back to indexBAM Retreat: Reserved for God, Session 2
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In fellowship, hanging out, going out to eat together. 00:08:50.000 |
As we think about this day's theme of God's holiness and things like that. 00:09:00.000 |
it's not necessarily something brand spanking new to you. 00:09:05.000 |
But every time we get together like this, it is such good refreshes for 00:09:10.000 |
us to think about how we are treating God and how we're relating to him. 00:09:25.000 |
But also in many ways, we know there is a directional and 00:09:28.000 |
relational aspect where this is our expression, right? 00:09:32.000 |
This is in many ways, this is how we're treating the Lord, so to speak. 00:09:39.000 |
Heavenly Father, as I think about, as we together think about you, 00:09:45.000 |
we want to, Lord, more and more express to you how much we love you. 00:09:51.000 |
And being able to sing to you, Lord God, is sweet food to our soul. 00:09:59.000 |
And Lord, as we hear your word, for a lot of us, 00:10:02.000 |
these things that we hear is just a reminder to God that we want to 00:10:06.000 |
respect you for who you are, we want to prioritize you for who you are, 00:10:13.000 |
And so to that end, God, I pray that all the things that we hear, 00:10:17.000 |
the words that we lift up to you, would truly be for us 00:10:23.000 |
And God, would you continue to bless us in that? 00:10:26.000 |
Lord, as we sing to you, would you bless our heart? 00:10:30.000 |
And then Lord, as we hear your word, would you thoroughly cause our 00:10:33.000 |
minds and our hearts to be blessed this time? 00:10:36.000 |
We thank you it's in Christ and we pray. Amen. 00:11:05.000 |
Lift up your case, be lifted up. Tell everyone how great the love. 00:11:14.000 |
We've come down from heaven's gates to kiss the earth with hope and grace. 00:11:29.000 |
Lift up your case, be lifted up. Tell everyone how great the love. 00:11:38.000 |
We've come down from heaven's gates to kiss the earth with hope and grace. 00:11:49.000 |
Who is this King of glory? The Lord is strong and mighty. 00:12:11.000 |
Lift up your hands, be lifted up. Let the redeemed declare the love. 00:12:21.000 |
And we bow down at heaven's gates to kiss the feet of hope and grace. 00:12:32.000 |
Who is this King of glory? The Lord is strong and mighty. 00:12:55.000 |
There is one God, he is holy. There is one Lord over everything. 00:13:04.000 |
There is one King, he is Jesus. The King of glory, strong and mighty. 00:13:14.000 |
There is one God, he is holy. There is one Lord over everything. 00:13:24.000 |
There is one King, he is Jesus. The King of glory, strong and mighty. 00:13:37.000 |
You are the King of glory. The Lord is strong and mighty. 00:14:06.000 |
You are the King of glory. The Lord is strong and mighty. 00:14:15.000 |
You are the King of glory. The Lord is strong and mighty. 00:14:25.000 |
You are the King of glory. The Lord is strong and mighty. 00:14:44.000 |
Lord, I give you my heart. I give you my soul. 00:14:53.000 |
I live for you alone. Every breath that I take. 00:15:02.000 |
Every moment I'm awake. Lord, have your way in me. 00:15:31.000 |
To honor you. Lord, with all my heart, I worship you. 00:16:20.000 |
Lord, I give you my heart. I give you my soul. 00:16:29.000 |
I live for you alone. Every breath that I take. 00:16:38.000 |
Every moment I'm awake. Lord, have your way in me. 00:17:08.000 |
To honor you. Lord, with all my heart, I worship you. 00:17:53.000 |
Lord, I give you my heart. I give you my soul. 00:18:05.000 |
I live for you alone. Every breath that I take. 00:18:14.000 |
Every moment I'm awake. Lord, have your way in me. 00:18:24.000 |
Lord, I give you my heart. I give you my soul. 00:18:33.000 |
I live for you alone. Every breath that I take. 00:18:42.000 |
Every moment I'm awake. Lord, have your way in me. 00:19:25.000 |
So, earlier I mentioned, you know, this is in many ways, as we think about the holiness of God, 00:19:33.000 |
and then our own application of that, it is kind of like a motivational speech, 00:19:39.000 |
in the sense that essentially what we're singing there is at the heart of the exhortation. 00:19:48.000 |
If we're seeing him in the right light, to respect him more, to honor him more, 00:19:52.000 |
to prioritize him more, right? That's at the heart of the exhortation. 00:19:58.000 |
And earlier this morning, we were learning and thinking through, 00:20:04.000 |
if we think about the holiness of God, and particularly the fact that he is unique, 00:20:10.000 |
and therefore of utmost, highest, and transcendent value, 00:20:15.000 |
then there is a different way you handle him. 00:20:21.000 |
Where it should not be just like every single day, and it should be essentially uncommon, 00:20:30.000 |
And what I said was, what's really profound about all this, 00:20:35.000 |
is then in terms of not only God's holiness, but our relationship to it, 00:20:39.000 |
what is going to be the primary character trait of that relationship we have with God. 00:20:45.000 |
And the exhortation I have for you in this second sermon, 00:20:49.000 |
is that this relationship is going to be marked by faithfulness. 00:20:55.000 |
And another way to put it, is how I entitled this day, and the topic and theme, 00:21:01.000 |
is faithfulness can be synonymous with something like loyalty. 00:21:06.000 |
You're doing your best to be loyal to this God. 00:21:09.000 |
But another way I want to put it, is in order to be loyal with God, 00:21:19.000 |
Where there is this element of, yes, you're being loyal to God, 00:21:22.000 |
but not at the same time, entertaining or having other relationships. 00:21:29.000 |
And so that's why I entitled the day's theme, "Reserved for God." 00:21:35.000 |
That our interaction and relationship with God is not about just the do's and don'ts, 00:21:39.000 |
it's not about limitations, it's not about prohibitions, 00:21:42.000 |
but it's more about your reservation, that you have been set apart, 00:21:50.000 |
And therefore, when other opportunities come, when other enjoyments, 00:21:55.000 |
other enticements and allurements come, that our heart says, "Nope, 00:22:00.000 |
I'm not actually engaging in this because I have already been claimed, 00:22:07.000 |
That is the way we ought to think, that is the way we're supposed to be framing 00:22:14.000 |
In the epic battle between, "Oh, are we supposed to operate by faith?" 00:22:18.000 |
and then trying to fight our natural inclination to do what is easy, 00:22:23.000 |
which is to operate by law, operate by rules and principles. 00:22:30.000 |
In that epic battle, the way you overcome is to make sure that your relationship 00:22:34.000 |
with God is seen by way of these words, "Your reserved faithfulness, 00:22:41.000 |
your simplistic but very clear devotion, I'm yours." 00:22:48.000 |
And that's why I said today is going to be in many ways just a reminder, 00:22:52.000 |
a push, and a motivation for you to love the Lord in that way, 00:22:55.000 |
to be able to say, "God, there's a sentiment that I want to express to you, 00:23:01.000 |
which was in the morning, 'You matter so much to me, you're everything.'" 00:23:06.000 |
But then there's also another flip side to that exact same coin, 00:23:09.000 |
which is you being able to say, "I'm entirely yours." 00:23:19.000 |
That's the main point, that's the main thrust, and that's how I want to phrase it. 00:23:24.000 |
One of the passages that we read earlier in our mini-talk or mini-sermon 00:23:34.000 |
And I'm going to just reference for you, so don't turn there for the sake of time. 00:23:39.000 |
Galatians 5, verse 22 stated, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, 00:23:45.000 |
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." 00:23:51.000 |
And then it says, "Against such things there is no law." 00:23:56.000 |
Pause there and ask the question, "Huh, but there is law, right?" 00:24:06.000 |
God commands us to have joy. "Rejoice always," He said, right? 00:24:10.000 |
God commands us to be kind and good and just and faithful. 00:24:14.000 |
God commands us to be gentle even with those who are caught in sin. 00:24:20.000 |
The very next chapter, Galatians 6, actually begins with that. 00:24:23.000 |
"If a brother is caught in sin, you who are spiritual, correct him, but with gentleness." 00:24:30.000 |
So what in the world does He mean when He says that the fruits of the Spirit, 00:24:39.000 |
Why? Why no law when you've clearly given us commandment in the Scripture? 00:24:45.000 |
Because in life, there are things that are not governed by just simply law. 00:24:52.000 |
Especially when you have the heart of saying, "I am 100% yours." 00:24:59.000 |
Tell me, what governing principles, what governing limitations, right? 00:25:05.000 |
What governing to-dos and not-dos exists in a kind of hard attitude that says, 00:25:18.000 |
There are things in life that are not governed in such ways, 00:25:21.000 |
but are rather governed by love, reservation, 00:25:24.000 |
where you have reserved yourself freely and volitionally to the Lord. 00:25:28.000 |
And what you have then is not law, but you have freedom. 00:25:35.000 |
Do you think it's wise to give X amount to the Lord? 00:25:38.000 |
Do you think it's wise to devote two hours to praise? 00:25:50.000 |
It would be awesome if you could pray for an hour, 00:25:53.000 |
sing songs like this for two hours, read the Scriptures for three, 00:26:04.000 |
Why? Because that question of "should I" is not governed by law. 00:26:10.000 |
It's governed by your love relationship with God. Amen? 00:26:14.000 |
And that's the amazing thing we have with the Lord, 00:26:22.000 |
This is, again, one of the massive grace gifts of the Gospel, 00:26:32.000 |
but also for you to freely give of yourself to the Lord 00:26:39.000 |
Take a look at this passage. This is point one. 00:26:43.000 |
Turn your Bibles to Leviticus 20, verses 24-26. 00:27:09.000 |
what's funny is Leviticus is an entire book of laws. 00:27:14.000 |
And yet what we find is this operating principle 00:27:19.000 |
that God's love is upon us, and He gives to us the context 00:27:24.000 |
that we would freely, freely engage the Lord in this love relationship. 00:27:30.000 |
Leviticus 20, starting from verse 24, says this. 00:27:34.000 |
"Hence I have said to you, you are to possess their land, 00:27:38.000 |
and I myself will give it to you to possess it, 00:27:43.000 |
That's a promise of God. I'm going to give this to you. 00:27:58.000 |
That's the love of God. God has consecrated you. 00:28:04.000 |
He has now made you no longer just like the rest, 00:28:13.000 |
He has pulled you out from a wicked generation. 00:28:16.000 |
And then He said, "I'm going to make you mine." 00:28:20.000 |
Verse 25, "You are therefore to make a distinction 00:28:28.000 |
And you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird 00:28:44.000 |
and I have set you apart from the peoples to be mine." 00:28:54.000 |
Point one, essentially, is to recognize and meditate 00:29:08.000 |
Our relationship with the Holy God is to be reserved for Him. 00:29:15.000 |
Take a moment to meditate and think about this. 00:29:19.000 |
In so many different sermons and in so many different contexts, 00:29:26.000 |
who is there to give you gifts for this life." 00:29:30.000 |
And in the Gospel, we recognize to think of God in such ways 00:29:34.000 |
is to belittle Him and to belittle the work that He has done. 00:29:44.000 |
it means that God, upon looking at the orphan child 00:29:48.000 |
who is naked, bleeding, and cast out, and thrown away-- 00:29:55.000 |
God describes people prior to His salvation work. 00:30:05.000 |
And if you believe the Gospel of this sort, you're saying, 00:30:19.000 |
God did not come by and say, "Do you need a canteen? 00:30:54.000 |
but for your sustenance, provision, and entirety of life." 00:31:00.000 |
And ask the child, "What would you like more? 00:31:25.000 |
the verse you're underlining is verse 24 and 26, 00:31:28.000 |
where it says, "Thus you are to be holy to me." 00:31:44.000 |
You see, in the epic battle of living life as a Pharisee 00:31:53.000 |
My holiness is not a token of my achievement. 00:32:15.000 |
like it's some kind of single-player strategy game, 00:32:26.000 |
to the relationship we have with this Holy God. 00:32:32.000 |
Go there now, Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 4, 00:32:42.000 |
This is the passage every good Jew has to memorize. 00:32:45.000 |
This is the passage every good Jew has to recite 00:32:50.000 |
But what we know it as is this is the golden rule, 00:33:32.000 |
"You shall teach them diligently to your children 00:33:34.000 |
"and shall talk to them when you sit in your house 00:33:45.000 |
"They shall be as frontlets between your eyes." 00:33:48.000 |
They had little boxes, some of these individuals. 00:33:50.000 |
"You shall write them on the doorposts of your house 00:34:02.000 |
"there is no such law in terms of what you should do." 00:34:13.000 |
for every single one of us, we know what it means 00:34:16.000 |
to love so much that we would gladly post photos 00:34:31.000 |
that the standalone God should have such high place 00:34:39.000 |
The God who is one should have such a high place 00:34:43.000 |
in all of our affection that with our heart, soul, 00:34:49.000 |
This is the kind of relationship we are to have. 00:34:53.000 |
Now, the reason why I'm trying to emphasize it 00:35:00.000 |
is because this is where truly the battle is. 00:35:09.000 |
then everything you do at church in terms of putting up photos, 00:35:12.000 |
putting up this, you know what that's going to feel like? 00:35:15.000 |
It's going to feel like having a box between your eyes. 00:35:19.000 |
It's going to feel like having a sticker on your hand 00:35:23.000 |
If this aspect of the affection that you have for God 00:35:27.000 |
because he is singular, because he is holy, is lost, 00:35:31.000 |
then the reason and purpose for everything we do at church is lost. 00:35:35.000 |
And so I want to rephrase how we are to think of our relationship with God 00:35:39.000 |
in another way by having you turn to 2 Corinthians 11, verse 2. 00:35:44.000 |
Turn your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 11, verse 2. 00:36:04.000 |
As you turn there, Apostle Paul is going to frame for us 00:36:07.000 |
how he envisions our relationship with the Lord. 00:36:11.000 |
And Apostle Paul in that statement then also is able to place himself 00:36:23.000 |
It says, "For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, 00:36:31.000 |
so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. 00:36:36.000 |
But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, 00:36:41.000 |
your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ." 00:36:50.000 |
how he is envisioning your relationship to Christ. 00:36:55.000 |
And then therefore he's able to think about his role. 00:37:04.000 |
It's like, you know who you'd fit really well with? 00:37:07.000 |
And when you see people, you're like, you know who you could get really along with? 00:37:12.000 |
Apostle Paul is picturing himself as the matchmaker. 00:37:17.000 |
Not only am I going to be your matchmaker, I'm going to prepare you. 00:37:23.000 |
I'm going to prepare you, get all ready for your union with Christ. 00:37:31.000 |
So the reason why this all matters is because 00:37:36.000 |
when we start thinking about the practicals of your daily decisions in your holiness, 00:37:41.000 |
and we talked about it during the Q&A, decisions about your moves, 00:37:45.000 |
like where and when you move, decisions about your career, 00:37:49.000 |
decisions also, yes, about dating, decisions about how much and why you invest, 00:37:54.000 |
all of these things has an element of what should you do 00:37:59.000 |
based on wisdom and reality and information you have. 00:38:03.000 |
However, here and now then, we're going to use a different kind of parameter, 00:38:09.000 |
a kind of wisdom that is not exercised by the world. 00:38:13.000 |
You see, the world has its kind of standards, 00:38:27.000 |
You know, a famous philosopher, Aristotle, he had lots of principles for living. 00:38:32.000 |
One of the things he said that people use is, "You know what? In everything, just moderation. 00:38:36.000 |
Just don't overdo it." And some people live by that mantra. 00:38:40.000 |
Just want a balanced life. Everything has to be kind of manageable. 00:38:44.000 |
My schedule, my ambitions, my church, my devotion, all that kind of stuff. 00:38:50.000 |
But honestly speaking, all those things is low standards of living. 00:38:56.000 |
All of those things are deficient principles. Why? 00:39:00.000 |
Because for us, what we're trying to do is preserve ourselves in the purity that God wants 00:39:06.000 |
so that we would be as pure virgins for Christ. 00:39:10.000 |
To think of ourselves in that way, "I am reserved." 00:39:15.000 |
And so, when you think about that, think about all the ramifications. 00:39:20.000 |
I didn't want to just give you specific do's and don'ts. 00:39:27.000 |
Think about the ramifications of what it means for you to not give yourself away to various things, 00:39:33.000 |
but rather preserve yourself so that you would be pure. 00:39:38.000 |
And so, I want to talk about a couple of these things. 00:39:42.000 |
Now, the way that I'm going to move into talking about these things is to say, 00:39:48.000 |
when we think about being pure, being reserved, and preserved, 00:40:00.000 |
Because another way to think of it is the fastest way to holiness is to be more like Jesus. 00:40:06.000 |
And so, in this whole talk about having a relationship, 00:40:10.000 |
in this whole talk about being in an intimate relationship with God, with love, 00:40:18.000 |
It's like, "Huh, sometimes I struggle so much with how do I express myself? 00:40:25.000 |
Have you ever thought about copying Jesus and his love for God? 00:40:30.000 |
Jesus is typically to us the model of suffering, the model of sacrifice. 00:40:35.000 |
Jesus is typically to us the model of how to absorb all the angst, anxiety, and troubles of this world. 00:40:43.000 |
That's typically a lot of times how people think of Jesus' example. 00:40:46.000 |
Have you ever thought about Jesus' example in his love and devotion to God the Father? 00:40:54.000 |
Scripture tells us that our fastest way to holiness essentially is imitation. 00:40:59.000 |
That we who call on the name of the Lord, as we abide in him, we ought to walk in the way that he walked. 00:41:06.000 |
So, in this way of thinking about it, the next point I want to talk about, point two, 00:41:14.000 |
is in the example of Christ, his reservation for God was his loyalty. 00:41:24.000 |
I want you to write down an important term to think about his loyalty. 00:41:28.000 |
Turn in your Bibles to John chapter 17, verse 13. 00:41:35.000 |
What an intimate relationship that Jesus had with God. 00:41:39.000 |
Such a way that he really expressed himself as one with the Lord. 00:41:43.000 |
But what you find is Jesus saying to God, essentially, on this life, 00:41:48.000 |
"I've walked the path that you have set. I've walked in loyalty to you." 00:41:54.000 |
So, if you turn in your Bibles to John chapter 17, this is Jesus going to the cross, praying to the Father, 00:42:04.000 |
He says, "Actually, although it's a little bit long, I'm going to start from Jesus' prayer there in verse 1. 00:42:17.000 |
It says, "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that the Son may glorify you. 00:42:23.000 |
Even as you gave him authority over all flesh, that to all whom you have given him, he may give eternal life. 00:42:31.000 |
This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 00:42:37.000 |
I glorified you on the earth, having accomplished the work which you have given me to do. 00:42:43.000 |
Now, Father, glorify me together with yourself, with the glory which I had with you before the world was. 00:42:50.000 |
I have manifested your name to the men you gave me out of the world. 00:42:54.000 |
They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 00:42:59.000 |
Now they have come to know that everything you have given me is from you. 00:43:03.000 |
For the words which you have given me, I have given to them." 00:43:10.000 |
I've honored you. I've served you. I've magnified you. 00:43:15.000 |
That's the theme that he's going to constantly say. 00:43:20.000 |
"I ask on their behalf, I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 00:43:26.000 |
And all things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I have been glorified in them. 00:43:30.000 |
I am no longer in the world, and yet they themselves are in the world, and I have come to you, Holy Father. 00:43:36.000 |
Keep them in your name, the name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are. 00:43:42.000 |
While I was with them, I was keeping them in your name, which you have given me. 00:43:46.000 |
I guarded them, and not one of them perished, but the son of perdition, so that the Scriptures would be fulfilled. 00:43:53.000 |
But now I come to you, and these things I speak into the world, so that they may have my joy made full in themselves. 00:43:59.000 |
I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 00:44:07.000 |
I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. 00:44:11.000 |
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 00:44:13.000 |
Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. 00:44:17.000 |
As you sent me into the world, I also sent them into the world. 00:44:21.000 |
For their sake I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. 00:44:29.000 |
Jesus essentially is giving a summary of what's happened so far. 00:44:34.000 |
And the intent of God that God has expressed. 00:44:38.000 |
The purpose of God that God has sent Christ for. 00:44:42.000 |
And what you see is this constant mentality, I am in you, you in me, we're like this. 00:44:48.000 |
Right? I guess if I can mesh my fingers together into one, that would be more appropriate to the picture. 00:44:56.000 |
And the constant repeated idea is, everything you have desired me to do, I have done. 00:45:04.000 |
This is the kind of loyalty. This is the kind of faithfulness. 00:45:09.000 |
I want you to think about that in terms of now, quickly thinking through. 00:45:14.000 |
That is a model, very much so of what we are following. 00:45:19.000 |
Right? For us, when we think about our loyalties to God, I want to ask you those categorical questions. 00:45:27.000 |
Those questions of, Lord, I want to be about your business. I want to be about you. 00:45:32.000 |
I want us to be one in this. I want us, essentially, to have such an existence on this world, 00:45:38.000 |
where everything is through you, for you, by you, in you, of you. 00:45:42.000 |
It's from you, every other preposition you can possibly think about. 00:45:48.000 |
And this is the idea of Christ's existing in a way by which there's nothing done here apart from God. 00:45:57.000 |
This is the kind of loyalty and faithfulness Jesus has to the Lord. Right? 00:46:03.000 |
And so, this is kind of an age-old struggle that every single one of us have. 00:46:09.000 |
Where rather than operating in this fashion where there is loyalty, where there is faithfulness, 00:46:14.000 |
we regularly try and do, well, in terms of my workplace, I'm a completely different person working apart from you, 00:46:21.000 |
working beside you, beside as in not next to you, but outside of you, doing my own thing. 00:46:26.000 |
And then on Sundays, I come to you running back. 00:46:29.000 |
That's an entirely different picture. You see what I'm saying? 00:46:33.000 |
And so, I want to give you this admonition. The Lord wants us to be tied in such a way, 00:46:40.000 |
and this is the best example I can give. Again, the marriage example is so frequently used in the Scripture. 00:46:46.000 |
You know how once you're tied with somebody, even when you're dating, you come to church, 00:46:50.000 |
and then people ask you, "Hey, where's your other person?" Right? 00:46:54.000 |
If there's Billy dating Betty, it's like, "Hey, where's Betty?" Right? 00:47:02.000 |
I just use the word Billy and Betty a lot, okay? 00:47:05.000 |
But I want you to think about that. To you, the Christian, 00:47:09.000 |
your faithfulness in terms of your relationship should be so tight, 00:47:13.000 |
the question regularly is, your awareness of God, your walking with God, 00:47:18.000 |
is you expect the two to be together always. Right? 00:47:23.000 |
And that's what I'm talking about. I want to give you this interesting, like, thought. 00:47:34.000 |
In Hosea 2, verses 19-20, we know that the Scripture used this book, 00:47:39.000 |
we know that God used this prophet, to model what was to be God's relationship with His people. 00:47:48.000 |
So listen carefully. God says, "I will betroth you to Me forever." 00:47:54.000 |
Yes. "I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, 00:47:59.000 |
in loving kindness and compassion. I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. 00:48:13.000 |
To think about the way God is thinking about us, 00:48:21.000 |
where He has created union between us and Him. 00:48:27.000 |
And that union is supposed to be characterized by such loyalty. 00:48:31.000 |
And yet it has been the sin of mankind, and the sin of the people of God, 00:48:36.000 |
the sin of the nation of Israel, and the sin of Christians in this day, 00:48:41.000 |
where there's all kinds of adulterous behavior, 00:48:44.000 |
not just by way of selling yourself, like perhaps in this scenario in Hosea, as a harlot, 00:48:51.000 |
but in ways in which we act so many different ways. 00:48:54.000 |
For example, there are so many times when although, yes, as a married couple, 00:49:00.000 |
you should be finding your protection and your unity in that harmony, 00:49:05.000 |
but rather people want to find protection elsewhere. 00:49:09.000 |
We're supposed to experience intimacy, affection within that relationship, 00:49:16.000 |
We're supposed to find acceptance, a sense of belonging within that relationship, 00:49:27.000 |
those are all absolute contrary antonyms of loyalty, right? 00:49:33.000 |
But this has been the mark of mankind for so long. 00:49:42.000 |
He asked this question about where is the source of your quarrels and conflicts among you? 00:49:48.000 |
Do you not dissource your pleasures that wage war in your members? 00:49:51.000 |
You lust and do not have, so you commit murder. 00:49:53.000 |
You are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. 00:49:58.000 |
You ask and do not receive because you ask with wrong motives, 00:50:08.000 |
do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? 00:50:12.000 |
Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God? 00:50:17.000 |
Do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose? 00:50:20.000 |
He jealously desires the spirit which he has made to dwell in us." 00:50:26.000 |
I want you to just reflect on that for a moment there 00:50:28.000 |
because that, again, this point one about thinking ourselves as reserved for God 00:50:35.000 |
is going to be to you one of the most powerful ways of framing 00:50:39.000 |
and having a mentality through all the decisions of your life. 00:50:47.000 |
I want you to think in such a way where whenever you're engaged in a certain activity 00:50:52.000 |
and you've got that little voice in your head that says, "Maybe this isn't wise." 00:50:57.000 |
If you simply ask the question, "Is this wise?" 00:51:00.000 |
your mind can go into all sorts of different rationales. 00:51:03.000 |
"But if I do this, I could get this. But if I do this, I'm going to get hurt. 00:51:08.000 |
But if I do this," and we calculate so quickly. 00:51:12.000 |
If you ask the question, "Is this right? Is this permissible?" 00:51:15.000 |
your mind will quickly go into, "Well, he did it." 00:51:18.000 |
And then you will rationalize the fact that this is all permissible. 00:51:22.000 |
The Scripture challenges us to think beyond those categories of asking ourselves, 00:51:27.000 |
"Is it simply the norm, permissible? Have people done this before?" 00:51:33.000 |
The Scripture is commanding us to ask an altogether different question. 00:51:37.000 |
"Does this communicate my loyalty to my love?" 00:51:50.000 |
Is the decision I'm about to make right now, is it communicating loyalty? 00:51:59.000 |
And again, it's between, let's say, me and my wife. 00:52:03.000 |
Could I go and hang out with another woman if I wanted to? 00:52:10.000 |
As a pastor, truth be told, sometimes it's weird, right? 00:52:15.000 |
Because people ask me for advice, and I'll say, "Come to church." 00:52:18.000 |
And then we meet out in like the cafe or something like that. 00:52:22.000 |
But imagine if I decided, "Well, why don't I take you to with Chris?" 00:52:28.000 |
You would think that was just absolutely silly, right? 00:52:32.000 |
So the thing about it is, is that permissible? 00:52:44.000 |
and you start simplifying things down to a pure base of what it is, 00:52:51.000 |
But if I'm thinking about the heart of my wife, 00:53:06.000 |
James says, "You realize God will be jealous for your heart 00:53:15.000 |
He gave you that opportunity to exist with him in that love relationship 00:53:25.000 |
In your decision-making, have you gone to ask the question, 00:53:30.000 |
"Would my love feel jealous for me if I did this?" 00:53:42.000 |
These are some questions you could ask to check your heart, 00:53:44.000 |
but not only check your heart, but to consider, 00:54:02.000 |
That will cause us to live in a completely different manner." 00:54:05.000 |
And so that quickly makes me move to my next point, point number three, 00:54:09.000 |
which is the Christian who is growing in maturity, 00:54:18.000 |
is the person who's going to be able to discern 00:54:21.000 |
and be readily aware of what pleases and displeases his Lord. 00:54:28.000 |
So my question to you, when we're thinking about holiness applied, 00:54:31.000 |
my question is not just simply, "Do you know what to do, what not to do in every situation?" 00:54:35.000 |
The question more so is, "Do you have a sense of what pleases my Lord? 00:54:40.000 |
Do you have a sense also of what displeases my Lord?" 00:54:46.000 |
And this is something that our Lord Jesus is readily aware. 00:54:51.000 |
In the example of Christ, Christ said very clearly, 00:54:55.000 |
"This is the will of my Father, that he loses nothing." 00:54:58.000 |
"This is the will of my Father, that this life-giving faith, 00:55:04.000 |
so that they may have life and that they may be one with us." 00:55:12.000 |
"You have willed this from eternity. You have willed this from long ago. 00:55:15.000 |
You have sent me for this purpose. This is your agenda. 00:55:18.000 |
This is your business, and my food is to do the will of my Father." 00:55:27.000 |
When he sees the temple, my Lord does not like this. Right? 00:55:34.000 |
When he sees the week, my Lord will have compassion on this. 00:55:39.000 |
Our Savior is so in tune with the will of God. 00:55:43.000 |
Turn your Bibles to Ephesians 5, verse 18, because this chapter, 00:55:48.000 |
Ephesians 5, actually I'm going to highlight several verses from us. 00:55:52.000 |
Just turn over to Ephesians and go to chapter 5. 00:56:00.000 |
I'm going to read various passages just within it. 00:56:04.000 |
First passage I'm going to read is Ephesians 5, verse 1, where it says, 00:56:08.000 |
"Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love, 00:56:14.000 |
just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us, 00:56:17.000 |
an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant offering." 00:56:23.000 |
As he talks about everything you're supposed to put off 00:56:31.000 |
I'm going to start reading actually in verse 9. 00:56:33.000 |
"For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth, 00:56:37.000 |
trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord." 00:56:43.000 |
He says, "Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 00:56:47.000 |
making the most of your time because the days are evil." 00:56:50.000 |
Verse 17, "So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." 00:56:59.000 |
There are times when people want to know very specifically. 00:57:06.000 |
There are times when people ask very specific questions. 00:57:11.000 |
There are some times we want to know exactly what he wants me to do 00:57:21.000 |
But instead, a lot of times what the Lord wants you to know 00:57:25.000 |
is not just simply the minutiae of the detail of the decision to be made. 00:57:30.000 |
He wants you to understand his good pleasure. 00:57:35.000 |
He wants you to be able to gauge what causes his displeasure. 00:57:41.000 |
So when you see various things that are happening in the world, 00:57:47.000 |
There's a time for you to be in great joy and happiness that things are happening, 00:57:52.000 |
but there's a time for you to be upset and indignant about the things that are happening. 00:58:01.000 |
The way you tell the difference is going to be, "Would God be pleased by this? 00:58:06.000 |
Would be this to him pleasurable in his eyes? 00:58:14.000 |
I want you to think about the way that people love each other. 00:58:19.000 |
And the fact of the matter is two individuals who have walked with each other in intimacy, 00:58:23.000 |
two individuals who really know each other, can already predict, 00:58:28.000 |
"Oh, no, no, no. My spouse is going to hate that shirt, right? 00:58:34.000 |
Oh, no, no, no. My spouse is going to love that food. 00:58:36.000 |
Oh, no, no. My spouse is going to hate that stuff." 00:58:38.000 |
Why? Because as you walk together, you are so in tune with your likes and dislikes 00:58:51.000 |
If you want to grow in practical holiness in your life, 00:58:54.000 |
are you growing in the things that the Lord has said, "I love these things"? 00:59:01.000 |
The Lord has said so many times in Scripture, "These things are precious to me." 00:59:05.000 |
A meek individual who knows how to be humble. 00:59:09.000 |
"These things are absolutely abhorrent abominations to me. 00:59:13.000 |
Your haughty eyes that look up at me like, 'What in the world are you doing, God?'" 00:59:23.000 |
God loves to see the precious ladies who are meek, gentle, hardworking, wise, industrious. 00:59:37.000 |
Men who are responsible, strong, convicted, principled, and willing to serve, 00:59:48.000 |
Those things should ring in our ear regularly. 00:59:53.000 |
Those things should be to us like our sensitive palates 01:00:00.000 |
And then as we think about that, now I want to move to point four. 01:00:04.000 |
The holiness that we should seek should constantly transform the desires of our heart. 01:00:17.000 |
what we are okay with having exist in our lives, 01:00:20.000 |
I am challenging you, you should know the will of God, 01:00:23.000 |
and you should be able to say, "Uh-uh, that stuff cannot be here." 01:00:30.000 |
But clearly, in the end, this should absolutely transform our tastes. 01:00:41.000 |
You said it smelled like feet, you said it smelled like sweat, 01:00:44.000 |
you hated the fact that when the server came by, his thumb was always in the soup. 01:00:54.000 |
It's on you when you come out of the restaurant, and you love it. 01:00:58.000 |
And if the waiter's thumb is not in the soup, 01:01:10.000 |
There are so many things, actually, that grow on us in our palate. 01:01:15.000 |
The thing about it is, for us, what is to somebody who is mature 01:01:22.000 |
is the individual whose tastes are actually refined. 01:01:26.000 |
And what is pleasurable to him has become the things of God. 01:01:31.000 |
A lot of us, we're struggling because we know in theory, 01:01:49.000 |
Truth be told, sometimes it actually is painful. 01:01:52.000 |
Truth be told, sometimes it's very displeasurable. 01:01:58.000 |
And what we need to do is continue to approach the Lord and say, 01:02:01.000 |
"God, grow in me this heart that is changing both physically, 01:02:10.000 |
both spiritually, both mentally, and of the spirit, 01:02:17.000 |
that my palate is being matured and refined to the degree that my desires 01:02:23.000 |
match yours, and what is pleasing to me, what is feeding my soul, 01:02:29.000 |
Go back in your Bible to that passage in John 17, 01:02:45.000 |
Jesus, remember, is praying to God before his ultimate sacrifice. 01:02:56.000 |
He's going through incredible difficulty preparing his mind and his heart, 01:03:11.000 |
"I do not ask on behalf of these things alone, 01:03:13.000 |
but for those who believe in me through their word, 01:03:16.000 |
that they may be one even as you, Father, are in me and I in you. 01:03:23.000 |
so that the world may believe that you sent me." 01:03:27.000 |
"The glory which you have given me, I have given to them, 01:03:44.000 |
Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me 01:03:53.000 |
so that they may see my glory which you have given me, 01:03:56.000 |
for you loved me before the foundation of the world. 01:04:00.000 |
O righteous Father, although the world has not yet known you, 01:04:13.000 |
so that the love with which you love me may be in them and I in them." 01:04:20.000 |
I always thought of it as because Jesus is agonizing to go to the cross, 01:04:25.000 |
this is where Jesus is receiving the spiritual strength 01:04:32.000 |
which is an innocent man bear the penalty and die for sinners like them. 01:04:42.000 |
and you realize actually Jesus is pouring his heart out 01:04:57.000 |
"God, what I want you to fulfill is this amazing plan that is both in us 01:05:24.000 |
"Lord, your heart is so good, your intention is so kind," 01:05:53.000 |
After a long week of hard work, you know what I like? 01:06:00.000 |
I shared with this one group, my Bible study group, 01:06:03.000 |
I did the whole like look at my screen time thing. 01:06:10.000 |
Two hours and 20 minutes on shopping and food. 01:06:21.000 |
because people know like you pastors and elders 01:06:26.000 |
Very little sleep and our days just keep running. 01:06:42.000 |
I want to read to you this ridiculous passage. 01:07:00.000 |
Go in your Bibles to Hosea chapter two, verse 21. 01:07:07.000 |
because of the relationship he established with us, 01:07:14.000 |
He is thinking on a married, loyal, devout, unified level. 01:07:41.000 |
Take a look at this passage, Hosea chapter two, verse 21. 01:07:44.000 |
It will come about, so this is verse 21 of chapter two. 01:07:49.000 |
that I will respond to the pleasure of the Lord. 01:08:08.000 |
And I will say to those who were not my people, 01:08:17.000 |
This scenario that he's describing is a future scenario, 01:08:26.000 |
Because what he says is he's going to call out to his people, 01:08:29.000 |
but they're going to call out to somebody else. 01:08:38.000 |
that he's going to allow them still to be called his people, 01:08:53.000 |
yet an adulteress, because that's the scenario. 01:08:58.000 |
they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes." 01:09:08.000 |
These adulterous people, I love them to death. 01:09:24.000 |
They turn to other gods, and they love raisin cakes. 01:09:30.000 |
And then I think about, "Ah, sometimes in my fleshly state, 01:09:36.000 |
I am so pitiful because my simple desires make me so unholy. 01:09:43.000 |
It is not very hard to entice me to be unfaithful to my God, is it?" 01:09:49.000 |
All somebody has to do--you guys pretty much know my sins 01:09:52.000 |
because I've confessed them many times on this pulpit. 01:09:55.000 |
You know I like cars, and so if you dangle, like, 01:10:05.000 |
If only I just spent less time with ministry, less time with family. 01:10:24.000 |
All you want is to enjoy a hobby that you like. 01:10:27.000 |
And then in my heart, I think, "What's wrong with that?" 01:10:30.000 |
So then you allow yourself to fantasize about having such and such thing, 01:10:36.000 |
Because such and such thing costs a lot of money. 01:10:38.000 |
And then so you think, "Oh, I can't have that." 01:10:40.000 |
But then if I change my course of life, and I get another job, 01:10:53.000 |
To you, it might sound strange, this weird flow of thought that goes from, 01:10:57.000 |
"All I wanted was this," and then it moves to changing my entire trajectory of life. 01:11:08.000 |
So in that way, one of the great battles we will have to do 01:11:13.000 |
is to make sure that we address from the infancy level 01:11:26.000 |
that we would be sometimes willing to compromise, 01:11:34.000 |
and sometimes even to change the entire trajectory of our lives. 01:11:42.000 |
You guys know that, like, there have been times you, here, 01:11:46.000 |
have counseled young men and women who wanted to be faithful, 01:11:51.000 |
but all they did was every time finals came around, 01:11:56.000 |
And then they kept that compromise up until they ended up getting a job. 01:11:59.000 |
So every time there was a project due, they jettisoned God. 01:12:02.000 |
And the next thing you know, all of a sudden, they stop coming to church. 01:12:05.000 |
And the next thing you know, all of a sudden, they're so guilty, 01:12:08.000 |
they feel so, I guess, ashamed, they don't even want to show up. 01:12:15.000 |
where just a simple desire to get an A on that one paper 01:12:21.000 |
in order to set the trajectory for every other compromise they'll make? 01:12:26.000 |
Now, my point in sharing that stuff is not just to make, let's say, 01:12:31.000 |
us feel guilty about times we struggled to manage our schedule. 01:12:43.000 |
But my challenge is not so much, oh, if you've ever just stayed up late 01:12:47.000 |
and you worked hard on your paper to feel guilty. 01:12:51.000 |
My challenge is at that moment when you're struggling, 01:12:58.000 |
Lord, as I'm doing this, I have responsibilities, 01:13:02.000 |
and there are some things I need to do, and I need to get it done. 01:13:05.000 |
But in terms of my heart, I'm going to ask this question. 01:13:17.000 |
Is there such a desire in me that is not mature? 01:13:20.000 |
Is there such a desire in me that's less than the kind of faithful, 01:13:30.000 |
Those are questions you should be asking yourself. 01:13:33.000 |
And yes, although those questions are hard to answer, 01:13:36.000 |
and yes, although sometimes it feels like all you're doing is being skeptical, 01:13:45.000 |
And what I want to challenge you today is when it comes down to a kind of holiness 01:13:55.000 |
it is individuals who have wrestled on that level 01:14:07.000 |
the lifted up desires of our hearts are going to be like Christ. 01:14:15.000 |
I want to present my brother so pure in Christ. 01:14:28.000 |
I desire," and your list can go on and on and on, 01:14:31.000 |
and everything God hears is, "That's so sweet." 01:14:40.000 |
That when God rips open my chest and He's looking at, 01:14:43.000 |
"What are you longing for? I want to give it to you," 01:14:45.000 |
He's not thinking, "A beat-up car? That's what you want?" 01:14:50.000 |
When He rips open my heart to see, it's like, "Do you want food? 01:14:58.000 |
When He looks at the longing of my heart and He opens it in to see, 01:15:06.000 |
because the affections and the things that you're seeking 01:15:16.000 |
that kind of heart is the heart that is most like God. 01:15:20.000 |
That kind of heart is the heart that is most like our Savior, 01:15:28.000 |
I hope then that you could take these principles, 01:15:31.000 |
and rather than me having to say, "Go through the Galatians. 01:15:42.000 |
Are you given to sensuality and doing X, Y, and Z? 01:15:47.000 |
You would frame every single one of these things into, 01:15:53.000 |
Am I causing my Lord to hear from me my devotion, 01:16:03.000 |
Or am I presenting to my God a kind of sacrifice 01:16:14.000 |
and you apply them to the decisions that are being made. 01:16:19.000 |
and you apply them to the struggles you have in your heart. 01:16:22.000 |
And I believe that when you make decisions that way, 01:16:29.000 |
But how you came to those conclusions are going to be, 01:16:33.000 |
"You really considered me as significant in your life. 01:16:44.000 |
that you did the hard work of asking if I would be pleased." 01:17:05.000 |
that you are leading us to maturity, to growth. 01:17:15.000 |
that you will cause us to keep walking this path 01:17:27.000 |
that you are going to work all things in the church. 01:17:36.000 |
in such a way that we are all growing to the measure of Christ, 01:17:47.000 |
And I pray, Father God, just as the Lord Jesus, 01:18:14.000 |
And I ask, Lord, and we have confidence in you 01:18:17.000 |
as our Heavenly Father, we know you will lead us in all things. 01:18:21.000 |
Lord, I pray right now for if there's any brother or sister here 01:18:42.000 |
and then your desire and heart for us is to be sanctified to you. 01:18:50.000 |
And, God, I pray that any individual struggling 01:18:56.000 |
that, God, you would guard us and protect us in your name, 01:19:00.000 |
that, Lord, we're so secure, we are bound up in you. 01:19:04.000 |
So, God, in this way I pray that they would be encouraged, 01:19:13.000 |
Lord, we can continue to pursue your righteousness. 01:19:16.000 |
For, Lord, you are a gracious God. We thank you in Christ's name. Amen. 01:19:19.000 |
Why don't we all stand for the response song? 01:23:22.000 |
Okay, so we're gonna go into a time of your small groups. 01:23:54.000 |
and then we'll have one closing song together. 01:23:57.000 |
just so you guys can be back here at the right time. 01:24:02.000 |
is gonna be the weekend, the 15th and the 16th of May. 01:24:05.000 |
It's gonna be, it's like a potluck and prayer time. 01:24:09.000 |
and then you guys, kind of like the BAM adventure one, 01:24:14.000 |
or what day you guys like, Saturday or Sunday, 01:24:16.000 |
and then we'll kind of split you guys up into groups, 01:24:18.000 |
and then hopefully you guys will kind of eat like a potluck, 01:24:23.000 |
and then you guys will pray together, hopefully. 01:24:28.000 |
so we're gonna have the sign-up starting probably by tomorrow, 01:24:38.000 |
you guys are free to go into your small groups. 01:24:40.000 |
And then, oh, and then after everything is done, 01:24:44.000 |
if you guys could just kind of help us clean up outside, 01:24:59.000 |
next Saturday we're having a BAM welcome team, 01:25:06.000 |
So I don't know if you guys are part of like the BAM page, 01:25:09.000 |
or have gotten in the emails on our email list, 01:25:15.000 |
actually in the cafe over there now at 7 p.m. 01:25:19.000 |
And what we're gonna be doing is just like a time of like, 01:25:29.000 |
and you know, it's like an opportunity for us 01:25:35.000 |
for maybe to help you guys get plugged in, too. 01:25:45.000 |
and I'll let you know somebody else on the welcome team,