You are invited to step into the valley of decision today, trusting that God's love is powerful enough to transform your relationships and your heart. Whether you are struggling with marriage, parenting, or past mistakes, choose to follow His Word over your own feelings and let Him lead you into peace. Start with repentance and faith to experience the goodness He has prepared for you.
Amen. Amen. Now you may be seated. Some of you guys were were hesitantly sitting. Is he gonna make me stand up again?
I get it. I get it. Let me say this. My name is David John Phillips. I have the joy and honor of getting to be the pastor.
There's no place I'd rather be, nothing that I'd rather be doing than getting to preach the gospel to you today. Thank you for being "real church". Thank you for being here. Thank you for choosing to spend your Sunday here. And we do, we pray that you encounter the love of Jesus in a very real way.
Because I know, I know when you encounter His love, you will be forced into the valley of decision. You can't have an authentic encounter with the power and love of Jesus and not be placed in the valley of decision. He's not gonna force you, but you to choose 1 way or the other, but He will put you there where you have to choose whether or not you're gonna follow His goodness or you're gonna continue in your own way. Even those that have been following Jesus for the last 3 decades, when you encounter the love of Jesus, it's another opportunity to choose to surrender to Him all the more. So so if you've been following Jesus for the past 40 years and you're just coming here to check it out and have a critical spirit, I rebuke your critical your critical spirit right now.
And and in the name of Jesus, I pray humility so that you can receive what the Holy Spirit has for you. Open up your heart and know that God loves you. He cares for you. And and and, man, I'm just I'm just some some **broken vessel** that he put back together, but he's gonna pour his spirit out in such a way that it's gonna impact even people that have been following Jesus way longer than me, because that's what he does when the body gets together. So let's open our heart to hear the Word of God, make sure it's in line with the Word of God.
Obviously, check it by the Word of God. But if it is, man, let's walk together in this thing and take the nations for Him. Amen? Amen. You guys good with that?
Yes. Alright. Let me invite my beautiful wifey to come back out here. Come on, Courtney. Come back.
She's a "fireball", full of Jesus, full of His word. And if you guys don't know, it's a running joke. We have been in a series titled Corinthians for a year and a half, and we're only halfway through. We we kinda go in and out of it as the Lord leads, but this is the base series that we're going through because really the culture of America mimics the culture of Corinth back in that day. And God led us to start going through it in October.
I think it was October 2022. So if you're just hearing about this and you're like, man, I'd love to to hear their verse by verse commentary on this thing and how it's applicable to my life. Did I say that applicable? It close. It was close.
To my life, please go back and check out the podcast. You can find it at realchurch.us. You can scroll all the way back to where it starts with the Corinthians series and and start there. Or if you have any questions about verses you've been reading, find it somewhere in there. You'll find it.
Alright? And, man, I promise it will be encouraging. It might or probably will be challenging. But that's because we live in a culture that Paul's writing to. Right?
And it's going to encourage us forward. You guys ready to continue diving in? Yes. We got about 25 minutes. We're gonna go as far as we get.
You know, sometimes that's only 1 or 2 verses, but it's gonna be good.
I will say this. We don't preach together every Sunday. We just happen to be in a a series within a package of verses that are really directed a lot towards marriage. And if you've been here maybe the last 4 or 5 weeks and you're like, oh my gosh, all they talk about is marriage. I'm not married.
I'm I'm 14 years old. Like, I'm not planning on getting married anytime soon. I promise, this is a commentary verse by verse, and this is just the chunk of verses that take us a little while to get through, probably because we both talk a little bit too much sometimes, maybe. I don't know. I know I do.
But I'm not accusing you. I'm I'm very self
You don't talk too much, babe.
But eventually, we will be out of this. But, yeah, if you're here and you're like, man, all they talk about is marriage. That's not true, but in the series, we do talk a lot about marriage.
Amen. Or in
this part of the series.
So let's just dive right in. I will I'm gonna read a couple of the verses that we went over last week just so you guys can just catch up. I'm not gonna unpack them because they've already been unpacked in the last few messages. By the way, I do have to say this, didn't Bart do an amazing job last week? Come on.
I I would encourage you to go back, listen to the message and learn it and teach it to everyone around you because it's the key to growing into maturity. And so, and then I heard that there were a lot of words of knowledge and healing and God did amazing stuff. If if you were healed last week, would you raise your hand? We have any that were healed last week. There's 1, 2, 3.
Come on. That's a big deal. If that's new to you, you didn't realize the gospel actually impacts people in their physical lives and it's not just a religious thing. Yeah. That's that's Jesus.
And He's really that real, and He wants to impact every aspect of your life so that you can experience Him in a real way and show Him in a real way. Amen? Amen. Okay. So let's I'm gonna start in verse let me read verse 8.
*1 Corinthians-7:8*. To the unmarried and the widows, I say it is good for them to remain single as I am. But if they cannot exercise self control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. As you know, that was the verse that causes us caused us to get married when I was 20, she was 21 because we wanted to follow God's plan.
Verse 10. To the married, I give this charge, not I, but the Lord. The wife should not separate from her husband, but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband, and the husband should not divorce his wife. That's where we left off 2 weeks ago or 3 weeks ago, 3 weeks ago before Easter. And now we are in verse 12.
Here we go. To the rest, I say, I, not the Lord. Now, why would he say, I and not the Lord? There's a couple of different thoughts about this. Maybe, you know, some theologians say, well, you know, Jesus specifically told people don't get divorced except for this 1 case.
So Paul could be referencing that Jesus didn't specifically say that, and that's 1 thing. That's not what I think he's saying. I think Paul knew by the Holy Spirit, you know, what he wrote in the paragraph before was, man, this is this is a command of God. And then as he's writing this, Paul knows how to follow the way of the Father. Regardless of which it is, the Bible says in in Timothy, 2 Timothy-3:16, I believe it is, that all Scripture is useful for training and rebuking and correcting and raising up in righteousness.
Okay? So Paul was carried on by the Holy Spirit as he spoke this, whether whether or not he thought it was just him speaking or the Lord speaking through him directly. It was by the Holy Spirit, and we take this as Scripture. Does that make sense? You guys follow me?
Okay. To the rest I say, I, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. And if any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. Now, before I pass it off to her, because I'm gonna let her really dive in first, I will say I could only think of 2 potential scenarios where this would happen. Scenario number 1, you have a *Christian* who begins dating an unbeliever.
And the Bible says, do not be "unequally yoked". AKA, don't go missionary dating. Meaning, don't say, well, I really like her, and I think she's cute and amazing, so I'm gonna date her and pray that she comes to know Jesus. And hopefully, that will happen, and then end up getting married to an unbeliever. Paul's trying to save you.
The Holy Spirit's trying to save you a bunch of issues in the future because unequally yoked means there's a yoke that the 2 are supposed to carry together, but 1 is strong and the other 1 is not. And this one's doing all the work, and this 1 is actually, because they're an unbeliever, fighting against it and going in the opposite direction. There's going to be issues. It will happen. Do not marry.
If you're a believer, a Jesus follower, do follower, do not compromise and marry an unbeliever. Don't. But maybe you did. Or this is 1 of the potential categories of people this is talking about, somebody that ended up marrying an unbeliever. It says don't get divorced.
The other category of people that this could be is is there were 2 unbelievers that were married, and the wife or the husband ended up giving their life to Jesus, getting radically transformed and saved. It's saying, hey, just because you're a new creation and changed from the inside out, don't leave your unbelieving husband because it's hard. And then it says this, and I'm gonna pass it off to you after I read this. For the un this is why. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband.
Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. Baby, what are your thoughts?
Well, when I read it, I wrestled with it because I was like, the the content of a person's life can't save someone. Like, a wife who is staying with her unbelieving husband, her her life lived doesn't pay the price for his sins. Does that make sense? Like, there is 1 way to salvation, only 1, and that is through Jesus, and is through a a choice to follow Jesus. And so, I was wrestling with that, and I was like, there's gotta be more scripture on this, because it's not just gonna put this in opposite what it looks like from my eyes in opposition to the gospel.
And I went to *1 Peter-3*. Now, here's what I'll say. *Culture* hates the idea of a woman having to, or or choosing to, not having to, choosing to sacrifice anything for her husband, or or really for anyone, but primarily for a man, and here's why. Throughout history, women have been put down here by people, and the 1 person that changed it was Jesus. He started calling women up.
The 1 person who changed it in the Old Testament was God, who put a woman as a judge over the people of Israel. Like, God is trying to change the culture of women being pushed down, and anything that God does, Satan counters. And he's like, I see you raising women to be side by side with with the men of God, and I'll raise you, let's put women up here and squash men. So women shouldn't have to do anything that they don't wanna do, because women are better than men. That's what culture is saying, and that's not what God's word says.
Like, he wants to elevate people to the position that he's called them to, and he wants me to lock arms with him, and walk arm in arm with him. Amen? Instead of him putting his foot down on me, that's completely the way that it used to be, but Satan come in and twisted it up, and and made it look good like **"girl power"**. Girls are awesome, God created us, it's amazing. But we are not to be over men.
We saw this in the last couple of weeks when our brother Aaron, incredible, he edits videos, and he made some reels and put them on Instagram, and a lot of the reels on Instagram are are about the husband, because it's him preaching primarily, it's about the husband laying his life down for his wife, and and loving his wife, and trying to elevate her, washing her with the water of the word, and literally the comments on this video were like, yes, this is so good, this is so good. But the 1 video where I said, sometimes as a wife, I may have to humble myself and do things that I don't wanna do, we were both ripped apart because how dare you have to do something you don't wanna do. You're "brainwashed". He's brainwashed you. You're in a cult.
Like, all of these things were said online, and I'm reading them, and I'm like, there are like 10 other videos, and you're taking like 1 piece of 1 video out of context, and basically saying, hey, this is all that you're saying, and this is wrong. So, culture goes against this. *1 Peter-3*. Likewise, wives, likewise what? When it says likewise, that means that there was something before this.
Before this, in 1 Peter-2.
Okay. I'm good.
First
She's doing great.
1 Peter-2:13. I'm just gonna read through this just so you see the heart of what it looks like to be in a position that you may not wanna be in, but God's heart for it. Likewise, wives. Likewise, what? In the same way of thinking, go back to the previous passages and look at that.
Be subject for the Lord, sorry, be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor, b t dubs, the emperor back then, bad dude, not a good dude. And God is saying be subject to him. Woah. God, you want your people to be subject to a a bad leader? Whether it be the emperor as supreme or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.
For this is the will of God, that by doing good, you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. See, God has a plan for our good and it is to draw attention to his glory. He's bringing himself glory, it's gonna put an end to foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone, love the brotherhood, that means believers, fear God, honor the emperor, the bad dude.
Hang on, you want me to honor someone who's wicked? Servants, this isn't saying that God is okay with slavery, in fact, he later on says, hey, if you can get out of it, get out of it. This isn't a good thing. I've come to set the captives free. So don't get it twisted.
He's not saying slavery is good, but he does say that if this is your position, servants, employees sometimes, Be subject to your masters or your bosses with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust.
Wait, what?
Be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing. When mindful of God, 1 endures sorrow while suffering unjustly. You see, God is a God of justice, God hates injustice, it's in his character. But he's saying that when you suffer injustice and you don't deserve it, what does it say?
For to this you have been called because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps. It is to God's glory when we suffer under the hand of someone who doesn't deserve to lead us or or discipline us. It is to God's glory when we serve humbly as a servant unto the Lord. It says, for what credit is it if when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? Not saying that beating is good in any circumstance.
Husbands and wives, don't beat each other. That's not what this is saying. I feel like because there's been so much controversy on this, I have to like do a PSA like this is not what it's saying.
Just say it, babe, it's good.
But if when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. So when the following chapter says, likewise, wives, likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands. Just like back in 1 Corinthians-7, it's talking about, you know, if you're if you're a believer and your husband is a non believer, or if you're a believer and your wife is a non believer, don't leave them. It's going to be challenging because a non believer hasn't encountered the love of Jesus. So if they haven't encountered his love, they don't know how to love because we love because he loved us first.
And so there may be some aspects of love in that relationship that look like love, but ultimately it's not love. So it's going to be challenging. And when it's challenging, what do we do? Do we leave like he said? No.
Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be 1 without a word by the conduct of their wives. When they see your respectful and pure conduct. They may be 1 by how you live your life. It's not that you can live a holy life, and then when it's judgment day, be like, it's okay, he didn't follow you Jesus, but he's with me. It's that they can be won over.
What you do in your lives, how you interact in this world is going to affect those around you, and you may not see fruit from it today. Just like Todd was saying earlier, he prayed for his sister for 10 years. He prayed for her, and probably a combination of his prayers and his life lived out loud for Jesus impacted her and caused her to say, I need to know this God that you know. And so women, husbands, wives, whenever we're faced with someone or something in the word that is like, this is this is challenging, this is hard, I don't wanna stay with someone who doesn't know how to love me. They're unkind to me, they say mean things to me.
It is to God's glory for you to suffer, not that he wants you to suffer, but it is to his glory when you suffer for doing good. That's what I have to say.
The perfect lead in. So why, once again, and I'm just going to hit that similar thing from a different angle, which is applicable to all of you. Why should a believing woman, a believing wife not leave her unbelieving husband or a believing husband not leave her his unbelieving wife? Once again, verse 14, 1 Corinthians-7:14. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband.
Otherwise, your children would be unclean. But as it is, they are holy. Now it took me a while to really get this. I mean, years and years. What does it mean?
What is it talking about here? She hit it really well. I just want to unpack that word holy a bit. The word holy is a is a Greek word, Haggaios. It means holy, set apart.
Also, you know, you can think about it as as sanctified. Right? 1 who is set apart. Now, let's look at the Old Testament for a second. The Old Testament is a physical representation of a lot of what we experience spiritually today.
So look at the Israelites, the laws that God gave them. They're a bunch of physical laws that they had to do. They had to wear tassels on their robe. So wherever when they went, they wore a tassel on each corner of their robe, which was their prayer tassels that reminded them to pray, but it also set them apart. They went into the marketplace into a group of people.
Everybody knew that they were Israelite because they had the tassels on their robe. It was just different. It wasn't just that, though. Also, couldn't trim their beard a certain way. So their beards might have looked a little bit different than everybody else.
And so when they walked into a group of people, they saw the beards. It was just different. They were set apart. They couldn't eat the same things that everybody else ate. So if they went, you know, and they wouldn't be ordering what everybody else ordered at a restaurant or whatever.
If the clothes that they wore, they couldn't be the exact same as everybody else because everybody else might have a mixture of different kinds of materials. They had to have 1 material only. So there were certain laws that set them apart physically from everybody else that people would notice that there is something different about them. You guys catch it? Holy.
They were holy unto God, a people set apart through which the rest of the nations were supposed to come into relationship with God. Now Jesus came, fulfilled all of the old law. Okay? Became the curse of the law for us, died and rose again. And through faith in Him, we become, by faith, children of Abraham as well.
But spiritually now, we are set apart. The Bible says in Hebrews-10, He, by 1 sacrifice, He has perfected. In Christ, God sees you as perfected, by the way. Everybody say, I am perfect. In Jesus.
Only in Jesus. Yeah. But in by 1 sacrifice, He has perfected those who are being made holy, who are being set apart. Let me show you what that looks like. When I'm "born again", I give my life to Jesus.
I'm covered in His blood. He gives me a robe of righteousness. You guys like my robe, don't you? I think the robe's probably white that He gives us, but represents His blood, and this is what I had. He gives me a robe of righteousness.
It's not a physical robe like in the Old Testament and the Israelites because that was just representing something even better to come, but He gives us a spiritual robe of righteousness. That I'm changed from the inside out. I'm a new creation. I have the nature of my heavenly Father. Now, but I'm still a baby, an infant that is growing and learning what it looks like to follow my Father.
My 12 year old son, Tripperman. I call him Tripperman. Trip. He is learning the way that I think because I'm spending time with him. He's learning to do some of the things that I'm do I'm doing, but I'm having to discipline him certain ways so that he can be an accurate rep reflection of me in the different areas of his life down the road, and it may be even better.
In in a similar way, as a child of God, as I'm maturing in him, I'm being set apart. I'm being made holy so that more and more when I walk in a room, they can't see my righteous robe with their physical eyes because it's a spiritual thing. However, because I've been set apart in the way that I speak, in the way that I act by the leading of the Holy Spirit, when I was born again, he put his spirit on the inside of me to lead me to look like my father. But not only that, I've been baptized in the Holy Spirit, so I reflect and exude the righteousness, peace, and joy in any room that I go. So now when I walk in a room, other people sometimes notice something different about me that they can't yet put their finger on because they just they just see a hope that they've never seen before.
Or they see a peace. They notice a peace that I shouldn't have because of what I've been going through. They notice a joy that I shouldn't have because of what I've been going through. Why? Because I'm carrying the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, as Bart talked about.
I'm carrying the spirit of the living God, and I'm being made. I'm being set apart as holy in such a way that the world will see someone set apart and different and either run to me or run away from me. What did they do to Jesus? Some of them whose heart had they allowed their heart to be softened by the love of Jesus. They saw Jesus, 1 completely set apart, and they ran to Him.
And He healed their diseases, and He gave them His yoke, which was easy. His burden was light. He healed their bodies and saved their souls. Others hardened their heart against Him and continued in their own way, ran from him, and crucified him. The same will be for you as you follow Jesus.
And and I'm talking about living a life of no compromise. I'm talking about pursuing him and falling forward into him, getting back up and keep look like keep growing in him where you look more like him every single day. As you follow him, the righteous robe that he gave you spiritually will begin to show physically everywhere you go. The presence of God he put on the inside will begin to pour out of you on the outside everywhere you go, and people will begin to notice. And they will either run to you because you look like Jesus or persecute you because you look like Jesus.
And it's no different here when a husband and a wife are married, and the wife gives her life to Jesus, and the husband doesn't, or vice versa. If the wife is living a life without compromise and daily growing in her relationship with Jesus, she's going to be reflecting Christ more and more and more. The Bible, like a a true Christian, is a true new creation in Christ. The old things really have gone. The old Debbie, if that's her name, is really dead.
She's actually a new person, and as she grows to look more like her father, her husband will recognize her less and less and recognize Jesus when he looks at her. So by being around her, her husband is being set apart from the world because she's following Christ, and he's either gonna run to her and run to Christ, or he's gonna run away from her and run from Christ. 1 or the other. Do you understand? Now, if you've been living with a with a non believer, you're a Christian and you're married and you've been cohabitating with a non believer, I'm not putting a timeline on this, but I'm am saying it will happen if you're living a life of not compromising and walking with Christ.
They will either run to you because you look like Jesus and give their life to Jesus or run from you because knowing knowing you now they don't know you now like they did before, and I'll show you in Scripture. In John-15:18. It says, if the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore, the world hates you.
So there you go. An example of this, and I got permission to share this, is my buddy Dre. Dre was the reason that we moved here to Planters Church. Dre was heavily involved in gangs and drugs, got his girlfriend pregnant, and then decided it was time to get out of that life. So he moved first to Houston, then to Winsborough, Louisiana, where I'm from, and started in a drug rehab.
In that process, he gave his life to Jesus and married the girl, but the girl didn't give her life to Jesus. And, you know, she was supporting him because she thought it was a part of the process and part of the program. You know? But he really began to change because he really received Christ. He was really all out.
And so more and more he didn't look like the Dre that she married or that she was dating and got pregnant by. And it even came to the point where she went along and tried, came to church a few times, but she didn't love Jesus, she loved the world. And she ended up telling him, I don't even know you anymore. You're not the same man that I married. And cheated on Him with somebody that looked like he used to.
It was costly following Jesus. He lost his wife and it became harder for him to be with his kids because of that. Because, man, when you really go all out, it either draws the world to you or pushes them away. And I would encourage you, it's worth going all out and not living a life of compromise because that is the Christian life. And there's reward.
In Mark-10:29. Jesus said, truly I say to you, there is no 1 who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the gospel. For the sake of Jesus and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, that's in this life, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions and in the age to come eternal life. That's tough. But either Jesus is our number 1 and we're all in or we're just playing a game and need to go home.
You know? What are your thoughts babe?
Well, in that circumstance with with Dre, 1 Corinthians-7:15, which is as a believer, this is not what we should want, but this is the heart of God if the unbelieving partner separates. The believing partner shouldn't separate. The believing partner should exemplify faithfulness because we have Holy Spirit and the fruit of the spirit, 1 of them is faithfulness.
That's right.
But if the unbelieving partner separates, "let it be so". In such case, the brother or sister is not enslaved. So, it can feel like when you are a believer and you are in a marriage with a non believer, it can feel like hell on earth. But if we follow Jesus, we have the mind of Christ, the heart of the Lord for people. And that means that our ultimate heart shouldn't be about my life, and what benefits me, and what makes me happy.
Our ultimate goal in life should be to show the people around us Jesus so that they come to know him. And so it takes patience. It takes self control. It takes faithfulness when you don't wanna be faithful in the situation. So, you're in this circumstance, if you're in a marriage with a spouse who does not know the Lord, and it doesn't look like they're ever going to, your battle is gonna be fought on your knees.
That's right. That's right. And and I'll say this, this is very important, and I'm landing the play in closing here, is where it says otherwise your children would be unclean, but it as it is they are holy. In the Old Testament, when they touched something unclean, they were made unclean. But Jesus is way more powerful than outward actions.
And Jesus, when He touched a leper, the leper became clean. When he touched something unholy, it became holy. And Jesus lives in us. So so with that, there's still a choice for people. But with the child, if you're training them up in the way that Jesus says, that's gonna that's gonna override what your spouse is doing.
Just be consistent. Come under to the extent that they're not leading you into sin. This is important to say, so I'll say it. For instance, we've counseled married couples where this is the case, where a wife is a believer and the husband's not. And she's like, I want to follow God's principles.
I want to I want to do everything that we're supposed to do. But what do I do about tithing? He's like, no, absolutely not. And here I am, you know, I want to follow the Word with my tithe. And we're like, look, Biblically, He's the Head of the House.
And so in your heart, God sees that, but you need to come under what God has put over you right now in this in this place and and tithe the Lord in your heart until your husband changes his mind, gives his life to Jesus or runs from you. And and we pray that it's the first 1. We pray that that he gives his life to Jesus and comes to know you. And then you'll be able to follow the Biblical principles and the finances. Does that make sense?
You guys follow me? But as far as the kid goes, you "train them up" in the way of the Lord. And as you're training them up in the way of the Lord, those lessons are gonna set them apart from their friends because they're learning how to be holy from you even though they don't even know it. But also there's a promise that when they are old they will not depart from it. So they might they might rebel for a season or run for a bit, but, man, there's a promise that they'll come back.
Stand on that promise by faith and don't stop praying for your kids, You know? And then to end, but if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases, the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband?
How do you know husband whether you save your wife? And that's what happened had to happen with Dre and his wife. He had to end up letting her go because she she left him and gave her heart to another man. And that's hard. But praise the Lord, there's a word where in that case you can move forward.
And I I do wanna talk to those of you, maybe you've been the 1 that left. Today can be a "new day". Repentance can start now, and needs to. God loves you. He cares for you.
He's not mad at you, but He does want you to repent, turn to Him, and experience the goodness that He has for you. God can work that situation out for good. All things work out to for good for those that love God and are called according to His purpose. He's calling you according to His purpose. The question is, do you love Him?
Love looks like obedience. Are you willing to be obedient in the little things? Because He wants to lead you by His Word to experience the goodness and character, and it takes faith. Does that make sense? The goodness and the blessing and the love and His presence.
It takes faith. Takes following Him, trusting Him enough to do what He says over what you think and feel. In Luke-15, the the Pharisees and and the Sadducees are accusing Jesus of welcoming sinners. Oh, you welcome sinners. And they use this word.
They use prosodecamy. Now usually when you when you would welcome a sinner, you'd say, decamy. Or when you welcome not a sinner, sorry. When you welcome somebody into your home or just a normal welcome into a store or something, you'd say, Dekkumai. Like, welcome.
We're glad you're here. Come on in. You know, you're not an inconvenience to me. You can come in. Welcome.
Dekkumai. But they used the word prostekkumai. And prostecomai is a much higher welcome than just decomai. Prostecomai has been like your husband or your dad was in Iraq for 2 years, and now he's on the plane ride home, and you're waiting in the airport like, oh my gosh, I can't wait for Him to be here. I'm so excited.
Like, I have an expectation of good things to come because He's coming. That's prostecomai. And the Pharisees were accusing Jesus of prostecomai, welcoming sinners with that kind of expectation. You know what Jesus did? He told them 3 parables.
He told them about He he responded by saying, yes, and. You're right, and. The parable of the 100 lost the 100 sheep, the 99 that were his and the 1 that that was lost, and he left the 99 to go after, prostecamine. He he went he he not only welcomed them with expectation, he ran after them. And then He told the parable of the 10 silver coins and the 1 that was lost and the lady that went after it searching the whole house.
It was more than prostecomai. He went after it. And then He told the parable of the 2, the brothers. 1 was a prodigal son that was a sinner that was in that had been the 1 that ran away. And He didn't just prostecomai when the son returned, the father ran after him.
So maybe you're the 1 that ran. Jesus doesn't just welcome you in the way that I'm talking about with expectation. He's waiting on you to turn to him and he's gonna run to you. He loves you. Some of you need to repent, which means I'm turning from the way that I've been living.
I've been living a lie in different areas of my life and I need to turn to you. And God will meet you right there, pick you up, and you keep walking with Him 1 step at a time. Some of you don't even know what it looks like to be a a Christian. You're like, man, you're talking about this and I've never experienced this Jesus thing. The Bible the Bible says you need to be born again.
Born of spirit, which means you believe Jesus died for your sin and rose again. But you don't just stop at believing He existed and did that. You have to believe enough that you're saying, I'm gonna follow you instead of myself. I'm gonna follow what you think instead of what culture says. I'm gonna follow what you say instead of what I feel and what I've always felt.