"Walk in the Spirit And Work Together" By General Pastor Peter F. Paine September 17th,
2017
Pray with me, please. God, thanks. We love you, plus, what I have to do right now is to bring Your Word to Your
people, in Your glory. We thank You for that in Jesus name, and everyone said,
“Amen,” and everyone said, “Amen,” and everyone shouted, “Amen!” Amen, I love
that. Thank you all, it's great to be with you. I'd like to start by just visiting
with you for a little bit before I bring the message that I feel God has laid
on my heart. There has been a topic—and it happens in churches, it happens all
the time—a question will come up, and sometimes it's a doctrinal issue, and,
sometimes, it’s nondoctrinal, it's just an opinion kind of issue. And it comes
up and, you know, we all weigh in on it, and not everybody lands at the same
place. I'm going to give you a couple of examples before I start on the one
that is most recent here, in our fellowship here. You know, how many of you
heard—some of you are young and maybe never heard this, some of you were older
and maybe never heard it, I don't know. I never heard, growing up, that there
was a possibility that people could have a strong difference of opinion about
whether women should wear pants or slacks in church. Has anybody ever heard
that? Oh, a lot of hands, okay. Some people feel real strong that if a woman
wears slacks in church that that's a sin. It’s inappropriate, it’s
non-biblical, and certainly she wouldn't go to Heaven and the church probably
is in danger, too. And, you can tell by the way some of the women are dressed
here today that I don't believe that. And, if I did, I would say, if you’re
coming here, ladies, you have to wear a skirt or go somewhere else. Right? I
don't believe it's a sin for a woman to wear women’s clothes in church. Slacks
or a dress or pants or whatever the proper nomenclature is. Does that make
sense? And, yet, churches have split over things like that. Are you with me? If
you're with me say, “Uh, huh.” It just happens, right? And there's other issues
that come up like that in church families. People feel strongly one way or the
other. And, sometimes, it causes a church split, doesn't it? Sometimes it
causes people to have to take sides. It gets discussed to a point where
everybody's got to weigh in on it, you know, because it's become a big issue.
And, then, you make your decision. Well, what side are you on, on this side or
that side? And recently, what has come up—I'm going to jump right in the deep
end now. It’s a question about a marriage, divorce, and remarriage. And, what
does the Bible tell us about marriage, divorce, and remarriage? And, I'm going
to speak to that just a little bit today. I'm not going to preach on it. Today,
I'm just going to speak on it a little bit today, then I'm going to bring the
message that I feel the Lord is laid on my heart. Because, how many of you have
been involved in that discussion in the last month or so, marriage, divorce,
and remarriage? Several of you, not everybody. Some of you have, and it's been
brought up and there are some people in our church family, who I love very,
very much, who have come to the conclusion that they believe that the Bible
clearly teaches if you have been divorced, unless your spouse that you are
divorced from is dead, has died, has passed, then you cannot remarry. The only
grounds for remarriage is if your previous spouse has died, other than that the
only way to be remarried is back to your previous spouse, and I want to go on
record right now as saying that I don't believe that's what the Bible teaches
us. I do not believe that's what the Bible teaches us. That's not me, you know,
shaking my fist at someone that believes that. It's not me being mad at someone
that believes that. That's not me saying, "Oh, you're this, that, or the
other.” That's not me finding fault with someone that has done their own search
of the Scriptures and says, “I really believe the Bible only allows remarriage
in the case of your previous spouse being dead.” I don't believe that, and I'm
not telling you that you have to believe what I believe, but as the Senior
Pastor of this ministry, as the General Pastor of our international ministry,
president of our International Board—I’m not saying that to say, "Look at
me,” I don't mean it that way, I just feel that you need to hear my opinion on
this important topic that's come up, recently. You might be sitting here saying
you don't see it exactly that way, that's okay, we can go to Heaven together,
because, I don't believe this is an issue that keeps one from Heaven and
another... Does that make sense? I think there are some issues in Scripture,
I'll say it again: I think there are some issues in Scripture of things that
you know we won't go to Heaven together; one of us might, maybe both of us
won't, but, if you disagree on that one like, "Jesus is Lord,” “Well, I
don't think Jesus is Lord,” well, I won't see you in Heaven. Are we okay with
that? Can we say that, right here in church, Jesus is the way, not a way,
right? I was shocked to hear a minister of a very high profile recently in an
interview on television, and he was asked, "Are you saying that no one
will go to Heaven unless they accept Jesus as their Savior?” and he said,
"Well, I wouldn't say that,” and I was thinking, "I would!” Amen? So,
on the topic of marriage, and here's what I—and I've studied it, and we’ll talk
more about it this week. We're going to have some conversations, and I'm here—Debby
and I came here this week largely because of this issue, and for those of you
who are not troubled by it, you haven't been challenged by it recently, don't
worry about it. Don't look for a ghost where there isn't one. Does that make
sense? Those of you who are visiting, don't think there's a problem in our
church. There isn't a problem in our church; our church is fine. God is
blessing. You heard the praise reports and the prayer requests, today. I'm
thankful that God is blessing. I'm thankful to be here today. But, sometimes
these questions come up and they deserve to be addressed. Let the church say
amen. So, here's my understanding, and I'll just say the shortest version. We
could talk for several hours on this topic, obviously. Quite frankly, I believe
the Bible doesn't address this so specifically where there is no possible—let
me step out of that statement, so I can clarify with this statement: Do you
know what the guidelines are—some of you may have legal backgrounds here, some
of you may be lawyers or judges here, today. I don't know your background; I'm
not a lawyer or a judge. I don't have a law degree, but here's what I
understand is the criteria for an appellate court case. That means it's been
tried; a case has been tried at the level it was assigned to, but the outcome is
being challenged, and it goes to a higher court, if it’s accepted for the
appellate court. And here's the criteria. If two reasonable people could look
at the same set of facts and come up with a different conclusion. Does that
make sense? Then it could be reviewed
and it could go to the appellate court, which is a higher court, which means
that a judge with more experience in that area is going to hear that case and
make a ruling. If you're with me, say, "Amen.” I'm just talking to the
church, I'm not preaching yet, don't get nervous. This is not law class. But I
think it's important to talk about this in a very crystal clear, plain way;
that you hear from me, what my understanding of this is. I really believe with
all my heart—I said that for an illustration now, appellate court—I really
believe this issue of marriage belongs in a higher court than you and me, I
really believe it's a personal thing with God. I really believe that every
individual has to approach it very carefully. I believe that the Bible does in
the New Testament allow for remarriage in the case of an unfaithful spouse. I
believe that. I understand a reasonable person could look at the Scriptures and
say, "I don't think it says that exactly.” Okay, okay, but you're hearing
me tell you today that I believe that the Bible allows for remarriage in the
case of an unfaithful spouse, I believe that. I'd be glad to discuss that with
anybody. It's a topic that's come up in our church and now I'm going to try to
wrap up these comments and get into the message today by saying, please don't
hear this as anything confrontational or negative. I don't believe it's either.
I believe it's just one of those things that comes up. It's one of those things
that comes up. Does that make sense? It's one of those things that comes up in
a family and we’re a family and it deserves to be addressed. Amen? And I also
think it's one of those things that we might disagree on and still might get to
Heaven and be able to find out which one of us misunderstood. And, I like that;
I like having those kinds of problems. It's much heavier, but it's not a topic
that relates to salvation. But this is a big topic. It's an enormous topic.
It's not a small topic. And we deserve as a church congregation to be clear on
what our leadership believes on that, and what our ministry believes on that
topic; so that’s my statement, I know it’s very brief, but I hope it's at least
clarifying enough that you understand that that’s what my understanding after
prayerfully studying the Scriptures, not for a day or a week, but over a long
period of time, and that's my understanding. And I'll be glad to sit—I'm here
all week, Debby and I came to be with you all week; we’ll be here next Sunday.
If that's a topic that you want to discuss, we will be glad to make ourselves
available to discuss it to the best of our ability. I think we have a church
meeting on Tuesday, and we will be able to discuss that further. So, so for
right now, that's all I want to say on that topic; I felt I should start with that,
and just clear the air on that important topic. So, now, let's just all clear
our minds and get ready for the message. Pray with me, please. God, we're going to look at your Word
now. We're going to look to see what You have to say to us about how to live
this Christian life that you have given to us. And, I want to say to You how
much I love You, and how much I thank You. So, bless this part of our worship,
we pray. In Jesus' name, amen. So here we go, let's jump into the Word. Let's go to
Hebrews, chapter twelve. We don't have a definite—this is another good example:
People can argue about who is the author of Hebrews, but I believe it’s
Paul. I believe most of the evidence
points indicates that it's Paul, but it might not be. I might get to Heaven and
find out that Luke wrote it. Some think that Luke wrote this. I think it's
Paul, but, one thing we know, regardless of who wrote it, one we know for sure,
is this: it was written to Hebrew Christians. And it's really a powerful book
about how Christians who have an understanding of the Law, because they’re
Hebrew, should live. It's a really powerful book about how do Christians that
were raised with the Judaic law, were raised with Jewish law, live the
Christian life. Jesus was Jewish, Jesus had the Jewish traditions and he abided
by them. But Jesus is our Lord and Savior. And, if you're going to be a
Christian, that means to be Christ-like. So sometimes the challenge of
accepting and embracing the Messiah, and the New Testament story of salvation
means that some things have changed. Amen, a lot's changed. We now have a
Messiah. We now have the Promised One. And, Jesus didn't come to destroy the
Law, He came to fulfill the Law. So, now the writer comes to us in chapter
twelve of Hebrews and he says: Hebrews
12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses... And here's the writer's exhortation to faith, exhortation
to godliness. He is going to tell us how we, as Christians, in this present
day, should let our light so shine before men that they see our good works and
glorify our Father, which is in Heaven. We're supposed to be, as Debby shared
in her testimony today, a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Could the
church say amen? We’re supposed to be different, we’re supposed to be about
something different. We're supposed to be so different that people are drawn to
us and say, "What is it that's different in your life? What is it that
makes you think the way you think, act the way you act, live the way you live,
forgive the way you forgive, do what you do?”
Amen? The answer is Jesus. He's what makes the difference. He said we
have so many testimonies, we have so many around us, and they're doing this
right, we have examples. Then he goes on to say, Hebrews 12:1 ...let us lay aside every weight... I believe that the
weight Apostle Paul is talking about right here is the weight of tradition, the
weight of the law, the weight of doing it the way we've always done it. You
have to pray this way, you have to do these things in this order. He's saying
we live under grace now. This is a new day. This is a new age. Things have
changed. Are there still rules, guidelines? Absolutely! Are there still do’s
and don’ts? Yes. But Jesus is Lord and savior now, and he says we should: Hebrews 12:1 ...lay aside every weight, and the sin which
doth so easily beset us... And he goes on to say: Hebrews 12:1 ...and let
us run [and this is an interesting combination of words in the same
sentence: run] with patience... Have you ever thought of running with patience? I mean, to
me, if I'm running, I'm running fast or I'm running slow, I've never thought of
it as being a patient thing. I think of patience is more like, I’m waiting. I
don't think of running as waiting. But what he's saying here is, we should have
forward motion, we should have an activity, not walking, running, but we should
do it with patience. What did the prophet Isaiah say about patience? They that
wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength (Isaiah 40:31). Right? The Scripture
says, in our patience, we renew our souls (Luke 21:9). Running this race with
patience and we get to renew our souls as we run this race. We get to revive
ourselves as we run this race. We need to stay focused as we, we get to be able
to look. Let's read on. Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher
of our faith... The Alpha, the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Author
and the Finisher of our faith. When we run this race, we should do it eyes on
Jesus, eyes on Jesus. Amen? Eyes on Jesus. Some of us run this race and we get
so weighted down. He said, Let us lay aside every weight. We get so weighed
down with the rules and the regulations. Are there rules? Sure there are. If
you're screaming out loud right now as you were sitting in the sanctuary I
might ask you to please wait until I'm done talking. There's ways we interact
with people, right? I was watching a YouTube video because I was searching for
something yesterday. I came across a YouTube--this is not a political statement.
Whatever your political persuasion is, fine. But, I came across a YouTube video
of President Obama when he was in office and he was in the White House, and
they were at an event, a celebration. There was a heckler that showed up at the
event. I'm not sure exactly how the heckler got there, but he was loud,
obnoxious, ugly-voiced heckler. And he was going to shout down the President of
the United States and, I like the way President Obama handled it: he said,
"No, no, no, no, we're not going to do that.” He said, “I'm going to ask
you politely, right now, to stop. And if you do that, then you can stay.” And
then he went on with what he was there for, and the guy started screaming
again, the heckler. He said, "Now I've asked you once.” He said, "We're
not going to get to third. I am the president of the United States. You're in
my house. Right?” And I thought, "Well, good for you, Mr. President, way
to handle that.” Right? And then he went again. And this was, he said twice,
and we’re not going to get to three, and the next thing he said was,
“Security.” And the president just said, “Security.” So he talked to the heckler twice, he didn't
talk to the heckler the third time; the third time he talked to security. They
ushered him out, and everybody applauded and he went on with the event and, I
thought, "Well done, Mr. President. Well done, Mr. President, way to
handle the situation.” And there are guidelines, and there are rules, and there
are things we should do a certain way. There's a way that things should be done
in decency and in order, right? Sometimes we pick up weights that have nothing
to do with the way things are, it’s just the way we think, it's the way we
always did things. And we heard… I'm going to try something, so I could move around. If I
talk without the microphone, can you hear me, ok? Can you hear me in the back?
Ok. If anybody, you can't hear me at some point, raise your hand. I'll change,
but I want to just be able to move around for a little bit. Okay, okay. Did you
hear the story about the lady that was cooking the ham? And it was the first
time that she had cooked a ham for her family. She was a newlywed. They'd been
married a few months, not a whole year yet. She was cooking a ham for her
family, and she was pretty excited about it. And this is not a joke; this is
one of those stories that makes a point, and, so, she was cooking the ham. She
got out the pan and she cut the ends off the ham. And her husband said to her,
“You know what? when I was growing up, and my mom always cooked ham, and she
never cut the ends off. Why do you cut the ends off?” Then, she said, “I don't
know, let's call mom and find out.” So they called her mom, and she said,
"Hey, mom, how come we cut the ends off when we cook the ham?” And she
said, "I don't know, let's call your grandma.” So she called grandma, and
she said, "Hey, grandma, why is it that when we cook a ham we always cut
the ends off?” And she said, "Because my oven’s too small.” Sometimes we
do things because that's how we've always done them. And, I really believe what
Paul is saying here in Hebrews, twelve, is don't do things just because that's
the way you've always done them. Find out if it's the right thing to do, and
the right way to do it. Amen? He said, “Laying aside every weight and sin,
which doth do so easily beset us let us run with patience the race that is set
before us.” Amen? And that's what you and I are called to do: Run with patience
the race that is set before us. Now I want unmask the devil as we see what
Paul’s talking about to Hebrew Christians in this passage here. What Paul is
saying is, “Look, the devil is trying to get you to major on the minors. The
devil is trying anything to get you to focus on things that don't matter
instead of things that do matter. There are some things that matter, and we, as
Christians, need to focus on what does matter. And if we're not careful, the
devil will get you to focus on what doesn't matter. Amen? Anybody here ever
played baseball? Anybody ever been a good hitter in baseball? You gotten up to bat
and you were… Several of you. Okay, what do you have to focus on when you're at
bat? The ball? Yeah, you don't care if the guy on first is trying to steal
second, right? Your concern is you, the pitcher, and the ball, right? If you
start worrying about whether that guy is trying to steal second—I don't know,
am I wrong? Baseball players, you know, does the batter worry about that? No,
because that's his job. He's got to figure out if he can steal second. If you
don't know anything about baseball, all I'm talking about is people on a field
playing a game got their position and you've got to focus on what your job is.
And sometimes as Christians, we start focusing on things that don't matter. We
get all bound up in our mind in our heart and we are worrying about things that
don't matter. Saints, if I could leave you with something today: Run with
patience the race that is set before you. It's a personal race. It's a personal
challenge. And if the devil can get us to focus on things that don't matter,
here the writer calls it a weight or a sin. They’re separate things. A weight
isn't a sin, it's just something that slows you down. A weight isn't a sin,
it's just something that slows you down. But a sin is something that will
divide you from God. He says let us run with patience the race that is set
before us looking unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith who, for
the joy—who, for the joy, when he was going to the cross, He was looking at the
joy that was beyond it. And sometimes we're going to the cross, in the day of
our life, in this moment of our life, it's like our cross. Look for the joy
that's beyond it, amen? I have never seen a mother holding a three-month old
and when you say what a beautiful baby, she says, "You should have seen
how it hurt when I was delivering this.” If you have, she needs counselling.
I'm just saying it did hurt, it was a big challenge, it was painful, but she
looked for the joy of the process, not the pain of the process. Amen? Did you
ever see anyone being interviewed after winning, let's say, the Super Bowl, and
they say, "Oh, I think I bought broke my thumb.” No, they're looking at
the joy of victory. Amen? They're looking at the joy of victory, and sometimes
the devil tries to get us on the agony of defeat instead of the joy of the
victory, looking for the joy. He says, “...who, looking for the joy that was
set before Him, endured the cross.” Saints, if you haven't found it out yet,
maybe you're a brand new Christian, you haven't found out that there’s some
enduring to do as a Christian. There's some enduring to do as a Christian. You
are going to be misunderstood. You're going to have some problems. You're going
to get fired when it was your coworker that should have gotten fired. Life is
like that. I'm not saying, "So what?” You've got to deal with it.
Sometimes you've got to challenge it, and fight for your rights, and I'm fine
with all that. But you better realize, right now, we're going to have to endure
this life, if we're going to hear, "Well done, thou good and faithful
servant,” at the end, amen? You know who's going to hear, "Well good, well
done, thou good and faithful servants?” Good and faithful servants. Amen? What
does it take to be a good and faithful servant? Enduring to the end. Keep
fighting this good fight of faith. Don't stop. Don't quit when the going gets rough. You've
heard it: When the going gets rough, the rough get going. When the going gets
tough, the tough get tougher, right? Sometimes we're supposed to go through
challenges because it builds our character as it builds our faith. Think about
this. The Bible is clear that God won't put more on us than we can bear. If
you're writing notes, I'm making reference to First Corinthians, ten, thirteen.
There is other passages that say that, but in First Corinthians, ten, thirteen,
a piece of the passage is, “Who will not allow us to be suffered above that
which ye are able,” which means he won’t let us be tempted in a way that's
bigger than we have to endure it. We're talking about endurance in Hebrews
twelve right now. So, God won't allow us to suffer above that, which you are
able. Step out of that story for a minute I'll be right back to it. Look at Job
if you're familiar with the Old Testament story of Job. On a scale of one to
ten, how much do you think Job suffered? Ten. Ten, eleven, I don't know. I
don't know how he put up with it. Job suffered a lot, didn't he? Job was going
through trials, and challenges, and tribulations beyond anything I can
comprehend beyond anything I've ever had to go through. And if you read chapter
two verse, one is in all this Job not sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. I
love that, I'm thinking, “I love you, Job! I want to be like you, Job!” Yeah,
WWJD. What would Job do? I'm being facetious, don't stone me. But, read the
last chapter of Job. Before the end, God had to come back to Job and say,
"Excuse me, excuse me,” this is a loose paraphrase, "Where were you
when I was creating the Heavens and the Earth, putting the whales in the ocean?
Excuse me, Job, do you think you're all that? Remember, I gave you the air in
your lungs.” So sometimes we’re heroes, and sometimes we have to be reminded
that we couldn't even take a breath, but for God. Amen? That's life. Run with
patience the race that is set before you. Look for the joy that's beyond
whatever it is you're having to endure. Let the church say amen. There's joy to
come. Amen? There's joy to come. Let's go on and see what else, he said. He
said, “Who endured the cross despising the shame...” I'm in the middle of verse
two, “...and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” And, verse
three: Hebrews
12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners... You know you're going to have to endure some contradiction
of sinners if you're going to live for God. That's the world we live in. That's
why he started with lay aside the weights, lay aside the sin. You've got to
decide what you are going to carry with you and what you're going to leave. I'm
going to say that again. You've got to decide what you're going to carry with
you and what you're going to leave and let go, amen? And He sat down on the
right hand... For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners
against himself. Why? Lest ye be weary
and faint in your minds. That's why you have to lay aside the weight, because,
if you don't, you'll get weary. If you don't, you're going to faint. If you
don't, you're not going to make it. There are some of you, you've had this
experience, you're driving cross country and you get to the desert lands and
they say, "Last chance for gas for the next 280 miles,” or whatever it is,
right? "Last chance for water for the next...” however long, you don't
want to ignore a sign like that, "Ah, they don't mean that.” A hundred and
fifty miles later, you're sitting there on the side of the road with your hood
up. The people are driving by going, "Ha, ha. He can't read. Ha, ha.” You
don't want to ignore that. You don't want to ignore this warning that if you're
not careful you can get weary. If you're not careful, you'll get tired. Debby
said it in her testimony, or maybe her sermon may be more accurate. Debby said,
"You know what? We’re the same as you; we get discouraged. We get tired;
we need someone to lift our hands up when we fall down.” If you don't know that
it's a Scriptural reference to how do you win the battle (Exodus 17:10-12). Let
me say that another way: We know how to ask someone for encouragement when we
need it.” Sometimes there is no one there to do it; think of David, in that
story, he had to encourage himself. Even his closest people, his closest
allies, his strongest soldiers weren't there to encourage him; they wanted to
stone him (1 Samuel 30:1-6). It's a fabulous story. He had to encourage
himself, but you know what? he didn't have to encourage himself without the
Lord. You know, I like that he encouraged himself. I think of the phrase,
sometimes when I think of that David encouraging himself, “a self-made man;” he
didn’t do it without the Lord. David did not encourage himself without the
Lord. And you will never have to encourage yourself without the Lord. Isn't
that great? Isn't that great to know that you'll never have to encourage
yourself without the Lord? He's always there. He's as close as the whisper of
His name. Hallelujah, hallelujah. The Bible said He'll never leave you nor
forsake you (Hebrews 13:5), hallelujah. So, let's go to Romans. Where's that at from Hebrews? Let's
turn left go back that way. You'll find it, right between Acts and the Pauline
Epistles. Let's see what we find in Romans chapter twelve. So, Romans, now,
it's a similar situation that happens in Romans chapter twelve. You remember
who the writer was writing to in Hebrews twelve? To Hebrew Christians. To Jews
who had the Jewish background and guidelines in their life, right? And what
they had to overcome, what they had to come out of, was Judaism—not saying
there's anything wrong with it, but Jesus came and completed it. Amen? And he's
saying, don't carry all of your Jewish traditions; some of them have been
completed and fulfilled, and we don't have to do them anymore. He said
circumcision no longer profits you anything (Romans 2:25-29). There are certain
things that you don't have to do anymore, you can do them, but you don't have
to do them anymore. Amen? We okay? We don't have to do them anymore. Be
careful, you don't carry a weight through the race you shouldn't be carrying,
it will slow you down, it will hinder you. So, now, what we have in Romans,
chapter twelve, is he's speaking to people in Rome who didn't have those
traditions, but they had other traditions. Romans 12:1 I beseech you
therefore, brethren, [we're in Romans chapter twelve in verse one now.] by the mercies of God, that ye present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [...which is your
amazing service. Did I get something wrong?] which is your reasonable service. Huh, Saints? You know what? that's what we're supposed to
be doing: Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God. I
don't know, I want an award, how about you? I presented my body a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable. Don't you think I should get something? No,
that's your reasonable service that's what you're supposed to do. I remember
the day my dad came home from work and I was about twelve years old. The lot
that I lived on was three quarters of an acre had a lot of trees on it. Just a
normal, rural lot that our modest home was on, that I grew up in, and I cut the
grass. It took quite a while because of all the trees and you had to trim
around all the trees. So, I spent the best part of the day as a twelve year old
cutting the grass. My dad came home and I wanted some ribbon for my uniform,
you know, I was looking for a big prize. And I said, Hey, dad, did you notice
how good the yard looks?” He said, “Yeah, I did notice that, Pete, thank you.”
And I said, “Anything you want to give me, or anything?” Then he said, “Yeah,
I've been thinking about that, since I got home.” He said, “I appreciate what
you did. How about you get to eat for free tonight?” And I'm thinking,
“Everybody's eating for free tonight here, aren't they, Dad?” And I said,
“You've never charged us for anything before,” and, he said, “That's sort of
the point. That's your reasonable service, son, thank you very much.” He didn't
say it, but now that I'm older, I'm thinking he might have been thinking it,
“While you were cutting the grass, I was out working really hard to pay for the
food we're going to eat tonight, so...” All right, he says, “Be not
conformed...” we're in verse two, “...to this world...” Do you realize how easy
it is to get conformed to this world? Do you realize how easy it is to get
conformed to this world? Debby and I were visiting our fellowship in
Jacksonville a couple of weeks ago, and I used this illustration. I heard a
preacher say this once, he said, “If you don't think you are conformed by this
world, let me give you a test. Think of a commercial that you saw recently,
that you would not have seen on TV ten years ago. I can think of lots of things
I see on television, billboards, and other places that you wouldn't have seen.
Things that make me go, “Really? Really?” I'm old enough that I get shocked by
things like that. I do. Billboards. Commercials. I saw a Victoria's secret
commercial the other night. There was no secret. I'm just saying. Some of you didn't know what I was talking
about. I'm just telling you, I don't think there was a secret there, okay? Be
not conformed. Back to the message, come on, guys. And be not conformed to this
world, but be what? Transformed. How? By the renewing of your mind. What? By
the renewing of your mind. No, no, the first part. What? Transformed. How? By the renewing of
your mind. Transformed. We're supposed to be made fresh, made new, made
different. Some of you know what a transformer is, It's, something that looks
like one thing and then you move some parts and it looks like something else,
right? How about you? Are you transformed by the renewing of your mind? Are you
changing into something new, something that is different than it was before?
What did the Bible say when old things are passed away? What follows that? All
things become new. Amen? Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. That's
how we're supposed to be changed. And you know what? we do it here in our mind.
And what the writer in Hebrews and what the writer here in Romans is saying,
it's not about how you act. It's not about how you look in public. It's not
about whether you wear a suit or a dress or you carry the big Bible. It's
about, are you transformed by the renewing of your mind? It's about how you
pray, how you think, and how you relate to God. Amen? By the renewing of your
mind. Do you have a renewed mind or are you being conformed to this world? It's
one or the other. It’s one or the other.
Be careful you don't get too conformed to this world. Be careful, be careful
you don't get too conformed to this world. You want to be different. He went on
to say, that ye may prove we're in the last part of verse two, here, of Romans
twelve. That ye may prove—I love the word prove. It's not used very often in
the Bible. That ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will
of God. That ye may prove—I love that. That ye may prove... How do you prove
what is that good and perfect and acceptable will of God? By the transforming
of your mind. By our renewed mind that is transformed by God. And you can do
that and I can do that. And it takes focusing on God's Word and God's life and
not being conformed to this this world, amen? “I don't know if I want to be
like that. You know people will think I'm weird,” I want people to think I'm
weird. Debby you did good today. It's like we compared notes. And I said, “You
lather them, and I'll shave them.” Yeah. That's a silly expression. I don't
know where it comes from. I know my dad used to say it. So what was the purpose of all that in the context of what
we're going through as a ministry today? Here, I'll tell you what the purpose
of that is. Here's the purpose. We've got to be careful not to get distracted
by things that might be good things to talk about. Politics, I don't know, some
of you are big political fans. Sports. Some of you are big sports fans. You
know what? Here's what I believe. We're going to survive regardless of who gets
elected, regardless of which team wins the Superbowl. By the way, who is likely
to win the. World Series? The Cubs again? That's what they say? Who else is likely to win the World Series?
Cleveland? They are smoking hot, aren't they? Yeah, the Indians. Guess what? we
are going to be Christians no matter who wins. Amen? And in the next
presidential election, if a Democrat gets elected or a Republican gets elected,
I'm still going to Heaven, amen? You and me, amen? I have some thoughts on
that; I won't say them here. Amen? But I'll tell you this. I'm going to Heaven
regardless. And some of you are so excited about politics that you think we’re
going to Hell if this person doesn't get elected. I don't believe that. I
believe I'm going to Heaven, regardless of who gets elected. Because I've elected
Jesus Lord of my life because God gave me a chance to vote for Him, He gave me
a chance to say yes. I've got a couple of other verses here. What's my next
verse? Galatians five, sixteen through twenty-six. Let's read that. Galatians
five, we'll start at verse sixteen. Thank you very much. In your Bible, is
Galatians in the New Testament? In verse
sixteen of Galatians five, Apostle Paul writes to the church in Galatia. What
does he say? He said, “This, I say, then, walk in the spirit.” “This, I say, then,
walk in the spirit.” I am going to do it one more time. “This, I say, then,
walk in the spirit.” What's the importance of walking in the spirit? Say it out
loud with me: “...For ye shall not
fulfill the lust of the flesh.” And ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Let's go from the back to the front. Some of you that know me, know that I like
to do that with verses, sometimes, go from the back to the front. Ye shall not
fulfil the lust of the flesh, If ye walk in the spirit. First Corinthians ten
thirteen, I made reference to it earlier. I'm going to come back to it now.
There is no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. But God is
faithful, who will not suffer you, or allow you, to be tempted above that which
you are able, but will, with the temptation, but will, with the temptation, but
will, with the temptation, make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it.
You've got a way out, or sometimes we think the devil made me do it. I didn't
have a choice. You had a choice and you decided to get in his car. Amen? You
had a choice. And you have a choice the next time he tempts you. So, here, he
says, in verse sixteen, and he said, “This, I say, then, walk in the spirit and
ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh,” then he goes on to say, “For the
flesh lusteth against the spirit.” This is so important for us to remember, as
Christians. Am I okay, time-wise? I've got a couple of minutes? What does he
say in verse seventeen? he says, “The flesh lusteth against the spirit...”
that's your flesh, that's my flesh, that's everybody's flesh. The flesh, what
does it do? lusts against the spirit. So, we've got a spirit, right? We've got
God's spirit in our life. If you're not a Christian yet, become a Christian,
have God's spirit in your life. I don't know where everybody's at here. Maybe
you're already saved. If you're not, this is your invitation today, accept
Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, He stands at the door and He knocks, and
He says whosoever—amen—I don't care what you did in the past. Honest. Honest,
you want to find some bad people that became good Christians? I could show it
to you in here. One of them is a person who we're reading his words right now,
Paul, yeah, he was a bad dude. If he went to prison, he'd have been feared. But
he got saved, and he had a tender heart. Then he said, in verse seventeen, the
flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. These are
contrary one to another so that you cannot do the things that you would. Paul
is saying this is going to be an ongoing battle. You're going to have to endure
some things in this life if you're going to be saved. Don't think it—I'm gonna
borrow some words from Peter now: “Think it not strange concerning the fiery
trial...” Amen. Think it not strange concerning this fiery trial. You know what? We're all tempted. We all have trials. We
all have challenges. But the real part of what I'm trying to share with you
today is, don't get distracted by things that don't have an eternal
significance. I am going to say that again, don't get distracted by things that
don't have an eternal significance. Amen? If you get distracted by something
that doesn't have eternal significance, you’re wasting time. And you're not
running the race with patience that is set before you. If you're with me, say
amen. And he said here in verse eighteen, he said, “But if ye be led by the
spirit you are not under the law...” listen to that, Saints. Somebody came to
hear that verse today. If ye be led of the spirit— remember when we read in
Romans twelve and in Hebrews twelve people were holding on to things they
shouldn't hold on to? In Hebrews, it was the law. In Hebrews, it was the law;
it was the way it was. He said, if you're led by the spirit you're not under
the law. Amen? We don't live under the law. Amen? Under the law, you have to be good enough to go to Heaven.
We don't have to be good enough to go to Heaven, we have to accept One who is;
One who shed his blood for us, Jesus Christ. It's by the grace of God that were
saved, amen? We are not saved by our good works. And that's the danger of
holding on to good works. Now, Romans, six, one, says, “What then, shall we
continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead
to sin live any longer therein?” Amen? What it's basically saying is Grace
covers sin, but that doesn't mean we should choose sin, amen? But if we sin, we
have an advocate with the Father. Amen? Amen? I'm thankful for that advocate
with the Father. How about you? I am thankful that Jesus is my Lord and Savior
and advocate. Amen? I am not saved because I'm good enough, I'm saved because
He was willing. Because He was sinless and went to the cross and shed His
blood, amen? He made the invitation to you, to me, amen. I don't mean He made
the invitation to you through me, I
mean, he made the invitation to you and also to me. I am not trying to connect
your salvation to me. Clear? Okay, good. “I think that means I have to go
through Pastor Paine.” No, I didn't mean that. We, okay? Let's read on. What verse
are we in, like eighteen, maybe? Oh, we're on nineteen, now. Now, the works of
the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness
lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulation, wrath,
strife, seditions, heresies. I taught on these recently; you could spend a
whole message just on these points, and break each one down. But for right now,
I'm going to group them all together and then make a powerful point, I believe
that the writer wants us to get from this. Our envying, murders, we're in verse
twenty-one drunkenness, reveling and such like of which I tell you before.
Listen, as I told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not
inherit the kingdom of God. Now, does everybody understand, at least, maybe not
understand every detail—some of those words are not modern English, but you
understand that list in concept, show of hands? You understand that list of
things in concept, okay? Is there anybody here, you can tell me you've never
done any of those things ever in your life? We're all going to Hell if we go by
the law. You with me? Let's read and see what follows. But the fruit of the
spirit is love joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance, against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's
have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the
spirit, let us also walk in the spirit. If we live in the spirit, let us also
walk in the spirit. If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit.
Amen? Saints, we have Grace. Let's be careful not to use the Law as an excuse.
To make guidelines that God doesn't intend for us to have. Now, let me flip
that over and come at it from the other side. Let's be careful not to use Grace
as an excuse. I am getting ready to wrap up, whoever is going to follow me
here. Let's be careful not use Grace as an excuse to sin any way we want. Amen?
Amen? But if we make it so hard to be a Christian that we have to live by the
Law then we frustrate— Galatians two twenty, if you're writing notes, Galatians
two, twenty and twenty-one, we frustrate the grace of God, amen? Turn to that,
if you would, please. I want to read that, Galatians two, those two verses
together: I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for
me. Someone was reading it, check me if I'm wrong. I live by faith—I need to
read that, Galatians2:20-21. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me...”
There you go. Thank you. That was
the word that I wasn't getting. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I
live yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I live now, in the
flesh, I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and gave himself for
me. Debby, could you go to the organ? I'm getting ready to close so help me as
I do. I do not frustrate the Grace of God for if righteousness come by the law.
Saints, that's it right there. He said, I do not frustrate the grace of God for
if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. For if
righteousness, come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. Righteousness
doesn't come by the Law, it comes from Christ, amen? In the Old Testament it
had to come by our good works. And in the New Testament, it comes by Christ.
I'm thankful that we have Grace. I'm thankful that we are forgiven. And now we
have to live like it, and now we have to live like it. Lord help us to not frustrate you. Help us to accept Your
righteousness. Lord, thank You for Your words, I thank You for Your truth.
There's any, here, Lord, today that have not yet accepted You as Lord and
Savior, Let them know that You're calling them. Even though the message wasn't
preached on salvation. If there's any
here today that have not accepted You as Lord and Savior, let them come, and
let them speak to someone, and take action.
Your Word talks about being buried with You in baptism, raised to walk
in newness of life. .
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