1 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:17,359 Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast. 2 00:00:18,379 --> 00:00:24,100 If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you. 3 00:00:24,900 --> 00:00:27,059 Thank you for joining us today. 4 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:39,719 We're continuing in Hebrews. If you could turn to Hebrews chapter 12. 5 00:00:41,399 --> 00:00:49,420 And I'm really stoked about this section, even though, you know, it would seem by the title 6 00:00:50,380 --> 00:00:58,439 that what's so exciting about God's correction, right? Who wants to be corrected by God? But I 7 00:00:58,439 --> 00:01:04,379 think we all really do appreciate his correction because his correction is never to harm us, 8 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:12,280 but to improve us and to make us more like him corrected, not rejected. God's discipline 9 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:18,540 proves he loves you. Do you believe that? I mean, I've seen it time and time again. And so we're 10 00:01:18,769 --> 00:01:24,629 explore these four categories of God's correction in this passage of scripture. 11 00:01:25,530 --> 00:01:28,329 And because we have so much to do, and then we have communion together, 12 00:01:28,890 --> 00:01:34,549 let's pray and dive right in. So Father God, we thank you for this church family, Lord, 13 00:01:34,950 --> 00:01:40,909 and how we are putting your word first and foremost in our lives. And we thank your Holy 14 00:01:40,909 --> 00:01:47,209 Spirit for releasing and revealing things in your word that we could never logically 15 00:01:47,209 --> 00:01:52,590 conclude, but it's only your spirit that illuminates your word of God. So Lord, 16 00:01:52,750 --> 00:01:56,310 we ask your Holy Spirit right now to do that in this place here, 17 00:01:57,090 --> 00:01:59,549 Lord, that you would illuminate our thoughts and minds, 18 00:02:00,030 --> 00:02:05,709 that we would be more transformed as Jamie shared last week, more transformed into your image. 19 00:02:06,510 --> 00:02:12,569 So thank you so much for this word of God and the beautiful correction that you put into our 20 00:02:12,590 --> 00:02:18,710 lives to help us follow you. We thank you in Jesus' name, amen. 21 00:02:19,909 --> 00:02:26,050 All right, so let's dive right into chapter 12. And we're going to be stopping three times in 22 00:02:26,050 --> 00:02:31,389 the middle here, the first time pretty quickly after verses three and four. 23 00:02:31,969 --> 00:02:39,389 So let's read, for consider him who endured much hostility from sinners against himself, 24 00:02:40,110 --> 00:02:44,490 lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 25 00:02:45,669 --> 00:02:52,110 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 26 00:02:52,930 --> 00:02:59,050 Now, what does God mean by that? You know, you have not yet resisted to bloodshed, 27 00:03:00,509 --> 00:03:05,650 resisting sin. You have not yet come to bloodshed. What does he mean by that? 28 00:03:05,650 --> 00:03:10,770 Well, just to remind you, the letter of Hebrews was written first and foremost 29 00:03:11,710 --> 00:03:16,969 to Jewish Christians. And we've talked about that quite a bit through this series. 30 00:03:18,050 --> 00:03:25,870 And it was written approximately 62 to 63 A.D. And during that time, 31 00:03:26,509 --> 00:03:32,509 there was some persecution. And in fact, we have a map. If you could put that map up there, Pat, 32 00:03:32,509 --> 00:03:40,009 thank you. And so this is a map of the landscape of the Roman Empire, actually in 117 A.D., 33 00:03:40,009 --> 00:03:45,509 but it was pretty similar to this. At the time, this was written only a little closer to the 34 00:03:45,509 --> 00:03:51,289 ocean around all the sections. But, you know, they basically encompassed the Mediterranean Black 35 00:03:51,289 --> 00:03:58,889 Sea. And so in the beginning, there was a lot of there was a lot of persecution in Jerusalem. 36 00:03:59,609 --> 00:04:06,069 And it was stoked primarily by the Jews, the religious Jews, because they heard these people 37 00:04:06,069 --> 00:04:10,150 saying that Jesus Christ is God. And they're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. 38 00:04:10,550 --> 00:04:16,310 And they thought this was blasphemy. So they stoked a lot of the persecution against their 39 00:04:16,310 --> 00:04:23,610 own brethren who were now Christians. And so as a result, Jerusalem, a lot of the 40 00:04:23,610 --> 00:04:30,649 Jewish Christians fled, and the gospel started to spread. And of course, Paul got saved, and he 41 00:04:30,649 --> 00:04:36,310 started spreading the gospel throughout all this area through all of actually four of his missionary 42 00:04:36,310 --> 00:04:43,810 trips. And so the persecution was primarily at the hands of the Jewish brethren. And they would 43 00:04:43,810 --> 00:04:52,230 go into these cities and cause chaos by saying, hey, they're criticizing your Gods, too. 44 00:04:52,230 --> 00:04:59,550 And they would stoke this type of conspiracy against the Christians. So they were experiencing 45 00:04:59,550 --> 00:05:07,790 some persecution, but not significant, not severe. And we could see this actually in Hebrews, 46 00:05:07,790 --> 00:05:12,829 chapter 10, which we read a few weeks ago, where if you could put that slide up, where 47 00:05:13,550 --> 00:05:19,930 the Lord was saying, but you recall the former days in which after you were illuminated, 48 00:05:19,930 --> 00:05:24,769 you endured a great struggle with sufferings, partly why you were made a spectacle, 49 00:05:25,250 --> 00:05:30,949 both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly why you became companions of those 50 00:05:30,949 --> 00:05:37,230 who were so treated. So there was some mild persecution. And of course, not for Paul and 51 00:05:37,230 --> 00:05:42,509 some of his cohorts, it was pretty severe. I mean, stoned to death and coming back to life. 52 00:05:42,689 --> 00:05:48,350 I don't call that mild. But for most Jewish Christians, it wasn't significant, 53 00:05:48,350 --> 00:05:55,029 especially to where this letter was written. If you could show this map again, because this letter 54 00:05:55,629 --> 00:06:02,029 was written primarily to Jewish Christians living in Italy, in Rome. And they really 55 00:06:02,029 --> 00:06:08,589 haven't experienced much of this at all yet, yet. But about one year after this letter was 56 00:06:08,589 --> 00:06:15,250 written, do you know what happened? The great fire of Rome happened. In fact, we have a slide 57 00:06:15,250 --> 00:06:22,129 just to give you a little image of what this could have looked like. This was 64 AD, in July of 64 AD. 58 00:06:22,629 --> 00:06:29,430 And what happened was, some actually blamed the emperor Nero for the fire in Rome, 59 00:06:29,829 --> 00:06:35,110 because they said he was trying to burn some of the older parts of the city to rebuild. 60 00:06:35,629 --> 00:06:41,490 Some say that he was trying to clear out some of the land to build his own palace. 61 00:06:41,490 --> 00:06:48,970 Whatever it might be, this fire started spreading. And in six days, it devoured 10 out of 14 of the 62 00:06:48,970 --> 00:06:54,930 sections of the city. And it would have kept going. And it did keep popping up here and there. 63 00:06:55,350 --> 00:07:01,290 And then finally, they extinguished it. And the empire, well, Rome blamed Nero, 64 00:07:01,290 --> 00:07:05,589 because he didn't have the wherewithal how to put out the fire. Kind of reminds you of LA, 65 00:07:05,589 --> 00:07:11,490 but that's another story. But he couldn't put out the fire. And so as a result, 66 00:07:12,209 --> 00:07:18,990 Nero had to divert attention from himself. So you know what he did? He blamed the Christians. 67 00:07:19,649 --> 00:07:27,870 He said they started the fire in Rome. Suddenly, persecution came on like they've never seen it 68 00:07:27,870 --> 00:07:33,910 before. And Christians were persecuted. They were gathered up. They were boiled in oil. 69 00:07:33,910 --> 00:07:38,329 They were lit up on fire. I mean, they're fed to the lines. You know, 70 00:07:38,430 --> 00:07:42,949 we've seen the movies and everything else. But severe persecution, that would happen 71 00:07:43,510 --> 00:07:47,350 less than a year from when this letter was written. How prophetic. He said, 72 00:07:47,389 --> 00:07:53,589 you haven't experienced this yet. In this country, and I got to admit, I'm glad we don't 73 00:07:53,589 --> 00:08:00,550 suffer much severe persecution, do we? I mean, we really don't, thank God, right? And 74 00:08:00,550 --> 00:08:08,269 I remember one time, I was always kind of in music. And after my kids were getting older, 75 00:08:08,410 --> 00:08:12,990 they were in their teens and so forth. And I finally said, you know, I'd like to get back 76 00:08:12,990 --> 00:08:17,930 into writing music and playing and coffee houses and so forth. So I dialed up my friend, 77 00:08:18,029 --> 00:08:23,470 Pete Rising, and I said, hey, you want to get the band back together? So we basically had him 78 00:08:23,470 --> 00:08:30,870 and me. We drummed up a drummer. We managed to secure a drummer, but we needed a bass player. 79 00:08:31,209 --> 00:08:35,070 So back then, Craigslist was kind of a thing. I hear it kind of fizzled, 80 00:08:35,649 --> 00:08:43,990 but Craigslist was the then Facebook marketplace. And so I put an ad in there for a bassist, 81 00:08:44,070 --> 00:08:50,750 and I put right in there clearly, looking for a bassist who is willing to play Christian music 82 00:08:50,750 --> 00:08:57,970 in Christian venues or whatever venues and share the gospel, okay? So I made it real clear. So we 83 00:08:57,970 --> 00:09:02,990 got someone who was probably going to be a believer, right? So I get this phone call from a blocked 84 00:09:02,990 --> 00:09:12,049 caller, and I pick up and the voice says, take that ad out of Craigslist. And I'm like, 85 00:09:13,829 --> 00:09:17,289 who's this? Like, I thought it was a joke. Like, come on, who is this? You know, 86 00:09:17,289 --> 00:09:23,889 take it out. And then the profanities that came out of this person's mouth made me realize this 87 00:09:23,889 --> 00:09:30,809 ain't no joke, okay? And he's saying, if you don't, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, 88 00:09:30,889 --> 00:09:35,210 are you serious? Like, you think I'm going to take it out because you're telling me to? 89 00:09:35,610 --> 00:09:43,250 If you don't take it out, all these threats, and I will constantly nag you and not let up. And I 90 00:09:43,250 --> 00:09:48,970 said, well, I'm not taking it down, but can we talk? You know, like, let's meet for coffee or 91 00:09:48,970 --> 00:09:54,029 something, you know? And because I really wanted to learn what is going on with this guy. The anger 92 00:09:54,029 --> 00:09:59,950 and hatred was like so far beyond logic. Do you know what I mean? And so I said, do you want to 93 00:09:59,950 --> 00:10:05,230 meet up? Why? And I'm like, just to talk, you know, and then he hangs up. And then he calls 94 00:10:05,230 --> 00:10:10,690 right back. And I said, Listen, can I pray for you? He hangs up. He calls back. Father God, 95 00:10:10,690 --> 00:10:15,309 I pray for, what's your name, by the way? It doesn't matter. I'll call you Joe. Lord, 96 00:10:15,470 --> 00:10:21,769 I pray for Joe. He hangs up. He calls back. That Joe would learn your love. He hangs up. 97 00:10:21,909 --> 00:10:25,889 He calls back. And basically, every time he called back, I just continued the prayer. 98 00:10:26,149 --> 00:10:32,110 I kind of thought it was sort of funny, you know? But I don't think he did. And so he didn't lie. 99 00:10:32,289 --> 00:10:36,429 He was relentless. I mean, at nighttime, I would have to turn off my ringer and leave the 100 00:10:36,429 --> 00:10:41,429 phone downstairs so it wouldn't, you know, even vibrate or anything. And he did keep it up for 101 00:10:41,429 --> 00:10:46,250 some time. And eventually, he stopped. I had a few little conversations with him 102 00:10:46,250 --> 00:10:52,169 through all of his profanities. But I'm thinking, this is so crazy. But it's spiritual. 103 00:10:53,750 --> 00:10:59,429 Like, who would be this angry at someone who would put an ad in Craigslist for 104 00:10:59,429 --> 00:11:07,470 a Christian basis, basically? And I'm sure you've seen many of the YouTube shorts and so forth 105 00:11:07,470 --> 00:11:12,769 of like these street evangelists and their sharing and so forth. And people just like 106 00:11:13,270 --> 00:11:19,029 get venomous. You know, they grab the signs out of their hands. They grab their equipment 107 00:11:19,029 --> 00:11:23,889 and try to break it. And they hit the person and all this stuff. And you're like, 108 00:11:24,449 --> 00:11:31,809 all this venom and anger, what happened to tolerance, right? But which all this brings 109 00:11:31,809 --> 00:11:39,629 me to the first kind of correction. And it's through adversity. Correction through adversity. 110 00:11:40,250 --> 00:11:47,490 The Lord permits us to have adversaries, which are also his adversaries, okay? So that we could be 111 00:11:47,490 --> 00:11:54,230 strengthened in our conviction for him. In fact, James said this, consider it pure joy, 112 00:11:54,309 --> 00:12:00,690 my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing 113 00:12:00,690 --> 00:12:08,370 of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature 114 00:12:09,090 --> 00:12:18,350 and complete, not lacking anything. This kind of adversarial attack on us. And it makes sense 115 00:12:18,350 --> 00:12:25,049 because Jesus said, in this world, you will have troubles, but take heart for I have overcome 116 00:12:25,049 --> 00:12:31,710 the world, right? He says the Lord will hate you. Why? Because the world hates him, okay? 117 00:12:31,990 --> 00:12:36,669 The world hates him, so it's gonna hate us. You've heard it said, the enemy of my enemy 118 00:12:36,669 --> 00:12:43,549 is my friend. Well, a little different than that, the enemy of my friend is my enemy, 119 00:12:43,870 --> 00:12:50,029 right? And really, we have an enemy. And it's, as you know, you know, Ephesians chapter six, 120 00:12:50,210 --> 00:12:59,049 it's not flesh and blood, but the enemy wears flesh and blood, doesn't it? The enemy hijacks 121 00:12:59,049 --> 00:13:06,950 flesh and blood to bring adverse adversity to us, you know? But our spiritual warfare is against 122 00:13:06,950 --> 00:13:14,990 principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this age, and spiritual hosts of wickedness 123 00:13:14,990 --> 00:13:22,570 in heavenly places. So we can't see these enemies, but we can see the manifestation of them, you 124 00:13:22,570 --> 00:13:28,950 know, because we have an enemy and it's the Lord's enemy. It's the anti-Christ, right? And 125 00:13:28,950 --> 00:13:37,289 so the Lord permits this, why? To strengthen our conviction for him and strengthen our faith. 126 00:13:37,450 --> 00:13:46,370 It's for our good that he permits this adversity. Does that make sense? And like I said, for some 127 00:13:46,370 --> 00:13:51,190 reason, I'm very dry, but can I have a sip of my coffee anyway? Or a little water? Thank you. 128 00:13:52,029 --> 00:13:55,409 Sorry about that. I went for a long jog this morning and I'm... 129 00:13:58,830 --> 00:14:01,509 Hey, she's got something in that too. That's pretty good. 130 00:14:02,470 --> 00:14:16,350 But anyway, I can't wait for that little cup of communion juice. It's not enough. But 131 00:14:16,350 --> 00:14:21,509 it's not enough to protect individuals, but also he occupies governments, you know? 132 00:14:22,110 --> 00:14:30,029 In fact, Canada has been working hard to pass this bill, C-367, which is... 133 00:14:32,169 --> 00:14:42,029 It takes the protection of religion out of hate speech. So now you can read something in the 134 00:14:42,029 --> 00:14:47,909 pass it yet, you know? But they're trying, but this would be something if you read something 135 00:14:47,909 --> 00:14:55,470 and it is offensive to a group of people, suddenly it's hate speech. So countries, 136 00:14:55,870 --> 00:15:00,309 even that you think of as very civilized are doing this. In China, do you know, 137 00:15:01,210 --> 00:15:11,450 in China, it's illegal for a Chinese citizen to go to any church they want to? 138 00:15:12,110 --> 00:15:17,750 You can't have church in homes, okay? There's no church house churches. It's not permitted. 139 00:15:17,970 --> 00:15:22,970 They're going on though, of course. And if you go to a church as a Chinese resident, 140 00:15:22,970 --> 00:15:31,190 it has to be state approved church and the pastor has to be licensed through the state 141 00:15:32,029 --> 00:15:42,629 and the sermons have to be surveilled, if that's the right word, basically reviewed, okay? And they are, 142 00:15:42,950 --> 00:15:48,710 and they are, what's the word? Somebody give me the word. Well, surveilled. That's good enough. 143 00:15:48,929 --> 00:15:52,149 You know what I'm talking about. They're monitored, monitored. There's a good word. 144 00:15:52,570 --> 00:15:56,870 So they're monitored, right? So that's not freedom, right? That's not freedom at all. 145 00:15:56,870 --> 00:16:00,649 But this is even in what would be considered civilized countries. 146 00:16:01,409 --> 00:16:07,990 The enemy also uses organizations, right? Remember two weeks ago, we prayed for Pastor Bill Devlin 147 00:16:08,629 --> 00:16:15,710 and we prayed also for the Nigerian church, Northwest Nigeria, because ISIS was planning, 148 00:16:15,850 --> 00:16:22,929 there was either a prophetic or information that was found out that ISIS was planning attacks 149 00:16:23,490 --> 00:16:28,710 on the Christians on Christmas day. Isn't it interesting that you know what happened on 150 00:16:28,710 --> 00:16:35,750 Christmas day in Northern Nigeria, you know? Yes, we attacked the ISIS camps and maybe that 151 00:16:35,750 --> 00:16:40,929 was a diversion for now, but I talked to PB just a couple of days ago and he's very concerned 152 00:16:40,929 --> 00:16:48,289 about the reprisal since US bombed those ISIS camps. So, you know, we have an enemy, 153 00:16:48,289 --> 00:16:53,909 but the enemy is the Lord's enemy. So this type of correction doesn't mean we're doing something 154 00:16:53,909 --> 00:17:00,149 wrong. It could be very well that we're doing something right and he's telling us keep going. 155 00:17:00,210 --> 00:17:04,809 You see all these enemies, you know, they're coming at you because they're coming at me 156 00:17:04,809 --> 00:17:09,890 and you're doing something positive for me. You ever notice like all the demons came out 157 00:17:09,890 --> 00:17:13,589 when Jesus walked into the synagogue? Like where were they all the other times? 158 00:17:13,589 --> 00:17:20,869 You know, he brought them out because he's the one they hate, right? So the Lord corrects us 159 00:17:20,869 --> 00:17:28,309 in a positive way through adversity. Amen. So let's move on from there 160 00:17:30,529 --> 00:17:36,190 and we will speed it up here. Verse five, and you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to 161 00:17:36,190 --> 00:17:44,150 you as to sons. My son do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when 162 00:17:44,150 --> 00:17:52,609 you are rebuked by him, for whom the Lord loves he chastens and scourges every son whom he receives. 163 00:17:53,450 --> 00:18:00,829 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons. And what son is there whom a father 164 00:18:00,829 --> 00:18:07,309 does not chasten. But if you are without chastening of which all of you have become partakers, 165 00:18:07,970 --> 00:18:15,930 then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us 166 00:18:15,930 --> 00:18:22,509 and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the father of 167 00:18:22,549 --> 00:18:30,529 spirits and live? Verse 10, for they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, 168 00:18:30,950 --> 00:18:39,349 but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening seems to be 169 00:18:39,349 --> 00:18:47,190 joyful for the present, but painful nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of 170 00:18:47,269 --> 00:18:55,549 righteousness to those who have been trained by it. So this next type of correction is correction 171 00:18:55,549 --> 00:19:03,690 with affection because the Lord loves us. As we just read in Hebrews 12, 6, the Lord disciplines 172 00:19:03,690 --> 00:19:12,690 the one he loves. You know, I always as a kid, I was pretty envious of friends who had parents 173 00:19:12,690 --> 00:19:17,650 that just didn't pay attention. Oh, thanks Dan. That was great. Thank you. Let's give Dan around. 174 00:19:21,309 --> 00:19:23,230 What an elder. Thank you, brother. 175 00:19:26,750 --> 00:19:33,650 Jill, do you want yours back yet? Okay. Just speak amongst yourselves. There we go. But 176 00:19:34,789 --> 00:19:39,869 the Lord, you know, he loves us. That's why he disciplines us. And I was always envious of 177 00:19:39,869 --> 00:19:43,869 friends who had parents that just were like, let them do anything. I mean, I had friends, 178 00:19:44,130 --> 00:19:47,230 literally one friend of mine, I don't know why I'm bringing it up now because I wasn't planning to, 179 00:19:47,549 --> 00:19:54,369 but he, his dad let him have like pot parties in his garage. Just people would be smoking dope 180 00:19:54,910 --> 00:19:59,250 in his house. And his dad is upstairs. Probably sometimes he came down to smoke pot with him, 181 00:19:59,309 --> 00:20:04,210 you know, like what in the world? But I wish, why can't my parents be like that? 182 00:20:04,769 --> 00:20:10,230 How stupid, right? But you know, we don't have a father that allows us to do stuff like that 183 00:20:10,230 --> 00:20:21,170 and ruin our lives because he loves us. When David, King David, Satan had inspired him to sin against 184 00:20:21,170 --> 00:20:28,970 God. And you'll remember this, I'm sure in Chronicles, but he, he was trying to set 185 00:20:28,970 --> 00:20:36,410 the stage in a minimum, minimalistic way, but he had wanted to count all the fighting men in 186 00:20:36,410 --> 00:20:42,309 Israel. Okay. And probably there was some pride going on there, right? So Satan was inspiring him 187 00:20:42,309 --> 00:20:47,490 to just count to see how great his kingdom was almost as if it was because of his, 188 00:20:47,549 --> 00:20:52,930 his armies that he was winning all these battles. When we all know it was God winning the battles, 189 00:20:52,950 --> 00:20:57,710 right? And so he tells Joab, Hey, go count all the fighting men throughout the land. 190 00:20:57,710 --> 00:21:06,970 And Joab was no spiritual giant, but even he said, David, King David, is this a good idea? You know, 191 00:21:07,289 --> 00:21:13,609 why bring sin into the camp with this type of action? But King David overruled him. And so 192 00:21:13,609 --> 00:21:19,750 Joab went throughout the land and numbered all the fighting soldiers, except with Levi and Benjamin, 193 00:21:19,829 --> 00:21:24,569 because he didn't want that curse being upon them because, you know, he just didn't want that to 194 00:21:24,569 --> 00:21:30,789 be a stain on their record. And then he came back and he said, 1.1 million fighting men in Israel, 195 00:21:31,889 --> 00:21:41,630 470,000 in Judah. And just as he told him, a plague broke out in the land. And King David's seer, 196 00:21:41,829 --> 00:21:47,210 a prophet named Gad comes to him and he says, you know, King, King David, you know, the Lord has 197 00:21:47,210 --> 00:21:53,250 spoke to me and he gives me, he's given me a word that you're going to be punished and you 198 00:21:53,250 --> 00:21:59,990 could choose which of the three types of punishment you want. One, three years of famine, 199 00:22:01,430 --> 00:22:08,529 three months of your enemies, foreign nations coming in and winning all the battles. In other 200 00:22:08,529 --> 00:22:17,230 words, you know, occupying and destroying and taking over the land were three days of God's wrath. 201 00:22:18,089 --> 00:22:21,990 And you know what he said? In fact, we have this in 1 Chronicles, if you could put that up. 202 00:22:21,990 --> 00:22:29,109 And David said to Gad, I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the Lord for his 203 00:22:29,109 --> 00:22:36,490 mercies are very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man. Like even David realized 204 00:22:36,490 --> 00:22:42,930 I really screwed up. First it was the Bathsheba thing. Then it was the Tamar thing. Now it's 205 00:22:42,930 --> 00:22:49,509 the counting the fighting man in Israel, like, but I still would rather fall under the mercies of 206 00:22:49,509 --> 00:22:57,650 God than this world. Amen. Because he realized God will give him mercy. And so that's what he did. 207 00:22:58,190 --> 00:23:04,029 You know, when Paul wrote to the church of Corinth, jumping around a little, but he was 208 00:23:04,029 --> 00:23:09,890 writing them and he said, you know, you have sin in the camp. There's a guy who's actually 209 00:23:10,910 --> 00:23:17,950 sleeping with his father's wife and they go to church together. They come into your community 210 00:23:17,950 --> 00:23:21,589 and everybody's like, ah, and everyone's treating it like it's normal. 211 00:23:22,309 --> 00:23:29,210 You know, now either it was his mother, which is really sick, or it was the father's second wife, 212 00:23:29,210 --> 00:23:33,529 because the first wife died, or it was a second concubine. No matter how you add it up, 213 00:23:33,569 --> 00:23:39,769 it's a sicko situation, right? And so God, and so Paul is like saying, are you really permitting 214 00:23:39,769 --> 00:23:45,589 this in the camp, right? And so he rebuked them. And then in his second letter, he's writing to 215 00:23:45,589 --> 00:23:52,789 them and they must have dealt with it and cast the evil ones out of the church and they discipline 216 00:23:52,789 --> 00:24:02,410 them. And so Paul was writing to them and he was crediting them for listening to Godly words. 217 00:24:02,950 --> 00:24:09,950 And we read this in second Corinthians seven verses nine to 10. Now I rejoice, not that you 218 00:24:09,950 --> 00:24:16,190 were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a 219 00:24:16,190 --> 00:24:24,509 Godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For Godly sorrow produces, 220 00:24:25,309 --> 00:24:31,910 I'm sorry, Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation. Not to be regretted, 221 00:24:32,150 --> 00:24:39,049 but the sorrow of the world produces death. You know, what do people in this world do 222 00:24:39,849 --> 00:24:44,690 with sadness and regret for the things they've done? There's nowhere to bring it. 223 00:24:45,410 --> 00:24:53,490 You know, Jesus is the only one who can reconcile our sins. You know, maybe you just continue to 224 00:24:53,490 --> 00:25:01,970 justify it or make excuses for it or say sorry a lot, you know, but until you come to Jesus, 225 00:25:01,970 --> 00:25:10,470 you're still stained with all of those sins. But Godly sorrow says, Lord, here it is. I know I 226 00:25:10,470 --> 00:25:17,269 screwed up. Thank God you have already paid for all of those screw ups, you know, and the Lord 227 00:25:17,269 --> 00:25:22,549 forgives all of our sins because his mercies are new every morning. And I think we need his mercy 228 00:25:22,549 --> 00:25:30,549 new every morning, don't we? And so that's the Godly sorrow leads to repentance and salvation. 229 00:25:31,129 --> 00:25:39,490 I remember when I was a kid, and probably under 10, right? And, and there was this kid 230 00:25:40,009 --> 00:25:44,069 from another neighborhood, I grew up in Philly, and there was this kid in a different neighborhood. 231 00:25:45,490 --> 00:25:50,589 And I'd see him every now and then, and I'd be standing at the bus stop with my friends, 232 00:25:51,069 --> 00:25:56,509 and his bus would drive by, he went to a different school. And as he drove by, okay, 233 00:25:56,509 --> 00:26:03,710 he would be always in the same window. And I don't know how a delicate way to say this, 234 00:26:04,130 --> 00:26:07,089 but he'd make a gesture at me that was offensive. 235 00:26:09,390 --> 00:26:15,450 Is flipping a bird okay to say in church or you know what I'm talking about. And, and I'm like, 236 00:26:15,650 --> 00:26:19,630 at first, I'm like, what is that about? I don't even know this kid. And every day, 237 00:26:19,769 --> 00:26:23,309 and so on and so on, I can't look, I can't look because he's, but it's getting me madder 238 00:26:23,309 --> 00:26:28,710 and madder, right? And then one time, I was just finished my baseball game. And, 239 00:26:28,710 --> 00:26:33,569 and all of a sudden, I see a car drive by, and it's him in the backseat, and he does it to me again. 240 00:26:33,970 --> 00:26:38,890 Like, what is going on? I don't even know this kid, right? So anyway, so one day, 241 00:26:39,569 --> 00:26:46,289 he's riding through our neighborhood on a bicycle, okay? And I'm like, I said, let's get him. 242 00:26:46,869 --> 00:26:51,049 So me and my friend, we grab him, and we're like, well, what are we going to do with him? 243 00:26:51,049 --> 00:26:55,710 You know? And so I don't know. I must have just seen some sort of gang movie or something. I'm like, 244 00:26:55,769 --> 00:27:00,849 let's scare him. So I run into my kitchen, and I'm looking around for something, and I grab a 245 00:27:00,849 --> 00:27:05,430 butter knife, okay? I probably shouldn't have told this story. And you're already judging 246 00:27:05,430 --> 00:27:10,470 the heck out of me. I could tell. I could see your eyes. They have daggers. But anyway, 247 00:27:10,670 --> 00:27:13,490 so I grabbed the butter knife. I don't know what I'm going to do with a butter knife, 248 00:27:13,549 --> 00:27:18,789 and I run out. And I like, I think I'm scared of me actually started crying. I'm like, yes, 249 00:27:18,789 --> 00:27:23,529 success, you know? So we're threatening him. If you ever do this again, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, 250 00:27:23,769 --> 00:27:29,269 you know, with my butter knife in my hand, right? And then he rides away real fast. So then, 251 00:27:29,410 --> 00:27:34,369 not too much longer. I'm in the back in our, we had an alleyway behind our house. And my dad 252 00:27:34,369 --> 00:27:39,910 pulls up in his car, and he gets out. And my oldest brother gets out. And he was just at, 253 00:27:40,009 --> 00:27:44,230 I think it was a baseball game. And he got out, and he was holding a trophy. They won the 254 00:27:44,289 --> 00:27:50,569 championship. And I'm like, yeah, we're like, you know, all happy for him and everything. My dad was 255 00:27:50,569 --> 00:27:55,890 gloating, just so prideful. He usually helped out in different coaching and so forth. So he's just 256 00:27:55,890 --> 00:28:02,630 loving it. And all of a sudden, this other car pulls up, and it pulls in. Okay. And so my dad's 257 00:28:02,630 --> 00:28:06,690 looking over and like, he thought it was somebody pulling over to like congratulate them. Okay. 258 00:28:06,690 --> 00:28:11,990 And so he's like, you know, what? So all of a sudden, I look in the backseat. 259 00:28:15,609 --> 00:28:23,589 And yet I say more, it was him. And the guy gets out, starts talking to my dad. I don't remember 260 00:28:23,589 --> 00:28:29,109 all the, all I remember is my dad says, get in the house, right? So I go in the house, and he 261 00:28:29,109 --> 00:28:34,430 goes in. And, and I was probably nine years old. So it's kind of old to get spanked. But like, 262 00:28:34,430 --> 00:28:38,710 what do you do with somebody that just did that? Held up a kid with a butter knife. I don't know, 263 00:28:38,849 --> 00:28:45,190 but, you know, and my dad was not abusive, you know, but sure enough, he took off the belt anyway, 264 00:28:45,569 --> 00:28:51,089 and, you know, gave me a few lashes. And, you know, I pretended it hurt. Ouch! Ouch! You know, 265 00:28:51,190 --> 00:28:55,269 because, you know, it's just kind of weird, you know, you start to get older, and you're still 266 00:28:55,269 --> 00:29:01,130 getting hit with a belt. But, but, but all that to say, it sounds kind of funny and weird. 267 00:29:01,130 --> 00:29:06,569 But I remember my dad saying, like, you know, talking to me. I don't remember any of the 268 00:29:06,569 --> 00:29:14,089 words. I just remember suddenly capturing his heart, because there he was only moments ago, 269 00:29:14,230 --> 00:29:23,569 so proud and happy, because of a great award given to his son, and just the joy of that. 270 00:29:23,710 --> 00:29:29,950 Now he's dealing with this. And I just remember, you know, I didn't remember one of the lashes. 271 00:29:29,950 --> 00:29:37,609 I didn't remember any of that. I just remembered feeling sad for him, and disappointed, you know. 272 00:29:38,269 --> 00:29:44,109 And it was like, I had that, like, I would say, like, a Godly sorrow. But for him, and I'm like, 273 00:29:44,450 --> 00:29:49,089 you know, I wasn't a believer then, but I, you know, I just felt sad that I let him down, 274 00:29:49,150 --> 00:29:53,589 and I ruined his day, in a sense, you know. Like, just right there, he comes home, 275 00:29:53,769 --> 00:29:58,670 he's happy, and boom. And, you know, and I wish I could say it was the last time I 276 00:29:58,769 --> 00:30:04,049 disappointed him, because I wasn't. Many other times, I'm like, oh, dad, how do you put up with me, 277 00:30:04,289 --> 00:30:11,849 you know. But at the same time, you know, the Lord loves us, regardless of anything we do. 278 00:30:12,690 --> 00:30:18,690 And it's not about him wanting to hurt us, and damage us, or whipping us, or it's, 279 00:30:18,849 --> 00:30:25,210 he doesn't want to do that at all. He wants our heart to be aligned with his. 280 00:30:25,930 --> 00:30:33,289 He wants us to care about what he cares for, you know. He wants us to love what he loves, 281 00:30:33,549 --> 00:30:39,789 and he wants us to be happy when he's happy, and joy-filled. Does that make sense? 282 00:30:40,970 --> 00:30:46,970 You know, it's, he wants us to be in love with him. That's what he wants, amen. 283 00:30:46,970 --> 00:30:57,049 He does these things because he loves us. Proverbs 15.10, if you have that, Pat, thank you. 284 00:30:58,990 --> 00:31:05,769 It says, harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, and he who hates correction will die, 285 00:31:05,930 --> 00:31:14,609 you know. If we really don't want the Lord chastening us, then it's to our own detriment. 286 00:31:14,609 --> 00:31:21,029 Do you realize that? Like, people, I feel sad for people who, you know, who wander, you know, 287 00:31:21,049 --> 00:31:24,490 they fall into different things that are offended by the church, and this and that, 288 00:31:24,789 --> 00:31:29,309 and they leave, and they aren't connected any longer. I'm thinking, man, the enemy is going 289 00:31:29,309 --> 00:31:35,250 to have a field day with you, because we need to be connected, you know. Because our spiritual 290 00:31:35,250 --> 00:31:40,869 life does die, you know. But he wants to, he wants to chasten us because he loves us. 291 00:31:40,869 --> 00:31:47,509 Do you remember what Jesus said to the church of Laodicea, who was an apathetic, lukewarm church? 292 00:31:48,069 --> 00:31:54,069 You know, they just lost their way, and he said, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. 293 00:31:54,890 --> 00:32:00,990 Therefore, be zealous and repent. You know, he wants us to be zealous for him, amen. 294 00:32:02,549 --> 00:32:09,750 You know, the good news is, if God's chastening you, it means he's chasing you. 295 00:32:10,950 --> 00:32:16,089 It means he wants you back. You know, he's not letting you just wander away, 296 00:32:16,470 --> 00:32:21,369 he's calling you back. If he's chastening you, it means he's chasing you, amen. 297 00:32:24,269 --> 00:32:30,849 There was this guy, Chuck Colson, you guys never hear of him. Somebody around my age would have. 298 00:32:31,509 --> 00:32:36,549 But he used to speak on the radio and everything. Well, he was the chief legal 299 00:32:36,549 --> 00:32:44,190 counsel for Richard Nixon. So, between 69 and 73, he was instrumental in a lot of the 300 00:32:44,190 --> 00:32:49,450 things going on. And it's funny because it's such a dark stain on our history. 301 00:32:49,690 --> 00:32:53,950 But when you compare it to probably what's going on all the time in government, 302 00:32:54,250 --> 00:32:58,829 it's probably nothing. But, you know, we just don't know most of what's happening, right? 303 00:32:58,829 --> 00:33:06,390 But, nevertheless, back then, it was a real conspiracy and horrific. And it is, you know. 304 00:33:07,170 --> 00:33:11,670 And so, he was instrumental in that. And he was known as the hatchet man, Chuck Colson, 305 00:33:11,769 --> 00:33:17,589 because he just wheeled and dealed and he dealt in dark places, you know. 306 00:33:18,049 --> 00:33:22,349 So, when it started coming out, you know, he was talking to a friend of his who was 307 00:33:22,349 --> 00:33:26,529 a believer and he started rebuking him and coming at him and all of a sudden, 308 00:33:26,529 --> 00:33:32,049 Chuck Colson just had a meltdown. He just surrendered his life to the Lord. 309 00:33:33,090 --> 00:33:37,910 He recalls in his testimony, he was in the car and he could not stop crying, 310 00:33:38,609 --> 00:33:44,789 being confronted with his own sins. And so, he confessed to everything he did and went to jail. 311 00:33:44,910 --> 00:33:49,150 He was supposed to go to jail for three years, but God's merciful. And while he was in jail, 312 00:33:49,789 --> 00:33:55,730 he started a ministry in jail, okay? And he started ministering to the prisoners. 313 00:33:55,730 --> 00:34:01,170 And he had such a compassionate heart for his fellow inmates. And while he was in there, 314 00:34:01,230 --> 00:34:04,849 the Lord let him get out after seven months. But guess what? When he got out, you know what he did? 315 00:34:05,390 --> 00:34:13,269 He started the prison fellowship, a humongous ministry to prisoners. The Lord used all of 316 00:34:13,269 --> 00:34:19,610 that to do something great. The Lord was after him. He was chastening him. He was chasing him. 317 00:34:19,909 --> 00:34:25,110 And when he finally got him where he wanted him, he was redefining his future right there 318 00:34:25,110 --> 00:34:31,510 in prison, Chuck Colson. And I remember I used to listen to him, so inspiring, so amazing. And his 319 00:34:31,510 --> 00:34:37,050 heart for the loss, his heart for those who are in prison through all kinds of reasons, 320 00:34:37,469 --> 00:34:42,409 through their upbringing, through whatever the sin was that led them there, he had such a 321 00:34:42,409 --> 00:34:49,769 compassion for them. But because the Lord chastened him, he was able to transform his life. Amen. 322 00:34:50,650 --> 00:34:57,989 So let's move on, almost done here. In verse 12, therefore strengthen the hands which hang down 323 00:34:58,570 --> 00:35:04,989 and the feeble knees, isn't that cool? And make straight paths for your feet so that what is lame 324 00:35:04,989 --> 00:35:16,929 may not be dislocated, but rather healed, but rather healed. My brother Brian is 16 months older 325 00:35:17,769 --> 00:35:23,610 and he's always been better at everything than I asked. He was just great. And he was an amazing 326 00:35:23,610 --> 00:35:29,469 skier and snowboarder. I was okay. He was great, but he kept it up. He still skis. Every single 327 00:35:29,469 --> 00:35:40,449 winner, he goes to three or four extreme ski boarding trips to Wyoming, to Utah, to Colorado, 328 00:35:40,449 --> 00:35:48,269 with all of his friends. And he just really goes for it. And he wears his knee braces while he's 329 00:35:48,269 --> 00:35:55,409 going, whatever he has to do to keep it going. But one thing he does every time in the late fall, 330 00:35:55,550 --> 00:36:02,429 he starts massive amounts of squats. I mean, he does heavy squats. He does high rep, low 331 00:36:03,510 --> 00:36:09,110 weight reps. And he just squats and squats. Why? Because he's building up his legs 332 00:36:09,110 --> 00:36:16,489 so that when he hits the moguls, he can go over them like they're nothing. He strengthens himself. 333 00:36:17,190 --> 00:36:25,090 And really, the Lord wants us to be strengthened so that we can endure whatever this world deals 334 00:36:25,090 --> 00:36:30,989 with us. This ties in a little bit with Jamie's message last week about training for transformation. 335 00:36:31,550 --> 00:36:38,530 You know, when he said, being the best you, now I know that sounds very flowery and so forth, but 336 00:36:39,230 --> 00:36:45,250 what we mean is the best Jesus in it. Like Jesus does everything good in our lives, right? 337 00:36:45,550 --> 00:36:52,130 But we want to be the best version that I can be for Jesus, you know? And so if there's areas 338 00:36:52,130 --> 00:36:58,769 that I need to strengthen in my life, I need to do it, which brings me to the next type of 339 00:36:58,769 --> 00:37:07,429 correction, and that is self-correction. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees, 340 00:37:07,730 --> 00:37:13,710 make level paths for your feet so that what is lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. 341 00:37:14,250 --> 00:37:20,170 Be strengthened. You know, there's areas that all of us can be strengthened, you know? 342 00:37:20,750 --> 00:37:26,769 And I don't want to be satisfied with who I am right now. I just don't, you know what I mean? 343 00:37:26,769 --> 00:37:32,050 And God bless you if you are, but I want to be better. Next year, I want to be more like him. 344 00:37:32,250 --> 00:37:36,429 I just do, you know? And I don't think that, and I'm not in competition with anyone else. 345 00:37:36,829 --> 00:37:42,469 I'm in a race with myself, like Jesse shared a week before that. It's like, I'm in a race against my 346 00:37:42,469 --> 00:37:48,909 own demise. That's the race we're in. Do you realize that? The only race you're in is against 347 00:37:48,909 --> 00:37:54,070 the day you breathe your last breath. That's the race you're in. That's the race I'm in. 348 00:37:54,070 --> 00:38:02,389 And I want to run that best race that I can run. Amen. There's areas that we can all improve. 349 00:38:02,750 --> 00:38:12,789 I remember when I was saved for maybe about a year and a half or so, and my cousin called me. 350 00:38:12,949 --> 00:38:18,809 I was heading home from this business convention thing. It's like 9.30 at night. He calls me. 351 00:38:18,809 --> 00:38:25,150 At the time I lived in Newtown, and he lived in Toconi, and he calls me and says, 352 00:38:25,349 --> 00:38:31,829 hey, you know, he says, listen, can you come down here and talk? I'm like, well, what's wrong? 353 00:38:32,469 --> 00:38:41,489 Well, I'm afraid to die. And I'm like, okay. He says, yeah. So my cousin had dealt with alcoholism 354 00:38:41,489 --> 00:38:48,510 since he was a teenager, lost his family and so forth, lost many jobs, but he was so gifted 355 00:38:48,510 --> 00:38:53,869 that he just kept getting new ones, because he was always in the union and just did great work. 356 00:38:54,429 --> 00:39:00,010 But he would go on these tirades for like two weeks of drinking, and then he just couldn't hold 357 00:39:00,010 --> 00:39:06,090 it down anymore. And then he would just be recovering. And so he was on one of them. 358 00:39:06,889 --> 00:39:13,730 At the end of it, he's like, I think I'm going to die. I don't want to die. And I'm like, well, 359 00:39:14,070 --> 00:39:17,869 why are you calling me? I really didn't understand why you'd be calling me. 360 00:39:18,510 --> 00:39:26,630 He says, well, yeah, I know you have faith. And I'm like, oh, okay. Yeah, I'll come down. 361 00:39:27,489 --> 00:39:32,070 Believe it or not, I didn't know like what to do. Like, what am I supposed to do when I get there? 362 00:39:32,710 --> 00:39:37,210 I can't believe it looking back, but it's true. So I call my pastor, you know, 363 00:39:37,469 --> 00:39:42,989 I think he wants to get saved. What do I do? Well, lead him to the Lord, like, 364 00:39:43,130 --> 00:39:47,550 pray with him to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. What scripture should I use? 365 00:39:47,550 --> 00:39:51,489 I was so like illiterate. I didn't know what to do. I was a fish out of water. 366 00:39:52,349 --> 00:39:56,070 And he started giving me a couple of passages. I'm like, okay. And all of a sudden, 367 00:39:56,150 --> 00:40:01,329 the fear started going away. I'm like, I can do this. God will give me the words, right? 368 00:40:01,650 --> 00:40:07,889 He wants people saved, right? Like, do I have to worry about this? No. So I went down 369 00:40:07,889 --> 00:40:13,710 and I just listened to him. He prayed, accepted Christ. And we met together for 370 00:40:15,009 --> 00:40:19,989 about two years after that, him and another friend he brought in doing Bible studies. 371 00:40:20,389 --> 00:40:24,369 You know, unfortunately he's home with the Lord now, but I know he saved, you know, 372 00:40:24,750 --> 00:40:33,010 and yet I was not prepared for that kind of phone call. Another time I got a phone call about it, 373 00:40:33,110 --> 00:40:37,550 you know, this, this woman who I knew through work and she was terminal and she was going to 374 00:40:37,730 --> 00:40:45,409 die soon. And I'm like, yeah, that's, that's out above me. I can't do anything about that, 375 00:40:45,630 --> 00:40:49,550 you know? But the Lord kept saying, go see her, go see her. And I'm like, 376 00:40:50,230 --> 00:40:55,369 but I'm not a clergyman. I don't know what to do. You know, I can't do anything. 377 00:40:55,909 --> 00:41:02,429 And so she died. And I remember this regret and this deep regret. I said, Lord, 378 00:41:03,230 --> 00:41:09,969 I don't want this. So to get rid of this, I got to do that. If you ever give me another 379 00:41:09,969 --> 00:41:16,449 opportunity to do that again, I won't let you down. And all of a sudden, boom, boom, boom, boom, 380 00:41:16,769 --> 00:41:20,889 my friend's dad, my friend's mom, this one, that one, it was within like two months, 381 00:41:20,969 --> 00:41:27,349 I had four people who were passing away that I got a chance to share Jesus with because I 382 00:41:27,349 --> 00:41:33,510 knew I was ill prepared, but I didn't want to be, I didn't want to be ill prepared for opportunities. 383 00:41:34,010 --> 00:41:39,570 You know, he wants us to be in a sense. Now, when I say self-correction, it's not us, 384 00:41:39,750 --> 00:41:46,030 it's Christ in us. Okay. Needless to say, but still, it's okay to want to improve 385 00:41:46,030 --> 00:41:55,590 to be more prepared. You know, I love what Peter says in first Peter 3 15. He said, 386 00:41:56,150 --> 00:42:04,289 but in your hearts honor Christ, the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone 387 00:42:04,289 --> 00:42:12,010 who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you yet do it with gentleness and respect. 388 00:42:12,570 --> 00:42:19,309 You know, it's like we need to be prepared, you know, and he wants us to be self-correcting 389 00:42:19,309 --> 00:42:25,050 ourselves. Like if we see we're off, we see we're apathetic, we see we're weak in a certain area. 390 00:42:25,050 --> 00:42:31,670 Well, let's get strengthened. You know, if you know someone who's really strong in an area, 391 00:42:31,670 --> 00:42:36,949 get to know them. Say, can I just, can I just observe a little bit? Now, I'm not saying any 392 00:42:36,949 --> 00:42:41,309 of us have to be the same because there's one person like I'm never going to be good at lots 393 00:42:41,309 --> 00:42:48,449 of stuff. Okay. You know, and that's just not me, but there's areas I can maybe even improve 394 00:42:48,449 --> 00:42:53,929 in those things that I'm not good at. If it's needed to build the kingdom, you know, 395 00:42:53,929 --> 00:42:56,809 there's nothing wrong with wanting to better ourselves. 396 00:42:57,690 --> 00:43:00,969 And so let's finish up with the last couple of verses. 397 00:43:03,949 --> 00:43:09,789 Verse 14, pursue peace with all people in holiness, without which no one will see the Lord, 398 00:43:10,250 --> 00:43:17,050 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness 399 00:43:17,050 --> 00:43:26,510 springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defile, lest there be any fornicator or profane 400 00:43:26,510 --> 00:43:36,469 person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, 401 00:43:36,670 --> 00:43:44,849 when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. For he found no place for repentance, 402 00:43:45,650 --> 00:43:55,829 though he sought it diligently with tears. You know, when Cain murdered Abel and buried him, 403 00:43:56,210 --> 00:44:01,730 and the Lord came out and said to Cain, where's your brother Abel? And you remember what his 404 00:44:01,730 --> 00:44:14,730 response was? Am I my brother's keeper? I'm surprised Lord didn't say no, but you're your 405 00:44:14,730 --> 00:44:18,929 brother's keeper. You know, in a sense, yes, the scriptures tell us again and again, 406 00:44:19,010 --> 00:44:24,369 we just read, don't let anyone fall out of grace. Don't let anyone, like in a sense, 407 00:44:24,429 --> 00:44:30,070 we are to care about what each other is doing. I'm not saying be busy bodies and nosy and like, 408 00:44:30,170 --> 00:44:35,449 hey, I noticed you on that, you know, social media. Was that beer in your glass? 409 00:44:36,170 --> 00:44:40,690 You know, I'm not, I'm not saying like be scrutinizing everybody, not like that, 410 00:44:40,690 --> 00:44:48,269 but I'm just saying caring with love, caring. If someone is wandering away, caring about what's 411 00:44:48,269 --> 00:44:54,010 happening in their life. You know, in this society, we're so individualistic, we don't want to offend 412 00:44:54,010 --> 00:44:59,070 anyone, right? And we always think, yeah, but I got a board hanging out of my eye. You know, 413 00:44:59,090 --> 00:45:04,110 how can I try to squeeze that splinter out of theirs? You know, we always see our own sin 414 00:45:04,110 --> 00:45:09,269 more magnified than the Lord sees it. Well, if we're going to be always analyzing ourselves, 415 00:45:09,269 --> 00:45:15,630 we're never going to be good to each other, right? Sometimes we just feel inadequate to help someone 416 00:45:15,630 --> 00:45:22,710 else. I think it's important to love and help each other, don't you? And sometimes we just need 417 00:45:22,710 --> 00:45:29,929 to get out of our own heads and be willing to do that. It's interesting how, and this is the 418 00:45:29,929 --> 00:45:36,210 next one, by the way, correction through the church, correction through the church. As we just 419 00:45:36,210 --> 00:45:44,590 read, see to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to 420 00:45:44,590 --> 00:45:53,769 cause trouble and defile many. Well, he's saying that that's the church's job, you know, to like, 421 00:45:53,909 --> 00:45:59,969 how can I do that? How can we do that? Well, we're called to do it because we love one another, 422 00:45:59,969 --> 00:46:07,929 you know? In fact, we're told, don't stop gathering together so that we can inspire one 423 00:46:07,929 --> 00:46:12,789 another in acts of love and good works, you know? So we're called to come together, 424 00:46:13,090 --> 00:46:19,929 but also to help one another to stay purified, washing one another's feet like Jesus did at the 425 00:46:19,929 --> 00:46:25,889 Last Supper, demonstrating this is what I want you guys to do for each other. Wash each other's 426 00:46:25,889 --> 00:46:35,030 feet, right? Keep one another pure. And if you see things, be willing in love to share them. You know, 427 00:46:35,369 --> 00:46:44,210 at times people have come to us and come to me and share with me, hey, you know, this person 428 00:46:44,929 --> 00:46:50,110 is doing this thing, okay? And by the way, they're not in this church family anymore, 429 00:46:50,110 --> 00:46:55,730 so don't worry, it's not you. But they'll be sharing, they'll say, hey, you know, this person, 430 00:46:55,869 --> 00:47:06,210 you know, they're doing this thing or whatever. And I say, well, why don't you talk to them about it? 431 00:47:06,489 --> 00:47:11,010 Well, you know, I don't know, I'd rather not, you know, I'm like, well, you're in the perfect spot 432 00:47:11,010 --> 00:47:17,190 to do it. Like, you know about it. I don't know about it. I only know about it because you told 433 00:47:17,190 --> 00:47:24,110 me. And then that becomes a he said, she said, you know, you're in the perfect spot to do something 434 00:47:24,110 --> 00:47:30,050 and to just speak to them in love. But a lot of times we don't feel qualified. There was a great 435 00:47:30,050 --> 00:47:36,130 book called Instruments in a Redeemer's Hand by Paul Tripp. And he wrote about all of us are 436 00:47:36,130 --> 00:47:42,409 counselors. All of us are capable because we have the Holy Spirit to wash one another and to 437 00:47:42,409 --> 00:47:49,110 minister to one another. And so if that person is in a perfect position to say or do something, 438 00:47:49,489 --> 00:47:54,449 it should start there. In fact, the word even says that go to them, talk to them, 439 00:47:54,710 --> 00:47:59,329 bring someone else who also witnessed it and minister to them. And then if it gets out of hand, 440 00:47:59,489 --> 00:48:04,090 then, you know, bring the the big guns, bring Dan, he's the big gun back there by the way, 441 00:48:04,409 --> 00:48:10,809 he's the elder and Doug, Doug Miller, Doug McPherson. No, but because you know what the 442 00:48:10,809 --> 00:48:16,989 thing is, like, if someone like me who didn't have any firsthand knowledge of something, go to 443 00:48:16,989 --> 00:48:24,909 someone and say, Hey, I, I hear you're doing this. Well, how'd you hear that? I'm not supposed to say, 444 00:48:25,949 --> 00:48:32,050 what is it? Is that love? Or is that kind of gossip, whisper down the line? But when you 445 00:48:32,050 --> 00:48:37,949 can deal with it directly, it's so much more loving, right? When we're in each other's sphere 446 00:48:37,949 --> 00:48:43,449 of influence, it's perfect. So I just say we're supposed to do that to love one another and to 447 00:48:43,449 --> 00:48:49,449 minister to one another. I know it's not comfortable. It really is. I hate it. I really do. I don't like 448 00:48:49,449 --> 00:48:55,590 telling anything that anyone is doing wrong. And I do always see the log hanging out of my own eye 449 00:48:55,590 --> 00:49:00,510 and say, Who are you? Yeah, but like, we're called to do it. We got to get over ourselves 450 00:49:00,510 --> 00:49:06,969 and be ministers for Jesus to each other, right? Because the word tells us to do that. Now, 451 00:49:06,969 --> 00:49:11,809 it can get out of control. We can do and say things that are, you know, maybe we don't know 452 00:49:11,809 --> 00:49:18,590 the full story, ask questions. Hey, I noticed this, I noticed that, like, like, tell me what's going 453 00:49:18,590 --> 00:49:24,590 on there. If you don't mind, you know, I'd love to know, you know, because this way we're informed 454 00:49:24,590 --> 00:49:29,250 and we can love each other the right way. Maybe someone comes to you and says, you know, 455 00:49:29,530 --> 00:49:34,349 I noticed something, you know, you know, I, I notice Eric, what you're doing there, 456 00:49:34,349 --> 00:49:39,070 you know, and it's like, well, and I think what you're doing is wrong. 457 00:49:40,210 --> 00:49:43,349 You know, I remember Charles Stanley had a great comeback for that. 458 00:49:44,289 --> 00:49:48,469 Charles Stanley says, Okay, you know what you say to them? If whether you agree or don't agree, 459 00:49:48,750 --> 00:49:53,230 you just say, well, thank you for sharing that I'll pray about it. And that's it. 460 00:49:53,989 --> 00:49:58,269 That's all you got to say. I know it's hard because we get defensive immediately and say, 461 00:49:58,469 --> 00:50:02,610 I didn't do that. And you don't even know what you're talking about. You know, we want to 462 00:50:02,610 --> 00:50:09,849 argue it out. Right. And, but a simple like, well, thanks for sharing that because a lot of times 463 00:50:09,849 --> 00:50:16,510 there's some truth. And then right away we look at the messenger. Well, who are you to be sharing 464 00:50:16,510 --> 00:50:21,730 with me that when I look at you? Well, a lot of times the Lord does use strange messengers. 465 00:50:22,670 --> 00:50:27,650 He really does. Like, you know, he uses some memory, you know, a donkey, right? You know, 466 00:50:27,650 --> 00:50:34,710 I mean, he uses some strange messenger sometimes. And, you know, we can't throw out the message 467 00:50:34,710 --> 00:50:39,690 because of the messenger. Maybe it is something, you know, and I've know I've received messages 468 00:50:39,690 --> 00:50:44,909 from people that like, it would be unlikely, but I'm like, okay, you know, if that's, 469 00:50:45,070 --> 00:50:50,389 if that's, I'll pray about that. And a lot of times I found, yeah, there was some truth in that. 470 00:50:50,829 --> 00:50:55,349 My pride didn't want to receive that. But there was some truth in it. Amen. 471 00:50:56,110 --> 00:51:01,269 We're supposed to love each other. And I just want to leave you if the worship team can come up. 472 00:51:04,710 --> 00:51:10,269 James 5.20 and 1 Peter 4.8. 473 00:51:12,170 --> 00:51:16,389 And this is really an encouragement to all of us because we don't know 474 00:51:18,230 --> 00:51:27,429 at what point we're, we have the ability to really minister to someone. Someone might really 475 00:51:27,429 --> 00:51:33,889 be hurting and they might be able to cover it up in a lot of ways. But because you're in their 476 00:51:33,889 --> 00:51:40,809 friendship, you are in their sphere of influence and they're in yours and you notice things, 477 00:51:40,809 --> 00:51:45,190 you might actually be able to like change the course of their lives. 478 00:51:47,510 --> 00:51:52,949 Remember this, whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death 479 00:51:53,610 --> 00:52:01,250 and cover over a multitude of sins. And again, Peter, similar language, above all love each other 480 00:52:01,250 --> 00:52:08,630 deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins. You know, if we don't deal with it, 481 00:52:08,630 --> 00:52:15,409 how much more sin is coming after it, right? And so we need to love each other, you know? 482 00:52:16,170 --> 00:52:19,570 So as the, you guys can bring the elements forward. 483 00:52:28,490 --> 00:52:34,769 So I don't know what part of this message might have struck home with you. 484 00:52:34,769 --> 00:52:45,349 So with me, you know, I don't like God's correction when it's inconvenient, when it's not the timing 485 00:52:45,349 --> 00:52:52,889 or the place that I want it, but the Lord has definitely used correction through adversity 486 00:52:53,489 --> 00:53:02,750 for me. Not just that Craigslist phone call, a lot of times, you know, a lot of resistance. 487 00:53:05,990 --> 00:53:10,869 And yet the Lord is strengthening your faith through it all. 488 00:53:13,929 --> 00:53:18,329 We're going to have an adversary in this world until we breathe our last breath, right? 489 00:53:19,730 --> 00:53:26,429 And he is against Christ, so he's against Christians because we are identified with him. 490 00:53:27,690 --> 00:53:30,090 That's not going to change. That's not going to go away. 491 00:53:31,330 --> 00:53:38,829 But you know, when we realize that we're being attacked in whatever way we are because we're 492 00:53:38,829 --> 00:53:47,250 identified with Jesus, doesn't it inspire courage? I'd rather be his friend than yours, not you. 493 00:53:47,750 --> 00:53:59,409 I mean, whoever has given us a problem. I'd rather be a friend of Jesus than a friend of my 494 00:53:59,409 --> 00:54:05,730 world and its systems because this isn't your home, you know. 495 00:54:08,769 --> 00:54:16,650 And I know I've been rebuked many times, many places by God. 496 00:54:19,070 --> 00:54:25,889 I'll never forget when I had high places in my life, you know, and was definitely 497 00:54:27,750 --> 00:54:37,329 money hungry, and financial security was an idol. And I kept reading in kings where 498 00:54:38,049 --> 00:54:43,670 this king wouldn't tear down the high place. He wouldn't tear down the high. I kept reading it, 499 00:54:43,829 --> 00:54:50,409 and the Lord told me exactly what it meant for me. You know, money was my high place, 500 00:54:50,409 --> 00:54:56,190 you know, and I wouldn't tear it down. And guess what? The kingdom never ran well 501 00:54:57,030 --> 00:55:00,009 when the high places weren't torn down. 502 00:55:03,510 --> 00:55:09,550 Self-correction. I love that one because I do like trying to better myself, you know. 503 00:55:10,130 --> 00:55:16,849 So I like that one, but that could become pride, or it can become self-righteousness. 504 00:55:16,849 --> 00:55:20,590 It can become, I'm doing, I'm doing, look what I'm doing. 505 00:55:22,050 --> 00:55:26,269 Instead of, you know, apart from me, you can do nothing. You know, we can't do anything apart 506 00:55:26,269 --> 00:55:32,690 from Him. So even in self-correction, it's not us, it's Him. Remember Paul said to the church, 507 00:55:32,969 --> 00:55:38,389 you know, I work harder than all the apostles. That sounds arrogant, but it's not me, 508 00:55:38,389 --> 00:55:47,389 but God in me. Oh, okay. You know, we're finally church correction. You know, it's not a comfortable 509 00:55:47,389 --> 00:55:56,090 thing, but I appreciate it when it's done in love, you know. When someone asks me a question and says, 510 00:55:56,210 --> 00:56:02,710 you know, I noticed this. Now, like, if you don't mind, can you explain that a little bit to me? 511 00:56:02,710 --> 00:56:08,969 You know, oh, oh, I get it. Or, yeah, I don't really agree with that. Okay, you know, let's, 512 00:56:09,070 --> 00:56:13,710 let's talk it through, you know, and I really think they're saying the other thing. Okay, I'll, 513 00:56:13,710 --> 00:56:18,469 I'll, I'll pray about it. Thanks for letting me know, you know. By the way, you know, 514 00:56:19,309 --> 00:56:28,269 it doesn't go there because we're all flawed, you know. But the Lord loves us. That's why He 515 00:56:28,269 --> 00:56:33,289 corrects us, right? Because He wants us to be more like Him. 516 00:56:38,170 --> 00:56:42,210 Father God, we thank You, Lord, that You love us so much that You won't let up. 517 00:56:43,809 --> 00:56:47,230 That You do chase in us, Lord God, because You're chasing us. 518 00:56:48,449 --> 00:56:52,510 You want us to be more like You, Lord, and You're never going to let us go. 519 00:56:54,110 --> 00:56:56,010 So, Lord, why do we fight You? 520 00:57:02,489 --> 00:57:07,030 If anyone here has never received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior 521 00:57:08,369 --> 00:57:13,230 before we take communion, why not do it? Because technically, you know, 522 00:57:14,030 --> 00:57:21,710 this communion is for believers. Become a believer. It's so, it's that simple. Just saying, yeah, 523 00:57:21,710 --> 00:57:28,130 you know, I need a Savior. And if that's you, you could just pray, Father God, I'm a sinner. 524 00:57:29,789 --> 00:57:34,969 I desperately need correction. I need to be right with You. 525 00:57:36,590 --> 00:57:44,530 So today, I give You my life so that I can receive Yours. I pray this in Jesus' name, Amen. 526 00:57:45,449 --> 00:57:50,849 If you've done that, the Word says you're saved. You might not feel like it yet, but you are. 527 00:57:51,510 --> 00:57:58,769 Feelings follow faith, you know. Feelings follow the decisions and words that You say. 528 00:58:02,949 --> 00:58:07,989 Father God, we thank You for this bread. And as we eat it, Lord God, we remember that Your 529 00:58:07,989 --> 00:58:16,550 body was nailed to the cross and became our sins, Lord God. And we don't want to take that 530 00:58:16,550 --> 00:58:22,809 sin off the cross, Lord God. It died with You. We thank You that You became our sin on the cross. 531 00:58:23,889 --> 00:58:29,989 So today, we eat this bread, remembering that it's Your body that was offered up for us. 532 00:58:30,769 --> 00:58:34,150 And we thank You for it in Jesus' name. Let's eat. 533 00:58:42,709 --> 00:58:44,289 And Father God, 534 00:58:47,510 --> 00:58:52,769 thank You for Your precious Son and the blood that He spilled for us. 535 00:58:54,349 --> 00:59:01,289 And when the Lord's blood was shed, Lord, the Word says it takes away our sins. 536 00:59:02,090 --> 00:59:08,769 So Lord God, we drink this in remembrance that we are forgiven. We are forgiven forever. 537 00:59:10,250 --> 00:59:16,469 So thank You for forgiveness, Lord God, that every day there's new hope and new mercies to have. 538 00:59:17,090 --> 00:59:19,769 We thank You in Jesus' name, Amen. 539 00:59:26,430 --> 00:59:29,809 So we're going to finish up with some worship, you know. 540 00:59:32,389 --> 00:59:35,690 There's a seems. 541 00:59:37,710 --> 00:59:43,090 I don't know if there's a heaviness in here, but it seems extra quiet. Did you notice that? 542 00:59:46,309 --> 00:59:57,570 Father God, we ask Your Spirit, Lord, to really come upon each one of us like a dove, Lord, 543 00:59:59,070 --> 01:00:01,769 and just rest on us, Lord God. 544 01:00:05,670 --> 01:00:10,590 And Lord, if there's a place, Lord, that we need to be corrected, Lord. 545 01:00:13,090 --> 01:00:17,510 We can't fix ourselves. Only You can do that. 546 01:00:20,329 --> 01:00:29,050 So Lord, we ask You to help us to change, to become more like You. 547 01:00:30,670 --> 01:00:34,929 We ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Let's all stand up. 548 01:00:38,710 --> 01:00:44,150 Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church as we praise God and discuss His Word. 549 01:00:44,849 --> 01:00:50,289 Don't forget to join us for Worship Lives Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube. 550 01:00:51,329 --> 01:00:53,409 Be blessed and have a great day!