In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of not engaging in sinful behaviors such as fornication, uncleanness, and covetousness. He quotes Ephesians 5:4 to support his point and warns that those who partake in such actions will not inherit the kingdom of Christ and God. The preacher also addresses the issue of Christians being influenced by worldly entertainment and urges the congregation to consider these matters in the light of a holy God. He concludes by highlighting the concept of believers being a chosen generation, emphasizing that God has always desired to have a special and precious people to Himself. The sermon encourages listeners to seek guidance from the Scriptures and live as priests in this world.

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold. You are welcome to make copies for your friends and neighbors. If you would like additional messages, please go to our website for a complete listing at www.charityministries.org. If you would like a catalog of other sermons, please call 1-800-227-7902 or write to Charity Ministries, 400 West Main Street, Suite 1, EFRA PA 17522. These messages are offered to all without charge by the free will offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. Well, good morning everyone. It's a blessing to see all of you looking to the Lord and praising the Lord this morning again. It's a blessing to start off with that song, Holy, Holy, Holy, wasn't it? After we reflected on what that song was taken from, it puts a little different perspective on it, doesn't it? You know, take that song, take those words and hold them up to where that song was taken from and just look at it there. How would you want to sing that song to God? How would you want to sing that song when you see the entire heavens and earth melting away in His presence? How are you going to be in His presence? You know, these days in the modern times, people make all kinds of remarks about what they're going to do in the presence of God. I don't believe when the whole earth and heavens are melting away that that song is going to be sung in any other way but with holy reverence before our holy God. Think what you will. Well, amen. Well, today I'd like to take on that concept of the holiness of God and take it more into the people of God and then to look at a few practical things of how that looks in our life. Again, as I said yesterday, you know, when I'm thinking of all these different practical teachings I want to be able to cover in this short week, you know, you wonder if you should spend a day just on the holiness of God, but it just kept coming to that. And I believe if we see today, if we're honest, if we just look at these doctrines in isolation, it just doesn't come out right. Someone's trying to take away my music. Someone's trying to take away my clothes. Someone's trying to take away the way I speak. Someone's trying to be a killjoy to the way I act. It all is just a man's opinion. But if we look at each of these things in the light of a holy God, oh, how it changes everything. How it changes everything. Today, a chosen generation. That's you. A chosen generation. From the beginning of God's dealing with man, it is an incredible thought that God has always desired to have a special and peculiar, which means a precious, chosen people to Himself. An embracing love relationship. And it's the most precious thing in the universe, I assure you. Oh, it's a wonderful thing. To look at it apart from anything else than that, when we get into this concept of being the precious people of God, oh, this is... there's such grace in that. And there's such a joy in being with God and loving God and having that relationship with God that you'll never want anything else in your life. Very beginning in Deuteronomy 7, when God spoke to Abraham, Genesis 12, verse 2, And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great. And thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee. And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Your mere presence in the earth will cause everyone to receive a bit, a portion at least, of your blessing. In Exodus 19, it's one of the most precious Scriptures in the Word of God. And I wrote it there in the back of your pamphlet, which I do have extras back there in the rack. Isn't this a precious Scripture? In Exodus 19, verse 3, And Moses went up unto God, Exodus 19, verse 3, And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountains, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel. And this is what I'm going to say to you, just like that. You have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bear you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if you will keep, if you will obey My voice and deed, and keep My covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me, above all people, for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. Could you be a joy, a treasure to God? That's what it says. That's what it says. He wants a people of God. He wanted it in the Old Testament. And yes, He wants it even more in the New Testament. In the New Covenant. A treasured people of God that He can put His name on. These are the people of God. These have My name on them. Look, Gentiles. These have My name on them. See what grace does? See what My Son's blood does? See what it does in someone's life? These are My people, and I love them. I treasure them. This relationship that God wants for us, it is the beautiful picture of God's chosen people. God repeatedly displays His affection and desire throughout the whole Scriptures. Don't have a king. Have Me. All through the Scriptures. Don't go on looking to Egypt. Have Me. Don't trust in your own selves. Have Me. Don't trust in your works. Have Me. I'll do it. I'll be that for you. I'll promise this thing to you. I'll give you these things. Just walk with Me. He wants that relationship with us. He wants that. And when we look at that holiness of God, that is the fountain of our separateness unto Him and our holiness. That is the source, mind you. That is it. It's not just trying to do this and that and this. It's from that understanding why I spent an entire day on the holiness of God is because that is the source. Just teaching a bunch of empty doctrines. Just giving you a list of do's or don'ts and you're going to mess up. But if you get a glimpse of the Holy, if you get a glimpse of God and His wanting to have this loving relationship with you, oh, how it changes everything. That's the paradigm I talked about. Get that. And everything else just flows. Peter puts it well in 1 Peter 1. Verse 13, Wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind. Be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Have you had a revelation of Jesus Christ? If you haven't, I want you to look at this thing as a promise of God. He pours grace into your life for sobriety and for walking with God. Verse 14, As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lust in your ignorance, you didn't know any better. Ignorance means the lack of knowledge. But as He which has called you is holy, and all that we talked about yesterday, so be ye holy in all manner of conversations, words, citizenship, in every single thing in your life. As He is holy, so be ye holy in all everything you do, because it is written, be ye holy for... because I am holy. I am the source. This is the truth in our salvation. It's the truth in our sanctification. You know, a lot of people make a big to-do about a second work of grace, and about this and that. The thing is this, Jesus Christ is the source of the holiness in your salvation. He is the source of your holiness and walking in sanctification. He is the source. It is a Person. It is Jesus Christ. And He wants... God put all the fullness and the fulfillment of the promises and all the heritage blessings on a Person, on Jesus Christ, and then said you, if you come into Jesus, these things will then be imparted into your life. If you are in Jesus, you will walk that way. Turn to 1 Corinthians 1. At the end of 1 Corinthians 1, verse 30. It's one verse. Powerful verse. Circle it and know it. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 30, talking about that no flesh should glory in His presence, because we know where this source is coming from. 1 Corinthians 29 that is. And verse 30, but of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us. Okay. So, in Christ Jesus. So, you're in Jesus. So, Jesus now has made, has imparted these things unto you. Wisdom. You need wisdom? It's there. There's the source. And righteousness and sanctification and redemption that according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. There it is. It's in the person of Jesus Christ. Looking at these things, how does that tie into this holiness and these two kingdoms and this idea of being this precious people of God? I am amazed at 2 Corinthians 5-6. Look at that real quick. 2 Corinthians 5. At the end of 2 Corinthians 5, we have, I say this perhaps too much, one of the most profound statements ever uttered by anyone, and it's this. He's talking about our relationship as our kingdom in this world versus the kingdom of that world. And he says to it, verse 19, 2 Corinthians 5-19, to it that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. There's your job. You have the ministry of reconciliation. They have the ministry of the sword. We'll talk about Thursday. You have the ministry of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. And here's the statement. Listen to it. It is so profound. Verse 21, For He hath made Him, Jesus, to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Now, you think of the most holiest person that has ever lived. And that's righteous, you know. Turned all the way up. But the righteousness of God. That's your place in Christ. He goes on. And he goes on to chapter 6. Remember, there's no giant 6 in the Greek. He just keeps flowing in this letter. And he goes on to talk about his life and talking about giving no offense and that his ministry be not blamed. Verse 3. He goes on and then he says to him there, now turn and look very closely at verse 13. Verse 14. Let's back it up to 12. Corinthians, you're not getting this. You need to understand this. All what I just said to you about Christ being all the source of everything, but now understand this. I'm trying to tell you some things. I rebuked you several times in Corinthians chapter 1. I gave you some very practical things. I talked about authority. I talked about the way you should act in the church. I talked about love. I talked about the submission of women and men. I talked about head coverings. I talked about all these things. And now you're getting all upset. Corinthians, listen. Verse 12. You are not straightened in dust. You're not constrained. You are not made smaller. You are not restricted in us. But you are strengthened in your own bowels, which means the very thing that's inside you, your own passions, is what's restricting you. It's making you constrained. It's making you all upset. Now, for a recompense in the same, I speak as unto my children, be ye also enlarged. Open up. Here it is. 14. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness, and what communion hath light with darkness? Here the two kingdoms are made very clear. Corinthians, you're playing with the world. Corinthians, you're playing with the world. Young people, is He speaking to you? Are you playing with the world? What place do you have with that kingdom bringing it into this kingdom? There needs to be an understanding. I'm not constraining you. It's your own passions and lusts that are constraining your life. Open up your heart and see, He's saying. Don't be like them. That's what it says. He goes on. And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath He that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. And God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Wherefore, for all these reasons... Listen, this isn't the Old Testament. Listen, this isn't the Old Covenant. Listen, because of all that, come out from among them, and be ye separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing. And then what will happen? And I will receive you, and will be a father unto you. There it is. And ye shall be My sons and My daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. No big seven in the Greek. Having therefore these promises. What promises? That if you leave this world, you will come unto the bosom of God, and He will be your Father, and you will be a son and a daughter unto them. Having therefore this promise, that if you do what He just said, you will have this in your life. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. So what has happened? You know, that was the consensus of the church for hundreds of years. There's an early Christian writing, written some people think the year 50, even before John was written, called the Didache. And the Didache goes on and puts it this way. This was something that was passed around mainly in the Syriac area. Syria. Written in Syriac. There are two ways, it says, in the very first beginning of the Didache. There are two ways. One of life, and one of death. But a great difference between the two. The ways of life then is this. And he goes on. You know what they start to quote? This is the way of life. And you know what? They're going to put a little mark here in the Didache on what is Christianity. And you know what they point out? They say the Sermon on the Mount. You shall love your God who made you. Second, love your neighbor as yourself. And do not do to another what you would not have them done to you. And of these sayings, the teaching is this. Bless those that curse you. Pray for your enemies. And fast for those who persecute you. And he goes on to repeat all those things. It's Jesus. It's the ways of Jesus. It's what Jesus taught us. And this concept of being the world and being the church was very plain. We all know what Jesus said. He doesn't want us to go out and cloister somewhere. Here we are right next to the cloister. He doesn't want us to cloister somewhere and not be in the world. We know that. But we have made that and talked about that so much that 2 Corinthians no longer makes any sense to us. But we are to be in the world but understanding all along while we're here we're not cloistered up somewhere, but while we're there, that we are in the Kingdom of God. And that line is as clear as it can be. That line is clear. And I know where I stand. I know where I stand. Give me a Greek word for the word church. Somebody. Ekklesia. And what does that mean? Called out from what? Called out and called out to govern. Thank you, John D. There you are. Called out from what? It's the whole name of the church. We are the called out ones. And what He said there in 2 Corinthians, and there you are in your church being, as He said, a blessing to the people. You're the salt. You're the light. Yes, you're not cloistered up in one area. You're there, but when you're there, you don't mix with that. You know where you stand and you know where you don't stand. And mixing it is an abomination. No one questioned this for hundreds of years. We get up through church history and those people. You know, I just marveled when I started reading church history. I wanted to know what made a man be able to stand strong when he knew a lion was about to rip him to shreds. What made a man strong or a young lady strong when they took him out and persecuted him? As Tertullian so beautifully said, the blood of the martyr is the seed of the church. And it's been happening over and over and over again. And the church grew and grew and grew. Went through several different things of persecution. It grew right up to, even while we see it in Paul's time, but even more so to right up into the household of Caesars. Many of the servants, many of the people were there. No one questioned this sort of behavior. If you read all over the world, different translations, different languages separated by mountains, separated by culture, separated that the church understood that they were the people of God and not the people of the world. And these things were clear. When we came to a point where we had a man by the name of Constantine who came up to the church, a pagan genius, a genius general and genius ruler who came over and took over Rome. On the way there, he thought he saw a vision. He was a sun worshiper. And this isn't just some ridiculous extreme trying to say he had the title Pontificus Maximus, which means he was the head, supreme sun god worshipped. One morning while he was there and he was looking at the sun, he said he saw over the sun a symbol, Chi and Rho, which he translated that to mean Jesus Christ. And then over it, in this sign, conquer, he came in, he took over Rome, and then said what he did was to liberate the country, liberate the kingdom for Christ. Never converted. The church was so happy that the persecution was ended. And it's time and time again we see it in the Old Testament. We see it in the New Testament. We see it all the way through it. We see it today that when we get lax, when we get rich, when we get fat, we start to compromise. And there it happened. And they did. He gave them all these privileges. He gave them state positions to be in the church. And it's sad that most of the church at that time, well at least most that we know in history, sucked it all up and took it. There's a quote here. Listen from a man named Eusebius who was a friend of Constantine, just praised Constantine. He said it this way, Surely it must seem to all who duly regard these facts that a new and fresh era of existence has begun to appear, and a light hitherfore unknown suddenly to dawn from the midst of darkness on the human race. And all must confess that these things were entirely the work of God who raised up this pious emperor to withstand the multitude of the ungodly. And they took it in. He sat there and they put him all in the church and he made his decisions. You're going to do this. You're going to do that. Never converted, never until his very deathbed where he was converted by the same man that he condemned as a heretic, the same theology he condemned as a heretic on his deathbed. It was said that he was baptized. Never through all of that. Matter of fact, the government after him still were voted on to whether or not they were going to make Constantine an official god. And there he was. Going on, Augustine, sometimes known in history as Saint Augustine, took some of these things and now the church, literally millions of people started to pour into the church. And this concept of being this holy people of God, this chosen remnant of God, this select salt that was in the earth, now was just being swarmed into by the church, by the millions. And suddenly where it used to be, you were killed for being a Christian. Now, he took and baptized the whole troops of armies. Y'all have to be Christians. And had mass baptisms and things that were coming into the church in that way. Well, there were some people who stood against this. Some of the people even early on coming onto Constantine in 325. The Donatists. And some of those people said, no, this is not right. The church is meant to be a pure church. The church is meant to be people who are called out. The people who are representing God. Well, Augustine got pretty frustrated with these people and came up with some interesting doctrines. One of those which he calls the Just War Theory. He calls the Just War Theory. And he decided that these people were wrong in their understanding that the church is supposed to be pure. And he went to Matthew chapter 13. Matthew chapter 13 talks about the wheat and the tares. And he made a fatal error. And this fatal error has affected the church for centuries. And he said that the wheat and the tares, you remember the story, while the farmer was asleep, somebody came in and put a bunch of weeds in the farm. And they came up and Jesus gave the parable and they said, well, should we pull up the weeds? He said, oh no, leave the weeds. They should grow together with the wheat. Because otherwise we don't know it may pull up some of the weed if we start pulling up the weeds. And so Augustine argued, this is the church. We can't punish these sorts of things. And this idea of this being a pure church and a holy church, it's ridiculous. So, he thought it later on, decided to be a blessing to the Donatists. Since he did not consider them outside the church, he decided to be to their favor, to kill them. And said to him, this is from his quote here, It is indeed better that men should be brought to serve God by instruction than by fear of punishment or by pain. Speaking about why he should start now killing the Donatists. But because the former means are better, the latter must not, therefore, be neglected. Many must often be brought back to our Lord like wicked servants by the rod of temporal suffering before they attain to the highest grade of religious development. The Lord himself does order the guests to be first invited, then compelled to the great supper. And they were killed. Many others were killed. They went on a campaign killing Jews and killing different people. And suddenly, a very bad thing happened. The church and the world united. Oh, not the true church of God. Not the remnant church of God. We see throughout history there's been several that have stood this way and that way against those things. And if you turn your Bibles to Revelation 17, we read about that. We read about this thing that happened. In Revelation 17, and there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vows to talk with me, saying unto me, Come hither, and I'm going to show unto you the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters. He took a bride. She became a whore. With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication. And the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness, and I saw a woman set upon scarlet-colored beasts full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet-colored and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication. And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abomination of the earth. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I with great admiration..." She's a great whore. But note, she's a mother. And I don't know. I'm not going to point who this is. I kind of look at what's happening there with the bringing in of Constantine as this great moment in history. But note very plainly that she is a mother of harlots. And that this idea of mixing the church, the bride, with the kings of this earth and what that has produced through the age has made her drunk with the wine of martyrs through every generation until this very day. And perhaps why we're not seeing it more is just because of our compromising life. This went on. The church took this power, it grew and grew and grew and grew and horrible atrocities were done. Pope Urban II decided that when he found out that Israel was being taken by Muslims and these different ones, he said, I'm going to cure this. I'm going to solve this. And Urban II called this thing what he called the crusade. And here's what he said. This is directly taken from the speech that Pope Urban said in a huge mass area with thousands of men there. And this is what they did. He said this. He says, On this account, I, or rather the Lord, beseech you as Christ's herald to publish this everywhere and to persuade all people of whatever rank, foot soldiers and knights, poor and rich, to carry aid promptly to those Christians and to destroy that vile race from the lands of our friends. I say this to those who are present. I mean also to those who are absent. Moreover, Christ commands it. All who die by this way, whether by land or by sea or in battle against the pagans, shall have immediate remission of sins. This I grant them through the power of God with which I am invested. And they went out. And still today, what a testimony. The church has suffered for behaviors like this. And when the church and the world are joined together, it has caused devastation over and over again. And oh, we think. They cheered out, it says in the history books. They just went into a chant. It is the will of God! It is the will of God! And it was like a savage chant that they were all screaming and hollering about to run down there to Israel to kill the Muslims and to bring this jihad against them the church was doing. But not the remnant church. Because Jesus' words were still there. They were still there. Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. They were still there. Oh, how we think we do God's will many times. Do you know what was written on the belt buckle of every single Nazi soldier? Gott mit uns. Right there on the belt buckle. Every Nazi. Killing the Jews. Killing all these things. Gott mit uns. God with us. We're in God's way. We're the people of God. We're purifying a people. Gott mit uns. God help us. You know, we think that's barbarous. I mean, how barbaric? We think that's horrible. They must have been some sort of crazed people. I thought about that when I first heard about that. A little judgment came into my heart about it. And I remember it. I remembered myself standing in a field with some 900 to 1,000 young men and holding an M16 in my hand with a bayonet approached to it. And the drill sergeant saying overhead, what makes the grass grow? And we were all chanting with our neck veins pushing out and spit coming out of our head. Kill! Kill! With cold blue steel. And chanting it over and over and over again. I did that. And afterwards, we just went to chapel. We went to get something to eat. We didn't think much about it. We thought we were kind of like playing army. Well, it's not playing. It's not playing. Jesus has some very plain words about it. And when that kingdom of the world and the kingdom of God is united together, it has brought chaos to this world. And it has been a harlotry that has happened. When we come into the Reformation, some beautiful things happen. Beautiful things happen. Oh, we can't think of all the beautiful things that Luther and Zwingli and Calvin and they're wanting to get the Bible out and they're talking about salvation by faith and some of those beautiful things that just came upon the world at that time against the darkness that the church was in at that time. And what the printing press did, giving us the Bible, it is incalculable what they did and brought the church. But in that whole time, you have to understand the whole world was working under this idea of the state church and all these ideas of the state church, the church and the world together. And when the Reformation started, they continued this thought. Okay, well, we have now an entire district. And in that time, if you were the ruler of your little country or your little province, it was your right to decide the religion of your people. Just the study of the history of England alone just gives you chills to see how it switched from the Protestant king to the Catholic king or queen and it went back and forth and all the martyrs that would happen on each side of this thing when all that chaos went on. And that's just the way they thought. And this idea that this could not be a pure church, but we have a state church. So you started baptizing infants or you continue to do that. And you keep bringing people in to this whole state thing. In that Reformation, when the light of the Gospel came out, there was a few people, a radical people, who decided, no, the Scripture doesn't seem to be saying that. And when I keep reading in Matthew 13, Jesus interpreted that parable and He said, the field is the world. The field is the world. And so the church is supposed to be called out from that. So what are we doing in the middle of this? Imagine now. The world is like that. I mean, everybody, every denomination, you're there and these young men were there with Zwingli down in Zurich and all these things and that's the whole way they were thinking. And they started to look at the Scripture and say, but we're supposed to be called out of this world. And they began to question some of that. They began to question some of that. And when they began to question some of that, it started to make them mad. Some of those Reformers mad. Said, no, you're taking this too far. And that whole movement was called the Radical Reformation. The Radical Reformation, where these people said, no, we want to take it back to the roots. The word radical just simply means back to the roots. And we want to see this thing happen. Well, they met in a little house, Michael Statler's house, and they read in Schleidheim and they wrote up this thing. Now, listen to this. This is in 1527. And listen how clear the two kingdoms are in their mind when they wrote it. He said this. Imagine. I mean, they just decided that night or this time. In this time, this thing has been started to be illegal. The movement was starting to gather and starting to have actual people getting killed for having a faith that was not a part of the state church. And they said this and they wrote together and they said, OK, what do we agree on? And all these Radical Reformation people got together and they said this. We are agreed as followed on separation. A separation shall be made from the evil and from the wickedness which the devil planted in the world in this manner, simply that we shall not have fellowship with them, the wicked, and not run with them in the multitude of their abominations. This is the way it is. Since all who do not walk in the obedience of faith and have not united themselves with God, so that they wish to do his will, are a great abomination before God. It is not possible for anything to grow or issue from them except abominable things. For truly all creatures are but two classes, good and bad, believing and unbelieving, darkness and light, the world and those who have come out of the world, God's temple and idols, Christ and Belial, and none can have part with the other. To us, then, this command of the Lord is clear when He calls upon us to be separate from the evil and thus He will be our God and we shall be His sons and daughters. They had a clear understanding. I believe we need a radical reformation today. When we look at these many particular doctrines in isolation of the holiness and the called-outness of God's people, you see how it just becomes ridiculous? I start when I speak to you about music. So I come in here and I start writing about all these different things. I want to talk about clothing. So I bring this principle and that principle and do you see again how if you're still in your mind trying to combine these things together, what's he saying? I can certainly find a commentator to disagree with that preacher. I can certainly find that. I kind of like the way this is and I've seen good happen from it. Put yourself every time and every adoption before that holy God. Now what does it look like? What does it look like? These people in the New Testament, they had a very clear understanding of who they were. Now, a Scripture that is repeated oftentimes I need to mention here is in 1 Corinthians 9, verse 19. If there's one Scripture that you commonly run into on the streets or in places of debate or wherever, they know you should not judge. They should know given to Caesar and to God and to God. And they know that what I try to do I can't do from Romans 7. And they know that Paul says to the Jews I became Jews, to the Greeks I became Greek when I had no law. And these misquotes of all these different Scriptures are what's thrown back at you at your time of sharing with these people. 1 Corinthians 9, verse 19 has been butchered these days. Has been butchered. In 1 Corinthians 9, let's look at that real quick. In 1 Corinthians 9, verse 19, for though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all that I might gain them more. Real quick, the whole point if you read this chapter before, we don't have the time to get into it in its entirety, and the chapter after it, the whole tenor of his thing over and over is I am sacrificing my rights. I am sacrificing my own desires and I'm becoming a slave of everybody to win Christ. He has not the slightest hint of a license to do something because of some liberality that he put upon himself. Just the opposite. Paul's saying, I'll do anything. But now listen to the way this has been looked at. For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself a slave unto all that I might gain them more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew. All the ceremonial things. You remember what he did in Acts? He circumcised Timothy because of the brethren. He went into the temple. He shaved his head. He kept a vow. Even the ceremonial things he bowed his heart to because of the brethren that were there. That I might gain the Jews. To them that are under the law as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law. To them that are without law as without law. And we stop there. But he doesn't stop there. He says, Being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ, that I might gain them that are without the law. So you're going into the Gentile land. There you are. And you want to be able to relate to them. You want to be able to be with them. But you still have the law of Christ, he says. So there you are. What did Jesus say? Well, He said to love your enemies. So there you are. But I'm going to be amongst the people who aren't there. Well, Jesus said to love your enemies. Okay. Is it a gray issue whether or not I can put a bullet through someone's head or not? Is this just some theology? Is it gray? It's not gray. Jesus said it. There it is. It's the law of Christ. He talked about divorce. Is it gray to have another man's wife? It's not gray. So these are the laws of Christ. And he goes on. He talks about is it gray to be living in riches and living in these things as Jesus told us. Don't be like the Gentiles. It's the law of Christ. There it is. Over and over again. And all the different things that Jesus told us. These are just a few that come up in our current day. But there you are. You're amongst the Gentiles. Be with them. It's like this. We have missionaries and they're living over there in huts. Grass huts with the Africans out there. They're being like them. You see. And so they're not being there in rich mansions. They're coming down to the level. That's what Paul is saying. I am willing to give up my own comfort to be able to be there and not live in my flesh because I'm amongst a people of flesh. That's not what he's saying. What did these people do? In the New Testament, in the book of Acts, in Acts chapter 17, verse 6, it says that here comes a people that have turned the world upside down. That's what they did to the world. In Acts chapter 6, verse 14, it says this, For we have heard Him say that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. And all that sat in council looking steadfastly on Him saw His face as it had been the face of an angel. Praise the Lord. He wasn't all contentious. You know, He had the face of loving Jesus. And here He was speaking of the Jewish customs. He was willing to change according to the Word of God. To the Gentile customs, Acts 16, verse 21, starting in verse 20, And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, these are the Gentiles, and teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. They're willing to come into that culture and turn it upside down. That's what they did. Titus chapter 2. He's warning a young preacher there, now the people that you're at, there's a certain particular thing about them, and I want you to be careful. I want you to be careful. In Titus chapter 1, verse 11, speaking of these Cretans in Crete, a little island, whose mouth must be stopped and subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not for filthy lucrecy. Talking about one of their poets. Verse 12. This is Titus chapter 1, verse 12. One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said the Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. I'm giving you a little warning in the insight, Titus, of this culture, this mission you're in. This witness is true. Wherefore, rebuke them sharply, that they be sound in the faith, not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men that turn from the truth unto the pure. All things are pure, but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure. But even their minds and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him being abominable and disobedient and unto every good work reprobate. Those are strong words. Does that mean that we should transform or import Lancaster County into every culture? No, it doesn't. But you know what it does mean? That we should transform, we should import the Word of God into Lancaster County and to everywhere else. I don't want someone to look like Lancaster County. I want someone to look like Jesus. I want someone to talk like Jesus. I want someone to talk like Jesus. And I want this to change me as much as I want it to change someone somewhere far off. Somewhere far off. So there we have it. A very clear understanding. Now, when we look into the Scriptures, we see that the world is made up of certain building blocks. Certain building blocks. And these building blocks are not of God. And they make up who we are or who we're not. The Scriptures speak of them interestingly as an element. You see in that little copy there, I gave you the periodic table. And that periodic table there is listed every element. For everything you see, every carpet, the paint, the stones, the air you breathe, everything is made up out of those elements that you see there on your paper. It's a periodic table. God has elements. And the world has elements. Listen to this in Galatians 4, verse 3. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. You were controlled by the elements of the world. But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. I love how the Scriptures, you know, they don't get into this. They just flow over with the love of Jesus all the time. Do you know that? Don't get into doctrine and not flow over for Jesus. You're looking at it the wrong way. Wherefore, thou art no more a servant, but a son. And it's a son than an heir of God through Christ. How be it then? When you knew not God, ye did service unto them, which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather, are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereinto you desire again to be in bondage? You're looking at things in your own flesh. Looking at things in your own flesh. Looking at things in your own flesh. Figuring things out in your own mind. Philosophy is another one of these things. Colossians 2 Beware lest any man spool you through philosophy and vain deceit after the traditions of men, after the rudiments, the elements of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. There's all your source. There it is. Colossians 2.16 Wherefore, if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject these things? They were trying to go back to the Jewish law. Trying to go and figure these things all out in the Jewish law. 1 John 2.15 is a very good way to identify the elements of the world. And he puts it into just three. Just three. He says, very powerful Scripture. 1 John 2.15 Love not the world. Does that make a little more sense now? You know what I mean? There's a kingdom of God, and there's a kingdom of the world. You're supposed to come out of the kingdom of the world and not mix these things. And then he's going to tell you, love not the world. This is old man John coming out of the Isle of Patmos praying and serving God in some sort of horrible condition for years, coming out and writes this to you. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loved the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Do you love the world? Well, listen, don't deceive yourself today. What are those things the world has given you? Does it admit? It brings a little heart throb. It flutters your heart when you're around worldly things. I love worldly music. I love worldly plays. I love worldly things. If you're honest with yourself, he's saying something very strong. The love of the Father is not in you. You are deceiving yourself. Do you believe it's possible to think you're a Christian and not be? That's what he's saying. You're deceiving yourself. And here's the test. Do you love the world? If you do, the love of the Father is not in you. I'm going to tell you what's in the world. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world passes away. And the lust thereof. But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Praise God. He tells us in Hebrews 5 that there's also elements of God. Hebrews 5, verse 12. For when for the time you ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God. And are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat. For everyone that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. That's the meat. When Jesus said that He's going to send you the Holy Spirit to teach you all things, when you read through the early church, you know what they very clearly taught there? Is that you could discern right and wrong. He's not going to be able to tell you everything throughout all the generations. Oh, not that. Yep, that. Not that. But He's going to give you the Holy Spirit to be able to discern these things. But if you are still drinking milk, you need to be able to have your exercise and discern both good and evil. Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, these are the basic foundation, church. Let us go on to perfection. Not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and faith towards God. Those are some of those elements. Your works that you gave up that were dead. Your faith towards God. There's good stuff. Colossians 3. Put on... Colossians 3.12 Remember how we talked about putting off, Paul said? Now you put on, just like you go get a coat and put it on. Put on, therefore, as the elect of God. Put on, therefore, as the chosen, loving people, the precious people of God. Not the stiff-necked, mean people who want to go around being right and Pharisees. But put on as those chosen children of God. Holy. We talked about holy. Holy and beloved. Here's the good elements. If you had a periodic table, I like to make a periodic table of things of God. And here they are. Vows of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness and long-suffering, forbearing one another and forgiving one another. If any man hath a quarrel against you, even as Christ forgave you, and above all... We're going to have a big one here. And above all these things, put on charity. Put on charity. Agape love, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your heart, to which also you are called in one body and be ye thankful. In Galatians 5. And after this, we're going to go on a little trip. In Galatians 5, we hear two different... We hear a periodic table of the world and a periodic table of God. Let's go right to Galatians 5. Verse 17. Galatians 5. Verse 17. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit. There's those two kingdoms. And the Spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary the one to the other, so that you cannot do the things that you would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now, the works of the flesh are manifest. Here they are. Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness. That means having no law. Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred. Listen to these. Variance, causing these problems. Emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies. Interesting, all those variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, and heresies are all the idea of a person who just can't dwell with his brother and just argues about everything and is an unpeaceable person. And this is a person that these things come from Satan. Inbeings, verse 21, murder, drunkenness, revelings, and such like. This isn't the last. This is things like this. Do you get the idea? Do you get the paradigm Paul is saying? Do you get the whole mindset? And things like this. Of the witch I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Do you think it's possible for someone to be, think they're a Christian and they're not? But the fruit of the Spirit, here's God's periodic table, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such, there is no law. And there you are. I wish I had a little more time. I may do this a little bit tomorrow. Let's go. Go with me. A little trip here. The next two minutes. Can I come into your home? Let's go. Alright. Okay. Let's go into your closet. Alright. We're in the closet now. Okay. Let's pull out some of your clothes. Alright. Pull them out. Scriptures have some building blocks from which we should, that we can look at things like this. Okay. God has some of these things. In 1 Timothy 2.9, now, I'm not going to tell you what to do. You just pull them out and let's see. Okay. In like manner also that women adorn, which means to orderly address themselves, adorn themselves in modest apparel. Is it modest? We can study a little deeper and see that's the word katastole in Greek and find that it's a double-layered thing. But even without that, let's just ask the plain question. Is it modest? Okay. Alright. And with shamefacedness. Does it portray the image of shamefacedness? Well, that's not a New Testament idea, is it? Well, yes it is. Does your way you dress show the idea of shamefacedness and sobriety? Well, what about that Hawaiian shirt? Well, sobriety. Shamefacedness. What about this thing here? You answer the question. These are the building blocks of people of God. I didn't write these. These aren't the standards of charity Christian fellowship. These are just what the Word of God says. Not with broided hair, gold or pearls, or costly array. Do you know what gold and pearls mean in the Greek? Gold and pearls. I don't understand why we don't understand that. It's real simple. But which becometh women professing godliness with good works? And the last one that I'm going to close here. We'll do some more of this tomorrow. We'll go into some different places. Let me just touch on music a little bit. The Bible says, turn to Ephesians 5, verse 4. We're going to see just some building blocks of God. Building blocks of God. Ephesians 5, verse 4. Let's begin at verse 2. And walk in love, as Christ also had loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling Savior. But fornication and all uncleanness and covetousness, let it not be once named among you as being saints, neither filthiness nor foolish talking nor jesting, which are not convenient, but rather a giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger nor unclean person nor covetous man who is an idolater hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you. Okay? Friends, you're with a couple friends. They're saying, hey, I've got this Christian comedian. He's coming to town. He's hilarious. They were going to go to my church and we have this big rock band and it's just, I mean, we get really crazy there. And here we are. Wouldn't you love to come? I mean, lots of people have made decisions and lots of things have happened. And it's just hilarious. You're going to have a great time. What kingdom is this in, God? Neither filthiness nor foolish talking nor jesting, which are not convenient, but rather giving of thanks. You know, I think I'm not going to go to that with you. It's not the way I believe. It's an element of God. What about this music? You go to the concert. Look at that. Look at all these people and they're cheering and they're screaming and they're jumping up and going through all these things and going through all these dance things and everything. Well, I don't want to be held by some religious standard, mind you. But, no foolish talking or jesting. He goes on to many other Scriptures. Titus 2 teaching us this is what grace does. Titus 2.12 Denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and Godly in this present world. Is it sober? No. They're losing their mind. Okay. Well, there you have it. You don't need a bunch of definitions. I don't need to come up here and make a bunch of rules about these things. I don't need to come up and make up a bunch of things about music and about entertainment and about all these things. It's right there. And it's the building blocks of God. Just open up the Scriptures and see. Alright, our time's up today. Tomorrow we're going to look at what it's like to be a priest in this world and what that whole thing implies. Maybe we'll take a few little journeys there tomorrow as well. So, let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we rejoice to call You our Savior. Oh God, we want not to just be our minds stuffed full of a bunch of do's and don'ts today, but we want to be Your precious, chosen people. Oh, I want to take that promise, Lord, today. And I want everyone here, God, to take that promise and You've promised that if we come out from among them and be separate unto You, that You'll be our Father. Thank You, Lord. I want to be Your Son. Oh, give us grace this day and may You be glorified. Give us grace this day and may You be glorified. In Jesus' name, Amen.