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The Joy of Maturity

Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah

September 29, 2020

27:29

In this message discover four things that keeps us motivated as we press on to maturity in Christ.

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The Joy of Maturity

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♪♪♪
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♪♪♪
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♪♪♪
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female announcer: Are youwaiting for joy to find you?
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Don't wait, claim a happinessthat circumstances cannot change
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with Dr. Jeremiah's book,"Count It All Joy."
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In this rich exploration of thebiblical book of Philippians,
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Dr. Jeremiah uncoversthe Apostle Paul's secret
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to experiencing a joythat carried Paul
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through the mostdifficult times.
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Discover this happinessfor yourself
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with "Count It All Joy,"yours as a thank you
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in support of this program.
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Dr. Jeremiah would liketo send you, in appreciation,
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the "Count It All Joy" set,which includes his book,
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his complete newly preached12-message series
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on your choice of CD or DVD,and a correlating study guide.
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Dr. Jeremiah's"Count It All Joy" book or set,
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support this programand request these resources
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when you contact"Turning Point" today.
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male announcer: Thank youfor watching
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"Count It All Joy"on "Turning Point."
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Now, here is Dr. Jeremiahwith his message,
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"The Joy of Maturity."
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Dr. David Jeremiah: Here,in Philippians chapter 3,
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in verses 15 through 21,Paul is going to give us
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four motivations and reasonsand helpful ideas
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about how growth happensand how we should cooperate
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with it.
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He begins in verses 15 and 16with what I call
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great encouragement within us.
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Here's what those verses say:"Therefore let us,
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as many as are mature,have this mind;
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and if anythingyou think otherwise,
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God will revealeven this to you.
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Nevertheless, to the degreethat we have already attained,
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let us walk by the same rule,let us be of the same mind."
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Paul lovedthe Philippian church.
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As you remember, I told you,he's writing this letter to them
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while he's under house arrestin Rome.
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This little church thathe was a part of starting,
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that started in the unique waythat it did,
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was really heavy on his heartand he loved them so much that
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when he saw something happeningthat could deter their growth
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and keep them from maturity,
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he wrote about itvery seriously.
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He wanted them to knowthat growth was paramount
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and anything that gotin the way of that
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from any outside sourceshould be called out
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and dealt with.
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In this little paragraph he hastwo different expressions.
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He calls the responsesto his words,
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"this mind," and,"think otherwise."
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The people of this mindare those who have decided
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that growth and maturity areimportant goals for believers.
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They acknowledge with Paulthat they need to keep pressing
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toward the markof spiritual maturity.
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They have left behind the ideaof becoming mature
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through obeying the lawor doing works in the flesh.
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They are going on to seekmaturity in Jesus Christ.
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They've come to the conclusionthat we must come to
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as we come to faiththat our salvation is not
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of works lest any manshould boast.
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And then Paul said, "But thereare some who think otherwise,
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probably they assumethat they've already arrived
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at maturity, they don't needany help.
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Maybe they wanted to growbut they won't pay the price
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that was necessary for themto take forward steps.
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Whatever the situation,Paul is reminding
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these believers thattheir spiritual progress
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up to this point had comefrom following the standards
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set down in God's Wordand he encourages them
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to go forward in the same way.
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If they were saved by gracethrough faith and not
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by their own works,they're to mature and progress
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according to the same standards.
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They're to continue to grow,knowing that faith
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in Jesus Christ and walkingwith him daily is the routine
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that is set up for them.
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Occasionally, during basketballor football playoffs,
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you will hear a sports announcertalking about a star player
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who's having a bad day.
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As the sportscaster explains whythis athlete has been allowed
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to continue, even thoughhe is playing very badly,
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he may say something like this:"The coach has decided to stay
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with the man who brought himhere."
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Or often, they will say,"We're gonna stay with the guy
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who brought us to the dance.
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In other words,since this athlete was
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very responsible for his team'squalifying for the playoffs,
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it does not make sense toremove him from the game now,
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even though he's notperforming well.
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That was Paul's message.
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What these believershad attained spiritually
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had come through certainprinciples and procedures.
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They were not to letthe legalists change
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the way they approachedthe Christian life.
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Paul's words to the churchesin Galatia carried
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a similar challenge.
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Here's what he said:"Are you so foolish?
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Having begun in the Spirit,are you now being made perfect
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by the flesh?"
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In other words, however,we start out in the faith,
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that's how we go forwardin the faith.
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Paul's encouragementwas straightforward.
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The Philippians were to keepon walking the same walk and
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thinking the same thoughts andthe language here is military.
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In other words, get behind theleader and stay in your lane.
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They were to walktoward maturity.
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Let me just tell you something,friends.
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God has, as his goalfor each one of us,
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that we become mature believers.
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I mean, not that we justbecome Christians.
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That's good.
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That's the starting place.
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But God wants us to grow up.
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He wants us to be Christianswho are maturing
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so that we look backon our lives
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at the end of one yearand we can see that
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we have grown some in our faithover the year before.
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You know, one of the thingsI love about Paul?
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He reminds me of somethingthat my father said to me
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when I was getting readyto go into the ministry.
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He said, "David, let mejust tell you something
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I've learned."
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He said, "If you preachto discouraged people
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and you bring the encouragementof the Bible,
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you will always havea congregation."
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In other words, if you cometo your people every week
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with the encouragementof the Scriptures.
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One of my friends says,"If you nourish them up
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in the Word of the Lord theywill come because all of us,
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we live a life that is filledwith reasons to be discouraged
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and we need every hope we can."
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Perhaps the greatest exampleof that kind of ministry
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was the Apostle Paul.
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I never realizeduntil I set out to study it
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what an incrediblyencouraging teacher he was.
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He was always encouragingothers.
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And even thoughit sometimes looked like
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there was nothing to encourage,he found a way.
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Listen to these words from Paul.
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He said,"May our Lord Jesus Christ
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himself and God our Father,who loved us
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and by his grace gave useternal encouragement
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and good hope,encourage your heart
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and strengthen you inevery good deed and word."
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Paul understood the importanceof encouragement
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and did you know thatin the book of Hebrews
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it says when we come to churchevery Sunday
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we're to bring with us a wordof encouragement that
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we can share with someone thatwe might meet along the way.
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One of the "one anothers"in the Bible is,
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"encourage one another."
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And in the church today,we need to follow
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the example of Jesus Christand the Apostle Paul
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and be ambassadorsof encouragement.
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You say, "Well, I can't findanything in that person
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that I can encourage."
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Find a way to say somethinggood and encourage them.
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Encouragement goesso much farther than criticism
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in helping us to grow.
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And Paul emphasizesthat in these verses.
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Great encouragement within us.
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And then, he adds in verse 17godly examples around us:
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"Brethren, join in followingmy example,
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and note those who so walk,as you have us for a pattern."
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Paul invited the Philippians tojoin in following his example.
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Actually, the phrasecould be translated,
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"become fellow imitators of me."
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And the word is related toour English word "mimic."
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Just as Paul was mimickingChrist,
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he asked his followersto mimic him.
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This has always beena hard thing for me
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to comprehend,and I can't imagine having
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the spiritual courageand confidence to say
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to other people, "I want youto follow me whatever I do."
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But the fact of the matter is,that's what happens
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whether we ask peopleto do it or not.
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And the last phrasein this verse is a phrase
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that has the word "tupos" in it.
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That's a Greek wordwhich is translated by our word,
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"pattern."
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And Paul is asking thoseto follow him.
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He said, "You have usfor a pattern."
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And I know that this isa heavy item for most of us.
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We would like to say,"I do not want to be
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a role model for anybody."
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You get to a place of successor a place of influence,
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you're gonna influenceother people,
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and if you don't understandthat,
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you're going to just befrustrated your whole life.
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Paul said, "There's examplesand you follow me."
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We may not wanna say thatout loud to anybody,
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but we need to recognizethey're doing it,
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whether we like it or not.
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Let's ask God to help us to liveour lives in totality,
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live our lives for Christ.
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Not just sometime,but all the time.
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And you never have to lookover your shoulder
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for somebody misunderstanding.
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Then he adds a third motivation:great encouragement within us,
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great examples around us.
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And this is godless enemiesaway from us.
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Once again, Paul is goingto sound a warning.
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He says, "There aremany who walk,
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of whom I have told you often,and now I tell you even weeping,
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that they are the enemiesof the cross of Christ:
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whose end is destruction,whose god is their belly,
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and whose glory is their shame--
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and who set their mindon earthly things."
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You wanna know what Paul thinksabout the teachers who have come
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into the church in Philippi withall of their false doctrine?
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Just look at the word"whose and who" and you will see
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the four things that he saysabout 'em.
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First of all, their goal.
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"Whose end is destruction."
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The word for destructionis perdition.
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It's the word that is usedfor Judas who was called
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the son of perdition.
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The true child of God gloriesin the cross
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but the enemies of the cross,according to Paul,
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are headed towardthe lake of fire.
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People who bring false doctrineand try to use it
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to corrupt people in the churchdon't have a very good future.
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Their goal is, "whose endis destruction."
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Their god is, "whose godis their belly."
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Their appetite is their god.
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I'm not just talking about food,but that's probably part of it.
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They're not in controlof their appetites;
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their appetites arein control of them.
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Paul had no confidencein the flesh
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and he did not believehe had already arrived.
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But these enemies of the crosstook as their god
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whatever felt good.
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Romans 16:18 says:"For those who are such
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do not serveour Lord Jesus Christ,
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but their own belly,
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and by smooth words andflattering speech deceive
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the hearts of the simple."
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Their goal is destruction.
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Their god is their own belly,their appetites.
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Their glory,this is unbelievable.
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Their glory is in their shame.
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First, they give themselvesto indulgence, and then,
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they begin to justifytheir behavior
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and then they beginto proclaim it
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as if it was somethingto brag about.
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It reminds meof what Isaiah said.
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He said, "Woe to those who callevil good, and good evil;
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who put darkness for light,and light for darkness;
00:13:15.567 --> 00:13:18.536
who put bitter for sweet,and sweet for bitter!"
00:13:18.570 --> 00:13:21.873
Just turn on your televisionthis afternoon,
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and you will see that.
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You will see iton the news shows.
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Nothing is wrong anymore.
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In fact,the worst part of it is,
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people are bragging about thingswhich are blatantly wrong.
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And anybody who's got a headon their shoulders knows
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they're wrong.
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What a world we live in.
00:13:42.393 --> 00:13:47.398
Please note these enemiesweren't out somewhere
00:13:47.432 --> 00:13:49.467
outside of the church.
00:13:49.500 --> 00:13:50.802
They were in the church.
00:13:50.835 --> 00:13:52.303
They had wormed their wayinto the Philippian congregation
00:13:52.337 --> 00:13:54.973
and they were having littleSmall Group discussions
00:13:55.006 --> 00:13:57.408
with the believers,trying to get them off the path
00:13:57.442 --> 00:13:59.844
of righteousness andback onto the path of works.
00:13:59.878 --> 00:14:04.015
And I love Paul becausehe stands at the gateway
00:14:04.048 --> 00:14:07.485
to that church and he says,"Not here, not now,
00:14:07.518 --> 00:14:10.622
not while I'm involved."
00:14:10.655 --> 00:14:13.458
And he calls them out.
00:14:13.491 --> 00:14:15.693
So, we have great encouragementwithin us to keep going.
00:14:15.727 --> 00:14:19.264
We have great examplesaround us to keep going.
00:14:19.297 --> 00:14:21.499
We have to watch out 'causewe got some enemies around us
00:14:21.532 --> 00:14:23.968
who will keep us from growing.
00:14:24.002 --> 00:14:25.803
But here's the great thingat the end of this passage:
00:14:25.837 --> 00:14:27.705
great expectation before us.
00:14:27.739 --> 00:14:30.408
Philippians 3:20-21,some of my favorite verses
00:14:30.441 --> 00:14:32.944
in this book:
00:14:32.977 --> 00:14:34.479
"For our citizenshipis in heaven,
00:14:35.313 --> 00:14:37.749
from which we alsoeagerly wait for the Savior,
00:14:37.782 --> 00:14:40.785
the Lord Jesus Christ,who will transform
00:14:40.818 --> 00:14:43.288
our lowly body that it may beconformed to His glorious body,
00:14:43.321 --> 00:14:47.258
according to the working bywhich He is able even to subdue
00:14:47.292 --> 00:14:50.461
all things to Himself."
00:14:50.495 --> 00:14:52.964
Paul says if you wanna stayon course and keep growing
00:14:52.997 --> 00:14:56.968
and keep moving toward the goal,
00:14:57.001 --> 00:14:58.770
don't lose sightof what the goal is.
00:14:58.803 --> 00:15:01.472
We're going to heaven someday,we're gonna be
00:15:01.506 --> 00:15:03.474
with the Lord someday.
00:15:03.508 --> 00:15:04.876
Our anticipation is glory.
00:15:04.909 --> 00:15:06.544
It's not this earth.
00:15:06.577 --> 00:15:07.879
It's something heavenly.
00:15:07.912 --> 00:15:09.213
It's really worth whateversacrifice we have to make
00:15:09.247 --> 00:15:11.582
to stay on track and keepgoing in the right direction.
00:15:11.616 --> 00:15:15.553
Paul always set this beforehis followers,
00:15:15.586 --> 00:15:18.656
always reminded themheaven is our goal.
00:15:18.690 --> 00:15:22.560
I remember readingyears ago something,
00:15:22.593 --> 00:15:24.595
I think it was C.S. Lewis,who said,
00:15:24.629 --> 00:15:26.230
"If you get heaven right,
00:15:26.264 --> 00:15:27.899
you get everything on this earthwhile you're on your way.
00:15:27.932 --> 00:15:30.335
If you get heaven wrong,not only do you miss heaven,
00:15:30.368 --> 00:15:32.303
you miss everythingon this earth,"
00:15:32.337 --> 00:15:34.439
because heaven isthe goal and eternity
00:15:34.472 --> 00:15:37.408
with the Lord Jesus Christis the promise
00:15:37.442 --> 00:15:40.445
when we put our trust in him.
00:15:40.478 --> 00:15:43.348
Now, the one part aboutthis passage of Scripture
00:15:43.381 --> 00:15:45.249
that all of us love is,we love this truth.
00:15:45.283 --> 00:15:48.820
We love the truthof the return of Christ.
00:15:48.853 --> 00:15:50.755
How many of you believe itcould happen at any moment?
00:15:50.788 --> 00:15:52.623
There's nothing left to takeplace before Jesus comes back.
00:15:52.657 --> 00:15:56.194
And while we're all wrapped upin our daily experiences
00:15:56.227 --> 00:15:59.864
and we love life and we havesome great goals,
00:15:59.897 --> 00:16:03.001
I'll be honest with you,I remember when Donna and I
00:16:03.034 --> 00:16:04.736
got engaged,I prayed that the Lord
00:16:04.769 --> 00:16:06.971
wouldn't come back'til we got married.
00:16:07.005 --> 00:16:09.173
I guess that's all rightto do but--
00:16:11.609 --> 00:16:15.380
So, here's what Paul was saying:Never lose sight of the goal.
00:16:15.413 --> 00:16:20.952
Stephen Covey who isfrom a different mentality
00:16:20.985 --> 00:16:26.024
than most of us,had some good things to say
00:16:26.057 --> 00:16:28.359
in his book that wassuch a bestseller.
00:16:28.393 --> 00:16:31.229
He said, "Always live your lifewith the end in view."
00:16:31.262 --> 00:16:35.466
Live your lifewith the end in view.
00:16:35.500 --> 00:16:37.168
Paul is saying, "Listen, one dayJesus is gonna come back.
00:16:37.201 --> 00:16:39.904
You're gonna be so glad that youstayed on this growth pattern,
00:16:39.937 --> 00:16:43.074
that you didn't drop outalong the way.
00:16:43.107 --> 00:16:45.376
And one of these daysyou're gonna stand
00:16:45.410 --> 00:16:46.811
with the Lord in heaven.
00:16:46.844 --> 00:16:48.613
Make sure that you don't forgetwhat is waiting for you
00:16:48.646 --> 00:16:53.084
as a follower of Christ."
00:16:53.117 --> 00:16:55.520
And then he said, when thathappens he's going to change
00:16:55.553 --> 00:16:59.524
our lowly body into a bodylike his resurrection body.
00:16:59.557 --> 00:17:05.430
Now, if I didn't say anythingelse in this service encouraging
00:17:05.463 --> 00:17:07.765
to you, move around just enoughto feel the pains you have
00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:10.635
in your body this morningand remember that one day
00:17:10.668 --> 00:17:13.204
God's gonna take your lowly bodyand he's gonna change it
00:17:13.237 --> 00:17:16.240
into a body, a resurrection bodylike his own.
00:17:16.274 --> 00:17:19.977
That's gonna happen someday.
00:17:20.011 --> 00:17:22.313
If you wanna know what it'sgonna be like when that happens,
00:17:22.346 --> 00:17:25.016
just go back and read everythingafter the resurrection
00:17:25.049 --> 00:17:28.319
of Jesus Christ and watchwhat he did.
00:17:28.352 --> 00:17:31.189
He went places without havingto take the journey.
00:17:31.222 --> 00:17:34.859
He moved inside placeswithout going through the door.
00:17:34.892 --> 00:17:38.129
He ate.That's good news.
00:17:38.162 --> 00:17:41.933
It was an amazing,the glorious resurrection body
00:17:41.966 --> 00:17:45.069
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:17:45.103 --> 00:17:47.071
And Paul holds that out as ahigh and glorious goal for us
00:17:47.105 --> 00:17:52.076
never to forget as we go throughthe discipline of walking
00:17:52.110 --> 00:17:55.680
with him and growing with himin a world which more
00:17:55.713 --> 00:17:58.649
and more doesn't want anythingto do with Jesus Christ.
00:17:58.683 --> 00:18:02.720
While we don't know exactlyhow our bodies are going to be
00:18:02.753 --> 00:18:05.490
changed on that glorious day,we do know that pain
00:18:05.523 --> 00:18:09.160
and suffering and deathwill be forever gone.
00:18:09.193 --> 00:18:13.898
To the Corinthians,Paul said that our bodies
00:18:13.931 --> 00:18:15.867
will be buried in decayand raised without decay.
00:18:15.900 --> 00:18:19.704
They will be sown in humiliationand raised in splendor.
00:18:19.737 --> 00:18:23.474
They will be sown in weaknessand raised in strength.
00:18:23.508 --> 00:18:26.711
They will be sowna physical body
00:18:26.744 --> 00:18:28.579
and raised a spiritual body.
00:18:28.613 --> 00:18:31.883
Our new bodies will be likethe glorious body
00:18:31.916 --> 00:18:34.285
of our Lord Jesus Christ,and we have the opportunity
00:18:34.318 --> 00:18:40.057
of being involvedin that promise because
00:18:40.091 --> 00:18:42.360
Jesus said, "I amthe resurrection and the life."
00:18:42.393 --> 00:18:47.765
If we believe in Jesus Christ,he promises us that one day
00:18:47.798 --> 00:18:50.968
when the resurrection comes,our human bodies
00:18:51.002 --> 00:18:55.940
that have decayed on usand stopped working for us
00:18:55.973 --> 00:18:58.976
in this life will betotally renovated
00:18:59.010 --> 00:19:01.812
so that we will have bodieslike the Lord Jesus,
00:19:01.846 --> 00:19:04.815
perfected bodies, never againto have pain or sorrow
00:19:04.849 --> 00:19:08.486
or weakness, and I just thoughtabout it this week:
00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:11.422
gyms will be out of business.
00:19:11.455 --> 00:19:13.457
Some of you wanna clap on that.
00:19:15.660 --> 00:19:16.961
I don't know if that's--yeah, right.
00:19:16.994 --> 00:19:19.497
So, we have a lotto look forward to
00:19:22.333 --> 00:19:24.969
and we have a lotto be thankful for,
00:19:25.002 --> 00:19:27.572
and the Bible tells usthat when this happens,
00:19:27.605 --> 00:19:30.208
the Lord God is gonna subdueall things to himself
00:19:30.241 --> 00:19:33.611
and we're going to bein heaven with him forever.
00:19:33.644 --> 00:19:37.148
Paul looks back over thesemoments that he has shared
00:19:38.015 --> 00:19:40.851
with his followersand he sort of,
00:19:40.885 --> 00:19:43.221
in his mind at least,makes this comparison:
00:19:43.254 --> 00:19:46.657
the enemies of the crossare heading for destruction;
00:19:46.691 --> 00:19:49.927
the champions of the crossare waiting for a Savior
00:19:49.961 --> 00:19:52.496
from heaven.
00:19:52.530 --> 00:19:54.065
The enemies of the crossworship their earthly bodies;
00:19:54.098 --> 00:19:56.467
the champions of the crosslook for transformed bodies.
00:19:56.500 --> 00:20:00.071
The enemies of the cross haveperverted values and glory
00:20:00.104 --> 00:20:03.007
in their shame; the championsof the cross have true values
00:20:03.040 --> 00:20:06.377
and look forwardto the glory of the future.
00:20:06.410 --> 00:20:10.281
Whenever we compare thebelief systems of two groups,
00:20:10.314 --> 00:20:14.051
it's always important to lookat the end of the story.
00:20:14.085 --> 00:20:18.456
How does this story end?
00:20:18.489 --> 00:20:19.957
So, let me do thatas we close today.
00:20:19.991 --> 00:20:22.960
Back in the year 1899,two famous men
00:20:22.994 --> 00:20:26.597
died in America.
00:20:26.631 --> 00:20:29.133
One of them was an unbelieverwho had made a career
00:20:29.166 --> 00:20:31.802
of debunking the Bible,arguing against
00:20:31.836 --> 00:20:34.405
the Christian doctrines,and the other was a Christian.
00:20:34.438 --> 00:20:37.408
Colonel Ingersoll,after whom the famous
00:20:37.441 --> 00:20:40.945
Ingersoll Lectureson Immortality
00:20:40.978 --> 00:20:42.847
at Harvard University are named,was an unbeliever.
00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:47.952
His death was sudden and it cameas an unmitigated shock
00:20:47.985 --> 00:20:52.990
to his family.
00:20:53.024 --> 00:20:55.493
His body was kept in the homefor several days because
00:20:55.526 --> 00:20:58.996
Ingersoll's wife could notbear to part with it.
00:20:59.030 --> 00:21:02.433
It was finally removedonly because the corpse
00:21:02.466 --> 00:21:04.201
was decaying and the healthof the family required it.
00:21:04.235 --> 00:21:08.039
At length, the remainswere cremated and the display
00:21:08.072 --> 00:21:11.075
at the crematorium was so dismalthat some of the scene
00:21:11.108 --> 00:21:13.911
was even picked upby the newspapers
00:21:13.944 --> 00:21:16.147
and communicatedto the nation at large.
00:21:16.180 --> 00:21:19.050
Ingersoll had usedhis great intellect to deny
00:21:19.083 --> 00:21:22.286
the resurrection and when deathcame there was no hope
00:21:22.320 --> 00:21:25.589
and the departure was receivedby his friends and his family
00:21:25.623 --> 00:21:29.160
as an uncompensated tragedy.
00:21:29.193 --> 00:21:34.198
In the same year, the evangelistDwight L. Moody died
00:21:34.231 --> 00:21:38.769
and his death was triumphantfor himself and his family.
00:21:38.803 --> 00:21:42.740
Moody had been decliningfor some time and his family
00:21:42.773 --> 00:21:45.509
had taken turns being with him.
00:21:45.543 --> 00:21:47.545
On the morning of his death,his son who was standing
00:21:47.578 --> 00:21:49.847
by the bedside heard himexclaim, "Earth is receding.
00:21:49.880 --> 00:21:53.484
Heaven is opening.God is calling."
00:21:53.517 --> 00:21:56.187
"You're dreaming,Father," his son said.
00:21:56.220 --> 00:21:58.255
Moody answered, "No, well,this is no dream.
00:21:58.289 --> 00:22:00.391
I have been within the gates.
00:22:00.424 --> 00:22:02.059
I have seenthe children's faces."
00:22:02.093 --> 00:22:04.729
For a while it seemedas if Moody was reviving
00:22:04.762 --> 00:22:07.131
but he began to slip away again.
00:22:07.164 --> 00:22:09.667
He said, "Is this death?
00:22:09.700 --> 00:22:11.702
This is not bad.
00:22:11.736 --> 00:22:13.337
There is no valley.
00:22:13.371 --> 00:22:14.939
There's just bliss.This is glorious."
00:22:14.972 --> 00:22:17.408
By this time,his daughter was present
00:22:17.441 --> 00:22:19.043
and she began to prayfor his recovery.
00:22:19.076 --> 00:22:20.911
He said, "No, no.Emma, do not pray for that."
00:22:20.945 --> 00:22:24.949
He said, "God is calling.This is my coronation day.
00:22:24.982 --> 00:22:27.985
I've been looking forwardto it."
00:22:28.018 --> 00:22:30.054
And shortly after that,Moody was received into heaven.
00:22:30.087 --> 00:22:33.090
At the funeral,his family and friends
00:22:33.124 --> 00:22:34.658
joined in the joyful service.
00:22:34.692 --> 00:22:36.861
They spoke and sang hymns.
00:22:36.894 --> 00:22:38.496
They heard the words proclaimed,
00:22:38.529 --> 00:22:39.897
"Where, O death,is your victory?
00:22:39.930 --> 00:22:41.665
Where, O death, is your sting?
00:22:41.699 --> 00:22:43.801
The sting of death is sin,and the power of sin is the law.
00:22:43.834 --> 00:22:47.471
But thanks be to God.
00:22:47.505 --> 00:22:49.407
He gives us the victorythrough our Lord Jesus Christ."
00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:52.643
Moody's death was partof that victory.
00:22:52.676 --> 00:22:56.981
I'm a pastor.
00:22:57.014 --> 00:22:58.349
I have watched over thecongregation here in San Diego
00:22:58.382 --> 00:23:02.186
and in Fort Wayne, seen many,many people exit life.
00:23:02.219 --> 00:23:07.525
And those who know Christare totally different
00:23:07.558 --> 00:23:10.361
than those who don't.
00:23:10.394 --> 00:23:12.029
If you know Christ,you have an anticipation.
00:23:12.062 --> 00:23:13.697
Death is sadness, not as otherswho have no hope.
00:23:13.731 --> 00:23:17.435
We still sorrow but notin the same way.
00:23:17.468 --> 00:23:19.537
It's different.
00:23:19.570 --> 00:23:21.071
It's sorrowwith an ultimate hope.
00:23:21.105 --> 00:23:22.640
It's not despair.
00:23:22.673 --> 00:23:24.809
And so, what happens to usat the beginning of this journey
00:23:24.842 --> 00:23:28.012
is what determines to usat the end of the journey.
00:23:28.045 --> 00:23:30.848
If you put your trustin Jesus Christ,
00:23:30.881 --> 00:23:32.616
what is the gift?
00:23:32.650 --> 00:23:33.951
The gift of God is what?
00:23:33.984 --> 00:23:35.352
Eternal life throughJesus Christ our Lord.
00:23:35.386 --> 00:23:37.988
And that life begins the momentyou believe,
00:23:38.022 --> 00:23:40.391
but it extends after you die.
00:23:40.424 --> 00:23:42.960
If you don't acceptJesus Christ,
00:23:42.993 --> 00:23:44.562
you don't have eternal life andyou mess up the life you have,
00:23:44.595 --> 00:23:48.265
and you get to the end,like Ingersoll,
00:23:48.299 --> 00:23:51.368
with no hope, only despair.
00:23:51.402 --> 00:23:55.906
You wonder why I stand up hereevery week and sometimes
00:23:55.940 --> 00:23:58.642
get excited and go offon a tangent
00:23:58.676 --> 00:24:02.313
about becoming a Christian?
00:24:02.346 --> 00:24:03.881
It's because I know for a factthe only way you can ever have
00:24:03.914 --> 00:24:07.418
eternal life isthrough Jesus Christ
00:24:07.451 --> 00:24:09.320
and the only wayyou can ever make sense
00:24:09.353 --> 00:24:11.422
out of this life isthrough Jesus Christ.
00:24:11.455 --> 00:24:14.725
So why wouldn't I stand up hereand preach with all my heart,
00:24:14.758 --> 00:24:17.261
"Come to Jesus.
00:24:17.294 --> 00:24:18.963
Let him have your heart.
00:24:18.996 --> 00:24:20.331
Let him have your life.
00:24:20.364 --> 00:24:21.732
Get rid of the old way.
00:24:21.765 --> 00:24:23.200
Don't make foolsout of yourselves by believing
00:24:23.234 --> 00:24:26.470
the lie that somehowyou're gonna make it
00:24:26.504 --> 00:24:29.907
when the Bible saysno one can without God."
00:24:29.940 --> 00:24:33.611
Jesus said, "I am the way,the truth, and the life.
00:24:33.644 --> 00:24:38.449
And no one comes to the Fatherexcept through me."
00:24:38.482 --> 00:24:41.785
How many get to the Fatherexcept through Christ?
00:24:41.819 --> 00:24:44.121
None.
00:24:44.154 --> 00:24:45.523
You can't go to heavenwithout Jesus.
00:24:45.556 --> 00:24:47.525
"Well," you say, "I'll worryabout that later."
00:24:47.558 --> 00:24:49.226
No, you won't.No, you won't.
00:24:49.260 --> 00:24:52.029
You won't have timeto worry about it.
00:24:52.062 --> 00:24:54.331
You take care of that nowwhile you have the opportunity.
00:24:54.365 --> 00:24:56.967
♪♪♪
00:24:57.001 --> 00:25:04.508
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00:25:54.024 --> 00:25:56.727
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00:26:27.625 --> 00:26:30.427
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00:26:34.798 --> 00:26:37.701
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00:26:39.870 --> 00:26:42.406
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00:26:42.439 --> 00:26:44.274
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00:26:46.110 --> 00:26:50.014
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00:26:52.216 --> 00:26:53.717
Dr. Jeremiah: When Jesus isin my life,
00:26:55.019 --> 00:26:56.587
when I'm honoring himwith what I do,
00:26:56.620 --> 00:26:58.889
when I'm living the lifeof Christ the best
00:26:58.922 --> 00:27:01.258
that I am able to in the powerof the Holy Spirit,
00:27:01.291 --> 00:27:03.727
when that's going onand Jesus is in my life
00:27:03.761 --> 00:27:06.363
and the flag of joy is flyingover my heart,
00:27:06.397 --> 00:27:09.033
I can go through anything,no matter what it is
00:27:09.066 --> 00:27:11.368
and I will be sad, I will cry,I will have tears,
00:27:11.402 --> 00:27:15.406
but it can't touch the joythat's down deep in my heart.
00:27:15.439 --> 00:27:18.609
announcer: Thank youfor being with us today.
00:27:19.510 --> 00:27:21.211
Join us next time forDr. Jeremiah's message,
00:27:21.245 --> 00:27:24.014
"The Joy of Harmony,"here on "Turning Point."
00:27:24.048 --> 00:27:28.352
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The Joy of Maturity

The Joy of Maturity

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The Joy of Maturity

The Joy of Maturity

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