1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:05,200 Teach us to have victory in him and then in verse 14, he begins 2 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:08,920 to lay out the tools that he gave us to be victorious through 3 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:11,200 him. And he says, stand there for 4 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:13,400 having fastened on the belt of truth. 5 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,960 So our Roman soldier, you can kind of see it here. 6 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:23,000 For the Roman soldier, the belt was an absolute necessity. 7 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:26,880 And if you look at this picture here or, or any other, you know, 8 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:30,040 pictures of, of Roman soldiers throughout antiquity and stuff, 9 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:33,680 the, the belt is rarely a, a focal point. 10 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:37,280 There's, there's generally nothing fancy about it, at least 11 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:41,000 not for like your, your, your basic grunt soldier, right? 12 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:42,760 Maybe for an officer or something. 13 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:45,160 There is. So there's usually nothing fancy 14 00:00:45,160 --> 00:00:50,360 about it except during this brief period of time from about 15 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:56,760 60 AD until about 110 AD for this brief time in in history, 16 00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:00,760 which happens to coincide with while Paul is in prison and, and 17 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:05,160 writing this letter, the Roman centurion began to wear a 18 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:08,800 decorative belt on his uniform. This, this wasn't really in 19 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:11,960 place previous to that. And then it, and then it went 20 00:01:11,960 --> 00:01:15,000 away and wasn't there later on. So it's really an interesting 21 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:20,320 thing that this was militarily cultural at the time that that 22 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:23,840 Paul was writing this, which is perhaps why it's it's included 23 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:26,280 here. And so in our passage, Paul 24 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:29,400 begins with the belt. This is called the singulum 25 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,840 military. That's my attempt at, at, you 26 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:37,600 know, Latin or whatever that is. And it's a it's, it's a visible 27 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:41,040 mark of a 1st century Roman soldiers calling. 28 00:01:41,960 --> 00:01:44,800 And it included the, these leather straps that you can you 29 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:48,320 see hanging down here in front that were covered with these 30 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:51,880 small metal discs, which kind of hungover the, the groin. 31 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:55,320 And, and as they walked, they Jingle, right? 32 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:58,320 They'd, they'd make noise. And, and so this, this piece 33 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:00,760 that they're wearing, that piece was referred to as the, the 34 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:03,040 apron. This piece served as an 35 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:06,160 identifier. These soldiers were so proud of 36 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:09,000 this identifier that they were actually authorized to wear this 37 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:12,280 when they were off duty as well, because this was a status 38 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:14,520 symbol. They wanted everybody to know 39 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:18,200 who they were and they and they made noise so they could, you 40 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:21,280 know, when they're around the corner, people know who who's 41 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:23,800 around the corner, right? So interestingly, Paul starts 42 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:30,120 off with this specific, otherwise unassuming piece of 43 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:34,480 equipment, but one that at this exact period in history served 44 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:38,440 beyond its practical purposes, both as a symbol and a symbol 45 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:42,080 and a signal to everyone around who they were and what their 46 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:45,720 authority was. And, and so even for us now for 47 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:50,160 for fashion purposes, we might put some effort into the belt as 48 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:52,880 a thing to look at. But historically, a belt has 49 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:55,720 been most centrally used to maintain the effectiveness of, 50 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:57,680 of other items of clothing, right? 51 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:01,200 Your, your belt might seem insignificant until you take it 52 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:05,320 off and your shirt, you know, comes untucked or, or your pants 53 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:09,320 fall down. And and, and for the soldier, if 54 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,440 without it, he would lose the place to Stow his equipment. 55 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:18,800 So other than this particular era of Roman, of the, the Roman 56 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:23,960 centurion, for the for a soldier, the belt is purely 57 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:27,520 about practicality. Most everything else on their 58 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:31,440 list of equipment that we go through is dependent in some way 59 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:33,160 on this foundation. Right? 60 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:37,880 The for example, the, the, the shield that the soldier carries 61 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:41,680 is it was, it was heavy. It was hard to hard to carry 62 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:43,480 for, you know, long distances and stuff. 63 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:47,600 And so it was designed to be carried and rested at times on 64 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:49,040 the belt. So they weren't, their arm 65 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:50,560 wasn't carrying it the whole time. 66 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:53,920 You know, as they as they March or whatever, the breastplate 67 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:58,520 would would attach to the belt to, to, to avoid having like a 68 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,520 vulnerable gap underneath where the, the thrust of a, of an 69 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:06,480 enemy spear or or sword could go under and, and, and kill them. 70 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:09,120 He would have his dagger attached to it. 71 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:12,760 And of course his, his sword or his gladius, which was his most 72 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:17,240 important weapon, needed to be ready in an in an instant firmly 73 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:21,880 in place where it belong. And, and in the belt of truth is 74 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:24,360 equally important to the rest of our armor. 75 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:29,480 So in the ESV it says having fastened the belt of truth. 76 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:32,720 But in the Greek, the word is perezinumi. 77 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:36,840 And it's, it's often translated as gird up, right? 78 00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:39,200 We've, we've probably heard that, you know, before. 79 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:43,320 And to gird up means to, to take your long tunic, right? 80 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:45,560 The, the long shirt kind of thing that hangs around your 81 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:49,720 legs and to pull it up and to tie it tightly around your waist 82 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:54,040 to keep the excess fabric from hindering your, excuse me, your 83 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:56,880 movement and, and preventing you from a full range of motion. 84 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:00,720 You might kind of think like now, if you're wearing a, a 85 00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:02,960 sweatshirt, you're getting ready to do some work and you, you 86 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:05,680 know, you push the sleeves up or something is the same kind of 87 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:10,160 thing to, to gird up our, our sleeves if we're, if we're 88 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:15,920 getting ready to do something. So we see this phrase gird up 89 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:19,680 several times. We see it in Jeremiah 1 where 90 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:23,520 God told Jeremiah to gird up your loins and go deliver a 91 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:27,760 message. In Job 38, God tells Job to 92 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:29,960 brace himself. And that's actually the same 93 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:34,680 phrase being used there to gird up his loins to face God's 94 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:39,040 questions and to give an answer in Proverbs 31. 95 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,880 You know, this passage that we often see discussed, you know, 96 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:46,680 in like women's ministry and stuff, it's sort of, you know, 97 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:52,520 the talking about this Proverbs 31 woman often in that in verse 98 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:57,160 17, it says she girds up her loins with strength for the 99 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:00,320 purpose of hard work, right? And so each of these references 100 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:04,400 is, is in preparation for something difficult, right going 101 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:08,600 and delivering a message for God, answering to God, doing, 102 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:12,840 doing the work of of, you know, running a home and and prepare 103 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:18,120 caring for a family. And so and first Peter, I don't 104 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:19,360 know if I have first Peter up here. 105 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:24,520 I I don't first Peter 113 says, therefore, preparing your minds 106 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:28,760 for action and being sober minded, set your hope fully on 107 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:31,320 the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of 108 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:33,520 Jesus Christ. And that preparing your minds 109 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:36,760 for action is is the same kind of phrase here meaning gird up 110 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:42,240 your mental loins. The way it's it's telling us 111 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:46,480 that the way to stand firm in the midst of difficulty and even 112 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:52,720 persecution or or hardship is by preparing for encountering those 113 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:57,920 things to to gird up right and, and, and being well equipped 114 00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:00,000 with the knowledge of God's promises for us. 115 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:04,640 So in that passage in first Peter, he's given us the recipe 116 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:07,720 for successfully encountering and and persevering through 117 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:12,040 difficulty similarly to what we're seeing in Ephesians 6 from 118 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:14,440 Paul. And, and we shouldn't be 119 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:19,080 uncomfortable with this idea or or distance ourselves from this 120 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:26,480 concept either. In Isaiah 59, in Isaiah 59, in 121 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:31,480 in verse 15, it says, it says the Lord saw and displeased him 122 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:34,480 and it displeased him that there was no justice. 123 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:43,680 And then in in 17, in verse 17, it says this is talking about 124 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:45,720 God. He put on righteousness as a 125 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:48,400 breastplate and a helmet of salvation on his head. 126 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:52,600 He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped himself 127 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:58,080 in zeal as a cloak. So even here we see the the, the 128 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:01,080 wrapping of the cloak, the girding up of the loins to 129 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:05,080 prepare for a fight, right? So we, we see this being this, 130 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:09,720 this terminology, this verbiage being used in reference to God 131 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:14,120 as well. So we know that the belt is what 132 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:18,000 holds everything else in place. It's what makes the other pieces 133 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:24,440 of armor most effective. So, so then how do we apply that 134 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:27,720 that concept here? Are we supposed to go out and 135 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:32,600 buy a war belt to put on for our sword and and that kind of 136 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:35,880 thing? No, because we, we saw in verse 137 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:38,559 12, he tells us that we're not fighting a war of flesh and 138 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:41,200 blood. We're we're, we're fighting the 139 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:44,800 devil, the flesh and the world. And, and in that, when we say 140 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:47,520 that the devil, the flesh and the world flesh, of course, 141 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:49,680 means our, our human nature, right. 142 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:53,480 So we're not, we're not putting on a this, we're not going to 143 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:56,440 get a war belt because we're actually going to be in a, in a, 144 00:08:56,520 --> 00:09:01,040 in a fight. So it's it's fitting that the 145 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:06,280 belt of truth is the first piece of of the whole armor of God. 146 00:09:06,560 --> 00:09:10,240 And that fact that it's the first one that is central to 147 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:14,120 everything else helps us to understand the application in 148 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:17,160 our lives. When we think about John 14 six. 149 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:19,160 Does anybody know John 14-6 by heart? 150 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:25,160 You probably do. I am the way, the truth and the 151 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:26,360 life. No one comes to the Father 152 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:29,880 except for me, right? The the way, the truth and the 153 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:32,800 life. So that's how we can understand 154 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:36,120 why the belt of truth is so important, right? 155 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:39,760 It's of utmost importance in the life of the Christian. 156 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:45,680 Without truth, the rest of the armor would be no use to us, 157 00:09:45,680 --> 00:09:49,920 because we would not have the spirit of truth if we couldn't 158 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:53,240 trust Jesus and we couldn't put stock in anything that He says, 159 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:56,160 could we? If we couldn't trust Him, right? 160 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:58,920 Nothing that he says about salvation or about sin or 161 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:01,800 anything like that about love. None of that would be 162 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:04,480 trustworthy if, if, if he wasn't trustworthy. 163 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:14,320 John 15 verse 26 says, But when the helper comes, whom I will 164 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:18,120 send to you from the Father of the Spirit of truth, who 165 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:21,280 proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 166 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:29,480 So it stands to reason that that we as Christians, as professing 167 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:34,600 Christians would, would proudly wear truth about us as well, 168 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:36,720 right? That's, that's that's what we're 169 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:39,520 claiming when we have the Holy Spirit. 170 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:43,600 That's what we're claiming is that we have access to the 171 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:47,080 spirit of truth. And so that's why this, this 172 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:51,720 belt as a, as the primary, the first thing that ties everything 173 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:57,400 together is so important for us. So like that, that Cingulum 174 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:01,240 military that I was talking about that that fancy Roman belt 175 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:06,600 was, was visible and, and an audible symbol of the Roman 176 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:09,760 centurion's identity or the Roman soldiers identity, you 177 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:12,800 know, in the, in the community and, and also his authority, 178 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:15,080 right, Because that's, that's a part of, that's part of why 179 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:17,880 they, it's because they wore it, because they're like, look at 180 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:20,920 what I've accomplished and look, you know, the power that I, that 181 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:27,040 I wield. So, so like that was physical 182 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:32,720 and and and audible. Jesus identity and authority was 183 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:35,600 the the physical manifestation of God on earth, right? 184 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:42,120 The perfect visible symbol and and witness of God and his 185 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:46,840 authority in the gospel, right? The story of Jesus is, is core 186 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:49,520 to what the Christian preaches and shares. 187 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:52,800 And so our identity is in Jesus and who he is. 188 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:58,080 In fact, that's what the entire church is is built on, right. 189 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:03,640 We've seen this passage in in Matthew 16 verses 15 to 18. 190 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:06,000 He said to them, but who do you say that I am? 191 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:09,200 Simon Peter replied, you are the Christ, the Son of the living 192 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:12,280 God. And Jesus answered him, blessed 193 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:15,840 are you Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this 194 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:19,560 to you, but my Father who is in heaven, and I tell you, you are 195 00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:21,240 Peter. And on this rock I will build my 196 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:25,200 church in the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 197 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:31,200 Jesus, the Messiah, Son of the living God, is the foundation of 198 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:36,240 the church in Ephesians 2. It I don't have it up here, but 199 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:40,400 it tells us that Jesus is the cornerstone of the church. 200 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:44,280 And so Jesus is telling, you know, his disciples these things 201 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:47,760 because he knows that the, the foundation and cornerstone is 202 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:50,400 where everything else originates from. 203 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:55,160 So of of course, people are, are going to desire to know this, 204 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:57,880 the, the, they want to know the basis for everything, right? 205 00:12:57,880 --> 00:12:59,440 What is the truth? What is truth? 206 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:03,040 What is the, the purpose of life kind of thing, right? 207 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:07,080 People have been pondering that question, what is truth since 208 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:11,240 the beginning of time, right? Creed, the band Creed has a 209 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:13,000 song, what's this life for? Right? 210 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:17,480 Monty Python, the movie, right? The, the, what's it, what's it 211 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:18,920 called? The meaning of life, Monty 212 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:25,080 Python meaning of life, right? There's a million quotes and a 213 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:29,200 like like published positions out there from famous people, 214 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:34,560 you know, whether whether they know what they're talking about 215 00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:36,320 or not. Not necessarily the case, but 216 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:38,320 humans are like, there's a there's a bunch. 217 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,760 And I was looking this up. Stephen Hawking, Ralph Waldo 218 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:44,520 Emerson, Martin Luther King Junior, Charles Dickens. 219 00:13:45,640 --> 00:13:48,720 I mean, there's a million bands that have sung songs on this or 220 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:52,560 poets that have have done this. The thought is behind that, the 221 00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:56,640 statue, that famous statue, the thinker that that's one of the 222 00:13:56,640 --> 00:14:00,920 things that he's he's pondering, you know, the truth of life. 223 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:03,040 And. And yeah, that was it. 224 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:05,680 Yeah. Just just like Dwight. 225 00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:11,480 And and so this has been pondered forever, right? 226 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:15,840 This is, this is a common thing. And and we even see this, you 227 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:21,560 know, biblically in in John 18 when Jesus is in front of Pilate 228 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:27,320 and in verse down in verse 37, after they've had been having 229 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:31,880 this interaction, says then Pilate said to him, so you are a 230 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:35,800 king, Jesus answered, you say that I am a king for this 231 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:37,640 purpose. I was born and for this purpose, 232 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:40,960 I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth. 233 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:46,560 Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice and pilot 234 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:51,000 asked him what is truth right. Like again, here he is. 235 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:56,160 He's he's he's standing there face to face with with God. 236 00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:01,920 And this is, you know, this is his his question all as well. 237 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:06,000 I think people have always asked this question or a, or a version 238 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:10,440 of this and this is the perpetual struggle of that the 239 00:15:10,520 --> 00:15:12,080 that the church faces too, right? 240 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:17,080 We know that Jesus is the epitome of truth, but Scripture 241 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:19,960 also tells us that Satan is the father of lies. 242 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:25,320 Again, speaking to the the need for this belt of truth in our 243 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:28,640 lives, right? Second Corinthians 11 tells us 244 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:31,680 that Satan disguises himself as an Angel of light, right? 245 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:36,480 Meaning that he and, and his tactics don't necessarily look 246 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:39,600 like the opposite of Jesus, right? 247 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:42,320 That's what the whole concept of an Angel of light is. 248 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:45,680 I think, you know, the idea behind that is we sometimes 249 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:47,720 think the cartoon version of Satan, right? 250 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:51,200 With the horns and the, and the, the red tail and the pitchfork 251 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:53,600 and like what? The antithesis of Jesus. 252 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:56,480 He is the antithesis of Jesus. But that's not how he presents 253 00:15:56,480 --> 00:15:59,720 himself, right? He presents himself as an Angel 254 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:04,960 of light and and so his attacks look like clarification of 255 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:07,880 something that's that's being misunderstood, right. 256 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:11,880 That's what we that's what we generally stamp on on these kind 257 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:15,760 of things as we is in our desire to have a better understanding, 258 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:20,800 we, we sometimes dangerously get influenced by this Angel of 259 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:24,120 light kind of concept, something that's that's not true. 260 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:27,360 That's why it's so important that the that the the actual 261 00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:32,200 truth is what we we, we build our our defenses on our the rest 262 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:38,200 of our armor. Satan's first attack on mankind 263 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:42,960 was a lie and A and, and a success, a successful attempt to 264 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:47,840 get humans to think, however briefly maybe, that God was 265 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:50,560 incapable of total eternal truth. 266 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:55,160 Right, Lying as Satan's favorite weapon, trying to convince 267 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:59,960 people not to believe in not to believe God is Satan's favorite 268 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:02,720 tactic. So what he's going after is for 269 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:06,119 us to question that that the belt of truth he wants us to to 270 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:11,240 to not have not rely on the truth that God gives us. 271 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:15,960 In first Timothy 4 verse one through 2, it says now the 272 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:19,400 spirit expressly says that in later times, some will depart 273 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:22,240 from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits 274 00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:26,200 and teachings of demons through the insincerity of liars whose 275 00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:30,320 consciousness consciences are seared right. 276 00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:33,440 So This is why I say that it's important for the church to 277 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:38,960 understand how important it's so crucial that we that we base 278 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:43,680 ourselves on truth that we get to that because there will be 279 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:48,720 like what this is saying, there will be, you know, a departing 280 00:17:48,720 --> 00:17:56,360 from the faith in second Peter two one through 2, it says, but 281 00:17:56,360 --> 00:17:59,880 false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will 282 00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:02,280 be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in 283 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:05,760 destructive heresies, even denying the master who who 284 00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:09,160 bought them, bringing upon themselves with swift 285 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:11,240 destruction. And many will follow their 286 00:18:11,240 --> 00:18:15,600 sensuality and because of them, the way of truth will be 287 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:20,320 blasphemed. And then similarly in Matthew 288 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:26,800 17, verse 15, it says beware of false prophets who come to you 289 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:29,480 in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 290 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:32,040 You will recognize them by their fruits. 291 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:38,000 So see, these are the tactics. This is what we have to face. 292 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:41,600 This is what we should be on the on the lookout for is, is these 293 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:45,440 things that look like truth but are not right. 294 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:48,840 That's something we have to be, we have to be super careful of. 295 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:54,520 That's why Paul says in in verse 11 of our passage that you may 296 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:58,560 be able to, to stand against the schemes of the devil, right? 297 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:03,400 Second Corinthians 211 says we are not ignorant of Satan's, of 298 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:07,560 his devices, of Satan's devices and of his of his schemes. 299 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:14,400 This is his famous tactic. Satan lied and said that he was 300 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:19,040 being truthful in saying that God lied when he spoke the 301 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:21,760 truth. It's hard to understand what I 302 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:23,640 just said. It's kind of it's like a Figure 303 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:26,160 8 there. Satan lied and said that he was 304 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:29,680 being truthful in saying that God lied when he spoke the 305 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:32,760 truth, right. It's exactly flipped upside down 306 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:40,680 and that dynamic still continues today in in Romans one verse 24 307 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:44,960 and 25, it says therefore God gave them up in the lust of 308 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:48,200 their heart to impurity to the dishonouring of their bodies 309 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:52,840 among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God 310 00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:56,720 for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than 311 00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:58,640 the creator who has blessed forever. 312 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:02,240 Amen. Now, not coincidentally, this 313 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:06,320 passage right after right after verse 25 there. 314 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:11,280 It, it goes right into the sexual perversions of, of 315 00:20:11,360 --> 00:20:17,200 homosexuality, not because it's the only example of an affront 316 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:21,240 to truth, but because it's, it's often been one of the most 317 00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:25,280 obvious that we that we see in in culture and stuff. 318 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:32,440 Interestingly, in Romans 1 verses 24 and 26 up there, we 319 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:36,160 see an interesting phrase. What do we see in 24 and 26? 320 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:42,320 He gave them up, right? Yeah. 321 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:47,600 So in the in, in 24, it says therefore God gave them up. 322 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:51,400 And then in 26, for this reason, that's pretty much the same as 323 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:57,960 therefore God gave them up. So then what? 324 00:20:59,120 --> 00:21:01,680 Then what after he, after he gave them them up? 325 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:05,160 What happens when we what happens when we exchange truth 326 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:10,400 for lies? What happened to them in verse 327 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:14,520 28 through 31? It kind of explains, it says, 328 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:17,760 and since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave 329 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:22,160 them up to a debased mind to do what ought not be done before. 330 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:25,040 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, 331 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:28,040 covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, 332 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:29,880 strife, deceit, mount maliciousness. 333 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:32,920 They are gossip slanderers, haters of God, insolent, 334 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:37,000 haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 335 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:39,440 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 336 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:46,000 This moral inversion that happens here when we exchange 337 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:51,840 the truth for lies is something that we as Christians can never 338 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:55,800 do right. Here's what I mean in, in Isaiah 339 00:21:55,800 --> 00:22:02,080 520, it says woe to those who call evil good and good evil, 340 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:05,600 who put darkness for light and light for darkness. 341 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:13,440 This is a, this is a warning. This is a, this is a like a, an 342 00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:20,200 exclamation point to Christians. We can't call evil good and call 343 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:21,640 good evil. We're not. 344 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:23,920 We can't invert those things, right? 345 00:22:24,360 --> 00:22:28,800 So what is he goes on in the next couple verses with more of 346 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:31,880 these woe to those things, right? 347 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:38,440 Woe means grief, anguish, affliction, wretchedness, 348 00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:42,720 calamity or trouble. This is why Paul is telling us 349 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:47,160 to to gird up our loins for a fight or, or, or to run away 350 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:49,160 also, right? That's also why you gird up the 351 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:50,880 the your loins just to to run away. 352 00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:55,240 He tells us to fasten truth securely around us so that we 353 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:59,840 can stand against the schemes of the devil right, because Paul 354 00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:01,920 loves us. That's why he's telling us this 355 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:08,840 he and and as we we learned in our study of Philippians how 356 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:11,440 much he loves his church. And of course we know that 357 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:14,720 Paul's simply the writer of Jesus words right. 358 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:18,800 Jesus loves us and doesn't want us to face what comes next in 359 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:22,560 Isaiah after this woe to to those right. 360 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:27,480 Here's what comes next there. Here's what it says. 361 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:30,400 It says. Therefore, as the tongue of fire 362 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:34,360 devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in flames, so 363 00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:40,320 their root will be as rottenness and their blossom go up like 364 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:42,200 dust. For they have rejected the law 365 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:44,760 of the Lord of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy 366 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:47,240 One of Israel. Therefore the anger of the Lord 367 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:49,520 was kindled against his people, and he stretched out his hand 368 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:52,680 against them and struck them, and the mountains quaked and 369 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:55,520 their corpses were as refuse in the middle, in the midst of the 370 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:59,840 streets. For all that all his anger has 371 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:02,840 not turned away and his hand is stretched out still. 372 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:08,480 He will raise a signal for nations far away and whistle for 373 00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:12,440 them from the ends of the earth. And behold, quickly, speedily, 374 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:16,040 they come. So I'm, I'm not going to read 375 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:19,360 all of that, but but like that doesn't sound good, right? 376 00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:22,800 That's what that's the kind of thing that we're that that's 377 00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:26,200 that's the woe, that's the what did that say? 378 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:30,560 It said that's the grief, that's the anguish, that's the 379 00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:35,320 affliction, the wretchedness, the calamity that that we face 380 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:39,520 when we call evil good and when we call good evil, right. 381 00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:43,720 When we put darkness for light and light for darkness. 382 00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:53,960 So I know that was, was, was well, so because Christians, you 383 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:57,560 know, when we stand, when, when we accept Jesus, when we are 384 00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:01,040 baptized and we stand and we, we throw our hand up and we say, 385 00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:03,720 recognize me as a, as a Christian, right? 386 00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:09,440 Count me amongst the, the, the the number right, because we've 387 00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:14,080 accepted the truth of revelation and are are now indwelt by the 388 00:25:14,080 --> 00:25:18,120 Holy Spirit, who, who is himself the truth like we saw in that 389 00:25:18,120 --> 00:25:24,480 verse earlier, our our lives have truth as the basis right, 390 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:29,160 And so we should display the consistency of of the character. 391 00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:35,760 That's that springs from that our belt of truth is a, is a 392 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:39,320 clinging symbol, right? Like those like that belt that 393 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:41,320 they wear when we walk around the corner. 394 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:44,120 People should know here comes this person's a Christian 395 00:25:44,120 --> 00:25:47,680 because of the way that we, we, we carry ourselves, the way we 396 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:50,520 demonstrate things, what they hear from us. 397 00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:55,360 The belt of truth is a is a symbol that we should also, you 398 00:25:55,360 --> 00:25:57,800 know, put out there for for for people. 399 00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:01,080 So here's my questions. I hoping we can chew on for a 400 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:05,000 minute. How with this in mind, with the 401 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:08,520 idea of truth, with the idea of the necessity of truth in our 402 00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:12,120 lives and how Satan tries to distort that. 403 00:26:12,120 --> 00:26:19,840 So here's one of the questions is, is how can we be better 404 00:26:19,840 --> 00:26:21,520 witnesses for the truth in our lives? 405 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:25,960 Like what would that, what's the practical answer to this? 406 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:30,680 How can we in this room be better witnesses for the truth 407 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:36,280 in our lives? That's did you hear that letter? 408 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:40,080 Yes, be yes and are no be no. So there's a thing of honesty, 409 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:43,200 right? If I say yes, I'll be there. 410 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:47,720 I'll be there. If, if I say I'm willing to step 411 00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:51,840 up and serve in this capacity, I need to be willing to step up 412 00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:55,960 and serve in that capacity. If I, if I say hold me to this 413 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:59,440 standard, hold me to this standard, right. 414 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:03,160 Not just to each other, although that's an that's a very 415 00:27:03,160 --> 00:27:05,240 important part, right? That's where our accountability 416 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:09,320 to each other comes from, but also to them out there. 417 00:27:10,360 --> 00:27:11,480 What else? What else? 418 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:13,520 How else can we be better witnesses for the truth in our 419 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:20,240 lives? Yeah. 420 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:24,520 Be better disciples, bringing people in through evangelism. 421 00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:26,920 And what's the other part of that? 422 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:32,080 Discipleship amongst the believers, right? 423 00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:35,040 Evangelism to the outside world to bring them in, and then 424 00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:39,040 discipleship to people within. That's what we're called to do, 425 00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:43,640 right? And and that's, that's what the 426 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:46,920 truth is. That's what Jesus told us to do, 427 00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:48,280 right? What else? 428 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:03,840 Yeah, The the fruit, right. There should be fruit of this. 429 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:10,360 People should see it, right? I mean, we know we've, we've all 430 00:28:10,360 --> 00:28:14,120 heard, you know, in, in James, you know, faith without fruit is 431 00:28:14,120 --> 00:28:20,040 dead. So what's what's that going to 432 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:22,760 look like then? Practically, Debbie. 433 00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:27,560 Yeah. If God gave it to you, you 434 00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:28,920 should be willing to give it out, right? 435 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:33,880 God was generous to us first. So the idea behind that, if I 436 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:37,720 can sum this up, is that we should look like Jesus, right? 437 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:42,240 That should be our witness. For truth is we ought to emulate 438 00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:44,080 Jesus. We ought to carry ourselves in 439 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:46,440 that same way. Now, I know that sounds like it. 440 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:47,680 Well, that's an easy thing to say. 441 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:49,480 We should be like Jesus. Yeah, we should. 442 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:52,600 But we got to do that practically every single day. 443 00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:56,000 We need to follow through when we say that we're going to do 444 00:28:56,000 --> 00:29:00,160 something right. We need to do it. 445 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:06,160 We need to clean the backyard when we promise we will. 446 00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:14,960 That's like, seriously, we need to have accountability for that 447 00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:20,160 kind of stuff. Humility. 448 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:28,920 Yeah, There, there. There needs to be also a a 449 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:34,200 certain amount of like, willingness, sacrificial 450 00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:38,160 willingness here, right. Like we've seen a lot of things 451 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:44,240 lately that might, you know, prompt us to, to, to, you know, 452 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:49,720 take a position of like the scariness, I guess, of standing 453 00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:52,640 for our beliefs. We still need to do that. 454 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:55,600 That's what our witness is. We need, we're, we're not 455 00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:57,560 undercover Roman centurions, right? 456 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:00,200 Like we want people to know who we are. 457 00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:03,320 That's what we ought to do. We ought to be bold in that. 458 00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:11,120 How about this? What are some specific areas 459 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:14,480 where Christians are dropping the ball in sharing or promoting 460 00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:17,600 the truth? And I'm talking maybe as 461 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:22,320 individuals, maybe as a church, maybe as the universal church, 462 00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:24,160 right? Where are some areas that you 463 00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:33,640 guys think as you see stuff? Yeah, Liana, she said. 464 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:36,520 We're we try to be too agreeable to save someone's feelings. 465 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:39,640 Now, it's compassionate to try to save people's feelings, 466 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:45,640 right? Sometimes. 467 00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:49,400 What was that? Stockholm Christian Syndrome? 468 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:51,360 I don't know if that's a thing yet or not, but it could be, 469 00:30:52,600 --> 00:31:08,240 yeah. Yeah, we told our kids the same 470 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:11,040 thing. We said, what's the phrase? 471 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:15,520 You catch more, more flies with honey than you do vinegar, 472 00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:16,400 right. Something like that. 473 00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:18,400 Is that did I get it right? That's that same kind of 474 00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:21,200 concept. And so the church does the same 475 00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:23,920 sort of thing. Let's let's get it. 476 00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:26,520 Just get him in the doors. Let's just get him in the doors 477 00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:29,040 and and we'll tell him that Jesus loves them. 478 00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:30,800 And, you know, we'll just hammer that home. 479 00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:32,000 Jesus loves him. Jesus loves him. 480 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:35,240 Jesus loves him and he and and that's that's a that's a great 481 00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:37,920 message, but that's not the whole message, right. 482 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:42,000 So we, what are we with that dynamic? 483 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:54,880 What are we missing? Yeah. 484 00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:00,960 So Laurie said that there's not like she said that there's not 485 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:03,000 really enough apologetics that happen. 486 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:07,560 And whether it's training for in the church or, or whatever the 487 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:09,880 idea is. I'm I'm assuming you're saying 488 00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:13,760 that like we aren't preparing ourselves or each other to 489 00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:20,560 share, right? Yeah. 490 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:23,280 So there's now, now let's look at that. 491 00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:26,960 Like sometimes apologetics is sort of, it's sort of kind of 492 00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:30,560 viewed as like I'm going to argue with you, right. 493 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:33,200 And sometimes there is arguing that happened. 494 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:36,240 Sometimes, you know, we we hash things out on the battlefield of 495 00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:39,040 ideas kind of thing, right? As iron sharpens iron, so one 496 00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:41,440 man sharpens another. That's conflict, right? 497 00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:46,000 Iron sharpening iron means conflict, not, you know, 498 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:49,520 dangerous conflict, damaging conflict, right, but honing. 499 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:52,760 So there's something that we need to do with that, but also 500 00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:56,600 just standing for our beliefs and saying just being willing to 501 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:00,400 to share it. How many times I this is, I 502 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:02,640 guess, rhetorical unless you want to share something. 503 00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:07,760 But how many times in our lives are we presented with like the 504 00:33:07,760 --> 00:33:12,400 idea that that thought is not welcome here and we just go, Oh, 505 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:15,880 you know, I don't want to. I don't want to say anything 506 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:18,200 because I'll lose my job or I don't want to. 507 00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:20,280 I don't want to say anything because I'll tick off HRI don't 508 00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:21,800 want to. I don't want to say anything 509 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:25,400 because my friends will think less of me or, you know, I don't 510 00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:27,880 want to get another argument with my friend on Facebook or 511 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:36,060 whatever it is. So what does that mean? 512 00:33:36,060 --> 00:33:37,700 Does that mean you have an opportunity or you're not 513 00:33:37,700 --> 00:33:38,980 allowed to? Because I'd say both. 514 00:33:39,380 --> 00:33:41,340 Yeah. Yeah. 515 00:33:41,340 --> 00:33:47,220 I mean, that's, yeah. OK. 516 00:33:47,220 --> 00:33:49,540 That's an interesting thing. Prayerfully ask God for another 517 00:33:49,540 --> 00:33:52,700 opportunity, right? I wouldn't discount that. 518 00:33:54,260 --> 00:33:56,820 I would say, though, that we always have an opportunity to 519 00:33:56,820 --> 00:34:01,520 stand and and and stand on our beliefs, right? 520 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:06,680 What if, what if we what if we get in trouble? 521 00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:08,080 Is that the end of the should we? 522 00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:10,719 Did we make a mistake if we got in trouble for for sharing our 523 00:34:10,719 --> 00:34:14,000 position? No, we didn't make a mistake in 524 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:15,600 our flesh. We're going to go, oh man, I 525 00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:20,920 just lost my job. Well, that but we're supposed to 526 00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:23,639 we're going to be persecuted. Of course you're going to lose 527 00:34:23,639 --> 00:34:24,920 your job for standing on your faith. 528 00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:26,920 Of course your neighbors going to dislike you. 529 00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:29,960 Of course you're family's going to tell you not to talk about 530 00:34:29,960 --> 00:34:37,440 religion at the Thanksgiving table, but we can, we can use 531 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:42,880 discernment in that and find opportunities to to do it in an 532 00:34:42,880 --> 00:34:45,760 appropriate way. We don't want to abdicate our 533 00:34:45,760 --> 00:34:49,280 responsibility to do it, but we can look for opportunities to 534 00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:52,120 maybe be more discerning and wiser about it. 535 00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:55,000 But we can also pray for more opportunities. 536 00:34:55,719 --> 00:34:58,880 And that's the fact, like, maybe you missed one and you know it, 537 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:01,360 and you're and you're kicking yourself because you didn't 538 00:35:01,360 --> 00:35:03,360 speak up and stand on principle for something. 539 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:06,880 So ask for another opportunity. All right? 540 00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:09,360 Look for more opportunities to to do that. 541 00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:12,040 What are some other areas? Yes, go ahead. 542 00:35:21,020 --> 00:35:23,700 Yeah. Yeah. 543 00:35:24,100 --> 00:35:25,500 I there. I did. 544 00:35:25,500 --> 00:35:28,660 I, I walked right past it. After I, I, I teed it up. 545 00:35:28,660 --> 00:35:29,700 I walked right past it. Yeah. 546 00:35:29,700 --> 00:35:32,800 We're missing sharing the wrath of God. 547 00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:36,240 We're sharing, missing sharing the justice aspect of it. 548 00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:38,560 And, and we've talked about this a lot. 549 00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:41,480 I talked about this in a message last week or or two weeks ago or 550 00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:45,160 whenever it was, I preached talking about how, you know, we, 551 00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:49,880 we want to just sort of skip over the the wrathful part, but 552 00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:51,560 that's a really important part, right? 553 00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:56,200 It's, it's really, and I've said this a lot and we're about done, 554 00:35:56,200 --> 00:35:59,240 But so if you have something you want to share, then do but, but 555 00:35:59,240 --> 00:36:05,600 like, if we don't understand what we're being saved from, 556 00:36:05,600 --> 00:36:08,880 then we don't look for a savior, right? 557 00:36:08,880 --> 00:36:11,520 You got to know the danger you're facing in order to know 558 00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:13,200 that you need to be delivered from it. 559 00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:17,360 And so we we need to hear that because too many people, there's 560 00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:21,480 a lot of you know, there's progressive Christianity has has 561 00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:24,720 snuck into the church. Those verses that I was talking 562 00:36:24,720 --> 00:36:26,080 about wolves in sheep's clothing. 563 00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:29,400 We can have people in a stand up behind, you know, a pulpit like 564 00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:32,560 this and they'll deliver a message that's that comes out of 565 00:36:32,560 --> 00:36:35,120 the Bible. And yet they deliver some 566 00:36:35,160 --> 00:36:38,360 version of it that it talks about love, love, love, love, 567 00:36:38,360 --> 00:36:42,960 love and forgiveness and never talks about justice and wrath 568 00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:46,480 and why you need forgiveness, right. 569 00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:49,240 So why would your heart feel why, why would we be ever feel 570 00:36:49,240 --> 00:36:51,760 convicted unless we know that there's something to be saved 571 00:36:51,760 --> 00:36:57,520 from Anything else, any other areas, specific areas where 572 00:36:57,520 --> 00:37:00,200 Christians are dropping the ball on sharing and promoting truth, 573 00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:02,680 like in our own, in our individual lives? 574 00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:22,780 Did you, did you have something? Yeah, yeah, yeah. 575 00:37:22,780 --> 00:37:26,420 Complicity is definitely the wide, comfortable path to go on. 576 00:37:27,260 --> 00:37:29,180 It would be very easy for us to go. 577 00:37:29,440 --> 00:37:32,600 Well, I'm not going to say anything because I'm just a 578 00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:34,640 grunt here, but Dwight's a supervisor. 579 00:37:35,160 --> 00:37:37,760 He'll say it. He, he won't get in trouble for 580 00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:38,600 it. I'll, I'll let him. 581 00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:39,800 I'm sure he's going to handle it. 582 00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:42,040 And then next Sunday. Hey, did you say something about 583 00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:42,800 that one? So and so? 584 00:37:43,720 --> 00:37:47,040 Nope. Right, because complicity is 585 00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:51,720 easy for us. Doing the right thing is the 586 00:37:51,720 --> 00:37:53,880 difficult path. That's where we have to do the 587 00:37:53,880 --> 00:37:56,400 work all the time. Right to, to mortify our sin, 588 00:37:56,920 --> 00:38:00,840 right to move away from from that and, and to choose the path 589 00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:05,480 of, of following God. The truth is, truth is tough. 590 00:38:09,040 --> 00:38:10,640 And you know, maybe you guys are like me. 591 00:38:10,640 --> 00:38:14,680 Maybe in much of your life, you think I am a, I'm a person of 592 00:38:14,680 --> 00:38:17,440 principle. I tell the truth. 593 00:38:19,480 --> 00:38:23,000 You know, I'm, I'm, I'm making good choices, except when I'm 594 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:25,520 not. But let's focus on this part 595 00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:29,160 over here, right? I mean, that's, that's been my 596 00:38:29,160 --> 00:38:32,680 story my whole life. Can get really easy to pat 597 00:38:32,680 --> 00:38:37,160 myself on the back. But you got to have people who 598 00:38:37,160 --> 00:38:38,680 are willing to speak truth to you. 599 00:38:38,680 --> 00:38:40,920 And then you got to receive it, right. 600 00:38:40,920 --> 00:38:42,760 And that's our job to do to the world too. 601 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:44,880 We need to be able to promote truth. 602 00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:51,000 So there's a a reconciliation that comes about What where 603 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:52,480 else? Anything else that we're we're 604 00:38:52,480 --> 00:38:53,440 we're dropping the ball. Yeah. 605 00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:03,080 Fellowship in studying the Bible together. 606 00:39:03,240 --> 00:39:05,000 Yeah. I mean, we got a there's, 607 00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:06,240 there's a deliberateness in that. 608 00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:09,120 The only way we're going to know the truth is to study the truth, 609 00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:12,640 right? Like that's a, that's the simple 610 00:39:12,640 --> 00:39:15,360 fact. It would be very easy. 611 00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:18,520 If you don't read the Bible, then you could hear somebody 612 00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:25,560 speak from a number of religious books and go, I don't know if 613 00:39:25,560 --> 00:39:29,320 that's in the Bible or not. You know, like, because it's 614 00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:31,840 got, you know, some weird name that sounds like a bit like a 615 00:39:31,840 --> 00:39:33,960 name from the Bible. So when somebody's telling a 616 00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:38,440 story, you're like, yeah, sure, that sounds, it might be a 617 00:39:38,440 --> 00:39:41,240 bumper sticker slogan, right? But somebody can pass it off as 618 00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:43,280 that. We need to know what God's word 619 00:39:43,280 --> 00:39:46,880 says so we know what the truth is, so we can discern when when 620 00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:52,280 we hear something that's not anything else. 621 00:39:53,680 --> 00:39:59,640 What would be maybe a a good sort of first step in applying 622 00:39:59,640 --> 00:40:06,560 this in our life, reading God's word, certainly low hanging 623 00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:10,320 fruit. Thank you prayer again, low 624 00:40:10,320 --> 00:40:11,560 hanging fruit. Those are the obvious. 625 00:40:11,800 --> 00:40:15,600 These should be so obvious to us, but but yet they're not 626 00:40:15,600 --> 00:40:18,240 always right. We can go right past and go I 627 00:40:18,240 --> 00:40:19,560 I'm going to go find me an argument. 628 00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:25,440 I'm going to go stand on truth. Well, let's start off with. 629 00:40:25,960 --> 00:40:29,640 Reading the word, being diligent about that, being diligent about 630 00:40:29,640 --> 00:40:34,000 our prayer life, right? Sharing this need with God. 631 00:40:34,760 --> 00:40:37,000 Like God, I know I'm going to have this conversation later 632 00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:38,600 today. Help me through this. 633 00:40:39,280 --> 00:40:41,800 Give me the opportunity. Give me another opportunity. 634 00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:49,040 Anything else? Any other easy first steps? 635 00:40:51,480 --> 00:41:02,920 Yeah. Yeah, be ready to do it. 636 00:41:03,400 --> 00:41:07,000 Like it's got to be a that's a that's a an attitude, right of 637 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:08,960 looking. You see it as an opportunity, 638 00:41:08,960 --> 00:41:14,160 not as like a have to. We should have, we should seek 639 00:41:14,160 --> 00:41:18,320 opportunities to share this. I mean, guys, the information 640 00:41:18,320 --> 00:41:22,120 that truth is the most important thing in the world that that 641 00:41:22,120 --> 00:41:26,360 person needs to have. It's the cure, like, you know, 642 00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:29,800 it's the cure to the, the anti venom to the snake bite they're 643 00:41:30,040 --> 00:41:32,320 they're struggling with. And we've got it. 644 00:41:33,120 --> 00:41:35,120 We don't need to just hide it in our pocket. 645 00:41:35,760 --> 00:41:38,720 We need to, we need to go and give it to that to people. 646 00:41:38,720 --> 00:41:40,240 We need to share this stuff with people. 647 00:41:40,480 --> 00:41:46,800 So we see it as an opportunity to do it with gentleness and 648 00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:49,360 respect. Yeah, gentleness and respect can 649 00:41:49,360 --> 00:41:56,400 still be bold. It can still be abrupt. 650 00:41:57,760 --> 00:41:59,040 It's loving. Yeah. 651 00:41:59,040 --> 00:42:01,040 I mean, we, we got to figure that out. 652 00:42:01,040 --> 00:42:04,440 And I'll tell you an easy, not, not necessarily an easy way, but 653 00:42:04,800 --> 00:42:08,680 but, you know, talk with each other, talk with your spouse and 654 00:42:08,680 --> 00:42:12,120 say, you know, say, you know, I've had this opportunity with 655 00:42:12,280 --> 00:42:14,800 with Bill. You know, when we go golfing on 656 00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:19,440 Saturdays, he kind of talks about some of these situations 657 00:42:19,440 --> 00:42:20,920 or whatever. And I don't really know how to 658 00:42:20,920 --> 00:42:23,080 bring it up. Talk with your spouse and sort 659 00:42:23,080 --> 00:42:25,640 of go, you know, and, and game plan it, figure out how to have 660 00:42:25,640 --> 00:42:28,880 a conversation with him, how to, you know, how to look for 661 00:42:28,880 --> 00:42:31,320 opportunities to do it. Talk with you, somebody that 662 00:42:31,320 --> 00:42:33,080 you're discipling or that's discipling you. 663 00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:36,240 Talk with them, talk with your small group and say, how in the 664 00:42:36,240 --> 00:42:39,560 world are you guys, you know, effectively moving forward with, 665 00:42:39,920 --> 00:42:42,720 with this, with, you know, with witnessing to people telling 666 00:42:42,720 --> 00:42:46,080 them the truth without getting into a shouting match or 667 00:42:46,080 --> 00:42:49,680 something. Anyway, lots of stuff for us to 668 00:42:49,680 --> 00:42:51,480 think about. We'll, we'll, we'll dive back 669 00:42:51,480 --> 00:42:55,320 into the breastplate of righteousness and, and what that 670 00:42:55,320 --> 00:42:57,600 means in our life next week. But let me just pray for us real 671 00:42:57,600 --> 00:43:00,600 quick and then we can go get coffee and mingle before 672 00:43:00,600 --> 00:43:04,000 service. Thank you, God, for bringing 673 00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:06,600 these folks here that we can study together, that we can 674 00:43:06,960 --> 00:43:11,120 understand that you have given us a path to victory, that we're 675 00:43:11,120 --> 00:43:15,800 not just supposed to, to, to sit here and, and just take it, but 676 00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:18,320 you've given us an opportunity to defend ourselves with 677 00:43:18,320 --> 00:43:21,560 Scripture and with your truth, with the truth. 678 00:43:22,720 --> 00:43:25,960 Help us Lord, to see those opportunities in our life, to be 679 00:43:25,960 --> 00:43:29,000 able to share that with people, to do it in a loving and 680 00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:33,360 compassionate way, but also to to be able to speak truth and 681 00:43:33,360 --> 00:43:38,560 and not be so singularly focused on what the repercussions are to 682 00:43:38,560 --> 00:43:41,800 us, but be focused on the repercussions. 683 00:43:42,040 --> 00:43:45,360 What that means in glorifying you and in sharing with the lost 684 00:43:46,240 --> 00:43:48,440 person. So Lord, we love and thank you 685 00:43:48,560 --> 00:43:52,280 and ask you to to be be blessed and to bless our services. 686 00:43:52,280 --> 00:43:54,120 Coming up, say this in Jesus name, Amen. 687 00:43:55,400 --> 00:43:56,160 OK. Thanks guys.