1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,120 or contact us at mylibertybaptist.org or just 5 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:19,760 look us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,040 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:26,400 And with that being said, would you turn your Bibles, please, to 8 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:31,280 1st Corinthians chapter #3 it's a joy to preach. 9 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:33,520 It's a joy to preach to you and not sweat. 10 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:34,920 I'll tell you, it's just so great. 11 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:38,800 I got to admit, after having that AC get fixed today, I am so 12 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:41,840 glad to be able to be in the pulpit, not feel like everyone's 13 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:44,360 about to pass out the longer we go on during the service. 14 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:49,400 So, well, for the last couple of weeks, really even more than 15 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:51,920 that, as we've looked through First Corinthians, we've talked 16 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:57,000 about two different groups, those who are spiritual and 17 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:00,760 those who are natural. Really the way that we would 18 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:04,040 normally put it was this. Those who are saved and those 19 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:08,200 who are unsaved, those who are going to heaven and those who 20 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:10,800 are going to judgement. And remember, there's really 21 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:14,000 only two camps, isn't there? When we look at the issue of 22 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:16,800 being saved, when we look at the issue of eternity, it's really 23 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:18,640 like a light switch, isn't it? And I'm not talking about a 24 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:20,400 dimmer switch, I'm just talking about a light switch. 25 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:24,560 It's on, it's off, it's saved or unsaved, those two choices. 26 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:26,320 There really is nothing else in the middle. 27 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:29,480 There is no purgatory. There is no holding spot where 28 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:32,080 you go to for a little while. The Bible never teaches anything 29 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:34,040 like that. There is no wondering if you're 30 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:36,000 saying how your good works or anything like that. 31 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:38,920 There's the spiritual man, there is the natural man, there is the 32 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:41,400 save, there is the unsaved, There are those who are going to 33 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:45,120 heaven and those who will go to hell under judgment because they 34 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:47,520 did not accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. 35 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:49,880 And so Paul has been talking about these two groups 36 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:54,160 specifically in Chapter 2, we talked about this issue of 37 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:56,720 wisdom. And listen, all of this is true. 38 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:59,240 I'm not going back on anything that I've said tonight. 39 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,720 But there's also another group of people that we're going to 40 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:05,960 look at this evening because we have the unsaved, but then we 41 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:08,360 have the saved, right? Those are the two choices. 42 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:12,880 But within the group of people who were saved, there are also 43 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:15,000 two groups of people. Are we following with me 44 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:15,880 tonight? Are we tracking? 45 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:18,840 So there's only two types of people, saved and unsaved. 46 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:20,960 I think I did it this way, unsaved and saved. 47 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:22,680 All right. But then over here, there's 48 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:25,280 still two groups of people who are saved. 49 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:28,720 There are those who are spiritual and there are those 50 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,680 who are immature. There are those who are 51 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:36,120 spiritual and are saved and those who are immature and are 52 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:38,240 saved. There are people who the Word of 53 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:42,280 God calls this they're carnal. They are immature. 54 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:46,080 They are living for the flesh and not towards the spirit. 55 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:51,320 Being a carnal Christian is like being a walking, talking, 56 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:57,160 breathing paradox, because carnal and Christian don't 57 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,480 really go together. It's like saying dry water. 58 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:03,920 You know, it doesn't work that way, does it really? 59 00:03:03,920 --> 00:03:06,760 You would think in some ways to be a carnal Christian, it really 60 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:09,320 shouldn't go together because one says to live for the flesh, 61 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:13,280 but Christian says to live like Christ, and they don't seem to 62 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:16,160 go together. And so Paul is going to point 63 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:21,520 out in chapter #3 the absurdity of living this type of life, and 64 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:26,040 then tells us more about how we can identify in our own life 65 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:30,120 whether we are living as carnal believers or whether we are 66 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:33,920 living as more mature believers for the cause of Christ. 67 00:03:33,920 --> 00:03:37,000 So you remain seated, but let's read the first 3 verses tonight 68 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,160 of chapter #3 First Corinthians chapter 3. 69 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:44,200 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but 70 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:46,720 as a carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 71 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:51,240 I have fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto ye were 72 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:55,760 not able to bear it either, yet now are ye able, for ye are yet 73 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:58,080 carnal. For whereas there is among you 74 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:02,200 envying and strife and divisions, are ye not carnal, 75 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:05,560 and walk as men. So you can see just in those 76 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:09,640 three verses we have a lot of talk about the carnal believer. 77 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:12,120 They carnal Christian. And you say, Well, how do we 78 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:14,880 know when it's talking about someone that's carnal, that 79 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:16,040 we're also talking about a believer? 80 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:17,920 You said, Pastor, that they're over here on this side, on the 81 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:20,600 side of the saved, and that there are those who are 82 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:22,600 spiritual and those that are carnal. 83 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:24,840 How do we know it's talking about those that are saved? 84 00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:28,360 Well, it really comes down to the first 3 words of Chapter 3, 85 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:32,960 which are this and I brethren, who is he talking to? 86 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:35,400 The brethren. He's talking to the believers 87 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:37,920 who are the members of the church at Corinth. 88 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:42,080 And it's a reminder to us here tonight that yes, the brethren, 89 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:45,560 yes, the believers, brothers and sisters in Christ, that we could 90 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:49,440 end up walking in a way that is opposed to that which God has 91 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:52,400 called us to be as Christians. It's also a reminder that 92 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:55,800 there's a line of theology called sinless perfection, the 93 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:59,080 idea that once you get saved that you can never sin again. 94 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:02,680 I don't know about you, but once I got saved, I send a lot still. 95 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:05,960 I wish it wasn't that way, but I still do. 96 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:10,920 And I'm thankful that God still forgives and Scott still saves 97 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:13,440 and I don't get unsaved when I sin. 98 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:16,480 But I do know this, that he says this, that yes, there are 99 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:19,200 brethren, there are those who are believers that can still 100 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:22,240 live carnally. But really, before we get too 101 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:24,320 deep in this conversation tonight, it kind of begs this 102 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:26,720 question, doesn't it? What does it mean to be carnal? 103 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:30,640 OK, that's not really a word that we use a lot anymore, is 104 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:31,960 it? This word carnal. 105 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:35,120 So if we could be accused of being carnal believers, you 106 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:37,560 probably got a little bit of an idea already in your mind. 107 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:40,160 But what does it mean to be a carnal believer? 108 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:43,600 Well, that word carnal in the Greek is sarkicos. 109 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:48,720 The word sarkicos and the Greek word sarks, the root word sarks 110 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:52,080 is a primary noun and ancient Greek, and it refers to the 111 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:55,720 physical substance of the body in both humans and animals. 112 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:59,080 It appears in classical Greek text to denote the material 113 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:03,280 aspect of living beings, often in contrast with the soul and 114 00:06:03,280 --> 00:06:06,200 spirit. So the root word sarks means of 115 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:08,840 the actual flesh. If you think of body, soul and 116 00:06:08,840 --> 00:06:11,920 spirit, it's particularly talking about the body. 117 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:16,520 But then the adjective that makes the word sarkicos, that 118 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:22,080 adding the suffix ecos to the Sark's means pertaining to or 119 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:25,000 characterized by. So if we're to put this Greek 120 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:29,840 word together, it literally means to be characterized by the 121 00:06:29,840 --> 00:06:35,040 flesh, to be characterized by the body, to live totally for 122 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:39,280 the needs of the body with no regards to the soul and the 123 00:06:39,280 --> 00:06:40,800 spirit. Does that sound like a way 124 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:44,160 Christian's supposed to live, to live just for the body, to live 125 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:48,800 just for the needs of the body, without any type of regard for 126 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:52,760 the soul or the spirit, those places of which we connect with 127 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:55,440 the Lord? No, no, that's being carnal. 128 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:58,520 That is living in the way that is fleshly. 129 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:01,360 That's why we would say that that someone is living in the 130 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:04,720 flesh, that literally they are giving in to their own bodily 131 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:09,120 desires and urges. No regard for God, no regard for 132 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:12,080 his word, no regard for their soul, for their spirit. 133 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:13,920 It Does it look good? I'll do it. 134 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:15,680 Does it sound good? I'll do it. 135 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:17,360 Do I want it? I'll do it. 136 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:20,480 And there's no other thought than literally fulfilling the 137 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:23,760 primal urges of the body that is being carnal. 138 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:26,520 And yes, even believe believers can be carnal. 139 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:30,120 Why? And I, brethren, I want to talk 140 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:34,280 to you because you're carnal. And then he mentions it again 141 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:36,200 and again. He mentions again in verse 4 as 142 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:38,640 well. He hammers home this idea of 143 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:42,160 being carnal. So when we get the word carnal 144 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:46,440 and put it together with the word believer, it really is a 145 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:49,200 paradox, isn't it? It's an oxymoron. 146 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:51,960 It's an enigma. It whatever you want to say 147 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:54,200 about it. It's this idea that someone is a 148 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:57,480 believer, but they're carnal. It's meaning this. 149 00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:00,840 I'm supposed to be walking in the spirit, but I'm really 150 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:04,560 walking in the flesh. That's a problem because God has 151 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:09,120 called us to be different. When you're saved, you're a new 152 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:10,000 creature. Amen. 153 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:12,080 All right, good. There's a few of you agree with 154 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:13,120 that tonight. All right, that's good. 155 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:15,160 It's not the old creature anymore. 156 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:17,640 You're a new creature. The Bible says old things passed 157 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:20,080 away. Behold, all things have become 158 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:21,240 new. You are new. 159 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:25,880 You are different. You've been reborn, it says. 160 00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:28,240 Why? Because of the Spirit that now 161 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:31,080 lives inside of you. Romans chapter 8, verse 7 says 162 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:33,679 this. The carnal mind is enmity, which 163 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:36,960 means in opposition. The carnal mind is in opposition 164 00:08:37,039 --> 00:08:40,799 against God, for it is not subject to the law of God. 165 00:08:40,799 --> 00:08:43,520 Neither indeed can it be. You see, when we live carnally, 166 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:46,600 when we live just for the needs of the body or the desires of 167 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:49,520 the body, we're living in opposition to God because He's 168 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:51,560 created as a body, soul and spirit. 169 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:55,680 And we throw soul and spirit out and we only live for the body. 170 00:08:55,680 --> 00:08:59,280 What we're doing is we're in opposition to God Himself. 171 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:03,360 Romans Chapter 7, the previous chapter, verse 18 for I know 172 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:06,920 that in me that is my flesh and that's another word that we 173 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:11,120 could use the flesh carnal that in me that is my flesh dwelleth 174 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:16,880 no good thing for to will is present with me how to perform 175 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:18,880 it. That which is good I find not 176 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:21,480 and that's in that chapter where Paul has that great discussion 177 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:23,480 about the things and we've mentioned it many times before. 178 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:26,120 The things I don't want to do, I end up doing the things I do 179 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:28,040 want to do I end up not doing well. 180 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:31,640 He says this, it's because of the flesh, because the flesh 181 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:35,640 always wants to do wrong and the Spirit wants to do, and I'm 182 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:38,520 giving into the flesh instead of listening the Spirit. 183 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:41,840 And that is the recipe for a carnal believer. 184 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:45,280 Now there's a chapter that talks about this at great length, 185 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:47,600 which will be a help to you, and I think you'll recognize some of 186 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:49,200 the verses. I think it's good for us to turn 187 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:50,800 there. So turn your Bibles to Galatians 188 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:56,960 chapter #5 how many happy to be in church tonight say Amen, 189 00:09:57,840 --> 00:09:59,320 That's good. How many just happy not to be at 190 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:01,680 work anymore say Amen. All right, that's a few of you. 191 00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:04,760 All right, good. Peyton, what are you saying Amen 192 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:05,880 about? All right, You're 8. 193 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:07,720 OK. So she doesn't. 194 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:08,680 Oh, she doesn't want to do chores. 195 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:09,600 All right. There you go. 196 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:12,960 Yeah. Wait till you're an adult kid. 197 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:16,640 All right. So it's funny as the girls get 198 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:18,560 older and they tell us about these things that happen. 199 00:10:18,560 --> 00:10:20,960 Like, I was on the phone for two hours with the insurance 200 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:22,840 companies, like. Yeah, welcome to be in the Dome. 201 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:25,120 You know, it just gets more and more fun, doesn't it? 202 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:27,480 All right, Galatians chapter 5 has nothing to do with what 203 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:29,080 we're talking about here, but I just thought to throw that in 204 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:30,720 while you're changing, while you're turning your Bibles. 205 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:33,880 Galatians chapter 5, look at verse #1 it says this. 206 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:35,840 Stand fast. Therefore the liberty wherewith 207 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:38,680 Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the 208 00:10:38,680 --> 00:10:40,320 yoke of bondage. Aren't you glad you're free in 209 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:41,160 Christ? Amen. 210 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:43,480 We are free the day that we get saved. 211 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:45,880 So we are free to do whatever we want, right? 212 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:48,920 We are free, all right? I can do whatever I want. 213 00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:51,840 I'm free in Christ. Well, you can. 214 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:56,200 Does that mean you should? Does that mean you should want 215 00:10:56,240 --> 00:11:00,200 to drop down to thirst? 13 For, brethren, there's that 216 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:03,040 word again. Brethren, ye have been called 217 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:06,120 unto liberty. Only use not liberty for an 218 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:08,080 occasion to the What's that word? 219 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:11,520 Flesh, but by love serve one another. 220 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:15,760 Hey, hey, listen, we cannot use our liberty in Christ as a 221 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:18,000 reason to live carnally as believers. 222 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:20,720 Well, listen, I'm a Christian. You can't tell me what to do 223 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:22,880 anymore. Listen, I, I can't tell you what 224 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:26,200 to do, but I will tell you that the Bible says this is that I'm 225 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:29,440 only saying what the Bible says is that once you are saved, that 226 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:33,880 yes, you have freedom in Christ, but it's freedom to serve God, 227 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:36,760 not freedom to live apart from God in carnality. 228 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:39,680 It's an important distinction to make because there are times as 229 00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:42,600 people say, well, you preach on sin to believers and you're a 230 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:45,600 legalist and you know, you're just, we're not talking about 231 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:48,120 being a legalist or trying to tell people they need to follow 232 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:50,200 the law to be saved. We're not saying anything like 233 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:51,760 that. We're just saying this is that 234 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:55,760 once we are saved, we are free to not live like we did before 235 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:58,560 we got saved. Let me run that by you one more 236 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:01,080 time. Once we are saved, we are free, 237 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:05,320 but we are free not to live like we did before we got saved. 238 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:07,400 Listen, that's why you want to get saved because you knew it 239 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:09,000 wasn't that good before you got saved. 240 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:11,320 That's what Jesus Christ saved you from. 241 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:13,880 And that's what's so mind blowing about the carnal 242 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:17,680 Christian is that Jesus Christ saves them from something that 243 00:12:17,680 --> 00:12:21,200 they end up going right back to. There's the paradox. 244 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:28,400 Now drop down to verse #16 this I say then walk in the Spirit 245 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:30,960 and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 246 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:32,280 I have that underline in my Bible. 247 00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:33,920 That's a good one for you to underline as well. 248 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:36,320 Walk in the Spirit, ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 249 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:39,320 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit 250 00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:41,480 against the flesh. And these are contrary the one 251 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:43,680 to another that she cannot do the things that you would. 252 00:12:43,680 --> 00:12:45,680 You see that there's a war that goes inside of you. 253 00:12:45,680 --> 00:12:47,840 Now once you were born again. Because the Spirit always wants 254 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:51,440 to do right, but that flesh, it still wants to do wrong. 255 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:53,560 And even though we're saved and even though we're sanctified, 256 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:55,760 we're set apart for God, the flesh still wants to do wrong. 257 00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:58,280 Know what you need to do? Walk in the Spirit so you don't 258 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:00,920 fulfill the lust of the flesh, meaning this, Hey, hey, don't 259 00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:07,240 feed the flesh, feed the Spirit, don't feed the flesh, feed the 260 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:12,520 Spirit and it continues on. But if you be LED of the Spirit, 261 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:15,440 you're not under the law. And you say, you say, well, what 262 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:17,920 does that mean? Do you realize if you did what 263 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:21,280 the Spirit prompted you to do at every moment of your life, that 264 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:23,640 you wouldn't need the law because you wouldn't send the 265 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:25,640 law's our school master, it teaches us that we need Jesus 266 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:27,640 Christ. The law can't save anybody, but 267 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:29,640 the law does reveal to us the holiness of God. 268 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:32,280 It still reminds us who God is and how we should live, right? 269 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:35,360 But if you just follow the Spirit, you know you wouldn't 270 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:36,680 sin. Why? 271 00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:39,200 Because he's a Holy Spirit. He won't steer you wrong. 272 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:42,240 And so that's what that means there, verse 19. 273 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:44,200 Now the works of the flesh are manifest. 274 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:48,360 They're these adultery, fornication, uncleanness, 275 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:51,440 lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, 276 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:54,440 emulations, wrath, stripes, additions, heresies, envies, 277 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:58,600 murders, drunkenness, revellings and such like, of which I tell 278 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,000 you before, as I've told you in times past, that they would do 279 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:03,640 such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. 280 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:06,760 If I was to take that list, I would call it this the fruit of 281 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:09,760 the flesh says this. When you walk in the flesh, 282 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:12,120 these are the things that you will accomplish. 283 00:14:12,120 --> 00:14:15,520 And people that constantly walk in the flesh and never walk in 284 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,400 the Spirit, it's questionable whether they know Jesus Christ 285 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:20,360 their Savior. That's the word of God saying 286 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:22,120 this. They say, why would you call 287 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:24,800 those the fruit of the flesh? Well, because the next verse 288 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:28,200 gives us a contrast and we call these the fruit of the Spirit. 289 00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:31,520 But the fruit of the Spirit is what? 290 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:37,520 Isn't this a much better list? Lovejoy, peace, long-suffering, 291 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:42,760 gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. 292 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:44,960 Against such. There is no law meaning this. 293 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:47,240 Hey, you can do these as much as you want. 294 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:50,040 You'll be OK with the Lord, right? 295 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:53,720 And so the Bible's telling us here that we are to do what? 296 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:57,000 That we are to walk in the Spirit so that we do not walk in 297 00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:58,880 the flesh. We're to walk in the Spirit so 298 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:03,400 that we are not carnal as it is spoken of in First Corinthians, 299 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:06,840 rather Galatians chapter 5, but First Corinthians chapter #3 as 300 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:08,320 well. So here's the question. 301 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:12,400 How do you know if you are carnal or if you are spiritual? 302 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:16,320 How do you know if you are immature or you are mature as a 303 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:18,080 believer? And listen, we've all got 304 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:21,440 growing to do. I get nervous about people who 305 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:24,080 think they have arrived. You know when you'll arrive when 306 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:26,160 you get to heaven, that's when you know you arrive. 307 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:28,400 Until we get there, we still got work to do. 308 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:31,880 Now, that doesn't mean we just get to live carnally and just 309 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:34,640 live wickedly because, well, eventually when I get to heaven, 310 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:37,200 it all gets sorted out. You know, God desires a lot more 311 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:40,080 for you and your life than to be able to just live carnally and 312 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:41,880 just say, why punch my ticket to heaven? 313 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:45,480 Listen, Amen for heaven. But I will tell you this, He 314 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:48,120 wants you to live a victorious life in here and now. 315 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:51,280 You don't need to wait till heaven to enjoy the splendors of 316 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:54,640 a relationship with God. A salvation testimony in your 317 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:57,320 life ought to not just affect the future, it ought to affect 318 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:00,320 your present. So go back to First Corinthians 319 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:04,720 chapter #3 because I want us to look at some of the identifying 320 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:07,240 marks of the carnal Christian. So we're back in First 321 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:10,200 Corinthians chapter #3 and again, you could follow along on 322 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:11,600 the back of your prayer bulletin this evening. 323 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:15,600 And first of all we see the characteristics of a carnal 324 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:19,920 Christian, 3 characteristics of a carnal Christian that we find 325 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:22,920 in First Corinthians chapter #3 and these first 3 verses. 326 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:27,040 And the first is this. A carnal Christian is a baby. 327 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:30,440 A carnal Christian is a big old baby. 328 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:33,080 That's not me saying it. Look again it says, and I 329 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:36,080 brethren, could not speak unto you, is unto spiritual, but is 330 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:40,040 unto carnal even as unto what? Babes in Christ. 331 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:43,960 And again, this is a Christian because they are babes in who in 332 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:46,880 Christ. So this is someone who is saved, 333 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:49,400 but yet they're still living like a baby. 334 00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:52,400 Now listen, when someone first comes to know Jesus Christ, 335 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:54,240 their savior, you know what they are? 336 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:57,320 They are a babe in Christ. They are new in Christ. 337 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:00,640 And I think sometimes we who are older in our faith, and again, 338 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:03,120 I'm not talking about the age of which you are, but I'm talking 339 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:06,440 about how old you are in the faith and I'm older than some of 340 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:08,599 you in the faith. Then you are older than me in 341 00:17:08,599 --> 00:17:11,960 age because I got saved when I was 16 and I'm 42 now. 342 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:14,359 For some of you, you're still fairly new in your faith and 343 00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:17,880 some of you are older in age, but you are younger in the faith 344 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:20,680 and vice versa. But here's what I do realize is 345 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:23,800 this is that baby Christians act like baby Christians. 346 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:26,400 And those of us who are a little elder in the faith, we ought not 347 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:30,080 to just get exasperated at babies acting like babies. 348 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:34,160 People who are new in Christ, they got a lot to learn. 349 00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:39,520 Listen, could you imagine me taking a little baby and taking 350 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:43,120 that baby and putting a 1000 piece puzzle in front of that 351 00:17:43,120 --> 00:17:48,480 baby and say get going on that And their response, this goo goo 352 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:51,040 Gaga because they can't even talk. 353 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:52,960 That's the first time I've ever said goo goo Gaga on the pulpit. 354 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:58,240 All right, that'll turn a great clip there, BJ, won't it? 355 00:17:58,440 --> 00:18:02,160 On Facebook. So yeah, yeah, that'll light up 356 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:06,520 social media in no time. But listen, you expect a baby to 357 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:09,480 act like a baby, and a baby Christian is going to act like a 358 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:11,320 baby Christian. And we who are a little bit more 359 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:14,280 mature, we ought to help baby Christians to be able in their 360 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:17,240 discipleship process, to be able to learn what it is to be a 361 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:19,080 Christian. To be able to learn why you need 362 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:22,400 to take care of the things of the spirit and the things of the 363 00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:24,600 soul and not just the things of the body. 364 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:28,160 To realize that God has created you in this way and to realize 365 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:31,520 that you were to honor God with your body, which is the 366 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:35,240 Tabernacle of the Holy Ghost, that it belongs to God and not 367 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:37,120 to you. Like these are things that young 368 00:18:37,120 --> 00:18:39,120 people in the faith need to know. 369 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:41,960 First Peter chapter 2, verse 2. We were back there about a year 370 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:44,680 and a half ago in our study of first and Second Peter as 371 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:47,920 newborn babes. Desire the sincere milk of 372 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:51,440 listen that you may grow thereby. 373 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:54,520 The purpose is that when you are young in the faith, you are to 374 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:56,920 grow. I will say this, however, in 375 00:18:56,920 --> 00:19:00,480 saying all of that, someone who has known Christ for a while 376 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:04,320 should have some depth in their Christian walk. 377 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:09,920 Sure, I would not expect a baby to be able to put together 1000 378 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:14,080 piece puzzle, but it is not unreasonable to expect that an 379 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:16,200 adult could if they had enough time. 380 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:19,120 Why? Because you would expect that 381 00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:23,960 the adult would grow. And listen, just as we expect 382 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:27,800 children to grow, God expects you to grow in your Christian 383 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:30,200 life. That God does not want you, 384 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:34,360 desire you, or call you to be stagnant in your Christian life. 385 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:36,960 That you have been called to a life of growth. 386 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:40,240 You are in the process of your growth and your sanctification 387 00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:42,000 all the way until you get to heaven. 388 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:45,680 But you shouldn't be dealing with the baby problems of the 389 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:48,280 Christian life for the rest of your life. 390 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:52,560 You know, you should be able to stack up some victories as time 391 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:55,400 goes on. Again, you don't arrive until 392 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:58,640 you get to heaven. But there are some things you 393 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:02,680 should be dealing with early on in your Christian life so that 394 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:06,040 as you grow, you're no longer a baby in in spiritual things. 395 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:08,200 Can I, can I give you some examples? 396 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:12,080 A mature believer shouldn't be struggling with cursing anymore. 397 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:17,400 A mature believer shouldn't be. Struggling with taking God's 398 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:19,960 name in vain anymore? That's usually one of the first 399 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:22,760 things you ought to really strike from your vocabulary. 400 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:25,560 Is it hard at first? Well, sure, it's hard. 401 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:29,360 I, I, you know, everyone looks you're a pastor. 402 00:20:29,360 --> 00:20:32,000 You, you never cursed. Well, I wasn't always a pastor 403 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:34,520 and I wasn't always saved. And I thought the way to fit in 404 00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:36,920 with all the other teenagers I was around was to be able to 405 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:38,600 talk like all the other teenagers that were around. 406 00:20:39,360 --> 00:20:41,440 But when I got saved, you know, I didn't really even need 407 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:43,240 someone to tell me, you know, you probably should be talking 408 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:45,880 like that anymore. I knew, you know, I don't think 409 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:48,160 that this is the way that a Christian is supposed to talk. 410 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:50,280 And that was something that I learned. 411 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:52,440 Listen, you shouldn't be 20 years in the Christian 412 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:56,560 experience and still be having those words as a regular part of 413 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:59,040 your vocabulary. I would say it should be handled 414 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:03,200 a lot earlier than that. You know, when you grow, you 415 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:06,400 should start praying. When you grow, you should be 416 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:09,400 reading your Bible. When you grow, you should be 417 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:12,080 confessing your sin. So these are things that are 418 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:14,400 done very early. Now, again, do any of us 419 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:15,280 stumble? Yes. 420 00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:17,120 Do any of us? Are we perfect at it? 421 00:21:17,120 --> 00:21:19,120 No. I'm not expecting you to be 422 00:21:19,120 --> 00:21:21,800 perfect in any of these areas because again, we won't be 423 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:23,840 perfect until we get to glory. We won't. 424 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:26,160 We're not talking about mastery, but I am saying this. 425 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:29,040 You ought to be growing. And I'm thankful that the things 426 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:31,720 I struggle with, even the Music Choice, the types of music that 427 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:34,560 I would listen to when I first got say were things that talked 428 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:38,520 about ungodly things and lewd things and, and things that a 429 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:40,120 Christian should not be a part of. 430 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:42,720 And, and I realize it's not the type of music I should be 431 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:44,840 listening to. And it was a struggle at first. 432 00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:47,840 But I will tell you this now, being so far into my Christian 433 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:50,520 life that I don't struggle listening on the radio. 434 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:52,640 And if I come across one of those stations, I don't think, 435 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:54,920 hey, I should listen to this for a few minutes or I should pull 436 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:56,000 it up on Spotify. Why? 437 00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:59,200 Because there's been some growth in my life, and every single one 438 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:01,360 of us should grow. And again, I'm not saying how 439 00:22:01,360 --> 00:22:04,000 far you should grow. I'm just saying this grow. 440 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:08,520 You ought to grow. And if you're regressing, then 441 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:11,480 that's a problem. If you're stagnant, that's a 442 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:13,080 problem. That's what's happening with 443 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:15,160 these people. Paul says, I want to talk to you 444 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:17,320 like mature believers, but you're babies. 445 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:19,160 You're not getting what I'm trying to tell you. 446 00:22:19,360 --> 00:22:22,760 So first of all, a mark of a characteristic, the mark of a 447 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:24,600 carnal Christian. One of their characteristics is 448 00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:28,160 they're a baby #2 We also see that they drink milk. 449 00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:33,320 Milk is perfect for a baby because it's easy to digest, 450 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:35,440 isn't it? It's what a baby needs. 451 00:22:35,880 --> 00:22:39,120 Couple of weeks ago had a couple, we were in Missouri that 452 00:22:39,120 --> 00:22:43,160 took us out to a steakhouse. I don't know about you, but I 453 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:44,920 like me a piece of cow. You know what I'm saying? 454 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:48,960 It's just, it is, it is delicious, delicious. 455 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:52,280 And, and I, I was, I was looking at some of these little 456 00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:55,840 sirloins, you know, because he was paying for it and he said to 457 00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:58,840 me, get the rib eye. And that's all I needed to hear 458 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:02,520 because I got a rib eye medium rare, because I love Jesus, all 459 00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:04,640 right. And so I want to make sure that 460 00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:06,480 I got it just the way that it needs to be. 461 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:08,720 So, you know, that wasn't overcooked or anything like 462 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:11,240 that. And it was delightful. 463 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:14,520 Why? Because you know, I'm a man. 464 00:23:16,760 --> 00:23:20,280 I'm a full grown man, all right, And I'm not saying a woman 465 00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:22,600 couldn't eat that either. I'm just saying I'm an adult. 466 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:25,280 I enjoy it. Some of you are looking at me 467 00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:27,640 very strangely. All right, I'm going somewhere, 468 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:31,360 Michelle, I promise. All right, I'm an adult. 469 00:23:31,360 --> 00:23:33,640 I could eat it. But could you imagine me taking 470 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:37,360 that same baby after I asked him to fill that, do that 1000 piece 471 00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:43,120 puzzle, slap a 16 ounce rib eye in front of them and say all 472 00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:47,440 right baby, go for it. And you know, after they slap it 473 00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:51,040 a few times and you know, trying to play with it or do whatever, 474 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:54,200 you realize that they can maybe gum it, but that's about it. 475 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:56,080 They're not eating it. Why? 476 00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:58,800 Because milk is what they need. They're babies. 477 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:03,760 But here's what Paul is saying. Look at verse #2 he says I have 478 00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:07,520 fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto you were not 479 00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:10,360 able to bear it, neither get now are you able. 480 00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:14,160 Paul lamented to them that he had to keep feeding them with 481 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:17,840 milk with the very basics of the word of God because they could 482 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:22,560 not handle anything stronger. And just like as a child grows 483 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:26,440 older, they are able to handle more and different types of 484 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:28,920 foods. As we are Christians and we grow 485 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:32,440 older, we should be able to handle more and different types 486 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:36,200 of the word of God, that it's not just eating of the very 487 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:38,000 basics. And listen, when it comes the 488 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:41,480 word of God, it's all good, but there are some things that take 489 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:45,360 a little bit of effort and a little bit of work to draw out. 490 00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:49,240 And as mature believers, we're able to start that process. 491 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:53,680 Hebrews 5 verses 12 through 14 for when you were oh, let's try 492 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:56,120 that again. I'm sorry for when, for when, 493 00:24:56,120 --> 00:24:58,000 for the time. He ought to be teachers. 494 00:24:58,360 --> 00:25:01,120 You had need that one teach you again, which be the first 495 00:25:01,120 --> 00:25:04,600 principles of the oracles of God and are become such as have need 496 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:08,640 of milk and not of strong meat. For everyone that uses milk is 497 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:12,320 unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 498 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:16,080 But strong meat belongeth to them that are a full age. 499 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:20,000 Even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to 500 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:23,960 discern both good and evil. Do you know why some Christians 501 00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:27,880 prefer spiritual pep talks? You know why some Christians 502 00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:31,120 really don't like getting into the Word of God? 503 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:34,280 That they would prefer something that's maybe more of a 5 or 10 504 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:38,520 minute rah rah type speech than actually digging into the Word 505 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:40,200 of God? It's because they're still in 506 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:43,160 the phase of milk. Do you know why there's a lot of 507 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:45,720 churches that really don't encourage people to open their 508 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:50,240 Bibles and to be able to follow along to write notes to mark 509 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:54,720 down why some pastors skip whole sections of the Word of God? 510 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:56,520 You know why? Because that's a church that's 511 00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:59,360 remaining in the milk. And I would even argue some of 512 00:25:59,360 --> 00:26:01,920 those churches are in even into the milk phase. 513 00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:06,200 They're more in the cotton candy phase that it looks big and it 514 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:09,320 looks impressive, but it melts on contact and it doesn't 515 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:11,120 satisfy. There's a lot of that in 516 00:26:11,120 --> 00:26:14,040 Christianity Today as well. You know, we try to do every 517 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:17,600 time that we're in the Word of God, I try to give you some meat 518 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,240 from the Word of God. It takes some digging. 519 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:23,840 It takes some work. Sometimes you could be there and 520 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:26,840 maybe you're new in Christ and you're maybe choking on a piece 521 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:29,160 of that rib eye a little bit. What is he talking about? 522 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:31,200 What is he saying? I don't understand. 523 00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:33,000 What's that word enmity? What? 524 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:34,640 What does carnal mean? Why? 525 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:36,520 Why are we going over these things? 526 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:40,000 He keeps saying sanctification. I don't know what that means, 527 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:42,960 but listen, just hang in there and grow. 528 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:46,440 And as time goes on, you'll be surprised what the Lord will 529 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:48,880 teach you and you'll learn from the Word of God. 530 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:52,680 You should get a good, well-rounded, nutritious meal 531 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:55,480 from God's Word. You can't survive on milk and be 532 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:57,800 a mature believer. So what do we see? 533 00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:00,680 We see that they are babes, that they drink milk. 534 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:03,840 We also see #3 they leave a mess and it's in their wake. 535 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:06,320 A Carl Christian leaves a mess in their wake. 536 00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:09,320 Now, if you're a little squeamish and you're at home, I 537 00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:11,320 push the mute button for about a minute. 538 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:13,560 And if you're squeamish in here, you're out of luck, OK? 539 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:15,120 Because you're going to have to hear this anyway. 540 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:18,480 When Bethany was very young, Kaylee wasn't even born yet. 541 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:22,280 We lived in our first apartment in Tampa, FL, and I remember it 542 00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:26,000 was a very early on, a Saturday. I was up, Diane was not up, and 543 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:28,560 I heard Bethany playing in her crib, and she was just such a 544 00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:31,040 calm baby. She was just such a happy baby. 545 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:34,640 I don't know what happened, but she was so calm and so happy. 546 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:37,960 That's a joke, all right? Honestly, that's a joke. 547 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:41,360 But I she was so calm. And I went in, but as I was 548 00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:45,320 getting to the door of her bedroom, there was a whiff that 549 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:50,800 only a parent could understand. And I'm not talking about a 550 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:55,600 whiff of a filled diaper, like a level far above that. 551 00:27:56,280 --> 00:28:00,960 And I walked into that room and there was a child who had had 552 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:07,440 problems far beyond description because this is a family show. 553 00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:16,960 And this child was playing in it in the crib. 554 00:28:18,360 --> 00:28:21,160 Now, if you're a parent, you know you. 555 00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:23,640 My first thought was this. I got to wake up Diane. 556 00:28:24,120 --> 00:28:27,960 You know, that's, I don't know what to do about this. 557 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:30,680 No, I knew. I mean, I, I had to take care of 558 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:31,080 it. I did. 559 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:33,760 I mean, I basically got a hose, you know, and, and hosed her 560 00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:36,720 down, hosed everything down, got kerosene and burned the place 561 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:37,160 down. All right. 562 00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:39,960 That's about all you can do at that point, but you don't 563 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:41,240 listen. She was a baby. 564 00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:43,320 And by the way, if you're online, you can unmute it now. 565 00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:46,480 All right? But you know, she was a baby and 566 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:50,160 she was oblivious to the absolute filth that she was in. 567 00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:57,720 She was almost happy sitting there, but she was probably 568 00:28:57,720 --> 00:29:00,720 about 9-10 months old somewhere around there. 569 00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:05,000 She wasn't very old. But you know, a carnal Christian 570 00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:08,600 creates a mess because babies create a mess. 571 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:12,160 And a lot of times they don't even realize what a mess they've 572 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:14,520 created. That's why sometimes when the 573 00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:16,720 preacher starts preaching and talks about certain things, 574 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:19,640 instead of being grateful that the Holy Spirit has revealed 575 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:21,720 some things in their life, you know what they they do, they get 576 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:25,320 angry, they get upset. Well, why is he talking about 577 00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:27,360 that? Was he following me online? 578 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:29,360 Unless I don't have enough time to follow you all online to 579 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:30,760 craft sermons about what you're doing. 580 00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:33,000 OK, I don't want to do that. I don't need to do that. 581 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:35,560 All right, It could just be that I'm preaching the whole council 582 00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:38,080 of God and the Holy Spirit has revealed something in your life 583 00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:43,360 that could be what it is. But the carnal Christian is so 584 00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:47,760 baby like that they end up creating a mess and they have to 585 00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:51,160 sit in its wake. Look again at verse #3 for a 586 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:54,520 year yet carnal for whereas there is among you envying and 587 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:56,720 strife and divisions. You know what, we're going to 588 00:29:56,720 --> 00:29:59,040 see this whole book of First Corinthians. 589 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:01,720 We got a taste of it in chapter 1, but this whole book of First 590 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:05,720 Corinthians is about carnal Christians behaving like babies, 591 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:09,320 and they're creating an absolute mess in their church. 592 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:12,520 He says right here there's envying, there's strife, there 593 00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:15,280 divisions. He says, are you not carnal and 594 00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:17,760 walk as men. Now that phrase at the end of 595 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:19,640 verse 3, I'll stick out to you, walk as men. 596 00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:22,040 What does that remind you from Galatians chapter 5? 597 00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:26,440 Don't walk in the flesh, but walk in the spirit. 598 00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:28,040 He said we know what you're doing. 599 00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:30,120 You're walking as men. You're walking in the flesh. 600 00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:36,400 You need to walk in the spirit. The problem for babies is they 601 00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:38,200 do the things that are easiest, don't they? 602 00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:40,240 You know why? Because they they just don't 603 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:42,880 know any other way. They always do what's easiest. 604 00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:46,480 The carnal Christian always finds the path of least 605 00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:48,960 resistance. Listen, they don't read their 606 00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:53,360 Bible, they don't pray, they don't grow. 607 00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:57,320 They don't resist temptation. They don't confess their sin to 608 00:30:57,320 --> 00:30:59,960 the Lord on a regular basis. You know why the carnal 609 00:30:59,960 --> 00:31:01,200 Christian doesn't do those things? 610 00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:02,960 Because it's so much easier not to do it. 611 00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:06,960 But I would submit to you that life is so much harder in the 612 00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:11,560 long run when you don't do the things you need to do now. 613 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:14,200 Because as adults, we understand this. 614 00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:17,400 There's some things I don't like doing, but I know I need to do 615 00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:19,320 them. There's some things I don't 616 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:22,760 enjoy, but I do it. And I realize when I'm done, I'm 617 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:25,600 glad I did that. That's part about being adult, 618 00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:27,560 right? That's part about being mature. 619 00:31:27,960 --> 00:31:29,400 And the mature believer says, you know what? 620 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:31,160 My body doesn't want this. My flesh. 621 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:34,360 My flesh doesn't want to do this, but I'm going to do it 622 00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:36,440 anyway. I don't want to get up early and 623 00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:38,240 read my Bible. Are you crazy? 624 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:42,720 I don't have time for that. And then you read it and go, so 625 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:46,840 glad I read my Bible today. Someone curses at you at work. 626 00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:51,000 Someone gets upset at you. A situation comes up that you 627 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:53,080 didn't foresee. And you think, Lord, thank you 628 00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:54,840 that I had time with you in this morning in prayer. 629 00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:56,920 I don't know how I would have dealt with it if I hadn't prayed 630 00:31:56,920 --> 00:31:59,920 first. Well, what does that mean? 631 00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:03,960 That that's being mature? But a baby just makes a mess and 632 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:06,680 they sit in the middle of it and they were sitting in the middle 633 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:12,000 of strife and envying and divisions and they thought they 634 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:14,800 were doing OK. And Paul says this, you know, I 635 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:18,200 got to talk to you as carnal because you don't get. 636 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:21,640 So those are the three marks of the characteristics of the 637 00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:24,680 carnal Christian. But if we were to take the 638 00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:28,320 inverse of this, it would help us understand what a mature 639 00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:30,720 believer ought to do. So as we look at this, let's 640 00:32:30,720 --> 00:32:33,920 look at the characteristics of the spiritual Christian. 641 00:32:34,040 --> 00:32:36,480 First of all, the spiritual Christian is mature. 642 00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:40,640 So if the Arnold Christian is a baby, the spiritual Christian is 643 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:44,280 mature. God calls us to a mature walk 644 00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:47,240 with him. Ephesians 413 through 15. 645 00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:50,720 Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge 646 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:54,280 of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of 647 00:32:54,280 --> 00:32:59,560 the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we henceforth be no 648 00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:03,160 more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every 649 00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:06,080 wind of doctrine by the sleight of men, in the cunning 650 00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:08,680 craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. 651 00:33:08,880 --> 00:33:12,760 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all 652 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:15,240 things, which is the head, even Christ mean. 653 00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:18,040 This is that when you are a mature believer, you won't 654 00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:19,800 necessarily fall for just anything. 655 00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:21,920 Why? Because child is much more 656 00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:25,400 easily deceived than an adult. And as mature believers, you 657 00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:29,920 will not fall for false doctrine as easily when you are mature. 658 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:33,960 And Paul said it's my job to help you in this maturing 659 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:38,040 process until you get to glory. Colossians 128 whom we preach, 660 00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:42,000 warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we 661 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:44,600 may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 662 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:46,400 Do you know what my desire is tonight? 663 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:48,720 You know what my desire is Anytime I get up in the pulpit? 664 00:33:48,920 --> 00:33:51,640 First of all, it's to see that every single person who is 665 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:54,360 within the sound of my voice come to trust Jesus Christ as 666 00:33:54,360 --> 00:33:56,160 their Savior. That's my first goal. 667 00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:59,480 Now, I can't create that. I can't make that happen, but it 668 00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:02,960 is my desire that everyone who is hears me preach will someday 669 00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:05,600 spend an eternity in heaven. I mean, if that isn't my goal, 670 00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:07,440 then I'm I'm doing the wrong thing. 671 00:34:07,440 --> 00:34:10,120 I need to probably go sell shoes for a living or something like 672 00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:12,520 that because that is what a preacher ought to do. 673 00:34:12,920 --> 00:34:15,639 But I will say this, my second goal that's right under the 674 00:34:15,639 --> 00:34:19,960 first goal is this, if you are saved, I want to do everything I 675 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:24,480 can to help mature you so that you are ready to meet the Lord 676 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:27,960 at the judgment seat. That's my goal, to be able to 677 00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:31,000 preach the entire counsel of God to you from cover to cover to 678 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:34,120 not avoid anything, do not hide from anything to not just, you 679 00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:36,480 know, say I wonder what the church wants to hear about this 680 00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:38,600 week. To say the audience that I 681 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:41,199 preached to does not sit here in these seats. 682 00:34:41,199 --> 00:34:44,159 The audience that I preached to is literally in heaven. 683 00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:47,239 And that's the Lord. And as much as I want you to 684 00:34:47,239 --> 00:34:50,280 like me, I seek his approval and his alone. 685 00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:53,360 Why? Because I want to make sure that 686 00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:56,920 when you meet him, that whatever happened in this building help 687 00:34:56,920 --> 00:35:01,320 prepare you to meet him, help prepare you to be mature. 688 00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:04,400 God has called us to be mature believers, but not just that. 689 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:07,520 He's also called us to be letter B up. 690 00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:10,000 I hit it a couple extra times. We'll just go with this, all 691 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:12,400 right? Letter BX eats meat, right? 692 00:35:13,040 --> 00:35:16,680 That he's going to eat meat. Listen, what should we do as 693 00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:18,960 believers? We should, well we should be 694 00:35:18,960 --> 00:35:21,360 eating the meat. Milk is good, but you need to 695 00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:23,440 get into the word of God for yourself, you say? 696 00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:25,760 Well listen pastor, I already go to church 3 * a week. 697 00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:27,680 I mean, how many more times you want me to go to church? 698 00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:30,920 Listen, if you were to eat 3 meals a week, you'd starve. 699 00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:35,440 You need to be able to eat on your own as well. 700 00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:37,960 Again, I'm thankful to have the opportunity to be able to 701 00:35:37,960 --> 00:35:40,120 present the Word of God to you during the week. 702 00:35:40,360 --> 00:35:42,960 But I know this, that you also need the Word of God for 703 00:35:42,960 --> 00:35:45,120 yourself as well. We had a church member here many 704 00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:47,840 years ago who said something to this to me all the time. 705 00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:49,880 He's a pastor. When I come to church, he says 706 00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:53,120 I've already ought to be fed. This ought to be dessert, and I 707 00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:55,720 like that thought process. The idea is that he's already 708 00:35:55,720 --> 00:35:58,160 heard from the Lord himself during the week, every day, in 709 00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:00,600 his daily Bible reading, and whatever he gets here is just a 710 00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:03,720 little bit of extra exhortation, a little bit extra 711 00:36:03,720 --> 00:36:05,760 encouragement. You got to eat some meat. 712 00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:07,240 Meat. Get you a rib eye and chew it. 713 00:36:07,240 --> 00:36:09,840 It'll change your life. Don't be a vegetarian man, all 714 00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:10,360 right? Don't. 715 00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:13,280 Don't just go for the milk. Don't even like soy milk. 716 00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:14,680 You'd be really out of luck, wouldn't you? 717 00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:18,200 No, we're talking about eating the meat of the Word of God. 718 00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:20,720 Get to the place. Listen, where you read all of 719 00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:24,840 the Bible Now, should a new believer necessarily read the 720 00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:27,480 Bible from cover to cover? Not necessarily. 721 00:36:28,320 --> 00:36:30,600 I would say a new believer ought to start with very small 722 00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:33,280 portions of the Word of God. I'm working with someone right 723 00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:35,880 now that we're literally reading half a chapter of the Bible a 724 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:37,280 day. You know why? 725 00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:40,280 Because that's half a chapter more than he was reading not 726 00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:43,200 that long ago. Praise the Lord, But as you 727 00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:44,880 mature, you need to read a little bit more. 728 00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:46,520 Hey, do you know what we're not reading right now? 729 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:51,000 Leviticus. Do you know we're not reading 730 00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:55,720 right now, Haggy Eye? Shall I go on? 731 00:36:56,920 --> 00:36:58,960 Am I saying that those are not blessed books? 732 00:36:58,960 --> 00:37:00,560 Of course they are. They're in the biblical Canon. 733 00:37:01,480 --> 00:37:04,440 But is that necessarily the place where you should start as 734 00:37:04,440 --> 00:37:05,560 a babe in Christ? No. 735 00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:09,080 But I will say this. You can't avoid Leviticus the 736 00:37:09,080 --> 00:37:11,520 rest of your life. You can't avoid the minor 737 00:37:11,520 --> 00:37:13,880 prophets the rest of your life. And by the way, once you get 738 00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:16,640 into them with a little bit of maturity, you realize there's 739 00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:20,880 some incredible stuff in here. You know how I know that because 740 00:37:20,880 --> 00:37:24,120 the God who inspired them to be in there is pretty incredible. 741 00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:26,640 So we ought to go through from cover to cover. 742 00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:29,040 Hey, get some meat. You know what help you with 743 00:37:29,040 --> 00:37:30,920 that? Make notes in your Bible. 744 00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:33,760 Again, I encourage you all the time, write in your Bible, make 745 00:37:33,760 --> 00:37:36,680 notes, underline things. There are types of highlighters 746 00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:38,440 you can use that don't bleed through the page. 747 00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:42,120 Do those types of things so that you can make Bible your Bible. 748 00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:44,360 No, no, I'm not talking about changing the word of God, but 749 00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:46,320 that when you struggle, you could open your Bible and 750 00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:49,480 realize, hey, this verse helped me before God spoke to me 751 00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:51,160 before. That's chewing meat. 752 00:37:51,400 --> 00:37:56,040 Take notes, use notebooks, take sermon notes, ask questions, get 753 00:37:56,040 --> 00:37:58,560 a study Bible. Not every study Bible that can 754 00:37:58,560 --> 00:38:01,320 necessarily recommend, but there's the define. 755 00:38:01,320 --> 00:38:02,960 King James Bible is a very good one. 756 00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:04,800 There's others that are out there as well. 757 00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:08,160 Rock of Ages has brought here a very good study Bible. 758 00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:11,760 Whatever it is, just just get into the word of God and get 759 00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:14,440 some meat and then let her see it's already right there 760 00:38:15,040 --> 00:38:18,280 displays growth that baby just doesn't want to grow and the 761 00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:21,440 baby sits and filth. But a mature baby, a mature 762 00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:23,280 believer rather, is going to grow. 763 00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:27,320 Remember for Peter 22, I read it a few minutes ago as newborn 764 00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:31,680 babes desire the sincere milk of the word what that ye may grow 765 00:38:31,680 --> 00:38:33,840 thereby. The whole point is you are 766 00:38:33,840 --> 00:38:38,000 supposed to grow as a believer. Now listen, the problem with 767 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:41,160 this is because we don't see growth for a while. 768 00:38:41,480 --> 00:38:43,800 We don't do the things we need to do to grow. 769 00:38:44,760 --> 00:38:48,560 Now, if I want to start a habit tomorrow, let's say I want to 770 00:38:48,560 --> 00:38:52,400 start running tomorrow, can I run a marathon the day after? 771 00:38:53,560 --> 00:38:57,280 If I want to start lifting weights tomorrow, could I go and 772 00:38:57,280 --> 00:38:59,720 lift a 200 LB weight the next day? 773 00:39:00,960 --> 00:39:06,160 If I want to work on being an excellent cook, can I practice 774 00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:09,800 my cooking skills on one day and then be a Michelin star chef the 775 00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:12,360 next day? I mean, do I need to go on here? 776 00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:16,880 I think we understand, don't we? But oftentimes there are things 777 00:39:16,880 --> 00:39:20,000 that we need to do in our Christian life, and because we 778 00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:22,960 don't get to the goal as quickly as we want, we just give up. 779 00:39:24,200 --> 00:39:25,440 I'm never going to read my Bible. 780 00:39:25,520 --> 00:39:27,240 Well, you're never going to read it in a day anyway. 781 00:39:27,760 --> 00:39:30,240 Just read a little bit today and you know what will happen. 782 00:39:30,240 --> 00:39:32,160 After a while you will have read it all. 783 00:39:32,760 --> 00:39:37,120 But if you don't read your Bible today, you will never in many 784 00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:39,320 tomorrow's get to the place where you have read your Bible. 785 00:39:40,040 --> 00:39:41,920 Well, I'll never be mature in my faith. 786 00:39:42,400 --> 00:39:44,280 The people who are mature in your faith, do you think they're 787 00:39:44,280 --> 00:39:46,640 just so much better than you? Do you think they're so much 788 00:39:46,640 --> 00:39:47,760 smarter? Do you think they're so much 789 00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:49,600 intelligent? Or do they just go through a 790 00:39:49,600 --> 00:39:54,040 process of slowly over time, applying themselves, walking in 791 00:39:54,040 --> 00:39:57,600 the Spirit, listening to preaching, reading the Word of 792 00:39:57,600 --> 00:40:01,680 God, praying, and God little bit by little bit brought them where 793 00:40:01,680 --> 00:40:04,680 they needed to be. God can help you grow. 794 00:40:05,120 --> 00:40:07,400 In fact, I would submit to you the only way to grow spiritually 795 00:40:07,560 --> 00:40:10,120 is through the Spirit because the other ways to walk in the 796 00:40:10,120 --> 00:40:11,760 flesh and that won't be a way to grow. 797 00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:15,600 Won't be a way to growth at all. I read this today. 798 00:40:15,600 --> 00:40:18,520 I love this quote. The carnal Christian is a child 799 00:40:18,520 --> 00:40:21,560 of God, born again and on his way to heaven. 800 00:40:22,080 --> 00:40:27,120 But he is traveling third class. Think about that for a second. 801 00:40:28,200 --> 00:40:31,760 Carnal Christian's going to heaven, calls him brother, says 802 00:40:31,760 --> 00:40:34,680 they're in Christ. Better go in 3rd class. 803 00:40:35,200 --> 00:40:36,600 Well, God loves me just the way I am. 804 00:40:37,040 --> 00:40:39,040 As I've told you before, God loves you just the way you are, 805 00:40:39,040 --> 00:40:40,920 but He loves you far too much to stay that way. 806 00:40:42,240 --> 00:40:44,920 He wants you to become more and more like Him. 807 00:40:46,160 --> 00:40:50,520 That's His desire. You're a new creature, and new 808 00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:55,520 creatures have new purposes. That's what God has called us to 809 00:40:55,520 --> 00:40:56,760 be, right? A new creature. 810 00:40:56,760 --> 00:41:00,240 You have a new purpose. We don't live like the old way. 811 00:41:00,880 --> 00:41:03,560 We live in the way that God has called us to live. 812 00:41:03,880 --> 00:41:10,200 Anything else would be a waste. I imagine someone gave you a 813 00:41:10,320 --> 00:41:13,560 brand new iMac computer. I don't know if you've seen some 814 00:41:13,560 --> 00:41:15,320 of these iMacs or desktop computers. 815 00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:19,480 They can come thousands of dollars big 24 inch screen, 816 00:41:19,800 --> 00:41:25,280 vivid HD processing power that is could run anything within the 817 00:41:25,280 --> 00:41:28,680 drop of a hat and someone just gives this to you. 818 00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:31,720 Could you imagine? And they got this beautiful big 819 00:41:31,720 --> 00:41:34,200 box. It says iMac on the front. 820 00:41:34,200 --> 00:41:37,120 It's probably about this big, it's going to be beautiful. 821 00:41:37,120 --> 00:41:40,240 It's going to sit on your table and it's going to be everything 822 00:41:40,240 --> 00:41:42,720 that you could possibly want it to be. 823 00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:46,440 And again, probably a couple $1000 someone's giving us. 824 00:41:46,440 --> 00:41:49,640 You say enjoy it, use it. You're going to love this. 825 00:41:50,640 --> 00:41:53,480 And you take that box, you never open it. 826 00:41:54,480 --> 00:41:57,040 You put it next to your bed and for the next couple years you 827 00:41:57,040 --> 00:42:01,600 use it as a bedside table. I mean, I don't know about you, 828 00:42:01,600 --> 00:42:04,040 but that sounds pretty foolish, doesn't it? 829 00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:10,040 That computer has a real purpose, doesn't it? 830 00:42:10,720 --> 00:42:15,920 To be used as a computer. Only a fool would take something 831 00:42:15,920 --> 00:42:20,560 that cost so much, a gift that cost so much, and use it for 832 00:42:20,560 --> 00:42:24,680 something so low that almost anything could fulfill that 833 00:42:24,680 --> 00:42:27,640 purpose. But could I admit to you this 834 00:42:27,640 --> 00:42:31,520 evening that the carnal Christian has taken a gift far 835 00:42:31,520 --> 00:42:34,720 more precious than a computer of a couple, $1000. 836 00:42:35,360 --> 00:42:37,720 They've taken the gift of salvation that was secured by 837 00:42:37,720 --> 00:42:42,200 the blood of Jesus Christ, and they have taken it and used it 838 00:42:42,200 --> 00:42:48,760 for something that is common, that is carnal and undignified 839 00:42:49,400 --> 00:42:52,640 of that which is the price that was paid for in the 1st place. 840 00:42:53,720 --> 00:42:57,960 The carnal Christian takes the gift of salvation and the gift 841 00:42:58,000 --> 00:43:01,440 of the shed blood of Jesus Christ and puts it off to the 842 00:43:01,440 --> 00:43:06,520 side and says this, I think I'll live my life the way that I 843 00:43:06,520 --> 00:43:11,960 lived before I got saved. But thanks for heaven. 844 00:43:13,440 --> 00:43:14,880 We'll talk more when I get there. 845 00:43:16,800 --> 00:43:21,320 Now, your life as a carnal Christian, if that is where you 846 00:43:21,320 --> 00:43:22,840 are tonight, may not be that graphic. 847 00:43:23,400 --> 00:43:27,560 It may not be that extreme, but that's where it ends up because 848 00:43:27,560 --> 00:43:29,800 it's a very, very slippery slope. 849 00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:34,120 So what do you do? How do you avoid being a carnal 850 00:43:34,120 --> 00:43:36,920 Christian? Galatians chapter 5 gives us the 851 00:43:36,920 --> 00:43:40,160 answer. Walk in the Spirit so that you 852 00:43:40,160 --> 00:43:42,240 do not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 853 00:43:42,480 --> 00:43:43,680 What does it mean to walk in the Spirit? 854 00:43:43,720 --> 00:43:45,720 It means make the right decision tomorrow. 855 00:43:47,640 --> 00:43:50,720 No tomorrow. Make the right decision by the 856 00:43:50,720 --> 00:43:53,920 help of the Spirit. Make one good decision tomorrow. 857 00:43:53,920 --> 00:43:56,720 Don't yell when you're angry. Don't lust when you're tempted. 858 00:43:57,160 --> 00:44:00,760 Show kindness in a radical way. Pray and spending your time 859 00:44:00,760 --> 00:44:02,640 going mindlessly through social media. 860 00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:05,920 Read your Bible instead of watching hours and hours of TV 861 00:44:05,920 --> 00:44:08,960 or of YouTube. Make one good decision with the 862 00:44:08,960 --> 00:44:12,160 power of the Spirit. And then make another one. 863 00:44:13,280 --> 00:44:16,320 And make another one. Because if you're walking, are 864 00:44:16,320 --> 00:44:23,280 you really concerned about what step #5276 on the journey is 865 00:44:23,280 --> 00:44:25,760 going to be? No, you just want to make sure 866 00:44:25,760 --> 00:44:27,120 Step 1 is in the right direction. 867 00:44:27,120 --> 00:44:29,640 And then you need to make sure Step 2 is in the right 868 00:44:29,640 --> 00:44:32,120 direction, and then Step 3 is in the right direction. 869 00:44:32,120 --> 00:44:34,600 And eventually step 5200, whatever number I just said a 870 00:44:34,600 --> 00:44:37,680 few minutes ago, couple seconds ago, will be in the right place. 871 00:44:37,760 --> 00:44:39,920 Because every step before that was the right one. 872 00:44:40,360 --> 00:44:43,920 Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of flesh. 873 00:44:44,120 --> 00:44:47,080 Walk in the Spirit and you won't be a carnal Christian. 874 00:44:47,320 --> 00:44:51,080 One step at a time, one day at a time, you'll be fulfilling the 875 00:44:51,080 --> 00:44:54,440 purpose God called you to as a new creature instead of being 876 00:44:54,440 --> 00:44:58,120 the ultimate paradox which is the carnal Christian. 877 00:44:58,960 --> 00:45:01,640 Thank you for listening to the sermon from the pulpit of 878 00:45:01,640 --> 00:45:04,560 Liberty Baptist Church. If this message was a blessing 879 00:45:04,560 --> 00:45:08,040 to you, or if there's any way we can serve you, please let us 880 00:45:08,040 --> 00:45:12,640 know by contacting us at info@mylibertybaptist.org. 881 00:45:12,920 --> 00:45:17,440 Or you can visit us this Sunday at 800 Washington St. in Easton, 882 00:45:17,440 --> 00:45:20,280 MA. May the Lord bless you as you 883 00:45:20,280 --> 00:45:21,440 grow in His Word.