Scripture referenced 7 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Psalm 92 sung responsively as the opening act of worship
1 It is a good thing to give thanks to Yahweh, to sing praises to your name, Most High;
2 to proclaim your loving kindness in the morning, and your faithfulness every night,
3 with the ten-stringed lute, with the harp, and with the melody of the lyre.
4 For you, Yahweh, have made me glad through your work. I will triumph in the works of your hands.
5 How great are your works, Yahweh! Your thoughts are very deep.
6 A senseless man doesn’t know, neither does a fool understand this:
7 though the wicked spring up as the grass, and all the evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever.
8 But you, Yahweh, are on high forever more.
9 For, behold, your enemies, Yahweh, for, behold, your enemies shall perish. All the evildoers will be scattered.
10 But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox. I am anointed with fresh oil.
11 My eye has also seen my enemies. My ears have heard of the wicked enemies who rise up against me.
12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 They are planted in Yahweh’s house. They will flourish in our God’s courts.
14 They will still produce fruit in old age. They will be full of sap and green,
15 to show that Yahweh is upright. He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
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Keep this verse
Ephesians 5:15-21
primary text for the sermon, read and expounded throughout
15 Therefore watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise;
16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Therefore don’t be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
18 Don’t be drunken with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; singing, and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
20 giving thanks always concerning all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God, even the Father;
21 subjecting yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ.
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Ephesians 5:10
cited as Paul's earlier call to discern what is pleasing to the Lord
10 proving what is well pleasing to the Lord.
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Ephesians 4:17
noted as the beginning of the large instruction section that runs through chapter six
17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,
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Colossians
cited as the parallel passage about redeeming the time and letting the word of Christ dwell richly, with psalms hymns and spiritual songs
Keep this versePhilippians 2
quoted from memory as an example of an early Christian hymn about Christ's humility and obedience
1 If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion,
2 make my joy full, by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind;
3 doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself;
4 each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.
5 Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross.
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12 So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without murmurings and disputes,
15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without defect in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world,
16 holding up the word of life; that I may have something to boast in the day of Christ, that I didn’t run in vain nor labor in vain.
17 Yes, and if I am poured out on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice, and rejoice with you all.
18 In the same way, you also rejoice, and rejoice with me.
19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered up when I know how you are doing.
20 For I have no one else like-minded, who will truly care about you.
21 For they all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ.
22 But you know the proof of him, that, as a child serves a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the Good News.
23 Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it will go with me.
24 But I trust in the Lord that I myself also will come shortly.
25 But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier, and your apostle and servant of my need;
26 since he longed for you all, and was very troubled, because you had heard that he was sick.
27 For indeed he was sick, nearly to death, but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, that I might not have sorrow on sorrow.
28 I have sent him therefore the more diligently, that, when you see him again, you may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful.
29 Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy, and hold such in honor,
30 because for the work of Christ he came near to death, risking his life to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me.
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1 Timothy 3:16
mentioned as one of the earliest Christian hymns about God breathing out
16 Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great: God was revealed in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, and received up in glory.
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Pastor Ray walked through Ephesians 5:15-21, picking up where he left off the week before and pressing into what it looks like to live wisely in days that are working against you. The sermon moved from a simple question about traffic signs to a set of plain contrasts Paul lays out: not this, but that. Three pairs of opposites gave the sermon its shape.
What was said
Pastor Ray opened with traffic signs and why they exist. Safety, protection, reassurance, direction, and obedience were all on the list. The point was not clever. It was simple: signs are there because you need to know something before you get to the place where it matters, and the passage in front of the church works the same way.
The first contrast was "not as unwise, but as wise." Pastor Ray noted that wisdom is not just knowledge of what the Bible says. Knowledge puffs up, as the saying goes. Wisdom is knowledge put into practice. He used the example of stepping off a curb in South Africa and looking the wrong way, almost getting hit repeatedly, because the habit ran deeper than the awareness. Walking wisely means actually adjusting, not just knowing you should.
The second contrast was between foolishness and understanding what the will of the Lord is. Paul's instruction to "try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord" had already appeared a few verses earlier, and Pastor Ray tied the two together. Sin is deceptive, the former self is deceptive, and the current of the surrounding culture is moving in a direction that does not require any effort on your part. The shrimp who sleeps is carried along by the tide.
The third contrast was the plainest: do not get drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit. Pastor Ray said this prohibition is as clear as anything in scripture, and that the word debauchery, which sounds dramatic, actually means a waste of time, which is exactly what it is. The days are evil, time lost cannot be regained, and numbing yourself to your problems does not remove them, it just means you cannot see them for a while.
From there he moved into the five participles that follow the command to be filled: addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. He treated these not just as evidence that the Spirit is filling you, but as the very things that open you up to being filled. He spent time on the words of the songs sung that morning, on old hymns and what is packed into their lyrics, and on the way Charles Stanley has put it: when you are in doubt, start thanking God for what He has given you, and it will stabilize your faith.
The final participle, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ, Pastor Ray set aside as the beginning of next week's sermon rather than the end of this one. He noted that everything Paul says afterward about wives, husbands, children, and servants falls under this heading, and that mutual submission runs hard against the American instinct toward individual autonomy. He left it there, with communion following as its own quiet illustration of the same thing, people coming forward together, revering the body and blood of Christ, submitting to one another in that act.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Pastor Ray compared traffic signs to the instructions Paul gives in Ephesians, saying signs exist for safety, protection, reassurance, and direction. Where in your own life have you ignored a clear warning and paid the price for it, and what did that teach you about the value of those kinds of warnings?
- Pastor Ray said that the days themselves are evil, so the current is flowing toward sin and despair, and that like a shrimp carried by the tide you have to be actively swimming against it. What does that look like practically in your day-to-day life right now?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 7,915 words
0:00
Alright. Good morning everyone. Very, very, very good
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to see you all. Hey,
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would you do this? Would you stand up with me and instead of recite Psalm 92, we're gonna sing through
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it this morning. I'll trust you catch on
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to this morning.
0:13
Very good to see you all. Hey, would you do this? Would you stand up with me? Alright. It's good to praise you, Lord.
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It is good to to praise you, Lord. And make music your oh, most high. It is good to praise you, Lord. And make music to your name, oh, most high, oh, most high.
0:59
Alright. Let's sing that again, shall we?
1:01
It's good to praise you, Lord. It is good to praise you, Lord. And make music to your name, most high. It is good to praise you, Lord, and make music to your name, oh, most high. To proclaim to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness and your faithfulness
1:37
at night. Sing that again.
1:39
To proclaim your love. To proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at Oh, I sing for joy. Oh, I sing for joy at the sound of your name and the works of your hands. You make me glad. And for all of my life, let my song to you rise, oh, my side.
2:21
Alright. You sound great. Let's sing that again.
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It is good to praise you, Lord, and make music to your name, oh most high. It is good to praise you, Lord, and make music to your name, oh, most high. To proclaim your love, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness faithfulness at night. Amen. Let's sing that again.
3:01
To proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night. Oh, I sing for joy. Oh, I sing for joy joy at the sound of your name and the works of your hands. Oh, you make me glad. And for all of my life, let my song to you rise.
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And for all of my life, let my song to you rise, oh, most high.
4:00
Great. Well, welcome, guys. If it's your you guys can have a seat. Go ahead and take a seat. We got a few announcements here.
4:07
If it's your first time here at first beat, welcome. We're so glad that you're here to worship with us. We just wanna let you know that this is your space. So make yourself at home here. To all of us that call first b home, welcome as well.
4:17
Thank you for being here to worship with us this morning. If you don't know me, my name is Mike d. I'm the youth director here at first b and super glad to be so. We've got youth group starting up. We started up last week.
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We're gonna be here again this week. So middle school, 06:30 to 08:00 on Tuesday, and then high school is gonna be on Thursdays from 07:30 I mean, from seven to 08:30. So if you have young people or no young people, send them this way. What I wanna do is just kinda come alongside parents and families as you help raise your young people in this town. So that's what I'm here to do.
4:52
If you are not here for a week and you wanna stay up to date on what pastor Ray is preaching on, we're on Facebook. So just log on to Facebook. Everything is streamed there, and you can go on and find that. So great resource. Next Sunday, not this Sunday, but next Sunday, we have a bet a baby dedication.
5:10
So this is a special time here at this church. So if you or anyone you know has a baby that they would like to dedicate to the Lord, come and we will dedicate that baby, and we'll be praying for that baby. So speaking of children and babies, downstairs, we have children's church, and we also have a nursery. So if you have young kids and you want somewhere for them to be during this service, there's a safe place downstairs. So take advantage of that.
5:36
Also, speaking of that, we still need volunteers in the nursery. If you could help with this, we would love to have your help. I'll be in the back foyer after this church after this service. Come over and talk to me. I can help you get plugged in with that.
5:49
It's not something that you need to do every week, but if you could help out one Sunday a month, it would really help us out.
5:54
Or one month?
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Or one Monday because we've got Awana starting up, so we'll need nursery for Mondays as well. And this frees up parents to be able to come to the service as well. So if you're a parent with a kid, consider it. But if you're not and you have some free time, we could definitely use your service. Awana's back.
6:13
That's gonna be great things going on here in this room. That is the big circle that's on the floor. There's games and scripture reading and everything like that. So Iwana. Monday nights.
6:23
This is Ray in this picture. Okay? And we got Monday nights because it's better than bullfighting. You know? There's a crazy video going around.
6:31
I hope you get a chance to see it, but Ray wasn't always right here inside this room just being a pastor. Apparently, he did some bull chasing in
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his day.
6:40
So Monday nights, it's 06:00 in the fellowship hall. We got a meal, music, and a message. So come on by. Also, for Monday nights, if you have a favorite meal that you wanna cook, come on by, cook that meal. You grab the Smith's card.
6:57
We'll pay for all the food, you grab whatever you need, and then cook a meal for the people at Monday nights. Everything else, check your bulletins. And then we take greeting really serious here. So stand up and greet one another.
8:03
Worthy is worthy is the lamb who was there holy holy is he. Sing a new song. Sing a new song to him who sits on
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worthy
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heaven's mercy seat. Let's sing that again. Worthy is the lamb is the lamb who was staying holy who's worthy name Jesus.
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Mercy seat. Let's sing
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holy We're holy of is he. Holy holy holy is the Lord God almighty who was a mystical. With all creation, I sing. Praise to the king of kings. You are my everything, and I will adore you.
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Clothed and rainbow, let's sing. Clothed and rainbows, a living color. Thou shears of lightning, rolls of thunder. Blessing and honor. Blessing and honor, strength and glory and power be to you the only wise king.
10:01
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty who was nears and nears to come. With all creation, I sing praise to the king of kings. You are my everything, and I will adore you. Alright. Let's sing.
10:37
Filled with wonder. Filled with wonder, awestruck wonder, at the mention of your name. Jesus, your name is power. Breath and living water, such a marvelous mystery. Holy, holy, holy, as our Lord God Almighty was in his midst to come.
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With all creation, I sing praise to the king of kings. You are my everything, and I will adore you.
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Amen. Would you pray with me? God, we we give you praise because you're worthy of it. You have created us. You've given us life and breath and meaning and purpose.
11:57
And I pray, God, that you would help us to lay our our burdens aside and, just come to you fully and freely and, accept what you have to offer, and that is life and life to the full measure. And Holy Spirit, we do invite you in this place. Would you be speaking to us today and prompting us and just doing what you do? And thank you, God, for your presence. Amen.
12:32
There's nothing worth more that will ever come close. Nothing can compare You're our living hope. Your presence, Lord. I've tasted and seen of the sweetest of those where my heart becomes free and my shame is under. And Holy Spirit, you're welcome here.
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Let's sing that together. Spirit, you are welcome here. Holy Comfort this place and fill the atmosphere. Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for. To be overcome by your presence, Lord.
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Your presence, Lord. Alright. Let's sing again. There's nothing worth more. There's nothing worth more that will never come close.
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I've tasted and seen of the sweetest of those when my heart becomes free and my shame is under my own presence, Lord.
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Let's sing let us become more aware of that
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presence of yours God. Let us become more aware of your presence. Let us experience glory of your goodness. The And let us become more aware of your presence. And let us experience the glory of your goodness.
16:09
Holy your presence, Lord.
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Amen. God, you you say, what good is it if we gain the whole world and yet we we forfeit our our soul? It's your Holy Spirit that can come and fill our soul to overflowing, and I I just I pray God for more of that and more a desire on our part to be seeking a well that will not run dry, because that is indeed what you are God, that we would not chase things that just don't yield any kind of return, but that we would continue to find that life of hope and joy and peace in you. From Ephesians one, I wanna read this to you, even before he made the world God loved us and he chose us. Consider that that's huge to be holy and without fault in his eyes and he does that through the person in the work of Jesus.
17:40
He decided in advance to adopt us into his own family. We are his sons, we're his daughters, and bring us to himself through Christ. This is what he wanted to do. He didn't begrudgingly do it. He wanted to do this because he loves you and he loves me.
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He loves us and it gave him great pleasure.
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The old creating one, God almighty. Through your Holy Spirit, conceiving Christ the Son. Jesus our Savior, I believe
18:38
in God our Father. Let's say, I
18:41
believe in God our Father. I believe in Christ the son. I believe in the Holy Spirit. Our God is three in one. I believe in the resurrection that we will rise again.
19:00
For I believe in the name of Jesus. Our judge and our defender, our judge and our defender suffered and crucified. Forgiveness is in you. Descended into darkness, you rose in glorious thy. Forever seeded.
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I I believe I believe in God our father. I believe in Christ the son. I believe in the Holy Spirit. Our God is three in one. I believe in the resurrection, and we will rise again.
20:05
For I believe in the name of Jesus. I believe I believe in life eternal. I believe in the virgin birth. I believe in the saints' communion and in your
20:53
Amen. You all can have a seat and we're gonna participate here in the worship through giving and I would love to I'd love to pray and just give thanks. God, we do give you thanks for for all things. The fact that we're right here in these seats today, it's because of you. As our creator, our sustainer, our judge, our defender.
21:15
All these things that we just saying, they are indeed true. And, God, I pray that we would hold fast to these truths and pass them on to the next generation because they are so important, and they are life giving. Praise you, God, for everything that you've given have given us. I pray that as we we place these these offerings in the offering plate or whether we gave online or visitor not giving at all, whatever, we right here stand before you and say thank you for everything you've given. How could we not?
21:42
How could we not thank you? So we give you praise. We God, I pray that we could live life with an open hand. The more we see you, the more we know of you, the more we love you, the more we trust you. Amen.
22:04
I forgot we were gonna sing a song. And one of the verses today that we're studying is sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to one another, and I think you're gonna recognize this one here.
22:34
The He leads me in bounds of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though You're riding your stare. They comfort me. They comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
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You've known my head wither, my cup of rose. Even though You're riding your stairs. They comfort me. They comfort me. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me on the days of my life.
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And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for forever. For forever. Would you sing this chorus with us? Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. You are with me.
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You're right and you're safe. They comfort me. They comfort me. They comfort me. They comfort me.
26:04
Kiddos are dismissed. Children up through fifth grade are dismissed to head down to children's church. There they go. Well, welcome. Some Sundays I know kind of exactly what's going to go on.
26:21
Some Sundays, I don't know exactly what's going to go on, you know? I I'm thankful for both. Before we get into Ephesians five fifteen through 21, that's the text for today and you'll recognize that I went through 16 last week and I'm dropping back to 15 this week. There are a lot of transitional verses in this section and the big section is four seventeen all the way through six nine at least but that big section of instruction for the church. He's already given Paul has already given the Christians at Ephesus.
26:52
Those who are faithful to the Lord, all those Christians in Ephesus and to us today. He's given us a lot of theological grounding in the first three chapters and then this kind of view of the Christian life in the first part of chapter four, and then he's been given step by step really. This is the way to live it out type instructions. So Ephesians five fifteen through 21 is what we're gonna get into. But before we get into it, I got a question.
27:16
Why do we have traffic signs? Why do we have traffic signs? I have been to places where they didn't have any traffic signs and people drove. Why do we have traffic signs? Dave?
27:34
Very good. He's the head of the DOT in our area. No. Not really. I'm just kidding.
27:41
What what is your actual title?
27:43
Engineer with.
27:44
Engineer with YDOT. Right. Okay. So why do we have traffic signs? I I thought it's to communicate vital information.
27:52
If you were traveling up from Smith's this week, if you were traveling up from Raptor J and you were heading into town and you hit upon this area right there at Albertsons, the first I came through before Don one before Don, was right as it was set up and I saw it. And then I saw that it changed a little bit after that. And I was talking with a couple of officers and a couple of people around, and the way that this communicate vital information, in a lot of cases, have to let them know long before it gets there. I was coming over the pass from the other side the other day and there was a sign that said, moose, loose, give them a break, except for the last two letters were out. It said, moose, loose, give them a bra.
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Communicating vital information, I understood what it meant. Go ahead.
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We actually took two broad ears.
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Okay. Okay. Alright. That's why I didn't know what was gonna happen this morning right here. Communicating vital information for safety.
29:02
Typically, people need to know. If you're not from here and you're traveling over that mountain, you don't know there are moose all over the place. You don't know there are elk everywhere. So a sign, especially a temporary sign that's up just for right now that says, hey, one's been spotted. It's right here.
29:16
Take it. Take cover. I mean, slow down. Give them a break, you know, for safety, for protection. That might sound like the same thing, but it's it's so that you'll know what to do in case something else happens.
29:30
There are signs on Interstate 80 that will soon start dropping that say, when light is flashing, return to Laramie. Return to Rock Springs because it's for your protection. You don't need to be on this road. It might be just one little place in there, but they are looking out for us, and I appreciate it, Dave.
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Thank
29:47
you. Reassurance. Reassurance on signs. If you're riding along, you think, are we ever going to get there? I've been traveling across this state for 425 miles, and you see a sign that says, Rock Springs, whatever, 13 miles, 14 miles, whatever it is.
30:05
You see that and there's reassurance that eventually you are going to get to your turn so you can get to Jackson, right? Reassurance and direction. How many of you have thought, I know that I feel like I'm heading the right direction, but I'm not sure of it. We have had people that were scheduled to be here to sing in a wedding who ended up in Jackson, Mississippi. Could they should have paid attention to a few signs.
30:31
That's what I thought. Like the one on their ticket. I don't know. It's happened more than once actually. We have a missionary that we support that accidentally ended up here instead of Jackson, Mississippi.
30:41
Not an accident as far as I see, but direction would have been good. Safety, protection, reassurance, and direction. That's why we have traffic signs. So this is a sign from Mexico. I love this one.
30:52
This sign just says obey the signs. We have traffic signs to be obeyed. Okay? They are there for a reason and they're there for our protection, they're there for our safety, they're there for reassurance, and they're there for direction, and they are to be obeyed. Obey the signs.
31:09
Actually there's one in Mexico that I looked for and could not find anywhere, but I wish I had a picture of it that says, do not leave flaming pots on the road. Have you ever considered leaving a flaming pot on the road? Why does it say that? Feliciano and Guadalupe know that when someone is broken down or even more than that, when the federales are out. So the federales are out and they're doing some sort of an inspection on vehicles.
31:36
They take a little pot of kerosene or something, they put it on the road, and they light it. And it lets you know. It's not a big it's not a great honestly, it's not a great flasher. It's not a great sign that they're because you can't see them from a long ways off. But when you get there, you know, oh, I have to stop.
31:51
Tanya pulls up on that. I'd never seen it before. They're little flaming pots until you get to a green truck with guys with machine guns. And they say, ma'am, can you get out of the vehicle? Oh my goodness.
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If she had seen, obey the signs. No, I'm just kidding. It was scary for the first time and then they were the most nicest, politest people, you know, and they helped her. They were doing their job. They had to do it.
32:17
The reason is because you see somebody leave a flaming pot out there, you might want to put that in your emergency kit in your car. Don't leave flaming pots on the road. You're not the Federales. Don't have that. There's another one that says don't leave stones on the road.
32:31
Well, stones out on the road is a way to keep people from running into you and running into your car. They hit the stones first. Don't leave stones on the road. Obey the signs. Don't drive sleepy.
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There are a thousand of them I could have used. What about this one? What does this mean? You don't ever see this at the same time, do you? If you do, something's wrong.
32:53
Right? It's either this or this, but it's not this. Look carefully then how you walk. This was last week's close. Look carefully then how you walk.
33:07
Not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time. The square here in town. If you're a visitor and you want to come straight through, you have to be in the left lane to do that legally coming from town on cash, coming from the parks, coming past Dairy Queen. If you want to come to 1st B, you get in the left hand lane to go straight. How often, locals, do we see somebody go straight from the right lane?
33:33
Is it dangerous? Is it annoying? All right. I heard the sheriff when we first moved here, he said, have some patience with the people that don't know any better. That's good advice.
33:49
It's really good advice for Christians to have patience with the folks that don't know any better. They're occasionally going to take that straight barreling through from the right lane. Look carefully then how you walk and it's you. So, this sermon today is for you. You may hear it and go, oh, I wish so and so had heard that but this is for you, okay?
34:09
Look carefully then how you walk. Not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. There was a clock I saw yesterday. I didn't put the I put it in Dropbox. There's a clock.
34:23
You can see it's the only other thing I put in this morning. Making the best use of the time. I read something from James Montgomery voice this week. Remember that time lost cannot be regained. Making the best use of the time, you can go back to the other one, because the days are evil.
34:46
So that reminded me last week of a Spanish idiom, which I put up there. Exactly. The shrimp who sleeps is carried along by the tide. You have to be swimming against so that you won't be carried along. What Paul says is the days themselves are evil, so the times that we live in are evil.
35:11
So we need to be swimming against it, walking wise and not unwise. As we go forward, remember, the time lost cannot be regained. Now, from this point on though, you've got it. You've got all the time that you have. You can try your best to reach back, make amends.
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You can reach back and apologize. You can reach back and reach out because it can be redeemed. We're guaranteed that Jesus redeemed. We're guaranteed and we're we're told in Colossians in the parallel passage right here. We're told to be redeeming the time.
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Redeem the time that you have. Spend it wisely. Use it. So this sermon has three not that, but this is. They're the next three, not that, but this is.
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Last week I had six don'ts and one do. If they didn't hit you squarely, you weren't listening. Okay? They hit me squarely for two weeks weeks weeks in anticipation of having to preach it. Not that fussed this.
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Last week was sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness, filthiness, foolish talk, and coarse jesting. And then this week, it's not that but this. Therefore, don't be foolish but understand what the Lord what the will of the Lord is and do not get drunk with wine for that's debauchery but be filled with the spirit Addressing one another in spiritual songs, singing, and making melody to the Lord with your heart giving thanks always and for everything to God the father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ Now this little passageway right here is a great, great set of signs along the roadway. Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise. That's all he says right there.
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Not as unwise. What would it be if you came upon that symbol and you continued to walk, not looking to the left or to the right, you just barreled on out there? It would be unwise. I know some folks here who grew up in South Africa. I went to Cape Town, South Africa one time, and when I stepped off of the curb in South Africa, where was I looking?
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They're coming from over there, and I'm looking that way before I step. That is amen. I was nearly hit several times and it was unwise. He just says, follows it up with but as wise. Not as unwise but as wise.
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Some of these things are very simple but into new territory, sometimes you just don't know. You just don't know and since sin is so deceptive and since the former self is so deceptive and there's so much deception involved, sometimes it's not really easy to tell what is wise and what is unwise. It is easy to tell what you want to do. It is easy to tell what the community around you wants you to do because the current is going this way, right? Wide is the gate that leads to destruction and narrow the path to righteousness.
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So not as unwise but as wise, not being foolish. So the next time I approach that curve, what did I do? I still look the same way that I'm used to because it's just born in us. You need to learn from your experiences and see what works and what doesn't work. I almost get hit by doing this, so I should be concentrating.
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Look carefully then how you walk. When you approach a road in South Africa or in London, do this instead of this, or better yet, do this. The guy who played Darth Vader in Star Wars was the safety man for the British government for a long time and what he taught kids to do was look both ways before you cross the road. And he saved a lot of lives. Darth Vader saved a lot of lives.
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I mean, statistically, it's true that he did. Not being foolish. Learn from your mistakes. There's plenty of wisdom. There's plenty of knowledge to be gained by reading your Bible but if you don't apply it to your life, it's not wisdom.
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It's just knowledge and knowledge puffs up. Wisdom puts into practice that which God has revealed. So, not being foolish but understanding and it goes on to say but understanding what the will of the Lord is and so, he's already said earlier in verse 10, I think he said to try try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. What is the Lord's pleasing will? Not being foolish but understanding Do not get drunk That's the next not in here.
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It is unequivocal. It doesn't say get drunk sometimes. It's alright to celebrate sometimes. It now Jesus turned water into wine. He didn't do it the other way around.
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It does not say do not drink. It doesn't say specifically two drinks is your your maximum. It doesn't say how exactly to go about it but it is uniformly in scripture prohibited. Do not get drunk. If it shows an example from a narrative of someone getting drunk, things always go wrong, always go bad.
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You remember Lot? You remember Noah? Remember the ones where they mention it in passing but it's not a strict prohibition. It just says, this is what happened. Got drunk, bad things happen.
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Can I get a witness? Seriously, can I get a witness? I'm I'm serious. Has anybody ever regretted anything that they did while they were drunk? Okay.
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I don't drink. Very seldom. Once in a while, occasionally, at a wedding, I feel like I have biblical precedence to have one for a toast. That's for me. It's not prohibited to drink but it is prohibited to get drunk.
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I like the sign. The DOT might have come up with it. It might be some other advertiser. Don't know that says, Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving. If you're searching that buzz, if you're chasing that buzz, you're trying to hold on to that buzz, that's drunk, okay?
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Do not get drunk. It's as plainly prohibited in scripture as anything ever has been but he gives us an option. Not that but this. I don't harp on this. I hit this every time scripture hits it, okay?
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If you're hearing it today, you're hearing it because you're here and this is the time we do it. Please, take it to heart. Not as unwise but as wise, not as being foolish but understanding what the will of the Lord is. Clarity of mind is what the Lord is looking for. Now, clarity of mind when you've got the guilt of all of your sin on your shoulders, clarity of mind leads a lot of people to drink because when you drink, at least you don't feel it.
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At least you don't know what's going on. You're anesthetized to it. You're self medicating. So, wisdom goes out the window, foolishness abounds because I heard a guy say long, long ago. He said, I decided I was two weeks behind in my rent so I just get drunk.
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When I came down, I was a month behind my rent. Doesn't go away. Your problems don't go away because you're drinking, you just can't see them. It's like a baby that is looking at you, looking at you, looking at you, and then go behind something, you can't see it. That doesn't mean you're not there.
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It just means they can't see you. Oh, it's a surprise again. It's a surprise when you wake up from a stupor. Do not get drunk. But be filled with the spirit.
43:00
Do not get drunk but be filled with the spirit. Now, this is a command that you actually can control. It doesn't say, do not be gotten drunk which I think is good advice too because sometimes people try to get you drunk. It says, do not get drunk. Be in control and don't put yourself in the position of getting out of control but this one is but be filled with the spirit.
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That's a passive It means that someone else is doing the filling and three of the songs that we sang this morning were about being filled by the Holy Spirit that God would do that filling and he will What's the first part of AA? First and second step is about that higher power 12 step programs have to start from there. God is willing and he is able to fill you with his spirit. He is willing and able to transform your life. Be filled with the spirit.
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If you look at it and you go, well, I don't have any control over that whether he fills me or not. Well, he gives us five participles that follow that and some people may say, well, this is what a spirit filled life looks like. If if you're filled with the spirit, then these things happen. I agree. That's true but if you will do these things, it will be filling you with the Holy Spirit.
44:22
It's a which came first chicken or the egg situation. So, I'm I'm going to say, I'm going to ask that you put it to the test. Oh, this is one of those road signs. This is a road sign on the Trans Sahara Highway. It is in Niger.
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It's a desert track. It's sand all around for a long, long ways. And you can't tell a whole lot of difference between road and not road because it's sand all over the place, everywhere. It's the desert. It's a very, very dry spot.
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And that sign right there is to say turn right for Arlette. That says Arlette right and that's where it splits. You can go the other way, but this is the T intersection in the middle of the desert. You may be wandering in the desert metaphorically, and you may wonder, what am I gonna do? Where am I gonna go?
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I pray that this sermon will be that sign right there that says, this is the way. Okay? It's very plain spoken. I don't want to make more of it. I don't want to put more there than is there.
45:29
Be looking carefully then how you walk. Not as unwise but as wise. Making the best use of the time. Why? Why should you make the best use of the time?
45:40
Because the days themselves are evil and the current is flowing towards sin and despair. Therefore, do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is and do not get drunk with wine. I think we could say any substance abuse right there Specifically, this says wine. For this is debauchery. Now, debauchery when I hear the word debauchery, immediately images come to my mind.
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They're almost always alcohol infused partying and sexual. That's the norm for whenever you think of debauchery, that's what you think of. Debauchery actually is a waste of time. That's what it means. It's a waste of time.
46:27
We talked last week about gratification, selfish gratification, and how that does not fulfill. You're looking for a better high, different high, same high, but just can't ever get there. It's a waste of time looking for it because it doesn't exist. And once you get it, it's temporary satisfaction. It's not going to be something that's eternal.
46:46
Do not get drunk with wine for that is a waste of time. Make the best use of the time for the days are evil. So, here's our red light green light here. Not as unwise but as wise. Not be foolish.
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Understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine and then here's another one of those extra large adversative conjunctions. But be filled with the spirit. I can't do that. God has to do that.
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Somebody else has to do that. My mama couldn't do it.
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She tried.
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Merle Haggard says it over and over, right? Mama trade tried to raise me right but I refused. I turned 21 in prison doing life without parole. Mama tried to raise me right but I refuse. Be filled with the Holy Spirit.
47:32
First of all, it says, addressing one another with Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. How many of y'all heard the songs this morning and went, man, that's good. Like, not the music. The words. I'm I'm not asking for a compliment on the music.
47:47
I love the music. Carl does a great job but the words of those songs are really, really powerful. If you consider Psalm 92, which I had not considered, quite honestly until I heard that song. It's been running around in my head all week long because of that, addressing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs specifically about the words of those songs, the lyrics. When we learn things in ly form, we keep up with them better.
48:12
You know, the the passage from Philippians two that's about Christ and his humility and his obedience that being in very nature God, he did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but he took on the nature of a servant. He died on the cross, even the death of a cross. That passage right there and I quoted it way off of any translation that I know. That was one of the original Christian hymns. Lots and lots of people have affirmed that.
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Timothy three sixteen, which a lot of y'all know. That was one of the earliest Christian hymns about God breathing out. So, addressing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Paul does that. He knows this.
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There's strength there. He knows that there's a lot. How many of y'all remember the songs you sang in Bible school? I do. Addressing Yeah.
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One another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual Psalms. Next is singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart. Robert Lewis, the men's fraternity guy. He said, what is it men hate about church? One of the top things is singing.
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But I don't get that. I I I truly don't get that. I don't understand. I understand coming in from the outside not understanding why these people are doing this, not knowing Jesus but there's within my heart a mellow D. Jesus whispered sweet and low.
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Fear not I am with thee peace be still. In all of life's ebb and flow, I love having that in my heart, you know. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, it helps you not concentrate on that but concentrate on this. Sweetest name I know fills my every longing keeps me singing as I go. There's within my heart a melody.
49:56
Making melody to the Lord with your heart. From the deepest depth of your being, singing out a song to Jesus. Google the 25 most popular Christian hymns. You will find a profound fount of theological good that will just lift you up. How great thou art amazing grace.
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Holy, holy, holy. It is well. Great is thy faithfulness. Praise to the Lord the almighty, the king of creation. Oh my soul, praise him for he is my help and salvation.
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All you who hear now to his temple draw near. Sing now in glad adoration. It's so good. So good. There's so much good in the hymn book.
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All creatures of our God and king. All hail the power of Jesus name. Reassurance, blessed assurance. Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine.
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Heir of salvation, purchase of God. Born of his spirit, washed in his blood. This is my story. This is my song. Praising my savior all the day long.
51:00
Amen. Singing and make a melody to the Lord with your heart. It's good. It's good to sing. Giving thanks always and for everything.
51:10
This maybe the hardest command in the Bible. Giving thanks always and for everything Talk about regret When you hit a point where you've done something or where just your time comes to an end and it might be your time coming to an end. Yeah. You pass, but it might be that someone that you love does. And then you just your life is filled with regret, not necessarily for their choices but for your own.
51:41
And you can get stuck in a post traumatic stress situation of trying to figure out what can I do? What can I do? What can I do? You can't do anything about what's gone, but you can do something from now into the future, from now on. Giving thanks always.
51:55
This is where it starts. Giving thanks always and for everything to God the father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now last week, this was the antidote to all of those six things, sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness, filthiness, foolish talking, coarse jesting. He said, instead, be thankful. Thanksgiving, gratitude, that was it.
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Giving thanks always and for everything to God the father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. He's given us his word. He's given us his promises. He's given us hope for the future. He's given us that reassurance like that road sign.
52:27
It's coming. Giving thanks always and for everything. We'll come back to that one in a few weeks, I'm sure. Giving thanks always and for everything The same parallel passage in Colossians says it this way, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. I don't think there's a great differentiation between those.
52:53
Some people do. I I feel like it's splitting hairs. Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. That's the Colossians passage and the Colossians passage didn't cover this last one. This last one is the end of this sermon but it's the beginning of the next sermon.
53:11
Just like fifteen sixteen where this time next week, this will be our beginning, alright? 21 verse 21 says, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Be filled with the spirit, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Each one of these underline words is a participle that goes back to this main verb. Be filled addressing.
53:32
Be filled in singing. Be filled in making melody to the Lord with your heart. Old standard hymns are great but new songs are great too. We sang a new one first thing this morning. It takes a little while when we sing a new one for y'all to catch on.
53:47
We we understand that but if Carl's going to present it, he's prayed through it. He's thought through it. He's seen that's the way that the Lord's moving. He's jumped on that. The band is with him.
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We'll keep on singing it until we all know it. Singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart. Giving thanks always and for everything to God the father. Be filled with the spirit giving thanks. Does that work?
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Can I get a witness? Can somebody testify? Does it work? Charles Stanley says, I think it's stabilize your faith. When you are in doubt, start thanking God for the gifts that he's given and it will stabilize your faith, and I believe that.
54:22
And I think we got a few witnesses in here that agree. I'm going to get back to submitting to one another out of reverence of Christ. In The United States Of America, one of the most cultural, most normal thing culturally speaking is our individuality. We value our autonomy and our individuality over almost anything else. You can't tell me what to do, right?
54:46
That's the way we feel. He is saying be filled with the spirit by submitting to one another, and it really does mean ordering ordering yourself up under the other rather than trying to be in the lead. Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ and it is mutual. One another. This is one of the one another commands.
55:08
Everything that comes after this about the family, it's under this heading right here, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. We'll go into wives, husbands, childrens, and then servants. Next week. Think on these things. If you can figure out a song about them, that's even better.
55:28
We're going to have communion right now. This is even. You will not see me, and I'm not making fun, but you will not see me elevating the host and me placing this on your tongues, okay? I accept when the people come back and then we together are submitting to one another the form of this. We're submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
55:52
We're revering his body and blood. So I'll ask the frontline team to come forward. And would you all pray with me? God almighty, would you remind us of this this week? I pray lord that we would take this to heart, that it'd be something that just fills us.
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Your spirit is what just fills us as we seek to grab hold and memorize some of your great scriptures, some of the great songs of the faith. As we sing and we make melody in our heart. As we are thankful to you. Thank you lord. First of all, for your perfect life, well lived, no sin, your perfect record that could be given to anyone who would accept it, lord.
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I pray. For this little cracker that's in these plates, When people take em, lord, I pray that they will understand that what they're taking in is a symbol of your righteous walk, your symbol of your righteousness. And Lord, with the cup that they were are taken in, the sacrificial blood that was given on their behalf. Lord, to the extent that we understand that profound mystery, we're thankful. In Jesus name, amen.
1:00:29
On the same night that Jesus was betrayed, he took bread after supper and after having given thanks, he told his disciples, this is my body which is broken for you. Take this and eat and do it in remembrance of me. Lord God, I thank you that you sent Jesus, Jesus Christ. I thank you that you came, that you walked, and you were tempted in all the ways that we are tempted, yet you were able to walk without sin. You did that by the filling of the Holy Spirit which you are open to.
1:01:14
Remained open to, continue to walk in, and I pray that you would fill us, Lord, in that same way with your spirit. May we take the shed blood, the the clear conscience that comes from a washed soul, no guilt. May we take that lord and walk forward redeeming the time. I pray lord that we would experience life the way that you did, seeing what is going on really. Having compassion, having love, understanding, redeeming the time.
1:01:47
In Jesus name, Lord, we ask you to bless each one who would partake of this little cup of grape juice that represents your blood, the sacrifice given. For Lord, for anyone that must allow it to pass because they just don't believe. I pray that you would move by the working and the will. You're working and will through these servants, these Christians around them. In Jesus name, amen.
1:06:36
In the same way that he had taken the bread, he took the cup after supper and he told his disciples and he tells us today that this is the new covenant in his blood. Praise God for the new covenant. The old covenant could only end in death but the new covenant by God's grace and the blood of Jesus offers life. Take this and drink it and do it in remembrance of me. Amen.
1:07:10
Would you all stand with me We'll sing the doxology This is the tie that binds us together The blood of Jesus Praise God from whom all blessings flow praise him all creatures here below praise him above the heavenly host praise father son and holy ghost Y'all may the Lord bless and keep you, make his face to shine upon you, and give you peace.
Topics
Be Filled With The SpiritDrunk DrinkingGratitude ThankfulnessSinging WorshipSubmitting To One AnotherWasting Time
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