Sunday Morning - Church wide Q & A

Whitten Baptist Church iconWhitten Baptist Church

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Good morning, family. It's a good day to be alive in Jesus Christ our
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Lord. We are going to do something that no other church, I guarantee you, in the
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United States of America is doing today. And it's either going to be the dumbest thing we've ever tried, or it's going to be really cool.
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One of the two. That's what's going to happen. For the last 16 weeks, besides the great pandemic flu of 2020, we have been studying the history of Israel, the history of Israel.
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All right. And as most of you, those of you that are visiting, you don't know me.
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But for those of you that do know me, I want you to learn.
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I want the word of God to be alive and life changing in your world.
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OK, see, it's not I'm one of those people that like I'm a zealot. Hey, how are you doing,
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Margie? I really believe this stuff like I'm convinced
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I'm totally convinced I have seen in 27 years the word of God set countless peoples free.
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I've seen the Holy Spirit of God heal people physically. I've seen him heal marriages.
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I've seen the Holy Spirit of God do amazing things in the life of people. But what
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I've also seen is this. I have seen the vast majority of people who profess
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Jesus Christ as Lord to be unbelievably and breathtakingly ignorant of scripture.
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OK, now, when I say that, some people get offended. That's because you're the person
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I'm talking about. You know, the little Christian story, you know about what
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Jesus being born in a manger and dying on the cross and all that other stuff. But unfortunately, you've grown up with preachers who have said silly things like, well, every sermon should end at Calvary.
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Well, that sounds great. But the problem with that is scripture doesn't do that. Scripture doesn't end at Calvary.
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You see, there's life after you walk down the aisle and accept Jesus in your heart. You see what people do and what we have done is we've become so familiar with the
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Christian lifestyle in the southern United States that we have treated it with contempt and think that's the height of the experience you can have with God.
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Experiencing God is a new, always frontier thing. It never is suburban.
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It is never a picket fence with a grill in the backyard. It is always an adventure because God is continually at work in you sanctifying.
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What's sanctification mean? Setting you apart, working on you. It's like if I had a piece of wood here and I needed to make a doorstop and I sat there and started carving that piece of wood.
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Well, that wood's this big. It can't be used right. But if I carve it and make it an angle and continually work it, it can now fulfill its purpose and destiny.
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The reason so many people feel hopeless in this world, the reason so many
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Christians feel apart is because you're trying to connect with a church or religion when it's
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Jesus Christ in a real intimate personal way you need to be connected with.
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And religion will jack you up because it promises you a fulfillment that it can never deliver on.
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That's why some of you girls want to feel safe and secure in a Hallmark movie with a boy because you think that's what's gonna fill the hole in your heart.
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And then it turns to ash in your mouth. That's why some of you men want to either use bravado or the countercultural idea of righteousness and truth when truth is only found in Jesus Christ.
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So what we're gonna do today is this. Here's what we're gonna do.
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That's not Spanish. That's Latin. Here's what we're gonna do today. Here's what we're gonna do for the next four weeks.
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And if this doesn't work out, we're gonna do something else. For the next four weeks, what we are gonna have is called open mic sermons.
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That's what we're gonna do for four weeks. And here are the rules.
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There are none about the questions you can ask. You can ask any question about the history of Israel or anything that we've gone over in the last 16 weeks.
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Or you can ask something else. You can ask is evolution correct?
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You can ask if X, Y, and Z. You can ask what justification. You can ask any question in the world.
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You can even ask me what the average flying speed of a North American swallow is. Some of you get that, some of you don't.
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The cool people got it, okay? You can ask whatever you want, but here are my rules, okay?
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Now some folks always get offended when pastor talks strong. It's because, well it doesn't matter why it is.
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Here's my rules. I'm not gonna answer every question. You ask me about aliens in Ezekiel 38,
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I'm gonna laugh at you, okay? Not really. But I'm not gonna answer that. You know the whole turning wheel.
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Some of y 'all are not familiar with that, but I'm not interested in it. If you're gonna ask me whether Adam and Eve had belly buttons,
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I'm not gonna answer that, okay? Cuz I'd have to hit my head with a rock to lower my
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IQ. Guys, I'm not gonna answer that. But I am gonna answer specific questions about God's Word.
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And I want you to feel free to ask whatever you want. Now, here's the other rule, okay?
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Here's the other rule. If we don't get to your question, we're not gonna dismiss it.
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And here's the other thing. We are not gonna be like other churches that, well that's uncomfortable, so we're not gonna talk about it.
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We're not gonna do that. You ask it, we're gonna answer, okay? If it's relevant. And I have the carry right over here.
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This is my little carry. And if you ask a question and we don't get to it today, we will get to it.
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And if I can't have time to answer it up here verbally, I will write a research paper for you, okay?
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Now, just in case this is a
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Baptist Church, just in case nobody asked any questions, I went ahead and answered a question.
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I said Carrie asked it. Carrie really didn't ask it. She was a plant question. I was like, Carrie, you're fixing to ask me this question.
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I'm gonna write a sermon on it. And that's the piece of paper you have sitting in front of you right now. It goes through the sacrificial system and why did animals, why were they sacrificed, so on and so forth.
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And I can spend the next 30 minutes answering that. But I think there's more pertinent questions. Now, if you have a question, let's say some of you in here want to ask me about or let us discuss transsexual or what's it, what's the term, what's the politically correct term?
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Huh? Transgender. That's what it is. If you want to ask me about a transgender thing or you're gay or something like that, listen, guys, well,
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I'll get on that in a second. You can ask those questions and we have little pieces of paper. You can write it down.
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In other words, help me out. You don't want to raise your hand and sit there and go, I'm gay. Okay. Huh?
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Anonymous. I knew I had a word. I just couldn't get to it. You can write those questions down. Andrew, where are they going to be?
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Where's the box? Oh, here is a locked box right here.
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You can, and here's little pieces of papers. You can come and write them down and stick them in here and we will answer them.
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Okay. So culturally, politically, religiously, I don't care, but here's what we're not going to do.
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Okay. I'm not going to highlight the ideology. I'm going to highlight
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Jesus Christ stance. Okay. I want you to understand that. All right. Because the only life that matters to me is
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Jesus. Okay. But at no point are we going to shun folks.
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Now, for those of you in here who are dealing with homosexuality, who are transgender, trans, what's it?
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Transgender. You are in no worse stead sinful wise than the drums in here.
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Okay. You ain't no worse wise than the gossiping old biddies.
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Okay. In other words, sin is sin. All right. And people say, well,
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God really send me to hell because I had an abortion. No, God will send you to hell for rejecting the payment for your sin.
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Okay. And that's true of any sin you can mention. The reason people go to hell is because they reject the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ for your sin.
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There is no level of sin. It's funny. If you go to Proverbs or in Psalms, even in some other places,
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God actually said, these are the seven sins I hate. I hate them.
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That's pretty strong language. Being gay ain't one of them. You know what is?
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Gluttony. I always have to have that second pork chop, man. Shut up.
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All right. So here's what we're going to do. Does anyone have a question that we can start this out on?
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Here's this material you can ask about prophecy, eschatology, history of Israel. You can ask a theological question.
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You can ask a doctrinal question. And guys, if someone asks a question and it offends you, you're the one that needs to get up and leave.
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Okay. It's cool. I hear you, but let's get, let's at least already.
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I like that. Exactly. I tell you what,
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Pastor Josiah secure you some young or Jeremiah, Jeremiah secure some young men.
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That's a great question because someone goes over again and then they're singled out. Good job, Lisa. Some of you boys just sit there and watch
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Seth do the work for real. You young men,
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I got a woman getting up. What is your problem? Bunch of godless heathens.
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All right. Here's the other thing. Don't ask stupid questions.
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Yes, Jennifer, wait a minute. Dalton double time. I want all of this on the microphone for two reasons.
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Number one, I want the YouTube face people to be able to hear it, but also
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I want a record of the questions. Go. Well, I have a list of questions that my little sister sent me.
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Excellent. We've been like you were, y 'all were Jehovah's Witness, right? Jehovah's Witness.
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And so she's struggling to accept a lot of different things. So she's been reaching out to me.
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Please let's rock and roll. Send me a list of them. We can get to some of them later if you want.
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I can write. Let's get it. But the first one is she's her biggest struggle is understanding the triune nature.
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And I got with Josiah on his live yesterday on some of it. But she says, is understanding the
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Trinity essential for salvation? Is Jesus lesser or equal to God, the father? And why bring that board over here?
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We're going to go to town. If Jesus is God, why do we pray to the father, to God, the father and ask in Jesus's name if they are the same?
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Josiah. We can let other people go. Okay. So I'm sorry.
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I'm excited. Did everybody hear her question? Okay. All right.
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Basically. Yes. Wait, wait.
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Okay. All right. Here's basically one question at a time.
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Okay. Oh yeah. I forgot. Andrew's my moderator because I get confused.
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Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Come on, man. Really? God, James, I'm insecure as it is.
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I'm fat and bald. All right. Here's the question. All right.
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Vernon, here's the question. It's base and write this stuff down, guys. Learn. Don't just sit there and stare at me.
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This is not a sermon. It's a place for you to actually learn. Number one, words you need to associate with this question are
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Christology. Okay. Christology. And the first thing I want you to understand is this.
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Listen to me, kids. Listen. There is a difference between theology and doctrine.
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Okay. This is very important. I want if you don't remember anything else today, remember this. Theology is man's interpretation of God's word.
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Okay. That's why people always say all the time, why are there so many churches? Because of theology.
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In other words, is it in other words, is it wrong for me to dunk Austin when he baptizes him?
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Or should I sprinkle water on his head? That's theology. And I'm gonna tell you a secret, okay, that probably no other pastor will tell you.
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Come here. God don't care about your theology. All right. He don't care. What he cares about is his word and doctrine.
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And doctrine means an absolute truth in the word of God.
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You and I can disagree on theology, but you and I cannot disagree on doctrine.
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Are you with me? Christology is a theology. It's man's viewpoint of Jesus.
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Now, the Jehovah's Witnesses, let me explain what they believe and I'll finish. And I'm counseling with one right now and have been for the last five months.
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It's so hard for her to grasp this concept. Okay. Jehovah's Witnesses and others look at Jesus Christ as a created being.
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Okay. Like God said, Hey, Maria, you're so cute. God said, let there be light.
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But right before he said, let there be light, he said, let there be Jesus. Okay. And he created
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Jesus. The problem with that is that is found nowhere in scripture.
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Nowhere. It doesn't exist. And so people sit there and go, well,
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I'm all confused. I'm all confused. I'm all confused. The reason you're confused is because you're looking at it from the concept of human nature.
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Guys, who? Hey, baby, how are you? What's my name? Right. Right.
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What do you say before Jeff? Pastor. Where's one of my kids? There's a kid.
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What do you call me? Dad. Gwen, what do you call me?
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Well, she calls me Conan because I look like Arnold Schwarzenegger in stages.
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Now watch. I'm, I'm hubby.
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I'm dad. I'm pastor. How many different people am I? Jesus Christ.
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The reason he did not have a human father is because he had to be born sinless, absolutely sinless to be the sacrifice of the world.
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Jesus had to be sinless. Okay. Now women, you can always use this in an argument.
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All people are born sinful. The will be babies. They're sinful because you cannot get, it's a law of the world.
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It's a lot of the universe. You cannot get perfection from corruption. And the sin line goes through the men.
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It doesn't go through the women. And so Jesus was incarnate imperfection because he had a virgin birth.
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Well, why did he have to have that virgin birth so that he could be, and it's only a little papers today, the propitiation of the sin of the entire world all throughout scripture,
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Genesis one, one, it says, God created the heavens and the earth. Philippians said Jesus created the heavens and the earth.
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Can you explain the difference between the two? You don't have to, because it's the same thing. In John eight, Jesus said, watch this.
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This is when John eight happened right here. John eight half right down, John eight, and look it up.
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So you won't get confused. Here's John eight right here. The Jews are sitting there yelling at Jesus going, who do you think you are?
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You are nothing but a low down blue collar redneck. Who do you think you are teaching us doctors and pastors of God's word?
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And Jesus said, let me tell you something. Let me tell you something, guys. Abraham knew my day was coming and he was happy.
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In fact, Abraham, when he saw me, he rejoiced. Now watch this.
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Here's this right here. That's when Jesus said that this is when
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Jesus was talking about back here in Abraham. And the Jews asked this right now, there's four or 3000 years.
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Jews said to go, man, you're not even 50 years old yet. How did Abraham see you? And this is what
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Jesus said. Before Abraham was I am.
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What was the name God said in the burning bush to Abraham? There is no place anywhere from Genesis to Revelation.
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There is no place that says Jesus was a created being. He was and is
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God. In fact, John one, one says this, write it down or look it up on your phone.
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John one, one says this in the beginning was the word. The word was with God and the word was
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God. John one, 14 says in the word became flesh and dwelt among us.
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And we beheld for the first time in history, we beheld the glory of God, the father, you understand full of grace and truth.
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Jesus Christ is God. Now people ask, how can that be? It always amazes me that people can't get the try you nature of God, but they don't have any problem with Jesus being eternal from beginning to end.
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Do you understand the, do you understand who in here understands eternity? How something can always have been y 'all understand eternity.
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Really? No, you don't. You understand a concept, but you don't understand it in reality.
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I don't understand how God's always been here. Here's what people ask. When did God start? My question back to them is when did wind start?
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How do you know? I don't even understand the concept of when there is no wind. Think of it like this.
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Am I getting too off course? Carrie, where are you? Am I getting, am I doing good? Okay, guys, watch this.
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Watch this. Here's how people, here's how people understand time.
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I was born and I died. God is not on this timeframe.
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Watch this. This here is look, look at one of the lines on the floor.
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Look at these lines. If this little, this little short line right here, this grout line was the entire history of the world.
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Something can be happening here. Something can be happening here. And I can see all of it. I'm outside of time.
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Time is a construct based upon our fallen nature. Remember when
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Adam and Eve were created, they were not created to die. They were created immortal. But because sin entered the world, so did death.
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God is outside of time. You're outside the keyboard internet warriors that say there is no
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God and start thinking according to scripture. All right, I'm losing people's faces.
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What else? What was, can you restate the question real quick? So that way she, basically the question was this, how is
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Jesus God? Got it. All right. Yes. Let me say something on that. And then
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Jeff, I think had a question real quick on that. The apostles had that view of Jesus and there's a couple of verses to write down.
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Second, Peter one, one. Now this is Peter who lived with Jesus for three and a half years. Second, Peter one, one.
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He calls him our great God and savior, Jesus Christ. One more for you.
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Romans 10, 13 is probably the most powerful one for me. We know this verse. It says whoever calls the name of the
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Lord shall be saved. Do you know that Paul is quoting the Old Testament when he says that?
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Here's Paul quoting. He says, whoever calls the name of Yahweh, that's
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I am will be saved. And he attributes that to Jesus Christ. If that was any other person, that would be blasphemy.
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But because Jesus is God, that is perfect continuity throughout. Maya has something real quick on that note.
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I think the fundamental question here is as a
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Christian, whether or not you have faith in the Word of God or not. Like, like fundamentally, if you're a
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Christian in here, do I believe in the Word of God or not? And the more you study and the more you read the scriptures and read the
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Word of God, the more you're going to find that the trying nature of God, the deity of Christ is found throughout.
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What what Pastor Ben just read today during worship, Psalm 22, that was about Christ.
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Yep. I'm a man mocked and despised by my own people. That was
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Psalms. That was King David. That was speaking of Christ. Isaiah 53. That was speaking of Christ.
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Genesis 315. That was speaking of Christ. Christ is throughout the whole the whole Bible. He wasn't a thing that happened in Matthew.
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And the real fundamental question is whether or not you have faith in the Word of God, whether you actually believe it is the
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Word of God or whether or not you believe it's just another, you know, inspirational book. All right. Let me do this.
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Jennifer, Carrie, the apologetical research response paper
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I have on the trying nature of God, I will get you a copy. Does anyone else want that?
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Want that paper? In other words, it's basically a paper answering that question. Huh? What do you say?
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With an autograph? Yes. Yes. Autograph. Does anyone else want one? All right.
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There's two back there. So make about a dozen. All right. Jefferson. All right.
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Yes. Go. All right. One more thing for Jennifer. In the Jehovah's Witness Bible, they translate things a little different.
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John 1 .1 in the Jehovah's Witness Bible says in the beginning, there was the word. The word was with God, the word was a
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God. Correct. All right. There's a let let me explain that. Wait, Pastor.
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OK. Yeah. Well, you said earlier, Jennifer, that that Jesus was created or I believe that was one thing where they get that from is
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Colossians 1 .18 says he was the beginning and the firstborn from the dead.
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The word firstborn there does not mean born. It means preeminence.
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It refers to preeminence that Jesus is first above all things. So it doesn't it doesn't mean created.
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It actually means preeminence. He is the first above all things. In other words, like he's the firstborn of the dead.
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Jesus is the first resurrected. All of us are going to follow Jesus's example. I'm one day this perfection of the male species body that you see before you while you're giggling is going to be resurrected from the grave.
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OK, Jesus already did that. He's the first one that ever his body was glorified.
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It was brought up from the grave. And God, when he saved us, he didn't just save our souls.
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He saved everything. All right. To answer. It's called the New World Translation.
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The Jehovah's Witness Bible is called the New World Translation. And it is in not just my opinion, but in any
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Greek scholars opinion, it is an absolute atrocity of good
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Greek language. John one one. It says in our K in whole logos, pros con de on.
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That is actually the Greek, the original. We have five thousand copies of this original writing.
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There is no part or simple anywhere in the first three verses of the original
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Greek. So when it says Jesus was a God, it doesn't exist in five thousand three hundred copies.
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It doesn't exist. But what people do and it's not just Jehovah's Witnesses, it's everybody. Have you ever been told dancing is a sin?
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Right. Where is that in Scripture? Right.
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But that's what men do. Men take their theology and try to take the doctrine of word of God and push it into their theology.
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How many of you girls wearing pants today? You are all going to hell because because Scripture says that a woman should be modest.
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No, but it really does say modest. Right. So what I did is took the doctrine of God's word and fit my theology into it.
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Do you understand? Because what I'm trying to do is get you to follow a religion than rather than get you to follow
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Jesus Christ. OK, yeah. Money is the root of all evil.
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How many of you all understand that? That's not Scripture. Listen, that is not
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Scripture. The love of money is the root of all evil. See what men do? We paraphrase
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God's word and then we memorize man's word and then we sit in amazement when our kids rebel against the lies and hypocrisies religions we forced on them.
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And then they become confused and depressed and discouraged because they have no true foundation to stand on other than the hypocrite, the hypocrites that they see in their families and then they in the lives of their church.
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See, OK, I need to move on. Any other questions yet in the back? Wait, wait.
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Oh, no. Sorry. I'm jumping the gun, aren't I, Andrew? Oh, no, you're fine. I just I don't want
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Mike to say his question without. Oh, OK. OK. Oh, well, still, we got to get it on the thing.
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OK, so. But the question was, why do we pray to the father in Jesus's name if they're the same person?
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Why do we pray? Oh, thank you. All right, guys. The access to God.
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First, write this down. First Timothy two, five. John 14, six.
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John. First Timothy two, five says this. There is only one mediator between God and man, and it is
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Jesus Christ. John 14, six says this. And Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and life.
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No one comes to the father but by me. You see, the accept access point to God is the finished work of Jesus Christ.
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It is what Jesus did, although being God, it is what Jesus did in his sacrifice that gives us access to God.
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You can't get to God without Jesus Christ. So when you're praying to God and God and in Matthew 18 and other places, it says pray in the name of Jesus that once again, don't get lost in religion.
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It's not a little magic potion or something to get what you want. It is the purview of getting to God comes through Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone.
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Does that make sense? Can't get to God without Jesus. Just that simple. All right. One more and then we got to go.
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All right, Dalton. Who is that?
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Jenny, don't ask about gender reassignment surgery, please.
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My question is that from Genesis three, 22, the Lord God said, since man has become like one of us, why is he using it in the plural?
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OK, that's a beautiful question. Genesis three, 22 says you can go to write these down.
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Genesis three, 11, Genesis three, 22, Genesis chapter 11, verse seven.
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All of those words are plural pronouns when referring to God.
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In fact, in Genesis one, one. Watch this. This is so stinking cool.
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This is so stinking cool. Watch this. L is this is the singular form
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God. OK, God. It's funny, though. It's actually this in Scripture, Elohim, that always is translated
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God. Sometimes it's translated judges. Sometimes it's translated mighty men.
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But it's always plural everywhere. In Genesis one, one, it says, and God's said, let us
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God's created the heavens and the earth when it says man has become like one of us.
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All right. Watch this. This is this will be the last one. But this is so stinking cool, John.
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All right. Here is how do you. Twenty nine. He's so cute.
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Now, here's a here's a dumb little redneck right here. All right. Now, this redneck has flesh and bone.
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Yes, everyone see that. If I took my kidney out and I cut his arm off, does he stop being
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John prorated by how much mass he's lost or is he still John?
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He's still John. OK, he's still John. He has a body that is independent of his identity.
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Number two, stay with me. He has thoughts and emotions. Christians, please stop saying your emotions are in your soul.
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That's not true. Your emotions are in your brain. We can see emotions change with what are they called?
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Why am I asking you? Yeah, brainwaves. OK, people get injured in the brain. Their personalities change.
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Your emotions are not in your soul. They're in your brain. So he has a body and he has a brain.
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But there's a third part of him. There's a third part of him that experiences joy, that experiences pain.
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How many of you have ever lost someone that you love with all of your heart? Have you ever felt pain like physical pain?
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What muscle is it that's hurting? Your heart hurts, but your heart has no nerve endings.
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It cannot feel pain. Stay with me. What's hurting?
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Your heart's hurting? There's three parts of you.
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God said, let us go.
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Genesis God, the Father, God, the Son, God, the Holy Spirit. You are a trichotomy that reflects
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God. You have a physical body. You have a mind and you have a soul.
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People do not comprehend that what we've done is we've taken the truth of God's word and the very reflection of who he is in the in the apex of his creation, i .e.
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man, and we've twisted it around and we've said, oh, man, psychology says man is nothing but a physical body and a brain.
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Really? You ever had your heart burn, son? It ain't hurting in my head. My soul aches.
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Now, when God said, let us go down and make man in our own image, it is written out for you that God is father, son and Holy Spirit in plurality.
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But when you look in the mirror, it's not a little Bible Thoman or it's not a religion.
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You are looking at the reflection of God's word in real life, staring you back in the face.
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And I'll close with this. Guys, you've been lulled to sleep by the world and by religion, which really are the same thing.
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You have been taught that if you pray a prayer and ask
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Jesus Christ into your heart, you're going to go to heaven. But in your soul right now, you know something's still missing.
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That's because you believe in a prayer and walking down an aisle rather than the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.
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Now, listen to me. Yeah, this is the part that makes people uncomfortable. Stay with me. If you feel uncomfortable when
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I do this, you're part of whom I'm speaking of or you're part of the problem because you are not a
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Christian. Christianity does not come with a 10 inch haircut, no tattoos and a polo shirt and khaki pants.
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That's not what Christianity looks like. OK, I can't see
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Christ on you, but I can see Christ living through you. And if you do not love your brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter what they smell like, no matter what they look like.
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You have a serious problem with scripture because it says if you don't love your brothers, the love of God is not in you.
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If you don't love righteousness, I'm not saying you're perfect by any stretch of the imagination.
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Thanks, brother. I'm not saying you're perfect, but when I sin, it feels like someone's kicked me in the gut.
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And man, I'm good. I'm good. I know it doesn't look like it, but I'm good at running in here.
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I'm good at running in here. I can suppress and push it away, but it's like this.
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God going, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
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Right. God doesn't let one of his children just keep on keeping on.
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Now, if you're one of those people that you're like. Yeah, I'm a Christian because I love
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Jesus Christ. And you can continue to sin and there's no conviction in you.
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You're not a Christian. Well, I go to church while I walk down the aisle.
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You're going to go to hell. OK, I'm sorry. And I know probably no one's ever talked to you like this, because as long as you smell good, look good and act good on the outside, you're acceptable in the moral
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Christianity of the United States. But unfortunately for you, the stain of sin is still not acceptable to a holy
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God. And God does not joke around with this. People say God loves me just like I am.
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No, he doesn't. That's why he sent his son to die so you could leave your sin and live in the power of Jesus Christ.
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God is holy and his standard for your life is perfection. But you can't ever get there.
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You're screwed only through the power of Jesus Christ and God and Jesus is blood.
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Can you know salvation? Well, Pastor, I don't know whether I'm saved or not. That's why
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God gave us his word and little pastors for you to talk to.
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I can't save you guys. There's nothing in me that can save you.
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I am a big poopoo head just like you. But what I do have is
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I have God's spirit and God's word, and I can show you the way to salvation.
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OK, so if you're in this room and you're not sure if you're saved or not, quit playing games because that aching hole in your heart, no matter how much stuff you buy, no matter who you date, no matter if I had this,
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I would be happier if I had this job or if I do this schooling or if I get this person's approval.
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Well, then I'll be happy. It's never going to work. And you should know that by now, because some of you got scar tissue from the top of your soul to the bottom and you keep going.
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Is that hot? Only having Christ fill your life with purpose is going to give you the sense of peace that you so desperately search for.
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Well, I don't believe that. OK, man, cool. Then you're just job security for me later, because you will be the arrogant individual sitting in my office in a puddle of tears at some point or in some other person's office.
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Or on your knees and your arrogant attitude has run out because listen to me, you want to find
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God's grace. It's through the door of humility. Book it.
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You want to know what peace is. It comes through humility. Man, I'm telling you, shame and brokenness is nothing to fear.
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It's something to embrace because it's in that place that the voice of God's grace can be heard.
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Coming to me, all you did are heavy laden and I will give you rest. But unfortunately, most people want to come to God on their own terms.
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Well, I'm embarrassed. Well, I don't want to do well. I don't feel comfortable. Your feelings are irrelevant to God's command.
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Where are you today? Would you quit playing stupid church games?
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Please come over here, man. The cookies are so much better over here.
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They really are. And if you've never known what true peace is, because you've been listening to what other people tell you, stop.
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It'll wear you out. You know why everybody's so stressed nowadays? Because you're believing in everything but the very thing that will give you peace.
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Man, it'll kill you guys. It's killing you slowly. Let it go.
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All right. So if you're not sure where you are with Jesus, we're about to have a time where you can come ask.
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If you are not part of a church body and this gets people so screwed up.
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Can you give me just two more minutes on this? Well, good, because that's what we're going to do. Guys, watch this. Listen, listen.
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I always ask people to join a church, OK? Here's why.
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You as an individual have nothing materially that I want or need.
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I'm good to go. I don't need a raise. I don't need money. I don't care about your money. OK, I don't know anything about the money in this place.
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Don't want to know. And no pastor ever will. OK, you have physically nothing
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I want. I'm trying to give you something. Here's what I'm trying to give you.
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A family that's going to love you and is going to kick you in the rear end sometimes.
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OK, here's the secret of living a Christian life. It's not about doing a devotion every day or reading a
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Psalms every day or doing your five minute prayer over dinner. It's about having other brothers and sisters in Christ coming up to you and going, what's up?
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Where you been? Why haven't you been here? Who are you? What did you do last
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Friday? What's that rolled up in your pocket? You drinking again? You chasing boys again?
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I'm sorry. I was doing all the little girls and I came to Rodney. Rodney does not chase little boys.
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That was wrong on multiple levels. The point being is you've got to have people that are all up in your business.
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If you don't, you're going to go sideways. Now, most people are too arrogant or too scared to have that.
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Guys, it's OK, because all of us have exhaust fans in the bathroom, too.
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We all stink. OK, we're just one big family coming together, trying to patch up.
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He does. Well, churches are full of hypocrites. Yes, we're called sinners. OK, we're sinners, but we're just sinners trying to get through this world together.
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That's what a church is. It's not about being perfect. It's about being accountable to someone else other than yourself.
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I had a little girl, a young lady, and she said this to me. I don't need my account.
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My best friend is my accountability partner. It's so cute.
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A 21 -year -old kid sharing with another 21 -year -old kid holding each other accountable. Let me tell you how well that works.
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It doesn't. OK, that's why Titus says older teach the younger.
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You don't need someone being your best friend to be your accountability partner. You want someone sitting there going, where you at?
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Where you at? And being all up in your grill. That's what it means to join a church.
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That's the first part. Here's the second part. You ready? If you join a church, you need to work.
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Coming here is not about receiving something. It's about what you can give someone else.
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I hear people all the time talk about the music here. Oh, my
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God. Is he really going to talk about this? Yes. I don't like that type of music.
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I don't care. I don't like it either. OK, I'm gonna be real honest with you.
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I don't like it either. OK, right. There are some songs
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Andrew sings that I'm like, what am I, a 14th century Pentecostal? I mean, what? What?
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What are we singing here, man? There are other times. Last week, when
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Rolando played the drums, I was like, oh, my gosh, dude, I'm about to punch you in the head.
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Silencio, right? They were too loud for me. I'm 51 years old. I used to work
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Metallica concerts. I'm done with that, right? But it's not
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I'm not here today to receive something. That's why some of your praise and worship is so weak.
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And that's why you don't feel because you're looking for feelings. Praising and worshiping
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God is done in the heart, man. It ain't with song and music.
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That's a vehicle. But to get from point A to point B takes your soul. Doesn't take a set of drums or doesn't take your glory or whatever those little choir people nerds do with a little rose.
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Don't take that either. Guys, you got to grow up a little bit. It ain't about your feelings.
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It's not about how you can be served. It's about how you can die for someone else right here.
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How can I serve someone else right here? Last thing. God, man. Holy mackerel.
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All right. Last thing. Music dudes, go up there. Listen. Last thing. Listen. Silencio and piano.
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Listen. If you have not been baptized. Here's another secret for you.
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Baptism has never washed away anybody's sin. It's water.
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Same water found in our sinks and our toilets. It's water. Anybody tells you different, they're on crack.
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What baptism is, is this. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the power of God and the salvation to all who believe.
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It's putting on a new uniform saying, this is the team I'm playing for right now. It's a public declaration of saying, this is who
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I'm with. If you have not been baptized, it's called believers baptism for a reason, because you have to believe first, then get baptized.
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If you got baptized as a little kid, you didn't get baptized. You took a bath. Okay, that's it.