WEBVTT

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I just want to thank you for the honor of having me up here,

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a way to show my bridegroom how much I love him by serving him in this capacity.

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It's really an honor to do anything for my bridegroom, from the littlest to the biggest.

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And it's just... it's honoring to be called not only his child but his bride.

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And I think that we as women have such an honor to experience that in this natural realm.

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So before we go in, I really, I really just want to set our eyes on Jesus.

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I really want us to look to him because without him, without his presence, we won't be able to receive any of this.

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It's going to go in one ear out the other and we're going to walk away and changed.

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But with the Lord, when his presence shows up, not only is it tangible, but we walked away, marked, never to be changed again.

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Never to go back again, I should say.

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So I want all of us to close our eyes.

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And I want us to look at the lamb.

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And I want us to behold the lamb.

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I want us to lock our eyes with the lamb.

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What I love to do is I love to picture the cross.

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It was the epitome of what Jesus did, who he is, what he did.

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It was his goal to be on that cross.

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So I like to look at him as if I was Mary kneeling at the foot of the cross.

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And looking up at my Savior, who I knew was perfect.

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The one who I encountered time and time again.

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The one who sought me out in my heartache, in my brokenness, and made me a new creation.

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The one who saw what was in my heart and still allowed me to live.

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This Jesus who is perfect, he's so beautiful in the way that he speaks.

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And the way that he touches.

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Looking at the cross as he stretched his self open and blood is willingly being poured out.

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Just so that I can know my Father.

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So look at him.

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Because we won't get anywhere tonight, ladies, if he is not here.

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Look at his wounds.

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Every time you faltered and fell and churned your back away, he was there with his blood waiting for you.

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What an honor to be called his child and his bride.

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And though he is seated now, the slain lamb is seated on the throne.

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We still get to feel his presence through the Holy Spirit.

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Thank you, Heavenly Father, that you brought such poetry through your son.

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Such beauty, Holy Spirit, lock our eyes with you, with Jesus, with our Father.

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That we're not distracted with the things of this world, the things in our lives.

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That as we come into the sanctuary where your presence is.

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We can meet our bridegroom.

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Jesus, you are a gift.

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You are our exceedingly great reward.

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Won't you come?

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We know you are here, but we ask for a deeper presence.

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Trust us with your heart.

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Trust us with your glory because we just want to see your glory.

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As we cry and we pant for the glory of God.

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Won't you come, Holy Spirit?

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Open our hearts, focus our minds and veil our eyes to the bridegroom.

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Jesus of Nazareth.

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Hallelujah, amen. Let it be, Lord.

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I tried a new mascara and I think it's not waterproof, so sorry, Lettuce.

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Like Hiro was saying, I've had this revelation that the Lord has been speaking to me.

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Really, it was the later part of last year into this year.

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And it's a revelation that caught my attention because it was everything that I knew

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and the Lord flipped it over for me to see the underbelly, the real reason behind it.

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And now living in this world with so much social media, so much voices speaking out.

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One person saying one thing, the other person saying contradictory to what they're speaking about.

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We hear a lot of things happening in our lives, a lot of voices that are coming in.

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And so this narrow way, this holy life, God has been showing me this year

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and revealing to me what it actually means to live a holy life.

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And we're going to touch a little bit about a holy life.

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But we're going to more talk about the narrow way.

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So this word that I share, I hope it leads you to Jesus because that's the whole point.

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Right? It says in the word when Jesus was talking about John, John the Baptist.

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And he said, what did you go out in the wilderness to see?

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A shaken reed by the wind.

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What did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments?

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But what did you go out to see? A prophet?

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Yes, I say to you and more than a prophet.

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So that's my question. What did you come here to see?

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I want to realign our hearts with the true motive.

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What did we really come here to see?

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Was it to see Tanya, Pastor Tanya talking?

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I don't know.

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Was it to fellowship with our friends?

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Truly, what did we come here to see?

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Or was it the holy God?

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Our bridegroom.

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Coming and encountering us, undignifying us.

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Where we feel like, I don't want to show. There's too many women.

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I don't want to reveal myself to the Lord with so many women around.

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What did you come here to see?

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We're going to start on the Sermon of the Mount.

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Matthew 7, 13 and 14.

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Enter by the narrow gate.

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For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction.

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And there are many who go in by it.

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Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life.

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And there are few who find it.

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You know, I love scripture.

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Because the more that I read, the more that I see my God, my Father,

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and the more I see the beauty of who he is.

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He's so poetic.

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And I love the Sermon on the Mount recently.

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The Lord has been asking me, I've been, okay, maybe he's asking me,

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but I've been wanting a desire to memorize the Sermon on the Mount.

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The one of the first sermons that the Lord preached here on earth.

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And every time I listen to it, because I listen to it,

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every time I listen to it,

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I just see the beauty of the Lord that much more.

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And he's so poetic the way that he structured things out.

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So I feel as if the Father poured out

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how he intentionally wanted this life he created to look like,

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look like through the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes.

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It's a kingdom for us to live in with Jesus

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as our husband and co-heir and with our heavenly Father.

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So if you ever wondered what the kingdom of God was

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or the kingdom of heaven, which I often was asking the Lord,

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because it's written so much in the New Testament,

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I was curious, what is this kingdom?

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I believe it's the Sermon on the Mount.

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Because it shows us in a very practical way

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who's this kingdom, who's kingdom this is, and how do we live it?

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What are the bylaws of this kingdom?

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How do the people in this kingdom live?

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And who is the king of this kingdom?

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And how does he rule his kingdom?

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So he shares this kingdom and towards the end he switches to a narrow way.

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He's concluding his message. Jesus is concluding his message.

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And he switches to a narrow way.

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And it's interesting because as he's concluding his message,

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the next three things he talks about are an extension of the narrow way.

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So we're going to read after the narrow way, after what I just wrote,

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we're going to read continuing on.

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It says, Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing,

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but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

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You will know them by their fruit.

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And it goes on to talk about a good tree and a bad tree

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and how a good tree has good fruit and a bad tree has bad fruit.

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And it won't be the other way around.

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But it's interesting because he talks about the narrow way.

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There's two ways that you can go, two gates and two ways.

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And now he's sharing an extension, a deeper understanding of each of these ways.

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How will you know if someone's on the narrow gate and a difficult way?

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Or how do you know if someone's on the wide gate and Broadway?

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Well, you will know them by their fruit because a bad tree can't produce good fruit.

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So the next thing he talks about, he says,

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not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven,

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but he who does the will of my Father in heaven.

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And many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord,

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have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name,

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done many wonders in your name, and I will declare to them,

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I never knew you.

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Depart from me. You who practice lawlessness.

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Lord, may that never be us.

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To have my bridegroom churn away from me.

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And so he tells us what happens if we choose the wide gate and the Broadway

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and what it will produce.

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It will produce for us to be up there and say, Lord, let us in.

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Who are you? You practice lawlessness.

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Who did you cast those demons for? Was it for me?

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So it's going to tell us what happens to those who choose the wide gate and the Broadway.

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Next, it says, Building on the Rock.

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Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them,

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I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.

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The rain descended, the floods came, the wind blew and beat on the house,

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and it did not fall for us, found it on the rock.

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But anyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them,

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they have no excuse because they heard it already.

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We'll be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

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The rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew and beat on that house,

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and it fell and great was its fall.

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So building on the rock tells us the ones who are claiming to know Jesus of Nazareth

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will have trials, tribulations, problems and circumstances and situations.

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Whether they build it on the sand or whether they build it on the rock,

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we're all going to go through that.

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And it will cause winds and rains to beat against us.

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But how will we stand?

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Did we hear what he said?

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He said, reading his word and fulfilling his sayings.

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Is that what we do?

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Or do we choose to do things on our own and live our own life the way we wanted to?

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We hear the word.

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It's telling us to do what we need to do.

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And we're like, yeah, I'll take this one part, but I really want to live my life this way.

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I really want to go on this path because it satisfies me.

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It's what I desire to do.

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So what is this gate and way?

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So this is actually a simple life or death decision that the Lord actually spoke about.

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He just gave what his kingdom is from the beginning to the end.

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He spoke it to the people.

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He said, hey, this is my kingdom.

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Do you want to be a part of it?

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And then at the end, he said, okay, this is either life or death.

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You either choose the narrow gate or you choose the wide gate.

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He said, I gave you everything that you need to know.

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And if you choose to love me, to live in the kingdom of heaven or in the kingdom of God,

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you have to follow me and you will have life.

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If you do not, there's death.

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It's a life and death situation.

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It's a matter of salvation.

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So let's break down these verses about the narrow gate and the wide gate.

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So he from the beginning says, enter by the narrow gate.

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It's not a quiz.

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He's not like, let me tell you a parable and let's figure out if you know the answer.

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No, he's like, hey, before I give the quiz, this is the answer.

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Enter through the narrow gate.

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And then he breaks it down of why we need to.

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Says, wide is the gate and broad is the way.

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It also says narrow is the gate and difficult is the way.

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So here we see a similarity between two categories.

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They both have a gate and they both have a way.

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So the gate in the strong's concordance, it says a gate means like a folding entrance.

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It's an opening, permitting passage through an enclosure.

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It's an opening that's permitting a passage through an enclosure.

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So this would represent our decision made in our minds.

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And this is the will we decide to choose.

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So are we going to accept or choose in our mind, we have a decision.

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We're standing between these two gates.

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We're standing between the wide gate and we're standing between the narrow gate.

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And these gates are going to usher us into a journey of where we are to go.

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So if what these gates represent is our decision in our mindset on which direction we choose to go.

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Fairly simple.

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With the wide gate, it is an easy access.

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Of course, it's roomy, it's spacious.

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I get to be my own person, right?

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I'm not crammed, I don't feel uncomfortable.

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I get to do whatever I want, if I want to skip through it, I can.

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If I want to twirl, I can. I have space.

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It is eye catching.

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When you see something tiny and you see something big, your eye tends to gravitate to the big.

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Why? Because our eye is part of a sinful nature.

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We draw on to the wide way, to the wide gate.

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It has a trodden path. There's many that go through it.

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In our human mind, it seems like, oh yeah, that seems like the way we should go.

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There's many people have gone through it.

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Usually if you go in a forest or if you go hiking, I don't do often, but I know some.

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Where you go to a hiking and if you see a path, that usually means like, oh, there's a way to get out of this.

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Or there's a way I can go in order to get out and enjoy my hike and finish my hike.

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So a trodden path we're gravitated to.

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There's more people that have gone this way.

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And it's more desirable.

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I'm sure it's beautiful, a wider gate.

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More people are walking through it.

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So they add more attention to it.

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Right? They dress up this gate.

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Look how beautiful.

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If you went this way, look how beautiful.

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There's beautiful roses on here.

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There's vines that are falling down.

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You want to go through this gate. It's beautiful.

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There's many people who walk through it.

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Now with the narrow gate, we have to look for it.

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It is hidden.

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It is less used and it's not appealing to our eyes.

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We actually have to seek out this narrow gate.

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And as a human, we don't want to seek anything out.

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I want it all given to me.

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Come and pamper me.

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Come and give me my food.

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We don't want to get out of our comfy chairs

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and have to seek where this gate is.

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I would rather just be ushered in through this wide gate

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without getting up from my seat.

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And it's interesting because this reminds me of a scene in Finding Nemo

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where Nemo and Marlon are obviously going to find Marlon's son Nemo.

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Or Dory. Sorry, I said Nemo.

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Dory and Marlon are trying to go find Marlon's son Nemo.

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And they get to the school of fish.

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And the school of fish are trying to tell them the instructions.

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And Marlon was in a hurry and he left.

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And so Dory, who does not have the memory, is hearing them out.

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She actually took the time to hear them out.

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And they said, make sure when you get to the valley,

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go through the valley, not over the valley.

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And so they're swimming and they get to the valley.

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And Marlon calls it the valley of death.

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Because there's bones all across it. It's dark.

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And Marlon's trying to convince Dory to go up.

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He's like, look, let's go up. It's light up there.

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You're going to love it.

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And so then he slowly influences her to go above the valley.

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And there is a part of Dory that says, no,

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the fish told us to go through.

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But he convinces her to go up.

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And as soon as they go up, if anyone knows, you know what they find?

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A bunch of jellyfish.

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And what do those jellyfish almost do to Dory and Marlon?

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They almost kill them.

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And there's so many fish that is like,

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I'm not going through this gate, through this gate.

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It's dark. It's dingy. It looks difficult.

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Look up there. It's light. Let's go up there.

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So they swim up and they get zapped

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and killed and their bones go down.

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And so it reminds me of that, of the gates.

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I love it. Finding Nemo.

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So we talked about the gate

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and now we're going to talk about the way.

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In Strong's, it describes the way as a road,

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a progress, or a journey.

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It's a passage.

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It's a progress on this journey.

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And it represents the action of our decision.

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So we're standing between these two gates.

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One is wide, one is narrow.

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Whatever we get to decide,

23:12.300 --> 23:14.860
the way is the action of our decision.

23:16.120 --> 23:19.360
So with the Broadway, it's easier to follow.

23:20.600 --> 23:23.220
It follows our human nature.

23:23.220 --> 23:27.540
It's natural for us to go into the wide gate

23:28.280 --> 23:30.740
or the broad way.

23:31.460 --> 23:33.560
Because it's already Don Trottin, I already said that.

23:34.080 --> 23:35.880
It's probably beautiful. It's wider.

23:36.320 --> 23:37.520
There's more room for you to walk.

23:38.420 --> 23:39.980
With the difficult way,

23:40.960 --> 23:42.080
it's challenging.

23:43.000 --> 23:44.820
It's painful. It's exhausting.

23:45.160 --> 23:46.880
It's going against the grain.

23:47.920 --> 23:50.020
And again, our sinful nature,

23:50.660 --> 23:52.580
our flesh, let's go back to that word.

23:52.580 --> 23:57.140
I like flesh. Our flesh does not want difficult.

23:58.100 --> 24:00.080
We read that and we're like,

24:00.440 --> 24:01.340
difficult.

24:02.340 --> 24:04.320
I'd rather go the other way.

24:05.020 --> 24:06.660
Maybe the Lord will save me there.

24:08.560 --> 24:09.860
No, difficult.

24:10.720 --> 24:11.500
It's painful.

24:14.740 --> 24:16.240
It's exhausting.

24:21.260 --> 24:23.960
It's so challenging to go that way.

24:25.300 --> 24:27.060
And every time you're on that road,

24:27.180 --> 24:28.700
you're like, Lord, why am I here?

24:29.480 --> 24:30.500
I don't want to do this.

24:30.600 --> 24:32.940
I just want to take all of this, throw it away,

24:32.960 --> 24:34.420
and do whatever I want to do.

24:37.060 --> 24:38.600
That's the difficult way.

24:40.840 --> 24:43.040
So what are the outcomes of these ways?

24:44.380 --> 24:45.260
It's interesting.

24:46.040 --> 24:49.940
Because the outcomes are very drastic yet simple.

24:50.360 --> 24:51.520
It's either destruction or life,

24:51.600 --> 24:52.920
and that's what the word says.

24:53.500 --> 24:56.880
It says, why does the gate

24:56.880 --> 24:58.840
brought us the way that leads to destruction?

24:59.220 --> 24:59.940
Plain and simple.

25:02.340 --> 25:03.280
Narrow is the gate,

25:03.340 --> 25:05.120
difficult is the way that leads to life.

25:05.480 --> 25:07.800
So the outcomes are drastic.

25:08.060 --> 25:09.040
It's either life or death.

25:09.680 --> 25:12.280
And we as humans, we don't want that.

25:12.280 --> 25:14.700
Where can I teeter-totter in between?

25:15.460 --> 25:15.480
Right?

25:17.020 --> 25:20.720
So it's interesting because the ending comments

25:20.720 --> 25:24.780
show us a hint to these two drastically different passages

25:24.780 --> 25:26.460
or journeys or ways.

25:27.380 --> 25:29.860
This hint is how many people

25:29.860 --> 25:32.040
will participate on these journeys.

25:33.240 --> 25:35.360
So destruction, it actually says,

25:35.940 --> 25:38.340
it says, leads to destruction,

25:38.620 --> 25:42.180
and there are many who go in by it.

25:43.380 --> 25:45.240
Many will go in

25:45.940 --> 25:47.080
by this way.

25:48.000 --> 25:49.240
They are drawn

25:50.320 --> 25:51.520
into this way.

25:52.520 --> 25:53.880
But then it says,

25:54.580 --> 25:55.460
it says,

25:58.380 --> 26:00.960
the one that which leads to life,

26:01.140 --> 26:02.880
there are few who find it.

26:03.280 --> 26:06.020
And it's interesting because those are two different ways

26:06.020 --> 26:07.640
that the Lord expresses it.

26:08.160 --> 26:11.140
He doesn't say many will go by one,

26:11.140 --> 26:12.540
few will go by the other.

26:13.020 --> 26:14.460
Listen to the way that he explains it.

26:14.820 --> 26:17.040
Many who go in by it

26:17.040 --> 26:18.480
will lead to destruction.

26:19.300 --> 26:21.220
And those who find life,

26:21.740 --> 26:23.520
few who find it.

26:26.000 --> 26:28.520
And so I think we have to pay attention to that.

26:29.060 --> 26:31.420
Obviously we understand looking in this world

26:31.420 --> 26:32.340
being a Christian

26:32.870 --> 26:35.660
and understanding everything that's happening around us

26:35.660 --> 26:38.560
what a broad way is

26:38.560 --> 26:41.000
and what a difficult way is.

26:42.120 --> 26:44.380
And it can be very

26:47.260 --> 26:48.340
very noticeable.

26:49.780 --> 26:49.980
Right?

26:50.260 --> 26:54.600
Like there are certain things that this world portrays

26:54.600 --> 26:55.440
that we should do.

26:55.920 --> 26:59.400
We're like, well, that's white pretending to be,

26:59.840 --> 27:01.580
that's black pretending to be white.

27:02.540 --> 27:03.080
Right?

27:03.680 --> 27:05.560
There's common things that we can see like,

27:05.560 --> 27:07.620
okay, I already know that this is black

27:07.620 --> 27:09.160
even though it's pretending to be white.

27:09.900 --> 27:11.880
But there's also things

27:12.560 --> 27:14.600
that appear to be white

27:15.450 --> 27:17.520
as well in our Christian walk

27:17.520 --> 27:20.480
that the Lord's like, no, no, no, that's black.

27:21.920 --> 27:24.880
And it looks like it's of the way

27:25.560 --> 27:26.620
of the difficult.

27:27.740 --> 27:29.060
But the way that you can

27:29.060 --> 27:31.620
understand the difference

27:31.620 --> 27:33.300
is, is it difficult?

27:35.780 --> 27:37.700
Is that white thing?

27:37.940 --> 27:39.060
Is it difficult?

27:42.040 --> 27:44.480
Is it easier to talk to your friend

27:44.480 --> 27:45.560
about a situation

27:46.500 --> 27:48.660
instead of going to the other person

27:48.660 --> 27:49.760
who caused that situation

27:49.760 --> 27:50.860
and confronting them?

27:53.540 --> 27:56.020
Talking to our friends, I'm just venting.

27:57.120 --> 27:57.400
Hmm.

27:59.400 --> 28:01.160
Is that something that's black

28:01.160 --> 28:02.300
that's trying to look white?

28:06.480 --> 28:07.900
So now we're going to understand

28:07.900 --> 28:09.960
the narrow gate and the difficult way.

28:10.160 --> 28:11.640
Because that's really where we want to go, right?

28:12.080 --> 28:13.180
We don't want to go the broad way.

28:13.780 --> 28:16.740
We don't want to go through the wide gate.

28:16.900 --> 28:18.960
We want to go through the narrow gate

28:18.960 --> 28:20.300
and the difficult way.

28:21.120 --> 28:22.580
And let's hope we all decide this.

28:24.000 --> 28:26.060
So this way of life

28:26.060 --> 28:28.720
is consumed with holiness

28:28.720 --> 28:30.280
and lowliness.

28:31.940 --> 28:33.860
That's the recipe for this way.

28:34.820 --> 28:37.000
It's consumed, consumed.

28:37.360 --> 28:38.560
It's everything

28:38.560 --> 28:41.440
by holiness and lowliness.

28:43.960 --> 28:45.700
And there's a couple of scripture

28:45.700 --> 28:47.020
that talks about that.

28:47.880 --> 28:50.980
In 1 Peter 1.15 and 16 it says,

28:51.220 --> 28:53.120
But as he who called you as holy,

28:53.780 --> 28:56.120
you also be holy in all your conduct.

28:56.120 --> 28:57.360
Because it is written,

28:57.460 --> 28:59.040
Be holy for I am holy.

29:00.600 --> 29:02.100
Leviticus 11.44

29:02.100 --> 29:03.560
For I am the Lord your God,

29:03.720 --> 29:05.520
you shall therefore consecrate yourself

29:05.880 --> 29:07.320
and you shall be holy.

29:07.880 --> 29:08.740
For I am holy.

29:10.840 --> 29:12.180
Leviticus 19.2

29:12.180 --> 29:13.980
Speak to all the congregation

29:13.980 --> 29:16.160
of the children of Israel and say to them,

29:16.700 --> 29:17.840
You shall be holy

29:17.840 --> 29:20.140
for I the Lord your God

29:20.140 --> 29:21.020
am holy.

29:22.720 --> 29:24.500
And consecrate yourself therefore

29:24.500 --> 29:26.840
and be holy for I am the Lord your God.

29:27.060 --> 29:28.200
Leviticus 27.

29:30.340 --> 29:31.180
So holiness

29:31.180 --> 29:34.080
is one of the ingredients

29:34.080 --> 29:35.220
for this way of life.

29:36.200 --> 29:37.640
This difficult way

29:37.640 --> 29:39.240
is holiness.

29:40.640 --> 29:41.320
Holiness

29:43.160 --> 29:44.340
portrays or represents

29:44.340 --> 29:46.680
the actions that we are going to take.

29:46.860 --> 29:48.740
It's the obedience unto the Lord.

29:50.680 --> 29:52.620
What holiness actually is

29:52.620 --> 29:54.340
it's being set apart.

29:55.640 --> 29:57.400
It's being consecrated.

29:58.500 --> 30:00.020
It's being pure.

30:01.460 --> 30:02.900
That's what holiness is.

30:03.840 --> 30:05.340
So you're set apart.

30:06.260 --> 30:08.260
You're taking a step away.

30:09.380 --> 30:12.080
You're consecrated. That means you're sanctified.

30:12.580 --> 30:14.280
That means everything that you are,

30:14.380 --> 30:17.220
you give up because you're going to become pure.

30:19.960 --> 30:21.400
So consecrate.

30:21.400 --> 30:23.680
When you consecrate yourself unto the Lord,

30:23.980 --> 30:25.880
you're giving your rights up to God.

30:27.560 --> 30:29.160
All the rights that you have.

30:29.380 --> 30:30.660
The rights to how you feel.

30:31.180 --> 30:33.340
The rights to how you want to respond.

30:34.120 --> 30:36.060
The rights to what you want to say.

30:36.680 --> 30:38.980
The rights to where you want to go in life.

30:39.640 --> 30:41.800
They're no longer yours. They're the Lord's.

30:42.480 --> 30:44.000
That's what consecration is.

30:44.120 --> 30:44.900
A holy life.

30:45.480 --> 30:46.800
Consecrated unto the Lord.

30:47.160 --> 30:48.660
It's set apart. It's pure.

30:48.660 --> 30:50.060
It's no longer yours.

30:52.580 --> 30:55.640
It's not your own person, your own persona,

30:55.740 --> 30:56.600
or your own person.

30:57.020 --> 30:58.140
It's not your decisions.

30:58.600 --> 31:00.640
It's choosing a life of death.

31:01.080 --> 31:03.500
Because the Lord says those who choose

31:03.500 --> 31:06.600
to deny themselves, who choose death,

31:06.740 --> 31:07.860
will have life.

31:08.440 --> 31:10.160
And those who will choose life

31:10.160 --> 31:12.080
will get death.

31:14.580 --> 31:16.160
And pure to be pure.

31:16.760 --> 31:19.080
You're going to be pure with your language.

31:22.140 --> 31:24.820
And it's even little things.

31:24.980 --> 31:26.220
I tell my boys all the time.

31:26.860 --> 31:27.300
They're boys.

31:28.260 --> 31:29.680
And that should already say a lot.

31:30.360 --> 31:33.020
But they like to talk about poop and farts.

31:33.640 --> 31:34.840
All the time.

31:35.440 --> 31:37.420
I grew up in a household of sisters

31:37.420 --> 31:39.860
and one brother who was so much older than me.

31:39.900 --> 31:41.480
I didn't really spend much time with them.

31:42.360 --> 31:43.600
So it shocked me.

31:44.200 --> 31:45.620
And I'm still shocked.

31:45.620 --> 31:49.380
I'm like, how can you find so much enjoyment

31:49.380 --> 31:51.980
in those words, really?

31:53.520 --> 31:54.800
And so I tell them.

31:55.120 --> 31:56.760
In the beginning, they're little,

31:56.920 --> 31:58.660
and I'm like, okay, let them have their poop

31:58.660 --> 31:59.240
and their farts.

31:59.980 --> 32:01.240
But now that they're older,

32:01.840 --> 32:05.340
I'm like, ugh, like it's hurting my ears.

32:05.840 --> 32:07.000
I've heard enough of it.

32:07.580 --> 32:08.220
Give me a girl.

32:09.880 --> 32:11.780
And so with that,

32:13.260 --> 32:14.640
I've been telling them.

32:14.640 --> 32:17.860
I said, is that a clean word to say?

32:19.040 --> 32:20.580
And my boys are like, no.

32:21.020 --> 32:21.480
I'm like, yeah.

32:22.080 --> 32:24.440
I'm like, if you're choosing to go to the bathroom

32:24.440 --> 32:26.400
and you need to say what you need to say,

32:26.720 --> 32:27.580
that's fine.

32:28.140 --> 32:29.940
But when you're going around walking

32:29.940 --> 32:31.920
and singing poop and fart, poop and fart,

32:32.320 --> 32:34.600
is that really, I know, right?

32:35.260 --> 32:36.940
I'm like, is that really clean though?

32:38.180 --> 32:41.300
And I know that seems so small and tiny

32:41.300 --> 32:41.800
and minuscule.

32:42.400 --> 32:43.780
And they're boys and they're kids.

32:43.780 --> 32:45.080
And I get that.

32:45.940 --> 32:48.700
But I'm training my children to be warriors.

32:49.880 --> 32:53.000
I want them to deal with these minuscule issues

32:53.000 --> 32:55.080
while they're minuscule and tiny.

32:56.300 --> 32:57.700
Because when they get older,

32:57.860 --> 33:00.180
I don't want them to be plagued with poop and fart,

33:00.320 --> 33:00.940
poop and fart.

33:02.660 --> 33:04.640
Which I hope they won't get there.

33:06.180 --> 33:07.760
But I'm dealing with that.

33:07.880 --> 33:08.940
And so it's our language.

33:09.160 --> 33:10.260
What are we speaking?

33:11.360 --> 33:12.880
And it's in my language,

33:13.040 --> 33:15.260
I don't just mean the words that are coming out.

33:15.560 --> 33:17.300
I'm talking about your tone.

33:19.160 --> 33:20.720
There's this thing that I saw

33:20.720 --> 33:22.620
and it's so true to the Midwest.

33:23.360 --> 33:27.140
It was different ways that we say yes and no.

33:27.960 --> 33:31.200
There's like, yeah, no, means no.

33:31.860 --> 33:33.960
And no, yeah, means yeah.

33:34.440 --> 33:36.840
And it's mind-boggling, but we all know it.

33:37.080 --> 33:38.880
We're like, yeah, no, for sure.

33:39.820 --> 33:41.160
We all know it.

33:41.680 --> 33:43.300
But it's our tone.

33:43.520 --> 33:45.640
You can say, yeah, no, I know.

33:46.120 --> 33:48.000
Or you can say, yeah, no.

33:49.360 --> 33:52.120
Our tone distinguishes a lot.

33:52.920 --> 33:55.800
So our language needs to be pure.

33:56.840 --> 33:59.440
What we speak out of our mouths,

33:59.660 --> 34:03.020
even if it's minuscule of not saying poop and fart,

34:03.120 --> 34:04.240
it needs to be pure.

34:10.460 --> 34:14.420
Our intentions for anything that we do need to be pure.

34:17.640 --> 34:19.600
Our intentions with friendships,

34:20.480 --> 34:21.440
with conversations,

34:22.080 --> 34:27.060
with confrontations, thank you.

34:28.740 --> 34:31.480
How are our intentions to things?

34:31.600 --> 34:32.220
Are they pure?

34:33.100 --> 34:35.040
Are they done with the right motive

34:35.040 --> 34:36.640
or is it only benefiting us?

34:37.860 --> 34:40.020
Our conduct has to be pure.

34:41.160 --> 34:43.700
Our response has to be pure.

34:43.900 --> 34:46.520
Our life choices have to be pure.

34:46.620 --> 34:48.740
And how do we know if it's pure?

34:49.360 --> 34:51.140
You take this thing out and you read it.

34:51.380 --> 34:53.580
And it will tell you if you're living a pure life.

34:57.660 --> 35:00.420
I've been talking about purity.

35:01.600 --> 35:03.600
I remember being a teenager

35:03.600 --> 35:05.100
and I already encountered the Lord

35:05.100 --> 35:06.460
and I'm trying to live for him.

35:08.120 --> 35:10.100
He's talking and speaking to me.

35:11.640 --> 35:13.760
And I remember thinking

35:13.760 --> 35:15.620
like when you're hanging out with friends

35:15.620 --> 35:17.040
and they'll say something

35:17.040 --> 35:18.340
and your first thought is

35:18.960 --> 35:21.820
you think of the wrong, negative connotation

35:21.820 --> 35:22.960
of whatever they're saying.

35:23.880 --> 35:25.860
And I remember bringing that before the Lord

35:25.860 --> 35:27.680
and saying, Lord, I don't want to think that way.

35:29.080 --> 35:31.020
I don't want someone to say something

35:31.020 --> 35:32.580
and I'm going to be a little bit more blunt.

35:32.880 --> 35:34.080
I don't want someone to say something

35:34.080 --> 35:35.460
and my first thought is sexual.

35:37.160 --> 35:39.060
Like, that's not pure.

35:40.000 --> 35:41.240
Yeah, it's funny in the moment.

35:42.900 --> 35:45.620
But then I leave and I feel gross.

35:45.820 --> 35:47.160
Like, why did I laugh at that?

35:47.280 --> 35:48.120
How was that funny?

35:50.000 --> 35:50.680
So pure.

35:52.680 --> 35:53.200
Pure...

35:53.860 --> 35:55.460
Sorry, I lost my...

35:56.040 --> 35:56.940
Pure intentions.

35:57.980 --> 36:00.040
Pure serving. How do we serve?

36:00.860 --> 36:01.940
Are we serving purely?

36:02.600 --> 36:03.260
Our deeds.

36:03.260 --> 36:05.040
Are our deeds pure?

36:05.180 --> 36:06.660
Are we doing it to benefit us

36:06.660 --> 36:08.660
or to benefit those around us?

36:10.420 --> 36:11.420
The next part,

36:11.580 --> 36:12.860
so we're consumed by holiness.

36:13.160 --> 36:14.860
Now we're consumed by lowliness.

36:15.740 --> 36:17.600
And we're actually in a series

36:17.600 --> 36:18.940
right now with Pastor Igor

36:18.940 --> 36:20.300
talking about lowliness.

36:21.920 --> 36:23.400
So if you haven't

36:23.400 --> 36:25.700
heard that or have not been on track,

36:25.840 --> 36:28.020
there's ways that you can listen to that

36:28.020 --> 36:29.240
and get an understanding

36:29.240 --> 36:31.080
of what lowliness means.

36:31.080 --> 36:33.980
And lowliness, in this context,

36:34.260 --> 36:35.100
is your attitude.

36:35.940 --> 36:36.940
It's your mindset.

36:37.400 --> 36:39.600
Choosing to be humble

36:39.600 --> 36:40.740
and lowly.

36:42.080 --> 36:44.100
And in Matthew 22,

36:46.240 --> 36:46.960
30...

36:46.960 --> 36:47.820
37 through 40,

36:49.940 --> 36:51.920
it says, Jesus said to them,

36:52.060 --> 36:54.480
you shall love the Lord...

36:55.080 --> 36:56.420
Hold on.

36:59.870 --> 37:00.870
Oh, yeah, let's read it.

37:01.470 --> 37:02.690
Jesus said to them,

37:02.870 --> 37:04.170
you shall love the Lord your God

37:04.170 --> 37:06.250
with all your heart, with all your soul,

37:06.410 --> 37:07.390
with all your mind.

37:07.930 --> 37:09.330
And the second is like it.

37:09.450 --> 37:10.850
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

37:10.970 --> 37:12.170
Now remember why I wrote that.

37:13.990 --> 37:15.850
Lowliness is your attitude

37:15.850 --> 37:17.110
and it's your mindset.

37:18.190 --> 37:20.690
And for me to captivate

37:20.690 --> 37:22.350
lowliness into one scripture

37:22.860 --> 37:23.370
is that.

37:24.330 --> 37:26.050
How can I be lowly?

37:26.470 --> 37:28.850
I love him with all of my heart,

37:28.850 --> 37:30.850
with all of my soul,

37:31.050 --> 37:32.170
with all of my mind,

37:32.290 --> 37:33.470
with all of my strength.

37:34.090 --> 37:35.830
And then I love somebody else

37:35.830 --> 37:37.050
as if I love myself.

37:40.530 --> 37:42.310
And if you see in both of those

37:42.310 --> 37:43.710
commandments, which Jesus says,

37:43.850 --> 37:45.330
those are the two greatest commandments,

37:45.550 --> 37:46.670
that's what we should be following.

37:47.830 --> 37:49.490
It has nothing to do with us.

37:50.650 --> 37:51.750
I'm gonna love others.

37:52.190 --> 37:53.870
I'm gonna love myself like I like others.

37:54.250 --> 37:55.030
That's not what it says.

37:55.250 --> 37:57.830
It says I will love others as I love myself.

37:57.830 --> 37:59.170
We already love ourselves.

37:59.630 --> 38:01.130
We make ourselves pretty.

38:01.290 --> 38:02.230
We wash our bodies.

38:02.650 --> 38:04.870
We eat the food that we want to eat.

38:05.910 --> 38:07.730
We already love ourselves.

38:07.850 --> 38:08.390
It's easy.

38:12.260 --> 38:13.400
So it means

38:13.400 --> 38:15.680
lowliness means death to self

38:15.680 --> 38:17.200
because in those two commandments

38:17.200 --> 38:18.680
there's nothing about me in there.

38:18.780 --> 38:19.900
It's death to myself.

38:20.580 --> 38:23.200
The bride is getting ready to get married.

38:23.920 --> 38:25.540
In the Slavic culture

38:26.320 --> 38:28.000
it's a very traditional

38:28.000 --> 38:29.020
approach to marriage.

38:29.840 --> 38:31.120
When the woman gets married

38:31.120 --> 38:33.900
to the man, to her bridegroom

38:34.780 --> 38:36.300
everything changes about her.

38:37.060 --> 38:38.600
First of all, her last name changes.

38:39.340 --> 38:41.220
The church that she used to go to

38:41.220 --> 38:42.500
she now leaves it

38:42.500 --> 38:44.620
and goes to the church that her husband goes to.

38:45.380 --> 38:47.000
Their lifestyle changes.

38:47.600 --> 38:48.800
She no longer thinks

38:48.800 --> 38:50.440
about, oh, when can I go shopping?

38:50.800 --> 38:52.700
She thinks about, oh, I need to go home

38:52.700 --> 38:53.840
and make food for my husband.

38:55.720 --> 38:56.720
Everything about

38:56.720 --> 38:57.800
her changes

38:58.440 --> 39:00.180
because she is consumed

39:00.550 --> 39:02.420
by the identity of her husband.

39:03.120 --> 39:05.140
She is to be one with him.

39:06.940 --> 39:09.060
And so that's what a bride is.

39:09.140 --> 39:10.780
She's getting ready to get married.

39:11.380 --> 39:13.220
Everything about who she was

39:13.220 --> 39:14.420
is going to die

39:14.420 --> 39:16.260
and she's going to get a new identity

39:16.260 --> 39:17.920
that she receives from her husband.

39:19.160 --> 39:20.260
That's lowliness.

39:20.780 --> 39:21.900
It's death to self.

39:23.820 --> 39:25.820
So a narrow gate

39:25.820 --> 39:27.840
means a disciplined

39:27.840 --> 39:28.720
life.

39:29.640 --> 39:31.420
What makes something narrow?

39:32.200 --> 39:33.620
So when there are obstacles

39:33.620 --> 39:35.700
standing close about it

39:35.700 --> 39:37.400
that's what it makes it narrow.

39:38.060 --> 39:39.640
If I'm standing right here

39:39.640 --> 39:42.080
I have the podium to my left

39:42.080 --> 39:43.680
the drum set to my right

39:43.680 --> 39:45.860
I have so much room

39:46.760 --> 39:48.020
but in order to

39:48.020 --> 39:49.040
make that narrow

39:49.690 --> 39:51.100
I need to have things

39:51.100 --> 39:53.860
on either side really close to me

39:53.860 --> 39:56.360
in order for me to be in a narrow path.

39:57.840 --> 40:00.140
And when you are on this narrow path

40:00.140 --> 40:02.180
it means it's a disciplined life

40:02.180 --> 40:04.420
because if you're walking this narrow path

40:04.420 --> 40:06.220
and you go slightly to the left

40:06.220 --> 40:07.260
you're going to get pricked

40:07.780 --> 40:08.960
or you're going to fall

40:09.500 --> 40:10.860
or you're going to hurt yourself.

40:11.420 --> 40:13.500
So you're making the greatest intention

40:13.500 --> 40:15.540
of putting one foot in front of the other

40:15.540 --> 40:17.600
not going to the left or to the right

40:17.600 --> 40:18.900
because it's narrow.

40:19.580 --> 40:21.200
You have nowhere else to go.

40:21.200 --> 40:23.440
You're choosing to be

40:23.440 --> 40:25.320
disciplined in that path

40:25.320 --> 40:26.200
in that way.

40:27.560 --> 40:29.760
So if you see a hoarder's house

40:29.760 --> 40:31.440
there's a TV show hoarders

40:31.440 --> 40:33.700
and I'm sure everyone understands that

40:35.040 --> 40:37.220
there's always a small pathway

40:37.220 --> 40:38.240
through their house

40:38.960 --> 40:41.120
and sometimes it's so dangerous

40:41.120 --> 40:42.780
because as you're walking

40:42.780 --> 40:44.940
there could be things that topple over

40:44.940 --> 40:45.800
on top of you.

40:47.200 --> 40:48.260
And why?

40:48.260 --> 40:50.060
Because there's things on each side

40:50.060 --> 40:52.320
that are restricting it from becoming bigger.

40:52.560 --> 40:53.980
They have too many things

40:53.980 --> 40:55.740
in order for it to make the

40:56.200 --> 40:56.860
way bigger.

40:58.200 --> 40:59.520
So disciplining means

41:00.340 --> 41:02.300
disciplining every part of your life

41:02.300 --> 41:03.360
that's what the narrow way.

41:03.680 --> 41:06.740
It's disciplining every part of your life.

41:07.240 --> 41:08.760
Your mind, your heart,

41:09.060 --> 41:10.560
your actions, your words,

41:10.820 --> 41:12.360
your body, your schedule.

41:13.420 --> 41:14.940
You're doing things

41:14.940 --> 41:16.480
for the glory of God.

41:16.480 --> 41:17.800
You wake up in the morning

41:18.420 --> 41:19.420
and you don't think about,

41:19.640 --> 41:21.200
oh I'm so hungry, what do I want to eat?

41:21.620 --> 41:23.000
No, you wake up in the morning,

41:23.200 --> 41:24.400
Lord you are so good,

41:24.700 --> 41:26.340
I'm going to live this day for you.

41:27.520 --> 41:29.780
Now he's so gracious and kind

41:29.780 --> 41:32.020
and he allows us to make certain choices.

41:32.940 --> 41:34.300
It's not just one dish

41:34.300 --> 41:36.140
where you go and you restrict

41:36.140 --> 41:37.320
everything from yourself.

41:37.460 --> 41:39.920
The Lord is gracious. He desires us

41:39.920 --> 41:41.600
to live this life with him

41:41.600 --> 41:42.820
and join things.

41:43.800 --> 41:44.760
But it's a

41:44.760 --> 41:45.960
disciplined life.

41:46.520 --> 41:48.780
God, you told me to take care of my body.

41:49.680 --> 41:50.500
Not even

41:50.500 --> 41:51.620
eating after seven.

41:55.200 --> 41:57.200
Lord, you told me

41:57.200 --> 41:58.400
to share your gospel.

41:59.220 --> 42:00.500
Everyone I come to,

42:00.740 --> 42:01.780
hey Jesus loves you.

42:02.920 --> 42:04.420
It's a disciplined life.

42:04.560 --> 42:07.360
Not how you feel, not what you want to do.

42:07.820 --> 42:08.780
Your intention

42:08.780 --> 42:10.360
is always on him.

42:14.160 --> 42:15.180
Making sure

42:15.180 --> 42:17.160
that you are balancing on this

42:17.160 --> 42:18.960
and not going on one dish to the other.

42:19.100 --> 42:20.420
Because we humans, we will.

42:20.940 --> 42:23.240
We'll take it and we'll go completely restrictive.

42:23.500 --> 42:25.080
I'm doing nothing

42:25.080 --> 42:26.920
from myself, which is good.

42:27.660 --> 42:29.620
But I'm only going to live this way.

42:32.280 --> 42:33.260
And you go on

42:33.260 --> 42:33.800
one dish.

42:34.540 --> 42:36.980
And then there's the other dish where grace.

42:39.620 --> 42:41.160
The Lord loves me.

42:41.760 --> 42:42.620
I can do anything.

42:42.620 --> 42:44.140
He's always okay with me.

42:44.980 --> 42:46.600
And Pastor Verne

42:46.600 --> 42:48.180
preached this series last year

42:48.180 --> 42:50.280
of a balanced Christian life

42:50.280 --> 42:51.960
or a balanced life of a Christian.

42:52.600 --> 42:54.220
And we can only

42:54.220 --> 42:56.220
achieve this balanced life

42:56.220 --> 42:57.560
of disciplined

42:57.560 --> 43:00.200
a disciplined way

43:00.200 --> 43:02.440
in a gracious way

43:02.440 --> 43:04.220
by the help of the Holy Spirit

43:05.620 --> 43:06.520
and the

43:06.520 --> 43:08.580
counsel of the Holy Spirit.

43:09.100 --> 43:10.740
He counsels us.

43:10.740 --> 43:11.740
He gives us advice.

43:12.200 --> 43:14.900
And he helps us to make the right decisions.

43:15.960 --> 43:16.940
Figuring out

43:16.940 --> 43:18.900
what do I need to discipline

43:18.900 --> 43:19.600
in my life.

43:20.920 --> 43:21.520
Right?

43:21.880 --> 43:23.320
If you have a healthy body

43:23.320 --> 43:25.840
and you're focusing on trying to discipline

43:25.840 --> 43:28.000
your body even more to the point

43:28.000 --> 43:29.840
where you're actually damaging your body

43:29.840 --> 43:32.060
that's not the type of discipline

43:32.060 --> 43:34.860
he's talking about. That's an unbalanced life.

43:41.520 --> 43:43.440
So we can only achieve this

43:43.440 --> 43:45.080
with the help of the Holy Spirit.

43:45.560 --> 43:47.320
And that's why daily fellowship

43:47.320 --> 43:49.180
and word time and intimacy

43:49.180 --> 43:50.860
with him is important.

43:51.180 --> 43:53.560
Because you won't know the counsel

43:53.560 --> 43:55.320
of the Holy Spirit. You won't know

43:55.320 --> 43:57.400
his help unless you spend time

43:57.400 --> 43:59.000
with him to hear his voice

43:59.000 --> 44:00.220
to feel his direction.

44:02.300 --> 44:03.440
It's choosing

44:03.440 --> 44:04.600
a narrow mindset

44:05.230 --> 44:07.300
or a narrow decision to choose

44:07.300 --> 44:08.780
the difficult road

44:08.780 --> 44:10.200
to be focused.

44:11.200 --> 44:12.700
So that's the narrow gate.

44:12.860 --> 44:14.260
Now the difficult way

44:14.260 --> 44:16.620
it's kind of self-explanatory, right?

44:16.740 --> 44:17.260
It's difficult.

44:19.180 --> 44:20.660
When things are difficult

44:20.660 --> 44:22.340
that means we're growing.

44:23.600 --> 44:24.700
When we're looking

44:24.700 --> 44:26.300
at our kids and our babies

44:26.300 --> 44:27.420
are teething

44:27.420 --> 44:30.400
and they're clingy and they're crying

44:30.400 --> 44:32.100
and they're in pain and it's

44:32.100 --> 44:32.740
difficult.

44:34.380 --> 44:36.100
Yeah, our heart

44:36.100 --> 44:37.540
goes out. I'm so sorry.

44:38.160 --> 44:39.600
But you're going to get teeth.

44:40.480 --> 44:41.760
And you get to bite things

44:41.760 --> 44:42.580
with those teeth.

44:43.180 --> 44:44.680
You're growing. You're getting

44:44.680 --> 44:45.320
milestones.

44:46.980 --> 44:49.020
If we see a toddler trying to

44:49.020 --> 44:51.320
walk and they're slowly getting

44:51.320 --> 44:52.940
up and they're starting to move

44:52.940 --> 44:54.920
and they take a step and then they fall down

44:54.920 --> 44:55.820
and they hit their head.

44:56.440 --> 44:59.040
That's difficult. That's painful.

45:00.740 --> 45:01.200
Right?

45:02.100 --> 45:02.960
But we know

45:03.340 --> 45:04.840
that will help them

45:04.840 --> 45:06.740
to grow to walk.

45:07.400 --> 45:08.580
So they're growing.

45:10.600 --> 45:12.600
With children, when they have

45:12.600 --> 45:14.460
growing pains in their legs

45:14.460 --> 45:16.140
or in their back, it's difficult.

45:16.480 --> 45:17.520
Thank God for medicine.

45:18.260 --> 45:20.160
But it's difficult. It's hard.

45:20.560 --> 45:22.720
They don't like it. We don't like it. Nobody sleeps.

45:23.720 --> 45:24.780
But the beauty

45:24.780 --> 45:26.440
is that they're growing. They're

45:26.440 --> 45:27.500
getting taller.

45:30.940 --> 45:32.400
When we have hard

45:32.400 --> 45:32.840
work

45:34.420 --> 45:35.480
what does that produce?

45:36.820 --> 45:38.020
Character in our lives.

45:38.500 --> 45:39.720
It's hard. We don't want to do

45:39.720 --> 45:40.260
hard work.

45:40.920 --> 45:42.320
We don't want to get our hands dirty.

45:42.600 --> 45:44.340
We don't want to get on our knees. We don't want to sweat.

45:45.240 --> 45:46.480
I want to sit on the couch

45:47.240 --> 45:48.180
with a nice drink

45:48.520 --> 45:50.460
with Eric AC on and watch TV.

45:50.660 --> 45:51.400
That's what I want to do.

45:52.140 --> 45:54.580
But I'm not going to grow. I'm not going to build character.

45:54.820 --> 45:55.560
I'm going to be lazy.

45:58.000 --> 45:58.640
Having loss

45:58.640 --> 45:59.700
in your life.

45:59.700 --> 46:01.840
Losing a loved one.

46:02.200 --> 46:03.140
Losing a child.

46:04.300 --> 46:05.820
Losing a friend.

46:06.280 --> 46:07.660
Whether it means physically

46:07.660 --> 46:09.040
or relationally.

46:09.660 --> 46:10.720
It's hard.

46:13.890 --> 46:15.390
And it's difficult.

46:16.350 --> 46:17.850
But then you value

46:17.850 --> 46:19.810
friendships. You value

46:19.810 --> 46:21.530
children. You value

46:21.530 --> 46:22.350
your parent.

46:23.350 --> 46:25.490
Because you understand when you go

46:25.490 --> 46:26.050
through loss

46:27.170 --> 46:29.150
I'm not going to do what I did before.

46:31.530 --> 46:32.010
Disappointment.

46:33.770 --> 46:35.030
Disappointment is difficult

46:35.030 --> 46:36.770
when someone rebukes you.

46:36.970 --> 46:37.510
When someone

46:38.810 --> 46:40.310
says they're going to do something

46:40.310 --> 46:42.230
and they don't show up. It's difficult.

46:42.610 --> 46:43.230
There's pain

46:43.870 --> 46:44.650
to that.

46:45.270 --> 46:47.110
But then it also builds integrity.

46:48.250 --> 46:50.490
Well, I hated that when they told me

46:50.490 --> 46:51.770
they were going to be there

46:51.770 --> 46:53.970
and they did not fulfill time and time again

46:53.970 --> 46:55.790
I'm going to do the opposite.

46:55.990 --> 46:57.310
I'm going to be a person of integrity.

46:57.310 --> 46:59.190
If I say I'm going to do it I'm going to do it.

47:00.510 --> 47:01.030
So

47:01.030 --> 47:02.490
difficult road

47:02.490 --> 47:04.350
as hard as it is

47:05.110 --> 47:07.050
especially in our kids. When we see our kids

47:07.050 --> 47:09.270
going through something difficult and we don't want them to

47:10.110 --> 47:11.170
I know it's

47:11.170 --> 47:12.350
actually for their benefit.

47:14.510 --> 47:15.810
So human nature

47:15.810 --> 47:16.970
says that difficult

47:16.970 --> 47:19.510
is bad. But God's

47:19.510 --> 47:21.030
word says difficult leads

47:21.030 --> 47:21.870
to life.

47:23.130 --> 47:25.190
Compared to a child who gets everything

47:25.190 --> 47:25.970
that they want

47:26.770 --> 47:28.510
and the child who doesn't get

47:28.510 --> 47:29.630
much of what they want.

47:30.270 --> 47:31.950
And I feel like I'm living that now.

47:32.210 --> 47:34.350
Because I come from an immigrant family.

47:34.550 --> 47:36.590
Now granted, I was spoiled

47:37.030 --> 47:38.170
and I will

47:38.730 --> 47:41.270
confess to that. I was spoiled

47:41.270 --> 47:42.970
as a kid. I definitely got

47:42.970 --> 47:44.910
way more gifts than any of my friends did.

47:45.530 --> 47:46.810
But I did come from

47:46.810 --> 47:48.870
an immigrant family and I tasted

47:48.870 --> 47:51.750
what it means to have a difficult life.

47:52.150 --> 47:53.370
Not having enough money

47:53.370 --> 47:54.650
not having enough finances

47:54.650 --> 47:56.770
not having enough opportunities

47:57.990 --> 47:59.450
because we just didn't

47:59.450 --> 48:00.990
have time for that. That was not

48:00.990 --> 48:03.010
the priority in our life.

48:03.390 --> 48:05.610
And so then now seeing my kids

48:05.610 --> 48:07.290
and I'm giving them

48:07.290 --> 48:08.950
the toys that they want

48:08.950 --> 48:11.230
and I'm giving them the candy

48:11.230 --> 48:13.250
at every time we go to the grocery store

48:13.250 --> 48:15.090
and I'm giving them the things that

48:15.090 --> 48:16.510
I wish I would have gotten

48:16.510 --> 48:19.090
as when I was little for my parents

48:22.830 --> 48:23.350
and

48:24.430 --> 48:26.070
this is not turning out well.

48:26.850 --> 48:27.670
My kids are spoiled.

48:29.950 --> 48:31.890
They're expecting certain things

48:32.690 --> 48:34.010
and though I'm giving it

48:34.010 --> 48:35.390
out of the goodness of my heart

48:35.390 --> 48:36.850
I want them to have good gifts.

48:38.130 --> 48:39.770
I'm starting to realize now

48:40.490 --> 48:41.630
this is not the way

48:41.630 --> 48:42.970
it needs to be difficult.

48:44.190 --> 48:45.570
And I am a no mom

48:45.570 --> 48:46.850
I love saying no to my kids.

48:47.170 --> 48:49.010
I'll even sing it. We'll be at the store

48:49.010 --> 48:50.490
and mom can I know

48:50.490 --> 48:52.930
like it's my favorite word.

48:53.270 --> 48:53.990
I love the no word.

48:55.610 --> 48:57.290
So denying yourself

48:57.290 --> 48:59.010
or death to self

48:59.710 --> 49:01.230
and I love

49:01.230 --> 49:02.870
death to self something that the Lord

49:02.870 --> 49:04.690
taught me when I had

49:04.690 --> 49:06.410
my first kid and my second kid

49:06.410 --> 49:07.450
and then my third kid.

49:07.870 --> 49:10.210
We as mothers, anyone who is a mother

49:10.210 --> 49:12.210
and who will be a mother and who will be

49:12.210 --> 49:13.810
in the future will be a mother.

49:14.270 --> 49:15.930
You understand firsthand

49:15.930 --> 49:18.090
that we get to experience

49:18.090 --> 49:19.210
death to self

49:19.210 --> 49:21.330
in the most forceful way ever.

49:24.430 --> 49:25.750
And it's awesome.

49:26.270 --> 49:28.570
We hate it, but we love it at the same time.

49:31.190 --> 49:32.270
And it's a lesson

49:32.270 --> 49:33.810
that we are forced to learn

49:33.810 --> 49:35.710
and it's a lesson that I think Jesus

49:35.710 --> 49:36.870
that I'm forced to learn.

49:37.310 --> 49:39.390
Because it's some things that people don't

49:39.390 --> 49:41.330
you won't experience, you won't understand

49:41.330 --> 49:42.490
until you go through that.

49:43.230 --> 49:45.010
So when a child is born

49:45.010 --> 49:47.010
the mother at least for sure

49:47.010 --> 49:48.310
for the first couple of months

49:49.010 --> 49:49.930
is the most

49:51.470 --> 49:53.270
motherhood is the most dominating

49:53.270 --> 49:55.190
identity in her life.

49:55.890 --> 49:57.230
Now she is a wife

49:57.230 --> 49:59.170
and she might be a mother to other

49:59.170 --> 50:01.350
children, but to that child

50:01.350 --> 50:02.730
it's motherhood first.

50:03.930 --> 50:05.470
In a split second

50:05.470 --> 50:07.490
her world is now revolved

50:07.490 --> 50:08.950
around this tiny little infant.

50:09.510 --> 50:11.390
Every thought, every plan,

50:11.630 --> 50:13.370
every action, every strength

50:13.370 --> 50:15.850
she instantly learns

50:15.850 --> 50:17.890
what death to self is.

50:18.750 --> 50:19.930
Even if she tries

50:19.930 --> 50:21.670
to go back and do something that

50:21.670 --> 50:23.610
she did before she became a mother

50:24.190 --> 50:25.010
it's still

50:25.010 --> 50:27.370
and I use this word and I realize it's not good

50:27.370 --> 50:28.730
but it's the only word I can think of

50:28.730 --> 50:30.890
it's still tainted with motherhood.

50:33.470 --> 50:34.790
So I can go

50:35.370 --> 50:36.590
I can have this baby

50:36.590 --> 50:38.590
and I can go get my nails done

50:38.590 --> 50:40.850
guess what I'm thinking the whole entire time

50:40.850 --> 50:42.590
is my baby okay

50:42.590 --> 50:45.110
is he hungry I need to go back

50:45.110 --> 50:46.770
now I can hear him crying

50:46.770 --> 50:48.950
50 miles away I need to go back

50:48.950 --> 50:51.030
it's tainted with motherhood

50:51.030 --> 50:52.910
you can no longer go back to that

50:52.910 --> 50:54.090
person who you used to be

50:55.590 --> 50:56.870
and I understand

50:56.870 --> 50:59.070
now and many women who have told

50:59.070 --> 51:01.090
me who are far seasoned in life

51:01.090 --> 51:02.970
that will never go away

51:02.970 --> 51:05.470
once you're a mother you're a mother forever

51:06.430 --> 51:07.690
it doesn't matter

51:07.690 --> 51:08.850
if they're old

51:10.670 --> 51:17.730
They're still your child. You're a mother. You're always thinking about them. And that's what

51:17.730 --> 51:24.710
death to self is. I am dying to myself, taking the identity of Jesus, and it's all about him.

51:24.830 --> 51:29.510
What does he want? I'm hanging out with these people, but man, Lord, I just want to hear you.

51:30.210 --> 51:38.210
Everything you're thinking about is the Lord. Holiness. So here are some difficult things.

51:38.700 --> 51:44.470
That I have experienced, and I'm sure you have and will, and I will too. Some difficult things on

51:44.470 --> 51:52.710
this difficult way. Confrontation. Admitting that you're wrong. Asking for forgiveness. Dealing with

51:52.710 --> 51:58.910
issues locked in a box in your heart and you deciding not to touch them. That's difficult.

52:02.010 --> 52:10.710
Stumbling and falling and getting back instead of giving in. That's difficult. Being disliked.

52:11.570 --> 52:19.430
Being taken advantage of. That one's a hard one, because the Lord does say if they slap your cheek,

52:20.250 --> 52:24.310
you're not supposed to take a step back and possibly give them your other cheek.

52:25.130 --> 52:29.630
No, you're still in the same place that you were where they slapped your cheek and you give

52:29.630 --> 52:36.450
them your other one. Why? Because the vengeance is the Lord's. He will deal with that later.

52:42.210 --> 52:50.610
Evil people gossiping about you. Evil intent for you. Having unfairness in life. Working out

52:50.610 --> 52:55.450
your body when you just want to rest. Choosing to play with your kids instead of

52:55.450 --> 53:01.430
scrolling on your phone. That's difficult. Obeying your Lord even if he wants you to

53:01.430 --> 53:10.770
start speaking in public places. That one hits hard. Those are difficult. It's hard.

53:11.210 --> 53:15.370
It's difficult, but it's building a woman that the Lord desires for me to be.

53:17.950 --> 53:25.290
So, let's look at some examples of a narrow gate or the difficult road. Matthew 16, 24,

53:26.090 --> 53:56.260
through 25. Okay, there we go. Matthew 16, 24 through 25. It says,

53:56.260 --> 54:01.480
then Jesus said to his disciples, if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself

54:01.480 --> 54:07.880
and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it. But whoever

54:07.880 --> 54:15.780
loses his life for my sake will find it. Death to self. I feel like I already talked about this,

54:15.840 --> 54:19.880
but you get where I'm coming from. It's death to your motives. What motivates you in life?

54:20.440 --> 54:24.620
What do you want to accomplish in this life? Die to it. It's gone. Jesus.

54:26.560 --> 54:33.100
Your desires. Oh, I desire some sushi right now. Death to self. Eat at home. It's free. Jesus.

54:34.140 --> 54:41.220
It's not free. Girl math, but you get what I'm saying. Your thoughts. Oh, I'm so frustrated

54:41.220 --> 54:47.240
the way that he talked to me. I just asked him a question and he'd said it to me. Nope.

54:48.480 --> 54:57.380
Death to self. Jesus. Right? Your routine. I want a certain routine. I want to wake up at 10 a.m.

54:57.420 --> 55:02.420
every morning. And I want to eat cereal and then sit on the couch and watch TV.

55:04.300 --> 55:09.400
Your routine. Death to self. Jesus. What does he want me to do? He wants me to take

55:09.400 --> 55:13.560
care of my body. He wants me to take care of my kids. He wants me to teach my kids.

55:14.060 --> 55:24.440
He wants me to manage my household. Goals. Oh, I desire to be a blah, blah, blah, blah. I don't

55:24.440 --> 55:30.360
want to say anything because I don't want to be like, what? Lord said, nope. Cut it out. Jesus.

55:31.040 --> 55:41.800
Death to self. I will tell you what you need. Your rest. He wants you to die to your rest.

55:42.980 --> 55:50.380
Not scrolling on the phone or listening to an audio book or turning on the TV. No. Death to self.

55:51.060 --> 55:57.040
Jesus. The word. Find your rest in him. Read his word and make that your rest.

55:58.260 --> 56:04.280
Your feelings. We women have a lot of them. And it's good because we get to experience

56:04.860 --> 56:09.060
the world through feelings. It's amazing. But we also have a lot of them.

56:09.960 --> 56:16.360
Death to self. I feel annoyed. Death to self. Jesus. I'm going to respond kindly.

56:17.660 --> 56:23.200
So we completely discard our identity and take on the bridegroom's identity. How did Jesus respond to

56:23.200 --> 56:32.000
things? Luke 737 through 838. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner.

56:32.400 --> 56:35.860
When she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house,

56:35.860 --> 56:41.860
brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil. And she stood at his feet behind him,

56:42.060 --> 56:49.940
weeping. And she began to wash his feet with her tears, wiped them with the hair of her head.

56:50.220 --> 56:53.720
And she kissed his feet and anointed them with fragrant oil.

56:55.240 --> 57:00.100
Loving on Jesus in any time that he beckons us to come to him.

57:01.820 --> 57:07.660
There's been so many times where I wake up in the middle of the night, not by my kids,

57:07.780 --> 57:12.740
because that happens often. And I wake up and I know he's beckoning me to him.

57:13.720 --> 57:19.780
He's calling me to him. Lord, I don't want to. I've already woken up three times this night.

57:20.000 --> 57:25.480
I'm exhausted. I'm not going to have a good day tomorrow. But he pounds. Come love on me.

57:26.440 --> 57:33.780
I'm in pain. I've just seen something that hurts my heart. I've just had someone completely turn

57:33.780 --> 57:45.840
away from me. Come, love on me. Come to his feet and wash and wipe his feet with the tears of our

57:45.840 --> 57:53.440
love, the oil of our heart and the hair of our vulnerability, all while kissing him with affection

57:54.120 --> 58:00.790
that he bought with his blood. Come and love on him when he beckons you.

58:02.430 --> 58:10.130
Not ask for him. Just say, Jesus, I love you. Your blood is enough. Jesus, I'm so sorry that

58:10.130 --> 58:16.350
you're in pain. I'm so sorry that you see all this wickedness. I desire you to come. I want

58:16.350 --> 58:23.630
to love on you. And you kiss him with the affection. He is given the reward that he paid for.

58:24.330 --> 58:28.710
He died on the cross. We have the ability to give him his reward.

58:31.550 --> 58:39.910
Matthew 12. I'm almost done guys, I promise. Matthew 12, 34 through 37.

58:41.070 --> 58:46.990
For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. As a good man out of the good

58:46.990 --> 58:52.630
treasure of his heart brings forth good things. And an evil man out of the evil of his heart

58:52.630 --> 58:58.130
brings forth evil things. Okay, right here. But I say to you that for every idle word,

58:58.350 --> 59:07.170
men may speak. They will give account to it in the day of judgment. For by your words,

59:07.170 --> 59:12.570
you will be justified. And by your words, you will be condemned. This one's a hard one.

59:14.310 --> 59:22.570
Idle means no real worth, no importance or significance. Idle means frivolous and vain.

59:24.310 --> 59:32.550
Idle means meaning less. So we like to talk. We're women. We like to share. We are built

59:32.550 --> 59:39.090
with emotions and feelings. We desire conversation. What are we talking about?

59:40.590 --> 59:46.770
Is it meaningless? Is it tearing someone down? Is it vain? Is it only about us?

59:47.290 --> 59:51.830
Well, the Lord spoke this to me yesterday. Oh, and then, yeah, that happened to me too.

59:52.690 --> 59:59.450
You always bring the conversation back to you. Look what I did. Is your talk idle?

59:59.450 --> 01:00:09.370
Idle. For out of our heart goes into our mind and from our mind unto our tongue. So we need to talk

01:00:09.370 --> 01:00:16.290
about true things, noble things, just things, pure things, lovely things, good things of good

01:00:16.290 --> 01:00:23.910
report, virtuous things and praiseworthy things. Our tongue has the power of death and life in

01:00:23.910 --> 01:00:36.390
it. The last one, Matthew 18. And this one, the Lord just recently revealed to me and he shared

01:00:36.390 --> 01:00:45.710
with me something that he did for me. If your hand causes, if your hand or foot causes you to

01:00:45.710 --> 01:00:51.030
sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into this life,

01:00:51.290 --> 01:00:56.410
maimed, lame and maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the

01:00:56.410 --> 01:01:01.490
everlasting fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you.

01:01:01.870 --> 01:01:07.350
It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes and be cast into

01:01:07.350 --> 01:01:14.350
hellfire. There was a couple years ago, the Lord asked me to delete all my social media.

01:01:15.870 --> 01:01:19.590
And the main thing, I was spending way too much time on it. It was consuming my day.

01:01:20.190 --> 01:01:24.130
I would always be on it. My phone would always be right next to me because I wanted to be on

01:01:24.130 --> 01:01:30.370
it. And he asked me, he said, I want you to get rid of it. And he's done this before with me.

01:01:31.850 --> 01:01:35.270
And I'm like, okay, Lord, I'll get rid of it. And I got rid of it. And I'm like, okay,

01:01:35.310 --> 01:01:42.450
when am I going to get it back? Because he's done it with me before. I've given it away.

01:01:42.610 --> 01:01:47.810
And then he's like, yep, you can have it back now. Okay, great. Thank you. So again,

01:01:47.930 --> 01:01:51.910
I bring it up and I'm like, okay, Lord, I gave it away. When can I have it back?

01:01:54.130 --> 01:02:01.190
Not this time. Take it, cut it off and throw it away because you keep going back to the same vomit

01:02:01.190 --> 01:02:07.810
over and over and over again. I would rather have you in heaven with me than thinking you lost

01:02:07.810 --> 01:02:15.030
some experience here on earth. FOMO, fear of missing out. It's not worth it. Take that thing,

01:02:15.250 --> 01:02:17.810
cut it off, cast it out as if you're never going to get it back.

01:02:20.190 --> 01:02:22.530
That was a hard one. Difficult.

01:02:25.790 --> 01:02:33.830
So as we walk this path, this path will become more narrow and narrow.

01:02:36.170 --> 01:02:43.450
Because when we see Jesus as our outcome, our mind is thinking about Jesus, our life is showing

01:02:43.450 --> 01:02:50.710
Jesus. And he asks us to take a step forward. And it's already narrow. He's like, take a step

01:02:50.710 --> 01:02:55.750
forward. Okay, Jesus, I'm going to take a step forward on the narrow path. It's getting a little

01:02:55.750 --> 01:03:01.310
bit more uncomfortable. There's more things around me. He's like, okay, all these things

01:03:01.310 --> 01:03:06.150
that you're carrying on yourself, I want you to get rid of social media. Oh, Lord,

01:03:08.030 --> 01:03:14.950
I can't. I interact with my cousins that are far away. I interact with friends that I don't see

01:03:14.950 --> 01:03:20.110
anymore. He's like, no, get rid of it. I don't want it. Now, obviously, there's a purpose to it.

01:03:21.190 --> 01:03:27.130
And if I don't choose to get rid of that, I won't be able to take the next step because,

01:03:27.170 --> 01:03:32.110
guess what? I'm going to get stuck. In order for me to go forward on this narrow path,

01:03:32.110 --> 01:03:37.210
that's only getting more narrow to Jesus. Things are going to start falling off. I'm going to be

01:03:37.210 --> 01:03:42.070
start taking things off. And soon it's going to be too tight that the only thing I have when I come

01:03:42.070 --> 01:03:51.250
to Jesus is Jesus. That's the point of this life. It's not, we've heard this and it won't

01:03:51.250 --> 01:03:56.990
register to you unless the Lord reveals it. It's not about the money. It's not about the

01:03:56.990 --> 01:04:03.290
the things that we have or the things that we have attained or the fame that we've got or

01:04:03.290 --> 01:04:09.590
this person knows that I dress great or this person knows I have a kept house or this person knows

01:04:09.590 --> 01:04:16.150
that I cook well. It's not about that. It's not about, oh, this person knows that I spent

01:04:16.150 --> 01:04:26.370
time with the Lord. No, it's Jesus. And that's all I want is Jesus. And that's only the only

01:04:26.370 --> 01:04:30.250
thing I'm going to get with me when I get into heaven is Jesus. Nothing else is coming with me.

01:04:30.290 --> 01:04:36.290
It's my knowledge of him. The beauty of living in this earth, in this world, is that we get

01:04:36.290 --> 01:04:42.230
to learn facets of Jesus. And we're going to take that with us when we get to heaven.

01:04:45.530 --> 01:04:51.430
So our flesh is going to war with us, guys, or ladies, sorry. Our flesh is going to war

01:04:51.430 --> 01:04:55.630
with us. There's going to be some hard, difficult things that the Lord is going to ask

01:04:55.630 --> 01:05:03.930
you to get rid of. And for me, it's going to be, I need to get rid of it. Where for someone else

01:05:03.930 --> 01:05:09.470
they're like, that makes no sense. Why do you need to get rid of that? The Lord told me. It's between

01:05:09.470 --> 01:05:16.310
me and him. So it might not make sense to the people around you, but if the Lord is asking

01:05:16.310 --> 01:05:23.070
you, your flesh is going to war. You don't want to. We're going to pout. And sometimes

01:05:23.070 --> 01:05:28.050
we said, no Lord, I'm not going to do it. But because of our love for him, we're going to

01:05:28.050 --> 01:05:47.230
change our minds and do it. So let's pray. Heavenly Father, I ask that you help us to

01:05:47.230 --> 01:05:59.400
choose this way. Help us to understand this way. And if we don't have a full

01:05:59.400 --> 01:06:07.360
understanding to walk it anyways, reveal the things in our lives that we need to get rid of

01:06:07.960 --> 01:06:11.400
that are a stumbling for us before you, Lord.

01:06:14.420 --> 01:06:23.420
Help us to understand what a holy life is and give us counsel and wisdom into how to walk it.

01:06:26.060 --> 01:06:33.040
Give us the balance as we seek you out that we may love you with all of our hearts and our mind

01:06:33.040 --> 01:06:40.640
and our soul and our strength. And give us the fear of the Lord for it is the beginning of wisdom.

01:06:43.680 --> 01:06:48.580
And I thank you, Lord, that you hurt us. I thank you that you were here, Holy Spirit.

01:06:50.200 --> 01:06:58.700
I hope you found a pleasing aroma among us, an incense that filled the throne room of God that

01:06:58.700 --> 01:07:14.790
made his eyes turn towards us to capture the Father's eye. So Holy Spirit, may this word be a seed

01:07:14.790 --> 01:07:23.130
that is planted and then let it die so that it can birth even more fruit in our life.

01:07:24.930 --> 01:07:27.570
Show us what it means to deny ourselves

01:07:31.200 --> 01:07:41.180
and to choose you. Jesus, you are a bridegroom. You are so beautiful. Your eyes are so passionate.

01:07:43.840 --> 01:07:52.880
Your touch is so gentle. And I can't wait to get into heaven and be with my bridegroom.

01:07:54.000 --> 01:08:06.500
Create in us a bride that is pure and holy and consecrated. And let us leave tonight with

01:08:06.500 --> 01:08:25.140
unveiled eyes completely changed for your glory, Lord. I thank you, Father, that you are so good

01:08:25.140 --> 01:08:35.400
to us for your Son, Jesus, who died on the cross. We love you, Heavenly Father, and we pray these

01:08:35.400 --> 01:08:44.060
in the name of Jesus so that you, Father, can receive glory through your Son. Hallelujah. Amen.

01:08:47.420 --> 01:08:50.760
Thank you, ladies. I'm so sorry for the time.

01:08:58.660 --> 01:09:06.740
Wow, that was good. I have just a couple things I want to share with you. So,

01:09:06.840 --> 01:09:13.160
there's a phrase that the Lord shared with me a couple years ago that I just want to give to

01:09:13.160 --> 01:09:21.440
you. And so, it is no common ground. So, some of you might have known like I was an addiction

01:09:21.440 --> 01:09:28.340
and I looked a lot like that Broadway, right? And so, as I began to walk with God, the further

01:09:28.340 --> 01:09:34.120
I was walking, as Pastor Tanya was describing, it's like the more narrow, the more you're letting

01:09:34.120 --> 01:09:40.180
go of, right? And so, this phrase dropped into my heart, no common ground. And so, there are

01:09:40.180 --> 01:09:47.640
things just like Tanya was describing that God will ask you to give up. And it is our love

01:09:47.640 --> 01:09:54.660
for Him that leads us into obedience, right? And it's actually the proof of our love. And so,

01:09:55.460 --> 01:10:03.380
we are going to take communion. And in this time, we're going to remember one, the sacrifice of

01:10:03.380 --> 01:10:10.200
the blood of Jesus that literally enables us to come into His presence, right? So, He bought

01:10:10.200 --> 01:10:19.440
us while we were still yet sinners, still covered in all of our own mess, right? And He laid down His

01:10:19.440 --> 01:10:25.160
life in obedience for us so that we could be made into His likeness, so that we could actually

01:10:25.160 --> 01:10:31.260
be empowered to walk along that way, looking more like Him day in and day out. And that's

01:10:31.260 --> 01:10:38.240
why, right? Because we are to be Jesus, multiplied in the earth. And so, I just want to say,

01:10:39.180 --> 01:10:46.420
He reminds me of this, and I feel like I am to share it with you. Many years ago, I was a young

01:10:46.420 --> 01:10:53.800
lady, and I believed that there was a God. And I remember someone asked me, are you a Christian?

01:10:53.960 --> 01:11:03.940
And I said, yes, but I don't live that way. I will never live that down. And it's literally,

01:11:04.260 --> 01:11:09.360
it's literally, God is so gracious. He reminds me of that statement because He's like,

01:11:09.360 --> 01:11:19.940
do you want to live that way now? Yes. Yes. Yes. Because when I walk into a room and I talk to

01:11:19.940 --> 01:11:25.380
someone, and if they turn and they ask me, do you know the maker of heaven and earth? Do you

01:11:25.380 --> 01:11:33.040
believe that there is a God? I want the fruit of my life to be a testimony enough. The words

01:11:33.040 --> 01:11:40.400
in my mouth to be a testimony enough, right? And so we walk along the narrow way, throwing off

01:11:40.400 --> 01:11:46.000
the sinfulness of the past to look more like Jesus so that we can be Jesus to the people around

01:11:46.000 --> 01:11:54.100
us, right? Yeah. So no common ground. No common ground. Many of you know Halloween is coming up.

01:11:54.820 --> 01:11:58.900
I have had so many questions. What are you doing for Halloween? Do you dress up, blah, blah,

01:11:58.900 --> 01:12:05.900
blah? I'm going to touch some buttons, okay? I do not participate in Halloween. Why? My Jesus

01:12:05.900 --> 01:12:12.240
doesn't. I don't care if your church down the way has a little trunk or tree or whatever. My Jesus

01:12:12.240 --> 01:12:18.360
doesn't. My Jesus doesn't. So I'm sorry, but I don't participate because my Jesus doesn't.

01:12:19.000 --> 01:12:24.500
So, and there are people, right? Even in Christian circles that are like, well, that's just kind

01:12:24.500 --> 01:12:32.340
of, I'm sorry, honey, that's not religious. That's conviction. No common ground. I don't want

01:12:32.340 --> 01:12:37.560
any common ground with the enemy. Why? Because common ground gives them access to my life. Do

01:12:37.560 --> 01:12:43.540
I want that? Do you want that? No. My son asked me questions. Mom, I just don't understand why,

01:12:44.040 --> 01:12:49.080
just like Tony was saying, God will ask you to give up things that might look ridiculous to

01:12:49.080 --> 01:12:53.200
other people, but the truth of the matter is it doesn't matter what they think. It matters

01:12:53.200 --> 01:13:02.280
what he thinks. Yeah. So Psalms 25, 14 says the secret counsel of the Lord is for those who fear him.

01:13:02.940 --> 01:13:09.580
He will reveal his covenant to them. This is a participation of the covenant of Jesus Christ

01:13:10.080 --> 01:13:15.160
to exchange in fullness. How do we exchange? How do we take something upon us, but if we

01:13:15.160 --> 01:13:21.580
don't first lay something down? So in this time as we take communion together, I need you.

01:13:21.580 --> 01:13:31.180
I need you too. Because I care about each and every one of you. I want each and every one of

01:13:31.180 --> 01:13:37.580
you to look at your own heart and say, God, what is it that you want me to let go? Where can I

01:13:37.580 --> 01:13:44.580
exchange with you? Where can I exchange with you? What is the thing that is tripping me up,

01:13:44.580 --> 01:13:51.620
that is common ground with the enemy? Where can I exchange with you? So we're going to take our

01:13:51.620 --> 01:13:57.440
hearts before the Lord and we're going to grab our emblems and then we're going to come and

01:13:57.440 --> 01:14:05.180
pray together. Okay, so if we want to have an exchange, we lay it down in repentance.

01:14:06.880 --> 01:14:15.920
And it's important that repentance is an aspect of communion because this is a very holy thing.

01:14:16.640 --> 01:14:23.520
We do this in remembrance of the body that was broken to cleanse us, to heal us,

01:14:24.080 --> 01:14:30.840
the blood that was spilled to clothe us in the righteousness of Jesus. We do these things

01:14:30.840 --> 01:14:36.300
remembering the fullness of what was bought and purchased for us.

01:14:38.540 --> 01:14:44.720
If you don't know what the fullness is, you need to get up in your word and start looking at the

01:14:44.720 --> 01:14:51.100
fullness. There's so much more available to you than many of us live in capacity of. Does that

01:14:51.100 --> 01:15:00.140
make sense? Yeah, so let's take communion together. Lord, we thank you for your body

01:15:00.140 --> 01:15:07.440
that was broken for us. God, we thank you that you came completely sinless,

01:15:08.830 --> 01:15:17.200
that you walked the difficult way, God, in order to purchase for us a relationship with the Father,

01:15:17.880 --> 01:15:24.060
to purchase for us redemption, God, to literally clothe us in your righteousness.

01:15:25.220 --> 01:15:34.580
God, we thank you for healing our bodies, for delivering us, for giving us the power of the

01:15:34.580 --> 01:15:40.000
Holy Spirit that lives and dwells in us, that enable us to walk along this narrow way, God.

01:15:40.220 --> 01:15:46.900
And we do this in remembrance of all that you did here on earth and bought and paid for us.

01:15:46.900 --> 01:15:55.860
Thank you. We thank you. We praise you. Amen.