Encounter Weekend 4
0 - Kingdom costs you everything - What you were never intended to be - [Reference to prior speaker & worship music] Our bother said that the kingdom costs you everything. And He’s totally right when he says that. And then they sing that song… Let me tell you what that means - that the kingdom costs you everything. It costs you everything to become what He paid for. But what it costs you is what you were never created to be in the first place… and it just shouldn’t be hard to give that up.
0 - What’s so hard about giving up a lie to obtain the truth? You were never created for yourself. You were never created for your own image and your own glory. You were created for His image and for His glory.
0 - What an honor to have the living God live on the inside of you and bear witness of who He is through your life - through your attitudes - through your perspectives - through your motives.
1 - Cost - Giving back what Adam caused me to be - It’s not that hard. When preachers say, “This gospel will cost you everything!” they need to clarify. It’s not a hard thing. All it costs me is what I never was anyway. I’m just giving back what Adam made me to be so that I can step back into what He always intended.
1 - Self-centered living is not all that great - No multiplication - It’s a lonely place to live for yourself. The Bible says that unless a seed dies and falls to the ground, it abides alone. At the end of your journey you have nothing to show for your life except self-centered pursuit to make it through the day in the way that you prefer but you have multiplied nothing. You’ll find that you have lived at the expense of other people to make sure that your preferences were fulfilled - sometimes without even realizing it.
1 - You’re here to shine - You’re not on this earth to survive. You’re on this earth to shine. And if you miss shining, you miss what He came for - the reason why He came - to restore that ability to shine. He did not come just to bless you. He came to put His life inside you - and I would call that blessed.
2 - Free from you - When He gets you free from you, He gets you free from the biggest lie of your life: you living you when you were made for HIS image. When you get free from you, you’re done with issues, anger, frustration, “he said, she said”, just mad at people, ticked off at things that people fail to do and say, feeling somebody left you out or didn’t spend enough time with you or didn’t call you when you thought that they should. Come on, we have sold so cheap and yet we were bought at such a high price.
2 - It’s the gospel. It’s good news. You can get free from you. You can get free from the biggest enemy of your life. And you thought your biggest enemy was the devil. He only works with what you give him.
2 - Selflessness Model - Jesus said, “The ruler of this world cometh and has nothing in Me…” We always think that it’s because He was God that He says that stuff. No, He said it because He was selfless and He was modeling a life to which He calls us to follow. He was selfless. The enemy can’t work with selflessness.
3 - The mercy of the Lord - If you become merciful how can he stop your heart? The thing that satan can’t defeat about God is mercy - the mercy of the Lord. You deserve judgement. I deserve judgement but I’m filled with the Spirit of God. How does that work? It’s because His mercy triumphed over judgement.
3 - Receive mercy - Become mercy - What would happen if I not only received that but I became that? What if you became that - mercy? What if we became a merciful people. I think I read in my Bible, “Be merciful for I am merciful.” We didn’t obtain mercy just to obtain it, but to be so touched and affected by it that it becomes our heart expression. He didn’t forgive you just so that you could enjoy being forgiven. It’s so that you understand the beauty of being forgiven and that you become that very expression of what set you free.
4 - The Bible, in Mt. 18, says that if you’re not willing to become what He gave, you’re an evil and wicked servant. You’ll find yourself bound and living in a dark place. Your soul will be imprisoned.
4 - You put people into the prison of your heart because of what they owe you. But He delivered you and forgave you of everything you owed. That’s not cool.
4 - You don’t get saved for your own gain. You get saved for His great name and for His glory.
➡ 4 - Weekend recap - Transformation - I’m just summarizing what we’ve been doing all weekend. First-timers? This is what we’ve been talking about this weekend: the whole reason that Jesus came is to take the lie off of us and to put the truth in us - to get that old identity off of us so that we can walk and live in the new.
5 - God made man with intention - Adam was made to be something on the earth. There’s an intention when God made man. It’s not that God is just so full of life and then one day He is bored with angels and heaven and He is fiddling with the earth and He sneezes into the dirt and a man pops up - cool! That’s not how it happened. He made man with intention.
5 - Man has a purpose - He said, “Let us make man in our image.” Man wasn’t just accidental. God wasn’t just experimenting. He had a plan. That means that we have a purpose. There’s a reason that we’re on the earth. It’s for the image of God. And if we’re not pursuing to walk by the Spirit to make known who God is through our lives, we’re missing the reason why we’re here.
5 - Be an expression of Him in the midst of adversity - That’s why life can seem to be a “grind” to some Christians. They use the gospel to try to get through life instead of to become more like Him - so that they have an expression of Him in the midst of adversity.
5 - You can’t let your trials and the things that you’re going through decide who you are and how you are doing. What He went through is the truth about you. You have to start there if you are going to run well. If you start where He finished, that’s a good thing.
6 - Seek first the kingdom - Blessing flows - You do not get saved just for blessing and benefit and favor and vats and barns full and protection and provision. Those things are all part of the nature of God. That all flows through covenant. You seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all of these things fall into place.
6 - Or you can get caught up with life and have issues and attitudes and be nonproductive. That’s your choice. Or you can be a believer - not somebody who just goes to church but you can be the church.
6 - This is why He came. He didn’t just come so that you could feel good today - so that things could go the way that you prefer. He came so that in the midst of the way that life is unfolding you could look like Him, think like Him, walk like Him, talk like Him and men see the light in your life and give Him glory. And they understand that there is a God because see Him, not just hear about Him.
7 - Your attitude matters so much. Your perspective, your motive - your reason for being is vital to your Christian expression - to Christ in you. Please don’t let your heart be deceived in this hour. Please don’t let trivial things - things that won’t mean anything in the end - dictate your life today. Don’t let what a person did or didn’t say matter so much that you’re affected by it - unless their name is Jesus.
7 - I’ve pastored long enough to know that we let too many things matter more than what matters most. Don’t let that be you. Your life is worth way too much to sell cheap. You’re not even for sale if you read your Bible. You’ve been bought with a price and you’re not your own.
8 - So it costs you everything. But what it costs you is what you never were anyway. What a bargain!... give back the lie to obtain the truth.
8 - Adam was made to be something - Let us make man in our image. So in the likeness of God He made him. Genesis 1:27 -> Ladies you will like this. ...both male and female. He made both male and female after His image and likeness.
8 - So guess what the created value of a man and a woman is? The woman is not here to serve the man like everybody says. You say, “Yeah, but Adam needed a helper. He’s not complete.” He’s not complete because he has no avenue for the expression of love. His love can’t flow anywhere. It can’t be expressed. If man is just here alone in the image of God, he is power packed for nothing.
9 - God didn’t make woman because man is lonely and incomplete. He made woman because there was no expression for what He made man to be. It’s called love.
9 - So the woman came out of the fullness of God in man. God didn’t make another lump of clay. He reached into one and made it two so that two could be one and multiply and cover the earth with His glory.
9 - It had nothing to do with sexual impulses, sex drive, orgasms… It has nothing to do with the garbage that came through the fall of man. It has to do with covenant and love and two being one and man leaving his father and mother and cleaving to his wife and the two becoming one - for this is a great mystery but it was from the beginning.
10 - Guess what the highest value of the woman is? His image. Guess what the highest value of the man is? His image. When two two surrender - individual wills, souls, emotions - they come together and join into one covenant for one cause - the glory of His name.
10 - And when you are real about that, you’ll resolve conflicts. You might not agree on everything but why do you have to war - if you are seeking first the kingdom? When you understand the synergism of your relationship and that two make one and express the glory of God then it’s not worth living any other way. It cost His blood to restore this truth. It must be important.
10 - When you get this, you’ll stop animosity in your home. You’ll realize that it take two to tango and you won’t be in that equation. You’ll pursue peace and make peace because “blessed are the peacemakers for they are the sons of God” - not the ones that speak the language - the ones that live the life.
11 - So women, the reason that you are on the planet is not to serve the man but to be found in the image of God. And when you are found in His image, you will serve people with your life. Men, when you are found in His image, you won’t need women to scratch your itch and serve your pleasure. You will value them and honor them and love them. And you will find one that you can step into covenant with and that two can become one - to fulfill one great will and plan - His will, His plan. It’s called marriage.
11 - Love is not the same as need - That’s a little different than, “Hey, he’s cute.” or “Wow, she’s hot. Ooh look at her looking at me. She likes me.” And now you’ve got two kids and four years later you’re not talking to each other. You can’t stand each other. It wasn’t love. It was need. You are mystified.
12 - Why are you so hurt? - I’m convinced that today there’s more pain in relationships than blessing. And that’s a sad situation. “I love you” has caused more pain than it’s done good because people say that to manipulate and get what they want. If “I love you” means that you take no account of a suffered wrong then why are you so broken up by what they did? Why is that expression of brokenness still in your language? Why is it still your story - your memory? Why is it the first thing that you tell your new friend? ...what you’ve been through and what they did - if love covers a multitude of sin? Why is it still in your mouth? If it’s still in your mouth it’s in your heart - because it’s out of the abundance of your heart that your mouth speaks.
12 - I feel the authority of heaven on this. He is serious. He shed His blood for this thing. And He is saying, “Why don’t you give back the lie so that you can walk in it’s glory. You don’t incorporate Him into your life. He becomes your life. It’s not Jesus incorporated. It’s Christ in you.
➡ 13 - Enough on that. I’ve just summarized the weekend. That’s where we’re at. We’re all together now. Now I’m going to preach.
➡ 13 - Two things for tonight - There are 2 things that we’ve got to do tonight. And it’s going to be awesome. We’re going to see people healed of things that they have regretted - things that snuck into their lives through sin and former conduct. Be prepared tonight to open your heart and listen to a message and walk in repentance and receive God’s love because He wants to clean the slates of people’s lives. He wants to take the past things out of you because you are new creations.
➡ 13 - Healing tonight - Old passes away - All things new - If you were a person that was into cutting, go ahead and listen tonight and let’s let those scars come off of your body tonight because He’s a redeemer. If you’ve got a STD tonight let’s listen and let God take that out of you because if old things pass away and all things become new then it shouldn’t be there. It should be resting in a dead man, not in an alive person. If God won’t judge you for where you’ve been then why is where you’ve been been judging you? Things are going to change in people’s bodies tonight. And there is not anything that anybody can do about it because I’m going to preach the truth and the Truth will back it up. He has a name… Jesus.
➡ 14 - Baptism of the Holy Spirit - Then we’re going to teach on the baptism of the Holy Spirit and we are going to show you how scriptural it is - how it’s a separate experience - and how He will come and empower you, immerse you and dip you into who He is and make you one with Him. He’s going to come tonight. Anybody that’s never been baptized into the Holy Spirit, we will welcome you and He will meet you here and come and meet you here with the Holy Spirit and fire. He will empower you to be a witness.
15 - I will cover it so thoroughly with scripture that you won’t have concerns or questions. And if you were taught other things, you’ll see in the word that you weren’t taught correctly. It is undeniably scriptural. And I will cover every base that you can imagine.
15 - Dan’s baptism in the Holy Spirit - Save on Sunday night. Woke up on Monday morning in the presence of God, praying in tongues. Nobody laid hands on me.
15 - Objection - Some might say that that was a devil and that I’ve been living with an evil spirit for 23 years - but at the same time seeing lives transformed.
16 - Let’s go to Romans 5… We’re going to do this quickly and they we’re going to pray for people. And it’s going to be fun.
16 - Debates over healing - I’m done debating with people. Most people who want to debate have no Christian experience in God. The people who don’t believe in healing have never pursued it because they don’t believe in it. So nothing is their testimony. That’s a dangerous place because if somebody does have a testimony then they say that it’s either a lie or the devil. That’s a terrible position to take - that everybody who has a healing testimony is either exaggerating, lying or of the devil. That’s a scary position. [Example]
17 - Unbelief - Be careful with unbelief. So many people boast in unbelief. And they don’t even realize what they are doing. Even Christians will say, “Well, I need documentation.” I bet that is not cool before the Lord. There’s no documentation that will satisfy unbelief. And faith doesn’t need any documentation because it already sees.
17 - Unbelief never ends. It’s evil before the Lord. The Bible says that it’s evil, from a wicked heart. Unbelief says, “Well, how do I know that it’s their x-ray? You might have someone else's picture.” Unbelief is never satisfied. And there is a lot of unbelief in the body of Christ.
18 - Don’t boast in your unbelief. Pursue faith.
18 - Staying in faith even when healing hasn’t happened yet - Dan’s mom. Don’t you change the gospel to accommodate your story. You stay with the gospel until your story changes. Don’t jump ship and preach something that fits with your experience so that you can be OK. Sometimes you just need to say, Man, if I just knew You more, if I walked closer, if I understood and saw differently, I think I would see some more fruit. I just know this: if You had touched her, she would have been healed. You’re in me and I represent You. Let keep growing. Work in me God. But I’m not going to change my mind. I found truth through You. I found the Father through You. I’m not finding truth through a mother that passed away. And I have no need to create some new doctrine to explain her death. I’m going to go after You and grow up in all things into You. And I believe that’s the place of humility and honor.
19 - To know the Father - Look to the Son - You don’t find God through your life. Everybody is finding God as life unfolds. No, you’ve already found God through His Son if you are looking in the right place. When you see Jesus you’ve already seen the Father. He came as the expressed image of the Father - the wearing of His brightness - the expressed image of the Father’s person. And when you see Jesus, you’ve seen the Father.
19 - Jesus is the Living expression of the Father - So the life of Jesus is the Father revealed. Jesus said “I only do what He does, say what He says. I don’t do anything on my own. I do what the Father is telling me.” So when you see Jesus’ life, you see the Father in action through a man. It’s so simple.
19 - You might say, “Well brother, sometimes God…” Where did you see that in Jesus’ life? Sometimes we get so trouble in our hearts that we make up analogies (explanations) in our trouble but it’s at the cost of truth. And now that’s a problem because it’s truth that makes us free. And because of these “explanations” we are disarmed or unarmed - our swords are stuck in our sheathes because of what we believe. And now we are afraid to get that sword out again because the last time we got it out… We came up with an explanation and now we don’t even have a sword. Sometimes we don’t even have armour. Sometimes we’re not believing any more because of our explanations.
20 - Sometimes we say, “Oh well, if God wants to He will. Praise the Lord.” But that’s not scriptural. No, we’re called to seize the land. We’re called to go after things.
20 - Get in agreement with God - God works with Himself in people. His eyes are searching to and fro for somebody whose heart is totally after Him - totally given to Him. He’s searching - looking for that person.
20 - Well if He is God, why doesn’t He just do it - heal the sick? Because He gave man dominion on the earth. God works through man. He’s amazing. He wants relationship. He’s not a puppet master. He’s a Father. And I love Him for that. He doesn’t have a remote with my name on it.
21 - The Bible says in Romans 5 that we were justified by faith - that we’re at peace with God through Jesus, our Lord.
Abraham & Sarah - The Old has Passed Away - The New has Come
21 - Back up to the end of Rom. 4. It’s amazing what it’s saying. He talks about Abraham. In v.13 he talks about the promise.
13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: 15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
22 - v.13 - So God was calling Abraham to believe what He had promised.
16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, 17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. 18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
24 - v.19-20 - This verse is fascinating. I’m puzzled by these verses because when I read Genesis, Abraham wavered. He looked at his body. They looked at a time frame. Sarah got to thinking and said, “Hey, maybe God wants you to go into Hagar and that’s the way that He’s going to make this thing happen. Because there isn’t anything happening… We aren’t cutting it Abe.” Abraham probably didn’t say, “Well, let me pray about it.” He probably said, “Girl, bring her on. Let’s do it. If it works, great.”
25 - So in Genesis, Abraham wavered. He compromised. He made Ishmael. He did consider his flesh. But when I read in Romans - after the blood… When I read in Hebrews, he’s the patriarch - the father of the faith. Hebrews says that Sarah received strength to conceive in her womb. In Genesis, Sarah laughed and lied to God in the space of thirty seconds. But in Romans, Abraham is a patriarch of faith. In Hebrews they are both listed.
25 - Why this difference in accounts? - Why is this? Because something changed in their hearts called repentance. They said, “Duh, we failed to believe the truth. We stepped out of the covenant promise. Let’s get our eyes back on God.” And through the blood, when the writer is writing, He judges Abraham and Sarah as if they never flinched and as if they never sinned because through the blood, “I separate it - east from the west - and I’ll remember it no more.”
26 - I’m looking at a whole lot of patriarchs of faith. You don’t have to have some OT / Old covenant writing when you stepped right into the new covenant. Why would you remember what God hasn’t remembered? He can’t even write Genesis in Romans. He has to write through the blood.
26 - [Recounting the story of God’s dinner with Abraham / Sarah laughing] - Laughed and lied in the presence of the Lord. You would think that she would turn into dust. God is so amazing. And now He is writing about her, generations later, Sarah, by faith, received strength to conceive.
27 - Your old story is gone - There’s only the new story about you - I’m trying to preach Romans 5 and that thing hit me and I had to share it with you. Why did I preach this story about Abraham and Sarah? You need to see that there isn’t any old story about you. There’s just a new story.
27 - Forgiveness and healing - Old passes away - New has come - That’s why we’re going to pray what we’re going to pray tonight.
27 - Objections to receiving forgiveness - Responses - You might say, “But brother, you don’t understand… I made mistakes. I shouldn’t have been using but I was. And I knew better because I grew up in youth group.” We’ll I know that you say that you should have known better but you got deceived and you didn’t take earnest heed and you did whatever you did and that thing bit you for keeps. But now your heart has changed. You said, “Duh…” and you ran back to God.
28 - So let me ask you, are you still a young immature kid? Are you still somebody running in rebellion? Are you still somebody using or sleeping around? Or are you somebody that has gotten a grip and run back to truth and truth is holding onto you and His name is Jesus?
28 - You say, “Yeah but brother, I earned it. I made my bed. I’ve got to sleep in it.” NO - He made your bed. Get out of the bed that you made. When you repent, you get a brand new bed. And the sheets are amazingly clean. Get in there and sleep with Him.
28 - “Well, I’m reaping what I sowed.” You are until you repent.
29 - I’m passionate about this. I’ve watched too many STDs just come out of people. I’ve watched hepatitis come out… HIV… test results… negative.
29 - Lady in need of liver transplant - hepatitis, heroin, prostitution. Not a prostitute any more. And if mercy has triumphed over judgement and God isn’t judging her, how does hepatitis have the right to afflict her? She’s a new creation and God doesn’t see her as if she’s ever slept around and prostituted. He sees her as His daughter. Hepatitis loses its hold and it has to flee when we understand this.
30 - Liver transplant was not needed. “This is crazy. I can’t have hepatitis…. I’m not a prostitute. I’m not a heroin addict. God gave me a new heart... Why would I be paying this price now that He’s done what He did in me?... He says that I’m going to live.” Blood test came back negative.
31 - I’m not against the medical field but I love it when their minds explode.
32 - Tumor in chest gone.
32 - Liver (cont.) - normal numbers. Hepatitis gone.
33 - Heart of kings being turned by the Lord.
Overcoming the World
33 - Back to Romans 5. So he talks about all of this faith and then he starts off in v. 1...
1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
34 - v.1-3 - Verses 1 and 2 are exciting stuff. But v.3 we don’t get excited about that. Some of us are Christians to avoid tribulation. But that is not what Christianity is for. It’s deception.
35 - If somebody told you to become a Christian for your sake - so that your life would go smoothly, they are deceived and you are deceived for believing it. Many are the afflictions of the righteous. But the Lord is going to deliver you out of them all.
35 - Shining in adversity - He said, “In the world you are going to have tribulation but in Me you have peace.” Why? Because He has shown you the way to walk through it. He said, “In the world you’re going to have tribulation but in Me you have peace so be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.” He’s not talking about stopping tribulation. If He was talking about that then you wouldn’t have tribulation. He’s talking about showing you the way to walk through it and conquer it - and continue to shine and not lose your good countenance and productivity. That’s what happens when the ruler of this world comes but he has nothing in you.
36 - v.1 - Justified by faith - That means just as if you never sinned - by believing it - through the finished work of Christ - His blood on the mercy seat speaking better things.
36 - Peace with God - Peace sounds a lot better than contention - condemnation - “I can’t believe He loves me.” - “I’m ashamed.” Peace with God through Jesus.
36 - v.2 - access - Access into God’s empowerment - God’s grace - His ability working on our behalf to make us what we were created to be. And we have this hope standing in the glory of God.
26 - v.3 - Not only that - same tone. We glory when everything is all messed up and going against what you are hoping for. Your preferences aren’t lord. He is Lord. You’re not a Christian for smooth seas. You’re a Christian to shine when everything is rough. You lay down your life. You love not your own life unto death. It’s the only way to overcome.
37 - You can plead the blood until you are blue in the face… and give the word of your testimony but if it is for your own self and sake there is no response from heaven. He will not teach you to live there - in self-centeredness - when He wants you out of there.
37 - [Hypothetical situation: mom in grocery store that caves into the demands of a screaming child - Lollipop] - God will never do that. He will let you scream for the rest of your life. He love you way too much to leave you the same. He’s not here to meet your physical needs. He’s here to make you more like Him.
38 - Jesus said this same thing in Mt. 6: “You’re worried about this and you’re worried about that. But the birds and the flowers don’t even have the issues that you’ve got. You’re not supposed to worry so about what you’re going to eat… or about what you’re going to wear… Isn’t life more than these?” So then I guess we better find purpose and what life really is.
39 - v.4-5 -
6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
40 - 6-8 - While we were still busy sinning - believing that was who we are - that that’s our lot in life - Christ died for us. This is such good news. How could He pull that off? Because He knows what we were from the beginning. That’s why Jesus says, “Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.” How does Jesus know that? Because Jesus was there from the beginning - always there with the Father from the beginning.
41 - Jesus knows why we are here. That’s why He is dying. He wants to restore the truth. He’s not dying because you’re a sinner. He had to die because we sinned. But He’s dying to get the truth back into us - to get our identity back - and put life inside of us. The cross isn’t just about forgiveness. The cross is about restoration and redemption. The cross is about making the record right - setting things straight - bringing you back to original value through a price. That’s the gospel.
42 - Now do you think that I am going to believe that and yet still have “people issues”? Do you think that I’m going to be hurt because you didn’t call me? [Hypothetical conversation with family members - not calling.] Well, did you call them? Why are you waiting to be called?
42 - Who has ever been to a church and heard… [Hypothetical church visitor…] “It just didn’t seem that loving. Nobody really noticed me.” That’s like a no win situation because when somebody does speak to you you think that they are just speaking to you because they are assigned to say hello.
43 - “It just wasn’t that loving.” And I’m thinking, “It should have been. YOU were there.” Somehow we’ve gotten tricked into always looking for what we can get out of a situation instead of what we can offer to the situation. Why don’t we follow Jesus and offer our lives. Why don’t we get our eyes off of whether they are right or wrong and just give our lives.
43 - Why don’t we live in righteousness and that makes wrong things right. (Why don’t we see others the way that God sees us.) It gives people the opportunity to live differently than what we have seen them for.
43 - Righteousness is how He rules His kingdom. It’s what we live in. And we are ambassadors of God pleading with men to be reconciled to God - who did not impute their tresspasses toward them. That’s how we’re to live. And it’s amazing.
44 - Why wouldn’t you want that life? Why would you want ill feelings - frustration - “he said / she said - self-consciousness - identity issues and esteem struggles. Why don’t you die to the rat race and die to being a rat? And go ahead and live being His?
44 - If you’re not born again tonight would be the night. [Further encouragements - get born again]