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Amen. 
How many of you are thankful for

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the work of Jesus Christ? 
I love that song because it 

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reminds us that though we're not
saved by works, there was a work

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that saved us, and that is the 
work of Jesus Christ upon the 

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cross through His death, His 
burial, His resurrection. 

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We are saved not of any work of 
our own, but because of His 

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obedience to come into this 
earth and to die as a sacrifice 

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to redeem those who trust in Him
as Lord and Savior. 

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If you have your Bibles, if you 
would turn with me. 

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And this won't be a surprise to 
anyone to the 119th Psalm as we 

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continue to make our journey 
through this one. 

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Chapter in the Psalms. 
As we look at this series, 

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living life in the light of 
God's Word and, and I pray this,

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I pray that you are becoming 
more aware of how important it 

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is for those of us who are in 
Christ to live our lives in 

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light of God's Word. 
His Word is a lamp unto our feet

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and a light unto our path as we 
have already heard and will be 

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reminded of over and over again 
as we study through this 

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particular chapter in Scripture.
And today we come to the 8th 

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letter in the Hebrew alphabet, 
the letter heath. 

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And we know this, that when we 
come to that Hebrew letter, we 

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are going to see 8 specific 
verses that go along with that 

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letter. 
And this is no exception. 

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We will see this all the way 
through the 119th Psalm as this 

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has been arranged precisely by 
God in this order. 

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And that is why we are looking 
at each message, at those 

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particular 8 verses that are 
joined together. 

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It's important that. 
We as we look at this passage 

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this morning. 
It's important that we 

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understand that the psalmist is 
going to give us insight into 

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something that we really need to
pay attention to if we profess 

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to know God, if we profess to be
living a godly life. 

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Because we're going to look into
the psalmist's life as we look 

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at these 8 verses, and it's 
going to give for us some 

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distinguishing marks of a godly 
life. 

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Now, if you're here today and 
you profess to be, to, to know 

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Christ and, and, and to be in 
him, and you have no desire to 

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live a godly life, something is 
dreadfully wrong with you. 

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But if you are in Christ, you 
will have this desire to live a 

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godly life. 
What we're going to do today, 

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we're going to look at those 
certain characteristics and 

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qualities that distinguish the 
psalmist from those in his day 

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and if you are truly in Christ. 
That will distinguish you from 

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the wickedness and the evil of 
your day, because it is no news 

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to us scripturally. 
We as true believers are to 

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look, to act, to talk, to behave
distinctly different from the 

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world. 
Now let me remind you, just as 

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we sang a moment ago, that is 
not so that we can earn 

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salvation. 
That is because salvation has 

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already been earned for us 
through the sacrifice of Christ.

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And so the psalmist here giving 
us a glimpse into his life also 

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gives us a glimpse into what 
does it look like? 

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What does it look like to be a 
man or to be a woman? 

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If if that be you this morning, 
who is truly living a godly 

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life, Who is truly a man or a 
woman who's after God's own 

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heart? 
Turn with me to verse 57. 

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There in the 119th Psalm, under 
the heading Het in the Hebrew it

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says this. 
You are my portion. 

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O Lord, I have promised to obey 
Your words. 

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I've sought Your face with all 
my heart. 

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Be gracious to me according to 
Your promise. 

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I have considered my ways and 
have turned my steps to Your 

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statutes. 
I will hasten and not delay to 

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obey Your commands. 
Though the wicked bind me with 

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ropes, I will not forget your 
law. 

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At midnight I rise to give you 
things for your righteous laws. 

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I am a friend to all who fear 
You, to all who follow your 

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precepts. 
The earth is filled with your 

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love. 
O Lord, teach me your decrees. 

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Let's pray. 
Father, in the name of Jesus, we

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come to You now asking that Your
Holy Spirit would illuminate and

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enlighten us to the truths that 
we have seen with our eyes and 

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heard with our ears from Your 
scriptures today already. 

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God, we pray that You would root
them deep into the depths of our

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soul, that these would not just 
be. 

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Words that enter into our minds,
from our eyes, and audibly 

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through our ears. 
But these be words straight from

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God that penetrate the depths. 
Of our being. 

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God, I pray that you would use 
these words to mold us and to 

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fashion us and to shape us into 
the people that you desire for 

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us to be. 
That in doing so, we would give 

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you all the glory for what it is
that you were doing in our life 

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and have done in our life 
through Christ. 

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Lord, I pray for that person 
who's here who does not know 

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Christ. 
God, I pray that you would 

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shower them with your mercy and 
your love today. 

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That you would usher them out of
the darkness and into light. 

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That you would open their eyes 
spiritually, that they can see. 

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And that you would renew them 
and rebirth them today so that 

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they can believe God. 
That they would truly believe 

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and trust in Jesus today and be 
saved, knowing that that's the 

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only hope that they have of ever
being forgiven of their sin, 

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never inheriting eternal life. 
God, I pray that your will be 

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done, that you receive all glory
and honor and praise. 

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And we pray all these things in 
Christ's name, Amen. 

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As we look at the psalmist words
here today, I want to make it 

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very clear to all of us so that 
we understand it. 

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And we're going to jump in 
because we have a lot of ground 

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to cover. 
There's a lot that's going to be

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said today. 
There's a lot more that probably

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could be said, but I want to 
make it very clear as we jump 

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into this today, if you're not 
living a life that distinguishes

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you from the world, your 
profession of Christ is 

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completely pointless. 
It is a completely moot point. 

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No one gives any validity to 
your claim. 

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And so the psalmist here is 
going to give us some insight 

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into the distinguishing marks of
a godly life. 

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And why are we going to receive 
this insight? 

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It is not so that we can measure
the person sitting next to us, 

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or the person across the aisle 
from us, or our neighbor back 

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wherever it is that we live, or 
our husbands, or our wives, or 

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even our children. 
It is so that we can examine our

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own lives this morning and to 
ask even the most difficult 

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question, do I bear to some 
degree, do I possess to some 

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degree these distinguishing 
marks that he is going to 

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highlight for us that the 
psalmist did possess in his 

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life? 
The psalmist we know, if you 

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take the stance that this is 
David and I won't be dogmatic 

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about it, but the more that I 
read, the more that I study, the

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more that I tend to lead, lean 
toward Davidic authorship. 

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But that's neither here nor 
there. 

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Obviously, this is a person, a 
man who is after God's own 

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heart. 
And so here we see this example 

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of this person who is desiring 
to live. 

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A godly life. 
It would do us a great, great 

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favor as professing believers to
examine his life and to say, OK,

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does my life match the 
characteristics that I see? 

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Do I see these attributes being 
developed in my life as a 

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professing believer? 
Now, if you're not a professing 

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believer, if you don't know 
Christ, you're not yet in 

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Christ. 
I don't, don't, don't bother 

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examining to see if you possess 
these things. 

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You don't possess these things. 
You're not in Christ and these 

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things have not been produced in
you. 

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But if you are in Christ, or do 
you think that you are in 

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Christ? 
If you are a professor of 

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Christ, please examine yourself,
because mere profession will 

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never. 
Save a single soul, there will 

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be distinct evidence that that 
profession is legit, that it is 

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a work of God. 
And so I want you to examine 

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yourself. 
This morning and really lay your

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life next to the life of the 
Psalmist. 

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Neither of you perfect in all of
your ways, both of you sinners 

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at birth, but you claim 
redemption. 

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And of course, the psalmist 
claims redemption. 

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And So what we have to do is we 
have to look at a person who 

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who's proven that their life is 
a life of godly character. 

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We lay our life next to it. 
What does what I'm reading in 

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Scripture say about my life? 
And the first thing I want you 

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to see, the first distinguishing
mark is this that he highlights 

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for us and what he writes. 
Verse 57 He says You are my 

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portion. 
O Lord, I have promised to obey 

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your words. 
He's speaking here in intimate 

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terms and that's the first thing
that I want you to really 

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examine in your life is do you 
have an intimate relationship 

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with God, an intimate and 
personal 1 You see that right 

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off the bat with the psalmist. 
He says You are my portion. 

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What is he saying? 
He is considering God as his All

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in all, that he can lose 
everything under the sun, all 

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the treasures of the earth. 
He can lose all of the the 

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members in his family. 
He can lose his job, he can lose

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whatever income he might have, 
whatever retirement plan that he

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is packing away. 
And if he lost all of that, he 

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would still have everything that
he needs. 

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And that's when we understand, 
is God really our portion? 

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If you were to lose everything, 
is he still your All in all your

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portion, your inheritance, all 
that you look forward to, not 

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only in the life that is to 
come? 

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We have a problem in the, in 
much of the Christian circles 

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today that we only look forward 
to the life that is to come. 

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Is he your possession Now? 
The psalmist didn't say he's 

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going to be my possession. 
He says he's my possession right

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this minute. 
He is my All in all. 

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You want to see someone who 
displays distinguishing 

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characteristics of a godly life.
God is going to be everything to

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them. 
He says you're my portion. 

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Lamentations 324. 
We see there the lament of 

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Jeremiah and he says this. 
I say to myself, the Lord is my 

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portion, therefore I will wait 
for him. 

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Jeremiah lamenting over the fact
that Israel did not repent of 

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their sin and he's not really 
getting all that that caught up 

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in it because he knows this that
the Lord is his portion if if 

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all of the world ceased. 
The Lord's everything to Him. 

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If all of the world as you know 
it ceased, is the Lord really 

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everything to you? 
Is He your treasure? 

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Is He sufficient enough for you?
Is he your everything? 

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That's what the psalmist is 
saying here. 

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He's considering God as His All 
in all. 

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Not only that, he's doing 
something that we don't do often

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enough in our intimate 
relationship or our claim to 

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have an intimate relationship 
with God. 

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We must consider that He's our 
All in all. 

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But what about this? 
He's counting God as his own. 

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He says. 
You, Lord, are my portion. 

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You see the ownership there 
because we can quickly 

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understand this, that I belong 
to God, right? 

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I belong to God because I have 
been purchased by the precious 

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blood of Jesus Christ. 
He purchased men from God just 

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as Scripture says, and I belong 
to God. 

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Now Church understand this. 
He belongs to you as well. 

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And what a privilege that is to 
know that the sovereign God of 

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all belongs to us. 
He is our possession. 

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He is our portion. 
We have direct and intimate 

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connection to God, to Yahweh of 
the Old Testament. 

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We can boldly and directly enter
into His throne of grace, just 

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as the author of Hebrews says in
Hebrews chapter 4. 

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You know it, He says in verse 
16. 

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Let us then approach the throne 
of grace with confidence so that

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we may receive mercy and find 
grace to help us in our time of 

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need. 
He says that we have access 

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behind the veil because Christ 
has torn the veil and we can now

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go in through the Holy of 
Holies, even to the mercy seat 

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of God, to His throne of grace. 
He is our portion, we are His, 

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but even more so, He is ours. 
We possess an intimate 

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relationship with the God who 
could not have a relationship 

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with filthy sinners. 
Yet in order to do that, this 

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God sends His only begotten Son,
and His Son redeems sinners so 

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that we can now come in what a 
glorious and beautiful picture. 

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We can now not only be counted 
as His, we can count God. 

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As ours. 
This relationship, of course, 

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can only happen if we are 
reconciled unto our heavenly 

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Father, because we know that sin
keeps us from Him. 

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But we also know this if we 
study the Scriptures, any amount

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of time that Christ defeated sin
on the cross, so that we can 

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then be reconciled unto the 
Father. 

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Colossians 122 says, But now he 
has reconciled you by Christ's 

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physical body through death, to 
present you wholly in a sight 

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without blemish and free from 
accusation. 

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What is He saying here? 
He's saying you don't have to 

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come into God's presence fearing
that there's some accusation 

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that's going to be brought to 
your charge. 

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Those accusations were taken 
care of at the cross where Jesus

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bore the wrath that you deserved
for your sin. 

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And now when the accuser of the 
brethren says you can't come 

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into God's presence because 
you've done something wrong, you

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can say, no, wait a second, I 
can boldly go before his throne 

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of grace in my time of need, 
just as Scripture says. 

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Why? 
Because I have been reconciled 

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to God, not by anything that I. 
Did or could ever do I have been

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reconciled through the precious 
blood of Jesus Christ that 

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atonement has been made. 
I am covered. 

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And so now when I approach God 
because of Christ, physical 

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death. 
I have been presented. 

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What does he say again, wholly 
in his sight, without blemish 

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and free from accusation. 
I say that because there are 

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00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:06,320
many of you who are believers 
here today and you are afraid to

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00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:11,200
own God as your own, to truly 
own God as your own, to to be 

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able to commune with him and to 
come into His presence at at 

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whatever time in your life or 
season in your life that you're 

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00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:19,160
going through. 
Let me tell you this, if you are

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in Christ, there's nothing in 
your past that is held to your 

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charge. 
Confidently enter into His 

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throne room to His throne of 
grace, just as Scripture 

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commands us to do. 
You have been reconciled. 

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00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:40,400
Count God as your own, that when
you approach Him, you approach 

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Him as intimately as a son would
approach His. 

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Father, not only does the Son 
belong or the the Son belong to 

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the Father, but the Father 
belongs to the Son. 

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Church understand that the 
Psalmist gets that. 

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You are my portion. 
O Lord, I belong to you and you 

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belong to me. 
Many of you don't experience the

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intimacy that God desires that 
you have, because yes, you know 

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you belong to God, but you have 
not reconciled in your heart 

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that He also belongs to you. 
What a beautiful picture that I 

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don't have to wait until I'm 
invited. 

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I have already been invited to 
Sup with him and to fellowship 

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with him. 
Not in the life to come, but 

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00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:31,440
even in this life. 
I have communion with my 

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00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:35,080
heavenly Father because of the 
precious blood of the Lord Jesus

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Christ and faith in that is 
Romans chapter 5 tells us that 

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faith in that and that alone 
allows us to be reconciled. 

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So the psalmist understands 
this. 

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He's counting God as his own. 
He's considering God as is All 

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00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:52,320
in all, in this intimate 
relationship that he has with 

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00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:54,200
God. 
But that intimate relationship 

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00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:56,880
is also confirmed through 
obedience. 

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He says you are my portion. 
O Lord, I have promised to obey 

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00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:03,920
your word. 
I promise to obey your words. 

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00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:11,560
We submit to the Lord, we're 
simply showing Him the love that

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is due for the love that we have
received. 

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00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:20,599
We are reciprocating what He has
already lavished upon us. 

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00:17:20,599 --> 00:17:22,839
And we will talk much about that
in a moment. 

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00:17:22,839 --> 00:17:27,079
But Galatians 5 tells us this in
Galatians 5-6. 

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For in Christ Jesus, neither 
circumcision or uncircumcision 

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has any value. 
Says there's no value in the 

286
00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:35,000
works of the flesh. 
The only thing that counts is 

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00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:37,680
faith expressing itself through 
love. 

288
00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:42,200
And how do we we express faith 
through love in regard to our 

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00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:45,760
relationship to the Father? 
We obey his word. 

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00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:47,040
That's what the Psalmist is 
saying here. 

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00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:49,600
You are my portion, O Lord, I've
promised to obey your word. 

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00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:50,800
Why? 
Because you're my portion. 

293
00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:52,000
You're my treasure. 
I. 

294
00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:55,800
Value you above all things. 
I count you as my own. 

295
00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:59,440
Therefore, I'm not going to go 
out and to defame the name of my

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00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:03,240
father by by living some sinful 
or wicked lifestyle, but. 

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00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:07,720
What I'm going to do is I'm 
going to obey your word so that 

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00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:10,600
my love for you is made clear. 
Is that not what Jesus said? 

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00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:13,480
If you love me, you'll what? 
You'll obey what I command you. 

300
00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:16,840
You'll do what I tell you to do.
So godly life will be marked 

301
00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:20,480
with an intimate relationship 
and close communion and 

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00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:23,120
fellowship with God. 
That is never to be broken. 

303
00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:25,160
That is purchased for us in 
Christ. 

304
00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:28,520
Secondly, we see the Psalmist 
say this in verse 58. 

305
00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:33,080
As we look at that second 
distinction, he says, I have 

306
00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:34,920
sought your face with all my 
heart. 

307
00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:39,120
Be gracious to me according to 
your promise, We see here a 

308
00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:42,560
desire to please God. 
Now, the wicked, they don't have

309
00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:44,160
an intimate relationship with 
God. 

310
00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:48,080
And the wicked sure don't have a
desire to please God in 

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00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:51,240
everything. 
However, the believer should 

312
00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:54,880
bear both of those 
characteristics in their life to

313
00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:57,440
some degree. 
You ought to have that intimate 

314
00:18:57,440 --> 00:19:00,240
relationship. 
With God because of Christ, and 

315
00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:03,960
you ought to have a desire to 
please God. 

316
00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:09,040
He says I've sought your face 
with all my heart, with every 

317
00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:12,160
bit of it. 
What is he talking about? 

318
00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:14,720
Seeking God's face? 
You know what he's saying. 

319
00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:17,840
I want your approval. 
Now we know this to be true. 

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00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:19,680
God sees everyone's life, 
doesn't he? 

321
00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:22,600
But the psalmist is taking it a 
step further. 

322
00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:26,080
I want God to look directly into
my life and I want him to be 

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00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:30,360
pleased with what he sees. 
I seek his face. 

324
00:19:30,360 --> 00:19:33,280
I don't hide from his face. 
I seek it. 

325
00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:36,480
I expose myself. 
God, show me, show me what it is

326
00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:39,160
that you want me to do and and 
give me strength to obey it. 

327
00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:44,120
I want to please you because a 
true believer is going to have a

328
00:19:44,120 --> 00:19:46,800
desire to please God seeking his
face. 

329
00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:49,000
Going back to our scripture 
reading this morning, 

330
00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:53,960
Lamentation 3 verse 25, and it 
says. 

331
00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:56,200
This the Lord is good to those 
whose hope is in Him. 

332
00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:00,200
To the one who seeks him. 
Now the problem with that is 

333
00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:01,720
this. 
There's no one who seeks them. 

334
00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:03,440
That's what the Old Testament 
says, and that's what Paul 

335
00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:05,840
confirms in Romans, that there 
is no one who seek them. 

336
00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:08,120
There's none righteous, no, not 
one, no one who seeks after him.

337
00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:11,720
And So what has happened? 
A work of God has transpired in 

338
00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:15,360
your life through the Lord Jesus
Christ and now because you have 

339
00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:20,560
been changed by His grace. 
You now seek Him. 

340
00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:21,840
Isn't that what the psalmist 
says? 

341
00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:23,200
I have sought your face with all
my heart. 

342
00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:25,120
Be gracious to me according to 
your promise. 

343
00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:27,840
He says it's grace that allows 
me, the grace that has been 

344
00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:30,200
promised to me. 
It's grace that allows me to 

345
00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:34,040
seek you with all of my heart 
and to seek your face and to 

346
00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:36,560
live and to desire Your approval
in my life. 

347
00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:40,680
The psalmist in Psalm 24, verse 
three, he says this, Who may 

348
00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:43,480
ascend the hill of the Lord, who
may stand in his holy place? 

349
00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:46,920
He who has clean hands and a 
pure heart, who does not lift up

350
00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:50,400
his soul to an idol or swear by 
what is false, he will receive 

351
00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:52,640
blessing from the Lord and 
vindication from God his Savior.

352
00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:57,240
And he says this in verse six. 
Such is the generation of those 

353
00:20:57,240 --> 00:20:59,680
who seek him, who seek your 
face. 

354
00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:03,000
O God of Jacob, are you one of 
those? 

355
00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:06,880
Are you a part of the generation
who seeks the face of God? 

356
00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:10,840
If you were in Christ, he is 
raising you up to be a part of 

357
00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:13,120
that generation who seeks the 
face of God. 

358
00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:14,920
The Psalm is making this very 
clear. 

359
00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:18,400
I sought your face with all my. 
Heart what was he doing? 

360
00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:20,320
He was desiring God's favor on 
his life. 

361
00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:22,560
He was desiring fellowship with 
God in his life in that 

362
00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:24,480
communion. 
That's that's all that he 

363
00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:26,760
wanted. 
He wanted nothing more, nothing 

364
00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:30,320
less. 
Psalm 27 verse 8 He says, My 

365
00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:35,360
heart says of you seek his face,
your face, Lord, I will seek. 

366
00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:37,200
He's saying my heart says seek 
his face. 

367
00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:38,280
Why? 
Because his heart has been 

368
00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:40,600
changed. 
And when your heart is truly 

369
00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:43,480
changed, when you receive that 
heart of flesh that Ezekiel 

370
00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:46,480
talks about in exchange for that
heart of stone and sin that you 

371
00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:51,320
once had, when that's changed, 
you will now seek the face of 

372
00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:55,120
God because your heart will say 
this is the right thing to do. 

373
00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:59,200
I desire to please God. 
Do you have a desire to please 

374
00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:03,480
God in your life? 
Is that your chief desire to 

375
00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:07,960
please Him and to have his face 
shine upon your life as you seek

376
00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:10,120
his face? 
That's what the psalmist is 

377
00:22:10,120 --> 00:22:14,840
doing here, revealing his desire
to please God, seeking his face.

378
00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:17,360
But not only that, he's 
surrendered to God 

379
00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:19,960
wholeheartedly. 
He's not halfway seeking his 

380
00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:20,840
face. 
You know what he's saying. 

381
00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:23,000
I don't seek his face one day a 
week. 

382
00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:26,600
I don't seek his face one day a 
week during a Lord's Day 

383
00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:29,800
service. 
I'm seeking him wholeheartedly. 

384
00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:35,080
This is 100% of the time. 
All the time I am seeking God's 

385
00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:38,320
approval in my life. 
I desire to please God, not just

386
00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:42,440
when I'm in front of people. 
I desire to please God when I'm 

387
00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:48,440
all by myself, when no one's 
there watching, when no one's 

388
00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:53,520
monitoring what I'm doing. 
I desire to please God with my 

389
00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:57,600
whole being wholeheartedly. 
As a person who desires to 

390
00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:03,600
please God wholeheartedly is 
never going to accept the 

391
00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:07,720
lukewarm Christianity that we 
see in Laodicea. 

392
00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:10,880
You're never going to accept the
lukewarm Christianity that we 

393
00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:15,000
see in America. 
You will desire to seek God with

394
00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:18,360
your whole heart above all 
things. 

395
00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:22,440
You have that desire. 
You have that desire to please 

396
00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:24,920
God, to seek his face 
wholeheartedly. 

397
00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:27,960
He says. 
I've sought your face with all 

398
00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:30,080
my heart. 
He says be gracious to me 

399
00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:33,720
according to your promise. 
He knows this, that he's going 

400
00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:36,800
to fail in this, to agree a 
degree. 

401
00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:39,240
He's not going to seek God's 
face all the time, though. 

402
00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:41,080
That'd be his desire. 
And he's not going to 

403
00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:43,320
wholeheartedly surrender to him 
all the time, though that'd be 

404
00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:45,960
his desire. 
How many of you would testify? 

405
00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:47,680
Yeah, that's me. 
That's Paul, too. 

406
00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:49,840
He was torn. 
Romans Chapter 7. 

407
00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:51,320
Man, the things that I don't 
want to do, I don't do. 

408
00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:53,160
The things that I want to do, I 
can't get those things right. 

409
00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:57,480
I'm not saying, nor is the 
psalmist saying, nor is the word

410
00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:00,200
of God saying today that you are
striving for perfection. 

411
00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:02,200
Perfection is going to be taken 
care of at glorification. 

412
00:24:03,360 --> 00:24:05,280
What I am saying this is there 
will be a change and you will 

413
00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:08,280
have a desire to please God, but
at the end. 

414
00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:11,280
Of that you have to realize that
you are secured by God's grace. 

415
00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:13,320
The psalmist is saying this. 
The only way that I'm going to 

416
00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:15,880
continue to seek your face 
wholeheartedly is because of 

417
00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:17,920
your grace. 
That's why he says be gracious 

418
00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:21,000
to me according to your promise.
Anyone here thankful for the 

419
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:25,160
grace of God, the faithfulness 
in God and giving His grace over

420
00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:27,360
and over and over again and 
again? 

421
00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:30,840
Well, how many times have we 
gone in our minds and in our 

422
00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:32,560
hearts back to scriptures that 
talk about grace? 

423
00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:34,560
And I don't have time to do that
this morning, all the scriptures

424
00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:37,480
that teach on grace. 
But how many times do we go back

425
00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:41,040
to those scriptures that talk to
us about grace and we find 

426
00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:45,920
security there? 
We become dependent upon grace 

427
00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:49,880
alone. 
If you are truly in Christ, yes,

428
00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:52,160
you will have a desire to please
God, but you will know this, 

429
00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:55,440
that the only way that I can 
fulfill that desire is to 

430
00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:59,000
completely trust in God's grace 
and God's grace alone to do that

431
00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:01,480
work in me. 
Because if any of you here 

432
00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:04,720
today, myself included, have a 
desire to please God, God has 

433
00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:06,600
graciously put that desire in 
you. 

434
00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:09,320
Don't go patting yourself on the
back and saying, oh, look at me,

435
00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:13,760
I'm a person who desires to 
please God because there's none 

436
00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:16,040
of you in and of yourself who 
would desire to please God. 

437
00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:18,280
That is a gift. 
It is a gift of his grace. 

438
00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:19,920
See for what it is, just as the 
Psalmist did. 

439
00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:22,480
Desiring more grace right? 
Aren't you thankful for 

440
00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:25,240
scriptures that say where sin 
increased grace did that much 

441
00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:29,000
more increase in the grace that 
he has continually just poured 

442
00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:32,400
out into our lives. 
How about Ephesians 2 in a very 

443
00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:35,640
familiar section of Scripture 
right 28 and 9. 

444
00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:38,000
We all know this. 
Most of you have this memorized,

445
00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:41,400
but he tells us there in 
Ephesians 28 and 9 and he tells 

446
00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:44,080
us this as Paul is teaching us 
teaching the Church of his day. 

447
00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:47,240
He tells us so that we can 
remember we have no. 

448
00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:49,720
Grounds to brag on anything that
God has done in our life. 

449
00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:53,040
He says word is is by grace. 
You've been saved through faith 

450
00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:55,440
and this is not from yourself. 
It's what the gift of God. 

451
00:25:55,440 --> 00:26:00,360
Why it's because it's not works 
and why is it not works so that 

452
00:26:00,360 --> 00:26:03,160
no one can boast. 
Let's be honest with ourselves. 

453
00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:05,920
If we could do something good in
and of ourselves, we'd take 

454
00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:09,920
credit for it and we'd boast. 
In fact, some of you have not 

455
00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:12,760
learned enough about God's grace
to know, stop bragging on what 

456
00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:15,800
he's done in your life as if 
you've done it, you haven't done

457
00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:17,880
it. 
So the psalmist, you're 

458
00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:20,560
understanding this, that it is a
work of God by his grace, that 

459
00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:22,360
he even has a desire to please 
God. 

460
00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:24,840
But his life is marked with that
desire. 

461
00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:28,320
And that desire, just as he is, 
is secured only by God's grace. 

462
00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:31,000
And so he's dependent upon God's
grace alone, just as Paul was 

463
00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:33,680
telling the church at Ephesus to
be dependent upon God's grace 

464
00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:35,800
alone so that you don't brag on 
yourself. 

465
00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:41,000
And the godly person will find 
themselves dependent upon God's 

466
00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:43,960
grace because they know that 
they can't depend upon 

467
00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:46,880
themselves. 
Isn't that true? 

468
00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:50,280
All the times in my life where 
I've tried to depend upon myself

469
00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:54,800
only to see that I have failed 
miserably and I am in deep need 

470
00:26:54,840 --> 00:27:00,280
of God's grace. 
Psalm 20, verse 7, the psalmist 

471
00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:03,440
says some trust in Chariots and 
some in horses, but we trust in 

472
00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:07,280
the name of the Lord our God. 
We better keep our trust where 

473
00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:11,320
our trust belongs, right? 
Some, they trust in all of these

474
00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:15,040
other things, but we need to 
trust in God and to trust in God

475
00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:17,520
alone. 
And we trust in God and God 

476
00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:21,480
alone, knowing that we are 
secured by his grace alone. 

477
00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:26,120
So the psalmist, you're having a
desire to please God, but not 

478
00:27:26,120 --> 00:27:29,360
forgetting that were it not for 
God's grace, he would have no 

479
00:27:29,360 --> 00:27:33,520
desire to please God. 
Again, not giving himself 

480
00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:37,240
accolade here, but pointing 
credit where credit is due, 

481
00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:40,040
giving God the glory that he 
rightfully deserves. 

482
00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:42,320
And so we see the psalmist even 
understanding that his desire to

483
00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:45,080
please God comes from God. 
So if you have a desire to 

484
00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:47,200
please God, that's a great mark 
to have in your life, but know 

485
00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:49,320
where it comes from. 
So if you're in Christ, there 

486
00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:51,720
ought to be some element of this
in your life, a desire to please

487
00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:53,560
God and an intimate relationship
with God. 

488
00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:55,880
Thirdly, we see this as the 
psalmist continues to unfold 

489
00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:58,440
this for us, we see a repentant 
heart. 

490
00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:03,320
Verse 59 verse says this. 
Through verse 60 it says I have 

491
00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:06,080
considered my ways and have 
turned my steps to your 

492
00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:09,680
statutes. 
I will hasten and not delay to 

493
00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:12,440
obey your commands. 
What does he first do? 

494
00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:18,080
He recognizes his, or maybe in 
your case today, her sinful 

495
00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:21,800
ways. 
The psalmist recognizing his own

496
00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:25,000
sinful ways. 
I have considered my ways and 

497
00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:27,120
have turned my steps to your 
statue. 

498
00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:29,240
Now what did he say? 
He says this. 

499
00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:32,120
I've considered my ways, and my 
ways are directly opposed to 

500
00:28:32,120 --> 00:28:35,080
scripture. 
Isn't that the truth? 

501
00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:39,600
When we really get down to it, 
our natural sinful tendencies 

502
00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:43,720
are always in contradiction to 
Scripture, he says. 

503
00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:46,600
I've considered my ways and what
I have found is that I always 

504
00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:51,800
fall short in and of myself. 
And now I've turned my steps to 

505
00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:53,760
your statutes. 
You see their repentance. 

506
00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:56,400
If you're going to have 
repentance, you must first 

507
00:28:56,400 --> 00:29:01,000
recognize your sinful ways. 
He recognized that in his own 

508
00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:06,480
ways, he is always rebelliously 
opposed to God and to His Word. 

509
00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:11,320
Romans in the 8th chapter, verse
7 tells us that the sinful mind 

510
00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:15,080
is hostile to God. 
It does not submit to God's law,

511
00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:20,080
nor can it do so in and of 
ourselves. 

512
00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:24,080
We are all in hostility toward 
God. 

513
00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:27,760
You have to recognize this. 
You have to own that. 

514
00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:31,800
Stop blaming everyone else. 
If there's going to be 

515
00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:35,640
repentance in your life, you 
must recognize that your ways 

516
00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:40,360
are contrary to God's ways, and 
the Word of God makes that so. 

517
00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:43,960
Very clear. 
Why is that important? 

518
00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:47,480
Because you won't repent until 
you realize there is a need for 

519
00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:50,120
repentance. 
You won't repent until you 

520
00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:54,400
realize how awful you are in 
comparison to the holiness of 

521
00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:57,160
God. 
The psalmist here experiencing 

522
00:29:57,160 --> 00:30:01,880
that exact same thing. 
I've considered my ways and I'm 

523
00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:04,440
pretty horrible. 
Can I just tell you this one? 

524
00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:06,640
Kirk Hall considers his ways 
apart from Christ. 

525
00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:10,000
I'm the chief unto sinners. 
I'm not pretty horrible. 

526
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:13,680
I'm the worst Sinner that ever 
walked the face of the earth, 

527
00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:18,400
but I am thankful today that I 
have been rescued and I have 

528
00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:22,320
been saved and I have been 
turned from my ways and I have 

529
00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:25,680
been turned to God's word. 
That's what the psalmist is 

530
00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:27,440
saying. 
He's talking about repentance, 

531
00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:32,080
Repentance of sin, turning away 
from my sinful ways and turning 

532
00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:35,920
to the ways of God. 
Luke chapter 17, verse 3. 

533
00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:40,480
The Lord says unless you repent,
he will all likewise perish. 

534
00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:43,800
That's for a church culture in 
today's time that forgets to 

535
00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:47,200
preach about repentance. 
Repentance is not just something

536
00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:49,120
that occurs at salvation. 
Repentance is something that 

537
00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:52,400
ought to be the mark of our 
Christian lives, continually 

538
00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:55,640
turning from our ways. 
Considering them, Yeah, Kirk, if

539
00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:57,640
you were going to handle that 
that way, that's you, man. 

540
00:30:57,640 --> 00:30:59,440
That's that's not what God would
have you do. 

541
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:01,840
In fact, that's opposite of God.
Don't say that. 

542
00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:07,000
I have to consider my ways, and 
when I consider my ways, I see 

543
00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,040
this. 
I am not holy, but my God is 

544
00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:11,080
holy. 
And I look to His Word and I see

545
00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:13,840
His Holiness unveiled and He 
shows me what it is that He 

546
00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:16,320
expects of His children. 
And now my attention is turned 

547
00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:18,640
to His statues and away from my 
own ways. 

548
00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:24,680
I have repented of my own ways 
and turned to the ways of the 

549
00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:27,880
Lord defined in Scripture. 
So we have to recognize our 

550
00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:30,480
sinful ways in order to repent. 
Yes, that is to repent of 

551
00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:32,760
salvation, but it goes on. 
It continues. 

552
00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:35,440
Thomas Watson said this. 
He said knowledge without 

553
00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:39,480
repentance will be a torchlight 
to light men to hell. 

554
00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:43,760
Pay attention to that. 
In the church where we promote 

555
00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:45,840
the Word of God, we teach the 
Word of God, and everything that

556
00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:49,440
we do, we have a high view of 
God's Word. 

557
00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:54,960
But if you're not careful, what 
you can do inadvertently as you 

558
00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:59,480
can get so caught up in gaining 
knowledge from God's Word that 

559
00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:00,960
you miss out on the repentance 
part. 

560
00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:03,840
The fact that we have to 
consider our ways and we have to

561
00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:06,400
turn from our ways and we have 
to turn to God and we know that 

562
00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:09,400
we turn to God in Christ and not
just again at salvation. 

563
00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:13,720
This is a continual thing. 
We will repent all of our days. 

564
00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:16,600
It begins at salvation. 
We recognize who we really are. 

565
00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:19,360
We recognize who we are capable 
of because God shows us that and

566
00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:21,360
He aligns us to that fact, that 
regeneration. 

567
00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:24,440
However, that someone is not 
going away. 

568
00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:27,760
That someone will be in your 
life until you are glorified. 

569
00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:30,480
And as you walk with Christ, 
what you will learn to do, you 

570
00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:35,280
will learn to hate. 
That old someone, so much I can 

571
00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:38,920
tell you this. 
If you don't hate that old 

572
00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:43,920
someone considering his ways or 
her ways, I would challenge you 

573
00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:46,280
to really examine your 
profession of faith to see if 

574
00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:49,240
it's true. 
I don't say that to cause you to

575
00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:50,440
doubt. 
I'd say that because I care 

576
00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:52,000
about your soul. 
I am your friend. 

577
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:56,520
And I do want you to know the 
truth that a true man of God, a 

578
00:32:56,520 --> 00:33:00,720
true woman of God. 
Who desires to please God? 

579
00:33:01,120 --> 00:33:02,800
Who has an intimate relationship
with God? 

580
00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:05,520
As we've seen those things so 
far, they'll have a repentant 

581
00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:07,480
heart. 
That repentant heart's not going

582
00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:10,120
to go away. 
No, you're going to blow it from

583
00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:12,480
time to time, but you know what 
you're going to do when you blow

584
00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:16,520
it? 
Repent and confess your sin and 

585
00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:18,960
to know what first, John 19 says
that if we confess our sin is 

586
00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:20,800
faithful and just, to forgive us
our sin and to cleanse us from 

587
00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:23,680
all unrighteousness. 
You're going to make that wrong,

588
00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:25,800
right? 
Not only with the Lord but also 

589
00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:28,000
with others. 
You're going to constantly live 

590
00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:31,120
in a state of repenting from 
your old ways. 

591
00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:34,320
He says I've considered my ways 
and I've turned my steps to your

592
00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:36,120
statutes. 
He said they're opposite of your

593
00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:41,080
ways and I'm turning to you. 
He recognizes his sinful ways, 

594
00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:45,840
and then he repents of his sin. 
But then he refocuses on walking

595
00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:47,320
in accordance with the 
Scriptures. 

596
00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:51,560
He says I will hasten and not 
delay to obey your commands. 

597
00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:54,360
Now what he's not doing, he's 
not putting it off to a better 

598
00:33:54,360 --> 00:33:57,080
time, right? 
For all of you who have that 

599
00:33:57,080 --> 00:34:00,280
sin, that's your little pet sin 
that you're just putting off 

600
00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:02,840
repentance until a more 
convenient time. 

601
00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:04,960
What do you think that you're 
going to maybe not like it as 

602
00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:05,840
much? 
You're only going to grow to 

603
00:34:05,840 --> 00:34:08,880
like it more. 
It's only going to consume you. 

604
00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:12,920
Please understand what sin does.
Sin does not decrease it grow, 

605
00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:16,199
so stop playing with it. 
That's a psalmist here. 

606
00:34:16,199 --> 00:34:19,360
You're saying I considered my 
ways and I know my ways are not 

607
00:34:19,360 --> 00:34:21,000
right in accordance with your 
word. 

608
00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:25,199
So I'm turning to your word and 
I'm seeing your way and then. 

609
00:34:25,199 --> 00:34:34,280
Seeing your way, I am urgently 
and intentionally moving toward 

610
00:34:34,280 --> 00:34:37,199
obedience. 
Moving toward repentance, look 

611
00:34:37,199 --> 00:34:39,760
at the terms that he uses. 
I will hasten. 

612
00:34:39,760 --> 00:34:42,040
This is not up for discussion. 
He has seen his ways. 

613
00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:43,960
He has seen the ways of God as 
revealed in Scripture. 

614
00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:47,120
And he says I have to turn from 
me and I have to turn to you in 

615
00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:49,600
obedience to you and I have to 
turn now. 

616
00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:52,719
I will not hasten and I will not
delay. 

617
00:34:53,199 --> 00:34:57,120
I'm going to begin to obey you. 
Now listen to me professing 

618
00:34:57,120 --> 00:34:59,600
Christian in the room who has 
that little pet sin that I'm 

619
00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:01,400
talking about before you get all
comfortable. 

620
00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:03,720
I'm not going to meddle. 
I'm not going to ask you what it

621
00:35:03,720 --> 00:35:05,760
is. 
You know what it is. 

622
00:35:05,760 --> 00:35:07,120
I don't have to tell you what it
is. 

623
00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:09,320
If you're a Christian, the Holy 
Spirit has already told you what

624
00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:11,000
it is and you just keep ignoring
him. 

625
00:35:11,840 --> 00:35:15,440
Stop ignoring him. 
Don't hasten to repent today. 

626
00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:17,880
Don't delay. 
There's a reason that the 

627
00:35:17,880 --> 00:35:20,360
psalmist put this in here so 
that we can have it, because 

628
00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:22,600
some of you need to repent 
today. 

629
00:35:22,720 --> 00:35:26,080
Some of you need to turn and 
obey the Lord today, even as 

630
00:35:26,080 --> 00:35:29,520
believers stop holding on to 
that thing that. 

631
00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:36,200
Christ died to free you from let
it go and trust that God is 

632
00:35:36,200 --> 00:35:38,080
faithful to do all that He has 
promised him to. 

633
00:35:38,080 --> 00:35:41,640
Guard to it. 
Refocus on God's Word in 

634
00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:44,640
obedience to God's Word which 
you have been crafted and born 

635
00:35:44,640 --> 00:35:46,960
again to do. 
So we see the third 

636
00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:50,440
distinguishing mark of the godly
life here today is is 

637
00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:53,800
repentance. 
True repentance will mark our 

638
00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:57,240
lives, the entirety of our 
lives. 

639
00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:01,280
You don't get to take the day 
off because when you take the 

640
00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:03,520
day off, you know what your ways
are going to lead you into sin. 

641
00:36:04,440 --> 00:36:06,480
There's been many a man and many
a woman who took the day off and

642
00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:10,360
it cost them everything. 
Continually repent when that 

643
00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:13,800
first sinful thought from your 
old sinful ways comes into your 

644
00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:15,480
mind. 
Mortify and kill that thing 

645
00:36:15,480 --> 00:36:17,560
immediately. 
Immediately. 

646
00:36:17,560 --> 00:36:20,880
Don't play around with it 
because as James describes to 

647
00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:22,440
us, that lust, what is it going 
to do? 

648
00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:25,880
It's going to concede. 
It's going to give birth to sin.

649
00:36:26,720 --> 00:36:28,720
So don't play around with it if 
you're playing around with sin, 

650
00:36:29,040 --> 00:36:32,360
I remind you here in Christ, 
confess that sin, He's faithful 

651
00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:34,000
and justice forgive you that sin
and cleanse you from all 

652
00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:36,520
unrighteousness. 
Leave here today without that 

653
00:36:36,520 --> 00:36:38,760
thing hanging around your neck 
weighting you down. 

654
00:36:38,920 --> 00:36:42,040
Lay aside every weight and sin 
that so easily entangles you, 

655
00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:46,920
just as the apostle Paul says. 
So we see there repentant heart.

656
00:36:47,680 --> 00:36:52,680
Fourthly, we see this as we 
continue on the 4th 

657
00:36:52,680 --> 00:36:54,320
distinguishing mark of a godly 
life. 

658
00:36:54,320 --> 00:36:56,360
Is this a devotion to God's 
Word? 

659
00:36:56,920 --> 00:37:00,000
61 He says this, though the 
wicked bind me with ropes. 

660
00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:04,440
I will not forget your law. 
At midnight I rise to give you 

661
00:37:04,440 --> 00:37:09,160
thanks for your righteous laws. 
What does the psalmist saying 

662
00:37:09,160 --> 00:37:10,440
here? 
He's saying I have a great 

663
00:37:10,440 --> 00:37:13,840
devotion to God's Word. 
In fact, it's so great that I'm 

664
00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:17,560
going to be devoted to God's 
Word despite any opposition 

665
00:37:17,720 --> 00:37:18,880
whatever. 
Comes my way. 

666
00:37:19,640 --> 00:37:23,280
Even though the wicked bind me 
up with ropes, I'm not going to 

667
00:37:23,280 --> 00:37:26,400
forget your law when they when 
they take me and they torture me

668
00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:29,320
and they tell me not to remember
the statutes and the precepts 

669
00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:33,160
and the commands of God's Word. 
I'm going to continue to focus 

670
00:37:33,160 --> 00:37:35,440
on God's Word. 
I'm going to continue to learn 

671
00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:37,560
God's Word. 
I'm going to continue to glean. 

672
00:37:37,640 --> 00:37:43,600
From God's Word, he says despite
any opposition, no matter what 

673
00:37:43,600 --> 00:37:46,760
the wicked would do to try to 
hinder me in learning the Word 

674
00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:50,040
of God, I am going to stay 
focused on the Word of God. 

675
00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:52,600
People have asked me from time 
to time. 

676
00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:58,080
Kirk, what would you do if it 
became illegal in our country to

677
00:37:58,080 --> 00:38:01,240
preach the Bible? 
And I don't take very long in 

678
00:38:01,240 --> 00:38:02,920
answering this. 
I'd go to jail. 

679
00:38:04,400 --> 00:38:05,600
You'd go to jail. 
And then what would you? 

680
00:38:05,600 --> 00:38:10,360
I'd start a prison ministry and 
I would preach the word of God 

681
00:38:10,840 --> 00:38:12,040
in jail. 
They said what if they took your

682
00:38:12,040 --> 00:38:13,440
Bible away? 
It lives in me. 

683
00:38:13,600 --> 00:38:15,960
I have hidden his word in my 
heart. 

684
00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:18,480
That's why it's so important 
that we study the word of God, 

685
00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:21,360
because what if we do get in 
that situation where they do 

686
00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:26,360
take this away from us, Will. 
We be like the psalmist and say 

687
00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:30,080
even though the wicked bind me 
with ropes in all opposition, 

688
00:38:30,080 --> 00:38:32,640
come against me. 
I'm not going to forget your 

689
00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:34,560
law. 
It's going to come forth out of 

690
00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:39,040
my lips because it is inside of 
me and it is going to get out. 

691
00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:42,240
He had a devotion to God's word 
despite any opposition, but not 

692
00:38:42,240 --> 00:38:44,280
only that, he had a devotion to 
God's word denying 

693
00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:46,000
inopportunity. 
I want you to pay attention to 

694
00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:47,880
this because we could read right
over this and not really even 

695
00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:53,480
give a second thought to it. 
He says at midnight I rise to 

696
00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:57,160
give you thanks for your 
righteous laws. 

697
00:38:57,720 --> 00:38:59,800
He is denying any 
inopportunities. 

698
00:38:59,800 --> 00:39:04,000
He's saying there is no. 
Inopportune time to praise God 

699
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:07,200
for his word, to study God's 
word, to to glorify God, to 

700
00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:09,960
worship God. 
He's saying this at midnight. 

701
00:39:11,040 --> 00:39:14,320
Even at midnight, I'm not going 
to think it's an inconvenience 

702
00:39:14,320 --> 00:39:16,600
to get up and to praise you for 
your Word. 

703
00:39:16,680 --> 00:39:18,840
He didn't just lay there in the 
bed, He got up. 

704
00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:22,800
He was stirred by the Spirit, 
and he was stirred by the Spirit

705
00:39:22,880 --> 00:39:26,680
to get into the Word so that he 
could then praise God properly. 

706
00:39:28,600 --> 00:39:30,840
But we would all call that if we
looked at it midnight. 

707
00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:36,400
That's pretty inconvenient. 
That sure isn't inopportune 

708
00:39:36,400 --> 00:39:41,760
time. 
I know we can do it when it's 

709
00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:44,800
convenient, can't we? 
We open the church every Sunday 

710
00:39:44,800 --> 00:39:46,360
on the Lord's Day at 9:00 and 
11:00. 

711
00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:52,360
Make it very convenient. 
You come in, He worship the Lord

712
00:39:53,520 --> 00:39:56,160
and then you leave some of you 
from sincere hearts, some of you

713
00:39:56,160 --> 00:39:57,520
because you just want to be 
seen. 

714
00:39:58,280 --> 00:40:01,120
Do we know that I don't think 
for a second that you're fooling

715
00:40:01,120 --> 00:40:03,880
God about that and you know what
I'm talking about right at 

716
00:40:03,880 --> 00:40:06,040
election time and the 
politicians come in right and 

717
00:40:06,040 --> 00:40:08,520
they pretend they want to be 
members of the church just so 

718
00:40:08,520 --> 00:40:11,160
they can get the votes of the 
church people and then they're 

719
00:40:11,160 --> 00:40:14,360
out the door just as quickly. 
They're just wanting to be seen 

720
00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:17,080
and some people they come into 
God's house to don't want to be 

721
00:40:17,080 --> 00:40:21,400
seen and there is no real 
devotion to God's word not the 

722
00:40:21,400 --> 00:40:24,320
psalmist here. 
The psalmist refused to embrace 

723
00:40:24,320 --> 00:40:32,240
that there is ever a convenient.
Are an inconvenient time to 

724
00:40:32,240 --> 00:40:36,240
fellowship with the Lord and to 
meditate on his word he says at 

725
00:40:36,240 --> 00:40:41,320
midnight I rise to give you 
thanks for your righteous laws. 

726
00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:45,920
In fact, Mark chapter 1 we see 
the Lord exemplifying this in 

727
00:40:45,920 --> 00:40:47,920
his life. 
Verse 35 it says very early in 

728
00:40:47,920 --> 00:40:50,720
the morning while it was still 
dark. 

729
00:40:51,800 --> 00:40:55,600
Jesus got up, left the house and
went off to a solitary place 

730
00:40:56,040 --> 00:40:59,120
where he prayed. 
Even the Lord displaying this in

731
00:40:59,120 --> 00:41:04,240
his life, not afraid, right? 
To wake up in the middle of the 

732
00:41:04,240 --> 00:41:08,440
night to be inconvenienced, but 
to go off and to pray and to 

733
00:41:08,440 --> 00:41:11,880
meditate on the things of God. 
Acts Chapter 16. 

734
00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:14,800
We know the story verse 25 about
midnight. 

735
00:41:14,800 --> 00:41:16,840
Paul and Silas were praying and 
singing hymns to God. 

736
00:41:16,840 --> 00:41:20,600
Why weren't these guys asleep? 
Seems like such an inopportune 

737
00:41:20,600 --> 00:41:23,200
time. 
But Scripture lets us know this 

738
00:41:23,200 --> 00:41:25,200
is at midnight, right? 
They had nowhere to go. 

739
00:41:25,200 --> 00:41:27,200
Why not sleep? 
No, instead they said, you know 

740
00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:29,000
what? 
Let's praise the Lord. 

741
00:41:29,640 --> 00:41:32,160
Let's praise the Lord even when 
it's inconvenient for us. 

742
00:41:32,640 --> 00:41:35,040
Let's praise the Lord even 
though everyone else around here

743
00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:36,440
would think it was an 
inopportune time. 

744
00:41:36,440 --> 00:41:38,680
Don't you know that the jailer 
thought it was an inopportune 

745
00:41:38,680 --> 00:41:40,280
time? 
Like would these Christians 

746
00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:46,560
please shut up until the door 
flew open, until he was about to

747
00:41:46,560 --> 00:41:50,720
take his own life? 
Until we asked them what must I 

748
00:41:50,720 --> 00:41:52,640
do to be saved? 
They went and they told him and 

749
00:41:52,640 --> 00:41:54,640
his whole household, and they 
were saved and baptized that 

750
00:41:54,640 --> 00:41:57,280
night. 
That's what happens when we 

751
00:41:57,280 --> 00:42:00,160
learn to praise God in 
inopportune times. 

752
00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:03,040
We learned to lean on the Word 
of God in inopportune times. 

753
00:42:03,200 --> 00:42:07,280
I can't tell you how many times 
in the middle of the night I've 

754
00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:10,880
been awakened from a dead sleep 
with one of you on my mind. 

755
00:42:12,200 --> 00:42:13,640
I'm not saying this to brag. 
I haven't. 

756
00:42:13,640 --> 00:42:17,760
I won't tell you who it is or 
what it was about, but to spend 

757
00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:21,520
the next hours praying for you 
and seeking God on your behalf, 

758
00:42:21,640 --> 00:42:24,960
carrying whatever burden it is 
that you're carrying to the 

759
00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:27,480
throne of grace. 
Why? 

760
00:42:27,480 --> 00:42:29,040
Because you don't inconvenience 
me. 

761
00:42:29,960 --> 00:42:32,240
There is no inconvenience. 
Time to petition the throne of 

762
00:42:32,240 --> 00:42:33,600
God. 
There is no inconvenience time 

763
00:42:33,600 --> 00:42:36,080
to focus on him, to meditate on 
him, to remember what his word 

764
00:42:36,080 --> 00:42:38,880
says, and to praise Him for the 
power that he does bestow. 

765
00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:46,000
At midnight, he says, I'll rise.
I'll give you thanks for your 

766
00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:48,040
righteous honor. 
Now, I know all the key life 

767
00:42:48,040 --> 00:42:50,800
members here today were up at 
midnight last night praying for 

768
00:42:50,800 --> 00:42:53,240
me and the sermon this morning. 
I do appreciate that. 

769
00:42:54,720 --> 00:42:56,360
Sorry to inconvenience you so 
much. 

770
00:42:58,160 --> 00:42:59,840
Nobody sheds light on this, 
doesn't he? 

771
00:43:01,600 --> 00:43:05,040
He sheds light on the secret 
worship that ought to be taking 

772
00:43:05,040 --> 00:43:08,360
place in our life. 
And why was it taking place in 

773
00:43:08,360 --> 00:43:10,920
his life? 
Because he understood something 

774
00:43:10,920 --> 00:43:13,360
that we don't quite understand. 
Christians need to be concerned 

775
00:43:13,360 --> 00:43:17,000
with communion, not convenience 
communion. 

776
00:43:17,880 --> 00:43:19,720
Right, Those of you who are 
looking at your watch already, 

777
00:43:19,720 --> 00:43:20,800
when are we going to get out of 
here? 

778
00:43:20,800 --> 00:43:23,560
Just commune with the Lord. 
Just keep hearing His word. 

779
00:43:23,560 --> 00:43:24,680
Just keep fellowshipping with 
Him. 

780
00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:26,440
Keep fellowshipping with the 
believers that He's brought to 

781
00:43:26,440 --> 00:43:28,360
this place. 
We don't have to worry about 

782
00:43:28,360 --> 00:43:31,280
those things. 
Let's not be inconvenienced by 

783
00:43:31,280 --> 00:43:33,080
those things. 
Let's just enjoy communion that 

784
00:43:33,080 --> 00:43:35,800
we have that has been purchased 
for us by the precious blood of 

785
00:43:35,800 --> 00:43:37,720
Jesus Christ. 
And you know what? 

786
00:43:37,720 --> 00:43:39,920
If He wakes you up in the middle
of the night to commune with 

787
00:43:39,920 --> 00:43:43,560
you, be thankful. 
Because before Christ, you were 

788
00:43:43,560 --> 00:43:45,040
an enemy of God. 
You were cut off from Him. 

789
00:43:45,040 --> 00:43:48,960
You could not commune with him. 
Now He desires. 

790
00:43:48,960 --> 00:43:52,280
That you commune with him, that 
you petition on behalf of the 

791
00:43:52,280 --> 00:43:55,120
Saints, you petition on behalf 
of your family. 

792
00:43:55,960 --> 00:43:59,400
Well, I remember when our kids 
were small, I would wake in the 

793
00:43:59,400 --> 00:44:03,120
middle of the night and just go 
into their room without them 

794
00:44:03,120 --> 00:44:06,680
even knowing it, without anybody
else even knowing it. 

795
00:44:07,360 --> 00:44:09,840
Just in those secret times and 
just to to place my hand on 

796
00:44:09,840 --> 00:44:12,320
their sweet little forehead. 
They were real sweet when they 

797
00:44:12,320 --> 00:44:17,280
were asleep. 
And to pray for them, to pray 

798
00:44:17,280 --> 00:44:20,120
for their soul, to pray for 
their life, to pray for their 

799
00:44:20,120 --> 00:44:22,160
future spouses that would have 
to deal with them. 

800
00:44:26,440 --> 00:44:28,720
It's in those secret times that 
we really see what we really 

801
00:44:28,720 --> 00:44:32,720
are. 
Matthew Henry said it like this.

802
00:44:32,720 --> 00:44:35,600
He said public worship will not 
excuse us from secret worship. 

803
00:44:36,760 --> 00:44:38,200
You know what's interesting 
about the psalmist here? 

804
00:44:38,200 --> 00:44:39,440
No one was going to see him at 
midnight. 

805
00:44:40,480 --> 00:44:43,400
He wasn't concerned with trying 
to impress people with his 

806
00:44:43,400 --> 00:44:47,560
spirituality. 
He was just simply awake in the 

807
00:44:47,560 --> 00:44:50,880
middle of the night giving 
thanks to the Lord for his 

808
00:44:50,880 --> 00:44:58,840
righteous loss for His word. 
Don't miss out on the joy of 

809
00:44:58,840 --> 00:45:05,120
that secret worship. 
I sometimes walk through this 

810
00:45:05,120 --> 00:45:06,720
auditorium in the middle of the 
week. 

811
00:45:09,080 --> 00:45:11,600
It's such a blessing to me 
because I'll see our pastoral 

812
00:45:11,600 --> 00:45:15,360
staff and I hate it when I 
interrupt one of them that's 

813
00:45:15,520 --> 00:45:19,160
here on the altar, praying just 
alone, not trying to be seen, 

814
00:45:19,160 --> 00:45:22,240
not working for any accolades, 
Pats on the back. 

815
00:45:23,600 --> 00:45:27,640
They'll have these cards out of 
this box, praying for lost 

816
00:45:27,640 --> 00:45:29,040
people that they don't even 
know. 

817
00:45:29,040 --> 00:45:33,160
And I rejoice that they're OK 
with secret worship. 

818
00:45:33,160 --> 00:45:37,040
They're OK with nobody else 
seeing what they're doing and 

819
00:45:37,040 --> 00:45:42,480
knowing that God sees all of it 
and he honors that. 

820
00:45:44,160 --> 00:45:49,360
So don't miss out on that. 
Don't miss out on that type of 

821
00:45:49,360 --> 00:45:52,520
worship, devotion to God's Word 
that you'll get up even in the 

822
00:45:52,520 --> 00:45:54,560
middle of the night and praise 
Him for how wonderful it is. 

823
00:45:55,560 --> 00:45:57,680
Thank Him for all of the things 
that he has taught you in the 

824
00:45:57,680 --> 00:46:00,200
Scriptures. 
I can tell you this, if you've 

825
00:46:00,200 --> 00:46:02,840
read the Scripture in any amount
of time, you could spend every 

826
00:46:02,840 --> 00:46:05,920
midnight that you have until you
pass from this earth thanking 

827
00:46:05,920 --> 00:46:08,000
him for all the things that we 
see in Scripture. 

828
00:46:08,000 --> 00:46:10,200
Never, never run out of things 
to thank Him for. 

829
00:46:11,600 --> 00:46:13,080
Psalmist said at midnight, I'm 
doing it. 

830
00:46:13,840 --> 00:46:18,760
I'm praising him. 
What a devotion to God and to 

831
00:46:18,760 --> 00:46:21,280
his Word that'll mark our lives 
if we're truly in Christ. 

832
00:46:22,000 --> 00:46:25,480
No one, no, no one will probably
ever know that but you. 

833
00:46:27,480 --> 00:46:30,640
But does that mark your life? 
Do you have a devotion to God's 

834
00:46:30,640 --> 00:46:34,400
word despite any opposition 
denying inopportunity and the 

835
00:46:34,400 --> 00:46:37,200
idea that it would ever 
inconvenience you to get up in 

836
00:46:37,200 --> 00:46:38,920
the middle of the night to 
praise Him? 

837
00:46:40,480 --> 00:46:42,800
And are you desperate to worship
God? 

838
00:46:42,800 --> 00:46:44,920
That's what I want to know in 
the church. 

839
00:46:44,920 --> 00:46:47,200
Where is the desperation to 
worship God? 

840
00:46:47,400 --> 00:46:49,480
See, in the American church we 
have no idea about this because 

841
00:46:49,480 --> 00:46:51,120
they're not people who are going
to persecute us and take our 

842
00:46:51,120 --> 00:46:52,200
lives. 
We don't have to walk through 6 

843
00:46:52,200 --> 00:46:54,040
foot of snow barefooted to get 
to a church. 

844
00:46:56,600 --> 00:47:00,360
We drive our cars here, your air
conditioner their air 

845
00:47:00,360 --> 00:47:02,960
conditioned and we come out and 
we walk a few feet in the heat. 

846
00:47:02,960 --> 00:47:04,640
We get in an air conditioned 
building. 

847
00:47:05,320 --> 00:47:11,400
We never really have to suffer a
whole lot as far as our service 

848
00:47:11,400 --> 00:47:16,160
to the Lord and our worship. 
Wouldn't it be awesome if we 

849
00:47:16,160 --> 00:47:19,400
would be desperate for that? 
Desperate. 

850
00:47:19,400 --> 00:47:21,880
We wake up every morning and 
we're excited with the sunrise 

851
00:47:21,880 --> 00:47:24,560
that we get to worship. 
We get to praise the Lord again.

852
00:47:24,560 --> 00:47:27,040
We get to study His Word. 
We get to praise Him for what we

853
00:47:27,040 --> 00:47:29,000
see in His Word. 
That's where the psalmist is. 

854
00:47:30,720 --> 00:47:32,520
What insight for us to glean 
from. 

855
00:47:33,120 --> 00:47:36,600
I'll lay that next to your life 
and see what do I measure up in 

856
00:47:36,600 --> 00:47:39,560
this? 
And here's the thing you you 

857
00:47:39,560 --> 00:47:42,400
might realize, you know what, I 
don't do that all the time, but 

858
00:47:42,400 --> 00:47:44,840
there have been those times that
is there some element of that in

859
00:47:44,840 --> 00:47:48,280
your life? 
And you're not afraid to be 

860
00:47:48,280 --> 00:47:51,680
inconvenienced, to give God the 
glory that he's due. 

861
00:47:52,560 --> 00:47:54,640
What would happen in the church 
if we would get desperate and 

862
00:47:54,640 --> 00:47:57,760
not care about any 
inconvenience, but just give God

863
00:47:57,760 --> 00:48:00,360
the glory that he's due? 
So we see a devotion here to God

864
00:48:00,360 --> 00:48:04,240
in his word. 
Fifthly, we see this, This is a 

865
00:48:04,240 --> 00:48:07,040
very interesting 1. 
He sends 63. 

866
00:48:07,040 --> 00:48:12,160
He says I, I am a friend to all 
who fear you, to all who follow 

867
00:48:12,160 --> 00:48:15,320
your precepts. 
What he's saying here, he's 

868
00:48:15,320 --> 00:48:22,560
saying that communion with God's
people will also fifthly mark 

869
00:48:23,160 --> 00:48:25,560
those who are living a godly 
life. 

870
00:48:26,560 --> 00:48:30,640
He is agreeing that God's people
ought to get along, they ought 

871
00:48:30,640 --> 00:48:32,880
to be friends, they ought to 
fellowship, they ought to 

872
00:48:32,880 --> 00:48:35,520
commune with one another. 
Did you know that we get to 

873
00:48:35,520 --> 00:48:37,800
commune with other believers? 
Why? 

874
00:48:38,160 --> 00:48:41,640
Because we get to commune with 
the Father through Jesus Christ.

875
00:48:41,840 --> 00:48:44,680
And because we get to commune 
with the Father through the Lord

876
00:48:44,680 --> 00:48:48,320
Jesus Christ, we also get the 
benefit of communing with the 

877
00:48:48,320 --> 00:48:51,400
Saints. 
This is a privilege and this is 

878
00:48:51,400 --> 00:48:54,520
a privilege that comes through 
the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 

879
00:48:55,280 --> 00:48:58,240
It's almost understanding what 
communing with God's people is 

880
00:48:58,240 --> 00:49:00,560
all about. 
I am a friend to all who fear 

881
00:49:00,760 --> 00:49:03,120
you. 
I love when I meet brothers and 

882
00:49:03,120 --> 00:49:05,160
sisters in Christ that I've 
never met before. 

883
00:49:05,240 --> 00:49:07,880
You know what I'm talking about.
You've met those people when one

884
00:49:07,880 --> 00:49:11,000
conversation you can tell 
they're a believer and they know

885
00:49:11,000 --> 00:49:13,640
you're a believer and you're 
both sitting there and one of 

886
00:49:13,640 --> 00:49:15,960
these man, should I ask and the 
other one's going, no, I'm going

887
00:49:15,960 --> 00:49:18,600
to ask and finally someone has 
the nerve to ask. 

888
00:49:19,440 --> 00:49:21,720
And if you're at the hibachi, my
wife saying they don't want to 

889
00:49:21,720 --> 00:49:24,840
talk to you. 
That's why I don't even have 

890
00:49:24,840 --> 00:49:27,160
hibachis because I want to know 
if everybody at that little 

891
00:49:27,160 --> 00:49:29,280
square rectangle table, I don't 
know if they're believers by the

892
00:49:29,280 --> 00:49:31,320
time we're done eating that 
horrible steak that they charge 

893
00:49:31,320 --> 00:49:36,320
you way too much for. 
But you get to that point. 

894
00:49:36,320 --> 00:49:40,280
You're like, man, man, this, 
this, this person's speaking 

895
00:49:40,280 --> 00:49:42,040
with grace and they're speaking 
with kindness and they're 

896
00:49:42,040 --> 00:49:43,760
speaking with love and, and you 
get to that point. 

897
00:49:44,680 --> 00:49:45,600
Are you a believer? 
Yes, we are. 

898
00:49:45,600 --> 00:49:47,520
And then you have that bond 
immediately. 

899
00:49:47,520 --> 00:49:50,880
You are family members united, 
even though you've never met. 

900
00:49:50,880 --> 00:49:55,320
You go man, I love and I am a 
friend to the people who fear 

901
00:49:55,320 --> 00:49:58,600
the Lord. 
I love the communion of the 

902
00:49:58,600 --> 00:50:02,160
Saints. 
People ask me on this earth, 

903
00:50:03,520 --> 00:50:05,160
what do you love most? 
I say Christ. 

904
00:50:06,520 --> 00:50:11,200
What about second his church? 
You say you don't love, You 

905
00:50:11,200 --> 00:50:13,480
don't love your wife second, No,
I don't. 

906
00:50:14,920 --> 00:50:16,280
I love his. 
I love his church. 

907
00:50:16,280 --> 00:50:18,080
Second, my wife's a part of his 
church. 

908
00:50:18,680 --> 00:50:22,280
I couldn't love her the way that
I love her if she wasn't a St. 

909
00:50:23,560 --> 00:50:25,280
So I love his church. 
I love fellowshipping with 

910
00:50:25,280 --> 00:50:26,960
believers. 
I love for my family to get the 

911
00:50:26,960 --> 00:50:28,520
fellowship with believers 
because I think a lot of times 

912
00:50:28,520 --> 00:50:29,840
we get all. 
That out of whack. 

913
00:50:30,920 --> 00:50:32,720
I love Christ and I love my 
family and I love the church. 

914
00:50:32,720 --> 00:50:34,840
No, here's the thing, I love 
Christ. 

915
00:50:34,840 --> 00:50:37,880
I love his people and my family.
They're his people. 

916
00:50:38,040 --> 00:50:40,280
And so they are my friends and 
they are my unit. 

917
00:50:40,280 --> 00:50:43,040
Not just those ones that live in
my household, but all the other 

918
00:50:43,040 --> 00:50:48,120
Saints throughout all the ages. 
Those are my friends, the 

919
00:50:48,120 --> 00:50:52,800
psalmist says. 
I love and I am a friend to all 

920
00:50:52,800 --> 00:50:54,960
of them. 
He's embracing God's people. 

921
00:50:55,920 --> 00:50:57,680
Haven't you met those people? 
They don't want to embrace God's

922
00:50:57,680 --> 00:50:58,840
people, right? 
They say this, Well, I can 

923
00:50:58,840 --> 00:51:02,400
worship in my recliner. 
No, you can't. 

924
00:51:03,120 --> 00:51:05,760
You can't fellowship and commune
with other believers in your 

925
00:51:05,760 --> 00:51:08,560
recliner. 
Well, I don't really want to get

926
00:51:08,560 --> 00:51:10,400
dressed, so I'll just watch on 
Facebook. 

927
00:51:10,400 --> 00:51:13,280
If you're watching on Facebook 
right now, stop being lazy. 

928
00:51:13,280 --> 00:51:17,280
Get dressed next week and come 
commune with real believers. 

929
00:51:18,520 --> 00:51:22,320
It's that simple. 
I've had people and it's been a 

930
00:51:22,320 --> 00:51:23,680
joy. 
They they said maybe we watched 

931
00:51:23,680 --> 00:51:25,960
Facebook for a year and a half 
before we ever came. 

932
00:51:25,960 --> 00:51:30,000
What were you waiting on? 
Most of them, if they're honest,

933
00:51:30,000 --> 00:51:33,880
they say we're just being lazy 
and decided COVID made so many 

934
00:51:33,880 --> 00:51:37,080
believers just lazy or 
professing believers. 

935
00:51:38,280 --> 00:51:39,840
But real believers, you know 
what they're going to want? 

936
00:51:40,560 --> 00:51:42,160
They're going to want to embrace
God's people. 

937
00:51:43,200 --> 00:51:45,440
They're going to want to run 
across the room when they see a 

938
00:51:45,440 --> 00:51:46,800
believer that they hadn't seen 
in a long time. 

939
00:51:46,800 --> 00:51:48,640
They're going to want to wrap 
their arms around them, hug 

940
00:51:48,640 --> 00:51:51,200
their neck, shake their hand, 
tell them how glad they are to 

941
00:51:51,200 --> 00:51:53,720
see them. 
You know this is important. 

942
00:51:53,720 --> 00:51:55,240
Why is it important? 
Because John says it's 

943
00:51:55,240 --> 00:51:57,720
important. 
John's first epistle, chapter 3,

944
00:51:57,920 --> 00:52:00,040
he says we know that we've 
passed from death to life 

945
00:52:00,040 --> 00:52:04,160
because we love the brethren, 
because we love the Saints. 

946
00:52:06,960 --> 00:52:09,280
Psalm is here embracing God's 
people. 

947
00:52:10,400 --> 00:52:12,280
We also see an element of 
enjoying Godspeed. 

948
00:52:12,280 --> 00:52:15,280
We said, they're my friends. 
Don't we enjoy our friends, 

949
00:52:16,080 --> 00:52:17,200
right? 
None of you enjoy your enemies. 

950
00:52:17,240 --> 00:52:19,280
I think I'm going to call my 
worst enemy up and see if we can

951
00:52:19,280 --> 00:52:22,960
hang out. 
No, he says that they're his 

952
00:52:23,120 --> 00:52:25,520
friends. 
He enjoys the fellowship. 

953
00:52:26,120 --> 00:52:28,960
Shouldn't we enjoy the 
fellowship of believers? 

954
00:52:29,440 --> 00:52:30,640
Right. 
I know some of you came in here 

955
00:52:30,640 --> 00:52:34,120
today kicking and screaming, and
I'll tell you this, you have a 

956
00:52:34,120 --> 00:52:37,040
spiritual problem. 
I pray that God solves that 

957
00:52:37,040 --> 00:52:39,560
problem for you today. 
Your wife made you calm and you 

958
00:52:39,560 --> 00:52:41,080
really didn't want to, but you 
made a deal. 

959
00:52:41,080 --> 00:52:43,400
If I go to church with her, 
she'll let me go fishing this 

960
00:52:43,400 --> 00:52:47,840
afternoon. 
Stop making deals. 

961
00:52:49,760 --> 00:52:52,960
Come to Christ. 
And love to commune with God's 

962
00:52:52,960 --> 00:52:54,280
people. 
It's that simple. 

963
00:52:55,480 --> 00:52:58,120
Because a true believer will 
love to commune with God's 

964
00:52:58,240 --> 00:53:01,120
people they they will enjoy the 
time spent together and we know 

965
00:53:01,120 --> 00:53:04,320
what Hebrews teaches us there in
Hebrews chapter chapter 10 verse

966
00:53:04,320 --> 00:53:07,120
25, he says let us not give up 
meeting together a summer in the

967
00:53:07,120 --> 00:53:09,480
habit of doing. 
But let us encourage one another

968
00:53:09,720 --> 00:53:11,760
and all the more as you see the 
day approaching. 

969
00:53:11,760 --> 00:53:13,320
Now, I know the person who's 
going to jump up and say that's 

970
00:53:13,320 --> 00:53:14,720
not necessarily talking about 
the church. 

971
00:53:15,160 --> 00:53:17,160
You're right. 
It's not just talking about the 

972
00:53:17,160 --> 00:53:18,560
church and the Lord's Day 
services. 

973
00:53:18,560 --> 00:53:21,560
It's talking about doing life 
together as believers beyond the

974
00:53:21,560 --> 00:53:23,920
church. 
Can I just help all of you out? 

975
00:53:24,480 --> 00:53:27,960
If your closest friends are the 
world, you have spiritual 

976
00:53:27,960 --> 00:53:31,360
issues. 
Your closest friends ought to be

977
00:53:31,360 --> 00:53:33,040
believers. 
So you have the common bond of 

978
00:53:33,040 --> 00:53:34,520
Christ. 
You don't have anything in 

979
00:53:34,520 --> 00:53:37,320
common with the world anymore. 
And if you do have something in 

980
00:53:37,320 --> 00:53:40,920
common with the world anymore, 
a, you're not saved, or B, you 

981
00:53:40,920 --> 00:53:43,800
need to repent of whatever it is
that you have in common with the

982
00:53:43,800 --> 00:53:46,720
world. 
I didn't say that. 

983
00:53:46,720 --> 00:53:49,000
It's God's word that says for us
to come out and be separate. 

984
00:53:49,000 --> 00:53:53,760
From the world you love, the 
communion that you have with 

985
00:53:53,760 --> 00:53:58,720
God's people, embracing God's 
people, enjoying God's people. 

986
00:53:59,840 --> 00:54:01,840
How about encouraging God's 
people there in Hebrews chapter 

987
00:54:01,840 --> 00:54:03,000
10. 
That's why he sparks the whole 

988
00:54:03,000 --> 00:54:04,440
conversation about not 
forsaking. 

989
00:54:04,440 --> 00:54:06,440
The assembly of the Saints, he 
says, so that you can spur one 

990
00:54:06,440 --> 00:54:08,000
another along as the day is 
approaching. 

991
00:54:08,000 --> 00:54:09,000
What day? 
The day of the Lord? 

992
00:54:10,080 --> 00:54:14,560
His return. 
Do you love God's people in such

993
00:54:14,560 --> 00:54:16,960
a way that you just want to 
encourage them? 

994
00:54:17,920 --> 00:54:18,920
You want to encourage this, 
Pastor? 

995
00:54:18,920 --> 00:54:20,920
How many of you would say, 
Pastor, I want to encourage you?

996
00:54:21,520 --> 00:54:24,120
Raise your hand. 
How many of you would say I 

997
00:54:24,120 --> 00:54:26,000
blatantly want to discourage 
you, Pastor? 

998
00:54:26,000 --> 00:54:30,520
You want to encourage me? 
Be faithful to the Lord. 

999
00:54:31,720 --> 00:54:33,800
Be faithful to the Lord. 
And you don't have to jump 

1000
00:54:33,800 --> 00:54:35,440
through hoops. 
You don't have to go out of your

1001
00:54:35,440 --> 00:54:37,120
way to to try to make me feel 
special. 

1002
00:54:37,120 --> 00:54:38,720
You don't have to. 
You don't even have to even say 

1003
00:54:38,720 --> 00:54:40,960
hi to me. 
No, I like it. 

1004
00:54:40,960 --> 00:54:43,560
I am a human. 
I like to be friends with those 

1005
00:54:43,560 --> 00:54:45,480
who fear the Lord. 
Did you know that pastors can 

1006
00:54:45,480 --> 00:54:46,920
have friends? 
I I was raised up with a group 

1007
00:54:46,920 --> 00:54:48,800
of pastors that tell you silly 
things like this. 

1008
00:54:48,960 --> 00:54:50,960
Well, you can't really be 
friends with with your 

1009
00:54:50,960 --> 00:54:54,320
congregation. 
I looked at Jesus life. 

1010
00:54:54,320 --> 00:54:55,720
I said that's the dumbest thing 
I've ever heard. 

1011
00:54:57,320 --> 00:55:00,000
Jesus was friends with his 
followers and he laid down his 

1012
00:55:00,000 --> 00:55:01,720
life for his friends. 
That's exactly what he said. 

1013
00:55:01,720 --> 00:55:03,560
And you know what I determined 
then you know what, I'm going to

1014
00:55:03,560 --> 00:55:06,560
be friends with the 
congregations that the Lord has 

1015
00:55:06,560 --> 00:55:09,080
me to pastor over and I'll lay 
my life down for him just as the

1016
00:55:09,080 --> 00:55:12,600
Lord did. 
If need be, some of you looking 

1017
00:55:12,600 --> 00:55:13,560
at me say volley Gray in your 
hair. 

1018
00:55:13,560 --> 00:55:19,880
It won't be long, but community 
with God's people, what an 

1019
00:55:19,880 --> 00:55:22,560
encouraging thing. 
And we get to come together and 

1020
00:55:22,560 --> 00:55:25,360
encourage one another. 
You're an encouragement to me 

1021
00:55:25,360 --> 00:55:27,040
every time when we come 
together. 

1022
00:55:27,040 --> 00:55:28,360
I don't care if it's here on the
Lord's Day. 

1023
00:55:28,360 --> 00:55:29,680
I don't care if it's on a 
Wednesday night. 

1024
00:55:29,680 --> 00:55:31,560
I don't care if it's something 
for some church fellowship. 

1025
00:55:31,560 --> 00:55:33,480
I don't care. 
I get invited to birthday 

1026
00:55:33,480 --> 00:55:35,240
parties, right? 
And everybody's always like, I'm

1027
00:55:35,280 --> 00:55:36,720
so sorry. 
I know you get invited to so 

1028
00:55:36,720 --> 00:55:38,200
many birthday parties. 
I love it. 

1029
00:55:38,360 --> 00:55:42,240
I love to see the Saints 
operating and working as a It's 

1030
00:55:42,240 --> 00:55:44,760
family. 
It doesn't bother me one bit. 

1031
00:55:44,760 --> 00:55:46,320
I tell people all the time, if I
can make it, I'll make it. 

1032
00:55:46,320 --> 00:55:47,920
If I can't, I just won't. 
I won't. 

1033
00:55:47,920 --> 00:55:49,880
I can't apologize. 
I mean, I'll apologize for it, 

1034
00:55:49,880 --> 00:55:51,240
but there's nothing to do about 
it. 

1035
00:55:52,760 --> 00:55:54,240
But I love to commune with the 
Saints. 

1036
00:55:54,720 --> 00:55:58,080
I love to just sit around and 
talk to believers and to listen 

1037
00:55:58,080 --> 00:55:59,680
to believers. 
Why? 

1038
00:55:59,680 --> 00:56:01,280
Because there's. 
Something inside of me that says

1039
00:56:01,280 --> 00:56:03,960
that's right. 
There's something about that, 

1040
00:56:03,960 --> 00:56:06,400
that love that we have for one 
another because of the love that

1041
00:56:06,400 --> 00:56:08,360
Christ has had for us. 
The psalmist gets that. 

1042
00:56:08,480 --> 00:56:11,240
He says I'm a friend to all who 
fear you, to all who follow your

1043
00:56:11,240 --> 00:56:13,040
precepts, those who fear you and
who follow your word. 

1044
00:56:13,200 --> 00:56:17,040
Those are my people. 
If you fear him and you follow 

1045
00:56:17,040 --> 00:56:18,640
his words, you're my people and 
I'm your people. 

1046
00:56:20,560 --> 00:56:22,960
It's high time we value that 
communion that we have with 

1047
00:56:22,960 --> 00:56:25,560
God's people, not not take it 
for granted any longer. 

1048
00:56:26,320 --> 00:56:29,680
Church, you don't understand how
blessed you have been to be able

1049
00:56:29,680 --> 00:56:32,120
to be a part of a fellowship. 
That is the way that this 

1050
00:56:32,120 --> 00:56:34,880
fellowship really is, that God 
has blessed by His hand and His 

1051
00:56:34,880 --> 00:56:37,240
hand alone. 
I see it all the time. 

1052
00:56:37,240 --> 00:56:39,520
I see how things just 
organically happen. 

1053
00:56:39,520 --> 00:56:42,280
I see people become best friends
not because they had something 

1054
00:56:42,280 --> 00:56:44,360
in common from a worldly vantage
point. 

1055
00:56:44,760 --> 00:56:47,760
But because of Christ and I see 
mothers ministering to other 

1056
00:56:47,760 --> 00:56:50,160
mothers, I'm thankful. 
I'm thankful for all the young 

1057
00:56:50,160 --> 00:56:52,600
mothers in in this church who 
when my daughter had her first 

1058
00:56:52,600 --> 00:56:54,800
baby, they just surrounded her 
and they minister. 

1059
00:56:54,800 --> 00:56:56,880
She had all these questions 
right about stuff that I. 

1060
00:56:56,880 --> 00:56:58,400
Don't even want to know about, 
right? 

1061
00:57:00,840 --> 00:57:03,120
And to see that the Saints would
then pour into one another. 

1062
00:57:03,120 --> 00:57:05,440
I love to see on Thursday nights
when the men join together for 

1063
00:57:05,440 --> 00:57:07,320
Bible study. 
And you can tell when somebody's

1064
00:57:07,320 --> 00:57:09,440
going through something. 
And I love to see four or five 

1065
00:57:09,440 --> 00:57:10,760
other men split their arm 
around. 

1066
00:57:15,960 --> 00:57:18,880
And just take them over to the 
side and encourage them and to 

1067
00:57:18,880 --> 00:57:22,320
pray for them and to lift them 
up and to not just do it that 

1068
00:57:22,320 --> 00:57:26,800
one time, but to continue to do 
that over and over and over 

1069
00:57:26,800 --> 00:57:29,960
again. 
I am a friend to all who fear 

1070
00:57:29,960 --> 00:57:32,880
the Lord, to all who follow his 
precepts. 

1071
00:57:32,880 --> 00:57:34,200
That's what the psalmist is 
saying here. 

1072
00:57:35,200 --> 00:57:37,640
He's valuing the communion that 
we have with God's people. 

1073
00:57:38,560 --> 00:57:41,760
He value that. 
He value after you begrudgingly 

1074
00:57:41,760 --> 00:57:47,240
come to church again, no, a true
believer wants to be with God's 

1075
00:57:47,240 --> 00:57:52,040
people and if you don't want to 
be with God's people, I would 

1076
00:57:52,040 --> 00:57:55,360
implore you today examine your 
heart and see if you were truly 

1077
00:57:55,360 --> 00:58:01,640
of the faith because a true 
believer will have a desire to 

1078
00:58:01,640 --> 00:58:05,240
be with God's people. 
Lastly, we see this and I'll do 

1079
00:58:05,240 --> 00:58:09,040
my best to hurry. 
Verse 64 says the earth is 

1080
00:58:09,040 --> 00:58:12,560
filled with your love. 
O Lord, teach me your decrees. 

1081
00:58:13,560 --> 00:58:15,800
The last thing that we see that 
the psalmist is going to teach 

1082
00:58:15,800 --> 00:58:18,840
us this morning in, in, in 
reference to the distinguishing 

1083
00:58:18,840 --> 00:58:23,320
marks of a godly life is this. 
As someone who has the mark of a

1084
00:58:23,400 --> 00:58:28,360
biblical understanding of God's 
loving kindness, I say that 

1085
00:58:28,360 --> 00:58:32,200
because we're so confused about 
God's love in our church 

1086
00:58:32,200 --> 00:58:33,680
culture. 
So I'm going to make some things

1087
00:58:33,680 --> 00:58:35,440
very clear for some people 
today, and I'll just go ahead 

1088
00:58:35,440 --> 00:58:36,920
and tell you that some of this 
is going to make some of you 

1089
00:58:36,920 --> 00:58:38,920
uncomfortable, but hear me out 
and hear the word of God out. 

1090
00:58:38,920 --> 00:58:42,280
More importantly, the psalmist 
here says the earth is filled 

1091
00:58:42,280 --> 00:58:44,520
with your love. 
Now some of your Bibles says 

1092
00:58:44,520 --> 00:58:48,400
mercy instead of love. 
Some of your Bibles says love 

1093
00:58:48,400 --> 00:58:51,080
like mine, and then some of you 
have a translation that might 

1094
00:58:51,080 --> 00:58:54,120
say loving kindness. 
What we're talking about is 

1095
00:58:54,120 --> 00:58:57,600
God's love and his mercy put 
together and then poured out 

1096
00:58:57,640 --> 00:59:00,440
into the world. 
And so either way that you 

1097
00:59:00,440 --> 00:59:03,320
define that, it's right, the 
earth is filled with your mercy.

1098
00:59:03,320 --> 00:59:04,720
The earth is filled with your 
love. 

1099
00:59:04,720 --> 00:59:06,560
The earth is filled with your 
loving kindness. 

1100
00:59:06,560 --> 00:59:09,560
That is simply his love and 
action in the form of kindness 

1101
00:59:09,560 --> 00:59:13,280
and mercy. 
The psalmist is looking at this 

1102
00:59:13,280 --> 00:59:18,000
and he's analyzing this. 
The psalmist understood God's 

1103
00:59:18,000 --> 00:59:21,760
love and he wanted others to 
understand God's love. 

1104
00:59:22,400 --> 00:59:24,680
Paul prayed the same way. 
Remember in Ephesians chapter 3 

1105
00:59:24,680 --> 00:59:28,160
when Paul prayed for the the 
believers there at Ephesus and 

1106
00:59:28,160 --> 00:59:30,640
he said in verse 17, he says so 
that Christ may dwell in your 

1107
00:59:30,640 --> 00:59:32,720
hearts through faith. 
And I pray that you, being 

1108
00:59:32,720 --> 00:59:35,440
rooted and established in love, 
may have power together with all

1109
00:59:35,440 --> 00:59:39,680
the Saints, to grasp how wide 
and long and high and deep is 

1110
00:59:39,680 --> 00:59:42,680
the love of Christ, and to know 
this love that surpasses 

1111
00:59:42,680 --> 00:59:45,920
knowledge that you may be. 
Filled to the measure of all the

1112
00:59:45,920 --> 00:59:47,680
fullness of God. 
So, so Paul. 

1113
00:59:47,680 --> 00:59:51,160
They're wanting the church to to
know and to grow in their love 

1114
00:59:52,160 --> 00:59:54,720
and our understanding of God's 
love for them. 

1115
00:59:55,280 --> 00:59:56,920
The Psalm is here wanting the 
same thing. 

1116
00:59:56,920 --> 00:59:58,320
The earth is filled with your 
love. 

1117
00:59:58,320 --> 01:00:00,400
He's drawing attention to the 
fact that the earth is filled 

1118
01:00:00,680 --> 01:00:02,200
with God's love. 
What does that mean? 

1119
01:00:02,200 --> 01:00:04,800
Does that mean when you walk 
through this earth, little 

1120
01:00:04,800 --> 01:00:07,360
hearts, you're floating around? 
No, that's not what that means. 

1121
01:00:07,920 --> 01:00:10,320
And we see God's love in many 
fashions in the. 

1122
01:00:10,360 --> 01:00:12,360
Earth as he is describing for 
us. 

1123
01:00:13,200 --> 01:00:15,360
And the first one is this. 
You have to consider God's 

1124
01:00:15,360 --> 01:00:19,240
general and His common love for 
mankind, OK? 

1125
01:00:19,240 --> 01:00:23,040
This is His benevolent love. 
The fact that He has not, as we 

1126
01:00:23,040 --> 01:00:26,320
saw in Lamentations chapter 3, 
consumed all of mankind when we 

1127
01:00:26,320 --> 01:00:30,240
definitely deserve it. 
His loving kindness has not 

1128
01:00:30,240 --> 01:00:33,080
allowed Him to do that. 
And I am thankful for that. 

1129
01:00:33,080 --> 01:00:36,080
I'm thankful that His loving 
kindness secured me until I 

1130
01:00:36,080 --> 01:00:39,560
could hear the gospel and until 
I could be brought into faith in

1131
01:00:39,560 --> 01:00:43,040
the Lord Jesus Christ. 
But we're talking about God's 

1132
01:00:43,040 --> 01:00:45,840
general and common love first 
because we have to make a 

1133
01:00:45,840 --> 01:00:48,920
distinction that goodness toward
all mankind. 

1134
01:00:48,920 --> 01:00:52,080
Did you notice the lost man woke
up today and he took his? 

1135
01:00:52,400 --> 01:00:56,520
First breath Because God has a 
benevolent concern for him, He 

1136
01:00:56,520 --> 01:00:58,520
allowed him to take that first 
breath. 

1137
01:00:58,760 --> 01:01:02,120
He allows him to live. 
He allows him to have a family. 

1138
01:01:02,240 --> 01:01:04,440
He allows allows him to have a 
job. 

1139
01:01:05,080 --> 01:01:08,040
Right, so, so that the Sinner 
can never say anything as stupid

1140
01:01:08,040 --> 01:01:10,160
as God didn't love me. 
Yes, He did. 

1141
01:01:10,160 --> 01:01:14,320
He loved you with that general 
basic love that He has for all 

1142
01:01:14,400 --> 01:01:19,760
humanity. 
However, I want you to see 

1143
01:01:19,760 --> 01:01:21,520
beyond that. 
We can see God's general and 

1144
01:01:21,520 --> 01:01:25,280
common love for everyone. 
I want to see God's gracious and

1145
01:01:25,280 --> 01:01:29,040
effectual love, because God's 
gracious and effectual love is 

1146
01:01:29,040 --> 01:01:31,880
different. 
This is the deeper love that He 

1147
01:01:31,880 --> 01:01:34,240
has for His own. 
And let me just make this clear,

1148
01:01:34,440 --> 01:01:36,280
this love is only found in 
Christ. 

1149
01:01:36,280 --> 01:01:37,760
You're not going to find it 
anywhere else. 

1150
01:01:38,360 --> 01:01:40,800
If you are not in Christ, you 
have not experienced this. 

1151
01:01:40,800 --> 01:01:42,120
Love. 
And when you? 

1152
01:01:42,120 --> 01:01:45,000
Experience this love. 
It will usher you into Christ. 

1153
01:01:45,000 --> 01:01:49,960
This is His salvific love. 
This is His effectual love 

1154
01:01:49,960 --> 01:01:54,200
producing the effect that He. 
Desires for it to produce again 

1155
01:01:54,200 --> 01:01:56,440
found only in Christ. 
How do I know it's found only in

1156
01:01:56,440 --> 01:01:57,720
Christ? 
Because it's only addressed to 

1157
01:01:57,720 --> 01:02:00,640
Christians in scripture. 
In fact, Romans chapter 5 verse 

1158
01:02:00,640 --> 01:02:03,560
8 Romans 5/8. 
We know it, it says, but God 

1159
01:02:03,560 --> 01:02:09,200
demonstrates his own love for us
in this now US. 

1160
01:02:09,360 --> 01:02:11,280
It's very important. 
I learned this in English class 

1161
01:02:11,280 --> 01:02:13,840
at a very young age. 
When I come to a pronoun, I have

1162
01:02:13,840 --> 01:02:17,680
to find what an antecedent and I
have to find that antecedent 

1163
01:02:17,680 --> 01:02:20,120
because it's going to tell me 
what US really means. 

1164
01:02:20,120 --> 01:02:23,760
Now the antecedent of this but 
God demonstrates his own love 

1165
01:02:23,760 --> 01:02:27,160
for us in this the antecedent if
you will go back and you will 

1166
01:02:27,160 --> 01:02:28,960
look at the context of Romans 
chapter 5. 

1167
01:02:29,120 --> 01:02:31,360
It is those who have faith in 
Christ. 

1168
01:02:31,360 --> 01:02:34,240
It is the believer that he is 
addressing and he said, but God 

1169
01:02:34,240 --> 01:02:36,320
demonstrates His own love for us
in this. 

1170
01:02:36,480 --> 01:02:40,600
While we were still sinners, 
Christ died for us. 

1171
01:02:41,080 --> 01:02:43,400
Who are the US's? 
They are those that God 

1172
01:02:43,400 --> 01:02:45,920
sovereignly chose before the 
foundations of the earth for 

1173
01:02:45,920 --> 01:02:48,960
Christ to die for. 
I do not make an apology for 

1174
01:02:48,960 --> 01:02:50,640
that. 
I know it's going to torque some

1175
01:02:50,640 --> 01:02:54,280
of your theology, but I will not
apologize to you for what God 

1176
01:02:54,280 --> 01:02:58,200
has already proclaimed and what 
has happened here. 

1177
01:02:58,200 --> 01:03:02,720
As we look at this, we have in 
our own human minds equated 

1178
01:03:02,720 --> 01:03:05,000
God's salvific love with His 
general love. 

1179
01:03:05,200 --> 01:03:08,840
Don't make that error. 
Don't make that error because 

1180
01:03:08,840 --> 01:03:12,200
God loves his children with a 
special and a unique love. 

1181
01:03:12,400 --> 01:03:14,080
I know some of you in our 
culture, you're going to say, 

1182
01:03:14,080 --> 01:03:16,360
what do you mean his children? 
We're all just his children. 

1183
01:03:16,440 --> 01:03:19,600
No, we are not. 
Only those who have been 

1184
01:03:19,600 --> 01:03:22,280
purchased through the precious 
blood of Jesus Christ are his 

1185
01:03:22,280 --> 01:03:24,040
children. 
They are the only ones who have 

1186
01:03:24,040 --> 01:03:27,000
been loved with that kind of 
salvific love. 

1187
01:03:27,240 --> 01:03:29,760
So we look at Ephesians chapter 
2 and looking at that love a 

1188
01:03:29,760 --> 01:03:32,040
little deeper. 
He says this, but because of his

1189
01:03:32,040 --> 01:03:37,120
great love for us, again, who 
are the US's here? 

1190
01:03:37,880 --> 01:03:43,160
God who is rich in mercy, made 
us alive with Christ. 

1191
01:03:43,280 --> 01:03:48,120
Only those who are now alive, 
reborn in Christ are the US's 

1192
01:03:48,120 --> 01:03:52,200
that he's talking about. 
So God, because of his great 

1193
01:03:52,200 --> 01:03:57,280
love for the believer, God who 
is rich in mercy, made the 

1194
01:03:57,280 --> 01:04:00,440
believer alive with Christ even 
when we were dead in 

1195
01:04:00,440 --> 01:04:02,360
transgressions. 
It is my grace. 

1196
01:04:02,360 --> 01:04:06,960
You have been saved. 
We know this to be true, but we 

1197
01:04:06,960 --> 01:04:09,000
get confused about the love part
of it. 

1198
01:04:09,360 --> 01:04:11,960
And I know what many of you do 
you get in your fields right 

1199
01:04:11,960 --> 01:04:13,160
now. 
Some of you already in your 

1200
01:04:13,160 --> 01:04:16,320
fields. 
Let me help you if you. 

1201
01:04:16,320 --> 01:04:18,880
Think that God loves everyone 
the same? 

1202
01:04:20,320 --> 01:04:21,520
I'll ask you the simple 
question. 

1203
01:04:21,520 --> 01:04:23,640
Do you love the babies in the 
nursery like you love your own 

1204
01:04:23,640 --> 01:04:25,960
kids? 
If you do, when church dismisses

1205
01:04:25,960 --> 01:04:28,280
in a few minutes, you go pick 
them up and you take them home 

1206
01:04:28,280 --> 01:04:31,360
with you. 
Even the crying ones, the ones 

1207
01:04:31,360 --> 01:04:33,000
that need their diapers change, 
you get all of them. 

1208
01:04:33,960 --> 01:04:37,000
You take them home because 
because you think it's OK for 

1209
01:04:37,000 --> 01:04:41,240
you to love your children with a
greater love and to love the 

1210
01:04:41,240 --> 01:04:44,520
other children in the world with
a lesser love, but yet you don't

1211
01:04:44,520 --> 01:04:46,720
give that same privilege to God 
Almighty. 

1212
01:04:47,800 --> 01:04:50,480
Not only do I take note with 
that, Scripture takes note with 

1213
01:04:50,480 --> 01:04:52,520
that. 
And so when we look at this, we 

1214
01:04:52,520 --> 01:04:55,440
have to understand God's 
gracious and effectual love. 

1215
01:04:55,760 --> 01:05:00,920
It's important that we get this.
This is again his special saving

1216
01:05:01,160 --> 01:05:05,000
or what we call in theological 
circles, salvific love. 

1217
01:05:05,160 --> 01:05:09,680
First John 3 verse one, back to 
first John there in chapter 3, 

1218
01:05:09,800 --> 01:05:12,760
he says this. 
How great is the love the Father

1219
01:05:12,760 --> 01:05:16,280
has lavished on us? 
Who? 

1220
01:05:16,520 --> 01:05:18,480
That we should be called the 
children of God. 

1221
01:05:18,600 --> 01:05:21,440
How great is the love that He's 
lavished on the children of God?

1222
01:05:21,440 --> 01:05:24,520
You know what that means? 
He hasn't lavished the same love

1223
01:05:24,640 --> 01:05:27,560
on those unrepentant people who 
are not children of God. 

1224
01:05:28,080 --> 01:05:30,920
That doesn't mean that He won't.
In time, I pray that He will. 

1225
01:05:31,040 --> 01:05:35,080
I'm not in charge of that, but 
what great love he has lavished 

1226
01:05:35,080 --> 01:05:38,400
on me that I should be called a 
child of God. 

1227
01:05:38,480 --> 01:05:40,000
And he says that is what you 
are. 

1228
01:05:40,120 --> 01:05:43,120
That is definite. 
That's what I am and I am that 

1229
01:05:43,120 --> 01:05:47,680
because he has lavished this 
specific and salvific love upon 

1230
01:05:47,680 --> 01:05:49,320
me. 
He says the reason the world 

1231
01:05:49,320 --> 01:05:53,360
does not know us. 
It is that it did not know him. 

1232
01:05:53,360 --> 01:05:55,360
See the distinction there? 
He's distinguishing from the 

1233
01:05:55,360 --> 01:05:57,480
world and the believer. 
The reason the world does not 

1234
01:05:57,480 --> 01:05:59,600
know us is because the world 
does not know him. 

1235
01:05:59,720 --> 01:06:02,880
And if the world does not know 
him, he has not lavished that 

1236
01:06:02,880 --> 01:06:05,480
same kind of love that he has 
lavished on us. 

1237
01:06:06,720 --> 01:06:09,040
He says this is important, that 
we understand this. 

1238
01:06:09,040 --> 01:06:14,040
This is essential that you 
understand this because many 

1239
01:06:14,040 --> 01:06:17,920
Christians have never really 
understood the blessing of 

1240
01:06:18,240 --> 01:06:23,240
salvific love. 
You think that He's always loved

1241
01:06:23,240 --> 01:06:25,400
you just like He loves everyone 
else. 

1242
01:06:25,400 --> 01:06:27,120
Isn't that the lie that everyone
tells? 

1243
01:06:27,120 --> 01:06:30,360
God loves us all the same? 
That's sad. 

1244
01:06:30,360 --> 01:06:32,520
If He loves us all the same, 
that some of some people that he

1245
01:06:32,520 --> 01:06:34,440
loves all the same are going to 
spend an eternity in hell. 

1246
01:06:37,800 --> 01:06:40,760
That's not the God of Scripture.
Did you know this? 

1247
01:06:40,760 --> 01:06:44,800
One day for the lost person who 
remains in their sin, God's 

1248
01:06:44,800 --> 01:06:49,440
common love will be removed, and
they will face the fury and the 

1249
01:06:49,440 --> 01:06:53,040
full fury of his wrath and 
indignation for hell for all 

1250
01:06:53,040 --> 01:06:55,320
eternity. 
There will be no love in hell, 

1251
01:06:58,600 --> 01:07:01,440
not even the common love that 
has allowed you to live to this 

1252
01:07:01,440 --> 01:07:03,680
point where you can hear the 
truth and believe in Christ and 

1253
01:07:03,680 --> 01:07:09,040
have His love lavished upon you.
Not even that common love, but 

1254
01:07:09,040 --> 01:07:11,080
only God's indignation and 
judgment of sin. 

1255
01:07:12,360 --> 01:07:13,880
So we see the psalmist 
understanding this. 

1256
01:07:13,880 --> 01:07:15,160
The earth is filled with your 
love. 

1257
01:07:15,680 --> 01:07:18,040
Oh Lord, teach me your decrees. 
Teach me all about your love. 

1258
01:07:18,040 --> 01:07:19,480
This is specifically what he's 
talking about. 

1259
01:07:19,480 --> 01:07:23,480
Teach me more about your love. 
God's general love, God's 

1260
01:07:23,480 --> 01:07:26,320
salvific love is gracious and 
effectual love that's found only

1261
01:07:26,320 --> 01:07:28,680
in Christ. 
That's special, that saving 

1262
01:07:28,680 --> 01:07:31,640
love. 
Oh, teach me more about your 

1263
01:07:31,640 --> 01:07:33,880
guaranteeing love. 
Aren't you thankful that as 

1264
01:07:33,880 --> 01:07:36,240
believers we have that love that
guarantees? 

1265
01:07:37,640 --> 01:07:39,560
This is, I told you a second 
ago, his love is going to be 

1266
01:07:39,560 --> 01:07:44,320
removed from the unbeliever. 
But did you know this? 

1267
01:07:44,320 --> 01:07:46,560
We as believers, we have some 
promises, don't we, that are 

1268
01:07:46,560 --> 01:07:51,840
very important. 
Romans chapter 8, Romans chapter

1269
01:07:51,840 --> 01:07:54,160
8 says, For I'm convinced that 
neither death nor life, neither 

1270
01:07:54,160 --> 01:07:56,560
angels nor demons, neither the 
present nor the future, nor any 

1271
01:07:56,560 --> 01:07:58,880
powers, neither height nor 
death, nor anything else in all 

1272
01:07:58,880 --> 01:08:01,200
creation will be able to 
separate us from the love of God

1273
01:08:01,440 --> 01:08:03,040
that is in Christ Jesus our 
Lord. 

1274
01:08:05,440 --> 01:08:07,320
What a promise from the Word of 
God that if we have received 

1275
01:08:07,320 --> 01:08:09,560
that salvific love, if it has 
been lavished upon us, it'll 

1276
01:08:09,560 --> 01:08:13,400
never be taken from us. 
Well, with that general love 

1277
01:08:13,400 --> 01:08:20,120
that the lost man received every
single day will one day be taken

1278
01:08:20,120 --> 01:08:22,960
from him. 
For the believer, we have the 

1279
01:08:22,960 --> 01:08:25,439
security of understanding that 
the love that we have been loved

1280
01:08:25,439 --> 01:08:30,520
with is final and that love 
guarantees us many things. 

1281
01:08:31,800 --> 01:08:33,600
First, John 4 says this, this, 
this is love. 

1282
01:08:33,600 --> 01:08:36,000
Not that we love God, but that 
he loved us and sent his Son as 

1283
01:08:36,000 --> 01:08:37,800
an atoning sacrifice for our 
sins. 

1284
01:08:37,800 --> 01:08:43,359
It it assures us that God truly 
has atoned for our sin. 

1285
01:08:43,359 --> 01:08:44,960
There will never be a sin held 
to our charge. 

1286
01:08:44,960 --> 01:08:47,319
If we have been loved with that 
salvific love, it'll never be 

1287
01:08:47,319 --> 01:08:49,800
taken away. 
That means we will forever be 

1288
01:08:49,800 --> 01:08:53,000
cleaned and we will be granted 
with and gifted with eternal 

1289
01:08:53,000 --> 01:08:55,319
life in the presence of God 
forever because of the atoning 

1290
01:08:55,319 --> 01:08:57,399
work of Jesus Christ. 
I don't know that makes some 

1291
01:08:57,399 --> 01:08:59,160
people upset. 
They think in their mind, 

1292
01:08:59,160 --> 01:09:01,200
because they haven't reconciled 
it with the scriptures, that 

1293
01:09:01,200 --> 01:09:05,920
Jesus died for everyone. 
Jesus died for those who he came

1294
01:09:05,920 --> 01:09:09,960
to save, all who the Father 
right has given me. 

1295
01:09:10,680 --> 01:09:13,240
Will come. 
Jesus came for a specific group 

1296
01:09:13,240 --> 01:09:15,200
of people that the Father had 
given unto him. 

1297
01:09:15,359 --> 01:09:17,200
And even Jesus in a conversation
said this. 

1298
01:09:17,319 --> 01:09:21,000
He said, I laid down my life for
my sheep. 

1299
01:09:21,080 --> 01:09:22,680
He laid down his life for the 
sheep. 

1300
01:09:23,479 --> 01:09:25,800
Who are the sheep? 
Those who they are, those who 

1301
01:09:25,800 --> 01:09:30,000
God has lavished his love upon. 
Those who God in eternity past 

1302
01:09:30,160 --> 01:09:33,439
chose to save. 
Well, listen, I don't teach you 

1303
01:09:33,439 --> 01:09:35,399
these things so we can get into 
a doctrinal debate. 

1304
01:09:35,560 --> 01:09:39,359
You can A believe the Scriptures
or B refuse to believe the 

1305
01:09:39,359 --> 01:09:40,960
Scriptures. 
But what I pray is this. 

1306
01:09:41,160 --> 01:09:45,000
I pray that you gain a biblical 
understanding of God and His 

1307
01:09:45,000 --> 01:09:49,160
loving kindness toward all. 
Yes, He has loving kindness in 

1308
01:09:49,160 --> 01:09:52,800
the form of general love to the 
unredeemed Sinner, but he has 

1309
01:09:52,800 --> 01:09:55,440
such a greater love and a 
greater loving kindness and 

1310
01:09:55,440 --> 01:09:58,520
mercy that he has bestowed upon 
the Saints. 

1311
01:09:59,720 --> 01:10:02,360
Why not so that we can puff our 
chests out and be arrogant? 

1312
01:10:02,520 --> 01:10:05,680
No, so we can fall on her face 
and say, God, why would you ever

1313
01:10:05,760 --> 01:10:10,440
lavish your love upon a Sinner 
like me and stay there in 

1314
01:10:10,440 --> 01:10:13,360
humility for a while and just 
bask in that love? 

1315
01:10:17,000 --> 01:10:19,120
What do you have a biblical 
understanding of God's loving 

1316
01:10:19,120 --> 01:10:21,760
kindness? 
Do you know the guarantees that 

1317
01:10:21,760 --> 01:10:26,280
we have, if we're truly in that 
salvific love, guaranteeing that

1318
01:10:26,280 --> 01:10:28,280
salvation for us, just as Jude 
says this? 

1319
01:10:29,960 --> 01:10:34,120
He says in 21 of Jude's short 
epistle, it says keep yourselves

1320
01:10:34,120 --> 01:10:36,960
in God's love as you wait for 
the mercy of our Lord Jesus 

1321
01:10:36,960 --> 01:10:39,520
Christ to bring you to eternal 
life. 

1322
01:10:39,520 --> 01:10:42,640
Oh, what a guarantee to bring. 
It's coming, the guarantee of 

1323
01:10:42,640 --> 01:10:44,760
eternal life. 
And why do we have the guarantee

1324
01:10:44,760 --> 01:10:46,920
of eternal life? 
Because we are wrapped in God's 

1325
01:10:46,920 --> 01:10:50,400
love, we are abiding there, not 
because of anything that we 

1326
01:10:50,400 --> 01:10:54,240
could ever do or ever have done,
but because He so chose to love 

1327
01:10:54,280 --> 01:10:56,280
us. 
And that ought to bring you to 

1328
01:10:56,280 --> 01:10:58,440
your knees in adoration and 
praise for Him. 

1329
01:11:00,640 --> 01:11:02,720
So we wrap it up this morning. 
We have seen the six 

1330
01:11:02,720 --> 01:11:07,880
distinguishing marks or 
characteristics of a godly life,

1331
01:11:07,880 --> 01:11:12,280
and I want to take this 
opportunity to challenge you. 

1332
01:11:12,280 --> 01:11:16,440
Lay your life next to that. 
Lay your not life next to that 

1333
01:11:17,360 --> 01:11:22,440
and see where you are. 
See how you measure up to a 

1334
01:11:22,440 --> 01:11:24,200
godly life as defined by 
Scripture. 

1335
01:11:26,280 --> 01:11:30,280
Do you profess Christ? 
Do you bear these marks to some 

1336
01:11:30,280 --> 01:11:31,920
degree in your life? 
Because you will. 

1337
01:11:32,680 --> 01:11:37,360
Now for those of you who aren't 
in Christ, of course your life 

1338
01:11:37,360 --> 01:11:40,240
doesn't bear any of these marks.
Your life can't bear any of 

1339
01:11:40,240 --> 01:11:42,760
these marks. 
No fruit produced by the Spirit 

1340
01:11:42,760 --> 01:11:47,040
is going to be seen in you at 
all unless you first repent and 

1341
01:11:47,040 --> 01:11:48,520
turn to Christ as Lord and 
Savior. 

1342
01:11:48,520 --> 01:11:50,760
And my prayer for you today is 
that He would graciously allow 

1343
01:11:50,760 --> 01:11:55,320
you to do that, that He would by
His mercy today, His loving 

1344
01:11:55,320 --> 01:11:59,920
kindness, open your eyes to see 
that you need a Savior, and that

1345
01:11:59,920 --> 01:12:02,000
that Savior is Christ who died 
on the cross. 

1346
01:12:02,000 --> 01:12:05,040
And He died in your place to 
wash you and to forgive you of 

1347
01:12:05,040 --> 01:12:06,680
your sin. 
That He would make that ever so 

1348
01:12:06,680 --> 01:12:09,400
clear to you that you couldn't 
do anything but cry out in 

1349
01:12:09,400 --> 01:12:12,040
desperation for Him to save you.
And I promise you this, for 

1350
01:12:12,040 --> 01:12:14,560
whosoever shall call upon the 
name of the Lord shall be saved.

1351
01:12:14,760 --> 01:12:17,920
When He provokes you to cry out 
to Him, that is a guarantee that

1352
01:12:17,920 --> 01:12:20,440
He will save you. 
Cry out to Him and be saved 

1353
01:12:20,720 --> 01:12:23,160
today. 
May God draw you out of the 

1354
01:12:23,160 --> 01:12:27,280
darkness of your sin, may you 
draw you out of the wickedness 

1355
01:12:27,880 --> 01:12:30,320
of your own ways and your own 
nature. 

1356
01:12:31,440 --> 01:12:34,640
And may He lavish His mercy and 
His loving kindness upon you 

1357
01:12:34,640 --> 01:12:39,000
today, giving you the salvation 
His only begotten Son came to 

1358
01:12:39,000 --> 01:12:40,680
earn for you. 
Let's pray together, Father, in 

1359
01:12:40,680 --> 01:12:42,480
the name of Jesus, we thank You 
for Your Word. 

1360
01:12:45,480 --> 01:12:49,280
You know how we could spend 
hours upon hours upon endless 

1361
01:12:49,320 --> 01:12:52,120
hours looking at the things that
we have discussed today. 

1362
01:12:54,120 --> 01:12:56,720
So God, I pray that you use the 
limited time that we have had, 

1363
01:12:58,360 --> 01:13:02,000
that you use it to do only the 
things that you intend to do 

1364
01:13:02,000 --> 01:13:07,040
with it. 
Lord, that this service today 

1365
01:13:08,600 --> 01:13:10,960
will bear fruit for you and for 
your glory. 

1366
01:13:12,000 --> 01:13:15,680
God, I ask that you would 
reconcile sinners unto yourself,

1367
01:13:15,680 --> 01:13:18,680
giving them grace and mercy 
through Christ. 

1368
01:13:19,440 --> 01:13:22,920
Lord, I ask that you would 
encourage believers today to 

1369
01:13:22,920 --> 01:13:28,120
examine their lives and see if 
they display these Marks and or 

1370
01:13:28,120 --> 01:13:31,640
that your spirit would give them
a desire to even more so see 

1371
01:13:31,640 --> 01:13:35,280
these things in their lives. 
God, we ask all these things so 

1372
01:13:35,280 --> 01:13:38,400
that you would be glorified, so 
your name would be praised while

1373
01:13:38,400 --> 01:13:41,680
we were here on this earth. 
We long for the day that we see 

1374
01:13:41,680 --> 01:13:44,800
you face to face because of 
Christ and we give you all the 

1375
01:13:44,800 --> 01:13:47,680
praise for what you're going to 
do in Jesus name, Amen. 

1376
01:13:48,680 --> 01:13:51,920
You have been listening to Key 
Life Fellowships Pulpit Ministry

1377
01:13:51,920 --> 01:13:54,520
podcast. 
Join us each week for more 

1378
01:13:54,520 --> 01:13:57,520
teaching from God's Word. 
If you would like to speak with 

1379
01:13:57,520 --> 01:14:00,440
one of our pastors, please visit
us on the web at 

1380
01:14:00,440 --> 01:14:04,600
keylifefellow-ship.com. 
Thank you again for joining us 

1381
01:14:04,600 --> 01:14:04,960
today.