WEBVTT

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Hey everyone, all right, so today we are going to talk about the difference between living

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right versus living righteously.

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So right versus righteous.

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This is important because this is the, what we're talking about here with right versus

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righteous is the difference of approach that we're taking to our relationship with God

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and living out this Christian life.

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What we've been doing is we've been focusing so much on trying to do what is right, which

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is performance as opposed to approaching things from the perspective that we are righteous

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and we're living from righteousness and the way that we do that is faith.

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So instead of performance, God says that the approach that we need to be making not only

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in our relationship with him, but in living our life and designing our life, you know,

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we've been talking about designing our life.

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What do we want our life to be?

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How, what are we building towards?

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How do we approach life on the offense?

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In other words, we're creating something as opposed to reacting to something coming at

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us.

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We're instead intentionally going into something, creating it.

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The way that God wants us to approach that is not performance, but rather, but rather

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by faith living out of our righteousness.

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So we'll be talking about that.

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First of all, though, I wanted to mention, and cause I always mention a spiritual struggle

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that I was going through that will always relates to the, whatever topic that we're

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talking about that day.

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And this particular one was, is focusing on when you're experienced spiritual burnout,

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spiritual burnout is where, so burnout just in general is where you feel that you is what

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happens when you have been pouring out more than you're being replenished by.

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So in other words, you feel that you were pouring out something that you don't feel

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that you're getting a return.

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If you're pouring out and you're expecting to get a return for something, you feel that

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burnout happens when you're pouring out more than what you feel you're getting in return

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and burnout.

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And, and really what's happening in the background is even though that's our perspective, that

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Hey, I'm pouring into this thing.

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That's not giving me something equal in return.

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What's really happening is that burnout is happening when we are pouring out and we're

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not being replenished.

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We're not actually being filled that our, our, our source is being, is running dry,

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as opposed to us always relying on some source to fill us up from the outside.

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So whenever you have, which always should be the Lord.

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So whenever you're experiencing burnout, it's that you're pouring out faster than you can

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be refilled.

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Um, so spiritual burnout specifically, uh, is, was what can happen when we are weary

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in serving God.

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That's how we'll phrase it.

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That's how meaning like, that's how we phrase it to ourselves.

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I am just, I felt like I am serving the Lord and I am working for him and I'm obeying him

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and I'm doing all of these things and I'm, and what I'm getting of my relationship with

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him in return, my feeling of connection with him, my feeling of, I don't know, being loved

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by him, my fear, my, um, having the X, Y, and Z work out in my life.

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I'm not, I don't feel like what I'm getting in return equals what I'm investing.

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So I feel that he isn't meeting me at least halfway.

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I feel like I'm doing the majority of the work and therefore it, what I'm getting in

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return isn't worth the amount that I'm, it doesn't equal what I'm pouring into it.

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And so we can get burnout.

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Now it just simply means that we're having the wrong approach to it.

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Not that, um, and that's why we actually get burned out.

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We're not using what we've been pouring into something is actually being sourced from something

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that has an end to it as opposed to being sourced from something that is of the Lord

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himself and therefore it never ends.

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It's of spirit, therefore it's eternal, therefore you're always filled.

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You never get depleted.

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And so if you're experiencing burnout, it means that there is a, uh, you're using, you've

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come to the end of the wrong, of the source that you're using, which is, which means it's

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the flesh.

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If you're coming to the end of it, it means it's the flesh because everything of the flesh

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has an end to it.

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In other words, everything leads to death.

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It's limited.

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It's not eternal.

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It's not, you know, you always have it.

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Well, there's a limitedness to it is like in the, uh, in the prodigal son story.

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free, where the father gives the son his inheritance as they inherit, as the son

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asked, but when he, he takes the money outside of the father's estate, the

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money eventually runs out.

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It's not eternal.

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Why?

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Because he's not on the father's estate.

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If he stayed on the father's estate, he'd for eternity get to benefit from

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the father's, from his inheritance from the father, because it would never end.

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But because he took a limit, took the amount outside of the father's estate,

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he eventually ran through it.

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So if we're experiencing burnout, you know, if we're tired of serving God,

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if we become weary and well-doing, it means that we're using our flesh as the

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source, and so that's a problem.

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It means that we're working and approaching life from, from trying to do

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the right thing instead of what God says that we should be doing, which is we're,

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which is serving him and approaching life from who it is that we are, which

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is our righteousness.

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Um, so the, that is, is what I had experienced in my spiritual burnout state.

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I was just tired of everything that I felt like I was doing to serve the Lord,

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always obeying him, always doing what I thought he wanted me to do, but I never,

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I thought that I could never do what I wanted to do.

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And I just, I felt that what I was getting in return didn't equal the

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amount that I was sacrificing.

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I felt that I wasn't as close to the Lord as I was wanting to be.

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And as I thought that I should be for the amount of effort and investment

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and sacrifice that I had made.

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And the spiritual burnout did not come overnight.

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It came over years.

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I don't remember how long that it took before it probably took, I don't know,

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at least two decades, technically three, but we'll just say two, um,

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two, two and a half decades, something like that of me just continuing to try

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to do the right thing, thinking that that's what was expected of me in life.

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And eventually I just ran dry.

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I'm like, Lord, I am tired.

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I don't know how on earth I'm supposed to keep this up because I'm all, I'm

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trying to always do the right thing.

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And yet it doesn't feel like you're appreciating it appropriately.

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And you're not meeting me halfway.

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You're not following through on your end of the bargain.

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You said, if I do these things, I should expect these things.

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And Lord, it's not happening.

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And so if it's not happening, then it means I'm approaching it incorrectly.

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Not that God's not meeting his end of the deal.

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Um, so in the spiritual burnout, I just mentioned this, uh, this passage

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where we see that Job experiences the same thing that we experience and that,

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and he expresses it in the same way that makes us feel so Job seven, one through

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three, do not mortals have hard service on earth or not their days like those

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of hired laborers, that's what I felt like in my relationship with the Lord.

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I just felt like this hired labor, like a slave longing for the evening shadows.

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I would just beg God for a bit of relief, a bit of relief from all of the pressure

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or just please, would you stop for a while?

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Could I just have a bit of relief?

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Um, could I have a season Lord?

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I would pray this all the time.

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Lord, could I just have a season where you didn't require so much of me?

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That's how I would word it to him or a higher labor waiting to be paid.

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So like a slave longing for the evening shadows or a hired

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labor waiting to be paid.

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So I have been allotted months of utility.

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In other words, you're doing all of this stuff and you feel like you're

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not getting anything accomplished.

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And nights of misery have been assigned to me.

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And that's how we feel in those, in those moments, in those

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times of spiritual burnout.

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Instead though, God doesn't want us to approach life from a perspective of

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always trying to do the right thing and avoid the wrong thing.

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Instead.

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He says, I want you to live by faith.

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Um, I want you to live out of your righteousness that I've given to you in

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Christ, because you're now have your righteousness is what you inherited with

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Christ.

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You have Christ's righteousness.

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He says, I want you to live out of who it is that you are out of your

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righteousness, which matches my character.

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I want you to live out of my character, just like Adam and Eve did in the garden.

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That's how they lived.

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They lived out of God's character.

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And it mentions in Genesis that until they ate from the tree of the

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knowledge of good and evil, they didn't know the difference between good and

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evil, but they were perfect.

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They were without sin because they were operating and just living by an

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approaching life from the, from God's character of righteousness, not trying

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to do the right thing and avoid the wrong thing.

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Um, so here in, um, uh, in John one through three, we're about to, that

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we're about to look at is it's, God is encouraging us that there's no right

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thing that we have to make sure to do.

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you and wrong thing that we have to make sure to avoid because he wants this.

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He doesn't want us to live based off of trying to perform and do something and

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match ourself up to a specific standard of what, by avoiding these things

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and doing these things instead, he said, no, choose that you already are the

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thing because receive me and my righteousness and then live from that

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righteousness live by that character of my righteousness and my goodness,

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because I, because if you live according to my character, which is in your DNA,

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you will always do the good thing.

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And the right thing, not this right thing, this right thing, the thing that is

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always, in other words, you'll always operate out of who God is, not out of

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the, not checking off some lists, some arbitrary list outside of God of do

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this type of thing where you get this specific action and you get this

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specific outcome while avoiding these specific outcomes by avoiding these

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specific actions, God said, no, no, no, no.

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Just live according to my character, forget the outcomes and just

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live according to my character.

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And then you'll always do the right thing because you're

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doing your, you're living my character.

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Not that you're doing the right thing, but you're doing the right thing.

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Hopefully that makes sense.

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We'll be talking more about that.

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So in first John three, nine, it says, whoever's been born of God does not

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sin for his seed remains in him and cannot sin because he has been born of God.

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So we can no longer sin.

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So there's not this.

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So we don't have to worry about matching an arbitrary list of do's and don'ts

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outside of God and outside of ourselves.

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God said, no, we're already reverted back to Adam and Eve before the garden.

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That we can't sin.

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Remember that's in your spirit, your spirit man, which is one with God

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cannot sin because remember that sin is simply unbelief.

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We'll be talking about that today and we'll be showing multiple

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scripture verses that talk about the fact that sin is actually unbelief.

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So God says, you can't your spirit that is now one with Christ because of what

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you chose out of in your faith in, in Christ and what he did for you.

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It cannot sin.

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It can't not believe God.

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It always believes God.

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It's impossible for your spirit, which is one with Christ to not

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believe the being that it's one with.

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And that's, it's literally impossible.

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It's not like, and it's because you're one with him.

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So to not believe him would mean that you were, that you were separated from

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him in some way and could choose whether or not you believed him.

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But because you've already made that choice, you've been united with him and

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you can no longer make this choice that he doesn't, that, that it to not believe him.

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So, which is fine, very fascinating, but anyway, um, the God says that we know

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that that aspect of ourselves, that spirit no longer sin, so we don't have,

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there's not some, some potential or threat of unbelief that we have to make

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sure to do all of these things, not do these things in order to avoid, in order

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in order to try to not, in order to try to believe God and avoid not believing God.

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We don't have to do that anymore.

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He's like, that's already who you are.

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And so just live out of who you are and everything will be fine.

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You'll always believe me and you won't not believe me.

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Um, so let's talk about, let's go pull up my notes here.

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So what we're talking about is the difference between, um, you know, this

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over here between, um, behavior and action versus be talking and be putting

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right over here and righteous over here.

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We're talking about the difference between, um, living out of our behavior

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and action and the outcome that we're trying to get versus by it and basically

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performance versus righteousness, the character of God, our character, faith.

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That's the difference that we're talking about.

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And when we've been doing this, we get spiritual burnout because it's like the

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prodigal son taking the inheritance of the father and leaving the estate.

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It's like it eventually runs out.

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It has, it's limited.

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It only has, so it only has so much, so much life in it.

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I always say in other words, not life in it, but it can only last so long.

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There's an end to it, but if he always lives with, but like in righteousness,

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if he always lives within his father's estate, well, then he always has access

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to everything that his father has.

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Just like what the father told the older son, he's like, you've always

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had access to everything that I have.

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You just need to grab it.

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Right.

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Um, so righteous.

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And then, um, we need to understand that righteousness is

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bound in faith, not performance.

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So our righteousness being right with God, being of, and really

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it's more than being right with God.

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I know that that's how we've always phrased that.

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We've always phrased it, but righteousness is being like God is.

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We already are like God in our character.

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We carry that within our DNA because we're one with Christ.

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We were born from God originally, and we've been reunited

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with him by choice, by our choice.

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And therefore Christ's righteousness was imputed to us.

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It was given to us and it's now our righteousness.

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So it, our righteousness is found in faith by believing God, not in performance.

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So being like God can only happen if we receive the free gift and we

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receive that we already are it, not by doing things that look like God.

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It's a very, very important distinction that we have to actually

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choose God and live from his spirit.

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That is the only thing that counts.

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Doing something that looks like something God would do and treating people like

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God would treat them and doing what Jesus would do, you know, even though we

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had that WWJD for a while, whatever, a big mantra that people would use, doing

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what Jesus would do is not righteousness.

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That's just doing the right thing.

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Any non-believer can do that.

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This doesn't count.

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Like literally it doesn't count.

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In fact, if you do any of these things, trying to get, get some benefits from the

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Lord, then it means you're trying to earn it and it means you can't get it.

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Anything that you try to earn, you can't receive.

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We'll be talking about that in a minute.

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I don't want to get ahead of myself because we're going to be referencing,

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uh, we'll be reading a scripture verse that talks about it, but so remember

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that, that righteousness also is a gift.

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It's not a wage, meaning like it's not payment for something

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that you've done in exchange.

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Um, even believing God is not something that we've done.

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And then we've gotten this thing in exchange.

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A lot of times we think of it like that, but remember even faith

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itself is a gift from the Lord.

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It talks about that in the Bible.

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It says faith is a gift from God.

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And it's not something that you, you gifted to God.

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And then now he's going to give you something in exchange for that gift.

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No, he's the one who gave you the faith.

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You're the one who you chose to act on that faith.

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I'm like, okay, God, I choose you.

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And then he's like, okay, because you chose me.

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This is what comes with me.

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You're the one who chose me.

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And this is what, and the, and when you chose me and you took something

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and you received me into yourself, this is everything that you received.

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You received all of these things.

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You grabbed it.

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I offered it first.

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And I'm the one who gave you the faith to be able to choose me.

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And then you made the choice.

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Now you've received me and you've inherited all of this.

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Um, and then, so it can only be received, not earned.

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Righteousness, righteousness over here can only be received, not earned.

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Um, and that means again, like I said, that if you try to earn this, you can't get it.

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It's not like a lot of times what we've done is we hear about the grace of the

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Lord, but, and, and that he gives gifts to us and that we have to risk in that

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it has to be a free gift and that he gives it to us without us earning it.

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We hear that, but just in case, and to cover up any extra gaps that might be in

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there, we, we think, okay, well, while God's gifting is this, I'm also going to do

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these things, but that's the problem.

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If you're doing something to try to earn it, it nullifies him giving it to you.

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So it doesn't come.

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Why?

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Because you tried to earn.

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It's more than like, oh, well, it just doesn't count.

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So God gave it to you, despite you trying to earn it.

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That is not what happens.

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If you try to earn it, it will cancel out the gift and it won't come.

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It's that serious of a deal.

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There's one example of how that is manifested and how God expresses this in scripture and

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explains this principle to us thousands of years ago, where he said, hey, the priests

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need to wear linen tunics.

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Linen was expensive, I believe, back then.

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It's like it is more now.

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It's a finer fiber and it's just not as common, I think, because of the process that it has

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to go through in order to make it the way that it is in any way.

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So the priests had to wear linen.

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They couldn't wear cotton or anything else.

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And it's because linen is so breathable, like the good linen.

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Now, if you get cheap linen, it's not breathable, but if you get the good linen, it is breathable

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because they and they and it needed to be very wicking, you know, so that so that there's

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no because the priests were not allowed to sweat in God's presence, because remember

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that it talked about sweat as being something that came with the fall, that it's it was

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a sign of man trying to strive and earn something out of his flesh because he chose to do that

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when he ate from the garden of Eden, he chose to do that instead of relying on the Lord

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to gift him things makes him fully dependent on the Lord.

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He chose instead, hey, I want to try to determine outcomes by myself by looking at what it by

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knowing the difference between good and evil and formulating a plan of how to use these

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good things and how to avoid these bad things and then be able to get and be able to determine

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get a particular result and therefore be able to determine my own destiny and determine

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my own outcomes, determine what happened.

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And that leaves me not depending on the Lord, but I can at least try to do some stuff on

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my own.

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But remember that it was it was a in either or choice.

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Adam couldn't gain and continue to get all the benefits from the Lord and do stuff on

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his own.

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Now, once he made that choice, God said, you made your choice for not me.

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Here's me and you had you're with me.

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And now you chose the not me.

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You chose to do it on your own.

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And anyway, so sweat was always was always a is always a sign or a or a symbol or an

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expression that God uses of man working for something out of his own flesh.

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And it said that the priests were not allowed to sweat in his presence like they weren't

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allowed.

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So it's it were we can't even try to earn something, because if we try, then it's

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going to nullify the gift.

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It's there's a word that I keep looking for, not and it's not nullify.

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I can just keep using all that neutralize.

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It neutralizes the gift.

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It's like the gift can no longer come.

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It hinders the gift from coming because we're working for it.

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So if you want something from the Lord, whether it's this breakthrough risk, you know, it's

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even faith, it's anything.

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If there is something if there's aspects of the Lord that we desire, we have got to stop

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trying for them.

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It's why I say in the rest intensive that one of the key words that you look for to

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determine whether or not you're striving or you're working is are you using the word

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trying with yourself or with God?

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You know, I'm really trying.

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OK, there's there's the word right there.

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You go.

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I'm trying.

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We have to just effortlessly receive it.

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And then that's what we're going to be talking the rest of the time about is how do we

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effortlessly receive?

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So if we're not supposed to do, which is so much a habit for us, what on earth do we

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do instead?

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How do we live otherwise?

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OK, so if you want something from God, you have to stop trying.

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You have to stop doing anything for it.

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OK, so God wants us to seek him, but not strive.

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Oh, I'm pulling up the wrong book.

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He wants to just seek him, but not strive.

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So you and that's what faith is.

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Remember, we talked about that with it last time at the time before last about what seeking

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actually means.

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It's a leaning towards and a yearning for the Lord, but it's not a working for him.

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It's not a it's not a.

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thinking that you're giving like something with thought within you that feels that it is it's it's

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exerting any effort towards God expecting God to give you something in return for

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your your efforts towards him that's not seeking him seeking him is looking for where he is which

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is what why I have in the in the journal the both of those questions that you ask at the beginning

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you know who does God say that he is and then who does God say that I am and then why in the evening

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reflections that say okay how did I see God today and how do I see myself today it's to teach us to

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always look for him to teach us actually how to seek him where is he where is his character not

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what is God doing for me how is God answering my prayers not that where is God and how is he showing

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up where is his character where is he working where is he moving that's what we're supposed

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to be looking for and it's seeking him but not striving for him okay so let's look at Romans

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4 I am reading by the way going to read and I chose this very strategically I'm going to be

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reading out of the passion translation and here's why it's something that we're very unfamiliar with

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now maybe one or both of you have the passion translation but it hasn't been around long

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enough for us to and especially not been talked it's not usually used in um in uh pulpits or in

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teachings or anything like that um and they use other translations instead they'll use the

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king james version or the niv or the nasb or whatever um but the reason that I wanted to use

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the passion translation is because it's unfamiliar if you're like me you've been in the church long

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enough where you've heard so you've heard so many scriptures over and over and over again

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that you've subconsciously memorized them you haven't quite memorized them but they're familiar

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enough where when you hear them there's an aspect of you that zones out and you're like oh yeah I

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already know this because you part you come to it with preconceived ideas of oh I know what that

401
00:27:19.360 --> 00:27:24.640
says oh yeah I remember oh yeah that's what God says and whatever but I want you to hear it fresh

402
00:27:24.640 --> 00:27:29.520
so regardless of what you think about the passion translation that hey I mean because it's probably

403
00:27:29.520 --> 00:27:35.840
like me I don't you I don't recommend using the passion translation to study the bible but the way

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that I use the passion translation is almost like a commentary think of the passion translation like

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00:27:41.040 --> 00:27:49.040
a commentary it is one person will two three people something like that their their interpretation

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00:27:49.680 --> 00:27:54.400
of what it was saying in greek or hebrew that's what commentaries are and we don't look at the

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commentaries as if they're scripture right so just think of the passion translation about it

408
00:28:00.240 --> 00:28:06.400
is like a commentary you're reading someone else's interpretation or expression to you trying to

409
00:28:06.400 --> 00:28:11.840
explain to you in different words what they believe that this means it's like reading Matthew

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00:28:11.840 --> 00:28:16.720
Henry's commentary or something like that so just kind of take it like that just use it as like this

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fresh way to hear scripture then I recommend that you take these same scripture verses and go look

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them up in your translation that you like kjv nasb niv you know whatever and and and that's where you

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can like study them more closely and like okay well what it got really say you know um whichever

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whichever translation that you um trust the most um it's being the most accurately um reflective of

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the original greek and hebrew okay so in the meantime though just listen to this as with

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fresh ears so romans 4 reading the whole chapter so let me use abraham as an example it is clear

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that humanly speaking he was the founder of judaism what was his experience of being made right with

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god was it by his good works of keeping the law no remember this is paul speaking for if it was by

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the things he he did he would have something to boast about remember if we do all of these things

420
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we've got something that we feel is earning something hey look kind of like that's where we

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00:29:19.200 --> 00:29:24.960
get spiritual burnout from i feel like i've done all of this and i haven't gotten enough in return

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right so we burn out this is for if it was by the things he did he would have something to boast

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about but no one boasts before god so listen to what the scriptures say because abraham believed

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god's words his faith transferred god's righteousness christ's righteousness into his

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account so that's what you have by believing god's words by believing what god said and choosing that

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that is actually reality that trend is

427
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is his faith, so that faith, believing God's words, transferred God's righteousness into

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Abraham's account.

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So it was simply by believing what God said is true makes you righteous.

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It's not by doing any of these things.

431
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You could have done everything backwards.

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You could have done all the bad things and avoided all the good things, but if you believed

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God's words, if you then chose, after all of that, you then chose to believe God's words,

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then God counts, considers you to be righteous.

435
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This is all he sees.

436
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He doesn't see this anymore.

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We're going to be talking about that, how God himself says he doesn't see this anymore.

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So when people work, they earn wages.

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It can't be considered a free gift because they earned it, but no one earns God's righteousness

440
00:30:57.160 --> 00:31:04.360
It can only be transferred when we no longer rely on our own works, but believe in the

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one who powerfully declares the ungodly to be righteous in his eyes.

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00:31:10.960 --> 00:31:18.240
It is faith that transfers, believing God, choosing that what God says is reality.

443
00:31:18.240 --> 00:31:25.320
It is faith, believing that what God says is actual reality, that transfers God's righteousness

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into your account.

445
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It is that easy.

446
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Is that hard?

447
00:31:29.160 --> 00:31:32.200
Because you have to actually believe that it's reality, not believe that it could happen,

448
00:31:32.200 --> 00:31:37.200
not wishful thinking, but believing that it's reality that makes you righteous.

449
00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:38.200
Period.

450
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End of story.

451
00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:41.260
And you haven't done any of these things.

452
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So therefore, once you do this, you don't have to do any of these things anymore.

453
00:31:45.020 --> 00:31:49.160
Do we not realize that it's not like, okay, well, we need to remember that, but we still

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need to keep these up.

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00:31:50.920 --> 00:31:52.320
Absolutely not.

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Paul talks about that in Galatians.

457
00:31:53.600 --> 00:31:56.160
He's like, why do you keep focusing on this?

458
00:31:56.160 --> 00:31:58.240
We don't need to worry about this anymore.

459
00:31:58.240 --> 00:32:06.880
We just focus on this only this, or I get this, it's not like, okay, well, we just don't

460
00:32:06.880 --> 00:32:07.880
need to rely on it anymore.

461
00:32:07.880 --> 00:32:08.880
No, no, no.

462
00:32:08.880 --> 00:32:09.880
Forget it.

463
00:32:09.880 --> 00:32:10.880
Only this.

464
00:32:10.880 --> 00:32:13.880
So we'll be talking more about all this, showing more scripture.

465
00:32:13.880 --> 00:32:14.880
Okay.

466
00:32:14.880 --> 00:32:18.720
Even King David himself speaks to us regarding the complete wholeness that comes inside a

467
00:32:18.720 --> 00:32:21.960
person wholeness, you're completely whole.

468
00:32:21.960 --> 00:32:25.120
And I can attest to the fact that that is exactly how it feels.

469
00:32:25.120 --> 00:32:30.080
It feels like you're, like you're a circle that has completely come, had its ends put

470
00:32:30.080 --> 00:32:33.840
together and it's perfectly enclosed and it's impenetrable.

471
00:32:33.840 --> 00:32:39.400
You feel whole and the complete wholeness that comes inside a person when God's powerful

472
00:32:39.400 --> 00:32:45.940
declaration of righteousness is heard over our life, apart from our works, God's like

473
00:32:45.940 --> 00:32:47.240
apart from our works.

474
00:32:47.240 --> 00:32:49.600
So no more of our works.

475
00:32:49.600 --> 00:32:51.680
God's work is enough.

476
00:32:51.680 --> 00:32:56.600
Here's what David says, what happy fulfillment is ahead for those whose rebellion has been

477
00:32:56.600 --> 00:33:00.880
forgiven and whose sins are covered by blood.

478
00:33:00.880 --> 00:33:05.760
What happy progress comes to them when they hear the Lord speak over them, I will never

479
00:33:05.760 --> 00:33:09.360
hold your sins against you.

480
00:33:09.360 --> 00:33:10.360
So that's what I was saying.

481
00:33:10.360 --> 00:33:15.760
When I say we're going to come to the part where it says that God says he no longer holds

482
00:33:15.760 --> 00:33:20.600
these against you, no longer sees these and holds them against you and saying, Hey, look,

483
00:33:20.600 --> 00:33:23.240
you need to be making restitution for these.

484
00:33:23.240 --> 00:33:29.720
You need to be, you need to, uh, you need to bear consequences for these no more.

485
00:33:29.720 --> 00:33:33.400
He says, I will, because bearing consequences is holding something against you.

486
00:33:33.400 --> 00:33:35.680
It's like, Oh no, you still got to pay for it.

487
00:33:35.680 --> 00:33:38.280
There's no longer need to pay for it anymore.

488
00:33:38.280 --> 00:33:39.280
That's what Christ did.

489
00:33:39.280 --> 00:33:44.040
It's not like, Oh yeah, I got Christ paid for the possibility of like the keeping you

490
00:33:44.040 --> 00:33:46.600
from hell because you did these things.

491
00:33:46.600 --> 00:33:51.640
No, God said, I will never hold these sins against you at all.

492
00:33:51.640 --> 00:33:52.880
Not even on earth.

493
00:33:52.880 --> 00:33:54.400
Now think about it.

494
00:33:54.400 --> 00:33:58.680
Does this happiness only come to the, come only to the Jews or is it available to all

495
00:33:58.680 --> 00:33:59.960
who believe?

496
00:33:59.960 --> 00:34:07.400
Our answer is faith was credited to Abraham as God's righteousness, faith, not circumcision.

497
00:34:07.400 --> 00:34:09.400
How did he receive this gift of righteousness?

498
00:34:09.400 --> 00:34:14.080
Was he circumcised at the time God accepted him or was he still uncircumcised?

499
00:34:14.080 --> 00:34:18.320
Actually he was an uncircumcised Gentile when God said this of him, it was later that

500
00:34:18.320 --> 00:34:24.159
he received the external sign of circumcision as a seal to confirm that God had already

501
00:34:24.159 --> 00:34:26.239
transferred his righteousness.

502
00:34:26.239 --> 00:34:29.159
So that was just a sign that it had already happened.

503
00:34:29.159 --> 00:34:33.159
It's not some, so the reason that, that Paul is talking about circumcision and circumcision

504
00:34:33.159 --> 00:34:34.960
was a part of the law.

505
00:34:34.960 --> 00:34:40.000
And so people are wondering what happened first, the chicken or the egg was it the law?

506
00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:44.760
In other words, circumcision or was it the transfer of righteousness by faith?

507
00:34:44.760 --> 00:34:46.000
And Abraham was saying, no, no, no.

508
00:34:46.000 --> 00:34:52.360
It's very clear the order of operation that God, God gave him his righteousness because

509
00:34:52.360 --> 00:34:57.400
of Abraham's faith and be, and as a sign that that had happened, he's like, Hey, by the

510
00:34:57.400 --> 00:34:58.840
way, mark your body.

511
00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:06.240
concision. It was a sign that it had happened. It's not a requirement requirement to do because

512
00:35:06.240 --> 00:35:09.840
you've done this and you don't have to do that. And this can't get you this.

513
00:35:11.680 --> 00:35:16.080
Um, so in other words, works can't get you this, you have to do this.

514
00:35:16.080 --> 00:35:20.960
And all of that other stuff was just designed. This had actually happened. It was just a physical

515
00:35:20.960 --> 00:35:25.200
expression of something that had already happened. Remember in the spirit, physical expression of

516
00:35:25.200 --> 00:35:28.560
something that had happened in the spirit. We've been talking about that, you know,

517
00:35:28.560 --> 00:35:33.200
who it is that we are in the spirit and how does that train, who would, how we relate to the Lord

518
00:35:33.200 --> 00:35:37.440
and how we, how our relationship with the Lord has developed it to the, up to this point. And

519
00:35:37.440 --> 00:35:43.280
how does that physically get expressed? So back then between God and Abraham, this is how he

520
00:35:43.280 --> 00:35:51.200
chose to physically express how to express in the physical world, the point at which he and he and

521
00:35:51.200 --> 00:35:55.920
Abraham's relationship had developed. It happened to take on the form of circumcision with us.

522
00:35:55.920 --> 00:35:59.920
It takes on the form of other things, you know, a business or, or, you know, a relationship or

523
00:35:59.920 --> 00:36:05.280
whatever, or sometimes God will have us do do a specific thing. Um, but, um, anyway,

524
00:36:06.400 --> 00:36:12.720
um, so it was later that he received the external sign of circumcision as a seal to confirm that

525
00:36:12.720 --> 00:36:19.040
God had already transferred his righteousness to him by faith while he was still uncircumcised.

526
00:36:19.040 --> 00:36:25.280
So now this qualifies him to come the father of all who believe among the non-Jewish people who

527
00:36:25.280 --> 00:36:30.160
aren't circumcised, because apparently faith came before circumcision. So therefore anybody could

528
00:36:30.160 --> 00:36:36.400
access it, not only those who, who were circumcised, um, and like their father of faith, Abraham,

529
00:36:36.400 --> 00:36:42.960
and like their father of faith, Abraham, God also transfers his righteousness to them, the non-Jews,

530
00:36:42.960 --> 00:36:49.040
the uncircumcised, if they have faith. Yes, Abraham is obviously the true father of faith,

531
00:36:49.040 --> 00:36:52.960
but the Jewish people who are not only circumcised, but who walk in the way of faith.

532
00:36:53.600 --> 00:36:59.200
So again, it's not, they can't, it's not just by circumcision that you become that you, that you

533
00:36:59.200 --> 00:37:06.880
can, um, that the Jews could, it wasn't, it wasn't the, it wasn't circumcision that allowed the Jews

534
00:37:06.880 --> 00:37:11.600
to become Christians. It says, sure, Jewish people are already circumcised. He said, but

535
00:37:12.160 --> 00:37:17.440
they have to walk in the way of faith that our father, Abraham displayed before his circumcision.

536
00:37:18.240 --> 00:37:24.240
Um, okay. God promised Abraham and his descendants that they would have an heir who would reign over

537
00:37:24.240 --> 00:37:30.400
the world. This royal promise was not fulfilled because Abraham kept all the law. So what this

538
00:37:30.400 --> 00:37:35.520
was talking about was this was talking about, you know, the nations that, um, would be born

539
00:37:35.520 --> 00:37:40.800
physically born from Abraham's body. And this of course was made to Abraham when he was very old.

540
00:37:41.360 --> 00:37:47.360
Um, and it was not the, that promise was not fulfilled because Abraham kept a law.

541
00:37:48.240 --> 00:37:53.680
It says B, but it was fulfilled through the righteousness that was transferred by faith.

542
00:37:53.680 --> 00:38:01.680
So the promise was fulfilled because Abraham was considered righteous before God.

543
00:38:01.680 --> 00:38:04.720
How was he considered righteous before God? Because he believed God.

544
00:38:05.280 --> 00:38:10.960
Um, four, if keeping the law earns the inheritance, you know, any promises, any benefits that God says

545
00:38:10.960 --> 00:38:15.040
that we can have, you know, et cetera, like all of the inheritance that we're talking about now,

546
00:38:15.040 --> 00:38:19.920
you know, rest, joy, peace, love, you know, fruits of the spirit, all of those things.

547
00:38:19.920 --> 00:38:26.320
Um, perfect peace, et cetera. For if keeping the law earns the inheritance, doing all the right

548
00:38:26.320 --> 00:38:33.280
and wrong things earns that, then the faith, then faith is robbed of its power and the promise

549
00:38:33.600 --> 00:38:40.640
becomes useless, useless. Why is the promise useless? The promise it in that kind of a case,

550
00:38:40.640 --> 00:38:47.360
if the law earns the inheritance, there's no point of a promise because if you follow the law,

551
00:38:47.360 --> 00:38:53.680
you're in control of earning the inheritance. There's no point of a promise that that's,

552
00:38:53.680 --> 00:38:58.320
that's not a promise. That's an agreement. If you do these things, you get this. Okay.

553
00:38:58.320 --> 00:39:02.240
So I'm going to do these things. Okay. Now, Lord, you're obligated to give these things to me.

554
00:39:04.160 --> 00:39:08.080
And he is right. Because you follow the law, you follow the procedure, you follow the formula.

555
00:39:08.800 --> 00:39:16.720
Therefore, there's no such thing as a promise. A promise is only power is, um, means that because

556
00:39:16.720 --> 00:39:21.120
it says, you know, when a promise would become useless in that point, meaning that there's no

557
00:39:21.120 --> 00:39:28.720
point of a promise. You, you earn it. So you get it. That's what you get was promised. It was wages

558
00:39:28.720 --> 00:39:34.880
for a job. Well done. No, you did your part. God does his part. So the only point of a promise is

559
00:39:34.880 --> 00:39:41.600
if you can't do anything and it was granted to you. So that's what a promises is. You haven't

560
00:39:41.600 --> 00:39:46.160
deserved it and you can't work for it. So when God makes you a promise, when he's made you any

561
00:39:46.160 --> 00:39:52.720
promise that you want, you know, breakthrough rest, um, understanding revelation, connection,

562
00:39:52.720 --> 00:39:59.840
intimacy with him, you know, relationships with other people, uh, uh, living out a, a spirit filled.

563
00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:07.320
old business life, you know, whatever it is, it's, it, if God, if that is a promise, if

564
00:40:07.320 --> 00:40:14.480
it's something that you want God to gift to you, you can't do anything to get it.

565
00:40:14.480 --> 00:40:21.240
If you try to do something to get it, you won't get it because you're, you've done something.

566
00:40:21.240 --> 00:40:22.960
You can't do anything.

567
00:40:22.960 --> 00:40:23.960
You can only get it.

568
00:40:23.960 --> 00:40:27.680
If you haven't even tried to do anything for it, if you try to do something for it, can't

569
00:40:27.680 --> 00:40:28.680
get it.

570
00:40:28.680 --> 00:40:35.280
Now, that doesn't mean that if you tried at all, but you stopped that, well, you can't

571
00:40:35.280 --> 00:40:36.280
do it.

572
00:40:36.280 --> 00:40:37.280
You can't get it.

573
00:40:37.280 --> 00:40:38.280
No, no.

574
00:40:38.280 --> 00:40:39.280
You stopped.

575
00:40:39.280 --> 00:40:40.400
What that is, is repentance.

576
00:40:40.400 --> 00:40:45.120
You were doing one thing you were trying, and then you repented, meaning like you turned

577
00:40:45.120 --> 00:40:49.760
the other way and you chose instead what God said, God's like, okay, now you've chosen

578
00:40:49.760 --> 00:40:50.760
me.

579
00:40:50.760 --> 00:40:56.520
So therefore now you get it, but you can't take this and bring this with you.

580
00:40:56.520 --> 00:40:58.200
God's like, no, no, no.

581
00:40:58.200 --> 00:41:05.040
If that's in any kind of, if that, if that is any ingredient in the batter, then you

582
00:41:05.040 --> 00:41:07.880
can't in your interaction with me, then you can't get it.

583
00:41:07.880 --> 00:41:14.220
You have to abandon everything that you have exerted and worked for it.

584
00:41:14.220 --> 00:41:19.160
You have to completely abandon it and choose me completely by faith.

585
00:41:19.160 --> 00:41:24.400
Now that's the only way that you can receive the promise.

586
00:41:24.400 --> 00:41:26.400
For the law provokes punishment.

587
00:41:27.280 --> 00:41:33.160
So following all the rights and wrongs and on all of that within the law, there is, um,

588
00:41:33.160 --> 00:41:36.000
you don't just get benefits from the law.

589
00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:38.840
You also bear any consequences, right?

590
00:41:38.840 --> 00:41:40.520
So the law provokes punishment.

591
00:41:40.520 --> 00:41:45.600
It's a longer story, but in read Romans seven, and it talks about the fact that the law is

592
00:41:45.600 --> 00:41:48.920
not that the law is holy because God only creates good things.

593
00:41:48.920 --> 00:41:54.840
The law itself is holy, but our interaction with the law creates death within us.

594
00:41:54.840 --> 00:42:01.040
Our flesh, when our flesh responds to the law, it causes our flesh to, um, it causes

595
00:42:01.040 --> 00:42:05.040
death within our flesh, not with sure within our physical body.

596
00:42:05.040 --> 00:42:06.040
Sure.

597
00:42:06.040 --> 00:42:08.400
There's a manifestation, but remember flesh is also our soul.

598
00:42:08.400 --> 00:42:14.040
So, um, it prompts death within us for the law provokes punishment and where no law exists,

599
00:42:14.040 --> 00:42:16.400
there cannot be a violation of the law.

600
00:42:16.400 --> 00:42:20.280
So if we're choosing righteousness, if we're choosing, okay, I'm going to abandon the long

601
00:42:20.280 --> 00:42:22.280
and abandoned trying to do everything right.

602
00:42:22.280 --> 00:42:27.040
And trying to avoid doing the wrong thing, if we abandon it and we, and we operate over

603
00:42:27.040 --> 00:42:32.600
here in a covenant of righteousness, just receiving the, and operating and living out

604
00:42:32.600 --> 00:42:38.440
of the fact that we are Christ's righteousness in front of the Lord, then there exists no

605
00:42:38.440 --> 00:42:44.480
law and where the no law exists, there cannot be a violation of the law.

606
00:42:44.480 --> 00:42:46.240
You can't violate the law.

607
00:42:46.240 --> 00:42:51.000
If you're operating and interacting with the Lord and in life in righteousness and Christ's

608
00:42:51.000 --> 00:42:54.480
righteousness out of the righteousness of God's character.

609
00:42:54.480 --> 00:42:58.920
And that's how you live is by the righteousness of God's character and by the righteousness

610
00:42:58.920 --> 00:43:03.480
and by the goodness of his character, you can't violate the law.

611
00:43:03.480 --> 00:43:05.360
Therefore you don't sin, right?

612
00:43:05.360 --> 00:43:07.000
You don't do anything wrong.

613
00:43:07.000 --> 00:43:13.080
Um, so the promise depends on faith, so it can be experienced as a grace gift.

614
00:43:13.080 --> 00:43:15.840
And now it extends to all the descendants of Abraham.

615
00:43:15.840 --> 00:43:19.520
This promise is not only meant for those who obey the law, but also for those who enter

616
00:43:19.520 --> 00:43:22.200
into the faith of Abraham, the father of us all.

617
00:43:22.200 --> 00:43:26.040
So what he's just talking about the difference there between the fact that Jews can come

618
00:43:26.040 --> 00:43:29.920
into the kingdom and non-Jews can come into the kingdom, you know, Gentiles can come into

619
00:43:29.920 --> 00:43:33.680
the kingdom because it has nothing whatsoever to do with whether or not you're circumcised

620
00:43:33.680 --> 00:43:38.000
or whether or not you follow the law, you know, both of them can come into the kingdom.

621
00:43:38.000 --> 00:43:43.440
Um, that's what the scripture means when it says, I have made you the father of many nations.

622
00:43:43.440 --> 00:43:48.960
He is our example and father, uh, meaning Abraham, uh, for in God's presence, he believed

623
00:43:48.960 --> 00:43:55.040
that God here, this is very important that God can raise the dead and call into being

624
00:43:55.040 --> 00:43:58.000
things that don't even exist yet.

625
00:43:58.000 --> 00:44:03.320
That is one of the things that we are believing about that we are believing when we're believing

626
00:44:03.320 --> 00:44:12.240
a God that, that God is that part of who God is, is that, how do I put that?

627
00:44:12.240 --> 00:44:13.240
Yeah.

628
00:44:13.240 --> 00:44:15.200
How do I put that?

629
00:44:15.200 --> 00:44:16.200
Okay.

630
00:44:16.440 --> 00:44:17.440
Oh man.

631
00:44:17.440 --> 00:44:19.400
Maybe I can't explain that because that would be entirely too long.

632
00:44:19.400 --> 00:44:21.720
I like literally have an entire teaching just around that.

633
00:44:21.720 --> 00:44:22.720
Okay.

634
00:44:22.720 --> 00:44:23.720
So I'm very sorry.

635
00:44:23.720 --> 00:44:26.360
I'm going to have to ban it out because it's entirely too much.

636
00:44:26.360 --> 00:44:27.360
Okay.

637
00:44:27.360 --> 00:44:31.680
Um, that's all about promise and what promises and what God, and the fact that it is actually

638
00:44:31.680 --> 00:44:35.600
God himself and not something he said, that's just too much.

639
00:44:35.600 --> 00:44:37.160
So we're just going to move on.

640
00:44:37.160 --> 00:44:38.160
Okay.

641
00:44:38.160 --> 00:44:41.680
Against all odds, when it looked hopeless, Abraham believed the promise and expected

642
00:44:41.680 --> 00:44:43.800
God to fulfill it.

643
00:44:43.800 --> 00:44:46.160
Very important.

644
00:44:46.160 --> 00:44:48.680
Expectation is a vital ingredient.

645
00:44:48.680 --> 00:44:56.720
You can't get what we, what, how do I, the way that I've heard it expressed as I had

646
00:44:56.720 --> 00:44:59.880
heard someone express it in a very neat way.

647
00:44:59.880 --> 00:45:00.880
It was.

648
00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:02.040
was expectation.

649
00:45:00.880 --> 00:45:01.880
Okay.

650
00:45:01.880 --> 00:45:01.880


651
00:45:02.040 --> 00:45:03.380
I think I wrote it down.

652
00:45:03.380 --> 00:45:05.000
Heard someone say it just the other day.

653
00:45:05.000 --> 00:45:08.320
They said, expectation is what causes faith

654
00:45:08.320 --> 00:45:10.840
to manifest into something real.

655
00:45:10.840 --> 00:45:13.560
It's the thing that activates faith.

656
00:45:14.440 --> 00:45:15.600
Thought that was great.

657
00:45:17.920 --> 00:45:20.520
So Abraham believed the promise

658
00:45:20.520 --> 00:45:22.480
and expected God to fulfill it.

659
00:45:22.480 --> 00:45:23.800
There was expectation there.

660
00:45:23.800 --> 00:45:25.280
It's not like, oh, wishful thinking,

661
00:45:25.280 --> 00:45:26.720
oh, and if God says it'll happen,

662
00:45:26.720 --> 00:45:27.560
then I guess it'll happen.

663
00:45:27.640 --> 00:45:30.720
You have to anticipate and expect it.

664
00:45:31.760 --> 00:45:33.240
He took God at his word,

665
00:45:33.240 --> 00:45:36.080
and as a result, he became the father of many nations.

666
00:45:36.080 --> 00:45:38.400
God's declaration over him came to pass.

667
00:45:38.400 --> 00:45:39.740
Your descendants will be so many

668
00:45:39.740 --> 00:45:41.640
that they will be impossible to count.

669
00:45:44.480 --> 00:45:46.720
Okay, so let's skip down to verse 22.

670
00:45:46.720 --> 00:45:48.960
So now you can see why Abraham's faith

671
00:45:48.960 --> 00:45:53.000
was credited to his account as righteousness before God.

672
00:45:53.000 --> 00:45:56.120
And this declaration was not just spoken over Abraham,

673
00:45:56.120 --> 00:45:59.040
but also over us.

674
00:45:59.040 --> 00:46:02.960
For when we believe and embrace the one

675
00:46:02.960 --> 00:46:05.500
who brought our Lord Jesus back to life,

676
00:46:05.500 --> 00:46:07.840
that's what we're believing.

677
00:46:07.840 --> 00:46:11.160
When we believe and embrace the one,

678
00:46:11.160 --> 00:46:13.400
we're believing God,

679
00:46:13.400 --> 00:46:15.740
we're believing he is who he says that he is,

680
00:46:15.740 --> 00:46:17.640
not that he will do what he says he will do,

681
00:46:17.640 --> 00:46:19.280
but that he is who he says that he is,

682
00:46:19.280 --> 00:46:22.400
that he is who he says that he is,

683
00:46:22.400 --> 00:46:24.080
who brought our Lord Jesus back to life,

684
00:46:24.080 --> 00:46:26.440
perfect righteousness will be credited

685
00:46:26.440 --> 00:46:27.960
to our account as well.

686
00:46:27.960 --> 00:46:31.600
So let me say that verse over again.

687
00:46:31.600 --> 00:46:33.920
For when we believe and embrace the one

688
00:46:33.920 --> 00:46:36.480
who brought our Lord Jesus back to life,

689
00:46:36.480 --> 00:46:39.300
perfect righteousness will be credited

690
00:46:39.300 --> 00:46:40.320
to our account as well.

691
00:46:40.320 --> 00:46:41.720
That's all we have to do.

692
00:46:41.720 --> 00:46:45.400
We have to believe and embrace the one

693
00:46:45.400 --> 00:46:50.080
who brought our Lord Jesus back to life, God himself,

694
00:46:50.080 --> 00:46:51.680
not that he will do what he says he will do,

695
00:46:51.680 --> 00:46:54.020
but that he is who he says that he is.

696
00:46:54.860 --> 00:46:56.060
Jesus was handed over to be crucified

697
00:46:56.060 --> 00:46:57.940
for the forgiveness of our sins

698
00:46:57.940 --> 00:47:01.200
and was raised back to life to prove

699
00:47:01.200 --> 00:47:03.500
that he had made us right with God.

700
00:47:03.500 --> 00:47:06.180
That is why he rose,

701
00:47:06.180 --> 00:47:09.140
to prove that he made us righteous.

702
00:47:10.620 --> 00:47:12.180
You remember that Christ,

703
00:47:12.180 --> 00:47:14.480
Jesus was still in existence,

704
00:47:14.480 --> 00:47:16.060
even though he died,

705
00:47:16.060 --> 00:47:17.820
when he was three days in the grave,

706
00:47:17.820 --> 00:47:20.180
it said that he went down to hell and then he preached.

707
00:47:20.180 --> 00:47:23.180
He was still in existence,

708
00:47:23.180 --> 00:47:24.900
but he rose to life.

709
00:47:24.900 --> 00:47:27.580
In other words, his mortal body rose back to life

710
00:47:27.580 --> 00:47:30.180
to prove that he'd made us right with God

711
00:47:30.180 --> 00:47:32.220
because he died,

712
00:47:32.220 --> 00:47:35.480
taking all of our sins before God,

713
00:47:35.480 --> 00:47:38.860
dying face to face with God,

714
00:47:40.300 --> 00:47:42.580
you know, with all of our sins.

715
00:47:42.580 --> 00:47:45.440
And the fact that he rose from the dead

716
00:47:45.440 --> 00:47:48.900
meant that God had accepted that sacrifice,

717
00:47:48.900 --> 00:47:50.620
had accepted the fact

718
00:47:50.620 --> 00:47:55.220
that Christ had taken all of our sins and they were dead.

719
00:47:55.220 --> 00:47:56.100
And now he's like, okay.

720
00:47:56.100 --> 00:48:01.100
So his resurrection meant that God accepted the sacrifice.

721
00:48:01.300 --> 00:48:04.220
That was the proof that God had accepted it.

722
00:48:04.220 --> 00:48:05.980
Otherwise God had, you know,

723
00:48:05.980 --> 00:48:07.620
Christ could have died and we'd be like,

724
00:48:07.620 --> 00:48:09.160
well, so God are we good?

725
00:48:10.420 --> 00:48:12.940
And so the fact that he rose to Christ from the dead

726
00:48:12.940 --> 00:48:16.740
meant that it was his proof

727
00:48:16.740 --> 00:48:18.620
that he'd accepted the sacrifice.

728
00:48:19.140 --> 00:48:20.540
Okay.

729
00:48:20.540 --> 00:48:25.240
Then the next verse, Romans five.

730
00:48:29.060 --> 00:48:33.340
Yeah, let's do five, one through two.

731
00:48:33.340 --> 00:48:36.880
Our faith in Jesus transfers God's righteousness to us

732
00:48:36.880 --> 00:48:39.780
and he now declares us flawless in his eyes.

733
00:48:39.780 --> 00:48:41.860
You are now flawless.

734
00:48:41.860 --> 00:48:42.700
You're righteous.

735
00:48:42.700 --> 00:48:43.700
You're perfect.

736
00:48:43.700 --> 00:48:47.220
You don't have any sin, any of the bad things.

737
00:48:47.220 --> 00:48:48.940
You don't have any sin in you.

738
00:48:48.940 --> 00:48:51.260
First John three, nine, for he was born of God.

739
00:48:51.260 --> 00:48:53.100
It is impossible for him to sin.

740
00:48:54.260 --> 00:48:58.540
This means we can now enjoy true and lasting peace with God

741
00:48:58.540 --> 00:49:00.700
all because of what our Lord Jesus,

742
00:49:00.700 --> 00:49:02.260
the anointed one had sent for us.

743
00:49:02.260 --> 00:49:04.180
Remember, we didn't do anything.

744
00:49:04.180 --> 00:49:06.200
I know we have heard this for forever,

745
00:49:06.200 --> 00:49:08.260
but if we're not living like it,

746
00:49:08.260 --> 00:49:10.460
we're not really truly believing

747
00:49:10.460 --> 00:49:11.820
and understanding what happened.

748
00:49:11.820 --> 00:49:13.100
So that's why I'm going over

749
00:49:13.100 --> 00:49:15.140
these really, really basic topics.

750
00:49:15.140 --> 00:49:16.180
These foundational things

751
00:49:16.180 --> 00:49:17.740
is because we haven't believed it

752
00:49:17.740 --> 00:49:19.940
to the extent that he says that it's true.

753
00:49:19.940 --> 00:49:22.420
We believed it this much enough to become saved,

754
00:49:22.420 --> 00:49:23.740
but God's like, no, no, no.

755
00:49:23.740 --> 00:49:26.100
If you're not living bigger than that,

756
00:49:26.100 --> 00:49:28.020
it means you didn't fully embrace

757
00:49:28.020 --> 00:49:32.060
and understand the extent of what I did.

758
00:49:32.060 --> 00:49:33.780
So that's what we're trying to do here.

759
00:49:33.780 --> 00:49:36.500
We are trying to extend our faith

760
00:49:36.500 --> 00:49:40.700
to the degree that God says that he did what he did,

761
00:49:40.700 --> 00:49:42.180
of what it is that he accomplished.

762
00:49:42.180 --> 00:49:43.820
He really died for all of our sins

763
00:49:43.860 --> 00:49:47.060
and you can stop to trying to do all this stuff now

764
00:49:47.060 --> 00:49:48.300
and live like this.

765
00:49:51.100 --> 00:49:53.700
And let God mature you into how to live like this.

766
00:49:53.700 --> 00:49:55.340
And sure, will you mess up?

767
00:49:55.340 --> 00:49:56.380
Will you make mistakes?

768
00:49:56.380 --> 00:49:58.740
Will you do stuff that over here looks like it's bad?

769
00:49:58.740 --> 00:49:59.580
Sure.

770
00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:04.440
What you're trying to learn to live or to ride a bicycle all over again.

771
00:50:04.760 --> 00:50:06.760
You learned how to live this one really good.

772
00:50:07.100 --> 00:50:08.960
So you can look really good to the world.

773
00:50:08.960 --> 00:50:10.520
You can look really good to other people.

774
00:50:10.520 --> 00:50:10.760
Why?

775
00:50:10.760 --> 00:50:15.000
Because you know how to get, how to get a particular outcome and look a

776
00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:21.680
particular way to other people by doing all of these things, but how do you.

777
00:50:23.000 --> 00:50:28.120
How, how would that, that the way that you look and the things that you do

778
00:50:28.200 --> 00:50:33.440
will look like you were stumbling all over and messing all up again.

779
00:50:33.920 --> 00:50:37.280
When you become an expert at this, it will look like you're stumbling around

780
00:50:37.280 --> 00:50:39.480
and messing up and not doing it right.

781
00:50:41.040 --> 00:50:44.760
If, when you try this, try to live like this, because you've never

782
00:50:45.320 --> 00:50:53.720
lived from this source before you're changing your source, um, that

783
00:50:53.720 --> 00:50:55.440
will look messy for a while.

784
00:50:56.320 --> 00:50:57.680
Will you look like you're sitting?

785
00:50:57.800 --> 00:51:02.000
Will you do some, uh, will you do some things thinking that it was the Lord

786
00:51:02.000 --> 00:51:05.800
and find out that that was the flesh shore, but you know what you're focused

787
00:51:05.800 --> 00:51:10.600
on living out of God's character and out of who you are instead of trying

788
00:51:10.600 --> 00:51:15.320
to do the right thing and avoiding the wrong things and trying to make it

789
00:51:15.320 --> 00:51:18.920
look a specific way and, or, and do specific things in order to get

790
00:51:18.920 --> 00:51:22.120
specific outcomes so that everything can look good to everybody else.

791
00:51:22.480 --> 00:51:24.400
And it won't look bad to everybody else.

792
00:51:25.200 --> 00:51:29.320
Your trait, you're choosing instead to live in freedom.

793
00:51:29.920 --> 00:51:35.400
And so in the, the, in the, in the shift, in the learning, how to live in a new

794
00:51:35.400 --> 00:51:39.400
way from a new source, it's going to look messy and you're going to look

795
00:51:39.400 --> 00:51:42.040
like you've reverted in your faith.

796
00:51:42.240 --> 00:51:43.760
You're going to start being messy.

797
00:51:44.040 --> 00:51:47.040
It's going to look like you're operating out of your flesh.

798
00:51:47.080 --> 00:51:50.200
It's looks like you're, you're the outcomes aren't perfect.

799
00:51:50.600 --> 00:51:53.440
You know, you knew how to get the outcomes to look just so over

800
00:51:53.440 --> 00:51:55.120
here, so they look perfect to everybody else.

801
00:51:55.120 --> 00:51:56.800
And it looks like you're a perfect Christian over here.

802
00:51:56.800 --> 00:52:00.280
It won't look like you're a perfect Christian because over here, you're

803
00:52:00.280 --> 00:52:04.760
having to learn from, from like, in a manner of speaking, a child again.

804
00:52:05.880 --> 00:52:11.040
And, and, but, but though that you will go through it very quickly.

805
00:52:11.280 --> 00:52:13.840
It's not, this didn't take you the same amount of time as over here.

806
00:52:13.840 --> 00:52:14.360
You know why?

807
00:52:14.360 --> 00:52:15.440
Cause this is simple.

808
00:52:15.880 --> 00:52:20.440
It's based off of who it is that you are not out of all of these rules

809
00:52:20.480 --> 00:52:25.800
that you're in very complicated rules and societal norms and expectations

810
00:52:25.800 --> 00:52:30.360
that you had to memorize, learn through a bunch of mistakes.

811
00:52:30.400 --> 00:52:33.080
And it's a complicated thing that you have had to learn.

812
00:52:33.560 --> 00:52:38.960
And, and, and over here, it's very simple to live this way, but

813
00:52:38.960 --> 00:52:40.880
you do have to learn how to do it.

814
00:52:40.920 --> 00:52:43.880
You have to learn what it is that you're relying on because you can

815
00:52:43.880 --> 00:52:47.200
no longer rely on these anymore because you abandon them in

816
00:52:47.200 --> 00:52:48.600
favor of living life like this.

817
00:52:49.200 --> 00:52:52.760
Um, and I said all of that in the middle of trying to get

818
00:52:52.760 --> 00:52:54.080
through verses one through three.

819
00:52:54.440 --> 00:52:57.000
Um, okay.

820
00:52:57.000 --> 00:53:01.280
Our faith guarantees us permanent access into this marvelous kindness,

821
00:53:01.320 --> 00:53:05.240
permanent access into this marvelous kindness that has given us

822
00:53:05.280 --> 00:53:08.560
a perfect relationship with God.

823
00:53:09.440 --> 00:53:14.360
So even when your soul and your body sin, you still have a

824
00:53:14.360 --> 00:53:16.000
perfect relationship with God.

825
00:53:16.520 --> 00:53:20.440
Permanent access into this marvelous kindness that has given

826
00:53:20.440 --> 00:53:24.360
us a perfect relationship with God.

827
00:53:25.480 --> 00:53:26.040
It's done.

828
00:53:26.280 --> 00:53:27.360
You don't have to worry about it anymore.

829
00:53:27.840 --> 00:53:32.880
What incredible joy bursts forth within us as we keep on celebrating our

830
00:53:32.880 --> 00:53:36.000
hope of experiencing God's glory.

831
00:53:36.800 --> 00:53:37.360
Very exciting.

832
00:53:38.920 --> 00:53:40.280
Uh, let's see here.

833
00:53:40.320 --> 00:53:42.880
And I have hardly gotten through any of my notes.

834
00:53:42.880 --> 00:53:43.840
This is very scary.

835
00:53:44.280 --> 00:53:44.800
Okay.

836
00:53:45.320 --> 00:53:46.360
Um, let's see.

837
00:53:46.360 --> 00:53:46.960
What time is that?

838
00:53:46.960 --> 00:53:48.240
I don't even know when I started.

839
00:53:48.240 --> 00:53:49.080
This is very scary.

840
00:53:49.480 --> 00:53:49.920
Okay.

841
00:53:50.000 --> 00:53:56.360
Um, let's also look at verse nine.

842
00:53:56.680 --> 00:54:00.000
Um, but Romans five, verse nine, and there is still much more to

843
00:54:00.000 --> 00:54:01.960
say of his unfailing love for us.

844
00:54:02.320 --> 00:54:05.600
For through the blood of Jesus, we have heard the powerful declaration.

845
00:54:05.600 --> 00:54:08.720
You are now righteous in my sight.

846
00:54:09.200 --> 00:54:10.960
These are all things God has said.

847
00:54:10.960 --> 00:54:14.640
These are not things that we want him to say, and we're asking him to say,

848
00:54:14.640 --> 00:54:18.320
and we're hoping that he'll say, he's the one who told us that

849
00:54:18.320 --> 00:54:19.600
this is what we could expect.

850
00:54:19.600 --> 00:54:21.320
And he says it over and over and over and over.

851
00:54:21.320 --> 00:54:24.520
And that's why I really wanted to Hound and really drive

852
00:54:24.520 --> 00:54:27.120
home, um, the scriptures in this one.

853
00:54:27.440 --> 00:54:29.520
Um, so this is probably just going to be a long teaching.

854
00:54:30.160 --> 00:54:31.520
So who knows how long it'll be?

855
00:54:31.520 --> 00:54:32.880
It'll probably be two hours or something.

856
00:54:33.880 --> 00:54:40.200
Um, but, uh, but I hope that, that the importance of this and the

857
00:54:40.200 --> 00:54:46.200
effectiveness of this, um, teaching will just really, really, um, uh,

858
00:54:46.600 --> 00:54:51.760
we'll really ground you and really can really give you what it is that you

859
00:54:51.760 --> 00:54:56.520
need in your relationship, the Lord to make a distinct choice to abandon

860
00:54:56.520 --> 00:54:59.960
this system and to choose to live by righteous, by your.

861
00:55:00.000 --> 00:55:05.360
righteousness by which is his righteousness within you. But remember, his righteousness

862
00:55:05.360 --> 00:55:14.400
has been given to you. So you are one with Christ. And so your righteousness is his righteousness.

863
00:55:15.280 --> 00:55:18.800
It's not like you don't have righteousness, but he has righteousness. No, no, no.

864
00:55:18.800 --> 00:55:24.800
You're sharing the righteousness. So if he can claim it and you're one with him,

865
00:55:24.800 --> 00:55:30.560
you can claim it too. So choose it as your righteousness, not just, well, God's Christ

866
00:55:30.560 --> 00:55:34.800
righteousness and I'm borrowing it. Lord, you know, do I have permission today? You know,

867
00:55:34.800 --> 00:55:41.360
can I borrow it for a little bit? No, no, no. You will claim to it. You can call it yours.

868
00:55:42.240 --> 00:55:50.640
Now you didn't earn it. You don't. So the only thing that gives you a right to own it itself

869
00:55:51.520 --> 00:55:55.200
is because you are one with Christ. You're operating out of your oneness with Christ

870
00:55:55.200 --> 00:56:00.560
and you receive it as something he did for you, but understand he gave it to you.

871
00:56:01.200 --> 00:56:07.200
So he claims it. He's the one who quote unquote earned it. And he earned it for you,

872
00:56:07.200 --> 00:56:14.480
but you get to participate with it so much that you can call it yours. It's not selfish.

873
00:56:14.480 --> 00:56:19.920
It's not prideful. It is not incorrect. It is not unbiblical. It is not blasphemous.

874
00:56:19.920 --> 00:56:27.600
It is what God said. He's just trying to get you to believe it so that you can choose it in your

875
00:56:27.600 --> 00:56:33.600
own power, in the power and authority that Christ gave you to choose in your own faith, your own

876
00:56:33.600 --> 00:56:42.560
will, your own will, determination, and intention that it is true. And that that righteousness

877
00:56:43.200 --> 00:56:49.360
is yours. It has your name on it. It's your righteousness. It's more than Christ's

878
00:56:49.360 --> 00:56:56.640
righteousness. It's your righteousness. Okay. So very, very important. Um, what was the next verse?

879
00:56:56.640 --> 00:57:08.720
Okay. So, um, 16, it's true that no, no, no. And this free flowing gift imparts to us more,

880
00:57:08.720 --> 00:57:14.560
much more than what was given to us through the one that who sinned. Oh, that was talking about,

881
00:57:14.560 --> 00:57:20.320
um, the first Adam. So this free flowing gift, the one from Christ imparts to us much more than

882
00:57:20.320 --> 00:57:26.160
what was given to us through the first Adam, the one who sinned for, because of one transgression,

883
00:57:26.160 --> 00:57:31.840
we are all, which was Adams for, or because of one transgression, we are all facing a death

884
00:57:31.840 --> 00:57:39.600
sentence with a verdict of guilty. But this gracious gift from Christ leaves us free from

885
00:57:39.600 --> 00:57:45.840
our many failures and brings us into the perfect righteousness of God acquitted with the words,

886
00:57:45.840 --> 00:57:55.120
quote, not guilty. I'm just going to show you here. So the first time says, um, all facing a death

887
00:57:55.120 --> 00:58:00.480
sentence with the verdict of guilty, but this gracious gift leaves us free from our many

888
00:58:00.480 --> 00:58:04.800
failures and brings us into the perfect righteousness of God acquitted with the words,

889
00:58:05.680 --> 00:58:14.560
not guilty. Very important. That has been declared over us by God. We didn't ask for it.

890
00:58:15.280 --> 00:58:19.280
He's the one who came up with the idea. He's giving us this and he's saying, Hey, look,

891
00:58:19.280 --> 00:58:22.800
this is what I'm doing. This is what I'm saying. This is what I'm offering to you.

892
00:58:22.800 --> 00:58:28.560
We get to choose it. So we don't have to think I came up with this idea. I hope God agrees. Oh,

893
00:58:28.560 --> 00:58:34.480
good. Good. He agreed, but we keep having to remind him. Yeah, but you said it was his idea.

894
00:58:35.440 --> 00:58:42.880
It's that solid. It's that sure. Uh, Romans six, six.

895
00:58:45.280 --> 00:58:53.440
Okay. Could it be any clearer that our formal former identity is now and forever deprived of

896
00:58:53.520 --> 00:59:00.000
its power or former identity? You know, the old man, the flesh, could it be any clearer that our

897
00:59:00.000 --> 00:59:08.080
former identity is now and forever deprived of its power for we were co-crucified with him to

898
00:59:08.080 --> 00:59:15.040
dismantle the stronghold of sin within us so that we would not continue to live one moment longer

899
00:59:15.040 --> 00:59:19.920
submitted to sin's power. So you're no longer submitted to sin's power.

900
00:59:21.120 --> 00:59:26.640
First John three, one for he was born of God. It is impossible for him to sin.

901
00:59:27.760 --> 00:59:32.880
You will, would you're, uh, you would not continue to live one moment longer.

902
00:59:33.520 --> 00:59:39.040
Okay. So we, for, we were co-crucified with him. So when Christ died with him to dismantle the

903
00:59:39.040 --> 00:59:44.320
stronghold of sin within us, that stronghold of sin that you were submitted to is completely

904
00:59:44.320 --> 00:59:51.280
dismantled within you. And it happened before you were born. But when you chose Christ, that's

905
00:59:51.280 --> 00:59:57.840
when it was Christ's righteousness was imputed to you. You got to receive it, but it was something

906
00:59:57.840 --> 00:59:59.840
that had already been done. It wasn't.

907
01:00:00.000 --> 01:00:05.280
done when you became saved. It had already been done. You just finally received all of the benefits

908
01:00:06.080 --> 01:00:10.640
so that we would not continue to live one moment longer submitted to sins power. You're no longer

909
01:00:10.640 --> 01:00:19.440
submitted. Okay. Um, it says, obviously a dead person is, so this is verse seven,

910
01:00:19.440 --> 01:00:27.200
obviously a dead person is incapable of sinning. And if we were co crucified with the anointed one,

911
01:00:27.200 --> 01:00:34.800
we know that we will also share in the fullness of his life. Okay. Uh,

912
01:00:41.520 --> 01:00:44.160
so I was trying to think if there was anything else. Um,

913
01:00:47.120 --> 01:00:51.200
yeah, anyway, got to stop somewhere, even though it was like, Oh, but then there's that. No,

914
01:00:51.200 --> 01:00:58.640
but then there's that, uh, okay. And, um, so I used to think talking about performance,

915
01:00:58.640 --> 01:01:05.040
I used to think that I was only as valuable to God as how I served him. So was it, so all of

916
01:01:05.040 --> 01:01:09.360
these do all of these following all the right things and avoiding the wrong things. Part of

917
01:01:09.360 --> 01:01:16.880
the right things I believed was, especially as a Christian was doing whatever God said to do

918
01:01:16.880 --> 01:01:22.400
and acting like a doormat in other people's lives, like in just like serving and volunteering

919
01:01:22.400 --> 01:01:26.480
and all of this stuff. And I'm not saying that any of those things are wrong, but I was doing

920
01:01:26.480 --> 01:01:30.640
it from this source. Like, well, these are the right things to do. That is exhausting

921
01:01:32.080 --> 01:01:39.760
as opposed to know who am I and who is God. And therefore, what do we do? How do we express

922
01:01:39.760 --> 01:01:45.440
Lord who it is that we are out into the world? How do we, we, what do we do? We love.

923
01:01:46.400 --> 01:01:50.800
Therefore we love the unlovable. Why? Because that's who we are. That's just being us and who

924
01:01:50.800 --> 01:01:56.160
we are not doing something good. Oh, I'm going to love this person because God said, so no,

925
01:01:56.160 --> 01:02:03.040
I'm loving because that's who I am. I can't help it. Just like God. He's just loves you.

926
01:02:03.040 --> 01:02:09.280
Why? Because that's who he is. It's not because you're you, so to speak, you get to be the object

927
01:02:09.280 --> 01:02:13.920
of his love, but it's not because you're you it's because that's him. He just, he just loves.

928
01:02:13.920 --> 01:02:18.880
And of all of the, of all of the beings that he created and all of the, the, not just the

929
01:02:18.880 --> 01:02:23.360
creatures, but just the aspects of creation itself, like all aspects of creation that could

930
01:02:23.360 --> 01:02:27.440
be that he could have chosen as the objects of his love. We are, he, we chose as the objects

931
01:02:27.440 --> 01:02:33.120
of his love. Why it says, or not why, but how do we see this? We see this all the way back

932
01:02:33.120 --> 01:02:38.960
before creation, before creation was ever created before the foundations of creation were ever laid

933
01:02:39.040 --> 01:02:43.280
when it says in Ephesians one, four, and I also mentioned this again in Jeremiah one, five, but

934
01:02:43.280 --> 01:02:49.200
Ephesians one, four, God chose us in him before the creation of the world. He chose us way back.

935
01:02:49.200 --> 01:02:59.200
Then we were chosen as the ones to receive the, as the object to receive the expression of his

936
01:02:59.200 --> 01:03:06.080
character, meaning like if he's loving, who's going to, who is he going to direct his character

937
01:03:06.080 --> 01:03:15.440
towards his love, his goodness, his righteousness. Where is he? All of his, his inheritance himself,

938
01:03:15.440 --> 01:03:21.280
who gets to receive everything that comes out of God, including himself. Like, well, well,

939
01:03:21.280 --> 01:03:23.840
that's really what all of this character is, but I was trying to make the point,

940
01:03:23.840 --> 01:03:30.400
who's who's the beneficiary who gets all of that. We do, we get to benefit from all of that.

941
01:03:31.040 --> 01:03:39.360
But I thought I was only as valuable as, you know, how God could use me to help other people

942
01:03:39.360 --> 01:03:46.800
live their lives. And I told God that more than once. I literally articulated that to him

943
01:03:46.800 --> 01:03:51.680
in like some of my lowest moments as Lord, I, I feel like I am so

944
01:03:52.640 --> 01:03:59.520
like the reason that you put me on earth was to enable other people's dreams to happen

945
01:04:00.080 --> 01:04:08.800
and to be possible. It was just so depressing. And, and I just found, and, but it's because I saw,

946
01:04:08.800 --> 01:04:13.120
I didn't see myself as God saw me for one thing. I didn't see God as he was, but I then didn't

947
01:04:13.120 --> 01:04:19.040
see myself as God saw me. I didn't see myself as having any value in and of who I was that

948
01:04:19.360 --> 01:04:25.840
I was that God wanted to enjoy. God wanted access to, I wasn't even giving myself access to me,

949
01:04:26.480 --> 01:04:34.640
let alone giving God access to me. And I needed to do that. So remember that God chose us when

950
01:04:34.640 --> 01:04:39.680
we were still unworthy and I'll let you read that passage. That's in Romans five, six through 11.

951
01:04:39.680 --> 01:04:46.240
God chose us when we were still sinners. I mean, if that doesn't express love God,

952
01:04:46.240 --> 01:04:51.040
then I don't know what does. God said that that is the greatest way that he could express his

953
01:04:51.040 --> 01:04:56.800
love is that not only did he die for us, but he died for us when we were not, when we were unworthy

954
01:04:56.800 --> 01:04:59.760
and we hated him when we were the ones who killed him.

955
01:05:00.000 --> 01:05:07.680
Fascinating. It was our sin that killed him. Um, so this it's not, our lives is not about

956
01:05:07.680 --> 01:05:15.840
performance, but it's actually about our active engagement and participation with God it's living

957
01:05:15.840 --> 01:05:20.960
and operating out of our relationship. Remember we're developing our relationship with God.

958
01:05:20.960 --> 01:05:28.000
That is the whole point of our existence. Then we're asking God, okay, how do we express that

959
01:05:28.000 --> 01:05:34.080
into a business, into a marriage, into our children, into, I don't know, our relationships

960
01:05:34.080 --> 01:05:38.800
with people at church, you know, into a ministry, you know, you know, how we serve, how we serve

961
01:05:38.800 --> 01:05:44.560
others, how we show point others to you, how we evangelize, how we do our job, you know,

962
01:05:44.560 --> 01:05:49.120
how we perform on this project, how we make the decisions about how we're going to execute this

963
01:05:49.120 --> 01:05:55.120
project or decide our, our time schedule, uh, you know, at home or, or whatever, you know,

964
01:05:55.920 --> 01:06:01.840
how do we express those things? Um, the, um,

965
01:06:07.680 --> 01:06:14.960
so yeah. So in, since you're unified with him, part of him being seen is you remember as his

966
01:06:14.960 --> 01:06:20.800
son and as being as part of himself being seen, um, now, okay, let's look at this.

967
01:06:20.800 --> 01:06:28.080
Hebrews 11, six. I don't remember. I think that, I think we've already, uh, that was one of the

968
01:06:28.080 --> 01:06:32.960
verses that we used in a past session, but I wanted to bring it up again. So Hebrews 11,

969
01:06:32.960 --> 01:06:38.400
six and without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe

970
01:06:38.400 --> 01:06:45.840
that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him again, that it's all about

971
01:06:45.840 --> 01:06:56.400
faith. It's all because faith credits righteousness to us. We believe God.

972
01:06:56.400 --> 01:07:01.440
And then we're, and then we're given righteousness. We can't please God like this. We can't please

973
01:07:01.440 --> 01:07:08.720
God by works without faith. It's impossible to please God. We, we, of course, that's where we

974
01:07:08.720 --> 01:07:13.520
get this whole idea that without being righteous, it's impossible to please God. Yeah. But how do

975
01:07:13.520 --> 01:07:18.720
we be righteous? We can't be righteous over here. We literally cannot achieve righteousness

976
01:07:18.720 --> 01:07:24.400
by doing this. Why? Even if we could follow all the laws and all the rules, it was our flesh that

977
01:07:24.400 --> 01:07:30.080
did it. And our flesh can't enter the kingdom. Only spirit can enter the kingdom. So you can

978
01:07:30.080 --> 01:07:35.280
only be righteous over here. You it's literally impossible to be righteous. Even if you followed,

979
01:07:35.280 --> 01:07:39.520
followed all of the ins and outs in the law, you can only be righteous this way.

980
01:07:39.520 --> 01:07:50.240
Okay. Let's see here. Okay. So Romans. Okay. This is really fun. This is a whole bunch

981
01:07:50.240 --> 01:07:56.800
of, this is, this is the Bible. We're quoting Habakkuk over and over and over and over and

982
01:07:56.800 --> 01:08:03.040
over again. And again, just driving home the importance of it, that this is how we're supposed

983
01:08:03.120 --> 01:08:11.040
to live. This is who the sons of God are. The sons of God are people are have faith and believe

984
01:08:11.040 --> 01:08:19.120
they're God and are righteous. This is, uh, Romans 1 17 for in the gospel, the righteousness of God

985
01:08:19.120 --> 01:08:27.279
is revealed a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, a righteousness that is only by

986
01:08:27.279 --> 01:08:31.200
faith from the beginning of righteousness to the end of righteousness. There's nothing else

987
01:08:31.200 --> 01:08:37.120
in righteousness. That's not faith from beginning to the end of righteousness. It's only faith

988
01:08:37.120 --> 01:08:43.040
that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written, the righteous will live by faith.

989
01:08:43.040 --> 01:08:48.640
That is the Habakkuk quote. The righteous will live by faith. Habakkuk is the old Testament.

990
01:08:49.200 --> 01:08:54.399
And so there's multiple script, multiple passages in the new Testament that are referencing the old

991
01:08:54.399 --> 01:08:59.439
Testament. The righteous will live by faith. This is before Christ died. Um, Habakkuk is

992
01:08:59.439 --> 01:09:04.479
Galatians three 11. Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God

993
01:09:04.479 --> 01:09:12.960
because the righteous will live by faith. Um, Hebrews 10 38. And, but my righteous one will

994
01:09:12.960 --> 01:09:22.319
live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back. So when God urges us to have

995
01:09:22.319 --> 01:09:29.040
faith, God wants us to be courageous and step forward in it and not give into fear and shrink

996
01:09:29.120 --> 01:09:36.319
back from believing God. Um, remember it's, it's hard to do. There's a risk in believing the Lord.

997
01:09:37.200 --> 01:09:42.080
Uh, and because then, because remember, if you don't act on what you believe,

998
01:09:42.080 --> 01:09:48.399
you actually don't believe it. That's why it's a risk to choose that. It's actually reality because

999
01:09:48.399 --> 01:09:52.560
you believe it's reality. You're going to act like it. Right. So it's not just like, Oh, well,

1000
01:09:52.560 --> 01:09:56.800
sure. You know, if it happens, it happens. You know, there's no risk there because it's like,

1001
01:09:56.800 --> 01:10:00.160
well, if God said, then I guess I'll just watch and wait.

1002
01:10:00.000 --> 01:10:05.120
it to happen. But if you're not actively participating in it, there's no risk for you.

1003
01:10:05.760 --> 01:10:09.600
God said, if you're not actively participating in it, in other words, if there's no risk for you,

1004
01:10:09.600 --> 01:10:17.760
it is not faith. So all of faith is risk. And so, Hebrews 1038. No, I already read that one. Okay,

1005
01:10:17.760 --> 01:10:23.040
so this is the Habakkuk that all of the Habakkuk verse that they were all quoting Habakkuk 2.4.

1006
01:10:23.680 --> 01:10:31.040
See, the enemy is puffed up, his desires are not upright, but the righteous person will live by

1007
01:10:31.040 --> 01:10:37.120
his faithfulness. So it's, and then that particular translation, all of these, by the way, are the NIV

1008
01:10:37.120 --> 01:10:43.600
translation. So the NIV version also said that even though it said that the righteous person

1009
01:10:43.600 --> 01:10:48.720
will live by his faithfulness, it says, you could also translate that as the righteous person will

1010
01:10:48.720 --> 01:10:59.520
live by his faith. But here's what really helped me know that this was that you could take,

1011
01:11:00.160 --> 01:11:03.680
but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness. You could take it to mean

1012
01:11:03.680 --> 01:11:08.880
the righteous person will live by his faith because all of those other scripture references

1013
01:11:08.880 --> 01:11:14.800
were referencing the Old Testament. And this is where that phrase appears in the Old Testament.

1014
01:11:14.800 --> 01:11:23.760
So we know for sure that when Paul and whoever the author is of Hebrews, which people suspect

1015
01:11:23.760 --> 01:11:26.640
is Paul, but they're not entirely sure, it depends on which scholar you talk to,

1016
01:11:27.200 --> 01:11:33.200
but Paul, at least for Romans and Galatians, and then whoever the author is for Hebrew,

1017
01:11:33.200 --> 01:11:38.880
that they all were referencing scripture in there. You can tell by the way that it was

1018
01:11:38.880 --> 01:11:42.560
written because it will, for one thing, one of them said this, it says something like,

1019
01:11:42.560 --> 01:11:47.440
for as it is written, the just shall live, the righteous shall live by faith.

1020
01:11:47.440 --> 01:12:02.800
So they're all quoting the old, this Old Testament verse. Okay. So let's talk about faith itself.

1021
01:12:03.040 --> 01:12:12.560
And, um, so remember that faith, that faith is required by acting out of our, by making a willful

1022
01:12:12.560 --> 01:12:21.280
intentional decision and choice out of our own free will. What, you know, you were talking about,

1023
01:12:21.280 --> 01:12:28.080
um, uh, one of you were talking about in your, um, in your voice message back to me is realizing,

1024
01:12:28.960 --> 01:12:36.080
is realizing suddenly realizing the power and authority that you were given by God to make

1025
01:12:36.880 --> 01:12:42.480
these choices to choose, to believe him that it wasn't just going to happen just because God said

1026
01:12:42.480 --> 01:12:45.600
it was true. Well, then I guess it's just going to happen. And, you know, so why do I have to

1027
01:12:45.600 --> 01:12:51.360
choose it? No, God's like, no, if you want that to happen in your life, you have to choose that

1028
01:12:51.360 --> 01:12:57.360
it is true. And you have to make that choice on your own with your, the power and the authority

1029
01:12:57.360 --> 01:13:04.480
that I gave you to make a choice that it, that the thing for the thing to happen,

1030
01:13:04.480 --> 01:13:13.520
it's waiting on your action of making a choice. Right. Um, and so when you say, when you think

1031
01:13:13.520 --> 01:13:21.840
about, for instance, who does God say that he is, we have to make that decision. Who do I say that

1032
01:13:21.840 --> 01:13:27.440
God is? Do you remember, uh, that story when I was in Venice where God was asking me, you know,

1033
01:13:27.440 --> 01:13:31.200
Ashley, who do you say that I am? Cause I was trying to check out of the hotel. Didn't have

1034
01:13:31.200 --> 01:13:37.040
enough money and, and God, and I was just crying. I was like, Lord, I don't understand, you know,

1035
01:13:37.040 --> 01:13:41.840
why have you not provided me the, why you haven't provided me the money. Um, I thought that I'd

1036
01:13:41.840 --> 01:13:45.760
been believing you. I thought I'd been expecting things, you know, what did I break something?

1037
01:13:45.760 --> 01:13:50.240
You know, did I break my faith? You know, how did, you know, did I do something wrong? And he said,

1038
01:13:50.240 --> 01:13:57.440
Ashley, who do you say that I am not? And he told me, he said, Ashley, do not pare it back to me.

1039
01:13:57.440 --> 01:14:05.360
Who I told you I was make a willful intentional decision. Who do you choose that I am? Who do

1040
01:14:05.360 --> 01:14:13.120
you declare? You tell me, who do you say that I am? I don't want to hear who I told you that I am.

1041
01:14:13.680 --> 01:14:22.000
Who do you say and declare determine and decree for your kingdom in your reality, in your world?

1042
01:14:22.800 --> 01:14:32.640
Who do you say that I am to you? And that's when I had to choose God, I choose and declare and decree

1043
01:14:33.360 --> 01:14:46.960
you are provider. You are protector. You are good. You are loved because I say, so you have,

1044
01:14:46.960 --> 01:14:54.720
that is the only way that faith will work is you have to, with your power and the authority

1045
01:14:54.720 --> 01:14:58.800
that activate it to happen.

1046
01:15:00.000 --> 01:15:01.440
So God declares a truth,

1047
01:15:01.440 --> 01:15:04.320
but the only way the truth can land

1048
01:15:04.320 --> 01:15:06.940
is if you give it permission,

1049
01:15:06.940 --> 01:15:09.800
is if you choose it to be your truth,

1050
01:15:09.800 --> 01:15:12.600
that you choose that to be part of

1051
01:15:12.600 --> 01:15:13.880
the way your kingdom will operate.

1052
01:15:13.880 --> 01:15:15.720
You choose that it will have the authority

1053
01:15:15.720 --> 01:15:17.520
and the power in your kingdom.

1054
01:15:21.560 --> 01:15:23.200
Very fascinatingly,

1055
01:15:25.760 --> 01:15:28.400
people talk about the fact that there's a darkness

1056
01:15:28.400 --> 01:15:30.840
before the face of God.

1057
01:15:33.960 --> 01:15:38.080
And people that have encountered

1058
01:15:38.080 --> 01:15:40.360
that kind of dark cloud,

1059
01:15:42.000 --> 01:15:44.080
just gotten so close to the Lord,

1060
01:15:44.080 --> 01:15:48.000
so intimate with him and had such a fascinating experiences

1061
01:15:48.000 --> 01:15:51.000
and encounters with him that have encountered that,

1062
01:15:51.000 --> 01:15:52.200
that have gotten so close to him

1063
01:15:52.200 --> 01:15:56.320
that they've encountered the dark cloud around him.

1064
01:15:56.360 --> 01:15:58.120
They say, you know, because again,

1065
01:15:58.120 --> 01:16:00.620
God is shrouded in darkness and in mystery

1066
01:16:00.620 --> 01:16:03.120
because he says it's a good thing.

1067
01:16:03.120 --> 01:16:07.120
They say that that dark cloud is where they are tormented

1068
01:16:08.080 --> 01:16:12.080
by everything they didn't believe about God.

1069
01:16:12.080 --> 01:16:13.200
Isn't that fascinating?

1070
01:16:13.200 --> 01:16:16.520
They're tormented by their own unbelief.

1071
01:16:16.520 --> 01:16:19.320
God's not tormenting them about anything.

1072
01:16:20.400 --> 01:16:24.040
They are tormented by their own,

1073
01:16:24.040 --> 01:16:28.720
by what God had declared about himself or about them

1074
01:16:28.720 --> 01:16:33.160
that they have not chosen to agree with.

1075
01:16:33.160 --> 01:16:34.840
Isn't that wild?

1076
01:16:34.840 --> 01:16:36.120
So that was fascinating.

1077
01:16:36.120 --> 01:16:37.960
And I just wanted to mention this quote

1078
01:16:37.960 --> 01:16:39.560
because I thought it was a very,

1079
01:16:42.360 --> 01:16:46.760
very insightful way to articulate this.

1080
01:16:46.760 --> 01:16:48.640
Jordan Peterson once talked about,

1081
01:16:48.640 --> 01:16:53.000
was talking about faith one time and talking and saying that

1082
01:16:53.000 --> 01:16:57.200
we think faith is the willingness to suspend belief

1083
01:16:57.200 --> 01:17:00.800
while dealing with a proposition that any fool would reject.

1084
01:17:01.840 --> 01:17:03.560
That's what we do so often.

1085
01:17:03.560 --> 01:17:05.960
We think that in order to have faith,

1086
01:17:05.960 --> 01:17:08.440
we have to suspend belief in order to choose it.

1087
01:17:08.440 --> 01:17:11.960
But remember that if you suspend belief, in other words,

1088
01:17:11.960 --> 01:17:16.000
if you deny reality in order to believe something,

1089
01:17:16.000 --> 01:17:17.360
you're not really believing it.

1090
01:17:17.360 --> 01:17:20.760
The only way that faith is actually faith

1091
01:17:20.760 --> 01:17:25.080
is if you choose it in light of this other reality

1092
01:17:25.080 --> 01:17:26.640
that exists.

1093
01:17:26.640 --> 01:17:29.640
The fact that, sure, that thing really did happen.

1094
01:17:31.240 --> 01:17:33.000
People really did do that to you.

1095
01:17:34.040 --> 01:17:36.800
God really didn't stop it from happening or whatever.

1096
01:17:36.800 --> 01:17:41.320
You have to choose these things in light of the truth,

1097
01:17:41.320 --> 01:17:44.360
in light of what really happened, not denying reality.

1098
01:17:44.360 --> 01:17:45.200
And then he says,

1099
01:17:45.200 --> 01:17:47.280
it's like the suspension of your reality

1100
01:17:47.280 --> 01:17:50.360
and the acceptance of an absurd claim.

1101
01:17:51.280 --> 01:17:52.440
That's what he's saying,

1102
01:17:52.440 --> 01:17:54.640
that people think that that is what faith is.

1103
01:17:54.640 --> 01:17:56.440
And I didn't write down what he actually said

1104
01:17:56.440 --> 01:17:58.760
that faith was, but he said,

1105
01:17:58.760 --> 01:18:01.000
people think that that's what faith is.

1106
01:18:01.000 --> 01:18:02.280
And he's like, it's wrong.

1107
01:18:02.280 --> 01:18:07.280
You cannot suspend your belief of reality.

1108
01:18:08.040 --> 01:18:12.040
You have to choose this in light of this thing being true.

1109
01:18:14.200 --> 01:18:15.960
That you would normally,

1110
01:18:16.000 --> 01:18:21.000
that seems in opposition to what God is actually saying.

1111
01:18:23.200 --> 01:18:27.560
Okay, so if you wanna move forward in any way whatsoever,

1112
01:18:27.560 --> 01:18:30.560
you have to use faith.

1113
01:18:30.560 --> 01:18:32.440
You have to, you know why?

1114
01:18:32.440 --> 01:18:36.960
Because everything in the future is always an unknown.

1115
01:18:38.320 --> 01:18:39.240
Here's one minute.

1116
01:18:40.160 --> 01:18:41.920
Okay, there was another one.

1117
01:18:41.920 --> 01:18:44.720
There was one minute, now here's one moment.

1118
01:18:44.720 --> 01:18:45.840
Okay, there was another one.

1119
01:18:46.400 --> 01:18:48.120
You just watched me move

1120
01:18:48.120 --> 01:18:51.760
and you just moved from one moment into another one.

1121
01:18:51.760 --> 01:18:54.120
We didn't know what was gonna happen the next moment

1122
01:18:54.120 --> 01:18:56.160
until we were in it, right?

1123
01:18:56.160 --> 01:18:57.920
You're always moving into an unknown.

1124
01:18:57.920 --> 01:19:00.000
It always requires faith

1125
01:19:00.000 --> 01:19:02.680
if you're gonna move forward in any area,

1126
01:19:02.680 --> 01:19:05.360
if you're gonna move forward spiritually, emotionally,

1127
01:19:05.360 --> 01:19:07.880
physically, mentally, whatever.

1128
01:19:07.880 --> 01:19:09.600
It always requires faith

1129
01:19:09.600 --> 01:19:12.320
because you're always moving into an unknown.

1130
01:19:12.320 --> 01:19:15.000
If you, if like, say for instance,

1131
01:19:15.000 --> 01:19:17.520
spiritually or making any emotional progress

1132
01:19:17.520 --> 01:19:20.240
or whatever in any, in an area,

1133
01:19:20.240 --> 01:19:23.360
if you don't have faith, you won't move forward

1134
01:19:23.360 --> 01:19:27.040
because faith is required to move into an unknown.

1135
01:19:27.040 --> 01:19:29.480
If you don't have faith, you're not moving into it.

1136
01:19:29.480 --> 01:19:31.280
You're making the willful intention

1137
01:19:31.280 --> 01:19:33.000
to not move into the unknown

1138
01:19:33.000 --> 01:19:36.680
because you can't know some, here's the point.

1139
01:19:38.000 --> 01:19:40.360
Faith is always unknown.

1140
01:19:40.360 --> 01:19:42.920
If the future is certain,

1141
01:19:42.960 --> 01:19:46.240
then it's not, how do I put that?

1142
01:19:47.200 --> 01:19:49.600
If the faith were, if the future were certain,

1143
01:19:49.600 --> 01:19:52.080
then it doesn't take faith to move towards it.

1144
01:19:52.080 --> 01:19:54.440
We already know that the future is not certain.

1145
01:19:55.400 --> 01:19:58.160
So if it's not certain, it takes faith to move towards that.

1146
01:19:58.160 --> 01:20:00.160
And it's the same thing emotionally or.

1147
01:20:00.000 --> 01:20:07.280
in whatever area. So if you want to move beyond where you are, if you want to not be stuck,

1148
01:20:07.280 --> 01:20:14.600
you have to have faith. You can't get unstuck from any area of your life with certainty

1149
01:20:14.600 --> 01:20:20.600
and assuredness that everything's going to be okay or to work out or whatever. You always

1150
01:20:20.600 --> 01:20:26.040
have to have faith. If you stop having faith in some area of your life, you get stuck and

1151
01:20:26.040 --> 01:20:31.240
you won't move forward and you'll get the emotionally stunted in that place, spiritually,

1152
01:20:31.240 --> 01:20:37.120
mentally stunted, et cetera. So faith is required in order to make any kind of a progress. So

1153
01:20:37.120 --> 01:20:41.120
if ever you, you find yourself stuck in any area, understand that it's going to require

1154
01:20:41.120 --> 01:20:46.560
faith in order to get out. And faith takes a lot of courage because it's very risky.

1155
01:20:46.560 --> 01:20:54.440
Okay. I, I did not come up with these things with these signs. I was listening to a teaching

1156
01:20:54.440 --> 01:21:01.000
a, um, I don't know, a week or two ago. And I probably two weeks ago, and I heard someone

1157
01:21:01.000 --> 01:21:06.600
describe these signs of unbelief. And I thought, those are amazing. That's absolutely right.

1158
01:21:06.600 --> 01:21:09.640
That's exactly what that looks like, but I'd never thought to describe it like that. So

1159
01:21:09.640 --> 01:21:15.280
I thought I would tell you. So they, they said that in all of their experience and study

1160
01:21:15.280 --> 01:21:20.280
with the Lord, that they had realized that there were three signs that you're not believing

1161
01:21:20.280 --> 01:21:28.800
something. If you, if, uh, if you have contempt for something, it's a sign of unbelief. And

1162
01:21:28.800 --> 01:21:34.680
by the way, that can be like, just in general, if you have contempt for something, um, if

1163
01:21:34.680 --> 01:21:37.760
you experience contempt for something, it just means that you don't believe something.

1164
01:21:37.760 --> 01:21:42.000
It doesn't mean that that thing is actually true and you're supposed to believe it. But

1165
01:21:42.000 --> 01:21:46.200
so let's not talk about that kind of thing. Let's talk about, you know, things related

1166
01:21:46.200 --> 01:21:50.040
to the Lord, where the Lord is wanting us is, is saying that something is true and he's

1167
01:21:50.040 --> 01:21:55.040
wanting us to have faith and to believe it. We know that we're not believing something.

1168
01:21:55.040 --> 01:22:03.680
In other words, that we're not having faith. If we have contempt for it, if we are, uh,

1169
01:22:03.680 --> 01:22:09.040
so we have that feeling of contempt, that feeling of like resistance and almost in judgment.

1170
01:22:09.040 --> 01:22:15.600
That's what he means. A contempt that comes along with the judgment against it. Um, there's

1171
01:22:16.000 --> 01:22:21.520
a cat coming up to visit, um, his, his name by the way, it's taco. So we'll see if he's

1172
01:22:21.520 --> 01:22:27.760
probably going to come try to like rub up against me. Um, let's see. Uh, and then the

1173
01:22:27.760 --> 01:22:34.720
second one is anger. If you experience anger when encountering a, um, a truth again, I'm

1174
01:22:34.720 --> 01:22:41.040
not, we're talking, I'm not saying that every time that you experience contempt, anger,

1175
01:22:41.120 --> 01:22:47.120
you know, et cetera, that you shouldn't be, that you should be now believing the thing

1176
01:22:47.120 --> 01:22:52.080
that you're experiencing contempt or anger for. We're talking about how do you, I'm giving

1177
01:22:52.080 --> 01:22:56.880
you these signs so that you will know what to look for. If you know that what God is

1178
01:22:56.880 --> 01:23:02.720
saying is true and you're wondering whether or not you believe it. So these are three

1179
01:23:02.720 --> 01:23:09.680
signs that you don't believe it, that you feel contempt. You feel anger when you, when

1180
01:23:09.680 --> 01:23:14.240
you come in contact with, uh, that truth, reading it in the Bible or feel that God

1181
01:23:14.240 --> 01:23:18.480
is prompting you or somebody is talking to you about it or whatever. Or if you have a

1182
01:23:18.480 --> 01:23:23.920
poverty mentality. Now here's how the poverty mentality manifests. Basically something like

1183
01:23:23.920 --> 01:23:30.800
God will never provide for me to be able to do that. So if God says that something is

1184
01:23:30.800 --> 01:23:36.720
true or that you are a particular way, Oh no, God will never help me to do that. Or

1185
01:23:36.720 --> 01:23:43.520
I can't do that. Or does it, it's always from this perspective that of lack, I don't

1186
01:23:43.520 --> 01:23:50.480
have, I'm not there yet. I can't, I don't know how, if you're from this perspective

1187
01:23:50.480 --> 01:23:55.920
of lack and basically a poverty mentality towards the thing, it means that you don't

1188
01:23:55.920 --> 01:24:01.920
believe it. And I thought those were really fascinating signs to point out. Also remember

1189
01:24:01.920 --> 01:24:07.840
that if ever you experience, um, well, it's, it's, it's similar to the, um, to the signs

1190
01:24:07.840 --> 01:24:12.080
that we all talked about, but this is just a different, a different word to use. If ever

1191
01:24:12.080 --> 01:24:21.600
you have, uh, an accusation against God, that is unbelief and that's a sin, um, that, and,

1192
01:24:21.600 --> 01:24:29.040
and think of it this way. So, or it's, it's mentioned in scripture in Job about this fact

1193
01:24:29.040 --> 01:24:36.000
that accusation against God is a sin, meaning that accusation against God is a sign of unbelief.

1194
01:24:36.000 --> 01:24:42.000
And that is Job one 22. And all of this Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

1195
01:24:42.800 --> 01:24:49.200
That's an accusation. It says, did not sin by chart. How do you sin by charging God with

1196
01:24:49.200 --> 01:24:54.320
wrongdoing? So an accusation against God, God, you didn't follow through God. You weren't who

1197
01:24:54.320 --> 01:24:59.040
you said that you were. You didn't, you didn't manifest yourself in the way that you say that

1198
01:24:59.040 --> 01:24:59.840
you were, you said you were.

1199
01:25:00.000 --> 01:25:04.320
good, but this was not a good thing to do to me. You said you were loved. You said you were loved,

1200
01:25:04.320 --> 01:25:08.080
but you didn't do this thing for me. And if you loved me, you would have done this thing for me

1201
01:25:08.080 --> 01:25:14.640
or whatever. Right. Those are accusations. That is not faith. Accusation is a sign of unbelief.

1202
01:25:17.360 --> 01:25:22.560
Okay. So, and then remember that I already, as I already mentioned, that expectation is what

1203
01:25:22.560 --> 01:25:30.720
causes faith to manifest into something real. So faith, it's all tied into what James talks about.

1204
01:25:30.720 --> 01:25:36.000
In fact, that he says that faith isn't real unless you act on it, unless there is works

1205
01:25:36.000 --> 01:25:42.480
attached to it, unless you are living out your belief that that is actually reality.

1206
01:25:42.480 --> 01:25:50.000
In other words, you expect it. You expect that that is true. Not that you hope that that's true.

1207
01:25:50.000 --> 01:25:54.960
No, you expect it to happen. You expect things to operate like that. Why? Because it's the way

1208
01:25:54.960 --> 01:26:04.080
that it is. It's reality. So you expect reality to play out. Right. So it's important to have

1209
01:26:04.080 --> 01:26:11.840
an expectation. This does not mean to expect that God will manifest his character in specific ways.

1210
01:26:12.480 --> 01:26:16.800
Like, oh, well then I expect that this is going to happen. This is going to be the outcome. And

1211
01:26:17.200 --> 01:26:21.120
we're not talking about an expectation to an outcome. We're talking about an expectation

1212
01:26:21.120 --> 01:26:26.560
that God is and will express himself according to who he says he is. That's what I'm saying.

1213
01:26:27.280 --> 01:26:32.960
But we don't get to dictate what the expression of who God is looks like. He does.

1214
01:26:34.400 --> 01:26:41.920
Now, faith is the, okay. So faith is the only thing that pleases God. And faith is choosing

1215
01:26:41.920 --> 01:26:49.120
that the thing God said is said is true really is your reality. Not somebody else's reality and

1216
01:26:49.120 --> 01:26:53.840
not something God is making into reality. And then eventually bringing no, no, no, no, no.

1217
01:26:53.840 --> 01:26:59.920
It's already reality in which it's already the reality in which you are currently existing.

1218
01:27:01.200 --> 01:27:09.680
That is what you're choosing is true. That what God said is true is reality right now.

1219
01:27:09.680 --> 01:27:14.400
Not that it's going to be, not that it will be, not that when God finishes, no, no, no right now.

1220
01:27:16.000 --> 01:27:21.360
And then now you choose to operate it in it. James, let's just look this up really quick.

1221
01:27:21.360 --> 01:27:38.480
Oh, did I miss it? Wow. Here we go. Oh, right. James.

1222
01:27:42.640 --> 01:27:48.880
Come, come, come, come. So James talks a lot, obviously about faith and works. So James 1,

1223
01:27:49.680 --> 01:28:00.160
22. Don't just listen to the word of truth and not respond to it. For that is the essence of

1224
01:28:00.160 --> 01:28:06.640
self-deception. If you just listen to it, but you don't act on it, it means you don't believe it

1225
01:28:06.640 --> 01:28:11.360
because you're not actually acting on it. So, and that's deceiving yourself. You're going to think

1226
01:28:11.360 --> 01:28:14.800
that you believe something that you don't actually believe because if you're not acting on it,

1227
01:28:14.800 --> 01:28:18.240
you don't really believe it, but you think you heard it and you just sit there and just listen

1228
01:28:18.240 --> 01:28:23.680
to it. You know, you listen to the word of truth, but you don't respond to it. That's the essence

1229
01:28:23.680 --> 01:28:33.600
of self-deception. So always let his word become like poetry written and fulfilled by your life.

1230
01:28:33.600 --> 01:28:44.240
You fulfill God's word. He speaks out a truth. You live it. And you choose willingly by your

1231
01:28:44.240 --> 01:28:49.840
own free will and intention by decision to step into that truth, to live it out.

1232
01:28:53.200 --> 01:28:56.640
Okay. And let's see here.

1233
01:29:00.320 --> 01:29:05.680
Remember first Corinthians, second Corinthians five, seven, we live by faith, not by sight.

1234
01:29:05.680 --> 01:29:09.520
We all know that one, but I just had to mention that one because again, it's a famous

1235
01:29:09.520 --> 01:29:12.560
quote about, about faith. I just had to mention that one.

1236
01:29:13.840 --> 01:29:21.040
Uh, now, um, okay. Wanted, I've already told y'all this story. Um, I believe recently, um,

1237
01:29:21.040 --> 01:29:26.800
but I just wanted to mention it again, uh, in, and remind us of that in light,

1238
01:29:26.800 --> 01:29:32.160
remind us of that story in light of, of the fact that we're talking about how to actually live out

1239
01:29:32.160 --> 01:29:38.640
and act out our faith. If God says something is true, remember that I had not been believing

1240
01:29:38.640 --> 01:29:44.080
and not choosing by my own free will that what God, that if God said that he loved me,

1241
01:29:44.080 --> 01:29:49.920
that he really did love me. I just kept waiting to be convinced by God, by seeing enough things,

1242
01:29:49.920 --> 01:29:54.960
by experiencing enough things, by feeling different, by being convinced by scripture,

1243
01:29:54.960 --> 01:29:59.680
by reading all of the right books to remind myself or convince myself that God loved me or whatever.

1244
01:30:00.000 --> 01:30:07.060
kept trying to convince myself by logic or by a feeling experience that God really did

1245
01:30:07.060 --> 01:30:08.420
love me.

1246
01:30:08.420 --> 01:30:14.840
What I had not tried was choosing that it was true, changed everything.

1247
01:30:14.840 --> 01:30:18.640
And I know that y'all have heard me say this, this before, probably multiple times by this

1248
01:30:18.640 --> 01:30:24.880
point, but remember what I did is God told me something specific that God said, Hey,

1249
01:30:24.880 --> 01:30:25.880
look, I'm love.

1250
01:30:25.880 --> 01:30:29.320
Or you could say, you know, he told you that he's good or that he's safe or he's protector

1251
01:30:29.320 --> 01:30:31.180
or he's provider or whatever.

1252
01:30:31.180 --> 01:30:38.960
He told you that he is something, then you go into every day experiences, choosing that

1253
01:30:38.960 --> 01:30:39.960
that's true.

1254
01:30:39.960 --> 01:30:40.960
Okay.

1255
01:30:40.960 --> 01:30:44.320
Right now in this moment, while I'm doing the dishes or for me right now, while I'm

1256
01:30:44.320 --> 01:30:48.800
here sitting on this deck, like I kind of like shift into the present.

1257
01:30:48.800 --> 01:30:54.200
I don't think about like about the future and about what I'm about to do or in five

1258
01:30:54.200 --> 01:30:58.600
minutes or even the just minute or what y'all are thinking about or how this is going to

1259
01:30:58.600 --> 01:30:59.600
come across.

1260
01:30:59.600 --> 01:31:04.120
No, I bring myself fully into the presence of this moment.

1261
01:31:04.120 --> 01:31:11.560
And I choose that right now I'm existing in the reality that, that right now, the reality

1262
01:31:11.560 --> 01:31:16.000
of my existence is the fact that God is provider.

1263
01:31:16.000 --> 01:31:17.520
God is protector.

1264
01:31:17.520 --> 01:31:19.660
God is protecting me right now.

1265
01:31:19.660 --> 01:31:21.200
God is providing for me right now.

1266
01:31:21.200 --> 01:31:22.280
He is good.

1267
01:31:22.280 --> 01:31:24.840
And he is being good to be right now there.

1268
01:31:24.840 --> 01:31:27.240
It's almost like, again, I'm the object.

1269
01:31:27.240 --> 01:31:30.720
I'm of, of him expressing his character.

1270
01:31:30.720 --> 01:31:34.200
So he's putting his character out into the world, like a light beam.

1271
01:31:34.200 --> 01:31:39.120
Where is that light being directed towards and who's absorbing the light beam me.

1272
01:31:39.120 --> 01:31:43.280
So God is pouring out his goodness and he's pouring out his love and he's pouring it out

1273
01:31:43.280 --> 01:31:49.480
like a light beam and like this, like the spotlight directly onto me right now, I am

1274
01:31:49.480 --> 01:31:56.800
an object of his protection, willful and intentional decision on God's part that I am an object

1275
01:31:56.800 --> 01:31:59.720
of his protection, his provision, his goodness.

1276
01:31:59.720 --> 01:32:05.000
He's giving me is right now pouring and expressing out on me, his goodness, you know, his love,

1277
01:32:05.000 --> 01:32:11.480
you know, a safe and protected environment within himself, et cetera.

1278
01:32:11.480 --> 01:32:16.280
You just be an everyday moments and you choose that he is those things.

1279
01:32:16.280 --> 01:32:19.520
And I promise you that will change things.

1280
01:32:19.520 --> 01:32:27.760
You, it won't, you have to, you have to choose in your everyday moments that he is that thing.

1281
01:32:27.760 --> 01:32:28.760
Not that, okay.

1282
01:32:28.760 --> 01:32:35.840
I, when I get into a difficult situation, I've got to remember to battle the lies that

1283
01:32:35.840 --> 01:32:39.760
I'm being threatened with and tempted to believe about the Lord.

1284
01:32:39.760 --> 01:32:45.360
I've got to remember to, to battle those with the truth of what God said.

1285
01:32:45.360 --> 01:32:48.440
God said, he actually is protecting me, even though I'm not feeling protected.

1286
01:32:48.440 --> 01:32:50.000
He says I'm protecting me.

1287
01:32:50.000 --> 01:32:55.400
It's very important that in your normal everyday life, you're choosing that it's for your reality.

1288
01:32:55.400 --> 01:32:57.000
That is when you're practicing it.

1289
01:32:57.000 --> 01:32:59.040
So to speak it, you're not practicing it.

1290
01:32:59.040 --> 01:33:01.600
It's like, it's like, okay, this is how you have a describe it.

1291
01:33:01.600 --> 01:33:04.880
It's like going to the gym, you go to the gym and you're literally strengthening your

1292
01:33:04.880 --> 01:33:10.360
muscles as opposed to, oh, I hope that when I need some strength, that it'll, it'll come

1293
01:33:10.360 --> 01:33:11.360
to me.

1294
01:33:11.360 --> 01:33:12.360
No, no, no.

1295
01:33:12.360 --> 01:33:13.360
Go to the gym.

1296
01:33:13.360 --> 01:33:17.040
Actually intentionally make it a part of your life and strengthen those muscles.

1297
01:33:17.040 --> 01:33:18.040
That's what you're doing.

1298
01:33:18.040 --> 01:33:22.480
When you're choosing that as part of everyday life, you are building your kingdom by choosing

1299
01:33:22.480 --> 01:33:27.960
to bring to agree in your, with your authority and with your power that God gave you, you're

1300
01:33:27.960 --> 01:33:31.240
choosing over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and

1301
01:33:31.240 --> 01:33:36.000
over and over and over and over again, that what God said really is true.

1302
01:33:36.000 --> 01:33:39.200
And you are constantly, every time you make that decision, every time you were coming

1303
01:33:39.200 --> 01:33:43.560
into agreement, you are telling all of the creatures, all of the creation around you

1304
01:33:43.560 --> 01:33:48.040
within your realm of influence, power, and authority within your kingdom, you are giving

1305
01:33:48.040 --> 01:33:52.560
it the new instruction that God is who he said that he is, that God is protector, that

1306
01:33:52.560 --> 01:33:54.000
God is provider.

1307
01:33:54.000 --> 01:33:58.360
So it, it's literally affecting your life in that moment.

1308
01:33:58.360 --> 01:34:03.200
It's not just, you're not just practicing, reminding yourself or practicing convincing

1309
01:34:03.200 --> 01:34:04.200
yourself.

1310
01:34:04.200 --> 01:34:05.200
Absolutely not.

1311
01:34:05.200 --> 01:34:10.000
You are making a willful, intentional decision and agreement that that is true.

1312
01:34:10.000 --> 01:34:15.880
And immediately the creation around you, I promise you the dishes, the soap, seds,

1313
01:34:15.880 --> 01:34:21.720
your kitchen, your, your, uh, your desk at work, wherever it is that you are at the moment

1314
01:34:21.720 --> 01:34:28.640
will literally experience the truth that you were that, that, uh, the truth that God is

1315
01:34:28.640 --> 01:34:33.160
that thing, because you were declaring and choosing that that is your reality.

1316
01:34:33.160 --> 01:34:38.800
And it is now experiencing a son of God that is, that is bringing the reality of the kingdom

1317
01:34:38.800 --> 01:34:40.640
into that moment.

1318
01:34:40.640 --> 01:34:43.000
And it is made to respond to that truth.

1319
01:34:43.000 --> 01:34:47.360
Um, hopefully the way that I know that that's can sound as very esoterical, but I hope that

1320
01:34:47.360 --> 01:34:51.760
that, that, that landed, um, um, home for y'all and that y'all really understood what

1321
01:34:51.760 --> 01:34:59.320
I was trying to, what I'm saying, these, that spirit were the spirit world enters the present

1322
01:34:59.320 --> 01:34:59.840
world through.

1323
01:35:00.000 --> 01:35:03.040
us enters the physical world.

1324
01:35:03.040 --> 01:35:05.800
It chooses to enter our kingdom.

1325
01:35:05.800 --> 01:35:06.800
It enters our kingdom.

1326
01:35:06.800 --> 01:35:13.800
By the way, the way that, and I'm just going to mention this, the way that the spirit world,

1327
01:35:13.800 --> 01:35:17.520
because he was, he was given dominion over creation.

1328
01:35:17.520 --> 01:35:23.280
We were, the angels were not, we were, Satan was not, we were.

1329
01:35:23.280 --> 01:35:29.060
So if anything wants to influence and affect creation, how does it do that through us?

1330
01:35:29.060 --> 01:35:31.320
Why do you think that we're being attacked so much?

1331
01:35:31.320 --> 01:35:35.280
Why do you think that we're, we're always being, trying to be manipulated by Satan or

1332
01:35:35.280 --> 01:35:40.320
by his minions, because it's through us and getting us to make certain decisions or believe

1333
01:35:40.320 --> 01:35:44.760
certain things about God, because creation is looking to us, not Satan, it is looking

1334
01:35:44.760 --> 01:35:47.840
to us to get instruction.

1335
01:35:47.840 --> 01:35:52.160
Then if Satan can influence us to give it a different instruction about God, that's

1336
01:35:52.160 --> 01:35:55.240
how he can influence creation.

1337
01:35:55.240 --> 01:36:08.160
We are very what we have a very strong responsibility over to, to, you know, explain and to it,

1338
01:36:08.160 --> 01:36:13.540
to give creation the, an experience of who God really is.

1339
01:36:13.540 --> 01:36:15.020
It is very, very, very important.

1340
01:36:15.020 --> 01:36:19.200
So that the way that you do it is you do it by faith.

1341
01:36:19.200 --> 01:36:22.060
You have to choose that this is who God says that he is, and therefore I'm going to choose

1342
01:36:22.060 --> 01:36:26.580
that it's my reality and you do it in everyday moments.

1343
01:36:26.580 --> 01:36:36.820
And so that's what I would, the practice that I would ask y'all to do this week is, or this

1344
01:36:36.820 --> 01:36:41.260
that for the next few days until until the next teaching until Thursday, when we talk

1345
01:36:41.260 --> 01:36:50.380
about a new practice is to exercise your faith like that throughout the day.

1346
01:36:50.380 --> 01:36:53.020
And there's one more thing.

1347
01:36:53.020 --> 01:36:54.020
Yeah.

1348
01:36:54.020 --> 01:36:55.020
Okay.

1349
01:36:55.020 --> 01:36:57.020
I am going to mention that one too.

1350
01:36:57.020 --> 01:37:00.820
There's another practice that I would have y'all do as well, but I'm going to have to

1351
01:37:00.820 --> 01:37:03.740
explain that one first thing and have to give you a backstory about that one first, but

1352
01:37:03.740 --> 01:37:09.740
before I do so that one of the practices I work at, I asked y'all to do is to choose

1353
01:37:09.740 --> 01:37:15.000
that God is the things that he is in your, in your normal everyday moments.

1354
01:37:15.000 --> 01:37:17.860
Like why you're brushing your teeth, why you're getting ready for bed when you're getting

1355
01:37:17.860 --> 01:37:19.540
your morning coffee, whatever.

1356
01:37:19.700 --> 01:37:21.740
These don't have to be big moments.

1357
01:37:21.740 --> 01:37:24.300
We're talking about these take about like five, 10 seconds.

1358
01:37:24.300 --> 01:37:27.780
Just like, Nope, I'm going to, I'm just, I'm going to make the decision.

1359
01:37:27.780 --> 01:37:33.340
I'm going to make the choice and the decision that this is the reality in which I exist.

1360
01:37:33.340 --> 01:37:38.060
God is like this, this, and this exist in that, in the, in the, in the shift yourself

1361
01:37:38.060 --> 01:37:43.940
into the present moment and realize, okay, well, my word right now, God is loving me.

1362
01:37:43.940 --> 01:37:45.320
He, and you make that choice.

1363
01:37:45.320 --> 01:37:47.260
You make that decision that it's true.

1364
01:37:47.260 --> 01:37:49.100
You don't just hope that you're going to experience it.

1365
01:37:49.100 --> 01:37:51.260
You probably won't.

1366
01:37:51.260 --> 01:37:52.780
You will experience it.

1367
01:37:52.780 --> 01:37:56.500
Once you decide that it's true, then you will, you will feel it.

1368
01:37:56.500 --> 01:37:57.580
It's really interesting.

1369
01:37:57.580 --> 01:37:58.580
You will feel it.

1370
01:37:58.580 --> 01:38:04.540
You will experience it after you've made the choice that it's true, not, okay, I'm looking

1371
01:38:04.540 --> 01:38:05.540
for the feeling.

1372
01:38:05.540 --> 01:38:07.060
I hope that this is true.

1373
01:38:07.060 --> 01:38:09.460
I really hope I experienced it.

1374
01:38:09.460 --> 01:38:13.580
Okay, God, I guess I, you know, I'm willing for it to happen.

1375
01:38:13.580 --> 01:38:14.580
I'm willing to see it.

1376
01:38:14.580 --> 01:38:15.580
It won't happen.

1377
01:38:15.580 --> 01:38:18.100
You have to decide, you know what, this is actually true.

1378
01:38:18.100 --> 01:38:19.500
This is reality.

1379
01:38:19.500 --> 01:38:22.340
Like you did when you were a kid and you just made up stuff.

1380
01:38:22.340 --> 01:38:26.500
It'll feel like you're making it up, make it up, only choose that you're not making

1381
01:38:26.500 --> 01:38:27.500
it up.

1382
01:38:27.500 --> 01:38:28.500
Choose that.

1383
01:38:28.500 --> 01:38:29.500
No, God said at first, therefore it's real.

1384
01:38:29.500 --> 01:38:33.900
I, he's just waiting for me to declare that it's true to, to come to agreement, to agree

1385
01:38:33.900 --> 01:38:35.220
with him that it's actually true.

1386
01:38:35.220 --> 01:38:36.700
So therefore I'm going to agree with it.

1387
01:38:36.700 --> 01:38:37.700
Okay.

1388
01:38:37.700 --> 01:38:38.980
This is the reality in which I exist right now.

1389
01:38:38.980 --> 01:38:43.300
You will feel that it is, you will, it's like you will shift into a different world and

1390
01:38:43.300 --> 01:38:47.100
you'll feel in that moment that that's the reality of things, you know?

1391
01:38:47.100 --> 01:38:50.060
So, so do that as you think of it throughout the day.

1392
01:38:50.060 --> 01:38:52.860
And, and like I said, they're not big things.

1393
01:38:52.860 --> 01:38:57.300
They're intentional decisions that you're making of, this is your life.

1394
01:38:57.300 --> 01:38:58.980
This is who you and God are.

1395
01:38:58.980 --> 01:38:59.980
This is who God is.

1396
01:38:59.980 --> 01:39:00.980
This is who you are, et cetera.

1397
01:39:00.980 --> 01:39:01.980
Okay.

1398
01:39:01.980 --> 01:39:07.380
So the last thing that I wanted to say, oh my goodness, there's so many other things,

1399
01:39:07.380 --> 01:39:08.860
but it's okay.

1400
01:39:08.860 --> 01:39:10.580
We already said that.

1401
01:39:10.580 --> 01:39:11.580
Okay.

1402
01:39:11.580 --> 01:39:12.580
So I, oh wow.

1403
01:39:12.580 --> 01:39:13.580
Okay.

1404
01:39:13.580 --> 01:39:16.380
So I'm going to say this.

1405
01:39:16.380 --> 01:39:18.740
I've been talking a very long time, teaching a long time.

1406
01:39:18.740 --> 01:39:22.140
So who knows how long this is already going on, but I'm going to mention two more things

1407
01:39:22.140 --> 01:39:24.900
just because I put them in and I thought that they were important.

1408
01:39:24.900 --> 01:39:30.420
So remember that the faith, that faith, the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain.

1409
01:39:30.420 --> 01:39:37.340
So if you're doing a whole lot of something spiritually and getting nothing out of it,

1410
01:39:37.340 --> 01:39:40.500
it doesn't have faith in it.

1411
01:39:40.500 --> 01:39:46.500
So there's no reason to get all exhausted and spiritual burnout, doing a whole lot of

1412
01:39:46.500 --> 01:39:49.420
stuff and not getting anything in return.

1413
01:39:49.420 --> 01:39:54.660
Because if it had real, if it was real faith, if it was sourced by real faith and that God

1414
01:39:54.660 --> 01:39:59.940
is who he says to be is, and that you are who he says that you are, if you have this,

1415
01:39:59.940 --> 01:39:59.940


1416
01:40:00.000 --> 01:40:03.120
fake the size of a mustard seed, that thing is going to move mountains.

1417
01:40:03.120 --> 01:40:06.200
So if you're giving it a whole lot of something and you're not getting much

1418
01:40:06.240 --> 01:40:08.400
or anything in return, it's not big.

1419
01:40:10.000 --> 01:40:13.400
Um, and, uh, also,

1420
01:40:15.760 --> 01:40:18.440
no, I'm not going to mention that one because it's just, there's no need.

1421
01:40:18.840 --> 01:40:19.320
Okay.

1422
01:40:19.640 --> 01:40:20.360
Um, okay.

1423
01:40:20.360 --> 01:40:24.320
So the last story that I want to tell you, uh, and then this gives you, um,

1424
01:40:24.320 --> 01:40:29.040
foundation for a practice is I needed to,

1425
01:40:29.200 --> 01:40:31.920
God hadn't been making a promise to me for about two years.

1426
01:40:32.080 --> 01:40:34.760
And he was very, very, very, very, very specific about the promise.

1427
01:40:34.760 --> 01:40:36.400
He said, or at least this is what I believed.

1428
01:40:36.960 --> 01:40:41.920
And I can't tell you the amount of proof that the Lord gave me over and over and

1429
01:40:41.920 --> 01:40:43.520
over and over and over and over and over.

1430
01:40:43.920 --> 01:40:45.160
Actually, this is what's going to happen.

1431
01:40:45.160 --> 01:40:47.960
This is what it, this is how it is, is how it's going to work out.

1432
01:40:47.960 --> 01:40:49.840
And give me this promise.

1433
01:40:50.160 --> 01:40:55.000
And, and after two years, I was just tired of not seeing the

1434
01:40:55.000 --> 01:40:57.360
manifestation of the promise.

1435
01:40:57.880 --> 01:41:01.000
And I realized, okay, well, I know what this means.

1436
01:41:01.000 --> 01:41:04.880
If I'm holding accusation against God for this beautiful thing that he's given me,

1437
01:41:04.880 --> 01:41:08.680
he's given me this beautiful promise and I'm holding it an accusation against

1438
01:41:08.680 --> 01:41:09.960
him that it hasn't happened yet.

1439
01:41:10.760 --> 01:41:11.920
God, why hasn't it happened yet?

1440
01:41:12.600 --> 01:41:14.360
And that's an accusation against the Lord.

1441
01:41:14.360 --> 01:41:17.440
I'm now getting upset at the Lord for this beautiful gift that he gave me,

1442
01:41:17.680 --> 01:41:20.560
or that it's like, Hey, Ashley, here's X, Y, and Z promise.

1443
01:41:21.720 --> 01:41:24.600
And I thought, okay, I know I'm holding all these things against God.

1444
01:41:24.600 --> 01:41:25.720
So I need to let them go.

1445
01:41:25.720 --> 01:41:28.200
I need to hold, let go all of these.

1446
01:41:28.720 --> 01:41:32.720
Proofs and signs that he gave me that this promise that he was going to fulfill

1447
01:41:32.720 --> 01:41:35.600
this promise, because I felt that he'd give me all these signs on this proof.

1448
01:41:36.320 --> 01:41:43.960
So I, I, um, I, uh, released all of the signs that I felt God had given me all

1449
01:41:43.960 --> 01:41:47.360
of the proof, all of the evidence, all of the, whatever.

1450
01:41:47.800 --> 01:41:53.000
I, I, one by one, I went through all of them and emotionally cut myself off from

1451
01:41:53.000 --> 01:41:53.200
them.

1452
01:41:53.240 --> 01:41:55.040
I just emotionally let them go.

1453
01:41:56.080 --> 01:42:03.480
And, um, and, and I let go literally of everything, gave it all up to the Lord,

1454
01:42:03.480 --> 01:42:05.880
emotionally detached myself from all of it.

1455
01:42:05.920 --> 01:42:08.560
I don't mean that I denied the reality of them or whatever.

1456
01:42:09.040 --> 01:42:11.520
And then I just told myself that they weren't important.

1457
01:42:11.560 --> 01:42:13.600
No, I gave them up.

1458
01:42:14.440 --> 01:42:18.320
Completely gave them up except in that I had.

1459
01:42:18.360 --> 01:42:22.200
And then, so it's hard to describe, but it's like, I was lying in bed doing this

1460
01:42:22.280 --> 01:42:27.080
and it's like, there were all of these things stacked up between me and the Lord

1461
01:42:27.560 --> 01:42:30.520
and that I felt like I was pulling an accusation against him.

1462
01:42:30.840 --> 01:42:34.440
And so I'm like letting all of these things go and I'm letting them all go.

1463
01:42:34.440 --> 01:42:36.200
So I'm like removing all of the layers.

1464
01:42:36.640 --> 01:42:40.520
And then finally, there's only, I remember looking up and there were only two things

1465
01:42:40.520 --> 01:42:40.960
left.

1466
01:42:41.960 --> 01:42:42.880
It was God.

1467
01:42:43.800 --> 01:42:47.360
And then right below it, you know, in other words, the next layer, because I'd

1468
01:42:47.360 --> 01:42:52.960
been removing the layers next to me and the Lord, the Lord, the next layer was,

1469
01:42:53.280 --> 01:42:56.800
uh, the promise, the actual original promise that he'd given me because all

1470
01:42:56.800 --> 01:43:00.560
the other things I'd again, uh, given up were like the signs and, and the

1471
01:43:00.560 --> 01:43:04.640
evidence and the, I don't know, all these things that I thought he'd said and all

1472
01:43:04.640 --> 01:43:06.600
these particulars and all these details.

1473
01:43:06.600 --> 01:43:09.640
And I'd given all of those things up, all the things that I'd become emotionally

1474
01:43:09.680 --> 01:43:10.320
attached to.

1475
01:43:11.520 --> 01:43:19.760
And, um, uh, I, it basically in like memories of things, you know, uh, of me

1476
01:43:19.760 --> 01:43:21.720
and the Lord and all this stuff.

1477
01:43:21.720 --> 01:43:23.760
I just, I just emotionally released them all.

1478
01:43:24.520 --> 01:43:28.560
And I no longer held, held them up in accusation against the Lord.

1479
01:43:29.720 --> 01:43:35.200
Except for the promise because I'm like, oh, well, God is the one who gave me that

1480
01:43:35.200 --> 01:43:42.560
promise that, uh, and I, and anyway, so surely I'm supposed to hold on to that

1481
01:43:42.560 --> 01:43:46.160
one and he, and God's like, uh, we're not done yet.

1482
01:43:47.360 --> 01:43:49.520
That one right there is the last thing to let go.

1483
01:43:49.520 --> 01:43:53.440
And I was like, Lord, that doesn't under, I don't understand that theologically.

1484
01:43:53.720 --> 01:43:55.600
I thought I was supposed to hold on to the promise.

1485
01:43:55.600 --> 01:43:59.240
I thought that's what I was supposed to have faith in that you were going

1486
01:43:59.240 --> 01:44:00.840
to do what you said you would do.

1487
01:44:01.680 --> 01:44:05.360
He's like, no, let go of the promise.

1488
01:44:05.400 --> 01:44:06.120
I understand.

1489
01:44:06.120 --> 01:44:10.760
I gave it to you, but I didn't give it to you to hold on to.

1490
01:44:12.080 --> 01:44:13.200
I just gave it to you.

1491
01:44:13.240 --> 01:44:16.120
I just, I just put it in your hand, you held on to it.

1492
01:44:16.120 --> 01:44:19.600
And now you're still, you're holding out, still holding that against me.

1493
01:44:19.600 --> 01:44:21.520
He's like, no, no, no, that's not it.

1494
01:44:22.160 --> 01:44:28.800
I gave you the promise to reveal more of who I am to you so that you look at me and

1495
01:44:28.800 --> 01:44:35.480
see that I really am who I say that I am not to take your eyes off of me and look

1496
01:44:35.480 --> 01:44:37.680
at this thing that I promised you.

1497
01:44:39.160 --> 01:44:44.800
And now focus on that and now have faith in that, that that thing was going to

1498
01:44:44.800 --> 01:44:47.720
happen and that that's what you were having faith in.

1499
01:44:47.720 --> 01:44:49.120
He's like, no, no, no, no, no, no.

1500
01:44:49.520 --> 01:44:51.920
You will only ever have faith in me.

1501
01:44:54.480 --> 01:44:55.160
Okay.

1502
01:44:55.480 --> 01:44:58.960
I was, I was just blown away because that didn't match with my theology.

1503
01:44:59.480 --> 01:45:00.000
I thought that.

1504
01:45:00.000 --> 01:45:03.360
supposed to have faith that God was going to always do what he said he was going to do,

1505
01:45:03.360 --> 01:45:06.160
because you always believe that God's going to do what he says he's going to do, right?

1506
01:45:06.160 --> 01:45:10.320
And I thought that that's what I was supposed to have faith in. But I said, no, that's not what

1507
01:45:10.320 --> 01:45:16.480
you're supposed to have faith in. You expect that, yes, I will fulfill my word, but you have faith

1508
01:45:16.480 --> 01:45:21.200
in me. So he said, the last thing I want you to let go of, he said, because I don't want you to

1509
01:45:21.200 --> 01:45:26.560
let go of me. So you're not going to let go of me, but you are going to let go of the promise

1510
01:45:26.560 --> 01:45:35.120
that I made you. It's like, are you serious? It's like, I do not understand it. So I, I risked

1511
01:45:35.120 --> 01:45:40.320
letting go because what scared me was I thought, well, does that mean that this promise that he

1512
01:45:40.320 --> 01:45:50.400
gave me isn't going to happen? And, um, so anyway, I let it go and, and everything within me felt

1513
01:45:50.400 --> 01:45:56.800
free. Like, oh my word. And there was nothing between me and God anymore. Not even the promise

1514
01:45:56.800 --> 01:46:04.800
that he made me. And that's what I learned a deeper level of what faith means that faith is

1515
01:46:05.360 --> 01:46:10.800
that we believe that God is who he says that he is and that he will be that thing.

1516
01:46:12.000 --> 01:46:20.000
Not that he's going to do what he says he will do. In other words, manifest a particular way

1517
01:46:20.400 --> 01:46:27.120
or create a specific outcome, but rather that if he's making a promise, what he's saying is

1518
01:46:27.120 --> 01:46:33.680
I'm going to be who I say that I am. That's what that promise is actually saying. Not that he's

1519
01:46:33.680 --> 01:46:38.480
going to create a specific outcome, but rather he's trying to express, no, I'm going to be who

1520
01:46:38.480 --> 01:46:48.000
I say that I am. That is what we always focus on. Uh, so my, uh, the, the second practice that I

1521
01:46:48.000 --> 01:46:53.760
ask that y'all do is to exercise faith in some area, just like I did. If you can't do it for

1522
01:46:53.760 --> 01:46:59.520
something really big, I recommend that you, that you do. But if you just can't, cause I understand

1523
01:46:59.520 --> 01:47:03.760
God had to prepare me or walk me into being able to do that. So if you don't feel prepared and able

1524
01:47:03.760 --> 01:47:09.760
to walk into, into giving up something like that, pick something, pick something that you do feel

1525
01:47:09.760 --> 01:47:14.640
that you can do pick something like that smaller or something that's in a different area of your

1526
01:47:14.640 --> 01:47:22.320
life or whatever, and release everything, you know, to the Lord choosing God instead of the

1527
01:47:22.320 --> 01:47:30.640
promise that he made you or the way you thought his promise was going to manifest. Like what you

1528
01:47:30.640 --> 01:47:37.440
thought his promise was going to look like now, for instance, um, well, yeah, yeah, this works.

1529
01:47:37.440 --> 01:47:42.400
For instance, Priscilla, you've already talked about doing this with, um, with Montana. You

1530
01:47:42.400 --> 01:47:49.440
remember, uh, was that two years ago that I think I was with you and you did that, um, that, uh,

1531
01:47:49.440 --> 01:47:55.280
you know, during the time that I was there. So it's like that. So I recommend do that in some

1532
01:47:55.280 --> 01:48:02.640
area of y'all's life, pick something that's very important to you and release all of it, go through

1533
01:48:02.640 --> 01:48:07.840
like the bits and pieces of it that you feel that you're attached to that you emotionally feel a

1534
01:48:07.840 --> 01:48:17.360
connection to release all of them before the Lord can stop holding God accountable to execute it,

1535
01:48:18.800 --> 01:48:27.280
to create a specific outcome, to do something and just in release all of the things very specifically

1536
01:48:27.280 --> 01:48:33.360
between you and the Lord. And then in the end, choose to anchor your faith that he is who he

1537
01:48:33.360 --> 01:48:40.160
says that he is, and that he's going to express who he is into the situation,

1538
01:48:40.160 --> 01:48:45.440
not that it's going to, that the, that the expression of his character was going to manifest

1539
01:48:45.440 --> 01:48:52.640
in a specific way. Um, and I'll be very interested to hear, uh, the outcome. If it's very personal

1540
01:48:52.640 --> 01:48:58.400
that you, then you don't have to tell us, you know, what specifically it was, but I'd like to,

1541
01:48:58.400 --> 01:49:02.960
I'd like to hear, you know, how that process went. So I recommend writing down, you know,

1542
01:49:02.960 --> 01:49:08.720
in your practice part, uh, you know, in the, my practice recommending writing like phrases or

1543
01:49:08.720 --> 01:49:14.800
bullet points or whatever of how, how it went, like, like what you thought before you started

1544
01:49:14.800 --> 01:49:19.680
doing it, you know, what it was like going through it. And then just like some highlights, it doesn't

1545
01:49:19.680 --> 01:49:24.960
have to be heavy, or if you just get a lot more out of it by writing, you know, just the specifics,

1546
01:49:24.960 --> 01:49:28.720
like a lot of details about it and writing in full sentences, the more power to you,

1547
01:49:28.720 --> 01:49:36.560
but I just didn't want you to feel, uh, uh, and, and over wellness of having to articulate things,

1548
01:49:36.560 --> 01:49:42.720
articulate the highlighted bullet points of it, at least in like some phrase and just like some

1549
01:49:42.720 --> 01:49:48.400
bullet point phrases or whatever of what the experience was like. And then what it was like,

1550
01:49:48.400 --> 01:49:54.560
um, you know, once you release it, what you were able to do, and if you can't fully release

1551
01:49:54.560 --> 01:49:59.680
everything, just release to the degree that you can and know God is pleased.

1552
01:50:00.000 --> 01:50:06.120
God is pleased. God always looks at the positive. We keep thinking that God always looks at

1553
01:50:06.120 --> 01:50:11.440
the negative and be like, Oh, the glass is half empty. She did part of it, but you know

1554
01:50:11.440 --> 01:50:15.160
what? She knew all of it. No, no, no. God's just like, Oh my word. You believe me that

1555
01:50:15.160 --> 01:50:20.360
much that you would go to that degree that you release that many things. That's great.

1556
01:50:20.360 --> 01:50:26.560
He gets so excited. He's like, you would believe me that much. He loves that. He, he takes,

1557
01:50:26.560 --> 01:50:31.360
he doesn't look at it from the perspective of what you didn't do, but rather what you

1558
01:50:31.360 --> 01:50:36.840
did. It's like, you believed me that much. Remember he says, and he promised, and we

1559
01:50:36.840 --> 01:50:44.400
just read, he will not hold your sins against you. He will no longer hold your unbelief

1560
01:50:44.400 --> 01:50:51.600
against you. He just gets excited about what you did believe him in and what you did believe

1561
01:50:51.600 --> 01:50:59.240
him for meaning like what you did believe about him that he told you was true. All right.

1562
01:50:59.240 --> 01:51:03.520
So I hope that that was helpful, that that gave, it gives you a good, um, solid foundation

1563
01:51:03.520 --> 01:51:08.720
of what faith is and how to move forward in it. Um, and, uh, I, and you know what I am

1564
01:51:08.720 --> 01:51:13.200
going to mention this, I am surprised I didn't go through with this earlier, but y'all already

1565
01:51:13.200 --> 01:51:19.360
know this, and I'm just going to remind you that, um, remember that, that, uh, faith is

1566
01:51:19.360 --> 01:51:24.880
actually believing that something is true just because God said it. Even if you don't,

1567
01:51:24.880 --> 01:51:28.960
even if you don't feel it, and even if it doesn't make logical sense. So even if you

1568
01:51:28.960 --> 01:51:34.720
don't have any proof or evidence, and even if you don't, um, even if you don't feel like

1569
01:51:34.720 --> 01:51:40.080
it's true, you choose that it's true because God said so anyway. All right. I'll talk to you later.