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What is a Christian: By Dedication · CCC West Covina

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Father, we thank you for today. We are grateful, Lord, for this
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opportunity to spend time in the word of the Lord.
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You have allowed us this opportunity, Lord, and we are
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grateful. Our prayer tonight is that you'd
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open our hearts and minds to be able to behold the the beauty of
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your great name and that Lord, we would understand what it is
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you'd have us do as your children that we might live in
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obedience to You. We are grateful Lord, for the
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word of God that teaches us, that grows us, that stimulates
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us, that motivates us, and that the Spirit of God uses the word
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of God to move us on to maturity in Christ.
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For that we are grateful and we thank you in Jesus name, Amen.
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This past week I had a unique opportunity.
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We had a homeless man come by the church on Monday and he came
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by because he needed a place to stay.
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He had been kicked out of the location he was for alcohol and
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he had been there for eight months.
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But because he was drinking, they they kicked him out.
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And so he came by the church and of course Peggy asked if I'd
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love to talk to him. And I said sure, I'd love to.
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So I came down and talked to him about his situation, why things
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went the way they did. And I asked him, do you live in
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the area? He said, well, my wife and two
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children, they, they live in West Covina.
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I said, well, why don't you, why don't you go to their, their
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home? So I can't because I've been
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kicked out of my home. I said, well, when you, when
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were you kicked out? I was kicked out two years ago
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by my wife and by my father-in-law simply because of
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my alcoholic problem. I said, oh, so you can't go back
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there because you were kicked out.
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You can't go back to the home you were in because you were
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kicked out. What do you want me to do?
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I mean, where do you want me to put you?
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I don't know what to do. He says, well, I just need a
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place to stay. So I said, well, you know, we
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can find a place for you and look for a place and see if
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there's someone who can take you.
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And he had in his Bible, he had a beat up Bible.
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He had a a place that would allow him if we call to maybe
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stay. So I took out my phone and
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called the place and the man said yes, we we do have a bed
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and yes he could he could come tonight.
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I said great, I see he goes well we need to interview him.
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I said OK, so I put him on the phone.
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His name is Ronnie. I sit here Ronnie, this guy
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wants to interview you. So he interviewed him on the
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phone and then gave the phone back to me and I said does he
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pass the interview process? He says yes.
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Says now our home is in Fontana. I said, well, that's a good
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thing. I I live in Fontana.
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That's not a problem. Where, where is the home at?
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So he told me exactly where it was.
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I said, what? That's right next to my house.
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No problem. So I hung up with him.
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I said, OK, Ronnie, we're going to get in my car and we're going
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to make our way to Fontana because they have a bed for you
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tonight and you can stay there for as long as you want.
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He said, really? I said, yeah, so let's get your
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stuff and get your coat and get in my car and off we'll go.
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So we got in the car and I said, hey, you know what?
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It's a it's about a 40 minute drive and I probably need
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Starbucks to get me home, so how about we go by and get some
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coffee? He goes, well, I don't drink
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coffee, so you don't drink coffee.
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He says, no, I said you drink alcohol, but you don't drink
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coffee. He says, no.
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I said, we need to change that around for you to help you
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understand that coffee is a lot better for you than alcohol is.
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He says, yeah, yeah, I know. I said, so how about if I just
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get you a lemonade? He goes, OK, so I got
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Frappuccino and got some lemonade and off we went.
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I said, now we have a 40 minute drive and I said, so I have you
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as a as a captive audience and, and I'm a preacher.
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So I'm going to talk to you about the Lord Jesus Christ for
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the next 40 minutes. He said, really?
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I said, yeah, for the next 40 minutes I'm going to talk to you
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about the Lord. And so I very succinctly went
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through the gospel with him to help him understand what it
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means to make a decision for Christ.
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What the Bible says in Luke Chapter 9 verse #23 that if any
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man follow me, let him deny himself, take his cross and
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follow me. I said, there's a decision that
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you need to make based on what God says in his word.
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Outside of that, you need to understand what a Christian is.
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I said, do you know what a Christian is?
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He says, well, somebody who who follows God.
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I said, well, sort of. I said, but let me explain to
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you what a Christian is. So I began to define for him
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Christianity. Having defined Christianity for
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him, I, I went on to describe for him exactly what a Christian
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is. How he is in Christ, in Christ
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is in him. I said, you need Christ in you.
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I said, because the only way you can overcome your addiction, the
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only way you can overcome the alcohol addiction that you have
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is through the power of the Spirit of God in your life.
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You can't do it on your own. You can go and you can go to
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some kind of rehab center, which you have done and you were sober
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for a while. It didn't last, I said, but
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Jesus Christ can do a great and mighty work in your life.
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So once you're in Christ and Christ is in you, then the
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Spirit of God does a a marvelous work.
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So I talked to him about what it means to be in Christ.
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If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation.
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Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become
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new. And I said, you need to become
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new. I said, and God is just want to
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reshape you. He wants to recreate you into
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his image. So we talked about that for a
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little bit and I asked him some questions along the way.
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And and then I finally said to him, you need to understand that
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to be a Christian, you must confess that Jesus Christ is the
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Son of the living God, that he is the Messiah of God and that
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he came to die for your sins. So it took me all of the 40
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minutes on our way to Fontana to talk to him about the Gospel.
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We got to the end of the our time and I said, listen, you
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need to give your life to Christ because that's the only hope you
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have. He said, well I'm not sure I
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want to do that. I said, well, you might not be
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sure you want to do that. I said, but if you die tonight
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and you're really in not really good condition, but if you die
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tonight, you're going to go to hell and you're going to burn in
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hell forever. I said, but you can go to heaven
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if you give your life to Christ. But you need to do that.
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And if I was you, I wouldn't put it off much longer.
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I said, because you have no guarantee how much longer you're
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going to live. And I said, so you, you know
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where my church is and you know what my name is and so you know
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where we're at. You're more than welcome to come
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anytime you you want to come, but I will let you know I'm
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going to buy you buy you lunch. And then you just need to wait
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right here and the the home is going to come by and pick you up
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right here at Ralph's in in Fontana.
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And then it'll take you to where you need to be and give you a
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place to sleep. He says, OK, I said, but you
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need to know that all this was providential.
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So you know what Providence is? He says no.
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I said, do you know what the sovereignty of God is?
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He says no. I said, well let me explain to
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you. So I explained it to him.
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I said it was providential that you came by the church today.
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It was providential that the home was in Fontana.
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It was providential that that God allowed me to talk to you
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about the gospel today for 40 minutes without any
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interruptions. It was providential that that
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God has allowed us to engaged in this conversation.
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This was not an accident. This was a divine appointment.
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And I'm not sure how many more divine appointments God's going
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to give you to hear the gospel. He might give you more, He might
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not, I said. But you need to understand that
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today is the day of salvation. You can put it off for a day or
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two or three or four or how long you want, but I can't guarantee
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that you'll live all those days. I can only guarantee this
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moment. He says I hear you, but I'm not
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sure. I, I, I just want to do that.
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It's OK that that choice is completely yours.
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So you know my name, you know where our church is, You're
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welcome anytime. Basically the whole conversation
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centered around what is a Christian trying to explain to
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him, the decision that a Christian makes, the definition
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of a Christian, the description of a Christian, the declaration
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of a Christian. I basically summed up in 4 weeks
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what we talked about in 40 minutes.
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And of course you're probably thinking, why can't you just do
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what you did in four weeks and 40 minutes, right?
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But I didn't give him the whole kit and caboodle like I'm giving
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you guys. So the bottom line is, is that
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you walk people through an understanding of what it means
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to be a Christian. And when you get all said and
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done, they they might want to respond, they might not want to
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respond. And our job is not to get them
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to respond. Our job is just to present the
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gospel. Our job is to show them the way,
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help them to understand who Christ is.
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And that's all our responsibility is.
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We don't save people. We just proclaim the truth to
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people. God saves people.
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Ronnie and I had a time of prayer together before we left.
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I fed him lunch or bought him lunch.
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And then I said, I trust that one day you'll give your life to
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Christ. What is a Christian?
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I told him. I said, you know, when you
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become a Christian, you live no longer for yourself, you live
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for Christ, and that's just the greatest of all lives.
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I said right now you're living for yourself.
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That's why you're an alcoholic and that's why you've been
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kicked out of your house, and that's why you've been kicked
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out of the home you're in because you're living for
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yourself. But a Christian, he lives for
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Christ, and that simply is the Christian and his dedication.
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A Christian is dedicated to living for Christ.
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Paul said it well in Philippians 121 For to me to live is Christ,
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and to die is gain. That is the Christian's
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dedication. He does that simply because of
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what the Bible says in Second Corinthians chapter 5 verse #15
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which says he, Christ, died for all.
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So they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him
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who died and rose again on their behalf.
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Christ died so you would no longer live for yourself, but
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you would live for Christ. So Paul says for to me, to live
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is Christ and to die is gain. Paul was dedicated to living for
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Christ, not living for himself. But isn't it interesting that
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everybody lives for someone or something?
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You you live either for money, power, prestige and fame.
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You live for recognition, you live for honor, you live for
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appraisal. You, you live for yourself.
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Everybody lives for someone or for something.
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But the Christian is unique. He doesn't do that.
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He lives for Christ. For to me, to live is Christ and
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to die is gain. Now do you live for Christ
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perfectly? No.
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But you do live for Christ progressively.
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That is, you progress in Christ like this because you want to
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live more and more like the Christ.
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But nobody lives perfectly for Christ, this thought of
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eternity. But you do progress in your life
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with Christ and for Christ. And so when Paul says for to me
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to live as Christ and to die as gain, he recognizes that the
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premise of a great life is to live for Christ.
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And the promise of a great life is nothing but gain, complete
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gain. Why?
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Because everything for a Christian is gained in glory.
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The Christian knows that. Because the Christian doesn't
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live for the here and now, because he's not of this world.
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He knows that. She knows that the Christian
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knows that they're aliens and strangers in a foreign land.
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They know that they're only passing through.
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They're living for Christ because they're living for
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eternity. They have the value of eternity
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in mind in all that they do. That's the Christians
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dedication. He's dedicated to living for
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Christ. So I ask you the question this
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evening, who are you dedicated to living for?
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What do you live for every single day?
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What do you wake up for every single day?
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What motivates you all throughout the day?
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Is it the Christ or is it someone else, or something else?
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Unfortunately, most of us live only for ourselves.
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Solomon did. Remember Solomon, please.
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Yes, he's chapter 2. This was his testimony about his
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life. Listen to what he says.
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Verse one I said to myself, come now, I will test you with
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pleasure. Enjoy yourself.
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Now we might not say it like that, but that's how Solomon
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said it. Remember, this is his journal.
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Those of you who with us who are studying Ecclesiastes, this is
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the life journal of of Solomon. He lived for himself, it says,
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and behold, it too was futility. I, I said of laughter, it is
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madness and of pleasure. What does it accomplish?
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I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine
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while my mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of
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folly until I could see what good there is for the sons of
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men to do under heaven the few years of their lives.
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I enlarged my works. I built houses for myself, I
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planted vineyards for myself, I made gardens and parks for
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myself and I planted it in them all kinds of fruit trees.
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I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest
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of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves,
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and I had a home born slaves. Also AI possess flocks and herds
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larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem.
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Also I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure
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of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and
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female singers and the pleasures of men, many concubines.
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Then I became great and increased more than all who
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preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me.
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All that my eyes desired, I did not refuse them.
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I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was
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pleased because of all my labor, and this was my reward for all
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my labor. Thus I considered all my
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activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had
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exerted, and behold, all was vanity and striving after wind,
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and there was no profit under the sun.
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Here was the wisest man, the richest man, the king of Israel,
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who could have whatever he wanted and basically obtained
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all that he desired. And after it was all said and
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done, he said, you know what? It's just nothing but emptiness.
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There's nothing there. It's futile.
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There's nothing of value here amidst all the parks and all the
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ponds, amidst all the houses and all the money, amidst all the
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concubines and all the slaves, amidst all the things that he
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erected and created and he could erect and create anything he
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desired. None of it fulfilled him.
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It was all empty. None of it accomplished what he
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thought it would accomplish, because the things of this world
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just don't do that. But Solomon lived for himself.
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And for those of us who think that living for ourselves is
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going to bring us the happiness and the joy of our lives, it
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does not. Oh, it might break you satisfied
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for a moment or two, but it doesn't bring you lasting joy.
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Only Christ can do that. That's why Paul says for to me
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to live is Christ. He died that I might live for
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him, that I might no longer live for myself.
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You have to ask that question. If you're living for yourself,
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do you really know the Christ? You have to ask that question.
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If Christ died, said you would no longer live for yourself but
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for him. Why is it you keep living for
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yourself? That's a legit question.
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Why don't you live for Christ? Why don't you live to honor him
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and to please him and to and to glorify his name?
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We fight this struggle all the time.
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And So what does it mean to live for Christ?
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And how do you know you live for Christ?
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Well, let me give you a few principles that will help you,
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that will guide you along the path of living for Christ.
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Those who who live for Christ, number one, listen to Christ.
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Now this might sound elementary or basic, but in order to live
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for Christ, you got to listen to Christ.
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You got to hear Him speak. That's why the Bible is replete
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with commands about he who has ears to hear.
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Let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
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Revelation 2 and three Christ would say in Luke chapter 8.
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Be careful what you hear in Mars gospel, he said Be careful how
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you hear because if you have ears to hear you need to listen
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well. Jesus said in John chapter 5
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verse #24 He who hears my words and believes in him who sent me
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has eternal life. Those who live for Christ listen
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to what He says they want to hear.
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What Christ has said the Bible says in Luke 9 verse #35 on the
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Mount of Transfiguration. Peter, James and John hear the
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thundering voice out of the cloud.
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This is my beloved son. Listen to him, listen to him.
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Mary and Martha had their spat in Luke chapter 10 because Mary
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wanted to sit at the feet of Jesus and and listen to him
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speak. But Martha wanted to do the work
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in the house to prepare the meal and was upset that Mary wasn't
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helping her. And Christ said to Martha, oh
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Martha, you are worried about so many different things, but Mary
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has chosen the good part. Mary has chosen the one thing
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that's needful, just one. One thing is what's really
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needed in your life, Martha. And Mary's chosen that better
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part. And that is a sit at the feet of
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Jesus and listen to what he has to say.
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That that has always been the theme.
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You can go all the way back to the book of Deuteronomy,
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Deuteronomy chapter 6. It says now this is the
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commandment, the statutes of the judgments which the Lord your
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God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in
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the land where you are going over to possess it.
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Say you and your son and your grandson might fear the Lord and
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your God, and keep all the statutes and his commandments
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which I command you all the days of your life, and that your days
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may be prolonged. Oh, Israel, you should listen.
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Listen and be careful to do that it may be well with you, and
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that you may multiply greatly, just as the Lord, the God of
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your Father's has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and
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honey. Then the great Shema, which
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means to hear, hear, O Israel, are you listening?
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The Lord your God is one. Are you listening Israel later
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in in the book of Deuteronomy Chapter 11 verse 26, Moses says
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see I am sitting before you today a blessing and a curse.
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The blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord
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your God, which I commanding you today, and the curse, if you do
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not listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn
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aside from the way which I commend you today by following
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other gods which you have not known, there's a blessing and a
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cursing. The blessing comes to those who
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listen and obey. The cursing comes to those who
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do not listen. Therefore they cannot obey it.
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But it's always about listening to what God says, not not
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listening superficially, not not listening with a, with a 1/2
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hearted turning to God. He, he wants you to listen with
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all of your heart. He wants you to listen intently.
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He, he wants you to listen wholeheartedly with passion.
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He wants you to hang on every word that he says.
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But you know what? For the most part, we don't do
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that. We go to church or we read the
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Bible and and we are partially listening.
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But no, no, we're not really all into listening, you know, And
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the question comes, why not? In order to live for Christ, you
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have to listen to what the Christ has to say.
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So therefore, you're all in and on, on what he is saying.
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Later in Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy chapter 18 verse #15
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the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from
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among you, from your own countrymen, and you shall listen
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to him. There's coming to prophet Moses
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says that that's, that's greater than I am from our own
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countrymen and, and you need to listen to him.
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And that's why Luke 9 is so important, because when God says
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this is my beloved son, listen to him.
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It was a fulfillment of the book of Deuteronomy, the 18th
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chapter, that this was the prophet, the prophet, not a
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prophet, but the prophet that would eventually come, the
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Messiah of Israel. Solomon would say in Proverbs
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chapter one verse #33 he listens to me, shall live securely.
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Who doesn't want to live securely?
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He listens to me, will live securely and will be at ease
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from the dread of evil. Who doesn't want to be at ease
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from the dread of evil? Well, it comes from listening to
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what God says. Proverbs chapter 8.
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Solomon once again says it this way.
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Heed instruction, be wise, do not neglect it.
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Then he says, Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching
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daily at my gates, waiting at my doorposts.
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For he who finds me, finds life, and obtains favor from the Lord.
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Blessed is the man who listens to me.
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Blessed is the man who waits daily at the doorposts, who
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can't wait to hear what God has to say.
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To live for Christ begins with listening to what Christ has to
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say. Again, every one of us listens
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to something or someone. The question is, do you listen
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to God more? Do you want to hear what God has
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to say more than anyone else has to say?
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That's the important thing. So to live for Christ means you
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listen to the Christ #2 Those who live for Christ not only
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listen to the Christ, but they love the Christ.
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Notice this, If you listen to him, you will love Him.
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And one of the reasons you don't love Him as you should is
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because you're not listening to what He says.
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The key to everything is being a good listener.
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That's why. That's why Stalin says in
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Ecclesiastes after 5, when you go near to the House of God, go
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there. Guard your steps, because you go
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there to listen. Why do you go to church?
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You go to listen. That's why you come.
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What is God's going to say? What does God's word say?
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How is God going to speak to me today through His Word?
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When you draw near to the House of God, guard your steps because
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you're going there for one reason and one reason only.
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You're only going there to listen because Jesus said
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there's one thing that's needful and you need to hear me speak.
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And God only speaks through His Word.
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So God's word must be preached and proclaimed.
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So you know what God says? Well, when you listen to the
28:20
Lord speak, you can't help but love the Lord who has spoken.
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That's why the Bible says in First Corinthians 1622, if
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anyone does not love the Lord, let him be a cursed.
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Let him be a cursed. That's why Peter says in First
28:44
Peter 1/8 though you may not see me yet, you love me, may not see
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the Christ, but you certainly love the Christ Philippians one.
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This was Paul's prayer for the Church of Philippi.
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He said, and this I pray that your love may abound still more
29:09
and more in real knowledge. OK, in real knowledge and all
29:17
discernment. In other words, I want your love
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to grow. And the only way your love is
29:23
going to grow is if you grow in the knowledge of God.
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And the only way you are going to get to know God is if you
29:29
listen to him speak. And so I want your love to grow.
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And by the way, this should be a pattern for all of our lives
29:35
when it comes to praying for other people and for our church.
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When we pray about things that are so superficial, instead of
29:43
praying for things that are truly spiritual, everyone of us
29:49
should be engaged in praying, praying that our love would
29:52
abound more and more in the knowledge of God so that we can
29:57
have the discernment to be able to decide between that which is
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good and which is evil. That's what you need.
30:04
And then he says this so that you may approve the things that
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are excellent in order to be sincere and blameless until the
30:12
day of Christ having been filled with the fruit of righteousness
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which comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.
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I want you to be able to prove all things.
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I want you to be blameless for that to happen.
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Your love has got to abound more and more in the knowledge of
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God. So important.
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So let me ask you a question. Do you love the Lord?
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I think everyone of us in the room would say, yeah, I love the
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Lord. But the question comes, how do
30:44
you know you love the Lord? Because if you're going to live
30:48
for Christ, you got to listen to him and you must love him.
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But what does it mean to love the Lord?
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That's a great question. It goes way beyond the feelings
31:00
and emotions that we have for the Lord.
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There is feeling and emotion in it.
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But how do you know you love the Lord?
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Well, let me give you a few ways.
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You know that one is if you love the Lord, you're going to
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meditate daily on the Word of God.
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If you love the Lord, you're going to meditate daily on the
31:20
Word of God. Psalmist says this way, Psalm
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119970 how I love your law. It is my meditation all the day.
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You see, if you love the Lord, you love His Word, because you
31:39
can't love the Incarnate Word without loving the inspired Word
31:43
to go hand in hand. In the beginning was the Word,
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and the Word was God, and the Word was with God, and the Word
31:50
became flesh and dwelled among us.
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And the Word of God is the breathed Word of God.
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So to love the Lord do you must love His Word.
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So you will meditate daily upon His word.
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It says over in verse #127 these words.
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Therefore I love your commandments above gold.
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Yes, above fine gold. There you go.
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Do you love the commandments more than gold, more than money,
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more than anything else? Verse 163 I hate in the spice
32:28
falsehood, but I but I love your law.
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Verse 159 Consider how I love your precepts.
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Verse 167 My soul keeps your testimonies, and I love them
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exceedingly. You know you love the Lord when
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you meditate daily on the word of God because you can't wait to
32:54
hear Him speak another way. You know the Lord is not only
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that you meditate daily in the Word of God, but you hate fully
33:02
all that God hates. You know you love the Lord when
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you hate what God hates. Hate evil.
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All you who love the Lord, Psalm 97 verse #10 hate evil, you who
33:21
love the Lord. So if you love the Lord, you
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hate evil. So you're going to hate fully
33:25
what God hates. Remember first John chapter 2,
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First John chapter 2 verse #15 do not love the world nor the
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things in the world. Why?
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If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in
33:47
Him. You can't love the things of the
33:50
world, for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and
33:53
the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life is not
33:56
from the Father, but it's from the world.
33:59
And the world's passing away also its lust.
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But the one who does the will of God, that person abides forever.
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So in other words, you hate what God hates.
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It's so important to realize this.
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We we forget that our love is seen in hating what God hates.
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And so we don't love the world, we don't love the things of the
34:29
world, we don't love evil. We hate evil because God hates
34:34
evil. So when you begin to get down to
34:38
brass tacks as to what it means to love the Lord, it means that
34:41
you're going to meditate daily on the law of the Lord and
34:44
you're going to hate fully the things that God himself hates #3
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if you love the Lord, you're going to imitate authentically
34:55
God himself. Ephesians 5 verses one and two,
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that we are to be imitators of God and walk in love.
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So if you love the Lord, you're going to imitate authentically
35:14
God himself. You're going to walk in love.
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This is so important. How do I know you love God?
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I know you love God because you love your wife as Christ loved
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the church. That's how I know you love God.
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I know you. I know you love God simply
35:29
because you're forgiving, because the greatest standard
35:34
and measurement for your love is the willingness to forgive those
35:38
who have sinned against you. And so forgiveness then begins
35:43
to reign supreme in your life. For love covers a multitude of
35:48
sins, the book of Proverbs tells us, along with first Peter
35:52
chapter 4, love. Love does not expose people's
35:57
sins. Love covers those sins love
36:00
forgives. So you want to imitate God, you
36:04
want to imitate his forgiveness. You want to imitate his love,
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you want to imitate his grace and his mercy.
36:09
You want to begin to imitate authentically the God you say
36:11
you you love. You want to be like God, See
36:15
that? That's what love does.
36:18
That's how love manifests itself.
36:20
It manifests itself because I meditate daily on His law
36:23
because I want to know all there is to know about Him because I
36:26
love Him so. And then I'm going to hate what
36:29
he hates because I don't want to offend him in any way.
36:32
And then I'm going to, I'm going to imitate him daily because I
36:36
want to be like Him. That's how you know you love the
36:39
Lord. So important and #4 you, you
36:44
demonstrate. You demonstrate freely your
36:48
obedience to Christ. Listen to John chapter 14, John
36:55
14 verse #15 If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
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Verse 21. He who has my commandments and
37:06
keeps them is the one who loves me.
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And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will
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love him and will disclose myself to Him.
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Love is always seen in obedience to the commands of God.
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I'm going to do what God says. If you love me, you will keep my
37:29
commandments. If you don't love me, you could
37:32
care less about my commandments. You don't want to obey my
37:34
commands, but if you love me, you will keep my commands.
37:44
Another way is that you consecrate holy your life to God
37:50
above everything and everyone else.
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So when Christ comes to Peter in John 21, it says, Peter, do you
37:56
love me more than these? And we don't know what the these
38:00
are in John 21. It could be the other disciples,
38:05
it could be his business, his fishing business, right?
38:11
The question is, do you love me more than your financial
38:15
stability? Do you love me more than your
38:18
friends? Do you love me more than
38:20
anything else? Do you love me more than these?
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He says, of course I love you, Lord, then feed my sheep.
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But Christ asked him three times that same question because he
38:31
wanted to make sure Peter understood that everything about
38:34
loving him centers around consecrating your life to him.
38:37
And he goes on and talks about how he's going to follow him and
38:40
how he's going to stretch out his hands where he doesn't want
38:42
to go. He's going to be crucified.
38:43
He's going to die by following Christ.
38:47
Those who love the Lord consecrate their lives fully and
38:51
freely to him. He means more to them than
38:56
everything else, than anyone else.
38:59
So ask yourself, do you love the Lord?
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Peter denied the Lord, Judas denied the Lord, but Peter loved
39:12
the Savior, Judas loved himself, and Judas was the son of
39:20
perdition. Big difference there.
39:26
And so you have to ask yourself, do I love the Lord?
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Why? This is why I listen to Him,
39:33
because I get to know Him, and if I listen to Him, I will love
39:38
Him. For to me, to live is Christ.
39:41
To do that I must listen to him #1 #2 I must love Him, and #3 I
39:50
must learn all I can about Him. If you love the Lord, you're
39:56
going to learn everything you can about Him, and you'll never
40:00
stop learning. You'll want to know Him deeply.
40:04
Intimately, Daniel 1132 says that people who know their God
40:09
will display strength and take action.
40:11
Let me ask you a question. Do you display strength and take
40:13
action? If you don't display strength,
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you probably don't know the Lord.
40:19
If you display weakness and fragility, you probably don't
40:23
know the Lord. Daniel says if you know the
40:28
Lord, you will display strength and you will take action.
40:32
You will do great exploits for God.
40:36
Why? Because the knowledge of God
40:37
does something in your life that moves you and motivates you to
40:40
live for the glory and honor of His Kingdom.
40:44
And the power of God within the life of a person catapults them
40:49
to action. So important to realize this.
40:56
There's something about knowing God and learning about God.
40:59
It it is, it is a pursuit, a pursuit that is impenetrable.
41:10
In other words, you're, you're never going to know God fully
41:14
this side of eternity. Psalm 145 says his greatness is
41:18
unsearchable. You're never going to find it
41:21
out. So, so knowing God is
41:25
impenetrable because he's infinite and you're finite, so
41:29
you're never going to fully come to know him, but there's this
41:31
passion behind the pursuit of him to learn all you can about
41:36
him because he's your God, He's your savior.
41:39
He's the the God that you love. Knowing God is life's most
41:46
impenetrable pursuit, but it's life's most impressionable
41:53
pursuit. Nothing will change your life
41:57
more than knowing the Lord God. Listen what the Bible says Over
42:04
in the book of Colossians, Colossians chapter 1, Paul says
42:10
this. For this reason, since the day
42:12
we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to
42:15
ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all
42:19
spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will
42:22
walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.
42:24
You can't walk in a manner worthy of the Lord unless you
42:26
know who He is. You got to learn all you can
42:29
about Him. You'll please Him in all
42:33
respects. You'll bear fruit.
42:34
You'll increase in the knowledge of God.
42:36
You'll be strengthened with all power according to His glorious
42:39
might. For the attaining of all
42:40
steadfastness and patience, joyously give me thanks to the
42:43
Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance,
42:47
inheritance of the Saints in light.
42:49
That's what God does. There's something about it,
42:55
there's something about learning about God that that just
42:58
catapults you into another sphere of living because
43:02
everything about your life centers around living for
43:05
Christ, knowing that dying is gain.
43:10
Back in the book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah says this, and Jeremiah
43:15
Chapter 9 verse #1 Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a
43:21
fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain
43:25
of the daughter of my people. He wept for Jerusalem.
43:33
He went for Israel. Why?
43:35
Because Israel was once a strong nation.
43:39
Israel was God's people. Israel was was going to be used
43:43
by God in a great and mighty way.
43:46
But now he begins to weep bitterly over Jerusalem.
43:52
He says the verse 20 that I had in the desert a wayfarers
43:56
lodging place that I might leave my people and go from them.
44:02
He said, oh, if I, if I just had a home, if I, if I had a condo
44:08
in Palm Springs, I would go there.
44:12
If I had a house in Tahiti, I would go there.
44:17
If I had a condo in Maui, I would go.
44:20
I would go anywhere to escape what I'm facing right now.
44:29
So he says these words for all of them are adulterers and
44:35
assembly of treacherous men. They bend their tongue like
44:40
their bow. Lies and not truth prevail in
44:43
the land, for they proceed from evil to evil.
44:48
I don't want to be around evil. I don't want to be around liars.
44:51
I don't want to be around adulterers.
44:53
I don't want to be on treacherous mid.
44:54
So if I can escape and go someplace other than where I'm
44:57
at, I would do that. He couldn't, but if he could, he
45:03
would. So what was the problem that he
45:07
tells you? And they do not know me,
45:12
declares the Lord. That was a problem in Israel,
45:21
Hosea tells us. They were destroyed for lack of
45:24
knowledge. They just did not want to learn
45:28
all they could about their God. It cost them desperately.
45:34
It cost them tremendously because He would not learn all
45:41
they could about their God. To live for Christ simply means
45:47
that you listen to all that He says.
45:50
And once you listen to Him, you can't help but love Him.
45:53
And the more you love Him, the more you want to learn all you
45:56
can about Him. So you know you love Him when
45:59
you just can't get enough of Him.
46:04
Have you had enough of God? Are you bored with God?
46:08
Are you done with God? Those who want to live for
46:12
Christ, they want to live to know all they could about Him.
46:18
And know this, once you learn about Him, this is number 4.
46:23
You lean upon Him, you lean upon Him, you trust Him, right?
46:31
All your energies, your life is just thrust upon God.
46:40
You can't help but trust Him. The psalmist in Psalm 50, verse
46:51
#15 says, Call upon me in the day of trouble.
46:53
I shall rescue you, and you will honor me.
47:00
In Psalm 56, verse #3 when I'm afraid, I will put my trust in
47:07
you. I'll lean upon you in God, whose
47:11
word I praise. In God I put my trust.
47:14
I should not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?
47:20
How about this Proverbs chapter 18?
47:26
Proverbs chapter 18, verse #10 The name of the Lord is a strong
47:30
tower. The righteous runs into it and
47:34
is safe. The name of the Lord, the
47:38
character of God, the nature of God, is a strong tower.
47:43
It's a place of refuge, and the righteous can't wait to run into
47:48
it for safety, for protection. Verse 11 A rich man's wealth is
47:57
his strong tower. This is this, and like a high
48:04
wall in his own imagination. Oh, how wise that is.
48:15
A rich man's strong tower is his wealth, his riches, his
48:22
financial stability. The righteous have a strong
48:27
tower, and that is the name of the Lord.
48:31
They run to the strong tower and they are secure.
48:34
They they are safe, they are protected.
48:36
But the rich man, he runs to his imagination, his imaginary
48:40
tower, his finances, his stability, his strength.
48:50
What is your strong tower? What is your fortified city that
48:57
you run to, that you lean upon, that you trust in?
49:03
For some it's their their degree, their education, that's
49:08
their fortified city. For others it's their four O 1K
49:15
That's their fortified city. For others it's a friend,
49:26
husband or wife. But for the righteous it's the
49:31
name of the Lord. That's the strong tower,
49:37
Psalmist said. When I am afraid, I trust in
49:43
you. That's it.
49:46
I just lean on the Lord. Psalm 44, six says I do not
49:53
trust in my bow. What he doesn't say is
50:01
important. He doesn't say I throw my bow
50:04
away. I don't trust in my bow, so I
50:09
throw it away. No, he still has his bow.
50:12
See, you can still have riches, you just can't trust in riches.
50:15
You can still have friends, you just can't trust in your
50:17
friends. You can still be married, just
50:20
not trust in your marriage. You got to trust in the name of
50:24
the Lord. You can't lean on your own
50:27
understanding. You got to trust in what God
50:30
says and who He is and those who who love Him and have learned
50:35
all they can have. The reason you lean on Him is
50:37
because you learned about His omnipotence.
50:40
You've learned about His omnipresence, His omniscience.
50:43
You've learned about the fact that He's the mighty God, the
50:45
Almighty God. You learn about His forgiveness,
50:47
His grace, His mercy. Do you learn about Him?
50:50
You can't wait to lean on Him because of who He is and because
50:56
of what He does. That's what it means to live for
51:00
Christ. That's how Paul lived his life.
51:06
He lived the life that honored the Lord.
51:11
And those who live for Christ, they, they listen to him, they
51:15
love him, they learn about him, and they lean upon him.
51:23
JC Rile in his book on the holiness of God, says this about
51:28
those who love God. This is really good, he says.
51:34
Let it never be said that we cannot find out whether a
51:37
Christian really loves Christ. You ever wonder whether or not
51:42
people know you love Christ or not?
51:44
This year, Rao says, Let it be known never, never be said that
51:49
we cannot find out whether a Christian really loves Christ.
51:52
It can be known. It may be discovered.
51:55
The proofs are already in your hand.
52:01
You have heard them this very day.
52:05
Love to the Lord Jesus Christ is no hidden secret, no impalpable
52:11
thing. It is like light, it will be
52:16
seen. It is like sound, it will be
52:21
heard. It is like heat.
52:25
It will be felt where it exists. It cannot be hid where it cannot
52:33
be seen. You make sure, be sure that
52:39
there is no love at all. That's just so good.
52:45
If you love the Lord, like light, you see it.
52:48
Like heat, you feel it. But if you can't feel it and you
52:51
can't see it and you can't hear it, there is no love that's
52:54
there. Now.
52:56
I didn't say that JC Rile, a much smarter man than me, a much
53:01
more intelligent man to me, a much better preacher than me,
53:04
understood the love of God. People say, well, I I love the
53:09
Lord, but you don't ever see it. You don't ever hear it, but they
53:15
say it. Just because you said it means
53:18
nothing. Can you feel it?
53:21
Can you see it? Can you hear it?
53:23
That's when you know someone really truly loves the Lord.
53:29
So Paul says for to me to live is Christ and to die his game.
53:34
How do you know you live for Christ?
53:36
How you listen to everything he says.
53:38
Can't wait to hear him speak. Once you hear Him speak, you
53:42
just fall deeper and deeper in love with Him.
53:45
And the more you love Him, the more you can't wait to know
53:47
about Him. So you just keep learning all
53:49
you can about Him, and the more you learn about Him, you just
53:51
lean upon Him all the time. Just trust Him day after day
53:54
because there's nothing else you can trust in because He's
53:57
everything. To live for Christ means you
54:08
look to Him for everything and no one else.
54:14
You look to Christ, your gaze is away from everything and
54:19
everyone, and you look to Christ alone.
54:24
Looking into Jesus. Hebrews 12 the author, the
54:28
originator and finisher of our faith.
54:33
Consider him right If Hebrews tells us that that we look to
54:38
Christ, Why? Because He is the originator of
54:43
our faith, and we turn our eyes away from the things of the
54:47
world and look completely upon Him.
54:49
And once you look toward Him, you long for Him to return, just
54:57
long for Him to come back. So what Paul would say in second
55:00
grade 2nd 4 verse #8 that the crown of righteousness is for
55:04
all those who who love his appearing, who long for Him to
55:09
come back, and those who who live for Him long for him to
55:15
return. So Paul says, for to me to live
55:20
is Christ, and to die is the greatest of all gains.
55:27
How do you live for Christ? Well, you listen to what He
55:30
says, you love Him for who He is, you learn all you can about
55:36
Him, you lean upon Him, you look to Him, and you long for Him.
55:43
Why? Because if you don't, you're
55:48
lost without him. You're completely lost without
55:51
the Christ. And Paul knew that.
55:55
That's why I gave his life to Christ, because he was lost
55:59
without him. But with him you were found.
56:04
You're in Christ, you're his child.
56:11
That's the Christians dedication.
56:14
He is dedicated to living for Christ and not for himself.
56:19
He is living dedicated to living for Christ and not for the world
56:22
or anything else. He is sold out to live for
56:28
Christ. Is that you?
56:30
What is a Christian? Christian is known by his
56:36
dedication. Let's pray.
56:39
Father, we thank you for tonight chance to be together to look
56:42
into Your word once again. Truly, you are a great God.
56:47
You've allowed us to have a brief moment where we can look
56:50
into the Word of God and examine our lives.
56:53
I pray for everyone in the room that Lord, they would truly live
56:58
for Christ. They'd ask themselves, who am I
57:02
living for? What am I living for?
57:06
They might examine their lives in light of what Your word says
57:10
and ask, am I, Am I living for Christ or myself?
57:14
Do I listen to all that He says? Do I listen in such a way that I
57:19
just love Him more and more? So much so I just want to learn
57:22
all I can about Him. I just can't get enough of Him.
57:26
And the more I learn about Him, I just lean completely and
57:28
totally upon Him for everything. I look to you, no one else that
57:35
long to be in Your presence one day.
57:38
May that be each and everyone of us, Lord, as we seek to do your
57:43
will and glorify your name until you come again, as you most
57:47
surely will, in Jesus name, Amen.