Latest / Scripture Unscripted / Romans chapter 12
Transcript
- 0:00Romans chapter 12. Let us pray.
- 0:06Oh heavenly Father, we love you. Lord Jesus, We thank you God for
- 0:12another day. We thank you, Father, for waking
- 0:15us up. We thank you that you have given
- 0:17us life, Lord, and life eternal. We thank you for the deposit of
- 0:23the Holy Spirit. Father.
- 0:24We thank you for the zeal that we possess for your Kingdom and
- 0:28for your word. God, we pray that this will go
- 0:31out to many nations, God, to many people.
- 0:35Father, who will give their life to you.
- 0:38Lord, I pray for surrender, fresh surrender.
- 0:41God, today I pray for fresh filling.
- 0:44Today of the Holy Spirit, Mark us with your goodness and grace
- 0:50and mercy and love. Help us to love you more, to
- 0:55love our neighbors as our self. God, I pray that we'll be found
- 1:00in the harvest. I pray that we'll be found with
- 1:03our hand to the plow. I pray that we will not be
- 1:06distracted today. God, I pray against
- 1:09disillusionment. Father, I pray against
- 1:12deception. God, I pray that you will help
- 1:15every single blood bought born again believer to know their
- 1:20worth, to know their dignity. God, silence the accusations of
- 1:25the enemy from off of your people who are called by your
- 1:29name. God, I pray that you'll raise up
- 1:33men and women of faith who will go out into all the earth or
- 1:38taking the whole Word to the whole world.
- 1:42Father, we stand on truth today. Lord, we live the right way
- 1:48today in relation to Your Word and all of Your revealed will
- 1:54for our lives. Lord, we run the race.
- 1:58Lord, we receive peace today. God, we remember where you have
- 2:06brought us from. Lord, we lift up our faith
- 2:09higher than our emotions and circumstances.
- 2:12And God, I pray that we will rightly divide the word today.
- 2:17I decrease as you increase. Holy Spirit, you guide us.
- 2:22Holy Spirit, you teach us. Let me be hidden as you Holy
- 2:28Spirit teach. Yes, Father God, we're praying
- 2:33for this nation. We are praying God for all the
- 2:36nations around the world. We are praying God against all
- 2:41the principalities. God, we're praying against all
- 2:45of the demonic. Lord, we're praying against all
- 2:48of the schemes of the enemy. Father, I pray that you'll
- 2:52continue to snatch people out of the fire.
- 2:55Father, I pray that today will be the day of salvation for many
- 2:59people. Lord and I pray that fathers
- 3:03will return back to their families.
- 3:05I pray that family units will be strengthened in this hour.
- 3:09I pray for the prodigal to come home.
- 3:11I pray for the natural affection to rise up within the family.
- 3:16Father, I pray that you'll strengthen us for this hour.
- 3:19Let us trim our Wicks. Let us fill our lamps.
- 3:24Father. We train up our children in the
- 3:26way they should go. Father, I pray that you'll make
- 3:29good on your promise. Lord, when they are old, they
- 3:32will not leave that faith, Lord, that they'll come back to it.
- 3:37Lord, I pray for struggling pastors and struggling churches.
- 3:41God, I pray that you'll continue to build them up on the chief
- 3:45cornerstone. Lord, I pray that you will not
- 3:49make it about the numbers, Lord, but you will make it all about
- 3:52your glory. Father, You will share that with
- 3:55no one. And so, Lord, we get out of our
- 3:58own way. We worship you in spirit and
- 4:01truth today. Jesus Christ come, Lord, come,
- 4:05you are coming, yes and Amen. We love you King Jesus, we
- 4:11worship you King Jesus, the Spirit and the bride says come
- 4:16yes Lord, breakdown all opposition today.
- 4:19Lord, help us to receive your word today.
- 4:22Help it to fall on fertile soil today.
- 4:24Help us to produce a harvest, to produce a crop.
- 4:28Let us not leave the low hanging fruit on the vine.
- 4:32Father, I pray that we will speak a word over someone today
- 4:37that helps them to come into the fold.
- 4:40Lord, give us the mind of Christ.
- 4:43God, give us your heart. Father, I pray that we'll run
- 4:46this race well and we'll finish well.
- 4:48God, I pray against all malice and deceit and lust.
- 4:53Father, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh.
- 4:57God, I pray against the pride of life that's trying to entangle
- 5:00us and ensnare us and choke out the fruitfulness.
- 5:04Father, I pray that we'll live on fire for you.
- 5:07King Jesus, I pray that we have counted the cost and found you
- 5:11worthy, worthy, worthy. There was only one found worthy
- 5:15to open the scrolls. The Lord teach us your ways.
- 5:19We love you, King Jesus, Holy Spirit fill us and it's in Jesus
- 5:24Christ, holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.
- 5:31Let's start in verse one. I beg you therefore, brothers,
- 5:40by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living
- 5:46sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
- 5:55service. While Paul came swinging, came
- 5:59out the corner swinging. We have had 11 chapters of him
- 6:07taking us through much of our theological substance that we
- 6:12root and ground our faith upon, that we walk in each and every
- 6:18day. There were so many things for 11
- 6:21chapters that Paul wanted us to know about ourselves and about
- 6:25God and about the world at large.
- 6:28And here we are. We've turned a corner here.
- 6:31Chapter 12 Paul is going to show us how God sees us and what is
- 6:40reasonable for us. And here it is.
- 6:43He says that we should be living sacrifices, that we lay
- 6:51ourselves willfully on the altar.
- 6:56We do not crawl back off, but we lay there and we burn for Him as
- 7:02He burns out all the impurities. We are completely consumed.
- 7:07This is not a Thanksgiving offering.
- 7:11This is not just for the enjoyment of others.
- 7:14This is for God and God alone. We sacrifice all of our wants,
- 7:20all of our desires, all the things that we want this little
- 7:24life to go. We sacrifice it all unto Him.
- 7:28He is worthy of every single moment of every single day.
- 7:34Every molecule, every thought, every single thing in your life
- 7:41needs to be laid upon the altar. But the thing about the living
- 7:45sacrifice is that we have the ability to see that this world
- 7:54is drawing us. And we have to choose between
- 7:58staying there or crawling off and going back into our sinful
- 8:04lifestyle. Going back into the
- 8:07pleasantries, going back into the pleasures of this world,
- 8:11going back into the pride of life, going back into the
- 8:17business of how this world operates in the culture and all
- 8:22the things that they're trying to sell us.
- 8:25And there have been many who have hoard after and lusted
- 8:30after the things of this world and they have lost their
- 8:35inheritance. They have lost their place with
- 8:38God Almighty. They tasted and seen and they
- 8:41have experienced in the things of the Holy Spirit.
- 8:45And then they decided to leave. And so that is what you need to
- 8:50know here. Paul is begging you to stay upon
- 8:53that altar even though you're alive and you have the ability
- 8:56to crawl back off. This is not a Sunday to Sunday
- 9:00kind of faith, friends. We cannot just spend our week
- 9:05doing whatever we want to do and then on Sunday morning we go and
- 9:09we confess and we repent and we get back right with God.
- 9:13But the moment that Monday morning hits, the moment that
- 9:16Friday night hits, we turn on God.
- 9:20We forget the things of God, we are debased and slide back into
- 9:24our reprobate lifestyle. And that is what Paul is warning
- 9:28US against. This is a moment by moment,
- 9:31heartbeat by heartbeat, second by second lifestyle that we're
- 9:36completely sold out to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
- 9:39There is no other option. There is no other way, friends,
- 9:44and if you have found yourself slid off the altar, today is the
- 9:50day of salvation. Return back to him while there
- 9:53is still time. Come back and lay on that altar
- 9:57and burn for him completely. Nothing compartmentalized,
- 10:02nothing held back, nothing hidden, All of it exposed, naked
- 10:07for him to see. Friends, give it all to God and
- 10:12watch how it gives you the fullness and the abundance that
- 10:15you have been always wanting but could never find in this life.
- 10:22It is reasonable when you think of the impartation, if you think
- 10:26of the exchange, if you think of the divinity that God has
- 10:30everything. Friends, there is no lack in the
- 10:33Father's house and all the things that we whore after here
- 10:37on this earth, all the things that we pant after like animals.
- 10:41Friends, they could never compare.
- 10:44They pale in comparison to the fullness of the glory of our
- 10:49King and our God. Yes, and being filled with the
- 10:53Holy Spirit is what you are after.
- 10:55That's what you want. You were designed, you were
- 10:57created to be filled with the Holy Spirit and that is what you
- 11:02need to understand that it until you experience the fullness of
- 11:06being filled by the Holy Spirit, you will always have want.
- 11:10No matter how much money you have, no matter how many
- 11:13partners you have had, no matter all of the status and the pride,
- 11:19all of your reputation, no matter how many positions you
- 11:23have climbed the corporate ladder, you will always be empty
- 11:27until you are filled with the Holy Spirit.
- 11:29That is what we are after. That is what God designed us
- 11:33for, and that is what you need to understand that it is
- 11:36reasonable. Whenever you count the cost,
- 11:38whenever you see that this world has no hold on you, this world
- 11:43has nothing for you, that it is God and it is God and it is God
- 11:47alone who deserves our entire life.
- 11:50It is reasonable and if you come that way, he will make you holy.
- 11:55Because he is holy. You will be set apart, friends,
- 11:58and don't be surprised when you're in the world, but you
- 12:01don't look like the world and the world ridicules you for the
- 12:05your lifestyle. Don't be surprised.
- 12:07It is reasonable to present your bodies it to be holy, to be
- 12:12acceptable unto God, to and do not be conformed to this world,
- 12:19but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you
- 12:25may prove what is that good, acceptable and perfect will of
- 12:32God. So there it is friends, don't be
- 12:34surprised whenever you're in this world, but you don't look
- 12:38like the world and the world ridicules you.
- 12:41You're not to be conformed to it.
- 12:44And there are many scholars who will tell you that we need to be
- 12:49as shrewd as snakes. They they're going to tell you
- 12:52that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealings and
- 12:55business than the children of light.
- 12:58But what you need to understand is the only thing we're
- 13:01investing in is the Kingdom of God.
- 13:04We're sending it ahead, friends. We're not trying to hold on to
- 13:09this life. That is how we're going to make
- 13:13it there, friends, is by getting covered in the blood of Jesus
- 13:16Christ, being completely sold out to Him.
- 13:19You're going to see here that we are not conformed.
- 13:22And this being transformed, it means that anyone who is in
- 13:27Christ is a new creation. We're letting the Word of God
- 13:31wash over our minds. That is, the renewing of the
- 13:34mind is getting into God's Word first and foremost before you
- 13:39even go out into your day. Don't wait till the middle of
- 13:42the day. Don't wait till the end of the
- 13:44day, friends, before you feast on your digital platform, before
- 13:50you feast on the news, before you feast on the stocks, before
- 13:55you feast on food. Get into the Word and let the
- 14:00Word wash over you and let the Word be your compass for that
- 14:04day. Today has enough worry in
- 14:06itself. Don't worry about tomorrow.
- 14:08Take no thought for tomorrow, friends.
- 14:12And that is what you need to know, is that God is calling us
- 14:16into a life of being completely sold out to Him, laying
- 14:20ourselves on the altar, not worrying about tomorrow, not
- 14:24being conformed to the ways of this world, but be transformed.
- 14:28Be a new creation. Friends, it is reasonable. 3 For
- 14:33I say, through the grace given unto me to every man that is
- 14:38among you, not to think of himself more highly than he
- 14:41ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God has
- 14:46dealt to every man the measure of faith.
- 14:50So there it is. We're not to be drunken.
- 14:52We are not to be high. We are to be filled with the
- 14:56Holy Ghost. That is what we want.
- 14:59That is what you want, whether you realize it or not, friends,
- 15:05if you are not being filled with the Holy Ghost, you're going to
- 15:09look at all the other things in the world to try to fill you,
- 15:12and they never can. That is why it is grace that
- 15:17gives us this undeserved free gift of salvation, which is when
- 15:25the Holy Spirit gets deposited into us and we start to see the
- 15:29world all around us the way that Jesus Christ does.
- 15:33Don't think of yourself better than others, but think of others
- 15:36as better than you. What a hard concept, friends.
- 15:40That is what He's trying to tell you here.
- 15:42Don't think of yourself wise in your own eyes, but look at
- 15:47everyone as if they are a child of God made in the image of God.
- 15:53Sit and listen to others instead of trying to push your agenda on
- 15:59other people. Sit and actually listen to them.
- 16:02Don't be high minded. Don't be Snooty.
- 16:05Friends. No, we need to have friends of
- 16:10all classes. Don't think you're better than
- 16:13those who are in a lower position than you, and don't
- 16:17think of yourself as unworthy to keep the company of those who
- 16:22are in higher positions than you.
- 16:24Just listen to me very carefully.
- 16:26There is a great equalizer and His name is Jesus Christ.
- 16:30And we, you will find as you go through this life that He puts
- 16:33all of us together as the body and we all serve different
- 16:37functions. And there are many who are in
- 16:40high positions, who are in very influential affluent circles and
- 16:46just know that if they are sold out to the King of Kings and the
- 16:49Lord of Lords, he's going to use those positions.
- 16:52And there are many who are down in the dumps.
- 16:55They are in the hostels, they are in the homeless shelters,
- 17:01they are in the streets. And just know that if they are
- 17:05completely sold out to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords,
- 17:09he sees them as a child of his and he's going to take care of
- 17:12them. And there should be a wonderful
- 17:16equalizing amongst brothers and sisters friends for for as we
- 17:23have many members and one body and all members have not the
- 17:28same office. So Paul here is going to paint
- 17:30this anatomy of a body and he's going to show you that we all
- 17:34serve different purposes, but it all serves the head, which is
- 17:38Christ. 5 So we being many are one body in Christ and everyone
- 17:43members one of another six having them gifts differing
- 17:47according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy,
- 17:52let us prophecy according to the proportion of faith.
- 17:56So he's mentioned faith a couple times here.
- 17:58And I want you to know, friends, this gift of prophecy should not
- 18:04be the hammer, friends. And we do not need to take pride
- 18:08in our gifts. They are a free gift, just like
- 18:11salvation. And we didn't choose those
- 18:13gifts. And a lot of people have gifts,
- 18:16but they misuse them. And that is where a lot of cults
- 18:20spring up. That is where a lot of church
- 18:23hurt springs up. That is where you see the abuse
- 18:27within the church is because people are abusing those gifts
- 18:31and God will not take any part in it.
- 18:34And those people will have to suffer, whether in this life or
- 18:37the life to come for stepping out of line.
- 18:41God disciplines those that he loves, friends, and you need to
- 18:45know that if they suffer in the next life, it'll be in the form
- 18:50of losing rewards, Friends because they did not steward the
- 18:54gifts that he had given them. They did not steward them well.
- 18:59And so that is what you need to understand when it comes to
- 19:01prophecy. This isn't fortune telling.
- 19:04That is satanic. I want you to know, friends,
- 19:06this is 4th telling, which is just knowing the Word of God,
- 19:12knowing how the Lord thinks about things, looking and
- 19:15measuring how people are going and being able to tell them
- 19:20outrightly in a very, very calculated way that this is what
- 19:26God says. And if you keep going down that
- 19:28path, this is what is going to happen based upon the Word of
- 19:32God. Seven or ministry.
- 19:37Let us wait on our ministering or he that teaches on teaching.
- 19:41So Paul is giving us this list of gifts and he's letting us
- 19:45know that the Holy Spirit is the one who gives it.
- 19:48And we should not have pride in these gifts, but it is a free
- 19:52gift and the Lord is well pleased to distribute it to
- 19:56those. And if you find yourself with
- 19:58one of these gifts, do it all unto God.
- 20:01It is not for self, it is not for vanity, it is not for pride.
- 20:06It is not for an elevated position.
- 20:09It is not to try to usurp it over your fellow brothers and
- 20:12sisters. Far be it from us to try to
- 20:15present ourselves as super spiritual.
- 20:18We are just to be laid down, lovers of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- 20:22If He gives us the gift of ministry, then we should be
- 20:26ministering unto others, taking care of others needs.
- 20:31Friends, if He gives us the gift of teaching, make sure you teach
- 20:35correctly and not falsely. A or he that exhorts on
- 20:40exhortation or he that gives, let him do it with simplicity.
- 20:44He that rules with diligence, and he that shows mercy with
- 20:48cheerfulness. So this is not an extensive,
- 20:52complete list of the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to us.
- 20:55Paul is just glossing over and he's just telling us that we we
- 20:59need to do everything unto the Lord, not unto self.
- 21:05Make sure that whatever gift that you find yourself in, you
- 21:08do not find your identity in that gift.
- 21:11Our identity is in Jesus Christ and a lot of these gifts will
- 21:16ebb and flow and will as time goes on.
- 21:20We might have multiple gifts as time goes on.
- 21:24You're going to see that your gifts can change with time as we
- 21:29mature in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not a one-size-fits-all.
- 21:34It's very fluid, friends, and it is based upon being filled with
- 21:38the Holy Ghost and not having self will and not trying to show
- 21:45others that we have some kind of corner on God and some kind of
- 21:49corner on these gifts. It doesn't work that way,
- 21:52friends. We've got to let go, be emptied
- 21:54out of ourselves, and that is whenever we will be filled with
- 21:58Him and receive gifts, and the gifts will be appropriate to the
- 22:02timing of God's plan and God's will for that specific person,
- 22:07for that specific organization, for that specific time.
- 22:11And it'll be to His edification, to His glory.
- 22:14It'll be to lift the name of Jesus Christ higher than our own
- 22:19name, organization, higher than our own ministry.
- 22:24It is all about Christ and Christ crucified.
- 22:27Don't forget it. 9 Let love be without dissimulation.
- 22:32Abhor that which is evil, cleave to that which is good.
- 22:39So this is going to flow into a section here that Paul is going
- 22:43to show us how to live out and walk out.
- 22:47And what is the measure? And how can we know that we're
- 22:50in the company of a True Blood bot, born again believer.
- 22:54These are the things that will exude without even having to
- 22:59try. These are just a natural
- 23:01overflow of the filling of the Holy Spirit.
- 23:04It is not that we can just make a bullet point list of things
- 23:09that we should behave our way into heaven.
- 23:12It doesn't work that way. These will be the
- 23:14characteristics, friends, that you can see that you are in the
- 23:18company of someone who truly knows the Lord Jesus Christ.
- 23:23We will. We will have love.
- 23:26We will not be drawn into the evil things, friends.
- 23:30We will hold on to what is good, what is godly.
- 23:34We will not try to hold our love over others friends, we will not
- 23:41try to Lord it over others. We will not even have to try to
- 23:45love because the love that we have, He has given it to us.
- 23:49We don't even know what love is without the Lord Jesus Christ.
- 23:53Tend be kindly affection 1 to another with brotherly love in
- 23:58honor, preferring one another. So that is what you need to
- 24:02know. That is what he was talking
- 24:04about a few verses back whenever he said to not be prideful or
- 24:10haughty, to not think of yourself as better than others.
- 24:15That is the brotherly love, preferring others over yourself,
- 24:20honoring, outdoing each other in honor.
- 24:23And it is beautiful when it is done in an affectionate,
- 24:28brotherly way. And that is what you need to
- 24:31know. God's way is that we in a
- 24:34community, we are able to get along with one another and we're
- 24:38not self seeking, self backbiting.
- 24:41We are not causing dissension and discord, which the Lord
- 24:45hates amongst brothers. 11 not slothful in business, fervent in
- 24:51spirit, serving the Lord. That is a word for many people.
- 24:55Friends, this not slothful in business.
- 24:58When you come unto the Lord, he puts his yoke on you, which is
- 25:02easy, and his burden is light, but it's work nonetheless.
- 25:06And that is what you need to understand when you come to the
- 25:09Lord. It does not exempt you from
- 25:11having to get up and go to work. And he says if any man will not
- 25:17work, he will not eat. And that is how we make a
- 25:20living. You see Paul here, the writer of
- 25:23this book here to the Romans was a tent maker.
- 25:26And that is the calling, friends.
- 25:28We are not just to sit on the sidelines, sit on her blessed
- 25:32assurance, sit in a circle singing kumbaya, waiting on the
- 25:36Lord to come back. We need to get out into the
- 25:39harvest, friends. We need to use all the resources
- 25:43available to us to reach the ends of the earth to tell every
- 25:47man, woman and child about the good news of the Lord Jesus
- 25:51Christ. We do not need to find ourselves
- 25:55in a position where we are only amassing wealth to ourselves,
- 26:00where we're having barns filled with hay and he says, you fool,
- 26:04this very night your life will be demanded from you.
- 26:07We need to use every single resource that God has given to
- 26:11us to bless others. That is the whole purpose of the
- 26:14whole plan for and send it head unto heaven.
- 26:18Do not store up for yourselves treasures here on this earth.
- 26:22Store them up in heaven where moth and rust and thieves cannot
- 26:26break in and destroy friends. If you are find yourself as a
- 26:30businessman, it is not for your own vanity, own self seeking.
- 26:34It is not for your retirement 401K.
- 26:38It is to bless others. And if we find ourselves
- 26:41hoarding up money and hoarding up all of our resources, you're
- 26:46going to find that the moth and the rust and the thief has
- 26:50already broke in and destroyed it, friends.
- 26:53And as we look, you're going to see the stocks plummet.
- 26:57You're going to see all of your wealth and everything taken away
- 27:01in one hour and 1 very millisecond.
- 27:04And everything that you base your life upon, your worth and
- 27:07everything will be nothing in comparison to what God wanted
- 27:12for you and for your life. We are to send it ahead.
- 27:16We are to help others out, help the widow and help the orphan
- 27:20out with all the resources that we have.
- 27:23It is not for self, it is not for our luxury, is not for our
- 27:32preservation. It is unto God every dollar,
- 27:35every cent. Do not be slothful in it,
- 27:38friends. Be as shrewd as snakes, Be more
- 27:42shrewd than the children of this world when it comes to business.
- 27:47And that is to advance the Kingdom of God, to send
- 27:51medicines over all the earth, to be able to heal people.
- 27:56And we could give up one meal to help support missionaries on the
- 28:01ground. We could give up one meal so
- 28:04that we can buy medicine so that women can have children that do
- 28:09not have to have all of these ailments because they didn't
- 28:14have the proper medical care. Think about what the Lord is
- 28:18calling us into. Think about the gravity and the
- 28:21responsibility whenever you find yourself in a prosperous
- 28:26position and God is going to hold you accountable.
- 28:29And we won't be let off the hook that easy.
- 28:32Friends, serve the Lord. Don't be slothful.
- 28:36Make sure you're fervent in the spirit.
- 28:39Make sure that you are emptying yourself of yourself so you can
- 28:42be filled with the Holy Ghost. 12 rejoicing in hope, patient
- 28:47and tribulation continuing instant in prayer.
- 28:50Don't just tell somebody you're going to pray for him.
- 28:52Pray for him that instant. Believe that God wants to heal
- 28:56them. Believe that God wants to
- 28:57breakthrough and show himself mighty in their life.
- 29:01Make sure that we're holding on to hope.
- 29:03Don't lose hope, friends. Make sure you have patience
- 29:07whenever you're going through all the trials.
- 29:09He says you're going to have them on this earth, but rejoice
- 29:13because he overcame the world. Take his peace. 13 distributing
- 29:20to the necessity of the Saints, given the hospitality that is
- 29:23that equalizing. Friends, if you find yourself
- 29:26with much, if you have plenty of hay in your barn and you're
- 29:30thinking you're just going to build another one, don't be a
- 29:33fool. Friends.
- 29:34You see the people who need your help and you should not just sit
- 29:40around and you need to make sure that you take whatever you have
- 29:44that is in abundance that you do not need and distribute it to
- 29:48those that are in need. And you don't need an
- 29:51organization to tell you to how to do that. 14 Bless them which
- 29:56persecute you. Bless and curse not.
- 29:59What a hard word, friends. We want to retaliate.
- 30:03We want to get the better. We want to be the avenger.
- 30:08And that is not God's way. You need to know that when
- 30:11you're being persecuted, bless them.
- 30:13And the best way you can bless somebody who's persecuting you
- 30:17is to tell them about the Lord Jesus Christ and to not try to
- 30:22strike back. And yes, a strong man arm
- 30:25protects his house and that is a whole different topic for a
- 30:30whole different day. But I want you to know that God
- 30:33over all tells us that He is the one who's going to get the
- 30:38revenge. It's not on us.
- 30:40It's one thing whenever we are trying to protect our families
- 30:44and it is a whole nother thing whenever we are hateful towards
- 30:49the lost. That is not God's way.
- 30:52We do not need to try and get back back at anybody.
- 30:55You give it over to God, you surrender it to Him and watch
- 30:59how He moves mightily in their life.
- 31:02Watch how He brings many people into repentance and many people
- 31:07into salvation because of the kindness that you have showed
- 31:10them. 15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice and weep with them
- 31:16that weep. That is the way of God.
- 31:19When you see somebody rejoicing, don't break them down.
- 31:23Don't try to steal the joy that they have.
- 31:28You can always tell who is truly with you by that little caveat.
- 31:33Whenever you are in a state of rejoicing over something and
- 31:39then somebody tries to break you down, those people are not part
- 31:45of your friends circle. They're not.
- 31:48They are just there to try and help themselves.
- 31:52And you need to be aware of those kinds of people.
- 31:55And when somebody is weeping, don't just condescend.
- 31:59Don't just have a hard heart. If somebody is weeping, you
- 32:05should be broken hearted for them, and you should be broken
- 32:08hearted for sin and death and all the things of this earth
- 32:12that we will not have to go through in the next life. 16 Be
- 32:17of the same mind, one toward another mind not high things,
- 32:22but condescend to men of low estate.
- 32:25Be not wise in your own conceits.
- 32:28So there it is again, the same concept that we should not just
- 32:33associate ourselves with people who are on our level and we
- 32:38should be keeping the company of the homeless, keeping the
- 32:43company of the poor in spirit, keeping the company of those who
- 32:51can never repay back the hospitality that we show them.
- 32:55And that is what you need to know.
- 32:57Don't be conceited in your own mind, OK?
- 33:01Do not think of yourself as wise in your own eyes, and you should
- 33:06have one mind with brothers and sisters, no matter what position
- 33:10they find themselves in. God has soldiers in every camp.
- 33:15God has people at every single station all around the globe,
- 33:21and he's using it for His glory. Friends 17 don't repay to any
- 33:27man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the
- 33:31sight of all men. That is practicing integrity.
- 33:34Friends, if there was ever a time in the history of mankind
- 33:38that we should be practicing integrity, it is now when
- 33:42everything is being monitored, everything is being recorded,
- 33:46everything is being watched. So you need to know that we are
- 33:51under a microscope as Christians.
- 33:53And if you are saying one thing and doing another, if you're
- 33:56fudging the numbers, if you're telling little white lies, if
- 34:00you're gossiping and slandering, it's all going to be found out.
- 34:04What's done in the dark will be brought out into the light.
- 34:07If you're addicted to pornography, if you are in a
- 34:11adulterous relationship, if you are embezzling money, stop those
- 34:16things today. Confess those things today.
- 34:18Bring them out into the light before God does.
- 34:21Do not let them steal your witness away.
- 34:24God wants you to practice integrity.
- 34:27God wants you to be honest in all of your dealings friends.
- 34:32And one thing that you need to understand is the enemies
- 34:35tactics is to get you to make a mess of your life so that you
- 34:39are not able to reach people for God because they see the
- 34:45duplicity in your life. They see through all of your
- 34:49little idiosyncrasies where you think that you can get away with
- 34:53things, but you cannot because you are being evaluated.
- 34:56God sees everything and he'll bring it out into the light.
- 35:00And you also need to know that we are not the ones that repay
- 35:03evil for evil. You cannot do that friends.
- 35:07You need to give it to God. When somebody does evil to you,
- 35:11give it to God completely surrender it over to the Lord
- 35:15and watch how he is the avenger. Friends 18 If it be possible, as
- 35:22much as lie it, then you live peaceably with all men.
- 35:27He's saying that sometimes it is not possible.
- 35:29Sometimes you got to put up the privacy fence.
- 35:32Sometimes you have to create a little space.
- 35:35Friends and it is OK to have healthy boundaries and it is OK
- 35:40friends that we can love people from a distance.
- 35:43If they are hostile people, they are dangerous people.
- 35:47If they are violent people, if they are demonic people, then
- 35:51you need to know that it is OK for you to protect your home,
- 35:55protect your family from those people.
- 35:58Sometimes we find ourselves in situations where we cannot live
- 36:02peaceably, but just by and large, God desires for us to
- 36:07live peaceably amongst our neighbors because that is going
- 36:11to be the doorway into ministry and their lives.
- 36:15When they see the hope that is in you and they ask you
- 36:19eventually, after they have already studied you and they see
- 36:23that you have hope in all of the afflictions, they're going to
- 36:26ask you what is the reason for your hope.
- 36:28And God is going to open the door up so that you can minister
- 36:32to them. And if we slam the door, and if
- 36:35we are dishonest and if we are aloof from our neighbors, then
- 36:42those ministry opportunities will go by the wayside, and
- 36:46there will be people who are not able to find the Lord Jesus
- 36:51Christ through US and through our ministry and through our
- 36:56testimony. And that is what God is trying
- 36:59to show us, that we need to try to live peaceably so that we can
- 37:03be a good witness to our neighbors. 19 Dearly beloved,
- 37:09avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath,
- 37:13For it is written, vengeance is mine, and I will repay, says the
- 37:17Lord. Give it over to him, and watch
- 37:19how he moves mightily. 20 Therefore if your enemy is
- 37:25hungry, feed him, If he thirst, give him drink, for in so doing
- 37:35you shall heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of
- 37:42evil, but overcome evil with good.
- 37:46Enough said, God said it, we believe it, and that settles it.
- 37:54Think about it for a second. Who is our enemy?
- 38:04We need to see every single person who has ever been born,
- 38:11is born or will be born as made in the image of God.
- 38:15And there will be every tribe and every nation represented in
- 38:22heaven. I want you to know that we
- 38:27cannot, because someone doesn't look like us or speak our
- 38:31language, we cannot demonize them.
- 38:34Friends, God has people on every continent that He has made and
- 38:40that He loves. And when you finally get to see
- 38:43people the way that He does, you'll break down all of your
- 38:48prejudiceness, all of your racism, and you will see them as
- 38:54God's children, and they are beautiful.
- 38:58And yes, there is a divine plan and action, and not everyone's
- 39:03going to make it there. But it's not for us to try to
- 39:06figure that out. What we do is when somebody
- 39:10reviles us, when somebody curses us, when somebody is hateful
- 39:15towards us, we love them. And by doing so, it will prick
- 39:22their conscience friends, and they will see the air of their
- 39:27way. And we hope that there will be
- 39:32at least one out of a million who will give their life to
- 39:37Christ because of our kindness towards them in the face of
- 39:43persecution. Do not repay evil with evil, but
- 39:47overcome evil with good, friends.
- 39:51And there is none good but God. So we overcome evil with
- 39:55godliness. And how would you know what to
- 39:58do unless you're steeped and rooted and grounded in God's
- 40:02word? That is how we can know what is
- 40:05good. Friends, let's get let's get
- 40:08suited up. Armored up.
- 40:09Friends, let's get ready for the battle.
- 40:11Friends we wore on our knees. Friends, resist the devil.
- 40:18And people are not the problem, it is the spirit behind those
- 40:22people that we war against. I hope you've been blessed by
- 40:26this amazing chapter here in the Word of God.
- 40:29I know I sure have. I love you.
- 40:31I'm praying for you. We'll see you back here
- 40:34tomorrow. God bless you.