Skip to content The 3rd Most Important Thing in Life - What Happened in Thessalonica, Part 5 Apr 30 · 46 min ...more
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Empowering multimedia ministry for bold Christian living: Weekend Messages, Deep End Podcast, Deep Dive Bible Study. Tim Hatch, Lead Pastor, Waters Church, 26 years of pastoral ministry, book author.
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0:00 What happened in Thessalonica part 5? If you've got notes in house, they look like this, or you should be, you should have them if you were if you came into 1 of our locations. If not, you can go to0:12 waters church dot guide. It looks like that. And then if you click on today's message, it will look like that. And then you can fill in the blanks that way. First Thessalonians chapter 4, but we're in a series of0:23 messages through this book, this short little letter from the apostle Paul to a church in Thessalonica in the ancient world where Paul went in Acts chapter 17. Talks about this. He goes there for 30:34 weeks, preaches Jesus. A church is born, and today, that church is still alive and, well, 2000 years later because that's the power of the gospel of Jesus. Can I get a good amen right there?0:46 We're gonna stand for the reading of God's word, if you don't mind, reading chapter 4 of first Thessalonians verse 1. Finally then, brothers, we0:58 ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that as you received from us how you ought to live and to please God just as you are doing, that you do it more and1:10 more. Can somebody say more and more? More and more. Now that is the theme for this passage you're gonna see in just a moment. It says this, for you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus, for this1:22 is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual morality, that each of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do1:34 not know God, that no 1 transgressed and wronged his brother in this matter because the Lord is an avenger of all these things, as we told you beforehand, and solemnly warns you. For God has not called1:45 us for impurity but in holiness. Therefore, whoever disregards this disregards not man I mean, not man, but God who gives the Holy Spirit to you.1:58 Now concerning brotherly love, we have no need to write to you, for you are already doing this, he says. You have been taught by God to love 1 another, for that is indeed what you are doing to all the brothers2:10 throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this and there's those 3 words again. What are they? More and more. And to aspire to live2:21 quietly, to mind your own affairs, to work with your hands as we instructed you so that you may live properly before outsiders and be dependent on no 1. This is2:33 God's word. Amen? Amen. Let's ask God to bless us in the time that we have together around it. Father, speak to your servants. Speak to your people. Speak through me. May the words of my mouth and the meditation2:45 of all of our hearts be pleasing in your sight. Your will be done. Your kingdom come here on this earth as it is in heaven, and may we see Jesus. Him and him only in his mighty name, we pray. Everybody said a big2:57 Amen. Amen. God bless you. Have a seat at all locations. I wanna talk to you on the topic of the third most important thing in life. The third most important thing in life. There3:09 are 3 things, I believe, that are the most important. Now now this is a interesting title, to be honest, because nobody gets really excited when somebody starts talking about the third most important thing. You know3:21 in sales or in marketing it's always what? The most important thing. Number 1 on the list. Don't miss if you miss anything guys, don't miss this. Okay. Well I'm not talking about that today. I'm talking about the3:32 third most important thing. But I was thinking about the Bible and the scriptures, and and here's the deal. 3 is a big deal in the scriptures. I don't know if you realize this, but, it is a huge deal. God is3:44 1 God, but in 3 persons. Right? Father, son, Holy Spirit. Jesus rose again on day 3. Third day, he was raised to life again. And3:56 I thought about Jesus had 3 inner disciples, Peter, James, and John. And then I think about there's 3 ages. There's the Old Testament, the New Covenant age, and then there's gonna be the heavenly age to come.4:08 Right? 3 is a big deal. So maybe I'm onto something here, but I wanna talk to you about that third most important thing. I want you to write down what the most important things are just so you know in the order of events4:18 what they are. And I believe Paul talks about that here in first Thessalonians 4. The first thing I think we can all agree is this, a relationship with God. Write that down. The first and most important thing in your4:28 life is a relationship with God. To know him, to have a a a a walking, talking, living, breathing relationship with your father who made you is most important. John chapter 17 verse4:40 3, it says this, that this is eternal life that they may know you. The word know in Greek is a euphemism for relationship. It's actually a euphemism for a husband and wife coming together in4:51 sexuality. But the but the reality of that word is is an intimacy of relationship, and that's what God wants for you. He wants to know you intimately. He wants you to know him5:03 intimately. And knowing God gets you through every situation of your life. It causes the Lord to bless your life, strengthen your life, empower your life, and propel your life forward because you know that you're not5:15 doing life in your own strength. You're doing your life in the strength that God provides. Amen, somebody. Amen. What was that second most important thing? Anybody want to think about what that might be? Second most5:24 important thing? Here it is, a relationship with people who love God, a relationship with people who have a relationship with God. So right here, it should be obvious that these are the first and5:36 first 2 and greatest commandments in scripture. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as you of as yourself. So right here, we have the first and and second5:48 greatest commandment. So we love God, a relationship with Him, and we have a relationship with people who have a relationship with God. There's a moment in the scriptures in Matthew chapter 12. It's also in Mark5:59 3, where Mary and Jesus' brothers come to find him. They come to take him captive because they think he's going a little bit too far. And they come and tell Jesus. They say, your mother and your brothers6:11 are here, and they wanna talk to you. And Jesus responds in Mark Matthew chapter 12 verse 50. He says, who's my mother and my brother and my sister? He looks at those who are around him, and he says, for whoever does the6:22 will of my father in heaven, that's my mother and my brother and my sister, and and that's my family. And this is how I feel about the church. This is how I feel about you guys. This is how I feel about Waters6:33 Church. I've been raised in this church professionally and and and in my adult life, and this is this church has given me my wife. And and my wife and I have had children in this church, blessed and dedicated. They're6:44 serving in this church. And your friends are here in this church. My friends are in this church, part of this church. There is no greater blessing in life, in my opinion, other than a relationship with God than a church6:55 that you can call family. Amen, somebody? Family in the church. And I think about this too is that sometimes family in the church can feel closer than family at home. It's just it's just a7:07 reality. Sometimes, you know, biological family kinda go different ways, but family in the church, Jesus keeps us on the same road, going the same direction, changing us into the same image of7:18 his son, Jesus Christ. So so it's kind of important to have that relationship. Number 1, relationship with God. Number 2, relationship with people who have a relationship with God. But here's here's number 3. And I7:28 thought, what would it be? Like, if you were thinking about it, what's that number 3 thing? Well, they already put it up on the screen, so let me tell you what it is. I was gonna build some more tension, but they got7:37 ahead of me. Alright? They're like, move on, pastor. Okay. A growing relationship with God and God's people. This is the mow the third most important thing. You know the Lord.7:49 You're saved, but but here's the biggest here's the biggest deal. Are you growing? Are you getting stronger in the Lord? Are you looking back at your life and saying, man, I'm I'm so thankful8:01 I don't struggle with those things anymore. I'm so thankful that the Lord has moved me on in life. A growing relationship with God is, I'm arguing, the third8:13 most important thing in life. And here's why you need a growing relationship with God. Here's why you need it. Alright? The world is always trying to pull you back. Amen, somebody?8:25 Anybody ever feel that pull of the world on their lives? And you know you know how to see. You're you're trying to walk with the Lord, and you're trying to keep going forward. But if you're all honest, it feels like8:35 there's just somebody tugging on your back right here, just pulling you backwards toward those old, wicked ways, those old, useless lifestyles. Amen? Amen. And it's a struggle. And it's it's the scripture calls8:47 this the battle with the flesh. That we do business not just with, with the world. We don't just do business with God. We do business with ourselves. How how many how many can say that about your own life? You're like,8:59 you don't realize what's going on in here sometimes. Paul the apostle was like that. He said in Romans chapter 7, he says, I don't understand the things that I do. I wanna do good, but evil is right there with me. How9:11 many can resonate with that? He says, keep doing the things I don't wanna do. And he says, I I here here's the reality. There's a body of death that's attached to me. There's an old, fleshly spirit, and the world will9:22 always try to suck you back. Because sometimes it's like this in the Christian faith, and I feel it, and I know you feel it. You come to Sunday, and we gather in the church, and we worship God. And then the word goes9:32 out, and we feel, man, we are on cloud 9. We are ready to take our world for Jesus. You leave church, and hopefully hopefully, for some of you, you leave church, you're like, I am ready to win this week in Jesus'9:44 name. Whoo. Sunday afternoon. But then Tuesday comes. Amen. And by Tuesday, you're like, I hate life. I don't even know if I believe anymore. You know what I'm talking about?9:55 That that's reality. That is how it is. And so the question has to be, am I am I growing? And and how do I grow in life? And this is what Paul is talking10:07 about here in chapter 4. Let's put verse 1 and 2 back up on the screen here because this is important. He says, finally then. Now if you got your paper notes, everybody take out your paper notes. Circle the word finally10:17 because the word finally doesn't mean I'm done. Actually, it could mean henceforth. It could mean now what in this passage Because you'll see that Paul has a lot more to say. He has a lot more to10:28 write in first Thessalonians. And my Bible is like 2 more pages, 2 more chapters. So he's not, by any means, done. And he's gonna talk about some really significant things going forward. But this moment in10:40 First Thessalonians 4 verse 1 is that moment where Paul turns the page from talking about what God has done for us. He turns the page to, now here's how you gotta live. And he does this all the time. He does this in for10:51 in in Romans chapter 12. He he does this in Ephesians chapter 4. He does this in Colossians chapter 3. And so right here in first Thessalonians chapter 4, he says, okay. This is who you are in God, chosen,11:03 dearly loved, sanctified, set apart for his purposes. And now here's what you're going to do. And notice what he says. He says, we ask and we urge you. Like, this is important. I'm not just asking. I'm urging11:15 you. And then he says, this is what you're gonna do. This is how you're gonna walk. And he goes, this is how you ought. Underline ought because the word ought here is better translated must. This is how you must live as11:26 a Christian. These are not these are not for debate. This is how Christians live. And then he acknowledges, now you're doing this. You are growing. You are becoming these people, but we're asking you to do it what?11:39 More and more. We wanna see growth in you. Hey, Waters Church. I I I don't know who I'm talking to at all of our locations, but listen to me. Wherever you are in God, can I tell you there's somewhere else to go?11:50 There's a further place in your faith to go. It's part of what I like about the Christian movement, by the way. It's what I like about being a Christian. There's always something that the Lord wants to do in your life12:00 that he hasn't yet done. There's always another level of glory to be experienced in the presence and in the power of the Holy Spirit, and it's not ever gonna be the case for you. Don't ever listen to anybody that tells12:12 you this. No matter where you get to in your Christian life, you are still not done. God is still making you someone he is going to empower and12:23 strengthen for life. There's always another level in Jesus' name. And so how does that look? What does that look like? Well, it looks like this. Write down. Write down. Christian living is growing to be more like Christ.12:36 God wants to be more like Jesus. That's really the aim. So this blows away the idea that this world loves to sell our young people12:48 that you're perfect. You are not perfect, and you are not perfect just the way you are. I mean, contrary to13:00 what literally every pop singer sings to our kids, you stink. Okay? I'm just telling you. You're you're not who you should be. Can I get a good amen from somebody13:12 in the house this morning? Alright. Good. We got some honest people in the house. Because you're looking at a guy who still needs work. Amen? I still need to grow. Pastor, you know what's wrong with you? Yes. I do. I13:23 know what's wrong with me. I am intimately familiar with that. The Lord is changing me. And so we're not done. We're not right. We're not exactly where we should be. I always say this. The church is not13:35 a museum of finished product. The church is a hospital for wounded saints or unsaint people that need to become saints. So we're growing. We're becoming more like Christ. Paul in this passage talks about13:47 holiness. He talks about holiness in that in in, chapter 3, just in your Bibles. Now this is not on the screen, so we're gonna have to do some exercise with our Bibles today. Just back up in verse in chapter 3 of first13:59 Thessalonians. Because what does he say in verse 13 of that same book? He says he's gonna establish your hearts blameless in holiness. Somebody say in holiness. In holiness. Now what he means by that is that God14:11 has given you an identifier of holiness. You are holy to God. You might not feel holy all the time. And we're going to talk about why that is in a moment. But if you're a Christian, part of14:23 your identity now, part of who you are, is holy. What does holy mean? Some of you think holy is just, I gotta be morally perfect. Well, that's not the case. And that's not what it's about. Holiness means,14:35 set apart. The word in Latin is sanctus. Sanctified, we get this this word from. And and and so the word holiness means that this you or some object is set apart.14:46 In the Old Testament, this is interesting. The seventh day of creation was set apart as holy. That was a separate day. In the Old Testament, description of the temple, it says that there were14:58 utensils, and there were, tongs, and there were bowls, and there were altars that were set apart as holy. There were garments on the priests, clothes that they would wear that were holy. And so15:10 holiness is about your situational position before God. That you, as a Christian, listen very carefully, are set apart for God's purposes. Do you believe that?15:23 Like, yeah. Think about that. I'm some of you might not believe that yet, but you've gotta believe it. I always like to tell this illustration because it kinda just, you know, makes it clear. When I was growing up in my15:33 mother's house, there was a dining room in my parents' house. I was in my parents'. There was a dining room. And in next to the dining room table, there was a chest. There was a a set of shelves, very nice ornate15:44 shelves. And on the shelves were plates, Plates with, like, little gold trim around the rim. Those plates were holy plates.15:56 Yeah? You understand what I'm talking about here? You know what days we would use those plates? Anybody wanna guess? No. Not never. Christmas, Easter,16:08 Thanksgiving, the I remember Thanksgiving morning. It was like, the holy plates are coming off the shelf, and we're going to use them finally. You know, those plates lasted for 40 years. That's what happens when you use16:19 plates 3 times a year. Amen, somebody? And my mom would take them down and put them on a on the table, and we would eat off the holy place. Listen. If I wanted Lucky Charms any other day of the year, there was no way16:31 in my mind I was gonna touch the holy place. Those were untouchable for Lucky Charms eating. Amen, somebody. Let me tell you about you. You are holy. You are set apart. You're16:43 on the shelf. God is gonna use you for holy purposes. Now. No. No. Now there's a big difference here, and this is where my illustration falls apart. He doesn't bring you out 3 times a year. Amen, somebody.16:56 He wants to use you every day. But you're different. You're set apart. You're holy to God. He's not gonna put listen. This is so important. He's not gonna put his holy vessels in ordinary places.17:09 You are sanctified. You are set apart. Now there is a second half to the idea of holiness in the scriptures. And that is that though we are identified as holy, we have to grow in17:20 holiness. We have to grow in our knowledge that God has made us those people, that he has made us set apart for his purposes. And that, my friends, is what17:32 growing to be more like Christ is about. So let's take a look. We got 4 points as what this looks in this passage as to what that looks like. Number 1, write this down. What does growing in Christ look like? It means17:44 growing in holiness. Growing in that sense of I'm set apart. When you go to the job tomorrow or tonight, whenever it is, you're you're making that place holy.17:56 Some of you may not even realize this, but it's true. When you walk into that office, the Holy Spirit walks in with you. When you walk into that home18:08 this afternoon, the Holy Spirit walks with you. Some of you are like, well, I'm not really living up to what the Holy Spirit expects. Well, this is why we're talking about this today. So that you can grow into that.18:19 Because you can. Please don't tell me that you can't. Because the scripture says, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. You can't in your own strength, but God can do it in the power of the Holy18:30 Spirit. This is what he says in verse 3. He says, this is the will of God. Now just look at those lines. This is the will of God. Books have been written. Blogs have been18:42 posted. Videos have been made about finding the will of God for my life. What's the will of God? What does God want me to do? Okay. It's rocket science. I think that18:54 sometimes we think the will of God is this very narrow path that we have to walk exactly. And if we screw up in the least bit, we're completely19:06 blown it, and the will of God is ruined for our life. That's not that's not scriptural. I just wanna let you know. That's not scriptural. Because that's gonna put a burden on your heart that you're not gonna be able to19:17 carry. Like, if let's be honest. Most of you wouldn't have made it through high school living according to that law. You screwed up so many times in high school, you can't remember. Right? So the will of God is not19:29 like this precise, exact path. Some people, like, they they think about, what job should I take? And they have, like, 3 offers. What job? I don't know. What's the will of God? Now I I I do believe that God can19:39 specifically direct you at times. But most times, it's, which 1 do you want? You got 3 offers. Take the 1 you want. I mean, you know what I'm saying? Like, listen. We don't have to overcomplicate what scripture doesn't19:51 overcomplicate because we'll put ourselves in the weeds of trying to work everything out according to the specific little, you know, ideation of what God wants for our lives. That's not it. What God wants, this is the20:01 will of God for you, sanctification, holiness, growing into a more understand a greater understanding that you're not just an average person. You're you're mighty20:13 in God. You're strong in the Lord. You've got God with you. My Bible tells me if God is for us, who can be against us? My Bible tells me greater is he that is in20:25 me than what? He that is in the world. My god my Bible tells me that I'm the head and not the tail. My god my Bible tells me that I'm a child of the most high God. That I'm a royal priest. That I'm a20:36 chosen generation, part of a holy nation. I'm not ordinary. I'm extraordinary in Jesus Christ. Now, you don't always feel that way. And I don't20:48 always feel that way. But that's what growing in holiness is about. So how do we get there? How do we what does that look like to to get to that place where I feel like, man, God is working through me and and using me?20:59 Okay. There's 3 areas that holiness is gonna touch on in this passage. Those 3 areas are your sex life, your relationship life, and your work life. Your sex life, your relationship life, and your work life.21:11 And this is where the message is gonna start pinching. Are you ready? I don't care if you're ready. Let's go. Number 2. Growing in Christ means growing in purity. Pursuing purity. Sorry. That's what the that's the point21:23 is. Pursuing purity. And and holiness in Christ demands this. And this is what Paul unpacks for the21:34 Thessalonians. Look at what he says in verse 3, the last half of verse 3, that you abstain from sexual morality. Now the word abstain. Very interesting word because it's the word that we get abstinence from.21:47 I wonder who here could tell me, you're younger you're younger than me, and and the word abstinence is almost like a byword. It is almost like a, oh, abstinence. How ludicrous. What a what a crazy thought. I21:59 mean, if you watch the average friends episode, they'll tell you the same thing. Who stays away from sex? Sex is just partly it's just an appetite. We just gotta feed it. No matter what it is, just feed it. And and now22:08 consequently, we have a crazy world with depressed kids and broken families and messed up relationships and hurt hearts and burdens that are unbearable in people's lives because they messed with22:20 sex the wrong way. So he's like, look, I'm trying to help you here. You gotta abstain. You gotta stay away from sexual morality. The the word sexual morality here is porneia in the22:32 Greek. It's where we get pornography from. Because this, the word porneia is the beginning of that word, and then graphe is the writing. Writing sexual. Sexual writing. So that is what he's talking about in some ways22:42 here. But he's also talking about adultery. He's absolutely referencing any kind of sexual activity outside of the bond of marriage between a22:54 man and a woman. Now this is completely bigoted speech in our country. But there is only 1 acceptable23:05 venue for sex in scripture, and that is a man and a woman in the context of marital commitment for life.23:17 That's what God has prescribed. And I know that our world is so desperate, oh, so desperate to throw off that old fashioned, more morbid, weird23:29 lifestyle. And now we're having a crisis in our country. A crisis, a family crisis, an individual crisis, an identity crisis, a cultural23:41 crisis. Why? Because we played with fire, and we got burned. That's where we are. I I know that this is a narrow view. But you know something?23:53 This is what this is what sex is. It's a fire. The scripture says, can a man take burning coals and toss them into his lap and not get burned? He's talking about adultery. Adultery will jack you up.24:05 Homosexuality will jack people up. Polyamory. I mean, we've got more sexual identities than ethnic identities in this culture today. And24:17 and it's become think about how far our country, our culture has deteriorated to the to the place where we're at, where every single part of you is centered on the sexual desire in24:29 you. This is letting this is letting the fire burn out of control. And you gotta watch out for this. Years ago when I was a youth pastor, I remember Kobe Bryant was going through his struggles there24:41 when he I guess the accusation was that he raped the girl in Colorado while he was on the road with the Lakers. And I remember putting on the screen. I said I put a I put a picture of him standing before the judge. And24:52 there he is, Kobe Bryant, this all star basketball player. And he's just looking down. He's just dejected and broken. And I said, guys, what's the mistake that he made? And they said, well, he, you know, he messed up25:02 with his family. He messed up. I said, the mistake that he made was that he played with fire. It all began there. If he doesn't do that, he doesn't mess up. He doesn't end up in the judge. And before the judge, This is25:13 where sexual immorality will lead you, and it will destroy your purpose in God. Now Jesus addressed not just the action. He addressed the mental, the mental action, the thinking.25:25 He says in Matthew chapter 5 verse 27, he says, you have heard it said, don't commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks lustfully at a woman with intent in his heart to lust after her has already25:36 committed adultery in his heart. In other words, this is not about what you do as much as it's first about what you think. So it's it's about this issue, and it will wreck you.25:47 Think about David, who was a mighty man. He beat Goliath. He beat the Philistines back. He conquered giants. He conquered kingdoms. But 1 night, just 1 night, he's strolling around on the rooftop of his house,25:59 and he looks at a woman lustfully. And he brings her into his house. And he finds out she's married, and he still has sex with her. And then he covers up the the the fact that he got her pregnant. His his her husband was26:09 out on the battlefield fighting the wars of Israel, and he puts the guy to death and takes her to be his wife and covers it up. And he thinks he's made it. And from that moment forward, after he's confronted by Nathan,26:19 from that moment forward, his life slowly deteriorates and spirals out of control. Think about Samson, this mighty, powerful man. And this is an image that repeats in scripture on a regular basis.26:32 Mighty men become enslaved weaklings when they don't have this under control. Samson was a powerful man. He also was beaten back the26:43 Philistines, but he couldn't get ahold of lust. He he went after a Philistine woman, and then somebody stole her. And so he burned down the house. And then he he goes after Delilah. Delilah was the26:55 second Philistine that he went after after the first 1 already wrecked his life. How many know it's it's hard for some people to get out of this trap in sexual morality? And and and then, and then27:07 the story just gets more ludicrous as she she says, what's the secret of her great strength? And every time he lies to her, she does. What he tells her is not the secret of her great strength. This woman is lying to his27:17 face. She is totally untrustworthy. But his lust had blinded him to healthy, strong living. And then she cut off his hair, and the rest is history. This will kill you. It'll wreck you. It'll tear27:29 you away from God's purposes in your life. And what we're seeing right now in our country is a a world and listen to me. Young people, especially, listen to me. The world is selling you on this27:41 idea that happiness is found in your pants. And it's just not true. It's just not true. Like, even Christian young people, listen to27:53 me. I know. I know you're doing the right thing, and you're saving yourself for marriage. And God bless you. Amen. We support that. That's exactly what you should do. But here's the reality. Okay? All the married people28:03 can tell you this. Sex in your marriage can be wonderful, but it's very short. It's not that long. And after it's28:15 over, you still have to do the dishes. Amen, somebody? You still have to go to work. You still have to clean the house. You still have to take the dogs for a while. It what we our world what28:27 am I'm not trying to be funny here. I'm trying to make sure that you realize, our world makes it like this enormous, like, oh, it's everything. And it's really not. It's a small part of life. It's a small part of life.28:39 But it's a fire that could consume the entirety of your life. So this is what Paul talks about in Romans chapter 1. Now now here, just trigger warning, university students.28:51 This is gonna really upset you. Romans chapter 1 verse 24. Therefore, God gave them up in the lust of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves29:03 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator. In other words, they became idolaters. They started to worship created things rather than the Creator.29:14 When you start to and this is important. When you start to make things or people more important than God, and God comes and says, I'm first. I'm first. And you say,29:26 nope, you're not first. Nope, you're not first. Nope, I'm going to do what I want. The reality is from this text is that at some point, God says, Okay, have at it. He gave them up. Then it says this, verse 26, for this29:38 reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature. And men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for 129:48 another. Men committed shameless acts with men receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. Twice, it says, God gave them up. And if you're looking at the world that I'm looking at, you're thinking, Okay,30:00 when does the madness stop? Because it's just spiraling, isn't it? Spiraling. I think that even non Christians at some point are like, okay. Enough is enough. Like, when30:11 does this stop? And the answer is, it doesn't stop unless God intervenes in our lives. It doesn't stop. The world's gonna deteriorate continually. And I think it's gonna get30:23 worse. I know it's gonna get worse because Jesus said that. It's gonna get worse the closer we get to the coming of Jesus. I I I just shared this with you. I I double checked it, made sure it was real.30:36 But this has happened this past week. This is America. This is where we're going. The Minnesota state legislature was drafting a law to protect people from discrimination30:48 if they were homosexual, transgendered, and all the other thousands of ideologies and identities that are given to the world today. And the law was written. And the Republicans from the legislature31:00 came and said, wait, we want to make sure that we specify that we're not referring to pedophilia. Every other identity is fine, but not pedophilia. And every Democrat in the state legislature, which far31:11 outnumbered the Republicans, said, no. We're not going to include that language. We don't want to make the pedophiles feel bad. This is where it's going. And I know that some31:23 people will immediately right now start writing me off. But at some point, the world has gotta wake up to the reality that the lust of the flesh does not is not a controlled burn. It's a consuming fire, and it31:35 will wipe out civilization as we know it. And here's what Jesus is telling the church right now. Run away from it. Get out of it. Walk away from it. Have Pursue holiness31:47 and the purposes of God in your life, and he will sustain you, strengthen you, and bless you. That's who we are. If you're not a believer, understand you're angry. I understand you're31:59 never coming back. I understand you think I'm a bigot, and I'm a transphobe and a helmophobe. I get it. I've been called that and a lot worse. But I'm here to tell you what the scriptures say. That's my responsibility.32:11 And I'm telling you, if you stick with this word, it will bless you. He says in verse 6, let no 1 transgress or wrong his brother in this matter, for the Lord is an avenger of all these things. And then he says,32:23 make sure that you understand that we've warned you about this before. God has not called us to impurity but holiness. And then verse 8, what does he say? He says, whoever rejects this doesn't reject men. They reject32:34 God. They reject the Holy Spirit. So you have every right to reject me, but you're not rejecting me. You're rejecting the Holy Spirit of God. And I I this is 1 thing that I will always do to you,32:46 for you, and with you. I will tell you what this word says even if the world hates it. Amen? Is that is that all right with with all you? Because I know some of you are already getting pinched by this message. And that's32:57 good. Because some you are like, ugh, man. I I know I'm feeling in this area. Okay. Here's what we're saying. Grow in holiness. Confess, repent, and turn and walk. And you might33:09 stumble again. You might fall. You might mess up. This scripture says where where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. But pursue the holiness of God. Pursue Jesus and33:21 grow up in Him. And it will save you and strengthen you in life. Okay. I gotta get to point number 3, or we're never gonna get done. Number 3, Christian growth looks like this, growing in love toward each other. So it's33:31 not it's not just about what we avoid relationally, sexual morality. It's about what we embrace relationally. And that is love for the church, love for 1 another. Now Paul says33:43 to the Thessalonians, he says, look. You guys are doing this. Verse 9. He says, concerning brotherly love, you have no 1 to tell you have no need for anyone to write you, for you have been taught by God. Underline the33:53 words taught by God. Because I believe that what Paul is saying here, and it resonates with the rest of scripture, is that when you get saved, when you have the Holy Spirit in your life,34:06 he puts a love for the church in your heart. You know what I'm talking about here? He'll put a heart for other people in the church in your life. And this is34:17 why saved people go to church. Saved people go to church. I I I do not understand the idea34:29 that you love God, but you have no time for the church. In fact, John the apostle writes this. He says, how can you say that you love God whom you have not seen and not love your brother34:41 whom you have seen? He's made in the image of God. Amen. It's part and parcel. They go together. Save peep you're you're you've got the Holy Spirit. Let me just tell you something. You know who34:53 the Holy Spirit loves? God's people. The Holy Spirit loves God's people. There's no way that you cannot go to church week in, week out, not be a part of a church, not be engaged35:04 week in, week out, and have a living relationship with God. There's no stinking way. He has put the Holy Spirit in you to love other people, and he teaches you. That's why I asked you to35:16 underline. Taught by God to love 1 another. Now love means forgive. Love means spend time. Love means share. Love means give to each other,35:28 support each other, pray with each other. I I don't know if you're like me, but sometimes the best part of my week is coming to church on Sunday and seeing God's people. I have another best part of my week, my small35:38 group, when I get together in short, smaller relationship with the people in this church, it's 1 of the highlights of my week. I'll have a horrible day, and I'll know my Monday night small group is coming. And it just35:48 brings calm to my heart to know that I'm going be with God's people, and we can pray together and serve each other and love each other. There's nothing better. There's nothing better. And he says this. You've been taught35:57 by God to love 1 another. That's what you're doing. And we urge you to do this, again, those words, more and more. Grow in this. Make it a priority. Fathers, mothers, household36:09 leaders, listen. Make it a priority at at your family that your church your family is gonna have a small group. You're gonna be connected to other Christians, and the church comes first in your life. Isaiah chapter36:20 54 13, it says this. All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. When God teaches us to love 1 another, he brings peace to our hearts. John 13 35, Jesus36:32 said to the disciples, by this, all men will know you're my disciples. How? If you love 1 another. People are not gonna know we're Christians because we're gifted, talented, and and and beautiful. People are gonna know36:42 we're Christians because we share love for each other. Amen. That's where it's at. That's what Christian growth looks like. And by the way, that's how you grow as a Christian when you're in personal relationships with36:53 other people. Through my small groups that I've had over the over the course of my years, I have been introduced to different Christian authors I never would have read. I've heard things that I never would have heard.37:04 I've grown in different areas I never would have grown in because of the personal relationships that I've had with other Christians who were different than me. It's a blessing to your life. Number 4, and finally, growing37:14 in Christ means working hard among unbelievers. So I said it before. I'll say it again. Your sex life is affected, your social life is affected, and your work life is affected. That's what holiness looks like. And and37:26 here's how Paul unpacks our work life. Look at this. Verse 11, first, says, and. Just circle and. Because and ties what Paul is about to say to what he just37:37 said. Now what did he just talk about? What did he what was point number 3? It was about loving the brothers, loving the church. So now verse 11, he's still in that thought as37:49 he addresses work and having a job. And so he says, and to aspire, to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, to work with your hands as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly38:01 before outsiders and be dependent upon no 1. You love the church hear this when you're not always begging people to bail you out, when you actually have38:13 things that you have increased in your life so that you can share with the church. Welfare is the state's idea. It is not God's idea. It's work thatShow more
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