The following program
discusses sensitive issues.
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Parents are
cautioned that some material
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may be too candid
for younger children.
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Hello, welcome to Pure Choices.
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I am your host,
Pastor Joshua Nelson.
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And again, I am happy
that you decided to join us.
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We have another
good topic for you.
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We're talking
about Purity Restored.
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And before we go
into our discussion,
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I am gonna
introduce again our panel.
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To my left here now I
have Pastor Kory Douglas,
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who is the pastor
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of the Grand Avenue
and New Life Fellowship
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in Southeast Missouri,
Central States Conference.
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Over here, to--
on the couch here,
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we have Ja'Mon Johnson,
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who is the theology graduate
from Oakwood University.
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He is doing some Bible work now,
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and conferences said
that he needs a core,
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he needs a core.
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He is a good man.
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And we have over here
Jeanne Mogusu, who is currently
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in the Andrews Seventh-Day
Adventist theological seminary,
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she is there--
she is also the BSA
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or Black Students
Association president,
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happy to have her here.
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We also have Kean
Baxter, who has just graduated
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from Andrews
theological seminary,
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and he is our scholar
with his MDIV already.
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So we're happy that he is here.
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And I myself, I'm a pastor
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in the South
Atlantic Conference.
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And I am in the Marion
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in Lake City
district in South Carolina.
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So we are all happy to be here
and this is a very important
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topic for us to
really dive into,
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because there're a
lot of people out there
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who, like
myself, have done things,
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may be that were not
that pure in the past.
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And trying to get
over those things,
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trying to get pass those things,
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it can be pretty tough.
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And I'll just be
honest and vulnerable and say,
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I know, there's probably
some people watching saying,
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"What in the world
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is Joshua Nelson
doing on this show?"
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You know, "What is
he doing on this show?"
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Because people
know me, know my life,
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and how then can someone like me
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sit here or even try to
move on in their life and say,
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you know, I've
done things in the past,
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I haven't made pure choices,
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I've messed up,
but is there a hope?
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And that's we are
starting out with,
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"Is there hope?"
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I think that's a very
important place to start,
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because hope-- if without
hope, we are literally hopeless.
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You know, we
don't have any way to--
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That's true. Yeah.
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Yes, we don't have
anywhere else to go,
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because there is
no life without hope.
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We wake up in the morning
with the hope of, you know,
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that we will be alive
to make it through the day.
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We, we hope-- we eat
with the hope of we'll be full
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and we'll have
enough energy, to eat.
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So without hope, we
really cannot do anything.
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And it's really important
for us to recognize that
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God is a God of
not just restoration,
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but most importantly,
He is a God of hope.
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He wants to give us hope
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that no matter how badly things
have gone for you in the past,
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no matter how poor
your choices have been.
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You can now rise
and make pure choices.
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Over here. That's so true.
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Hope is so
important, because without it,
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like you said, we get stuck.
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But Jesus said that
He's come not to condemn,
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but He's come
that we may have life
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and life more abundantly.
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So not just this average
life that we see on this earth,
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but He is saying, more
than you can even imagine.
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I am-- I've
come for that reason.
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And the issue with the sexuality
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and it's hard to talk about,
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because virtually
everybody's gotten it wrong.
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Most majority, a vast majority
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have gotten it
wrong, in the church.
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And this is why we don't
really like to talk about it
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because it
starts that, you know--
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it's connected to us.
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But Jesus on the
mount of a-- sermon,
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when He was giving a
sermon on the mount said that
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adultery starts in
the spirit, in the heart.
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And if it starts
there, then that's where
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the combination-- that's
where the healing starts.
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You, you-- we sin in the spirit
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and then there is
restoration in the spirit.
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So that gives me a lot of hope.
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Okay.
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So now thinking about
this thing in lines of--
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okay, may be what you did,
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you're saying, "I
am gonna get over it,
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I am gonna seek
forgiveness from God."
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But what if what
you've done in the past
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has really
affected someone else?
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Does God forgive that
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and what you may
have done to someone else?
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I believe He does, you know.
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And if just operate out
of what we know about God,
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and Salvation, you know,
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and what the whole point
of Christ coming to earth is.
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I mean, He comes to restore.
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I think that part of our problem
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is that God has
been painted for so long,
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as a angry father, you know,
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who is just
waiting to punish you,
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you know, He makes the rules
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and then He waits
for you to break them,
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simply so He can tell you,
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go break the
switch off the tree,
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now go get the bell
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and bring it
back to me, you know.
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But what we need to
realize is that God is not out,
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just like he said that earlier,
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He is not out
to just condemn us,
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the point is to restore us.
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And even those
moments of condemnation are--
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the Bible says, you
know, "I chasten those I love."
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You know, it is
for our betterment,
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it is so that we may have hope.
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I believe that, you know,
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what that we need
to understand is that,
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you know-- yeah, God
may, He will be disappointing,
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He'll be angry
about it, you know,
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but just as, you know,
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as quick as the anger
might have come, it will go.
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You know, as soon
as we are repented
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of what we have done, you know.
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And decide that we
now want to be pure,
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that God will honor that.
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And you know, there's a
saying when we were kids,
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as far as the
east from the west,
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you know, God will
take my sins away from me,
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and to cast into
the sea of forgetfulness
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and He will operate
now as if you are pure
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as long as you make
that choice to be pure.
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Because the
issue is that, not that
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Jesus hates you or hates me,
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but He's really mad at
the sin that caused it.
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Because it was-- and
that was really what got me,
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was while I
realize it was the same,
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the same sin that
I was engaging in,
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was the sin that
puts Jesus on the cross.
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That was what, that
was the cause of it.
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Now go ahead,
Jeanne. I want to get him.
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Yeah, I just want to get
off of what Kory just said.
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It's really
important for us to recognize
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that God-- once God forgives us,
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He has already erased those sins
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from His mind
and from His memory.
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It is us who go back
and get it from He's,
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you know, where He's thrown it
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in the depths of
the sea and drag it.
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So, and, you know,
it's always a struggle
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to recognize that
God has truly forgiven,
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you know, all the
things that you have done,
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no matter how dark and
bad, whatever you did was.
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And it's good to always
keep it in your mind that,
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you know, God
has really forgiven
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and He has wiped
your slate clean,
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you know and move on
from that, from that point.
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I want to talk about a
little about restoration
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and what we are
talking about, God restoring us
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and Ja'Mon, may be you
want to add on something
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to what she said
and also do with that.
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What does it mean
when God restores us?
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I just want to agree
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what you said
and what Jeanne said.
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It is very hard
to, to move forward,
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because you feel
so bad about yourself,
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you know, once
you done it, you know
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and-- I've always been taught,
you know, committing the act
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is wrong in it
of itself, you know.
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And that, you know I was always
made to feel bad about it.
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Yeah. Yeah.
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So committing the act,
I just felt like so wrong,
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like disgusted about myself.
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Like, God, you truly
like, You hate me right now.
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You know, but in all reality
He doesn't hate me, you know,
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of course, He doesn't
like what I did, you know.
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And so it's very hard to,
to move forward from then.
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And I think, you know,
to be restored is a process,
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you know, what everything--
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it's not something
that happens overnight,
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it's not something
that happens tomorrow,
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but it's
something that's a process.
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And I think, for me,
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the process was
to get closer to God,
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because at that moment
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when that happened,
I was away from him.
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You know, so it
took me realizing
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that what I was doing was
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because I was out of
connection with Christ,
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so I had to come
back to that connection.
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You know, I
think, one of the things
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we need to
remember about restoration,
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is that
restoration is God's job,
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it's not our job.
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An old car
cannot restore it self.
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You understand what I am saying?
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Someone has to
come in and restore it.
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And I will tell it like this.
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I had my experience with God
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was that I would
struggle with something
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and I would say, "God, I
am not doing this again."
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You know, the
preacher will get up here,
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he will preach, I
will get emotional,
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I go down to the front,
"I'm not doing this again!"
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And I wrestle with
it, I'm telling you,
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a month, two months,
three months, you know,
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by the power of my
will and through prayer,
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I am not doing it
and then I will fall.
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And I will be upset, you know,
I thought I was restored, God.
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And I'll be mad at myself,
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"How could you
do this again, Kory?
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You know better, you
went down for the appeal.
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What you gonna do,
going off for the next one?"
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You know, and something
God had to remind me was that,
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"Kory, you know,
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if you are stressed out
about it happening again,
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that means you never turned it
over to Me in the first place.
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You know, it is My
job to restore you."
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And our problem is that we are--
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you should feel unclean,
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you should feel
bad about what you do,
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but after you give it to God
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that should not
be your sentiment.
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You should now
walk-- the bible says,
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"In the newness of life,
as if it had never happened,"
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just like Jeanne said,
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because God has
forgotten it already.
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But when we
continue to think about it,
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we make ourselves, you know,
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we are more
liable to fall back in.
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And one of the things
I noticed, real quick,
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is that the biggest things
I struggle with when away,
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when I was not
paying them any attention.
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I might have cursed a little bit
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and I didn't
even think about it,
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but after a while I
was like, "Hey, you know,
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I don't even say
that anymore," you know.
00:10:06.47\00:10:08.60
And so you got to allow
for God to do the restoration
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in you, as you walk
with him in relationship.
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Yeah, and
that's the beauty of it
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with righteous by faith,
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because you have been justified,
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you have been
restored, you are saved,
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but yet you're
still being saved,
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yet you're still being restored,
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it's still that
process, it's still that process
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that God Christ somehow--
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He is able to
stand in front of you
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and you appear
righteous in front of the father
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but also in the-- behind you,
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He's actually
fixing you, making you up.
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It's a good
illustration, we could do that.
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But I love that, I love that.
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There's a scripture that
I really love in Romans 8.
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It's one of my many
favorite verses where it says,
00:10:42.64\00:10:46.31
"Nothing can separate
you from the love of God."
00:10:46.34\00:10:48.64
Nothing in heaven or
earth or principalities
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or powers or nothing, literally
00:10:51.21\00:10:53.28
nothing can separate
you from the love of God.
00:10:53.31\00:10:55.58
So, you know, my
sin will not separate,
00:10:55.62\00:10:58.32
it severs my
relationship with God,
00:10:58.35\00:11:02.39
but it does not
stop God from loving me.
00:11:02.42\00:11:05.43
You know, as much as
I, as I hate to admit it,
00:11:05.46\00:11:08.60
when I was younger, I'd
get into a lot of trouble.
00:11:08.63\00:11:11.77
Me and my mother-- my
mother and I, I should say,
00:11:11.80\00:11:14.07
were always at loggerheads.
00:11:14.10\00:11:16.50
And it's funny, she, you
know, she spanked me like,
00:11:16.54\00:11:20.28
you know, anyway we're
not gonna go into that.
00:11:20.31\00:11:22.24
That's, that's all.
00:11:22.28\00:11:25.21
You know, God is restoring.
00:11:25.25\00:11:27.95
So-- but one thing
that was always consistent
00:11:27.98\00:11:32.25
is that whenever I
did something wrong,
00:11:32.29\00:11:34.42
she would always try and get me
to get to where I needed to be,
00:11:34.46\00:11:39.63
you know, by whatever form.
00:11:39.66\00:11:41.00
Sometimes she
would need to talk to me,
00:11:41.03\00:11:42.66
sometimes she
would need to spank me,
00:11:42.70\00:11:44.03
sometimes she would
need to-- but whatever I did,
00:11:44.07\00:11:46.23
she taught me
00:11:46.27\00:11:47.87
that one of my
actions had consequences.
00:11:47.90\00:11:50.57
And that is always
something good to remember
00:11:50.61\00:11:53.71
is that God does restore.
00:11:53.74\00:11:56.04
Sometimes we have to live
00:11:56.08\00:11:57.41
with the
consequences of our actions,
00:11:57.45\00:11:59.05
but it's not
because God is punishing us
00:11:59.08\00:12:00.95
for what we have
done, it's just that those--
00:12:00.98\00:12:03.39
sin has so influe--
it's saturated our lives,
00:12:03.42\00:12:08.79
that there are
natural consequences.
00:12:08.82\00:12:11.23
It doesn't mean
that God is mad at you
00:12:11.26\00:12:12.99
for having sex or
you'll have a child, you know.
00:12:13.03\00:12:16.26
It's just a
natural consequence of sin.
00:12:16.30\00:12:20.60
God doesn't punish us, you
know for the things like that.
00:12:20.64\00:12:23.20
He's already forgiven you.
00:12:23.24\00:12:24.57
You may have to live
with the consequence,
00:12:24.61\00:12:26.57
but He has already forgiven you.
00:12:26.61\00:12:29.44
It's a beautiful thing
to which the illustration,
00:12:29.48\00:12:31.51
you know if you do
have a child out of wedlock,
00:12:31.55\00:12:33.82
there is a way
that God can restore.
00:12:33.85\00:12:35.18
He can make that thing beautiful
00:12:35.22\00:12:36.55
because we don't want, of
course, penalize the child.
00:12:36.58\00:12:39.09
But you know,
we are saddened by,
00:12:39.12\00:12:40.89
may be how it occurred,
but still, again, God restores.
00:12:40.92\00:12:44.79
He's able to make things new,
00:12:44.83\00:12:46.16
even though we
may have deviated,
00:12:46.19\00:12:47.53
because all of us
no matter what it is,
00:12:47.56\00:12:49.23
we have gone may be to
different extremes of what--
00:12:49.26\00:12:52.30
against what God wanted us to do
00:12:52.33\00:12:53.67
but God finds a way
to bring us back still.
00:12:53.70\00:12:56.30
Important point, there
is no illegitimate children,
00:12:56.34\00:13:00.04
there is only illegitimate axe.
00:13:00.08\00:13:02.44
And I want to go
back to what Kory said,
00:13:02.48\00:13:05.01
because I think
it's very important.
00:13:05.05\00:13:07.42
You see, you've mentioned, Kory,
00:13:07.45\00:13:08.78
that you-- you all
of a sudden you noticed
00:13:08.82\00:13:12.75
that you don't curse anymore
when you stop focusing on it.
00:13:12.79\00:13:17.33
And it's
Biblical, the Bible says,
00:13:17.36\00:13:19.39
"By beholding,
we become changed."
00:13:19.43\00:13:22.23
So while you are looking at,
00:13:22.26\00:13:24.13
while you're
focusing on this sin
00:13:24.17\00:13:26.33
even if you don't like to
say, I want to overcome this,
00:13:26.37\00:13:28.84
I need to get over this,
00:13:28.87\00:13:30.71
you are still
focusing on the sin
00:13:30.74\00:13:33.24
and you are still
focusing on yourself.
00:13:33.27\00:13:35.74
So it perpetuates the cycle,
it becomes a vicious cycle.
00:13:35.78\00:13:39.58
You might be able
to by just sheer grit
00:13:39.61\00:13:42.38
and white knuckling it,
00:13:42.42\00:13:44.12
you might be able to go
a period of time without,
00:13:44.15\00:13:47.59
you know, falling,
whether it's sex or pornography
00:13:47.62\00:13:50.56
or masturbation
or whatever it is,
00:13:50.59\00:13:52.23
but you're not changed.
00:13:52.26\00:13:54.20
We, this is-- and
this is what the devil,
00:13:54.66\00:13:56.77
this is how we get us,
focusing on ourselves and sin.
00:13:56.80\00:13:59.20
And this is a
picture of Romans Chapter 7,
00:13:59.23\00:14:02.24
where it says, "I wanna do
what's right, but I can't."
00:14:02.27\00:14:05.64
You know, what I
would hate that's what I do.
00:14:05.67\00:14:08.28
And this is-- this is
Paul describing somebody
00:14:08.31\00:14:10.88
who knows the difference
between right and wrong,
00:14:10.91\00:14:14.12
wants to do right but
his focus is not on Christ.
00:14:14.15\00:14:18.72
So we have to get
our-- shift our focus.
00:14:18.75\00:14:20.52
And that's really what I,
what I was down to the fact
00:14:20.56\00:14:22.36
that the ultimate
pure choice is Jesus.
00:14:22.39\00:14:25.66
You know, you have to
keep making Him your choice.
00:14:25.69\00:14:28.83
If you keep focusing on that
00:14:28.86\00:14:30.67
as you continue
through your life,
00:14:30.70\00:14:32.57
it's-- you know, you're gonna--
00:14:32.60\00:14:34.04
you know, just like
you're talking about it.
00:14:34.07\00:14:35.40
You know, your
gonna-- you're not gonna
00:14:35.44\00:14:36.77
want to listen to
that, that kind of music,
00:14:36.81\00:14:38.14
you're not gonna even
want to do this type of stuff
00:14:38.17\00:14:39.51
because it just all falls off,
00:14:39.54\00:14:40.88
because you just
been looking at Christ
00:14:40.91\00:14:42.24
and you wanted to
recognize yourself,
00:14:42.28\00:14:43.61
you know, well,
yesterday, you know.
00:14:43.65\00:14:46.92
You guys may be want
to sing a song right.
00:14:46.95\00:14:48.85
I am so serious.
00:14:48.88\00:14:50.22
I am over here my mind,
I can't get off my head,
00:14:50.25\00:14:51.65
turn your eyes upon Jesus,
00:14:51.69\00:14:53.62
look full in His wonderful face,
00:14:53.66\00:14:55.09
and the things of this
world will grow strangely dim.
00:14:55.12\00:14:57.49
You know, we
want to follow Christ
00:14:57.53\00:15:00.30
but we want to look to
the left and the right.
00:15:00.33\00:15:01.83
And how can you follow
that which you don't look at?
00:15:01.86\00:15:05.33
We're looking
down. So here we go.
00:15:05.37\00:15:07.57
We're talking about
purity and really doing it,
00:15:07.60\00:15:10.14
really having Christ, you know,
00:15:10.17\00:15:11.51
leading us into this
new life and everything,
00:15:11.54\00:15:13.61
but the fact of matter
is amongst the generation
00:15:13.64\00:15:16.85
and Ja'Mon, you
can't talk to us about it,
00:15:16.88\00:15:18.38
I mean, it's not
cool to be pure, you know.
00:15:18.41\00:15:20.78
So how can you
really, I mean, make it cool,
00:15:20.82\00:15:23.89
I mean, you know, it's
not a part of our culture.
00:15:23.92\00:15:27.06
Yeah, I think, when you
really look at you know--
00:15:27.09\00:15:30.33
what Kean said is,
well, it's not just the world,
00:15:30.36\00:15:33.29
but it is our church,
you know, where having sex
00:15:33.33\00:15:37.57
and be, you know-- It's
what everybody wants to do
00:15:37.60\00:15:42.17
or what everybody is doing.
00:15:42.20\00:15:44.01
And so to be pure is like,
it's like you're the outcast.
00:15:44.04\00:15:48.38
You know, everybody
look at you different
00:15:48.41\00:15:49.94
when you say that
you are virgin, you know.
00:15:49.98\00:15:52.35
And it's very
difficult, because, you know,
00:15:52.38\00:15:55.92
nobody really understands why,
00:15:55.95\00:15:58.82
you know, you're
the outcast, you know.
00:15:58.85\00:16:01.02
And for so many years, I
felt like I was the outcast.
00:16:01.06\00:16:03.63
And I had to live up to
everybody else's standard,
00:16:03.66\00:16:07.66
so-- because they were doing
it that meant I had to, as well.
00:16:07.70\00:16:11.97
And so I think,
one of the things
00:16:12.00\00:16:14.17
that we can do is
what we are doing now
00:16:14.20\00:16:16.40
is really get to the root
00:16:16.44\00:16:19.24
and get to the
heart of the problem
00:16:19.27\00:16:21.41
and, you know,
discuss it, expose it,
00:16:21.44\00:16:23.51
because so many people
are scared to talk about it.
00:16:23.55\00:16:26.21
Yeah, yeah. That's important.
00:16:26.25\00:16:27.82
But really to have
others who watch us
00:16:27.85\00:16:29.62
to have conversations
just like we are having,
00:16:29.65\00:16:31.89
you know, to really discuss it.
00:16:31.92\00:16:33.25
Yeah, and another thing
that we need to recognize
00:16:33.29\00:16:35.49
is that, it's cool for who?
00:16:35.52\00:16:38.79
You know. Who defines coolness?
00:16:38.83\00:16:41.26
You know.
00:16:41.30\00:16:42.66
So I-- what is
more important for you?
00:16:42.70\00:16:46.47
Is it imp-- is it more important
00:16:46.50\00:16:48.00
for you to be cool with God,
or is it more important for you
00:16:48.04\00:16:51.81
to be cool with,
you know, my buddies?
00:16:51.84\00:16:53.61
Because buddies come
and go, friends come and go,
00:16:53.64\00:16:56.91
but God, I mean, He
is the ultimate friend.
00:16:56.95\00:17:00.48
Because He, you
know, whatever happens,
00:17:00.52\00:17:03.62
He is always there
with you all the time.
00:17:03.65\00:17:06.69
And until we get to the
place where it's more important
00:17:06.72\00:17:10.66
for us to have that
relationship with God,
00:17:10.69\00:17:14.56
to where you and
God are not going
00:17:14.60\00:17:18.03
to let anything else
detract from that relationship,
00:17:18.07\00:17:21.44
then all we do is in vain.
00:17:21.47\00:17:23.91
It's, it's just-- it's
just passing, you know, wind.
00:17:23.94\00:17:27.44
And what you're saying is true
00:17:27.48\00:17:28.81
and honestly that
should be the question
00:17:28.84\00:17:30.61
who determines who is cool.
00:17:30.65\00:17:33.31
But I mean, you know,
in reality, a lot of us,
00:17:33.35\00:17:35.18
you know,
especially as young people,
00:17:35.22\00:17:36.55
we still crave
to have relationship
00:17:36.58\00:17:38.22
after the
affirmation of others, you know.
00:17:38.25\00:17:40.12
And so, really, I think,
00:17:40.16\00:17:41.49
that we should be
demanding in our churches,
00:17:41.52\00:17:43.22
in our youth groups,
hey, we need a community
00:17:43.26\00:17:46.46
that will call
this cool to be pure,
00:17:46.49\00:17:49.33
you know, we need
that, that's what we need.
00:17:49.36\00:17:51.00
Well, if I could, you know,
00:17:51.03\00:17:52.47
I'm thinking
about it and-- one of
00:17:52.50\00:17:54.80
my favorite basketball
players Russell Westbrook.
00:17:54.84\00:17:56.24
When he dresses
for press conference,
00:17:56.27\00:17:58.21
he wears the weirdest clothes.
00:17:58.24\00:17:59.87
But it's one of the
fads of today to mix things
00:17:59.91\00:18:02.48
that don't really
go together, together.
00:18:02.51\00:18:04.71
The young people doing
things like wearing book bags
00:18:04.75\00:18:06.35
for absolutely no reason,
00:18:06.38\00:18:07.85
were going back to the high-top,
00:18:07.88\00:18:09.68
you know and with the gumby hair
00:18:09.72\00:18:11.89
and we're doing things
that don't make any sense.
00:18:11.92\00:18:14.39
They are not necessarily
cool but if you give it
00:18:14.42\00:18:16.42
a couple of
months, everybody does it.
00:18:16.46\00:18:19.39
Why is that?
00:18:19.43\00:18:20.76
Well, well, the point
I'm trying to make is this,
00:18:20.80\00:18:23.43
but we're, but we're
preaching that this purity
00:18:23.47\00:18:25.63
and being different,
and you may be different
00:18:25.67\00:18:28.87
but it only takes one
person to make something cool.
00:18:28.90\00:18:32.01
Do you
understand what I am saying?
00:18:32.04\00:18:33.38
So you don't have to wait
for the masses to jump on you,
00:18:33.41\00:18:37.15
you know, to do it for you
to-- you can buy the bandwagon,
00:18:37.18\00:18:41.18
you don't have to
jump on the bandwagon.
00:18:41.22\00:18:42.98
You know what I'm saying?
You can drive the bandwagon.
00:18:43.02\00:18:45.55
One of the things-- and one of
00:18:45.59\00:18:46.92
my favorite Bible
verses-- the Bible says
00:18:46.96\00:18:49.19
that God uses the foolish things
00:18:49.22\00:18:52.13
of the world to
confine the wise.
00:18:52.16\00:18:54.10
And something that God
has convicted me on recently,
00:18:54.13\00:18:56.73
is a fact that I am not--
we talked about this earlier,
00:18:56.77\00:18:59.17
I am not perfect for a reason,
I don't fit in for a reason,
00:18:59.20\00:19:02.74
because through my imperfection,
00:19:02.77\00:19:04.77
through the things
that are wrong with me,
00:19:04.81\00:19:06.47
through the fact that I
struggle with this stuff
00:19:06.51\00:19:08.31
every single day,
00:19:08.34\00:19:09.68
through the fact
that I have declared
00:19:09.71\00:19:11.05
war on sin and struggle,
00:19:11.08\00:19:13.11
through that fact, I
make the gospel real,
00:19:13.15\00:19:15.78
because I am able
to-- I am living proof
00:19:15.82\00:19:18.12
that you-- that is possible
even though I am not perfect,
00:19:18.15\00:19:22.09
that the gospel can be
shown perfect through my life
00:19:22.12\00:19:24.83
and through my
relationship with Christ.
00:19:24.86\00:19:26.19
And isn't that the
great thing about God,
00:19:26.23\00:19:28.46
is that he will
take, he will take
00:19:28.50\00:19:31.03
our imperfect selves
and make us into His part,
00:19:31.07\00:19:35.40
you know, and help us to
do His perfect will, you know.
00:19:35.44\00:19:39.24
None of us are
authorities on this, you know.
00:19:39.27\00:19:42.04
The Bible says all have sinned
and fallen short of the glory
00:19:42.08\00:19:45.28
and it's so easy for us--
00:19:45.31\00:19:46.65
see this, this is
the fallacy of the enemy
00:19:46.68\00:19:49.02
is that he will make us believe
00:19:49.05\00:19:51.29
that there are
categories of sin, you know.
00:19:51.32\00:19:54.16
So if I am not having sex,
00:19:54.19\00:19:55.76
if I am not
sleeping with somebody,
00:19:55.79\00:19:58.83
then I am, I am
somehow more righteous
00:19:58.86\00:20:02.13
than the person who is.
00:20:02.16\00:20:03.87
You know, if I'm
if I steal a dollar,
00:20:03.90\00:20:06.37
I am somehow not as a thief
00:20:06.40\00:20:09.00
but unless I
steal a million dollars
00:20:09.04\00:20:11.21
or I rob a bank.
00:20:11.24\00:20:12.57
But stealing is
stealing is stealing,
00:20:12.61\00:20:14.51
you know, sin is sin.
00:20:14.54\00:20:16.48
And until we recognize that,
we have all sinned, you know.
00:20:16.51\00:20:19.81
And God is a God
who recognizes that,
00:20:19.85\00:20:22.62
not only are we all sinners
00:20:22.65\00:20:24.72
but he has
already made provision,
00:20:24.75\00:20:26.39
he loves us so much.
00:20:26.42\00:20:27.96
He gave His Son so
that we can say that
00:20:27.99\00:20:30.86
Lord, I am now restored.
00:20:30.89\00:20:32.23
So we can all sit here on
this, you know, on this set
00:20:32.26\00:20:35.36
and talk to other people
about making pure choices.
00:20:35.40\00:20:38.17
All right, so let's make it,
let's make it even more real.
00:20:38.20\00:20:40.57
Because we're talking
about this purity restore,
00:20:40.60\00:20:43.00
we're saying that now as
you've gone through these,
00:20:43.04\00:20:45.61
these steps you have
asked Christ to live in you,
00:20:45.64\00:20:48.64
and now you are acting as pure.
00:20:48.68\00:20:50.31
But now, what's going to happen,
00:20:50.35\00:20:51.68
now when that temptation comes,
00:20:51.71\00:20:53.21
what are you really going to do?
00:20:53.25\00:20:57.79
Someone talk now.
00:20:57.82\00:21:00.46
I hope this answers it.
00:21:00.49\00:21:01.82
But going along with
what you said Jeanne,
00:21:01.86\00:21:05.76
sin, sin is action, yes,
00:21:05.79\00:21:09.30
but primarily
sin is a condition.
00:21:09.33\00:21:13.54
We are defective at birth.
00:21:13.57\00:21:15.54
There's a recall on
the entire human race.
00:21:15.57\00:21:20.04
We come out messed up,
00:21:20.08\00:21:22.34
because of our
parents, Adam and Eve.
00:21:22.38\00:21:25.95
And this is what God wants
to do in order to restore us.
00:21:25.98\00:21:29.48
We were born defective.
00:21:29.52\00:21:31.32
But if we have faith in
what Jesus did at the cross,
00:21:31.35\00:21:35.09
that He, He died
and in Him we also died
00:21:35.12\00:21:39.66
to that sinful flesh,
00:21:39.69\00:21:41.53
because the
wages of sin is death,
00:21:41.56\00:21:43.63
if you commit one
sin, you deserve to die.
00:21:43.67\00:21:47.27
We died in Christ.
00:21:47.30\00:21:49.17
And then He was in
the grave for a day,
00:21:49.20\00:21:52.27
and on the third
day He rose again
00:21:52.31\00:21:54.84
and we rose with Him,
00:21:54.88\00:21:56.85
and this is how
purity was restored,
00:21:56.88\00:22:00.22
new life in Christ.
00:22:00.25\00:22:02.32
If we have-- if that
faith in what he did,
00:22:02.35\00:22:05.09
we are restored spiritually
00:22:05.12\00:22:06.65
and then God is
able to work in us
00:22:06.69\00:22:08.82
and we become new creatures.
00:22:08.86\00:22:10.83
Well, you know, one of one
of the beauties of the gospel,
00:22:10.86\00:22:14.26
is that the gospel
does not end at the cross,
00:22:14.30\00:22:17.90
like most people
teach it, you know.
00:22:17.93\00:22:20.34
We're not just
justified by faith.
00:22:20.37\00:22:22.97
We are sanctified by faith.
00:22:23.00\00:22:24.97
You know, part of the
message that makes us special,
00:22:25.01\00:22:27.81
is what happens,
where is Christ now,
00:22:27.84\00:22:29.74
what is he doing.
00:22:29.78\00:22:31.11
And, you know, we're
going to make mistakes,
00:22:31.15\00:22:33.52
you know-- as hard as you try
and with Christ working on you.
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This is why,
this is in Romans 7.
00:22:36.95\00:22:38.29
There's always
going to be the struggle
00:22:38.32\00:22:40.16
as you follow Christ, you know--
00:22:40.19\00:22:42.36
Sometimes, I
want to do good today,
00:22:42.39\00:22:43.86
but I'm just not
gonna, I'm not gonna feel it.
00:22:43.89\00:22:45.53
And today, I am gonna,
I want to do, you know,
00:22:45.56\00:22:47.16
and, you know, I'm
just not gonna feel it,
00:22:47.20\00:22:48.53
it was gonna be the
struggle, but the beauty is,
00:22:48.56\00:22:51.10
is that the
salvation of Christ offers,
00:22:51.13\00:22:54.60
allows for
mistakes to happen, right.
00:22:54.64\00:22:56.87
Not that God will have you fall,
00:22:56.91\00:22:58.67
but if you fall, the Bible says,
00:22:58.71\00:23:00.24
"We now an
Advocate with the Father."
00:23:00.28\00:23:02.71
We have a high priest, who
while our Christian journey
00:23:02.74\00:23:07.42
is that same sanctuary service
00:23:07.45\00:23:09.65
that we are not the
only ones performing it,
00:23:09.68\00:23:11.25
we are not the only
ones reading and praying
00:23:11.29\00:23:12.85
and we are not the only
like, Christ is our high priest
00:23:12.89\00:23:15.49
making sure that
when something happens,
00:23:15.52\00:23:17.86
he is like, "Hey, God,
I know he fell, I got it."
00:23:17.89\00:23:21.73
You know what I am saying?
00:23:21.76\00:23:23.10
And so, so this
due to my restoration.
00:23:23.13\00:23:25.30
Restoration has just
happened at the cross,
00:23:25.33\00:23:27.27
restoration is-- it
happens all through our life.
00:23:27.30\00:23:29.87
Christ is there
ready to restore you
00:23:29.90\00:23:31.74
the minute you recognize
00:23:31.77\00:23:33.98
that you need it
and you ask for it.
00:23:34.01\00:23:35.74
I want a just clarification,
you said sanctification,
00:23:35.78\00:23:38.28
what does that mean?
00:23:38.31\00:23:39.65
Well, sanctification, I mean
the process of being made holy.
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That's what I
mean, sanctification.
00:23:42.65\00:23:44.49
So that's-- That's the process.
00:23:44.52\00:23:47.92
And it's not, it's not up to us.
00:23:47.96\00:23:49.49
No, that's Christ's work.
That's Christ doing it in us.
00:23:49.52\00:23:52.29
And that's the
process that we are
00:23:52.33\00:23:53.66
on right now, as a Christian.
00:23:53.70\00:23:55.03
And, in fact, the matter
is, it is going to be hard.
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You know, it's gonna be tough.
00:23:59.07\00:24:00.70
As a Christian, as
we, you know, we want to--
00:24:00.74\00:24:03.20
as a Christian, it is
tough, it's gonna be hard,
00:24:03.24\00:24:05.71
it's gonna be
the fight, it's war.
00:24:05.74\00:24:07.61
We are in the great controversy.
00:24:07.64\00:24:09.44
So being pure,
making a pure choice
00:24:09.48\00:24:11.48
is gonna be hard,
is gonna be tough.
00:24:11.51\00:24:13.01
But with Christ, it's possible.
00:24:13.05\00:24:15.05
And I think, the
scripture that best reflexes
00:24:15.08\00:24:18.39
is when it says, if
we confess our sins,
00:24:18.42\00:24:21.22
He is faithful to forgive us,
00:24:21.26\00:24:24.26
you know, and cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.
00:24:24.29\00:24:26.93
So this is the
sanctification process.
00:24:26.96\00:24:29.76
So it's-- I don't have to,
00:24:29.80\00:24:31.47
I don't have to
wear my little head out
00:24:31.50\00:24:35.20
trying to figure
out how to be holy,
00:24:35.24\00:24:37.37
I need to confess
my sins and trust God,
00:24:37.41\00:24:41.71
trust-- see that's
a biggie right there.
00:24:41.74\00:24:44.95
That's a relational term.
00:24:44.98\00:24:46.31
It's a-- yes.
00:24:46.35\00:24:47.68
Trust, you know.
00:24:47.72\00:24:49.05
I need to trust
Him enough to do in me,
00:24:49.08\00:24:52.92
the things that I know
He desires for me to do.
00:24:52.95\00:24:55.96
So I need to be in
relationship with Him,
00:24:55.99\00:24:58.63
I need to be
spending time with Him,
00:24:58.66\00:25:00.43
as I learn him
and get more and more
00:25:00.46\00:25:04.00
in the place
where I trust Him more,
00:25:04.03\00:25:06.27
or for grace to
trust Him more, you know.
00:25:06.30\00:25:08.74
So that He can do that
which He desires to do.
00:25:08.77\00:25:11.31
I was just gonna say,
the interesting thing is
00:25:11.34\00:25:13.27
the reason why
I love God so much
00:25:13.31\00:25:15.31
is the fact that even now
while I am being restored,
00:25:15.34\00:25:20.05
even if I fall
again, He picks me up.
00:25:20.08\00:25:23.32
There you go.
00:25:23.35\00:25:24.69
He doesn't beat me over
this out of head, you know,
00:25:24.72\00:25:26.42
He doesn't say,
00:25:26.45\00:25:27.79
"Look at what you
did again, I told you,"
00:25:27.82\00:25:29.16
you know, but instead,
He picks me up and He says,
00:25:29.19\00:25:32.26
"Let's try it again," you know.
00:25:32.29\00:25:33.93
And what Satan does is,
00:25:33.96\00:25:35.53
you know, I hear him
all the time in it here,
00:25:35.56\00:25:37.13
if I see something on the--
on the internet or something,
00:25:37.17\00:25:40.54
you know something
pops up, He'll be like,
00:25:40.57\00:25:43.07
do it, look at it,
look at it, look at it.
00:25:43.10\00:25:45.44
You know, he
want's me to believe
00:25:45.47\00:25:46.81
that if I fall then that's it.
00:25:46.84\00:25:49.11
You're lost, but you're not.
00:25:49.14\00:25:50.98
Along with those same lines,
I just-- it came to my mind
00:25:51.01\00:25:53.92
that we may believe that
because of how our parents
00:25:53.95\00:25:59.02
may have raised us.
00:25:59.05\00:26:00.59
And, I mean, we
don't have perfect parents.
00:26:00.62\00:26:03.06
We're all falling.
00:26:03.09\00:26:05.56
Sometimes the way
that we are raised
00:26:05.59\00:26:09.03
could have an
affect-- actually, often,
00:26:09.06\00:26:11.63
it affects the
way that we view God.
00:26:11.67\00:26:15.47
If our parents didn't have
a lot of grace, or very harsh,
00:26:15.50\00:26:20.28
or just waiting
for us to mess up,
00:26:20.31\00:26:22.81
or instilling a lot of rules,
establishing lot of rules,
00:26:22.84\00:26:26.95
but no relationship,
00:26:26.98\00:26:28.88
these things will affect
the way that we look at God.
00:26:28.92\00:26:32.59
So that's another
thing we have to do.
00:26:32.62\00:26:34.06
We have to, we have to
consider how our parents have,
00:26:34.09\00:26:38.23
have informed our
view of God, who God is.
00:26:38.26\00:26:42.76
Yeah. Yeah.
00:26:42.80\00:26:44.13
And I think that's why
00:26:44.17\00:26:45.50
in the scope of
pure choices, plural,
00:26:45.53\00:26:49.54
that we have to make
sure that we highlight
00:26:49.57\00:26:51.87
that the purest
choice we can make
00:26:51.91\00:26:54.58
is to accept that restoration
00:26:54.61\00:26:56.11
that God has
offered through Jesus Christ
00:26:56.14\00:26:57.91
and that
relationship that ensues.
00:26:57.95\00:27:00.22
That is the number one choice
00:27:00.25\00:27:01.65
towards every other
choice will, will be born.
00:27:01.68\00:27:05.15
You know, if
that's not the heart
00:27:05.19\00:27:06.76
and the crux of the matter,
00:27:06.79\00:27:08.49
if that's not the foundation
on which my choices are build,
00:27:08.52\00:27:11.73
my choices are not gonna be pure
00:27:11.76\00:27:13.40
even if my choice is
00:27:13.43\00:27:14.96
"don't watch
pornography, don't have sex."
00:27:15.00\00:27:17.63
If my first choice is it,
00:27:17.67\00:27:19.93
me and Christ all day, everyday,
00:27:19.97\00:27:22.44
it's not gonna matter.
00:27:22.47\00:27:24.17
And that sums it up.
00:27:24.21\00:27:25.54
The ultimate choice you
can make is Jesus Christ,
00:27:25.57\00:27:29.51
making Him your first choice.
00:27:29.54\00:27:31.25
And really, when you do
that, it feels so great.
00:27:31.28\00:27:33.62
It feels so much
peace than it will be.
00:27:33.65\00:27:35.95
The Bible says in
II Corinthians 5:17,
00:27:35.98\00:27:38.65
"Therefore, if
any man be in Christ,
00:27:38.69\00:27:40.72
he is a new creature.
00:27:40.76\00:27:42.19
All things are passed away.
00:27:42.22\00:27:43.56
Behold, all things become new."
00:27:43.59\00:27:45.93
You can be a new creature today.
00:27:45.96\00:27:47.83
You can have
your purity restored.
00:27:47.86\00:27:49.73
You can do it,
through Jesus Christ.
00:27:49.76\00:27:53.30
That's our program for today.
00:27:53.34\00:27:54.67
Make pure choices.
00:27:54.70\00:27:56.04