Transcript

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Lord, we bow our hearts before you.
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We thank you that these songs that we sing are not just ideas,
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they are realities for us because of what Christ has done.
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Lord, we pray you give us the grace necessary to receive from
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you in this final evening of this conference.
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We bless you, we honor you, and we worship you.
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In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
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Hey, before you're seated, just welcome somebody and celebrate
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the fact that this is our final evening together.
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If you can, before you get comfortable, if there's any seat
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by you, if you could just please squeeze in because we have a few
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people that are standing in the back that would love to be able
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to find a place to sit. And if you do have a seat beside
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you, can you lift your hand so that the ushers can see?
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Look at that. There's so many seats, always
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the front row always open. So ushers, if you see anybody
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that needs a chair, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
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Well, welcome. This is our final evening of
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this conference. Amazing how time has just flown.
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Every year there's something special about meeting together
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and maybe it's the same thing, but it just intensifies.
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But the love that people have for each other this year has
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been on full display. And I, I pray that if this was
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your first time here at Maranatha Conference that you
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would have been overwhelmed by the, the love and the kindness
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and just the French of a people who love Jesus and serve him.
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So God bless you for for making this an even more experiential
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and wonderful time together. My time this evening at least, I
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plan to not be too long with you, but that might change.
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But I do want to get to this message right away.
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I don't want to waste any time. If you are a follower of Jesus
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Christ here, I I hope you believe that as crucial and as
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essential as the gospel may be, it is not the complete plan that
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God has for us in our redemption.
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It's not the end goal. If you truly understand the
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gospel, it is the starting point of the Christian journey.
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And So what happens at justification is that we are
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instantaneously saved and following that is a day by day
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progress known as sanctification until we enter into a permanent
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state of perfection identified as glorification.
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And so sanctification, if you're in Christ, that is what you're
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experiencing. That is the part of redemption
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that you are enjoying day by day, every moment, every second,
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whether you're conscious of it or not.
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And we should grow in our awareness of that because that
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is why you exist as a Christian. Every relationship, every event,
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every resource that you own in this life serves a supporting
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role in that goal being realized.
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Your transformation into the image of Christ is the goal of
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why you are here and will be the goal until you meet your Savior
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face to face. And So what is sanctification?
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It's really simple. It's the moment, my moment
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process in which God increasingly frees us from
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inward and frees us from outward sin and molds us into the image
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of Jesus Christ. This is God's desire for us, and
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he is committed to this desire for us being accomplished.
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But have you ever wondered to what degree does the Lord want
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to transform each of us? What?
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What is really the full vision that the Lord has in our
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transformation? And we don't have to guess
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because Paul tells us exactly what it is.
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And I invite you to see this with your eyes in our first
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passage today in First Thessalonians chapter 5.
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And look at me here at verse 23. This is how far God aims to go
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as he enrolls us in this lifelong process, Paul writes.
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Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely and may
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your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the
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coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. In this one verse, you have two
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glorious truths regarding our sanctification that we can't
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afford to miss. The first thing is the purpose
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of your sanctification, and the 2nd is the power of your
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sanctification. So Paul identifies the purpose
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in saying that the Lord the God of peace, and really as he's
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writing this, he's actually praying this.
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Now may the God of peace to sanctify us completely,
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Completely in the Greek completely is only used here in
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all of the New Testament. It means to be complete in all
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respects. Now some come to this verse as a
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means of debate, and this is what you will debate about if
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you go to seminary. Is man tripartite being or
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bipartite being? In other words, is man composed
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of body, soul, and spirit? Or is soul and spirit
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synonymous? Can I tell you something?
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Paul didn't write this verse to cause a debate.
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I don't think he intended for people to take the time to try
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to figure that out. It's not wrong to have that
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conversation, but that's not what he is trying to convey.
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What Paul is trying to communicate by the Spirit is
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that the Lord wants to change every single part of your being.
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That's what he is trying to say. And when you consider that, you
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have to realize that this is something the Lord will
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accomplish in us, though it may be a bumpy ride.
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And what I love about it is that Paul invites us to relish not,
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not to be fearful, not to be overwhelmed, but to relish in
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the thought that God wants to transform your motivations, your
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ambitions, your meditations, your attitude, your appetites,
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and every intricate detail in between.
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And if you feel like that's a little scary, consider the
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second point of Paul's verse here.
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And that is the power of your sanctification.
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What does he say? Now may the God of peace himself
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sanctify you completely. Who is the one who performs this
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deep cleansing in US? God himself.
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God himself and the same one who alone can save you is the same
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one who alone can change you to this degree at least.
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And so Paul and pointing to every part of your being also
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wants to point your eyes to the one who's able to do it.
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And I love how he adds the God of peace himself.
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He could have just said the God of peace, but he wants to really
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emphasize that God himself, he did not delegate this
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responsibility to another. He himself took it upon himself
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to be committed to each of us, to seeing that realized more and
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more. That's how much it means to him.
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And so when you see it that way, we should rejoice.
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But I'm afraid that if we read in isolation, we might think
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that God will generate this change apart from our
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participation, and that might encourage a dangerous passivity
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in our pursuit of being more like Christ.
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See again, you can't just take a verse out of context and just
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make application out of it. You have to understand what he
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says before and after. So I want us to consider that.
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What did Paul say before praying for the God of peace to sanctify
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us completely? We'll scroll back with me at
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verse 15 to verse 15 of the same chapter or verse 12.
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Actually, he says here, we ask you, brothers, respect those who
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labor among you and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you,
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and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work.
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Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers,
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admonish the idol, encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, be
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patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone
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evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to
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everyone. Rejoice always, pray without
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ceasing. Give thanks in all
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circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.
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For you do not quench the Spirit.
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Do not despise prophecies, but test everything.
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Hold fast what is good, abstain from every form of evil.
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Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely.
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And he goes on and on. So Paul makes this prayer.
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In that prayer there is really a promise after providing a string
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of commands and instructions for each of us as Christians.
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And what's meant to be explained here is that after learning of
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all the things that God desires from us, he then ends by showing
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us that God is going to help us accomplish it.
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He will help you get to that point.
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He will help you maintain that way of life.
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Can you imagine that it is possible for a Christian, for
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example, to rejoice always, to pray without ceasing, to give
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thanks to God in all circumstances?
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And that's just one little snippet out of a large catalogue
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of glorious things that we can walk in.
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And so this is what he is essentially saying.
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Not that God is going to do it while you remain robotic and
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mindless. No, But as you walk in, as you
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realize what the Lord desires for me and you chase it, the
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Lord is right there to to blow wind into your sails.
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But there needs to be a hoisted sail for that wind to blow in.
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So we need to understand what God desires from us and posture
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ourselves in order to pursue it and then receive the power to
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walk in it. And if we ever feel disappointed
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at the amount of work that needs to be done, because that can
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happen very, very quickly as you examine your own life, or if
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you're agitated because you're not seeing the results that you
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would like to the time that you would like to see it, then
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there's an added dosage of promise in verse 24.
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Look what he says here in verse 24.
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He who calls you is faithful. He will surely do it.
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He will. He's not talking about heaven
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here. He's talking about your life
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now, He's talking about your tomorrow's, He's talking about
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you in a few months, you in a few years.
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And interestingly, out of all the titles that Paul could have
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given to the Corinthians concerning God, out of all the
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attributes, out of all the things that God can do, what
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does he say about God in verse 23, the God of peace?
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Why does Paul mention the God of peace connected to our
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sanctification or complete sanctification?
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Well, I think when we look back and realize the last place where
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Paul mentions peace and makes a little bit more sense.
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Look at where he mentions peace back here at the end of verse
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14. And we urge you brothers and
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monitor the idol, encourage the faint hearted, help the week, be
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patient with them all. And before that he speaks about
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here and to steam the very highly those who are over you
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and to have this sense of patience and peace together as a
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whole understanding of relationships with one another.
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And So what we have to see here is that there is a glorious
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explanation concerning God of peace in terms of the most
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difficult part of our sanctification.
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It's easy to be holy when you live alone.
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Holiness is much more accomplishable if you are in an
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island and you're not interacting with anybody.
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When is holiness hard? When you rub shoulders with
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others and we have to face with other people who are also being
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worked on, that's where it's difficult.
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And it's as though what Paul is trying to say when he gives all
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these commands concerning relationships with each other,
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that the most difficult part about it, harmony with one
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another is possible because of the God of peace.
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In other words, there is no change that is too difficult for
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God to bring you to even in how you deal with others in this
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life. And that's found throughout
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Thessalonians about love and sacrifice and being patient and
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honoring that. It's found throughout this
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epistle. And what Paul wants to say at
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the end of it is that God can provide peace in your own heart
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and in your marriage and in your church community and all the
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relations that you have. Even that can be known because
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of the God of peace. But this message isn't about
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unity. What I'm trying to convey to
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you, what I want to try to bring your attention to, is an aspect
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of our sanctification that is often overlooked.
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That's really the point of this conference, because I want to
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see things that perhaps we might not consider important, and I
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want you to consider an aspect of what God wants to change in
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you that perhaps you've not thought about.
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Have you ever considered God sanctifying your affections,
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your feelings, your emotions, your sentiments, what you're
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passionate about, what gets your heart going?
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You might be thinking, is that really important?
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Well, it is when you understand that God wants to sanctify us
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completely. And I believe it is important
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because when we consider the life of Paul, we not only see
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rich theology and important doctrine, you see a man who
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unashamedly pours out his heart and reveals his holy and
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sanctified affections. This Bible could have been very
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stale. It could have just been a
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systematic list of things of do's and don'ts.
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But what we have here in Paul at least, is a man who ties truth
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with a throbbing heart. Do you think that's just random?
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Do you think that's just for you to see that there's personality
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behind Paul, or is there something about Paul's
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affections that we are to imitate?
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And I am absolutely convinced that there is something about
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this man's heart posture that we are called to reflect because
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it's found throughout, throughout his writings.
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We see it through and through. And I want to see, I want you to
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see one example. Come with me to Philippians 1
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and look here at verse 8, because I don't want you to
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dismiss this by saying, what does Paul's personality have to
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do with my sanctification? It's beyond his personality.
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Look what he says here. For God is my witness, how I
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yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
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Do you understand what Paul is saying to this group of
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believers? That what he feels about them
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transcends human feelings? He he, he says with absolute
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confidence and transparency. What I feel about you believers
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is supernatural. Imagine a man daring to say what
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Jesus feels about you. How Jesus feels about you is how
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I feel about you. Now you can look at that again
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from a this is an applaud Paul. What an amazing guy.
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I'm glad he's one of ours. But instead I see an invitation.
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If the affections of the Lord Jesus Christ, the same Christ
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who left heaven, came to earth, walked this world for for 30
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years, 33 years after his death, ascended into heaven after
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conquering death. If the affections of that God,
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the true God, can beat in a man, then Lord, let it beat in me.
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If it's possible for Paul to feel this way, what would it be
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like for my heart to know these things as well?
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I want that. You should want that because God
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wants you to have that because he is determined to sanctify you
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completely. And notice what he says in
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Philippians, he says for God is my witness.
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So he calls God to witness that this is true.
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How I yearn for you. Did he say some how I yearn for
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you all. There's a lot of colorful people
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in church. Would you agree a lot, some a
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little bit more difficult to relate to, to tolerate, some
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more enjoyable and easygoing. Paul didn't discriminate.
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He said what I feel about each of you with your unique
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personalities, weaknesses and strengths, I have Jesus heart
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for you. That's mind blowing.
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I mean, we can just end it here and say, Lord, give it to me and
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that would be a wonderful end to this evening.
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But I want to convince you, persuade you even more.
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And if you think for yourself, if you're still like, I don't
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know, you're touching a a part of my life now that's a little
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bit uncomfortable. I'm not a I'm not a sentimental
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person. I'm not emotional.
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This is not reserved for Paul because I believe he calls us to
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this as well. And if you look at what he says
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to Timothy in Second Timothy 310, he actually praises Timothy
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for imitating him in this way in Second Timothy 310.
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Listen to what he says. You, however, have followed my
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teaching. I don't mind following Paul's
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teaching. It's truth.
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Not just my teaching. My conduct.
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OK, we've covered that the past couple of sessions.
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My aim and life, yes. My faith, sure.
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My patience, OK. Now we're getting on dangerous
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territory, my love. So Timothy didn't just hear what
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Paul had to preach. He saw how this man loved.
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And he says, I want to imitate that.
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And Paul intended for his love to be replicated because he had
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the affection of Christ Jesus. And Timothy caught it.
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And he says, you're doing the right thing with your love
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there, Timothy. So instead of resisting this by
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trying to explain it away, seek for it.
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What would it look like for us to have the affection of Christ
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Jesus for our spouses? Not just your attractions, but
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the affections of Christ for your wife, for your husband.
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What would it look like to have it for your children?
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Not just the motherly instincts, but Christ's love as a father
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for your sons, even the difficult ones.
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What would it look like to have it for our elders?
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What would it look like to have it for our common members?
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What it look like to have it for the lost?
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What would it look like for Christ's love to intensify in us
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as God is sanctifying us even in our affections?
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Affections reveal a lot about us.
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You know what John said in first John to do not love the world
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nor the things of this world. Then he goes on to say that if
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you love the world and the things of this world, the love
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of the Father is not in you. Now he's not talking about the
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cosmos, he's not talking about the beautiful earth that we are
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in. He's not talking about even
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humanity. He's talking about the evil
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system, the Antichrist system. The sinful ways of humanity do
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not love the world or the things of the world.
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And if your affections are on that, then there's a problem
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because the love of the Father cancels out the things that the
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Father hates. People always ask me how do I
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know if I'm born again? Very important questions.
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And I think one of the go to answers is what happened to your
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heart after you heard the gospel and accepted it.
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Have your affections changed? Have your desires changed?
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Because that's what it means to be born again.
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That what you once hated or were indifferent about or careless
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about now becomes your priority and your passion and your
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pursuit. That is one of the greatest
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marks that God has changed you, not necessarily about instant
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perfection, but change of heart direction.
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So this is not, this is not the secondary thing, it's not
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peripheral, this is not just optional.
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This is vitally important. And once those affections are
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renewed, God wants to now sanctify even more and
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strengthen it and mature. And Paul was a wonderful model
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of that. Imagine saying that the
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affections of Christ Jesus I have here for you, and that's
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something that you and I are invited to.
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And I believe Paul provides us glimpses of what happens when
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this supernatural set of affections takes over, and it's
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worth examining so that we can year for it in our own lives.
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Let's turn to our main text in First Thessalonians chapter 2,
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beginning in verse 17. Notice, I just want you to see
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how this man, yes, an apostle, but he was also a pastor.
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Look at how this pastor spoke about and to his people, he
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says. But since we were torn away from
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you, brothers, for a short time in person, not in heart, we
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endeavoured the more eagerly and with great desire to see you
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face to face, because we wanted to come to you, I Paul, again
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and again. But Satan hindered us.
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For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our
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Lord Jesus at His coming? Is it not you?
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For you are our glory and joy, that that's controversial.
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You are our glory and joy. Oh, we have to hold on before we
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get there. But let's consider and dissect
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this a bit by bit. First, Paul tells these
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believers, whom he calls brothers, brothers, brother
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Saul, remember? And I told him that was the
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first words he heard from a Christian after he experienced
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Christ. He he explains that although
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he's separated from them in person, he is not separated from
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them in his heart. The believers that Paul knew
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lived in his heart. They were not just faces that
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they saw once a week where we just greeted from a distance.
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And that was the extent of his relationship with Christians.
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No, they abided in his bosom. And he says here that there the
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pain of separate was like being torn away.
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And the word there is actually as though somebody was made an
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orphan, like a mother or father, taken from the lives of their
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children. That's the kind of level of
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excruciating agony he experienced when he said, out of
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circumstances beyond his control, he was removed from
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these believers prematurely. And he says, since we were torn
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away from you, I want to let you know that you're still in my
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heart. And listen, when the affections
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of Jesus live in you, Christians will live in it as well.
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And if Christians live in your heart, you know where else
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they're going to be found in your supplications, in your
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Thanksgiving to God. Can I ask you something?
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When was the last time you spent a segment of your time in prayer
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thanking God for the Christians? You know, Paul did it all the
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time. Paul even did it by name, not
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because he's like, only that's the checklist on my prayer.
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No, no, no. It was because the affections of
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Christ compelled him, because these believers lived in his
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heart. And it says here that because
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they were in his heart, they were not colleagues merely they
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were his delight. Christians were his delight.
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By the work of the Spirit you begin to genuinely, genuinely
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enjoy Christians, and you begin to cherish them and think about
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them. And so strong are these
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affections that they don't even require physical interactions to
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be realized. This love is alive and well even
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though you do not see them on those days of the week where you
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are not in the presence of other Christians.
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Paul shows us here that there is this desire for them and there's
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passion for them. Can you put your fingers on the
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pulse of your relationship with other believers and agree with
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Paul here? Or is this is this kind of
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alien? Is this kind of awkward to you
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because believers abide in your heart?
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Again, they will find a prominent place in those ways
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where you communicate with God about them.
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It was so embedded in them that it pained them to be removed
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from these Christians. But look what he says here.
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We endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you
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face to face when the affections of Christ Jesus live in you.
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Christian community becomes a priority.
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And I don't know if that's true for all believers.
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You begin to be pleased with the idea of being with Christians.
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And I love to to see this at NBC.
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When people walk through those doors, whether that be on a
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Wednesday or Friday or Sunday, faces light up.
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I hope that's true in your church, that all it takes is the
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presence of believers that, you know, love Christ to change your
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mood. And Paul was just daydreaming
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about trying to see these believers face to face.
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And you know why this is true for those who have the
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affections of Christ Jesus, because let me remind you what
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Jesus prayed to the Father when He was ready to go to the cross
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in John 1724. He prayed this.
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This is what Jesus prayed. Father, I desire that they also
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whom you have given me, may be with me where I am.
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So the affections of Christ is not just saving some and then
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kind of having an arm's length relationship with them?
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No, it went beyond that. He saved them.
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He saved us with the goal of being with us without filter,
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without hindrance, for all of eternity.
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If Jesus desires so much so that he prayed to the Father to be
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with Christians, shouldn't that be true of you, Christian?
26:40
It should. If the affections of Christ live
26:41
in you, you long to do life with other believers.
26:46
If that's missing in you, then you need your affection
26:49
sanctified by the Holy Spirit. If that doesn't stir you, then
26:56
this thought perhaps will. The treasure of us coming
26:59
together and advancing God's purposes as a unit is so dynamic
27:03
that Satan fights against it. What did he say here?
27:08
He says here, I long to see a great desire to see you.
27:10
But what Satan? Satan tried to stop us again and
27:16
again. That's what he's mentioning
27:17
here. Again and again, Satan tried to
27:20
stop us. What does it take for you to not
27:24
be with Christians? Does it come down to Satan
27:30
trying to stop you to meet with other believers on a regular
27:32
basis? Because that's what it took for
27:34
Paul. Paul had no other excuse not to
27:37
be with other Christians in a living, dynamic, relational,
27:41
habitual way. Except for the devil himself
27:44
trying to stop him. For some people, all it takes is
27:48
an early Sunday service. Other than stop Paul, it had to
27:53
take the devil himself to change his schedule to stop Paul from
27:57
getting to the Thessalonians. That's how much Satan believes
28:01
in the power of when Christians come together.
28:06
I'm not sure if Christians are convinced of the same.
28:09
And so Paul says here, I, I I'm telling you, Thessalonians, I
28:12
really tried to get to you, but the enemy of our souls hindered
28:16
me greatly. But what did we hear about this
28:19
morning? And tell me that P word.
28:21
Good. We're all awake still.
28:22
Yeah, I get it. Bear with me.
28:24
We're almost there. Providence.
28:26
And Providence is at work here. Scholars believe that First
28:29
Thessalonians is the first epistle that Paul ever wrote.
28:35
So let me put it this way. Satan thought that he can stop
28:38
Paul in his ministry from getting to the Thessalonians.
28:41
But what Satan didn't realize that he started another
28:43
ministry. That was Paul's writing ministry
28:46
because it began with First Thessalonians.
28:50
Like he just keeps losing if you haven't got the picture.
28:55
And so we see here that Paul says, I genuinely try to come to
28:57
you. And this is the most astounding
29:00
part about Paul spilling his affections for these believers.
29:04
And it's not just here he says something, as I mentioned
29:07
earlier, that would almost be controversial to the unfamiliar
29:11
reader. Look how he ends this in verse
29:14
19. For what is our hope?
29:16
He's speaking rhetorically here. For what is our hope or joy or
29:21
crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming pause?
29:25
You would think that he would answer with what Jesus?
29:30
What's our boast? What's our hope, our joy or
29:33
crown? When Christ comes?
29:36
You think he would say what Christ?
29:38
But what does he say instead? Is it not you?
29:41
He goes on to say, for you are our glory and joy.
29:51
So take a deep breath and step back and brace yourself for this
29:56
answer because we have to understand this.
29:58
Unless we get into some heresy, the way we make sense of this is
30:02
that Paul, in explaining about the return of Christ and when
30:05
Christ comes, obviously that's going to be a joyous occasion.
30:09
But in essence, what Paul is communicating is that Christ
30:12
coming and establishing his Kingdom, bringing us to Himself,
30:16
is not the only joyful thing that I am looking forward to.
30:22
It is the primary thing. Paul mentions that in other
30:24
places, but what he's also saying is that when Jesus comes
30:27
back, one of the things that I am rejoicing at the thought of
30:31
is the eternal presence of other believers.
30:34
That's what he's saying. So this man's affections for
30:37
other Christians was so strong that what got his heart stirring
30:41
was the thought of being with other Christians forever.
30:47
This is one of the strongest proof text of how you and I,
30:50
when we get to heaven, we'll recognize one another and we'll
30:55
recognize other Saints. Paul says, I can't wait to come
30:59
to that point where we see your sanctification turn to
31:02
glorification and we'll rejoice together before the presence of
31:07
the Lord Jesus. So Christ is our ultimate object
31:10
of praise and adoration in heaven.
31:12
But Paul is not ashamed. The Holy Spirit inspired us say
31:15
is not just going to be about Christ, It's also going to be
31:17
about Christians. It's gonna be about Christians.
31:21
Like do you, do you see the heightened affection that this
31:24
man has? We're not even talking about
31:26
Paul's affections for God. We're not even talking about
31:28
Paul's affections for others who are lost.
31:30
We're just dealing with Paul's affections for the church.
31:33
And it's supposed to stand as a mirror to reflect on our own
31:38
affections and see if this is true.
31:40
So this is one of the strongest verses that promise us that
31:42
we're going to enjoy one another.
31:44
And it's been set here in the Bibles for us to enjoy at the
31:47
just thought of it. The thought of it alone should
31:49
cause us to rejoice. So this, the Saints were not
31:54
just a source of Paul's joy in this life, but in the life to
31:57
come. And that was one of his greatest
31:59
anticipations. I wonder if that's true for you.
32:03
I wonder if that's true for you. I wonder if you look at other
32:06
Christians and from time to time realize I'm going to live with
32:10
these people forever. The Holy Spirit wants you to
32:14
feel that and when you feel that it's a lot more difficult to
32:19
bicker and to bite right with gossip, not physically.
32:25
I hope that would be concerning and and harm and hurt and bruise
32:31
and demean and gossip and these affections stifle those things.
32:39
They put out fires that can destroy what God wants to
32:42
maintain and make beautiful Time does not permit to talk about
32:48
pause affections in other areas. But what I do want to say is
32:52
that this is something that we should pursue.
32:56
Don't write it off because your wiring is different.
33:01
Don't allow yourself to justify the awkwardness that you sense
33:05
in the language that Paul uses to keep you from saying this is
33:09
something that I perhaps should reconsider.
33:12
Embrace it. In fact, if you are still
33:14
hesitant in believing that this is something that we should all
33:17
share, these affections that are polished by the power of God,
33:22
then realize Paul actually asked Christians for them to feel what
33:26
he felt. Do you know that Paul did that
33:28
before? And who do you think Paul asked
33:32
to feel certain things for him as he did for them?
33:36
Oh, it was the Corinthians, the troublesome Corinthians.
33:41
Look what he says. I mean, again, these are verses
33:42
that we kind of brush over, but look what he says in Second
33:45
Corinthians. Let's turn there because we're
33:46
almost done. Believe it or not.
33:49
Look what he says in 2nd Corinthians 6 verse 11.
34:03
Paul says we have spoken freely to you, Corinthians.
34:08
Our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us,
34:13
but you are restricted in your own affections.
34:18
So what's Paul saying? Paul's criticism about these
34:20
believers is, can I simplify? Can I interpret it, translate it
34:23
in modern language? You're cold.
34:27
You're cold towards us. We haven't been cold towards
34:30
you. We've given our hearts to you.
34:32
We've widened our hearts to you. Would you not give us the same?
34:35
And so this tells me that, listen, Christians, by the power
34:41
of God's work in us, should be the most approachable, warm,
34:45
loving individuals on the face of the earth.
34:49
Paul didn't allow the Corinthians to remain stoic,
34:54
indifferent, careless, shallow in their affections for him and
35:00
other Christians. You're cold.
35:03
And So what he says here as he speaks to them, he doesn't give
35:07
them any excuse because he realizes that the God of peace
35:10
wants to sanctify us completely. And look what he says here in
35:14
verse 11 of the same chapter, second Corinthians 611 to 13, we
35:19
read here in 13. In return, I speak as to
35:22
children. Widen your hearts also wide in
35:29
your heart so he puts the responsibility on them.
35:32
Open your hearts even more and make room for Christ feelings to
35:37
live and breathe and move in you as I'm telling you as I as I
35:44
open this conference with studying Paul's been a
35:47
beautifully painful experience because he he doesn't he doesn't
35:52
want you by the spirit. He doesn't want you to be
35:54
content with little change in your walk with the Lord.
35:56
He doesn't want you to even think that sanctification is
35:59
merely about your external and observable patterns in life.
36:03
Now he wants to get to the the soul.
36:05
He wants to get to the deepest parts of who you are, the things
36:08
that you even feel. Paul says God is after that, God
36:14
is after that, and God can widen your heart in every direction.
36:20
He can widen your heart for your fellow believers, all of them.
36:23
As he told the Philippians, he can widen your heart towards
36:26
him. Do you struggle expressing your
36:29
affections for God? Do you struggle even, can I say
36:34
this? Do you struggle to sing to God?
36:37
I've met Christians who love the Lord by their own admission, but
36:41
they say I Can't Sing to him, though I can't express my that's
36:46
just not who I am. You know what Paul would say?
36:50
I believe he would say this, widen your hearts, give that
36:54
heart that is restricted in your affections and place it before
36:57
the throne and say, Lord, do something with this.
36:59
Listen to what the psalmist said in Psalm 51150.
37:02
Lord, he didn't say widen my heart.
37:05
He said open my lips because out of the abundance of your heart,
37:08
the mouth speaks. So he says, oh Lord, in Psalm
37:10
5115, open my lips. Why open my lips and my mouth
37:14
will declare your praise. I guess what?
37:18
There's no excuse, my fellow Christian.
37:20
Whether it's this mouth or your affections or your actions,
37:23
whatever part of you is restricted, it is not conforming
37:26
to Christ's likeness. You can bring that before the
37:28
God of peace and He can sanctify it.
37:32
He can sanctify it. I'm going to end in a different
37:36
way. I'm going to end in preaching
37:39
the gospel. I want to, I want to just simply
37:42
come to this point and just highlight to you how the Bible
37:46
wants to deal with the deepest parts of who you are and to just
37:49
come before the Lord sweetly and say, Lord, come after my
37:53
affections. But I want to make sure that
37:55
every person here at least hears the gospel because everything
37:59
that you've heard, please pay attention to this.
38:00
I know it's been a long day, a long weekend, but this is the
38:03
most important message you'll hear, not just this weekend for
38:06
the rest of your life. Everything that you heard means
38:10
absolutely 0. Nothing if you first have not
38:16
grasped the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
38:20
Everything that you've heard you can put aside if you have not
38:24
first confirmed your understanding and your decision
38:28
about the person and the work of Jesus Christ.
38:32
The most important question in this life is who is Jesus
38:38
Christ? And the next one is who is he to
38:44
you? Who is Jesus Christ and who is
38:48
he to you? Or do you know him?
38:52
Do you know Him? So let me remind you that you
38:55
are not a bag of skin stuffed with meat.
39:01
You're not the result of some combustion in the universe.
39:05
And all this order just happened by chance and now you live to
39:09
just make enough money so that you can go on two or three
39:12
vacations a year, try not to get sick and to live the longest and
39:17
embrace death with a 70 year resume of pleasure and joy and
39:23
memories. That's not the reason why you're
39:25
here. You are created in the image of
39:27
God. You have been created by God,
39:30
and you've been created to walk with God and know your God,
39:33
fellowship with your God. But something happened in the
39:36
early phases of creation. The very first ones who were
39:39
created had a choice to either obey God and remain in that
39:44
relationship with Him, or disobey God and fracture that
39:47
relationship, and they chose the latter.
39:52
They chose to sin, and in sinning they created a problem
39:56
for the rest of humanity, a problem that you and I are very
39:59
familiar with. Why is it that we do evil?
40:04
Why is it that we hurt each other?
40:05
Why is it that we are attracted to perversions and selfishness
40:09
and lying and immorality? Where did that come from?
40:14
Why is there not one part of the world, one culture, that is not
40:17
infected with this issue? It's because we have all been
40:22
tainted by sin. We all have a disposition to
40:27
rebel. And if it's not for the common
40:30
grace of God that provides restrictions in this life,
40:34
including your conscience that says this is good and this is
40:37
bad, by the way, where did that come from?
40:39
Goo in the universe? Apparently if we didn't have a
40:44
government that exercises the sword, we didn't have families
40:49
that are meant to train us, this world would go wild.
40:55
And one day it will in the great tribulation.
40:58
So we are all sinful beings. And because of that, in light of
41:02
the holiness of God, we all deserve the wrath of God.
41:06
We all deserve to be judged by God.
41:08
We all deserve to be swept into eternal wrath.
41:12
You say, well, I'm not that bad of a person, perhaps in
41:15
comparison to your neighbor, but in light of the holiness of God,
41:18
you and I are filthy. Filthy.
41:25
Somebody gave this wonderful illustration of driving by and
41:28
her daily routine to work. She was in a rural area and she
41:34
would always see these sheep, these fluffy clouds with little
41:36
black legs, right? And they seem to stand out in
41:39
those grassy hills. They seem to just be a little,
41:44
you know, bots of white and they would always get her attention
41:46
as she would drive by. But when it came to the winter
41:48
time, those see same sheep that seemed to stand out to see so
41:52
clean and pure because of the whiteness of the snow, they
41:55
didn't seem so white anymore. She saw the imperfections and
41:59
the blotchiness and and the insects even that's just a
42:03
simple illustration of us and our righteousness.
42:06
Yeah. Compared to each other, we may
42:07
seem good, but once you stand in the backroom of God's holiness,
42:11
we stand out. We stand out.
42:14
So don't compare yourself to your neighbor.
42:16
Don't compare yourself to the criminals on the nightly news.
42:19
Compare yourself to God and things will change in yourself
42:22
estimation. So what does that mean?
42:25
That's the bad news. The bad news is that God is
42:27
good. That's bad because in His
42:31
goodness and His Holiness, He will not allow sin to run
42:35
rampant without it colliding with His justice.
42:39
So people say, oh, well, if God is good, why doesn't He deal
42:41
with all this evil in the world? Do you understand the
42:44
implications of that? If God is good, which He is
42:47
good, and you wanted to deal with the evil in this world,
42:49
guess who he has to deal with? You.
42:51
What do you think evil comes from the thin air?
42:55
No, no, no, no, no. According to the Bible, it comes
42:57
from the sewage of your heart and mind.
43:00
That's where it comes from. That's the source of it.
43:03
God is good, which is a terrifying thing if we think
43:06
about his justice. But God is good in that he is
43:08
also love. And so though this world is a
43:12
cesspool of evil and iniquity and hatred, the Lord, the Lord
43:19
of hosts, looks down in this creation, looks down on those
43:23
that are created in his image that says I want them.
43:27
I want to restore my relationship with them.
43:29
I want to redeem them. I want to take them and not just
43:34
justify them, but sanctify them and one day glorify them.
43:38
I God wanted to us in his love so greatly that not only does he
43:43
save your soul, your spirit, He actually is going to redeem your
43:46
body. Do you understand that?
43:48
This same body that did horrible things that hurt so many people,
43:53
that's hurt even myself, even this body that was once tainted,
43:57
God says I'm going to even redeem that.
43:59
That's why your body will be resurrected as a testament of
44:02
the God's glory and wanting to save all of you.
44:04
How did he do it? Did he sweep your sin underneath
44:07
the rug? Did he say, you know what, let's
44:09
just forget about all this and let's just move on together?
44:11
No, He's too holy for that. God in his great love takes on
44:15
human flesh, enters into this world in the person of Jesus
44:21
Christ, and he walks a perfect life, free from sin, free from
44:28
from anything. Even his imaginations were holy.
44:30
No deceit found on his tongue. Not a hint of wrong was found in
44:37
him. And that was necessary because
44:40
this perfect one would die. How could a perfect one die?
44:47
He died voluntarily. He died in your place.
44:52
You know, it's amazing. I I used to go evangelizing on
44:55
the streets and one of my go to things was to find people who
44:57
had crossed necklaces or cross tattoos.
45:00
And I would go up there and be like, I love your necklace and
45:03
say, oh, thanks. Yeah.
45:05
Was it a gift? Yeah.
45:06
Yeah, it was a gift, You know, So, you know, my girlfriend gave
45:08
it to me something like wonderful.
45:10
I said when were you born again? And you should see their faces.
45:17
You know, the cross has become fashion these days.
45:21
It's been romanticized. Do you understand what it means
45:25
for Jesus Christ to have died on a cross?
45:30
Have you ever thought about that?
45:32
Or do you just put it on your skin and put it on a shirt
45:35
because it looks cool? He died on the cross, laying his
45:39
own life. Because you deserve to be on
45:41
that cross. And more than just a cross, you
45:44
deserve to experience the eternal judgement of God.
45:48
And instead of you experiencing that, Christ, the Son of God
45:52
gets on that cross and drinks every drop of judgment that was
45:58
aimed for you. And as he hung there, suspended
46:02
between heaven and earth, because of his person, because
46:07
of who he is, he satisfied the righteous demands of God.
46:13
But he didn't remain on that cross.
46:14
He was buried. And he didn't remain buried, He
46:16
rose again. Do you realize what it means for
46:19
Jesus Christ to rise from the dead?
46:22
Jesus Christ rose from the dead as a signal of God the Father's
46:27
Amen for His sacrifice. I approve that this sacrifice
46:33
satisfies my wrath, and Christ ascends into heaven in victory.
46:38
He is today seated at the right hand of God, and one day He is
46:42
coming back. Are you ready to meet Him?
46:47
How Are you ready to meet Him? Here's the gospel than realizing
46:51
what Christ has done for your sin, you humbly realize that you
46:56
are the Sinner, that your sin place them on the cross.
46:59
But you also recognize that he made a payment for you.
47:01
And so you say, if this is what my sin has done, I repent from
47:05
it. And if he has purchased my
47:07
forgiveness, I receive it. So you receive a gift.
47:12
You embrace this gift. And now upon that confession,
47:17
the Bible tells us that you are in that moment justified in the
47:21
sight of God, made perfect in the sight of God, becoming a
47:25
child of God, not just a forgiven fugitive, but a friend,
47:33
become a son, a daughter. And this Jesus who died for you
47:38
now can claim you. And after you confess that after
47:44
you. If you're sitting here today and
47:45
you've never made that confession, listen to me very
47:47
carefully. If you make that confession and
47:50
say I'm a Sinner and I repent and I believe that this Jesus
47:54
Christ of Nazareth is indeed God who came in his love to rescue
47:58
me from my sin. In my judgment, the moment you
48:01
make that confession, you will know something of a supernatural
48:04
transaction where there's a burden that's rolled off your
48:07
shoulder and your heart now is changed and there is a deposit
48:10
of new affections. And then now the same God who
48:15
saves you indwells you by His Spirit, and he walks with you
48:20
day by day on this journey of transforming you and chiseling
48:26
you and convicting you and comforting you so that you can
48:30
look more and more like Him. Until the day he calls you home
48:33
and he says the journey is now done.
48:35
Let's make you like me forever. Have you made a conscious
48:41
decision where you have bend the knee and accepted this Jesus
48:45
Christ as your Lord and Savior? If you have not, give me the
48:50
reason why. Like persuade me why you think
48:53
this is not good. Tell me what's better than
48:57
knowing that the God who made you, who could have easily
49:00
judged you and been totally justified in doing so, instead
49:03
wants you, and so he pays a high price to save you?
49:10
You're going to tell me today that you're going to swat away
49:12
that invitation. That's remarkable to me.
49:17
So today I want to give you the invitation, an invitation unlike
49:21
any other invitation that if you accept, it doesn't matter what
49:24
else you experience in this life, you have reached the
49:26
treasure of all treasures. You've reached the joy of all
49:29
joys. Repent and belief in this moment
49:35
right now. In God's Providence, he allowed
49:37
you to come to this conference this year, on this night, more
49:41
importantly, to hear the gospel and for you to be saved.
49:47
I'm making an invitation for you to give your life to Jesus
49:50
Christ. So what does it take?
49:52
What does it take for me? Here's what I'm telling you.
49:54
You acknowledge your sin and you give that sin over in
49:57
repentance. And you say, Lord, now forgive
49:59
me, please forgive me and he will forgive you.
50:03
You don't need to jump through any other hoop.
50:05
You need to memorize a certain decree or or creed.
50:09
It's just you hearing this truth.
50:11
I understand that comes from this book and then you
50:13
responding to it and listen to this.
50:15
I'm ending it here. If you refuse to respond to it
50:18
and remain neutral in your own mind, you've already responded
50:21
to it. You've rejected it.
50:24
I have nothing personally to gain for you to say yes to
50:26
Christ. You have everything to gain and
50:28
everything to lose. I don't.
50:30
I like like we don't keep a scorecard at our church.
50:35
We don't go and figure out who made a superficial answer.
50:38
In fact, many times when people come to Christ, we don't ever
50:39
realize that until months or years later.
50:42
What's mattering more is your name being written in the Lamb's
50:45
book of life. That's what matters more than
50:47
anything else. This is listen, this is between
50:50
you and God. This is not between you and
50:52
Maranatha Conference and Jesus. It's you and Jesus Christ,
50:56
believer, I'm going to make this invitation as I make an
50:59
invitation for people who are lost to be saved.
51:01
Would you take those little snippets of Paul's affection to
51:03
say, Lord, widen my heart. Let me leave Maranatha 2024 with
51:08
a greater set of affections for you, your people, and everything
51:12
in between. Let's bow our heads and thank
51:13
the Lord. Lord, we thank you for this
51:21
evening. We thank you that you've allowed
51:23
us to come, not just to receive from your word, instruction and
51:26
guidance and insight, but Lord, you've allowed us to be
51:29
refreshed by the gospel itself. And so we just pray even now
51:33
that for the person here who has maybe heard this 100 times or
51:36
maybe for the first time, we ask that they would not ignore the
51:40
conviction that may be in their hearts.
51:42
Instead, Lord, we pray that this would be the moment that they
51:44
would give their lives over to the one who gave them life to
51:47
begin with. We pray, Lord, for every other
51:49
believer here, understanding that we might be weary in the
51:52
flesh, but give us enough energy now to simply speak to you and
51:56
say, Lord, sanctify me completely.
51:59
There's any corner of my life that needs to be conformed to
52:01
you. Please, Lord, if I love the
52:04
world in a degree, in a way that is not right and befitting of
52:07
me, Lord, change that love for a love for you and the things of
52:10
God. I cannot do what you've called
52:13
me to do unless you change my desires.
52:15
So, Lord, I come to you, the God of peace, and I ask that you
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sanctify me completely. We ask these things in the
52:21
mighty, glorious living name of Jesus Christ, Amen and Amen.
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If you need to give your life to Jesus Christ, I will be standing
52:34
there. If you want to do that on your
52:36
own, good. You don't have to go through any
52:38
person. You can go directly to him, but
52:40
if you need questions answered, if you need prayer for specific
52:44
things, whatever it may be to help assist you to come closer
52:47
to him. It would be my great privilege
52:49
and honor to help you come a little closer to the Savior.
52:53
I'll be standing right there and the praise team will be singing.
52:56
Believers sing, pray, seek the Lord, thank him, and God will be
53:01
glorified. Let's do it.
53:02
Thank you, praise team. Amazing Grace, how sweet the
53:32
sound. I save the Reds like we I was
53:44
was lost but I was fine. But now I see Twas grace.
53:58
Twas grace that taught my heart fear and raise my fears.
54:09
Really I should say that I grace to fear me.
54:23
I I first feel me. My chains are gone, my chains
54:29
are gone. I've been saved.
54:35
My God, my Savior has where I saw me and light up his mercy
54:49
reigns my landing hands. Amazing race
55:11
the world has come it is good to me.
55:18
Here's where my home secures here and am my sheep and person
55:34
as long as life is my chains are gone, I've been to every night.
55:49
God my Savior has ransomed me and I come on.
55:59
His mercy reigns on everything. Amazing Grace.
56:09
My chains are gone, my chains are gone, I've been set free.
56:18
My God, my save gone has rest on me, and my God the His mercy
56:32
makes unending love amazing ways.
56:43
The earth shall soon the earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
56:52
the sun for bear to shine by. God, who called will be forever
57:17
will you will be forever. You are mine.
57:25
You are forever. Do you remember when you were
57:39
born again? Do you remember when you were
57:41
born again? Yeah, I remember.
57:42
Do you remember when you were born again?
57:43
Do you remember? I remember when I was born
57:45
again? Yeah, I remember.
57:48
I was 20 years old, a college student studying creative
57:51
advertising in Toronto, ON. And what led me to Christ was
57:56
the misery of my sin. Unhinged.
58:00
No parental supervision. My parents are here, but they
58:02
know the story already. Unhinged.
58:06
And I thought, this is what I've been missing out on.
58:11
And so I splurged in the flesh. But I praise God that I didn't
58:15
have to wait until my 40s or 50s to have a midlife crisis.
58:21
I experienced it at 20 when I realized very early on the world
58:26
lied to me. It lied to me and I just saw the
58:31
rat race I was in and I saw how the chains were only getting
58:35
stronger and tighter around me. This world that promised me
58:39
freedom and liberty and joy deceived me because I'm more
58:44
bound than ever. I'm more empty than ever.
58:48
I'm more confused than ever and praise God because of my
58:53
upbringing. In that dark place, I saw a
58:56
flickering light. It was the name of Jesus.
59:01
And I told myself, you know what, let's see if what I
59:05
thought was actually lying to me all my life growing up in the
59:08
church is actually true. And so I began to read my Bible
59:13
in the year of 2012 as a New Year's resolution.
59:17
And as I was reading it, mind you, I didn't know how to read
59:19
it. I don't know where to read it.
59:20
So I googled it, how to read the Bible, and I still have the Word
59:24
document told me to go to the Gospel of Mark.
59:27
So I read Mark and I remember my advertising journal that our
59:31
teachers told us to always carry In case you have any spontaneous
59:34
ideas for a brand that you're working with, you need to jot it
59:37
down. Your brain might forget, but
59:39
paper doesn't forget. And so all these little
59:42
caricatures and all these different ideas and slogans
59:45
began to be replaced with verses from Mark saying, that's me.
59:50
And one of the ones that struck me, one of the ones that shot
59:52
out of that page like an arrow right into my soul, was when
59:55
Jesus looked at the Pharisees and he says, you honor me with
59:57
your lips, but your hearts are far from me.
1:00:01
And so that's me. And I had such a difficulty
1:00:05
grasping how a guy like me claiming to be a Christian can
1:00:10
actually converse me, even pray. I couldn't even pray because I
1:00:13
was like, I've been misrepresenting you for so many
1:00:15
years. Do you actually want to deal
1:00:18
with me? And so I remember one of the
1:00:21
verses that I put on a post note and I put it above my laptop.
1:00:24
This is still on my journey discovering who Christ is.
1:00:26
We're in Romans 8 when we're told that therefore there is now
1:00:28
no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus and men that
1:00:31
I rehearse that when doubts try to creep it, I would just look
1:00:34
up and read that verse. And so finally the love of Jesus
1:00:38
Christ was persuading me and wooing me.
1:00:41
And then there was one particular long weekend where I
1:00:43
sensed it in my heart. There was no audible voice.
1:00:46
There was no manifestation of any kind.
1:00:48
It was just the crevice of my soul, the conscience that God
1:00:52
has given us. Where I heard this thought, you
1:00:54
cannot merely appreciate me, you must follow me.
1:01:00
You cannot merely admire me, You must make a decision to
1:01:04
surrender to me. And in that particular long
1:01:06
weekend, my, my roommate was not there in that apartment and I
1:01:10
made a decision. Lord, I've tried the world.
1:01:13
It has failed me. I tried to do the, the worldly
1:01:16
Christianity. You know, we have a little bit
1:01:17
of this and from time to time you get a little bit of that.
1:01:20
I'm I'm sold. And if you're willing to forgive
1:01:23
me, then I receive that forgiveness.
1:01:24
I don't just want forgiveness, though.
1:01:25
I want your Lordship take over my life.
1:01:29
It was a lot less sophisticated than how I explained it just
1:01:31
now. It is more snotty.
1:01:37
Can I tell you something? No altar call, no beautiful
1:01:41
music, no speaker. Just an apartment in January,
1:01:47
beginning of February, with a Bible and IKEA desk, with a
1:01:51
cheap lamp and a leather chair. But the presence of God flooding
1:01:58
that room, I was born again. How are you born again?
1:02:04
Can I tell you how? When I woke up everything was
1:02:08
different. I mean everything.
1:02:10
I mean everything. Like the snow looked different,
1:02:13
the air smelt different. More importantly, sin looked
1:02:18
different. That's how I knew that was it.
1:02:21
That's how I knew. So the thing that I try to
1:02:23
justify and argue and enjoy now, it was repulsive to me.
1:02:26
I don't want this. I don't want this.
1:02:29
I want him. I want to be holy.
1:02:32
If he saved me, then I want to live for him.
1:02:37
So nobody needed to tell me, read your Bible.
1:02:39
I wanted to read my Bible. Nobody told me you need to pray.
1:02:44
I wanted to pray. Nobody told me.
1:02:46
Delete the junk on your playlist.
1:02:48
I wanted to delete the junk and what I was watching and
1:02:50
listening to. Why?
1:02:52
Because when He saves you, he changes your affections.
1:02:56
He changes your. It's supernatural, man.
1:02:58
This is not you signing up to go to church every Sunday.
1:03:01
This is you dying and then coming to life in Christ.
1:03:07
How do I know if I'm born again? You'll know, you'll know.
1:03:11
And if you don't know if you're born again, I would not waste a
1:03:13
moment questioning it. I would try to figure it out as
1:03:18
soon as possible. And one way you know you're born
1:03:21
again is not only do you have a new relationship with Christ,
1:03:24
you have a new relationship with sin.
1:03:28
So I want to pray in closing that for all the born again
1:03:31
people in this place who have their own stories, that the Lord
1:03:34
would rekindle your affections and grow those affections for
1:03:38
the person who is not born again.
1:03:40
I'm going to pray that the Lord and his goodness would haunt you
1:03:44
with conviction. Well, I remember I prayed that
1:03:47
for a guy. We were out evangelizing.
1:03:49
There was a group of guy and he was a little intoxicated.
1:03:53
And so I prayed and I said, Lord, I never said those words
1:03:55
before. I said, Lord, I pray that you
1:03:56
haunt him with conviction. And he stopped me, says, why
1:03:59
would you pray for God to haunt me with conviction, man?
1:04:04
I said, it's a good thing. Don't worry.
1:04:07
I'm going to pray sincerely. I don't want to be too
1:04:09
lighthearted about this. I'm going to pray that God in
1:04:12
his power and that I pray, we all pray this, that if there's
1:04:15
anybody in here who's not saved, that it would be very difficult
1:04:17
for them to remain unsaved. Amen.
1:04:20
Can we pray, rejoice, let's pray.
1:04:21
Lord, we thank you for reminding us that when you saved us,
1:04:25
you're not done with us. You want to change us over and
1:04:27
over. So Lord, we pray that we would
1:04:30
have this passion to see our lives conform to Christ even in
1:04:34
the parts that we didn't think you cared about.
1:04:37
But Lord, we also pray for the person here.
1:04:38
We as believers come together and we pray for the soul of the
1:04:42
one or the ones who don't know you.
1:04:43
Lord, we pray that you do something miraculous in them and
1:04:47
that Lord, they would not leave this campground, they would not
1:04:50
leave this state, they would not go back home the same.
1:04:53
We've done our part, we've sang, we've prayed, we've preached.
1:04:56
But Lord, we commit the supernatural to you, and we ask
1:04:59
that you would do it. And whether we hear it on this
1:05:01
side of heaven or not, we pray that these souls would be met in
1:05:05
heaven and that we would be able to recognize that from Maranatha
1:05:07
2024 you did a work that glorified you.
1:05:12
So we love you and we thank you for this evening.
1:05:14
We bless your name in Jesus name, Amen, and Amen and Amen.
1:05:17
You may be seated for a moment as you receive some instructions
1:05:20
for the rest of this evening.