Latest / Life Community Church / Sunday Message | What if Defending Your Rights Weakens Your Witness | 1 Corinthians 9 | Kelly Bridges

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Sunday Message | What if Defending Your Rights Weakens Your Witness | 1 Corinthians 9 | Kelly Bridges · Life Community Church

0:02
SPEAKER_02: Hello, this is Jamie Bridges, and thank you so much for joining us for this week's podcast.
0:08
SPEAKER_02: All of our services are inspired and built straight from the Bible.
0:11
SPEAKER_02: Let's get into this week's message recorded at Life Community Church.
0:16
SPEAKER_00: Sorry if you are one of those people who are like, Well, is Pastor Jamie preaching tomorrow?
0:23
SPEAKER_00: And then we're like, yes, and you're like, good, I'm gonna go to church.
0:26
SPEAKER_00: And then you're like, oh no, sorry, you're like, well, I'm gonna stay home.
0:30
SPEAKER_00: So if you didn't know, and you came expecting Jamie, because I guess what?
0:34
SPEAKER_00: I know you all are out there.
0:37
SPEAKER_00: Sorry you got me today.
0:40
SPEAKER_00: I'm the much better half of the bridges.
0:51
SPEAKER_01: And I already told him you have to stay over there and stay quiet.
0:58
SPEAKER_01: Oh.
0:59
SPEAKER_00: Good thing those don't work on me.
1:03
SPEAKER_00: I said, I was like, listen, if you're gonna sit there, you're gonna stay quiet.
1:11
SPEAKER_00: Because I stay quiet.
1:12
SPEAKER_00: I listen to all your jokes about me.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: Also, if you were at She Wakes, I decided that in July you can preach with open-toed shoes.
1:23
SPEAKER_00: So, in case someone's distracted by my toenail polish, which will be nobody.
1:30
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
1:30
SPEAKER_00: So we've been in Corinthians all summer long, as you guys know, and Sean and Shelly did a fabulous job last week.
1:35
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you guys know this, but Shelly Williamson is actually my favorite preacher.
1:39
SPEAKER_00: I tell her all the time we're gonna get her up here more often.
1:43
SPEAKER_00: But I also know when I tell Shelly that, then in turn that means I have to be up here more often.
1:47
SPEAKER_00: And so I'll be like, You're good, Shell.
1:49
SPEAKER_00: You're good, girl.
1:50
SPEAKER_00: You stay, you stay back there at that computer, and I'll stay on the front row.
1:53
SPEAKER_00: That's how we like it.
1:55
SPEAKER_00: But we know we can't really do that, so here we are.
1:59
SPEAKER_00: Um so we have been in 1 Corinthians often long, of course, and Paul has been teaching something to the Corinthian church this whole time about how to follow Christ.
2:08
SPEAKER_00: And we have five through eight, and he's been taking them on what their lives should look like if they say now that they've believe in Jesus.
2:16
SPEAKER_00: And so chapters five and eight kind of lead us up to this moment that we have today in chapter nine.
2:21
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna run over them really fast for you.
2:23
SPEAKER_00: So chapter five, hey backstage, you're real loud.
2:30
SPEAKER_00: Jamie won't do that, but I will.
2:32
SPEAKER_00: Um Chapter five, we learn not to celebrate our um our freedom in Christ by practicing sexual immorality and boasting in it, because sin will spread just as Jesus does through the whole lot of you.
2:46
SPEAKER_00: Chapter six, Paul covers suing one another over small matters.
2:49
SPEAKER_00: He says, why not just take the loss if being a witness to um if it means being a witness to unbelievers?
2:55
SPEAKER_00: And again, he tells them to run from sexual sin.
2:58
SPEAKER_00: Understanding that now you are the body of Christ, and your bodies belong to Christ, and you must use them to glorify him.
3:05
SPEAKER_00: Chapter 7 teaches that there is a place for sexual intimacy and God created marriage.
3:10
SPEAKER_00: It is not a sin to engage in that activity with your spouse because there was somewhat of a belief that that was a sin.
3:17
SPEAKER_00: Um, but in fact, wives, your husband, your body now belongs to your husbands, and husbands, your body now belongs to your wife, which would have blown their minds because that was not a belief in the time.
3:28
SPEAKER_00: Um, you should stay married if you're married to an unbeliever, because your belief in the Lord could lead that person to Christ.
3:36
SPEAKER_00: It was also a belief that if I become a believer, maybe I should divorce my unbelieving spouse.
3:41
SPEAKER_00: And he says, No, you should stay how you are when you come to Christ because your life could be a witness to them.
3:48
SPEAKER_00: And then chapter 8, he discusses uh numerous so-called gods in heaven and earth, and many are worshiping idols, but there is only one God.
3:56
SPEAKER_00: And Paul teaches that their actions could hinder those who are weaker in their faith, and it's a responsibility to love your fellow believer by not causing them to stumble.
4:05
SPEAKER_00: Chapter or sorry, verse 12 and chapter 8 says, When you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ.
4:17
SPEAKER_00: And then we're gonna come to chapter 9, where we are today, and we're gonna talk about um, we're gonna discuss where our actions lead us if we are only focusing on what we want.
4:28
SPEAKER_00: Chapters five through eight deal with the heart of the Corinthian church, taking their freedom in Christ and exploiting it to do whatever their hearts desire.
4:36
SPEAKER_00: But we can learn from multiple scriptures that when we come to Christ, we cannot longer in live like that any longer.
4:43
SPEAKER_00: Luke 9, 23 and 24 says, If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way.
4:51
SPEAKER_00: Take up your cross daily and follow me.
4:53
SPEAKER_00: If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.
4:56
SPEAKER_00: But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.
5:00
SPEAKER_00: John five, or sorry, first John two, fifteen and sixteen says, Do not love the world nor the things that it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.
5:11
SPEAKER_00: For the world offers only a craving for a physical pleasure, a craving for everything that we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions.
5:20
SPEAKER_00: These are not from the Father, but they are from the world.
5:23
SPEAKER_00: So we're coming to chapter nine, and we're gonna answer three questions today about how Paul is living his life and how he's carefully instructing the Corinthian church to do the same.
5:32
SPEAKER_00: And I'm also, well, I'm not gonna apologize, but I'm not walking away from my notes because you don't want me to do that.
5:40
SPEAKER_00: It'd be bad.
5:41
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so here are three questions.
5:43
SPEAKER_00: What is Paul doing?
5:44
SPEAKER_00: He's giving up his rights as a follower of Christ to advance the kingdom at all costs.
5:49
SPEAKER_00: How is Paul accomplishing his goal?
5:51
SPEAKER_00: He disciplines himself in his conduct so he will not be disqualified.
5:55
SPEAKER_00: And three, why is Paul so driven?
5:58
SPEAKER_00: And we're gonna learn because Paul has a divine encounter with Jesus Christ.
6:02
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so number one, what is Paul doing?
6:04
SPEAKER_00: Paul opens chapter nine to defend some criticism that he's been facing about his apostolic authority, and he opens a series of questions in verse one and two, and then we come to verse three, and he says, Um, do I not have all of these rights?
6:19
SPEAKER_00: Okay, and then we're gonna read verse four through twelve.
6:22
SPEAKER_00: I also really like a lot of scripture, so hang on, okay.
6:28
SPEAKER_00: So we're reading verse four through twelve.
6:32
SPEAKER_00: Actually, I'm gonna go three.
6:33
SPEAKER_00: This is my answer to those who question my authority.
6:37
SPEAKER_00: Do we not have the right to live in your homes and share your meals?
6:40
SPEAKER_00: Don't we have the right to bring an unbelieving wife with us, as the other apostles do and the Lord's brothers do, and Peter does?
6:47
SPEAKER_00: Or is it only Barnus Barnabas and I who have to work to support ourselves?
6:51
SPEAKER_00: What soldier has to pay his own expenses?
6:54
SPEAKER_00: What farmer plants a vineyard and does have not have the right to eat some fruit?
6:59
SPEAKER_00: What shepherd cares for a flock of sheep and isn't allowed to drink some of the milk?
7:03
SPEAKER_00: Am I expressing a merely a human opinion, or does the law say the same thing?
7:08
SPEAKER_00: For the law of Moses says you must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.
7:14
SPEAKER_00: Was God thinking about only the oxen when he said this?
7:16
SPEAKER_00: Wasn't he actually speaking to us?
7:19
SPEAKER_00: Yes, it is written for us, so that the one who ploughs and the one who threshes the grain might both expect a share of the harvest.
7:27
SPEAKER_00: Since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren't we entitled to a harvest of physical food and drink?
7:32
SPEAKER_00: If you support others who preach to you, shouldn't we have a greater right to be supported?
7:37
SPEAKER_00: But we have never used this right.
7:39
SPEAKER_00: We would rather put up with anything than be an obstacle to the good news about Jesus.
7:49
SPEAKER_00: So there probably was a question about his authority because Paul was making sorry, those are now you're blurry, now you're not.
7:56
SPEAKER_00: Um, because Paul was working to make a living, and they would have probably looked down upon that because people who were um teaching and preaching would have got paid by those who they were teaching and preaching to.
8:06
SPEAKER_00: And so that's why he's kind of addressing that situation.
8:09
SPEAKER_00: But Paul says to them, I would rather die than lose my boast to preach without charge.
8:17
SPEAKER_00: I don't know that I could say that.
8:20
SPEAKER_00: Would I rather die than lose my right to preach about Christ without charge?
8:25
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I do, because nobody's paying me to do that.
8:28
SPEAKER_00: But um, but like that's such an intensity, right?
8:31
SPEAKER_00: When you think about that, like, would I rather die?
8:35
SPEAKER_00: And our answer should be yes.
8:37
SPEAKER_00: But I think as Americans, we we really like our rights as Americans, don't we?
8:43
SPEAKER_00: We have an entire bill written for us about our rights.
8:47
SPEAKER_00: We have the right of re freedom of religion, the freedom of speech.
8:50
SPEAKER_00: We love that one.
8:51
SPEAKER_00: Freedom of the press, freedom to bear our own arms, we love that one too, freedom to a fair trial, it goes so on and so on and so on, right?
8:59
SPEAKER_00: And Paul has the right to preach and earn money, but he wants to put those aside and not enforce them if it means being a witness for the Lord.
9:08
SPEAKER_00: And so now, as people that we are in here and you say we follow Christ, it is really important for us to think about that and how we put that into practice in our own lives, where we think that we need to fight for our rights instead of putting our rights aside if it's going to mean that our witness is ruined because of how we're acting.
9:27
SPEAKER_00: And we're really such a self-centered culture, right?
9:29
SPEAKER_00: So I'm thinking like, when do we start becoming like self-centered?
9:33
SPEAKER_00: And Harlow's like 15 months and she's not really talking, so she hasn't heard learned the word mine yet.
9:40
SPEAKER_00: But I'm gonna figure it comes in about three more months.
9:43
SPEAKER_00: And her brother's right on the way.
9:46
SPEAKER_00: So, like 18 months, right?
9:47
SPEAKER_00: We've been like, that's my toy, my food, my this, my that.
9:51
SPEAKER_00: We learned so easy that we want our will to be bestowed on everybody else.
9:56
SPEAKER_00: And you guys, everyone needs to bow to what our will is gonna be.
10:00
SPEAKER_00: So we have, I don't know how many people are in this room.
10:02
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna say 400.
10:03
SPEAKER_00: I'm real bad with numbers.
10:05
SPEAKER_00: So we have 400 people in this room.
10:06
SPEAKER_00: There are 400 of us in this room with our own will, and 400 of us that feel the need to write, fight for our own rights in any given situation.
10:15
SPEAKER_00: Right?
10:16
SPEAKER_00: So I'm just gonna use like freedom of speech because it seems to be like the hottest topic since 2020.
10:22
SPEAKER_00: But everybody likes to be heard, everybody likes to be seen, everybody wants to have their way, some of us more than others.
10:30
SPEAKER_00: Um we think it's our right that we get to say what we want because the government says we have a freedom of speech.
10:44
SPEAKER_00: But I'm gonna tell you today that the Bible tells us otherwise.
10:48
SPEAKER_00: And we could use a um 1 Corinthians 6 here, where Paul is quoting a Corinthian saying, saying, Everything is permissible for you.
10:56
SPEAKER_00: You're right, Corinth Corinth.
10:58
SPEAKER_00: Every single thing is permissible for permissible for you, but not everything is beneficial.
11:02
SPEAKER_00: And so we come and we're like, well, everything's we have freedom of speech.
11:05
SPEAKER_00: The government says we have freedom of speech.
11:07
SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm gonna say to you, some of us need to shut up, okay?
11:12
SPEAKER_00: And Paul's instructing the Corinthians that you cannot just do whatever you want to do anymore if you say you now follow Christ.
11:21
SPEAKER_00: Following Christ is what you get to do.
11:24
SPEAKER_00: And so when we look at um so many scriptures, right?
11:30
SPEAKER_00: When words multiply, sin typically follows, but those who control their lips demonstrate prudence.
11:36
SPEAKER_00: Proverbs 10 19.
11:38
SPEAKER_00: Guarding one's mouth preserves life, while reckless speech invites ruin, Proverbs 13.3.
11:45
SPEAKER_00: Keeping both mouth and tongue under control protects a person from hardship.
11:50
SPEAKER_00: That's Proverbs 21, 23.
11:52
SPEAKER_00: Fools vent all of their emotions, whereas wise people restrain themselves.
11:56
SPEAKER_00: Proverbs 29, 11, James 119, that we know all this.
12:00
SPEAKER_00: Believers should be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.
12:06
SPEAKER_00: So it doesn't really matter what the government tells us our rights are, our rights as followers of Christ is to follow Christ and mimic his behavior and treat people the way that he treated them and talk to people the way that he talks to them and see people the way that he sees them.
12:20
SPEAKER_00: And Paul doesn't really say, like, let's not use our voice if there's criminal behavior or abuse, or like you're gonna need to stand up for the poor, or stand up for the people who need to be fought for.
12:29
SPEAKER_00: He never says that, but he does say that we no longer have the right to impose our will onto the people around us.
12:37
SPEAKER_00: Um, our actions now as people reconciled to the Father through Jesus should only be actions that move people closer to Christ.
12:47
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna say that one more time.
12:49
SPEAKER_00: Our actions as people now reconciled to the Father through Jesus Christ should only be actions that move people around us closer to Christ, no matter where we are, no matter how mad you get, no matter how much you want to hurt somebody.
13:04
SPEAKER_00: You can't, because Jesus wouldn't do that, okay?
13:09
SPEAKER_00: I say it a lot, I'm like, Jesus wouldn't do that, Kelly.
13:12
SPEAKER_00: Jesus would not do that.
13:13
SPEAKER_00: Keep your mouth shut.
13:14
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so how do we do that?
13:16
SPEAKER_00: How did Paul accomplish his goal?
13:17
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna read now um verse 19 through 27.
13:24
SPEAKER_00: What am I trying to say?
13:28
SPEAKER_00: Am I saying wait, am I oh, that's 10.
13:30
SPEAKER_00: That will be Jody next week.
13:32
SPEAKER_00: Let me go to the 19 I should be reading.
13:37
SPEAKER_00: Even though I'm a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people and bring many to Christ.
13:44
SPEAKER_00: When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ.
13:48
SPEAKER_00: And when I was with those who follow Jewish law, I too lived under that law.
13:53
SPEAKER_00: Even though I'm not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring them to those to Christ who are under the law.
13:58
SPEAKER_00: And when I'm with the Gentiles who do not follow Jewish law, I too live apart from the law, so I can bring them to Christ.
14:05
SPEAKER_00: But I do not ignore the law of God.
14:08
SPEAKER_00: I obey Christ.
14:10
SPEAKER_00: When I am with those who are weak, I share in their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ.
14:14
SPEAKER_00: Yes, I try to find common ground with everything, everyone doing everything I can to save some.
14:20
SPEAKER_00: I do everything to spread the good news and share in its blessings.
14:23
SPEAKER_00: Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize.
14:29
SPEAKER_00: So run to win.
14:31
SPEAKER_00: All athletes are disciplined in their training.
14:33
SPEAKER_00: They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.
14:38
SPEAKER_00: So run with the purpose in every step.
14:40
SPEAKER_00: I am not just shadow boxing.
14:42
SPEAKER_00: I discipline my body like an athlete, trying to do what it should.
14:47
SPEAKER_00: Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others, I might myself be disqualified.
14:54
SPEAKER_00: I've spent a lot of um time this summer reading this chapter, which is good for me.
15:02
SPEAKER_00: I spent like nine weeks knowing that this week was coming, and I'm a procrastinator like to the extreme.
15:08
SPEAKER_00: And so it took me all nine weeks to get to this day.
15:14
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I've done a lot of thinking and I've been spending time with Paul really since January.
15:20
SPEAKER_00: And if I had to be honest, I'm like really an Old Testament gal because I like history and there's lots of things in there, and I've not shied away from the New Testament, obviously.
15:32
SPEAKER_00: That's where Jesus is.
15:33
SPEAKER_00: You gotta go there.
15:34
SPEAKER_00: But if I was gonna pick up and read my Bible, it'd be more in the Old Testament.
15:37
SPEAKER_00: Well, in the last like year and a half, probably, I've really been more studying in the into the New Testament.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: And I was always kind of afraid of Paul because sometimes we just don't know what to do with him.
15:46
SPEAKER_00: And so as I've been reading and studying about him, thanks, um, I've kind of really come to the conclusion that Paul's like really type A, like to the extreme.
15:59
SPEAKER_00: You guys, you know these people, right?
16:01
SPEAKER_00: Like, um, there are these people that have lists and like to be on time.
16:11
SPEAKER_00: And um, here, I'm I'm finding myself in my notes because I got out of line.
16:16
SPEAKER_00: Um, they're laser focused, they're highly driven, they're competitive with a high work ethic, and nothing stops them.
16:23
SPEAKER_00: And this is Paul, and he does use that drive.
16:27
SPEAKER_00: I mean, it comes in handy, right?
16:28
SPEAKER_00: Like he's leading the entire New Testament church, so it really comes in handy.
16:32
SPEAKER_00: And, you know, he has one goal, and I do think that Paul had one goal prior, and that was to arrest people who were not following the law, and then God changes him, and now that one goal is to lead people to Christ.
16:47
SPEAKER_00: So he's really kind of that type A to the extreme.
16:52
SPEAKER_00: I am not that person, okay?
16:54
SPEAKER_00: I'm like a blow B, maybe a C type personality.
16:59
SPEAKER_00: Like, are there dishes in my sink?
17:02
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
17:03
SPEAKER_00: Is the sun shining?
17:04
SPEAKER_00: Yes, it is.
17:05
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna go outside.
17:07
SPEAKER_00: Do I have responsibilities today?
17:09
SPEAKER_00: Probably.
17:10
SPEAKER_00: Is there something more fun to do?
17:12
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
17:12
SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna go do that.
17:14
SPEAKER_00: Because you know what?
17:15
SPEAKER_00: All that stuff's gonna get done.
17:17
SPEAKER_00: It's gonna get done.
17:18
SPEAKER_00: There's no list up here that needs clicked off because there are better things to do than whatever that list is, okay?
17:25
SPEAKER_00: I decided that because Jamie's always like people that are late, blah, blah, blah.
17:31
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, listen, type B personalities, we are the MVPs, okay?
17:37
SPEAKER_00: We're the MVPs of the whole world because all you type A's can only think about whatever you think about.
17:46
SPEAKER_00: We got all the fun going on.
17:47
SPEAKER_00: So it's like you guys stay in your lane with all of your lists and to-dos, and you have a plan, you have one plan.
17:56
SPEAKER_00: I have plan A to Z.
17:58
SPEAKER_00: Whichever plan in those alphabet works, that's the one I'm gonna do.
18:02
SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna we don't get our feathers ruffled, really.
18:05
SPEAKER_00: We're five minutes late.
18:07
SPEAKER_00: We don't care.
18:08
SPEAKER_00: Fifteen minutes early is like it says seven o'clock.
18:14
SPEAKER_00: No, that's not on time.
18:16
SPEAKER_00: 7 o'clock.
18:16
SPEAKER_00: If it's 7 o'clock, 7 o'clock is on time.
18:19
SPEAKER_00: 15 minutes early is that's early.
18:22
SPEAKER_00: 701 on time.
18:26
SPEAKER_00: Like, I just don't get I said you're not allowed to speak.
18:32
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
18:33
SPEAKER_00: So then you know, obviously, and you guys know if you're they say like you take those two types and they get married, right?
18:40
SPEAKER_00: So then it's like, whoo, it's a real good time.
18:45
SPEAKER_00: But he has to be a little cutthroat, so I'm gonna like let him off the hook because he's literally teaching the whole New Testament church on how to follow Christ.
18:55
SPEAKER_00: And so I'm like, you know, if this is Kelly and I'm teaching the Corinthians, and I'm like, listen, you guys, I came to you, I was there for 18 months, then you wrote me a letter, and then I wrote you a letter back in detail about how you should be following Christ.
19:17
SPEAKER_00: There's not a second letter, because I already told you the I told you once, all I would be like, good luck with your stupidity.
19:26
SPEAKER_00: I cannot help you.
19:28
SPEAKER_00: But Paul, because maybe his type A personality, maybe he loves people more than I do, was like, writes a second letter.
19:38
SPEAKER_00: I would have been like, good luck with your bad selves.
19:40
SPEAKER_00: I already told you multiple times, like in detail, you already have it written down in detail what you should be doing.
19:45
SPEAKER_00: There would not be a second letter, people.
19:48
SPEAKER_00: You just you gotta figure that out.
19:52
SPEAKER_00: Sorry, I have to go back because I skipped something and I'm sure it's important.
19:57
SPEAKER_00: Okay, it is important.
19:58
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so he is saying, he comes and he says, like, if I'm with the Jews, I'm gonna live like the Jews, and if I'm with the Gentiles, I'm gonna live like the Gentiles.
20:06
SPEAKER_00: And so I think we we still can have we have this in our society today, right?
20:14
SPEAKER_00: So the Corinthian church was a very wealthy port city.
20:17
SPEAKER_00: They had everything they needed there.
20:21
SPEAKER_00: They had temples to Poseidon, Hercules, Hermes, Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, that Egyptian temple to Isis.
20:30
SPEAKER_00: Pagan worship was everywhere.
20:32
SPEAKER_00: You could not not be affected by the pagan worship.
20:36
SPEAKER_00: And we, of course, don't walk into pagan temples today.
20:39
SPEAKER_00: And so we're like, well, we don't, we don't have pagan worship.
20:43
SPEAKER_00: But I'm like, what would our, you know, what does our pagan worship kind of look like today?
20:48
SPEAKER_00: And it's the chase for more stuff, sporting events, our kids' sports, our addiction, food, substance abuse, our phones, our TV shows.
20:56
SPEAKER_00: We don't physically walk into any pagan temples anymore.
21:00
SPEAKER_00: We're not going to like worship the goddess of fertility or the god of rain or the god of healing or the god of victory, which is Nike, by the way.
21:08
SPEAKER_00: So we do worship him.
21:11
SPEAKER_00: But maybe in our own home, I've said that many times, I don't think I haven't.
21:16
SPEAKER_00: I was like, well, that's a pagan god, but whatever.
21:19
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I would say most of our practices are Buddha and pagans.
21:23
SPEAKER_00: And here's the thing, you guys, we don't have to go anywhere.
21:26
SPEAKER_00: We got every God right here on the phone, right?
21:30
SPEAKER_00: And so, and we're like, well, that's not a pagan god.
21:33
SPEAKER_00: Oh, really?
21:34
SPEAKER_00: Because we can worship everything we want right here in our own pockets, and we hand them to seven-year-olds.
21:40
SPEAKER_00: Um, sorry, I'm not really trying to offend you all today, but here's also the thing you should know about me all the cares have left my body.
21:48
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
21:48
SPEAKER_00: I'm 40, I'll be 49 in a couple weeks.
21:52
SPEAKER_00: I don't have any cares left.
21:55
SPEAKER_00: You get mad at me, I don't care.
21:58
SPEAKER_00: You don't want to hear all the Red flags in a relationship you shouldn't be in, do not talk to me about it.
22:03
SPEAKER_00: Because I'm I'm at the age where I'm gonna tell you about it now.
22:06
SPEAKER_00: Listen, I'm gonna save you the trouble.
22:08
SPEAKER_00: I'm just gonna tell you now.
22:09
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so we went to LA a couple weeks ago to go to the World Cup.
22:13
SPEAKER_00: Don't get me started.
22:14
SPEAKER_00: I know it's pagan God, okay?
22:15
SPEAKER_00: Don't kill me.
22:17
SPEAKER_00: It was so much fun.
22:18
SPEAKER_00: But so in LA.
22:21
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
22:22
SPEAKER_00: Anyway, I'm not gonna go there.
22:24
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
22:24
SPEAKER_00: Anyway, so we're in LA, and we probably went, I was pregnant with Carson when we went last time, and I was like, I never have to come here again.
22:32
SPEAKER_00: I hate this place.
22:33
SPEAKER_00: It's dirty.
22:34
SPEAKER_00: There's a ton of people, there's so much traffic.
22:37
SPEAKER_00: I was like, we never have to come.
22:38
SPEAKER_00: So here we are, 23-ish later, back in LA.
22:42
SPEAKER_00: And I actually really enjoyed it this time.
22:44
SPEAKER_00: But while I was there, because I was also studying this, I was just paying attention to like their culture, right?
22:49
SPEAKER_00: And it's still dirty.
22:50
SPEAKER_00: There's so many people.
22:51
SPEAKER_00: There's no blonde people there, by the way.
22:53
SPEAKER_00: They're all like Hispanic or Asian.
22:55
SPEAKER_00: I was blown away.
22:56
SPEAKER_00: I was like, what happened to Malibu Barbie?
22:58
SPEAKER_00: She does not live here anymore.
23:01
SPEAKER_00: She's that ship has sailed.
23:03
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so we're driving around Beverly Hills.
23:08
SPEAKER_00: Miranda, I love you so much.
23:10
SPEAKER_00: We're driving around Beverly Hills, and it's like literally, every house is bigger than the next.
23:15
SPEAKER_00: Those luxury cars.
23:17
SPEAKER_00: There are no Ford Fiesas there, okay?
23:19
SPEAKER_00: They do not exist.
23:21
SPEAKER_00: Everybody has a luxury car, and you just kind of like want to roll down your window or knock on the door, be like, what do you people do for a living?
23:27
SPEAKER_00: Please let us know.
23:28
SPEAKER_00: Like, this is insane how much money is there.
23:32
SPEAKER_00: It's it's crazy.
23:34
SPEAKER_00: But I'm thinking like how intoxicating it would really be to live there and to chase that lifestyle.
23:40
SPEAKER_00: Like, how easy it's so easy to get wrapped up in the the culture you're around.
23:45
SPEAKER_00: So, like, it looks so glamorous and so fun and so free, and you have so much money, and and you know, and it's like just to get wrapped up there in the chase of it.
23:54
SPEAKER_00: Like, if I could just get that kind of money, I would be so happy.
23:57
SPEAKER_00: My life would be so perfect, I could afford whatever I wanted, you know.
24:00
SPEAKER_00: And so I'm just telling you that to say that this is what the Corinthians are living in.
24:04
SPEAKER_00: They're not the culture is not a lot different.
24:06
SPEAKER_00: Everyone was still chasing something, they're still worshiping something.
24:09
SPEAKER_00: Like, anyway, you get the point, right?
24:12
SPEAKER_00: They are affected by their culture the same way we're affected by our culture.
24:16
SPEAKER_00: And so Paul's saying, I need to live like the Jews when I'm with the Jews, and I need to live like the Gentiles when I'm with the Gentiles.
24:24
SPEAKER_00: But here's the important part I obey Christ.
24:28
SPEAKER_00: I do not walk into the culture.
24:31
SPEAKER_00: What happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas, people.
24:36
SPEAKER_00: That is not that we know that doesn't work.
24:39
SPEAKER_00: We like to say that, you know, but that is not the case.
24:42
SPEAKER_00: And so when I wherever I am, my main goal in life, if I say I'm a follower of Christ, is to only follow Christ.
24:51
SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna just get caught up in whatever it is around me because that looks like fun at the time.
24:56
SPEAKER_00: Like, no, and you know, then that type A, that is good for him, right?
25:00
SPEAKER_00: It keeps, I mean, not for him, he's Paul, but like for us.
25:04
SPEAKER_00: You have to keep that laser focus.
25:06
SPEAKER_00: Like, I cannot do these things because I have come to Christ.
25:11
SPEAKER_00: And if I do them, it's going to ruin my witness to the people around me.
25:16
SPEAKER_00: It just looks like, oh, I'm gonna come to Jesus because you can still do whatever you want.
25:20
SPEAKER_00: That looks like a great time.
25:21
SPEAKER_00: I can come sit in a Sunday morning and tomorrow I'm gonna go do whatever because I can't.
25:27
SPEAKER_00: No, you can't.
25:28
SPEAKER_00: You can't do that anymore.
25:29
SPEAKER_00: And we just read a super scripture a little bit ago that says if you do that, you do not have God in you.
25:36
SPEAKER_00: You don't.
25:39
SPEAKER_00: So uh sorry, now I'm lost, you guys.
25:43
SPEAKER_00: Um either.
25:45
SPEAKER_00: Hang on, hang on, hang on.
25:53
SPEAKER_00: This is why I was gonna stay in line and then I got off.
25:57
SPEAKER_00: Um okay, and so then he kind of switches gears and he's talking about running and training his body like an athlete.
26:05
SPEAKER_00: And here's the thing they would have known that.
26:07
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you guys know, but like the earliest Greek games started in like 500 BC.
26:12
SPEAKER_00: So they were very aware of what an athlete looked like.
26:17
SPEAKER_00: Um the Corinthians had the Isthmian games, and they were held every other year.
26:21
SPEAKER_00: It kind of looks like every other four years now, to um honor the god of Poseidon.
26:27
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so they knew this, and the events in that, um, in those games would have been foot races, boxing, wrestling, discus, javelin throwing.
26:36
SPEAKER_00: The Corinthian church would have been able to vividly um envision what it looked like to like shadow box, what it looked like to train to win, what it looked like to attain earthly prizes.
26:47
SPEAKER_00: And so, Paul, when Paul's telling them I have to train like an elite athlete to get my mind to do what it should.
26:53
SPEAKER_00: So after preaching, I may not disqualify myself.
26:57
SPEAKER_00: Not that he would lose salvation, but here's the thing: he was gonna do nothing that would contradict his message and make his witness worthless.
27:07
SPEAKER_00: And so when we think about when we come to Christ, and then are we training like Olympic athletes or elite athletes, um, when it comes to our relationship with the Lord and what it looks like to the people around us.
27:20
SPEAKER_00: And we know that elite athletes, they don't stop, they eat right, they sleep right, they go to extreme measures to make sure their bodies are in the best shape to win the prize that they're competing for.
27:31
SPEAKER_00: And then Paul turns and says, It's the same thing I do to follow the Lord.
27:36
SPEAKER_00: And we are all like, wait a second, what you guys, I don't work out.
27:39
SPEAKER_00: I think about working out, but then you have to go there and get sweaty and stuff.
27:45
SPEAKER_00: Like, so within my put my mind, like, so okay, so if I'm gonna put that into my Christian walk, if I'm gonna put that into my relationship with the Lord, what does it look like to train to be a witness for Jesus?
28:00
SPEAKER_00: I don't I'm not gonna speak for any of you.
28:03
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna speak for myself.
28:05
SPEAKER_00: I don't train like an elite athlete, so that my witness for Christ looks like that of an elite athlete.
28:12
SPEAKER_00: I, you know, I'm like, well, I did my reading today for 30 minutes, and then I cuss someone out.
28:19
SPEAKER_00: I don't cuss anybody out, but you know, I'm like, wait a second, elite athletes don't do that.
28:24
SPEAKER_00: That when when you're in a sport, that's all you got is that sport.
28:28
SPEAKER_00: And we come to Christ like it's a smorgasbord of what we want, and we forget that we only have Christ and that that should be our focus, should be Him.
28:38
SPEAKER_00: Um, because we would we should fear that we might be disqualified because here's the thing it would be easy for us to be like we, the people on the front row over here, and me and Shelly and Pastor Jody and Jeff, we can be disqualified, right?
28:55
SPEAKER_00: Before our actions, we can be disqualified from this job, right?
28:59
SPEAKER_00: But here's the thing, you guys meaning we can no longer pastor church because they did some atrocious thing and they should never, right?
29:05
SPEAKER_00: They're not going to, don't worry.
29:07
SPEAKER_00: Um, but we don't think that about ourselves.
29:10
SPEAKER_00: We want to look at the pastors that fall because they did this and they did that, and we're doing the same things.
29:16
SPEAKER_00: We all stand before Christ, but he's not gonna be like Jamie and Sean, here's Jesus, right?
29:21
SPEAKER_00: You stand before Jesus.
29:23
SPEAKER_00: You two were pastors, you did such a great job.
29:27
SPEAKER_00: Good and faithful, so you can walk right in because you pastor to church, because you stood on a stage, because you preached the word of God.
29:34
SPEAKER_00: Guess what?
29:34
SPEAKER_00: We're all called to preach the word of God.
29:37
SPEAKER_00: You don't have to do it from here.
29:39
SPEAKER_00: Whatever your job is, whatever it is you're doing, you're called to preach.
29:43
SPEAKER_00: And oh, I'm gonna sad myself.
29:46
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna get to that point later.
29:47
SPEAKER_00: Okay, because we should be training in fear that we will lose our witness to the people around us.
29:54
SPEAKER_00: And I do not think that we can say we live that way.
29:58
SPEAKER_00: Listen, if you live that way, please come and tell me, okay.
30:00
SPEAKER_00: I want to know, I want to talk to you about it.
30:02
SPEAKER_00: I need to train more, if that's what I'm saying.
30:04
SPEAKER_00: I need to work out more, I need to eat better, and I need to train to follow the Lord more.
30:09
SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna do those first two things, but I'm gonna do the third one.
30:12
SPEAKER_00: Um you guys, I'm tired.
30:16
SPEAKER_00: I'm like a C.
30:17
SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna do that.
30:20
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so then we come, we're like, okay, Paul, you say these things, but like, why are you so driven?
30:26
SPEAKER_00: Like, how did you get to this point?
30:30
SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna tell you how I got there.
30:32
SPEAKER_00: Um we're gonna go back up to First Corinthians 9, the very first verse.
30:40
SPEAKER_00: Okay, he says, Am I not as free as anyone else?
30:45
SPEAKER_00: Am I not an apostle?
30:47
SPEAKER_00: Haven't I seen the Lord Jesus with my own eyes?
30:52
SPEAKER_00: And that is our answer.
30:54
SPEAKER_00: And so now we're gonna turn, turn to Acts 9, and we're gonna read Acts 9, 1 through 19.
31:05
SPEAKER_00: Um Paul was a Pharisee who defended Jewish law with his whole being, just like now he's teaching the Corinthians with his whole being.
31:17
SPEAKER_00: He was in imprisoning them and killing them, and he was on his way, right, to defend Jewish law when we get to Acts 9, 1 through 19.
31:30
SPEAKER_00: So that's where we are in Paul's life.
31:34
SPEAKER_00: Um, meanwhile, Saul, by the way, that's still Paul, was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord's followers.
31:42
SPEAKER_00: So he went to the high priest and he requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any of the followers of the way that he found there.
31:52
SPEAKER_00: He wanted to bring them, both men and women, back to Jerusalem in chains.
31:56
SPEAKER_00: As he was approaching Damascus on his mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone around him.
32:02
SPEAKER_00: He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?
32:06
SPEAKER_00: Who are you, Lord?
32:07
SPEAKER_00: Saul asked, and the voice says, I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting.
32:11
SPEAKER_00: Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what to do.
32:15
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna skip down to um because I'm running out of time.
32:19
SPEAKER_00: Um to verse, I want to read it because it's important.
32:26
SPEAKER_00: Okay, to verse 15.
32:28
SPEAKER_00: Um, Paul says, this is he's talking to Anias, he's telling him to go find Paul and say this to him, and you can read that middle part later.
32:36
SPEAKER_00: So Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as the people of Israel, and I will show him how much he has to suffer for my name's sake.
32:48
SPEAKER_00: Um, so Paul on his way to arrest people gets a little visit from Jesus himself, and it changes his entire life.
33:01
SPEAKER_00: It literally changes the way he sees the Bible says he was blind for three days, scales literally fell off of his eyes, and then he has new eyes.
33:11
SPEAKER_00: Um he and then in verse 20, it will tell us he immediately starts preaching about Jesus.
33:18
SPEAKER_00: Immediately.
33:19
SPEAKER_00: There was no I'm gonna do it on Friday.
33:22
SPEAKER_00: He got up and started preaching about Jesus.
33:25
SPEAKER_00: Um, I would say, I'm gonna do it on Friday.
33:28
SPEAKER_00: Um saying, indeed, he is the son of God.
33:30
SPEAKER_00: And here's the thing, okay?
33:32
SPEAKER_00: When I was a young teenager, um, I was called into ministry and I didn't really know what that meant.
33:39
SPEAKER_00: Uh well, what I thought it meant was be a pastor's wife, and that in my mind, and probably still in a lot of people's minds, means play the piano and like fold the bulletin and I don't know, do the nursery.
33:50
SPEAKER_00: I don't really know.
33:51
SPEAKER_00: Well, I don't play the piano.
33:54
SPEAKER_00: And I mean I can fold paper.
33:56
SPEAKER_00: Um, but so I didn't really know.
33:59
SPEAKER_00: I just knew like I it's just it's something I have always wanted to do was to be in youth ministry specifically at the time.
34:08
SPEAKER_00: Honestly, one of my desires always has been to open an orphanage, which I know those don't exist anymore.
34:14
SPEAKER_00: But I'm hoping, by the grace of God, one day when we have a one life house, I think that was birthed in me long, long, long, long ago.
34:21
SPEAKER_00: That's not an orphanage, obviously, but it's still to take in kids that need parents and need loved on anyway.
34:27
SPEAKER_00: That's a side note.
34:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so I always kind of knew this early on, and so but it wasn't until the summer after I graduated high school that I really got serious with the Lord.
34:39
SPEAKER_00: And I can remember we were I we were raised in Granite City, and I'm standing in Granite City First Assembly.
34:45
SPEAKER_00: It looks nothing like this.
34:46
SPEAKER_00: I would lie if I was like, it looks something like this.
34:48
SPEAKER_00: No, it doesn't.
34:49
SPEAKER_00: Um, but it had like wood, um, what are those things?
34:54
SPEAKER_00: Altars, you guys know what that looks like, right?
34:57
SPEAKER_00: And this was still Sunday nights when everybody had Sunday night church and altar call.
35:01
SPEAKER_00: And I'm standing there.
35:02
SPEAKER_00: I actually think Jamie was there that night, but yeah, maybe I don't know.
35:06
SPEAKER_00: That part is irrelevant.
35:08
SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm gonna face this way just because and I I know I'm standing there at the altar and I'm going, God, you can have my whole life, whatever it is, whatever it's gonna be.
35:21
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna trust in you.
35:22
SPEAKER_00: And I had obviously I'm 18 or 17, actually years old.
35:27
SPEAKER_00: You don't know what that means.
35:30
SPEAKER_00: You know, it's like, whatever, you don't know what any of that means.
35:33
SPEAKER_00: And so, but since that day, I've had to have multiple times in my life that still look like that day, right?
35:42
SPEAKER_00: I still have to come to him and say, Jesus, I don't know how to be married to the man you gave me.
35:48
SPEAKER_00: You're gonna need to help me out.
35:50
SPEAKER_00: Um, Jesus, I have no clue how to parent these children you gave me.
35:54
SPEAKER_00: You're gonna have to help me out.
35:55
SPEAKER_00: Like, I even when we were taking in Maya and Raya, I had multiple times where I'm like, I'm pretty sure, God, there's somebody else better for this job.
36:03
SPEAKER_00: I'm pretty sure you picked the wrong girl.
36:07
SPEAKER_00: And he kept telling me over and over, no, I have not.
36:10
SPEAKER_00: No, I have not, no, I have not.
36:12
SPEAKER_00: And even now, I'm like, I have this whole like new passion like rising up in me in the last like two years probably to be really intentional with our church, but whatever, everyone's church, to get women to understand that we get to preach about Jesus and that we have a voice and God gives us a voice, and that God uses women.
36:40
SPEAKER_00: And if you're at um She Wakes, you learned how many times Jesus uses women in scripture.
36:48
SPEAKER_00: If women can't be used to preach, someone should have let Jesus know that, right?
36:52
SPEAKER_00: He they God should have, hey Jesus, by the way, don't let the girls say anything about you because that for whatever reason is wrong, but then you read all of the you know, the offices of I don't know what I'm saying because my brain gets jumbled.
37:08
SPEAKER_00: Um like you're called to preach, teach, be apostles, blah blah blah blah blah blah.
37:13
SPEAKER_00: No one says, by the way, that's only a man's job.
37:16
SPEAKER_00: It's not in there.
37:18
SPEAKER_00: Because Jesus should have known.
37:20
SPEAKER_00: Anyway, so here I am with this new, like found kind of passion of mine, and I'm going, God, I think there's somebody else that's better for that job.
37:29
SPEAKER_00: I'm pretty sure Shelly is better than the Jody's definitely better for the job to have this like burning desire to get the women and the young teenagers in our church to realize that like we need to know about the Bible, that we get to go out and preach about the Bible.
37:47
SPEAKER_00: I am hoping in my prayer, because the ship has sailed for me because I'm too old and I have not a college degree, that we start seeing young girls go to, I'm not gonna cry about this, but it's like it's so fashion at my heart, go to Bible college and have these really intense encounters with the Lord, and then go to seminary, and then get their doctorates, and they study the word of God for their whole life because it's what they've been called and they've been drawn to do.
38:19
SPEAKER_00: And I'm going, God, I think there's somebody better for that job.
38:22
SPEAKER_00: But here's the thing we learn in verse 16, 15 and 16.
38:29
SPEAKER_00: Well, sorry, not that verse, the whole thing that Paul didn't have a choice, right?
38:39
SPEAKER_00: Jesus shows up and he says, You're the guy.
38:43
SPEAKER_00: This you're gonna go do it.
38:45
SPEAKER_00: And so I can't think anything else, right?
38:50
SPEAKER_00: I why should I think of anything else?
38:51
SPEAKER_00: Like, God, you should go pick someone else.
38:54
SPEAKER_00: No, you're the one for the job.
38:56
SPEAKER_00: So everybody out there, I mean, I know we all have the same thoughts, like, God, I'm pretty sure there's somebody else better for the job.
39:02
SPEAKER_00: No, you're the one for the job.
39:05
SPEAKER_00: I chose you.
39:06
SPEAKER_00: You go and be whatever job it is, I'm not gonna list it, whatever you guys do.
39:11
SPEAKER_00: You're an instrument for Christ wherever that is.
39:15
SPEAKER_00: I just happened to work at a church.
39:19
SPEAKER_00: So here's the thing to you guys, I've never noticed this before.
39:22
SPEAKER_00: And maybe you guys have, and that's fine, you're smarter than me.
39:25
SPEAKER_00: Um, in verse 15 and 16, it says, Paul is my chosen instrument to take the message to Gentiles and kings.
39:34
SPEAKER_00: So God chooses Paul to be the one to take the message to be the Gentiles, but also to be in front of kings.
39:40
SPEAKER_00: And do you know how Paul got to be in front of kings?
39:43
SPEAKER_00: Only because he was in prison.
39:46
SPEAKER_00: It's the only reason that he got to be in front of kings.
39:49
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Oh, you told him.
39:53
SPEAKER_00: You didn't say, Paul, by the way, you're gonna spend a lot of time in jail and shipwrecked and all these things.
40:00
SPEAKER_00: He's like, I chose you to be in front of kings.
40:02
SPEAKER_00: I didn't tell you how you're gonna get there.
40:05
SPEAKER_00: You just have to follow me there.
40:07
SPEAKER_00: So I was like, Okay, God, you're right.
40:10
SPEAKER_00: I you call, we don't question, and you are gonna lead us on how to get there as we follow you.
40:20
SPEAKER_00: That's what we do, that's how we get equipped.
40:23
SPEAKER_00: But here's the thing with Paul's like, in the thing that I just told you in my life, you have to keep encountering Jesus time after time after time after time.
40:33
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't happen the one time in your life.
40:36
SPEAKER_00: It does, it does change your life.
40:38
SPEAKER_00: That's not that's a fact.
40:41
SPEAKER_00: It changes your life.
40:42
SPEAKER_00: But you guys know how it goes.
40:43
SPEAKER_00: You're on this real high, and then you're like, oh yeah.
40:47
SPEAKER_00: So my challenge to us today is like if you have had an encounter with the Lord before, maybe it's been long ago, and you're stale now, encounter Jesus again.
40:59
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you haven't ever encountered Jesus, maybe you're like, I'm not real sure about him.
41:04
SPEAKER_00: Come to him and be like, God, encounter me.
41:08
SPEAKER_00: Prove to me that you're real because he will prove to you that he's real.
41:11
SPEAKER_00: Encounter me.
41:13
SPEAKER_00: Let me have an encounter with you that transforms my life.
41:18
SPEAKER_00: And so, as I'm closing, I just want to remind us today that from chapter 9, we learn that we as Christians, if you say if you are in this room and you say, I follow Christ, you no longer get to impose your rights on anyone.
41:35
SPEAKER_00: Not on your wife, your husband, your children, the people around you.
41:40
SPEAKER_00: You don't have the right.
41:42
SPEAKER_00: You have the right to be a witness for Christ.
41:44
SPEAKER_00: That's what you have a right to do.
41:46
SPEAKER_00: And so if you are one of those people who really have to have your way, you're gonna need to work hard on not having your way.
41:53
SPEAKER_00: Um, number two, we have to discipline our bodies.
41:56
SPEAKER_00: We don't get to just show up to the race and think we're gonna win.
42:00
SPEAKER_00: You're not gonna win.
42:01
SPEAKER_00: I'm not really gonna win any race I show up to.
42:03
SPEAKER_00: You're not gonna win without training, without discipline, without knowing that I need to renew my mind daily.
42:12
SPEAKER_00: And then number three, we have to have an encounter with Jesus.
42:15
SPEAKER_00: And we have one encounter, and then we have to keep encountering it and keep encountering and keep encountering him.
42:22
SPEAKER_00: Let me pray for you.
42:24
SPEAKER_00: God, we thank you so much that you have given your word to us that we can come and we can learn from it and we can learn how to follow you.
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SPEAKER_00: And Jesus, we thank you that you come and you choose us despite our flaws, despite our abilities, despite what we have.
42:43
SPEAKER_00: God, you choose us to be your mouthpiece for the world.
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SPEAKER_00: And a lot of times we're like, God, I'm pretty sure you don't want to use me.
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SPEAKER_00: And he's like, You're exactly the person I want to use.
42:56
SPEAKER_00: So, God, I pray that you encounter us, and God, that we come to you and that we are hungry for the encounters, God, and that we are hungry that we're not going to ruin our witness to the people around us, God.
43:10
SPEAKER_00: I pray that you open our eyes.
43:11
SPEAKER_00: Just like Paul, God, if we have scales on our eyes, I pray that they fall off and we open them.
43:16
SPEAKER_00: And God, we can see things in a whole new light just because of who you are.
43:20
SPEAKER_00: That we see all the people around us, God, the way you see them, which I know sounds so cliche, God, but I pray that we see the people that we are rubbing shoulders with day after day, the hurting, the broken, the starving for somebody to come alongside them and help them out and show them that there's hope.
43:38
SPEAKER_00: God, I pray that you show us those people and that we can see them.
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SPEAKER_00: God, we thank you and we praise you in Jesus' name.
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SPEAKER_00: Amen.