How Now Shall We Live - Sermon Rewind

``Temptation is not a sin. And, man, we could really argue and go on about this for a long time, but temptation is not a sin. Lingering on it is. Some people say, well, as long as I don't act on it, I'm not sinning. Right? Well, no. We know Jesus is pretty clear saying that it is it is possible to have lust in our heart that is sin. [00:13:10] (20 seconds)  #DontLingerOnTemptation

``How do we do this? How do we be in the world but not of the world? Well, you know when you when you go on vacation or when you go somewhere for maybe a a short trip, if if you're just going for a few days or a week, you don't buy the place you're going to, do you? At least most people don't. You you just go there for a few days and you stay. You don't pack up all your stuff in a U Haul and take it where you're going for just a week. Right? No. You put a few clothes in and you take em and to be honest with you, I prefer to live out of a suitcase. When I go somewhere temporary like that. You don't start redecorating. Hey, I don't like this place, you know? Let's let let let's call decorators r us, you know? Let's order some new stuff for this. No. If you're just gonna be there for a short time, if you don't if it's not yours, you don't start redecorating, you'll start remodeling friends, you don't get too attached because you're gonna be leaving soon. Amen? [00:19:51] (67 seconds)  #BeInNotOfWorld

``The phrase here, the word which ties it together here. It indicates that it is the character of such lusts to to wage war against the new heart that god has placed in us. The word war here is not talking about just a a battle. It's it's it's a term that that doesn't just speak of a battle, but it's a it's a war talking about a war that is a long military campaign. It it is kind of like, if you think of it, you know, this war on terror that we've been fighting has been a long war. Amen? There have been long wars throughout history. That's the that's the the the the idea here. And so Peter says, listen, abstain for fleshly lust because they war against your soul. It's talking about a long military campaign that is a relentless military aggression. [00:22:38] (54 seconds)  #LustWagesWar

``You know, the reality is I I don't think you need me or the scriptures to tell you that this takes place. You know that there's a battle going on inside of you. Amen? You feel it. You wrestle with that. Friends, we know that but what you may not know is that giving in to those desires makes that war much worse. [00:23:32] (24 seconds)  #FeedingTheBattle

``And one of the things I believe the devil wants us to believe is that if if I give in to this temptation just this once, just this once because it's, you know, whether whether it's that anger or or or whether whatever it is, friends, if I give in to it just this once, then that desire will be satisfied and it'll go away and I won't have any more trouble with it. That's not true, is it? Not true at all. It's not true at all, friends, because that is not the nature of sin. The nature of sin is that when you entertain or give in to those sinful desires, friends, you are feeding the sinful nature within you. Sin is by its very nature addictive. And so giving in once, what are you doing? You're feeding the war going on in your soul. You're creating torture for your soul. [00:24:03] (63 seconds)  #DontFeedSin

``Now, you say, well, pastor, what if it is true? How do you handle that? You do what we're supposed to do anyway and that is when we are convicted of our sin, We ask forgiveness of that. We own it. We're not perfect. Amen. Please don't misunderstand me and say as Christians, we're supposed to be perfect. We're not perfect. In fact, one of the biggest ways you'll turn people off is to try to act perfect when they know you're not. Right? So own it. You know? When you blew up at somebody, how do you handle that? You swallow your pride, you go to them. You know what? Man, the other day at the water cooler when you, you know, said this and I flew off the handle, I was wrong. I'm sorry. Would would you forgive me? That in and of itself maybe the testimony they need. And and and you know what? Go a step further. You know what? I I tried to just dismiss that but god wouldn't let me. He just kept speaking to my heart saying I needed to I needed to ask for your forgiveness. What a testimony. Amen? Live honestly, openly before people, and then and then repent of that and let let god change your heart. [00:32:12] (79 seconds)  #ConfessAndRepent

``Man by the name of Arthur Simon is founder of the of an international organization known as Bread for the World, believes as I believe we all should, that all aspects of our lives ought to be touched by Christ and ought to be a great testimony for him. Where Arthur learned this from was from his father who was a who happened to be a farmer in from Wisconsin. And here's one of the phrases that his father said often. He said, even the cows should know you're a Christian by the way you treat them. Now some of you are dairy farmers, know, or maybe live on a farm and so forth, and so you can chew on what that exactly means. You can chew on the cut on that one. But friends, he said not even not just the cows, but if so if the cows, then even more so people. Amen? [00:34:16] (48 seconds)  #EvenTheCowsKnow

``Friends, the way we live, the way we treat people, the kindness we show, the grace that we extend, the Christ like nature that exudes from our lives ought to draw people to the lord rather than push them away. The gospel might, but the way we act and the way we treat people never should. [00:35:24] (25 seconds)  #KindnessDrawsToChrist