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It's impeccable, it's 
impregnable. 

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The Bible says the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it. 

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But the local church is far from
perfect. 

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And obviously there's a lot of 
different local churches and 

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both of those the, the church as
a whole and the local church are

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described by the Lord in in 
Matthew's Gospel. 

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And like I said, we've talked 
about that. 

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He mentions the, the universal 
church in Matthew chapter 16. 

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And when I say universal, I say 
that in its pure form. 

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I'm not talking about in an 
ecumenical gathering of the 

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World Council of Churches or, or
something like that. 

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Those are that's wickedness. 
But where he mentioned it as 

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being founded upon the rock and 
being invincible, that is the 

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church that I'm talking about, 
just all the churches as a 

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whole. 
Matthew chapter 16 and verse 18.

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And I say unto thee that thou 
art Peter, and upon this rock I 

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will build my church, and the 
gates of hell shall not prevail 

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against it. 
He mentions the local church and

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the functions of the local 
church in Matthew chapter 18. 

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And remember just last week or 
the week before, I preached you 

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a message about where two or 
three are gathered. 

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And that's Matthew chapter 18. 
And you have the context text of

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that passage leading up to that.
And he's talking about the the 

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reception of the believers, his 
little children. 

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He's talking about the 
restoration of of backsliders as

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sheep having gone astray. 
And he's talking about the 

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reconciliation of the brethren. 
But that that chapter portrays 

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the local church as being in 
need of corrective ministry, 

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right? 
The the local church is not 

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going to be perfect and we 
always have things that need to 

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be addressed, things that need 
to be taken care of and of of 

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course, some members need to be 
restored. 

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Some members need to be 
expelled. 

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The Bible makes that pretty 
clear there in Matthew chapter 

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18 and other places. 
But both the the universal 

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church and the local church were
future things when the Lord 

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spoke. 
The church was not in existence 

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yet when Christ was talking 
about it, but he discussed those

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subjects quite adequately with 
adequately with, you know, these

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two initial references. 
By the way, each of Paul's 

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epistles were written to local 
churches and every one of them 

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was was directed at problems 
that they were having within 

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that local church. 
Now, what Paul did with most of 

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those things was, Hey, here's a 
lot of good things that you're 

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doing. 
These are the things that I 

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appreciate. 
These are the things that you're

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doing well and you need to just 
keep, you know, keep keep doing 

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those things in and make sure 
they stay strong. 

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But here's a few. 
Things that you need to to to 

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get taken care of. 
God did that in Revelation 

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chapter 2 and chapter 3. 
Here's the seven churches, and 

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here's the things that I really 
appreciate about it. 

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But be careful because here's 
some things that you need to 

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fix, right? 
So that the, the, the gates of 

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hell shall not prevail against 
God's church as a whole. 

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But there are times when the 
local church needs to be purged 

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and needs to be cleansed. 
And that's what we have in 

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Second Timothy chapter 2 and 
verse #20 But in a great house 

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there are not only vessels of 
gold and of silver, but also of 

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wood and of earth, and some to 
honor and some to dishonor. 

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If a man therefore purge himself
from these, he shall be a vessel

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unto honor sanctified, and meet 
for the master's use, and 

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prepared unto every good work. 
Flee also youthful lusts, but 

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follow righteousness, faith, 
charity, peace with them that 

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call on the Lord out of a pure 
heart. 

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But foolish and unlearned 
questions avoid knowing that 

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they do gender strife. 
So here in Second Timothy 

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chapter 2 verse #20 Paul sees 
the local church as a, as a 

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great, great house. 
And it contains just a variety 

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of utensils. 
And in the local church 

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fellowship, you're going to 
attract the unsaved as well as 

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the same. 
Now, mostly it's going to be the

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same, but you're going to people
that come in from the outside 

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that don't know Jesus Christ as 
their savior. 

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It's the way that is. 
And honestly, it's a good thing 

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when you attract people from the
outside that come in that are 

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looking for the answers. 
And our job is to give it to 

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them. 
But in a, in a great house, 

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you're going to have those who 
are saved and those who are 

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unsaved. 
You're going to have some who 

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who grew up in church and have 
learned how to speak the 

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language of the church, and 
they're going to act like 

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they're saved, but they have, 
no, they're not anymore saved 

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than somebody that's living out 
in the world and doing whatever 

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they want to. 
They have the knowledge in their

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heads, but they have nothing in 
their hearts. 

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They've been baptized, they've 
been received into membership, 

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they've been entrusted in areas 
of service, but they have never 

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been saved at all. 
And others might profess 

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conversion, maybe in response to
some pressure that was put on 

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them when they were a child or 
when they were in a special 

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meeting or something like that. 
But they've never showed 

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evidence of a new life in 
Christ. 

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I met a guy a couple years back 
who said that his testimony was 

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that he got saved when he was 5.
Years old. 

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But he only did it, and he said 
he remembered this very plainly,

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only did it because he was 
trying to make his dad happy. 

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He knew that his dad would be 
happy if he got saved. 

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So he went forward and he 
accepted Christ as a Savior. 

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But almost immediately after 
that, he began to have doubts. 

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And he graduated from high 
school with doubts about whether

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or not he was saved. 
And then he graduated from 

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college with doubts about 
whether or not he was saved. 

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And he had gone to a Bible 
college, he graduated and he 

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went into a youth ministry, 
became a youth pastor. 

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And even while he was a youth 
pastor, he had doubts of whether

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or not he was even saved. 
And finally he got to the point 

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where he said, I can't handle 
this anymore. 

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I'm going to get this settled. 
And as a youth pastor, he came 

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down the aisle on a Sunday 
morning and he accepted Christ 

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as his Savior. 
You know one way or another that

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the person that comes into the 
church and even finds a way into

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the pulpit sometimes or into the
office of a Deacon sometimes, 

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Some might not even be saved. 
And the Bible makes that pretty 

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clear. 
In a church, you're going to 

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have all kinds of different 
vessels right in their hearts. 

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Whether it doesn't matter if 
you've been in church for 30 

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years, it doesn't matter if 
you've become a Deacon, it 

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doesn't matter if you're on 
staff in a church somewhere, it 

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doesn't know. 
Those things don't matter. 

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What matters is whether or not 
you know Jesus Christ as your 

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Savior because if you don't, 
you're still a stranger to 

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Christ. 
Doesn't matter what position you

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find yourself in. 
There's the thinking is worldly.

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The responses are the responses 
of a natural man, not a 

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spiritual man and their and 
their and their service is 

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blemish turn. 
Keep your finger there in second

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Timothy chapter 2. 
We're coming back to it, but but

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turn over to Matthew Chapter 7 
because here's what happens. 

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There's there's a lot of people 
who end up in churches and they 

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might be educated and they might
be polished and they might be 

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capable members of a community, 
but in the church, they're 

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counted by God as vessels of 
dishonor because they do not 

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know the Lord. 
And I, and I'm not trying to get

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you to doubt your salvation, but
what you need to understand is 

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that you need to make sure that 
you know Jesus Christ as your 

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Savior. 
It doesn't matter what your 

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background is, it doesn't matter
if you've grown up in church. 

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Every person has to make that 
decision for themselves. 

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Matthew Chapter 7 ought to be a 
very, very sobering passage for 

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us in verse #21 Not everyone 
that saith unto me, Lord, Lord 

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shall enter into the Kingdom of 
heaven, but he that do it the 

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will of my Father which is in 
heaven. 

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Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not 

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prophesied in thy name, and in 
thy name have cast out devils, 

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and in thy name done many 
wonderful works? 

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And then will I profess unto 
them, I never knew you depart 

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from me, ye that work iniquity. 
Who's the ones that are up there

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saying, I'm prophesying this in 
the name of Jesus Christ? 

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Who's the ones that are up there
casting out devils in the name 

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of Jesus Christ? 
Is that your your bum on the 

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street? 
Is that the person that never 

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goes to church? 
No, it's the people who are who 

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are leading the churches. 
It's the people who are there in

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the front doing ministry. 
And if and if those people, the 

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ones who are saying, Lord, Lord,
I'm prophesying in your name and

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I'm casting out devils in your 
name and doing all of these 

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things are not even saved. 
Then imagine how many people in 

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churches across the country 
today are sitting in church 

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thinking that because they've 
been there a long time. 

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Or thinking that because they've
spoken in tongues or thinking 

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that because at some point they 
got baptized along the way, that

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they're on their way to heaven. 
And they're going to stand 

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before God someday. 
And they're going to say, look 

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at all the wonderful things that
I've done for you. 

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I was I was in church my whole 
life. 

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I was in usher. 
I taught Sunday school. 

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I did this, I did that and he's 
going to say I never knew you 

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depart from me. 
Ye that work iniquity because 

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it's not about what you do for 
Christ. 

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It's about your relationship to 
him. 

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Once you have that relationship 
with him, then you ought to do 

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for Christ. 
But until then nothing matters. 

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And so some vessels in the house
are are costly and some vessels 

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are common. 
And the same is true of the 

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church. 
Some members are pure gold. 

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They give the highest possible 
kind of service and their 

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character and their faithfulness
are of great worth. 

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Other believers, the Bible says,
in fact, if you want to go back 

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over to second Timothy chapter 
2, you can see the, the 

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different comparisons that he's 
making. 

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In a great house. 
There are not only vessels of 

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gold, but then he says vessels 
of silver. 

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They're made of, of genuine 
metal, but it may, it doesn't 

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come up to the excellence of 
gold. 

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And then he says, and some of 
wood and of earth. 

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The earth that he's talking 
about would be the unregenerate 

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people there in a church, 
whether it's somebody who's 

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already joined the church or 
somebody who's been coming to 

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the church for a while, it's an 
unregenerate member. 

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00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:03,520
They're just made of common 
clay. 

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00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:05,880
They're earthen vessels. 
Earthen. 

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00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:09,120
Vessels or vessels of. 
Clay kind of give the idea that 

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that it's service that is given 
by just an unregenerate person, 

195
00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:16,360
but they also mentions wood 
vessels of wood. 

196
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And that that's the suggestion 
there that it's a man made 

197
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workmanship, human nature, human
effort or doing things in our 

198
00:09:23,560 --> 00:09:25,120
own strength. 
I I think the. 

199
00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:27,320
Easiest way to explain that 
would be to say that it's a 

200
00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:29,680
carnal Christian. 
It's somebody that does know 

201
00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:32,560
Jesus Christ as their Savior, 
but they're not living to please

202
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the Lord. 
They only show up every so 

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00:09:35,280 --> 00:09:36,960
often. 
They only, they're only going to

204
00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:39,800
do so much. 
Don't ask them to do anything 

205
00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:41,240
else. 
It's just, it's just somebody 

206
00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:44,080
who is, who is a Christian. 
But just not living for the 

207
00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:46,520
Lord. 
And the work they accomplished, 

208
00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:48,680
the, the work that's 
accomplished by spiritual 

209
00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:53,280
believers is the, is the highest
order, the gold, the silver, 

210
00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:55,400
right? 
The work that's accomplished by 

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00:09:55,960 --> 00:10:00,040
many times well meaning but 
unregenerate church members. 

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00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:02,240
I mean, I don't I don't think 
you'd be in a church for 30 

213
00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:05,640
years as an unregenerate 
unregenerate member if you 

214
00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:09,720
didn't have if you weren't well 
meaning if you didn't want to 

215
00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:12,240
try to do something that you 
thought was pleasing the Lord. 

216
00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:15,520
But on the other hand that 
there's very little to be 

217
00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:17,840
commended about that. 
The Bible says just like a a 

218
00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:21,720
clay pot can crack and break and
and just like a wooden container

219
00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:25,440
can can chip and become damaged.
That's that's the service that's

220
00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:29,040
done by an unsaved person. 
Those flaws are going to show 

221
00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:31,320
eventually. 
And I, and I'll think about 

222
00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:35,040
this, you know, fairly often, 
only God knows people's hearts 

223
00:10:35,040 --> 00:10:37,560
and only God knows who's saved 
and who's not saved. 

224
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But I believe that one of the 
reasons why so many churches 

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00:10:41,560 --> 00:10:46,720
seem so ungodly in the way that 
they dress and act, in the way 

226
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that they are jumping around and
dancing around on the stage and 

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they think, they think that 
they're doing this in the name 

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of Christ. 
And that's exactly. 

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What you have there in Matthew 
Chapter 7, I think there's a lot

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of churches. 
Many of them are your big non 

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denominational churches, but it 
doesn't matter if it's big or 

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not. 
It can be a small church that's 

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doing the same thing, but but a 
lot of your churches fit into 

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that category where they, they, 
this is church. 

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And I mean, you, you hear about 
this all the time. 

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We, we just do church different,
right? 

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We're just, we're just trying to
be attractive to everybody. 

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We don't want people to come in 
and feel like they're at church.

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We just, we try to be everything
to everybody so that people will

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come in, right? 
That's, that's the mindset. 

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And you look at some of these 
churches and they have thousands

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of people going there on Sundays
and you think, how is God 

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blessing that church? 
How is God blessing them? 

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00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:40,040
They have thousands of people 
every Sunday. 

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How does God give them those 
blessings? 

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00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:45,560
Well, the truth is, it's not 
really God's blessings. 

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00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:48,240
Right. 
I mean, if you want to talk 

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about that being a measure of 
success, then some of the 

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00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:53,280
biggest churches happen on 
Sunday afternoons in the NFL, 

250
00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:55,240
right? 
Because they'll pack out a 

251
00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:58,960
stadium of 50 sixty 7080 
thousand people that are 

252
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screaming and hollering and all 
focused on everything that's 

253
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going on. 
And that doesn't that doesn't 

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equal success in the eyes of 
God. 

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Just because you have numbers 
right, just because you're 

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getting people in. 
But I think what's? 

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Happening is many of those 
churches are being led by people

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00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:19,440
who are not even saved. 
Many will say to me in that day,

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00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:23,480
not just a few, many will say to
me in that day, Lord, Lord, have

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00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:27,320
we not prophesied in thy name, 
and in thy name cast out devils,

261
00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:29,960
and in thy name done many 
wonderful works. 

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00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:32,280
There's going to be a lot of 
people that are standing before 

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00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:36,160
God saying that someday. 
That's why the Bible says the 

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00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:41,960
road is narrow and few. 
There be that finding the road 

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00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:45,880
that's the right Rd. leading to 
heaven, The road that's leading 

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to hell and destruction, the 
Bible said is wide. 

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And there's a lot of people on 
that road. 

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00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:53,440
And of course you can look at 
the world and see that there's 

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00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:56,040
so many people that don't know 
Jesus Christ as their savior. 

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00:12:56,240 --> 00:12:58,720
But I think it's a lot of people
that are in these churches that 

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think they're on the narrow way 
and they're on the wide Rd. 

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00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:04,160
following everybody else to that
hell and destruction. 

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00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:08,160
But we look at those churches 
and we wonder is God blessing 

274
00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:10,040
them? 
And it it God's not blessing 

275
00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:12,480
them. 
They're vessels of of wood at 

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00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:15,560
the very at the very best. 
And mostly they're just earthen 

277
00:13:15,560 --> 00:13:18,400
clay vessels. 
What does the Bible say about a 

278
00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:21,080
house that's built on sand 
instead of on the rock? 

279
00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:26,440
Hey, look, the guy that built 
this house on the sand and the 

280
00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:29,280
guy that built this house in the
rock, both looked the same for a

281
00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:32,760
while, right? 
It, it didn't, he didn't get 

282
00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:35,560
halfway through and the, and 
the, everything collapsed. 

283
00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:38,240
No, he built this house on the 
sand and he was living in the 

284
00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:41,760
house and then the storms came 
and then the winds blew and then

285
00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:45,240
the house collapsed, right? 
Something that is not built on 

286
00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:48,200
the rock, something that is not 
built on the solid foundation of

287
00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:51,160
Jesus Christ is going to come 
crashing down. 

288
00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:56,160
And why is it that in all of 
these big neo non denominational

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00:13:56,160 --> 00:13:59,880
churches that are just just 
there as a giant Country Club 1 

290
00:13:59,880 --> 00:14:03,280
after another, you see these 
pastors disgraced, kicked out of

291
00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:06,480
the ministry and the church just
dwindles down to nothing, right?

292
00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:09,440
Because it's not built on the 
solid foundation, It's not built

293
00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:12,400
on the rock, it's not built on 
Jesus Christ and it's not going 

294
00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:14,600
to last. 
It can't last. 

295
00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:18,400
Jesus Christ is the foundation, 
and if it's not built on Him and

296
00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:21,240
upon His Word, it cannot and 
will not stand. 

297
00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:25,680
The Bible is filled with 
examples of of earthen and 

298
00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:30,720
wooden vessels, Hymenaeus, 
Alexander, Philetus, lots of 

299
00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:33,440
different people, but it's also.
Filled prime examples of gold 

300
00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:35,520
and silver vessels. 
And I've if I asked you to give 

301
00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:37,200
me a couple examples, I'm sure 
you could. 

302
00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:41,720
Paul, Timothy. 
Titus, Joseph, Daniel, David. 

303
00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:43,680
So Many. 
Others that that that would fit 

304
00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:47,880
into that category. 
And by way of introduction, I 

305
00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:50,400
want to say that you better make
sure that you're one of his. 

306
00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:57,760
In 10,000 years from now, it 
will not matter what you did for

307
00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:01,480
a job. 10,000 years from now, 
it's not going to matter where 

308
00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:05,240
you lived 10,000 years from now.
The only thing that's going to 

309
00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:07,640
matter is where you live then. 
And it's either going to be 

310
00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:11,520
heaven or it's going to be hell.
But for those who are saved, it 

311
00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:16,000
also matters how you live. 
God is looking for vessels of 

312
00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:19,440
honor and so this morning I want
to look at 3 characteristics of 

313
00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:24,160
a sanctified vessel. 
How does God want us to live as 

314
00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:26,800
participants and members of his 
local church? 

315
00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:28,800
I want to take a few minutes to 
talk about that. 

316
00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:30,200
Preach to you about that this 
morning. 

317
00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:33,600
A sanctified vessel and. 
I hope you'll pray. 

318
00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:36,520
Along with me, as I pray here at
the beginning of the message 

319
00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:40,600
that that you'll help ask God to
help you evaluate where you are.

320
00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:43,640
Are you a vessel that's just a 
wooden vessel? 

321
00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:46,720
Are you a silver vessel or are 
you a gold vessel? 

322
00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:49,680
Let's pray. 
Father, we thank you so much for

323
00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:51,240
the opportunity we have to be 
here this morning. 

324
00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:55,960
I pray that you'd help us to to 
be a late awake and alert and to

325
00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:58,880
to hear the message that you 
have for us this morning. 

326
00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:03,600
God, may you help it to be 
conviction to us where we need 

327
00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:06,040
to be convicted. 
May may it be a help to us where

328
00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:07,680
we are already strong in some 
areas. 

329
00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:09,680
Maybe. 
God, I pray that it would be a 

330
00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:13,280
help to all of us and that we'd 
have the power of the Holy 

331
00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:15,320
Spirit evident in the service 
here this morning. 

332
00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:18,320
Thank you again for all that you
do for us in Jesus name, Amen. 

333
00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:22,400
The first thing I want you to 
see is that a sanctified vessel 

334
00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:25,760
will be purged. 
A sanctified vessel will be 

335
00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:30,440
purged, the Bible says in verse 
#21 If a man therefore purge 

336
00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:35,040
himself from these, he shall be 
a vessel unto honor sanctified, 

337
00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:37,720
and meet for the master's use, 
and prepared unto every goods, 

338
00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:41,640
every good work. 
God wants a clean vessel. 

339
00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:45,920
God wants a clean vessel. 
Oh, how can God demand that out 

340
00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:47,800
of me? 
He knows that I'm not perfect. 

341
00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:49,760
He knows that I don't have 
everything all together. 

342
00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:51,440
He knows that I'm a flawed human
being. 

343
00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:54,080
Well, look, do you demand a 
clean vessel when you go to a 

344
00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:57,320
restaurant? 
Oh, you know that the dishwasher

345
00:16:57,320 --> 00:16:59,920
is not perfect. 
You know that he's not going to 

346
00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:02,480
get everything right. 
You would demand a clean vessel 

347
00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:04,640
though. 
Purge himself from these. 

348
00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:08,119
God says that means a separation
from the vessels of dishonor. 

349
00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:12,400
Timothy was to separate himself 
from the vessels of dishonor, 

350
00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:14,079
and Paul had already told him to
shun men. 

351
00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:17,040
If you go back, go back up, just
a couple verses in that chapter,

352
00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:21,280
2 verse #17 and their word will 
eat as doth a canker, of whom is

353
00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:25,200
Hymenaeus and Philetus. 
He called them out by name and 

354
00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:27,800
said, these guys are poisoned, 
stay away from them. 

355
00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:30,440
They'll eat you up like a like a
cancer. 

356
00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:33,800
And Paul had already told him to
shun men like Hymenaeus and 

357
00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:38,960
Philetus and all of those who 
are just vain, profane and vain 

358
00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:42,440
babblings, He says. 
And it's my job as the pastor to

359
00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:45,240
make sure that the false 
doctrine is not circulating 

360
00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:48,560
throughout the church and that 
and, and it's not leading people

361
00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:51,440
astray, but it's also the 
responsibility of the people to 

362
00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:53,720
make sure that they are avoiding
false doctrine. 

363
00:17:54,600 --> 00:18:00,080
By the way, my job as the pastor
is to to know what kind of 

364
00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:01,960
doctrines are circulating, 
right? 

365
00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:04,440
And and, and and look, I think 
it's good that people are. 

366
00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:07,240
Having conversations, doctrinal 
conversations, right? 

367
00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:08,880
It's better than everybody 
sitting there talking about 

368
00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:10,320
sports and everything else, 
right? 

369
00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:14,320
But my job as the pastor is to 
be the gatekeeper, right? 

370
00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:17,560
What if, What if I just allowed 
anything and everything into the

371
00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:20,960
church and this guy came in with
this idea and I said, well, he 

372
00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:23,040
must have got it from somewhere.
I guess that's fine. 

373
00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:25,120
And this guy came in with that 
idea and well, he must have got 

374
00:18:25,120 --> 00:18:26,280
that from somewhere. 
That's fine. 

375
00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:31,720
No, my job is to, is to head off
the doctrinal error, right? 

376
00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:34,320
And the same thing is true when 
it comes to the standards of the

377
00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:37,720
church, right? 
We, we have a certain standard 

378
00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:40,840
that we expect especially the 
workers to, to hold themselves 

379
00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:43,640
to, right? 
What if I just let everybody do 

380
00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:45,480
anything they wanted to in the 
church? 

381
00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:50,960
It would be chaos because 
everybody has different ideas 

382
00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:53,960
about what they think the right 
thing is to do, right? 

383
00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:56,880
And this is not, by the way, if 
you're sitting there and 

384
00:18:56,880 --> 00:18:59,320
thinking, man, it would sure be 
nice to be the pastor and get up

385
00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:00,800
and get to tell everybody what 
to do every. 

386
00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:05,080
This is not an enviable, 
enviable position, All right? 

387
00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:08,280
This is, this is this is a 
position that God put me in. 

388
00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:12,840
It's not an enviable position. 
I don't like telling people what

389
00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:15,600
to do and what not to do. 
I don't like it at all. 

390
00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:19,560
I hate it in fact, because I'm 
the bad guy and there's people 

391
00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:22,040
that don't like me and there's 
people that get mad at me and 

392
00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:24,480
there's people that don't like 
what I say and don't like what I

393
00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:26,480
do. 
And then then you do one thing 

394
00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:28,760
to make this person happy and 
then you make another person 

395
00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:29,960
mad. 
You can't win. 

396
00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:33,560
You can't win. 
So my job is not to follow you 

397
00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:36,280
and what you want. 
I don't get up here on Sunday 

398
00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:39,080
and say, what would you like me 
to preach on today? 

399
00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:43,320
What would you like me to do 
when it comes to this area? 

400
00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:45,880
I mean, you, you tell me and 
then I'll just, I'll just, we'll

401
00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:48,240
just try to see if we can get. 
Everybody to get on board with 

402
00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:49,560
it. 
Right. 

403
00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:51,760
That's not, it's, it doesn't 
work that way. 

404
00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:54,760
My job is to make sure that 
everything is purged out of the 

405
00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,880
church that's going to harm the 
body, right? 

406
00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:01,720
The same way that you do it when
it comes to any kind of medicine

407
00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:05,000
that you would take, right? 
Because that's what has to 

408
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:09,320
happen for it to stay healthy. 
And I have to be the bad guy. 

409
00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:11,640
And I will be the bad guy 
because I'm not following you, 

410
00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:14,960
I'm following Christ. 
And everything that I do, I try 

411
00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:17,720
to do with a biblical basis and 
a biblical backing and a 

412
00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:20,600
biblical foundation. 
It's not just my idea. 

413
00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:22,360
And this is how I want it to be 
done. 

414
00:20:22,360 --> 00:20:23,880
So this is how we're going to do
it. 

415
00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:27,760
Everything that I do has a 
biblical basis for it. 

416
00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:31,720
And that's my job. 
And even though it's a difficult

417
00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:34,400
job, and even though it's a, 
it's something that I don't 

418
00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:37,360
always like, I'm going to do it 
because I'm not going to answer 

419
00:20:37,360 --> 00:20:38,960
to you someday. 
I'm going to answer to God 

420
00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:42,360
someday and I want to be able to
say I did everything that I 

421
00:20:42,360 --> 00:20:45,040
could to try to lead them from 
where they were to where they 

422
00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:49,440
needed to be. 
That's my job as your pastor and

423
00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:52,400
I hope you'll be willing to put 
yourself under that authority to

424
00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:55,560
help me help you get to where 
God wants you to be. 

425
00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:58,640
That's what the whole premise of
Hebrews chapter 13 is. 

426
00:20:59,120 --> 00:21:02,040
Obey them that have the rule 
over you and submit yourselves 

427
00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:07,040
for they watch for your souls as
they that must give account that

428
00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:12,160
they may do it with joy and not 
with grief for that is 

429
00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:17,640
unprofitable for you. 
It's unprofitable for you when 

430
00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:20,840
when you rebel against the 
authority that God has put in 

431
00:21:20,840 --> 00:21:24,600
your life, you're not hurting 
the pastor, you're hurting 

432
00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:28,160
yourself. 
I can it can roll off of me, 

433
00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:29,760
right? 
I can handle it. 

434
00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:33,400
I'm a I'm a big boy. 
I can handle it. 

435
00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:38,040
It's hurting you and it's 
hurting your family and it's 

436
00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:41,320
hurting your ability to to 
really be used by God. 

437
00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:46,000
And so my job as the pastor is 
to make sure that this church as

438
00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:48,920
a vessel is a vessel that God 
can use. 

439
00:21:49,040 --> 00:21:51,040
But a church is not just a 
thing. 

440
00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:56,080
A church is made-up of people 
and you are the church. 

441
00:21:56,440 --> 00:22:00,600
And so as an individual in this 
church, your responsibility is 

442
00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:02,320
to be a clean vessel before. 
God. 

443
00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:06,160
The word purge is only mentioned
two times in the New Testament 

444
00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:09,320
here and in first Corinthians 
chapter 5 and forsake a time 

445
00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:11,480
I'll read it to you. 
The Bible says this at verse #7 

446
00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:15,000
purge out there for the old 
leaven that you may be a new 

447
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:19,000
lump as you are unleavened for 
even Christ our Passover as 

448
00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:21,240
sacrifice for us. 
Now that obviously goes all the 

449
00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:24,040
way back to the Old Testament 
talks about the fact that on the

450
00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:26,680
Passover when they when they 
celebrated the Passover, they 

451
00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:30,360
were supposed to have every 
every bit of leaven out of their

452
00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:33,240
house. 
Leaven is a picture of sin, and 

453
00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:36,000
so because leaven is a picture 
of sin, they were supposed to 

454
00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:37,480
purge their entire House of 
leaven. 

455
00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:40,680
You know what happens if you 
keep a little bit of leaven and 

456
00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:44,120
you put it in your bread? 
Nobody's going to know it 

457
00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:46,400
because it's all mixed together 
in one big lump. 

458
00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:50,640
But when does it come out? 
When you stick it in the oven. 

459
00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:55,080
And everybody's going to know. 
Why is your loaf so high 

460
00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:58,280
compared to mine? 
You must have put leaven in your

461
00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:02,000
bread, right? 
And look, it's the same thing. 

462
00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:04,880
There's a house that's built on 
sand and a house that's built on

463
00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:08,080
the rock, and they both look the
same until the storm's gone. 

464
00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:11,640
And the same is true. 
You as a Christian can sit in 

465
00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:15,480
church and look perfectly fine 
and everybody looks at you and 

466
00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:17,520
says, wow, he must be a pretty 
good Christian. 

467
00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:20,520
He's here all the time. 
He's faithful to do this and 

468
00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:23,560
he's involved in that. 
And he's a person that that that

469
00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:26,000
you can always count on. 
He must be a good Christian. 

470
00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:33,560
And then one day. 
The bread rises and it's pretty 

471
00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:35,720
obvious that you didn't have the
leaven out of your life. 

472
00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:38,160
All right. 
It's, it's sad to me. 

473
00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:41,200
It's very sad. 
I mentioned to the men on Friday

474
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:43,360
morning, there's a, there's a 
guy that I've, that I've known 

475
00:23:43,360 --> 00:23:44,880
for many years and I don't know 
him. 

476
00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:47,240
Like he knows who I am. 
I know who he is. 

477
00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:51,080
He's a pastor out in Oklahoma, 
pastor for 35 years. 

478
00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:54,160
And it came out just, I don't 
know, maybe a week or two ago 

479
00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:56,400
that he's had an affair with at 
least three women in this 

480
00:23:56,400 --> 00:24:00,360
church, possibly more. 
Here's a guy that gets up and 

481
00:24:00,360 --> 00:24:02,880
preaches every week. 
He teaches in a Bible college 

482
00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:04,840
that's not far from where his 
his church is. 

483
00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:09,240
He produces a magazine, a 
Baptist magazine once a month. 

484
00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:13,640
Here's a guy that had a life 
that was full of Levin. 

485
00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:18,160
And to the outside world, it 
looks perfectly the same. 

486
00:24:19,120 --> 00:24:21,640
But it's a, it's a vessel that's
not been purged. 

487
00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:23,960
And eventually, guess what 
happens? 

488
00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:28,080
It comes out. 
You might get away with it for a

489
00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:33,480
while, people might not. 
Notice it for a while, but it's 

490
00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:38,120
going to come out. 
Purge out there for the old life

491
00:24:38,120 --> 00:24:42,280
in the Bible says see a cup with
a little bit of dirt on it is no

492
00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:47,480
longer clean. 
The cup can be 99% clean. 

493
00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:50,760
But what happens when you go to 
a restaurant and they bring you 

494
00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:52,920
a glass and it's got a little 
piece of corn stuck right in the

495
00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:57,080
top edge? 
You say, I'll just pick that off

496
00:24:57,080 --> 00:24:58,680
and throw it out. 
The rest of the cup is clean. 

497
00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:04,080
You say that or do you say? 
I didn't pay for that and so I'd

498
00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:07,280
like you to take that back and 
give me a new cup, right? 

499
00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:11,720
That's what you say. 
Because a 99% clean cup is not a

500
00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:15,720
clean cup, right? 
You want 100% clean cup and so 

501
00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:18,640
does God, right? 
If a cup that is completely 

502
00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:21,320
dirty touches another cup, it's 
going to get dirty too. 

503
00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:25,360
But only by disassociating 
ourselves from wickedness and 

504
00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:28,040
from sin can we be cleaned 
vessels can we be purged, 

505
00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:30,200
vessels that are fit for God's 
use. 

506
00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:33,800
Second Timothy chapter 2 right 
there in verse #9 the end of 

507
00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:36,120
that 19. 
Sorry, the end of that verses. 

508
00:25:36,120 --> 00:25:40,360
And let everyone that nameth the
name of Christ depart from 

509
00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:44,240
iniquity. 
You claim to be a Christian. 

510
00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:47,320
You call yourself a Christian. 
You're naming the name of 

511
00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:49,880
Christ. 
Depart from iniquity. 

512
00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:54,360
That means get it all out, purge
it out of your life. 

513
00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:57,080
If you're a Christian, then 
ought That ought to be the 

514
00:25:57,080 --> 00:26:00,360
characterization of your life. 
Are you going to make a mistake 

515
00:26:00,360 --> 00:26:01,120
here and there? 
Sure. 

516
00:26:01,120 --> 00:26:03,280
Are you going to sin every now 
and then? 

517
00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:05,440
Absolutely. 
Because none of us are perfect. 

518
00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:09,600
But as Christians, our goal 
should be to be as close to 

519
00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:12,880
Christ and become more like 
Christ, not less. 

520
00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:17,840
Our goal should not be to see 
how much of the the world we can

521
00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:23,680
bring into our life and how much
of the of the world's mindset 

522
00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:26,800
and the world's philosophy and 
the world's pleasures and all of

523
00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:29,360
those things that I can bring 
into my life and still 

524
00:26:29,360 --> 00:26:31,120
technically call myself a 
Christian. 

525
00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:35,040
You'd have no idea who this is. 
I saw a post from somebody the 

526
00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:36,520
other day that I'm associated 
with. 

527
00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:38,720
Doesn't even live anywhere 
closer around here so don't try 

528
00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:40,640
to think about. 
I wonder who he's talking about.

529
00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:44,200
You'll have no idea who it is 
but this guy put a post and he 

530
00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:48,680
said this is he said something. 
Along the lines of, oh, I really

531
00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:52,400
enjoyed hanging out at such and 
such bar until one O clock in 

532
00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:54,640
the morning and then we went 
over to such and such other 

533
00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:57,160
place and that was really cool. 
And then we went to church on 

534
00:26:57,160 --> 00:26:59,440
Sunday morning and then we went 
to such and such on Sunday 

535
00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:02,600
afternoon. 
And my, my first thought was, 

536
00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:06,440
what did you get out of church? 
Number one, you're probably 

537
00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:10,440
drunk when you got there, but #2
how can you just act like all of

538
00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:12,800
those things are the same? 
They're not. 

539
00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:15,880
You didn't just go to the bar 
and go to this bar and then go 

540
00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:18,440
to church and then go to some 
other bar, right? 

541
00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:20,840
That's, that's not what a 
Christian does. 

542
00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:24,640
Just because you go to church 
doesn't make you a Christian. 

543
00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:28,360
If you are a Christian and you 
truly are a Christian, then you 

544
00:27:28,360 --> 00:27:31,880
should be staying away from 
those things and getting more 

545
00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:35,800
and more like Christ, not less 
and less just because you can. 

546
00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:39,600
By the way, that includes movies
that are produced by the world. 

547
00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:41,600
You know, I don't know if you 
remember this a couple years 

548
00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:44,280
ago. 
I don't, I don't even remember 

549
00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:46,840
exactly when it came out, but 
that new movie, that new Top Gun

550
00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:49,960
movie that came out, everybody 
was talking about it and a 

551
00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:53,400
pastor and, and he had, he had 
done a lot of questionable 

552
00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:57,560
things already, but he was, his 
dad is very, very well known in 

553
00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:01,760
the independent fundamental 
Baptist circles and he became a 

554
00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:03,240
pastor. 
I don't know if he started a 

555
00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:05,720
church or took a church or what 
he did, but he pretty pretty 

556
00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:08,160
early on he started going in the
in the wrong direction. 

557
00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:13,360
And but but still because of who
his dad was and because he was a

558
00:28:13,360 --> 00:28:14,760
pretty. 
Popular guy himself. 

559
00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:16,840
He's preaching all over the 
place and for all different 

560
00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:20,960
kinds of people. 
He put a post on Facebook about 

561
00:28:21,120 --> 00:28:22,560
oh. 
We went down and watched that 

562
00:28:22,560 --> 00:28:26,000
new Top Gun movie, best movie 
I've seen in many, many years. 

563
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:29,320
And I was like, OK, well maybe 
I'll go see what this is about. 

564
00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:32,840
So I went and looked it up. 
That thing was filled. 

565
00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:36,160
I didn't watch it. 
I looked it up. 

566
00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:39,960
Before I watched it because I, 
I, I, I do that with every movie

567
00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:41,560
that I watch. 
And if it's got something in it 

568
00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:43,160
that I know is not going to 
please Lord. 

569
00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:44,040
Cursing. 
Swearing. 

570
00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:46,000
Any of those things, I don't 
watch it right. 

571
00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:47,360
Does it limit what you can 
watch? 

572
00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:49,600
Absolutely it does. 
This thing was filled with 

573
00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:52,840
cursing, taking the Lord's name 
in vain, immorality. 

574
00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:57,080
And not just that, he decided to
watch it in the privacy of his 

575
00:28:57,080 --> 00:29:01,200
own home and enjoy that movie. 
And, and, and he told the whole 

576
00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:04,080
world that he watched it. 
And he told his entire church 

577
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:06,720
that it's OK to go watch movies 
that are filled with this 

578
00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:10,600
garbage in it. 
That is not a clean vessel. 

579
00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:14,480
That is not a vessel that is 
purged and fit for the masters 

580
00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:17,440
use. 
Our desire should be toward more

581
00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:20,360
holiness, not less. 
Turn over to Psalm 51. 

582
00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:25,000
I think one of the reasons why 
most Christians are not living 

583
00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:27,920
lives of victory over sin is 
because we're trying to win the 

584
00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:33,080
victory ourselves. 
We try to self cleanse. 

585
00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:38,800
Well, if I, if I admit that this
is a problem, then what are 

586
00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:42,240
people going to say about me? 
So you know what, from now on, 

587
00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:44,840
I'm determined I'm not going to 
do this anymore. 

588
00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:46,400
I'm not going to do that 
anymore. 

589
00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:49,360
Whatever it happens to be, 
before long we're right back 

590
00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:51,480
into it again. 
And then I don't know why I just

591
00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:53,640
can't get victory over this 
thing because you're trying to 

592
00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:57,320
do it in your own strength. 
What we need is the heart of 

593
00:29:57,320 --> 00:30:00,240
David when sin broke him before 
God. 

594
00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:04,920
Psalm 51 and verse #7 David 
said, Purge me with hyssop and I

595
00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:07,840
shall be clean. 
Wash me and I shall be whiter 

596
00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:10,160
than snow. 
He was talking to God. 

597
00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:14,400
That's a strong purging. 
That's a strong cleansing. 

598
00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:18,840
But it was necessary for David 
to get his heart right with God.

599
00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:23,520
There's a big difference between
repentance and remorse. 

600
00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:26,880
Remorse is concerned with the 
consequences. 

601
00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:31,440
Repentance is your concern with 
your relationship with God. 

602
00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:36,640
I am broken over my sin because 
it hindered my relationship. 

603
00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:40,400
Most people are broken over sin 
because it hindered their their 

604
00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:44,080
their image, because it hindered
their reputation. 

605
00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:47,560
That's remorse. 
I'm sorry for what I did because

606
00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:52,520
it affected me. 
Repentance doesn't care what it 

607
00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:56,040
makes you look like, it just 
wants to have a relationship 

608
00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:57,720
with God. 
That's right. 

609
00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:01,120
And if we're to be purged 
vessels, God wants us to be 

610
00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:04,560
clean vessels, but he also wants
us, wants us to be consecrated 

611
00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:07,560
vessels. 
A Christian should be, as the 

612
00:31:07,560 --> 00:31:12,720
Bible said, vessels unto honor 
sanctified, and meet for the 

613
00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:16,320
Master's use. 
Much of the work that goes on in

614
00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:19,800
local churches in the name of 
service is worldly, and it's 

615
00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:22,880
carnal because it's being 
performed by unsaved church 

616
00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:27,240
members or by by Christians who 
are carnal at the very least. 

617
00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:30,840
In spite of that fact, God 
always has His gold and silver 

618
00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:34,320
vessels in the church. 
That word, translated honor in 

619
00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:37,520
verse #21 and Second Timothy 
chapter 2, is a testimony to the

620
00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:40,240
value of God's gold and silver 
vessels in the church. 

621
00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:46,720
That word literally means value.
Go vessels unto honor. 

622
00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:49,240
It's it's esteemed or it's 
precious. 

623
00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:51,840
And he says these are vessels 
that have value. 

624
00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:53,480
These are vessels that are 
esteemed. 

625
00:31:53,480 --> 00:31:55,160
They're vessels that are 
precious. 

626
00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:57,960
And that word. 
Sanctified, he says Sanctified 

627
00:31:57,960 --> 00:32:00,760
and Meat for the masters use. 
It gives the idea that they've 

628
00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:04,800
been set. 
Apart for God, if we're meat for

629
00:32:04,800 --> 00:32:10,280
his use or fit for his use, and 
that means we're useful and 

630
00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:14,680
we're profitable for Him. 
Are you a consecrated vessel? 

631
00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:20,160
Have you set your life apart for
the masters use? 

632
00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:23,560
Are you a vessel unto honor? 
Or would you have to say that 

633
00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:27,960
you are a vessel unto dishonor? 
Because there's only two 

634
00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:31,840
options, vessel unto honor or a 
vessel unto dishonor. 

635
00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:36,200
God's desire for you to be as is
to be a Christian, that is, that

636
00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:42,640
is consecrated for His use. 
He wants to use you, He wants to

637
00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:46,800
use you, but He wants to use you
as a clean vessel. 

638
00:32:47,160 --> 00:32:50,040
Not as one that's dirty, one 
that set apart for His use. 

639
00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:53,200
Not one that does everything 
that the world does and wants to

640
00:32:53,200 --> 00:32:55,800
do and everything else and then 
comes in on Sunday and tries to 

641
00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:57,960
be clean. 
No, God wants a vessel that is 

642
00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:03,520
set apart for Him. 
I know I've read this before, so

643
00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:06,400
some of you may have heard it, 
but I think it fits well here. 

644
00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:10,200
In that place between 
wakefulness and dreams, I found 

645
00:33:10,200 --> 00:33:13,200
myself in the room. 
There were no distinguishing 

646
00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:16,320
features except for the one wall
covered with small index card 

647
00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:18,080
files. 
They were like the ones in 

648
00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:21,040
libraries that list titles by 
author or subject in 

649
00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:23,600
alphabetical order. 
This is before computers, by the

650
00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:27,360
way, but these files, which 
stretch from floor to ceiling 

651
00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:30,320
and seemingly endless in either 
direction, had very different 

652
00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:32,560
headings. 
As I drew near the wall of 

653
00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:35,200
files, the first to catch my 
attention was one that read 

654
00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:38,480
Girls I have Liked. 
I opened it, began flipping 

655
00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:40,600
through the cards. 
I quickly shut it, shocked to 

656
00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:42,960
realize that I recognized the 
names written on each one. 

657
00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:45,600
And then, without being told, I 
knew exactly where I was. 

658
00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:50,280
This lifeless room with its 
small files was a crude catalog 

659
00:33:50,280 --> 00:33:53,760
system for my life. 
Here were written the actions of

660
00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:57,320
my every moment, big and small 
in detail my memory couldn't 

661
00:33:57,320 --> 00:34:00,720
match. 
A sense of wonder and curiosity 

662
00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:04,080
coupled with horror stirred 
within me as I began randomly 

663
00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:06,000
opening files and exploring 
their content. 

664
00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:09,280
Some brought joy and sweet 
memories, others a sense of 

665
00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:11,920
shame and regret so intense that
I would look over to my shoulder

666
00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:15,840
to see if anyone was watching. 
A file named Friends was next to

667
00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:17,639
one marked Friends I have 
Betrayed. 

668
00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:21,159
The titles ranged from the 
mundane to the outright weird. 

669
00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:24,719
Books I have read, lies I have 
told, comfort I have given, 

670
00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:28,000
jokes I have laughed at. 
Some were almost hilarious in 

671
00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:30,880
their exactness. 
Things I yelled at my brothers, 

672
00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:33,800
others I couldn't laugh at. 
Things I have done in my anger, 

673
00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:38,560
things I have muttered under my 
breath and never cease to be 

674
00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:42,320
surprised by the contents. 
Often there were many more cards

675
00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:44,600
than I expected, sometimes fewer
than I hoped. 

676
00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:48,000
I was overwhelmed by the sheer 
volume of the life I had lived. 

677
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:51,320
Could it be possible that I had 
the time in my years to each of 

678
00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:53,800
these thousands or even millions
of cards? 

679
00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:55,760
But each card confirmed this. 
Truth. 

680
00:34:55,760 --> 00:34:59,680
Each was written in my own 
handwriting, each sign with my 

681
00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:03,120
signature. 
When I pulled out the file 

682
00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:07,720
marked TV Shows I have Watched, 
I realized the files grew to 

683
00:35:07,720 --> 00:35:09,960
contain their contents. 
The cards were packed tightly, 

684
00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:12,640
and yet after two or three yards
I hadn't found the end of the 

685
00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:15,360
file. 
I shut it, shamed not so much by

686
00:35:15,360 --> 00:35:18,840
the quality of shows, but more 
by the vast time I knew that 

687
00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:22,600
file represented. 
When I came to a file marked 

688
00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:26,560
Lustful Thoughts, I felt a chill
run through my body, pulled the 

689
00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:29,360
file out only an inch, not 
willing to test its size, and 

690
00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:32,200
drew out a card. 
I shuddered at its detailed 

691
00:35:32,200 --> 00:35:35,080
content. 
I felt sick to think that such a

692
00:35:35,080 --> 00:35:39,520
moment had been recorded. 
An almost animal rage broke on 

693
00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:42,040
me. 
One thought dominated my mind. 

694
00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:44,400
No one must ever see these 
cards. 

695
00:35:44,520 --> 00:35:47,200
No one must ever see this room I
have to destroy. 

696
00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:50,200
Them In insane frenzy, I yanked 
the file out. 

697
00:35:50,200 --> 00:35:52,880
Its size didn't matter now. 
I had to empty it and burn the 

698
00:35:52,880 --> 00:35:55,080
cards. 
But as I took it one end and 

699
00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:58,360
began pounding it on the floor, 
I could not dislodge a single 

700
00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:00,520
card. 
I became desperate and pulled 

701
00:36:00,520 --> 00:36:03,240
out a card, only to find it as 
strong as steel when I tried to 

702
00:36:03,240 --> 00:36:05,920
tear it. 
Defeated and utterly helpless, I

703
00:36:05,920 --> 00:36:09,200
returned the file to its slot. 
Leaning my forehead against the 

704
00:36:09,200 --> 00:36:11,800
wall, I let out a long self 
pitying sigh. 

705
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:17,120
And then I saw it. 
The title bore people I have 

706
00:36:17,120 --> 00:36:21,600
shared the gospel with. 
The handle was brighter than 

707
00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:24,360
those around it, newer, almost 
unused. 

708
00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:27,680
I pulled on its handle in a 
small box not more than 3 inches

709
00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:30,920
long, fell into my hands. 
I could count the cards it 

710
00:36:30,920 --> 00:36:34,360
contained on one hand. 
And then the tears came. 

711
00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:39,320
I began to weep sobs so deep 
that they hurt. 

712
00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:41,840
They started in my stomach and 
shook through me. 

713
00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:45,280
I fell on my knees and cried. 
I cried out of shame from the 

714
00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:49,200
overwhelming shame of it all. 
The rows of files shelves 

715
00:36:49,200 --> 00:36:53,600
swirled in my tear filled eyes. 
No one must ever, ever know of 

716
00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:55,640
this room. 
I must lock it up and hide the 

717
00:36:55,640 --> 00:36:59,200
key. 
But then, as I pushed away the 

718
00:36:59,200 --> 00:37:04,440
tears, I saw him. 
No, please, not Him. 

719
00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:09,360
Not here, anyone but Jesus. 
And I watched helpfully, as 

720
00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:12,440
helplessly, as he began to open 
the files and read the cards. 

721
00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:15,600
I couldn't bear to watch his 
response, and in the moments I 

722
00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:18,560
could bring myself to look at 
his face, I saw a sorrow deeper 

723
00:37:18,560 --> 00:37:21,320
than my own. 
He seemed to intuitively go to 

724
00:37:21,320 --> 00:37:23,520
the worst boxes. 
Why did he have to read 

725
00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:27,040
everyone? 
Finally, he turned and looked at

726
00:37:27,040 --> 00:37:31,520
me from across the room. 
He looked at me with pity in his

727
00:37:31,520 --> 00:37:35,000
eyes, but this wasn't a pity 
that angered me. 

728
00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:40,160
I dropped my head, covered my 
face with my hands, and began to

729
00:37:40,160 --> 00:37:43,360
cry again. 
He walked over and put his arm 

730
00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:45,600
around me. 
He could have said so many 

731
00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:47,880
things, but he didn't say a 
word. 

732
00:37:48,720 --> 00:37:52,280
He just cried with me. 
Then he got up and walked back 

733
00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:55,360
to the wall of files starting at
one end of the room. 

734
00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:59,360
He took out a file and 1 by 1 
began to sign his name over mine

735
00:37:59,360 --> 00:38:02,800
on each card. 
No, I shouted, rushing to him. 

736
00:38:03,040 --> 00:38:06,120
All I could find to say was no, 
no, as I pulled the card from 

737
00:38:06,120 --> 00:38:08,200
him. 
His name shouldn't be on these 

738
00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:11,600
cards, but there it was, written
in red, so rich, so dark, so 

739
00:38:11,600 --> 00:38:14,440
alive. 
The name of Jesus covered mine. 

740
00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:19,280
It was written with his blood. 
He gently took the card back. 

741
00:38:20,160 --> 00:38:22,720
He smiled a sad smile and began 
to sign the cards. 

742
00:38:22,960 --> 00:38:24,760
I don't think I'll ever 
understand how he did it so 

743
00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:27,160
quickly. 
But the next incident seemed. 

744
00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:29,600
I heard him close the last file 
and walked back to my side. 

745
00:38:31,040 --> 00:38:34,440
He placed his hand on my 
shoulder and said it is 

746
00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:37,800
finished. 
I stood up and he led me out of 

747
00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:41,040
the room. 
There was no lock on its door. 

748
00:38:42,240 --> 00:38:43,680
There were still cards to be 
written. 

749
00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:47,000
I want to tell you something 
this morning. 

750
00:38:48,120 --> 00:38:55,080
Jesus Christ blood covers your 
sins, but He didn't save you, so

751
00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:57,920
you could go right back to the 
world and live your life how you

752
00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:02,040
want to live your life. 
He wrote His name over all of 

753
00:39:02,040 --> 00:39:04,840
those cards for you so that you 
could go and live for Him. 

754
00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:09,960
And that's what a sanctified 
vessel will do. 

755
00:39:09,960 --> 00:39:13,040
A sanctified vessel will be 
purged very quickly. 

756
00:39:13,040 --> 00:39:16,400
I want to give you the second 
point #2A sanctified vessel will

757
00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:19,800
be prepared. 
Verse #21 The Bible says, if a 

758
00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:22,640
man therefore purged himself 
from these, he shall be a vessel

759
00:39:22,640 --> 00:39:27,400
unto honor sanctified and meet 
for the masters use and prepared

760
00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:31,800
unto every good work. 
We've talked about this a quite 

761
00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:33,960
a bit, and so I don't want to 
spend a lot of time on this this

762
00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:36,520
morning, but we should be 
prepared through study. 

763
00:39:36,960 --> 00:39:40,360
Second Timothy chapter 2 right 
there in verse #15 says Study to

764
00:39:40,360 --> 00:39:43,200
show thyself approved unto God, 
a Workman that needeth not to be

765
00:39:43,200 --> 00:39:45,880
ashamed, rightly dividing the 
word of truth. 

766
00:39:46,040 --> 00:39:48,480
The truth is that we don't know 
what situation we're going to 

767
00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:51,720
end up in from day-to-day, what 
temptation we may face from 

768
00:39:51,720 --> 00:39:53,880
day-to-day, or what God might 
call us to do. 

769
00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:56,120
We need to. 
Study the Word of God and 

770
00:39:56,120 --> 00:39:58,560
memorize the word of God so that
we can be prepared. 

771
00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:01,600
We have to be able to rightly 
divide the word of truth. 

772
00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:05,600
There's no honor and ignorance. 
Just because you don't know what

773
00:40:05,600 --> 00:40:09,400
the Bible says doesn't mean that
you that you are innocent. 

774
00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:13,000
Of the charges that might be 
laid against you when you don't 

775
00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:15,360
follow what God's word said, 
right? 

776
00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:18,000
You think about a police officer
that pulls you over for going 90

777
00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:21,240
and a 45 and he comes up to the 
door and he says, do you know 

778
00:40:21,240 --> 00:40:23,040
why I pulled you over? 
No, I have no idea. 

779
00:40:23,040 --> 00:40:25,920
You were going 90 and a 45-O. 
I didn't know the speed limit 

780
00:40:25,920 --> 00:40:30,560
was 45 here. 
Is he going to say, oh, very 

781
00:40:30,560 --> 00:40:32,880
valid excuse. 
Well, the speed limit's 45. 

782
00:40:32,880 --> 00:40:34,840
You just try to drive safely. 
No. 

783
00:40:34,840 --> 00:40:37,640
What's he going to say? 
That's your fault. 

784
00:40:37,640 --> 00:40:39,320
You should have looked for the 
speed limit sign. 

785
00:40:39,320 --> 00:40:42,680
It's 45 and you were going 90. 
Get in these handcuffs and get 

786
00:40:42,680 --> 00:40:46,760
in the back of my car, right? 
Ignorance is not an excuse. 

787
00:40:47,640 --> 00:40:50,200
Just because you don't study 
God's Word and you don't know 

788
00:40:50,200 --> 00:40:53,120
what God's Word says does not 
mean that you have a reason not 

789
00:40:53,120 --> 00:40:56,440
to obey it. 
And that's what we mean by 

790
00:40:56,440 --> 00:41:00,720
prepared through study, prepared
through storms as well, though. 

791
00:41:00,720 --> 00:41:06,000
Second Timothy, chapter one 
verse #8 Be not thou therefore 

792
00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:08,760
ashamed of the testimony of our 
Lord, nor of me his prisoner, 

793
00:41:08,760 --> 00:41:11,520
but be thou partaker of the 
afflictions of the gospel 

794
00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:13,280
according to the power of God. 
Verse 12. 

795
00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:15,880
For the which 'cause I also 
suffer these things, 

796
00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:18,840
nevertheless I'm not ashamed. 
For I know whom I have believed 

797
00:41:18,840 --> 00:41:20,880
and am persuaded that he's able 
to keep that which I've 

798
00:41:20,880 --> 00:41:22,480
committed unto him against that 
day. 

799
00:41:23,200 --> 00:41:25,600
So prepared through study, 
prepared through storms, but 

800
00:41:25,600 --> 00:41:30,680
also prepared through striving. 
He says there in verse #22 of 

801
00:41:30,680 --> 00:41:33,840
Second Timothy chapter 2. 
Flee also youthful lusts. 

802
00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:39,560
We often equate that verse with 
kids youthful lust. 

803
00:41:39,560 --> 00:41:41,920
Flee youthful lust. 
Hey you kids, you flee the 

804
00:41:41,960 --> 00:41:45,000
youthful lust. 
But a lot of commentators 

805
00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:47,280
estimate. 
That that that Timothy could 

806
00:41:47,280 --> 00:41:50,120
have been somewhere between 30 
and 40 years old at that time. 

807
00:41:50,640 --> 00:41:54,520
It was just a young man compared
to Paul, but the youthful lust 

808
00:41:54,520 --> 00:41:56,840
that he was talking about is the
thing that starts in our youth 

809
00:41:56,840 --> 00:41:59,360
and sticks with us throughout 
our entire life. 

810
00:41:59,760 --> 00:42:02,320
See, a lust is just an unlawful 
desire. 

811
00:42:02,440 --> 00:42:04,840
Sure, it can be sensual, and 
that's a lot of times what we 

812
00:42:04,840 --> 00:42:08,600
associate lust with, but it can 
also be a lust for power, a lust

813
00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:10,800
for position, a lust for 
prestige. 

814
00:42:10,800 --> 00:42:13,640
The list could go on and on. 
A lust for money or whatever it 

815
00:42:13,640 --> 00:42:15,680
happens to be. 
Paul says that we need to flee. 

816
00:42:15,680 --> 00:42:18,920
From those things, it's not an 
easy thing to do, but that's why

817
00:42:18,920 --> 00:42:21,400
we have to strive to stay right 
with God. 

818
00:42:22,120 --> 00:42:25,720
But then he says follow 
righteousness, faith, charity, 

819
00:42:25,720 --> 00:42:27,080
peace. 
If you're going to run from 

820
00:42:27,080 --> 00:42:30,040
something, you should be running
to something else, right? 

821
00:42:30,160 --> 00:42:33,240
If a lion was chasing you, you 
wouldn't run out and just go 

822
00:42:33,240 --> 00:42:35,440
into the open desert. 
You would try to find the 

823
00:42:35,440 --> 00:42:38,360
closest car or the closest house
or something that you could run 

824
00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:40,440
to, right? 
So if you're fleeing one thing, 

825
00:42:40,440 --> 00:42:43,480
you should be following after 
something else, trying to get 

826
00:42:43,480 --> 00:42:45,880
somewhere else. 
And he says, follow after 

827
00:42:45,880 --> 00:42:53,240
righteousness, faith, charity, 
peace with them, that call on 

828
00:42:53,240 --> 00:43:00,360
the Lord out of a pure heart. 
Let me give you #3 turn over to 

829
00:43:00,360 --> 00:43:03,480
James chapter 1. 
If you will see, a sanctified 

830
00:43:03,480 --> 00:43:07,800
vessel will be purged, A 
sanctified vessel will be 

831
00:43:07,800 --> 00:43:11,200
prepared, and lastly, A 
sanctified vessel will be 

832
00:43:11,200 --> 00:43:18,200
purified. 
James chapter 1, verse #27 I 

833
00:43:18,960 --> 00:43:21,000
want you to see first of all, 
that you'll be purified on the 

834
00:43:21,040 --> 00:43:24,840
outside, pure religion, and 
undefiled before God and the 

835
00:43:24,840 --> 00:43:26,040
Father. 
Is this? 

836
00:43:26,560 --> 00:43:29,480
To visit the fatherless and 
widows in their affliction and. 

837
00:43:29,920 --> 00:43:33,800
To keep himself unspotted from 
the world. 

838
00:43:34,840 --> 00:43:37,640
Unspotted from the world is an 
indication of the outside. 

839
00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:41,720
We don't follow the world's 
fashion in dress, in music, in 

840
00:43:41,720 --> 00:43:44,960
the lifestyle, in anything. 
And that means we seek out those

841
00:43:44,960 --> 00:43:47,320
who are living for the Lord, he 
says with them that call upon 

842
00:43:47,320 --> 00:43:49,400
the Lord out of the pure heart, 
right? 

843
00:43:49,560 --> 00:43:52,200
But it's also, it also means 
that we're going to be purified 

844
00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:56,200
on the inside. 
The outside is important, what 

845
00:43:56,200 --> 00:43:59,680
we might call the outward 
conformity, but the only but 

846
00:43:59,680 --> 00:44:02,600
that only matters when the 
inside is pure, right? 

847
00:44:02,600 --> 00:44:06,440
There's a lot of people who have
figured out how to how to how to

848
00:44:06,440 --> 00:44:10,720
conform on the outside. 
You look like a Christian. 

849
00:44:11,200 --> 00:44:15,120
You do the things that a 
Christian does, but that doesn't

850
00:44:15,120 --> 00:44:18,240
count for anything if the inside
is not pure. 

851
00:44:19,920 --> 00:44:23,120
Titus chapter 1 and verse #15 
Unto the pure, all things are 

852
00:44:23,120 --> 00:44:26,000
pure, but into them that are 
defiled and unbelieving is 

853
00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:28,960
nothing pure, but even their 
mind and conscience is defiled. 

854
00:44:29,120 --> 00:44:33,160
They profess that they know God,
but in works they deny him, 

855
00:44:33,440 --> 00:44:36,560
being abominable and 
disobedient, and unto every good

856
00:44:36,560 --> 00:44:40,080
work reprobate. 
There are so many Christians who

857
00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:45,600
live their entire lives with an 
outside conformity and never 

858
00:44:45,600 --> 00:44:49,360
know what it's like to be 
completely pure on the inside. 

859
00:44:52,240 --> 00:44:54,960
Maybe, maybe you're one of those
Christians, especially if you've

860
00:44:54,960 --> 00:44:59,440
grown up in church. 
You know exactly how to talk, 

861
00:44:59,440 --> 00:45:02,480
you know exactly how to dress, 
you know exactly how to carry 

862
00:45:02,480 --> 00:45:05,160
your Bible, you know exactly how
to show up for church and all of

863
00:45:05,160 --> 00:45:08,520
those other things. 
That's an outward conformity. 

864
00:45:08,920 --> 00:45:10,800
And, and again, you ought to 
look like a Christian if you 

865
00:45:10,800 --> 00:45:14,280
claim to be 1. 
But it doesn't matter if the 

866
00:45:14,280 --> 00:45:19,000
inside is not pure. 
And I, I, I, there's so many 

867
00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:21,320
Christians who spend the 
majority of their life, if not 

868
00:45:21,320 --> 00:45:23,440
all of their life, and never 
know what it's like to be 

869
00:45:23,440 --> 00:45:28,680
completely right with God, to be
completely clean before him, to 

870
00:45:28,680 --> 00:45:32,880
be completely pure. 
You ever had that time in your 

871
00:45:32,880 --> 00:45:36,320
life where you just knew that 
you were right with God? 

872
00:45:37,120 --> 00:45:39,640
Most Christians always have 
something that they're 

873
00:45:39,640 --> 00:45:43,720
struggling with. 
God's not pleased with outward 

874
00:45:43,720 --> 00:45:46,120
conformity if there's no inward 
conformity. 

875
00:45:47,320 --> 00:45:51,000
I used to share drinks with my 
kids. 

876
00:45:51,120 --> 00:45:54,440
Never thought anything of it 
with, well, I say kids kid 

877
00:45:54,440 --> 00:45:57,760
because it was Jackson. 
And somewhere around the time 

878
00:45:57,760 --> 00:45:59,720
when he was two or three years 
old, we were sitting at a 

879
00:45:59,720 --> 00:46:06,080
restaurant and I bought a drink 
and I just held it over to him 

880
00:46:06,080 --> 00:46:07,920
to get a drink out of the same 
cup. 

881
00:46:08,880 --> 00:46:13,480
And for whatever reason, that 
restaurant had clear straws and 

882
00:46:13,480 --> 00:46:19,200
what I saw go back down. 
The straw was the last time that

883
00:46:19,200 --> 00:46:20,880
I ever shared a drink with my 
kids. 

884
00:46:21,480 --> 00:46:24,360
I slid it over to him. 
That was his cup, and I never 

885
00:46:24,360 --> 00:46:27,400
shared another drink with them. 
I've never thought about it 

886
00:46:27,400 --> 00:46:30,440
before. 
Because the cup wasn't clear, 

887
00:46:31,800 --> 00:46:33,560
right? 
Most of the straws are not 

888
00:46:33,560 --> 00:46:36,360
clear. 
So everything on the outside 

889
00:46:36,360 --> 00:46:37,800
looks good. 
It's not muddy. 

890
00:46:38,360 --> 00:46:41,440
Not like he spit all over it or 
licked it and had all kinds of 

891
00:46:41,440 --> 00:46:44,400
junk on it, right? 
Everything looked good on the 

892
00:46:44,400 --> 00:46:47,400
outside. 
But when I saw that go down that

893
00:46:47,400 --> 00:46:52,440
clear straw, I knew what the 
inside looked like and I was 

894
00:46:52,440 --> 00:46:53,360
never going. 
I was. 

895
00:46:53,360 --> 00:46:56,080
That made me think like how many
chunks have I swallowed before 

896
00:46:56,080 --> 00:46:57,880
this? 
Right. 

897
00:46:58,480 --> 00:47:00,200
And I was. 
Never going to do that again. 

898
00:47:02,720 --> 00:47:04,160
And the same is true of 
Christians. 

899
00:47:04,880 --> 00:47:07,680
You know, they may look look 
good on the outside and they may

900
00:47:07,680 --> 00:47:11,840
have a lot of people fooled, but
the what really matters is the 

901
00:47:11,840 --> 00:47:13,640
inside. 
And God can see all of that. 

902
00:47:13,760 --> 00:47:15,960
Not only is the straw clear, the
cup is clear. 

903
00:47:16,920 --> 00:47:21,280
God can see everything. 
He knows what your heart looks 

904
00:47:21,280 --> 00:47:24,960
like. 
He knows when you have something

905
00:47:24,960 --> 00:47:27,160
in your life that you won't let 
him have. 

906
00:47:27,640 --> 00:47:29,480
He knows when you're living in 
rebellion. 

907
00:47:29,640 --> 00:47:32,000
He knows when you have a problem
with anger. 

908
00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:35,560
He knows all of those things. 
He knows all of it and you're 

909
00:47:35,560 --> 00:47:39,400
not hiding it from him. 
Now, how do you think God feels 

910
00:47:40,200 --> 00:47:45,240
when you say, hey, use this cup 
and he knows everything that's 

911
00:47:45,240 --> 00:47:49,680
inside, right? 
I wouldn't do it with my son. 

912
00:47:49,680 --> 00:47:53,560
And that's just a little bit of 
physical food in there, right? 

913
00:47:54,240 --> 00:47:57,000
Because I know what's inside. 
Why do we expect that God's 

914
00:47:57,000 --> 00:48:00,640
going to take a filthy, dirty 
cup? 

915
00:48:01,320 --> 00:48:04,880
And because we demand God, use 
me, God, I want to be used by 

916
00:48:04,880 --> 00:48:05,840
you. 
Use me. 

917
00:48:07,440 --> 00:48:10,680
That he will say, OK, well, it's
a dirty cup, but, but I guess 

918
00:48:10,680 --> 00:48:13,560
I'll use it. 
He's not going to say that 

919
00:48:13,760 --> 00:48:15,240
because he expects us to be 
pure. 

920
00:48:16,680 --> 00:48:18,880
By the way, those who look a 
little rough on the outside, 

921
00:48:19,320 --> 00:48:22,040
those that a lot of Christians 
would look at and wonder what's 

922
00:48:22,040 --> 00:48:24,880
wrong with them when their 
inside is conformed to the image

923
00:48:24,880 --> 00:48:27,080
of Christ, the outside is not 
far behind. 

924
00:48:28,360 --> 00:48:31,040
When you have somebody who's 
outside is not conformed to 

925
00:48:31,040 --> 00:48:33,280
Christ, then it gives you a very
good indication of what the 

926
00:48:33,280 --> 00:48:36,760
inside looks like, right? 
Because a Christian who is pure 

927
00:48:37,160 --> 00:48:43,480
and purged and fit for the 
Master's use is going to conform

928
00:48:43,480 --> 00:48:45,720
on the outside as well. 
You're going to look like a 

929
00:48:45,720 --> 00:48:46,880
Christian. 
You're going to talk like a 

930
00:48:46,880 --> 00:48:48,000
Christian. 
You're going to act like a 

931
00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:51,560
Christian. 
Are you conformed to the image 

932
00:48:51,560 --> 00:48:54,520
of Christ inwardly? 
The outside will match if the 

933
00:48:54,520 --> 00:48:59,600
inside is conformed to be set 
apart for Christ to be useful to

934
00:48:59,600 --> 00:49:02,920
Him, to be become prepared for 
every good work. 

935
00:49:03,720 --> 00:49:07,920
The blessings that come from 
being a vessel unto honor in 

936
00:49:07,920 --> 00:49:11,680
Christ's great house are 
wonderful and they're available 

937
00:49:11,680 --> 00:49:15,080
to everybody. 
You just have the choice and 

938
00:49:15,080 --> 00:49:16,520
what type of vessel you're going
to be. 

939
00:49:17,800 --> 00:49:22,600
You might be sitting here as an 
unregenerate person, an earthen 

940
00:49:22,600 --> 00:49:26,840
vessel, maybe somewhere along 
the line claim to have accepted 

941
00:49:26,840 --> 00:49:29,640
Christ, but don't really know if
you did or not, don't have any 

942
00:49:29,640 --> 00:49:31,240
evidence of your life on the 
outside. 

943
00:49:31,240 --> 00:49:33,640
That shows that you are a 
regenerate person. 

944
00:49:34,760 --> 00:49:36,840
And you may be sitting there 
with doubts, even if it's been 

945
00:49:36,840 --> 00:49:43,200
20-30, forty years of doubts. 
It's a earthen vessel that's 

946
00:49:43,200 --> 00:49:46,040
going to it's, it's going to 
crack and break and it's not 

947
00:49:46,040 --> 00:49:49,120
going to be worth anything. 
Maybe you're a wooden vessel, 

948
00:49:49,280 --> 00:49:51,960
maybe you're a silver vessel. 
We all should be trying to be 

949
00:49:51,960 --> 00:49:54,840
gold vessels. 
God gives us a great invitation 

950
00:49:54,840 --> 00:49:57,080
in these two verses in His 
church. 

951
00:49:57,080 --> 00:50:00,920
There's only two sorts of 
vessels, vessels unto honor and 

952
00:50:00,920 --> 00:50:05,000
vessels unto dishonor. 
Vessels that are honorable, 

953
00:50:05,440 --> 00:50:09,640
vessels that are dishonorable. 
And right at this moment you're 

954
00:50:09,680 --> 00:50:13,280
either one of the two. 
So which one are you? 

955
00:50:14,320 --> 00:50:17,800
Are you a vessel unto honor, or 
are you a vessel unto dishonor? 

956
00:50:19,840 --> 00:50:23,320
Let's all bow our head and close
our eyes if we can see. 

957
00:50:23,320 --> 00:50:27,400
We need to be vessels for 
Christ's honorable purposes by 

958
00:50:27,400 --> 00:50:31,040
His help. 
And it's only by His help we 

959
00:50:31,040 --> 00:50:33,640
need to thoroughly cleanse 
ourselves from the things that 

960
00:50:33,640 --> 00:50:37,360
are dishonorable. 
We need to allow the Holy Spirit

961
00:50:37,360 --> 00:50:41,960
of God to search out anything in
US and remove the sin and remove

962
00:50:41,960 --> 00:50:44,640
the impurity. 
And we need to devote ourselves 

963
00:50:44,640 --> 00:50:48,480
to Christ in in Word, in deed 
and thought, in action, in our 

964
00:50:48,480 --> 00:50:52,240
associations, in our attitudes, 
in everything, and become 

965
00:50:52,240 --> 00:50:57,360
vessels for His honorable use. 
Let's be vessels that are 

966
00:50:57,360 --> 00:50:59,000
purged. 
Let's be vessels that are 

967
00:50:59,000 --> 00:51:00,440
prepared. 
Let's be vessels that are 

968
00:51:00,440 --> 00:51:04,560
purified so that He can use us 
how He sees fit. 

969
00:51:05,800 --> 00:51:07,840
Don't you want to be a vessel 
that God can use? 

970
00:51:10,040 --> 00:51:11,560
Father, we thank you for this 
passage. 

971
00:51:11,560 --> 00:51:14,360
Thank you for the reminder that 
it is to us that we need to make

972
00:51:14,360 --> 00:51:18,040
sure actively, actively make 
sure that we are cleansing 

973
00:51:18,040 --> 00:51:22,520
ourselves and asking for 
cleansing from You so that we 

974
00:51:22,520 --> 00:51:25,480
can be vessels that are fit for 
the masters use. 

975
00:51:26,480 --> 00:51:31,240
Can only imagine what could 
happen in a church this size 

976
00:51:32,320 --> 00:51:36,600
with all of the vessels being 
fit for the masters use. 

977
00:51:38,440 --> 00:51:40,720
I think we'd be shocked to find 
out what we could accomplish for

978
00:51:40,720 --> 00:51:42,920
you. 
So may you help us all to 

979
00:51:42,920 --> 00:51:46,160
evaluate where we are. 
May you help us to make sure 

980
00:51:46,800 --> 00:51:52,360
that we are right before you and
where we need to change, that 

981
00:51:52,360 --> 00:51:55,000
you help us to change. 
Thank you again for all you do 

982
00:51:55,000 --> 00:51:57,680
for us in Jesus name, Amen. 
If you would stand at your seats

983
00:51:57,680 --> 00:51:59,480
with your heads bowed and your 
eyes closed, we're gonna have a 

984
00:51:59,480 --> 00:52:00,400
time of invitation.