1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:05,720 Oh crossing family, I've missed you and I hope you know you are 2 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:08,119 loved by me. You are loved by this church, 3 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:12,200 but most importantly, you are loved by God through Jesus 4 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:14,280 Christ and there is no hiding it. 5 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:17,240 We are in a special season as a church. 6 00:00:17,240 --> 00:00:20,720 God is doing something that is incredibly hard to put into 7 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:22,840 words. I want you to just hear this 8 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:25,640 from me. I am inspired by your faith, I 9 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:29,240 am encouraged by your boldness, and I am so very hopeful about 10 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:31,680 our future all across this region, gathering at all of our 11 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:34,320 different locations. And to those of you who've been 12 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:37,280 longing for our nation to turn to God, it appears that 13 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:40,000 something significant is indeed happening. 14 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:42,560 And I'm going to unpack more of that at the beginning of the 15 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:45,160 year. But in the meantime, can I just 16 00:00:45,160 --> 00:00:50,080 ask you to do something that I think would not just be good for 17 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:53,240 you, but it would actually be good for us collectively as a 18 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:55,120 church? I want to encourage you to start 19 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:57,280 your day off on, you know, in prayer. 20 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:01,040 And would you just add these three things to your prayer 21 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:02,440 list? I would love to just have a 22 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:04,200 bunch of people all across this region praying. 23 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:05,840 Here are the three prayers. I'll put them up on the screen 24 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:07,280 if you're a person who likes to take pictures. 25 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:11,080 One, would you pray for God's continuing blessing and 26 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:14,040 protection over our church? Anytime you were taking 27 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:17,760 significant spiritual ground, you're flying over enemy 28 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:19,560 territory. And when you are flying over 29 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:22,960 enemy territory, you can expect to encounter the enemy. 30 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:26,400 And so I would just love for God's protection and provision 31 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:28,360 and continuing blessing over our church. 32 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:31,960 The second thing is that when you would pray that God would 33 00:01:31,960 --> 00:01:36,160 give you courage to share your faith with those who are close 34 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:40,520 to you but far from God. The number one way to get the 35 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:42,960 country you want, the city you want, the community you want, 36 00:01:42,960 --> 00:01:45,560 the family you want is for you to live like Jesus and share 37 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:48,720 Jesus. And so if our expectation for a 38 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:51,360 move of God in our country is for other people to be serious 39 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:54,080 about their faith, but us not be serious about our faith, that's, 40 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,640 you know, one O 1 hypocrisy. So I want you to just be praying 41 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:00,440 that God would give you the courage to step out in those 42 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:03,320 bold ways. And then the third thing would 43 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:06,160 be that God would give you clarity on what your next step 44 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:08,600 of faith should be. You've heard me talk about this 45 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:11,800 before, but faith and obedience are tied together. 46 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:14,800 They move at the same speed. So if you want to increase your 47 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,800 faith, it's going to show up and or manifest in obedience. 48 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:22,480 If you want to take a step of obedience, it's going to require 49 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:26,040 more faith there connected. And what we want to be as a 50 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:28,640 church is people who are moving in the direction of God and we 51 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:31,840 move in the direction of God through faith and obedience. 52 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:34,560 That being said, I want to welcome those of you joining at 53 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:37,600 all of our different locations, those of you watching online, 54 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:39,480 and to those of you who are part of the Crossing Inside 55 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:43,960 celebrating 8 Baptisms. Our whole church loves it when 56 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:45,840 we see what God is doing in your life. 57 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:48,120 We love it. And to those of you who are here 58 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:51,160 for the first time or maybe the first time in a long time, I 59 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:53,560 want to encourage you to stop by the new Here booth in all the 60 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:56,560 lobbies at all of our locations. And I know there's some of you. 61 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:59,040 You've been here for forever, but nobody knows it. 62 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:01,560 We would love to get to know you so we can cheer you on as you 63 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:05,640 take your next step of faith. Now, if you are brand new to the 64 00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:07,880 crossing, we're in the middle of something. 65 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:10,200 And so I want to get you caught up right now. 66 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:12,960 So here we go. Here's the catch up pitch. 67 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:16,000 We are going through a book of the Bible. 68 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:20,720 Now the Bible is a collection of writings inspired by God and the 69 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:23,280 Bible is divided into two big sections. 70 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:25,960 If you have a real Bible, they'll be something called the 71 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:29,720 Old Testament or the Old Covenant, which is a description 72 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:31,960 of God's relationship with the people of Israel. 73 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:35,800 And it begins in the beginning of time and it goes all the way 74 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:39,720 until the end of Jesus death, burial, resurrection, and 75 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,560 ascension in to heaven after his crucifixion. 76 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:46,000 Then you get into the New Testament. 77 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:49,640 And the New Testament is God's covenant, God's agreement, God's 78 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:53,600 relationship with all people. It is both prescriptive and 79 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:58,000 descriptive of how you and I are to live and what is available to 80 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:01,800 us in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. 81 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:05,400 And for those people who are Christians, and when I say 82 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:09,200 Christians, I mean people who have this, who love God and have 83 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:14,160 made Jesus Christ their Lord and their Savior, it shows us how we 84 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:17,839 are to live our lives. And let me just say at the 85 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:20,360 outset, for those of you who are new here, here at The Crossing, 86 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:23,800 we believe that God's way is the best way and we believe it to 87 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:26,680 the core of our being. We are a group of people who 88 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:31,680 believe in the power and in the authority of the Bible, and we 89 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:37,360 are fully convinced that you will never regret being obedient 90 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:41,000 to what is contained in the words of the Bible or its 91 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:45,920 author, God. Now the New Testament, it starts 92 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:49,040 off with four biographies about Jesus. 93 00:04:49,280 --> 00:04:53,200 Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and it's important that I clear this 94 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:56,520 up on the very outset that this church deeply loves Jesus. 95 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:59,760 In fact, we believe that absolutely every single person 96 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:03,440 should find and experience an intimate personal relationship 97 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:06,040 with Jesus Christ. And when you read those first 98 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:09,280 four books, the Gospels, it lets you see what Jesus was like and 99 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:12,040 it'll help you understand why we love him so dearly. 100 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:15,360 Then on the backside of that, you find a book called Acts. 101 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:18,760 Now the book Acts should actually have two more words or 102 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:22,480 three more words after it. Acts of of the Apostles. 103 00:05:22,840 --> 00:05:25,600 This is what happened with the group of people who are close to 104 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:30,080 Jesus after Jesus died, was buried, resurrected and ascended 105 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:32,200 into heaven. What did they do with all they 106 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:35,040 had learned from God? And then what did they do when 107 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:37,680 they had been empowered by God through His Holy Spirit? 108 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:42,760 And what you get is the 31st 30 year history of the church and 109 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:46,240 how you ended up here starts all the way back in the book of 110 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:48,960 Acts. And then you get into a bunch of 111 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:51,560 weird names for books in the Bible. 112 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:54,480 So let's unpack the weird names in the books of the Bible. 113 00:05:54,840 --> 00:05:57,720 They are letters that were inspired by God through a 114 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:01,360 particular person, and they were written to people living in a 115 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:05,000 city or a region. So when you read Romans, you're 116 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:09,480 reading the letter from Paul to the people who lived in Rome. 117 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:13,320 When you read Galatians, you're reading a letter that was from 118 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:16,520 God through Paul to the people in Galatia. 119 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:19,680 When you read Ephesians, it's to the people in Ephesus. 120 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:24,640 When you read Thessalonians, first and 2nd Thessalonians, 121 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:28,000 you're talking to the church that was in Thessalonica. 122 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:31,560 And then you get a little bit further back and it kind of it 123 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:36,120 shifts a little bit. You get names of people that the 124 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:40,280 letters are written to. So there's 2 letters to a guy 125 00:06:40,280 --> 00:06:44,120 named Timothy, There's a letter written to a guy named Titus. 126 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:46,880 There's a letter written to a guy named Philemon. 127 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:50,200 And then towards the very end of your New Testament you it 128 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:52,200 switches on you again. You got to kind of keep up. 129 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:54,040 It's Christianity's for smart people too. 130 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,880 And when you get into it, you'll find that you got first and 131 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,240 second Peter. Those were two letters written 132 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:03,960 by Peter, not to Peter, or first, second and third John. 133 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:08,360 Those were written by John, not to John, and most of the New 134 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:13,240 Testament was written by a guy by the name of Paul who at one 135 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:16,600 point in time was the most hostile person to the Christian 136 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:20,040 faith. Then through a powerful 137 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:24,080 encounter with the risen Christ, his life was completely changed. 138 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:27,240 Can I give you a mini devo Before I get too further in the 139 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:28,680 sermon, I just want you to feel this. 140 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:31,000 I've said this before, but I just want this to get all the 141 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:34,600 way into your heart. Who is the person in your life 142 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:39,440 that you think is too far gone? Who is the person in your life 143 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:42,200 that you think will never turn to Jesus? 144 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:48,840 Whoever that person is, they are not as far gone as Paul once 145 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:51,480 was. Listen to me. 146 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:56,680 There is nobody, nobody who God can't reach through His love. 147 00:07:57,200 --> 00:07:59,440 There is not a single person that the power of the cross 148 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:03,280 can't completely transform. Paul was the most hostile person 149 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:07,200 to the faith and then became the biggest proponent of the faith. 150 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:11,240 Don't you dare stop believing that God can turn a life around. 151 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:14,560 So whoever your person is, I want you to know that God is 152 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:18,040 your ally and wanting them to find a relationship with Jesus 153 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:20,520 Christ. So Paul, after he has this 154 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:24,160 radical transformation, goes all over the region and he writes 155 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:26,440 letters to these churches through the inspiration of the 156 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:30,160 Holy Spirit to help them live out the life that is the 157 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:33,320 appropriate response to the salvation that they have 158 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:35,919 obtained and received through Jesus. 159 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:38,440 And what we've been doing as a church is we've been taking a 160 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:42,919 long look at Paul's. This is where it gets confusing. 161 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:46,480 Technically his 2nd letter, but it's called First Corinthians, 162 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:50,120 his first letter to the church. And one of the reasons why we've 163 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:54,080 been looking at this particular letter is because it addresses a 164 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:59,520 whole list of problems that existed in the church, problems 165 00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:04,360 that threaten their unity, problems that could limit their 166 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:08,400 effectiveness and it could diminish their impact. 167 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:11,920 Three things we do not want to have happen here today. 168 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:15,520 We find ourselves in First Corinthians chapter 8. 169 00:09:15,680 --> 00:09:19,920 Now, before I get into the text, I have to be boring for a little 170 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:20,880 bit. Turn to your neighbor and say 171 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:25,200 he's about to be boring. We're just going to name it, OK? 172 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:28,120 Some of the outfits you wear make you look fat. 173 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:29,800 Some parts of the sermon are boring. 174 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:33,560 You just roll with it, OK? But if we're not boring for a 175 00:09:33,560 --> 00:09:35,560 little bit, none of this will make sense. 176 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:39,480 OK, so Paul is writing to a group of people who lived in 177 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:41,840 Corinth. Corinth was polytheistic. 178 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:44,360 Poly meaning many theistic, meaning God. 179 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:47,960 So they had many gods. And they, because they believed 180 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:50,800 in many gods, they had many temples. 181 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:54,520 And so you could go to the different temples to celebrate, 182 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:58,000 to honor the different gods that they had in the city. 183 00:09:58,280 --> 00:09:59,520 And they had gods for everything. 184 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:03,200 They had gods for sex. They had gods for peace, they 185 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:06,480 had gods for war, they had gods for love, they had they had gods 186 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:10,200 for all kinds of things. And so because they lived in 187 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:12,800 this community, there were people all around them that were 188 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:18,120 still devoted to Pagan rituals. And because of that, one of the 189 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:22,240 things that they believed was that they needed to go and honor 190 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:25,360 and sacrifice to these gods. But they also believed that evil 191 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:30,800 spirits were constantly trying to invade their lives, and that 192 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:34,160 the way that the spirits would invade their lives was by 193 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:37,360 attaching themselves to meat. And then when the people would 194 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:41,840 consume the meat, that they would then be invaded by an evil 195 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:45,400 spirit. And So what they would do is 196 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:49,400 they would go to the temple of a particular God, whichever God 197 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:50,960 that they were, you know, if they're getting ready to go on a 198 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:52,720 trip, they would go on to the God of travel. 199 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:55,400 Or, you know, if they were needing some peace, like they 200 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:56,720 just got married. And so now they had a 201 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:58,760 mother-in-law and they're like, how we got to get some peace in 202 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:00,600 this house. They would bring the me. 203 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:02,480 And I'm not worried about the demon getting in my body. 204 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:04,080 I'm worried about the demon that just moved in. 205 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:06,480 How do I navigate this? And so they're going to the 206 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:08,720 temple. Now when you would go to the 207 00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:12,280 temple what would happen is is you would take your sacrifice, 208 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:15,960 your animal and your it was divided into 3 parts. 209 00:11:16,680 --> 00:11:21,840 One part was the sacrifice to the God, one part was what you 210 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:25,000 would give to the priest for offering the sacrifice. 211 00:11:25,560 --> 00:11:29,800 And then whatever was left over, like the the the last third, 212 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:32,200 although it wasn't broken into thirds, but just big picture 213 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:36,200 would be given back to you. So if you're the priest at the 214 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:38,240 God of sex and everybody wants to have sex. 215 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:40,800 And so that's so it's going to be a long day of sacrifices. 216 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:42,800 All the guys are showing up. It's Valentine's Day. 217 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:46,120 And so they're going, all right, we got to I'm, I'm bringing in 218 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:47,960 the squirrel. And so they bring in all the, 219 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:51,120 the food that they wanted to eat or wanted to be sacrificed. 220 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:53,320 And the priest would be like, there's no way I'm going to eat 221 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:55,880 all of this meat. So what he would do is he would 222 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:58,360 go and he would sell the meat that he wasn't going to keep for 223 00:11:58,360 --> 00:11:59,920 his family. He would sell it in the 224 00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:03,600 marketplace. Then you'd have some of the guys 225 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:05,680 who showed up who, you know, they were doing the God of peace 226 00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:07,760 thing. And so the, or the God of War, 227 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:09,720 whatever it was they'd be bringing, they're like, you know 228 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:11,560 what, well, we're going, we're going to be traveling. 229 00:12:11,560 --> 00:12:14,200 We're not actually eating this. We just wanted, you know, to 230 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:17,240 have our, our trip blessed by, you know, God. 231 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:19,680 And so they would go, well, we don't actually, we're not 232 00:12:19,680 --> 00:12:21,280 actually eating the meat. We were just trying to make a 233 00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:23,560 sacrifice to God. And so they would take that meat 234 00:12:23,560 --> 00:12:27,440 and they would sell it in the marketplace. 235 00:12:27,680 --> 00:12:31,720 And this forms the backdrop of First Corinthians chapter 8. 236 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:37,680 Let's read it now about food sacrifice to idols, what we just 237 00:12:37,680 --> 00:12:40,440 talked about. We know that we all possess 238 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:43,920 knowledge, but knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 239 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:47,960 Those who think they know something do not yet know as 240 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:52,680 they ought to know. But whoever loves God is known 241 00:12:52,680 --> 00:12:54,840 by God. We'll circle back to that. 242 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:59,000 So then about eating food sacrificed to idols, we know 243 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:03,280 that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is 244 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:07,560 no God but one. True statements, straight facts. 245 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:10,560 For even though there are so-called gods, this is all kind 246 00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:13,320 of parentheses, whether in heaven on earth, as indeed there 247 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:18,160 are many gods and many Lords, yet for us there is but one God, 248 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:22,920 the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live. 249 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:27,800 And there is but one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things 250 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:36,720 came and through whom we live. But not everyone possesses this 251 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:39,360 knowledge. Some people are still so 252 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:42,920 accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food, they 253 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:47,280 think of it as having been sacrificed to a God. 254 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:52,520 And since their conscience is say this word, week, it is say 255 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:55,680 the next word. OK, so something's happening in 256 00:13:55,680 --> 00:13:57,440 them because of what you are doing. 257 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:01,040 But food does not bring us near to God. 258 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:07,000 Thanksgiving's close. We are no worse if we do not eat 259 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:11,160 and no better if we do. Be careful, however, that the 260 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:20,480 exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the 261 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:23,440 weak. For if someone with a weak 262 00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:26,360 conscience sees you with all of your knowledge eating in an 263 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:30,200 idol's temple, won't that person be emboldened to eat what is 264 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:35,000 sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother or sister 265 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:39,760 for whom Christ died is destroyed by your knowledge. 266 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:48,360 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak 267 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:54,760 conscience, you sin against too. Fill in the blank, Christ. 268 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:59,480 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall 269 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:03,440 into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not 'cause 270 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:08,120 them to fall. Now I know that there's about a 271 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:11,040 0% chance that any of you walked in here today and went. 272 00:15:11,040 --> 00:15:15,040 You know what, babe, we got to figure out this meat sacrifice 273 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:17,760 to idol stuff. Hurry, get in the car. 274 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:19,800 I hear there's one church in town that's talking about it and 275 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:21,840 we got to get the answers to these questions. 276 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:24,840 I know that this is not the burning question on your 277 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:29,960 conscience, but let me talk to you about Romans chapter, our 278 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:32,240 first Corinthians chapter 8 from this perspective. 279 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:34,720 This is what I would call the Gray areas. 280 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:36,960 Turn to your neighbor and say the Gray areas. 281 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:42,280 These are the areas of the Christian life that do not have 282 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:47,480 a chapter and verse saying thumbs up or thumbs down where 283 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:51,840 God has not clearly given you an edict or a command to follow 284 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:57,320 saying do this or don't do this. What do you do with the Gray 285 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:00,440 areas? And you're going, Clayton, what 286 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:02,960 are the Gray areas? Oh, listen, I've got I know tons 287 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:04,800 of them and I know you have tons of them. 288 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:07,480 Why? Because you e-mail me, let me 289 00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:11,000 just run you through some of the questions I've received about 290 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:14,280 the Gray areas. Can I get a tattoo? 291 00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:18,760 My mom says no. Is it OK for me to get my nose 292 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:21,600 pierced? Can I get my belly button 293 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:23,080 pierced? No, you're a dude. 294 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:27,880 Can I listen to secular music? Is it OK for me to date? 295 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:33,040 Is it OK for me to dance? Is it OK for me to play cards? 296 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:36,400 What if I just don't play cards on Sunday? 297 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:40,600 Is it OK for me to drink Starbucks and go to Disney, even 298 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:44,120 though they've made some pretty radical decisions socially over 299 00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:47,840 the last couple of years? I know that Target got crazy a 300 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:50,280 couple of years ago, but I really like their women's 301 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:51,720 apparel and their home furnishings. 302 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:55,560 Can I still shop there? Is eating meat a sin? 303 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:58,080 Can I smoke? Can I drink? 304 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:02,120 How much can I drink? If I don't drink beer and I just 305 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:05,839 drink wine, is that OK? I'm trying to work on my 306 00:17:05,839 --> 00:17:09,560 flexibility, but I hear that yoga is really bad spiritually. 307 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:14,480 Can I at least stretch? Is it OK for me to dress up for 308 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:17,839 Halloween with my kids or do I have to go to another harvest 309 00:17:17,839 --> 00:17:23,720 party and carve pumpkins? These are the Gray areas where 310 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:26,680 there is not necessarily a chapter in verse. 311 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:29,760 Should I send my kid to public school to be a light in the 312 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:33,160 world or should I put my kid in private school to protect them 313 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:37,800 from the world? So how does Paul address this 314 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:40,960 situation? How do you and I handle the Gray 315 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:46,240 areas of life? How far do Christians go in 316 00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:49,480 their freedom and in their liberty when it comes to their 317 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:52,960 behavior when it is not specifically forbidden in 318 00:17:52,960 --> 00:18:00,080 scripture? Hear me When you came to faith 319 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:04,200 in Christ, you became free. In Christ we have liberty. 320 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:08,640 In Christ we have been set free. But at the same time, in our 321 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:11,040 freedom we are not to cause other people to sin. 322 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:13,360 So Paul does at least three things. 323 00:18:13,360 --> 00:18:17,440 One, Paul acknowledges that they have knowledge. 324 00:18:19,120 --> 00:18:24,920 The people are going, the idols aren't real, they're fake. 325 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:29,800 There's nothing going on. They're fake idols. 326 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:33,640 There's only one God. There's only one true God, and 327 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:36,720 we're worshipping him. Let us eat the meat. 328 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:41,080 And they're right. They have knowledge. 329 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:43,880 These idols are nothing. There's only one true God. 330 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:48,600 Eat the meat, enjoy the meat. Second thing, Paul says that 331 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:52,680 knowledge is not enough, that you can be right and behave 332 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:58,560 wrong. He goes your knowledge must be 333 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:01,120 filtered through love. Now hear me, hear me, hear me, 334 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:06,360 hear me not compromised by love filtered through love. 335 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:10,240 First Corinthians chapter 1 and three. 336 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:12,400 Look at what it says in verse 8 or chapter 8. 337 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:17,440 But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 338 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:24,600 Those who think they know something do not yet know, as 339 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:29,960 they ought to know. Whoever loves God is known by 340 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:31,760 God. In other words, you can know the 341 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:35,080 right thing, behave the wrong way, which means you don't know 342 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:39,920 enough, because the right knowledge should read to lead to 343 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:43,600 the right kind of love. You can have the right knowledge 344 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:47,640 and have the wrong actions. If all you're doing in your 345 00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:50,720 conversation about your liberty in Christ is talking about how 346 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:56,000 right you are in your beliefs without considering how best to 347 00:19:56,000 --> 00:20:00,240 live out these beliefs, you are missing God's best for you. 348 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:04,560 Now I want to say this again, we are talking about the Gray 349 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:09,200 areas, not the areas where there is a clear chapter and verse 350 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:12,640 about the thumbs up and thumbs downs about liberty and freedom 351 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:16,440 in Christ. Paul is basically asking what is 352 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:20,760 the loving thing for me to do on behalf of my Christian brothers 353 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:25,520 and sisters? He's saying your knowledge 354 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:28,520 should not stop at having the right belief, but also having 355 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:34,080 the right practice of love. This is important. 356 00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:36,080 Why? Because when somebody asks Jesus 357 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:38,120 what's the greatest commandment, he says love the Lord your God 358 00:20:38,120 --> 00:20:39,520 with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. 359 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:43,480 The second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself. 360 00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:47,800 So if your freedom in Christ does not put you in a position 361 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:51,920 where you are loving others, you're doing it wrong. 362 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:56,920 Because part of loving God is loving the people around us. 363 00:20:56,920 --> 00:21:02,240 And when we are good at loving others, God says he knows us. 364 00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:08,240 That when we love God we become known by God. 365 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:13,440 And 3rd, this is the hard part. Paul shows them that their 366 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:17,880 actions could become a stumbling block to their brothers and 367 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:22,960 sisters who are struggling. Look what he says in verses 9 368 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:26,720 through 11. Be careful, however, that the 369 00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:29,760 exercise of your rights, something you are completely 370 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:34,080 entitled to do, does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 371 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:37,800 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you with all of 372 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:40,280 your knowledge, eating in an idol's temple, won't that person 373 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:42,720 be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? 374 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:45,920 So this weak brother or sister for whom Christ died is 375 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:53,560 destroyed by your knowledge, destroyed by your knowledge and 376 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:56,440 your freedom. What he's saying is, is you and 377 00:21:56,440 --> 00:22:01,080 I could in our liberty, 'cause somebody to backslide in their 378 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:04,880 faith or become enslaved again to their sin. 379 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:07,560 Paul is reminding these believers. 380 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:13,280 He's reminding us that Christ died for the very people we are 381 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:18,160 causing to stumble, for the very people we are causing pain. 382 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:21,360 I just want you to imagine with me for a second. 383 00:22:21,360 --> 00:22:22,800 I want you to feel the weight of this. 384 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:26,320 Imagine somebody that is close to you but far from God you've 385 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:28,680 been praying for for forever. They finally start showing up 386 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:32,040 for church and they start sitting in your row with you. 387 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:34,760 Your heart is so excited, you can't believe it. 388 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:36,920 You're going. God is doing something awesome. 389 00:22:37,360 --> 00:22:39,480 They start making friends with all the people that you sit with 390 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:41,840 at church and it's going really stinking awesome. 391 00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:44,280 You have to be traveling out of town for the weekend. 392 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:46,840 And so guess what? Like happiest of all, happiest 393 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:49,840 the people who sit in your row at church. 394 00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:53,440 Invite the people, your friends that you've got coming to church 395 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:57,560 to hang out over the weekend. And while you're gone, the 396 00:22:57,560 --> 00:23:00,760 people in your row go and do something that used to be a 397 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:03,120 struggle point for the person that you had been praying for 398 00:23:03,120 --> 00:23:06,120 and finally showed up. And then that person actually 399 00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:09,200 got sucked back into the life of sin that they used to have. 400 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:11,520 And it messes up their conscious and it messes up their walk. 401 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:14,000 And then you come back to church sitting next to all the people 402 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:15,960 that were sitting with you and praying with you, but there's an 403 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:18,080 empty seat because those people aren't there anymore. 404 00:23:20,360 --> 00:23:23,720 Now imagine you were the person in the row that did that for to 405 00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:27,160 somebody else. That's the kind of weight you 406 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:30,600 and I are supposed to feel. What Paul is doing is he's 407 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:32,960 actually setting up two patterns of behavior. 408 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:36,400 We've talked about this before, what a mature person does and 409 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:39,880 what an immature person does. So a person who's immature in 410 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:43,200 their faith contrasted with the person who is mature in their 411 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:46,160 faith. The immature person asks, is it 412 00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:48,560 permissible? Am I OK to do this? 413 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:51,120 It's a good question. It's a reasonable question. 414 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:55,640 It's also an immature question because the the mature question 415 00:23:55,640 --> 00:24:01,760 is, is it helpful? The immature person goes, hey, 416 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:04,800 they make their decision based off what I know I'm right. 417 00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:09,280 A mature person makes the decision through the filter of 418 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:15,160 those they love. The immature person causes other 419 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:19,120 people to stumble. The mature person causes others 420 00:24:19,120 --> 00:24:24,960 to be built up. The immature person is concerned 421 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:29,280 with their rights. The mature person is concerned 422 00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:33,400 with their witness. Now it flips here. 423 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:37,120 Pay attention. The immature person judges 424 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:44,280 others for their liberties. The mature person accepts others 425 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:48,480 with their liberties. And you and I have to make a 426 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:52,280 decision about which person we want to be in Christ. 427 00:24:54,120 --> 00:24:56,840 Why does all this matter? I'll tell you because some of 428 00:24:56,840 --> 00:24:59,280 you grew up in legalistic environments. 429 00:25:00,120 --> 00:25:02,440 We don't smoke, we don't chew, we don't kiss girls that do. 430 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:05,080 This is kind of where you hung out, right? 431 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:07,680 This is this is this is where you lived. 432 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:13,000 And you did a great job of separating from the world. 433 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:18,040 However, over time, because you were so separate from the world, 434 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:21,520 you had no influence in the world. 435 00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:26,080 And so when I say things like who are the people that are 436 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:29,400 close to you and far from God, you don't have anybody because 437 00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:34,520 you don't have anybody. Some of you, you grew up over 438 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:37,560 here. Hey, hey, hey, woo, glad you 439 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:40,160 guys have Listerine in the bathroom because I was drinking 440 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:42,440 last night. But I made it to church. 441 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:44,240 Someone drove me. And we're glad you're here. 442 00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:48,480 We're really glad you're here. And you grew up fully embracing 443 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:51,480 your liberty in Christ and your freedom in Christ. 444 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:55,080 You love the Gray areas. It's kind of where you hang out. 445 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:59,480 You're everybody would say you're a lot of fun, but not 446 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,120 everybody would say, I'm pretty sure he's a Christian. 447 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:07,960 You are a little bit too much of the world. 448 00:26:09,120 --> 00:26:11,200 When I asked the question, who are the people that are close to 449 00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:14,120 you and far from God? You've got all kinds of people. 450 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:17,920 But if you were to ask some of those people, they actually have 451 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:23,160 you on that list, because nothing about your life says 452 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:29,200 that you are with Christ. Some of you in your freedom and 453 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:33,040 your liberty in Christ, you became indistinguishable from 454 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:37,600 the world. 1 camp says, hey, let's separate ourselves, let's 455 00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:40,200 get out of here, let's have a holy huddle, let's avoid all 456 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:43,360 worldly influences. The other side went the opposite 457 00:26:43,360 --> 00:26:48,280 direction and they fully went all in and they live their life, 458 00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:51,600 enjoy all the freedoms that they have in Christ, but they don't 459 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:53,960 ever run any of their actions through the filter of how will 460 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:56,680 this impact my witness and the advancement of the gospel. 461 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:00,880 And so they fully embraced the culture that was around them 462 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:04,520 when Jesus was in the garden right before he went to the 463 00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:06,320 cross and died on behalf of our sins. 464 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:10,520 He's praying for his followers and he has a very interesting 465 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:11,720 prayer. You have to look for it, but 466 00:27:11,720 --> 00:27:14,400 watch what it says. Verses 14 through 16 and chapter 467 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:17,560 17. This is Jesus talking. 468 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:22,760 I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them, for 469 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:25,080 they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 470 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:29,360 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that 471 00:27:29,360 --> 00:27:31,240 you protect them from the evil one. 472 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:35,000 They are not of the world even as I am not of it. 473 00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:41,000 Jesus is saying two things that His followers would be in the 474 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:48,120 world but not of it. People who live in the world but 475 00:27:48,120 --> 00:27:52,960 are not controlled by the world. Those of you who are predisposed 476 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:58,880 to kind of isolate from all things, you are doing a good job 477 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:03,440 of not being of the world, but you're not really in it. 478 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:08,680 To those of you who are big in liberty and freedom in Christ, 479 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:12,600 great, awesome you are in the world. 480 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:16,920 The problem is that sometimes you're a little bit too much of 481 00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:20,560 it. And you might be thinking right 482 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:23,840 now, Clayton, this seems like it's going to be really hard to 483 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:28,360 walk out. Yep, really hard. 484 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:34,480 And that is why God gives us a conscience and the Holy Spirit 485 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:39,240 to guide us. We should be desperate for a 486 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:43,280 word from God, direction from God about how we should live. 487 00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:46,200 And hear me, you will get this wrong. 488 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:56,160 I get it wrong a lot. And when you wrong someone, 489 00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:03,080 their mature response to you should be full of grace. 490 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:09,600 But we should have it be our ambition that we are not causing 491 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:11,680 other people to stumble. Why does all this matter? 492 00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:15,040 I'll tell you. Because churches for centuries 493 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:20,520 have drawn up lines of division in Gray areas. 494 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:26,680 They have chosen personal conviction over mission. 495 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:31,120 They'll split a church, leave a church, stop showing up for 496 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:34,560 church over a personal preference instead of over a 497 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:37,960 deep commitment to the mission of Jesus Christ. 498 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:42,080 And the next thing you know, the gospel impact that could have 499 00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:45,400 happened through their unity is destroyed. 500 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:50,600 Let me give you an example. So recently doctors kind of came 501 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:54,840 out that we should drink water. And so I've been trying to to do 502 00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:56,560 that. And part of the reason why I've 503 00:29:56,560 --> 00:29:59,800 been trying to drink more water is because if I get too hopped 504 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:03,280 up on caffeine, my mouth moves faster than my filter. 505 00:30:03,280 --> 00:30:05,280 And you guys have been here for those moments, right? 506 00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:07,520 You're like, yeah, we, we. That's why you guys show up 507 00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:09,600 bringing me Mountain Dews. You're like, here you go, buddy. 508 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:11,080 You're just trying to wind me up. 509 00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:13,400 OK. So I was trying to drink more 510 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:15,640 water. And so I don't like bottled 511 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:18,040 water. I just I it's a weird thing. 512 00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:19,000 I just don't like it. OK. 513 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:21,680 I think it gives me heartburn and I can't anyhow. 514 00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:24,760 Just don't, don't, don't, don't judge me. 515 00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:30,040 This is a Gray area. And so I started getting water 516 00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:34,320 in a can. And listen, if you work for this 517 00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:36,120 company, I'm honestly not throwing shade. 518 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:37,720 I'm just using the illustration, OK. 519 00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:43,040 And so they had it and I was, I was drinking it and it was 520 00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:43,840 great. I liked it. 521 00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:48,960 It was awesome. And then I found out into the 522 00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:53,840 Super Bowl that the company that I drank the water from hired a 523 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:59,440 witch to put a curse over the water and over one of the teams 524 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:01,840 in the football. And I'm sitting here and I'm 525 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:07,320 going, which ain't got nothing on me like I'm fiddled. 526 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:09,480 The Holy Spirit. I'm good. 527 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:14,760 I'll be fine, right? At the same time, I'm also 528 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:19,640 going, man, oh man, I don't know if I want to give any of my 529 00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:23,720 money to people that even mess with witchcraft and would even, 530 00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:28,560 even if it was a joke, try to put a curse on people who maybe 531 00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:30,600 don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ. 532 00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:32,760 And so I'm going. I don't. 533 00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:37,640 I mean, I really like the water, but at the same time, I'm going, 534 00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:41,040 I don't want to be associated even a little bit with this 535 00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:44,040 company. I'll stop drinking the water. 536 00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:47,280 And there was a part of me I was thinking, what if I was walking 537 00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:51,040 around with the cursed juice? No, the witch juice. 538 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:54,760 And you somebody be like, I can't believe that our pastor is 539 00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:57,960 supporting a company that's trying to put curses on people 540 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:00,120 in the Super Bowl. You know, we're not supposed to 541 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:02,960 mess with the Super Bowl. That's that's holy to the Lord. 542 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:06,720 So there's a part of me. So I got rid of that water. 543 00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:16,360 OK, But I found another company that makes water in a can and I 544 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:19,360 I was like, it was it was. I don't how many of you guys 545 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:21,240 read what's on your cans? Nobody. 546 00:32:21,240 --> 00:32:23,200 You're you're not idiots like this guy. 547 00:32:23,880 --> 00:32:30,800 And I'm reading the can of my new water and halfway through 548 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:35,480 this water, I'm going to say something inappropriate. 549 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:39,200 I need you to hear me. I just wanted to make sense. 550 00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:45,000 But please hear my heart. It has it has a whole thing and 551 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:48,400 then at the very last line it says WTF? 552 00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:53,120 And it's not where's the faith? It's it's the IT should say 553 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:54,280 that. Where is the faith? 554 00:32:54,280 --> 00:32:57,560 It's but that's what it says. And so I'm going. 555 00:32:57,560 --> 00:33:01,280 Are you stinking kidding me? I just put away the witch juice 556 00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:06,640 and now I got the cus juice. Like I'm not doing background 557 00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:09,360 checks on my underwear. I just want to wear some like I 558 00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:12,120 don't know if there's like a you're like go back to drinking 559 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:14,200 the water. Clayton can drink the water. 560 00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:23,240 OK, hear me. I'm trying to figure out how do 561 00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:26,120 I live in the Gray area and I'm trying to get a drink of water 562 00:33:26,120 --> 00:33:31,440 out of a can, knowing full well that if I was drinking this one, 563 00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:34,520 there'd be people going. I can't believe and I'm like, I 564 00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:38,000 don't, you know, I think Fairfield Inns owned by the 565 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:40,440 Mormons. So like that's demonic. 566 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:43,760 And I'm like, can I stay there? I mean, I like the sheets and 567 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:46,040 the towels. Like where do you And then 568 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:48,360 somebody else, somebody else could be looking at me and 569 00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:51,760 going, I can't believe that you would drink water with a can 570 00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:53,360 that says the worst things possible. 571 00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:57,160 And I can't believe you could find all kinds of reasons to 572 00:33:57,160 --> 00:33:59,840 divide over Gray areas. And I know that water seems 573 00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:03,200 foolish to you, but I guarantee you there is a Gray area in your 574 00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:06,120 life that you actually want to fight about. 575 00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:10,120 And what I want to ask you is, you know, what we maybe we could 576 00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:12,679 do in the Gray areas for one another? 577 00:34:12,679 --> 00:34:16,719 We could have grace in the Gray areas of life. 578 00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:19,880 What we should both be trying to do is fight to be the mature 579 00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:22,199 person, the person who's full of grace. 580 00:34:22,719 --> 00:34:25,120 What we should do in the Gray areas is we should, you know, 581 00:34:25,239 --> 00:34:28,159 show up for church, raise our hands and worship, beg for a 582 00:34:28,159 --> 00:34:32,120 move of God, ask people to join us on his mission and not allow 583 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:35,679 the things of this world that God has given the US the freedom 584 00:34:35,679 --> 00:34:39,120 to participate in to destroy the very work he's trying to 585 00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:41,800 accomplish inside of us. We're moving to a time of 586 00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:48,560 decision. So to those of you who are here 587 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:51,960 who do not yet have an intimate personal relationship with Jesus 588 00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:58,280 Christ, Paul says in verse 6. Yet for us there is but one God 589 00:34:58,440 --> 00:35:04,840 the Father, through whom all things come and for whom we 590 00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:10,920 live, Which means you were made by God to live for God. 591 00:35:10,920 --> 00:35:15,240 And if you are not living for God, you are missing out on your 592 00:35:15,240 --> 00:35:19,520 divine purpose. And you cannot live for God 593 00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:23,360 until you come into a relationship with God through 594 00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:25,360 his Son Jesus Christ. And that's why the verse 595 00:35:25,360 --> 00:35:30,080 continues. And there is but one Lord Jesus 596 00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:36,320 Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. 597 00:35:37,040 --> 00:35:41,320 In other words, the cry of the Gospel is that you were made by 598 00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:46,840 Jesus and through Jesus, which means you can be saved by Jesus 599 00:35:47,120 --> 00:35:51,720 and through Jesus. This is a work that was done on 600 00:35:51,720 --> 00:35:55,840 your behalf, not a work that you do on your own. 601 00:35:56,400 --> 00:36:00,360 What we bring to the table is a belief that when Jesus says he 602 00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:03,320 has saved us, that we are indeed saved. 603 00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:07,800 When Jesus says he's the Lord, we say he's my Lord. 604 00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:12,400 When Jesus says he's a savior, we say he's my Savior. 605 00:36:12,640 --> 00:36:16,160 And if you are here today and you have never made those 606 00:36:16,160 --> 00:36:19,960 declarations, you've never moved into an intimate, personal 607 00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:24,720 relationship with him, don't put it off. 608 00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:32,440 The rescue mission from heaven had you in mind so that, well, 609 00:36:32,440 --> 00:36:36,560 you could be found in him, saved by him, and experience the truth 610 00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:40,000 and grace that can only be found through him. 611 00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:43,920 And so if you're here today and you're looking out at the world 612 00:36:43,920 --> 00:36:46,040 and you're going, this is not the world that I wanted to live 613 00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:48,280 in. You're seeing the pain and the 614 00:36:48,280 --> 00:36:51,080 destruction and the rot and you're going, I want no part of 615 00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:54,280 it. Good, good. 616 00:36:55,240 --> 00:36:59,680 Join the mission to change it. Stop being part of the sinful 617 00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:03,520 problem and be a part of the salvation solution. 618 00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:07,280 And it can happen today in just a few moments. 619 00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:09,160 The people around you are going to stand and sing and some of 620 00:37:09,160 --> 00:37:10,640 them are going to come to the steps and pray. 621 00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:14,160 And I want to encourage you to walk right over there underneath 622 00:37:14,160 --> 00:37:16,760 that screen next to the baptistry and talk to somebody. 623 00:37:17,120 --> 00:37:18,680 Maybe you want to talk to somebody who's in your row. 624 00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:21,120 If you're watching online, somebody's already populated 625 00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:22,920 something in the chat and they'll take you into a private 626 00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:25,800 chat area where you can just talk specifically about what's 627 00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:27,920 going on in your life, and they would love to pray for you. 628 00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:33,360 You see the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of light expand 629 00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:38,080 every single time somebody says yes to him, and today could be 630 00:37:38,080 --> 00:37:42,080 your day to say yes to the rest of you in the room. 631 00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:45,160 To those of you who already have an intimate, personal 632 00:37:45,160 --> 00:37:51,440 relationship with Jesus Christ, how you and I live our lives 633 00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:54,520 could impact whether or not people see Jesus. 634 00:37:57,160 --> 00:38:02,120 How you and I live our lives can impact whether or not they see a 635 00:38:02,240 --> 00:38:10,480 Jesus worth following. There is this weight on us to be 636 00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:16,200 a salt and light to this world. And you might be going, But 637 00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:23,560 Clayton, that is a heavy task. It is so heavy, in fact, that 638 00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:27,720 you can't carry it, which is why God, in his goodness, when you 639 00:38:27,960 --> 00:38:30,800 were raised from the baptistery, place the power of the Holy 640 00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:34,080 Spirit inside of you to strengthen you for the journey 641 00:38:34,080 --> 00:38:37,640 ahead, to allow you to be what you could have never been on 642 00:38:37,640 --> 00:38:40,720 your own. You know, I go, Clayton, there's 643 00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:43,240 a whole lot of decisions that are going to have to get made 644 00:38:43,240 --> 00:38:45,320 about how I live and how I operate in different 645 00:38:45,320 --> 00:38:47,120 environments. Yeah. 646 00:38:48,120 --> 00:38:51,160 Which is why you should be desperate for a word from the 647 00:38:51,160 --> 00:38:55,320 Holy Spirit. You should have this burning in 648 00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:58,600 your heart, this craving for divine direction. 649 00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:08,360 Paul ends the chapter by saying if it's going to hurt him, I 650 00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:14,920 will never eat meat again. He cares more about the mission 651 00:39:16,240 --> 00:39:20,240 and people finding our relationship with Jesus Christ 652 00:39:20,240 --> 00:39:22,800 than any of his personal preferences. 653 00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:25,440 In the Gray area. Is there something you need to 654 00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:27,640 give up so that other people can find Jesus? 655 00:39:29,720 --> 00:39:32,520 And if there's nothing you would give up for other people to find 656 00:39:32,520 --> 00:39:35,000 Jesus, my question would be, have you found Jesus? 657 00:39:36,680 --> 00:39:39,720 Because when you find Jesus, you would give up everything to know 658 00:39:39,720 --> 00:39:43,240 him, and you'd give up everything for other people to 659 00:39:43,240 --> 00:39:44,760 know him too. Would you stand with me? 660 00:39:55,720 --> 00:40:02,880 Heavenly Father, you know every person gathered in this room. 661 00:40:02,880 --> 00:40:07,080 You know every heart, every situation perfectly. 662 00:40:10,840 --> 00:40:14,680 And God, we want to be people who hear your voice. 663 00:40:16,480 --> 00:40:20,720 We want to be people who feel called and directed by you. 664 00:40:24,080 --> 00:40:26,800 And your word says that those who seek will find. 665 00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:32,440 So God, it is not that direction doesn't exist. 666 00:40:32,440 --> 00:40:34,440 It doesn't mean that we're supposed to seek it. 667 00:40:36,200 --> 00:40:39,360 And so God, would you put a burden on our heart to seek you. 668 00:40:40,520 --> 00:40:43,280 To those who don't have a relationship with Jesus God, I 669 00:40:43,280 --> 00:40:47,320 pray that they would have a desire to seek you and to one 670 00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:51,280 day be found in you. And to those who do have a 671 00:40:51,280 --> 00:40:55,560 relationship, put it on our hearts to pursue You and your 672 00:40:55,560 --> 00:40:57,760 Kingdom. In your name I pray. 673 00:40:58,360 --> 00:40:58,760 Amen.