1
00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:04,400
This is City Post Church, we're 
about three things, build 

2
00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:09,000
equipped and send all under the 
lordship of Jesus Christ, a 

3
00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:12,300
small Church Plant in Fort Worth
Texas, who decided to do things 

4
00:00:12,300 --> 00:00:16,000
a little differently. 
I would almost I had to Crystal,

5
00:00:16,500 --> 00:00:19,000
I love City Post because of the 
people. 

6
00:00:19,300 --> 00:00:22,100
It's where I belong, we truly 
preach the word. 

7
00:00:22,100 --> 00:00:24,100
I love City Post because of the 
community. 

8
00:00:24,100 --> 00:00:25,800
We've been able to build to do 
ministry. 

9
00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:28,800
Like Jesus perlite to push back 
Darkness. 

10
00:00:30,100 --> 00:00:40,500
This is City, Post podcast. 
We see that John pretty much 

11
00:00:40,500 --> 00:00:44,800
tells us like if you hate your 
brother then you don't have 

12
00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:47,900
light in you but if you love 
your brother and sister then you

13
00:00:47,900 --> 00:00:51,400
do have light in you. 
So there's something wrong with 

14
00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:54,700
you that if there's something 
that there's something in the 

15
00:00:54,700 --> 00:00:58,400
family of God or somebody you 
hate, then you're not really 

16
00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,500
showing that light that you 
claim to have. 

17
00:01:03,500 --> 00:01:08,500
So before we jump into verse 12,
you know, one of the biggest 

18
00:01:08,500 --> 00:01:11,100
differences between Rachel and 
myself. 

19
00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:13,400
I know Rachel just gave me that 
look. 

20
00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:20,100
Is that Rachel? 
Prefers Walmart pick up and I 

21
00:01:20,100 --> 00:01:23,700
prefer to go inside a Walmart. 
Anybody else one more pick up, 

22
00:01:23,700 --> 00:01:27,800
people kind of sort of Yeah. 
Like rachhloves. 

23
00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:29,300
Walmart, pick up. 
So she's like Rica. 

24
00:01:29,300 --> 00:01:30,400
I need to go. 
Pick up warm right now. 

25
00:01:30,408 --> 00:01:33,400
I'm like I can't stand it 
because you wait. 

26
00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:38,700
I'm like, by the time I go 
inside, get all my stuff pay for

27
00:01:38,700 --> 00:01:41,500
it. 
Leave this little boy is coming 

28
00:01:41,500 --> 00:01:43,300
out with my bags and he got half
of it wrong. 

29
00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:46,100
You know what I mean? 
Like, like would you prefer? 

30
00:01:46,100 --> 00:01:47,600
I was like, man. 
Just get in the car. 

31
00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:52,100
I don't know, I didn't order 
this so I don't mind like going 

32
00:01:52,100 --> 00:01:55,400
inside like I actually prefer to
go inside the craziness. 

33
00:01:56,300 --> 00:02:01,500
So, I'm the guy that Parks far 
away from like everybody and I 

34
00:02:01,500 --> 00:02:04,900
like, take you to write. 
I like taking Livy with me, 

35
00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:07,500
because everybody is likely be 
so cute. 

36
00:02:07,500 --> 00:02:11,700
So it brings a lot of attention 
to us and your legs and your 

37
00:02:11,700 --> 00:02:14,700
baby is like, yeah, thank you, 
baby. 

38
00:02:17,900 --> 00:02:21,900
And then we go, I'll buy aisle, 
I give Livy the stuff that we're

39
00:02:21,900 --> 00:02:24,000
going to buy. 
She looks at it, she throws it 

40
00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:26,700
in the back. 
I mean this is like Game. 

41
00:02:27,300 --> 00:02:30,400
And there was one instance, he 
was one time where we were at 

42
00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:33,000
Walmart and like I said, we like
we just go through the aisles 

43
00:02:33,500 --> 00:02:39,800
and we see a child kind of not 
getting his way, you know, like,

44
00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:42,000
there's a little change from 
storming up here. 

45
00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:44,100
I'll have you guys ever seen 
this in public somewhere. 

46
00:02:44,100 --> 00:02:48,600
Last my kid, right? 
And, and I do what every normal 

47
00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:51,500
person would do. 
Stop. 

48
00:02:51,500 --> 00:02:52,900
Now they go. 
What's going on? 

49
00:02:53,500 --> 00:02:56,900
And I turned the car with Livy 
and I pretend I'm like shopping 

50
00:02:56,900 --> 00:03:01,400
because I want to see this thing
go down and like I don't even 

51
00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:05,500
need soy sauce, I'm just like 
pretending and I was like, I got

52
00:03:05,500 --> 00:03:10,400
to see how this thing pans out, 
because this kid is brewing and 

53
00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:13,100
I he's mad because his mom won't
let them buy some, I don't know,

54
00:03:13,108 --> 00:03:16,500
they were Oreos or something 
like that and then he starts 

55
00:03:16,500 --> 00:03:20,400
crying and he starts kind of 
yelling a little bit and mom is 

56
00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,900
like, Do you want a consequence?
And I was like, you kind of tell

57
00:03:23,900 --> 00:03:27,900
the race, right? 
So so it's like she's trying to 

58
00:03:27,908 --> 00:03:31,700
like negotiate with the child to
stop making a scene. 

59
00:03:32,300 --> 00:03:35,400
And I'm standing there and I'm 
like watching this whole thing 

60
00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:36,600
go down. 
Yeah, exactly. 

61
00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:43,000
We're going to the bathroom real
quick, right by and and the 

62
00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:44,400
whole time, this kids crying and
live. 

63
00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:48,400
He looks at me and he and living
is like, kind of like freaked 

64
00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:50,500
out a little bit and leave, he's
like, Daddy. 

65
00:03:50,700 --> 00:03:55,100
Crying that he crying and I was 
like I know living but you're 

66
00:03:55,100 --> 00:03:59,600
not like that, you're better. 
And I was like so but what's 

67
00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,200
Wild is I stopped to check it 
out because I want to see what's

68
00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:05,900
going to go down. 
But like nobody else did people 

69
00:04:05,900 --> 00:04:08,600
just kept walking and they just 
like, minding their own business

70
00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:12,700
except me and like just going 
around and I realize that, you 

71
00:04:12,708 --> 00:04:16,300
know, tantrums and stuff like 
that way kids, it's kind of 

72
00:04:16,300 --> 00:04:17,300
normal. 
Why? 

73
00:04:17,899 --> 00:04:20,500
Because they're kids, they're 
toddlers. 

74
00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:23,500
You know, they're learning to 
deal with their emotions their 

75
00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:25,400
they're trying to figure that 
stuff out. 

76
00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:28,500
And as parents, we help them 
walk through that. 

77
00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:32,200
We help them manage their 
Tantrums, we help them say no, 

78
00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:35,100
no, don't do that. 
Do this instead? 

79
00:04:35,300 --> 00:04:38,100
Now what if it was an adult 
doing that? 

80
00:04:41,500 --> 00:04:45,200
Hold on a second real quick, I 
got to see what's going on. 

81
00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:48,300
Can you imagine if there was 
like a grown woman or man? 

82
00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:53,500
Getting upset with somebody that
they couldn't buy cookies and 

83
00:04:53,500 --> 00:04:57,200
they start just crying. 
And like, this is not fair, I 

84
00:04:57,200 --> 00:04:59,500
want to talk to the manager, you
know, all that stuff. 

85
00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:04,600
But like that's, that's weird. 
And that causes people to stop 

86
00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:06,700
and stare a little been like, 
are you okay? 

87
00:05:06,700 --> 00:05:09,700
Like this is not a, this is 
there something wrong here, 

88
00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:14,200
what's the difference? 
Because for a child, it's kind 

89
00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:19,000
of normal because of their age. 
Their developmental cognitive 

90
00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:23,100
structure at that moment. 
But for an adult, it's odd, you 

91
00:05:23,100 --> 00:05:27,900
should act that immature, you 
shouldn't throw a tantrum over 

92
00:05:27,900 --> 00:05:31,200
cookies. 
And what we're going to see in 

93
00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:32,900
first John, is that John is 
saying. 

94
00:05:32,900 --> 00:05:35,600
Listen, I know you guys are 
believers. 

95
00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:41,700
I know you guys are saved, but 
there's levels of development 

96
00:05:41,700 --> 00:05:43,700
when it comes to our spiritual 
lives. 

97
00:05:44,700 --> 00:05:48,700
So you don't just stay a baby 
Christian for all of these 

98
00:05:48,700 --> 00:05:52,600
years. 
Like that's not normal, there's 

99
00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:55,800
something wrong there. 
If you're like, five ten years 

100
00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:58,300
in and you're still drinking 
milk of the word and you're not 

101
00:05:58,300 --> 00:06:00,800
eating meat yet, there's 
something wrong. 

102
00:06:01,500 --> 00:06:04,800
And John is going to hit a pause
button in the book of First, 

103
00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:07,200
John, and say. 
Okay, let's do a quick Vibe, 

104
00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:09,800
check here. 
Let's, let's see where you guys 

105
00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:12,100
are at. 
Let's see where everything is 

106
00:06:12,100 --> 00:06:16,000
kind of falling in line. 
So this is where we're starting 

107
00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:17,500
off with. 
Look at verse 12. 

108
00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:22,900
So verse 12 John is giving this 
verse of reassurance. 

109
00:06:23,500 --> 00:06:28,300
So until from first John chapter
1 till now it's all been black 

110
00:06:28,300 --> 00:06:31,500
and white it's all been either. 
Walk in the light are you 

111
00:06:31,500 --> 00:06:34,300
walking the darkness you're 
either part of the family of God

112
00:06:34,300 --> 00:06:36,400
or the family is saying you 
either. 

113
00:06:36,500 --> 00:06:39,800
You do what Jesus says or you 
don't you're either a believer 

114
00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:41,600
of Jesus or you're not a 
Believer. 

115
00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:44,600
There's no light gray area. 
It's like if you do, if you 

116
00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:47,700
believe in Christ, you do what 
he says, is that simple? 

117
00:06:47,700 --> 00:06:51,600
You Yo, and if you don't believe
in Christ, you don't do what he 

118
00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:56,000
says. 
Now, I understand now, John here

119
00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:59,500
is giving this verse of 
reassurance because we know that

120
00:06:59,500 --> 00:07:01,800
you cannot live out the word of 
God. 

121
00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:06,200
You cannot leave everything 
perfectly because we live in a 

122
00:07:06,207 --> 00:07:08,800
sinful World. 
We're still in our sinful 

123
00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:12,100
nature, but is the holy spirit 
that lives in us and through us,

124
00:07:12,100 --> 00:07:17,800
if we are believers of Christ. 
So what John is giving us here 

125
00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,900
in verse 12, he's giving us some
reassurance. 

126
00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:24,100
How do we know he's talking to 
Believers? 

127
00:07:24,100 --> 00:07:26,100
Well, look what it says in verse
12. 

128
00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:29,800
I am writing to you dear 
children. 

129
00:07:30,500 --> 00:07:33,800
Now we got to look at some 
definitions because the the 

130
00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:38,100
Greek word here in children is 
Tech Nia Tech. 

131
00:07:38,100 --> 00:07:44,600
Nia actually means born ones, so
he's calling those who are born 

132
00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:47,100
of. 
So he's talking to those who are

133
00:07:47,100 --> 00:07:51,400
born again, John is going to use
the word children again. 

134
00:07:51,700 --> 00:07:55,300
In verse 14, but he's used. 
He uses a different Greek word 

135
00:07:55,300 --> 00:07:57,200
and we're going to get into that
here in a sec. 

136
00:07:57,900 --> 00:08:00,300
So who he's saying is, I'm 
writing to you now. 

137
00:08:00,300 --> 00:08:04,300
John says the word I'm writing 
to you in the book of First John

138
00:08:04,300 --> 00:08:08,700
like 13 times so he's he's being
super intentional, he's like, 

139
00:08:08,700 --> 00:08:12,100
hey, I'm writing to you those 
who are born again. 

140
00:08:12,100 --> 00:08:15,500
The born ones, those who are in 
Christ. 

141
00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:21,000
So this is for those who are in 
Jesus and he gives us this 

142
00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:22,600
reassurance because of your 
sins. 

143
00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:28,700
You have been forgiven on 
account of his name, man. 

144
00:08:28,700 --> 00:08:31,300
So listen. 
If you can't live the Christian 

145
00:08:31,300 --> 00:08:36,700
Life, perfectly congratulations,
you've taken the first step of a

146
00:08:36,708 --> 00:08:40,700
meeting that you can't do it, 
but he can write. 

147
00:08:40,700 --> 00:08:45,200
So we we rely on Christ to live 
perfectly through us but he's 

148
00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:48,000
letting you know like man. 
Listen, your sins have been 

149
00:08:48,300 --> 00:08:52,100
forgiven. 
You know, this word forgiving is

150
00:08:52,100 --> 00:08:55,000
actually the same Greek word 
that they use for divorce. 

151
00:08:55,700 --> 00:09:00,600
The word divorce means to 
separate to disassociate to be 

152
00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:05,200
removed from, or taken away. 
And what he's saying is that 

153
00:09:05,300 --> 00:09:11,700
your sins have been removed away
from you, how is that on the 

154
00:09:11,700 --> 00:09:14,100
account of whose name, the name 
of Jesus? 

155
00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:17,800
Why does John add that on 
account of his name? 

156
00:09:18,300 --> 00:09:21,900
So that way you can't take 
credit for it because it's not 

157
00:09:21,900 --> 00:09:23,800
on your own Merit or your own 
worthiness. 

158
00:09:24,100 --> 00:09:29,200
Only Jesus has the name that is 
able to forgive sins, his name. 

159
00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:33,200
Yeshua actually means Lord, I my
salvation. 

160
00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:39,400
So what he's saying is that 
Jesus Removed our your sins, 

161
00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:43,100
he's taken the sins away. 
First Peter to I'm just going to

162
00:09:43,108 --> 00:09:45,700
spit these out. 
So we could just move first. 

163
00:09:45,700 --> 00:09:52,400
Peter to chapter verse 24, says 
he himself bore our sins in his 

164
00:09:52,400 --> 00:09:57,500
body on the cross, so that way 
so that we might die to sins and

165
00:09:57,500 --> 00:10:02,300
live for righteousness. 
But his wounds by his wounds, 

166
00:10:02,300 --> 00:10:06,500
you have been healed in First 
Corinthians chapter, 15 says he 

167
00:10:06,500 --> 00:10:10,400
made. 
Who knew no sin to become sin on

168
00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:13,700
our behalf. 
So that way he might do that 

169
00:10:13,700 --> 00:10:15,200
way. 
We might become the 

170
00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:18,500
righteousness of God, see Jesus 
on the cross. 

171
00:10:18,500 --> 00:10:21,300
Did not become a sinner, don't 
get that Twisted. 

172
00:10:21,300 --> 00:10:24,300
He never sinned in his life, he 
became actual sin. 

173
00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:29,500
He became your sin and my sin. 
He bore our sin on his shoulders

174
00:10:29,900 --> 00:10:34,000
so that way we can be forgiven 
on account of his name. 

175
00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:38,200
Praise God. 
So we go to verse 13. 

176
00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:40,900
So he's giving us this 
reassurance. 

177
00:10:41,100 --> 00:10:44,400
And then what Paul is going to? 
I mean what John is going to do 

178
00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:49,300
is he's going to give us three 
stages of spiritual growth in 

179
00:10:49,300 --> 00:10:52,000
these next. 
Couple of verses, he's going to 

180
00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:57,300
use the examples of fathers 
young men and little children. 

181
00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:02,600
Now, when he uses these terms, 
he means men and women. 

182
00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:05,400
He's just using those as an 
example. 

183
00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:08,900
So we want to make sure that we 
keep that in mind because he's 

184
00:11:08,900 --> 00:11:13,500
using these two to identify the 
three stages of spiritual growth

185
00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:17,000
in God's family. 
Now, before we dive into 

186
00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:21,200
spiritual growth, I want to give
us a couple of things so that 

187
00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:27,900
way we kind of tackle a few 
nuances, so under screen there's

188
00:11:27,900 --> 00:11:30,400
like six The things that I want 
us to know about spiritual 

189
00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:35,000
growth real fast and I apologize
that it's not up here if not you

190
00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:39,000
can just just listen so quick, 
something quick about spiritual 

191
00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:42,100
growth so that way we know where
we're going. 

192
00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:46,400
Number one, spiritual growth 
does not determine the believer 

193
00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:51,700
standing in grace before God. 
So if you are a born again, 

194
00:11:51,700 --> 00:11:56,700
believer, if you have faith in 
Jesus, That doesn't change God's

195
00:11:56,700 --> 00:12:00,600
grace on your life, depending 
how mature you are or how 

196
00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:05,000
immature you are spiritually. 
You know, Isaiah 53 says that 

197
00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:09,000
when when Jesus was crushed on 
the cross, I believe that we 

198
00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:12,800
were then crushed by his grace. 
All of us are covered by the 

199
00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:15,300
grace of Christ, because of his 
work on the cross. 

200
00:12:15,300 --> 00:12:20,000
Number two, it does not affect 
God's love for believers, no 

201
00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:24,500
matter how mature or immature 
you are in your faith because 

202
00:12:24,500 --> 00:12:27,300
you surrendered your life to 
Christ and Christ lives in. 

203
00:12:27,300 --> 00:12:30,900
You, you are forever forgiven 
and God will forever love you. 

204
00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:34,700
There's nothing that you can do.
That will separate you from the 

205
00:12:34,700 --> 00:12:36,600
love of God. 
That's Romans chapter 8. 

206
00:12:37,100 --> 00:12:42,100
Nothing number three growth is 
not measured by a calendar. 

207
00:12:43,300 --> 00:12:47,200
So there's no timeline. 
When we talk about spiritual 

208
00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:51,500
growth, there's not hey, you've 
been a Christian for about two 

209
00:12:51,500 --> 00:12:53,400
years. 
You should be right here. 

210
00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:58,000
Like that's not how this works. 
So, there's no, that it doesn't 

211
00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:03,000
rely on a calendar number for 
its unrelated to the amount of 

212
00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:07,300
theological information. 
Believers know, it's unrelated 

213
00:13:07,300 --> 00:13:11,300
on the amount of theological 
information that Believers, no, 

214
00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:13,100
listen. 
I know a lot of people in 

215
00:13:13,100 --> 00:13:16,800
seminary that are still 
spiritual babies and just 

216
00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:20,400
because you took a systematic 1,
2 or 3 class, does it mean that 

217
00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:25,800
you are a father in the faith? 
So don't ever think just because

218
00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:29,300
I don't know what these big 
terms are. 

219
00:13:29,300 --> 00:13:33,600
What this means that I'm 
spiritually malnourished, that's

220
00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:37,400
not true. 
Number five has nothing 

221
00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:40,600
spiritual growth. 
Has nothing to do with outward. 

222
00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:46,700
Success in Ministry. 
Activity has nothing to do with 

223
00:13:46,700 --> 00:13:49,600
outward success in Ministry 
activity. 

224
00:13:49,700 --> 00:13:52,400
I actually look back in like 
Hebrews chapter 11. 

225
00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:56,900
Where he, you know, and Hebrews 
11 talks about the Hall of 

226
00:13:56,900 --> 00:13:59,100
Faith. 
But then he says that there's 

227
00:13:59,100 --> 00:14:03,900
some people who were sodden to, 
who were like, living in holes 

228
00:14:03,900 --> 00:14:07,300
were running who were 
persecuted, and then there were 

229
00:14:07,300 --> 00:14:10,900
some people who healed, who 
brought people to life, who did 

230
00:14:10,900 --> 00:14:13,900
these amazing things for Christ?
And what God does. 

231
00:14:13,900 --> 00:14:16,700
He looks at both of them. 
He says, and both of them were 

232
00:14:16,700 --> 00:14:19,800
faithful. 
It doesn't matter what your 

233
00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:22,500
ministry outwardly. 
Looks like, it's not about 

234
00:14:22,500 --> 00:14:25,900
numbers. 
It's not about influence. 

235
00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:29,300
Spiritual growth has nothing to 
do with that. 

236
00:14:30,700 --> 00:14:33,300
And then, the last one spiritual
growth is not mystical. 

237
00:14:33,300 --> 00:14:37,500
It's not sentimental and it's 
not psychological has nothing to

238
00:14:37,500 --> 00:14:40,200
do with emotions as nothing to 
do with. 

239
00:14:40,700 --> 00:14:44,900
You know, I'm able to cry during
the service or I raise my hands,

240
00:14:44,900 --> 00:14:48,300
but he don't raise his hand. 
So I'm more spiritual than he is

241
00:14:49,100 --> 00:14:51,500
or like, have you heard how he 
prays during dinner? 

242
00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:54,900
He's more than mine. 
Ricky, doesn't pray a long time 

243
00:14:54,900 --> 00:14:57,400
for food. 
He must not be that ritual. 

244
00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:02,800
Any trying to get spiritually, 
we're trying to eat, you know, 

245
00:15:02,900 --> 00:15:06,600
like praying the morning. 
Pray at night, you know, like, 

246
00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:08,600
like, chill out. 
I know. 

247
00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:11,600
I was like, you finally got a 
crowd or what, like, so it's, 

248
00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:15,400
you know, so has nothing to do 
with those items. 

249
00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:18,400
So then let's look at spiritual 
growth. 

250
00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:24,100
So there's three words that I 
think will help us to remember. 

251
00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:27,300
And what we're going to do is 
we're going to start at the top 

252
00:15:27,300 --> 00:15:30,100
based on chapters. 
I mean, verse 13. 

253
00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:33,700
So look at verse 13, he begins, 
he goes, I'm writing to you 

254
00:15:33,700 --> 00:15:38,900
father's because you know who, 
you know, him who is from the 

255
00:15:38,900 --> 00:15:42,200
beginning. 
So we're starting from the top. 

256
00:15:42,900 --> 00:15:46,900
So, this stage, I like to call 
intimacy, the intimacy, the 

257
00:15:46,900 --> 00:15:52,400
intimacy, stage, the intimacy 
stage, these are the spiritual 

258
00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:54,900
fathers. 
Like these are like the 

259
00:15:54,900 --> 00:15:56,300
spiritual. 
Oh, geez. 

260
00:15:56,700 --> 00:15:58,000
You know? 
Like, they've been around. 

261
00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:00,500
They've, they've like, have some
experience. 

262
00:16:00,500 --> 00:16:04,500
Some of them walk with a little 
bit of a limp because of life, 

263
00:16:05,100 --> 00:16:08,700
these are the ones that have 
followed Christ. 

264
00:16:10,300 --> 00:16:13,200
So they're not merely 
understanding Doctrine at this 

265
00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:17,000
level. 
They've actually gone past the 

266
00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,400
intellectual understanding of 
Doctrine, and they've gotten to 

267
00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:25,400
know, Christ, intimately. 
They spend time with Jesus. 

268
00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:30,100
They follow the lord, they walk 
in faith. 

269
00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:33,500
They stand on an island by 
themselves. 

270
00:16:33,700 --> 00:16:36,000
They look at God's word and 
they're like, man, you know 

271
00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:37,600
what? 
Like, if I want to be great, I'm

272
00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:40,100
going to serve. 
If I want to be wealthy, I need 

273
00:16:40,100 --> 00:16:43,800
to give, I need to. 
So, they live their life. 

274
00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:47,300
Based off of scripture, they 
manage their families. 

275
00:16:47,300 --> 00:16:50,500
Well, sin bothers them. 
See. 

276
00:16:50,500 --> 00:16:56,200
These are all signs of a father.
How do we know this? 

277
00:16:56,500 --> 00:17:00,000
Because look at verse 3, he says
because you know him who is from

278
00:17:00,300 --> 00:17:04,500
the very beginning and John 
chapter 1, he brings it all 

279
00:17:04,500 --> 00:17:07,200
back, he goes in the beginning 
was the word and the Word was 

280
00:17:07,500 --> 00:17:12,000
God and word was with God. 
Genesis 1 in the beginning. 

281
00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:16,700
God. 
You see that's different than 

282
00:17:17,300 --> 00:17:21,000
I'm getting to know this being. 
No, this is God from the very, 

283
00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:24,500
very beginning. 
So they have anchored their 

284
00:17:24,500 --> 00:17:29,300
lives on biblical Doctrine. 
But also with that comes 

285
00:17:29,300 --> 00:17:35,100
experience because of severe 
trials and tribulations and they

286
00:17:35,100 --> 00:17:42,200
still find joy in the Lord. 
See for them, like they're not 

287
00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:47,000
all about just chilling through 
life, like they don't rely on. 

288
00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:49,300
Like I need. 
I need a job in Ministry in 

289
00:17:49,300 --> 00:17:51,900
order to mature. 
They don't care about that. 

290
00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:54,900
All they care about is being 
with Jesus. 

291
00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:57,800
That's the intimacy level right 
there. 

292
00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:00,800
That's getting to know. 
And and what John is telling us,

293
00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:02,800
he's like, this is the top 
level. 

294
00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:07,800
This is where we want to strive 
to be an in biblical leadership,

295
00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:09,600
all Elders strive to be this 
level. 

296
00:18:09,700 --> 00:18:12,200
Ville as a pastor. 
This is the level I need to 

297
00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:15,900
strive to get to. 
We all need to strive to this 

298
00:18:15,900 --> 00:18:21,000
level. 
So the first one is intimacy 

299
00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:22,600
stage. 
These are the fathers. 

300
00:18:23,500 --> 00:18:26,300
The second one, I like to call 
the Infantry stage. 

301
00:18:26,900 --> 00:18:29,100
These are the young men infantry
stage. 

302
00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:32,400
We like manrique. 
Why do you say infantry? 

303
00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:35,900
That's kind of like War. 
Well, yeah, because they're 

304
00:18:35,900 --> 00:18:38,800
ready to fight. 
Look what it says. 

305
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:43,600
I'm writing to you young men 
because you have overcome the 

306
00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:48,300
evil one. 
So what he's telling them there 

307
00:18:48,300 --> 00:18:53,400
is, yeah, he overcome the evil 
one, but then further down, he 

308
00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:56,700
says, I write to you again. 
Young men, because you are 

309
00:18:56,700 --> 00:19:02,100
strong, the word of God lives in
you, and you have overcome the 

310
00:19:02,100 --> 00:19:06,300
evil one. 
So how do you overcome the evil 

311
00:19:06,300 --> 00:19:09,100
one? 
The word of God Lives in You? 

312
00:19:10,500 --> 00:19:13,000
And if you want to overcome the 
evil, when you don't just sit 

313
00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:15,100
around and you just wait for him
to come get you. 

314
00:19:16,100 --> 00:19:17,600
You're not setting up booby 
traps. 

315
00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:22,300
Like this is not Goonies. 
When you overcome the evil one, 

316
00:19:22,300 --> 00:19:26,900
you are on the offense. 
You are going, you are going and

317
00:19:26,900 --> 00:19:29,100
blowing. 
You're fighting, you are looking

318
00:19:29,100 --> 00:19:33,900
to push the darkness back. 
So, what John is telling us, 

319
00:19:33,900 --> 00:19:38,600
he's like, man, this stage 
because you're strong and the 

320
00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:41,100
word of God Lives in. 
You, You have overcome the evil 

321
00:19:41,100 --> 00:19:43,100
and listen. 
These are all welded together, 

322
00:19:43,300 --> 00:19:46,700
they're not separated. 
So, if you are in this middle 

323
00:19:46,700 --> 00:19:50,200
stage, you are in this info 
infantry stage, that means that 

324
00:19:50,300 --> 00:19:55,100
God's word is in you and because
God's word is in, you, you are 

325
00:19:55,100 --> 00:19:58,300
then strong and you have 
overcome the evil one. 

326
00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:02,800
If God's word is not in you, 
there's it's impossible for you 

327
00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:06,600
to do any of this. 
So you've got to know God's word

328
00:20:06,900 --> 00:20:08,200
and that's what he's getting 
too. 

329
00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:12,400
So you might not have 
experienced some, some pretty 

330
00:20:12,700 --> 00:20:16,300
interesting stuff, maybe your 
experiences have not been 

331
00:20:16,300 --> 00:20:21,300
mature, maybe, you don't know 
like super sound Doctrine. 

332
00:20:22,300 --> 00:20:26,100
But what you do know causes you 
to move and it causes you to go 

333
00:20:26,100 --> 00:20:28,900
forward and it causes you to 
want Christ to more. 

334
00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:33,000
See at this level, you have 
outgrown your childish, 

335
00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:38,600
self-absorbed absorbtion of like
my feelings, and what I want in 

336
00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:42,700
life and what God owes me, like,
that's something that a child 

337
00:20:42,700 --> 00:20:46,200
says in this level, it's more. 
We're pushing this thing. 

338
00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:49,600
Forward. 
I'm ready to defend, I'm ready 

339
00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:53,700
to like get to work like you 
should be out of love at this 

340
00:20:53,700 --> 00:20:55,300
level. 
You should be at a point where 

341
00:20:55,300 --> 00:20:57,500
like just going to church is not
enough. 

342
00:20:58,300 --> 00:21:01,400
Like I need more. 
I want to get involved. 

343
00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:04,400
I want to serve. 
I want to do something like, 

344
00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:06,900
there's got to be something in 
you that stirs. 

345
00:21:07,900 --> 00:21:10,600
And if that's you, then you're 
at that infantry stage, you're 

346
00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:15,300
ready to go, you're in the game.
And then you last thing, I'll 

347
00:21:15,300 --> 00:21:18,900
say about this is that you 
refute error and you guard the 

348
00:21:18,908 --> 00:21:21,500
truth. 
The way that you were a few 

349
00:21:21,500 --> 00:21:23,900
errors and guard the truth. 
How do you think you overcome 

350
00:21:23,900 --> 00:21:26,600
the evil one by accepting 
everything? 

351
00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:31,300
You know, somebody who said and 
this stuck with me, you know 

352
00:21:31,300 --> 00:21:34,700
that saying if you give someone 
an inch, they take a foot. 

353
00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:38,600
Looks like if you give Satan an 
inch she'll take your legacy. 

354
00:21:39,900 --> 00:21:43,700
Skim a little bit and watch your
life get destroyed right before 

355
00:21:43,700 --> 00:21:47,000
your eyes. 
See, that's why you're on the 

356
00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:50,000
offensive. 
So that way you fight the evil. 

357
00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:52,700
When you overcome the evil one, 
you don't give them an inch. 

358
00:21:52,700 --> 00:21:55,400
You don't give them a foot, you 
don't give them any ground in 

359
00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:57,300
your life and the way that you 
guard. 

360
00:21:57,300 --> 00:22:01,300
That's what truth. 
And then the last one is the 

361
00:22:01,300 --> 00:22:05,000
infancy stage. 
So we have an intimacy stage, 

362
00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:08,800
which is for the father's. 
We have an infantry stage, which

363
00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:14,600
is for the young men or women. 
And then we look at the infancy 

364
00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:18,900
stage, which is for children. 
So, where do we get this from? 

365
00:22:18,900 --> 00:22:23,700
Look at verse 13. 
And I'm sorry, verse 14 and 

366
00:22:23,700 --> 00:22:27,000
verse 14. 
John says I write to you dear 

367
00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:31,800
children because you know the 
father so that word for children

368
00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:34,400
is different from the word in 
verse 12. 

369
00:22:34,900 --> 00:22:40,800
This word is actually Padilla 
which denotes more specific more

370
00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:45,300
specifically, young children. 
So these are the kids, these are

371
00:22:45,300 --> 00:22:49,300
the toddlers in verse 14. 
These are the ones that still 

372
00:22:49,300 --> 00:22:51,200
need. 
Parental instruction. 

373
00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:55,500
And, you know, like with Elena 
and Livia, I don't just let them

374
00:22:55,500 --> 00:22:59,000
choose their dinner. 
I don't let them decide whether 

375
00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:00,800
they want to take a shower or 
not. 

376
00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:03,500
I don't let them like decide 
what time they want to go to 

377
00:23:03,500 --> 00:23:06,400
bed. 
I don't let them have the phone 

378
00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:10,100
whenever they want it. 
That's up to the uncles and the 

379
00:23:10,100 --> 00:23:12,300
g. 
India whale has they get to do 

380
00:23:12,300 --> 00:23:15,400
all that, but Mom and Dad don't 
Why? 

381
00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:20,500
Because we have their best at, 
at him, we want to see them grow

382
00:23:20,900 --> 00:23:22,600
healthy. 
We want to see them do great 

383
00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:28,000
things and they're to Padilla in
order to make those decisions. 

384
00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:30,300
They're too ignorant or Too 
Young. 

385
00:23:30,300 --> 00:23:35,000
They don't know. 
So, little children in the 

386
00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:39,600
faith, they have a basic 
awareness of God. 

387
00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:42,500
They know that they're in a 
relationship with God, but they 

388
00:23:42,500 --> 00:23:46,300
don't know what Dad's doing. 
It's like Livi. 

389
00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:49,100
She doesn't know what I do for 
work. 

390
00:23:49,300 --> 00:23:53,500
She knows that I goes to work. 
When I get home she's like hey 

391
00:23:53,500 --> 00:23:55,900
so how was your direct reports 
meeting today? 

392
00:23:57,600 --> 00:23:59,600
That's wonderful. 
Did the budget to come out. 

393
00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:02,200
Okay. 
How's the interviews? 

394
00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:04,800
Like she don't know. 
She's like that is home. 

395
00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:06,900
Let's play like, that's all she 
knows. 

396
00:24:06,900 --> 00:24:09,800
She knows that I went to work 
and I came home because she 

397
00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:12,700
doesn't have that cognitive 
understanding it because she's 

398
00:24:12,700 --> 00:24:17,100
Padilla, she still Sooyoung. 
And for believers that are still

399
00:24:17,100 --> 00:24:19,900
in their infancy stage. 
They know God, they gave their 

400
00:24:19,900 --> 00:24:23,000
life to Christ their young in 
the faith, but they don't know 

401
00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:27,100
everything that Dad does yet. 
They're still in that wondering 

402
00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:29,500
like man. 
How are the characteristics of 

403
00:24:29,500 --> 00:24:31,300
God? 
How do these things work? 

404
00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:34,300
And hear me? 
There's nothing wrong with that.

405
00:24:35,300 --> 00:24:37,000
Listen, you gave your life to 
Christ. 

406
00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:38,600
You have been forgiven and 
freed. 

407
00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:44,700
That's what you need right now. 
But our hope is that you grow in

408
00:24:44,700 --> 00:24:48,000
your faith and you don't just 
stay in one place. 

409
00:24:48,700 --> 00:24:53,200
Now, there's two reasons. 
Why Believers are in the infancy

410
00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:55,500
stage. 
Number one, you just came to 

411
00:24:55,500 --> 00:24:58,800
know Christ. 
So these might be folks that 

412
00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:01,900
might have just like gotten 
baptized or just about to get 

413
00:25:01,900 --> 00:25:07,600
baptized maybe made a decision a
while ago, but you're still 

414
00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:11,300
trying to like figure out what 
to do next and listen That's 

415
00:25:11,300 --> 00:25:16,900
okay, this is good. 
But number two is kind of sad, 

416
00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:19,100
another reason. 
Why Believers stays in this is 

417
00:25:19,100 --> 00:25:25,700
because they just never been 
under Biblical teaching Maybe 

418
00:25:25,700 --> 00:25:28,000
you came from a church that did 
a terrible job teaching the 

419
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:34,700
Bible. 
Have the T-shirt, maybe? 

420
00:25:34,700 --> 00:25:38,700
You just haven't been discipled 
yet so you don't know what God's

421
00:25:38,700 --> 00:25:39,800
word says. 
You don't know what this looks 

422
00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:41,900
like. 
You have no idea what it looks 

423
00:25:41,900 --> 00:25:44,600
like to do missions. 
And you don't know what it looks

424
00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:46,400
like. 
The pray for people and you're 

425
00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:51,600
still trying to figure it out 
and listen if that's you good. 

426
00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:57,400
Like, this is great news. 
Because there's room to grow. 

427
00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:05,000
So, you must grow as a Believer,
but I will say, if you've been a

428
00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:08,500
follower of Christ for a long 
time, and you're still in this 

429
00:26:08,500 --> 00:26:13,300
infancy stage, you know, the 
great tragedy here is that if 

430
00:26:13,300 --> 00:26:16,800
you're failing to grow and 
mature spiritually, you're 

431
00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:20,700
missing out on all of God's 
blessings, There's some things 

432
00:26:20,700 --> 00:26:24,900
that that you get to experience 
when you walk in faith. 

433
00:26:24,900 --> 00:26:29,000
There's some blessings and 
privilege that God has reserved 

434
00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:34,400
for those who will take him on, 
who will get intimate with him, 

435
00:26:34,500 --> 00:26:38,900
who will like, put everything 
else aside and say, Lord, I am 

436
00:26:38,900 --> 00:26:42,500
going to follow you regardless 
of what people said, my family 

437
00:26:42,500 --> 00:26:44,600
might hate on me. 
My job, my hate on me. 

438
00:26:44,700 --> 00:26:48,100
I might get made fun of somebody
might break up with me, but God,

439
00:26:48,100 --> 00:26:52,100
I'm, I'm following you now. 
In that moment right there. 

440
00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:56,300
There's some blessings that 
you're going to experience that 

441
00:26:56,300 --> 00:26:59,500
a younger believer will never 
ever ever experience because 

442
00:26:59,500 --> 00:27:06,100
he's too scared to step out. 
So we want to get to that level.

443
00:27:06,700 --> 00:27:10,300
We want to get past that level. 
So number one, we want to get to

444
00:27:10,300 --> 00:27:13,600
that intimacy level. 
Those are the fathers of the 

445
00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:15,700
faith. 
Those are the grown, the O G's 

446
00:27:15,700 --> 00:27:19,300
of the faith and you can't get 
that without experience. 

447
00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:23,700
That's years of following Christ
and getting to know him because 

448
00:27:23,700 --> 00:27:27,000
he's from the beginning. 
Number two is the Infantry stage

449
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:30,600
that young man like you know, 
just enough to be dangerous and 

450
00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:32,400
you're ready to go. 
You're ready to push, Darkness 

451
00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:33,100
back. 
Back. 

452
00:27:33,100 --> 00:27:36,000
You want to like tell everybody 
about your faith, you want to 

453
00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:39,900
get busy, you want to get 
involved and then you have the 

454
00:27:39,900 --> 00:27:43,200
infancy stage where you're still
a baby Christian, you're still 

455
00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:45,900
trying to figure it out, you 
know, that you belong to Dad but

456
00:27:45,900 --> 00:27:47,700
you don't know really what that 
does yet. 

457
00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:51,500
And for some of us, we just need
to kind of take that step and 

458
00:27:51,508 --> 00:27:55,900
say, man, I need to grow, I need
to get discipled, I need to to 

459
00:27:55,900 --> 00:27:58,200
get into Bible study, I need to 
do things. 

460
00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:05,200
So as we end I was thinking 
about growth and and I want to 

461
00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:09,600
leave you with three words that 
will help our awareness. 

462
00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:13,500
When it comes to growth, just 
three quick words, that will 

463
00:28:13,500 --> 00:28:19,100
help Tantrums Transitions and 
trials. 

464
00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:23,600
So I want you to be aware. 
So now that we are aware like, 

465
00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:26,300
hey, there's levels to this 
spiritual growth stuff. 

466
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:33,800
So number one, be aware of 
spiritual spiritual Tantrums, be

467
00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:40,300
aware of spiritual Tantrums. 
Usually, this happens in the 

468
00:28:40,300 --> 00:28:43,800
infancy stage, when you're young
in the faith. 

469
00:28:44,900 --> 00:28:48,000
What our spiritual Tantrums. 
Well, what happens when a kid 

470
00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:52,100
doesn't get what he wants. 
They throw himself on the floor.

471
00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:55,200
They make a mess. 
They're loud about it. 

472
00:28:56,300 --> 00:29:00,000
Well we had what we tend to do 
spiritually when we don't get 

473
00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:03,300
what we think we deserve or we 
don't think God came through for

474
00:29:03,300 --> 00:29:05,700
us. 
We throw spiritual spiritual 

475
00:29:05,700 --> 00:29:09,300
tantrums and we say things like 
fine. 

476
00:29:09,300 --> 00:29:11,100
I'm just not going to go to 
church anymore then. 

477
00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:15,600
You know what? 
Like my life's not going. 

478
00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:20,200
The way I want to, so why should
I come into this thing? 

479
00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:29,400
That's a spiritual change room, 
so you don't get your way you. 

480
00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:31,800
Stop going to church, you stay 
things like that. 

481
00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:35,300
Like God owes you something you 
might say like. 

482
00:29:35,300 --> 00:29:38,600
Well, God, like my kids are a 
mess Church didn't work. 

483
00:29:39,500 --> 00:29:40,900
So you know what? 
I'm done with it. 

484
00:29:42,900 --> 00:29:46,300
I'm like, no, your kids are a 
mess because you didn't work. 

485
00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:52,400
Because you were not in the 
Infantry. 

486
00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:56,200
You were not a father You ran 
away from it. 

487
00:29:57,300 --> 00:30:01,000
So your kids are not confused. 
And they're looking for guidance

488
00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,900
and they don't know what to do 
all. 

489
00:30:03,900 --> 00:30:10,600
So childish behaviors in the 
spiritual infancy stage are 

490
00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:15,000
things when we start talking 
about the body of Christ, when 

491
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:18,400
gossip comes when assumptions. 
Hit when you start ignoring, 

492
00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:22,300
those are things that kids do 
like, oh, she said this about 

493
00:30:22,300 --> 00:30:23,800
me. 
Oh, he said that stuff. 

494
00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:27,300
Childish childish, that's so 
childish. 

495
00:30:28,500 --> 00:30:34,200
It's not bad but it shows where 
you are spiritually and we got 

496
00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:37,200
to be careful because God is not
the one that's not faithful. 

497
00:30:38,300 --> 00:30:41,000
He's always faithful. 
Our faith is just flaky. 

498
00:30:42,500 --> 00:30:45,800
There's a difference between us 
and God is faithful, and my 

499
00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:49,400
faith is flaky. 
That's an infancy stage. 

500
00:30:49,700 --> 00:30:53,200
So be aware of Tantrums. 
When you feel something inside, 

501
00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:56,200
we feel like upset, or like, 
something's not making sense to 

502
00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:59,000
you, instead of, just kind of 
dumping it out. 

503
00:30:59,100 --> 00:31:03,900
So Steven said, pray bring your 
anxieties to God, bring your 

504
00:31:03,900 --> 00:31:07,000
issues to God. 
There's so many times in life 

505
00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:08,900
where I'm like, Lord, I do. 
Don't get it. 

506
00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:11,200
Why in the world would you do 
this? 

507
00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:12,800
Why would you allow this to 
happen? 

508
00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:16,800
But it does not change how I 
serve him. 

509
00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:21,300
So bring your cares to Christ, 
bring all your worries, bring 

510
00:31:21,300 --> 00:31:23,800
your concerns. 
When there's people that do 

511
00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:28,600
stuff to you and you're not sure
of men pray to God about them 

512
00:31:29,500 --> 00:31:31,700
and you're going to see God, do 
some amazing things. 

513
00:31:32,100 --> 00:31:35,600
So number one Tantrums be aware 
that number to be aware of 

514
00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:41,200
transitions. 
Be aware of Transitions listen 

515
00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:46,300
growth and development happen in
the transitions of life, and 

516
00:31:46,300 --> 00:31:51,200
that means spiritual as well. 
If you notice Paul, I mean John.

517
00:31:51,300 --> 00:31:53,600
So I talked about Paul weekend 
John. 

518
00:31:54,700 --> 00:31:58,600
There's transitions from father.
I mean, from child to young, 

519
00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:04,500
man, to father, The growth 
happens in those Transitions and

520
00:32:04,500 --> 00:32:08,400
we need to be careful that we 
don't miss manage our 

521
00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:12,900
transitions because that will 
impact where we land in our 

522
00:32:12,900 --> 00:32:17,600
growth. 
Like you can't overcome the evil

523
00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:22,400
one until you have God's word in
you that's a transition. 

524
00:32:23,100 --> 00:32:27,300
If you try to overcome the evil 
one without God's word and 

525
00:32:27,300 --> 00:32:30,500
without being firm in God's 
word, who do you think's going 

526
00:32:30,500 --> 00:32:37,200
to win? 
Not you, you're going into a 

527
00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:40,700
fight without training and 
you're not going to come out. 

528
00:32:40,700 --> 00:32:46,000
Well, you will not experience 
the Holy Spirit unless you start

529
00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:50,100
taking a step of Faith, you 
can't experience the comforter 

530
00:32:50,100 --> 00:32:55,600
unless you're uncomfortable. 
Those are transitions. and when 

531
00:32:55,600 --> 00:33:04,200
we miss growth and we miss 
manage this, We end up stunning,

532
00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:06,700
our growth. 
You can't jump from one extreme 

533
00:33:06,700 --> 00:33:09,100
to the next. 
You can't be like, yeah, I'm 

534
00:33:09,100 --> 00:33:10,700
safe. 
I'm going to go ahead and be a 

535
00:33:10,700 --> 00:33:14,400
missionary in South Africa, like
Asia, I'll take will hold on. 

536
00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:15,600
Like, let's get you some 
training. 

537
00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:19,200
Let's get God's word in your 
life so that way you are 

538
00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:24,400
equipped to go. 
So we got to let God form us and

539
00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:29,100
develop Us in Seasons. 
So that way you're able to 

540
00:33:29,100 --> 00:33:35,200
continue to move forward, And 
because for some of us, if God 

541
00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:38,500
were to give us that blessing, 
he has in store for us right now

542
00:33:39,300 --> 00:33:42,000
and we're not prepared for it. 
That blessing would crush us. 

543
00:33:43,500 --> 00:33:47,300
Quickly. 
So, you have to let him 

544
00:33:47,500 --> 00:33:53,200
transition you into a season 
where you'll be ready to receive

545
00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:55,900
what he has for you, but you got
to let them do it. 

546
00:33:55,900 --> 00:33:58,900
You got to let him do it. 
So be aware of Tantrums 

547
00:33:58,900 --> 00:34:01,600
Transitions and the last thing 
is Trials. 

548
00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:06,400
Beware trials. 
You know what trials are I was 

549
00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:09,100
thinking about this trials are 
tools for sanctification. 

550
00:34:10,500 --> 00:34:14,400
Trials are a tool that God uses 
for sanctification. 

551
00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:19,699
You talk to these old-school men
in the fade women in the faith 

552
00:34:19,699 --> 00:34:23,100
guys, I've been around. 
Many of them will look back in 

553
00:34:23,100 --> 00:34:25,400
their life and they're going to 
look at some really hard times 

554
00:34:26,100 --> 00:34:28,400
and they're not going to tell 
you how much how terrible that 

555
00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:31,500
was or not going to tell you 
what they're going to say is how

556
00:34:31,500 --> 00:34:35,000
faithful God was during that 
time of trial. 

557
00:34:36,100 --> 00:34:38,800
I lost my family but God was 
faithful. 

558
00:34:39,100 --> 00:34:41,699
I lost my job, but God was 
awesome. 

559
00:34:42,100 --> 00:34:44,699
I got stabbed in the back, but 
God came through. 

560
00:34:45,100 --> 00:34:47,600
I didn't know how I was going to
pay this bill but I stayed with 

561
00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:53,900
it and God provided I was about 
to quit in my in my struggle but

562
00:34:53,900 --> 00:34:58,300
I stayed with it and look at my 
life now because of what God did

563
00:34:58,300 --> 00:35:04,100
not anything you did. 
In the more mature, we are in 

564
00:35:04,100 --> 00:35:07,300
our faith. 
We start looking as trials, as 

565
00:35:07,300 --> 00:35:13,200
opportunities for God to shape 
us, and mold us instead of times

566
00:35:13,200 --> 00:35:16,700
for we retreat. 
And there's times in our lives 

567
00:35:16,700 --> 00:35:21,100
where we need to run to him 
instead of us running away, you 

568
00:35:21,100 --> 00:35:24,700
know, Romans 5, we learned this 
in our Bible study, not only so 

569
00:35:24,700 --> 00:35:27,800
but we this is Romans 5:3 
through five. 

570
00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:31,400
But we also glory in our 
sufferings because we know that 

571
00:35:31,400 --> 00:35:34,200
suffering, produces 
perseverance, perseverance 

572
00:35:34,200 --> 00:35:39,700
character and character hope and
hope does not put us to shame 

573
00:35:39,700 --> 00:35:44,400
because God's love has been 
poured out into our hearts 

574
00:35:44,400 --> 00:35:48,400
through the Holy Spirit. 
Spirit who has been given to us?

575
00:35:49,900 --> 00:35:54,200
See whenever suffering comes, 
when you have been in the faith,

576
00:35:54,200 --> 00:35:55,600
you don't look at that 
situation. 

577
00:35:55,600 --> 00:35:57,700
Be like, man, this sucks right 
now. 

578
00:35:57,800 --> 00:36:00,300
I'm leaving. 
No, you look at that situation. 

579
00:36:00,300 --> 00:36:02,600
And you say, Lord, what are you 
doing right now? 

580
00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:05,800
This makes no sense. 
Help me understand? 

581
00:36:06,900 --> 00:36:08,100
And gods going to start 
building. 

582
00:36:08,100 --> 00:36:12,500
You informing you in a way that 
you would never ever experienced

583
00:36:12,500 --> 00:36:16,800
him unless that happened. 
And then the last thing I'll say

584
00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:20,100
will pray and be done. 
You know, I was thinking about 

585
00:36:20,100 --> 00:36:22,700
this. 
So for many of you guys man, I 

586
00:36:22,700 --> 00:36:26,700
got the other day. 
I was looking at my foot like, I

587
00:36:26,700 --> 00:36:30,600
have a little limp right now and
my heel is like super swollen. 

588
00:36:31,900 --> 00:36:33,900
That's not a good thing for you 
guys that are wondering. 

589
00:36:36,900 --> 00:36:39,700
So like it hurts like you just 
stepped on a Lego this whole 

590
00:36:39,700 --> 00:36:43,600
time. 
And I realize there's a 

591
00:36:43,607 --> 00:36:48,600
difference between growth and a 
swell because both of them are 

592
00:36:48,600 --> 00:36:53,200
big, both of them, come up. 
Both of my look, nice 

593
00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:58,900
physically. 
But growth requires resistance 

594
00:36:59,300 --> 00:37:03,900
requires tearing of the muscle. 
It requires replenishment 

595
00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:09,900
nutrition, that develops growth.
And also, you know, what helps 

596
00:37:09,900 --> 00:37:14,200
with growth recovery? 
You got to let that thing, rest,

597
00:37:15,300 --> 00:37:19,800
you know what causes a swell. 
Is when something is pulling on 

598
00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:24,700
your ligaments, but even though 
you see growth there, it doesn't

599
00:37:24,700 --> 00:37:27,800
function properly. 
I see growth on my foot. 

600
00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:31,000
That's great, but I can't even 
walk straight right now, that's 

601
00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:33,700
not how I should function. 
I can't run it hurts. 

602
00:37:36,300 --> 00:37:39,800
But you see the difference is 
one is created by health and one

603
00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:44,200
is created by her. 
And if you don't manage growth 

604
00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:47,700
correctly, you're going to think
that you're growing. 

605
00:37:47,900 --> 00:37:50,500
You're going to think that 
things are big, but honestly, 

606
00:37:50,500 --> 00:37:54,000
you don't have girls. 
You just got to swell and it's 

607
00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:56,400
not going to be healthy. 
And there's going to be hurt 

608
00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:59,100
tied to that. 
And guys, I'm not just talking 

609
00:37:59,100 --> 00:38:01,100
about normal life. 
This is ministry as well. 

610
00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:07,300
The amount of pastors that I've 
seen, leave the church, leave 

611
00:38:07,300 --> 00:38:10,400
the faith. 
This last couple of years has 

612
00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:14,100
just been astonishing and here 
Ministries are growing like 

613
00:38:14,100 --> 00:38:17,500
they're driving, their churches 
are huge, but you see, they 

614
00:38:17,500 --> 00:38:20,600
didn't have girls, they just had
a swell because it wasn't 

615
00:38:20,600 --> 00:38:24,500
healthy, but the ones that stay 
in the game, the ones that are 

616
00:38:24,500 --> 00:38:27,200
long, the that stayed the the 
sustainability. 

617
00:38:27,500 --> 00:38:29,000
That's a Healthy Growth right 
there. 

618
00:38:31,400 --> 00:38:34,800
So I was trying to encourage you
this with the last slide so 

619
00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:38,800
Stevie go and throw it up there,
why don't we just grow together?

620
00:38:40,300 --> 00:38:41,600
You don't have to do this by 
yourself. 

621
00:38:41,900 --> 00:38:45,800
That's we have a church so 
whatever level you're at whether

622
00:38:45,800 --> 00:38:49,200
you're in the baby steps, why do
you know the young man? 

623
00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:52,800
Hey I'm here to tell you we're 
all going to do this together. 

624
00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:55,300
All going to grow together. 
So we're going to get through 

625
00:38:55,300 --> 00:38:57,100
the pain together. 
We're going to call out the 

626
00:38:57,100 --> 00:38:59,400
swells together. 
We're gonna we're gonna grow 

627
00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:00,900
together. 
It's gonna be awesome. 

628
00:39:01,700 --> 00:39:04,300
And we're going to celebrate it 
with each other once, we hit 

629
00:39:04,300 --> 00:39:06,900
those levels of spiritual 
maturity, it's going to be 

630
00:39:06,900 --> 00:39:08,600
great. 
Let me pray for us and then 

631
00:39:08,900 --> 00:39:10,900
we'll have a time of worship and
response. 

632
00:39:11,100 --> 00:39:18,000
Father, we love you and we thank
you so much Lord. 

633
00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:21,100
We thank you because you have 
been so faithful to us. 

634
00:39:24,100 --> 00:39:27,700
And Lord, I pray for those in 
this room, whatever level 

635
00:39:28,100 --> 00:39:30,800
they're at. 
God, we praise you because they 

636
00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:34,400
found you, we praise you because
they've been forgiven and we 

637
00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:37,500
praise you because you are at 
work. 

638
00:39:38,600 --> 00:39:42,000
So Lord, I pray that you help us
to manage our spiritual growth. 

639
00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:46,400
That we don't see things through
the eyes of the world, but we 

640
00:39:46,408 --> 00:39:48,800
see things through our spiritual
lenses. 

641
00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:54,100
Help us to manage growth father 
and Lord, I pray that you help 

642
00:39:54,100 --> 00:39:58,400
us to manage. 
Our Tantrums are transitions and

643
00:39:58,400 --> 00:40:03,000
our trials. 
So Jesus, we praise you your 

644
00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:04,100
name. 
We pray all these things in