1 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:12,320 We are in the book of Two Corinthians preaching through it 2 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:17,440 and we are we are in chapter 6 today. 3 00:00:18,080 --> 00:00:21,720 So I'm going to read chapter, I'm going to read chapter 6 to 4 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:23,120 us. I'm reading from the New 5 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:25,880 International Version, so it might be different to what 6 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:29,960 you've got and it is going to come up on the screen for us. 7 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:35,720 So here we go, he says. We put no stumbling block in 8 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:39,280 anyone's path so that our ministry will not be 9 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:44,000 discredited. Rather, as servants of God, we 10 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:48,720 commend ourselves in every way, in great endurance, in troubles, 11 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:52,960 hardships and distress, in beatings, imprisonments and 12 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:57,680 riots, and in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger, In 13 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:01,960 impurity, understanding, patience and kindness, in the 14 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:06,840 Holy Spirit and in sincere love, in truthful speech and in the 15 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:11,800 power of God, with weapons of righteousness in the right hand 16 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,440 and in the left. Though glory and dishonour, bad 17 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:21,320 report and good report, genuine, yet regarded as imposters, 18 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:27,560 known, yet regarded as unknown, dying and yet we live on, beaten 19 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:32,760 and yet killed, sorrowful yet always rejoicing, poor yet 20 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:37,240 making many rich, having nothing and yet possessing everything. 21 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:42,880 We have spoken freely to Ukrainians the and opened wide 22 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:48,240 our hearts to you. We are not without withholding 23 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:53,560 our affections for you, but you are withholding yours from us. 24 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:59,200 As a fair exchange. I speak as my I speak as my 25 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,200 children. Open wide your hearts also. 26 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:05,560 Do not be yoked with unbelievers. 27 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:08,600 For what does what do righteousness and wickedness 28 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:10,880 have in common? Or what does fellowship? 29 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:13,840 What fellowship can light have with darkness? 30 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:17,280 What harmony is between Christ and Belial? 31 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:21,280 Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 32 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:25,960 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? 33 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:31,760 For we are the temple of the living gods, as God has said, I 34 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:36,040 will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their 35 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:39,040 gods, and they will be my people. 36 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:43,840 Therefore come out from them and be separated, says the Lord. 37 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:49,000 Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you, and I will be 38 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:53,080 a father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the 39 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,960 Lord God Almighty. Therefore, since we have this, 40 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:01,920 these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from 41 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:06,560 everything that's contaminate, that contaminates body and 42 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:12,160 spirit, purifying holiness out of the reverence for God. 43 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:15,760 Lord Jesus, we want to ask you this morning to come and 44 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:20,520 continue to meet with us, Lord Jesus, as as we as that song 45 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:23,360 that we sung. Lord Jesus, we recognise that 46 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:26,280 you are here. Lord God, we declare that you 47 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:29,320 are here. And we want Lord Gods with one 48 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:31,760 heart. We declare we want no other God 49 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:34,160 but you. Lord Jesus, we pray that you 50 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:36,840 would be the first love in our lives. 51 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:39,400 Lord God, you would be our #1 Lord God. 52 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,760 And if there's anything in our lives that are competing with 53 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:47,160 you for top status, Lord Jesus, I pray, Lord God, you reveal 54 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:51,240 that to us as I speak, Lord God, and as you reveal it to us, we 55 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:54,480 would humbly repent of that and turn back to you. 56 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:56,640 Amen. Amen. 57 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:03,600 So I don't know if anyone else likes to use AI on their, on 58 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:06,960 their phones or whatever, but I thought I'd give it a go this 59 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:08,320 week. And so I've got, I've got a 60 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:13,720 Samsung phone, I've got Gemini. And so looking at this passage, 61 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:18,160 I said to Gem and I Gem and I please give me, I don't know why 62 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:20,519 I'm so polite. But anyway, I, it's, it's a 63 00:04:20,519 --> 00:04:23,880 machine. Give me, give me 5 things that 64 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:28,000 do not go together. So this is what Gem and I said 65 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:30,320 when I said give me 5 things. And maybe you want to think of 66 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:32,680 things that you know in your head, do not go together. 67 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:35,760 It said first thing. The first thing it gave me, it 68 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:38,840 said socks and sandals do not go together. 69 00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:44,720 And I would agree, socks and sandals do not go together. 70 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:48,240 Now what I don't understand, and maybe Zach, you can explain this 71 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:51,360 to me on the way home. Why if socks and sandals don't 72 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:55,680 go together, why do sliders and sandals socks go together? 73 00:04:56,200 --> 00:04:57,560 Because they're just, they're just the same. 74 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:00,480 Well, they, they will wear sliders and sliders and socks. 75 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:02,720 I don't understand why, why they go together. 76 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:07,400 Anyway, second one, it said things that do not go together. 77 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:12,680 Pineapple on pizza? Anyone agree or disagree with 78 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:19,080 that? I'm personally not offended by 79 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:24,200 it, but I think why when you could have another meat on it, 80 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:26,800 why would you have another fruit? 81 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:31,040 I don't really get it. Third one was less fun and kind 82 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:34,200 of just more practical. It said oil does not mix with 83 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:37,440 water. Just not really anything else to 84 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:39,640 say about it. It's the fourth one. 85 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:44,160 I, I, I hope, well, I hope no one's ever tried this, but 86 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:46,120 apparently someone might have done the 4th one. 87 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:48,680 It said ketchup does not go on ice cream. 88 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:54,160 I mean, I, I, maybe someone did that by accident. 89 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:56,760 You know, you're going for the Raspberry sauce and you pick up 90 00:05:56,760 --> 00:06:00,480 the wrong thing. Like that does not go and, and 91 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:04,800 it's, and the fifth thing was mustard does not go. 92 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:06,200 I mean, some of you might say mustard doesn't go with 93 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:09,560 anything, but mustard does not go with chocolate. 94 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:14,560 Well, you know, I mean, if you, if you don't know where we went, 95 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:18,880 we went on a holiday to, to, to Mexico before we had kids. 96 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:22,880 And the Central American, the Americans, they love chilli and 97 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:25,440 chocolate. And I thought I was, that was 98 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:28,440 great. So, you know, Mustard's hot, but 99 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:31,480 apparently Gemini says that mustard does not go with 100 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:35,280 chocolate. Well, I'm not, I'm not, I'm, I'm 101 00:06:35,280 --> 00:06:39,840 not, you know, I get to eat so little chocolate, I'm not 102 00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:41,640 wasting it with putting it with mustard. 103 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:46,720 So, but we all know, and there's probably things that you can all 104 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:49,920 imagine that if you were to write a list of your top five 105 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:53,680 things that do not go together and what they might be. 106 00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:57,800 And what we see here in in the scripture that Paul is writing, 107 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:02,280 Paul writes of some other things that do not go together. 108 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:04,680 Now, he doesn't say they do not go together. 109 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:08,200 He says they are not to be yoked together. 110 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:15,160 It's a kind of a, an old fashion farming term, which was a yoke 111 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,840 was a piece of wood that went over an animal's neck. 112 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:21,720 So it could do a job and you would quite often you'd yoke 113 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:27,480 together two horses or in biblical times 2 oxen, big, big 114 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:31,720 cows to strap a plough to them so they could do the work of 115 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:34,160 ploughing the fields. And that two were better than 116 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:38,800 1/2 were able to do that. And Paul says here do not be 117 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:43,400 joined, do not be yoked to an unbeliever. 118 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:49,280 Now what he's not saying here, he's not saying don't mix with 119 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:51,560 people who don't believe in Jesus. 120 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:54,680 I mean, that would have that would just completely ruin 121 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:57,680 everything he's been saying for the last several chapters 122 00:07:57,760 --> 00:07:59,880 because he's just, he's been talking about that we are to be 123 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:04,320 the aroma of Christ, which means we go into the world stinking of 124 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:08,160 Christ so that they can fall in love with him through us. 125 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:11,520 We talked about that we are to be ambassadors that we are to go 126 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:15,680 into the world and speak Jesus. And it's the, you know, the 127 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:19,520 Father wants the people, as I said last week, that Jesus made 128 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:23,800 that possible, but it's through our mouths that the world can 129 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:28,880 come and see and know. And so he's not saying don't be 130 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:30,880 completely separate. You're not saying separate 131 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:34,120 yourself from the world. Like don't be like the Amish or 132 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:38,559 or the monks. Also, what he's not talking 133 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:41,120 about, he's actually not talking about marriage here. 134 00:08:42,039 --> 00:08:44,280 Now. I'm sure I have as well. 135 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:47,120 I'm sure many of us, if you've been in church at any length of 136 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:48,680 time, you've probably heard of don't be. 137 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:51,120 Don't be unequally yoked in your marriage. 138 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:53,200 Anyone heard that? Yeah. 139 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:55,480 Yeah, I've used that. I've I've said that. 140 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:58,520 But actually that's not what he's talking about here. 141 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:02,160 Actually what he's talking about is far greater than that. 142 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:05,480 And actually really helpfully not, they're not always that 143 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:12,040 helpful, but in in my NIV, they have little headings and all 144 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:14,320 your Bibles will probably have little, little headings. 145 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:18,360 Now, they're not Scripture. They're things that the people 146 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:22,760 who translated the text into English, they thought these 147 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:24,720 would be helpful things for us to to see. 148 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:29,400 Actually in our in my NIV here, it says as a title for this, it 149 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:33,760 says warning against idolatry. And that is exactly what this is 150 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:36,440 about. It's about being yoked to 151 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:41,800 worldly thoughts, choked, joined to worldly ways of thinking. 152 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:45,640 Yes, being married to an unbeliever is is, is an 153 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:49,320 outworking of that, but it's not the whole story. 154 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:52,360 And we could talk all morning about marriage and I'm not going 155 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:55,240 to. But what I will say is that if 156 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:59,280 you're not married, you are not less than the goal of a 157 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:03,840 Christian is not to be married. It's a great thing to be 158 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:05,880 married, but you are not. Yes. 159 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:09,000 And if you aren't, and if you are not married and you choose 160 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:14,360 to get married, biblical wisdom is that you should marry someone 161 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:16,600 who's first love isn't you. Yeah. 162 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:20,560 Their first love is Jesus, that they run after Jesus. 163 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:25,200 And for those of us who are married, we should be praying 164 00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:29,720 and longing and doing what we can so that our partner, our 165 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:34,640 husband or wife, is loving Jesus as much as possible. 166 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:37,880 Because the more each of you love Jesus, the better your 167 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:41,920 marriage will be. Like I said, Paul isn't just 168 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:43,720 talking about marriage he's talking about, he's talking 169 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:46,640 about idolatry. He's talking about more, he's 170 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:52,080 talking about not being yoked to not being joined to worldly ways 171 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:55,080 of thinking. And the way that he, he goes 172 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:59,760 about the illustration that Paul uses in this section is he takes 173 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:02,280 an illustration from the Old Testament, from the book of 174 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:07,360 Deuteronomy, and he quotes this from Deuteronomy 22. 175 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:11,000 It says do not plant two kinds of seeds in your vineyards. 176 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:15,000 If you do, not only the crop you plant, but also the fruit of 177 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:19,240 your vineyard will be defiled. Do not plough with an ox and a 178 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:24,320 donkey yoked together. Do not wear clothes of wool and 179 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:28,560 linen to get woven together. He, he picks out these things. 180 00:11:28,560 --> 00:11:32,280 He's, he's quoting from the Old Testament where in the law of 181 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:36,520 Moses it takes three things and it says you are to keep them 182 00:11:36,560 --> 00:11:41,920 separate. You see, sowing seeds, keeping 183 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:46,240 them separate, it wasn't about being a good farmer. 184 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:50,720 It wasn't actually, we know and actually farming science teaches 185 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:54,440 us that actually it can be very good, very, very beneficial to 186 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:57,360 plant certain types of plants together. 187 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:02,960 One of the, the, the main ones is if you watch Clarkson's Farm, 188 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:08,680 they, they did this, they, they planted beans with corn because 189 00:12:08,680 --> 00:12:13,920 corn needs a lot of nitrogen from the air and beans rather 190 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:17,720 than spending a fortune on putting artificial nitrogen 191 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:21,640 fertilisers over the ground, beans naturally draw nitrogen 192 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:23,320 out of the air and put it in the soil. 193 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:26,200 So therefore the corn can grow well. 194 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:30,120 But also the corn provides A trellis for the beans so the 195 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:33,120 beans can grow off the ground, so they can be more productive. 196 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:37,120 So not mixing seeds isn't about good farming. 197 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:39,760 It was about when the Israelites, which most of them 198 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:42,960 in ancient times would have been farmers as they were dividing up 199 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:45,280 their fields, as they were saying this field is for this 200 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:47,080 seed and this field is for that seed. 201 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:51,800 It was so they were to remember, just as we are separating seeds, 202 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:56,720 we have been pulled out of, we are separate from the world's. 203 00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:59,280 It's the same sort of thing with with clothes. 204 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:02,600 You know, many of us will have, I have no idea what this is made 205 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:03,600 of. I should have looked. 206 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:08,840 But many of us will have mixed fabrics as we are that we are 207 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:11,920 wearing. And so, but, and they did that 208 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:13,960 in ancient times as well. We know that the ancient 209 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:17,760 Babylonians, the Egyptians, that the Greeks, they mixed silks and 210 00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:22,840 cottons and linens for durability, the colour ability 211 00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:26,680 that different fabrics gave. It wasn't about textiles. 212 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:29,920 It was about that when they were making a rug or making clothes 213 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:33,160 or making curtains or making a a sheet, is it? 214 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:37,120 They were being reminded that they were to live lives that 215 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:42,800 weren't compromised, lives that didn't weave in other beliefs 216 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:46,400 from other systems, other gods. But no, they were to be one. 217 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:51,240 They would be to be unified, and that's what what he's talking 218 00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:53,840 about when he says about not being yoked. 219 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:57,840 Don't yoke a donkey and an oxen together. 220 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:00,960 You see, if you look at this picture of a donkey, an oxen, 221 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:04,240 you might just think, well, it's quite obvious why you wouldn't 222 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:06,640 yoke them together. Firstly, they're different 223 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:09,440 sizes. But actually, if you've ever 224 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:14,320 been on a farm or you've seen these animals, you know that an 225 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:19,480 oxen, a cow, it pulls forward and it keeps going. 226 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:24,320 They're amazing animals. Donkeys, they pull back. 227 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:30,160 So they'd be fighting against one another, you see. 228 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:34,400 But as well as being one pulling forward, one pulling back, we 229 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:38,200 are told in Scripture that an oxen is a clean animal. 230 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:43,640 It has split hoofs and it chews the cuds, which means it is a 231 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:45,920 clean animal according to the Law of Moses. 232 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:49,920 Donkeys, on the other hand, they were great animals, but they 233 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:54,760 were unclean animals. Now they were, they feature 234 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:57,560 prominently in Scripture, wonderful animals. 235 00:14:57,560 --> 00:14:59,360 You know, they, they have a starring role. 236 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:03,600 They are, they transport Mary, however many 100 miles from from 237 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,600 Galilee to to Jerusalem to to Bethlehem. 238 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:11,680 They, they transport Jesus into into Jerusalem the week before 239 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:15,600 he's killed. They even God uses a donkey to 240 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:17,640 speak and correct a rogue prophecy. 241 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:21,280 Profit in Numbers 22. They have a great role in the 242 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:26,320 Bible, but God says that they are unclean animals and 243 00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:31,040 therefore they were to be not yoked together with an ox. 244 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:35,400 Just like socks are not meant to be worn with sandals, pineapple 245 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:40,680 is not meant to be put on pizza, ketchup is not meant to be on 246 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:46,640 ice cream, donkeys were not meant to be yoked to oxen. 247 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:49,280 And I see, here's the big picture. 248 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:51,040 And this is where I might lose some of you. 249 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:54,280 So I so hopefully forgive me if, if, if this goes over your head 250 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:56,040 or kind of you think where on earth is he going there? 251 00:15:56,360 --> 00:15:58,600 But here's the big picture. This is what I think Paul is 252 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:02,200 saying. If you're a believer, if you're 253 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:09,360 a Christian, if you love Jesus, you're an ox, you'll like an ox. 254 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:14,200 But Once Upon a time you didn't believe. 255 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:16,920 Once Upon a time you were stubborn. 256 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:21,080 Once Upon a time you didn't put your trust in Jesus and you were 257 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:26,560 just like a donkey. OK, donkeys, like I said, are 258 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:29,480 amazing animals, but they are stubborn. 259 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:33,680 I mean, you know, cows, oxen, the big cow, you know, they, 260 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:36,720 they are amazing and they will just keep going. 261 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:39,280 They will just keep going and going and going. 262 00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:41,400 And even if they stop, can you give them a little tap on the 263 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:42,640 backside? They keep going. 264 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:46,920 Again, brilliant donkeys. If they decide they're not doing 265 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:49,800 something, they ain't doing it. They are not doing it, they 266 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:51,440 will. They will dig their hooves in. 267 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:56,920 They will even sit down. We two years ago we had a family 268 00:16:56,920 --> 00:16:59,600 holiday to a place called the Illinois de Rey, which is an 269 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:02,520 island just off La Rochelle on the French West Coast. 270 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:07,319 And we hadn't been for years, but all our children and we were 271 00:17:07,319 --> 00:17:12,880 with without, with, with family. And every child at some point 272 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:15,280 has gone on a donkey ride on the island. 273 00:17:15,839 --> 00:17:18,760 And Elsie Grace, because it'd been quite a few years. 274 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:23,119 She was, she wasn't, she wasn't a little baby when she so she 275 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:24,880 when we went there, so she didn't have her turn. 276 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:28,680 So I took her on a donkey ride or attempted to two years ago. 277 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:34,080 And and so her and one of her, her baby cousins, one of my 278 00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:36,440 nephews was on a was on a donkey. 279 00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:41,360 And so she gets on the donkey. You know, you pay the man so you 280 00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:44,120 can take this donkey on this walk sort of like like two or 281 00:17:44,120 --> 00:17:45,480 three times the size of this hole. 282 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:49,800 Just do this circuit and I, I, I can take the reins. 283 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:54,520 She's on. I start to walk a donkey doesn't 284 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:57,840 I'm there for ages trying to put I could not physically. 285 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:01,280 I'm not, I'm not, you know this and it's not a massive animal, 286 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:04,760 but it would not move that until the the owner, I think he 287 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:07,800 smacked up the bum or something. Eventually it it started 288 00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:09,400 walking. But I kid you not, it walked 289 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:13,080 like 2 paces and stopped again. It did it three or four time. 290 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:14,640 Were you there? You see that though? 291 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:17,680 It was so embarrassing, so embarrassing. 292 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:22,280 I could not make this donkey do this walk around and everyone's 293 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:25,000 just laughing at me and I couldn't do anything. 294 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:30,400 But that is the picture of us as an unbeliever, that we are 295 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:35,640 stubborn, that the Father has done everything he can for us to 296 00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:40,560 come into a relationship with him, but we stubbornly refuse to 297 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:44,680 walk forward and grasp what He has given us. 298 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:51,200 You see, he says that. He says that donkeys, they are 299 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:54,280 unclean animals, and oxen are clean animals. 300 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:57,000 And we talked about this a bit when we went through the book of 301 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:00,560 Leviticus. I mean, why are oxen clean? 302 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:06,440 Why are donkeys unclean? What makes an ox a clean animal? 303 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:08,600 And you know, many people have come up with many different 304 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:11,320 suggestions of what makes a clean animal and what makes an 305 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:14,120 unclean animal. But basically it boils down to 306 00:19:14,120 --> 00:19:17,120 this. God said an ox is clean. 307 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:21,520 God said an ox is clean. There's no, there doesn't seem 308 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:23,560 to be any other rhyme or rhythm. Why? 309 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:29,840 But God said an ox is clean and Christian, you are clean. 310 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:35,120 You have been declared clean. Not because you've worked hard, 311 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:37,760 Not because you will work really hard. 312 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:41,160 Not because of anything you've done, said or thought or will 313 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:43,640 do, say or thought. Not because you've worked really 314 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:46,800 hard to work off all the, all the bad things that you've ever 315 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:48,600 done. Not because you, you, you've, 316 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:51,680 you've lived a decent life. No, you are good. 317 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:58,160 You are pure because God has declared it, and through Jesus 318 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:03,400 Christ, through faith in him, we accept it and we walk forward 319 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:06,560 into it. You see, because you are a 320 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:11,080 Christian, what that means is that you have now a new Lord, a 321 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:15,440 new Saviour. Here you are a citizen of a new 322 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:20,080 Kingdom that you now belong to King Jesus. 323 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:24,960 And Paul writes to the to the Roman Church in chapter 12. 324 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:28,720 He says, therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of 325 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:34,640 God's mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and 326 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:38,080 pleasing to God. This is your true and proper 327 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:41,480 worship. Do not conform to the pattern of 328 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:45,520 this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, 329 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:48,960 and then you will be able to be to. 330 00:20:49,120 --> 00:20:52,880 Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, 331 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:57,360 His good and pleasant, perfect will You see an ox because it 332 00:20:57,360 --> 00:21:00,800 was a clean animal. You could sacrifice an ox. 333 00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:08,160 Now we are not to be sacrificed, but God tells us that we are to 334 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:15,000 be living sacrifices, that as we live in obedience to Christ, we 335 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:20,440 as we lay down our own rights for Christ, say you are my king 336 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:23,840 and I'm going to live for you. The Bible teaches that we are 337 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:27,440 being, we are behaving as living sacrifices. 338 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:31,360 So that moment you repented of your sin, you said, no, I don't 339 00:21:31,360 --> 00:21:34,880 want to live for myself anymore, but I'm, I'm sorry, Jesus. 340 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:37,240 And you turned around and went the other way and said, I'm 341 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:38,680 going to live for you. Jesus Christ. 342 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:43,080 You became alive to him. You had a new king, a new 343 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:48,000 saviour and actually you are now completely different. 344 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:51,640 You are now completely different. 345 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:57,960 Hear this if you've had children or you have had the pleasure of 346 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:03,440 reading a children's book to a toddler before they even can 347 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:07,400 talk. Children know the difference 348 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:10,320 between farm animals, don't they? 349 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:12,320 We all. I don't. 350 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:15,200 I don't Everyone else do this. You have these farm animal 351 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:17,760 books, and you turn the page and it's like there's a cow. 352 00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:19,440 What does a cow make? He goes moo. 353 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:21,480 Yeah, Well done. I wasn't going to do that, but. 354 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:22,360 OK. OK, let's do that. 355 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:24,320 You know, what does a horse make? 356 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:26,560 Well, yeah, That's brilliant. I'm going to keep on doing. 357 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:29,480 What does a chicken make? I love this. 358 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:31,760 OK, we'll leave it there. But. 359 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:35,480 But I really did not see that happening at all. 360 00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:41,240 But a child knows the difference. 361 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,480 If you wish to show a child a picture of a donkey and a 362 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:47,960 picture of a cow, they'd know what was what and they'd be able 363 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:51,480 to give you a good sound of what that animal made. 364 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:55,200 Church, we need to know the difference. 365 00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:58,920 You are no longer who you once were. 366 00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:04,680 You are as different to your old self as a donkey is to an ox. 367 00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:08,360 That is how different you now are. 368 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:11,840 You once thought, you once believed, you once had values, 369 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:15,480 you once had morals, you had perspective and views that are 370 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:19,880 now completely different because you are in Christ Jesus. 371 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:26,720 You are different and therefore Paul says, he says you are 372 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:32,080 clean, you are pure, you have been made righteous. 373 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:38,400 He says, therefore, what does righteousness have to do with 374 00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:40,720 wickedness? What do they have in common? 375 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:44,080 Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 376 00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:47,040 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? 377 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:50,760 Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 378 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:54,880 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? 379 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:58,800 He said you are now different. You are as different as 380 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:03,880 righteousness is to unrighteousness, as wickedness. 381 00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:09,120 You are as different as light is to dark, he says Belial. 382 00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:14,480 Belial is a is is a name for a for for for a unclean spiritual 383 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:18,800 being, which means worthless. And what could be more opposite 384 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:23,960 to worthless, the worthless one than Jesus, who's the ultimate 385 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:27,920 treasure. That is how different you are. 386 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:32,720 You are poles apart to the old you you will have. 387 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:35,400 We have an enemy who loves to tell us you're no different, 388 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:39,160 you're just the same. But the truth is you are now 389 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:42,080 clothed in Christ and you are completely different. 390 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:46,240 Whether you feel like it or not. You are completely different to 391 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:53,080 who you once were. Now that doesn't mean that as a 392 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:55,600 Christian you have to agree with everything. 393 00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:58,800 Can other Christians believe doesn't mean we're all exactly 394 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:02,040 the same doesn't mean that we all hold the same beliefs we you 395 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,600 know, that'd be naive to say that we know that we all have 396 00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:08,040 different beliefs. We all have different things 397 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:14,440 that we hold dear. But now as a Christian, see as 398 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:18,560 as Christians, there are things that theologians will call there 399 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:22,760 are the non compromising values of being a Christian. 400 00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:28,040 There are the there there are things that are convictions 401 00:25:28,120 --> 00:25:30,680 about being a Christian. And there are things that are 402 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:36,280 just they're just opinions. Opinions are things like what 403 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:41,160 type of music you like. Opinions are things like what 404 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:44,440 how you dress. Opinions are things like when 405 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:48,080 you come on a Sunday morning, I like coffee, I like tea. 406 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:51,120 We like to have a tea break at the beginning and in the middle 407 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:53,680 and one day at the end as well. Some churches have at the 408 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:55,640 beginning, some churches have at the end, some churches don't 409 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:57,880 have it at all. It's an opinion if it's 410 00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:00,960 different, if you wear like to wear different clothes, if you 411 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:04,680 like to listen to different music, it's nothing to fall out 412 00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:07,520 about, which is different and it doesn't matter. 413 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:11,720 But we also have things that are slightly stronger convictions, 414 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:15,760 things that that different Christians will disagree on. 415 00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:19,920 But in grace we can love one another Despite that. 416 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:23,040 These are things like how we how we govern a church. 417 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:26,160 The things like baptism, the things like using the gifts of 418 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:33,240 the spirits, the spirit we hold, we hold strong to these. 419 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:38,320 And the truth is that if you disagree with a number of them, 420 00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:41,520 then you probably wouldn't be that happy in that in this 421 00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:43,960 church. And we have strong, we have 422 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:49,080 strong opinions and convictions on leadership on, on spiritual 423 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:52,400 gifts, on baptism. And if, if you, if you disagree 424 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:54,440 on one or two of them, that's fine. 425 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:56,400 If you disagree with all of them, you're probably going to 426 00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:58,040 think, actually, this isn't the church for me. 427 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:00,760 I'm not going to be happy here. And that's fine. 428 00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:04,400 We can have grace and we need to have grace and understanding 429 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:07,120 that people see people read scripture and interpret it 430 00:27:07,120 --> 00:27:10,960 differently. But there are certain things 431 00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:16,160 that are non negotiables. These are things that come down 432 00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:18,520 to whose scripture says Jesus is. 433 00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:24,240 This is things that whose scripture says that you are see 434 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:26,480 that Jesus is the second member of the Trinity. 435 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:29,440 He became a man. He was always God. 436 00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:33,560 He was there before time, but he came into human history, became 437 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:37,320 a man lived the perfect life, died on the cross and was raised 438 00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:40,360 to life three days later and ascended on high and now is 439 00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:44,520 seated in heaven, ruling and reigning interceding on the 440 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:49,120 Father's right hand side. See exactly. 441 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:54,240 See if you, if you don't believe that, if you don't believe what 442 00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:57,760 the Bible says about you, what the Bible says about us and what 443 00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:01,320 the Bible says about who Jesus is, who God the Father is, who 444 00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:04,160 the Holy Spirit is, or we can love you. 445 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:09,360 That's we, we, we love you, but we don't treat you as a 446 00:28:09,360 --> 00:28:12,800 Christian. It's like Mormons or Jehovah 447 00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:16,600 Witnesses. They Mormons will spend a lot of 448 00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:19,120 effort trying to convince you that they are a Christian, but 449 00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:22,120 they don't believe that God is. They don't believe that Jesus is 450 00:28:22,120 --> 00:28:27,120 God. So therefore we love them, but 451 00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:30,640 we treat them as an unbeliever praying that God would save 452 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:36,840 them. You see, and this is what is 453 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:41,280 going on in the in the church in Corinth. 454 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:46,440 You see, what they were doing is, is they were taking things 455 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:50,800 that were non negotiable things in the faith that we need to 456 00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:53,160 stand on. And they were saying, well, 457 00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:55,240 we're going to we can argue about that stuff. 458 00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:58,040 We can swap that in, swap that out. 459 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:01,920 And they were placing things in the non negotiable section, 460 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:05,560 things that really are just opinions They had. 461 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:08,480 They had closed hand things. See, we have closed hand things, 462 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:11,680 things that we fight for and open hand things, which if you 463 00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:15,640 disagree, it's fine. And they were mixing it up. 464 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:22,240 And unfortunately, we have a nation full of churches that 465 00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:26,040 have done the same thing, have a nation of churches that have 466 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:28,960 done the same thing. They want to argue about things 467 00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:33,920 they don't matter, but they want to take out stuff that does 468 00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:38,240 matter and water down the gospel to make it seem more appealing. 469 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:43,960 You see, I don't know what the the exact issues were in the 470 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:47,880 Corinthian church, but we do know that there was two big 471 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:52,640 problems in the 1st century church which we can very easy 472 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:55,800 assume were making its way into the Corinthian church. 473 00:29:55,960 --> 00:30:02,000 The first one was it was brought in by the Jewish Christians and 474 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:06,120 they had the wonderful name for themselves as the circumcision 475 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:09,600 party. You know, they were going for a 476 00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:12,280 lot of votes. I'm, I'm not sure they knew how 477 00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:14,440 to publicise themselves, but that's what they went for the 478 00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:18,240 circumcision party. And they said it's great that 479 00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:22,680 you love Jesus, but loving Jesus alone isn't enough. 480 00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:24,840 Following Jesus alone isn't enough. 481 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:27,520 You need to obey the law completely. 482 00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:31,480 You need to become a Jew. You need to, as the party name 483 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:37,960 would suggest that's and we have people now you think of the, the 484 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:41,560 Catholic Church, it will say Jesus is great. 485 00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:43,640 It's a good stepping stool. But if you want to get into 486 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:45,800 heaven, you're going to have to do some stuff about that as 487 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:46,880 well. You're going to have to work in 488 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:51,520 it as well. No, no, but the other side, you 489 00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:54,560 had a group which came in from the Gnostic called Gnostics, 490 00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:58,240 which where people said it doesn't matter how you live, do 491 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:01,680 what you want with your body, get drunk, sleep with whoever 492 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:04,640 you want. It's about things of the spirit. 493 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:08,080 It's praying tongues pray to God. 494 00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:10,320 That's what he wants. That's good. 495 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:13,240 But what anything to do with your body, Don't worry about it. 496 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:17,280 And the church needs to stand against both sides preaching 497 00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:19,880 that God cares about what you do with your body. 498 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:25,640 He cares how you live. He cares who you spend your time 499 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:28,120 with. He cares about who you marry, 500 00:31:28,120 --> 00:31:30,920 who you spent what what you do with your life. 501 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:39,720 But actually also we are not saved because we do good things. 502 00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:44,520 We are saved because of faith in Christ alone. 503 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:51,760 Now faith in Christ produces fruit which leads us to do good 504 00:31:51,760 --> 00:31:55,320 things, but we are not saved because of those good things. 505 00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:59,520 We are saved through accepting Him and him alone. 506 00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:04,200 He says to the Galatians. He says the acts of the flesh 507 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:08,120 are obvious. Sexual immorality, impurity and 508 00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:12,360 debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, hatred, 509 00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:18,280 discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, 510 00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:22,440 factions and envy, drunkenness, orgies and the like. 511 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:27,400 I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this 512 00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:30,760 will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 513 00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:37,800 You see now you are a believer. If you are a believer, if Jesus 514 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:41,480 is your your king, your Lords, he is who you follow. 515 00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:47,640 You are now a new creation. You are different to who you 516 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:54,360 once were as, as the Apostle Peter would say, you are now a 517 00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:57,640 stranger. You are now an alien to this 518 00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:00,600 world. Once this world, once the ways 519 00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:06,240 of this world was your home, but then you met Jesus and you'd 520 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:09,320 become an alien, a stranger and heaven. 521 00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:16,800 Now heaven is your new home. You see, we show grace to all 522 00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:20,640 those who disagree with us, whether that's closed handed 523 00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:25,040 issues on Jesus and who God says we are or whether it's open 524 00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:29,280 handed issue, we show grace. But actually God warns us 525 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:35,440 through Scripture when we start to say what Jesus says is true. 526 00:33:35,480 --> 00:33:39,920 Isn't how Jesus tells us to live our lives doesn't matter? 527 00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:43,080 Scripture gives us a very clear warning. 528 00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:49,000 In Ezekiel 10, we have this image of Ezekiel sees in his 529 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:55,000 mind's eye the temple of God and he sees the presence of the Lord 530 00:33:55,520 --> 00:34:00,720 move, exit the temple, the temple where God's presence was 531 00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:04,000 meant to be. It exits the temple and leaves. 532 00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:08,120 It leaves because the people have given themselves over. 533 00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:10,400 The people are are worshipping other gods. 534 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:13,040 They're sleeping around. They're not caring for the poor. 535 00:34:13,080 --> 00:34:15,239 They're not living how God has asked them to live. 536 00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:18,679 So God eventually just says, OK, well, I'm removing my presence 537 00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:21,000 from you. And if you think that's just an 538 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:25,800 Old Testament thing, in Revelation chapter 2, John sees 539 00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:31,120 the Church of Ephesus and he says, Jesus says to you that I 540 00:34:31,120 --> 00:34:35,360 am going to remove my lampstand. I'm going to remove my presence. 541 00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:39,280 You are no longer going to be a true church because you do not 542 00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:40,960 have me in your presence. Why? 543 00:34:41,760 --> 00:34:43,719 You've done lots of great stuff, he says. 544 00:34:44,760 --> 00:34:49,360 But you do no, you no longer love me as your first love. 545 00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:55,800 I'm not your first love. He says church, we are not to 546 00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:58,000 compromise on truth. That's what he's talking about 547 00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:00,480 here. So let's get real. 548 00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:06,400 Where are you compromising? Where are you compromising? 549 00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:10,760 Jesus said very clearly you cannot serve 2 masters. 550 00:35:11,840 --> 00:35:14,160 You will either love the one and hate the other. 551 00:35:15,360 --> 00:35:17,320 See, living for Jesus doesn't mean that you need to be 552 00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:20,080 perfect. I think of King David. 553 00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:23,440 He is one of the biggest heroes of the Old Testament. 554 00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:26,280 But you read his life, you see he's a murderer, he's an 555 00:35:26,280 --> 00:35:28,880 adulterer, and he's probably one of the worst fathers in the 556 00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:33,240 whole book. He is not a great guy, but every 557 00:35:33,240 --> 00:35:37,360 time he fails, he doesn't run away. 558 00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:41,400 He comes back to God. He repents, he falls on his 559 00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:43,960 knees. He says I'm sorry, I want to 560 00:35:43,960 --> 00:35:47,880 follow you. And therefore the Bible 561 00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:51,280 characterises him as a man after God's own hearts. 562 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:57,480 He is known as a worshipper. So church, where are you 563 00:35:57,480 --> 00:36:01,680 compromising? What gods are you worshipping? 564 00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:03,920 What masters are you bowing down to? 565 00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:07,160 What are you giving your time, your money, your effort? 566 00:36:07,200 --> 00:36:10,000 What are you pointing your life towards? 567 00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:19,320 Money, lust, fame, power, job security, friendships, family, 568 00:36:20,280 --> 00:36:27,680 your marriage, children. The Bible says that when we 569 00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:32,680 point our lives to something, it is as though we are being yoked 570 00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:36,880 to it. And if that thing that we are 571 00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:41,400 pointing to our lives towards is anything but Jesus, He says it 572 00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:46,920 will destroy us. It's even good things when we 573 00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:50,880 make them ultimate things will ruin us. 574 00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:57,360 They will ruin us, he says. He says when you are a 575 00:36:57,360 --> 00:37:00,040 Christian, when you, when you, when God called you out of the 576 00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:03,920 world, when God separated you from the world, he called you to 577 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:07,520 have a relationship with him, to live in his presence, to go into 578 00:37:07,520 --> 00:37:11,280 the world and have the privilege of leading men and women to 579 00:37:11,280 --> 00:37:16,760 Christ. It is the greatest job ever. 580 00:37:17,640 --> 00:37:22,480 You, each of you have been given to spend every day with Christ 581 00:37:22,480 --> 00:37:25,040 and to lead others into his presence. 582 00:37:25,320 --> 00:37:28,160 And Paul says here, why would you sacrifice that? 583 00:37:29,080 --> 00:37:33,320 Why would you jeopardise that by being yoked to a donkey? 584 00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:36,960 Why would you stop? Why would you jeopardise what 585 00:37:36,960 --> 00:37:39,840 God has called you to be all that Christ has called you to be 586 00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:43,400 by yoking yourself to something that is going to stick its heels 587 00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:46,120 in and pull the opposite way to you? 588 00:37:47,280 --> 00:37:49,880 See, Jesus is our ultimate treasure. 589 00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:54,680 Jesus is our ultimate treasure. But we can so easily be 590 00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:58,440 distracted by things that actually are quite good. 591 00:37:59,920 --> 00:38:04,800 You know, I'll run for Jesus. I'll give when I've got more 592 00:38:04,800 --> 00:38:10,920 money, I'll serve when I can, when my, when my kids, when my 593 00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:18,400 wife, when my husband are at a certain level, you see the we 594 00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:20,680 have an enemy who wants to distract us. 595 00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:23,600 And he doesn't just throw evil things in our way. 596 00:38:24,080 --> 00:38:27,480 He will throw things that are good in our way to try and 597 00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:31,440 distract us from them. But if we yoke ourselves to 598 00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:37,640 anything but him, we will be destroyed, he says. 599 00:38:38,400 --> 00:38:43,120 I say, here's the truth. I'm sure many of you you 600 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:46,040 wouldn't say I'm necessarily yoked to a something that's bad. 601 00:38:46,440 --> 00:38:51,400 But if you if, if things like family, if things like 602 00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:56,160 relationships, if things like work are things that you're 603 00:38:56,160 --> 00:38:58,800 going well, I need to get that right first. 604 00:39:00,200 --> 00:39:08,760 The truth is, is that when we put Jesus as God in our lives, 605 00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:13,960 when we remove good things, put them down there, we put Jesus as 606 00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:20,480 Lord as our life, we become a better worker, we become a 607 00:39:20,480 --> 00:39:24,600 better employee, a better boss, a better husband, a better wife, 608 00:39:24,800 --> 00:39:29,880 a better dad. You see, don't hear what I'm not 609 00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:33,120 saying because I will get in trouble if you hear what I'm not 610 00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:37,800 saying, OK? I love my kids, I love my wife, 611 00:39:37,800 --> 00:39:41,000 I love my family, I love this church. 612 00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:47,880 But if any of those things become my ultimate goal, then 613 00:39:47,880 --> 00:39:49,960 they become a donkey wrapped around my neck. 614 00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:57,560 They prevent me from being all I can be for Christ and therefore 615 00:39:57,560 --> 00:40:01,440 I am not able to be the best I can be for this church, my 616 00:40:01,440 --> 00:40:09,400 family, my wife. You see, when we yoke ourselves, 617 00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:14,520 when we de yoke ourselves from the worldly things, from worldly 618 00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:19,560 passions and place Jesus at the centre, we become the best. 619 00:40:20,240 --> 00:40:23,600 We become who Christ has instructed us to be, who he 620 00:40:23,600 --> 00:40:26,720 desires, who he dreamed you to be. 621 00:40:28,600 --> 00:40:34,280 Because Paul says this, he says as God has said, I, that's the 622 00:40:34,280 --> 00:40:40,080 Lord will live among them, will will live with them and walk 623 00:40:40,080 --> 00:40:44,440 among them, and I will be their God and they will be my people. 624 00:40:44,440 --> 00:40:48,640 Therefore come out from them and be separated, says the Lord 625 00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:54,120 touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you and I will be a 626 00:40:54,120 --> 00:40:57,760 father to you, and you will be sons and daughters as the Lord 627 00:40:57,760 --> 00:40:59,920 God Almighty. You see, when we de yoke 628 00:40:59,920 --> 00:41:04,400 ourselves from the passions from our old passions, from the 629 00:41:04,400 --> 00:41:08,120 things that our old self that our that our non saved self 630 00:41:08,280 --> 00:41:11,280 loved and lived, or when we de yoke ourselves from those 631 00:41:11,280 --> 00:41:15,920 things, we get to be all Christ has one has dreamed us to be. 632 00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:19,800 Because he doesn't just let us off into the world alone. 633 00:41:20,280 --> 00:41:23,840 No, as it says here he comes alongside us. 634 00:41:25,040 --> 00:41:32,000 He comes alongside us, He picks up that piece of wood around our 635 00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:35,520 neck and he straps it to himself. 636 00:41:35,560 --> 00:41:42,680 And he says, come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I 637 00:41:42,680 --> 00:41:46,400 will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and lean. 638 00:41:46,720 --> 00:41:52,200 Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you 639 00:41:52,480 --> 00:41:57,240 will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my 640 00:41:57,240 --> 00:42:02,520 burden is light. Let's be real, being a Christian 641 00:42:02,600 --> 00:42:07,840 doesn't mean that life is easy. Letting go of the donkeys 642 00:42:08,120 --> 00:42:10,840 doesn't mean that all of a sudden ploughing in the field 643 00:42:10,840 --> 00:42:13,040 that God has given you becomes easy. 644 00:42:14,040 --> 00:42:19,240 Life throws at us all sorts of troubles as you. 645 00:42:19,240 --> 00:42:22,920 Paul starts off this chapter by talking about sleepless nights 646 00:42:22,920 --> 00:42:27,120 and hunger and all kinds of things that are just part of 647 00:42:27,120 --> 00:42:32,080 life. But what Christ says is you 648 00:42:32,080 --> 00:42:35,120 don't need to carry those things on your own. 649 00:42:36,600 --> 00:42:40,800 Christ says you do not need to carry those things on your own. 650 00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:46,080 Actually, in fact, I think Paul is saying stop carrying those 651 00:42:46,080 --> 00:42:50,440 things on your own. Stop carrying things that you 652 00:42:50,440 --> 00:42:55,040 don't need to carry. See, we, we as a family, we 653 00:42:55,040 --> 00:42:59,440 moved to Blackpool in 2016 with the vision of planting this 654 00:42:59,440 --> 00:43:03,880 church. And God laid that on our hearts. 655 00:43:04,200 --> 00:43:08,240 And I had great visions of all the stuff I'd be able to do, of 656 00:43:08,240 --> 00:43:10,640 all the preachers I'd be able to preach, of all the people that 657 00:43:10,640 --> 00:43:12,440 would come through our house, all the people we'd be able to 658 00:43:12,440 --> 00:43:16,720 disciple, all the superhuman effort that I would be able to 659 00:43:16,720 --> 00:43:20,160 put in. And do you know what? 660 00:43:21,520 --> 00:43:24,040 You know, I got ill. I can't do that. 661 00:43:24,200 --> 00:43:29,280 I can't do everything I dreamed of, but Jesus says and, and I 662 00:43:29,280 --> 00:43:31,920 can, you know, and I can, I can sometimes get down and think, 663 00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:35,920 come on, if only I could do more, we'd be better. 664 00:43:36,080 --> 00:43:39,600 If only I could do more, this church will be better off. 665 00:43:39,640 --> 00:43:44,080 My family would be better off. And Jesus doesn't say that. 666 00:43:44,800 --> 00:43:50,080 Jesus says, I hear you. I feel your frustration. 667 00:43:51,000 --> 00:43:55,760 I called you, but I called you not to carry it on your own. 668 00:43:57,080 --> 00:44:01,560 Give it to me, Ben. Give it to me, Church. 669 00:44:01,560 --> 00:44:04,640 What is he asking you to give to him? 670 00:44:04,760 --> 00:44:09,560 What are you carrying that you do not need to carry? 671 00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:16,840 So send on this. What yokes? 672 00:44:17,800 --> 00:44:23,960 What things are you putting in the God slot of your life that 673 00:44:23,960 --> 00:44:28,920 you need to repent of? They're being a stubborn donkey 674 00:44:28,920 --> 00:44:31,720 and preventing you from running for Jesus. 675 00:44:32,160 --> 00:44:35,440 They're preventing you from being the husband, the mum, the 676 00:44:35,440 --> 00:44:42,640 dad, the wife, the child, the employee, the whatever that God 677 00:44:42,640 --> 00:44:46,120 has called you to be. What things are you placing 678 00:44:46,120 --> 00:44:49,600 there that even as I've been speaking this morning, the Holy 679 00:44:49,600 --> 00:44:52,560 Spirit's been prompting you, saying you need to stop that. 680 00:44:53,680 --> 00:44:58,360 You need to stop putting that above me and what I'm going to 681 00:44:58,360 --> 00:45:01,880 give you an opportunity in a second to repent, which just 682 00:45:01,880 --> 00:45:04,520 means to say God, I'm sorry and I'm going to change what I do. 683 00:45:04,520 --> 00:45:08,320 I'm going to head for you. I'm going to recognise that you 684 00:45:08,360 --> 00:45:14,520 are King of my life. And then secondly, what things 685 00:45:14,560 --> 00:45:23,880 are you carrying? What care, what longing, what 686 00:45:24,920 --> 00:45:30,600 the things are you putting on yourself that Jesus saying trust 687 00:45:30,760 --> 00:45:36,440 me, you need to trust me. You are not the hope of the 688 00:45:36,440 --> 00:45:39,560 world. Some of us need to hear that you 689 00:45:39,600 --> 00:45:42,200 are not the hope of the world that Jesus is. 690 00:45:42,920 --> 00:45:46,400 Jesus is the hope of the world and he wants to partner with 691 00:45:46,400 --> 00:45:47,640 you. So what things do you need to 692 00:45:47,640 --> 00:45:52,400 give to him? So I'm going to pray and if any 693 00:45:52,400 --> 00:45:55,440 of those things are yours as I'm praying, just give them to gods, 694 00:45:56,800 --> 00:46:03,720 Give them to gods. So Lord Jesus, God, I just want 695 00:46:03,720 --> 00:46:08,720 to admit that there are times in my life when I put things above 696 00:46:08,720 --> 00:46:14,520 you, God. I put, I put family, I put work, 697 00:46:15,040 --> 00:46:21,600 I put church, I put them above you, Lord Jesus and God, 698 00:46:21,600 --> 00:46:24,680 sometimes I can tell myself, well, it's, it's for you, God, 699 00:46:26,000 --> 00:46:28,680 but it's not. I'm putting it above you, Lord 700 00:46:28,680 --> 00:46:30,160 God. And I pray, Lord Jesus, if 701 00:46:30,160 --> 00:46:37,040 there's anything here, any sinful desires, any good desires 702 00:46:38,480 --> 00:46:41,760 that my brothers and sisters in this church are putting above 703 00:46:41,760 --> 00:46:45,960 you, Lord God, we together, we say now we repent of those 704 00:46:45,960 --> 00:46:50,920 things and we ask that in your strength we would turn from them 705 00:46:51,640 --> 00:46:56,480 and live for you and we would place you as our Lord and 706 00:46:56,480 --> 00:46:58,320 Saviour. You would be the only king. 707 00:46:58,520 --> 00:47:02,560 You'd be the only one that we are pointed to, Lord God. 708 00:47:02,560 --> 00:47:08,440 And if there's burdens, if there's worries, if there's 709 00:47:08,440 --> 00:47:13,440 things that we are carrying that we're trying to hold on our own, 710 00:47:13,960 --> 00:47:18,120 that we're being weighed down with, we're not able to live for 711 00:47:18,120 --> 00:47:20,840 you because we're so weighed down with what we're carrying. 712 00:47:20,840 --> 00:47:23,520 Go. I pray that you'd give us a 713 00:47:23,520 --> 00:47:28,040 strength to give them to you though Jesus, naturally, even 714 00:47:28,040 --> 00:47:32,360 now, you would show us in your grace and mercy what it looks 715 00:47:32,360 --> 00:47:37,960 like to have the loads of worry, of guilt, of shame, of 716 00:47:37,960 --> 00:47:44,200 responsibility lifted from us, and that we could follow you, 717 00:47:44,720 --> 00:47:47,080 that we would lean on you, Christ Jesus. 718 00:47:48,480 --> 00:47:50,640 Amen. Amen.