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Hallelujah

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Lord we just pray that you would fill us with your holy spirit

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that Lord you would work through your word to make us more like Jesus Lord that you would cause rivers of living water to flow out of our innermost being

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And that you would let life overcome death

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in this world In Jesus name

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the title of today’s message is what is in the heart is what matters

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what is in the heart is what matters

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Last week we began talking about being sons of God not slaves of God

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And it was fun talking to pastor Mike after the service because the part literally the part that I had left out was when he started talking to me afterward because there are scriptures that talk about being like a bond servant of Jesus Christ And and he he said it so well that I don’t even need to visit it We can move past it But it was simply this when we love Jesus we want to serve But our identity is not a slave Our identity is as a son

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and and this but this idea of being sons not slaves is so so important because it’s transformational And so many people in the church of Jesus Christ are living with a slave mentality Always not good enough always not meeting expectations

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And once we start to realize the truth the truth begins to set us free

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not because of anything we have done

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But because what Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross

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we’ve been born again

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into an imperishable hope

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and he’s poured out his holy spirit by which we cry out Haba father daddy

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As a matter of fact I was so excited after after the service having them pray for me because pastor Mike was just lit up and going on and on He’s like even even the Lord’s prayer begins with our father how revolutionary it is And we talk about these things but it’s an experiential reality

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It’s an experiential reality And until you experience it you can still be under the elemental principles of religion or the elemental principles of this world But once you really settle it in your heart that Jesus Christ has paid it all and you are welcome in his presence because of the shed blood

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it changes everything

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it changes everything And we really talked about

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at the heart of it is a difference between internal motivation and external coercion

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internal motivation versus external coercion And what you often get even in Christian circles is a Christian shouldn’t do that brother

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I mean that shouldn’t happen in the church This is supposed to be a Christian school and it’s rifled with this element of you are not meeting my expectations

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you don’t belong

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Does that make sense

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And we don’t even understand how we can this language can get into our heart and it can cause death even though we intend to bring life a lot of times we may actually be right you need to knock that off because it’s sucking the life out of you But the way we present it actually cuts the life out from people Does that make sense I mean even stopping to think for a moment that um what I say

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if I pause to think about what am I trying to change in this other person

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And if I’ve used a sense of guilt and shame to try to change their behavior I’m still operating in the realm of external coercion Does that make sense

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And and so the challenge how you really change your life how you grow mature sons and daughters of God is you’ve got to let people have buy in for themselves You’ve got to find where God is working in their heart and their lives find out where they connect with the Lord and then help them walk

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more fully out that life that’s in Jesus Christ

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One of the questions that I started and I put it I put my notes out if anybody wants to follow along Um is what does Christianity in the church In general care about

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What are we living for What is our driving passion and motivation what do we seek

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It’s what is in the heart that matters And a lot of times if we are not guarding our hearts intelligently

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the flesh will default and pull us to have other things at front and center in our heart and life Does that make sense

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You know what you know the when our motivation is to love the Lord and serve him and be a blessing to others simply because his love has filled our heart it changes everything that we do It changes the way we talk it changes the way we behave it changes everything

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But sometimes we can subtly not realize that what do I want Comfort convenience and there’s nothing wrong with the blessings of God or maybe I just want the pain to stop

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and and that’s very legitimate I mean when people deal with health issues sometimes right Pastor David

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they can literally be in so much pain that they’re like Lord please take me home now because I can’t take this pain anymore

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It’s true isn’t it

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And when we realize

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that what is in the heart is what really matters

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and what is in the heart has to be based on security

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that God loves me

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You know I mean it sounds so for so many Christians especially if you’re really secure in the love of God it’s hard to comprehend how much people really struggle with this God loves me but I messed up

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God loves me but I can be a real jerk God loves me But and the list goes on and there’s a million of those things And then what happens is I I don’t even want to tell people about Jesus Christ because it’s no longer even good to me anymore Why Because I’m a terrible lousy wretched excuse for a Christian

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That’s all the language of death not life

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God wants to break that slave mentality

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I think that what we’re talking about is very mission critical

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I am fully convinced by the word of God and by history

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that the gospel of Jesus Christ can change any human being’s life and it can change whole nations and culture

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I believe that the world is never without hope because Christ has died Christ has risen and he sent his Holy Spirit I believe that the God we serve is a God of miraculous glorious turnarounds When everything seems impossible our God can show up on the seam seen and do the impossible Even if he can’t even find a faithful Israel he can do his own victory march through the land of the Philistines and his ar can cause the pagan gods to break

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and the pagans to have a revelation that the God of Israel is the true God

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And he was revealed in Jesus Christ

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specifically when Jesus died on the cross and rose again

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ascended into heaven

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sat down on his throne

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and began his reign

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He is Lord

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he is Lord

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Hallelujah

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But I believe I really do believe this is mission critical because I because the Gospel has that power but that power is hidden in these jars of clay

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There’s an important connection to getting that life out of us in such a manner that it can transform the world

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That’s the way God works He works through people But it’s really exciting when we understand these principles that it’s what’s in the heart that matters

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that it can give us both a a hope and a vision

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the principle of personal transformation and worldwide liberation Like Pastor Mike stand up show him your shirt Thank you Dwayne for this shirt on the front That’s what actually I don’t know if anybody knows the story about this shirt because the back of the shirt can be a little bit strange for some people

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but it was it was some I don’t remember when it was but we were preaching about the worldwide liberation movement that the gospel is the Worldwide Liberation Movement And in the middle of the afternoon I got a text from Pastor Mike hashtag W L M

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and I was like huh that’s interesting What are you thinking man And he wrote Worldwide Liberation Movement and I was like isn’t that funny I Pastor Mike sent that to me and then Dwayne made these awesome shirts Um with that in mind And they have actually even caused conversations

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because people realize that they jump to conclusions before they ask questions don’t they

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Um

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But personal transformation and worldwide liberation I want to say it this way when God changes a life when God really makes a difference to make us like Jesus he doesn’t coerce us from the outside and force us into a mold

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like we are a robot or we are programmed the Gospel comes into our heart and changes us from the inside out

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Remember saying that the principles in scripture they work often at an individual level but they also work on national and international levels So when God wants to change the world what does he do He gets to the heart of the matter and that heart is people

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before he brought before there ever was a Christendom

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before the gospel had transformed nations where all these apostles and apostolic fathers and great heroes of faith throughout the ages were absolutely amazed It wasn’t just rhetoric They were amazed They’re like no it’s really true Wherever Christ is proclaimed

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Syria has become civilized and people that fought actually now pray for each other and just it changes everything Cannibals have literally been transformed in India and became leaders in culture for righteousness and justice and mercy and grace

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And that they were they weren’t just trying to push an agenda They were just saying this is what happens This is the normal result of the gospel total transformation So God wants to change the whole world and he sends his son during the time of the greatest totalitarian empire the world has ever seen

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Rome

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And what does he do He came down with how you shall govern Rome No

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he changed lives

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he changed lives

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and lives are interconnected to relationships and community and vocation and profession and as lives are changed the world changes So you one could one could well say the heart of this world is people

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you know in the for us our heart is what matters

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And for the world people is what matters

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God so loved the world that he gave his son to die for us

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He came to reconcile us His goal is to reconcile all of creation back to the father

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And it begins by focusing on men and women discipleship

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Isn’t that awesome What is in the heart is what matters

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And so really I’m using a lot of the same scriptures backwards from last Sunday

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It’s kind of like we we went down this way Now we’re going back up that way

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Romans 8 19 to 21 for the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly awaits the revealing of the Sons of God For the creation was subjected to futility not willingly but because of Him who subjected it in hope because the creation itself will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty

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of the Children of God

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If people are the heart of the world

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then we change lives and the world is transformed And is that not what this passage It says that there is corruption in the whole earth there’s bondage throughout the whole earth How do you get rid of this corruption Oh we just go get brooms and clean it up No

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Raise up the sons and daughters of God That’s that is the divine agenda go and make disciples That is the divine agenda That is the strategy We’ve got to get the heart right

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And as we get our hearts right and transform each other in the context of church or Christian community Now what happens is our extended impact in the world because we have relationships we have connections we go to jobs and and we start to light a fire People see something in us that is so different

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and they say I need what you have

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I need what you have

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And when we are walking in the spirit of God when we are walking in reality and authenticity

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people it says scripture prophesized they’ll grab you one man on each side saying we want to go up to the house of God for we see He is with you

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It’s something that when we walk in authenticity

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it makes people genuinely hungry

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It really does And we’ll get more into that

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I just really want to say that if we make one of our goals How do we raise up mature sons and daughters of God

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I mean that’s the question of what is discipleship What does it mean to be a discipleship And I will challenge it getting to internal motivation

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Why I do what I do what I’m living for

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my security in Christ These type of fundamental issues are at the heart of it

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A lot of Christianity tries to get you to live good externally

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and say the right forms of doctrine

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But it doesn’t really care of where your heart is at It doesn’t care about the pain and the struggles and the difficulties and the challenges that you face

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As long as you can put on a good show

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as long as you can look at in public and you can only do that by keeping people at arm’s length

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You can never put on a show when relationships are real

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You can’t put on a show when there’s transparency and authenticity Why And and so many people I I really think isolation I think the love of many will grow cold and people will be beyond feeling and they will act inhumanely to one another that all happens because we have put up walls

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so that we don’t have to be real

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We put up walls and we don’t understand those walls make us inhuman

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It’s easy to love people in your imagination

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It’s a different story to love them when they’re in your face

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When you live with them when you are when you’re really experiencing life together

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That’s when the real challenge of loving and forgiving really comes to the forefront doesn’t it How do we love Well how do we live Well how do we reproduce the life of Christ and one another How do we pull the walls down People put those walls up because they think I won’t be accepted

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I won’t be loved People will focus in on my 1234 5,505,000 faults and miss my five million positive qualities

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Does that make sense

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And I mean really when all we can see is the fault of somebody else we’ve joined the devil in his ministry of accusation

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When we can’t see all the good things in somebody else

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then we’ve lost the heart of the father

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who saw something that for the hope before him endured the cross

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It’s it’s pretty intense isn’t it to think about

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one of the other things You know this challenge of how do we raise up sons of God How do we raise up the mature sons of God that will transform this world that would liberate the world These are the questions we should be asking and seeking and praying about Lord How do we raise up mature sons and daughters of God

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One of the things and I were talking about the other day just and everybody knows it Everybody talks about it that people are Children are staying irresponsible

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into their thirties and beyond

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As a matter of fact people are seeking a perpetual adolescence

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And I and you know and and I do think it’s very fun to talk about and ponder and think about these things because in my mind it’s a direct response to evolutionary thinking It’s the survival of the fittest It’s it’s it’s really a cruel world that doesn’t care about you at all

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Instead of this is my father’s world and you are lovingly and graciously made and every hair in your head is numbered and he cares deeply about you and he is willing to act mightily on your behalf If you’ll call on his name

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it’s a completely different world view And if you don’t have a father in heaven that loves you that takes care of you that will answer prayer then what do I want I want a nanny state

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I want no responsibility I want somebody else to take responsibility because it’s too scary to take responsibility

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But one wonders

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if the world isn’t mirroring what happened in the church First

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There was a lot of talk in the early nineties I remember books being written about um

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why why we hire professional clergymen so that they can do all the work and we don’t have to

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Right The Great Commission is our commission Christ’s mission is our mission

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This is the household and family of God and he’s given every member

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value

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in purpose and an anointing and a ministry there is no believer without a ministry period

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It’s a team sport not a spectator sport

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Although I guess team sports are spectator sports but we’re meant to be the team not Spectators We’re we’re calling we’re called to be part of the team and on the field playing in different roles But so much of of Christianity has been let the professionals do the business and I can’t do it

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It’s their responsibility That’s what they’re paid for So I did my part by paying them to do it So I don’t have to

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No

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it’s a team sport And the world is groaning saying church wake up and give us mature sons and daughters of God

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We’re groaning We’re dying out here We’re in darkness send us the light raise our mature sons and daughters of God See God Lord what is your calling for me What is your ministry for me How do I participate in your mission Lord

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Not out of guilt not out of a sense of earning his love or favor Not out out of a sense of look at I found my significance in what I do but out of an outflow of deep gratitude

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that while we were at enemies Christ died for us that he’s shown us his mercy and his grace and his love has been shut abroad into our heart And we think about this world that so desperately needs him

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powerful stuff isn’t it

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There’s so many things like when we talk about external coercion versus internal motivation

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external coercion is often the quickest way to get what you want

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But you dehumanize in the process

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you kill something in somebody’s soul in the process

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Letting internal motivation lead and guide is the slow way

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The one you could say creates wood hay and stubble the other gold silver and precious jewels

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see the difference

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And that was like when I talked to um oh I won’t say her name

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when I got into my heart to go find a liberal activist and went and met with her and then spent the day out there and it turns well it kind of pinpoint them now because it’s where Loafer’s glory happened turns out to be their property

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And we I spent like 9 to 1 with them and they were a precious couple just wonderful

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And what I discovered

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is that a lot of the things that were on her heart I could agree with She cared about a lot of things

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that

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every person should care about The the difference was her solution really She was wrestling with the doctrine of sin and the doctrine of man She didn’t realize it because we have not done our job to fill the world or the city with the doctrines of God’s Holy Word

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And so what she came to the conclusion of was that people can’t be trusted and people will do selfish bad things And the only thing that will hold them accountable is a giant state

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And I said but what if your solution to the problem is empowering an even worse one

Speaker#1:
00:23:35.88 – 00:23:40.27
What do you mean Well what’s the answer You’re not gonna like it

Speaker#1:
00:23:41.119 – 00:23:42.91
because it’s the slow way

Speaker#1:
00:23:44.079 – 00:23:45.76
But it comes through education

Speaker#1:
00:23:46.829 – 00:23:48.29
in discipleship

Speaker#1:
00:23:49.239 – 00:23:54.02
and working from the heart getting people to do the right thing because it’s in their heart

Speaker#1:
00:23:55.479 – 00:23:57.64
not because they’re being coerced

Speaker#1:
00:23:58.329 – 00:24:04.26
Because in order to coerce you have to empower something that is tyrannical to do it

Speaker#1:
00:24:05.0 – 00:24:06.31
at a national level

Speaker#1:
00:24:06.89 – 00:24:08.339
or international level

Speaker#1:
00:24:09.13 – 00:24:12.53
So this whole idea of the motivation of the heart

Speaker#1:
00:24:13.209 – 00:24:15.869
and how we try to change behavior

Speaker#1:
00:24:16.939 – 00:24:18.739
really is mission critical

Speaker#1:
00:24:20.81 – 00:24:24.17
Even even the even the response to COVID

Speaker#1:
00:24:25.839 – 00:24:28.78
was coercion not persuasion

Speaker#1:
00:24:29.329 – 00:24:42.01
not giving people the freedom of choice trusting them to be responsible expecting them to be responsible and making their own decision based on where they are at personally

Speaker#1:
00:24:42.699 – 00:24:50.26
And so there is even like whenever we choose to force behavior into a form

Speaker#1:
00:24:51.56 – 00:24:53.579
we lose that ability

Speaker#1:
00:24:54.239 – 00:25:14.66
to actually choose for ourselves to be responsible to make good decisions because people can’t be trusted to make good decisions See how the problem keeps getting pushed backwards Why can’t we trust people to make good decisions because we haven’t educated them right We haven’t

Speaker#1:
00:25:16.219 – 00:25:18.29
we haven’t valued the right things

Speaker#1:
00:25:19.939 – 00:25:26.459
So many One of the kind of the proverbs these days is college will turn your kids away from Christ

Speaker#1:
00:25:28.42 – 00:25:32.31
Maybe it’s just showing a mirror that what we’re doing hasn’t been working

Speaker#1:
00:25:33.319 – 00:25:38.3
It’s focused so much on external coercion following the rules

Speaker#1:
00:25:39.459 – 00:25:41.219
and it’s not reaching the heart

Speaker#1:
00:25:41.75 – 00:25:43.839
It’s not transforming their lives

Speaker#1:
00:25:44.38 – 00:25:53.109
Joseph didn’t fall away when he went to Egypt by himself and he didn’t even have the gospel of Jesus Christ or the Holy Ghost in the same way

Speaker#1:
00:25:54.819 – 00:26:03.579
Daniel and and the Bendigo didn’t fall away when they ended up going to the greatest pagan university at the time

Speaker#1:
00:26:05.8 – 00:26:19.28
There is a way to raise up our Children and to raise up believers so that they are strong in the Lord and the power of his might because they’ve owned it from an internal perspective

Speaker#1:
00:26:21.02 – 00:26:23.459
I can’t help it I know him whom I believe

Speaker#1:
00:26:24.65 – 00:26:35.27
he has been good and merciful and gracious and compassionate to me and for giving me my sins And when I would have written myself off and was mad at him for not doing it he didn’t do it anyway

Speaker#1:
00:26:36.819 – 00:26:38.229
It’s interesting isn’t it

Speaker#1:
00:26:40.359 – 00:26:44.219
That’s why these things matter And I say at the end it’s really about

Speaker#1:
00:26:45.05 – 00:26:48.75
Christianity needs to value authenticity

Speaker#1:
00:26:50.76 – 00:26:55.25
It’s about life or death and lighting our letting our light shine

Speaker#1:
00:27:00.0 – 00:27:02.569
Authentic Christianity is a treasure

Speaker#1:
00:27:03.839 – 00:27:06.689
having genuine faith is a treasure

Speaker#1:
00:27:07.4 – 00:27:10.099
and when you have it your light will shine

Speaker#1:
00:27:12.099 – 00:27:16.28
But when other things are in our heart and I know this is a fact that

Speaker#1:
00:27:17.199 – 00:27:21.209
I mean we studied it even way back when religion in America

Speaker#1:
00:27:22.599 – 00:27:26.79
Christianity can become a social network to further my business

Speaker#1:
00:27:27.469 – 00:27:34.0
Business is an important part of our life But if that’s the primary motivator we’ve lost the heart of things

Speaker#1:
00:27:35.89 – 00:27:40.56
Christianity especially in big cities can be about social status and being connected

Speaker#1:
00:27:41.39 – 00:27:44.619
and having a name or reputation or I go to that church

Speaker#1:
00:27:46.16 – 00:27:48.219
But if we lose the heart of it

Speaker#1:
00:27:49.219 – 00:27:51.05
we lose the authenticity

Speaker#1:
00:27:53.51 – 00:27:58.329
and the heart of it really is an encounter with the love of God in Jesus Christ

Speaker#1:
00:27:59.599 – 00:28:01.609
that causes us to love

Speaker#1:
00:28:02.339 – 00:28:03.51
as we’ve been loved

Speaker#1:
00:28:04.93 – 00:28:11.349
And it’s unpacking that truth unpacking what that means That is the journey of discipleship

Speaker#1:
00:28:12.63 – 00:28:13.849
Does that make sense

Speaker#1:
00:28:15.869 – 00:28:23.319
We we well we unpack some of it but I’ll say it’s a we well no let’s say I’m gonna go back up one more

Speaker#1:
00:28:25.489 – 00:28:28.739
with all of my heart I am convinced that a

Speaker#1:
00:28:29.619 – 00:28:35.42
I don’t even like the word revival that genuine authentic Christianity can change the whole world

Speaker#1:
00:28:36.229 – 00:28:40.099
it can change our lives it can change any life right

Speaker#1:
00:28:40.969 – 00:28:43.78
The church has to grow

Speaker#1:
00:28:44.339 – 00:28:46.66
but it has to be authentic

Speaker#1:
00:28:50.229 – 00:29:08.709
And I’m going to give us an important strategy for church growth It actually was when I started in my ministry in when I was 19 very similar like getting into God’s word had an encounter with the Holy Spirit saw God’s Word what authentic reality was meant to look like and wasn’t finding it in the churches

Speaker#1:
00:29:09.53 – 00:29:22.05
But what happened was a bunch of people started to get hungry for more desperate for more And without even realizing it we started creating that community around that What was in the heart

Speaker#1:
00:29:22.81 – 00:29:31.52
A hunger for the authenticity A hunger for what was genuine a hunger for real relationship A hunger for the Lord

Speaker#1:
00:29:32.729 – 00:29:38.479
And before we didn’t even notice it but it started happening all around us and then it became transformative

Speaker#1:
00:29:39.359 – 00:29:48.319
And but I remember some of those early days it was wrestling with the world needs Jesus Christ because it really is life or death heaven or hell

Speaker#1:
00:29:49.319 – 00:29:51.01
and not just an eternity

Speaker#1:
00:29:52.089 – 00:30:01.719
But in this life it’s life or death heaven or hell because that’s what the world can do to a person who doesn’t have Christ can make life a living hell

Speaker#1:
00:30:03.189 – 00:30:13.64
And we started to wrestle with these questions like this is real I see it’s real and I’m experiencing something real But if we go out and try to win the world where can we bring them

Speaker#1:
00:30:17.88 – 00:30:21.609
though I mean these are the questions we need to wrestle with Again

Speaker#1:
00:30:24.199 – 00:30:28.26
How do we create an authentic Christian community

Speaker#1:
00:30:29.18 – 00:30:32.959
that if people come into it it will transform their life

Speaker#1:
00:30:33.76 – 00:30:35.819
It’s not about production

Speaker#1:
00:30:37.339 – 00:30:39.15
it’s about relationship

Speaker#1:
00:30:40.739 – 00:30:43.949
It’s not about all of the programs

Speaker#1:
00:30:45.15 – 00:30:49.81
The programs are just meant to be a context from which relationship flows

Speaker#1:
00:30:51.199 – 00:31:07.16
It’s when we build authentic friendships and we were in those friends we can be real with them because they’re not going to judge us that you’re supposed to be a Christian and we can wrestle with the fact that a lot of the decisions to do the right thing are hard to figure out

Speaker#1:
00:31:07.67 – 00:31:17.02
Or even the fact that unfortunately God I got a bone to pick with you in eternity How come wisdom usually is learned on the back end of making mistakes

Speaker#1:
00:31:18.41 – 00:31:19.28
Right

Speaker#1:
00:31:20.589 – 00:31:45.13
I mean it’s just true and that it’s ok to make mistakes and you can still be loved and you’re still a Christian and you are still salt and light Oh that we never ever made a mistake I I remember when I was working one job I was hired in and it was like I’d go and pray I’d push my seat back go in early get on my face and God please let me not make a mistake today He never answered that prayer

Speaker#1:
00:31:53.38 – 00:32:12.13
But here is a strategy for church growth acts 2 to 44 to 47 because we often think I mean if we go out and get more marketing if we go out and fly if we go door knocking well I do say that those things work and we need to invite people Invitations actually are one of the most empower ways to build the church

Speaker#1:
00:32:13.969 – 00:32:16.41
But what is it The what has to be at the heart of it

Speaker#1:
00:32:18.03 – 00:32:21.53
now all who believed were together

Speaker#1:
00:32:24.229 – 00:32:53.449
that one little word together They were in relationship they didn’t put up walls they were connecting with each other and they had all things in common And so they took care of one another and sold their possessions and goods and divided among all as anyone had need Contrary to false theology this is not a mandate for socialism but we’re not going there today So continuing daily with one accord in the temple a big meeting where we come together and house to house

Speaker#1:
00:32:53.93 – 00:32:56.819
They ate their food with gladness

Speaker#1:
00:32:57.709 – 00:33:00.66
connection relationship conversation

Speaker#1:
00:33:01.819 – 00:33:05.459
and simplicity of heart praising God

Speaker#1:
00:33:06.04 – 00:33:12.93
They were full of life praise adoration they were celebrating life They were living life well

Speaker#1:
00:33:13.55 – 00:33:15.88
in a totalitarian regime

Speaker#1:
00:33:22.15 – 00:33:27.209
and had favor with the people And the Lord added to the church daily

Speaker#1:
00:33:27.839 – 00:33:50.5
those who were being saved because they had light and life in fellowship and relationship They had things that were real and genuine and authentic and the people saw it and said I want to belong I want to be a part of this I’m dying for what you have Isn’t that awesome

Speaker#1:
00:33:52.04 – 00:34:07.92
It’s wonderful And and it really is a strategy I mean what a horrible strategy for church growth You should you should eat together and have conversations and talk and be together and love each other and enjoy each other with your faults included

Speaker#1:
00:34:08.719 – 00:34:25.128
and have conversations I mean literally that is the pattern that was set forth We walked in life together and we love together and cried together and we celebrated together and we mourned together and we grieve together

Speaker#1:
00:34:25.979 – 00:34:32.199
and these people became precious to us because they were part of our story part of our journey

Speaker#1:
00:34:34.1 – 00:34:47.81
And so many times people don’t feel like they could be valuable or valued They can they’ll come to church and they don’t understand that people actually appreciate them and care for them and love them and that they matter

Speaker#1:
00:34:48.709 – 00:34:52.82
But it it tells you more of what’s been in our hearts than reality

Speaker#1:
00:34:57.28 – 00:35:10.699
because people need to have a touch from God that changes all of that When I find my satisfaction in Him my security and identity in Him I become free to love

Speaker#1:
00:35:11.3 – 00:35:17.659
I become secure to relate to people I don’t need to hide Sin causes people to hide

Speaker#1:
00:35:18.629 – 00:35:19.35
right

Speaker#1:
00:35:20.04 – 00:35:23.419
The blood of Jesus Christ says you don’t need to hide anymore

Speaker#1:
00:35:25.08 – 00:35:28.209
That’s the gospel It’s pretty awesome isn’t it

Speaker#1:
00:35:29.719 – 00:35:35.77
But it’s a different spirit that is in the church and it’s attractive to the world

Speaker#1:
00:35:36.87 – 00:35:48.75
I’ve heard it so many times people put on faces even in social and relational context and don’t feel like they can be themselves because they feel so insecure

Speaker#1:
00:35:52.949 – 00:35:55.969
But when we are secure in Christ we’re free

Speaker#1:
00:35:57.61 – 00:35:59.189
we are truly free

Speaker#1:
00:36:00.939 – 00:36:02.06
I wish

Speaker#1:
00:36:03.05 – 00:36:05.37
that people that Christians never sinned

Speaker#1:
00:36:06.02 – 00:36:09.01
I wish that we never made mistakes

Speaker#1:
00:36:09.939 – 00:36:15.149
But what happens is then people experience the love and forgiveness of God

Speaker#1:
00:36:15.75 – 00:36:23.81
that it really was all about the blood of Jesus Christ all along that you could never make yourself good enough yet He loved you anyway

Speaker#1:
00:36:25.59 – 00:36:29.399
And it’s that love that starts to transform us internally

Speaker#1:
00:36:31.209 – 00:36:33.28
as we are forgiven much

Speaker#1:
00:36:33.81 – 00:36:40.139
We begin to love much But like Paul will said I’m not saying go and sin so you can learn to love No

Speaker#1:
00:36:41.36 – 00:36:43.149
but know this

Speaker#1:
00:36:43.889 – 00:36:45.129
He loves you

Speaker#1:
00:36:45.83 – 00:36:47.399
He’s forgiven you

Speaker#1:
00:36:48.6 – 00:36:51.32
You are welcome back in his presence

Speaker#1:
00:36:52.489 – 00:36:53.84
but he will change you

Speaker#1:
00:36:54.949 – 00:37:03.28
He’s not gonna leave you in Brokenness He’s not gonna leave you in sin He’s not gonna leave you in things that are self destructive

Speaker#1:
00:37:05.83 – 00:37:08.03
But you do need to let the walls come down

Speaker#1:
00:37:09.28 – 00:37:13.07
You do need to open up your heart to him

Speaker#1:
00:37:14.02 – 00:37:16.04
and open up your heart to his people

Speaker#1:
00:37:17.62 – 00:37:25.879
because it’s in the context of relationship that we’re transformed So a different spirit in the church a world in fear

Speaker#1:
00:37:27.86 – 00:37:30.07
sees the church fearlessness

Speaker#1:
00:37:31.37 – 00:37:32.77
and it’s attractive

Speaker#1:
00:37:33.949 – 00:37:42.12
could tell you story after story but it’s true A world without hope sees hope in us And it’s attractive

Speaker#1:
00:37:44.729 – 00:37:49.469
A world without love sees love in the church and it is attractive

Speaker#1:
00:37:50.05 – 00:37:51.54
Does that make sense

Speaker#1:
00:37:53.77 – 00:38:02.169
A lot of what we have to do is make sure we keep the heart right Don’t fall into darkness What do you mean into fear

Speaker#1:
00:38:04.139 – 00:38:05.689
into hopelessness

Speaker#1:
00:38:06.8 – 00:38:11.79
into these things that are not part of the light

Speaker#1:
00:38:12.82 – 00:38:17.31
learning how to know this is alive and this is dead This is clean This is unclean

Speaker#1:
00:38:18.209 – 00:38:20.649
this is life This is not life

Speaker#1:
00:38:21.699 – 00:38:32.229
not out of condemnation not out of judgmentalism But there is a whole lot of roads You can go down in your mind in your emotion in your choices that

Speaker#1:
00:38:33.31 – 00:38:34.979
does not have life

Speaker#1:
00:38:37.02 – 00:38:44.989
And then but whenever we find ourselves going down those roads then we don’t go oh I’m a horrible awful terrible Christian We just turn back

Speaker#1:
00:38:45.86 – 00:38:46.77
we go home

Speaker#1:
00:38:47.489 – 00:38:56.669
like the protocol We repent we change our mind We run to him That’s the way you make a success successful disciple

Speaker#1:
00:38:57.84 – 00:39:08.01
We run back to him We’re not afraid to run back to him We’re not afraid to turn back to him and say Lord you need to save me from my sin

Speaker#1:
00:39:08.62 – 00:39:24.03
save me from my own bad attitude save me from my own frustration save me from my own judgmentalism save me from my own hypocrisy save me from everything that robs me in this world of life

Speaker#1:
00:39:25.37 – 00:39:26.26
and he will

Speaker#1:
00:39:27.639 – 00:39:34.169
and he’s not going to sit like you really stink You’re a terrible awful Christian How I I’m I’m just ashamed that I gave you my name

Speaker#1:
00:39:35.57 – 00:39:39.56
That’s not the gospel that’s not Christianity

Speaker#1:
00:39:40.169 – 00:39:43.25
That that’s why he tells stories like the prodigal son

Speaker#1:
00:39:43.81 – 00:39:45.379
so that we wouldn’t be that

Speaker#1:
00:39:46.439 – 00:40:01.32
John 13 34 through 35 a new commandment I give you that you love one another as I have loved you that you also love one another by this all will know that you are my disciples If you have love for one another

Speaker#1:
00:40:03.479 – 00:40:06.219
can’t I just love God and not worry about people

Speaker#1:
00:40:07.639 – 00:40:14.479
I mean this is really what he says because we’re called to make disciples Well how do I know I’m a disciple Do you love

Speaker#1:
00:40:16.189 – 00:40:21.35
There’s your measure This is how you measure whether you are a genuine disciple

Speaker#1:
00:40:24.169 – 00:40:29.61
But you also have to measure it in context of how close are your relationships

Speaker#1:
00:40:30.129 – 00:40:36.11
Because like I said if I sit in my living room and just read my Bible all day and pray every day I can love everybody

Speaker#1:
00:40:37.229 – 00:40:47.449
It’s when you actually have to see them face to face and live with them and experience them and experience the rough edges That’s when you really discover whether or not you love one another

Speaker#1:
00:40:48.179 – 00:40:49.469
Does that make sense

Speaker#1:
00:40:50.28 – 00:40:52.34
Loving one another

Speaker#1:
00:40:54.1 – 00:40:56.28
in the fullness of who we are

Speaker#1:
00:40:59.29 – 00:41:04.889
That’s what we need And when the world sees that then they’re like I feel comfortable

Speaker#1:
00:41:05.82 – 00:41:08.28
I feel comfortable coming into this community

Speaker#1:
00:41:10.32 – 00:41:12.08
because they really love each other

Speaker#1:
00:41:12.83 – 00:41:26.51
and forgive one another and show grace So the foundation I’m gonna go through these really fast because they are important and we have Easter coming up right And we do it would be wrong We we we can skimp on Palm Sunday but not on Easter

Speaker#1:
00:41:27.389 – 00:41:29.219
right These are just

Speaker#1:
00:41:29.78 – 00:41:32.61
too exciting not to fully celebrate right

Speaker#1:
00:41:33.25 – 00:41:51.129
But Ephesians 2 14 through 18 for he himself is our peace who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of separation having abolished in his flesh the enmity that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances So as to create in himself one new man from the two thus may

Speaker#1:
00:41:51.139 – 00:42:09.03
peace and that he might reconcile them both to God and one body through the cross there for thereby putting to death the enmity and he came and preached to you who are far off and to those who are near that through Him we both have access by one spirit to the father

Speaker#1:
00:42:10.11 – 00:42:15.06
I read it really fast But this idea is so important to understand

Speaker#1:
00:42:15.75 – 00:42:25.29
the the law written on tablets of stone said you are guilty you are guilty you are guilty you are guilty And because we were guilty

Speaker#1:
00:42:25.87 – 00:42:35.81
we were divided we couldn’t connect we couldn’t relate The greatest division racial division in history has been Jew and gentile

Speaker#1:
00:42:36.649 – 00:42:50.0
That’s what God’s word says The biggest racial division ever was Jew and gentile And he’s saying that the cross has torn down that wall of of separation and made the 21

Speaker#1:
00:42:51.139 – 00:43:06.969
The cross is what breaks down every wall and gives allows us to love one another and forgive one another His cross took that law that was written against us nailed it to the cross buried it in the grave and said you are forgiven

Speaker#1:
00:43:07.739 – 00:43:08.979
Isn’t that awesome

Speaker#1:
00:43:10.219 – 00:43:24.87
But I was thinking about this like I was joking And I said you know we say the cross has made Jew and gentile One the cross makes all things One is the cross powerful to make Republican Democrats one

Speaker#1:
00:43:27.449 – 00:43:29.61
I’m waiting for Chuck He gets to decide

Speaker#1:
00:43:30.719 – 00:43:39.82
the reason I say that is that right now in America we are facing a time where the only hope is the gospel

Speaker#1:
00:43:40.649 – 00:43:48.26
and anything that relegates the gospel to one class of people is not the gospel because the gospel is for all

Speaker#1:
00:43:49.28 – 00:44:12.639
And as as sharing some of these things with some people at warriors and and then they started telling me about this person who gave this incredible prophecy that I’m trying to find But he also said that liberals are often called by God to be reformers like that woman that I told you I met with they just don’t have the answer And so they’re turning to false saviors

Speaker#1:
00:44:13.489 – 00:44:23.659
But this is this really is the challenge You know they said we have to be of a different spirit And when we join the ministry of accusation we become part of the problem

Speaker#1:
00:44:25.899 – 00:44:41.439
And and a lot of what I’m seeing today is especially I think it was after the Tennessee shooting that we were talking about this at the school obviously right But when we start to blame the LGBT Q plus for everything that’s going wrong in this world

Speaker#1:
00:44:42.179 – 00:44:48.01
we become part of the problem because we’re demonizing human beings based on a label

Speaker#1:
00:44:48.669 – 00:44:56.06
and not dealing with them as human beings We’re focusing on one thing and not looking at the fullness of who they are

Speaker#1:
00:44:56.61 – 00:45:02.75
and we do that so easily And there are talking heads that are taking that to the bank

Speaker#1:
00:45:03.54 – 00:45:12.199
because they are getting wealthy by sowing opinions that are sowing anger and resentment and hatred into our hearts

Speaker#1:
00:45:13.11 – 00:45:22.219
until the church rises up and is able to give a better way to reconcile us all through the cross This whole thing is going down

Speaker#1:
00:45:24.8 – 00:45:35.53
People have faults people are wrong Yes there is sin Yes there’s right and wrong good and evil Yes there’s only one way of salvation There is yes there is a divine design

Speaker#1:
00:45:36.09 – 00:45:43.429
But how it works in humanity is simple It’s really interesting We’ve got to connect with what is real

Speaker#1:
00:45:44.189 – 00:45:51.79
and no matter not I have never met a person yet and I’ve met some people that are very far off from God

Speaker#1:
00:45:52.5 – 00:46:00.8
But when you get into their life and have a conversation with them you start to discover there are things that they care about that God cares about

Speaker#1:
00:46:01.449 – 00:46:16.04
There’s still things in their life where there’s a divine connection and we’re meant to go and find them out in that place of darkness that they’re living Search for that part and try to take them by the hand and walk them a little closer to Jesus

Speaker#1:
00:46:17.82 – 00:46:41.669
If we a lot of their approach if their approach is all about external Then it’s like God’s word says that these people are the wicked or sinners And I’m telling you this is being wicked or sinful and you need to repent so you can go to heaven when you die and the person has not been fully convinced in their heart And so now they’re extra offended Does that make sense

Speaker#1:
00:46:43.06 – 00:46:48.719
But that’s the way we do it We try to enforce things that they have not bought into

Speaker#1:
00:46:49.399 – 00:46:54.75
And then we say God can’t do a mighty move because people don’t even know the 10 commandments anymore

Speaker#1:
00:46:56.139 – 00:47:01.01
But that never stopped missionaries going into the most pagan of places in the past

Speaker#1:
00:47:01.629 – 00:47:06.699
Somebody forgot to tell them that there were obstacles that Christ couldn’t overcome

Speaker#1:
00:47:08.409 – 00:47:23.03
But if you can connect that’s why I I was talking with my friend Major Coronado the other day after church we went to the steak house which was really nice But yeah I mean who doesn’t like a steakhouse from now Now every time and again

Speaker#1:
00:47:24.01 – 00:47:31.05
But he was telling me because he’s actually re uh related to Coronado and Cortez

Speaker#1:
00:47:31.679 – 00:47:40.629
Yeah So now naturally you can think that he’s suddenly gotten into studying history which I kind of enjoy too And he was telling me about um

Speaker#1:
00:47:41.29 – 00:47:45.729
you know we’re talking about colonization the Spanish colonization right

Speaker#1:
00:47:46.83 – 00:47:51.0
But he also said what was interesting He told me about this priest

Speaker#1:
00:47:52.11 – 00:48:07.25
because a lot of times these priests were actually siding with the locals and were trying to confront the wickedness of colonization Does that make sense The genuine authentic Christians were standing for righteousness

Speaker#1:
00:48:08.34 – 00:48:14.85
And so what happened is he said it was up in the mountains where the Spanish couldn’t get to because of their horses

Speaker#1:
00:48:15.429 – 00:48:17.8
that there was like a kingdom

Speaker#1:
00:48:18.35 – 00:48:19.08
that

Speaker#1:
00:48:19.719 – 00:48:22.659
basically had not yet been overtaken

Speaker#1:
00:48:23.53 – 00:48:31.3
but of course a missionary who has a heart for the gospel and wants to have people come to know Jesus He got there on his own

Speaker#1:
00:48:32.8 – 00:48:58.55
And when he got there and he saw the idolatry and I mean a lot of those Indians actually practiced terrible human sacrifice I mean it was crazy the stuff that they did But he basically goes to them and says I want to share Jesus Christ with you my God with you And the king was not opposed come on into the city But because of the practices and the idolatry he said can I just have a little hut outside of the city

Speaker#1:
00:48:59.419 – 00:49:00.0
Sure

Speaker#1:
00:49:01.159 – 00:49:08.04
And so he had a little hut outside of the city living by himself a priest who didn’t have you know didn’t have a wife

Speaker#1:
00:49:09.08 – 00:49:12.949
And so that king would send out two women every night to try to seduce him

Speaker#1:
00:49:13.919 – 00:49:19.899
and tried to seduce him with wealth and with women for two years

Speaker#1:
00:49:21.29 – 00:49:28.639
And when this man who was by himself in a pagan land with no other fellowship

Speaker#1:
00:49:29.439 – 00:49:30.62
but Christ

Speaker#1:
00:49:32.82 – 00:49:40.0
being tempted and they would they would send even these women dressed like monks and all kinds of things trying to get him seduced

Speaker#1:
00:49:42.679 – 00:49:47.26
after two years of being unsuccessful The king said what he has is real

Speaker#1:
00:49:48.149 – 00:49:50.3
and the whole kingdom gave her life to Christ

Speaker#1:
00:49:52.739 – 00:49:55.3
Somebody forgot to tell him it was impossible

Speaker#1:
00:49:56.58 – 00:49:58.439
But he had something

Speaker#1:
00:49:59.5 – 00:50:03.87
that that king could recognize kept him from being corrupted

Speaker#1:
00:50:04.739 – 00:50:07.3
And he said that guy has something that we don’t have

Speaker#1:
00:50:08.34 – 00:50:09.28
I need

Speaker#1:
00:50:09.81 – 00:50:10.969
what they have

Speaker#1:
00:50:14.02 – 00:50:17.419
what is in the heart is what matters

Speaker#1:
00:50:18.5 – 00:50:26.959
And when that love of God is in our heart we can prevail in the most challenging difficult situations

Speaker#1:
00:50:28.719 – 00:50:40.83
and maintain a straight walk that the people say not out of self righteousness not fair but the genuine love of God kept that priest pure

Speaker#1:
00:50:43.419 – 00:50:50.76
that genuine love of God said put in that I don’t I I’m sure he was tempted Christ was tempted

Speaker#1:
00:50:51.84 – 00:50:57.469
It’s spiritual warfare folks he was sorely tempted would be my guess

Speaker#1:
00:50:58.86 – 00:51:06.05
But in his heart he’s it wasn’t just I can’t sin against you God but it was also God These people don’t know you

Speaker#1:
00:51:08.02 – 00:51:12.02
And if I cause a stumbling block to them to knowing you

Speaker#1:
00:51:14.54 – 00:51:17.669
then the very thing that’s in my heart has been lost

Speaker#1:
00:51:18.36 – 00:51:19.85
that they would know you Lord

Speaker#1:
00:51:20.77 – 00:51:24.36
God forbid that I should do should succumb to that temptation

Speaker#1:
00:51:24.87 – 00:51:27.719
Lord don’t let me fall into sin when I’m tempted

Speaker#1:
00:51:28.239 – 00:51:29.75
but deliver us from evil

Speaker#1:
00:51:31.989 – 00:51:33.189
That love

Speaker#1:
00:51:33.78 – 00:51:35.189
being in the heart

Speaker#1:
00:51:35.82 – 00:51:37.27
for the people

Speaker#1:
00:51:39.239 – 00:51:46.969
even though there’s no format there’s no formula or a book you can read that will tell you how to reach those crazy Indians

Speaker#1:
00:51:49.5 – 00:51:54.149
the love of God in his heart and that conviction and those prayers he won them

Speaker#1:
00:51:56.26 – 00:51:59.54
because they saw in him something that they didn’t have

Speaker#1:
00:52:00.32 – 00:52:01.729
and it was in his heart

Speaker#1:
00:52:02.649 – 00:52:03.879
and that’s what we need

Speaker#1:
00:52:04.59 – 00:52:05.179
Amen

Speaker#1:
00:52:06.02 – 00:52:06.909
the end of that