1 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:07,680 You're very welcome to today's Triumph Church podcast. 2 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:10,440 We pray that you enjoy the message. 3 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:20,320 Well, this morning we're going to be finishing our series on 4 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:24,160 the book of Ephesians. You know, we're on chapter 5 5 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:28,200 this week, but I want you to notice as we dive into this 6 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:32,000 chapter today that the apostle Paul is not just giving us 7 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:36,560 doctrine here, all right? He's actually giving us the how. 8 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:40,920 How do you walk this out in your life? 9 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:44,520 And I think that's where a lot of believers struggle. 10 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:48,480 That's where there's a gap. I see in God's word some things, 11 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:53,360 but how do I how do I walk that out practically in my life? 12 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:56,040 So today we're going to talk about that gap and what 13 00:00:56,160 --> 00:01:00,000 Ephesians 5 says about closing that we're going to begin in 14 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,440 verse one and verse 2. If you want to turn there in 15 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:07,480 your in your Bibles or we'll have it up on the screen behind 16 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:09,600 me here. But in verse one, Ephesians 17 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:15,440 chapter 5 says imitate God therefore in everything you do 18 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:20,680 because you are his dear children, live a life filled 19 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:25,960 with love, following the example of Christ who loved us and 20 00:01:25,960 --> 00:01:32,320 offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. 21 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:37,560 So Paul begins this chapter really with a massive statement, 22 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:42,920 doesn't he? He begins chapter 5 saying to 23 00:01:42,960 --> 00:01:47,880 imitate God. A statement like that would make 24 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:53,200 religious heads just turn around, go mad, go crazy. 25 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:59,200 Paul says that we are to imitate God. 26 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:04,680 Paul is saying that we're not just to believe in God and we're 27 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:08,720 not just supposed to come to church on Sunday, but we're to 28 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:13,520 imitate him in everything that we do. 29 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:16,600 The, I guess, label Christian, right? 30 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:21,560 Christian means Christ, like, so if you're a Christian, if you 31 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:27,280 call yourself a Christian, what should be evident in your life, 32 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:30,240 right? The apostle Paul said follow me 33 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:36,880 as I follow Christ, right? What are we supposed to imitate 34 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:40,560 in our lives? What should people see in our 35 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:44,040 lives? Not Pastor Bradley. 36 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:50,720 I want them to see Christ. I want them to see God in my 37 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:53,200 life. When they talk to me, what do 38 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:55,880 they walk away with? When we're in fellowship 39 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:59,480 together, when we're around one another and they walk away, what 40 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:02,640 are they taking away from being around me? 41 00:03:02,640 --> 00:03:06,400 Is it something positive? Can they say that person has 42 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:11,320 been with God? Pastor Bradley, he knows Jesus, 43 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:12,920 right? Can people say that? 44 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:16,200 That's what I want them to know, right? 45 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:22,160 We're imitating God, and that's evident in our life by the fruit 46 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:27,600 of our life, what we say, what we do, how we live, right? 47 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,160 So we're going to talk about three things this morning that 48 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:33,120 the Apostle Paul mentions in this chapter. 49 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:34,880 The first thing is walking in love. 50 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:39,680 The second thing is walking in light, and the third thing is 51 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:43,080 walking in in wisdom. And then the latter part of this 52 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:45,920 chapter is kind of talking about the husband and wife and things. 53 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:48,880 We'll come back to that another time 'cause I'm not wanting to 54 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:51,600 do a, a marriage series right now. 55 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:54,600 We're talking about the first part of this chapter. 56 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:59,440 But Paul opens this chapter with the most fundamental command in 57 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:04,200 the Christian life. Imitate God, follow Christ's 58 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:09,720 example, and walk in love. And I want you to understand 59 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:12,440 something here. Paul's not talking about a 60 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:15,560 feeling. You know when the world defines 61 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:18,120 love, when the world talks about love, right? 62 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:21,279 They just define it as a feeling. 63 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:25,360 You know Boston sings a song more than a feeling, right? 64 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:29,840 You want to know Boston, but the world defines love as just a 65 00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:34,760 feeling, as just a, an emotion. You know, well, I, I don't feel 66 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:37,440 anything in this relationship anymore. 67 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:40,440 And because I don't feel anything in this relationship 68 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:45,080 anymore, that must mean that I no longer love you anymore. 69 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:49,840 And so we're just going to sever this could be a, a marriage, 70 00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:51,720 could be a friendship, It could be anything. 71 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:56,120 We're we're not supposed to be people that are ruled by our 72 00:04:56,320 --> 00:05:00,840 emotions, right? Our emotions are wild. 73 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:05,920 How many of you felt really happy and joyous to wake up on a 74 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:09,040 Sunday morning, right? Any hands? 75 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:13,040 If you're normal, right? I'm just kidding. 76 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:16,240 If you're normal, you don't feel like, like sometimes it's really 77 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:18,640 weird. Like you, you have a dream and 78 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:20,880 that dream is your reality, right? 79 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:23,440 While you're dreaming. And then you wake up, your alarm 80 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:28,440 goes off and you wake up and you're like, oh, oh, right, that 81 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:30,920 was a really good dream. Snooze, 10 more minutes. 82 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:33,000 I was really enjoying myself, right. 83 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:38,640 If we're, if we make decisions and live our lives based on how 84 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:43,280 we feel every single day, how we feel from minute to minute to 85 00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:47,320 hour to hour, we are going to be have these incredible highs, 86 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:50,480 these incredible lows and our life is going to be chaos. 87 00:05:50,840 --> 00:05:54,160 We're not supposed to live by our emotions. 88 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:59,400 Love is more than just an emotion that you have. 89 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:03,880 It's more than just a feeling. The Apostle Paul is saying to 90 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:08,360 make an intentional decision to walk in love. 91 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:12,200 Like that's something we have to purpose to do because not 92 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:16,160 everyone is lovable. Are they right? 93 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:18,960 Why are you laughing? Are you laughing at me? 94 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:25,680 I'm not always lovable. I know that not everyone is 95 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:29,320 lovable, right? We have to make that decision to 96 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:34,960 love that person in spite of them acting unlovable, don't we? 97 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:39,800 Love is something that we're purposeful and intentional to 98 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:42,000 do. It's a direction that you have 99 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:47,280 to choose every single day, and it determines what you think 100 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:50,560 about others. It determines how you treat 101 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:54,600 others, determines how you speak to others. 102 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:57,320 Because you've made a decision in the morning. 103 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:02,840 I'm choosing today. No matter what anyone does, no 104 00:07:02,840 --> 00:07:07,520 matter how anyone treats me, no matter what anyone says, I'm 105 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:11,520 choosing to walk in love towards those people. 106 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:16,400 Why? Because I'm imitating God, the 107 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:20,800 Bible says that while we were sinners, while we were enemies 108 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:25,400 of God, Jesus came. He wasn't ruled by his emotions, 109 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:29,120 was he? Jesus on the cross said, Father, 110 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:33,640 forgive them because they know not what they're doing, right? 111 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:38,840 He wasn't ruled by his emotions. He was purposeful and 112 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:44,000 intentional in his love. Paul goes on to say in Ephesians 113 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:50,480 5 and verse 2, he says live a life filled with love, following 114 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:55,200 the example of Christ who loved us and offered himself as a 115 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:59,960 sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. 116 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:05,960 You choosing to walk in love is doing what Christ did. 117 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:10,320 Imitating Christ. You're sacrificing your feelings 118 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:13,600 in order to love someone else, right? 119 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:15,880 Because sometimes it's justified. 120 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:19,000 I'm not saying that it's not justified that you would have a 121 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:24,920 right to be angry with someone, that you wouldn't have the right 122 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:31,360 to act or react towards someone. But that's not what Christ would 123 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:34,640 do. And He's asking that in spite of 124 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:38,640 how they are acting, you would lay your feelings. 125 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:44,960 You would lay your emotions at the foot of the cross just as 126 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:49,400 Christ did. And something really interesting 127 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:53,600 in chapter 5, I'll just say really quick, the apostle Paul 128 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:56,560 in talking about a husband and wife relationship, he says 129 00:08:56,560 --> 00:09:01,320 husbands love your wife as Jesus loves his church. 130 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:05,120 Well, what did Jesus do for his church? 131 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:10,200 He sacrificed his life for the Church, right? 132 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:13,400 So, husbands, what are we supposed to do in a 133 00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:16,800 relationship? We're supposed to sacrifice our 134 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:24,800 lives, our wants, our needs, our desires for our wives, right? 135 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:30,560 We're supposed to be willing to lay down all of our wants, all 136 00:09:30,560 --> 00:09:34,960 of our desires, all of our needs, and meet our wives. 137 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:37,120 That's what Jesus did for the church, right? 138 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:41,600 Husbands, love your wives. This is a whole different thing, 139 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:43,960 you know, but it goes across the board for everything. 140 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:47,720 That's how we're supposed to respond toward others. 141 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:54,400 Jesus is giving an example. Love others as I have loved you. 142 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:57,520 Love your enemies. Jesus taught about. 143 00:09:58,120 --> 00:09:59,960 They're not very lovable, are they? 144 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:04,240 They're your enemy. But Jesus says to love your 145 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:06,920 enemies. And in fact, he goes to say pray 146 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:10,080 for them. That's an act of love when you 147 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:16,200 pray for your enemies, not Lord, bring fire down on top of their 148 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:19,120 heads, right? That's not what I'm, that's not 149 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:20,760 the prayer that I'm talking about. 150 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:24,120 All right. Pray that God would bless them. 151 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:26,920 Pray that the Lord would open their eyes. 152 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:31,200 Pray that you would be an example in their life of God, 153 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:34,400 even in spite of how they're treating you. 154 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:36,760 I'm not saying it's easy all the time. 155 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:39,240 Sometimes it's incredibly difficult. 156 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:45,160 Sometimes it takes every ounce of strength that we have to 157 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:49,080 react to someone in love when we don't want to. 158 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:52,520 But that's the example that Christ gave us, right? 159 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:57,920 My point is this is that we've been made in the image of God 160 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:03,240 and we carry His nature on the inside of us through the new 161 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:07,480 birth. Romans 5 and verse 5 says, and 162 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:10,640 this is the hope that will not lead to disappointment, for we 163 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:15,640 know how dearly God loved us because He has given us the Holy 164 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:20,840 Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. 165 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:25,320 You have God's love on the inside of you. 166 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:29,560 He's poured that through the Holy Spirit into your life. 167 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,360 All you have to do is make the decision that by the Holy 168 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:37,560 Spirit, you're going to tap into that and He'll help you. 169 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:41,000 Sometimes you have to pray. Lord, help me love this person. 170 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:44,280 I'm really struggling with it. Like it's OK to be honest with 171 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:47,640 the Lord, but the Lord will give you the strength to be able to 172 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:50,760 love people that are unlovable. Amen. 173 00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:54,920 Let's move on to verses 8 through 11. 174 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:59,120 Here Paul takes the love thing and now broadens it into 175 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:04,200 something equally as powerful, which is walking in the light in 176 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:06,520 Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 8 through 11. 177 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:10,520 Let's read through this says for once you were full of darkness, 178 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:13,720 but now you have light from the Lord. 179 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:19,000 So live as people of light, for this light within you produces 180 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:22,280 only what is good and right and true. 181 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:26,920 Verse 10 Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. 182 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:32,720 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness. 183 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:38,080 Instead, expose them before Christ. 184 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:41,960 You walked in complete spiritual darkness, didn't you? 185 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:46,840 Ephesians 212 explains this, and it says that this is because you 186 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:52,040 were living without God and without hope. 187 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:57,600 But that's not the situation that any of you hopefully find 188 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:02,040 yourself in anymore. Now you have the light from the 189 00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:07,040 Lord, but God's expecting you now to walk in it. 190 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:11,280 And one part of walking in light is casting off. 191 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:18,800 Paul says the works of darkness, Those used to be a part of our 192 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:23,400 life without Christ. But Paul's now saying to expose 193 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:28,040 those worthless deeds of darkness in your life. 194 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:34,320 Once you've exposed them, then you're supposed to uproot those. 195 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:38,400 Don't just cover them up. That's really simple, but it's 196 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:42,320 only a temporary fix. Weeds come back when we don't 197 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:46,320 properly pull them up by the root and I'd bought some weed 198 00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:49,400 killer this time of year. We live on some property and 199 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:52,840 there's weeds that pop up everywhere all over the the 200 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:55,520 property and that's a lot to try to maintain. 201 00:13:55,520 --> 00:14:00,320 So every every year I buy some weed killer and I go around the 202 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:04,800 entire property, different parts and I spray like all the weeds. 203 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:08,280 You know, I did that. I don't know, early last week 204 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:11,640 and over a couple couple days, you know, a lot of the weeds 205 00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:15,280 around started to die. Could see them Browning, could 206 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:18,440 see them, them withering. But there is ones that I had 207 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:22,320 missed, right? They're bright and green and 208 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:24,560 they're thriving. They're doing really well. 209 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:28,680 It's like, ah, man, I missed a whole bunch of weeds, so I had 210 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:32,480 to go around on all those weeds and, and, and spray those, you 211 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:36,080 know, but the purpose of of that is, is I'm trying to kill those 212 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:39,720 weeds. I don't want them in my yard, in 213 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:41,800 my garden. I don't want them in my 214 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:43,240 property. I don't want all these 215 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:46,760 dandelions who are going to, you know, bloom and blossom and then 216 00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:49,640 they have, you know, all the seeds that blow all over and it 217 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:52,680 just makes a whole bunch more dandelions all over. 218 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:56,920 I want a nice garden, right? I cut the grass because I want a 219 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:01,800 nice garden, so I but I have to go around and and get rid of all 220 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:04,760 of these weeds. Well, part of walking in the 221 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:08,280 light is, is those when you walk into the light, things are 222 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:11,160 exposed. And that's a good thing. 223 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:16,240 You know, for us who, who are trying to, to follow and imitate 224 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:20,040 God and, and follow the example of Christ in our lives, like we 225 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:24,880 want those things that are, are a hindrance between US and him. 226 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:28,880 We want those things removed. We need those things uprooted to 227 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:32,440 take those things out, because if not, it's going to cause an 228 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:36,120 infestation and it's going to cause that, that separation. 229 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:38,840 And we're only going to be able to get so close to God because 230 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:40,720 we have all of these things in our life. 231 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:45,560 So when we draw close to God, those things, things in our 232 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:49,680 lives are going to be exposed. But that's a good thing. 233 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:55,080 And when those things are exposed, then ask for God's help 234 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:58,680 to attack those things and pull them out from the root. 235 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:00,960 But you do a good job. When I was little, my dad would 236 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:04,240 send me out into the garden to weed, and sometimes I'd just 237 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:05,720 pull them. I didn't even care about the 238 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:09,800 root, but I didn't realize what I was doing to myself because I 239 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:11,360 didn't do it right the first time. 240 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:15,680 Well, guess what? Those weeds came back and the 241 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:18,040 next weekend, guess what I'm doing again? 242 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:21,400 I'm having to weed again. My dad's like, you know, you 243 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:23,640 don't have time to do it right the first time. 244 00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:26,720 You don't have time to do it right the second time, but you 245 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:28,640 have time to do it right the third time. 246 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:31,600 Like just do it right the first time so you don't have to keep 247 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:34,960 doing it. So when we draw close to God, 248 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:37,760 there's going to be things that are exposed in our lives. 249 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:41,880 Just deal with it right then and there instead of it being a a 250 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:45,000 problem, something that we keep having to deal with through our 251 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:47,840 life. But there's another aspect of 252 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:51,480 walking in the light. Have you ever heard the song 253 00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:55,040 This Little Light of Mine? And I remember singing it a lot 254 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:57,800 of times in children's church. You know, this little light of 255 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:00,680 mine. I'm going to let it shine. 256 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:04,800 Is that anyone know that one? Everywhere you walk, you're 257 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:09,319 taking the light in the presence of God with you. 258 00:17:10,319 --> 00:17:14,800 Everywhere, no matter where it is, you're taking the light in 259 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:18,880 the presence of God with you. Jesus said this in Mark chapter 260 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:22,160 4 and verse 21. Then Jesus asked them, would 261 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:27,079 anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a 262 00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:29,040 bed? Of course not. 263 00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:34,560 A lamp is placed on a stand where it's light will shine. 264 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:37,600 And we have some some blinds here. 265 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:40,800 But if all the lights went out in this room, it'd probably be 266 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:44,080 pretty dark, wouldn't it be? Imagine there weren't any 267 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:47,040 windows in this room. If the lights went out, it would 268 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:51,520 be complete pitch black, right? And everyone would be sitting 269 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:53,880 there in their seats. OK, what now? 270 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:57,520 Right. And then I take my, my phone and 271 00:17:57,520 --> 00:17:59,600 on there, I turn the torch on my phone. 272 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:03,240 And that light illuminates the room, doesn't it? 273 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:06,440 And everyone now knows where Pastor Bradley is standing. 274 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:08,360 He's standing here with his torch. 275 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:13,240 And we can all be directed out the exits very simply to safety 276 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:19,520 wherever we go. It may be dark, but you are that 277 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:22,680 light that leads people to safety. 278 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:25,560 And listen, not everyone is going to go, not everyone is 279 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:28,160 going to follow, but you're being that light. 280 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:31,880 You're giving people the opportunity to come to that 281 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:34,400 light, aren't you? You know, there's a the 282 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:38,000 percentage we and our discipleship group that I was 283 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:41,440 doing this past week of sharing with a group of men. 284 00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:44,880 And I'm like, when you the statistic is that people 285 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:47,880 typically hear the gospel 7.4 times. 286 00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:52,280 I don't know where the .4 comes from, but 7.4 times before they 287 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:56,840 actually make a decision to yield their life to Christ. 288 00:18:57,120 --> 00:19:01,240 So someone rejected Christ the first time, the second time, the 289 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:04,720 third time, the 4th time, the fifth time, the sixth time, the 290 00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:09,080 7th time, and then the point 4th time that they heard the gospel. 291 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:13,200 They finally decided to yield their life to Christ, but they 292 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:17,440 rejected Christ seven other times, Right? 293 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:23,560 Our job is actually not to lead people to the Lord. 294 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:28,000 Jesus never said in his Great Commission go into all the world 295 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:31,400 and lead people to me. No, He said preach the gospel, 296 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:35,160 right? That's our job to be a light to 297 00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:38,240 preach the gospel. And those people will make a 298 00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:43,600 decision to either reject God in his word or they will make a 299 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:46,680 decision to accept him. That's between them and God, 300 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:49,080 right? That pressure is not on your 301 00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:52,360 shoulders. You don't have to lead someone 302 00:19:52,360 --> 00:19:56,320 to the Lord, you just share the gospel and maybe you're the 303 00:19:56,320 --> 00:20:00,920 point forth person after 7 rejections that you have the 304 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:03,800 privilege of actually leading someone to the Lord. 305 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:06,760 How amazing that you're going to get to heaven and you have 306 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:09,960 someone else there with you high fiving you, giving you a bump. 307 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:11,720 Thanks so much for being a light. 308 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:15,680 That's our job is to be a light in a dark room. 309 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:19,480 That's it. Walking in the light, wherever 310 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:24,400 you go, you have the light of God inside of you. 311 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:29,840 You know, the Scripture greater is he who's in me than he who is 312 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:32,480 in the world. So it doesn't matter how dark of 313 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:35,840 a place that we're in. Listen, I've been in places in 314 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:40,080 this world where people who are demon possessed are manifesting 315 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:42,400 that demon inside of them. All right? 316 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:45,720 I've been in some dark places. Have you been in a place like 317 00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:49,520 that where you've had people, you're sharing the gospel and 318 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:54,360 all of a sudden people jump up screaming like deathly demonic 319 00:20:54,360 --> 00:20:56,840 screams and start like convulsing and throwing 320 00:20:56,840 --> 00:20:59,640 themselves on the floor? Have you been in a place like 321 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:02,880 that? That's darkness, right? 322 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:06,760 That's a dark place. But listen, when you share the 323 00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:09,880 gospel, some people, demons don't want you sharing the 324 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:13,720 gospel. There is tremendous power in the 325 00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:17,000 gospel message. That gospel message changed and 326 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:19,120 transformed all of our lives here, right? 327 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:23,040 There's power in that message. It's foolishness to the world. 328 00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:28,040 People run from it. People run to it, and demons 329 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:31,040 react to it. They hate it, but listen, 330 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:35,000 because my friends and I were in that place of darkness and we 331 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:37,520 were a light. There was a lot of those people 332 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:42,160 who were demon possessed, who got freed from those demons in 333 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:45,920 their lives and gave their lives to the Lord, became Christians, 334 00:21:46,120 --> 00:21:51,200 joined God's family, decided to reject that darkness and decided 335 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:54,520 to accept that light. But you know what? 336 00:21:55,120 --> 00:21:56,560 There was some people that chose. 337 00:21:56,560 --> 00:22:00,040 They wanted that darkness. They liked the darkness. 338 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:04,600 They were OK living possessed by a demon. 339 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:07,920 That's not my decision. It's up to them. 340 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:12,240 They're either going to choose to accept the light or accept 341 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:14,960 the darkness that's between them and God. 342 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:19,360 But I'm going to be a light. God told Joshua this as he was 343 00:22:19,360 --> 00:22:23,440 going to be leading Israel into the into the promised land. 344 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:28,160 And Joshua chapter 1 and verse 3, God told Joshua, I promise 345 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:33,560 you what I promised Moses, wherever you set your foot, you 346 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:39,440 will be on land that I have given you, all right? 347 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:44,760 Wherever I set my foot, wherever these feet go, how beautiful are 348 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:47,240 the feet that share the good news? 349 00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:51,200 In Ephesians chapter 6, it says, right, How beautiful are the 350 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:54,160 feet that share the good news? Because these feet, when they go 351 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:59,000 on a place, the Lord's given me that land, right? 352 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:03,920 I'm going there, right, to make an impact with the gospel. 353 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:09,040 I'm sowing seeds of God's word. You know, there's the movie 354 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:14,920 Braveheart, you know, and there's this crazy Irishman that 355 00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:19,080 comes over and he says, this is my island, right? 356 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:23,960 Well, that's what I say. I step on my feet on this 357 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:27,440 island, Ireland, and guess what? I say? 358 00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:33,520 It's my island, right? Because where I put my feet, the 359 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:38,080 Lord has given me, right? Not that I take possession or 360 00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:40,240 I'm going to become the tea shock or anything, right? 361 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:43,640 It's not what I'm saying. I'm saying spiritually, I'm 362 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:47,640 working step by step with God. We're in partnership together to 363 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:51,600 share His gospel, to share the good news so that people will 364 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:54,920 come to the light of Him. Some people are going to run, 365 00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:58,040 some people are going to run to it, right? 366 00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:03,840 I'm just going to do my part and one step at a time, taking 367 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:06,920 territory. Now let's get to our Third Point 368 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:10,720 here. Walking in wisdom, and I think 369 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:15,200 this is one of the most practically challenging things 370 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:19,840 for us is to walk this out in our life. 371 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:26,240 Ephesians chapter 5 and verses 17 or 15 through 17 it says so 372 00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:32,960 be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like 373 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:38,160 those who are wise. Verse 16 make the most of every 374 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:42,840 opportunity in these evil days. Don't act thoughtlessly, but 375 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:46,600 understand what the Lord wants you to do. 376 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:49,600 So Paul begins by saying these two things. 377 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:56,120 Be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like 378 00:24:56,120 --> 00:25:01,360 those who are wise. Paul says be careful how you 379 00:25:01,360 --> 00:25:05,480 live. And if we're honest, I see many 380 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:10,080 Christians not really living as careful as they probably should. 381 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:15,480 They're not walking in wisdom. I see many believers live still 382 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:19,800 trying to have one foot in the world, 1 foot in that darkness, 383 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:24,120 in one foot in the Kingdom of God, in that light, right? 384 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:26,480 One foot in darkness, 1 foot in light. 385 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:31,640 Well, that's a strange place to be, and it's not a really 386 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:35,400 attractive place to be. Jesus actually said in the Book 387 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:40,600 of Revelation, I would rather you be hot or cold, right? 388 00:25:40,600 --> 00:25:44,320 Because you can tell what someone is if they're hot after 389 00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:46,680 God, right? They're passionate about their 390 00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:49,280 relationship, about God, they love God. 391 00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:52,600 Or if they're cold, they just flat out reject God. 392 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:56,360 They reject the God like you can tell where they stand, right? 393 00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:59,880 But someone who has 1 foot in either place, it's kind of 394 00:25:59,880 --> 00:26:01,960 difficult to place. Are you, are you a Christian? 395 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:04,960 Like you, you were a Christian on Sunday, right? 396 00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:07,520 But it's Wednesday now and you're living like this way. 397 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:11,920 I, I really can't tell, like what place you're at in your 398 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:15,200 life. And Jesus says that if a person 399 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:20,160 is like that, that it actually makes him want to vomit them out 400 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:22,480 of his mouth. Like that's, that's how God 401 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:25,560 feels about it, right? The world calls those people 402 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:29,720 hypocrites, right? That's living like a fool. 403 00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:33,320 That's not walking in wisdom. It is very difficult to be a 404 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:39,720 light, to imitate God, to follow the example of Christ when we 405 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:42,640 have a foot firmly planted in this world. 406 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:45,720 Alright, listen, I understand. We're tethered to this world by 407 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:47,960 this body. We all live in this world, don't 408 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:49,760 we? Like, is there anyone who's 409 00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:52,920 spirit here likes my Can my hand pass through anyone? 410 00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:55,800 We all live in a body, We live in a flesh. 411 00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:59,120 We all live on this planet we call Earth, don't we? 412 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:02,240 Right. So we're in this world, but the 413 00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:06,600 Bible says we're not of this world any longer. 414 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:09,000 We're living our lives differently. 415 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:12,040 We're living to a higher standard, a standard of God 416 00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:14,080 instead of the standard of the world. 417 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:16,440 You know, you have the story of the prodigal son. 418 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:19,160 You know, the, the, the world lives in a, in a way, in a 419 00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:21,920 manner that that's just defiling to themselves. 420 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:24,600 That's not how God wants us to live. 421 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:27,440 We're we're, we're a child of God. 422 00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:30,360 And we talked about in Ephesians chapter 1 how we've been given 423 00:27:30,360 --> 00:27:33,120 an inheritance. We have such an amazing 424 00:27:33,120 --> 00:27:35,200 inheritance. We're supposed to live from that 425 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:38,960 position in God, not the position of this world. 426 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:45,280 It's such a lowly position. The apostle Paul says this in 427 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:48,280 Two Corinthians, chapter 6 and verse 14. 428 00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:51,680 He said don't team up with those who are unbelievers. 429 00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:55,960 How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? 430 00:27:56,640 --> 00:28:00,160 How can light live with darkness? 431 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:07,040 And here's the point of this. It's foolishness to think 432 00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:09,040 walking in darkness as a Christian. 433 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:16,920 Well, please God, it's insulting to the sacrifice that Jesus made 434 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:20,040 to free you from the slavery of sin. 435 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:24,360 And I know that's a little bit heavy, but I'm trying to make a, 436 00:28:24,360 --> 00:28:26,960 a contrast here. I'm trying to, you know, like we 437 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:29,920 talked about last week, the purpose of, of church, the 438 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:33,720 purpose of, of a pastor in your life is to equip you, is to help 439 00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:38,160 you to push you forward in your walk with Christ, to help you 440 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:40,800 triumph in this world, in this life. 441 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:45,000 And sometimes those things mean we have to have like real 442 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:47,640 conversations. You know, there's times with my, 443 00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:50,400 with my children that, that I've had to have different 444 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:52,800 conversations with them. You're acting a certain way. 445 00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:55,000 You know that's not an appropriate behavior. 446 00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:58,560 When we go out in public, this is how you should act, right? 447 00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:01,360 You've had those conversations with your children, I'm sure 448 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:03,640 too, right? So sometimes in church, we have 449 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:06,720 to have conversations. It's not that you're acting this 450 00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:09,080 way. It's not that I'm saying that 451 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:12,200 you're acting this way. It's just a conversation that we 452 00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:16,080 have so that we're all on the same page because we're supposed 453 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:19,000 to do 2 things, preach the gospel and make disciples. 454 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:22,640 My hope is, is that all of us in this place are going to get to 455 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:26,120 the point or be at the point where we're going to be able to 456 00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:30,520 disciple someone else who we've led to the Lord or has been led 457 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:32,480 to the Lord. And, and they start coming to 458 00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:35,880 this church and we need someone to start, start sharing with 459 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:39,560 them things of the word of God. Because I can only go around and 460 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:42,000 talk to so many people. I'm only one person, right? 461 00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:46,480 I need you. So it's important that we know 462 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:50,960 these things so that you can then disciple someone else in 463 00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:55,880 the ways of God's Word too, right Then the apostle Paul says 464 00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:59,480 this in Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 18. 465 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:01,520 This is an interesting scripture. 466 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:06,200 He says don't be drunk with wine because that will ruin your 467 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:11,240 life. Instead, be filled with the Holy 468 00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:13,800 Spirit. Isn't that an interesting thing 469 00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:17,320 that he's comparing that he's linking 2 things together? 470 00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:21,280 The Holy Spirit is amazing. You know when people, when 471 00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:24,600 people drink and they go out to the, to the club, the nightclub 472 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:27,720 or whatever and they feel good for a little bit until morning 473 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:29,280 comes and then they feel horrible. 474 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:32,360 The Holy Spirit doesn't have that effect at all. 475 00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:34,600 He's such a blessing to your life. 476 00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:38,400 But being filled with the Holy Spirit is really the key that 477 00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:42,800 unlocks everything here. If you want to walk in love, you 478 00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:44,880 need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. 479 00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:49,520 If you want to walk in light, you need to be filled with the 480 00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:52,800 Holy Spirit. If you want to walk in wisdom, 481 00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:56,200 you need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. 482 00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:59,440 Jesus, before he went to the cross, was preparing his 483 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:02,640 disciples and telling him and explaining to them who the Holy 484 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:05,080 Spirit is going to be in your life. 485 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:06,960 I'm going to be sending him to you soon. 486 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:09,440 I don't want you leaving Jerusalem. 487 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:13,120 I don't want you stepping a foot outside of the city and hell. 488 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:17,760 I send the Holy Spirit, and the purpose of the Holy Spirit is to 489 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:20,600 be your helper. That's what Jesus called him, 490 00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:24,320 the Paraclete, the one that comes alongside of you to help 491 00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:27,360 you. He helps you walk in love. 492 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:32,160 He helps you walk in light. He helps you walk in wisdom. 493 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:37,120 Don't be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. 494 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:43,000 It's the Holy Spirit who helps you walk in this, trying to do 495 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:45,760 this all on our own power. Like you can read the Bible, 496 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:48,360 right? And you can say, and OK, I need 497 00:31:48,360 --> 00:31:52,120 to do that in my life. But a lot of times we just trip 498 00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:55,200 up and we are not really able to do that. 499 00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:58,840 But the Holy Spirit, he's sent to be your helper to help you 500 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:03,120 walk in this in your life. He's the one that comes along to 501 00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:08,800 empower you, right? Be filled with the Holy Spirit. 502 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:13,440 Jesus sent him to be your helper, to lead you to guide you 503 00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:17,840 through this life and help you walk in the light of God's Word. 504 00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:21,320 Now let me give you some practical steps here that you 505 00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:24,280 can walk in this week. Here's what walking in love, 506 00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:29,000 walking in light, and walking in in wisdom looks like in real 507 00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:30,880 life. All right, if you have a paper 508 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:32,120 and pen, you can write these down. 509 00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:35,560 If you have a a note app on your phone or tablet, you can write 510 00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:38,800 these down. OK, the first thing is to start 511 00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:42,760 every day in the morning time when you wake up, while you're 512 00:32:42,760 --> 00:32:45,880 doing your hair, while you're doing your makeup, while you're 513 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:49,120 brushing your your teeth, while you're eating your breakfast. 514 00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:54,720 Start every day by speaking God's word over yourself. 515 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:59,200 Who does God say you are? Say that over yourself. 516 00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:02,160 Say it out loud. I am a child of God. 517 00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:08,600 I am the light of the world. I am filled with the Spirit of 518 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:13,000 wisdom. Speak over yourself what God is 519 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:17,080 speaking over you. All right, Align your mouth with 520 00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:21,400 His word. Align what you're thinking with 521 00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:26,120 His word. Another thing is choose love 522 00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:32,040 before you respond, before you reply to the difficult text, 523 00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:37,240 before you react to a frustrating situation, ask 524 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:41,320 yourself, what does love look like here? 525 00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:45,320 Like these are practical steps. You know, my mother used to say, 526 00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:48,880 if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything 527 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:52,200 at all. Like that's a conscious decision 528 00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:54,760 that we have to make. I'm really angry right now. 529 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:56,640 I'm going to say something wrong. 530 00:33:56,960 --> 00:33:58,680 So I'm just not going to say anything. 531 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:02,120 I'm going to count to 10. I'm going to take a deep breath 532 00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:04,960 while I'm doing that, I'm going to ask the Holy Spirit. 533 00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:08,560 Holy Spirit, help me to respond to this in love, right? 534 00:34:08,560 --> 00:34:15,080 Practical steps expose darkness by shining light, not by loudly 535 00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:19,719 condemning it. But your life is a testimony. 536 00:34:22,159 --> 00:34:25,360 When people look at you, do they see Christ? 537 00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:33,120 Would you be able to lead someone to the Lord based upon 538 00:34:33,120 --> 00:34:38,040 how you've treated them? Would you be able to lead 539 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:43,120 someone to the Lord based on the things that you've spoken to 540 00:34:43,159 --> 00:34:45,120 them? Right. 541 00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:52,400 Imitate God. Walk in a way that makes people 542 00:34:52,400 --> 00:34:56,320 ask what's different about that person. 543 00:34:58,560 --> 00:35:03,400 Be a light and then ask the Holy Spirit to fill you fresh every 544 00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:08,040 single morning. Just takes 30 seconds and you'll 545 00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:15,080 say, Holy Spirit, fill me today. Let me be conscious of you in my 546 00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:18,200 life. Let me hear and know that that 547 00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:21,640 still small voice that is going to lead me, that is going to 548 00:35:21,640 --> 00:35:23,840 guide me. Lead me by your peace. 549 00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:29,920 Holy Spirit, help me walk in love, help me walk in in your 550 00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:32,720 light and help me walk in wisdom. 551 00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:38,560 Today some practical steps, things that you can do to walk 552 00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:42,760 out what it is that that God is really like. 553 00:35:42,760 --> 00:35:45,080 Why are those things in this word? 554 00:35:45,240 --> 00:35:50,400 Is it a suggestion that God's giving us or is it behavior and 555 00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:56,240 things that he expects us to have an 8 year old, 8 year old 556 00:35:56,240 --> 00:35:59,240 daughter, have a 18 year old son, right? 557 00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:04,320 I expect him to act like an 18 year old at the very least. 558 00:36:04,560 --> 00:36:09,000 I don't expect him to act like my 8 year old daughter, right? 559 00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:15,640 God has expectations for us as his children, as he rightly 560 00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:18,720 should. We're his ambassadors in this 561 00:36:18,720 --> 00:36:21,480 world. Paul says in Corinthians, right? 562 00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:28,640 We represent him to everyone around us in this hotel Triumph 563 00:36:28,640 --> 00:36:32,800 Church. We represent Christ to all this 564 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:37,320 hotel staff, right? If you go out to lunch after 565 00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:40,800 church today, you're a light where you are. 566 00:36:41,240 --> 00:36:45,600 When you go to your place of employment tomorrow, you're a 567 00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:51,040 light where you are. When you talk with family 568 00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:55,120 members who maybe aren't born again, who don't know Jesus, 569 00:36:55,120 --> 00:36:59,120 you're a light to them. You're God's light, his 570 00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:05,800 ambassador wherever you are. But wherever you are, God says 571 00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:09,720 that where you put that foot, he's given that to you. 572 00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:11,760 You don't need to be afraid of darkness. 573 00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:17,040 You don't need to be a intimidated by darkness. 574 00:37:18,320 --> 00:37:22,240 Listen, I when those demons manifested themselves while I'm 575 00:37:22,240 --> 00:37:27,360 preaching the gospel, let me tell you inside, like my 576 00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:34,280 emotions freaked out. I'd never experienced anything 577 00:37:34,960 --> 00:37:39,560 like that before. But at the same time, something 578 00:37:39,560 --> 00:37:46,800 rose up inside of me, a strength from the Holy Spirit who helped 579 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:53,920 me in that situation that I'd never encountered before, and 580 00:37:53,920 --> 00:37:55,800 people received freedom that day. 581 00:37:57,040 --> 00:38:00,480 Be the light wherever you are. Amen. 582 00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:05,760 Thank you for listening to the Triumph Church podcast this 583 00:38:05,760 --> 00:38:08,360 week. If it was a blessing to you, 584 00:38:08,600 --> 00:38:13,240 share it with someone you know. For more information on Triumph 585 00:38:13,240 --> 00:38:16,640 Church, you can visit us at WWW.