[0:00] Welcome. Thank you for listening to this wholesome word by David Entry. The words you catch will change your world. May your story change from this message.
[0:11] Be blessed. Colossians chapter 2 from verse 16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink or in respect of any holiday or of new moon or the Sabbath days which are a shadow of things to come but the body is of Christ.
[0:44] Let no man beguile you of your reward in voluntary humility and worshipping of angels intruding into those things which he has not seen vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind and not holding the head from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered and knit together increased with the increase of God.
[1:18] Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world why as though living in the world are ye subject to ordinances touch not, taste not, handle not which all are to perish with using after the commandments and the doctrines of men which things have indeed a shoe of wisdom and will worship and humility and neglecting of the body not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh.
[1:57] Here is the reading of God's holy word. Father, thank you for bringing us together. Thank you for the privilege of hearing your word. We pray that as you hear your word give us enlightenment into yourself.
[2:12] Reveal Christ to us in a way no man can reveal. Holy Spirit, you are the revealer of Christ. You are the magister veritatis. Reveal Christ to us and teach us the truth.
[2:25] Thank you that as your word is taught healings are taking place. Deliverance is taking place. Salvation is taking place. Captives are being set free.
[2:36] And your name will be certainly glorified. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Well, hallelujah.
[2:51] Last week, we found out that people, verse 16, let no man. So the power is in your hands.
[3:02] When it comes to spiritual things, different people and all kinds of people have their own opinions. So someone can sit somewhere and define how you should worship God.
[3:19] There's someone determining if you are godly, you can't eat this. If you are godly, you can't do this. If you are spiritual, sometimes not even on the strength of godliness, this spiritualist, spiritualism, religion.
[3:34] If you are religious, you cannot do this. You cannot do this. That is why sometimes people, even who don't have any relationship with Christ and who don't have the understanding of what the scriptures say, can just pass and you call yourself a Christian.
[3:49] Meanwhile, maybe you actually are. Maybe you actually are. But just that, especially when you are in a family and you become born again and now you are doing church, church, church, church, and God, God, God, God.
[4:11] Your cousin or your sister or your brother, sometimes, when you are about to eat, they go and eat your food. And you say, but you shouldn't have eaten the food.
[4:23] And they tell you, but you call yourself a Christian. You know, you see what I'm talking about. Your mother wants you to attend a function which maybe you are not comfortable with.
[4:39] Or family wants you to do something. your cousin who has chosen to marry somebody in a different religion. They are doing this ritual for a child who has been born.
[4:54] And you have a church and gave you it. It's every day you go to church. This is a family thing. Why don't you go to the temple or the whatever and you too, if they are painting hands and they are drinking, you drink it.
[5:08] Why? And you call yourself a Christian. This thing is about love. Now people say Christianity is about love. I find it so funny. Christianity is not about love.
[5:22] Christianity is not about souls. Christianity is not even about church. Christianity is about Christ. Christianity is about Christ. Anything that falls short of Christ, falls short of Christianity.
[5:35] Christianity is about Christ. It doesn't matter how nice it is, how good it is. So he said, be careful. No one judges you on the basis of what you are eating. What has pork got to do with?
[5:50] What has pork got to do with my going to heaven? What has pork got to do with even if you want to eat snakes, you are free.
[6:03] It's not going to do. You can wear, you can be a Christian in Saudi Arabia and wear the hijab. It doesn't invalidate your Christian life. You can come to church with hijab and it doesn't, doesn't mean you are not a Christian.
[6:19] but now we begin in preaching how about that that we are just going to matters of decency because when you are a Christian your head is screwed on one of the signs that you are working with Christ or you are spiritual is something that the Bible says to your faith advert you you are living with your parents you never watch dishes your room is like bombsite yes how do you manage to pray in that room so now I am going off that so these are just civic virtues but you can still be a Christian just that your spiritual life see when it comes to spirituality there are things that sometimes we place weight on to depict spirituality like especially we charismatic the way you pray it is not a sign of spirituality the way you even jump and shake it is not bad it is please don't look down on it but it is not a sign of spirituality that is not a sign of spirituality even shouting is not necessarily a sign of spirituality quoting scriptures is not a sign of spirituality don't put the weight of spirituality on doings and activities this is not a sign of spirituality this is not a sign of spirituality spirituality is birthed out of your union with Christ intimacy with Christ and that union with Christ always produces some fruits so the strength of Christianity is not physical behavior or emotional or human behavior it is not human behavior it is actually union with Christ you have to be very concerned if your union with Christ is faulty if you are not united in Christ if you are not working in Christ if you are not depending in Christ
[8:34] Colossians chapter 3 verse 4 if Christ is not your life it says that Christ in you the hope of glory so that is where Christianity that is where it starts from and so when someone is now beginning to judge oh oh religious people are very permit me to maybe say we are very we can be very judgmental when I was in secondary school we used to fast a lot and when we all call fasting like even in church 21 days or something and then you see this person is always in church he is not fasting it can be quite annoying yeah as I grew up in Christ I realized what the reaction was we take it so personal why do you take somebody's choice of behavior so personal in the name of your spirituality sometimes there is an underlying jealousy so you are jealous people are not punishing themselves the way you are punishing yourself and now you have put the weight of your Christianity on asceticism how you are denying yourself pleasure denying yourself you don't do this you don't do that you don't do that that's all there is about your Christian life and then when we are like that we have to make sure others are also following suit that is religion religion is always about what you are not supposed to do you are not supposed to do this you are not supposed to do that you are not supposed to drink this you are not supposed to eat this you are not supposed to go there you are not supposed to relax without praying you are not supposed to do that that's religion and when you flaunt that you are not supposed to and you end up supposed to the religious people get very incensed why are you doing this what were you doing with that guy in the room why it was in your room was in your room i don't pay the rent he said let no man i don't know what some of you are thinking don't worry we'll get there let let no man say no man say no man don't allow anyone to judge you in meat or based on what you are eating or based on what you are drinking in respect of holy day or of new moon or the sabbath so holy day is a special day that this is what they do or feasts the new moon is a new once in a month something is done so as i explained last week once in a week something that is done on a special day or once in a month something that is done on a special day or in a particular or once in a year something that you have to do to show you are religious you are free not to celebrate christmas and that will not send you to hell you are free even not to celebrate easter if you want to but you are not free to marginalize the cross because as long as god is concerned there is only one person and there's only one way every other thing is not unimportant and that person is christ so colossian christians were being bombarded with all this gnostic ideas gnosticism was more about the fact that god is so holy so or spiritual things are so pure you can there's no meeting point between spiritual things and natural things or the physical body so gnosticism is about you can
[12:39] be a human being and really be able to serve god fully because god and flesh are very opposite they don't go together god and the physical anything physical is devilish nothing spiritual can be physical and so they have this philosophy that if you are going to walk with god then deny yourself of all physical things even said many types of food they have mixed judaism with is esteem mysticism and greek philosophy missed all these things and then imposed it on people that this is how you can spiritual and there you know there are people who tell you there are things you don't know yeah yeah and those are fine funny is when they say there are things the church is not telling you the pastors are not telling you the truth i don't confuse one i'm the one to tell you the truth that the pastors are not telling it and then some go as far as saying in the what what that means when people call themselves christian and they say the bible is not complete you want something else you want something else to add to your christianity that is what religion does religion believes the way of god is not enough man must find his own way and most of the time is based on the rudiments of the world or the basic element basic principles of the world which are in consistence with human philosophy human opinion remember philosophy in itself is not evil in fact he mentioned ordinances the ordinances in themselves are not evil but so good things can distract us from christ and bad things can distract us from christ and the the point is that anything that distracts us from christ turn away from it it can be good it can be bad whatever distracts us from christ whatever eclipse christ must must be shunned in fact in second timothy chapter 3 verse 5 it tells timothy to avoid he said turn away from such people he said there are some people you have to turn away from in titus chapter 3 verse 9 it instructs the believers to avoid some things avoid some things avoid some things because they are a distraction in first timothy chapter 6 verse 11 it talks about oh man of god flee there are things you have to run away from if you want to do well in christ flee but you are flee these things flee these things there are things we are supposed to avoid and there are things we are supposed to affirm in christ so there are things that to do well in christ we are actually supposed to flee some of it in second timothy chapter 2 verse 16 we have to watch them because they are doctrines that will distract us so second timothy said shan shan profane and idle babblins for they increase to more ungodliness there are certain statements there are certain things there are certain babblins that you have to shun why because the impact is producing more ungodliness in spite of how wonderful it seems to look i've known people who have moved away from an environment of healthy doctrine and followed other things and they are left with nothing but confusion and not just confusion immoral practices stuck in addictions you are doing well in christ what who cutting on you so usually when the devil wants to destroy people
[16:42] he makes them start to believe wrong things away from the things that increase godliness away from the things that bring more christ into us so he says that let no man judge you said i won't let anyone judge me say it again i will not let any man judge me let no man judge you with respect to all these things or a sabbath day now look at this the sabbath day there's nowhere in the new testament believers were instructed to keep the sabbath day the sabbath day is it wrong no it's not wrong but to the believer every day is a sabbath day because christ in fact i think in mark chapter 2 verse 27 or so he said that you know christ was trying to say that the sabbath was not the man was not made to be ruled by the sabbath the sabbath was actually made for man it's a very important thing and there are people who tell you you are a christian but you have to practice sabbath day if you have to keep the sabbath day then every bit of the laws we have to keep them there are ceremonial laws and there are moral laws okay so the moral laws like that shall not kill that shall not see all those things that you don't even in every society these these are just moral issues all right but now he says that the sabbath day was given for them from god but what paul is saying that the sabbath day is not evil these feasts these ceremonies are not we're not evil but you are not meant to keep them anymore why because they are just a shadow as i said the substance is christ when you have christ or when my best friend or my wife is with me why do i need to do facetime to be talking to my wife who is in the same room with me and then we are doing facetime conversation no i don't need that it's when she's not with me i'm traveling then i can do facetime but now i don't need her image on my phone because the real the substance is here and so when the substance comes it will be preposterous to still be fixated on the image on the shadows so that it says that all these things that were prescribed by god in the old testament they were the shadows but christ is the image christ is the original as i read in hebrew chapter 10 verse 1 last week and hebrew chapter 8 that all these things were shadows shadows of things to come shadows of good things so for the law having the shadow of the good things to come and what is the good things to come the good things to come is christ so in colossians chapter 2 it says that uh verse 17 said don't let anyone bother you with all these things why because these things were a shadow of things to come when it comes to oh okay thank you jesus when it comes to spiritual things you don't need that eat this or don't eat this do this or don't do this in order to look spiritual so long as rules and regulations are concerned but that does not mean when your doctor tells you don't eat meat you say but why are you telling me no i won't let anyone judge me you will die you will die you will die what your doctor is telling you has is no spiritual matter it has not got to do with your eternal salvation it's just got to do with your earthly comfort because your system reacts you are lactose intolerant you tell them let no one judge you what you eat so diet is just reasonable or sensible or common sense but now someone cannot tell you you are not
[20:47] spiritual because you are not a vegan what has that got to do with spirituality someone can should don't let someone tell you because you are not a vegetarian you are not spiritual that's that's what the point is so when it comes to our relationship and our work with god don't let anyone judge you with what you eat it might have physical benefit you can choose that one but it's not so if i choose not to be eating in fact in first timothy chapter 4 verse 1 2 3 says the spirit expressly expressly saying that in the latter times some would depart from this faith giving heat to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons demons have doctrines doctrines of demons there's two speaking lies in hypocrisy having their own conscience seared with a hot iron they are doing that they know this is not working but it's like their conscience is seared because that's what they are bent on doing look at the next verse it's it's almost like people who practice certain type of um cult some of us some people here or you might be listening to me you have actually practiced some cult before and this cult you know is is more it's enhancing your flesh you are doing things that are so tantalizing to you i mean it feeds the flesh but you know you you know what this what you are doing what you are doing you know it's not right but your conscience is seared because you are bent on in the name of religion doing this but you know in your heart that really this can't be something god who endures you know in your heart so he said that forbidding to marry this is that these are some of the things that religious systems can bring on you because you can't marry if you want to get closer to god then you don't marry some people are forbidding to marry based on what they are practicing forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from foods which god created to be received god created food to be received receive it but make sure you are being thankful to god receive the food with thanksgiving yes say thank you lord god created food to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth so those of us who believe and know the truth you receive your food with thanksgiving so please when we say let no one judge you refer to food it's not talking about just reasonable physical a sense of responsibility with respect to what you eat that's that's not what he's talking about this is purely talking about getting closer to god and he said food doesn't bring us closer to god or does not does it take our way from god in first corinthians chapter eight actually verse eight says something like that but then this verse 18 goes again to say that let no one beguile you of your reward in voluntary humility this is very interesting i'll prefer us to read it from let's look at the a few versions we'll look at the niv and then we'll look at the major ones which is english standard version and new american version then we come back to maybe we just throw in living translation and it says that do not let anyone delight in false humility all right so false humility and worship of angels disqualified so they there's a way people purport to be humble in the in religious terms i'm humble but it's false humility
[24:49] the people i don't understand when you are going around telling somebody what she did against me me i've chosen to forgive her i've forgiven her i forgive you call her or you call him and tell him you know what you hurt me i've forgiven you the next day call again i told you i've forgiven you this is false humility false humility false humility and it's just a show most of it is a show we want to show how spiritual we are some of us who live with our spouses our family members some of us can be so judgmental judgmental judgmental and it's more of a show of your spirituality putting what we are good at we use that and what we are not good at we are always silent about that We are always silent about that.
[25:40] We are always silent about what our strength is not in. So if you don't do outreach, you hardly mention it. It's not part of your spiritual repertoire.
[25:58] If you are always doing outreach, you are always doing outreach, then that becomes the yastiki, telling people, people don't do outreach. People don't do outreach. People don't do outreach. People don't do outreach.
[26:10] But after outreach, you don't read your Bible. You are not praying enough. Your prayer life is very comatose. And Psalm 12 is a prayer warrior. Everything. Cambodia, Cambodia.
[26:22] And you never go out to read a song. In fact, he boasts about how he has Muslim friends. All my close friends are not Christians.
[26:36] But you are a theological guru. And always bullying people. You listen to them and say, you know what you are saying? It's not theologically accurate. You know, when you go into the exigencies of what you are saying, the implication is you are taking the text out of context to make it a pre-test.
[26:57] That's why you are becoming a protester. So, when I am big on outreach, but I am less on prayer, I begin to check you.
[27:15] You are outreach. You are outreach. You are outreach. Because I speak from my position of strength. And sometimes I present myself as though that's all I do.
[27:27] And it's very important. It's very important. False humility. False humility. And so, it says that there are people who invade the church.
[27:38] And they want to disqualify you with false humility and worship of special entities. You have special dealings with celestial beings.
[27:52] It's the same. These are the same type of people who talk about how they keep having visions. I remember a lady came to me some time ago. She said, Pastor, even before I became born again, I see things.
[28:05] And when I see things, they happen. And since I started coming to church, I'm even seeing more. And God shows me things about people. God keeps showing me things about people.
[28:18] I said, Pastor, I want you to explain it to me. What's the meaning of it? I said, Sister, it doesn't mean anything. Doesn't mean anything. Just walk with Christ. Serve the local church.
[28:30] And if God wants to do something with that, what you claim, maybe Satan is the one using it to show it to you. Yeah. Satan also shows visions. Didn't the magicians of Pharaoh command turn rod into snakes?
[28:45] Moses did it. They also did it. So, only signs are not enough to validate the spiritual credibility of a person. Wow.
[28:55] Come on. Let him come in to tell me how much visions you have. In what way is he building the church? Yesterday, I was at the camp. I was telling them about something very important.
[29:07] That some people, when they want to be spiritual, their sense of spirituality is so I can't see things. God will show me things about you. God will show me.
[29:18] I said, it's witchcraft. Witchcraft. Witchcraft. Witchcraft is what makes you want to see what some people are doing in their room. Your supervisor who has become a man is to you and a problem to you.
[29:32] You want to... Then something is blowing me. You're okay. All those things. I said, listen, it's not spirituality. It's witchcraft. God doesn't have to show me things you have done yesterday.
[29:47] For what? Did I die to save you? Why must God be showing me secrets about people? For what? It's witchcraft if that's what I want.
[30:00] It's manipulation to control people. God reserves the right not to tell me a lot about you. But if I'm pastoring you, there are things, if it will help you get closer to God, then where is necessary, God may show me so I can use that to help you get closer to God.
[30:16] But not so I can know about you. I don't need to know about you. No one needs to know about you. Anyone who cares, God shows me a lot of things about people.
[30:26] You see, that lady, God is showing me. I'm telling demons are working with you. Because in what way does he build the people? In what way does he supply them with Christ?
[30:37] In what way does he strengthen the church? If he doesn't strengthen the church and he doesn't supply people with Christ, it's Lord of God. It's not of God.
[30:52] It doesn't matter how much you change it and make it look. I'm just a humble person. So I'm just telling you ahead. If you come and tell me about visions you have been seeing, it doesn't really mean anything to me.
[31:05] Whoever showed you your vision should explain it to you. My job is to explain the scripture to you. Not to tell you about your visions. Every time I'm seeing visions.
[31:16] A false sense of humility and spirituality is religion.
[31:29] Religion carries with itself a false sense of, and it's more all of showmanship. Show of human abilities and human strength. Even in preaching, every one of us must always bring ourselves under subjection.
[31:44] Else it will all be a demonstration of what you can do. Yesterday I was teaching them that, you see John the Baptist, the people, Bible talks about how people were going, all Judea went to John the Baptist.
[31:57] In their real darkness. In Mark chapter 1 verse 4 and 5. All Judea and all those who were in Jerusalem, they were moved. The Bible said all of them, people were moving.
[32:08] All the land of Judea and those from Jerusalem, went out and were all baptized. What did they go? Not for marriage, not for breakthrough. They were going to confess their sins. Why would someone travel all the way to go to, and just confess your sins, to baptize?
[32:23] What is making them go? If you look at it, you might think John the Baptist is because of his social media systems. No, that wasn't it. There must be something.
[32:34] Check the scripture. He was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb. And there was, see, there was an unseen hand of God behind it. You can also try and gather people, but they don't come and confess their sins.
[32:45] That's right. So, most of, behind every genuine work of God, is the move of the Spirit. No preaching can change anybody. That's right. It doesn't matter how eloquent the preaching is, how powerful the preaching is.
[33:00] Preaching don't change people. It's anointed preaching. The Holy Ghost are the words that are spoken. That is what changes people. It's not the intellectual strength behind the preaching.
[33:13] That changes people. It's the spiritual weight, the Holy Ghost power. That's right. That's right. That's right. That's right. That's the, that's what does the job.
[33:24] Yes. Never look at anything, church and God, and think that, what is making it happen, is because of A, B, C, and leave this move of the Spirit out.
[33:38] Anything, what makes anything church work, is the Holy Spirit. And now the Holy Spirit chooses, what natural systems is going to apply. So if you copy the natural system, you can't even copy it and do it better, but you will not be able to reproduce the results.
[33:55] Because this result, you can never see what's generating results in a church, outside of the Holy Spirit. And it's the Holy Spirit who does that. Religion is a very, very bad thing.
[34:08] It makes you struggle. And it's loads you with guilt for not being able to do what the religion is, or the system is demanding of you.
[34:21] Let me try and run out with this. Vainly puffed up by, it said, it used a word, fleshly mind. That's a very interesting statement, or phrase.
[34:34] Fleshly mind. That word flesh is talking about the core of human beings outside of God. It's not talking about flesh as in the physical flesh or tissue.
[34:51] It's talking about flesh in the terms of the you. Everyone has God's flesh. Every human being. And the problem we have with God is our flesh.
[35:03] It's our flesh. So in Romans chapter 7 verse 18, Romans chapter 7 verse 23 and 24, look at verse 18, Romans chapter 7 verse 18, and then 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 11, and Galatians chapter 5 verse 16, and Galatians chapter 5 verse 24.
[35:18] But Romans chapter 7 verse 18, it says that, for I know that in me, that is where? In my flesh. Now that flesh is not talking about your physical body.
[35:30] It's the you, the core you. You don't know, do you know really who I am? You don't want to know, do you know me? We are not interested if you're a Christian. It said, for me to live is Christ.
[35:41] So it said, for I know in me, that is in my flesh, nothing good dwells. In other words, the good things of God don't reside in my flesh. So, you can practice religion by the flesh.
[35:54] And you have boxes to tick and it's fine. But you can't practice spirituality by the flesh. Okay, look at verse 23 again. 23, Romans chapter.
[36:05] Let's all read here together. Let's go. Let's go. But I know the Lord in my members, who are living in the law of my mind, and we begin to come to the Lord of sin, which is in my members.
[36:17] Isn't that in my members, there is the flesh? The law of sin is where? In my members. Look at the next verse. Verse 24. Very interesting. Oh, wretched man, who will deliver me from what?
[36:29] This body of death, this body is containing the things in my members. This, my members, this, it's hosting what is blocking me from being able to work with God.
[36:41] Your problem is not your sin. Your problem is your flesh. Because your flesh is the producing center of sin. When they want to stop some things, they don't, not the sales, they shut production.
[36:58] When you cut production line, you won't have it again. And the flesh, unfortunately, was never part of God's plan to redeem. So, the rest of your Christian life, you will be having a battle.
[37:12] Either to walk by the flesh. So, you can be a Christian, but fleshly Christian. That's why I said puffed up by fleshly minds. The way you think is so flesh is not in line with God's system.
[37:26] That scripture says that puffed up by his fleshly mind. So, in 1 Peter 2, verse 11, it says that it wars against your soul.
[37:38] You are at war. I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from what? Abstain from what? I can't hear you. Abstain from what? Abstain from what? What does it do?
[37:49] It wars against your soul. Abstain from fleshly lusts, which wars against your soul. Romans chapter 13, verse 14.
[38:01] Let's all read the alert from the screen. Let's go. You see, you see, when you're a believer, if you don't wear Jesus, you make provision for the flesh to fulfill his lust.
[38:16] That is where you see a Christian and he's behaving and he's very different from someone who's in union with Christ. He's still a Christian but he's walking in the flesh. Wow. And your job is not to condemn them.
[38:27] Your job is to see how you can help to bring them in alignment into union with Christ. There are things that are good things that we will do by still from the flesh. Or you can do things from the flesh because you are not doing it because of your union with Christ but you are doing it because of how you want to appear before people.
[38:48] It's a very interesting text. Don't make provision for the flesh to fulfill its lust. Galatians chapter 5 verse 16 it says walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill their desires.
[39:00] That means that the desires of the flesh are always with you. Pastor, I thought after being a Christian for a while everything would go no, no.
[39:14] The desires of the flesh are always with you. They are going to be always with you and until you die this flesh is going to remain flesh and your problem is going to be the flesh.
[39:28] And so then every Christian's desire and target must be work on yourself to walk in the spirit because anytime so you can be walking in the spirit today it doesn't mean you walk in the spirit tomorrow.
[39:43] So you have to walk in the spirit because if you don't walk in the spirit what happens? Naturally you begin to fulfill the desires of the flesh. And that's what makes you miss God. Miss what God is doing with you.
[39:55] You miss the plan of God for your life. So you can live as a Christian and not fulfill God's purpose for you because of flesh and so you go to heaven. But the problem is when you get to heaven God is going to now reward you based on how you fulfilled his plans for your life.
[40:10] Not how you did it the way you want to do it. Not how people were clapping for you. Not how people said oh that's nice that's nice. God doesn't see nice as what people say. He sees nice as what he has said with regards to your life and his plan for your life.
[40:23] And so if you don't walk in the spirit chances are that you'll be so fleshly you'll even realize when you are missing God. People are fleshly and not necessarily even sinning. When I say sinning you know what I'm talking about.
[40:36] Breaking laws or doing something bad. There are people who are not really doing bad things but they are fleshly. And that's what religion can do. Now so looking at the text again it says that they are puffed up by their fleshly minds.
[40:50] Please I forgot we are reading that from a different translation. What translation were we in? English Standard Version I suppose. Was it the NIV? Yes. Such a person such a person also goes into great details about what they have seen.
[41:06] I was telling you this is what I've seen. Great details into what they have seen. They are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual minds. Fleshly minds.
[41:18] Give us English Standard Version American Standard Version English Standard Version New American Standard Version. Let no man disqualify you insisting on assert do you know assertism?
[41:29] The way you are punishing your body. You are flitting pain on your body for spiritual for religious reasons. So you know I've been fasting for 300 days.
[41:39] That's assertism. It's all based on the exterior. The exterior what you are doing how people see what you are doing. There are people who the weight of your Christian life is how people are seeing you.
[41:55] Let's look at the text again. Is that one catching something? Puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind. Right.
[42:06] Alright. Let's go. Let's look at Amplified. I want us to go to New Living Translation and see if he's got anything to tell us. Let no man defraud you by acting as an empire and declaring you unworthy and disqualify you for the price.
[42:22] Insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels taking his stand on visions he claims he has seen. vainly puffed up by sensuous notions and inflated by his own spiritual thoughts and fleshly conceit.
[42:43] This is very interesting. You think that are you fighting with somebody? what? Alright. Let's look at the New Living Translation. Let's read it.
[42:55] Let's go. Most people who pretend spirituality are usually sinful.
[43:16] Many very deep religious people when I say deep religious like whose spirituality or whatever is based on how you see them how you see them. That's why sometimes it shocks a lot of people.
[43:28] Ah! This person? What? Because they have a front and sometimes the stronger the front the deeper the things are.
[43:42] And most religions are usually a cover up for flesh. Message Bible. And then we move on. Let's really ask that.
[43:52] Don't wait to wait to to try to run to live. That's all they are.
[44:11] Hot eggs. That's all. That's all. That's all. That's all they are. So we have to be careful. in the name of Christianity or in the name of religion in the name of spirituality people are just spoiling you or disqualifying you from your prize.
[44:30] That's very interesting. That means there's a prize awaiting us. May you receive your prize in this time. In Jesus. verse 19 is what this whole thing about.
[44:42] They said do this. They said do this. They said do this. There's no way. There's only one way. Verse 19 and it says that and not holding the head from which let's do a different verse.
[44:55] New American standard version. So Christ is the head. He said not holding fast to the head from who the entire body being supplied and held together by joints and ligaments grows with a growth which is from God.
[45:11] So what their focus is this whole Christ Christ. They put it aside and focus on other things not holding on to Christ. Because Christianity is Christ and Christ is Christianity.
[45:24] That's why I said it doesn't matter how good it is. Anything outside of Christ, anything that eclipses Christ, anything that marginalizes Christ, anything that makes Christ secondary, it is not of God.
[45:39] And it actually takes us away from God. The only way, so long as God is God, then there's one person, Christ, and there's one way, the cross. Any other thing outside really doesn't supply and produce the objective of God.
[45:55] And it says, wherefore, if you be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why? As though living in the world, are you subject to ordinances?
[46:09] Touch not, taste not, handle not. That's what religion is about. What you are not supposed to do. Don't do this. Don't do that. Don't do that. Don't do this.
[46:20] Don't do that. Don't do that. And all, there are so many religions in the world about 10,000 religions. but the major ones are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and there's one more, Sikhism.
[46:44] These are the major ones. And all religion, the strength of religion is about touch not, taste not, watch not.
[46:54] it's about what you don't do. But Christianity is about the cross you have come to and the Christ you have.
[47:07] It's Christ I have. I have Christ. I have Christ. I want to ask you a question. Do you have Christ? If not, you are just practicing religion. It doesn't matter how many times you are coming to church.
[47:19] It doesn't matter how many times you pray a day. I'm praying. Most people pray because of problems. But it's good anyway.
[47:33] But Christianity is Christ. Never hinge the weight of your Christianity on what you have been doing. Rest it on your relationship in Christ, your union with Christ.
[47:47] That means that every one of us must strive. Oh, I like the way Paul puts it in Philippians chapter three, verse nine. He said that I might be found in him.
[48:00] It's like Christ is a location. You look for me anywhere, you'll find me. Where is he? Where are you? Where are you? Jack, where are you? Where are you? I'm in Christ. They open, you are inside.
[48:11] I've been looking for you. There was a big party. Where were you? Sorry, I'm busy in Christ. He said, all my, everything I'm doing, my drive, my push, my pursuit is focused towards one thing, that I might be found in Christ.
[48:28] I want to be found in Christ. I want to be found in Christ. So when you look at Colossians, he kept emphasis, I've been saying this almost every week, in Colossians chapter one, verse 27, Christ in you, Colossians chapter two, verse two, Colossians chapter two, verse eight, Colossians chapter three, verse four, Colossians chapter three, verse 11, all these things are pointing that this thing is just Christ.
[48:50] It's just Christ. The essence of Christianity is Christ. That's why when we go out, we are preaching. Don't go and preach works. Don't preach works. Don't go and argue.
[49:04] Who is better? Who is better? Who read us? Whether they saw angels or demons and all those things. We preach Christ. Bible says that Philip went down to Samaria and preach Christ.
[49:16] Acts chapter eight, verse five. He preached Christ. First Corinthians chapter one. He said, we preach Christ crucified. Hallelujah.
[49:27] We preach. We preach Christ crucified. In Colossians chapter one, 29, he said, him we preach. We preach Christ and not ourselves.
[49:39] We preach Christ because Christianity is Christ. I've been saying, if you gather people into church and Christ is not the unifying factor, Christ is not the point of abstraction and we use other things to attract people to church, we will saturate the church with unbelievers.
[49:56] That's right. Yes. We will saturate the church in unbelievers because so long as God is concerned, everybody is a sinner. What makes you a sinner is not what you did, but he says, you convict the world of sin because they believe not in me.
[50:10] John chapter 16 of sin because they believe not in me. What makes people sinless is because they don't have Christ, because they don't believe in Christ, because they've not put their faith in Christ.
[50:22] The disciples asked Jesus, what must we do to do the works of God? John chapter 6, verse 28, what must we do? I was surprised at the answer. Jesus gave them the answer.
[50:33] He said, the works of God is to believe in him who has sinned. That's all. You are not working for God until you are believing in Christ. That's where it starts. So all the things you are doing, make sure your faith in Christ is intact, else every other thing is waste.
[50:51] You are a man at work, not a man God using. So it's important. Let's finish this thing. I want to finish this thing. Wherefore, if ye be dead, now that one, Romans chapter 6, verse, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 2, 3, 4, we are dead in Christ.
[51:13] Romans chapter 6, verse 2, certainly not. How shall we, who died to sin, live any longer to it? We are dead.
[51:25] That question, because, verse 1, look at verse 1. Verse 1 stems out from the verse before verse 1. So that, as sin reign in death, even so grace, someone say grace.
[51:41] Grace. My reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So it's like, you are not grace. Grace has reign.
[51:54] Sin reigns to death. Grace is reign. You are not grace. It's not about anything. Don't bother. In fact, it says, the verse before, it says, where sin increase, grace is more.
[52:04] So you don't have to, when your sins increase, you have more grace. If you want more. It's like, if you want more grace, more sins. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.
[52:22] What it means is that, whatever grace it takes to save you, there will still be enough grace to save a bishop. If he's not born again.
[52:33] No, they are, yeah. It's, it's, it's not, it's not a bad person. That's not a lot of bad things. So, the sin, let's say, physical sin, actions, has not abounded. So, you just, oh, this person doesn't need too much to, to save.
[52:46] It's like, detergent to wash something. You need more for this. You need, it's that where there's more sin, there's still more grace. So, sin has never been the problem.
[52:58] It's our access to the grace. And the grace is in Christ. So then you say that, theologically, people will say, then we should sin. You should sin because there's grace to cover your sins.
[53:11] Yeah. So, moreover, the Lord entered, but sin abound. Look at the next verse, verse 21. So, so that as sin reign into death, so grace might reign through righteousness, through your love.
[53:21] Then the next verse, look at the next verse. It said, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin? That grace will still abound? No. Certainly not. In the strongest term, he said, certainly not.
[53:33] No. Someone said, no. No. So, it's not about do not, don't do, don't touch, don't touch. But please, if you are in union with Christ, there are some things, you can, the direction you can't go. Your spiritual life is not based on the perfection of your life, but the direction of your life.
[53:50] You might not be perfect, but this is not your direction. And so, you might fall, but you rise up because you are moving a different direction in Christ. You are not perfect, but certainly, you are the disposition of your heart, the inclinations of your heart have been affected in a certain direction.
[54:06] Should we continue in sin? That grace will abound? Certainly not. And see, I'm about to finish, but please, listen, what I like about it, he asked a certain rhetorical question.
[54:19] He said, how can we? The reason why we don't sin, listen, the reason why we don't sin is not because someone has told you, don't do this, don't do that, don't do that. The reason why we don't sin is that we are dead.
[54:30] We are dead to sin because we are in Christ. So, when you are in Christ, you are dead to something. That's not your way of life. That's not your direction. So, the strength is not based on what I don't do, I don't do, I do, I do, I do, I do, I do, but it's, I'm dead in Christ.
[54:44] And so, it says that we are dead with Christ. That is a Christian. Who is a Christian? Someone who is dead in Christ. Or alive in Christ, but dead to the world.
[54:58] So, a Christian's problem is not how do I stop sinning. That is a non-believer's problem. How can I stop this? How can I stop this? A Christian's issue is how do I strengthen my work in Christ, my union in Christ.
[55:14] That sin is not a problem. Tell somebody, sin is not a problem for a Christian. Ah, some people can't say because they don't believe it. Tell somebody, sin is not a problem for that Christian.
[55:28] Sin is not a Christian. Pastor, but I've been struggling with sin. So, maybe, you are either not a Christian. What do I mean?
[55:39] You are actually not born again. Christ is not in you. Or, you are just walking by the flesh. You are just walking by the flesh. When Christ is in you, you don't talk about, I don't want to sin.
[55:52] You are always busy seeing how you can even please Christ. You are more interested in pleasing Christ than what you are not doing. That's the Christian life. It's so Christ-centered, a lot of other things become, end up in your blind spot.
[56:06] I don't do this, I don't do that. It's not you. I just love Jesus. Oh, Jesus, I love you. Jesus, I love you. I love you. And so, so your wife upsets you.
[56:17] And then you remember, the way I love Jesus, I can't even be loving Jesus and talk to my wife anyhow. My love, I forgive you. And you don't even say it to her.
[56:28] No. You just act it. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. I love you, girl. That's okay. Meanwhile, you have been hurt. But you just finished prayer and you went to fight with your husband.
[56:41] You went. Yes, you're having visions. Visions. And countess. Romans chapter 6, verse 2 said, how shall we, who died to sin, live in our own?
[56:56] Look at the next verse. We are going to verse 4. Or do you not know that as many of us, as we're baptized into Christ, were baptized into his death. Verse 4.
[57:06] Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death. That just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life.
[57:20] Verse 6 to 8. Verse 6. Come on. Knowing that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.
[57:37] Remember the body of sin? Remember what? Chapter 7 said, who shall live from this body of death? He said, knowing that we are crucified with Christ so that the body of sin, the Christ-centeredness in your life is what empowers you to live godly.
[57:49] that's what, there's no other way. Nobody can be godly because we are never godly. Bible says that no one seeks after God.
[58:02] Not even one. Romans chapter 3 verse 11. Not even one. Not even one. None is righteous. None is good. So, when we try to use religion as a means to get to God, we are just complicating the problem.
[58:17] Touch not. Taste not. handle not. Which are all to perish with the using after the commandments and the doctrines of men. He's saying that these are all systems that people have put in mind think that this is what you should do, this is what you should do.
[58:33] That's what he's saying. Not just that it's a way to please God but it's a man's system. It might not be evil in itself but if you focus on that you are going to miss God.
[58:44] And that's what we, they were prescribing spirituality on the grounds of these things. Which are all to perish with the using after the commandments and the doctrines of men.
[58:56] Which things have indeed a shoe. This is the law. I'm ending on this. 23. Which things have a shoe. Let's use a different translation.
[59:07] It's interesting. Let's go to the American Standard Version. These are matters which have to be sure the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.
[59:28] When it comes to the fleshly problems these things can't deal with it. These things can't deal with the fleshly indulgence. Most religious facade have fleshly issues covered behind it.
[59:45] Covering it. It's been covered. Let's look at New Living Translation and then Message. New Living Translation. Bless Aurelia. Let's go. New Living Translation Serious Men.
[60:26] But on the surface they insist on self-abasement false humility. There's all this strong insistence of behavior that is just based on the exterior.
[60:38] And they are not helpful in dealing with the flesh. That's what he's saying. It's of no value when it comes to dealing with the flesh. Most of these things you are practicing by your flesh is still a problem.
[60:49] And people lose the rest of their lives trying to cover up. Spend the rest of your life cover up. Use all your energy to appear the way people see, expect of you.
[61:04] Instead of using the energy to work on yourself to be what you must do, you use it to appear. Pause in. Message Bible. Last one. Let's read it out. Let's go.
[61:15] Such things sound impressive. Mm-hmm. Say it to me in my voice. And it will be the religion of being quiet and humble and asking. But there is just another way to show you on.
[61:28] May be yourself to be quoted. Wow. Way of showing you. And that's why I said don't let anyone judge you. Don't let anyone spoil you based on all these religions.
[61:39] There's only one way. The cross. We die at the cross. And there's only one person. Christ. There's only one way. So long as God is concerned, there's only one person and one way.
[61:53] If we can give our hearts to that, we will get closer to God and achieve greater things in the kingdom. Did you receive anything? Thank you for listening to this message by David Entry.
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