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Hey everybody, this is Pastor 
John Ewart from Inglewood 

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Baptist Church in Rocky 
Mountain, North Carolina. 

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Thank you so much for tuning in 
to our podcast. 

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You're going to hear from God 
today as we share from his word 

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about important issues facing 
your life that can guide you 

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according to the Bible. 
Well, welcome tonight to this 

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session. 
Those of you who are listening 

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online to this podcast, we're so
thankful that you're joining us.

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And those of you who are here 
live with us as always, thank 

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you for being here. 
I'm always kind of amazed that 

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anybody shows up. 
And so I'm always thankful that 

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you do. 
And we're, we've been having a 

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good time, been interesting 
studies. 

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Let me tell you what's coming up
tonight. 

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I've got to do when I say a 
transitional point here that'll 

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make sense in a minute. 
We've been talking about some of

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the primary doctrines we must 
believe in in order to be a 

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Christian, in order to actually 
be able to call yourself that, 

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in order to be saved. 
If you've missed some of those 

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episodes, go back, listen to 
those. 

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They're crucial. 
And there's two reasons for all 

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of this. 
One is, is obviously I want you 

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to know why you believe what you
believe. 

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But also from an apologetic 
standpoint, as we're dealing 

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with a post postmodern pre 
Christian culture, how do we 

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actually address people who 
don't necessarily have that same

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foundation, that same 
perspective? 

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So that's why over the last 
couple of weeks I've shared what

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do we really believe about the 
Bible? 

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Why does that matter? 
We need to understand our 

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authority and what and how can I
articulate what I really believe

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about this book? 
If you missed that one, go back.

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And then I've also talked about 
what do we believe about Jesus 

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and why does that matter? 
And so if we, if we can 

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articulate at least in those two
zones, we're going to have a 

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hard time sharing the gospel 
with people. 

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So go back and do that tonight. 
I'm going to move into some more

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secondary and tertiary 
conversation. 

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So let me tell you what's going 
to come up like next week. 

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Next week I'm going to talk 
about the perplexity of 

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eschatology. 
So if you those of you who want 

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to talk about the second coming,
I was told that if I wanted 500 

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people to show up here on 
Wednesday night to talk about 

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the second coming. 
And so that's coming up next, 

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next Wednesday. 
So we'll see what happens. 

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And then after that, I'm going 
to talk about the problem of 

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evil and why evil exists. 
That probably is a primary, but 

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schedule wise, that's when we're
going to do it. 

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And so why, why do bad things 
happen? 

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Why did that person get healed 
and that person die? 

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We're going to talk about all 
those kinds of issues and why 

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that exists in our world today. 
And then in a few weeks, the 

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week after that, I'm going to 
talk about spiritual gifts and, 

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and do they all still exist 
today? 

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Are they still active today or 
not? 

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We're going to talk about some 
of those issues because those 

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are some of the issues that will
divide us in not only 

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denominationally at times, but 
even within a congregation. 

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So that's part of what we're 
going to be doing. 

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So that's just kind of down the 
road so that you can be looking 

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ahead also. 
I encourage you if you're, if 

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you're interested in this, I've 
been getting some feedback on 

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it. 
It was kind of just a fun thing 

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to do that Mike Stock said we 
should do. 

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But we've been enjoying the idea
of, of we're, we're recording 

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podcasts to accompany you when 
you're out walking or in your 

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daily quiet time. 
So we have a walking and prayer 

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podcast. 
It's been a lot of fun. 

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We've recorded several new 
episodes for that, everything 

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from a general, I'm out walking 
the dog around the neighborhood 

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and just guiding you through 
prayer as you're walking for 

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about 30 minutes. 
Or you could do that while 

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you're sitting at home reading 
your Bible. 

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But then we've also done them in
the area of worship. 

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I've done them in the air of how
do I pray for lost people? 

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How do we pray for wandering 
Christians and active Christian 

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people? 
We're getting ready to do one on

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how to pray for sick people. 
How do we pray for those that we

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know that are ill and then we're
going to be doing 1. 

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How do I pray the word? 
How do I pray scripture into 

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people's lives and that kind of 
stuff? 

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So they're, they're going to be 
about eight of those. 

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If you haven't tuned into those,
they're on the our podcast as 

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well. 
So you'll enjoy that. 

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So those who are listening to 
this, you may be listening to 

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those. 
And so as you get out and walk 

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Fido, pray, pray for your 
neighbors. 

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There you go. 
I have a former grader from the 

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seminary who now teaches at a 
university in South Carolina, a 

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Baptist school down there. 
And every day he drives a 

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certain road. 
And he sent me this photo. 

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He said that the only remaining 
covered bridge in South Carolina

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exists on his road, and he 
drives by it every day. 

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And there's a sign by this 
oldest covered bridge in South 

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Carolina, and it says this. 
It says the man built the bridge

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according to the lay of the 
land. 

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And it is neither plum nor 
square. 

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And so when you, when you look 
at it, you can tell. 

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And I think of that and I say 
that's, that's some people's 

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theology. 
You know, that's some people's 

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belief system. 
It's based more on the lay of 

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the land than it is on some 
objective truth and standard, 

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right? 
And so and so often it 

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fluctuates with the current 
topography of the culture or the

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current topography of their 
context instead of the objective

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standards of God's word and 
God's truth. 

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So it's neither plum nor square.
And so I've been addressed well,

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what this church believes as 
well as what we need to believe 

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as as Christians. 
But theological mosaics, I don't

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want that phrase to throw you. 
Does that. 

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Just think about what are those 
two words for a minute. 

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The the idea of a mosaic, you 
know, the art piece made out of 

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broken fragments of something 
glued together to make some kind

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of image or pattern. 
Theological mosaics exist in 

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church life and sometimes within
the same congregation to where 

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this person believes this 
interpretation of something, 

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this person believes that 
interpretation of the same 

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thing. 
And there are levels of this 

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that will either separate us or 
give us lively discussion in our

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small groups, right? 
And so this is when we begin to 

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talk about secondaries and 
tertiary issues in theology, 

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when we talk about theological 
triage that we've been talking 

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about over the last several 
weeks, to talk about how do I 

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prioritize, I have to believe, 
we all must believe this. 

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We in order for us to be 
Christians, in order for us to 

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be Orthodox. 
But there are some places where 

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we can vary a little bit and 
some topics where we can vary a 

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little bit, and sometimes that 
even gets more interesting. 

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That's often where the conflicts
occur as well. 

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And so this is what often 
defines the very identity of a 

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specific congregation. 
This church happens to be 

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Southern Baptist, and so they're
going to be some Southern 

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Baptist distinctives about 
Inglewood as compared to a 

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church from another 
denomination. 

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But it can also separate 
individuals within a Southern 

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Baptist church like this one, 
right? 

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And so how do we do this? 
So primary issues determine 

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salvation and how do we to 
heaven? 

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Just think of it that way. 
They determine salvation. 

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How do you get to heaven? 
Secondary issues are often 

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described as they determine 
identity and where you go to 

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church. 
And then tertiary issues often 

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identify specific personal 
interpretations of belief and 

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what we'd like to argue about 
within a church. 

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All right. 
And so, and yet sometimes I find

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that there are congregations 
that are very unified in their 

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belief about some secondary and 
tertiary doctrines. 

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And then sometimes because of 
that, they actually kind of 

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raise them up to a higher level 
than then sometimes they should 

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perhaps. 
And we'll talk more about that 

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in a minute. 
I've quoted a couple of people 

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often in this series and I owe a
debt to some of the writings 

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that they've done. 
One of them is a former boss of 

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mine, Al Mohler, Doctor Mohler 
from Southern Baptist 

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Theological Seminary in 
Louisville and and he defines 

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these categories again for us. 
He says it is the set of 2nd 

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order doctrines is distinguished
from the 1st order set by the 

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fact that believing Christians 
may disagree on the 2nd order 

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issues. 
Though this disagreement will 

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create significant boundaries 
between believers when 

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Christians organize themselves 
into congregations and 

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denominational forms. 
Though this is his language, 

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they can stand together on the 
1st order doctrines and 

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recognize each other as 
authentic Christians while 

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understanding that the existence
of the 2nd order disagreements 

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prevent the closeness of 
fellowship we would otherwise 

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enjoy. 
So 2nd order issues resist easy 

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settlement by those who would 
prefer an either or approach. 

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And many of the most heated 
disagreements among serious 

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believers takes place on this 
second order level. 

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For these issues frame our 
understanding of the church and 

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it's ordering by the word of 
God. 

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And I've seen this time and time
and time and time and time again

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in the hundreds of churches I've
worked with and the thousands of

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church leaders I've worked with 
around the world. 

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So, so I see these second order 
things often defining 

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denominations. 
And I've mentioned to you in a 

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previous time together that that
there are people who don't think

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we should have any denominations
and we should all be one united 

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body of Christ. 
And one day we will be the our 

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existence on this planet. 
It's a bit naive to not think 

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that there are different 
opinions on interpretation. 

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There are reasons for many of 
our denominations. 

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And if we begin to break down 
the difference between this one 

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and this one, you would say, 
well, that's wrong and that's 

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right, which is exactly why 
these disagreements occur. 

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And so there are reasons for 
their existence. 

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And so and some of those reasons
really are significant. 

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But as you can imagine, some 
people, and this is a key point 

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for tonight will raise a second 
level issue to a what first 

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level. 
That's right. 

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And so it becomes a test of 
whether or not you're saved or 

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not. 
If you don't believe what I 

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believe about this, you're not a
Christian, you're not saved. 

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And you can imagine the conflict
that obviously that kind of that

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kind of confusion or 
disagreement can cause, right? 

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And so and so they flame. 
Are they fan this flame of 

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disagreement and conflict. 
Gavin Ortlin writes this. 

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He says in both war and 
theology, there are battles to 

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avoid. 
Most of the battles you could 

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fight, you shouldn't. 
The majority of doctrinal fights

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Christians have today tend to be
over third rank issues or 

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fourth. 
He has a different ranking 

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system. 
So it would be second and third 

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for us. 
We deeply need to cultivate 

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greater doctrinal forbearance, 
composure, and resilience. 

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If courage and conviction should
be our attitude toward first 

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level doctrines, then wisdom and
balance should be how we 

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approach secondary level 
doctrines, and circumspection 

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and restraint should mark the 
third level. 

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These middle body of doctrines 
make a noticeable difference in 

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how we understand and articulate
the gospel, though their denial 

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does not generally constitute a 
denial of the gospel. 

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They are not essential to the 
gospel, but they are often 

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important enough to justify 
divisions at the level of 

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denomination, church, or 
ministry. 

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They exert a significant 
influence over our witness to 

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and and or and or our 
understanding of the gospel. 

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They also lead to practical 
differences in how we do church 

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and or ministry, such that 
attempted formal unity amid our 

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different convictions will often
lead to divisiveness, confusion,

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and violations of conscience. 
Christians will divide over 

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these issues in certain 
contexts. 

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This is a complex conversation, 
and it is over the years I've 

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been involved in many a 
conversation on these levels, 

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obviously even within a single 
congregation. 

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I was recently a an intentional 
interim. 

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As some of you know, I've did 
that for years at a church, and 

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one of the primary assessment 
issues of that church was the 

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theological mosaic that existed 
in their leadership body as well

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as their congregation to the 
point if it was causing division

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and divisiveness over some key 
issues, including spiritual 

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gifts. 
And so one of the reasons we're 

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00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:13,560
going to talk about that is 
because of some of these 

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00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:15,760
experiences. 
So as you can imagine, I've 

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00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:18,440
witnessed this over and over 
again to the point of leaving 

237
00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:20,200
it. 
People leave the church, people 

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cause division, people even 
question the salvation, our 

239
00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:28,560
fellow church members or pastors
or deacons or our fellow staff 

240
00:12:28,560 --> 00:12:31,600
members or fellow elders. 
I'm trying to think if I 

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00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:33,840
anything, well, who have I left 
out because I've seen all of 

242
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that and more. 
I'm not really sure my fellow 

243
00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:40,660
elders are even saved. 
That's a, that's a quote UN 

244
00:12:40,660 --> 00:12:43,200
quote. 
I'm not sure our senior pastor 

245
00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:46,120
is actually a Christian quote UN
quote, those kinds of things. 

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And so one more theologian and 
we'll get in the word. 

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It says so, So because we've got
to ask the question, because 

248
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there can be roots, if you think
about this, there can be roots 

249
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both of legalism, but also 
liberalism in these arguments. 

250
00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:03,320
That makes sense. 
And you say that again, you 

251
00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:05,840
could have legalism, but you 
could also have liberalism 

252
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depending upon where you're 
landing in these categories. 

253
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And so there's a, there's a 
balance in there that must that 

254
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must be reached. 
So how and why would fellow 

255
00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:18,320
Christians reach such different 
conclusions? 

256
00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:21,800
How can you look at a single 
passage of Scripture and reach 

257
00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:23,480
totally different 
interpretations? 

258
00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:26,280
How can you look at a certain 
doctrine and reach totally 

259
00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:29,360
different conclusions over what 
it says? 

260
00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:32,480
Well, theologian Ryan Putman, 
he, he gives us a couple of 

261
00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:35,440
reasons. 
He says we disagree on secondary

262
00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:37,760
and tertiary issues for a number
of reasons. 

263
00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:42,800
Sometimes we read imperfectly. 
We're just not reading the 

264
00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:47,160
Scripture correctly where we 
we're not understanding what it 

265
00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:50,160
actually says. 
He also says we read 

266
00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:54,640
differently, we reason 
differently, we feel 

267
00:13:54,680 --> 00:13:57,880
differently, and we have 
different biases that we've 

268
00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:00,320
brought to the reading in the 
1st place. 

269
00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:02,920
And so we're going to talk a 
little more about hermeneutics 

270
00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:06,360
and some of that down the road. 
Sorry for the big words, but 

271
00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:08,520
everything from our 
hermeneutical process. 

272
00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:12,280
In other words, how do I 
actually interpret scripture to 

273
00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:17,320
to our emotions and to our 
traditions play a role. 

274
00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:20,840
Some people believe what they 
believe because that's the only 

275
00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:24,320
thing they've ever been taught. 
And they don't even know that 

276
00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:27,360
there are any options because 
their whole life they've been 

277
00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:30,920
taught a certain interpretation 
and they have no idea that there

278
00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:33,000
are even any others that exist 
out there. 

279
00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:36,440
And so part of what we're going 
to do. 

280
00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:40,840
And so y'all sitting down. 
So when we get to eschatology 

281
00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:43,840
next week, I'm going to share 
with you at least four different

282
00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:48,360
ways to view eschatology. 
I know for most of you there's 

283
00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:51,000
only one way because you've told
me, I promise. 

284
00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:55,000
I know, but they're actually 
more than one way to look at the

285
00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:57,000
second coming. 
And we're going to talk through 

286
00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:59,160
all that a little bit next time 
together. 

287
00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:03,320
So is that going to get me 500? 
We're going to No, all right, 

288
00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:06,280
here we go. 
But you got to recognize this 

289
00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:09,760
isn't a new thing at all. 
Jesus dealt with this look in 

290
00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:14,080
Mark Chapter 7, Jesus is dealing
with the Pharisees and the 

291
00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:20,840
scribes and and he he he asked 
them or they asked him, why do 

292
00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:23,320
your disciples not walk 
according to the tradition of 

293
00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:28,480
the elders, but eat with defiled
hands and he said them well did 

294
00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:30,920
Isaiah prophecy of you 
hypocrites. 

295
00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:35,000
It's not like Jesus pulling 
punches as it is written. 

296
00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:38,960
This people honors me with their
lips, but their heart is far 

297
00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:42,760
from me in vain do they worship 
me teaching as doctrines the 

298
00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:46,280
commandments of men. 
You get that last part, teaching

299
00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:49,240
his doctrines, the commandments 
of men. 

300
00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:54,920
You leave the commandment of God
and hold to the tradition of 

301
00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:57,840
men. 
And he said to them, you have a 

302
00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:01,600
fine way of rejecting the 
commandment of God in order to 

303
00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:06,520
establish your tradition. 
And, and, and I'm in places 

304
00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:09,840
where where churches have rules 
and regulations that aren't 

305
00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:14,360
found in the Bible, but there's 
a lot of oral tradition. 

306
00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:18,240
Some churches have ghosts and 
some churches have oral 

307
00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:23,000
traditions that they pass on 
year after year, generation 

308
00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:27,680
after generation. 
So personal biases, traditions, 

309
00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:32,120
the only way you've ever heard 
something explained, reactions. 

310
00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:34,680
This is another big one. 
Reactions against something in 

311
00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:39,480
the past you didn't like or when
somebody hurts you in the 

312
00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:41,800
church. 
So whatever they believed, 

313
00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:45,800
you're not going to. 
There are a lot of reasons why 

314
00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:49,400
we interpret. 
Even context and culture have an

315
00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:52,560
impact on belief. 
And I'll talk more about that in

316
00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:55,280
a minute. 
DA Carson, you might know that 

317
00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:59,240
name. 
Theologian DA Carson once said 

318
00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:00,520
this. 
He said certainly when the 

319
00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:04,640
Apostle Paul finds himself in 
different cultural settings, he 

320
00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:09,000
feels free to emphasize slightly
different things as he takes his

321
00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:12,680
audience into account. 
I mean, you can compare his 

322
00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:18,680
sermons in Acts chapter 13 and 
Acts chapter 17 and you'll see 

323
00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:22,359
this in one he's preaching in a 
synagogue and another, he's 

324
00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:26,760
preaching to a very Greek 
audience on Mars Hill. 

325
00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:31,440
So you'll see very different in 
the in the in the approach, in 

326
00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:34,480
the methodology, in the context 
of what he's saying. 

327
00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:38,920
So culture and context can 
affect secondary and tertiary 

328
00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:41,920
issues. 
For example, as many of you 

329
00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:44,360
know, I've done a lot of work in
sub-Saharan Africa. 

330
00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:49,320
We've in my previous life and 
part of my current life still, 

331
00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:54,440
we've trained a lot of, a lot of
leaders in master's degrees and 

332
00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:56,160
whatnot in, in sub-Saharan 
Africa. 

333
00:17:56,520 --> 00:18:00,040
So I, we, we, we, we've been 
Theresa and I've been to Uganda 

334
00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:01,640
I don't know how many times and 
things like that. 

335
00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:03,440
We're working with the Baptist 
seminary there. 

336
00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:08,520
And in fact, the librarian son's
name is Ewart, his first name is

337
00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:10,320
Ewart. 
He is little Ewart and I am Big 

338
00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:12,880
Ewart. 
And I just feel sorry for the 

339
00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:16,800
poor African kid running around 
with E Ward Ewart, Ewart. 

340
00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:21,320
I'm also assuming I'm paying for
college one day, but that's 

341
00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:25,480
another subject matter. 
But for example, in class we 

342
00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:28,400
would have, these are leaders. 
These would be leaders of 

343
00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:32,360
Baptist conventions, professors 
at Baptist seminaries, that kind

344
00:18:32,360 --> 00:18:35,560
of group in one class together. 
So it's a, it's a, it's an 

345
00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:37,760
invitation only, leadership 
development kind of program. 

346
00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:40,240
And we would be talking through 
some of the issues that were 

347
00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:43,840
specific to the African culture.
And I saw this first hand in 

348
00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:46,800
their homes when they invite me 
into, for example, they deal 

349
00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:50,920
with polygamy. 
Polygamy is not a normal issue 

350
00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:54,080
for an Eastern North Carolina 
Baptist Church staff to deal 

351
00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:56,280
with. 
But in Africa, it would be a 

352
00:18:56,280 --> 00:19:00,800
common thing in their tribalism 
and in their tribal traditions. 

353
00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,240
Many of many of those tribes 
believe in polygamy. 

354
00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:07,600
And so the question here's these
were honest questions we had to 

355
00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:12,000
discuss in class. 
Is it OK for someone who has 

356
00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:14,280
more than one wife to be a a 
Christian? 

357
00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:17,120
Can they be saved? 
That was a question. 

358
00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:19,800
Then could they be a Deacon? 
That was a question. 

359
00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:22,400
Could they be a pastor? 
That was another question. 

360
00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:24,320
And so they were working through
it. 

361
00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:28,000
And these guys came from 5 
different countries and multiple

362
00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:30,440
tribal backgrounds. 
So you can imagine the 

363
00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:32,360
discussion that was going on, 
right? 

364
00:19:33,120 --> 00:19:35,360
And and they reached some 
conclusions. 

365
00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:37,360
You don't have to agree with 
this necessarily. 

366
00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:40,560
I'm not endorsing their 
conclusions necessarily, but 

367
00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:43,280
their conclusion was that you 
certainly be saved as a 

368
00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:45,600
polygamist. 
God can save people, anybody. 

369
00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:49,280
But they struggled with 
leadership roles for a 

370
00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:51,640
polygamist. 
But the question was is, well, 

371
00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:54,360
what do I do? 
Do I kick out all but one of my 

372
00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:58,680
wives and, you know, all but all
but one wife's children because 

373
00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:00,400
every wife has children and 
there's wives. 

374
00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:02,600
So I do I divorce three of them 
and keep one. 

375
00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:04,200
I mean, it was an interesting 
conversation. 

376
00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:06,640
As you can imagine. 
I didn't have to do that this 

377
00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:12,040
week here. 
I'm thankful for that. 

378
00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:16,280
So if you're a polygamist, let 
me name some several churches 

379
00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:21,120
that you should go talk to, OK? 
But yeah, that wasn't one we had

380
00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:23,560
to do. 
But but you can just imagine now

381
00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:28,080
don't, don't shoot the messenger
for I'm about I'll give you 

382
00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:31,720
another African example. 
Don't now you don't throw things

383
00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:36,200
those of you online, It's the 
the the e-mail address is 

384
00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:42,480
charles.taylor@inglewoodbaptist.com.
But but the other question we 

385
00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:47,280
got into, is it OK? 
I'm not just I'm not endorsing. 

386
00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:52,720
Is it OK for husbands to beat 
their wives? 

387
00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:54,720
Now you might think what a 
question. 

388
00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:59,920
Well, tribal tradition is very 
strict on some things. 

389
00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:03,720
I have been in African homes 
where when the the wife brings 

390
00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:05,560
out dinner, she brings it out on
her knees. 

391
00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:08,880
She's on her knees holding up 
the meal for the men to eat 

392
00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:11,200
first. 
Again, I'm not endorsing. 

393
00:21:11,360 --> 00:21:14,440
I'm not suggesting this is not a
prescription. 

394
00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:22,960
So men don't try that at home, 
but is it OK for a husband to 

395
00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:24,600
meet your wives? 
And I'm shocked when I'm hearing

396
00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:26,720
this question. 
I'm like, well, of course not. 

397
00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:29,240
You know, I'm just sitting here.
I'm, you know, I'm a redneck 

398
00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:31,400
from the Ozarks in Oklahoma. 
Of course, of course you don't 

399
00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:33,440
they they, they'll hit you back.
You can't do that. 

400
00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:37,960
But but they said, but the Bible
says we can. 

401
00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:40,000
And I'm like, where, what, what 
are you talking about? 

402
00:21:41,120 --> 00:21:43,120
Follow me. 
Ephesians 5. 

403
00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:48,640
And they say that that Christ 
loves the church as husbands 

404
00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:50,520
should love their wives as 
Christ loved the church, right? 

405
00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:54,200
And they're talking about how 
Christ chastens or disciplines 

406
00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:57,080
the church. 
So husbands, you're supposed to 

407
00:21:57,080 --> 00:22:00,800
discipline your wife. 
And I'm going time out. 

408
00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:03,040
Let's have a little 
hermeneutical lesson here, you 

409
00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:05,280
know. 
But it was a long standing 

410
00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:09,320
tradition and a lot of their 
tribes, even within 

411
00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:12,720
Christianity, it was something 
they brought over from pre 

412
00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:16,960
Christian tradition, but it 
leaked into kind of a 

413
00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:20,400
synchronistic type tradition. 
So you can see that culture and 

414
00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:24,400
context should, should matter. 
There are parts of the country 

415
00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:27,440
that I could take you to that 
I'm very familiar with where 

416
00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:31,800
it's King James only country. 
All the churches would be King 

417
00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:34,080
James only. 
And if you did anything but King

418
00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:36,320
James, you are a heretic and a 
liberal. 

419
00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:41,120
I, I pastored in a town, my 
first senior pastor. 

420
00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:45,120
It was in a town where the First
Baptist Church in town had gone 

421
00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:50,520
interestingly and a different 
direction and, and kind of I've 

422
00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:52,800
told you stories about having 
private secret meetings at night

423
00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:54,640
with some of the community 
leaders for some who've been 

424
00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:59,320
here, but but where women 
couldn't wear pants, where the 

425
00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:02,360
only Bible you could bring to 
the campus was King James only. 

426
00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:04,560
And if the woman wanted to 
speak, they had to speak to 

427
00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:08,080
their husband or their Deacon. 
And I couldn't figure out why 

428
00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:11,240
any woman ever went to that 
church, but they but they were 

429
00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:12,600
there. 
But anyway, so there's 

430
00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:15,040
interesting stuff even in the 
United States. 

431
00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:21,520
I can't I, I'm telling you where
we're from, snake handling and, 

432
00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:26,920
and, and different kinds of of 
fire walking or all kinds of 

433
00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:29,560
stuff could be a part of church 
tradition. 

434
00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:34,240
And so when Ed Joyner first came
over to my house before we 

435
00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:36,680
moved, there was a black snake 
on the the back steps. 

436
00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:39,360
I reached out to I had a hold of
the tail of 1 snake the other 

437
00:23:39,360 --> 00:23:41,800
day and he he calls me a snake 
handler ever since. 

438
00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:44,400
So we'll see. 
So if you have a snake you need 

439
00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:48,120
handled, you let me know and 
we'll do something. 

440
00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:56,000
But the point simply this 
ranking belief and then and even

441
00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:59,960
reaching interpretive imperative
conclusions. 

442
00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:01,280
Now you got to follow these 
words. 

443
00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:04,560
So in other words, I'm 
interpreting commands. 

444
00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:07,040
These are, these aren't things 
you can compromise. 

445
00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:10,080
These are, this is the way it 
has to be, right? 

446
00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:13,320
And interpreting these 
conclusions are parts of who we 

447
00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:19,200
are often who we have been and 
frankly where we are at times in

448
00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:23,600
our context and culture, because
there are many people who allow 

449
00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:27,080
the context and culture to 
determine truth and to determine

450
00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:29,560
new interpretations. 
There are certainly 

451
00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:31,480
denominations in our country 
today. 

452
00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:35,960
I won't naming I don't have to 
that once believed that same sex

453
00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:40,000
marriage was a sin and now same 
sex marriage is just fine. 

454
00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:44,640
And and so there are all kinds 
of things that change. 

455
00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:48,520
Culture changes things, times 
change things. 

456
00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:52,280
And so we we we need a better 
foundation than that right. 

457
00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:56,640
Wayne Grudem, who's very famous 
for writing a systematic 

458
00:24:56,640 --> 00:25:00,120
theological textbook, he says 
this a doctrine is what the 

459
00:25:00,120 --> 00:25:03,400
whole Bible teaches us today 
about some particular topic. 

460
00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:06,320
It's about as simple as you get,
he goes. 

461
00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:09,600
Within each of these doctrinal 
categories, many more specific 

462
00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:13,520
teach list. 
So we're free to use our 

463
00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:17,640
reasoning abilities to draw 
deductions from any passage of 

464
00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:22,360
Scripture, as long as these 
deductions do not contradict the

465
00:25:22,360 --> 00:25:24,560
clear teaching of some other 
passage of Scripture. 

466
00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:29,280
So in other words, the greatest 
commentary on the Bible is the 

467
00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:32,520
Bible. 
And so you have to be consistent

468
00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:36,200
through the entire Word with 
your interpretive abilities. 

469
00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:39,120
And so over the next few weeks, 
we're going to give you some 

470
00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:41,680
specific examples and talk about
that. 

471
00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:45,280
So we want to study and teach 
all of God's Word. 

472
00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:49,000
In fact, to go along with that 
walking in prayer podcast, we're

473
00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:52,200
also going to be doing some 
podcasts, as I mentioned, on how

474
00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:55,560
do you study your Bible? 
Well, how can you how can you 

475
00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:58,240
sit at home in the morning or 
whenever you study your word? 

476
00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:01,480
And just some questions to ask, 
how can I help guide you through

477
00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:04,720
a passage of Scripture so that 
your personal Bible study is 

478
00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:08,840
enriched so that when you're 
engaging the Bible yourself. 

479
00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:12,120
Sure, we can do some of that, 
but but but what we need to 

480
00:26:12,120 --> 00:26:15,520
understand is that a study of 
interpretation or hermeneutics 

481
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:21,520
and an application to help us 
engage the Bible in a way that 

482
00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:23,200
will be most meaningful. 
It's going to be incredibly 

483
00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:25,280
helpful. 
And the new sermon series that's

484
00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:28,200
going to be coming in a couple 
of weeks where we talk about the

485
00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:29,760
seven essentials of 
discipleship. 

486
00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:32,720
We're going to hit very heavily 
upon how do we engage the Bible 

487
00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:34,600
and what's the right way to do 
that? 

488
00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:38,400
But, but we recognize what the 
Great Commission in Matthew 28 

489
00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:40,760
commands us. 
He says in Matthew 2819, very 

490
00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:44,320
familiar passage, he says, go 
therefore and make disciples of 

491
00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:48,120
all nations, baptizing them in 
the name of the Father and the 

492
00:26:48,120 --> 00:26:50,720
Son of the Holy Spirit. 
But then there's this next part.

493
00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:53,640
And often we don't talk about 
this next part as much. 

494
00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:57,280
We talk about going, we talk 
about making disciples. 

495
00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:00,360
And those are primary pieces of 
the passage, obviously. 

496
00:27:00,360 --> 00:27:02,960
And as a messiologist, 
obviously, you know, we'll hit 

497
00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:04,680
those, we'll make posters of 
those things. 

498
00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:07,840
But we, we can't neglect this 
next part. 

499
00:27:08,360 --> 00:27:11,840
And that is we have to teach 
them all right. 

500
00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:16,120
We don't just teach them some, 
we've got to teach them all that

501
00:27:16,120 --> 00:27:19,480
he has commanded us. 
And, and that's a lifetime 

502
00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:22,680
journey, frankly, that's a 
lifetime of discipleship. 

503
00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:25,720
And we're going to talk about in
our discipleship series how 

504
00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:28,480
we're not only being discipled, 
but how we're discipling others 

505
00:27:28,920 --> 00:27:31,120
as well. 
And so how can I do that? 

506
00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:35,600
And, and, and, and that's where 
our, a significant portion of 

507
00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:39,320
our power comes from as we're 
tapped into his word. 

508
00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:43,760
And then of course, his, his 
authority in, in verse 18 before

509
00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:47,520
that, and then his presence here
at the end of verse 20, where 

510
00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:50,680
he'll be with us always. 
But, but this idea that the, 

511
00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:54,360
the, there's a command to teach 
them all these things. 

512
00:27:54,360 --> 00:27:59,240
So, so we teach all because we 
want to know everything God has 

513
00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:01,320
told us. 
We want to know everything God 

514
00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:04,560
has revealed to us. 
And again, that's a never ending

515
00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:06,920
journey. 
Some of you have been alive 

516
00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:09,280
longer than I have. 
Not a whole lot of you, but some

517
00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:12,840
of you. 
And, and like me, perhaps you've

518
00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:17,600
read this entire book multiple 
times and, and I still read it 

519
00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:20,960
every every day. 
And, and yet I still glean 

520
00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:23,400
something every day. 
So this is a lifetime of 

521
00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:26,000
learning. 
Every morning in our office. 

522
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:28,800
We start with the devotion and 
prayer time with all the staff 

523
00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:33,480
and I often will just share a 
passage from my quiet time and 

524
00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:37,280
what God kind of showed me. 
I journal not and I've mentioned

525
00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:39,760
this to you before, but I keep 
sharing that with you to 

526
00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:42,760
encourage you to develop the 
some kind of habit to help you. 

527
00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:47,000
And so there's nothing 
spectacular at all that I write 

528
00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:49,360
in my journal. 
They're not nothing, nothing 

529
00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:52,440
we're ever seeing, but it just 
is a good it's a good discipline

530
00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:53,960
for me. 
But the point being that I want 

531
00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:57,280
something fresh for the staff 
out of the word, right? 

532
00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:02,480
Psalm 119, verse 160. 
Listen to this. 

533
00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:07,360
He says the sum of your word is 
truth and every one of your 

534
00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:12,280
righteous rules endures forever.
So the word we know the word is 

535
00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:14,080
eternal. 
We've, we've talked about those 

536
00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:17,320
kinds of issues before, but 
every single word, every single 

537
00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:22,440
part of this, but we need God's 
help and we need God's guidance 

538
00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:26,120
and careful study and teaching 
to help us in this because we 

539
00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:29,320
really do need to develop strong
interpretive skills. 

540
00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:35,440
A solid hermeneutic of belief 
of, of theological triage, which

541
00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:38,640
is that phrase that Moeller 
created to really do understand 

542
00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:42,600
that this is a primary doctrine.
And, and I have no, I must 

543
00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:44,280
believe this or I'm not a 
Christian. 

544
00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:47,160
And then this is a secondary 
doctrine, which really is going 

545
00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:49,920
to create an identity for me as 
a believer. 

546
00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:52,000
I'm a blank. 
And that really is going to be 

547
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:55,120
defined in that category. 
And then, and then those third 

548
00:29:55,120 --> 00:30:00,000
levels to where, well, I believe
this, but, but Doug believes 

549
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:02,520
that and, and you know, we're 
not necessarily on the same, but

550
00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:04,320
it's OK because it's a third 
level thing. 

551
00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:07,080
And we, you know, none of us 
know for sure exactly how that's

552
00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:09,320
going to pan out. 
And, and so it's OK for us to 

553
00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:11,320
fellowship together. 
And we can still of one another.

554
00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:13,520
We'll poke at each other, we'll 
debate with each other. 

555
00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:18,920
And I know I'm right and he's 
wrong, but, you know, just like 

556
00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:23,440
being at home, he said. 
Doug, just don't beat your wife,

557
00:30:23,480 --> 00:30:28,520
all right? 
So we base our salvation again 

558
00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:31,360
and our identity on these 
specific doctrines. 

559
00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:35,120
And so for us here we have that 
doctrine or that document I've 

560
00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:37,160
mentioned to you, I'm not going 
to read it to you, but I just 

561
00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:39,200
have mentioned to you to you 
many times because the Baptist 

562
00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:42,920
faith in message 2000, which, 
which to be honest with you, is 

563
00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:46,760
not a creed. 
It it was just a summary for 

564
00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:48,120
the, the I'll be honest with 
you. 

565
00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:51,400
The media didn't understand 
Southern Baptists and they said,

566
00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:55,080
what do Southern Baptists 
believe in a document? 

567
00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:58,920
To kind of summarize, this is 
what most Southern Baptists 

568
00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:03,440
believe, but at times it's quite
general, to be honest with you. 

569
00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:05,760
So I want us to revisit a 
passage. 

570
00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:08,000
We're going to spend most of our
time in Ephesians 4. 

571
00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:15,840
So there was the introduction. 
I make balloon animals too. 

572
00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:21,200
You want to see that? 
Used to do St. clowning in 

573
00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:22,760
Manila. 
That's a whole nother story. 

574
00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:24,880
There's a photo somewhere that 
we don't want to see. 

575
00:31:27,280 --> 00:31:30,600
Yeah, I used to build a juggle. 
But anyway, so I want to revisit

576
00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:35,120
a passage I've mentioned in some
of the recent times together and

577
00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:39,400
it's context for a moment and 
it's going to help us as we dive

578
00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:42,480
into some of these secondary and
tertiary identifiers. 

579
00:31:43,080 --> 00:31:47,640
So I want you to think about 
ways in which you ought to live 

580
00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:51,200
out your theology. 
So we're talking application for

581
00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:54,360
a few minutes. 
How do I actually live out what 

582
00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:57,040
I believe? 
Because believing something, 

583
00:31:57,640 --> 00:32:01,240
knowledge alone is incredibly 
incomplete, right? 

584
00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:03,160
You with me on that. 
There's got to be more than 

585
00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:04,240
that. 
There's got to be fruit. 

586
00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:06,880
There's got to be action. 
Something's got to come out of 

587
00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:08,400
it. 
You can sit in every single 

588
00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:09,960
study. 
You can come every Wednesday 

589
00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:11,600
night, you can listen to every 
podcast. 

590
00:32:12,320 --> 00:32:14,280
That's not necessarily going to 
make you a disciple. 

591
00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:16,720
There's more to it than that. 
It's holistic. 

592
00:32:17,040 --> 00:32:19,040
So when we start talking about 
discipleship, we're going to 

593
00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:21,600
talk about being, we're going to
talk about knowing, we're going 

594
00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:24,800
to talk about doing in these 
discipleship messages. 

595
00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:27,600
But, but I want you to think 
about ways you're living at your

596
00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:29,360
theology. 
And So what, what should your 

597
00:32:29,360 --> 00:32:32,880
attitudes be toward God and 
toward one another? 

598
00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:38,280
Even if you disagree, even if 
you disagree on a secondary or 

599
00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:41,040
tertiary issue, how should you 
still treat one another? 

600
00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:45,320
Because I've been in, I've been 
in theology wars, I've been in 

601
00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:49,560
churches that were in massive 
conflict and, and sometimes they

602
00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:51,200
actually were theological 
conflicts. 

603
00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:55,880
So in Ephesians 4, how should we
display our beliefs to the lost 

604
00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:57,960
world? 
How should we walk and work 

605
00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:04,360
together within our doctrinal 
identity as well as cooperation?

606
00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:09,080
So Ephesians 41I therefore a 
prisoner for the Lord urge you 

607
00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:12,120
to walk in a manner worthy of 
the calling to which you have 

608
00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:14,240
been called. 
Now here are some 

609
00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:17,480
characteristics that ought to 
describe that walk. 

610
00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:22,680
We are to walk with all humility
and gentleness, with patience, 

611
00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:26,560
bearing with one another in 
love, eager to maintain the 

612
00:33:26,560 --> 00:33:29,720
unity of the Spirit in the bond 
of peace. 

613
00:33:30,040 --> 00:33:34,160
There's one body and one spirit,
just as you recalled to the one 

614
00:33:34,160 --> 00:33:39,520
hope that belongs to your call, 
1 Lord, 1 faith, one baptism, 

615
00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:44,240
one God and Father of all who is
over all and through all and in 

616
00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:46,600
all. 
And so Paul's writing to this 

617
00:33:46,600 --> 00:33:49,840
church hoping, you know, he's 
had a he's had a lot to do with 

618
00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:52,800
their leadership at Ephesus. 
And he's hoping that the church 

619
00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:56,680
members will remember and be 
eager to strive for unity in the

620
00:33:56,680 --> 00:33:58,560
church. 
You got to recognize that these 

621
00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:02,000
people were coming from a 
massive diverse background. 

622
00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:03,280
They're coming from all over the
place. 

623
00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:06,280
A lot of Pagan is in, in 
Ephesus, paganism in Ephesus. 

624
00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:09,600
So you people coming from all 
kinds of traditions, all kinds 

625
00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:12,360
of other belief systems. 
And it would be very easy to 

626
00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:15,560
carry that into the church and 
cause division. 

627
00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:22,960
And so we can agree to get along
because we always agree, but not

628
00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:25,360
because we always agree, but 
because we are surrendered to 

629
00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:27,600
Christ. 
And that's his point here, that 

630
00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:30,800
the way you maintain unity isn't
just because you, you agree with

631
00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:33,679
one another, it's because you 
agree with Jesus. 

632
00:34:34,199 --> 00:34:36,719
And so Jesus provides us this 
unity. 

633
00:34:37,679 --> 00:34:41,239
And, and that needs to be more 
important than your secondary's,

634
00:34:41,639 --> 00:34:45,000
if that makes sense. 
Your, your love for the 

635
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:49,199
primaries, your love for Christ 
is more important than your 

636
00:34:49,199 --> 00:34:51,840
secondary beliefs. 
And whether or not it's OK for 

637
00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:54,080
me to RIP the head off of 
somebody who doesn't agree with 

638
00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:55,960
my secondary or tertiary 
beliefs, right? 

639
00:34:57,040 --> 00:35:03,240
Not that that would ever happen 
at Inglewood, verse 7. 

640
00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:07,800
But grace was given to each one 
of us according to the measure 

641
00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:11,000
of Christ's gifts. 
And so he's talking about roles 

642
00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:12,760
and giftedness within the church
now. 

643
00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:16,360
So go all the way to verse 11. 
And he gave the apostles, the 

644
00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:19,960
prophets, the evangelists, the 
shepherds and teachers to equip 

645
00:35:19,960 --> 00:35:22,520
the Saints for the work of 
ministry, for building up the 

646
00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:25,320
body of Christ until we all 
attain. 

647
00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:29,120
Here's this idea again, to the 
unity of the faith and of the 

648
00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:32,600
knowledge of the Son of God. 
So there's a unity in what we 

649
00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:35,000
believe. 
There's a unity in our 

650
00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:38,960
understanding of Christ to 
mature manhood to the measure of

651
00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:42,840
the stature of the fullness of 
Christ, so that we may no longer

652
00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:46,680
be children tossed to and fro by
the waves and carried about by 

653
00:35:46,680 --> 00:35:50,600
every wind of doctrine, by human
cunning, by craftiness and 

654
00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:53,440
deceitful schemes. 
Rather, speaking the truth in 

655
00:35:53,440 --> 00:35:56,960
love, we are to grow up in every
way into Him who is the head 

656
00:35:56,960 --> 00:36:00,440
into Christ, from whom the whole
body, joined and held together 

657
00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:04,280
by every joint with which it is 
equipped, when each part is 

658
00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:08,360
working properly, makes the body
grow so that it builds itself up

659
00:36:08,440 --> 00:36:12,120
in love. 
And so we we have this idea of 

660
00:36:12,120 --> 00:36:15,960
the fact that we're united in 
our walk because of what Jesus 

661
00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:20,520
has brought our unity of Christ.
And in Christ we can serve 

662
00:36:20,520 --> 00:36:23,640
together according to the way 
God has designed us so that we 

663
00:36:23,640 --> 00:36:27,240
might all work together. 
Like, even though we may come 

664
00:36:27,240 --> 00:36:30,840
from different perspectives, we 
may have different beliefs about

665
00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:35,200
things, but we build up the 
church not to criticize or to 

666
00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:39,840
tear down, but to edify, 
especially in the secondary and 

667
00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:42,280
tertiary issues. 
And you've got to understand 

668
00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:45,200
that they they were not only 
plagued from their backgrounds 

669
00:36:45,200 --> 00:36:48,240
as as in Pagan worship and 
things that surrounded them at 

670
00:36:48,240 --> 00:36:53,440
Ephesus, huge temples, etcetera,
but they also would have been 

671
00:36:53,720 --> 00:36:57,240
attacked by false teachers. 
So there was, you know, much of 

672
00:36:57,240 --> 00:37:02,320
the New Testament letters are 
written in order to counteract 

673
00:37:02,480 --> 00:37:05,040
false teachers and false 
teaching that was that would 

674
00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:08,200
taking place in their culture. 
And so to recognize that this 

675
00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:11,240
was a this was an apologetic 
defense mechanism as well as a 

676
00:37:11,240 --> 00:37:13,600
unifier. 
So you don't bring it in. 

677
00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:17,120
Don't let them bring it in. 
And let's focus upon the 

678
00:37:17,120 --> 00:37:19,840
primaries so that we can be 
united together. 

679
00:37:21,160 --> 00:37:25,600
Verse 17 then goes on. 
Now this I say in testifying the

680
00:37:25,600 --> 00:37:29,640
Lord that you must no longer 
walk as the Gentiles do in the 

681
00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:33,400
futility of their minds. 
They are darkened in their 

682
00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:37,200
understanding, alienated from 
the life of God because of the 

683
00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:40,600
ignorance that is in them due to
their hardness of heart. 

684
00:37:41,040 --> 00:37:43,600
They have become callous and 
have given themselves up to 

685
00:37:43,600 --> 00:37:47,840
sensuality, greedy to practice 
every kind of impurity. 

686
00:37:48,240 --> 00:37:51,920
But that is not the way you 
learn Christ, assuming that you 

687
00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:54,440
have heard about Him and were 
taught in Him, as the truth is 

688
00:37:54,440 --> 00:37:57,640
in Jesus. 
To put off your old self, which 

689
00:37:57,640 --> 00:38:00,760
belongs to your former manner of
life and is corrupt through 

690
00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:04,280
deceitful desires, and to be 
renewed in the spirit of your 

691
00:38:04,280 --> 00:38:08,560
minds and to put on the new self
created after the likeness of 

692
00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:12,040
God in true righteousness and 
holiness. 

693
00:38:12,760 --> 00:38:16,360
And so one bottom line here is 
we're to be different than the 

694
00:38:16,360 --> 00:38:20,560
blind, lost, Dark World. 
There's a spiritual blindness 

695
00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:22,640
out there. 
There's a spiritual hardness of 

696
00:38:22,640 --> 00:38:25,120
heart. 
Don't be surprised when people 

697
00:38:25,120 --> 00:38:27,880
don't agree with you. 
Don't be surprised when they 

698
00:38:27,880 --> 00:38:31,200
don't understand or believe in 
the authority of the Bible. 

699
00:38:31,480 --> 00:38:33,920
They don't believe that Jesus 
was either real or that he 

700
00:38:33,920 --> 00:38:36,880
really was God Incarnate. 
Don't be surprised when you try 

701
00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:39,120
to share with somebody. 
And remember, later this year, 

702
00:38:39,120 --> 00:38:41,080
I'm going to hit us pretty 
heavily with some personal 

703
00:38:41,080 --> 00:38:44,840
evangelism training. 
Don't, don't be surprised when 

704
00:38:44,840 --> 00:38:47,600
people out there don't 
understand that, which is why we

705
00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:50,440
have to talk about how do we 
share the gospel in this culture

706
00:38:50,440 --> 00:38:52,720
today? 
Where as I say about every 

707
00:38:52,720 --> 00:38:55,360
single week, I feel like we're 
probably not going to start in 

708
00:38:55,360 --> 00:38:56,640
Romans. 
We're probably not going to 

709
00:38:56,640 --> 00:38:59,920
start in John, We're probably 
going to start in Genesis to to 

710
00:38:59,920 --> 00:39:04,440
explain who is this God, right? 
And what do I believe about God 

711
00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:07,600
and sin? 
And how would I even define that

712
00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:10,800
in conversations out there? 
Because their, their hearts are 

713
00:39:10,800 --> 00:39:15,600
hard, their minds are foggy. 
And then then you see this, and 

714
00:39:15,600 --> 00:39:18,240
I've shared this with you 
before, this replacement idea 

715
00:39:18,240 --> 00:39:21,400
that when I shared out of 
Colossians 3 at some point with 

716
00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:24,560
you, we talked about this pretty
heavily, that that true 

717
00:39:24,560 --> 00:39:29,960
repentance, true transformation 
requires replacement. 

718
00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:34,600
And so again, let me just make 
sure for those who never saw 

719
00:39:34,600 --> 00:39:37,960
this, that when, when, when 
repentance takes place, 

720
00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:40,520
confession and repentance, it's 
not just that I've been sinning,

721
00:39:40,520 --> 00:39:42,600
I've been doing something I 
should and I feel bad about it. 

722
00:39:42,600 --> 00:39:44,080
The Holy Spirit convicts me and 
I feel bad. 

723
00:39:44,080 --> 00:39:47,120
That's not enough. 
It's not just I, I've been 

724
00:39:47,120 --> 00:39:50,040
sinning, walking away from God, 
The Holy Spirit convicts me. 

725
00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:52,280
I feel bad about it. 
And I do this about face and now

726
00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:55,000
I face God, which is kind of 
what the word can mean. 

727
00:39:55,600 --> 00:39:57,760
But there's a lot more to it in 
Scripture and you'll see it 

728
00:39:57,760 --> 00:40:00,280
right here. 
You see, the real way this has 

729
00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:04,640
to work is, is I'm convicted in 
my sin as I'm walking away from 

730
00:40:04,640 --> 00:40:08,280
God. 
I, I, I turn to God and I 

731
00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:10,880
confess to him. 
I say the same things about my 

732
00:40:10,880 --> 00:40:13,200
sin that he believes about my 
sin, which is what the word 

733
00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:17,160
confess means. 
But then I put on, I replace the

734
00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:20,880
old ways by putting on the 
spiritual disciplines, the 

735
00:40:20,880 --> 00:40:25,360
spiritual discipleship. 
That fills my life with him. 

736
00:40:25,680 --> 00:40:29,960
If I don't do that last step, 
very likely I will fall back, 

737
00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:32,040
which is what Paul dealt with 
all the time. 

738
00:40:32,080 --> 00:40:34,400
He dealt with it in Ephesus. 
He dealt with it in colossi. 

739
00:40:34,600 --> 00:40:37,760
These people who came from these
backgrounds would often turn 

740
00:40:37,760 --> 00:40:42,280
back to those backgrounds and 
and walk away. 

741
00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:44,760
And So what we've got to 
understand is, is in order for 

742
00:40:44,760 --> 00:40:47,360
me to continue walking with God,
for me to really understand what

743
00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:50,560
I believe, in order for me to 
articulate that to a lost world,

744
00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:54,960
I've got to fill my life. 
I've got to put on the new self 

745
00:40:54,960 --> 00:40:57,520
created after the likeness of 
God and true righteousness and 

746
00:40:57,520 --> 00:41:00,960
holiness after I've taken off 
the old ways. 

747
00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:05,800
And this image of clothing being
taken off and putting on is 

748
00:41:05,800 --> 00:41:08,040
clear. 
So we're to be different. 

749
00:41:08,640 --> 00:41:13,880
But the question is, is are we? 
Or do we still walk in the old 

750
00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:19,400
ways while we claim to be new? 
But are we really? 

751
00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:23,720
Look at verse 25. 
Therefore, having put away 

752
00:41:23,720 --> 00:41:27,560
falsehood, that each one of you 
speak the truth with his 

753
00:41:27,560 --> 00:41:30,440
neighbor, for we are members one
of another. 

754
00:41:31,280 --> 00:41:34,920
Be angry and do not sin. 
Do not let the sun go down on 

755
00:41:34,920 --> 00:41:37,240
your anger, and give no 
opportunity to the devil. 

756
00:41:38,320 --> 00:41:41,240
Let the thief no longer steal, 
but rather let him labor doing 

757
00:41:41,240 --> 00:41:44,240
honest work with his own hands, 
so that he may have something to

758
00:41:44,240 --> 00:41:47,400
share with anyone in need. 
Let no corrupting talk come out 

759
00:41:47,400 --> 00:41:50,360
of your mouth, but only such as 
is good for building up as fits 

760
00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:53,480
the occasion, that it may. 
Give grace to those who hear, 

761
00:41:54,040 --> 00:41:56,600
and do not grieve the Holy 
Spirit of God, by whom you were 

762
00:41:56,600 --> 00:41:58,160
sealed for the day of 
redemption. 

763
00:41:58,400 --> 00:42:02,920
Let all bitterness and wrath and
anger and clamour and slander be

764
00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:05,360
put away from you, along with 
all malice. 

765
00:42:05,360 --> 00:42:08,800
Be kind to one another, 
tenderhearted, forgiving one 

766
00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:11,760
another as God in Christ forgave
you. 

767
00:42:13,080 --> 00:42:16,160
So even though we're not a 
perfect people and this is not a

768
00:42:16,160 --> 00:42:19,800
perfect church because there is 
none, I've been in every one of 

769
00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:21,960
them. 
No, not quite, but been a lot. 

770
00:42:22,560 --> 00:42:26,160
And there are there. 
There ain't one of those as we 

771
00:42:26,160 --> 00:42:29,560
would say back home and I would 
still say at my home. 

772
00:42:30,480 --> 00:42:34,240
But we should and we must be on 
some pathway of maturity and 

773
00:42:34,240 --> 00:42:36,960
growth and love, including our 
belief system. 

774
00:42:37,440 --> 00:42:41,560
We, we need to mature in our 
understanding of what we believe

775
00:42:41,560 --> 00:42:45,280
and why. 
So, so we do we chip away at 

776
00:42:45,280 --> 00:42:47,000
each other or do we build one 
another up? 

777
00:42:47,200 --> 00:42:49,960
That's part of the issue here. 
Will we get angry yet? 

778
00:42:49,960 --> 00:42:53,040
We can do that without sin. 
We might offend one another, but

779
00:42:53,040 --> 00:42:55,800
we can also forgive one another.
So even when we have 

780
00:42:55,800 --> 00:43:01,840
disagreements about belief, 
because you might next week, you

781
00:43:01,840 --> 00:43:05,480
need to remember this passage, 
see and and recognize where we 

782
00:43:05,480 --> 00:43:08,600
are because we need to remember 
we're saved people changed 

783
00:43:08,600 --> 00:43:12,800
people, different people. 
We, we have not because of 

784
00:43:12,800 --> 00:43:14,360
something we muster up by our 
own strength. 

785
00:43:14,360 --> 00:43:15,640
That's not how this works at 
all, is it? 

786
00:43:15,640 --> 00:43:16,720
It's because of what God has 
done. 

787
00:43:16,720 --> 00:43:20,200
We're we're one Lord, 1 faith, 
one baptism, one God and Father 

788
00:43:20,200 --> 00:43:22,760
of all who is over all and 
through all and in all. 

789
00:43:22,760 --> 00:43:26,560
So, so we recognize that we can 
love, we can be kind, we can be 

790
00:43:26,560 --> 00:43:31,480
forgiving because that's how, 
how God is to each of us. 

791
00:43:31,800 --> 00:43:34,960
And that's what our, our, our, 
our desire is. 

792
00:43:34,960 --> 00:43:38,800
So, so Paul had had pretty 
simple hopes for the church. 

793
00:43:38,800 --> 00:43:43,640
I feel like Paul can be complex,
but he didn't have to be. 

794
00:43:44,080 --> 00:43:45,600
He wanted to build up the 
church. 

795
00:43:46,360 --> 00:43:48,960
He wanted to lead the church to 
maturity and faith. 

796
00:43:49,520 --> 00:43:51,920
He wanted to equip the church to
do ministry. 

797
00:43:52,440 --> 00:43:55,880
He wanted to lead the Church to 
love and unity. 

798
00:43:56,680 --> 00:44:01,040
He wanted to show the lost world
this mature, faithful unity, 

799
00:44:01,400 --> 00:44:05,600
love and truth. 
And if we would do that, if we 

800
00:44:05,600 --> 00:44:10,440
would live that out and we would
focus on the primaries and learn

801
00:44:10,440 --> 00:44:16,040
to discuss honestly and lovingly
with one another the secondaries

802
00:44:16,040 --> 00:44:20,640
and tertiaries, not only would 
our lives be changed and the 

803
00:44:20,640 --> 00:44:22,800
Church be changed, but the world
would be impacted. 

804
00:44:23,600 --> 00:44:25,480
But one pastor shared this. 
Listen to this. 

805
00:44:25,480 --> 00:44:27,680
This is just an honest testimony
from a pastor. 

806
00:44:28,440 --> 00:44:32,080
He said. 
I thought my job would focus on 

807
00:44:32,080 --> 00:44:34,920
getting my church members to 
encourage one another to do what

808
00:44:34,920 --> 00:44:39,320
the Bible commands. 
Instead, most of my job is 

809
00:44:39,320 --> 00:44:42,600
keeping my church members from 
demanding things of each other. 

810
00:44:43,160 --> 00:44:48,960
The Bible never does. 
So there are a lot of traditions

811
00:44:48,960 --> 00:44:52,800
out there, right? 
And we get attached to things 

812
00:44:53,800 --> 00:44:57,840
for different reasons. 
I once was doing a, a, a 

813
00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:00,880
consultation work with a, a 
large church in North Carolina. 

814
00:45:00,880 --> 00:45:05,120
So that will remain nameless as 
the city will too, because you 

815
00:45:05,120 --> 00:45:07,480
would know this church and they 
had a, a new pastor. 

816
00:45:08,080 --> 00:45:10,880
And in fact, Chuck Lawless and I
were working together on this 

817
00:45:10,880 --> 00:45:11,800
one. 
You know, some of, you know, 

818
00:45:11,800 --> 00:45:15,680
Doctor Lawless and, and we were 
doing interviews. 

819
00:45:15,680 --> 00:45:19,080
We did member interviews a lot. 
And I've done, I've done a lot 

820
00:45:19,080 --> 00:45:23,600
of these over the years. 
And a lady came in and she had a

821
00:45:23,600 --> 00:45:26,000
scroll. 
I mean, it was a scroll. 

822
00:45:26,560 --> 00:45:30,200
She unrolled a scroll. 
You understand a scroll. 

823
00:45:31,120 --> 00:45:33,400
I don't normally get scrolls. 
You understand what I'm saying? 

824
00:45:33,560 --> 00:45:36,880
I get notepads, I get iPads, I 
get phones. 

825
00:45:37,000 --> 00:45:40,240
But she had AI mean it might as 
well have been papyrus. 

826
00:45:40,840 --> 00:45:43,480
And it was long. 
I mean, it just kept unrolling. 

827
00:45:43,960 --> 00:45:48,640
And she goes, I'm here to air 
the grievances of my Sunday 

828
00:45:48,640 --> 00:45:54,040
school class. 
I looked for chuckle all this. 

829
00:45:54,040 --> 00:46:00,000
He was in another room. 
I said, well, that's not really 

830
00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:02,600
why I'm here, but go for it. 
Knock yourself out. 

831
00:46:03,520 --> 00:46:06,680
And friends, I've told you a lot
of stories. 

832
00:46:07,320 --> 00:46:10,560
I think I've told you the story 
about the time that the minister

833
00:46:10,560 --> 00:46:14,240
of of music was jumping over the
table to to attack the pastor 

834
00:46:14,240 --> 00:46:16,440
and I caught him in midair and 
did a body slam. 

835
00:46:17,160 --> 00:46:20,840
So I've been, I've been in some 
places, seen a few things, but 

836
00:46:21,000 --> 00:46:26,920
this might have been the most 
angry, venomous human being I've

837
00:46:26,920 --> 00:46:30,120
ever been around in my life. 
And I've fought in tough man 

838
00:46:30,120 --> 00:46:32,560
competitions in my previous 
existence. 

839
00:46:33,280 --> 00:46:35,560
I've been a bouncer in my 
previous existence. 

840
00:46:36,600 --> 00:46:40,360
But this might have been the 
meanest, maddest human being 

841
00:46:40,360 --> 00:46:41,560
I've ever been around my entire 
life. 

842
00:46:41,800 --> 00:46:45,720
I thought she was going to have 
a stroke she was so angry. 

843
00:46:45,880 --> 00:46:52,280
Spitting out the list of you 
know what, this new pastor dot 

844
00:46:52,280 --> 00:46:56,240
dot dot see? 
So I'm thinking, man, this guy 

845
00:46:56,240 --> 00:47:00,520
must have, you know, must have 
taken a bat and beat up her 

846
00:47:00,520 --> 00:47:02,760
grandma or something. 
I mean, this must be really bad.

847
00:47:02,760 --> 00:47:04,080
I mean, I don't know what this 
guy's done. 

848
00:47:04,080 --> 00:47:05,560
I mean, I knew the guy, but I'm 
like, what is it? 

849
00:47:05,880 --> 00:47:07,240
I mean, what? 
Who did he attack? 

850
00:47:07,240 --> 00:47:09,320
What did he say? 
Who did he condemn? 

851
00:47:09,560 --> 00:47:13,480
You know what he did? 
Now, don't get mad at me. 

852
00:47:14,480 --> 00:47:20,280
I'm just the messenger, right? 
He moved the pulpit and the 

853
00:47:20,280 --> 00:47:26,760
Lord's Supper table. 
Don't you know what those things

854
00:47:26,760 --> 00:47:31,200
meant to this church now that 
everything had a bronze plaque 

855
00:47:31,200 --> 00:47:33,320
on it? 
Because this church has been 

856
00:47:33,320 --> 00:47:37,000
around for a while. 
And, and he went in, There's the

857
00:47:37,000 --> 00:47:39,720
new pastor. 
And one day the Lord's Supper 

858
00:47:39,720 --> 00:47:42,280
table and the pulpit were there.
The next day the Lord's Supper 

859
00:47:42,280 --> 00:47:43,560
table and the pulpit were not 
there. 

860
00:47:43,840 --> 00:47:46,920
And there was a cool little 
acrylic pulpit thingy up there 

861
00:47:47,480 --> 00:47:49,840
because, you know, you got to 
untuck your shirt and be cool. 

862
00:47:52,040 --> 00:48:01,360
And so I said I was waiting for 
point #2 you know, but, but, but

863
00:48:01,360 --> 00:48:04,080
don't you know who gave those to
the church? 

864
00:48:05,600 --> 00:48:07,440
Don't you know who they 
represented? 

865
00:48:08,160 --> 00:48:10,960
Now, see, for her it wasn't 
furniture, was it? 

866
00:48:12,440 --> 00:48:18,080
It was relationships, people who
had died, people who had helped 

867
00:48:18,080 --> 00:48:21,560
build the church, so to speak, 
and had dedicated that 

868
00:48:21,560 --> 00:48:25,720
furniture. 
And I can't stand that man. 

869
00:48:25,840 --> 00:48:27,720
I can't even stand to be in that
room. 

870
00:48:27,720 --> 00:48:31,200
I can't even worship my God 
anymore because of that man. 

871
00:48:31,720 --> 00:48:39,180
Now think about that sentence. 
I wish I could tell you that was

872
00:48:39,180 --> 00:48:42,980
the only time I've heard stuff 
like that, but it's not. 

873
00:48:44,580 --> 00:48:48,900
It's interesting what becomes 
primary now. 

874
00:48:49,680 --> 00:48:52,760
Do I think it was a wise move 
for the brand new pastor to go 

875
00:48:52,760 --> 00:48:55,000
messing around with the 
furniture without communicating 

876
00:48:55,000 --> 00:48:57,560
something about that in a church
that has that kind of tradition?

877
00:48:57,720 --> 00:49:00,760
We can we can go down that 
conversation, discussion, point 

878
00:49:00,760 --> 00:49:06,920
of wisdom, right? 
But I also wonder, so you can't 

879
00:49:06,920 --> 00:49:11,120
worship God anymore because 
furniture got moved. 

880
00:49:12,400 --> 00:49:13,680
Now I know it's more than that 
to him. 

881
00:49:13,800 --> 00:49:16,440
I get it. 
It's it's about the people that 

882
00:49:16,480 --> 00:49:19,080
it was about who she loved. 
And they're not, they're being 

883
00:49:19,080 --> 00:49:21,440
disrespected. 
They're being dishonored. 

884
00:49:21,440 --> 00:49:25,960
I get, I get the story. 
But I see that in church life a 

885
00:49:25,960 --> 00:49:29,360
lot to where suddenly something 
becomes the trigger point. 

886
00:49:30,040 --> 00:49:33,960
Why did you leave? 
Well, and I hear that story 

887
00:49:34,080 --> 00:49:38,280
after story after story. 
You know, the most common person

888
00:49:38,280 --> 00:49:42,440
I've met in Rocky Mountain, a 
former member of Inglewood, 

889
00:49:44,320 --> 00:49:47,680
Teresa will tell you every I go 
to, every store I've ever been, 

890
00:49:47,680 --> 00:49:51,320
100%, every restaurant we've 
ever gone to, every store I've 

891
00:49:51,320 --> 00:49:53,040
ever been in. 
Over these months, somebody will

892
00:49:53,040 --> 00:49:55,160
walk up to me and say, you're 
the pastor at Englewood, aren't 

893
00:49:55,160 --> 00:49:58,680
you? 
And I'll go, yeah, well, I'm a 

894
00:49:58,680 --> 00:50:01,080
former member of Englewood. 
Now we're first of all, I think 

895
00:50:01,080 --> 00:50:05,040
it's weird that you feel the 
need to tell me that, you know, 

896
00:50:05,560 --> 00:50:11,960
I mean, good, glad to meet you. 
Sorry, I wouldn't hear. 

897
00:50:11,960 --> 00:50:14,840
Not my fault. 
And what happened, you know, I 

898
00:50:14,840 --> 00:50:18,720
never know where to go. 
And so, but it's it's an amazing

899
00:50:18,720 --> 00:50:20,960
conversation. 
And then they'll tell me why, 

900
00:50:22,200 --> 00:50:24,960
you know, sometimes they're real
reasons. 

901
00:50:24,960 --> 00:50:28,680
Sometimes they're just mad about
furniture getting moved. 

902
00:50:30,960 --> 00:50:34,080
So let's focus a little bit. 
Remember the old saying, I won't

903
00:50:34,080 --> 00:50:39,120
read it in Latin, but in 
essentials unity in non 

904
00:50:39,120 --> 00:50:42,400
essentials, liberty in all 
things. 

905
00:50:42,400 --> 00:50:47,960
What charity? 
Yeah, attributed to Augustine or

906
00:50:47,960 --> 00:50:50,440
Augustine, Not sure if he really
said it because a lot of things 

907
00:50:50,440 --> 00:50:54,240
get attributed to him. 
But, but this whole idea, if we 

908
00:50:54,240 --> 00:50:58,600
really need to balance out our, 
our strong belief, what's a 

909
00:50:58,600 --> 00:51:03,120
priority, especially again, 
remember, this whole series is 

910
00:51:03,120 --> 00:51:06,560
based on the fact that within a 
10 mile radius of where you are 

911
00:51:06,560 --> 00:51:09,880
right now, 74% of the people are
absolutely unchurched. 

912
00:51:10,080 --> 00:51:12,240
And when I say unchurched, 
they're not just unchurched 

913
00:51:12,240 --> 00:51:14,240
Christian. 
They're not going to a mosque, 

914
00:51:14,320 --> 00:51:16,280
they're not going to a temple, 
they're not going to a 

915
00:51:16,280 --> 00:51:18,880
synagogue, they're not going to 
a church, they're not going to 

916
00:51:18,880 --> 00:51:22,200
anything. 74% of the people who 
live in a 10 mile radius of 

917
00:51:22,200 --> 00:51:25,080
where you sit right now are 
totally unengaged in religion. 

918
00:51:26,680 --> 00:51:29,360
And so we, we don't have the 
privilege, we don't have the 

919
00:51:29,360 --> 00:51:33,240
luxury of being Pharisees who 
want to debate the law. 

920
00:51:34,160 --> 00:51:36,200
We don't get to debate the jots 
and titles. 

921
00:51:36,200 --> 00:51:39,480
We're in a different emergency 
room situation in our triage. 

922
00:51:39,480 --> 00:51:41,560
We have people bleeding to death
and they're dying. 

923
00:51:42,480 --> 00:51:44,520
And so we have to figure out how
to get them the primaries. 

924
00:51:45,280 --> 00:51:47,960
At the same time, we want to 
learn the secondaries. 

925
00:51:48,320 --> 00:51:50,320
We want to study the whole word 
of God. 

926
00:51:50,480 --> 00:51:54,280
We want to know the tertiaries 
and we can discuss them, but we 

927
00:51:54,280 --> 00:51:57,560
need to be able to agree on our 
primary tasks and missions. 

928
00:51:58,160 --> 00:52:00,920
So let me go back for just a 
moment and and remind you of a 

929
00:52:00,920 --> 00:52:06,120
list from the about 5 or 6 
theological textbooks that I I 

930
00:52:06,120 --> 00:52:09,360
summarized for you. 
So these are doctrines that 

931
00:52:09,360 --> 00:52:11,680
would be chapters in some of 
these textbooks. 

932
00:52:11,960 --> 00:52:13,880
You have the word of God or 
Revelation. 

933
00:52:13,880 --> 00:52:15,920
So we talked about that couple 
weeks ago. 

934
00:52:16,360 --> 00:52:20,560
You have the doctrine of God, 
the doctrine of creation, the 

935
00:52:20,560 --> 00:52:26,360
doctrine of man or humanity, the
doctrine of sin, the doctrine of

936
00:52:26,360 --> 00:52:30,360
Christ, the doctrine of the Holy
Spirit, the doctrine of the 

937
00:52:30,360 --> 00:52:34,280
Trinity, the doctrine of 
salvation, the doctrine of the 

938
00:52:34,280 --> 00:52:36,880
church, and the doctrine of last
things. 

939
00:52:36,880 --> 00:52:39,200
Now there are other 
subcategories for every one of 

940
00:52:39,200 --> 00:52:42,800
these and, and any one of these 
could be considered some aspect 

941
00:52:42,800 --> 00:52:45,960
of it, a primary doctrine. 
But there are often there are 

942
00:52:45,960 --> 00:52:49,120
subsets and there's specific 
teachings and there's specific 

943
00:52:49,120 --> 00:52:52,600
interpretations of almost every 
one of these to where you could 

944
00:52:52,600 --> 00:52:55,480
branch out and say that, you 
know, here, here are some things

945
00:52:55,480 --> 00:52:57,880
that might be considered 
secondary and tertiary. 

946
00:52:57,880 --> 00:53:00,640
So let me list just a few 
secondary or tertiary doctrines.

947
00:53:01,000 --> 00:53:02,840
Some of you will say, no, no, 
that's not it. 

948
00:53:03,440 --> 00:53:06,080
Wait a minute, that's primary 
and it doesn't even you know, 

949
00:53:06,080 --> 00:53:08,160
and etcetera. 
And so just hush. 

950
00:53:08,600 --> 00:53:14,600
So just easy, just listen for a 
minute, you know, just tell me 

951
00:53:14,600 --> 00:53:16,880
at Lowe's later that you're a 
former member of Inglewood and 

952
00:53:16,880 --> 00:53:23,200
it all makes sense. 
So so this list isn't is is not 

953
00:53:23,200 --> 00:53:25,440
exhaustive, it's only 
representative. 

954
00:53:25,440 --> 00:53:28,440
So this is not everything by the
means but but there here's some 

955
00:53:28,440 --> 00:53:31,040
areas that would be perhaps 
secondary or tertiary. 

956
00:53:31,600 --> 00:53:34,560
The way the church should 
practice baptism in the Lord's 

957
00:53:34,560 --> 00:53:37,000
Supper can actually fall into 
these categories. 

958
00:53:37,480 --> 00:53:39,960
Now we believe strongly in 
immersion. 

959
00:53:39,960 --> 00:53:43,720
We believe strongly and I'm 
preaching on the Lord's Supper 

960
00:53:44,440 --> 00:53:48,120
this Sunday. 
And so as and so we, we believe 

961
00:53:48,120 --> 00:53:51,000
in and, and certain ordinances 
of the church and that they 

962
00:53:51,000 --> 00:53:53,120
should be done a certain way. 
We believe strongly in that. 

963
00:53:53,120 --> 00:53:55,760
In fact, you can't be a member 
here unless you've been baptized

964
00:53:55,760 --> 00:53:57,720
by immersion. 
So it's just a big deal. 

965
00:53:57,720 --> 00:54:00,320
But does that keep you from 
going to heaven? 

966
00:54:01,800 --> 00:54:06,400
Now remember primaries, 
salvation, am I going to heaven?

967
00:54:06,800 --> 00:54:11,240
This will be a secondary 
denomination which church I 

968
00:54:11,240 --> 00:54:12,680
believe I should be a part of 
right? 

969
00:54:14,160 --> 00:54:17,800
Views on predestination and 
election, although I know 

970
00:54:17,800 --> 00:54:20,640
exactly how all that works and 
can explain it to you in 15 

971
00:54:20,640 --> 00:54:23,040
seconds, Some people have strong
opinions about it. 

972
00:54:23,800 --> 00:54:27,840
That was a joke by the way, 
although I've tried before. 

973
00:54:29,400 --> 00:54:32,360
Anyway, just remember lines, 
points, remember that some of 

974
00:54:32,360 --> 00:54:35,720
you don't worry about it. 
I mentioned earlier beliefs 

975
00:54:35,720 --> 00:54:38,880
about spiritual gifts and 
whether all the gifts are still 

976
00:54:38,880 --> 00:54:41,760
active today. 
There are there are words for 

977
00:54:41,760 --> 00:54:46,520
this continuationism, in other 
words, every, every sign gift. 

978
00:54:46,520 --> 00:54:49,200
And usually this is about the 
sign gifts, things like healing,

979
00:54:49,200 --> 00:54:52,640
speaking in tongues and whatnot.
And you have continuationism and

980
00:54:52,640 --> 00:54:56,160
then you have cessationism to 
where certain gifts stopped at a

981
00:54:56,160 --> 00:54:59,040
certain time in history and 
certain gifts continue. 

982
00:54:59,200 --> 00:55:01,440
And this can actually divide a 
congregation. 

983
00:55:01,440 --> 00:55:05,720
I've seen that happen to where 
the spiritual gift issue was the

984
00:55:05,720 --> 00:55:07,000
division. 
So in a couple of weeks we're 

985
00:55:07,000 --> 00:55:11,000
going to talk about that views 
of eschatology. 

986
00:55:12,960 --> 00:55:15,160
I know there's only one way 
you're all going to tell me 

987
00:55:15,160 --> 00:55:15,960
afterwards. 
I get it. 

988
00:55:17,480 --> 00:55:19,720
Church leadership, organization 
and polity. 

989
00:55:20,600 --> 00:55:24,040
Should you have a a single elder
pastor LED model? 

990
00:55:24,160 --> 00:55:26,120
Should you have a committee LED 
model? 

991
00:55:26,120 --> 00:55:27,880
Should you have a plurality of 
elders? 

992
00:55:27,880 --> 00:55:30,640
What should you have for some 
people, man, that that's going 

993
00:55:30,640 --> 00:55:33,880
to decide what church I go to. 
I'm only going to a church with 

994
00:55:33,880 --> 00:55:37,640
that kind of polity, with that 
kind of leadership structure, 

995
00:55:37,760 --> 00:55:40,600
with that kind of organization, 
and people pick their churches. 

996
00:55:40,760 --> 00:55:43,040
I'm not guessing. 
I know people pick their 

997
00:55:43,040 --> 00:55:45,080
churches sometimes solely on 
that. 

998
00:55:46,440 --> 00:55:48,520
So it becomes primary almost to 
them. 

999
00:55:50,280 --> 00:55:53,760
Views on divorce and remarriage.
There are many different 

1000
00:55:53,760 --> 00:55:55,400
interpretations and views of 
that. 

1001
00:55:55,520 --> 00:55:58,880
You may not realize that, but 
there are even views of 

1002
00:55:58,880 --> 00:56:00,920
creation. 
And I know that's getting real 

1003
00:56:00,920 --> 00:56:05,880
close, but some, there are 
possible interpretations. 

1004
00:56:05,880 --> 00:56:08,200
I'm not necessarily promoting 
them, I'm just saying that's 

1005
00:56:08,200 --> 00:56:10,160
true. 
So the next couple weeks we got 

1006
00:56:10,160 --> 00:56:11,840
to break down a few of these 
because they're going to help 

1007
00:56:12,000 --> 00:56:15,760
define who Englewood is as 
Englewood who, What's the unique

1008
00:56:15,760 --> 00:56:18,000
identity of Englewood? 
Who are we here? 

1009
00:56:18,120 --> 00:56:21,520
What do we believe and why? 
And that's part of the reason 

1010
00:56:21,520 --> 00:56:23,880
for this series. 
The other part of the series, as

1011
00:56:23,880 --> 00:56:26,560
I said at the beginning, is to 
equip you to be able to 

1012
00:56:26,560 --> 00:56:29,920
articulate your own belief when 
you're out there talking to 

1013
00:56:29,920 --> 00:56:31,800
somebody who doesn't believe 
what you believe. 

1014
00:56:32,640 --> 00:56:37,080
And so as I've often mentioned, 
the secret to apologetics is not

1015
00:56:37,080 --> 00:56:38,960
knowing exactly what they 
believe. 

1016
00:56:39,560 --> 00:56:42,240
The secret to apologetics is 
absolutely knowing what you 

1017
00:56:42,240 --> 00:56:44,480
believe. 
That's the key, because I can 

1018
00:56:44,480 --> 00:56:47,720
never ever fully understand in 
our world today that's 

1019
00:56:47,720 --> 00:56:51,120
pluralistic, universalistic and 
synchronistic what everybody out

1020
00:56:51,120 --> 00:56:54,120
there is going to believe. 
And so, but I better know what I

1021
00:56:54,120 --> 00:56:57,760
believe, right? 
And so again, we're going to 

1022
00:56:57,760 --> 00:56:59,440
talk about some of this. 
And these conversations require 

1023
00:56:59,440 --> 00:57:01,520
wisdom. 
They require love, which is why 

1024
00:57:01,520 --> 00:57:04,600
I prepped you tonight with this 
introduction to them, with the 

1025
00:57:04,720 --> 00:57:07,720
passage out of Ephesians. 
So I expect you to behave, be 

1026
00:57:07,720 --> 00:57:10,320
loving, kind, patient, 
forgiving. 

1027
00:57:11,040 --> 00:57:13,000
I know you are. 
This is Inglewood, you are 

1028
00:57:13,040 --> 00:57:15,240
great. 
You are, you are nice. 

1029
00:57:19,000 --> 00:57:21,200
And yet there's some folks who 
try to number everything. 

1030
00:57:21,200 --> 00:57:24,400
They try to rank everything they
do and they're always are those 

1031
00:57:24,920 --> 00:57:27,120
and they, and frankly, there are
people who can't stand any 

1032
00:57:27,120 --> 00:57:29,480
ambiguity. 
It's got to be cut and dried. 

1033
00:57:30,120 --> 00:57:32,400
They want a box and it's got to 
be in that box. 

1034
00:57:32,400 --> 00:57:35,600
And if it's not in that box, 
then it's not right, it's wrong,

1035
00:57:35,920 --> 00:57:37,320
and we're not going to stand for
it. 

1036
00:57:37,320 --> 00:57:40,280
But be careful about your 
dividing lines and remain 

1037
00:57:40,280 --> 00:57:43,680
focused upon the primary because
we need to stay united in that 

1038
00:57:44,160 --> 00:57:47,400
and our lost world and the 
unhealthy churches around us. 

1039
00:57:47,400 --> 00:57:50,120
And there are many because I've 
worked with a lot of them in 

1040
00:57:50,120 --> 00:57:54,440
North Carolina. 
They need us to focus and 

1041
00:57:54,440 --> 00:57:56,560
continue to reach people. 
By the way, we're baptizing 

1042
00:57:56,560 --> 00:57:59,320
again Sunday, and we're we're 
baptizing the Sunday after that 

1043
00:57:59,320 --> 00:58:02,280
and like normal. 
So God's working. 

1044
00:58:02,520 --> 00:58:07,680
Yeah, no, that's fine. 
So we praise him for that. 

1045
00:58:08,000 --> 00:58:10,800
Let me read to you a part of an 
article here. 

1046
00:58:11,880 --> 00:58:14,920
It's an interesting article from
what's called real 

1047
00:58:15,160 --> 00:58:18,840
RealClearPolitics. 
I'm not endorsing any website or

1048
00:58:18,840 --> 00:58:20,680
anybody. 
I just want to read this to you.

1049
00:58:20,960 --> 00:58:23,840
It's a statistical article. 
He says the United States has 

1050
00:58:23,960 --> 00:58:29,640
has old and remains a very 
religious nation despite steep 

1051
00:58:29,640 --> 00:58:33,040
declines in attendance at 
churches, synagogues and 

1052
00:58:33,040 --> 00:58:35,240
mosques. 
By the way, I there there's a 

1053
00:58:35,240 --> 00:58:36,920
staff that came out not too long
ago. 

1054
00:58:37,160 --> 00:58:40,720
Only 45% of Christians attend 
church in the United States of 

1055
00:58:40,720 --> 00:58:43,800
America. 
Now, everybody who claims to be 

1056
00:58:43,800 --> 00:58:46,720
a Christian, whatever that 
means, you know, you know that 

1057
00:58:46,720 --> 00:58:51,000
that could be quite a spectrum, 
but only 45% of those claim to 

1058
00:58:51,000 --> 00:58:52,280
be Christian will attend to 
church. 

1059
00:58:53,480 --> 00:58:59,480
So it says a majority of 
Americans surveyed that 58.3% 

1060
00:58:59,480 --> 00:59:04,440
identified as Christian in the 
United States, with 36.3 saying 

1061
00:59:04,440 --> 00:59:08,000
they consider themselves 
Protestant, 22% Catholic. 

1062
00:59:08,880 --> 00:59:11,960
Americans who said they belong 
to other religions or were non 

1063
00:59:11,960 --> 00:59:15,480
believers, We're all on the low 
single digits. 3.2% said they're

1064
00:59:15,480 --> 00:59:20,640
Muslims, 2.9 were Mormon, 1.9% 
Jewish, 1.6 Buddhist. 

1065
00:59:21,080 --> 00:59:25,680
Hindus accounted for about .5. 
Meanwhile, about 3.8 are 

1066
00:59:25,680 --> 00:59:31,120
atheists and 3.7 are agnostic. 
So one point I want to make to 

1067
00:59:31,120 --> 00:59:32,680
you, because this has always 
been true. 

1068
00:59:33,000 --> 00:59:34,920
You know me, I, I work in 
statistics. 

1069
00:59:34,920 --> 00:59:37,960
I've done this for years, part 
of my work and part of my job 

1070
00:59:37,960 --> 00:59:40,880
and part of my writing. 
And so it's always interesting 

1071
00:59:40,880 --> 00:59:43,640
to me how we think the whole 
world's becoming atheistic or 

1072
00:59:43,640 --> 00:59:45,400
agnostic. 
And that's just not true in the 

1073
00:59:45,400 --> 00:59:48,400
United States. 
The number of of atheists in the

1074
00:59:48,400 --> 00:59:51,600
United States has always been 
less than 5%. 

1075
00:59:52,240 --> 00:59:54,600
It's not a very. 
So if you know a lot of them, 

1076
00:59:54,880 --> 00:59:57,200
you just happen to know a lot of
them, but they're they're really

1077
00:59:57,200 --> 01:00:00,040
are not that widespread. 
If you're in college, then you 

1078
01:00:00,040 --> 01:00:03,080
might see a higher percentage on
your campus, which is where some

1079
01:00:03,080 --> 01:00:05,640
of them, some of them who claim 
to be anyway and then later on 

1080
01:00:05,640 --> 01:00:10,720
realize they're not etcetera. 
But even those who those 

1081
01:00:10,720 --> 01:00:13,720
considering themselves members 
of religions far outnumbered non

1082
01:00:13,720 --> 01:00:15,920
believers. 
But listen to this. 

1083
01:00:16,480 --> 01:00:19,960
Only then these were adults. 
So the 45% includes all ages, 

1084
01:00:20,240 --> 01:00:23,840
but but only 30% of those 
surveyed regularly attend 

1085
01:00:23,840 --> 01:00:26,680
worship services once a week. 
Now remember, this is all 

1086
01:00:26,680 --> 01:00:28,520
religions. 
This isn't just Christianity. 

1087
01:00:29,000 --> 01:00:32,840
So 30% attend some kind of 
service once a week, another 12%

1088
01:00:32,960 --> 01:00:39,320
once a month, 19% a few times a 
year, 11% said once a year, 29% 

1089
01:00:39,320 --> 01:00:42,320
never attended any kind of 
formal worship service. 

1090
01:00:42,920 --> 01:00:45,920
And so it's, it's always 
interesting how in the United 

1091
01:00:45,920 --> 01:00:49,480
States of America, what you'll 
have when you talk about 74% of 

1092
01:00:49,480 --> 01:00:53,040
these people around us who are 
not in church, it doesn't mean 

1093
01:00:53,040 --> 01:00:57,160
that at one time they weren't 
many of these people would be 

1094
01:00:57,160 --> 01:01:02,360
previously churched people. 
And so something happened either

1095
01:01:02,360 --> 01:01:05,960
in their heart or in their 
church life or something that 

1096
01:01:05,960 --> 01:01:10,400
led them to become unchurched. 
Either the church failed them, 

1097
01:01:10,720 --> 01:01:13,520
they failed the church, they 
failed Christ, something 

1098
01:01:13,520 --> 01:01:16,760
happened in their life. 
And so many of these people are 

1099
01:01:16,760 --> 01:01:20,960
people that we want to reach out
to and get back, so to speak. 

1100
01:01:21,400 --> 01:01:25,760
But the American Bible just 
released its 2025 State of the 

1101
01:01:25,760 --> 01:01:26,920
Bible. 
It's an annual report. 

1102
01:01:26,920 --> 01:01:29,480
They do often. 
He said it says nearly half of 

1103
01:01:29,480 --> 01:01:34,000
American Christians, 45%, have 
not attended church in the past 

1104
01:01:34,000 --> 01:01:36,000
six months. 
About 2/3 of American, and this 

1105
01:01:36,000 --> 01:01:39,240
is just adults, 64% say they're 
Christian. 

1106
01:01:39,240 --> 01:01:41,640
But of those, only 55% attend 
church. 

1107
01:01:42,240 --> 01:01:46,520
But for Christians who do attend
church, it's about 35% of 

1108
01:01:46,520 --> 01:01:49,040
Americans. 
Higher church engagement led to 

1109
01:01:49,040 --> 01:01:51,600
higher human flourishing, which 
is their wording. 

1110
01:01:51,840 --> 01:01:53,360
In other words, their life is 
better. 

1111
01:01:53,800 --> 01:01:56,480
So listen to this. 
People's lives improve when they

1112
01:01:56,480 --> 01:01:59,720
engage with their church, not 
just attending, but using their 

1113
01:01:59,720 --> 01:02:02,600
gifts, developing relationships,
and taking advantage of 

1114
01:02:02,600 --> 01:02:05,080
opportunities to grow 
spiritually. 

1115
01:02:05,680 --> 01:02:08,960
And so they go on to say our 
survey shows that church engaged

1116
01:02:08,960 --> 01:02:14,680
Christians have significantly 
less stress, less anxiety, less 

1117
01:02:14,680 --> 01:02:18,440
loneliness, and more hope. 
For years now, we've seen the 

1118
01:02:18,440 --> 01:02:21,920
same effects with Scripture 
engagement, but the church 

1119
01:02:21,920 --> 01:02:24,800
provides a living environment 
where these factors can play 

1120
01:02:24,800 --> 01:02:27,080
out. 
The pairing of the church and 

1121
01:02:27,080 --> 01:02:30,760
the Bible is a powerful force, 
and we expect those who attend 

1122
01:02:30,760 --> 01:02:32,800
weekly to be the most engaged at
church. 

1123
01:02:33,080 --> 01:02:36,800
But the striking detail here is 
the relatively small difference 

1124
01:02:36,800 --> 01:02:39,960
between monthly attenders and 
those who attend maybe twice a 

1125
01:02:39,960 --> 01:02:42,320
year. 
So some churches consider people

1126
01:02:42,320 --> 01:02:44,320
regular attenders if they show 
up once a month. 

1127
01:02:44,480 --> 01:02:46,520
But here we see data to dispute 
that. 

1128
01:02:46,800 --> 01:02:49,400
Whether you're you're talking 
about pastoral care, the use of 

1129
01:02:49,400 --> 01:02:53,360
gift or growth opportunities, 
weekly attenders are more than 

1130
01:02:53,360 --> 01:02:57,680
twice as likely to respond 
enthusiastically. 

1131
01:02:58,520 --> 01:03:01,760
And so being a part of a 
community on a very regular 

1132
01:03:01,760 --> 01:03:06,440
basis makes a huge difference. 
And so once a month really is no

1133
01:03:06,440 --> 01:03:08,920
different than twice a year in 
their study. 

1134
01:03:09,000 --> 01:03:11,720
I'm not saying it's is as good, 
but I'm just saying 

1135
01:03:11,720 --> 01:03:15,000
statistically. 
And so it's that weekly grind. 

1136
01:03:15,160 --> 01:03:19,160
So you wonder why I harp on you 
so much every single week. 

1137
01:03:19,160 --> 01:03:23,800
What percentage of participation
am I after here and what do I 

1138
01:03:23,800 --> 01:03:28,200
want you to be in? 
Thank you. 

1139
01:03:30,200 --> 01:03:35,960
I might start crying. 
I want you in small groups. 

1140
01:03:35,960 --> 01:03:38,600
Why? 
Because it's that community, a 

1141
01:03:38,600 --> 01:03:41,960
fellowship and study together. 
That's the clue. 

1142
01:03:42,440 --> 01:03:44,960
People come to church because of
relationships often. 

1143
01:03:44,960 --> 01:03:47,360
They stay in church because of 
relationships often. 

1144
01:03:47,720 --> 01:03:49,720
And so it's that glue that holds
it together. 

1145
01:03:49,960 --> 01:03:52,640
And and I want to be high 
quality Bible studies or it's 

1146
01:03:52,680 --> 01:03:54,480
kind of a mute point to even try
to get you there. 

1147
01:03:54,480 --> 01:03:56,920
We want it to be high quality 
Bible study, but we also want 

1148
01:03:56,920 --> 01:03:59,320
you engaged in prayer and in 
ministry together. 

1149
01:03:59,480 --> 01:04:01,880
Our reach strategy is coming 
this Sunday. 

1150
01:04:01,880 --> 01:04:04,440
We're having huge training and 
we're going to show you how your

1151
01:04:04,440 --> 01:04:08,000
connect group can be far more 
than just a Bible study group. 

1152
01:04:08,000 --> 01:04:09,440
It's going to be far more than 
that. 

1153
01:04:09,640 --> 01:04:13,160
It's going to be life on life, 
discipleship and accountability 

1154
01:04:13,160 --> 01:04:15,040
and ministry together. 
So be a part of that. 

1155
01:04:15,040 --> 01:04:17,840
I know most of you here on on 
this session probably are. 

1156
01:04:18,160 --> 01:04:21,000
I'm literally probably speaking 
to choir members, even though 

1157
01:04:21,000 --> 01:04:22,920
they're in the back rehearsing 
and are not supposed to be in 

1158
01:04:22,920 --> 01:04:25,360
here right now. 
You're supposed to listen to the

1159
01:04:25,360 --> 01:04:27,400
podcast. 
So you choir members who are 

1160
01:04:27,400 --> 01:04:30,520
here and who are now listening 
to this or warrant and we're 

1161
01:04:30,520 --> 01:04:32,560
listening to this podcast. 
Thank you for going to choir 

1162
01:04:32,560 --> 01:04:36,840
practice. 
Anyway, so sometimes our beliefs

1163
01:04:36,840 --> 01:04:38,640
and our practices just don't 
match up right? 

1164
01:04:39,800 --> 01:04:44,800
And so my prayer is that we act 
upon our faith and we live 

1165
01:04:44,800 --> 01:04:48,520
according to God's truth. 
And we have to begin with these 

1166
01:04:48,520 --> 01:04:51,440
primary mountains of faith. 
These are heels worth dying on, 

1167
01:04:51,440 --> 01:04:53,560
which is what we've been talking
about over the last several 

1168
01:04:53,560 --> 01:04:57,000
weeks. 
Then study, come back and study 

1169
01:04:57,000 --> 01:05:00,080
with me over the next few weeks 
and understand the heels and 

1170
01:05:00,080 --> 01:05:04,960
mounds of identification. 
They're not unimportant, they're

1171
01:05:04,960 --> 01:05:09,120
significant doctrinal issues, 
but they're not about going to 

1172
01:05:09,120 --> 01:05:12,160
heaven and salvation, but they 
are going to define you and your

1173
01:05:12,160 --> 01:05:16,880
life and your church and what 
you consider the Christian life.

1174
01:05:16,880 --> 01:05:19,960
So they're very important. 
So I and then get get together 

1175
01:05:19,960 --> 01:05:22,640
with others in these in their 
small group so that you can 

1176
01:05:22,640 --> 01:05:24,440
discuss things together even 
more. 

1177
01:05:25,120 --> 01:05:27,920
But but remember, this is not 
some game of king of the hill. 

1178
01:05:27,920 --> 01:05:30,400
So don't, don't come in here 
fighting over mole hills. 

1179
01:05:32,000 --> 01:05:33,520
That's usually just a 
distraction. 

1180
01:05:33,880 --> 01:05:36,440
And it normally just ends up 
getting somebody bruised and 

1181
01:05:36,440 --> 01:05:37,960
dirty. 
And we don't want that. 

1182
01:05:37,960 --> 01:05:39,720
This is about building up the 
church in unity. 

1183
01:05:39,720 --> 01:05:42,680
This is about building up the 
church in love, graciousness, 

1184
01:05:42,680 --> 01:05:46,160
forgiveness, and showing that 
and sharing that with a 

1185
01:05:46,160 --> 01:05:49,200
massively unchurched community 
around us. 

1186
01:05:49,200 --> 01:05:52,200
There are 10s of thousands of 
people who ought to be in this 

1187
01:05:52,200 --> 01:05:55,560
room and they're not. 
And they're not going to come 

1188
01:05:55,720 --> 01:05:58,680
unless we help them come. 
They're not just going to wander

1189
01:05:58,680 --> 01:06:02,280
in here on their own. 
We've got to reach out to them. 

1190
01:06:02,800 --> 01:06:05,520
And so you be a part of that 
strategy with us. 

1191
01:06:05,680 --> 01:06:08,960
Remember Ephesians 4 He says put
on the new self created after 

1192
01:06:08,960 --> 01:06:13,800
the likeness of God in true 
righteousness and holiness and 

1193
01:06:13,800 --> 01:06:18,520
be kind to one another, tender 
hearted, forgiving one another 

1194
01:06:18,920 --> 01:06:24,360
as God in Christ forgave you. 
And so one of the things that 

1195
01:06:24,360 --> 01:06:26,720
we're going to remember is both 
our heart and our attitude in 

1196
01:06:26,720 --> 01:06:29,120
this, but we also are going to 
be searching out the truth of 

1197
01:06:29,120 --> 01:06:31,800
God's word next week, as I 
mentioned, we'll be in 

1198
01:06:31,800 --> 01:06:33,120
eschatology. 
We're going to talk about the 

1199
01:06:33,120 --> 01:06:35,480
second coming. 
A primary issue is that it's 

1200
01:06:35,480 --> 01:06:39,560
real. 
It's going to happen still 

1201
01:06:39,560 --> 01:06:42,640
wrong. 
And so I bet it it is. 

1202
01:06:42,920 --> 01:06:45,560
And we need to be ready. 
We need to occupy and work until

1203
01:06:45,560 --> 01:06:47,280
he comes. 
And so we're going to prepare 

1204
01:06:47,280 --> 01:06:50,840
ourselves for that. 
You know, I remember when I was 

1205
01:06:52,000 --> 01:06:56,240
when I was baptized, I was 
baptized with a a friend. 

1206
01:06:57,360 --> 01:07:01,160
Remember, we grew up in the the 
capital of the Cherokee Nation 

1207
01:07:01,760 --> 01:07:03,760
in Oklahoma. 
So my best friend growing up 

1208
01:07:04,120 --> 01:07:08,480
Jaybird Buffalo meat and his his
little brother Screechow. 

1209
01:07:09,360 --> 01:07:11,440
They called him Ray, but he was 
Screechow Buffalo meat. 

1210
01:07:11,440 --> 01:07:16,920
So Oahu, young Tiwiya. 
And so anyway, in this Cherokee 

1211
01:07:16,920 --> 01:07:21,840
culture and we were actually 
baptized together. 

1212
01:07:22,840 --> 01:07:24,200
Now just track with me for a 
second. 

1213
01:07:24,200 --> 01:07:28,960
In fact, he pushed me to be 
baptized. 

1214
01:07:29,400 --> 01:07:31,720
We were sitting in a church 
service today one day and he 

1215
01:07:31,720 --> 01:07:33,560
goes, we need to go forward and 
be baptized. 

1216
01:07:33,560 --> 01:07:35,200
And I looked at him. 
I said, you're crazy. 

1217
01:07:35,200 --> 01:07:38,480
That wouldn't be cool. 
We were athlete kind of people 

1218
01:07:39,360 --> 01:07:43,160
and that would just be 
embarrassing kind of nonsense. 

1219
01:07:43,240 --> 01:07:46,000
So I wouldn't go and I made him 
not go that first week. 

1220
01:07:46,920 --> 01:07:51,120
God let me live another week and
the next week he kind of just 

1221
01:07:51,120 --> 01:07:53,280
grabbed me and we were going. 
There wasn't a whole lot of 

1222
01:07:53,280 --> 01:07:55,560
option. 
Jay was as big as I was or 

1223
01:07:55,560 --> 01:08:00,560
bigger than we were going. 
So that night we got baptized, 

1224
01:08:00,560 --> 01:08:03,360
which is not always my 
recommendation either. 

1225
01:08:03,360 --> 01:08:06,360
We we actually do pre baptismal 
conversations and training here 

1226
01:08:06,360 --> 01:08:08,320
before we baptize people. 
And there are people in the room

1227
01:08:08,320 --> 01:08:11,240
who can testify to that. 
And so not that we don't want 

1228
01:08:11,240 --> 01:08:13,640
you to be baptized, but we 
certainly want you to understand

1229
01:08:13,640 --> 01:08:16,600
baptism, you know, etcetera. 
So anyway, we were baptized that

1230
01:08:16,600 --> 01:08:18,600
night. 
My mom and dad were living and 

1231
01:08:18,600 --> 01:08:23,160
so they didn't like Baptist. 
But anyway, and I remember 

1232
01:08:23,160 --> 01:08:24,720
getting baptized and it was very
exciting. 

1233
01:08:24,720 --> 01:08:26,120
I was very excited. 
Oh, it was great. 

1234
01:08:26,120 --> 01:08:28,680
You know, I, you know, I felt 
like I could, I was ready to go 

1235
01:08:28,840 --> 01:08:30,760
play ball that night. 
And, you know, those days I 

1236
01:08:30,760 --> 01:08:32,880
could actually dunk a basketball
and I was ready to really play 

1237
01:08:32,880 --> 01:08:33,800
some ball. 
But anyway, we were really 

1238
01:08:33,800 --> 01:08:36,040
excited. 
That's not the story. 

1239
01:08:37,640 --> 01:08:43,640
The story is a few years later, 
Jay would come to me and tell me

1240
01:08:43,640 --> 01:08:46,319
that he didn't believe in God at
all and considered himself an 

1241
01:08:46,319 --> 01:08:51,359
atheist, even though in my early
days after that, he was the guy 

1242
01:08:51,359 --> 01:08:53,600
who pushed me to have a daily 
quiet time. 

1243
01:08:53,880 --> 01:08:56,160
He's the guy that pushed me to 
read the Bible. 

1244
01:08:56,319 --> 01:08:58,640
He's the guy that pushed me to 
be are you going to? 

1245
01:08:58,640 --> 01:09:00,640
Because nobody in my family went
to church, so I had to go to 

1246
01:09:00,640 --> 01:09:01,920
church. 
Obama, are you going to be 

1247
01:09:01,920 --> 01:09:02,920
there? 
Anybody you know? 

1248
01:09:03,319 --> 01:09:04,760
You know, what do I need you to 
get you there? 

1249
01:09:04,760 --> 01:09:09,040
You going to be in Sunday school
or small group or whatever? 

1250
01:09:09,040 --> 01:09:10,560
We didn't have cool names in 
those days. 

1251
01:09:13,240 --> 01:09:15,680
And he and he pushed 
discipleship on me and he, He 

1252
01:09:15,680 --> 01:09:18,120
pushed spiritual disciplines on 
me. 

1253
01:09:19,960 --> 01:09:23,439
But then within just a matter of
a couple years, he didn't 

1254
01:09:23,439 --> 01:09:27,479
believe anything at all. 
And the last I ever heard from 

1255
01:09:27,479 --> 01:09:30,080
him, he still didn't. 
He was an alcoholic and 

1256
01:09:30,560 --> 01:09:35,520
miserable, divorced and didn't 
believe in a God. 

1257
01:09:39,439 --> 01:09:44,479
This is more than a belief. 
This is the basis of life, 

1258
01:09:45,479 --> 01:09:49,680
right? 
This is this is the anchor, this

1259
01:09:49,680 --> 01:09:52,279
is the glue. 
This is what's going to hold 

1260
01:09:52,279 --> 01:09:54,360
your life together. 
How do I deal on that Help 

1261
01:09:54,360 --> 01:09:56,000
series that we talk? 
How do I deal with anger? 

1262
01:09:56,000 --> 01:09:58,280
How do I deal with anxiety? 
How do I deal with worry? 

1263
01:09:58,280 --> 01:10:00,440
How do I deal with time? 
How do I deal with money? 

1264
01:10:00,440 --> 01:10:02,920
How do I deal with work? 
How do I deal with all the stuff

1265
01:10:02,920 --> 01:10:05,160
we talked about in a former 
series that you can listen to? 

1266
01:10:05,840 --> 01:10:08,280
How do I do any of that? 
The word of God, the Spirit of 

1267
01:10:08,280 --> 01:10:10,160
God, the power of God in my 
life. 

1268
01:10:10,800 --> 01:10:14,560
It's not simplistic, it's really
complicated. 

1269
01:10:15,920 --> 01:10:20,880
It's deep, it's intimate. 
And we're going to start here on

1270
01:10:20,880 --> 01:10:23,800
Sundays talking about what 
discipleship really means. 

1271
01:10:23,800 --> 01:10:25,760
What does that really mean? 
Because I can stand up here all 

1272
01:10:25,760 --> 01:10:28,280
day long and say be like Jesus, 
be like Jesus, be like. 

1273
01:10:28,360 --> 01:10:29,720
But we got to know what that 
means. 

1274
01:10:30,600 --> 01:10:33,160
So we're going to define 
discipleship very clearly. 

1275
01:10:33,360 --> 01:10:36,640
This is what we mean by being a 
disciple at Inglewood. 

1276
01:10:37,200 --> 01:10:40,280
Here's what it means to be a 
church member at Inglewood. 

1277
01:10:41,520 --> 01:10:43,160
And our connect groups are going
to get on board. 

1278
01:10:43,520 --> 01:10:45,840
Our worship services tied 
together with that, Our 

1279
01:10:45,840 --> 01:10:47,400
midweek's tied together with 
that. 

1280
01:10:47,400 --> 01:10:52,920
Everything's connected to help 
you grow, but this is the the 

1281
01:10:52,920 --> 01:10:55,480
anchor that will hold you 
together. 

1282
01:10:56,200 --> 01:10:59,320
Don't ever, don't ever leave the
primaries. 

1283
01:11:00,480 --> 01:11:03,400
We can have lively discussion, 
we can poke at each other, we 

1284
01:11:03,400 --> 01:11:06,560
can laugh together about the 
tertiaries, right? 

1285
01:11:08,880 --> 01:11:15,480
But we got to hang with the 
primaries or we will indeed be 

1286
01:11:15,480 --> 01:11:21,280
lost and blind and foggy and 
we'll never see clearly. 

1287
01:11:22,600 --> 01:11:23,880
We need His help. 
Amen. 

1288
01:11:25,160 --> 01:11:29,080
So let's pray together. 
Father, I thank you so much. 

1289
01:11:30,360 --> 01:11:34,440
Just the fact that people come 
out and they sit so long to 

1290
01:11:34,440 --> 01:11:36,840
listen and to learn. 
And Father, I thank you for that

1291
01:11:36,840 --> 01:11:38,760
hunger. 
I thank you for that desire in 

1292
01:11:38,760 --> 01:11:42,080
their hearts, Father. 
Forgive me sometimes, Lord. 

1293
01:11:42,080 --> 01:11:45,040
Well, maybe I don't share 
everything I wish I could. 

1294
01:11:45,040 --> 01:11:48,120
But Lord, I pray that I've told 
him what you wanted me to 

1295
01:11:48,280 --> 01:11:51,160
tonight. 
And I pray, Father, that you 

1296
01:11:51,160 --> 01:11:55,560
will put into us a hunger, a 
panting, as the psalmist writes 

1297
01:11:56,160 --> 01:11:59,600
that I would pant after that. 
I would thirst after that. 

1298
01:11:59,600 --> 01:12:02,760
I would hunger after your truth 
and your presence in my life. 

1299
01:12:04,120 --> 01:12:06,240
Father, You are saving people 
than our midst. 

1300
01:12:06,240 --> 01:12:08,400
I've seen it with my own eyes. 
I've been there when it's 

1301
01:12:08,400 --> 01:12:12,000
happened. 
And Father, I appreciate the 

1302
01:12:12,000 --> 01:12:14,720
fact that your hand is on us and
your blessing us, but Lord help 

1303
01:12:14,720 --> 01:12:17,760
that to trickle down into my 
personal life to where every 

1304
01:12:17,760 --> 01:12:20,840
day, every morning, every night,
whatever, it works. 

1305
01:12:21,720 --> 01:12:25,280
I'm in your word and I'm reading
and I'm learning and I'm 

1306
01:12:25,360 --> 01:12:28,600
digesting, but more than that, 
I'm applying. 

1307
01:12:29,280 --> 01:12:32,200
This isn't just a study. 
This can't just be some 

1308
01:12:32,200 --> 01:12:34,440
cognitive, intellectual 
experience. 

1309
01:12:35,160 --> 01:12:36,520
It's got to be more holistic 
than that. 

1310
01:12:36,520 --> 01:12:39,080
Father, you've got to touch us 
on the physical, emotional, 

1311
01:12:39,080 --> 01:12:43,480
mental, relational and spiritual
levels to our Father. 

1312
01:12:43,480 --> 01:12:47,800
Every aspect, every dimension of
our life is touched so that, 

1313
01:12:47,800 --> 01:12:50,320
Father, we don't walk alone. 
We don't dare walk alone. 

1314
01:12:50,320 --> 01:12:53,440
We know how stupid it is to walk
alone, how dangerous it is to 

1315
01:12:53,440 --> 01:12:55,160
walk alone. 
We're in a Dark World. 

1316
01:12:55,160 --> 01:12:56,800
That's danger. 
We don't dare walk alone. 

1317
01:12:56,800 --> 01:12:59,160
We're going to give the devil an
opportune moment when we walk 

1318
01:12:59,160 --> 01:13:03,280
alone. 
We got to walk together, We got 

1319
01:13:03,280 --> 01:13:06,320
to walk together with you, with 
your word and with each other 

1320
01:13:07,280 --> 01:13:11,200
and by the power of the Holy 
Spirit, who who empowers us and 

1321
01:13:11,200 --> 01:13:17,280
fills us and guides us, Father 
protects US, warns us, convicts 

1322
01:13:17,280 --> 01:13:21,680
us. 
Father, be our anchor, be our 

1323
01:13:21,680 --> 01:13:25,920
rock, be our refuge. 
Father, I thank you for the 

1324
01:13:25,920 --> 01:13:29,000
words of David. 
He knew the right words, Father,

1325
01:13:29,000 --> 01:13:32,640
and he sang them to you. 
And so, Father, I pray that 

1326
01:13:32,640 --> 01:13:36,200
they'll become our words, that 
Father, we really do see you as 

1327
01:13:36,200 --> 01:13:40,120
the light of our salvation. 
We really do see you as our hope

1328
01:13:41,920 --> 01:13:43,600
and that we are absolutely 
dependent. 

1329
01:13:43,600 --> 01:13:46,080
Thank you, Father, for the 
privilege of just being here and

1330
01:13:46,080 --> 01:13:47,480
opening your word for a few 
minutes. 

1331
01:13:47,480 --> 01:13:49,680
Bring us back Sunday to worship 
you. 

1332
01:13:50,160 --> 01:13:52,480
Thank you so much for those who 
are listening online. 

1333
01:13:52,480 --> 01:13:54,800
I really do truly appreciate 
those who've been working with 

1334
01:13:54,800 --> 01:13:57,360
our children tonight, our 
students tonight who are in our 

1335
01:13:57,360 --> 01:14:00,280
worship arts ministry tonight, 
who couldn't be here physically,

1336
01:14:00,280 --> 01:14:01,880
but Father, they're going to 
listen to this later. 

1337
01:14:01,880 --> 01:14:06,360
Thank you all for serving. 
Thank you and for our guests and

1338
01:14:06,360 --> 01:14:09,680
for others who'll listen. 
For some who listen on the road,

1339
01:14:09,680 --> 01:14:12,160
for some who are listening in 
their cars, for some who are 

1340
01:14:12,160 --> 01:14:15,120
listening as they walk, the 
Father, you just speak to them 

1341
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and help us, Father, to be the 
church, the body, and the bride,

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the Father you build. 
Thank you Father, for causing 

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that growth in Christ's name, 
Amen. 

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God bless you all. 
Thank you all so much. 

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Thank you so much for listening 
today. 

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And I also hope that you'll go 
to 

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ourwebsite@englewoodbaptist.com 
as well as our app and find many

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other resources that will bless 
you and your families. 

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Thank you once again.