Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #20250601 - AAre you Drifting? - Hebrews 2:1-4

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#20250601 - AAre you Drifting? - Hebrews 2:1-4 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's Word recorded live at Calvary
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Church in Aurora, Co. To learn more about the many
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resources available through Abounding Grace Media or to tune
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into our live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co
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dot Church or download our free Calvary Church app.
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Now let's open our Bibles and study God's Word.
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Amen. Hebrews chapter 2 Looking at
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verses one through 4, the title of this message is Are you
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drifting? Are you drifting Then?
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We have all heard this phrase before, when we were either
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drifting to sleep during a movie or when we were distracted while
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driving and drifted into the other lane.
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However, we can even drift in our marriages when we have
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allowed other things and other people to take our attention
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away. But what do we do when we have
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drifted away from God? When we have allowed other
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things or other people to rob us of our attention and our
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affection for the Lord, the next question is, are there any
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warning signs that we have drifted or we are drifting?
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And I believe that's what this message is all about.
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Look what it says there in verse one.
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Therefore, we must give the more earnest heed to the things we've
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heard lest we drift away. I want to draw your attention to
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the word therefore, in verse one.
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The word, therefore, is a transitional conjunction that
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takes us back to what was just said.
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And so it takes us back to chapter 1, how Jesus Christ is
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superior over anything that the Jewish people who were going
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through persecution can go back to see.
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They had left Judaism and they have become Christian, so now
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they're being persecuted for their faith.
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And so many of them were contemplated waiting on going
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back to Judaism. So the author of Hebrews, I
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believe is Paul, that the author of Hebrews goes through this
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book and shows them how Jesus Christ is superior to anything
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you can go back to in Judaism. Or can I just pause here?
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Can I pause here? There's some of you that's
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contemplating on going back to the world, going back to the old
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watering hose, the old Hangouts, and I'm here to tell you that
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Jesus Christ is superior over anything you can go back to in
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this world. You cried out to the Lord to
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save you from this world. Now you contemplating on going
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back. I'm here to tell you Jesus is
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superior over anything you can go back to.
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I didn't say this and any other service, but this one, there's
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somebody need to hear that because you're thinking about
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going back, maybe persecuted for for your faith.
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Maybe God let you down in your mind, He let you down.
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You're praying for someone who was sick and they passed away
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and you had God. You let me down, man.
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I'm out of here and I'm here to tell you #1 ultimate healing is
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being in the presence of the Lord.
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You know that and #2 is that Jesus is superior over anything
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you can go back to now. Meanwhile, back at the ranch,
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the word therefore, it's there for a reason.
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Pastor Chuck used to tell us that therefore or because of all
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the things that's mentioned in chapter 1, how Jesus is superior
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over the angels. He mentioned that in chapters
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one and two, because you know, they believe the Jews believe
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that Moses received the 10 commandments by the hand of
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angels. Paul hints to that in in chapter
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3 verse 19 of the book of Galatians.
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And so then he said look, Jesus is superior over Moses.
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Moses that was huge in chapters 3 and four in chapters 5 through
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7 said Jesus is superior over the high priest.
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As you go back and try to go back to the old sacrifices and
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all that, Jesus is superior over all those things and just
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continues on throughout this book.
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So therefore, or because of all this, we must give the more
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earnest heed to the things we have heard.
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I'm going to draw your attention to the phrase earnest heed.
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The Greek word is persecho, and it means to beware or to anchor
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a ship or a boat. Then he tells us why this is
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important. Notice, he says, lest we drift
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away. The Greek word for drift is
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paaretto, and it is also a nautical term that describes a
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ship drifting past the safety of the harbor.
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So the author and I believe is Paul is warning us to carefully
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anchor ourselves to the things we have heard.
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Why? Lest at any time we find
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ourselves drifting. Drifting carries the connotation
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of letting go and putting it in neutral and allowing the
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currents of this world to take you either out to sea or into
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the rocks, crashing in your walk with Christ, crashing your
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marriage, or crashing emotionally or spiritually.
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Or Paul used this terminology again in First Timothy 119 when
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he said that some believers have rejected the truth and suffered.
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Here it is suffered shipwreck. This can happen to any of us.
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Now I know you may think, well, you know, I've been walking with
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the Lord for some years. This can never happen to me.
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Oh, notice how Paul said, lest we drift.
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Oh, the plural pronoun that Paul uses means that he is even
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including himself unless we drift.
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So the question is, have you drifted or are you drifting?
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Have you drifted in your Christian walk?
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Have you drifted in your marriage?
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Here are four warning signs that you either have drifted or are
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drifting. Number one for you note takers,
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you're no longer growing or making progress in your
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Christian walk. You're no longer growing and
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making progress in your Christian walk down.
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Here's the thing, prior to the men understood this when I
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mentioned it yesterday and some of you would get it today.
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Prior to Thanos snapping his finger back in 2020, we used to
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judge a person's spirituality by their church attendance.
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And, you know, it used to be you.
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You miss a couple of weeks. We like, bro, bro, you good?
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You all right, man? What, what?
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What's going on? We ain't seen you in a couple of
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weeks since that time. We we no longer do that.
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But here's the thing. That shouldn't have been the
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test anyway. The gauge.
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Anyway. The real gauge is based upon
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Galatians 522 and 23, the fruit of the Spirit.
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The fruit of Spirit is Lovejoy, peace, long-suffering, goodness,
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faithfulness, gentleness, kindness and self-control.
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That's how you gauge where you are in your walk with the Lord.
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Are you more loving towards your wife this month than you were
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last month? Are you kinder this year than
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you were last year? Are you exercising more
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self-control this week than you did last week?
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See. Are you more patient towards
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your wife and your children today than you were yesterday?
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That's how you gauge your walk with the Lord, whether you are
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growing or not, or you are a grump.
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Before you were a Christian and now that you call yourself a
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Christian, you still a grump. That shouldn't be.
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There should be a way to gauge it and the fruit of the Spirit
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is the way to gauge it. Are you exercising more
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self-control? Are you still overeating and
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over indulging and over whatever?
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And you, you call yourself a Christian, that's how you gauge
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things. So when you are drifting or have
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drifted, you're no longer growing in your walk with the
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Lord. That's number one.
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Number 20. Here we go, folks.
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Here we go. Old ways are reintroduced back
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into your life again. There was a condition you were
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in when you cried out for God to save you.
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Maybe you were in some drunken stupor.
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Maybe you were high on some drug.
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Maybe you were doing all kind of crazy stuff and you cried out to
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God. God save me out of this
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condition. Save me from me and God saved
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you, rescued you out of the miry clay, set your feet upon a rock
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and saved you. But when you are drifting or
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have drifted, always are reintroduced back into your life
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again. For example, drinking alcohol,
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abusing prescription drugs or recreational drugs.
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Now someone may protest and say well I don't see anything wrong
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with these things. I have lived in Christ There
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Pastor Tony First Corinthians 612 says all things are lawful
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and I believe them. Well yes, but that verse goes on
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to say, but all things are not helpful, which means help you in
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your walk with Christ or help us to become more Christ like.
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And then it continues, all things are lawful for me to do,
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but I would not be brought under the power of any or anything.
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Then Paul doubled down on what he said in chapter 10 of First
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Corinthians. Verse 23 says all things are
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lawful, but all things do not edify or build me up in my walk
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with Christ. So yes, you can do whatever it
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is you want to do. All things are lawful, but you
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must ask yourself three questions based upon these two
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verses #1 whatever it is you want to do, will it help you
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become more like Jesus Christ? 1st Corinthians 1031 said, let
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everything that you do be done to the glory of God.
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So can you tip up that alcoholic beverages, Oh God, I just give
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you glory for this as I'm smoking this God.
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Oh, to God be the glory. Great things he has done as I'm
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shooting up. Oh Lord, just give you glory,
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Give you glory #2 whatever it is you want to do.
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Will it bring you under its power?
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Will alcohol or abusing prescription or recreational
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drugs or porn bring you under its power #3 whatever it is you
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want to do? Will it edify or build me up in
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my Christian walk? You got to ask yourself this, Oh
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God, as I'm living with my girlfriend and every time we're
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sleeping together, oh God, I just I give you glory, I give
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you praise. You know, nowadays, nowadays,
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you know, you see, I'm old enough to remember when things
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are a little bit different. But nowadays, you know, when you
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introduce somebody as your fiance, that just means y'all
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living together. That's the definition.
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It is today. Back in the day, I'm old enough
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to remember that back in the day when you said my fiance, it's
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like, oh, they're about to get married.
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Oh, when, when is the wedding? Oh, is this a couple months from
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now? But today fiance, this means
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y'all living together. That's all playing house.
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That's all y'all doing ladies, don't let them do you like that
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you you you're not a used car that he need to test drive you
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before y'all get married. Somebody need to hear that
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somebody need to. I didn't say that.
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None of these services, ladies, it's an old saying.
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It's so old. It's so old.
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It's an old saying. Why buy the cow when you get in
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the milk for free? Ladies, let me tell you
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something. He'll never marry you as long as
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he getting the milk for free. Oh, somebody needs to hear that.
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Today. I go back to Virginia.
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Tomorrow you don't have to worry about it.
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I go back to Virginia. Pastor Ed have to mop up, you
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know, do the mop up. I'm telling you, when you're
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drifting, old things are reintroduced back in your life
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again. And just as you have to ask
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yourself these questions and whatever it is I want to do,
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will it help me become more like Jesus Christ #2 whatever it is I
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want to do, will it bring me on this power?
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Does alcohol, does drugs? Does porn?
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Does whatever it is you want to do, does it have the potential
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of bringing me under its power? And #3 whatever it is I want to
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do, would it edify? Will it build me up in my walk
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of Christ? And if we will be honest with
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ourselves, we will say no. None of these things would do
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that. If we be honest, we just say no.
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These things would bring me under this power.
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I can't glorify the Lord for that.
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It won't help me to become more like Christ.
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Then my, my question is, why are you entered reintroducing these
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things back into your life? If it'll bring you in this
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power, if it doesn't help you in your walk with the Lord, then
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why are you reintroducing those things back into your life?
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Remember, it was those things and it's grip upon you that you
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cried out to God to save you and he did.
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So why reintroduce them back into your life?
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Hey, guess what? There's a bonus one.
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There's a bonus one you have to ask yourself, will it stumble
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someone? Whatever it is you want to do,
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you have to ask yourself, will it stumble someone?
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Well, in First Corinthians 8-9, Paul warns us about allowing our
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liberty to become a stumbling block, meaning that if whatever
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it is we're doing, if we feel we got liberty to do whatever it
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is, if our liberty is stumbling someone, then it ceases from
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being a liberty and now it's a stumbling block.
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Watch this, many of you as adults, you acquired a taste of
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alcohol because growing up, your parents used to have parties and
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leave cups laying around. And you being a little nosy
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little kid, what's this? You look to the left, look to
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the right and take a sip. And that caused you to acquire a
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taste for alcohol. And now all of a sudden, you
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don't even realize that your own parents stumbled you.
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So now are you going to turn around and stumble?
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Your children come. Many people say, well, Pastor
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Tony, I exercise my liberties at home and the privacy of my own
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home. OK, but is it stumbling your
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wife? Is it stumbling your children?
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Does Little Johnny and little Sally got to push past the beer
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cans and the wine bottle in order to get the milk for their
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cereal? You got to ask yourself, because
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you better believe little Johnny and Sally, when you're not
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around, going to take a sip of that.
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Whatever it is that's in there, they're going to take a sip of
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that. I grew up in the Midwest where
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everyone had basements and they had bars in the basement.
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I never did. I never did smoke, drink or do
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drugs. Even before I was a Christian, I
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was an athlete and pretty good athlete, and therefore I didn't
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want anything to hinder me from being the best I could be.
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So I don't know what it is to be drunk.
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I don't know what it is to be high.
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I don't know any of that type of stuff.
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I didn't do drugs, didn't even fool that.
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That stuff was not even attractive to me.
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But you know, there's one thing I I never voiced this.
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I speak around the world and I never said this before.
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I remember a time because my dad drank.
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I remember a time I was with my dad.
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He went to this one watering hole that all his boys from the
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steel mill used to go to and I never forget, you know, and then
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afterwards went to one of his friend's house and they all
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drinking beer. And I remember my dad said, hey,
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you want to take a sip? And I took a sip.
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And I was like, that could have been the start of me becoming an
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alcoholic, but I thought it was sick.
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Just like I think coffee is sick.
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That taste of coffee is rubbish. I'm just saying now that many
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y'all love it and Starbucks is the king of the world.
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But that taste of beer I just I said yuck that is bad.
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So you got to ask yourself, will it stumble someone?
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I remember prior to the the reset of five years ago, I used
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to go to Walmart and Sam's Club 3 or 4 * a week.
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I used to have three or four counseling appointments every
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time I went in there. And so I remember, you know, I,
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I went down 1 aisle and there was a lady who recognized me and
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she had a cart full of wine bottles.
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It was about good 7-8 of those things in there.
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And she told me her eyes got big like a deer caught in the
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headlight. And she hurried up and went
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around, you know, the bottles in there clanging against these
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duck clang clanging. I said, hey, you do you.
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I didn't say anything to her. It just it just my presence just
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kind of got all weirded out and I just will it stumble somewhat.
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I did mention this yesterday. I didn't mention it today to
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give you take it a step further, give you an example.
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I think y'all, y'all call y'alls liquor stores, ABC stores here
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is that ABC stores or just liquor stores, liquor store?
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They be both y'all come both. So after church, you see me
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coming out of the ABC, the liquor store.
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Brown paper bag loan handle and you will.
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Look, Pastor Tony, what you doing?
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Oh, no. You know, I'm at liberty.
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You know, I'm, I'm out of church now.
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You know I'm out of church. Give me a little little wine to
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kind of calm down. You know, I have to deal with
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all them people there. I need to calm down a little
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bit. That's what a lady told me.
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The lady told me. She said, you know, Pastor Tony,
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you know, I just have a little wine at the end of the day.
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You want to kind of calm down a little bit.
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And I said, oh, really? She said, yeah.
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I said, so you need to calm down every day then, right?
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I said, so that means you're drinking every day.
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I didn't look at it like that, Pastor Tony.
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Well, you should. You're drinking every day.
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You don't even realize it. So if you saw me coming out of
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the liquor store with a, you know, pack of Newports and I'm
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I'm light. I got one light and got one wine
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bottle in my hand, you'd be like, Pastor Tony, do you need
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to go back and listen to your sermon?
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You'll be stumbled. And I said before, when your
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liberty, it becomes a stumbling block, it ceases from being a
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liberty, and now it's a stumbling block.
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See, the unbelieving world doesn't understand your
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liberties in Christ. The unbeliever has a certain
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image of what a Christian is, the unbelievers.
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So when they see you doing a certain thing, the way that they
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will tell you that they're stumbled by your behavior, watch
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this. This is what they will say.
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I thought you were a Christian. That's them saying whatever it
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is you're doing in their mind. That's not what Christians do.
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That's their way of saying I'm stumbled.
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They don't know that phraseology, but that's their
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way of saying that they're stumbled.
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So number one, the first sign that you're drifting, no longer
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making progress as a Christian #2 old ways are reintroduced
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back into your life #3 a loss of appetite for the Bible, a loss
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of appetite for church and for spiritual things.
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You can just take one look at me and tell them my wife is an
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incredible cook. And so let's say she hits me up
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and say, hey, guess what? I'm going to make your favorite
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meal, so hurry up and get home, OK?
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And I'm going to use this example because we're not as
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fortunate as you guys. We don't have an In-n-out
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Burger. So I'm going to use this example
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for y'all. Let's say I drive home and I
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stop in and out and give me a double, double animal style.
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My friend up in Fort Collins said you got to get these
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Peppers on there and some grilled onions and stuff.
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I said OK, OK, let's say I plow that down, you know, fries and
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stuff. You know that pink lemonade, you
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know you can't leave that out. Got to go with that pink
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lemonade and I just chow down and belly feeling good.
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I pulled into the driveway. It doesn't matter what my wife
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cooked, I wouldn't want it. Why?
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I don't have an appetite for it. Why?
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Because I pigged out on, in and out before I came home.
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Many of you have a loss of an appetite for spiritual things
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because you've been pigging out on the fast foods of this world
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and you wonder why you have no appetite for the things of God.
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No appetite for church, no appetite for reading the Bible,
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for prayer, for all those things because you're too busy pigging
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out doing. You know, my generation, we use
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this finger doing this all day long.
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And you have no appetite for spiritual things.
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You look at your screen time, you give more time to your phone
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than you ever have given it to the things of God in a month's
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time. See, when you're drifting, you
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have no appetite for spiritual things.
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No longer heeding the Word of God like Hebrews 2, one said.
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No longer taking heed or anchoring yourself in the Word
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of God like before #4 no deep concern for the loss of those
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far from God. A sign that you're drifting or
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have drifted. You don't have a heart for lost
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people anymore. Jesus told us why He came.
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He says I came Luke 1910 for you note takers.
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He says I came to seek and to save the laws.
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And if you don't have a heart to see lost people saved, you don't
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have the heart of Jesus. You can't say I got the heart of
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Jesus. No, you don't if you don't have
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a heart for lost souls. And you will never have a heart
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for lost souls if you're looking down upon them, calling them
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names. Every time I get to Matthew 936,
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it says Jesus saw the multitude and he was moved with compassion
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towards them. He saw them as weary and
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bruised, like sheep without a shepherd.
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And then Matthew doubled down on it because in Matthew 1414, he
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says the same thing. Every time I get to those
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verses, I'm saying, oh God, give me your heart.
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Help me to see people through your eyes.
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Help me not to to look at them and call them names.
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Leftist, Marxist, liberal and all kind of stuff.
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Oh God, give me your heart. You will never win lost souls.
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If you look down upon the people God has called us to reach, you
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will never reach them, never at all.
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Because you see, you see them as, oh, look at them over there.
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Look at the law. Then you glued to CNN and Fox
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News and just nuts and them and those people, look at them and
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whoa, boy, those laws, they're passing.
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And now I tell you, you never reach them.
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There's a guy on staff. Matter of fact, he spoke for me.
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He used to be on staff and he works with Young Life now and he
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spoke for me today. And I tell you, he had to, he
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had to get me back on the right track because I looked at this
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generation and you know, for those who don't know, you know,
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I'm a Marine, former active duty Marine.
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Just so when you hear me say former Marine, don't don't say
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former Marine. Who wants to Marine always a
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man. I mean former active duty.
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So I have to add that in there. But I just see things
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differently. I'm all about being a man and
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for men being men. I'm all about that.
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I love speaking to men. I'm all about that life and now
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today to be a man and proud to be a man.
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That's called toxic masculinity. I said.
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Since when I said y'all won't be happy till you turn all the men
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into women? I said that ain't happening
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here. I told, I told the guys
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yesterday. One guy reminded me of it.
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I said I can put on pink and make it look blue.
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And one of the guys told me this morning and said I see you got
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your baby blue on. I said yeah, yeah, I do.
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There's my dude right there. Yeah, yeah.
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So, you know, the guy had to remind me because I looked down
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on this generation, be honest with you, the younger
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generation. I said you weak, you, you sorry,
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you don't want to do anything. You just sissies.
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And I just looked, I looked down upon him and he had to get me
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straight. He said you'll never reach him
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with that attitude. He said you'll never reach him
28:48
if you look down upon. I said, bro, in my generation,
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bro, we were like this. We did this.
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We we stood, we were happy to be a man and he's there still a
28:58
couple people happy to be a man. And he had to say, but you know
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what God has called you to reach this generation.
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My son had to tell me. He said, Dad, you talk about
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this generation. He said, but you're still alive.
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So you still a part of this generation.
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And I said, whoa, I said, you right.
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And I had to change my views on how I saw this generation.
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And I said, oh God, give me your heart form.
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Help me to see them through your eyes.
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And sure enough, the Lord began to change my heart because I'm
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from a different generation. My dad was a man's man and
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taught me how to be a man. You take care of your house, you
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take care of responsibility. You go out and you not only
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bring home the bacon, but you bring home the Bible, and you'd
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be the man that leads the way. That's how I was taught.
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But I see today, you know, Mama's boys and all that kind of
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stuff. That's because fatherlessness in
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the home. No fathers are around.
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Raised by Mama and Mama raised the boy to be the man she hates.
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And I see a lot of that going on.
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A lot of single parents, a lot of stuff go goes on in our
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community where we are. And I had to change.
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I had some younger people that had to tell me you would never
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reach them with that attitude. And I said, wow.
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So I had to change my heart and my viewpoint and I had to
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constantly pray, Lord, give me your eyes to see the multitudes
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the way you see them as weary and bruised, like sheep without
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a shepherd. And so I had to change.
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So a sign that you're drifting, you no longer have a heart for
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lost souls. Let me read verses 2 through
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4:00 so we can then wrap it up. For if the words spoken through
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angels prove steadfast, and every transgression and
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disobedience received a just reward, how should we escape if
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we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be
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spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who
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heard him? God also hearing witness both
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with signs and wonders, with various miracles and gifts of
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the Holy Spirit according to his own will.
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Now Paul in verses 2 through 4 is warning them that those who
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neglected Moses law received the just punishment.
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He says how much greater punishment will be received, who
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neglected salvation brought about through Jesus Christ?
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See, it was believed, as I mentioned before, that they
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looked up to these angels and they revered angels and all that
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sort of stuff that brought the law to Moses.
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But then he said if they received the just punishment,
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who received the from the law of Moses or neglecting the law of
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Moses? He said how should we escape if
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we neglect so great a salvation? In other words, how should we
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escape punishment if we neglect so great a salvation?
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The point is, we won't escape. It's a rhetorical question.
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I love the description of salvation as being so great a
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salvation. The adverb soul means to such a
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great extent. It is used in John 316 For God
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so loved the world, meaning that God didn't just love the world,
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but he so loved the world, meaning that the word love falls
32:31
short in how he feels about this world.
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So the adverb soul gives the word love more punch to it.
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So he not only loved the world, but he so loved the world to
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such a great extent. And the same thing is done here
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in these verses describing our salvation as so great a
32:52
salvation that Greek word can be translated.
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So large a salvation, so vast a salvation.
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Why? Because it extends to everyone
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who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
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The salvation that cost Jesus his life on the cross.
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The salvation that caused Jesus coming to this earth, put it on
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human flesh and dying. The salvation that caused Jesus
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to take the raft of the Father that was meant for all of us and
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he took it upon himself. I told you that because we're
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born sinners and nobody good, there's none good.
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No, not one. We're all born into sin, all of
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us. You know, little babies, you
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love you and their faith. They're little sinners.
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You don't give them milk and don't give them what they want.
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They going well and roll all over the floor and carry on.
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The Bible said that little babies, they come forth from the
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womb speaking lies. They're little sinners.
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I just got a brand new grandson. Grandma, you're only two months
34:00
old. I had them the other day.
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I'll just look. I had him.
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He was looking at me. I'm looking at him.
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I said, you know you're a little Sinner.
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My son says he's up a couple times, you know, every two hours
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in the night. I said you're a little Sinner.
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I said you need Jesus, you need to accept Jesus in your I got to
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start out young here, little sinners.
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I love them, but they're sinners.
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So how should we escape if we neglect so great of salvation?
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And so The thing is that it's like I said, it's a rhetorical
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question to me that we won't escape.
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However many of us have neglected our salvation.
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I want to draw your attention to the word neglect.
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The Greek word is amaleo. It means to be careless of.
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It comes from the definite article A, which means not and
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mellow, which means have concern.
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So putting it together, it means to not have concern for or
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viewing something as being without significant.
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Pay no attention. How can we do our so great a
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salvation like this easy. We have allowed church hurt,
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broken relationships, drifting old habits, and the list goes on
35:30
and on. I believe that the unfortunate
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circumstances in our lives has caused us to neglect our
35:37
salvation, viewing it as something without significance.
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I've heard, you know, since the Great Reset, I've heard that now
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the average Christian attends church once every six weeks.
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I said Christians, not churchgoers, Christians once
36:00
every six weeks. And I was just like, these are
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people who used to be every Sunday.
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Now, as it says on social media, Sunday fun day, that's what it
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becomes. I never forget the saying that
36:17
was on the movie Concussion, that the NFL took a day they
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used to belong to the church. People bow down at the altar of
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the NFL, took a day that once belonged to the church.
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When I heard that, that just blew me away.
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Blew me away people. You know what's funny?
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You know what's funny? The Lord brings these things.
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Met a guy first service, he said It's so funny you say that he
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said. Because today here I am at
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church and this is my 6th week since I've been in church.
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The average Christian attends once every six weeks and don't
37:02
care. It doesn't bother them.
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No conviction. Sunday, fun day.
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The Lord understands. I'm just tired, you know.
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Oh, I'm not feeling good today. Why were you at church?
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I wasn't feeling good today. The next day, Monday, they had
37:20
work. I said I thought you weren't
37:22
feeling good. Why isn't?
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Why isn't you only feeling bad when it's church time?
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But when it comes to work, you know that coffee when I just
37:31
took a couple of things, I'm good looking at Nyquil and well,
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why couldn't you take that Nyquil Saturday night to Sunday
37:37
morning and get to church? But the Lord understands and I
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just said what, what in the world has happened to us?
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What has happened to us? What has happened to us?
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We fear the IRS more than we fear God.
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Get an IRS letter in the mail. Oh my goodness.
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Let some bill come do, or some vacation you want to go on, some
38:08
birthday party you want to do, some Christmas gifts you want to
38:12
buy, and the first pot you take from is the Lord's money.
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Why do we do that? What?
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Because there's No Fear of God before our eyes, that's why.
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That's why it's the first thing we take from what the Lord
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understands. Well, how about the Lord
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understanding when you out there wrecking creation, recreation,
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wrecking creation, and all the money you spend for that and the
38:38
vacation, then the cruises and all that kind of stuff.
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Nothing wrong with those things, but why does that always take a
38:45
priority over God? I don't understand.
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My wife already told me I'm over my time, so let me just go right
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to this. You know, we got this thing.
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She lets me know, you know, and then she holds up 4 minutes.
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I'm sorry. Please apologize to the
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children's ministry that I went over.
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I was at 39 minutes. I have 40.
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I was at 39 minutes and about 43 seconds first service and I just
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blew it out this service. So let me just say this.
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Maybe you hear and you said Pastor Tony, I have drifted or I
39:20
am drifting. What can I do?
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Jesus gave us the remedy in Revelation 2/5 when He was
39:27
talking to the Church of Ephesus when they left their first love.
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He says remember therefore where you have fallen, repent and do
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your first works. And in this verse we have 3 Rs
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Remember, repent and return. Remember how it used to be when
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you were on fire for God #2 Repent.
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It means to have a change of mind and heart.
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In other words, change the way you think and feel about your
39:53
drifting condition. Not trying to justify your
39:58
condition. What reason I don't go to
40:00
church? Because, you know, people I was
40:02
serving and those people didn't appreciate me.
40:04
They never said thank you. And you know, it's just always,
40:07
you know, they'd always looked over me.
40:08
So I'm just not going to that church.
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What were you doing it for anyway?
40:15
It's supposed to be in the audience want now it's it's
40:17
nothing wrong with getting the attaboy.
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Thank you. Appreciate you.
40:20
Here's a gift. Nothing wrong with that.
40:23
But who are you doing it for? Not trying to justify your
40:27
drifting condition or blame other people playing the blame
40:30
game like Adam did. The blame game is as old as
40:33
time. Adam, what have you done?
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It was the woman you gave me since the beginning of time.
40:42
And he kind of threw God under the bus too.
40:45
It was the woman you gave me. So it's your fault too, haven't
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you? Not giving me this woman.
40:50
I wouldn't be in this condition I'm in now.
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Men still blaming their wives today.
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Oh, that's OK. Y'all quiet.
40:58
It's OK. It's still true.
41:00
It's still true. And #3 return.
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Return to doing those things you were doing when you were on fire
41:07
for God. Were you getting up early and
41:09
reading? Start back.
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Getting up early. Were you praying on your
41:12
lunchtime? Start back praying.
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Were you talking to people about Jesus?
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Start talking to people about Jesus.
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Let me conclude with this in this message.
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Are you drifting? Be honest with your evaluation
41:24
of yourself and ask, Am I drifting?
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Have I lost my spiritual passion?
41:31
Have I allowed old ways to come back into my life?
41:35
Do I have no appetite for the Bible or spiritual things?
41:38
And once you are honest with your evaluation of yourself,
41:43
then cry out to God by remembering, repenting, and
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returning. Or you can leave here and go
41:52
back to what you were doing, drifting past the safety of the
41:57
harbor and just know that you're going to crash into the rocks
42:02
and suffer shipwreck. But let me just say, Jesus
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Christ loves you and he wants you not only safe, but safe in
42:13
his arms. And as the worship team makes
42:18
their way on back out, there's going to be some people, pastors
42:23
and leaders, going to be upfront and they're going to be ready to
42:28
pray for you. Don't leave here the same
42:32
condition that you came. That'd be the worst thing in the
42:35
world. You came here to meet with God.
42:37
You came here to hear from God. Don't leave here in the same
42:41
condition that you came. Come and do some business with
42:44
the Lord. This is why you can't you come
42:47
to church to have a dialogue with the Lord.
42:51
We start the conversation by speaking to him through worship
42:55
and then he speaks to us through the word.
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We live leave here having a conversation.
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Now we respond to the word he's spoken to us.
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That's what church is all about. Then we have midweek service so
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we can get tuned back up because you know, we didn't we didn't
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drifted. I won't even say Monday and
43:13
Tuesday, Sunday afternoon, Monday and Tuesday we drifted.
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So Wednesday we need to get filled back up and get them back
43:19
out there for His glory and for His Kingdom.
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So let's pray now so we can now respond to the word that was
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given to us. Lord, thank you so much for this
43:31
time. Here are your precious, precious
43:33
people. Lord, you spoke into all of our
43:35
hearts. And Lord, we need you.
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Many of us, we have drifted or are drifting.
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Bring us back to the safety of the harbor.
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Bring us back safe in your arms, Lord, draw your people to you
43:48
today in Jesus name, Amen. We pray that you've been
43:54
encouraged by this Bible study delivered live from the
43:56
sanctuary of Calvary Church for prayer.
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Call us at 87730 Grace that's 877-304-7223.
44:08
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44:11
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44:17
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44:20
Be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.