1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,880 We have several of our number that are missing, but we have a 2 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:07,280 great crowd because you're here and it is always a pleasure and 3 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:10,080 a privilege to worship God, as Terry pointed out in the very 4 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:13,960 beginning about worshipping God. That's why we're here. 5 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:18,560 It's all about God. It is always a joy to preach 6 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:21,200 concerning the word of God. And I am enjoying this series 7 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:24,400 very, very much on the great Sermon on the Mount. 8 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:28,040 Today we've come to a passage of scripture that's found in 9 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:32,960 Matthew Chapter 6 and verses 19 through 21, where Jesus is going 10 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:38,000 to talk on the concept of laying up for yourselves, treasures in 11 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:39,880 heaven. And thank you, Chris, for 12 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:42,680 leading that song just a moment ago, because it's really fitting 13 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:48,160 to our lesson, treasures unseen. There are things in life that we 14 00:00:48,160 --> 00:00:50,320 spend a lot of our time investing in. 15 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:54,000 We do. We have investments that we do 16 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:55,760 with our money, We invest of our time. 17 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:58,920 And there's things in life that do draw our attention. 18 00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:02,680 What the Lord is going to say is the Lord is going to tell us 19 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:07,600 that the treasures in heaven far surpass any treasure that you 20 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:09,480 could ever try to get in this life. 21 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:12,400 The things of this life are temporal. 22 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:14,720 They're passing, and they can all be taken away. 23 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:17,400 Let me just ask you a question before we go any further. 24 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:21,080 Have you ever had something in your life that was taken away? 25 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:26,880 Everybody has. And it's painful. 26 00:01:28,320 --> 00:01:32,440 And the more emphasis you put on what was taken away, the greater 27 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:34,360 the pain and the greater the effect on your life. 28 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:41,000 This lesson is about focusing on better things and investing in 29 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:43,520 heavenly treasures. And we're going to talk about 30 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:46,920 what all that means. By the way, we're going to 31 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:49,600 prefer heavenly things over earthly things. 32 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:54,640 You know, before Jesus taught on these passages though, he taught 33 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:57,080 on the subject of fasting. And I'm not going to go back 34 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:00,200 into that because about eight years ago I gave a two-part 35 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,040 series on fasting and I'm not going to go back and do that. 36 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:05,920 What I want to do is though I'm going to skip those verses, but 37 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:08,639 I'm going to mention them in general really briefly as an 38 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:12,080 introduction as they apply to the same concept Jesus said 39 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:14,040 about praying. What did Jesus say when he 40 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:17,320 taught the concept of prayer? He gave principles of proper 41 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:19,360 prayer. And what Jesus said is he said 42 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:20,800 don't do it for the wrong motive. 43 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:22,160 Don't do it for the wrong reason. 44 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:24,560 Don't do it to be seen by men. We know that right? 45 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:26,200 It's got to be for the right reason. 46 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:29,000 In other words, prayer is something personal between you 47 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:31,640 and God. So is fasting. 48 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:36,200 So Jesus says when you fast, implying that you're going to 49 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:38,960 when you fast. And there are times when a 50 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:40,720 disciple of Jesus is going to fast. 51 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:43,320 Absolutely. In fact, in the Old Testament, 52 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,120 it's called afflicting the soul. What that means is that just 53 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:48,960 means humbling yourself. And there's times when you 54 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:52,760 humble yourself in fasting and it's accompanied by prayer. 55 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:56,600 What did Jesus say about that? He said, when you do it, don't 56 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:59,680 do it to be seen by men. Wash your face. 57 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:02,280 Put a smile on your face. Don't have a sad. 58 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:03,760 The Bible says a sad countenance. 59 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:05,560 Oh look at me, I'm starving. Don't do that. 60 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:10,680 Don't do it to be seen by men. After he got finished with all 61 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:14,280 of that, he's going to talk about the things that are most 62 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:18,520 important in our life, laying up for ourselves, treasures in 63 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:19,760 heaven. Now what I got to tell you is 64 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:22,520 this. I'm going to give today 5 65 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:27,360 practical ways to do that. You know, the Bible is filled 66 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:29,680 with general principles, and general principles are 67 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:33,000 wonderful. But the Bible is also filled 68 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:36,320 with practical application of how to achieve those general 69 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:38,960 principles. So I can get up here today and I 70 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:40,760 can say, you know, what you got to do, what you really got to do 71 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:41,920 is just kind of put the Lord first. 72 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:45,400 OK, great. What you got to do is you got to 73 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:46,800 really get your priorities straight. 74 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:48,800 How many times we heard that. Thanks for that. 75 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:55,760 What if I could, you know, in my career as a preacher, one of the 76 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:58,920 things that comes to mind or comes to my attention or is 77 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:02,800 brought to my attention from people wherever I preach is I 78 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:05,200 really want to do what's right. I really want to live the 79 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:08,720 Christian life, but I struggle. Everybody struggles. 80 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:13,320 I'm weak and sometimes I fall and I struggle. 81 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:15,920 I try to stay focused, but man, I keep getting derailed. 82 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:20,120 And one of the greatest requests from me is can you give us some 83 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:23,600 practical things that I can do to apply in my life to stay 84 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:27,160 focused and stay on track? That is so important. 85 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:30,280 I'm going to give you 5 things today on how to lay up treasures 86 00:04:30,280 --> 00:04:33,640 in heaven and five ways to know if you actually are great stuff 87 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:36,080 from the word of God. OK, before we do that, let's go 88 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:40,240 to verse 19. Because in verse 19 Jesus is 89 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:42,160 going to say the flip side. He's going to say what not to 90 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:44,560 do. And the first thing he says is 91 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:47,840 do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth. 92 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:52,480 First of all, let me say Jesus is not condemning wealth. 93 00:04:54,280 --> 00:04:57,040 He is not condemning earthly riches. 94 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:01,120 He is not saying that you have to live your life in poverty. 95 00:05:01,280 --> 00:05:05,920 He's not saying that at all. He is also not suggesting that 96 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:09,600 money is inherently evil. You know, I got to tell you, 97 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:12,000 there's a passage in the Bible that talks about money with 98 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:14,120 regards to evil. We all know what that is, right? 99 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:18,080 I was watching a movie not long ago and Hollywood tried to 100 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:21,640 depict that phrase that is found in the Bible, but they misquoted 101 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:24,000 it. It was regards to a guy that was 102 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:27,080 guilty of greed. So somebody in this movie says, 103 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:30,960 well, you know, as they say, money is the root of all evil. 104 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:33,600 No it's not. And that's not what the 105 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:37,240 scriptures teach. What the Bible teaches is it's 106 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:41,520 the love of money that is the root of all evil. 107 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:45,680 There's many examples in the Bible by by the way of 108 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:49,920 describing men and women that were very wealthy and very rich, 109 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:53,600 but they were godly men and godly women. 110 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:56,440 Give you 2 examples. We all know who they are and I'm 111 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:59,320 use the two very common examples. 112 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:01,200 One. How about Abraham? 113 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:06,560 Abraham, a man of God, was extremely wealthy. 114 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:13,360 The Bible says he had gold, he had silver and he had cattle. 115 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:18,800 But he was a God fearing man. He passed the great test. 116 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:22,600 You remember when God told Abraham to go and and give your 117 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:26,120 son as a sacrifice to me? Fast forward through the story. 118 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:27,920 He's about to do it. God stops him. 119 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:31,440 What's the point? He put God first in his life. 120 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:33,960 Wealth. Not a problem. 121 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:37,840 What about Job? How about Job? 122 00:06:37,840 --> 00:06:39,440 We always talk about the patience of Job. 123 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:41,080 What about Job? You know what the Bible says 124 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:43,800 about Job? He was the wealthiest man in the 125 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:48,320 East, the richest one. And yet do you remember what God 126 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:50,720 says about him? I love this. 127 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:54,200 God is talking to Satan about Job, He said. 128 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:55,920 Have you considered my servant Job? 129 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:57,320 How? There's none like him in all the 130 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:00,080 land. He said this. 131 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:05,080 He's faithful and upright. He fears God and shuns evil. 132 00:07:05,840 --> 00:07:09,520 Here's the point. Wealth is not morally good or 133 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:10,880 morally bad. It's not. 134 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:13,680 It is a meanless. It is a mindless means of 135 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:15,520 exchange. We all need to have it. 136 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:17,040 And by the way, I'm just going to say it again. 137 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:20,400 I've said it before. I know it's repeating, but if 138 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:22,640 God has blessed you with wealth, that's great. 139 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:24,600 Good for you. Use it for the cause of Christ. 140 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:27,840 Use it for the glory of God. Be a giving person and go do 141 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:31,040 good with it. If you had $1,000,000, here's 142 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:32,480 the question. How much would the Lord have? 143 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:35,640 That's the point. It's not the wealth. 144 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:42,480 Wealth is neither good nor evil. The problem is our affection to 145 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:45,000 it can become a problem. I want to notice with you a 146 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:47,960 passage found in First Timothy chapter 6 and verse 9. 147 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:52,920 But those who desire to be rich, following the temptation and a 148 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:57,440 snare and into many foolish and harmful lust which drowned men 149 00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:01,800 in destruction and perdition. This does not say those that are 150 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:06,040 rich fall into temptation. It says those who desire to be 151 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:08,080 rich. That's the problem. 152 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:15,720 I had a friend, I've known him many years. 153 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:19,360 He's six years younger than I am. 154 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:27,960 All he ever talked about was being successful in business and 155 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:29,440 being wealthy. That's all he cared about. 156 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,400 It was the most important thing in his life. 157 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:39,360 He had a desire to be rich. It was such a desire. 158 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:41,760 It overwhelmed him so much. Let me tell you what happened. 159 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:47,960 He got married on his honeymoon. He cut his honeymoon short to go 160 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:52,000 back home and go back to work because that was more important, 161 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:54,600 his wife said. What are you doing? 162 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:56,360 It's our honeymoon, he said. You knew what you married. 163 00:08:56,360 --> 00:09:00,320 This is number one in my life. Desire to be rich. 164 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:08,040 They had a son. A year later, they were 165 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:12,320 divorced. It ruined his relationship with 166 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:13,680 his wife, destroyed his marriage. 167 00:09:13,680 --> 00:09:15,360 It ruined his relationship with his son. 168 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:17,400 Had nothing to do with either one of They didn't have anything 169 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:18,560 to do with you, either. Either of you. 170 00:09:18,680 --> 00:09:24,960 Either of them destroyed it. He got remarried, and she had 171 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:28,960 children too. His desire to be rich continued. 172 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:30,800 No, he did. He just kept pursuing wealth. 173 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:37,200 He got incredibly overweight, his health began to deteriorate, 174 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:43,720 and he was a severe alcoholic. At the age of 50, his kidneys 175 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:46,280 failed and now he's on dialysis at 50. 176 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:55,240 While on dialysis, he had a heart attack and died at the age 177 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:59,640 of 50. His greatest desire was to be 178 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:01,080 rich. Did he accomplish it? 179 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:02,640 Yep. He had a $50 million company. 180 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:06,080 You know what his father told me the other day? 181 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:08,120 He said. It's really sad. 182 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:12,120 He was this family's financial rock, but he was a terrible 183 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:14,920 father. Was it worth it? 184 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:21,760 Was it worth it? Throughout the Lord's ministry, 185 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:25,000 the Lord repeatedly warned against possessions. 186 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:28,080 He said this in Matthew chapter 19 and 24. 187 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:30,360 It's hard for a rich man to enter heaven. 188 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:33,360 What he said is this. It's easier for a camel to go 189 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:35,600 through the eye of a needle than a rich man to get into heaven. 190 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:37,560 You know, why all the distractions? 191 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:42,160 What else did he say? Riches can choke out the seed of 192 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:44,320 the gospel. Not only riches but the cares of 193 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:48,240 this life. Mark chapter 4 and verse 19 #3 194 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:52,160 You can't serve God and money. Didn't say you can't have God 195 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:54,680 and have money. It says you can't serve both. 196 00:10:55,800 --> 00:10:57,600 You just can't. What's the point? 197 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:02,400 The point is this. The key to wealth is our 198 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:05,000 attitude toward it. And I'll just put this little 199 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:09,800 quote on the screen. If your possessions begin to 200 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:12,960 possess you, you've forgotten about God. 201 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:17,440 Have you ever stopped to consider that we are bought at a 202 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:21,040 price? In Romans chapter 6, a beautiful 203 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:22,600 chapter, it talks about that very thing. 204 00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:25,080 You are a slave to someone or something. 205 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:28,160 Right now you are. Everybody is You're either the 206 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:30,800 slave of sin or the slave of righteousness. 207 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:34,720 When we come from the world, we are a slave of sin, right? 208 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:38,200 We're in sin. We just sang a song about Jesus 209 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:43,120 and we find redemption in Jesus and life in Jesus. 210 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:45,600 Why? Because we came from the slave 211 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:49,040 market of sin. The Lord purchases our salvation 212 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:53,200 by His blood. We contact the blood baptism, 213 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:55,040 our sins are washed away. And guess what? 214 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:59,840 From that point forward we become the Lord's servant or 215 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:04,320 slave. And that being the case, be very 216 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:06,360 careful. Don't let your possessions begin 217 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:09,400 to possess you, because the one that possesses us is the Lord. 218 00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:14,040 He owns our life. This is what Jesus says though, 219 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:16,080 about treasures that are on earth. 220 00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:20,600 He says, where moth and rush destroy, and where thieves break 221 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:23,000 in and steal. Here Jesus is going to give 222 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:26,360 three things that demonstrate the perishable nature of worldly 223 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:28,800 goods. Here they are moth, rushed and 224 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:32,440 thieves. You know the Lord was absolutely 225 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:33,400 brilliant. You know why? 226 00:12:35,680 --> 00:12:37,760 Because they would have understood the relevance of 227 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:41,120 everything he just said, did you know? 228 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:44,800 And back in ancient Palestine, back in those days, 1st century 229 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:49,320 Palestine, one of the things that described wealth was 230 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:53,320 clothing. Now, back in 1st century 231 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:57,000 Palestine, most of the clothing was made out of wool. 232 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:04,520 OK, a moth can destroy what's often considered what's 233 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:07,240 describing your wealth, which was your clothing. 234 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:11,520 What he's saying is don't put too much stock in the treasures 235 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:15,080 on the earth when an insignificant moth can destroy 236 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:18,120 it. Don't do that. 237 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:22,960 By the way, this is a very fitting example because clothes 238 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:25,080 were very valuable. I'm gonna give three reasons. 239 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:27,360 Number one, average person didn't have much. 240 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:29,240 I got to thinking about this. I kind of even felt a little bit 241 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:31,960 bad about this. This morning I'm in my office. 242 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:35,160 I'm looking over my lesson and I started thinking about all the 243 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:37,560 clothes in my closet that I do not wear. 244 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:42,600 I would imagine that everybody in this room has a bunch of 245 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:44,720 clothes that you haven't wore for a long time. 246 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:48,040 I think that's everybody. You know why? 247 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:52,400 Because we don't live like that. What we do is we've got the 248 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:55,200 abundance of everything, especially in our country. 249 00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:59,840 It's easy to get clothing, by the way, you can go down to a 250 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:03,000 thrift store and get it for inexpensively. 251 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:06,480 You can buy it at a garage sale. I know a preacher that's got 252 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:11,160 money, but he buys all of his clothes at thrift stores and 253 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:13,720 garage sales, all of them. Suits, ties, everything. 254 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:16,320 OK? It's his choice. 255 00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:18,280 I'm just saying, it's easy to get clothes. 256 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:22,080 You can even go to places where they give it away for free. 257 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:27,360 The Lord was making a point here, though, that clothes was 258 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:30,000 very valuable because the average person didn't have much. 259 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:32,760 You couldn't just go down to the store and buy it down at the 260 00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:33,880 mall. You had to make it. 261 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:38,320 So it's very precious. What else? 262 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:42,120 Secondly, clothing was so valuable that in ancient times 263 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:44,520 it was frequently taken as spoils of war. 264 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:48,600 Joshua Chapter 7 and verse 21. Again, clothing is valuable. 265 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:53,040 What else? The size of one's wardrobe was 266 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:55,280 often marked by his financial status. 267 00:14:55,280 --> 00:14:58,960 Judges 14 and 13. OK, So what he's saying is he's 268 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:01,320 talking about the kind of wealth that they would have had back in 269 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:03,520 them days. One of which is clothing. 270 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:05,120 Don't put too much stock in that. 271 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:06,680 Why? Because an insignificant moth. 272 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:08,200 Here he comes, going to chew it up. 273 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:16,560 Wow, what about rust? Now I'm going to tell you, when 274 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:19,200 I think about rust, I think about corrosion, don't you? 275 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:24,160 Corrosion on steel. Maybe you've heard this phrase 276 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:33,720 when it comes to a boat, that a boat's cancer is rust, right? 277 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:36,480 You got to get the rust out. You got to do something about 278 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:37,800 the rust because they don't eat it up. 279 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:40,960 Interesting. It's very interesting because 280 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:44,760 the actual word rust, according to Mr. Robertson, means eats. 281 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:48,200 What's he talking about? He's talking about things that 282 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:52,800 eat your wealth, A moth, and even rust. 283 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:57,560 So while the application, I think in the general sense, 284 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:02,480 could be about rust and it could be in corrosion, it could be in 285 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:04,240 those things. Yeah, that's true. 286 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:07,760 But I think in the context of the passage and what the word 287 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:09,840 actually means by eating, I think it has a broader 288 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:11,560 application. Let's go back to wealth. 289 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:15,120 The first thing we said that marked their wealth was closed. 290 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:16,360 We know what the second thing was. 291 00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:18,600 According to Luke, Chapter 12, grain. 292 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:23,160 Grain marked wealth. Remember the parable, the rich 293 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:24,320 fool. I'll not go there. 294 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:30,000 We don't have time, but wealth or grain marked his wealth. 295 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:33,520 That's why he says I'll pull down my barns and build greater 296 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:37,960 than all my stuff, right? So the concept in a broader 297 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:41,680 perspective regarding grain and things that a farmer would grow. 298 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:44,360 Rust describes something that eats. 299 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:46,560 And now what do you got? You got mice, you got rats, 300 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:49,640 rats, you got bugs, you got all kinds of stuff eating the 301 00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:51,720 profits of the grain from the farmer. 302 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:55,920 That's wealth, too. Insignificant things. 303 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:58,440 And by the way, did you just notice what I just gave you? 304 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:01,040 The two examples of cloves and Moss, and I'm talking about 305 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:03,600 grain and mice and rats. They are things beyond your 306 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:07,880 control. Does that mean things in life 307 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:09,920 can be taken away from you, beyond your control? 308 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:14,280 Yes. Does that mean it's unfair? 309 00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:17,160 Yes. But it's true. 310 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:20,599 And it does happen. So don't put too much stock in 311 00:17:20,599 --> 00:17:22,760 those things that can be taken away beyond your control. 312 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:26,040 What about this, though? What about thieves? 313 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:30,440 Thieves pose a great threat, threat to anyone who has worldly 314 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:33,440 goods, and there's a great number of passages that bear 315 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:35,080 this out. I'm going to tell you, if you 316 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:37,960 have something, it doesn't have to be expensive, it doesn't have 317 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:40,880 to be extravagant, it doesn't even have to be all that 318 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:45,040 valuable to you. If you possess something and you 319 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:46,840 don't protect it, somebody will take it. 320 00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:49,880 Give an example just the other day. 321 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:55,760 Tanner in the back of his truck had a blower left in the back of 322 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:56,560 his truck. Got stolen. 323 00:17:58,120 --> 00:17:59,640 A blower. Come on. 324 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:03,280 I gave him the blower. Didn't even cost that much. 325 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:07,840 You know what else they did? They unscrewed the ball off of 326 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:09,360 his trailer hitch and stole that too. 327 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:12,160 The ball. Not the whole hitch, just the 328 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:17,200 ball. If you have something, somebody 329 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:21,400 will take it. Thieves are always that way. 330 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:22,720 What does the Bible say about thieves? 331 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:24,280 Well, it says many things. I'm going to give you one. 332 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:25,960 Verse John, chapter 10 and verse 10. 333 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:30,640 The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and 334 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:32,120 destroy. That is a thief. 335 00:18:33,360 --> 00:18:35,160 Look at the flip side. Look at the Lord here. 336 00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:38,680 But I have come that you may have life and they may have it 337 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:40,880 more abundantly. That's the difference between 338 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:44,360 treasures on earth and treasures in heaven. 339 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:48,280 All right, what about this? What do we do to keep the thief 340 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:49,520 out? Oh, we do all kinds of stuff. 341 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:53,160 We've got locks, we've got alarms, We've got bars on 342 00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:56,800 windows. We got barbed wire on the back 343 00:18:56,800 --> 00:19:00,080 wall because people were jumping the wall to break into cars. 344 00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:06,120 Really. Has it come to that? 345 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:11,160 Yes, but it's always been like that. 346 00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:15,920 Thieves will breakthrough and steal. 347 00:19:16,360 --> 00:19:18,720 But do you know, back in those days when Jesus gave this 348 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:22,520 illustration, back in the 1st century Palestine, there were 349 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:25,000 two ways that you protected yourself from a thief. 350 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:27,680 Two ways. Number one, you took your 351 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:30,440 valuable possession and you buried it in the ground. 352 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:34,080 That's number one. The number two thing that you 353 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:38,280 did to protect your goods from someone is you place them in 354 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:41,040 your home. Let's talk about, first of all, 355 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:44,600 the hidden treasure as found in Matthew 13 and 44. 356 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:47,320 Now again, Jesus is making in this parable. 357 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:50,120 He's making a spiritual application of the Kingdom. 358 00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:55,000 Remember what a parable was. A parable is a laying alongside 359 00:19:55,120 --> 00:19:57,920 something from the physical realm, laying alongside the 360 00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:01,000 spiritual realm. And get this, they were always 361 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:02,720 true. It was true on the physical 362 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:04,320 side. It was true on the spiritual 363 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:05,040 side. Always. 364 00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:08,440 OK, that means this. He said again, the Kingdom of 365 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:10,840 heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field. 366 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:12,240 Why? Because that's what people did. 367 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:14,320 They took the treasure and they hid at the field. 368 00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:18,400 They stuck at the ground so nobody would take it right. 369 00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:25,160 The 2nd way that they did that, by the way, is they put it in 370 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:28,760 their house. Homes back in those days were 371 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:33,400 not built like homes in our day. Homes were built by way of dirt 372 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:36,960 and clay that was hardened by the sun. 373 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:42,800 You know, mud huts, Clay huts, right. 374 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:44,880 So you know what's interesting here? 375 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:50,560 This phrase right here. Thieves break in and steal some 376 00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:54,280 translations. Say breakthrough and steal. 377 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:57,160 Do you know what the word actually means? 378 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:04,120 It actually means this. Dig through Why, 'cause that's 379 00:21:04,120 --> 00:21:05,960 what you had to do. You had to dig through a clay 380 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:08,760 wall or a dirt wall of a house. And you might think, man, that 381 00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:10,560 was back in those days. Glad I live in this day. 382 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:12,920 I'm going to tell you an example of how that's still happening 383 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:18,200 today. Tina's work, her boss, a 384 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:22,520 dentist, owns a building. You know what some guys did? 385 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:26,240 Couple guys, they busted through the outside wall of the 386 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:29,440 building, climbed through, busted the drywall on the 387 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:34,360 inside, got inside the building to try to do some stealing. 388 00:21:36,360 --> 00:21:41,080 Still good thing the alarms went off and all that and got him out 389 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:43,440 of there. But I'm telling you, the Lord 390 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:46,400 was pretty brilliant, wasn't he? Back in them days, they dig 391 00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:47,520 through. That's what a thief will do. 392 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:50,600 They'll dig through, They'll do whatever it takes. 393 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:53,560 My father used to say that fences make good neighbors and 394 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:54,600 all that. That's all true. 395 00:21:54,760 --> 00:21:57,440 But he used to say this too. He used to say that a fence 396 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:01,880 keeps out the honest people because a dishonest guy's 397 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:04,520 getting through. That's just the way it is. 398 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:08,760 Nothing is secure. So in summary so far, don't put 399 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:11,520 too much importance on the things that can be easily taken 400 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:14,080 or destroyed. And then he talks about what is 401 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:17,240 really, really important and this is what he says. 402 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:21,080 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where 403 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:24,880 neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break 404 00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:26,720 in and steal. Here's the point. 405 00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:31,160 Heaven is a spiritual realm. Please get this where our 406 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:42,270 possessions are safe with God. The very forces of advert that 407 00:22:42,270 --> 00:22:48,590 adversely affect earth's goods have no power over the heavenly 408 00:22:48,590 --> 00:22:52,790 realm. This does not mean that I can't 409 00:22:52,790 --> 00:22:55,550 mess up and lose my salvation because I messed up. 410 00:22:55,550 --> 00:22:58,990 That's not what this means. What this means is, when I lay 411 00:22:58,990 --> 00:23:03,280 up for myself treasures in heaven, all the things of the 412 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:07,920 earth that adversely affect the world's goods have no bearing on 413 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:09,680 that inheritance. They can't do a thing about it 414 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:12,520 because it's secure and safe with God. 415 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:16,320 When we lay up spiritual treasures in heaven, they will 416 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,360 not perish First Peter One and Four says to an inheritance 417 00:23:19,360 --> 00:23:24,000 incorruptible and undefiled, and that does not fade away reserved 418 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:29,200 in heaven for you. So with that being said, here's 419 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:31,040 my question. I really want to do that. 420 00:23:31,120 --> 00:23:33,000 I want to lay it for myself, treasures in heaven. 421 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:34,800 I want to try not to be derailed. 422 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:37,080 I want to try to stay focused. I want to do that. 423 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:39,520 How do I do it? Here we go. 424 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:43,080 I'm going to give four general principles and then I'm going to 425 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:48,560 give a #5AA specific, practical way to do that. 426 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:52,240 I'm going to tell you in advance it's going to be hard. 427 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:56,400 I'm going to tell you it's going to be trying sometimes and 428 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:58,800 sometimes, often times it's going to be a struggle. 429 00:24:00,120 --> 00:24:02,240 But please get this. This is Bible. 430 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:05,240 OK, here's the general principle. 431 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:10,200 Number one, recognize those things that are of lasting 432 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:12,000 importance. That's number one. 433 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:14,000 General principle. Get to how we do that. 434 00:24:14,360 --> 00:24:18,920 Number two, general principle, cultivate a deep love for and a 435 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:22,800 relationship with God. I'm going to tell you something. 436 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:25,200 The greatest relationship you can ever have is the one you 437 00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:29,760 have with God, the one that you have with God and Jesus Christ. 438 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:35,200 And let's not ever become or think we are just being stagnant 439 00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:39,240 or just going through the motions, punching our time in as 440 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:41,080 we come to church and do all those things. 441 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:46,200 Let Jesus be alive in your life and have a relationship with 442 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:52,720 God. Make it real #3 General 443 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:56,520 principle. Understand that material goods 444 00:24:56,520 --> 00:25:00,800 are given, so God's cause might be furthered. 445 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:07,160 Understand that you know the Apostle Paul, when he turned his 446 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:11,400 back on Judaism, lost everything. 447 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:18,880 He lost his status. He had a a status of being an 448 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:21,280 important guy. I like what Lynnwood Smith used 449 00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:22,800 to say. We might have called him as an 450 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:24,920 educated man. We might have called him Doctor 451 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:28,960 Saul today. He was the very hired gun of the 452 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:30,800 Sanhedrin. He had all this authority. 453 00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:35,040 You know what happened to him? He obeys the gospel in Acts 454 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:38,680 Chapter 9 and also as described again in Acts 22. 455 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:42,160 Do you remember what happened to his life immediately after he 456 00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:45,400 obeyed the gospel? You want to talk about difficult 457 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:47,960 times? Please get this part. 458 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:53,480 Please tune in tight. They wanted to kill him. 459 00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:01,160 Just because you become a Christian does not mean 460 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:04,720 everything's going to be good and wonderful and smooth and 461 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:06,000 easy. It's not. 462 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:13,680 If you turn your back on sin and you turn your life toward Jesus, 463 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:18,200 I'm telling you, the devil's coming with everything he's got. 464 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:24,760 Now remember what I said before We whip the devil with the Thus 465 00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:26,720 saith the Lord. Submit yourself therefore to 466 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:27,600 God. Resist the devil. 467 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:30,360 He'll flee from you absolutely. He's a vanquished foe. 468 00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:33,040 He was whipped at the cross. We share in that victory because 469 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:34,640 we have the blood of Jesus at baptism. 470 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:36,240 But we got choices to make, folks. 471 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:41,800 We got to make choices. You got to make the choice as 472 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:44,440 difficult as it might be. We need to understand that 473 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:46,920 material goods are given, so God's cause might be furthered. 474 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:49,720 What did Paul say about all the things he lost? 475 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,400 Notice Philippians 3 beginning in verse 7. 476 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:57,600 But what things were gain to me before these? 477 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:03,200 I counted lost for Christ. Yet indeed, I also count all 478 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:05,800 things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ 479 00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:10,480 Jesus, my Lord, for whom I've suffered the loss of all things, 480 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:14,840 and count them as rubbish that I might gain Christ. 481 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:18,920 Wow. Let me ask you something. 482 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:21,720 Don't answer out loud. Answer inside. 483 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:25,400 Inside. Are you willing to give up 484 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:29,000 anything and everything to follow Jesus? 485 00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:35,440 Or let me ask it like this. Is there anything you wouldn't 486 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:42,840 give up to follow Jesus? Paul says I gave all of it up, 487 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:46,720 that I might gain Christ. Do you know why? 488 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:51,440 Because none of it matters. Can I say something else too? 489 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:55,800 Even family? Jesus says he that loves father 490 00:27:55,800 --> 00:27:58,280 or mother more than me is not worthy of me. 491 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:00,880 He didn't say don't love your father and your mother. 492 00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:02,360 He said love them with everything you got. 493 00:28:02,360 --> 00:28:04,560 Love me more. That's what he said. 494 00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:08,480 OK, general principle #4, here we go. 495 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:15,120 Give to others freely, Give to others free freely. 496 00:28:16,320 --> 00:28:18,760 Now, by the way, this is not just earning merit with God, and 497 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:20,520 we give to others freely. That's not what this means. 498 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:23,440 What it means is we are cultivating the proper spirit 499 00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:25,160 and attitude toward the things that we have. 500 00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:28,480 If we're a miser and a skin Flint about what we have, and 501 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:31,760 we're not giving people, we're holding on to the possessions 502 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:34,120 and we're giving that too much credence in our life. 503 00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:38,520 But if we give to others freely with what God has already 504 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:41,080 blessed us with. And by the way, what you have, 505 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:46,240 God gave you because it's his and he gave it to us for us to 506 00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:48,080 use. And when you do that and give to 507 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:51,840 others freely, you are on the right path to having the proper 508 00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:54,400 mindset and perspective. Let me notice what these four 509 00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:55,960 things are and I'm going to get into #5. 510 00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:57,720 And this is what we're going to get specific. 511 00:28:57,720 --> 00:28:59,160 Here we go. So let's do this. 512 00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:01,360 How am I going to recognize the things that are of lasting 513 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:03,200 importance? How am I going to cultivate a 514 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:05,160 deep love for and relationship with God? 515 00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:08,120 How am I going to understand that material goods are given so 516 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:10,560 God's cause might be fulfilled? And how am I going to have the 517 00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:12,560 proper mindset to give to others freely? 518 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:17,240 Here we go, #5 I need to add to my life the fruit of the Spirit. 519 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:21,920 I got to add those things to my life. 520 00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:26,080 Galatians chapter 5 beginning in verse 22. 521 00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:33,400 But the fruit of the Spirit is Lovejoy, peace, long-suffering, 522 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:37,600 kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, 523 00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:41,080 self-control. And Paul says against such there 524 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:44,320 is no law. OK, I got to make some 525 00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:48,640 clarifications here. When you look at various 526 00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:52,760 commentaries, there's a debate and a discussion over whether or 527 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:57,760 not the fruit of the Spirit is the human spirit. 528 00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:03,160 Please stay with me on this. Is it the human spirit or is it 529 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:08,600 the Holy Spirit? Folks, it's an easy answer. 530 00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:15,320 The fruit of the Spirit is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. 531 00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:19,440 Let that sink in for a minute, OK? 532 00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:25,240 The fruit of the Spirit is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. 533 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:31,920 OK, but it doesn't mean that the human spirit is not involved. 534 00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:37,240 It does not come by direct operation. 535 00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:42,960 The Holy Spirit does not give me these things by direct operation 536 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:44,680 without my choice. I'm going to give you some 537 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:46,160 reasons. I'm going to give you some 538 00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:49,520 proof. In the passages prior to these, 539 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:52,720 what did it say? The works of the flesh are 540 00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:54,200 manifest. Which are these? 541 00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:59,720 And he gave adultery, fornication, idolatry, all the 542 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:03,200 things he lists us in. OK, that is the work of the 543 00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:05,920 flesh. You could call it like this, 544 00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:06,960 too. You call it the fruit of the 545 00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:08,600 flesh, if you want to. OK. 546 00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:12,320 All those things in the works of the flesh, and all of those 547 00:31:12,320 --> 00:31:15,520 sinful things exist with or without me. 548 00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:18,400 They exist as fact, right? They are the works of the flesh. 549 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:22,080 It doesn't mean I'm guilty of them, and it doesn't mean I've 550 00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:25,160 applied them in my life just because they exist on their own. 551 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:30,000 In similar fashion, these things are the fruit of the Holy 552 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:31,520 Spirit. It's wonderful. 553 00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:34,200 And they exist. And you know what? 554 00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:36,280 They exist independently from me. 555 00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:38,880 They exist because the Holy Spirit is perfect and it's the 556 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:40,840 fruit of the Holy Spirit. Great. 557 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:45,400 But it doesn't mean that I apply them to my life without my 558 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:48,680 choice and without working on it. 559 00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:52,160 My human spirit has to be involved. 560 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:54,760 Personal choice has to be involved. 561 00:31:55,800 --> 00:31:56,720 More on that. Just a moment. 562 00:31:56,720 --> 00:31:58,080 But let's just talk about what they are. 563 00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:00,760 Let me just talk about what they are. 564 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:04,360 The fruit of the spirit is love. You know what love is? 565 00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:08,840 Love has sacrificial giving as its motivating factor. 566 00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:13,320 That's great. That's what love means, by the 567 00:32:13,320 --> 00:32:15,680 way. Sacrificial giving as a 568 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:19,040 motivating factor. Here's another one. 569 00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:24,360 How about joy? Joy describes a delight because 570 00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:27,720 of the expectation of good coming out of a trying 571 00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:31,720 circumstance. Joy is to be seen in good and 572 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:35,120 bad circumstances equally. So wow, that's hard, isn't it? 573 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:39,720 What else? How about peace? 574 00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:45,960 Peace is the condition that exists between man and God, and 575 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:48,960 between man and his fellow man. That's what the word peace 576 00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:51,760 means. But you know, there's a broader 577 00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:54,480 scope because of what the word actually means as defined. 578 00:32:54,480 --> 00:32:56,240 You know what it means. It means whole. 579 00:32:56,840 --> 00:32:58,880 Please stay with me because I promise you this is going to 580 00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:01,440 make sense. It means whole. 581 00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:05,560 And it refers back to Joshua chapter 8 and verse 31, when 582 00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:09,840 they had to take stones that were whole, that didn't have 583 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:12,360 pieces broken off. They had to take stones that 584 00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:17,000 were whole to build the altar without any peace broken off. 585 00:33:17,160 --> 00:33:21,360 That's the same word, peace. So the word peace means whole 586 00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:24,840 meaning this in my relationship, I'm whole in my relationship 587 00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:28,240 with God, and I'm whole in my relationship with my fellow man. 588 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:32,160 That is a it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. 589 00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:37,080 What else? How about long-suffering? 590 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:40,400 long-suffering is the opposite of wrath. 591 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:43,240 It's when people try our patience. 592 00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:47,080 We're patient with them. That's hard to do when people 593 00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:49,360 try your patience. You're patient with them. 594 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:52,560 By the way, when I'm done with these, I'm going to follow my 595 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:54,840 sword right in front of you. OK, just hang with me. 596 00:33:56,880 --> 00:34:00,720 It's the opposite of wrath. It's manifesting long temper and 597 00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:04,080 not short temper. That's the fruit of the spirit. 598 00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:09,360 What about this kindness? That's kindness in words and 599 00:34:09,480 --> 00:34:12,480 actions. Sometimes we use the word oh, 600 00:34:12,480 --> 00:34:15,880 he's a kind person. Well, kindness in the Bible as a 601 00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:20,719 fruit of the Spirit is kindness in words and actions. 602 00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:25,440 What about this? Goodness is behavior that 603 00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:27,400 benefits the people we associate with. 604 00:34:31,199 --> 00:34:35,440 What about faithfulness? Faithfulness is when a person's 605 00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:39,719 belief in God is shown, it makes him trustworthy to others. 606 00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:44,199 What's the difference between faith and faithfulness? 607 00:34:45,159 --> 00:34:47,600 Faith is your belief in God. OK? 608 00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:51,040 Faithfulness is belief in action. 609 00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:54,120 It's a pretty good list here, isn't it? 610 00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:57,040 We're not done. How about this? 611 00:34:57,560 --> 00:35:00,680 How about gentleness? Some translations say meekness. 612 00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:04,040 It's the opposite of being self assertive and having 613 00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:06,600 self-interest. Wow, that's hard. 614 00:35:06,800 --> 00:35:11,400 And finally, self-control, that is, controlling yourself with 615 00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:14,840 your emotions and your passions. The words actually mean to hold 616 00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:21,600 yourself in. Now, Paul said against such 617 00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:24,520 there is no law. What does that mean? 618 00:35:24,640 --> 00:35:28,280 He means this. No responsible government would 619 00:35:28,280 --> 00:35:31,720 make a law against the practice of any of the characteristics of 620 00:35:31,720 --> 00:35:36,000 the further spirit. Nobody 's going to give you a 621 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:37,880 hard time for living like that, right? 622 00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:49,520 OK, so let me just say this. If we got these wonderful fruits 623 00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:53,560 of the Spirit by direct operation of the Holy Spirit 624 00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:56,800 beyond our will and beyond our choice, then that would mean 625 00:35:56,800 --> 00:35:59,240 that everybody, I'll just get specific about this room. 626 00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:03,360 Everybody in this room manifests all of these things all the time 627 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:07,920 because the Holy Spirit's perfect, I would say maybe you 628 00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:12,920 don't. Come on. 629 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:21,200 Is sacrifice to others your motivating factor all the time? 630 00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:31,240 What about joy of all these on the screen? 631 00:36:31,240 --> 00:36:32,440 You know what I struggle with the most? 632 00:36:34,480 --> 00:36:40,520 I struggle with joy. I do. 633 00:36:44,120 --> 00:36:45,520 I also know where that's coming from, too. 634 00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:54,360 That's coming from the devil. The harder I work for the devil, 635 00:36:54,360 --> 00:36:56,960 the more it makes a man. The harder I work for the Lord, 636 00:36:56,960 --> 00:37:02,400 the more it makes the devil man. If the devil can discourage me 637 00:37:02,400 --> 00:37:06,800 by taking away my joy, then he wins. 638 00:37:09,840 --> 00:37:15,840 He wins. What about the next one about 639 00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:17,400 peace? Peace means whole. 640 00:37:17,400 --> 00:37:18,560 I'm going to tell you something right now. 641 00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:24,200 Sometimes I am broken. Are you? 642 00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:28,360 Or do you just got her all dialed in? 643 00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:31,520 By the way, If you got it all dialed in, if you're sitting 644 00:37:31,520 --> 00:37:33,200 there going, hey, I'm good with always, then great, 645 00:37:33,200 --> 00:37:34,520 congratulations. Good for you. 646 00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:38,680 But to the rest of us that are not perfect, listen closely. 647 00:37:40,760 --> 00:37:46,880 Sometimes I'm broken too. I don't always have patience for 648 00:37:46,880 --> 00:37:51,840 people that try my patience. I don't always demonstrate 649 00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:54,440 kindness in words and actions all the time. 650 00:37:55,160 --> 00:37:59,160 I don't always do that which benefits the needs of others all 651 00:37:59,160 --> 00:38:01,840 the time. I don't always demonstrate 652 00:38:01,840 --> 00:38:06,520 faithfulness because nobody's perfect. 653 00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:12,600 I'm not always gentle and meek. Sometimes I want to stand up for 654 00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:14,000 myself. That's the opposite of meek. 655 00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:17,600 And you know what? Everybody struggles with this 656 00:38:17,600 --> 00:38:18,920 one right here? self-control. 657 00:38:19,040 --> 00:38:21,520 Have you ever said something you didn't mean or you shouldn't 658 00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:23,000 have said? And then you reeled it back in? 659 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:28,120 It was too late. I said some things here. 660 00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:30,920 I want you to be encouraged by the next thing that I'm going to 661 00:38:30,920 --> 00:38:35,080 say to you. The next thing that I want to 662 00:38:35,080 --> 00:38:39,840 say is this. Don't feel discouraged if you 663 00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:42,520 have not mastered the fruit of the Spirit. 664 00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:50,000 Don't feel like you've failed because I'm going to tell you, 665 00:38:52,240 --> 00:38:58,240 it's a struggle, It's a work. And transformation in our life 666 00:38:58,240 --> 00:39:00,280 is a process. It's a journey. 667 00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:04,160 It's not a destination. That's facts. 668 00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:14,920 The Holy Spirit indwells every Christian, yes, but he he does 669 00:39:14,920 --> 00:39:18,560 not, by direct operation make me manifest these things without my 670 00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:20,040 choice. I've got to make the choice. 671 00:39:20,480 --> 00:39:23,080 I got to work at it. And that's OK doesn't take 672 00:39:23,080 --> 00:39:24,800 anything away. Remember this. 673 00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:27,880 The Bible also says the Holy Spirit's in US, but it also says 674 00:39:27,880 --> 00:39:30,960 we're in him. Later on in the chapter said if 675 00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:35,560 we are living, one translation says, by the spirit, let's walk 676 00:39:35,560 --> 00:39:37,560 by the Spirit. You know what other translations 677 00:39:37,560 --> 00:39:39,320 say? If we're going to live in the 678 00:39:39,320 --> 00:39:42,480 spirit, let's walk in the Spirit. 679 00:39:43,240 --> 00:39:46,280 Don't you see that we got to make our Part 2. 680 00:39:46,280 --> 00:39:50,040 Our part is The Walking. Our part is the choice. 681 00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:53,400 Our part is applying these, and that's work, and that's OK. 682 00:39:54,120 --> 00:40:02,880 And when we do these things, we are working toward our mindset 683 00:40:02,880 --> 00:40:05,320 of laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven. 684 00:40:05,320 --> 00:40:09,160 That's the next passage here. Jesus says this for where your 685 00:40:09,160 --> 00:40:13,600 treasure is, there your heart will be also. 686 00:40:14,760 --> 00:40:17,360 There's a natural link between your treasure and your heart. 687 00:40:17,840 --> 00:40:23,240 But here's a philosophical question that's often asked Does 688 00:40:23,240 --> 00:40:29,400 our treasure follow our heart, or does our heart follow our 689 00:40:29,400 --> 00:40:35,600 treasure? I think it's both true. 690 00:40:37,240 --> 00:40:41,200 I think both are true. The point is, we naturally 691 00:40:41,200 --> 00:40:44,400 invest in the things that mean something to us and the things 692 00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:45,600 that we love. That's a fact. 693 00:40:47,720 --> 00:40:52,000 So the point is this. If that's the case, and this is 694 00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:55,480 important to me, it won't be long before my heart will be 695 00:40:55,480 --> 00:40:58,040 there too. It's the way it is. 696 00:40:59,520 --> 00:41:02,640 And what did Jesus already say? Don't put too much stock on the 697 00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:06,000 physical, fleshly, worldly things as treasures 'cause it 698 00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:08,760 can be taken away. But if you invest in heavenly 699 00:41:08,760 --> 00:41:11,360 things, God secures that investment. 700 00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:17,040 Wow. If your treasures are in heaven, 701 00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:21,760 our affections, our longings, and our desires will also be in 702 00:41:21,760 --> 00:41:24,520 heaven. If our treasures are on the 703 00:41:24,560 --> 00:41:27,520 earth, then our affections, our longings, and our desires will 704 00:41:27,520 --> 00:41:28,800 be on the earth. Period. 705 00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:31,960 Simple. So what am I saying? 706 00:41:32,600 --> 00:41:35,880 Let's be careful what we value because that's where our hearts 707 00:41:35,880 --> 00:41:37,400 going to be able to put some on the screen. 708 00:41:37,400 --> 00:41:43,160 I believe this to be true. Christianity is a decision of 709 00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:46,120 the heart. That's just what it is. 710 00:41:47,560 --> 00:41:49,520 It's a change of mind. By the way, when we talk about 711 00:41:49,520 --> 00:41:50,680 heart, we're talking about the mind. 712 00:41:51,080 --> 00:41:54,680 It's a change of the mind and the change of will that 713 00:41:54,680 --> 00:41:58,480 ultimately we understand this too, that all spiritual problems 714 00:41:58,680 --> 00:42:03,360 come from a problem with the heart, folks. 715 00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:07,560 That's why when we struggle and we get out of focus, it's 716 00:42:07,560 --> 00:42:10,720 because of the heart, which is the mind. 717 00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:16,880 The Bible says as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. 718 00:42:18,120 --> 00:42:22,320 OK, all right, sounds great, preacher. 719 00:42:22,320 --> 00:42:23,520 But how are we going to do all that? 720 00:42:23,520 --> 00:42:25,960 How are we going to stay focused and keep our hearts right? 721 00:42:26,320 --> 00:42:27,800 I want to keep my heart right. How do I do that? 722 00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:30,400 OK, the very next verse. Jesus said this. 723 00:42:31,320 --> 00:42:36,080 The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, 724 00:42:36,080 --> 00:42:38,600 your whole body will be full of light. 725 00:42:38,720 --> 00:42:42,920 So now the Lord switches from the heart to the eye, and once 726 00:42:42,920 --> 00:42:45,120 again He's talking about focusing on heavenly things. 727 00:42:45,320 --> 00:42:48,280 The analogy is physical, but the lesson is spiritual. 728 00:42:49,200 --> 00:42:53,680 If we have single vision for God, then we'll be dedicated to 729 00:42:53,680 --> 00:42:57,040 Him. But when life clouds our vision, 730 00:42:58,160 --> 00:43:02,040 that's usually when we struggle. Some translations say it like 731 00:43:02,040 --> 00:43:07,000 this. If your eye is single and by 732 00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:09,640 looking at it that way it appears that it's saying this, 733 00:43:10,040 --> 00:43:14,920 it just means if my eye is focused and it does include 734 00:43:14,920 --> 00:43:18,000 that. But the translation of this word 735 00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:21,000 in the new King James is good. It doesn't say single. 736 00:43:21,120 --> 00:43:24,600 What is the word actually mean? The word means healthy or clear. 737 00:43:26,320 --> 00:43:27,320 Aren't you seeing the point here? 738 00:43:27,440 --> 00:43:32,840 If my eye is healthy and clear, that's first and foremost. 739 00:43:34,520 --> 00:43:37,440 When we see healthy and clear from a physical sense, then our 740 00:43:37,440 --> 00:43:41,120 body is able to process the environment and it works 741 00:43:41,120 --> 00:43:44,560 effectively. Likewise, if my spiritual eye 742 00:43:45,200 --> 00:43:49,400 and my vision is set on good, then that'll be affected too. 743 00:43:51,240 --> 00:43:55,440 How do you do that? I'm going to tell you something 744 00:43:55,440 --> 00:43:58,440 You can't know about God without reading about God. 745 00:44:01,400 --> 00:44:06,560 If you're struggling, OK, let me ask you how much Bible reading 746 00:44:06,560 --> 00:44:10,440 you're doing. How much in the Word are you? 747 00:44:12,040 --> 00:44:13,080 That's the first thing you can do. 748 00:44:13,080 --> 00:44:15,160 When you get out of focus and your eye gets out of focus, this 749 00:44:15,160 --> 00:44:17,280 gets clouded, muddy. Go back to the word of God. 750 00:44:17,400 --> 00:44:19,040 Go back to the Bible. Get grounded. 751 00:44:19,200 --> 00:44:20,000 OK, good. I'm. 752 00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:21,240 I'm set. Now I I feel better. 753 00:44:22,920 --> 00:44:26,000 Then close your Bible and go to God in prayer about the things 754 00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:29,600 you read. You want to find out where God 755 00:44:29,600 --> 00:44:31,480 is. You got to find out where he is 756 00:44:31,480 --> 00:44:32,960 in His Word. You got to read His Word. 757 00:44:33,920 --> 00:44:36,360 Stay in the word. Let that be living in your life. 758 00:44:36,480 --> 00:44:40,480 That's how you're transformed. By the way, there's a connection 759 00:44:40,480 --> 00:44:43,400 between our eyes and our hearts. I'm going to put a phrase on the 760 00:44:43,400 --> 00:44:43,920 board. I'm. 761 00:44:43,960 --> 00:44:46,280 I'm finished, but I'm going to put a quote on the board. 762 00:44:46,280 --> 00:44:51,720 You've heard it before from me. But it is something that I 763 00:44:51,720 --> 00:44:55,120 believe in and it is something that I live by. 764 00:44:56,440 --> 00:45:00,560 I think it's totally true. It was a saying that was in a 765 00:45:00,560 --> 00:45:06,120 movie and then it was used in a football sense and I used it as 766 00:45:06,120 --> 00:45:10,240 a coach. But I investigated what this 767 00:45:10,240 --> 00:45:12,200 means and had nothing to do with football. 768 00:45:14,280 --> 00:45:16,360 It had everything to do with cancer patients that were 769 00:45:16,360 --> 00:45:17,760 fighting the greatest battles of their life. 770 00:45:17,760 --> 00:45:21,400 I'm going to tell you something. If you ever fought cancer, you 771 00:45:21,400 --> 00:45:23,520 know what I mean? But nothing like it. 772 00:45:25,840 --> 00:45:30,400 This one lady was eaten up with cancer and she tattooed these 773 00:45:30,400 --> 00:45:32,360 words that I'm going to show you on the inside of her armor. 774 00:45:32,360 --> 00:45:40,680 Here, here's the words. Clear eyes, full hearts, can't 775 00:45:40,680 --> 00:45:46,920 lose. If you have clear eyes, which is 776 00:45:46,920 --> 00:45:52,920 healthy and clear, and you're focused on that which is good, 777 00:45:52,920 --> 00:45:55,680 and you're not allowing all the muddied things of the world 778 00:45:55,680 --> 00:45:59,960 getting the way, it will lead to having the proper heart that 779 00:45:59,960 --> 00:46:02,040 we're talking about. How do you have a full heart? 780 00:46:02,640 --> 00:46:04,840 The hearts, the mind. But it also includes the 781 00:46:04,840 --> 00:46:07,680 emotions as a demonstration or manifestation of the mind. 782 00:46:07,800 --> 00:46:10,960 It begins in the mind. How do you get the mind right? 783 00:46:11,720 --> 00:46:15,880 It begins with a clear eye. You're looking at things with 784 00:46:15,880 --> 00:46:18,600 proper perspective. It leads to a full heart. 785 00:46:18,640 --> 00:46:21,720 How do you do that? You rid yourself of all the 786 00:46:21,720 --> 00:46:28,240 negative, hateful, bitter stuff. You get rid of it, you dump it 787 00:46:29,280 --> 00:46:31,160 and you fill the heart, the mind. 788 00:46:31,280 --> 00:46:35,840 You fill it with all that is good and right and wonderful and 789 00:46:35,840 --> 00:46:38,000 the people that you love. You fill it with that kind of 790 00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:41,880 stuff. When you do that, you have clear 791 00:46:41,880 --> 00:46:43,960 eyes that leads to a full heart. You know what? 792 00:46:43,960 --> 00:46:47,480 You can't lose meaning this. It doesn't matter the outcome of 793 00:46:47,480 --> 00:46:51,120 the circumstance. You cannot lose because you've 794 00:46:51,120 --> 00:46:52,840 just become the greatest version of you. 795 00:46:52,840 --> 00:46:56,440 You can be, and the outcome doesn't matter. 796 00:47:00,240 --> 00:47:02,800 Set your affections on things above the Bible says, not on 797 00:47:02,800 --> 00:47:05,520 things on the earth. How do you do it? 798 00:47:06,880 --> 00:47:09,000 Work on the furthest spirit in your life. 799 00:47:09,920 --> 00:47:13,440 Work on having the proper eye, a good, clear, healthy eye. 800 00:47:14,080 --> 00:47:16,400 Work on having a full, proper heart. 801 00:47:17,480 --> 00:47:20,480 And guess what? When we do that, our inheritance 802 00:47:20,480 --> 00:47:25,040 is secure and we cannot lose. And nothing that happens in this 803 00:47:25,040 --> 00:47:27,480 world can take it away. Wonderful. 804 00:47:28,360 --> 00:47:32,320 I'm finished this morning. Great blessings for being a 805 00:47:32,320 --> 00:47:36,680 child of God. The first thing that a person 806 00:47:36,680 --> 00:47:39,240 has to do in order to have the blessings that we talked about, 807 00:47:39,240 --> 00:47:41,080 those You got to become a child of God. 808 00:47:42,080 --> 00:47:46,040 You got to become a Christian. We never teach from God's word 809 00:47:46,040 --> 00:47:48,080 without extending an invitation. The first thing you got to do, 810 00:47:48,080 --> 00:47:49,840 you hear the word of God. Romans 10/17. 811 00:47:49,960 --> 00:47:53,320 So faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. 812 00:47:54,360 --> 00:47:56,640 After you hear the word of God, we all have a choice. 813 00:47:57,320 --> 00:47:58,720 You got to believe it with all your heart. 814 00:47:58,720 --> 00:48:01,280 Hebrews 11 and six. Without faith, it's impossible 815 00:48:01,280 --> 00:48:03,920 to please Him. For he who comes to God must 816 00:48:03,920 --> 00:48:06,720 believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who 817 00:48:06,720 --> 00:48:08,840 diligently seek him. Then what? 818 00:48:09,640 --> 00:48:12,680 I got to repent of my sins? Truly these times of ignorance 819 00:48:12,680 --> 00:48:15,840 God overlooked but now commands all men everywhere to repent. 820 00:48:16,240 --> 00:48:20,120 Then what I need to be willing to confess Jesus as the Son of 821 00:48:20,120 --> 00:48:23,360 God Acts 837 That Philip said, if you believe with all your 822 00:48:23,360 --> 00:48:26,760 heart you may And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus 823 00:48:26,760 --> 00:48:30,400 Christ is the Son of God. These steps are leading toward 824 00:48:30,400 --> 00:48:34,000 or pointing toward the point of salvation, but it's a baptism 825 00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:36,840 for the remission of sins. Where a person contacts the 826 00:48:36,840 --> 00:48:39,200 blood of Jesus has his sins washed away. 827 00:48:39,400 --> 00:48:42,560 He who believes that is baptized will be saved, but he who does 828 00:48:42,560 --> 00:48:46,160 not believe will be condemned. If you've never taken these 829 00:48:46,160 --> 00:48:48,640 steps of obedience, we'd love to assist you in that today. 830 00:48:49,440 --> 00:48:51,840 Maybe you have. Maybe there's something in your 831 00:48:51,840 --> 00:48:54,080 life that you just would like to get off your chest that you need 832 00:48:54,080 --> 00:48:56,080 to correct. That is the case. 833 00:48:56,080 --> 00:48:58,320 Come forward. Either case, we'll pray with you 834 00:48:58,320 --> 00:49:00,920 and for you, God will forgive. Come forward while we stand. 835 00:49:00,920 --> 00:49:05,600 While we're saying we thank you for listening to our podcast put 836 00:49:05,600 --> 00:49:10,840 on by the Church of Christ at 2215 Plans Rd. in Bakersfield. 837 00:49:11,520 --> 00:49:14,960 If you would like any additional information or you would like to 838 00:49:14,960 --> 00:49:17,920 receive a free Bible correspondence course by mail, 839 00:49:18,680 --> 00:49:24,000 please e-mail us at info@churchofchristbakersfield.com. 840 00:49:24,720 --> 00:49:29,920 Our service times are Sundays at 10:30 AM and 5:00 PM and 841 00:49:29,920 --> 00:49:34,400 Wednesdays at 7:30 PM. Please make plans to join us. 842 00:49:34,880 --> 00:49:37,040 We would love for you to be our honored guest.