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Following God's Plans: 2 Corinthians 2-3 · Living Waters of Grace / Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland Sunday Services

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Morning. So Terry, Terry, she's not here.
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She's in the other room. I was just wondering when you're
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going to do that for the guys. You know, we feel outnumbered,
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right? But anyway, boy, what an amazing
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morning. I'm just got a sense of God's
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presence today, like I don't think I've ever sensed before.
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There's a ton of people in Washington, DC praying right now
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as we speak for our nation. There's born again believers
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that serve in our government and they're crying out to God to
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rededicate our nation to once again understand that we are one
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nation under God. That's huge.
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I've been on this planet for a good many years and have been
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watching what happens in our nation's capital, and I don't
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remember any other time that this has ever happened.
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Does any of you guys ever remember anything like this?
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Yeah. George Washington.
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That's that was it, huh? Wow.
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That's a long time coming, right?
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Wow. That's that's pretty
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embarrassing. But anyway, we're as a nation
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endeavoring to get back on track.
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Franklin Graham will be one of the speakers there.
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I know he's a real blessing. He'll bring the gospel.
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Mark Rubio is a on fire servant of God.
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If you heard his testimony, it's amazing he he doesn't.
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He's not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, that's for sure.
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So we need more people like that as we pray for our nation and
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pray someone saying Amen over there.
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And what, what's interesting about this event too, because I,
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I just looked over you, brother, you know, Bishop Baron speaking
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there. You know, he's one of the big
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speakers and he's a Catholic Bishop, right?
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Born again Catholic Bishop. And it's, it's an enter
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denominational meeting of prayer of people from all backgrounds
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of Christian community. And we need that too, to
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understand that we, we need each other in these last days to
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stand for the Lord. And so pray for these guys.
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Thank God for for their stand for the gospel and their concern
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for our country. And also I'd like you guys to
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pray for there's nine of us that will be at the Pastors
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Conference tomorrow in Philly. It'll be probably around 2000 of
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us down there seeking the Lord to be re energized and
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rededicate our own lives to the ministry and the calling of
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God's given us. And there'll be people from all
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ages, all ethnic backgrounds, all different countries will be
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missionaries there. Some of our missionaries will be
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there. I believe the Marquis will be
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there and the Belmont and Hope and her husband from Chile that
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we support. So we'll see them there and
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it'll just be a wonderful time. So pray for the speakers, pray
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for those of us who are attending that our hearts will
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be opened and it will come back changed and be deeper, deeper
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with the Lord. That's the whole purpose of
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these of these conferences. It'll be 94° down there tomorrow
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in Philly. Well, that's going to be hot.
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And we eat outside. They have like tents and they'll
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have, we'll be suffering having steak and you know, baked potato
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and all this stuff and in the heat.
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So pray for us while we're eating really good food and 94°
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temperatures. But anyway, we are in the book
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of Second Corinthians. If you have your Bibles turn
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there this morning. We finished up last time at 2nd
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Corinthians chapter 2 and we're going to look at verses 12 to
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the end of the chapter. And then we're going to look at
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the 1st 6 verses of chapter 3 this morning.
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So let's pray. Father God, we thank you so much
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and we we unite our hearts with those in Washington and all of
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our country today that understand the significance of
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rededicating. This nation is 250 years old
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this year. So many events that are going to
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happen to celebrate the freedom we have in the greatest country
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in the world, United States of America.
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And Lord, we pray for those who are working so hard to keep the
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truth of this land shining like a bright light throughout the
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midst of a very, very Dark World.
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Lord, we understand that with the freedom we have here, so
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different than what people experience in the Soviet Union
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and China, Iran, Iraq, all the Mideast countries, the 10:40
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window in India and Pakistan and what's happening, Lord, in
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Africa and this Lord, we, we take it for granted.
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I think I know I do at times. We have all this freedom to
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worship you and to talk about you.
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And then there's places in the world that are persecuting
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people like us just for telling people about what Jesus has done
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for us, where we think about the man and Ireland, Lord and
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Dublin, this on the streets sharing John 316.
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He was arrested and fined. This simple message of God's
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love. And so, God, help us in these
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days, help us to have a biblical worldview, to understand what
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the Bible says about your desire for this nation and your desire
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for this world, this creation that you've made, that we would
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turn back to you, that we would get saved, that we would become
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born again. Nothing changes until our hearts
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change. And then only comes by the work
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of the Holy Spirit when we're born again.
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No other way, Lord, not through legalism, not through guilt
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trips, but by your grace and by your love.
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So, Lord Goddess, this morning as we share your word together,
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may you feed us your sheep. We need to be fed.
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We want to be fed. We want to become a little bit
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more like you today than we were yesterday, and we know that's
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Your will as well. We love you, Lord, and we're
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thankful for Your great love for us as we sang over and over and
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over again. How great is our God and how
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truly that affirms what it is we're all to exemplify every day
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of our life, understanding Your greatness and all the many
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blessings you've bestowed upon us individually and as our
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families and as a nation. And we pray all these things in
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Jesus name, Amen. OK, we are going to pick it up
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here in verse 12. Let me read and then we'll make
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some comments. Furthermore, when I came to
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Troas, this is Paul speaking about his missionary journey to
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preach Christ's gospel, and the door was opened to me by the
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Lord. I had no rest in my spirit
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because I did not find Titus my brother, but taking my leave of
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them, I departed from Macedonia. So here's Paul and I, I love how
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the Bible is so down to earth because it shares real life and
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struggles that that we can have as as human beings.
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And here's Paul in this particular instance talking
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about the privilege he had and the door that was open to share
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the gospel in this community of Troas.
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And because his partner and his Co labor wasn't there, he didn't
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have the confidence or sense that he should continue without
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the help of of Titus O. I'm sure that had to discourage
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him. He's all excited about the
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opportunity and he doesn't know where Titus is and he's not
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going to do anything without him.
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It goes to show that ministry is a team effort.
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It isn't a one man show. And Paul never wanted to do
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anything in his own strength, let alone by himself.
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He wanted to do it with his band of brothers like we do here at
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Calvary Chapel Westmoreland. We do everything as a team of
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men and women of God. We work together for the same
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purpose, following our only leader, and that's Jesus Christ.
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So you may be in a situation right now in your life where
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things maybe aren't working out exactly the way you want them to
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work out. Situations aren't occurring the
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way maybe you're praying right now.
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It could be a job issue, could be a financial issue, could be a
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relationship issue, could be a health issue.
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It could be a number of things that you're asking God to
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intervene. And many times God will
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intervene, and sometimes he interviews very, very quickly,
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but he moves and acts after the counsel of his own will, not my
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will or your will. And many times in the
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adversities of life and the difficulties of life, those are
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allowed and used by God to make us realize how much we need the
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Lord, humbles us, gets us on our face before the Lord, and we
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finally say to him, Lord, I can't do this without you.
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I don't see a way out of this without you.
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I need you, Lord, more than ever in my life because of this
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particular thing that might be causing concern in your life.
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And Paul had this awareness because of his experiences
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walking with the Lord for years, that God is always faithful.
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He never forsakes us. He never let's us down that you
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might say, well, he's letting me down because this didn't happen
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or that didn't happen. You can think that way as a
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human intellectually, but God's sovereign and there's nothing
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happening in your life today that he isn't part of or
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allowing to occur. And that's that takes a lot of
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depths of understanding in regard to who God is, his
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attributes, his faithfulness to be able to have that trust that
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can't be demolished or can't be circumvented or minimized.
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You, you have this deep interior understanding that no matter
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what he's going to come through for you in the way that he knows
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it's best for you. So Paul goes into this verse in
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verse 14 here he says, and this just shows how he believes his
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faith. He says now thanks be to God who
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always leads us in triumph in Christ.
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He doesn't say thanks be to God who may sometimes lead us in
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triumph. He says he always leads us in
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triumph in Christ and through US diffuses the fragrance of his
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knowledge in every place. So Paul had this complete trust
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and awareness that God is in control and that he's already
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working from a place of victory, not defeat.
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So that's where we all are as Christians, even though we're in
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a world that's in chaos at times and and all kind of difficult
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situations arise. The victory was one for US
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against the evil. 1 When Jesus died on the cross and rose
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again, what Jesus did at that crucifixion, that tells us in
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Colossians he spoiled the power of the principalities and powers
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and rulers of darkness of this world.
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So those things are still working in the world, but they
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don't have dominant ability to control anything.
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Only what you allow them to control is you yield.
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Unfortunately, at times that maybe things that you shouldn't
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yield to and you end up in trouble because of that.
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Spiritually speaking, sin issues in our lives, but if we're
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walking with the Lord, even in the aging process and the body
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deteriorating and different things occurring in our lives
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that we never anticipated, we have a hope that's eternal and
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we have a life that's promised that will never end.
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This is a short time here, 7080 years maybe, if we're fortunate,
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But then we're out of here and we get a brand new body that'll
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be no more suffering, no more sickness, no more disease, no
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more persecution, no more martyrdom.
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All these things will be be dealt with.
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But Paul's living in a time where Christians are being
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martyred, where Christians are being persecuted, and he's
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working through this all the time, every day in his ministry.
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But he has this assurance that Christ is the victor and we're
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triumphant as we identify ourselves with him.
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And what happens to whenever we live that way.
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And when Paul lived this way, whenever he was around people,
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he diffused this fragrance of like, wow, how can he be this
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way? How can he live this way?
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I want to be like that. I want to be able to to go
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through adversity and difficulties and challenges with
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this kind of confidence and this kind of positive mindset that
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the Lord's he's everything's OK and I don't have to be shaken.
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And because of the Holy Spirit's power in Paul's life, in your
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life and my life. And we wanted to be more evident
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is that whenever we're sharing our faith or living our lives,
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people will be around us and they'll marvel at the fragrance
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of, of the goodness and the presence and the love and the
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power of God, the joy of God coming off of our lives.
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And we, we don't make this happen.
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This is a supernatural outpouring of God who lives in
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US, Jesus who lives in US, right?
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It's his life that lives in US, and it's his life that lives
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through us. And when his life lives through
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us, we are living a supernatural kind of existence.
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When Jesus said I've come that you might have life and you
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might have it more abundantly, this, that this wasn't a phrase.
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That was the reality that he said, if you have me, if you
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have Christ, if you have my life, then you have life.
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If you don't have Christ, you don't really have life.
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And I touched on this last week a little bit.
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You're living, you're existing, but you're really not living
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until you have the life of Christ in you.
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And all of you here today who have experienced being born
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again, you know the difference between what your life was like
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before you were saved and before you were born again, how you
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responded to life, how you reacted to situations, and how
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you act now because Christ is in you.
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It's, it's incredible and it's his grace, it's his power and
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it's his life in US and through US.
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And so wherever you go, and I'm sure at times people will maybe
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say to you, you know, something different about you or you, how
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do you get through this? Or you got this illness thing
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and you, you don't seem like it's, it's bothering you that
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much. What is, what's making you like
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live this way? And then you have a chance to
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tell him it's Christ Jesus is in you and you give him the glory.
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And whenever you're proclaiming the goodness of God in the land
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of the living, it impacts everyone around you who who
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hears you. And you look for these
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opportunities as Paul did, because this is an evangelist
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here, his ministry. Where can I go to tell people
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about what Jesus did for me? That's simple, isn't it?
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Who can I talk to about what Christ has done for me?
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And I'm sure you're probably like me, You have a lot of
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people you care about, and you think about your family, your
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neighbors, your coworkers, whoever it is that you run into
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at a store or whatever. You see people's lives and many,
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many are obviously broken. Like how can I get this
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conversation going into this direction to tell them about who
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Jesus is and whenever the fragrance is on you and coming
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out of you, you're sort of irresistible, even though maybe
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some people don't want to hear it.
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They're like, I mean, I'm curious.
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I'm intrigued about what makes you tick, What makes you, how
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you, how you wired. I was on the phone with a
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business conversation 2 days ago.
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Second time I've talked to this guy about an arrangement we may
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be doing together. And in in my industry, the
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industry I'm in, one of the words that's used the most is
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the F word. I don't know what it is about
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guys, but they think the more they say that word in sentences
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a more macho they are. And you know, and, and I'm like,
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OK, you know, whatever, you know, they don't hear me talking
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that way. And they're probably like, why
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isn't this guy saying that stuff?
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Why isn't he talking that way? And so as we're as we're talking
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this guy, I think he only used it one time.
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So the Holy Spirit was maybe like Clark's a little different
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here. This isn't really rolling really
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good with him this kind of conversation.
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So we began to get the talk about success in business and I
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was telling him about all the Lord has done for me and the
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things I've accomplished in my life.
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I I know it's because of Jesus and I give all the glory to him
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and he's just listening and it's ironic.
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You know what he says, this guy's part Jewish and part
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Protestant. His his dad was a Russian Jew
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and his mom was, I think Methodist or something.
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He says, well, he says I'm, I'm, I'm sort of seeking right now.
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He said, I have mansions, I have fancy cars, I have watches, I
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have all this stuff and it doesn't satisfy me anymore.
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And I said, you know, it's ironic you say that because
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Jesus said a man's life does not consist and the abundance of the
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things he possesses, it's, it doesn't fill you up.
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And he says, yeah, this, there's this thing in my soul that's
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empty and it's dry and it, it's, it's meaningless.
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And all my family, we live on Long Island, we have this
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affluent lifestyle and, and it doesn't do it for me anymore.
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And he says, I'm in a workbook right now and I'm studying about
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Jesus and why I need Jesus and how can I follow Jesus?
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So all of a sudden the conversation went that way.
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Isn't that amazing? And so I told him I'd be praying
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for him about his situation, what he's considering.
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I said whether we work together or not is immaterial.
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What the reason we actually got together was to have this
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conversation today. And that'll continue with this
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guy 'cause he's, he's very open another situation.
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And I'm just sharing these things because sometimes I get
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it right and other times I miss the opportunity, right?
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God gives you a layup, a real simple layup to be able to tell
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someone about him. And you miss it sometimes, don't
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you Kasin as many layups as you've done, then you got one in
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the net. Sometimes you think, spiritually
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speaking, I missed that opportunity.
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But God doesn't condemn us. There's always these new
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opportunities, right? But there's this Hawaiian guy I
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work with in San Francisco and I've reached out and had a
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relationship with him. I met him in Spain when I was
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there and, and we connected and, and he just resigned.
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He's taking a job with someone else and, and he sent me this
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really nice like note about the impact that I had made on his
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life and how I showed that I cared about him and no one was
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forcing me to do this. This is the stuff we do as
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Christians, right? We care for people, we love
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people and we want to have a relationship with people.
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And so you never know what God will do.
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And he writes us like amazing story about, you know, our
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friendship. And so I called him up the next
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day to talk to him personally about what he was dealing with
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and he sent me a picture of his beautiful kids and his wife.
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And he was saying he, he uses mahalo and all those, you know,
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Hawaiian kind of religion comments and that.
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And, and I said, well, I'll be, I'll be praying for you for the
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future, which goes on. And I said, matter of fact, let
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me pray for you now. So I prayed for him and there
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was dead silence and he, and you could tell he was choking up.
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Isn't that the Lord? But he says that that prayer
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really touched my heart, you know, and then the guy, another
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Christian guy I work with, I told him because he had been
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praying for this guy. He, he sent him a text and he,
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he told me he was praying for him.
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And then yesterday he, he was all excited.
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He says, I got that new job and thank you guys for praying.
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And we'll stay in touch, right? These are providential
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opportunities. And so this is the fragrance
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that we're supposed to be. Giving out now sometimes that
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fragrance is really strong in my life and then other times, like
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Cindy will tell me she's I stink, right?
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She says, you know, I'm blowing it right, right.
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The person I love the most, I blow it the most with right.
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So it's good, good days and bad days, right?
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And all this journey of, of our of our experiences here with the
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Lord, but he says here we are to God the fragrance of Christ
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among those who are being saved. So most of you here are saved
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today, I trust. So everything is being said from
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the word and the preaching in that is smelling good.
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You, you like it, you feed on it.
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It's energizing. And among this fragrance also is
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is working among those who are perishing.
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To one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the
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other, the aroma of life leading to life.
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So when you're around unbelievers and you're sharing
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what it is you believe or what you love about Christ and what
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He's done for you, they don't like it, do they?
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They like, don't want to be around you.
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They find a way to change a conversation.
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If they see you again, they go the other way.
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They're just totally, totally turned off because what you're
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saying in their deep conscience, they know they don't understand
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what we understand, but they know there's more to life.
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There's a creator God, whether they want to deny him or believe
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in Him or not, they're going to have to stand before this
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Creator judge, and they're under the wrath of God until they come
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to faith in Christ. That's pretty intense.
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He that hath the Son hath life. He that does not have the Son of
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God hath not life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
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So in the conscience, in the back of the mind, after all the
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partying and all the wealth and all the experiences and all the
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stuff you try to fill yourself up with, you lay your head on
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the pillow at night and your conscience haunts you because
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you know you're not living the way you need to live.
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The Bible tells us in the Romans that we have this conscience and
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awareness of God. And so to us who are saved, we
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can't get enough of the word and worship and talking about Jesus.
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We love that. That's, that's our DNA now
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because of Christ and being born again.
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But if you're, you're not a Christian, it's, it's a turn off
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until you have your eyes open to realize.
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So Paul's talking about this and to to, he goes on to say, and
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who is sufficient for these things?
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In other words, like sufficiency is this idea of understanding
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from God's vantage point in Philippians 413.
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I can do all the things through Christ who strengthens me, and
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there's all things that are things that God's calling me to
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do and to live out. I can't say, well, I like
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keyboards, so I'm going to take over at the end of the service
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and play the keyboard. I say, Jesus, you know, as you
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said, I can do all things. I'll get up there.
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It's going to sound like a mess. That's not the thing that God
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has for me, right? But in regard to following the
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Lord, preaching the Word, doing my job, whatever, at times I'm
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overwhelmed, I'm intimidated. I know down deep inside I can't
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do any of this stuff apart from the enablement and strength of
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God. He's, he's my sufficiency.
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But what happens is when you're failing in your life, the answer
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is, where's the sufficiency at? Is your sufficiency Jesus, or is
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it yourself? I've talked to many people,
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especially guys when they're going through tough times and
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try to help him out and they'll, you know, I, I can handle this.
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I, I can, you hear that I can get through this.
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I can take care of it. I'll figure it out, right?
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That's just the normal issue of arrogance and pride that we we
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have versus I need help. Jesus, show me how to trust you
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more. Forgive me for my sin of
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rejecting you and trying to live my life without you.
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And that's really the conversation we have to have
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with people when they're broken. Are you getting tired of living
24:48
your life and your own strength? Are you realizing you can't do
24:52
this anymore and that you need God's help?
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And at that point in time, many people will say, yes, tell me
25:02
how. And then we get into the gospel
25:04
and that's how people become believers.
25:07
And that's, that's a wonderful thing, isn't it?
25:10
But this idea of sufficiency is really interesting because even
25:17
as a Christian, you can find yourself try to do stuff in your
25:21
own strength, in your job, in your career, in in some
25:25
insurmountable situation. And then someone will talk with
25:29
you and they'll say, well, let's pray about it.
25:32
And you're thinking, wow, why didn't I think of that this
25:37
whole time? You're trying to do it yourself.
25:39
And someone reminds you, let's pray and see what the Lord might
25:42
do. And of course, when we pray, God
25:45
does exceedingly, abundantly above whatever we could ask or
25:48
think according to his power that works in us, His power that
25:52
works. And it's not my power, not your
25:54
power, but his power that works in us.
25:59
I think of Jesus in John 15, five.
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He says I am the vine, you are the branches.
26:05
He that abides in me, he that lives in me, and my strength, my
26:09
sufficiency, will bear much fruit.
26:12
And then he says without me you can do nothing, right?
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How many times have you read that and agree with it?
26:18
Yeah, but how many times you try to do stuff without him?
26:23
I mean, the simlest thing, you're in the traffic jam and
26:27
it's driving you crazy and you wonder why, why the traffic
26:31
isn't moving and you're stressing and you're frustrated
26:34
and you're striving and you're trying to Google the quick way
26:37
out of the traffic jam to figure out like how you can get out of
26:40
it quicker. And instead of just like, OK,
26:42
Lord, you have me here right now in this traffic jam.
26:45
You're with me and I want to buy with you, and I want you to give
26:49
me that stability and that Peace of Mind that I can realize that
26:56
only through you while I get through this traffic jam, right?
27:00
Or an argument with your wife or your family or something,
27:05
relying either on your own wisdom, your own ability, or, or
27:08
just saying really upfront with Jesus, I can't deal with this, I
27:11
can't handle it. Help me, I need you.
27:15
Show me how to do this. Paul also talks about this verse
27:22
in Philippians 413. This is a powerful verse in
27:26
regard to Paul writes this because he had to personally
27:31
experience in himself in regard to his own journey in the
27:36
Christian life. And so everything Paul writes
27:39
he's he had to personally experience it with the Lord or
27:42
it wouldn't mean anything right. But he says this this idea of
27:49
the importance of of being able to that was the wrong reference
27:55
to to skip that one. But it says his strength is made
27:59
perfect in our weakness that the power of Christ may rest upon
28:04
us. So when I recognize my weakness
28:09
and you do too. The sufficiency is Jesus, and
28:15
that life of Christ is what causes us to be able to
28:20
persevere in the midst of challenging situations.
28:25
And then he says, for we are not as so many peddling the Word of
28:30
God, but as of sincerity, but as from God.
28:33
We speak in the sight of God and in Christ.
28:37
So we're not manipulating you through what it is we do here in
28:43
any given Sunday or Wednesday or any kind of time that we're
28:45
teaching the Word. We're teaching the word as it is
28:49
as a word of God. In truth, we're not adding
28:53
anything to it. We're not subtracting anything
28:55
to it. There's there's no agenda that
28:59
we have secretly in regard to what they would say.
29:05
Paul said here peddling the word of God.
29:07
And what was happening was at that time people would go around
29:10
to the churches and say, Paul's a friend of mine, he told me to
29:13
come here and speak. Well, they couldn't call or
29:15
e-mail and say, do you know who this person is?
29:17
They just assumed, OK, well, they had to have letters of
29:20
commendation recommending this person is a legitimate minister
29:25
or servant of the Lord and people could fraudulently fill
29:29
these forms out and, and give it to the elders of the church and
29:33
they would assume it was from Paul.
29:35
These things were happening, unfortunately.
29:38
And So what was going on at that time, the Judaizers and, and
29:42
this is the, the Jews that were upset because the gospel was
29:46
circumventing what they wanted to have as the focus, the law,
29:51
the 10 commandments externally trying to live the law with your
29:56
own strength externally to prove that you were a true Christian.
30:00
So they would mix legalism with grace and law with the gospel.
30:06
And people got confused and they got stumbled and they got, they
30:10
had problems. And what happened was when they
30:12
were there, they would get the people to give them money to do
30:18
their ministry. And so whenever the real
30:19
ministers came around, there was nothing left in the churches or
30:23
the offerings for the poor people in Jerusalem because
30:26
these false people peddling the word of God with wrong agendas
30:30
were in the on the area then. So in verse 1 of chapter 3 says,
30:35
do we begin again to commend ourselves?
30:37
Paul never went around bragging about himself.
30:41
The evidence of Paul's ministry was the impact it had on the
30:46
hearers of the word of God. The people's lives were changed
30:50
because of Jesus and getting saved and being born again.
30:54
So if someone said, well, how did you hear about the gospel or
30:58
how did you get taught the word of God?
30:59
Well, we were with Paul for a period of time and then this is
31:03
what happened because of what God gave him to teach us.
31:07
So Paul didn't need any kind of papers to commend themselves.
31:11
Or do we need some others epistles of commendation to you,
31:15
or letters of commendation from you?
31:18
You are epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all
31:21
men. Clearly.
31:23
You are the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not
31:27
with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tabled
31:31
tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.
31:36
And So what happens is when you get saved, like before I was a
31:42
Christian, and maybe you can relate to this.
31:44
I was in this church that told me that if I lived a good life
31:50
and I knew the 10 commandments, we had to memorize them in
31:52
Sunday school, then I would be OK.
31:57
Like God grades on a curve. So if my percentages were
32:00
higher, my success of the law, then I'd be OK.
32:04
Most of us thought that that was the gospel.
32:07
A lot of people, when you talk to them about the Gospel, well,
32:10
I'm pretty good. They'll say I'm Presbyterian or
32:12
I'm Catholic or I'm losing. You know, they, they they want
32:14
you to hear that and think, oh, yeah, you must be OK because you
32:17
go to that church instead of pursuing it even more.
32:21
Well, that's nice. You go there.
32:23
Who are you trusting in for your salvation?
32:26
Well, I'm, I'm a pretty good person.
32:28
That's what they'll always say, well, I'm not saying you're a
32:31
bad person, but you are a Sinner.
32:33
Do you know that? Well, everybody sins.
32:35
OK. Yeah.
32:36
Well, what does God do about your sin?
32:38
Does he just say it's OK and there's no big deal?
32:41
Do you need forgiven for your sin or how do you get forgiven
32:44
for your sin? What do you have to do?
32:46
And they sort of look at you like a deer in the headlight.
32:48
They'll say, well, I, I I give offerings.
32:51
I help little old ladies across the street.
32:53
I, I don't steal, I'm, I'm not bitter.
32:58
They'll give you this list of stuff that sort of wants you to
33:01
think that they're OK and they don't need Jesus.
33:04
But as you pursue it more, you know, and I love the guy that
33:08
does the, the preaching out in the streets with Kirk Cameron.
33:12
He he will always use the law not for salvation, but for
33:16
conviction of sin. And he'll just start.
33:19
Well, that's nice. You, you sounds like you are a
33:21
pretty good person. By the way, you know, we're on
33:24
the beach here in California. Some pretty cute girls here.
33:28
Do you ever look at them and lust at them?
33:30
Oh, well, Well, yeah. OK.
33:33
Well, it happens. If you look upon a woman with
33:36
lust in your heart, you've committed adultery.
33:38
So you're an adulterer. And the guys gets real big.
33:41
Have you ever hated anybody? Well, everybody has Some people,
33:45
they don't like you. I've hated what the Bible says.
33:47
If you have hatred in your heart, you've you've committed
33:50
murders, so you're a murderer. And then he just goes down.
33:53
All of a sudden you just see the gravity of the reality of the
33:57
word of God that convicts people of their sin.
34:01
And until you're convicted of your sin, what do you need to
34:04
get saved for? If you just go to church and
34:08
they got a nice happy message and everybody's OK, you're OK,
34:11
I'm OK. And then we just leave.
34:13
And we don't have any changed life.
34:14
We don't have any convictions about anything.
34:17
We don't have any kind of prayer life.
34:19
We don't have any kind of remorse or humility for the
34:23
things we've done against not any God, but against one
34:26
another. It's a mess, right?
34:29
And so that's why you drive down the highway and you see John 33
34:34
signs once in a while and of course you would know it.
34:36
You must be born again to enter into the Kingdom of heaven.
34:39
I wonder how many people drive down and then Google and say,
34:42
what's that verse say? And then they read it and then
34:45
they think, well, what does that verse mean?
34:49
And 2nd Corinthians 517, This is the power of John 33.
34:55
If any man is in Christ, he's a new creation.
35:00
Old things are passed away. Behold, all things have become
35:03
new. So I'm not intentionally wanting
35:07
to lust anymore. I'm not wanting to hate people
35:10
anymore. I'm not because Christ is in me
35:12
now. He's giving me a new nature.
35:14
I'm, I'm a child of God now and you are too.
35:17
And so we want to live like that.
35:19
We want to live to please the Lord.
35:21
We, we're, we're part of his family and, and the whole nature
35:25
now is changed. We were dead in sin and we get
35:28
saved. We're now alive in Christ.
35:30
And so all of a sudden our eyes are open and man are they open.
35:34
When you first come to Christ, everything you see, like, I
35:36
can't believe I used to live this way.
35:39
I can't believe I used to do this.
35:41
I, I can't believe I acted this way.
35:43
And just like it's overwhelming, but you got this new life and
35:47
God's mercy and his forgiveness. And until God does that work of
35:52
new birth in the heart, you're a legalist, you're in a church
35:57
maybe and you're judging someone because of the way they dress or
36:01
you're always criticizing people thinking that you're better than
36:05
them or, or you disdain certain people.
36:09
And you have these attitudes in your heart that are just
36:13
unchrist like and the and the real reality that you've really
36:17
been changed and that your life is made new is that you begin to
36:23
live like Jesus lived and the apostles and the disciples.
36:26
All the things we read about here and study every week are
36:32
for people like us and have a new nature.
36:34
Now we're learning to become more like Christ.
36:38
And if people show up here, watch online, whatever, that
36:40
don't know Jesus yet, through the teaching of the word, it
36:43
becomes obvious after a while, like I'm here, but I'm really
36:47
not here. I need to be like these people
36:51
here, like Jesus. And how does that happen?
36:55
And every week we give the opportunity, should you want to
36:58
pray, you don't have to come up front.
36:59
You can stay in your seat. Whatever.
37:01
You can just say as we take the communion, Lord, I need you to
37:08
save me from my sin. I'm at the end of myself and I
37:13
can't keep living the way I'm living.
37:16
I've destroyed too many people. I'm destroying myself and I'm
37:21
fearful of what will happen to me now if I die and I don't have
37:25
you. I know I'm guilty.
37:28
I know I'm worthy of hell. And I don't definitely don't
37:31
want to go to hell. And Jesus is the rescuer.
37:35
He's a deliverer. And he says, whosoever calls
37:39
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
37:43
He said, whosoever comes to me, I will no wise cast out meaning
37:47
I won't say no, I'll take him and her, but I won't take you.
37:52
No anybody that comes with a brokenness and an open heart and
37:56
says, Lord, please save me and forgive me in my sin.
38:01
I want to have this new birth. I want my life to be made brand
38:05
new. He'll do that for you like he
38:08
has for me and many others. So as we prepare our hearts for
38:12
the Lord's Supper, worship team is going to get a break today.
38:15
They don't have to come up because we're going to do
38:18
something different at the end. It's a surprise.
38:22
So if you're here, you're going to get a surprise.
38:25
Yeah. If you're not here, I'll tell
38:28
you about it. If you want to call me what
38:31
happened, you have to give me 10 bucks first, though.
38:34
No, I'm just kidding. Well, the Lord's Supper has been
38:41
given to us as a gift to break bread with Jesus.
38:46
We when we do this, we do it with Jesus and we do it with
38:49
each other, which is awesome, right?
38:53
And we're part of the body of Christ and we get this privilege
38:57
of, of breaking bread every time we gather with the Lord.
39:03
It's like Jesus is sitting up here in this chair.
39:06
He's, he's physical, He's sitting on the right hand of the
39:09
father right now, but he's also omnipresent.
39:12
So he's, he's with us completely, all of us here.
39:15
And he's omniscient. He knows everything about us and
39:19
he knows what needs to go in my life and, and what's OK right
39:22
now and what needs to change and what I need to surrender and
39:25
what I need to yield to. And this is a weekly process for
39:29
me. I'm sure it is for you because
39:31
every week I'm sort of thinking a little bit more about what
39:35
needs to change in me. And, and if I don't understand
39:40
that, like I say, I got a great wife that'll remind me of what
39:43
it is I need to work on still. That's a that's a good thing,
39:47
right? But anyway, it's also an
39:52
opportunity before you take the bread, break the bread and take
39:55
the bread and the, and the cup is if you're unsaved, you don't
39:59
need to take this because it's, it won't accomplish anything.
40:02
But if you commit your life to Jesus today.
40:06
And ask him to save you. This could be the first time you
40:09
ever had to have had a chance to have a meal with the Lord
40:13
physically present with us right now.
40:17
And then the warning too is always like if I'm not serious
40:21
in my life right now, I've gotten off track with the Lord
40:24
and maybe I'm sinning and I need I'm messed up right now and I
40:28
sort of lost my way didn't lose my salvation.
40:30
I've lost my way. I need help to get back on track
40:34
with God, right? That's an opportunity to don't
40:37
take this without getting back on track with God because
40:40
there's a judgment, taking it unworthily, not understanding
40:44
what this means, the Lord's Supper.
40:46
So let's take this together. Lord, we're thankful again for
40:50
the apostle Paul and breaking things down so simple for us to
40:54
understand how to live and follow you.
40:58
Lord, we do pray today for each other that, Lord, this would be
41:03
meaningful. This time together, breaking
41:05
bread with you and having supper with you right now, Lord,
41:10
remembering what you've done for us, what this represents, what
41:13
it is, Lord, as you said that night.
41:17
And Lord, we also think of those who might be here that have
41:21
never been born again. Lord, we can't make that happen.
41:25
That's a work of your Holy Spirit.
41:28
But Lord, if there's anyone here today that's convicted of their
41:31
sin and though they need to be saved, may the day be the day of
41:35
their salvation. May they just simply say, Lord,
41:39
I know the truth. I need you, Jesus, forgive me of
41:43
my sin and save me. You'll do that.
41:46
Lord, we thank you for that on the night that you.