Hello, friends.
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Welcome to another
Wednesday night Bible study
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here in Thompsonville, Illinois.
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We want to thank you
for tuning in tonight
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and for joining us
for the continued study
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on how to live a spiritual
life in a natural body,
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and we are continuing
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on the topic of
the transformed life.
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If you like to join us
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by following us with the lesson,
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go to this following
website, asf.3abn.org,
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and download a
copy of the lesson,
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and it's lesson number
13, so you can follow along.
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We began this lesson last week
and we are continuing tonight.
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Hopefully we'll cover
the rest of the lesson,
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but if not,
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we have another broadcast
coming up on next week.
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Invite your friends
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and also family
members to join you,
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and if you are
joining us from a church
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somewhere maybe
on a Wednesday night,
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we'd like to welcome all of you
to this very important topic.
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And now before we do anything,
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before we even
sing our opening song,
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we always like to
begin with prayer.
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So bow your heads with us
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as we go before
the Lord in prayer.
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Heavenly Father, we
thank You for the opportunity
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of studying Your Word tonight.
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We pray that You'll give
us wisdom and understanding,
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that You will
direct our thoughts,
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that You will direct our minds,
that You will help us to see
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and understand in a way
that we do not presently see
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and understand.
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So come into our
midst, Lord, and strengthen us
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to not only receive Your Word,
but give us strength to walk in
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and according to Your Word.
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We pray in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Good evening,
everybody. Good evening.
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We are going to sing
our theme song tonight
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which is Victory in Jesus.
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If you'd like to join
us, you'll hear us singing
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but the words
will be on our screen,
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you won't have it with
you, but if you like the song,
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join us as we go
before the Lord in song.
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I heard an old, old story
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How the Savior came from glory
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How He gave His life on Calvary
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To save a wretch like me
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I heard about His groaning
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Of His precious blood's atoning
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Then I repented of my sins
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And won the victory
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O victory in
Jesus My Savior, forever
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He sought me and bought me
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With His redeeming blood
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He loved me ere I knew Him
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And all my love is due Him
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He plunged me to victory
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Beneath the cleansing flood
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I heard about a mansion
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He has built for me in glory
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And I heard about
the streets of gold
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Beyond the crystal sea
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About the angels singing
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And the old redemption story
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And some sweet
day I'll sing up there
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The song of victory
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Key change.
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O victory in Jesus
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My Savior, forever
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He sought me and bought me
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With His redeeming blood
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He loved me ere I knew Him
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And all my love is due Him
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He plunged me to victory
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Beneath the cleansing flood
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He plunged me to victory
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Beneath the cleansing flood
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Can you say amen to that? Amen.
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Last week, by the
way, let me reiterate.
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Our topic
tonight is "How to live,"
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say that with me,
"a transformed life."
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Now some people are joining
us for the first time tonight
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in the middle of our
topic and did not get a chance
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to see the
beginning of the topic.
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So I want to begin again
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with a few pictures
that I shared last week
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that somewhat links the
mind of many into the things
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that are happening in
our modern generation.
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Few years ago, I'd say
more than a few years ago,
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I think it's may be
about 15 years or so now,
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a toy came out,
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this toy was
called, "Transformers,"
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and not having seen one,
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prior to me seeing a little
kid with one in his hands,
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I was really taken back
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when I saw what he did
with this particular toy,
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and here is a picture of it,
this is a picture of a truck,
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that's how this toy began,
didn't know very much about it,
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but then he sat there
and he manipulated this truck
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and it turned from
a truck into a robot,
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and I thought to myself,
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"How do you get a
robot out of a truck?"
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It didn't even look the same.
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And when I thought about that,
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and I was putting
this topic together,
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I thought, "Who we are now
and who we are going to be,
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it doesn't always appear to be
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exactly how we
are going to end up."
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And the Bible does
say, "It does not yet appear
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what we shall be."
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But I want you to know
that all the components,
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the Lord can look at
our lives in this way
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and transform our lives,
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I wouldn't just
say to be a robot,
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really wouldn't
want to be a robot,
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but the whole
point of the matter
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is we go through
a transformation.
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The Christian life is
one of transformation.
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Another picture
that illustrates it
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even more delightful way
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is the picture of
these butterflies.
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The metamorphosis of a butterfly
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begins as a
caterpillar as it were
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and goes through a stage called,
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does anybody know?
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I just said it.
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Metamorphosis, goes inside,
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begins to transform
from something that crawled
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on the ground to a
beautiful, delicate butterfly
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that flies in the air.
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Now I want to just
tell you in a very real way,
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right now, we are,
don't rush my thought here,
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we are locked to the ground.
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We are stuck to
the earth, but one day,
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by the transforming
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
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we are going to spread our wings
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and fly to
glory, what do you say?
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Amen.
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So in some degree,
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this is somewhat
of an illustration,
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the Lord said that of
man, he is from the dust
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and he is going to
return to the dust.
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But also the Lord
makes it very, very clear
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that this mortal body one
day will put on an immortal body
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and then we will
begin our flight to a place
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that we've never been before.
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So when you think
about the transformed life,
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I want to ask a question
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before I go to
the first question
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on the screen tonight.
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The question is,
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as you look at these
illustrations I gave to you,
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where did the
transformation begin
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in the mind of the person
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who designed that
very interesting toy?
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Where did the
transformation begin?
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I gave you the
answer. I tried to be nice.
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I said,
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where did the transformation
begin in the mind.
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I gave you the answer.
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Want to be very, very
easy on the first question.
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Before this toy was designed,
the person who designed it,
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the concept began
in his mind or her,
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I don't know if
a woman did this.
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So before something
happens in the physical sense,
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it often begins in our mind.
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Now I want you to
walk with that thought
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through the Bible with me.
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Go with me to the
Book of Philippians.
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Go to the Book of Philippians,
because for the Christian,
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the transformation,
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before we see
the outward change,
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it has to begin internally.
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And as we are, when
we come to the Lord,
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there is quite a
difference between...
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Okay, don't go to Philippians,
go to Isaiah, go to Isaiah.
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I know you know your Bible.
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Go with me to Isaiah 55,
want to first start there,
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Isaiah 55, then we
will go to Philippians.
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All right?
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Okay, I am in
Isaiah, I am almost to,
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here we are, okay,
chapter 55, all right?
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And I think some of
you know where I am headed.
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Okay.
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Remember I said the
transformation begins
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in the mind.
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But when the natural person
comes in contact with Christ,
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there is a great disparity
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between how we
think and how God thinks.
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Notice what the Bible
says in verse 8 and verse 9.
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"For My," what
are the next words?
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"My thoughts are
not your thoughts,
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Nor are your ways" what?
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"My ways," says the Lord.
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Verse 9, "For as the heavens
are higher than the earth,
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So are My ways
higher than your ways,
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And My thoughts
than your thoughts."
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So let's go and
put that together.
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God, as high as the
heavens are above the earth,
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His thoughts are what?
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Our thoughts are therefore what?
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Low.
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You will begin to see that trend
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talked about in the Bible.
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Our thoughts are down
here, earthly, earthy.
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Our thoughts are carnal.
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So if we try to use
the thoughts that we had
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before we came to the Lord.
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After we came to the Lord,
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if we did not
replace the way we thought,
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then we would be a person
that says we are transformed
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but in fact we are really not,
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or the transformation
is not taking place.
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One of the
challenges that a Christian has
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is that he or she has
to continue day by day
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to find a way to
affect the way we think.
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If we are not
changing the way we think,
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then the thoughts of God
and our thoughts will always,
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there will always
be a great distance.
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Now I don't want you
to come up with the idea
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or come to the conclusion
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that you are going to
be able to figure God out
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because that's not
what I am talking about.
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I am not saying that,
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"One day, you will
think just like God."
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In fact, one day,
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the mind of Christ
will be transformed in us.
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I am not saying that we
are so deep that one day
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we will be as deep as God,
00:11:06.93\00:11:08.86
but what I am saying is
that God wants our thoughts,
00:11:08.90\00:11:12.20
our earthly thoughts to be
replaced with divine thoughts.
00:11:12.23\00:11:16.94
He wants our carnal thoughts
00:11:16.97\00:11:18.64
to be replaced
with spiritual thoughts.
00:11:18.67\00:11:21.41
That's why the Bible says
spiritual things are what?
00:11:21.44\00:11:24.28
Spiritually discerned.
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In other words, you really
can't learn spiritual things
00:11:25.75\00:11:27.68
if your mind remains carnal.
00:11:27.72\00:11:30.05
So a person may get
baptized and join a church
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or join a fellowship,
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but they don't do anything
beyond that day to grow,
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and they find a year, two years,
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five years down
the road, they say,
00:11:37.76\00:11:39.23
"Well, man, this is
a frustrating battle.
00:11:39.26\00:11:41.96
This is a frustrating life
because I say I am a Christian,
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but I don't
think any differently."
00:11:44.70\00:11:46.87
And you will find
that the Christian life,
00:11:46.90\00:11:49.04
in order for the Christian
to be able to be like Christ,
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we've got to day by
day plant new thoughts
00:11:51.91\00:11:54.61
because it is not natural
for us to think spiritual.
00:11:54.64\00:11:59.61
It is not natural
to think spiritual.
00:11:59.65\00:12:04.05
When you think about
the condition of the world
00:12:04.09\00:12:06.92
in the days before the flood,
00:12:06.96\00:12:10.33
they thought
carnal all the time.
00:12:10.36\00:12:11.93
The Bible says the thoughts
00:12:11.96\00:12:13.29
and the intents of
their hearts were only, what?
00:12:13.33\00:12:15.70
Evil. How often?
00:12:15.73\00:12:17.43
Continually. So
let's ask the question.
00:12:17.47\00:12:19.63
The world in which we live
00:12:19.67\00:12:21.00
with all this media bombardment,
00:12:21.04\00:12:22.50
is the world trying to make
our thoughts pure or corrupt?
00:12:22.54\00:12:26.01
Corrupt.
00:12:26.04\00:12:27.38
Right?
00:12:27.41\00:12:28.74
There's nothing that's
coming in all around us,
00:12:28.78\00:12:31.51
what do we call that?
00:12:31.55\00:12:34.38
I'll just call it
media bombardment.
00:12:34.42\00:12:37.59
The media is not really
saying, "You know what, Larry?
00:12:37.62\00:12:39.49
I am really
concerned about your thoughts
00:12:39.52\00:12:41.22
and I want to make your thoughts
00:12:41.26\00:12:42.59
really, really pure."
00:12:42.62\00:12:43.96
So you cannot rely on the
world to give us pure thoughts
00:12:43.99\00:12:47.40
because the Lord
just made it very clear,
00:12:47.43\00:12:49.86
"My thoughts are
higher than your thoughts.
00:12:49.90\00:12:52.73
My ways are
higher than your ways."
00:12:52.77\00:12:55.90
Now go with me
to Philippians 2:5.
00:12:55.94\00:12:59.41
Philippians 2:5,
to my transformation.
00:12:59.44\00:13:01.81
Okay?
00:13:04.31\00:13:05.65
Okay, here we are.
00:13:09.18\00:13:12.09
And the Bible says
very, very, simply,
00:13:12.12\00:13:16.12
I could actually quote
a verbatim, here it is,
00:13:16.16\00:13:19.06
Philippians 2:5.
00:13:19.09\00:13:20.96
What is the first
word in that verse?
00:13:24.43\00:13:27.44
Say it together.
00:13:27.47\00:13:28.80
Let. Let.
00:13:28.84\00:13:30.17
So let,
00:13:30.21\00:13:31.54
"Let this mind be in you
00:13:31.57\00:13:35.21
which was also in Christ Jesus."
00:13:35.24\00:13:38.11
Now having just read Isaiah 55,
00:13:38.15\00:13:40.58
"His ways are
higher than our ways.
00:13:40.62\00:13:41.95
His thoughts are
higher than our thoughts."
00:13:41.98\00:13:44.29
So in essence, the
Bible is saying here,
00:13:44.32\00:13:45.79
Paul is saying to us that
we could have higher thoughts
00:13:45.82\00:13:49.69
than we used to have,
and we can have higher ways
00:13:49.72\00:13:53.80
than we used to have.
00:13:53.83\00:13:55.16
We can have higher
standards than we used to have.
00:13:55.20\00:13:58.47
But notice it says,
"Let this mind be in you
00:13:58.50\00:14:01.50
which was also in Christ Jesus."
00:14:01.54\00:14:03.00
So what in
essence is being done here
00:14:03.04\00:14:05.07
is the Spirit of God
is molding and designing
00:14:05.11\00:14:07.84
and fashioning our mind
00:14:07.88\00:14:09.21
according to the
pattern of Christ,
00:14:09.24\00:14:12.01
but he is in
essence saying to us,
00:14:12.05\00:14:13.38
"Don't resist the
change. Let it happen."
00:14:13.42\00:14:16.18
And the change would take place
00:14:16.22\00:14:17.79
on a spiritual basis continually
00:14:17.82\00:14:20.16
if every day we expose ourselves
00:14:20.19\00:14:22.19
to those things
that are spiritual.
00:14:22.22\00:14:24.39
So let's look at
question number one
00:14:24.43\00:14:26.03
and see how this happens.
00:14:26.06\00:14:27.73
Question number 10 actually
00:14:27.76\00:14:29.10
which is our first
question for tonight.
00:14:29.13\00:14:32.10
Question number 10.
00:14:32.13\00:14:33.97
All right? And here it is.
00:14:34.00\00:14:36.37
"How does the transformed life
00:14:36.40\00:14:39.01
differ from the conformed life?"
00:14:39.04\00:14:42.41
We're going to
go to Matthew 16:25.
00:14:42.44\00:14:46.95
"How does the
transformed life differ
00:14:46.98\00:14:50.19
from the conformed life?"
00:14:50.22\00:14:52.79
In other words,
the life that Christ
00:14:52.82\00:14:54.62
is creating within us,
00:14:54.66\00:14:57.23
how does that differ
from the world around us?
00:14:57.26\00:15:00.66
All right?
00:15:00.70\00:15:02.03
This is how the
transformation...
00:15:02.06\00:15:03.70
Well, just read the text.
00:15:03.73\00:15:05.07
Matthew 16:25, and
it reads as follows.
00:15:05.10\00:15:08.10
"For whoever
desires to" do what?
00:15:08.14\00:15:11.14
"Save his life will lose it,
00:15:11.17\00:15:13.54
but whoever loses his
life for My sake will" what?
00:15:13.58\00:15:16.24
"Find it."
00:15:16.28\00:15:17.61
So now let's go ahead
and put this together.
00:15:17.65\00:15:19.21
What is text in essence saying
is when you come to Christ,
00:15:19.25\00:15:21.58
if you want to maintain
the way you used to live
00:15:21.62\00:15:23.28
when you came to Christ,
well, it's not going to work,
00:15:23.32\00:15:26.29
because that
life which is carnal
00:15:26.32\00:15:28.29
will ultimately be destroyed.
00:15:28.32\00:15:31.09
That's what in
essence being said.
00:15:31.13\00:15:32.86
If we try to save or
maintain the life that we had
00:15:32.89\00:15:37.23
when we came to Christ,
00:15:37.27\00:15:38.60
that life is
going to be destroyed.
00:15:38.63\00:15:40.14
Nothing carnal
is going to survive
00:15:40.17\00:15:43.07
the destruction of the world.
00:15:43.10\00:15:44.91
So you can't even maintain it.
00:15:44.94\00:15:46.88
We were talking
about that just last night
00:15:46.91\00:15:49.41
and I showed a picture
00:15:49.44\00:15:51.35
of one of the
pictures that motivate me,
00:15:51.38\00:15:53.55
I was thinking ahead of
time, put up my thoughts here.
00:15:53.58\00:15:56.38
If I was thinking ahead
of time I showed you tonight,
00:15:56.42\00:15:58.55
and I was saying
everything on earth
00:15:58.59\00:15:59.92
that we see is temporary,
00:15:59.95\00:16:02.09
but those things that
we do not see are eternal.
00:16:02.12\00:16:05.73
It hasn't even
entered our thoughts
00:16:05.76\00:16:07.10
what God is preparing
for those that love Him.
00:16:07.13\00:16:10.03
So in order for us
to prepare for that,
00:16:10.07\00:16:11.80
we have to be willing to lose
00:16:11.83\00:16:13.17
what we bring to
the table to receive
00:16:13.20\00:16:15.40
what is at the table.
00:16:15.44\00:16:17.07
In other words, we have
to be willing to give up
00:16:17.11\00:16:18.57
what we bring
when we meet Christ
00:16:18.61\00:16:20.78
to what He is
going to give to us
00:16:20.81\00:16:22.44
after we meet Him.
00:16:22.48\00:16:23.85
So it means that we
have to lose our lives,
00:16:23.88\00:16:26.01
lose the way we used to
be in order for us to gain
00:16:26.05\00:16:30.02
the way that God wants us to be
00:16:30.05\00:16:31.62
or that Christ wants
to transform us to be.
00:16:31.65\00:16:33.99
So can you sustain your old life
00:16:34.02\00:16:37.96
and still have
eternal life, yes or no?
00:16:37.99\00:16:39.69
No.
00:16:39.73\00:16:41.06
So can you sustain the
way that you used to live
00:16:41.10\00:16:43.26
and claim to be a
Christian, yes or no?
00:16:43.30\00:16:44.80
No. You can't.
00:16:44.83\00:16:46.17
That's what it's saying.
00:16:46.20\00:16:47.54
If you seek to save
that kind of life...
00:16:47.57\00:16:48.94
So people have questions
like this is how you know
00:16:48.97\00:16:51.04
that the battle is going
on, people say things like this.
00:16:51.07\00:16:55.14
Okay, to join your church,
what do I have to give up?
00:16:55.18\00:16:59.41
That's when you
know they are in trouble
00:16:59.45\00:17:01.95
'cause they are
more concerned about
00:17:01.98\00:17:03.32
what they are going to give up
00:17:03.35\00:17:04.69
than what they
are going to gain.
00:17:04.72\00:17:06.05
If I am standing before God
and I am saying, "Okay, God.
00:17:06.09\00:17:08.79
What do I have to give up?"
00:17:08.82\00:17:10.26
He says, "Wait a
minute. Wait a minute.
00:17:10.29\00:17:11.63
That's the wrong question.
00:17:11.66\00:17:12.99
What do you have to gain?"
00:17:13.03\00:17:14.80
You want to settle
00:17:14.83\00:17:16.30
for this
singular little tiny dot
00:17:16.33\00:17:18.30
called planet earth
00:17:18.33\00:17:19.93
and I have got
hundreds of billions of galaxies
00:17:19.97\00:17:22.44
that I want to give to you.
00:17:22.47\00:17:23.91
So let's talk
about trading here.
00:17:23.94\00:17:25.84
If that were baseball cards,
I give you one baseball card,
00:17:25.87\00:17:28.54
you give me
hundreds of billions,
00:17:28.58\00:17:29.91
come on.
00:17:29.94\00:17:31.28
I give you one dollar,
how many do you give me?
00:17:31.31\00:17:32.65
Hundreds of billions.
00:17:32.68\00:17:34.02
So it's not about
giving up anything.
00:17:34.05\00:17:35.55
It's all about gain.
00:17:35.58\00:17:37.12
It's all about what? Gain.
00:17:37.15\00:17:39.25
And so the Lord
is in essence saying,
00:17:39.29\00:17:40.62
the carnal mind is so
messed up that it cannot glimpse
00:17:40.66\00:17:44.56
that what you
already have is of no value.
00:17:44.59\00:17:49.80
And so often people come to
be a Christian and they say,
00:17:49.83\00:17:52.77
"Well, does that mean
that I can't do that anymore?
00:17:52.80\00:17:58.54
Does that mean I
have to give up that too?"
00:17:58.57\00:18:01.98
And it's really strange.
00:18:02.01\00:18:03.35
That shows you that
there is a battle going on.
00:18:03.38\00:18:05.65
That shows you that the old man,
00:18:05.68\00:18:07.75
that life of sin is saying
00:18:07.78\00:18:09.58
"Come on. Don't kill me now."
00:18:09.62\00:18:12.65
I did a sermon years ago
00:18:12.69\00:18:14.02
and 3ABN made me
change the title.
00:18:14.06\00:18:15.92
It was titled,
"Kill your husband."
00:18:15.96\00:18:18.49
And I started up by
saying this is not a suggestion.
00:18:18.53\00:18:23.37
So they said, "Could
you give it a new title?"
00:18:23.40\00:18:25.50
So I changed it to,
"Till death do us part,"
00:18:25.53\00:18:29.17
which means when
you come to Christ,
00:18:29.20\00:18:31.04
that old man has to die.
00:18:31.07\00:18:33.34
And growing up in the
80s and 90s and the 70s,
00:18:33.38\00:18:35.48
as back then girls used
to call their boyfriends,
00:18:35.51\00:18:38.11
"My old man," you know?
00:18:38.15\00:18:39.75
So in order to come to
Christ that old man has to die.
00:18:39.78\00:18:42.55
That old man of sin has to
be put to death in order for us
00:18:42.58\00:18:45.49
to marry the new
man which is Christ.
00:18:45.52\00:18:48.49
So you can't say
when you get to the altar,
00:18:48.52\00:18:50.13
"Can you imagine
in the natural world,
00:18:50.16\00:18:52.03
the guy turns to
his wife and says,
00:18:52.06\00:18:54.33
'Honey, do I really have
to give all my girlfriends
00:18:54.36\00:18:58.57
before I get married to you?
00:18:58.60\00:18:59.93
I mean, like,
every one of them?'
00:18:59.97\00:19:03.14
And she will look at him
like, "He is out of his mind."
00:19:03.17\00:19:05.71
Or vice versa.
00:19:05.74\00:19:07.68
Do I have to get rid of
my boyfriends, all of them?
00:19:07.71\00:19:12.81
And it sounds unusual,
00:19:12.85\00:19:14.18
but that's what
sometimes people ask,
00:19:14.22\00:19:15.55
those are the
questions they ask.
00:19:15.58\00:19:16.92
"Do I need to
give up this or that?"
00:19:16.95\00:19:19.35
My good pastor C.D. Brooks says,
00:19:19.39\00:19:21.52
"When your life is,"
and I am paraphrasing,
00:19:21.56\00:19:23.39
but he says,
"When you are converted,
00:19:23.43\00:19:26.59
you don't ask those
kinds of questions."
00:19:26.63\00:19:29.33
But when the conversion
is in a battle moment,
00:19:29.36\00:19:31.70
you are wondering,
00:19:31.73\00:19:33.07
"Do I really
have to give that up?"
00:19:33.10\00:19:34.57
Look at the next
one. So here's the point.
00:19:34.60\00:19:36.24
The answer to
question number 10,
00:19:36.27\00:19:37.71
"How does the transformed life
00:19:37.74\00:19:39.07
differ from the conformed life?"
00:19:39.11\00:19:40.64
The transformed life is
your willing to give it up.
00:19:43.65\00:19:48.35
The transformed
life, you are willing.
00:19:48.38\00:19:50.85
There's a show now.
00:19:50.89\00:19:52.22
Oh, it just came...
00:19:52.25\00:19:53.59
Called, "The biggest loser."
00:19:53.62\00:19:55.79
People losing a
whole lot of weight.
00:19:55.82\00:19:57.39
Well, in this
case, you could say,
00:19:57.43\00:20:01.10
"I am a biggest loser.
00:20:01.13\00:20:02.46
I am willing to lose
the world to gain Christ."
00:20:02.50\00:20:06.23
There is a lot to give
up, but does it compare
00:20:06.27\00:20:08.70
to what we gain?
00:20:08.74\00:20:10.07
Absolutely not.
00:20:10.11\00:20:11.57
We are gaining
much more than we lose.
00:20:11.61\00:20:14.51
All right?
00:20:14.54\00:20:15.88
Look at number 11.
00:20:15.91\00:20:17.25
Question number 11.
00:20:17.28\00:20:18.91
"In light of the new life,
00:20:18.95\00:20:20.92
what are we commissioned to do?"
00:20:20.95\00:20:24.02
"What are we
commissioned to do?"
00:20:24.05\00:20:26.92
"In light of the new life,
00:20:26.96\00:20:28.29
what are we commissioned to do?"
00:20:28.32\00:20:31.79
Isaiah 1:16.
00:20:31.83\00:20:34.30
Isaiah 1:16 is
where we are turning.
00:20:34.33\00:20:36.67
I just like the fact
that we open our Bibles
00:20:39.57\00:20:42.87
on Wednesday night.
00:20:42.90\00:20:44.24
We should open it every day
00:20:44.27\00:20:46.04
but this is what we do
it as a family together.
00:20:46.07\00:20:47.94
Wonderful. Wonderful.
00:20:47.98\00:20:51.58
Okay, Isaiah
1:16 read as follow.
00:20:51.61\00:20:53.68
Here it is.
00:20:53.72\00:20:55.88
Together, "Wash yourselves,
00:20:55.92\00:20:59.32
make yourselves" what?
00:20:59.35\00:21:01.02
"Clean.
00:21:01.06\00:21:02.39
Put away the evil of your doings
00:21:02.42\00:21:03.99
from before My eyes."
00:21:04.03\00:21:06.39
And what is the next phrase?
00:21:06.43\00:21:08.40
"Cease to do evil."
00:21:08.43\00:21:10.93
But if you have
your Bibles open,
00:21:10.97\00:21:12.30
I want to read
the continuing verses.
00:21:12.33\00:21:14.54
Verse 17, "Learn to do good."
00:21:14.57\00:21:17.61
So you don't
just cease to do evil,
00:21:17.64\00:21:19.27
but you learn to do good.
00:21:19.31\00:21:21.44
Lot of times people say,
"Do I have to stop that?"
00:21:21.48\00:21:25.08
Well, you know, to
begin something good,
00:21:25.11\00:21:27.15
you got to stop something bad.
00:21:27.18\00:21:28.65
But oftentimes,
00:21:28.68\00:21:30.02
we put so much emphasis
on to things we give up,
00:21:30.05\00:21:32.25
that we fail to put
emphasis on the good things
00:21:32.29\00:21:34.72
that are coming after that.
00:21:34.76\00:21:36.96
And that's why people sometimes
want to hold on with dear life
00:21:36.99\00:21:40.96
to the things
that have brought them
00:21:41.00\00:21:42.33
temporary pleasures.
00:21:42.36\00:21:43.80
But I like the
way that Moses says,
00:21:43.83\00:21:45.43
"I choose rather
to suffer affliction
00:21:45.47\00:21:48.07
with the people of God
00:21:48.10\00:21:49.64
than to enjoy the
pleasures of sin for a" what?
00:21:49.67\00:21:52.81
"Season."
00:21:52.84\00:21:54.18
Some people think
that they are going to be
00:21:54.21\00:21:55.54
gambling all their lives.
00:21:55.58\00:21:56.95
They are not going to be
gambling throughout eternity.
00:21:56.98\00:21:59.18
There are not going to
be any casinos in heaven.
00:21:59.21\00:22:01.58
There are not going
to be any liquor stores,
00:22:01.62\00:22:02.95
any drug stores,
none of that smut stuff,
00:22:02.98\00:22:05.72
all that stuff is
going to be destroyed
00:22:05.75\00:22:07.39
on the fires of destruction.
00:22:07.42\00:22:09.19
So if you think of
holding on to that,
00:22:09.22\00:22:10.89
the text perfectly
fits, Mathews 16:25,
00:22:10.93\00:22:13.29
"We will lose all that."
00:22:13.33\00:22:15.20
So the Lord is saying,
"I have got so much more."
00:22:15.23\00:22:17.40
But he is in essence
saying, "When we come to Christ,
00:22:17.43\00:22:19.37
the desire has to
be cease to do evil,"
00:22:19.40\00:22:22.10
and learn to do what?
00:22:22.14\00:22:23.81
Learn to do good.
00:22:23.84\00:22:25.17
That's why the Lord says
in verse 18, look at that,
00:22:25.21\00:22:27.51
Isaiah 1:18, He wants to
have a conversation with us.
00:22:27.54\00:22:33.38
"Come now, and let
us reason together,"
00:22:33.42\00:22:35.55
says the Lord,
00:22:35.58\00:22:36.99
"though your
sins are like scarlet,
00:22:37.02\00:22:39.82
they shall be as white as snow.
00:22:39.85\00:22:43.06
Though they are
red like crimson,
00:22:43.09\00:22:45.26
they shall be as wool.'"
00:22:45.29\00:22:47.33
And what kind of heart
is he asking us to have?
00:22:47.36\00:22:49.90
Verse 19.
00:22:49.93\00:22:51.27
"If you are,"
what's the next word?
00:22:51.30\00:22:53.64
"Willing and obedient,
00:22:53.67\00:22:57.04
you shall eat
the good of the land.
00:22:57.07\00:22:59.91
But if you refuse and
rebel, you shall be what?
00:22:59.94\00:23:04.05
"Devoured by the sword,
00:23:04.08\00:23:06.21
for the mouth of
the Lord has spoken."
00:23:06.25\00:23:09.48
Don't want to lose it all
but when the children of Israel
00:23:09.52\00:23:13.59
were in the wilderness,
they didn't remember,
00:23:13.62\00:23:16.96
well, I could tell why,
00:23:16.99\00:23:18.76
and that's why it's so important
00:23:18.79\00:23:20.13
when you are a person
00:23:20.16\00:23:21.50
that's called to
preach the gospel,
00:23:21.53\00:23:22.86
that's why it's
vitally important
00:23:22.90\00:23:24.23
that you give a good report.
00:23:24.27\00:23:26.13
See, when Lord sent the 12 spies
00:23:26.17\00:23:28.47
who were the leaders
of the children of Israel,
00:23:28.50\00:23:30.34
when he sent them to
spy out the Promised Land,
00:23:30.37\00:23:32.84
they brought back
what kind of report?
00:23:32.87\00:23:36.41
A false report.
00:23:36.44\00:23:37.78
A bad report.
00:23:37.81\00:23:39.45
They said, "The land
truly flows with milk and honey
00:23:39.48\00:23:42.15
and here are the fruit of it."
00:23:42.18\00:23:43.52
But they minimized the blessings
00:23:43.55\00:23:46.72
and maximized the challenges.
00:23:46.76\00:23:48.79
And what they
failed to realize is,
00:23:48.82\00:23:50.39
here's one of the things
you have to keep in mind.
00:23:50.43\00:23:52.39
If the Lord
promises to bless you,
00:23:52.43\00:23:54.96
He will remove all the obstacles
00:23:55.00\00:23:56.40
so that the blessings will come.
00:23:56.43\00:23:58.40
They thought that
they had to win the battle
00:23:58.43\00:23:59.90
against the Canaanites in
order for the blessings to come.
00:23:59.93\00:24:02.60
So what does that mean?
00:24:02.64\00:24:03.97
That means if you
give your life to the Lord,
00:24:04.01\00:24:06.41
the battle belongs to the Lord.
00:24:06.44\00:24:08.78
Some people say, "I have
been fighting with this habit.
00:24:08.81\00:24:11.25
I have been
fighting with this addiction.
00:24:11.28\00:24:14.15
I have been
fighting with this..."
00:24:14.18\00:24:16.28
That's the problem.
You have been fighting.
00:24:16.32\00:24:19.82
When the Lord says
the battle belongs to who?
00:24:19.85\00:24:23.22
The Lord, you got to surrender.
00:24:23.26\00:24:24.59
The Christian life
is not a life of battle,
00:24:24.63\00:24:26.59
it's a life of surrender.
00:24:26.63\00:24:29.30
Okay.
00:24:29.33\00:24:30.97
Let's look at
question number 12.
00:24:31.00\00:24:32.83
Question number 12.
00:24:32.87\00:24:35.47
So in light of the new life,
what are we commissioned to do?
00:24:35.50\00:24:38.71
Cease to do evil.
00:24:38.74\00:24:40.71
Cease to do evil.
00:24:40.74\00:24:43.14
And number 12, here it is.
00:24:43.18\00:24:45.51
"What did the apostle Paul
00:24:45.55\00:24:46.95
testify concerning
his transformed life?"
00:24:46.98\00:24:51.39
Ooh. This is
quite a revealing text.
00:24:51.42\00:24:54.62
1 Corinthians 13:11.
00:24:54.66\00:24:57.16
Quite a revealing text.
00:24:57.19\00:24:58.66
Really getting down to
the crux of the issues.
00:24:58.69\00:25:00.50
Matter of fact, this
actually breaks it down
00:25:00.53\00:25:02.36
to the three areas.
00:25:02.40\00:25:03.73
It talks about
the three challenges
00:25:03.77\00:25:05.13
that many people face.
00:25:05.17\00:25:07.87
Let me replace the
word many with all.
00:25:07.90\00:25:11.17
Here it is.
00:25:14.44\00:25:16.44
1 Corinthians 13:11.
00:25:16.48\00:25:18.51
Paul says, "When I
was a child, I" did what?
00:25:18.55\00:25:22.42
"Spoke as a child, I
also understood as a child,
00:25:22.45\00:25:26.79
I also thought as a
child, but when I became a man,
00:25:26.82\00:25:30.96
I put away" what?
00:25:30.99\00:25:32.33
"Childish things."
00:25:32.36\00:25:33.76
Now notice the
three things he put away.
00:25:33.80\00:25:36.93
These are the three challenges.
00:25:36.97\00:25:38.63
He put away the way he spoke,
00:25:38.67\00:25:42.40
he put away the way he thought,
00:25:42.44\00:25:45.27
and he put away
the way he understood.
00:25:45.31\00:25:49.44
Those three things, I
want you to get underlined
00:25:49.48\00:25:51.11
that if you get a
chance or even write that down.
00:25:51.15\00:25:52.95
He put away three,
the way he thought,
00:25:52.98\00:25:55.38
the way he understood,
and the way he spoke.
00:25:55.42\00:25:57.92
As a pastor, when
we have new members
00:26:01.79\00:26:03.46
that come from other churches,
00:26:03.49\00:26:05.33
we have got to give them
time to think other ways.
00:26:05.36\00:26:08.23
I have a lot of people
say, "See you next Sunday."
00:26:08.26\00:26:13.44
Because they
thought one way for so long
00:26:13.47\00:26:15.97
that you can't
always be correcting them
00:26:16.00\00:26:18.17
because see you next Sunday,
00:26:18.21\00:26:19.54
I know exactly what
they mean, but what happened?
00:26:19.57\00:26:22.24
The transformation,
00:26:22.28\00:26:23.61
it even changes
the way you think.
00:26:23.65\00:26:26.68
And then
there's some people say,
00:26:26.72\00:26:28.18
"I'll never
ever be a vegetarian.
00:26:28.22\00:26:30.89
Me give up steak?"
00:26:30.92\00:26:33.25
'Cause they can't
think beyond steak.
00:26:33.29\00:26:36.73
But all of a sudden,
00:26:36.76\00:26:38.09
one day the Lord gets hold
of that heart and they say,
00:26:38.13\00:26:39.46
"I can't believe
I used to eat that."
00:26:39.49\00:26:43.47
And not that
steak is unclean food
00:26:43.50\00:26:45.83
but you know, nowadays,
00:26:45.87\00:26:48.00
if it has a
face, it ain't clean.
00:26:48.04\00:26:50.74
But the point of the matter is,
00:26:50.77\00:26:52.57
the thought pattern has changed.
00:26:52.61\00:26:54.84
He says, "I had to
change the way I thought."
00:26:54.88\00:26:56.91
Now do Christians have to change
00:26:56.95\00:26:59.28
the way they speak?
00:26:59.31\00:27:00.65
Yes.
00:27:00.68\00:27:02.02
Or spoke? Yes.
00:27:02.05\00:27:03.39
I should say.
00:27:03.42\00:27:04.75
You know those
examples in the Bible.
00:27:04.79\00:27:06.25
Isaiah, what did
he say about his lips?
00:27:06.29\00:27:08.26
They were what kind of lips?
00:27:08.29\00:27:09.92
Unclean.
00:27:09.96\00:27:11.29
He couldn't speak the same
way after he became a Christian.
00:27:11.33\00:27:14.23
The challenges are there.
00:27:14.26\00:27:15.60
And here is the...
00:27:15.63\00:27:16.97
The old man,
00:27:17.00\00:27:18.33
he likes to hang
around and every now and then,
00:27:18.37\00:27:19.70
he will knock on
your head and say,
00:27:19.73\00:27:21.87
"Remember what we
used to do together?"
00:27:21.90\00:27:24.31
And all of a sudden,
we go back to those days
00:27:24.34\00:27:26.71
and even the things
that we did in the past
00:27:26.74\00:27:28.81
and we say sometimes,
00:27:28.84\00:27:31.28
we remember the good old days.
00:27:31.31\00:27:35.18
The good old days?
00:27:35.22\00:27:36.55
You mean, the bad old days.
00:27:36.58\00:27:38.69
The days are good now.
00:27:38.72\00:27:40.96
See, these are the good days.
00:27:40.99\00:27:42.46
When you are walking
with the Lord, good days.
00:27:42.49\00:27:44.99
When you are keeping
the commandments of God,
00:27:45.03\00:27:46.36
the commandments are
holy and just and good.
00:27:46.39\00:27:48.56
These are the good days.
00:27:48.60\00:27:49.93
We go by, "Man, those
were the good old days."
00:27:49.96\00:27:52.80
We kind of lean into it,
00:27:52.83\00:27:54.17
"Those were the
good old days, man.
00:27:54.20\00:27:55.77
We'd hanging out."
00:27:55.80\00:27:57.14
We get so far in
that and deep in that,
00:27:57.17\00:27:58.97
and we fail to realize
00:27:59.01\00:28:00.34
the old man wants us to
think that what we used to do
00:28:00.38\00:28:03.11
was better than what we do now.
00:28:03.14\00:28:06.05
So we spoke differently.
00:28:06.08\00:28:08.62
And then things that
did not make sense to us.
00:28:08.65\00:28:10.42
Some people say,
00:28:10.45\00:28:12.22
"You will never ever get
me to accept the Sabbath."
00:28:12.25\00:28:16.56
And I say, "I
don't want to get you
00:28:16.59\00:28:18.43
to accept the Sabbath.
00:28:18.46\00:28:19.79
I will turn the Holy
Spirit to loose on you,
00:28:19.83\00:28:21.16
let him do it." See?
00:28:21.20\00:28:23.23
I don't want to
take anything from you,
00:28:23.26\00:28:24.63
but when the Lord
takes it, it's gone.
00:28:24.67\00:28:29.47
So our thoughts, our
speech, and our understanding.
00:28:29.50\00:28:35.14
Certain things
make sense to you now.
00:28:35.18\00:28:37.01
Some people say,
00:28:37.05\00:28:38.38
"I never understood it
00:28:38.41\00:28:39.91
and I have been reading
the Bible for 28 years."
00:28:39.95\00:28:43.35
Because you have been reading it
00:28:43.39\00:28:44.72
through a different
window of understanding.
00:28:44.75\00:28:47.82
That's why Paul says,
00:28:47.86\00:28:49.19
and so he is not
just talking about,
00:28:49.22\00:28:50.56
you know, playing
marbles and flying little kites,
00:28:50.59\00:28:53.73
he is talking
about the fact that,
00:28:53.76\00:28:55.26
here the things
that did not make sense,
00:28:55.30\00:28:56.77
they now make sense to me, why?
00:28:56.80\00:28:58.53
Because he allowed it...
00:28:58.57\00:28:59.90
The mind of Christ
led this mind being you
00:28:59.93\00:29:02.44
which was also in Christ Jesus.
00:29:02.47\00:29:03.87
So here is the point.
00:29:03.91\00:29:05.24
The transformed life
affects the way you speak,
00:29:05.27\00:29:09.08
affects the way you understand,
and affects the way you think.
00:29:09.11\00:29:12.55
Amen? Amen.
00:29:12.58\00:29:14.02
If you are not
noticing the differences
00:29:14.05\00:29:16.22
in the way you speak
and in your understanding
00:29:16.25\00:29:21.26
and also in your thoughts,
00:29:21.29\00:29:23.63
then we know that the battle
00:29:25.99\00:29:28.30
is the one that it's
not being fought by the Lord
00:29:28.33\00:29:29.96
but by us.
00:29:30.00\00:29:32.53
Even sometimes when you pray.
00:29:32.57\00:29:34.47
Somebody said to me, they said,
00:29:34.50\00:29:36.24
"You know, I am
kneeling down and praying
00:29:36.27\00:29:38.31
and my thoughts
are somewhere else
00:29:38.34\00:29:40.54
and I'm having
to rebuke thoughts
00:29:40.58\00:29:41.91
that are in my head
while I am praying."
00:29:41.94\00:29:43.78
That's what happens.
00:29:43.81\00:29:45.15
We are battling
with that old man
00:29:45.18\00:29:46.51
that wants to come back in.
00:29:46.55\00:29:47.95
But I suggest to you, the
way that you get rid of that
00:29:47.98\00:29:50.35
is as you study God's Word
more, think of it as a tube,
00:29:50.39\00:29:55.22
think of it as a
long plastic PVC tube,
00:29:55.26\00:29:58.16
it it's filled with gunk,
00:29:58.19\00:30:00.40
how many of you had
to clear a drain before?
00:30:00.43\00:30:02.70
Okay.
00:30:02.73\00:30:04.07
I mean, drain
clearing is an awful thing
00:30:04.10\00:30:05.77
because you don't see
it getting clogged up.
00:30:05.80\00:30:08.40
But all of a sudden, one day,
00:30:08.44\00:30:09.90
"Man, the water
wouldn't go down."
00:30:09.94\00:30:11.74
And you realize,
00:30:11.77\00:30:13.11
"I know exactly
what the problem is."
00:30:13.14\00:30:15.34
And so what happens is the
natural mind is clogged up,
00:30:15.38\00:30:19.35
and I never knew
this term until years ago.
00:30:19.38\00:30:23.05
The man who raised me, papa,
he introduced me to this word
00:30:23.08\00:30:26.76
and I initially was afraid.
00:30:26.79\00:30:28.19
He said, "Go
downstairs and get the snake."
00:30:28.22\00:30:32.69
We have a snake?
00:30:32.73\00:30:35.50
And you know what?
00:30:35.53\00:30:36.87
I have brought
this long steel thing,
00:30:36.90\00:30:39.03
looks like a big old spring.
00:30:39.07\00:30:40.77
I said, "That's a snake?"
00:30:40.80\00:30:42.14
He said, "That's
what we call it."
00:30:42.17\00:30:43.51
And old-fashioned way, get it?
00:30:43.54\00:30:45.27
And we threaded
that thing down the drain
00:30:45.31\00:30:47.14
and wound it, wound it,
wound it, so where is it going?
00:30:47.18\00:30:49.74
He says, "It is going
away deeper than you can,"
00:30:49.78\00:30:51.88
and that's how God is.
00:30:51.91\00:30:53.25
God's got to sound strange
00:30:53.28\00:30:54.85
but He has got
a spiritual snake.
00:30:54.88\00:30:56.69
He has got to burrow way
down deep in our thoughts
00:30:56.72\00:30:59.19
and go deeper than
we can, am I right?
00:30:59.22\00:31:01.29
And unclog our thoughts.
00:31:01.32\00:31:03.79
Well, I want to
say you how He does it,
00:31:03.83\00:31:05.23
and I want you to go
with me very quickly.
00:31:05.26\00:31:06.59
I am jumping ahead of
myself, but this is how God
00:31:06.63\00:31:08.76
get way down deep in your
mind and unclog those things
00:31:08.80\00:31:12.67
that are clogging up the
way that you should think.
00:31:12.70\00:31:15.77
Hebrews 4:12.
00:31:15.80\00:31:17.57
This is how God gets
way down in your mind.
00:31:17.61\00:31:19.07
If you are wondering
00:31:19.11\00:31:20.44
how you could
change the way you think,
00:31:20.48\00:31:21.81
this is how God does it.
00:31:21.84\00:31:23.38
He has got a...
00:31:23.41\00:31:24.91
You got to understand
the illustration to say
00:31:24.95\00:31:26.72
that God has a spiritual snake.
00:31:26.75\00:31:30.42
Hebrews 4:12.
00:31:30.45\00:31:31.79
God's got a way of
getting way down deep,
00:31:31.82\00:31:33.69
and if you ignore this
part, if you ignore this,
00:31:33.72\00:31:37.23
it's not going to happen.
00:31:37.26\00:31:39.89
The thoughts are
going to stay there.
00:31:39.93\00:31:43.40
I mean, you
could listen to music
00:31:43.43\00:31:44.77
but the thoughts
are going to stay there.
00:31:44.80\00:31:46.13
You could jump up and down,
00:31:46.17\00:31:47.57
the thoughts are
going to stay there.
00:31:47.60\00:31:48.94
Unless this part is
included in your transformation,
00:31:48.97\00:31:52.34
then, your mind is
going to remain clogged.
00:31:52.37\00:31:56.41
Let's go this
verse. Hebrews 4:12.
00:31:56.44\00:31:59.41
"For the word of God is, what?
00:31:59.45\00:32:01.72
"Quick and powerful
or living and powerful,
00:32:01.75\00:32:05.25
and sharper than
any two-edged sword,"
00:32:05.29\00:32:09.02
get his, now this is
where we are going deep now,
00:32:09.06\00:32:11.19
"piercing even to
the division of" what?
00:32:11.23\00:32:14.56
"Soul and spirit,"
00:32:14.60\00:32:15.93
that is your
thoughts and your actions,
00:32:15.96\00:32:18.10
that's what that is
meaning in the Greek,
00:32:18.13\00:32:19.60
not did you have
two parts to you.
00:32:19.63\00:32:21.50
"Even to the division of
your thoughts and actions
00:32:21.54\00:32:24.97
are soul and spirit and
of the joints and marrows,"
00:32:25.01\00:32:29.34
and get this,
00:32:29.38\00:32:30.78
"and is a
discerner of the" what?
00:32:30.81\00:32:33.55
"Thoughts and
intents of the heart."
00:32:33.58\00:32:37.49
The Word of God is
like an X-ray machine.
00:32:37.52\00:32:40.26
God is deep.
00:32:40.29\00:32:42.82
For me to say that is not even,
00:32:42.86\00:32:45.43
I mean, it's shallow
to say that God is the...
00:32:45.46\00:32:48.10
You know what this
is in essence saying?
00:32:48.13\00:32:49.46
It says, "The Word of God
will reveal the way you think
00:32:49.50\00:32:53.27
and it will amaze you
that God is speaking to you
00:32:53.30\00:32:56.60
from His Word and saying,
00:32:56.64\00:32:57.97
'I know exactly
what you are thinking.'"
00:32:58.01\00:33:02.48
And sometimes, when a
person is going through battles,
00:33:02.51\00:33:04.51
and you pray a simple player,
"Lord, speak to me today,"
00:33:04.55\00:33:07.32
and you do something as simple.
00:33:07.35\00:33:08.68
It has happened
to me many times,
00:33:08.72\00:33:10.05
and I have gone like
this, "Okay, I need an answer."
00:33:10.09\00:33:13.72
And I go right through it,
00:33:13.76\00:33:15.09
it's like the Lord
guided my fingers to that.
00:33:15.12\00:33:16.83
The study of God's Word
00:33:19.33\00:33:20.66
would change the
way you understand,
00:33:20.70\00:33:22.66
change the way you speak,
and change the way you think
00:33:22.70\00:33:26.43
because it goes way
down deep into the soul.
00:33:26.47\00:33:29.94
Amen for that? Amen.
00:33:29.97\00:33:31.37
You got to
include the Word of God.
00:33:31.41\00:33:32.74
If you don't have that in there,
00:33:32.77\00:33:34.21
no amount of anything else
is going to make a difference
00:33:34.24\00:33:36.38
in the transformation
process of your life.
00:33:36.41\00:33:38.78
The devil is not
afraid of good Bibles
00:33:38.81\00:33:40.85
that are without
any creases in the page.
00:33:40.88\00:33:45.39
If your Bible is falling apart,
chances are your life is not.
00:33:45.42\00:33:49.56
Number 14, is that correct?
00:33:49.59\00:33:53.13
Thirteen, man, we
are moving slow tonight.
00:33:53.16\00:33:55.53
What's going on?
00:33:55.56\00:33:57.03
Number 13.
00:33:57.07\00:34:00.17
"What must we do to sever
00:34:00.20\00:34:02.04
our connection to the old life?"
00:34:02.07\00:34:04.57
"What must we do to sever
00:34:04.61\00:34:05.94
our connection to the old life?"
00:34:05.97\00:34:08.24
So if you are
answering number 12,
00:34:08.28\00:34:09.74
"What did the
Apostle Paul testified
00:34:09.78\00:34:11.28
concerning his
transformed life?"
00:34:11.31\00:34:12.91
He spoke, thought, and
understood differently.
00:34:12.95\00:34:15.12
That was the
answer to number 12.
00:34:15.15\00:34:16.92
He spoke, thought, and
understood differently.
00:34:16.95\00:34:18.95
I think you got that point.
00:34:18.99\00:34:20.66
Number 13, "What
must we do to sever
00:34:20.69\00:34:22.72
our connection to the old life?"
00:34:22.76\00:34:24.53
Go with me to Ephesians 4:22.
00:34:24.56\00:34:28.06
Ephesians 4:22.
00:34:28.10\00:34:32.63
This topic above
the others is a topic
00:34:32.67\00:34:36.60
that talks about action.
00:34:36.64\00:34:38.21
What word did I just use?
00:34:38.24\00:34:39.57
Action. Action.
00:34:39.61\00:34:40.94
The Christian life is a
life that has to have action.
00:34:40.98\00:34:43.31
Some people expect there
to be changes in our lives
00:34:43.35\00:34:46.92
without any actions at all.
00:34:46.95\00:34:49.48
It's like, somebody says,
00:34:49.52\00:34:50.85
"You know, I want
to paint the house."
00:34:50.89\00:34:52.22
Long as you want to paint this,
00:34:52.25\00:34:53.59
it's not going to
get painted, right?
00:34:53.62\00:34:55.92
I want to clean out the garage.
00:34:55.96\00:34:57.29
Long as you want, this is
not going to get cleaned out.
00:34:57.33\00:34:59.06
What do you have to do?
00:34:59.09\00:35:00.70
Get the word, "Want
to," out of the way.
00:35:00.73\00:35:03.00
Clean out the garage.
00:35:03.03\00:35:05.60
See? I want to go on vacation.
00:35:05.63\00:35:07.94
Long as you want it,
you are not going anywhere.
00:35:07.97\00:35:09.80
You got to do what?
00:35:09.84\00:35:11.17
Go on vacation.
00:35:11.21\00:35:12.54
See? That's the key.
00:35:12.57\00:35:13.91
This is an action topic.
00:35:13.94\00:35:15.28
It is saying to the
Christians, and a lot of times,
00:35:15.31\00:35:16.64
people takes the
actions out of our lives
00:35:16.68\00:35:18.28
because sometimes they think,
00:35:18.31\00:35:19.81
"Well, you know, am
I saved by my works?"
00:35:19.85\00:35:22.28
No, you are saved by the
work that Christ performed
00:35:22.32\00:35:26.22
that you could not perform,
you could not pay for your sin.
00:35:26.25\00:35:29.42
But as a person who
is now been employed
00:35:29.46\00:35:32.06
to be in the family of Christ,
00:35:32.09\00:35:34.20
you've got to make
decisions about how you live.
00:35:34.23\00:35:37.33
That's what the
action is all about.
00:35:37.37\00:35:38.80
Here is the answer.
00:35:38.83\00:35:40.20
Ephesians 4:22.
00:35:40.24\00:35:42.30
"What must we do to
sever our connection?"
00:35:42.34\00:35:44.54
Here, he says,
"That you" do what?
00:35:44.57\00:35:47.64
"Put off,
concerning your former conduct,
00:35:47.68\00:35:52.55
the old man which" does what?
00:35:52.58\00:35:55.38
"Grows corrupt according
to the deceitful lusts."
00:35:55.42\00:35:59.15
You know what that word,
00:35:59.19\00:36:00.52
that phrase
deceitful lust is all about?
00:36:00.56\00:36:02.96
Deceitful means you think
that by going down that path,
00:36:02.99\00:36:07.13
you're going to
find satisfaction,
00:36:07.16\00:36:10.20
but in essence,
you are being deceived.
00:36:10.23\00:36:13.87
I think it was years
ago, there was a lady
00:36:13.90\00:36:15.30
by the name of Susan Powter,
00:36:15.34\00:36:16.71
does that name
ring a bell to anybody?
00:36:16.74\00:36:19.34
There was a lady who
had, her husband left her,
00:36:19.37\00:36:22.31
she was way overweight,
00:36:22.34\00:36:24.51
and she had a
phrase that was coined,
00:36:24.55\00:36:27.25
"Stop the insanity."
00:36:27.28\00:36:28.92
Does anybody remember that?
00:36:28.95\00:36:31.82
And her phrase meant, she says,
00:36:31.85\00:36:34.72
I don't know if
she is a first one,
00:36:34.76\00:36:36.09
but when she said it, it stuck.
00:36:36.12\00:36:37.69
She says,
00:36:37.73\00:36:39.06
"Here is the
definition of insanity."
00:36:39.09\00:36:40.63
What am I going to say?
00:36:40.66\00:36:42.50
"Doing the same
thing expecting" what?
00:36:42.53\00:36:45.33
"Different results."
00:36:45.37\00:36:47.40
So some people say,
00:36:47.44\00:36:48.77
"I want to quit drinking."
00:36:51.67\00:36:53.01
So they drive physically
00:36:55.24\00:36:58.08
to the store that sells alcohol.
00:36:58.11\00:36:59.81
I don't even know
what they call it.
00:36:59.85\00:37:01.18
They drive to the liquor store.
00:37:01.22\00:37:03.32
"I don't want to drink anymore."
00:37:03.35\00:37:05.12
So they are driving
to the liquor store.
00:37:05.15\00:37:06.86
Decision, stop
driving to the liquor store.
00:37:06.89\00:37:10.63
That simple.
00:37:10.66\00:37:12.26
You got to make a decision.
00:37:12.29\00:37:13.63
It has to be an action.
00:37:13.66\00:37:15.00
With every action,
00:37:15.03\00:37:16.36
there is an equal
and opposite reaction.
00:37:16.40\00:37:18.80
As we decide not to
light our houses on fire.
00:37:18.83\00:37:21.34
I have never heard anybody say,
"You know, I am having trouble.
00:37:21.37\00:37:24.01
I want to light
my house on fire."
00:37:24.04\00:37:25.64
They could do it.
00:37:28.31\00:37:29.64
Just strike a match and drop it.
00:37:29.68\00:37:31.75
And you say, "Well, you
know, how simple that is."
00:37:31.78\00:37:34.22
They say, "Why
would I want to do that?
00:37:34.25\00:37:35.58
That's insane."
00:37:35.62\00:37:36.95
Well, many things
that happen in our lives
00:37:36.99\00:37:38.45
come down to something as
simple as the word choice.
00:37:38.49\00:37:40.96
What word did I use?
00:37:40.99\00:37:42.32
Choice. Choice.
00:37:42.36\00:37:43.69
You got to
choose, the Lord said,
00:37:43.73\00:37:45.06
"Choose you this day
whom you will serve."
00:37:45.09\00:37:49.23
So when you read the
text, it says, "Put off,
00:37:49.26\00:37:51.43
concerning your former conduct,
the old man which grows corrupt
00:37:51.47\00:37:55.04
according to the
deceitful lusts."
00:37:55.07\00:37:56.64
So the world got us
locked into this pattern,
00:37:56.67\00:37:59.51
I call it, this merry-go-round,
00:37:59.54\00:38:02.38
a horse you are
sitting on that's going nowhere
00:38:02.41\00:38:05.01
but it is moving.
00:38:05.05\00:38:08.18
Say it again.
00:38:08.22\00:38:09.55
It is going up
and down and circle
00:38:09.58\00:38:11.02
and you have music
and devil's put us,
00:38:11.05\00:38:12.65
so many of us, I don't
want to do this too much
00:38:12.69\00:38:14.09
because I am getting
dizzy on just the first try,
00:38:14.12\00:38:16.16
but the devil
has got some people
00:38:16.19\00:38:17.53
on this merry-go-round,
00:38:17.56\00:38:18.89
it is just
going round and round,
00:38:18.93\00:38:20.26
and he is playing music
and they are having a good time
00:38:20.30\00:38:21.63
and the colored horses and hey,
00:38:21.66\00:38:24.30
and we act like the
scenery is changing often,
00:38:24.33\00:38:26.10
hey, haven't seen that before,
00:38:26.13\00:38:29.37
haven't seen that before.
00:38:29.40\00:38:32.21
You are seeing the same thing
over and over and over again.
00:38:32.24\00:38:35.04
And somebody want to yell,
'cause someone pull the plug
00:38:35.08\00:38:37.51
on this non-productive life?
00:38:37.55\00:38:41.15
And that's what the devil does.
00:38:41.18\00:38:42.52
He puts the world
on a merry-go-round.
00:38:42.55\00:38:44.85
And the scene changes
once in a while and they say,
00:38:44.89\00:38:47.42
"I have seen that before,"
and after a while they realize,
00:38:47.46\00:38:50.19
after rounds and rounds.
00:38:50.23\00:38:51.86
My good friend...
00:38:51.89\00:38:53.23
Not my good friend but a singer
that I really enjoy his music.
00:38:53.26\00:38:56.80
He was married to
Amy Grant years ago.
00:38:56.83\00:38:59.33
A guy by the
name of Gary Chapman.
00:38:59.37\00:39:01.40
He says, "I wish my mind
wouldn't argue with my heart.
00:39:01.44\00:39:06.01
It splits my day
apart into time well spent
00:39:06.04\00:39:09.84
and time just thrown away."
00:39:09.88\00:39:12.01
Then he says, "I wish my heart
would please make up my mind.
00:39:12.05\00:39:16.58
So I'm wasting so much
time, I got to catch a glimpse
00:39:16.62\00:39:20.36
of how it is going to be."
00:39:20.39\00:39:21.79
And that's the battle.
00:39:21.82\00:39:23.16
But you have to make a decision.
00:39:23.19\00:39:24.53
You got to say in your mind,
00:39:24.56\00:39:25.89
"Today, I am putting off
00:39:25.93\00:39:27.26
concerning your former conduct."
00:39:27.30\00:39:28.63
And when you make that
decision moment by moment,
00:39:28.66\00:39:30.00
day by day, by the power
of the indwelling Christ,
00:39:30.03\00:39:32.90
you will be amazed
00:39:32.93\00:39:34.27
how easy it gets
for the former conduct
00:39:34.30\00:39:37.14
not even to even
appeal to you any longer.
00:39:37.17\00:39:39.77
So what's the answer?
00:39:39.81\00:39:41.14
"What must we do to
sever our connection?"
00:39:41.18\00:39:43.45
Put off.
00:39:43.48\00:39:45.21
Put off the former conduct.
00:39:45.25\00:39:47.88
Put it off.
00:39:47.92\00:39:49.25
Put it off.
00:39:49.28\00:39:50.62
Somebody says, "Is that easy?"
00:39:53.82\00:39:55.16
"Yeah. Yeah."
00:39:55.19\00:39:57.56
Turn the stove off.
00:39:57.59\00:39:58.93
Is that easy? Yeah.
00:39:58.96\00:40:00.30
Just make an action.
00:40:00.33\00:40:01.66
The Lord will
give you the desire
00:40:01.70\00:40:04.00
and that's what
often we have to pray for
00:40:04.03\00:40:06.20
because you know,
the action is simple
00:40:06.23\00:40:07.80
but where the battle
comes in is the desire
00:40:07.84\00:40:11.81
because sometimes when a person
wants to give us something,
00:40:11.84\00:40:15.21
I remember praying for a guy,
00:40:15.24\00:40:16.58
he wanted to be delivered
from alcohol and cigarettes.
00:40:16.61\00:40:19.31
Did I tell you the story?
00:40:19.35\00:40:20.95
I may not have.
00:40:20.98\00:40:22.32
Different audience.
00:40:22.35\00:40:23.69
But prayed for him to be
00:40:23.72\00:40:25.05
delivered from
alcohol and cigarettes.
00:40:25.09\00:40:26.42
We anointed a guy
and had prayer with him
00:40:26.45\00:40:27.79
and after the prayer was done,
00:40:27.82\00:40:29.16
I said, "Do you have
any more cigarettes left?'
00:40:29.19\00:40:30.53
He said, "Got a
pack in the truck."
00:40:30.56\00:40:33.56
I said, "Go, get it."
00:40:33.60\00:40:35.00
He said, "That's my last pack."
00:40:35.03\00:40:38.87
I said, "You just had us
pray and claimed the victory."
00:40:38.90\00:40:42.40
"But that's my last pack."
00:40:42.44\00:40:43.84
I said, "Do you have
any cigarettes right here?"
00:40:43.87\00:40:45.37
"Yeah, about three of them."
00:40:45.41\00:40:46.74
Go, get them and give it to me."
00:40:46.78\00:40:48.11
He wanted to
finish that last pack
00:40:48.14\00:40:49.94
after the
prayer to be delivered.
00:40:49.98\00:40:52.65
It's amazing. It's amazing.
00:40:52.68\00:40:55.05
'Cause the deceitful
lust is what was driving him.
00:40:55.08\00:40:58.29
He felt that
somehow that next puff
00:40:58.32\00:41:00.72
would bring
satisfaction and only to realize
00:41:00.76\00:41:03.99
that he hasn't to this point
gotten any satisfaction at all.
00:41:04.03\00:41:07.73
God can take away
that desire to even go back
00:41:07.76\00:41:11.70
to where we were before.
00:41:11.73\00:41:13.07
I know that to be a fact.
00:41:13.10\00:41:14.44
God has done so
many transformations
00:41:14.47\00:41:17.07
in our lives personally.
00:41:17.11\00:41:19.07
I could say, "Praise God.
00:41:19.11\00:41:20.44
He is a transforming God."
00:41:20.48\00:41:21.81
Amen? Amen.
00:41:21.84\00:41:23.18
Go with me to Proverbs 12:5.
00:41:23.21\00:41:25.71
Proverbs 12:5.
00:41:25.75\00:41:27.12
This is a text that goes well
with this verse we just read.
00:41:27.15\00:41:30.65
Proverbs 12:5.
00:41:30.69\00:41:33.36
This is what you can
expect when God transforms
00:41:37.99\00:41:40.23
the way you think.
00:41:40.26\00:41:42.10
Proverbs 12:5.
00:41:42.13\00:41:43.83
This is powerful.
00:41:48.47\00:41:50.21
A wicked guy...
00:41:50.24\00:41:51.57
You know,
there's so many battles
00:41:51.61\00:41:53.11
we have in our
world on so many issues
00:41:53.14\00:41:54.51
and I was saying to
myself the other day,
00:41:54.54\00:41:56.24
"Right now there is a
big old issue in America
00:41:56.28\00:41:57.61
about gun violence,"
00:41:57.65\00:41:58.98
and it's terrible all
these tragedies happening
00:41:59.01\00:42:00.72
and people
getting senselessly killed
00:42:00.75\00:42:02.92
and some people say,
00:42:02.95\00:42:04.29
"Well, if you pass
another law, this will happen.
00:42:04.32\00:42:05.65
If you pass another
law, that will happen."
00:42:05.69\00:42:07.06
Now I am thinking to
myself, "Why don't we pass laws
00:42:07.09\00:42:09.49
to stop selling alcohol?
00:42:09.52\00:42:11.93
Why don't we pass laws
to stop selling cigarettes?
00:42:11.96\00:42:14.53
Why don't we pass laws
to stop selling pornography?
00:42:14.56\00:42:18.47
Why don't we pass laws
to close down smut shops?
00:42:18.50\00:42:21.94
And things that destroy life
00:42:21.97\00:42:23.30
by the millions on a day by day.
00:42:23.34\00:42:25.31
Why don't we
stop gambling casinos
00:42:25.34\00:42:27.41
that destroy lives senselessly?
00:42:27.44\00:42:29.78
But you know what's driving
it? Come on, what's driving it?
00:42:29.81\00:42:33.72
Money. Money.
00:42:33.75\00:42:35.62
That's why this
text is so powerful.
00:42:35.65\00:42:37.55
When the Lord is
working in your life
00:42:37.59\00:42:38.92
and transforming your thoughts,
00:42:38.95\00:42:40.29
notice what the
wise man Solomon says.
00:42:40.32\00:42:42.86
He says, "The thoughts
of the righteous are" what?
00:42:42.89\00:42:45.99
"Right.
00:42:46.03\00:42:47.36
But the counsels of
the wicked are" what?
00:42:47.40\00:42:49.76
"Deceitful."
00:42:49.80\00:42:52.70
Somebody told me a
story about some guys
00:42:52.73\00:42:55.34
that church members
that would go to Las Vegas.
00:42:55.37\00:42:59.87
They didn't go to
Las Vegas to witness.
00:42:59.91\00:43:01.64
They went to gamble.
00:43:01.68\00:43:03.95
They went to
Las Vegas to gamble,
00:43:07.08\00:43:09.58
and according to this,
00:43:09.62\00:43:10.95
the counsels of
the wicked are what?
00:43:10.99\00:43:12.89
Deceitful.
00:43:12.92\00:43:14.26
A wicked person who
is driven by the world
00:43:14.29\00:43:15.92
will never tell you the truth.
00:43:15.96\00:43:17.79
So you have phrases like this.
00:43:20.10\00:43:22.83
Here is an evidence of
it. You ready? Listen to it.
00:43:22.86\00:43:24.97
You have phrases like this.
00:43:25.00\00:43:26.33
This is a deceitful
counsel of the world.
00:43:26.37\00:43:28.04
"Drink responsibly."
00:43:28.07\00:43:30.07
Like my dad, when I
met him years ago, he said,
00:43:34.24\00:43:36.34
"Now don't take cocaine
but you can smoke marijuana."
00:43:36.38\00:43:39.65
And I am
thinking, "Thank you, Dad."
00:43:39.68\00:43:42.58
I didn't take his advice.
00:43:42.62\00:43:43.95
I just want to
let you know, right?
00:43:43.99\00:43:45.32
The counsels of
the wicked are what?
00:43:45.35\00:43:46.99
Deceitful.
00:43:47.02\00:43:49.26
New Year's Eve.
00:43:49.29\00:43:51.46
Friends don't let
friends drive drunk.
00:43:51.49\00:43:54.50
No, friends
don't let friends drink
00:43:54.53\00:43:57.53
because once it comes in,
you cannot control the action.
00:43:57.57\00:44:01.17
For every action,
00:44:01.20\00:44:02.54
there is an equal
and opposite reaction.
00:44:02.57\00:44:04.11
And too often, we want
to get a different reaction
00:44:04.14\00:44:06.74
out of something that's designed
00:44:06.78\00:44:08.44
to take away our
ability to think clearly.
00:44:08.48\00:44:13.15
So drink responsibly.
00:44:13.18\00:44:15.98
Counsels of the
wicked are deceitful.
00:44:16.02\00:44:18.22
Okay, number 15,
is that where we are?
00:44:18.25\00:44:20.49
Number 14.
00:44:20.52\00:44:21.86
I am going ahead of myself.
00:44:21.89\00:44:24.59
Don't get the world
give you false counsel.
00:44:24.63\00:44:28.40
Number 14.
00:44:28.43\00:44:29.76
"How do we begin to strengthen
our character in the new life?"
00:44:29.80\00:44:33.30
How do we begin to do that?
00:44:33.34\00:44:34.90
Ephesians 4:23, 24.
00:44:34.94\00:44:38.67
We went to 22 earlier.
00:44:38.71\00:44:40.28
Now we are going to 23, 24.
00:44:40.31\00:44:41.91
I don't want to give you
the whole thing right away.
00:44:41.94\00:44:43.48
It fits them
00:44:43.51\00:44:45.38
but I want to break it
down to a second question.
00:44:45.41\00:44:47.38
"How do we begin to strengthen
our character in the new life?"
00:44:47.42\00:44:51.55
Ephesians 4:23.
00:44:51.59\00:44:53.25
Let's look at it on the screen.
00:44:53.29\00:44:54.62
Here it is.
00:44:54.66\00:44:57.06
"And be" what?
00:44:57.09\00:44:59.36
"Renewed
00:44:59.39\00:45:02.16
in the spirit of your mind,
00:45:02.20\00:45:06.47
and that you put on the new man
00:45:06.50\00:45:09.60
which was created
according to God, in" what?
00:45:09.64\00:45:15.24
"True
righteousness and" what else?
00:45:15.28\00:45:17.98
"Holiness."
00:45:18.01\00:45:19.35
Now if you put it all together,
first you have verse 22 saying,
00:45:19.38\00:45:21.65
"Put off," and
verse 23 saying, "Put on."
00:45:21.68\00:45:25.55
So if you change one garment,
you put on another garment.
00:45:25.59\00:45:30.09
If you take off dirty clothes,
00:45:30.13\00:45:31.83
you put on what kind of clothes?
00:45:31.86\00:45:33.56
Clean clothes.
00:45:33.60\00:45:34.93
If you take a dirty
socks, you put on what?
00:45:34.96\00:45:37.07
Hopefully clean socks.
00:45:37.10\00:45:39.67
I said hopefully
because some people don't.
00:45:39.70\00:45:42.84
But the point of the
matter is you've taken off
00:45:42.87\00:45:45.07
what you used to
wear, you got to put on
00:45:45.11\00:45:46.94
what God wants you to wear.
00:45:46.98\00:45:48.78
True righteousness and holiness.
00:45:48.81\00:45:52.61
One is taken off,
00:45:52.65\00:45:54.78
and the other one is putting on.
00:45:54.82\00:45:57.79
So here's the answer.
00:45:57.82\00:45:59.15
"How do we begin to strengthen
our character in the new life?"
00:45:59.19\00:46:03.86
Be renewed.
00:46:03.89\00:46:05.33
Be renewed in the
spirit of your mind.
00:46:05.36\00:46:07.96
We got to pray for the Lord
00:46:08.00\00:46:09.50
to renew our minds in the spirit
00:46:09.53\00:46:12.47
because spiritually
when we think differently,
00:46:12.50\00:46:15.77
it is not us that's in-charge,
00:46:15.80\00:46:17.37
it's the Holy
Spirit that's in-charge.
00:46:17.41\00:46:19.41
What does he promise to do?
00:46:19.44\00:46:21.04
According to John 16:13,
00:46:21.08\00:46:23.38
"However, when He, the
Spirit of truth, has come,
00:46:23.41\00:46:26.25
He will lead you and
guide you into all truth."
00:46:26.28\00:46:29.78
So the
spiritual mind that we get
00:46:29.82\00:46:31.62
is not because we came
up with this great plan.
00:46:31.65\00:46:34.19
Some people have a
Bible reading plan.
00:46:34.22\00:46:35.82
They want to read the
Bible through in a year.
00:46:35.86\00:46:37.59
That's a good
desire but you know what?
00:46:37.63\00:46:39.56
That's too fast.
00:46:39.59\00:46:40.93
I mean, really it is
when you think about it.
00:46:43.40\00:46:45.13
Some people say, "I read
the Bible through in a year."
00:46:45.17\00:46:47.40
Well, how much did you glean?
00:46:47.44\00:46:48.94
Like a guy I met on
the train in New York City,
00:46:48.97\00:46:50.51
on the A train.
00:46:50.54\00:46:51.87
I asked him, I said,
00:46:51.91\00:46:53.24
"Have you read
Revelation before?"
00:46:53.27\00:46:54.61
He said, "I did
yesterday on my way to work."
00:46:54.64\00:46:57.95
"Well, how much did you glean?"
00:46:57.98\00:47:01.48
"What do you
mean?" That's the point.
00:47:01.52\00:47:03.85
You cannot just
want to read the Bible
00:47:03.89\00:47:05.52
as a daily exercise.
00:47:05.55\00:47:07.32
You have to
take this thing down.
00:47:07.36\00:47:08.96
I tell you the
Word of God is like
00:47:08.99\00:47:11.03
the richest most divinely...
00:47:11.06\00:47:15.10
I am trying to put
some words together here
00:47:15.13\00:47:17.03
to make this sound sensible.
00:47:17.07\00:47:18.87
It's like the best
dessert you have ever had.
00:47:18.90\00:47:21.34
And the only way
to benefit from that,
00:47:21.37\00:47:23.00
we have to taste and
see that the Lord is good.
00:47:23.04\00:47:25.81
The Word of God,
bread of life, right?
00:47:25.84\00:47:28.94
Best bread you will ever have.
00:47:28.98\00:47:31.55
But you've got to
taste it in order.
00:47:31.58\00:47:33.42
And how that happens?
00:47:33.45\00:47:34.78
I want to go back
to this text here.
00:47:34.82\00:47:36.15
We have to pray for our
minds to be renewed how?
00:47:36.18\00:47:39.72
"And be renewed in
the spirit of your mind."
00:47:39.75\00:47:43.09
Now let me tell you why.
00:47:43.12\00:47:44.46
When Jesus came,
He did not just say,
00:47:44.49\00:47:47.73
"Thou shall not kill."
00:47:47.76\00:47:50.07
That was the law
but He amplified it.
00:47:50.10\00:47:52.60
If you hate your brother,
you are a murderer already.
00:47:52.63\00:47:55.47
He says, now this is profound.
00:47:55.50\00:47:57.74
Christians cannot just say,
00:48:00.31\00:48:02.64
"I want to kill
you but I can't."
00:48:02.68\00:48:06.38
Did you just get that?
00:48:06.41\00:48:07.75
'Cause there's too much.
00:48:07.78\00:48:09.12
There are Christian churches
where there is infighting
00:48:09.15\00:48:11.99
but they will
never kill each other.
00:48:12.02\00:48:13.36
But if they could, they would.
00:48:13.39\00:48:17.13
I have had those
instances in my church.
00:48:17.16\00:48:18.66
Once at Sabbath, a
member came to church
00:48:18.69\00:48:20.70
with a baseball bat.
00:48:20.73\00:48:22.06
Remember that, Brother Dick?
00:48:22.10\00:48:23.43
Not here, by the way.
00:48:23.47\00:48:24.80
I just want to make sure that
wasn't down in Thompsonville,
00:48:24.83\00:48:26.17
came in to the
church with a baseball bat
00:48:26.20\00:48:27.54
and told me she was
going to beat up the deacon,
00:48:27.57\00:48:30.84
her mind needs to be...
00:48:30.87\00:48:32.21
She wasn't going to kill him.
00:48:32.24\00:48:33.58
She is just
going to beat him up.
00:48:33.61\00:48:35.54
"I am not going to kill him
but I am going to beat him up."
00:48:35.58\00:48:38.81
So here's the point.
00:48:38.85\00:48:40.58
She was already at
the point of murder
00:48:40.62\00:48:42.08
before the act
was even carried out.
00:48:42.12\00:48:43.89
Thank God we didn't
pray, we prayed, Lord,
00:48:43.92\00:48:47.09
chase the devil out of here.
00:48:47.12\00:48:48.46
We didn't say chase
the member out of here.
00:48:48.49\00:48:49.96
We said, chase
the devil out of here.
00:48:49.99\00:48:51.96
And the member
went home, left her bat,
00:48:51.99\00:48:53.86
and came back to church sane,
praise God for that, right?
00:48:53.90\00:48:57.43
So if you see the
person, they are not the enemy.
00:48:57.47\00:48:59.07
But the issue is the
mind, the mind it is.
00:48:59.10\00:49:02.34
So here's...
00:49:02.37\00:49:03.71
Let's keep going
to the next level.
00:49:03.74\00:49:05.07
You may not
steal somebody's stuff
00:49:05.11\00:49:07.91
but if the spirit
in your mind is saying,
00:49:07.94\00:49:09.28
"Oh, I want that.
00:49:09.31\00:49:10.65
if I could take that, I
would like to take that."
00:49:10.68\00:49:12.25
Whether it is a person's talent,
00:49:12.28\00:49:14.08
or whether it is
their possessions.
00:49:14.12\00:49:15.98
You got to be renewed
in the spirit of your mind,
00:49:16.02\00:49:18.89
not just the letter,
but also in the spirit.
00:49:18.92\00:49:22.72
So that's a higher
level than just the letter.
00:49:22.76\00:49:24.79
Some people might say,
00:49:24.83\00:49:26.16
"I never stole,
didn't commit adultery,
00:49:26.19\00:49:27.80
never killed,
00:49:27.83\00:49:29.16
never anything."
00:49:29.20\00:49:32.93
But have you
done so in your mind?
00:49:35.10\00:49:37.91
That's what the
Lord is in essence,
00:49:37.94\00:49:39.27
"Be renewed in the
spirit of your mind."
00:49:39.31\00:49:41.11
When the mind is
renewed, then the conduct,
00:49:41.14\00:49:44.18
the change in
conduct is going to happen
00:49:44.21\00:49:46.58
when the spirit has
control of the mind.
00:49:46.61\00:49:49.68
Remember, that's where
the transformation begins.
00:49:49.72\00:49:52.25
Be transformed by the,
come on, renewing of your mind.
00:49:52.29\00:49:58.39
Romans 12:1, 1.
00:49:58.43\00:50:00.13
Be nor conformed
but be transformed
00:50:00.16\00:50:02.90
by the renewing of your,
00:50:02.93\00:50:06.23
say it, renewing of your mind.
00:50:06.27\00:50:09.47
And how do you renew that mind?
00:50:09.50\00:50:10.97
You got to put some
divine words in there.
00:50:11.01\00:50:13.31
Guys, you got to
think of God's Word
00:50:13.34\00:50:14.74
as the best email you ever got.
00:50:14.78\00:50:17.81
You got to think of God's Word
00:50:17.85\00:50:19.18
as the best text
message you ever got.
00:50:19.21\00:50:24.75
People texting all day
00:50:24.79\00:50:26.12
but not reading
any text in the Bible.
00:50:26.15\00:50:28.82
Isn't that sad?
00:50:28.86\00:50:30.43
Kids text, 20 words
in a minute, they say.
00:50:30.46\00:50:33.16
How many Bible texts
do they read every minute?
00:50:33.19\00:50:36.67
And that's free,
00:50:36.70\00:50:38.23
ain't that right
pastor, ain't that right?
00:50:38.27\00:50:41.07
Texting but not
reading any text.
00:50:41.10\00:50:43.51
That's the problem
in the world today.
00:50:43.54\00:50:44.87
The devil got us
on the wrong text
00:50:44.91\00:50:47.58
and we want to be transformed.
00:50:47.61\00:50:48.94
Kids in church texting,
not reading their Bible.
00:50:48.98\00:50:51.01
Come to the church with their,
they don't miss their phones,
00:50:51.05\00:50:53.75
but they forget their Bibles,
00:50:53.78\00:50:55.55
and they want to
be like Christians.
00:50:55.58\00:50:57.49
They spend all
week at home texting,
00:50:57.52\00:50:59.35
won't even pick up
the Bible, come to church
00:50:59.39\00:51:00.99
has no desire for
spiritual things, why?
00:51:01.02\00:51:03.16
Because they mess
with the wrong text.
00:51:03.19\00:51:05.29
This is the text
that will transform you,
00:51:05.33\00:51:06.90
what do you say?
00:51:06.93\00:51:08.26
Amen.
00:51:08.30\00:51:09.63
Renewing the mind.
00:51:09.66\00:51:11.00
Okay.
00:51:11.03\00:51:12.37
Proverbs 16:3 goes with this.
00:51:12.40\00:51:14.57
I want to add
another text to this.
00:51:14.60\00:51:15.94
Proverbs 16:3.
00:51:15.97\00:51:17.31
This fits along
the very same way.
00:51:17.34\00:51:19.61
"How do we begin to
strengthen our character
00:51:19.64\00:51:20.98
in the new life?"
00:51:21.01\00:51:22.34
We just put the
answer down there.
00:51:22.38\00:51:23.71
And the answer by the way,
00:51:23.75\00:51:25.08
"How do we
strengthen our character?"
00:51:25.11\00:51:26.45
Be renewed in the
spirit of your mind,
00:51:26.48\00:51:27.82
not just the letter.
00:51:27.85\00:51:29.18
Don't talk about the
things that people can see.
00:51:29.22\00:51:32.19
The challenge often is
where the people can't see
00:51:32.22\00:51:34.72
what's going on in your mind.
00:51:34.76\00:51:37.19
Proverbs 16:3.
00:51:37.23\00:51:39.03
Notice this.
00:51:39.06\00:51:41.73
"Commit your works to the Lord,"
00:51:41.76\00:51:44.17
and what did he say?
00:51:44.20\00:51:46.13
"Your thoughts
will be established."
00:51:46.17\00:51:48.87
Okay.
00:51:48.90\00:51:50.24
If the Lord can
approve of your works,
00:51:50.27\00:51:52.47
if you commit, "Lord, is
it okay for me to do this?"
00:51:52.51\00:51:56.34
"No."
00:51:56.38\00:51:58.21
"Well, I won't do it."
00:51:58.25\00:51:59.81
And when he says no,
what He is in essence doing.
00:51:59.85\00:52:03.15
He is not just
trying to change the action.
00:52:03.18\00:52:05.12
He is trying to
establish your thoughts.
00:52:05.15\00:52:06.99
He is trying to give
you a thought pattern
00:52:07.02\00:52:08.66
that you did not naturally have.
00:52:08.69\00:52:10.53
Just like parents.
00:52:10.56\00:52:11.89
What do parents do
with their children?
00:52:11.93\00:52:13.76
Don't touch that.
00:52:13.80\00:52:15.36
And the kid...
00:52:15.40\00:52:17.67
What are you trying
to do? Tell me somebody.
00:52:17.70\00:52:19.23
What are you trying to do?
00:52:19.27\00:52:21.97
You are trying to get them
to establish a thought pattern
00:52:22.00\00:52:24.11
so that when they get up,
they don' walk around the world
00:52:24.14\00:52:26.27
touching everything that
00:52:26.31\00:52:27.64
is in somebody else's house.
00:52:27.68\00:52:29.01
Isn't that true?
00:52:29.04\00:52:30.38
That's why people say...
00:52:30.41\00:52:32.91
What's that
phrase, it begins at home?
00:52:32.95\00:52:36.18
Come on, help me up, parents.
00:52:36.22\00:52:38.25
Anyway.
00:52:38.29\00:52:39.62
Nobody remembers it.
00:52:39.65\00:52:40.99
Forgive us all.
00:52:41.02\00:52:42.36
Charity begins at home,
00:52:42.39\00:52:43.73
but good manners
begins at home too.
00:52:43.76\00:52:45.09
Am I telling the truth?
00:52:45.13\00:52:46.46
What you practice at home
00:52:46.49\00:52:47.83
is what you're
going to do abroad.
00:52:47.86\00:52:49.20
The Lord sometimes has
to slap us on our hands
00:52:49.23\00:52:51.03
to establish our
thoughts in the right direction.
00:52:51.07\00:52:53.13
Isn't that true?
00:52:53.17\00:52:54.50
So when he says,
00:52:54.54\00:52:55.87
"When you commit
your ways to the Lord,
00:52:55.90\00:52:57.37
your thoughts
will be established."
00:52:57.41\00:52:58.84
So a child comes
to somebody's house.
00:52:58.87\00:53:00.91
And you know people
that are hosting your family,
00:53:00.94\00:53:03.88
they will say,
00:53:03.91\00:53:05.25
"Wow, your children
are so well behaved."
00:53:05.28\00:53:07.42
What they hadn't seen
00:53:07.45\00:53:08.78
is the hours of
spanking and punishment.
00:53:08.82\00:53:12.75
See, they hadn't seen that.
00:53:12.79\00:53:14.19
So when the Lord chastises us,
when he punishes us, He says,
00:53:14.22\00:53:18.33
"I only do that
because I deal with you
00:53:18.36\00:53:20.46
as a faithful
father and a faithful son.
00:53:20.50\00:53:23.26
If you are my
son and my daughter,
00:53:23.30\00:53:24.90
I've got to do something
so that you can be in honor
00:53:24.93\00:53:28.04
and glory to my kingdom."
00:53:28.07\00:53:30.31
But people are not willing
to submit their works to God
00:53:30.34\00:53:33.58
and therefore what happens
00:53:33.61\00:53:34.94
is their thoughts
are never established.
00:53:34.98\00:53:36.68
They don't have new habits.
00:53:36.71\00:53:38.31
When a person's mind
is molded, you can tell
00:53:38.35\00:53:40.62
when a person
comes from a family
00:53:40.65\00:53:42.75
where there
really are spiritual.
00:53:42.78\00:53:44.12
Sometimes you see
children sit down,
00:53:44.15\00:53:46.12
you know, like Hannah.
00:53:46.15\00:53:47.49
I can use Hannah as an example.
00:53:47.52\00:53:49.09
Hannah would pray for me
when our elders forget to pray.
00:53:49.12\00:53:52.49
And I told my
elder, one day I said,
00:53:52.53\00:53:54.10
"You forgot to pray
for me but Hannah didn't."
00:53:54.13\00:53:56.40
See?
00:53:56.43\00:53:57.77
You can tell,
thoughts established.
00:53:57.80\00:53:59.30
Why?
00:53:59.33\00:54:00.67
Out of the works of the
family, thoughts established.
00:54:00.70\00:54:03.94
In the very same way,
and that's how children
00:54:03.97\00:54:05.61
become developed.
00:54:05.64\00:54:06.98
Look at number 15.
00:54:07.01\00:54:08.34
Number 15, very quickly.
00:54:08.38\00:54:10.41
Number 15.
00:54:10.45\00:54:11.78
"Where do we find the power
to live the transformed life?"
00:54:14.02\00:54:18.25
See this is practical.
00:54:18.29\00:54:19.62
This is not about
what happens when you die.
00:54:19.65\00:54:21.39
This is really
where the challenge is.
00:54:21.42\00:54:23.63
Isn't that right?
00:54:23.66\00:54:25.03
"Where do we find the power
to live the transformed life?"
00:54:25.06\00:54:29.10
Go to John 15:5.
00:54:29.13\00:54:30.60
I think you all
know this one very well.
00:54:30.63\00:54:33.17
But let us not run
past like we know it.
00:54:33.20\00:54:35.70
Let's turn to it. John 15:5.
00:54:35.74\00:54:38.34
All right?
00:54:38.37\00:54:40.54
Man, this is beautiful text.
00:54:40.58\00:54:43.35
If you like grapes,
you will love this text.
00:54:43.38\00:54:46.51
Here we are.
00:54:46.55\00:54:48.05
Let's read it together.
00:54:48.08\00:54:49.42
On the screen.
00:54:49.45\00:54:50.79
"I am the vine,
you are the branches.
00:54:50.82\00:54:54.16
He who abides in Me,
and I in him, bears" what?
00:54:54.19\00:54:59.03
"Much fruit, together,
00:54:59.06\00:55:01.40
for without Me
you can do nothing."
00:55:01.43\00:55:05.97
So during the
week, some people say,
00:55:06.00\00:55:07.77
"I have been trying so
hard, it just doesn't work."
00:55:07.80\00:55:11.41
Have you been
given Jesus a chance?
00:55:11.44\00:55:14.14
Have you honestly at that moment
00:55:14.18\00:55:15.81
when the temptation comes,
00:55:15.84\00:55:17.18
have you called on
the name of the Lord?
00:55:17.21\00:55:19.31
That's in essence
what this text is saying.
00:55:19.35\00:55:21.25
If you abide in Me.
00:55:21.28\00:55:22.62
You know what abide means?
00:55:22.65\00:55:23.99
It's like sitting in
the back seat of a car.
00:55:24.02\00:55:25.52
You got to abide in
the car to get somewhere.
00:55:25.55\00:55:27.32
It's like sitting
in the driver's seat.
00:55:27.36\00:55:28.69
If you abide in the vehicle
and the vehicle is moving,
00:55:28.72\00:55:30.16
you are moving.
00:55:30.19\00:55:31.59
If you are abiding in Christ,
00:55:31.63\00:55:32.96
there is progress
in your Christian walk.
00:55:32.99\00:55:35.06
If you are abiding in Christ,
00:55:35.10\00:55:38.13
you don't have to search
for Him when the trials come.
00:55:38.17\00:55:41.17
You don't have to search for Him
00:55:41.20\00:55:42.70
when the temptations come.
00:55:42.74\00:55:44.07
You just call on the Lord.
00:55:44.11\00:55:45.97
And then He says,
00:55:46.01\00:55:47.34
"If you abide in
Me, and I abide in you,"
00:55:47.38\00:55:50.58
what happens?
00:55:50.61\00:55:51.95
"You bear much fruit,
00:55:51.98\00:55:53.31
for without me
you can do" how much?
00:55:53.35\00:55:54.88
"Nothing." Absolutely nothing.
00:55:54.92\00:55:57.19
So when the
challenges come this week,
00:55:57.22\00:55:59.99
or even after this program
or if you face challenges today
00:56:00.02\00:56:04.29
and you are wondering,
how I am going to do that,
00:56:04.33\00:56:06.09
this is the text of
reciprocal blessings.
00:56:06.13\00:56:09.86
If you abide in Christ,
the blessings will come.
00:56:09.90\00:56:12.70
If he abides in you,
the blessings will come.
00:56:12.73\00:56:16.00
The temptations
will not be successful
00:56:16.04\00:56:17.91
against the
attacks that come your way.
00:56:17.94\00:56:20.18
And it's not
scientists, it's not science.
00:56:20.21\00:56:23.24
Some people say,
00:56:23.28\00:56:24.61
"Now what else do I
need to do to be successful?"
00:56:24.65\00:56:26.25
Just abide in Christ.
00:56:26.28\00:56:27.68
And oftentimes,
we don't consider
00:56:30.12\00:56:31.72
very, very deeply what
abiding in Christ means.
00:56:31.75\00:56:34.16
Very quickly with
me go to Isaiah 55.
00:56:34.19\00:56:36.52
We are going to
begin on question 16,
00:56:36.56\00:56:38.23
but Isaiah 55, I
want you see this one
00:56:38.26\00:56:40.76
before we close tonight.
00:56:40.80\00:56:42.76
Isaiah 55, I gave
you verse 8 and 9,
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I left verse 7 for
this portion of the program.
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Isaiah 55:7
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talking about abiding in divine.
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Here it is.
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Okay? You ready?
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"Let the wicked" do what?
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"Forsake his way,
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and the
unrighteous man his" what?
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"Thoughts.
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Let him return to the
Lord, and He will have" what?
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"Mercy on him.
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And to our God,
for He will" what?
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"Abundantly pardon."
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The Lord is not saying,
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"Oh, you really
messed up this time."
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No, he says,
whatever the challenge,
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whatever the transgression,
wherever you stumble,
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wherever you tend to
fail, He says, look to Me,
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come to Me, return to Me,
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I will not only
abundantly pardon,
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but I will restore you.
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And so tonight, friends,
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as you are thinking
about the challenges
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that come to you,
and you are going to live
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the spiritual life in this
natural body that you have,
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remember, day by day,
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Christ will give you victory
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over the natural
tendencies of your life.
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Don't think about
how difficult it is
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but think of how victorious
abiding in Christ really is
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and one day it will
come into A Sharper Focus.
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God bless you.
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