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3 Questions to Ask Before the New Year | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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Well, I wonder what comes to mind when you think of the job
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description of a pastor. Preaching, teaching,
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evangelizing, studying, counseling, weddings, funerals,
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those are all very common word associations, But the Word of
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God outlines a much more profound description of what a
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minister does. And I want to give you a glimpse
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of that as we turn to 2nd Corinthians Chapter 11,
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beginning in verse one, and look at what the apostle Paul says to
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this group of believers in Corinth.
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I wish you would bear with me a little and a little foolishness.
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Do bear with me, for I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I
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betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to
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Christ. Can you imagine a pastor
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standing before a congregation and saying with total sincerity,
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I feel a divine jealousy for you?
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Paul did that unashamedly. And the reason why Paul could
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speak in this way is because the man felt what God felt for God's
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people. And in this case, he was
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overcome with righteous indignation because he learned
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that the Corinthian church was deviating from complete loyalty
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to Christ as they were being seduced by false teachers who
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were introducing to them a different Jesus.
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And so he writes with them. And it deeply pained the apostle
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because he was so zealous for the honor of God's name.
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And clearly what these Corinthians were doing was a
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dishonorable thing. But what's so interesting is
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that Paul further explains why he felt this divine jealousy,
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this passion for God, and how we relate to him and how we should
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relate to him. And he does this by describing
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his role in their lives as a minister.
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And it provides incredibly helpful insight to what every
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minister should aspire to. Notice what he says here.
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He says here, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present
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you as a pure virgin to Christ. So he uses the analogy of a
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romantic engagement to describe where he fits in all of this.
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And in the same way that a good father, after introducing his
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daughter to a man so that they would be married, Paul sees
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himself as a spiritual father, presiding and supervising and
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protecting the church, because he introduced the church to
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Christ and wants to keep them loyal to Christ until they meet
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Christ. You see that, right?
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Because upon salvation, whether you as an individual or a
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church, in that moment you metaphorically become engaged to
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the Lord. And the wedding day, that union,
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that consummation, so to speak, will be realized when we are
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with him forever and ever. But between those two phases,
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Paul sees the responsibility that he's been called to, not
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just to bring people to Christ, but to keep them fervent, pure,
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and devoted to Christ. So based on this, here's what I
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take in terms of what a pastor, what a minister, what a
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spiritual leader does is do everything that he can to ensure
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that the local church he overseas remains truly dedicated
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to the Lord Jesus Christ all the days of their lives.
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That's what a minister does and that's confirmed in another
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place. So turn with me to Philippians
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chapter 2 and he speaks to this group of believers and it
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confirms that awesome responsibility.
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Philippians 2 beginning in verse 14.
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Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be
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blameless and innocent children of God without blemish, in the
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midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine
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as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so
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that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in
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vain or labor in vain. So again Paul here.
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He has the day of Christ, which is just a way of saying the day
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of the return of Christ. He has the day of Christ when
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the church will meet the Lord in full view, and he tells this
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group of believers that I'm beckoning you to hold fast to
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the word of life so that when we all stand before the Lord, I
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will be evaluated in a commendable way for my
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leadership as Christ calls me to account.
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I'm calling you Philippians to remain steadfast and pure
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doctrine and loyal in your affections and in your character
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and in your holiness. Hold fast until that day.
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Don't give in, don't give up, don't deviate.
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I want to be able to stand before the law with a smile,
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knowing that my efforts for you were not wasted.
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So listen, a true spiritual leader is not only concerned
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about his walk with the Lord, he's also deeply invested in the
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people's relationship with the Lord.
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But how does this work? How does that flesh out?
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How does a leader guide a people in that way?
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Keep a people on that path. And I believe he does it in two
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ways. The first way is that he
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inspires them. The second way is that He
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instructs them. That's how you can summarize it.
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By inspire, I mean that he lives in such a manner that onlookers
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are compelled. They're compelled to live a more
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disciplined spiritual testimony filled way of life to the glory
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of God because what they see in that man is contagious and they
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see a model and they see an example and they see how God
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comes through and they see the blessings and they see the joy
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and they say the peace and they say I want that.
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So he inspires them, right? Just by his living, just by his
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living, by instruct, I mean what you know, that he regularly
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expounds the Word of God and he provides fresh insight into the
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Scriptures and he brings unashamedly reminders from the
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Word of God in order to stimulate and to nourish the
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faith of God's people. And notice how I placed
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inspiration before instruction. I didn't say that he instructs,
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then he inspires. I said purposefully that he
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inspires and then he instructs. And the reason why I say that is
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because that is the order of the duties that God gives to the
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minister. OK, I know we're going to
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different places, but I mean, I have to preach the Bible, right?
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So go to First Timothy 4 and look at verse 16.
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Notice what Paul tells Pastor Timothy who is the pastor of the
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Church of Ephesus at this time. He tells Pastor Tim, first
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Timothy 4 verse 16. Keep a close watch on yourself
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and on the teaching. Notice the order.
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He didn't say keep a close watch on your teaching and on
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yourself. He said no, no, no, your life
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before your sermons. And that is consistent
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throughout the New Testament, right?
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So you're supposed to 1st embody the message.
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It reminds me of Ezra where we're told there that he said
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it's hard to study the law of God and then teach it.
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No, no, no. It's just to study it, to do it
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and then teach it. This is what he's telling Pastor
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Tim. Dude, I don't know what's going
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on here, but don't let it distract you.
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Hopefully it's a good thing. Keep a close watch on yourself
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and on the doctor. And I heard of a pastor who
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sought to obey the spirit of this command by doing something
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every single night. At the end of each day, this man
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would ask himself a question before he would lay his head on
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that pillow. Today.
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Did I grow closer to the Lord or did I grow further away from
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Him? Now if that frequency of self
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evaluation was helpful to him, wonderful.
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Personally, that might be a little difficult to track
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progress at that pace, but it is much easier to look back on a
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full year and ask, did I grow closer to the Lord or did I grow
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further away? And with that being said, I am
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fully aware that there are some Christians who suffer from
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severe introspection, and that is not what I am suggesting.
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Neither am I promoting an obsessive focus on your
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shortcomings because that's not going to help you or anybody.
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But what I am referring to is a biblically informed
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self-assessment that can be extremely beneficial when done
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correctly and at the right time. And I want to take advantage of
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the fact that we are here on our final Sunday of this year, 2024,
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to ask some questions, to clarify the strength of our
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spirituality. I'm reminded of the words of the
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prophet Jeremiah in the book of Lamentations where he says there
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in Lamentations 340, you don't have to turn there.
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It's a very small verse. Let us test and examine our ways
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and return to the Lord. So the Bible promotes this idea
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of looking inwardly and asking a few questions.
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And the questions that I present to you today, funny enough, I
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thought I was going to do 10 of them.
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Then I thought, I know myself and we'll be here for a long
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time. So I dwindle it down to five.
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And I thought, still, we'll be here for a long time.
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So I thought, let's just keep it at 3 so it's digestible. 3 very
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important reflective questions that I pray will help each of us
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align more closely to the will of God.
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And I want you to view these inquiries as a way of doing
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personal spiritual inventory and that they would help you to
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strengthen areas where you might be weak and encourage you in
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areas where you are already faithful.
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So can we do that? It's going to be a different
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kind of message. I'm going to try to make that
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make this as practical as possible.
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Let's consider the first question together.
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OK, Ask yourself this as you reflect on this past year and as
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you're prepared to step into a new one.
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Number one, number one, am I stewarding God's gifts in my
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life? Am I stewarding well the gifts
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that God has given me? Main text number one, first
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Peter chapter 4, beginning in verse 10.
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I want to remind you that there is not one born again Christian
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who has not been uniquely gifted by the Lord.
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And Peter tells us this plainly when he says, as each has
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received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of
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God's varied grace. Whoever speaks as one who speaks
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oracles of God, whoever serves as one who serves by the
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strength that God supplies in order that in everything God may
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be glorified through Jesus Christ, to him be long glory and
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dominion, forever and ever. Amen.
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Here's how Paul echoes the same point in in first Corinthians
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chapter 12 verse seven, he says to each has been given a
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manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
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So notice Paul and Peter are the same saying the same thing not
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to some to each, to each has been given to each has been
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gifted to each of us. So there's not one blood bot
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Christian who has not been equipped by the Lord in a
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certain and unique way. And in Peter's case, he provides
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2 general categories of abilities that Christians will
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find themselves in. And you can summarize them in
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this way. Category number one is speaking
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gifts. Category #2 are serving gifts.
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Speaking gifts include preaching and teaching, words of wisdom,
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words of knowledge, right, etcetera.
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And, and they can also be seen as more public gifts.
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But then you have the serving gifts which, which are more
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hands on. They include administration,
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hospitality, charitable giving, acts of mercy, helping people in
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practical ways. You can also see that category
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of gifted giftedness as behind the scenes.
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So you got public and you got more private, or at least not as
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obvious. And it's often the behind the
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scenes gifts that make the public gifts more effective.
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But I'm not here to discuss the the different gifts of the
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Spirit or how we can identify them in each of us.
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Instead, I want us to focus on a phrase that we see here in verse
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10. He says use it to serve one
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another. For Peter to command that
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suggests that it's possibly the Christian who has been gifted
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and not exercise that gift. It can remain dormant in your
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life. And so that's why he says this.
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He says you you need to use it. Yeah, identifying it as one
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thing, but you can identify, you can know it very well.
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You can you can know a grace. You can be aware of things that
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when you do it, it blesses the church and still not implement
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it. So he says use it.
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And there's a very simple way of knowing whether or not you are
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using God's gifts in your life. Very simple.
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It is this. In what way am I serving fellow
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Christians? Just ask yourself that in what
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ways are my interactions with other Christians demanding of
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me? What is a pull from me?
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Where's the sacrifice? How am I helping?
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How am I assisting? How am I blessing others?
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And I want to say this in love. If you're here sitting and you
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can't identify that, again, I say this in love, you're not in
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the fullness of God's will. You're not.
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You're outside of it. You have to, you have to take
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this command not as a suggestion, but as it is, it's
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an exhortation. And what way am I touching other
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people, helping other people, investing in other people?
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And you know what always moves me about this particular set of
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instructions is the context of it.
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Look back at verse 7. It begins there, I believe.
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Look what Peter says. The end of all things is at
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hand. Therefore be self controlled and
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sober minded for the sake of your prayers.
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And then he continues on to verse 10 and 11.
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So understand this, that Peter's call for Christians to use their
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gifts in the church is given in light of the context of the
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second coming of Jesus. Meaning what?
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Here's what Peter's trying to say.
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When Christ returns, he wants to find us each faithfully serving
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one another. That's how Christ wants to find
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us. And so he wants the people to be
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ready as the end of all things is near.
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And one of the things that he says is use the gift that God
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has put in your life. Use it.
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And that's going to look different for each one of us.
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But I can assure you this that you don't need a title in the
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church or an official position to realize it.
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You don't. You know, when I was thinking
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about this last night, something came to my attention that you
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might think is strange, but my siblings will remember this.
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Even my parents might remember this, that when we were at our
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hometown in Canada, going to a church for a few years, there
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was one lady in that church, an elderly German woman, and we
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called her the Candy Lady. She was the candy Lady.
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Do you know why she always sat in probably the first two rows,
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always in the same spot, usually.
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And at the end of every service, she would find the children in
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the church. And she would do this with her
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hand, and she would summon all the kids.
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And then she would pull out a Kleenex and open it.
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And she had bright candy, different flavors of fruit,
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artificial, of course. And we were there, pick whatever
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we wanted. And she would ask us a couple of
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questions. Have you been good?
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Have you been? And we say, yeah, we just wanted
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the candy. We were kids, right?
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And we, we, we realized who she was early enough so that at the
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end of the service, the kids would hover around her and hope
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that she would summon us and not forget about us.
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I can't believe that I still remember this to this day
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because I know that it was before the age of 10 that we
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interacted with this woman. You're saying, why are you
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bringing up this lady? I'll tell you why.
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Because she didn't have a name tag, you know, with the church
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and her engraved initials. She didn't have that.
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And she didn't have her picture on the church website, you know,
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with a title like distributor of sweets.
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She didn't have any of that. You know what she did have,
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though? She had a consistent presence
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and mindfulness in the church, where she naturally developed a
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fragrance in the assembly. She carried an aroma with her in
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a way that left me still remembering her.
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See, you serving in the context of the church might look like
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this. It might look like you because
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you, you love encouraging people like it.
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It encourages you to encourage people.
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So maybe in 2025, you're going to put a list of names together
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and at least once a week you're going to text somebody and
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encourage them, or maybe even leave a voice message with a
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prayer or ask them, do you have a couple minutes?
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I know you're busy, but I just want to get on the phone and
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pray for whatever's on your heart and I'll hang up.
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And you do that consistently, that's what you're known for.
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Or maybe you're a person in here and, and you have an ability to
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put things together. And so you approach the
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leadership and you say, listen, if there's anybody that that
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needs help in their home, help with their cars, you, you let me
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know I'm the man for the job. And that's what you're known
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for. Or maybe a couples here,
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husbands and wives, you look at each other and you'll say, you
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know, let's every few weeks be intentional of inviting somebody
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from the church and let's just bless them with good food and
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and loving presents. Because hospitality is is not a
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duty that's exclusive to pastors.
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There's some of you here who are who are teachers in your own
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way. I mean, you love theology and
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you specialize and maybe apologetics.
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Have you ever considered praying about bringing a group of
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people, maybe meeting them at a coffee shop or at your home, and
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wanting to teach them maybe once every three weeks or two weeks,
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once a month or whatever. And I'm just going to pour into
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people and show them what I've learned about how to reach
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Jehovah's Witnesses, how to speak to Muslims, how to
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evangelize to a Mormon. The possibilities are endless.
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They're endless. And though the options vary,
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there is one option that is not available and that's to not do
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anything. Use it.
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And my prayer is that you would start this year on the right
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foot, that you would say, Lord, I want to be more strategic and
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intentional of doing what you've called me to do.
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And I don't need any accolades. I don't need nothing as long as
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people are blessed, as long as I'm serving someone lead me into
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that. I may be led by the Spirit, may
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be empowered by the Holy Spirit. And so this is what he says.
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And for those who have been serving, can I give you a word
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from the word? You don't have to turn there.
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But in Second Timothy 16, Paul tells this pastor for this
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reason, and Second Timothy 16, I'm remind you to fan into flame
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the gift of God, to fan into flame the gift of God which is
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in you through the laying on of my hands.
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You know what that tells me? That even Timothy, who was a
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disciple of Paul, the embers of his service and his devotion in
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the place of the past trip was growing cool.
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And he told him he's recognizing his saying, Pastor Timothy,
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you've been gifted to preach, you've been gifted to shepherd
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and you're losing your zeal, you're losing your hope, you're
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losing your faith, fanned it into flame, which tells me that
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I'm responsible for doing that. I'm responsible of recognizing
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that there is things in my life that I'm not doing now I have to
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do something about it. So fanning it to flame and you
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come before the Lord and you say, Lord, please do something
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in my heart. Let me get excited about this
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again. Again, let me be intentional.
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Let me let me want this again. Let it let it be effortless for
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me. And for this command to be given
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means that it's possible for God to do a work in US and to keep
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that fire strong. So here's question number one.
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Am I stewarding the gifts that God has given me well?
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Am I doing it well? Here's the second question.
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And I'm sure most of us saw this one coming.
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Am I growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ?
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This is how Peter ends his second epistle.
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But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior
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Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and
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to the day of eternity. Amen.
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You know what intrigues me the most about this verse is how
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Peter specifies the goal of growing in the grace of the
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Lord. Now we all understand growing in
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knowledge, right? That doesn't seem so mysterious.
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But what stands out to me is how he says growing in the grace.
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How do I grow in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ?
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Well, I think it helps to define what grace is.
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And in simple terms, it is God's undeserved favor.
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But Peter's not suggesting that you and I work hard to acquire
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more of God's grace because that's not how God's grace
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works. It's unreserved.
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It climax at the person of Jesus Christ coming and dying for us.
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So what does it mean to grow in this grace then?
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Here's what I believe Peter is saying by the Spirit, not to
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acquire more of it, but to become more aware of it, to
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experience it in a deeper level, to plunge further into the
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revelation of it. And he says, you can do this to
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the point where it transforms the way you worship and listen,
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the way you extend it to others. Grow in the grace of the Lord
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and Savior Jesus Christ. And you should rejoice with me
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because we are told exactly how we can advance in that.
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We're not left without instruction.
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And this is where I think the knowledge part comes in.
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This is how they work together. Meaning it's impossible for me
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to grow in the revelation of the grace of God in Christ without
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growing in my knowledge of who Christ is.
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So grow in the grace and the knowledge.
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You need the knowledge to get the grace.
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You can't do without it. You can't depend on experiences.
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You can't depend on people's personal testimonies.
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As wonderful as those things are, it is inseparable from this
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discipline. Knowledge, knowledge.
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And if you doubt that this is what fascinates me about the
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Bible, just the artistry of it, look at how Second Peter starts.
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So look at verse one of second Peter of chapter 1, particularly
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verse two. Look what Peter says.
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May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the
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knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
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Do you see it? How is grace and peace
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multiplied in my life? Knowledge.
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Knowledge has to be in the knowledge.
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And so this, this whole letter is sandwiched between the call
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for knowledge, the charge for knowledge.
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And This is why as a church we emphasize so much on biblical
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teaching, on taking the Word of God and presenting it in an
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understandable and passionate way.
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Why? Because that's where grace and
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peace will be multiplied in your life.
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That's where growth will be known in your life.
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It's not going to be known again in miracles.
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I believe that God could do miracles.
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It's not even known in in personal testimonies of how God
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has come through. As supplemental as those are, it
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can primarily come through the channel of His revelation.
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That's why we do this. That's why we do it more than
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once a week, because this is what brings the power in our
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lives. You can't have that growth.
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You can't have that multiplication of the virtues of
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the Spirit and His blessings without the knowledge.
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And I want to encourage you not just to get that knowledge once
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or twice a week from here to make a personal investment in
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this new year. And if you were to come to my
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little desk at my home tonight, you will find a piece of paper
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from this week with the same verse written on it over and
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over, because that verse is not for sermon prep.
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That verse is for my soul. And here's the verse.
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You don't have to turn there. It's a it's an atomic verse to
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me in first John 320. He says, for whenever our hearts
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condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and he knows
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everything. He knows everything.
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And so I ripped a piece of paper and I have all these colorful
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markers, and I just write it in one color, and I write it again
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another color, and I write it again another color.
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Why am I doing that? Because I want to grow the
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knowledge of God's grace in my life.
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The extent of it, yes, Jesus Christ died on the cross for my
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sins, absolutely. But what are the implications of
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that? And with that particular verse,
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I want it so amplified in my heart that it's louder than
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anything that my flesh lashes out against me.
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And it's an invitation for you. And I, I hope to be more
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intentional with the Bible. And so let me ask you this in
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this past year, your engagement with this truth, I'm not going
29:11
to ask you if you've grown. I'm not going to ask that.
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I'm just going to ask you this, your relationship with this
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treasure chest of truth. Is it is it steadfast or is it
29:24
sporadic or is it scarce? And if it's the latter 2, do you
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have a plan moving forward saying, I want it to be
29:35
different this time. I want it to be different moving
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forward. And if you don't know where to
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begin, just start in the New Testament and just make it your
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goal to finish reading the New Testament.
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And don't be afraid if you can't figure every parable out or how
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these prophecies work. You just, you just read through
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and you pluck up those truths like first John 320 along the
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way, things that just resonate with you, that speak to your
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heart. And then you go to the old and
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you do the same and you come to church and you allow what's
30:10
being taught just supplement what you're learning on your
30:12
own. And you'll just see how you will
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grow in advance and leap forward.
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And you know this, this power, the strength, this confidence,
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this ability to overcome certain things, it's inseparable from
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the word. And I want you to know it for
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yourself. God wants us to know it for
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ourselves. And so am I growing in the
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knowledge of the grace of God, Am I knowing?
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Am I growing in the knowledge of who Christ is himself?
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That's my second question to you.
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But here is the third. Am I becoming more eternity
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conscience? Am I becoming more eternity
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conscience and I'm convinced and This is why I'm ending it with
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this point because this question in pursuing what it asks will
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put almost everything else in its proper sanctified
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perspective. Trust me.
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So come with me to Colossians chapter 3 and notice what he
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says in verse one. He says if then you have been
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raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where
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Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
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Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that
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are on earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with
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Christ in God. When Christ who is your life
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appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
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I can't help it, it's not my main point, but do you see how
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he speaks about Christ here? Look at the last part in verse
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4. When Christ, who is your life,
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Christ didn't just save my life, He is my life.
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He's not just the author of life.
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He's He is my breath. He's the reason why I exist.
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He's the zest of my being. He's everything.
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Who this is how Paul, he says he's your life now it's all
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about Jesus. You know, some people they try
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to put Christ in like in a certain kind of category of
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importance, you know, No, no, he's the whole thing and
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everything orbits around him. Christ, who is your life
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appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
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So what's the summary of what Paul's telling Christians to do?
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He's not telling this to pastors.
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He's telling this to a group of believers.
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It's this be preoccupied with eternity.
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Be preoccupied with eternity. And So what that means is there
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should always be this underlying awareness that heaven is your
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home. Meditate frequently and
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delightfully on spiritual realities.
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Filter what you perceive and what comes your way in this
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world with another realm. Remind yourself always of the
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return of Jesus Christ and the bliss that you will know being
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in His presence forever. This is what He is saying and we
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have to train ourselves in that. You know, when I find myself
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going somewhere, even for meetings for a few days or
33:26
longer, as much as I'm enjoying what the Lord is doing in that
33:29
place and meeting other believers, there's this sense in
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me that this is not my home, though.
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This is my home. You are my home.
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Chicago is where I live, right? And that's always there.
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And it doesn't make me absent minded of wherever I'm visiting.
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It doesn't make me less effective, at least I hope.
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But there's just this sense in me and, and especially when I,
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when I find myself in the stillness of the night, my mind
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goes there. My mind goes to, to where I,
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where I am, where I'm supposed to be, where I belong.
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And I believe in the same way. This is what the Holy Spirit is
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asking of us as we traverse through this world, as we deal
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with responsibilities, as we have these things that we need
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to do, and as we even enjoy things in this life.
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There is this sense, there is this awareness.
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This is not the end of it. This is not the fullness of it.
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This is a shadow. The substance is yet to be
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realized. And you need to understand that
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there are implications, massive implications to this.
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It's not just so that we can feel more spiritual.
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No, no, no, there are. There are things that it unlocks
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in our lives and I want to prove that to you.
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So we read the first few verses of this chapter, but look at
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verse 5, immediately following verse 4.
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Notice what Paul says. Put to death, therefore, what is
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earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion,
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evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry.
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Highlight that word therefore, so Paul is not beginning a new
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thought here with this section of ethical exhortations.
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The word therefore there, it tells us that there's a link
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between the preceding thought and the present and following
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entreaties, meaning based on what I just established of how
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your, your meditations, your thinking, your affections should
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be set upward heavenward. Now here's what should transpire
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as the fruit of it. Here's the outcome of that.
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And what does he say here? That there's going to be things
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that are going to be put to death.
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Look at this in verse 5 and notice carefully that these are
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obviously vices, but it continues in verse eight.
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Look at verse 8. But now you must put them all
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away, anger, wrath, malice, slander and obscene talk from
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your mouth. Do not lie to one another,
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seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices.
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Again, this is all flowing from what He said in the 1st 4 verses
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about setting our minds on things above.
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And notice when you look at verse five in the list that He
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gives, those are all about personal sins.
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Look again, sexual morality, impurity, passion, evil desire
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and covetousness, which is idolatry.
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But then in verse 8 and 9, their interpersonal sins, how you deal
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and interact with others. Look at it again, anger, wrath,
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malice, slander and obscene talk from your mouth, lying to one
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another. And here's what Paul is trying
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to explain. The things that we tolerate in
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our own lives and the things that we fail in other people's
36:37
lives. You can know personal holiness
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and you can know a holiness in public as a result of developing
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the habit of setting your mind on things above.
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That's achievable, more achievable at least.
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And that doesn't just equip us to war against the negative.
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It actually becomes a fertilization to breed the
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positive. So let's look at this in bullet
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point form. Look at verse 11 quickly.
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It helps us treat others as equals, talks about Jew and
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Gentile, right? It closes with Christ like
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virtues between verses 12 and 13 as we put on compassionate
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hearts and other beautiful things.
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Verse 14, it excites a sacrificial love and secures
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unity in the church. Look at verse 15.
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It becomes the channel setting my mind on things about becomes
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the channel for the peace of Christ to govern my heart.
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You know they said of a Puritan pastor by the name of Richard
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Sibbs that heaven was in him before he went to heaven.
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Heaven was in him before he went to heaven.
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And a great reason for that is because he obeyed these
37:57
commands. He set his mind on things above.
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He was seeking the things that are above.
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And you say, how does that work though?
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Listen, I, I have my time alone with the Lord in the morning and
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that's a huge thing. It puts things in its proper
38:12
place. It, it, it sets the right frame
38:14
of mind. Absolutely.
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But I think this, this is asking for even more than that.
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You're saying, OK, but I found myself even the moment I step
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out into the world and the moment I step out of my bedroom,
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I'm just overcome by responsibilities and tasks and
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distractions and surprises. How am I supposed to manage
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this? And I think there's a way, God,
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God is not asking us to be absent minded in this life, but
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I think there are ways in which we can by his grace, as we spend
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time with him and get into the work to grow in this area of
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becoming eternally minded. Here's one way of I guess
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looking at it. Whenever a grievances come,
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sickness might visit you, challenges might erupt.
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I think how these commands work is in the following manner that
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at some point you were able to filter all of that and related
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to yes, the brokenness in my life in this world will one day
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be swallowed up by a perfect world that will be governed by a
39:11
perfect king. There, there it is.
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I'm I'm transported into the heavenlies right there.
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This isn't it. This isn't permanent, this isn't
39:20
the final story. This is how it's supposed to be,
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and it's not going to be like this.
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Christ is going to come and he's going to fix everything.
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There's a time coming where the tears that I'm shedding now,
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they'll only be a far memory. The pain in my body now will be
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eclipsed by glorified body. The disappointments of people.
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Oh, there's a time coming. Can you imagine this where
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everybody that you know will be perfect?
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What a thought. Perfect, perfect.
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So I think how Colossians 3 helps us is that we console
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ourselves with the reality of eternity in this life.
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Do that. Do it a lot.
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Give it to others. What about the good, which is
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sometimes even more dangerous? The good that God allows you and
40:07
I to taste in this life. Like vacations with your family
40:11
or rejoicing at a friend's wedding.
40:13
What do you, what do you do then?
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Here's how I think you do it. You view it all as a preview of
40:18
something to come. That any thrill, you know, any
40:21
laughter that you would share with others, this is just a
40:24
foretaste of what's going to happen when Jesus returns and
40:28
rules and reigns forever. And in that moment, you're
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transported again into the heavenlies.
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And more than that, you have a reason to give thanks to God.
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Lord, no matter how good it gets here, it will only touch the
40:41
foothills of the Mount Everest of Your glory and the things
40:44
that You will usher in my life. So this is what we're invited
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to. Can I ask you something?
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How much have you thought about heaven in 2024?
41:00
How much have you relied on these truths to allow God's
41:06
peace to wash over you? When's the last time you got
41:13
excited about going to be with the Lord?
41:19
Imagine being engaged to somebody and only you were
41:24
excited for the wedding day and your fiance wasn't.
41:30
That would be weird. That would be concerning.
41:35
That asked for a little bit more time in marital counselling.
41:38
Premarital counselling, right? More sessions before the wedding
41:41
day. Wouldn't it be weird for the
41:46
Lord only to be excited to be with us?
41:54
So Paul invites you and I to be more eternity conscious if you
41:58
belong to Him. And listen, it's not just so
42:01
that you can share in that delight with your Master.
42:05
You just read it. It'll impact the way you live in
42:08
this world. You're going to see sin
42:10
differently. You're going to treat temptation
42:13
differently. You're going to, you're going to
42:15
tap into a strength. You'll be able to how we talked
42:21
about briefly during the announcements.
42:23
You'll be able to excel in certain graces, including how
42:27
you manage your money. And it will, it will be your
42:31
servant and not your master. It touches everything.
42:38
I'm tempted to go into five more questions, but I think that's
42:44
enough for now. I want you to don't tempt me
42:47
brother. I want you to to seriously now
42:52
at this time before we praise to sit back and really reflect on
42:56
your walk with the Lord. Now for all honest, we can all
43:01
say I can improve in every area. Absolutely I'm there, but I'm
43:05
not talking about the areas where you are walking in
43:08
already. I'm talking about the things
43:09
that are non existent or maybe they're shriveling up or maybe
43:14
you you find yourself deviating. You know what's amazing?
43:20
I I failed to mention this, but I'll mention it now.
43:23
And the point about growing in the grace and knowledge of the
43:26
Lord, There are negative implications for ignoring such a
43:31
command. You're saying what do you mean?
43:33
Because that's second Peter 318. But if you look at second Peter
43:36
3/17, he warns about being carried away by the error of
43:43
lawless people. And then in the the next verse
43:46
he provides the protection against that, the antidote he
43:49
says, but grow but grow. So, so here's what I want to say
43:54
to you, that just in the area of growing in the knowledge of
43:57
Christ, to fail to do that, to fail to take that seriously
44:01
doesn't mean that you're going to remain as you are.
44:04
No, no, no, there is no middle ground.
44:07
You put yourself at greater risk of drifting, drifting, drifting.
44:13
And Peter used the language being carried away by the error
44:17
of lawless people. And that error includes false
44:20
teaching because the verses before they talked about how
44:22
people twist the scriptures. You make yourself more
44:24
vulnerable to deceptive teachings when you don't engage
44:28
with this word regularly, faithfully, diligently.
44:32
But the error is not just limited to doctrine.
44:34
It can be into legalism or as you lose touch with the grace of
44:39
Jesus Christ, now you begin to invite methods and ideas of what
44:44
holiness is that are foreign to the Bible or the air of
44:48
lawlessness, because this grace empowers you to live holy.
44:54
And so I want to tell you that even just in that point alone,
44:58
to to be indifferent to it, to be careless with it puts us in
45:02
spiritual peril. OK, no more, I'm done.
45:06
I want this to now just pause and pray just in your own heart.
45:09
The praise team can come up and help us and assist us.
45:13
And my duty here is to do what I open up with to help you, to
45:18
help you continue to be a pure virgin unto Christ.
45:27
Please don't distract anybody beside you.
45:29
Just receive this directly from the Lord and give it to Him on a
45:33
personal level, just in your own heart.
45:37
Speak to the Lord and we're going to sing to Him together in
45:39
a moment. Well, before I pray, I say,
46:22
because I want to try to be like Paul who said imitate me as I
46:25
imitate Christ. I say from my heart to you that
46:31
you bring so much joy in my life, and seeing your walk with
46:35
the Lord and your love for the truth has given me ample reason
46:40
to give more thanks to God and to give him glory for your
46:45
lives. And so I am eternally grateful
46:48
for this church and not this building for the real church,
46:52
you. And I just say that in your
46:55
presence before the Lord because he knows my heart, how much you
46:59
mean to me. And I pray for you always.
47:02
And I ask that you pray for me as we journey together hand in
47:05
hand into 2025. Well, let me end this way.
47:08
Actually, if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ want to be
47:13
wonderful, if you began this new year giving your heart to him,
47:17
yeah, you can do that. And he's, he's waiting for you
47:20
to do that. Why waste another year living
47:25
for yourself, living in sin, living under the wrath of God,
47:31
when in a moment when you confess and you believe on the
47:35
Lord Jesus Christ, you were transferred from the domain of
47:37
darkness into the Kingdom of his beloved Son.
47:41
I invite you today that if you don't know Jesus Christ in a
47:45
saving way, that you would at this moment realize that He is
47:50
calling you to Himself and that no matter what your sin is, no
47:54
matter what your bondage is, no matter what your addiction may
47:58
be, no matter what your history might say, Christ loves you.
48:04
He died for you, and in a moment He's willing to save you, but He
48:10
will not impose himself. He waits for you to make that
48:14
decision and He will rush into your life and make you a new
48:19
creature. I invite you to make that choice
48:22
today so that not just 2025, but the rest of your life will be
48:26
life abundant because Jesus lives in you.
48:31
And so repent from your sins. Believe that he died for your
48:34
sins and believe that he welcomes you into relationship
48:37
with him forever. Lord, we thank you for 2024.
48:42
Oh so much, so much to give you glory for Lord, we ask now
48:47
together as a church. You've been with us these past
48:50
three years. Go before us in this new year.
48:53
Live Lord before us, protect us, guide us, open doors for us.
49:00
We want to see your glory made known in our midst, so we commit
49:04
this together and we ask, O God, that more people will be added
49:09
to the fold and those who are added to the fold would grow in
49:13
the grace and knowledge of Christ, would utilize their
49:16
gifts, would be more conscious of the world to come.
49:20
Lord, we thank you for this word and we thank you for who you
49:22
are. We bless you together in Jesus
49:25
name, Amen.