1 00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:03,840 Well, good morning, everyone. It is great to see a crowd today 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:07,840 that is full of some visitors, some local, some maybe from 3 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:10,080 another town, some brothers from another place. 4 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:13,960 We're excited to see you all and happy to have you with us as we 5 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,760 worship this morning and is our number one goal to worship God. 6 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:20,640 But we hope that you feel welcome and built up in the 7 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:23,880 process and that and our goal will be accomplished For today. 8 00:00:24,860 --> 00:00:27,580 I'm excited to study through the second-half of what we started. 9 00:00:27,580 --> 00:00:29,980 Last time I taught in Ephesians Chapter 4. 10 00:00:30,260 --> 00:00:32,460 So if you want to turn with me there, that's where we're going 11 00:00:32,460 --> 00:00:35,940 to focus our time today. Ephesians Chapter 4 and we 12 00:00:35,940 --> 00:00:41,700 stopped at verse 10 last time. And if you haven't been with us 13 00:00:42,420 --> 00:00:45,100 in this book of Ephesians, we've basically got two parts. 14 00:00:45,100 --> 00:00:48,260 We've got a first three chapters of the book of Ephesians that 15 00:00:48,260 --> 00:00:50,740 deals with all the teaching and the doctrine. 16 00:00:50,940 --> 00:00:53,820 Basically a general encouragement to Christians. 17 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:58,320 Do you realize who you are? Do you realize what you have 18 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:02,600 been blessed with and called to and redeemed from and welcomed 19 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:05,400 into? And because of that, in chapter 20 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:08,440 four we started last time the call to action. 21 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:14,880 So there is no beautiful benefit without our own stake in this. 22 00:01:15,380 --> 00:01:17,780 And that's not just a bad thing, you know, Sometimes people think 23 00:01:17,860 --> 00:01:20,780 I have something to do now that that should give you a sense of 24 00:01:20,780 --> 00:01:24,180 purpose, This should give you a sense of belonging and 25 00:01:24,180 --> 00:01:27,140 usefulness. Because when you're not active, 26 00:01:27,500 --> 00:01:30,540 you're not useful and really anything in life. 27 00:01:30,540 --> 00:01:32,860 But when you're active, you're useful for a 'cause. 28 00:01:33,020 --> 00:01:35,860 This should be an encouraging section of the letter for us, 29 00:01:36,100 --> 00:01:38,700 and hopefully a challenging section as well. 30 00:01:38,780 --> 00:01:41,500 If it's not challenging to you, and if it's not challenging to 31 00:01:41,500 --> 00:01:44,020 me, there's probably an issue with our heart that we're not 32 00:01:44,020 --> 00:01:46,770 seeing something that we're responsible to see. 33 00:01:46,770 --> 00:01:50,330 So maybe we have open minds to understand as we go through 34 00:01:50,330 --> 00:01:54,330 this. So the call to action he started 35 00:01:54,330 --> 00:01:58,050 with in the first verse was to walk worthy and we talked a 36 00:01:58,050 --> 00:01:59,610 little bit about what that meant. 37 00:01:59,610 --> 00:02:03,450 And he gave us some specifics as to what does it mean to walk 38 00:02:03,450 --> 00:02:07,050 worthy. You know, with this great thing 39 00:02:07,050 --> 00:02:10,810 placed ahead of us that is our salvation and our membership and 40 00:02:10,810 --> 00:02:13,190 the heavenly Kingdom. You would think it's some 41 00:02:13,190 --> 00:02:15,950 grandiose things. And he really listed some very 42 00:02:15,950 --> 00:02:20,190 simple tasks for us as Christians, To walk humbly, to 43 00:02:20,190 --> 00:02:24,070 be patient, to be gentle, to be unified and to build one another 44 00:02:24,070 --> 00:02:26,550 up, That's part of what it means to walk worthy. 45 00:02:26,950 --> 00:02:30,230 But that's not the whole gambit. And we talked more about those 46 00:02:30,230 --> 00:02:33,790 things, but maybe we didn't talk as much about the command 47 00:02:33,790 --> 00:02:37,710 itself. To walk worthy, the command 48 00:02:37,710 --> 00:02:42,640 itself is a mindset and sometimes we get caught up and 49 00:02:42,640 --> 00:02:44,840 you know, I'm just, I'm never going to be worthy and there's 50 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:48,200 that that self criticism that he's not dealing with here. 51 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:51,520 There's other passages that deal with self criticalness or 52 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:56,520 needing to move on from the past, but here it's a call to 53 00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:00,280 action that basically says step up to the plate, walk in a 54 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:03,240 worthy way. It's a decision. 55 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:08,960 It's a it's a mindset that says I'm determined to live up to 56 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:14,150 what I've been called to, to live up to both him who called 57 00:03:14,150 --> 00:03:16,830 me. If the God of this universe is 58 00:03:16,830 --> 00:03:20,630 is calling me, I should walk according to His will and not my 59 00:03:20,630 --> 00:03:24,030 own, and also to what he called me to. 60 00:03:24,830 --> 00:03:28,550 If he called me to the service of the work of his Kingdom, I 61 00:03:28,550 --> 00:03:32,790 should be honored by that. He didn't call me to bad works, 62 00:03:32,790 --> 00:03:35,230 to evil things. You know, some religions around 63 00:03:35,230 --> 00:03:37,590 the world would ask you to do some things that are harmful to 64 00:03:37,590 --> 00:03:41,130 yourself and others. Our God is a good God and he 65 00:03:41,130 --> 00:03:44,570 does not request that of. Us, we are called to a great 66 00:03:44,570 --> 00:03:47,130 work and we are called by a great one. 67 00:03:48,210 --> 00:03:51,690 So I hope that we in the in the deciding all these things that 68 00:03:51,690 --> 00:03:53,810 it does mean. And about the specifics we don't 69 00:03:53,810 --> 00:03:56,490 lose that we have a call to action. 70 00:03:58,330 --> 00:04:01,050 Now let's just get some momentum coming up from last time we 71 00:04:01,050 --> 00:04:03,890 start in verse one saying I. Therefore Paul speaking, the 72 00:04:03,890 --> 00:04:08,250 prisoner of the Lord beseech you to walk worthy of a calling with 73 00:04:08,250 --> 00:04:11,770 which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with 74 00:04:11,770 --> 00:04:17,250 long-suffering bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to 75 00:04:17,250 --> 00:04:19,769 keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. 76 00:04:20,209 --> 00:04:23,050 There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called 77 00:04:23,050 --> 00:04:26,990 in one hope of your calling, 1 Lord, one faith, one baptism, 78 00:04:26,990 --> 00:04:30,630 one God, and Father of all who is above all and through all and 79 00:04:30,630 --> 00:04:32,470 in you all. So He gave us the call to 80 00:04:32,470 --> 00:04:35,750 action, how to be worthy, And then He gave us the principles 81 00:04:35,750 --> 00:04:38,790 of unity, how we walk together in that unity. 82 00:04:39,350 --> 00:04:43,350 Verse 7 But to each of but to each one of us grace was given 83 00:04:43,350 --> 00:04:45,870 according to the measure of Christ's gift. 84 00:04:46,270 --> 00:04:49,310 Therefore he says when he ascended on high, Speaking of 85 00:04:49,390 --> 00:04:53,550 Jesus, he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men. 86 00:04:54,010 --> 00:04:56,090 Now this he ascended. What does it mean? 87 00:04:56,170 --> 00:04:59,730 But did he also first descended into the lower parts of the 88 00:04:59,770 --> 00:05:00,930 earth? And here's where we're getting 89 00:05:00,930 --> 00:05:03,210 into where we left off Last time. 90 00:05:04,410 --> 00:05:07,690 We talked about how Jesus descending into the lower parts 91 00:05:07,690 --> 00:05:10,130 of the earth could mean several things and probably does mean 92 00:05:10,130 --> 00:05:12,730 several things. He came down to earth from 93 00:05:12,730 --> 00:05:15,370 heaven. He also died and went down into 94 00:05:15,370 --> 00:05:17,650 the grave. He went down into the depths of 95 00:05:17,650 --> 00:05:20,370 the earth, which during that time they likely understood to 96 00:05:20,370 --> 00:05:22,980 be Hades. They went, Jesus came down in 97 00:05:22,980 --> 00:05:28,460 every sense of the word. But he all He who descended is 98 00:05:28,460 --> 00:05:32,380 also the the One who ascended far above all the heavens. 99 00:05:32,900 --> 00:05:37,740 He's above the the heavens, the earth, and He is actually seated 100 00:05:37,740 --> 00:05:40,940 at the right hand of the Father. He's at the top of the heavenly 101 00:05:40,940 --> 00:05:44,500 Kingdom. So in every sense of the word, 102 00:05:44,500 --> 00:05:49,300 He is ascended, He is raised up, He is lifted up, He is powerful. 103 00:05:49,700 --> 00:05:55,130 Why did he ascend to the throne to then come back and to just 104 00:05:55,130 --> 00:05:57,250 knock out everybody who was against him? 105 00:05:57,810 --> 00:06:00,530 We will learn that all enemies will be put under his feet and 106 00:06:00,530 --> 00:06:05,370 have been put under his feet. But his purpose is not here 107 00:06:05,370 --> 00:06:09,610 spoken to simply just be a a, a vindictive judge. 108 00:06:10,130 --> 00:06:13,490 His purpose in ascending is because he has to fill all 109 00:06:13,490 --> 00:06:16,730 things. We learned that without him 110 00:06:16,730 --> 00:06:20,520 nothing was made that was made in In John we learned that he is 111 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:24,240 part of the creative force of this universe as the Godhead, 112 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,320 and he is the one who sustains and upholds all things. 113 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:32,320 Hebrews chapter one, verse three, he upholds all things 114 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:36,720 Colossians one verse 17. In him all things hold together 115 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:39,440 according to the ESV. You may have seen this before. 116 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:41,720 I know some people have in here, but I like to throw it in any 117 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:46,320 chance I had got because it's so exciting to see as science 118 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:48,280 delves into the depths of the universe. 119 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:51,920 This is a black hole in a Whirlpool Galaxy, I don't know 120 00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:54,800 how many light years away. They zoom in with a Hubble 121 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:57,720 telescope and they see what looks to me to be a cross. 122 00:06:58,280 --> 00:07:02,920 You go down into the depths of our cellular makeup and you find 123 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:07,280 this cell adhesion molecule that literally what it does is it 124 00:07:07,280 --> 00:07:10,680 holds your body together and it's in the shape of a cross. 125 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:14,480 I I'm not going to say that scripture, that's that's exactly 126 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:18,580 what that's pointing to. But we do know that in him, in 127 00:07:18,660 --> 00:07:22,500 Jesus, all things hold together, in him all things consist. 128 00:07:22,940 --> 00:07:26,900 And so Jesus had to come and be raised from the dead, that he 129 00:07:26,900 --> 00:07:29,820 might continue to fill all things. 130 00:07:30,540 --> 00:07:33,980 When Jesus was crucified, it was no accident that the earth 131 00:07:33,980 --> 00:07:37,980 shook, that the very foundation of the ground they stood on 132 00:07:38,180 --> 00:07:41,540 quaked and shook. It's no accident that the sun 133 00:07:41,540 --> 00:07:44,540 that was in the middle of the day giving them light, that sun 134 00:07:44,540 --> 00:07:47,100 was darkened. Now, I do not believe for a 135 00:07:47,100 --> 00:07:51,260 second that Jesus or the Godhead had a lapse in power. 136 00:07:51,380 --> 00:07:53,220 There was no gap in authority there. 137 00:07:54,740 --> 00:07:58,180 But I do believe it was a sign. It was a it was a symbol. 138 00:07:59,020 --> 00:08:00,500 Do you? Realize what you're doing. 139 00:08:02,020 --> 00:08:05,260 You are crucifying the one who's upholding everything you see 140 00:08:05,260 --> 00:08:07,860 around you. The very sun that's lighting 141 00:08:07,860 --> 00:08:12,900 your earth, the very ground you're standing on is shaking as 142 00:08:12,900 --> 00:08:14,980 you're crucifying the Son of God. 143 00:08:17,980 --> 00:08:22,700 He didn't just go back and and ascend though to fill all things 144 00:08:22,700 --> 00:08:26,780 and to uphold the earth, but he also did so in verse 11 of 145 00:08:26,780 --> 00:08:29,860 Ephesians chapter 4 to fill all things in the church. 146 00:08:29,860 --> 00:08:32,260 And that's the next kind of point he's going to start 147 00:08:32,260 --> 00:08:34,980 making. He himself, Speaking of Jesus, 148 00:08:35,260 --> 00:08:40,059 gave some to be Apostles, some prophets, some Evangelists, and 149 00:08:40,059 --> 00:08:43,380 some. Pastors and teachers, he told 150 00:08:43,380 --> 00:08:45,540 his disciples. I will not leave you or forsake 151 00:08:45,540 --> 00:08:50,560 you verse 12 to equip the Saints for the work of ministry. 152 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:54,360 He gave all these rules to give the Saints as was prayed this 153 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:55,800 morning that they will be equipped. 154 00:08:55,920 --> 00:09:00,120 That would be that they would be armored or given the tools to do 155 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:03,680 the job. Do you have the tools to do the 156 00:09:03,680 --> 00:09:06,800 job? And if you don't have the tools, 157 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:10,160 is it because you are willing to use them to pick them up? 158 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:14,080 Or is it because you're not being given the tools? 159 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:17,660 I believe God has given us through spiritual leadership 160 00:09:17,660 --> 00:09:20,300 through His Word and. We're going to talk in a minute 161 00:09:20,300 --> 00:09:23,860 how I do believe this is more focused on His word in the setup 162 00:09:23,860 --> 00:09:28,700 of the early church. But we as the body of Christ, 163 00:09:29,220 --> 00:09:32,220 not just the evangelist, not if there's an elder and a 164 00:09:32,220 --> 00:09:35,980 congregation. It is the work of the body to be 165 00:09:35,980 --> 00:09:40,340 doing the work. Of the Church, he says to equip 166 00:09:40,340 --> 00:09:43,900 the Saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying or 167 00:09:43,900 --> 00:09:45,340 building up of the body of Christ. 168 00:09:45,340 --> 00:09:46,900 The word edify means to build up. 169 00:09:47,420 --> 00:09:51,100 We are to be doing the work as the members of the Church to 170 00:09:51,100 --> 00:09:54,660 build one another up. It's not just the responsibility 171 00:09:54,660 --> 00:09:58,140 of these spiritual leaders in the Church, it is our 172 00:09:58,140 --> 00:10:01,180 responsibility and I cannot hammer that home enough. 173 00:10:01,860 --> 00:10:06,300 Now, I do believe in these verses right here as he's 174 00:10:06,300 --> 00:10:10,790 talking about the equipping. It applies in multiple ways, but 175 00:10:10,790 --> 00:10:13,270 I do believe based on what he's going to say next, he's talking 176 00:10:13,270 --> 00:10:18,270 about the early church. He's talking about how things 177 00:10:18,270 --> 00:10:21,030 needed to be set up miraculously, especially in the 178 00:10:21,270 --> 00:10:25,310 in the early church by giving apostles, the apostles delivered 179 00:10:25,310 --> 00:10:28,070 the word. Prophets help teach the word and 180 00:10:28,070 --> 00:10:30,750 confirm the word. Some evangelists who were in the 181 00:10:30,750 --> 00:10:32,150 early church delivering the word. 182 00:10:32,790 --> 00:10:35,030 Pastors and teachers. I believe a lot of this he's 183 00:10:35,030 --> 00:10:39,350 talking about is miraculously, but I do also believe it applies 184 00:10:39,350 --> 00:10:43,700 today, even if you can't completely justify it one way or 185 00:10:43,700 --> 00:10:47,260 another. And here's why He says verse 13. 186 00:10:47,260 --> 00:10:51,980 Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the 187 00:10:51,980 --> 00:10:56,780 knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure 188 00:10:56,860 --> 00:11:01,580 measure of the stature of the fullness in Christ, and that's 189 00:11:01,580 --> 00:11:03,260 from the that versus from the ESVI. 190 00:11:03,260 --> 00:11:05,780 I use it there. Sometimes it's easier to read 191 00:11:06,460 --> 00:11:10,680 verse 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to 192 00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:13,840 and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, 193 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:17,760 by human cutting, by craftiness and deceitful schemes. 194 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:21,360 Here's why I believe this is specially talking about 195 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:23,960 miraculous set up of the early church. 196 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:26,880 This is the same kind of language that's used in First 197 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:29,120 Corinthians chapter 13, verse eight. 198 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:33,680 In the context, he's talking about how they should desire 199 00:11:33,680 --> 00:11:37,520 certain gifts and how in chapter 12 they should use those gifts 200 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:40,920 of different miraculous ability. In the early church, because 201 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:43,440 they were still building the word, they did not have the full 202 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:47,240 completed word of God yet. They didn't have this Bible all 203 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:50,560 completely laid out. And so they needed special 204 00:11:50,680 --> 00:11:53,720 assistance from the Holy Spirit to make that happen. 205 00:11:54,560 --> 00:11:58,520 And as he's talking about these prophecies, he then transitions 206 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:02,080 and says, but you should first desire love. 207 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:05,320 Love is the greatest because love never fails. 208 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:08,760 But whether there are prophecies, they will fail. 209 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:12,400 There's going to be a time, he was saying when the prophecies, 210 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:15,000 the miraculous prophecies, those are going to stop. 211 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:18,520 Whether there are tongues, they will cease, whether there is 212 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:22,800 knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part these 213 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:25,640 apostles and different ones did not get the whole scripture 214 00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:28,360 revealed to them. Paul had to write a lot of the 215 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:30,560 New Testament. But then there are other writers 216 00:12:30,560 --> 00:12:34,680 who read out of their pieces. They knew in part they did not 217 00:12:34,680 --> 00:12:37,720 each have the complete knowledge of God's word, and they 218 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:43,120 prophesied or taught in part. But when that which is perfect, 219 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:46,640 that word perfect, means complete, has come, then that 220 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:48,920 which is part in part will be done away with. 221 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:51,960 I believe that completeness is talking about the completed word 222 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:57,530 of God, He goes on to say. When I was a child, I spoke as a 223 00:12:57,530 --> 00:12:59,290 child. I understood as a child. 224 00:12:59,410 --> 00:13:02,410 I fought as a child. But when I became a man, I put 225 00:13:02,410 --> 00:13:06,410 away childish things. I believe in the context he's 226 00:13:06,410 --> 00:13:10,370 talking about the need for the miraculous abilities to build up 227 00:13:10,370 --> 00:13:13,050 the church. In its infancy, the church was 228 00:13:13,050 --> 00:13:16,370 an infant stage and so it needed childish support. 229 00:13:16,850 --> 00:13:21,330 It needed childish or immature supports to uphold it. 230 00:13:22,210 --> 00:13:26,170 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face to 231 00:13:26,170 --> 00:13:28,880 face. Now I know in part, but then I 232 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:33,400 shall know just as I am known. OK, back to Ephesians 4. 233 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:36,880 Here's the same language he's using, Ephesians chapter 4 so 234 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:38,920 that we may no longer be children. 235 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:43,240 I do believe this applies to spiritual maturity as well. 236 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:47,400 All these principles do apply, but we should not be children in 237 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:51,640 our understanding of God's word. And God has made a plan and has 238 00:13:51,640 --> 00:13:54,840 given these early church supports, the apostles, the 239 00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:57,960 prophets, the teachers, the evangelists, all these things 240 00:13:58,680 --> 00:14:03,160 because we don't have any excuse anymore to be immature and not 241 00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:07,440 have the full knowledge of God's will, to not have the full 242 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:10,640 foundation for what the church is built upon. 243 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:14,720 And especially during this day and time, if you did not have 244 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:18,800 the completed word revealed, it might be tough to not be tossed 245 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:22,320 to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of 246 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:25,320 doctrine. There were ones who have right 247 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:28,360 when the church was set up that people criticize them just years 248 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:31,960 later and said man, Jesus isn't back yet, or Jesus already came, 249 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:33,960 You missed him. There was your shot. 250 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:36,200 There are people who are throwing these doctrines and 251 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:40,320 these ideas around and it could easily throw around a Christian. 252 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:43,080 In the early church we talk about how man we wish we were a 253 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:45,080 Christian. In the early church where they 254 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:48,040 had all those miracles, you know why they had the miracles? 255 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:52,860 It's because the church was undeveloped to where they may be 256 00:14:52,860 --> 00:14:56,300 able to be tossed around by these doctrines. 257 00:14:56,300 --> 00:14:59,380 When I don't have the completed word, how do I know what to 258 00:14:59,380 --> 00:15:04,620 follow completely all the time? So they needed that support, but 259 00:15:04,620 --> 00:15:07,380 now we don't. We have no excuse for being 260 00:15:07,380 --> 00:15:09,060 carried around by doctrines because. 261 00:15:09,100 --> 00:15:11,980 We have the whole word. We don't have to have somebody 262 00:15:11,980 --> 00:15:14,220 come in here saying, hey, I have a prophecy, I have a teaching. 263 00:15:14,740 --> 00:15:17,140 God gave it to me and you need to listen to me. 264 00:15:17,140 --> 00:15:19,420 And that makes us waver. Well, is that true? 265 00:15:19,420 --> 00:15:22,860 We don't have to do that because the church is now in its state 266 00:15:22,860 --> 00:15:28,140 of maturity, in God's infinite plan to design A church and to 267 00:15:28,140 --> 00:15:31,900 support that church with the proper teachings and doctrine, 268 00:15:33,740 --> 00:15:37,580 he says. These these doctrines and waves 269 00:15:37,580 --> 00:15:40,700 that that carry Christians around when they're unstable, 270 00:15:41,180 --> 00:15:44,060 they're from human cunning and craftiness and deceitful 271 00:15:44,060 --> 00:15:46,380 schemes. Now, have you ever thought about 272 00:15:46,380 --> 00:15:49,380 the fact that as you consider the work of the devil? 273 00:15:49,380 --> 00:15:53,840 Or the work of people in the world who are trying to deceive 274 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:56,120 others. Often times those people are 275 00:15:56,120 --> 00:16:00,840 themselves deceived. That's the nature of sin and the 276 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:04,040 nature of the devil's work. So sometimes it's easy to say, 277 00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:06,960 you know what these people are just evil and deceitful. 278 00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:10,240 But we have to remember that they are themselves deceived. 279 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:17,200 The difference between someone who is deceiving others and 280 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:20,490 somebody who's teaching others truth is the correct. 281 00:16:22,490 --> 00:16:26,130 And that's why it's so important, the next verse, that 282 00:16:26,130 --> 00:16:28,130 we should speak the truth in love. 283 00:16:29,050 --> 00:16:33,090 If we don't speak truth, it could be so easy to get off 284 00:16:33,090 --> 00:16:36,090 kilter and to be leading people in deceitful ways. 285 00:16:36,890 --> 00:16:40,170 I believe a lot of people who are deceiving others are not 286 00:16:40,170 --> 00:16:43,930 trying to do it. That's the nature of evil. 287 00:16:44,210 --> 00:16:49,410 That's why truth, when it's convoluted and my truth, your 288 00:16:49,410 --> 00:16:53,970 truth all the time, you can't have that and have God's ways 289 00:16:53,970 --> 00:16:57,410 because there is a specific pattern to follow. 290 00:16:57,410 --> 00:17:01,170 Otherwise there's no unity, he says, verse 15, rather speaking 291 00:17:01,170 --> 00:17:04,730 the truth. In love we are to grow up in 292 00:17:04,730 --> 00:17:08,530 every way into him who is the head into Christ. 293 00:17:08,730 --> 00:17:12,089 So there is truth, but there's also a way to speak truth. 294 00:17:13,010 --> 00:17:15,490 Have you ever been told the truth in an unleading way? 295 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:19,680 There's no need for that. There's no, there's no edifying 296 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:23,359 or building up in that. May we speak the truth with love 297 00:17:23,359 --> 00:17:31,040 in our hearts, and we're to be building up into Him who is the 298 00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:34,160 head into Christ. The flow of thought he's given 299 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:38,720 as the Holy Spirit and Jesus instituted these leadership 300 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:41,080 positions. He did all this work to build it 301 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:46,210 up, and it's our personal responsibility to be growing in 302 00:17:46,210 --> 00:17:50,410 that the Holy Spirit aided and Jesus aided the development of 303 00:17:50,410 --> 00:17:53,370 the Church. And if he did so much work to do 304 00:17:53,370 --> 00:17:57,690 that, what about personally? Am I? 305 00:17:58,210 --> 00:18:02,450 Are you growing up in every way into Him? 306 00:18:03,090 --> 00:18:08,490 Who is the head we? Have an intense responsibility. 307 00:18:08,490 --> 00:18:13,270 We should be doing our part. To grow up and to grow for the 308 00:18:13,270 --> 00:18:17,390 church. So whether this is speaking 309 00:18:17,390 --> 00:18:20,470 specifically only about the early church or even about 310 00:18:20,470 --> 00:18:24,550 things today, they both apply. The leadership of the Church 311 00:18:24,550 --> 00:18:29,030 today should be edifying the members to then build one 312 00:18:29,030 --> 00:18:32,110 another up that we should do the work and we should. 313 00:18:32,110 --> 00:18:36,030 Not be carried about because we have no excuse now because we 314 00:18:36,030 --> 00:18:39,260 have the completed word of God. Where are you at in your 315 00:18:39,260 --> 00:18:44,460 Christian stages of maturity? Are you a child? 316 00:18:44,620 --> 00:18:47,700 Are you an infant? And there's a time for each one 317 00:18:47,700 --> 00:18:49,940 of those stages. But have you stayed in one of 318 00:18:49,940 --> 00:18:56,620 those stages too long if you are a boy or a child or a? 319 00:18:56,900 --> 00:18:59,060 Young girl, how long have you been there? 320 00:18:59,540 --> 00:19:04,780 That's the question. And I'll refer you back to the 321 00:19:04,780 --> 00:19:07,740 survey we took in January. It's now been nine months ago, 322 00:19:07,740 --> 00:19:10,100 nine complete months since we took that survey. 323 00:19:10,620 --> 00:19:15,460 And my question will be maybe if you have that still as as a high 324 00:19:15,460 --> 00:19:17,420 school teacher, what I would do is I would say, OK, pull those 325 00:19:17,420 --> 00:19:20,300 back out, we're going to do that self-assessment again and see if 326 00:19:20,300 --> 00:19:22,300 there's growth. I don't expect you to have that 327 00:19:22,300 --> 00:19:24,860 in your Bible still, but hopefully you have it somewhere 328 00:19:24,860 --> 00:19:27,740 at home that you can go back nine months after we did this 329 00:19:27,740 --> 00:19:31,860 original self-assessment and you can see did I grow? 330 00:19:32,510 --> 00:19:38,270 In nine months in 360, that's not the right. 331 00:19:39,230 --> 00:19:43,990 In all that time, did I grow in prayer? 332 00:19:43,990 --> 00:19:47,390 Do I pray God's word back to Him, His plans and his will? 333 00:19:47,390 --> 00:19:48,790 Do I leave my time of prayer with? 334 00:19:49,830 --> 00:19:53,190 Am I constantly in prayer? Do I carry responsibility in the 335 00:19:53,190 --> 00:19:55,990 congregation? Do I share accountability with 336 00:19:55,990 --> 00:19:59,590 someone in the congregation? Do I discuss and study the Bible 337 00:19:59,590 --> 00:20:01,190 with someone else in the congregation? 338 00:20:01,930 --> 00:20:05,770 Do I serve others by identifying ways I can help and actively 339 00:20:05,770 --> 00:20:08,770 seek opportunities to use them? Do I give? 340 00:20:09,530 --> 00:20:11,930 Do I serve and give benevolence in the contribution? 341 00:20:12,250 --> 00:20:16,130 Cheerfully and generously? Do I show benevolence in my 342 00:20:16,130 --> 00:20:19,330 personal life and in general? Do I step out of my comfort zone 343 00:20:19,330 --> 00:20:22,530 for God's work? Am I actively befriending people 344 00:20:22,530 --> 00:20:25,770 who are lost? Am I working spiritual matters 345 00:20:25,770 --> 00:20:28,210 in the conversation? Having patience with others? 346 00:20:28,450 --> 00:20:30,890 Patience with yourself? Perseverance. 347 00:20:31,860 --> 00:20:34,700 Am I rejoicing publicly and alone? 348 00:20:34,860 --> 00:20:37,700 Am I finding new ways to grow? Even if it doesn't come from a 349 00:20:37,700 --> 00:20:42,900 source I want to hear it from? I encourage you to revisit that 350 00:20:42,900 --> 00:20:46,220 survey. Revisit your own self-assessment 351 00:20:46,220 --> 00:20:51,140 of where you're at 9 long months from last time we took it. 352 00:20:52,300 --> 00:20:58,300 Are you growing in every way verse 16 from whom the whole 353 00:20:58,300 --> 00:21:02,540 body joined and held together? I missed a point. 354 00:21:02,540 --> 00:21:08,300 Let's go back one second. As we think about the growth we 355 00:21:08,300 --> 00:21:11,740 are supposed to have, I think about the the verse in First 356 00:21:11,740 --> 00:21:14,740 Corinthians chapter 4. Where it said even though our 357 00:21:14,740 --> 00:21:17,980 outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed 358 00:21:17,980 --> 00:21:20,260 day by day. There was a flaw with this 359 00:21:20,260 --> 00:21:21,980 visual if you're taking it spiritually. 360 00:21:22,220 --> 00:21:27,580 Because at some point the human body starts to decay and you go. 361 00:21:27,580 --> 00:21:31,850 Backwards, but spiritually that should not happen, Paul says The 362 00:21:31,850 --> 00:21:35,130 in the outward man is perishing, but the inward man is being 363 00:21:35,130 --> 00:21:38,650 renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which 364 00:21:38,650 --> 00:21:42,410 is but for a moment is working for us a far more exceeding and 365 00:21:42,410 --> 00:21:47,450 eternal weight of glory. I we have older folks in here 366 00:21:47,450 --> 00:21:51,050 that are an example of this. We have an older a group of 367 00:21:51,050 --> 00:21:54,770 older folks in here that are wonderful and they continue to 368 00:21:54,770 --> 00:21:57,050 be renewed and show what it looks like to be renewed in 369 00:21:57,050 --> 00:21:59,990 their faith. Because no matter what happens 370 00:21:59,990 --> 00:22:03,910 to the body, no matter what happens to your your flesh or 371 00:22:03,910 --> 00:22:08,310 even maybe the the circumstances in your life, you can continue 372 00:22:08,310 --> 00:22:11,030 to be renewed day by day. I as I thought of this, I 373 00:22:11,030 --> 00:22:14,350 thought of this brother in Peru. He's an older man. 374 00:22:14,430 --> 00:22:17,350 He's hunched over walking one day to services. 375 00:22:19,550 --> 00:22:21,950 This guy rides his bike. That was to a different 376 00:22:21,950 --> 00:22:23,950 congregation because we were visiting, But normally he rides 377 00:22:23,950 --> 00:22:27,220 his bike about. I think it was 10 miles one way 378 00:22:27,220 --> 00:22:29,380 to church in the morning. He lives in the Andes mountain, 379 00:22:29,380 --> 00:22:34,500 some 10,000 feet up. The inward man can be broken 380 00:22:34,500 --> 00:22:40,140 down, destroyed, discouraged. But God's word and God's way 381 00:22:40,140 --> 00:22:46,260 should be renewing us day by day to where there's no there's no 382 00:22:46,260 --> 00:22:48,380 downslope. As a Christian, when you get 383 00:22:48,380 --> 00:22:53,240 older, it should continue to grow as we get old. 384 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:58,400 Verse 16 from whom the whole body joined and held together by 385 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:01,280 every joint with which is equipped when each part is 386 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:06,280 working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up 387 00:23:06,360 --> 00:23:07,760 in love. There it is again. 388 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:12,400 Not so that the preacher or the elder can do all the work for 389 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:13,960 the congregation, but so that the. 390 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:17,540 Body can have all of its pieces doing the work. 391 00:23:17,540 --> 00:23:18,580 And you might say, you know what? 392 00:23:18,580 --> 00:23:21,220 I'm not very strong. I'm not very sturdy. 393 00:23:21,220 --> 00:23:23,100 You wouldn't think of me as one. He's going to build up this 394 00:23:23,100 --> 00:23:25,820 body. Sometimes something strong and 395 00:23:25,820 --> 00:23:30,020 sturdy and hard cannot work properly without a joint. 396 00:23:30,020 --> 00:23:32,860 Think about a bone. A bone can be as strong and 397 00:23:32,860 --> 00:23:38,460 sturdy and unbreakable as you could want, but you'd put 2 398 00:23:38,460 --> 00:23:41,460 bones together Without a joint, without cartilage, and without 399 00:23:41,460 --> 00:23:45,560 the proper fittings, you get no function out of your body. 400 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:48,080 That's what happens when you got to have to have surgery. 401 00:23:48,360 --> 00:23:51,640 If you're If you get torn meniscus, man, that hurts. 402 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:53,600 That's just a little piece of cartilage in that joint. 403 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:56,400 Bone on bone does not work too well. 404 00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:03,200 Every joint equips the church, and if every joint is working 405 00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:07,680 properly, the body will grow. It doesn't say you need to be a 406 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:10,320 different body part. We covered that in other studies 407 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:12,440 in First Corinthians. You don't need to be a different 408 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:16,040 body part, but you need to be equipped for the work you can 409 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:18,600 do. Otherwise this body will not 410 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:22,200 function properly and it won't build itself up the way it can 411 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:27,680 value what you offer, because God does and because this 412 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:30,720 congregation values what you offer, one man said. 413 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:33,800 Some people think of the church as a pyramid with a pastor or 414 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:36,960 the preacher at the top. Others think of the church as a 415 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:40,560 bus driven by the pastor or the preacher who takes his passive 416 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:44,960 passengers where they should go. God wants us to see the church 417 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:47,680 as a body where every part does it. 418 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:53,480 Share verse 17, Ephesians 4. Now this I say and testify in 419 00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:55,600 the Lord. That's a lot of boldness. 420 00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:59,680 I testify this in the Lord that you must no longer walk, as the 421 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:03,200 Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 422 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,600 So he's talking about calling us to a worthy walk. 423 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:08,920 He's called us. He's told us what he's done to 424 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:12,320 build us up as a church and how we have a responsibility to do 425 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:15,760 our job. And he's saying some things that 426 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:19,320 we have to do to clean up our walk, to live a worthy walk. 427 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:23,120 The first thing is we cannot walk like the rest of the world. 428 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:26,080 The Gentiles, there's Jew and Gentiles. 429 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:27,920 You're either God's people or you weren't, he says. 430 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:30,080 Don't walk like people who are not God's people. 431 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:37,470 And the reason is it's futility. Ecclesiastes, Vanity of 432 00:25:37,470 --> 00:25:38,590 vanities. All is vanity. 433 00:25:38,590 --> 00:25:40,270 Everything is empty. It's futile. 434 00:25:40,270 --> 00:25:43,230 There's no point in this life. It doesn't mean people can't do 435 00:25:43,230 --> 00:25:44,270 good things. In the world. 436 00:25:44,430 --> 00:25:47,150 But ultimately, it's futile. It's empty. 437 00:25:47,790 --> 00:25:53,150 Especially when sin is rooted. Because when you and I rely on 438 00:25:53,150 --> 00:25:56,910 our own minds and our own feelings and and desires to what 439 00:25:56,910 --> 00:26:00,310 to do, it's empty. It's futile. 440 00:26:00,310 --> 00:26:04,070 It's pointless. We should no longer walk. 441 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:07,440 And the futility of their minds. Verse 18, They're darkened in 442 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:09,920 their understanding. We talked earlier about what it 443 00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:13,040 means to be enlightened. It just means to have the true 444 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:16,040 reality brightened up so you can see what's there. 445 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,400 As Christians, we want to see the true reality of our hope and 446 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:21,480 of our faith. We need to see evil for what 447 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:23,880 evil truly is. We need to see good for what 448 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:28,320 good is and rejoice in good and and be disappointed by evil. 449 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:31,600 Because the people who are stuck in that, they're darkened. 450 00:26:32,410 --> 00:26:37,130 Most people are walking around blindfolded, walking in a world 451 00:26:37,130 --> 00:26:39,610 of illusion with a blindfold, one man called it. 452 00:26:41,010 --> 00:26:42,770 They're darkened in their understanding. 453 00:26:44,010 --> 00:26:45,850 And sometimes we can think of it like man. 454 00:26:45,850 --> 00:26:47,490 Those people have in different points in my life. 455 00:26:47,490 --> 00:26:50,490 I wish I could just whatever. This seems like they have 456 00:26:50,490 --> 00:26:54,770 everything the Bible says. They're alienated, they're 457 00:26:54,770 --> 00:27:01,170 strangers from the life of God. That's a scary line. 458 00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:08,320 Alienated, separated strangers from the life that God has to 459 00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:10,320 offer. Why? 460 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:15,840 Because of the ignorance that is in them due to their hardness of 461 00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:18,480 heart. You know, there's two different 462 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:21,920 types of ignorance, and I think one is much less common the 463 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:23,320 other. There's ignorance that just 464 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:25,120 says, I don't know it, something. 465 00:27:26,140 --> 00:27:28,260 And that's I think a very small portion of our world. 466 00:27:28,260 --> 00:27:30,860 And although atheists and others might try to challenge your 467 00:27:30,860 --> 00:27:33,260 faith and say there's so many people don't know anything about 468 00:27:33,260 --> 00:27:36,580 the word of God, this just this type of ignorance makes me 469 00:27:36,580 --> 00:27:39,940 excited to see what God can do. I've heard of some amazing 470 00:27:39,940 --> 00:27:43,060 stories where people were not thought to have ever heard the 471 00:27:43,060 --> 00:27:46,460 gospel before and some far out countries and they had heard 472 00:27:46,460 --> 00:27:49,380 about the gospel. So we never really know how 473 00:27:49,380 --> 00:27:52,300 ignorant people are. God can handle that, God can 474 00:27:52,300 --> 00:27:54,460 take care of that, and we could do our part in getting the 475 00:27:54,460 --> 00:27:56,890 gospel there. But I think the more common 476 00:27:57,170 --> 00:28:00,050 ignorance, the ignorance he's pulling out here, is an 477 00:28:00,050 --> 00:28:03,690 ignorance that is willingness and it's a hardness of heart 478 00:28:03,690 --> 00:28:08,050 that we choose that when we will reject truth, that when people 479 00:28:08,050 --> 00:28:12,290 reject truth, they will have a hardened heart. 480 00:28:12,610 --> 00:28:16,010 They have become callous and have given themselves up to 481 00:28:16,010 --> 00:28:19,810 sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 482 00:28:20,370 --> 00:28:22,330 It is amazing to me how our bodies work. 483 00:28:22,490 --> 00:28:25,010 Our bodies will adjust to anything it seems like. 484 00:28:25,830 --> 00:28:29,630 If you do hard work and it would mess you up to have hands that 485 00:28:29,630 --> 00:28:31,790 are soft your body makes harder skin. 486 00:28:32,990 --> 00:28:34,790 It's that it's it's amazing what our body will do. 487 00:28:35,070 --> 00:28:40,750 The calluses purpose is to block out things that are going to 488 00:28:40,750 --> 00:28:43,830 hurt the body. You're if you're not going to 489 00:28:43,830 --> 00:28:46,150 use your conscience if. People are going to use their 490 00:28:46,150 --> 00:28:48,950 conscience. It's going to develop a callus 491 00:28:49,190 --> 00:28:50,710 because there's no purpose for it. 492 00:28:51,530 --> 00:28:53,530 There's no purpose for having a conscience if you're not going 493 00:28:53,530 --> 00:28:56,530 to use it, if you tell your body or if you tell your mind. 494 00:28:56,530 --> 00:28:59,730 I'm not going to, I'm not going to follow that conscious God has 495 00:28:59,730 --> 00:29:01,290 given us. A conscience would say OK, if 496 00:29:01,290 --> 00:29:03,170 you're not going to use it, then it's not going to hurt anymore. 497 00:29:04,850 --> 00:29:09,730 Are there areas, even if it's not a general callus across 498 00:29:09,730 --> 00:29:13,250 everything you believe in, are there areas in your life, in my 499 00:29:13,250 --> 00:29:17,770 life that we have a callus spot that we would think, oh, that 500 00:29:17,770 --> 00:29:19,530 doesn't really matter, it's not that big of a deal. 501 00:29:21,150 --> 00:29:24,590 I would encourage us to have surgeons hands when it comes to 502 00:29:25,030 --> 00:29:27,790 our conscience because a surgeon's hands, Our surgeon 503 00:29:27,790 --> 00:29:31,390 needs every kind of dexterity they have softer hand because 504 00:29:31,390 --> 00:29:34,030 they need to be able to, to manipulate their tools in a very 505 00:29:34,030 --> 00:29:37,910 precise way. And as Christians, we should be. 506 00:29:37,950 --> 00:29:42,550 Sensitive in our conscience that we would be quick to respond to 507 00:29:42,550 --> 00:29:44,870 something that is brought to our attention. 508 00:29:45,590 --> 00:29:47,990 That God would direct us in through His Word and the Holy 509 00:29:47,990 --> 00:29:52,430 Spirit to prick our hearts and we'd be quick to respond and not 510 00:29:52,430 --> 00:29:55,750 be calloused. Maybe we would avoid a sensual, 511 00:29:55,830 --> 00:29:58,630 A sensual lifestyle. Sensuality is living for 512 00:29:58,630 --> 00:30:00,710 pleasure. It could be easy, even if it's 513 00:30:00,710 --> 00:30:05,270 not in a specific sin, to live just for pleasure in general. 514 00:30:05,950 --> 00:30:08,750 There's a lot of ways that we can do that and the things we 515 00:30:08,750 --> 00:30:11,550 watch, the things we think about, the things we give our 516 00:30:11,550 --> 00:30:17,750 time to or we're just chasing the next pleasure, the next 517 00:30:18,070 --> 00:30:23,790 thing that will feel good to us. Verse 20. 518 00:30:23,790 --> 00:30:25,870 But that is not the way you learn Christ. 519 00:30:26,830 --> 00:30:29,230 That is not the way that you learn Christ. 520 00:30:29,230 --> 00:30:32,830 Verse 21, assuming that you have heard about him and we're taught 521 00:30:32,830 --> 00:30:37,350 in him as the truth is in Jesus, he's going to continue to give 522 00:30:37,350 --> 00:30:39,510 us some put offs and some put ONS. 523 00:30:39,670 --> 00:30:43,630 He says verse 22 put off your old self, which belongs to your 524 00:30:43,630 --> 00:30:47,150 former matter of life and is corrupt through deceitful 525 00:30:47,150 --> 00:30:50,070 desires. He says put off your old self. 526 00:30:50,230 --> 00:30:52,870 Sometimes people say things like you need to love yourself just 527 00:30:52,870 --> 00:30:55,550 the way you are, and there's a whole conversation about that 528 00:30:55,710 --> 00:30:57,190 and what that does mean and doesn't mean. 529 00:30:57,190 --> 00:30:58,830 That's just a very broad statement. 530 00:30:59,110 --> 00:31:02,790 We should not love the parts of our self that are against God's 531 00:31:02,790 --> 00:31:04,910 will. We should put that off and be 532 00:31:04,910 --> 00:31:08,030 ready to throw that into the past and to close the door on 533 00:31:08,030 --> 00:31:11,880 it, because we have. No place in that old life, he 534 00:31:11,880 --> 00:31:15,640 says. Your former manner of life that 535 00:31:15,640 --> 00:31:17,800 is corrupt through deceitful desires. 536 00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:21,160 There's that phrase again, that deceitfulness of desires. 537 00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:26,600 Desires will trick our minds into thinking that something is 538 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:28,280 good for us when it's really not. 539 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:31,160 And that's the sad part about sin. 540 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:33,400 You know, these people sometimes fall into two camps. 541 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:35,350 They're either. A lot of times people say things 542 00:31:35,350 --> 00:31:37,110 like, oh, there's just so much evil out there. 543 00:31:37,110 --> 00:31:39,390 There's no good. Everybody's evil and they're all 544 00:31:39,630 --> 00:31:42,430 just terrible and can be. We can be really cynical about 545 00:31:42,430 --> 00:31:43,950 that. And then on the other hand, 546 00:31:43,950 --> 00:31:45,590 there's people who say, man, there's so much good in the 547 00:31:45,590 --> 00:31:48,030 world and and all these people there, they have good 548 00:31:48,030 --> 00:31:50,030 intentions. They're not really in sin, are 549 00:31:50,030 --> 00:31:50,990 they? They have good. 550 00:31:52,910 --> 00:31:57,950 And that's the problem with sin is it's deceitful there. 551 00:31:58,030 --> 00:32:02,320 People aren't all bad, and yes, people have good intentions, but 552 00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:03,480 it doesn't mean they're not sinning. 553 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:06,160 Paul says I would. I lived in all good conscience 554 00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:14,400 persecuting Christians. So we should be compassionate 555 00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:17,400 enough with people who are in sin that we would understand 556 00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:20,520 that they're they're deceived, they don't see it. 557 00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:22,360 So now they feel like, how can you not see this? 558 00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:26,400 It's because they don't. They don't see it at all and be 559 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:28,440 renewed into the spirit of your minds. 560 00:32:29,410 --> 00:32:31,410 We should be renewed as Christian. 561 00:32:31,410 --> 00:32:33,210 We should be built up day by day. 562 00:32:33,250 --> 00:32:35,530 A lot of times you ask people how they're doing. 563 00:32:35,530 --> 00:32:38,130 They say same old, same old. As a Christian the better. 564 00:32:38,130 --> 00:32:41,090 Hope is not same old, same old. If it's same old, same old, 565 00:32:41,290 --> 00:32:45,850 something is wrong and broken. We should be made new in our 566 00:32:45,850 --> 00:32:51,050 minds and returned to the source of our newness, created after 567 00:32:51,050 --> 00:32:54,570 the likeness of God and true righteousness, not in deception 568 00:32:54,730 --> 00:32:59,120 and and smoke and mirrors, but in true righteousness and 569 00:32:59,120 --> 00:33:01,960 holiness. Therefore, having put away 570 00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:05,520 falsehood, there it is again putting away that deceit, that 571 00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:08,800 falsehood, that fakeness. Let each one of you speak the 572 00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:12,200 truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. 573 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:16,680 If the brain tells the the hand that fire is not hot, the body 574 00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:19,160 is going to be damaged. We we are affected by one 575 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:21,800 another. We have to be able to teach to 576 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:25,080 tell truth with one another and to speak truth because we depend 577 00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:28,850 on one another. Verse 26 Be angry and do not 578 00:33:28,850 --> 00:33:32,290 sin. Do not let the sun go down on 579 00:33:32,290 --> 00:33:35,330 your anger and give no opportunity to the devil. 580 00:33:35,450 --> 00:33:37,410 OK, we're closing up here. Just a minute. 581 00:33:37,410 --> 00:33:41,890 But let's break down this verse. Be angry and do not sin. 582 00:33:41,890 --> 00:33:46,130 The first thing to do and dealing with anger, he says, is 583 00:33:46,130 --> 00:33:50,650 to handle it without sinning. So he's affirming the emotion of 584 00:33:50,650 --> 00:33:52,250 anger. The Bible gives us plenty of 585 00:33:52,250 --> 00:33:54,850 examples where God was angry with the children of Israel. 586 00:33:55,440 --> 00:34:00,840 Anger is an emotion, and every motion has a purpose, but it 587 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:04,240 does not have a place. And our life, always every 588 00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:08,400 emotion has a purpose. And the purpose or the first 589 00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:10,880 thing we should do with anger is to contain it. 590 00:34:10,920 --> 00:34:13,719 Anger you might describe as a fire, and I think, I think anger 591 00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:16,320 as a fire works in a lot of these analogies. 592 00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:20,199 And the first thing is to be angry, but kind of draw a 593 00:34:20,199 --> 00:34:22,360 boundary as to where you're not going to go. 594 00:34:23,060 --> 00:34:24,739 And then when you're fighting fires, what they'll do is 595 00:34:24,739 --> 00:34:27,420 they'll dig out a fire line to where the fire is. 596 00:34:27,420 --> 00:34:30,020 No fuel there. The fire will not go outside of 597 00:34:30,020 --> 00:34:31,620 that. If you go out to the woods and 598 00:34:31,620 --> 00:34:34,100 just start spraying on a fire, the fire is going to go the 599 00:34:34,100 --> 00:34:36,300 other way and you will get no more containment. 600 00:34:36,540 --> 00:34:39,739 You have to first draw a line around that fire that says 601 00:34:39,739 --> 00:34:41,500 you're not going to go anywhere outside of here. 602 00:34:41,940 --> 00:34:44,940 And as Christians, we have a responsibility to set our minds 603 00:34:45,139 --> 00:34:49,380 and to handle our anger in a way that first make sure we don't 604 00:34:49,380 --> 00:34:55,020 sin, that we don't lash out with vengeance or violence, violence 605 00:34:55,020 --> 00:34:58,140 physically or emotionally or reputationally. 606 00:34:58,220 --> 00:35:07,060 Reputation violence as a huge response to anger, but anger can 607 00:35:07,060 --> 00:35:09,580 also be a very positive motivator, he says. 608 00:35:09,580 --> 00:35:13,060 Be angry because there's a place for the motivation it gives you. 609 00:35:13,860 --> 00:35:17,980 Because if conflict is difficult for some people, it's more 610 00:35:17,980 --> 00:35:20,850 difficult than others. Some people are very conflict 611 00:35:20,850 --> 00:35:22,170 averse. Some people are really 612 00:35:22,170 --> 00:35:24,370 comfortable with it. As Christians, we shouldn't be 613 00:35:24,570 --> 00:35:29,170 overly anxious to have conflict, but we need to use anger when it 614 00:35:29,170 --> 00:35:32,010 needs to bring a conflict to pass. 615 00:35:32,010 --> 00:35:35,210 That we would address an issue that when there's some wrong 616 00:35:35,210 --> 00:35:37,770 being done, that when there's something that would anger us, 617 00:35:37,930 --> 00:35:40,770 that we would address it so it has a purpose, he says. 618 00:35:40,770 --> 00:35:43,890 Use that. But it can't spill over into 619 00:35:44,130 --> 00:35:49,510 gossip, backbiting or violence. The second thing he says to do 620 00:35:49,510 --> 00:35:52,070 is to not let the sun go down on your anger. 621 00:35:52,110 --> 00:35:54,110 There's the old phrase don't go to bed angry. 622 00:35:54,350 --> 00:35:57,870 And there's actually some some science behind that. 623 00:35:58,190 --> 00:36:02,150 They did a study recently where it showed that they took a bunch 624 00:36:02,150 --> 00:36:04,830 of men and they anyway, I won't go through the whole study, but 625 00:36:04,830 --> 00:36:09,030 they basically proved that if you go to sleep angry, you wake 626 00:36:09,030 --> 00:36:11,430 up the next morning. It is more difficult to get the 627 00:36:11,430 --> 00:36:15,300 negative images out of your head before sleep you it's it's like 628 00:36:15,300 --> 00:36:16,980 you can you can move past them easier. 629 00:36:16,980 --> 00:36:22,380 They do brain scans as to where the the the stimulus is going on 630 00:36:22,380 --> 00:36:25,740 the brain scan and this brain scan will move depending on 631 00:36:25,740 --> 00:36:27,780 what's happening in your own emotion. 632 00:36:27,780 --> 00:36:32,220 It's kind of fascinating but anger sends adrenaline through 633 00:36:32,220 --> 00:36:35,260 our bodies and it clouds the prefrontal cortex, which is the 634 00:36:35,260 --> 00:36:38,980 decision making part of your brain and that can make it hard 635 00:36:38,980 --> 00:36:41,260 to make good decisions. That's why he says, first of 636 00:36:41,260 --> 00:36:43,800 all. Watch out that you don't sin 637 00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:46,240 because it's going to cloud your vision, cloud your decision 638 00:36:46,240 --> 00:36:52,320 making skills, and if you let it sit in your mind during rest, 639 00:36:52,720 --> 00:36:55,440 your brain goes through a process of kind of sorting out 640 00:36:55,720 --> 00:36:57,200 everything that's happened in the day. 641 00:36:57,520 --> 00:37:00,840 It sorts out your memories in the short term, long term, and 642 00:37:00,840 --> 00:37:03,560 it deals with things. It's a place of rest, but 643 00:37:03,560 --> 00:37:05,040 chemically, that's what's happening. 644 00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:09,960 And they prove that it starts to disperse into the whole cortex 645 00:37:10,240 --> 00:37:12,120 if you just let it sit in your mind. 646 00:37:13,250 --> 00:37:15,370 So he says, don't let the sun go down on your anger. 647 00:37:16,490 --> 00:37:20,970 Maybe more practically speaking, handle something when you're 648 00:37:20,970 --> 00:37:24,090 angry. If you just let it Stew and sit, 649 00:37:24,290 --> 00:37:26,570 things don't get done. It was a pointless emotion. 650 00:37:27,090 --> 00:37:30,170 But if you let that anger drive you to have a conversation that 651 00:37:30,170 --> 00:37:33,730 needs to happen, to address an issue that needs to happen, 652 00:37:34,170 --> 00:37:39,420 that's productive and that's useful, but then work through it 653 00:37:39,420 --> 00:37:41,220 because you have to go to sleep sometimes. 654 00:37:41,220 --> 00:37:44,940 So we have to work through it. Once that fire is contained, 655 00:37:44,940 --> 00:37:47,380 then we work on putting that fire out. 656 00:37:47,380 --> 00:37:50,100 And maybe that's the hardest part, is figuring out how do I 657 00:37:50,100 --> 00:37:53,580 get this anger out of my mind and out of my body. 658 00:37:57,140 --> 00:37:59,180 And there's a lot of things that could be said about this. 659 00:37:59,420 --> 00:38:02,700 Maybe you have all your own tricks, strategies for getting 660 00:38:02,700 --> 00:38:05,780 through it, but number one, we know it's never going to be 661 00:38:05,940 --> 00:38:08,780 about explaining why you're wrong to feel that way. 662 00:38:10,460 --> 00:38:13,700 You you're not going to be less angry for someone to tell you 663 00:38:13,700 --> 00:38:17,780 why you shouldn't be angry, or by telling yourself I shouldn't 664 00:38:17,780 --> 00:38:21,540 be angry about this because we we can get worked up about any 665 00:38:21,540 --> 00:38:23,300 number of things. I can get worked up on the road 666 00:38:23,300 --> 00:38:26,340 driving, of all things, you're you're just going to work. 667 00:38:26,340 --> 00:38:28,300 You're going to get there maybe 10 seconds slower. 668 00:38:28,300 --> 00:38:30,380 There's no reason for us to get angry driving. 669 00:38:30,580 --> 00:38:33,420 But then there's always, well, this happened and this happened. 670 00:38:33,420 --> 00:38:37,670 OK, you can always explain why you might feel angry. 671 00:38:38,510 --> 00:38:41,990 So the answer is not to explain why it's wrong, but we have to 672 00:38:41,990 --> 00:38:45,630 have another reality that supersedes our own perspective 673 00:38:45,630 --> 00:38:48,270 on something. And here's the perfect one. 674 00:38:48,270 --> 00:38:52,110 It's later on this chapter where he says be kind to one another, 675 00:38:52,110 --> 00:38:56,070 tender hearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave 676 00:38:56,070 --> 00:38:59,310 you. Matthew 18 verse 23 says, 677 00:38:59,310 --> 00:39:01,630 Therefore the Kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who 678 00:39:01,630 --> 00:39:03,430 wished to settle accounts with his servants. 679 00:39:03,900 --> 00:39:06,140 But when he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him 680 00:39:06,140 --> 00:39:09,660 10,000 talents. And since he could not pay, his 681 00:39:09,660 --> 00:39:12,700 master ordered him to be sold with his wife and children and 682 00:39:12,700 --> 00:39:14,540 all they had and payment to be made. 683 00:39:15,220 --> 00:39:17,740 So this servant owed an amazing and massive debt. 684 00:39:17,980 --> 00:39:20,300 So the servant fell on his knees imploring him. 685 00:39:20,460 --> 00:39:23,500 Have patience with me and I will pay you all that I owe. 686 00:39:24,500 --> 00:39:27,100 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released 687 00:39:27,100 --> 00:39:30,710 him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went 688 00:39:30,710 --> 00:39:33,430 out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him 100 689 00:39:33,430 --> 00:39:36,950 denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, pay 690 00:39:36,950 --> 00:39:39,990 what you owe. So his fellow servant fell down 691 00:39:39,990 --> 00:39:42,110 and pleaded with him. Have patience with me and I will 692 00:39:42,110 --> 00:39:45,270 pay you the same thing, he said to the person he owed money to, 693 00:39:46,670 --> 00:39:48,830 But he refused and put him in prison. 694 00:39:49,350 --> 00:39:51,190 They should pay everything he owed. 695 00:39:52,790 --> 00:39:57,150 This helps reset my perspective. I might be angry with somebody 696 00:39:57,150 --> 00:39:59,950 or something that happened, but when I look at what God has 697 00:39:59,950 --> 00:40:04,590 forgiven me in light of this analogy, this passage, my anger 698 00:40:04,590 --> 00:40:07,670 in that problem just shrinks. It just kind of dissolves 699 00:40:08,230 --> 00:40:10,790 because it might be it's there, it's there. 700 00:40:10,790 --> 00:40:14,510 But it's much smaller. When I look at what God has done 701 00:40:14,510 --> 00:40:18,110 for me, when I look at this is me right here, this is my place. 702 00:40:21,910 --> 00:40:25,430 That's what I'm guilty of. We sing songs that say things 703 00:40:25,430 --> 00:40:28,230 like Odyssey, My Name written in the wounds. 704 00:40:28,550 --> 00:40:34,110 For your suffering, I'm free. There's a song that talks about 705 00:40:34,110 --> 00:40:36,710 can you still feel the nails every time I fail? 706 00:40:37,270 --> 00:40:40,190 That's why He was crucified. The song, my crown. 707 00:40:40,390 --> 00:40:44,150 It was my sin. It was my crown, my robe, my 708 00:40:44,150 --> 00:40:49,590 cross that put the Savior there. It was my sin that drew God's 709 00:40:49,590 --> 00:40:51,030 wrath. He bore for me. 710 00:40:51,310 --> 00:40:54,030 I could have never had a life with Him eternal. 711 00:40:55,030 --> 00:41:02,380 It is my sin, so it's not always the anger that's wrong, but it 712 00:41:02,380 --> 00:41:04,940 needs to be much smaller in comparison with the reality we 713 00:41:04,940 --> 00:41:07,980 deal with. This third thing he says in that 714 00:41:07,980 --> 00:41:10,580 verse is and give no opportunity to the devil. 715 00:41:11,100 --> 00:41:15,020 We have to realize that anger can be a wedge with a very small 716 00:41:15,020 --> 00:41:18,380 point where the devil can start to work his way in and give a 717 00:41:18,380 --> 00:41:20,300 place for a lot of other things to happen. 718 00:41:20,660 --> 00:41:24,020 So may we not give him a place? We have to identify who the real 719 00:41:24,020 --> 00:41:26,140 enemy is. We've talked a lot about deceit. 720 00:41:26,260 --> 00:41:30,300 Anger can be blinding and we have to be watchful so that we 721 00:41:30,300 --> 00:41:34,580 don't misidentify the enemy. If I'm mad at any number of 722 00:41:34,580 --> 00:41:38,540 people in this room, well, let's say let's say I'm mad at 723 00:41:38,540 --> 00:41:41,180 someone. I cannot let them become the 724 00:41:41,180 --> 00:41:42,660 enemy. They are not the enemy. 725 00:41:43,260 --> 00:41:45,500 I may have a conflict with them that we have to work through, 726 00:41:45,500 --> 00:41:48,730 but they are not the enemy. The enemy is the one who's 727 00:41:48,730 --> 00:41:52,210 trying to split us up to cause division, to cause anger. 728 00:41:52,330 --> 00:41:57,090 That would create a wedge in our lives and we must defend 729 00:41:57,090 --> 00:42:00,970 ourselves in case something in our anger could enter into our 730 00:42:00,970 --> 00:42:04,490 heart that would be sinful and cause damage. 731 00:42:05,530 --> 00:42:07,090 So three things, contain the fire. 732 00:42:07,410 --> 00:42:10,850 Work on putting out the fire and focus on identifying and 733 00:42:10,850 --> 00:42:13,370 defending against who the real enemy is. 734 00:42:14,930 --> 00:42:17,960 If we are ever at odds with someone and we don't have their 735 00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:21,840 best interests at heart, and that's the root of sin, whether 736 00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:25,920 it's violence, whether that's tearing down the reputation, 737 00:42:26,440 --> 00:42:31,040 that is a sinful attitude. Verse 28 Let the thief no longer 738 00:42:31,040 --> 00:42:34,680 steal, but rather let him labor doing honest work with his own 739 00:42:34,680 --> 00:42:36,600 hands. So that he may have something to 740 00:42:36,600 --> 00:42:40,960 share with anyone in need. Thieves can be very frustrating, 741 00:42:40,960 --> 00:42:43,520 but I feel bad for thieves because it's most of the time 742 00:42:43,520 --> 00:42:46,720 it's thieves who are poor and who don't have anything. 743 00:42:47,970 --> 00:42:51,410 And I love the word of God because it always gives us a why 744 00:42:52,250 --> 00:42:57,050 the thief who doesn't maybe have enough to survive or to live on, 745 00:42:57,450 --> 00:43:00,650 he's given the instruction to turn that into his why to his or 746 00:43:00,650 --> 00:43:03,970 her reason, or why? For why they work hard that they 747 00:43:03,970 --> 00:43:06,690 will have something to give to someone else who's impoverished. 748 00:43:09,500 --> 00:43:12,140 God's basically saying, I get it, you're in a hard spot, but 749 00:43:12,140 --> 00:43:15,060 turn that into motivation to help somebody else who's in your 750 00:43:15,060 --> 00:43:17,500 same place by working with your hands. 751 00:43:18,700 --> 00:43:21,820 Now we think of theft like stealing something off the 752 00:43:21,820 --> 00:43:27,460 shelf, but there's also white collar theft. 4 or 90% of all 753 00:43:27,460 --> 00:43:30,540 significant theft losses come from employees. 754 00:43:31,660 --> 00:43:34,340 That is a scary number. These are taken from the US 755 00:43:34,540 --> 00:43:39,160 Department of Commerce. 4.5 hours of time Theft per per 756 00:43:39,160 --> 00:43:42,200 employee per week is what the national average is. 757 00:43:42,520 --> 00:43:44,560 That's things like being on your phone at work when you should be 758 00:43:44,560 --> 00:43:47,880 getting something done. That's things like clocking in 759 00:43:48,280 --> 00:43:50,560 at a time where you're not really in work. 760 00:43:50,560 --> 00:43:54,600 Different things, but in my business ethics class I took it 761 00:43:54,600 --> 00:43:56,480 was billions and billions of dollars. 762 00:43:56,800 --> 00:44:00,400 They say $50 billion in theft comes from their own employees. 763 00:44:01,040 --> 00:44:04,720 Time theft is a massive issue, so maybe you don't steal things 764 00:44:04,720 --> 00:44:08,720 off a shelf, but are you a trustworthy and reliable an 765 00:44:08,840 --> 00:44:12,680 honest employee? One of four people admit to 766 00:44:12,680 --> 00:44:15,720 lying on their time cards. There's white collar lies. 767 00:44:15,720 --> 00:44:17,400 There's not. I guarantee not one of four 768 00:44:17,400 --> 00:44:21,120 people steal things off shelves, but there's theft in other ways. 769 00:44:21,520 --> 00:44:24,960 Verse 29, Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths. 770 00:44:25,960 --> 00:44:31,200 No corrupting talk, but only such as is good for building up, 771 00:44:31,200 --> 00:44:35,560 as it fits the occasion. So our job again, is to edify 772 00:44:35,560 --> 00:44:38,550 one another. And we have to have a little 773 00:44:38,550 --> 00:44:40,110 tap. We need to be very intentional 774 00:44:40,110 --> 00:44:42,190 as to what our goals are, is to build others up with our 775 00:44:42,190 --> 00:44:44,910 communication. And we have to be very skillful 776 00:44:44,910 --> 00:44:48,230 and tactful as it fits the occasion. 777 00:44:48,590 --> 00:44:52,830 That may give grace to those who hear and do not grieve the Holy 778 00:44:52,830 --> 00:44:55,710 Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of 779 00:44:55,710 --> 00:44:57,150 redemption. We're almost done here. 780 00:44:58,550 --> 00:45:01,190 The only time I remember my parents being really grieved, 781 00:45:01,750 --> 00:45:06,270 just like flustered and like, is when we were arguing too much 782 00:45:06,390 --> 00:45:09,390 and just kept fighting with each other for no reason. 783 00:45:09,390 --> 00:45:11,590 Move on. It's the same thing with the 784 00:45:11,590 --> 00:45:15,990 Holy Spirit. I believe He has given us so 785 00:45:15,990 --> 00:45:19,390 much and has done so much to build this church and to develop 786 00:45:19,390 --> 00:45:22,710 us as Christians. May we not be once to tear it 787 00:45:22,710 --> 00:45:25,070 down when we're just fighting amongst each other for no good 788 00:45:25,070 --> 00:45:29,870 reason because he has sealed us for the day of Redemption. 789 00:45:30,310 --> 00:45:34,450 It hurts the Holy Spirit and grieves the Holy Spirit when 790 00:45:34,450 --> 00:45:36,450 that is present. When that division and anger is 791 00:45:36,450 --> 00:45:41,210 present, that divides verse 31. Let all bitterness and wrath and 792 00:45:41,210 --> 00:45:45,490 anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all 793 00:45:45,490 --> 00:45:49,490 malice. If we are contrary to the 794 00:45:49,490 --> 00:45:52,490 well-being or best interests of others, that is a selfish 795 00:45:52,490 --> 00:45:55,770 attitude. We may disagree with somebody or 796 00:45:55,770 --> 00:45:58,970 want to go against what they have in mind, but if we are 797 00:45:58,970 --> 00:46:03,100 trying to go against their best interest as a sinful attitude, 798 00:46:03,300 --> 00:46:07,140 be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one 799 00:46:07,140 --> 00:46:11,500 another as God and Christ forgave you, there is the 800 00:46:11,500 --> 00:46:13,780 perspective for everything he asks of us. 801 00:46:13,780 --> 00:46:16,020 He's already done it himself today. 802 00:46:16,300 --> 00:46:19,380 That's the that's the study. If you are a member of this 803 00:46:19,380 --> 00:46:22,140 body, it is a wonderful thing and it should be. 804 00:46:23,140 --> 00:46:25,780 If you're not a member, you can be added. 805 00:46:25,780 --> 00:46:29,140 Today, after hearing the word repenting of your past life. 806 00:46:29,140 --> 00:46:33,040 Changing you can and you believe in the Son of God. 807 00:46:33,040 --> 00:46:35,560 You're repent of your past life, confess that Jesus Christ is the 808 00:46:35,560 --> 00:46:37,840 Son of God. You can be baptized and added to 809 00:46:37,840 --> 00:46:39,640 the church for the remission of your sins. 810 00:46:39,640 --> 00:46:42,800 We had a new brother, Chris. We're so excited to have him as 811 00:46:42,800 --> 00:46:45,120 a member here, as a member of the family of God. 812 00:46:45,120 --> 00:46:46,280 You can do that too. Today. 813 00:46:46,280 --> 00:46:48,960 You don't have to be voted in and all this stuff you can. 814 00:46:49,080 --> 00:46:50,600 You can do that today, if you're ready. 815 00:46:51,240 --> 00:46:54,280 And if you're a member of this, the body already you can. 816 00:46:54,440 --> 00:46:57,080 You can come for if you have something you need prayers for, 817 00:46:57,080 --> 00:46:59,760 if it's a public sin or something you need support in. 818 00:47:00,120 --> 00:47:02,440 We can take care of either thing while we stand and while we see. 819 00:47:03,920 --> 00:47:06,920 We thank you for listening to our podcast put on by the Church 820 00:47:06,920 --> 00:47:11,360 of Christ at 2215 Plans Rd. in Bakersfield. 821 00:47:12,080 --> 00:47:15,520 If you would like any additional information or you would like to 822 00:47:15,520 --> 00:47:18,520 receive a free Bible correspondence course by mail, 823 00:47:19,240 --> 00:47:24,560 please e-mail us at info@churchofchristbakersfield.com. 824 00:47:25,320 --> 00:47:29,560 Our service times are Sundays at 10:30 AM and 5:00 PM. 825 00:47:30,270 --> 00:47:34,950 And Wednesdays at 7:30 PM Please make plans to join us. 826 00:47:35,430 --> 00:47:37,590 We would love for you to be our honored guest.