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It is always fantastic every time I have the opportunity to be here and speak. It is one of the great things I love doing. It is always a blessing. Let us pray Father God, thank you for your grace and your mercy God.
Thank you for the Freedom to sing in your goodness and sing of your grace God made today we be Convicted God Lord we pray that as we open your word that either conviction or conversion would be in every heart.
In name I pray amen October 31st. For me this is not Halloween first. It's something I love to call Reformation Day. I am Very excited to be here and tell y 'all about this as you know, I'm kind of a history nerd.
So it's very important to me the years 1517 this crazy guy who's some people call insane names Martin and And Martin Luther Was so crazy people thought because he had an obsession with being Holy with God he knew his sin.
He knew the law of God. He understood his sin in a great great way and Being a part of the Catholic Church. He thought that he had to do certain things and they live a certain way in order to ask a touch to get the grace of God.
The Catholic Church would not tell you that you are saved by your works. They would not say that but they would say that your works are how the grace of God are Administered or given to you so it's just another way of saying that you're saved by your works and Luther knew this and so He did everything he could like a madman To live a holy life.
He would practice extremist Asceticism he would only eat bread and water and then fast Starving himself to death and when the German mountain winters came He would refuse himself any blankets or warm clothing refused to go by the fire.
Thinking that forcing himself to freeze to death would somehow make him rely on Christ and become more holy. This is kind of like weird stuff that he was taught Through the Catholic Church and then actually did while all the other monks taught it and would knew it and then just like whatever I'm not freezing to death right, he had an obsession of No, God is real.
God is a reality to me. I've got to be something else and so he had this crazy mindset and it is the 506th anniversary of When he nailed those 95 theses to the church door and ignited a fire. That was still burning today.
He started something That still is going today. He challenged the Catholic Church the Great Empire. I don't want to call it a church. It was an empire they brought up and brought down Kings. They defied countries.
They were in their belief. The key held the keys of heaven and hell and they had no challenger. No equal. No competitor until a nobody no name nothing monk From Germany stood up and said hey guys. I got a problem here and this same kind of heart.
Though he was did some crazy things if it was not for the grace of God he would be right. That kind of crazy obsession of having to live a holy life is what each of us should be doing. If it was not for the grace of God pastor Jeff has been doing a series on grace.
And grace was the one thing that Martin had no understanding of. Because he thought he had to do and do and do to earn earn earn, but if you earn grace, it's no longer grace. If I pay you for the gift, it's no longer a gift.
So 2nd Corinthians chapter 11. Paul here has a similar heart and a passion and I hope that you are convicted and See the kind of heart that we should have here first. 2nd Corinthians. I'm sorry. 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 2 through 4.
This will be our passage for today. For I feel a divine jealousy for you. Since I betrothed you to one husband to present present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I'm afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning.
Your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ for if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received or You accept a gift different gospel from the one you accept.
You put up with it easily enough. That last line does read a little weird in the English. He's saying that you're already accepting these things. You're already accepting the other Gospels and other Jesus's.
So let us walk through this passage real quick. It starts out by talking about the betrothal. The betrothal to one husband and so you need to understand the analogy he is using here. This analogy is common throughout scripture.
So you just need to understand it the analogy of a marriage and In the marriage we have the aisle here and in the aisle who walks the bride down the father. The father walks their bride down and as they're walking down.
What does the pastor say? Who gives this woman? To be wed and you know her mother and I right, and so there is a presenting. There is a presenting. I Present her and I am literally I think it's so beautiful these traditions.
They have a meaning. Usually what happens is the father takes his daughter and literally puts her hand into his. There is a handing over. And what Paul is saying is is I am your spiritual father and when I As the father I want to betroth you to one husband.
The husband is Christ. I want to give you to one husband and in this I need to even let me just take a second give you this bigger and cultural understanding at this time period, you know. The parents would help choose the spouse and we like oh, that's horrible, you know arranged marriages.
That's terrible. Well, just saying best off track record with our divorce rate adultery rate. I don't know that they had it all that wrong. Okay, our divorce rates really bad and I might know. Divorce rate is no different in the church than it is in the world.
It's it's pretty much the same so the whole concept of dating is Atrocious, I can't stand it and that's another conversation for another time but a Man and woman would be betrothed and in this time period of betrothal and engagement was legally binding.
So they started hanging out and if they decided you know what? I don't want to do this. We're done. They actually had to get divorce papers. They weren't married, but it was legally binding and then at some point he would say, all right.
Good to see you. I'm out. I'm gonna go build our house and he would literally Go and prepare a place for her. And by the way, that's the place we are. We are betrothed engaged illegally bounded to Christ and he is preparing the place until he returns.
That's step one of the wedding step two is the return of the groom. And they wouldn't know when the grooms are turning. Generally speaking they knew when he was coming but the one exactly texting and Wi-Fi around all right, and so The bride had to make sure everything was ready because he could pull up at any second.
He could be here any minute. I don't. I mean, I don't have life 360 on my man so he could be here any second and. So she always had to make sure her makeup was ready and the dress was ready. The lamp stands would stay lit in case he came at night and she just had to always make sure she was ready.
You need to make sure you're always ready. You need to make sure that you are always ready. Because you do not know when Christ is coming and you say oh well Christ isn't coming back right now because of this that.
Okay, you don't know when your death is coming. Christ is coming. Maybe not in his second. Holy righteous return, but he's coming to call your butt home. Stay ready. And then the third step so when the groom Returned he would return with this whole wedding party right all the groomsmen and they would show up to the bride's house and it was this huge celebration and then they would like the Bar Mitzvah people whatever they would carry them and this great celebratory Procession and parade all the way to the groom's house, and then they would have the ceremony there.
I'll join try and sing that like Hebrew song when they're canning, but I don't know it. That one. Yeah. And so this was The understanding now, this is very important because all through Scripture you see this analogy of marriage.
You see this analogy of us as the church being called the bride of Christ and the groom is coming. The groom will come back for his bride. He has not left you. He's not forsaken you. He didn't forget about you.
He is faithful and true. You stay patient you stay ready and Christ will come. But Paul says here that he has a divine jealousy. And when I was preparing this I was just had the thought do you have a divine jealousy for anybody?
Are you a spiritual father to anybody? Do you have any disciples? Is there anybody that you have actually brought to the feet of Christ? They've accepted Christ and now you're walking them in discipleship through the sanctification of how to be a man or woman of Christ.
Because this is not for pastors, this is not just for the Apostles. This is a thing for you to do. Paul said follow me as I follow Christ. So now I'm looking at his example. I'm reading Scripture and my question for me is who do I have this jealousy for?
And if you don't know let me just help you this jealousy is not bad. There is a bad kind of jealousy and a good kind of jealousy. If I find my wife with another man, I am jealous for her. She is mine.
I want her. That is perfectly fine and healthy. There's nothing wrong with that me wanting something that doesn't belong to me. That's a bad kind of jealousy pretty simple but I found it interesting or studying for this the word is zealot like zealous and It actually has a physical connotation of water.
Boiling so these your love and passion for a younger brother and sister in Christ boiling over within you. Is it boiling that there's a movement? It's not static still water your love and passion desire for their growth is boiling and moving within you to put it crudely.
You give a crap. You care about what happens to them. Well, whatever I mean snatch them from the fire as Jude says. Snatch them from the fire urgent to Christ. That's what it says. I want to present you as a pure virgin unstained untainted by the world corrupted and you say well Pastor Jeremiah, you don't know my life.
You don't know what I've done. I'm I'm way past tainted man. Okay, I hear you but this is talking about your spiritual life. Anyone who's in Christ is a new creature new life. There is newness within you.
Celebrate in the newness. You don't have to be defined by your taintedness. You don't have to be defined by your addiction. You don't have to be defined By your abuse or your victimhood. There is a newness in Christ a New birth let that be what defines you not the pain to find you.
That's just sad for everybody now. I found it interesting that Paul says I am afraid. So he says I desire to present you To Christ pure virgin, but I'm afraid that you've been deceived now after all of scripture that we have read of Scripture saying don't be afraid.
Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid for I'm with you. Don't be if now our great Apostle is saying he's afraid. What is he afraid of? He's afraid of that little one who he has the divine jealousy for the little Brother or sister in Christ that you're working with and helping with that.
They're gonna be lost. They're going to be lost. You know that Serpents are known for swallowing eggs whole. They'll go find the eggs of another animal or even of another snake and swallow them whole in The same way Satan desires to swallow the children whole.
Scripture says that Satan is like a roaring lion. Well, I'm gonna change it for the day. God forgive me. He's like a roaring tiger. I thought of this and I said, you know what Satan's like? Satan's like Shere Khan from Jungle Book.
He's not gonna wait for them to grow up and become a man. He's gonna get him while they're a man-cub. While they're a little man-cub. Shere Khan comes into the jungle to get him. This is why if you know the past the the parable of Jesus Christ.
This is why the bird comes and gets the seed along the path. This is why the Sun comes and Scorches the plant before its roots can get deep. Satan does not want those roots to get deep. He does not want you to grow and become a man a woman of Christ to pick up that shield of faith.
And grab that sword of the Spirit and go to battle. He'll get you when you're a man-cub. Fathers Protect the children if you're not teaching them scripture, no one else will. You have to have that mindset.
If I don't do it, it doesn't get done. You have to have that mindset. If I don't do it, it doesn't get done. I must be the leader of my household. I must teach my wife. I must teach my children. Because if I don't do it it doesn't get done.
I teach at a private Christian school. And it is commonplace. For people to say we don't go to church school is our church. How oh my gosh. That is the lazy weak cowardice answer. You're gonna put the raising of your children's spiritual life into the hands of somebody else.
Every year I'm afraid. When Paul says here, I'm afraid that Satan may have deceived you. I have this fear all the time every year around graduation when my youth leave and I always have to ask the question Which one of them's don't come back?
Because every year some don't and they're lost to the world. The pride and the lust of the life. Eats them away. The Deception of the world and that's the next part. He actually says by his cunning by Satan's cunning like Eve.
He has led their thoughts away so I have two things for you. There are two ways Satan attacks you he attacks your mind and he attacks your heart. He attacks your mind and he attacks your heart. Chapter right before the 2nd Corinthians chapter 10.
Am I doing something wrong here Jeff? Okay, 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 for though we walk in the flesh. We are not waging war to the according to the flesh for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh.
But have divine power to destroy strongholds. Now I want y 'all check this out verse 5 we destroy arguments and Every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of Christ of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
Argument opinion knowledge thought these are all things of the mind. All four of those are the battle and the war ground of the mind. You have to guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4 7 print that the peace of God will protect what your heart and mind.
Protect your mind. What you think matters. What you believe matters. The music you listen to matters. The shows you watch matter. Because you will start Emulating. Yes, you'll start in late, but you'll start compromising.
I took this. I can't remember that word. I couldn't remember the word compromise. You'll start compromising. You'll start bargaining of what is acceptable. Based off of the things you watch the things you listen to the things you read.
I have gotten off almost all social media and people talk about when I'm gonna give my kids Phones and how I said look bro. It's not good for me. It's definitely not good for them. All right. Come on now if it ain't healthy for me, it definitely is not healthy for my children.
Do not. Compromise the things you put in your mind affect you what you believe about scripture. Matters, but the second one is the heart. There's a great quote from a Puritan pastor that says temptations.
Do not put anything into a man. That is not already there. Temptation. It doesn't do there could be a thousand temptations in front of you. But the one that catches your eye is the one that's already in your heart.
I've said this from up here before guys when we sin we act like we're surprised. I just I didn't know. Yes you did. You know what makes your brain tick. You know you you didn't have that thought for the first time and Then you acted on it.
Throw the church stuff away man. Like let's be real for a second. You have been struggling with that thought or that idea for days months weeks years reality of it and Then one day you're weak. One day, you know, you ain't read scripture in three weeks.
You ain't prayed a lick you haven't been to church cuz you slept in you had an argument with your wife. And now you're like, I just had no idea. Stop. Stop it. See, this is why accountability is so important.
This is why not just going to an accountability meeting but that true genuine honesty of. Hey, yo. Don't just confess your sins. Confess your temptations. Confess your temptations. Because that's how you prevent the sin.
Temptations do not put anything into a man that is not already there. First John 5 19 says this we know that we are from God and the whole world lies and the power of the evil one. You know what? That means?
If you're not a Christian if you are not saved this world has no weapons to fight against Satan. None. There's not a seal can put up against Satan. They are in his hands. But two chapters before that first John chapter 2 I write to you young men because you are strong and the word of God abides in you and you have overcome the evil one the same evil the same Satan.
That holds the whole world in his hand and they right here. It says in chapter 5 are powerless to. Here we overcome now. Now, what's the difference? What changed in chapter 5 in chapter 2 from the world has no power to we overcome?
The Word of God abiding in you. The Word of God abiding in you now. We can try and change things and we can call it old-fashioned and we can call it, you know, whatever. But the same truth for two thousand four thousand years.
It's the same truth today. You need the Word of God. Being in groups and being in all these things are fantastic. Amazing. I support them, but without the Word of God you are still powerless. Without the Word of God your strategies of overcoming are nothing but temporary or.
It just trades one sin for another. You just trade one addiction for another. You just trade one selfish desire for another selfish desire. One area of apathy to another area of apathy. One area of laziness to another area of laziness.
You're still lazy. You're still lazy. You just. Somebody kept complaining about this area. So you fix that one, but you still slacked off over here. You're still lazy. You just traded it for another one to try and get by to get the wife nagging off of you.
And now the last or the second to last line of this when he says Let me read this again. Make sure we're still on point for I feel divine jealousy for you since I betrothed you to one husband. To present you as a pure version of to Christ.
But I'm afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning story talked about all that. Your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure Devotion to Christ. So we've talked about all that first part and now that beautiful part the sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
Listen y 'all do not trade the simplicity of the truth of God's Word for some sophisticated pseudo salvation. The Word of God is not necessarily easy, but it is simple. It is simple. It is straightforward you obey Christ.
Love Christ love his Word. And you'll be good. I Didn't say it was easy. You never gonna hear me say it was easy. But it is simple the simple pure Devotion to Christ. He has shown you oh man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you do justly love?
Mercy walk humbly with God. It's not complicated or but it's simple God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself and doing this you have fulfilled the law of God. All of the law is summed up in love.
Because love doesn't steal. Love does not lie. Love does not gossip. Love does not murder. Love does not commit adultery. Love does not have an idol before God. Love does not do these things. So in loving God and loving Your neighbor you fulfill the whole law when it says love is patient and kind does not envy or boast is not Arrogant or rude and so on this definition and this deep understanding of love you have that kind of love for God.
You have that kind of love for your neighbor. I had Two kids on my football team getting a fight and I'm the disciplinarian coach. That's my job and I'm great at it. Oh Man, I've a couple weeks ago. I had a kid on Monday kid on Tuesday kid on Wednesday kill on Thursday.
I said Anybody else. So these two kids are getting in a fight and Whatever but they didn't get in a fight. And so I'm like, all right, come on and they're sitting there running. They're sitting there doing bear crawls and my favorite one.
It makes them cry every time. I love it. They sit there and they get a plank and I say, all right plank push-up position plank position push-up position. But tears roll within 30 seconds and the whole time.
They had to say We do not have to be friends. We do not have to like each other, but we will love and respect one another. You know, it's one of those things guys is not really an option. Scripture says to love your enemies.
Some of some of you treat the people the person you sit next to as an enemy. Guess what? You've got to love them. It don't matter. You don't got to like everybody. You don't got to be friends with you.
You don't got to hang out on the weekends. That's cool. But you will Love one another. I was talking to someone one time and they said well, I'm just not sure that I can forgive them. I said, well, I'm not sure that's an option.
Okay, like I'm sorry Scripture says if you do not forgive others, I will not forgive you tough. Like I mean Would you want me to read that a different way or I can get in on a racer? I'm trying to race it but ain't gonna work.
He's written in ink. If you do not forgive others God will not forgive you. You can sit and hold in your bitter and anger and resentment and let that eat away at your soul for however many years you wish and You keep on trying it your way you keep on trying to be bitter angry resentful keep testing that one out see how it works.
Or you try it God's way. Or You can say I'm done trying it my way. Let's try it another. If you do not forgive others God above will not forgive you last point. This one is the gospel. He says if you receive another Jesus another gospel a different spirit than the one you received this same thing happened in the book of Galatians when People were trying to put other up more than the grace of God on someone.
No, no, no, you aren't good enough. You got a dress better man. You got a look better. You got to clean yourself up. You got to do this and that I'm sorry. Can you find that verse for me? I? Tell people time either scripture.
I don't care about it. If you don't got scripture your opinion means nothing to me. So you show me that verse which says that and we can be cool but it ain't in there. The same thing was happening Galatians and Paul uses the most strong language he ever uses.
Strongest language in the New Testament. He says if you hear of a different gospel. Than the one I preached even if it was from an angel above. Angel comes down if it's a different gospel, may they meet be anathema.
Meaning cursed of God. May they be damned now. That's some strong language here y 'all. He's actually pizza. He says I say again in case you didn't hear it the first time. Let me say it louder for the people in the back.
If you hear of another gospel than the one you have received. Even if it's from an angel may they be damned and cursed by God. I Ain't write the book. I'm just reading it. That's as a strongest language as we can come now, there are two kinds of people in here that I want to address.
One about 90-something percent of the time. Through the example of Christ and the testimony of Scripture. We are to be loving and kind meek and humble submissive turning the other cheek and Live at peace with all men.
But there is for the other side of that coin for the other people in here there's that small percentage of time. When it's time for you to stand up. When it's time for you to stand up and you fight that fight and you fight that battle and you go to war over that Issue the hill to die on to die on that you lay the life down.
You can't back down from that fight. You can't back down from that one y 'all. Stand up for what's right. Speak up and if you don't already have the devotion in your life beforehand. You won't be ready then you can't show up on fight day with no training and expect to win.
You can't go to war and I've never touched a gun. Get familiar with your weapon. The weapon of our warfare is not flesh and blood. You must be ready when Christ went to the temple and he turned them tables over.
They were up charging. How many of you if I had a deacon at the door and said I you got $10 to walk in here. How many of you would just turn around walked away and not even gotten out of bed this morning.
Can I get an amen? That's what they were doing. They were robbing and stealing from the people of God and it was turning people away from coming to the house of the Lord people were refusing to go worship God and accept God because these selfish arrogant people.
Were being greedy. When it came to that kind of gospel issue Christ turned the tables over he grabbed a whip and went to business. Now that's a very small percentage of the time friends. You don't reach for that every day.
That better be a rare rare thing in the life of a Christian. But when it comes time you cannot back down. Do not be a coward. Stand up for what's right. Music people, please come up. This was the attitude of our Reformation father Martin Luther.
He did not back down from the fight. He understood The penalty that was before him. Listen up. There's just people walking up here. It's all good. Not but a hundred years before him a man named John Huss had said the same thing.
Questioned the church in the same way and they burned him at the stake. They burned him alive. Now Martin walks up saying even more aggressive things even challenging the church in greater ways and he stands before the great hall of the Cardinals and bishops and and princes of the Holy Roman Empire and Not in some great bravado voice, but in the shaking strength he says Unless convinced by sacred scripture or clear reason.
That I am bound by the Word of God. I Cannot and will not recant for it is either neither safe nor right to go against conscience here. I stand so help me God, but he stood as Quaky and shaking that his voice was With every fear in him.
He feared the one who can kill both body and soul so Here's where I challenge you. Do you fear God? Do you have the devotion in your life to stand up to have a backbone for the Word of God? Or are you too aggressive and you need to learn humility and submission and what it means to turn the other cheek?
Are you too quick to draw the sword or maybe? You have zero divine jealousy when I said that you had no idea what's talking about because you've never poured your life to anybody. You're like a spiritual miser.
You just read the Word of God and never share it never teach it never evangelize. You just your spiritual miser. You're like a swamp. You have all the stuff, but there's no movement. So it's just defiled and stinky and smelly.
Maybe you need to repent of that today. I Don't know. Maybe today you just heard the Word of God for the first time and it's time to repent and get right. Maybe what I said about you letting pain and resentment and bitterness and anger define you.
Maybe it's time to let that go. There's not a thing in here that somebody else can't say. Amen. I've been there. Let me help you out not a single thing. You ain't got nothing that we can't understand or relate to.
I don't care. I don't care. Now it's not the time to be a coward. Now it's not the time to let fear define you now. It's not the time To let the emotions of the moment Overwhelm you now. It's a time to let your heart and mind what you know is right.
Go do it. If you don't have business down here and you got business with someone next to you. If you don't need to be down here repenting. Then you need to have a jealous devotion for somebody else in here and pour your life out for Whatever it is.
May today be the day we get it done. I'm gonna ask that you stand and join with us and the working of the Lord.
