1 00:00:07,800 --> 00:00:11,280 When Christ, who is our life appears, that's the second 2 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:16,840 coming and then you will also appear with Him in glory. 3 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:23,120 We learnt that on Sunday. We're raptured. 7 years of 4 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:27,160 tribulation. Israel then begins to do what 5 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:29,160 they should have been doing for all those years. 6 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:35,200 War, final, the final war, Armageddon. 7 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:47,440 Christ returns and when he returns Revelation 19, Jude 8 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:51,920 tells us we returned with him. Thousand years of ruling and 9 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:56,080 reigning then sets up with us ruling and reigning or with him. 10 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:03,320 Paul now says from all that he said, if then you were raised 11 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:05,920 with Christ, seek those things which above where Christ is 12 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:08,680 sitting. Set your mind on things above, 13 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:12,160 not on things of the earth. And now he says in verse 5, 14 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:14,760 what's the first word? Therefore? 15 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:17,040 Maybe your Bible has a wherefore. 16 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:21,520 Whenever you see a therefore or a wherefore, it's Paul saying 17 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:25,960 based on what I've said now here's what you do. 18 00:01:27,960 --> 00:01:34,320 Paul's method of teaching and writing is theology or doctrine 19 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:39,160 first, then the how to the practicality. 20 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:44,800 The application of living is applied on what we now know. 21 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:52,440 He says in verse 5, Therefore, put to death your members which 22 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:54,360 are on the earth. That's not members of the church 23 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:59,120 go down and kill everybody. It means put to death the 24 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:05,320 functions of your body. And then he clarifies the things 25 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:09,440 that we are to put to death, fornication, uncleanness, 26 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:14,480 passion, evil desire, covetousness, which is idolatry. 27 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:20,840 Then he says why? Because of these things, things 28 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:28,840 he's just mentioned, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons 29 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:34,640 of disobedience in which you yourselves once walked when you 30 00:02:34,640 --> 00:02:41,560 lived in them, but now you yourselves are to put off all 31 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:48,800 these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out 32 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:52,280 of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since 33 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:56,680 you have put off the old man with his deeds, verse 10, and 34 00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:00,000 have put on the new man who is renewed in the knowledge 35 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:06,200 according to the image of him who created him in Ephesians 36 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:11,080 chapter 3. So Paul has taken 2 chapters, 2 37 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:15,000 chapters to give his doctrine. Remember he he dealt with the 38 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:18,360 false doctrine of Gnosticism, then he dealt with the false 39 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:25,920 doctrine of Judaism, the law, and also spiritualizing and 40 00:03:25,920 --> 00:03:28,480 making Jesus less than what he is. 41 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:33,560 For example, the Jehovah Witnesses, He is our God to 42 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:37,360 them. He is not the God, Paul says now 43 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:41,200 He is God totally. He is the Creator. 44 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:44,160 In him is all God, the fool's God. 45 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:50,480 He's the icon, the image. In Ephesians chapter 3, Paul did 46 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:52,600 the same thing as he's done in Colossians. 47 00:03:54,160 --> 00:04:00,320 He uses and sorry, in Ephesians he uses 3 chapters on theology, 48 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:02,760 on doctrine. This is what we need to know. 49 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:07,880 Then in chapter 4, after he's given us 3 chapters of this is 50 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:09,240 what you need to know, this is what you need to know. 51 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:11,800 This is what you need to learn. This is who you are. 52 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:14,720 This is who you aren't. This is where you come from. 53 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:18,399 This is where you are now. Then in chapter 4, verse 1, he 54 00:04:18,399 --> 00:04:23,560 says, therefore, based on chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, 55 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:27,480 the prisoner of the Lord, I, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech 56 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:31,280 you now to walk worthy of the calling with which you were 57 00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:35,240 called the application. Then we're going to see this on 58 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:37,160 Sunday. Paul tells us how to live with 59 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:39,160 one another, how to submit to one another. 60 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:42,360 Our husbands are to live, our wives are to live, our kids are 61 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:44,960 to live, how where to deal with the enemy, how to, where to 62 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:51,600 fight the enemy, how to pray. In the book of Romans, Paul 63 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:57,960 takes 11 chapters to give us doctrine theology 11 chapters 64 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:05,640 and then not until chapter 12 of Romans does Paul say I beseech 65 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:12,240 you therefore, based on all that I've said, brethren, now because 66 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:16,400 of what you know by the mercies of God that you present your 67 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:20,400 bodies. This is how you to live a living 68 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:26,800 sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable 69 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:30,080 service, your logical, which is what you're to do. 70 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,760 So now we reach in Colossians the practical chapter 3. 71 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:41,040 Paul says therefore put to death your members which are on the 72 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:45,880 earth tonight. You and I know chapters 1 73 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:50,480 chapter 2 that we've all died to sins penalty that was over us. 74 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:52,960 How do we know that? Because Christ took it upon 75 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:57,360 himself, took it to the cross. He nailed the penalties and 76 00:05:57,360 --> 00:05:59,920 things, the handwriting that were against us on the cross. 77 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:04,360 Then he rose from the dead the third day, which is God's 78 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:09,040 exclamation mark to me that my sins are dead and buried and 79 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:11,320 paid for. Because he's, he's risen the 80 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:13,360 wages of sin is death. He paid for it. 81 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:17,960 He rose. But you know each one of us 82 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:19,440 tonight, maybe you've had it today. 83 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:20,880 Maybe you've had it to this week. 84 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:25,200 Each one of us knows sins power. It's still strong, isn't it? 85 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:29,240 We're in a battle. The ladies on Tuesday are in the 86 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:32,000 Book of Galatians and Helen's teaching through that great 87 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:34,760 book. Sins power seeks to hold us. 88 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:36,720 Our old flesh doesn't like to die. 89 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:41,080 It likes to come back. And sometimes we feed it. 90 00:06:41,840 --> 00:06:46,280 Sometimes we do things, see things, say things that give it 91 00:06:46,280 --> 00:06:50,800 life, and it gets some muscles back and it tries to dominate us 92 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:55,800 again because our flesh is weak. In Romans chapter 8, verse 13, 93 00:06:55,840 --> 00:07:00,160 Paul says if you live according to the flesh, you'll die. 94 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:06,800 But if by the Spirit, by the Holy Spirit you put to death the 95 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:11,200 deeds, the actions of the body, then you'll live. 96 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:16,240 And so we have a decision now that we're born again, we have a 97 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:18,200 choice. This is what we now know. 98 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:22,800 This is what Jesus has done. So how am I going to live now 99 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:25,160 like a parent talking to a teenager? 100 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:27,920 OK, these are the rules. This is what you do. 101 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:30,000 Clean your house, you do this, you do your homework. 102 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:31,800 This is what you got to do. You got to do this, this. 103 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:37,520 Then you can drive the car, then you might get an allowance then. 104 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:41,480 But these are the rules. You got to do this to be able to 105 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:48,720 get that when we turn our back on God and go back to our old 106 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:51,080 habits of sin and you can do that. 107 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:55,000 It's very easy to go back to the what you used to do. 108 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,120 Someone comes around and says, Hey man, you haven't you haven't 109 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:02,080 been around for come on out, come on out with the guys again, 110 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:03,800 coming out with the ladies again. 111 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:12,200 There's that pull. But what happens is when you go 112 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:15,600 back to the old ways, you know, it doesn't produce life, it just 113 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:18,360 makes you miserable. You know, the most miserable 114 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:21,000 people are those who are the prodigals. 115 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:25,760 Take the prodigal. How was he living? 116 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:30,760 I'll look good for a bit. But then it was miserable. 117 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:34,600 It was so miserable. The people who have walked away 118 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:37,039 from God, who have made a commitment to God but walked 119 00:08:37,039 --> 00:08:39,679 away, are the most miserable people in the world. 120 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:49,400 Because our old habits are old ways only offer death. 121 00:08:49,680 --> 00:08:54,160 Sin can only give you death. So we find ourselves turning 122 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:57,480 into religious Pharisees. We we we do this. 123 00:08:57,480 --> 00:09:01,640 We go through the motion. Oh, yeah, but I'm not, I'm not 124 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:05,160 doing anything really wrong. But within our minds and our 125 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:07,560 thoughts and our ways, we're drifting back. 126 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:11,240 We're not reading the Bible, we're not being refuelled. 127 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:14,320 We're fellowshipping. Occasionally we pray, we don't 128 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:17,520 bother praying anymore. We start to drift back. 129 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:22,560 We still go to church, maybe we still believe in God, but we've 130 00:09:22,560 --> 00:09:26,760 become religious. So our our our Christianity is 131 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:32,040 purely an outward living. But the Bible tells us we are 132 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:36,600 saved by the Spirit of God. All foolish Galatians, who has 133 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:39,440 bewitched you? You started off in the Spirit 134 00:09:39,560 --> 00:09:41,480 and you've gone back to the flesh. 135 00:09:45,560 --> 00:09:48,680 But what we are to do now, we have a choice. 136 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:50,960 You and I have a choice. I have a choice every day when I 137 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:53,240 get up. Am I going to walk with the 138 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:56,760 Spirit of God today? Am I going to obey his 139 00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:59,520 directions? Am I going to open God's word? 140 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:01,760 Am I going to read it? Am I going to pray and am I 141 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:04,520 going to give this decision? Am I going to be aware of the 142 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:07,680 warnings that the Holy Spirit is giving to me as I go about my 143 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:11,200 don't go there, don't talk to that person, keep away, don't do 144 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:13,000 that. You go careful. 145 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:15,560 Remember that's the old, not that way anymore. 146 00:10:17,560 --> 00:10:20,640 Am I listening to the warnings? Am I walking with the Spirit? 147 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:25,000 Because if I want to grow, I must walk with the Spirit. 148 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:28,960 If we desire to pursue holiness. And what is holiness? 149 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:32,520 It's not some person living in Texas who goes to church and 150 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:38,800 sings Hallelujah all the time. Holiness is living a life 151 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:44,280 devoted to God is a is a life where you truly are the word St 152 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:47,200 where you truly now have given you've come. 153 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:50,120 You've been a soul and you've become a Paul. 154 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:54,600 You, you, you're now really, you're serious about your walk 155 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:56,880 with God. You pray because you want to 156 00:10:56,880 --> 00:10:58,600 pray. You read the Bible because you 157 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:01,400 love reading the Bible. You love going to church because 158 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,840 you love worshipping the Lord. There's been a change. 159 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:09,240 Paul says therefore put to death. 160 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:13,680 The word death there is the Greek word nekro, northeast, 161 00:11:13,680 --> 00:11:18,120 double kro, which literally means execute. 162 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:24,880 It means kill, put to death. We are to be you and I are to be 163 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:30,320 executioners of our old members, our old ways. 164 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:35,760 We are to choose to do that. We have a choice. 165 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:41,040 Verse 5, Paul says therefore put to death your members which are 166 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:46,000 on the earth, mortify. It's where we get our English 167 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:50,120 word necrosay or necrosis. Some of you who work in the 168 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:55,880 medical business, Necrosis, It's the death of a localised Body 169 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:59,640 Issue tissue. The language here that Paul uses 170 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:03,000 is strong. It's a command, he says. 171 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:05,520 You know, I put it to death. Stop. 172 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:13,360 Grow up, change you can. You're not like you were. 173 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:17,640 You're somebody else, not now. It's a decisive action like 174 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:22,160 repentance. It's the about turn mortify, 175 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:27,000 render as dead, regard as impotent. 176 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:35,240 In Romans chapter 6 verse 11, Paul says so you also should 177 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:41,040 consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin. 178 00:12:41,560 --> 00:12:44,280 You can't say, oh, but you know the devil made me do it. 179 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:50,080 No, he didn't. And alive to God, there's the 180 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:55,920 choice. You can surrender your members, 181 00:12:55,920 --> 00:12:59,680 your mind, your thoughts, what you watch on TV, what you read, 182 00:12:59,680 --> 00:13:06,280 how you speak. You can surrender it to sin or 183 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:13,720 you can give your life, your speech, your what you read, what 184 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:16,760 you watch to God through Christ Jesus. 185 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:20,520 Sometimes I'm talking to guys and it's usually guys and I'll 186 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:22,880 say some words and I go excuse the French. 187 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:26,160 That's not French. I need 2 years of French. 188 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:31,160 Those words, they're not French. And, and, and these are guys who 189 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:34,200 go to church and I'm going and see. 190 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:38,000 And so they roll over it. You can't do that. 191 00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:45,400 That's that's the old you. Romans 611 says so. 192 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:47,800 You also should consider yourselves to be dead to the 193 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:51,760 power of sin and alive to God, the new life through Christ 194 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:54,240 Jesus. Now we can't eradicate my old 195 00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:59,080 body, I this is the only one I have, but we can treat it as 196 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:05,560 morally impotent, something that no longer has a hold on my life 197 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:12,280 that these things that I used to live under no longer control me. 198 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:15,160 And God says, yes, I've broken that. 199 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:18,320 So by faith, I live now choosing to go. 200 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:22,240 I don't have to do that anymore. I don't want to do that anymore 201 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:24,560 because I know what that is. It's wrong. 202 00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:27,040 Before I was just a blithering idiot. 203 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:31,960 I just live like everybody else. What things specifically? 204 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:36,720 And he says fornication. It's the Greek word pornian 205 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:40,600 where we get our word pornographic pornography. 206 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:46,120 And that's a problem today in church amongst so many people 207 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:50,320 because of the Internet that at the touch of a finger or the 208 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:54,560 touch of a screen, there's no rules. 209 00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:01,880 Ponian fornication here means sexual immorality both within 210 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:06,600 and without the marital union. Adultery is different. 211 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:11,720 It's the idea of selling bodies for lustful purposes. 212 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:16,360 It's the selling off of ourselves for sexual pleasures. 213 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:20,840 I remember talking to Calvary pastor and we were talking about 214 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:26,000 Hollywood and he said, you know, there's no way that the actors 215 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:30,080 and actresses can say, well, it's just in the movie and it's 216 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:33,360 had no part. No, can't do that. 217 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:38,400 Doesn't work that way. And in Hollywood for me, as far 218 00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:40,880 as I watch Hollywood movie stars, I'm not going to mention 219 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:44,600 anyone's names, but as far as I'm concerned, they have sold 220 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:50,920 their souls for fame and glory. They do stuff that you would 221 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:54,680 think, how can you do that? And they've even say they are 222 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:56,360 every now. I wouldn't let my kids watch. 223 00:15:57,520 --> 00:15:59,440 I couldn't, couldn't let my mother watch it. 224 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:05,360 You know what I mean? Uncleanness is the next one, 225 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:10,520 moral impurity of all forms. It's having a filthy mind full 226 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:14,440 of sensuality, suggestive thoughts and so called humour. 227 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:17,360 Isn't it today? Isn't it a struggle today? 228 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:26,040 Define a comedian to find a comedian. 229 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:30,040 Yet the world laughs this way, doesn't it? 230 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:37,000 It's perverted fantasies, uncleanness, it's literature, 231 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:40,640 movies. Then it says inordinate 232 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:45,240 affections is the Greek word pathos, and it describes a state 233 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:48,720 of mind that excites sexual impurity. 234 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:53,880 The person who cultivates this kind of appetite can always find 235 00:16:53,880 --> 00:17:00,640 an opportunity to satisfy evil concupiscence, which means 236 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:04,880 wicked desires. The God that God gives us 237 00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:12,280 physical desires and people with evil concupiscence turn them 238 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:15,480 into evil. They take something that God has 239 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:20,359 given us that is good, and they turn it into evil when they are 240 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:25,079 motivated by a sin nature. Paul says to Christians. 241 00:17:25,079 --> 00:17:28,720 He's writing to Christians, eliminate in your life. 242 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:32,760 You're the executioner, you're the one with the axe, you're the 243 00:17:32,760 --> 00:17:35,200 one with the rope, you're the one with the leather. 244 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:43,120 Eliminate in your life that which is contrary to godliness. 245 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:47,720 It's a good thing to perhaps ask in your family if you could ask 246 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:51,000 your kids, what's the word godliness mean? 247 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:54,920 What's the word holy mean or holiness? 248 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:59,080 What's the word righteous mean? They can tell you what all the 249 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:02,760 other wrong words mean because the world is educating them that 250 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:06,720 way. It's the same battle we all 251 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:09,080 fight. Everyone faces these battles. 252 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:13,320 In Romans Chapter 7, Paul wrote verse 14 to 25. 253 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:16,960 So the travel is not with the law for the spiritual and good. 254 00:18:17,120 --> 00:18:20,600 The travel is with me. Paul says, for I am all too 255 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:24,440 human, a slave to sin. I don't really understand myself 256 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:26,280 or what I want to do is write. I don't do it. 257 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:30,040 Instead, I do what I hate. He goes on to verse 23. 258 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,600 But there's another power within me that is at war with my mind. 259 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:36,840 This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 260 00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:42,360 Or what a miserable person I am who will free me from this life 261 00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:45,080 that is dominated by sin and death. 262 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:49,200 Thank God the answer is Jesus Christ our Lord. 263 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:55,440 In him He frees us, He says I'm going to cut the ribbons and the 264 00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:59,480 rope from the enemy and you don't have to dance to his tune. 265 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:05,560 He no longer pulls your strings. In my mind, I really want to 266 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:09,200 obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature, I am a slave 267 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:11,920 to sin. What does he say in verse 1 of 268 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:15,240 chapter 8 of Romans? There is therefore, because what 269 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:19,680 Christ has done now, no condemnation to those who are in 270 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:22,400 Christ Jesus. But here's, here's the part, 271 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:27,120 here's the choice for you and I who do not walk according to the 272 00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:29,320 flesh. So I don't walk the way I used 273 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:33,360 to walk. I don't, I don't live that way. 274 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:36,240 There's been a change in me. God's changed me. 275 00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:38,920 He set me free. He's broke the chains. 276 00:19:39,800 --> 00:19:42,640 We do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the 277 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:45,560 Spirit. There's a choice. 278 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:51,200 We all new creations. The Bible says 2 Corinthians 279 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:54,160 517. This means that anyone who 280 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:57,600 belongs to Christ, the new Living Translation puts it this 281 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:01,360 way, has become a new person. You can't say, well, that's just 282 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:05,760 me, that's just my old self. The old life is gone. 283 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:11,080 A new life has begun. What you and I need to do is 284 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:13,920 realise this and go, this has happened. 285 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:19,280 I believe it is has has has happened and now I need to obey. 286 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:24,280 I got a choice. But the problem is we still live 287 00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:28,600 in old bodies. Your body is an instrument. 288 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:33,880 It's either for righteousness. It used to be just for sin, 289 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:39,600 didn't do anything but God. It's either for righteousness or 290 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:41,400 sinfulness. It's one of the two. 291 00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:46,920 The question is tonight to ask yourself, what tune am I playing 292 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:52,800 with my instrument? This is why Paul wrote in Romans 293 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:55,800 12. He says based on all that God 294 00:20:55,800 --> 00:21:00,000 has done, who you were, what's happened, the judgement that 295 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:05,520 will fall upon those who disobey God and we're all sinners, but 296 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:08,080 by grace you're saved. Romans, Romans, Romans. 297 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:13,280 Then in Romans 12, he says, so dear brothers and sisters, I 298 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:20,480 plead with you, I beg you to give you give your bodies to God 299 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:28,160 because of all he has done. Let them be a living and a holy 300 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:31,240 sacrifice. Do you do that? 301 00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:36,920 Do you live your life and go, this is what you know what? 302 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:41,040 No, I'm not doing that. I'll sacrifice that and got to 303 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:42,480 break up with that. I can't do that. 304 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:44,480 That's the same. I'm going to go with God. 305 00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:52,680 Paul uses here a figure of speech known as autonomy, where 306 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:56,800 one thing is it, it's is replaced by another associated 307 00:21:56,800 --> 00:21:58,800 with it. For example, if I mentioned to 308 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:01,360 you here, gathered here tonight, some of you from England, if I 309 00:22:01,360 --> 00:22:04,920 mentioned 10 Downing St, what do you think it means? 310 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:06,760 The British government, You just go, oh, it's the British 311 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:08,320 government. That's where the Prime Minister 312 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:11,440 lives. When Paul speaks of killing 313 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:17,040 bodily bodily parts or members, he is referring to the sins 314 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:21,480 associated with those parts. Verse 5. 315 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:24,680 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth 316 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:27,720 fornication and cleanest passion, evil desire, 317 00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:31,920 covetousness, which is idolatry covetousness. 318 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:37,520 Notice here is this well dressed sin. 319 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:42,560 This is the Sunday best sin that comes in and says, look, I'm 320 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:46,680 good. I'm not dirty like like 321 00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:51,040 pornography and and and these others concubusis. 322 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:54,720 I'm covetous. It's not that bad. 323 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:57,240 I just I see something good and I wish I wish I had that. 324 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:03,880 No, no covetousness that says is as idolatry. 325 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:12,760 It's greed, it's selfishness. It means our self interest 326 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:16,640 before God. The previous sins mentioned are 327 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:19,640 all evil desires for sexual sins. 328 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:25,680 Covetousness, or to be covetous is the same evil desire, except 329 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:27,880 that it's fixed on. And here's a change. 330 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:32,400 So we've gone from bodily sins, now we go to material sins. 331 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:35,800 Oh, but they're not that bad. It's where you live for your 332 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:42,720 house, you live for your car, you're living for the material 333 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:45,280 thing, which is really dumb. Think about it. 334 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:51,040 Because when you're buried, it's only a little hole that's not 335 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:57,280 very big. It's the lowest form of 336 00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:00,360 idolatry. For nothing can be lower than 337 00:24:00,360 --> 00:24:04,560 putting out trust in a material thing and making that our God. 338 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:10,280 Whatever you put your trust in, whatever you put your trust in, 339 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:16,000 you worship. Materialism is the true religion 340 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:19,520 of thousands of confession confessing Christians. 341 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:24,120 Today they come into church, they're here on a Sunday, but 342 00:24:24,120 --> 00:24:28,080 their God is their job, their career, their finances, their 343 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:31,880 stocks, their shares. Nothing wrong with any in in any 344 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:38,080 of those, but they worship them. Their life bows down to every 345 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:43,200 part that happens with those they lived, and they direct and 346 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:46,440 dictate what, how and what that person feels. 347 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:48,120 Are you happy? My stocks and shares have gone 348 00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:50,760 up really great. My stocks and shares have gone 349 00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:52,440 down. This is the worst thing. 350 00:25:01,180 --> 00:25:04,700 Their lives are addicted and controlled by materialism. 351 00:25:07,020 --> 00:25:11,260 There is a sense covetousness that is even more dangerous than 352 00:25:11,260 --> 00:25:13,620 sensuality because it has so many. 353 00:25:13,860 --> 00:25:20,960 It's respectable so often it is the successful coveted person 354 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:24,440 whom we honour. Don't we met so and so I said 355 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:25,720 this the other day met so and so. 356 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:27,520 How are they going doing really well. 357 00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:29,080 How do we describe the going well? 358 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:31,320 We do we say he's good, he's serving God. 359 00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:33,600 He's you know, he's a missionary now and he you know, he's 360 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:36,040 sacrificing this. No, no, he pulled up. 361 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:41,840 He's got the latest Mercedes Armani suit, his shoes, tailor 362 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:46,360 made Rome. He's watch Rolex, he's doing 363 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:51,920 really, really well. It's interesting in the Book of 364 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:56,280 Revelation, which we're going to go into our Colossians, there's 365 00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:58,680 the two Babylons, there's a religious Babylon, and there's 366 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:02,360 the other material Babylon, and both are destroyed. 367 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:04,440 Remember, the world just breaks down. 368 00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:08,000 Oh no, look at everything's burning. 369 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:12,800 Everything's just falling down. God's gun told you. 370 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:21,360 There's an old proverb. If a man is drunk with wine, we 371 00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:26,920 kick him out of the church. If he's drunk with money, we 372 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:33,720 make him a Deacon. All of these, each one of these 373 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:38,440 sins provoke and his, his, his, which isn't spoken of much 374 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:40,440 today. The wrath of God. 375 00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:44,480 You know, we live a world that doesn't believe in the wrath of 376 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:48,960 God because people go about the Business Today and we see it. 377 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:51,800 Well, you can't lock me up. I haven't done anything wrong. 378 00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:55,720 And kids, they break the law. Coppers arrest them, take them 379 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:57,560 down to gaol. Magistrate lets them go. 380 00:26:57,720 --> 00:26:59,400 Parents go. Well, he did nothing wrong. 381 00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:00,840 You shouldn't have arrested him in the 1st place. 382 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:05,120 He's just having fun. Oh, ran around around and goes 383 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:11,360 because of these things. Verse 6, The wrath of God is 384 00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:14,640 coming upon the sons of disobedience. 385 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:18,080 God's wrath. What exactly is that? 386 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:25,200 Arthur W Pink commentator says It's God's eternal detestation. 387 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:31,920 That word means intense hatred. You know God hates sin of all 388 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:35,400 unrighteousness. It is the displeasure and 389 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:39,520 indignation of divine equity against evil. 390 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:44,760 It is the holiness of God released into activity against 391 00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:46,800 sin. Let me give you that last line, 392 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:50,240 God's wrath. It is the holiness of God 393 00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:53,160 released into activity against sin. 394 00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:59,280 We Live Today where church hell is not mentioned because we 395 00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:01,120 don't want to be negative. We don't want to upset anyone. 396 00:28:01,120 --> 00:28:03,520 You know, you know, everyone's gets upset by something, you 397 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:06,280 know, sorry, did I offend you? Everyone's being offended. 398 00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:09,240 Well, I'm offended because you offended me and I'm offended 399 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:12,600 because you were offended by me. And we go, everyone's offended 400 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:20,000 non Christians. And here's our part because we 401 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:26,960 have a a mission, non Christians will at this time experience the 402 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:31,560 judgement of God when Christ comes the full force of God's 403 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:34,200 eternal wrath. We see snippets of it, don't we? 404 00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:42,400 He flooded the earth. How many people left 8 Sodom and 405 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:45,600 Gomorrah gone. How many got out of there? 406 00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:52,440 What? That's why and two Romans 407 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:56,440 chapter one verse 18 says, but God shows his anger from heaven 408 00:28:57,360 --> 00:29:02,440 against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by 409 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:04,240 their wickedness. How does that happen? 410 00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:07,280 People think they're getting away with stuff. 411 00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:10,960 You know, you can't. God's holy. 412 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:13,680 He doesn't go, Oh yeah, that's all right. 413 00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:20,160 It's all written down when the great white throne judgement 414 00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:25,120 occurs, the second death and death brings and everyone stands 415 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:31,160 before God. Everything is going to be 416 00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:34,440 revealed, every word, every deed, every action. 417 00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:40,240 People today think they're getting away with living in sin. 418 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:41,880 You're not getting away with anything. 419 00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:45,600 Hear what the Bible says today, unbelievers is what's happening, 420 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:49,760 are storing up wrath for themselves for the day of wrath 421 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:52,280 soon to fall. You know, tonight when we pray 422 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:57,120 at 7:30 shortly, the Bible says our prayers are filling the 423 00:29:57,120 --> 00:30:00,040 bowls up in heaven. You notice that well, there's 424 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:07,680 some other things being filled. Every non believer is filling up 425 00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:13,440 their own judgement Ball says in Romans 2 five because you are 426 00:30:13,440 --> 00:30:15,760 stubborn and refused to turn from your sin. 427 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:20,760 You are storing up terrible punishment for yourself for a 428 00:30:20,760 --> 00:30:25,000 day of anger is coming when God's righteous judgement will 429 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:29,120 be revealed. Romans 28 but he will pour out 430 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:33,400 his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves. 431 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:38,200 You know what that is covetousness who refused to obey 432 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:43,800 the truth that's Jesus Christ and instead live lives of 433 00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:48,040 wickedness. Wrath comes on the account of 434 00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:54,360 these very things Paul details in verse 5 and 8, sin. 435 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:57,120 Sin brings with it wrath, not blessing. 436 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:01,520 These things that we've mentioned that we're to execute 437 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:06,000 never bring happiness. But Christian believers, you and 438 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:08,880 I, here's what we need to know as we wrap this up. 439 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:12,240 We've been delivered from the wrath to come. 440 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:17,120 One Thessalonians chapter one verse 10 says, and they speak of 441 00:31:17,120 --> 00:31:20,080 how you were looking forward to the coming of God's Son from 442 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:24,200 heaven, Jesus, whom God raised from the dead, because He's 443 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:28,160 coming back to judge, but also he's coming back to rescue. 444 00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:34,000 He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming 445 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:40,480 judgement. We'll be rescued from that, but 446 00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:44,880 Christians will not experience God's wrath. 1 Thessalonians 447 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:49,640 chapter 5 verse 9. For God chose to save us through 448 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:54,600 our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. 449 00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:59,240 He poured it out on His Son who took it on our behalf. 450 00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:07,840 Therefore, as Christians, knowing this, we will not want 451 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:12,280 to have any part with such sinful behaviours or thoughts. 452 00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:16,920 In other words, we don't sin. You know why not? 453 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:18,320 Because I don't want to get caught. 454 00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:21,200 We don't sin because we don't want to. 455 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:25,080 It would displease God and I know it would upset me. 456 00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:31,400 There's the reason in verse 7 it says in which you yourselves 457 00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:33,720 once walked when you lived in them. 458 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:36,120 That was my old life. What Paul ran out. 459 00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:40,840 That was our old life. All of sin come short of the 460 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:42,520 glory of God. There is none righteous. 461 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:44,440 No, not one. You know what? 462 00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:46,560 You know what it's like to live in sin. 463 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:49,600 You've you've been there. Was it good? 464 00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:53,360 It was horrible, wasn't it? How lonely were you? 465 00:32:54,280 --> 00:32:56,320 How disgusted were you with yourself? 466 00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:01,760 You hated your old life. The good old days. 467 00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:06,520 No, it's not the good old days. This is why you came to Christ. 468 00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:09,680 Why? Help me, God for myself. 469 00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:16,840 Rescue me. How can a new creature then act 470 00:33:17,160 --> 00:33:21,200 like the old one? Because we died to our old self, 471 00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:23,960 our old sin. Jesus said. 472 00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:30,320 So if your eye, even your good eye, causes you to lust, gouge 473 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:33,240 it out, throw it away. It's better for you to lose one 474 00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:35,600 part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into 475 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:37,800 hell. If your hand, even your strong 476 00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:40,880 hand, causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. 477 00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:43,840 It's better for you to lose one part of your body than for your 478 00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:45,320 whole body to be thrown into hell. 479 00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:51,480 Now that's not literal. We know that sin doesn't come 480 00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:55,200 from the eye. It comes from what? 481 00:33:55,800 --> 00:34:00,760 The heart, from the abundance of the heart, the evil within. 482 00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:04,360 Physical dismemberment cannot change the heart. 483 00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:08,679 There was a pickpocket, a thief that cut his right hand off, 484 00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:12,560 stopping thieving. He's still thieved. 485 00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:15,679 They cut his left hand off, he's still thieved. 486 00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:21,159 He was stealing things with his teeth, wasn't Physical 487 00:34:21,159 --> 00:34:24,000 dismemberment doesn't change the heart. 488 00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:29,239 Paul tells you and I tonight to execute where the execution is, 489 00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:36,600 to put to death, to discard, to put off evil practises, get rid 490 00:34:37,679 --> 00:34:42,320 of the evils those that we've read about. 491 00:34:45,199 --> 00:34:51,719 Book of Proverbs says, can a man scoop a flame into his lap and 492 00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:54,239 not have his clothes catch on fire? 493 00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:58,720 Proverbs 627 Often I've had people come to me, you know, 494 00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:00,720 they said, oh man, I've sinned again. 495 00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:03,920 I was involved. How did that happen? 496 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:09,320 Well, I was reading what I shouldn't have read. 497 00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:12,840 Or I went to this place that I used to go. 498 00:35:14,160 --> 00:35:19,400 So they, they, they went back. I went back. 499 00:35:20,280 --> 00:35:27,360 You know what's back behind us? Sodom and Gomorrah don't turn 500 00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:32,680 into a pillar of salt. Give your life holiness to God. 501 00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:37,480 And you know what? And the joy and the wonder and 502 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:41,320 the cleanliness that you will have will allow you to sleep 503 00:35:41,320 --> 00:35:46,280 well at night, to know you've got grace and peace, that God 504 00:35:46,280 --> 00:35:49,960 has washed you clean. Why would you ever want to go 505 00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:51,200 back to being dirty?