WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.339 Let us pray. 00:00:07.820 --> 00:00:13.580 O gracious and eternal God, we give you thanks on this, your day. 00:00:14.380 --> 00:00:18.839 A day to recognize you as our Lord and Savior. 00:00:20.519 --> 00:00:27.980 A day to celebrate the goodness of the Lord that all of us have found through your Son, Jesus Christ. 00:00:27.980 --> 00:00:37.620 A day, God, to invite others in to share in this wonderful life we have discovered in you. 00:00:38.439 --> 00:00:48.159 I pray this morning that you will use me, thy servant, to manifest your will and your way in your people. 00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:59.599 Remove anything in me that might hinder me for being used in a way that will bring you glory. 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:03.739 In Jesus' name, amen. 00:01:05.319 --> 00:01:10.140 Grace and peace, Trinity Baptist Church. 00:01:10.140 --> 00:01:17.019 I thank Pastor Greg for that warm introduction. 00:01:18.379 --> 00:01:21.680 I am so delighted to be here. 00:01:22.060 --> 00:01:33.280 And as Pastor Greg indicated, we are not only co-laborers, but friends in the body of Christ. 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:41.799 So thank you again, and I share your sentiments of it's just good to have friends in Christ. 00:01:42.540 --> 00:01:50.960 I also want to acknowledge his lovely wife, Jane, who has welcomed me and my family into their home. 00:01:51.819 --> 00:02:03.079 And in these very divisive times, we are so excited to share with the world what God can do. 00:02:03.280 --> 00:02:12.639 And bringing people who share the faith together, no matter what our backgrounds are, no matter where we came from. 00:02:13.099 --> 00:02:16.439 We are one in Jesus Christ. 00:02:16.620 --> 00:02:21.699 And I'm just so grateful to have both of them and call them friends. 00:02:22.360 --> 00:02:25.219 Also, I'm glad to see the Dunlops here. 00:02:25.460 --> 00:02:30.659 I know they are members here, but we call them our associate members as well. 00:02:30.659 --> 00:02:41.359 They fellowship with us quite often, and they too are just real special to the Christian Tabernacle Baptist Church family. 00:02:41.560 --> 00:02:44.659 So good to have the two of you here. 00:02:45.400 --> 00:02:50.519 And I know you're praying for me as you do, even when I'm in my own pulpit. 00:02:50.520 --> 00:03:04.040 I also want to thank, once again, as Pastor Greg mentioned, many of you who have helped serve in our summer enrichment camp as teachers and leading our free lunch program. 00:03:04.039 --> 00:03:12.000 We really try to plant the seeds of the kingdom of God over the 10 weeks that we have all of the children. 00:03:12.620 --> 00:03:16.560 And I just thank all of you for sharing in that effort. 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:19.519 I really do appreciate it. 00:03:19.539 --> 00:03:22.280 And we really couldn't do it without you. 00:03:22.280 --> 00:03:24.539 I would be remiss. 00:03:24.740 --> 00:03:30.300 I know Pastor Greg mentioned my wife, but I just want her to wave her hand. 00:03:30.420 --> 00:03:34.759 Of 26 years, we have been on this journey together. 00:03:35.340 --> 00:03:38.020 And I just love her so. 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:43.500 And my youngest daughter, Camille, is here, the youngest of three. 00:03:44.099 --> 00:03:46.659 And I just love being a father. 00:03:46.659 --> 00:03:51.079 And on Friday, she received her driver's permit. 00:03:51.340 --> 00:04:02.379 And as she was taking the picture, it brought tears to my eyes to just know that my last little one will be soon out of the house. 00:04:02.520 --> 00:04:06.079 How many of you know it's a great privilege to be a parent? 00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:21.060 And I just want you to know, what many of you already know, that I don't know a better way to live or to die than the way that God has instructed us in his word. 00:04:21.280 --> 00:04:33.240 And so I am just so grateful that God has given me three children and a wonderful wife to journey life with who also loves the Lord. 00:04:33.240 --> 00:04:40.980 I do want to thank also Pastor Nick, who has helped me get here today in so many ways administratively. 00:04:41.040 --> 00:04:45.220 I don't know where you are, but thank you for your help as well. 00:04:45.620 --> 00:04:56.600 I want to read into your hearing the text this morning coming from the 12th chapter of the Book of Romans. 00:04:57.860 --> 00:05:01.259 And I'll be reading verses 1 and 2. 00:05:01.259 --> 00:05:08.240 Romans 12, verses 1 and 2. 00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:15.779 And I'll be reading from the New King James Version. 00:05:17.139 --> 00:05:19.060 And it reads as follows. 00:05:21.060 --> 00:05:28.620 I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, 00:05:28.620 --> 00:05:36.000 that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:40.060 holy, acceptable to God, 00:05:40.500 --> 00:05:43.920 which is your reasonable service. 00:05:45.060 --> 00:05:50.379 And do not be conformed to this world, 00:05:50.379 --> 00:05:57.120 but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, 00:05:57.120 --> 00:06:06.680 that you may approve what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 00:06:06.680 --> 00:06:10.259 I want to talk just for a moment. 00:06:10.259 --> 00:06:11.959 And I won't be long, 00:06:12.100 --> 00:06:18.160 and I will try not to go into my American Baptist mode of getting too excited, 00:06:18.340 --> 00:06:24.199 but I want to talk for a moment from the subject of being unplugged. 00:06:25.500 --> 00:06:27.920 Being unplugged. 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:31.860 I love going to the movies. 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:36.280 And in particular, I love going to feel-good movies. 00:06:36.780 --> 00:06:41.120 Movies where the good guys win and the bad guys lose. 00:06:41.879 --> 00:06:44.319 But in addition to feel-good movies, 00:06:44.439 --> 00:06:46.980 my second genre, if you will, 00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:51.160 is movies involving action. 00:06:51.160 --> 00:06:56.800 And one of my favorite action movies is called The Matrix. 00:06:57.580 --> 00:07:00.520 And The Matrix, like many series, 00:07:00.680 --> 00:07:08.960 the boast of The Matrix series is the original one that was produced in 1999. 00:07:10.060 --> 00:07:11.180 And in The Matrix, 00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:16.660 the movie is about humans creating artificial intelligence, 00:07:17.420 --> 00:07:19.920 what is known as AI to survive. 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:22.259 And however, 00:07:22.780 --> 00:07:25.819 and they don't explain how the computer, 00:07:26.280 --> 00:07:29.199 the AI machines flip the script. 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:34.920 They learned that they could live independently from humans, 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:37.700 but they needed a power source, 00:07:38.259 --> 00:07:39.700 a source of energy. 00:07:40.620 --> 00:07:42.960 And so the machines in The Matrix, 00:07:43.240 --> 00:07:47.139 they determined that the human body 00:07:47.139 --> 00:07:51.599 contained within itself the energy, 00:07:51.599 --> 00:07:55.680 the power source that they needed to survive. 00:07:56.800 --> 00:08:00.979 And so the machines began to harvest human bodies. 00:08:01.500 --> 00:08:03.800 While waiting to be consumed, 00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:06.519 this field of human bodies, 00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:10.159 they were plugged into The Matrix. 00:08:10.160 --> 00:08:12.500 You have to follow the story. 00:08:12.500 --> 00:08:17.860 And so the automated artificial intelligence machines 00:08:17.860 --> 00:08:20.880 had become independent from humans, 00:08:20.980 --> 00:08:23.640 and they needed humans for energy, 00:08:23.800 --> 00:08:25.940 and they began to harvest human bodies. 00:08:26.180 --> 00:08:29.980 And it was a field of human bodies from babies to adults, 00:08:30.100 --> 00:08:32.180 and they were plugged into The Matrix. 00:08:32.360 --> 00:08:35.120 It was a construct, if you will. 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:37.580 It was a virtual world. 00:08:37.860 --> 00:08:39.480 It was a simulation. 00:08:39.740 --> 00:08:43.460 So while they're waiting to be consumed by the machines, 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:45.440 the machine, The Matrix, 00:08:45.580 --> 00:08:48.460 is creating a dream world for them. 00:08:48.560 --> 00:08:49.960 It's like they were dreaming, 00:08:50.519 --> 00:08:52.399 but yet it was appearing to them 00:08:52.399 --> 00:08:54.279 in their own consciousness 00:08:54.279 --> 00:08:57.200 as if they were alive. 00:08:57.200 --> 00:09:01.680 But the actor, actor Reeves, 00:09:01.780 --> 00:09:04.840 somehow became unplugged from The Matrix. 00:09:05.620 --> 00:09:08.360 He was unplugged with the help of others, 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:10.280 and he came to see life, 00:09:10.800 --> 00:09:12.759 not as it was, 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:16.259 but most importantly, how it should be. 00:09:16.420 --> 00:09:18.960 He became unplugged from The Matrix. 00:09:19.160 --> 00:09:21.060 You need to understand that 00:09:21.060 --> 00:09:22.879 because in the text this morning, 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:27.220 Paul is pleading to you and I 00:09:27.220 --> 00:09:31.159 to become unplugged from the world. 00:09:31.899 --> 00:09:33.019 In some version, 00:09:33.159 --> 00:09:36.519 the world is called this evil age. 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:40.439 Unplugged from The Matrix of sin, 00:09:41.500 --> 00:09:44.080 all of us need to be unplugged 00:09:44.080 --> 00:09:46.139 from the world of sin. 00:09:46.419 --> 00:09:49.000 Too many of us, like the prodigal son, 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:51.740 we believe that life in its fullest 00:09:51.740 --> 00:09:54.240 is leaving the Father's care 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:58.379 and going off into the far country of the world 00:09:58.379 --> 00:10:00.779 and living in the flesh. 00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:03.960 Many of you have heard the saying 00:10:03.960 --> 00:10:06.580 that I have found in life to be true, 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:09.259 that sin will always take us 00:10:09.259 --> 00:10:10.500 farther than we want to go, 00:10:11.539 --> 00:10:13.899 keep us longer than we ever intended to stay, 00:10:14.220 --> 00:10:16.559 and cost us more than we're willing to pay. 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:20.179 We need to unplug ourselves 00:10:20.179 --> 00:10:25.359 as children of God from this worldly system. 00:10:26.419 --> 00:10:31.500 We need to understand God's way is perfect. 00:10:32.379 --> 00:10:36.159 In my daily devotion since the beginning of this year, 00:10:36.259 --> 00:10:37.959 I've been praying through the Psalms. 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:41.979 And basically, one or two days, 00:10:42.059 --> 00:10:44.319 I will get through a Psalms through prayer. 00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:48.860 But I came upon, a couple of weeks ago, Psalm 51. 00:10:49.520 --> 00:10:52.879 And I've been in Psalms 51, which is David's prayer, 00:10:53.040 --> 00:10:55.440 and I realized through that Psalms, 00:10:55.520 --> 00:10:56.400 God was telling me, 00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:59.080 maybe I have not murdered anyone like David. 00:10:59.420 --> 00:11:02.820 Maybe I have not committed adultery against my wife. 00:11:03.080 --> 00:11:03.800 Praise the Lord. 00:11:04.060 --> 00:11:06.140 But God was still telling me 00:11:06.140 --> 00:11:11.020 that I still needed him to create in me a clean heart. 00:11:11.019 --> 00:11:16.679 I still needed him to renew in me a right spirit. 00:11:16.679 --> 00:11:20.879 Because in so many ways, no matter how much we try, 00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:24.639 it is hard to get unplugged from the world. 00:11:24.860 --> 00:11:29.079 It's hard for us to live according to God's values 00:11:29.079 --> 00:11:31.799 and not according to the world's values. 00:11:31.939 --> 00:11:35.360 Not only am I saying this morning 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:38.079 that we need to get unplugged from the world of sin, 00:11:38.080 --> 00:11:43.480 we also need to get unplugged from this sense of self-sufficiency, 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:48.420 this sense that we can live life without God, 00:11:49.040 --> 00:11:54.160 this sense that we don't need God for the very air that we breathe, 00:11:54.300 --> 00:11:58.540 this sense that we don't need God to clothe us in our right minds. 00:11:58.680 --> 00:12:02.360 We don't need God to live life to the fullest. 00:12:02.360 --> 00:12:06.519 We believe somehow in the matrix of life 00:12:06.519 --> 00:12:09.360 that somehow when we get up in the morning, 00:12:09.639 --> 00:12:14.480 it's about us and not God allowing us to rise. 00:12:14.800 --> 00:12:18.019 We need to get unplugged from a sense 00:12:18.019 --> 00:12:21.879 that we can do anything without God. 00:12:22.919 --> 00:12:26.899 I don't know how many of you are in this season that I am in, 00:12:26.899 --> 00:12:31.659 but not long ago, I buried my mother, 00:12:32.559 --> 00:12:37.879 and it was after 10 years of her experiencing dementia. 00:12:38.699 --> 00:12:41.799 And I used to think that it was an old cliche 00:12:41.799 --> 00:12:46.340 by people who were up in years when they would pray in church, 00:12:46.500 --> 00:12:49.639 thank God that I'm clothed in my right mind. 00:12:49.639 --> 00:12:54.179 But I came to realize that's a prayer that is one we need. 00:12:54.539 --> 00:12:58.639 The older you get, the more that becomes a very relevant prayer. 00:12:59.139 --> 00:13:03.699 We need to be unplugged from a sense of self-sufficiency. 00:13:04.319 --> 00:13:07.379 We need to be unplugged from a world of sin. 00:13:07.939 --> 00:13:12.319 And then also, God wants us to be unplugged 00:13:12.319 --> 00:13:16.419 from a sense of, from the matrix of self-importance. 00:13:16.419 --> 00:13:19.759 I don't know, the older I get, 00:13:19.979 --> 00:13:23.539 I don't understand so much about why the church 00:13:23.539 --> 00:13:26.419 has not turned this world upside down. 00:13:26.819 --> 00:13:29.939 I don't understand why we, like we are today, 00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:33.240 can't come together and worship no matter what class, 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:36.779 no matter what ethnicity, no matter what background. 00:13:37.219 --> 00:13:39.000 If we are one body in Christ, 00:13:39.299 --> 00:13:43.699 we ought to reflect that in the world and make God visible. 00:13:43.700 --> 00:13:48.360 But somehow we just have not gotten there 00:13:48.360 --> 00:13:52.759 because we still are plugged into this matrix, 00:13:53.080 --> 00:13:56.600 plugged into this sense of our own self-importance. 00:13:57.000 --> 00:13:59.500 I have found that only in death, 00:13:59.520 --> 00:14:02.700 when we realize that our worth is not much, 00:14:02.780 --> 00:14:05.259 when we return to the dust of the air, 00:14:05.360 --> 00:14:09.980 we realize what really matters is our relationship with God. 00:14:09.980 --> 00:14:16.659 What really matters is loving our neighbors as ourselves. 00:14:17.399 --> 00:14:19.300 Paul says in this text, 00:14:20.440 --> 00:14:23.180 I beseech you, therefore. 00:14:24.539 --> 00:14:27.279 To which, as you know, we should ask, 00:14:27.980 --> 00:14:29.899 what is the therefore, therefore? 00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:33.440 Many scholars believe the therefore is there 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:37.840 to remind us as Christians then and now 00:14:37.840 --> 00:14:40.260 of the biblical narrative 00:14:40.260 --> 00:14:43.460 in which we are to live out of. 00:14:43.680 --> 00:14:46.620 To remind us that we've been saved from sin. 00:14:46.920 --> 00:14:48.700 To remind us we've been saved 00:14:48.700 --> 00:14:52.680 from ourselves being our own God. 00:14:52.820 --> 00:14:54.740 To remind us we've been saved 00:14:54.740 --> 00:14:57.300 from our own self-importance. 00:14:57.720 --> 00:15:00.480 And to get unplugged, to see the truth, 00:15:00.480 --> 00:15:04.519 to see the finished work of Jesus Christ's life, 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:06.840 death, and resurrection. 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:10.080 It's time, Trinity Baptist Church, 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:14.700 that the church gets unplugged from this world, 00:15:14.860 --> 00:15:18.500 this matrix, and begin to love God 00:15:18.500 --> 00:15:22.360 with all of our heart, with all of our minds, 00:15:22.659 --> 00:15:24.320 with all of our souls. 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:28.400 It's time that we begin to love our neighbors 00:15:28.400 --> 00:15:30.700 as ourselves. 00:15:33.020 --> 00:15:34.580 What is the therefore, therefore? 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:37.400 Scholars believe the therefore are there 00:15:37.400 --> 00:15:42.900 so we can see that before Paul gets to chapter 12, 00:15:43.700 --> 00:15:47.040 all of the mercies of God 00:15:47.040 --> 00:15:51.580 that has been extended to us as his children. 00:15:51.580 --> 00:15:55.680 And so Paul says, I beseech you, I beg you, 00:15:56.340 --> 00:16:00.820 therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, 00:16:01.300 --> 00:16:05.180 these mercies of God should motivate us 00:16:05.180 --> 00:16:10.639 to become the people that God has called us to become. 00:16:11.300 --> 00:16:13.800 And so if I can take a moment 00:16:13.800 --> 00:16:17.700 to really reflect on the biblical narrative 00:16:17.700 --> 00:16:20.940 that outlines the mercies of God 00:16:20.940 --> 00:16:22.320 in the text this morning, 00:16:22.840 --> 00:16:26.340 that you may begin to live out of this narrative 00:16:26.340 --> 00:16:30.280 and begin to turn this world upside down, 00:16:30.620 --> 00:16:33.960 I believe that if we just take a moment on this Sunday 00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:36.200 to reflect on the biblical narrative 00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:39.580 of the bountiful mercies of God, 00:16:39.920 --> 00:16:43.700 all of us will leave this space forever changed. 00:16:43.700 --> 00:16:48.259 What are those mercies that Paul reflected on 00:16:48.259 --> 00:16:50.200 in Romans 1 through 11? 00:16:50.840 --> 00:16:53.240 In Romans 1, 16 and 17, 00:16:53.900 --> 00:16:59.200 Paul reminds us that we are justified by faith alone. 00:16:59.860 --> 00:17:03.700 In Romans 3, 23, it says that all have sinned 00:17:04.460 --> 00:17:07.700 and fallen short of the glory of God. 00:17:08.620 --> 00:17:12.319 In Romans 6, 23, it says that the wages of sin 00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:16.720 is death, but the gift of God is eternal life 00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:19.079 in Jesus Christ. 00:17:19.799 --> 00:17:23.099 In Romans 8, 12 through 17, it says, 00:17:23.299 --> 00:17:27.179 we have been adopted into the family of God 00:17:27.179 --> 00:17:30.700 by the blood of Jesus Christ 00:17:30.700 --> 00:17:34.879 and are now called to live according, 00:17:35.059 --> 00:17:36.599 not according to the flesh, 00:17:36.919 --> 00:17:39.779 but according to the spirit of God. 00:17:39.779 --> 00:17:44.059 We are his children and we can now cry out to him, 00:17:44.579 --> 00:17:46.099 Abba, Father. 00:17:46.440 --> 00:17:49.000 I'm talking about the mercies of God 00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:53.099 that ought to motivate us to become the people of God 00:17:53.099 --> 00:17:56.079 that God has called us to become. 00:17:56.639 --> 00:18:01.579 In Romans 8, 17 through 18, it explains to us 00:18:01.579 --> 00:18:04.139 we are joint heirs with him. 00:18:04.779 --> 00:18:07.879 Romans 8, 28, which is one of my favorite verses, 00:18:07.880 --> 00:18:11.260 says that all things work together 00:18:11.260 --> 00:18:15.420 for the good of those who love the Lord, 00:18:15.600 --> 00:18:18.340 who are called according to his purpose. 00:18:19.020 --> 00:18:22.380 In Romans 8, 37 through 39, 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:26.300 we find these high and enriching words. 00:18:27.100 --> 00:18:29.620 We are more than conquerors 00:18:29.620 --> 00:18:32.780 through him that loved us. 00:18:32.779 --> 00:18:35.740 Paul says that I am persuaded 00:18:35.740 --> 00:18:38.639 that neither death nor life, 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:42.039 nor angels, nor principalities, 00:18:42.319 --> 00:18:45.319 nor powers, nor things present, 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:47.259 nor things to come, 00:18:47.660 --> 00:18:49.000 nor height, nor death, 00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:50.960 nor any other created thing 00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:53.759 shall be able to separate us 00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:55.799 from the love of God 00:18:55.799 --> 00:18:57.940 that is in Christ Jesus. 00:18:58.579 --> 00:19:00.039 Romans 8 and 1 says, 00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:03.460 there is now no condemnation 00:19:03.460 --> 00:19:07.119 in those who are in Christ Jesus. 00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:10.879 I'm talking about the mercies of God 00:19:10.879 --> 00:19:13.539 that ought to motivate us 00:19:13.539 --> 00:19:17.720 to live this life that God has blessed us with, 00:19:18.059 --> 00:19:20.240 not because we deserve it, 00:19:20.700 --> 00:19:24.559 but all because of God's unmerited favor. 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:29.240 It is those mercies that Paul says 00:19:29.240 --> 00:19:32.740 that as we go into thanksgiving on Thursday, 00:19:32.919 --> 00:19:36.359 that we ought to receive with great gratitude 00:19:36.359 --> 00:19:39.419 and a spirit of thanksgiving. 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:42.179 And because of those mercies, 00:19:42.619 --> 00:19:46.220 we ought to manifest the love of God 00:19:46.220 --> 00:19:48.619 in three distinct ways 00:19:48.619 --> 00:19:51.559 as we turn this world upside down. 00:19:51.559 --> 00:19:55.720 The first thing as we consider the mercies of God 00:19:55.720 --> 00:19:58.619 that are, I just hit a bit of them, 00:19:58.700 --> 00:20:00.259 but if you go through Romans, 00:20:00.759 --> 00:20:04.220 they are filled with the mercy of God 00:20:04.220 --> 00:20:06.460 that he has bestowed upon us. 00:20:06.899 --> 00:20:08.679 And with that backdrop, 00:20:09.720 --> 00:20:10.419 Paul says, 00:20:10.519 --> 00:20:11.759 I beseech you therefore, brethren, 00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:13.359 by the mercies of God, 00:20:13.779 --> 00:20:16.960 he wants us to do three things in this world. 00:20:17.480 --> 00:20:20.379 First, we ought to present our bodies. 00:20:20.380 --> 00:20:22.860 As a federal prosecutor, 00:20:23.560 --> 00:20:25.760 when a defendant was incarcerated, 00:20:26.100 --> 00:20:27.780 in order to bring him to court, 00:20:28.340 --> 00:20:30.260 I had to file with the marshals 00:20:30.260 --> 00:20:32.140 a writ of habeas corpus. 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:35.240 And that writ really indicated to the marshals, 00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:37.060 you have the body. 00:20:37.600 --> 00:20:39.560 And before any business can be done, 00:20:39.840 --> 00:20:41.760 you need to present the body to court. 00:20:42.220 --> 00:20:43.720 What Paul is saying to us, 00:20:44.200 --> 00:20:48.300 irrespective of all of the mercies of God, 00:20:48.299 --> 00:20:52.200 irrespective of how he has blessed us richly, 00:20:52.319 --> 00:20:54.319 we still have free will. 00:20:54.680 --> 00:20:57.220 We still have to bring our bodies 00:20:57.220 --> 00:21:01.180 as instruments to be used of God. 00:21:01.419 --> 00:21:04.839 We still have to present our bodies to God 00:21:04.839 --> 00:21:07.159 that he might work out his will 00:21:07.159 --> 00:21:10.159 in our lives and in the world 00:21:10.159 --> 00:21:12.419 that he's left us, church, 00:21:12.420 --> 00:21:15.539 to make him visible upon the earth. 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:17.259 And Paul says, 00:21:17.400 --> 00:21:19.100 we are to present our bodies. 00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:21.180 As the Old Testament came 00:21:21.180 --> 00:21:23.740 and presented an offering to God, 00:21:23.900 --> 00:21:26.400 we are to come with that same spirit 00:21:26.400 --> 00:21:28.640 and present our bodies to him 00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:30.019 in three ways. 00:21:30.160 --> 00:21:32.180 One, as living sacrifices. 00:21:33.060 --> 00:21:35.500 We are new creations in Christ. 00:21:36.259 --> 00:21:38.060 He has made us new, 00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:39.820 and we are to present our bodies 00:21:39.819 --> 00:21:41.439 and present to the world 00:21:41.439 --> 00:21:43.599 that we are not the same. 00:21:43.960 --> 00:21:46.159 Something has happened in my soul. 00:21:46.500 --> 00:21:48.220 God has changed my life. 00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:50.259 He has turned me around. 00:21:50.599 --> 00:21:52.000 And the world ought to see 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:54.460 that we are new creations in Christ. 00:21:54.839 --> 00:21:57.319 All things have passed away. 00:21:57.679 --> 00:22:00.339 I am now learning Christ. 00:22:01.700 --> 00:22:03.319 We are living sacrifices. 00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:06.059 Not only are we to present our bodies 00:22:06.059 --> 00:22:07.259 as living sacrifices, 00:22:07.259 --> 00:22:08.220 as a new creation, 00:22:08.220 --> 00:22:10.880 we are present our bodies as holy. 00:22:11.779 --> 00:22:14.559 That means that we are to show the world 00:22:14.559 --> 00:22:16.000 that the Holy Spirit 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:18.640 is influencing our lives. 00:22:18.740 --> 00:22:20.400 We ought to show the world 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:22.279 that we are operating 00:22:22.279 --> 00:22:24.259 in the fruits of the Spirit. 00:22:24.660 --> 00:22:26.620 Love, joy, peace. 00:22:27.160 --> 00:22:30.000 The world ought to see in all of us 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:31.799 that we're not the same. 00:22:33.220 --> 00:22:35.339 You may be mean-spirited. 00:22:35.339 --> 00:22:37.660 You may be an unforgiving so-and-so. 00:22:37.660 --> 00:22:39.460 You may be racist. 00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:42.140 You may be self-centered. 00:22:42.500 --> 00:22:44.960 But I have been changed. 00:22:45.840 --> 00:22:47.779 I am presenting my body 00:22:47.779 --> 00:22:50.480 as an influence, 00:22:51.019 --> 00:22:52.840 one who has been influenced 00:22:52.840 --> 00:22:54.940 by the Holy Spirit. 00:22:56.040 --> 00:22:57.060 We represent our bodies 00:22:57.060 --> 00:22:58.320 as living sacrifices. 00:22:58.540 --> 00:23:00.279 We represent our bodies as holy. 00:23:00.660 --> 00:23:01.980 We represent our bodies 00:23:01.980 --> 00:23:03.740 as acceptable to God. 00:23:03.740 --> 00:23:06.620 That term means we represent our bodies 00:23:06.620 --> 00:23:08.319 as pleasing to God. 00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:10.079 As you look at the Old Testament structure 00:23:10.599 --> 00:23:12.019 of sacrifice, 00:23:12.519 --> 00:23:14.220 it did a number of things. 00:23:14.339 --> 00:23:15.079 But mainly, 00:23:15.579 --> 00:23:17.940 it said to the one, 00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:18.579 the priest, 00:23:18.680 --> 00:23:19.720 that there was a way 00:23:19.720 --> 00:23:20.960 to approach God. 00:23:21.059 --> 00:23:22.339 It said to the one, 00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:23.120 the priest, 00:23:23.299 --> 00:23:25.400 that they had to humble themselves 00:23:25.400 --> 00:23:27.120 and approach God 00:23:27.120 --> 00:23:29.400 in a way that he has determined 00:23:29.400 --> 00:23:31.160 that we should approach him. 00:23:31.160 --> 00:23:32.920 When we present our bodies 00:23:32.920 --> 00:23:35.220 as a living sacrifice 00:23:35.220 --> 00:23:36.300 that is holy 00:23:36.300 --> 00:23:39.080 in an acceptable way, 00:23:39.259 --> 00:23:40.779 we are saying to God 00:23:40.779 --> 00:23:42.080 that it is your way 00:23:42.080 --> 00:23:43.080 that I'm accepting 00:23:43.080 --> 00:23:44.820 and not my own. 00:23:44.960 --> 00:23:46.820 It's only by doing things 00:23:46.820 --> 00:23:47.779 God's way 00:23:47.779 --> 00:23:50.040 are we pleasing to him. 00:23:50.039 --> 00:23:53.139 So as we unplug from the world, 00:23:54.420 --> 00:23:57.460 remember that part of being unplugged 00:23:57.460 --> 00:23:59.220 is that we have to present our bodies 00:23:59.220 --> 00:24:01.079 as living sacrifices 00:24:01.079 --> 00:24:04.819 that is holy and acceptable to him. 00:24:05.399 --> 00:24:07.180 As we unplug from the world, 00:24:07.799 --> 00:24:10.000 secondly, Paul tells us in verse 2, 00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:14.940 not to be conformed to this world. 00:24:14.940 --> 00:24:19.279 Not to be conformed to this world. 00:24:19.880 --> 00:24:20.880 One version says, 00:24:21.240 --> 00:24:23.299 don't let the world squeeze you 00:24:23.299 --> 00:24:24.720 into its mold. 00:24:25.820 --> 00:24:27.840 Don't let the world squeeze you 00:24:27.840 --> 00:24:29.559 into its mold. 00:24:29.700 --> 00:24:32.160 We are not to conform like the world. 00:24:32.320 --> 00:24:33.640 I set off my remarks 00:24:33.640 --> 00:24:34.880 by saying I love movies. 00:24:35.019 --> 00:24:36.940 Now, I also like Westerners. 00:24:37.059 --> 00:24:39.400 And so there's an old Western movie 00:24:39.400 --> 00:24:40.360 called Shane. 00:24:40.779 --> 00:24:43.059 And Shane is about a stranger 00:24:43.059 --> 00:24:44.240 coming into town 00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:46.279 and forming a relationship 00:24:46.279 --> 00:24:47.740 with one of the families there 00:24:47.740 --> 00:24:49.559 in a time in the 1800s 00:24:49.559 --> 00:24:52.480 where people were coming in 00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:54.019 with guns and taking territory 00:24:54.019 --> 00:24:55.079 and cattles. 00:24:55.259 --> 00:24:56.839 And Shane befriends this family 00:24:56.839 --> 00:24:59.440 and he fights that the outlaws 00:24:59.440 --> 00:25:01.059 won't take their land. 00:25:01.159 --> 00:25:02.139 And at the end of the movie, 00:25:02.259 --> 00:25:03.339 Shane is lined up 00:25:03.339 --> 00:25:05.019 with six other gunmen 00:25:05.019 --> 00:25:06.159 and it's just him. 00:25:06.220 --> 00:25:07.200 And there's a young boy, 00:25:07.480 --> 00:25:08.339 a part of the family 00:25:08.339 --> 00:25:09.159 that he's defending. 00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:10.200 And this young boy 00:25:10.200 --> 00:25:11.099 is looking at Shane 00:25:11.099 --> 00:25:12.200 and these six gunmen 00:25:12.200 --> 00:25:13.480 and he looks at Shane 00:25:13.480 --> 00:25:14.740 and he looks at the six gunmen 00:25:14.740 --> 00:25:15.940 and he yells out to Shane, 00:25:16.340 --> 00:25:19.420 Shane, there's just too many, Shane. 00:25:20.059 --> 00:25:23.019 There's just too many. 00:25:24.460 --> 00:25:26.960 As we stand with Christ 00:25:26.960 --> 00:25:29.080 in a world that seems 00:25:29.080 --> 00:25:30.779 to be rapidly changing 00:25:30.779 --> 00:25:32.460 and nobody but us 00:25:32.460 --> 00:25:34.700 seems to believe 00:25:34.700 --> 00:25:37.640 that God's word is the word, 00:25:37.640 --> 00:25:40.200 it seems like it's too many. 00:25:40.200 --> 00:25:43.819 It seems like the world is winning. 00:25:44.059 --> 00:25:46.360 It seems like we're all alone. 00:25:46.539 --> 00:25:49.120 But I came to remind you, church, 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:50.860 my brothers and sisters in Christ, 00:25:51.140 --> 00:25:53.100 that you are not alone. 00:25:53.980 --> 00:25:55.860 But God has called us 00:25:55.860 --> 00:25:57.360 to buck against the current. 00:25:57.740 --> 00:25:58.960 God has called us 00:25:58.960 --> 00:26:01.360 to stand alone on his word. 00:26:01.700 --> 00:26:03.039 God has called us 00:26:03.039 --> 00:26:04.640 not to be ashamed 00:26:04.640 --> 00:26:06.799 of the gospel of Jesus Christ 00:26:06.799 --> 00:26:08.700 because it is the power 00:26:08.700 --> 00:26:11.039 of God unto salvation. 00:26:12.279 --> 00:26:13.339 I am so, 00:26:14.599 --> 00:26:16.099 I love the Lord 00:26:16.099 --> 00:26:17.639 and I don't care 00:26:17.639 --> 00:26:18.980 if everybody determines 00:26:18.980 --> 00:26:20.319 that this stuff is not true, 00:26:20.440 --> 00:26:22.159 it will always be true to me 00:26:22.159 --> 00:26:23.980 because God has made 00:26:23.980 --> 00:26:26.039 a difference in my life. 00:26:26.759 --> 00:26:27.659 God is saying, 00:26:28.019 --> 00:26:29.460 don't be conformed. 00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:31.339 Don't let the world 00:26:31.339 --> 00:26:34.180 squeeze you into its mold. 00:26:34.180 --> 00:26:36.779 I not only like movies, 00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:38.400 I actually read as well. 00:26:39.560 --> 00:26:41.080 And one of the stories 00:26:41.080 --> 00:26:43.360 that I like is C.S. Lewis' book 00:26:43.360 --> 00:26:44.940 called Screwtape Letters. 00:26:45.580 --> 00:26:48.039 And Screwtape Letters, 00:26:48.440 --> 00:26:49.980 C.S. Lewis says 00:26:49.980 --> 00:26:51.299 that while we are trying 00:26:51.299 --> 00:26:53.380 to make our way in the world, 00:26:54.600 --> 00:26:55.900 as we get older, 00:26:56.259 --> 00:26:57.740 we find that the world 00:26:57.740 --> 00:26:59.820 has made its way in us. 00:27:00.580 --> 00:27:01.580 That's where I am. 00:27:01.579 --> 00:27:04.279 I've experienced a lot of success, 00:27:04.500 --> 00:27:05.720 but I realize 00:27:05.720 --> 00:27:07.259 the more I got out there 00:27:07.259 --> 00:27:08.220 in the world 00:27:08.220 --> 00:27:09.579 trying to make my way 00:27:09.579 --> 00:27:10.279 in the world, 00:27:10.579 --> 00:27:13.319 the more of my Christian self, 00:27:13.439 --> 00:27:15.419 the more of my Christian values, 00:27:15.799 --> 00:27:17.779 actually I began to lose 00:27:17.779 --> 00:27:19.299 because the world 00:27:19.299 --> 00:27:21.539 began to make its way in me. 00:27:22.659 --> 00:27:24.299 God is saying to us, 00:27:24.359 --> 00:27:25.500 Trinity Baptist Church, 00:27:25.740 --> 00:27:28.439 don't be conformed. 00:27:28.440 --> 00:27:32.059 Lastly, as we think about 00:27:32.059 --> 00:27:33.380 the mercies of God, 00:27:34.220 --> 00:27:36.100 the bountiful mercies of God 00:27:36.100 --> 00:27:37.279 laid out in Romans 00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:39.279 chapters 1 through 12 00:27:39.279 --> 00:27:41.539 as Paul starts his summation 00:27:41.539 --> 00:27:42.779 of the book of Romans, 00:27:43.420 --> 00:27:44.880 he's saying present our bodies. 00:27:46.259 --> 00:27:47.600 That's all that we have. 00:27:48.320 --> 00:27:49.400 Present our bodies 00:27:49.400 --> 00:27:51.100 as living sacrifices, 00:27:51.360 --> 00:27:52.759 new creations to the Lord, 00:27:53.400 --> 00:27:56.080 holy and acceptable to Him. 00:27:56.079 --> 00:27:57.199 He's saying, 00:27:57.639 --> 00:27:58.659 I know that sometimes 00:27:58.659 --> 00:27:59.240 like Shane, 00:27:59.339 --> 00:28:00.319 you're standing alone, 00:28:00.500 --> 00:28:01.839 but stand therefore. 00:28:02.899 --> 00:28:04.079 Don't be conformed. 00:28:05.319 --> 00:28:05.960 And lastly, 00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:07.099 he says to us, 00:28:07.919 --> 00:28:08.740 be transformed. 00:28:10.039 --> 00:28:11.539 Be transformed. 00:28:12.899 --> 00:28:14.559 Verse Romans 12, 2 says, 00:28:14.679 --> 00:28:15.599 and do not be conformed 00:28:15.599 --> 00:28:16.319 to this world, 00:28:16.879 --> 00:28:18.139 but be transformed 00:28:18.139 --> 00:28:20.299 by the renewing 00:28:20.299 --> 00:28:21.919 of your mind 00:28:21.920 --> 00:28:24.700 that you may prove 00:28:24.700 --> 00:28:27.039 what is that good 00:28:27.039 --> 00:28:28.840 and acceptable 00:28:28.840 --> 00:28:30.960 and perfect 00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:33.720 will of God. 00:28:34.440 --> 00:28:35.980 God doesn't want us 00:28:35.980 --> 00:28:37.640 just to resist the world. 00:28:38.019 --> 00:28:38.740 He wants us 00:28:38.740 --> 00:28:40.440 to change the world. 00:28:41.220 --> 00:28:41.880 In the Greek, 00:28:42.039 --> 00:28:43.500 that word transform 00:28:43.500 --> 00:28:46.400 also means transfigured. 00:28:47.019 --> 00:28:48.039 And we think about 00:28:48.039 --> 00:28:48.920 Christ being transfigured 00:28:48.920 --> 00:28:50.580 and his face 00:28:50.580 --> 00:28:51.720 was shining 00:28:51.720 --> 00:28:52.940 and God wants us 00:28:52.940 --> 00:28:53.580 to shine 00:28:53.580 --> 00:28:54.240 in the midst 00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:55.380 of the darkness 00:28:55.380 --> 00:28:57.279 like the early church. 00:28:58.380 --> 00:28:59.660 And I just want 00:28:59.660 --> 00:29:00.100 to highlight 00:29:00.100 --> 00:29:01.019 a couple of things 00:29:01.019 --> 00:29:02.380 about being transformed. 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:04.740 The early church 00:29:04.740 --> 00:29:06.400 did not just listen 00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:07.620 to the word of God. 00:29:08.039 --> 00:29:09.420 They obeyed 00:29:09.420 --> 00:29:10.180 the word of God 00:29:10.180 --> 00:29:13.900 and they transformed 00:29:13.900 --> 00:29:15.120 the world. 00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:17.179 They transformed 00:29:17.179 --> 00:29:17.859 the world 00:29:17.859 --> 00:29:19.119 in many ways, 00:29:19.319 --> 00:29:20.379 but one, 00:29:20.659 --> 00:29:21.939 they were transformative 00:29:21.939 --> 00:29:23.159 in the love 00:29:23.159 --> 00:29:23.899 they showed 00:29:23.899 --> 00:29:24.719 to the poor. 00:29:26.099 --> 00:29:27.419 In the early church, 00:29:27.579 --> 00:29:28.279 the historians 00:29:28.279 --> 00:29:29.539 have found letters 00:29:29.539 --> 00:29:35.199 of some of the early church's work. 00:29:36.059 --> 00:29:38.059 And some of those letters 00:29:38.059 --> 00:29:39.959 came from people 00:29:39.959 --> 00:29:42.259 in the Roman Empire 00:29:42.259 --> 00:29:44.279 and it showed 00:29:44.279 --> 00:29:45.500 the early church 00:29:45.500 --> 00:29:46.200 compassion 00:29:46.200 --> 00:29:47.660 for the poor. 00:29:48.400 --> 00:29:49.440 One historian 00:29:49.440 --> 00:29:50.099 has noted 00:29:50.099 --> 00:29:51.240 in this regard, 00:29:51.440 --> 00:29:52.039 they discovered 00:29:52.039 --> 00:29:52.680 a letter 00:29:52.680 --> 00:29:53.740 from a Roman emperor 00:29:53.740 --> 00:29:54.559 named Julian 00:29:54.559 --> 00:29:56.279 in A.D. 360 00:29:56.279 --> 00:29:57.680 complaining 00:29:57.680 --> 00:29:58.859 about the charity 00:29:58.859 --> 00:29:59.660 or love 00:29:59.660 --> 00:30:00.339 of the Christians 00:30:00.339 --> 00:30:01.440 to the pagans. 00:30:02.099 --> 00:30:02.779 Listen to 00:30:02.779 --> 00:30:04.180 what the emperor 00:30:04.180 --> 00:30:04.779 writes. 00:30:05.839 --> 00:30:07.700 The impious Galileans, 00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:08.440 which they meant 00:30:08.440 --> 00:30:09.000 Christians, 00:30:09.779 --> 00:30:11.359 support not only 00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:12.759 their own poor, 00:30:13.899 --> 00:30:15.179 but ours 00:30:15.179 --> 00:30:16.399 as well. 00:30:17.839 --> 00:30:19.299 They transformed 00:30:19.299 --> 00:30:20.459 the world, 00:30:20.599 --> 00:30:21.819 not just listening 00:30:21.819 --> 00:30:22.579 to the gospel 00:30:22.579 --> 00:30:23.599 of Jesus Christ, 00:30:23.839 --> 00:30:25.659 but being transfigured, 00:30:25.799 --> 00:30:27.099 being transformative 00:30:27.099 --> 00:30:29.259 by their compassion 00:30:29.259 --> 00:30:30.259 to the poor. 00:30:30.679 --> 00:30:31.679 They took care 00:30:31.679 --> 00:30:32.279 of the poor 00:30:32.279 --> 00:30:33.519 and the impoverished 00:30:33.519 --> 00:30:35.559 and people took note. 00:30:36.459 --> 00:30:37.799 I wonder how, 00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:39.559 what in your life 00:30:39.559 --> 00:30:40.899 that you are doing 00:30:40.899 --> 00:30:42.679 where the world 00:30:42.679 --> 00:30:43.619 is taking note 00:30:43.619 --> 00:30:44.919 that you've been transformed. 00:30:45.940 --> 00:30:47.059 Not only did 00:30:47.059 --> 00:30:48.119 the early church 00:30:48.119 --> 00:30:49.740 show that they 00:30:49.740 --> 00:30:51.019 had been transfigured 00:30:51.019 --> 00:30:52.819 by the gospel 00:30:52.819 --> 00:30:53.799 of Jesus Christ, 00:30:53.879 --> 00:30:54.519 by their love 00:30:54.519 --> 00:30:55.279 for the poor, 00:30:55.720 --> 00:30:56.919 but they also 00:30:56.919 --> 00:30:57.919 showed that they 00:30:57.919 --> 00:30:58.819 had been transformed 00:30:58.819 --> 00:31:00.980 by their love 00:31:00.980 --> 00:31:02.519 for the discarded. 00:31:04.159 --> 00:31:04.799 Again, 00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:07.039 in the Roman Empire, 00:31:07.039 --> 00:31:07.720 and we're reading 00:31:07.720 --> 00:31:08.619 in the Book of Rome, 00:31:08.619 --> 00:31:10.240 it was often 00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:10.819 characterized 00:31:10.819 --> 00:31:12.059 this world, 00:31:12.200 --> 00:31:13.159 this Roman Empire 00:31:13.159 --> 00:31:15.619 by infanticide, 00:31:15.619 --> 00:31:16.299 infanticide, 00:31:16.339 --> 00:31:16.740 I'm sorry, 00:31:17.139 --> 00:31:18.059 infanticide. 00:31:18.599 --> 00:31:19.259 And that is, 00:31:19.359 --> 00:31:19.740 as you know, 00:31:19.799 --> 00:31:20.720 the killing of infants. 00:31:20.920 --> 00:31:21.339 Primarily, 00:31:21.500 --> 00:31:22.799 it was the discarding 00:31:22.799 --> 00:31:24.440 of female infants 00:31:24.440 --> 00:31:26.899 that was characteristic 00:31:26.899 --> 00:31:28.799 of the Roman Empire. 00:31:29.819 --> 00:31:31.180 Females were not 00:31:31.180 --> 00:31:32.619 as valued as males. 00:31:32.619 --> 00:31:34.839 And so it was not 00:31:34.839 --> 00:31:36.759 uncommon for a Roman family 00:31:36.759 --> 00:31:38.199 that if a wife 00:31:38.199 --> 00:31:39.719 gave birth to a little girl, 00:31:39.839 --> 00:31:40.459 that little girl 00:31:40.459 --> 00:31:41.239 was taken out 00:31:41.239 --> 00:31:42.159 to the dung heap, 00:31:43.599 --> 00:31:44.639 the edge of town, 00:31:45.339 --> 00:31:46.959 and left to die there 00:31:46.959 --> 00:31:48.439 by exposure. 00:31:49.599 --> 00:31:50.839 In this regard, 00:31:51.019 --> 00:31:52.159 a letter was discovered, 00:31:53.119 --> 00:31:54.839 written in 1 B.C., 00:31:54.839 --> 00:31:56.959 by a Roman name, 00:31:57.679 --> 00:31:58.279 Hilarion. 00:31:59.399 --> 00:32:00.899 And he wrote this letter 00:32:00.899 --> 00:32:02.279 to his pregnant wife. 00:32:02.619 --> 00:32:03.859 These poignant 00:32:03.859 --> 00:32:05.539 and disturbing words. 00:32:06.919 --> 00:32:07.279 He wrote, 00:32:07.519 --> 00:32:08.379 If you are delivered 00:32:08.379 --> 00:32:09.639 of a child 00:32:09.639 --> 00:32:12.599 before I return home, 00:32:13.119 --> 00:32:15.239 if it is a boy, 00:32:15.959 --> 00:32:16.519 keep it. 00:32:17.639 --> 00:32:19.279 But if it is a girl, 00:32:20.259 --> 00:32:20.979 discard it. 00:32:22.119 --> 00:32:22.579 You see, 00:32:22.639 --> 00:32:23.579 the early Christians 00:32:23.579 --> 00:32:25.379 lived out their faith, 00:32:25.519 --> 00:32:27.199 this transformed faith, 00:32:28.519 --> 00:32:29.639 in practical 00:32:29.639 --> 00:32:31.679 and tangible ways. 00:32:31.680 --> 00:32:35.019 because the Christian community 00:32:35.019 --> 00:32:37.220 would climb through 00:32:37.220 --> 00:32:38.480 the refuge, 00:32:39.360 --> 00:32:41.299 climb through the garbage, 00:32:41.799 --> 00:32:43.000 and rescue 00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:45.060 these discarded 00:32:45.060 --> 00:32:46.180 little girls, 00:32:46.740 --> 00:32:47.720 and sometimes 00:32:47.720 --> 00:32:49.500 deformed little boys. 00:32:49.980 --> 00:32:52.220 And they would raise them 00:32:52.220 --> 00:32:53.920 like they were 00:32:53.920 --> 00:32:55.680 their own. 00:32:55.680 --> 00:32:59.060 they had been renewed. 00:32:59.060 --> 00:32:59.080 They had been renewed, 00:32:59.820 --> 00:33:01.539 not just the outward 00:33:01.539 --> 00:33:03.840 renewal, 00:33:04.480 --> 00:33:05.400 not just 00:33:05.400 --> 00:33:07.560 outwardly 00:33:07.560 --> 00:33:08.660 worshiping God, 00:33:08.920 --> 00:33:10.120 but they had been 00:33:10.120 --> 00:33:11.200 changed and 00:33:11.200 --> 00:33:11.940 transformed 00:33:11.940 --> 00:33:13.019 in a way 00:33:13.019 --> 00:33:14.160 that was tangible 00:33:14.160 --> 00:33:15.360 and practical, 00:33:16.019 --> 00:33:16.320 and that, 00:33:16.480 --> 00:33:17.160 in a way that 00:33:17.160 --> 00:33:18.700 changed the world. 00:33:19.340 --> 00:33:20.340 What am I saying 00:33:20.340 --> 00:33:20.960 to you about 00:33:20.960 --> 00:33:21.860 being transformed? 00:33:21.859 --> 00:33:22.139 transformed. 00:33:22.859 --> 00:33:24.019 Every time 00:33:24.019 --> 00:33:25.259 you forgive 00:33:25.259 --> 00:33:27.319 someone who has 00:33:27.319 --> 00:33:28.019 hurt you, 00:33:29.279 --> 00:33:29.939 you are being 00:33:29.939 --> 00:33:30.500 transformed. 00:33:31.659 --> 00:33:32.439 Every time 00:33:32.439 --> 00:33:33.699 you deny yourself 00:33:33.699 --> 00:33:34.500 for the glory 00:33:34.500 --> 00:33:35.399 of God, 00:33:36.079 --> 00:33:36.919 you are being 00:33:36.919 --> 00:33:37.740 transformed. 00:33:38.679 --> 00:33:39.339 Every time 00:33:39.339 --> 00:33:39.979 you love 00:33:39.979 --> 00:33:40.759 your neighbor, 00:33:40.919 --> 00:33:41.679 those who look 00:33:41.679 --> 00:33:42.199 like you, 00:33:42.259 --> 00:33:43.279 and those who don't, 00:33:43.399 --> 00:33:44.179 those from different 00:33:44.179 --> 00:33:44.740 classes, 00:33:45.279 --> 00:33:46.139 those in different 00:33:46.139 --> 00:33:46.759 tribes, 00:33:46.759 --> 00:33:47.459 we have become 00:33:47.459 --> 00:33:48.759 so tribal these days, 00:33:48.899 --> 00:33:50.059 everybody has their 00:33:50.059 --> 00:33:50.519 tribe, 00:33:50.519 --> 00:33:51.299 their circle, 00:33:51.799 --> 00:33:52.660 and the church 00:33:52.660 --> 00:33:53.700 is no different, 00:33:54.139 --> 00:33:55.099 but every time 00:33:55.099 --> 00:33:56.660 we break that cycle, 00:33:56.799 --> 00:33:57.579 every time we 00:33:57.579 --> 00:33:58.799 unplug from the 00:33:58.799 --> 00:34:00.400 world system, 00:34:00.859 --> 00:34:02.720 we glorify God, 00:34:02.819 --> 00:34:04.039 we show ourselves 00:34:04.039 --> 00:34:05.680 to be transformed 00:34:05.680 --> 00:34:07.960 and not conformed 00:34:07.960 --> 00:34:08.980 to the world. 00:34:09.179 --> 00:34:09.579 We are 00:34:09.579 --> 00:34:11.239 unplugging 00:34:11.239 --> 00:34:12.159 ourselves 00:34:12.159 --> 00:34:12.880 by the 00:34:12.880 --> 00:34:13.679 gospel of 00:34:13.679 --> 00:34:14.579 Jesus Christ. 00:34:16.199 --> 00:34:16.780 The world, 00:34:16.780 --> 00:34:17.980 the word says 00:34:17.980 --> 00:34:18.659 that thy 00:34:18.659 --> 00:34:19.780 word 00:34:19.780 --> 00:34:20.580 thy word 00:34:20.580 --> 00:34:21.120 have I 00:34:21.120 --> 00:34:21.620 had in 00:34:21.620 --> 00:34:22.380 my heart 00:34:22.380 --> 00:34:23.440 that I 00:34:23.440 --> 00:34:24.019 might not 00:34:24.019 --> 00:34:24.660 sin against 00:34:24.660 --> 00:34:25.040 you. 00:34:25.760 --> 00:34:27.000 Psalm 119. 00:34:28.060 --> 00:34:28.620 Every time 00:34:28.620 --> 00:34:29.519 we love God 00:34:29.519 --> 00:34:30.100 with all of 00:34:30.100 --> 00:34:30.560 our heart, 00:34:31.180 --> 00:34:32.320 all of 00:34:32.320 --> 00:34:32.900 our mind, 00:34:32.960 --> 00:34:33.340 and all of 00:34:33.340 --> 00:34:34.160 our souls, 00:34:34.640 --> 00:34:35.500 we show 00:34:35.500 --> 00:34:36.740 ourselves to be 00:34:36.740 --> 00:34:37.380 a transformed 00:34:37.380 --> 00:34:38.060 people. 00:34:39.220 --> 00:34:39.860 This word, 00:34:39.980 --> 00:34:40.620 be transformed, 00:34:40.820 --> 00:34:41.620 is continuous. 00:34:41.840 --> 00:34:42.360 We'll never 00:34:42.360 --> 00:34:43.400 get it perfectly 00:34:43.400 --> 00:34:43.980 right until 00:34:43.980 --> 00:34:44.700 Christ comes 00:34:44.700 --> 00:34:45.080 back, 00:34:45.460 --> 00:34:46.100 but God 00:34:46.100 --> 00:34:47.460 is daring 00:34:47.460 --> 00:34:48.360 us to be 00:34:48.360 --> 00:34:48.679 different. 00:34:48.940 --> 00:34:49.460 God is 00:34:49.460 --> 00:34:50.840 pleading with 00:34:50.840 --> 00:34:51.340 us like, 00:34:51.500 --> 00:34:51.800 Paul, 00:34:51.940 --> 00:34:52.740 I beseech 00:34:52.740 --> 00:34:52.980 you, 00:34:53.300 --> 00:34:54.260 I beg 00:34:54.260 --> 00:34:54.980 you to 00:34:54.980 --> 00:34:55.900 present your 00:34:55.900 --> 00:34:58.460 bodies as 00:34:58.460 --> 00:35:00.059 living sacrifices 00:35:00.059 --> 00:35:02.460 that is holy 00:35:02.460 --> 00:35:04.320 and acceptable 00:35:04.320 --> 00:35:05.079 unto the 00:35:05.079 --> 00:35:05.480 Lord. 00:35:06.179 --> 00:35:06.739 And be 00:35:06.739 --> 00:35:07.299 not 00:35:07.299 --> 00:35:08.539 conformed. 00:35:08.840 --> 00:35:09.440 Don't let 00:35:09.440 --> 00:35:10.179 the world 00:35:10.179 --> 00:35:11.059 squeeze you 00:35:11.059 --> 00:35:11.639 into its 00:35:11.639 --> 00:35:12.039 mode. 00:35:12.420 --> 00:35:13.039 Speak to 00:35:13.039 --> 00:35:13.539 your brothers 00:35:13.539 --> 00:35:14.219 and sisters 00:35:14.219 --> 00:35:14.900 who you are 00:35:14.900 --> 00:35:16.019 passing on 00:35:16.019 --> 00:35:16.679 the street. 00:35:17.639 --> 00:35:18.199 Assume, 00:35:18.360 --> 00:35:19.199 since America 00:35:19.199 --> 00:35:20.159 says that it's 00:35:20.159 --> 00:35:21.299 80% Christian, 00:35:21.639 --> 00:35:22.340 that every time 00:35:22.340 --> 00:35:22.980 you're passing 00:35:22.980 --> 00:35:23.420 someone, 00:35:23.699 --> 00:35:24.279 he is a 00:35:24.279 --> 00:35:24.659 Christian. 00:35:24.820 --> 00:35:25.460 So why do 00:35:25.460 --> 00:35:26.019 we walk 00:35:26.019 --> 00:35:26.719 past each 00:35:26.719 --> 00:35:27.039 other? 00:35:27.440 --> 00:35:27.759 We can, 00:35:28.059 --> 00:35:28.699 maybe God's 00:35:28.699 --> 00:35:29.279 not calling 00:35:29.280 --> 00:35:29.820 us to go 00:35:29.820 --> 00:35:30.200 through the 00:35:30.200 --> 00:35:30.940 refuse and 00:35:30.940 --> 00:35:32.040 rescue babies, 00:35:32.260 --> 00:35:33.019 but at least 00:35:33.019 --> 00:35:33.680 we can show 00:35:33.680 --> 00:35:34.600 the glory of 00:35:34.600 --> 00:35:35.519 God by 00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:35.920 saying, 00:35:36.040 --> 00:35:36.320 hello, 00:35:36.580 --> 00:35:37.040 how are 00:35:37.040 --> 00:35:37.420 you? 00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:38.940 And embracing 00:35:38.940 --> 00:35:39.860 people with 00:35:39.860 --> 00:35:41.100 the Christian 00:35:41.100 --> 00:35:41.860 kiss and 00:35:41.860 --> 00:35:42.660 a hug. 00:35:43.660 --> 00:35:44.340 And be 00:35:44.340 --> 00:35:45.140 transformed 00:35:45.140 --> 00:35:46.900 by the 00:35:46.900 --> 00:35:47.880 renewing of 00:35:47.880 --> 00:35:48.620 your mind. 00:35:49.720 --> 00:35:50.260 As I come 00:35:50.260 --> 00:35:50.540 to the 00:35:50.540 --> 00:35:51.019 close, 00:35:52.420 --> 00:35:53.820 there's a 00:35:53.820 --> 00:35:56.000 story of 00:35:56.000 --> 00:35:56.360 a young 00:35:56.360 --> 00:35:58.620 man who 00:35:58.619 --> 00:35:59.219 goes to 00:35:59.219 --> 00:35:59.799 visit a 00:35:59.799 --> 00:36:00.460 hermit in 00:36:00.460 --> 00:36:01.019 the desert. 00:36:02.359 --> 00:36:02.940 And he 00:36:02.940 --> 00:36:03.799 finds this 00:36:03.799 --> 00:36:04.779 monk sitting 00:36:04.779 --> 00:36:05.859 outside his 00:36:05.859 --> 00:36:06.420 cave, 00:36:07.819 --> 00:36:08.599 enjoying the 00:36:08.599 --> 00:36:09.059 sun, 00:36:10.460 --> 00:36:11.079 his dog 00:36:11.079 --> 00:36:12.219 lying lazily 00:36:12.219 --> 00:36:13.380 at his 00:36:13.380 --> 00:36:13.920 side. 00:36:18.799 --> 00:36:19.519 The 00:36:19.519 --> 00:36:19.859 seeker 00:36:19.859 --> 00:36:20.519 asks, 00:36:20.880 --> 00:36:21.739 why is it, 00:36:21.859 --> 00:36:22.199 Abba, 00:36:22.859 --> 00:36:24.159 that some 00:36:24.159 --> 00:36:25.659 seek God 00:36:25.659 --> 00:36:26.699 and come 00:36:26.699 --> 00:36:27.099 to the 00:36:27.099 --> 00:36:27.440 desert 00:36:27.440 --> 00:36:27.940 seeking 00:36:27.940 --> 00:36:28.500 God. 00:36:29.420 --> 00:36:29.819 And they're 00:36:29.819 --> 00:36:31.000 zealous in 00:36:31.000 --> 00:36:31.719 prayer for 00:36:31.719 --> 00:36:32.379 a season, 00:36:32.719 --> 00:36:33.779 but they 00:36:33.779 --> 00:36:34.779 leave after 00:36:34.779 --> 00:36:35.719 a year or 00:36:35.719 --> 00:36:36.039 so, 00:36:37.039 --> 00:36:38.679 while others 00:36:38.679 --> 00:36:39.379 like you 00:36:39.379 --> 00:36:39.899 remain 00:36:39.899 --> 00:36:41.639 faithful to 00:36:41.639 --> 00:36:42.440 the quest 00:36:42.440 --> 00:36:43.639 for a 00:36:43.639 --> 00:36:44.199 lifetime. 00:36:45.199 --> 00:36:45.980 The old 00:36:45.980 --> 00:36:46.980 man responds, 00:36:46.980 --> 00:36:48.619 one day 00:36:48.619 --> 00:36:49.159 my dog 00:36:49.159 --> 00:36:49.699 and I 00:36:49.699 --> 00:36:51.519 were sitting 00:36:51.519 --> 00:36:52.280 here quietly 00:36:52.280 --> 00:36:53.019 in the sun 00:36:53.019 --> 00:36:53.579 as we 00:36:53.579 --> 00:36:54.360 are now, 00:36:54.920 --> 00:36:56.360 and suddenly 00:36:56.360 --> 00:36:58.480 a large 00:36:58.480 --> 00:36:59.519 white rabbit 00:36:59.519 --> 00:37:00.420 ran across 00:37:00.420 --> 00:37:01.420 in front 00:37:01.420 --> 00:37:02.059 of us. 00:37:03.260 --> 00:37:03.820 And well, 00:37:03.900 --> 00:37:04.360 my dog 00:37:04.360 --> 00:37:05.179 jumped up, 00:37:06.000 --> 00:37:06.440 barked, 00:37:06.719 --> 00:37:07.740 barking loudly, 00:37:08.199 --> 00:37:09.320 and he took 00:37:09.320 --> 00:37:10.300 off after 00:37:10.300 --> 00:37:10.880 that old 00:37:10.880 --> 00:37:11.280 rabbit. 00:37:12.260 --> 00:37:13.039 He chased 00:37:13.039 --> 00:37:13.619 that rabbit 00:37:13.619 --> 00:37:14.139 over the 00:37:14.139 --> 00:37:15.179 hills with 00:37:15.179 --> 00:37:15.920 a passion. 00:37:16.980 --> 00:37:18.119 Soon, 00:37:18.260 --> 00:37:18.920 other dogs 00:37:18.920 --> 00:37:19.840 joined in 00:37:19.840 --> 00:37:20.780 and attracted, 00:37:20.980 --> 00:37:21.260 they were 00:37:21.260 --> 00:37:22.159 attracted by 00:37:22.159 --> 00:37:23.320 his barking. 00:37:24.340 --> 00:37:24.880 What a 00:37:24.880 --> 00:37:25.360 sight it 00:37:25.360 --> 00:37:25.960 was. 00:37:26.880 --> 00:37:27.300 As the 00:37:27.300 --> 00:37:27.740 pack of 00:37:27.740 --> 00:37:28.539 dogs ran 00:37:28.539 --> 00:37:29.019 barking 00:37:29.019 --> 00:37:29.760 across the 00:37:29.760 --> 00:37:30.079 creek, 00:37:30.960 --> 00:37:31.460 up a 00:37:31.460 --> 00:37:31.820 stony 00:37:31.820 --> 00:37:32.719 embankment, 00:37:33.340 --> 00:37:33.480 through 00:37:33.480 --> 00:37:34.380 thickets and 00:37:34.380 --> 00:37:34.860 thorns, 00:37:35.019 --> 00:37:35.659 and gradually, 00:37:36.440 --> 00:37:36.840 however, 00:37:37.139 --> 00:37:37.840 one by 00:37:37.840 --> 00:37:38.320 one, 00:37:39.360 --> 00:37:39.820 the other 00:37:39.820 --> 00:37:40.519 dogs dropped 00:37:40.519 --> 00:37:41.340 out of 00:37:41.340 --> 00:37:42.059 pursuit. 00:37:42.059 --> 00:37:45.639 discouraged 00:37:45.639 --> 00:37:47.059 by the 00:37:47.059 --> 00:37:47.639 course, 00:37:48.679 --> 00:37:49.639 and frustrated 00:37:49.639 --> 00:37:50.279 by the 00:37:50.279 --> 00:37:50.799 chase, 00:37:51.699 --> 00:37:52.759 only my 00:37:52.759 --> 00:37:53.340 dog 00:37:53.340 --> 00:37:56.980 continued 00:37:56.980 --> 00:37:58.039 hotly to 00:37:58.039 --> 00:37:58.900 pursue the 00:37:58.900 --> 00:37:59.599 white rabbit. 00:38:01.279 --> 00:38:01.960 The 00:38:01.960 --> 00:38:02.440 confused 00:38:02.440 --> 00:38:03.000 young man 00:38:03.000 --> 00:38:03.739 asked what 00:38:03.739 --> 00:38:04.199 many of you 00:38:04.199 --> 00:38:04.579 may be 00:38:04.579 --> 00:38:04.920 thinking, 00:38:05.559 --> 00:38:06.920 what is the 00:38:06.920 --> 00:38:07.519 connection 00:38:07.519 --> 00:38:09.119 between the 00:38:09.119 --> 00:38:09.900 white rabbit 00:38:09.900 --> 00:38:10.960 and the 00:38:10.960 --> 00:38:11.579 quest for 00:38:11.579 --> 00:38:12.139 God? 00:38:13.079 --> 00:38:13.579 The 00:38:13.579 --> 00:38:13.880 hermit 00:38:13.880 --> 00:38:14.460 replied, 00:38:15.360 --> 00:38:16.480 why didn't 00:38:16.480 --> 00:38:16.900 the others 00:38:16.900 --> 00:38:17.639 continue the 00:38:17.639 --> 00:38:18.059 chase? 00:38:19.420 --> 00:38:20.139 The answer 00:38:20.139 --> 00:38:20.820 is, 00:38:21.180 --> 00:38:22.680 only his 00:38:22.680 --> 00:38:24.539 dog had 00:38:24.539 --> 00:38:26.519 seen the 00:38:26.519 --> 00:38:28.099 white rabbit. 00:38:29.039 --> 00:38:29.599 They were 00:38:29.599 --> 00:38:30.440 only attracted 00:38:30.440 --> 00:38:30.960 by the 00:38:30.960 --> 00:38:31.559 barking of 00:38:31.559 --> 00:38:32.119 the dog. 00:38:32.119 --> 00:38:33.579 what is my 00:38:33.579 --> 00:38:33.940 point? 00:38:35.179 --> 00:38:36.440 That once 00:38:36.440 --> 00:38:37.239 you see the 00:38:37.239 --> 00:38:37.579 rabbit, 00:38:37.719 --> 00:38:38.000 you will 00:38:38.000 --> 00:38:38.659 never give 00:38:38.659 --> 00:38:39.279 up chase. 00:38:40.819 --> 00:38:41.559 Many of 00:38:41.559 --> 00:38:42.119 us are in 00:38:42.119 --> 00:38:42.719 church just 00:38:42.719 --> 00:38:43.400 following the 00:38:43.400 --> 00:38:43.980 commotion. 00:38:45.019 --> 00:38:45.639 Many of 00:38:45.639 --> 00:38:45.980 us in 00:38:45.980 --> 00:38:46.519 church because 00:38:46.519 --> 00:38:47.159 others come 00:38:47.159 --> 00:38:47.739 to church. 00:38:48.400 --> 00:38:49.079 Once you 00:38:49.079 --> 00:38:49.539 have a 00:38:49.539 --> 00:38:50.039 real 00:38:50.039 --> 00:38:50.819 encounter 00:38:50.819 --> 00:38:51.539 with the 00:38:51.539 --> 00:38:52.219 living God, 00:38:52.699 --> 00:38:54.380 there's no 00:38:54.380 --> 00:38:55.199 turning back. 00:38:56.019 --> 00:38:56.839 I was a 00:38:56.839 --> 00:38:57.400 JAG officer 00:38:57.400 --> 00:38:57.639 in the 00:38:57.639 --> 00:38:58.199 Marine Corps, 00:38:58.319 --> 00:38:58.900 and I ran 00:38:58.900 --> 00:38:59.259 from the 00:38:59.259 --> 00:38:59.859 calling of 00:38:59.859 --> 00:39:00.440 going into 00:39:00.440 --> 00:39:00.839 ministry. 00:39:01.000 --> 00:39:01.339 I always 00:39:01.339 --> 00:39:01.739 wanted to be 00:39:01.739 --> 00:39:02.039 a lawyer, 00:39:02.119 --> 00:39:02.579 never wanted 00:39:02.579 --> 00:39:02.920 to be a 00:39:02.920 --> 00:39:03.139 preacher, 00:39:03.259 --> 00:39:03.619 never wanted 00:39:03.619 --> 00:39:04.019 to be a 00:39:04.019 --> 00:39:04.400 pastor, 00:39:04.659 --> 00:39:05.179 and I'm 00:39:05.179 --> 00:39:05.659 sitting in 00:39:05.659 --> 00:39:06.299 my barracks 00:39:06.299 --> 00:39:06.759 room, 00:39:07.039 --> 00:39:07.719 and the 00:39:07.719 --> 00:39:08.279 presence of 00:39:08.279 --> 00:39:09.019 God just 00:39:09.019 --> 00:39:09.940 consumed me, 00:39:10.019 --> 00:39:10.539 and I heard 00:39:10.539 --> 00:39:11.519 God say to 00:39:11.519 --> 00:39:11.880 me, 00:39:12.259 --> 00:39:13.500 I am 00:39:13.500 --> 00:39:14.299 here. 00:39:16.400 --> 00:39:17.460 And from 00:39:17.460 --> 00:39:18.099 that point 00:39:18.099 --> 00:39:18.599 on, 00:39:19.119 --> 00:39:20.920 I set out 00:39:20.920 --> 00:39:22.119 to pursue 00:39:22.119 --> 00:39:23.759 him with 00:39:23.759 --> 00:39:24.380 all of my 00:39:24.380 --> 00:39:24.799 heart, 00:39:25.420 --> 00:39:26.219 with all of 00:39:26.219 --> 00:39:27.099 my souls, 00:39:27.539 --> 00:39:28.339 because once 00:39:28.339 --> 00:39:28.779 you have 00:39:28.779 --> 00:39:30.039 seen God 00:39:30.039 --> 00:39:30.559 with your 00:39:30.559 --> 00:39:31.259 heart's eye, 00:39:31.260 --> 00:39:31.300 God, 00:39:32.100 --> 00:39:33.080 if only 00:39:33.080 --> 00:39:34.020 for a 00:39:34.020 --> 00:39:34.380 moment. 00:39:36.220 --> 00:39:36.660 As 00:39:36.660 --> 00:39:37.240 Ephesians 00:39:37.240 --> 00:39:37.840 1.18 00:39:37.840 --> 00:39:38.480 says, 00:39:38.600 --> 00:39:39.180 your eyes 00:39:39.180 --> 00:39:39.480 of your 00:39:39.480 --> 00:39:41.080 heart will 00:39:41.080 --> 00:39:41.740 be enlightened, 00:39:42.680 --> 00:39:43.420 and you 00:39:43.420 --> 00:39:43.900 will seek 00:39:43.900 --> 00:39:44.540 him forever. 00:39:45.440 --> 00:39:46.600 Even in 00:39:46.600 --> 00:39:47.060 the midst 00:39:47.060 --> 00:39:47.860 of divine 00:39:47.860 --> 00:39:48.640 silence, 00:39:49.680 --> 00:39:50.600 you will 00:39:50.600 --> 00:39:51.160 seek him, 00:39:51.600 --> 00:39:52.420 because you 00:39:52.420 --> 00:39:52.960 know that 00:39:52.960 --> 00:39:53.580 he is 00:39:53.580 --> 00:39:54.040 real. 00:39:54.039 --> 00:39:55.039 God 00:39:55.039 --> 00:39:55.340 will 00:39:55.340 --> 00:39:56.039 be 00:39:56.039 --> 00:39:56.579 to be 00:39:56.579 --> 00:39:57.039 God. 00:39:57.039 --> 00:39:57.460 So I 00:39:57.460 --> 00:39:57.840 encourage you, 00:39:57.840 --> 00:39:58.940 Trinity 00:39:58.940 --> 00:39:59.440 Baptist 00:39:59.440 --> 00:39:59.980 Church, 00:40:00.340 --> 00:40:01.340 I encourage 00:40:01.340 --> 00:40:01.739 you to 00:40:01.739 --> 00:40:02.559 follow me 00:40:02.559 --> 00:40:03.619 and follow 00:40:03.619 --> 00:40:04.559 other believers 00:40:04.559 --> 00:40:05.639 in the pursuit 00:40:05.639 --> 00:40:06.139 of this 00:40:06.139 --> 00:40:07.159 awesome God, 00:40:07.599 --> 00:40:08.159 and I 00:40:08.159 --> 00:40:09.099 encourage you 00:40:09.099 --> 00:40:10.159 the next 00:40:10.159 --> 00:40:10.659 time the 00:40:10.659 --> 00:40:11.380 world tries 00:40:11.380 --> 00:40:12.259 to squeeze 00:40:12.259 --> 00:40:12.980 you into 00:40:12.980 --> 00:40:14.019 its mold, 00:40:14.699 --> 00:40:15.400 you're called 00:40:15.400 --> 00:40:15.800 to be 00:40:15.800 --> 00:40:16.380 different. 00:40:17.699 --> 00:40:17.960 Get 00:40:17.960 --> 00:40:18.579 comfortable 00:40:18.579 --> 00:40:20.219 in being 00:40:20.219 --> 00:40:21.000 peculiar. 00:40:21.000 --> 00:40:22.480 get 00:40:22.480 --> 00:40:23.219 comfortable 00:40:23.219 --> 00:40:25.219 not being 00:40:25.219 --> 00:40:25.940 like the 00:40:25.940 --> 00:40:26.559 world. 00:40:27.340 --> 00:40:28.000 We are 00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:28.519 on this 00:40:28.519 --> 00:40:29.539 narrow way, 00:40:29.699 --> 00:40:29.980 but it 00:40:29.980 --> 00:40:30.480 is a 00:40:30.480 --> 00:40:31.099 glorious 00:40:31.099 --> 00:40:31.679 way. 00:40:32.559 --> 00:40:33.079 And I 00:40:33.079 --> 00:40:33.780 don't know 00:40:33.780 --> 00:40:34.539 after 54 00:40:34.539 --> 00:40:35.519 years of 00:40:35.519 --> 00:40:36.219 living, 00:40:37.059 --> 00:40:37.739 a better 00:40:37.739 --> 00:40:38.199 way to 00:40:38.199 --> 00:40:38.800 live 00:40:38.800 --> 00:40:40.519 or to 00:40:40.519 --> 00:40:41.159 die 00:40:41.159 --> 00:40:42.800 than in 00:40:42.800 --> 00:40:43.260 accordance 00:40:43.260 --> 00:40:43.760 with the 00:40:43.760 --> 00:40:44.179 word of 00:40:44.179 --> 00:40:44.579 God. 00:40:45.360 --> 00:40:45.719 Come on, 00:40:45.760 --> 00:40:46.079 let's give 00:40:46.079 --> 00:40:46.539 God some 00:40:46.539 --> 00:40:47.139 praise this 00:40:47.139 --> 00:40:47.480 morning. 00:40:47.639 --> 00:40:48.039 Thank you, 00:40:48.079 --> 00:40:48.400 Lord. 00:40:51.000 --> 00:40:52.000 Thank you.