Skip to content Behind the Door Part 4 with Kenny Luck Dec 3 · 54 min ...more
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Since 2000 Every Man Ministries has been activating men worldwide to live out their truest identity in Christ through its discipleship resources, live events, and steaming platform.
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0:01 Welcome to the men's global livestream. If you have a Bible, I want you to hold a spot in second Corinthians chapter 2. If you don't, don't sweat it. We're gonna put verses on the screen. If you're joining usIntroduction and Series Overview 0:13 for the first time, we're in part 4 of a series called behind the door. And the big idea we're exploring and applying is this, that behind the natural, behind the material,0:25 behind the visible, okay, there is a supernatural reality all believers in Jesus Christ belong to and it's called the Kingdom of God.0:37 It is the super humanity introduced by Jesus in the gospels when he says, The Kingdom is near. It is the superinventure he invited all of his0:49 followers to participate in, and it's the super story that's unfolding literally right now, this second, all around me and all around you, all around1:01 every believer walking on the planet. And the goal of every man of God is to get behind the door of the natural material and visible1:13 and live with our king in this kingdom that he is a ruler over and then sees the kingdom moments1:25 assigned to us in our context, the spaces and places that we occupy. In part 1, we talked about growing our awareness. Just the the intellectual1:37 mental side where we've got to get it to the front of our brain, who we are in this kingdom that we belong to and what what our calling and commission to participate in it is. In part 2, we talked about1:49 how do we navigate that kingdom? Where do we get the insight and the familiarity? And we look into the dynamics and the forces and the rhythms and key truths that we need to apply in2:01 order to navigate our spot in the kingdom well. And then in part 3, we talked about moving from sort of a head knowledge and2:12 an awareness to begin the process of actually participating in this super humanity, this super story, and super adventure to which we actually2:24 belong by seeking the kingdom first. What does that look like in a practical sense? And that seeking keeps us behind the door. And we're gonna continue in2:36 that flow. Okay? Continuing to move from just an intellectual, mental, or even a heart awareness into practical and personal involvementThe Power of Smell and Spiritual Presence 2:49 in the kingdom of God. Alright? Now to get us in into a transition and from knowing about the kingdom to living out the kingdom of God3:01 in our lives. I want you to think about some smells. Okay? I want you to think about certain strong powerful smells, and let me3:12 qualify this, that you associate with your life. Okay? I think the most powerful smell that I can associate with my3:24 life is a perfume that my wife, Krissy, wore in college. It was by Estee Lauder. It was called Beautiful. And I remember like I3:36 could smell it and instantly, I could feel her presence. You know, something that was invisible became visible, and then, of course, she would showed up. And when I had to3:48 move to Texas and we dated long distance, what what did I have in my bedroom long distance? I had a bottle of Beautiful and don't laugh at me. I would spray it on my pillow.4:00 Okay? How about this from your childhood? Fresh cut grass. Any takers out there on that? I played Pop Warner football. I played baseball. That whole or you know, you just go to the park or whatever. You're4:12 playing with your buddies. Fresh cut grass. Long lazy summers. Right? Out there playing with your buddies and coming in when the street lights.4:24 Right? Come on. Alright? For me, the gas station. I don't know if you like the smell of gas or don't like the smell of gas, but for me the smell of gas is synonymous with me going to a military base4:36 with my mom to see my dad and to have lunch with them. We didn't live on base, but we would always stop at the mobile station on Blaney Avenue and get gas. And it just in our big station4:47 wagon, and it just reminds me of that time with my mom getting gas. And then food. Okay. I know I have a lot of foodies out there. For me Pacific Islander,4:59 lumpia. Okay. Lumpia frying in the frying pan. Right? Those awesome amazing lumpia rolls rolled tight, got beef or pork5:11 and carrots in there, got sauces, but just that, you know, that kitchen smell. So, those are like really super positive. I I can think of a huge negative though at these hospitals for me. You5:23 know, being a pastor for 30 years, just being called into every grave situation, the onset of illness, suicide,5:35 events that traumatize the body and being called to the hospital and just that, I don't know, that sterile smell. K. Now, why bring up all5:47 that? Well, no molecule crosses the blood brain barrier faster and more powerfully than aromatic molecules. That's5:59 the science. A smell comes into your olfactory nerves and that just rockets messages to your limbic system, which trigger feelings, trigger emotions, trigger memories,6:11 and trigger reactions. Remember that 1. Right? And just like a smell that you know something you can't see is present. God says, when6:23 people encounter us, when people encounter followers of Jesus Christ, you let them know that your King and your kingdom are present.6:35 So here's where we're going in part 4 of behind the door. We're gonna review just briefly the reality and commission to participate in the kingdom of God for every follower. Second, we're gonna lookCommission and Participation in the Kingdom 6:47 at the implications of that. And then third, we're gonna get into this topic of how people can see and sense the presence of the6:59 king and his kingdom in and through us. So let's review briefly the reality and commission to participate in the Kingdom of God. At the top of the notes, there is the definition7:12 of the Kingdom of God and it's this. The Kingdom of God is the supernatural realm and reality where God's purposes, presence, and power are7:24 present, operating, and alongside the natural, material, and visible everywhere I am. It's helpful to remember as7:35 a follower of Christ that you have a king, there is a kingdom, there's a ruler, and he rules over a realm that is a reality that we are7:47 commissioned to participate in. And that's why we're calling this series, Getting Behind the Door. That behind the natural material invisible, there's this space. There's this reality that's forever and it's gonna7:59 outlast what we can see in the material invisible realm. It's going to last forever and we're called into it. Alright? And that calling to participate in it is in Matthew8:10 16 verses 18 and 19. It's right there on your notes. Jesus says this. Now try to get this picture. He says, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of8:22 heaven. And whatever you bind on earth will be down in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. So you have 3 dynamics going on and I want you to8:34 write this down. Again, foundational truths that go to you and your relationship with King and Kingdom. Number 1, I am commissioned personally by God.8:46 I'm commissioned personally by God. I will give you the keys of the kingdom. So it's a good old fashioned handoff from God to us to get behind the door and8:58 participate in the Kingdom of God. Number 2, I am placed strategically by God. So you have a place, a location, a set of relationships9:10 for you to advance the kingdom. Alright? And then number 3, simple observation. I am called to live 2 dimensionally for9:22 God. As citizens of heaven, authorized to ambassador the kingdom of God, authorized to advance the kingdom of God on earth, key language,9:35 right, in the spaces and places that we occupy. Jesus said, whatever you bind, where? On earth will be bound in heaven. So you see this 2 dimensional life that every believer lives. Okay?9:47 We're on earth, natural, material, visible reality. Okay? And then we are citizens of heaven. We are ambassadors for king and kingdom. We enter into spaces9:59 and then we shift those environments. And Jesus describes them in terms of binding and loosing, where we call down the agenda of heaven10:11 to displace the agendas of earth and of man and of evil and of the flesh and of the world. So you see that we are in this. We're10:23 in the Chronicles of Narnia. I mean, we have significance in place and there is this great unfolding story. So we're commissioned personally, we're placed strategically10:36 to live 2 dimensionally. Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, where? On earth as10:47 it is in heaven. Again, Jesus speaking to 2 dimensional living as we live and breathe here on earth. And this reality of10:59 commission, this reality of placement. Listen, this should turbocharge the significant spaces that you occupy today,11:11 right now. Alright? Place matters and the bible speaks into that in acts chapter 17. Listen to this sequencing of God,11:23 man, and how place matters. It says this, from 1 man he made all the nations that they should inhabit the whole earth and he marked out their appointed times in11:34 history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him. Though he's not11:46 far from any of us. Talk about an encapsulating truth about serving king and kingdom where God creates men to live in11:58 certain times, places them strategically, places them chronologically in history, introduces things into their lives, in their12:10 time and space, in history, their geography, in their personal placement on planet Earth so that they would seek him and reach out for12:22 him and find him. Do you remember where you were? Do you remember when you came into relationship with Jesus? Do you remember12:34 entering in and starting that relationship where he went from being a far away concept to a personal savior and King? You see this is really important for us. This12:45 should infuse this reality that we have our appointed time. We have our specific location strategically and now as12:57 ambassadors of the kingdom commissioned to advance the kingdom. Now guess what other people are placed in their appointed time and have their appointed boundaries near13:09 us. So that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him through you and through me. Pretty cool.13:21 Right? So there's a foundational There's a little more foundation for us. We define the Kingdom of God again, made some observations, place matters, time13:32 matters. It's all ordained by God for us to advance the Kingdom. Now, let's look at how God describes this influence, our influence,The Aroma of Christ 13:44 as citizens of the kingdom, right, serving the king and advancing his agenda. Right? And then your notes it says, you smell that? Remember we talked about smell? Okay.13:56 And the headline there was just as a smell rockets to your brain. Okay. And is fast and powerful and triggers reactions,14:08 memories, feelings. Listen to how the Bible describes us in relationship to Jesus and to the world that we occupy. Says this in second Corinthians chapter14:20 2, in the Messiah in Christ, God leads us from place to place in 1 perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge14:32 of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent, rising to God, which is recognized by those14:44 on the way of salvation. An aroma, redolent with life. But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a rotting corpse. This is a14:55 terrific responsibility. Is anyone competent to take it on? No, but at least we don't take God's word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap. We15:07 stand in Christ's presence when we speak. God looks us in the face. We get what we say straight from God and say it as honestly15:20 as we can. So remember what we observed with respect to smells. And then here is this passage that creates an identity for every follower of15:32 Christ where he and she are a fragrance. We are an aroma. We are a sweet scent, right,15:43 that lets others know something's present that they can't see and that refers to God. So what is God saying through his word to you and I right now? Write this down.15:55 God says Christ in you should be sensed by others around you. Okay? Just like a smell lets people know something is present16:07 that they can't see. When people encounter us, we let them know someone, something is present that they can't see with their eyes, but they16:19 sense with their spirit. I was just up north. I was out, with family. There was a bunch of people gathering at a restaurant and we were sitting at tables. I was16:31 meeting some new friends of some of my family members up in Northern California. And I got into a conversation with a police officer, and we were just talking about life and talking about myself, and I was asking16:41 questions about his family, and who he is, and what he does, and just trying to get into him. And then he was asking me, and then you know what he said without ever having mentioned that I'm a follower of Christ16:53 or a believer? He just comes out with it and he goes, you're a believer. And I went, yes, I am. And this17:05 is what the Bible talks about where we're gonna unpack this, where believer to non believer, believer to other believer,17:17 believer to active aggressive non believer. We're supposed to be sensed and seen,17:29 just like a smell is. And I love this picture. So Christ in you should be sensed by others around you. And here's the principle, if you're taking notes, whatever is ruling you17:41 on the inside leaks out of you. So if self is ruling and reigning on the inside of you, self importance, self gratification,17:52 self preservation, pride, fear and the anxiety that goes along with losing power or losing stuff or losing your image, that will leak out of you. On the other18:04 hand, if Christ dwells in you through his Holy Spirit, truth dwells in you, freedom dwells in you, peace dwells in you, joy dwells in you. Love,18:17 dwells in you. And the love of God making you inwardly, emotionally secure, that's gonna leak out as well. That's what Jesus said. Right? Good man brings good things out of18:29 the good that is stored up inside him. Evil things come out from the evil that is stored up inside of us. Alright? So Christ in you should be sent by others around you. So when you're behind the door, when you're18:40 participating in the kingdom of God, this is what the Bible says. The Bible says others will catch a whiff of Christ. His kingdom, his18:52 presence, his power, his purpose. Something's there that they may not be able to put their finger on or maybe they do like my police officer friend did. Right? So19:04 let's unpack this. Alright? Let's unpack the passage and get into just the cool aspects of being an aroma and a fragrance of Christ. Number 1,19:16 God senses and enjoys you living out your identity in Christ. God senses and enjoys you living out your19:27 identity in Christ. Look at what it says in the passage right there. It says, because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God. How cool is19:39 that? You know, your your inner loves, your affections, that are toward God and toward Jesus. Your19:51 willingness to love God and to love people and obey his commands. Your love for what he says. Your partnership with the Holy Spirit. God senses20:03 and enjoys you living out this identity in Christ. And the closest thing I can come to it is just when, you know, a son or daughter, if you're a parent, you know, they reflect a20:14 value that reflects you that's positive. Doesn't that give you a sense of joy and satisfaction to see your children living out the good parts of your character20:26 and values that you deposited into them? God feels the same way. Talks about this in Romans chapter 12 verse 1. It says this, therefore I urge you brothers and sisters20:38 in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies a living sacrifice holy, listen, and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper20:50 worship. So when we make new choices and consistent choices toward king and toward kingdom, those choices that we make go into21:02 God's person. I mean, that's what ascent does. Ascent goes into us as a person and then it triggers a reaction and emotions and responses21:15 that can be very pleasing. And that's the picture. Isn't that cool? That's the picture of our relationship with God. So keep making those new choices. Keep making those consistent21:27 choices toward king, toward kingdom, and those choices as you make them recognize this truth, it goes into God's God's person. And it's plea he21:39 feels pleasure when he sees you staying behind the door and participating in kingdom things. Number 2, we see in the passage people sense Christ's21:50 leadership in our life. Look at what the passage says. It says, in the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in 1, listen, perpetual22:03 victory parade. Think of think of a parade. K. Think of the Macy's Day parade, Rose Bowl parade. Okay. Now back in the times when this was written, what comes to22:15 the forefront in terms of parade for a first century person that this describes is what they call the veer triumphalus. Okay? I know that if it sounds Latin, it is. Alright? And22:27 what the veer triumphalis was was when a conquering general who had been away for most of the time years22:38 has conquered nations. Right? He's expanded the empire, expanded the kingdom. Right? And he is22:50 finally returning after battle with his column of men in tow. Listen to this. There are trumpets. There23:02 are pounding drums. There's the army marching in column behind the Vir triumphalice, the the the conquering general, the conquering23:13 king in many instances. And in this amazing, like, once a century maybe, victory parade. There's incense bearers. Okay. Now23:25 we're now we're talking about smells. Alright. So it's the smell of victory, and it's everywhere. It's filling all the spaces of the23:37 great city as the conquering king or general comes in, and there's there's spoils, and and and his army, and it's all there. Got the picture?23:49 Smells filling every space. A parade of victorious king. And then we see in our passage in Messiah in Christ, God leads us from place to place in 1 perpetual24:01 victory parade. Right? Jesus is the conquering king. We are his victorious soldiers. And the Bible talks about this. Talks about the24:13 victorious aroma that followers of Jesus, the victorious King give off. Alright? Talks about this in first John 5,24:25 verses 3 through 5. It says, in fact, this is love for God, to keep his commands, and his commands are not burdensome. Listen. For everyone born of God overcomes the24:37 world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the 1 who believes that Jesus24:49 is the son of God. Wow. Now some of you are just like, okay. I didn't know I was an overcomer and I overcome the world, you know, with my faith. Kenny,25:00 what does that look like? Well, you know what it looks like? Maybe in a situation you're capable of retaliation but you choose reconciliation. Maybe in a situation you pass25:12 on power to take care of people. Maybe you're less self absorbed and more freely noticing others in your25:24 life. Maybe you cover people's mistakes versus highlight them and nitpick at them. Maybe like God you hate loneliness and you25:35 move toward those who are the least, the lost, and the left out like Jesus did. You see that's a victorious kingdom lifestyle. We move from25:47 place to place in 1 victorious perpetual victory parade. Isn't that cool? Number 3, people sense25:59 Christ's character in me. Okay? People sense Christ's character. I mean, look at what it says in the passage. We're just kinda rolling through it. It says through us,26:11 he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. That's pretty cool. I love the26:23 adjective exquisite. Jesus is exquisite. He stands alone. Right? And this picture of people breathing in a26:34 fragrance, translation, God wants to diffuse the essence of Christ's character out of you, because he's in you, out26:46 of you, and on to the others that are around you. Okay? That's the process. Right? We say yes to a relationship with Christ by believing in his26:58 person and work. God saves us and all these great things automatically happen because we are in Christ. But that's not that's not the end of the story. He saves us, then he starts27:10 transforming us from the inside out, and he starts making us like Christ. Talks about this in Romans 8 29. It says this, for those God foreknew, he also predestined27:22 listen. To be conformed to the image of his son that okay connective phrase he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. What's God27:34 saying? It's like Jesus firstborn of creation, right? He's the beginning and the end, always in, the uncaused cause, God. In the beginning was the word and27:46 where the word was with God and the word was God. That's Jesus. Okay? Now in the Bible he's presented as a family member of ours. Pretty good older27:58 brother. Right? And then in the passage it says, in Christ God's plan is to conform us to his image. He wants us to have the family resemblance.28:10 Okay? Yeah. I don't know if you knew families where you grew up, but we had families. We had the Brony family, the Luck family, the Distel family. You know? And those families had personalities. They had characteristics.28:20 Right? They were types of people. Right? That had, ethnicities and culture and values and things that they emphasize.28:33 Same in God's family. Right? He We are the many brothers and sisters that have come after, right? The son and we're supposed28:45 to have the family resemble. We're conformed to his image. So people sense Christ's character in me. Alright? Let's move to the next group that we impact that that that people catch a whiff of us and that's fellow28:57 followers. And what do they do? They sense and receive Christ's encouragement in me, from Christ's presence in me. They receive Christ's encouragement from Christ's presence in29:08 me. Alright. Listen to what the Bible says in the passage in second Corinthians. We, right, the followers of Jesus, give off a sweet scent, rising to God, which is recognized29:20 by those on the way of salvation. Okay? That those are believers. Those are people who are saved. Right? And aroma, redolent with life. Can I just say something? Believers should be29:32 able to smell other believers through encouragement. We evangelize non believers. That's our commission there.29:44 You know what our commission is to other believers? To encourage. Right? If you're lost, we want to share the good news of Jesus with you and help you begin a relationship with Jesus in word and deed.29:58 Okay. With other believers, we want to encourage you. Question, would people around you say that you are an encouraging person?30:11 Do you freely notice others and their their positive actions? Their their positive character qualities and do you speak it30:23 into their lives? Do you come alongside people when they're low or do you just say to yourself man I'm glad I'm not in that position? You see encouraging people30:35 are really rare And here's what you need to know. It's never not a good time to encourage a fellow believer. K? To pray with another fellow believer. To notice something about a fellow30:47 believer. To lift up. Lift them up when their their sword is heavy and their shield is heavy. And to enter into life with them. Look at what it says, the command and commission of believers30:59 with believers. First Thessalonians 5 verse 11. Therefore, encourage 1 another and build each other up just as in fact you are doing. Okay? So we31:11 are appointed to advance the kingdom. Right? We are We ambassador the kingdom, we advance the kingdom because we are citizens of the kingdom of heaven serving the king. But31:23 then there's other ambassadors, right? That are in the same work, that they're in the same army, same king and there is a mutuality, there is a reciprocity and there is a31:35 unity there that they can't you can't put a price on And there's encouragement, specific encouragement to be offered as a fellow citizen and servant of the31:46 king of heaven. And I just wanna encourage you. If you know believers, figure out a way to encourage them. People in your small group. People in your church. Alright? Because 931:58 out of 10 people are walking around with a problem or issue they would love to resolve and it's causing stress and pressure in their life. That's life on earth. And man, I need other32:10 believers. Do you need other believers? And then I need to be the other believer that they need, who comes alongside and sees them and recognizes them,32:22 and validates them as a son or daughter of Jesus. So really important ministry to people in general. So we're ministering to God, we're ministering to others, they're sensing,32:34 his leadership and presence in me. Fellow followers are sensing and receiving Christ encouragement from his presence in me. And then let's move now to the active non32:46 follower, who by choice, write this down, will sense what they don't desire and react negatively to me.32:57 Alright? The passage says this, so we give off a sweet scent recognized by believers and then it goes on and says, but those on the way to destruction versus salvation treat us more like theShow more In this video 0:01 Introduction and Series Overview2:37 The Power of Smell and Spiritual Presence6:44 Commission and Participation in the Kingdom13:40 The Aroma of Christ32:58 Living Humbly and Accountably
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