back to indexBAM WINTER RETREAT 2020 SESSION 2
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We are on our second teaching session on this topic of... 00:00:07.000 |
I had a moment where I was like searching, searching, searching. 00:00:20.000 |
The question is how do we make faith to God through it? 00:00:24.000 |
How do we solve often times, wrestling through moments of our lives where life is very much around? 00:00:31.000 |
Now, what I'd like you to do is turn back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 8. 00:00:53.000 |
We're going to take a look at the tail end of that chapter. 00:00:57.000 |
We read portions of it. We saw how God was warning them. 00:01:02.000 |
Look, in this journey as you walk with me, there are going to be moments when your perspective is way off. 00:01:09.000 |
And in your arrogance, you're going to think, "Oh, I do this." 00:01:13.000 |
Or, in your easily distracted, easily swayed mind and heart, you're going to want other things. 00:01:26.000 |
Within that, you're going to challenge and admonish them and say, "I am building you up for your good." 00:01:32.000 |
The discomforts, the stress, the feeling of not having enough. 00:01:43.000 |
Now, what's very interesting about this is... 00:01:55.000 |
He says, "But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who has given you power to take wealth. 00:02:03.000 |
That He may confirm this covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 00:02:08.000 |
It shall come about if you ever forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them. 00:02:15.000 |
I testify against you today, you will surely perish. 00:02:20.000 |
And the nations that the Lord makes perish before you, so you shall perish. 00:02:24.000 |
Because you would not listen to the voice of the Lord your God." 00:02:31.000 |
Father, we do pray that you grant to us wisdom. 00:02:36.000 |
Father, would you grant to me clarity of speech. 00:02:40.000 |
Because the topic that we're about to address right now is massive. 00:02:45.000 |
And I hope to convince it, God, in a way that is not necessarily palatable, but however understandable. 00:02:52.000 |
And I pray, Father God, all the more, God, that through understanding a worldview, 00:02:58.000 |
through understanding a perspective that is appropriate to you, 00:03:03.000 |
would we, Father God, then have the power to overcome momentary difficulties in our lives. 00:03:10.000 |
We thank you, it's in Christ that we pray. Amen. 00:03:14.000 |
So, by way of review, we talked about the various descriptions of the grind, 00:03:22.000 |
of the difficulties that we experience, and you guys talked about them. 00:03:26.000 |
Then, we remember that these moments are not just haphazard moments where, 00:03:33.000 |
yes, things are difficult, but that's not all it is. 00:03:37.000 |
For example, the nation of Israel, they were in the most difficult of circumstances. 00:03:44.000 |
Namely, they were dying at the hands of the Egyptians. 00:03:47.000 |
They were being treated as property, thrown into building projects. 00:03:52.000 |
Their bones and bodies helped support the structures that the Egyptians built. 00:04:02.000 |
Somebody asked me over the break, "Hmm, is it wrong to ever then even mention the difficulties we experience?" 00:04:09.000 |
Because, obviously, I don't want to complain about them, so do I even mention it? 00:04:13.000 |
And the fact of the matter is, yes. Why? Because they're realities. Right? 00:04:18.000 |
But the thing we don't want to do is use them for excuses why we quit. 00:04:25.000 |
We don't want to use them for purposes of running away, hiding, whatever it may be. 00:04:33.000 |
We are desiring to grow from these as God intended it, which is to build us. 00:04:39.000 |
These are tests to build. That's what we talked about. Right? 00:04:43.000 |
But one of the things that we left off with is the thought that these tests then have results. 00:04:50.000 |
And typically, even if we take exams, we don't always get 100%. 00:04:56.000 |
Even if you got a 90%, that means there's 10% you don't know and you got wrong. 00:05:01.000 |
My challenge was, are you so convicted that you want to grow, that then, yes, I want to grow the 10% I missed. Right? 00:05:10.000 |
And I sit there celebrating, "Woo! 90%!" Right? 00:05:19.000 |
Now, what I'm going to say then is reiterating or jumping off from that, moving forward from that, 00:05:25.000 |
the problem with these difficult circumstances in our lives, and isn't so much difficult circumstances, 00:05:31.000 |
because you won't have them here for until you die. 00:05:37.000 |
Do you think retired people don't go through a grind? 00:05:42.000 |
I mean, it's strange, but I'm now sometimes sitting down with older individuals, 00:05:46.000 |
trying to counsel them through loneliness, counsel them through physical ailments, 00:05:51.000 |
counsel them through how do you persevere and stay faithful when your body keeps giving up. 00:05:57.000 |
And the pain and agony of just the everyday chores become to you a literal grinding. 00:06:05.000 |
In thinking through that then, the problem in the midst of our struggles isn't just the struggle in and of itself, 00:06:13.000 |
Here, this afternoon, what we're going to focus on is this, my purpose statement, 00:06:19.000 |
the main structural statement I have for you is this. 00:06:23.000 |
The problem of the grind is your lack of motivation and your wrong interpretation that allowed it. 00:06:31.000 |
You have to get the whole thing. Are you ready? 00:06:33.000 |
The problem of the grind is your lack of motivation and your wrong interpretation that allowed it. 00:06:44.000 |
There is a connection between what you are motivated by, okay? 00:06:49.000 |
So you have motives in your life that make you do what you do. 00:06:52.000 |
A motive brought you here to this retreat, okay? 00:06:56.000 |
As far as it was, some of you guys drove three, four hours. 00:06:59.000 |
As tiring as you knew it would be, as cold as it, you know? 00:07:05.000 |
As cold as it may be, you had a motive to come. 00:07:08.000 |
Everything you are doing in life, there's a motive. 00:07:11.000 |
Even the strange vices we have in our lives, certain addictions people have in their lives, there is a motive. 00:07:18.000 |
And behind that motive is an interpretation of your reality that allows it, 00:07:22.000 |
that makes you believe it's good enough to do. 00:07:29.000 |
It encapsulates the big drives in your life that cause you to do what you do, 00:07:34.000 |
and the beliefs in your lives that allows for it to happen. 00:07:40.000 |
The problem is not so much than the grind, but your weak motives, okay? 00:07:53.000 |
Listen, we talked about the various things that are really bad, okay? 00:07:58.000 |
And that's fine, because those can be all states of reality. 00:08:01.000 |
You may have a boss who literally knows a lot less than you. 00:08:10.000 |
You may have difficult circumstances in your lives that are genuinely stressful. 00:08:15.000 |
I have heard from some of you guys that yes, you've been sleeping at the office, 00:08:20.000 |
or that some of you guys go in, you don't come out, and you're like, 00:08:29.000 |
However, even then, there's still a motive for you to go into the office next day. 00:08:36.000 |
Now, within this, while you are going through these grinds and struggles of your life, 00:08:42.000 |
God is challenging you to question, to evaluate, and see your motive to be faithful to Him. 00:08:54.000 |
Within the context of a certain snapshot of your reality-- 00:08:58.000 |
and I'm kind of getting a little bit like talking about reality, motives, interpretations, 00:09:07.000 |
Because it's all right there in your head, all right? 00:09:11.000 |
What you realize then is there are competing motives in your mind. 00:09:17.000 |
Some of them are small, and some of them are huge. 00:09:22.000 |
At any given snapshot moment in your life, as you go through difficulties, 00:09:26.000 |
and as you're struggling to do what God is calling you to do, 00:09:33.000 |
And what God is trying to do through these tests, 00:09:38.000 |
was God was trying to make sure you understand and you keep a pulse. 00:09:45.000 |
Yes, He says, "I'm going to see," but God already knew. 00:09:48.000 |
As a matter of fact, you read the whole book of Deuteronomy, 00:09:55.000 |
They're having a service, and God is teaching the nation, 00:09:59.000 |
"Heads up, I need to teach you this, because I know what you struggle with." 00:10:06.000 |
And He says, "Let me show you, you need to have a heart pulse 00:10:16.000 |
I want you to take a moment to think about that. 00:10:19.000 |
Within the various contexts of your striving, your grind, 00:10:23.000 |
and things like that, do you currently have a pulse? 00:10:26.000 |
How strong is my motive to follow, prioritize, and obey my God? 00:10:33.000 |
How strong is my motive, my dedication, and desire, 00:10:43.000 |
How strong is your desire to serve my God, my Lord and Master? 00:10:50.000 |
You've got to take a moment to meditate on that. 00:10:53.000 |
And I'm assuming, I am assuming that the nation of Israel 00:11:05.000 |
Do you recall the history, Joshua chapter 24? 00:11:08.000 |
The famous, famous passage where Joshua says, 00:11:11.000 |
"Choose for yourself this day whom you will serve. 00:11:15.000 |
As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. 00:11:19.000 |
If it seems good to you to serve the gods of the Amorites 00:11:24.000 |
But if you think that it is good to serve the God of Israel, 00:11:35.000 |
Far be it from us that we should ever serve the gods 00:12:17.000 |
if we are honest with ourselves, that right there, 00:12:21.000 |
our motive to be faithful to God is regularly tested, 00:12:28.000 |
And if we're very honest, if I'm very honest, 00:12:37.000 |
I know I'm a pastor, but let me be honest with you right now. 00:12:40.000 |
There have been days where I'm sitting just tired, 00:12:48.000 |
and go peruse the interweb, you know, interweb, 00:12:59.000 |
And then you do that stuff, and the next thing you know, 00:13:12.000 |
I was looking at trucks and cars and stuff like that. 00:13:14.000 |
I'm just going to confess to you openly right now 00:13:19.000 |
I sat there, and I was looking at this truck. 00:13:29.000 |
Of course, you got to take the whole family with you. 00:13:51.000 |
That moment right there, my motive for life was tested. 00:13:58.000 |
I started thinking, "You know what I could do 00:14:00.000 |
is I could probably make some money doing X, Y, and Z. 00:14:21.000 |
As soon as I started thinking that, I was like, 00:14:26.000 |
If I just did this, I would make this much money." 00:14:29.000 |
My career choice was on the line in that moment. 00:14:35.000 |
And the next thing I knew, I started thinking, 00:14:39.000 |
I've confessed many times that I love working on cars. 00:14:42.000 |
Right now, one of my cars, I wanted to do this thing. 00:14:56.000 |
And then later, I don't know what I was thinking, 00:15:08.000 |
"Dude, Bia, there's like, idolatry in my mind. 00:15:24.000 |
"What if I had a different profession in life?" 00:15:27.000 |
You guys know, I would, I love being a pastor. 00:15:42.000 |
Okay, I'm pretty sure you guys can relate to that. 00:15:49.000 |
I believe, it's not moments of intense persecution, 00:15:59.000 |
It's actually in the numbness of the grind of your lives. 00:16:04.000 |
It's actually in the kind of monotonous, purposeless, 00:16:11.000 |
where your desires are inspired for other stuff. 00:16:17.000 |
It's especially when you're frustrated at your work, 00:16:19.000 |
and you want that other job, and you want that other stuff, 00:16:22.000 |
where those inspirations pop up on your feet, mentally. 00:16:28.000 |
And all of a sudden, you can entertain and picture 00:16:35.000 |
"God, if you could somehow snap your magical finger 00:16:38.000 |
and give me this alternate universe where I could be there." 00:16:53.000 |
I have called you to be faithful to me here and now 00:17:02.000 |
You've got nothing but your family and your community with you. 00:17:05.000 |
"Can you be faithful to me, or do I have to magically 00:17:08.000 |
snap my finger and put you there in order for you to love me 00:17:22.000 |
Because sometimes, in our complaining and griping 00:17:25.000 |
about our wilderness now, our grind right now, 00:17:39.000 |
The other night, I asked you guys to compare with each other 00:17:43.000 |
who has the greatest number in terms of score of fatigue. 00:17:52.000 |
And then you guys have been kind of following this trail 00:17:56.000 |
in our young adult work life and stuff like that, 00:17:58.000 |
is we compare our work lives and then we compete 00:18:02.000 |
And when we do that, though, sometimes the danger is 00:18:06.000 |
It's okay that you guys talk about your hardships. 00:18:08.000 |
Because actually, I love it when you guys are able 00:18:10.000 |
to minister to each other through your hardships, right? 00:18:13.000 |
If you feel weak, you should be able to ask for help. 00:18:15.000 |
If you feel like you're not really striving after the Lord, 00:18:17.000 |
you should reveal, "These are the things that are hard for me," 00:18:37.000 |
Who would win in the game, in the competition, 00:19:00.000 |
to maybe enjoy the freedoms that they just recently earned, 00:19:04.000 |
to maybe do stuff that they never got to do before, 00:19:10.000 |
Some of these Israelites knew nothing but slavery. 00:19:19.000 |
If you ever find yourself keep pointing at your circumstance 00:19:23.000 |
as the excuse why you're not growing as you should 00:19:45.000 |
"Because of the stuff that has happened in my life, 00:19:57.000 |
Turn in your Bibles with me to Ephesians 6, verse 5. 00:21:21.000 |
Have you guys ever worked under people like that? 00:21:38.000 |
With meekness, with fear, with respect, then, 00:21:42.000 |
with a sincere heart like you really, really want to, 00:22:27.000 |
There is no temporary kind of freedom up ahead. 00:22:34.000 |
Except this is the expectation of God upon you. 00:23:42.000 |
The cause of your submitting to an ungodly individual 00:24:02.000 |
but if when you do what is right and suffer for it, 00:24:09.000 |
Notice how this finds favor is written twice. 00:24:25.000 |
there's appreciation work day on every Friday of the week, 00:24:33.000 |
no, like, you know, hovering over your shoulders, 00:24:57.000 |
they're kind of totally taking advantage of you, 00:25:05.000 |
you're submissive to people that doesn't make sense to be submissive for, 00:25:16.000 |
That's when you get to answer and give your reason, 00:25:46.000 |
If earlier, this long, long, drawn out point that I've given you was, 00:25:50.000 |
the fault in our circumstance is not just the hardships, 00:25:54.000 |
the fault in our circumstance is your faulty motive, 00:26:01.000 |
Then what must be the motive that stands the test of time? 00:26:05.000 |
What must be the motive that stands a year, two, three, four, five years of hardship? 00:26:11.000 |
I want to make sure that every Christian that are in our midst, 00:26:18.000 |
would be those who even after 40 years of the desert, 00:26:22.000 |
would have strong motive to be faithful to God, right? 00:26:30.000 |
you're going to be working for the next 30, 40 years. 00:26:36.000 |
as we think about motivation and what it means, 00:26:41.000 |
we have to understand how important it is that for us, 00:26:47.000 |
the same kind of motive that is driving this Christian slave, 00:26:58.000 |
I desire, and have this incredible ambition in my heart, 00:27:08.000 |
Now, is that the first time you guys have ever heard that? 00:27:20.000 |
When was the last time you moved yourself by that motive, 00:27:25.000 |
and said, "I am here now doing what I'm doing, 00:27:28.000 |
because I have my great ambition to please God." 00:27:32.000 |
If you go through your Bibles over to 2 Corinthians 5, 00:27:35.000 |
there's an important passage that summarizes that. 00:28:04.000 |
It says, "Therefore, we have as our ambition, 00:28:08.000 |
whether at home or outside, to be pleasing to Him, 00:28:12.000 |
for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, 00:28:16.000 |
so that each one may be recompensed for his deed in the body, 00:28:20.000 |
according to what he has done, whether good or bad." 00:28:28.000 |
This is the operating worldview by which the Christian slave is saying, 00:28:34.000 |
Because I am placing trust in the fact that when I do this, 00:28:44.000 |
Now, in as much as I want to pound this pulpit 00:28:49.000 |
please understand that I am, again, really hoping that we understand this. 00:29:03.000 |
for me, one of the great privileges of being a pastor is, 00:29:08.000 |
Alright, now, think with me here and meditate, okay? 00:29:20.000 |
And why is it so important for us to not only have this great ambition to please the Lord, 00:29:25.000 |
to have this in the Scriptures, to have this in our notes, 00:29:27.000 |
and have this on our walls, but to have it in your heart. 00:29:36.000 |
We've seen ourselves be slow to do the things that we want to do. 00:29:45.000 |
You know how sometimes, some days, it takes like four hours to send four emails. 00:29:49.000 |
You could have done it in like ten minutes, right? 00:29:51.000 |
For those of you guys who are studying, I know, I've seen you guys when you're not motivated to study. 00:29:55.000 |
You read a page, you finish a whole bag of chips. 00:29:58.000 |
You read another page, you go talk to your friends. 00:30:03.000 |
Now is that why, you know, why it's so important to think about going to church? 00:30:12.000 |
The reason why is because our Christian life is all about faith. 00:30:17.000 |
What we are doing is operating by what we believe. 00:30:22.000 |
So here and now is a big conceptual thing that I had to do, 00:30:33.000 |
Right now, I just made a big push saying your motivation should be to please the Lord. 00:30:43.000 |
What is the biggest stumbling block in order for you to get there? 00:30:47.000 |
What is happening in your head that even for, again, earlier I gave you my confession. 00:30:58.000 |
I studied, like, years and years and years to get to this position. 00:31:02.000 |
Why would it be so easy for me to let go of that from one small material object? 00:31:22.000 |
My next major point to you is going to be this. 00:31:26.000 |
Remember at the proposition I said there is a worldview, there is a mentality, there 00:31:32.000 |
is an interpretation that allows for your motivation to be weak. 00:31:39.000 |
You will be only motivated by that which is pleasing to you. 00:31:57.000 |
We are not going to stick out our hand and do something that we think is going to be 00:32:07.000 |
We are only going to go and grab that which we think is going to be good. 00:32:11.000 |
It is our interpretation of what is good that is going to cause us to actually be motivated 00:32:24.000 |
Every single individual in this room knows that it is a vice, it is sinful, it is ultimately 00:32:30.000 |
going to wreck people's lives, it is messing with your brain and yet so many people struggle 00:32:46.000 |
It is pleasing to you and therefore it is yours. 00:32:52.000 |
Now, I want you to take a moment to think about this. 00:33:00.000 |
Here I am saying your motivation comes from your interpretation that this thing is good. 00:33:16.000 |
What you have to do is have this mentality where you are reinterpreting what is actually 00:33:21.000 |
Your greatest sanctification is going to be for you to truly do a mind change about what 00:33:27.000 |
you believe is actually good and pleasing to you. 00:33:36.000 |
For us, we have just talked about how the nation of Israel were slaves. 00:33:58.000 |
When in the world did we stop thinking that all of a sudden we weren't a slave? 00:34:10.000 |
It is an absolutely wrong, unsanctified thing for me to dictate my own good pleasure. 00:34:21.000 |
What needs to happen in the mind whenever we are hitting certain walls, what needs to happen 00:34:27.000 |
in the mind when we see weak motivations, what needs to happen in the mind when we see competing 00:34:33.000 |
If I'm looking at a truck and saying, "I want that so much that I'm going to now change 00:34:38.000 |
my course of path," it's not just easy for me to say, "Hey, I need to go put this away. 00:34:48.000 |
And if you, you're struggling with stuff, whether it be pornography, whether it be idols of 00:34:53.000 |
other stuff, whether it be idols of things like homes, whether it be idols of cars, 00:35:02.000 |
You're not going to win by telling yourself, "See no evil, hear no evil." 00:35:09.000 |
Because in your head, you've already deemed it to be good for you. 00:35:19.000 |
And we have to understand that we as slaves, our subjected, our humble position must be, 00:35:28.000 |
"Lord, you dictate what is pleasing and good. 00:35:37.000 |
And so therefore, you have to reinterpret everything that is good. 00:35:43.000 |
Are you only good and God honoring when you are the greatest version of yourself like 00:35:51.000 |
Are you only glorifying God when you are being respected at work and you are promoting every 00:36:02.000 |
Will you not be glorifying God if you were a t-shirt seller for the rest of your life 00:36:08.000 |
Would you not be pleading unto the Lord if you were suffering, if you were mistreated? 00:36:18.000 |
And yet, and yet for us, that is going to be some of the hardest things. 00:36:23.000 |
So scripture says, I'm going to read to you 1 Peter chapter 1. 00:36:26.000 |
Why don't you turn there and read along with me? 00:36:41.000 |
"Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king 00:36:48.000 |
as the one in authority or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers 00:36:56.000 |
For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. 00:37:01.000 |
Act as free men and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as what? 00:37:11.000 |
And do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:37:17.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:37:24.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:37:32.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:37:39.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:37:43.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:37:47.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:37:51.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:37:55.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:37:59.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:38:03.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:38:07.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:38:11.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:38:15.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:38:19.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:38:23.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:38:27.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:38:31.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:38:35.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:38:39.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:38:43.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:38:47.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:38:51.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:38:55.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:38:59.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:39:03.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:39:07.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:39:11.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:39:15.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:39:19.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:39:23.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:39:27.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:39:31.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:39:35.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:39:39.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:39:43.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:39:47.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:39:51.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:39:55.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:39:59.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:40:03.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:40:07.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:40:11.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:40:15.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:40:19.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:40:23.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:40:27.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:40:31.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:40:35.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:40:39.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:40:43.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:40:47.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:40:51.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:40:55.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:40:59.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:41:03.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:41:07.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:41:11.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:41:15.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:41:19.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:41:23.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:41:27.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:41:31.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:41:35.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:41:39.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:41:43.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:41:47.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:41:51.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:41:55.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:41:59.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:42:03.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:42:07.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:42:11.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:42:15.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:42:19.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:42:23.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:42:27.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:42:31.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:42:35.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:42:39.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:42:43.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:42:47.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:42:51.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:42:55.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:42:59.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:43:03.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:43:07.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:43:11.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:43:15.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:43:19.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:43:23.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:43:27.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:43:31.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:43:35.000 |
And if you are a slave of the Lord, do not use your freedom as a cover for evil. 00:43:39.000 |
Go in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 7, verse 17-24. 00:43:43.000 |
Let me read that passage. 1 Corinthians chapter 7, verse 17-24. 00:43:48.000 |
As you turn there, think about this. Does a slave have fears? 00:43:55.000 |
Think about it from a slave's perspective. Think about it from your perspective. 00:43:59.000 |
Is this going to be my life? Being the gopher for this ungodly man? 00:44:04.000 |
Is this going to be my value? Being the object of another human being? 00:44:11.000 |
This could be for some their worst case scenario. 00:44:15.000 |
Think about your other fears. God is calling you to do things in your life that you have fears about whether you can do or not. 00:44:20.000 |
I am not qualified for this. I don't have the skills for this. 00:44:24.000 |
You have fears. Now take a look at this. 1 Corinthians chapter 7, verse 17-24. 00:44:30.000 |
And we should probably start to wrap things up a little bit. 00:44:34.000 |
Verse 17. "Only as the Lord has assigned to each one." 00:44:38.000 |
Are you guys there? I can still hear some pages. 00:44:42.000 |
"Only as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each in this manner, let him walk. 00:44:47.000 |
And so I direct in all the churches, was any man called when he was already circumcised? 00:44:54.000 |
He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? 00:44:59.000 |
He is not to be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing. And uncircumcision is nothing. 00:45:05.000 |
But what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God. 00:45:09.000 |
Each man must remain in the condition in which he was called. 00:45:17.000 |
I want you to highlight this. Do not worry about it. 00:45:24.000 |
Next. "But if you are able to also be free, rather do that. 00:45:29.000 |
For he who was called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord's free man. 00:45:33.000 |
Likewise, he who was called while free is Christ's slave. 00:45:37.000 |
You are a bond with the Christ. Do not become slaves of men. 00:45:40.000 |
Brethren, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called." 00:45:47.000 |
Someone's going to come up to me and be like, "Oh shoot. I just applied for another job. 00:45:54.000 |
If you can do it, just do it. It does not matter. 00:45:59.000 |
If you have the freedom and the liberty to go get another higher paying job, just do it. 00:46:04.000 |
That is not really what he is talking about, is it? 00:46:13.000 |
I am going to be a slave for the rest of my life. 00:46:16.000 |
I am going to be a low level, entry job for the rest of my life. 00:46:23.000 |
I am going to be this for the rest of my life? 00:46:27.000 |
The world might be like, "Is that all you amount to?" 00:46:36.000 |
He straight up says, "Do not let it trouble you." 00:46:40.000 |
If you were a slave, if you said this outside the church walls, people would be like, "What? 00:46:49.000 |
Especially in this highly racialized culture even now, you bring this up like, "You know, 00:46:55.000 |
you read this verse outside of our context, this sounds offensive. 00:46:59.000 |
How do you dare tell a slave, 'Were you a slave? 00:47:14.000 |
So for you and me, when we reinterpret our good and when we reinterpret our fears, you 00:47:31.000 |
It took me a long road to get here, but please listen up. 00:47:36.000 |
If you are looking sleepy, I am going to call your name. 00:47:39.000 |
Do not look sleepy because I am going to call your name. 00:47:47.000 |
The question was asked, "How do you remain faithful?" 00:47:55.000 |
Faith is, God said it, I am putting it to the test and obeying it. 00:48:05.000 |
Listen, you may be being mistreated right now, but when you exemplify the character 00:48:22.000 |
God has said, you may think that you are sitting in your room in the dark so alone, but He 00:48:42.000 |
Your faith is taking God at His word and testing it to be true. 00:48:47.000 |
When you are in the midst of your grind, and God tells you, do not worry, I will see you 00:49:01.000 |
That is what it comes down to for us, where we interpret. 00:49:05.000 |
I am going to read for us again by way of conclusion, 1 Peter chapter 2. 00:49:09.000 |
Scripture says, servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to 00:49:14.000 |
those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. 00:49:20.000 |
If for the sake of conscience towards God a person bears up under sorrows with suffering 00:49:25.000 |
and unjustly, for what credit is there if when you sin and are harshly treated you endure 00:49:31.000 |
with patience, but if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure 00:49:41.000 |
Brothers and sisters, I am not telling you to fake happy when you are in the grind. 00:49:46.000 |
We are challenging to a saying, stay on the course of being faithful to God. 00:50:00.000 |
Lord, we want to take a moment Father God to ask of you, Father to have grace upon us 00:50:11.000 |
that Lord you would truly motivate our hearts to long for you, to seek your good pleasure, 00:50:20.000 |
to desire to be pleasing and to find favor with you. 00:50:25.000 |
Father God, in this day and age, even our Christian community has done us a disfavor 00:50:31.000 |
by saying that God there is nothing about you being either more pleased or less pleased 00:50:38.000 |
with us, but clearly Lord your scripture says that when we are enduring the grind, God this 00:50:46.000 |
When we exhibit Christ like character through the grind, that God this glorifies you. 00:50:52.000 |
And so I pray Father that God would put that to the test and Lord we would be found faithful. 00:50:59.000 |
Lord, I want to take a moment because I know there are some people who are struggling. 00:51:06.000 |
They are struggling Father God with their own weakness and I know many of us struggle 00:51:10.000 |
with our own fears of what we are becoming, but I pray Lord that you would provide your 00:51:17.000 |
holy presence, help us to see you in our picture, help us Father God to see you as the biggest 00:51:25.000 |
thing in our interpretation, help us Father God to see you as the most powerful thing, 00:51:30.000 |
the most weighty, the most important thing, the greatest thing in all of our minds, so 00:51:36.000 |
that God you saturate everything that we are about.