to be upon us. We can't depend on our programs.

801
00:45:34,000 --> 00:45:36,120
Speaker 1: And the wrong with programs as long as they're used

802
00:45:36,120 --> 00:45:39,080
Speaker 1: to glorify God. There's nothing wrong with structure as long

803
00:45:39,080 --> 00:45:42,360
Speaker 1: as you glorify God. There's nothing wrong with with with

804
00:45:42,560 --> 00:45:45,560
Speaker 1: plans and and all of the committees. All those things

805
00:45:45,600 --> 00:45:48,000
Speaker 1: are fine if they're coming up with a plan to

806
00:45:48,040 --> 00:45:51,920
Speaker 1: glorify God. But we should never stop making sure that

807
00:45:52,080 --> 00:45:56,560
Speaker 1: His presence is with us, because if his presence is

808
00:45:56,600 --> 00:46:01,920
Speaker 1: in a church, Satan, if you ran, that are his demons.

809
00:46:02,480 --> 00:46:06,120
Speaker 1: As long as God dwells and his presence dwells on

810
00:46:06,160 --> 00:46:09,799
Speaker 1: this earth and dwells in that church, the devil could

811
00:46:09,920 --> 00:46:14,000
Speaker 1: never take up permanent residence. Can't do it. It's not possible.

812
00:46:14,840 --> 00:46:18,319
Speaker 1: He has to be invited in. And as long as

813
00:46:18,320 --> 00:46:21,480
Speaker 1: God's presence is in that church, he may harass, he

814
00:46:21,520 --> 00:46:23,640
Speaker 1: may bang on the doors, he may try to knock

815
00:46:23,680 --> 00:46:27,200
Speaker 1: people down, but he cannot set up permanent dwelling in

816
00:46:27,280 --> 00:46:30,799
Speaker 1: the presence of the Lord. So the Lord is with

817
00:46:30,960 --> 00:46:33,960
Speaker 1: us now through the New Covenant, at all times. Now,

818
00:46:34,040 --> 00:46:37,560
Speaker 1: you remember what happened with the Holy of Holies when

819
00:46:37,560 --> 00:46:39,399
Speaker 1: it is finished. You know there was a time that

820
00:46:39,520 --> 00:46:43,040
Speaker 1: veil separated only the select few, and you know they

821
00:46:43,040 --> 00:46:45,399
Speaker 1: would even tie a rope around them in case God

822
00:46:45,480 --> 00:46:47,239
Speaker 1: killed them in there, and they could pull the body

823
00:46:47,320 --> 00:46:50,319
Speaker 1: out to walk into the Holy of Holies. You know

824
00:46:50,320 --> 00:46:52,880
Speaker 1: where they said when Christ said it is finished on

825
00:46:52,920 --> 00:46:55,160
Speaker 1: the cross and the earthquake came, and the storm, the dark,

826
00:46:55,400 --> 00:46:58,799
Speaker 1: it just split right down the middle. And now you know,

827
00:46:59,120 --> 00:47:03,960
Speaker 1: you don't need anybody other than Jesus to walk you

828
00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:06,759
Speaker 1: into the presence of the Holy of Holies and the

829
00:47:06,840 --> 00:47:11,640
Speaker 1: New Covenant. That's a really really big deal, you know.

830
00:47:11,719 --> 00:47:14,800
Speaker 1: You say, so I can, I can stand in front

831
00:47:14,800 --> 00:47:17,200
Speaker 1: of the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings

832
00:47:17,200 --> 00:47:19,719
Speaker 1: and the Holy, Holy Holy, as long as Jesus is

833
00:47:19,719 --> 00:47:24,000
Speaker 1: with you, you can. There's no veil. The veil's broken. And

834
00:47:24,040 --> 00:47:27,960
Speaker 1: so this is what Paul wants us to know that

835
00:47:28,040 --> 00:47:32,320
Speaker 1: God resides on Earth right now in his glorious church.

836
00:47:33,040 --> 00:47:35,880
Speaker 1: The spotless bride. Now, the bride needs to be spotless.

837
00:47:36,400 --> 00:47:38,239
Speaker 1: This is the thing that he talked about. That's the

838
00:47:38,320 --> 00:47:43,000
Speaker 1: function to keep that dwelling pure. That doesn't mean that

839
00:47:43,200 --> 00:47:45,520
Speaker 1: there's not people in there that are struggling. Everybody in

840
00:47:45,560 --> 00:47:48,239
Speaker 1: there is still in the sanctification process. But what he

841
00:47:48,360 --> 00:47:53,600
Speaker 1: is saying, you keep that bride pure. If there's open, perpetual,

842
00:47:53,800 --> 00:47:59,400
Speaker 1: deliberate sin being tolerated, that is unrepentant. It is not

843
00:47:59,480 --> 00:48:03,480
Speaker 1: to be tall rated inside the body. Why First Corinthians five.

844
00:48:04,160 --> 00:48:07,799
Speaker 1: So you make sure that the body is kept pure

845
00:48:07,800 --> 00:48:10,680
Speaker 1: because if you leave those people in there and you

846
00:48:10,760 --> 00:48:14,640
Speaker 1: don't purify the bride, they will corrupt other people. He said,

847
00:48:15,000 --> 00:48:16,600
Speaker 1: it's just like that leven. A little bit of eleven

848
00:48:16,640 --> 00:48:19,319
Speaker 1: goes a long way, and then it's not because we

849
00:48:19,360 --> 00:48:21,640
Speaker 1: don't love them. He said, there's a way to do it.

850
00:48:21,840 --> 00:48:25,360
Speaker 1: When they are put outside the body leaving the bride.

851
00:48:25,719 --> 00:48:29,239
Speaker 1: He said, hopefully they'll now because they are not protected,

852
00:48:29,560 --> 00:48:31,400
Speaker 1: will be attacked by the devil. It will be so

853
00:48:31,520 --> 00:48:35,239
Speaker 1: severe that they'll repent and it'll save their life. Now,

854
00:48:35,239 --> 00:48:36,839
Speaker 1: I know that's a difficult thing to do, and we

855
00:48:36,880 --> 00:48:40,640
Speaker 1: don't do that to show how righteous we are. We

856
00:48:40,680 --> 00:48:43,400
Speaker 1: do that because we show how much we listen to God,

857
00:48:43,640 --> 00:48:46,480
Speaker 1: and we purify the bride that He loves. That's why

858
00:48:46,560 --> 00:48:49,319
Speaker 1: we do it. And I think the best statement I've

859
00:48:49,360 --> 00:48:52,080
Speaker 1: ever heard made, and I'm pretty sure it was Mack Brunson,

860
00:48:53,440 --> 00:48:57,120
Speaker 1: who is my current pastor, who said, if you enjoy

861
00:48:57,400 --> 00:49:00,200
Speaker 1: church discipline and it doesn't make you nauseous, there's something

862
00:49:00,239 --> 00:49:02,480
Speaker 1: wrong with you. But if you fail to do it,

863
00:49:02,520 --> 00:49:07,640
Speaker 1: you're also in sin. But it shouldn't be enjoyable, and

864
00:49:08,200 --> 00:49:12,279
Speaker 1: it certainly isn't so as long as God dwells on

865
00:49:12,320 --> 00:49:16,960
Speaker 1: this earth, and he dwells in his church. Right now,

866
00:49:17,800 --> 00:49:21,160
Speaker 1: as Paul was preparing us here, the world that we

867
00:49:21,200 --> 00:49:24,080
Speaker 1: live in and all the things that are so twisted

868
00:49:24,200 --> 00:49:27,200
Speaker 1: and so dark and seem like evil, is at a

869
00:49:27,239 --> 00:49:30,279
Speaker 1: place that you haven't seen it in your lifetime. I

870
00:49:30,360 --> 00:49:33,839
Speaker 1: want you to know that when the darkness is all

871
00:49:33,880 --> 00:49:39,080
Speaker 1: around us, we the Church are the light. We are

872
00:49:39,200 --> 00:49:42,680
Speaker 1: the salt. We are holding it all together, and as

873
00:49:42,719 --> 00:49:47,040
Speaker 1: long as God's presence is with us, we should have

874
00:49:47,120 --> 00:49:54,400
Speaker 1: a supernatural peace that the world desires. One church, one body,

875
00:49:55,400 --> 00:49:57,880
Speaker 1: the jew and the gentile, the man and the woman,

876
00:49:58,680 --> 00:50:02,560
Speaker 1: all under the authority of the same Lord and Savior,

877
00:50:02,719 --> 00:50:06,040
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, all equal at the foot of the cross,

878
00:50:06,080 --> 00:50:10,000
Speaker 1: all showing our thankfulness for our redemption because we were

879
00:50:10,040 --> 00:50:13,160
Speaker 1: once far away and we have now been brought into

880
00:50:13,200 --> 00:50:15,719
Speaker 1: the presence of the one and only Living God. And

881
00:50:15,760 --> 00:50:19,600
Speaker 1: on your worst day, cling to that truth. It may

882
00:50:19,600 --> 00:50:21,280
Speaker 1: it bring you hope, It may it bring you peace.

883
00:50:21,800 --> 00:50:25,160
Speaker 1: Let's pray, Lord, thank you for today, thank you for

884
00:50:25,239 --> 00:50:28,279
Speaker 1: this message, thank you for this reminder. Thank you Lord

885
00:50:28,360 --> 00:50:33,279
Speaker 1: for the showing the apostle Paul, as he said, he

886
00:50:33,320 --> 00:50:36,799
Speaker 1: said he worked harder than the other apostles because he

887
00:50:36,880 --> 00:50:40,480
Speaker 1: once persecuted the church. I know some of us. I

888
00:50:40,560 --> 00:50:43,640
Speaker 1: know me in my own way. I may not have

889
00:50:43,800 --> 00:50:48,600
Speaker 1: persecuted the church, but I certainly blasphemed the church by

890
00:50:48,640 --> 00:50:52,160
Speaker 1: claiming to belong to you. Why acting in a way

891
00:50:52,160 --> 00:50:56,439
Speaker 1: that blasphemed you? So I understand where Paul says, I've

892
00:50:56,440 --> 00:51:00,319
Speaker 1: been shown much grace, So I will work harder than

893
00:51:00,360 --> 00:51:03,720
Speaker 1: the others, not to earn redemption because it can't be earned.

894
00:51:04,200 --> 00:51:07,040
Speaker 1: But he made it clear those of us that are

895
00:51:07,040 --> 00:51:10,000
Speaker 1: working maybe a little bit harder. We're doing that because

896
00:51:10,000 --> 00:51:13,879
Speaker 1: we're grateful, and we know how gracious you've been to us,

897
00:51:14,400 --> 00:51:17,760
Speaker 1: and we never ever want that grace to be seen

898
00:51:18,239 --> 00:51:21,560
Speaker 1: as in vain. You're going to get a return on

899
00:51:21,680 --> 00:51:25,720
Speaker 1: the grace that you've afforded us, just because we're grateful,

900
00:51:26,160 --> 00:51:29,840
Speaker 1: and because our obedience, as you have said, is the

901
00:51:29,920 --> 00:51:34,200
Speaker 1: number one way to show we love you. Or not

902
00:51:34,280 --> 00:51:37,440
Speaker 1: redeemed by our obedience, but we certainly show you we

903
00:51:37,480 --> 00:51:40,719
Speaker 1: love you through it, and it flows from those who

904
00:51:40,760 --> 00:51:43,600
Speaker 1: have the power of You, Lord, help us to assess

905
00:51:43,640 --> 00:51:47,000
Speaker 1: ourselves today and make maybe hard decisions. Maybe we're ninety

906
00:51:47,000 --> 00:51:49,120
Speaker 1: percent there, and today we need to be one hundred percent.

907
00:51:49,800 --> 00:51:53,400
Speaker 1: Maybe we're more honest and say we're about forty or

908
00:51:53,400 --> 00:51:55,920
Speaker 1: maybe somebody say it might be less than that. But

909
00:51:56,000 --> 00:51:59,400
Speaker 1: today we take that step that brings us into full commitment,

910
00:52:00,080 --> 00:52:06,239
Speaker 1: full repentance, full devotion to you, and we go into

911
00:52:06,280 --> 00:52:10,080
Speaker 1: the high places of our life and remove anything that

912
00:52:10,160 --> 00:52:13,759
Speaker 1: we value more. We serve more, we love more, we

913
00:52:13,800 --> 00:52:17,400
Speaker 1: fear more than You and your holy name. We pray Amen.