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We welcome you to the We Are 
Zion sermon podcast. 

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We are a church based out of 
Chennai, India. 

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We are thrilled that you tuned 
in today and hope that you will 

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be refreshed, revived, and 
energized by what you hear. 

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Our desire is that you will live
life with a renewed sense of 

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purpose that stems from a 
vibrant faith in Jesus. 

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Jesus is the giver of life and 
when we invite him into our 

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heart, he brings new life into 
every aspect of our life. 

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This Lent, we pray that you will
experience this new life in 

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amazing ways and carry its power
into the world so that all may 

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know the way, the truth, and the
life. 

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As we just saw, we are talking 
this entire month and a little 

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bit more right up into Easter 
about inheriting this new life, 

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inheriting the resurrection 
life. 

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And today we're looking at Part 
1, which is basically death to 

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sin and alive in Christ. 
Now what does this look like? 

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Right? 
Something has got to change. 

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That's what I gave. 
You know, the subtitle, if I'm 

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going to call it death to sin 
and alive to Christ, my subtitle

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is something has got to change. 
What do I mean by that? 

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You know that when we become 
believers, when we start 

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following Jesus, when we call 
ourselves disciples of Jesus, 

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when we have accepted him 
through the, you know, just 

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praying and inviting him in, at 
that moment of salvation, 

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everything changes. 
I think it was Eugene Peterson 

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who said it's literally like 
being transferred from the old 

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country of sin into the new 
country of grace, right? 

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And being dead to sin and alive 
in Christ, he says, is like as 

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if you were living in this 
country of sin. 

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There's a whole country of sin, 
but you moved house into the 

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country of grace. 
That's what it looks like. 

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And I really was, you know, when
I was mulling over it and 

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looking at these different 
chapters called the apostle Paul

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writes a lot about this. 
In fact, it seems like his 

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life's mandate to encourage 
people to find Christ so that 

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they can live out this new life.
And the new life looks nothing 

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like the old. 
Irrespective of, and you think 

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about it, Paul, he was a Jew. 
He had the law and the prophets 

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in his hand. 
He was victimizing and 

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persecuting the the sect of 
Christianity. 

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He was doing everything that he 
thought was right to, you know, 

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serve his God to advance 
Judaism. 

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And God meets him and says, why 
are you persecuting? 

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And then his life is 
dramatically changed because of 

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that experience. 
And he says that you know what, 

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I'm the worst of sinners. 
He talks about his past being so

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fanatical and says how he missed
the mark and how God had rescued

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him. 
And so sometimes, you know, when

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we think about this dead to sin,
alive in Christ, we sometimes 

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count ourselves out of that 
thing. 

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You know what? 
I was really not dead to sin. 

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I didn't do such bad things. 
And so we're going to be looking

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at what this looks like 
practically. 

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But before we look at the 
practical outworking of it, 

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we're first going to understand 
what it actually means to be 

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dead to sin and alive in Christ.
And we're going to be looking at

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Ephesians chapter 2, verses 4 to
7. 

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And before we even get there, I 
want to just give you this, you 

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know, statutory warning that 
this is a lifelong process. 

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Walking in freedom, living a 
life to Christ is a lifelong 

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thing. 
It is not one and done. 

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What Jesus did on the cross was 
one and done. 

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But us working out our salvation
on a daily basis with the help 

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of the Holy Spirit, it is an 
everyday thing. 

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It's a lifelong thing. 
There was someone who told the 

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evangelist Stanley Jones this. 
He was an expert in airplanes, 

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this friend of his. 
And so he told Stanley Jones 

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that it takes twice the power 
for the machine to rise from the

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water as it does for it to fly. 
The earth and water seem loath 

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to let it go. 
What does he mean by that? 

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It is hard to let go of old sins
and old patterns and addictions 

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and the things of the past in 
pursuit of the new life in 

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Christ. 
It is hard work. 

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It is hard, and thanks be to God
that we don't do it alone. 

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The Holy Spirit is the one who 
provides us the fuel and the 

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ability to actually be 
transformed. 

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It's really not about us 
striving because salvation 

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itself was a gift. 
We didn't do anything to earn 

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our salvation. 
It was grace. 

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And therefore even the 
sanctification process is 

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mediated by the the amazing work
of the Holy Spirit. 

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So even as we get into this, I 
don't want you to be 

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discouraged. 
I don't want you to be 

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disheartened. 
I want you to look at this and 

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say, Holy Spirit, I'm giving you
room. 

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Help me to live dead to sin and 
alive to Christ. 

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We're going to be looking at 
Ephesians 2 verses four to 

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seven, it says. 
But because of His great love 

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for us, God, who is rich in 
mercy, made us alive with Christ

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even when we were dead in 
transgressions. 

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It is by grace you have been 
saved. 

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And God raised us up with Christ
and seated us with him in the 

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heavenly realms in Christ Jesus 
in order that in the coming 

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ages, He might show the 
incomparable riches of His grace

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expressed in His kindness to us 
in Christ Jesus. 

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If you look at this, it's 
talking about how salvation, 

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like I said, is an act of God's 
grace, his favor upon our lives.

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It has nothing to do with 
something we earned. 

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And then he also says that we 
went just, yes, we were saved to

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reconcile us to God, to bring us
back into close communion with 

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God. 
But it's also so that through 

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our lives, through us, he would 
display his kindness and grace 

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to others. 
So it's always twofold. 

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It's not only about ourselves. 
Salvation is also about others, 

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right? 
And so this made us alive. 

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Made us alive is actually a 
quickening of the Spirit. 

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It's enlivening someone. 
And when Jesus rose from the 

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grave, every believer or in him 
received that resurrection power

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as well. 
They and us included. 

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We are alive with Him. 
That's what it means. 

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What does it mean to be dead in 
our transgressions? 

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The word there is actually 
Necross. 

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The necros means, as you know, 
the word necrosis, something 

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that is rotting and decaying and
damaged. 

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And imagine that when Jesus 
found us, each of us, we were 

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dead in our transgressions. 
And then because of his work on 

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the cross and his rising from 
the dead, we were made alive in 

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Christ. 
So while salvation's main 

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purpose is to draw you and me 
back to our Creator, I believe a

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secondary purpose is that we 
would live for him, so that a 

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watching world, you know, draws 
others to him. 

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I was reading the story of how 
this man found a little dog with

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a broken limb at his gate. 
And so, feeling pity for the 

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little animals, a little stray, 
he took her in, nursed her back 

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to health so that the limp 
disappeared and she completely 

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became better. 
And one day she disappeared. 

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You know, after enjoying a 
couple of weeks of just running 

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around the house and recovering 
and coming back into full 

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strength, the dog disappeared. 
And the man was heartbroken. 

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He thought, wow, was the dog 
really that ungrateful? 

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And he was grieving about it for
a few hours when the next 

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morning when he woke up there 
was a scratching on his front 

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door and lo and behold, the same
dog had returned and not alone 

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had brought another dog in who 
was also limping in one limb. 

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Almost as if to say, you healed 
me, you saved me. 

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Can you do the same for this 
guy? 

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That is our job as believers. 
We were not saved just for 

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ourselves. 
We were saved so that others 

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would see God's work in US and 
say, hey, I want what you have. 

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And in Ephesians, Paul goes on 
to say that we were created in 

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Christ Jesus to do good works 
which he prepared in advance. 

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So we, we are not saved by our 
good works because it's just 

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grace, but we are saved to do 
good so that many come to the 

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saving knowledge of Jesus. 
So my question to you is this, 

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are we living a life that is so 
transformed, so changed that the

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world that watches us says, hey,
I want Jesus because Jesus did 

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that for them. 
I want Jesus in my life too. 

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I was reading a couple of 
stories about how the Christian 

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minority should have increased 
globally, but the main deterrent

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to the growth of Christianity is
Christians. 

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Did you know that Mahatma Gandhi
said I love Christ, but 

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Christians not so much. 
He actually said this. 

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It is a first class human 
tragedy that people of the earth

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who claim to believe in the 
message of Jesus, whom they 

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describe as the Prince of Peace,
show little of that belief in 

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actual practice. 
What a tragedy indeed. 

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I was reading a person on 
Instagram had written about how 

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he's friends with a Jewish 
rabbi. 

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And you know, his question to 
the rabbi is how come you still 

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haven't accepted Jesus? 
And he said, well, Jews judge a 

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rabbi by the behaviour of his 
followers because, you know, a 

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rabbi had these followers were 
apprentices, talmid, that's the 

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word. 
And these guys just did 

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everything that the rabbi taught
them. 

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They lived out what he taught. 
And my question and you know 

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that the teacher's reputation 
travel through the students. 

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So our question is, does our 
life communicate our rabbi's 

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teaching? 
Does our life translate as the 

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Master speaking through US, 
doing through US, or are we a 

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deterrent to the gospel being 
spread? 

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Is my life a deterrent? 
So coming back to this idea of 

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new life in Christ, this is just
something I want to leave with 

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you, whether, you know, we 
actually are impacting the world

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because of the new life we 
carry. 

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But how do we understand this 
new life? 

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What is this new life? 
You're probably saying, I've 

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read it probably just 
axiomatically like I have done, 

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and we're going to go through it
verse by verse from Romans 

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chapter 6. 
And you know, Romans, I have 

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this mind block against Romans 
where it just feels too 

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difficult to understand. 
But I want us to read it. 

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We're going to read it in chunks
and just kind of understand it 

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and then get to the practical 
application of this Romans 

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chapter 6, verses 1 to 14. 
What shall we say then? 

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Shall we go on sinning so that 
grace may increase? 

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By no means. 
We are those who have died to 

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sin. 
How can we live in it any 

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longer? 
Don't you know that all of us 

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who were baptized into Christ 
Jesus were baptized into his 

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death? 
We were therefore buried with 

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him through baptism into death 
in order that just as Christ was

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raised from the dead through the
glory of the Father, we too may 

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live a new life. 
We're going to just pause there.

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So he's basically talking about 
how every new believer in the 

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early church and even today, one
of the steps we encourage a new 

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believer to take his baptism. 
It's not a compulsory thing. 

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We don't, we don't stuff, you 
know, stuff it down someone's 

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throat. 
But it is preferable to walk 

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through the waters of baptism to
actually identify with Jesus, to

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publicly declare, hey, this is 
who I'm following. 

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And also to ascertain that you 
know what? 

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I am dying with Jesus when I go 
under the waters, and I'm being 

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resurrected with him when I come
out. 

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So it's a powerful symbolism, 
one that, you know, a lot of 

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people argue with us about. 
Should I get baptized? 

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You know, I love Jesus and all 
of that. 

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And we only have one explanation
for that. 

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If Jesus did it without 
argument, I don't think we need 

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to be arguing about it, right? 
Jesus tells John that let's do 

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this to fulfill all 
righteousness. 

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And so Jesus did it. 
I think I want to do what Jesus 

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did. 
That should put an end to any 

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argument. 
So baptism is important in just 

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symbolizing this deeper truth 
that I'm being baptized into 

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death. 
I go under the waters 

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symbolizing death and come out a
new creation on its own. 

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It's just a ritual. 
It doesn't mean anything on the 

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surface of it, but it is 
representative of a deeper 

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spiritual truth. 
Continuing to read, it says For 

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if we have been united with him 
in a death like his, we will 

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certainly also be united with 
him in a resurrection like his. 

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For we know that our old self 
was crucified with him so that 

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the body ruled by sin might be 
done away with, that we should 

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no longer be slaves to sin 
because anyone who has died has 

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been set free from sin. 
So Paul is basically making a 

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case for resurrection. 
He's saying, hey, you know what?

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If we have been united in his 
death, it's like an equation. 

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United in death, therefore 
united in resurrection. 

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That's what he's saying. 
But he's saying that when you 

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die to sin, you're basically no 
longer a slave to it. 

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And when someone dies, think 
about it, If you, if you've had 

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a loved one go through prolonged
sickness and then enter glory 

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00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:30,440
through death, you, you have 
this sense of relief that 

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they're no longer suffering, 
right? 

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They're free from the brokenness
of earth. 

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And that's what he's talking 
about. 

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00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:40,320
And it's the spiritual reality 
that he's talking about. 

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Here is what the gospel writer 
said, that whom the sun sets 

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free is free indeed. 
And so the death and 

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resurrection of Jesus has set us
free from sin and death now and 

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forever. 
Continuing to read now. 

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If we died with Christ, we 
believe that we will also live 

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with him. 
For we know that since Christ 

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was raised from the dead, he 
cannot die again. 

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00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:02,840
Death no longer has mastery over
him. 

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The death he died, he died to 
sin once for all, but the life 

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00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:10,840
he lives, he lives to God in the
same way, count yourselves dead 

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to sin, but alive to God in 
Christ Jesus. 

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00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:18,240
So basically, if you look at 
this, the whole point is this 

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00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:22,480
you and I died to sin when we 
accepted Jesus and we live 

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00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:27,520
alive, vitalized, revitalized, 
just to enjoy communion with 

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God. 
You know, in the Garden of Eden,

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that was the thing that was 
lost, the communion between 

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00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:35,560
Adam, Eve and God. 
They would walk in the cool of 

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00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:39,680
of the day, enjoy each other's 
company, talking as you know, as

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00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:42,040
you know, deep friend, there was
a deep friendship. 

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00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:47,000
There was so much love and open 
communication which broke at the

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00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:49,520
tree of good and evil when they 
consumed the fruit. 

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00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:55,400
And in Jesus dying and being 
risen again, that communion was 

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00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:57,480
being restored. 
Isn't that amazing? 

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00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:00,680
So that you and I can walk close
together. 

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00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:03,640
So you and I can walk with God 
close together. 

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00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:07,040
Continuing to read. 
Therefore do not let sin reign 

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00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:09,840
in your mortal body so that you 
obey its evil desires. 

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00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:14,080
Do not offer any part of 
yourself to sin as an instrument

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00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:17,800
of wickedness, but rather offer 
yourselves to God as those who 

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00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:21,280
have been brought from death to 
life, and offer every part of 

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00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:24,760
yourself to Him as an instrument
of righteousness. 

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00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:28,240
For sin shall no longer be your 
master, because you are not 

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00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:34,000
under the law, but under grace. 
This is a very loaded set of 

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00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:36,520
sentences. 
He's basically giving them a 

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00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:38,280
command. 
He says you come into this new 

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00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:40,480
life. 
Let not sin be the thing that 

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00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:43,200
drives your life. 
Your old life, whether you liked

275
00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:46,000
it or not, was driven by your 
passions, your desires, your 

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00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:50,400
flesh, your lusts, your desires,
your ambitions, but now in the 

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00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:52,440
new life. 
This is a life mediated by the 

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00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:55,800
Spirit of God. 
Do things which are pleasing to 

279
00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:57,640
God. 
Do things that He leads you to 

280
00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:00,520
do, which will edify others, 
which will bless Him. 

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00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:04,760
And you know, you're probably 
thinking, well, I don't do these

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00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:07,760
terrible sins that, you know, 
probably the Bible lists. 

283
00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:10,720
Maybe you know, you feel, you 
know what I thought I was saved 

284
00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:11,960
once. 
I think that covered it. 

285
00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:13,800
I thought the blood of Jesus 
covered all of it. 

286
00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:18,960
I just want to help you reframe 
that because when Jesus came to 

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00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:23,200
the earth, when you look at the 
Gospel writers, they would talk 

288
00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:26,400
about what Jesus taught them. 
And one of the things Jesus did 

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00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:30,840
was he redefined sin to the 
people he was teaching and to 

290
00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:33,040
us. 
In the Old Testament, there were

291
00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:36,600
these serious commands that were
given to Moses up on the 

292
00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:38,680
mountain where he was received 
over 40 days. 

293
00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:41,520
God gives him instructions, and 
then following that, there were 

294
00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:44,200
more instructions given. 
So the people had a lot to keep 

295
00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:46,760
track of. 
But in the New Testament, Jesus 

296
00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:49,560
broadly classified it into two. 
He said love the Lord your God 

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00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:51,400
with all your heart, soul, mind 
and strength. 

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00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:54,720
And he said, love your neighbor 
as yourself, which kind of 

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00:15:54,720 --> 00:16:00,240
summed up all of the law, right?
But he also changed the way we 

300
00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:03,840
view the law. 
So basically, he said, you know 

301
00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:05,840
what? 
If you look at someone with 

302
00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:11,640
lust, you're committed adultery.
He said if you were cursing your

303
00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:15,440
brother or you call them an 
idiot, you were actually guilty 

304
00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:18,000
of being in front of the 
Sanhedrin, accused of murder 

305
00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:19,400
because you were slandering 
someone. 

306
00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:20,760
You were killing their 
reputation. 

307
00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:22,960
He talks of judging others as 
sin. 

308
00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:26,280
He says don't fixate on other 
sin and overlook yours. 

309
00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:29,480
He talked about how being fake 
and hypocritical was such a big 

310
00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:32,080
sin. 
He talked about people having 

311
00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:36,240
insidious ideas that spread and 
corrupted others like the East. 

312
00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:42,880
He reframed the idea of sin. 
And you know, in doing that, he 

313
00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:47,480
made us look at it through the 
lens of grace, that we are saved

314
00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:51,680
by grace, but this grace cannot 
be stretched to to ripping it 

315
00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:54,400
apart. 
And this grace has been given to

316
00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:59,320
us so that we walk everyday 
mindful of this grace involving 

317
00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:03,240
the Holy Spirit in our lives so 
that he helps us move past old 

318
00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:10,240
patterns into freshness. 
So in this reframing, like he 

319
00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:13,160
says over here, don't let sin 
reign. 

320
00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:16,839
He's talking about stuff that 
was ruling and reigning in your 

321
00:17:16,839 --> 00:17:19,960
life, needing to make an exit so
that there would be room for the

322
00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:23,480
new life. 
And he says offer every part of 

323
00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:26,800
your life, which means every 
part of your body, what you 

324
00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:32,160
view, what you touch, what you 
indulge in, what you speak, what

325
00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:36,200
you're thinking, where your feet
take you, every element of your 

326
00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:39,640
life, your work life, your 
private life, your personal 

327
00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:42,840
desires, your ambitions, the 
motives of your heart. 

328
00:17:43,200 --> 00:17:46,040
Everything has to come under the
lordship of Christ. 

329
00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:49,600
It can't just be lip service. 
We offer because that ended when

330
00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:53,760
Jesus came to us. 
So when we come down to the rest

331
00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:56,800
of the thing. 
It talks about these phrases. 

332
00:17:56,800 --> 00:18:01,480
If you notice, for you have died
to sin, you are alive in Christ.

333
00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:05,080
And as I was looking through it 
in the, you know, there was this

334
00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:07,400
the strong's concordance. 
I like to look at these words 

335
00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:10,320
and understand them. 
I was curious about the tense of

336
00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:13,320
these words, you know, like past
tense, present tense. 

337
00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:14,880
We know that. 
So when I was reading it had 

338
00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:20,400
this weird grammatical sentence.
They had said the phrases died 

339
00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:25,400
to sin and alive in Christ are 
aorist active verbs. 

340
00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:28,120
So I went to Google and I said, 
what is an aerist verb? 

341
00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:32,680
It's basically a Greek word 
which is in its past tense, and 

342
00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:35,320
this is what it says. 
It's a completed action in the 

343
00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:38,280
past. 
It's a single completed action 

344
00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:43,560
in the past, which means when 
you and I were saved, we were 

345
00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:46,040
made dead to sin, alive to 
Christ. 

346
00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:48,120
One single moment, a single 
action. 

347
00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:54,160
And yet Paul also writes about 
how work out your own salvation 

348
00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:57,600
with fear and trembling. 
He talks about being sanctified 

349
00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:00,040
by the Spirit. 
He says let's keep in step with 

350
00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:04,720
the Spirit, be transformed, that
we are moving from one place of 

351
00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:07,600
one stage of glory to another 
because the more we are in 

352
00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:10,760
contact with Jesus. 
So what does this actually mean?

353
00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:15,640
So if at the moment of salvation
we got our freedom from sin and 

354
00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:19,000
death, we were launched into 
living this new life, this 

355
00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:22,240
vitalized life, it should have 
ideally been done there and we 

356
00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:24,600
should be able to live 
completely free of sin, 

357
00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:27,640
completely free from temptation.
But that's not an ideal 

358
00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:29,560
situation. 
We live in a fallen world. 

359
00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:32,800
We have people who have been 
touched by that fallenness. 

360
00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:36,720
We deal with everyday situations
where our integrity is tested, 

361
00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:42,160
our morality is tested, and 
therefore it demands that we 

362
00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:46,720
take an active involvement along
with the Holy Spirit to actually

363
00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:49,840
walk out the new life. 
We can't do it in our own 

364
00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:52,160
strength. 
We cannot strive, we cannot will

365
00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:54,840
ourselves to do it. 
But with the Holy Spirit's help,

366
00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:59,040
being completely pliable by Him,
we can actually walk into the 

367
00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:03,880
newness of life, right? 
Because in living this new life,

368
00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:06,920
things change, you know, many 
times. 

369
00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:10,000
When we live the Christian life,
sometimes you'll notice a season

370
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:12,440
where you feel stagnant. 
You don't have joy. 

371
00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:14,360
You don't have a pep in your 
step. 

372
00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:16,240
You're wondering, God. 
It just feels like, you know, 

373
00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:18,760
like before. 
Because as soon as I got saved, 

374
00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:21,280
it felt like, you know, my 
senses were cleared up. 

375
00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:23,600
I could smell the roses. 
I could hear, you know, the 

376
00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:25,920
birds. 
And now I feel clogged up again.

377
00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:28,160
And maybe it's time to check the
drains. 

378
00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:31,760
Maybe it's time to go back and 
say, hey, am I really living the

379
00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:34,640
new life in Christ? 
And like I said about what 

380
00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:38,440
Eugene Peterson compared it to, 
he said it's like having a house

381
00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:43,360
in the old country of sin. 
When you are saved, you move 

382
00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:46,080
house and you come into the new 
country of grace. 

383
00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:49,760
But you know, I want to just 
kind of drag that out a bit 

384
00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:51,440
more, drag that analogy out a 
bit more. 

385
00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:55,480
Many times we do vacate, but 
when we come into the new 

386
00:20:55,480 --> 00:20:58,600
country of grace, we bring all 
the building materials from the 

387
00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:01,800
old house. 
And unfortunately in the old 

388
00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:05,800
life, those building materials 
were probably mouldy with, with 

389
00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:08,400
shame, with doubt, with self 
hate. 

390
00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:11,760
Probably it was moth eaten 
because of, of, you know, 

391
00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:14,520
spiritual decay and and 
religiosity. 

392
00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:19,120
Maybe it was rusted because of 
just being so oppressed by 

393
00:21:19,120 --> 00:21:22,120
situations, being traumatized 
and living under that trauma. 

394
00:21:22,360 --> 00:21:26,600
And so I bring those defiled 
building materials into the land

395
00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:29,200
of grace and start attempting to
rebuild my life here. 

396
00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:34,560
And no wonder the new life in 
Christ doesn't look new, but 

397
00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:38,080
just looks like a repeat of the 
old in a different landscape. 

398
00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:42,400
And so today I want us to look 
at how although the struggle 

399
00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:45,680
with sin is ongoing, like 
someone said, salvation has 

400
00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:49,240
these three parts where you 
know, in justification, the 

401
00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:51,040
penalty for sin is is dealt 
with. 

402
00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:54,560
Jesus paid the full penalty on 
the cross so you and I don't 

403
00:21:54,560 --> 00:21:56,880
have to pay it. 
And then through sanctification,

404
00:21:56,880 --> 00:21:59,960
this life on earth, when God is 
sanctifying us through the work 

405
00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:04,000
of the Holy Spirit, the power of
sin is being lost that it no 

406
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:07,520
longer has a hold on us. 
It's gone and we're walking that

407
00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:11,360
out towards eternity. 
And then in the future there's 

408
00:22:11,360 --> 00:22:14,360
glorification where the presence
of sin is gone completely. 

409
00:22:14,360 --> 00:22:18,600
We live in communion with Jesus 
in heaven where there is no sin.

410
00:22:19,360 --> 00:22:22,080
But while we are here, we're in 
the now and not yet. 

411
00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:25,080
We're in the middle. 
And in the middle, it is messy 

412
00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:28,560
because we're still having this 
ongoing struggle with our flesh.

413
00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:32,560
There's a lot of oppression that
we feel from the enemy. 

414
00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:37,520
And so navigating that will 
require us to be heavily 

415
00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:42,480
dependent on God, right? 
Because when on earth, we're 

416
00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:45,280
dealing with the temptations and
trappings of the earth. 

417
00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:50,680
And so today I'm hoping that I 
would help you and help myself 

418
00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:53,800
arrive at what is keeping us 
from living this new life. 

419
00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,760
This week I was just going 
through a lot of the scriptures 

420
00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:59,080
that God had given me over the 
last year and saying, you know 

421
00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:02,000
what, Lord, I'm not feeling the 
joy of this new season. 

422
00:23:02,600 --> 00:23:07,120
And, you know, God really moved 
me to see areas where the old 

423
00:23:07,120 --> 00:23:09,800
stuff was still dogging me, you 
know, those old materials that 

424
00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:11,200
had brought into this new 
season. 

425
00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:13,280
And God was saying it's time you
get rid of it. 

426
00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:15,880
It's time to rebuild from the 
ground up, which means certain 

427
00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:17,240
foundations had to be thrown 
out. 

428
00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:20,360
Certain belief systems that I 
had carried in from my childhood

429
00:23:20,360 --> 00:23:23,440
had to be completely broken up 
and thrown out. 

430
00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:28,240
And so we're going to be looking
at Colossians chapter 2 to 

431
00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:33,880
understand why it is so hard for
us to actually break free of the

432
00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:37,600
old patterns and actually live 
in the newness of life that 

433
00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:41,240
Christ got for us. 
Colossians chapter 2, verses 13 

434
00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:43,600
onwards. 
It says when you were dead in 

435
00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:46,840
your sins, and in this 
uncircumcision of your flesh, 

436
00:23:47,120 --> 00:23:51,680
God made you alive with Christ. 
He forgave us all our sins. 

437
00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:55,200
Having cancelled the charge of 
our legal indebtedness which 

438
00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:58,400
stood against us and condemned 
us, He has taken it away, 

439
00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:01,400
nailing it to the cross. 
And having disarmed the powers 

440
00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:04,760
and authorities, He made a 
public spectacle of them 

441
00:24:05,120 --> 00:24:07,600
triumphing over them by the 
cross. 

442
00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:11,960
I'm reading verses 20 to 23. 
It says since you died with 

443
00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:15,240
Christ to the elemental 
spiritual forces of this world. 

444
00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:19,040
Why, as though you still belong 
to the world, do you submit to 

445
00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:21,480
its rules? 
Do not handle, do not taste, do 

446
00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:23,960
not touch. 
These rules which have to do 

447
00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:26,960
with things that are all 
destined to perish with yous are

448
00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:30,120
based on merely human commands 
and teachings. 

449
00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:34,680
Such regulations indeed have an 
appearance of wisdom with their 

450
00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:39,120
self-imposed worship, false 
humility, and their harsh 

451
00:24:39,120 --> 00:24:43,680
treatment of the body, but they 
lack any value in restraining 

452
00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:46,320
sensual indulgence. 
Now you're probably thinking 

453
00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:48,880
those were just a whole bunch of
high sounding words because 

454
00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:50,280
that's how I felt when I was 
reading this. 

455
00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:55,360
I was like, it took me 5 days to
just really understand even this

456
00:24:55,360 --> 00:24:57,160
and I don't think I've still 
understood it fully. 

457
00:24:57,160 --> 00:25:00,720
There's just so much of meat to 
chew on, but I want to leave it 

458
00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:06,280
in three easy, you know, points 
for you to remember as to what 

459
00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:08,920
could be the barriers for us 
living this new life so that 

460
00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:12,560
when we know the barrier, we 
find the opportunity behind it 

461
00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:16,000
or we find a solution to it. 
So the first barrier is the 

462
00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:19,760
presence of open doors. 
If you looked at verses 13 to 

463
00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:25,080
15, it talks about how in Christ
he forgave us all our sins, 

464
00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:28,080
having cancelled the charge of 
our legal indebtedness. 

465
00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:33,000
What is this legal indebtedness?
So when you and I commit a sin, 

466
00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:37,000
we incur a debt. 
The enemy actually, because we 

467
00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:39,760
have actually, you know, 
committed this grave sin. 

468
00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:43,480
So let's say I have got caught 
up in, in a, in a moment of 

469
00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:45,200
greed and I cheated someone 
else. 

470
00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:47,760
There is a repercussion for it, 
right? 

471
00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:50,720
This repercussion, because of 
this repercussion, there is a 

472
00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:53,600
legal indebtedness. 
The enemy has a hold over me, 

473
00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:55,680
right? 
And it's, there's a distance 

474
00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:57,800
that gets formed between me and 
God. 

475
00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:03,400
Now during salvation, every sin 
has been covered, yes, but we 

476
00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:07,560
keep accessing that forgiveness 
when we repent anew and a flesh 

477
00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:10,440
and we, we don't lose the joy of
our salvation because of the 

478
00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:12,360
separation. 
We don't lose salvation. 

479
00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:14,280
We lose the joy that came with 
it. 

480
00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:17,600
And so this legal indebtedness 
is something that we have to 

481
00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:20,320
understand, at least in a 
broader sense. 

482
00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:24,240
We, I, we don't know the full 
details of how this works, but 

483
00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:29,760
when I engage in any sin, I get 
yoked to the enemy. 

484
00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:34,560
I give him access to my life. 
What does that look like? 

485
00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:38,360
Open doors. 
Sometimes the open doors are 

486
00:26:38,360 --> 00:26:41,240
very blatant because of 
witchcraft or dabbling in the 

487
00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:43,880
occult, but sometimes there's 
milder things which open the 

488
00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:46,560
door nevertheless. 
One of those is bitterness. 

489
00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:53,000
One of those is jealousy, envy, 
anger, lust, greed, anything of 

490
00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:56,200
the flesh which gratifies 
ourselves, which hurts someone 

491
00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:59,640
else, which is not the way God 
intended, which is against God's

492
00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:03,360
commands, opens a doorway for 
the enemy. 

493
00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:07,200
I remember a couple of months 
back we had a person come and 

494
00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:09,400
clean our house. 
I think Geshram shared about 

495
00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:10,960
him. 
And you know, he's like the Holy

496
00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:13,560
Spirit who, you know, 
infiltrates every room, cleans 

497
00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:16,600
up everything. 
And so we have this back net 

498
00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:18,440
door. 
And I think the picture will 

499
00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:20,320
come up. 
We have this net door. 

500
00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:23,960
So a couple of months back a rat
or something had bitten, had 

501
00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:26,920
gnawed on the net and created 
quite a big hole. 

502
00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:30,640
And the the gaping hole was 
there for a good part of a year,

503
00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:33,240
right? 
We did think of changing it, but

504
00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:35,440
never got around to doing it. 
We were a bit lazy. 

505
00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:37,640
We were putting it off. 
We thought, you know what, when 

506
00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:39,720
we paint the house, we'll 
probably replace that. 

507
00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:42,400
And this man was one day 
cleaning the kitchen when he saw

508
00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:43,280
it. 
And he told me, you know what, 

509
00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:45,600
I'll just get a new net and I'll
repair it for you. 

510
00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:49,440
And I didn't expect him to do 
such a good job, but he replaced

511
00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:52,360
the entire net. 
And I love that net door because

512
00:27:52,360 --> 00:27:55,760
it lets wind in from outside. 
It's still airy. 

513
00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:57,960
We get fresh air with a dog in 
the house. 

514
00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:00,600
Nothing like fresh air. 
So I love having the back door 

515
00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:05,880
open. 
And I realized that I had gotten

516
00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:09,880
used to having a hole in the 
net, knowing that our house is 

517
00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:13,000
surrounded by all kinds of 
creepy crawlies in the field 

518
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:15,240
behind and anything could have 
entered. 

519
00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:18,200
I knew it, but I allowed it 
because I thought, you know, 

520
00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:20,160
it's not the biggest deal. 
I mean, if a creature had to 

521
00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:22,360
come through that, they probably
have to really hurt themselves 

522
00:28:22,360 --> 00:28:26,120
and come in. 
I had excused it, assuming that 

523
00:28:26,120 --> 00:28:27,800
the door was closed. 
Nothing could come in. 

524
00:28:28,360 --> 00:28:33,320
But a lot of times the enemy 
utilizes any opening in our the 

525
00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:35,120
doorways of our life to sneak 
in. 

526
00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:40,520
Sometimes when we need to enter 
the new life that God has for 

527
00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:43,640
us, we have to slam the door in 
the face of addictions. 

528
00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:48,600
There are some relationships 
which absolutely have to end in 

529
00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:50,280
order to actually step into the 
new life. 

530
00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:53,560
These are toxic relationships. 
These are relationships that do 

531
00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:55,840
not honour God. 
They probably lead you down a 

532
00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:59,400
path of sin and, and complete 
depravity. 

533
00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:03,160
And in those cases, what we do 
many times is instead of 

534
00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:05,960
slamming the door and locking 
it, we actually put a net door 

535
00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:08,280
so that we have like a whiff of 
the old life now and then. 

536
00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:10,520
You know, when I miss it, I just
kind of, you know, have this 

537
00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:12,720
person in my life to remind me 
of what I'm missing. 

538
00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:17,480
Open doors cause legal 
indebtedness. 

539
00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:21,320
The enemy has control over the 
parts that you let him into. 

540
00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:24,280
What are the doors that are open
to you? 

541
00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:26,720
Are you entertaining holes in 
your doors? 

542
00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:29,840
Because remember this, you can 
fortify your life completely. 

543
00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:33,920
You can do all that is right. 
But if you have that one open 

544
00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:38,440
door, that one conversation with
someone which has let the enemy 

545
00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:41,080
in through the back door, not 
physically cheap, but 

546
00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:42,840
emotionally be distant from your
spouse. 

547
00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:47,080
Maybe it is that one substance 
that you put into your body 

548
00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:49,680
which you know is not good for 
you, which you know the Lord has

549
00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:52,160
been convicting you about, But 
you're saying it doesn't matter,

550
00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:54,800
it's not harming someone else, 
it's still an open door. 

551
00:29:55,000 --> 00:30:00,400
Maybe it is the simple thing of 
envy that you feel for others 

552
00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:03,400
and you're thinking, well, it's 
so private, who knows? 

553
00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:05,240
Well, I want to tell you that 
the Holy Spirit knows 

554
00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:07,840
everything. 
He lives in you, He's with you 

555
00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:12,720
and these open doors are spaces 
that the enemy sneaks in. 

556
00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:17,320
He's given the the description 
of a lion, a roaring lion 

557
00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:19,240
waiting to devour, waiting 
outside. 

558
00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:22,960
He's just crouching at the door.
The minute the door is open, he 

559
00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:25,640
steps in. 
He's also likened to a snake. 

560
00:30:25,640 --> 00:30:28,840
So those holes in those net 
doors of your life, the ones 

561
00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:31,800
that you are keeping open to 
have best of both worlds, he 

562
00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:33,920
will sneak in. 
So it's important for us to 

563
00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:35,880
identify the presence of open 
doors. 

564
00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:39,200
That's one reason why we 
actually struggle with living 

565
00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:42,280
the new life the second. 
Thing is submission to. 

566
00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:44,520
The wrong master. 
If you look at this, it talks 

567
00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:48,160
about how you died with Christ 
to the elemental spiritual 

568
00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:50,800
forces of this world. 
So why do you still belong to 

569
00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:53,360
the world? 
Why do you submit to its rules? 

570
00:30:53,880 --> 00:30:56,880
Why do you do what it says when 
it says Do not handle, do not 

571
00:30:56,880 --> 00:31:00,600
touch, do not do this. 
These are all merely human 

572
00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:04,600
commands and teachings. 
We're living in a time when the 

573
00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:07,480
New Age agenda has infiltrated 
the entire world. 

574
00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:11,440
I was recently sitting on a 
couple of sessions. 

575
00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:13,520
It was like a teaching session 
on trauma. 

576
00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:17,800
And as someone who works with 
people through movement and 

577
00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:20,280
other things, I wanted to 
understand more about trauma. 

578
00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:22,800
I thought I knew about it a 
little bit from my own journey 

579
00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:25,240
in it, but it was very 
informative. 

580
00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:28,240
We were sitting on, you know, 
these YouTube live sessions with

581
00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:31,520
three big shots in the space of 
psychiatry. 

582
00:31:31,760 --> 00:31:34,680
And one of those guys was an 
author of a book that was 

583
00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:38,280
suggested to me many years back 
when I was journeying through my

584
00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:41,440
own season of healing. 
And he wrote this book. 

585
00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:43,920
And so I wanted to sit in on his
session. 

586
00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:46,680
And as I was sitting in on the 
session and listening to him 

587
00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:50,160
speak, I was so disappointed 
because all of these 

588
00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:53,320
psychiatrists who people trust 
their lives to go and sit with 

589
00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:58,440
are very clearly engaging in 
practices that followers of 

590
00:31:58,480 --> 00:32:02,160
Jesus shouldn't dabble in. 
And that's when I realized, so 

591
00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:04,640
this book was suggested to be my
my psychologist. 

592
00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:06,680
She was my counselor. 
She said, you know what, this 

593
00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:08,600
book will be amazing for you. 
You need to read it. 

594
00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:12,160
The book changed my life in 
really enabling me to understand

595
00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:15,680
there was scientific backing to 
dance and art and other things 

596
00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:17,920
as forms of therapy for people 
to heal. 

597
00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:21,480
So that part is solid science. 
But you know, all these add-ons 

598
00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:24,400
were disappointing. 
And that's when I realized, 

599
00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:29,120
that's when I realized that 
people have think they have 

600
00:32:29,120 --> 00:32:30,920
answers. 
If you, you just have to go to 

601
00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:33,480
YouTube and say, how do I lose 
weight on this part of my body? 

602
00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:36,200
And you have a video for it. 
You just have to go to Google. 

603
00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:39,360
You ask what are the best foods 
to eat for such and such medical

604
00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:41,600
condition. 
And you get article after 

605
00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:44,640
article. 
What did people do 20 years back

606
00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:47,320
before the Internet? 
I don't know, but we're living 

607
00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:50,960
in such a time when people when 
man has answers for seemingly 

608
00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:53,760
everything. 
But my question is, who are you 

609
00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:56,400
submitted to? 
And this is what the Lord taught

610
00:32:56,400 --> 00:32:58,560
me this week. 
He said while this book helped 

611
00:32:58,560 --> 00:33:02,720
you, while this person has a lot
of knowledge, you cannot be 

612
00:33:02,720 --> 00:33:06,400
subject and submit yourself to 
His leadership in your life. 

613
00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:11,240
I need you to put me as the 
ultimate leader in your life. 

614
00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:15,160
Jesus, the Word, the living 
Word, the Word who became flesh 

615
00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:19,040
has to be superimposed. 
He is the one I submit to. 

616
00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:23,080
I will not submit to. 
The the teachings. 

617
00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:26,840
Of the world, I can learn it, I 
can read it for the sake of 

618
00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:30,280
education, for the sake of 
understanding more, for better 

619
00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:33,560
understand the scope of, you 
know, the workout there. 

620
00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:37,080
But I cannot submit myself to 
what they advocate. 

621
00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:42,080
And I wonder how many of us have
submitted to the wrong thing, 

622
00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:47,120
submitted to the wrong master. 
Maybe you're thinking if I go to

623
00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:52,440
this guru, if I go to this, you 
know, this particular art form, 

624
00:33:52,440 --> 00:33:56,160
which is, you know, of another 
culture near Oriental culture. 

625
00:33:56,400 --> 00:33:59,840
Maybe if I try this thing that 
others are doing, it might work 

626
00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:01,920
well. 
I want to just encourage you to 

627
00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:07,680
refocus and ask yourself, am I 
submitted to the right master 

628
00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:09,800
the. 
Third thing. 

629
00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:12,239
The third. 
Thing that could be keeping you 

630
00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:18,080
from actually living the new 
life is the display of false 

631
00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:19,639
fruit. 
If you look at that verse, he 

632
00:34:19,639 --> 00:34:25,040
says such regulations have an 
appearance of wisdom with their 

633
00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:28,120
self-imposed worship, their 
false humility, their harsh 

634
00:34:28,120 --> 00:34:32,880
treatment of the body, but they 
lack any value in restraining 

635
00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:36,199
sensual indulgence. 
Now this is how you have to view

636
00:34:36,199 --> 00:34:37,920
it. 
If it's a plant, I'm going to 

637
00:34:37,920 --> 00:34:40,199
show you this picture of this 
plant in my garden. 

638
00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:44,639
So I have a cactus which I was 
growing in this pot and out of 

639
00:34:44,639 --> 00:34:47,080
the blue, this little plant 
started growing up beside it, 

640
00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:49,440
right? 
It looks perfectly beautiful. 

641
00:34:49,440 --> 00:34:53,639
The leaves are so symmetric, so 
adorable to look at. 

642
00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:56,239
So I just let it grow because 
you know what I'm I'm a sucker 

643
00:34:56,239 --> 00:34:58,480
for beauty. 
So I said, well, it looks really

644
00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:00,960
nice. 
The cactus pot is rather empty, 

645
00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:04,000
so let it grow on the side. 
But here's the thing. 

646
00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:08,760
This plant may look perfectly 
healthy, perfectly beautiful, 

647
00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:14,560
but its roots don't go deep, but
it's nevertheless rooted in the 

648
00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:16,680
soil. 
And it is a weed. 

649
00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:19,240
It isn't a genuine plant. 
It's not a garden plant. 

650
00:35:19,240 --> 00:35:23,000
It's not a flowering variety. 
It is actually an insidious 

651
00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:29,160
weed, right? 
And many times, many of us 

652
00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:34,840
display false fruit. 
We display this thing that is so

653
00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:37,840
godly or that I'm doing so much 
for God. 

654
00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:41,240
I serve, I teach in Sunday 
school, I'm bringing my kids up 

655
00:35:41,240 --> 00:35:46,120
amazingly, I am doing the social
work, blah, blah, blah. 

656
00:35:46,720 --> 00:35:50,560
But I wonder what our roots 
actually show. 

657
00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:53,600
Because the roots are where the 
real story lies. 

658
00:35:54,200 --> 00:35:58,360
The roots determine the fruit. 
You can be displaying all kinds 

659
00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:01,960
of fruit, but if your roots are 
bitter, if your roots are not 

660
00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:07,520
rooted in Jesus, if your roots 
are not being held by the Word 

661
00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:10,200
of God, watered by His Spirit, 
there is a problem. 

662
00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:13,080
The fruit is false. 
And I. 

663
00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:15,760
Wonder how many of us can? 
Say to ourselves, be honest with

664
00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:18,320
ourselves. 
This fruit is just for display 

665
00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:19,920
purposes. 
It's not genuine. 

666
00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:23,440
I remember we once took our 
oldest son when he was a little 

667
00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:25,640
baby. 
We took him to some store and 

668
00:36:25,640 --> 00:36:30,280
they had a bowl of plastic fruit
and he got so excited thinking 

669
00:36:30,280 --> 00:36:33,880
it was the real deal and justice
before he popped an apple slice 

670
00:36:33,880 --> 00:36:36,000
in his mouth. 
We had to show him the Velcro 

671
00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:37,920
behind it and say, son, this is 
not real. 

672
00:36:38,680 --> 00:36:41,760
And I wonder if our lives are 
like that, if we've just, you 

673
00:36:41,760 --> 00:36:45,040
know, spray painted the fruit in
our lives and said, hey, guess 

674
00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:47,520
what? 
I'm this person of incredible 

675
00:36:47,720 --> 00:36:50,840
spirituality. 
I am so religious. 

676
00:36:51,880 --> 00:36:56,760
I do all things so perfectly. 
That is the demonstration of 

677
00:36:56,760 --> 00:37:01,200
false root because the roots 
will say who you really are. 

678
00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:06,920
So how do we practically outwork
living dead to sin and being 

679
00:37:06,920 --> 00:37:09,520
alive to Christ just from these 
three symptoms? 

680
00:37:09,840 --> 00:37:13,640
Like I said, open doors, right 
submission to the wrong master 

681
00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:18,000
and display a falsehood. 
How do we actually live opposed 

682
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:20,760
to that? 
How do we actually live out this

683
00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:22,960
new life? 
The first thing is if there are 

684
00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:25,800
open doors that you have 
identified, you need to close 

685
00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:29,680
them decisively. 
You absolutely have to close 

686
00:37:29,680 --> 00:37:32,640
those doors. 
You cannot keep the net door on 

687
00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:34,680
and say, you know what? 
I can. 

688
00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:37,040
I've got the confidence in 
myself that I can, you know, 

689
00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:40,720
withstand temptation. 
I can guarantee you in a weaker 

690
00:37:40,720 --> 00:37:44,320
moment you'll give in where you 
need to put an iron door, 

691
00:37:44,520 --> 00:37:48,160
metaphorically speaking, and 
lock it and throw the key away. 

692
00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:52,960
You should do it if it's that 
old relationship, if it is 

693
00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:56,880
tampering with substances that 
have harmed your body in the 

694
00:37:56,880 --> 00:38:01,160
past, if it has been something 
that has completely dragged you 

695
00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:04,320
down, left you feeling like you 
were completely useless. 

696
00:38:04,320 --> 00:38:06,680
Those are indications of the 
things you need to close the 

697
00:38:06,680 --> 00:38:10,240
door on. 
Colossians chapter 3 verses. 5 

698
00:38:10,240 --> 00:38:13,960
to 11 says Put to death. 
Therefore, whatever belongs to 

699
00:38:13,960 --> 00:38:17,640
your earthly nature, sexual 
immorality, impurity, lust, evil

700
00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:19,520
desires, greed, which is 
idolatry. 

701
00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:22,120
Because of these the wrath of 
God is coming. 

702
00:38:22,120 --> 00:38:26,440
You used to walk in these ways, 
the life you once lived, but now

703
00:38:26,440 --> 00:38:29,400
you must also rid yourself of 
all these other things, anger, 

704
00:38:29,400 --> 00:38:32,960
rage, malice, slander, filthy 
language from your lips. 

705
00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:37,160
Do not lie to each other, since 
you've taken off your old self 

706
00:38:37,160 --> 00:38:40,200
with its practices and have put 
on the new self which is being 

707
00:38:40,200 --> 00:38:43,480
renewed in knowledge in the 
image of its Creator. 

708
00:38:43,480 --> 00:38:46,920
Here there is no Gentile or 
Jews, circumcised or 

709
00:38:46,920 --> 00:38:49,800
uncircumcised, barbarian, 
Scythian slave are free, but 

710
00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:52,920
Christ is all as and is in all 
I'm. 

711
00:38:54,320 --> 00:38:57,680
Going to read also Galatians 5. 
Verse 19, which is the acts of 

712
00:38:57,680 --> 00:39:01,080
the flesh are obvious sexual 
immorality, impurity, 

713
00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:04,800
debauchery, idolatry, 
witchcraft, hatred, discord, 

714
00:39:04,800 --> 00:39:08,600
jealousy, fits of rage, selfish 
ambition, dissensions, factions,

715
00:39:09,200 --> 00:39:11,040
envy, drunkenness, orgies and 
the like. 

716
00:39:11,040 --> 00:39:14,240
I warn you, as I did before, 
that those who live like this 

717
00:39:14,240 --> 00:39:16,160
will not inherit the Kingdom of 
God. 

718
00:39:16,480 --> 00:39:19,520
Those who belong to Christ Jesus
have crucified the flesh with 

719
00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:23,320
his passions and desires. 
Let us not become conceited, 

720
00:39:23,720 --> 00:39:25,360
provoking and envying each 
other. 

721
00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:30,360
You might wonder why I read so 
much because as as humans, we 

722
00:39:30,360 --> 00:39:33,120
have this tendency to minimize 
what we do and say, well, I 

723
00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:35,520
didn't murder anyone. 
Well, if you have been 

724
00:39:35,520 --> 00:39:37,960
struggling with conceit, you 
think you're better than others.

725
00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:41,680
If you've been envying someone 
else, if you have a classist 

726
00:39:41,680 --> 00:39:46,920
mindset, this is for us because 
we don't get an out. 

727
00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:51,080
Whatever is of the flesh, 
whatever is the past, life has 

728
00:39:51,080 --> 00:39:53,560
to die in Christ. 
The door has to be shut. 

729
00:39:53,720 --> 00:39:55,480
What is the door you have left 
open? 

730
00:39:55,760 --> 00:39:57,440
What is the door that you have 
left open? 

731
00:39:57,440 --> 00:40:01,360
That the enemy has come in and 
he has occupied that territory. 

732
00:40:02,280 --> 00:40:05,360
What is the space you need to 
make for more of the Holy 

733
00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:07,760
Spirit? 
When you look at these two 

734
00:40:08,040 --> 00:40:10,320
passages and, there are many 
more passages in the New 

735
00:40:10,320 --> 00:40:13,640
Testament where it's very clear 
the. 

736
00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:16,120
Things that we need to put to. 
Death the things we need to get 

737
00:40:16,120 --> 00:40:18,840
rid of. 
You might say, well, I don't 

738
00:40:18,840 --> 00:40:22,720
dabble in witchcraft. 
Well, if you rebel against God 

739
00:40:22,720 --> 00:40:26,560
and and leadership that he's 
installed the sin of rebellion 

740
00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:28,680
is as witchcraft. 
The Bible says if you are 

741
00:40:28,680 --> 00:40:33,440
someone who wishes bad for other
people, that's witchcraft. 

742
00:40:33,640 --> 00:40:36,640
If you slander someone thinking 
well, you know what they harmed 

743
00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:39,840
me, let me speak back. 
That comes under one of these 

744
00:40:39,840 --> 00:40:43,520
big sins. 
Anything that comes here that is

745
00:40:43,520 --> 00:40:47,360
described as put to death, it 
means the door needs to be shut 

746
00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:49,160
on. 
It cannot be something we 

747
00:40:49,160 --> 00:40:50,520
entertain. 
It cannot be something we 

748
00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:54,160
cohabit with. 
It has to be done harshly, dealt

749
00:40:54,160 --> 00:40:57,800
harshly with. 
It's important that we begin to 

750
00:40:57,800 --> 00:41:00,560
decisively close the door on 
these things. 

751
00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:02,600
How do you do that? 
Well, we're going to come to 

752
00:41:02,600 --> 00:41:05,440
that in a bit, but the first 
thing is to actually say, you 

753
00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:07,160
know what, Lord, I'm done with 
this. 

754
00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:10,400
I don't want to engage in this 
particular act. 

755
00:41:10,400 --> 00:41:12,720
I don't want to engage with this
emotion. 

756
00:41:13,440 --> 00:41:15,960
I want to really beat greed at 
its game. 

757
00:41:16,160 --> 00:41:18,360
I want to stop. 
And God will give you the 

758
00:41:18,360 --> 00:41:22,080
ability to make those decisions.
God will teach you where to 

759
00:41:22,160 --> 00:41:24,560
actually draw the line so that 
the door is closed. 

760
00:41:26,040 --> 00:41:27,480
The. 
Second thing is submission to. 

761
00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:29,120
The wrong master we talked 
about. 

762
00:41:29,440 --> 00:41:35,640
God will enable you to submit 
yourself to Jesus Holy again. 

763
00:41:35,640 --> 00:41:37,720
It's it's the work of the Holy 
Spirit in US. 

764
00:41:37,720 --> 00:41:40,880
It is not possible on her own. 
But when the Holy Spirit comes 

765
00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:43,320
in, he makes us aware of these 
open doors. 

766
00:41:43,320 --> 00:41:45,600
He makes us aware of the things 
we have been flirting with, 

767
00:41:45,600 --> 00:41:49,120
engaging with, and he brings us 
to this place where we go on our

768
00:41:49,120 --> 00:41:51,840
knees and fall before God and 
say, you know what Lord, I can't

769
00:41:51,840 --> 00:41:54,960
do this without you. 
I'm not able to stop getting 

770
00:41:54,960 --> 00:41:58,000
angry on my own with my spouse, 
but I know with your help you'll

771
00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:00,160
help me because you care about 
our marriage. 

772
00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:03,920
You care about my spouse. 
You don't want her or him hurt. 

773
00:42:04,400 --> 00:42:06,920
So help me. 
Submission. 

774
00:42:07,920 --> 00:42:12,360
Submission to the wrong master 
changes with submission to the 

775
00:42:12,360 --> 00:42:15,480
one true Master. 
Colossians chapter 2 verses 16 

776
00:42:15,480 --> 00:42:17,040
to 19. 
And the message says this. 

777
00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:20,360
So don't put up with anyone 
pressuring you in details of 

778
00:42:20,360 --> 00:42:23,080
diet, worship services, or holy 
days. 

779
00:42:23,400 --> 00:42:26,560
All those things are mere 
shadows cast before what was to 

780
00:42:26,560 --> 00:42:29,520
come. 
The substance is Christ. 

781
00:42:29,520 --> 00:42:33,560
Don't tolerate people who try to
run your life, ordering you to 

782
00:42:33,560 --> 00:42:36,680
bow and scrape, insisting that 
you join their obsession with 

783
00:42:36,680 --> 00:42:38,600
the angels and that you seek out
visions. 

784
00:42:39,080 --> 00:42:40,840
There are a lot of hot air. 
That's all they are. 

785
00:42:40,840 --> 00:42:45,080
They're completely out of touch 
with the source of life, Christ,

786
00:42:45,320 --> 00:42:48,440
who puts us together in one 
piece, whose very breath and 

787
00:42:48,440 --> 00:42:51,200
body flow through us. 
He's the head and we are the 

788
00:42:51,200 --> 00:42:53,520
body. 
We can grow up healthy in God 

789
00:42:53,520 --> 00:42:58,120
only as he nourishes us, even in
James the apostle James, right? 

790
00:42:58,120 --> 00:43:01,560
Submit yourself to God, resist 
the enemy and he will flee from 

791
00:43:01,560 --> 00:43:04,480
you, right. 
And he says, you know, grieve 

792
00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:06,440
moan. 
We'll change your laughter to 

793
00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:09,920
mourning in your joy to gloom. 
Humble yourself before God S 

794
00:43:09,920 --> 00:43:13,640
that He will lift you up. 
Submission is an act of will in 

795
00:43:13,640 --> 00:43:16,440
the sense that you have to come 
to God and say Lord I humble 

796
00:43:16,440 --> 00:43:19,520
myself before you. 
I am unable to do this on my 

797
00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:20,440
own. 
I need you. 

798
00:43:21,280 --> 00:43:25,120
This is the life you got for me 
Lord, on that cross through the 

799
00:43:25,120 --> 00:43:27,880
tomb and I want to live it. 
But will you help me? 

800
00:43:28,560 --> 00:43:32,560
It comes down to submitting and 
laying it all down before the 

801
00:43:32,560 --> 00:43:34,880
right Master. 
I want to ask you. 

802
00:43:36,600 --> 00:43:40,000
Have you been pressurized? 
By people who say they're 

803
00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:43,920
masters in certain things. 
We have people who are experts, 

804
00:43:43,920 --> 00:43:47,040
who are motivational speakers 
and while their content could be

805
00:43:47,040 --> 00:43:50,600
great. 
Have you been submitting to? 

806
00:43:50,600 --> 00:43:53,640
Them rather than submitting to 
God. 

807
00:43:54,520 --> 00:43:59,760
Have you been following people 
who are obsessed on certain 

808
00:43:59,760 --> 00:44:03,680
things theologically but miss 
the whole story of Jesus, 

809
00:44:04,080 --> 00:44:08,720
keeping their eyes on Jesus? 
Too many times we're idolizing 

810
00:44:08,720 --> 00:44:11,840
men and women. 
We're calling them spiritual 

811
00:44:11,840 --> 00:44:14,120
parents. 
We are elevating them. 

812
00:44:14,120 --> 00:44:16,920
And when they fall, the fall is 
hard for us because we have 

813
00:44:17,160 --> 00:44:20,040
placed them in such a placement.
That place should have been only

814
00:44:20,040 --> 00:44:22,040
occupied by Jesus. 
No one else. 

815
00:44:22,440 --> 00:44:26,680
Have mentors, have leaders, have
people you are encouraged by, 

816
00:44:26,680 --> 00:44:30,320
your mentored by, your discipled
by, but they cannot take the 

817
00:44:30,320 --> 00:44:34,800
place of your master. 
They cannot take the place of 

818
00:44:34,800 --> 00:44:38,280
your God. 
Will you submit yourself to the 

819
00:44:38,280 --> 00:44:42,240
right master? 
The third thing, the display of 

820
00:44:42,600 --> 00:44:47,680
false fruit, and I believe the 
remedy for that is discovering 

821
00:44:47,680 --> 00:44:50,160
where your root system is. 
So I wanted to show you this 

822
00:44:50,160 --> 00:44:51,760
picture. 
So what I did this week, what I 

823
00:44:51,760 --> 00:44:55,000
usually do is when this weed 
comes up, it's really pretty. 

824
00:44:55,000 --> 00:44:57,840
I let it grow for a bit and then
I just pull it out and throw it 

825
00:44:57,840 --> 00:45:01,200
out and promptly the next week 
the new plant comes up. 

826
00:45:01,760 --> 00:45:05,160
So this week I decided to take a
tiny little shovel that I have. 

827
00:45:05,480 --> 00:45:09,440
I dug it up and pulled it out by
the roots and the roots actually

828
00:45:09,440 --> 00:45:13,000
went deep and I there's a 
picture of it on the ground. 

829
00:45:13,000 --> 00:45:14,880
This is the whole plant with its
roots. 

830
00:45:15,120 --> 00:45:17,720
And after doing it, I kind of 
just watered the rest of the my 

831
00:45:17,720 --> 00:45:20,440
garden and all and went back and
I realized I missed out one 

832
00:45:20,440 --> 00:45:23,120
weed. 
It was just very sweetly tucked 

833
00:45:23,120 --> 00:45:26,240
into the side of the pot. 
Had to dig that one up as well. 

834
00:45:26,800 --> 00:45:30,080
Now here's the deal. 
The fruit is the evidence of 

835
00:45:30,080 --> 00:45:33,520
your the the fruit is the 
visible evidence of the hidden 

836
00:45:33,520 --> 00:45:35,920
roots. 
Many times we're dealing only 

837
00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:38,080
with the symptoms. 
We don't go to the root because 

838
00:45:38,080 --> 00:45:39,880
you know what to touch the root 
is painful. 

839
00:45:41,040 --> 00:45:46,120
So I have seen this repeatedly. 
We the God that we. 

840
00:45:46,120 --> 00:45:50,880
Worship is so gentle A healer. 
He's not like some of these 

841
00:45:50,880 --> 00:45:54,080
doctors who are so rude to, you 
know, when you go and they prod 

842
00:45:54,080 --> 00:45:57,280
at you, they ask you these mean 
questions, they judge you a bit 

843
00:45:57,640 --> 00:46:01,880
and you feel just very inferior 
when you're seated there with 

844
00:46:01,880 --> 00:46:03,520
them. 
So obviously, we sometimes look 

845
00:46:03,520 --> 00:46:06,800
at our great physician and 
assume he's going to poke fun at

846
00:46:06,800 --> 00:46:09,440
us like that. 
But I've found that in these 

847
00:46:09,560 --> 00:46:14,160
last 15 years of healing with 
him, He's tremendously gentle 

848
00:46:14,160 --> 00:46:18,400
with us tremendously, because 
when I expose my symptoms to 

849
00:46:18,400 --> 00:46:21,120
him, he sees the symptoms, my 
family sees the symptoms. 

850
00:46:21,760 --> 00:46:24,000
And then when I take it to God 
in the quiet place and say, 

851
00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:27,720
Lord, I've been getting angry 
for this again and again, this 

852
00:46:27,720 --> 00:46:30,720
one child touches this trigger. 
What's going on? 

853
00:46:31,160 --> 00:46:36,520
Where is this root coming from? 
And he's so kind as to expose 

854
00:46:36,520 --> 00:46:39,200
the root to me. 
And you know, the beautiful 

855
00:46:39,200 --> 00:46:42,520
thing is this Hebrews chapter 
12, verse 15, the Bible talks 

856
00:46:42,520 --> 00:46:45,080
about this. 
It's a seed to it that no one 

857
00:46:45,080 --> 00:46:48,800
falls short of the grace of God 
and see that no bitter root 

858
00:46:48,800 --> 00:46:52,240
grows up to Causeway trouble and
defile many. 

859
00:46:52,240 --> 00:46:54,400
And I thought this bitter root 
is basically bitterness in our 

860
00:46:54,400 --> 00:46:56,000
life. 
It really isn't it. 

861
00:46:56,360 --> 00:47:00,240
It could mean that also, but I 
think it primarily means some of

862
00:47:00,240 --> 00:47:03,080
us we assume. 
That the grace of. 

863
00:47:03,080 --> 00:47:06,320
God covers everything in our 
lives and we live unrepentant. 

864
00:47:06,560 --> 00:47:09,480
We live unaware. 
We don't realize or care about 

865
00:47:09,480 --> 00:47:12,240
the damage we're causing to the 
body of Christ, to others. 

866
00:47:12,240 --> 00:47:14,240
We just keep doing what we're 
doing and saying, you know what?

867
00:47:14,240 --> 00:47:16,560
I'm doing me. 
But here's the thing, In the 

868
00:47:16,560 --> 00:47:19,320
book of Deuteronomy, it says 
that a bitter root like this is 

869
00:47:19,320 --> 00:47:22,560
poisonous to everything around 
because they live in such a way 

870
00:47:22,560 --> 00:47:24,960
where they think they're safe 
with God when they're not. 

871
00:47:26,280 --> 00:47:28,920
Galatians, chapter 5. 
Verse 22 talks about the fruit 

872
00:47:28,920 --> 00:47:31,560
of the Spirit and it says, but 
the fruit of the Spirit is 

873
00:47:31,560 --> 00:47:34,920
Lovejoy, peace, forbearance, 
kindness, goodness, 

874
00:47:35,200 --> 00:47:37,600
faithfulness, gentleness and 
self-control. 

875
00:47:37,600 --> 00:47:40,640
Against such things there is no 
law. 

876
00:47:40,760 --> 00:47:44,320
When we looked at the acts of 
the flesh, there was a law 

877
00:47:44,320 --> 00:47:48,200
against it because if you 
operated out of debauchery, if 

878
00:47:48,200 --> 00:47:51,960
you were immoral sexually, there
is a penalty to be paid. 

879
00:47:52,720 --> 00:47:55,440
There was bodily sicknesses you 
could get. 

880
00:47:56,160 --> 00:47:59,200
There was the losing of real 
relationships. 

881
00:47:59,560 --> 00:48:01,920
There was number commitment. 
These are the real things that 

882
00:48:01,920 --> 00:48:04,120
were the legal indebtedness that
you would face. 

883
00:48:04,400 --> 00:48:06,960
But Lovejoy, peace, patience, 
kindness, goodness, 

884
00:48:06,960 --> 00:48:09,240
faithfulness, gentleness and 
self-control. 

885
00:48:09,480 --> 00:48:13,120
There is no law against it 
because they are the true fruit,

886
00:48:13,120 --> 00:48:16,600
the fruit of the the Holy Spirit
working in your life. 

887
00:48:17,640 --> 00:48:21,240
And it's time that when we go to
the root and pluck the thing out

888
00:48:21,240 --> 00:48:25,720
by the root and throw it out, 
that true roots begin to form 

889
00:48:26,520 --> 00:48:30,680
and the Holy Spirit starts to 
bring out genuine fruit from 

890
00:48:30,680 --> 00:48:33,920
within you. 
I recently, I think what a year 

891
00:48:33,920 --> 00:48:36,760
back I was, I was just 
exhausted. 

892
00:48:36,760 --> 00:48:39,000
I'd just written my first book 
on the wilderness. 

893
00:48:39,720 --> 00:48:43,120
It had gone out and I was just 
in the season of going God, is 

894
00:48:43,120 --> 00:48:45,920
my wilderness really over? 
You know, I don't feel joy. 

895
00:48:45,920 --> 00:48:48,920
I don't feel the satisfaction I 
thought I would feel. 

896
00:48:48,920 --> 00:48:50,680
And so media, I was feeling 
that. 

897
00:48:50,680 --> 00:48:53,040
And towards the end of the year,
one of my friends from the UK 

898
00:48:53,040 --> 00:48:56,360
visited me and she just wanted, 
she gave me a card and she said 

899
00:48:56,640 --> 00:49:00,480
I felt like writing this to you,
God wants to give you joy. 

900
00:49:00,480 --> 00:49:02,840
It was a very specific thing 
that I had asked God for. 

901
00:49:02,840 --> 00:49:06,120
So I felt it was such a sweet 
kiss of my heavenly Father to me

902
00:49:06,120 --> 00:49:08,480
saying, you know what, I want to
grant you this. 

903
00:49:09,200 --> 00:49:12,600
But over the last four months, 
what I've discovered is that 

904
00:49:12,920 --> 00:49:15,000
there were real joy blockers in 
my life. 

905
00:49:15,320 --> 00:49:19,880
So the evidence was maybe fake 
joy or, or putting up this thing

906
00:49:19,880 --> 00:49:22,800
of I'm doing great. 
But deep within God was dealing 

907
00:49:22,800 --> 00:49:26,280
with the roots and he has pulled
out some of these roots that the

908
00:49:26,280 --> 00:49:29,120
reason for my joylessness. 
It was not necessarily the 

909
00:49:29,120 --> 00:49:31,960
situations, it was the way I was
wired. 

910
00:49:32,120 --> 00:49:34,920
It was the things that I'd gone 
through over 40 years which had 

911
00:49:34,920 --> 00:49:36,920
contributed to this way of 
living. 

912
00:49:37,760 --> 00:49:42,760
And I can honestly say today 
that I actually have the fruit 

913
00:49:42,760 --> 00:49:45,720
of joy in my life. 
What people see on my face when 

914
00:49:45,720 --> 00:49:49,640
they meet me is genuine because 
the root had to be dealt with, 

915
00:49:49,840 --> 00:49:52,880
the roots had to be pulled up 
issues. 

916
00:49:52,880 --> 00:49:56,920
That I had overlooked for. 
Years God revealed it the way I 

917
00:49:56,920 --> 00:49:59,480
viewed myself. 
God. 

918
00:49:59,480 --> 00:50:01,720
Unveiled it and said this. 
Is what you've been doing to 

919
00:50:01,720 --> 00:50:03,440
yourself. 
I want to heal that. 

920
00:50:04,440 --> 00:50:08,160
And lo and behold, when he 
cleared the garden out, the 

921
00:50:08,160 --> 00:50:10,280
fruit which came out was genuine
joy. 

922
00:50:10,560 --> 00:50:13,480
I know that I can face the 
future with this fruit growing 

923
00:50:13,480 --> 00:50:16,680
in excess because the roots have
been dealt with. 

924
00:50:16,680 --> 00:50:19,480
And I just want to encourage 
you. 

925
00:50:21,280 --> 00:50:23,840
Are you ready to uproot the 
things? 

926
00:50:23,920 --> 00:50:26,320
Pull it out by the root. 
Expose the root. 

927
00:50:26,320 --> 00:50:28,760
Tell God you know what? 
Take your shovel on me, God. 

928
00:50:28,760 --> 00:50:32,480
Take the roots out and. 
It's it's not. 

929
00:50:32,480 --> 00:50:34,680
An easy process, but it's very 
rewarding. 

930
00:50:35,360 --> 00:50:39,120
Very rewarding because the new 
life is what others are going to

931
00:50:39,120 --> 00:50:42,040
receive. 
The new life is the satisfaction

932
00:50:42,120 --> 00:50:45,600
and contentment you walk with. 
You are never the same. 

933
00:50:46,360 --> 00:50:48,040
You walk in this place so 
literally. 

934
00:50:48,040 --> 00:50:51,840
You walk on the street, you walk
into rooms in this beautiful 

935
00:50:51,840 --> 00:50:56,880
bubble of I'm loved, I'm 
cherished, I'm called, God is 

936
00:50:56,880 --> 00:51:00,760
with me, God is for me. 
Nothing deters you. 

937
00:51:00,760 --> 00:51:03,120
Your focus is clear. 
Even if things are falling all 

938
00:51:03,120 --> 00:51:06,000
around you, people are acting 
up, it really doesn't matter 

939
00:51:06,000 --> 00:51:08,080
because hey, you know what the 
joy of the Lord is my strength, 

940
00:51:08,080 --> 00:51:11,040
I'm good and it's an amazing way
to live. 

941
00:51:11,600 --> 00:51:15,960
So even as I close, I was 
reading this, this chapter from 

942
00:51:15,960 --> 00:51:20,120
Hebrews chapter 6 and it says 
this is a very scary verse, but 

943
00:51:20,120 --> 00:51:22,400
I don't want to harp on the 
judgement part of it. 

944
00:51:22,400 --> 00:51:24,080
I just want to leave this one 
line with you. 

945
00:51:24,080 --> 00:51:26,840
OK? 
Hebrews chapter 6, verses 4 to 

946
00:51:26,840 --> 00:51:28,920
6. 
It says it is impossible for 

947
00:51:28,920 --> 00:51:31,560
those who have once been 
enlightened, who have tasted the

948
00:51:31,560 --> 00:51:34,880
heavenly gift, who have shared 
in the Holy Spirit, who have 

949
00:51:34,880 --> 00:51:37,400
tasted the goodness of the Word 
of God in the past, of the 

950
00:51:37,400 --> 00:51:40,440
coming age, and who have fallen 
away to be brought back to 

951
00:51:40,440 --> 00:51:43,920
repentance, to their loss. 
They are crucifying the Son of 

952
00:51:43,920 --> 00:51:48,240
God all over again and 
subjecting him to public 

953
00:51:48,440 --> 00:51:51,480
disgrace. 
I'm just going to focus on the 

954
00:51:51,480 --> 00:51:56,080
last line of verse 6. 
It says to their laws, the ones 

955
00:51:56,080 --> 00:52:00,680
who repeatedly sin, you know, 
misusing the grace of God on 

956
00:52:00,680 --> 00:52:03,520
their lives. 
They are crucifying the Son of 

957
00:52:03,520 --> 00:52:07,880
God all over again and 
subjecting him to public. 

958
00:52:07,880 --> 00:52:10,320
Disgrace I come. 
Back to the point I began with 

959
00:52:11,720 --> 00:52:13,400
what? 
If because of my. 

960
00:52:13,400 --> 00:52:16,680
Lack of change because I am 
unwilling to leave behind the 

961
00:52:16,680 --> 00:52:19,840
old life and take up the new 
life in Christ. 

962
00:52:20,560 --> 00:52:24,360
People are actually crucifying 
Jesus all over again. 

963
00:52:24,560 --> 00:52:27,120
They look at him and say I don't
want Jesus if this is what his 

964
00:52:27,120 --> 00:52:29,040
followers are like, I don't want
him. 

965
00:52:30,080 --> 00:52:34,560
If if you have cheated someone 
and that's all they know of a 

966
00:52:34,560 --> 00:52:37,320
Christian, Jesus is crucified 
again. 

967
00:52:38,320 --> 00:52:43,360
If I've hurt someone else in 
some capacity who doesn't know 

968
00:52:43,400 --> 00:52:47,080
Jesus yet, their view of Jesus 
is marred because of my 

969
00:52:47,080 --> 00:52:50,120
behavior, the word. 
There is actually. 

970
00:52:50,120 --> 00:52:55,120
In for me, subjecting him to 
public disgrace, making Jesus 

971
00:52:55,120 --> 00:52:59,480
infamous. 
God forbid that we ever make 

972
00:52:59,520 --> 00:53:03,440
Jesus infamous. 
God forbid that we become such a

973
00:53:03,440 --> 00:53:07,960
stench in the nostrils of people
that they don't want Jesus, they

974
00:53:07,960 --> 00:53:11,800
don't want this life. 
I pray that you know we will be 

975
00:53:11,840 --> 00:53:16,280
those who walk in that newness 
of life so that when people look

976
00:53:16,280 --> 00:53:19,040
at us, they say, wow, what do 
they have? 

977
00:53:19,360 --> 00:53:22,880
I want that. 
So would you be avid about 

978
00:53:22,880 --> 00:53:24,600
watching out for open doors in 
your life? 

979
00:53:24,600 --> 00:53:26,760
And I think that, you know, this
is not a one and done thing. 

980
00:53:27,200 --> 00:53:29,000
There have been open doors in 
all our lives. 

981
00:53:29,120 --> 00:53:31,800
In my life, I've seen open doors
in different seasons based on 

982
00:53:31,800 --> 00:53:33,200
the situations we are walking 
in. 

983
00:53:33,200 --> 00:53:36,040
And I have to be very avid about
shutting those doors. 

984
00:53:36,280 --> 00:53:39,480
Sometimes I've let it open for a
very long time till my whole 

985
00:53:39,480 --> 00:53:43,480
mind corroded with a particular 
emotion, a negative emotion or a

986
00:53:43,480 --> 00:53:46,760
feeling and then God had to take
me through a long winded process

987
00:53:46,760 --> 00:53:50,440
of healing and detoxing. 
So my suggestion is, will you be

988
00:53:50,440 --> 00:53:54,200
avid about watching out for open
doors and slamming them shut? 

989
00:53:54,800 --> 00:53:57,200
Don't keep net doors where you 
have to put an iron door. 

990
00:53:58,800 --> 00:54:02,040
Will you make sure that you are?
Subject only to your master. 

991
00:54:03,480 --> 00:54:06,920
There are many. 
People out there who call 

992
00:54:06,920 --> 00:54:11,200
themselves masters, but small M 
Masters, they say they're 

993
00:54:11,200 --> 00:54:13,680
experts on things. 
But will you turn to Jesus, the 

994
00:54:13,680 --> 00:54:18,280
expert on everything? 
Will you make him your Lord? 

995
00:54:19,120 --> 00:54:22,960
Third thing, will you be careful
to check your roots periodically

996
00:54:22,960 --> 00:54:25,120
and make sure that your fruit is
not false? 

997
00:54:25,440 --> 00:54:26,880
Make sure your fruit is not put 
on. 

998
00:54:26,880 --> 00:54:31,200
But it's the genuine article. 
It comes from the depths of 

999
00:54:31,200 --> 00:54:34,920
roots that have been plucked out
by the Holy Spirit and good seed

1000
00:54:34,920 --> 00:54:37,560
being sown in. 
Can I just pray for you? 

1001
00:54:38,160 --> 00:54:39,640
Father, I just thank you for 
this time. 

1002
00:54:39,640 --> 00:54:43,520
I thank You that You are doing a
work in our lives and I pray 

1003
00:54:43,520 --> 00:54:46,560
right now that Father You would 
give direction to Your people as

1004
00:54:46,560 --> 00:54:50,240
to how to close those open 
doors, how to pull out things by

1005
00:54:50,240 --> 00:54:52,280
the root. 
I pray for those who have 

1006
00:54:52,280 --> 00:54:56,520
submitted to worldly patterns, 
philosophies, pressures and 

1007
00:54:56,520 --> 00:54:58,840
moved away from You. 
I pray that You would draw them 

1008
00:54:58,840 --> 00:55:00,160
back gently to you. 
God. 

1009
00:55:00,680 --> 00:55:03,280
I pray in this process of 
unravelling and healing that 

1010
00:55:03,280 --> 00:55:06,280
they would have freedom, they 
would have restoration, they 

1011
00:55:06,280 --> 00:55:09,680
would have healing that they are
longing for we. 

1012
00:55:09,680 --> 00:55:12,280
Invite you, Holy Spirit. 
We invite you into the deepest 

1013
00:55:12,280 --> 00:55:15,600
recesses of our lives, the 
crevices of our lives that even 

1014
00:55:15,600 --> 00:55:20,360
we don't know exist. 
Come in and heal us, God set. 

1015
00:55:20,360 --> 00:55:23,360
US free. 
Help us to live death, dead to 

1016
00:55:23,360 --> 00:55:27,560
sin and alive to Christ. 
In Jesus name we pray. 

1017
00:55:28,080 --> 00:55:29,440
Amen. 
Amen. 

1018
00:55:29,720 --> 00:55:32,480
Even as you go into this week, I
just want to remind you to get 

1019
00:55:32,480 --> 00:55:36,440
into God's Word. 
When we sit with the Word, we 

1020
00:55:36,440 --> 00:55:39,080
meet with the author of the Word
and He is the one. 

1021
00:55:39,320 --> 00:55:41,600
He's the author and perfector of
our faith. 

1022
00:55:41,600 --> 00:55:45,200
He is the Creator and the author
of your life and no better 

1023
00:55:45,200 --> 00:55:48,880
person to really consult with on
matters of open doors and roots 

1024
00:55:48,880 --> 00:55:50,200
than with the one who created 
you. 

1025
00:55:50,520 --> 00:55:55,760
So get into His word, read up, 
learn from Him, spend time with 

1026
00:55:55,760 --> 00:55:58,520
Him. 
There is no substitutes to that.

1027
00:55:58,520 --> 00:56:00,680
Even as you get into this week, 
I just want to leave a few 

1028
00:56:00,680 --> 00:56:04,200
announcements with you. 
We have our ladies prayer 

1029
00:56:04,200 --> 00:56:06,840
happening on Tuesday morning on 
Zoom. 

1030
00:56:07,080 --> 00:56:09,520
It's an amazing time. 
A bunch of us women just pray 

1031
00:56:09,520 --> 00:56:13,360
for our needs and the needs of 
brothers and sisters around us 

1032
00:56:13,360 --> 00:56:15,960
and around the globe. 
It's a very powerful time. 

1033
00:56:16,520 --> 00:56:20,840
We also have a men's Bible study
happening on Wednesday nights. 

1034
00:56:20,960 --> 00:56:23,560
It's a lovely time when the men 
of the Church of different age 

1035
00:56:23,560 --> 00:56:28,000
groups sit together on this call
and just lean into each other, 

1036
00:56:28,160 --> 00:56:31,640
learn from each other. 
We also have Open Heavens which 

1037
00:56:31,640 --> 00:56:38,880
happens on Fridays at 10:00 PM. 
We also have VBS coming up April

1038
00:56:38,880 --> 00:56:41,520
27th to May 1st. 
We would love for your little 

1039
00:56:41,520 --> 00:56:44,880
ones to join us. 
It's for kids between the ages 

1040
00:56:44,880 --> 00:56:48,280
of four and 14. 
So if you'd like to register 

1041
00:56:48,280 --> 00:56:49,600
your child, get in touch with 
us. 

1042
00:56:49,600 --> 00:56:53,200
We'll send you the link. 
We can't wait to be with the 

1043
00:56:53,200 --> 00:56:55,440
kids this summer. 
So if you have a child or you'll

1044
00:56:55,440 --> 00:56:58,200
have a neighbor or someone tell 
them about Vacation Bible 

1045
00:56:58,200 --> 00:56:59,240
School. 
We are going to be learning 

1046
00:56:59,240 --> 00:57:02,520
about the nature of God. 
So you're invited for that. 

1047
00:57:03,320 --> 00:57:06,920
Remember this, that whoever 
finds Jesus finds life. 

1048
00:57:07,200 --> 00:57:08,960
God bless you, have an amazing 
week. 

1049
00:57:11,840 --> 00:57:14,520
We hope you enjoyed today's. 
Message and we're blessed. 

1050
00:57:15,280 --> 00:57:18,360
If you liked what you heard and 
want to hear more messages from 

1051
00:57:18,360 --> 00:57:21,880
us, you could rate US and 
subscribe to our podcast channel

1052
00:57:22,600 --> 00:57:26,080
for more content from We are 
Zion or if you would like to get

1053
00:57:26,080 --> 00:57:31,960
in touch with us, you can go to 
We Are Zion dot in or follow us 

1054
00:57:31,960 --> 00:57:34,720
on Instagram, Facebook and 
YouTube. 

1055
00:57:35,680 --> 00:57:40,840
Most importantly, remember that 
whoever finds Jesus finds life.