1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,040 Aloha and welcome to Amen podcast. 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:04,440 I'm looking on your host and today we're continuing our 3 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:07,840 stressless series looking at chapter 2 of Philippians verses 4 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:11,600 14 and 15 and it's all about being a child of God. 5 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:15,600 Being a child of God is a privilege and a responsibility. 6 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:19,680 It's one of the most transformative things a family 7 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:23,920 can have is a mission statement. Ours is preaching the good news 8 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:26,360 of Jesus Christ and how it applies to everyday life. 9 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:29,840 We try to implement that in all the little things we do as a 10 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:35,320 family so that our kids have a clearview of what we are about 11 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:37,760 and what our purpose is here on earth. 12 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:41,720 And so when a family has a mission, it has a focus and 13 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:44,880 every decision gets made in light of that mission. 14 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:48,960 So why do we need a mission? Because to be a family is a 15 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,520 privilege and a responsibility. Not everyone has a family. 16 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:56,760 Not everyone has a family to be proud of, and having 1 is a 17 00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:00,400 gift, but it also requires that you bring something to the 18 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,440 table. It's a responsibility to hold up 19 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:06,040 the family name. If you want the family name to 20 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:09,680 mean anything to the world, you have to hold up the values of 21 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:12,800 the family. And God's family is the ultimate 22 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:15,680 family. Regardless of the family you 23 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:19,720 were born into or the lack of family you may have, this is the 24 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:22,560 family you're invited to in Christ. 25 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:26,280 So it's a privilege to bear His name, and it's also a 26 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:28,560 responsibility. So today, Alex will teach us 27 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:32,920 about the joy and freedom from the stress that comes from 28 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:35,720 living as a child of God. Amen. 29 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:37,480 Let's jump right in. We're going to be in Philippians 30 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:42,800 chapter 2, verses 14 through 18. And do you want to read it for 31 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:44,760 us? Sure. 32 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:47,800 If you're loving the Stress Less series and these sermons have 33 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:51,240 been helpful to you, you can go to amenpodcast.com to support 34 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:53,800 us. Amen, podcast.com/donate. 35 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:57,920 Let's read verse 14. Do all things without grumbling 36 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:01,600 or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent children 37 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:04,840 of God without blemish, in the midst of a crooked and twisted 38 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:09,280 generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding 39 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:12,160 fast to the word of life. So that in the day of Christ I 40 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:16,120 may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 41 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:20,080 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the 42 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:23,360 sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice 43 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:26,200 with you all. Likewise, you also should be 44 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:29,080 glad and rejoice. With me, Amen. 45 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:31,800 So we're talking about being children of God today and what 46 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:36,760 that looks like and the freedom from the stress, full life that 47 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:41,080 we have in Christ. We have a stressless way of 48 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:42,880 living because we are children of God. 49 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:46,200 Our Father owns everything like that hymn that we've referenced 50 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:48,960 before here in the series. This is my Father's world. 51 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:52,760 So we need to look at why we why it's so important for us to live 52 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:55,640 as children of God. That first is in verses 14 53 00:02:55,640 --> 00:02:58,400 through 15. It says that do all things 54 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:00,440 without grumbling or disputing, right? 55 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:03,200 So when you first hear this, your translation might say 56 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:05,960 complaining. And then we think, Oh, no, I, I 57 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,880 complain so much like I, I grumble, I got to get rid of 58 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:12,600 that. And it's actually not that. 59 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:14,920 And more than that at the same time. 60 00:03:14,920 --> 00:03:17,760 So this is not talking about like the normal type of 61 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:20,360 complaining or that we think of right. 62 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:22,880 Let's like, oh, there's so much traffic today or oh man, I can't 63 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:26,040 believe that I have a flat tire or gas prices are so high. 64 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:27,640 It's not really talking about that. 65 00:03:27,640 --> 00:03:29,560 It's talking about this. If you look at the Greek 66 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:32,760 translation of these words, it's talking about like an inner 67 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:36,080 dialogue or an inner discontentment or a dark 68 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:39,840 dialogue within yourself. So it's a, it's a conversation 69 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:43,560 that is happening, a grumbling or a murmuring that's happening 70 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:46,240 inside of you, maybe sometimes outside. 71 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:50,120 But it's it's focusing mainly on like a secretive type of 72 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:54,760 murmuring or a secret type of type of grumbling, or also on 73 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:59,680 top of that, a like a inner discontentment and dialogue 74 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:02,000 within yourself. Like I just don't like this 75 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:03,840 about myself or I hate this about my life. 76 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:06,640 It's just, it's being ungrateful. 77 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:10,440 And I love this. Tim Keller was talking about how 78 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:12,360 all sin comes from ungratefulness. 79 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:15,440 And we talked about this from going through a series in 80 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:19,000 Romans, where in Romans it talks about how they'd rather be their 81 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:21,079 own gods. They wouldn't worship the only 82 00:04:21,079 --> 00:04:23,600 true God in the first couple chapters of Romans. 83 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:27,160 And they were full of ungratefulness, unthankfulness. 84 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:30,800 They simply would not say thank you to God in their hearts for 85 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:33,160 this life. And all sin kind of comes from 86 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,200 that. All sin comes from you not being 87 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:37,520 thankful. So you think about your own 88 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:41,320 kids, if you have kids or if you have kids one day, if your kids 89 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:45,480 do something that is against you, they are essentially saying 90 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:49,440 I am not thankful mom, dad for the life that you have provided 91 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:52,120 for me. So thus I will steal cookies 92 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:56,160 from the cookie jar or I will lie or I just want to spit in 93 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:59,120 the face of what you've done. And that is what all sin kind of 94 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:01,240 comes from. And so when we look at 95 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:04,880 ourselves, if there's any type of dark dialogue or inner 96 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:08,320 complaining or inner discontentment within ourselves, 97 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:10,720 what we're essentially saying is that we're not thankful to God 98 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:14,680 for what he's done for us. Now, that is a really tough pill 99 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:17,520 to swallow. And it's also slavery. 100 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:19,200 We don't want to live that way, right? 101 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:23,680 He says in verse the next part, verse 15, that you may be 102 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:26,720 blameless and innocent. So the whole goal of not having 103 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:30,240 this dark dialogue of discontentment inside of you is 104 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:32,760 that you would live blamelessly and innocent. 105 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:35,280 A person who's blameless and innocent has nothing to worry 106 00:05:35,280 --> 00:05:37,600 about, right? If you're, if you go to court 107 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:39,400 and you're blameless and innocent, you don't have 108 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:41,120 anything to worry about. The evidence is going to come 109 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:43,440 out. You're going to walk away free. 110 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:47,560 This is how we want to live. If you have this dark dialogue 111 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:50,320 or this discontentment within you, you know how much you hate 112 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:52,320 it. And you, you only have the 113 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:55,120 opportunity to not walk in that as a child of God. 114 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:59,160 So he's saying that you may be blameless and innocent children 115 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:02,760 of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted 116 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:05,960 generation among whom you shine as lights in the world. 117 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:08,400 So Paul says some amazing things. 118 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:12,080 And there's This is why you could preach one verse at a time 119 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:14,400 for every episode, but we don't do that because we'll be in 120 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:17,080 Philippians forever. There's so much going on in this 121 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:18,920 verse. So first of all, without blemish 122 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:22,160 is how you describe an Old Testament sacrifice. 123 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:26,840 No spots, no blemish. A perfect lamb, a perfect 124 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,120 sacrifice. This is how Jesus is described 125 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:33,840 in Hebrews Chapter 9 and this is how the children of God, the 126 00:06:33,840 --> 00:06:35,720 brothers and sisters of Jesus are described. 127 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:39,920 Were meant to be blameless, without blemish and spotless 128 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:44,360 before this twisted and crooked or other translations say 129 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:48,200 perverse or perverted generation. 130 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:51,440 Why does the world hate Christians? 131 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:55,440 Why does the world feel like such an uncomfortable place for 132 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:59,200 Christians to exist in? It's because, as Paul explains 133 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:03,200 it, so does God explain it. That this generation, this world 134 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:07,080 that we're a part of, is crooked and twisted and and disgusting 135 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:09,480 and pervert, perverse and perverted. 136 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:14,200 The transgender stuff, the homosexuality, the abortion, the 137 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:18,480 wars, the stealing, the all the different things that I can't 138 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:21,280 say on YouTube without getting in trouble, all this stuff. 139 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:23,480 Why is the world so disgusting and evil? 140 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:26,680 It's because as scripture describes it, it's perverted. 141 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:29,480 It has perverted and twisted desires. 142 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:35,120 So when you live as children of God before this generation, what 143 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:38,280 happens? You shine like stars, as it says 144 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:41,440 in Philippians chapter 2 verse 15, it says you shine as lights. 145 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:45,920 Another translation says you shine as stars in the night sky. 146 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:52,800 We're bright and shining way back when Hawaii before became a 147 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:55,360 state. The first people that came here, 148 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:57,880 some of the first people that came here, they came here by way 149 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:01,240 of boat, following the stars as way finders. 150 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:04,200 The stars shined bright in the night sky and they were able to 151 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:08,880 find new worlds, new islands by following these star patterns. 152 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:12,960 Because not only do stars shine bright, they also don't move. 153 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:17,800 They stay in one place and so they are clear point of 154 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:21,240 direction or compass for people who are using them as as wave 155 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:24,000 finders, as Christians. We are meant to be the same 156 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:26,120 thing in a twisted and dark generation. 157 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:28,120 There's a lot of people around you, your neighbors, your 158 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:30,960 friends, your family members who aren't Christians, who do not 159 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:34,600 know which way to go. And if they don't have a Bible, 160 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:38,120 they can look at you as a wave Finder, as a bright light in the 161 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:39,159 darkness. Amen. 162 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:43,039 So that is what the that's what Paul wants for the Philippian 163 00:08:43,039 --> 00:08:44,920 church. That's what God wants for the 164 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:49,120 church, Big C in general. And that means we need to live 165 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:52,080 as children of God. Here's a good example to wrap 166 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:53,200 all this up. Akin. 167 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:56,040 Remember the story of Akin in the, in the in the fall of 168 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:59,040 Jericho, God tells Joshua to March around Jericho. 169 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:02,320 I'm going to destroy Jericho. And then when you go into the 170 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:04,640 fallen Jericho, I want you to plunder it all. 171 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:06,280 But everything is going to be devoted to me. 172 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:07,760 None of it's going to be kept for yourself. 173 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:12,080 All their riches, all their wealth bring it to me for the 174 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:14,800 church, for the people of God, for the synagogue, all this 175 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:17,720 stuff. They go in, everyone obeys 176 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:19,720 except Aiken. And the next day they go to 177 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:22,920 fight the city of AI. And when they go there, it's 178 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:25,440 only 3000 people who live there, or there's only a small amount 179 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:28,560 of people who live there. So they only send 3000 180 00:09:28,560 --> 00:09:32,360 Israelites, excuse me? And they lose, 36 of them die, 181 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:35,600 and they come back defeated. And Joshua falls on his face. 182 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:37,400 He's like, why? Lord, you said we were going to 183 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:38,640 be victorious. What happened? 184 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:43,040 And then that's when God tells Joshua, I want you to cast lots 185 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:47,480 and have every family, every clan, every tribe, every clan, 186 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:53,200 every family, every household come out, every man stand before 187 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:57,520 me and they cast the lot and the lot falls on Akin and him and 188 00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:01,560 his household all get stoned and God destroys them. 189 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:05,360 And the Bible says the anger of the Lord dissipated, went away 190 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:10,360 from the people of God. It was because one man held back 191 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:13,920 something that belonged to God for himself, because one man, 192 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:16,280 through grumbling, through discontentment, through 193 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:19,720 complaining, through dark dialogue inside his own heart. 194 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:21,960 Well, I don't have that. I need that. 195 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:24,280 I want that. He didn't talk to anybody else. 196 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:27,480 This was an inner dark dialogue within himself of 197 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:30,160 discontentment. And he kept it a secret and he 198 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:32,360 hid. He went back to his tent and he 199 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:35,480 dug a hole and he hid these treasures in the ground. 200 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:38,960 And God knew about it, and the whole people of Israel were 201 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:42,160 punished for it in a way. But his household, his kids 202 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:44,680 included, his wife included, died. 203 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:48,800 Isn't that a little harsh? No, God is holy, and that which 204 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:51,760 is devoted to God belongs to God, not to us. 205 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:56,800 And there is no place in the people of God for dark dialogue, 206 00:10:56,800 --> 00:11:00,360 of discontentment. There's no place for it because 207 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:03,360 our God is too good. Everything that was God's was 208 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:07,680 Aikens if Akin only saw it that way. 209 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:10,560 The reason why they devoted everything to God because God 210 00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:14,000 had a plan for all that stuff that was in Jericho and God was 211 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:17,640 never going to not give Akin everything that he needed and 212 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:19,720 even a little bit extra more of what Akin wanted. 213 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:22,280 But Akin needed to trust God and he didn't do that. 214 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:25,200 He spit in the face of God through ungratefulness and it 215 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:28,320 got them in trouble. So why do we always go down that 216 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:29,200 road? Why do we follow in the 217 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:32,200 footsteps of Akin? It tells us in verse 16 of 218 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:37,040 Philippians chapter 2, it says holding fast to the word of life 219 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:40,800 so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run 220 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:44,880 in vain or labor in vain. So Paul is talking from house 221 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:48,600 arrest writing this letter to the Philippian church and he's 222 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:52,240 saying listen all of this living like a child of God. 223 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:57,160 It happens if and by you holding fast to the word of life. 224 00:11:57,360 --> 00:11:58,640 How do you live as a child of God? 225 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:01,560 You hold fast to the word of word of life. 226 00:12:01,880 --> 00:12:05,040 If you're not living as a child of God, AKA you have this dark 227 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:08,120 dialogue of discontentment, this grumbling, this complaining, 228 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:10,640 this, all that. If that's going on, it's because 229 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:12,200 you're not holding fast to Christ. 230 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:15,840 Jesus is the word of life. The gospel is the word of life. 231 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:18,720 So if you're not holding on to it, then what happens? 232 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:24,520 You start having this, You start falling back into slavery of 233 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:26,440 discontentment. I don't have this, I don't have 234 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:27,880 that. I'm not grateful for this. 235 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:31,640 I'm not grateful for that. So it requires us to be 236 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:35,360 completely unashamed. Remember Romans chapter 116. 237 00:12:35,560 --> 00:12:37,720 It says, for I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power 238 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:40,600 of God unto salvation for all who believe first of you, then 239 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:42,720 the Gentile. What is Paul saying? 240 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:47,000 He's like, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. 241 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:51,240 Listen, we have Bible verses of this, we have tattoos, we have 242 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:57,320 shirts, 116 rappers out there. It's a lot of fun to to to 243 00:12:58,000 --> 00:12:59,640 assume the position of unashamed. 244 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:03,760 Listen, I find myself being ashamed of the gospel in the 245 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:07,840 smallest of circumstances when we have family worship and I, 246 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:10,160 it's 15 minutes before bedtime and I'm supposed to share the 247 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:12,800 gospel with my family and share a little Bible verse. 248 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:15,920 Even in that moment in my head, I'm thinking, do I really need 249 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:17,640 to share the gospel? I need to talk about the cross 250 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:19,240 again. Do I really need to talk about 251 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:22,720 the resurrection again? Listen, we never graduate from 252 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:26,000 the cross of the resurrection. There's nothing out there for 253 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:28,160 you outside of the cross of the resurrection. 254 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:31,280 Everything in the Bible is pointing towards the cross and 255 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:34,520 the resurrection. Everything we see, everything in 256 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:37,120 Scripture, through the cross and through the resurrection. 257 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:41,120 There's not one single iota, one single title, one single verse 258 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:46,080 in this Bible that does not have something to do to the cross and 259 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:48,280 the resurrection. Every single verse in this Bible 260 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:51,400 that makes a beeline to the cross and the resurrection. 261 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:55,160 We never graduate from it. But in your flesh you're going 262 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:58,520 to assume the position of I've graduated from the gospel. 263 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,120 I think I know this already. That's Sunday school stuff for 264 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:03,680 me. I can go move on to these bigger 265 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:06,680 meteor topics of Scripture, like how to do this and how to do 266 00:14:06,680 --> 00:14:08,240 that on these big theological terms. 267 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:11,000 All of it is about the cross and the resurrection. 268 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:13,840 If we do not have good news, we have no news. 269 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:18,760 There is no news outside of good, the good news of Christ. 270 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:23,680 So what that requires for us to do is to let go of our pride, 271 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:26,520 thinking that we can get to heaven on our own, that we can 272 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:29,720 be good enough on our own, that we're really not that bad, we 273 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:31,280 just need to be cleaned up a little bit. 274 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:34,400 You are dead and your trespasses and sin and there is no way for 275 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:37,640 you to be saved and changed outside of God and the good news 276 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:41,040 that He shares by sending His Son to die in your place and He 277 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:43,560 rose from the dead. There is nothing greater than 278 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:48,560 that all that there is infinite eternal implications of the 279 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:53,160 gospel and that is our problem. We think that for my practical 280 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:55,480 help throughout this life, I'm going to need to find help 281 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:58,320 outside the gospel. I'm going to like have to find 282 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:02,640 more practical steps on how to live outside of the gospel. 283 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:06,440 And This is why Eamon podcast is all about gospel truth for 284 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:12,240 everyday life because there is no better practical help outside 285 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:14,920 of the gospel. This is why God gives us the 286 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:18,680 good news. So being ashamed of it is 287 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:21,720 saying, well, I, I need something more or yeah, I know 288 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:24,120 all that, but I don't need to like submit myself that we can 289 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:26,280 talk about something else. I've seen this happen in my own 290 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:28,800 life and if it's happened in my life as a pastor and a preacher, 291 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:32,320 it's definitely happening to those who don't preach the 292 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:37,280 gospel as their main occupation. Now the gospel is offensive. 293 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:40,120 The gospel. This is why we sometimes get 294 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:41,840 ashamed of it because it is offensive. 295 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:45,840 And if you are, if you are not living in a way that is 296 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:48,720 offensive, then you're not living out the gospel. 297 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:54,280 Like if if you following Christ doesn't offend some people, then 298 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:55,560 you're not living out the gospel. 299 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:58,520 At the same time, the gospel is also very refreshing. 300 00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:02,800 It's living water. So if you are always offensive 301 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:06,920 to people, that is your personality, you are abrasive 302 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:08,920 and maybe even a little bit arrogant. 303 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:11,920 If your life is completely offensive all the time to people 304 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:15,440 you're not, or your life is meant to be as a light shining 305 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:18,520 in the darkness, a beautiful light, blameless and innocent, 306 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:20,480 like we just said in the verses 14 and 15. 307 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:25,720 So you got to ride the middle line, live for the gospel, live 308 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:29,480 for Christ, which means how the decisions that you make will 309 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:32,440 offend people. I'm not trying to toot our own 310 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:34,760 horns, but how many kids we have, it offends people. 311 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:37,640 We go to Costco. I see people growl at us because 312 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:39,960 it's just like, man, kids are all on the way and they're loud 313 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:41,880 and they're annoying. And I just want to get here and 314 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:44,920 get my wine and and my and my cheese board and get out of 315 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:46,280 here. And that's fine. 316 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:50,080 Be fruitful and multiply. God gave us a working, healthy 317 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:51,360 body. We want to use it for the glory 318 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:53,400 of God. We want to raise up Christians 319 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:56,320 within the family of God that know God for his glory. 320 00:16:56,320 --> 00:16:57,280 So that's how we're going to live. 321 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:00,160 Living out the gospel is going to offend people. 322 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:02,560 That's a very small example. I'm sure you could think of many 323 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:05,680 more in your own life. If your life offends people, 324 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:07,359 good, you're living out the gospel. 325 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:14,160 If your life is only an ever offensive, bring it down, be 326 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:17,440 gentle and live as blameless, innocent children of God. 327 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:20,720 So let's look at the solution. How do we do this? 328 00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:22,079 How do we live as children of God? 329 00:17:22,319 --> 00:17:27,880 We have to hold nothing back. Children of God, hold nothing 330 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:29,640 back. Look at verses 17 and 18. 331 00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:32,320 Even if I am poured out as a drink offering upon the 332 00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:35,560 sacrificial offering of your faith, I'm glad and rejoice with 333 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:37,560 you all. Likewise, you also should be 334 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:41,360 glad and rejoice with me. Paul is saying, listen guys, I'm 335 00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:43,360 I might not make it out of house arrest. 336 00:17:43,360 --> 00:17:46,800 They might kill me, and that's OK because my life is meant to 337 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:50,960 be poured out upon the sacrificial offering. 338 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:53,520 What's he talking about? You have to be like kind of 339 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:54,680 Jewish to know what he's talking about. 340 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:57,400 And it's because in the Old Testament, they would sacrifice 341 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:01,880 an animal, but they would also sometimes pour wine on that 342 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:02,880 animal. You can read this in the 343 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:05,760 Pentateuch or the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. 344 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:09,040 It was something that they would do is a, a beautiful sacrifice 345 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:13,120 of representing the life of this plant, of this wine, of this 346 00:18:13,120 --> 00:18:15,360 animal, all being sacrificed all at once. 347 00:18:15,360 --> 00:18:21,800 Now Paul is saying that is how I am not one drop left of my life 348 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:26,880 is going to be left after this. I am pouring out my life upon 349 00:18:27,120 --> 00:18:29,160 you. So he's saying it's not only 350 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:33,000 that my life is a sacrifice, it's that what I've done by 351 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:36,520 planting this Philippian church is also my sacrifice to God. 352 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:39,880 I'm presenting you this church that I've planted and pastored 353 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:42,160 and rose up unto God as a sacrifice. 354 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:46,120 But on top of that, I want every last drop of my life poured out 355 00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:49,520 but like wine on top of this ministry that I've done. 356 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:54,440 Talk about leaving nothing back. Talk about the opposite of Akin, 357 00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:57,000 right? He goes into Jericho to steal 358 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:01,240 and to keep back for himself all that he can get his hands on. 359 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:04,800 Paul is someone that says, I want to leave nothing back. 360 00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:08,040 There's nothing I hold on to like the song United pursuit, 361 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:10,280 Will Reagan. Nothing I'm holding on to. 362 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:12,520 I'll climb this mountain with my hands wide open. 363 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:18,320 That is Jesus climbing the hill of Calvary, nothing holding back 364 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:21,760 because Paul looked at Christ and saw Christ hold nothing 365 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:23,920 back. Paul looked at the Philippian 366 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:26,040 church and said, I'm going to hold nothing back. 367 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:27,720 I'm going to give you all of my life. 368 00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:31,800 And he quite literally is doing this by being on house arrest, 369 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:35,720 chained to a Roman guard, writing a letter with every last 370 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:39,480 bit of energy with any, any last opportunity he has. 371 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:43,680 He's giving it to this church. It's a beautiful picture of what 372 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:47,040 Christ has done for us. So how do you live as a child of 373 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:49,400 God, blameless and innocent before a twisted and crooked 374 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:51,200 generation? How do you do that? 375 00:19:51,360 --> 00:19:53,720 You hold nothing back. How do you hold nothing back? 376 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:57,000 You look at Christ because this is what Jesus did. 377 00:19:57,040 --> 00:20:02,520 What did he hold back? Was there anything left for 378 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:05,880 Christ on the cross? Did he hold anything back for 379 00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:09,160 himself? Did he keep anything just for 380 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:12,240 Him? No, He gave absolutely 381 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:14,280 everything and he told us he was going to do that. 382 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:17,120 When he said there is no greater love than this than one should 383 00:20:17,120 --> 00:20:19,120 lay down his life for his friends. 384 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:24,960 Not lay down his life reluctantly for a group of 385 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:27,920 people, but to lay down his life for his friends. 386 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:31,720 A friend as somebody is in your life because you chose to be in 387 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:35,520 their life. Jesus is not only choosing us, 388 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:38,160 He's laying down his life for the ones that He's chosen. 389 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:40,720 That is real love. That is not holding anything 390 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:45,120 back. So three applications #1 391 00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:48,840 simplify your life. Just because you're busy doesn't 392 00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:50,840 mean you're holding nothing back. 393 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:53,200 OK? Paul was on house arrest. 394 00:20:53,360 --> 00:20:56,040 He could not do anything else. All he could do was write 395 00:20:56,040 --> 00:20:59,080 letters. And yet in house arrest, he's 396 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:02,280 pouring out his life into these letters that, by the way, we're 397 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:04,720 still reading today, 2000 years later. 398 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:10,200 Talk about efficiency. Talk about holding nothing back, 399 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:13,080 but also being very efficient. That is what you are called to. 400 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:18,760 Don't be giving every last second, every last moment of 401 00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:21,840 your time to ministry to other people. 402 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:26,480 Learn solitude like Christ did. Learn to simplify, but don't, 403 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:28,840 don't be selfish in your simplification, Right? 404 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:31,200 This is the problem with like minimalism out there. 405 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:33,320 I fell into that for a little bit and I thought it was really 406 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:37,160 attractive and cool way to live. It's also very selfish because 407 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:41,440 in your minimalism, sometimes you can inconvenience other 408 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:43,200 people. What's like, hey, do you have a 409 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:44,640 bathroom? Sorry, I don't have a bathroom. 410 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:46,680 We just go and we just go on a tree. 411 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:48,240 What do you mean you don't have a bathroom? 412 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:50,720 Yeah, it was minimalism, you know, So sometimes you can 413 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:52,760 simplify to the point where it becomes selfish. 414 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:57,080 So don't complicate your life just to be sacrificial. 415 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:01,080 You see what I'm saying? The next point application is 416 00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:02,600 serve your family and your church. 417 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:04,080 Don't worry about what's left for you. 418 00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:07,560 Don't try to hold back. I struggle with this with like 419 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:12,760 running the podcast, wanting to like pay the bills and also 420 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:16,640 having house church. House church is very inclusive, 421 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:20,000 right, 'cause it's in our home and then people from house 422 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:22,040 church come over to hang out and we love that. 423 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:26,120 But it, it, there is no separation of, of church and, 424 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:29,920 and family life for us. It's really closely connected to 425 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:32,560 us. And So what I find is, is there 426 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:35,600 any left for Alex? I find myself thinking, looking 427 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:37,040 in the mirror, thinking what's left for me? 428 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:38,600 Am I going to be OK? Is there enough for me? 429 00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:42,320 That's no way to live right? Again, be simple, simplify, 430 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:46,240 practice solitude, slow down at times, but at the same time, 431 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:49,040 Jesus never asked that kind of question. 432 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:51,920 What's going to be in it for me? What's left for me? 433 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:54,920 Serve your family and your church wholeheartedly. 434 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:56,760 Give your best. Do everything unto the glory of 435 00:22:56,760 --> 00:23:00,280 God. Listen, here's an example. 436 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:03,080 A good marriage isn't keeping score. 437 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:06,960 A good marriage happens not from a husband being like I'll do 438 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:10,840 this for you, but you make sure you better do this for me or a 439 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:13,400 wife saying I did this so you got to do this. 440 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:15,400 That's not going to last very long. 441 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:18,720 A good marriage is 2 people pouring each other out for each 442 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:22,480 other out of love, not keeping score, not what's left for me. 443 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:26,320 How can I give to you? Is that not how Christ treats 444 00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:29,480 the church as the husband? He pours out everything for the 445 00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:32,680 for the church, knowing that the church is not even going to get 446 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:36,440 it right most of the time. And when the church is most 447 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:39,320 healthy and operating the most, we leave nothing back. 448 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:43,240 We surrender all leave nothing back and give it to Christ out 449 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:45,000 of our service and out of our love for him. 450 00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:51,200 Lastly, and this is probably the most applicable part, excuse me, 451 00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:53,840 of this whole thing, stop maxing. 452 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:57,840 Our culture is obsessed with life maxing, looks maxing, 453 00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:01,720 career maxing, gym maxing, protein maxing, fiber maxing, 454 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:04,120 car maxing. We want to Max out our lives. 455 00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:06,960 We want to be the best at what we do and look the best at it 456 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:09,400 while we're doing it. Listen, that's no way to live. 457 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:10,840 What if you're maxing out your life? 458 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:13,280 What you're essentially saying is I'm not grateful for the life 459 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:17,080 that God has given me. And because I don't have that, I 460 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:19,120 am not happy. Because I don't look like this, 461 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:22,400 I am not happy. What happened to be content with 462 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,320 the life and the body and the things that God has given you? 463 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:30,120 What don't you have right now that you absolutely need? 464 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:34,200 Nothing. You have everything that you 465 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:39,080 need right before you. So this obsession with Maxine is 466 00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:44,200 an obsession that is demonic because if you are all about 467 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:49,480 maxing out your life, you will not live the way a child of God 468 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:52,480 is meant to live, who is a is a person who is meant to live 469 00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:55,600 without grumbling and complaining and murmuring. 470 00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:58,800 And when you live away that is unmaxed. 471 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:01,920 So when you practice unmaxing, and I'm not talking about just 472 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:04,960 being like dirty and being a slob and not taking care of 473 00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:06,960 yourself, be clean, be responsible. 474 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:10,600 But when you do not live for maxing out your life, what that 475 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:14,080 does is the rest of the world, this crooked and twisted 476 00:25:14,080 --> 00:25:17,760 perverse generation will look at you and be like that is a bright 477 00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:20,360 and shining light and a sea of darkness. 478 00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:21,960 You're not free if you're maxing. 479 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:25,040 If you log on Instagram and you're constantly comparing 480 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:28,080 yourself trying to figure out how you can be more. 481 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:30,400 You can't be more than a child of God. 482 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:33,280 There is no higher place. You're made right with God, 483 00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:36,640 you're justified and you are declared righteous before a holy 484 00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:39,760 God forever because of what Christ has done, dying in your 485 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:43,080 place, dying instead of you. And if that is where you are, 486 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:47,160 the way to freedom, the way to live as a bright shining light 487 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:50,280 is to say I'm not going to live for what the world is living 488 00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:52,680 for. Let the world Max, I'm going to 489 00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:55,040 UN Max. I'm going to live for what God 490 00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:57,800 has put right before me and be satisfied and content. 491 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:00,480 But what he has for me. Amen. 492 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:01,920 Let's pray. Father, we thank you for an 493 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:05,760 opportunity for you just to speak life into us through your 494 00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:08,360 word. Lord, it's not my words, you 495 00:26:08,360 --> 00:26:10,960 know, it's just, it's how you laid it out thousands of years 496 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:15,000 ago that is still alive and active today that helps us so 497 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:16,640 much. And we, we thank you God, 498 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:19,880 because we can't get this from anywhere else. 499 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:24,680 We can't get it from teachers. We can't get it from AI, we 500 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:25,800 can't get it from the government. 501 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:28,440 We have to get it from you. And we pray God that we would 502 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:32,280 live a life that's free, that we would be sacrificial children of 503 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:36,320 God that hold nothing back because you didn't hold anything 504 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:38,240 back in your name. We pray Amen. 505 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:44,960 Hey guys, Alex here for the next part after the Amen Lokelani's 506 00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:48,080 mic was cutting in and out. You can still hear her pretty 507 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:53,280 clearly, but if you notice that I'll fix it in make it better 508 00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:54,680 next week. Anyway, love you guys. 509 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:56,960 Amen. This is the part of the episode 510 00:26:57,320 --> 00:27:01,000 called After the Amen where we ask you a question to help apply 511 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:06,320 this message to your life. Go ahead and get ready to answer 512 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:12,840 down below in the comments or as always, we love those who share 513 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:16,720 or watch this podcast with a friend or family member. 514 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:19,600 And it's just great to have that time of confession and just 515 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:24,320 application time to share how the Lord is speaking and also 516 00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:27,040 pray with each other. And so we encourage you to do 517 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:33,120 that whether you're a husband and wife or maybe dating in 518 00:27:33,120 --> 00:27:35,800 preparation to be a husband and a wife one day or you're with 519 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:40,840 your friend or mom or cousin. Yeah, we want to foster 520 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:46,440 community outside of this online community as well. 521 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:52,000 So our question for you with all that today is how can you shine 522 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:54,280 your light? How can you shine your light as 523 00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:56,480 a child of God? How can you shine your light? 524 00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:01,680 And I'll answer first as always. Wow, I feel like I just got so 525 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:06,520 many Nuggets from this. But I love at the beginning of 526 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:11,040 these verses, as do everything without grumbling or 527 00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:14,160 complaining. I just love how it just so 528 00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:18,320 beautifully ties into the beginning in Philippians 2. 529 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:21,280 I'm just thinking of yourself, self forgetfulness. 530 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:24,240 I feel like if we're really applying that to our life, like 531 00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:28,080 we're not grumbling because I, I love how yours, you explained 532 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:31,120 how it's not so much like you sitting around and complaining 533 00:28:31,120 --> 00:28:33,400 with other people, but it's this inner dialogue. 534 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:37,520 And I think much of our time when we're focusing ourselves 535 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:40,440 isn't when we're talking to other about people, about 536 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:42,840 ourselves, but it's like when we're in our mind. 537 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:46,160 Yeah, that can be a constant thing regardless of what you're 538 00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:48,920 doing. And so I love that part. 539 00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:58,480 And I, I, yeah, like just how if you're, if you are entertaining 540 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:02,440 the grumbling in your mind, like it's almost like you're, you're 541 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:06,000 incapable of shining your light because you're like bogging 542 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,920 yourself down and you're distracted. 543 00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:17,200 And but I really loved the like #2 of your application point. 544 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:20,280 Well, I loved all of them, but the serve your family in church 545 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:24,360 and not thinking about what's in it for me that goes back to that 546 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:26,640 the importance of self forgetfulness. 547 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:32,160 And, and why we grumble or complain in our minds is because 548 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:36,040 we're focusing on what's, what's in it for me, like, or what else 549 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:38,680 can I have, which kind of goes into your Third Point with the 550 00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:43,240 maxing. But I just was thinking like of 551 00:29:45,360 --> 00:29:49,440 how when we do serve wholeheartedly, like we are 552 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:53,120 being served, like there's no greater joy than when we are 553 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:56,120 giving our all and not focusing on what, what's going to be left 554 00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:58,800 for me if I have to do all this stuff for other people? 555 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:02,520 How am I going to like, what do I going to do? 556 00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:08,080 But actually, when you are really serving with a heart of 557 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:14,200 gratitude, like you were saying as well, you, there's no greater 558 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:18,080 joy than that. And I, I've shared this before 559 00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:21,280 on the podcast, but like I became a Christian while I was 560 00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:25,600 working the same job as a server and just the difference in like 561 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:32,600 going to work and serving our customers like I, it was, there 562 00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:35,120 was this joy. Like, yes, I'm busy. 563 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:39,160 Yes, like they should have asked for sauce when I asked them if 564 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:43,840 they wanted any sauce, you know, but I don't have to like get mad 565 00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:48,240 or offended or upset like I can just, OK, yes, I'd love to get 566 00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:51,160 you sauce. Like I'd love your meal to taste 567 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:54,160 better, you know, because you want the sauce. 568 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:58,600 And so there really was a shift. I really struggled with that 569 00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:00,560 before I was a Christian. I would get really mad. 570 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:03,320 I wouldn't really lash out on them, but just this, that inner 571 00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:05,240 dialogue of grumbling and complaining. 572 00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:07,880 And then that would sometimes come out with like how we 573 00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:12,160 talked, how my coworkers and I talked about our customers and 574 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:14,920 it was just awful. And I really saw that when I 575 00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:17,680 like people really noticed that difference. 576 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:21,040 And I wasn't like horrible. I would say like before as a 577 00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:23,240 Christian, I wasn't like always complaining or always in a bad 578 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:27,520 mood or anything like that. But there was times when I'd be 579 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:29,800 really overwhelmed and it'd be apparent. 580 00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:35,880 But I did notice like people would ask like the difference 581 00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:39,360 about the difference in me, like they knew because I was also 582 00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:43,160 bold and talking about Christ and the Bible and his word. 583 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:47,160 Once I became a Christian, like they really like saw that and I 584 00:31:47,160 --> 00:31:50,760 could see that it really like was getting the wheels turning 585 00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:55,800 to a lot of these people who actually come from like a 586 00:31:55,800 --> 00:31:57,840 different culture that does not have Christianity. 587 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:02,400 So that was really cool. And I, it's just a great picture 588 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:06,040 for me to remember too, as now like the place where I'm serving 589 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:11,760 is the home and in mothering. And it can be easy to, because 590 00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:15,200 it's so repetitive and because it's family, it's, it can be 591 00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:18,000 easy to like, Oh, they're going to be here forever, you know, 592 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:20,960 like, or I always have another opportunity to make it right if 593 00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:25,240 I snap at them or whatever. But when you make that shift in 594 00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:27,960 your mind too and like, oh, there's a joy in getting 595 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:32,640 deserved my family and you look to Christ and that's like the 596 00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:36,400 word says that it was for the joy set before him that he 597 00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:41,200 endured the cross. And so he willingly gave all of 598 00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:43,080 himself and it brought him great joy. 599 00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:46,680 It wasn't just like this. I don't know. 600 00:32:46,880 --> 00:32:50,200 We talked about it like just like the Father from heaven, 601 00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:53,640 making him doing it be like be into submission and just did it 602 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:57,920 because it's what he had to do. Like it was he willingly did it 603 00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:02,440 and it was for the joy of not only us, obviously we 604 00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:05,960 experienced the joy of his sacrifice, but it gave him great 605 00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:10,080 joy too. And so that's I love how you 606 00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:12,200 were saying that as well. Like the cross. 607 00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:15,080 We never graduate from the gospel. 608 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:19,080 We never graduate from needing to apply it and to speak it to 609 00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:21,360 ourselves, preach it to ourselves every single day 610 00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:23,840 because it really is the answer to everything. 611 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:29,000 And yeah, I I have to do that like every day. 612 00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:34,280 I think I've learned something and some things I have, but and 613 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:39,000 I have to go back to the gospel and look at Christ and how it 614 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:44,480 really does answer everything. And so, yeah, I think that's the 615 00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:49,600 greatest way I can shine my light is to in the home, like 616 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:55,800 see this as joy and not focus on when when am I getting in a 617 00:33:55,800 --> 00:34:00,280 moment to myself, you know? Yeah, I think that's really 618 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:02,840 good. And I also just had another 619 00:34:03,080 --> 00:34:06,200 thought though, about your Third Point with the maxing. 620 00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:13,040 Like it's just the body, like God made each of us intricately 621 00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:19,000 and specifically with gifts and even how we look to be a part of 622 00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:23,960 his body. And it's silly and creepy and 623 00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:30,480 weird if we're trying to be an arm, like if he has made you the 624 00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:35,000 nose of the body, but you are envious of the arm. 625 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:38,440 Like you're saying, like we're we see people on Instagram want 626 00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:41,239 what they want. So we start this Max stuff like 627 00:34:42,880 --> 00:34:45,520 that would make the body really distorted. 628 00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:48,960 But the body functions beautifully if you are who God 629 00:34:48,960 --> 00:34:54,960 made you to be. And so I think, yeah, like we'd 630 00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:58,800 have to stop maxing because we will have joy and it'll benefit 631 00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:02,440 the body when we are just doing what He's called us to do, being 632 00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:06,920 who he has made us in him, not the sinful part of us, not 633 00:35:06,920 --> 00:35:12,200 embracing the sinful part of us, But yeah, being a child of God. 634 00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:16,880 And there's great joy in that too, that he has made each each 635 00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:24,400 and every one of us personally and intricately and distinctly. 636 00:35:25,280 --> 00:35:29,400 But then we it's not just all about us being that, but we're a 637 00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:34,400 part of this beautiful thing that functions amazingly. 638 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:39,960 We're. Operating all this is for our 639 00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:45,320 own joy and Christ did it because of joy and there is like 640 00:35:45,320 --> 00:35:48,880 that's what Paul is after. It's like you're not if you're 641 00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:50,920 holding something back, if you're not practicing self 642 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:55,000 forgetfulness, then and if you're doing it with grumbling 643 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:57,320 and complaining, you're, you're looking out for yourself. 644 00:35:57,320 --> 00:36:00,000 So it means you're not fully surrendered to it, which means 645 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:01,880 you're not going to have joy because there's only joy and 646 00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:05,160 really fully giving everything to your family, everything to 647 00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:08,760 your church and not being like, what's in it for me. 648 00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:13,600 And then I like what you said about Maxine and I forgot the 649 00:36:13,600 --> 00:36:15,920 4th application would be the opposite of Maxine. 650 00:36:15,920 --> 00:36:18,720 And I in my head I'm like, it's probably rotting, but I just had 651 00:36:18,720 --> 00:36:21,480 to Google it real quick. And it is like there's this idea 652 00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:24,040 that I can just eat McDonald's everyday. 653 00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:28,600 I can scroll for six hours a day and just and lay in my go to 654 00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:31,280 work, but also just lay in my bed and not take care of my 655 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:33,640 body. Let anything in my mind, any 656 00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:38,840 ideology, any ideology, any philosophy, I don't need to work 657 00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:40,640 out. I don't need to eat healthy. 658 00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:43,960 I'll eat a bunch of seed oils, like just slop. 659 00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:48,160 I'll take an AI slop, all kinds of slop into my body and I'm not 660 00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:52,720 going to apply myself at all. And we sometimes do that out of 661 00:36:52,720 --> 00:36:54,600 rebellion towards the maxing culture. 662 00:36:54,600 --> 00:36:56,640 Like I don't want to be all about the vanity and stuff. 663 00:36:56,640 --> 00:36:57,760 So I'm just going to do whatever. 664 00:36:57,920 --> 00:37:01,080 But then we could swing the other way and just be rotting 665 00:37:01,080 --> 00:37:04,240 through life. And you're just way too long on 666 00:37:04,240 --> 00:37:06,520 TikTok and, and scrolling and all this stuff. 667 00:37:07,040 --> 00:37:10,680 And I've seen kids deal with this. 668 00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:13,760 Like I've seen parents just let their kids just rot, you know, 669 00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:15,200 on video games and stuff like that. 670 00:37:15,200 --> 00:37:21,720 And so both of them are, like we said, not living as children of 671 00:37:21,720 --> 00:37:25,080 God. It's both of them is trying to 672 00:37:25,080 --> 00:37:27,400 get out of any kind of discomfort. 673 00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:29,760 I don't want to feel discomfort mentally. 674 00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:31,880 So I'm gonna either rot or I'm gonna Max. 675 00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:35,080 And both are saying I'm not thankful for the life that I've 676 00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:37,600 I've been given. You know, if I'm rotting, then 677 00:37:37,600 --> 00:37:40,560 I'm not thankful that God has put breath in my lungs. 678 00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:43,760 I'm using that breath just to scroll 2000 videos a day. 679 00:37:43,760 --> 00:37:49,000 You know, if Christ really held nothing back, then how dare we 680 00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:50,920 hold something back for ourselves? 681 00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:56,280 That's the spirit of Akin. So yeah, I really, it like, I 682 00:37:56,280 --> 00:37:58,480 like the main point that you brought out about joy. 683 00:37:58,480 --> 00:38:01,720 Like there is more joy in it, you know, and once you know 684 00:38:01,720 --> 00:38:05,240 that, 'cause it can be hard to leave, to hold nothing back. 685 00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:09,120 But once you know that, no, my joy is in this, I think about 686 00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:14,720 like, like house church is hard to do 'cause it's a lot of 687 00:38:14,720 --> 00:38:16,800 pouring out. Like just not just our house 688 00:38:16,800 --> 00:38:19,120 church. Pastoring in general. 689 00:38:19,560 --> 00:38:24,200 Like it's hard. And I think about like so many 690 00:38:24,200 --> 00:38:27,560 pastors want to have a podcast and then so many podcasters want 691 00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:31,880 to be pastors. And sometimes I'm like, man, it 692 00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:35,320 would be easier if I just did the podcast because pastoring is 693 00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:38,280 so difficult. I think watching my dad do it 694 00:38:38,280 --> 00:38:41,440 for so many years, I think he made it look easy because I 695 00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:46,440 never once caught him complaining or grumbling, never 696 00:38:46,440 --> 00:38:48,880 in looking on he's. We lived with him for about a 697 00:38:48,880 --> 00:38:53,000 year and she would say the same. He just didn't complain or 698 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:56,040 grumble. And I, I know what it was. 699 00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:58,560 I think he really, I know he really loves the Lord and he 700 00:38:58,560 --> 00:39:02,360 really loves people. And when I think about why we 701 00:39:02,360 --> 00:39:04,880 keep doing it, why we keep pastoring, why we keep doing 702 00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:08,480 house church, it is because of love for the people. 703 00:39:08,480 --> 00:39:14,640 But tied up in that love is joy. And I forget that joy when I'm 704 00:39:14,640 --> 00:39:18,520 in counseling after counseling and there's couples fighting or 705 00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:22,120 getting persecuted or the bills are getting high and the 706 00:39:22,160 --> 00:39:24,960 finances are getting low. The kids are eating all the 707 00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:27,400 food. When those seasons come, I'm 708 00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:29,640 like, why am I even doing this? Why should I do this? 709 00:39:29,640 --> 00:39:30,160 Why? What? 710 00:39:30,160 --> 00:39:31,960 What's going on? I start the murmuring, the 711 00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:35,400 complaining, the grumbling, but then I always end up back at 712 00:39:35,400 --> 00:39:37,840 house church. I always end up back in the seat 713 00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:40,880 preaching another sermon, hanging out with everybody. 714 00:39:41,120 --> 00:39:43,640 What happens? What keeps me going there is the 715 00:39:43,640 --> 00:39:46,040 joy. Joy is the endorphins of the 716 00:39:46,040 --> 00:39:49,040 spiritual walk, right? When you go to the gym and you 717 00:39:49,040 --> 00:39:51,760 keep on going and you stay consistent and it becomes a 718 00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:52,440 hobby. Why? 719 00:39:52,440 --> 00:39:56,800 Because the endorphins, you feel good working out, right? 720 00:39:56,800 --> 00:39:59,440 There's the added benefit of you're starting to look good and 721 00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:01,200 feel healthy and move and be stronger. 722 00:40:01,400 --> 00:40:04,280 But it's the this hidden joy of endorphins that your brain is 723 00:40:04,280 --> 00:40:06,440 getting pumped with that keeps you going back. 724 00:40:06,440 --> 00:40:08,240 And we forget about that sometimes. 725 00:40:08,240 --> 00:40:10,240 We're going to the gym week after week. 726 00:40:10,640 --> 00:40:14,040 It's this little silent. Endorphins that's keeping you 727 00:40:14,040 --> 00:40:17,160 going and same with joy. What keeps you serving is that 728 00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:21,000 that joy that's being poured out into your into your mental 729 00:40:21,080 --> 00:40:24,880 because of what, because of what God has promised you promised 730 00:40:24,880 --> 00:40:27,240 that there's going to be abundant life and joy and 731 00:40:27,240 --> 00:40:29,240 serving him. And like he says, the joy of the 732 00:40:29,240 --> 00:40:32,000 Lord is our strength. What keeps you strong is whether 733 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:35,680 or not you have joy. So really good stuff. 734 00:40:36,680 --> 00:40:41,680 So let us know how you can shine your light or something that 735 00:40:41,680 --> 00:40:45,040 you're holding back and we'd love to read about it in the 736 00:40:45,040 --> 00:40:48,560 comments and emails and stuff like that. 737 00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:51,000 But we love you aimandpodcast.com. 738 00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:54,120 If you're on YouTube right now, you can go down to the shop 739 00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:58,400 shelf, AIM and podcast store shelf below and grab you one of 740 00:40:58,400 --> 00:41:00,680 these trucker hats. They're a lot of fun, perfect 741 00:41:00,680 --> 00:41:03,480 for summer. They come in other colors and 742 00:41:03,480 --> 00:41:05,880 there's some other merch down there, but we hope you had a 743 00:41:05,920 --> 00:41:08,040 awesome 4th of July. Praise God. 744 00:41:08,040 --> 00:41:11,040 We live in a free country where we can listen to podcasts like 745 00:41:11,040 --> 00:41:13,920 this. There's freedom of speech and 746 00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:17,440 you can practice walking as a child of God in this life 747 00:41:17,880 --> 00:41:22,760 without heavy persecution. So thank God for that. 748 00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:25,400 That's not normal for everybody out there. 749 00:41:25,400 --> 00:41:29,200 So praise God for America, and we pray that we can use our 750 00:41:29,200 --> 00:41:30,760 freedom to reach other parts of the world. 751 00:41:30,760 --> 00:41:33,400 And if you'd like to help us reach other parts of the world, 752 00:41:33,640 --> 00:41:37,160 which Eamon podcast is already doing, you can hype this video. 753 00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:41,440 You can like this video, share it with a friend, subscribe. 754 00:41:41,800 --> 00:41:45,600 All that helps us use our freedom of speech to to reach as 755 00:41:45,600 --> 00:41:48,800 many people as possible with the gospel because the gospel really 756 00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:51,360 does change everything. So we love you guys. 757 00:41:51,360 --> 00:41:55,080 Thank you for being here until. The next one go out and be the 758 00:41:55,080 --> 00:41:56,080 church. Amen.