1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,920 Things that I will mention real quick as we get started here, a 2 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:10,080 few announcements #1 we have the Papa John's cards back in there. 3 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:12,120 They changed them a little bit. It's not it's. 4 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:15,400 I mean, it is a card, but it's like a piece of cardboard now 5 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:23,480 with a code on it. But they free large pizza and I 6 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:25,000 say free. I mean, you're paying for it, 7 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:29,600 but 50% off your entire order five times they changed it. 8 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:31,880 I think they must have lost too much money or something. 9 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,440 So they charged us actually then then they charge us more for it 10 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:36,640 too. So we're going to, we're going 11 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:38,600 to charge the same price would be $15.00. 12 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:42,240 But brother Josh has those in the back. 13 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:44,600 So if you're interested in getting one of those, it's still 14 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:46,440 a good deal, however you look at it. 15 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:51,160 But anyway, we have those in and we're going to try to get those, 16 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:53,920 try to pass. I mean, try to try to get the 17 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:56,000 word out to as many people as you know. 18 00:00:56,800 --> 00:00:59,320 All of this is going to be the fundraiser for the, for the 19 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:01,640 Belize missions trip for our young people. 20 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:06,000 So, you know, if you can, if you can get it out, get out the word 21 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,040 at work and everything else, then that'd be a a big help. 22 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:13,640 And then also, it's going to be really cold on Saturday, but 23 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:16,920 we'll, we'll meet here on Saturday for out the outreach 24 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:18,440 and everything. And what we'll do is just work 25 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:20,000 on some of the cards that we've been doing. 26 00:01:20,320 --> 00:01:22,160 One of these days, the weather's going to be good and we're going 27 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:23,960 to be able to hit the ground running and we want to be able 28 00:01:23,960 --> 00:01:26,240 to do that. So if you can be here on 29 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:29,400 Saturday, we're still, we have, we had all those cards that we 30 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:33,080 had to change with the, with the service times and all of that. 31 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:34,880 So we've been, we've been putting the new stickers on 32 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:38,480 those cards and then also writing out the cards that we're 33 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:41,640 going to be sending out here as soon as the weather breaks. 34 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:44,520 And we're going to use those as a, as a tool to get into some of 35 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:46,920 these neighborhoods, kind of send them to the neighborhoods 36 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:49,320 and, and get them there before we start knocking the 37 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:51,440 neighborhood, knocking doors on that neighborhood. 38 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:54,600 So we'll plan to be here on, on Saturday for that. 39 00:01:54,880 --> 00:02:00,200 And then men of the Zoom prayer meeting on Saturday night, we'll 40 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:05,440 we'll meet for that as well. Other than that, I think that's 41 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:07,520 about it for this week. It's nice that the, you noticed 42 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:09,320 the parking lot was completely dry. 43 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:13,480 You know, the, the sun hit that yesterday, not really today, but 44 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:16,160 yesterday mostly and day before and just melted all the rest of 45 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:18,600 the ice that was there. So thankful for that. 46 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:22,320 Go ahead and let's turn to John Chapter 15 if you need. 47 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,280 Does anybody need a copy of it? If you forgot your book, 48 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:29,880 Charlie's got a few there. Any adults that need a copy of 49 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:34,480 it? All right, Julie, Charlie, Yep, 50 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:40,040 Julie, anybody else? Now I'll mention this as we go 51 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:43,880 through this. There's questions at the end and 52 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:46,400 obviously you notice that I've asked those questions. 53 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:49,360 I ask questions from those it's it's literally just take the 54 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:51,560 questions directly from the end of this lesson. 55 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:55,120 So might be helpful for you to kind of look at those ahead of 56 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:56,920 time. They, they pretty much goes 57 00:02:56,920 --> 00:02:59,560 right in order with all those questions right in, in order 58 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:02,400 that they're in the book. So if you, some of them are just 59 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:04,480 fill in the blank type thing. So if you're looking at them 60 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:07,200 ahead of time and you can write an answer next to it, it might 61 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:10,800 help you for when we, when we go to do that next week. 62 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:13,840 So we will, we will have some of those questions again next week 63 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:17,360 like we normally do. Now this is Christian growth and 64 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:19,560 spiritual victory. And obviously we started on this 65 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:24,080 last week and kind of gave you, I guess, more of an introduction 66 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:26,840 to the whole thing about what it is. 67 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:29,240 What is Christian growth? What is spiritual victory? 68 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:33,520 And so Part 2, Part 3, part 4 each have 4 things in them. 69 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:37,560 And I think we could probably call it principles of Christian 70 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:41,320 growth and spiritual victory, or maybe Steps to Christian growth 71 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:43,280 and spiritual victory, because that's what all these things 72 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:46,320 are. He kind of mentions it as keys 73 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:49,080 to Christian growth. I think that's a perfectly fine 74 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:53,160 term to use, you know, and I think that's the reason he also 75 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:56,720 puts keys in quotation marks because we we talked about this 76 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:00,560 decent amount of of time last week or, or when we did Part 1 77 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:04,000 is just that, you know, there is no one key to spiritual growth 78 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:06,640 and Christian growth and spiritual victory. 79 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:09,760 But four of the ones that we're going to talk about tonight are 80 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,360 are listed there at the top. But abiding in Christ, putting 81 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:15,640 off the old man, putting on the new, confessing sin, pressing 82 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:18,399 toward the mark. It's, it's, it's simple. 83 00:04:18,399 --> 00:04:20,600 And we're going to try to just kind of scratch the surface with 84 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,240 these. But, but honestly, I've preached 85 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:27,320 messages on every one of these topics some recently, you know, 86 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:29,320 and that's what I'm saying. We could, we could stay on each 87 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:31,040 one of these topics for a long time. 88 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:34,280 We're not going to do that necessarily, but we want to, we 89 00:04:34,280 --> 00:04:37,680 want to be thorough with it as much as we can, but really just 90 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:40,520 kind of talk about these as ideas or principles and steps to 91 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:44,200 help us with that growth. So the first one then is abiding 92 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:47,200 in Christ. The keys to Christian growth are 93 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:48,800 found in the entire New Testament. 94 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:52,320 But these are some of the major elements abiding in Christ. 95 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:56,120 John chapter 15, and we'll read the entire passage here and then 96 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:57,760 we'll we'll kind of break it down a little bit. 97 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:00,400 I am the true vine, and my father is the husbandman. 98 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:03,520 Husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth 99 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:06,920 not fruit he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit 100 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:09,880 He purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 101 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:13,320 Now you're clean through the word which I've spoken unto you. 102 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:17,960 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit 103 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:21,360 of itself, except that abide in the vine, no more can ye except 104 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:24,880 ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the 105 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:28,200 branches. He that abideth in Me, and I in 106 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,080 Him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. 107 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:33,800 For without Me ye can do nothing. 108 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:38,400 If a man Abide not in Me, is cast forth as a branch, and is 109 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:42,440 withered, and men gather them, cast them into the fire, and 110 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:46,480 they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words 111 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:49,480 abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done 112 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:52,280 unto you. Herein is My Father glorified 113 00:05:52,280 --> 00:05:55,960 that you bear much fruit, so shall ye be My disciples. 114 00:05:56,320 --> 00:05:58,840 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. 115 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:03,440 Continue ye in My love. If you keep My commandments, you 116 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:06,640 shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father's 117 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:09,040 commandments and abide in His love. 118 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,360 So all of that to talk about abiding in Christ. 119 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:18,280 Now the term abiding in or abiding, I just, I looked up a 120 00:06:18,280 --> 00:06:21,080 definition to kind of give you a formal definition, if you will, 121 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:25,600 but it means to remain, to stay, to dwell or to continue in a 122 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:28,680 specific state, place or relationship over a long period. 123 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:32,640 I think sometimes abiding in Christ gets a little bit of a of 124 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:37,920 a Pentecostal type feel to it. And maybe it's just because a 125 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:40,160 lot of the Pentecostals, the ecumenicals, have taken that 126 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:43,080 term and kind of twisted it in to mean something that it was 127 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:44,720 never intended to mean in the Bible. 128 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:49,320 But the true Christian life is not a religion, and that's what 129 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:51,080 sets it apart. That's what sets the true 130 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:54,160 Christian life apart from all the other religions or all the 131 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:57,880 other institutions, if you want to even call them that in the 132 00:06:57,880 --> 00:06:59,840 world. It's not just a bunch of 133 00:06:59,840 --> 00:07:02,440 regulations and rituals. It's not just do this, do this, 134 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:06,080 do this, do this, and you'll be a good Christian or do this, do 135 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:07,560 this, do this and you'll go to heaven. 136 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:10,760 That's what all these other religions have in them, right? 137 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:13,560 I mean, we, we point out Catholicism a lot because it's 138 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:16,760 easy to see that they have all of these rituals that you're 139 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:19,480 supposed to do. But Mormonism is the exact same 140 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,880 way. Mormonism has all of those 141 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:24,920 elements when it comes to the temple recommend. 142 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:27,560 You have to do all of these things to keep your temple 143 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:29,680 recommend. And if you don't, you lose your 144 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:31,480 temple recommend. You can't go to heaven. 145 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:35,360 There's all kinds of stuff that that they have to do in order to 146 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:38,520 keep their temple recommend. And if you're not on good terms 147 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:41,440 with the Mormon church, when you die, you don't go to heaven, 148 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:44,440 which their heaven is very different than than what ours 149 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:47,000 is. The Bible makes it very clear 150 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:50,800 what heaven is there heaven. And and I don't want to get off 151 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:54,200 into Mormonism tonight, but you know, the whole idea behind that 152 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:58,720 is that God was once a human like we are, but he's he'd been 153 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:01,800 elevated to godhood because of all the things that he did. 154 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:03,840 And now he's the God of his own planet. 155 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:07,320 And eventually we can all become gods of our own planets if we 156 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:09,240 keep going the same way that our God did. 157 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:13,040 I mean, doesn't it, you know, if, if, if, if people really 158 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:15,320 understood what Mormonism was, they would not even call a 159 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:17,600 Mormon a Christian. It's not Christianity at all, 160 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:19,920 right? But but Mormons get lumped into 161 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:21,960 the idea of Christians. Same thing with Catholics. 162 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:25,080 Catholics get lumped into the idea or the term Christian. 163 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:27,760 They're not that they don't, they don't follow the Bible 164 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:31,440 because it's all about rituals. It's all about regulations and 165 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:34,240 doing all of those things. The true Christian religion, 166 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:36,559 true Christianity is not a religion. 167 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:38,799 It is a relationship with Jesus Christ. 168 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:42,159 And I have people tell me all the time when I, I try to give 169 00:08:42,159 --> 00:08:44,760 them the gospel and they say things like, well, I hate 170 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:47,200 religion. And I say, you know what I do 171 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:49,000 too? I agree with you. 172 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:52,320 I hate religion too. What I'm trying to tell you is 173 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:54,880 not to join a religion. I'm trying to tell you that you 174 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:58,360 need to have a relationship, a personal relationship with Jesus 175 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:00,440 Christ. That's what I'm telling you. 176 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:01,800 I'm not telling you to join a religion. 177 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:05,080 I'm I'm a Baptist because I believe that Baptist doctrine is 178 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:09,800 the closest to the word of God, but that being a Baptist is not 179 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:12,280 a religion. It's about having a relationship 180 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:15,320 with Jesus Christ. Those who have spiritual victory 181 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:18,200 are those who know Him personally and walk in 182 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:21,720 fellowship with Him day by day, serving Him, learning of Him. 183 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:23,920 That is what abiding in Christ is. 184 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:27,840 If a believer forgets Christ and starts living his life apart 185 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:31,160 from conscious fellowship with Christ, he's in very grave 186 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:33,880 spiritual danger. And that's what John 15 is 187 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:37,400 talking about. Jesus emphasized that it's, it's 188 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:41,080 God's will for us to bear fruit. And then he says more fruit. 189 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:44,280 And then he says much fruit. We should be growing. 190 00:09:44,680 --> 00:09:48,520 And, and the growth is the product of abiding in Christ. 191 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:52,440 It's exactly like, and, and this is exactly what what Jesus is 192 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:57,920 doing is giving us an example that we can understand that 193 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:00,080 makes sense, right? What do you do? 194 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:02,520 And, and maybe maybe you've never had fruit trees. 195 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:03,920 I don't know. We have pear trees. 196 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:08,040 We have apple trees, plum, we have, we have several different 197 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:11,840 fruit trees in our yard. And especially for my pear 198 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:15,600 trees, if I just let them grow and, and branches start coming 199 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:17,800 out of everywhere. What I noticed is that we get 200 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:21,760 really tiny pears. If you trim those things back 201 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:24,800 and sometimes way more than you think you should, you feel like 202 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:26,240 you're killing the thing the most. 203 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:29,600 But then the next season, the next growing season, you get 204 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:31,720 really big pears. You don't get as many of them, 205 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:35,600 but they're actually edible and they're good and they, they're, 206 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:39,320 they're they, they produce, they produce good fruit and in many 207 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:42,200 cases a lot more than the last couple years. 208 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:45,080 Well, it's not that I haven't really pruned it, but I didn't 209 00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:47,280 prune it back enough. I think in the last couple years 210 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:49,920 we have not gotten a lot of fruit off of the, off of the 211 00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:52,400 pear trees. I mean it, it was, I mean, most, 212 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:54,960 some of you remember you've been here for a few years and we 213 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:56,960 bring in five gallon buckets of pears. 214 00:10:56,960 --> 00:10:58,880 Just bucket after bucket after bucket. 215 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:00,880 In the last couple years, we haven't got that course. 216 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:05,320 Last year all the buds popped out and then we got that freeze. 217 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:06,960 Remember that It killed everything. 218 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:09,160 We got no fruit on any of our trees this year. 219 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:12,440 But this is exactly what Jesus is talking about, right? 220 00:11:12,560 --> 00:11:16,360 A branch that's laying in the middle of the yard is not going 221 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:18,720 to produce fruit because it's not tied into anything that's 222 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:21,840 keeping it alive, that's helping it to bear fruit, right? 223 00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:26,440 So if you're not even on the, the, the vine, of course you're 224 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:29,280 not going to bear fruit. But if you're on the vine, then 225 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:32,680 what's your job? Bear fruit, right? 226 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:35,600 And not just fruit, but more fruit and much fruit. 227 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:37,440 That's, that's what we should be doing. 228 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:39,800 That's, that's the way this fruit should be going. 229 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:42,800 And, and, and that, that it should be being produced in our 230 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:44,280 lives. And sometimes it takes some 231 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:48,920 pruning, sometimes it takes some trimming because we, we have to, 232 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:56,480 we have to be made simpler. I guess I don't know what the 233 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:59,560 right word is, but but we have to have some of that, that 234 00:11:59,560 --> 00:12:03,760 pruning and all of those things. And all of that is hinging on 235 00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:06,040 the fact that we are part of the vine. 236 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:07,920 We are the branches, He is the vine. 237 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:10,680 If we're not in Him and He is not in us, then we're not going 238 00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:13,400 to bear any fruit. The farther we get away from 239 00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:15,360 Him, the less fruit we're going to bear. 240 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:20,000 So Jesus taught that the key to abiding in Him is obedience to 241 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:24,960 His Word, obedience to His Word. John chapter 15 and verse #7 If 242 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:29,400 you abide in me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask what 243 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:30,680 you will, and it shall be done unto you. 244 00:12:30,680 --> 00:12:34,200 Verse 10, if you keep my commandments, you shall abide in 245 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:37,960 my love. It's all hinging on obedience. 246 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:40,320 That is the key to abiding in him. 247 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:43,920 Abiding in Christ is not mystical in the sense of this 248 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:46,040 popular contemplative philosophy. 249 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:48,560 And there's this idea out there and you can look into a 250 00:12:48,560 --> 00:12:51,520 contemplative prayer. It's a lot of these non 251 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:55,400 denominational ecumenical things that are going around there now, 252 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:57,640 right? The prayer of Jabez is a perfect 253 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:00,920 example of that. You know, it's, it's it the 254 00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:03,360 prayer of Jabez is a great prayer in the Bible, but they've 255 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:06,480 taken and they've turned it into this mystical thing, you know, 256 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:08,240 that that it was never meant to be. 257 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:10,040 And there's others. There's other things in the 258 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:13,000 Bible that are used in the same way, But that's not what we're 259 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:14,000 talking about. That's what I'm saying. 260 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:17,400 This, this, this idea of abiding in Christ has been twisted and, 261 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:20,680 and, and made to be something that it never was actually meant 262 00:13:20,680 --> 00:13:22,720 to be. It's not a feeling, it's not a 263 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:25,520 sensual experience. It's not being overcome by the 264 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:27,720 Spirit. It's not speaking in tongues, 265 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:30,880 falling on the floor, laughing hysterically, being swayed by 266 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:34,120 powerful music, entering into a meditative state through 267 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:37,200 contemplation, or being moved by candles and incense. 268 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:40,360 That's what all, that's what a lot of religion is about. 269 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:42,600 And they call it abiding in Christ. 270 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:45,440 But you, you think, go, go look it up. 271 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:48,960 Look up laughing revival. You ever seen any videos of 272 00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:53,240 that? It was a Pentecostal revival 273 00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:55,640 that was going on. And I use that word revival 274 00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:59,120 very, very loosely. But literally everybody in the 275 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:03,040 auditorium was rolling on the floor laughing hysterically, and 276 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:05,160 they were being slain in the spirit. 277 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:08,040 And they were, you know, this is all part of this whole 278 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:09,800 experience that they were having. 279 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:12,400 There was another one. And, and, and you think it's 280 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:19,120 you, you, you think it's a joke, almost barking like dogs because 281 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:22,000 the Holy Spirit had come upon them and that everybody in the 282 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,240 auditorium was barking. I mean that that's not, that's 283 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:28,240 not what the Holy Spirit does. That's, that's not what the 284 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:31,160 Bible is talking about. They've, they've changed it into 285 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:33,480 something that it was never meant to be. 286 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:37,120 And the same thing is true. Speaking in tongues is not a 287 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:40,360 movement of the Holy Spirit. It's gibberish. 288 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:43,560 You're just saying something that doesn't make any sense to 289 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:47,640 you or to anybody else, right? And it's, this is not that. 290 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:50,200 The whole purpose of this is not to talk about speaking in 291 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:53,360 tongues, but all of those things go together, you know, overcome 292 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:56,400 by the spirit. But but then you throw in the 293 00:14:56,640 --> 00:15:01,320 the music aspect of it and it does the exact same thing. 294 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:04,560 So you might laugh at somebody that's laughing hysterically and 295 00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:07,120 rolling around on the floor and barking like a dog and all of 296 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:08,840 these other things. You might laugh at somebody 297 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:11,480 that's doing that, but then you're having the exact same 298 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:16,160 experience with the music that's doing the same thing to you, 299 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:18,760 right? Your experience is different, 300 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:21,360 but it's the same thing. Overcome by the Spirit and all 301 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:23,440 these other things. And then obviously you have 302 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:27,040 people that are the contemplate of prayer is is sitting in a 303 00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:30,160 state of meditation until you're overcome by the Holy Spirit and 304 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:33,800 all of those other things. None of those things describe or 305 00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:35,560 explain what abiding in Christ is. 306 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:37,880 Abiding in Christ is just walking in fellowship with 307 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:39,880 Christ by honoring and obeying his word. 308 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:42,320 That's as simple as what abiding in Christ is. 309 00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:45,680 And every single one of us ought to be abiding in Christ every 310 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:48,680 single day. And if we're not, then there's a 311 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:51,120 problem. We're not growing, we're not 312 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:53,120 going to have spiritual victory, right? 313 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:55,840 That's what abiding in Christ is, walking in fellowship with 314 00:15:55,840 --> 00:15:59,320 Christ. I, I, I was looking at up some 315 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:03,880 other things today and I came across an article that was that 316 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:06,320 somebody wrote about abiding in Christ and they said, well, 317 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:08,440 abiding in Christ means that you're saved. 318 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:10,320 So if you're not abiding in Christ, that means you're not 319 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:11,880 saved. That's not what this is talking 320 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:14,400 about either right now, obviously, you have to be saved 321 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:17,360 in order to abide in Christ, but you make a decision if you're 322 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:20,720 going to abide in Christ or not. And when you'd make that 323 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:24,040 decision to do that, to walk in fellowship with Him by honoring 324 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:26,280 and obeying His Word, then you're going to have that 325 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:27,960 Christian growth. You're going to have that 326 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:30,400 spiritual victory. The second one, and I'm going to 327 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:32,720 cover this pretty quickly because we've talked a lot about 328 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:35,880 this, but putting off the old man and putting on the new man, 329 00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:37,880 let's go over to Ephesians chapter 4. 330 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:45,040 He describes this in Ephesians, and then he tells us how to take 331 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:46,960 off the old man and how to put on the new man. 332 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:52,560 But I want to bring it home a little bit closer to us because 333 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:55,160 I think everybody would say I understand exactly what putting 334 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:57,760 off the old man and putting on the new man is, right? 335 00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:00,800 The old person who I used to be. I don't want to be that person 336 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:02,600 anymore. That that's, that's part of what 337 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:05,720 repentance is all about, right? I was walking this direction. 338 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:08,319 That's not who I want to be. I'm turning around and I'm going 339 00:17:08,319 --> 00:17:10,920 a different direction. This is who I want to be now and 340 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:13,440 with God's help, I will be. But the Christian life is 341 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:17,119 presented in this passage here in Ephesians chapter 4 as a 342 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:18,520 matter of growing and we're just real. 343 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:21,680 We'll read those 3 verses first verse 22 that you put off 344 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:24,240 concerning the former conversation, the old man, that 345 00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:28,840 word conversation, by the way, we when we say conversation, we 346 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:31,880 mean talking back and forth. But when we see that word in our 347 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:33,760 King James Bible, it's an older word. 348 00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:37,000 The conversation means our lifestyle or living, right? 349 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:40,280 So that you put off concerning the former lifestyle, the former 350 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:43,160 conversation, the old man, which is corrupt according to the 351 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:47,320 deceitful lust and be renewed in the spirit of your mind that you 352 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:50,720 put on by the way, that that that verse 23 right there is key 353 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:56,040 to a lot of things. People, people are not walking 354 00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:58,760 in the spirit. People are are are messed up 355 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:03,240 because they're not renewed in their minds that you put on the 356 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:07,640 new man verse 24, which after God is created in righteousness 357 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:12,320 and true holiness. So it's presenting this putting 358 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:14,920 off the old man putting on the new man as a matter of growing. 359 00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:17,800 It's a process of, of doing those things that that sinful 360 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:21,200 nature that we inherited from Adam, we put that off the new 361 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:23,040 man, which is Christ. We put that on. 362 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:24,600 So Paul explained how to do that. 363 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:28,640 Verse 4, How do you get sorry, chapter 4, verse 25, How do you 364 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:32,040 put off the old man? Well, he says this verse 25 365 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:36,840 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his 366 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:39,040 neighbor, for we are members one of another. 367 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:42,680 Be angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon 368 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:45,000 your wrath, neither give place to the devil. 369 00:18:45,120 --> 00:18:48,880 Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor 370 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:51,240 working with his hands the things which is the thing which 371 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:54,120 is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. 372 00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:57,120 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth but 373 00:18:57,120 --> 00:18:59,840 that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister 374 00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:02,480 grace unto the hearers. Grieve not the Holy Spirit of 375 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:04,600 God, whereby you are sealed under the day of redemption. 376 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:07,440 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamber and evil 377 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:10,800 speaking be put away from you with all malice, and be kind one 378 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:13,680 to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as 379 00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:15,240 God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. 380 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:18,680 So there's a contrast here. He's telling you, this is what 381 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:20,600 the old man was. Put that off. 382 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:24,720 This is what the new man is. Put that on right, Put away 383 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:28,080 lying. Speak the truth, be angry, sin 384 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:30,040 not, let not the sun go down upon your wrath. 385 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:33,680 Let him that stole steal no more, but labor instead working 386 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:34,960 with your hands and things which are good. 387 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:37,080 So put that off. Put this on. 388 00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:38,520 That's what he's telling you. He's given us. 389 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:41,240 He's given us all kinds of examples of how to do that. 390 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:46,080 So the interesting thing about this I think he brings up in the 391 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:48,240 next paragraph. These are high and holy 392 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:51,360 standards that go much deeper and are farther reaching than 393 00:19:51,360 --> 00:19:54,680 the Law of Moses ever went. Well, I'm not under the law 394 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:56,760 anymore. I have grace. 395 00:19:56,920 --> 00:19:59,000 Yes, you do. If you're saved, you're not 396 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:00,520 under the law. You are under grace. 397 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:05,080 But that grace is not a license to sin, right? 398 00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:07,560 And he makes that very, very clear in the book of Romans. 399 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:12,760 God forbid that we should live any longer therein, right? 400 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:16,200 Is is should I sin because I have grace? 401 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:19,720 Just because God will forgive me, does that mean I can go live 402 00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:23,040 my life how I want to? Technically, yes. 403 00:20:23,120 --> 00:20:25,600 But no, that's not what the intention of grace is. 404 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,480 Right, It's not so I can go live how I want. 405 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:31,720 It's I'm under grace. So it, it should change how I 406 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:33,800 live. And that's exactly what what 407 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:36,880 we're talking about here. These, these standards are, are 408 00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:40,920 much higher standards than what what was in the law of Moses. 409 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:45,520 To stop lying involves learning to be honest in every way and 410 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:48,400 situation. Let's let's, let's think about 411 00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:51,640 that for a second. You know how many times do 412 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:57,400 people use or do do people lie as an excuse right? 413 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:02,000 If if, if your mindset is not I'm going to tell the truth 100% 414 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:04,840 of the time, then you'll find yourself telling lies all day 415 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:08,000 long every single day you get pulled over. 416 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:10,040 Oh, I didn't see that. No U-turn sign. 417 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:13,280 Yes, you did. You just lied. 418 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:15,480 You saw it. You're just trying to get out of 419 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:19,760 it, right? He's not here right now. 420 00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:24,560 Can I take a message? But he's sitting right there, 421 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:27,680 right? It's a lie. 422 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:30,440 You might not feel like talking to somebody. 423 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:32,200 I mean, look, there's ways around that. 424 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:35,120 He's not available right now, right? 425 00:21:35,120 --> 00:21:37,720 But how many times have people said that he's not here right 426 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:40,480 now? Can I take a message or he can't 427 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:42,520 come to the phone? He could. 428 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:46,440 He doesn't want to, right? I mean, say whatever you want 429 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:47,360 to. There's a, you know. 430 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:51,000 Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know. Yes, you did. 431 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,440 You just lied about it because you didn't have an excuse, 432 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:54,760 right? I mean, how many times? 433 00:21:54,760 --> 00:21:58,320 If you're going to be honest and if you're not going to lie, then 434 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:01,920 you ought to be honest about every single thing, right? 435 00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:06,320 If you actually think about it throughout the day and, and this 436 00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:08,880 is not something that's on the forefront of your mind, then you 437 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:14,080 are probably lying all the time and you just don't think about 438 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:18,440 it because you do it so much. A lot of people do that, right? 439 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:21,880 We call it an excuse. It's just a lie is what it is, 440 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:23,680 right? And that's what I'm saying. 441 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:26,720 That's a very high standard, right? 442 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:29,840 Don't steal. Well, then what are you taking 443 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:33,240 from wherever it happens to be, right? 444 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:37,880 Well, there's leeway on it. And maybe there is, right? 445 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:39,640 Maybe you work in a place where they're like, hey, we don't 446 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:40,320 care. Take it. 447 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:42,800 And if that's fine, then then then that's what they've allowed 448 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:45,920 you to do, right? But how many times people steal 449 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:48,120 things from work? How many times people steal 450 00:22:48,120 --> 00:22:50,480 things from other places and just say, well, they got plenty 451 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:53,600 of it anyway, right? Well, they're a huge company and 452 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:55,960 they're not going to notice it, right? 453 00:22:56,720 --> 00:23:01,960 You walk out and you realize you didn't pay for something, right? 454 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:05,600 It's happened before to me. I don't, I don't walk out on on 455 00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:07,800 purpose without stealing some. But I've walked out of the store 456 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:09,800 before and realized I didn't pay for something and I would go 457 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:11,520 back in to pay for it. And you know what the workers 458 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:14,520 do? What? 459 00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:16,880 You came back in to pay for this? 460 00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:20,880 I've never seen that before. Why not, right? 461 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:24,720 Why not? But but how many times it 462 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:28,160 happens, right? It's a high standard to put off 463 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:32,080 the old man and put on the new man and do it consistently every 464 00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:35,960 single day, right? If we actually are holding 465 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:40,160 ourselves to that standard, then how many of us far fall below, 466 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:43,240 fall far below that standard, right? 467 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:46,080 And when you actually start thinking about it and when you 468 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:49,560 actually start focusing on it and concentrating on I've got to 469 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:51,440 put off the old man and tell the truth. 470 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:55,520 Every time I've got to put off the old man and stop stealing, 471 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:58,040 I've got to put off the old man and stop getting angry. 472 00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:00,520 I've got to put off the old man and start doing all of these 473 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:02,760 other things. You'll be surprised at how many 474 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:06,760 things you actually don't do that you think you do that make 475 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:10,040 you a good Christian, right? It's a high standard for us to 476 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:13,960 live all so let no corrupt communication proceed out of 477 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:17,000 your mouth. Put away all bitterness, wrath, 478 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:20,120 anger, clamor, evil speaking. That's an amazingly high 479 00:24:20,120 --> 00:24:23,640 standard. But most of us give ourselves a 480 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:26,160 pass because, well, it's just what people do. 481 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:30,440 Not you shouldn't. Just because that's what people 482 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:34,640 do doesn't mean that it's OK for you to do it, right? 483 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:37,760 So you want to, you want to grow in your Christian life, you want 484 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:40,880 to have spiritual victory. You have to put off all of the 485 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:44,440 old man and put on all of the new man, right? 486 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:52,280 You think about what if, what if you know, you found some mummy 487 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:55,640 wrappings and you decided you were going to wrap only half of 488 00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:59,000 them around you and walk around. You know it's dead. 489 00:24:59,120 --> 00:25:01,760 It's, it's dead person's clothes, right? 490 00:25:02,360 --> 00:25:05,680 Well, it's only a, it's only a couple wrappings, right? 491 00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:09,000 I mean that, I mean, maybe now as we're so far away from it 492 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:11,200 that, that that wouldn't even be that weird anymore. 493 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:15,240 Everybody would, you know, be people are dying to buy mummy 494 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:17,960 clothes, you know, just wear it once and see if you can start a 495 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:20,040 new trend and everybody will be wearing them, right. 496 00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:24,920 But it's not, it's not normal, right, to be wearing something 497 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:27,960 that came from a dead person. Well, that's exactly what we do 498 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:30,600 when we don't put away all of the old men we're walking around 499 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:34,800 with, with, with something that belongs to a dead person, right? 500 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:38,120 I'm alive in Christ. I need to put off the old man. 501 00:25:38,120 --> 00:25:41,120 I need to put on the new man, All right? 502 00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:42,520 It's like we talked about on Sunday. 503 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:46,040 Just do right, right. If you think about that with 504 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:50,160 every single thing that you are faced in a day, you'll find out 505 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:52,720 that there's a whole lot of things that you thought you were 506 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,600 OK on that you're not. When you start focusing on that 507 00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:59,000 and you, you make a determination with God's help 508 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:02,040 that I am going to tell the truth every single time. 509 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:05,440 You'll find out that you lie a lot. 510 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:10,080 I'm going to be honest with every single one of my dealings. 511 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:12,000 You'll find out that you're dishonest a lot. 512 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:15,600 You know, I'm not going to be bitter about anything. 513 00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:18,400 You'll find out that you're bitter about a lot of things. 514 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:21,480 I'm not going to get angry. You'll find out that you get 515 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:25,280 angry a lot, right? It's a very high standard. 516 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:29,280 But if we are going to grow in our Christian life, and if we 517 00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:33,640 are going to have victory in our spiritual life, then we've got 518 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:38,080 to put off the old man 100% of the time, and we have to put on 519 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:40,800 the new man 100% of the time, right? 520 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:42,800 Easy to say, we've talked about this a lot. 521 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:45,600 It's easy to say that. It's easy to say, put off the 522 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:48,120 old man, put on the new. All right, I'm doing that. 523 00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:51,920 But are you really, are you really interested in making sure 524 00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:55,160 that every part of that old man is put away and every part of 525 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:57,320 the new man is put on? It's a high standard that He 526 00:26:57,320 --> 00:27:01,280 gives us, but if you want to have growth in your Christian 527 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:03,360 life and you want to have spiritual victory, then we have 528 00:27:03,360 --> 00:27:06,000 to do that. And that involves something that 529 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:08,800 we just talked about on Sunday. But at first, John chapter 1 and 530 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:12,840 verse #5 #3 the third thing there is confessing sin. 531 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:21,520 Confessing sin, which again, if the Bible and not if, because I 532 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:25,400 should say because the Bible talks about confessing sin as a 533 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:30,720 Christian, then it's just proof that we can and do sin, right? 534 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:33,160 But the sin is to walk in darkness rather than light. 535 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:35,600 That's not the way God intended for us to live. 536 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:41,320 We can sin unfortunately, and we do sin unfortunately, but that's 537 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:45,160 not the way God intended it. Verse #5 of first John chapter 538 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:47,240 one. This then is the message which 539 00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:50,240 we have heard of him. And declare unto you that God is 540 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:52,480 light, and in Him is no darkness at all. 541 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:55,360 If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in 542 00:27:55,360 --> 00:27:58,600 darkness, we lie and do not the truth. 543 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:02,320 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have 544 00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:05,840 fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His 545 00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:09,760 Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, 546 00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:12,480 we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in US. 547 00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:17,360 If we confess our sins, is faithful and just to forgive us 548 00:28:17,360 --> 00:28:19,640 our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 549 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:24,120 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and 550 00:28:24,120 --> 00:28:28,160 His word is not in us. So when we sin, God gives us a 551 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:31,400 way to restore that fellowship, and that's confessing our sins 552 00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:33,680 to Him. Confession of sin keeps me in 553 00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:35,760 the light, keeps me in fellowship with God. 554 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:39,120 He is light and holiness and He's not going to fellowship 555 00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:41,640 with sin and darkness. So it just makes sense, right? 556 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:45,720 If I'm walking in sin, I can't expect God to walk with me. 557 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:50,200 If I'm living in sin, I can't expect that God is living with 558 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:53,640 me in those things because if I want to have fellowship with 559 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:55,960 Him, I have to walk with Him in the light. 560 00:28:56,440 --> 00:29:00,840 So a few things about confession of sin then confession of sin 561 00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:03,520 means to agree with God against my actions. 562 00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:10,520 It takes humility to confess the sin because it proves then that 563 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:13,320 you have sinned, right? I can't confess a sin that I 564 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:17,440 don't admit to, right? If it's the opposite of making 565 00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:20,600 excuses for my sin, which, again, we're very good at. 566 00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:24,520 We do that all the time. We give ourselves a pass. 567 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:29,240 If boy, I tell you what if, if, if I'm ever going to stand 568 00:29:29,240 --> 00:29:32,440 before a judge someday, I want it to be me. 569 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:36,360 Because we are so easy on ourselves, right? 570 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:39,920 We, we find loopholes, we give ourselves a pass on all kinds of 571 00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:42,240 things. We have all the reasons why it's 572 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:45,280 OK for me to do what I did right. 573 00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:48,560 But it's the opposite of making that excuse. 574 00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:51,480 Making excuses and blaming others is exactly what Adam did. 575 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:56,080 Adam blamed his wife, and then she turned around and blame the 576 00:29:56,080 --> 00:29:57,200 serpent. Right. 577 00:29:57,600 --> 00:29:59,960 And so we have a natural tendency to follow in those same 578 00:29:59,960 --> 00:30:01,960 unwise footsteps. We blame our nationality. 579 00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:05,000 Well, that's just what we do in our culture. 580 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:08,120 Well, I'm I'm young or I'm old. We blame our age. 581 00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:12,520 Well, I I'm just a guy, right? Or I'm just a woman. 582 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:16,000 Our background, our circumstances. 583 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:18,960 Well, I didn't. I didn't grow up in church. 584 00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:21,400 Yeah, but you've been in church for 40 years. 585 00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:26,200 You don't have an excuse, right? Well, if you knew how I grew up, 586 00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:28,640 well, you're not there anymore, right? 587 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:32,920 I grew up with a lot of people who use their, their experience 588 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:37,200 growing up as an excuse to not live for the Lord at all, right? 589 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:40,320 You could use any of those as excuses if you're looking for an 590 00:30:40,320 --> 00:30:42,560 excuse. A lot of other things that 591 00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:45,840 people use, but here's an example that he gives, and I 592 00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:47,920 think it's a good one. If I get angry and bitter at my 593 00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:50,560 wife, that's a sin. But it's easy to make excuses 594 00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:53,800 and blame her or blame something else, such as the fact that I'm 595 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:56,160 having a bad day or she is unreasonable. 596 00:30:56,160 --> 00:31:00,400 Or instead of admitting that I've done wrong in God's eyes, I 597 00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:03,960 have blame whatever other circumstance that I have to to 598 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:06,880 give myself a pass. Or if I lie, I can make an 599 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:08,920 excuse and say, well, everyone lies sometimes. 600 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:12,000 Or if I disobey and dishonor my parents, I can make an excuse 601 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:14,160 and say that they're too demanding or they're hip 602 00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:16,320 critical. They're telling me to do this 603 00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:18,680 and they don't even do it themselves so I don't have to 604 00:31:18,720 --> 00:31:21,240 obey them. No, you do. 605 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:23,440 You're just giving yourself an excuse. 606 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:24,720 You're giving yourself a way out. 607 00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:27,760 You're giving yourself a pass. On the other hand, I can't admit 608 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:30,880 to God that I have sinned and agree with Him that it's evil. 609 00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:33,840 If I make excuses for my sin. I'm walking in darkness rather 610 00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:36,040 than light, and I do not have fellowship with God. 611 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:39,040 You want to grow in your spiritual life, You want to. 612 00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:41,000 You want to have victory in your spiritual life. 613 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:46,080 You've got to get the sin out. I don't know how how I can say 614 00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:48,920 it any more than I did the other day, but God promises that he'll 615 00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:51,960 forgive us and cleanse us if we confess our sins to Him. 616 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:54,520 He's faithful and just to forgive us because Christ died 617 00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:57,080 for our sins. He can do that because he died 618 00:31:57,080 --> 00:31:59,120 for our sins. He's the only one that has the 619 00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:02,120 ability to do it. And I say this often that we use 620 00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:06,120 that verse for people who are unsaved to say, Hey, God will 621 00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:09,680 forgive you and he will. But this, it was written to us. 622 00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:12,360 It was written to Christians, It was written to those who know 623 00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:15,960 better, who have to get things right and stop walking in 624 00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:17,920 darkness and start walking in the light. 625 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:19,600 Start having fellowship with him again. 626 00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:23,880 See how many times will God forgive us? 627 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:26,720 Will he forgive us as often as we confess? 628 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:29,680 And that's that's why I say we should keep short accounts with 629 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:33,000 God. We're going to make mistakes. 630 00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:34,760 I don't even want to say it that way. 631 00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:37,640 We're going to sin. It's not a mistake, it's a sin. 632 00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:42,160 We're going to sin and when we sin, we need to get that right 633 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:45,040 with God right now. Don't let that build up. 634 00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:47,960 And by the way, the shorter accounts you keep with God, you 635 00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:50,040 sin and you get it right. What you'll find out is the 636 00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:52,720 longer in between times it is when you actually have to get 637 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:55,560 things right with God because you don't want to be on your 638 00:32:55,560 --> 00:32:57,920 knees all day every day confessing, Oh, I messed up 639 00:32:57,920 --> 00:32:59,040 again. God, I'm sorry. 640 00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:02,080 I sinned again, God, I'm sorry, I sinned again, God, I'm sorry, 641 00:33:03,040 --> 00:33:04,240 right? Eventually you're going to get 642 00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:06,360 to the point where he's saying, all right, I need, I need your 643 00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:09,560 help to try a little bit harder with these things. 644 00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:14,120 But doesn't he get tired of us sinning and then confessing? 645 00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:16,440 No, we have the promise that he'll forgive us and cleanse us 646 00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:18,520 every time. And if you look in Matthew 18, 647 00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:21,040 that's the story. When he, Peter asked how many 648 00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:22,920 times we forgive him, seven times. 649 00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:27,800 Jesus said no 70 * 7. That's 490 times. 650 00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:30,600 Jesus said we ought to forgive somebody else. 651 00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:34,280 If we can forgive somebody 490 times, imagine how many times he 652 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:37,960 can forgive us, right? But at the same time, we 653 00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:40,040 shouldn't presume upon his grace either. 654 00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:42,320 Well, I'll just go ahead and sin. 655 00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:46,200 I'll confess it when I get done, and I'll, I'll ask forgiveness 656 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:49,160 and he'll forgive me, right? I know I shouldn't go there, but 657 00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:51,440 I'm going to go there anyway and he'll forgive me. 658 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:54,960 That's presuming upon his grace, right? 659 00:33:55,840 --> 00:34:01,200 That's that, that is I'm not saying that God won't forgive 660 00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:03,040 it. He will forgive that, but but 661 00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:05,840 how genuine is it when you know that you're going to go do it 662 00:34:05,840 --> 00:34:08,760 and then try to ask for it's no different than a Catholic going 663 00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:11,239 to the priest and saying, forgive me, Father, for I have 664 00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:13,280 sinned. There's no different, right? 665 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:16,080 You're using, you're using God as a Catholic priest to make 666 00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:19,800 yourself feel better right now. If there's genuine repentance 667 00:34:20,159 --> 00:34:23,159 and you genuinely are sorry for it, he will forgive you and 668 00:34:23,159 --> 00:34:26,800 forgive you and forgive you and forgive you all right, because 669 00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:29,440 there is no limit to how many times he'll forgive your sin. 670 00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:34,080 But at the same time, don't presume upon his grace. 671 00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:35,760 Keep those accounts short with God. 672 00:34:36,440 --> 00:34:39,639 So confession makes things right with God. 673 00:34:39,639 --> 00:34:42,320 It puts us in the light. It's, it's, it's the way of 674 00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:44,920 victory. It stops the spiral of sin. 675 00:34:44,920 --> 00:34:48,320 And again, it's hard to get into a spiral of sin if you're 676 00:34:48,320 --> 00:34:50,120 keeping those accounts short with God. 677 00:34:50,840 --> 00:34:53,600 You can't keep spiraling down and down and down and down 678 00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:55,679 deeper and deeper into those things if you're keeping those 679 00:34:55,679 --> 00:34:59,520 accounts short with God. The reason we end up spiraling 680 00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:01,880 into sin and getting away from him and getting out of our 681 00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:04,200 Bibles and getting out of our prayer clothes and getting out 682 00:35:04,200 --> 00:35:06,640 of fellowship with Him is because we sinned and we didn't 683 00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:08,120 get it right. And we sinned and we didn't get 684 00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:09,600 it right. And we got farther and farther 685 00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:12,400 in that darkness and we, we were walking further and farther away 686 00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:13,800 from Him. And the next thing you know, 687 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:16,280 we're deep into it and we've spiraled all the way down. 688 00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:18,720 We have no desire to pray. We have no desire to read our 689 00:35:18,720 --> 00:35:20,400 Bibles. We have no desire to get right 690 00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:23,560 with God until finally someday God has to slap us in the face 691 00:35:23,560 --> 00:35:26,000 and wake us up a little bit. And then we say, how did I get 692 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:30,280 here? You didn't keep short accounts 693 00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:32,880 with God. And you let it go and you let it 694 00:35:32,880 --> 00:35:34,520 go, and you let it go and you let it go. 695 00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:36,440 And the next thing you know, you're completely out of 696 00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:38,680 fellowship with him. You have no chance of having 697 00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:41,160 spiritual victory in your life. And you wonder, why am I in the 698 00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:43,680 same rut again? Why can't I get victory over 699 00:35:43,680 --> 00:35:47,480 this thing in my life, right? This is the key to spiritual 700 00:35:47,480 --> 00:35:50,760 victory. You've got to confess your sins. 701 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:54,280 You've got to confess your sins. The wonderful thing is you can 702 00:35:54,280 --> 00:35:56,400 take them all to Him and dump them on Him and he can handle 703 00:35:56,400 --> 00:36:00,120 it, right? He can handle it and he is 704 00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:03,320 faithful and He's just to forgive us our sins and to 705 00:36:03,320 --> 00:36:05,680 cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 706 00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:07,280 But you have to come to Him first. 707 00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:09,760 It's not. Well, God, if that was wrong, 708 00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:12,040 forgive me. Oh, I'm sorry again. 709 00:36:12,040 --> 00:36:14,080 I don't know if you, you know, I don't. 710 00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:16,400 I don't know if that was really wrong or not, but if it was 711 00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:21,000 right, no confession. It takes humility because it 712 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:25,400 takes confession. Is is an admission. 713 00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:27,280 It's an admission of guilt, right? 714 00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:30,960 You can't confess to something that you didn't admit to doing. 715 00:36:32,560 --> 00:36:35,320 It stops the spiral of sin. But when we sin, we have to get, 716 00:36:35,320 --> 00:36:37,400 we must not get discouraged and faint. 717 00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:41,160 We have to confess it honestly claims God, claim God's promise 718 00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:43,880 of forgiveness, and stand on our spiritual birthright. 719 00:36:44,680 --> 00:36:46,680 And then the last one is this. Let's turn over to Philippians 720 00:36:46,680 --> 00:36:48,600 chapter 3. And obviously this is a very 721 00:36:48,600 --> 00:36:52,520 short section, but it has a lot to do with Christian growth and 722 00:36:52,520 --> 00:36:58,440 spiritual victory as well. Philippians chapter 3 verse #13 723 00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:03,480 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one 724 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:06,600 thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and 725 00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:10,040 reaching forth unto those things which are before I press toward 726 00:37:10,040 --> 00:37:13,600 the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ 727 00:37:13,600 --> 00:37:17,360 Jesus. Now some of the things that Paul 728 00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:21,520 talked about when he's saying forgetting those things which 729 00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:24,200 are behind were spiritual failures. 730 00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:28,000 But there was some things that he said that he was putting 731 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:31,760 behind that in his mind were spiritual victories, right? 732 00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:35,680 So just because you've accomplished something for God 733 00:37:35,680 --> 00:37:37,520 doesn't mean you can say it. It's all done. 734 00:37:37,520 --> 00:37:39,400 Now I've done everything that I can do. 735 00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:44,880 No, forget those things too. But I think in particular what 736 00:37:44,880 --> 00:37:49,000 Paul is talking about is all of those things that that really 737 00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:52,440 don't count for anything. All the things, all the person 738 00:37:52,440 --> 00:37:56,840 that I used to be at, that thing that I used to consider was such 739 00:37:56,840 --> 00:38:01,560 a badge of honor. 8th day circumcised, the 8th day of the 740 00:38:01,560 --> 00:38:04,800 stock of Israel tribe of Benjamin, Hebrew of the Hebrews, 741 00:38:04,920 --> 00:38:08,240 Pharisee persecuting the church. All of those things, those were 742 00:38:08,240 --> 00:38:10,520 all things that I did that I thought were accomplishments. 743 00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:12,920 And I realize now that they did not count for anything. 744 00:38:13,240 --> 00:38:15,120 And you can put whatever you want to in that blank. 745 00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:19,360 I'm I rose up the chain and I made it to the top and I was the 746 00:38:19,360 --> 00:38:22,240 CEO, I was the president, I was this, I did that. 747 00:38:22,240 --> 00:38:24,400 All of those other things that really don't count for anything. 748 00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:27,200 And Paul says, I'm putting all those things in my past. 749 00:38:27,800 --> 00:38:29,640 I'm reaching forth to the things that really matter. 750 00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:32,720 And so after we confess our sin, we need to put it behind and not 751 00:38:32,720 --> 00:38:35,400 fall into the temptation to dwell on it and the fear that 752 00:38:35,400 --> 00:38:40,520 God hasn't forgiven us. Now, I'll say this because I 753 00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:44,280 talk to people often who end up in a situation where they say, 754 00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:45,960 well, I just, I just can't get over it. 755 00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:49,320 I can't believe that I did that. I just can't get over it. 756 00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:52,840 And I, you know, I know that God's forgiven me and I know 757 00:38:52,840 --> 00:38:55,800 that that those sins are under the blood, but I just, I just 758 00:38:55,800 --> 00:39:03,920 can't forgive myself. And to that I say this, God says 759 00:39:04,280 --> 00:39:06,920 that when we confess our sins, he's faithful and just. 760 00:39:06,920 --> 00:39:08,920 He'll forgive us our sins. He'll cleanse us from all 761 00:39:08,920 --> 00:39:11,240 unrighteousness. And the Bible talks about our 762 00:39:11,240 --> 00:39:14,640 sin as being, He puts our sin as far away as the east is from the 763 00:39:14,640 --> 00:39:16,880 West. I don't think that was an 764 00:39:16,880 --> 00:39:20,520 accident because you can go to the North Pole and you can go to 765 00:39:20,520 --> 00:39:22,720 the South Pole. You can find those places on the 766 00:39:22,720 --> 00:39:25,200 map. But there is no E pole and there 767 00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:29,560 is no W pole. He puts our sins as far away 768 00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:32,320 from this as you can possibly. You can go as far as you want to 769 00:39:32,320 --> 00:39:33,960 to the east and you'll never run out. 770 00:39:34,640 --> 00:39:37,160 You can go as far as you want to to the West and you'll never run 771 00:39:37,160 --> 00:39:38,720 out. That's as far away as He puts 772 00:39:38,720 --> 00:39:41,600 our sins from us. The Bible says their sins and 773 00:39:41,600 --> 00:39:44,520 their iniquities will I remember no more. 774 00:39:46,160 --> 00:39:51,680 Once He forgives you for your sins, He purposely forgets them. 775 00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:55,440 He puts them behind you, He puts them behind him, and he will 776 00:39:55,440 --> 00:39:58,080 never He buries them. The Bible says in the deepest 777 00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:05,760 part of the sea, if a God who is absolutely perfect and a God who 778 00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:10,240 is absolutely holy and a God is who is absolutely just can 779 00:40:10,240 --> 00:40:14,040 forgive us for those things, who are we to not forgive ourselves 780 00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:20,040 for those things if he'll do it and we sinned against him? 781 00:40:22,400 --> 00:40:24,840 Don't you think we ought to be at least willing to forgive 782 00:40:24,840 --> 00:40:29,040 ourselves for the same things? And we're not perfect, we're not 783 00:40:29,040 --> 00:40:31,680 holy, and we're not just the way God is. 784 00:40:33,080 --> 00:40:39,560 So when Satan reminds me of the things I regret, I bring up 785 00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:44,080 Calvary lest he forget. High on a mountain of sorrow and 786 00:40:44,080 --> 00:40:50,600 shame. Christ gave me a pardon as he 787 00:40:50,600 --> 00:40:53,440 took my blame. That's what I want to remind 788 00:40:53,440 --> 00:40:57,080 Satan of when he comes and says, well, yeah, but you or yeah, 789 00:40:57,080 --> 00:41:01,320 remember when you hey, that's under the blood, that's under 790 00:41:01,320 --> 00:41:03,640 the blood of Christ. I've asked for forgiveness. 791 00:41:03,760 --> 00:41:06,520 He's faithful. He's just, he's forgiven me. 792 00:41:06,640 --> 00:41:09,360 He's put my sins as far away as the east is from the West. 793 00:41:09,440 --> 00:41:11,360 He's buried them in the deepest part of the sea. 794 00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:15,200 My sins and my iniquities, He are is not going to remember 795 00:41:15,200 --> 00:41:18,600 anymore. Why should I remember them? 796 00:41:19,560 --> 00:41:22,480 Why should I hang those things over my head if the God of the 797 00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:25,600 universe, who has all the authority and all the right to 798 00:41:25,600 --> 00:41:30,200 do that, is not? We need to forgive ourselves and 799 00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:32,440 move on. It's exactly what Paul is 800 00:41:32,440 --> 00:41:35,360 talking about here. Forgetting those things which 801 00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:42,400 are behind, I reach forth into those things which are before I 802 00:41:42,400 --> 00:41:45,840 press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God 803 00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:47,400 in Christ Jesus. What? 804 00:41:47,400 --> 00:41:49,360 What do you think he's talking about when he says forgetting 805 00:41:49,360 --> 00:41:51,640 those things which are behind? It's all the things that he just 806 00:41:51,640 --> 00:41:53,960 listed, right? You think Paul was proud of the 807 00:41:53,960 --> 00:41:55,720 fact that he persecuted the church? 808 00:41:57,640 --> 00:42:02,600 Imagine how many times the the screams of the women that were 809 00:42:02,600 --> 00:42:06,120 being ripped away from their families and the cry of the 810 00:42:06,120 --> 00:42:08,520 husbands that are being pulled away from their wives and their 811 00:42:08,520 --> 00:42:10,160 children. Imagine how many times those 812 00:42:10,160 --> 00:42:13,320 things echoed in Paul's mind after he came to know Christ as 813 00:42:13,320 --> 00:42:16,880 his Savior. And yet he says, I'm forgetting 814 00:42:16,880 --> 00:42:18,800 all of those things. Richard Brand, That's the old 815 00:42:18,800 --> 00:42:20,800 me. That's not who I am anymore. 816 00:42:21,640 --> 00:42:23,520 I'm somebody different in Christ. 817 00:42:23,720 --> 00:42:26,240 He forgave me, I'm forgiving myself. 818 00:42:26,240 --> 00:42:28,920 I'm putting those things behind me, and I'm just going forward 819 00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:30,680 for Christ. That's how you have spiritual 820 00:42:30,680 --> 00:42:32,800 victory. That's how you grow in your 821 00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:36,240 Christian life. Keep looking ahead, not behind. 822 00:42:36,240 --> 00:42:39,720 When God convicts us of sin, he does that in order to lead us to 823 00:42:39,720 --> 00:42:41,320 confession and cleansing and victory. 824 00:42:41,440 --> 00:42:44,000 But when the devil accuses us, he does so in order to 825 00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:46,840 discourage and devour us. So when you allow yourself to 826 00:42:46,840 --> 00:42:49,560 dwell in the things that God's already forgiven, you are 827 00:42:49,560 --> 00:42:53,360 allowing the devil to let you get discouraged about something 828 00:42:53,360 --> 00:42:55,400 that you should never be discouraged about. 829 00:42:56,040 --> 00:43:00,000 You are allowing the devil to devour your spiritual life and 830 00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:04,200 your spiritual victory that you should never allow him into your 831 00:43:04,200 --> 00:43:07,600 life to do in the 1st place. You've been forgiven for those 832 00:43:07,600 --> 00:43:09,360 things. If you've truly come to the 833 00:43:09,360 --> 00:43:13,480 cross and kneeled before Christ, humbled yourself, confess those 834 00:43:13,480 --> 00:43:16,800 things to Him there under the blood, and he's put them away, 835 00:43:18,400 --> 00:43:21,280 you need to do the same thing. You're never going to have 836 00:43:21,280 --> 00:43:24,200 spiritual victory in your life if you keep dwelling on the 837 00:43:24,200 --> 00:43:26,400 past. You're never going to have 838 00:43:26,400 --> 00:43:28,880 spiritual victory in your life if you keep dwelling on who you 839 00:43:28,880 --> 00:43:31,320 used to be and what you did before. 840 00:43:32,400 --> 00:43:34,760 Now doesn't mean that all the consequences automatically go 841 00:43:34,760 --> 00:43:37,200 away. There may be some consequences 842 00:43:37,200 --> 00:43:45,040 for those things, but the sin that's under the blood, let it 843 00:43:45,040 --> 00:43:48,360 go and let it stay there. Stop trying to pull it back out. 844 00:43:49,720 --> 00:43:52,960 He's already forgiven it. Let him do it. 845 00:43:53,680 --> 00:43:57,480 Let him do it. Press toward the mark. 846 00:43:57,520 --> 00:44:01,520 Man, what a, what a, what a concept, what a, what a goal. 847 00:44:02,600 --> 00:44:05,760 And, and I've, I said this at the beginning, but I've preached 848 00:44:05,760 --> 00:44:09,520 messages on every one of these things because every one of them 849 00:44:09,520 --> 00:44:12,520 is so full and so rich that you can preach a message on all of 850 00:44:12,520 --> 00:44:14,320 them. I've tried not to do that 851 00:44:14,320 --> 00:44:16,040 tonight with all of these different things. 852 00:44:16,040 --> 00:44:18,520 That's four. We got eight more, 8 more things 853 00:44:18,520 --> 00:44:21,040 that'll help us to have that Christian growth and that 854 00:44:21,040 --> 00:44:23,680 spiritual victory in our lives. And I hope hopefully as we 855 00:44:23,680 --> 00:44:27,400 continue through these things, especially this week, aim at 856 00:44:27,400 --> 00:44:30,960 some of these things, right? Aim at abiding in Christ. 857 00:44:31,560 --> 00:44:33,560 Purposely focus on abiding in Christ. 858 00:44:34,080 --> 00:44:36,920 Are you walking in fellowship with Him right? 859 00:44:36,920 --> 00:44:38,120 Do you have the fellowship with Him? 860 00:44:38,240 --> 00:44:40,640 Have you put off the old man and put on the new man? 861 00:44:41,360 --> 00:44:44,520 Focus on that this week. Have you confessed your sin to 862 00:44:44,520 --> 00:44:46,360 him? Focus on it this week. 863 00:44:46,760 --> 00:44:48,200 Are you pressing toward the mark? 864 00:44:49,080 --> 00:44:52,520 Focus on it this week. Those are things that are going 865 00:44:52,520 --> 00:44:55,720 to give us that growth in our spiritual life, and they're 866 00:44:55,720 --> 00:44:57,400 going to give us that spiritual victory. 867 00:44:57,560 --> 00:45:00,160 And if you're not going forward, you're going backwards. 868 00:45:01,400 --> 00:45:03,880 So are you going to go forward? Are you going forward? 869 00:45:04,760 --> 00:45:06,640 That's the that's the choice that we have in front of us 870 00:45:06,640 --> 00:45:09,080 tonight. Let's pray. 871 00:45:09,080 --> 00:45:11,000 Father, again, we thank you so much for your goodness to us. 872 00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:13,200 Thank you for the opportunity we have to be here tonight. 873 00:45:13,880 --> 00:45:16,400 And thank you for the the lessons that we have from for 874 00:45:16,400 --> 00:45:18,760 the cloud and the way that we can take them and dissect them 875 00:45:19,080 --> 00:45:22,480 with your word and hopefully be a help to us as we try to make 876 00:45:22,480 --> 00:45:24,960 progress in our spiritual lives and go forward for you. 877 00:45:25,520 --> 00:45:29,040 God, May you help us all to have that victory that only comes 878 00:45:29,040 --> 00:45:31,400 through Christ. May you help us all to grow in 879 00:45:31,400 --> 00:45:35,040 our spiritual lives so that we can continue to be useful in 880 00:45:35,040 --> 00:45:36,760 your service. Thank you again for all you do 881 00:45:36,760 --> 00:45:38,840 for us in Jesus name, Amen.