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This is ERC Sundays, the 
messages at Emmaus Rd. 

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Church in DeWitt, Iowa. 
ERC is a Church of people 

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striving to grow in Jesus and 
make him known to others through

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our faith, words and actions. 
Find out more about our church 

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at emmausrdonline.org. 
Here's this week's message. 

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I'm Pastor Matt. 
We are in week three of our four

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FS series. 
This is maybe kind of the one 

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that seems like it's not like 
the others fitness this week we 

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had to keep with the FS and the 
pattern and the alliteration 

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because God made our minds to 
like patterns and things. 

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So when I say fitness though, 
that probably immediately makes 

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you think of a physical body. 
So it might seem a little weird 

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that you're showing up to church
for a talk on that. 

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That's going to be part of what 
we talk about. 

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But our fitness is more in the 
context, at least as it works in

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this series. 
It's more of the context of what

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we kind of just sang about. 
Lord, let my life be an altar 

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for the Christian. 
And this is kind of the 

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prerequisite that we're entering
into this series with that that 

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you have the understanding of 
being a Sinner in need of God's 

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grace, in need of Jesus pouring 
on his life on the cross for you

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as a perfect sacrifice in 
resurrecting from the dead. 

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That you would have the hope of 
eternal life taking all those 

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things as being within your 
understanding and in and in your

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faith. 
Fitness this week is is then how

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we live how we live as as our 
lives being an altar of praise 

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of glory, of knowing Jesus and 
making him known to others. 

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So we're going to examine 
fitness, sure, in a, in a 

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physical aspect this morning, 
but also in, in, in a mental and

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emotional way as as the Bible 
talks about that in, in a, in a 

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feelings and and also spiritual 
sort of way. 

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Because the, the the Bible keeps
coming back to this idea that 

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for the believer, we're going to
read this a little, a little 

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later, but your body is a temple
for the Holy Spirit. 

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The Holy Spirit is that promised
seal of your salvation that 

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lives and abides in a believer. 
So if your body, your whole 

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being is a temple, well, that 
the fitness of that body should 

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probably be something we 
address. 

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That the sound mind and soul and
heart of that body are also 

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things that we should care about
and prioritize, not in any way 

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to be worthy of or earn or keep 
the salvation that has already 

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been won by Jesus, but as a 
response to that victory 

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already. 
This is then how the Bible 

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prescribes that we live lives as
followers of Jesus. 

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I was at I was at the Packers 
Bears game last week. 

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I was at Soldier Field to see 
the massive collapse from 

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Thanks, Chris, in the first 
service, I thanked you for your 

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gracious handling of that 
victory last week. 

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But you've ruined that for this 
room. 

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So I can't say that anymore. 
You were, you were very gracious

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and I'll, I'll just, I'll let 
you, I'll let you know It was I,

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I am, I am pulling for you Bears
fans. 

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I really am, because Bears fans 
are hurting you guys. 

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If you don't know a Bears fan, 
they they are miserable. 

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They, they are, they are. 
It's tough. 

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They get more joy out of out of 
the Packers losing, I think, 

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than they do out of the Bears 
winning. 

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And to me, that's just not 
fandom. 

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I don't I don't, I don't get 
that. 

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I don't understand that. 
But anyway, my brother and his 

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girlfriend gifted us tickets to 
come to the game with them last 

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week. 
So Emily and I, Emma and I went 

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and we had we had a great day. 
We got Lou Malnati's pizza 

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beforehand and I'm we're getting
ready for the game to start and 

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I just me and my brother and I'm
like, all right, man. 

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Just just so you know, like, I 
know everyone's probably like 

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hoping this is a really good 
game and really fun. 

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I just want to see a good game 
of football. 

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Not me. 
I hope the Packers are up 30 to 

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nothing at halftime and it's a 
complete blowout. 

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That's that's the game I want to
see. 

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It started that way. 
It did not end that way, but 

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think about our fitness in that 
way. 

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Jesus has already won the 
victory. 

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We're up 50 to nothing at 
halftime and the game is over. 

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A life of of fitness in response
to what he's done. 

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We're running up the score. 
We are shouting his glory and 

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pray. 
We are knowing him and making 

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him known while we have breath. 
That's what this fitness that 

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we're talking about today is. 
A life rightly ordered body, 

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heart, soul, mind in pursuit of 
the glory of Christ, knowing 

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Jesus and making him known, 
running up the score. 

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So we are going to be in a lot 
of different passages this 

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morning. 
We're mostly focusing on that 

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mental emotional fitness, 
physical fitness and then like 

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spiritual faith fitness. 
I have 2 pages double sided 

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worth of study notes that are at
the connection center out there.

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I didn't want to have them in 
front of you because they're 

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going to be really hard to 
follow. 

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I'm not following all of this 
right now, I'm just giving you 

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snippets of it. 
But if you want to dive deeper, 

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have more of this material, 
please stop out of the 

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connection center and grab one 
of those. 

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If you're an electronic person, 
come get me and I can send you 

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the PDF. 
If you're in small groups, life 

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groups, your leader has the PDF 
of these things. 

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You can get a copy from them. 
But anyway, I need to set the 

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stage a little bit more. 
Just why should we yearn after 

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fitness? 
Why should we be a good example 

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continuing with the sports? 
Because it was what was on on my

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mind as I was looking at the 
sidelines last week and I've 

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noticed it before. 
But I what was impressed upon me

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as I'm thinking about this 
message too, was the the variety

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in the coaches that are on the 
sideline too, and how that goes 

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about like modeling them, 
practicing what they preach 

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those this is a cliche of like 
those who cannot do teach. 

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And that's not exactly perfect 
for football. 

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There's guys who's definitely a 
football experience who are 

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definitely also coaches. 
But it got me thinking just 

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about the variety of of sizes 
really of coaches and who I 

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would want to coach me up And 
Chiefs fans, you'll recognize 

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this guy. 
Some of the rest of you will no 

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slight to Andy Reid at all. 
Great coach. 

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He's a brilliant mind, but I was
just thinking like as as it 

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relates to like maybe a physical
weight training fitness program 

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for football players. 
He's not exactly the picture of 

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the guy that I maybe want to 
show me, Hey, this is how we're 

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going to lift him. 
This is what you're going to get

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like, right? 
That's it's not an awesome 

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example of that, right? 
My mind went to this is this is 

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the Panthers coach, which some 
of you maybe not don't know, but

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he was on some magazine spread 
as like the sexiest NFL coach of

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the year or whatever. 
And it's all like, I mean, this 

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is the guy that I want to see a 
business plan from, right? 

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Like what you see is what if you
do this, you get this, right? 

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Like more so than I don't know, 
in thinking about the example of

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our fitness for Christ or our 
pursuit of Christ, what are we 

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modeling as Christians with our 
mental and emotional health, 

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with our spiritual health, with 
our physical health? 

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If we are holding to these 
truths, are we living them out 

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well? 
Are we living a life that says 

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this is the richness and 
fullness of God and his grace 

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lived out? 
That's what we're talking about 

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this morning as it relates to 
our fitness in Christ. 

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We're going to start Matthew 22.
Jesus got asked, teacher, what 

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is the great, the greatest 
commandment in the law? 

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Jesus said to him, you shall 
love the Lord your God with all 

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your heart, with all your soul, 
and with all your mind. 

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This is the greatest and 1st 
commandment. 

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I'm not sure why the S is off of
this slide, but greatest, 

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greatest commandment, greatest 
and 1st commandment. 

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So those things were right there
to love God with these aspects, 

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which are seemingly different 
but yet intertwined. 

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They're all affected by each 
other and they need to be 

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unified in our pursuit, in our 
love of God, right? 

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There's there's fitness that can
be worked on in all of these 

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areas. 
This is the first and greatest 

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thing. 
We started a few weeks ago with 

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the 4S saying that our faith, 
our relationship with God, 

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numero Uno, right? 
That's the first thing. 

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So that's where we're starting, 
but it relates to our heart, 

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soul, mind, and as we're about 
to see in a moment, our, our our

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bodies, our strength as well. 
This little, this vision placard

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that we have as we know Jesus 
and make him known through these

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things for the sake of reaching 
the one more First Corinthians 

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chapter 6. 
All things are lawful for me, 

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but not all things are helpful. 
All things are lawful for me, 

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but I will not be dominated. 
I will not be ruled over by just

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anything. 
Food is meant for the stomach 

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and the stomach for food and God
will destroy both one and the 

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other. 
The body is not meant for sexual

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immorality, but for the Lord and
the Lord for the body. 

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God raised the Lord and will 
also raise us up by his powers. 

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You not know that your bodies 
are members of Christ. 

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Shall I then take the members of
Christ and make the members of a

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prostitute parents? 
Sorry, it's gonna be a fun vocab

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word for some of you to talk 
about later, but look at the 

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imagery in this verse, verse 15.
Shall I then take the members of

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Christ, the members of a body, 
and make them members of a 

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prostitute? 
Are we prostituting out our 

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lives to sin as he goes on? 
Do you not know that he was 

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joined to a prostitute, becomes 
one body with her, for as it is 

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written, the two will become one
flesh. 

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What are the things, the traits 
of sin that now have become one 

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in the same in our lives? 
Paul is warning strongly to to 

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run from that association. 
He offers relief, he offers an 

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answer, but he was joined to the
Lord, becomes one in spirit with

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him, flee from sexual 
immorality. 

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Every other sin a person commits
is outside the body, but the 

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sexually immoral person sins 
against his own body. 

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I see there's some wide eyed 
looks on some of your faces. 

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We just took a turn. 
We're not landing here. 

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This is not the main point of 
the message today. 

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This these two verses are a 
sermon all on its own, but I do 

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want to highlight the elevated 
importance of how the Bible 

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talks about sexual sin, 
especially. 

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It makes a big deal out of it, 
both for the evil that it is and

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the destruction that it can 
cause, and also for the good 

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that it is fulfilled between man
and woman in the confines of 

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marriage, in God's design for 
marriage. 

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There's another important 
distinction in these verses. 

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There's lots of other passages 
that charge us to stand firm, to

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fight sin, to hate sin. 
When it comes to sexual sin, the

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word is flee. 
Get out of there, get away from 

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it. 
It is an evil that keeps coming 

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back that stands strong. 
Flee, remove it. 

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That's all I'm going to say on 
that for today, but I didn't 

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want to skip over that passage 
without stating that before we 

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get to what we're really talking
about our our theme sort of 

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passage for today about how our 
body is a temple. 

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Verse 19 and 1st Corinthians 6. 
Do you not know that your body 

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is a temple of the Holy Spirit 
within you whom you have from 

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God? 
You are not your own for you 

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were bought with a price. 
So glorify God in your body. 

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So these two passages love the 
Lord your God with all your 

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heart, soul and mind. 
Do you not know that your body 

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is a temple of the Holy Spirit 
and you were bought with a 

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price? 
There is significance then to 

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how we act body, mind and soul 
to glorify God in our lives. 

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These things are intertwined, 
they affect each other. 

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I'm sure it's not a stretch for 
you to understand that if your 

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physical body isn't well, that 
can affect your mind, that can 

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affect your emotions. 
Likewise, if your mind is not 

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OK, your body is probably 
struggling. 

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Your emotions are probably 
struggling. 

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They are related to each other. 
So we must attack each and every

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one of these areas in the way 
that God designed for us to be 

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trained up and built up in them.
So for physical fitness, we'll 

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start there. 
First Timothy chapter 4, train 

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yourself for godliness. 
He too starts with faith. 

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Godliness, your spiritual 
fitness, your spiritual health, 

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that's still number one. 
That's the first and most 

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important thing. 
For what bodily training is of 

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some value. 
Godliness is a value in every 

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way as it holds promise for the 
present life and also for the 

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life to come. 
But physical exercise has its 

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benefits. 
Spiritual training takes 

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priority. 
Yet both contribute to a 

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well-rounded being. 
They are related to each other 

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and the way we treat our 
physical bodies should then flow

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out from our understanding, our 
grasp, our love for the gift 

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that God has poured out for us, 
treating our physical bodies 

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well. 
And this can look different for 

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all of you. 
I'm not, I'm not up here saying 

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that physical fitness looks the 
same for me at 35 as it does for

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my kids at 5:00, as it does for 
some of you in in the 70s and, 

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and upper decades of your lives.
You have to use some wisdom and 

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discernment to, to figure out 
what that looks like for you in 

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your life stage. 
I could go about training for, 

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for A5 KA 10K and, and pursue 
that relatively reasonably for 

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my life and that and that would 
be within the realm of what 

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physical fitness might look like
for me. 

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Karen, I'm not going to pick on 
you, but I would say I'm not 

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sure if 5K would be of benefit 
for you to put your body through

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at this point like that, that 
that might not be of benefit to 

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your physical fitness. 
I, I picked on Marlin in the 

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first service. 
So just saying we can still 

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pursue fitness and it looks 
differently for each of us. 

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I'm not up here saying I've got 
1 blueprint plan for all of you 

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to follow and you're going to 
turn out perfect. 

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I'm also up here. 
I am not perfect at any of these

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things in any of these areas. 
This is our blueprint. 

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This is the plan we follow. 
I'm trying to teach it physical 

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fitness still a value. 
Your body is a temple of God. 

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It keeps you present. 
It keeps you as a good example 

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for a family that you have to 
care for. 

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It keeps you in discipline for 
the faith which you profess. 

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So whatever that looks like for 
you, if that's, if that's a 

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healthier diet, if that's just 
get getting up and going out for

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a walk, whatever that means for 
you. 

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How do you pursue physical 
fitness in a way that honors and

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00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:00,760
glorifies God in the temple that
you are? 

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Our mental emotional fitness 
Second Timothy God gave us a 

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spirit not of fear, but of power
and love and self-control. 

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There's a lot of fear out there.
There's a lot of anxiety and 

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worry. 
None of those things are from 

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God. 
God gives the spirit of power 

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and love and self-control. 
The worry and anxiety in people 

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is at levels never measured 
before. 

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And we're also of people that 
seek out counseling therapy in a

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way that has never been 
accounted for in human history. 

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00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:49,400
We are the most counseled and 
the most anxious people somehow 

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at the same time, a word of 
caution for there. 

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00:18:00,360 --> 00:18:03,840
I'm not, I'm not saying therapy 
is bad or counseling is harmful 

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00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:05,800
or anything. 
It's there's definitely some of 

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you in this room that is it has 
helped has been beneficial for 

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00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:15,240
but use discernment and where 
that person that you're going to

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00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:18,000
for guidance. 
Where is their truth rooted 

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00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:23,120
because God's word still wins. 
God's word is still the guiding 

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00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:27,160
truth for that and it Trump's 
what any person with their 

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00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:31,400
wisdom could impart on you. 
And in fact, it's powerful 

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00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:35,000
enough to bring you healing and 
clarity and wisdom on its own. 

283
00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:39,240
So definitely don't elevate a 
person above what's in here. 

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00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:41,960
If their advice conflicts with 
what God's word would have you 

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00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:45,440
do, I would urge you to 
reconsider that relationship. 

286
00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:54,040
But therapy can be helpful. 
It can be useful to work through

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00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:55,720
some of these anxieties of these
worries. 

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00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:59,800
What's interesting to me though,
and I'm a fairly blunt person, I

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00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:02,320
just, I just kind of say it. 
Paul, when he's talking about 

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00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:05,840
anxiety and worry here in 
Philippians 4, he simply says do

291
00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:09,840
not be anxious about anything. 
Are you anxious? 

292
00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:14,600
Don't just don't be is that 
helpful for any of you. 

293
00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:21,520
Pastor Chris is going to be in 
Matthew 6 next week at a 

294
00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:23,520
different part of the passage 
that he's preaching on. 

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00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:26,720
Jesus is talking about how the 
lilies of the field, they do not

296
00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:29,920
worry about why what they will 
be clothed with the sparrows, 

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00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:31,920
they do not worry about what 
they will eat. 

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00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:37,160
And he uses the same phrase, do 
not worry about tomorrow, for 

299
00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:38,560
tomorrow has enough worry of its
own. 

300
00:19:42,360 --> 00:19:45,200
I know it's not that easy to 
just flip a switch and not 

301
00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:48,920
worry, but Jesus and Paul both 
speak that strongly. 

302
00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:54,160
Are you worrying? 
Don't just don't. 

303
00:19:56,480 --> 00:19:59,280
How do we actually go about it? 
By everything in prayer and 

304
00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:04,160
supplication with Thanksgiving. 
Choose gratitude over worry. 

305
00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:10,040
Choose God's wisdom. 
Choose laying your request to 

306
00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:14,800
God in prayer over worry and 
what's the response to the peace

307
00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:17,000
of God, which surpasses all 
understanding, will guard your 

308
00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:18,440
hearts and your minds in Christ 
Jesus. 

309
00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:20,680
You might say, Matt, I don't 
understand how that works. 

310
00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:22,680
I don't know. 
Will will that actually happen? 

311
00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:24,000
I don't understand how that 
plays out. 

312
00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:26,320
It says it right here. 
We're not going to understand 

313
00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:31,560
it, that the peace of God, which
surpasses all understanding will

314
00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:33,200
guard your hearts and minds. 
Look at that. 

315
00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:37,400
It's going to guard the things 
we're pursuing to be fit in a 

316
00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:42,040
life response, in a life of 
response to who God is. 

317
00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:51,160
So choose to bring these things 
to our great God. 

318
00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:54,840
And this peace that we don't 
understand, that we doubt will 

319
00:20:54,840 --> 00:21:00,240
be able to wash over us will 
guard your hearts and minds in 

320
00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:03,920
Christ Jesus. 
This is how we pursue a mental 

321
00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:10,400
emotional fitness that honors 
God because these these fruits 

322
00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:14,520
of the Spirit in Galatians 5, 
these are fruitful emotions. 

323
00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:20,920
These, these are God's designs, 
outward emotions that are the 

324
00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:24,600
fruit of one who is a temple for
the Spirit. 

325
00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:27,640
Lovejoy, peace, patience, 
kindness, goodness, 

326
00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:29,440
faithfulness, gentleness, 
self-control. 

327
00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:32,880
Against such things, there is no
law. 

328
00:21:34,360 --> 00:21:42,320
These are the outward signs of 
someone who is after God's own 

329
00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:48,360
heart, of someone who is rightly
honoring their body, mind and 

330
00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:56,600
soul as a temple of the Spirit. 
If these aren't on your list of 

331
00:21:56,600 --> 00:22:02,640
most readily available emotions 
or feelings probably need to be 

332
00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:07,360
spending more time familiar with
his Word here, asking Him to 

333
00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:13,840
soften your heart towards 
Lovejoy peace because why verse 

334
00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:17,640
24, those who belong to Christ 
Jesus have crucified the flesh 

335
00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:21,320
with its passions and desires. 
Those things that I talked about

336
00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:28,160
before that maybe have us 
wrapped up in sin, in struggle. 

337
00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:34,880
Jesus already took care of him. 
We're not trying to win the 

338
00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:35,960
game. 
He already won it. 

339
00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:38,640
We're just running out the 
score. 

340
00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:43,680
So we pursue these things and we
glorify Him. 

341
00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:52,120
Why? 
Spiritual fitness. 

342
00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:56,360
This is the first word. 
We're ending there. 

343
00:22:56,360 --> 00:23:02,240
This is the most important part 
of it, The writer of Hebrews in 

344
00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:05,360
chapter 12. 
For the moment, all discipline 

345
00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:08,480
seems painful rather than 
pleasant, but later it yields 

346
00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:11,280
the peaceful fruit of 
righteousness to those who have 

347
00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:18,120
been trained by it. 
I know a lot of what I'm saying.

348
00:23:18,120 --> 00:23:20,040
This morning probably sounds 
like a list. 

349
00:23:20,120 --> 00:23:23,240
It's very law heavy. 
It's things for you to do, 

350
00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:25,840
things that you're maybe not 
very good at, and maybe things 

351
00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:28,280
you don't like doing. 
All of those things are 

352
00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:35,320
discipline. 
Discipline really acted out is 

353
00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:39,440
doing the things that are best 
for us even when we don't feel 

354
00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:43,280
like it, even when it's hard. 
We talked about faith a couple 

355
00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:46,520
weeks ago. 
Belief can change, right? 

356
00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:50,320
Belief can change my feelings. 
Faith is rooted in truth. 

357
00:23:53,880 --> 00:24:00,160
If I woke up today and didn't 
feel like going to the gym, that

358
00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:02,320
doesn't change the truth that 
it's probably best for my 

359
00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:09,240
physical body to go work out. 
Even if I don't feel like it, I 

360
00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:12,600
should pursue that discipline to
do what is best for me. 

361
00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:15,640
It's the same in our spiritual 
fitness. 

362
00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:20,400
That peace that surpasses all 
understanding the ways that God 

363
00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:21,920
makes that we don't fully 
understand. 

364
00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:25,160
We don't see each and every 
footstep along the way. 

365
00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:33,400
The discipline of being in His 
word, of being in prayer, of 

366
00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:38,960
worshipping through it even when
we don't feel like it, yields 

367
00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:41,200
the peaceful fruit of 
righteousness to those that have

368
00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:44,080
been trained by it. 
You don't see the results of 

369
00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:45,560
discipline. 
I don't. 

370
00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:49,040
It's not like I'm going to lose 
20 lbs and then decide to start 

371
00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:53,920
working out. 
I don't get those fruits before,

372
00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:58,360
before I act in discipline. 
That's what this fitness is in 

373
00:24:58,360 --> 00:25:01,400
these areas, a heart of 
discipline. 

374
00:25:07,750 --> 00:25:08,990
So what do we do with this To Do
List? 

375
00:25:08,990 --> 00:25:11,350
Matt, seems like you're beating 
me up. 

376
00:25:11,550 --> 00:25:16,390
You're giving me a lot of small 
chance of success for all these 

377
00:25:16,390 --> 00:25:18,390
things to come out right and 
well. 

378
00:25:19,590 --> 00:25:25,510
Well, I have good news. 
As we've talked about in past 

379
00:25:25,510 --> 00:25:33,720
sermons and series, David, 
Moses, Abraham, Noah, God gave 

380
00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:39,800
them a task, a command, and they
weren't tasked to do it alone. 

381
00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:45,560
He went with them. 1st 
Thessalonians 5 reads Now the 

382
00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:48,400
May the God of peace himself 
sanctify you completely and may 

383
00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:54,360
your whole spirit and soul and 
body be kept blameless at the 

384
00:25:54,360 --> 00:25:59,320
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ 
in all these things. 

385
00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:02,080
And again, this is just this is 
just a general comprehensive 

386
00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:03,760
overview. 
I can't give each of you a 

387
00:26:03,760 --> 00:26:07,120
specific tailored plan for how 
to best honor all these things 

388
00:26:07,120 --> 00:26:12,120
in your life today. 
You get to be good theologians 

389
00:26:12,120 --> 00:26:16,080
and and and discern his wisdom 
and guidance from from his word 

390
00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:21,600
for your life specifically. 
But God's going to go with you 

391
00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:27,720
in this work as you pursue your 
fitness in these areas for him. 

392
00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:32,280
May he go with you and sanctify 
you completely and make your 

393
00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:35,920
spirit, soul and body to be kept
blameless at the coming of our 

394
00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:37,640
Lord Jesus Christ in all these 
ways. 

395
00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:42,000
He goes with you and preserves 
you because you were bought with

396
00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:44,080
a price. 
You are his. 

397
00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:52,760
So we should honor him in these 
ways still. 

398
00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:58,000
How still the question of how 
what does this look like? 

399
00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:01,040
I'm going to read to you from 
Second Kings. 

400
00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:05,880
If you have the Bible in front 
of you, it's on page three O 9 

401
00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:08,280
in the in the seats. 
I don't know the verses up on 

402
00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:12,040
the screen, but if you just want
to listen to the quick 7 verses,

403
00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:16,520
that's OK too. 
Second Kings chapter 4 starting 

404
00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:19,240
at verse one. 
Now the wife of one of the sons 

405
00:27:19,240 --> 00:27:22,880
of the prophets cried to Elijah,
Your servant, my husband is 

406
00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:24,240
dead. 
You know that your servant 

407
00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:27,760
feared the Lord, but a creditor 
has come to take my two children

408
00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:31,400
to be his slaves. 
Elijah said to her, What shall I

409
00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:33,960
do for you? 
Tell me, what do you have in the

410
00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:36,360
house? 
And she said, Your servant has 

411
00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:38,120
nothing in the house except a 
jar of oil. 

412
00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:41,280
And he said, Go outside, borrow 
vessels from all your neighbors,

413
00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:45,200
empty vessels and not too few. 
Go in and shut the door behind 

414
00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:50,040
yourself and your sons, and you 
pour into all these vessels. 

415
00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:53,960
When one is full, set it aside. 
So she went from him and shut 

416
00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:56,440
the door behind herself and her 
sons, and as she poured they 

417
00:27:56,440 --> 00:27:59,160
brought the vessels to her. 
When the vessels were full, she 

418
00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:00,760
said to her son, Bring me 
another vessel. 

419
00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:03,360
He said to her, There is not 
another. 

420
00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:08,560
Then the oil stopped flowing. 
She came and told the man of 

421
00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:11,120
God, and he said, Go and sell 
the oil and pay all your debts. 

422
00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:14,240
You and your sons can live on 
the rest. 

423
00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:24,280
That story starts out the woman 
at her worst, mourning the loss 

424
00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:28,400
of her husband and creditors 
coming to her with debts that 

425
00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:31,920
are due. 
Some of these areas, these 

426
00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:34,880
things that we talked about this
morning, are kind of feel like 

427
00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:41,840
debts in your life. 
That Ledger is scary and thick 

428
00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:47,720
with what you owe. 
What is she tasked to do? 

429
00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:51,600
Elijah says. 
Go, Go to all these. 

430
00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:54,200
Go to your neighbors, go to 
these different areas of your 

431
00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:56,720
life. 
Bring me these broken. 

432
00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:01,920
Miss Shapen cast out mismatched 
vessels. 

433
00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:06,720
The jar of oil, the flask of oil
that she have is probably just 

434
00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:08,840
something used just 
ornamentally. 

435
00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:11,000
It was probably only this big. 
It definitely wasn't big enough 

436
00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:13,480
to fill all of the jars that she
brought to her. 

437
00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:18,120
He tasked her with having messy 
conversations. 

438
00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:21,160
These these would have been 
people probably wouldn't have 

439
00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:24,160
just been readily having extra 
of these things around if they 

440
00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:26,200
if they had vessels, it's 
because they had things to store

441
00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:27,480
and if they had things to put 
in. 

442
00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:31,840
So her going invulnerability to 
her neighbors and saying, Hey, I

443
00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:35,400
do you have an extra vessel? 
I could I have a shortcoming. 

444
00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:38,680
I I need some help with this. 
Those would have been vulnerable

445
00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:39,920
conversations. 
They probably would have been 

446
00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:41,760
prying. 
Well, what do you need this for?

447
00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:42,560
What's wrong? 
Why? 

448
00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:44,000
Why do you, why do you need 
this? 

449
00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:48,120
She brings all these areas of of
her life, all these empty 

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00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:51,760
vessels back to this small 
flask. 

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00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:59,440
And a miraculous outpouring of 
this oil fills each and every 

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00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:06,280
one of them. 
And if you look at verse 6, the 

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blessing pouring out, the oil 
pouring out only stops when she 

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00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:18,840
stops bringing vessels to it. 
Each and every area of her life 

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00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:23,280
has been filled and purified to 
the point where that debt is 

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00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:29,760
wiped clean. 
So are you church in earnest, 

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00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:39,080
bringing these areas of your 
life before God, asking Him to 

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00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:44,680
move in His power to make your 
heart a heart after his heart, 

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00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:53,920
body, soul and mind to be one 
that's lived in response as a 

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00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:57,360
worker, approved as as as one 
who lives worthy of the gospel 

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00:30:57,360 --> 00:31:02,480
of Jesus Christ. 
A shining example of how He's 

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00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:09,240
works in your life, how He's 
brought hope, and how each and 

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00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:14,000
everyone you should meet should 
want to know Jesus the way that 

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00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:19,080
you know him. 
His blessings not going to run 

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00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:22,840
out. 
His saving grace is not going to

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00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:25,880
run out. 
But we have to bring these areas

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00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:32,240
of our life to Him so that He 
can fill and purify them with 

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00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:35,640
His goodness. 
I'll invite the team back up. 

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00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:37,680
We're going to sing one more 
song because there's still, 

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00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:42,400
there's still 2 parts to this. 
We have to make room. 

471
00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:45,280
We have to repent. 
We have to turn from the sins 

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00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:47,960
that entangle that, that have 
distorted our lives. 

473
00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:51,160
We have, we have to get rid of 
those and, and make room for the

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00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:57,040
empty vessels to be filled by 
God's goodness because they're 

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00:31:57,040 --> 00:32:00,680
going to be filled by something.
The last couple songs we're 

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00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:08,200
going to sing is in humility, 
laying a life down, making room 

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00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:10,480
for God to work in the way that 
only He can. 

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00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:14,440
But where we're going to fill it
with his Jesus. 

479
00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:18,960
We want to pursue the things of 
Jesus, not of the world. 

480
00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:24,320
So would you stand and ready 
your hearts to sing in response 

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00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:33,560
with us, our great God? 
May we be a people in pursuit of

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00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:40,600
your heart. 
May we know each and every 

483
00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:44,640
waking day that You are what's 
best for us, even when we don't 

484
00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:47,400
feel like it, even when we don't
believe it. 

485
00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:51,760
May we cast aside the weights 
and sins. 

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00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:55,840
Pursue your goodness You bought 
us with a price. 

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00:32:56,160 --> 00:32:58,480
May be honor and glorify you. 
Amen. 

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00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:10,760
Thanks for listening to ERC 
Sundays. 

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00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:14,320
To support the work God is doing
an Emmaus Rd. church, visit 

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00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:17,320
emmausrdonline.org/giving.