1 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:03,640 1st Corinthians 16 If you're using one of our Bibles there in 2 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:13,600 front of you, it's found on page 962. 1st Corinthians 16, page 3 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:20,280 962. We live in a culture that's 4 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:26,200 often assumes a man is worthless, that he's emotionally 5 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:29,520 unintelligent, right? Over the years, many television 6 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:34,440 shows have depicted men as the idiots in their storyline. 7 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:38,160 Barney Fife was just the beginning, back in the 60s. 8 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:41,000 Since then, there have been many others. 9 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:45,800 Archie Bunker, Homer Simpson, Joey from Friends, Al Bundy and 10 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:49,760 Ray Romano, and Everybody Loves Raymond just to name a few. 11 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:53,640 There's a lot more than that. These are just some of the 12 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:57,320 classic examples of male buffoons in television, men 13 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:00,880 inserted into the story for comedic relief, basically. 14 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:07,520 Now, fortunately, men, we don't have to follow the examples set 15 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:11,880 before us in our entertainment. God has given us some good 16 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:15,640 advice through the apostle Paul. And so this morning we're going 17 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,040 to look at that. Now we have a very short text 18 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:21,560 this morning, but it is a decently long message. 19 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:25,640 If I'd kept everything I had, if I kept everything I had, it was 20 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:28,560 probably going to be an hour, but I think I've probably cut 21 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:35,840 out a good 15 minutes. So hopefully this isn't too much 22 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:38,920 coming at you this morning. But if you're able, would you 23 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,160 stand as we read God's Word this morning? 24 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:49,600 1st Corinthians 16 will be at verse 13. 25 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:58,400 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 26 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:02,040 Let all that you do be done in love. 27 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:09,440 You may be seated. Now we're obviously in Paul's 28 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:11,039 first letter to the Church of Corinth. 29 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:14,000 And by the way, I should probably say, if you love to 30 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:18,840 take notes I have and you didn't grab one of the bulletins or 31 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:22,760 note sheets, you might want to grab it because there's a lot of 32 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:26,960 verses listed on the note sheets to help you as we navigate 33 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:29,320 things this morning. So we're obviously in Paul's 34 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:30,800 first letter to the Church of Corinth. 35 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,400 And this church is notorious for all their perversions. 36 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:36,520 They they're perversions of the Lord's Supper. 37 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:39,560 They're perversions of marriage. They're perversions of the 38 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:43,040 ordered way. When they would get together for 39 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:49,440 worship, they had many problems. So Paul had to spend much of 40 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:52,400 this letter to the church at Corinth correcting them. 41 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:59,160 So Paul's first exhortation to them is to be watchful. 42 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:05,120 He says be watchful. Watchfulness means that we are 43 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:11,480 to be awake or or vigilant. Are we good, baby? 44 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:18,040 Hopefully, yes. OK, I was a little in a rush 45 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:21,560 when I did this yesterday. We're to be awake, we're to be 46 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:23,840 vigilant. We're we're going to have a 47 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:27,480 heightened level of awareness to the things around us. 48 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:31,240 The picture in my mind is that of someone watching over a 49 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:34,960 business or location a night watchman. 50 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:38,520 The night watchman's job is to look out for anything bad or 51 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:43,640 suspicious that is happening and and order to prevent theft or 52 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:48,080 some other unwanted behavior or or trespassing where people 53 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:50,840 shouldn't be. That's the night watchman's job. 54 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:55,000 He's on high alerts for anything that is Askew. 55 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:58,680 Even the slightest thing that seems to be out of place will 56 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:01,520 hopefully catch the night watchman's attention. 57 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:08,120 Now there are 6 things that we can be watchful for. 58 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:11,520 Six things. The first one we can watch out 59 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:18,040 for is Satan. Watch out for Satan first. 60 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:20,000 Peter 5/8 says. Be sober minded. 61 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:22,800 Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, 62 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:28,120 prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may 63 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:31,240 devour. Satan hates you. 64 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:35,880 Satan wants to destroy you. He is hungry and you're on the 65 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:40,000 menu. So watch out for him. 66 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:44,160 Now how do we do that? Like I say that and you're 67 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:48,600 probably like, OK, what does that look like in real life? 68 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:51,800 How does one actually watch out for Satan? 69 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:54,200 Is it is it like, oh, you're walking down the street and you 70 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:56,600 see Satan walking the other way by you? 71 00:04:56,600 --> 00:05:00,120 Or is it that casual meeting somebody for the first time and, 72 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:04,720 and realizing that they're evil? Well, no, those aren't. 73 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:07,720 Well, actually, I can't say those aren't the things because 74 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:10,160 it's possible you might meet someone who's evil, like 75 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:14,280 actually, right, Because we are broken people. 76 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:20,280 So you might meet someone who is evil, But one of the best ways 77 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:25,640 to watch out for Satan is to watch out for the next point. 78 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:31,440 That is temptation. Watch out for temptation. 79 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:35,800 He has three particularly insidious tools that he uses to 80 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:42,080 distract us from God's working. Those tools are the lust of the 81 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:46,680 flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. 82 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:53,080 Satan knows the things that we desire are the keys to our 83 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:55,720 hearts. If he wants to get our hearts, 84 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:58,920 then he needs to go through our desires. 85 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:04,200 Now James, the brother of Jesus, he wrote, he wrote down, each 86 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:07,880 person is tempted. He is lured and enticed by his 87 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:12,720 own desires. The the literal picture that 88 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:18,560 James has in mind here is it's a fishing illustration actually is 89 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:22,040 what he's using. It's that of a fish. 90 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:26,760 The fish sees the bait and the fish just has this innate 91 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:30,120 desire. It doesn't stop and ponder this 92 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:31,760 thing, this bait that's in front of it. 93 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:34,520 The fish just immediately goes for it. 94 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:39,360 It bites, right? James is saying that we have 95 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:44,960 these things inside of us, these things that when not kept in 96 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:51,720 check, can get us into trouble. Temptation comes from inside. 97 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:55,160 It's not a strictly external force. 98 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:58,280 Sometimes we think, oh, this situation tempted me, or this 99 00:06:58,280 --> 00:06:59,880 situation tempted me. What? 100 00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:03,160 Whatever the case may be, the that is a factor. 101 00:07:03,840 --> 00:07:10,040 But James in James 114 tells us it actually starts inside of us 102 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:13,680 with our own desires. That's where it starts. 103 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:16,520 And that temptation can lead to sin. 104 00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:21,440 So Satan will exploit those desires in any way that he can. 105 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:26,760 So be watchful for Satan. Be watchful for temptation. 106 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:32,120 Next, be watchful for apathy and indifference. 107 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:38,440 Apathy and an indifference. Satan's ultimate goal is to 108 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:40,560 prevent the growth of God's Kingdom. 109 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:44,960 Apathy and indifference are a favorite of the enemies because 110 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:49,600 he doesn't have to do anything to accomplish his goal, right? 111 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:53,200 The person who's apathetic and indifferent to the things of God 112 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:57,200 isn't doing anything to expand God's Kingdom. 113 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:02,320 In Revelation 3, John wrote to the Sardis Church. 114 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:08,440 He wrote, I know your works. You have the reputation of being 115 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:14,040 alive, but you are dead. Wake up and strengthen what 116 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:17,520 remains and is about to die. For I have not found your works 117 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:22,840 complete in the sight of my God. The church at Sardis, there was 118 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:25,600 a lot going on there. Apparently they had a reputation 119 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:31,160 for being alive. But Jesus says through John, you 120 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:35,480 are dead. It's all just surface level. 121 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:39,600 It's there's not anything deep beyond what's going on. 122 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:42,360 They weren't actually doing anything for God. 123 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:44,120 They appeared to be, but they weren't. 124 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:47,280 They'd become spiritually indifferent. 125 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:53,360 By the way, it's reasonable to assume that when you're doing 126 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:57,200 something for God that you will receive the attention of the 127 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:01,080 enemy, right? He doesn't want you to be 128 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:02,680 successful in the Christian life. 129 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:06,920 So if you're being successful, he's going to work against you. 130 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:10,360 And if by chance you're not receiving attention from him, 131 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:13,760 then it's possible. But a little bit of apathy has 132 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:19,040 started to creep in. So it's time that you tick Satan 133 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:23,760 off and just start living for God, going after him with all 134 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:25,840 that you are so that you tick Satan off. 135 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:30,960 He will still stay on you. But for sure, you want him 136 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:33,040 ticked off. You don't want him happy with 137 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:34,360 you. Oh, that person is fine. 138 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:36,720 I don't have to worry about them because they're not doing 139 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:38,800 anything. We don't want to be that. 140 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:43,560 We don't want to be apathetic. Next, false teachers. 141 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:48,600 Watch out for false teachers. Jesus warned that his followers 142 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:52,520 that false Christ's false messiahs and false prophets 143 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:55,760 would come and attempt to deceive them. 144 00:09:57,680 --> 00:09:59,800 So how do we know what a false teacher looks like? 145 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:04,000 Well, we can spot a false teacher considering a few 146 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:07,520 things. What do they say about Jesus? 147 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:12,920 If they teach anything that's contrary to what Scripture says 148 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:16,360 about Jesus, then that might be a false teacher. 149 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:20,560 Do they preach the gospel? We are saved by grace through 150 00:10:20,560 --> 00:10:22,760 faith in Christ's redeeming work on the cross. 151 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:28,080 Anything more or less is a false teacher. 152 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:32,800 Does the teacher exhibit the character qualities that glorify 153 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:35,720 the Lord? We're encouraged in Scripture to 154 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:41,440 look at the fruits, the fruit of the person, or if qualities, 155 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:45,760 their fruits if you will, are greed and pride and rebellion. 156 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:50,960 You might have a false teacher, somebody that you don't want to 157 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:56,080 follow. Now, I have it on good authority 158 00:10:56,760 --> 00:11:00,120 that in the FBI, those who devote themselves to working 159 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:03,720 with counterfeit currency, they focus on one thing. 160 00:11:04,680 --> 00:11:06,080 Some of you may already know this. 161 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:10,640 They look at the original. That's their focus. 162 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:16,040 They don't devote themselves to looking at all the other forms 163 00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:19,280 of counterfeit currency that are out there because there's a lot. 164 00:11:20,560 --> 00:11:25,200 They focus on knowing all the details and intricacies of what 165 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:30,800 does authentic currency look like, what does it look like? 166 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:34,520 What does it feel like? They know this so well. 167 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:41,720 So then when they come across a counterfeit, they know it 168 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:44,640 instinctively. They just know that it's a 169 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:48,080 counterfeit. We need to know what Scripture 170 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:50,800 says. When we know what scripture 171 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:54,160 says, then when we come across a counterfeit, we come across 172 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:57,840 false teaching. There should be a red flag in 173 00:11:57,840 --> 00:11:59,760 our mind. Something should happen and we 174 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:03,640 say hold on. That doesn't jive with what I 175 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:10,120 know scripture to reveal. So I would say that even goes 176 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:15,320 for anything I say. If what I say doesn't jive with 177 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:23,200 Scripture, please let me know. Obviously, my goal is always to 178 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:29,160 represent Scripture accurately, but you can't just trust 179 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:30,720 everything that you hear from somebody. 180 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:35,520 We always must be like the Berean church and going to the 181 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:38,280 Scriptures to see what's the Scriptures say. 182 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:41,240 So these first four things that we're watching out for, they're 183 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:44,320 negative, but there's two positives that we can watch out 184 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:47,600 for. Let's be watchful in prayer. 185 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:53,800 Devote yourself to prayer. Now, prayer is what I, what I 186 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:58,680 like to call my declaration of dependence upon God. 187 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:03,000 It's my declaration of dependence upon God. 188 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:06,880 That is what prayer is. It's it's a way for me to pursue 189 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:11,000 my relationship with God, to be recharging him, and it's 190 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:14,120 intended to be the heartbeat of the Christian life. 191 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:20,160 It strengthens my relationship with him and it strengthens my 192 00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:24,520 defenses against Satan. The last thing we're to be 193 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:30,200 watchful for is the Lord's return, the Lord's return. 194 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:34,760 There are two fantastic motives for faithfully living for 195 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:37,360 Christ. The 1st is what He did on the 196 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:42,880 cross, but the second is the fact that this isn't the end. 197 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:48,600 Jesus is coming back. He's going to return and set up 198 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:51,760 an earthly Kingdom. So knowing that there's more 199 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:55,320 than simply life here on this mortal coil compels us to live 200 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:57,280 for Him. We're to be looking for and 201 00:13:57,280 --> 00:13:59,880 anticipating the day of Christ's return. 202 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:05,680 So secondly, stand firm in the faith. 203 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:10,280 Stand firm in the faith was the next phrase that Paul used. 204 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:15,480 Saving faith and faith in God's working aren't what Paul is 205 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:19,480 referring to here. When scripture uses the definite 206 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:24,440 article that is the word the in combination with the word faith, 207 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:27,080 it has something in particular in mind. 208 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:32,480 The words the faith refer to the core fundamental doctrines that 209 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:36,680 we consider truth. These are doctrines that are 210 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:40,640 considered non negotiable and which form the basis of historic 211 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:44,440 Christianity. Examples of this include the 212 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:49,480 inspiration of scripture, the deed of Jesus, his incarnation, 213 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:53,520 death and resurrection, and salvation by grace alone through 214 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:58,840 faith in Christ alone. These things are core doctrines. 215 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:02,720 This is what we refer to as the faith. 216 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:07,600 In his commentary on this passage, the commentator Jane 217 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:11,440 Charles Hodge cautioned followers of Christ to not 218 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:15,120 consider every point of doctrine open for discussion. 219 00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:19,600 There are some people who who love to look at every point of 220 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:22,560 doctrine and debates every single point. 221 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:25,280 No, it's good. It's good to have healthy good 222 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:29,680 debate about about doctrine because that that helps you know 223 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:33,000 what you believe and why you believe it and making sure that 224 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:36,440 scripture itself affirms what you believe. 225 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:41,320 Now, throughout history, the church has had numerous debates 226 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:45,640 or councils to codify what essential Christian doctrine is. 227 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:49,800 This was important, especially in the early churches growth and 228 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:53,120 development, because people wanted to debate these different 229 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:55,840 points and they there were different beliefs about who 230 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:59,520 Jesus was and, and whether there was a Trinity and different 231 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:02,280 things like that. And so the early church had 232 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:07,040 these councils to discuss these things and clarify what 233 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:13,440 Scripture has revealed to us. But the things I just mentioned, 234 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:19,440 they're not up for debate. Someone from outside of the 235 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:23,600 church may may say I don't believe in Jesus, I don't 236 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:27,240 believe he actually existed. I don't believe in the cross or 237 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:28,640 I don't believe in the resurrection. 238 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:33,160 That is actually apologetics. That's a, that's a different, 239 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:36,400 different category. So then, so then we are helping 240 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:40,400 someone to understand these issues. 241 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:46,440 But these are things that the church has been practicing for a 242 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:50,400 couple, couple thousand years now almost. 243 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:57,000 So this is what it means to stand firm in the faith. 244 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:02,200 We stand in these beliefs. As I mentioned earlier, it's 245 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:05,960 important to know what the truth is or else you can run into 246 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:09,440 issues. Paul's reasoning is found in 247 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:14,119 Ephesians 4, verse 14. It says there so that we may no 248 00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:17,920 longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried 249 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:22,280 about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness 250 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:29,000 and deceitful schemes. Now I love to hear about new 251 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:32,280 ideas and and concepts. It's it's just part of my 252 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:34,480 personality. If I hear something new, 253 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:39,080 something novel, something unusual, I might spend a little 254 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:43,120 bit of time researching that thing to learn about it and and 255 00:17:43,200 --> 00:17:47,440 at least gain a surface level knowledge of it. 256 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:50,840 So I know generally what discussions about that thing 257 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:54,840 revolve around. Now I can't help but wonder if 258 00:17:55,560 --> 00:18:00,200 it's kind of like the Athenians and and their encounter with 259 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:02,720 Paul. You see, the people of Athens, 260 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:06,240 they were known to be highly curious about different ways of 261 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:09,160 thinking. So in Acts 17, Paul has this 262 00:18:09,360 --> 00:18:13,560 famous moments, his moments at the Areopagus because the people 263 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:17,320 there said, hey, Paul, come, come speak to us. 264 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:20,680 We want to hear about this unusual thing that you're 265 00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:24,000 talking about. What is this, this novelty, this 266 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:26,440 novel idea that you're Speaking of? 267 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:30,200 It was foreign to to their Greek way of thinking. 268 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:37,760 But new ideas and thoughts can be fun to consider and talk 269 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:43,680 about. But new ideas and thoughts can 270 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:49,640 be the place where Satan loves to work, to start to erode 271 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:55,120 truth, to chip away at it. And oh, this sounds really good. 272 00:18:56,080 --> 00:19:00,800 Maybe this is actually truth when people start to just take 273 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:04,120 something at face value, when they don't really dive in deep 274 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:11,240 to understand it. So if Satan, if Satan can erode 275 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:17,040 the objects of our faith, if he can get us to have little things 276 00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:21,080 that aren't quite accurate in our faith, then he's on the way 277 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:27,560 to keeping us unproductive. So it's important for us to have 278 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:33,680 sound doctrine from God's word. The Corinthians had a lot of 279 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:37,160 screwed up thinking and this letter, like I said is is 280 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:40,240 addressed to fix some of their thinking. 281 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:43,760 This letter is so dense because there was so much that Paul had 282 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:47,880 to address with them. Human philosophy and wisdom had 283 00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:51,720 eaten away at their view of God and in his ways. 284 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:58,600 First Corinthians chapter 3 verse 18 reads Let no one 285 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:01,440 deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that 286 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:07,400 he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may 287 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:09,240 become. Wise. 288 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:13,160 Let him become a fool, that he may become wise. 289 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:17,880 It sounds like nonsense, right? But this is the world's 290 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:22,160 perspective. The world looks at God's ways as 291 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:25,200 foolish. Why would you live that way when 292 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:28,120 you can do all these other things and you can just live 293 00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:30,480 life on your own terms however you want? 294 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:35,560 But the reality is, is that the wisdom of this world is actually 295 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:40,360 futile and and it doesn't stand up to the wisdom of God's truth. 296 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:46,200 We need to stand firm in the faith and fight for what has 297 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:49,800 been handed down to us over the years. 298 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:58,080 Third, act like men. Be mature in courage. 299 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:02,040 I wanted to qualify that statement. 300 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:05,800 Act like men so that we understand what that means when 301 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:08,840 when Paul is writing and he says act like men. 302 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:14,480 Unfortunately, in our culture today, exhorting the male 303 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:19,120 species to act like men is likely to earn you all sorts of 304 00:21:19,120 --> 00:21:24,240 insults and side eyed glances. The use of such words invokes 305 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:28,360 accusations of misogyny and toxic masculinity. 306 00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:33,160 Mainstream culture would argue that you're just encouraging 307 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:38,720 behaviors viewed as masculine. Normative things like playing 308 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:44,240 sports, lifting weights, shooting guns, fighting, perhaps 309 00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:47,520 even walking around and grunting like Tim Allen. 310 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:56,760 You know, he was so funny, young people, I don't know. 311 00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:58,240 If you know who he is, go check him out. 312 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:00,360 What was the show? Home. 313 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:01,960 Home improvement, Right? Yes. 314 00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:08,960 OK, So what Paul has in mind when he says acts like men is 315 00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:14,320 mature courage. The mature man exhibits such 316 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:18,440 qualities as self-control and confidence and courage. 317 00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:25,240 The immature person, however, doesn't exhibit these qualities, 318 00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:28,400 but rather acts out of a lack of self-control. 319 00:22:29,360 --> 00:22:33,200 They're hesitant and controlled by fear. 320 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:42,080 The root word that could literally be translated as as be 321 00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:46,880 manizing, be be acting like a man is andritsumay, which is 322 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:50,440 derived from the Greek word andras, which is the word for 323 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:54,720 man in Greek. The Septuagint, the Greek 324 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:58,440 translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, uses this word in to 325 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:03,440 refer in particular to to soldiers to encourage them to 326 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:07,200 have courage and and strengthen obedience to the Lord. 327 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:15,560 Sometimes being obedient is hard, right? 328 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:21,920 Sometimes when God calls you to something, it requires a step of 329 00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:26,040 faith. It requires courage to step into 330 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:31,000 something sometimes like to step into being a lead pastor. 331 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:35,960 It has required a lot of courage and faith to step into this 332 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:40,800 place to be a lead pastor. Sometimes it's hard to be 333 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:44,880 obedient. So, so Paul is saying be 334 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:49,400 courageous. God is going to empower you as 335 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:54,600 you step into this space and and you step forward in obedience. 336 00:23:56,160 --> 00:24:00,000 Over and over in the Old Testament we read the words be 337 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:04,840 strong and courageous. I love just re reading 338 00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:12,520 throughout, especially Moses writings as he's getting ready 339 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:20,360 to to hand off the baton over and over he says to Joshua, be 340 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:24,360 strong and courageous. Then Joshua takes that same 341 00:24:24,360 --> 00:24:26,320 statement, be strong and courageous. 342 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:28,840 They keep reiterating that over and over. 343 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:32,480 And what reason do we have to be strong and courageous? 344 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:37,880 It's the Lord's presence, the Lord working on behalf of his 345 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:40,360 followers. You're not in this alone. 346 00:24:40,360 --> 00:24:43,440 Be strong and courageous because God is with you. 347 00:24:45,360 --> 00:24:49,680 He is working in you and around you. 348 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:56,080 Second Timothy 316 and 17. Many of you will no doubt 349 00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:59,760 recognize this passage. All Scripture is breathed out by 350 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:02,760 God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for 351 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:06,640 correction, and for training in righteousness that the man of 352 00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:11,520 God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 353 00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:15,400 Paul told Timothy Scripture was inspired by God and and 354 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:19,280 scripture is useful. The ultimate purpose of it is to 355 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:24,240 to make you mature, to make you complete so that as you grow up, 356 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:29,400 as you mature in the faith, then you're ready for whatever God 357 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:32,760 has in front of you. You are ready to step into that 358 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:35,800 new thing, to step forward in obedience. 359 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:43,280 Next, be strong. Be strong. 360 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:50,280 You know there may be some rumours going around of your 361 00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:53,600 pastor recently lifting relatively heavy weights and 362 00:25:54,360 --> 00:25:57,160 squatting numbers he hasn't done in decades. 363 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:03,240 If you're not on Facebook and haven't seen that then I 364 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:07,840 apologise. I'm not usually one to talk 365 00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:11,200 about numbers, but I just had a had a great moment a couple 366 00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:13,480 weeks ago. I can validate that those rumors 367 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:17,480 are true. Likely, unless somebody's 368 00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:19,480 throwing around really huge numbers, then I can't 369 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:22,600 necessarily affirm those. But as fun as it is to be 370 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:26,240 physically strong, that's great. It's fun. 371 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:28,720 That's not what Paul has in mind. 372 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:32,880 Paul is not talking about being physically strong. 373 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:38,200 Paul wants the the Corinthians to have inner spiritual 374 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:40,400 strength. That's what Paul has in mind. 375 00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:45,040 The person who has matured in the faith is spiritually strong. 376 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:47,680 They're able to withstand whatever comes against them, 377 00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:49,400 whatever trials come against them. 378 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:52,520 They've been through life. They've bent, they've been 379 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:55,760 around the block a few times. They are strong in the faith. 380 00:26:55,760 --> 00:27:01,600 They know God is in control. God's not letting go of them. 381 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:05,600 They're spiritually strong. They know that He will be 382 00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:10,000 faithful. So this strength comes from the 383 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:14,240 Holy Spirit's working in us. We submit ourselves to the 384 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:17,760 spirits working and in turn He will strengthen us. 385 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:22,960 In Ephesians 6, as Paul was about to introduce the armor of 386 00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:29,240 God, he began the section by saying, finally, be strong in 387 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:32,520 the Lord and in the strength of his might. 388 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:36,200 God's about to give you all these tools. 389 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:38,920 In Ephesians 6, he's about to give you all these tools for 390 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:43,000 living the Christian life in the midst of this spiritual battle. 391 00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:47,480 But this isn't your working, he says. 392 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:52,560 It's God's working. It's God's strength in you. 393 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:57,760 That's what it is. In his second letter to Timothy, 394 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:03,480 Paul wrote to his young protege and told him how to live out his 395 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:08,160 faith. Second Timothy 2 verses one and 396 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:12,160 two. You then my child, be 397 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:15,280 strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus and what you 398 00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:18,240 have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses and 399 00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:22,320 trust to faithful men who would be able to teach others also. 400 00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:29,440 Again, Paul says your strength, it's not in you, it's found in 401 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:31,960 the grace of Christ working in you. 402 00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:33,960 But I love that Paul doesn't stop there. 403 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:39,880 He then says, well, Timothy, you, you've heard this from me. 404 00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:43,240 I've invested this into you and into other other men. 405 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:47,280 Now be sure to pass this on to other faithful men so that they 406 00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:50,880 can then pass it on as well. Don't let this thing that I gave 407 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:54,080 you die with you. Keep passing it on. 408 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:59,080 This is discipleship, Paul investing himself into multiple 409 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:01,920 men who then turn around and do the same. 410 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:07,520 In 2nd Corinthians 12, Paul brought a bit of clarity to what 411 00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:11,240 it means to be strong in the Lord. 412 00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:15,600 There, Paul outlines all these experiences that he'd had. 413 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:18,280 He'd had visions, he'd had revelations. 414 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:22,560 He he was taken up into heaven. Well, really, he's not even 415 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:25,080 actually sure if he was physically taken into heaven or 416 00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:28,520 if it's just just a vision or out of body experience or, or 417 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:31,120 what it is. He's experienced all these 418 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:37,080 amazing things and, and he says he can't tell us about it. 419 00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:39,720 He says, I could tell you the truth of these situations, but 420 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:42,560 I'm not going to do that because in fact, the things I've 421 00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:50,400 experienced and have only led to just this sense of awe and 422 00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:53,440 being, being able to see all these things that God is able to 423 00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:55,280 do. And so because of what I've 424 00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:59,760 experienced, God sent me this thorn in the side, the thorn in 425 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:05,240 the flesh, this thing to humble me and keep me down so that I 426 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:07,240 didn't become proud and boastful. 427 00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:11,080 And this, this thorn in the flesh was so horrible. 428 00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:14,720 I, I pleaded with God several times. 429 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:17,680 I asked God, can you please remove this? 430 00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:29,480 But God, God says my grace in, in 2nd Corinthians 12, my grace 431 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:34,080 is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in 432 00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:37,400 weakness. And Paul says, therefore I will 433 00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:41,880 boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of 434 00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:48,800 Christ may rest upon me. Do you catch this? 435 00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:54,880 Paul was glad to be weak in himself. 436 00:30:56,240 --> 00:31:01,120 He didn't want personal fleshly strength, which I can't help but 437 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:07,120 wonder if he had a bit of because because he was fairly 438 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:09,720 athletic. I think probably scriptures. 439 00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:12,360 He he loves athletic illustrations. 440 00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:15,840 So, you know, I, I think he may have had some strength as well, 441 00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:20,200 but Paul knew. But Paul knew that at the end of 442 00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:26,880 his rope, that was where God's awesome power was demonstrated. 443 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:30,960 God's grace would come shining through and it would show itself 444 00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:34,280 to be sufficient for every moment in his life. 445 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:40,640 At that point, Paul could say that he was proud of his 446 00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:45,920 weakness because Christ was demonstrated in his weaknesses. 447 00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:50,920 When we find strength in ourselves, we're venturing into 448 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:57,640 dangerous territory. Strengthen myself is the entry 449 00:31:57,640 --> 00:32:00,080 way to pride, which will tear you up when you give yourself 450 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:02,720 over to it. You know, you know the verses. 451 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:06,400 Pride goes before the fall. God opposes the proud but gives 452 00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:11,720 grace to the humble. Pride isn't where we want to 453 00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:15,320 find ourselves. When we end up in pride, then we 454 00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:22,560 make ourselves an enemy of God. Pride can sneak in when you 455 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:27,040 least expect it. In Galatians 61, Paul told the 456 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:30,680 church at Galatia what to do when someone's caught in sin. 457 00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:39,280 He says, brothers, if anyone is is caught in any transgression, 458 00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:43,480 you who are spiritual should restore him in the spirit of 459 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:49,200 gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you 460 00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:57,200 too be tempted. The warning here is for even the 461 00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:00,960 spiritually mature, those who have been around in the faith 462 00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:03,480 for many years, they, they have grown up. 463 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:08,400 They are no longer on just the milk of the word, but they're, 464 00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:12,000 they're consuming solid food from the word. 465 00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:18,520 Even those people watch out. Be careful when you are 466 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:21,520 confronting someone's sin. Be careful. 467 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:24,000 Check yourself first. Make sure that you don't have 468 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:27,160 any sin in your heart that that you need to attend to. 469 00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:32,120 And this is important so that we're not tempted to become 470 00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:37,920 arrogant or puffed up by finding strengthen in ourselves or in 471 00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:40,800 the while in the process of confronting someone else's sin. 472 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:46,760 Oh look how good I am, look how mature I am, and look how much 473 00:33:46,760 --> 00:33:51,880 sin you have in your life. No, that is not what Paul wants 474 00:33:51,880 --> 00:33:55,160 us to be doing. So keep watch on yourself lest 475 00:33:55,160 --> 00:34:00,320 you also be tempted. Our strength must be in God and 476 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:05,600 not ourselves. Lastly #5 act in love. 477 00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:16,480 Act in love. What might the outcome be if 478 00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:22,000 Paul stopped with verse 13 and he didn't include the words of 479 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:26,679 verse 14? He says be watchful, look out 480 00:34:26,679 --> 00:34:28,639 for the enemy, stand firm in the faith. 481 00:34:28,639 --> 00:34:31,400 That is, don't let anything move you or dissuade you. 482 00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:34,679 Be courageous and act like men. Be strong. 483 00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:41,000 What if Paul had stopped there? If we only had Paul's first four 484 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:44,600 exhortations, then, then we could end up being militant, 485 00:34:44,600 --> 00:34:51,560 hardened, unforgiving. A Christian who has all these 486 00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:56,560 things but not love is incomplete. 487 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:02,440 Love brings a softer side to our character. 488 00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:06,800 It's the perfect complement to each of these principles. 489 00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:12,960 With love, our firmness doesn't become rigidity. 490 00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:20,760 With love, our strength doesn't become domineering. 491 00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:25,360 With love, the courage we display in our lives is properly 492 00:35:25,360 --> 00:35:31,120 guided and considerate. And when cold in love, the right 493 00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:35,080 doctrine in our lives doesn't turn into dogmatic legalism. 494 00:35:37,040 --> 00:35:40,760 As we pour love over these 4 commands, we escape the trap of 495 00:35:40,920 --> 00:35:44,760 self righteousness. We walk in grace, devoid of any 496 00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:47,880 arrogance that may desire to creep into our hearts. 497 00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:53,720 In Ephesians 4, Paul addressed those who are tossed around by 498 00:35:53,720 --> 00:35:57,240 different doctrines and in verse 14 he told the Ephesian church 499 00:35:57,240 --> 00:36:00,520 and us how to address these situations. 500 00:36:00,520 --> 00:36:04,760 When someone follows after some sort of untruth, something that 501 00:36:05,240 --> 00:36:07,800 is doesn't jive with what scripture says. 502 00:36:08,920 --> 00:36:15,480 He says his advice was was to speak the truth in love. 503 00:36:18,360 --> 00:36:25,360 Speaking of the truth is great, but it needs to be accompanied 504 00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:29,600 by love. We have to hold these two things 505 00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:34,680 in balance. If we speak only truth, then we 506 00:36:34,680 --> 00:36:40,040 can come off as proud, judgmental and legalistic, and 507 00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:44,160 this can lead to an environment that is unforgiving. 508 00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:52,920 On the other hand, all grace, all love, it can lead to moral 509 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:56,320 indifference and potentially enables harmful behaviors. 510 00:36:57,960 --> 00:37:00,640 Someone whose outlook is all grace is devoid of any real 511 00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:02,720 foundation. They can just float back and 512 00:37:02,720 --> 00:37:04,680 forth from this belief to that one. 513 00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:08,800 Whatever their heart desires, they have no real anchor for 514 00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:16,240 their soul. Live however you want, I love 515 00:37:16,240 --> 00:37:17,600 you, you can do whatever you want. 516 00:37:19,320 --> 00:37:25,240 That is not what love is but biblical grace and truth however 517 00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:34,880 is life transforming. It's biblical truth but it's 518 00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:41,160 covered in love and grace and says this is the truth. 519 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:50,720 Now go walk in that. The other night we had an elders 520 00:37:50,720 --> 00:37:56,000 meeting and and talking about someone Mike Findley said a 521 00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:59,760 certain author and I think I would say theologian that he 522 00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:06,160 follows online is like AI love this picture a velvet covered 523 00:38:06,280 --> 00:38:11,880 brick. This this this gentleman can can 524 00:38:11,880 --> 00:38:16,040 communicate truth. That's the brick part, of 525 00:38:16,040 --> 00:38:22,600 course, but they do it in such a manner that you don't even 526 00:38:22,600 --> 00:38:25,640 realize that you've just been clobbered by a brick. 527 00:38:28,640 --> 00:38:35,640 They do it gently. They do it with grace and in 528 00:38:35,640 --> 00:38:42,800 love. Men, rather than follow the 529 00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:46,840 horrible examples that we have set before us in our 530 00:38:46,840 --> 00:38:54,000 entertainment, let's follow the model set before us here in 531 00:38:54,000 --> 00:39:00,720 Scripture. Be watchful, stand firm in the 532 00:39:00,720 --> 00:39:07,920 faith, be courageous as you act like a man, be strengthened by 533 00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:16,120 the Holy Spirit's and let all that you do be done in love. 534 00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:19,800 Let's bow our heads and close our eyes. 535 00:39:26,640 --> 00:39:32,560 God, we thank you for the opportunity to look into your 536 00:39:32,560 --> 00:39:36,720 word. We thank you that we can look 537 00:39:36,720 --> 00:39:41,960 into your word and God and we can see how you want us as as 538 00:39:41,960 --> 00:39:51,040 men, as fathers to live. God, I pray that each man in 539 00:39:51,040 --> 00:39:55,520 this place this morning would not be discouraged because of 540 00:39:55,520 --> 00:39:59,760 what he's heard, but that each man would see, OK, hey, here are 541 00:39:59,760 --> 00:40:03,640 the things that I need to do. Here's how, Here's how I can 542 00:40:03,640 --> 00:40:06,800 live. Here's what it means to be a 543 00:40:06,800 --> 00:40:14,280 godly man, to be a godly father. And we ponder these things. 544 00:40:14,280 --> 00:40:19,240 God, I pray that each man in this place would just pick one 545 00:40:19,240 --> 00:40:22,440 thing. What is 1 area where I can grow? 546 00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:36,080 So God, we pray for the Holy Spirit's working. 547 00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:43,760 We pray that you would empower us to live, to live this 548 00:40:43,760 --> 00:40:46,200 Christian life in the way that you have called us to live. 549 00:40:50,480 --> 00:40:56,080 God that we would, we would be able to step forward, encourage 550 00:40:56,440 --> 00:41:00,080 to be obedient to you no matter what you are calling us to. 551 00:41:01,320 --> 00:41:04,720 So we offer these things to you. It's in Jesus name we pray, 552 00:41:06,080 --> 00:41:06,440 Amen.