You are invited to stop living for yourself and start offering your life as a living sacrifice to God. Take a moment today to confess your struggles and turn back to Him in repentance. You will find true freedom and purpose as you walk in this transformed life.
Welcome to the Real Church podcast. Our mission is for you to know the love of Jesus and live out your God given purpose. Now join us and listen in to the latest message from pastor David John Phillips.
Lord, Lord God, thank you for who you've made us to be in you. Lord, I pray that today we walk away with a deeper understanding of your love for us, and we walk away with a deeper understanding of how you see us and who we are right now because we are in you. Lord, I pray that I communicate the gospel clearly as I should. Lord, that it's you speaking and not me. Lord God, I pray that people walk away from today with it just impacted for eternity.
Every bit of distraction, we just say go in Jesus' name. Every bit of confusion. *Lord*, I pray that today's message clears up wrong belief as well. Lord, you said my people perish for lack of knowledge. Lord, I pray that that we grow in our understanding of the knowledge of you so that we walk in *life* today.
In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
Well, my name is David John Phillips. I get to be the pastor here, and, there's nothing that I'd rather be doing. And I know I say that every Sunday, but I mean it every Sunday. There's no place that I would rather be than getting to stand up here and communicate the good news of Jesus Christ, the good news of the gospel, the good news of what he's done for you and what he has for you in this amazing life that he has given, freely given. It's a free gift, and it's awesome.
Just like Daniel said, and I think he did a great job at the announcements. Don't you guys think? Would you guys give him a big hand? *God's bringing all these gifted speakers to real church, and I love* it. I love it.
I mean, we prayed for it, and I pray for more. I just I pray God sends, and we wanna empower the ready. Right? Whatever gift and talent that God has planted in you, man, we are praying for you, and we're praying for you to realize that gift and for it to come out so it can encourage the body. It's a it's a big deal.
And he's a big deal, and you're a big deal in him. This is your first time, just like Daniel said, we pray that you felt the love of Jesus, that you felt like family, you felt at home from the time that you pulled into the parking lot until the time that you made it to your seat. What we do here is for you. It's for you to experience the same love of Jesus that we experience, that we know. We want you to know him because in him, there is love.
In him, there's joy. In him, there's peace. And then in him, there's a relationship with the God of the universe that impacts every aspect of your life. It changes things. He changes things, and it changes in relationship.
And, man, that's for you. So our prayer is that you walk away from today. I say our prayer. It's kind of our guarantee that you walk away from today encouraged and with a deeper understanding of how much God loves you. Amen?
Okay. So without further ado oh, wait. Wait. I gotta say this too. If you're new here or if you've never checked it out, I have all of the notes and stuff for the message on you can you can follow along on your phone.
So if you pull out your phone, go to our website realchurch.us. Click on this Sunday. Click on view sermon notes. All the notes will pop up, and you'll know what's coming next before I even say it. Almost.
Sometimes I sometimes I get a little out of out of line. Sometimes I skip ahead. I don't know. And and if you would be so bold to go to Facebook in church and click check-in, and you can check-in to Real Church, that would say that would tell the world, all your social media friends, that you're at Real Church, and they should be too. Right?
Which would be awesome. So I would greatly appreciate it if you do that. We have been in the monsters series. Have you guys enjoyed that so far? Yeah.
Yeah? So we talked about the monsters of the mind that that attack our faith, and we we gave some good answers, I would say, to to those. And if you missed any of any of that series, you can check out most of it online. Specifically, I'm getting a phone call. I need to put my I need to put my phone on on airplane mode.
That's never happened before. Here we go. You guys put your phone on airplane mode too. Right? Silent.
No. That was not planned. No. So we've we talked about the monsters of mind. First, we talked about the monster of doubt, and then we talked about the monster of depression, and we talked about the monster of fear.
And then specifically, last week, we went into, something that a lot of the church just has a misconception on, talking about the fear of God. With that, we showed that there is no fear in love but "perfect love casts out fear". For fear has to do with punishment. The 1 who fears has not been made perfect in love. We show that we have been made perfect.
As it says in Hebrews-9, I think 24, but yet we are being made holy. We're being renewed in an understanding of who we are, but as he sees us, we're perfect in Christ, which is amazing and wonderful. But then also, *Jesus* himself, when he quoted the Old Testament, he quoted the scripture in Deuteronomy-6:13, I believe. And it says, fear the Lord and serve him only. And Jesus quoted it and changed the word from fear to worship.
*Jesus said, worship the Lord* and serve him only. If you look at all of the Hebrew texts and all of the the Greek texts, the the actual word for fear, when it says fear God, it can be translated as reverence and awe. And in the Hebrew text, it can actually be translated as worshipful awe. As you grow in your relationship with your daddy god, right, we we grow in that. We realize that we can run to him in awe, in reverence, but as a loving father.
And a lot of people live in fear because they don't understand fear here, and so they live afraid from him in shame and guilt instead of running to him as daddy god. It's a big deal. So with that, Jesus changed fear to worship. We talked about what it means to worship him. In Romans-12:1, it says, therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters and if you missed if you missed that message, we did not get it up on podcast this past week, but we will get it up by the end of today.
So if you wanna hear that message, it will be up on podcast. You can check it out, at our website or on iTunes or whatever. Anyway, *Romans-12:1, therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy*. What is mercy? It's not getting what you do deserve.
So in view of you not getting what you do deserve for your sin, me not getting what I do deserve for my sin, in view of his love, his loving kindness, offer our bodies, all of our self, as a living sacrifice, *holy and pleasing to God. This is our true and proper worship*. So what does it mean to worship God and serve him only? We offer all that we have to him. We offer our eyes.
We offer our mouth. We offer our hands. We offer our feet. We offer our thoughts. We offer where we go.
We offer our time. We offer our talent. We offer our treasure. Everything we have as a sacrifice to him, not what I want. He who loves his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake will find it.
When we sacrifice our lives in an act of worship to him, really, finding we're our lives, and we're finding ourself. We're finding everything that we were created to be, and we're living the life that we were created to be, and there's more joy and peace and rest there. Amen? So there's like message from last Sunday in a box like just real tied up on a bow right there. Today, we're talking about cause it was a it's kind of a continuation of where we left off last week.
So I wanted to to bring you up to speed. Today, I'll probably do a little bit more teaching than preaching, but you never really can tell. We're gonna we're gonna talk about the title of the message is A transformed *life*. A transformed life. And I'm gonna remind you first through quite a few scriptures about who you are and about who you are now.
Goes along with that video. It's a big deal. And then we're gonna get into the practical practicality, if that's a word, of walking this thing out. What does that look like in my daily life because of who I am? And what if what it looks like now doesn't look like what his word says about me?
What do I do? Alright? So stick with me. *2 Corinthians-5*. So you guys are there faster because you got the notes.
*2 Corinthians-5:17* says, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the "new creation has come", the old is gone, the new is here, or the if and therefore, if anyone's in Christ, he's a new creation. The new has come, the old is here, the old is gone. Right? The old is gone, the new has come. How how does it sit there?
There we go. New creation has come. The old is gone, the new is here, period. You are a new creation in Christ Jesus. If you've given your life to Jesus, you believed, you've received, you surrendered.
Hey, you are new. I don't care if it happened 6 years ago, if it happened 6 weeks ago, if it happened 6 hours ago, if it happened 60 years ago. You are a new creation despite what your circumstances say. Well, it says, if anyone is in Christ, you're in Christ if you started a relationship with him, period. What does it look like?
Say this is what does it look like to be in Christ? Let's say this is his you know, this is the word. Right? Well, this is a Bible. If I were to mail this Bible, every aspect of this Bible would go along because it is 1 piece, 1 whole, period.
Now let's say, this is Christ, and let's say this piece of paper is you. If I put this paper in the Bible, right, put it securely in there, and I close it up, now the paper is in the Bible. Anywhere the Bible goes, the paper goes. Right? People don't even see the paper anymore.
They just see the Bible. If I mail the Bible across the nation, what's gonna happen? The paper's gonna go with it. Why? Because the paper is in the Bible, and it's now considered to be a part of the Bible.
You are in Christ. When people see you and hear you, they are to see and hear the new creation that is in Christ Jesus. What does that mean? Romans chapters, this, it's just truth. Now, you might say, well, wait, I don't feel like a new creation right now.
I look around and I feel like I'm the same old me that I was. I had 3 weeks of awesome new creation stuff but then that next day hit and all of a sudden, it all went downhill from there and I don't feel like I'm a new creation anymore. I feel like the same old me. Anybody ever been there before? Yeah.
Yeah. Everybody. We'll get there. *Romans-6*, let's go. *Romans-6*.
Man, I love Romans-6. It's just awesome. Let's start in verse 1 and verse 2. What shall we say then? Because we're a new creation.
Which it's talking about some other stuff before. Which is awesome. But what shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means.
We are those who, everybody say this, have died. Have To sin. To sin. Say, we have died. We have died.
To sin. To sin. Interesting. How can we live in it any longer? You just said that you have "died to sin".
If you're in Christ, Galatians-2:21 of my favorite verses ever. It's awesome. I quote it all the time. I've been crucified with Christ. I have been crucified with Christ.
It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the son of god who loved me and gave himself up for me. When you gave your life to Jesus, you were found in Christ. Therefore, when Christ was crucified, you were crucified with him. Verse 3, or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were "baptized into his death"?
We were therefore buried with him through baptism in death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the father, we may too live a new life. Baptism, I I talk about it all the time. You go under the water, it's it's a burial ceremony. You're saying you realize that you have died with Christ. The old you is completely gone.
When Christ died, you died. Done. You go into the water, gone. Come up out of the water, new life, new creation. Just as Christ is raised to new life, so are you raised to new life in Christ.
You are in Christ. I'm hitting this on purpose. Alright, Romans-6:6 through 7. For we know. Everybody say, we know.
We know We're not guessing. We're not contemplating based on what we did or didn't do or based on how we feel or how we don't feel in the moment. We know. That our old self was crucified with him, was crucified. Now now, we just read, you have died with Christ.
Right? That is very key to what I'm about to say and your old self was crucified with him. Correct? Yeah. Okay.
Very important. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Amen. What what what? Hold on, pastor.
Wait a second. Am I the other church that I went to said, I'm just still a "filthy rotten sinner" and I ain't set free from sin and I'll never be set free from sin. They're not preaching the gospel. You have died in Christ. You have been set free from sin.
It's right there in the book. That's great. That's amazing. Do you see it? *Romans-6:1* 2 through 7, which is awesome.
How can this be? *John-1:12* and 13. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of god. Children born not of natural descent nor of human decision or husband's will, but born of god. You are a **new creation in Christ** Jesus, born of God.
The old you completely *crucified* in Christ 100%. You're now in Christ, and you have the very nature of God because you're born of God. Born again. The Bible talks about you having a new heart. He's given you a new heart.
Put a new spirit, his spirit in you, which is leading you and guiding you in the day in and day out. Drive it home a little bit further. Ephesians-4:22. You were taught with regard to your former way of *life* to "put off your old self" which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires. Let me let me just give you an analogy here.
To **put off the old self** In Roman times, when there would be a murderer like 2000 years ago, when someone would murder someone, they take the body of the dead guy, and they tie it to the hands that the hand to hand, the other hand to the other hand, feet to feet, and the murderer would have to carry around the dead guy that he murdered. And eventually, the flesh would begin to rot and would melt to the guy and begin to kill him. Ain't that nasty? But a lot of times, as Christians, we do the same thing. We pick up the dead guy when we're a new creation.
And we don't have to. Ephesians-2:22 verse 23, to be made new in the attitude of your mind. We're renewing our minds. We're brand new here, and sometimes our mind still has habits of "stinking thinking" that we think is who we are, but it's not. We have to renew our mind to the reality of who he's created us to be.
Do you guys see this? Don't worry. We're gonna get practical. We're we're gonna drive this thing home. And to put on the new self remember, you're
a new
creation. You're not the old self anymore if you're in Christ. If you're not in Christ, you're still the old self. If you're in Christ, if you've given your life to Jesus, you're the new self. Right?
You've been "born again". You have his nature. To put on the new self, check this out, created. Oh my gosh, it's right here. Created to be like who?
*God*. I'm not making this stuff up, guys. You may have been if if you if this is if this is like making you like, oh, I I've never heard this before. This is different what I've been taught. You were taught wrong.
This is the word. Created to be like *god* in true *righteousness* and holiness. You are created. You to be like him in true righteousness and holiness. 100.
That's amazing. So, what happens then when we don't feel like a new creation? What happens when we don't feel like we're set free from sin? What happens when we don't feel like we're born of god? When we look at and you're like, pastor, I hear what you're saying.
And 6 years ago, man, it was real. Like, I understood. I lived this thing out for 2 years or 6 months or or or 3 years. Then, some circumstance happened or or something happened or my eye got caught or or I did something or somebody offended me and I ran and and I blame them for what happened. You shouldn't have done that.
Don't do that. Don't blame other people. Come on. Man, they're just struggling and trying to learn who Jesus is too. Forgive just like Jesus forgave you.
Quit with all the bitterness junk. *God loves* you. God cares about you. And so you can love and care about other people. But anyway, oh you you don't know what I did last night.
You don't know what I did the night before. Pastor, I feel like I'm definitely not dead to sin. I'm definitely not free from it. Man, I'm looking at my circumstances and it just looks like everything you just said is a lie. Anybody ever been there?
Some of you there right now? Don't don't answer that but that's okay. I got good news. I got great news. I got a basketball in a jar.
Alright. Is it the nature of this ball to float or to sink? It's the nature of this ball to float. Every time I put this ball on water, what's gonna happen? It will float.
Why? Because it's not a sinker, it's a floater. Children. But you're gonna have to get past that because I'm gonna say that a lot. This is a floating ball because its nature is to float.
It's created to float on top of water. It will always float on top of water. But wait a second. Hold on. Is it floating or is it sinking right now?
What's it doing right now? It's sinking. Right? Now if this ball looks around it right now, it looks like it's a sinker. The ball looks at its current circumstances.
It looks at its present situations, and it says, woah. I am I a sinker? I thought I was a floater. What's going on? I don't understand.
Is the nature of the ball to sink or is the nature of the ball to float? Something is holding it down the nature hasn't changed Bible says, submit to god, resist the devil, and he will. By submitting to him In the beginning was the word, the word was with god, and the word was god. We submit to god by submitting to his word, submitting to what his word says over what we see. Yeah.
His word says that it's a floater but it feels like a sinker. We look at our natural reality, what's natural, and we say, this is real. I must be a filthy, rotten sinner. And we believe it about ourselves, and we allow the enemy to hold us down when that's not who we are. But his word says, I'm the righteousness of god in Christ Jesus.
His word says, I'm forgiven. His word says, I'm loved. His word says, I'm more than an overcomer. That's what his word says. So I either trust my natural reality or I trust his supernatural reality, and supernatural always overcomes natural.
His supernatural word will always come our natural circumstance. We just have to trust it. Submit to it. When we submit to his word, which is who we are, our nature, what he says about us, we are free from sin because we have died to it. We know it.
We just don't guess about it because that's what his word says about us. It was what his word says about who we are. We're created to be like him and true righteousness and holiness as we submit to him in submitting to him, we are resisting the devil. So, we submit to what he says and the devil has to flee. Whoo.
Amen. And then the reality becomes what we were really created to be. Do you get it? Let me give you another 1. Joshua's like, don't pour that on my equipment.
Scared to death right now. Thank you. You're amazing. Thank you, Don. Okay.
Let let let's take it another way. *Romans-8* which is 1 of my favorite chapters. Romans is just 1 of my favorite books. It's amazing. It's so deep but yet so perfect.
Okay, Romans-8. We get stuck in this whole you know, verse 19, for I do the, I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I want to do, I do, this I keep on doing. Now, if I do what I do not want to do, it's no longer I who do it, but it's the sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work within me. Although I wanna do good, evil is right there with me.
For in my inner being, I delight in god's law, but I see another law at work in me, waging war against my the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am. You guys ever felt like that? Yeah. Oh, man.
I wanna do this. Oh, and I I I but I for some reason, I just can't do this or I wanna not do this anymore. And some reason, I I just can't not do this anymore. And I wanna do this good, but I I I find myself not doing that. What I wanna do and doing what I don't wanna do.
What's going on right now? And yet Paul said, I have died to sin. I'm free from it. Right here is what happens when we focus on I. Read those 2 paragraphs again.
I. I. I. I. I.
I, I, I. The very next statement, who will rescue me from this body subject to death? When we take the focus off I and put it on put our focus on the who that rescues us, things shift. Thanks be to god who delivers me through Jesus Christ, our lord. So then, I, myself, in my mind, I'm a slave to god's law but in my sinful nature, a slave to the law of sin.
Let me explain Because we talked about this and we're about to. Therefore, there is now **"no condemnation"** for those who are in Christ Jesus and you're in who? Christ Jesus. Perfect. Because through Christ Jesus and this is the key.
This the law of the spirit everybody say the law of the spirit Law of the spirit. Who gives *life* has set you free from the law of sin and death. Okay. Let me explain. The law of sin and death has infiltrated and and the whole world because of Adam and Eve.
Like, Adam Adam had dominion over the world because god gave it to him. God said, you have dominion. You have rule. And Adam and Eve disobeyed god. They sinned.
In Romans, it says, whatever you obey, you become a slave to. So they became a slave to sin. The world became a slave to sin. Sin and death, the law of sin and death affected all of creation, tainted, and we've all felt its effects. Correct?
A 2 year old. I've said this multiple times. A 2 year old. If I put this basketball in front of a 2 year old oops. Bad idea.
But if I put this basketball in front of a 2 year old, they're gonna say, mine and steal it. And you said, did you steal that ball? They'll say, no. Timmy did it. Right?
Naturally, liars and and thieves. We all are. The law of sin and death at work right there. Now let me give you a really good I I believe it's a good analogy. Maybe you will too.
Gravity, it's a natural law. It affects everything. Right? Gravity, it just does. Everything, if I throw it up, it will come to the ground.
It must come to the ground because the law of gravity is there, period. Now a caterpillar a caterpillar is subject to the law of gravity. As a matter of fact, it's in the caterpillar's nature to be subject to the law of gravity. The caterpillar cannot overcome the law of gravity, period. Right?
It will always be subject to the law of gravity. And then the caterpillar goes through this almost like death and rebirth in this cocoon. You guys know what I'm talking about? Right? This metamorphosis, this transformed *life*, and then the caterpillar caterpillar comes out of the cocoon.
*God* put it into nature. This whole born again thing. It's amazing. Comes out of the cocoon, and now it's no longer a caterpillar anymore. It's completely and totally transformed.
Now the caterpillar is is a butterfly, and the butterfly have wing has wings. Right? Now, it's the nature of the butterfly to overcome the law of gravity. Now, if the butterfly ever thinks it's a caterpillar, it's gonna sit under the law of gravity because it thinks it's just a little caterpillar like it's always been. But as soon as the butterfly understands who it is, it will always overcome the law of gravity without even trying because it's its nature to overcome the law of gravity.
Amen. Being who it is We have to renew our mind to the understanding of who we are in Christ because the law of the spirit that gives us life has set us free from the law of sin and death. Yeah. You guys were too quiet there. So, what does it take *Romans-12* Do not verse 2, do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
We are not we're in this world but not of the world, but a lot of times, we still think like a caterpillar. And we have to renew our mind to the reality of who he says that we are so that we can live out and be who he says that we are. See if I can get to my notes. There we go. So how must we live?
How does a new creation live? See, I I'm about to read something. And if you don't understand grace, if you don't understand getting what you don't deserve, if you don't understand mercy not getting what you do deserve, if you don't understand that his spirit empowers us to live this life, then you may read this and feel condemned. You may hear this and feel condemned but therefore, there's now no condemnation for those who in Christ Jesus. This is an encouragement, not a discouragement.
This is a this is, oh my gosh. This is the Holy Spirit reminding us of who we are in him. Convicting us of righteousness, saying, hey, that's not who you are. This is who you are and disciplining us to walk in how he says that we are as new creations in Christ Jesus. So, as I read this, listen through the filter of Jesus.
I present my body as an act of worship. Teach me. Because I I wanna live I wanna live as you say I should live. I wanna do what you say I should do. *Ephesians-4*.
I'm gonna read quite a bit here. So I want you just to listen. And and, father or you can you can read along with me if you like. Father, I just pray you open up our minds to hear what you have to say, because this is what a new creation does. *Ephesians-4* verse 17, Starting a little earlier than I put on the notes dash.
So I tell you this and insist on it in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. What does it mean to harden your heart? It means I'm willingly choosing to not believe, and I don't wanna hear what you have to say because I'm fine being my own god and living the way that I wanna live. That's not who you are anymore.
You're a new creation. You get life by hearing his word, and it's amazing. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught with regard to the former way of life to put off your old self, which is being corrupted with its deceitful desires, and to be made new in the attitude of your mind, and to put on the new self created to be like God in true *righteousness* and holiness.
Therefore, each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor. For we are all members of 1 body. In your anger, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down when you're still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work doing something useful with their own hands that they may have something to share with those in need.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for the building up or building others up according to their needs that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to 1 another, forgiving 1 another just as in Christ, God forgave you. I love how right here in the middle is the answer on how to do this.
Follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children. How do we do all of those things? As dearly loved children. How do we do what I'm about to read? As dearly loved children.
Not as shun children. Not as, oh, I can't wait to punish you and send you to hell for that next next mistake but as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to god but among you, there must not even be a hint of sexual immorality or of any kind of impurity. That's sex outside of marriage no matter what age you are. It's not even a hint. We are new creations in Christ Jesus.
No no hint of pornography. No hint of any of lust. No. We're new creation. Not even a hint.
You are new. You are free from that. Because he who the son sets free is free indeed. You are free. You have died to that.
That is not you any longer. You don't have to walk in that anymore. You can let those chains go. Of any or any kind of impurity or of greed because these are improper for god's holy people, and that's what you are. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.
For of this, you can be sure no immoral, impure, or greedy person, such a person as an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of god. Let no 1 deceive you with empty words for because of these things, god's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore, do not be partners with them. If you are doing these things and you're in Christ, are you forgiven? I'm a ask again.
If you're doing these things and you're in Christ, are you forgiven? Yes. Yes. Absolutely. *Jesus' blood has paid for your past, present, and future sin*.
100%. Does that give you the right to continue doing those things? Yeah. You've died to sin. How could you continue it in any longer?
He set you free from those things so you can move forward in Christ Jesus. It's an amazing thing. So the question is, how do we stop? *Ephesians-5:1* and 2, as dearly beloved children, we're imitators of God. If we think that he's mad at us, we're gonna have trouble stopping because of shame and guilt.
But if we understand that we're forgiven and that we're really new creations in Christ Jesus, then we can understand who we are, and we become a butterfly flying over the law of gravity. But as soon as we forget a that we're a butterfly, we fall, and we're held down again. We have to understand who we are and get around others who are constantly reminding us of who we are. That's why it's so important to be connected to the body of Christ. It's so important.
It's the body of Christ. Get around those who are Christ like so they can tell you what Christ says about you. And they're raising they're reminding you of what his word says about you so that you can walk out what he says so that the word when the world around you sees you, they see Jesus, and they're like, man, I see joy and I see peace. We're walking out of life where our conscience is clear because he set us free from a guilty conscience. His blood has washed us clean but not so that we can go back to that junk but so that we can walk forward and leave that junk behind us.
It's amazing. If I could have the band come on up. How do we walk this thing out? As dearly loved children, in John-14:15, it says, if you love me, you obey my commands. Right?
Those who love me, keep my commands or obey my commands. Right? Right here. Hey. If you love me, you obey my commands.
As dearly loved children, if you love me or you obey my commands. This is a good reminder for you guys. Do we obey his commands by focusing on obeying his commands? No. The church for so long has missed it.
That's works. Those who love him naturally obey his commands. It's their nature. Those who don't love them naturally love him, naturally disobey his commands. It's their nature.
If you know him, then you love him. Now so do you grow how do you like, there's a lot of Christians that would say, I need to grow in love. I need to understand his love for me more. I need to oh, help me, and then it's still focused on me. I I I I I.
*1 John-4*. I think it's the next 1. Just kidding. That's alright. It's probably it's technical difficulty.
Dash is amazing. Would you guys would you guys give Dash a hand just because she is amazing? I *love* our team. They do a great job. So how do we do this?
It's not by focusing on love. *1 John-4:19*, we love because he first loved us. So, therefore, when we our capacity to love is based on our understanding of his love for us as dearly beloved children. Remember? So when we see his love for us and the more clearly we see his love for us, the more our love for God grows because it's a response.
Amen. Now if our love's growing, those who love me obey my commands, our obedience is growing. Therefore, if you have an obedience issue in your life, it's not an obedience issue. It's a love issue. And it's not a your love issue either.
It is a little bit, but it's it's your love issue because you don't understand God's love for you in that area. So there's a lack of trust because you don't understand his kindness and his love for you in that area. And what you need to do is trust him and know that he loves you and he has what's best for you so you can finally let that area go. How do we do that, pastor? Let's keep reading in Ephesians.
Liv's gonna get really excited because I'm gonna talk about her favorite thing. For you were once darkness. Verse 8, Ephesians-5 verse 8. A lot of people read that. It says, you were once in darkness.
It doesn't say that. It says, you were once darkness. But now you are light. Didn't say you are in the light. Says "you are light" in the lord.
Liv's already smiling over there. So live as children of the light. For the fruit of light consists in all good, righteousness, and truth, and find out what pleases the lord. Have nothing to do ever I say have nothing? Nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather, key, rather expose them.
Amen. Secret *sin* only becomes more dirty. You're not gonna get over it by saying I'm just gonna try harder. You have to come into the light and say this is who I am and I know you love me right here. Shine your light on every aspect of my heart.
Sometimes that means James-5:16, confess your faults 1 to another. You come into the light. You're like, man, I don't god, you find a brother, you find a sister that you trust, and and by sharing it with the brother or sister, the body of Christ, you're sharing it with Christ himself. You're exposing the darkest parts of your heart to Jesus, and they pray for you and you're healed. Watch what happens.
Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. That's if there's an area of your life that you're disobedient in, you're shamed of it. Right? You the the tendency is to hide it, but that's not who you are.
You're a child of the light. You are light. You don't hide things anymore, so stop. Rather expose it because here's why. Everything exposed by the light becomes visible, and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.
Let me explain. That shameful thing that you're ashamed of, once you expose it to the light of his goodness and his love and his mercy, or you confess it 1 to another, to your brother, to your sister, whatever it is. Right? They pray for you. You're healed.
That thing that you were ashamed of now is transformed and because your test becomes your testimony of what he's brought you from. So now what was once darkness is a light. And so you share your testimony of I used to do this and I used to be this, but Jesus has set me free and that's no longer who I am. That's no longer what I'm doing. And in sharing your testimony, you're exposing the darkness in those around them and they're being drawn into the light.
What was once darkness has now become a light, but it can only happen when you expose it instead of hide it. Does everybody have a prayer card? Everybody have a prayer card? Does anybody not have a prayer card? We wanna pass it to you.
Maybe a pen if they need it. And god's good. God's going set some people free today. It's going to be awesome. Linda, we got we got someone in the back there in the middle.
Alright. Bible says talks about confession. You know what confessing is? Just "agree". See, as I'm talking, I'm sharing light.
Light's exposing darkness in your hearts. Right? Or light's light light's exposing places of yourself where you're like, you've been hiding from God, and you don't wanna walk in obedience in those areas. That's not who you are. Holy Spirit's just saying, hey.
That's not who you are. Stop it. **Walk in the light** as he is in the light, and you will have fellowship 1 with another. You know the a a telltale sign of somebody who's hiding, like, things in their life is they don't wanna be in fellowship with 1 another, themselves? Walk in the light as he is in the light, and you will have fellowship 1 with another.
If you've have brothers or sisters or or friends that are secluding themselves, go love on them. Go tell them how much Jesus loves them. Don't let them hide. So confess is simply agreeing. Holy Spirit's challenging you with some stuff.
Just agree. Confess. But then repent means to turn. Going this way, I confess. Woah.
This ain't the right way for me in this area. I repent. Now I'm going this way, "turning back to you", Jesus, in this area of my life because I realized that was dumb. I was letting a hand hold me under when that's not who I am anymore. Why would I do that?
I forgot I was a butterfly and I was acting like a caterpillar. I'm a new creation in Christ Jesus. I'm free from that mess. Why would I hold on to it any longer? So sometimes as just an act of repentance, as an act that there's something special sometimes, I don't know why, but it is.
It's awesome. About making a move. *Faith*. It's Rachel said, it's faith. That's what it is.
So let's do this. Everybody, would you please close your eyes? 1, I wanna say God loves you so much than you could ever imagine, and Jesus paid his life so that you could know him. And if there's anybody in here, listen to me carefully, if there's anybody in here that has always believed in Jesus, but you never received him as your personal Lord and Savior, you never entered into relationship with him, you you'd say right now you don't know God because that's the whole thing about receiving Jesus is is knowing God, like, If you say you don't know him and you want to know him, would you raise your hand right now? Does anybody want to have a relationship with Jesus and you don't?
Would you raise your hand? I see it. Anybody else? Wonderful. Everybody keep your eyes closed and heads bowed just because.
Would you look at me, ma'am? Nobody else is looking. Do you believe God loves you? Do you believe Jesus died for you? Do you believe he rose again?
Yes. Bible says if you confess him, believe that and confess him as Lord, you will be saved. Are you ready to do that? Yes. Okay.
Would you pray with me just right now? Okay. Say this. Say Jesus. Everybody say this just to to to help.
Say, Jesus, I believe. Forgive me. I've been living for me, but now I'm turning to you. You are the lord of my life. I receive that.
Now catch this. Everybody say this. I am forgiven. I'm your daughter or your son. *Spirit*, I receive you.
Teach me what it means to follow you, to hear your voice. Wonderful. Now everybody, close your eyes, bow your heads, keep your heads. We're almost done. We ain't done yet.
Say this. Holy Spirit Holy Spirit. Would you show me Would you bring to the surface any way that I've been living that is not of you? So some of you or many of you or a lot of you, there's a some things that came to your mind specifically. Because that's what the Holy Spirit does.
He speaks. Now I want you to ask this. Bible says through the Holy Spirit, we talk to the heavenly father. Just straight to him. This is awesome.
Say, heavenly father, am I forgiven? I can tell you the answer to that. The Bible says yes. I say this, I receive that. Am forgiven.
And I'm confessing right now, and and don't do this, I'm you can do this between you and God. But as they play this song, I just want you to confess, hey, I have been doing this, and this is not me. And I'm repenting. I'm turning in this area to you. I'm giving it completely to you.
Confessing means write it on that prayer card. Right? That would be an act, Just asking you to do that. Don't you don't have to write your name. As an act of confession, whatever it was, or the things were.
And then as an act of repentance, as they sing and you're ready, I want you to walk up here to the carpet altar in between the subs here and "lay it down". Repent means leave it there, turn, and make choices to move on in Christ Jesus. Can you do that? Thank you, Jesus, for who you are. Thank you that these amazing, mighty women and men of God are loved by you, and they're free.
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