Hello and welcome
to A Sharper Focus.
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My name is Jill Morikone.
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We're so glad that you
have joined us here this evening
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and so glad our
Thompsonville family,
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Thompsonville
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
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that you're here as well.
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And you at home,
you're a 3ABN family
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and part of our family here,
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and we're so glad
that you're tuning in.
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It's Wednesday night,
it's Bible study time,
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so I hope that you
have your Bibles at home.
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I want to encourage you
to check out the website,
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asf.3abn.org.
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You can get the videos,
you can look at past videos,
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you have all of the study guides
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on that as well.
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So I want to
encourage you to check that out.
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And as we open up,
we'll look at the scripture,
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and then we'll go
to the Lord in prayer.
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So let's go to John 15,
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we're talking tonight
about the fruit of the Spirit.
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John 15, now you might say,
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"John 15 doesn't sound
like the fruit of the Spirit.
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We ought to be in Galatians 5."
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But there's a method to this.
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John 15, we're going to
look at verse 5 through 8.
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Jesus speaking... I
love these chapters.
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You think, Jesus...
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John 13, He washed, remember,
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the disciples feet
and the upper room,
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they had that
upper room experience,
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and then after that, He went out
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toward the garden of Gethsemane.
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Now John 14, 15, 16, and 17
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is what I think of as
His last will and testament
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because John 18, He
starts going to the cross.
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So this is almost
like His last time
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with His disciples.
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Now He did have another
time after He was resurrected,
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He had time to share with them,
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but in the special way,
before He went to the cross,
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it's His last
words with His disciples.
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And you imagine,
if you were a parent
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and your child
was going off to war,
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what would you want
your very last words to be,
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Brother Louis?
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What would you want
to say to your daughter
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before she goes back to college?
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What would you want to say?
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And so this is part of
what Jesus wanted to say.
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John 15, it talks about
the vine and the branches.
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We're in verse 5,
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"I am the vine,
you are the branches.
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He who abides in
Me, and I in Him,
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bears much fruit..."
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There is the word
we're talking about tonight,
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Gavin, fruit, fruit bearing.
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"For without Me, you
can do," a lot of things,
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"nothing."
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Without Me, you can do nothing.
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"If anyone does not abide in Me,
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he is cast out as a
branch and is withered.
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They gather them and
throw them into the fire,
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and they are burned.
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If you abide in Me
and My words abide in you,
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you will ask what you desire,
and it shall be done for you.
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By this, My Father is glorified,
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that you bear much fruit,
so shall you be My disciples."
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I have written in the
margin of my Bible, abiding,
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that's what we're talking about,
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the vine being
connected, the branches,
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being connected
to the vine, abiding.
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Abiding precedes fruit bearing.
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In order to bear
fruit, we have to abide,
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we have to be
connected with the sap,
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with Jesus Christ
flowing through us.
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Let's pray.
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Father, we come before
You in the name of Jesus.
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We thank You for Your Word.
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We thank You for our family here
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and our 3ABN family at home.
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And right now, Lord, You
know I'm but a little child,
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and I just pray that You
would get me out of the way,
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that You could empty me
of myself and, oh, Father,
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that Your Word would come alive,
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and that You would speak
and give us ears to hear.
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In Jesus' name, amen.
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I was probably 20 years
old, young, college age,
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and we did something
that maybe you've done at home
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called a tug of war.
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Has anybody ever
played tug of war?
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So I asked for
volunteers ahead of time.
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We're going to have
Abby and Josh come up.
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They are Reston
and Argie's kids here
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at our Thompsonville
Church School and church.
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And I have a tow rope down here,
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or maybe it's
not even a tow rope.
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I got it from Will Wharf today.
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I said, "You have a
big, thick rope for me?"
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So here is
Will's big, thick rope.
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You want to grab one end?
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Abby, you want to
get on this end, sweetie?
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So let's pretend pull.
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Who's going to win?
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Pull. Ooh, your sister's strong.
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Okay, pull, Josh, come on, pull.
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Okay, now we're going this way.
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Pull, okay,
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now I think Josh is
being kind to you right now.
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I think josh
is... Thank you so much.
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I think Josh was
being kind to you.
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So you saw they
went back and then forth
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and then back and forth.
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That reminds me of something
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we're going to read
about in Galatians 5.
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But before we read that, I
want to tell you the story.
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When I was 20,
we had a tug of war,
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similar to what you guys
tried, but in this tug of war,
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it was a very long rope.
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We can't do that on camera.
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It was like from
this end of the room
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all the way to the other end,
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and there were
many people tugging.
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So I was on this
side, and I had, you know,
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how you put your feet
and you plant them, you know,
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and you try to put your
weight, and you pull, okay?
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And there was probably 12
of us on this side pulling.
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Now I want to tell you
what happened on this side.
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It was not my side.
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The other side, now I
don't know if I can do this
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because we bent...
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We folded up this rope.
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Let me see if I
can find the end.
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Do you guys see an
end to this? Here it is.
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So this guy, he was a big guy.
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Now here at 3ABN, we would say
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Dave Everett's a big guy, right?
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Brother Louis
Capote tall, broad, right?
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Strong, barrel-chested.
So he was a big guy.
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He was young, 20, 25.
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So he took the rope
like this, and he went,
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right, have you seen that?
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And then he just
leaned his weight into it.
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So you know what happened?
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All of us, puny people,
on this side of the rope,
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I'm pulling my hardest.
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And you know what happened?
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We were dragged, just like that,
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across the line,
over here, just like that.
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I couldn't do anything about it.
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And I felt like a little kid.
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Yeah, I did gather,
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just like my feet are
just sliding in the dirt,
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and it was kind of muddy,
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and I couldn't do
anything about it.
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That reminds me of
the war of the flesh
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and the war of the spirit.
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We see that in
Galatians 5. Let's go there.
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Galatians 5, we're
going to start with...
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I think it's verse 16.
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We talk about that battle.
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Galatians 5:16,
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"I say then, 'Walk
in this spirit...'"
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Continually think about Christ,
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and "You shall not
fulfill the lust of the flesh.'"
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Walking in the spirit, Arabella,
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is like an antithesis
to walking in the flesh.
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They're two different things.
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Now I imagine the guy
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who was at the end
of the rope who was tied
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would be like me
feeding myself, okay?
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So walk in the spirit,
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and we don't want
to fulfill the flesh.
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Now what happens
when I feed myself,
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when I indulge my
self-pity, my pride,
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my selfishness, my
arrogance, what happens?
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I start to grow
taller, broader, bigger.
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And in the battle between
the spirit and the flesh,
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the flesh starts to win.
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We're in verse 17.
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"For the flesh lusts
against the Spirit..."
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It's like a tug a war,
we're talking about here.
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"And the Spirit
against the flesh,
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these are
contrary to one another
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so that you do not
do the things you wish
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but if you are
led by the Spirit,
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you are not under the law
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or not under the
condemnation of the law."
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You ever wake up in
the morning, and you think,
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'God, I'm going
to serve You today,
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and I'm so excited."
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And all of a sudden,
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maybe I've been
feeding the flesh over here,
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and He's grown
to quite a big guy.
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And I'm over here saying,
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"I'm going to serve You, Jesus."
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And He gives a tug on
the rope, and what happens?
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I'll go falling
in the mud over here.
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We're talking about
the works of the flesh,
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the fruit of the Spirit,
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or you could call it
self-centered living over here,
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self-centered or
flesh-filled living.
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On this side would
be spirit-filled living
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or other-people centered living.
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So on this side,
the self-centered,
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we would be
controlled by passions.
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It doesn't sound very
pleasant, but I have been there.
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On this side, we
are controlled by what?
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You got it, Cynthia,
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the spirit,
controlled by the spirit.
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On this side, I
am a slave to sin.
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On this side, I
died a sin, died a self.
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On this side, it shows or
reveals the fruits of sin.
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On this side, it reveals,
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you got to rest at
the fruit of the Spirit.
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On this side, I walk in lust.
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This side, I walk in love,
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self-sacrificing love.
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On this side, I walk
in idolatry to myself,
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focused on myself.
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On this side, I
live for other people.
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Really, it's living for Jesus,
and when you live for Jesus,
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you're going to automatically
live for other people.
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Let's look briefly at
the works of the flesh,
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and then we want
to spend our time
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on the fruit of the Spirit.
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We don't want to give the
devil too much credence here.
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But the works of the
flesh are verse 19 to 21.
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I don't think
it's exhaustive list.
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It does not list
every single sin there is,
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but it's an illustrative list.
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It gives us an illustration
of some of the sins,
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some of the works of the
flesh on this side over here.
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In my mind, they're divided
into five different categories.
00:10:57.39\00:11:00.76
The first would be
sensuality, sexuality.
00:11:00.79\00:11:04.79
We see that.
00:11:04.83\00:11:06.16
"Now the works of
the flesh are evident,
00:11:06.19\00:11:08.70
which are adultery,
fornication, uncleanness..."
00:11:08.73\00:11:14.34
Or that could
just mean impurity.
00:11:14.37\00:11:17.01
My Bible says...
00:11:17.04\00:11:18.37
I have New King
James, it says, "Lewdness."
00:11:18.41\00:11:21.64
Or unbridled lust.
00:11:21.68\00:11:24.48
That's not saying, "I'm going
to have a thought once a day
00:11:24.51\00:11:27.85
or once a week."
00:11:27.88\00:11:29.22
Unbridled would mean...
00:11:29.25\00:11:31.42
What do you think, Tracy?
00:11:31.45\00:11:32.79
Pretty consistent, right?
00:11:32.82\00:11:34.16
Consistent, constant.
00:11:34.19\00:11:37.29
The next category, idolatry.
00:11:37.33\00:11:41.93
Anything between...
00:11:41.96\00:11:43.73
Anytime I feed,
00:11:43.77\00:11:45.70
something between God and me.
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It could be myself.
00:11:48.24\00:11:50.64
You can make yourself an idol.
00:11:50.67\00:11:52.21
It could be something
else. It could be your spouse.
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It could be your children,
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your money, anything, job,
00:11:56.31\00:12:00.75
position that we
hold between us and God.
00:12:00.78\00:12:03.92
We hang onto that, idolatry.
00:12:03.95\00:12:07.09
That's the second category.
00:12:07.12\00:12:08.46
Third category, sorcery,
00:12:08.49\00:12:12.46
could be
superstition, witchcraft.
00:12:12.49\00:12:17.13
Bible says, "Rebellion
is as a sin of witchcraft."
00:12:17.17\00:12:21.57
Next to last category, sorry,
00:12:21.60\00:12:22.94
fourth category is
really selfishness,
00:12:22.97\00:12:24.61
and there's nine
things listed here.
00:12:24.64\00:12:28.64
"Hatred, contentions,
00:12:28.68\00:12:31.41
jealousies, outbursts of wrath,
00:12:31.45\00:12:34.85
selfish ambitions, dissensions,
00:12:34.88\00:12:39.35
heresies, envy, murder."
00:12:39.39\00:12:43.56
To me, a lot of those
come under selfishness.
00:12:43.59\00:12:47.50
If I envy Yannick
because of his very fancy bike,
00:12:47.53\00:12:51.53
now that's kind of a
joke here because Yannick,
00:12:51.57\00:12:53.87
that's his mode of
transportation, right?
00:12:53.90\00:12:56.20
Yannick rides the
bike, and you ride your bike.
00:12:56.24\00:12:58.84
Yannick can bike for miles.
00:12:58.87\00:13:02.38
Three thousand miles a season.
00:13:02.41\00:13:03.95
That's incredible!
00:13:03.98\00:13:05.35
He's very in shape.
00:13:05.38\00:13:06.72
So if Yannick...
00:13:06.75\00:13:08.85
I were to envy his bike,
his mode of transportation,
00:13:08.88\00:13:13.96
what would I be doing?
00:13:13.99\00:13:15.32
I am selfishly wanting something
00:13:15.36\00:13:18.53
that belongs to Yannick, right?
00:13:18.56\00:13:20.56
Hatred, if I have hate in
my heart for someone else,
00:13:20.60\00:13:24.27
what does that do?
00:13:24.30\00:13:25.80
Thinking about myself
really, that's selfishness.
00:13:25.83\00:13:28.90
The last category
is really intemperance.
00:13:28.94\00:13:33.44
"Drunkenness and revelries."
00:13:33.48\00:13:37.28
So this whole list, "Adultery,
fornication, uncleanness,
00:13:37.31\00:13:40.75
lewdness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatred, contentions,
00:13:40.78\00:13:44.92
jealousies, outbursts of wrath,
selfish ambition, dissensions,
00:13:44.95\00:13:49.09
heresies, envy,
murders, drunkenness,
00:13:49.12\00:13:51.09
revelries, and the like..."
00:13:51.13\00:13:52.46
So he means etcetera.
00:13:52.49\00:13:53.83
There's more
than that, etcetera.
00:13:53.86\00:13:56.90
"Of which I tell you beforehand
just as I told you in time past
00:13:56.93\00:14:00.77
that those who
practice such things
00:14:00.80\00:14:04.41
will not inherit
the kingdom of God."
00:14:04.44\00:14:07.54
If the Word of God
stopped there, guess what?
00:14:07.58\00:14:10.28
I'd be discouraged.
00:14:10.31\00:14:11.65
Would you be discouraged?
00:14:11.68\00:14:14.25
I look at that list of God,
00:14:14.28\00:14:16.15
"I don't want to
feed the man here
00:14:16.18\00:14:18.25
who was wrapped with a
cord and who was growing,
00:14:18.29\00:14:20.66
and I don't want
that, but I'm powerless.
00:14:20.69\00:14:24.59
I can't change my heart.
00:14:24.63\00:14:28.26
God, I don't know what to do."
00:14:28.30\00:14:30.67
It doesn't stop there.
00:14:30.70\00:14:32.03
The Bible says, "But
the fruit of the Spirit..."
00:14:32.07\00:14:33.80
And we're going to get
to the fruit of the Spirit.
00:14:33.84\00:14:35.84
Before we do that,
00:14:35.87\00:14:37.44
Jeremiah 13:23,
what does the Bible say?
00:14:37.47\00:14:41.64
Can the
Ethiopian change his spots?
00:14:41.68\00:14:44.25
The leopard change his spots?
00:14:44.28\00:14:45.61
Or the
Ethiopian change his skin?
00:14:45.65\00:14:47.78
Uh-uh.
00:14:47.82\00:14:49.15
Then may we also do good
00:14:49.18\00:14:50.52
who are
accustomed to doing evil.
00:14:50.55\00:14:52.85
The Bible is saying, "God knows,
00:14:52.89\00:14:55.42
you can't change your heart.
00:14:55.46\00:14:56.96
God knows I
can't change my heart."
00:14:56.99\00:14:59.66
It takes His
divine, supernatural work.
00:14:59.69\00:15:03.80
I'm going to look at
just a couple of verses,
00:15:03.83\00:15:05.27
and then we'll go to
the fruit of the Spirit.
00:15:05.30\00:15:06.94
Let's turn to Ezekiel.
00:15:06.97\00:15:10.17
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel 36.
00:15:10.21\00:15:13.94
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations,
Ezekiel, Ezekiel 36.
00:15:19.75\00:15:24.55
I think this is one
of my favorite passages
00:15:24.59\00:15:27.06
in all of the Bible.
00:15:27.09\00:15:28.79
Ezekiel 36:25,
00:15:28.82\00:15:33.09
"Then," God's speaking,
00:15:33.13\00:15:36.20
"I will sprinkle
clean water on you,
00:15:36.23\00:15:40.84
and you shall be clean.
00:15:40.87\00:15:44.37
I will cleanse you
from all your filthiness
00:15:44.41\00:15:46.91
and from all your idols."
00:15:46.94\00:15:49.38
Sometimes I feel
like I'm down in the mud,
00:15:49.41\00:15:52.71
you know, this tug of war battle
00:15:52.75\00:15:54.42
and I'm dirty and in the mud,
00:15:54.45\00:15:56.82
1 John 1:9, "If
we confess our sins,
00:15:56.85\00:16:01.79
He is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins
00:16:01.82\00:16:05.36
and to cleanse us from all,"
00:16:05.39\00:16:08.30
that's right,
"all unrighteousness."
00:16:08.33\00:16:12.33
God wants to cleanse us.
00:16:12.37\00:16:13.70
He says, "I will
sprinkle clean water on you,
00:16:13.74\00:16:16.67
and you shall be clean."
00:16:16.71\00:16:18.14
That's a promise.
00:16:18.17\00:16:19.71
You shall be clean.
00:16:19.74\00:16:21.44
Verse 26, "I will
give you a new heart
00:16:21.48\00:16:25.48
and put a new spirit within you.
00:16:25.51\00:16:28.78
I would take the heart of stone
00:16:28.82\00:16:31.45
out of your flesh
00:16:31.49\00:16:33.15
and give you a heart a flesh."
00:16:33.19\00:16:36.19
Sometimes I don't
even want to follow God.
00:16:36.22\00:16:39.16
Have you been there?
00:16:39.19\00:16:40.60
You say, "God, I'm not even sure
00:16:40.63\00:16:43.33
I want to ask forgiveness
00:16:43.37\00:16:44.83
because you know I was right."
00:16:44.87\00:16:47.07
"I'm not even sure
I want to do that."
00:16:47.10\00:16:50.51
And God says, "I know that.
00:16:50.54\00:16:52.37
I can take out
the heart of stone.
00:16:52.41\00:16:54.54
I can take out, that's right,
00:16:54.58\00:16:56.54
I can take out the
desires that are against Me,
00:16:56.58\00:17:00.08
and I can put in your
heart a heart of flesh."
00:17:00.12\00:17:04.19
Verse 27, "I will
put my spirit within you
00:17:04.22\00:17:08.59
and cause you to
walk in My statutes,"
00:17:08.62\00:17:11.59
or in the fruit of
the Spirit, we could say,
00:17:11.63\00:17:13.90
"And you will keep My
judgments and do them.
00:17:13.93\00:17:17.47
Then you would dwell in the land
00:17:17.50\00:17:18.87
that I gave to your fathers,
00:17:18.90\00:17:20.24
and you shall be My people,
00:17:20.27\00:17:22.10
and I will be your God."
00:17:22.14\00:17:24.84
That verse gives me courage.
00:17:24.87\00:17:26.98
That verse gives me hope.
00:17:27.01\00:17:28.74
God wants to change us.
00:17:28.78\00:17:30.98
And He's the one who does it.
00:17:31.01\00:17:32.55
He's the one who
reaches into your heart
00:17:32.58\00:17:34.32
if you give Him permission.
00:17:34.35\00:17:36.08
"Take out the heart
of stone," and says,
00:17:36.12\00:17:38.62
"I will give you
a heart of flesh."
00:17:38.65\00:17:41.12
I want to look at one more verse
00:17:41.16\00:17:42.52
before we go to the
fruit of the Spirit.
00:17:42.56\00:17:45.16
Turn with me to Romans 13.
00:17:45.19\00:17:48.63
Romans 13...
00:17:48.66\00:17:50.87
I am in 1 Corinthians.
00:17:55.90\00:17:58.41
Romans 13:14 says,
00:17:58.44\00:18:04.18
"But put on the
Lord Jesus Christ
00:18:04.21\00:18:08.65
and make no provision
00:18:08.68\00:18:11.15
for the flesh to
fulfill its lust."
00:18:11.19\00:18:15.32
In other words, I'm
not going to feed the guy
00:18:15.36\00:18:17.16
at the end of
the rope over here.
00:18:17.19\00:18:18.79
I'm not going to
make any provision.
00:18:18.83\00:18:21.80
Sometimes it's a
difficult decision
00:18:21.83\00:18:25.20
that could change
the music you listen to,
00:18:25.23\00:18:27.84
the TV you watch,
the movies you see,
00:18:27.87\00:18:31.37
the people that you
surround yourself with
00:18:31.41\00:18:33.31
as your friends in school,
00:18:33.34\00:18:35.24
changes all that
00:18:35.28\00:18:36.61
because
everything that we look at,
00:18:36.64\00:18:39.91
put in our minds,
listened to, changes it,
00:18:39.95\00:18:42.95
either feeds the flash
and grows that in our life
00:18:42.98\00:18:47.32
or it feeds the spirit.
00:18:47.36\00:18:51.06
So let's look at
those fruit of the Spirit.
00:18:51.09\00:18:52.93
And it's interesting,
00:18:52.96\00:18:54.30
we're going back
to the Galatians 5.
00:18:54.33\00:18:55.66
It's interesting to me,
00:18:55.70\00:18:57.03
the Bible called
them works of the flesh.
00:18:57.07\00:18:58.53
Did you notice that
plural, works with an S?
00:18:58.57\00:19:02.30
There's many, but when it talks
about the fruit of the Spirit,
00:19:02.34\00:19:05.47
it's a singular.
00:19:05.51\00:19:07.14
The fruit of the Spirit
00:19:07.18\00:19:11.08
because all these fruit...
00:19:11.11\00:19:13.08
There's nine of them,
00:19:13.11\00:19:14.45
all of them come
naturally as a result
00:19:14.48\00:19:17.99
of God's work in our heart,
00:19:18.02\00:19:20.06
nothing to do
with me trying harder.
00:19:20.09\00:19:24.69
It's everything to
do with allowing God
00:19:24.73\00:19:27.40
to come into my heart,
allowing God to change you,
00:19:27.43\00:19:32.13
letting Him put in
the heart of flesh,
00:19:32.17\00:19:34.57
choosing to feed the
spirit and not feed the flesh,
00:19:34.60\00:19:40.11
choosing to let Him
work, remaining connected.
00:19:40.14\00:19:42.14
We started with John 15,
00:19:42.18\00:19:43.85
remaining connected to the vine,
00:19:43.88\00:19:46.35
letting His sap flow through us
00:19:46.38\00:19:48.62
and then the fruit
automatically comes.
00:19:48.65\00:19:51.25
So we are in Galatians 5.
00:19:51.29\00:19:55.16
Thank you.
00:19:58.19\00:19:59.53
That's right, 22,
00:19:59.56\00:20:02.76
"But the fruit of the Spirit..."
00:20:02.80\00:20:04.13
We'll read them,
and then we'll go back.
00:20:04.17\00:20:05.73
"The fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace..."
00:20:05.77\00:20:09.84
Don't they even sound different,
00:20:09.87\00:20:11.21
the way the words sound
00:20:11.24\00:20:12.57
compared to the
works of the flesh?
00:20:12.61\00:20:14.01
"Love, joy,
peace, longsuffering,"
00:20:14.04\00:20:18.58
or you could say patience,
00:20:18.61\00:20:20.05
"kindness,
goodness, faithfulness,
00:20:20.08\00:20:23.25
gentleness, self-control,
00:20:23.28\00:20:27.09
against such, there is no law.'
00:20:27.12\00:20:32.36
Let's look at the
fruit of the Spirit of love.
00:20:32.39\00:20:34.93
The word here, the fruit
of the Spirit is love is...
00:20:34.96\00:20:39.47
Anybody know what the word is?
00:20:39.50\00:20:42.40
Agape.
00:20:42.44\00:20:43.77
Agape in the Greek. You got it.
00:20:43.81\00:20:47.54
You know, in the
Bible, there's different types
00:20:47.58\00:20:49.14
of Greek words
for a love, right?
00:20:49.18\00:20:51.08
You have eros which
would be a romantic love.
00:20:51.11\00:20:54.12
"I think he's
kind of cute," right?
00:20:54.15\00:20:56.22
Okay, romantic love,
then you have phileo,
00:20:56.25\00:20:59.82
which would be friendship.
00:20:59.85\00:21:02.16
You are my friend.
00:21:02.19\00:21:04.56
Then we have agape.
00:21:04.59\00:21:06.39
Now agape love seeks
00:21:06.43\00:21:09.00
the highest good
of the other person.
00:21:09.03\00:21:11.23
It's not
concerned with how I feel.
00:21:11.27\00:21:12.93
It's not concerned with
00:21:12.97\00:21:14.30
if loving you is
easy for me or not.
00:21:14.34\00:21:17.97
Many times agape
love costs the person.
00:21:18.01\00:21:22.11
It can be painful and
difficult for the person
00:21:22.14\00:21:25.01
who has agape love
for the other person.
00:21:25.05\00:21:28.25
It's God's type of love.
00:21:28.28\00:21:30.75
The fruit of the Spirit is love.
00:21:30.79\00:21:33.59
How do we love our
brothers and sisters?
00:21:33.62\00:21:37.36
How do we love those
who God puts in our life?
00:21:37.39\00:21:42.53
That's right.
00:21:42.56\00:21:43.90
There's three ways, at
least in my own experience.
00:21:43.93\00:21:46.43
And they all
start with the letter A.
00:21:46.47\00:21:47.84
So if you're taking notes,
00:21:47.87\00:21:49.20
how do I love like
God wants me to love?
00:21:49.24\00:21:52.87
First is, ask.
00:21:52.91\00:21:55.04
Ask God for His love.
00:21:55.08\00:21:57.55
We can't conjure
up His type of love.
00:21:57.58\00:22:00.42
I can't grit my teeth and say,
00:22:00.45\00:22:02.92
"I'm going to be
kind to Arabella."
00:22:02.95\00:22:04.85
Now she is precious,
00:22:04.89\00:22:06.22
so you could not
be anything but kind.
00:22:06.25\00:22:08.39
But I couldn't grit my
teeth and say that, right?
00:22:08.42\00:22:11.86
Only God can give
us His type of love.
00:22:11.89\00:22:15.10
Turn with me to 1 John 4.
00:22:15.13\00:22:18.13
1 John 4, I love 1 and 2 John.
00:22:18.17\00:22:22.67
1 John 4,
00:22:22.70\00:22:24.04
really the whole book of 1 John
talks about God's love for us
00:22:24.07\00:22:27.64
and the love He
wants us to exhibit,
00:22:27.68\00:22:29.61
exemplify toward our
brothers and sisters.
00:22:29.64\00:22:33.62
1 John 4:19,
00:22:33.65\00:22:37.59
"We love Him
because He first loved us."
00:22:37.62\00:22:41.86
We can't love...
00:22:41.89\00:22:43.22
We can't have God's
agape love for anybody
00:22:43.26\00:22:46.03
unless God put it into us.
00:22:46.06\00:22:49.16
So I think we
ask God for His love.
00:22:49.20\00:22:51.53
That's number one.
00:22:51.57\00:22:52.90
Number two, we
accept His love by faith.
00:22:52.93\00:22:57.91
Love is a principle.
00:22:57.94\00:23:01.01
We don't love by feeling,
00:23:01.04\00:23:02.38
whether I feel love
or not, what happens?
00:23:02.41\00:23:05.81
I can choose with my
mind to react out of love,
00:23:05.85\00:23:10.25
and God is going to
bring the feelings along.
00:23:10.29\00:23:12.79
They come eventually,
maybe not in the beginning,
00:23:12.82\00:23:15.22
but they come.
00:23:15.26\00:23:16.59
You think about
1 Corinthians 13,
00:23:16.62\00:23:18.13
the love chapter,
00:23:18.16\00:23:19.49
the principles in
that, they're really choices.
00:23:19.53\00:23:23.73
Did you notice that?
00:23:23.77\00:23:25.10
1 Corinthians 13 isn't a lot
about how that makes me feel.
00:23:25.13\00:23:29.04
It's about love is kind.
00:23:29.07\00:23:31.51
Kindness is a choice.
00:23:31.54\00:23:32.94
Love is patient.
00:23:32.97\00:23:35.18
Patience is a choice.
00:23:35.21\00:23:36.75
Love does not envy.
00:23:36.78\00:23:39.05
That's a choice.
00:23:39.08\00:23:40.42
Making the choices of love,
00:23:40.45\00:23:42.58
our feelings always
follow our thoughts.
00:23:42.62\00:23:45.32
And if we choose to
bring our thoughts into line
00:23:45.35\00:23:47.52
with what God's
Word says, what happens?
00:23:47.56\00:23:50.49
He would change our feelings.
00:23:50.53\00:23:53.90
He would change them.
00:23:53.93\00:23:55.26
Number three, we actively
reach out in loving ways.
00:23:55.30\00:23:58.50
So first, we just ask
God, "God, give me Your love."
00:23:58.53\00:24:01.40
Number two, we
accept His love by faith,
00:24:01.44\00:24:05.21
and number three, we actively
reach out in loving ways.
00:24:05.24\00:24:09.74
I remember, I was...
00:24:09.78\00:24:11.78
I walked into a room,
this was several years ago,
00:24:11.81\00:24:15.68
and a woman had her back to me
00:24:15.72\00:24:17.62
over on the
other side of the room.
00:24:17.65\00:24:20.22
And there was a
whole group of people.
00:24:20.26\00:24:22.29
And she was talking to them,
00:24:22.32\00:24:23.66
and I was just coming
through the door jamb,
00:24:23.69\00:24:25.26
you know, just
coming into the room.
00:24:25.29\00:24:26.86
And I thought,
00:24:26.90\00:24:28.23
"Oh, that's nice.
I'll go join her."
00:24:28.26\00:24:29.60
And just as I
came through the door,
00:24:29.63\00:24:32.60
I figured out she
was talking about me,
00:24:32.63\00:24:36.77
and it was not real kind.
00:24:36.81\00:24:40.78
Cutting, belittling,
00:24:40.81\00:24:44.21
and I just stopped like,
00:24:44.25\00:24:47.25
"She really is saying
that to all these people."
00:24:47.28\00:24:51.35
And I know these people,
and I don't think it's true,
00:24:51.39\00:24:55.22
at least, God, I
hope it's not true.
00:24:55.26\00:24:58.06
And so I turned around,
and I ran out to the car,
00:24:58.09\00:25:00.53
and I just stood
there, and I cried.
00:25:00.56\00:25:05.57
And then I said,
00:25:05.60\00:25:07.14
"God, I don't know
how to deal with this.
00:25:07.17\00:25:09.44
I thought she was my friend.
00:25:09.47\00:25:12.61
I don't know how to love her.
00:25:12.64\00:25:14.98
I can't."
00:25:15.01\00:25:17.81
And so I did what I thought
was the Christian thing to do.
00:25:17.85\00:25:23.28
I did not gossip
about her to other people.
00:25:23.32\00:25:27.06
That is a Christian thing to do.
00:25:27.09\00:25:28.42
I didn't say, "You know, Gary,
so and so said this about me.
00:25:28.46\00:25:32.13
And can you believe
that she said that?"
00:25:32.16\00:25:34.43
I didn't do that, okay?
00:25:34.46\00:25:36.43
But my heart was not right.
00:25:36.46\00:25:40.40
You know how you can
have the outward trappings
00:25:40.44\00:25:42.47
of what you're
supposed to do as a Christian
00:25:42.50\00:25:44.27
and how you're supposed to act,
00:25:44.31\00:25:46.27
but internally
you're not right with God?
00:25:46.31\00:25:51.21
But what happened
in that experience was
00:25:51.25\00:25:54.72
I did not even know I
wasn't right with God.
00:25:54.75\00:25:57.65
Isn't that weird?
00:25:57.69\00:25:59.05
How we can be so self-deceived,
00:25:59.09\00:26:02.09
the works of the
flesh were growing?
00:26:02.12\00:26:04.56
I was pulling on this
side of the tug of war
00:26:04.59\00:26:07.60
instead of the fruit
of the Spirit of love,
00:26:07.63\00:26:09.90
and I didn't even know it.
00:26:09.93\00:26:12.00
I thought, "I'm doing okay.
00:26:12.03\00:26:14.37
I'm not gossiping about her."
00:26:14.40\00:26:16.47
As if that's the
only thing in life.
00:26:16.50\00:26:19.47
And one day, I was working on
memorizing the scripture text.
00:26:19.51\00:26:22.58
I love to memorize scripture
00:26:22.61\00:26:24.01
because the Word
of God is powerful.
00:26:24.05\00:26:26.51
It would change you.
00:26:26.55\00:26:28.42
Claiming the promises of
the Word of God changes you.
00:26:28.45\00:26:31.15
And I was working on Hebrews 12.
00:26:31.19\00:26:33.25
It says, "Follow peace
with all men and holiness
00:26:33.29\00:26:37.03
without which no
one shall see the Lord."
00:26:37.06\00:26:39.59
And I'm scrubbing plates, right,
00:26:39.63\00:26:41.36
doing dishes at the sink.
00:26:41.40\00:26:42.73
And above the
sink is the window,
00:26:42.76\00:26:44.37
you know, you look out.
00:26:44.40\00:26:45.73
And there was...
00:26:45.77\00:26:47.10
My scripture was taped up there
so I could read the scripture,
00:26:47.14\00:26:49.70
I could practice memorizing
as I'm, you know, doing dishes.
00:26:49.74\00:26:53.64
So I'm scrubbing plates,
00:26:53.68\00:26:55.01
follow peace with
all men in holiness
00:26:55.04\00:26:57.18
without which
nobody shall see God.
00:26:57.21\00:26:58.95
"Oh, thank You, God,
00:26:58.98\00:27:00.45
I'm walking in peace
with my brothers and sisters."
00:27:00.48\00:27:02.85
I didn't even know I
had hard feelings really.
00:27:02.88\00:27:05.15
They're so pushed down.
00:27:05.19\00:27:07.52
Then the next verse
jolted me out of my complacency,
00:27:07.56\00:27:12.59
"Looking diligently lest anyone
fail of the grace of Christ,
00:27:12.63\00:27:17.10
lest any root of bitterness
springing up trouble you,
00:27:17.13\00:27:22.20
and thereby many
people be defiled."
00:27:22.24\00:27:24.67
And the Holy Spirit at
that moment not an audible voice
00:27:24.71\00:27:27.44
but spoke to my heart
and mind internally and said,
00:27:27.48\00:27:30.91
"Jill, what you're
holding against your sister,
00:27:30.95\00:27:35.12
sister in Jesus, is going
to ruin your walk with Me.
00:27:35.15\00:27:41.22
It's going to
ruin your marriage.
00:27:41.26\00:27:43.29
It's going to
ruin your ministry.
00:27:43.32\00:27:46.06
Do you want that?"
00:27:46.09\00:27:47.76
And I said, "God, I don't.
00:27:47.80\00:27:50.27
But I can't love her.
00:27:50.30\00:27:52.10
I don't know how to love her."
00:27:52.13\00:27:55.64
So God led me,
I asked, remember,
00:27:55.67\00:27:57.67
we talked about
ask God for His love.
00:27:57.71\00:27:59.14
I asked God for His love.
00:27:59.17\00:28:00.84
We'll call her
Janie. That's not her name.
00:28:00.88\00:28:02.51
I asked for
God's love for Janie.
00:28:02.54\00:28:05.78
I accepted His love by
faith, but to be honest,
00:28:05.81\00:28:07.88
I didn't feel any different.
00:28:07.92\00:28:09.72
I actively... Number three,
00:28:09.75\00:28:12.25
actively reach
out in loving ways.
00:28:12.29\00:28:14.29
And underneath that, to
me, is praying for the person.
00:28:14.32\00:28:17.49
And so I began to pray.
00:28:17.53\00:28:18.99
I prayed the first morning,
00:28:19.03\00:28:20.36
"God, I ask that
You'll bless Janie
00:28:20.40\00:28:21.76
and give her a good day-to-day.
00:28:21.80\00:28:23.43
And I just ask that
00:28:23.47\00:28:24.80
You would bless her
marriage and her ministry
00:28:24.83\00:28:27.00
and give her
financial blessings,
00:28:27.04\00:28:29.54
give her good health."
00:28:29.57\00:28:30.91
And, you know, as I prayed that,
00:28:30.94\00:28:32.27
guess what happened?
00:28:32.31\00:28:33.64
I felt fake, like I wanted,
00:28:33.68\00:28:35.24
"Oh, God, couldn't You
curse her just a little bit,
00:28:35.28\00:28:38.81
you know, maybe she
could have a car accident
00:28:38.85\00:28:40.72
and break a leg
or something," right?
00:28:40.75\00:28:42.65
And so God says, "No, I
want you to pray blessings."
00:28:42.68\00:28:45.29
"Well, I don't want to."
00:28:45.32\00:28:48.09
But I can make a choice.
00:28:48.12\00:28:49.46
Remember, we talked
about, love is a principle,
00:28:49.49\00:28:52.06
love is not a feeling.
00:28:52.09\00:28:53.50
"God, I make a choice.
00:28:53.53\00:28:54.86
I prayed these
blessings over her life."
00:28:54.90\00:28:57.73
And I felt fake,
but I did it anyway
00:28:57.77\00:29:00.60
because that's what
God's Word asks us to do.
00:29:00.64\00:29:03.30
Day one, nothing happened.
00:29:03.34\00:29:04.84
I did it the second
day, nothing happened.
00:29:04.87\00:29:06.94
I did it the third
day, nothing happened.
00:29:06.98\00:29:09.54
Fourth, and I don't
remember, it's been so long.
00:29:09.58\00:29:12.08
How many days into it?
00:29:12.11\00:29:14.25
And all of a sudden, I
was praying the same prayer.
00:29:14.28\00:29:16.32
"God, bless her and
give her spiritual blessings
00:29:16.35\00:29:19.15
and financial and health and..."
00:29:19.19\00:29:22.29
And God took the pain off.
00:29:22.32\00:29:26.06
It was like a knot
pulled off from my back,
00:29:26.09\00:29:30.13
and I felt free.
00:29:30.17\00:29:34.70
And I left her,
not just in principle,
00:29:34.74\00:29:38.17
not just because God had said,
00:29:38.21\00:29:39.94
"You're supposed to love Janie."
00:29:39.97\00:29:42.21
But I loved her inside.
00:29:42.24\00:29:44.55
And you know what?
She's my friend today.
00:29:44.58\00:29:48.12
That's what God can do,
00:29:48.15\00:29:49.92
actively reach
out in loving ways,
00:29:49.95\00:29:52.82
pray for the person,
ask God for a specific way
00:29:52.85\00:29:55.39
you can reach out in love.
00:29:55.42\00:29:59.03
Maybe there's unlovable
people in your life tonight,
00:29:59.06\00:30:01.46
make a list.
00:30:01.50\00:30:02.83
God knows who they
are, but make a list,
00:30:02.86\00:30:04.83
and then actively
reach out in love,
00:30:04.87\00:30:08.14
ask God for His love,
00:30:08.17\00:30:09.50
accept His love by faith,
00:30:09.54\00:30:11.07
and actively reach out
in love for that person.
00:30:11.11\00:30:14.78
And you know, sometimes
00:30:14.81\00:30:16.18
the unlovable
person is ourself, right?
00:30:16.21\00:30:19.81
Sometimes the
hardest person to forgive
00:30:19.85\00:30:22.08
or to accept or
to love is yourself.
00:30:22.12\00:30:25.02
You can be kind
to everybody else,
00:30:25.05\00:30:26.39
but how could God love me?
00:30:26.42\00:30:29.09
I'm such a mess.
00:30:29.12\00:30:30.46
And yet God says, "I love you."
00:30:30.49\00:30:33.50
Due to same principle.
00:30:33.53\00:30:34.86
So fruit of the Spirit is love.
00:30:34.90\00:30:37.90
The next fruit is joy.
00:30:37.93\00:30:40.74
In the Greek, the word for joy
00:30:40.77\00:30:42.50
is C-H-A-R-A or chara.
00:30:42.54\00:30:47.58
I hope I'm
pronouncing that correctly.
00:30:47.61\00:30:49.28
Chara, and it means
simply joy, gladness, delight.
00:30:49.31\00:30:55.12
You know, there's a difference
between happiness and joy.
00:30:55.15\00:30:59.19
Happiness is dependent
on outward circumstances.
00:30:59.22\00:31:02.86
So if I wake up in the morning,
00:31:02.89\00:31:04.23
and I feel like
the days going well
00:31:04.26\00:31:06.49
and the sun shining...
00:31:06.53\00:31:07.86
I always feel
better when the sun shines.
00:31:07.90\00:31:09.23
So I was just being honest.
00:31:09.26\00:31:10.60
So if the sun is shining,
00:31:10.63\00:31:12.03
and if, you know, someone says,
00:31:12.07\00:31:14.77
"Hi," to you at
work and treats you well
00:31:14.80\00:31:16.91
and whatever, then,
"Oh, it's a good day."
00:31:16.94\00:31:19.64
That's happiness.
00:31:19.67\00:31:21.01
That's dependent on
what goes on around us.
00:31:21.04\00:31:22.98
But joy, true joy that
comes from Jesus is divine.
00:31:23.01\00:31:28.65
It's not dependent on
whether the sun shines.
00:31:28.68\00:31:31.22
It's not dependent on whether
00:31:31.25\00:31:32.59
your spouse says a nice
word to you that morning.
00:31:32.62\00:31:34.82
It's not dependent on whether
your boss is happy with you
00:31:34.86\00:31:37.53
or upset with you.
00:31:37.56\00:31:38.89
It's not
dependent on any of that.
00:31:38.93\00:31:40.73
True joy is not
the absence of trouble.
00:31:40.76\00:31:45.03
It's the
presence of Jesus Christ.
00:31:45.07\00:31:48.10
Psalm 16:11 says that.
00:31:48.14\00:31:50.34
If you want to turn with me,
00:31:50.37\00:31:51.81
we'll come back to our
Galatians 5 in a minute.
00:31:51.84\00:31:54.11
Psalm 16:11,
00:31:54.14\00:31:57.45
"True joy is not
the absence of trouble.
00:31:57.48\00:32:01.45
It is the presence of Christ.
00:32:01.48\00:32:05.05
Psalm 16:11,
00:32:05.09\00:32:06.42
"You will show
me the path of life.
00:32:06.45\00:32:09.82
In Your presence
is fullness of joy.
00:32:09.86\00:32:13.23
At Your right hand are
pleasures forevermore."
00:32:13.26\00:32:16.33
Did you notice?
00:32:16.36\00:32:17.70
Where do we
have fullness of joy?
00:32:17.73\00:32:19.70
In the presence of
Jesus, in Your presence,
00:32:19.73\00:32:24.51
His fullness of joy.
00:32:24.54\00:32:26.81
I have a friend.
00:32:26.84\00:32:28.21
We'll call him Billy.
00:32:28.24\00:32:29.58
That's not his real name.
00:32:29.61\00:32:31.28
And Billy hurt himself.
00:32:31.31\00:32:35.02
And he had to go to
the hospital for a surgery.
00:32:35.05\00:32:37.29
So Greg and I went to go
see Billy in the hospital.
00:32:37.32\00:32:39.62
And, you know, when you go
to see someone in the hospital,
00:32:39.65\00:32:41.46
what's your objective?
00:32:41.49\00:32:45.29
Yeah, you got it, Louis,
make them feel better, right?
00:32:45.33\00:32:47.46
That's your objective.
00:32:47.50\00:32:48.83
You want to encourage,
bring some sort of cheer.
00:32:48.86\00:32:51.27
That's the point of going
to see someone in the hospital.
00:32:51.30\00:32:53.70
So we went to go see
Billy and pray with him.
00:32:53.74\00:32:56.17
And so we
walked in, and he said,
00:32:56.20\00:32:58.14
"Oh, how are you doing?"
00:32:58.17\00:33:00.48
We said, "No, no, no.
00:33:00.51\00:33:01.84
How are you doing?" Right?
00:33:01.88\00:33:03.21
"We came to see you.
00:33:03.24\00:33:04.58
How are you doing?"
00:33:04.61\00:33:05.95
"Oh, it's just wonderful.
00:33:05.98\00:33:07.32
I'm just praising the Lord."
00:33:07.35\00:33:09.02
And I thought, "Wait a
minute, you're in pain.
00:33:09.05\00:33:12.12
You're having surgery."
00:33:12.15\00:33:13.96
"Oh, but the Lord gave
me opportunity to witness.
00:33:13.99\00:33:17.86
I witness to the
nurses and the doctors.
00:33:17.89\00:33:20.10
And I'm able to
share Jesus and..."
00:33:20.13\00:33:23.30
And that encouraged me,
00:33:23.33\00:33:25.27
and I came out of
the hospital thinking
00:33:25.30\00:33:26.94
I went to bring
courage to him, Brother Dan,
00:33:26.97\00:33:29.00
but I was encouraged myself.
00:33:29.04\00:33:32.14
And then a couple days later,
another friend talked to me.
00:33:32.17\00:33:35.78
And she said, "Oh,
did you go see Billy."
00:33:35.81\00:33:37.71
And we said, "Yeah, well,
00:33:37.75\00:33:39.08
I went to go see
her in the hospital."
00:33:39.11\00:33:41.52
She said, "Oh, was he happy?"
00:33:41.55\00:33:43.35
And I said, "Absolutely.
00:33:43.39\00:33:45.49
It blessed me so much."
00:33:45.52\00:33:47.02
And she said, "Oh, some
people are just like that.
00:33:47.06\00:33:51.63
Some people are naturally happy.
00:33:51.66\00:33:53.80
Some people are born that way."
00:33:53.83\00:33:55.70
And you know what?
I do not believe that.
00:33:55.73\00:33:59.53
Joy, just like
love, is a choice.
00:33:59.57\00:34:03.61
It's the presence of Christ.
00:34:03.64\00:34:05.64
It doesn't mean
your life is going good.
00:34:05.67\00:34:07.91
It doesn't mean
you don't have trials.
00:34:07.94\00:34:10.55
What's it tell us in James?
00:34:10.58\00:34:11.91
Count it all joy
00:34:11.95\00:34:13.28
when you fall
into various troubles,
00:34:13.31\00:34:14.68
count it joy.
00:34:14.72\00:34:17.22
Nehemiah 8:10, "The joy
of the Lord is my strength."
00:34:17.25\00:34:22.19
Do you need strength?
00:34:22.22\00:34:23.86
Choose God's joy.
00:34:23.89\00:34:25.23
So how do we cultivate joy?
00:34:25.26\00:34:26.59
We talk about cultivating love.
00:34:26.63\00:34:28.06
How do we cultivate joy?
00:34:28.10\00:34:29.63
In my experience, there's been
three steps to cultivating joy.
00:34:29.66\00:34:34.30
First is to surrender.
00:34:34.34\00:34:37.87
Surrender my
thoughts, surrender my sadness,
00:34:37.91\00:34:41.14
surrender my dreams,
00:34:41.18\00:34:44.15
surrender my control
00:34:44.18\00:34:45.98
over this situation to God.
00:34:46.01\00:34:51.42
Greg and I walked through
00:34:51.45\00:34:54.49
a painful valley
00:34:54.52\00:34:58.76
maybe 10 years ago.
00:34:58.79\00:35:01.66
And I remember
when the doctor called
00:35:01.70\00:35:06.40
and with the news.
00:35:06.43\00:35:08.10
We've been going
through all these tests
00:35:08.14\00:35:09.50
trying to find out stuff.
00:35:09.54\00:35:12.41
And the doctor
called with the news.
00:35:12.44\00:35:15.48
And I remember...
00:35:15.51\00:35:16.98
It's been a long time
ago, so now it's like,
00:35:17.01\00:35:19.08
"Oh, wow, was that painful?"
00:35:19.11\00:35:20.72
You know, how God
works in your heart,
00:35:20.75\00:35:22.08
and it just
totally takes it out.
00:35:22.12\00:35:24.39
But at the time, it
was very devastating.
00:35:24.42\00:35:27.56
And I remember,
Greg was at work,
00:35:27.59\00:35:28.92
I couldn't call him,
00:35:28.96\00:35:30.29
I was actually
kneading bread dough,
00:35:30.33\00:35:31.66
so my hands are all
goofy with the bread,
00:35:31.69\00:35:33.63
and you're trying to
hold the phone like this,
00:35:33.66\00:35:35.53
and the doctor's...
00:35:35.56\00:35:37.53
Wow, and so I remember,
00:35:37.57\00:35:39.33
I just put the phone down,
00:35:39.37\00:35:40.70
and I just blindly
ran out of the house.
00:35:40.74\00:35:44.54
And it was
springtime, April, I think,
00:35:44.57\00:35:48.34
the leaves are just
unfurling their green,
00:35:48.38\00:35:50.98
you know, the sky was blue,
and the birds were singing.
00:35:51.01\00:35:55.12
And I couldn't see that.
00:35:55.15\00:35:56.99
I couldn't hear that.
00:35:57.02\00:35:58.92
I couldn't sense that,
all I felt was like pain.
00:35:58.95\00:36:02.99
"God, this is the devastation
of everything I ever wanted."
00:36:03.02\00:36:07.36
And He said, "Jill, my daughter,
00:36:07.40\00:36:09.30
count your blessings."
00:36:09.33\00:36:12.17
And I thought, "Boy,
you're asking a lot, God.
00:36:12.20\00:36:15.77
I want some pity,
give me some pity.
00:36:15.80\00:36:19.84
I'm hurting, just a little pity,
00:36:19.87\00:36:22.41
you know."
00:36:22.44\00:36:23.81
And He said,
"Count your blessings."
00:36:23.85\00:36:26.82
And I said, "Okay, God.
00:36:26.85\00:36:30.59
First of all, I will
surrender my dream to You.
00:36:30.62\00:36:35.62
What I thought I wanted in life,
00:36:35.66\00:36:37.36
I'll give it back to You.
00:36:37.39\00:36:40.33
Then I'm thankful I
have a godly husband.
00:36:40.36\00:36:42.06
I'm thankful I have friends.
00:36:42.10\00:36:43.73
I'm thankful I
have a church family.
00:36:43.77\00:36:46.10
I'm thankful for ministry.
00:36:46.13\00:36:47.80
I'm thankful for Jesus."
00:36:47.84\00:36:51.27
Pretty soon, you
know what happened?
00:36:51.31\00:36:53.98
My heart began to change.
00:36:54.01\00:36:56.44
The pain...
00:36:56.48\00:36:57.81
Now I'm not saying
there wasn't still pain,
00:36:57.85\00:36:59.71
but the sharpness of
the pain began to pull out.
00:36:59.75\00:37:03.55
And I could hear the birds,
00:37:03.59\00:37:04.92
and I could see
the green leaves,
00:37:04.95\00:37:06.55
and I could
breathe the springtime air.
00:37:06.59\00:37:11.29
So I think
00:37:11.33\00:37:13.29
what God wants us to do
00:37:13.33\00:37:15.23
when we cultivate
joy is to surrender.
00:37:15.26\00:37:18.73
First of all, I just surrender,
00:37:18.77\00:37:21.17
identify the source
of my pain and sadness.
00:37:21.20\00:37:23.77
"God, I wish I
could be married."
00:37:23.81\00:37:26.78
Maybe some people
want to be married.
00:37:26.81\00:37:28.61
"And, God, you're not
bringing me a spouse."
00:37:28.64\00:37:32.51
"God, I want kids,
and I can't have kids."
00:37:32.55\00:37:35.38
"God, I wish my
spouse would love me again."
00:37:35.42\00:37:38.69
"God, I wish I wasn't
going through a divorce."
00:37:38.72\00:37:41.66
I mean, this is real stuff.
00:37:41.69\00:37:43.86
God, I wish I
wasn't losing my house."
00:37:43.89\00:37:47.53
"I wish I could pay my bills."
00:37:47.56\00:37:50.10
You know, when we
minister with the women in jail,
00:37:50.13\00:37:52.47
"God, I wish I
wasn't going to jail."
00:37:52.50\00:37:54.17
Okay, you can't
control any of that, right?
00:37:54.20\00:37:56.24
That's all beyond our control.
00:37:56.27\00:37:58.51
So identify the
source, acknowledge,
00:37:58.54\00:38:00.88
"But I can't do it.
00:38:00.91\00:38:03.35
I can't control the situation.
00:38:03.38\00:38:06.18
I'm surrendering it to You,
00:38:06.21\00:38:07.78
and I will trust You
00:38:07.82\00:38:09.88
whether I get
what I want or not."
00:38:09.92\00:38:12.19
It's choosing to trust Jesus
with our life, we surrender.
00:38:12.22\00:38:16.62
We practice His presence.
00:38:16.66\00:38:18.69
That's number two.
00:38:18.73\00:38:20.06
Practice His presence.
00:38:20.10\00:38:21.43
We already read that
verse in Psalm 16:11,
00:38:21.46\00:38:23.83
"And Your presence
is fullness of joy."
00:38:23.87\00:38:26.94
Practicing the
presence of Jesus is a choice.
00:38:26.97\00:38:31.47
Practice makes permanent.
00:38:31.51\00:38:34.94
You know, I taught
piano, you know, for 10 years,
00:38:34.98\00:38:37.25
and I used to tell my kids,
00:38:37.28\00:38:39.65
"Practice does
not make perfect."
00:38:39.68\00:38:41.85
You know, how they say
that, practice makes perfect?
00:38:41.88\00:38:44.05
But it really doesn't.
00:38:44.09\00:38:45.42
It just makes permanent.
00:38:45.45\00:38:46.79
If you always play
the wrong note, well,
00:38:46.82\00:38:48.16
then you're going to
practice the note wrong.
00:38:48.19\00:38:50.09
And you're going to
learn the note wrong,
00:38:50.13\00:38:51.46
and it will be permanently
ingrained in your brain wrong.
00:38:51.49\00:38:54.23
So practice makes permanent.
00:38:54.26\00:38:56.16
So if I choose
to bring my heart,
00:38:56.20\00:38:58.93
my mind in line with
what God's Word says,
00:38:58.97\00:39:02.67
what happens?
00:39:02.70\00:39:04.44
It changes the
structure of the brain.
00:39:04.47\00:39:07.04
Greg and I were in a zoo...
00:39:07.08\00:39:09.14
Not in the zoo.
00:39:09.18\00:39:10.51
We were visiting at the zoo.
00:39:10.55\00:39:12.18
Clarification,
00:39:12.21\00:39:13.82
we were at the zoo
00:39:13.85\00:39:15.18
visiting the animals in the zoo.
00:39:15.22\00:39:17.12
And so we were walking by,
00:39:17.15\00:39:18.85
and I like the
big cats, you know.
00:39:18.89\00:39:21.19
So there's the tigers and
the leopards and the lions,
00:39:21.22\00:39:24.59
and for some reason I
just like that animal.
00:39:24.63\00:39:27.30
And so there was a
leopard, I forget his name.
00:39:27.33\00:39:29.20
He was a
certain type of leopard.
00:39:29.23\00:39:30.87
And when we were standing there,
00:39:30.90\00:39:32.60
he's in his cage,
and he had a big cage.
00:39:32.63\00:39:35.20
Now I don't like
any animal in a cage.
00:39:35.24\00:39:37.04
It's just...
00:39:37.07\00:39:38.64
I want Jesus to come,
00:39:38.67\00:39:40.01
you know, there'd
be no more the lion
00:39:40.04\00:39:41.84
and the leopard
and all be together.
00:39:41.88\00:39:44.05
But he was in his
cage, it's fairly large cage,
00:39:44.08\00:39:47.65
but you know what happened?
00:39:47.68\00:39:49.02
He walked up the
side of the cage,
00:39:49.05\00:39:50.92
and he turned
around, and he came back,
00:39:50.95\00:39:53.12
and then he turned
around, and he came back.
00:39:53.15\00:39:55.36
And you know what had happened?
00:39:55.39\00:39:57.26
The grass was worn through,
00:39:57.29\00:40:00.76
then there was a brown strip,
00:40:00.80\00:40:03.77
you know, right
against the edge of his cage,
00:40:03.80\00:40:06.87
then there was a rut like this.
00:40:06.90\00:40:11.14
And that was
because... What had he done?
00:40:11.17\00:40:14.28
Over and over, back
and forth, back and forth.
00:40:14.31\00:40:18.88
So what I choose
to think about...
00:40:18.91\00:40:21.15
I can wake up and say,
00:40:21.18\00:40:22.52
"God, so and so
didn't treat me well,
00:40:22.55\00:40:24.55
and it's a cloudy day,
00:40:24.59\00:40:25.92
and I'm going to
have a bad attitude."
00:40:25.95\00:40:28.22
Right? I can choose that.
00:40:28.26\00:40:30.39
And if I think that today,
00:40:30.43\00:40:32.03
and then I think that tomorrow,
00:40:32.06\00:40:34.03
and I think that the
next day, what happens?
00:40:34.06\00:40:37.00
The rut in my brain,
the grass disappears,
00:40:37.03\00:40:41.17
I get a brown path,
00:40:41.20\00:40:42.70
and then I get a
rut thinking that way.
00:40:42.74\00:40:45.71
Now I can choose to change,
00:40:45.74\00:40:47.78
"God, I thank You
for the gift of Jesus."
00:40:47.81\00:40:50.25
"Wow! I'm
stepping out of the rut."
00:40:50.28\00:40:52.15
"God, I thank You for the
work You're doing in my life."
00:40:52.18\00:40:55.05
That's another
step out of the rut."
00:40:55.08\00:40:57.12
"God, I think You that
You can give me Your joy."
00:40:57.15\00:41:01.59
That's another
step out of the rut.
00:41:01.62\00:41:03.16
And as we choose
to think differently,
00:41:03.19\00:41:05.53
what happens?
00:41:05.56\00:41:07.10
The grass grows over
the old way of thinking,
00:41:07.13\00:41:10.17
and pretty soon, a
new rut begins to emerge.
00:41:10.20\00:41:13.87
But it's a rut
00:41:13.90\00:41:15.24
based on the
fruit of the Spirit,
00:41:15.27\00:41:16.71
instead of reacting
in the work of the flesh.
00:41:16.74\00:41:21.08
So first, for
cultivating joy, we surrender.
00:41:21.11\00:41:23.55
Second, we
practice His presence,
00:41:23.58\00:41:25.28
and third, we give thanks.
00:41:25.31\00:41:28.38
I already talked
about that a little bit
00:41:28.42\00:41:29.75
with the story me
walking down the road
00:41:29.78\00:41:31.52
and God said,
"Count your blessings."
00:41:31.55\00:41:33.56
But turn with me
to 1 Thessalonians 5.
00:41:33.59\00:41:36.96
1 Thessalonians 5...
00:41:40.40\00:41:42.56
we're going to read
verse 16, 17, and 18,
00:41:46.97\00:41:50.81
"Rejoice always,
pray without ceasing.
00:41:50.84\00:41:57.71
In everything, give thanks
00:41:57.75\00:42:00.52
for this is the will of
God in Christ Jesus for you."
00:42:00.55\00:42:05.19
Now that does not mean
00:42:05.22\00:42:07.19
that we're
thankful for everything
00:42:07.22\00:42:08.86
that happens to us.
00:42:08.89\00:42:10.23
Of course, there's
painful experiences in life,
00:42:10.26\00:42:12.86
but we can be thankful
in the midst of everything.
00:42:12.89\00:42:18.37
J. Hudson Taylor, missionary,
00:42:18.40\00:42:20.54
founder of the
China Inland Mission,
00:42:20.57\00:42:22.80
he did some tough
stuff in his life.
00:42:22.84\00:42:24.94
And remember,
when he went to China,
00:42:24.97\00:42:27.31
he'd been there a while.
00:42:27.34\00:42:28.68
It seems like he
went back to England,
00:42:28.71\00:42:30.05
and then he came back to
China, he had his wife, Mary.
00:42:30.08\00:42:34.02
Their
five-year-old son, Samuel died
00:42:34.05\00:42:37.82
January of the year.
00:42:37.85\00:42:40.19
That'd be painful.
00:42:40.22\00:42:41.56
They say to lose
the spouse is horrible,
00:42:41.59\00:42:44.26
and I've not gone through that.
00:42:44.29\00:42:47.96
But to lose a child,
00:42:48.00\00:42:50.17
it's supposed to
be the worst of all.
00:42:50.20\00:42:53.74
Buried his five-year-old
son Samuel there in China.
00:42:53.77\00:42:57.51
Then in July,
00:42:57.54\00:42:59.74
his wife gave birth
to a brand new baby,
00:42:59.77\00:43:03.65
and he died.
00:43:03.68\00:43:05.75
And just after the
baby died, his wife died.
00:43:05.78\00:43:09.12
She was 33.
00:43:09.15\00:43:12.22
So at 38, he's facing now...
00:43:12.25\00:43:15.62
If anyone had a
right to feel pain, sorrow,
00:43:15.66\00:43:20.93
okay, you'd say, "He
earned a pity party."
00:43:20.96\00:43:23.16
Not earned it,
00:43:23.20\00:43:24.53
but he could deserve one, right?
00:43:24.57\00:43:26.90
And you know what he
wrote in his journal?
00:43:26.94\00:43:28.77
"I'm so thankful
00:43:28.80\00:43:30.77
that I get to serve Jesus
00:43:30.81\00:43:34.31
one more day."
00:43:34.34\00:43:38.25
"I'm so thankful
00:43:38.28\00:43:39.91
I get to serve
Jesus one more day."
00:43:39.95\00:43:42.28
I want to look at Habakkuk 3.
00:43:42.32\00:43:45.39
We're not going to make
it through all the fruit,
00:43:45.42\00:43:46.96
but we'll just
get as far as we get.
00:43:46.99\00:43:48.86
Habakkuk 3,
00:43:48.89\00:43:51.59
that's one of those
little minor prophets,
00:43:51.63\00:43:53.26
a little difficult to find.
00:43:53.29\00:43:55.20
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk,
00:43:55.23\00:43:58.93
Habakkuk 3:17, 18, and 19.
00:43:58.97\00:44:05.34
"And though the fig
tree may not blossom
00:44:05.37\00:44:08.81
nor fruit be on the vines,
00:44:08.84\00:44:11.65
though the labor
of the olive may fail,
00:44:11.68\00:44:15.52
and the fields yield no food,
00:44:15.55\00:44:19.45
though the flock may
be cut off from the fold,
00:44:19.49\00:44:22.56
and there be no
herd in the stalls."
00:44:22.59\00:44:25.09
Now their
livelihood was agriculture
00:44:25.13\00:44:27.56
and agrarian as in stocks.
00:44:27.60\00:44:30.33
So not stock in
bonds as an animal stocks.
00:44:30.37\00:44:34.07
So everything in
their society had crumbled.
00:44:34.10\00:44:40.01
Now we look at it and
say, "Okay, the fig tree, well,
00:44:40.04\00:44:42.31
I can live without
a fig tree," right?
00:44:42.34\00:44:43.68
But for them, this
was their livelihood.
00:44:43.71\00:44:47.55
Though all
that's gone, no way out,
00:44:47.58\00:44:51.35
"Yet I will rejoice in the Lord.
00:44:51.39\00:44:55.39
I will joy in the
God of my salvation.
00:44:55.42\00:44:59.66
The Lord God is my strength.
00:44:59.69\00:45:02.26
He will make my
feet like deer's feet,
00:45:02.30\00:45:04.13
and He will make me
walk on my high hills."
00:45:04.17\00:45:08.30
I wrote in the
margin of my Bible,
00:45:08.34\00:45:10.21
"I want to still praise Him
00:45:10.24\00:45:13.64
when everything
seemingly goes wrong."
00:45:13.68\00:45:19.05
Yes.
00:45:19.08\00:45:20.45
Yes, that's right.
00:45:20.48\00:45:22.58
So that's what God wants to
do, give thanks, praise Him.
00:45:22.62\00:45:26.35
The fruit of the Spirit is love,
00:45:26.39\00:45:27.96
the fruit of the Spirit is joy,
00:45:27.99\00:45:30.56
the fruit of
the Spirit is peace.
00:45:30.59\00:45:35.36
The Greek word is eiríni.
00:45:35.40\00:45:38.50
And it means peace
between individuals, harmony,
00:45:38.53\00:45:43.64
concord, living in
harmony and peace with others.
00:45:43.67\00:45:48.11
Turn with me to John 14.
00:45:48.14\00:45:50.95
John 14:27.
00:45:50.98\00:45:57.92
John 14:27,
00:45:57.95\00:45:59.75
this is part of that
Jesus' last will and testament
00:45:59.79\00:46:02.72
where He gave
there, we talked about it
00:46:02.76\00:46:04.16
at the
beginning to the disciples
00:46:04.19\00:46:06.29
before He went to the
cross, "Peace I leave with you,
00:46:06.33\00:46:09.80
My piece I give to
you, not as the world gives,
00:46:09.83\00:46:14.17
give I unto you.
00:46:14.20\00:46:16.30
Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid."
00:46:16.34\00:46:22.68
There's something
different about God's peace
00:46:22.71\00:46:26.15
than the peace that we
naturally have in the world.
00:46:26.18\00:46:30.35
I think it's similar to
the difference between...
00:46:30.39\00:46:34.19
We talked about
happiness and joy.
00:46:34.22\00:46:36.16
One is based on
earthly circumstances,
00:46:36.19\00:46:38.83
the other one's
divine from Jesus.
00:46:38.86\00:46:40.40
And I think the same
thing about God's type of peace.
00:46:40.43\00:46:43.13
It comes from Him, from above.
00:46:43.16\00:46:46.80
How do we get that peace?
00:46:46.84\00:46:50.51
Romans 5, Romans5:1.
00:46:50.54\00:46:54.04
There's many
scriptures we can turn to,
00:46:54.08\00:46:56.18
but I like this one especially.
00:46:56.21\00:46:57.65
Romans 5:1,
00:47:01.42\00:47:05.65
"Therefore having
been justified by faith,
00:47:05.69\00:47:09.36
we have peace..."
00:47:09.39\00:47:10.79
There's our word,
00:47:10.83\00:47:12.16
"We have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ."
00:47:12.19\00:47:18.23
Peace comes when I'm reconciled
to my Heavenly Father.
00:47:18.27\00:47:22.94
I think that's why
God's peace is so different
00:47:22.97\00:47:27.68
from the peace
that the world gives
00:47:27.71\00:47:29.28
because it comes from God.
00:47:29.31\00:47:32.18
It comes once I am
reconciled with Him.
00:47:32.21\00:47:34.78
And I think with each
other, maybe I got mad at Josh,
00:47:34.82\00:47:37.85
which I'm not mad at Josh,
but say, I got mad at Josh.
00:47:37.89\00:47:42.96
In order to have
peace between he and I,
00:47:42.99\00:47:46.23
we would have to
be reconciled, right?
00:47:46.26\00:47:49.26
We would have to come
back into a relationship
00:47:49.30\00:47:52.17
where I apologize
for what I did to him
00:47:52.20\00:47:54.97
or I said, "I'm
sorry for whatever,"
00:47:55.00\00:47:57.51
and we were brought
back into that right standing
00:47:57.54\00:47:59.87
or that right relationship.
00:47:59.91\00:48:02.48
It's one more verse
about peace, I want to look at.
00:48:02.51\00:48:05.21
Of course, there's Isaiah 26:3.
00:48:05.25\00:48:06.98
We won't turn there,
but what the Bible say?
00:48:07.02\00:48:09.58
You will keep
Him in perfect peace
00:48:09.62\00:48:12.29
whose mind has stayed on you
00:48:12.32\00:48:14.12
because He trusts in you.
00:48:14.16\00:48:16.29
Peace comes from choosing
00:48:16.32\00:48:18.89
to keep my mind stayed upon God.
00:48:18.93\00:48:21.66
You notice that in all
the fruits of the Spirit?
00:48:21.70\00:48:23.73
God is the one who does
the work in us and through us,
00:48:23.77\00:48:26.97
but you notice, it
all takes a choice.
00:48:27.00\00:48:29.40
It's making a choice,
"I want to walk God's way."
00:48:29.44\00:48:32.47
"I want to do things His way."
00:48:32.51\00:48:34.48
You know, recently,
00:48:34.51\00:48:35.84
I had one of
those hard days at work.
00:48:35.88\00:48:38.38
You ever have a hard day?
00:48:38.41\00:48:41.42
And oh, you know,
00:48:41.45\00:48:45.65
everything that
could go wrong did.
00:48:45.69\00:48:49.42
You know that?
00:48:49.46\00:48:51.79
And Satan just
came in with like,
00:48:51.83\00:48:56.03
"You're doing a horrible job.
00:48:56.06\00:48:59.40
Why are you even trying?
00:48:59.43\00:49:02.97
What type a person are you?
00:49:03.00\00:49:05.77
Why are you even..."
00:49:05.81\00:49:07.14
You know, how Satan
comes, all this junk.
00:49:07.18\00:49:11.25
And I said, "God, I want peace.
00:49:11.28\00:49:14.18
I need peace."
00:49:14.22\00:49:16.79
And so I prayed,
"Father, give me Your peace."
00:49:16.82\00:49:21.79
And you know what happened?
00:49:21.82\00:49:25.09
I wish I could tell you.
00:49:25.13\00:49:26.46
In some way, it got better,
but I don't feel any different.
00:49:26.49\00:49:29.66
That's the honest truth.
00:49:29.70\00:49:31.20
I didn't feel any different.
00:49:31.23\00:49:33.13
And so you're
going, "Okay, God..."
00:49:33.17\00:49:35.20
That's where we make a choice,
00:49:35.24\00:49:37.57
"And we bring our mind,
You have promised peace."
00:49:37.61\00:49:41.08
Isaiah 26:3, I will
focus my mind on You.
00:49:41.11\00:49:44.81
And every time
Satan comes and says,
00:49:44.85\00:49:47.18
"You're just..."
00:49:47.22\00:49:48.55
And he says one of
those bad words about you,
00:49:48.58\00:49:51.12
"God, I'm choosing
not to think about that.
00:49:51.15\00:49:53.62
Thank You that
I'm Your daughter.
00:49:53.66\00:49:55.19
Thank You that
You have forgiven me.
00:49:55.22\00:49:56.73
Thank You that
You have accepted me.
00:49:56.76\00:49:58.79
Thank You that You
have a purpose and a plan,
00:49:58.83\00:50:00.90
and that You are
still working in my life
00:50:00.93\00:50:03.00
in the midst of this.
00:50:03.03\00:50:04.37
Thank You for
what You are doing."
00:50:04.40\00:50:06.87
And you know what?
00:50:06.90\00:50:09.17
God brought His peace.
00:50:09.20\00:50:11.61
Philippians 4:6 and 7.
00:50:11.64\00:50:16.28
Philippians 4:6 and 7,
"Be anxious for nothing,
00:50:21.82\00:50:28.02
but in everything by
prayer and supplication
00:50:28.06\00:50:32.29
with thanksgiving,
00:50:32.33\00:50:34.86
let your requests
be made known to God."
00:50:34.90\00:50:38.07
Verse 7, "And the peace of God
which passes all understanding,
00:50:38.10\00:50:43.00
will keep your heart and
mind through Christ Jesus."
00:50:43.04\00:50:47.51
There's a poem I love.
00:50:47.54\00:50:48.88
I've loved it
ever since I was a kid.
00:50:48.91\00:50:50.81
And when Greg and I got married,
00:50:50.85\00:50:53.31
I said, "Do you mind if
I had it like typed up?"
00:50:53.35\00:50:56.45
I said, "Do you
mind if I framed this
00:50:56.48\00:50:57.82
and put this by the bed?"
00:50:57.85\00:50:59.19
It's just mean so
much to me, this poem.
00:50:59.22\00:51:01.72
And he said, "Yeah, Jill,
00:51:01.76\00:51:03.09
that's fine if
that's what you'd like."
00:51:03.12\00:51:04.46
So I have it, you know,
you have your bedside table
00:51:04.49\00:51:06.70
right by the bed,
00:51:06.73\00:51:08.06
and I have it right
above there, the frame.
00:51:08.10\00:51:11.40
And it's called
Acceptance with Joy.
00:51:11.43\00:51:15.20
And it says, "In
acceptance lieth peace,
00:51:15.24\00:51:18.11
o my heart be still.
00:51:18.14\00:51:21.48
Let thy restless worries
cease and accept His will.
00:51:21.51\00:51:27.98
Though this test
is not my choice.
00:51:28.02\00:51:31.45
It is His. Therefore, rejoice.
00:51:31.49\00:51:36.22
In His plan,
there cannot be anything
00:51:36.26\00:51:39.76
to make you sad.
00:51:39.79\00:51:41.53
If this is His choice for me,
00:51:41.56\00:51:46.07
I will take it and be glad,
00:51:46.10\00:51:49.47
make from it some lovely
thing to the glory of my King.
00:51:49.50\00:51:55.78
Cease from sighs and murmuring,
sing His loving grace.
00:51:55.81\00:52:02.68
This trial means my
furthering to a wealthy place,
00:52:02.72\00:52:09.49
from my fears,
He'll give release.
00:52:09.52\00:52:13.93
In acceptance lies peace."
00:52:13.96\00:52:17.30
And that's what God wants to do,
00:52:17.33\00:52:19.13
take out anything
in our lives and hearts
00:52:19.17\00:52:23.30
that destroys that peace,
00:52:23.34\00:52:24.67
and it comes from acceptance,
surrender, choosing His way
00:52:24.71\00:52:30.18
and letting Him
fill us with His peace.
00:52:30.21\00:52:32.85
We don't have a lot of time,
00:52:32.88\00:52:34.25
but I want to see if
we can get to patience.
00:52:34.28\00:52:36.08
So the fruit of the Spirit
is, we said love, joy, peace,
00:52:36.12\00:52:41.76
longsuffering or patience.
00:52:41.79\00:52:45.93
In Greek, the word for
patience is, this is a long one,
00:52:45.96\00:52:50.40
makrothumia.
00:52:50.43\00:52:53.97
That's a long word,
00:52:54.00\00:52:55.50
but literally, it
means long-tempered.
00:52:55.54\00:52:58.37
You see, someone
who is short-tempered,
00:52:58.41\00:53:00.18
someone who has a short
fuse and easily gets irritated.
00:53:00.21\00:53:04.91
This word means long-tempered.
00:53:04.95\00:53:09.22
It's self-restraint
00:53:09.25\00:53:12.35
in the face of provocation.
00:53:12.39\00:53:16.79
It doesn't retaliate
when Tracy makes me upset
00:53:16.83\00:53:20.73
which she hasn't.
00:53:20.76\00:53:22.13
It doesn't
retaliate. It doesn't punish.
00:53:22.16\00:53:26.27
Patience is
accepting God's will and timing
00:53:26.30\00:53:31.34
in my life in
those circumstances.
00:53:31.37\00:53:34.91
Patience is
endurance under trial.
00:53:34.94\00:53:39.61
Patience is flexibility,
00:53:39.65\00:53:44.25
contentment.
00:53:44.29\00:53:47.06
Patience is even love.
00:53:47.09\00:53:48.56
1 Corinthians 13, the
fruit of the Spirit is...
00:53:48.59\00:53:52.29
Sorry, 1 Corinthians
13, Love is patient, kind.
00:53:52.33\00:53:56.56
Patience, how do
we develop patience?
00:53:59.80\00:54:04.64
One of the best
ways is through trial.
00:54:04.67\00:54:07.48
In the midst of
trial, patience is born,
00:54:07.51\00:54:12.41
patience is developed.
00:54:12.45\00:54:13.78
Turn with me quickly to James.
00:54:13.82\00:54:15.85
James 1.
00:54:20.76\00:54:22.29
James 1:2, "My brethren,"
or you could say sisters,
00:54:28.63\00:54:34.17
"count it all joy..."
00:54:34.20\00:54:36.81
In the Greek, the
word for joy is pure,
00:54:36.84\00:54:39.14
unmixed joy.
00:54:39.17\00:54:40.88
We're not
talking about count it...
00:54:40.91\00:54:42.51
It's just kind of
happier, kind of joy.
00:54:42.54\00:54:45.01
This is pure, unmixed joy.
00:54:45.05\00:54:47.75
"When you fall
into various trials
00:54:47.78\00:54:54.39
knowing that the
testing of your faith
00:54:54.42\00:54:57.93
produces patience.
00:54:57.96\00:55:01.20
But let patience
have its perfect work,
00:55:01.23\00:55:03.73
that you may be perfect
and complete, lacking nothing."
00:55:03.77\00:55:06.30
So in the midst of the
pain and the midst of the trial,
00:55:06.33\00:55:10.01
when I want to say, "Get
me out, God, pull me out."
00:55:10.04\00:55:14.68
He says, "I'm working, Jill.
00:55:14.71\00:55:17.58
I'm working in your life
right now to develop patience."
00:55:17.61\00:55:24.59
And that patience is
developed in the midst of trial,
00:55:24.62\00:55:26.82
but it's really
accepting trial God's way.
00:55:26.86\00:55:31.96
It's not running
through trial my own way
00:55:31.99\00:55:34.83
or with my own
thoughts or trying to jump out.
00:55:34.86\00:55:39.00
It's accepting trial in
the midst of it God's way.
00:55:39.03\00:55:43.44
God wants...
00:55:47.04\00:55:48.38
We started this evening
talking about the tug of war
00:55:48.41\00:55:51.65
that we experience
between the work of the flesh
00:55:51.68\00:55:55.85
and the work of the Spirit.
00:55:55.88\00:55:57.79
And I don't know what tug of war
00:55:57.82\00:55:59.15
you feel like you
have in your life tonight,
00:55:59.19\00:56:01.79
but God says, "I
came to set you free.
00:56:01.82\00:56:05.33
I want to bring healing.
I want to bring deliverance.
00:56:05.36\00:56:10.00
I can make the
big, strong, tough guy
00:56:10.03\00:56:12.83
who was wrapped up with a
rope and who kept growing,
00:56:12.87\00:56:16.04
I can make him
disappear and diminish
00:56:16.07\00:56:19.21
into a little child and
easily pull you this way
00:56:19.24\00:56:23.24
toward the fruit of the Spirit."
00:56:23.28\00:56:24.88
God wants to work
in your life His love,
00:56:24.91\00:56:27.68
maybe you don't even feel
like, "How could He love me?
00:56:27.72\00:56:30.72
I've messed up so many
times. I've done so much."
00:56:30.75\00:56:34.22
And God said,
"I can forgive you.
00:56:34.26\00:56:37.79
I can cleanse you.
I can make you new.
00:56:37.83\00:56:42.90
I want to cover you
with my righteous right,
00:56:42.93\00:56:45.20
white robe.
00:56:45.23\00:56:47.00
I want to put My
spirit within you
00:56:47.04\00:56:49.27
and cause you to
walk in My statutes,
00:56:49.30\00:56:51.91
cause you to walk in
the fruit of the Spirit."
00:56:51.94\00:56:55.74
The fruit of the Spirit is love.
00:56:55.78\00:56:58.31
Choose to accept His
love, ask for His love,
00:56:58.35\00:57:01.75
accept His love by faith,
00:57:01.78\00:57:03.75
walk out, actively seek for ways
00:57:03.79\00:57:06.42
to walk out that
love toward other people.
00:57:06.45\00:57:08.82
The fruit of the Spirit is joy.
00:57:08.86\00:57:11.53
Choose to surrender
whatever you're dealing with,
00:57:11.56\00:57:14.23
choose to accept it,
choose to walk in God's way,
00:57:14.26\00:57:20.30
choose to give thanks.
00:57:20.34\00:57:23.14
The fruit of
the Spirit is peace.
00:57:23.17\00:57:26.41
Ask Him to make you in
right standing with Him
00:57:26.44\00:57:28.98
and to give you His peace,
00:57:29.01\00:57:30.95
which is so different
from what the world gives.
00:57:30.98\00:57:34.82
And choose...
00:57:34.85\00:57:36.42
The fruit of the
Spirit is patience,
00:57:36.45\00:57:38.42
choose to accept the
trial, the difficulty,
00:57:38.45\00:57:40.82
what you're going through
right now with His grace,
00:57:40.86\00:57:45.76
with His joy,
00:57:45.79\00:57:47.13
and you will
experience His patience.
00:57:47.16\00:57:49.20
Know that our
Thompsonville Church here,
00:57:49.23\00:57:52.17
our 3ABN family
that we love you at home,
00:57:52.20\00:57:54.17
that we are praying for
you, and may God work His fruit,
00:57:54.20\00:57:58.04
the grace of His spirit
00:57:58.07\00:58:00.21
into your life
and into your heart.
00:58:00.24\00:58:02.34
Let's pray.
00:58:02.38\00:58:03.71
Father, we thank You,
00:58:03.75\00:58:05.08
thank You for the
fruit of the Spirit.
00:58:05.11\00:58:06.68
Thank You for the work You do
in our hearts and in our lives,
00:58:06.72\00:58:12.82
how You want to change
us into the image of Jesus.
00:58:12.85\00:58:16.59
We give You permission just
now to take out all those things
00:58:16.62\00:58:21.50
that are
unlovely and unlike You,
00:58:21.53\00:58:24.83
and to fill us with Jesus.
00:58:24.87\00:58:26.94
We thank You and
give You praise and glory.
00:58:26.97\00:58:29.24