Examining The Transformed Life - [Romans 12:1-2]

Good morning. Like you said, I'm Gary Edwards. I am the Director of Financial Aid at the Master's College. Graduated in 2001 from the Master's Seminary. And I currently reside at Platt Street Baptist Church in Santa Cruz, California.

You're welcome. I brought the sunny weather with me. So we tried to do that. But this morning, what I want to talk about is you guys from on an every Sunday to Sunday basis, we have Mike and Steve up here going through the scriptures and talking about what you need to do and going through.

And so I want to just talk about practically living biblically and what that looks like. Not that they don't talk about the practicality or talk about that, but just want to talk about what it really looks like in your lives.

So let me go ahead and pray for us, and then we'll jump into the word of God. Pray with me. Heavenly Father, we thank you just for the privilege it is to know you as our Lord and Savior, Lord. Thank you for this morning that we have an opportunity to hear your word.

Lord, I just pray that you just allow me to step out of the way and let your word be preached. Prepare people's hearts now to hear what you wish and desire for them to hear, Lord, and to go out and apply it in their lives.

We thank you for this opportunity. Thank you for the blessing and the provision you give us on a daily basis. In your name we pray, amen. I'm going to be in the New Testament this morning, which is strange because I'm an Old Testament guy.

I love the Old Testament. So I'm going to do what we call a leapfrog. I'm going to start in the Old Testament, jump to the New, just because I can. I always think we should start there. But a verse that's always been, that I've loved, is Ezra 7 .10.

Does anybody know that one? By the way, let me tell you this now. I like interaction, so I'm going to ask questions, and you can answer them. That's what I want. And I don't mind quiet pauses, so if nobody answers, I'll just stand up here and look stupid.

So help me out with that. Does anybody know what Ezra 7 .10 is, besides Pastor Steve? 7 .10, 7 .10. Ezra set his heart to, all right, all right. OK, what it is, is Ezra 7 .10, it says that Ezra set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to practice it, and to teach its statutes, and rules, and ordinances in Israel.

And when it comes to living biblically, you've got to realize what you've set your heart to do. And looking at one of the real, I think, one of the real godly men in the Old Testament, looking at Ezra, and what Ezra did in order to maintain that relationship before the Lord, was that he had to set his heart.

He had to set his heart to study it, and then to do it. And I think for you and I as believers, we need to determine that. Because I think sometimes we get stuck in the rut that, well, there's the Holy Spirit, so the Holy Spirit's going to do all this.

So I just need to go to church, hear it, and then some way, magically, during the week, it's all going to flesh out in our lives. And I think you and I both know that's not going to happen. We need to do something.

You need to do something. So there's my leapfrog text. And we're going to jump into Romans 12, 1, and 2. Now this one, people should actually get some response. Does anybody know? Anybody out here know Romans 12, 1, and 2?

Come on. You know Romans? OK, what's Romans 12, 1, and 2? Good job. Did you hear that? Good time. Yeah, it is. That's exactly right. He's talking about urging brethren. And I think that in all of scripture, this verse, these two verses in Romans 12, 1 and 2, is God's call to you and I to respond and to respond to the grace in which he's given us.

And it is a response of, this is our responsibility. I think it's the perfect summation of all of what Paul has been teaching throughout Romans, what we need to respond to. Now, a lot of people say, you've heard about this in Romans.

Romans 1 through 11 is all about doctrine. And then you're going to jump in 12 to 16, and it's all about practicality, of how you need to practically live out the Christian life. Well, I think doctrine is practical.

So I don't think you should just skip and read chapters 12 through 16. But with that, though, think about this. In 1 through 11, he doesn't just talk about doctrine. There is things that he speaks about to the fact of Christian living.

He talks about not letting sin reign in your mortal bodies in 612. He talks about that we are to serve others in a new way, also in 7 .6. And then also, you're to live a controlled life in 8 and 9. So these are practical things that he's talking about, things that we can do as believers in response to biblical truth.

But then he does pour us here to Romans 12 .1. And I think the key that we're seeing here is what Paul does is he's telling us now in this chapter, he's telling us that we need to stop, how do you put it, like, we need to stop being in this kind of dream world about what it means to be a Christian.

And it's this idealistic thing that it's just really a fantasy that we're never going to do. And we need to actually go about being that Christian and learning how to serve. So first thing he does here is in Romans 12.

And let me go ahead and read the passage. And then we'll jump into it. It says, Romans 12. I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Now, these two verses are loaded.

I could spend several hours going through all of it and talking to you about it. And I think Steve said I have three hours. So we, all right. Yeah, OK. No. So I'm going to be brief. So I apologize if you feel we're missing something.

But I think the first thing off the bat, and this is where I want to come to you, as well as how Paul came to you, is that first phrase. He says, I appeal to you, therefore, brothers. Does somebody else have a different translation than I appeal to you?

I urge, I beseech you. Now, think about this. Who is Paul writing to? Romans. Should you even raise your hand? You guys don't have to raise your hand. But that was really polite. The Romans. He's writing through Romans.

But Roman who? Believers. OK, and then what does he say here? He says, I what? Urge you, I beseech you, I appeal to you. Now, isn't this strange? Does Paul usually do that? What's Paul usually do as he speaks through scripture?

He commands you. So what is different about this? Why is he making an appeal here? OK, think about it. Why would you think that? As one believer to another, why do you make an appeal? Now, realize, when he's saying this, I beseech you, I urge you, the message he's conveying is almost, I don't want to say he's begging, but how's the best way to put it?

Parents, your children are older. Those of you who have your children are in high school, I'm out of college, and they're beyond. And you see them going down a path that they really shouldn't go. Can you just simply say, you can't do that.

You've got to stop. No, I mean, what happens now? Now they're adults. They're on their own. They're making decisions on their own. So what do you do? You make an appeal, a suggestion, an appeal. You urge them, you beseech them.

Now, think of this as Paul. Paul feels that all the believers he's speaking to, he feels like they're family. So to them, and now to you and I, he is almost begging you as one who loves you so much, as a father would to his son, or to a mother to her daughter, going the wrong way, pleading with them, saying, I urge you.

I appeal to you. And it's because he knows that if you don't, what's in store for you? He understands that if you don't hear this appeal, if you don't do this, it's bad. Life is not going to be good. So that's what he's doing here.

He's begging. He's pleading with us as believers to say, I'm appealing to you by the mercies of God to present yourself. And I think the key here is that, first, he's urging you and I. He's begging you and I.

So there's an aspect of what in there? Will, right? So you have a choice. And this morning, Paul is laying down a choice for you. He's saying, will you? You have the choice. You don't have to. You don't have to present your body to God.

You don't. You do not have to live as a living sacrifice. You don't have to accept that. OK? And I think a lot of us think, well, I've heard God saved me, and I'm good now, and I'm fine, and I'm not as bad as the other Christians over there, and we're in a good, solid Bible believing church.

And well, that's fine. But what are you doing, practically, in your own Christian walk? To live sacrificially. So he's pleading with us. He says, as a living sacrifice. Now, anybody know anything about Old Testament times and sacrifice?

Why was he talking about a sacrifice right now? What went on in the Old Testament times? Yeah, what went on in the Old Testament times? They did, exactly right. They had to make sacrifices to atone for sins.

Now, how vivid was that? Do you know what they did? Some of the imagery behind that? How vivid was that? Yeah, I see a little cringe over here. How many people have seen a sacrifice where an animal killed?

Yeah, OK. Yeah, now multiply that 100 times over. And this is what they're saying. This is the imagery that's there. And it's graphic. Now, put yourself in the mindset of a Roman at this time. And Paul just says, I'm appealing to you to present your body as a living sacrifice.

So with that imagery in your head, what does living sacrifice mean? What does that mean to you guys, practically, right now, today? What does it mean? For you, yeah. OK, death. What else? For you in your Christian walk, what does a living sacrifice look like?

Giving out something to your half, what? Atonement. Explain that. Exactly. It's in a daily atonement. So for you and I, what does that look like? I mean, we're talking in these living sacrifice words.

What does that look like? Today, practically, what does that look like? Yes. OK, great. I think what she's saying, just to sum it up, is fear of man, of being confident enough in what the Lord has told you, to be bold and not be afraid of being humiliated, to stand for Christ.

How else can you be as a living sacrifice today? Yes. OK, willingly. Great, you know what that's called? Preferring one another. It's our liberties in Christ. And Scripture speaks about that, as well, in Corinthians, about not abusing your privileges.

What else? Yeah. OK, I think that is great. Did you hear that? Recognizing your life is not your own. And I think that is where you and I need to land. Whose life is it? It's Christ's. It's not yours.

You don't have a right, as a believer, to do whatever you want. You don't have a catch-all. You know, in other parts of the Scripture, Paul talks about, well, in Romans, shall we go about sinning more, that grace might abound more?

May it never be. It's the biggest negative that you can do in Scripture. He's saying, no, you don't rest on those laurels. You don't go, oh, well, Christ's forgiven me. I'm great. Let's go play. You know, because no matter what's going to happen, it's under the blood.

And that's not how we do it. And that's what he's saying here is, you know what? You've got to be a living sacrifice. That means daily, you need to look at your own life and see how you are living for yourself.

And get rid of that. And kill it. And sacrifice to the Lord. And give it over to him. Talks about, if you think about this, when you're talking about the living sacrifice, it's an imagery of offering, of making yourself an offering.

And when you think about that, start thinking in context of the body of Christ as a whole. I don't know all the different talents and giftedness that are people here. But we've got an ear over here. We've got a mouth over here.

We've got an eye over here. We've got a hand over here. We're all one members of the body, members of Christ. And we're also his temple. So we're part of God's temple. So he uses this imagery over and over again.

Now, I think when you're looking at living sacrifice and thinking of, in Corinthians, it talks about that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. I think there's a, well, let me ask you this before I jump into that.

Your body as being a temple of the Holy Spirit, how many people, what do you think about that? When I say your body is a temple, like you need to treat your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit, what comes to mind?

OK, we're mazing the image of God. I think some people take that passage and think I need to be really fit. You know, I need to watch what I eat. Anybody think that? I mean, seriously, you can. It's OK.

Yeah. Yeah, it's kind of the practicality. But when you're looking in the context of that verse in Corinthians, when he's talking about your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, where in temple structure in the Old Testament, where did the Holy Spirit dwell?

Holy of holies. And what was not allowed in the holy of holies? Sin. So in Corinthians, when God is saying your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, what is he saying should not be there in your body?

Sin. Now, that can look like smoking and gluttony and other things like that. So yes, it can refer to the fact that you want to take care of your body. But what he's more talking about here is that you don't want sin living here, because this is where the Holy Spirit dwelled.

So think about that. Think about, as your body is a living sacrifice, when you get in that whole Old Testament sacrificial system, this is a place where sin doesn't dwell. So how do we do that? Grace, but we're in Romans 12 .1 and 2.

We're just finished up Romans 12 .1. 12 .2 tells us to what? It says, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

So how do we do that? How do you and I live practically, live out this Christian life? And first of all, it's do not be conformed. Now, what does it mean not to be conformed to this world? What does that look like for you and I?

OK, don't do. Like what? For you and I today, what does that look like? Yeah. Right, you want to go by God's standards, not by the world's standards. Now, there's the danger with this. What's our danger with not being conformed to the world?

Legalism, yeah. What else? Yeah, legalism. How does that flush out? What does that look like? Now, this is the thing, though. This is the balance. We go on this, well, we're not going to be legalistic.

But then we go the other way, and we're going to be way too libertarian. Oh, all the liberties, we can't say we shouldn't do that because we don't want to be legalistic. But realistically, we don't want to look like the world.

How many of you out in the workplace, when you're working, how many people here work in a Christian environment? Yeah, we've got the pastor. Yeah, I was hoping you'd put your hand up. I was waiting. Yeah, the rest of us don't.

I mean, I'm fortunate. I work at a Christian college. But you'd be surprised at the unbelievers I interact with. But the majority of us don't work around unbelievers. I mean, believers all the time. We work around unbelievers.

Now, how many of you in your workplace, do people know you're a Christian besides the fact that you told them? Yeah, that's a good thing. Now, this is the thing that you don't want to do. Well, I just want to be better than them.

So if I'm a little more moral, that doesn't mean anything. The thing is, in this conforming to the world, it's not let's look at the world and go, well, that's how they are, so I'm just going to be one step above them.

How are you and I not to be conformed? We're doing it for God's glory, but where does our conduct become informed? Where do you and I learn how to live? From the word. OK, so let's talk about that. For you and I, scripture, now this is the thing, is I don't want, because I can stand up here and go, well, to not look like the world, you should do this, you should do this, you should do this.

That's not right. We want scripture to inform our life's theology, correct? Do we not? Would you agree with that? We want scripture to inform it. So from scripture, think of your passages. Think of your favorite passages that talk about Christian life and living, or ones that you guys have held onto because you know the sentence in your own heart.

What are some passages in the scriptures that speak about how you and I are to live? Philippians 2, which says what? OK, have this attitude in yourself, which is also in Christ Jesus. When's a good time to have that pop into your head?

When you're getting ready to conform to the world. You know what? Do not be conformed to the world. OK, what else? What's another one? Yeah. Which says? Oh, good one. Yeah, there you go. Did you hear that, James 1, 19?

Yeah, be slow to speak. When's that a good time? When your brother does something that ticks you off and you want to say something mean. Yeah, that's good. OK, so you see this scripture's informing our living.

How about, what else? Give me some other scriptures. Yeah. Oh, Colossians is a great one. Give me that one. Great, seeking things that are above. Now, when's a real good time to have that pop into your head?

When you're at the movie theater and a scene comes on that you really shouldn't be watching? When you're hanging out with your friends at the mall and they're probably not believers, and they want to do something you're not, and all of a sudden, you've got this pressure to conform to them?

Good time to use those scriptures. Because the thing is, if you're sitting there and you're trying to rationalize it, if someone's wanting you to do something that your conscience is kind of, but all of a sudden, you're like, well, nothing really comes to mind where I really shouldn't.

If you don't have scripture hidden in your heart, you're going to act on your own will and not on God's will. Another passage. Come on, there's more of them. Yeah. You took hers. That was Sir James 119.

See? Older people, we have to know that one, too. It's OK. Yeah, there you go. See, there's two. We've got generation to generation here. Yes, another one. Yes. Yeah, I love that one. OK. Yeah, the fruit of the spirit.

I have that one, actually, in my notes. Thank you. See, you get a star. Steve, she gets a star. I don't know how, but can you do that? Gold star. Yeah, that's in my notes. What does that one look like to you practically?

When do you use that verse? OK. And you're married. Great. Yeah, because you know what? Because the world is watching you, too. Do you know that? The world is watching you as a husband and wife, and you're a testimony to Christ and his love.

What else? Give me other verses. Yeah. OK, Galatians 2 .20. Now, for you, when does that verse need to come into your mind? It's when you do when you're, yeah, what's the one? OK, yeah, whatever is true, whatever is right, whatever is pure, and think on these things.

That one's great. I think, who doesn't know Philippians 4 .8? You don't. See, she's honest. OK, Philippians 4 .8. When does that come into play for you folks? You start getting discouraged. OK, OK, let me ask.

This is a great one. For those of you who, anybody ever get discouraged about, like, OK, you're in this world. You're working nine to five. You're next to these unbelievers. They are profiting. You are barely making it.

Things are not going your way. There's financial troubles. Your family's, you know, I mean, there's family troubles. There's friends. I mean, things are just not going your way. Where do you guys go for support?

Yeah. Your dad? Good, and what does your dad tell you? What does your dad tell you? Or dad, what do you tell her? That you put in as a circumstance. You know what? This is great for me, and this is one that, this was told me when I was first a new believer, and I cling to it nowadays.

When I start looking at the world and I get discouraged, when I look at these people who are making so much, I mean, I'm sorry, this whole thing about the, with the elections going on right now, and I think they're spending $300 million to campaign, and I think, do you know how many students could get a Christian education for that?

Do you know how many missionaries could be supported for the next 30 years with that? You know, I just think of these things, and it gets, I think, the world's just throwing it around. Like, these missionaries are suffering on a day-to-day basis.

They are living in substandard situations to get the gospel out there, and these people are spending $300 million. What is God doing? Why is the world prospering? And this is the great thing, Psalm 37 and Psalm 73.

You know why I can remember them? Because I'm dyslexic, I really am, and no matter which one I go to, if I switch the numbers in my head, it's the same message, okay? Because what he does is in both Psalm 37 and Psalm 73, he talks about the prosperity of the world, and says, I was despairing.

Then what does he remember? He remembers that in the end, who wins? In the end, who is the one who will reign supreme? And in the end, who will you and I be with? That is where our hope is. That is where our life should end.

So when I get discouraged, Psalm 73, Psalm 37. Other practical things about that. Give me some other verses. Let me throw some out there for you. Galatians 5, when it says, stand firm. When do you and I need to stand firm?

Give me a situation where you need to stand firm. Okay, when you're being attacked from believers for your faith. When else? Give me an actual instance, yeah. Yeah, and especially in our day-to-day, we have, as she was saying, standing firm against other believers who may be in error.

You know, there's some of these weird movements out there that are anything but biblical, but they're holding to the fact. Okay, another one. Galatians 5, 10, I like Galatians. And when it says to walk in the spirit, or even Galatians 6, sharing with the others the gospel, what does that look like for you and I?

How many of you share the gospel on a weekly basis? Good, yeah, in what situations? When do you do that? When somebody asks you for advice, what do you give them? Do you give them the world standard, or do you give them God's?

You know, we can talk to unbelievers in and out, and we can make them really moral unbelievers that look really, really good, and act really, really well. You know, it's funny, my brother is an unbeliever, and he likes to say, he pushes against me all the time, and he's just saying, you know, we're so hypocritical, and I'm like, you're so hypocritical, you guys do the exact things that the unbelievers do.

And he goes, so I don't know why I should have to act like that. You know what I tell him? I go, you know what, I don't want you to act like that, because I don't want you to look like a really good unbeliever.

I don't want you to be in a wheat and a tare. I don't want you to be a tare, so people think you're a believer. And I tell him, I don't expect you to act that way, because you don't have the conviction of the Lord and the Holy Spirit guiding and directing your life to live that way.

So why would I want you to look that way? And so that's what you and I need to do is on a day-to-day basis, is when we're talking to people who don't know the Lord, we don't want them just to be better and moral.

You know, we want them to know our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So what it does is not say that, Scripture says you should act this way, because you know what, if they don't know the Savior, they're not gonna know the Scripture.

So what you wanna say is, you know what, the Scripture says that you need to know the Lord first. So if you wanna change the way you live, and you wanna change your heart and be the man of God that Christ wants you to be, first you need to know the Savior.

Yeah. And we do, we can't, I mean, you know, when people say you're a bunch of hypocrites, I'm like, join the group then. Because we are, I mean, we all are. You know, we are, and my pastor called us, he says we're sin-cursed pea brains, and we are.

And we do, we're trying to figure this out, and we're under, you know, we're trying to, trying to live unto the Lord, and we're one sinner interacting with other sinners on a constant basis. And you know what, we're gonna fail, because why?

Because we are sinners. And that's the blessing of it. And that's the part where we wanna come, and we wanna be reconciled with the Lord on a constant basis. And that reconciliation is what changes us and moves us forward.

Yes. And the key is reconciliation, I think, on a daily basis. And saying, realizing it's not just about forgiveness, it's about changing. Because the thing is, is you know what, I know that God is gonna forgive me over and over again when I fail and stumble.

But mine is that resolve no longer to do that and to move forward. Yeah. Yeah. It is. Similar other things that are about, like, for you and I being conformed, not being conformed. It's talking about being transformed, right?

The other word is, don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed. Now, how are you and I to be transformed? And we've been talking about this. It's in the verse, you can cheat. Huh? Sorry? By the renewing of what?

What does it say in the text? The renewing of your mind. Now, okay, this is what we've been talking about with all these scripture verses. What informs your and I thinking? Is it just what Pastor Mike and Pastor Steve teach on a Sunday?

Is that all we're doing? They come, they give a few little things, we take them away and go, oh, we can use this during the week. No. What informs your and I's minds? Okay, the Holy Spirit opening up the scriptures.

So in order for the Holy Spirit to open up the scriptures to us, what are you and I need to be doing? You gotta be in the scriptures. What else do we need to be doing? Huh? Praying, 1 Thessalonians, pray without ceasing.

What else? I mentioned earlier those verses talking about being members of the body. What does it mean to be a member of a body? Do we just all have our individual members and we're kind of out there?

And I function as an ear over here and you function as a hand over there? To be in one body means what? We're connected. So, using the body analogy, as you and I as believers, what do we need to be doing in order to be transforming our minds?

We need to be together. Okay, and doing what together? Worshiping together. You know what the verb for worship, you know what it also translates to? Worship and the root. Worship is also, Steve, service.

Oh, come on. It's also a service. Our spiritual service of worship is one of the phrases, but worship and service are very similar, okay? To worship and to serve is the same thing. So, we need to be serving one another.

We need to be in the body. Now, coming together as a body, serving and using our giftedness, it also looks like what? There's a funny D word that we throw out there. Is what? Older people informing the younger people.

Discipleship, exactly, okay? Discipleship is going on. And what does that look like? How many of you people have somebody discipling you or are discipling somebody out there? Yeah, there needs to be more hands, okay?

If you're not, and the thing is, you don't have to, it doesn't always happen. It's not always formal like you walk up and go, you're gonna disciple me. Good times, great, let's go. It doesn't always happen, okay?

It happens naturally. I have, at my home church, there are four different men in my life who I know are discipling me on a regular basis. We have nothing formal going on. We don't have a book out. We don't meet every week.

But it's just life on life relationship to the point where I've trusted them enough and they've trusted me enough to be in my life and ask those hard questions. Steve's one of them. I call him all the time and he gets on my case.

But they need that. He knows enough about me to ask those questions. This is the thing, when it comes to discipleship, you don't get those people in your life who are gonna tell you what you want. They're gonna be like, oh, you're so wonderful.

I love you. I know you're a sinner, but it's gonna be okay. You need the person where when I call them up and start whining, they're like, okay, are you done? Good, yeah, you're right. You're a loser and a sinner and you need to repent.

And they do. How many people wanna be coddled? How many people wanna be told, you're right, living the Christian life is really, really hard. I understand that. So I understand you failed, but why don't you take a couple days off and just rest?

No, that's not what the Christian life is about. You know what, you want those people in your life going, you know what, you're right. You're a sinner. You messed up again. Now, what are you going to do?

Because it's up to you. Are you gonna cling to the Lord? Are you gonna cling to our scriptures? Are you gonna get accountability? Are you gonna stop doing the things you're doing that make you do that sin that you're pet?

And I ask you, are you going to do that? Because it's today that you have that choice. It's not tomorrow. It's not in a week. It's not in a month. It's not when, oh, when I get out of high school, I'll work on that.

When I get out of college, maybe when I switch jobs, if I can just get through this week, I can focus on my sin. It's right now. And right now is your choice whether you're gonna be conformed to this world or you're gonna be transformed.

And you're gonna transform yourself by renewing your mind. And that's what you guys have to ask yourselves on a daily basis is, am I being conformed? This verse is amazing. Like simply, if you want to memorize no other scripture, you should, but I'm just saying.

Memorize this one. Why? Because it starts informing your life and your theology of your life. Think about going, I'm being urged. That means I have a choice. Paul is pleading with me to make the choice to be a living sacrifice, to present my body daily to Christ.

Daily, are you gonna make that choice? When you wake up in the morning, do you go, you know what? I am gonna choose to sacrifice my life for Christ and be that way today in everything I do. From my job from nine to five, from helping the kids get up in the morning to when I come home at night and put them to bed, from helping my wife with dinner, from serving the man I work next to, every single point, am I gonna conform to this world and just be a little bit better than them?

Or am I gonna transform myself by the renewing of my mind? And before I speak to that coworker, am I gonna guard my mind with scripture saying, you know what? I've gotta be, not consider myself more important than them.

I need to consider them before me. I need to serve them. Or are you gonna go through the day on autopilot, going, I can get through this. I can do my job. It's no problem. That's what you have to do. And that's where the life comes out.

Praying without ceasing, not being conformed to this world, being transformed by the renewing of your mind, walking in a manner worthy, being a body of Christ, being in a discipleship relationship. Sounds like a lot, doesn't it?

Sounds kind of laborious, but you know what? It's easy. Why? Because what do you and I have? We've got the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. Cling to him, hold onto him. You know what I realized a couple of years ago?

You know what I realized? I don't need God. I don't. Do you guys? Do we need God? Think about it on a day-to-day basis. Do I need God? I can go get a job. I can get provided for. I can live. I can have a great week.

I can have fun friends. I can travel. I don't need God. But you know what? I want him. I want him in my life because you know what I realized? Without him, none of it means anything. My job, my house, my relationships, all of it is meaningless without him.