1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:03,400 Crossing family, it is my honor to introduce you to our preacher 2 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:07,480 this weekend, Ted Max Ted has been in ministry for the last 25 3 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:11,280 years and the last 13 years he served as the lead pastor of two 4 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:12,920 influential churches in Illinois. 5 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:16,040 He's married to his wife, Amy, and they have three children. 6 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:19,080 He also sits on the board of the Empowering Church Network. 7 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:21,680 He loves to train pastors and he spends some of his time 8 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:24,080 traveling around the country speaking to churches. 9 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:27,160 He loves to help churches maximize their impact through 10 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:30,800 their unique DNA. I met Ted a couple years ago at 11 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:33,520 a gathering of pastors, and he's been a guy who's helped spark 12 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:36,600 ideas and helped me realize how we can do even more to reach 13 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:39,760 people for Jesus Christ. So would you put a warm crossing 14 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:43,240 welcome together from my friend and our preacher, Ted Max? 15 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:47,920 Well, good morning crossing family. 16 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:49,280 My name's Ted Max is Clayton setting. 17 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:51,360 I just want to kind of just real quick shout out to your pastor. 18 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:54,200 I love your pastor and I got a chance to spend some value. 19 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:55,640 You can give it up for him. That's amazing. 20 00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:58,960 I got a chance to spend some time with him and just kind of 21 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:01,640 ask, you know, hey, like what's God doing in your church? 22 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:05,960 Staff people? And man, he just he lit up about 23 00:01:05,960 --> 00:01:08,720 you guys like he just is so excited and he's so proud of you 24 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,000 and what you're doing and accomplishing across the region. 25 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:13,720 And so I just want you to know you guys are in a great church 26 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:17,680 doing great things and the Kingdom is is happening here in 27 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:19,560 this place. And so I'm excited to be here 28 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:22,880 today as we kind of continue in this series through Corinthians. 29 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:25,720 And I was like kind of just in this space where I've been like 30 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:28,280 watching from A and like kind of taking it in. 31 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:30,520 And then Clayton gave me the passage I got to preach on. 32 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:32,840 And so I've been kind of just like letting it kind of sink 33 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:35,280 into my soul for the last like 6 weeks as I've been getting ready 34 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:37,560 and prepping. And I really do think God's got 35 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:40,000 something good for us today. I think there's something in 36 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:41,760 this for someone today. And I, and this is what I know 37 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:44,080 about church. Every week when you come to 38 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:46,600 church, not every week is the message for you. 39 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:48,720 Like if you notice that there's some weeks you come in like, 40 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:50,680 well, I don't know if that was for me, but every week the 41 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:53,440 message is for someone, Like every week someone comes in with 42 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:55,320 something, they're walking through a place they're in a 43 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:58,240 season they're in, and something will get said from this place 44 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:01,840 and it goes out over the waves, over the Internet into the 45 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:03,720 world. And someone hears it and God 46 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:06,920 does something powerful with it. And that is my prayer today is 47 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:10,000 that God would do that in and through what it is that we're 48 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:12,200 going to talk about today. And so I kind of want to set 49 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,320 this up because Paul has been going through and he in this 50 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:17,840 letter that gets written to this church, if you, if you know 51 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:20,360 anything about kind of the early church, when he would write a 52 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:22,720 letter, they would actually read this letter publicly. 53 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:25,200 Like, so like they get up in front of everyone and say, 54 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:27,120 here's what Paul has to say to you. 55 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:30,160 Here's the shepherd's heart, the pastor's heart, some things he 56 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:31,960 wants you to know. And in this chapter we're about 57 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:34,320 to read, he, he keeps this constant statement. 58 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:37,440 It's this question actually, he keeps asking over and over 59 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:39,200 again. He actually says this, do you 60 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:41,880 not know? Do you not know? 61 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:43,600 It's like he's basically saying, Hey, you should know. 62 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:45,960 These are some things that you should know in your life, but, 63 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:47,440 but, but you're not really living them. 64 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:49,400 And so he, he's kind of like asking the question, do you not 65 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:50,320 know? And then he's going to tell them 66 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:52,240 what they should know. Like, Hey, if you can remember 67 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:53,920 the thing you should know. If you do the thing you're 68 00:02:53,920 --> 00:02:56,480 supposed to do, then you're going to look like the way that 69 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:58,400 God wants you to look and you're going to live the way he wants 70 00:02:58,400 --> 00:02:59,920 you to live. And it's really, really good. 71 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:03,440 But do you not know? And so here's where he's going 72 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:05,240 to kind of dig into, he's going to basically say, listen, I want 73 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:09,680 to remind you who you are and I want to remind you what God did 74 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:11,640 for you. I want to remind you who you 75 00:03:11,640 --> 00:03:13,400 are. And I want to, I want to remind 76 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:15,120 you what God did for you. And so he's going to touch on a 77 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:17,040 couple subjects and I'm going to go and just give you what they 78 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:17,920 what they're going to kind of be. 79 00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:19,280 He's going to touch on immorality. 80 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:22,000 He's going to talk about lawsuits that were going on like 81 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:24,120 in the early church, things they were doing, they shouldn't be 82 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:25,040 doing. And he's going to talk about 83 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:27,120 identity. In fact, throughout the book, 84 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:29,360 he's going to talk about identity and he says it's one of 85 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:32,640 the most important things about you, who you are and who God 86 00:03:32,640 --> 00:03:34,560 wants you to be. And so the big question that 87 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:36,120 we're going to answer today is this right here. 88 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:38,480 And it's 1 you have to answer. It's personal for each and every 89 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:43,240 single one of us, including me. It's will you live like the 90 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:46,720 world or will you live like you belong to Christ? 91 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:50,320 Will you live like the world or you live like you belong to 92 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:52,000 Christ? So Paul has this message for the 93 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:54,240 church in Corinth and I believe it's a message for us today. 94 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:57,160 And so before we get into it, before we dive in, I want you to 95 00:03:57,160 --> 00:03:59,800 just help me out with something. I come from a church and 96 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:03,720 background of churches where the people in the church help me 97 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:05,720 preach. And what that means is like, 98 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,800 like if I say something that connects with you, I want you to 99 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:11,440 respond with like, like, Amen. And so we're going to practice 100 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:13,800 it across all of our locations. I'm going to count to 3 and I 101 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:15,640 want you to give me the best Amen that you got. 102 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:20,959 Are you ready 123? Hey, man, that's good. 103 00:04:20,959 --> 00:04:23,280 That's good. You help me while I preach to 104 00:04:23,280 --> 00:04:24,840 you because I'm just preaching to myself up here, right? 105 00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:27,680 So let's get into this. Here's the first thing that Paul 106 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:29,200 says. It's the first idea He says, 107 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:31,320 listen, the thing I want you to know church is I want you to 108 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:35,160 live differently. He's like you and I belong to a 109 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:36,800 higher court. We belong to a different 110 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:38,680 Kingdom. And what he's going to teach her 111 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:41,680 is really countercultural. Like it goes against what the 112 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:43,280 world says. He says the world says one 113 00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:45,280 thing, God says something different. 114 00:04:45,280 --> 00:04:47,160 So let's pick up verse 1, chapter 6. 115 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:50,000 Here's what he says. He says if any of you has a 116 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,240 dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the 117 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:55,800 ungodly for judgement instead of before the Lord's people? 118 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:59,240 Or do you not know that the Lord's people will judge the 119 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:01,280 world? He says someday you're going to 120 00:05:01,280 --> 00:05:03,240 judge the world. And if you are to judge the 121 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:06,400 world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases, small 122 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:08,680 things? Do you not know that we will 123 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:12,280 judge angels? How much more of the things of 124 00:05:12,280 --> 00:05:16,200 this life, Therefore, if you have a dispute about such 125 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:19,440 matters, do you ask for the ruling from those whose way of 126 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:23,600 life is scorned in the church? I say this to shame you. 127 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:25,720 He says, man, this is to shame you. 128 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:27,280 I'm gonna call this out in you. He says this. 129 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:32,080 Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to 130 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:35,840 judge a dispute between believers, but instead one 131 00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:38,640 brother takes another to court? And this in front of 132 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:42,080 unbelievers. So Paul kind of digs in and he 133 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:44,240 confronts these believers who were kind of suing each other. 134 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:46,320 You know, they were like, hey, listen, I don't like something 135 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:47,560 you did. And so I'm going to take it to a 136 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:49,800 public court and and we're going to get out there and we're going 137 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:51,040 to air it in front of all these people. 138 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:53,840 And it's just like court today, you know, like if you were to 139 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:57,120 sue someone, it's public record. You can find out like you can 140 00:05:57,120 --> 00:05:58,840 Google someone and like, you can find out if they've been 141 00:05:58,840 --> 00:06:00,680 involved in a suit. It pops up usually pretty quick 142 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:03,280 and you can go read about it. That's still true today. 143 00:06:03,280 --> 00:06:05,880 And it was true then when they would sue, they would take you 144 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:08,760 to this secular open air court and they would get a magistrate 145 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:11,520 or a local governor to preside over it. 146 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:12,880 And then they would bring you out there. 147 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:15,520 And then anyone who's walking by in this open court could just 148 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:17,760 like, oh, yeah, what's going on? What's up, What's up? 149 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:19,240 What are you suing about? You know, what are you mad 150 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:21,120 about? You know, and we kind of have 151 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:22,200 that, don't we? There's a little piece of us 152 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:24,440 that when something's going on, we want to know, right? 153 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:25,480 Like, I don't know if you're that way. 154 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:28,080 Like, like we can doom scroll on social media just for that 155 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:29,520 alone. Like what's going on in the 156 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:32,120 world, What's happening with what they say, what they do, You 157 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:34,720 know, we want to know. And he said this is kind of a 158 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:37,040 problem. He says, listen, there's going 159 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:39,160 to come a day that we because we're Co heirs with Christ, 160 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:42,240 we're going to judge the world. We're going to judge Angel 161 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:44,280 angels. He says, can't you handle these 162 00:06:44,280 --> 00:06:46,800 little disputes on your own? He says, here's where the 163 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:48,040 problem comes. He says you're actually 164 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:51,240 affecting your witness. Like if you are Christians and 165 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,200 non Christians are watching you handle situations and you can't 166 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:57,040 handle them in a godly way, you basically are ruining your 167 00:06:57,040 --> 00:06:58,680 witness with all the people around you. 168 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,680 And this isn't just like whether they had a right legal system. 169 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:06,240 It's about whether they were showing the world the love and 170 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:09,280 the unity of Christ. He said that's a real problem. 171 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:12,160 In fact, John 13 says it this way. 172 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:16,920 It says by this everyone will know that you are my disciples 173 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:19,320 if you have love for one another. 174 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:22,160 He said you want to know how how people are going to know that 175 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:24,560 you are with Jesus, that you were bought with a price and 176 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:25,680 that you live for him, that you follow him. 177 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:28,720 It's going to be based on the way that we, the church, 178 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:31,560 actually love one another. That means when a dispute comes 179 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:33,760 up like, like, am I going to love you in the midst of the 180 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:37,360 dispute and can I disagree with you and still love you? 181 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:39,320 I always like to use the statement. 182 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:41,080 I've said this in church for a long time as a pastor, which is 183 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:44,240 like a dangerous thing to say. I always would tell my church, I 184 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:47,640 love you, but I don't like you all the time. 185 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:51,440 I think about that. I can love you and not like I 186 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:54,400 got kids. I love my kids, but I don't like 187 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:56,720 them all the time. And they hate it when I say that 188 00:07:56,720 --> 00:07:58,560 I'll look at them and I'll be like, listen, right now, I don't 189 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:02,120 like you, but I love you. And there's truth to it. 190 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:04,720 He says the love is what you've got to be able to show. 191 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:07,080 Listen, you can disagree, but can you do it in a loving way? 192 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:10,680 And listen, this isn't just about suing people. 193 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:13,040 Let me breakthrough the actual issue here, Paul. 194 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:15,000 Paul is saying there's a problem when it's public. 195 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:16,640 It's more about public. Did you know that you can 196 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:18,960 actually do this in the court of public opinion? 197 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:21,840 Like you might be sitting here right now, all of the locations 198 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:24,480 online, which we're glad that we're together today. 199 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:27,240 But like you might be saying, well, I've never sued anyone, so 200 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:30,120 this passage isn't for me. It's not for me, and I have no 201 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:31,560 intentions of suing anyone, so I'm good. 202 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:34,080 Let me ask this question in a different way. 203 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:36,679 How many of you show of hands all locations? 204 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:38,799 Help me out. How many of you in the last two 205 00:08:38,799 --> 00:08:42,360 weeks have seen something someone has posted online, a 206 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:45,720 dispute towards another believer in some capacity that you've 207 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,480 read in the last two weeks? Let me see real quick, if your 208 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:52,280 hands not up, it means you're not on social media because 209 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:54,960 that's happening. And listen, I'm not saying that 210 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:58,080 you can't say something that's true, like like why I posted it, 211 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:00,480 It was true. That might be true. 212 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,160 It might be true that it's true, But was it loving? 213 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:06,920 Did you give him truth with love? 214 00:09:07,560 --> 00:09:09,680 Like Jesus was masterful. If he had no problem, he would 215 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:11,880 never stray away from truth. In fact, I'm really kind of sick 216 00:09:11,880 --> 00:09:14,240 and tired of what's going on in the American church and what's 217 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:16,360 going on in the American church today when it comes to truth. 218 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:19,680 There's a whole bunch of churches and pastors that are 219 00:09:19,680 --> 00:09:21,840 like holding back from telling the truth because they think 220 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:24,360 it's kind not to tell people what the Bible says. 221 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:28,280 And I would disagree with them. I think that truth and clarity 222 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:31,640 is kindness. When we tell people what God has 223 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:35,320 to say as the creator and the designer, we are not being mean 224 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:38,280 when we do it, even if it contradicts their lifestyle or 225 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:40,080 their choices. What we are doing is we are 226 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:43,360 being kind because we're saying there's a God who loves you that 227 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:46,840 might just disagree with you and his way is a better way. 228 00:09:47,560 --> 00:09:50,360 That's what we're teaching. And listen, this is what Paul is 229 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:52,280 saying. He says, listen, listen, listen. 230 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:55,800 When you dispute with other Christians and you take it 231 00:09:55,800 --> 00:10:00,160 public from the outside, we as Christians look ridiculous. 232 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:03,200 And we're like, no, no, we want to invite you to be a part of 233 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:04,760 our family. It's such a beautiful thing. 234 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:06,480 Join the church. And then they're watching the 235 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:09,000 church fight with each other. And like, I don't know about 236 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:11,320 that. I don't know if that looks good. 237 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:12,960 I don't know if I want to be a part of that. 238 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:16,280 Maybe I'll just stay where I am. And Paul says, man, you've 239 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:20,640 already been defeated. Listen, God has called us to 240 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:22,920 handle things with grace inside the family. 241 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:25,360 It's kind of like a story I heard several years ago about 242 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:28,080 two neighbors. A guy owned a house and the 243 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:29,400 house next door went up for sale. 244 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:31,360 And between the house there was a fence. 245 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:33,880 And so when the new person came in, they wanted to build the 246 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:35,720 rest of the fence out around their property. 247 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:37,680 And so like, oh, this is great. One side's done. 248 00:10:37,680 --> 00:10:40,640 And as someone who is usually pretty cheap and thrifty, I'm 249 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:44,120 like, sweet, that's 1/3 of this project I do not have to pay 250 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:45,640 for. And so they got in. 251 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:47,600 And so they got a survey done of their property. 252 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:49,800 And so someone came out and found the like basically the, 253 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:53,240 the, the, the lines of the property line and they trace it 254 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:55,440 all out and gave them a drawing. Well, they found out that the 255 00:10:55,640 --> 00:10:59,640 fence that was established and in place was actually on their 256 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:02,040 property. And the person that built the 257 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:03,000 fence, they built it on the property. 258 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:04,480 And when they bought the property, they didn't know about 259 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:05,240 it. They didn't care about it. 260 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:06,160 They were excited about the fence. 261 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:08,120 But when they saw that now the fence was on some of their 262 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:09,880 property, they were like, Oh no, no, no. 263 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:12,000 And so they went to the neighbor and said, hey, listen, you're 264 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:13,280 going to have to move your fence. 265 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:16,000 You're on our property. And they're like, what? 266 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:18,200 It's like that fence has been here for years and you want this 267 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:19,560 little tiny corner. What are you going to do with 268 00:11:19,560 --> 00:11:21,440 the corner back here of your property that you didn't even 269 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:23,080 know it was yours, but now you want it? 270 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:25,160 It's like, listen, you're going to move the fence or I'm going 271 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:28,120 to take you to court. And so they went to court over 272 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:30,080 this that paid all these lawyers this money and stuff. 273 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:33,360 The fence gets fixed, but now it's crooked and it's janky 274 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:35,080 looking. And at the end of it, the 275 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:36,760 lawyers made more money than the neighbors did. 276 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:39,000 And the fence is still crooked and the relationship is broken. 277 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:41,680 Like, don't tell me that after that was done, they're like, 278 00:11:41,680 --> 00:11:43,240 well, I'm glad we got that fence thing working out. 279 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:45,520 Would you like to come over for dinner? 280 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:48,240 Not happening, right? Would you like to come to church 281 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:52,440 with me? Not happening, I see. 282 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:54,360 When Christians put their witness in the hands of the 283 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:56,520 world instead of living out reconciliations. 284 00:11:56,520 --> 00:12:00,160 Paul's warning is if you handle conflict like the world, it will 285 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:03,800 destroy our credibility. In fact, we're, we're more 286 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:06,840 public now than we've ever been, aren't we? 287 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:08,800 Like we're more public than everything. 288 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:12,960 I, I like to tell my kids like, like I was in college before the 289 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:17,280 Internet was readily accessible. And, and that's when my kids go, 290 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:19,320 man, you're old. You know, like, like, I remember 291 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:21,320 when, like if you wanted to make a phone call, I had to go to a 292 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:24,280 pay phone. Like, come on, some of you, some 293 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:25,200 of you are giving your age right now. 294 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:27,360 You're like, yes, a man. I remember that like, like, I'd 295 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:30,240 have to find the phone, get the quarter, put it in. 296 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:31,560 And you know what? We had a little trick. 297 00:12:31,560 --> 00:12:33,080 This is terrible, but I'm going to confess to it. 298 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:35,760 We would go and I needed to call my parents to tell them to pick 299 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:36,720 me up. I didn't have 1/4. 300 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:39,440 So there's a little trick. You dial the operator. 301 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:41,520 There was actually a person on the other side, you know, they 302 00:12:41,560 --> 00:12:43,840 answered who you want to call. You know, you tell them where 303 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:46,440 you want to call and then, hey, as soon as it beeps, as soon as 304 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:49,760 they pick up, you say your name and then we'll ask if they want 305 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:53,280 to accept the charges. And so when it beeps and it says 306 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:59,160 say your name, we would say pick me up, no collect charge. 307 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:02,360 You know, that's how we had to call to get a ride home. 308 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:06,000 But I share that because that's changed, hasn't it? 309 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:08,240 Like we are, we are more connected. 310 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:10,960 Like, like now you, you, you, someone could move out of your 311 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:14,320 neighborhood 10/15/20 years ago and they just disappeared. 312 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:15,800 They're just gone. We don't know. 313 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:17,080 I hope they're living life out there somewhere. 314 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:20,360 Now you can follow people wherever they go, like like you 315 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:23,080 follow them on social media. You become friends on Facebook. 316 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:26,040 You know what they ate this morning Because they're like, 317 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:28,400 this is my breakfast for the world. 318 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:31,640 You're welcome. We send it out And So what 319 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:34,560 happens is, is that now we are under watch more than ever. 320 00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:36,640 People know where you are, what you believe, what you think. 321 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:40,200 In fact, I, I spoke to church like a month ago and I was, I 322 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:42,440 was preaching and I, I kind of went off on a tangent that 323 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:44,920 wasn't in my notes. I just said something and the 324 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:46,240 media team picked it up. They liked it. 325 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:47,880 And so they snipped it and they put it out online. 326 00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:51,760 And after about a couple days after I just finished preaching 327 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:53,760 there, I started getting calls and texts and emails from 328 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:55,360 friends all over the country who are pastors. 329 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:57,760 They go, man, that clip of yours was, was really good. 330 00:13:57,760 --> 00:13:59,280 That thing's blowing up. And I'm like, what clip? 331 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:02,200 What did I say? Where was I I got real nervous. 332 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:03,800 So I was like, I don't what do you mean? 333 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:06,360 They said well hey, did you preach just recently this 334 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:07,880 church? And I was like, so I went online 335 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:09,920 to find the clip and I found the clip and it's got the little 336 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:13,320 view hashed and Shahani people watched it and it was just at 337 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:15,880 this church and I didn't look at the shares or anything, just the 338 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:18,640 church's views. It was like 250,000 views 339 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:21,600 already. And I was like, oh, I better 340 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:22,600 watch this. Like what did I say? 341 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:23,760 I hope it was theologically accurate. 342 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:24,520 So I went through and watched it. 343 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:26,320 Thank God it was OK. It was fine. 344 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:28,880 I approve of this message. But then I did made the mistake 345 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:32,400 of it and read the comments. Yeah, that's a mistake. 346 00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:33,280 It's a trap. Don't do it. 347 00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:35,040 Like I got in there. And of course, the first ones, 348 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:37,520 the top ones were like fire preach. 349 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:39,480 Who's this pastor? I'm like, OK, let's go. 350 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:41,400 All right. And then there were other ones 351 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:47,120 that I didn't like. You see, we live in the space 352 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:49,480 where we're in the world of public opinion. 353 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:52,200 Listen, right now I'm speaking. There's thousands of people that 354 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:55,600 are hearing the words that I say right now between online and 355 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:59,160 between what gets posted later, maybe 10s of thousands, you see. 356 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:01,760 And when you think about that, just think about this. 357 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:05,280 Our words and what we say has the power to shape people's 358 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:07,120 perception. And when conflict comes and 359 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:10,720 listen, it will and it will. Can I give you a truth about you 360 00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:13,800 and conflict? You're in one of three spaces 361 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:16,360 with conflict right now. You are either in the middle of 362 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:18,560 conflict right now in some aspect, an area of your life, 363 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:20,840 you are coming out of conflict right now, or you're about to go 364 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:22,960 into conflict. Those are your three positions 365 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:28,000 in this world, in this life. God says, listen, in this, in 366 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:30,880 this world, you're going to have troubles, you're going to face 367 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:32,320 tribulation. And I think that's been really 368 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:34,360 true in the last couple weeks as we're watching what's going on, 369 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:36,120 not just in the US but around the world. 370 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:39,480 There's a lot of stuff happening, there's trouble, 371 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:44,080 there's tribulation. He says you got to ask yourself, 372 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:47,000 when you walk into conflict, am I more concerned with winning 373 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,520 the argument? Am I more concerned with winning 374 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:53,520 the fight? Or am I more concerned with 375 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:55,800 honoring Christ with my life and my words? 376 00:15:56,640 --> 00:16:00,480 And Paul says, listen, listen, live different. 377 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:02,720 The second thing is he says this. 378 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:04,080 He says, I want you to live transformed. 379 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:05,920 He's going to speak to your identity. 380 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:08,640 He says, listen, I want you to remember who you were, and I 381 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:13,000 want you to know who you are. I want you to remember who you 382 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:13,920 were, and I want you to know who you are. 383 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:16,000 Here's what he says. He says it this way in First 384 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,080 Corinthians. He says the very fact that you 385 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:20,320 have lawsuits among you means that you have been completely 386 00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:23,360 defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? 387 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:26,720 Why not rather be cheated instead? 388 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:28,360 You yourselves cheat and do wrong. 389 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:31,240 And you do this to your own brothers and sisters. 390 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:35,360 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the 391 00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:36,960 Kingdom of God? And this is where Paul just kind 392 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:38,840 of goes off. Now remember this. 393 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:42,160 This is being read publicly. Here's what he says. 394 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:47,640 Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the Kingdom of 395 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:49,320 God? Do not be deceived, neither the 396 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:53,680 sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers nor men who have 397 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:55,720 sex with men. He goes on and says, nor 398 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:58,800 thieves, nor the greedy, nor the drunkards, nor the slanders, nor 399 00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:01,160 the swindlers will inherit the Kingdom of God. 400 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:06,160 He says that's the list and the list goes on, but he kind of 401 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:08,200 just lumps this thing in. He says, listen, if you're 402 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:10,880 living this way, you're not going to inherit what God has 403 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:13,119 for you. And that is what some of you 404 00:17:13,319 --> 00:17:16,240 were. That's what some of you were. 405 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:17,839 That's what some of you might even be right now. 406 00:17:17,839 --> 00:17:20,599 And today in this place, that's who I am right now. 407 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:23,200 That's either who you were or who you are. 408 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:28,240 And then he says this. He says, but, and I love this 409 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:32,520 because I love big butts and I will not lie like I love this. 410 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:35,240 This is like one of the best butts in the Bible. 411 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:38,920 He says, but you were washed, say washed. 412 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:41,240 I love this. He says, you were washed, you 413 00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:43,160 were sanctified. Say sanctified. 414 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:46,120 And then he goes on. He says you were justified. 415 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:52,160 He says this is the thing you were, but it's not who you are. 416 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:56,000 He says Jesus showed up and he washed you. 417 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:59,480 He sanctified you. He justified you in the name of 418 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:02,920 the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 419 00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:06,600 Do you not know? He says, listen, I know who you 420 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:09,800 were. I know what you've done, I know 421 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:12,280 the life you've been living. He says, but don't forget who 422 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:15,720 Jesus is and what he did. He says this crazy thing. 423 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:19,320 He said, why would you not rather just be wronged or 424 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:21,880 cheated? And that sounds crazy that 425 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:23,800 Paul's saying that he's like, listen, I'd rather you get this 426 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:26,120 right, but wouldn't you rather be wronged or cheated? 427 00:18:26,120 --> 00:18:27,480 And they're like, no, I don't want to be wronged. 428 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:29,520 I don't want to be cheated. But why does he ask this? 429 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:34,080 Because it's a crazy question until you remember Jesus. 430 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:38,960 Like, think about Jesus. Jesus was wronged, Jesus was 431 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:41,280 cheated, and then Jesus was crucified. 432 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:43,720 Like when they arrested him. I don't know how many of you 433 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:46,240 know this, but when they went and got Jesus, the night that he 434 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:47,600 was in the garden, he was praying. 435 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:50,360 He was there with his disciples. They'd fallen asleep. 436 00:18:50,360 --> 00:18:52,800 Jesus is there. He's asking God if this cup can 437 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:54,960 pass me by, Not my will, but your will be done. 438 00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:58,160 And then they come and Judas now betrays him. 439 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:01,240 They take him to the Sanhedrin, to this court at night. 440 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:05,280 It was illegal to do court proceedings at night in Jewish 441 00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:07,560 custom. So they did it under the guise 442 00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:09,600 of night. They brought in false testimony. 443 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:11,160 They can't catch Jesus in anything. 444 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:14,520 And so finally someone accuses him of being the Son of God. 445 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:17,240 And then when Jesus doesn't deny it, he actually even says the 446 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:20,120 words like, well, you said it. I didn't say it, you said it. 447 00:19:20,120 --> 00:19:23,280 They were like, that's enough blasphemy. 448 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:27,160 And so they take him to Pilate to get permission to kill him. 449 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:29,640 Pilate doesn't see any problem with him, but the people are 450 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:31,440 adamant. So he hasn't flogged and beaten, 451 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:33,640 trying to like, is that enough? They're like, no, we need to 452 00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:35,720 kill him. He tries to release Barabbas to 453 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:38,680 him, and they're like, we don't want Barabbas set Barabbas free. 454 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:40,720 We want Jesus to die, crucify him. 455 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:43,880 And so they take him. They strip him, they mock him, 456 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:47,000 they spit on him. He's so beaten up at this point 457 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:50,880 that they make him carry across a beam through the city, through 458 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:53,800 the Via Delarosa, the way of pain in the way of suffering, 459 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:56,800 and he can't carry it. So they find this guy, Simon, a 460 00:19:56,800 --> 00:19:59,280 sirene, and they say you're going to carry it for him. 461 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:01,920 And it helps Jesus get to the hill where they're going to kill 462 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:05,240 him. They draw Dr. Stakes through his 463 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:08,680 wrists and through his feet and they suspend him there between 464 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:12,320 heaven and earth. And as he's on the cross. 465 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:15,720 The way that the cross kills you is excruciating. 466 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:19,240 In fact, the word excruciating comes from 2 words X crucio out 467 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:23,280 of the cross. Is where we get the word and you 468 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:25,360 don't die from bleeding out on a cross. 469 00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:28,240 You die from suffocation on a cross. 470 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:31,840 Because what you have to do is as your body begins to sink on 471 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:35,000 the cross, you have to rise up with the strength that you have 472 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:39,680 on the nails so that you can put breath in your lungs. 473 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:41,840 And then you come back down and you breathe as long as you can. 474 00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:46,680 And what eventually gets you is when you run out of air and your 475 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:49,720 body has no more strength, you die because you cannot breathe 476 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:52,600 while you are surrounded by the thing that could give you life. 477 00:20:54,760 --> 00:21:00,760 And while Jesus is in that pain and he's on that cross, and he's 478 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:08,520 been utterly wronged at every turn, Jesus speaks with the air 479 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:13,880 that he's put in his lungs. And he speaks to his Father who 480 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:20,080 is in heaven, and he says, Father, forgive them, for they 481 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:30,360 know not what they do. Paul says don't forget what he 482 00:21:30,360 --> 00:21:35,080 did for you and live as if it's true. 483 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:40,080 He says this is what some of you were. 484 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:43,120 You were greed. You were sexual morality. 485 00:21:43,120 --> 00:21:45,080 You were idolatry, You were drunkenness. 486 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:46,960 He gives us a list. He says. 487 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:52,560 But that's who you were. Who you are is someone who has 488 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:55,720 been washed, sanctified, justified. 489 00:21:57,040 --> 00:21:58,320 Here's what it means. Yeah. 490 00:21:58,320 --> 00:21:59,520 Come on. Somebody give me that. 491 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:03,280 Come on. Here's what they mean. 492 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:05,120 Here's what he's saying to you and me. 493 00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:06,720 I need you to hear this because these are words, right? 494 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:08,240 They're kind of spiritual, churchy words. 495 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:09,960 What does it mean? It means he cleans you up. 496 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:13,680 Wash means he cleans you. The second word means he sets 497 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:15,720 you apart. He has a plan for you, a 498 00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:16,840 purpose. Like when you come to Jesus, 499 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:19,360 he's like, hey, I just saved you, so you're welcome. 500 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:21,080 He says, I saved you for a purpose. 501 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:22,880 I saved you because I got some work for you to do. 502 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:24,880 I got something inside you that's been in there, that's 503 00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:26,240 been a gift of yours since you were born. 504 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:27,880 You didn't know what it was there for, but I know it was 505 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:29,280 there for because I put it there. 506 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:31,880 And now that I've set you aside, I put you on a path, now walk it 507 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:33,200 out. That's what I've got for you. 508 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:34,240 And then he says the third thing. 509 00:22:34,360 --> 00:22:36,120 I've made you righteous before God. 510 00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:40,000 That's what Jesus does, just cover your sins. 511 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:42,240 He wipes them out. Psalm 103 says this. 512 00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:44,200 Have you seen this first? I love this first, here's what 513 00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:46,320 he says about God. He says as far as the east is 514 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:48,640 from the West. So far has he removed our 515 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:51,720 transgressions from us. I love this verse. 516 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:55,080 It means that all the things I've done wrong, my past, my 517 00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:57,920 present, my future sin, Jesus isn't like, all right, listen, 518 00:22:57,920 --> 00:22:59,880 I'm going to cover it up and keep it temporarily covered. 519 00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:01,880 But man, if you don't walk straight, I'm going to remind 520 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:03,840 you of it. I'm going to, I'm going to keep 521 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:05,800 it out here in front of you just so you can know, like I'm going 522 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:07,920 to calculate it and hold it and just, hey, just don't don't 523 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:10,400 forget. And what we do is some of us, we 524 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:12,160 tend to walk that way. Can I just speak to someone here 525 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:13,400 today? Let me say this, Some of you who 526 00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:16,520 have been saved for a long time, you are still walking around 527 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:19,320 like you are the old you. You're still walking around 528 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:21,080 like, well, you know, I did this, I made the mistake. 529 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:22,560 I don't know if God can use me, man. 530 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:24,680 I know the crossing needs someone to lead a small group, 531 00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:26,080 but I just don't know if I'm qualified. 532 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:28,120 You're not. Let me just say that to you. 533 00:23:28,120 --> 00:23:29,640 I can say that about everybody. I can say about Clayton. 534 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:32,280 I can say about me. You're not Jesus is qualified 535 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:35,160 and he's qualifying you. He's saving you, redeeming you, 536 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:37,240 giving a hope and a future. He's the one that works it out 537 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:39,040 in you. Stop walking around like you're 538 00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:41,480 the old you. Do you know who holds on to the 539 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:46,960 past really, really well? We do, don't we? 540 00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:49,480 Maybe it's not you. All right, I'll just talk to me. 541 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:50,600 Maybe it's just me. All right. 542 00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:52,800 I have a tendency that I can tell people that I've forgiven 543 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:54,560 them of something like, oh, it's fine. 544 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:57,040 It's in the past, man. Just it's buried, right? 545 00:23:57,040 --> 00:23:59,720 No big deal. Why is it then when I see them 546 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:03,520 or something that is said triggers me that I can all of a 547 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:05,680 sudden get in touch with the feeling real fast of when they 548 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:08,360 hurt me or betrayed me? Obviously it's just me. 549 00:24:08,360 --> 00:24:10,160 I see all the nodding heads but none of y'all are with me. 550 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:13,200 Like like like for real like oh I forgive you. 551 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:15,320 But then I see you. I'm like I don't like you still 552 00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:20,480 like I want to. And I know what Jesus does. 553 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:23,000 I know Jesus wants me to, but I don't want to right now. 554 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:25,480 That's where I'm at. Why? 555 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:28,240 Because I'm holding on even when I don't want to be. 556 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:30,120 I'm holding on. You know who doesn't hold on to 557 00:24:30,120 --> 00:24:31,760 the past? God. 558 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:33,840 God's like, I don't have any use for that. 559 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:35,320 It's not going to do you any good. 560 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:36,440 It's not going to do me any good. 561 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:38,240 I'm more concerned about your present and your future because 562 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:39,200 listen, can I just say this to you? 563 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:41,600 You can't do anything about yesterday, but you got a whole 564 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:44,120 lot you can do about tomorrow. Somebody say Amen. 565 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,760 That's just true. And God's like, I got that for 566 00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:50,120 you. I want to give you one last 567 00:24:50,120 --> 00:24:51,560 thing. We were Speaking of final words, 568 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:53,160 right? Final words on the cross. 569 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:56,280 You said it is finished. At the very end of his life. 570 00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:59,120 He said it is finished. You know, he said Father, 571 00:24:59,120 --> 00:25:00,280 forgive him. There's all these statements 572 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:02,120 from the cross, but he says this statement at the very end of his 573 00:25:02,120 --> 00:25:04,360 life is the Bible says that He says it is finished. 574 00:25:04,360 --> 00:25:06,480 And it says he bowed his head and he gave up his spirit. 575 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:10,240 It was like with his last breath he went up for his last bit of 576 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:11,960 air. He got a hold of it, and then he 577 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:13,680 cried something out from the cross. 578 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:16,080 And it says that then when he came down from that breath, when 579 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:20,200 it left his body, it was the last one he had and he died. 580 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:21,480 I want to give you the word that he used. 581 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:24,360 It was actually a singular word that has a meaning, a very deep 582 00:25:24,360 --> 00:25:26,160 meaning, but he used this word to Telestai. 583 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:29,840 He shouted out his last breath as he rose up on the cross. 584 00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:32,800 He breathed in to tell us die, and he died. 585 00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:36,640 Now to tell us die, This word means to bring to an end, to 586 00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:38,360 complete, to accomplish, to fulfill. 587 00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:41,480 Jesus wasn't just saying something has ended. 588 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:43,720 He was saying something's been accomplished forever. 589 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:45,880 Can I just give you this two different areas theologically? 590 00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:48,160 Here's what it meant. It meant that Jesus had declared 591 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:51,240 his mission in bearing sin, fulfilling prophecy, and 592 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:53,920 securing salvation was completely and permanently 593 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:56,400 accomplished. He said that's theologically 594 00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:58,880 what that word means. Can I give you practically and 595 00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:02,560 culturally when Jesus shouted it out, remember he was surrounded 596 00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:05,400 on the cross by a bunch of people, 1st century Christians. 597 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:06,920 They heard this word to Telestai. 598 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:08,200 It meant something very different to them. 599 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:10,800 There was no theological understanding behind it at this 600 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:12,480 point. Like there weren't a bunch of 601 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:15,240 like scholars sitting around going to Telestai. 602 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:17,200 It's good, yes, theologically it's beautiful. 603 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:20,960 No one's doing that. But he shouted out to Telestai 604 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:24,880 and all the people around the cross heard something very 605 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:28,400 unique because in the 1st century to Telestye is what you 606 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:31,360 would write on a receipt. So if you weren't to go into 607 00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:33,680 business with someone, let's say I walk up to you, ma'am, and I 608 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:35,760 say I love what you're doing. I like to buy some of your 609 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:37,160 goods. I'd like to purchase them. 610 00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:39,240 I don't have all the cash right now, but I'd like to pay them 611 00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:40,680 off over time. You agree? 612 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:43,120 She writes me a receipt. On the receipt it says you owe 613 00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:45,280 this much. She would keep the receipt. 614 00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:46,440 I would get a copy of the receipt. 615 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:49,240 And what happened is as I make payments to it, each time I make 616 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:52,360 a payment, they would add the sum on to the parchment or on to 617 00:26:52,360 --> 00:26:55,720 the animal skin. When I finally get my final 618 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:58,600 payment together and I come in and I bring my bag of coins and 619 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:00,120 I place them down, please count them. 620 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:03,000 And it's zeroed out the sum. They wouldn't just write 0, 621 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:07,760 they'd write to Telestai. And here's what it means. 622 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:10,880 It means the receipt has been paid in full. 623 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:15,600 It means that the debt that was owed is done for all time. 624 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:20,000 And I love this because Jesus uses this very practical word in 625 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:22,520 that moment. And he said, listen, you and I 626 00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:24,640 owe a death. Let me show you. 627 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:26,080 Here's what the Bible says. The Bible says this way in 628 00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:28,680 Romans 6. It says for the wages of sin is 629 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,760 death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our 630 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:34,360 Lord. It means that you and I, when we 631 00:27:34,360 --> 00:27:38,560 first sin, from the moment we sin, we automatically owe a 632 00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:40,920 death for that sin. Have you noticed that it became 633 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:43,800 really easy for us to sin? Let me just give it to you this 634 00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:44,680 way. I'm a parent. 635 00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:48,200 I got 3 kids and I, and I love them and I had my kids, man. 636 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:49,840 It was like the most, it was beautiful, right? 637 00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:52,080 These cute little things come out, they're just sinless and 638 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:54,080 they're spotless. And you know, I'm sure they're a 639 00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:57,080 little messy. They puke, they poop, they want 640 00:27:57,080 --> 00:27:58,360 to eat everything. But you know, you have dreams 641 00:27:58,360 --> 00:27:59,400 for your kids right out of the gate. 642 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:01,600 Like I wept when I held my daughter for the very first 643 00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:03,240 time. My, my oldest, Addison, I cried 644 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:06,400 like a baby. But I remember early on, we 645 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:09,640 wanted her to learn to walk. And then as soon as she walked, 646 00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:11,000 I, I wished that she didn't walk. 647 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:13,040 I was like, no, no, stay out of that. 648 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:14,600 Holy cow. You're quick, you know, And then 649 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:16,800 I wanted her to talk and I remember. 650 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:18,440 I like, I like, all right. Hey, listen, I want her first 651 00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:21,120 words to be daddy. And so anytime mommy wasn't 652 00:28:21,120 --> 00:28:24,160 around, I'd be like, Dad, dad, dad, dad, Mom comes in. 653 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:27,520 I'm like Mama. Yeah, you know, like, like I 654 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:29,720 wanted to be first words. So once they got through first 655 00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:30,920 words, then I was like, right, well, that's good. 656 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:33,760 You don't need any other words because you know what happened? 657 00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:35,960 I remember. I remember clearly as I can 658 00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:39,080 close my eyes and see it, I was feeding my first born daughter. 659 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:41,480 I was giving her food. We were doing the airplane game. 660 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:44,880 You've done that with your kids. We're like open there, you know, 661 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:47,280 like trying to get in there. And I remember the first time 662 00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:49,200 that my daughter just like all of a sudden locked eyes with me. 663 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:52,640 She just locked eyes. And as I was about to feed her, 664 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:55,480 I was like, open your mouth, Daddy has something for you. 665 00:28:55,480 --> 00:29:01,560 She looked at me and she goes, no, I was like, who taught you 666 00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:04,840 that word, mom? You know, like like I was like I 667 00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:08,720 said, where did that come from? Right, Because sin, nature is in 668 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:12,640 US, but it's natural. And Paul's like kind of calling 669 00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:14,560 this out. He says, listen, I need you to 670 00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:16,280 see this. Like, like, like, like it's 671 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:18,160 going to be in you, but what are you going to do with it? 672 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:20,600 Are you going to fight it? You're going to step away from 673 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:21,840 it. You're going to step out of it. 674 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:24,840 He says, remember who you were, but remember, it's not who you 675 00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:26,720 are. And then he kind of changed his 676 00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:27,800 gears here. I'm going to give you the last 677 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:28,520 thing. It's the third thing. 678 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:29,680 He does this. He says, I want you to live 679 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:31,480 pure. He says, I want you to live 680 00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:33,040 pure. Listen, your body is God's 681 00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:35,040 temple. It's actually His dwelling 682 00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:36,160 place. It's what He has for you. 683 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:38,320 In fact, let me read it for you. First Corinthians 6, He says it 684 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:41,080 this way. He says I have the right to do 685 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:43,920 anything you say. I have the right to do anything 686 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:45,680 you say, but, but not everything is beneficial. 687 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:48,360 I have the right to do anything, but I will not be mastered by 688 00:29:48,360 --> 00:29:50,960 anything you say. Food is for the stomach and the 689 00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:53,920 stomach for food, and God will destroy them both because he's 690 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:56,560 not in the carnal things, He's not in the physical things, He's 691 00:29:56,560 --> 00:29:59,280 in the spiritual things. He says the body, however, is 692 00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:02,440 not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord and the Lord 693 00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:04,360 for the body. It was made, designed by His 694 00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:06,120 power. God raised the Lord from the 695 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:10,120 dead, and He will also raise us. Do you not know that your bodies 696 00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:12,600 are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of 697 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:14,360 Christ and unite them with a prostitute? 698 00:30:14,360 --> 00:30:18,920 He's like no, never. Do you not know that who unites 699 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:20,920 himself with a prostitute is one with her and body? 700 00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:24,040 For it is said the two will become one flesh. 701 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:28,720 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 702 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:32,040 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits 703 00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:34,600 are outside of the body, but whoever sins sexually sins 704 00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:38,880 against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies 705 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:42,240 are temples of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have 706 00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:46,040 received from God? You are not your own. 707 00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:49,280 You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your 708 00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:52,680 bodies. See, Paul turns this, this this 709 00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:56,080 really kind of specific sin and the reason I want to, I want to 710 00:30:56,080 --> 00:30:57,800 highlight this one just for a minute and I don't have much 711 00:30:57,800 --> 00:30:58,800 time, but I really want to get this. 712 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:01,120 He said. This is the one that I'm going 713 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:03,000 to call out in almost a separate way because it's the one that 714 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:05,840 was affecting the church then. I still think it affects the 715 00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:08,960 church now. In fact, culturally, sex is kind 716 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:10,520 of a big topic. And I'm not gonna go into a 717 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:13,080 whole diatribe on sex, but I can tell you that we live in a 718 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:16,440 culture more and more where the idea that sexual purity is kind 719 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:20,920 of like an old idea. In fact, I, I as a pastor 25 720 00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:23,080 years, I've spoken to tons of young people, tons of college 721 00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:24,320 students, and it's always amazing. 722 00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:26,960 It feels like every four or five years the pendulum shifts a 723 00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:28,600 little bit more that when I get up there and say, Hey, listen, 724 00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:30,320 God doesn't want you to be having sex with anybody other 725 00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:31,920 than the person he has designed and planned for you. 726 00:31:31,920 --> 00:31:34,080 And, and that's what he wants for you because it's the best 727 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:36,040 for you. They're like, that's an old idea 728 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:39,600 and you're an old man. Thank you for sharing our 729 00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:42,280 thoughts, old man. And I'm like, wow, like, like, 730 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:44,480 has it been that long? Like, like I, I, I feel like, 731 00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:46,480 like, like, I remember when I was a kid, I remember my parents 732 00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:48,000 said to me and I kind of had that little, oh, is that, is 733 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:49,800 that really true? And, and then now they've got 734 00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:51,160 data out there that says it's true. 735 00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:54,200 Like there's this whole thing. I, I, I always talk to young 736 00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:56,400 people and they're like, well, yeah, Ted, I just, I get what 737 00:31:56,400 --> 00:31:58,520 God says. I know what the Bible says, but 738 00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:00,920 you know, in the world, it's kind of a we're going to try 739 00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:04,200 before you buy kind of state. Like I just, you know, we're 740 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:05,920 going to move in together. And some of you have done this. 741 00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:07,120 And listen, no condemnation from me. 742 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:08,080 I'm not judging that you up here. 743 00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:10,640 No one judges you but God. But there's some things he says 744 00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:11,960 about this. He says, listen, I don't have 745 00:32:11,960 --> 00:32:13,000 that plan. If you're like, well, we're 746 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:14,320 going to move in together and try it. 747 00:32:14,320 --> 00:32:16,640 And then if it's good, then we'll make it permanent. 748 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:18,760 And you know, if it's not good, then, you know, then we can kind 749 00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:21,760 of, you know, go the other way. And the problem is, is that 750 00:32:22,080 --> 00:32:24,760 people move in almost with the mindset of no commitment. 751 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:27,840 It's like they move in together and they're like, oh, we could 752 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:30,240 make this work unless, but you're not committed, you're not 753 00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:31,720 enough real, you haven't you haven't fully committed. 754 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,160 So that way if something doesn't go good and I got news for you, 755 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:36,080 if you're married, someone who's married can say this. 756 00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:38,000 It doesn't always go good in marriage. 757 00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:40,240 It's not always fun to be married. 758 00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:41,800 Can I just say that? No one says that at the wedding. 759 00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:43,360 Like the pastor needs to be like, listen, you're about to 760 00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:44,520 get married. This is such a beautiful, 761 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:46,080 amazing thing. It's going to be really tough 762 00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:47,280 and some days you won't like each other. 763 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:50,800 No one says that at a wedding. But the reality is, is that 764 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:52,720 they've come out with the data. Here's they find, they find out 765 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:55,280 the people that are practicing marriage before they get married 766 00:32:56,240 --> 00:32:58,320 end up breaking up at least 5 to 6 times. 767 00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:00,160 They said it's the average 5 to 6. 768 00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:02,560 And and what they say is what you've done is you've now 769 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:04,400 practiced not just for marriage 5 or 6 times. 770 00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:06,600 You've practiced for marriage or divorced 5 or 6 times. 771 00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:08,480 And so when you actually get married, it's no wonder that our 772 00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:10,640 divorce rates are so high. You've been practicing the 773 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:12,880 entire time to leave, to bail, to quit. 774 00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:16,080 And if you've been through that, you've been through a divorce. 775 00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:18,000 Can I just say I'm so sorry that you've gone through it. 776 00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:21,160 And I think the church has handled it horribly when people 777 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:22,880 have gone through it. We need to stand with people who 778 00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:25,200 have gone through it and not stand against them because 779 00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:28,000 there's a God who loves them that died and bled so that they 780 00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:29,960 could be forgiven and we move forward because we can't do 781 00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:31,720 anything about yesterday. But man, just for you young 782 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:32,440 people, he says. Listen. 783 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:35,600 Sexual morality, stepping outside of God's plan. 784 00:33:36,320 --> 00:33:39,080 It's bad. And God doesn't say because he's 785 00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:41,000 trying to ruin your fun, He's saying it because he's a good 786 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:44,120 father and he loves you. He says, listen, not everything 787 00:33:44,120 --> 00:33:46,120 is beneficial that the world is going to throw at you. 788 00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:48,440 He says, but I will be mastered by nothing. 789 00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:51,160 He says why? Because your bodies are not your 790 00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:52,760 own. You are not your own. 791 00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:55,800 You were bought at a price there for honor God with your body. 792 00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:59,040 I want to show you something that I I saw when I was a young 793 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:00,240 man. It stuck with me and it was it 794 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:02,920 was this right here. It was this picture that when we 795 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:06,560 come to this world, this is what we come in as we come in clean, 796 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:10,040 we come in pure. We come in with no spot, no 797 00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:11,199 blemish. And that's kind of this 798 00:34:11,199 --> 00:34:12,600 beautiful thing. But it doesn't take very long. 799 00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:15,239 Like I shared about my daughter, doesn't take very long before 800 00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:19,159 all of a sudden we make a choice and we go against something that 801 00:34:19,159 --> 00:34:27,040 God has planned and we mar we same what God created. 802 00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:31,159 And as time goes on, we, we, we tend to do a little bit more and 803 00:34:31,159 --> 00:34:32,600 a little bit more. And depending on what life 804 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:34,960 you've lived and what you've done, we find ourselves in a 805 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:37,000 space where we no longer look pure. 806 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:40,239 We no longer have that, that that feeling of like we can just 807 00:34:40,239 --> 00:34:42,520 stand before God is righteous. We can't anymore because we've 808 00:34:42,520 --> 00:34:43,600 already failed. We've fallen short. 809 00:34:43,600 --> 00:34:46,480 I've fallen short. And I remember someone shared 810 00:34:46,480 --> 00:34:48,840 this to me and said, listen, you know what, what God wants to do? 811 00:34:50,159 --> 00:34:52,760 God sends his son Jesus to live a perfect life. 812 00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:55,239 And if this is Jesus, Jesus comes and he lives the life I 813 00:34:55,239 --> 00:34:57,640 couldn't live and he never sins and he remains blameless and 814 00:34:57,640 --> 00:34:59,440 pure. And he gets to stand for God as 815 00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:01,400 that purity. And he says, listen, I want this 816 00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:03,880 for you. I want you to be able to stand 817 00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:05,720 for God pure. I want you to come stand before 818 00:35:05,720 --> 00:35:07,880 God and be righteous. And so Jesus says, listen, 819 00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:10,000 here's what I'll do. I will die in your place and I 820 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:14,080 will give my life for your life. And all you have to do is 821 00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:15,400 receive it. And then when you receive it, 822 00:35:15,400 --> 00:35:17,560 God says, I'm going to put my power in you. 823 00:35:17,600 --> 00:35:19,920 I'm going to fill you with my spirit. 824 00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:23,400 And when I fill you with my spirit, I make you clean again. 825 00:35:24,240 --> 00:35:27,120 Like what was broken, what was dirty is no longer broken, and 826 00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:30,200 what was dirty is now clean. And he says, don't call unclean 827 00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:33,120 what I call clean. And so many of us, we get to 828 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:35,960 this space and like, well, now that I'm clean, what do I do? 829 00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:37,400 And Paul says, listen, live pure. 830 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:39,680 But it's impossible to live pure, isn't it? 831 00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:42,120 Like, like, I don't know about you, but like even after I came 832 00:35:42,120 --> 00:35:44,280 to Jesus, I'm still like, Oh, I still messed that up. 833 00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:48,600 Oh, I still fall short still. And what's crazy, it's like he 834 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:51,840 just keeps cleaning me up. He just keeps me righteous. 835 00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:54,720 He just keeps me pure. It's like, Jesus does this work? 836 00:35:54,720 --> 00:35:57,000 But but what I want to remind you is when I saw that as a 837 00:35:57,000 --> 00:35:59,640 young man, I was like, oh, I can just keep sinning then. 838 00:36:00,240 --> 00:36:02,160 And so many people make this mistake. 839 00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:04,120 They're like, well, you were saved by grace through faith. 840 00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:06,040 And so now I'm just going to go live my life the way I want to 841 00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:09,400 live my life. And Paul says, no, you were 842 00:36:09,400 --> 00:36:14,520 saved by grace through faith so you could live the way that 843 00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:17,200 Jesus lived. And listen, you won't become 844 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:18,960 sinless. Like you're not going to be 845 00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:20,200 sinless. Can I just say that like, like, 846 00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:22,120 like when I came to Jesus, I really thought I was going to be 847 00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:23,960 sinless. Like the moment I finally gave 848 00:36:23,960 --> 00:36:27,360 my life, when it really took hold that I'd be sinless, found 849 00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:31,240 out that's not the case. But I did find this, that the 850 00:36:31,240 --> 00:36:35,760 more that I follow Jesus, the more I trust his word, the more 851 00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:40,400 I put his life into my life, I sin less. 852 00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:43,320 And that's what Paul's saying. Paul says I just want you to sin 853 00:36:43,640 --> 00:36:46,360 less. He says, listen, take care of 854 00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:48,440 this possession because it's not a playground. 855 00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:50,520 He says ownership means stewardship. 856 00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:53,880 And here's the question, what in my life is mastering me? 857 00:36:54,200 --> 00:36:57,480 What sin is trying to reclaim ownership of what Christ already 858 00:36:57,920 --> 00:37:00,800 purchased. He says live differently, don't 859 00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:02,720 handle life like the world, Live transformed. 860 00:37:02,720 --> 00:37:05,120 Don't forget who you are in Christ and live pure. 861 00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:08,360 Honor God with your body. It's his temple. 862 00:37:10,120 --> 00:37:12,200 Listen, I'm out of time, but I want to, I want to just share a 863 00:37:12,200 --> 00:37:15,400 small piece of my story. Small piece of my story. 864 00:37:17,200 --> 00:37:20,480 I grew up in the church, but I did not like the church. 865 00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:24,320 I didn't, you know, I had a problem with, with God's people, 866 00:37:24,320 --> 00:37:27,040 not with God. I read about Jesus and I was 867 00:37:27,040 --> 00:37:28,560 like, I really like Jesus. I don't know how many of you 868 00:37:28,560 --> 00:37:29,840 felt that way. Like when you first read about 869 00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:33,880 Jesus, I was like, yes, Jesus, I'm, I'm into Jesus, but then I 870 00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:36,040 melt Jesus's people. And I was like, I don't like his 871 00:37:36,040 --> 00:37:39,920 people because I grew up in a very, very charismatic church 872 00:37:39,920 --> 00:37:42,400 that was very, very rule, rule, rule, rule, rule. 873 00:37:42,400 --> 00:37:44,840 And I've realized I'm not a great rule follower unless I'm 874 00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:46,280 the one making the rules. Can I just say that? 875 00:37:47,400 --> 00:37:49,720 And so I struggled to follow the rules and I saw people who would 876 00:37:49,720 --> 00:37:51,880 preach one thing and then live a different way and they were 877 00:37:51,880 --> 00:37:53,920 hypocrites. And I hated it so much that I 878 00:37:53,920 --> 00:37:57,000 just, I didn't get into it. And so I found myself kind of 879 00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:59,160 exploring what the world had. And so I began to drink and I 880 00:37:59,160 --> 00:38:00,800 began to party. And then someone introduced me 881 00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:03,360 to drugs. Then I started doing drugs. 882 00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:04,960 And I realized the drugs are really expensive. 883 00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:07,120 And so they were like, well, the best way to pay for drugs, 884 00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:11,560 obviously is to sell drugs, Duh. And so I began to sell drugs. 885 00:38:12,520 --> 00:38:15,040 And then I found myself doing things that I never thought I 886 00:38:15,040 --> 00:38:17,040 would be doing. I found myself taking trips and 887 00:38:17,160 --> 00:38:18,920 transporting stuff, not even knowing what's in it. 888 00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:21,840 In fact, at one point I knew one thing that I transported that if 889 00:38:21,840 --> 00:38:25,760 I'd been caught, I would have just got out of prison about two 890 00:38:25,760 --> 00:38:29,520 years ago for what I could have been caught doing. 891 00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:33,960 And I want to take you to the bottom, which is where God found 892 00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:36,360 me. I was in Florida after taking a 893 00:38:36,360 --> 00:38:39,280 trip down, transporting some stuff I should have been 894 00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:42,240 transporting. And I was so empty and so 895 00:38:42,240 --> 00:38:45,080 broken, and I just wanted it to stop. 896 00:38:46,920 --> 00:38:50,400 And so I stood on the 17th floor of a building and I climbed out 897 00:38:50,400 --> 00:38:53,120 on top of the balcony and I stood on the railing and I 898 00:38:53,120 --> 00:38:59,320 looked down at the concrete pad and I thought, just one step and 899 00:38:59,320 --> 00:39:03,960 I can stop hurting. And I can, I can finally be done 900 00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:06,400 with the pain that I've caused my parents and the pain that 901 00:39:06,400 --> 00:39:09,600 I've caused my friends and the mistakes that I've made in the 902 00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:12,480 church and, and how much I've displeased God. 903 00:39:12,480 --> 00:39:18,560 And it was in that moment, in the middle of the night on the 904 00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:21,040 17th floor of that building, as I thought about one step 905 00:39:21,040 --> 00:39:24,840 changing everything I heard for the very first time in my life, 906 00:39:24,840 --> 00:39:29,440 the voice of God speak to me. And that moment the Creator of 907 00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:34,160 the universe saw me, and I know now that He had never left me. 908 00:39:34,160 --> 00:39:36,840 It wasn't like I had to walk to the edge to get God's attention. 909 00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:41,800 I'd always had God's attention. I just wasn't paying attention. 910 00:39:43,640 --> 00:39:46,320 And it was on that moment that he got me off, not just that 911 00:39:46,320 --> 00:39:48,760 balcony, but he moved me and shaped me into a different 912 00:39:48,760 --> 00:39:49,680 person. And here it is. 913 00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:52,680 I stand today because God had a different path and a different 914 00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:54,000 plan. And he said, listen, I want you 915 00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:56,720 to live differently. I want you to live transformed, 916 00:39:56,720 --> 00:39:58,240 and I want you to live pure. And you're not going to do it 917 00:39:58,240 --> 00:39:59,880 perfectly. And I never have and I never 918 00:39:59,880 --> 00:40:01,800 will. But I serve a God who is good, 919 00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:05,480 who is great, who is loving, and he's inviting and he wants that 920 00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:06,920 for you. And if you were in this room and 921 00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:09,760 you have not given your life to Jesus, I want you to look at me. 922 00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:13,720 God's plan for you. Is He wants to remind you that 923 00:40:13,720 --> 00:40:16,880 you are not who you were. You are not your own. 924 00:40:16,880 --> 00:40:19,520 You were bought at a price. So honor God with everything 925 00:40:19,520 --> 00:40:22,640 that you are because you are His. 926 00:40:29,930 --> 00:40:32,050 And with that, we're moving to a time of decision. 927 00:40:37,860 --> 00:40:39,140 So I want to stay there with you. 928 00:40:39,340 --> 00:40:42,100 For those of you in my in this room and watching online, I'm 929 00:40:42,100 --> 00:40:44,500 talking to those who've never started that intimate personal 930 00:40:44,500 --> 00:40:47,900 relationship with Jesus Christ. For those who've never accepted 931 00:40:47,900 --> 00:40:51,560 that free gift of grace, I hope you heard that good word today. 932 00:40:51,680 --> 00:40:53,920 I hope you saw that great illustration today. 933 00:40:53,920 --> 00:40:57,640 I hope you hear the words of Jesus Christ on the cross when 934 00:40:57,640 --> 00:41:03,920 He said to tell us die. It is finished, it's complete, 935 00:41:04,920 --> 00:41:07,240 it is paid for in full. And so whatever you're going 936 00:41:07,240 --> 00:41:10,400 through, whatever trials, whatever sin is separating you 937 00:41:10,400 --> 00:41:14,160 from God, here's what you have. When you accept his free gift of 938 00:41:14,160 --> 00:41:16,760 grace, know that it has been paid in full. 939 00:41:16,880 --> 00:41:19,800 The receipt is right there on your your chair, but here it is. 940 00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:22,720 He writes it, it's it's bought, it's taken care of. 941 00:41:22,720 --> 00:41:26,200 It's no longer yours to bear. He, he already bore it and he 942 00:41:26,200 --> 00:41:30,240 wants to give you new life that is only found in Jesus Christ. 943 00:41:30,240 --> 00:41:32,640 And so if you've never started that walk, here's the best thing 944 00:41:32,640 --> 00:41:35,000 you could do is you could just say, I want him. 945 00:41:35,640 --> 00:41:38,680 I want to walk in his ways. I want to continue to be 946 00:41:38,680 --> 00:41:42,240 justified and I want to continue to be be made new and I want to 947 00:41:42,240 --> 00:41:44,600 continue to be sanctified. I want to look less and less 948 00:41:44,600 --> 00:41:47,440 like me and I want to look more and more like Jesus. 949 00:41:47,440 --> 00:41:49,880 And so today and then just a little bit when the music 950 00:41:49,880 --> 00:41:52,840 starts, if you're in this room or you're online and you say, 951 00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:54,720 hey, I want to, I want to take that step. 952 00:41:55,400 --> 00:41:58,360 You can move and you could talk, You can ask questions. 953 00:41:58,360 --> 00:42:00,560 There's going to be a pastor right underneath the screen 954 00:42:00,560 --> 00:42:03,080 right over by the baptistry that you can ask those questions to. 955 00:42:03,080 --> 00:42:04,440 I'm going to be right here in the front. 956 00:42:04,440 --> 00:42:06,440 If you're online, somebody's in the chat. 957 00:42:06,440 --> 00:42:09,120 They would love to help you start that relationship with 958 00:42:09,200 --> 00:42:12,360 Jesus Christ. You don't have to pay the bill. 959 00:42:13,120 --> 00:42:16,480 He already did. And so I'm hoping someone walks 960 00:42:16,480 --> 00:42:19,600 into that, that new relationship with Jesus today. 961 00:42:20,240 --> 00:42:24,800 Do it take the step for the rest of us in this room for those of 962 00:42:24,800 --> 00:42:26,720 us who have been walking with Jesus. 963 00:42:28,280 --> 00:42:29,840 I'm sure there's a part in that sermon. 964 00:42:29,840 --> 00:42:32,960 You're just like, wow, how did he know that I was going through 965 00:42:32,960 --> 00:42:35,280 this? How did he know I was actually 966 00:42:35,280 --> 00:42:38,880 in this stage of life? How did he know that I I kind of 967 00:42:38,880 --> 00:42:40,480 look more like the world right now. 968 00:42:40,480 --> 00:42:43,400 I don't really look different than the world and and right now 969 00:42:43,400 --> 00:42:46,360 I don't feel very transformed. And right now my life is not. 970 00:42:46,360 --> 00:42:49,160 If you were looking at my life pure would not be one of those 971 00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:51,680 words that would describe how I live. 972 00:42:52,520 --> 00:42:54,680 But it doesn't have to stay that way, my friends. 973 00:42:55,440 --> 00:42:56,720 It doesn't have to stay that way. 974 00:42:56,720 --> 00:43:01,120 You don't have to walk out of here the same person and just a 975 00:43:01,120 --> 00:43:03,160 little bit for you. You know that these steps are 976 00:43:03,160 --> 00:43:06,600 always open a time for you to come up and you can just lay 977 00:43:06,600 --> 00:43:09,800 those things down and you can just be like, Lord, you know my 978 00:43:09,800 --> 00:43:11,680 heart. You know that I have not been 979 00:43:11,680 --> 00:43:13,680 living differently. I've been looking a lot like the 980 00:43:13,680 --> 00:43:15,400 world. I've been wearing camo in the 981 00:43:15,400 --> 00:43:17,120 world. I look very similar to the 982 00:43:17,120 --> 00:43:19,400 world. I talk like the world does. 983 00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:23,320 I act like the world does. I do things that the world does, 984 00:43:23,320 --> 00:43:26,240 but not today. I'm going to walk out of here 985 00:43:26,240 --> 00:43:28,440 and I'm going to start being a light to this Dark World. 986 00:43:28,440 --> 00:43:30,960 I'm going to start living according to what His word tells 987 00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:32,560 me to. And maybe for you, you're like, 988 00:43:32,880 --> 00:43:34,800 man, there's just some things I just, I'm not. 989 00:43:35,320 --> 00:43:37,760 It's not up to a standard. There's some impure thoughts, 990 00:43:37,760 --> 00:43:41,320 there's some impure motives, there's some impure action. 991 00:43:41,320 --> 00:43:45,400 And today you can just lay that at his feet and just confess to 992 00:43:45,400 --> 00:43:47,760 him, but not just confess to him. 993 00:43:48,680 --> 00:43:53,560 You can leave it and allow him to take it and allow that burden 994 00:43:53,560 --> 00:43:56,920 to be left here. Don't take it back home with 995 00:43:56,920 --> 00:43:58,880 you. Church. 996 00:43:59,640 --> 00:44:02,440 I know we have the opportunity every single week to to respond 997 00:44:02,440 --> 00:44:05,600 and we give you an invitation. We give ourselves invitation. 998 00:44:05,600 --> 00:44:08,880 This isn't just us as pastors and a staff saying this is what 999 00:44:08,880 --> 00:44:12,280 you should do. This is what I should do. 1000 00:44:13,560 --> 00:44:16,440 There's things in my life that is not according to to what he 1001 00:44:16,440 --> 00:44:18,520 wants me to live that I have to lay down. 1002 00:44:19,480 --> 00:44:24,360 There's things that I wrestle with, so we've got to make some 1003 00:44:24,360 --> 00:44:25,720 action. We've got to do something 1004 00:44:25,720 --> 00:44:28,920 differently. We've got to be transformed. 1005 00:44:29,600 --> 00:44:33,040 Let the Word of God continue to transform us and move us and 1006 00:44:33,040 --> 00:44:35,440 change us and convict us. The Holy Spirit's going to go 1007 00:44:35,440 --> 00:44:37,040 with you, and that's what I'm banking on. 1008 00:44:37,040 --> 00:44:40,480 Would you stand your feet as we move to this time is this 1009 00:44:40,640 --> 00:44:43,400 movement to to come forward and just take a step. 1010 00:44:43,520 --> 00:44:46,880 Jesus, we invite you in this moment right now, Holy Spirit, 1011 00:44:47,080 --> 00:44:49,760 through this room and through the the ears of people who are 1012 00:44:49,760 --> 00:44:51,240 watching wherever they're watching from. 1013 00:44:51,240 --> 00:44:52,760 Would you do a work inside of us? 1014 00:44:52,760 --> 00:44:54,680 God, would you draw us closer to you? 1015 00:44:55,640 --> 00:44:58,640 Things that we need to lay down. I pray that we lay down things 1016 00:44:58,640 --> 00:45:01,680 that we're just holding on to. I pray, Lord, we just let go of 1017 00:45:01,920 --> 00:45:04,400 and Lord, I pray that you do what only you can do. 1018 00:45:04,400 --> 00:45:09,560 You cleanse us. You set us apart and you call us 1019 00:45:09,560 --> 00:45:12,600 to live differently. You call us to be transformed. 1020 00:45:12,600 --> 00:45:16,120 You call us to live pure lives. And so God, whatever is getting 1021 00:45:16,120 --> 00:45:18,840 in the way of that, I pray in this moment would would we just 1022 00:45:18,840 --> 00:45:22,240 be bold enough to just come lay it at your feet and leave it 1023 00:45:22,240 --> 00:45:25,240 there and trust that your way is the best way? 1024 00:45:25,720 --> 00:45:28,040 Lord, we love you and we thank you for moments like this. 1025 00:45:28,040 --> 00:45:29,920 In Jesus name, Amen.