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The title of today’s message is should Christians celebrate Halloween

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Oh yeah

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I’m going to just let you know in advance I was telling people this week hey I’m doing something very different out of my comfort zone And so normally I just like to take my time and go on rabbit trails But if I don’t get to the conclusion of this one it’s not going to be good

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right

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But should Christians celebrate Halloween This is a question that I believe is really important for believers to wrestle with because I believe wrestling with this question will provide some principles that can put the church in a position to transform society

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Sounds like a bold statement doesn’t it That answering a question like should Christians celebrate Halloween could actually be connected to something that could have transformational impact

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in the nations It does seem a little bit skeptical doesn’t it Yes we I feel we’ll see if you can pull this one off and maybe we will and maybe we won’t

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But why am I doing this I believe that there are some truths that are mission critical for the church to understand

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I believe the importance of wrestling with scripture and this is part of that This is part of the gospel of Jesus Christ and is crucial in our mandate to make disciples One of the challenges preachers always have is that especially when you have a new believer coming in or an unbeliever coming in or even a veteran believer coming in they’re looking to see Do you what do you preach

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What do you preach Do you preach enough about Jesus Christ Do you preach enough about the cross and the resurrection And one of the things I think that we miss is that all scripture testifies about Jesus that all scripture is the testimony of Jesus And when we wrestle with every portion of scripture we’re seeing other aspects of Jesus Christ

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And when we realize that then we can really actually preach all of God’s word and not have to avoid any of it It’s an interesting idea isn’t it But I I think until the church starts to feel comfortable with all of scripture is a testimony of Jesus Christ we’ll never be able to really develop the full image of Christ in us because every scripture is important

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I also want to say that

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the title of this message may make some people uncomfortable

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right

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And it should if we’re thinking about it already I I kind of told Stephanie the title of the message last night and she says I don’t think you should preach that message

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And then I told her this morning we was going to go with and she says ok I feel better now

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great

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But only when we can talk and wrestle with what is uncomfortable will we truly be healthy as the body of Christ

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I mean let’s just be honest if we can’t talk about everything then we are not really healthy If we have to avoid issues we are not healthy

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And so we really do need to wrestle with all kinds of issues with in light of scripture

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Before I start I want to say that there are always more than two sides

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two issues right

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And even if we only focus on two sides which we’re kind of going to do there are often significant nuances to each of those sides But for simplicity we are going to be just addressing it as two sides So the first side on one side there are those who believe that Christians should not celebrate Halloween

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some of their thinking is that it is rooted in pagan tradition and it dishonors God

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some would even go so far to say that it opens you up to demons and devils and can create demonic bondage I mean that’s a very I think it’s a very normal position in the body of Christ I’ve heard it for many people

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and then the people who believe that we should celebrate Halloween they usually have lots of different reasons You know it’s not usually as clear and simple It could be some of it could very simply be the one that I hear the most often is this is where we connect with our neighbors One of the only times we get to meet some of our neighbors that we connect with people

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And so that’s you know pretty much the other side

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But let’s look at some scriptures that I believe have principles that will be helpful for us But understand that these scriptures are dealing with pastoral application of essential biblical truths that are specific to the situations to which they address And they do not perfectly apply to our question The hope is that we’ll be able to wrestle with the scriptures and extract principles that help us to answer the question

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Should Christians celebrate Halloween

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Paul had to address eating meat sacrificed to idols and believers celebrating Jewish traditions in some of his epistles

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There were several ways that Christians could encounter meat sacrificed to idols And one way was that meat was sold in the marketplace after it had been part of pagan rituals The meat had been sacrificed to idols and it was being sold cheaper and good Christians being good stewards of money as we should be often love to get cheaper meat

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right I mean hey we have a moral responsibility to use our treasures for the glory of God And if we can keep from wasting money on expensive steak if we can get cheaper steak well certainly in Texas we’re going to have more fellowship with a larger barbecue

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right And have more money to celebrate and to be a blessing in many other ways

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So the advice of Paul regarding meat sacrifice to idols I’m I’m actually truncating it a lot because if I read everything we would be here for a very long time But first Corinthians 10 25 to 31 says this eat whatever is sold in the meat market asking no question For conscience sake

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For the earth is the Lord’s in all of its fullness

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If any of those who do not believe invite you to dinner

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you should desire to go

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The walls have come down and we need to reach people for Jesus Christ we need to have fellowship with people so that we can share the gospel with them So if anyone invites you to dinner go

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and you eat whatever is set before you asking no question for conscience sake

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But if anyone says to you this was offered to idols do not eat it for the sake of the one who told you and for conscience sake

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for the earth is the Lord’s in all its fullness Conscience I say not your own

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Isn’t that interesting

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But that of the other because they’re thinking if they tell you that this is sacrificed to idols then they’ll get the idea that you’re saying it’s ok to sacrifice the idols which it isn’t

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But he says that but the conscience of your brother or of the other for why is my liberty judged by another man’s conscience But if I partake with thanks why am I evil Spoken of for the food over which I give thanks Therefore whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do do it all to the glory of God

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We turn the mic down just a little bit Thank you

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the advice Oh and then I’ll go down and read first Corinthians 84 through six

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So therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols we know that an idol is nothing in the world

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and that there is no other God but one for even if there are so called gods whether in heaven or on earth as there are many gods and many lords Yet for us there is one God the father of whom are all all things And we for him in one Lord Jesus Christ through whom we are all things and through whom we live

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I really love this

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We know that idols are nothing in the world Absolutely nothing

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Now now let’s look a little bit about the advice of Paul regarding Jewish traditions

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This again is a very important issue in the church because there is an infatuation with Judaism again

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And and I’m running into one Christian after another that has started you know believes that they have to celebrate the feast of Israel Some feel like if they don’t God is going to punish them Um I I often find my personal opinion is that when we lose the Holy Spirit in the church

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when we lose the rivers of living water when we lose the incredible presence of God in the community of believers or in our life then we start to seek for other things to make us feel satisfied but we’re really thirsting for that living water So it’s not just Jewish traditions I’ve seen it with people that got into the Mystic saints I see it with just this longing of something to make me feel significant to feel valuable to feel worth to feel special

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Because somehow we’re not finding it in the simple gospel of Jesus Christ

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that I’ve been born again by by the word of God an imperishable seed that I can come into his presence that I can come into the very holy of holy and worship Him and whoever drinks this water that I give will never thirst again We find our identity in Christ and we have this incredible humility and deep satisfaction in him And whenever we’re longing to find significance and identity

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it’s really a sign that what we need is the Holy Spirit what we really need is the Holy Spirit And you know we can go seeking for identity and satisfaction in many other ways But it’s the Holy Spirit that takes the truths of scripture and the reality of the gospel and makes it just come alive and flourish in our life And when we find ourselves in darkness discourage despairing hungry bored What we really need is father

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give me a fresh

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overflow of your Holy Spirit in my life We can you know we always like to talk about doctrine You know you have to believe that you receive the whole holy ghost when you believe people have all kinds of different nuances of believing it So however you want to call it it is be filled with the Holy Spirit Have your sail

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filled be continually filled filled And we saw multiple fillings even the acts of the apostles and just the practical experience of many believers is when they start to feel the power waning when they feel that glory waning when they feel like just way down

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it really is so simple to ask and you shall receive Lord I need a fresh filling if you don’t like those terms and say Lord I need a fresh manifestation

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I need those rivers to flow out of my innermost belly Lord don’t stop the wells But it’s just very simple When you are experiencing the presence of God it’s like you turn the light on in your life and it transforms everything And you know when we worship when we read God’s word when we have fellowship with one another when we’re going about our daily lives if we don’t have the presence of God it’s it’s

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almost like it drains us of life rather than an overflow of life And what really is the greatest witness in this world of darkness is people that are filled with the Holy Spirit that have righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Ghost that love one another and filled with hope and filled with faith and filled with confidence that he is lord over all and he wins

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I mean it’s just that’s normal Christianity and a lot of times we just really have to be sensitive to when we are

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kind of missing That does that make sense You can grasp for satisfaction in all kinds of other places but you will only find it in the presence of God And the only way that you get into the presence of God is actually really kind of interesting

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by faith

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I mean literally there’s nothing you can do to earn his love There’s nothing you can do to earn access into his presence There’s nothing you can do to earn salvation and you got to just accept honor God by accepting the truth that God loves you God cares about you He actually wants to walk with you and have fellowship with you and for you to experience Him he wants to be real in your life And when He’s no longer real it just becomes forms of religion devoid of power

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And all we have to do is turn to him and he will turn to us It’s that simple Really

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So anyway Paul writes this Romans 14 1 through four And you got to really listen to these nuances I’m going fast because I really want to make sure I get to the end So receive one who is weak in the faith

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but not to disputes over doubtful things For one believes he may eat all things but he who is weak eats only vegetables

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What in the world It’s simple When they were out in gentile lands they couldn’t it wasn’t easy to find kosher meats

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These are believers and their conscience tells them that they can’t eat these non kosher meat So I’m only going to eat vegetables and and and Paul tells you to receive him who is weak in the faith There’s so many subtleties here because even just by labeling them weak in the faith is calling them to maturity but he’s telling believers receive them

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and then he goes let not him who eats despise him who does not eat

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Because then you’re just being colonel I have freedom and you don’t I’m mature and you’re not wait just by you acting that way Then it says you still have a lot of maturing to do

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Do you see how interesting this stuff is But it actually is what we wrestle with in the church And Paul is really wrestling with this because he sees the importance of unity He sees the importance of majoring on the majors and on the essentials and not getting caught in disputes over doubtful things And he’s saying if they only eat vegetables then God bless them don’t cause a stumbling block on them

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And yet he also called them weak in the faith

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Let him who eats despise not let let not him who eats despise him who does not eat and let not him who does not eat Judge him who eats

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these words sound very simple don’t they

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But they’re not the person who’s not eating kosher meat is so fully convinced that you can’t

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eat non kosher meats And that the people who are eating non kosher meats really must not be honoring God or really know Him or even care

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So this is actually a massive challenge in the church

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You see it

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I’m free and I can eat these non kosher meats And Paul is saying don’t judge those guys

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And then they were saying I really want to honor and fear God and serve God So I don’t eat non kosher meats and eat only vegetables Don’t judge the ones who are eating meat

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It’s easy to say But if you actually picture what’s going on

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it’s actually a massive challenge that he’s addressing here

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And he said and here’s the thing he says about both parties for God has received Him

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God don’t you care about the things that you should we should be caring about how dare you receive those non vegetable only eating people

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right Oh God How come you don’t care about really matters These non these non meeting people are a real pain in the rear and they’re judging everybody and and I’m supposed to receive them when they’re just totally judging me all the time

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Isn’t that interesting

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And it says for God has received him

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because Paul is discerning the body of Christ He’s discerning what is real He’s discerning what is alive He’s discerning what’s in the heart He’s not he’s not focusing on outward forms And he’s trying to call people to see deeper than the outward forms and to recognize when somebody really loves and fears the Lord

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He said but don’t these issues really matter

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Well sure we can say that they really matter I mean although we’re looking at scripture here right There is truth and there is absolutely truth And Paul did kind of give you a hint when he said the weak in the faith But the point is when you’re really working with people you can’t just say well you’re weak in the faith because I say how dare you And now we’ve got a giant mess on our hands right

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But we really have to say listen my brother loves the Lord and I love the Lord And we just trust that the Lord will lead us from faith to faith and glory to glory and he will perfect the saints that he is the shepherd of his sheep And he knows how to lead them

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Well then how do I know because they really are loving the Lord worshiping him They’re getting in God’s word they’re praying they’re seeking his face

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they’re loving the brethren

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except when they’re eating meat or not eating meat

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He isn’t this interesting stuff

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And Paul says who are you to judge another servant

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So Paul just puts a little you know some severity into it to his own master He stands or false Paul is thinking how can I try to get them to start loving each other and quit judging and criticizing one another Indeed he will be made to stand for God is able to make him stand That’s what I was saying

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They’re following Jesus they’re walking with God they might not have everything perfect They may be mature or immature they may be right or wrong but they’re following Jesus and he knows how to bring them home He knows how to change guess what He’s their savior You’re not he’s their sancti fier You’re not If you want to see somebody sanctified connect them to Jesus and get them filled with the holy ghost and he will walk them out I’m telling you judgmentalism never transforms anyone

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guilt never transforms anyone All it will bring is external conformity but it won’t change the heart

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And if we’re not aiming at total life transformation beginning in the heart then we’ve become Pharisees

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You know the only ones that Jesus called Sons of the devil were not unbelievers or idol worshipers It was the Pharisees called them white washed up cos you care about what’s on the outside rather than what’s in the heart

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Mhm

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Very interesting stuff isn’t it

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Very interesting things to wrestle with

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And then he goes on about Jewish traditions One person esteems one day above another another esteems every day alike

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Isn’t it important

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Let each be fully convinced in his own mind

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He observes the day observes it to the Lord

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and he who does not observe observe the day to the Lord He does not observe it

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He who eats eats to the Lord for he gives thanks He who does not eat to the Lord He does not eat and gives thanks

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Paul couldn’t you settle our argument

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And he’s like guys you missed the point

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right Some of Paul’s principles I’m really cutting out a lot of these discussions just for time’s sake But you see how important they are Hopefully your mind’s already wandering and making connections But first Corin so you see I’m going back before between Corinthians and Roman So now we’re going to go back and read first Corinthians 87 through nine

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when he was talking about the knowledge of the idol is nothing in the world right And this knowledge that you know he’s talking about the weak and the faith he says however there’s not everyone that has this knowledge

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Well I’ll read it again more carefully However there is not in everyone that knowledge for some with consciousness of the idol until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol and their conscience being weak is defiled

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because they’re thinking it’s ok like they’re acting as though it’s ok to actually worship idols And it isn’t

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there’s places when he actually says if you’re actually engaging in sacrificing the idols and drinking the cup of idols you are drinking something that is dedicated to demons

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So it’s saying no you can’t actually worship other gods and worship idols and pertain actually partake in those things But he’s actually saying if you go to somebody’s house and there’s the meat sacrifice to an idol I mean you technically could eat it because it’s nothing It’s meat

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just meat for a Christian We tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy And we’re not bound by elemental principles of religion or Principalities and powers It’s meat and the earth is the lords and the fullness thereof The lord is lord over every day He’s lord over every food He’s lord over every geography over every ethnicity over every corner of planet earth There’s no place where his light can’t invade and break every yoke of darkness

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But

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people do need to know it’s not ok to worship devils and to worship idols for there is only one god to be worshiped and he is revealed in Jesus Christ and to worship any other God and to worship idols is to bring darkness and death and pain and suffering and misery on this earth It’s to keep people in bondage

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is isn’t this stuff really challenging

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But food does not condemn us to God Neither if we eat Are we the better Nor if we do not eat Are we the worst But beware that somehow this liberty of yours becomes a stumbling block to the weak

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So there’s something that Paul is really getting at here and it goes back to it’s connected the word I keep going back to disputes over doubtful things arguing about Should you eat meat or not eat the meat Should you observe the days or not observe the days And Paul is saying you’re missing the whole point

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Romans 14 19 to 23 So more of the things that He says to try to get to the point Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace

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and the things by which we may edify one another Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food All things indeed are pure but it is evil for the man who eats with a fence

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It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak

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Do you have faith Have it to yourself before God Happy as He Who does not condemn himself in what he approves but he who doubts is condemned if he eats because he does not eat from faith for whatever is not of faith is sin

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Really interesting and it really puts some weight So for the people who really believe that eating the meat sacrificed to idols is dishonoring God

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then for them to go ahead and eat it in their mind they are engaging in worshiping idols and it is sent to them

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So it’s telling us that worship and actions that the motivation of our heart and our perceptions matter that’s getting to the heart of the matter If we believe that eating non kosher meat is offensive to God and then we go ahead and eat it then our conscience is saying Lord it’s ok to rebel against you

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You see what I’m saying

Speaker#1:
00:24:41.4 – 00:24:50.42
And and and if we just keep pushing people to do things that their conscience doesn’t approve of then we are harming them

Speaker#1:
00:24:53.41 – 00:25:02.099
that we have to let people follow the dictates of their conscience and not try to conform them to our external

Speaker#1:
00:25:03.78 – 00:25:30.329
patterns that we believe are how you are supposed to worship God or live They’ve got to be led by the Lord They’ve got to grow in the Lord for themselves They have to walk with God for themselves and we need to unite in the body of Christ together If we’re going to see new people coming in they’re going to come in with all kinds of different traditions backgrounds and we need to love them and receive them and connect them and not to external forms

Speaker#1:
00:25:31.38 – 00:25:32.709
but to the heart of God

Speaker#1:
00:25:33.329 – 00:25:50.329
we’ve got to get them connected to the Lord I’m gonna follow you and I’m going to trust you and I want to worship you and I want to serve you And I know Lord God that as I walk with you you’re going to make me more like you every day And I’m going to feed on your word because that’s the one food I know will transform any life

Speaker#1:
00:25:50.989 – 00:26:02.839
I’m going to feed on prayer because Lord I need to have connection with you I’m going to walk in your presence I’m going to worship you with my whole heart and glorify you and celebrate you and give thanks and all things to you Lord

Speaker#1:
00:26:03.969 – 00:26:25.569
And if somebody else kind of is connecting with God differently well often we don’t see it that way They’re a rebel and dishonoring God But if I’m going to say Lord I just need to make sure that they are connected to you that they are following on you following you I want that their heart is after you And I’m not going to try to conform them to external forms I’m not talking about sin

Speaker#1:
00:26:26.109 – 00:26:31.77
but these are real challenges that we will face as we have more and more unbelievers coming in

Speaker#1:
00:26:32.689 – 00:26:51.17
you know like well no it’s not right to do these things It’s like a friend who had an outreach and started to reach God opened up doors and then he started to reach these unbelievers at a real high level and they started coming in and he realizes that they were swingers

Speaker#1:
00:26:51.78 – 00:26:54.26
Think they started to harvest a bunch of swingers

Speaker#1:
00:26:57.089 – 00:27:08.579
and wrestle with Well how do we transform them understanding these principles We connect them to Jesus Christ even though it’s driving me crazy because they need to get the revelation from them for themselves

Speaker#1:
00:27:09.39 – 00:27:21.959
so that they’re doing it out of their conscience in an act of worship to the Lord to forsake these things of darkness And then they started coming It was like we’ve been reading God’s word and we think that maybe this is not an acceptable lifestyle

Speaker#1:
00:27:24.51 – 00:27:25.27
Oh

Speaker#1:
00:27:26.13 – 00:27:28.739
but they weren’t lost along the way

Speaker#1:
00:27:29.9 – 00:27:35.56
even though it was painful to watch the process because you just want to say hey man not going off

Speaker#1:
00:27:36.859 – 00:27:51.75
You see what I’m saying And it really really it’s not like there’s a lot of the things that we wrestle with with Christians are kind of funny It’s not legalism it’s not programmatic It really has to do with seeking the Lord for wisdom

Speaker#1:
00:27:52.5 – 00:28:00.43
and praying because it’s not this is how you act in this situation This is how you act in that situation This is how you deal with this person That’s how you deal with that person

Speaker#1:
00:28:00.949 – 00:28:20.079
It’s literally Lord if I’m going to be used by you Lord God your holy spirit has to get a hold of me Your anointing has to get on top of me And it’s got to be the very oracles of God that are coming forth wanting to see them connect with you and know you and having their lives transformed it has to come from the heart of love for the people

Speaker#1:
00:28:21.0 – 00:28:26.609
You see how interesting this stuff is but it really is challenging isn’t it These questions are challenging

Speaker#1:
00:28:27.209 – 00:28:41.68
So I wrote a note to myself cover other principles Since I cut out so much we already covered this one No it is wrong to actually sacrifice the idols two There will always be the immature in the body of Christ And this is important for growth

Speaker#1:
00:28:42.369 – 00:29:00.01
If there’s not the immature if there’s not the weak in faith then then people are not then Christ is not being reproduced in the earth So this this should always be a perpetual challenge in the body of Christ If it’s not then congratulations we’ve got unity but we are not growing

Speaker#1:
00:29:00.66 – 00:29:01.369
right

Speaker#1:
00:29:02.079 – 00:29:07.819
I really love this The earth is the Lord’s is a mature view Fear is an immature view

Speaker#1:
00:29:08.51 – 00:29:19.239
The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof There’s no day there’s no place There is nothing where the name of Jesus doesn’t cause every devil to flee and doesn’t break every yoke

Speaker#1:
00:29:19.849 – 00:29:22.89
It doesn’t break every power of darkness But

Speaker#1:
00:29:23.439 – 00:29:46.989
fear is normal People who come out of the darkness who have really come out of real spiritual darkness and sin They see how real the devil is They see how dangerous sin is And it’s like I want to keep a million miles away from that and that’s normal And they are afraid they are afraid that if I buy something in the marketplace that was used in a pagan ritual it’s going to cause a devil to get into my house

Speaker#1:
00:29:47.459 – 00:30:11.349
into my life They believe all kinds of things and their conscience is weak Does that make sense where Paul is Like the earth is the lords and the fullness of thereof And that very meat that was sacrificed to devils can’t bring a devil into my life It’s meat to me it’s challenging and I know these things are challenging because the person who is weak and the faith will really wrestle with that idea Now that’s just wrong

Speaker#1:
00:30:12.29 – 00:30:14.109
Paul you’re a heretic

Speaker#1:
00:30:15.14 – 00:30:18.589
I mean well but is this the word of God we’re wrestling with

Speaker#1:
00:30:19.339 – 00:30:23.27
You see how hard this stuff really is It really is challenging

Speaker#1:
00:30:23.78 – 00:30:26.25
Um And I would say that

Speaker#1:
00:30:27.76 – 00:30:33.569
you know we talked about that we have to be careful to care for all believers

Speaker#1:
00:30:34.63 – 00:30:38.849
and to actually trust the Lord with them and trust them with the Lord

Speaker#1:
00:30:40.069 – 00:31:08.31
Isn’t that interesting That’s why I love reading rabbi sacks He said a leader has to actually trust the people trust them to do the right thing if you’re expecting them to fail If you’re expecting them to be miserable if you’re expecting them to complain if you’re expecting them to rebel you’re dishonoring the Lord In that process we actually have to trust that our brothers and sisters are seeking God for themselves that they’re hearing God for themselves that they’re walking with God for themselves And our whole goal is to get them to do that

Speaker#1:
00:31:08.719 – 00:31:19.699
because I actually trust that if they’re doing that he will lead them into all truth and he will lead them into all righteousness and he will clean up their lives he will clean their lives Not me

Speaker#1:
00:31:20.819 – 00:31:22.979
Interesting thoughts and ideas aren’t they

Speaker#1:
00:31:23.56 – 00:31:45.55
I would say Paul was able to have a clear vision of the kingdom when he saw all of this stuff happening in the body as a clear vision of the Kingdom and of Jesus and of mature Christianity And he sought to apply pastoral ministry to create a context in the church to grow to maturity and not carnally exhibit our liberty which is another sign of immaturity

Speaker#1:
00:31:46.469 – 00:32:01.439
You see how challenging all of this is But Paul was able to see through that all and say I see who he’s like I see what his kingdom is like And I’m calling you all to connect with that and to get your eyes off of these disputes over doubtful things

Speaker#1:
00:32:02.689 – 00:32:30.739
I say this the reason I thought this was so important is because applying some of these principles I actually was I was using these scriptures during COVID-19 and applying these scriptures during the shutdown and have a lot of insights in hindsight as well right Like for me one of the things that I hate the most about the shutdowns of mandated shutdowns is it’s saying we don’t trust you to make good decisions for yourself

Speaker#1:
00:32:31.66 – 00:32:49.05
And so to me you’re creating a culture of irresponsibility that and when you do that then we are headed into real trouble Does that make sense So that’s really my big position on that is I hate the shutdowns because I think that you’re treating people like they can’t make a decision for themselves

Speaker#1:
00:32:51.599 – 00:32:55.119
and you’re teaching them to not take responsibility for their decisions

Speaker#1:
00:32:55.81 – 00:32:59.609
You know I also don’t believe in totalitarian statism but that’s another story

Speaker#1:
00:33:02.28 – 00:33:15.01
But I remember sitting in my office because there are so many voices in the world today and especially with the news media and people are all choosing to get their information forever They get it and they all believe their information 100%

Speaker#1:
00:33:15.76 – 00:33:18.739
and it becomes again this disputing over doubtful things

Speaker#1:
00:33:19.819 – 00:33:49.53
And if I take a look I’m telling you I know that these people love the Lord and they’re on polar opposite positions I know that they love Jesus Christ And I had people come to my office and say I don’t see how you can be a Christian and not wear a mask And then I had other people saying I don’t see how you can be a Christian and wear a mask and everybody needs to go out and fight for these de masking or you’re not serving Christ And I said what about abortion What about this What about that What about this If all the Christians go and do that then where where are we

Speaker#1:
00:33:50.06 – 00:34:06.67
The kingdom is much bigger than this one issue But I was like but you really have to recognize that my true my fellow believers are on both sides of this position And I was saying to them when this is all done are we still going to be brothers in Christ or will the church of Christ be divided more and lose our impact

Speaker#1:
00:34:09.61 – 00:34:12.918
dispute disputes over doubtful things

Speaker#1:
00:34:13.489 – 00:34:27.26
right I remember I mean there were so many things after the January 6 which I was like man they’re walking in way before January 6 I said they’re walking into it Why Because I think politics is dirty and crafty and sneaky and dangerous

Speaker#1:
00:34:27.989 – 00:34:42.08
but I’m getting my phones blown up You got to make a public statement running the school about January 6 blah blah blah And then I just wrote this work with this guy to see hey listen brother there are Christians on either side of this

Speaker#1:
00:34:42.82 – 00:34:52.459
dispute over doubtful things that really love and serve the Lord and basically basically was able to keep both groups together

Speaker#1:
00:34:53.219 – 00:35:00.87
as we focused on If we divide the body of Christ over doubtful things We lose our impact in the world

Speaker#1:
00:35:01.659 – 00:35:16.879
See why this stuff really matters I really believe that this is part of the demonic warfare to keep the church from having an impact in the nation and in the nations right Because this is the stuff we really wrestle with

Speaker#1:
00:35:17.51 – 00:35:34.239
in the church I mean it was so interesting I remember another time where I was I’m often busy working I get a text message Is it so and so is it ok for this teacher to have a end of the year party in the middle of COVID And my you know I didn’t somebody wasn’t being

Speaker#1:
00:35:35.429 – 00:35:58.419
fully clear with me and I didn’t stop to ask questions because I was the middle of working on something I said yeah of course it is My policy has always been restrict things at the minimal level and that the teachers know the best what is good for their own class because they know the parents and the Children that are in there and they can make those decisions for themselves But really it was another parent that was talking to another administrator trying to bypass the teacher

Speaker#1:
00:35:58.659 – 00:36:09.419
And and I thought it was this administrator was asking for the teachers sake And so I said sure then that person went on Facebook and told everybody well it’s good for us to have a class We can have a class party

Speaker#1:
00:36:10.55 – 00:36:21.1
and then I found out Oh that was ok He was like dad’s dad said no So I went to mom or mom said no And I went to dad you know like we should have learned that stuff when we were kids don’t do it

Speaker#1:
00:36:22.08 – 00:36:25.429
So anyway we had to go in and just say sorry no class party

Speaker#1:
00:36:25.939 – 00:36:54.229
because there was a family in other classes are having parties because I believe that you restrict things at the minimum minimum level Otherwise everybody loses tons of liberty right Like if there’s a minor peanut allergy and you say no peanuts at the school at all then every everybody suffers But if you just say ok well let’s constrain it to the place where it’s loving and takes care of the people that need to be taken care of then it it limits the amount of freedom that is removed right

Speaker#1:
00:36:54.77 – 00:37:07.27
And so we had to go on and rectify it No there’s no class party for this class And so you can get guess my phone blows up Boom A handful of parents are in my office and they are livid

Speaker#1:
00:37:07.84 – 00:37:21.459
and and and they are frustrated and they’re and they’re the ones that are fearless about COVID and fearless about mass and fearless and and really championing freedom and blah blah blah And they’re sitting in my office and I said listen

Speaker#1:
00:37:22.449 – 00:37:24.27
here’s what you have to understand

Speaker#1:
00:37:25.25 – 00:37:32.29
that there’s a real there’s a family in here that that are our brothers and sisters in Christ and they are genuinely afraid

Speaker#1:
00:37:33.36 – 00:37:34.56
and they are scared

Speaker#1:
00:37:37.78 – 00:37:51.03
and that’s why we’re not doing it They’re like we’re tired of our you know we always have to bend to them and blah blah blah blah blah blah I said no listen I started talking about these scriptures and I said if you’re not afraid then you should thank God that you’re not afraid

Speaker#1:
00:37:52.35 – 00:37:57.07
Thank God that you’re not afraid but have compassion on the people who really are afraid

Speaker#1:
00:37:58.06 – 00:38:03.219
and look at it as an opportunity to show real Christian love and unity and solidarity

Speaker#1:
00:38:04.129 – 00:38:11.81
to really glorify Jesus Christ by showing love and compassion instead of judging them over doubtful things

Speaker#1:
00:38:12.85 – 00:38:38.129
See how this stuff really works I mean I’ve wrestled with this stuff so many ways you know that that I don’t even know This is why I really believe that this is one of the battles that we’re really facing Um We had the same thing when we change you know young Earth curriculum all over the school and it was gotten rid of actually by somebody else But I have to stand and say no this is my decision I believe it wholeheartedly And actually I really do

Speaker#1:
00:38:38.909 – 00:38:45.899
if you ask me do I if you don’t want to admit this publicly But do you have an opinion on the edge of the earth No I don’t

Speaker#1:
00:38:46.55 – 00:38:50.58
Do I think it matters Sure Do I think that there’s um

Speaker#1:
00:38:51.669 – 00:39:06.29
you you know that it is a major No otherwise I would work really hard to figure out right But I know but I recognize that there are God fearing Jesus loving Christians that are thoughtful and thinking on both sides of that debate They really are

Speaker#1:
00:39:06.929 – 00:39:15.649
What I do notice though is that the Young Earth are usually the ones that are actually very judgmental It’s like they will break unity over it

Speaker#1:
00:39:16.85 – 00:39:41.669
And so what we did is we made a policy and said look the school will make here’s the policy of the school We will maintain the creator creature distinction and recognize that they are good thinking Christians over on either side of this debate But we have to maintain in the beginning God created and you know that we are to worship and serve only Him Because if we divide the body of Christ over all of these doubtful things

Speaker#1:
00:39:44.449 – 00:40:09.52
we lose It’s that simple we lose and we have to be comfortable with that Not everybody in the church believes exactly the same thing We have to we have to be comfortable that people express their Christian walk and values in different ways We have to we have to really wrestle with where is real unity found where is real truth found where is solidarity of witness found Because if we don’t we lose

Speaker#1:
00:40:09.989 – 00:40:15.5
you see where I’m going with all of this and this stuff applies in so many ways And so many places

Speaker#1:
00:40:18.919 – 00:40:33.09
So Christian unity mark 3 22 through 25 says in the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said he has bells above and by the ruler of demons he cast out demons and they’re trying to demonize his ministry

Speaker#1:
00:40:33.929 – 00:40:39.82
So he called them to himself and said to them in parables how can Satan cast out Satan

Speaker#1:
00:40:41.389 – 00:40:51.919
if a kingdom is divided And he’s talking about a principle here but it applies to the church too If a kingdom is divided against itself that kingdom cannot stand

Speaker#1:
00:40:52.639 – 00:41:22.199
Now do you see why these things really matter And these questions really matter A kingdom divided against itself will not stand and the enemy is throwing all these disputes over doubtful things into the body of Christ to turn brother against brother so that we don’t unite around what really matters Christ has died Christ has risen Christ will come again He is the only savior of the world He is the deliverer He is the redeemer and there’s salvation found in no other name but the name of Jesus Christ

Speaker#1:
00:41:27.02 – 00:41:42.909
John 17 20 to 23 I do not pray for these alone but for those who will believe in me through their word that they all may be one as you father are in me and I am in you that they may be one in us and that the world may believe that you sent me

Speaker#1:
00:41:42.919 – 00:42:00.33
So the Jesus this is at the heart of jesus’ high priestly prayer that we may be one so that the world may know that the father sent the son So maintaining Christian unity is is critical to Christian impact in the world

Speaker#1:
00:42:01.25 – 00:42:03.669
And without it we lose that impact

Speaker#1:
00:42:04.719 – 00:42:14.949
in the glory which you gave me I have given them that they might be one The glory is manifested when we are one When we don’t divide over doubtful things

Speaker#1:
00:42:16.34 – 00:42:27.189
I and them and you and me that they may be made perfect in one and that the world may And so even unity is necessary for us to come to completion in Christ

Speaker#1:
00:42:27.719 – 00:42:42.149
that the world may know that you have sent me We want the whole world to know that the father sent Jesus Christ that he is the apostle and high priest of our faith Christian unity is at the heart of it

Speaker#1:
00:42:43.07 – 00:42:59.949
reconciliation mercy grace getting rid of judgmentalism not looking at external forms You see how important this funny little question should Christians celebrate Halloween Really is because what it is it’s a challenge

Speaker#1:
00:43:00.61 – 00:43:09.81
to divide the body of Christ over doubtful things And it’s not just this question it’s actually something that we wrestle with in the church continually

Speaker#1:
00:43:11.879 – 00:43:12.51
Hm

Speaker#1:
00:43:14.669 – 00:43:24.04
So no I didn’t directly answer the question Should Christians celebrate Halloween But I hope that we have found some principles here right

Speaker#1:
00:43:25.78 – 00:43:41.959
The fact is that we have genuine believers who differ greatly on this issue like the age of the earth like we did during COVID with masks and other elements and we will continually face these kinds of challenges until Christ returns

Speaker#1:
00:43:43.929 – 00:43:51.09
And if we let those disputes over doubtful things divide us we will lose our unity and lose our impact

Speaker#1:
00:43:52.929 – 00:44:05.689
I have to I do wonder if these are real intentional challenges and testing of the body of Christ to learn how to focus on what really matters and get away from just the external whitewash supple curse

Speaker#1:
00:44:07.639 – 00:44:13.0
The question it reminds me of the question asked by the woman at the well when Jesus was getting too real

Speaker#1:
00:44:14.06 – 00:44:21.419
which mountain should we worship on Lord our mountain or that mountain in Jerusalem Mount or Mount or you know Mount Zion

Speaker#1:
00:44:22.469 – 00:44:44.27
And he said you know well he says well there is actually you guys are actually following idolatry but I’m telling you the time is coming soon where it’s on neither mountain where if you actually if you continue to worship after the if you worship with sacrifices after the true sacrifice has been completed you’re no longer worshiping in truth

Speaker#1:
00:44:44.889 – 00:44:45.689
Mm

Speaker#1:
00:44:46.419 – 00:44:50.33
But true worshipers will worship in spirit and in truth

Speaker#1:
00:44:50.889 – 00:44:52.02
isn’t that awesome

Speaker#1:
00:44:52.959 – 00:45:05.84
But that’s what we often do How what is the form how should a Christian live Are you conforming to my outward expectations Are we getting into the heart and working with real people and having real fellowship

Speaker#1:
00:45:06.169 – 00:45:28.469
Are we able to talk about difficult challenging things or do we just avoid them to not rock the boat We say we need to have boldness out in the world and we have to we do we need to hold the truth out to a perishing world And it’s not just listen it’s not just you you know believe these truths and you go to heaven when you die it’s literally he is lord and you have to surrender all to him and all

Speaker#1:
00:45:28.479 – 00:45:50.79
of life and creation needs to be reconciled to the father through the son and come into the obedience of his rule and reign So anything that’s contrary to the rule and reign of Jesus Christ is anti Christ It’s contrary to the messiah contrary to his rule and reign So everything in this world that is contrary to Christ right

Speaker#1:
00:45:52.02 – 00:45:53.33
sexual immorality

Speaker#1:
00:45:54.26 – 00:46:08.06
like injustice all forms of tyranny and oppression all of the things that rob humans of dignity and worth and value and significance or maturity and responsibility are anti Christ

Speaker#1:
00:46:09.08 – 00:46:09.82
Hm

Speaker#1:
00:46:10.659 – 00:46:16.159
And we’re called to go and reconcile the world But if we are going with judgmentalism

Speaker#1:
00:46:16.949 – 00:46:25.239
we have the log in our eye and can’t take the speck out of other people’s eyes you will never win the world with judgmentalism

Speaker#1:
00:46:25.969 – 00:46:29.03
but we will win them by connecting them to Jesus

Speaker#1:
00:46:30.02 – 00:46:41.939
and watching him transform their lives But if we can maintain unity in the body of Christ we create communities where transformation is radically accelerated

Speaker#1:
00:46:42.929 – 00:46:56.09
because the body ministers to the body and every member does Their part causes the growth of the body and love And these gifts are operating in the church to bring the church to maturity But as soon as we we

Speaker#1:
00:46:56.919 – 00:47:03.12
break unity break rank over doubtful things then that whole thing falls apart

Speaker#1:
00:47:03.77 – 00:47:06.08
and the world falls to darkness

Speaker#1:
00:47:07.189 – 00:47:10.149
Strange that this is such an important question isn’t it

Speaker#1:
00:47:19.0 – 00:47:20.54
I said what do we need to do

Speaker#1:
00:47:22.409 – 00:47:24.25
We need to major on the majors

Speaker#1:
00:47:25.239 – 00:47:31.899
If we if we proclaim as thus sayeth the Lord the doubtful things then we lose credibility in the world

Speaker#1:
00:47:32.54 – 00:47:44.87
We lose total credibility We keep setting dates when Jesus is going to return we lose credibility We are the boy the cries wolf If we keep arguing over doubtful things

Speaker#1:
00:47:46.29 – 00:47:48.239
we lose so much credibility

Speaker#1:
00:47:48.969 – 00:48:04.36
and then they question the true things that we can say Christ has died Christ has risen Christ will come again He is Lord over all He is light outside of him his darkness that we need to be reconciled with God that God does actually command all men everywhere to repent

Speaker#1:
00:48:04.979 – 00:48:15.949
You know the things that really matter We need to be able to proclaim those things with such boldness with such confidence with such uncompromising passion to this world

Speaker#1:
00:48:17.729 – 00:48:31.78
because those things are the only way out of the darkness They’re the only way out of broken relationships and broken homes and broken lives It’s the only way to true human flourishing It’s the only way to healing and health

Speaker#1:
00:48:32.32 – 00:48:34.409
A world that is beautiful

Speaker#1:
00:48:36.129 – 00:48:36.82
right

Speaker#1:
00:48:40.3 – 00:48:45.5
There are some fundamentals to Christian living that must not be disputed things

Speaker#1:
00:48:47.389 – 00:48:48.87
True believers pray

Speaker#1:
00:48:49.81 – 00:49:06.149
true believers love God’s word Why Because it’s God speaking and we feed on it because it transforms us We must seek to walk with him and worship him and live for him and worship him with our whole heart and we must be filled with the Holy Spirit and we must

Speaker#1:
00:49:07.32 – 00:49:15.929
have his presence and experience his presence and experience fellowship with him And I really say we need to know what normal Christianity looks like

Speaker#1:
00:49:16.8 – 00:49:29.169
so that we know when we have fallen away from it So we’ll get back in because it’s righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Ghost It’s full of thanksgiving and praise and appreciation

Speaker#1:
00:49:29.52 – 00:49:58.199
knowing that he has forgiven our sins and knowing that He is good and he is faithful and he can be trusted having sensitive and tender hearts to love one another Apostle John drove people nuts at the end Give us some deep revelation you know give us the greatest revelations and he’s like beloved love one another John would you shut up We’re tired of hearing it Beloved Love one another But but wait wait but shouldn’t it be all these other great deep theological truths that give me a deep head buzz Beloved love one another

Speaker#1:
00:49:58.679 – 00:50:01.08
for he who loves has seen God

Speaker#1:
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right

Speaker#1:
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Love one another Maintain the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace Love the brothers love the flock love the sheep peter feed my sheep feed my sheep love one another You know get rid of the whitewash supple curs get rid of judgmentalism I’m telling you we do need to know the things that are unclean that are dead and stay away from them judgmentalism

Speaker#1:
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It brings death It never brings life

Speaker#1:
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trying to guilt If you succeed in guilting people to act a certain way You’ve robbed them of human dignity and worth If people aren’t led by their own conscience and their own convictions and out of a personal commitment to Jesus Christ then we have become out of bounds

Speaker#1:
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and a lot of Christianity does this

Speaker#1:
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you need to conform to our external ways You you believers down in antioch you don’t worship like we worship you don’t celebrate the way we do We we celebrate days and seasons and months and you don’t

Speaker#1:
00:51:10.01 – 00:51:26.669
we worship this way and everybody needs I mean one of the big battles in in the you know the bes ecclesiastical history of the British people was was really a a giant dis unified the the actual church split over the way monks shave their heads

Speaker#1:
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I’m not joking

Speaker#1:
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And which for us today we think well that’s really stupid And I remember I was thinking about it after we had read it and we had discussed it in class And then I was like it makes a little sense to me

Speaker#1:
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What do you mean Well because it’s like a police officer when I see that uniform I know he’s a police officer and if somebody’s trying to rob me I know who to run to

Speaker#1:
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And so it’s kind of like a uniform that lets people know what you’re getting

Speaker#1:
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So I see why they made it such an important issue But if they would have had Paul there he would have said listen

Speaker#1:
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how do you shave your head Doesn’t really make a difference to what’s in your heart and whether you got Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost

Speaker#1:
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But I can see why the church falls so often to these disputes over dispute of doubtful things But it’s time for the church to unite and have mercy and grace and love one another and connect one another to Jesus Christ so that we can have a unified witness on the non doubtful things so that we can have a unified witness that speaks with such a chord that the world cannot but hear the voice

Speaker#1:
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and the testimony

Speaker#1:
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of Jesus Christ in this generation across every nation that the voice of the Lord would be heard upon many waters the king of glory thundering forth That there would be a voice that would arise in this land calling the people to repent and believe to be reconciled to the Father

Speaker#1:
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to turn from your actual worshiping of vitals to turn from vanity to turn from death to turn from darkness but to proclaim liberty to the captives to storm the gates of hell If people ask me what is in your heart these days they said we would storm the gates of hell

Speaker#1:
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And I’m realizing it takes an army to do it And that’s why a message today

Speaker#1:
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exploring a funny question Should Christians celebrate Halloween I believe has uncovered something that we really need to know as the body of Christ so that an army comes together in unity with a unified voice on the things that matter and are non negotiable non negotiable

Speaker#1:
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So this world will see Jesus

Speaker#1:
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a man