back to indexSunday Sermon 2014-10-12 Defending the Truth in Gentleness - 2 Tim 2(23-26)
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If you can turn your Bible to 2 Timothy chapter 2, 00:00:16.240 |
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, 00:00:25.520 |
along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 00:00:29.140 |
Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies. 00:00:33.580 |
And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome, 00:00:51.400 |
Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for this morning. 00:00:57.480 |
We thank you for giving us strength to persevere. 00:01:00.020 |
We thank you, Lord, for opening our eyes to see Christ 00:01:05.080 |
and who he is and causing us, Lord God, to desire him. 00:01:08.920 |
We pray this morning as we've come to worship you 00:01:11.840 |
that we would worship you with all sincerity in our hearts. 00:01:15.760 |
Help us, Lord God, to open our mind and our heart 00:01:18.820 |
to your word, that it truly would judge the thoughts 00:01:23.000 |
I pray, Father God, you would sanctify your church, 00:01:29.840 |
We thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name we pray, amen. 00:01:33.120 |
You know, some of you guys were fairly new to our church, 00:01:37.240 |
and those of you who've been around for a while, 00:01:44.820 |
And part of the reason why we chose this name 00:01:48.760 |
early on in ministry is because of the meaning behind it. 00:01:54.200 |
or I've been doing quiet time through Thessalonians, 00:01:56.080 |
and again, I'm struck of how the power of the gospel 00:02:05.240 |
They said that Paul describes them as a church 00:02:11.960 |
And so as a result, this church that Paul ended up coming to 00:02:16.560 |
sending very, probably one of the shortest period of time 00:02:19.160 |
in this church, and they became the model church 00:02:26.480 |
and we know plenty about the Thessalonian church 00:02:28.560 |
because there's two whole letters written to them, 00:02:34.680 |
it got to a point where Paul needed to leave. 00:02:43.000 |
He ended up going to this church called Berea, 00:02:45.280 |
or the city in Berea, because he was escaping persecution, 00:02:48.720 |
and as he was there, he was preaching the gospel, 00:03:05.840 |
And so the distinction between this model church 00:03:08.400 |
of the Thessalonians and why this church is even above them 00:03:13.120 |
and they put God's word above everything else. 00:03:15.480 |
You and I live in a generation where the teaching 00:03:21.120 |
You would assume that if there are Christians, 00:03:25.840 |
that our faith is coming from what this Bible says, 00:03:31.360 |
And some of you guys may know as much as I do 00:03:36.720 |
just because it has an evangelical church name on it, 00:03:47.160 |
but that is not a common thing that you see today. 00:03:55.680 |
I'm not just talking about finding the right church 00:03:58.240 |
and becoming a member of a church that preaches the word. 00:04:01.500 |
We as individuals in the churches have to be teaching 00:04:06.080 |
It's not enough that you are hearing expository sermons. 00:04:09.680 |
It is not enough that you are attending a Bible study 00:04:14.000 |
You yourself need to get into the word of God 00:04:16.360 |
so that you can test if what I'm saying is true. 00:04:20.320 |
Or else what ends up becoming is you end up filtering 00:04:28.960 |
your own personal memories of what you thought 00:04:34.580 |
So after a while, you realize so much of our faith 00:04:37.000 |
is based upon what I like and what I don't like. 00:04:39.620 |
And what ends up happening is I happen to go to this church 00:04:43.840 |
I like that preacher so I believe what he preaches. 00:04:46.580 |
I like this seminary so I believe what they teach. 00:04:50.400 |
It is no longer safe in our culture and our generation 00:04:54.220 |
for us to just rely upon what's coming off the pulpit. 00:05:00.680 |
Individually, we have to test the word of God 00:05:05.460 |
in the scriptures that you can filter it out. 00:05:08.140 |
Before I ever say it, before any of the elders ever say it, 00:05:11.400 |
that you can say, I don't know if that's biblical. 00:05:14.580 |
I don't know if that's what the word of God teaches. 00:05:38.820 |
who were co-workers of Paul, starting to fall out. 00:05:41.860 |
Paul is sitting in prison with a death sentence. 00:05:47.780 |
writing this letter, he's gonna have his head chopped off 00:05:51.940 |
Now, so the persecution that Paul is writing this letter 00:05:57.100 |
But this is not the first time Paul writes a letter 00:06:02.060 |
And the response that he got from the first letter 00:06:21.740 |
Also writing in prison, also under persecution, 00:06:32.820 |
"and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 00:06:37.820 |
"having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, 00:06:40.440 |
"are much more bold to speak the word without fear." 00:06:46.520 |
Why is it that the first time he is sitting in prison, 00:06:49.240 |
he says, "More and more people are coming to Christ. 00:06:54.560 |
"because they know that I'm in prison because of Christ." 00:06:56.880 |
And as a result of that, most of the brothers, 00:07:00.440 |
most of the brothers have become more courageous 00:07:05.360 |
See, the first time he's writing in the letter, 00:07:17.020 |
his son of faith, may also burn out and fall out. 00:07:22.780 |
Now, obviously, the intensity of the persecution 00:07:31.460 |
Remember, they kept him around for a couple years 00:07:34.260 |
hoping that he would give some kind of a bribe 00:07:40.220 |
He was chained to a Roman guard for over two years. 00:07:48.540 |
When somebody, you know somebody who's persecuted 00:07:50.900 |
and say, "Wow, that actually gives us courage." 00:08:04.580 |
I think the difference between his first letter 00:08:15.380 |
These false prophets begin to have infiltrate 00:08:19.300 |
into the church and there was some persecution 00:08:28.860 |
You know, how does a strong church fall apart? 00:08:41.580 |
And I think that's the difference between the response 00:08:46.300 |
That Second Timothy, he's talking to a group of people 00:08:53.900 |
and people were no longer sure about what was right 00:08:57.260 |
If you've ever studied ancient Near East history, 00:09:00.780 |
you'll find out that Rome was probably one of the biggest 00:09:10.220 |
But if you look at every empire prior to them, 00:09:15.100 |
So the Syrians came in, the Babylonians came into power, 00:09:19.860 |
Babylonians would come in, the Persians come in 00:09:26.740 |
and the Greeks come in and the Greeks conquer them. 00:09:28.980 |
And then Rome comes in, the most powerful of them all, 00:09:35.360 |
But the way that the Rome was conquered is peculiar 00:09:38.300 |
because there is no superpower that comes in. 00:09:40.940 |
I mean, they're considered the greatest power 00:09:53.260 |
they couldn't even muster up a big enough army 00:09:56.720 |
So in fear, all the Roman soldiers and the politicians, 00:10:06.860 |
And if you've ever, again, studied the crumbling of Rome, 00:10:09.620 |
you find out that there were so much internal fighting 00:10:13.540 |
within Rome that they couldn't muster up enough strength. 00:10:25.500 |
even though they had the structure of this empire, 00:10:28.300 |
inside they had absolutely no strength whatsoever. 00:10:32.920 |
they walk in and they end up conquering them. 00:10:42.700 |
I like this guy or trends that are coming in and coming out, 00:10:47.100 |
or I like to read this book, or I like this guy, 00:11:00.660 |
doesn't matter how much talent is in the church. 00:11:10.220 |
in the individual lives of the Christian, we are weak. 00:11:17.380 |
When Paul called Timothy to fight the good fight, 00:11:20.780 |
the greatest thing that he was telling them to do 00:11:22.460 |
is make sure that you guard the gospel of Jesus Christ, 00:11:30.580 |
have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversy. 00:11:39.780 |
oh, Paul doesn't want us to fight over anything. 00:11:43.060 |
And so there's a lot of Christians that think 00:11:52.900 |
Is he telling us that you should just be divided, 00:11:57.780 |
Whether you believe in the deity of Christ or not, 00:12:00.220 |
or whether you believe in salvation by grace or not, 00:12:03.220 |
you know, we're Christians and we believe in Jesus, 00:12:05.620 |
so let's make that our unifying theme and just get together. 00:12:23.160 |
and take every thought captive to obey Christ. 00:12:25.900 |
So Paul describes his ministry as destroying arguments, 00:12:34.460 |
In fact, when Paul calls Timothy into ministry, 00:12:39.100 |
Paul tells Timothy, remain at Ephesus that you may charge. 00:12:45.180 |
Charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 00:12:48.820 |
nor to devote themselves to myths and endless geniality. 00:12:56.900 |
command these people to stop making these arguments. 00:13:06.980 |
He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught 00:13:23.740 |
or even though they're teaching wrong doctrine, 00:13:35.460 |
In fact, if you remember Paul in the book of Galatians, 00:13:58.460 |
The apostles would have never even accepted you 00:14:06.900 |
And later on, Peter says, pay attention to Paul, 00:14:10.260 |
Paul's letters, and he says they're equal to scripture. 00:14:24.700 |
I mean, the whole church could have been split 00:14:29.380 |
Imagine if Paul just backed away from this fight. 00:14:32.380 |
You could say, hey, we should just be united. 00:14:40.060 |
Imagine what the church would look like today. 00:14:42.980 |
See, Paul is not saying back away from the fight. 00:14:45.580 |
He's not saying if people disagree with the gospel, 00:14:49.260 |
you should just accept it and just, you know, 00:14:51.580 |
just get together and say kumbaya and love one another. 00:14:57.660 |
Instead, if you look carefully, what he's saying is, 00:15:15.500 |
The next word, ignorant, basically is unrestrained, 00:15:19.780 |
unstructured, undisciplined, uneducated, senseless. 00:15:26.980 |
basically Paul is saying, avoid stupid and dumb arguments. 00:15:30.940 |
He's not telling them to don't get into fights, 00:15:38.540 |
That has nothing to do with advancing the cause of Christ. 00:15:41.540 |
There's, you know, again, because I'm a pastor, 00:15:47.460 |
I get, every once in a while, I go to pastor's fellowship, 00:16:07.260 |
And for the next two hours, we're arguing over something. 00:16:10.140 |
So every time I go to something like that, I have to pray. 00:16:20.340 |
And I have to, because I'm an opinionated person, 00:16:31.900 |
is getting entangled with things that in the end, 00:16:41.500 |
I guess it was the second time we went to China, 00:16:42.980 |
I went in the winter, and I had an opportunity 00:16:49.620 |
And they said a lot of non-Christians were coming, 00:16:51.460 |
and there was a missionary who came from Tennessee, 00:17:10.220 |
"Why, you can only read the King James Version." 00:17:18.300 |
And then he began to call out the other missionaries. 00:17:20.780 |
There was a missionary that came from Calvary Chapel, 00:17:22.500 |
there was a missionary that came from the Southern Baptist, 00:17:31.660 |
like he has an opportunity to preach the gospel 00:17:34.180 |
The whole thing that he's stuck up on is the King James. 00:17:42.500 |
or the girl that we took to this Bible study, 00:17:59.140 |
I was like, "Ah, maybe he didn't mean what he said, 00:18:18.020 |
Is there a motive to advance the cause of Christ? 00:18:22.420 |
Remember what Paul says to the Corinthian church? 00:18:27.820 |
literally risked his life to bring the gospel. 00:18:35.500 |
to the Corinthians, the Corinthians are messed up. 00:18:40.540 |
is because they were all measuring each other 00:18:47.580 |
I follow Paul because he's a great evangelist. 00:18:51.300 |
I follow Peter because Peter is a direct disciple of Christ. 00:19:03.180 |
it's like people comparing centimeters, who's taller? 00:19:05.880 |
It's like, I'm taller than you because I'm five feet eight. 00:19:11.720 |
It's silly arguments in the sight of God in the end. 00:19:20.340 |
He said, all this chaos that's coming into the church 00:19:22.500 |
because you guys are trying to one up each other spiritually 00:19:35.300 |
He said, how many of you were from noble background 00:19:45.380 |
Don't you know that God deliberately chose you 00:20:01.140 |
God deliberately chose you because you were nothing, 00:20:03.100 |
now you're trying to be something in the church? 00:20:22.180 |
In other words, when a fool gets into an argument, 00:20:40.060 |
All he's doing is revealing, this is what I know. 00:20:44.740 |
This is the theology, these are the degrees that I got. 00:20:47.500 |
But his ultimate goal is not to advance the cause of Christ. 00:21:01.180 |
and chooses confusion and dissension in the church. 00:21:09.940 |
and endless genealogy, which promotes speculation 00:21:13.400 |
rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. 00:21:21.640 |
is it because we want to advance the cause of Christ 00:21:28.700 |
I remember, you know, used to go on campus at UCI 00:21:40.700 |
and usually a lot of arguments end up becoming 00:21:43.060 |
about the evolution, about science and faith and all that. 00:21:50.380 |
basically said that because now we have computers 00:21:53.380 |
and they can calculate the possibility of evolution, 00:22:04.620 |
to something completely different, macroevolution. 00:22:36.180 |
it's like evolution, boom, evolution, right there, okay. 00:22:43.420 |
I've never had somebody read that article and say, wow, 00:22:51.720 |
Let me know about this Jesus that you're talking about. 00:22:54.580 |
Typically what would happen is they would get offended 00:22:58.900 |
And even the way I would talk to them, it's like, shh. 00:23:03.620 |
And I would get into this argument with them, 00:23:14.700 |
and then after a while, it's like, oh, okay, okay, 00:23:19.660 |
But what ends up happening is they go back home, 00:23:21.260 |
they wanna do more research to argue what I said. 00:23:23.720 |
And all I did was to give them more motivation 00:23:26.700 |
to go poke holes at Christianity because I humbled them. 00:23:33.080 |
where you see Christians debating against the scientists, 00:23:46.200 |
because in the end, here's this guy who's a champion debater 00:23:57.500 |
these facts add up, he would say something funny 00:24:00.500 |
and poke fun of him, everybody laughs in the room, the end. 00:24:03.500 |
And at the end of that, a lot of these events, 00:24:07.620 |
I find Christians standing up there clapping. 00:24:12.780 |
And I remember sitting in the back of one of these things, 00:24:19.660 |
Was this the purpose to humiliate these people? 00:24:46.900 |
So why, why should Christians avoid these things, 00:24:53.960 |
but kind to everyone, able to teach patiently, 00:24:56.880 |
enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. 00:25:08.680 |
preaching the gospel just to make it harder for him. 00:25:11.720 |
That's mind-blowing, why would somebody preach 00:25:17.900 |
and do it deliberately, use that message to hurt this guy? 00:25:22.080 |
And yet, Apostle Paul was a recipient of that. 00:25:26.800 |
He goes to Corinth, and he preaches the gospel, 00:25:45.800 |
"I have many people who are my disciples here." 00:26:17.760 |
The fact that he's even having to defend himself. 00:26:22.600 |
"You must be patient with these people, enduring evil." 00:26:29.600 |
Inside the church, we're not talking about outside, 00:26:41.560 |
And again, Peter says the same thing in 1 Peter 3, 9, 00:26:43.680 |
"Do not repay evil for evil, or reviling for reviling, 00:26:47.040 |
"but on the contrary, bless, for to this you are called, 00:27:02.120 |
Greatest evidence that you and I receive grace is grace. 00:27:09.400 |
that we would also be people known to be gracious. 00:27:20.000 |
that the world would know that you are my disciples, 00:27:21.680 |
if you have love for one another, as I have loved you. 00:27:28.560 |
and you probably have non-Christian families, 00:27:31.860 |
do your non-Christian mother and father love you? 00:27:37.040 |
Do you have a non-Christian brother or sister? 00:27:41.560 |
So what is so unique about this love that Jesus says, 00:27:48.520 |
Mother loves father, father loves the mother, 00:27:51.880 |
I don't know too many people, Christian or non-Christian, 00:27:59.800 |
They may be dysfunctional, they may have problems, 00:28:01.720 |
but they still naturally love their family, their friends. 00:28:07.720 |
There's a lot of people giving to the orphans, 00:28:12.760 |
So what is so unique about this love that Jesus says, 00:28:16.080 |
"That the world will know that you are my disciples, 00:28:52.120 |
there are some dark periods in Israel's history. 00:28:58.120 |
These are God's people, who have the law of God, 00:29:11.800 |
When they were thirsty, he would open up a spring 00:29:14.440 |
and feed them, or cause them to drink miraculous water. 00:29:20.080 |
if you look at all of the kings during Israel's history, 00:29:29.960 |
they would bring these idols inside the temple, 00:29:34.520 |
There are some dark periods in Israel's history, 00:29:39.640 |
was the period when Jesus was led to the cross. 00:29:43.480 |
These recipients of the greatest love of God, 00:30:09.600 |
he didn't just, he wasn't just hung on the cross 00:30:11.800 |
by the Romans, he was forced to be hung on the cross 00:30:21.520 |
they hand him over and they demand that he gets crucified. 00:30:26.400 |
There's some dark periods in Israel's history, 00:30:28.260 |
but there's none darker than what that period 00:30:33.280 |
But it is at the darkest period of Israel's history 00:30:49.440 |
And so at the cross, you see the darkness of human history, 00:30:55.540 |
But the greatest hope is also found at the cross. 00:31:01.020 |
The greatest love was revealed at the greatest sin. 00:31:08.400 |
that you are my disciples if you have love for one another 00:31:10.700 |
as I have loved you, he's talking about the cross. 00:31:18.560 |
is different than what the love the world practices. 00:31:23.640 |
You love people who absolutely deserves justice. 00:31:44.420 |
So after a while, when you really need to fight 00:31:54.960 |
but be kind to everyone, patiently enduring evil. 00:32:08.200 |
And no one would blame you for hating that person 00:32:16.880 |
Many times over, who can possibly stand before God 00:32:20.240 |
and say, why didn't you destroy these people? 00:32:52.760 |
when I was growing up and now they yelled at me. 00:33:13.440 |
And so we can understand an individual saying, 00:33:18.160 |
I've been abused, therefore I tend to be abusive. 00:33:21.080 |
But no Christian could possibly stand before God 00:33:41.180 |
I do what I do because of what they've done to me, 00:33:43.780 |
it's like saying, you gave me Jesus, but that wasn't enough. 00:33:48.220 |
Any Christian who believes that the son of God 00:33:56.120 |
deserving of hell, could not possibly stand before God 00:34:04.300 |
No Christian who confesses to believe in Jesus Christ 00:34:12.440 |
to be disobedient, to be harsh, to not to be gracious. 00:34:20.780 |
That's why Paul says in Philippians chapter 2, 1, 5, 00:34:26.700 |
any comfort from love, any participation in the spirit, 00:34:35.160 |
Well, is Paul talking about another level of Christians? 00:34:43.180 |
and you have faith, and then here's another group 00:34:45.220 |
of Christians who have been encouraged by Christ, 00:34:47.760 |
comforted by his love, have participation in the spirit. 00:34:55.560 |
There is no Christian who has not found encouragement 00:35:00.500 |
There is no Christian who has not been affected 00:35:04.860 |
I say, oh, I don't know what you're talking about. 00:35:14.400 |
Then how can you say you haven't been affected 00:35:24.420 |
If the spirit is not in you, you are not a Christian. 00:35:27.060 |
He's not talking about another level of Christian, 00:35:38.080 |
Even in this great church, there was some division. 00:35:45.120 |
and he said, don't forget what it is that you have. 00:35:55.940 |
Then complete my joy by having the same mind. 00:36:09.340 |
Being in full accord with one mind of Christ. 00:36:13.660 |
And so therefore, he says, looking to Christ. 00:36:16.540 |
Let each of you look not only to his own interest, 00:36:34.220 |
Every single one of us has been given the greatest gift. 00:36:38.440 |
Even if we become homeless, and we couldn't pay our bills, 00:36:48.060 |
that can stand before the throne of God and say, 00:37:19.060 |
is God may perhaps, if you're gracious and if you're gentle, 00:37:34.020 |
In other words, don't forget the ultimate charge is love. 00:37:38.100 |
1 Timothy 1.5, Paul, after commanding Timothy 00:37:42.860 |
to teach these people to stop teaching false doctrines, 00:37:45.340 |
he says, remember though, the aim of this charge is love, 00:38:07.220 |
and say, look at that, look at what they're doing. 00:38:16.620 |
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, 00:38:25.420 |
Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 00:38:31.740 |
For me, I know that the Bible teaches church discipline, 00:38:36.460 |
but sometimes I see the way that church discipline 00:38:38.980 |
is being carried out, it's almost like vengeance. 00:38:49.500 |
and the reason why is because I know my own heart. 00:38:53.300 |
If you slap me, I don't turn the other cheek, 00:39:20.740 |
I can hurt them much harder than they can hurt me. 00:39:27.140 |
So the standard that I use to test my own heart, 00:39:34.920 |
Would I publicly humiliate him if he was my own son? 00:39:44.620 |
is there any way possible that I can turn him around 00:39:48.940 |
Because that would be my desire, not to hurt him. 00:39:55.740 |
Because my ultimate goal ought to be to win him over, 00:39:59.700 |
to desire what is best, not to hurt him because he hurt me. 00:40:17.300 |
Let me wrap up my message this morning with this. 00:40:27.800 |
Bible-toting hypocrites if we're not careful. 00:40:36.620 |
You know, typically when we talk about the prodigal son, 00:40:39.620 |
you'll hear two different levels of interpretation. 00:40:45.140 |
You know, we've all strayed and the father is waiting 00:40:49.060 |
and so God is a God of mercy waiting for his son. 00:40:52.180 |
And then if you go to a Bible-teaching church, 00:40:57.900 |
He's in the background when they're celebrating. 00:41:14.140 |
by saying that Jesus is with the tax collectors 00:41:20.220 |
and the Pharisees are saying, if you're the Messiah, 00:41:22.580 |
how can you possibly be hanging around with these sinners? 00:41:33.540 |
The first parable is a parable of having 100 sheep, 00:41:36.940 |
one goes away and he leaves a 99 to chase after the one. 00:41:41.380 |
So he gets the one, puts him on his shoulder, 00:41:43.660 |
brings him back, and at the end of the parable, 00:42:04.820 |
and he sweeps the whole house looking for this coin. 00:42:09.580 |
and I don't know how much this coin is worth. 00:42:16.740 |
But he brings this coin back, and what does he do? 00:42:28.140 |
That that one coin, it may seem like nothing to you. 00:42:32.020 |
That one sheep, it may seem like nothing to you. 00:42:40.860 |
I mean, you're gonna have a whole celebration 00:42:50.460 |
The one coin, you find that, and you come back, 00:43:02.780 |
And after that, he gives the parable of the prodigal son. 00:43:07.200 |
So the parable of the prodigal son is the same. 00:43:10.020 |
The other one's, one's a sheep, one's a coin, 00:43:13.980 |
He leaves, he rebels, but he repents, and he comes back. 00:43:19.260 |
He watches him, eagerly embraces, he rejoices, 00:43:25.020 |
Rejoicing, he calls everybody, my son has come back. 00:43:28.780 |
And what is the response of the older brother? 00:43:40.180 |
It is about this guy who, the older brother, he's bitter. 00:43:46.940 |
But if you look at the larger picture, it goes beyond that. 00:43:54.540 |
The whole reason why they got stuck on this legalism 00:44:01.860 |
We're better, those are sinners, and we're not. 00:44:04.060 |
You don't go to that city because this is where it's pure, 00:44:18.980 |
He called the nation of Israel a royal priesthood, 00:44:25.020 |
In other words, that God was going to lift them up, 00:44:33.820 |
And if you look at the story of Jonah, it was the same thing. 00:44:39.860 |
these are bad people, they shouldn't be in any, 00:44:42.060 |
and then when they come to repentance, what does Jonah say? 00:44:51.300 |
they can't even determine from left and right 00:44:57.660 |
Rebuke to Jonah, rebuke to the nation of Israel. 00:45:09.260 |
is that you should be pursuing these sinners. 00:45:13.940 |
You're concerned that I'm hanging around with these sinners, 00:45:15.960 |
but you don't know I came to seek and save the lost. 00:45:30.680 |
and you're so caught up thinking about, am I right? 00:45:45.140 |
he came to seek and save, though even the Son of Man 00:45:56.500 |
and we're doing that, and our church is growing, 00:45:58.060 |
we got a large facility, people love each other, 00:46:05.220 |
you have forgotten the whole reason why you and I are here. 00:46:09.340 |
It's not for us to be here and be clean and be righteous, 00:46:15.240 |
If we're not broken for the lost, you missed the whole point. 00:46:24.220 |
and in the next I am statement, he says, I am divine, 00:46:30.720 |
If you follow me, you have to do what I'm doing. 00:46:40.420 |
if you have love for one another as I have loved you, 00:46:53.260 |
have you forgotten what it was like before you met Christ? 00:46:58.740 |
Have you forgotten the darkness that you were in? 00:47:02.460 |
The utter hopelessness of not knowing why you existed? 00:47:06.920 |
Having sin in your life and guilt in your life, 00:47:16.380 |
how you were utterly hopeless, lonely, and dejected 00:47:38.580 |
and we get so wrapped up in these trivial things, 00:47:45.700 |
but what about those people who didn't make it? 00:47:48.060 |
See, that's what Jesus was saying in the prodigal son. 00:47:51.920 |
The father is celebrating because my son came back. 00:48:03.560 |
Why are you in the back and just pointing fingers? 00:48:10.700 |
We're not here because like, oh, we have the right doctor. 00:48:21.660 |
Don't ever forget what it was like before you met Christ, 00:48:26.180 |
because the rest of the world is under that bondage, 00:48:48.700 |
to take the cross, go to the nations, and make disciples. 00:48:55.020 |
Take a few minutes to pray for the loss that you love, 00:49:03.500 |
your father, your mother, your brother, your sister, 00:49:08.780 |
If you've forgotten what it was like to be lost, 00:49:14.580 |
and because of that, your heart has become callous, 00:49:29.160 |
Forgive me for giving up and not trusting in you. 00:49:38.420 |
That come before the Lord in genuine repentance. 00:49:54.340 |
would not simply be a safety net or a security blanket, 00:50:00.260 |
So let's take a few minutes to come before the Lord 00:50:02.260 |
and confess and ask the Lord to bless us and strengthen us.