Embracing the Fear of the Lord: A Journey to Holiness and Spiritual Transformation

What if embracing the fear of the Lord could transform your spiritual journey and equip you with a deeper understanding of faith and holiness? Join us as we unpack this compelling question against the backdrop of the Christmas season, reflecting on the miraculous birth, life, and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We explore how God’s profound gift of His only son underscores the immense value placed on humanity and invites us to lead lives that truly mirror His holiness. Through scripture, especially 1 Peter chapters 1 and 2, we discuss the balance between God’s unyielding holiness and His boundless mercy, emphasizing the importance of living in awe and reverence as we strive to embody a life aligned with His teachings.

In a candid examination of modern church dynamics, we tackle the critical issues that prevent believers from living as true reflections of a holy God. Many churches, unfortunately, drift into self-serving entities, losing sight of their sacred mission. We offer a thoughtful critique of this trend and emphasize the need for believers to maintain a fear of the Lord as a guiding principle. By sharing practical steps and vivid metaphors, like the image of a dog with a wire fence, we highlight how God's commandments serve as liberating guardrails, not constraints. Tune in to gain insights on how you can nurture a sincere love for one another, seek spiritual nourishment, and continually pursue the transformative power of Christ’s sacrifice in your everyday life.

Chapters

• 0:26 The Holiness of God
• 13:19 The Call to Holy Living
• 21:31 Fear of the Lord

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:26

What's up? Faith and failures. It is the monday before christmas. We hope you are ready for this episode. We are excited. Um, we're going to talk a little bit about a holy god. So he was born in the manger, but he became a man. No, just kidding. So we're going to go dive into something that I think is very important as we go through this holiday season, to kind of remind us who God is. We talked a little bit last week and the week before about God. You have value. That's why he sent his son. The value of something is determined by the price somebody's willing to pay for it, and the price that God was willing to pay was his one and only son. And then last week we talked about can you lose your salvation? So if any of those topics interest, you go check out the last two weeks.

Speaker 1: 1:28

On any platform you listen to podcasts, but if you hold on just for a second, I have something I want to show you. Before we get into today's video, I just wanted to say thank you to all of the new subscribers. If you haven't yet consider subscribing, hit that bell notification so that you can see every time I put out a new video. A major portion of you that watch my videos haven't subscribed yet, so why not? It's free. You can also find a PayPal link below if you want to give a one-time or give a monthly to support the channel. Anything, great or small, is appreciated. Now let's get into the video. Small is appreciated. Now let's get into the video.

Speaker 1: 2:12

So, being the Monday before this Christmas holiday season, I wanted to dive into something that I've been driving home to finish up this year with my congregation and that is living in fear of the Lord, living in All of God. It's coming from this book right here. Highly recommend it, john Bevere. It's called Living in. Let me get where you can see it the All of God by John Bevere, so check it out. If you want to buy it on Amazon, you can click any of my links below in the description. It's an Amazon link and you can buy anything on there. You can buy water and I'll get a little kickback for being an affiliate. So much appreciated.

Speaker 1: 2:54

Let's dive into today's episode. So, if you will look with me at Psalm 111, verse 10, it says fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey His commandments will grow in wisdom. Praise Him forever, dramatically across the spectrum of churches, dramatically across the spectrum of people who say they love God, they don't have an actual healthy respect or fear of the Lord. And so today's episode is kind of.

Speaker 1: 3:39

We just had our Christmas program at our church. If you don't know, I'm a lead pastor of a church here in East Texas and they did a whole program showing the, the kind of the, the birth story and all that stuff. And then then they went ahead and jumped to later in the story. They they jumped to when he was crucified on the cross for our sins and then when the stone was rolled away, he rose from the grave, and so that's why we can live. The veil was torn and we are in a place now where we don't really have to do much to receive salvation, and it's a great gift that is from the Father.

Speaker 1: 4:15

But I also think sometimes we forget that God is holy. We forget that we are called to be holy, that we are called to be holy. And so I think next week we're going to it will be the 30th, I believe when yeah, so we'll have the 23rd and then the 30th We'll be starting a new year we're going to do an episode on a holy people. What does God require of us? See, christianity is not something where we say yes and we're good to go and there's no more effort on our part. There's actually effort. There is sacrifice, there is laying down our lives for the God that laid down his life for us. So we're going to talk about a holy God today.

Speaker 1: 5:01

Now there is a loss. I believe that happens when our view of God's holiness and our understanding of his mercy and his grace drift apart. So these are two things that go hand in hand. These two things are like, for instance, if we lose sight of God's holiness, but if we lose sight of God's holiness, we lose our true direction in life, which means we are called to be set apart as a believer. Now, if you don't know God, we have a lot of people that tune into this podcast. Some people just come to type on the keyboard and that's okay. I don't enjoy it. It gets my nerves. But I'm glad you're here and I'm glad you're watching, even if it's just to hear what I'm going to say wrong or pick things apart, that's fine. I'm praying that the spirit of the living God will convict you of your sin and show you that there's a better way to live your life, which is what he had to do to me, and it has been the best thing I have ever decided to do. So if we lose sight of God's holiness, we lose our true direction in life, we lose our purpose.

Speaker 1: 6:14

Aligning with God's holiness is essential for the believer. People that don't care about God, they're going to be people that don't care about God. You don't care about the word, you don't care about praying, you don't care about fasting, you don't care about going to church. That's okay. Today's podcast is not for you. This is for the people who say they love God but they forget to live a life that reflects that knowledge. So today we're going to talk about what we must do to avoid that destructive path and honor a holy God. So if you have been following me at any amount of time, you know when I do sermons or when I do podcast episodes where we're diving into the word, I like to do points. To me, it's a reference point. So point number one would be understanding the holiness of God. So if you're watching on your phone, take a screenshot. Or on your computer, take a screenshot.

Speaker 1: 7:11

Holiness is more than just a list of rules. If you pay attention. From the beginning, when Adam and Eve were kicked out, there was a set of rules that began to form, and later, in Moses, they were written down on tablets because obviously God, obviously something was like well, these dummies ain't going to get it. Maybe I need to put this a little firmer in writing. I mean, if God tells us in his word to hope for the best, to love and to really pray and want to believe that the best is going to come out of every situation, I'm pretty sure he had high hopes for us, but we are so dumb and so evil and so sinful really pray and want to believe that the best is going to come out of every situation. I'm pretty sure he had high hopes for us, but we are so dumb and so evil and so sinful that we couldn't do it right. When I say we, the Israelites, god's people, I'm a Gentile. That wasn't me.

Speaker 1: 7:59

That being said, you see in the story of Cain and Abel, that they offered offerings up to God. One was received, one was rejected. And so you see this constant struggle, this battle of the thing that was beginning to put into concrete, so to say, to where God was requiring a sacrifice, so, so to say, to where God was requiring a sacrifice. So God's holiness is his set apart nature, his purity and his perfection. And scripture reminds us, as you can see on your screen, isaiah 6, 3,. It says holy, holy, holy three times. Holy is the Lord of heaven's armies. The whole earth is filled with his glory. So what I believe?

Speaker 1: 8:52

When the Bible repeats something, we need to pay attention to it. And here it says holy, holy, holy three times. Whether it's father, son, holy Spirit or whatever. I don't know why there's three holies, but anytime something is repeated in the Word of God, I pay attention to it all. But you need to make sure to pay attention specifically if it's being repeated, because obviously it's something that you need to take note of. That is important.

Speaker 1: 9:20

Now, okay, when we lose sight of God's holiness, we lose his power and authority over us. In our lives, we allow that to be removed from our lives and we allow ourselves to be removed from the covering in our lives when we do not adhere to and are reminded of how holy our God actually is. There is no injustice in him, there is no fault in him, there is no sin in him, there is no darkness. The Bible describes him very vividly as being light, where there is no shadow, and I know that's hard for us to wrap our minds around it and some of you are probably going to pick this apart in the comments that don't know God and you're going to call this stupid and some of you called it a sky daddy fairy tale, whatever. That's okay. I'm glad you're watching. I'm glad you made it this far and you're still here with us. But, that being said, when we lose sight of his power and authority over our lives as a believer, it's like seeing a bright light. From far away, it appears small until you get closer and see its true size and intensity. In the same way, when we let ourselves drift off from God's holiness, we start to shrink his presence in our lives. So we talked about that light being intense further up.

Speaker 1: 10:43

But I don't know if you've been a Christian for a while or maybe you just got saved the other day and right now you're on fire for God. You're looking for anything you can any Bible study, any, any app that can help you, any Bible verse that can encourage you that you can share with other people. You're probably annoying everybody in your life right now because you're screenshotting every verse you're you're highlighting, and the other day in my phone, in my app, I was scrolling down and everything was highlighted. Like you, just you're eating it up right now, but I guarantee you, in five to 10 years, the feeling you have today, accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, and you're on fire and he changed you and he radically transformed you and has done something in your life. Five, 10 years down the road, you have to fight so hard to get that feeling back again.

Speaker 1: 11:24

Because, just like when you get married and you're in a relationship, because just like when you get married and you're in a relationship, the new wears off, but you don't love, you don't follow, you're not faithful because things are good. This is why people get divorced all the time. They think because I am going to have a life that's going to be great with this person that I love, and then life isn't good and we end up not remaining in that faithful covenant. And that's how we treat God, like he is just some thing that we add to our list of things that we want when it's good and we're not so happy with when it's bad. But let me tell you something God is a lot more powerful than you want to try to give him credit for. And God is not a God of games, and I'm saying this not to scare you, but I'm hoping to spur you into a place of new covenant with God, that you rededicate your life over to him.

Speaker 1: 12:20

And at the end of this year we're about to celebrate Christmas, we're about to celebrate his birth, but on everything we celebrate about the Lord, everything we celebrate about Jesus, everything we celebrate and enjoy about the Holy Spirit, it's a constant reminder of who our holy God is Like. Everything that happens, everything we get to enjoy, everything we get to partake of, from the Old Testament to the New Testament, all points to a holy God and we must remember, as believers, that we serve a holy God and a holiness is required of us. That does not mean legalistic. It doesn't mean you have to wear a jacket, suit and tie. It doesn't mean you have to do these certain things. But you, being saved, will pull these certain things out of you. You will want to grow closer to him. You will want to leave your old selfish ways behind. You'll want to leave old TV shows behind. You'll want to leave old music behind, because it no longer represents who you're trying to be. It no longer represents who your God is, that you serve.

Speaker 1: 13:19

And the problem with the church today? Let me talk to believers a hundred percent. I'm looking at you right now. The problem with believers is not that we can't get together and pretend to worship for a couple of hours. It's after that. We don't live lives that actually reflect a holy God anymore. We live a life that is selfish, selfish ambition, selfish desire.

Speaker 1: 13:41

And the Bible warns against this. Because the Bible talks about like last week when we talked about uh, can you lose your salvation? The Bible clearly describes and depicts a great falling away. And I believe he is talking about the church, because if you're not in the fold, you can't fall away from the fold. And so we're having Christians who are that right now are so wrapped up in their own agenda themselves and the world has no hope and nobody to look at, nobody to turn to, because we look just like them. And so if they're in a room just think in your mind for a second. If they're in a room full of people who say they're good church people, they give their tithes, they're there every Sunday, they're there every Wednesday, or Bible study, small groups, whatever it may be, they may even serve on the board, but there's no life in them. They can't answer for the hope that is supposed to be within them, and if they're in a room, a crowded room full of sinners, nobody could pick them out. Say, the person that needed Jesus was walking around the room talking to different people. What is it that stands out that's different in you? The problem with the church is we become a machine with nothing but cogs. That has become a man-made, self-served kingdom, built for men and what that means.

Speaker 1: 14:59

People harp on the Catholic Church a lot and, yes, they worship idols. That's another podcast. Because you 100% do. If you pray to somebody else besides God, you're worshiping an idol. Anyways, we're not going to get on that. If you pray to somebody else besides God, you're worshiping an idol. Anyways, we're not going to get on that.

Speaker 1: 15:17

But churches do this, like other churches, pentecostal churches, all denominations, non-denominational. They end up making an establishment that is not holy, not biblical, but it is something that has found its. It's straight up the devil that has crept into the church and nobody has noticed. Now, obviously, this is not every single church, but you need to ask yourself if you are a believer watching this right now, you need to ask yourself all about me giving my money? Am I going to a church that is all about me serving, and they want, and they want, and they want, and they want, and they only give when it's convenient for them. They only get. The pastor only talks to me when I'm giving my tithes. Come on, this is demonic behavior that has crept into the church and it is let me say it with clarity it is not of god. It is not of god. So let's go ahead and go to point number two before I get fired up.

Speaker 1: 16:18

The fear of the lord should be our guardrail. When people hear the word fear, they may think of terror or punishment, which is true. When you die, when you close your eyes in death and you take your last breath, there is going to be a heaven or a hell coming your way. It doesn't matter your opinion, it doesn't matter what you believe on this side of eternity, when you close your eyes, there is going to be something that happens, and my heart's desire is that you are ready and prepared for that. The fear of the Lord should be guardrails, but in this context that we're talking about living in awe of God, living in the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord means a deep respect, a deep awe and a deep reverence. So look at Proverbs 9, 10, as you can see on your screen, fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment. This fear isn't about being afraid of God, but about recognizing His power, his authority and His love. So think of fear, respect or reverence of the Lord as a guardrail.

Speaker 1: 17:38

I used this illustration when we were youth pastors and a lot of people think that if they give their lives to God, there's going to be all these rules and regulations, which Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament. That is factual. Okay, that was the old covenant. Then Jesus came and established a new covenant, now something that was once temporary, a temporary fix of sacrifice that we could not ourselves covered, but God required for us in a time period to sacrifice. And then we have sacrifice, and then sacrifice, the animal sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice to atone it cost blood. Well, jesus came and he was the ultimate sacrifice, the spotless lamb, a one and done situation where, after his death, the veil was torn. There was no more separation, and just as the spirit of the living God walked in the garden with Adam and Eve. Now the spirit of the living God is no longer contained or bound in where only certain people, but it began to spread out and now can be upon everyone. And then he sent the Holy Spirit, which was another divine revelation of heavenly things. And so I'm getting all preachy up in here.

Speaker 1: 18:52

So the, the, the guardrails we'll talk about. So I told the youth I said a lot of people think that when they come to Jesus it's like all these rules and regulations that I can't do. But I'm a I'm a half a glass half full type of guy, like it takes a lot for me to get upset, it takes a lot for me to get discouraged. And so I started thinking I'm like well, what kind of scenario can I explain to these young people to kind of get it in their head that it's not? It's not for their detriment, it's for their benefit. So I thought about a dog that you have, the ones that have the wire in between trees. They can run back and forth. They usually end up getting wrapped around a tree and choke themselves. Then you have the one where there's much smaller dogs. They have the little corkscrew type thing that can go into the ground and you put it on their neck and they run around and they usually it gets smaller and smaller and smaller, smaller, until they choke themselves.

Speaker 1: 19:50

Or what if you had the guardrails or parameter of a fenced in backyard? You are free to roam and do whatever you want to do within the parameters of this backyard fence. Now, I don't know about you, but I would want to be that dog in the backyard that has the fence. Why? Because it also, besides keeping me in and in the yard, it keeps predators out. It keeps me in from getting out and getting hit by a vehicle, so it becomes a protection that actually helps me and keeps me from getting hurt.

Speaker 1: 20:32

And that is the word of the Lord. It's guidance, it's guardrails. Fear of the Lord will keep you in your lane when you want to swerve out and you want to get in your flesh. Now, if you don't know who God is or you don't understand these terms when I say spirit and flesh, the flesh is my natural instinct to want to do or say, and most of the time, 99% of the time, it's just best. If I don't say okay, it's easier to say so the flesh wants the easy route. Less resistance the better.

Speaker 1: 21:02

The spiritual side that is tuned in, that is dialed in to what the word says about shutting our mouths, holding our tongues to be peacemakers. This type of attitude is very, this type of personality trait. To rewire ourselves is going to be. It's very difficult, just like a small rudder on a huge ship. It doesn't take a lot to make that ship go the wrong way, and it's the same with the tongue.

Speaker 1: 21:31

And so we have to be careful with that and look at the fear of the Lord, the guardrail. So without guardrails we are in danger. We can be in danger. It keeps us from veering into dangerous paths of sin and self-centeredness. The guardrail is to protect us, not to confine us. The fear of the Lord helps us understand that we can't just live life as we want. There's a path God wants us to follow and the Bible does not pull any punches with like oh well, if you come to Jesus, everything's just going to be all right, sweetheart, don't worry about it, everything's fine. That is not what the Bible says. The Bible says that actually the road to heaven is very narrow and it is hard, it's full of traps, but the road to hell is wide, where anybody can travel it. There's all kinds of room. Come on down somebody. So let me look at this with you. Point number three, and we're going to wrap it up pretty quick. So point number three respond to the fear of the Lord with obedience to avoid disasters.

Speaker 1: 22:38

So, 1st Peter, chapter 1, verse 13, and then 2 and 10. What that's not right? Oh yes, it is. Well, hold on now. Oh, okay, I just didn't put all the oh. I'm starting, okay, just so you know when you're in. I'm starting at first peter, uh, chapter 1, verse 13, and I'm going to first peter, chapter 2, verse 10. So we're reading some scripture, that's. I was like I'm confused. I'm like that doesn't add, that math ain't adding. So, starting at first peter, chapter 1, verse 13, and I'm going to go read all the way through to the second chapter, we're going to stop at verse 10. So prepare your minds for actions and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ revealed, is revealed to the world. So, um, yeah, go to this. We're on 14.

Speaker 1: 23:46

So you must live as God's obedient children. Don't slip back. So it says you can slip. Don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn't know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God, who chose you, is holy. So it's saying if we are to reflect God, we must reflect his holiness, which means there is a separation.

Speaker 1: 24:15

And I'm not saying nowhere in scripture, nowhere from a pastor's lips, should ever be said that you are going to come to Christ and things are just going to get easier, because that's not the way it is. We are promised so many things in his word, but we also promise to suffer. Some of you are like oh, I don't really want any of that. I don't like that at all. Tell me a time in your life that you've suffered. Okay, suffering is going to happen. I prefer to do it with God because I'm promised that everything that it happens in my life works for the good of me and for the good of the Lord. So scripture says you must obey, choose your holy. Yeah, verse 16 for the scriptures. Scriptures say you must be holy because I am holy.

Speaker 1: 25:01

And remember that the heavenly father to whom you pray has no favorites. I'm not going to say scripture is false, but I'm pretty sure I'm his favorite, but if not, I'm like really, really close. Okay, I'm saying scripture is false. I'm close. He will judge or reward you according to what you do, so you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as temporary residents. We are not meant to stay here. We are going to be going to heaven. We are sojourners that are just traveling through.

Speaker 1: 25:34

Verse 18, for you know that God paid a ransom to save you from an empty life, from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors, and it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. Verse 19, it was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began. But now, these last, these last days, he has been revealed for your sake. Verse 21, through Christ, you have come to trust in God and you have placed your faith and hope in God, because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory. Verse 22, you were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply, with all your heart, for you have been born again, but not to a life. That, as the scriptures say, verse 24, and that word is the good news that was preached to you.

Speaker 1: 27:05

There's chapter two of first Peter. So get rid of all evil behavior. So it's painting up this picture of this is what Christ did for you and you should not go back. You are now changed and transformed. So here goes into chapter 2. It's telling us now it requires action that we have been saved by the blood and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Chapter 2, verse 1. So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy and all unkind speech. That kind of sums up a lot of things we probably let slide on a daily basis.

Speaker 1: 27:43

Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. So reading the word of God, internalizing scripture, will actually help you become nourished in your spirit. Cry out for this nourishment Now. So it means desire, now that you have heard a taste of the Lord's kindness.

Speaker 1: 28:13

Verse four you are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God's temple. He was rejected by the people, but he was chosen by God for great honor, and you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What's more, you are his holy priest. Through the meditation of Christ Jesus, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. As the scriptures say, I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced. Yes, you verse 7, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But those who reject him? The stone the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone Verse 8. So and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, god's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of darkness into his wonderful light Verse 10,. Once you had no identity as people, now you are God's people. Once you received no mercy, now you have received God's mercy.

Speaker 1: 29:45

The Bible shows us again and again, and again and again, that obedience is not just following a set of rules. It's a wholehearted response to the holiness of God. One more scripture James 1, 2. But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says, otherwise you are only fooling yourself. God's word becomes alive and powerful when we, as believers, act upon it.

Speaker 1: 30:27

Disaster happens when we fear God's call but don't obey it. And here's the truth. You ready, you have a purpose in the kingdom. You have a reason for being where you are. You could be in the darkest season of your life right now, but I guarantee you, if you stop focusing on yourself and the storm around you, like Peter did when he was on the water, and you look at Jesus, I guarantee you that you will realize that you actually have a purpose where you're planted, that God does not do things by accident. He doesn't allow things to happen by accident. There is a reason and a purpose behind the season and you need to realize that if your life belongs to God, whatever that reason is, you're okay with Whatever the suffering is that you have to go through to be his whatever he desires, servant martyr.

Speaker 1: 31:19

I don't like that word. We are promised rejection if we cling to the cross and biblical truth. This culture is not going to accept Right now. We got a year coming up where it's like church. People think that, like now, trump's in there, things are going to be so much better and they probably will be better. They probably will be better, but he's not our savior.

Speaker 1: 31:44

And church people can make things into an idol, make people into an idol, make pastors into an idol, make political figures into an idol. And it is idol worship, because we need to focus on God's word and not man's word, because that is the only thing that will save us. Not submitting fully to a holy God leads us into a place of living and a holy life. And church people are really good and when I say church people, I'm not saying the church, I mean people that come to church are really good about coming to church and doing the things and doing things right, like the Pharisees did in the Bible and Jesus called them whitewashed tombs. They were pretty on the outside but inside was dead men's bones, and I don't want that for you. You're called to higher purposes than that, higher living than that. So ask God, ask the Holy, god Lord, what am I holding onto in my life? Is it my decisions? Have I idolized my parents, my family, my church, my pastor, my finances, my job, my spouse? Have I made these things idols over you? Because I guarantee you I'm a pastor of a church.

Speaker 1: 33:09

If I start nitpicking and really getting down to the nitty gritty and really seriously trying to do some searching and allow the Holy Spirit to do searching in my life. I guarantee you there's going to be something that has become an idol in my life, and it's not that we do it on purpose. That's not the point. The point is we are allowing it to happen. Now here's the issue. If we don't ever search and we don't ever try, we are separating ourselves from God because we're not wanting to remain holy underneath Him. We're not wanting His light that has no shadow, to shine inside of our hearts, to light up things so that we can see to remove them, and we must be willing and wanting and desiring to do what God wants us to do. So I hope, I hope with all my heart that this has not discouraged you. Actually, I got one more verse, verse.

Speaker 1: 34:01

Let's do one more verse, okay, and this, this is for the church, if I've ever read anything else work at living in peace with everyone, even those you don't like, and work at living a holy life. It takes work. I'm not trying to present something to you that's going to be like oh man, I come to Jesus, I don't got to do nothing else, I'm just going to make it to heaven If you have life to live. There are things that you need to do for the kingdom. There's things you need to do for your church. There's things you need to do for your spouse that you wouldn't usually do, because now you're laying down your selfish desires and your selfish wants and you wanted to serve somebody else. And that is the literal embodiment of Christ is not caring about himself but serving others.

Speaker 1: 34:57

And you may be hurt by people. Somebody hurt you wrong. You may never have the conversation of forgiveness, but you're called to forgive them, because the Bible says if you don't forgive, you will not be forgiven. The Bible is not play with footsie. You know underneath the table and you're just going to flirt your way into heaven. It's serious business and if you are a believer, it's time that you, as the believer, begin to take things seriously, because we are called to be a holy people, which we're going to talk about next week. So I love you, I'm praying for you. Oh wait, let's listen, hold on, let's finish the verse. At least let's finish the verse. I got carried away. Work at living in peace with everyone and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy Will not see the Lord. Now you probably see why I had to finish that. So said it once, I'll say it again I love you, I, I love you, I'm praying for you and if you have any comments or questions, if you like this video, you want to share this video with somebody.

Speaker 1: 36:08

We all need to be reminded that we serve a holy God, that he requires something of us. If you live a life and you say you have given your life to Christ and you have sacrificed nothing, you have not given your life to Christ. You have made it all about you, and so what is it? I'm sure if you think about it, there's something. What is it that you need to give up and allow God to free you from that? I don't know what it is. I don't know you. I don't know who's watching. I don't know you, I don't know who's watching this, but guarantee you, all of us have something that we need to submit fully to the Lord that we've been holding on to. I love you, I'm praying for you, I'll see you next week.