WEBVTT 00:00:00.969 --> 00:00:03.629 (Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) You know, I'm super excited about this series. 00:00:03.729 --> 00:00:06.110 We've been working, I've been working on it. 00:00:06.190 --> 00:00:12.230 I listened to a series of five talks, probably maybe in August or September. 00:00:12.390 --> 00:00:16.269 And my initial inclination was, let me send this to the whole church. 00:00:16.629 --> 00:00:20.469 And then as I thought about it, I said, well, why don't I just, why don't I just preach it to the whole church? 00:00:20.809 --> 00:00:22.449 And it's adapted. 00:00:23.230 --> 00:00:29.250 The heart though, is that we are going to talk through some pretty difficult spiritual topics. 00:00:29.390 --> 00:00:36.549 I hope that you leave this five part series with encouragement in your battle against sin. 00:00:36.969 --> 00:00:41.229 I hope that you leave with tools and perspectives in your battle. 00:00:41.409 --> 00:00:50.490 And ultimately I hope, I really believe that I've been praying that, that these series of talks and really the scriptures that we look at are going to be powerful enough for you to lean into. 00:00:50.570 --> 00:00:56.570 And then, and then it's going to help you overcome some of the stuff that's plagued your character for years and years and years. 00:00:57.570 --> 00:01:01.030 Certainly not everybody in this room is going to embrace these perspectives. 00:01:01.409 --> 00:01:04.370 I believe not everybody is going to do the personal work. 00:01:05.129 --> 00:01:09.310 And, but, but I do believe that there are some people that will, I believe you can think about it in this, in this church. 00:01:09.409 --> 00:01:11.750 I believe there's some people that are going to listen to these scriptures. 00:01:11.750 --> 00:01:12.870 They're going to write them down. 00:01:13.109 --> 00:01:15.069 They're going to sit with them. 00:01:15.090 --> 00:01:15.950 They're going to pray to God. 00:01:15.969 --> 00:01:17.010 They're going to embrace them. 00:01:17.390 --> 00:01:20.890 And I believe that their lives are going to be changed forever because of it. 00:01:21.469 --> 00:01:24.530 Certainly not the words that I'm saying, but the words that God is speaking. 00:01:25.510 --> 00:01:30.010 You know, you know what's so difficult in our lives and this is a struggle. 00:01:30.129 --> 00:01:42.609 It's this, this tension is that the Bible says, Jesus says that we are set free and, and yet we still do things that are unbecoming of, of Christianity, right? 00:01:43.909 --> 00:01:45.650 The Bible says, you, you've been set free. 00:01:45.790 --> 00:01:48.650 You're, you've over, I overcame the world. 00:01:49.010 --> 00:01:50.569 That's what Jesus communicates. 00:01:50.689 --> 00:01:54.329 And yet for us, we still battle with sin. 00:01:54.409 --> 00:01:55.930 The Bible says you're unchanged. 00:01:56.150 --> 00:01:59.469 You are, if you are a Christian, if you are in Christ, you're not bound to this sin. 00:01:59.590 --> 00:02:02.549 And yet the sin is right there, isn't it? 00:02:03.829 --> 00:02:12.949 You know, in my, in my mom's so my mom passed when I was young and she wrote me a series of journals, not, not, not, maybe not a hundred of them, but there was at least a half dozen different journal entries. 00:02:13.030 --> 00:02:16.969 Some of them were prayers that she wanted me to, to hear her, it was her and God. 00:02:17.069 --> 00:02:21.490 Some of them were just directly to me as I was, as I was five and six years old. 00:02:21.530 --> 00:02:27.169 And she, she commented in these journals and she said, you're, you're smart. 00:02:27.789 --> 00:02:32.650 You know how to read so good at six years old, but I'm concerned in how you look down on others. 00:02:32.889 --> 00:02:36.310 They, if they can't read, they can't do what you do. 00:02:36.389 --> 00:02:37.530 They go a little bit slower. 00:02:38.870 --> 00:02:40.729 You, you, you just, you look down on them. 00:02:40.810 --> 00:02:47.030 You make fun of them, or at least you come back from school and you're wondering how they're not, how they don't, they don't get it. 00:02:47.530 --> 00:02:53.020 You get frustrated at the kids when they're not able to read as, as at all, or as fast as you are. 00:02:54.469 --> 00:02:55.289 It was incredible. 00:02:55.409 --> 00:02:56.509 I'm 33 years old. 00:02:57.009 --> 00:03:00.590 I've been a Christian for over half of my life. 00:03:00.650 --> 00:03:04.909 I've been serving in the full-time ministry since I've been out of college. 00:03:05.090 --> 00:03:13.530 And so I've had 11 years now of, dedicated ministry work where my job is to pray for myself and other people and to spread the gospel. 00:03:13.590 --> 00:03:14.189 That's my job. 00:03:14.889 --> 00:03:16.090 And you know what I still struggle with? 00:03:16.689 --> 00:03:18.189 I still struggle to look down on people. 00:03:21.090 --> 00:03:24.990 How can it be that I've been a Christian for so many years that I've been following God for so many years. 00:03:25.069 --> 00:03:30.750 And yet I, when, when somebody does something where I'm like, that doesn't make any sense when they spend it poorly. 00:03:31.050 --> 00:03:32.610 I'm like, I would have never done that. 00:03:32.629 --> 00:03:37.969 That doesn't make any sense when they, when they make decisions in their parenting that, that have negative impacts. 00:03:38.169 --> 00:03:43.389 And I see it instead of my, my inclination is instead of saying, let me help you. 00:03:43.389 --> 00:03:44.469 Or, Hey, have you thought about this? 00:03:44.509 --> 00:03:47.189 My inclination is to say, wow, that's not my mess. 00:03:47.270 --> 00:03:48.189 I'm so thankful. 00:03:48.229 --> 00:03:48.710 That's not my mess. 00:03:48.729 --> 00:03:50.849 And my inclination is to look down on that person. 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:57.319 When I see people doing stuff with their careers and I'm like, again, that doesn't make any sense. 00:03:57.319 --> 00:03:59.000 Like use your, use your brain. 00:03:59.080 --> 00:04:00.560 I, I look down on them. 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:02.939 How could I, I would never have done that. 00:04:02.939 --> 00:04:05.319 There's no way I could do something like that. 00:04:06.539 --> 00:04:10.479 Just like that six-year-old boy did with the kids who couldn't read. 00:04:11.879 --> 00:04:15.199 My ego is in front of me now, like it is then. 00:04:16.560 --> 00:04:18.220 And I know you've had stuff too. 00:04:19.180 --> 00:04:27.439 I know you, I know you have stuff that has plagued you from, uh, from, from the time that, that you, you understood what was right and wrong. 00:04:27.500 --> 00:04:29.100 I know you have stuff in your character. 00:04:31.819 --> 00:04:38.300 And I know that for some of us, we felt like, man, when you get into the waters of baptism and you're like, I'm a new, I'm a changed man. 00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:39.079 I'm a new person. 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:40.600 I'm not going to struggle with that same stuff. 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:44.500 And then maybe that later that day, you felt like, Oh, what happened? 00:04:44.959 --> 00:04:47.019 I thought, I thought I was a new person. 00:04:47.060 --> 00:04:49.500 How can I struggle with the same things that I struggled with? 00:04:50.399 --> 00:04:53.240 How could it be that Christ gave all for us? 00:04:53.240 --> 00:04:55.620 And yet we still struggle with materialism. 00:04:56.240 --> 00:05:01.040 How can it be that Christ gave himself every day to everyone? 00:05:01.540 --> 00:05:03.259 And yet you're still so selfish. 00:05:05.060 --> 00:05:09.600 How can you serve the God of love and still struggle with, with your purity? 00:05:11.899 --> 00:05:19.959 How is it that we serve a God who gives peace that transcends understanding and yet you're still anxious? 00:05:21.560 --> 00:05:27.139 How can you serve a God who, who never lied to, to you and you still don't trust? 00:05:28.759 --> 00:05:31.319 How have you been a Christian for years and you're still lazy? 00:05:32.459 --> 00:05:38.459 How can, how can, how can you serve a God who fasted for 40 days and nights and you still struggle with gluttony? 00:05:39.399 --> 00:05:43.579 How could Jesus go on a cross and you still struggle with your forgiveness? 00:05:46.040 --> 00:05:52.839 How could the King of heaven and earth come into this life into his creation and be subject to all of it? 00:05:53.180 --> 00:05:56.600 And we still struggle with pride there. 00:05:56.680 --> 00:06:05.339 There's a tension that, that I hope that you feel into what God calls us and who we are and, and yet to what we struggle with. 00:06:05.339 --> 00:06:07.379 And I think I've heard it so many times on Sunday. 00:06:07.480 --> 00:06:13.600 One of these two things, either you are a wretched sinner and there's no hope or God sets you free. 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:16.180 So live like it, go do your thing. 00:06:16.279 --> 00:06:21.319 And this, I hope, I hope you follow us through these, these next five weeks. 00:06:21.459 --> 00:06:28.060 I hope to marry these two concepts together, just like the Bible wants to marry these two concepts together. 00:06:28.720 --> 00:06:33.620 And I believe with my whole heart that somebody's life is going to be changed through these talks. 00:06:33.779 --> 00:06:35.879 Again, it's not, it's not, not my words. 00:06:35.980 --> 00:06:44.160 If anything, my words water down what scripture is communicating, but it's going to be the Bible that's going to help you along your, along the road in the battle against yourself. 00:06:44.639 --> 00:06:46.560 And so this is why we call it overcoming me. 00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:52.279 The first point is we're going to look at the, we're going to look at kind of four, four sections. 00:06:52.300 --> 00:06:53.399 We're going to look at the bondage of sin. 00:06:53.959 --> 00:06:55.579 We're going to look at the freedom from Christ. 00:06:55.720 --> 00:06:58.420 We're going to identify some of the tension between the two. 00:06:58.759 --> 00:07:01.519 And then we're going to look forward to the hope that we have in Jesus. 00:07:01.699 --> 00:07:01.879 Amen. 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:03.139 Very good. 00:07:03.860 --> 00:07:05.420 Let's go over to Romans seven. 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:12.379 A lot of our text over this, over this series is going to be Romans seven and eight. 00:07:12.660 --> 00:07:16.019 And there's, there's great encouragement that we can pull from this. 00:07:16.040 --> 00:07:27.980 There's some really intense theological theological undertakings that, you know, as you, as we begin to learn this idea of grace and as we begin to learn the sin, we, we just get to see the humanity. 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:31.899 I've heard this scripture preached even in our fellowship of churches and I've heard it preached. 00:07:33.100 --> 00:07:34.740 Well, I've heard it preached incorrectly. 00:07:35.100 --> 00:07:41.439 And we're talking right now, this is Romans seven, and this is Paul talking about his struggles as a Christian. 00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:45.279 This is the greatest, perhaps the greatest Christian that ever walked this earth, right? 00:07:45.339 --> 00:07:55.819 He went from persecuting Christians, being witness to their death and approving of their death to, to being somebody who planted so many churches and who, who lived a life. 00:07:55.920 --> 00:07:57.259 He wrote a lot of our New Testament. 00:07:57.420 --> 00:07:59.740 He lived a life that was worthy of the calling. 00:07:59.819 --> 00:08:01.939 And yet let's read about his struggle. 00:08:02.019 --> 00:08:04.100 We're going to read 14 through 25. 00:08:05.500 --> 00:08:12.740 It says, we know that the law is spiritual, but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:18.680 I do not understand what I do for what I want to do. 00:08:18.779 --> 00:08:23.180 I do not do, but what I hate I do. 00:08:24.180 --> 00:08:29.620 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree the law is good as it is. 00:08:29.660 --> 00:08:37.418 It is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me for, I know that good itself does not dwell in me. 00:08:37.678 --> 00:08:39.158 That is in my sinful nature. 00:08:39.960 --> 00:08:42.879 For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 00:08:43.659 --> 00:08:46.580 And everybody who's ever been a Christian says, amen. 00:08:47.720 --> 00:08:52.860 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do. 00:08:53.159 --> 00:08:54.240 This I keep on doing. 00:08:56.000 --> 00:09:01.100 Now, if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:03.320 So I find this law at work. 00:09:03.799 --> 00:09:06.240 Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:20.120 For my inner being, I delight in God's law, but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 00:09:21.039 --> 00:09:22.259 What a wretched man I am. 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:26.019 Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 00:09:26.539 --> 00:09:30.059 Thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ, our Lord. 00:09:30.500 --> 00:09:37.299 So then I myself, in my mind, am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature, a slave to the law of sin. 00:09:39.789 --> 00:09:42.169 This is the greatest Christian who ever lived. 00:09:43.169 --> 00:09:49.850 And he is painting the struggle against sin to be something that we can all understand and we all sit with. 00:09:49.889 --> 00:09:51.950 And we want to do what's good. 00:09:52.049 --> 00:09:56.070 And maybe you woke up this morning and you said, you know what I'm going to do? 00:09:56.789 --> 00:09:58.309 Maybe you went to bed last night. 00:09:58.350 --> 00:10:01.450 You said, I'm going to wake up early and I'm going to read the Bible before I get to church. 00:10:01.950 --> 00:10:03.889 And then you slept in. 00:10:04.730 --> 00:10:10.990 Maybe you said going into this year, you said, I am going to give up this sin. 00:10:11.049 --> 00:10:11.730 I'm going to make a decision. 00:10:11.850 --> 00:10:12.789 I'm setting this pattern. 00:10:13.009 --> 00:10:13.990 And now it's day five. 00:10:14.049 --> 00:10:15.590 And you're like, well, maybe not on the weekends. 00:10:16.669 --> 00:10:18.649 Maybe you've set stuff. 00:10:18.690 --> 00:10:21.490 And how many times have we said, we're not going to do this anymore. 00:10:21.529 --> 00:10:23.590 I'm going to turn away from my anger. 00:10:23.690 --> 00:10:25.169 I am not going to gossip. 00:10:25.350 --> 00:10:33.149 And yet when somebody gets on your nerves or somebody does something that you need to tell somebody else, how many times have we said, we're not, we're done with it. 00:10:33.269 --> 00:10:34.070 We're done with sin. 00:10:34.149 --> 00:10:36.970 And yet we still find ourselves struggling with it. 00:10:39.059 --> 00:10:46.820 And every, every Christian who's ever lived, here's this scripture and, and, and we embrace it because it's the reality. 00:10:46.820 --> 00:10:54.000 This is so difficult, uh, you know, in this life, again, this, the greatest Christian is talking and he's, and he's sharing his struggles. 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:56.000 And we, we identify those. 00:10:57.840 --> 00:11:03.460 He talks about, uh, this, the law of sin to be like, this is just a law. 00:11:03.639 --> 00:11:08.580 Like there's, there's a struggle that we have on a day-to-day basis to say no to sin. 00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:09.299 This has even helped. 00:11:09.419 --> 00:11:18.179 This has helped me in my understanding of, uh, of sin because I, for years, I'm like, I, I guess if the Bible says it, we can say no to sin. 00:11:18.259 --> 00:11:25.340 And, and in some ways the answer is yes, we can, but, but it's, it's not through, uh, it's not through our own doing. 00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:27.500 It's only, only by the grace of God. 00:11:27.519 --> 00:11:33.259 You know, there, the amazing thing is there are things in your character that, that perhaps you struggled with years ago that you no longer struggle with. 00:11:33.320 --> 00:11:34.879 And that's by the grace of God, is it not? 00:11:35.500 --> 00:11:42.279 This, anybody who's overcome, uh, any, any facet of sin and truly overcome it is not going to give themselves credit. 00:11:42.379 --> 00:11:43.320 They're going to give God credit. 00:11:43.740 --> 00:11:54.679 You talk to somebody who, uh, went from living a life of drunkenness or deceit and you talk to them now and they'll tell you if they've really repented, they'll tell you it's, it's by the grace of God. 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:56.279 Did you, you did a lot of things though. 00:11:56.340 --> 00:11:57.139 You had to set up. 00:11:57.240 --> 00:12:06.240 Yeah, I did some of that, but it's by the grace of God because anyone who's repented, truly repented, overcome sin understands we can't do anything by ourselves. 00:12:06.460 --> 00:12:09.100 Like there's, there's no hope to overcome sin without Jesus. 00:12:09.220 --> 00:12:12.000 And this is what, this is what Paul is talking about then. 00:12:17.350 --> 00:12:26.149 The, uh, the, the, the other side of this is, is something that's, that's difficult as well, uh, because there's this freedom in Christ. 00:12:26.210 --> 00:12:36.029 And so on one hand, uh, if, if we said, amen, let's pray, you'd leave, you should leave feeling pretty discouraged at what we, what we just talked about because, uh, what's the point? 00:12:36.149 --> 00:12:40.649 I mean, we just, we talked about sin and we talked about how there's no, there's no good inside of us. 00:12:41.210 --> 00:12:42.690 This it's hopeless then, right? 00:12:42.690 --> 00:12:43.990 Like there's, there's no hope. 00:12:44.049 --> 00:12:45.250 And so what's the point of trying? 00:12:45.610 --> 00:12:50.309 And I don't want you to leave feeling that because there's freedom that's promised from Christ. 00:12:50.370 --> 00:12:52.509 And there's a, there's many scriptures that we could look at. 00:12:52.669 --> 00:12:54.509 We're just going to look at a couple. 00:12:54.889 --> 00:13:00.350 Um, these are really difficult for you to read, but it's in Romans six and then John eight. 00:13:00.629 --> 00:13:03.450 Uh, so we'll, uh, we'll, I'll read Romans six. 00:13:03.549 --> 00:13:07.509 If you want to go to John eight, that'd probably be, that'd probably be better, a better use of your time. 00:13:07.529 --> 00:13:08.690 I'm going to read Romans six. 00:13:09.029 --> 00:13:13.149 This is before, uh, before Paul talks about the struggle. 00:13:13.289 --> 00:13:20.830 He says, for, we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with that. 00:13:20.889 --> 00:13:25.509 We should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. 00:13:26.629 --> 00:13:35.730 Right before that, Paul talks about this, uh, this baptism, uh, this baptism being the participation in Jesus's death, burial, and then resurrection. 00:13:35.730 --> 00:13:44.710 And he says that if you've died then in that way and through, through baptism, if you've died, then you also killed off your old self, the done away with sin. 00:13:44.730 --> 00:13:45.809 And so we would read that. 00:13:45.809 --> 00:13:52.450 And if all that we had was that scripture, we might leave feeling pretty again, like, man, we must not have gotten baptized. 00:13:52.690 --> 00:13:53.629 Like, like what, what's the point? 00:13:53.710 --> 00:13:56.610 Like I still am struggling with, with this sin. 00:13:57.490 --> 00:14:00.269 Anyone who has died has been set free from sin. 00:14:01.909 --> 00:14:03.610 Let's go over to John eight. 00:14:03.690 --> 00:14:08.309 If you're, if you're there, uh, if you're there already, if not, just, just listen, listen up again. 00:14:08.370 --> 00:14:11.690 All of these scriptures, I were, there's a bunch of scriptures we're going to look at. 00:14:11.769 --> 00:14:16.450 There's more that we're not going to look at that I'm going to put on the thread app. 00:14:17.610 --> 00:14:18.889 Uh, there's a, there's a few new faces. 00:14:19.070 --> 00:14:25.330 If you are interested, um, we, we use, uh, this app that, uh, there's, it's a kind of like a Bible study app. 00:14:25.370 --> 00:14:25.710 Basically. 00:14:25.710 --> 00:14:30.269 A lot of times there's some podcasts, uh, but for this series, there won't be any podcasts. 00:14:30.370 --> 00:14:35.669 They'll just be basically additional texts that you can read a bunch of scriptures for you to look at and refer to. 00:14:35.909 --> 00:14:38.929 Uh, if you, uh, if you have the information for that, great. 00:14:39.149 --> 00:14:43.509 If you, if you need the information for that, just talk to me, but it'll be up by the end of tonight. 00:14:43.509 --> 00:14:51.250 Um, some of these scriptures for you to look back on, uh, it's in John eight and 30, starting in verse 31, use the scripture all the time. 00:14:51.269 --> 00:14:56.690 Uh, maybe, maybe one of the first, one of the first Bible studies you looked at, I bet you, uh, had the scripture in it. 00:14:56.690 --> 00:14:58.110 It says to the Jews who had believed them. 00:14:58.649 --> 00:15:01.330 Jesus said, if you hold them, my teaching, you are really my disciples. 00:15:01.809 --> 00:15:04.129 Then you'll know the truth and the truth will set you free. 00:15:05.169 --> 00:15:05.929 They answered him. 00:15:05.970 --> 00:15:08.289 We are Abraham's descendants that have never been slaves of anyone. 00:15:08.350 --> 00:15:09.929 How can you say that we should be set free? 00:15:10.669 --> 00:15:11.870 Jesus replied very truly. 00:15:12.029 --> 00:15:14.309 I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 00:15:14.850 --> 00:15:19.870 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 00:15:20.009 --> 00:15:22.529 So if the sun sets you free, you will be free. 00:15:22.649 --> 00:15:23.049 Indeed. 00:15:26.990 --> 00:15:28.029 We read the scripture. 00:15:28.149 --> 00:15:29.789 We say, Jesus has set us free. 00:15:29.970 --> 00:15:31.570 That's what he went on the cross and he set us free. 00:15:31.610 --> 00:15:38.090 And so there's, there's this, this, uh, this understanding that we have the opportunity then like Jesus set us free. 00:15:38.129 --> 00:15:39.669 He promised he's going to set us free. 00:15:39.669 --> 00:15:40.990 He set us free. 00:15:41.110 --> 00:15:45.389 And then years later in Romans, when it's written, he, Paul says, no, we understand. 00:15:45.470 --> 00:15:52.070 Like we, we were set free from sin and, and yet we're still, we're still bound to it somehow. 00:15:52.169 --> 00:15:52.529 Right. 00:15:55.009 --> 00:15:57.629 There's, there's this, this unresolved tension. 00:15:57.629 --> 00:15:59.409 And I don't want you to leave again. 00:15:59.409 --> 00:16:04.649 If you tune out right now, you might leave feeling like one, there's no hope, but two, what am I to do? 00:16:04.730 --> 00:16:08.370 Like if ever, if this is the natural state of everyone, then what's the point. 00:16:08.490 --> 00:16:10.309 And that's not where I want us to leave. 00:16:10.409 --> 00:16:19.490 That's not what the Bible, uh, that's not what the Bible communicates because this, this tension, uh, is, is something that we can see all over the Bible. 00:16:19.629 --> 00:16:24.750 And it's the hope that I want you to sit with and embrace and love. 00:16:24.750 --> 00:16:27.789 And this is, this should give you some faith to keep on going. 00:16:27.830 --> 00:16:35.230 It's that God has no problem declaring us free from sin before we have learned to live free from sin. 00:16:37.539 --> 00:16:39.039 God has no problem. 00:16:39.159 --> 00:16:46.679 You see it all over the Bible that God calls people that are not people that are before anybody sees that they can be that way. 00:16:47.399 --> 00:16:50.679 And so you say, how can I live a pure life? 00:16:50.740 --> 00:16:52.320 And God says, no, no, no, you can live up. 00:16:52.360 --> 00:16:53.419 I see you as pure. 00:16:53.860 --> 00:16:58.100 So how can I live a life with no deceit and no lying on my tongue? 00:16:58.159 --> 00:16:59.820 And God says, no, I see you that way. 00:17:00.039 --> 00:17:01.940 I'm calling you free from that stuff. 00:17:02.340 --> 00:17:08.140 How can I live a life that is not anxious, that is full of peace, that is trusting in the Lord. 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:10.200 And God says, no, no, no, how can I know you? 00:17:10.338 --> 00:17:11.980 I see you in that way. 00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:16.598 God calls things that are not things that are before they happen. 00:17:16.700 --> 00:17:22.559 I'm not just telling you that Abraham was called the father of many nations before he even had a child. 00:17:24.140 --> 00:17:29.799 Peter was told you will be a rock before he knew how to stand on his own two feet. 00:17:31.339 --> 00:17:36.359 The disciples were called fishers of men when they still smelled like fish. 00:17:38.299 --> 00:17:43.279 Moses was called a great leader after he had deserted his people. 00:17:44.660 --> 00:17:49.799 Gideon was called a mighty warrior when he was still scared and not trusting in the Lord. 00:17:51.220 --> 00:17:54.259 David was called king when he was still tending sheep. 00:17:56.569 --> 00:18:05.490 And so we shouldn't be surprised then that we serve a God who calls us free from sin, although we've not yet learned to live free from sin. 00:18:10.119 --> 00:18:14.859 This tension should give us some hope. 00:18:15.500 --> 00:18:20.299 There should be some joy then as we walk about our day to day lives that God has called you free. 00:18:20.539 --> 00:18:23.900 We've not learned how to live free, but we're trying to then. 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:24.920 There's an obligation. 00:18:25.220 --> 00:18:37.740 The other thing that it's talked about, and this is again, I'll add this on the app, but in 2 Corinthians 5, it says that you are a new creation. 00:18:39.140 --> 00:18:43.339 And so because you're a new creation, Christ's love should compel you. 00:18:43.960 --> 00:18:50.000 There shouldn't be this understanding that Jesus set us free, calls us free, and so now we just go about our day to day life. 00:18:50.099 --> 00:18:50.319 No, no, no. 00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:57.299 The Bible says if you're viewing God's love in the right way, that you should have no other choice but to live for him. 00:18:58.759 --> 00:19:00.700 Galatians 5 says the same thing. 00:19:00.779 --> 00:19:05.539 It says Christ, he sets you free, and so you have an obligation then to stand firm. 00:19:06.839 --> 00:19:10.359 So my encouragement, like what are we going to do with all of this? 00:19:10.740 --> 00:19:12.440 My encouragement is to stand firm. 00:19:13.579 --> 00:19:19.940 My encouragement is to fight and to struggle and to work on yourself. 00:19:20.539 --> 00:19:29.859 Certainly there are things outside of your control, but there's so much, even as I'm talking, I believe that each of us, we know that there's this thing. 00:19:34.049 --> 00:19:38.630 The goal is not to play patty cake with your sin. 00:19:38.730 --> 00:19:40.690 The goal is not to play patty cake here on Sunday. 00:19:40.829 --> 00:19:43.609 It's not to play, just to play church throughout our week. 00:19:43.690 --> 00:19:46.210 The goal is to fight and to succeed. 00:19:50.039 --> 00:20:01.160 You know, it's amazing as you see so many of the directions that the Bible gives regarding ourselves, it paints it to be a pretty big struggle. 00:20:01.539 --> 00:20:11.759 Our undertaking against sin is not seen as something that we just work for it a little bit and it's done, or we spend a little bit of energy and we figure it out and then we're enlightened. 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:13.519 That's not what the Bible says at all. 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:19.420 In Luke 9, it says whoever wants to be my disciple must deny yourself and take up your cross. 00:20:19.980 --> 00:20:29.299 Luke 14, this is going to fly in the face of so much of what the modern society is telling you it says, if you don't hate your own life, you can't be a disciple. 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:37.660 In Galatians 5, it says those who belong to Christ, you crucify yourself. 00:20:38.859 --> 00:20:45.920 One of the more, one of the most powerful scriptures on the topic of fighting against sin, let's go to 1 Corinthians 9. 00:20:49.109 --> 00:20:58.569 The language of learning to live free from sin is to struggle and to fight and to pursue righteousness. 00:20:58.809 --> 00:21:01.089 This is what's communicated. 00:21:01.230 --> 00:21:10.009 It says in 1 Corinthians 9, in verse 24, don't you know that in a race, all the runners run, but only one gets the prize. 00:21:10.910 --> 00:21:13.369 Run in such a way as to get the prize. 00:21:14.369 --> 00:21:16.950 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. 00:21:17.029 --> 00:21:21.869 They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 00:21:22.170 --> 00:21:22.890 Listen up here. 00:21:23.910 --> 00:21:26.269 Therefore, I do not run like someone running aimlessly. 00:21:27.150 --> 00:21:29.789 I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 00:21:30.690 --> 00:21:39.650 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I preach to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 00:21:40.950 --> 00:21:44.809 Paul is talking and he's saying that there's a prize. 00:21:44.950 --> 00:21:45.470 What's the prize? 00:21:45.549 --> 00:21:46.750 The prize is heaven. 00:21:46.930 --> 00:21:51.289 And he says, I'm going to pursue that with everything that's inside of me. 00:21:51.349 --> 00:21:52.509 I'm preaching and that's not enough. 00:21:52.829 --> 00:21:54.890 And I'm telling people what the truth is and that's not enough. 00:21:54.970 --> 00:22:00.509 And I'm, I'm helping other people and that's not enough because I still have to strike a blow to my body in order to make it my slave. 00:22:01.190 --> 00:22:09.829 This is, this, this is the, the, the communication of anybody who's overcome sin again is God did it all. 00:22:10.009 --> 00:22:11.569 And then you say, well, what did you do? 00:22:11.869 --> 00:22:14.529 Well, I worked for it, but God, God did it all. 00:22:14.589 --> 00:22:18.930 Like, like the, uh, there's, again, there's this, this tension that I hope you feel. 00:22:18.970 --> 00:22:19.490 It's amazing. 00:22:19.490 --> 00:22:26.910 The, uh, we're called, uh, we're called Israel or God's people, like the new Israel and Israel, the word literally means struggles with God. 00:22:27.150 --> 00:22:32.269 Like we're, we're going to be fighting through this and struggling with this day by day. 00:22:33.710 --> 00:22:36.289 So if you look at your salvation, you say, I'm saved. 00:22:36.450 --> 00:22:38.170 So what do I, what should I do now? 00:22:38.230 --> 00:22:43.950 Well, the goal is to fight against your sin, to resist it, to you wake up in the morning and to fight. 00:22:44.529 --> 00:22:46.130 You wake up in the morning, deny yourself. 00:22:46.230 --> 00:22:49.589 You wake up in the morning, pray, God, let me hate my evil desires. 00:22:49.710 --> 00:22:50.529 You wake up in the morning. 00:22:50.990 --> 00:22:52.549 God, let me love your law. 00:22:52.690 --> 00:22:55.930 You, you go in the middle of your day and it's been a tough, tough start. 00:22:56.130 --> 00:22:59.710 Don't let the tough start mean that you can't pursue righteousness in the afternoon. 00:22:59.869 --> 00:23:01.809 God, give me victory this afternoon. 00:23:01.930 --> 00:23:04.589 God, let me see the struggles before they occur. 00:23:04.710 --> 00:23:06.890 And let me choose righteousness in this way. 00:23:08.839 --> 00:23:09.640 And you're going to fail. 00:23:11.859 --> 00:23:17.279 You're going to fight and you're going to fail and I'm going to fail and we'll have to repent and we're going to have to confess our sin to God. 00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:19.140 And we're going to have to pray for forgiveness. 00:23:19.299 --> 00:23:24.880 And we're going to see in a greater way, how, how lost we are without Jesus's shining light. 00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:28.660 But God is, God is longing for you to fight. 00:23:28.779 --> 00:23:40.859 Whatever you've identified this morning, God is, God is longing for you to, to partner with him in the same way that, uh, that, that my daughter partners with, with me as we play basketball together. 00:23:40.920 --> 00:23:44.500 God is longing for you to partner with him in your battle against sin. 00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:46.720 Here, here's the, the hope here. 00:23:46.819 --> 00:24:12.210 It's in Romans eight says, therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death for what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh. 00:24:12.390 --> 00:24:17.289 God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. 00:24:17.650 --> 00:24:32.859 And so he condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteousness, the righteous, rather the righteous requirement of the law might be met, fully met in us who do not live according to the flesh, but according to the spirit there, there is no condemnation. 00:24:33.779 --> 00:24:46.180 If you are living in Christ Jesus and the church said, amen, that's, that should not mean again, I believe we're understanding that shouldn't mean that there's no condemnation. 00:24:46.240 --> 00:24:46.859 Let me not try. 00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:48.220 Let me not pursue righteousness. 00:24:48.339 --> 00:24:48.660 No, no, no. 00:24:48.660 --> 00:24:49.980 There's no condemnation. 00:24:50.319 --> 00:24:54.779 So I can pursue righteousness with the freedom, knowing that I'm, I'm going to fail and make mistakes. 00:24:54.900 --> 00:25:01.259 You know, as a, as a, as a coach, there's something that, uh, that, that's your, you, you fight between two different things. 00:25:01.299 --> 00:25:02.720 One, there's a right way. 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:05.740 A lot of times to do something on, on a basketball court. 00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:15.819 And yet, if you don't give, uh, the, a long enough leash, maybe you've been in that spot where you've been either on a court or you've been at work and there's not a long enough leash for you to make a mistake. 00:25:16.059 --> 00:25:21.599 And so you feel like, because I don't have a long leash to make a mistake, I'm going to, uh, I'm just not going to try very hard. 00:25:21.960 --> 00:25:22.759 I understand. 00:25:22.900 --> 00:25:25.519 And the, the, the Bible talks about, this is in the parable of the talents. 00:25:25.519 --> 00:25:25.859 Actually. 00:25:25.859 --> 00:25:30.359 He's like the guy, the last one, the one that he condemns, he says, Hey, I know you're a hard man. 00:25:30.440 --> 00:25:33.200 I know that you, you're, you're a strong guy. 00:25:33.279 --> 00:25:33.920 You know, what's going on. 00:25:33.960 --> 00:25:39.140 So instead of using your talents, using your money and making something good, come of it, I just hit it away. 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:44.759 And, and he says, man, you are wicked for us. 00:25:44.779 --> 00:25:47.039 Like there's, there's, there's a really long leash. 00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:50.720 You know, like there's, there's a right way to go about this life for sure. 00:25:51.099 --> 00:25:52.880 There's, there's a long leash though, family. 00:25:52.980 --> 00:25:59.799 I hope that we feel the joy of knowing that you're going to mess up and that God still calls you safe. 00:25:59.980 --> 00:26:01.980 He still, he still says, no, you've been set free still. 00:26:02.259 --> 00:26:04.680 And so you mess up, you're going to mess up later this afternoon. 00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:08.940 And you're going to say, no, no, God, God, I'm also set free. 00:26:09.019 --> 00:26:10.559 God also calls you to be set free. 00:26:10.579 --> 00:26:11.839 And maybe you don't believe it. 00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:13.940 Uh, keep reading the Bible, like, like embrace it. 00:26:13.960 --> 00:26:15.960 I don't mean it in a, like a jokey way. 00:26:16.079 --> 00:26:17.440 I mean, pursue these scriptures. 00:26:17.440 --> 00:26:19.119 Then let's see what the Bible says about it. 00:26:19.180 --> 00:26:19.880 You keep reading. 00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:21.539 And at some point you're going to believe it. 00:26:21.660 --> 00:26:21.819 Amen. 00:26:22.839 --> 00:26:28.640 The last thing that I want to, uh, I want to bring up is that there's a question of how much do I need to struggle? 00:26:28.759 --> 00:26:39.180 That might be, uh, maybe you're not thinking it, but I thought of like, how much do I need to struggle then if there's this battle against sin, I know that I'm never, uh, I'm not going to fully overcome it. 00:26:39.180 --> 00:26:43.140 So then how come, like, how much do I have to struggle what's appropriate to God? 00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:45.819 And this is, this is the highest calling. 00:26:45.900 --> 00:26:49.720 I think we need to fight to live the way that Jesus called us. 00:26:49.960 --> 00:26:56.039 Uh, as we need to fight as hard as, as Jesus fought to maintain righteousness while he was on this earth. 00:26:58.990 --> 00:27:00.289 So we got some work to do. 00:27:00.470 --> 00:27:00.670 Amen. 00:27:01.309 --> 00:27:07.109 Uh, the Hebrews 12, it, he just, there, there's this, the Trump card that's laid down. 00:27:07.190 --> 00:27:12.130 He says in your struggle against sin, you have not fought to the point of shedding your blood. 00:27:12.809 --> 00:27:16.990 And that's true for all of us, except for the one who died on the cross for our sins. 00:27:17.089 --> 00:27:17.230 Amen. 00:27:18.130 --> 00:27:22.910 Please, uh, please follow us for these next, uh, these next five talks, four more talks. 00:27:23.230 --> 00:27:27.869 Uh, I, again, I believe that someone's life is going to be changed forever by it. 00:27:28.009 --> 00:27:28.690 Let it be you. 00:27:28.730 --> 00:27:28.970 Amen. 00:27:29.430 --> 00:27:31.710 Let's close with a prayer and then we'll be dismissed. 00:27:34.759 --> 00:27:38.700 Dear God, Lord, we're just, we're grateful for your scripture. 00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:39.420 We're grateful. 00:27:40.059 --> 00:27:46.640 We're grateful that this is a different type of, uh, this is a different perspective in than anything else that man can create. 00:27:46.920 --> 00:27:48.700 Lord, we don't, we don't understand all of it. 00:27:48.759 --> 00:27:50.920 We only understand a limited amount of it. 00:27:51.380 --> 00:27:57.819 Lord, I want to pray that in each of us, your scripture will, will speak loudly and boldly to us. 00:27:57.880 --> 00:28:08.980 Father, I pray that throughout this week, that whatever, uh, whatever, uh, glimmer of, of hope, God, I pray that you just, you grow that into this shining light. 00:28:09.019 --> 00:28:11.460 Lord, I pray that you will compel us. 00:28:11.539 --> 00:28:13.240 God, I pray that we'll view your love in the right way. 00:28:13.339 --> 00:28:17.160 And because of that, we'll be so compelled to turn away from sin and to pursue righteousness. 00:28:17.640 --> 00:28:24.640 Uh, Lord, I am so, uh, I'm, I'm thrilled to be on this journey with, uh, with my brothers and sisters. 00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:33.660 Father, please allow, uh, allow your spirit to move father pray that we do not, uh, God, I pray that we do not, uh, quench the spirit. 00:28:33.660 --> 00:28:37.160 Lord, I pray that we don't throw fire or throw, throw water on this fire. 00:28:37.220 --> 00:28:41.180 Lord, I pray that we'll allow this fire to, to well up in each of us. 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:43.240 Father, you're so good, Jesus. 00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:44.660 This is in your name that we pray. 00:28:44.759 --> 00:28:52.119 This is in your name that we ask these things, God, we, we have no way to ask these things, Jesus, if you didn't die for us and raise again. 00:28:52.220 --> 00:28:53.359 And so thank you so much. 00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:55.180 Uh, this is in your name that we pray. 00:28:55.299 --> 00:28:55.500 Amen.