[0:00] and trust that it will speak to you as well. In chapter 11, verse 33, just before Romans 12, it says, O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out.
[0:28] For who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been His counselor? It asks the question, Who has counseled God?
[0:43] Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto Him again? For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
[0:57] Or to whom be glory forever. Amen. Just giving God, just exalting God there.
[1:09] And I've also been reading in Joshua and the children of Israel and how Joshua led them into the promised land, the land of Canaan.
[1:23] And that story is so intriguing. I want to study that some more and read it some more and meditate on it. But it's a powerful story, and maybe there will be a sermon from that sometime.
[1:35] But today I want to just preach out of Romans 12. Romans 12, and the title is simply Romans 12, I guess.
[1:46] Or you could entitle it Humility in the Brotherhood, or Humility in the Church. In verse 1, I think maybe I'll just read the chapter, and then we'll come back and see what's there some more.
[2:04] Verse 1, it says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
[2:18] And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
[2:30] For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
[2:51] For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, so we being many are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another, having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith, or ministry, let us wait on our ministering, or he that teacheth on teaching, or he that exhorteth on exhortation, he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity, he that ruleth with diligence, he that showeth mercy with cheerfulness.
[3:41] Verse 9, Let us love without dissimulation, abhor that which is evil, cleave to that which is good, be kindly affection one to another, and one to another with brotherly love, in honor preferring one another, not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer, distributing to the necessity of saints, given to hospitality, bless them which persecute you, bless and curse not, rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep, be of the same mind one toward another, mind not high things, but condescend to men of lowest date, be not wise in your own conceits, recompense to no man evil for evil, provide things honest in the sight of all men, if it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men, dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place under wrath, for it is written, vengeance is mine,
[5:05] I will repay, saith the Lord, therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him, if he thirst, give him to drink, for in so doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head, be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good, it is a very familiar chapter, and I'd like to just go through, verse by verse, more or less, and see what, what God can, how we could possibly apply some of these things, to our own lives, starting back in verse one, he says, I beseech you, therefore brethren, he's talking to the church, to God's people, because he calls them brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service, we could probably make a whole message, just out of that verse, if you really wanted to get, it broken down, and into detail, but, we'll look at a few things, that are,
[6:25] I believe very important, the first one is, how do we present our bodies, a living sacrifice, normally, in the past, a sacrifice was dead, something that was sacrificed, was killed and sacrificed, it was dead, they would take a, a sheep or an ox, and they would sacrifice it, they would kill it, and then sacrifice it to the Lord, but we are called, to be a living sacrifice, but, there is also a death, involved, even in that, what is that death, is it not that we are dead, to the old nature, we are dead, to the old Adam, our selfish nature, needs to have been put to death, otherwise, we can't be a living sacrifice, in other words, the new life in Christ, is the living sacrifice, when we lay down the old, and we're alive in the new, alive unto Christ, and it says, in verse one, by the mercies of God, this can only be done, through the mercy of God, only, the power of God, in our lives, can that happen, by the mercies of God, you cannot be this, by yourself, but only by the mercies of God,
[8:12] I am so thankful, for that this morning, that we don't have to count, on our own strength, to be these things, in fact we can't be, people try it, and try it, and try it, for years, and years, for many, many years, people have tried, to be pleasing to God, but it says here, by the mercies of God, that you present, your body, as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable, unto God, what about holy, let's look at that word, what does it mean, to be holy, holy, what do you all think, what do you think of, what comes to your mind, when you think of, holiness, it's the void, of anything unholy, it's the absence, of anything unholy, that's one thing, set apart, amen, set apart, something that, is set apart, for God, that's what we are, in Christ, we are set apart, we are not, of this world, but holy, unto God, and then right, behind that, he says, acceptable, unto God, if there are things, in our lives, that are not acceptable, unto God, then it's not, a holy life, are there things, in our lives, that are unholy, or not acceptable, unto God, that is our calling, brothers and sisters, that's what,
[10:00] God calls us to, that's what God, expects, in fact, it says, it's just your, reasonable service, it's within reason, that we should be this, it's not a popular, thing anymore, to preach on holiness, or, that which is acceptable, unto God, in fact, many preachers, tell you that, you really can't be, and the excuse is, that, well, we all sin, we're all sinners, we all just fail, so, it's okay, but that's not victory, that's not the true gospel, the true gospel, gives us the strength, perhaps through joy, like our brother shared, the joy of the Lord, is our strength, I appreciated that very much, but there is victory, in Jesus, there is a holiness, that we can achieve, it's not, holier than thou, it's not our self-righteousness, but it's the righteousness, of Christ, through the blood of Christ, he makes us righteous, he makes us holy, oh, bless God, hallelujah, for that thought, that we can be holy, not on our own, not our own strength, or our own good deeds, but through Christ, we are holy, and acceptable unto God, you know, these days, we have a lot of terms, that are used, in the Christian world, and,
[11:56] I want to talk a little bit, about a few of those terms, one of them is, well, he's a very strict person, he's a very strict Christian, they're really strict, over in that church, or, they're really liberal, over in that church, but, they're conservative, here, can anybody tell me, where you find those terms, in the Bible, you might find the word, liberal in the Bible, God is liberal, in that he doesn't hold back, God gives us freely, liberally it says, so you find that word, but, but is there such a thing, as conservative Christians, well, yeah, I believe there is, and there is, you know, it's, I'm not saying it's wrong, to use those terms, but many times, Christians are judged, by those terms, they're judged, by either being too liberal, or too conservative, and, but the Bible, just calls it holiness, or righteousness, and, we need to be careful, with that, or we'll label somebody, something wrong, and all they're really, doing is living, a holy life, and, somebody may want to, and is, through the Holy Spirit, has convictions, on how to live, or how to do something, or not do something, and, we come along, and say, ah, he's just too strict, or he's just, he's just being, too conservative, for me, and we never consider, that, it might be a holy thing, it might be a conviction, that God wrote, on that individual's heart, and we're just judging it, quickly and easily, flippantly, after all the Bible says, be holy, as I am holy, that's what Jesus, tells us to be, let's not despise, holiness, and righteousness, of God, now if that makes me, strict, or conservative, in eyes of other people, then so be it, if it makes me, too liberal, then so be it, as long as it's holiness, as long as it's conviction, from the Holy Ghost, and his word, those are just terms, that men came up with, and we use them, many times, as excuses, to not think, any deeper than that, did you hear that, we use those terms, as an excuse, to just, not go any deeper, and say,
[14:49] God, what are you saying, God's people, are commanded, to live a holy life, to present our bodies, a living sacrifice, to shun, or avoid evil, and to not be conformed, to this world, but by, but be transformed, by the renewing, of your mind, that you may prove, in verse 2, that you may prove, what is good, and acceptable, and the perfect will of God, the perfect will of God, again, to be holy, is to not be conformed, to this world, to not think, like the world thinks, how can we, not do that, we're in this world, aren't we, how can we not think, like the rest of the world, the only way, is to be transformed, to have our minds, transformed, by the power of God, by the renewing, of your mind, having a new way, of thinking, only then, can we prove, what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God, the old man, cannot even think that way, the old man, can only think, the way the world thinks, it doesn't matter, how hard you try, or how you, put on religion, and you dress right, and you do all the right things, you say the right things, but if we haven't been changed, from the inside, with a renewed mind, a renewed heart, then we're still worldly, we're just as worldly, as the next guy,
[16:38] I've seen that many times, some of the most religious people, are some of the most worldly, minded people, because their mind, has never been made new, how about us, do we have a new mind, a new way of thinking, not to be conformed, to this world, in John, 1 John 2, verse 15, it says, very familiar verses, I'm going to need some water, somebody can get me a drink, 1 John, chapter 2, verse 15, love not the world, neither the things, that are in the world, if any man love the world, what's the next part, does anybody know, if any man love the world, then what, the love of the Father, is not in him, for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world, and the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God, abideth forever, to not be conformed to this world, the only way, is to be transformed, by the renewing of the mind, a kingdom mindset, a mind that thinks, of the kingdom of God, we look at things, through the kingdom of God, right, we no longer look at it, through the eyes of the world, or the old nature, the old man, but when issues come up, we want to look at them, through God's eyes, through kingdom eyes, through the kingdom of God, through those eyes, and then, and only then, can we prove, what is good and acceptable, thank you, what is good and acceptable, and the perfect will of God, do we not need to know, the will of God, in this day, don't we need to know, what God's will is, for his people, we're in a dark time, and God's people need to know, what he wants, what he desires, what he desires, the Bible also says, that what is highly esteemed among men, is an abomination to God, let's remember that, the things that are highly esteemed, and popular, and cool, if I can say it that way, among men, is an abomination to God, it's not highly esteemed with God, to have a renewed mind, and to think, like God thinks about things, rather than to make excuses, let's go to verse 3, for I say, through the grace, given unto me, to every man, that is among you, not to think of himself, more highly, than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God, hath dealt, to every man, the measure of faith, this is the verse, that has kept coming to me, over and over, the last while, to every man, that is among you, not to think, of himself, more highly, than he ought to think,
[20:38] I want to just make, another comment, on the subject, that we were just talking about, about a renewed mind, this may take, some time, I don't want to, come across as, you have to just have, a renewed mind, one day, and it's all over, and you always will think, with that renewed mind, like you should, perfectly, without flaw, none of us are there, occasionally, we think of the old mind, don't we, the old nature, wants to rise up, so I understand, there's a process, in that, and it can take, some time, but don't let that, become an excuse, to live in the old, the old nature, we should always, be able, to look at our life, and to look back, a little ways, and realize, that we think, differently, than we used to, that we have, grown from where, we were, maybe six months ago, maybe one month ago, maybe a year ago, five years, it's not the same, anymore, is it, let that be, an encouragement, to you, that, you can continue, to grow in that, now, now back to verse three, to not think, of himself, more highly, than he ought to think, but to think, soberly, soberly, could we use the word, seriously, as well, according as God, hath dealt, to every man, the measure of faith, there's a, depth there, that, in that, last phrase, that I don't, claim to understand, fully, but what faith, that God has given you, to think in that, in that, in those terms, to grow in that, to think soberly, and then, in verse four, it says, for as, we have many members, in one body, and all members, have not the same office, or maybe, the same calling, so we, being many, are one body, in Christ, and every one members, one of another, having then, gifts differing, according to the grace, that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy, according to the proportion, of faith, or ministry, let us wait, on our ministering, or he that teacheth, on teaching, or he that exhorteth, on exhortation, he that giveth, let him do it, with simplicity, he that ruleth, with diligence, he that showeth, mercy, with cheerfulness, righteousness,
[23:46] I want to read, a few of my, footnotes here, in the Bible, about this verse, it says, the righteousness of God, will cause the believer, to conduct himself, in humility, in the local church, Paul meets, two dangers, that the individual, faced, in the exercise, of his spiritual gifts, he might, overestimate himself, and try to exercise, a gift, God never gave him, or, he might, underestimate himself, and fail, to exercise, the gift, God has given, to him, Paul shows, that God has given, each believer, each believer, specific gifts, to enable him, to do, what God wants him, to do, no one, is excluded, I like that, no one, is excluded, every person, that is a believer,
[24:55] God is giving you, a gift, to use in, his body, so use it, let's use our gifts, let's not, overestimate them, but not, underestimate them either, not to think, more highly, than we ought, to think, now how can we know, when that is our case, who's going to tell us, when we think, higher of ourselves, than we ought to, I trust, I trust, that as we walk, with God, God will show us, those things, but I wrote, some things down here, where maybe, we can test ourselves, a little bit in this, and ask God, to show us, if we're thinking, higher of ourselves, than we ought to think, here are just, a few things, and you can write them down, if you want, number one, do we walk humbly, with our God, and do we love mercy, you know, where we get that, right, in Micah 6 verse 8, it says, he hath showed thee,
[26:22] O man, what is good, and what does, the Lord, require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly, with thy God, that's what's required, of every one of us, to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly, with God, am I merciful, to those, that aren't quite, where I am, spiritually, but they want, to follow God too, am I merciful, do I love mercy, am I patient, that's one, that was number one, I wrote down, number two, is my thought, or my view, or my opinion, always a little, more important, than my brothers, or sisters, is my way, usually superior, to their way, it's a test, we can all, look at, these things, in our own hearts, sometimes,
[27:38] I fail that test, and I think, my way, is the best way, but God, tells us, to prefer each other, is my spirituality, greater, than that of my brothers, and sisters, in the Lord, do I consider, my walk with God, superior, to their walk, with God, is my spiritual, insight, always higher, than my brothers, in Christ, that was number three, number four, do I view, my position in Christ, superior to others, and I don't think, that I can fall, this is a very, dangerous place, to be, and here's a warning, for that mindset, from the Apostle Paul, and if you want, to turn to it, you can, it's in 1 Corinthians, chapter 10, and I, I'm sure you probably, know the verse, we're going to, but, in 1 Corinthians 10, starting in verse 7, it says, neither be, idolaters, as were some of them, as it is written, now this is Paul talking, about the Israelites, when they, when Moses was leading them, through the wilderness, that's what them, is referring to, the people sat down, to eat and drink, and rose up to play, verse 8, neither let us, commit fornication, as some of them, committed, and fell in one day, three, and twenty thousand, neither let us, tempt Christ, as some of them, also tempted, and were destroyed, of serpents, neither murmur ye, as some of them, also murmured, and were destroyed, of the destroyer, now all these things, happen unto them, for examples, and they are written, for our admonition, upon whom, the ends of the world, are come, verse 12, is the verse, that I'm looking for, wherefore, let him, that thinketh, he standeth, take heed, lest he fall, there hath no temptation, taken you, but such as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not suffer you, to be tempted above, that you are able, but will with the temptation, also make a way of escape, that you may be able, to bear it, wherefore my beloved, dearly beloved, flee from idolatry, so before we think, we are so spiritual, and so high, with God, there is a high place, with God, there is a spirituality, that we need, but we need to be careful, that we don't think, we can't fall, or that we're just, so good now,
[30:37] Paul warns us, he was warning, the church, at Corinth, he wasn't talking, to the world, he's talking to the church, to not be, or not to think, of ourselves more highly, than we ought to think, verse five, this is the last one, of the points, that I had written down, am I willing, to submit to those, in authority over me, am I willing, to hear, what they speak, into my life, including the voice, of the brotherhood, if I have a fault, or I see something, different than the rest, of my brothers, am I willing, to submit, and lay down, those differences, and go with, what the brotherhood, is saying, now, we need to clarify, something, in this, we're not talking, about, a group of people, that are walking, in error, or disobedient, to Christ, or they're not following, and they're not submitted, to Christ, we're talking, about the church, of Jesus Christ, the body, that we were reading, about earlier, here in Romans, a body, that is submitted, to Christ, that loves Jesus, and they want, to follow him, that's what, we're talking about, am I willing, to submit, to a body, like that, we must, be willing, to submit, or else, we are high-minded, and are not walking, where God wants us, to walk, that is our calling, that is scriptural, that is the Bible, they're not my words, and that includes me, that includes me, as well as anyone else, but that is one of the things, one of the tests,
[32:36] I guess, that came to my mind, to my heart, for myself, how do I know, if I think more highly, of myself, than I should, am I willing, to walk here, am I willing, to do, and be, what I preach, if I'm not, then I'm a hypocrite, verse nine, let love be, without dissimulation, abhor that, which is evil, cleave to that, which is good, be kindly affection, one to another, with brotherly love, in honor, preferring, one another, there's that verse, in honor, preferring, one another, we'll look at that, in a minute, and I know, we're changing subjects, a little as we go, through this chapter, but, I just felt like, the Lord wanted me, just to go through, the chapter, so it will change some, from one subject, to the next, but, but here it says, to abhor that, which is evil,
[33:47] I have a question, very simple, do we, as children of God, abhor, that which is evil, are we even able, in our world today, to recognize, those things, that are evil, if we can't, recognize evil, and our eyes are blinded, then we can't abhor it, we have to be able, to see it, for being evil, and then we can, abhor it, we hate it, we run from it, don't want anything, to do with it, because it's evil, church, we need that, might make you, conservative, that's okay, that's just a word, that which is evil, you know, the way that, the world around us, these days, these hot days, the way they dress, is evil, we need to recognize that, and abhor it, that's just one example, the next line, is just as good, and just as important, cleave to that, which is good, it's like the opposite, do you cleave to it, you know,
[35:18] God said that, a man shall, therefore shall a man, leave his father, and his mother, and cleave unto his wife, why, because God, designed marriage, it's a wonderful thing, it's a beautiful thing, this same word, is used to cleave, to that which is good, you cleave to it, you go to it, you love it, you cherish it, you're happy with it, you're blessed by it, the good things, the pure things, those things that are pure, Philippians 4, 8, those things that are true, that are godly, I can't remember, the whole verse, but you know, what I'm talking about, think on those things, it says, cleave to that, which is good, be kindly affection, one to another, with brotherly love, in honor, preferring, one another, are we drawn, to good, are we drawn, to evil, just a question, the last part, of the verse, is there a kind, affection, for one another, in the body, is there a love, flowing, that Christ, brings into his body, or am I a hindrance, in some way, something in my life, only when that love, is flowing, from God, from the head, of the church, only then, can we prefer, one another, only then, can we say, no, that's fine, not my, well let's do it your way, penis, your idea, might not be, perfect either, but, you know,
[37:24] I want to hear, what you have, because, I also trust you, to hear from God, where we trust Christ, in each other, the same Christ, that lives in me, lives in you, if you're born again, and walking, in obedience to him, this is a beautiful thing, Christ in us, the hope of glory, we all have different callings, and responsibilities, but at the cross, we are equal, as believers, and this is a thought, I had, this is something, that, I want to remember, and especially, as a pastor, that a baby, is no less human, than an old man, the old man, just has, more experience, and knowledge, than the baby, but the baby, in Christ, is just, just as much, a son, as a mature Christian, he just needs to grow, right, weren't we all babes, in Christ, don't we remember, when that happened, and we were a babe, in Christ,
[38:57] I remember thinking, I don't know anything, I really don't know much, it was like a new start, a new beginning, but praise God, for that beginning, humility, in the body, of Christ, let's go on, to the next verse, I'm going to run out, of time maybe, but it's okay, the next verse, says in 11, now here we go, with a slightly, different angle again, not slothful, in business, fervent, in spirit, serving the Lord, yes, the Bible says, that we are, to work, in Ecclesiastes, it says, whosoever, whatsoever, thy hand, findeth to do, do it with thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whether thou goest, so we're going to, one day our work, will cease, but while we are here, we are to work, but it is a sure sign, that if we are slothful, in our work, we will not, be fervent, in spirit, they go together, we won't be fervent, in the spiritual, if we're lazy, in the physical, we'll be lazy, in the spiritual, as well, we won't take time, for the things of God, now on the other hand, we know, there's a false balance, we can also be, so busy working, with our hands, that we push God away, and we don't, take time for God, we can be too busy, somebody had mentioned, that this morning,
[40:54] I think, be too busy, that we don't have time, for the spiritual, and I just wrote down, Lord help us, to have the right balance, and to know, to have a vision, of what is holy, and acceptable, in this, that we will take the time, to be holy, there's a song, take time, to be holy, we should sing it sometime, speak off with thy Lord, is that how it says, speak off with thy Lord, verse 12, rejoice in hope, in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant, in prayer, are we rejoicing, in our eternal hope, in Jesus Christ, we heard about that joy, this morning, but it says, rejoicing in hope, if we are, then we will have, the strength, to be patient, in tribulation, and we will be, instant in prayer,
[42:06] I just love, how this chapter flows, he never just leaves us, hang with one thing, but there's always, an answer to it, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing, constant, instant in prayer, prayer, praise God, for that living hope, that we can have, in our hearts, we rejoice, in that hope, and that will give us, the strength we need, for tribulation, the troubles, that come our way, verse 13, distributing to the, necessity of the saints, I love this verse, I love this verse, distributing, to the necessity, of the saints, do we know, what that means, doesn't it just mean, we take care of each other, we take care of each other, given to hospitality, let me ask you again, do you love, the body of Christ, are we showing, our love, to the saints, of God, you know,
[43:22] I've been in a church, where, there was much speaking, of loving your neighbor, and ministering, to those outside, the church, and that has its place, it's real, there's people, to minister to, but Paul is telling us, to take care, of each other, ministering, at that same place, was often missing, when it came to ministering, to each other, sometimes it was, flat out rejected, or despised, hospitality, towards each other, was not accepted, that much, or was not very, popular, but here we are, we are being called, to look after, each other's needs, and to take care, of each other, Jesus said, in John, 1335, by this, shall all men know, that you are, my disciples, if, somebody finish, the verse, if, nope, if, if you love, one another, if you have, love one to another, it says, by this, shall all men know, so if you want, to minister, to those outside, the church, we need to love, each other, we need to take care, of each other, in practical ways, given to hospitality, that's how they will know, that we're his disciples, if we don't love, each other, if you turn the verse around, and we don't really, take care of each other, don't really love, each other, minister to each other, which I'm very thankful, that we do that here,
[45:10] I want to add that, but if we don't, they will never know, whose disciples we are, according to this verse, think about that, what is your calling, in the church, verse 14, bless them, bless them, which persecute you, bless and curse not, rejoice with them, that do rejoice, and weep with them, that weep, that verse 14, we cannot do that, of our own, it is very hard, to bless, and there's a reason, he says, and don't curse, curse, it's very hard, when you're mistreated, to bless, and to not curse, to give a word, of blessing, and not a word, of cursing, right,
[46:11] I don't know, how you find it, but this is reality, it's very difficult, but with the renewed mind, we can, God never asks us, to do something, that he won't give us, the strength to do, then it was verse 15, rejoice with them, that do rejoice, weep with them, that weep, are we fulfilling that, if somebody has a joy, in their life, something they're rejoicing about, do we rejoice with them, are we happy for them, and glad for them, and if they're in sorrow, do we weep with them, I do believe God's people, these things do become natural, if we walk, in the spirit of God, but it's not natural, in the old nature, be of the same mind, one toward another, mind not high things, but condescend, to men of low estate, be not wise, in your own conceits, again, this takes humility, without humility, we can't even relate, to this, recompense, to no man, evil for evil, provide things, provide things honest, in the sight of all men, when we are tempted, to get even, we need to remember, these commandments, don't pay any man, evil for evil, that means, if he serves us, evil, we don't pay him, back in evil, so what are we, supposed to do, we'll get to that, in a minute, verse 18, if it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably, with all men, dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place, or give room, unto wrath, for it is written, vengeance is mine,
[48:20] I will repay, saith the Lord, good, see we're not, supposed to pay, or revenge, why, because, that belongs to God, as a Christian, we can just rest in God, he'll take care of it, maybe not as quick, as we think he should, but he will, he promised, vengeance is his, can we leave revenge, in God's hands, or don't we trust him, are we better than God, and think, and we are thinking, more highly of ourselves, than we should, this takes an inner strength, a humility, but to leave it in God's hands, verse 20, therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him, if he thirst, I love this, therefore, in other words, if we have an enemy, and we don't have to, pay him with evil, because God will take care of that, therefore, if he's hungry, feed him, if he's thirsty, give him the drink, for in so doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire, on his head, almost sounds like, paying with evil, but it's actually, in good, feeding, giving him a drink, but in a spiritual way, it's heaping coals of fire, on his head, be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil, with good, that verse, is probably the first, or one of the first,
[50:04] Bible memory verses, I ever learned, you too, yes, probably the guilt, heaping coals of fire, that's something, we could discuss some more, but, probably the guilt, or the shame, of the wrong, he's done, can you imagine, living with that conviction, your response, should have been, to come back, and be worse, than he was, but instead, you give him food, you give him something good, how's he going to live with that, it's like, heaping coals of fire, probably the Holy Spirit's, conviction, if nothing else, but yeah, thanks for asking that, be not overcome, of evil, sometimes evil, wants to overcome us, overwhelm us, evil, things that are done, that are wrong, unjust, and so on, but we overcome them, with good, it is, it is impossible, to fill this, faithfully, when we are high minded, and full of ourselves, we need the humility, of Christ, to love mercy, and to walk humbly, with our God, to walk in humility, we can't accomplish, these things on our own, it's impossible, fullness of joy, joy is our strength, not just repeating, what you shared,
[51:40] Ian, it's what I had in my notes, but, in the presence, of God, there is joy, and in that joy, there is strength, to overcome, in the, what I'm reading, in Joshua, when, Joshua, was to lead the Israelites, over into the promised land, the river, Jordan, stood open, and it just stood there, and they walked through, and then, as, but they didn't just walk through, they were only allowed to go, when the presence of the Lord, went before them, the ark of the covenant, and where the priests stood, holding that ark, one of, each of the 12 tribes, I believe, was called to go, and get a rock, pick up a rock, where they were standing, why, they took that rock, as a remembrance, so they could tell their children, their children are going to ask, what's this rock mean, so they could, remember to talk about,
[53:00] God's deliverance, and God getting them, into the promised land, and all those, that hadn't believed, were not able to go, only those that believed, but God has done, many of these things, that I just shared, God has already done, that work in our hearts, and we need to pass it on, to the next generation, we need to, tell them about, the goodness of God, that the things, God did in my heart, the deliverance, if there's been good, if there's been a, work of God, in our hearts, that, we would, one, learn that, we don't do those things, we can't, without the presence of God, and in that presence, is joy, unspeakable, and full of glory, let's pray, God we thank you, thank you this morning, for your word, Lord we thank you, that you encourage us, and strengthen us, through your word, and Lord I pray, that you would help us, to continue as a body, to continue to walk together, to love each other, and to walk with each other, pray Lord that, you would be with, brother Joe, as he's down there, in Mexico this week, and Lord that you would, strengthen his heart, where he's at, and minister to him Lord, and bless him God, bless his mom and dad, down there, and his sister, and those that are, getting treatments, and so forth,
[54:38] Lord I just pray, that you would reign, and be with them Lord, and that your spirit, would be with them, your presence, also pray for Rachel, as she's back, in Ohio I believe, Lord I just pray, and be with her, and minister to her heart Lord, and pray for those, that are traveling this week, be with Dan, and the boys as they head back, Lord just pray, for your protecting hand, over them, and may it be, a week of blessing, a week of, growing spiritually, and may your word, not only be settled, in heaven, but may it be settled, in our hearts Lord, write your law, upon our hearts God, that we would not, offend you, but that we would, walk with you Lord, and serve you, with gladness, in our hearts, pray you would, bless the rest, of this day, in Jesus name, .
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