1 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:12,240 Well, I wonder what comes to mind when you think of the job 2 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:18,120 description of a pastor. Preaching, teaching, 3 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:28,600 evangelizing, studying, counseling, weddings, funerals, 4 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:35,000 those are all very common word associations, But the Word of 5 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:41,360 God outlines a much more profound description of what a 6 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:44,800 minister does. And I want to give you a glimpse 7 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:47,880 of that as we turn to 2nd Corinthians Chapter 11, 8 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:59,480 beginning in verse one, and look at what the apostle Paul says to 9 00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:01,960 this group of believers in Corinth. 10 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:12,440 I wish you would bear with me a little and a little foolishness. 11 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:17,680 Do bear with me, for I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I 12 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:23,280 betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to 13 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:26,960 Christ. Can you imagine a pastor 14 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:32,360 standing before a congregation and saying with total sincerity, 15 00:01:33,320 --> 00:01:37,720 I feel a divine jealousy for you? 16 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:43,760 Paul did that unashamedly. And the reason why Paul could 17 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:50,400 speak in this way is because the man felt what God felt for God's 18 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:53,880 people. And in this case, he was 19 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:57,360 overcome with righteous indignation because he learned 20 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,800 that the Corinthian church was deviating from complete loyalty 21 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:05,880 to Christ as they were being seduced by false teachers who 22 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:09,240 were introducing to them a different Jesus. 23 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:14,560 And so he writes with them. And it deeply pained the apostle 24 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:17,920 because he was so zealous for the honor of God's name. 25 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:21,760 And clearly what these Corinthians were doing was a 26 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:26,240 dishonorable thing. But what's so interesting is 27 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:31,280 that Paul further explains why he felt this divine jealousy, 28 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:38,200 this passion for God, and how we relate to him and how we should 29 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:41,880 relate to him. And he does this by describing 30 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:44,240 his role in their lives as a minister. 31 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:48,800 And it provides incredibly helpful insight to what every 32 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:52,200 minister should aspire to. Notice what he says here. 33 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:57,400 He says here, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present 34 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:03,960 you as a pure virgin to Christ. So he uses the analogy of a 35 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:09,160 romantic engagement to describe where he fits in all of this. 36 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:14,120 And in the same way that a good father, after introducing his 37 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:19,200 daughter to a man so that they would be married, Paul sees 38 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:23,840 himself as a spiritual father, presiding and supervising and 39 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:29,360 protecting the church, because he introduced the church to 40 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:34,880 Christ and wants to keep them loyal to Christ until they meet 41 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:37,280 Christ. You see that, right? 42 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:41,880 Because upon salvation, whether you as an individual or a 43 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:46,640 church, in that moment you metaphorically become engaged to 44 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:51,120 the Lord. And the wedding day, that union, 45 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:55,200 that consummation, so to speak, will be realized when we are 46 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:59,760 with him forever and ever. But between those two phases, 47 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:03,480 Paul sees the responsibility that he's been called to, not 48 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:09,320 just to bring people to Christ, but to keep them fervent, pure, 49 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:13,080 and devoted to Christ. So based on this, here's what I 50 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:16,560 take in terms of what a pastor, what a minister, what a 51 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:20,600 spiritual leader does is do everything that he can to ensure 52 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:25,200 that the local church he overseas remains truly dedicated 53 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:28,000 to the Lord Jesus Christ all the days of their lives. 54 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:32,040 That's what a minister does and that's confirmed in another 55 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:33,520 place. So turn with me to Philippians 56 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:38,800 chapter 2 and he speaks to this group of believers and it 57 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:40,800 confirms that awesome responsibility. 58 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:43,600 Philippians 2 beginning in verse 14. 59 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:52,320 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be 60 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:55,320 blameless and innocent children of God without blemish, in the 61 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:59,160 midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine 62 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:04,760 as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so 63 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:10,040 that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in 64 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:14,880 vain or labor in vain. So again Paul here. 65 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:19,240 He has the day of Christ, which is just a way of saying the day 66 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:22,600 of the return of Christ. He has the day of Christ when 67 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:26,440 the church will meet the Lord in full view, and he tells this 68 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:31,600 group of believers that I'm beckoning you to hold fast to 69 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:37,480 the word of life so that when we all stand before the Lord, I 70 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:41,440 will be evaluated in a commendable way for my 71 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:45,560 leadership as Christ calls me to account. 72 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:50,080 I'm calling you Philippians to remain steadfast and pure 73 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:54,680 doctrine and loyal in your affections and in your character 74 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:58,520 and in your holiness. Hold fast until that day. 75 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:01,440 Don't give in, don't give up, don't deviate. 76 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:05,000 I want to be able to stand before the law with a smile, 77 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:08,920 knowing that my efforts for you were not wasted. 78 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:15,080 So listen, a true spiritual leader is not only concerned 79 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:20,320 about his walk with the Lord, he's also deeply invested in the 80 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:22,720 people's relationship with the Lord. 81 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:27,640 But how does this work? How does that flesh out? 82 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:31,480 How does a leader guide a people in that way? 83 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:34,920 Keep a people on that path. And I believe he does it in two 84 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:38,200 ways. The first way is that he 85 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:42,080 inspires them. The second way is that He 86 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:45,800 instructs them. That's how you can summarize it. 87 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:51,040 By inspire, I mean that he lives in such a manner that onlookers 88 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:54,840 are compelled. They're compelled to live a more 89 00:06:54,840 --> 00:07:00,600 disciplined spiritual testimony filled way of life to the glory 90 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:07,240 of God because what they see in that man is contagious and they 91 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:11,080 see a model and they see an example and they see how God 92 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:14,040 comes through and they see the blessings and they see the joy 93 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:15,960 and they say the peace and they say I want that. 94 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:20,280 So he inspires them, right? Just by his living, just by his 95 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:26,040 living, by instruct, I mean what you know, that he regularly 96 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:31,200 expounds the Word of God and he provides fresh insight into the 97 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:34,320 Scriptures and he brings unashamedly reminders from the 98 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:38,320 Word of God in order to stimulate and to nourish the 99 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:42,600 faith of God's people. And notice how I placed 100 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:47,520 inspiration before instruction. I didn't say that he instructs, 101 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:50,440 then he inspires. I said purposefully that he 102 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:54,880 inspires and then he instructs. And the reason why I say that is 103 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:57,480 because that is the order of the duties that God gives to the 104 00:07:57,480 --> 00:07:59,600 minister. OK, I know we're going to 105 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,640 different places, but I mean, I have to preach the Bible, right? 106 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:06,960 So go to First Timothy 4 and look at verse 16. 107 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:17,040 Notice what Paul tells Pastor Timothy who is the pastor of the 108 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:21,080 Church of Ephesus at this time. He tells Pastor Tim, first 109 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:26,600 Timothy 4 verse 16. Keep a close watch on yourself 110 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:30,080 and on the teaching. Notice the order. 111 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:32,159 He didn't say keep a close watch on your teaching and on 112 00:08:32,159 --> 00:08:34,799 yourself. He said no, no, no, your life 113 00:08:35,159 --> 00:08:39,559 before your sermons. And that is consistent 114 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:41,600 throughout the New Testament, right? 115 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:45,080 So you're supposed to 1st embody the message. 116 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:48,240 It reminds me of Ezra where we're told there that he said 117 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:52,240 it's hard to study the law of God and then teach it. 118 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:54,640 No, no, no. It's just to study it, to do it 119 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:57,480 and then teach it. This is what he's telling Pastor 120 00:08:57,480 --> 00:08:58,920 Tim. Dude, I don't know what's going 121 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:00,200 on here, but don't let it distract you. 122 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:04,920 Hopefully it's a good thing. Keep a close watch on yourself 123 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:09,280 and on the doctor. And I heard of a pastor who 124 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:12,600 sought to obey the spirit of this command by doing something 125 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:17,400 every single night. At the end of each day, this man 126 00:09:17,560 --> 00:09:20,920 would ask himself a question before he would lay his head on 127 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:23,000 that pillow. Today. 128 00:09:23,680 --> 00:09:28,040 Did I grow closer to the Lord or did I grow further away from 129 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:32,280 Him? Now if that frequency of self 130 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:35,200 evaluation was helpful to him, wonderful. 131 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:38,640 Personally, that might be a little difficult to track 132 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:44,720 progress at that pace, but it is much easier to look back on a 133 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:52,240 full year and ask, did I grow closer to the Lord or did I grow 134 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:57,120 further away? And with that being said, I am 135 00:09:57,120 --> 00:10:01,480 fully aware that there are some Christians who suffer from 136 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:06,480 severe introspection, and that is not what I am suggesting. 137 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:12,480 Neither am I promoting an obsessive focus on your 138 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:15,520 shortcomings because that's not going to help you or anybody. 139 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:21,320 But what I am referring to is a biblically informed 140 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:27,320 self-assessment that can be extremely beneficial when done 141 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:33,120 correctly and at the right time. And I want to take advantage of 142 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:37,880 the fact that we are here on our final Sunday of this year, 2024, 143 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:44,720 to ask some questions, to clarify the strength of our 144 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:49,440 spirituality. I'm reminded of the words of the 145 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:52,840 prophet Jeremiah in the book of Lamentations where he says there 146 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:55,520 in Lamentations 340, you don't have to turn there. 147 00:10:55,520 --> 00:11:02,080 It's a very small verse. Let us test and examine our ways 148 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:08,720 and return to the Lord. So the Bible promotes this idea 149 00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:12,440 of looking inwardly and asking a few questions. 150 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:18,640 And the questions that I present to you today, funny enough, I 151 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:20,040 thought I was going to do 10 of them. 152 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:24,920 Then I thought, I know myself and we'll be here for a long 153 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:27,720 time. So I dwindle it down to five. 154 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:30,360 And I thought, still, we'll be here for a long time. 155 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:37,160 So I thought, let's just keep it at 3 so it's digestible. 3 very 156 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:41,280 important reflective questions that I pray will help each of us 157 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:43,440 align more closely to the will of God. 158 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:48,400 And I want you to view these inquiries as a way of doing 159 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:53,520 personal spiritual inventory and that they would help you to 160 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:58,160 strengthen areas where you might be weak and encourage you in 161 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:00,280 areas where you are already faithful. 162 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:03,200 So can we do that? It's going to be a different 163 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:05,000 kind of message. I'm going to try to make that 164 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:06,800 make this as practical as possible. 165 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:09,680 Let's consider the first question together. 166 00:12:09,680 --> 00:12:14,080 OK, Ask yourself this as you reflect on this past year and as 167 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:15,640 you're prepared to step into a new one. 168 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:22,560 Number one, number one, am I stewarding God's gifts in my 169 00:12:22,560 --> 00:12:27,200 life? Am I stewarding well the gifts 170 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:32,720 that God has given me? Main text number one, first 171 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:35,680 Peter chapter 4, beginning in verse 10. 172 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:39,200 I want to remind you that there is not one born again Christian 173 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:41,400 who has not been uniquely gifted by the Lord. 174 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:48,040 And Peter tells us this plainly when he says, as each has 175 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:55,440 received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of 176 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:59,800 God's varied grace. Whoever speaks as one who speaks 177 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:03,640 oracles of God, whoever serves as one who serves by the 178 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:07,800 strength that God supplies in order that in everything God may 179 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:11,800 be glorified through Jesus Christ, to him be long glory and 180 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:14,960 dominion, forever and ever. Amen. 181 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:20,600 Here's how Paul echoes the same point in in first Corinthians 182 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:23,840 chapter 12 verse seven, he says to each has been given a 183 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:28,000 manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 184 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:31,200 So notice Paul and Peter are the same saying the same thing not 185 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:37,000 to some to each, to each has been given to each has been 186 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:40,520 gifted to each of us. So there's not one blood bot 187 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:43,880 Christian who has not been equipped by the Lord in a 188 00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:48,920 certain and unique way. And in Peter's case, he provides 189 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:54,560 2 general categories of abilities that Christians will 190 00:13:54,560 --> 00:13:57,560 find themselves in. And you can summarize them in 191 00:13:57,560 --> 00:13:59,480 this way. Category number one is speaking 192 00:13:59,480 --> 00:14:03,000 gifts. Category #2 are serving gifts. 193 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:07,600 Speaking gifts include preaching and teaching, words of wisdom, 194 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:10,480 words of knowledge, right, etcetera. 195 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:14,760 And, and they can also be seen as more public gifts. 196 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:17,320 But then you have the serving gifts which, which are more 197 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:19,400 hands on. They include administration, 198 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:24,840 hospitality, charitable giving, acts of mercy, helping people in 199 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:28,040 practical ways. You can also see that category 200 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:30,720 of gifted giftedness as behind the scenes. 201 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:34,520 So you got public and you got more private, or at least not as 202 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:36,400 obvious. And it's often the behind the 203 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:40,320 scenes gifts that make the public gifts more effective. 204 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:45,040 But I'm not here to discuss the the different gifts of the 205 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:47,840 Spirit or how we can identify them in each of us. 206 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:51,360 Instead, I want us to focus on a phrase that we see here in verse 207 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:55,440 10. He says use it to serve one 208 00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:59,840 another. For Peter to command that 209 00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:03,840 suggests that it's possibly the Christian who has been gifted 210 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:08,400 and not exercise that gift. It can remain dormant in your 211 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:10,920 life. And so that's why he says this. 212 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:14,840 He says you you need to use it. Yeah, identifying it as one 213 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:18,000 thing, but you can identify, you can know it very well. 214 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,760 You can you can know a grace. You can be aware of things that 215 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:25,080 when you do it, it blesses the church and still not implement 216 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:27,680 it. So he says use it. 217 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:31,720 And there's a very simple way of knowing whether or not you are 218 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:34,640 using God's gifts in your life. Very simple. 219 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:38,720 It is this. In what way am I serving fellow 220 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:43,200 Christians? Just ask yourself that in what 221 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:49,280 ways are my interactions with other Christians demanding of 222 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:53,120 me? What is a pull from me? 223 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:58,160 Where's the sacrifice? How am I helping? 224 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:00,440 How am I assisting? How am I blessing others? 225 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:03,320 And I want to say this in love. If you're here sitting and you 226 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:07,160 can't identify that, again, I say this in love, you're not in 227 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:10,120 the fullness of God's will. You're not. 228 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:15,280 You're outside of it. You have to, you have to take 229 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:17,960 this command not as a suggestion, but as it is, it's 230 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:22,440 an exhortation. And what way am I touching other 231 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:26,400 people, helping other people, investing in other people? 232 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:30,480 And you know what always moves me about this particular set of 233 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:33,240 instructions is the context of it. 234 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:35,880 Look back at verse 7. It begins there, I believe. 235 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:40,960 Look what Peter says. The end of all things is at 236 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:44,240 hand. Therefore be self controlled and 237 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:46,400 sober minded for the sake of your prayers. 238 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:49,800 And then he continues on to verse 10 and 11. 239 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:54,640 So understand this, that Peter's call for Christians to use their 240 00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:58,280 gifts in the church is given in light of the context of the 241 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:01,600 second coming of Jesus. Meaning what? 242 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:02,800 Here's what Peter's trying to say. 243 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:09,079 When Christ returns, he wants to find us each faithfully serving 244 00:17:09,079 --> 00:17:11,319 one another. That's how Christ wants to find 245 00:17:11,319 --> 00:17:14,359 us. And so he wants the people to be 246 00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:16,359 ready as the end of all things is near. 247 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:19,319 And one of the things that he says is use the gift that God 248 00:17:19,319 --> 00:17:22,119 has put in your life. Use it. 249 00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:25,839 And that's going to look different for each one of us. 250 00:17:25,839 --> 00:17:30,200 But I can assure you this that you don't need a title in the 251 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:32,840 church or an official position to realize it. 252 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:35,400 You don't. You know, when I was thinking 253 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:40,720 about this last night, something came to my attention that you 254 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:43,520 might think is strange, but my siblings will remember this. 255 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:46,560 Even my parents might remember this, that when we were at our 256 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:50,240 hometown in Canada, going to a church for a few years, there 257 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:55,880 was one lady in that church, an elderly German woman, and we 258 00:17:55,880 --> 00:18:00,760 called her the Candy Lady. She was the candy Lady. 259 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:04,080 Do you know why she always sat in probably the first two rows, 260 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:06,320 always in the same spot, usually. 261 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:11,120 And at the end of every service, she would find the children in 262 00:18:11,120 --> 00:18:13,440 the church. And she would do this with her 263 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:15,840 hand, and she would summon all the kids. 264 00:18:16,120 --> 00:18:18,800 And then she would pull out a Kleenex and open it. 265 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:22,120 And she had bright candy, different flavors of fruit, 266 00:18:22,120 --> 00:18:24,880 artificial, of course. And we were there, pick whatever 267 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:26,680 we wanted. And she would ask us a couple of 268 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:28,040 questions. Have you been good? 269 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:29,960 Have you been? And we say, yeah, we just wanted 270 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:31,360 the candy. We were kids, right? 271 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:35,760 And we, we, we realized who she was early enough so that at the 272 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:38,720 end of the service, the kids would hover around her and hope 273 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:40,960 that she would summon us and not forget about us. 274 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:44,680 I can't believe that I still remember this to this day 275 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:47,960 because I know that it was before the age of 10 that we 276 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:49,960 interacted with this woman. You're saying, why are you 277 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:51,640 bringing up this lady? I'll tell you why. 278 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:56,600 Because she didn't have a name tag, you know, with the church 279 00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:59,200 and her engraved initials. She didn't have that. 280 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:02,560 And she didn't have her picture on the church website, you know, 281 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:04,880 with a title like distributor of sweets. 282 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:09,360 She didn't have any of that. You know what she did have, 283 00:19:09,360 --> 00:19:12,520 though? She had a consistent presence 284 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:17,560 and mindfulness in the church, where she naturally developed a 285 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:24,120 fragrance in the assembly. She carried an aroma with her in 286 00:19:24,120 --> 00:19:26,680 a way that left me still remembering her. 287 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:32,600 See, you serving in the context of the church might look like 288 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:34,520 this. It might look like you because 289 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:36,480 you, you love encouraging people like it. 290 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:38,960 It encourages you to encourage people. 291 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:43,760 So maybe in 2025, you're going to put a list of names together 292 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:50,000 and at least once a week you're going to text somebody and 293 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:53,320 encourage them, or maybe even leave a voice message with a 294 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:55,480 prayer or ask them, do you have a couple minutes? 295 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:57,920 I know you're busy, but I just want to get on the phone and 296 00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:00,120 pray for whatever's on your heart and I'll hang up. 297 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:03,680 And you do that consistently, that's what you're known for. 298 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:08,000 Or maybe you're a person in here and, and you have an ability to 299 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:10,800 put things together. And so you approach the 300 00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:13,840 leadership and you say, listen, if there's anybody that that 301 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:17,480 needs help in their home, help with their cars, you, you let me 302 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:21,920 know I'm the man for the job. And that's what you're known 303 00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:26,280 for. Or maybe a couples here, 304 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:29,800 husbands and wives, you look at each other and you'll say, you 305 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:35,160 know, let's every few weeks be intentional of inviting somebody 306 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:38,080 from the church and let's just bless them with good food and 307 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:42,240 and loving presents. Because hospitality is is not a 308 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:44,240 duty that's exclusive to pastors. 309 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:51,440 There's some of you here who are who are teachers in your own 310 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,640 way. I mean, you love theology and 311 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:57,440 you specialize and maybe apologetics. 312 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:01,400 Have you ever considered praying about bringing a group of 313 00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:05,920 people, maybe meeting them at a coffee shop or at your home, and 314 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:08,640 wanting to teach them maybe once every three weeks or two weeks, 315 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:11,080 once a month or whatever. And I'm just going to pour into 316 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:14,920 people and show them what I've learned about how to reach 317 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:17,600 Jehovah's Witnesses, how to speak to Muslims, how to 318 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:24,760 evangelize to a Mormon. The possibilities are endless. 319 00:21:25,360 --> 00:21:28,880 They're endless. And though the options vary, 320 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:33,320 there is one option that is not available and that's to not do 321 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:36,040 anything. Use it. 322 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:39,680 And my prayer is that you would start this year on the right 323 00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:43,200 foot, that you would say, Lord, I want to be more strategic and 324 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:46,720 intentional of doing what you've called me to do. 325 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:53,360 And I don't need any accolades. I don't need nothing as long as 326 00:21:53,360 --> 00:21:58,000 people are blessed, as long as I'm serving someone lead me into 327 00:21:58,000 --> 00:21:59,920 that. I may be led by the Spirit, may 328 00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:04,160 be empowered by the Holy Spirit. And so this is what he says. 329 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:07,080 And for those who have been serving, can I give you a word 330 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:10,600 from the word? You don't have to turn there. 331 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:14,120 But in Second Timothy 16, Paul tells this pastor for this 332 00:22:14,120 --> 00:22:18,040 reason, and Second Timothy 16, I'm remind you to fan into flame 333 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:23,680 the gift of God, to fan into flame the gift of God which is 334 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:25,440 in you through the laying on of my hands. 335 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:30,560 You know what that tells me? That even Timothy, who was a 336 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:35,480 disciple of Paul, the embers of his service and his devotion in 337 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:38,640 the place of the past trip was growing cool. 338 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:44,360 And he told him he's recognizing his saying, Pastor Timothy, 339 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:48,280 you've been gifted to preach, you've been gifted to shepherd 340 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:51,560 and you're losing your zeal, you're losing your hope, you're 341 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:55,920 losing your faith, fanned it into flame, which tells me that 342 00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:59,840 I'm responsible for doing that. I'm responsible of recognizing 343 00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:02,560 that there is things in my life that I'm not doing now I have to 344 00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:05,440 do something about it. So fanning it to flame and you 345 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:07,320 come before the Lord and you say, Lord, please do something 346 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:09,320 in my heart. Let me get excited about this 347 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:12,320 again. Again, let me be intentional. 348 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:17,280 Let me let me want this again. Let it let it be effortless for 349 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:19,960 me. And for this command to be given 350 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:23,640 means that it's possible for God to do a work in US and to keep 351 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:26,560 that fire strong. So here's question number one. 352 00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:31,120 Am I stewarding the gifts that God has given me well? 353 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:36,160 Am I doing it well? Here's the second question. 354 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:38,360 And I'm sure most of us saw this one coming. 355 00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:43,640 Am I growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ? 356 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:47,480 This is how Peter ends his second epistle. 357 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:54,680 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior 358 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:58,560 Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and 359 00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:01,000 to the day of eternity. Amen. 360 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,280 You know what intrigues me the most about this verse is how 361 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:07,600 Peter specifies the goal of growing in the grace of the 362 00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:09,840 Lord. Now we all understand growing in 363 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:12,040 knowledge, right? That doesn't seem so mysterious. 364 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:16,880 But what stands out to me is how he says growing in the grace. 365 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:22,120 How do I grow in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ? 366 00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:24,680 Well, I think it helps to define what grace is. 367 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:28,240 And in simple terms, it is God's undeserved favor. 368 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:33,720 But Peter's not suggesting that you and I work hard to acquire 369 00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:36,680 more of God's grace because that's not how God's grace 370 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:39,640 works. It's unreserved. 371 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:44,280 It climax at the person of Jesus Christ coming and dying for us. 372 00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:47,480 So what does it mean to grow in this grace then? 373 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:50,360 Here's what I believe Peter is saying by the Spirit, not to 374 00:24:50,360 --> 00:24:55,080 acquire more of it, but to become more aware of it, to 375 00:24:55,080 --> 00:25:02,080 experience it in a deeper level, to plunge further into the 376 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:07,040 revelation of it. And he says, you can do this to 377 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:10,440 the point where it transforms the way you worship and listen, 378 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:14,600 the way you extend it to others. Grow in the grace of the Lord 379 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:19,000 and Savior Jesus Christ. And you should rejoice with me 380 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:22,720 because we are told exactly how we can advance in that. 381 00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:25,280 We're not left without instruction. 382 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:28,360 And this is where I think the knowledge part comes in. 383 00:25:28,360 --> 00:25:32,400 This is how they work together. Meaning it's impossible for me 384 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:37,040 to grow in the revelation of the grace of God in Christ without 385 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:39,920 growing in my knowledge of who Christ is. 386 00:25:40,600 --> 00:25:42,480 So grow in the grace and the knowledge. 387 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:44,440 You need the knowledge to get the grace. 388 00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:49,360 You can't do without it. You can't depend on experiences. 389 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:52,320 You can't depend on people's personal testimonies. 390 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:56,680 As wonderful as those things are, it is inseparable from this 391 00:25:56,680 --> 00:26:00,640 discipline. Knowledge, knowledge. 392 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:03,640 And if you doubt that this is what fascinates me about the 393 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:08,560 Bible, just the artistry of it, look at how Second Peter starts. 394 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:14,680 So look at verse one of second Peter of chapter 1, particularly 395 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:17,800 verse two. Look what Peter says. 396 00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:22,080 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the 397 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:24,400 knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 398 00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:27,840 Do you see it? How is grace and peace 399 00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:30,520 multiplied in my life? Knowledge. 400 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:34,400 Knowledge has to be in the knowledge. 401 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:39,720 And so this, this whole letter is sandwiched between the call 402 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:44,440 for knowledge, the charge for knowledge. 403 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:49,480 And This is why as a church we emphasize so much on biblical 404 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:54,360 teaching, on taking the Word of God and presenting it in an 405 00:26:54,360 --> 00:26:56,120 understandable and passionate way. 406 00:26:56,120 --> 00:26:58,400 Why? Because that's where grace and 407 00:26:58,400 --> 00:26:59,960 peace will be multiplied in your life. 408 00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:02,880 That's where growth will be known in your life. 409 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:06,520 It's not going to be known again in miracles. 410 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:08,520 I believe that God could do miracles. 411 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:12,120 It's not even known in in personal testimonies of how God 412 00:27:12,120 --> 00:27:15,160 has come through. As supplemental as those are, it 413 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:19,160 can primarily come through the channel of His revelation. 414 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:22,200 That's why we do this. That's why we do it more than 415 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:25,960 once a week, because this is what brings the power in our 416 00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:29,040 lives. You can't have that growth. 417 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:31,840 You can't have that multiplication of the virtues of 418 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:34,680 the Spirit and His blessings without the knowledge. 419 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:40,760 And I want to encourage you not just to get that knowledge once 420 00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:44,880 or twice a week from here to make a personal investment in 421 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:49,320 this new year. And if you were to come to my 422 00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:54,080 little desk at my home tonight, you will find a piece of paper 423 00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:57,840 from this week with the same verse written on it over and 424 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:00,840 over, because that verse is not for sermon prep. 425 00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:07,040 That verse is for my soul. And here's the verse. 426 00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:12,680 You don't have to turn there. It's a it's an atomic verse to 427 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:17,560 me in first John 320. He says, for whenever our hearts 428 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:22,280 condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and he knows 429 00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:24,920 everything. He knows everything. 430 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:29,320 And so I ripped a piece of paper and I have all these colorful 431 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:32,640 markers, and I just write it in one color, and I write it again 432 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:34,800 another color, and I write it again another color. 433 00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:38,560 Why am I doing that? Because I want to grow the 434 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:40,840 knowledge of God's grace in my life. 435 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:44,720 The extent of it, yes, Jesus Christ died on the cross for my 436 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:46,880 sins, absolutely. But what are the implications of 437 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:50,000 that? And with that particular verse, 438 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:55,040 I want it so amplified in my heart that it's louder than 439 00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:58,120 anything that my flesh lashes out against me. 440 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:03,120 And it's an invitation for you. And I, I hope to be more 441 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:07,720 intentional with the Bible. And so let me ask you this in 442 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:11,680 this past year, your engagement with this truth, I'm not going 443 00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:14,000 to ask you if you've grown. I'm not going to ask that. 444 00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:18,440 I'm just going to ask you this, your relationship with this 445 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:24,480 treasure chest of truth. Is it is it steadfast or is it 446 00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:31,240 sporadic or is it scarce? And if it's the latter 2, do you 447 00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:35,680 have a plan moving forward saying, I want it to be 448 00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:38,480 different this time. I want it to be different moving 449 00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:42,560 forward. And if you don't know where to 450 00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:48,480 begin, just start in the New Testament and just make it your 451 00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:50,640 goal to finish reading the New Testament. 452 00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:55,200 And don't be afraid if you can't figure every parable out or how 453 00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:58,560 these prophecies work. You just, you just read through 454 00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:02,360 and you pluck up those truths like first John 320 along the 455 00:30:02,360 --> 00:30:04,640 way, things that just resonate with you, that speak to your 456 00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:07,680 heart. And then you go to the old and 457 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:10,640 you do the same and you come to church and you allow what's 458 00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:12,920 being taught just supplement what you're learning on your 459 00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:14,400 own. And you'll just see how you will 460 00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:16,080 grow in advance and leap forward. 461 00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:19,360 And you know this, this power, the strength, this confidence, 462 00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:25,000 this ability to overcome certain things, it's inseparable from 463 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:28,080 the word. And I want you to know it for 464 00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:31,040 yourself. God wants us to know it for 465 00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:34,840 ourselves. And so am I growing in the 466 00:30:34,840 --> 00:30:37,120 knowledge of the grace of God, Am I knowing? 467 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:39,440 Am I growing in the knowledge of who Christ is himself? 468 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:41,800 That's my second question to you. 469 00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:48,800 But here is the third. Am I becoming more eternity 470 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:51,880 conscience? Am I becoming more eternity 471 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:54,640 conscience and I'm convinced and This is why I'm ending it with 472 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:58,080 this point because this question in pursuing what it asks will 473 00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:01,080 put almost everything else in its proper sanctified 474 00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:03,040 perspective. Trust me. 475 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:11,840 So come with me to Colossians chapter 3 and notice what he 476 00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:24,070 says in verse one. He says if then you have been 477 00:31:24,070 --> 00:31:27,390 raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where 478 00:31:27,390 --> 00:31:30,510 Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 479 00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:34,800 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that 480 00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:39,000 are on earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with 481 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:42,480 Christ in God. When Christ who is your life 482 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:44,760 appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 483 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:47,520 I can't help it, it's not my main point, but do you see how 484 00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:50,600 he speaks about Christ here? Look at the last part in verse 485 00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:52,760 4. When Christ, who is your life, 486 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:55,960 Christ didn't just save my life, He is my life. 487 00:31:56,880 --> 00:31:58,160 He's not just the author of life. 488 00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:03,080 He's He is my breath. He's the reason why I exist. 489 00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:07,200 He's the zest of my being. He's everything. 490 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:10,200 Who this is how Paul, he says he's your life now it's all 491 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:12,600 about Jesus. You know, some people they try 492 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:17,920 to put Christ in like in a certain kind of category of 493 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:22,160 importance, you know, No, no, he's the whole thing and 494 00:32:22,160 --> 00:32:26,720 everything orbits around him. Christ, who is your life 495 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:29,480 appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 496 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:32,240 So what's the summary of what Paul's telling Christians to do? 497 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:33,840 He's not telling this to pastors. 498 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:36,760 He's telling this to a group of believers. 499 00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:40,680 It's this be preoccupied with eternity. 500 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:47,080 Be preoccupied with eternity. And So what that means is there 501 00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:50,440 should always be this underlying awareness that heaven is your 502 00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:54,040 home. Meditate frequently and 503 00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:56,440 delightfully on spiritual realities. 504 00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:02,320 Filter what you perceive and what comes your way in this 505 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:07,600 world with another realm. Remind yourself always of the 506 00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:13,280 return of Jesus Christ and the bliss that you will know being 507 00:33:13,280 --> 00:33:19,200 in His presence forever. This is what He is saying and we 508 00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:22,400 have to train ourselves in that. You know, when I find myself 509 00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:26,120 going somewhere, even for meetings for a few days or 510 00:33:26,120 --> 00:33:29,400 longer, as much as I'm enjoying what the Lord is doing in that 511 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:32,040 place and meeting other believers, there's this sense in 512 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:34,680 me that this is not my home, though. 513 00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:38,280 This is my home. You are my home. 514 00:33:39,040 --> 00:33:43,920 Chicago is where I live, right? And that's always there. 515 00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:46,960 And it doesn't make me absent minded of wherever I'm visiting. 516 00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:50,680 It doesn't make me less effective, at least I hope. 517 00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:56,120 But there's just this sense in me and, and especially when I, 518 00:33:56,120 --> 00:33:59,880 when I find myself in the stillness of the night, my mind 519 00:33:59,880 --> 00:34:03,920 goes there. My mind goes to, to where I, 520 00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:06,440 where I am, where I'm supposed to be, where I belong. 521 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:09,199 And I believe in the same way. This is what the Holy Spirit is 522 00:34:09,199 --> 00:34:13,400 asking of us as we traverse through this world, as we deal 523 00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:15,639 with responsibilities, as we have these things that we need 524 00:34:15,639 --> 00:34:17,840 to do, and as we even enjoy things in this life. 525 00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:20,080 There is this sense, there is this awareness. 526 00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:24,120 This is not the end of it. This is not the fullness of it. 527 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:27,639 This is a shadow. The substance is yet to be 528 00:34:27,639 --> 00:34:32,280 realized. And you need to understand that 529 00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:35,480 there are implications, massive implications to this. 530 00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:38,920 It's not just so that we can feel more spiritual. 531 00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:41,480 No, no, no, there are. There are things that it unlocks 532 00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:43,639 in our lives and I want to prove that to you. 533 00:34:43,639 --> 00:34:46,080 So we read the first few verses of this chapter, but look at 534 00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:48,440 verse 5, immediately following verse 4. 535 00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:54,120 Notice what Paul says. Put to death, therefore, what is 536 00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:58,120 earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, 537 00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:01,160 evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry. 538 00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:06,720 Highlight that word therefore, so Paul is not beginning a new 539 00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:10,920 thought here with this section of ethical exhortations. 540 00:35:11,720 --> 00:35:14,480 The word therefore there, it tells us that there's a link 541 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:17,440 between the preceding thought and the present and following 542 00:35:17,440 --> 00:35:21,360 entreaties, meaning based on what I just established of how 543 00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:25,120 your, your meditations, your thinking, your affections should 544 00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:30,040 be set upward heavenward. Now here's what should transpire 545 00:35:30,040 --> 00:35:32,800 as the fruit of it. Here's the outcome of that. 546 00:35:33,040 --> 00:35:35,960 And what does he say here? That there's going to be things 547 00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:37,000 that are going to be put to death. 548 00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:41,720 Look at this in verse 5 and notice carefully that these are 549 00:35:41,720 --> 00:35:44,760 obviously vices, but it continues in verse eight. 550 00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:46,680 Look at verse 8. But now you must put them all 551 00:35:46,680 --> 00:35:50,360 away, anger, wrath, malice, slander and obscene talk from 552 00:35:50,360 --> 00:35:52,520 your mouth. Do not lie to one another, 553 00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:55,400 seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices. 554 00:35:56,840 --> 00:35:59,560 Again, this is all flowing from what He said in the 1st 4 verses 555 00:35:59,560 --> 00:36:01,480 about setting our minds on things above. 556 00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:03,800 And notice when you look at verse five in the list that He 557 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:06,920 gives, those are all about personal sins. 558 00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:10,680 Look again, sexual morality, impurity, passion, evil desire 559 00:36:10,680 --> 00:36:12,600 and covetousness, which is idolatry. 560 00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:19,120 But then in verse 8 and 9, their interpersonal sins, how you deal 561 00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:22,560 and interact with others. Look at it again, anger, wrath, 562 00:36:22,560 --> 00:36:26,320 malice, slander and obscene talk from your mouth, lying to one 563 00:36:26,320 --> 00:36:29,720 another. And here's what Paul is trying 564 00:36:29,720 --> 00:36:32,720 to explain. The things that we tolerate in 565 00:36:32,720 --> 00:36:37,640 our own lives and the things that we fail in other people's 566 00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:41,880 lives. You can know personal holiness 567 00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:46,880 and you can know a holiness in public as a result of developing 568 00:36:46,880 --> 00:36:49,080 the habit of setting your mind on things above. 569 00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:54,840 That's achievable, more achievable at least. 570 00:36:56,480 --> 00:36:59,880 And that doesn't just equip us to war against the negative. 571 00:36:59,880 --> 00:37:04,240 It actually becomes a fertilization to breed the 572 00:37:04,240 --> 00:37:06,840 positive. So let's look at this in bullet 573 00:37:06,840 --> 00:37:08,840 point form. Look at verse 11 quickly. 574 00:37:09,360 --> 00:37:13,760 It helps us treat others as equals, talks about Jew and 575 00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:17,200 Gentile, right? It closes with Christ like 576 00:37:17,200 --> 00:37:21,080 virtues between verses 12 and 13 as we put on compassionate 577 00:37:21,080 --> 00:37:22,560 hearts and other beautiful things. 578 00:37:23,360 --> 00:37:26,600 Verse 14, it excites a sacrificial love and secures 579 00:37:26,600 --> 00:37:29,800 unity in the church. Look at verse 15. 580 00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:33,240 It becomes the channel setting my mind on things about becomes 581 00:37:33,240 --> 00:37:37,320 the channel for the peace of Christ to govern my heart. 582 00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:44,160 You know they said of a Puritan pastor by the name of Richard 583 00:37:44,160 --> 00:37:48,960 Sibbs that heaven was in him before he went to heaven. 584 00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:52,960 Heaven was in him before he went to heaven. 585 00:37:54,480 --> 00:37:57,520 And a great reason for that is because he obeyed these 586 00:37:57,520 --> 00:37:59,520 commands. He set his mind on things above. 587 00:38:00,680 --> 00:38:02,280 He was seeking the things that are above. 588 00:38:03,880 --> 00:38:05,120 And you say, how does that work though? 589 00:38:05,120 --> 00:38:09,680 Listen, I, I have my time alone with the Lord in the morning and 590 00:38:09,680 --> 00:38:12,520 that's a huge thing. It puts things in its proper 591 00:38:12,520 --> 00:38:14,320 place. It, it, it sets the right frame 592 00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:15,360 of mind. Absolutely. 593 00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:18,000 But I think this, this is asking for even more than that. 594 00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:21,120 You're saying, OK, but I found myself even the moment I step 595 00:38:21,120 --> 00:38:23,680 out into the world and the moment I step out of my bedroom, 596 00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:27,640 I'm just overcome by responsibilities and tasks and 597 00:38:27,640 --> 00:38:31,560 distractions and surprises. How am I supposed to manage 598 00:38:31,560 --> 00:38:34,960 this? And I think there's a way, God, 599 00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:37,880 God is not asking us to be absent minded in this life, but 600 00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:40,720 I think there are ways in which we can by his grace, as we spend 601 00:38:40,720 --> 00:38:44,080 time with him and get into the work to grow in this area of 602 00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:48,400 becoming eternally minded. Here's one way of I guess 603 00:38:48,760 --> 00:38:52,360 looking at it. Whenever a grievances come, 604 00:38:52,360 --> 00:38:55,320 sickness might visit you, challenges might erupt. 605 00:38:56,320 --> 00:38:59,520 I think how these commands work is in the following manner that 606 00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:05,280 at some point you were able to filter all of that and related 607 00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:08,680 to yes, the brokenness in my life in this world will one day 608 00:39:08,680 --> 00:39:11,760 be swallowed up by a perfect world that will be governed by a 609 00:39:11,760 --> 00:39:14,040 perfect king. There, there it is. 610 00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:17,200 I'm I'm transported into the heavenlies right there. 611 00:39:17,920 --> 00:39:20,400 This isn't it. This isn't permanent, this isn't 612 00:39:20,400 --> 00:39:22,640 the final story. This is how it's supposed to be, 613 00:39:22,640 --> 00:39:24,280 and it's not going to be like this. 614 00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:27,520 Christ is going to come and he's going to fix everything. 615 00:39:28,080 --> 00:39:30,680 There's a time coming where the tears that I'm shedding now, 616 00:39:31,120 --> 00:39:35,440 they'll only be a far memory. The pain in my body now will be 617 00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:40,560 eclipsed by glorified body. The disappointments of people. 618 00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:42,840 Oh, there's a time coming. Can you imagine this where 619 00:39:42,840 --> 00:39:44,960 everybody that you know will be perfect? 620 00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:48,040 What a thought. Perfect, perfect. 621 00:39:49,280 --> 00:39:52,720 So I think how Colossians 3 helps us is that we console 622 00:39:52,720 --> 00:39:56,640 ourselves with the reality of eternity in this life. 623 00:39:57,360 --> 00:39:59,560 Do that. Do it a lot. 624 00:40:00,400 --> 00:40:03,480 Give it to others. What about the good, which is 625 00:40:03,480 --> 00:40:07,520 sometimes even more dangerous? The good that God allows you and 626 00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:11,000 I to taste in this life. Like vacations with your family 627 00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:13,560 or rejoicing at a friend's wedding. 628 00:40:13,560 --> 00:40:14,720 What do you, what do you do then? 629 00:40:14,800 --> 00:40:18,000 Here's how I think you do it. You view it all as a preview of 630 00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:21,840 something to come. That any thrill, you know, any 631 00:40:21,840 --> 00:40:24,880 laughter that you would share with others, this is just a 632 00:40:24,880 --> 00:40:28,840 foretaste of what's going to happen when Jesus returns and 633 00:40:28,840 --> 00:40:31,840 rules and reigns forever. And in that moment, you're 634 00:40:31,840 --> 00:40:33,760 transported again into the heavenlies. 635 00:40:34,280 --> 00:40:36,760 And more than that, you have a reason to give thanks to God. 636 00:40:37,280 --> 00:40:41,160 Lord, no matter how good it gets here, it will only touch the 637 00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:44,720 foothills of the Mount Everest of Your glory and the things 638 00:40:44,720 --> 00:40:48,840 that You will usher in my life. So this is what we're invited 639 00:40:48,840 --> 00:40:51,760 to. Can I ask you something? 640 00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:57,000 How much have you thought about heaven in 2024? 641 00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:06,480 How much have you relied on these truths to allow God's 642 00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:13,000 peace to wash over you? When's the last time you got 643 00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:15,560 excited about going to be with the Lord? 644 00:41:19,240 --> 00:41:24,120 Imagine being engaged to somebody and only you were 645 00:41:24,120 --> 00:41:28,920 excited for the wedding day and your fiance wasn't. 646 00:41:30,360 --> 00:41:34,120 That would be weird. That would be concerning. 647 00:41:35,080 --> 00:41:38,560 That asked for a little bit more time in marital counselling. 648 00:41:38,560 --> 00:41:41,720 Premarital counselling, right? More sessions before the wedding 649 00:41:41,720 --> 00:41:46,320 day. Wouldn't it be weird for the 650 00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:49,680 Lord only to be excited to be with us? 651 00:41:54,080 --> 00:41:58,480 So Paul invites you and I to be more eternity conscious if you 652 00:41:58,480 --> 00:42:01,080 belong to Him. And listen, it's not just so 653 00:42:01,080 --> 00:42:05,120 that you can share in that delight with your Master. 654 00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:08,240 You just read it. It'll impact the way you live in 655 00:42:08,240 --> 00:42:10,840 this world. You're going to see sin 656 00:42:10,840 --> 00:42:13,520 differently. You're going to treat temptation 657 00:42:13,520 --> 00:42:15,760 differently. You're going to, you're going to 658 00:42:15,760 --> 00:42:21,640 tap into a strength. You'll be able to how we talked 659 00:42:21,640 --> 00:42:23,240 about briefly during the announcements. 660 00:42:23,480 --> 00:42:27,560 You'll be able to excel in certain graces, including how 661 00:42:27,560 --> 00:42:31,600 you manage your money. And it will, it will be your 662 00:42:31,600 --> 00:42:36,480 servant and not your master. It touches everything. 663 00:42:38,320 --> 00:42:44,440 I'm tempted to go into five more questions, but I think that's 664 00:42:44,440 --> 00:42:47,320 enough for now. I want you to don't tempt me 665 00:42:47,320 --> 00:42:52,200 brother. I want you to to seriously now 666 00:42:52,200 --> 00:42:56,920 at this time before we praise to sit back and really reflect on 667 00:42:56,920 --> 00:43:01,400 your walk with the Lord. Now for all honest, we can all 668 00:43:01,400 --> 00:43:05,800 say I can improve in every area. Absolutely I'm there, but I'm 669 00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:08,080 not talking about the areas where you are walking in 670 00:43:08,080 --> 00:43:09,280 already. I'm talking about the things 671 00:43:09,280 --> 00:43:14,960 that are non existent or maybe they're shriveling up or maybe 672 00:43:14,960 --> 00:43:20,440 you you find yourself deviating. You know what's amazing? 673 00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:23,160 I I failed to mention this, but I'll mention it now. 674 00:43:23,360 --> 00:43:26,080 And the point about growing in the grace and knowledge of the 675 00:43:26,080 --> 00:43:31,960 Lord, There are negative implications for ignoring such a 676 00:43:31,960 --> 00:43:33,320 command. You're saying what do you mean? 677 00:43:33,480 --> 00:43:36,520 Because that's second Peter 318. But if you look at second Peter 678 00:43:36,760 --> 00:43:43,280 3/17, he warns about being carried away by the error of 679 00:43:43,280 --> 00:43:46,920 lawless people. And then in the the next verse 680 00:43:46,920 --> 00:43:49,320 he provides the protection against that, the antidote he 681 00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:54,520 says, but grow but grow. So, so here's what I want to say 682 00:43:54,520 --> 00:43:57,080 to you, that just in the area of growing in the knowledge of 683 00:43:57,080 --> 00:44:00,840 Christ, to fail to do that, to fail to take that seriously 684 00:44:01,640 --> 00:44:03,880 doesn't mean that you're going to remain as you are. 685 00:44:04,560 --> 00:44:06,400 No, no, no, there is no middle ground. 686 00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:13,840 You put yourself at greater risk of drifting, drifting, drifting. 687 00:44:13,840 --> 00:44:17,720 And Peter used the language being carried away by the error 688 00:44:17,720 --> 00:44:20,600 of lawless people. And that error includes false 689 00:44:20,600 --> 00:44:22,360 teaching because the verses before they talked about how 690 00:44:22,360 --> 00:44:24,800 people twist the scriptures. You make yourself more 691 00:44:24,800 --> 00:44:28,640 vulnerable to deceptive teachings when you don't engage 692 00:44:28,640 --> 00:44:32,520 with this word regularly, faithfully, diligently. 693 00:44:32,880 --> 00:44:34,560 But the error is not just limited to doctrine. 694 00:44:34,560 --> 00:44:39,920 It can be into legalism or as you lose touch with the grace of 695 00:44:39,920 --> 00:44:44,120 Jesus Christ, now you begin to invite methods and ideas of what 696 00:44:44,120 --> 00:44:48,040 holiness is that are foreign to the Bible or the air of 697 00:44:48,040 --> 00:44:53,160 lawlessness, because this grace empowers you to live holy. 698 00:44:54,480 --> 00:44:57,880 And so I want to tell you that even just in that point alone, 699 00:44:58,280 --> 00:45:02,040 to to be indifferent to it, to be careless with it puts us in 700 00:45:02,040 --> 00:45:05,320 spiritual peril. OK, no more, I'm done. 701 00:45:06,040 --> 00:45:09,160 I want this to now just pause and pray just in your own heart. 702 00:45:09,160 --> 00:45:11,360 The praise team can come up and help us and assist us. 703 00:45:13,120 --> 00:45:18,600 And my duty here is to do what I open up with to help you, to 704 00:45:18,600 --> 00:45:23,040 help you continue to be a pure virgin unto Christ. 705 00:45:27,440 --> 00:45:29,200 Please don't distract anybody beside you. 706 00:45:29,200 --> 00:45:33,160 Just receive this directly from the Lord and give it to Him on a 707 00:45:33,160 --> 00:45:36,720 personal level, just in your own heart. 708 00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:39,680 Speak to the Lord and we're going to sing to Him together in 709 00:45:39,680 --> 00:46:21,760 a moment. Well, before I pray, I say, 710 00:46:22,320 --> 00:46:25,880 because I want to try to be like Paul who said imitate me as I 711 00:46:25,880 --> 00:46:30,800 imitate Christ. I say from my heart to you that 712 00:46:31,920 --> 00:46:35,440 you bring so much joy in my life, and seeing your walk with 713 00:46:35,440 --> 00:46:40,480 the Lord and your love for the truth has given me ample reason 714 00:46:40,480 --> 00:46:45,040 to give more thanks to God and to give him glory for your 715 00:46:45,040 --> 00:46:47,960 lives. And so I am eternally grateful 716 00:46:48,360 --> 00:46:52,880 for this church and not this building for the real church, 717 00:46:52,880 --> 00:46:55,360 you. And I just say that in your 718 00:46:55,360 --> 00:46:59,320 presence before the Lord because he knows my heart, how much you 719 00:46:59,320 --> 00:47:02,000 mean to me. And I pray for you always. 720 00:47:02,000 --> 00:47:05,080 And I ask that you pray for me as we journey together hand in 721 00:47:05,080 --> 00:47:08,480 hand into 2025. Well, let me end this way. 722 00:47:08,480 --> 00:47:13,200 Actually, if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ want to be 723 00:47:13,200 --> 00:47:16,960 wonderful, if you began this new year giving your heart to him, 724 00:47:17,600 --> 00:47:20,960 yeah, you can do that. And he's, he's waiting for you 725 00:47:20,960 --> 00:47:25,240 to do that. Why waste another year living 726 00:47:25,240 --> 00:47:30,560 for yourself, living in sin, living under the wrath of God, 727 00:47:31,120 --> 00:47:35,400 when in a moment when you confess and you believe on the 728 00:47:35,400 --> 00:47:37,720 Lord Jesus Christ, you were transferred from the domain of 729 00:47:37,720 --> 00:47:40,960 darkness into the Kingdom of his beloved Son. 730 00:47:41,360 --> 00:47:45,240 I invite you today that if you don't know Jesus Christ in a 731 00:47:45,240 --> 00:47:50,040 saving way, that you would at this moment realize that He is 732 00:47:50,280 --> 00:47:54,800 calling you to Himself and that no matter what your sin is, no 733 00:47:54,800 --> 00:47:58,400 matter what your bondage is, no matter what your addiction may 734 00:47:58,400 --> 00:48:03,680 be, no matter what your history might say, Christ loves you. 735 00:48:04,600 --> 00:48:10,480 He died for you, and in a moment He's willing to save you, but He 736 00:48:10,480 --> 00:48:14,520 will not impose himself. He waits for you to make that 737 00:48:14,520 --> 00:48:19,160 decision and He will rush into your life and make you a new 738 00:48:19,160 --> 00:48:22,040 creature. I invite you to make that choice 739 00:48:22,040 --> 00:48:26,960 today so that not just 2025, but the rest of your life will be 740 00:48:26,960 --> 00:48:30,480 life abundant because Jesus lives in you. 741 00:48:31,160 --> 00:48:34,440 And so repent from your sins. Believe that he died for your 742 00:48:34,440 --> 00:48:37,640 sins and believe that he welcomes you into relationship 743 00:48:37,640 --> 00:48:42,520 with him forever. Lord, we thank you for 2024. 744 00:48:42,960 --> 00:48:47,560 Oh so much, so much to give you glory for Lord, we ask now 745 00:48:47,560 --> 00:48:50,320 together as a church. You've been with us these past 746 00:48:50,320 --> 00:48:53,480 three years. Go before us in this new year. 747 00:48:53,840 --> 00:49:00,000 Live Lord before us, protect us, guide us, open doors for us. 748 00:49:00,240 --> 00:49:04,880 We want to see your glory made known in our midst, so we commit 749 00:49:04,880 --> 00:49:09,680 this together and we ask, O God, that more people will be added 750 00:49:09,680 --> 00:49:13,200 to the fold and those who are added to the fold would grow in 751 00:49:13,200 --> 00:49:16,040 the grace and knowledge of Christ, would utilize their 752 00:49:16,040 --> 00:49:19,640 gifts, would be more conscious of the world to come. 753 00:49:20,080 --> 00:49:22,720 Lord, we thank you for this word and we thank you for who you 754 00:49:22,720 --> 00:49:25,000 are. We bless you together in Jesus 755 00:49:25,000 --> 00:49:26,240 name, Amen.