1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,760 First Timothy 3 it says these things I write to you, though I 2 00:00:02,760 --> 00:00:06,160 hope to come to you shortly. But if I am delayed, I write so 3 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:09,280 that you may know how you ought to conduct yourselves in the 4 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:12,480 House of God, which is the Church of the living God, the 5 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:17,000 pillar and ground of truth. This Scripture shows us how 6 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:21,480 important church is. It says church is the pillar and 7 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:26,560 ground of truth. We have to believe that church 8 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:29,680 is important. I grew up with a phrase. 9 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:31,680 My mom always instilled it to me. 10 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,720 And they still say it at in MZ Kids. 11 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:37,720 They say we don't have to go to church. 12 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:43,560 We and I love that. But Pastor Lauren last week said 13 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:48,000 something even different than that same concept, but a little 14 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,680 bit more. And he said we do have to go to 15 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,640 church. Yeah, we get to go to church. 16 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:58,480 We have to go to church if there's an if, We have to go to 17 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:03,800 church if we want everything that God has created, created 18 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:05,360 for us. Can I get an Amen? 19 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:08,880 Because if you have the confidence to believe that the 20 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:14,320 church, the body of Christ, is the pillar and ground for which 21 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:18,240 holds up the truth, which is the word of God, we have to get 22 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:22,400 ourselves here. We have to be a part of the body 23 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:27,840 of Christ. How easy is it to sometimes live 24 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:31,400 life alone? How easy is sometimes to not 25 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:35,480 have anyone challenge us? How easy is it sometimes to not 26 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:39,240 have anyone stretch us? How easy is it sometimes for 27 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:42,880 people to not speak truth to us and we can just go about our 28 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:46,640 way, being a single person, living life the way that we want 29 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:49,600 to live it? But that was not the purpose in 30 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:54,440 which God has created us. He's created us to do church 31 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:57,760 together. What I love is that Pastor 32 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:01,400 Lauren, he usually knows, he definitely knows that he's going 33 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:04,160 to El Salvador. And when he knows he's going to 34 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:07,840 El Salvador, he'd let us know very early, ahead of time that 35 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:09,400 we're going to be filling in for him. 36 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:12,680 So one thing I love is that I have quite a while to really be 37 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:17,720 intent to listen to what it is that God has to speak to me for 38 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:21,040 me to share with you all on that specific Pacific Sunday morning. 39 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:24,280 So I've had the word of God that I knew that he wanted me to 40 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:28,160 share with you for probably over a month now that I've just been 41 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:30,600 praying about it and seeking God about it. 42 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:33,840 And then last week, Pastor Lauren talks about the church 43 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:37,760 and how the birth of the church happened at Pentecost. 44 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:42,200 And what do you know who spoke his first sermon on the day of 45 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:43,800 Pentecost? Peter. 46 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:48,360 And I was like, I love that. I love how good God is busy 47 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:53,520 because He's constantly aligning things and arranging things and 48 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:58,320 confirming things word after word, time after time. 49 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:02,520 So when we are going to dive into the story of Peter today, 50 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:07,000 we know the outcome, right? We know that Peter was the one 51 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:12,560 who preached his first sermon at the birth of the church because 52 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:15,720 the birth of the church happened at Pentecost. 53 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:19,400 And what happened at Pentecost when there was the birth of the 54 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:21,000 church? How many of you know a seed was 55 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:23,920 planted? I love God's word. 56 00:03:23,920 --> 00:03:26,080 I love that it's a ever living word. 57 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:28,040 There's no expiration date on this. 58 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:31,920 When I dive into God's Word, I realize that no matter what 59 00:03:31,920 --> 00:03:36,800 happens nowadays, the Bible is still applicable to every single 60 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,640 thing that's going on here and the earth. 61 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:45,080 So I believe if a seed of the church was planted all those 62 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:49,920 many years ago at Pentecost, how many of you know that we are the 63 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:53,720 branches of that very seed that was planted? 64 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,800 Come on, can I get a Amen? How awesome is that, that all 65 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:02,080 those many, many, many years ago a seed of the very first church 66 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:05,200 was planted. And now we have the confidence 67 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:09,600 to see ourselves as those branches that have sprung forth 68 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:12,440 from that very seed that was planted. 69 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:15,960 And the word that was spoken at Pentecost was hear the Word, 70 00:04:17,079 --> 00:04:23,000 respond to the Word to save yourself from this generation. 71 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:27,440 How many of you know it's one thing to hear the Word, but it's 72 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:32,320 another thing to actually respond to God's Word over your 73 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:35,320 life? We can come to this building and 74 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:40,480 have a confidence to say I go to church every single Sunday, but 75 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:44,520 it's just as easy to leave this place and not have responded to 76 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:48,520 the Word of God in your life. We have to hear the Word. 77 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:53,120 We have to respond to the Word in order to save our self from 78 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:56,280 this generation. How many of you know that our 79 00:04:56,280 --> 00:04:59,160 generation is the biggest influence over our lives? 80 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:02,600 And also at the same time, it's the biggest hindrance over our 81 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:06,080 relationship with God. And I'm not just talking about 82 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:09,520 this generation, although when I look at social media, I'm like, 83 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:14,040 but then I'm reminded that every generation, worldly generation 84 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:16,400 in times past has been the same thing. 85 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:22,360 And it's the biggest opposing force to everything that God has 86 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:25,480 for us, Yet somehow we're allured into it. 87 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:30,920 A lot of people don't want to admit that because it's flashy, 88 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:33,600 it's nice. There's there's great things 89 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:38,680 that from the outside appear to be awesome, but it draws us in 90 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:41,920 and becomes the greatest hindrance for everything that 91 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:45,760 God has planned for his church. But we have to believe that the 92 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:52,120 Church is the pillar in ground of truth, and truth brings 93 00:05:52,280 --> 00:05:55,200 freedom, which leads me to John 8. 94 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:57,480 It says. Then Jesus said to those Jews 95 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:02,840 who believed him, If you abide in my word, you are my disciples 96 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:07,280 indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make 97 00:06:07,280 --> 00:06:11,120 you free. When I talk about our generation 98 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:15,200 being the greatest hindrance for everything that God has for this 99 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:19,080 world, we have to understand that our generation has a truth 100 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:25,240 that they want you to buy into. This is a truth that says do 101 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:29,280 whatever you want, whenever you want it, however you want it to 102 00:06:29,280 --> 00:06:33,000 be. If it makes you feel good, then 103 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,920 that is your truth. And not only does their truth 104 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:41,800 make you feel good, but you can give that same truth to other 105 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:43,680 people. And that's going to make other 106 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:48,520 people feel good because this truth is not a truth that 107 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:51,000 offends. And as Christians, it's not that 108 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:53,280 we're going out to try to offend. 109 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:58,280 But as Christians, when we bring the Word of God, if we believe 110 00:06:58,280 --> 00:07:02,400 that God's worth word brings freedom, if we believe that 111 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:08,000 God's word is a life changing word, that change is going to be 112 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:11,840 uncomfortable for us. Because as human beings, a lot 113 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:16,680 of times we don't like change. When we experience change, it 114 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:20,120 makes us uncomfortable. It puts us in a position mission 115 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:23,600 to no longer feel like we're in control. 116 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:26,920 So it's not that we want a word that offends people, but it's a 117 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:31,480 word that we want to cut into our hearts so our hearts can now 118 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:36,200 see the way God sees things. Our mindsets are no longer going 119 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:39,840 to be the mindsets that we may have had passed down from 120 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:44,400 generation to generation, but we put on the mind of Christ. 121 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:50,200 So we have to be opposing to this truth that the world wants 122 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:54,360 us to believe, and we need to believe in a truth that pierces 123 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:59,400 the heart because we have to remember that truth is defined 124 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:03,560 by the Word of God. And if you abide in my word, 125 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:09,520 which means if you live out My word daily, you are my 126 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:13,440 disciples. In John 15, it says, if you love 127 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:16,680 me, you will keep my commandments. 128 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:21,120 A lot of times when we have this Christianity that says, what do 129 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:24,680 I have to do? We get it in our mind with this 130 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:27,240 Scripture specifically, if you love me, you will keep my 131 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:30,720 commandments. You kind of have this, OK, God 132 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:33,640 just kind of telling me exactly what I have to do because he's a 133 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:36,720 controlling God and and he wants me to do all these certain 134 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:38,559 things to bring glory to his name. 135 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:41,880 And now I have to find myself living a certain way. 136 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:46,560 But if we can think about God's Word as something that brings 137 00:08:46,560 --> 00:08:52,280 forth freedom, if we can have the confidence that says God has 138 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:57,800 created me every single fiber of my being with a plan and a 139 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:03,680 purpose that no one else can fulfill, we would fulfill his 140 00:09:03,680 --> 00:09:07,680 commandments because we know that his commandments will bring 141 00:09:07,680 --> 00:09:11,560 us to a place that we are able to become everything that He's 142 00:09:11,560 --> 00:09:14,120 called us to be. So we can't think of his 143 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:18,240 commandments as something that just straps us down and doesn't 144 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:21,480 allow us to have our creative freedom over our life. 145 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:25,800 But we think of his commandments as this instruction manual for 146 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:28,440 our life as you put something together, right? 147 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:31,320 Well, I don't, I try, but I don't. 148 00:09:31,560 --> 00:09:33,480 But when you, you have an instruction manual, I'm the one 149 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:37,280 who goes down to like step 12 and then I'm like, I messed it 150 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:39,800 all up, right? But if you think about something 151 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:41,800 when you're building something and you have this instruction 152 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:45,720 manual, it, it helps you to get the final product to exactly 153 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:49,920 what it's supposed to be. So if we can see God's word as 154 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:54,360 something that is a a tool kit, which was mentioned in one of 155 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:57,800 our most recent podcasts on Coffin the Mountain, if you can 156 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:01,400 see it as a tool kit to really help you become everything that 157 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:04,160 God has called you to be. You don't want to live in that 158 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:07,720 freedom that the world offers because it's not freedom. 159 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:13,720 God's word is truth. And when you hear a word of 160 00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:17,200 truth, when you hear God's life changing word, it provides that 161 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:22,200 opportunity for freedom. So to live in a transformed and 162 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:26,640 free life, we have to know the truth and that truth will set 163 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:28,880 you. Amen. 164 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:31,680 John 8 again. It says they answered him. 165 00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:37,080 I love this scripture. They were so confident when 166 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:40,400 Jesus was talking to them. It says they answered him. 167 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:43,160 We're Abraham's descendant. We've never been in bondage to 168 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:45,480 anyone. How could you even say you will 169 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:48,440 be made free? And Jesus answered that most 170 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:50,480 absurdly. I say to you, whoever commits 171 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:56,680 sin is a slave to sin. I love this scripture because 172 00:10:56,680 --> 00:11:00,200 how many times do we go around? I wouldn't, I'm not like that. 173 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:03,080 I wouldn't do that. That's not my personality. 174 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:05,600 I know my entire family has this iniquity, but it didn't even 175 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:11,480 touch me, right? How many times? 176 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:15,760 So here Jesus, he's talking to Abraham's descendants and he's 177 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:17,880 talking about freedom and they're like, oh, that's not us. 178 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:19,560 We're not in bondage. Obviously. 179 00:11:19,560 --> 00:11:21,720 We're Abraham's descendants. How could you even say that 180 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:24,920 we're in bondage? And Jesus is like, I'm telling 181 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:28,320 you right now, whoever commits sin is a slave to sin. 182 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:32,200 How many times do we mark off our checklist? 183 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:35,640 Boom, I went to church, boom, I read my Bible. 184 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:40,000 Boom, I prayed even over my meal today and we're like, I'm not, 185 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:43,360 I'm not in bondage. I'm not a slave to sin because 186 00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:48,080 I'm Abraham's descendant. And Jesus is like, whoa, whoa, 187 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:49,480 whoa, let's back up a little bit. 188 00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:51,120 Let's back up a little bit, right? 189 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:56,520 How many times do we not see it? How many times can we be making 190 00:11:56,520 --> 00:12:00,080 a choice or doing something in our life that really is holding 191 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:03,480 us back from everything that God has called us to? 192 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:04,760 But we're like, oh, we're a Christian. 193 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:07,840 That's not me. I'm a mature Christian. 194 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:12,640 That's totally not me, right? We can get that in our mind. 195 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:14,720 But how many of you know, sometimes it's just a choice to 196 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:18,520 be uncomfortable. If you are not walking in the 197 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:21,400 fullness of God, what are you walking in? 198 00:12:21,680 --> 00:12:25,960 So we have to be totally open to receive the correction of the 199 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:30,200 Lord over our lives, over our choices, over our relationships, 200 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:34,760 over our finances, over every single choice that we have to 201 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:37,600 make. We have to place ourselves in a 202 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:40,720 place of humility. We have to place ourselves in a 203 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:44,280 place of vulnerability to say, Lord, I want you to search my 204 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:47,760 heart. Is there anything that I'm in 205 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:51,040 bondage to? Is there anything that I'm a 206 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:54,960 slave to that's anchoring me down into the ground and holding 207 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:58,200 me back from really becoming everything that you have called 208 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:00,640 us to be? Because a lot of times there's 209 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:05,720 just that one little thing, that one thing that takes a hold of 210 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:09,920 us. We allow it to just sneak into 211 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:14,280 our lives or into our minds or into our hearts, and we allow 212 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:17,600 that thing to become our identity. 213 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:20,840 And in the process of that thing becoming our identity, we've 214 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:23,800 lost our identity as a child of God. 215 00:13:24,680 --> 00:13:26,680 And God has called us like these people. 216 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:28,840 They said, well, we're descendants of Abraham. 217 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:31,880 You're descendants of Abraham, yes, but you are not acting like 218 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:34,320 it. So how many times do we say 219 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:37,120 we're a child of God, but God's like, But you're not acting like 220 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:41,480 it because you're not following in the fullness that I have for 221 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:45,360 you. Our identity must be that we are 222 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:48,840 a child of God. I told you obviously that we do 223 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:51,400 a lot of different podcasts. If you don't follow us on social 224 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:53,880 media, I would highly suggest that you do. 225 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:57,400 There are some amazing things that are being shared on Mount 226 00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:01,680 Zion and Coffin the Mountain on Instagram and YouTube. 227 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:03,640 I think they do Tic Tac. I don't know. 228 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:07,680 There's a lot of great stuff that's being shared. 229 00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:13,600 One, one thing that I had shared past weeks back is that I as a 230 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:18,560 person was talking to person A and me and person A, we had a 231 00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:23,400 mutual friend that was person B and person A starts talking 232 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:26,000 about our mutual friend and they're talking about this 233 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:28,800 person. I'm just like, are we talking 234 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:31,720 about the same person? Like it's just a very 235 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:34,800 interesting thing. I felt like we were, we were 236 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:38,040 talking about two different people and then it hit me. 237 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:44,800 I know this person through here. I know this person as a member 238 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:49,600 of the body of Christ. So to me, their identity, if you 239 00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:52,080 will, was, you know, they're they're a member of the body of 240 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:55,960 Christ or a child of God. But when I talked to this person 241 00:14:55,960 --> 00:15:02,480 a about this person, they knew nothing about this side of that 242 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:05,600 person. And I was like, this is a very 243 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:10,480 interesting thing to me. How many people in our lives do 244 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:15,360 not even know our identity as a child of God because we, we hit 245 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:18,880 all the check boxes. We come to church and maybe even 246 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:22,240 you post a scripture on your Instagram once in a once in a 247 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:24,440 while just to be like, well, I, I am right. 248 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:29,840 But when people really, really, really get to know you, are we 249 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:32,120 just one of the people who just say, well, I'm a descendant of 250 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:33,840 God? I'm, no, I'm not a slave to 251 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:36,120 anything. And Jesus Christ says, well, 252 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:39,520 let's go a little bit deeper than that because you may say 253 00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:42,800 that you're a descendant of Abraham, but your actions speak 254 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:45,640 louder than words. And your words are important 255 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:47,640 because the Bible says out of the abundance of the heart, the 256 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:51,800 mouth speaks. So we really have to take a look 257 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:56,120 at our lives and say, what is happening in my life? 258 00:15:56,280 --> 00:16:00,400 What does my life speak? What do my words speak? 259 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:04,120 And is there something in my life that I have allowed to 260 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:09,520 creep into my life to where I no longer am representing, 261 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:14,560 representing my identity as a child of God? 262 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:18,920 But what I loved about this scripture is it comes after 263 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:22,160 Jesus was speaking to the people and telling them who he is, 264 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:23,400 where he came from, where he's going. 265 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:26,880 And it says, and many believed so they were believers. 266 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:31,960 Jesus was speaking to believers. But what I love about this verse 267 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:34,600 is it took someone to point it out to them. 268 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:38,520 A lot of times we can walk around with this confidence of 269 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:43,840 we're a child of God, but we don't see things for as they 270 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:47,400 are. I've used this scenario multiple 271 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:50,440 times when I've been up here. How I say I'm not a person who 272 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:53,880 gets offended, but Pastor Lauren had to point out to me one time 273 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:58,280 you're offended. I'm like, I am not, I'm not 274 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:01,120 offended, right? And like he had to point out and 275 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:05,040 like when he said you're offended, my first, my first 276 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:08,400 defense walls came up and then I was like, I'm not offended. 277 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:12,160 But when I allowed His words to seep into my heart, I realized 278 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:15,880 that I was offended. Right. 279 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:20,720 So God uses people in our lives to cut deep. 280 00:17:20,839 --> 00:17:26,040 He allows other people to reveal His word to us in ways that 281 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:30,640 sometimes we can't even see. But the church is so important 282 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:33,920 because those many members are able to come together and be 283 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:38,200 vessels used by God to speak into our lives. 284 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:43,320 So again, to live in freedom we have to live by God's Word, 285 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:48,040 which is true truth, and God uses His church to bring that to 286 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:48,760 us. Amen. 287 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:57,360 Luke 22 it says. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, 288 00:17:57,360 --> 00:18:01,400 indeed, Satan has asked for you that he may sift you as wheat, 289 00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:08,600 but I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail when 290 00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:10,880 you have returned to me. Strengthen your brethren. 291 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:13,920 I love this verse. I just said this the other day 292 00:18:14,120 --> 00:18:15,640 when we were at Bible study on Tuesday. 293 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:18,120 And I was like, I love how so many times. 294 00:18:18,120 --> 00:18:20,760 That's why I say don't get in too big of a routine reading 295 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:23,000 your Bible because a lot of times you just read it just to 296 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:25,960 check off that list. And we don't allow his word to 297 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:30,440 really soak into our heart for that change. 298 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:36,440 But I love when there's so much packed into one scripture. 299 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:38,600 We're reading First Corinthians for our Bible study. 300 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:41,600 If you haven't joined a Bible study, shameless plug, there's a 301 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:43,280 lot of Bible studies that we have going on and they're 302 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:45,200 amazing. They help to really just open up 303 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:48,080 God's word to you. However, we were talking about 304 00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:49,920 that in our Bible study on Tuesday. 305 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:51,800 But I love in the Scripture here too. 306 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:56,960 There's so much packed into this one scripture and even into one 307 00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:00,400 word. This story is a story about 308 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:06,920 Peter, right? But Jesus calls him Simon in 309 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:12,080 this scripture. Peter, his original name was 310 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:16,200 Simon, but Jesus changed his name to Caifas, which is 311 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:20,080 Aramaic, Aramaic for rock. And it was later translated into 312 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:23,840 Greek as Petras, which is now Peter. 313 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:27,760 And Jesus said, this is the name that I'm going to have for you. 314 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:30,680 It's Peter. It means rock. 315 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:33,000 And obviously, as we established, we already know 316 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:36,400 about what happens at Pentecost in Peter's life, that, you know, 317 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:39,400 he allowed God to really work in him and transform him. 318 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:43,680 But there was this process of transformation that Peter had to 319 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:49,440 go through to really allow the name that God had chosen for him 320 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:55,160 to really shine forth a process. So the name Simon was used here 321 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:59,480 by Jesus in this instance because when Jesus was telling 322 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:04,840 Peter about what was happening, what was about to happen, Peter 323 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:07,880 was about to fall into his old nature of sin. 324 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:14,360 And so God, although changed his name to Peter, knew that he was 325 00:20:14,360 --> 00:20:16,360 about to go through this process. 326 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:20,520 And how many times do we, as we become a new Christian, there's 327 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:25,480 little things in our life that sometimes tug on our heart or 328 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:31,360 tug on our mind or tug on our. You know, our lives that are 329 00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:35,080 past just kind of like just kind of pulls us in this other 330 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:37,440 direction. So Jesus here was talking to him 331 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:40,560 and he says Simon, because he knew in this moment he was going 332 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:42,680 to fall into this old nature of sin. 333 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:45,720 But Peter, in the stories we read about from the beginning, 334 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:49,040 when Jesus is talking to him, he's like, no, absolutely not. 335 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:52,840 I would never do that, Jesus. And how many times do we have 336 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:55,160 God's Word? God's word tells us what's going 337 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:57,200 to happen and we're like, no, absolutely not. 338 00:20:57,400 --> 00:20:59,800 I would never fall into that. I would never do that. 339 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:03,280 I'm a new creature and you God, I would never be inclined to my 340 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:06,440 old pastor, never be inclined to my old nature of sin. 341 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:09,440 But here in the Scripture, Jesus pointed it out to him, and Jesus 342 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:12,760 knew him. Peter was not willing to listen. 343 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:19,000 God knows that we have this side of us that constantly is going 344 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:23,840 to gnaw at us or we may constantly be reminded of it, 345 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:28,680 but we have to keep God's word in our hearts and in our minds. 346 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:33,240 I know for me, I had a very important choice to make as a 347 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:37,120 child. I was the type of I, I would say 348 00:21:37,120 --> 00:21:40,720 I was, but I probably still AM. And it's probably one of those 349 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:42,960 things that bugs people a lot about me. 350 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:45,280 But I just believe what people say. 351 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:48,920 When I was younger, it was called gullible, but it worked 352 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:52,640 to my favor because if my parents said the water is hot, I 353 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:55,200 just, I'm like, the water's hot. Like I don't need to test it to 354 00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:58,280 see if the water's hot. They obviously told me the water 355 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:01,560 was hot, right? Some other people in my life 356 00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:03,360 were not like that. If they said the water's hot, 357 00:22:03,360 --> 00:22:04,480 they'd be like, well, I'm going to see. 358 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:08,480 And they're like, right, I just kind of believed what my parents 359 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:10,400 told me. And it worked out a little bit 360 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:13,680 well for my life because when they told me, hey, addiction 361 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:15,720 runs in the family. There's going to be things that 362 00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:19,280 happen in our family that are iniquities that are passed down 363 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:22,720 from generation to generation. You must be careful for those 364 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:24,400 things. In my mind, I was like, I'm not 365 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:25,920 going to touch that with a 10 foot pole. 366 00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:30,240 So I made a very hard line in the sand that said this will not 367 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:34,000 be a part of my life. And those are things that we 368 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:38,920 have to realize that we we can't just just be oblivious right to 369 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:42,720 our old nature of sin. We can't be oblivious to the 370 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:46,040 things that have been passed down to us from generation to 371 00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:49,200 generation. We cannot be oblivious to the 372 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:52,920 fact that our choices will have a consequence or a reward and 373 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:57,320 just live walking around our lives just with blinders on, 374 00:22:57,320 --> 00:23:00,360 acting like it's not a big deal. But we have to be prepared. 375 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:04,360 We have to know God's word and know that when he says, Hey, 376 00:23:04,360 --> 00:23:07,120 Satan has asked to sift you as we and this is what's going to 377 00:23:07,120 --> 00:23:09,640 happen. We have to have that thought 378 00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:13,800 process in our mind that I will have to constantly make a 379 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:15,800 choice. Pastor Rich, use the scripture 380 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:18,080 on Wednesday that says you will have to take up your cross 381 00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:21,200 daily. This is a choice that you have 382 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:24,840 to make for your life. And obviously the more and more 383 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:28,560 you make the choice about something, the easier it does 384 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:30,400 get. But you can't. 385 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:34,680 You can't mess with fire, right? If you don't want to be burned, 386 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:36,520 don't mess with fire, is what they say. 387 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:42,120 So me knowing that addiction ran in the family I just had, what 388 00:23:42,120 --> 00:23:45,480 family does it not run in? Let's just be honest here, OK, 389 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:48,640 What family does it not run in? So if you're sitting out there 390 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:51,800 like it doesn't run in my family, surely it does. 391 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:57,080 But we have to know that God has created us is a part of an A 392 00:23:57,080 --> 00:24:00,440 church family, yes, but he's also created us as a part of a 393 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:03,520 natural family. And what better of a story is it 394 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:07,160 that you can say, wow, I was tempted with all these things 395 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:11,040 over here, but I said, no, I was tempted with all these things 396 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:13,040 over here. And it may have burned me in the 397 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:18,160 past, but not anymore because I have God's word as a part of my 398 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:20,480 life. And God's word is truth. 399 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:24,760 And God's word is a life changing truth that transforms 400 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:27,160 us, that we no longer have to live. 401 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:30,840 Just like we said with baptism today, cutting away of the old 402 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:36,000 nature of sin, that you would be dead unto sin but alive unto 403 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:40,640 Christ, the Word, God's Word, which is truth, can transform 404 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:45,080 your life. And we have to have a confidence 405 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:47,480 in that. Whoa, I'm getting fired up up 406 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:49,240 here. God is good. 407 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:56,080 Come on, give him a praise. And I love this because when I 408 00:24:56,080 --> 00:25:00,960 read the story of Peter, I'm like, wow, see, a lot of times 409 00:25:01,360 --> 00:25:03,840 I'm already like wanting to jump to tell you what altar call song 410 00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:06,400 we're going to do today because I'm so fired up about this, 411 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:09,320 right? But it says, when I look back, I 412 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:11,400 didn't think that I would make it. 413 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:15,960 I was sinking, right? I just knew that I was too far 414 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:19,560 gone. Then you showed up, right? 415 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:23,480 So many times we think that we're too far gone. 416 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:28,280 So many times we think that the choices that we made are now a 417 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:32,760 part of our identity. And although they are a chapter 418 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:37,080 in our book, they are not the title of your book because you 419 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:41,680 are no longer a slave to your sin, but you are a child of God. 420 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:45,280 And He shows up at the most perfect timing in the most 421 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:48,640 perfect way. He uses the people in your life 422 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:52,400 that you may not even thought that He would use any places in 423 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:56,640 them in your life to bring forth that change that you need to no 424 00:25:56,640 --> 00:25:59,000 longer operate in your old nature of sin. 425 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,600 In Luke 22 it says. Then after about an hour had 426 00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:06,520 passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, Surely this 427 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:10,680 fellow also was with him, for he is a Galilean. 428 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:13,840 But Peter said, Man, I do not know what you are saying. 429 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:19,240 Immediately while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. 430 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:23,320 The Lord turned and looked at Peter, and Peter remembered the 431 00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:26,440 word of the Lord and how he had said to him before. 432 00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:32,400 The rooster crows. You will deny me 3 times like 433 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:36,360 man. Now you remember the word of the 434 00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:39,320 Lord? He just spoke it to you, right? 435 00:26:41,080 --> 00:26:44,200 He just told you Peter, what was going to happen. 436 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:46,760 And now you remember the word of the Lord. 437 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:50,680 How many times do we read the word of the Lord? 438 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:54,240 Do we know the word of the Lord? But we allow it to take a back 439 00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:57,320 seat in our life. How many times? 440 00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:00,840 Because a lot of the times His word is going to stretch us. 441 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:04,640 A lot of the times his word is going to make us uncomfortable. 442 00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:09,200 A lot of the times his word is going to offend and not make you 443 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:13,120 feel good. So when that happens, we allow 444 00:27:13,120 --> 00:27:17,320 it to take the back seat to our lives and just say, I'm a child 445 00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:19,960 of God. But in this instance in my life, 446 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:22,240 I'm just going to set the word to the side and then we'll just 447 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:24,200 like pick it back up next time, right? 448 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:30,640 That's not how God's word works because his entire word is 449 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:34,480 truth. So imagine had the had Jesus 450 00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:38,760 spoke to Peter, he said, Peter, listen, he's asked to sift you 451 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:41,360 as wheat. But guess what? 452 00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:45,760 Peter could have been like, Oh my gosh, Satan asked to sift me 453 00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:49,080 as wheat and I'm going to deny him three times before the 454 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:51,360 rooster crows. So when someone comes up to me 455 00:27:51,360 --> 00:27:53,440 and says, you know him, you'll be like, heck yeah, I know him, 456 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:56,600 right? I mean, if he would have kept 457 00:27:56,880 --> 00:28:02,480 God's word at the forefront of his mind, he would have 458 00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:05,960 remembered and said, oh, I'm not denying him because I'm going to 459 00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:08,080 stand by God's word, which is truth. 460 00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:12,440 How many times in our lives do we get presented with an 461 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:15,920 opportunity or a choice or whatever it is in our life, and 462 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:18,920 because it doesn't make us feel good, we allow it to take a back 463 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:22,640 seat. There was a moment in my life, a 464 00:28:22,640 --> 00:28:28,880 moment of weakness in my life because I felt like my life was 465 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:31,960 just not going the way that I thought I was going to go. 466 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:35,240 I was like, Laura, this is not the timeline that I told you 467 00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:38,000 that I wanted when I was 12, All right? 468 00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:42,840 This is not happening the way that I thought it was going to 469 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:45,080 happen. And I remember one of the 470 00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:48,000 leaders in young adults, she gave all the girls these like 471 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:52,680 the tiniest of tiny journals. And she was like, this is so 472 00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:54,280 perfect. You can keep it in your purse. 473 00:28:54,280 --> 00:28:57,240 And I'm just like, you know, like it was one of those like, 474 00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:03,760 like, I'm not journaling, but we decided to go to Peru and I 475 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:05,480 brought this little journal with me. 476 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,080 And it was in the moment in my life where I was seeking the 477 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:11,000 Lord for direction over my life. And I was just like, tell me 478 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:13,960 what to do. I just want you to make the 479 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:16,600 choice for me, right? Like, I just want like the doors 480 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:19,760 to open and be like, and I'm like, that's the choice that I'm 481 00:29:19,760 --> 00:29:23,840 supposed to make, right? And I remember sitting in my bed 482 00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:27,040 in Peru and I was like, I'm going to take this little 483 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:29,960 journal out and just write in it, whatever. 484 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:35,080 And I remember I was sitting down with my journal as I'm 485 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:37,360 trying to make this choice over my life. 486 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:41,200 And I remember writing in it. I stopped listening to your word 487 00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:44,040 and I stopped listening for your voice. 488 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:46,520 And that's exact. And I tried to find it. 489 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:47,880 I wanted to bring it here for you today. 490 00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:52,600 And maybe I lost it for a reason, but that's what I wrote 491 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:56,080 in my journal. And it wasn't like by accident. 492 00:29:56,080 --> 00:29:59,560 It's not like I accidentally stopped listening to God's word. 493 00:29:59,880 --> 00:30:02,960 It's not like I accidentally forgot what His voice sounded 494 00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:05,480 like. It's because life was not going 495 00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:08,840 the way that I wanted to go. And because God was taking so 496 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:13,880 long, I just decided to do something else and it was not 497 00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:17,240 the right choice for my life. And I knew it wasn't the right 498 00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:22,080 choice for my life. We cannot allow God's Word to 499 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:28,000 take the back seat in our lives. But what if every choice that we 500 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:32,400 made, God's Word was sitting right in front of us, right? 501 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:38,120 The tool kit, the map, whatever you want to call it, the truth, 502 00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:43,320 it could be on the forefront of your mind, God's word. 503 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:47,600 Then you speak God's word, Then you make a choice, God's word. 504 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:51,360 Then you react God's word. Then you take a step. 505 00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:54,640 What if God's word? We're sitting at the forefront 506 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:59,560 of our mind like Peter when he said, then he remembered God's 507 00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:04,440 word. Don't be a then you remember 508 00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:10,760 God's word people, but be the people who says my church is the 509 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:17,920 pillar in ground for truth. Allow yourself to be a part of 510 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:24,080 the church who is the pillar in ground for the word of God in 511 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:28,880 our lives because there is an importance to his word over our 512 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:31,600 lives. It is the truth in which will 513 00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:36,160 set you free. It is the truth that's going to 514 00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:40,080 bring forth that life transformation that you are 515 00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:44,800 waiting for. Many times we set it a lot 516 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:50,760 aside, but we need to keep it at the forefront of our lives. 517 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:54,960 A scripture that we quote so often around here because we 518 00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:57,880 believe in it. Romans 12/1 to two. 519 00:31:57,880 --> 00:31:59,760 It says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the 520 00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:03,440 mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice. 521 00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:09,240 I could just stop there, but I'll keep going. 522 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:15,240 Holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 523 00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:21,160 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the 524 00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:24,440 renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good, 525 00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:27,560 acceptable and perfect will of God. 526 00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:30,760 In the very beginning, I started with the world has their truth 527 00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:35,160 and they're gonna fight to get you to believe in their truth, 528 00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:40,120 but God's word is truth. Everything else opinion. 529 00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:42,600 I'm I'm waiting for all my counselors training people to 530 00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:48,840 say that to live this life of sacrifice, it says to live holy, 531 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:53,160 to live sanctified, to live acceptable to God, we must know 532 00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:56,680 God's word. We must not be conformed to the 533 00:32:56,680 --> 00:33:00,240 world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 534 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:04,640 This comes from a Greek word that combines 2 words again and 535 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:07,560 new. This word suggests a complete 536 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:11,960 change for the better. We can't start this process of 537 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:16,640 transformation and just stop. Imagine if a Caterpillar just 538 00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:20,200 decided to stop. It gets all stuck in the cocoon. 539 00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:22,480 It's like, I'm done. I'm comfortable. 540 00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:25,960 We would be robbed of those Beautiful Creatures called 541 00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:27,600 butterflies in this world, right? 542 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:31,640 But that's what happens with us. The moment we get uncomfortable, 543 00:33:31,640 --> 00:33:33,800 we're like, I'm just going to stay here. 544 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:37,840 I want to be comfortable, I just want to be this and hope that 545 00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:40,280 one day I won't have to be uncomfortable, but I'll still 546 00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:42,040 get to be everything that God has called me to be. 547 00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:45,240 It's not going to happen. We have to believe for a 548 00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:50,080 complete transformation because this word suggests complete 549 00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:53,640 change for the better and adjustment to our moral and 550 00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:57,360 spiritual vision. And Titus says not by the works 551 00:33:57,360 --> 00:34:00,800 of righteousness, but according to his mercy, he saved us 552 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:04,200 through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of 553 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:08,120 the Holy Spirit. If we want to be renewed, right? 554 00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:09,520 It says the renewing of our minds. 555 00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:12,000 If we want to be renewed, we need the help of the Holy 556 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:13,920 Spirit. Jesus said, I'm going to send 557 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:16,840 you a helper. And they're like, all the 558 00:34:16,840 --> 00:34:18,600 disciples are, what are you? What are we? 559 00:34:18,600 --> 00:34:20,520 You're going to send me a helper and he's like, I'm going to send 560 00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:22,320 you a helper. The Holy Spirit. 561 00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:28,000 Oh my gosh, we have a helper, the Holy Spirit inside of us who 562 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:32,040 will help us to become everything that God has called 563 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:34,440 us to be. It is not something that we can 564 00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:38,159 be do by our own strength. It's not something that we can 565 00:34:38,159 --> 00:34:42,080 do through our own decisions on our own. 566 00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:45,400 But in order to completely transform, we need the 567 00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:49,800 transforming power of the Holy Spirit to bring us to complete 568 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:51,280 transformation. Can I get Amen? 569 00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:57,360 Psalm 119 it says I have restrained my feet from every 570 00:34:57,360 --> 00:35:00,160 evil way that I may keep Your word. 571 00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:04,040 I have not departed from Your judgements, for You yourself 572 00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:08,600 have taught me how sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter 573 00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:11,080 than honey to my mouth, though Your precepts. 574 00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:13,240 Through Your precepts I get understanding. 575 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:14,880 Therefore I hate every false way. 576 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:18,960 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light unto my path. 577 00:35:19,240 --> 00:35:22,320 I have one of those. Like the past, You look at the 578 00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:29,000 past rose colored glasses. This word, this song has been in 579 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:34,000 my mind for like a month. The word is a lamp until my 580 00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:38,720 feet. Yeah, you all know that one. 581 00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:42,680 But then I listened back to it on YouTube and I was like, I 582 00:35:42,680 --> 00:35:46,080 can't have them do that today. I love the love, love, love the 583 00:35:46,080 --> 00:35:50,200 words. But that was a I'm being mean. 584 00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:51,760 I was going to say a doozy of a song. 585 00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:55,160 The words are amazing. But man, I listened back to 586 00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:56,680 that. I was like, oh man, I think we 587 00:35:56,680 --> 00:35:57,880 sing that better than youth group. 588 00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:02,200 Then Amy Grant's even saying it. But I've been singing this word, 589 00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:07,040 this song over and over again. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet. 590 00:36:07,040 --> 00:36:10,000 What does that mean? That means that God's Word is 591 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:14,760 going to guide us every single step of the way. 592 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:17,840 But what also is it? It's a light unto our path. 593 00:36:18,040 --> 00:36:20,960 It's going to guide our entire future. 594 00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:25,000 So it guides us every step of the way, but it also illuminates 595 00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:28,880 our path so that we know where we're going, although we might 596 00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:31,920 not know where it's taking us or how we're doing it. 597 00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:35,240 He says, look at the lamp to your feet and trust the light 598 00:36:35,240 --> 00:36:38,720 unto your path. I will take you to any place 599 00:36:38,720 --> 00:36:41,160 that you need to be to become everything that I've called you 600 00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:45,840 to. That's God's word, thy word, 601 00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:50,680 God's truth, not what the world has to offer, but the word of 602 00:36:50,680 --> 00:36:54,840 God is the lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path. 603 00:36:55,320 --> 00:36:59,760 Luke 22 says, And the Lord said, I'm repeating a verse because I 604 00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:03,800 love this verse. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, 605 00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:06,880 indeed Satan has asked for you that he may sift you as wheat, 606 00:37:06,880 --> 00:37:11,760 but I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail when 607 00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:16,200 you return to me. Strengthen your brethren. 608 00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:20,360 Although Jesus called him Simon, although Jesus knew that he was 609 00:37:20,360 --> 00:37:23,600 going to fall into his old nature of sin, he also knew when 610 00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:26,800 you return Peter, he knew there was a comeback. 611 00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:30,960 He knew that Peter's past mistakes were not going to hold 612 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:34,920 him back from everything that God had called for him. 613 00:37:35,080 --> 00:37:39,280 And you need to believe that for you that you're not done. 614 00:37:39,720 --> 00:37:47,200 If you feel like I've made it, dive into God's Word again 615 00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:55,360 because we are constantly on a path to growth and maturity and 616 00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:58,720 we have to believe that transformation is possible for 617 00:37:58,760 --> 00:38:02,360 each and every one of us. Complete transformation. 618 00:38:02,560 --> 00:38:05,280 And when you have returned, don't be selfish. 619 00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:08,840 Do not be selfish. Do not get to the place where 620 00:38:08,840 --> 00:38:11,440 you say, well, my past is not holding me back. 621 00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:14,040 How great it is to go to church and leave and do absolutely 622 00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:20,280 nothing. You strengthen your brethren. 623 00:38:20,520 --> 00:38:24,440 You have a testimony. God has worked something 624 00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:27,880 miraculous inside each and everyone of you. 625 00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:30,400 Do not be the descendants of Abraham. 626 00:38:31,280 --> 00:38:32,800 Well, we're the descendants of Abraham. 627 00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:35,840 We have nothing left to do. If you're the descendant of 628 00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:39,480 Abraham, if you are a child of God, how much of A higher 629 00:38:39,480 --> 00:38:40,920 calling do you have on your life? 630 00:38:41,280 --> 00:38:45,640 How much more of a testimony do you have when you return? 631 00:38:45,640 --> 00:38:47,720 Strengthen your brethren. This is what Pastor Lauren has 632 00:38:47,720 --> 00:38:52,040 been talking to us about. The third day, the new day where 633 00:38:52,040 --> 00:38:56,280 you have such a blessing that you have not room enough to 634 00:38:56,280 --> 00:38:58,320 receive. So what do you do? 635 00:38:59,120 --> 00:39:01,200 You now have enough to bless other people. 636 00:39:01,400 --> 00:39:04,680 Because if we're the branches of the church from the seed that 637 00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:08,880 was planted at Pentecost, you are now a branch that has the 638 00:39:09,120 --> 00:39:14,840 the ability to bear fruit. You're a branch that has the 639 00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:17,720 ability to provide housing for birds. 640 00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:22,640 You're a branch that has ability to provide shade for those that 641 00:39:22,640 --> 00:39:25,360 need shade and fruit for those who are hungry. 642 00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:32,000 So allow God's Word to give you freedom to transform your life 643 00:39:32,160 --> 00:39:36,800 so now that you become a blessing to the world in which 644 00:39:36,800 --> 00:39:40,280 you live. This is Pastor Lauren Coverbius 645 00:39:40,280 --> 00:39:42,880 from Mount Zion Church. We thank you for joining us 646 00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:45,880 today and invite you to connect with our church family by 647 00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:49,640 visiting mountzion.org and following us on social media. 648 00:39:49,880 --> 00:39:50,600 God bless you.