Are You Living The Sufficient Life? - [2 Peter 1:1-9]

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Father we bless you this morning. We thank you for gathering us here
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We thank you for your sufficient word We thank you for the all -sufficiency of your son
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Who came and lived a perfect life? Died a death that we deserve in our place
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Was raised on the third day and it's in him that our hope is
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Father let us live every moment as if we really believe that in Christ's name. We pray Thank you,
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Kirstie. Well, good morning. I have a I have a question for you Do you believe in?
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the sufficiency of Scripture Absolutely What is the sufficiency of Scripture?
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The sole infallible rule of faith. Okay, the sufficiency
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I think I think that's Kind of the inerrancy infallibility, yes sufficiency of Scripture means what contains all things with regard to our salvation my question this morning is
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Well, and let me ask another question before I get to my question. Do you believe in the sufficiency of Jesus Christ?
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Is Jesus Christ enough or would you like to add something to it? Well, if we believe we say that we believe in the sufficiency of Jesus Christ And we say that we believe in the sufficiency of his word and my challenge to you this morning is do you really live?
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Like you believe in the sufficiency of Christ. Do you really live like you believe in the sufficiency of?
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Scripture, please open your Bibles to 2nd Peter Chapter 1 and I'm going to start in verse 1 and Read the first nine verses make a few comments and then
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I'm going to break things down a little bit and this morning I can assure you we are going to have some interactivity because I think some people might get upset at some things
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I say That's okay. It's Sunday school. I Just don't want you to get upset if I'm preaching but Sunday school you can get upset with me.
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It's alright 2nd Peter chapter 1
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Simon Peter a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours by the righteousness of our
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God and Savior Jesus Christ Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of our
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Lord of Jesus our Lord Seeing that his divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness
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Through the true knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence For by these he has granted to us his precious and magnificent promises
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So that by them you have become partakers of the divine nature Having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust
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Now for this very reason also Applying all diligence in your faith supply moral excellence and in your moral excellence
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Knowledge and in your knowledge self -control and in your self -control perseverance and in your perseverance
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Godliness and in your godliness brotherly kindness and in your brotherly kindness love
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For if these qualities are yours and are increasing They render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our
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Lord Jesus Christ For he who lacks these qualities is blind or Shortsighted having forgotten his purification from his former sins now a few observations
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First of all, this is Written. I love it when I'm reading my notes and I go I there's a typo in my notes who typed this
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Oh, yeah, it was me This is written to whom? Christians, how do we know that because we look at the text and it says to those who have received a faith of the same kind As ours now, we presume that Simon Peter was a believer so therefore
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It's to believers verse 2 seems to imply that we can have more grace and peace if we know more about the
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Father and Son Does that seem to say that says grace and peace be multiplied to you
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Does that mean you can have more of it? What's that?
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Seems like it. Absolutely. And if so, how? Well, we could definitely grow in knowledge, right?
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And How do we grow in knowledge about Jesus Christ? Study his word gladman.
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Okay reading the Bible. That is exactly correct Now what does it mean that our
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Savior Jesus Christ has granted us everything with regard to life and godliness
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What does that mean? Salvation is of God.
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Okay. He has granted us salvation. That's right. Okay Steve said that the scriptures
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Are sufficient is what he said everything we need to know is in this book, you know with regard to life and godliness other thoughts
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Bruce Okay God has through Christ has
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Jesus said he would send the Comforter. He said he would send the Holy Spirit. We have the Holy Spirit. That's Having the
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Holy Spirit is a very valuable thing. I mean we could do a whole study on the benefits Maybe we should do that sometime the benefits of having the
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Holy Spirit What exactly do we gain by virtue of having the Holy Spirit besides eternal life, you know beyond that?
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What else do we gain? You know, it'd be the insights into the Bible and everything else but anything else pertaining to life and godliness.
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I Mean, I think you guys have summarized it pretty well Also notice in verse 3 it is by his glory and excellence that we have become partakers of the divine nature now
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For those of you who might be Mormons here this morning. Does that mean that we've become gods or Shirley MacLaine followers any of those?
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Should we be sitting here thinking well, wait a minute if I'm part of the divine nature then I have become
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God What does that mean? Rather than rely on me.
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We'll turn to Simon Kistemacher who says this Peter says that we participate in God's nature
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Not in God's being He has chosen the term nature because it indicates growth development and character
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In other words, we're growing in godliness the expression being by contrast points to essence and substance
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We can never participate in God's essence In other words, we're never going to be of the same essence as God the
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Father God the Son and God the Holy Spirit But Peter discloses that we share
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God's holiness How? Not through anything that we do but by virtue of having that holiness imparted to us imputed to us
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Don't want to use in part imputed to us through the work of Jesus Christ We see the indwelling of the
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Holy Spirit in our heart in our hearts first Corinthians 6 So then what is
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God's purpose in making us share in his nature? John Calvin said this let us then mark that the end of the gospel the purpose of the gospel is to render us eventually conformable to God What he means is we're going to be what molded into the image of Christ We are being conformed into the image of God's dear son
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We have by virtue of the work of Jesus Christ been set free from the corruption of the world and are to live lives that are marked by Several things that Peter lists for us here moral excellence
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Which simply means uncommon character worthy of praise in other words
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People should look at our character the way we live our lives the integrity that we have and they should think that is a very
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Integrity filled person I had to think of an appropriate word there It also says that we gain knowledge which means
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Comprehension or intellectual grasp of something in this case it refers to the scriptures as was mentioned self -control restraint of one's emotions impulses or desires self -control
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Particularly with regard to sex these are all I mean we could say this is almost like a
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Galatians 5 fruit of the Spirit Kind of list here perseverance the capacity to hold out or bear up in the face of difficulty
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Endurance fortitude steadfastness no matter what life throws at us life throws at us
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We persevere we keep going and I say life in quotations. Why because life doesn't throw anything at us
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It's just like when I hear about nature doing this or doing that. Well, what exactly is nature? nature
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It's kind of a euphemism for God for those who don't want to say God did this or God did that?
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Life doesn't throw things at us God presents things in our lives for us to deal with Life Peter says we have life and that doesn't refer to just breathing but spiritual life life with the grace of God as its focus and godliness
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Awesome respect accorded to God devoutness piety now. It's interesting the next term brotherly kindness of course is the
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Greek word Philadelphia Everybody knew that Philadelphia the city of brotherly love and if you ever been there, you know what they're talking about it expresses
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Philadelphia brotherly love this is from the Evangelical Dictionary of the
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New Testament Expresses itself in sincere goodwill of the sort of family members
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Show to one another and recognizes listen to this no conflicts of rank
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Nobody's better than anybody else. It lacks all hypocrisy It doesn't say one thing and do something else it endures it lasts regardless of the circumstances and is hospitable
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Peter emphasizes quite justifiably that during times of persecution this kind of brotherliness
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Was highly valued and must have strengthened the perseverance of Christians the love of the brethren
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Helps the church particularly in times of trouble. There's also love which is a selfless love fruitfulness
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Which basically just means a life that shows good works Down to verse 9 for he who lacks these qualities is blind or short -sighted now blind
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Spiritually blind meaning doesn't get it at all or Short -sighted and the word here means the
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Greek word means closing or contracting the eyes squinting as nearsighted people do as Somebody who's nearsighted really?
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I don't know how I feel about that. But anyway, here's the idea. It's spiritually forgetting What God has done for us and this is what
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I often talk about when I say, you know We send the Holy Spirit on vacation or whatever we so forget what
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God has done in our lives in the forgiveness that he's granted us that we For a time go on and do what we want to do.
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We follow our own desires and Where it says they're the purification from our former sins from his former sins that word purification is the same
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Greek word from which we get catharsis the idea of a big change a magnificent change from a
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Caterpillar to a butterfly we go from something ugly to something beautiful Therefore my brothers be all the more eager.
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This is verse 10 All the more eager to make your calling and election sure for if you do these things you will never fall
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What does he mean make your calling and election sure? He's saying listen
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God called you but unless you ratify it. It's of no value whatsoever What's he saying
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It's the assurance of salvation for you because if you do these things if you if your life is marked by these attributes all these things we've just talked about then you will think
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I am one of God's elect and if you don't if you go down that list You know, I'm I'm not doing any of those things then you're going to question it
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We make our calling an election sure to ourselves not to God. We don't ratify some kind of contract
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Now that we've kind of run through that a little bit In the time remaining this morning, I want to focus on the concept that God has granted us everything
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Everything leaving nothing out pertaining to life and godliness We have
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The ability to live what I'll call the sufficient life not the self -sufficient life
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But we have the tools in our toolbox So to speak spiritually speaking to live a life that God has called us to many years ago
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In fact, it was in 1991 and I know that because I looked at the book this week John MacArthur wrote a book called
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Our sufficiency in Christ and I was that was the very first book that anybody ever gave me
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I remember it was one of the chaplains at the jail came in and he
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Had been talking to me for a number of weeks and he gave me this book and You know, he told me to read it and I started reading it and I thought
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I thought it was great and really it's kind Of probably what led me to go into grace community church eventually, but I I was so Fascinated rereading this book this week mostly because I noticed that I used to you know
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Mark up books with yellow highlighters and I don't do that anymore now. It's all pencils But it was fascinating to see the things that I'd highlight.
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I mean, it's like Visiting yourself, you know 15 16 years ago, however long But anyway in that book
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John MacArthur identifies three attacks from within the church That really go to the heart of this.
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Do we have everything that we need to live a life that is pleasing to God? And specifically with regard to the
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Bible is the Bible enough Did Jesus Christ when he gave us his word did he give us enough to deal with the troubles of life or not?
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Yes, Nathanael. I'm gonna get to that.
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You you you know, I'm gonna get to that the first one the three areas The first one is psychology
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MacArthur says nothing epitomizes Neo -gnosticism in other words a new form of Gnosticism, which was the idea the
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Greek idea that knowledge was key Gnosticism embodied ideas that the spirit was good.
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The body was bad. Everything physical was bad and It really means kind of a it focuses on the
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Greek word gnosis, but it has this idea of Secret knowledge higher knowledge
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And he says nothing epitomizes Neo -gnosticism in other words a new wave of this higher knowledge
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This view that there's some kind of secret thing that will make give you the secrets of life More than the church's fascination with humanistic psychology
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Says the integration of modern Behavioral theory into the church has created an environment in which
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Traditional counseling from the Bible is widely viewed as Unsophisticated naive and even
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I love this word fatuous stupid Says that so many people believe and teach that sharing scripture praying with people that that really doesn't solve problems that that's superficial and Only those who are trained in psychology
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Those who have this kind of secret knowledge this higher knowledge Those are the only ones qualified to help people with serious spiritual and emotional problems.
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I remember years ago when I was a seminary student and the
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Shepherds Conference was going on and Pastor Mike and Some of the guys from BBC came out and and we went out to lunch.
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I think with some of the guys from Omaha Bible Church, and so there were a big there was a big group of us, maybe 15 or so at a table in a restaurant and The service wasn't all that And it just kind of I'm waiting forever to get this check because I don't remember what
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I I think I had You know one of those big things in life a dentist appointment or something to go to and so I got up and started looking for the waiter and These women flagged me down because I was wearing a suit and tie these two women flagged me down I don't they didn't think
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I was a waiter, but they said excuse me Are you a pastor? And I said well no that there are a lot of them over there at that table.
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I was a very brave and bold no those Those guys over there, and I I said there are pastors over there, but you know
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I said I am a seminary student They said well Can we ask you a question? I said sure they said
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Do you believe in spiritual gifts and right away? I knew that you know It was going to be this kind of thing where speaking in tongues and all that and I I was very you know
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Theologically attuned and so I said I believe that God grants gifts to people through his spirit
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Very carefully crafted answer you know that was good enough for them though because the next one They had was they said well.
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Do you believe that God can heal people and I said absolutely I believe that You know now if they would have said do you believe that?
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So and so can heal people or whatever I would have said no, but they said well We have this thing that we do
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And they roll up their sleeves, and they show me that they cut themselves and They I'd only seen this a few weeks before on TV So it was kind of you know even in the life
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I'd led seeing all kinds of bizarre things this was kind of new to me And they said that they were going to see a
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Christian counselor And that he told them that God could heal them of this, but that it was going to take about two years and by the way
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You know thousands of dollars because they were paying like $200 a visit and they were gonna have to go see him.
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You know every week for two years And I just said well Here's what
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I believe. I said I know That God can heal people. I also know that if you believe what the
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Bible says you'll stop doing that and you know We just started talking and and they said would you pray for us, and I said yes, absolutely
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The idea that people would go out and Get a degree in psychology
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Present themselves as Christian counselors, and then charge money for helping people with problems is just beyond my
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Ability to fathom, but there are a lot of people who do that And it's this idea that somehow only people who are trained in psychology only people who have this kind of super secret knowledge
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Can help people that the Word of God is not sufficient That you need the
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Word of God plus the wisdom of Sigmund Freud Plus the wisdom of fill -in -the -blank
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All the great psychologists somehow. I don't know they've skipped my mind here at the moment, but The word psychology as MacArthur points out is a good one.
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This is literally it means the study of the soul There's nothing wrong with that comes from the
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Greek word psuche soul But originally carried a connotation that had distinctly
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Christian implications Why? Who can tell you about the soul
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God made us God created souls God who knows more about the human soul than God, but that's not the basis of modern psychology
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Who knows what the basis of modern psychology is any fans of Freud here?
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Freudian Friends Society members Sigmund Freud is known as the father of modern psychology, and I love when people start talking to me about psychology
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I love to say you know what day Sigmund Freud opened his office on you know to proclaim that he was open for business to help study the soul
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It's close.
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It was Easter Sunday Easter Sunday Halloween Easter Sunday It was a it was one of those howling holiday things
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But Easter Sunday because his his model was you know
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Christians say Jesus Christ rose from the grave and you need to believe in him and Jesus Christ is the answer to your problems because I have news for you the answer your problems is you
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You have the answers to your problems. That's what psychology is that's what modern psychology is it says
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You know what the answers to your problems? I'm going to help you find them by unearthing truths in your own life by you know helping you walk through the past By actually you know if you've been in psychology.
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You'll know that a lot of times. They'll just ask you questions it's really kind of annoying and I could tell you because I was there before Christ And you know you sit there
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And they ask you questions, and it's almost like you say something And then they say I hear you saying yada yada, and you're like you hear pretty well
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You know I It I mean I could Pretty much
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I could open up a psychology practice tomorrow and get paid big bucks because they they don't really they
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They know how to say things that make you feel better, but they don't really have any answers
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Psychology cannot study the soul Why not? Modern psychology cannot study the soul why not it's doing so without God The whole foundation of is godless.
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You don't need the Bible. You don't need anything outside of yourself although there are some exceptions that What's one of the 12 -step models?
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Higher power you got to turn your life over to higher power you're you're helpless You know you have to turn your life over to your higher power
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But your higher power can be what can be God can be the Lord Jesus Christ could be Buddha could be Muhammad could be
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Allah Could be your next -door neighbor My higher power is my next -door neighbor. That's Sad times by the way just as an aside.
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There's a new drug. I these commercials to drive me crazy There's this new drug, and they say one of the side effects is if you notice an increase in your gambling
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You know and I'm sure I heard that and I just thought I I have to hear that again. You know that's some kind of side effect
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I Just but and that's that by the way that drug is for restless leg syndrome, and it causes increased gambling.
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I don't know Anyway, sorry, but there there psychology the word itself is not bad, but modern psychology has become a matter of Independence of saying that we don't need
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God that the answers lie within MacArthur says Outside the word and the spirit there are no solutions to any of the problems of the human soul
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Going back to 2nd Peter we believe that God Jesus Christ has given us everything
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Pertaining to life and godliness, and then we're going to go and we're going to pay someone $150 - $200 an hour who knows nothing about the
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Bible to tell us what to do about our problems How to forgive our mother how to forgive our father how to deal with this episode that happened in our life
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What do we do now I have? Anxiety attacks when I walk into a store.
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You know this that or the other thing I need your help as MacArthur rightly says only
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God knows the soul and only God can change it It's amazing that the church would embrace this kind of thinking
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I once I sat in a class with a very godly man not really associated with master seminary
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Was just fascinated at all the things he had to say just really enjoying the class
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And then he said you know when people he was in pastoral ministry for many years And he said when people would come to him with problems that he didn't really feel like he was equipped a handle he sent them to see a psychologist and I was just like John Well sure
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I mean Yeah, let Larry Crabb is probably a
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Major one and he would be the most Christian of them you know in terms of really trying to make the
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Bible kind of integrate Steve Arterburn James Dobson Bondage breaker,
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I can't think of his name What's that Neil Anderson? Bob Shuler, I mean any number of what's his name down there in Texas the guy who bought the big basketball thing in Houston Your best life now.
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You know all that stuff. It's all it's all just kind of taking psychology throwing a few
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Bible verses that the men who were went to Willow Creek with us a few years ago
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Steve Arterburn was Preaching and got up into the
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Pulpit and I mean it was just really it was really bad because he his message was something
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I think it was called the God of second chances and basically what he said was No Bible verses until he would make he would make his point
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I thought was very interesting he would make his point Then he kind of threw in a Bible verse as if that justified it, and then he was on to his next point
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But the God of second chances, and he basically said that God is up in heaven Wringing his hands hoping that you'll do the right thing, and I thought if that's the
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God you worship. It's not the same God. I worship It was just it was horrible but now when we think of that I mean the very first thing that came into my mind this whole idea of integrating psychology that is the wisdom of man and The wisdom of God I thought of Psalm 1 so let's turn there for a moment
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Yes, Charlie. Yeah Yeah, well and like I think dr.
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Laura's a good example, you know can somebody be right You know without the
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Holy Spirit Yeah, and the answer is yes, obviously the question though is when you listen to dr.
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Laura you know she would let let's say a guy called in and says you know I'm really depressed and you know yada yada yada
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And she pulls everything out of him, and it turns out you know his His wife works.
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He's staying at home taking care of the kids you know and he watches soap operas all day long, and you know eats popcorn and stuff like that and You know she goes.
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She'd just say to him you need to be a man and go get a job And you just go well, that's what the
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Bible says isn't it you know so kid would she say the right thing or you know? She'd say for example.
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You know some she hates what she calls shacking up And So she'll say you know she'll just tell the women what are you stupid?
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You know and she'll just run through the whole thing, and I'm going well Is that what the Bible says yeah, you know so good for her.
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You know but So she can say the right thing, but she won't always say the right thing why because she doesn't have the sure word for her source
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She has her wisdom now. She I would say you know in terms of earthly wisdom she has quite a bit of it because I I'd just say she has some good old -fashioned horse sense.
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You know which a lot of people just don't have anymore but Psalm 1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked nor stand in the path of sinners nor sit in the?
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Seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law. He meditates day and night
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What does it mean to walk in the counsel of the wicked? Are the wicked just horrible people is it
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Charles Manson? Are those the only people you shouldn't walk in the way of? Wicked are people without God apart from God and so when we walk in other words when we follow
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When we follow the advice of people who don't know God we're not blessed
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There's no promise to us of blessing. There's no status of blessing accorded to us by virtue of living a life like that nor stand in the path of sinners nor sit in the seat of scoffers the idea of sitting down and eating with them and people who don't actually who are opposed to God, but this whole idea of I Am going to go to a psychologist.
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I am going to pay it because I think there are things in the Bible or There there are some areas of my life that the
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Bible doesn't address. Well. You know what does the Bible address everything in life? No No, it can't help you on your next chemistry exam it can't help you you know to resolve a lot of Scientific things and everything else because it doesn't address them
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Can it help you? You know spell better no But what it can do is it can give you the answers for the dilemmas that we face in life
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You know who should I marry? Where should I live? What kind of job should I have? How should
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I raise my kids all these kind of things now some of them are not specific, but you can get some general guidelines You can get some general guidelines, and when you live outside of what the
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Bible says you're asking for trouble you're asking for difficulty Psalm 111 verse 10
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Says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom a good understanding have all those who do his commandments
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Now a question would come or this question would come to mind How can you expect to get wisdom from those who don't know
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God? They don't fear
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God How can they give you wisdom? Proverbs 9 10 says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the
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Holy One is understanding Again, they wouldn't have any knowledge of the Holy One How can you expect them to give you advice counsel in the
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New Testament 2nd Corinthians 6? Verses 14 and 17 do not be bound together with unbelievers
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For what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness or what fellowship has light with darkness or what harmony has
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Christ with Belial or What has a believer in common with an unbeliever or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?
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For we are the temple of the Living God God dwells in us Just as God said
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I will dwell in them and walk among them and I will be their God and they shall be my people
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Therefore come out from their midst and be separate says the Lord and do not touch what is unclean and I will welcome you
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I Mean if your best friend is an unbeliever and that's the person you turn to for advice, you know beyond psychology.
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I Don't get it. We most often see 2nd Corinthians 6 14 and 17 used it with regard to marriage
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But it really is about any kind of spiritual venture about any kind of I mean you can use this for why we wouldn't go do a crusade and come, you know, some kind of Salvation Crusade with the local
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United Unitarian Church and the Catholic Church down the street because Spiritually, we can't work together with them and that's the same thing as in a marriage because it's a spiritual endeavors marriages
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But likewise if you have problems in life, you have difficulties if you have issues you're wrestling with Why would you go to somebody who doesn't know
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God? Let's move on to the second one and we'll just kind of Have to move a little faster pragmatism
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Pragmatism who can tell me what pragmatism means? Yes, I need your if it works do it
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Whatever will get the job done. I mean, I think maybe the most Famous advocate of this type of thinking was
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Machiavelli Basically, you know the ends justify the means But Evangelicals the church has been doing this like never before People want to attract big congregations.
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And so this is what they use they use whatever works Many say that biblical preaching by itself cannot possibly be relevant
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The church needs new programs. It needs a new approach. It needs a new conversation is the current thing and And this kind of pragmatism this kind of whatever works mentality is replacing supernaturalism meaning
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The church no longer wants to trust in God to build the church in Christ to build his church They want to do it through their own methods the primary criterion has become external success numbers money buildings and Its underlying presuppositions are that the church can accomplish spiritual goals
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By fleshly means those things are not possible God's Word alone
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The idea would go is not sufficient to break through a sinner's blindness and hardness of heart
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Therefore you have to find something that will Whether that's balloons clowns films
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Whatever it takes you can't just give them the Bible Let's look at John 6
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Because this really is fascinating the idea that somehow you have to reach out to the unchurched people and you have to use
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Different methods. You can't give them the Word of God You have to find programs and whatnot that will do this and that I just wonder if they ever bothered to study
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Jesus and what? he did John 6 starting in verse 1 after these things
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Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee or Tiberias a Large crowd followed him because they saw the signs which he was performing on those who were sick.
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So According to the pragmatists according to those who would say big is where it's at.
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Jesus had succeeded He had a large crowd He'd done these miracles and that was exactly what he should have done and he should have kept doing it to keep the crowds coming
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Let's turn to the end of the chapter verse 60 somewhere along the lines according to modern theologians
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Things had gone horribly wrong verse 60 Therefore many of his disciples when they heard this said this is a difficult statement who can listen to it
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But Jesus conscious that his disciples grumbled at this said to them does this cause you to stumble?
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What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before it is the Spirit who gives life the flesh?
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prophets nothing The words that I have spoken to you are spirits and our life
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But there are some of you who do not believe for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe and who it was that would
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Betray him and he was saying for this reason I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted him from the
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Father as Result of this many of his disciples withdrew and were not walking with him anymore
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Jesus apparently was not up on church growth methods Didn't understand the pragmatism that has so pervaded the church today
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People will point to 1st Corinthians 922 and they'll say well, what about this Paul said I've become all things to all men
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Shouldn't we become all things to all men? 1st
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Corinthians 922 says to the week I became weak that I might win the week I have become all things to all men, but that's not the whole
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Context 1st Corinthians 9 starting at verse 19 For though I am free from all men.
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I have made myself a slave to all so that I may win more To the
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Jews I became as a Jew so that I might win Jews To those who are under the law as under the law though not being myself under the law
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So that I might win those who are under the law to those who are without law as without law
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Though not being without law the law of God but under the law of Christ so that I might win those who are without law
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To the week I became weak that I might win the week I have become all things to all men so that I might by all means save some
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I Do all things for the sake of the gospel so that I may become a fellow partaker in it
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What was Paul saying? Was he saying you know what
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I'll put on a clown suit and do you know? Jumping jacks out in the parking lot if that's what it takes.
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I'll give out free photos No he was saying listen I Am a sinner
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I can identify with a large group of people and when I talk to these people individually I want to meet them where they are
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Understanding exactly what their problem is so that I can address the gospel pointed at them some people will say you know what
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Jesus Christ Is a was a really good teacher They might even accept the fact that God is holy they're a sinner, but they don't understand who
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Jesus is so What am I gonna? Do talk to him about the holiness of God if they understand that the sinfulness of man if they understand that no
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I'm gonna address their weakness. They don't understand who Jesus Christ is so I'm gonna go right to that point
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And that's what he's saying. He's saying listen people have these different issues in their lives, and I'm going to meet those issues head -on in the same letter 1st
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Corinthians 2 1 to 5 if you want to talk about somebody who did not compromise who didn't you know juggle or You know do guitar solos or whatever to to please men 1st
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Corinthians chapter 2 1 to 5 He says and when I came to you brethren talking to the Corinthian Church again.
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I Did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom proclaiming to you the testimony of God For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified
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I was with you in weakness and fear and in much trembling and my message and my preaching were not in Persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men
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But on the power of God listen. I just give you the truth. I proclaim to you the gospel
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Unashamedly unabashedly and if you come to faith, it's not because of anything great that I said
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It's because of the power of God that resides in his word Third we talked about pragmatism before that we talked about What do we talk about?
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Oh, yeah psychology that was it third mysticism mysticism
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I Mean we hear that word, and I'll tell you what I think about is Native American shamans. You know and kind of that whole thing, but We do this
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Christians do this. It's the belief that spiritual reality is perceived apart From the human intellect and natural senses, and you know what here's a funny thing unbelievers the really intellectual intellectual atheistic ones believe that Christianity is a religion of feeling a religion of Faith apart from intellectual content is that true is?
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Christianity a religion of feeling Does it have intellectual content,
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I mean if your faith is placed in Your feeling I when I mean
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I come from a perfectly good background to tell you about this You know how do you know in Mormonism? How do you know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God?
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How do you know the Book of Mormon is the Word of God? Because you get a burning in the bosom it is a subjective mystical
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Experience that no one then can take away from you It doesn't matter what happens you have that burning in the bosom, and that's what you can base your entire life on How do
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I know that I'm a Christian well there are subjective elements to it? But when I look at the Word of God, and I see what the
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Word of God says I have an objectivity that cannot be denied
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Mysticism ultimately derives its authority from a self -actualized self -authenticated light rising from it's our feelings
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And it's not objective fact and so how do Christians do that how do
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Christians subject themselves to mysticism? Okay in discerning
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God's will they look for omens Sign sign everywhere a sign do this don't do that.
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Can't you read the sign John? Experience overrides scripture absolutely and you know just taking that a step further.
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You know how about this one? How did I know what to do?
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I heard the still small voice of the Holy Spirit I you know
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I I'm blessed to have computer programs and stuff like that, so I typed in still small voice
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You know check the entire Bible for that wasn't there in fact when I? ran voice and spirit every time was
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You know somebody went one of the Godhead speaking. They were speaking pretty loudly I didn't find one time where I could find
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God whispering in the Bible What's that the still small voice yeah, you know it doesn't say that me.
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It's in the King James isn't the King James I'll have to look that up switch my search engine to King James but We also hear about Christians saying that they're at peace with a decision
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I Marvel at that on a number of accounts number one Jeremiah 17 9.
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What does it say about the human heart? It's deceitful wicked above all else
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It's desperately sick right and then you if you think in the Bible about all the people who are at peace with their decision
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You know you come across people like Ananias and Sapphira Jonah, I mean was that guy at peace with his decision.
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I think so went to sleep on the boat right Nadab and Abihu. I think they had a peace Certainly we can look at unbelievers who had a peace
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Pharaoh had a peace about what he was doing He didn't he wasn't wrestling with it So what about that?
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What about this idea of mysticism or having feelings? How does that get to?
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What we're talking about in terms of living a sufficient life believing in Scripture Turning to Scripture for all of our needs
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If I turn to a feeling if I turn to an emotion if I turn to anything before I go to the
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Word of God I'm not living as if I believe that God has really give me everything pertaining to life and godliness
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Well, that's right. You can use mysticism in interpreting the Bible and and even more So, you know the most common
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Bible study in the United States is one where a bunch of people get together and they say what? Does the Bible mean to you? What does it mean to me?
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You know and really is that material? What does the Bible mean to you? It means what it says and it can only mean one thing and that's what
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God intended it to mean in the first place if Two people come to a text and they offer different opinions about it.
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Can they both be right? If you say yes Then what you're saying is that the Scripture is not objectively true that God somehow was so ambiguous that nobody can really understand it
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Well that can't be right That can't be right why Psalm 19 tells us the
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Word of God is clear There is one correct meaning we might not always get it
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We may not always even no matter how much we study we may not get it But it doesn't change the fact that there is one
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Clear meaning of Scripture and that's the one that God originally intended now Nathaniel. You had a question earlier
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Your question was Okay Okay.
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Well, look so so let's let's talk about for the sake of time here
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Let's just talk about having a piece about something quickly When we have to make an important decision in life, what's the first thing we should do?
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Consult Scripture. Okay. Secondly, I heard pray about I would agree with that you could do that first Pray about it go to the
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Scripture But those are the two main things that every Christian should do in every situation where they're about to make an important decision
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What would we do after that if the issue is not crystal clear to us in the Bible? For example, let's say you want to know if you should marry
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So -and -so and she's not a believer. Well, it doesn't take too long To figure out that according to the
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Bible That's a bad idea So you need to get over that But what would be the next step?
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See seek the counsel of mature Christians So we wouldn't go see the therapist to tell us what we should do
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We go see people who know the Bible and say listen, this is the issue. I'm wrestling with Help me understand it biblically.
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That's right. That's right. Are there implications in the scripture for what
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I want to do? For example, there is no scripture that says thou shalt live in the area of a
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Bible teaching church There isn't one You can look and you won't find it But the clear implication of the
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New Testament would be if you're a Christian you need to be in a local church Well, why would you want to move to an area that doesn't have a decent local church?
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Okay, and so then after you've thought about or you read The scriptures you prayed about it.
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You've gotten godly counsel and sometimes it's helpful to get more than one opinion I went through a situation this week where I just thought you know,
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I initially heard about a situation I thought I know exactly what to do and I said, but you know what? I'm gonna get some counsel and I was glad I did because it completely changed my mind about the whole circumstance
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So that can definitely happen. So then what comes third? What's next? Fourth, right?
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Yeah. I mean you definitely You want to make sure that whatever your decision is going to be lines up with what the
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Word of God says So you've read it. You've prayed about it. You've talked to it and gotten godly counsel
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Now you want to make sure that whatever decision you're gonna make if there are two three four or five possibilities, you know hopefully you've been able to winnow it down a little bit by Going through these steps, but eventually let's say you wind up with two or three possibilities
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There are equally as good biblically there doesn't seem to be any godly wisdom weighing one way or another you've prayed about it
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You've kept reading you've kept talking and you don't really seem to be getting anywhere. Well, what do we call that it clearly?
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here's the issue if it's not spelled out as a sin in the Bible if it's not spelled out as wisdom or foolishness in the
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Bible and There really are no implications about it one way or the other like let's say, you know, the difference is between Buying a house in Holden or Sterling and you're still going to come to BBC.
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Well, then you're free and clear you know, it's just a matter of preference at that point
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Nathaniel Right.
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Well, let me just close with this after you've run through the whole thing and you've gotten to a place of freedom
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In other words where the Bible doesn't really kind of give you any guidance either way and you're that it's not a sin
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And it's not unwise to do what you want to do Anyway, you know, I would say this that God grants us what the desires of our hearts and I think we reach a point where we can become so frozen
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In what we choose and what we need to understand is if that we are following the Bible if we're getting godly counsel
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We're praying about a situation. We're making sure that we conform to what the Word of God says then what we choose is
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What the will of God is Okay, how do we know it's the will of God because we chose it and then you know for good or ill the consequences will come
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But God is going to use that situation whether it was the best decision or not. He's going to use it for our best
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How do we know that because Romans 8 28 tells us that so we can get into a paralysis of analysis
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Or we can go listen. I have freedom in Christ to do this. There's nothing sinful.
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There's nothing wrong Even the people I go to you know, they're all unanimous I have complete freedom to do this or to do that either one is equally good
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Well, then do what you want and God will you know, let you know if you've made the right choice, huh? So yes
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That's right. Well, well because they are
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God godly, you know bottom line. Yeah, the desires of your heart if you've lined yourself up with the
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Word of God will be Godly so let's close in prayer Father would you just This week in every life here just remind us that you through your son
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Jesus Christ have granted us everything pertaining to life and godliness that we need no Source outside of you.
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You have given us as it were a soul manual You understand our souls, you know exactly
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What is best for us and you have written it down in your word father Just drive us back to your word that we might love you as we ought live as we ought and father just Seek godly counsel when we need it