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Crossing family. 
I love you. 

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So stinking much this past week.
It was a part-time job 

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responding to all of you who are
reaching out and saying hey how 

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can we help this person that you
read their letter from last 

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week? 
He's a part of the Missouri. 

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Correctional system. 
How do we get this thing dialed 

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in so they can get baptized. 
I want you to hear me say this 

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so I don't get any more emails. 
But I love the fact that this is

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how you guys were wired. 
We've been working on it, we are

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working on it and hopefully one 
of these days we'll be able to 

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make that happen. 
Ian, we're navigating stuff with

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parole officers and all that 
stuff to be able to make it a 

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reality but there was a whole 
bunch of you and I just kind of 

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love that that's the heartbeat 
of our church which is basically

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like I'm on my way. 
Can you tell me where they're 

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at? 
And we're just tap the brakes. 

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We're going to get it figured 
out and I can't wait to be able 

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to celebrate that moment with 
you before we jump all the way 

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into the message. 
I want to spend a little bit of 

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time in prayer. 
I want to pray over two things. 

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First thing is there are two 
churches today. 

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One is 242 Church up in. 
Michigan, the other one is 

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Mountain View. 
Christian Church in Maryland. 

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They're both starting the sermon
series Weeds in my garden, and I

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know the kind of hope and help 
with that could bring in their 

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congregation. 
I'm excited about them, totally 

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praying for them. 
I also want to spend a little 

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bit of time, praying, for all of
you who there is somebody in 

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your life that you love that you
care about. 

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That is means a lot to you. 
That doesn't have a relationship

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with Jesus Christ yet. 
You might be one of our 

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locations sitting by yourself 
because your spouse doesn't 

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come. 
You might be parents, who have 

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fond memories of walking into 
church, holding hands with your 

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kids, but when your kids moved 
out of the house, it seems like 

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they moved away from their 
faith. 

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You might be in a spot where you
have brothers and sisters, or 

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neighbors, friends, co-workers, 
and you see their life, 

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spiraling out of control and you
know, that the thing they need 

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the most is an intimate personal
relationship. 

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Ship with Jesus Christ. 
And at times you feel like 

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you're losing hope. 
You feel like you're running out

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of prayers, and it seems like, 
you know, maybe one day, but 

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right now, it feels like a 
relationship with Jesus. 

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Christ is a long way off. 
And I just want to. 

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I don't normally do this, but 
The Message Bible by Eugene 

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Peterson. 
He just kind of took and made it

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a little bit more 
conversational. 

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He has a great way of 
articulating. 

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Second, Peter 3:9. 
This is how he says it. 

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Don't overlook the obvious here,
friends with God, one day is as 

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good as a thousand years and a 
thousand years as a day, God 

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isn't late with his promise, as 
some measure lateness, he is 

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restraining himself on account 
of you. 

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Holding back the end because he 
doesn't want anyone lost. 

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He is giving everyone space and 
time to change. 

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Here's what I want you to know, 
God is with you. 

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In the waiting, he is with you 
in the hoping and he is with you

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in a desire for your friends and
your family members to come into

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an intimate, personal 
relationship with Jesus Christ. 

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Let me pray with you. 
God right now I just want to 

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pray over Tony and Ben as they 
lead their churches, in this 

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weeds in my garden sermon 
series. 

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I pray that as people reach out 
to their friends and family 

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members and invite them to a 
sermon series on Mental Health. 

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That is, they walk into the 
doors that church that there are

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all kinds of difference makers, 
ready to love on them and care 

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for them and offer them the help
and hope they need. 

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Gotta pray that you would give 
the people in that church that 

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courage to be honest about what 
they're wrestling with. 

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And that you give the leaders 
and staff an opportunity and 

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wisdom to speak into those 
moments. 

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And that this sermon series 
would not just grow their 

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church, but it also brings Bring
people into the church. 

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He thought that all was lost. 
I also just want to ask you God,

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to be with us as we try to be a 
light in a dark place to the 

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people that we love the most 
God, remind us consistently that

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you love them more than we do 
that. 

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You care about them more than we
do that. 

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You want them in a relationship 
with you more than we do. 

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God, give us the wisdom to know.
When to say something and how to

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say something. 
Give us the boldness to speak 

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your name. 
Clearly, give us the courage to 

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step into difficult situations 
and give us an unwavering hope 

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as we try to be patient your 
name. 

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I pray. 
Amen. 

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I want to welcome those of you 
joining online, and inside, and 

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those of you at our various 
locations, today's message is 

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really simple. 
There has to be a place that 

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believes leaves that Jesus still
changes people. 

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There has to be a place that 
believes that Jesus still 

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changes people. 
If we're going to make this 

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region, the hardest place on 
planet Earth to get to help from

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this is something that you and I
have to believe to the very core

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of our being. 
I'm in an interesting season 

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right now, because my boys have 
come to the conclusion that I'm 

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not the strongest man in the 
world. 

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They've been on this journey for
a while. 

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Fortunately God made me 66 285 
pounds and so I've been able to 

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go longer than those of you who 
are only 5 foot tall, right? 

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I had a lot more credibility for
a longer period of time but 

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there's two guys who go to our 
church and Sam & Max their 

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brothers. 
And my boys are like, yeah, they

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can, they could take you and I 
said, you're 100% right. 

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They'd snap me like a toothpick 
and that's really kind of how 

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they normally operate. 
The question is, can you take 

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him and I just need you to know 
if my boys have You on the way 

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home, they've asked the 
question. 

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Could you take him and most of 
you've lost? 

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That's just kind of how that's 
that's what matters to them is. 

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If my dad gets in a fight with 
you, no matter how old you are 

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ma'am, is my dad gonna win. 
They just gotta know. 

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And I'll be honest with you, I 
knew the day was coming, but it 

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hurts me a little bit that my 
boys don't think that I could 

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take everybody and God as our 
heavenly father, I wonder I just

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Wonder if it messes with his 
heart a little bit. 

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When we begin to doubt and his 
ability to change a person's 

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life. 
And maybe over time, we have 

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lost a little bit of that belief
when we talk about the spiritual

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spectrum, that every single 
person is on this spiritual 

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Spectrum. 
On one end, you have people who 

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are hostile to the faith and 
then maybe you have those who 

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have questions about it or 
people who are open to Faith, 

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but they're not committed yet. 
And then you have those who are 

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just beginning their 
relationship with Jesus. 

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And you have those who are 
taking their very first steps 

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and our understanding is getting
developed as we move further. 

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To the right and injures, you 
know, this, Jesus loves. 

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Absolutely everybody on this 
spiritual Spectrum. 

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I don't want you thinking that 
because you're a +2, he loves 

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you more than a - to Newton and 
in the know, Jesus loves. 

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Absolutely everybody on this 
graph because hear me your value

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is intrinsic to you. 
It was breathed into you. 

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It was put in you before you 
took your first breath because 

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you were made by God and that's 
what gives you value. 

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You don't all of a sudden have 
value when you find a 

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relationship with Jesus. 
Everybody that means if Jesus 

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Lives everybody on this graph 
then you and I have to love. 

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Absolutely everybody on this 
graph. 

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However, art movement to the 
right, which is God's desire. 

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Is not guaranteed. 
Am I right? 

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If you were to track your 
Spiritual Development over time,

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I'm willing to wager, you've had
moments where you've moved this 

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way and then you've had moments 
where you took a couple steps 

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back. 
Part of that's because we have a

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spiritual enemy who is trying to
always distract us and trap us 

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and pull us back. 
And put us in situations of 

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extreme hurt and unanswered, 
questions and painful 

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experiences, and we can get hung
up on them and sometimes they 

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can cause us to stall out or to 
fall back. 

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Question. 
Where would you put the people 

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that you are trying to reach? 
On this spiritual Spectrum. 

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What number would you give them?
What number would you give your 

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friend? 
Your neighbor. 

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Your family member. 
If we are going to make this the

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hardest place on planet Earth to
get to help from We have our 

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work cut out for us. 
And recent reports show that 

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those who profess faith in 
Jesus. 

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But their commitment to him is 
diminishing Americans, who claim

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to attend, church regularly has 
dropped from 49 percent in 2009,

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to 20% in 2022. 
The number of Americans people 

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like you and me who read their 
Bible. 

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Regularly has dropped from 50% 
to 25% in the last 12 years. 

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And there's all kinds of other 
factors and indicators that show

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that we are really in a free 
fall. 

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It's only getting worse. 
Here's why this matters to me 

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and why it should matter to you 
not only are there more and more

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people that need to be reached 
with the good news of Jesus 

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Christ, it appears that there's 
less and less of us who are 

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actually doing the reaching. 
So, there's a bigger need than 

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ever and there's less people 
reaching than ever. 

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Something is happening where 
people are getting distracted 

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and pulled away. 
Now, you need to hear me say 

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this. 
I believe that right now at this

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point in human history, there is
not a better time to be alive 

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and not a better time to be on 
mission for the advancement of 

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the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 
I believe that we are uniquely 

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equipped. 
That Jesus spirit is still alive

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in an active. 
I still believe that Jesus can 

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change people. 
He can change plus 2's + + 3 is 

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just so, you know, Jesus doesn't
just Want to change the minus 

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one to the -2? 
Is he wants to do? 

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Oh, work. 
Wherever you might put yourself 

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on this graph. 
I still believe that there is a 

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difference that you and I can 
make that Jesus is spirit. 

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It's just as good today, as it 
was when it was released in the 

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book of Acts that I still 
believe no matter how messed you

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up, you may have been or no 
matter how messed up, you are, 

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that Jesus can still change 
people and I need to make sure 

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that that's goes all the way 
deep down in the core and the 

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soul, and the hearts of this 
church, and I'm going to show it

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to you, everybody say. 
Chapter 7, chapter 7 is what's 

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happening. 
The the church is growing and a 

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problem arises and the apostles 
like, look we're busy. 

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We got to preach the word of 
God. 

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We can't neglect these duties. 
So if this problems are going to

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get sorted, we need a group of 
people to sort it. 

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And so, they picked a group of 
people to navigate the problem. 

199
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And one of the people that pick 
was A guy by the name of Steven 

200
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and Steven was a good dude and 
he started preaching in someone 

201
00:11:06,700 --> 00:11:10,800
some opportunities arose and the
A Jewish people got frustrated 

202
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about him talking about how the 
Jewish people had killed Jesus 

203
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and he was going. 
Well, Jesus is the Christ, the 

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son of the Living. 
God well, they pulled him in 

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front and of the, of the of the 
system. 

206
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And they started yelling and 
screaming at him and he started 

207
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preaching back. 
And then this is what happened 

208
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that this they covered their 
ears yelling at the top of their

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voices. 
They rushed at him dragged him 

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out of the city and began to 
Stone him. 

211
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Now in the Bible stoning, 
somebody is when you take him 

212
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outside and you throw rocks at 
them until they die, By being 

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stoned in the, in the Bible is 
completely different than being 

214
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stoned as you guys perceive it, 
okay. 

215
00:11:46,300 --> 00:11:48,700
Meanwhile, the witnesses laid 
their coats at the feet of a 

216
00:11:48,708 --> 00:11:53,300
young man named Saul. 
So so first time he shows up, 

217
00:11:53,500 --> 00:11:56,200
he's holding everybody's coat, 
so they can get a better throw 

218
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at trying to kill somebody. 
Where would you put him on the 

219
00:11:58,900 --> 00:12:02,500
spiritual Spectrum? 
That's how he gets introduced, 

220
00:12:02,700 --> 00:12:05,700
right? 
Let's keep going everybody say, 

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00:12:05,700 --> 00:12:10,600
chapter 8, chapter right on that
day, a great persecution brought

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out broke out against the church
in Jerusalem and all except the 

223
00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:16,300
apostles were scattered 
throughout Judea and Samaria. 

224
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Godly men, buried Stephen and 
mourned deeply for him. 

225
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But Saul began to destroy the 
church going from house to 

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house. 
He dragged both men and women 

227
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and put them in prison. 
Okay. 

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Where did you have him now? 
Where did you put him? 

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He starts off holding the coats 
in chapter 7 of people who are 

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trying to kill a follower of 
Jesus. 

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Now, at the beginning of chapter
8, he is going house-to-house, 

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dragging men and women and 
putting them in jail for their 

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faith in Jesus Christ. 
Where would you put him on the 

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spiritual Spectrum? 
Everybody said chapter 9 chapter

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9, meanwhile saw was still 
breathing out murderous threats 

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against the Lord's disciples. 
He went to the high priest and 

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asked him for letters to the 
synagogues in Damascus, so that 

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if he found any there who belong
to the way, that's what 

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Christians were originally 
described as the way because 

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Jesus is the way the truth and 
the life. 

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These people were going their 
followers of the way of Jesus. 

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00:13:26,700 --> 00:13:30,400
They live the way that Jesus 
would want them to live. 

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00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:32,600
He's saying, I've been doing 
this in Jerusalem, but I want to

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take this on the road. 
I want to do to her, I want to 

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go to Damascus and put men. 
And women in jail there that he 

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might take them as prisoners to 
Jerusalem. 

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So he's going to I've done it in
Jerusalem. 

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00:13:43,100 --> 00:13:45,600
Now I want to go to Damascus, I 
want to do what I've been doing 

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in Jerusalem and Damascus and 
then I really don't trust the 

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penal system, the prisons for 
the men and women in Damascus. 

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So I'm going to take them back 
to Jerusalem to put them in 

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jail, where I can make sure that
they truly suffer. 

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00:13:57,300 --> 00:14:01,100
This is how he shows up in 
chapter 9 at this point on the 

254
00:14:01,100 --> 00:14:04,000
spiritual Spectrum. 
Where would you put in some of 

255
00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:06,800
you right now be going Clayton? 
I'll be honest with you, I need 

256
00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:09,100
a couple more numbers on the 
left hand side of your graph 

257
00:14:10,100 --> 00:14:14,800
because I gave my mother-in-law 
- 5, and I don't necessarily 

258
00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:17,900
want to put her in the same camp
as we just put salt. 

259
00:14:18,700 --> 00:14:22,300
And I'm also not willing to move
my mother-in-law to a minus 4, 

260
00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:26,600
she deserves the -5. 
So I need someplace to put salt.

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00:14:26,700 --> 00:14:29,000
Where would you put him on the 
spiritual Spectrum? 

262
00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:35,000
It's not good, right? 
I highly doubt any of us know 

263
00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:43,500
somebody who is as bad as Saul. 
I don't know, anybody I can't 

264
00:14:43,500 --> 00:14:46,400
think is somebody with a lower 
number than him. 

265
00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:49,900
But look out. 
Look at what happens in Acts. 

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00:14:49,900 --> 00:14:56,000
Chapter 9 verses 3 & 6 as he. 
This is Saul near Damascus on 

267
00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:58,100
his journal. 
He suddenly Journey suddenly a 

268
00:14:58,100 --> 00:15:00,400
light from Heaven flashed around
him. 

269
00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:04,000
He fell to the ground and Heard 
a Voice say to him, Saul Saul, 

270
00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,600
why do you persecute me? 
It's interesting question, who 

271
00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:08,600
are you? 
Lord. 

272
00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:13,200
Oh, looks like Saul's. 
Moving to the right, Saul asked?

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00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:15,900
I am Jesus whom you are 
persecuting. 

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00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:20,000
He replied now get up and go 
into the City and you will be 

275
00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:25,800
told what you must do. 
Three things to note here. 

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00:15:26,100 --> 00:15:28,500
Did you see him? 
Here's the first one. 

277
00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:31,500
Jesus Takes ownership of the 
suffering of his people. 

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00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:35,000
Remember what I told you on 
Christmas Eve services and what 

279
00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:40,900
I told you last week Emmanuel 
God With Us, God is with you, in

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00:15:40,900 --> 00:15:43,700
the suffering, he is with you in
the pain. 

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00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:50,100
He is in the pain of his people.
Second thing, jesus takes it. 

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00:15:50,100 --> 00:15:57,100
Personally, how his people are 
treated Why do you persecute me?

283
00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:01,400
I'm Jesus whom you are 
persecuting Souls like hold on a

284
00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:03,800
second. 
I was just take picking on men 

285
00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:05,300
and women. 
Jesus is like none of them. 

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00:16:05,300 --> 00:16:09,200
And when you were picking on 
them you were picking on me. 

287
00:16:09,500 --> 00:16:12,800
Let that be a reminder this year
as you treat people as you 

288
00:16:12,900 --> 00:16:17,500
interact with people as you talk
to people and how you talk about

289
00:16:17,500 --> 00:16:21,500
people, Jesus Takes the way 
because people are treated 

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00:16:21,500 --> 00:16:26,300
personally, not only is he with 
you, in the pain, he is with the

291
00:16:26,300 --> 00:16:29,100
people that you are causing 
saying pain. 

292
00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:36,200
How you work, how you treat your
boss, how you shine as a light, 

293
00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:39,100
or don't shine as a light, as 
you get revenge for the 

294
00:16:39,100 --> 00:16:42,100
Grievances and the challenges 
that you face hear me. 

295
00:16:42,100 --> 00:16:46,300
Jesus is not just with you, he 
is with them too. 

296
00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:51,000
Thirty. 
Did you notice? 

297
00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:55,700
That Jesus is making a move on 
behalf of a - 5? 

298
00:16:57,900 --> 00:17:01,400
We tend to think that if you do 
enough, right things, if you do 

299
00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:04,900
enough, good stuff that God will
move on your behalf. 

300
00:17:04,900 --> 00:17:08,700
If I get religious enough or 
spiritual enough or right 

301
00:17:08,700 --> 00:17:13,300
enough, Jesus start showing up 
once you level up to a plus 3, 

302
00:17:16,099 --> 00:17:20,500
But here's here's Jesus, moving 
on behalf of a - 5. 

303
00:17:22,900 --> 00:17:28,400
But isn't that how it was with 
you that he moved on your behalf

304
00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:30,800
before you ever moved towards 
him? 

305
00:17:31,700 --> 00:17:35,500
Didn't he show up in the busted 
up places of your life before 

306
00:17:35,500 --> 00:17:39,200
you ever showed up for him? 
That Jesus looks down. 

307
00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:41,800
He sees a minus 5 and goes. 
Yeah, I could do something. 

308
00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:43,700
I could do something. 
Even with him. 

309
00:17:44,300 --> 00:17:47,200
Look what happens. 
In chapter, 9, verses 10 and 11 

310
00:17:47,500 --> 00:17:49,800
in Damascus. 
There was a disciple named 

311
00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:51,800
ananias. 
Disciple means a follower of 

312
00:17:51,808 --> 00:17:55,400
Jesus The Lord called to him in 
a vision ananias. 

313
00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:59,100
Yes. 
Lord, he answered The Lord told 

314
00:17:59,100 --> 00:18:03,000
him go to the house of Judas on 
Straight Street and ask for a 

315
00:18:03,008 --> 00:18:08,700
man from Tarsus named Saul for, 
he is praying, looks like Saul 

316
00:18:08,700 --> 00:18:13,200
is on a trajectory, doesn't it? 
I mean he was a minus 5 but now 

317
00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:15,700
he's praying. 
People can change. 

318
00:18:16,700 --> 00:18:19,500
Lord ananias answered. 
I've heard many reports about 

319
00:18:19,500 --> 00:18:22,000
this man and all the harm he has
done to your holy people in 

320
00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:26,400
Jerusalem and he has come here 
with authority from the chief 

321
00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:29,700
priests to arrest. 
All who call on your name. 

322
00:18:33,500 --> 00:18:37,800
I wonder what ananias is. 
Thought was about what his 

323
00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:41,100
conversation with God would have
been like when God start 

324
00:18:41,100 --> 00:18:43,600
answering his prayers. 
I bet he wasn't expecting this 

325
00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:46,200
conversation. 
I'm guessing if God were to 

326
00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:48,700
answer your prayers, it would be
something like this. 

327
00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:51,300
And the lottery numbers, you're 
going to write down for the 

328
00:18:51,300 --> 00:18:54,500
Powerball. 
R. 

329
00:18:56,700 --> 00:19:01,000
Hey, there's a job coming up and
it's got great benefits and 

330
00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:02,800
great. 
Retirement and great vacation 

331
00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:06,200
time you're going to want to go 
to this house and talk to this 

332
00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:09,000
person on this day and you are 
going to get the job. 

333
00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:13,200
You've always wanted Right. 
Here's ananias Waiting. 

334
00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:16,400
For God to answers prayers, and 
God starts speaking to him, and 

335
00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:21,000
this is what he says. 
I want you to go to To a house 

336
00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:25,900
on Straight Street to meet a guy
named Saul and then Judas Army. 

337
00:19:25,900 --> 00:19:31,600
Now then ananias is kind of like
Hey listen God, you know, he's a

338
00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:35,400
minus 5, right? 
I mean, I know you've been, I 

339
00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:40,000
know you've been pretty busy. 
You may not remember what this 

340
00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:43,800
guy is like. 
He's going house-to-house 

341
00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:46,900
putting people in prison, not 
just the men. 

342
00:19:46,900 --> 00:19:52,200
God, the women, to be honest 
with you, I've been hiding out 

343
00:19:53,100 --> 00:19:56,100
and if I go to Judas is house on
State Street. 

344
00:19:57,900 --> 00:20:01,100
I might go to jail, too. 
And I know it's crazy. 

345
00:20:01,100 --> 00:20:03,400
Your prayer inbox is incredibly 
Fallen. 

346
00:20:03,700 --> 00:20:06,600
You've been navigating, you know
keeping the world in balance in 

347
00:20:06,600 --> 00:20:10,000
the the solar system and all 
that you might have missed it 

348
00:20:10,700 --> 00:20:16,000
but this guy's not on our team. 
And gods like yet. 

349
00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:23,900
He's not on our team yet. 
You see you just know Saul from 

350
00:20:23,900 --> 00:20:29,100
chapter 7 and you just know 
solve from chapter 8 and you 

351
00:20:29,100 --> 00:20:30,700
just know saw from the 
beginning. 

352
00:20:30,700 --> 00:20:35,600
At 9:10, I'm still writing 
chapter 9. 

353
00:20:35,900 --> 00:20:41,600
I'm still moving on his behalf 
Acts chapter 9, verse 15 and 16,

354
00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:45,100
but the Lord said to ananias, 
Go. 

355
00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:50,700
This man is My Chosen instrument
to Proclaim my name to the 

356
00:20:50,700 --> 00:20:55,900
Gentiles and their kings and to 
the people of Israel, I will 

357
00:20:55,900 --> 00:20:59,000
show him how much he must suffer
for my name. 

358
00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:06,000
Ananias is looking and it's and 
he sees a minus five. 

359
00:21:07,500 --> 00:21:10,100
And God sees a chosen 
instrument. 

360
00:21:11,100 --> 00:21:14,400
Ananias is looking at Saul and 
he sees a persecutor of the 

361
00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:18,800
church and God is saying I see a
future preacher for the church. 

362
00:21:21,500 --> 00:21:25,300
Look what happened. 1718 then 
ananias went to the house and 

363
00:21:25,300 --> 00:21:27,300
entered it placing his hands on 
Saul. 

364
00:21:27,500 --> 00:21:30,300
He said, brother Saul, we're 
going to circle back to that. 

365
00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:33,200
The Lord Jesus who appeared to 
you on the road as you were 

366
00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:35,600
coming here. 
Has sent me so that you may see 

367
00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:40,800
again and be filled with the 
Holy Spirit immediately 

368
00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:43,300
something like scales fell from 
Saul's eyes, and he could see 

369
00:21:43,300 --> 00:21:49,000
again and he got up and he was 
baptized a couple things to note

370
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:53,200
here. 
What was it about ananias has 

371
00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:57,100
walk with the Lord that made God
know that he could trust 

372
00:21:57,100 --> 00:22:02,700
ananias. to go to Judas is house
on Straight Street, to talk to 

373
00:22:02,700 --> 00:22:09,100
Minus 5, What was it about the 
spirit of ananias that made God?

374
00:22:09,100 --> 00:22:13,500
Go, yep, he'll go and carry out 
my mission. 

375
00:22:14,100 --> 00:22:17,700
He'll talk to the person that 
everybody else has written off. 

376
00:22:18,100 --> 00:22:20,000
What was it about the spirit of 
ananias? 

377
00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:22,400
I don't know what it is. 
I'm just praying for that. 

378
00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:25,000
Spirit in our church. 
I'm praying for that. 

379
00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:28,000
Spirit in me and I'm praying 
that spirit in us. 

380
00:22:28,100 --> 00:22:30,400
If we are going to make this 
region, the hardest place on 

381
00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:33,400
planet Earth to get to Hell from
it, is going to require a bunch 

382
00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:37,000
of us filled with the spirit of 
ananias that God would look down

383
00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:40,800
and say yep I can trust you to 
go to somebody that nobody else 

384
00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:42,900
would go to. 
I've got an in trust that you 

385
00:22:42,900 --> 00:22:45,900
will have the spirit of ananias 
and you would talk to the person

386
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:48,100
that everybody else has written 
off. 

387
00:22:48,100 --> 00:22:51,100
That you would be a group of 
people that I would be a part of

388
00:22:51,100 --> 00:22:53,900
a group of people that would say
there is nobody too far. 

389
00:22:53,900 --> 00:22:57,300
Gone to the love of God. 
The Redemptive work of God that 

390
00:22:57,300 --> 00:23:01,500
believes deep down inside that 
God can change anybody that 

391
00:23:01,500 --> 00:23:08,500
Jesus still changes lives. 
We need the spirit just so we're

392
00:23:08,500 --> 00:23:12,000
clear. 
We need it here in Quincy at 

393
00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:16,000
48th Street and at 9:29 but we 
also need some people with the 

394
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,900
spirit of ananias in Macomb and 
in Kirksville we need some 

395
00:23:19,900 --> 00:23:22,600
people with the spirit of 
ananias in Pike County and in 

396
00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:26,200
Hannibal we need it in Lima in 
Mount Sterling we need it in 

397
00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:28,500
Monmouth in Jacksonville and 
Keokuk. 

398
00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:32,800
We need people who don't write 
off the people that Jesus is 

399
00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:37,700
trying to reach. 
There needs to be a group of 

400
00:23:37,700 --> 00:23:41,200
people. 
There has to be a place where 

401
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,900
people believe that Jesus still 
changes people. 

402
00:23:45,100 --> 00:23:49,600
Here's the second thing that you
notice ananias shows up to the 

403
00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:54,400
house on Straight Street and he 
calls Saul brother. 

404
00:23:55,100 --> 00:23:56,800
When I was doing my study that 
caught me off guard. 

405
00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:58,400
I was like this. 
Can't be what I think it is. 

406
00:23:58,700 --> 00:24:01,700
And so I went all the way down 
into the Greek and I was like, 

407
00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:05,300
are we sure that there's not 
something weird going on here? 

408
00:24:05,700 --> 00:24:09,000
But no, the word. 
That the ananias uses when he 

409
00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:14,100
addresses Saul is brother. 
What do you think brother means?

410
00:24:14,100 --> 00:24:16,300
It means exactly what you think.
It means. 

411
00:24:16,700 --> 00:24:19,300
It means brother. 
It's the same word when they're 

412
00:24:19,300 --> 00:24:23,900
talking about the familial 
relationships of James and John,

413
00:24:23,900 --> 00:24:30,000
and Peter, and Andrew, it's the 
same word that when they asked 

414
00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:32,200
him when they're talking to 
Jesus. 

415
00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:36,200
And Jesus says, my brothers and 
sisters, are those who do the 

416
00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:38,800
word of the Lord, who keep my 
Commandments. 

417
00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:40,700
Those are my brothers and 
sisters. 

418
00:24:43,100 --> 00:24:47,100
Think about the compassion of 
ananias showing up at a guy 

419
00:24:47,100 --> 00:24:50,700
who's probably been putting the 
people that ananias loves in 

420
00:24:50,700 --> 00:24:54,000
jail, both the men and the women
and he walks into the room. 

421
00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:59,600
And he says, brother Saul Here's
what he's saying. 

422
00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:02,500
The very same blood that covers 
me. 

423
00:25:03,900 --> 00:25:05,700
Apparently is about to cover 
you. 

424
00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:10,800
And if the blood of Jesus covers
me and the blood of Jesus is 

425
00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:17,000
going to cover you, that makes 
us family that makes you my 

426
00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:22,100
brother in Christ. 
And can you imagine being Saul 

427
00:25:22,100 --> 00:25:27,000
and hearing that? 
He has to wonder what's this guy

428
00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:30,100
doing at the house? 
He has to have heard about what 

429
00:25:30,100 --> 00:25:32,400
I've been doing. 
He knows I've hurt people that 

430
00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:36,300
he cares about, maybe he's going
to show up and get his pound of 

431
00:25:36,300 --> 00:25:38,800
Flesh. 
He's gonna reclaim his right. 

432
00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:41,100
He's gonna punish me for what 
I've done. 

433
00:25:42,900 --> 00:25:46,000
And Saul is waiting there and 
all of a sudden ananias comes 

434
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:47,500
in. 
I wonder what it was like when 

435
00:25:47,500 --> 00:25:55,300
ananias said brother Saul. 
And just like that. 

436
00:25:57,200 --> 00:25:59,300
A guy, he was a minus 5 in 
chapter 7. 

437
00:25:59,300 --> 00:26:01,600
In a minus 5 in chapter 8 and a 
minus five. 

438
00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:07,000
At the beginning of chapter 9 
gets baptized So is at least a 

439
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:10,800
zero? 
Look what happens, verses 19 

440
00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:14,300
through 27, we're still in 
chapter 9 Saul spent several 

441
00:26:14,300 --> 00:26:18,100
days with the disciples in 
Damascus and at once he began to

442
00:26:18,100 --> 00:26:21,000
preach in the synagogue's that 
Jesus is the son of God. 

443
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:24,400
So now he is preaching and the 
Very place he used to show up to

444
00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:26,200
take people and put them in 
prison. 

445
00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:30,400
All those, who heard him were 
astonished and asked, isn't 

446
00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:34,500
this? 
The minus 5, Isn't this the guy 

447
00:26:34,500 --> 00:26:36,600
who was Raising havoc in 
Jerusalem? 

448
00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:41,200
Among those who call on his name
and hasn't he come here to take 

449
00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:43,700
them as prisoners to the chief 
priest. 

450
00:26:45,100 --> 00:26:47,700
Yes, all grew more and more 
powerful and baffled. 

451
00:26:47,700 --> 00:26:51,800
The Jews living in Damascus, by 
proving that Jesus is the 

452
00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:54,100
Messiah. 
The very people who had 

453
00:26:54,100 --> 00:26:58,700
authorized him to put Christians
in jail is now proving to them, 

454
00:26:58,700 --> 00:27:02,200
that Jesus is the Christ, the 
son of the Living, God, and that

455
00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:04,700
he's alive after many days of 
Gone by. 

456
00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:07,600
There was a conspiracy among the
Jews to kill him. 

457
00:27:07,900 --> 00:27:09,900
Yep. 
The very people that had gone 

458
00:27:09,900 --> 00:27:12,800
that Saul had gone to ought to 
get authorization. 

459
00:27:13,500 --> 00:27:17,500
To put all the Christians in 
jail are now, having to take the

460
00:27:17,500 --> 00:27:21,200
one that they commissioned and 
come up with a conspiracy to try

461
00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:23,900
and kill him because they're 
having to deal with the fact 

462
00:27:23,900 --> 00:27:29,500
that Jesus can change - fives 
but Saul learn to their plan and

463
00:27:29,500 --> 00:27:31,200
day and night. 
They kept close watch on the 

464
00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:35,600
city gates in order to kill him.
But his followers took him by 

465
00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:38,200
night and lowered him in a 
basket through an opening in the

466
00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:41,100
wall. 
When he came to Jerusalem he 

467
00:27:41,100 --> 00:27:44,200
tried to join the disciples but 
they were all afraid of him. 

468
00:27:45,100 --> 00:27:47,700
Not believing that he really was
a disciple to go. 

469
00:27:47,700 --> 00:27:51,100
Look man, that's a great idea. 
This SEAL Team Six stuff, we're 

470
00:27:51,100 --> 00:27:54,000
on to it, we've got a traitor. 
Here's what he did. 

471
00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:56,600
He couldn't find enough people. 
So now he's pretending to be a 

472
00:27:56,608 --> 00:28:00,100
Jesus follower so he can show up
and preach at our church service

473
00:28:00,300 --> 00:28:02,000
and then he's going to get 
everybody's name. 

474
00:28:02,100 --> 00:28:03,700
Get her addresses. 
He needs to come to our house. 

475
00:28:03,700 --> 00:28:05,800
He's going to take To jail, both
men and women. 

476
00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:08,400
The church people like me fool 
me once. 

477
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:12,600
No, but look what happens. 
But Barnabas took him and 

478
00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:16,300
brought him to the apostles and 
he told them house all on his 

479
00:28:16,300 --> 00:28:19,000
journey had seen the Lord and 
that the Lord had spoken to him 

480
00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:21,800
and how in Damascus. 
He had preached fearlessly in 

481
00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:27,500
the name of Jesus. 
Where would you put salt on the 

482
00:28:27,500 --> 00:28:33,500
spiritual graphic now? 
Where would you put him? 

483
00:28:36,300 --> 00:28:40,000
I mean wasn't it just a few 
moments ago we had him out of -5

484
00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:42,600
wasn't it? 
Just a few moments ago that he 

485
00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:45,700
got baptized and we moved him 
into the positives. 

486
00:28:47,900 --> 00:28:51,400
And now he is preaching the 
gospel everywhere even though it

487
00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:59,200
might cost him his life. 
In chapter 7, he was a minus 5 

488
00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:01,500
in chapter 8. 
He was a minus 5, and at the 

489
00:29:01,508 --> 00:29:06,100
beginning of chapter 9, he's a 
minus 5 but now you can't stop 

490
00:29:06,100 --> 00:29:09,200
noticing God's working in his 
life. 

491
00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:14,200
God's changing him. 
I got to be honest with you. 

492
00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:20,100
The chapter 7 of my life. 
And the chapter 8 of my life and

493
00:29:20,100 --> 00:29:24,000
the beginning of chapter, 9 of 
my life were pretty rough. 

494
00:29:25,900 --> 00:29:27,300
I'm guessing they were for you, 
too. 

495
00:29:28,700 --> 00:29:30,700
If we were to pass the mic 
around at all of our different 

496
00:29:30,700 --> 00:29:33,600
locations in your to talk about 
what the Lord delivered you 

497
00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:35,300
from. 
I think some of us would be 

498
00:29:35,300 --> 00:29:37,300
amazed at what he delivered you 
from. 

499
00:29:38,100 --> 00:29:41,200
I'm sure you probably caught a 
couple people looking at you 

500
00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:43,600
funny going. 
That can't be so and so is it? 

501
00:29:45,100 --> 00:29:48,400
Because they remember you from 
chapter 7, when you're in, 

502
00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:51,700
junior high. 
And they remember you from 

503
00:29:51,900 --> 00:29:56,100
chapter 8, when you're in high 
school or college, or the bars, 

504
00:29:56,100 --> 00:29:59,000
or whatever it was that you used
to do and I'm not throwing 

505
00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:03,400
judgement, I'm just saying, you 
know, you you you you're aware. 

506
00:30:05,300 --> 00:30:07,400
There's people from my high 
school who go to our church. 

507
00:30:09,900 --> 00:30:12,800
Boo. 
I'll be honest with you, I know 

508
00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:14,900
me, I wouldn't go to my church 
because of what I did in high 

509
00:30:14,900 --> 00:30:17,500
school. 
You just don't know. 

510
00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:22,000
But I remember what it was like 
in the early parts of chapter 9 

511
00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:23,400
in my life. 
Do you remember what it was like

512
00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:25,500
in the early chapters of nine in
your life and then all of a 

513
00:30:25,500 --> 00:30:32,100
sudden and just like 30 verses 
God got ahold of your life and 

514
00:30:32,100 --> 00:30:35,500
absolutely changed. 
It turned it around, Breathe new

515
00:30:35,500 --> 00:30:38,100
life into it. 
Gave it purpose and meaning and 

516
00:30:38,100 --> 00:30:42,100
significance. 
You see God was still writing my

517
00:30:42,100 --> 00:30:44,800
story and he's still riding 
yours. 

518
00:30:45,500 --> 00:30:50,900
That's why as a church, we need 
to be in people's Corners as 

519
00:30:50,900 --> 00:30:53,400
they make their moves to the 
right as they move. 

520
00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:55,100
From minus 5 is 2. 
Minus 4. 

521
00:30:55,100 --> 00:30:56,000
Sin. 
Minus 4 is 2. 

522
00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:59,000
Minus 3 and plus 1 is 2 plus 2 
s. 

523
00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:02,400
And plus 2 is 2 plus 3. 
As we have to be in their 

524
00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:06,600
corner. 
You're going to see and hear a 

525
00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:08,600
lot of in your corner. 
It's that the bottom of my 

526
00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:09,900
emails. 
It's apart of some of the 

527
00:31:09,900 --> 00:31:12,200
initiatives that we've been 
doing here as a church. 

528
00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:15,800
Because as a church, we have to 
be a place that is in people's 

529
00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:18,300
Corners as they take their step 
of faith. 

530
00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:23,400
We have to be just like Barnabas
and ananias were in the corner 

531
00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:27,200
of Solace. 
He was on his spiritual journey.

532
00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:31,200
We have to be willing to come 
alongside of them and celebrate 

533
00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:34,400
them, and Coach them and 
resource them. 

534
00:31:34,500 --> 00:31:37,100
And we'll listen, we can't fight
their spiritual battles, but we 

535
00:31:37,100 --> 00:31:40,400
can definitely be in their 
corner while they fight them. 

536
00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:46,700
because, Just because you're a 
-5 today, doesn't mean that God 

537
00:31:46,700 --> 00:31:49,400
can't move in a miraculous met 
way tomorrow. 

538
00:31:56,700 --> 00:31:59,200
But no matter where you are on 
the spiritual Spectrum, we have 

539
00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:03,900
to believe that Jesus can change
you and that he is moving on 

540
00:32:03,900 --> 00:32:08,600
your behalf. 
But if the spiritual Spectrum, 

541
00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:11,900
again, for just a second, when 
you look at that, spiritual 

542
00:32:11,900 --> 00:32:15,300
Spectrum in the - fives all the 
way to the plus 5S. 

543
00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:16,800
Do we still have it in there? 
Can you go? 

544
00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:20,700
There we go. 
I want to be clear. 

545
00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:25,500
Some of you might be going, but 
Clayton, where would you put 

546
00:32:25,500 --> 00:32:27,200
yourself on this spiritual 
graphic? 

547
00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:31,000
I'm going to be real careful 
about how I ever answer what's 

548
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:36,400
over here because well some of 
you kind of like this because 

549
00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:39,400
your judgey you kind of like 
picking where you're going to 

550
00:32:39,408 --> 00:32:42,200
put people. 
And if you're going like, hey, 

551
00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:45,300
I'm at Clayton. 
I'm a +5 like, I'd like, I'd 

552
00:32:45,300 --> 00:32:47,300
like you to know that, too. 
I'm going to tell you about it. 

553
00:32:47,300 --> 00:32:48,800
After service. 
I'll send you an email about how

554
00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:52,000
I'm a plus 5. 
Here's what I want you to know. 

555
00:32:52,700 --> 00:32:55,900
The people who I would put here 
are not people who show up for 

556
00:32:55,900 --> 00:32:58,500
church every so often give you 
know someone ever. 

557
00:32:58,500 --> 00:33:00,900
So often read their Bible and 
watch Fox News. 

558
00:33:00,900 --> 00:33:06,500
Like this is not, this is not my
version of a +5 Christian. 

559
00:33:07,100 --> 00:33:10,600
The people who I would put in 
the plus 4s and 5s categories, 

560
00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:14,000
are people who are deeply 
invested in people coming to a 

561
00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:17,100
relationship with Jesus. 
And so if you can't draw a line 

562
00:33:17,100 --> 00:33:20,300
from where you're at spiritually
to you helping personally, 

563
00:33:20,300 --> 00:33:22,300
someone Navigate their spiritual
journey. 

564
00:33:22,300 --> 00:33:24,600
You might not be as far to the 
right as you would like to 

565
00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:27,000
think. 
Second thing I'll tell you 

566
00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:29,700
because I love you are we still 
good because I love you. 

567
00:33:33,100 --> 00:33:37,700
What makes us a + 4 +? 
A + 5 is a rock-solid belief 

568
00:33:37,700 --> 00:33:42,900
that Jesus can change people and
you still cling to it that you 

569
00:33:43,100 --> 00:33:46,100
still believe deep down inside 
that the same spirit that 

570
00:33:46,100 --> 00:33:51,100
changed Saul can change your 
friend, can change your neighbor

571
00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:56,100
can change your family, people 
who still believe that Jesus is 

572
00:33:56,100 --> 00:34:00,500
moving and alive and active and 
trying to bring people unto 

573
00:34:00,500 --> 00:34:04,200
himself and are joining him in 
the If we are going to make this

574
00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:06,900
the hardest place on planet 
Earth to get to help from, it's 

575
00:34:06,900 --> 00:34:10,300
going to require some people who
look an awful lot like you and 

576
00:34:10,300 --> 00:34:16,800
me to believe deep down inside 
that Jesus still changes people.

577
00:34:17,300 --> 00:34:22,600
There has to be a place and I 
say tear, and I say it's with us

578
00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:25,900
and I say it's now we're moving 
to a time of decision. 

579
00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:36,800
Saw ends up having such a 
radical transformation, he 

580
00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:40,000
changes his name to Paul. 
You may have heard a lot about 

581
00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:44,199
him in the Bible because there's
a lot about in the Bible. 

582
00:34:44,199 --> 00:34:46,500
About a guy by the name of the 
Apostle Paul. 

583
00:34:47,900 --> 00:34:52,900
In fact, this -5 ends up getting
the privilege and Opportunity by

584
00:34:52,900 --> 00:34:57,200
God to be a part of writing the 
books of your Bible and you 

585
00:34:57,200 --> 00:34:59,300
might be going. 
Maybe God gave him a page. 

586
00:34:59,700 --> 00:35:01,900
No. 
Okay, well maybe God gave him a 

587
00:35:01,908 --> 00:35:06,200
book. 
Well, books, check this out. 

588
00:35:06,500 --> 00:35:08,800
This guy who is a minus 5 that 
everybody else would have 

589
00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:11,200
written off. 
He wrote the book of Romans 

590
00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:14,800
first, and second Corinthians, 
Galatians Ephesians Philippians 

591
00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:17,400
Colossians first and second 
Thessalonians. 

592
00:35:17,700 --> 00:35:22,600
First and second Timothy Titus 
Philemon and depending on where 

593
00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:24,400
you land on the spiritual 
Spectrum. 

594
00:35:24,900 --> 00:35:28,500
Well, not really on the 
spiritual Spectrum on whether or

595
00:35:28,508 --> 00:35:32,000
not he wrote Hebrews. 
Here's what that means. 

596
00:35:32,900 --> 00:35:35,100
Most of the New Testament was 
written by this guy. 

597
00:35:36,300 --> 00:35:38,500
Here's what this means. 
Almost every single week at our 

598
00:35:38,500 --> 00:35:42,000
church, we talked about. 
We use scripture and almost 

599
00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:46,200
every single week, one of the 
scriptures that we use was, is 

600
00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:49,300
that a one of those books? 
Which means that every single we

601
00:35:49,300 --> 00:35:52,400
God uses a minus 5 to build your
faith. 

602
00:35:53,900 --> 00:35:57,200
Crazy. 
You're going by me nor any of 

603
00:35:57,200 --> 00:35:58,900
his versus good. 
Oh yeah. 

604
00:36:00,700 --> 00:36:05,500
Listen, keep in the context but 
I just told you about Saul. 

605
00:36:08,700 --> 00:36:12,600
It just changes how you here. 
And when he writes, Romans 8:31 

606
00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:16,900
if God is for us, who can be 
against us? 

607
00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:21,000
The guy who was a persecutor, 
who became a preacher who had to

608
00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:23,300
find a hole in the wall and get 
lowered in a basket. 

609
00:36:24,100 --> 00:36:31,200
It's when he says, if God's for 
you who can be against you, It's

610
00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:36,400
this one Romans 5:8, one of my 
top 10 favorite ones, but God 

611
00:36:36,400 --> 00:36:40,400
demonstrates his own love for us
in this while we were still 

612
00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:45,000
sinners Christ died for us. 
It's different when you know, 

613
00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:49,500
he's the one who wrote it. 
Because he's going I was a -5 

614
00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:55,600
and God moved on my behalf. 
When you get to Philippians 4:19

615
00:36:56,300 --> 00:37:00,200
and you hear him say and the 
same God who has taken care of 

616
00:37:00,200 --> 00:37:03,600
me, will supply, all of your 
glorious riches which have been 

617
00:37:03,600 --> 00:37:08,300
given to us in Christ Jesus when
you find yourself in second, 

618
00:37:08,300 --> 00:37:11,200
Corinthians, like my favorite 
verse in the Bible, second 

619
00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:15,500
Corinthians 5:17. 
Therefore if anyone is in 

620
00:37:15,500 --> 00:37:20,600
Christ, he is a new creation. 
The old has gone. 

621
00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:23,800
The new has come it. 
Hits different When you know, 

622
00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:28,000
that he was the one who wrote 
it, he's saying, look, the old 

623
00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:32,100
me is gone, the minus 5 In Me Is
Dead. 

624
00:37:32,300 --> 00:37:38,000
I've been made new in him. 
This the gospel message, Paul's 

625
00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:41,100
going. 
That's me, that's what he did in

626
00:37:41,300 --> 00:37:43,400
me. 
The, you wouldn't believe when 

627
00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:49,700
you read the New Testament, that
he let me write it. cuz if you 

628
00:37:49,700 --> 00:37:54,500
didn't know me, when I was in 
chapter 7 or chapter 8 or the 

629
00:37:54,500 --> 00:38:00,200
beginning of chapter 9, you 
wouldn't have believed that God 

630
00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:03,300
would allow me to write the book
that comes right after it. 

631
00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:06,000
Now I'm going to, I'm going to 
take you all the way through, 

632
00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:07,900
this chunk of scripture that he 
leaves in second Corinthians 

633
00:38:07,900 --> 00:38:11,300
5:17 because it has something. 
For those of you who are saved 

634
00:38:11,300 --> 00:38:13,300
in those of you who don't have a
relationship with Jesus yet. 

635
00:38:13,300 --> 00:38:16,500
So, come here, Verse 18, all of 
this. 

636
00:38:16,500 --> 00:38:21,100
He is from God who reconciled us
to himself through Christ and 

637
00:38:21,100 --> 00:38:23,800
gave us the ministry of 
reconciliation. 

638
00:38:24,300 --> 00:38:29,700
That God was reconciling the 
world to himself in Christ, not 

639
00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:33,500
counting people's sins against 
them and he has committed to us 

640
00:38:33,500 --> 00:38:35,600
the message. 
Of reconciliation. 

641
00:38:35,700 --> 00:38:38,800
We Christians are. 
Therefore Christ's ambassadors. 

642
00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:43,000
As though, Christ were making 
his appeal through us, we 

643
00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:47,900
implore you on Christ's behalf 
be reconciled to God. 

644
00:38:48,200 --> 00:38:50,900
Check out how he did. 
This, God made him who had no 

645
00:38:50,900 --> 00:38:54,500
sin to be sin for us. 
So that in him. 

646
00:38:54,500 --> 00:38:57,300
Jesus, we might become the 
righteousness of God. 

647
00:38:57,700 --> 00:39:03,100
Here's what Paul saying. 
I've been made Neil, how did the

648
00:39:03,900 --> 00:39:07,300
the old going away and the new 
coming into my life? 

649
00:39:07,400 --> 00:39:11,000
How did that happen? 
He said, well, God made him 

650
00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:13,900
Jesus, who knew no sin to be sin
for us. 

651
00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:16,700
So, here's what happened in my 
life, and here's what happened 

652
00:39:16,700 --> 00:39:19,600
in your life, and if you don't 
have a relationship with Jesus, 

653
00:39:19,700 --> 00:39:21,500
here's what could happen for 
you. 

654
00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:28,000
God took all of Clayton's sin. 
All of it all the sins that I've

655
00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:32,100
committed in my past and all the
sins that still are ahead of me.

656
00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:36,000
He took all of it. 
And he took it off of my life 

657
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:40,500
off of my shoulders, and he laid
it on Jesus, on the cross. 

658
00:39:41,100 --> 00:39:45,000
Jesus, who knew? 
No sin who had never sent became

659
00:39:45,100 --> 00:39:49,100
my sin on the cross. 
And in doing. 

660
00:39:49,100 --> 00:39:53,100
So God was able to take the 
Perfection of Jesus. 

661
00:39:54,400 --> 00:39:55,700
And pull it off of his 
shoulders. 

662
00:39:57,900 --> 00:40:03,900
And put it on mine. 
So, through the cross, I get 

663
00:40:03,900 --> 00:40:07,100
treated like Jesus, as if I'd 
never sinned. 

664
00:40:07,900 --> 00:40:12,000
And Jesus got treated like me, 
And carried myself. 

665
00:40:12,700 --> 00:40:16,700
Jesus Got My Punishment. 
So I could have Jesus reward. 

666
00:40:18,400 --> 00:40:23,000
And God did all of that on my 
behalf before I ever moved in 

667
00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:26,000
his Direction. 
God did all of that. 

668
00:40:26,100 --> 00:40:28,600
Before I ever gave a dollar to 
the church, or to advance the 

669
00:40:28,600 --> 00:40:30,200
mission. 
He did it before I ever showed 

670
00:40:30,200 --> 00:40:32,900
up for church, he did it before 
I ever read my first Bible, 

671
00:40:32,900 --> 00:40:35,800
first, before I ever memorized 
one, before I ever became a 

672
00:40:35,808 --> 00:40:38,100
preacher before I ever started 
to serve. 

673
00:40:38,100 --> 00:40:40,100
He did all of that. 
Before I took my first breath. 

674
00:40:45,500 --> 00:40:46,800
Hey, you didn't just do that for
me. 

675
00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:52,600
He did it for you. 
It is a free gift. 

676
00:40:52,800 --> 00:40:56,100
It is a Grace that he has poured
out on your life. 

677
00:40:56,100 --> 00:40:59,300
Everything else we do is a 
response to that we're going. 

678
00:40:59,500 --> 00:41:02,500
If he did that in my life I'm 
going to give my life to him. 

679
00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:05,300
It's a response to not an 
earning of. 

680
00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:08,700
So if you're here today and 
you're thinking I would love a 

681
00:41:08,700 --> 00:41:11,800
relationship with Jesus, I just 
got to get my act together. 

682
00:41:11,900 --> 00:41:16,100
I need you to know you stand 0% 
chance of getting your act 

683
00:41:16,100 --> 00:41:20,200
together. 
You just do ENT. 

684
00:41:21,100 --> 00:41:26,400
Because you can't save you only 
Jesus can and you have it is 

685
00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:28,500
already been done. 
It's time for you to take. 

686
00:41:28,600 --> 00:41:30,600
Hold of it. 
And so, if you're here today and

687
00:41:30,600 --> 00:41:32,500
you've never start a 
relationship with Jesus Christ 

688
00:41:32,500 --> 00:41:34,800
and few moments, when the people
around you staying and some of 

689
00:41:34,808 --> 00:41:37,000
them come to the steps. 
I'm going to encourage you to go

690
00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:38,700
over to the baptistry. 
And there's gonna be somebody 

691
00:41:38,700 --> 00:41:40,300
there. 
He wants to talk with you about 

692
00:41:40,300 --> 00:41:43,000
what that relationship looks 
like to the rest of you. 

693
00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:45,100
The Christians in the room, come
here for just a second. 

694
00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:50,100
This is what's been done on our 
behalf and because of that God 

695
00:41:50,100 --> 00:41:53,400
has given you and me the 
ministry of reconciliation. 

696
00:41:56,300 --> 00:42:00,300
So here's our masculine. 
Who are the people in your life?

697
00:42:02,500 --> 00:42:04,600
That, you know, need a 
relationship with Jesus. 

698
00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:09,200
And you might be going, man, 
this is so good because I can't 

699
00:42:09,200 --> 00:42:11,700
wait for somebody else to talk 
to my friends about Jesus. 

700
00:42:12,900 --> 00:42:15,900
He gave us you and me the 
ministry of reconciliation. 

701
00:42:16,500 --> 00:42:18,200
Maybe you'd come up and you just
pray for them. 

702
00:42:18,500 --> 00:42:21,700
Maybe you'd pray for God to give
you some words or create some 

703
00:42:21,700 --> 00:42:23,600
opportunities for you to point 
them. 

704
00:42:23,800 --> 00:42:27,400
Maybe you just need him to just 
rekindle inside of you a desire 

705
00:42:27,400 --> 00:42:32,300
that deep down inside, he can 
change people, that Jesus still 

706
00:42:32,300 --> 00:42:35,300
changes people. 
Because maybe you've started to 

707
00:42:35,308 --> 00:42:38,900
think, well, God moves in 
everybody else's life, but he's 

708
00:42:38,900 --> 00:42:43,500
probably never going to move in.
There's Just stand with me. 

709
00:42:45,500 --> 00:42:50,400
God, we're coming to you because
we either believe or we want to 

710
00:42:50,408 --> 00:42:55,400
believe that your spirit is 
still moving that. 

711
00:42:55,400 --> 00:43:00,200
Your word is still active. 
That it's not over that you're 

712
00:43:00,200 --> 00:43:03,700
not done but you are still 
writing our story. 

713
00:43:04,700 --> 00:43:07,900
And God, we're coming to you, 
asking you to increase our 

714
00:43:07,900 --> 00:43:13,200
faith, increase our boldness. 
God to the brothers and sisters 

715
00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:16,000
that are in this room that don't
have a relationship with you 

716
00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:17,900
yet. 
That haven't trusted you yet. 

717
00:43:18,400 --> 00:43:20,300
Got thanks so much for bringing 
him here. 

718
00:43:21,500 --> 00:43:23,000
Help us to love them and lead 
them. 

719
00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:26,300
Well and God give them the 
courage to at least start asking

720
00:43:26,300 --> 00:43:29,100
the questions that have been 
rolling around in their head. 

721
00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:33,700
Got solidifying us that there is
nobody too far gone. 

722
00:43:33,900 --> 00:43:37,300
That there's no sin and no 
sinner that you can't save and 

723
00:43:37,300 --> 00:43:38,100
your name. 
I pray. 

724
00:43:38,400 --> 00:43:32,100
Amen. 
Got solidifying us that there is

725
00:43:32,100 --> 00:43:35,200
nobody too far gone. 
That there's no sin and no 

726
00:43:35,200 --> 00:43:37,500
sinner that you can't save and 
your name. 

727
00:43:37,500 --> 00:43:38,900
I pray. 
Amen.