0:00
Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, I am too. This is a this is a good one this morning. Would you stand with me?
0:07
Imma invite Bob and Scott if they come up here to the front and they've got their various microphones and if you would stand with us, we're going to sing a few, sing a couple, and then make a couple of announcements. There they are. Okay. Now, I know we have a few visitors here this morning. Would y'all mind doing a greetings like, where where are you from?
0:28
I know some of you come all the time. California. Visiting. I met you already. We're Tokayos.
0:36
His name is Ray. Tennessee. Tennessee. Anybody else? Street.
0:45
Alright. Very good. Alright. Back there. Where you going?
0:48
One in the back. Oh, buddy. Buddy Lucky's from Louisiana near Shreveport. Very good. It's good to have you with us this morning and if y'all will, let's join our our hearts and our voices together in song.
1:07
I heard an old old
1:10
story our savior came from glory how he gave his life on Calvary to save a wretch like me I heard about his groaning I'm his precious bloods atoning of his cleansing power revealing how he made the lame to walk again and caused the blind to see and then cried dear Jesus come and heal my broken spirit. And somehow Jesus came and brought to me the victory. Oh, in Jesus, my savior forever. He sought me and bought me with his redeeming love. He loved me heir I knew him and all my love is to him.
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He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood. I heard about a mansion he has built for me in glory. I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea. Angels singing and the old redemption story and some sweet day I'll sing up there the song of victory. Here we go.
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Oh victory in Jesus my savior forever. He sought me and bought me with his redeeming blood he loved me heir I knew him and all my love is to him He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing floor. Thank you. Thank you.
4:30
Very good. We're gonna go on. Y'all sound so good. Let's go ahead and sing, hey, how great they are.
4:35
Amen. Also. Lord my God when I am awesome wonder consider all the worlds thy hands have made I see the stars I hear the rolling thunder thy power throughout the universe displayed, then sings my soul, my savior God to thee, how great thou art how great thou art then sings my soul my savior God to thee how great thou art how great thou art and when I think that God his son not sparing, send him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, he bled and died to take away my sin then sings my soul my savior God to thee how great thou art how great thou art then sings my soul my savior God to thee how great thou art how great thou art when Christ shall come with shout of acclamation and take me home what joy shall fill my heart then I shall bow in humble adoration and there proclaim my God how great thou art then sings my soul my savior God to thee how great thou art how great thou art then sings my soul my savior God to thee how great thou art how great
7:46
have a seat. I have a few announcements. Welcome. I already kind of welcome those of you who are from somewhere else but the ones of you who are from here or from here now are welcome to always. I've got a couple of announcements.
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I'm trying to just do the weird ones, the ones that are different for some reason. Your bulletins have everything in them that is happening up coming soon. What happens between nine and eleven? Between the nine and eleven.
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Connect hour.
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The connect hour happens and there's coffee and fruits and this morning, there were yogurt covered pretzels and all kind of goodies down there but it's down the hallway towards the West. If you usually come to this service and you don't know anybody else that comes to the 09:00 service, that's a great place to connect with them. So is the connect hour down the hall. The Christmas play, the children's Christmas play, I say, but is Nancy here close by? Are you do you would you like to make this announcement?
8:41
As far as I know,
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I'm here.
8:42
She is taking charge and Scott's handing you the microphone right there where you are.
8:47
Thank you.
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The red one, Renzy.
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Good morning.
8:50
Good
8:50
morning. Last week, I announced about the the children, but the Christmas play that's gonna take place on December 13. Right after the service today, if anybody is interested in acting or singing, please come up to the front of the sanctuary and it doesn't matter. Women, men, children, all ages. And so if that's something that God's placed in your heart, he's gonna do a wonderful thing through you and for others.
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So I appreciate whatever you would like to do. Thank you.
9:20
Thank you, Nancy. And that's probably the last announcement you'll hear about that for a while. They are that this is so that we can get the cast together and they're gonna start working but we'll start announcing it when it gets close to Christmas after this. So, if you'd like to play any any part at all, maybe it would be a triangle. I don't know.
9:37
You know, but if you if you like to play any part at all, let her know and that'll go. I put this one up. It's it happens every single week but we have changed the time. It is at 06:00, not 06:15 for Monday nights and that is so that it matches up with Awana, the children's program, getting scripture into the hearts and minds of kids, ages three years through sixth grade. And that happens at six.
10:01
So, Monday nights is now happening at six. I have an announcement. This is kind of a thing where it's across the whole community. On Wednesday, September 30, that's this week at Our Lady of the Mountains, that's the Catholic Church. There's going be a community wide time of prayer and fasting.
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Now, for the people who are doing this, they started last Wednesday and they're fasting twelve hours a day and they're specifically praying for an end to abortion through peaceful, peaceful vigils and prayer and fasting. So, it's a time of prayer and fasting over at the Catholic Church this week. Actually, next week, it's going to be at Redeemer Lutheran Church and before this is all over, I think they're going to circle back around and have one here. So, this weekend, we'll do a memorial service for Mariana O'Jay. That's next Saturday, October 3.
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And I know that many of you all are very, very close. I did not want for you to miss this just from not knowing. I had a few people after Doris' memorial service that said, oh, I wish I had known. So I'm announcing that 11:00AM next Saturday, October 3, memorial for miss Mary Ann. And Ann Stalker is here to make this announcement.
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Bob or Scott, would you hand her? Here you go. For the women's.
11:18
Good morning. So, I am going to do some arm twisting gently and just encouraging to have the ladies of this church, the the 11:00 service, the 09:00 service, the Monday night ladies to come together for a women's retreat. So, there are seven days left to sign up and in twelve days on Friday, October 9, we're going to head up about fifty minutes north of town to Heart six where we will have a time to come together to get to know one another, have fun and fellowship. There will be about five ladies who will teach us about what are called the New Testament one another statements such as, come, let us encourage one another and build each other up, love one another, bear one another's burdens and forgive one another. And there are about 30 more.
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So, we're going to sing, we're going to have small group time, we're going to have five delicious meals for which we do not have to plan, we do not have to cook, we do not have to clean up. Do you know what I mean? It's going to be really fun. So it will be really terrific to see how God teaches us to be church together. Talk to Diane Geek.
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She is here. There are registration forms in the back corner on a table. You can pay online, PayPal, and if and Diane Gee can answer everything because she knows everything. And
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there there are actually some scholarships available too. If if you would like to go, we feel like you don't have the funds right now to do that. How about everybody? Oh, this is one more thing. For all other weekly announcements in this service is great about it.
13:06
Everything's in the bulletin anyway. So, I just try to hit the weird ones. Check the morning's bulletin for everything that's happening this week and other than that, would you stand up and greet one another and miss Rosemary and Scott and Bob and I will bring you back together with a song.
13:19
Alright, let's let's kind of get started with six sixty four. Go ahead, Rosemary. Give us an intro there. Take my life. Lead me, lord.
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This is a great song to remind yourself you're in God's hands. And it's his who does the work through you. So let's yield ourselves to him this morning. Let's remind it. Take my life.
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Lead me, Lord. Take my life lead me lord make my life useful to thee Take my life, lead me lord. Take my life, lead me lord. Make my life useful to thee. Take my life, teach me lord.
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Take my life, teach me lord. Make my life useful to thee. Take my life teach me lord take my life teach me lord make my life useful to thee. Here I am, send me lord. Here I am, send me lord.
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Make my life useful to thee here I am send me lord here am I send me lord make my life useful to thee Amen. Were you meaning it? Amen. Yeah. He's gotta do the work through us.
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Amen? Amen. Sweet sweet spirit, 391. Welcome back.
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Thank you.
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Paperwork. Little paperwork. 391. Sweet sweet spirit in this place. This is a great one.
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There's a sweet sweet spirit in this place, and I know that it's the spirit of the Lord. There are sweet expressions on each face and I know they feel the presence of the Lord. Sweet Holy Spirit, sweet heavenly dumb, stay right here with us, filling us with your love. And for these blessings, we lift our hearts in praise without a doubt we'll know that we have been revived when we shall leave place.
17:08
Alright. Alright. Who's in charge, really? Is it the piano player? Is it the music leader or is it the guy in the back?
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I think Renzi could argue today it's the guy in the back.
17:19
Hey, unity my friend. No, it's totally alright.
17:21
No, we're all together. We're all together. Are we gonna sing another one? Is that the last one? That's the last one.
17:29
Okay. We got a little bit out of order. So before y'all can all sit down, before I ask the frontline team to come forward, I'm gonna ask Martin Murphy who is our moderator, which means that he serves on the elder board but also on the board of trustees. And Martin and Becky have been serving here for a long, long time. Gracious and grateful good servants.
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And I also want to invite the family of Florina Violetta Leon to come forward with their three little girls. And Martin is going to of officiate over this little baby dedication. I'm good?
18:09
You're you are in charge. Actually, I I think the answer to the question is someone be outside of this little group here is in charge. These dear folks asked me to do a dedication for their brand new child, Andrea. Okay. And I'm privileged.
18:28
So, I wore red, see, and blue, but I forgot the white. Thank you. Before I started, was reminded, I was talking to a friend and he was telling me about his three children who have grown. They're grown up. They're big people.
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They're in the world. They're making their lives. And this person said, you know, all three of my kids are following Christ. I have one. Okay?
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The vocation they have, where they're going, what they do in life is of no significance. They're all following Christ. They're still following Christ. Isn't that cool? So today, I was as that is a theme, I want to come and I want to present these three kids.
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We're going to pray for Andrea. But also, you've never been prayed for in front of the have you, Brianna? No. So, we're going to we're going to in front of it. Now, you're you've been praying for in front, right?
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Yes. Yeah. Okay. So, we would like to dedicate.
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That's why she's wild.
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That's why she's wild? Because she's prayed for? So, first, just I'm going to pray at the beginning and the end. Let's bow real quick and I just give God some credit. Father in heaven, you alone are the one that changes our hearts and draws us to you.
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You alone are the one that that calls us to you. Father and today, we would like to come and beseech you on the behalf of these young lives and the parents of the of these young children to guide and direct, to be led by your Holy Spirit. So, to start that father, we we just thank you for your goodness and your bigness in Christ's name. Now, I'm going to thank you. Amen.
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I'm going to ask a couple questions. Of the parents Do you both profess Jesus Christ in your lives? Isn't that awesome? Yes. We can do that and we can do that publicly.
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Do you dedicate these kids to biblical instruction, bringing them up in the Lord? Isn't that cool? We can do that. Okay. Do you want to give these kids ultimately over to the control of God who controls His service even though the other three people have significant influence.
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Okay. And the congregation, I'm going to ask you, we often do this, we're going to ask you, are you willing to make a difference in the lives of these young kids and young kids? This is the next generation. Are you willing to do that? You know, that is a big deal.
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These kids have the potential of being influenced by our lives, the way we act, the way we interact, the way we serve. And we can make a difference. And certainly the parents can. So with that, may I, I'm not going to hold. Okay.
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I'm just going to I'd like to pray for Andrea and and Brianna in a special way. We want to dedicate them to being raised in by the Lord for the Lord's purpose, okay? Let's pray one more time. Father in heaven, again, we come before you. You are awesome.
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You are good. You control the world around us and father, we we want to lift up these precious, precious young lives and ask father that you would through the power of your Holy Spirit, draw them, direct them, pull them into your presence. Father, we ask that you'll be with the parents and give them wisdom beyond their understanding so that they might influence these lives and the preciousness in the lives and the special direction each life needs. Father, George, your purpose, towards your goal and father, we ask that you would influence us in the congregation, your people to be an influence not only to these special, special kids, but also to all the other kids in the world. So, father, with your by your power, through your son, we ask for your guidance in the lives of these lives.
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Thank you. In Christ name, we pray. And
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now, I will invite the frontline team to come forward and for the, we're gonna take up a tithes and offering but I'm going to pray and then I think I'm going to sing. As a operatory song there. So, God, you for this beautiful family, for Florine and Violetta and for how they just step out every day, trusting you. I thank you for those three precious girls and for your influence in their lives already and your word spreading through them, Lord. The WANNA program, the other programs in church, Violetta, at home, Florine, to spreading your good gospel message into the lives of these little girls, and it's already carrying through them and and making an impact.
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God, it's amazing. Lord, we have only that which you've given us. Every gift that we have has been given by you and and acknowledging that it is a good gift and acknowledging that it is from you, lord. We've given some of it back so that others may experience exactly what we've experienced. God, would you take these tithes and offerings and would you take them and amplify them, multiply them just like loaves and fishes, Lord, to the extent of the ends of the earth.
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We love for them to go to work right here in this community, and you do so much here through the giving of your saints here. But God, would you impact Nepal? Would you impact I think of Nepal because it's almost exactly the opposite side of the world from where we are. Myanmar, those very, very difficult places, Lord. We have several here who are considering trips and considering going.
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And would you impact those places with these funds? In Jesus name, Lord, we just want to see your kingdom advance. We've tasted and seen that the Lord is good and we want to share what we have with others. So, lord, would you bless these offerings this morning? Amen.
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As the deer panteth for the water so my soul longeth after thee you are my heart's desire and I long to worship thee you are my strength my shield to you may my spirit yield, you alone are my hearts, desire and I long to worship thee you're my friend and you are my brother even though you are a king I love you more than any other so much more than anything you alone are my strength my shield to you alone does my spirit you are my heart desire and I long to worship you. I want you more than gold or silver only you can satisfy. You alone are the real joy giver and the apple of my eye you are my strength my shield, to you alone may my spirit yield. You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship thee
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Amen.
27:36
Thank you, miss Rosemary. So, this week, we're up to second Corinthians chapter five verses 11. Actually, I've been telling you that I'm trying to keep a wet edge, trying to keep things fresh from last week and so I'm mixing it up a little bit and going back a couple of extra verses, picking up, and then moving forward and I wanna say before I even start at all today that I am not primarily an evangelist. I don't know if y'all have noticed that yet. I'm more of a pastor teacher.
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Did you, have y'all figured that out? With all the grammar and all this stuff. I'm more of a pastor teacher and typically for pastor, teachers, and for me in in specific, I love God's word and I love his people. So, his word, I believe that it makes a difference in people's lives. I want to expound on it as best I can in front of all of you and then, hopefully and it does happen that God rattles something in you and then, I get a chance to hear what your particular case is in the pastor's office or in in the street somewhere else and talk about it particularly.
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Usually, people coming to me are Christians already and they're coming to say, I'm struggling with this. I don't know what how to apply this to my life or something like that. So, that's my primary. It's pastor, teacher. In the list in Ephesians where it says to some are given, I guess, this way, evangelist, apostles, pastors, teachers.
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The pastor teacher gift is one thing and I love it, love it, love it. But I have committed to y'all that I am going to always try to stick with whatever the verses are in front of us today and this section, the whole section is a very evangelistic section. Now, it's interesting because it's in the middle of a book that he's writing to Christians. He knows that they're Christians. He says it over and over that I know that you're Christians but he's leaving open some possibility there that they might have accepted something mentally but not had a change in their life, not accepted it to the level of we'll get to in a minute, to the level of belief.
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So, I'm gonna get there. Now, there are folks who are just rewired by God, born again, that are born again evangelists. Do y'all know Gary Geek? He's not here. So, I'm gonna pick on him.
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Gary, Gary is just a that's when God remade him into a believer. When he made him a child of God, he wired him for the evangel, the good news of the gospel and if you hang around Gary for very long, he's going to start probing and you'll hear some self evaluative questions come up and he'll get you in an uncomfortable place. To get somebody saved, you gotta get em lost, you know? Anyway, that's that's not typically who I am but this is what this message is. So, that's where we're heading.
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End of the message is actually an altar call at the end of the message today and there will be one next Sunday because it gets to be even more evangelistic. It's the good news. I'm giving you warning because some of y'all know somebody who's right teetering on the edge right now. Bring em next Sunday. I sound like an evangelist, don't When I was little, there's a guy that came in.
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He had a banana yellow suit with yellow cowboy boots and he came in and he traveling evangelist. We always scheduled hours in in August. How do you schedule a revival? Anyway, this guy would come in and he would preach and Wednesday was going be youth night and he'd get us all to bring every friend that would come with us and it was going to be a very strong evangelistic message. I'm warning you.
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Right now, next week, it's going to be very very heavy gospel and it's going to implore people. Paul's imploring these Corinthians to be reconciled to God and that's what I'm going to do next week but I'm doing today too. So, yeah, before we go there, we're doing that. If we look back to last week's, really, this is could've been the thesis sentence from last week. The details around it especially in the next verse, the next verse mentions that Bema judgment and the Bema judgment of Christ is something that people focus on that and we focus on it thinking, oh my gosh, I've gotta stand before that.
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Good or bad? And it gets to where it's so hard to look at that, to consider the dread really of the judgment of God. They look at that and they kind of lose this verse right here. So, I want to start out and say, this one can be the overarching thing for all day long today whether we make it our aim, whether being at home or being away, therefore, the therefore is about the gospel. He's accepted and he knows it's true.
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He knows that it changes people's lives. He know that it makes a difference from death to life, darkness to light. Therefore, we make it our aim whether being at home or being away, whether present or away. Like a football team, like a basketball team, away game, or home game. We make it our aim to be well pleasing to him.
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That's what we want. For the sake of being well pleasing to him, not because of a fear of punishment or not because of a strong sense of reward awaiting us because if we do that to be seen by men, we've got our reward already. If we do it just for the reward, we're doing it for the wrong reasons anyway. God really wants for us to care about him. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and your neighbor as yourself, okay?
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So, here we go. We make it our aim to be well pleasing to him. The we and the hour there could be Paul and his running buddies. It could be all Christians everywhere. It could be that he's extending it to the people who already trust him in Corinth.
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We, those of us who believe this and know the message of the cross or it could even be for the ones who were his opponents. Everybody, Paul gives the benefit of the doubt. Everybody wants to be well pleasing to him but then this next verse is the one that's about judgement. I like this translation. It's MJ Harris's translation.
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So that each may be duly recompensed for actions, whether they were good or bad. And remember last week, intrinsically good is the good, and bad is just worthless for the kingdom. Either intrinsically good or things that have no value, no kingdom value. So that each may be duly recompensed for their actions, whether good or bad, performed through this body, performed through the body. It matters what you do.
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And that's what the sense of it should be. You walk circumspectly knowing that God is paying attention. Does that make sense? Okay. Do people act different if they know they're on video?
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Yes. Oh my goodness. Yes. Yes. Listen to this one too.
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It's the same thought but it's from a different author, same author, Holy Spirit, but different human author, Peter, writes this in second Peter three nine through 12. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness. Now, remember that these folks were under extreme persecution and Peter was writing to a persecuted church that had been through it and they're hoping for Jesus' return and it had not happened yet and so he's saying patience. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise. He's coming back.
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There will be that great and mighty day of the Lord. It's happening. It's going to happen. The Lord is not slack concerning his promises, some count slackness but he is long suffering towards us. That's the way Peter is looking at it.
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He's long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Now, will all come to repentance? No. Sadly, no. Do they have the option?
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Yes. It's the message of the cross and we'll get to that. He's long suffering towards us. Not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Remember last week, we mentioned first Corinthians three where there's gold, silver, and precious stones and we've got wood, hay, and stubble.
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What's going to last through this fervent heat? Gold, silver, and precious stones, those things that God performed through you, his actions that he did through your body, through the body. Heavens will pass away with great noise and elements will melt with fervent heat both the earth and the works that are in it. Earth and earthly works. What does Paul say?
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The absolute greatest righteousness that we can do on our own. Earthly righteousness. What's the greatest? Is like filthy rags. It doesn't fit the heavenly standard.
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It will not pass. Human production, human works will not last in the judgment. Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, since all these things will be dissolved, think about it and go, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and in godliness? It matters.
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That's what Peter is saying the same thing. It matters how we act. Not because our works are going to get us in but it makes a difference. If we have experienced the saving grace of God, we should be sharing that with other people and it should work its way out in our life. What manner of persons ought we to be in holy conduct and godliness looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.
36:49
Alright. So, that's just Peter's take on it. I feel like, are we all on the same page now? Good. We can almost start the sermon.
36:55
Knowing therefore, all of that that we just talked about. Knowing therefore, the fear of the Lord and it does say fear. Some people even translate it terror. Fabas is the word. It's where we get phobia.
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Knowing the fear of the Lord because he is all powerful. He is almighty. Knowing the fear of the Lord, we are persuading men. He knows what it's like. He knows what it's like.
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He knew what it was like to be against God and he felt it and he knows that and he doesn't ever wanna forget that. He understands God's power. Knowing the fear of the Lord, reverence, respect, awe. We're persuading men but he has this confidence again. I talked about confidence a lot last week.
37:39
We are well known to God. He says that confidently. I know that my heart is right before God. I'm sure of that. By the way, that I've experienced him.
37:47
We're well known to God and I also trust we're well known in your consciousness. He knows the majority of the people out there. If they remember who he was when he was with them, it was just a sincere guy called of God with the message of the cross, okay? For we are not commending ourselves again to you or we do not commend ourselves to you again, but give you opportunity to boast on our behalf that you may have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart. Now, I mentioned several times over and it'll come up in the text in a couple weeks, I think.
38:20
The first time that he calls the other guys who have been trying to persuade them, he calls them super apostles. Later on, he calls them false apostles. There are couple of different possibilities for their theology. One of em is certainly, it is a outward based, outward based seeing what you have. It's a prosperity gospel.
38:40
The super apostles are preaching that if you trust in God, your life will all get better. Everything will be better. You will have that which you want and they were saying, Paul's affliction shows that he doesn't carry the real gospel because God wouldn't do that. Now, did Jesus do that? Jesus suffered.
39:03
He was afflicted. Paul following in his footsteps, suffered, was afflicted, but he did it for a reason. Jesus did it to redeem mankind. Paul did it to spread that message. We're not commending ourselves again to you.
39:17
That's not a self commendation. Paul knows that all that he has is the gospel. He knows that it's not anything personally and he's mentioned that about four times already in this book. We do not commend ourselves to you again, but give you opportunity to boast on our behalf. He's saying, I want for you to be able to answer the people that come to you and deny that tribulation is a part of the Christian life.
39:41
I want for you to be able to give the direct straight up gospel message. That's what he keeps mentioning over and over. He's gonna mention it this week and then next week, it'll get even stronger. That you may have an answer. You may have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart.
39:57
He's saying that there is a difference in what we see and what we don't see. Remember that from last week and the week before? We walk by faith, not by sight. They do look great in their Cadillac and their white suit. Wonderful.
40:14
But that boasting is appearance and not in heart. For if we're beside ourselves, it's for you. Or if we are of sound mind I'm sorry. For if we are besides ourselves, it is for God or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. Now, another thing that these that the prosperity guys did back in this day, I'm not saying from our own day, although it's happened in the day too.
40:38
One of the things that the prosperity guys were teaching and preaching is corporately corporately ecstatic utterances corporately. Now, Paul had already said in first Corinthians that it's okay. This is something that does happen sometimes but it's not to be done in corporate worship and he made that pretty strong and that's where the whole love chapter comes into right around in that area and he says, if we're beside ourselves, if we're out of our minds, literally, it's for God. He's saying that, yeah, the Holy Spirit's got utterances of groanings that I don't understand. If I am leaning into God, there are some things that I don't understand about that relationship.
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In a couple of chapters, he's going to go through a couple of those. If we're beside ourselves, if we're out of our minds, if it appears to you that we're crazy, no, we're not doing that for you. We're not doing that among you even. It's for God. Now, all the other guys were doing that.
41:36
All of the other guys were and we'll just say, speaking in tongues, they were doing the ecstatic and charismatic stuff in a way that was very, very visual and very, very divisive. Paul says, if I'm going to be beside myself in something that I don't understand, it's going to be between me and God but if I'm of a sound mind speaking intelligibly, the things of God which I may even learn in that state alone with him. It's for you. It will be intelligible. That's important that the gospel be understood.
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It has to be understood to be accepted. For the love of Christ compels us. Do you remember Chuck up here a few weeks ago, Chuck from the mission Chuck Fidroff? He was going, he go, the love of Christ compels me. The love of Christ compels me.
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He said he was in a sermon one time and they, that was the refrain from the audience. Every time that the pastor would hit something, they'd say, the love of Christ compels me. They were quoting this verse right here. Actually, for the love of Christ could be taken two different ways. In English, there's no, there's one way to take it in Greek.
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It's for Christ's love compels us. It's not because I love Christ that I'm compelled. It's because he first loved me as John would say. For the love of Christ or for Christ's love compels us. It compels us because we judge thus.
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We have looked at these things and we see it this way. That if one died for all, capital O, that's Jesus, dying for all. If one died for all, then all died. What do I say when we baptize people? When we baptize them, I usually say whether y'all can hear it or not.
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This is a pretty joyous place when we have a baptism and no microphone in the water up there. When I dunk somebody, I usually say, buried with Christ but raised to walk in newness of life. That is a symbol symbol of having died with Christ on the cross. Paul himself, you know, I've been crucified with Christ. For the love of Christ compels us to do what we do.
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What did Paul do? Everywhere he went, he carried one message, the message of the cross. The love of Christ is what compels us even in the face of significant obstacles which he's already stated and will state again because we judge thus. If one died, then all died. They either died with him on Calvary or they will suffer eternal death and he died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died and for them and rose again.
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So, that's the buried in Christ and raised to walk in newness of life following after your savior. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. The whole pastor teacher thing comes up right here again because I love words and they make a difference and in this passage regard, the word is Oida and it means to be aware of which can mean to know, right? To know something, to be aware of it, to behold something, to consider it, to perceive. He's saying, therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh.
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And as we're looking at that and we think and I've heard this interpreted this way actually once. He said, from now on, we have nothing to do with anybody that's according to the flesh. We're of the spirit, they're of the flesh, we should separate, we should not have anything to do with them. It's a it's a temptation to circle the wagons and say, all that matter are right here within the walls of this church. We're going to we're going to keep on.
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We're to take care of one another and we're not going to pay attention to anybody else. No. That's not what that means at all. In fact, this word, really, the according to the flesh part relates to that verb. It's an adverbial phrase relating to regard.
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Therefore, from now on, we regard according to the flesh, no one. That makes sense? Are there two different ways of seeing everything? Yes. There are spiritual eyes.
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There are fleshly eyes. Have you all heard this song before? It's by Brandon Heath. Comes on K Lo all the time. I thought it was Toby Mac.
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It's Brandon Heath. He starts off in an it's he's touching down off of a trip in an airplane. But it hit him. It hit him at a certain point in life. It just hit him.
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All of a sudden, it hit him. He said, all those people are going somewhere. Why have I never cared? Do you all know the song? All those people go in somewhere.
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Why have I never cared? And he then he calls out to God. He says, give me your eyes for just one second. Give me your eyes so I can see everything that I keep missing. Give me your love for humanity.
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He wants to spiritualize. He's he's he's got the physical fleshly eyes that he's always had but all of a sudden, it came upon him that I'm I don't care about these people. I'm love God but I I never have really cared about them at all and with that realization, give me your arms for the brokenhearted. It's not just he wants to see it. He wants to do something about it.
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Give me your arms for the brokenhearted. The ones that are far beyond my reach and why would you want somebody that's beyond your reach? Pray for those that are beyond your reach. Give me your heart for the ones forgotten. Give me your eyes so that I can see.
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So I'm gonna say it again, and this is in context. It brings it back in. I wanna mention one other thing right here too because I skipped it a minute ago, where it says the due recompense. In Spanish, we have a a saying that you hear all the time and it's Anybody ever heard that before? When somebody runs out in front of you in traffic, you go, it means God will repay.
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God will repay. Or when you receive a great gift from somebody that there's no possibility you could ever pay them back. You say, It's that's the way we need to look at that. We want to do what's well pleasing to him. God will repay.
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Okay, back to the previously scheduled sermon. And he died for all. That those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and rose again. Therefore, from now on, we regard according to the flesh, no one. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, Yet, we know him thus no longer.
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That's a little bit who's in first, isn't it? Who's on first? That's a little bit like, you could just get locked into those words and find yourself confused. Even though we have, verb tense there in the past, known Christ according to the flesh, yet now, we know him thus no longer. There's another opportunity here for a little Greek.
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So, Oida is the regarding someone or to perceive or considering. Ginosco is the word for know and known in this verse. Known and no are Ganosco and that properly is to know but it's especially through personal experience. It is experiential knowledge. So, it's not just knowing it mental ascent that yes, that happens.
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It's the difference in knowing that someone could walk across a tight rope between two big buildings and actually experiencing that it could happen yourself. Does that make sense? It's not just mental ascent. It is knowing experientially that this. In fact, in Luke one where it where the angel announces to Mary that she's going to be with child.
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She says, how can this be for I have never Ginosko? I've never known a man. It's a very intimate, experiential, personal knowledge, very, very closely linked to one's heart and soul. So, my question for you right now is how do you experientially know? How do you Ginosco the message of the cross?
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Is it foolishness or is it the power of God? This is from first Corinthians one verses eighteen and nineteen. This is one of the clearest places in the gospel where it says, there are two clearest places in the Bible. There are two different types of people and the message of the cross will make that divide. Between those who believe it to be foolishness and those who believe it to be the power of God.
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Now, I know that most every Sunday when I'm up here, the majority of people who are sitting out there looking back are Christians, definitely consider themselves to be Christians and they are seeing the power of God at work in their life. I know that but if you came in here this morning and you came in and you just were here with somebody just because and you really are seriously looking at this, listening to me, listening to what the Bible has to say and go, how in the world could that make any difference whatsoever for me? A guy who died two thousand years ago hanging on a cross. What difference does that make to me? That's just silly.
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Foolishness. That's where you stand. And if that's where you stand, what Paul says that those people who believe that are the ones who are perishing. They're perishing, dying, and that is an experiential knowledge of Christ according to the flesh. Now, Paul says, I've been there.
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Even though if I flip back a few slides, he says, even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, that's exactly what he's talking about. I thought it foolishness. In fact, I fought against it. I was out on the road, on the way to tear down Christians when God arrested my heart, stopped me, and I came to believe. Here we are.
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And this is what he went to. He believed that it was the power of God. To those who are being saved. That is an experiential knowledge of Christ but according to his spirit. That's what it is.
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That's the divide. And those are the two options. So, how do you experientially know the message of the cross? Christ. It's either foolishness or it's the power of God.
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I know you've seen it before. I'm going to keep on bringing it up because this is really what it's about, okay? Even though we've, in the past, known Christ according to the flesh yet, now we know him thus, no longer. We know him to be the king, the savior, the redeemer, the good. And I'm going to bring up now John three sixteen.
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I'm Southern Baptist. I heard John three sixteen so much when I was little. It came up a whole lot. You know why? Because it's good.
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It's really, really, really good. For God so loved the world. Now, the sow there is in this way. God, in this way, love the world. That he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
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So, I'm going to do this on the board here and I know some of you can see it and some of you can't. I'll try to talk my way through it while I'm going but I want to start in a little bit different order. For God so loved the world. So, God, and the world I mean, he created the world and he loved God loves the world His purpose is relationship with us. His purpose, I actually, I should put it the other way around.
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His purpose for us is relationship with him. To enjoy God and glorify him forever. That is the chief end of man, right? So, God loves the world. That's God's purpose.
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He made it and it was good. We fell away. That's our what? That's our problem. Man's problem is that he has sinned.
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Since Adam, everybody by nature and everybody by choice except one, Jesus. So, God so loved the world but man's problem is sin and that sin which God cannot abide excuse me. That sin which God cannot bad He cannot be near it. He cannot have anything to do with it. That sin is what separates us from God and there is a great chasm fixed, Luke says.
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There is no crossing over. This is a huge gulf between this and this. God loves the world. That's his purpose but sin is man's problem and what's that say up there? Perish is what it says.
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So, we've got what we always call hell and everlasting life, heaven. That is what's in the balance here. Heaven or hell, it really is that dramatic. God loves the world but because of sin What's the wages of sin from Romans? Death.
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Perish everlasting life. That's man's problem. There's a great chasm fixed and how is this guy going to jump that? Might he construct some mighty religion and fly across on it? No.
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Could he do good works? Good works. That sounds good but good works only get you so far. And you just plummet. No.
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Good works won't do it either. So, God made a remedy. So, God's remedy is that he gave his only begotten son. This is the whole gospel in one verse, right? So, he gave his son.
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I know a lot of y'all have seen a bridge diagram before. The cross, the message of the cross, the son of love is the only way to get across that chasm. Amen. So, God's got a purpose. Man's got a problem.
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God's got a remedy but this is the interesting part. What does it take to change from being one of those who are perishing to being one of those who are being saved? What that verse says is whosoever, we're going to call him whosoever. Whosoever, what? Gets in.
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Whosoever does great works? No. Whosoever It is by belief. It really is Ginosko, experiential knowledge and belief is what gets you there. And that's it.
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But the whoever believes is conditional upon whether or not you believe it. So whosoever believes has life, but whosoever rejects sticks with death, the starting point. I have literally a tear in my eye every time this comes up. I like pastoring people through difficult situations but I have a really really hard time for those who are outside of Christ that don't have any desire whatsoever to come to him. It's really really hard for me to think about that.
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The exclusivity of the gospel. This is God's remedy. This is the way and we should be living our lives in such an attractive manner that it brings people into knowing that we experientially believe and know this. So, that's the message of the cross. And there is a way to change.
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And it is whosoever believes. It is through belief. So, you can go from foolishness to see in the power of God. Now, I'm going to call Bob and Scott and Rosemary back up to the front and I think that's the last slide that I have and I'm going to actually do an alter call. I will turn off my lapel mic if you wanna come up and talk about this.
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Or I have found that it's not just easier, but it's more fruitful for people to come in and just visit in the office Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. There's always an open invitation. There's always an open altar right here but if you have felt like I'm one of those people who's always thought it's foolishness but I don't want to be that way anymore and I feel like God is stirring me. Please come talk to me. Please come talk to me about it.
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I'd be glad to to welcome you in. Alright. We're, would you stand with us as we sing?
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Is like to that above
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Amen. And I have one more verse for you and we'll see it again next week but I just want you to think about this. That really is what makes the difference and is the last slide up there, Enzi? Therefore, because of all that makes a difference, because you've got that possibility, because you can go from darkness to light. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation, completely new.
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This guy here is completely different when he gets to there. If anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Would you go this week just like up out of the waters of baptism?
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Would you go this week and walk in newness of life? In Jesus name, amen. Amen.
