1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:06,200 Oh, crossing family, I love you, but more importantly, God loves 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:08,280 you and I am so glad that you are here. 3 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:10,760 I want to welcome you to all of our different locations, those 4 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:13,480 of you watching online and those of you who are part of the 5 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:16,920 crossing inside. This upcoming Tuesday we're 6 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:21,280 going to have a special event called Watch and Pray and if you 7 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:23,720 want to figure out how your particular location is 8 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:30,160 participating, you can go to thecrossing.net/watchand pray. 9 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:32,920 I don't know if we're if we're going to do this every election 10 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:37,800 year, but I felt compelled to live out First Timothy chapter 2 11 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:42,880 verses one through 4, which states I urge then first all 12 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:47,640 that petitions, prayers, intercession, and Thanksgiving 13 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:50,840 be made for all people. Who are some of these people you 14 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,600 might ask? For kings and all of those in 15 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:55,800 authority. Why should we be praying for 16 00:00:55,800 --> 00:01:00,120 these people so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all 17 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:02,960 godliness and holiness? Why should we do that? 18 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:08,160 Well, He tells us because this is good and it pleases God our 19 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:14,800 Savior, who wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge 20 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:18,480 of the truth. There is no doubt about it, an 21 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:21,480 intense division in our country. Many people are gripped with 22 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:23,840 fear about which way the election is going to go. 23 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:28,320 And I was convicted while I was preaching my own sermons during 24 00:01:28,320 --> 00:01:30,080 the Don't Take the Bait sermon series. 25 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:32,600 So if you weren't getting anything out of it, I sure was. 26 00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:37,400 And I realized that I don't pray nearly enough for our government 27 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:40,360 leaders. So you've heard me talk about 28 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:43,040 all the time that we believe that God's way is the best way 29 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:46,480 in every area of our life. And if God's way is the best 30 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:49,600 way, then when God says that we should pray for our leaders so 31 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,600 that way we can live peaceful and quiet lives so that people 32 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:54,800 can be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth, we 33 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:56,560 should probably believe it's the best way. 34 00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:58,960 And then we should behave like we believe it's the best way. 35 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:00,920 So we will be spending election night. 36 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:03,720 And I'm an election junkie. Listen, I've already filled out 37 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:06,920 who I believe is going to win how many electoral votes they're 38 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:09,479 going to get. I have it screenshotted so I can 39 00:02:09,479 --> 00:02:11,800 do a victory dance for being right. 40 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:14,680 I'm a junkie. But instead of me being a total 41 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:17,480 election junkie, which we will definitely allow me to be a 42 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:20,680 little bit of an election junkie on that night, but while we're 43 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:22,320 watching it, we're going to do something else. 44 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:24,440 We're going to actually pray for our leaders. 45 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:26,560 We're going to spend time worshiping God, who's on the 46 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:29,280 throne, who only can get elected into your hearts, but nobody can 47 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:33,400 elect him out of his throne. And we believe that this will be 48 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:37,040 a faith motivator and elevator for those of you who 49 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:39,120 participate. So some of you, you'll be able 50 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:42,080 to join at a physical location. Many of you, if you want to be a 51 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:44,560 complete election junkie and cuss where nobody can hear you 52 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:47,800 as the polls close, you can do that at home and just have us up 53 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:50,480 on YouTube next to, you know, CNN or whoever you watch. 54 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:53,480 There'll be more information about this at the close of our 55 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:55,600 services as they tell you what they're doing at their 56 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:59,240 particular location. To those of you who are a part 57 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:04,200 of the crossing and you live in Missouri, I sent you an e-mail 58 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:06,760 this week regarding amendment three. 59 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:11,000 If you did not receive it, you can get there is a link to my 60 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:15,520 remarks that you can find at thecrossing.net slash amendment 61 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:16,520 3. This is for those of you who 62 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:19,080 live in Missouri. There is an important thing in 63 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:21,480 the on the ballot this year and I want to encourage you to 64 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:23,760 participate. And you might be going, Clayton, 65 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:28,200 I don't like voting. I don't like any of that stuff. 66 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:30,560 And you're thinking about sitting this election out. 67 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:34,240 The last election, 30 million people who would call themselves 68 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,560 Christians sat out. And what I want to encourage you 69 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:40,080 to do if you live in Missouri is even if you're not voting for 70 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:43,240 one president or the other, I believe you should show up and 71 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:47,560 vote no for amendment three. That being said, OK, thank you. 72 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:51,200 Those are the Missouri people. Everybody else in Iowa and 73 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:53,440 Illinois are like, what's on? And you can find out if you 74 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:54,040 want. OK. 75 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:56,960 Today we are going to continue in our sermon series called 76 00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:03,240 Counterfeit Fruit Establishing an Authentic Walk with Jesus. 77 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:07,880 Genuine godly character is not just about your outward 78 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:12,880 appearance, but a heart that abides or gets pruney, a heart 79 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:16,079 that has wrinkles because of time spent with God. 80 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:19,800 We look at John chapter 5 or 15 verses one through 5. 81 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:23,160 Look what Jesus says. I am the true vine and my father 82 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,000 is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me 83 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:31,040 that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he 84 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:35,280 prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 85 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:38,840 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 86 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:45,360 Remain or abide or get wrinkly in me as I also remain in you. 87 00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:50,800 No branch can bear fruit by itself, it must remain in the 88 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:52,920 vine. Neither can you bear fruit 89 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:57,960 unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the 90 00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:00,480 branches. If you remain in me and I in 91 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:09,520 you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from Me, you can do 92 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:12,320 nothing. 4 things to notice here. 93 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:16,640 Kind of a recap. God expects fruit because he has 94 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:19,280 saved you, because He has placed the Holy Spirit inside of you. 95 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:23,400 Fruit should be a part of your Christian experience. 96 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:27,360 And when he doesn't find fruit, you are cut off. 97 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:30,120 You might be going, that doesn't sound good. 98 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:35,520 It's not. Good branches bear fruit, and 99 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:38,280 even good branches get addressed by the gardener. 100 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:43,880 He cuts you, prunes you so that you become even more fruitful. 101 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:45,480 You're like, well, what does that feel like? 102 00:05:45,840 --> 00:05:49,880 When you feel a conviction over sin, When you feel a pressure or 103 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:53,720 a prompting to do something that takes you out of your comfort 104 00:05:53,720 --> 00:06:01,080 zone, You are being pruned. Remaining and abiding is how the 105 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:05,200 fruit is produced because you and I cannot produce fruit. 106 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:09,960 The Holy Spirit produces fruit in us when we remain. 107 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:14,200 This is not accomplished through human effort and #4 we have 108 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:17,640 absolutely nothing to offer apart from Him. 109 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:24,440 Many of you, we are trying to live our lives in our own power 110 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:28,920 and in our own strength. But when we abide, when we get 111 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:31,440 pruny, we develop a wrinkly heart. 112 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:35,480 When we spend time in the Word, in prayer, in community, and 113 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:40,200 operate in obedience, abiding in God produces this fruit. 114 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:41,920 And you're going, OK, well, what is the fruit? 115 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:43,080 Well, let me tell you what the fruit is. 116 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:47,400 Galatians 5 tells us this is what the fruit is, but the fruit 117 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:53,440 of the Spirit is Lovejoy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, 118 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:56,440 faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 119 00:06:56,640 --> 00:06:58,400 Against such things there is no law. 120 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:00,520 So let's do a little group participation. 121 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:05,120 I'm going to have you answer on behalf of the person that you 122 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:09,280 came with today. OK, So husbands, you're going to 123 00:07:09,280 --> 00:07:14,360 answer for your wife. Be careful, wives. 124 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:16,000 Do whatever you want to do. We get it. 125 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:21,920 All right? So raise your hand if the person 126 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:27,360 you're sitting next to wishes that you were more loving. 127 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:33,000 OK, Raise your hands if you wish your spouse was less loving. 128 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:35,000 Ladies, raise their hands. I got it. 129 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:39,440 OK, you're going. Hey, my spouse wishes I was more 130 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:42,560 joyful. If you're not raising your hand, 131 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:46,240 your marriage is in free fall. OK, You're like, we want a 132 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:49,920 grouchier person. If you could dial up Grouch in 133 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:51,920 our home, that would just be fantastic. 134 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:53,680 All right, let's try another one. 135 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:56,360 How many of you are going? My spouse would just. 136 00:07:56,360 --> 00:08:00,000 It would be great in my family if I there was more peace. 137 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:02,880 OK, how many? How many of you are going? 138 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:06,000 We wish there were less peace. It's just too calm here. 139 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:09,040 We need some chaos, you know, like, yeah, I get it. 140 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:11,480 OK, Here's one. This is my family's going to put 141 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:13,920 all hands up. How many of you you wish, you 142 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:17,080 know, someone in your house was more patient? 143 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:22,240 Yeah, yeah, yeah. I got an F on that 1F. 144 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:26,680 It's a sickness. More kind. 145 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:29,960 They wish you were more kind. I wish you could just be meaner. 146 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:32,559 OK. More good. 147 00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:35,360 I wish you were bad. Bad to the bone, babe. 148 00:08:35,799 --> 00:08:38,760 All right, let's just skip ahead for a little bit. 149 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:42,440 How many of you wish that the people in your lives exhibited 150 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:45,080 more self-control? Yeah. 151 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:49,240 So these are all things that we need more of, but we can't 152 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:54,480 produce. The Holy Spirit produces them in 153 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:57,320 US. And last week, we talked about 154 00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:01,040 how this counterfeit fruit shows up in different areas of our 155 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:02,840 lives. For instance, we looked at love 156 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:06,520 and joy, and the counterfeit fruit of love is a love that has 157 00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:09,800 no boundaries, and we learned that love does not equal no 158 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:13,160 boundaries. We also learned that joy is not 159 00:09:13,560 --> 00:09:17,320 toxic positivity, that you don't have to fake it till you make it 160 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:20,080 in Christ. Today, we're going to talk about 161 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:23,040 peace and patience and their counterfeits. 162 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:27,040 According to Interventure, counterfeit products have 163 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:33,440 emerged as a booming industry, topping out a $2 trillion 164 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:36,760 annually in the counterfeit game. 165 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:42,360 This is up from 450 billion in 2016. 166 00:09:42,560 --> 00:09:45,840 So it is five times up. It is going fast. 167 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:48,960 Now the most affected industries are going to kind of bump some 168 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:49,960 of you out. Ready. 169 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:53,240 The clear leader in the counterfeit market is footwear 170 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:58,520 at 22 percent. 22% of the counterfeit market of $2 171 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:00,600 trillion is counterfeit sneakers. 172 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:06,720 Clothing comes in at 16%, leather goods, 13%, followed 173 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:08,520 closely behind. This is a little freaky. 174 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:12,440 It gets worse. 12% of electrical equipment is counterfeit. 175 00:10:13,560 --> 00:10:17,680 So that surge protector that you bought, Probably not as much of 176 00:10:17,680 --> 00:10:19,680 A protector as you thought. It's more of a serger. 177 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:22,640 OK. Watches are at 7%. 178 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:27,200 This is the freakiest one. 5% of medical equipment. 179 00:10:30,680 --> 00:10:32,840 Like you thought you got a name brand pacemaker. 180 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:39,560 You got a pace taker. OK, that's what you got. 181 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:45,800 Not in the notes. Perfume is 5% of perfume and 182 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:48,280 cosmetics are 5% of the global market. 183 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:51,240 Why does this matter? It's because it's used with less 184 00:10:51,240 --> 00:10:55,920 pure extracts and it's used with harsher or made with harsher 185 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:58,960 chemicals to keep the price down, which means that it can 186 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:02,760 pose serious health risks. And it's important to note that 187 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:06,240 the counterfeits are never of the knock off brands. 188 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:09,880 OK, I'm not trying to throw any shade, so if my jokes hit you, 189 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:12,480 they're not intended to hit you. But let me give you an example. 190 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:16,440 It is always like the Yeezys, the Jordans, the Prada, the 191 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:20,720 Dior, the Gucci and the Rolex that get counterfeited like 192 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:22,720 nobody. Do you guys remember, is Jordash 193 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:25,320 still a brand? Yeah. 194 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:29,680 Have you ever seen someone selling you some Jordash at, you 195 00:11:29,680 --> 00:11:33,000 know, a discount? Like, oh man, I got, I got 196 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:36,400 Jordash sneakers here for $0.50. OK. 197 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:39,520 Like they're already $7.00 like we can. 198 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:42,640 It's always, it's always the high brand stuff. 199 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:45,200 And so when it comes to your relationship with Jesus, there 200 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:46,480 is counterfeit fruit. Why? 201 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:49,520 Because the real thing is so powerful. 202 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:53,960 Recently I was at Christmas. Somebody gave me a very nice 203 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:56,360 gift. They bought me some Cologne. 204 00:11:57,080 --> 00:12:01,600 And Cologne matters to me because I'm 6 foot six, 285 205 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:07,840 pounds, 300 post Thanksgiving. And my my motto is I'm too big 206 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:10,480 to smell bad. Like if you have somebody this 207 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:13,960 big, that's like if a small person smells, nobody notices. 208 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:16,960 But if you, if I give you a hug, you're in my armpit. 209 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:21,920 Like that's where it starts. OK, So I always have Cologne on 210 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:24,600 me. And so he bought me this Cologne 211 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:26,800 and we loved it. We fell in love with the whole 212 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:28,880 family, loved it. And so they were just squirting 213 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:31,000 it all over themselves. So I ran out. 214 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:34,280 Well, we were coming back from a funeral in Chicago and we 215 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:37,880 stopped at an outdoor mall and they had a fragrance shop in 216 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:38,720 there. And I've never been to a 217 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:42,320 fragrance shop, but I walked in there and they had the the 218 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:44,760 Cologne that I purchased. And before you all e-mail me, 219 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:47,560 it's called Savage and it's fantastic. 220 00:12:47,560 --> 00:12:49,400 OK, I don't want to e-mail you guys all this week. 221 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:51,160 Like, what's the what's the Cologne you got? 222 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:53,440 Because I want to get it for my smelly husband. 223 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:59,000 It's savage, Savage. And I, I, we buy and we were, 224 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:00,400 we, everybody bought their stuff. 225 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:02,800 And when they rang it all up, I got sticker shock. 226 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:06,480 And usually that's because of something that other people in 227 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:09,800 my family have purchased. And then I found out how 228 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:13,600 expensive Savage was and I was not anticipating that. 229 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:18,120 So I go back to the guy who gave me the gift and I go, I need you 230 00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:21,080 to know, I had to buy a replacement of that because we 231 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:23,840 went through every and I did not realize how kind of a gift you 232 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:27,760 had given me. And he said I bought you the 233 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:32,960 knockoff. I love him so much. 234 00:13:33,640 --> 00:13:36,000 Listen, and I'm just going to tell you the knockoff smells 235 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:38,640 just as good. But if I die, blame him. 236 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:43,920 Today we are going to discuss two more fruits of the Spirit, 237 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:48,720 peace and patience, and their stubborn, tricky, subtle 238 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:53,360 counterfeits, Comfort and complacency. 239 00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:58,000 Sometimes when we think that we are living in peace and 240 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:03,640 practicing patience, we are really simply being inactive in 241 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:08,800 our faith. For instance, peace does not 242 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:14,840 mean staying comfortable. You see, we tend to view peace 243 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:17,160 through the context of our circumstances. 244 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:22,560 If I avoid hardship, If I avoid conflict, If I avoid hard 245 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:27,880 conversations, if I say no to difficult Holy Spirit directed 246 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:35,840 tasks and I stay in my comfort zone, then I will have peace. 247 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:43,760 However, this is never the case. We only grow in our relationship 248 00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:46,600 with God outside of our comfort zone. 249 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:49,320 And I've talked about this before, but I think it's worth 250 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:54,560 repeating. OK, if you are not sensing the 251 00:14:54,560 --> 00:15:00,080 power of the Holy Spirit in your life, it might be because you 252 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:04,960 are not doing anything that requires His power. 253 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:08,160 Let me explain. The Bible, I'm just going to 254 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:12,040 list a few, calls us to love our neighbor, seek the lost, pray 255 00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:15,200 for our enemies, seek the needs of others, of ourselves, 256 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:19,560 sacrifice, be bold in our faith. And those things, just so you 257 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:23,000 know, are not possible without the power of the Holy Spirit. 258 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:26,760 And so when we're not doing those things, we're operating in 259 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:29,040 the flesh. And the Holy Spirit does not 260 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:31,800 have to empower you to live in the flesh. 261 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:35,440 You see, peace is not the absence of conflict or a 262 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:40,280 challenge. It is a position of trust that 263 00:15:40,280 --> 00:15:44,360 God is who He says He is and that God's way is the best way 264 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:51,680 in spite of the world, in spite of the opposition, in spite of 265 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:55,360 how the world perceives us. A perfect example of this is 266 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:58,360 found in Philippians chapter 4, verses 4 through 9. 267 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:02,040 You guys all know this verse. Rejoice in the Lord always. 268 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:05,560 I will say it again, rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident 269 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:08,240 to all. The Lord is near. 270 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:09,440 We're going to circle back to that. 271 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:15,440 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every 272 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:20,920 situation, by prayer and petition with Thanksgiving, 273 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:27,080 present your requests to God and the peace of God, which 274 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:32,240 transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your 275 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:37,480 mind in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, 276 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:40,800 whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, 277 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:44,040 whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, 278 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:49,320 if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such 279 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:53,640 things. Whatever you have learned or 280 00:16:53,640 --> 00:17:02,560 received or heard from me or seen in me, put it into practice 281 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:06,200 and the God of peace will be with you. 282 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:09,000 Notice the situation that they're in. 283 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:15,440 They are in a situation that is causing anxiety and worry. 284 00:17:16,040 --> 00:17:19,319 They are outside of their comfort zone. 285 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:24,920 How do I have peace when I'm outside of my comfort zone? 286 00:17:25,520 --> 00:17:29,760 Here's what we can take away. One remember that the Lord is 287 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:32,280 near. God is with us. 288 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:38,160 He is not distant, nor is he uncaring. 2 Pray through every 289 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:44,640 situation, big or small. Pray about it all. 290 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:48,040 Some of us go, this thing is too big for our God. 291 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:51,040 That's silly. A lot of us think this is too 292 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:54,200 small for our God, but God pays attention to everything. 293 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:56,920 When birds fall out of trees, when you lose your hair in the 294 00:17:56,920 --> 00:18:00,040 shower, he knows the number of hair left on your head. 295 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:03,320 He notices it all. So pray about it all. 296 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:07,000 Then he says, think about a certain set of things. 297 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:11,120 Think about true things and noble things and admirable 298 00:18:11,120 --> 00:18:13,800 things and excellent things and praiseworthy things. 299 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:16,000 Can you? You guys are Christians, so this 300 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:20,440 is this is not a trick question. Can you think of anybody or 301 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:24,440 anything that might embody all of those qualities? 302 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:30,320 I can think of three, Jesus himself, the cross of Christ, 303 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:34,080 and the tomb of Christ. If you're looking at excellent 304 00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:38,160 and praiseworthy things, I would say Jesus is the most true, most 305 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:41,480 noble, most right, most pure, most loving, most admirable, 306 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:44,400 most excellent, most praiseworthy person to ever 307 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:47,360 exist. And Jesus reminds us that God is 308 00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:50,840 close. His name shall be Emmanuel, God 309 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:53,720 with us. And Jesus reminds us that God is 310 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:56,960 caring because God is the God, which we talked about last week 311 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:01,280 of all comfort. And Jesus shows us that God's 312 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,000 way is the best way. When he's in the garden before 313 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:09,160 the crucifixion, Jesus himself prays not my will be done, but 314 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:12,960 your will be done. I can have peace when I know 315 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:16,960 that I am doing the thing that God has called me to do. 316 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:20,960 Then I can turn myself and I can look at the cross of Christ to 317 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:23,120 find peace. I when I think about that 318 00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:25,920 because it is excellent and it is praiseworthy because the 319 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:32,000 cross reminds me that God can turn absolutely anything around 320 00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:35,400 at a moments notice. You see, God took an instrument 321 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:39,560 of torture, the cross, and He used it to write every single 322 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:43,040 one of our testimonies. It began at the cross when He 323 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:45,560 redeemed us and He began to make us new. 324 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:48,240 And when I look at the cross, it reminds me that no matter what 325 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:51,480 situation I'm in, God can redeem it. 326 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:55,200 God can repurpose it so I can have peace that what I'm going 327 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:57,680 through will not be the end of me. 328 00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:01,760 I can look at the tomb of Christ and I can remember that God is 329 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:05,360 undefeated. Not once has he ever taken a 330 00:20:05,360 --> 00:20:08,520 loss. He went into the grave, He died, 331 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:11,360 and then he came back out overcoming death. 332 00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:15,680 Overcoming sin, overcoming guilt, and overcoming shame. 333 00:20:15,840 --> 00:20:19,400 Which means that those things are no match for His power, His 334 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:22,280 mercy, His grace. Which means when I'm in a 335 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:26,640 situation, I have a God who can turn everything around and a God 336 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:29,200 who is undefeated at that very task. 337 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:32,720 If I have those two things going for me, 6 of you are awake. 338 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:36,040 God bless you. You got an extra hour of sleep 339 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:38,800 and you're using it in here. What When you come into a 340 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:42,080 relationship with Jesus Christ and you find yourself in a spot 341 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:46,280 and you start thinking about all that you have going for you in 342 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:51,720 Christ, That's what gives you peace, not the situation. 343 00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:56,040 He's what gives you peace. And then pay attention to this. 344 00:20:56,280 --> 00:20:58,000 Paul, thank you. You guys are trying to turn it 345 00:20:58,000 --> 00:20:58,840 around. God bless you. 346 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:01,840 OK, we're going to try and get peace in the sermon. 347 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:03,280 I don't at all of our other locations. 348 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:05,480 They're standing and cheering. 48 streets drunk. 349 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:13,760 OK #4 Paul says whatever you have learned or received, put it 350 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:18,280 into practice. Faith in Jesus is active. 351 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:23,320 When we do these things, God promises to be with us. 352 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:26,680 Let me explain this. There is a difference between 353 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:31,680 comfort and contentment. You will be in situations where 354 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:37,840 you will be uncomfortable. Through God's help, you will be 355 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:41,600 able to be content in being uncomfortable. 356 00:21:42,120 --> 00:21:44,640 I'm going to take you to a verse that everybody knows and I'm 357 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:47,400 going to help you realize what that verse is really all about. 358 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:50,000 Philippians chapter 4. We're in the same chunk of 359 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:51,880 Scripture. We've been in verses 11 through 360 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:54,680 13. I am not saying this because I 361 00:21:54,680 --> 00:22:00,360 am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the 362 00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:04,280 circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, 363 00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:06,480 and I know what it is to have plenty. 364 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:11,240 I have learned the secret of being content in any and every 365 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:15,960 situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty 366 00:22:16,120 --> 00:22:21,120 or in want. I can do all of this through 367 00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:24,560 Him. Who gives me strength. 368 00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:27,600 That's what Philippians 413 is about. 369 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:31,800 It's about making you undefeatable because no matter 370 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:35,560 what circumstance I'm going through, I'm going through. 371 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:38,200 Paul is not comfortable. He's content. 372 00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:42,600 He's able to be content in any and every situation because of 373 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:46,120 the power of the Holy Spirit through Christ who gives him 374 00:22:46,120 --> 00:22:48,400 strength. This is not the strength to 375 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:51,240 reach your Max deadlift. This is not the strength to help 376 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:54,560 you get the promotion, win the game, get the girl to marry you, 377 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:57,560 break 100 on the golf course. It is none of those things. 378 00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:00,640 It is about something much deeper and something much 379 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:03,360 richer. It means crossing family when 380 00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:06,640 the hardships of life come knocking at your door, when you 381 00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:09,760 face opposition for doing the the very thing that God has 382 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:12,880 called you to do, when you experience deep hurt 383 00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:17,240 relationally, you can get through because God is with you. 384 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:20,920 You have something that cannot be taken from you because when 385 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:24,120 you have an intimate personal relationship with Christ, you 386 00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:27,360 have been made right with God through the sacrifice and death 387 00:23:27,360 --> 00:23:30,120 and burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 388 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:34,040 And since Jesus is alive and God is undefeated and the Holy 389 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:37,760 Spirit is available, I can be at peace while I'm going through 390 00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:42,200 things in this this life because I know I'm going through. 391 00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:48,560 In other words, the storms can come, the winds can blow, the 392 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:53,280 waters can rise, but my spiritual house will be standing 393 00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:56,160 after the storm because it's not built on me. 394 00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:59,640 It's not built on the foundation of my family, the foundation of 395 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:02,320 my finances, the foundation of my status. 396 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:06,200 It's built on the rock solid foundation of the teachings of 397 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:08,920 Jesus and the power of his Holy Spirit. 398 00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:11,800 Now the second area, OK, we got to move quick. 399 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:16,080 The second area where this manifests is in the spirit of 400 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:20,120 patience or the the fruit of patience because for a lot of us 401 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:26,240 patience has become complacency and those are two different 402 00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:28,360 things. It happens over time. 403 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:32,600 Over time we can just slip into complacency in our walk. 404 00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:36,920 It takes zero effort for us to develop a lazy faith. 405 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:45,640 However, James warns us in James chapter 2 verse 26 as the body 406 00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:51,080 without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. 407 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:55,880 If you are not walking by faith, you don't have faith. 408 00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:00,160 James makes this point really, really clear earlier in this. 409 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:02,800 This is what he says, hey, you believe in God, great. 410 00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:05,840 Even the demons do that. So if you're here today and 411 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:08,120 you're going, I believe in God, I just want you to know right 412 00:25:08,120 --> 00:25:12,240 now you are on par with demons. Turn to your spouse and go you. 413 00:25:12,360 --> 00:25:16,800 No, don't do that. What separates us from the 414 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:22,600 demons is when we put our faith into practice. 415 00:25:24,120 --> 00:25:27,360 Our beliefs must be married with action. 416 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:29,360 We know this is true in every area of your life. 417 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:34,440 It is not enough to know how to eat right, you actually have to 418 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:37,720 eat right. Right, some of you. 419 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:42,960 How many of you guys have a Peloton or a rower or a 420 00:25:43,360 --> 00:25:46,000 treadmill at your house that you guys use to hang your laundry 421 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:48,880 on? Yeah, having it. 422 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:52,440 If if owning equipment made us skinny, we'd all be skinny. 423 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:57,280 If knowing we should work out made us skinny, we'd all be fit. 424 00:25:57,280 --> 00:25:59,760 I'd be the Brad Pitt of preachers, right? 425 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:03,160 We we both have shoulders Like it's a start. 426 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:08,880 OK, Godly Patience, hear me, is waiting is waiting for an 427 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:11,920 opportunity. Complacency is avoiding an 428 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:14,160 opportunity. And here's what I mean. 429 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,480 So many of us in an effort to like, try to be godly, we go. 430 00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:19,280 I just don't want to get out in front of God. 431 00:26:20,360 --> 00:26:24,200 We've forgotten that we are as people to be on the move with 432 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:27,160 God because God is always moving. 433 00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:31,040 For instance, let's just say in your life that there is somebody 434 00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:34,920 who is close to you and they are far from God and you've been 435 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:36,320 going, man, I need to talk to them. 436 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:38,320 I need to invite them. I need to have a conversation 437 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:40,080 with them. But you haven't yet. 438 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:45,680 Why some of you go, I just don't know what to say. 439 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:52,480 OK, I got a question for you. How long have you been stuck on? 440 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:59,120 I don't know what to say. That's complacency. 441 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:04,440 That's spiritual laziness. You've you've identified a a 442 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:06,520 deficiency, a challenge, a hardship. 443 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:11,440 I don't know what to say. And for weeks, months, years, 444 00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:15,600 decades, you've been stuck on. I don't know what to say. 445 00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:21,120 That's lazy. Complacency is never working to 446 00:27:21,120 --> 00:27:25,320 figure out the right thing to say, or complacency is not 447 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:29,040 trusting that God will do what He promised in His Word He would 448 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:32,520 do, which He would give us the words to say when the moment 449 00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:35,360 comes about. In other words, complacency is 450 00:27:35,360 --> 00:27:39,320 saying I'm going to talk to them next week, next month, and how 451 00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:43,480 many next weeks and how many next months have come and gone 452 00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:48,480 and nothing has changed. Patience is not waiting for a 453 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:51,040 door to open, but for the door to crack. 454 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:56,240 Let me give you 3 cracked doors for those of you who are going, 455 00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:58,320 hey, let's just figure out how to put this into practice. 456 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:03,360 If you're around somebody and you hear these three statements, 457 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:06,360 this is the door cracking. This is a Holy Spirit 458 00:28:06,360 --> 00:28:08,920 invitation. If you hear somebody talk about 459 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:14,920 loss, unexpected change or struggle, that is, in my 460 00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:18,560 opinion, a Holy Spirit invitation for you to step into 461 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:20,720 them with the love and the word of God. 462 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:25,000 When somebody goes, I'm dealing with loss, somebody has died, 463 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:27,800 they're going through a divorce, their marriage is struggling, 464 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:31,680 that's an invitation. When there's an unexpected 465 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:34,760 change, they had a change in their job or a change in their 466 00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:36,520 health or somebody else's health. 467 00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:40,400 When there's a struggle with kids or at work, when you hear 468 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:43,800 those things, that is God showing you this person is 469 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:47,280 hurting and I'm the God of all comfort and I want to use you to 470 00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:51,480 comfort them. And faith is stepping into that 471 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:55,880 moment, trusting that the Holy Spirit will guide you and give 472 00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:59,000 you the words to say so that person can be saved. 473 00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:01,480 But patience is even more than this. 474 00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:06,840 The Hebrew word for patience was made by slamming 2 weird words 475 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:16,000 together, long and nose. Patience in the Hebrew 476 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:20,680 Scriptures is long nosed. Like a big old honker, like just 477 00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:25,040 a big bird. You know why? 478 00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:30,080 Because when you're not patient, you're in a rush. 479 00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:36,800 But a person with patience is calm under pressure. 480 00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:41,400 They're not reacting, they're responding. 481 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:47,520 They're long nosed about things. They're breathing deeply and 482 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:52,720 calmly and just waiting it out. In the New Testament, they did 483 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:55,040 the same thing. They took 2 words and they 484 00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:57,000 slammed them together to make the word. 485 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:06,240 Patience. Long sold, long hearted that 486 00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:08,920 you're dealing with the situation and you've just got a 487 00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:14,960 little bit of endurance in you. You're long sold about it when 488 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:16,520 things are not going the right way. 489 00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:21,720 We are long nosed. We're long sold about it when 490 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:28,160 our kids are difficult. We're not complacent and just 491 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:30,520 assuming that it's going to figure itself out. 492 00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:34,040 Oh no, we are very active. And so we step in to make sure 493 00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:37,600 that they don't act a fool, but we don't respond in anger. 494 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:43,040 We're a long nosed about it. We don't give up on them because 495 00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:48,760 we're long hearted about it. We realize that we are in it for 496 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:51,800 the long haul. We have patience. 497 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:57,480 There's a cool story in ancient literature about when Carthage 498 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:00,680 in North Africa and Rome and Italy were at war with one 499 00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:04,240 another. And the in the year 215 BC, the 500 00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:08,280 general Hannibal was conquering cities and he came to this one 501 00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:12,560 particular city called Castilium, and it was being 502 00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:19,920 defended by just 600 soldiers. And Hannibal noticed that these 503 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:23,120 soldiers were protecting it, just 600 of them, that they went 504 00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:27,600 out in the daytime and they started to plant turnips outside 505 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:31,080 the city walls. And it caught him off guard 506 00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:35,960 because he was going, these 600 soldiers actually think that at 507 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:38,760 some point in time they're going to end up winning and they're 508 00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:44,160 going to want something to eat. These people were so long sold, 509 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:47,320 long nosed about the war that they're going. 510 00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:49,200 One of these days this war is going to be over and I'm going 511 00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:52,560 to want some turnips. And in a couple of months this 512 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:55,040 will all be over and we're going to need something to eat. 513 00:31:55,280 --> 00:31:58,200 They had not given up one bit. They were long nose. 514 00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:03,400 They were long sold about it. And so when you think about 515 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:06,760 those two things, when you find yourself in second Peter chapter 516 00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:09,240 3 verse 9, you find out something about our God. 517 00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:16,040 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise as some understand 518 00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:19,360 slowness. Instead, he is long nosed with 519 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:24,360 you. He's long sold with you, He's 520 00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:31,280 long hearted with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but 521 00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:36,560 everyone to come to repentance. God is far from complacent. 522 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:42,400 He is long sold with you and I so that we can be saved from our 523 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:46,640 sins through repentance. In other words, why does all 524 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:49,560 this matter? Because the gospel of Jesus 525 00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:54,840 Christ only advances when we are outside of our comfort zone. 526 00:32:57,400 --> 00:32:59,800 And when we are out of our comfort zone, all we're going to 527 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:08,120 want to do is get back in it. But when you have the fruit of 528 00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:16,000 the Spirit that is peace and patience, you can remain outside 529 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:19,320 of your comfort zone where the power of the Holy Spirit does 530 00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:23,360 His most work so you can have the greatest possible impact. 531 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:27,040 And while you are outside of your comfort zone, you will have 532 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:30,960 a peace that surpasses all understanding and a patient 533 00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:35,000 endurance to stay there until He's done with you. 534 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:39,080 That's why Second Corinthians chapter 4 says this. 535 00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:45,040 We know that our light and momentary troubles are achieving 536 00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:51,000 for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 537 00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:59,280 When you and I are long nosed, long sold, and at peace, we are 538 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:05,080 reaping an eternal reward that outpaces our present suffering. 539 00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:10,199 Why does this matter? Because if people are going to 540 00:34:10,199 --> 00:34:14,520 find the Lord, it is going to require people like you and me 541 00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:19,639 to step out of our comfort zone. And with the real fruit of the 542 00:34:19,639 --> 00:34:22,679 spirit of peace and patience, we can do that. 543 00:34:23,120 --> 00:34:24,520 We're moving to a time of decision. 544 00:34:29,080 --> 00:34:33,840 If you are in this room or you are watching online and you 545 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:36,600 don't know God, you don't have peace yet. 546 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:41,520 In fact, the Bible kind of sets up this imagery of you are at 547 00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:45,440 war with God. Your bitter enemies hear me, not 548 00:34:45,440 --> 00:34:48,560 because of what He's done, but because of what you've done. 549 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:54,760 But I have great news for you. The war can come to an end 550 00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:59,080 today. This God that you're at war with 551 00:34:59,480 --> 00:35:04,520 loves you so much that before your war with Him even started, 552 00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:08,840 He provided for you a way out. The Bible tells us that He sent 553 00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:15,280 his Son to die on the cross for our sins, for your sins, to ease 554 00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:19,400 the pain, to bring about a peace that can only be granted from 555 00:35:19,400 --> 00:35:22,240 Him. But it comes after your 556 00:35:22,240 --> 00:35:26,320 surrender and when you come into a right relationship with Him. 557 00:35:26,960 --> 00:35:30,280 The Bible says that God goes from being your enemy to being 558 00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:35,440 your friend and you become a son or a daughter. 559 00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:39,720 And when you become a son or a daughter, you become an heir to 560 00:35:39,720 --> 00:35:42,880 the promise and an heir to the Kingdom of heaven. 561 00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:46,360 And if I could tell you anything, I would tell you this. 562 00:35:47,120 --> 00:35:53,880 Don't put it off any longer. And you might have been sitting 563 00:35:53,880 --> 00:35:59,240 in here for weeks, some of you months, sometimes it's years. 564 00:35:59,720 --> 00:36:01,280 It's crazy. There's stories that get written 565 00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:10,200 here. And the voice of comfort and 566 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:15,680 complacency has won at every single one of these moments at 567 00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:19,280 our church because you know that there is a thing that you're 568 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:22,840 supposed to do. And you've said, well, maybe 569 00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:27,440 next week I'll talk to somebody. You have questions, you know, 570 00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:32,640 maybe next week I'll ask them. And next week has come and gone 571 00:36:32,960 --> 00:36:41,120 over and over and over again. And maybe today, through the 572 00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:45,720 power of the Holy Spirit, you'd be willing to step out of your 573 00:36:45,720 --> 00:36:49,320 comfort zone and into a conversation that could bring 574 00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:53,920 you a peace that surpasses all understanding. 575 00:36:54,800 --> 00:36:58,440 What I want to encourage you to do is in just a few moments, the 576 00:36:58,440 --> 00:37:00,360 people around you are going to stand and sing. 577 00:37:00,360 --> 00:37:02,880 Some of them are going to come to the steps and pray. 578 00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:07,120 And I want to encourage you to take what might be the scariest 579 00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:10,680 walk of your life that leads to the greatest relationship you've 580 00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:16,240 ever had and walk right over there underneath that screen 581 00:37:16,720 --> 00:37:19,680 next to the baptistry. And somebody would love to talk 582 00:37:19,680 --> 00:37:21,600 to you about what you're going through. 583 00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:25,160 If you're watching online, somebody's already populated it 584 00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:27,280 in the chat. And if you click on that, you'll 585 00:37:27,280 --> 00:37:29,360 have a private window where not everybody can see what you're 586 00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:32,040 talking about. And person will individually 587 00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:34,760 meet with you and talk with you and answer some of the questions 588 00:37:34,760 --> 00:37:37,320 and help you get connected to a church to make some of the 589 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:39,760 decisions that you need to make to the rest of you in the room. 590 00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:44,560 To those of you who already know Jesus, it is time for real fruit 591 00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:47,520 to be produced in our lives. Not the counterfeit stuff. 592 00:37:48,920 --> 00:37:52,720 Our comfort zone, our complacency are robbing the 593 00:37:52,720 --> 00:37:56,200 people we love of a relationship that they desperately need with 594 00:37:56,280 --> 00:38:00,960 Jesus. I'm praying that as a church we 595 00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:05,080 would step out and we'd allow God to do what only He can do 596 00:38:05,080 --> 00:38:07,520 through His power and His strength in our lives. 597 00:38:08,920 --> 00:38:10,480 Here's a tough question for you to wrestle with. 598 00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:15,200 When was the last time you stepped out of your comfort zone 599 00:38:15,200 --> 00:38:20,120 for the cause of Christ? Sometimes when I'm talking to 600 00:38:20,120 --> 00:38:22,680 people, they'll tell me their testimony of like when, when was 601 00:38:22,680 --> 00:38:25,320 the last time they'll be like, well, when I was in high school, 602 00:38:27,920 --> 00:38:35,320 when I was in college a couple years ago, I deep down inside, 603 00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:37,760 don't you want to be a part of a church where our story of the 604 00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:40,280 last time we stepped out and the last time the Holy Spirit 605 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:49,320 empowered us was yesterday, last week For God, just keep writing 606 00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:51,560 these stories. So then let me ask you a tougher 607 00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:54,200 question. When will the next time be? 608 00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:58,600 And I'm going to encourage you to spend some time praying about 609 00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:00,000 that. Would you guys stand with me? 610 00:39:04,640 --> 00:39:11,360 Heavenly Father, I want our church to be addicted to Your 611 00:39:11,360 --> 00:39:19,080 Holy Spirit. I want us to crave Your 612 00:39:19,080 --> 00:39:22,160 direction and Your power in our lives. 613 00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:30,840 We want to be blown around by You like sailboats in the wind. 614 00:39:31,120 --> 00:39:33,880 We just want to be ushered along by You. 615 00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:38,080 Take us to places we wouldn't normally go. 616 00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:40,480 Take us to places we could never go on our own. 617 00:39:43,360 --> 00:39:48,080 Now, there is nothing that we do as a church that has any power, 618 00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:53,120 any validity, any excellence without your Holy Spirit at 619 00:39:53,120 --> 00:39:57,400 work. And God, I believe there's 620 00:39:57,400 --> 00:40:01,560 nothing off limits to you. And so I'm asking that right 621 00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:05,360 now, not just at this location and not just online and not just 622 00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:09,160 at our other locations, but God, that every church that gathers 623 00:40:09,160 --> 00:40:13,640 today, that every person. Would get a clear prompting of 624 00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:17,880 what it is that you are asking them to do, asking them to stop 625 00:40:17,880 --> 00:40:21,560 doing, asking them to start doing, and that you would give 626 00:40:21,560 --> 00:40:25,840 us the strength and the patience and the peace to do it. 627 00:40:26,720 --> 00:40:28,600 In your name, I pray. Amen.