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Colossians 3:12-14 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

0:00
Please turn with me, if you're not already there, to Paul's letter to the church at Colossae, chapter 3.
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Let's see.
0:38
Their first day of classes is August 17th, which means we'll likely see a lot of that crew come back on the 16th and the week following.
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So I had every intention of wrapping it up.
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In fact, originally verses 5 through 17, I had intended to preach in just two weeks.
0:54
So this is now week 3, and obviously next week, Lord willing, will be week 4, and then we'll move on into verse 18 beyond that.
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Not the best laid plans of mice and men.
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This morning for two reasons.
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I think it's right and proper to just address verses 12, 13, and 14.
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The first of which being, I am sick and tired, but not in a literal, excuse me, not in a metaphorical sense, but in a literal sense.
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My little one, three years old, has a head cold, and I think it's coming on me now.
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I woke up this morning feeling quite under the weather.
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And we're wrapping up the wedding season.
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Officiated my fourth wedding since May yesterday.
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I finished premarital counseling for six couples just this past week.
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And I'm beat.
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Weddings are fantastic.
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They are great and glorious and enjoyable, but they are also exhausting.
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So I am sick and tired, literally, this morning.
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Secondly, there is a lot to consider in these texts.
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Certainly, thematically, they hold together.
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We can see verses 5-11 being this expression of those things that we should be putting off our old self.
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These activities that shouldn't exist amongst those who claim the name of Christ.
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In verses 12-17, those things that we put on, that we exchange instead.
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So thematically, they hold really well.
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And we can see the primary exhortation of the text in the last part of verse 9 and the first part of verse 10.
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Where Paul says,
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It's seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self.
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Previously in 3-3, he says,
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For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
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We have been made new in Christ.
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And so it's proper that we put off the old self.
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It's stated in the negative.
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Stop doing these things.
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That we put on.
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We clothe ourselves differently now.
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Stated in the positive.
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Rather, we ought to live this way.
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Sort of put off the old self.
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Verse 5,
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Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you.
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Here, not literally.
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Which is where I looked in my notes when I said not literally earlier.
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Not literally, but figuratively.
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Mortify sin in your life.
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And verse 8,
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But now you must put them all away.
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And Paul gives us these two lists,
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which are not exhaustive lists of all sin,
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but they're sins that relate to how we deal with one another.
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They're sins of unrighteous love and sins of unrighteous hate.
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Stop functioning together in this way,
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but rather put on the new self.
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Verse 10,
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And have put on the new self,
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which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
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I made the case to you last week that our sanctification,
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our perfection in Christ is a progressive process.
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It's something that's being accomplished in us.
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That we have been made new and that we are being made new.
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So as we look at these kinds of exhortations in the Scripture,
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if we're really honest with ourselves,
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none of us live to this standard,
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but yet we should.
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Don't deny the fact, the reality,
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that in Christ we ought to live this way,
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but we recognize that we are being,
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by one degree after another,
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being made into this image.
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We rightly see these things and recognize what righteous looks like.
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The right way in which we ought to live in Christ.
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And we recognize rightly then,
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sin.
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You see that in verse 10,
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he says that we have put on the new self.
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This is a snapshot of a completed event.
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It's the aorist verb tense.
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This is what it means.
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It's been accomplished.
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And then just beyond this,
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he says,
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which is being renewed.
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And it's being renewed in this way,
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by the power of the Spirit,
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in knowledge.
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That we know how it is we ought to live.
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That we meditate on that.
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That we function out of the realities
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of who God is to us in Christ
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in order to accomplish these things.
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And we're being made into the image of its,
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and they're referring to the new self creator.
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We're being made into the image of Jesus Christ.
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I was thinking a little bit about that today
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and what that looks like in our lives.
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And it caused my mind to think about
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when you have a brand new baby,
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and so many people,
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particularly women,
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try to figure out who that baby looks like.
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I've heard this.
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I know, oh, he looks so much like.
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Babies don't really typically look like anybody.
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They look like themselves.
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And I don't understand
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how my boys look so much like.
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Maybe that's insulting.
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I don't know.
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Maybe it's a compliment.
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Babies are awfully cute.
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I'm not sure.
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Sometimes a baby really looks like
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their father or mother,
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but in most cases,
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they really don't.
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But as they grow,
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and as they get older,
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they do begin to take on
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more and more of those features.
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A wonderful example
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for my five-year-old Cade
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is that he sadly, unfortunately,
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inherited my double crown,
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the two cowl.
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I don't know if you've ever noticed
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this about myself.
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But it's horrible,
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and it's really hard to comb your hair
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when your hair's doing that in the back,
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and the poor boy's hair does the same.
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But when he was born,
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he had this cute little fuzzy head.
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Right?
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We're to look more and more like Christ,
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although it's a positive in this case,
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and Cade and mine,
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it's a negative thing,
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but we're to look more like Jesus
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by degree after degree after degree.
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This is the work of the Christian life
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and the way in which the Spirit works in us.
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And he begins to talk about this new self
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and the way in which we will be changed
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in what seems like such a peculiar way
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in verse 11.
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He says,
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here in this new self,
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there is not Greek and Jew,
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circumcised, uncircumcised,
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barbarian, Scythian, slave-free,
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but Christ is all and in all.
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And in this culture of this day,
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there were so many barriers,
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just like there are today.
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Maybe even more strictly drawn up in theirs.
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There were ethnic barriers
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between the Greeks and the Jews.
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Religious barriers between those
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who were circumcised and uncircumcised.
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And I mean by religious,
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the outward trappings of religion,
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not the true devotion to God.
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There were cultural barriers
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between the barbarians,
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the Scythians,
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and those who were educated.
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Social barriers between slave and free.
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And what Paul is saying is that
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for those who have placed their faith
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in Jesus Christ,
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Christ should be everything.
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Christ is all.
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It's a reality that we should function out of.
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And He's in all.
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So we have this wonderful commonality
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between us.
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Apart from our backgrounds,
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apart from our ethnicity,
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apart from the culture that we grew up in,
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we have a wonderful, wonderful commonality
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in Christ.
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And so today,
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our verses will be
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verses 12 through 14.
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And I want to read those to us
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just again to get them on our minds,
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if only for my benefit.
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Paul writes,
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Put on then,
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as God's chosen ones,
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holy and beloved,
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compassionate hearts,
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kindness,
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humility,
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meekness,
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and patience,
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bearing with one another,
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and if one has a complaint against another,
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forgiving each other
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as the Lord has forgiven you,
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so you also must forgive.
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And above all these,
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put on love,
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which binds everything together
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in perfect harmony.
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And let me remind you
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that this is God's Word to us.
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It has bearing and meaning on our day.
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It's written for His glory
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and for our good
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and that we would all do well
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to listen to it
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in order to believe its promises
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and obey its commands.
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I, and I hope you appreciate
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and join with me in this,
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I am so thankful
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for the Word of God.
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This past week,
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on our family day,
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which is on Tuesday,
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I was playing with Judah,
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our three-year-old,
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in the woods,
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and we found a millipede,
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those big, fat millipedes.
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They're kind of gray
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and they've got cool red lines on them.
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And I've touched them before,
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but I've never like agitated
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one of them.
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But this one kept trying
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to go into the leaves
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and I wanted Judah to see it,
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so I kept pulling it back
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out of the leaves.
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Don't agitate a millipede
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because it secreted
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this yellow gunk
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all over my thumb
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and my pointer finger
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on this hand,
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which just smelled horrible.
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It had a very thick ammonia
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kind of a smell to it,
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like burned my nose
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when I smelled it.
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And shortly after,
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I washed my hands,
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but shortly after,
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it turned my finger
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and my thumb maroon.
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And I showed it to Sam
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and she was very concerned,
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like, is it hurt?
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Like, what's going on
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with your finger?
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And I just really wasn't sure.
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Didn't seem to be any real issue.
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I don't know if anybody,
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you can't see my thumb from there.
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Maybe some of you
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on the front row.
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I still have some maroon
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under my thumbnail
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from this goo
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that was on my finger.
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And this world,
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the temporal part of our world,
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doesn't really come
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with a manual, does it?
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Certainly if I had
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done a quick Google search,
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I would have found out
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I shouldn't touch the millipede.
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But these things
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that have temporal bearing
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and temporal nature,
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there's not really a book
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that we can be handed
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that tells us
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how we ought to live
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in relation to the world
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in those temporal ways,
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but we have been given a book
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that tells us
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how we ought to live spiritually.
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In those things
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that have eternal weight
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and matter,
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what a precious,
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precious thing this is.
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That if we are to be renewed
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degree by degree
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to look more like Christ,
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that this is the great call
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on the Christian life
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for the sake of His name,
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we've been given a book.
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It shows us how
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we ought to do it
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and we ought to treasure it
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much more than we do.
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Main point for today,
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there's only one,
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and that is
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Christian people
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will be distinguished
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by the way they live
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in relation to one another.
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Christian people
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will be distinguished.
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We will look different
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by the way we live
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in relation to one another.
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If the affection of your heart
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says Christ is all,
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and oh, I hope that it does.
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I hope that is the cry
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and the longing of your heart.
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Christ is all.
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Christ is everything to me.
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Then you will live differently
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as you relate to other people
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who say the very same thing.
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Remember what Paul is saying here.
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He's saying in relation
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to one another,
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we're to put to death
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those things
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that cause enmity between us
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and we're instead
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meant to live in this way.
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All of those barriers,
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all of those cultural,
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social, ethnic barriers
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have been torn down in Christ.
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So live like this.
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And he begins by rooting that
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in our very character,
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who we are now as God's people.
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Verse 12, he says,
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put on then,
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put on then,
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as God's chosen ones,
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holy and beloved.
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In Christ, we are holy.
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Right?
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That's that completed act.
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We have been made perfect in Christ.
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When God looks at us,
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He sees Jesus.
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We have been given,
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we've been imputed
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Jesus Christ's righteousness.
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Right?
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So we should continue in that.
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We should stand in that.
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This is our status in God.
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We are beloved.
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We are loved by Him.
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And we are chosen in Him.
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This speaks of who we are.
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Not differing in degree,
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but in type.
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It speaks of who we are,
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but more importantly,
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it reminds us of who made us
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who we are.
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See that we are chosen ones
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and we're holy and beloved,
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but so importantly,
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we are God's chosen ones.
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Holy and beloved.
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If you are in Christ,
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if you have placed faith in Him,
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this is a great work of God Almighty.
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He has birthed this in you.
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He has caused you to believe
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in Jesus Christ's person and His work.
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It is His doing,
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and therefore,
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the completion of what He intends
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to accomplish with you
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is sure.
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What a precious promise
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is found in this little phrase,
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God's chosen ones.
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Holy and beloved.
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Turn with me, if you will,
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to 1 John 2.
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See a bit of a parallel text here
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that drives the point
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that because of now who we are,
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we will live in a particular way.
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Our obedience is a response
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to the grace of God in Christ
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on our behalf.
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1 John 2.
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And I'm going to begin reading in verse 28.
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And now, little children,
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abide in Him,
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so that when He appears,
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we may have confidence
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and not shrink from Him
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in shame at His coming.
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If you know that He is righteous,
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there's His work,
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you may be sure that everyone
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who practices righteousness
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has been born of Him.
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See what kind of love
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the Father has given to us,
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that we should be called
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children of God,
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and so we are.
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The reason why the world
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does not know us
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is that it did not know Him.
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Beloved, we are God's children now.
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So there's this status change for us.
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Enemies of God,
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now children of God.
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John goes on to write
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in verse 9 and 10,
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No one born of God
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makes a practice of sinning,
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for God's seed abides in Him,
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and He cannot keep on sinning,
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because He has been born of God.
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By this it is evident
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who are the children of God
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and who are the children of the devil.
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Whoever does not practice righteousness
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is not of God,
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nor is the one
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who does not love
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his brother.
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So you see that there's this status change,
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and it causes us to live
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in a different way.
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And if we don't,
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if we're not about the practice
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of righteousness,
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but we're instead about
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the practice of sinning,
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it's indicative of who we are.
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Pears don't grow on apple trees.
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Only apples grow on apple trees.
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And as such,
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when we've had this status change,
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sin is part of a believer's past.
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Verse 7 of chapter 3 in Colossians,
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In these,
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you too once walked
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when you were living in them.
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The last part of verse 9,
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Seeing that you have put off
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the old self
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with its practices.
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It's once who we were,
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but it is no longer
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who we are
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if we have placed faith
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in Christ.
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And Paul is driving this point
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that this has to do with
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how we relate
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to one another.
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And beloved,
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we don't do this well.
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There are so many things
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about our church
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that are healthy,
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and we probably do this
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better than many.
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But you need to hear
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what Paul is trying
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to communicate
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about the way in which
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we should relate
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to one another.
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And I think one of the great
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cultural challenges to this
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is that so many of us
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think of the church
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as something that is
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outside of us.
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It is an institution.
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It is a thing that we attend
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rather than who we are.
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If you are in Christ,
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you are the church.
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We go on existing
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apart from this piece of property
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and from this building,
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praise God.
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We continue to exist
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without a name
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or a website
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or any contact info whatsoever.
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The church is us.
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It is people.
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If you have a favorite restaurant,
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I would not expect you
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to know everybody
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who works at that restaurant.
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I wouldn't expect you
18:04
to know the owner.
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It doesn't really matter
18:06
if you know the owner or not,
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if you enjoy the food.
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You don't have to know
18:09
the chef who cooks
18:10
the food for you.
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You never relate
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to the other patrons.
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You don't come in and go,
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isn't this the best restaurant ever?
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You go in,
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you enjoy the company
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that came with you,
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you get up,
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and you leave,
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and that is fine
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and acceptable.
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Sam and I went to a restaurant
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down in Gwinnett
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close to a large building
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where a congregation meets.
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And we ran into
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while we were eating,
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there were so many people
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that we knew from our past.
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Like I ran into my health teacher
18:41
from the seventh grade.
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We're just running into people we knew.
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It was the weirdest evening.
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And most of them,
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Sam would ask,
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where are you attending church now?
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Who are you fellowshipping?
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And they all had the same answer.
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But as we watched them
18:56
go to eat their meals,
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none interacted with one another.
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All of them professed to be
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part of a fellowship
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of Jesus Christ together
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and yet had no relationship.
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None whatsoever.
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Or they all hated each other
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or were ignoring each other.
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One of the two.
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Both sin.
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This shouldn't be so amongst us.
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I will fight and fight
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and fight and fight
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for that not to be the case
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amongst us.
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We are the church
19:30
and we're meant to live
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in a very particular way
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with one another.
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And this is God's design
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for the advancement of His gospel.
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This is a primary way
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in which His glory is proclaimed
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in this world.
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The way we relate
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to one another.
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Look at some of the things
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that He says.
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And I'm not going to develop
19:51
all of these out.
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Each of these could be
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a week of a sermon.
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But look what He says
19:55
that we're meant to be doing together.
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The things we're meant to put on
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as God's chosen ones.
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His holy and His beloved.
20:03
Compassionate hearts.
20:06
Compassionate hearts.
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Love characterized by mercy.
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That looks at an individual
20:13
and your heart breaks
20:14
for them
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and the situation
20:16
that they're in.
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And every single one of us
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has something happening
20:20
in our lives
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that should be causing
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heartbreak
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in the life of somebody else.
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We're all hurting.
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We're all dealing with stuff.
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So we're to have
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compassionate hearts
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for one another.
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Merciful hearts.
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We should put on
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kindness.
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Which means
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gracious acts
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of goodness.
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That we care for one another
20:43
to the degree
20:44
that we serve one another.
20:46
That we maybe as
20:47
Romans 12 suggests
20:49
that we compete
20:49
to outdo one another
20:51
in showing honor
20:53
and serving each other
20:54
in this way.
20:56
We're to put on
20:57
humility.
20:59
Which means that we recognize
21:01
who we are
21:02
apart from Jesus Christ.
21:04
Christ.
21:05
Wretched thing
21:07
that I am
21:08
apart from Jesus.
21:11
I have been given grace
21:13
in abounding measure.
21:14
I deserve nothing
21:16
that I have.
21:17
And yet,
21:18
so often we act
21:19
like we deserve
21:19
everything
21:20
that the world
21:21
has to offer.
21:23
We are to be
21:23
humble.
21:26
Paul writes in
21:26
Philippians 2
21:27
verses 3 and 4
21:29
do nothing
21:30
from selfish ambition
21:32
or conceit.
21:33
So here's the
21:34
stated in the negative.
21:37
This is the activity
21:38
of the person
21:39
who's not humble.
21:40
Operating out of
21:41
selfish ambition
21:42
and conceit.
21:43
But,
21:44
in humility,
21:46
count others
21:47
more significant
21:48
than yourselves.
21:51
Let each of you
21:52
look not only
21:52
to his own interests
21:53
but also
21:54
to the interests
21:55
of others.
21:57
We're to put on
21:58
humility.
21:59
We're to put on
21:59
meekness.
22:00
gentleness.
22:01
A synonym for this
22:02
kind of
22:04
is gentleness.
22:05
But in the Greek
22:06
it means a bit
22:07
more than that.
22:08
It's a person
22:09
that's not
22:10
gentle by
22:11
lack of strength
22:14
but a person
22:15
who has strength
22:17
and bridles
22:18
that strength
22:18
appropriately.
22:21
Jesus Christ
22:21
is the most
22:22
wonderful example
22:22
of this
22:23
as he is
22:23
of all
22:23
righteous
22:24
characteristics.
22:25
You see him
22:27
as we work
22:27
through Mark
22:28
recently.
22:30
Stilling storms
22:31
by his voice.
22:33
Commanding the
22:34
waves and they
22:35
stop casting
22:36
out demons.
22:38
Pulling no
22:39
punches with
22:40
the Pharisees.
22:41
Fierce in the
22:42
way that he
22:42
dealt with the
22:43
world and sin.
22:45
And then you
22:45
see him inviting
22:46
little children
22:47
to come and
22:48
sit on his lap.
22:49
To me there's
22:50
nothing more
22:51
precious than
22:52
some of the
22:52
big strong men
22:54
of our church
22:55
and the way
22:55
they hold
22:56
their little
22:56
babies.
22:57
Stan Luttrell
22:58
breaks my
22:59
heart sometimes
22:59
as big and
23:01
strong as he
23:02
is in the
23:02
way he's so
23:03
tender with
23:04
his youngest
23:05
daughter.
23:06
This is a
23:07
picture of
23:08
meekness.
23:09
Jesus Christ
23:10
on the cross
23:11
is the highest
23:12
example of it.
23:14
Having the
23:14
power, being
23:15
God himself,
23:16
to just go
23:17
ahead and say
23:17
you know what
23:18
we're not doing
23:19
the cross thing.
23:20
I'm just going
23:20
to go ahead
23:21
and judge and
23:22
destroy the earth
23:23
now.
23:24
And yet he
23:24
took it for
23:26
our sake.
23:26
This is that
23:27
picture of
23:27
meekness.
23:29
We're to put
23:30
on meekness.
23:31
We're to put
23:32
on patience.
23:35
Not to be
23:36
quick tempered.
23:37
We're to be
23:37
patient with
23:38
one another.
23:40
Because God
23:41
bears with
23:43
us.
23:43
Just consider
23:44
that for a
23:44
moment.
23:45
Think about
23:46
the people that
23:46
tend to annoy
23:47
you, that you
23:48
have a hard
23:48
time being
23:49
patient with,
23:50
and then take
23:50
on their
23:51
characteristic.
23:52
Am I ever
23:53
that way
23:54
toward God?
23:55
And the answer
23:55
is a resounding
23:56
yes, you are
23:57
that way
23:58
toward God.
23:59
And yet, he
24:00
is patient
24:00
with us.
24:01
Ever loving.
24:03
Verse 13
24:04
goes on to
24:05
kind of work
24:07
some of this
24:07
out.
24:07
So what is that
24:08
going to look
24:08
like?
24:09
If we're going
24:09
to have these
24:09
kinds of
24:10
qualities and
24:10
characteristics,
24:11
what is this
24:11
going to look
24:12
like in our
24:12
dealing with
24:13
one another?
24:14
And Paul
24:14
says we are
24:15
to bear with
24:16
one another.
24:18
And if we have
24:18
a complaint against
24:19
another, that
24:20
we're to
24:20
forgive one
24:22
another.
24:23
We're to
24:24
bear with
24:24
one another.
24:25
And this
24:25
means that
24:27
it's going to
24:27
be challenging
24:28
to do this.
24:30
Paul's not
24:31
here promising
24:31
that you just
24:32
join a church
24:32
and it's easy.
24:33
It's all
24:34
wonderful and
24:34
everything is
24:35
slick.
24:36
That you're
24:36
never going
24:36
to have any
24:37
personality
24:37
conflict with
24:38
somebody else.
24:39
That you're
24:40
not going to
24:40
butt heads
24:41
over some
24:41
issue in
24:42
the church.
24:44
But here
24:44
we're to
24:44
bear with
24:46
one another.
24:47
And this is
24:47
a great
24:48
English
24:49
translation.
24:50
That idea
24:50
that comes
24:50
up in
24:51
our minds
24:51
of just
24:51
dealing with
24:52
somebody is
24:53
exactly what's
24:54
being communicated
24:55
here.
24:55
Because Christ
24:57
is all.
24:57
Because He's
24:58
redeemed the
24:59
souls of His
24:59
people, we
25:00
are to bear
25:02
with one
25:02
another.
25:03
We're to
25:04
work through
25:04
those challenges
25:05
of our
25:06
relationship
25:07
because Christ
25:09
is all.
25:10
Because He
25:11
loves His
25:12
church.
25:13
And as
25:13
such, so
25:14
are we.
25:17
Far too
25:18
many people
25:19
are looking
25:19
for the
25:20
peaceful
25:21
place to
25:22
go.
25:22
I have
25:23
been to
25:24
churches and
25:24
it just
25:25
makes me
25:25
sick the
25:26
false
25:27
kindness that
25:28
goes around
25:29
in those
25:29
churches.
25:30
It's just
25:31
fake and you
25:31
can feel the
25:32
tension in
25:33
the church.
25:34
The good
25:35
morning brother,
25:35
how are you?
25:36
And behind
25:36
the scenes a
25:37
person is
25:37
saying I
25:38
don't care
25:38
at all.
25:39
In fact,
25:40
it would
25:40
be okay with
25:40
me if you
25:41
went someplace
25:42
else.
25:43
There's a
25:44
bitterness that
25:45
broods in
25:47
a lot of
25:47
churches because
25:48
people just
25:49
don't like
25:50
one another.
25:51
And this is
25:52
not the
25:52
activity of a
25:53
person who
25:53
believes that
25:54
Christ is
25:56
all and
25:57
that He is
25:57
in all.
25:59
We're to
25:59
bear with
26:01
one another.
26:02
Turn to
26:03
Ephesians
26:03
chapter 4.
26:04
Beginning in
26:13
verse 1.
26:16
I
26:16
therefore,
26:17
a prisoner for
26:18
the Lord,
26:19
urge you to
26:20
walk in a
26:20
manner worthy
26:22
of the calling
26:22
to which you
26:23
have been
26:24
called because
26:25
of who you
26:26
are in
26:27
Christ.
26:27
Verse 2.
26:28
With all
26:29
humility and
26:31
gentleness,
26:32
with patience,
26:33
this sounds
26:33
familiar,
26:34
doesn't it?
26:34
Bearing with
26:35
one another
26:36
in love.
26:39
Eager to
26:40
maintain the
26:41
unity of the
26:42
Spirit in
26:43
the bond of
26:44
peace.
26:45
Catch what
26:45
Paul is saying
26:46
to us there,
26:46
that we have
26:47
a unity.
26:48
We have the
26:49
unity of the
26:49
Spirit because
26:50
Christ is all
26:51
and He is in
26:52
all.
26:53
Therefore,
26:53
we have a
26:54
unity.
26:55
This wonderful
26:55
commonality that
26:57
we all possess.
26:58
And yet,
27:00
we're to work.
27:00
We're supposed
27:01
to work that out.
27:02
We're supposed
27:02
to bear with
27:02
one another in
27:03
love.
27:03
We're supposed
27:03
to be eager
27:04
to maintain
27:05
that because
27:06
of what Christ
27:07
has done
27:07
for us.
27:09
So we're to
27:10
bear with one
27:10
another.
27:11
And if one
27:12
has a complaint
27:13
against another,
27:15
we're to forgive
27:16
each other.
27:19
You all don't
27:20
know that I
27:20
know most of
27:22
the things that
27:22
go on in our
27:23
church and
27:24
amongst our
27:24
people.
27:25
people.
27:26
I don't step
27:27
into the middle
27:27
of many
27:28
situations because
27:29
it's honestly
27:29
just not my
27:30
place.
27:31
I like to let
27:31
you guys work
27:32
your stuff out
27:33
on your own.
27:35
I have heard
27:36
on many
27:37
occasions little
27:38
comments like,
27:39
oh, well,
27:39
he doesn't
27:40
really like
27:40
him.
27:41
That is not
27:42
okay in our
27:45
congregation.
27:47
Hear me
27:47
clearly saying to
27:48
you, it's not
27:49
okay for you
27:50
to live that
27:51
way.
27:52
When we have
27:52
sign-ups for
27:53
things, I know
27:55
that some of
27:56
you wait to
27:57
sign up to go
27:58
do something
27:58
because you
27:59
want to see
27:59
who else is
28:00
going to sign
28:00
up and whether
28:01
or not it's a
28:01
group of people
28:01
you really want
28:02
to hang out
28:03
with.
28:03
Not okay.
28:05
If you should
28:06
serve in a
28:07
particular way,
28:08
sign up and
28:09
show up and
28:10
figure it out.
28:13
Learn to get
28:14
along and to
28:15
love each other.
28:16
It'll be a work
28:17
I promise, but a
28:18
work worthwhile.
28:20
If someone has
28:20
offended you,
28:21
forgive them.
28:23
They may owe
28:23
you an apology,
28:25
but either way,
28:26
forgive them.
28:27
And why?
28:29
Because the
28:30
Lord has
28:30
forgiven us.
28:31
Paul gives
28:32
that to us as
28:32
the example
28:33
for why.
28:33
Forgiving each
28:34
other as the
28:35
Lord has
28:35
forgiven you,
28:37
so you also
28:37
must, and
28:38
that's imperative,
28:40
forgive.
28:41
Apparel to
28:41
this is Ephesians
28:42
4.32.
28:43
Be kind to
28:44
one another,
28:45
tenderhearted,
28:46
forgiving one
28:47
another as God
28:48
in Christ
28:49
forgave you.
28:50
You have
28:52
been forgiven
28:53
the highest
28:54
of offenses.
28:55
Eternal
28:56
offense.
28:57
A massive
28:58
weight.
28:59
An unpayable
29:00
debt has
29:01
been stricken
29:01
from your
29:02
record in
29:03
Christ.
29:03
You can
29:04
forgive somebody
29:05
the little
29:06
offense they
29:06
delivered in
29:07
the tone in
29:08
which they
29:08
said something.
29:11
Luke 7.47.
29:13
Jesus is
29:15
talking of the
29:16
woman who
29:17
comes in
29:18
and cries,
29:20
washes his
29:20
feet with
29:22
her tears,
29:23
and he
29:24
says,
29:24
but he
29:25
who has
29:26
forgiven
29:27
little
29:27
loves
29:28
little.
29:31
Beloved,
29:31
if you are
29:32
in Christ,
29:33
you have
29:33
been forgiven
29:34
much,
29:35
and therefore,
29:37
stating this
29:38
in the
29:38
positive,
29:39
we should,
29:40
it necessitates
29:41
that we
29:41
love much.
29:44
I want you
29:45
to hear me.
29:47
You're not
29:47
all easy
29:48
for me to
29:48
love.
29:51
I'm not
29:51
going to
29:51
tell you
29:52
who you
29:52
are,
29:53
but it's
29:55
just a
29:55
personality
29:56
thing sometimes.
29:58
Sometimes our
29:58
personalities rub
29:59
up against
30:00
each other.
30:00
I sometimes
30:01
don't have a
30:02
clue what to
30:02
say to
30:02
somebody.
30:03
I have
30:03
nothing to
30:04
say.
30:05
I fear
30:06
sometimes I
30:06
walk away
30:07
awkwardly
30:07
because I
30:08
don't know
30:08
what else
30:08
to say.
30:08
I'm just
30:09
talking and
30:09
then I
30:09
just go
30:10
and walk
30:10
away.
30:11
You're
30:14
not easy
30:15
to love,
30:15
but I
30:15
do love
30:16
you.
30:17
And I
30:18
do that
30:18
because it's
30:19
rooted in
30:19
the great
30:19
love that
30:20
God has
30:21
for me.
30:22
You are
30:23
His people.
30:24
And I
30:24
love the
30:25
things that
30:26
Jesus loves.
30:28
You are
30:29
all precious
30:30
to me
30:30
because you
30:32
are His.
30:34
In our
30:34
community
30:34
outreach groups,
30:35
we've been
30:35
studying through
30:36
the book of
30:36
Philippians
30:37
together.
30:39
And just
30:39
depending on
30:40
which evening
30:42
you meet.
30:43
Two weeks
30:44
ago for
30:44
some of
30:45
you,
30:45
just a
30:45
week ago
30:46
for others,
30:48
we looked at
30:49
Philippians 4,
30:51
verses 1-3.
30:52
I want you to
30:53
turn there real
30:53
quick.
30:54
I know a lot
30:54
of you are
30:55
familiar with
30:56
the text,
30:57
but I want you
30:57
to see it
30:58
just in case
30:58
you're not.
31:01
Maybe a little
31:02
obscure it seems.
31:03
You read past
31:04
it.
31:05
How many times
31:06
I've read right
31:06
through the book
31:07
of Philippians?
31:09
I read right
31:09
past verses
31:10
1-3.
31:12
Something very
31:13
important that
31:13
Paul is doing
31:14
here.
31:16
He writes,
31:17
Therefore,
31:17
my brothers,
31:18
whom I love
31:19
and long for,
31:20
my joy and
31:20
crown,
31:21
stand firm
31:22
thus in the
31:23
Lord,
31:24
my beloved.
31:26
I entreat
31:27
Euodia and
31:28
I entreat
31:29
Cintiq to
31:30
agree in the
31:31
Lord.
31:31
Yes,
31:32
I ask you
31:32
also,
31:33
true companion,
31:34
help these
31:34
women who
31:35
have labored
31:35
side by side
31:36
with me in
31:36
the gospel
31:37
together with
31:37
Clement and
31:38
the rest of
31:39
my fellow
31:39
workers whose
31:40
names are in
31:41
the book of
31:41
life.
31:43
And that was
31:43
our text for
31:44
that evening
31:44
to discuss
31:45
together.
31:47
And I got
31:48
the treat of
31:48
getting to
31:49
fill in and
31:50
lead a group.
31:52
And the
31:52
question I led
31:53
with was,
31:54
how would you
31:55
feel if on a
31:56
Sunday morning
31:56
I got up and
31:58
I called out
31:59
two of you
31:59
who I've heard
32:00
weren't getting
32:01
along too
32:02
well?
32:03
I just pointed
32:03
you out and
32:04
I said,
32:05
oh, and while
32:05
we're at it,
32:06
I encourage
32:08
the two of
32:08
you, work
32:09
it out.
32:10
Come on.
32:11
Quit causing
32:11
so many
32:12
problems.
32:14
And how that
32:14
would make you
32:14
feel.
32:15
This is what
32:16
Paul does.
32:18
Paul wrote a
32:18
letter to the
32:19
church at
32:19
Philippi.
32:20
It was meant
32:21
to be read
32:21
out loud.
32:22
It's exactly
32:23
what he does
32:23
here.
32:25
As he seems
32:26
to pause,
32:28
for some
32:28
reason,
32:29
why does
32:29
he do
32:29
this?
32:31
It must
32:32
have been
32:32
really important.
32:34
It must
32:35
have been
32:35
of great,
32:36
great importance.
32:37
And here's
32:37
the thing
32:38
that I want
32:39
you to see
32:39
is that he
32:40
gives this
32:41
exhortation to
32:42
stand firm
32:43
in the Lord
32:44
and then he
32:44
turns right
32:45
from that
32:45
and he says
32:46
of these two
32:47
Christian women,
32:48
he affirms that,
32:48
they've labored
32:49
alongside me,
32:50
these are good
32:51
people who
32:52
something is
32:52
causing this
32:53
rift between
32:54
them.
32:55
And he gives
32:56
this treatise,
32:58
this encouragement
32:59
to get along,
33:00
you two get
33:01
along because
33:02
this type
33:03
of disunity
33:04
is a danger
33:05
to the church
33:07
standing firm
33:08
together.
33:12
Do we as a
33:13
congregation
33:14
stand firm
33:15
the way we
33:16
should and
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is it possible
33:18
that we don't
33:19
because there
33:20
are these
33:21
divisions amongst
33:22
us?
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It's very
33:25
possible.
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If you look
33:27
up in
33:28
Philippians
33:28
chapter 3,
33:29
Paul is
33:30
talking about
33:31
enemies of
33:31
the cross
33:32
of Christ
33:32
in verse
33:33
19,
33:33
he says
33:33
their end
33:34
is destruction.
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Their God
33:37
is their belly
33:37
and they glory
33:38
in their shame
33:39
with minds
33:40
set on
33:41
earthly things.
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Who they
33:43
are.
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These people
33:45
over there,
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but our
33:47
citizenship
33:47
is in heaven
33:48
and from it
33:49
we await
33:49
a Savior,
33:50
the Lord
33:51
Jesus Christ.
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Christ is
33:54
all
33:55
to those
33:56
who have
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placed faith
33:57
in Him.
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And when we
34:00
properly
34:00
function out
34:01
of that
34:01
reality,
34:03
we ought
34:04
not have
34:04
division
34:05
amongst us.
34:06
We ought
34:06
to love
34:07
one another
34:08
the way we
34:09
should.
34:09
Verse 14
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presses that
34:11
point.
34:11
And above
34:12
all these,
34:13
put on
34:14
love,
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which binds
34:16
everything together
34:17
in perfect
34:18
harmony.
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Our culture
34:21
says that love
34:22
is an intense
34:23
feeling of
34:23
deep affection.
34:24
affection.
34:25
It's primarily
34:25
about the
34:26
way we
34:26
feel towards
34:27
a person
34:28
or towards
34:29
a thing.
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Christian love
34:31
certainly is a
34:32
deep affection,
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but it's rooted
34:34
and sustained
34:35
by God's
34:36
unchanging
34:37
affection for
34:38
His people.
34:38
We love
34:39
the church,
34:40
we love each
34:41
other because
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we love
34:42
Christ,
34:43
and this is
34:44
what Christ
34:44
loves.
34:46
And that
34:47
affection seeks
34:48
the highest
34:48
good of the
34:50
object of that
34:50
affection.
34:51
So let me
34:52
read that to
34:53
you without
34:53
my interruptions.
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Christian love
34:55
is a deep
34:56
affection which
34:57
is rooted and
34:58
sustained by
34:59
God's unchanging
35:00
affection for
35:00
His people that
35:02
seeks the
35:02
highest good of
35:04
the object of
35:06
that affection.
35:07
This is
35:07
Christian love.
35:08
Doing so many
35:09
weddings really
35:11
has kept present
35:12
on my mind what
35:13
marriage is meant
35:14
to represent,
35:15
this relationship
35:16
between Christ
35:16
and His church
35:17
that someday
35:18
we'll be reunited
35:19
with Him.
35:20
And this is the
35:20
metaphor that's
35:21
used, right,
35:22
that we would
35:22
better understand
35:23
what it means
35:23
for His bride,
35:25
the church,
35:25
to be reunited
35:26
with Christ.
35:28
Right?
35:28
Not an
35:29
individual,
35:31
but the church.
35:33
You are a part
35:34
of the church.
35:35
Your salvation
35:35
is corporate.
35:37
Jesus died for
35:38
the sins of
35:39
the church.
35:41
And beloved,
35:42
language is
35:42
powerful and it
35:44
works its way
35:44
into our minds
35:45
and there's a
35:46
phrase that's
35:47
found nowhere
35:47
in the Scriptures
35:48
which is used
35:49
constantly and
35:51
commonly in
35:52
churches of these
35:52
days and that
35:53
is personal
35:54
relationship
35:55
with Jesus
35:56
Christ.
35:57
This is the
35:57
question asked
35:58
in an invitation.
35:59
Do you have
36:00
a personal
36:01
relationship with
36:02
Jesus Christ?
36:03
And there is an
36:03
element to that
36:04
certainly that I
36:05
must place faith
36:06
in Jesus.
36:08
That if He died
36:08
for the sins of
36:09
the church,
36:10
He certainly
36:10
died as dying
36:11
for the greater
36:12
for the lesser
36:12
as well.
36:13
For me as an
36:14
individual,
36:15
right?
36:16
I pray to Him.
36:17
His Spirit lives
36:17
within me.
36:18
There is a personal
36:18
element to it,
36:19
but the Scriptures
36:20
way further,
36:22
like in greater
36:23
balance,
36:24
talk about how
36:25
it is that we're
36:26
saved together.
36:27
A people set
36:29
apart.
36:31
We have to begin
36:32
thinking rightly
36:33
and properly
36:34
about that.
36:35
We have to love
36:36
what Jesus loves.
36:40
Turn with me
36:41
finally to 1 Corinthians
36:42
chapter 12.
36:43
We're almost done.
36:44
Amen.
36:44
Amen.
36:50
If you love someone, to walk our text backwards.
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If you love someone, you forgive them.
37:08
If you love them, you will bear with them.
37:10
Love generates in us compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.
37:17
This is why Paul says, above all else, put on love.
37:23
Classic 1 Corinthians chapter 13.
37:27
I'm sorry that I didn't get you there before.
37:29
Let me start reading to you in verse 27.
37:31
The Corinthian church had a lot of conflict in it concerning gifts, concerning spiritual gifts.
37:36
And much of Paul's first letter to them addresses this issue.
37:41
Verse 27, now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
37:47
And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
37:57
So these gifts that God has given to the church are all apostles, are all prophets, are all teachers, do all work miracles, do all possess gifts of healing, do all speak with tongues, do all interpret,
38:07
but earnestly desire the higher gifts.
38:10
And I will show you a still more excellent way.
38:14
So there's these gifts that are in operation.
38:17
And we won't get into the theology of that today.
38:21
Not worth it right now, because that's not ultimately the point.
38:24
He's saying we don't all have the same giftedness.
38:26
Seek the higher gifts.
38:27
But, and this phrase is so fascinating, and I will show you a still more excellent way.
38:34
I'm going to show you something better, greater, than the higher gifts that he's been referring to in the previous chapters.
38:40
This is not just a kitschy text to read at a wedding.
38:46
Verse 1,
38:46
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, I have a gift to speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love.
38:55
I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
38:59
And if I have prophetic powers that understand all mysteries and all knowledge.
39:04
Just huge phrases, right?
39:05
And if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
39:12
If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
39:21
Here's this beautiful expression.
39:23
I couldn't explain it better than Paul does here.
39:26
Beginning in verse 4,
39:26
Love is patient and kind.
39:29
Love does not envy or boast.
39:31
It is not arrogant or rude.
39:33
It does not insist on its own way.
39:36
It is not irritable or resentful.
39:38
It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
39:42
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
39:49
Love never ends.
39:52
As for prophecies, they will pass away.
39:53
As for tongues, they will cease.
39:54
As for knowledge, it will pass away.
39:57
For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
40:03
When I was a child, I spoke like a child.
40:06
I thought like a child.
40:07
I reasoned like a child.
40:08
When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
40:12
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.
40:16
Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
40:22
What he's saying is that all of these things, the operation of the church is a shadow.
40:25
It's pointing to Christ.
40:26
So when Christ comes, we'll fully get it.
40:28
So that stuff will no longer be of great necessity.
40:31
Verse 13, so now faith, hope, and love abide.
40:34
These three.
40:35
But the greatest of these is love.
40:38
So our main point today is that Christian people will be distinguished by the way they live in relation to one another.
40:49
And the defining characteristic will be love.
40:53
Jesus says in John 13, 35, by this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.
41:03
How do we show the world a primary way that we show the world that we treasure Christ?
41:08
First, we love each other.
41:11
We look different in that way from the rest of the world in the way we relate to one another.
41:16
In closing, I want to read to you a quote by a contemporary pastor named Arturo Azzerdia.
41:24
I call him Pastor Art because Azzerdia is hard to say.
41:28
He's the pastor of Trinity Church of Portland, Oregon.
41:30
I commend him to you.
41:32
Listen to Pastor Art's sermons.
41:34
They're wonderful.
41:34
He said this.
41:37
Let's suppose that a kite could come to life and develop its own personality.
41:43
On the one hand, it would feel the exhilaration that comes from the surges of wind that direct it through the sky.
41:49
On the other hand, it would almost immediately take notice of something annoying.
41:54
The tugging of the string at its center.
41:56
A feeling of constraint.
41:59
A resistance.
42:01
Consumed, the kite begins to think to itself,
42:03
If only I could detach.
42:05
Then I could really fly.
42:08
To the kite you see, it seems that the string is limiting its full experience of freedom.
42:13
But as any boy or girl who has ever flown a kite knows,
42:16
Were that string to suddenly snap, the kite wouldn't soar freely for very long.
42:21
It would dart to and fro for a minute, maybe two,
42:25
But very soon thereafter would end up on the ground in a pile of broken sticks and torn paper,
42:30
Never ever to fly again.
42:33
Rather, you see, it is the taut line between the kite and the one holding it that enables the kite to fly,
42:40
That allows all the principles of aerodynamics to come into play,
42:43
So that the kite might achieve its full purpose.
42:48
Christian love performs the very same function as a kite string.
42:52
You take away the stabilizing force of Christian love,
42:55
And every towering gift, every supernatural power,
42:59
Every sacrificial act,
43:01
Every musical performance,
43:03
You name it, friends,
43:05
It will all end up on the ash heap of eternal insignificance without love.
43:11
Let's pray together.