Aug. 7, 2024

Unity

Unity

We review a sermon on Ephesians 4:5

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We review a sermon on Ephesians 4:5

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Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

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the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Good afternoon everyone.

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It is Wednesday, August the seventh, twenty twenty four. It

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is currently four forty three pm Central Time, and I

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am coming to you live from the Theology Central studio

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located right here in Abilene, Texas. Well, I probably shouldn't,

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but I am here about to write. I probably shouldn't

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do it, but here I am, and I'm about to

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do it. I know I shouldn't because the last two

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live webcasts, Wow, what a frustrating experience. And it bothers

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me because I know I came across very negative. I

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know I did, and it's not that I was necessarily

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trying to be negative. I was just so frustrated because

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I'm like, Okay, I have this whole thing mapped out

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this and I know, in some ways I love this

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about this podcast. In other ways, I know this sometimes

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just causes me more problems than it's probably worth. But

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I love the spontaneity of this podcast. I love how

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organic and real it is and how we just kind

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of let things take us wherever it leads. Right, So,

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when I'm like Okay. Oh, here's a conference Salt and

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Light twenty twenty four thirteen sermons. Okay, well, that's easy.

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I tell everyone to go listen to that for our sermons.

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Two point oh app sermon challenge. That's easy. Okay. Now

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I could have just left it there and moved on. Hey,

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everyone for the challenge this week. Go listen to those sermons, enjoy,

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tell me what you think, and I just move on

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and I don't even worry about it. Right, Or I

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could say, well, you go listen to it and I'll

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review some of the sermons. Well, once you start reviewing

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and finding out, Wait a minute, this whole conference is

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on Ephesians four five. Well, I can build an entire

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study around this. Right, Everyone's got thirteen sermons to listen to.

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I can review them. We all will spend the week

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reading Ephesians chapter four. I mean, I mean, all these

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things that we can do. I can, Oh wait, I can.

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I can give you the structure of the book. I

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can tell you what to look for in Ephesians chapter four.

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We can look at Okay, this is really okay. We've

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got philological exposition, practical exposition. Okay, in a sense, we

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have a little bit about our positional reality versus our

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practical reality. I can lay it all out and we

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can just build upon this. This can be really, really,

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really good. Who could have predicted that the first sermon

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from the conference, even though Ephesians four or five was

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the text that literally, I don't know what to say? What?

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What?

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What? I look? I don't want to be mean, but

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it's just like, look, I get right. Let me state

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it this way. I understand that pastors can do whatever

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they want with the text. They obviously can, and they

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can build, they can have successful churches that can have

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large online following, they can bring in a lot of

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money doing whatever they want to the text, and people

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will say that the way they handle the text is right,

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or where I may think the way they're handling it

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is wrong. So so in one sense, I should not

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get frustrated by that. On the other hand, sometimes I'm

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just looking at it going I just don't get it.

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I just like we have the Bible right, things are in,

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they're in, they're they're structured in specific ways, and words

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have meaning, and words are found in context of other words,

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and like all the different just basic rules. But those

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rules really don't apply I mean, I don't even know

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why we even have them, right, I think in reality,

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if we're honest from a from a theoretical perspective, Christianity

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has supposedly, you know, hermaneutical rules, hermanutical systems, interpretive rules

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in theory, in practice this especially in preaching. I don't

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think any of that ultimately matters. It's just people want

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a sermon and it doesn't really matter what is happening

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to the text. At least that's maybe that's being extremely negative.

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So I was just so frustrated by it. So what

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do I do?

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Well?

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Do I just give up? Do I just say, well,

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you know, it's Wednesday, Hey guys, you go listen to

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the rest. I'm just gonna move on. What do I do?

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So I'm like, well, let me look at the conference,

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and so I found I think maybe this is the

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next message. This maybe the third message. I don't know

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if they're in order, but I believe this is the

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second message, and it's called unity. I'm like, okay. I

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emphasized that Ephesians four, starting in verse three, is endeavoring

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to keep the unity, and that verse five one Lord,

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one faith, one baptism flows from that and the endeavoring

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there really focuses on the practical aspects of this, right

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because the theiological exposition in chapter's one, two three, then

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we have the transitional word. Therefore, now we transition into

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the practical exposition. Now he's going to besiege and he

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is telling them to endeavor. Remember we talked about the

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Greek word. You're supposed to be going around saying it

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all day. I'm not going to repeat it, but you're

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supposed to know it. Okay, So so everything makes sense. Okay, great,

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So I'm like, well, this is on unity, so maybe

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this is going to be far more in you know,

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involved with the text. And then I noticed, wow, this

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is only like twenty something minutes. I'm like, this is

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a short message. Okay, well this makes it perfect to review.

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So even if I don't review any others, I can

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say I reviewed the first two. That leaves everyone else.

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You can go listen to the to the remaining messages

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in the conference. Everyone benefits, and then hopefully this one,

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this will prove to be more beneficial than the last

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two messages. So I hope this is beneficial. I look,

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there's a part of me that wants to go back

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through the structure of the book. I mean I kind

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of already alluded to it. There's a lot, you know,

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I could go back to the Greek word for endeavoring.

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You should look up the Greek word and listen to it, right,

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and remember you slap when you say it. Remember I

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told you to use this when you're calling your dog,

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talking to your kids, talking to your spouse. Okay, I

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won't go through it all again, but I think I've done.

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I tried to provide people as much as I can

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and helping them understand Ephesians four. But we also want

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to kind of review the conference. And we still got

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our assignment on Sultan Light. So I have given you

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plenty to do. I just feel like I haven't contributed

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much to anything. So let's see if we can make

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this beneficial. You're ready, twenty twenty four Sult and Light Conference.

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This message is called unity. Let's see what happens. Remember,

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as always, I don't listen first, I listen with you.

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Whatever happens is real. There's no obviously, this is not

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pre planned. I don't go get a sermon thinking, oh,

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it's going to be bad so I can criticize. It's

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nothing about that it's I'm listening to sermons, and so

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we just listened together. What happens is whatever happens, I

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can't I can't predict it. So hopefully you'll find this

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to be beneficial. Are you ready, let's begin right now?

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Okay, thank you, okay, great, Thank you all very much.

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That's a beautiful prayer.

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I appreciate that very much, very heartfelt. I liked what

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Brother Zach said at the first part of his sermon

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where he was talking about being surprised.

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I don't know why he was. I don't think he.

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Really was, but when the machine welcomed you back, Okay, Well,

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just understand that Satan would be like the Most High God.

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And I work in technology, and I'm convinced whether I'm

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right or wrong. I'll go ahead and tell you anyway

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because it's my turn to talk. But I think that

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you know, he would be as as the Most High. Certainly,

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Satan does not have the power that God does, but

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he can certainly try to achieve omniscience or close to it,

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valance through the system, through technology.

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So that's that's where we are. That shouldn't it shouldn't.

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Surprise you, and it shouldn't bother you that every conversation

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that you have near your phone, whether it's turned on

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or off, is being recorded and stored. Don'tn't worry about that,

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because God's already hearing what you have to say.

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So Satan is trying to gain omniscience through monitoring technology,

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and that your phone records your conversation even if it's off. Interesting,

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I'm gonna, I gotta, I gotta, I gotta, I gotta

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check this out. Okay, I know I've heard these claims,

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and I know in some cases things are listening far

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more than we want to acknowledge. Do smartphones listen and

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record your conversations even if they are off?

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All right?

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Okay, it says this, just as just checking smartphones are

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designed to red are designed to record audio only when

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specific permissions are granted to apps, such as for voice

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commands or calls. Generally, smartphones do not listen and record

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conversations when they are off, as they lack power to

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run necessary processes. Okay, well, that would seem to make sense. However,

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there are concerns and instances where apps or devices might

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misuse permissions, leading to unauthorized recordings. It is important to

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regularly check app permissions and system updates to ensure privacy.

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If you're worried about security, you can also use physical

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methods like my microphone blockers to further protect your privacy.

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All right, So okay, I don't know. I guess my

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main issue is what what what would we take from

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scripture that would say, Hey, Satan is seeking to gain

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omniscience by monitoring conversations and phone calls through your phone.

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Is Satan? Like okay, all right, wait, I'm going to

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go to the offices for Android devices and I'm going

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to gather all of this information and then I will

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regain omniscience. Is Satan? I don't know. That's an interesting

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So sometimes when I listen to Christian preaching, I sometimes think,

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am I listening to Christian preaching? Am I listening to

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an episode of Alex Jones? Because sometimes I'm not saying

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it's completely as far as Alex Jones saying it's it's

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it's Alex Jones light and in that sense, But Alex

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Jones has been yelling and screaming that our devices are

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listening to us forever as he sits there with a

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phone on his desk when he's broadcasting. I'm like, well

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that's in that an iPhone, or he'll be recording a video.

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I'm like, aren't you so the technology that is part

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of the deep state in the nWo and and and Satan. Uh,

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then we utilize it, right And like, how am I

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listening to him? I'm listening to him on devices? Right?

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Like?

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So, so if I don't know, so, am I contributing

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to the the goals of Satan to become omniscients? So

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should I just never all Christians have no devices? Well,

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then should we be putting our sermons? I don't know

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how it all works. Sometimes I just but okay, I

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know that's not the point of the sermon. The good

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thing is he's just throwing out as the introduction, So

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we'll move on.

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I personally, for my band and and team of CIA

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and FBI handlers, I like to tell them about Jesus

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because they are you know, I kind of treat them

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like the Roman soldiers that Paul was chained to, you know,

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and he was imprisoned in Rome. You know, they didn't

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have any choice. They you know, he didn't he wasn't

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trapped in there. They were trapped in there. They had

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to hear it. That's ought to be our attitude and

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ought to be one of victory. Don't be afraid. Don't

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be afraid by any of this stuff.

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Okay.

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So evening devotional, it's on my mind and heart. I

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ask that you pray for me. Were the theme of

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this week end, and I think it was very well

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selected is if you allow me. But my understanding is

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we're going to be talking a lot about unity, the

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unity of the spirit, the unity, one Lord, one faith,

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one baptism, and so on. So I'd like to talk

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to you all just a little bit and give you

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some thoughts maybe to think about as you hear the

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coming good brethren that are going to speak and the

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ones that have already spoken.

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It's real important that we think.

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About that word unity, okay, and think about what it

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means and what it doesn't mean. There's two words that

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are very similar in sound, Unity and uniformity. Okay, unity

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and uniformity. Unity appears in the Bible. Uniformity does not,

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but the concept does is I'll show you and we're

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all flawed, we're all fail Sometimes people who mean the

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best cause the greatest havoc among the church and their

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desire because they confuse unity for uniformity. Okay, First John

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chapter five, verse one. Let me just read it.

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So unity versus uniformity. This is interesting. Okay, this has

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got my attention. Unity versus uniformity. Well meaning people sometimes

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can do great damage in the church, for I guess

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confine using or confounding unity with uniformity. All right, I

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have the Greek word pulled up that's translated unity. Here.

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I will see it's used two times. The word that's

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translated unity in Ephesians chapter four, verse three, where he

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says endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit. It's

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only used two times, and it's used in Ephesians four

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to three. In Ephesians four thirteen and the wait, oh,

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hang on, I just messed up here. Let me go

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back here, go back to the inntilineart to go back

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here to the intilinear. I apologize.

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Here.

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Here's the unity. Okay.

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It is the strongest definition oneness, unanity, unity, unanananimity, I

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think is.

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How you would say it. All right, Okay, I'm just

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looking at this here. Agreement. All right, So unity versus uniformity.

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He wants to draw a difference between those. Okay, He's

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going to go to first John immediately, which is interesting

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because if Ephesians four is the focus, you figure he

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would immediately go to unity there. But he's going to

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First John, which is kind of interesting. Okay, I'm I'm

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curious where this is headed, so we'll go ahead and

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turn to First John. I think he said, chapter five,

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we'll find out. Let's listen.

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To you.

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This is a verse that do I look like I

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have glasses anywhere? No, there's sunnis are on my head?

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Maybe they're under here. They all leave over there? Oh

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are they?

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Oh?

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J That's how I was preaching, And I said, the

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sister said, on your head. Thanks this, You'll be glad

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I did this. Listen to this verse and listen to

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the power of this verse. Chapter five, Verse one of

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First John. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is

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born of God. And everyone that loveth him, that begat

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loveth him also that is begotten of him. Okay, now,

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don't think about what's not in that verse. That verse

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doesn't say how you're born. Obviously, the Bible teaches us

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that you're born of God. He's just making the declarative

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statement that everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ

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is born of God. That's what it says, and that's

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a glorious statement because what the Bible tells us is

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without God intervening in our lives, there's no love for

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God at all.

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There's no love for Jesus Christ at all.

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So if you encounter someone who's sincerely, maybe erroneously in

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some points, but you find someone who truly and sincerely

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believes that Jesus is the Christ, they're born of God

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and that's significant.

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Okay.

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We might say, well, they don't believe everything quite like

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we do. Fair fine, okay, but they're part of the fault.

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They're part of the flock. There's someone for whom Christ died,

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and we need to have that understanding that we are

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all all of God's children, all of his sheep, are

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one fault and we have one shepherd. And someday we're

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going to be gathered together and there's just going to

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be times and places where we do things differently. Okay,

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the Bible makes it clear where those lines are drawn.

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But I want you to think about that that.

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Sometimes if people aren't doing things the right way, we

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just get all out of kilter.

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In the fourteenth chapter of the Book of John the other.

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Okay, so I guess the first point here is whoever

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believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.

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So unity then is simply we are unified because we

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all believe that Jesus is the Christ. Who believe that

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Jesus is the Okay, whoever believes that Jesus is the

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Christ is born of God. Whoever believes Jesus is the Christ.

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So whoever believes Jesus is the Christ is born of God.

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So unity is first accomplish through a common belief that

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Jesus is the Christ. But so I guess that's a unity.

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All right, Let's see where else he's going to go.

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Now he's going to go to John chapter fourteen. All right,

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I'm trying to follow. I'm trying to follow, but okay,

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all right, I think I can do something with that. Maybe,

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well we'll come back to that, all right, John chapter fourteen,

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I believe is where he's headed. All right, let's see again.

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This is so odd because this is the second message

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where I thought it's Ephesians four, But really Ephesians is

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not being dealt with much. And now I know this

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is just his introduction. So I'm going to hope. Well,

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I'm going to be positive he's gonna circle around and

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bring all of this to Ephesians.

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You know, the Gospel of John. Let's turn there real quickly.

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Jesus gives this parable, and this is this is the

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sheep chapter, as Brother David likes to call it. I

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like to call it the Shepherd chapter. And Jesus gives

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this parable. It gives us analogy. They're walking I believe

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they're in Jerusalem, and he walks by, and there's a

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sheep fold. If y' all don't know what a sheep

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fold is, it's kind of like a cross between a

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barn and a corral. It's a In this country, they

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had plenty of stones, so they would stack them dry,

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stack them up, and build a courtyard maybe the size

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of this room, maybe six feet tall. Maybe put some

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you know, like like the thorns, because they had plenty

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of those.

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Two And.

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Okay, if he said John fourteen, it's John ten, I

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think he may have said John ten, verse fourteen, so

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I think that's what he meant. So he may have

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said John ten fourteen. And I just heard the fourteen

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and said chapter at fourteen, it's John chapter ten, verse

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fourteen I will clarify my own mistake there right here

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we go.

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It would run him across the top like like razor wire,

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and there was just a small door and you'd put

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your sheep in there. And Jesus makes, you know, an appearance,

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and he just points out some things about that sheep fold.

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And it's really funny.

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Because we all go every which direction on this chapter.

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You know, I have good brethren back at home that say, well,

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you know, don't you think that the porter in this

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story is John the Baptist. I'm like, well, yeah, maybe, sure,

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you know, maybe probably, I don't know. And then another

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one might say, yeah, but don't you think that the

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door that Jesus comes through is the door of prophecy?

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Yeah?

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Yeah, I mean obviously he did. He fulfills all the love.

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But that's not what the master's telling us. That's not

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that's not what the Master is concerned with. What our

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what our savior says is when they don't understand what

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he has to say about this parable I'm not reading

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it for you. You can go read it, okay, add

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it to the list that Zach gave you. But think

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about this. This is that's what Jesus said Jesus said,

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I am the door, which is an odd thing to say.

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I'm the door, and I'm the good shepherd. And I'm

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the good shepherd because I laid on my life for

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my sheep. I defend my fold. I defend my sheep.

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I know who they are. I know them by name,

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just as a shepherd who knows his sheep. And he

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puts them safely in the sheep fold, and he goes

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to town and does his business. He comes back. He

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doesn't have to show up with a proclaim ticket. He

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doesn't have to prove his identity. He calls for his sheep,

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and they know who he is. They respond. Now he

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may have to go in there and pull him out,

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because sheep are like that. But he leads them to pasture.

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He takes care of them both in the sanctuary and out.

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He's the good shepherd, and he's your shepherd. If you

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believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, obviously

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that's a grace that God has given you. But you're

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born of God. You're one of his sheep. And notice

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what he says here the verse that I want to

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point out to you. He says in verse sixteen and

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other sheep I have which are not of this fold,

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Them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice,

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and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Okay,

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he says, other sheep I have that are not of

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this foult what's he talking about? Well, I think that

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from the context you would say that the fold that

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he's talking about up to that point is the Jewish nation,

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the Jewish religion, the Jewish people, because those are the

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only people that God largely had revealed himself too up

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to that point. But now the shepherd who's been promised

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from the very beginning of scriptures has now come, and

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he says, I've got some other sheep that I also

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must bring.

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The gentiles, the nations.

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You see, Jesus Christ didn't come just for the Jews,

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but he came for the world in the sense of

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the world of.

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His people from everywhere. Right.

400
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And notice that the word fold there occurs twice. And

401
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I very much love and appreciate the English translation we have,

402
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But in the original there's two different words there. The

403
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first word there, for fold, means what we would say,

404
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a sheet fold the structure, right, but the second one

405
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means a flock.

406
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Okay, Wait, so the word fold. There there's two different words. Okay,

407
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let me look at this. Let's John chapter fourteen, Verse no,

408
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John ten, I keep doing, I keep saying, John fourteen,

409
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John ten I apologize, Verse sixteen. The word fold is

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used twice. All right, fold fold. First, it is two

411
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different Greek words. The first one is this one.

412
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Strong g eight thirty three. Al lay ala.

413
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Ala ala is used twelve times strong definition alay a

414
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yard open to the wind by implication, court hall, palace

415
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among the Greeks in Homer's time, in uncovered space around

416
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the house and closed by a wall in which the

417
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stable stood. Hence among the Orientals that roofless enclosure by

418
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a wall, and the open country in which the flocks

419
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were herded at night. A sheepfold. The uncovered courtyard at

420
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the house in the Old Testament, particularly at the courts

421
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of the Tabernacle and of the Temple in Jerusalem. So

422
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it's an open not not a roof on top of

423
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it area. It's just kind of out in the open,

424
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but it's kind of fenced off like it sounds like

425
00:24:39.279 --> 00:24:39.960
that's ola.

426
00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:40.759
All right.

427
00:24:40.799 --> 00:24:45.440
So there's the first fold mentioned, all right, let me

428
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go to the second one. The second fold is this

429
00:24:53.000 --> 00:25:02.920
Greek word and it is strong G six seven poemne.

430
00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:08.519
Poemne refers to a flock. All right, so that's good.

431
00:25:08.599 --> 00:25:11.599
So hey, I love when I checked something out in

432
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a sermon and it turns out to be absolutely true.

433
00:25:14.519 --> 00:25:18.119
One refers to a structure, one refers to a flock.

434
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All right, all right, that's that's awesome, so accurate. All right, good,

435
00:25:23.720 --> 00:25:29.039
But now remember this is about unity. So all right, well,

436
00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:30.640
we still have a lot to try to figure out

437
00:25:30.640 --> 00:25:33.079
about unity. But let's see if we get something practical.

438
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It's going to be a little bit different. And you see,

439
00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:42.839
it's good. There's gonna be unity. But we're not going

440
00:25:42.920 --> 00:25:45.160
to keep doing things the way we used to do.

441
00:25:45.480 --> 00:25:47.920
We're not going to have that uniformity. And isn't that

442
00:25:48.039 --> 00:25:51.039
the problem that the Jews had? The Jewish Christians, these

443
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were good brethren, These were people for whom Christ died.

444
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They loved the Lord.

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But they felt like, well, if these gentiles are going

446
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to come in, we got to circumcise them, we got

447
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to turn them into Jews. They gotta do it this way. Uniformity, uniformity.

448
00:26:07.799 --> 00:26:10.119
A lot of problems have come in the Church because

449
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we think we're pushing unity when really we're demanding uniformity.

450
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In other words, you do things exactly the way I

451
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do it. You know my way is the right way,

452
00:26:20.440 --> 00:26:23.279
and you're out of order because not because there's no unity.

453
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And what's the difference, really, Well, unity is its unity

454
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of the spirit, unity of the Holy Spirit of God.

455
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If we perceive Jesus Christ as he truly is, and

456
00:26:32.240 --> 00:26:34.599
we're walking with him, then we're going to have fellowship

457
00:26:34.640 --> 00:26:36.119
one with another, and we're going to walk in the

458
00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:38.160
light as he is in the light, right, and we're

459
00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:41.400
going to walk with Jesus Christ. That's the unity that

460
00:26:41.400 --> 00:26:43.240
these men are talking about. I just want to make

461
00:26:43.240 --> 00:26:44.599
sure that you understand that.

462
00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:50.279
Okay, so this is interesting and almost all like we

463
00:26:50.400 --> 00:26:53.640
skipped something there, but okay, so he finally starts bringing

464
00:26:53.640 --> 00:26:56.720
in unity and uniformity. All right, so I'm going to

465
00:26:57.839 --> 00:27:01.480
let's look at this and see how we I just

466
00:27:01.519 --> 00:27:04.799
looked up at least one source. Unity and uniformity, though

467
00:27:04.839 --> 00:27:09.680
often used interchangeably, have distinct meanings. Especially in social and

468
00:27:09.799 --> 00:27:13.960
organizational context. Unity refers to a sense of togetherness and

469
00:27:14.039 --> 00:27:18.839
agreement among individuals or groups, where differences are acknowledged but

470
00:27:18.920 --> 00:27:22.839
do not hinder collective purpose or harmony. It is about collaboration,

471
00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:28.319
mutual respect, and shared goals. While embracing diversity, unity values

472
00:27:28.359 --> 00:27:32.680
the uniqueness of each end member, fostering an inclusive environment

473
00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:38.279
where different perspectives contribute to a common objective. Uniformity, on

474
00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:44.079
the other hand, emphasizes sameness and conformity. It seeks consistency

475
00:27:44.160 --> 00:27:48.319
and standardization, often requiring individuals to adhere to a specific

476
00:27:48.319 --> 00:27:53.000
set of norms, behaviors, or appearances. While uniformity can simplify

477
00:27:53.119 --> 00:27:57.880
processes and create predictability, it also can suppress individuality and

478
00:27:57.920 --> 00:28:03.160
discourage innovation and creative things. Now, I will argue that

479
00:28:03.240 --> 00:28:08.759
when I read that Christianity is all about uniformity, it

480
00:28:09.279 --> 00:28:14.640
wants sameness. It wants conformity, It wants consistency, it wants standardization.

481
00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:18.359
It requires individuals to here to a specific set of

482
00:28:18.400 --> 00:28:21.119
norms and ideas. You will believe this, you will believe this,

483
00:28:21.200 --> 00:28:22.720
you will do this, you will think this way. You

484
00:28:22.759 --> 00:28:24.880
won't do this, you won't do that. And if you don't,

485
00:28:25.559 --> 00:28:27.960
even though you may be able to be here, you're

486
00:28:27.960 --> 00:28:30.839
going to hear plenty against it to move you from

487
00:28:30.920 --> 00:28:36.640
to conformity to uniformity. Christianity is all about uniformity over

488
00:28:36.680 --> 00:28:41.160
and over and over, where unity is like, hey, we're

489
00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:46.240
together and maybe we have some agreement among individuals, but

490
00:28:46.400 --> 00:28:49.799
are different, but we have differences. We acknowledge that, but

491
00:28:49.839 --> 00:28:53.039
we do not allow it to hinder our collective purpose

492
00:28:53.319 --> 00:29:01.039
and our harmony. Uniformity demands sameness, and I think Christianity constantly. Look,

493
00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:03.519
if you're not same enough, you will be pushed out.

494
00:29:03.759 --> 00:29:07.839
You will conform or be rejected. You will be conformed,

495
00:29:08.039 --> 00:29:10.920
you'll be cast out. To quote the famous lyric by

496
00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:15.119
Rush Okay, So I see just the fact that I

497
00:29:15.200 --> 00:29:19.119
mentioned that band, someone will say, see, you're ungodly, And

498
00:29:19.519 --> 00:29:23.200
because they want uniformity, I gotta agree with them about music. See,

499
00:29:23.640 --> 00:29:32.079
uniformity is demanded in Christianity. Inclusivity versus conformity. Unity embraces

500
00:29:32.079 --> 00:29:39.759
diversity and different perspectives. Uniformity demands sameness. Collaboration versus standardization.

501
00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:45.880
Unity fosters collaboration and values individual contributions. Uniformity seeks consistency

502
00:29:45.880 --> 00:29:51.000
and adherence to a specific standard purpose versus process. Unity

503
00:29:51.039 --> 00:29:55.559
focuses on a shared purpose and common goals. Uniformity focuses

504
00:29:55.599 --> 00:30:03.279
on maintaining a consistent process or appearance. So now he

505
00:30:03.319 --> 00:30:05.960
may be push he may be calling for unity, but

506
00:30:06.119 --> 00:30:13.440
I'm saying Christianity at its very essence has been uniformity, uniformity, uniformity, uniformity, uniformity, uniformity.

507
00:30:13.559 --> 00:30:16.759
And that's why there's constant fights and church splits and

508
00:30:16.759 --> 00:30:19.880
and and changes and denominations and and I'm going to

509
00:30:19.960 --> 00:30:23.960
leave this church because we want uniformity. I mean, over

510
00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:26.599
and over. I think that I think that's fair to say.

511
00:30:28.400 --> 00:30:30.079
That it's not uniformity.

512
00:30:30.119 --> 00:30:31.599
You know, there was a time, and it's recorded for

513
00:30:31.680 --> 00:30:35.079
us both in Luke and in Mark, where Jesus was

514
00:30:35.119 --> 00:30:38.440
speaking and he was teaching to his disciples, and and

515
00:30:38.519 --> 00:30:40.720
John said, oh yeah, that reminds me. Now let me

516
00:30:40.799 --> 00:30:44.279
let's let's let's turn there. There's a lot of humor

517
00:30:44.279 --> 00:30:47.640
in the Bible because we recognize ourselves if we will

518
00:30:47.680 --> 00:30:52.680
pay attention. So John said to him in Mark, chapter nine,

519
00:30:52.759 --> 00:30:56.759
verse thirty eight. John answered him, saying, Master, we saw

520
00:30:56.839 --> 00:30:59.960
one casting out devils in thy name, and he fought

521
00:31:00.400 --> 00:31:06.160
not us, and we forbade him because he followeth not us.

522
00:31:06.880 --> 00:31:09.839
Here the disciples said, as we were walking along the way,

523
00:31:09.880 --> 00:31:12.920
we encountered a man who was claiming to do things,

524
00:31:12.960 --> 00:31:16.960
and they were pretty miraculous things, casting out devils in

525
00:31:17.039 --> 00:31:19.680
the name of Jesus Christ. And we told him to stop.

526
00:31:21.319 --> 00:31:23.640
Did we do right? That's what he says in Luke,

527
00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:26.799
do we do the right thing? You know, we thought

528
00:31:26.839 --> 00:31:30.079
we were doing the right thing. He wasn't one of us.

529
00:31:30.559 --> 00:31:33.000
He wasn't in the crowd with the rest of us.

530
00:31:33.039 --> 00:31:35.319
He wasn't following us, he wasn't with us. So we

531
00:31:35.400 --> 00:31:37.960
told him to stop, and Jesus said, forbid him not.

532
00:31:38.880 --> 00:31:40.000
Don't do that.

533
00:31:40.839 --> 00:31:45.480
Don't require that kind of uniformity. Jesus said, forbid him not.

534
00:31:45.599 --> 00:31:48.160
For there is no man which shall do a miracle

535
00:31:48.279 --> 00:31:52.400
in my name that can speak, that can lightly speak

536
00:31:52.440 --> 00:31:54.400
evil of me. I mean, if these men had stopped

537
00:31:54.440 --> 00:31:58.880
to think about that, they would have understood. And sometimes

538
00:31:58.920 --> 00:32:01.759
if we would stop and think, we would understand that

539
00:32:02.160 --> 00:32:05.759
the same God who blesses us blesses.

540
00:32:05.319 --> 00:32:06.160
All of his people.

541
00:32:06.440 --> 00:32:08.920
Okay, I'm not getting all like you minical, and you

542
00:32:08.960 --> 00:32:12.240
don't don't go off and say Randy wants open communion

543
00:32:12.359 --> 00:32:15.240
and all that nonsense. That's not what I'm talking about

544
00:32:15.279 --> 00:32:18.240
at all. But I'm talking about the idea that we

545
00:32:18.279 --> 00:32:21.319
can confuse and we can think that our way is

546
00:32:21.319 --> 00:32:24.160
the only way, okay. And we need to understand that

547
00:32:24.200 --> 00:32:26.240
what we're looking for and what we're pressing for is

548
00:32:26.279 --> 00:32:28.480
into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, and what we want

549
00:32:28.559 --> 00:32:31.319
unity is Him. We speak of knowing the truth, but

550
00:32:31.359 --> 00:32:33.240
the Bible tells us that the truth is Him.

551
00:32:33.400 --> 00:32:34.279
I am the truth.

552
00:32:34.799 --> 00:32:36.759
When you say that you're walking in the truth, what

553
00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:38.880
you're saying is you're walking with Jesus Christ.

554
00:32:39.000 --> 00:32:42.160
Are you doing that? If you are, then we.

555
00:32:42.160 --> 00:32:46.480
Can talk about our differences. But you can't do what

556
00:32:46.559 --> 00:32:49.039
John did here. But we all do it all the time.

557
00:32:49.799 --> 00:32:50.200
Okay.

558
00:32:51.240 --> 00:32:53.279
Jesus says that no man could do a mirror. If

559
00:32:53.279 --> 00:32:54.799
you think about it, no man should be able to

560
00:32:54.799 --> 00:32:57.920
do a miracle in My name and speak be opposed

561
00:32:57.920 --> 00:32:58.200
to me.

562
00:32:59.519 --> 00:33:01.960
Wouldn't it matter that? I mean, wouldn't it occur to.

563
00:33:01.960 --> 00:33:04.599
You that maybe I was in on that, Maybe I

564
00:33:04.759 --> 00:33:08.279
was fine with that. Maybe maybe the Lord's fine with

565
00:33:08.359 --> 00:33:11.160
some things that we get maybe a little bit uptied

566
00:33:11.200 --> 00:33:15.279
about unity. We're looking for unity. That's what we're promised,

567
00:33:15.319 --> 00:33:19.640
that's what we're to pursue. Uniformity has its place, but

568
00:33:19.799 --> 00:33:22.519
only to a degree, and that is addressed by the

569
00:33:22.559 --> 00:33:24.640
apostle Paul in the Book of Romans. So let's go

570
00:33:24.680 --> 00:33:25.720
to Romans fourteen and.

571
00:33:25.720 --> 00:33:31.200
This all right, So unity is what we seek, but

572
00:33:31.519 --> 00:33:36.720
there's a place for uniformity. I knew because when you

573
00:33:36.759 --> 00:33:41.400
read about uniformity, I'm telling you that sounds like Christianity. Okay,

574
00:33:41.480 --> 00:33:43.799
all right, so now we're going to Romans. Okay, this

575
00:33:43.880 --> 00:33:47.400
is interesting. I guess this conference. It's so weird to

576
00:33:47.400 --> 00:33:50.799
have a conference where Ephesians four is the text and

577
00:33:51.160 --> 00:33:56.279
nobody covers Ephesians four. I am baffled by this. I

578
00:33:56.319 --> 00:33:58.200
really am. Hey, we're going to do a conference and

579
00:33:58.240 --> 00:33:59.960
our theme verse is going to be our key verse.

580
00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:01.559
This is going to be in the Book of Ephesias,

581
00:34:01.680 --> 00:34:03.920
but none of our preachers are going to actually deal

582
00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:10.360
with the book. I'm assuming that change is at some point,

583
00:34:10.400 --> 00:34:12.519
but at this point I'm just baffled by this. Orright,

584
00:34:12.599 --> 00:34:13.639
let's continue.

585
00:34:15.519 --> 00:34:19.519
Fun. Okay, Well, praise the Lord.

586
00:34:21.199 --> 00:34:24.719
I'm thankful because we're talking about the Lord Jesus Christ

587
00:34:24.760 --> 00:34:27.559
and what is he teaching us in his word and

588
00:34:27.559 --> 00:34:30.920
what's he going to reveal to us about unity?

589
00:34:31.199 --> 00:34:34.000
What does it mean? Why is that there.

590
00:34:35.679 --> 00:34:39.119
In fourteenth chapter of Romans the Apostle Paul is addressing

591
00:34:39.199 --> 00:34:43.400
some questions, some issues that were some friction in the church,

592
00:34:43.880 --> 00:34:46.719
and the friction was primarily coming, if I'm reading this correctly,

593
00:34:46.760 --> 00:34:50.960
the friction was probably coming because there were Jewish Christians

594
00:34:50.960 --> 00:34:53.519
who were used to doing things one way and there

595
00:34:53.559 --> 00:34:57.239
were gentile Christians who were doing things another way. And

596
00:34:57.239 --> 00:34:59.559
now let me ask you this question again, which one

597
00:34:59.599 --> 00:35:07.960
is right BOTHO him that is weak in the faith

598
00:35:08.079 --> 00:35:11.760
receive ye, but not too doubtful disputations, which is a

599
00:35:11.760 --> 00:35:16.480
fancy word of saying, don't come down and harshly judge him,

600
00:35:16.760 --> 00:35:18.199
don't try to fix him.

601
00:35:18.280 --> 00:35:21.159
Okay. If he has faith in Christ, you need to

602
00:35:21.199 --> 00:35:22.559
rejoice in that. Let's teach him.

603
00:35:22.840 --> 00:35:25.639
Okay, Let's teach him about Jesus Christ. Let's teach him

604
00:35:25.639 --> 00:35:28.079
the doctrines. These are the true doctrines. Don't get me wrong.

605
00:35:28.159 --> 00:35:31.719
This is very important. But you can have a spirit

606
00:35:31.960 --> 00:35:34.440
of uniformity that destroys your witness.

607
00:35:34.880 --> 00:35:36.400
Okay, that's what I'm talking about.

608
00:35:36.440 --> 00:35:38.719
So here Paul says, Look, you've got people in your church,

609
00:35:38.800 --> 00:35:40.719
and as you continue to read these verses, he says,

610
00:35:40.960 --> 00:35:43.280
there are some people who are still holding themselves to

611
00:35:43.400 --> 00:35:45.960
the Jewish traditional law. If you were an early day

612
00:35:46.079 --> 00:35:47.960
Christian and you are a Jew and you didn't want

613
00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:48.480
to eat.

614
00:35:48.320 --> 00:35:53.880
Pork, was it okay? See, yeah, of course it was okay.

615
00:35:54.519 --> 00:35:56.840
It's okay today if you want to, if you want

616
00:35:56.880 --> 00:35:59.400
to eat, have bacon, and I mean, he'd be crazy

617
00:35:59.440 --> 00:36:04.760
not to, but I mean because he's so delicious. But yeah,

618
00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:08.880
it's okay too. He says that. He says you, one

619
00:36:08.880 --> 00:36:11.599
man believes that he may eat all things. Another who

620
00:36:11.719 --> 00:36:15.599
is weak edith herbs, Let not him that edith despise

621
00:36:15.719 --> 00:36:18.880
him that eateth not, And let not him which edith

622
00:36:18.960 --> 00:36:22.880
not judge him which edith, For God hath received him.

623
00:36:23.079 --> 00:36:26.480
That's their thing to remember. He that believes that Jesus

624
00:36:26.519 --> 00:36:28.440
is the Christ is born of God. And he who

625
00:36:28.480 --> 00:36:31.039
loveth him that be God, also loves them that he

626
00:36:31.079 --> 00:36:34.000
has begotten, which means each other. Of course, it means

627
00:36:34.039 --> 00:36:35.800
the Lord too, but it means each other. That's what

628
00:36:35.800 --> 00:36:37.199
we're supposed to do. If we're gonna walk in the

629
00:36:37.239 --> 00:36:38.880
King of Jesus Christ. We have to have love, which

630
00:36:38.920 --> 00:36:40.800
means we have to tolerate a lot of things that

631
00:36:40.840 --> 00:36:41.440
we might.

632
00:36:41.599 --> 00:36:43.519
Not like or that we might put up with.

633
00:36:43.719 --> 00:36:46.440
That that's okay because what we're pressing for is the

634
00:36:46.519 --> 00:36:49.519
unity of the faith. He says, Who art thou that

635
00:36:49.639 --> 00:36:52.360
judges another man's servant to his own master? He standeth

636
00:36:52.400 --> 00:36:54.320
or falleth. Yeah, he shall be holding up, for God

637
00:36:54.400 --> 00:36:57.000
is able to make him stand. One man esteemeth one

638
00:36:57.079 --> 00:36:59.719
day above another, another esteemeth another day alike. Okay, here's

639
00:36:59.719 --> 00:37:02.760
another situation. If you're a Jew, do you celebrate Passover?

640
00:37:03.920 --> 00:37:05.960
Is it okay? If you're a Jewish Christian? Is it

641
00:37:05.960 --> 00:37:08.000
still okay to celebrate Passover? I mean, that's what he's

642
00:37:08.039 --> 00:37:08.519
talking about.

643
00:37:08.679 --> 00:37:09.000
Esteem.

644
00:37:09.000 --> 00:37:11.360
It's one day above another. There were still feast days,

645
00:37:11.599 --> 00:37:13.639
was it okay? These were the kinds of questions that

646
00:37:13.679 --> 00:37:15.400
they dealt with in Acts chapter fifteen.

647
00:37:16.079 --> 00:37:19.920
Right, they had the liberty to do it if they wished. Right.

648
00:37:20.280 --> 00:37:23.199
Notice what he says, let every man be fully persuaded

649
00:37:23.920 --> 00:37:26.360
in his own mind. I thought we had the mind

650
00:37:26.400 --> 00:37:29.000
of Christ. I thought we just had one mind. Well, yes,

651
00:37:29.000 --> 00:37:30.960
in that sense we do. But in another sense, we

652
00:37:31.000 --> 00:37:33.840
all have our own mind, and we are to follow

653
00:37:34.159 --> 00:37:37.840
our own conscience on our own directions, while taking into

654
00:37:37.880 --> 00:37:41.599
account the conscience of one another. As you go on

655
00:37:41.639 --> 00:37:44.840
to read this chapter and you read first Corinthians chapters

656
00:37:44.880 --> 00:37:47.400
eight through ten. What Paul sets out is that you're

657
00:37:47.400 --> 00:37:53.039
guided both by love and by wisdom. You know, when

658
00:37:53.079 --> 00:37:54.880
you're dealing with things. If you've got a brother who

659
00:37:54.960 --> 00:37:57.880
is offended by something you do, you should not do that.

660
00:37:58.440 --> 00:38:00.679
You should not do it in their presence, not to

661
00:38:00.880 --> 00:38:03.519
be conform to them in the sense of just trying,

662
00:38:03.559 --> 00:38:05.280
because that's the only way to do it, but because

663
00:38:05.280 --> 00:38:09.719
you'll love them. Because you'll love them, why destroy him

664
00:38:09.920 --> 00:38:10.920
for whom Christ died.

665
00:38:10.960 --> 00:38:12.199
That's what Paul says.

666
00:38:11.920 --> 00:38:14.800
Here, and it goes on to say in chapter fourteen,

667
00:38:14.880 --> 00:38:17.440
Verses seventeen and eighteen says, for the Kingdom of God

668
00:38:17.519 --> 00:38:19.639
is not meet and drink. All these rules, all these

669
00:38:19.639 --> 00:38:21.519
silly things, all these things that we think are important,

670
00:38:21.519 --> 00:38:23.320
all these things that we think are actually the worship

671
00:38:23.400 --> 00:38:23.960
of God are not.

672
00:38:25.840 --> 00:38:27.719
They're not. Okay, they're not.

673
00:38:28.440 --> 00:38:31.079
The Kingdom of God is not meet and drink, but

674
00:38:31.280 --> 00:38:34.639
righteousness and peace and joy in.

675
00:38:34.559 --> 00:38:35.239
The Holy Ghost.

676
00:38:35.360 --> 00:38:38.559
For he who in these things serveth Christ is accepted

677
00:38:38.599 --> 00:38:42.599
of God and approved of men. That's what we're pressing for.

678
00:38:43.159 --> 00:38:45.039
And so that brings me to a very interesting story.

679
00:38:45.039 --> 00:38:47.519
And with this I will close. This is a historical

680
00:38:47.639 --> 00:38:50.400
story it's not in the Bible, but it is in

681
00:38:50.440 --> 00:38:52.760
the early writings of the Church. You know that as

682
00:38:52.800 --> 00:38:58.079
the Apostle Apostolic Age ended with the death of John

683
00:38:58.119 --> 00:39:01.360
the Baptist, who I read copiously from this evening. He'd

684
00:39:01.400 --> 00:39:03.039
lived to be a ripe old age. There was a

685
00:39:03.039 --> 00:39:05.880
man named Polycarp who was his disciple. He was a

686
00:39:05.920 --> 00:39:08.320
young man when John was an old man. And we

687
00:39:08.360 --> 00:39:11.239
know quite a bit about this man named Polycarp, who

688
00:39:11.320 --> 00:39:14.440
was a preacher. He was a pastor or the bishop

689
00:39:14.519 --> 00:39:16.559
of Smyrna. You've heard of Smyrna. Those of you have

690
00:39:16.599 --> 00:39:19.679
read Revelation, add that to your list, because you'll get

691
00:39:19.719 --> 00:39:24.599
you excited if you'll read Revelation. But Polycarp was a

692
00:39:24.599 --> 00:39:28.480
disciple of John. And what the church is in Asia,

693
00:39:28.480 --> 00:39:31.400
in that region of the world, those churches that were

694
00:39:31.440 --> 00:39:33.880
in what we would call modern day Turkey, the church

695
00:39:33.920 --> 00:39:36.480
is kind of in the East. When it came time

696
00:39:36.559 --> 00:39:39.679
to celebrate, they had a desire to celebrate the resurrection

697
00:39:39.760 --> 00:39:41.920
of Jesus Christ, and of course we had to celebrate

698
00:39:41.960 --> 00:39:45.119
that every day. One man esteem with one day above

699
00:39:45.119 --> 00:39:47.360
another another man of steemth every day alike, Let every

700
00:39:47.360 --> 00:39:49.039
man be fully persuaded in his mind, you don't have

701
00:39:49.079 --> 00:39:50.880
to celebrate Easter, but if you want to, you can

702
00:39:51.599 --> 00:39:54.440
guess what you've got that liberty you do, but don't

703
00:39:54.440 --> 00:39:56.880
be offended if somebody does it some other way. Well

704
00:39:56.920 --> 00:40:00.039
that was the problem, because there was another man. And

705
00:40:00.119 --> 00:40:01.920
let's see if I can get his name. I'm glad

706
00:40:01.920 --> 00:40:07.360
I got the glasses. Antecetas was the pastor in Rome,

707
00:40:09.239 --> 00:40:11.880
and Anteceitas decided.

708
00:40:11.920 --> 00:40:13.239
This is the early one hundreds.

709
00:40:13.280 --> 00:40:19.159
Antecetas decided that it was necessary that all the Christians

710
00:40:19.199 --> 00:40:24.119
throughout the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on

711
00:40:24.239 --> 00:40:28.440
the Sunday following the full moon following.

712
00:40:28.239 --> 00:40:30.519
The spring equinox.

713
00:40:31.360 --> 00:40:33.199
And the reason for that is because that would line

714
00:40:33.280 --> 00:40:35.639
up with the first Sunday that Jesus was raised from

715
00:40:35.639 --> 00:40:39.559
because we all know that Jesus was crucified in accordance

716
00:40:39.599 --> 00:40:42.840
with the Jewish calendar on the fourteenth day of Nissan,

717
00:40:42.880 --> 00:40:44.960
which was the day of the Passover, and then that

718
00:40:44.960 --> 00:40:47.880
following Sunday was when he was raised from the dead.

719
00:40:48.159 --> 00:40:51.639
So the church at Rome had a desire to celebrate

720
00:40:52.119 --> 00:40:55.159
on that Sunday. Now, I don't know if if Peter

721
00:40:55.280 --> 00:40:57.039
ever actually made it to Rome or not. I really

722
00:40:57.039 --> 00:40:58.599
don't know. I know that there's a lot of legends

723
00:40:58.599 --> 00:41:00.320
about it, but there's a lot of legends about Peter.

724
00:41:01.199 --> 00:41:04.519
But you can certainly understand from a practical standpoint why

725
00:41:04.559 --> 00:41:07.800
Peter and his disciples would want to emphasize that day,

726
00:41:07.960 --> 00:41:11.239
you know, not the crucifixion, because that's when he crucified. Yeah,

727
00:41:11.239 --> 00:41:14.199
that's when he denied it. My point is that there

728
00:41:14.199 --> 00:41:18.000
were a group of Christians in Rome who set aside,

729
00:41:18.079 --> 00:41:18.840
this is the day.

730
00:41:19.480 --> 00:41:21.639
Okay, Well, those.

731
00:41:21.480 --> 00:41:26.199
Apostles that were from where Polycarp was, from the churches

732
00:41:26.239 --> 00:41:30.639
of Asia, Ephesus and so on, by John and by

733
00:41:30.679 --> 00:41:34.480
the Philip, who was another apostle, they celebrated it differently.

734
00:41:34.519 --> 00:41:38.559
They preferred to celebrate it on Nissan fourteenth. So if

735
00:41:38.639 --> 00:41:41.199
Nissan fourteenth landed on a Wednesday, they would celebrate it.

736
00:41:41.239 --> 00:41:43.519
Then if they landed on a Saturday, they would do it.

737
00:41:43.599 --> 00:41:47.119
Then they would sit down and remember.

738
00:41:46.719 --> 00:41:47.639
That and think about this.

739
00:41:47.719 --> 00:41:49.920
If you look at the Book of John, the Gospel

740
00:41:49.960 --> 00:41:53.800
of John, almost half the book is about the night

741
00:41:53.960 --> 00:41:56.840
that Jesus talked with his disciples. It starts in chapter

742
00:41:56.880 --> 00:41:58.719
thirteen and it runs all the way to chapter eighteen.

743
00:41:58.760 --> 00:42:01.360
I mean, some of the most beautiful words in all

744
00:42:01.440 --> 00:42:03.679
the Bible. Right, let not your heart be troubled. You

745
00:42:03.719 --> 00:42:05.920
believe in God, believe also in me. I mean, this

746
00:42:06.119 --> 00:42:10.159
was Jesus talking to his disciples before his crucifixion. And

747
00:42:10.199 --> 00:42:12.800
it makes sense that the disciple whom Jesus loved would

748
00:42:12.800 --> 00:42:14.840
want to sit down and they would have a meal,

749
00:42:14.840 --> 00:42:16.360
and they would have a communion, and then they would

750
00:42:16.360 --> 00:42:17.880
sit there and they would talk about and bring to

751
00:42:17.960 --> 00:42:20.639
mind the things that the Master had said that night.

752
00:42:21.320 --> 00:42:23.679
Isn't that beautiful? You know, we could do that too

753
00:42:23.679 --> 00:42:25.719
if we wanted to. There's absolutely no reason why Tyler

754
00:42:25.800 --> 00:42:27.800
Church or anywhere else. If you said, you know what,

755
00:42:27.880 --> 00:42:29.559
if it was the mind of the church and they

756
00:42:29.599 --> 00:42:32.559
wanted to do it, you could get together on Nissan

757
00:42:32.880 --> 00:42:36.440
fourteen and do that. It's an Apostolic tradition. I don't

758
00:42:36.440 --> 00:42:40.639
know what better you know, what better authority you need?

759
00:42:41.119 --> 00:42:45.239
But can you see, here's two different Apostolic traditions. So

760
00:42:45.320 --> 00:42:49.639
which one's right? I hope you've guessed by now. They're

761
00:42:49.639 --> 00:42:55.079
both right, right, They're both right. They're different, they're not uniform,

762
00:42:56.199 --> 00:42:58.559
but there is unity because what are they celebrating in

763
00:42:58.599 --> 00:42:59.199
both places?

764
00:42:59.199 --> 00:43:01.119
Both in Rome and in Asia. What are they celebrating.

765
00:43:01.159 --> 00:43:05.920
They're celebrating the death and burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Right,

766
00:43:06.199 --> 00:43:08.320
and he can be in both places, and it doesn't

767
00:43:08.360 --> 00:43:09.239
have to be at the same time.

768
00:43:09.840 --> 00:43:10.119
Right.

769
00:43:10.519 --> 00:43:14.280
Okay, But here's the problem. The guys in Rome were

770
00:43:14.320 --> 00:43:16.639
not content to do it the way they wanted to

771
00:43:16.639 --> 00:43:20.440
do it they wanted and they demanded that everyone else

772
00:43:20.519 --> 00:43:25.599
do it the same way. Why because they confused unity

773
00:43:25.679 --> 00:43:26.679
for uniformity.

774
00:43:29.039 --> 00:43:32.480
Now again, I'm baffled that Ephesians is not even coming

775
00:43:32.559 --> 00:43:37.480
into play here. I'm baffled that, you know, if Ephesians

776
00:43:37.519 --> 00:43:42.480
fours is the focus here, we literally have I. Therefore,

777
00:43:42.480 --> 00:43:44.440
the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy

778
00:43:44.480 --> 00:43:47.400
of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness, gentleness,

779
00:43:47.400 --> 00:43:50.039
long suffering, bearing with one another, endeavoring to keep the

780
00:43:50.119 --> 00:43:52.760
unity of the spirit. What leads to how can we

781
00:43:52.880 --> 00:43:56.960
endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit by lowliness, gentleness,

782
00:43:56.960 --> 00:43:59.840
long suffering, bearing one another in love? Like the text

783
00:43:59.840 --> 00:44:02.599
here just screams like, here's everything you need to do

784
00:44:02.679 --> 00:44:06.920
to talk about unity. His approach was radically different. Okay, great,

785
00:44:07.920 --> 00:44:10.280
now he's got this story. Now, I do like the

786
00:44:10.360 --> 00:44:15.880
idea that he is showing how uniformity and even in history,

787
00:44:16.239 --> 00:44:20.719
even in church history, uniformity is what the church presses for.

788
00:44:20.760 --> 00:44:23.480
That the church doesn't really want unity, it wants unif

789
00:44:23.519 --> 00:44:27.360
it wants uniformity. I do like this distinction between unity

790
00:44:27.360 --> 00:44:32.599
and uniformity. So how does that work practically? Well, we

791
00:44:32.599 --> 00:44:36.760
could have a discussion. So I do appreciate this. Again,

792
00:44:36.800 --> 00:44:40.679
I'm just like, well, Ephesians four, its right, how do

793
00:44:40.719 --> 00:44:42.440
we how do we how do we bring in the

794
00:44:42.440 --> 00:44:46.199
subject of unity versus uniformity to this? But all right,

795
00:44:46.480 --> 00:44:47.360
let's just continue.

796
00:44:49.119 --> 00:44:51.679
They started making a big fuss and saying everybody in

797
00:44:51.679 --> 00:44:54.800
the world needs to celebrate this way and by the way,

798
00:44:54.840 --> 00:44:57.320
that's that's how Easter is calculated today. So if you

799
00:44:57.320 --> 00:44:59.760
did celebrate Easter, that's wonderful. But that's that's how it's

800
00:44:59.840 --> 00:45:02.320
kind of and that goes all the way back to

801
00:45:02.360 --> 00:45:06.400
the days of the early Roman Church. Polycarp went and

802
00:45:06.519 --> 00:45:09.280
visited this pastor. And I want you to see this

803
00:45:09.360 --> 00:45:11.719
because notice the Greeks, I say, the Greeks, this is

804
00:45:11.840 --> 00:45:16.239
the Greek Orthodox Church. Ultimately, these people who follow this tradition, right,

805
00:45:16.400 --> 00:45:19.239
the Roman Church and the Greek Orthodox. If you ever

806
00:45:19.320 --> 00:45:22.880
wondered why did they split, this is why. Because they

807
00:45:22.920 --> 00:45:27.119
wouldn't do it the right way. And that's a good

808
00:45:27.119 --> 00:45:32.079
thing that doesn't happen in the old Baptist Church. But anyway,

809
00:45:32.119 --> 00:45:35.280
Polycarp visited Antecetus and they did actually, to their credit,

810
00:45:35.320 --> 00:45:37.239
they had a good time. They could not agree on it,

811
00:45:37.280 --> 00:45:40.920
but notice Polycarp did not show up and demands that

812
00:45:40.960 --> 00:45:44.400
the Romans do it their way. They just said, we

813
00:45:44.480 --> 00:45:46.760
ought to have the freedom to do it our way.

814
00:45:47.360 --> 00:45:49.800
And they parted it that ways and everything was okay.

815
00:45:49.800 --> 00:45:52.400
But in the years to come they did ultimately make

816
00:45:52.519 --> 00:45:56.000
a division. So there's just one example. It's not in

817
00:45:56.000 --> 00:45:59.159
the Bible, but it follows immediately after of where this

818
00:45:59.280 --> 00:46:00.760
kind of think can lead.

819
00:46:00.800 --> 00:46:02.119
And if we think back upon.

820
00:46:01.920 --> 00:46:04.559
Our own history of the of the of the primitive

821
00:46:04.599 --> 00:46:06.360
Baptist Church, and we think about a lot of the

822
00:46:06.400 --> 00:46:09.719
divisions that took place, it wasn't because of some really

823
00:46:09.760 --> 00:46:11.599
bad doctrine. I mean, there were some that did that,

824
00:46:11.679 --> 00:46:14.400
and that's that's right and appropriate, but a lot of

825
00:46:14.440 --> 00:46:20.000
it was because people confused unity for uniformity.

826
00:46:20.039 --> 00:46:20.960
I don't have a tie on.

827
00:46:21.599 --> 00:46:23.519
I'm not doing that to make a statement, I'm not

828
00:46:24.519 --> 00:46:26.719
smart enough to do that. I'm just I'm just doing

829
00:46:26.880 --> 00:46:29.199
what I believe the Lord would have me do. I'm

830
00:46:29.199 --> 00:46:31.679
not trying to impress you or anything else. But we've

831
00:46:31.719 --> 00:46:34.719
got to have charity and love one for another. We

832
00:46:34.800 --> 00:46:37.960
simply do because we want to walk in the Kingdom

833
00:46:38.000 --> 00:46:40.800
and fellowship of Jesus Christ. And if you're walking in

834
00:46:40.840 --> 00:46:43.840
the Kingdom and fellowship of Jesus Christ, you're my friend

835
00:46:44.480 --> 00:46:46.480
because that's where i'm That's where I am, that's what

836
00:46:46.599 --> 00:46:47.199
I have.

837
00:46:47.199 --> 00:46:49.360
That's what I do. I try to do, and I'm

838
00:46:49.400 --> 00:46:49.800
with Zach.

839
00:46:49.840 --> 00:46:52.000
We're all flawed and we all fail, but you seek

840
00:46:52.079 --> 00:46:56.239
Him and most of this stuff's gonna take care of itself.

841
00:46:56.880 --> 00:46:58.480
Thank you for your kind of attention. I hope y'all

842
00:46:58.519 --> 00:46:59.039
sleep well.

843
00:47:02.519 --> 00:47:04.880
What's interesting is if you said I'm doing what I

844
00:47:04.880 --> 00:47:08.199
feel the Lord is leading me to do. This is

845
00:47:08.239 --> 00:47:11.320
where this is where the discussion of unity. I just

846
00:47:11.360 --> 00:47:13.519
want to throw up my hands. If God is leading

847
00:47:13.559 --> 00:47:15.920
you to do one thing and God is leading someone

848
00:47:15.920 --> 00:47:18.360
else to do an opposite thing, why would the same

849
00:47:18.440 --> 00:47:23.000
God lead two people to do absolutely opposite things. If

850
00:47:23.119 --> 00:47:26.400
if we're being led by one God, would there not

851
00:47:26.519 --> 00:47:32.760
be in a sense some level of uniformity, right, would

852
00:47:32.760 --> 00:47:35.800
there not be some love Like, well, now I understand

853
00:47:35.800 --> 00:47:37.760
you can say, well, God's leading me to go here,

854
00:47:37.840 --> 00:47:39.840
and God's leading you to go there. Okay, No, we're

855
00:47:39.880 --> 00:47:43.800
saying we're talking about God's leading you to Well, I'm

856
00:47:43.800 --> 00:47:45.639
gonna I think this is the way I can dress

857
00:47:45.679 --> 00:47:48.280
behind the pulpit. Well, I believe God is leading me. Well,

858
00:47:48.559 --> 00:47:51.239
someone is not hearing from God, unless you think God

859
00:47:51.360 --> 00:47:54.519
just has different wardrobes for different people. And then of

860
00:47:54.519 --> 00:47:56.360
course someone could walk up there in a pair of

861
00:47:56.440 --> 00:47:58.480
shorts and no shirt and you'd be like, well, no,

862
00:47:58.559 --> 00:48:01.039
God is not leading you. Wait a minute, if God

863
00:48:01.119 --> 00:48:03.199
is so, then like, well no, God would never lead

864
00:48:03.239 --> 00:48:04.960
you to do that. Well no God, And so then

865
00:48:05.320 --> 00:48:07.599
see I can't That's where I can't stand the whole

866
00:48:07.679 --> 00:48:11.360
leading me thing because that becomes subjective and how do

867
00:48:11.400 --> 00:48:12.760
you know that's not you leading you?

868
00:48:12.960 --> 00:48:13.119
Right?

869
00:48:13.119 --> 00:48:15.719
I mean all right, So I reject that out there.

870
00:48:15.719 --> 00:48:20.320
But the idea of unity versus uniformity, I think is fascinating.

871
00:48:20.639 --> 00:48:26.639
I think Christianity, by its very nature is teaches uniformity,

872
00:48:26.719 --> 00:48:30.760
demands uniformity. And as much as we say, well they

873
00:48:30.800 --> 00:48:33.440
are a believer, I'm a believer. There's some kind of

874
00:48:33.519 --> 00:48:36.639
unity because we both believe. Just always note it's such

875
00:48:36.679 --> 00:48:40.159
a theoretical unity because that unity never works in practice,

876
00:48:40.159 --> 00:48:42.559
because even though we say, well, they're a believer and

877
00:48:42.599 --> 00:48:48.039
I'm a believer, ultimately it almost always descends into their heretics,

878
00:48:48.159 --> 00:48:51.519
or they have a false gospel, or they are apostate,

879
00:48:51.880 --> 00:48:56.880
or they are false doctrine, false theology. They should be avoided,

880
00:48:57.079 --> 00:49:00.119
you should not have no fellowship with them. So it

881
00:49:00.119 --> 00:49:05.239
it's always sounds so perfect in a theoretical way. Well,

882
00:49:05.280 --> 00:49:07.559
they believe in Jesus and I believe in Jesus. Now

883
00:49:07.559 --> 00:49:10.440
we're going to do things our own, separate way. But no,

884
00:49:10.559 --> 00:49:12.719
you're going at some point have to say that what

885
00:49:12.840 --> 00:49:15.639
they teach is false. And if they teach what is false,

886
00:49:15.800 --> 00:49:19.079
how much false teaching can one have before you then

887
00:49:19.079 --> 00:49:21.920
to even begin to question the validity of the Christianity.

888
00:49:22.000 --> 00:49:25.400
It almost inevitably descends into that, because we demand some

889
00:49:25.559 --> 00:49:29.599
level of uniformity, whether we like it or not. Now,

890
00:49:29.599 --> 00:49:33.400
what I think he kind of did this, But it's

891
00:49:33.480 --> 00:49:36.320
just interesting that he didn't use Ephesians four, since that

892
00:49:36.440 --> 00:49:41.159
was I must be confused about the conference, right because

893
00:49:41.199 --> 00:49:44.000
my understanding the conference is pulling from Ephesians four. Five.

894
00:49:44.239 --> 00:49:46.559
Why is it I don't understand why the speakers are

895
00:49:46.559 --> 00:49:50.320
not just like living within Ephesians four because the idea

896
00:49:50.559 --> 00:49:54.440
is Okay, what is Why should we endeavor to keep

897
00:49:54.480 --> 00:49:56.320
the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace?

898
00:49:56.599 --> 00:50:00.239
Because this unity, the concept of the unity is taught

899
00:50:00.239 --> 00:50:05.960
earlier in Ephesians. We are unified in Christ Jesus. I

900
00:50:06.199 --> 00:50:08.880
think what I think how this should be understood is

901
00:50:09.000 --> 00:50:14.840
our practical unity. Our call and striving for practical unity

902
00:50:15.239 --> 00:50:19.719
flows from our positional unity. We are one in Christ.

903
00:50:20.440 --> 00:50:24.679
That is positional unity. Now, how does positional unity? How

904
00:50:24.719 --> 00:50:28.639
does it? How is it carried out in a practical way? Now,

905
00:50:28.679 --> 00:50:31.800
he gave some good principles on that right and a

906
00:50:31.920 --> 00:50:35.559
practical way. What should you be guided by? Well, what

907
00:50:35.679 --> 00:50:38.960
you should be guided by is that you do nothing

908
00:50:39.199 --> 00:50:42.360
to hurt. You put others before you, so you you

909
00:50:42.400 --> 00:50:44.639
won't do things that would hurt a fellow brother or

910
00:50:44.679 --> 00:50:47.360
be a stumbling block. You'll give up your own rights

911
00:50:47.360 --> 00:50:50.239
for them and not do things around them. Right, Okay,

912
00:50:50.239 --> 00:50:53.960
that that's that's idea. Being motivated by love, being motivated

913
00:50:53.960 --> 00:50:57.199
by humility. Okay, those are some good principles. Right, So

914
00:50:57.320 --> 00:51:00.360
there are good principles there, but I think we have

915
00:51:00.440 --> 00:51:04.000
to understand the practical flows from the thilological. The theological

916
00:51:04.079 --> 00:51:06.679
truth is that if you are in Christ Jesus, we

917
00:51:06.719 --> 00:51:10.519
are unified in Christ. How does that play out practically?

918
00:51:10.760 --> 00:51:18.840
That's where things get convoluted and messy, right, because we

919
00:51:18.920 --> 00:51:22.119
all have a different interpretations, we all have different doctrines.

920
00:51:22.280 --> 00:51:24.320
We all think our doctrines are right. We think the

921
00:51:24.360 --> 00:51:26.360
other doctrines are wrong. If we didn't think the other

922
00:51:26.400 --> 00:51:28.320
doctrines are wrong, we would be there. It's like a

923
00:51:28.360 --> 00:51:31.280
lot of times people say, well, you know, well, like

924
00:51:31.320 --> 00:51:35.199
some people will say, well, Catholics are Christians, and Methodists

925
00:51:35.239 --> 00:51:37.840
are Christians and Church of Christ are Well, if everyone's

926
00:51:37.920 --> 00:51:40.760
just a Christian, then why are you condemning their doctrine?

927
00:51:44.119 --> 00:51:46.719
Like how much doctrine can you condemn? And still say well,

928
00:51:46.719 --> 00:51:49.159
there are they a viable option that anybody can go

929
00:51:49.159 --> 00:51:51.400
to any of those churches? Well, some people say, well

930
00:51:51.400 --> 00:51:53.639
Catholics are not or they're not, So then we start

931
00:51:53.679 --> 00:51:56.760
limiting who is and who isn't, and so it's just

932
00:51:57.079 --> 00:52:00.239
very odd like, well, in some ways we're unified. We

933
00:52:00.239 --> 00:52:02.960
don't want uniformity, but we do demand uniformity here, so

934
00:52:03.320 --> 00:52:06.599
uniformity then causes a division. But then we're supposed to

935
00:52:06.599 --> 00:52:13.119
be unified. It becomes really complicated. But there are principles.

936
00:52:13.760 --> 00:52:17.719
There are principles. I do know this. Whether we have

937
00:52:17.880 --> 00:52:23.320
uniformity or whether we have unity, I want you to

938
00:52:23.320 --> 00:52:26.840
write down these words. Right, whatever you think about unity,

939
00:52:26.880 --> 00:52:30.800
whatever you think about uniformity, forget that. Here's what should

940
00:52:31.199 --> 00:52:33.599
This is what should characterize each one of us? Are

941
00:52:33.639 --> 00:52:41.920
you ready? Lowliness? Just write down these words lowliness, gentleness,

942
00:52:42.599 --> 00:52:49.559
long suffering, bearing with one another in love? Just write

943
00:52:49.599 --> 00:52:55.519
those down. Lowliness, gentleness, long suffering, and bearing with one

944
00:52:55.519 --> 00:52:58.360
another in love. I want you to write those down,

945
00:52:58.599 --> 00:53:01.920
and I want you to define each one. What is lowliness?

946
00:53:02.199 --> 00:53:05.079
What is gentleness? What is long suffering? And what does

947
00:53:05.119 --> 00:53:08.199
it mean to bear with one another in love? I

948
00:53:08.239 --> 00:53:11.679
want you to focus on that. Because whatever we agree

949
00:53:11.679 --> 00:53:15.559
about unity or disunity, what other we agree about unity? Uniformity?

950
00:53:15.719 --> 00:53:18.920
What are unanity? Whatever words you want to use, whatever

951
00:53:19.039 --> 00:53:23.199
phrases you want to use, we can set that aside.

952
00:53:23.280 --> 00:53:26.519
And just imagine if you and me, both claiming to

953
00:53:26.559 --> 00:53:31.639
be Christians, we possess these attributes lowliness, gentleness, long suffering,

954
00:53:31.960 --> 00:53:39.239
and bearing with one another in love. That's how I

955
00:53:39.239 --> 00:53:41.519
want to end this right again, this is right here

956
00:53:41.519 --> 00:53:44.639
in Ephesians, which I thought the conference Ephesians four five.

957
00:53:44.960 --> 00:53:47.840
I'm just I'm baffled by why nobody wants to use

958
00:53:47.840 --> 00:53:50.400
the Book of Ephesians. I don't. I don't understand, but

959
00:53:51.000 --> 00:53:53.559
we can use it. So here's what I want you to.

960
00:53:53.639 --> 00:53:55.320
I want you to write down these words again, you're ready.

961
00:53:55.639 --> 00:53:59.239
I want you to write down the word lowliness, gentleness,

962
00:53:59.480 --> 00:54:02.719
long suffer bearing with one another in love. I want

963
00:54:02.760 --> 00:54:04.760
you to define each one, and I want you to

964
00:54:04.800 --> 00:54:07.960
just say, Okay, whether we agree or disagree, who cares

965
00:54:08.000 --> 00:54:11.239
about unity uniformity. Let's just forget all of that. Let's say,

966
00:54:11.400 --> 00:54:17.800
how can I as an individual grow in lowliness, gentleness,

967
00:54:18.320 --> 00:54:28.519
long suffering, and bearing with one another in love? All right,

968
00:54:30.039 --> 00:54:32.320
I'm just going to leave it there now. I want

969
00:54:32.320 --> 00:54:33.800
to do the work right now, but we're at fifty

970
00:54:33.800 --> 00:54:35.519
four minutes. I'm not going to do the work right now.

971
00:54:35.719 --> 00:54:39.000
We'll leave it as a cliffhanger, and that next time

972
00:54:39.519 --> 00:54:41.280
what we'll do is we'll look at each one of

973
00:54:41.320 --> 00:54:47.039
those lowliness gentleness, hang on, long suffering, and bearing with

974
00:54:47.079 --> 00:54:49.239
one another in love. I want to get a memorize

975
00:54:49.239 --> 00:54:53.159
I think is lowliness, gentleness, long suffering, bearing one another

976
00:54:53.199 --> 00:54:55.920
with love and love I think. So I want you

977
00:54:56.000 --> 00:54:58.599
to have those down. That's what I want you to

978
00:54:58.639 --> 00:55:04.199
focus on. Now. We we've listened it now too. Messages

979
00:55:04.280 --> 00:55:06.760
from the conference. We still really haven't gotten to the

980
00:55:06.760 --> 00:55:10.880
Book of Ephesians, but that one was. I like the

981
00:55:11.280 --> 00:55:14.719
concept of unity versus uniformity. I do like it brings

982
00:55:14.800 --> 00:55:17.360
up some very difficult questions that I don't have answers for.

983
00:55:17.679 --> 00:55:19.880
But for me, I'm just gonna use it to get

984
00:55:19.880 --> 00:55:22.480
back to Ephesians for because that's where you know, that's

985
00:55:22.480 --> 00:55:26.000
where I want to be. So lowliness, gentleness, long suffering,

986
00:55:26.000 --> 00:55:28.039
and bearing one another with love. I want you to

987
00:55:28.079 --> 00:55:30.079
That's what I just want you to. I want you

988
00:55:30.119 --> 00:55:32.719
to go all in on that, all right, and we'll

989
00:55:32.719 --> 00:55:35.000
see if what I can do to build on that

990
00:55:35.840 --> 00:55:38.679
over the next couple of days. All right, Thanks for listening.

991
00:55:38.760 --> 00:55:41.960
You can emoi me news. I F at yahoo dot com.

992
00:55:42.000 --> 00:55:47.000
That's news. I f at yahoo dot com. News I

993
00:55:47.039 --> 00:55:49.960
F at yahoo dot com. Thanks for listening. God bless