WWUTT 1477 Praise from God (1 Corinthians 4:5)

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There are things that we have been called to test or judge or to examine, but there's other things that we cannot know, like the motivations of a person's heart.

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These things will be disclosed, and God knows them, when we understand the text. This is when we understand the text, studying

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God's word to reach all the riches of full assurance in Christ. Thank you for subscribing, and if this has ministered to you, please let others know about our program.

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Here once again is Pastor Gabe Hughes. Thank you, Becky. We come back to our study in the book of 1 Corinthians.

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We're in chapter 4. If you want to open up your Bible and join with me there. Picking up where we left off last week,

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I'm going to start teaching in verse 5, but let me read through the first few verses here. Out of the

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Legacy Standard Bible, the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. Let a man consider us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

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In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found faithful.

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But to me it is a very small thing that I be examined by you or by any human court.

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In fact, I do not even examine myself, for I am conscious of nothing against myself.

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Yet I am not by this acquitted, but the one who examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the

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Lord comes, who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and make manifest the motives of hearts.

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And then each one's praise will come to him from God. Now these things, brothers,

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I have applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to go beyond what is written, so that no one of you will become puffed up on behalf of one against the other.

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For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive?

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And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? You are already filled, you have already become rich, you have ruled without us.

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And how I wish that you had ruled indeed, so that we also might rule with you.

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For I think that God has exhibited us apostles least of all as men condemned to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world and to angels and to men.

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We'll stop there for now. So picking up today in verse five, where Paul says, therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time.

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Now, what is meant here when Paul says that he's talking about discerning the thoughts and intentions of a person, like determining whether or not a person is truly genuine in what it is that they are saying and what it is that they are doing.

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Remember, we're talking about the factions that had developed in the church in Corinth based on those who they thought were better teachers.

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Paul is much better than Apollos, Apollos much better than Cephas, so on and so forth. So what they're judging there are things that they really cannot know.

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Like Paul is the better guy. He's more sincere. Apollos has a closer relationship with God than Paul does because he's such a fantastic speaker.

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God's favor is more on Apollos than it is on Paul. This is the extent to which these

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Corinthians would have been arguing regarding their favorite teachers. It wasn't just a matter of preference.

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It was about this guy really is closer to God than that guy is Peter. No, he's much closer because he actually bummed around with Christ for three years.

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So who could be closer than Peter? Well, I'm going straight to the source and I'm having a relationship with Christ himself.

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He's much better than all those guys, which, of course, he is. He's the king of kings and lord of lords.

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But what they were doing was putting divisions between all of these three as though Paul and Apollos and Cephas's work was not for Christ, but for themselves.

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And so what Paul is rebuking here when he says, do not go on passing judgment before the time.

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In other words, don't continue to assign motives when you don't even know, you don't even understand.

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You can't say that I'm more genuine than Apollos is unless you go on judging one another the same way.

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Well, you're not as good a Christian as I am. You're not as sincere in your faith as so -and -so over here and any of these other things.

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There's no way that you can know that. There's no way you can pass judgment on one another in the way that you're passing judgment.

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Do not go on passing judgment before the time, discerning thoughts and intentions and motives, trying to pass judgment on a man's heart.

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Wait until the Lord comes who will bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and make manifest the motives of the hearts.

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If there is anyone out there who appears to be doing something in honor of Christ, but maybe

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I think his motive is wrong, you know, maybe I think his heart is in the wrong place. Looks like everything he's doing is right, but maybe he's just doing it for himself and he's not really doing it for God.

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If that really is the darkness that's in his heart, how can you really know that? How can you say that this man is not for God, he's for himself?

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If what he is producing looks like the fruit of righteousness, then don't pass judgment on that man.

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You can't know whether he's really genuine in Christ or if he's just putting on a good face.

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And this is almost like Paul saying to the Corinthians, look at what I'm doing.

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Look at what Apollos is doing. Look at Peter or anyone else. Don't you see that what is being produced by our ministry is the fruit of Christ?

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All of it is pointing back to Christ as he's going to go on to say that I have applied these things to myself and to Apollos for your sakes.

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We've tested one another. We know whether we are genuine or not. We know that. I know

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Apollos is genuine. He knows that I am genuine. We've tested one another for your sake.

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So it is not for you to pass judgment on things that you can't know, things that you cannot understand.

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I'm applying these things to us for you that you may know we are doing this as servants of Christ for your benefit.

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But anyway, before getting there, that's verse six. Back to verse five, do not go on passing judgment before the time.

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This is what Paul is referencing. Do not judge a man's heart if what you're seeing is the fruit of righteousness that leads one to Christ, that is the evidence of the apostolic ministry that Paul was most definitely producing.

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If that's what it is that you see, then you can't pass judgment on things that you do not know. Now, previously, as we talked about yesterday in verse four,

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Paul says, I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted, but the one who examines me is the

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Lord. So he's saying of himself, I'm not aware of anything that I've done that would disqualify me from this work that I am doing, or even seem to suggest that I am less of a teacher than these other men.

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I'm not aware of anything, but my own awareness is not my validation.

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The judgment that I must receive, my examination comes from the

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Lord. Therefore, do not go on passing judgment before the time. Even at the very end,

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I have to be subject to God, who is going to determine whether or not what

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I did was truly genuine in Christ, or whether I was doing this for myself.

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I still have to be subject unto God. If there is anything that I have done that was wrong, it was sinful,

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I did not do it with right motives, well, God is going to disclose that. He's going to find that out at the final judgment.

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Wait until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the things hidden in darkness and make manifest the motives of the hearts.

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Paul is certainly not saying here that one of us may not be a Christian, but we're not going to know that until we come stand before the

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Lord. He's not going to that extreme. It's just if there's anything here that isn't genuinely being produced,

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God knows that, but you need to receive the fruit that is being given to you, because it all comes from Christ.

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It can be tested and known that this comes from the Lord. If there's any fault in any of us,

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God will find that out. Don't go passing judgment on us, and don't go passing judgment on one another when it comes to thinking that you know the thoughts and the intentions of a man's heart.

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Now then, having said that, this does not mean that Paul is saying that we should not test teachers, because we absolutely should, and we know that.

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Jesus said so in the Sermon on the Mount, going back to Matthew 7. He said that you will know them by their fruit.

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Matthew 7 .15, beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

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You will recognize them by their fruits. First John 4 .1,

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beloved, do not believe every spirit is from God, for there are many false prophets that have gone out into the world, but test the spirits.

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So we're told that we are to examine all things and know whether it comes from God or whether it comes from a spirit of this world.

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Paul said to the Thessalonians, in 1 Thessalonians 5, test everything, test, examine everything.

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Hold fast to that which is good, abhor what is evil. So we are to test everything.

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We are to know whether a teacher is a true teacher or whether that teacher is a false teacher. But if that teacher is speaking truth, you can't examine that teacher's heart to therefore decide whether he's being genuine in his ministry or not.

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Do not go passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in darkness and make manifest the motives of the heart.

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So all you can examine in those cases is what it is that the man is teaching. You cannot determine whether he's genuine or not.

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You know, Paul actually made this mistake once. Paul made the mistake of judging a man's heart when he should not have.

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And I believe that Paul was in sin when he made this error. But it's not like he's speaking to the

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Corinthians as a hypocrite. Like he's telling them, don't you pass judgment on a man's heart and then trying to sweep under the rug that he's done this before.

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He was reconciled with the man that he treated wrongly. We find this out later on in second

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Timothy. But anyway, the story that I'm thinking of happens in Acts chapter 15, starting in verse 36.

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Now, after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, let us return and visit the brothers in every city in which we proclaim the word of the

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Lord and see how they are. And Barnabas wanted to take John called

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Mark along with them. Also, John Mark, who we believe to be the author of the

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Gospel of Mark, the second book in the New Testament. The author of Mark was John Mark. This is who

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Barnabas wanted to bring along with them, a relative of Barnabas, in fact.

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Verse 38. But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

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Paul didn't consider him to be trustworthy. And there was a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another.

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And Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and left being committed by the brothers to the grace of the

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Lord. And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. So Paul had passed judgment on John Mark that was probably more extreme than he should have.

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There was we don't really know what the situation was here regarding Pamphylia. But Barnabas took

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John Mark with him and they continued serving in ministry. Paul took Silas with him, and then they went on and were traveling through Syria and Cilicia.

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So the Holy Spirit was still working even through their disagreement that the gospel would continue to spread around the world, even in those places where they had already been.

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As Paul goes back there, checks on those churches and then shares the gospel. And more people come to faith in Christ also.

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But whatever this judgment was that he had against John Mark, it was it was not reasonable.

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Barnabas vouched for Mark, and clearly they did well. Barnabas had once vouched for Paul.

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So you would think that Paul would have would have been willing to listen to his good friend that he had been doing ministry with.

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Barnabas was the one that brought Paul to the apostles and said, here's Paul. He's an apostle, too.

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Let me tell you what I've seen him doing and then confirming his miracles before the other apostles that they would know that Paul himself had been appointed by Christ.

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So because Barnabas had vouched for Paul, you would think that Paul would be willing to give the guy a fair say, especially when he's talking about one of his own relatives,

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John Mark, and how he's perfectly qualified to do this ministry work with him. But Paul didn't want to.

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He said, no, there was this issue that happened, whatever it was that took place in Pamphylia. And there was such a sharp disagreement between them that they couldn't resolve it.

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This was not a thing where it's like, well, let's agree to disagree. Or how about we compromise?

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How about I go this way with Silas and you go that way with John Mark? How about we just do that?

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That's not what Acts conveys to us here. They could not resolve their differences. The Holy Spirit, still in his providence, used their disagreement.

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But Paul was not in the right here. And I believe that he learned his lesson later on and was reconciled with John Mark for it's in Second Timothy, Chapter four, just before Paul is about to be martyred.

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And he's giving his last words, his final instructions to Timothy. He says to him there, bring

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John Mark with you, for he is useful to me. At one point, Paul was making this judgment call that John Mark's not useful.

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He's not good for this ministry. But now he's saying to Timothy, now bring him with you. They did reconcile their differences.

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And John Mark became a powerful aid for the missionary work that Paul was doing.

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I also get the sense from Paul that he really was not a great judge of character.

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It's in that same chapter in Second Timothy, Chapter four, where he talks about Demas, who was in love with this present world.

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And he deserted me and had gone back to Thessalonica. And then the very next verse, get

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Mark and bring him with you, for he's very useful to me for ministry. So he went with Demas instead of Mark.

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Demas ends up abandoning him. Mark proves himself to be faithful and useful.

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So Paul just did not make a decent judgment call regarding certain person's character.

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He picks the wrong guy, Demas, and kind of shrugs off Mark and says, no, this guy's not good enough to be able to partner with us in the work that it is that we do.

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Very unfortunate there. But the Holy Spirit is teaching us lessons today, even through that disagreement that occurred 2000 years ago.

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And here is Paul is instructing the Corinthians. He's speaking as somebody who's been here before, at least as far as the weakness in his own flesh is concerned, when he says that don't go passing judgment before the time.

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I've made that mistake. Wait until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and make manifest the motives of hearts.

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And then each one's praise will come to him from God. What could be better than that?

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As much praise as you want to receive from other people, it really it doesn't mean anything.

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It amounts to nothing. I used to be a person very, very addicted to people's praise.

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I craved it, loved getting praise from other people. I have been on stage, not kidding, and I'm not exaggerating here.

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I've been on stage and listened to thousands of people cheering for me. Long story about how

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I got there and how I was in that position many times before to hear thousands of people screaming and applauding for me.

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I was addicted to that. It was like a drug. I got my kicks on it, but God humbled me.

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And now I really could not care to hear anybody else cheer for me.

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I mean, it always feels good to a person to get an attaboy or thank you or love the sermon today or, you know, your podcast ministers to me.

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I love the videos. That's all great to hear that. I'm not saying don't ever feed me compliments. It's just I don't

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I don't work on that. That's not what drives me. What drives me is the approval of God and not seeking his approval.

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I already have it in his son, but I want to please the one who loved me and gave himself for me.

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The father who gave his son, the son who gave his life for me, the Holy Spirit who has taken up residence within me.

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I want to give to him who gave so much for me. The Apostle Paul in Galatians 2 20, for I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer

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I who live, but Christ who lives within me and the life I now live in the flesh.

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I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

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I know that I love God, not because of something deeply within myself that I will to happen.

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And so it does. But because God first loved me, I love because God loved me.

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And I know that I am walking in the love of God and expressing my love for God, because as Jesus said in John 14 15 to his disciples, you will show me that you love me when you obey my commandments.

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You know, it's really hard when you don't feel like you have the approval of anybody.

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I know what that feels like, too. I've been in those environments before where you it's just everybody's nothing but critical.

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Nobody ever seems to give you a thank you or I appreciate you or thanks for the work that you do.

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That can be a very difficult environment to work in. That could be a difficult situation to be in.

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And maybe you're somebody who just you work at home and maybe your kids don't appreciate you.

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You're just constantly dealing with fighting and bickering and disobedience and all this other kind of stuff. You don't feel appreciated.

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Very seldom that you hear an I love you or a thank you or I couldn't have done this without you.

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But just know that as Christians, we have God's approval through Jesus Christ.

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Our father in heaven is looking down upon us and loving you as a son or a daughter of God work as unto the

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Lord and not to men. And on the day that you enter into glory, what you will hear is the greatest compliment of all time.

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For those who are in Christ Jesus, what we will hear is well done, good and faithful servant.

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Now, great is your reward. And we could not receive a better compliment or better words of affirmation than that in Christ Jesus.

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If you believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord who died on the cross for you, rose again from the grave for your justification, as it says in Romans chapter four is in heaven preparing a place for you.

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If you know this of Christ, then you must also know that God loves you, approves of you, is even sanctifying you and making you like himself.

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So thrive on that and continue to work as unto the Lord and not for men.

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In the meantime, don't go on passing judgment on other people. Don't go passing judgment before the time.

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But wait until the Lord comes who brings to light the things hidden in darkness and will make manifest the motives of the hearts.

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And then each one's praise will come to him from God. That's the greatest praise we could ever receive.

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Not praise from man, but praise from God. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the goodness that you show to us.

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Who are we that you are mindful of us that you've given so much for us?

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That we have received the very son of God who gave himself for us.

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That we as disciples of Jesus Christ have been given the Holy Spirit of God, as talked about in Romans chapter eight, the same power that brought

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Jesus Christ back from the dead is the power that dwells within each and every one of us, bringing us from death to life.

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Give us life in Christ Jesus. Help us to walk as our savior today, that we may pursue the righteousness of you in all the things that we do.

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May we be pleasing sacrifices in our bodies, living unto

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God today. Forgive us our sins and help us to know you discipline us because you love us as sons and daughters of God, not as a disappointed or disapproving father, but as a loving father who wants us to grow up and mature and continue the work that we are called to do here in the family of God.

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Guide us in these things today. According to your word, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Pastor Gabe keeps a regular blog, sharing personal thoughts, alerting readers to false teachers and offering commentary on the church and social issues.

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You can find a link to the blog through our website, www .utt .com. Thank you for listening and join us again tomorrow as we continue our study in God's word when we understand the text.