Beyond Sunday
Welcome to Beyond Sunday, the Podcast that takes you deeper into the Word of God throughout your week, with your Host Pastor Lee Day.
It's Time to Inspire, Uplift, and dig deeper. Beyond Sunday starts now!
Beyond Sunday
What Controls You
What truly controls your choices—stress, pride, fear, or the love of Christ? Pastor Lee opens 2 Corinthians 5:14–15 with a simple but life-altering claim: Jesus died for all, so those who live no longer live for themselves. From that anchor, we walk through what it means to let Christ’s love hold first place in our hearts and habits, shaping every response at home, at work, and in the community.
We then explore Paul’s next move: stop seeing people “according to the flesh.” If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation. That shift reframes how we view others, cutting through politics, class, and status to two essential categories—saved or lost. The goal isn’t to flatten people; it’s to focus our mission. When love leads, walls fall. Conversations open. Compassion replaces contempt. Pastor Lee’s brackish water metaphor brings this home: if we blend the old life with the new, we create conditions where old sins can still swim. Purifying the stream protects health, growth, and witness.
Anchored in 1 John 4:13–21, we unpack how perfect love drives out fear and why we love even our enemies—because God first loved us. This love is not passive or naïve; it’s active, prayerful, and courageous. Ephesians 6:12 reminds us the real fight isn’t against people but against spiritual forces, which is why spiritual vision matters. See souls, not stereotypes. Minister to the root, not just the fruit. As we yield to the love of Jesus, we find daily opportunities to serve, share, and invite others into the new creation life.
If this message challenged or encouraged you, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review. Tell us: where will you let Christ’s love take control today?
Welcome to this episode of Beyond Sunday, my friends. I am your host, Pastor Lee, and I have the privilege of pastoring the people at Christ Family Outreach Church located here in the one and the only Amelia County, Virginia. A couple of weeks ago, I shared with those at our midweek recharge service something Paul wrote. And right now, we're going to dive deeper into it together, my friends. I want to ask you the following question. What is it that controls you? With that in mind, we're going to dive right into the word of God. So if you got your Bibles, open them up to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 14 and 15. And this is what it says. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this, that one has died for all, therefore all have died. And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and was raised. My friends, that is just packed full of some wonderful information. So much so that I really didn't get to preach on the entirety of what that passage means in the time frame that we had together a couple of Thursdays ago. So, as I mentioned a moment ago, we're just going to dive deeper into it today. The question that I want you to consider, I've already mentioned in the intro of this show, what are you controlled by? What is it that truly controls you? What is it that should be controlling your decisions every single moment of every night of every day? Because our reactions, my friends, our reactions, they're going to be based off of what is controlling us in the moment. So the answer should be what we just read together in 2 Corinthians 5.14 and 15. So let's look at it. Let's look at it again. If you've got your Bibles, here it is. 2 Corinthians 5.14 says, for the love of Christ controls us. And that is powerful, brothers and sisters. That is powerful. For the love of Christ, Paul writes, for the love of Christ controls us. Is it the love of Christ that is controlling you right now in your morning, in your afternoon, in your night, whenever it is that you're listening to this episode, in whatever type of storm or trial, whatever type of mountaintop that you're going through, maybe it's a valley, what is it that is controlling you right now? Have you ever considered that the greatest tool for your ministry in life, your greatest form of outreach to the people around you, in your home, in your friend circle, at your job, out in the community, your greatest tool for your ministry is the literal love of Jesus Christ that's found inside of you. Or at least as a Christian, as a believer, as a follower of Jesus, it's supposed to be, amen. It's supposed to be found on the inside of you. And hopefully people don't have to move a whole lot of things to try to find it. Hopefully it is pouring out of you. Amen. And hopefully it's it's pouring out of my life as well. But to be controlled by the love of Christ means that Jesus has first place. Not second, not a close second, not a distant third. But to be controlled by the love of Christ means that Jesus has first place in your heart. And we, just like Paul, we need to see everything through the lens of God's love. Paul writes to the church and he says that it is the love of Christ that controls us, but but he doesn't just leave it there. He he explains why the love of Christ is in control of them. He says the love of Christ controls us, and this is what it says if you got your Bibles with you. He says the love of Christ controls us because. And I think that that word because is so huge. He he he he gives us what he's talking about and he doesn't just leave us hanging. He says the love of Christ controls us because. Let me tell you why. Let me tell you why. So so I want to go through in this episode the because. I want to go through the because. The reasons, the reasons behind why it is the love of Christ that should be controlling us. The reasons that Paul gives, there's two of them in this particular passage. The love of Christ controls us, Paul says, because, because he he also says this we have concluded, we have concluded this. To conclude means to arrive at a judgment or to come to an end. So, in other words, I know that the love of Christ controls me because X, Y, and Z. And so I have concluded this. I've come to the end of this thought process. I've made a final judgment. I have arrived at my judgment on this. The love of Christ controls my life even through this storm, through this situation, through this circumstance, because, period, my friends. Period. The love of Christ controls me today because, period. Nothing's gonna change me, nothing's gonna move me. I'm gonna remain steadfast. I've made the decision that today, when my feet hit the floor as I get up out of the bed, the love of Christ is going to control me because X, Y, Z. Period. So here we go. We're gonna we're gonna look at these two reasons that Paul mentions. We're controlled by the love of Christ because we have concluded, here it is, he says, we have concluded that Jesus died for us. And because he died for us, we must no longer live for ourselves, but live for Jesus Christ. Can somebody out there say amen right where you are? Maybe you're riding in your car and you just need to say, Amen. Just give a shout, amen. I have concluded that the love of Christ is going to control me because he died for me. And everybody said again, amen. And maybe you're at your job and you need to just give an amen. Somebody in the cubicle next to you is gonna ask, what's going on over there? Share with them, Jesus Christ has died for you. Something very interesting takes place in the next part of the text. In 2 Corinthians 5, 16 and 17, Paul writes this to the church. He says, From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh, even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is passed away. Behold, the new has come. Man, that is some good word right there. The old has passed away, the new has come. We are new creations in Christ. Pulse all people in two categories. And I mentioned this in our recharge service just a couple of weeks ago, and I want to point it out, especially in this episode. Paul sees people in two categories. And in our lives, in our ministries, in our hearts and our minds, we should also do the same. I want to share with you these two categories that Paul sees people in that you and I should be seeing people in as well. Here it is, just two. Saved and lost. When we look at people, those two categories are the only two that we should see them in. Saved and lost. Pastor Lee, where are you going with this? Well, the 16th verse, Paul says, from now on, from now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. That's so good, man. In other words, we're no longer looking at people the way we used to look at people. The waters will no longer be muddied here. Because what's more important about me making excuses for them doing what they're doing is to actually address the issue of salvation. They are either saved or they're lost. So if you're not looking at people in these two categories, and there was a time in my life where I didn't either, then that means you're categorizing them into many different ones. Are they rich or are they poor? Are they Republican or are they Democrat? Oh, I think we're all guilty of that, aren't we? Are they educated or blue-collar? When you put people into categories that are not spiritual, you run the risk of not helping people who need help the most. Now, I'm gonna say that again because it's it's it's it's it's noteworthy. You need to write that down. When you put people into categories that are not spiritual, you run the risk of not helping people who need help the most. Paul says what matters the most is that we see people spiritually. Are they saved or are they lost? The rich need salvation just as much as the poor need salvation. Oh, now look, here's one that people might have have a hard time coming to grips with. Republicans and Democrats need salvation just as much as the other one does. The educated and the elite need salvation just as much as the blue-collar worker does. Can somebody say amen out there to that? You see, we begin to break down walls and we begin to remove barriers when the love of Jesus Christ is what's controlling us. And I promise you, we're gonna begin to see things differently when it is the love of Jesus Christ that is controlling us. And not only will we see things differently, here's why we're gonna see it differently. Because we're going from seeing it according to the flesh and worldly standards to now seeing it spiritually. We're gonna see things spiritually when it is the love of Jesus Christ that controls us. Now, I want you to consider something that Paul writes in the 17th verse. He writes, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is passed away. Behold, the new has come. Oh my goodness. Just welcome the new you. Amen. Welcome the new you that is only found in Jesus Christ as risen Lord and Savior, our Messiah, our Redeemer. The new you. Here's the deal a life sold out for Jesus Christ is a life that has been completely changed. Completely changed. That old you has to be ruined, has to be wrecked, has to be dead. And it cannot, hear this, friends. It cannot remain attached to the new life. That's why the new life is called new. It's called new. At a recharge service a couple of weeks ago, I gave an example of the old trying to remain attached to the new. And the example that I gave is how uh we have rivers that pour into the ocean. And there's a portion of the river that is called brackish. Brackish water is where the freshwater meets the salt water. And the freshwater for a ways up river has a level of salt concentration in it. Although it's lower than the ocean, obviously, of course, but it is still there. There's still some level of salt there. It's called brackish. In some freshwater rivers near where they pour into the ocean or bays, they they've actually seen saltwater fish, even sharks swimming around. Now, those, those, those saltwater fish, they they can live there, but they cannot thrive there. They cannot be healthy there. And that reminds me of old sin that we try to take along with us into our new life. It cannot and it should not be thriving there, but it's still there nonetheless, swimming and lurking somewhere that it does not belong. Now, listen up. You can you could you could check this out for yourself, Google search it, whatever you want to do, but I'm about to give you some interesting facts. Bull sharks, a very aggressive species, bull sharks have been seen 1,000 miles up the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico, or now as people may call it, the Gulf of America. 1,000 miles. Bull sharks. Now, a very interesting fact: bull sharks have been spotted in 14 different American rivers. Again, as I just referenced, bull sharks are very aggressive, very dangerous sharks. And I just want to ask you, as you're listening to this podcast, what might be in your life right now, my friends? What might be in your life right now that does not belong? And is the only reason it can thrive in your life because we still have some brackish areas in our lives. We've still got places in our heart, in our mind that are not pure. They're not holy. We still got some old us left inside of us somewhere that no longer belongs. That the old us, the old mentality, old habits, old pleasures. And the only reason, the only reason they're surviving is because the waters in our lives are brackish. My friends, I am reminded of what Jesus tells the church in Laodicea. You can find it in Revelation chapter 3, beginning with the 14th verse, and it says this, and to the angel of the church in Laodicea, write, the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. I know your works. You are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. I want to take you right now to a passage in 1 John chapter 4, verses 13 through 21. Just pay close attention and listen to what this says. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his spirit. And we have seen and testified that the Father has sent his son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love. And whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love cast out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. Amen. If anyone says, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. Oh, friends, that's so powerful. What is controlling you today? Because according to the 19th verse, we do not love people because of who they are. Okay? Again, talking about not placing people into categories Republican, Democrat, uh, the the wealthy, the poor, the elite, the blue-collar. We're not putting people into categories anymore. Okay. They're either saved or they're lost. Like Paul said, I'm not, I'm not viewing people. I'm not thinking about this. I'm not living this life any longer according to the flesh. This is gonna be all spiritual for me. Do you know why it needs to be spiritual for you? Because the battle, my friends, is located in the spiritual realm. Your enemy is in the spiritual realm. Ephesians 6.12 says, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil, where? In the heavenly places. That's what Paul writes in Ephesians 6.12. Our battle is against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. This is why we can't look at things up according to the flesh any longer. You've got to see it spiritual. And if you're gonna see it spiritual, then you can only put people into two different types of categories. My friends, they're either saved or they're lost. Hear that. They're either saved or they are lost. So, so we cannot getting back, getting back to 1 John chapter 4, 13 through 21, okay? We cannot love people because of who they are or what they do or the title they have or how much money they make or who they vote for or or even what they stand for. Jesus says that I'm to even love and you are to even love our enemies. Let me just give you a quick rundown, just a few verses. Proverbs 25, 21. If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. And if he's thirsty, give him water to drink. Luke 6.27, but I say to you who hear, love your enemies and do good to those who hate you. Romans 12 14, bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. Matthew 5.44, Jesus says, But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. So again, I say our love towards people cannot be based off of the decisions that they make, the actions that they're doing, what political party they line up into, the categories that we're looking at people this day moving forward, my friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ, if you're not already doing it, the categories we've got to be looking at people in is saved or lost. Do you know when you do that, your whole way of thinking is going to change? I guarantee you, I promise you that. When you look at people in those categories, you you may see them for what they're doing, it just gets on your nerves. It gets under your skin. You despise it, and all of a sudden you begin building this wall up against them. And if you're not careful, some hatred starts to creep in because that's what the enemy loves to work with, right? He's he's using this tool, this weapon called hatred. But if you could look at it and say, you know what, two categories. Pastor Lee was talking about how Paul said that we got to be controlled by the love of Christ. I'm no longer looking at this thing according to the flesh. There's two categories here. I'm watching this person that normally might get under my skin, but right now I got to realize that they are not saved. They are not saved. And they are, they are not the real problem here. The real problem here is that they are not saved and that they are being influenced by the power of the evil one, which, by the way, we want to shed light on that. We want to share that, and we want to rescue the unsaved from this wicked world of sin, evil, and darkness. It is a sick, lost, dying society. And here's the good news Christians, we've got the answer. We have the answer. So again, the reason we got to look at this thing spiritually is because it is spiritual. It is spiritual. Again, Ephesians 6, 12, Paul says that that we are wrestling against spiritual forces of evil that are located in the heavenly places. My friends, when we look at it in saved and lost, we've got opportunity. If you're out there listening still, I just want you to say that word out loud. Opportunity. We have opportunity to lead people to Jesus when we see them in just two categories: saved or lost. See, we gotta love them because God first loved us. That's right. You gotta love those people because God first loved you. And I gotta love those people because God first loved me. And it's a whole lot easier to love those types of people when we can look at them in those categories lost or saved. That's the kind of love that should be controlling our lives. Let's pray. Father, I thank you so much for the opportunity to share your word with your people. I pray in the name in the blood of Jesus that today's message has encouraged every listener out there. That you have used it to refresh us, you've used it to recharge us, you've used it to grow us today. That we can begin to look at people in two categories. They're either saved or they're lost, and we can begin to understand this truth that we need to be controlled, as Paul said he was in his letter to the church, Father, that we need to be controlled by the love of Jesus. I want the love of Jesus to be what controls me every moment of every day of every decision of my life. For my marriage, for my relationship with my children, for my own sake, for my ministry. I want it to be the love of Jesus, Father. I want it to be the love of Jesus that controls my entire life. And I pray that over every person that's listening right now, that it is the love of Jesus Christ that controls them. And we ask all this in the mighty, the precious, the washing, cleansing blood of Jesus, and all God's people said. Amen, amen, and amen. My friends, do not miss next week's episode of Beyond Sunday. There's another powerful, powerful interview coming at you. But this particular interview is going to be a little different, my friends. I've got a husband and a wife coming in together to share what God has done and what God is continuing to do in their lives. Stay tuned. God bless.
