Transcription
12. What's up everybody? We live. Yes. Live with Thrive. Yes sir. Super excited to be here. Super grateful for We're grateful for another Wednesday.
First of all, let's not even take that for granted that this is a gift from God. Another day is a gift from God. We re we this is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Yes sir. If you are grateful for God granting us another day, just put grateful right now in the chat. Grateful. Grateful. Grateful. Grateful. Yes, sir.
And man, we we are super super excited about our time together this time that we get to connect. We'd like to begin this time in prayer because we believe the Bible's clear. John 10:10. Yes. Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. But I've come that you might have life and have it to the full or have it more abundantly." That is Zoe. It is the God kind of life. It is life as your creator and my creator intended.
And here's one of the things that I I teach regularly. I'm standing on it. I'm standing on business. I'm standing 10 toes down. I'm not backing up off of it. Jesus is not, watch this. He is not just a one-way ticket to heaven. He is a rabbi who teaches you how to live on earth. That's good, Pastor. Yes, sir. Yes, indeed. Yes, sir. He is not just one who shows you how to die. He shows you how to live. He spent 33 years on this earth to be my example. Come on. He died to be my savior, but he lived to be my example. And so I want somebody that wants to live. Put in the chat, live. Live. Let's go live. That's what I want to do. Live. Yeah. The I want him to teach me their way living. That's right. Because when I live life his way, I'm able to possess his promises. The life that Jesus promised is available to those who live life Jesus's way.
And if some people feel like that this life has to be only suffering, then God bless you. Will there be suffering? Yes, in this world you will have tribulation. Even Jesus learned obedience through the things that he suffered. Suffering produces passive spiritual growth. So, so of course there will be seasons of suffering, but my life doesn't have to be cycles of suffering. Come on. Come on here. Yes. Live. Come. Joy unspeakable, full of glory. live.
And so we believe that in order to do that, we need God's principles, but we also need his presence, his power. And so we lift up today um some prayer requests. Will Nelson who's believing God for um some healing in his soul. Grace Burgess who's standing in intercession for her son for physical healing. Leo Miller, who's believing God for liberation. Leroy Hubert for parental wisdom and guidance. Troy Patton, we got your request for relational discernment. Troy, if you live, you need to watch this lesson. I'm getting ready to teach on Sunday. Okay, doc. I'm getting ready to teach on, you know, I'm in a series on self-sabotage. And last week I talked about um because there there are four things you got to manage. And so last week I talked about um that self-sabotage comes from the mismanagement of storms. That's good. This week I'm talking about self-sabotage comes from the mismanagement of standards. Storms and standards. Standards. Yes. Come on. Yeah. Standards too low. Goals not too high. Standards too low. Yes. And Monnique. Uh Lee, we have your um request. It's uh private in nature, but we want you to know we are praying for you. Yeah. So, come on. Let's just release our faith. Let's just believe God.
Father, thank you for the promise. Yes, Lord. that if we call upon you, you will answer and you will show show us great and mighty things that we know not of. Thank you for your promise that you prophesied through Isaiah that it shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer and while they are yet speaking, yes, I will hear. Thank you that your ear is leaning in the direction of your people. So we offer up prayer in faith today for every single request that is represented in this room. I pray, Father, even for the requests that were not lifted up, that are on the hearts of your people, the needs that they are facing. And I pray right now that you would reveal yourself to them. As a God who supplies all of their needs, Father, for those that need liberation, you said you've been anointed to set the captive free. Yes, Lord. And so, Father, you we we lay claim to that promise today in faith. We believe that you set the captive free. That where the spirit of the Lord is, there's liberty. We pray for liberty and breakthrough. Yes. And uh and yols destroyed. And Father, I pray for those who just need healing in their soul. Your word says you heal the brokenhearted and you bind up their wounds. So in faith, we lay claim to that promise. Would you heal the hearts of your people? We pray for financial needs and relational needs. We pray for spiritual needs, those who need clarity to discern your next for them. God, may may their steps be ordered by you. You promised that you would be our shepherd and that you would lead us to green pastures and still waters. I pray all of this over your people in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Somebody put in the chat right now, it's done. It's done. It's done. Yes, Father.
Doc, I see they still responding to this thing on standards. Yes. Listen, listen, listen, listen, listen, listen. Okay. Amber says she was able to attend DICE cab in person. Condolences to Pastor Dudley and his wife's family. Yes. We've been lifting pastor up. And um just believe in God's the comforting ministry of the Holy Spirit now. Yes, sir. Yeah. That's what we He's called a comforter. Yes, sir. And so that's what we're that's what we're believing for. Thank y'all so much. Yeah. So, thank y'all.
Well, doc, we're in part three. of this series on 1 Corinthians called Crazy Church. Yes, sir. And uh so we're studying chapter 3 tonight. So, we're gonna um we're going to ask you to get your Bibles out. Get your Bibles out tonight. Yes, sir. Yeah. And uh I want to jump right into this lesson. We're going to pull some principles from chapter from chapter 3. This is Crazy Church part three. So, um, one of my distant mentors said years ago, he said, "God uses everybody as examples." Yes. Right. God uses everybody. So, people say, "I want God to use me." God uses everybody. You don't have to ask God to use you. God uses everybody. Now, you have to submit to the way he wants to use you. But God uses everybody. And he uses everybody as an example. Here's what here's what uh the man the man said. He said he uses some people as examples of what to do and other people as examples of what not to do. God used Moses and Pharaoh. Yes, sir. He used Jesus and Judas. Judas, right? He used Jonah and Joseph. Come on. Like all throughout scripture, you'll see God used he used Nehemiah and he used Sambala and Tobiiah. It's like, okay, he used Nehemiah as an example of what to do. He used Nehemiah, he used Nehemiah's example of what to do. Sand Bal and Tobay as examples of what not to do. God uses everybody. Mhm.
Now whenever we observe someone that is not an example that we should follow our heart heart posture as believers should be not what they should have done differently but what we need to do differently based off of what God allowed us to see within. That's good. You got me? That's good. So your observations of the imperfections of others should lead to your learning, not your judgment. That's good. That's right. Did y that's good, pastor. It's not a time for judgment, but self-reflection and introspection. Come on. That's it. You know, that's it. I need to use their life as a mirror to see me. Come on. Come on. And and I think that's what some, you know, somebody said it this way. Quotes say that smart people learn from their mistakes, but wise people learn from the mistake of others. Oh, somebody put some fire in the chat right there. Yeah. I learned some fire in the chat by by by watching you. Come on. And because I watched you, wisdom says I don't have to go through what you went through to learn. Yes. From what you went through, I should be able to see what you went through and gain and grasp wisdom. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. By observing what God gave me proximity to see you go through. 100%. 100%. That That's powerful. I one way I've heard it framed is wisdom is a what what from in the context of what you just said I when I'm able to learn from others I get wisdom without having to pay the price of their tuition. Come on. You pay the tuition of pain. Yes, sir. You pay the tuition of experience. You pay the tuition of lost time. Now I get the same education you got. I get it faster and I get it cheaper. Yes, sir. Less painful. It's less painful. It doesn't cost me what it cost you and then I get to learn in a in in a moment what it took you months to learn. You know, that's that's that's that's so important, man. And so I I think this principle of as Paul says, those things that are written for time are written for our learning. This principle of allowing God to use everybody and us knowing who to glean and to learn from is the principle that is driving our study of first Corinthians. This is why we called it crazy church. We're not we're not being condescending or condemning the Corinthian church, right? We're looking at the church at Corenth and as a charismatic community, right? as a people that are continuationist in our numatology, what we're saying is, hey, there's some stuff we see in them that that might be a mirror of what's going on in us. That's right. That's right. Yeah. So, we're not judging the people in Corinth. We're learning from the people in Corinth because some of the stuff in Corinthianike churches, it's crazy. That's right.
And here's what we here's what we argued in the first lesson, pastor. We're only able to grow to the degree to which we're willing to be corrected. That's good. That's it. That's good. And so we want we want to glean principles from this book just in case there are areas where we need to experience some alignment in our own lives. And what I'm arguing based off chapter 3 here is that chapter 3 exposes us to the to a church that is in a spiritual crisis. It is. Yeah. It exposes us to a compilation of crisises that is undermining their ability to experience life as God intended. They're saved but settling and spiritual settling is the worst kind of settling. That's right. Spiritual settling. Now, I'm talking about relational standards on Sunday. But I could take the same text that I'm teaching from on Sunday and I could have taught about spiritual standards, right? Because here's here's here's the thing. Sometimes it's not that the storm you're experiencing is that strong. It's spiritually you're too weak. My God. When you haven't made spiritual growth the number one priority in your life, that is what it means to seek God first. [Laughter] My God.
And pastor, you said something about settling. And one of the things um I think God teaches us even in the exodus uh experience is like deliverance and salvation is twofold. Yes. God not only wants to get us out. Want to get us in. He want to get us in. That's it. God not only wants to get us out. Yes. But he wants to get it out of us. Yes. And I think sometime we settle for God getting us out. Yes. But we don't give God enough time to get it out of us. Yes. And um our willingness to let God get it out of us determines when and if we're able to go into the promises. 100%. Because Israel stayed, at least that first generation stayed stuck in the wilderness. Yes, sir. Which we could say is spiritually settling. Yes, sir. Out of Egypt, sir. But not into Canaan. That's right. Partially experiencing God's intent. not not experiencing God's full intent because mo even Moses's conversation to them is I'm bringing you God's bringing you out to take you in. You going in to a land flowing milk with milk and honey. That's right. It's agriculturally rich. You aren't going to have to ask for things you're having to ask for in Egypt. You you'll have to thank me for in that season what you have to ask me for in this season because you're going to be so abundantly supplied. Here's the thing though. Wilderness was better than Egypt. So they settled for what was better than what they used to be instead of pursuing all they could be. That's right. That's right. And and and I think that man that's so key and that's why we want to lean into First Corinthians because we don't want to spiritually settle. Right. I don't want to just be out of Egypt and not into Canaan. That's right. Man, we got to do a whole series on that. We We got to circle back to Exodus, that typology with with salvation and things of that particular nature because going into Canaan requires a fight. It It does. It It does. It right. Jericho is the first battle, right? Yeah. So, now we sliding into the book of Joshua. That's right. Yeah. That's right. Going into See, God, they didn't fight Pharaoh. See, I don't have time. That's right. Is that the book? They didn't fight him. God did. That's right. God fought for them in that stage of their spiritual journey. That's right. That's right. But then you get to another stage where God fights through you once they got in the once they got once they got out of Egypt and into the wilderness, that battle with the Amalachites. That's right. They had to fight that one. That's right. And then to go into Canaan land, they had to fight that one. God was with them. That's right. But he fought through them. And so some people settle cuz they're not willing to fight for the for uh Canaan. That's right. And that's so good. And I love it, pastor, because again, what we see is we see that one, we see this that if you out but not in, God ain't through with you yet. That's right. But you got to fight. Yes. That's a decision you got to make. Yes. 100%. You got to fight your way in. Yeah. God God make a way for you to get out. That's it. But you got to fight your way in. And I I love it. Yep. fight the good fight of faith. Faith. Yeah.
And so with that being said, man, we don't want to settle, right? We don't want to settle. And so this is why 1 Corinthians 3 becomes so important because it helps us identify crisis that they experience that cause them to be spiritually stuck and stagnant. And these are also crisis we can experience that can cause us to be spiritually stuck and stagnant. And the first crisis is in the first four verses. It's a crisis of carnality. Now, I don't know how many points we got today. Four or five? We got I'm telling you right now, we're not getting done. We got a lot. It's going to be a part two with this. I'm just telling you right now. It is a crisis of carnality. Where'd you get this from? I got it from the book. Watch what it says. Brothers and sisters, I could not This is Paul talking to believers in Corinth. That's right. They're saved. That's right. But listen to the conversation. Mhm. I could not address you as people who live by the spirit, but as people who are still worldly. That word King James used the word carnal. He says, now watch what he says here. This is interesting. Mere infants in Christ. He didn't say that you're not in Christ, right? He just says you're an infant in Christ. In Christ. Now watch this. He says, "I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it." Oh my goodness. He says, "What what you have received up to this point from me would be the equivalent of spiritual milk because you are not ready for solid food." And watch what he says. Indeed, you were still not ready. So here's the indictment. The indictment isn't infancy because infancy is a stage every believer has to go through. I love it, pastor. The indictment is the arrested development that kept them in infancy longer than they should have been. That's right. This is what he's saying. He's saying, "Okay, at some point you should have been obeyed." That's right. But you shouldn't be obeyed. Now, watch what he says. He says, "You are still worldly." One translation says, "You are yet carnal." And then he tell he said, "This how I know." That's right. For since there's jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? That's right. Are you not acting like mere humans? Now, he didn't say, he's not suggesting that you aren't human. The word mere is super important here. Are you not acting like mere humans? The word mirror is important. He's saying you're acting like humans who don't have what you do. You have something the person of the Holy Spirit which actually makes you human as God intended. Intended. That's right. Because humanity as God like Maximus confessor says Christianity is an entirely different way of being human. That's right. Like Jesus was the prototype. Right. That's right. Of what humanity should be and can do when you're guided and governed not by the flesh but by the spirit. So he says you're he says you're basically act you have the Holy Spirit but your behavior is aligned with people that don't. And he says for one says I follow Paul another says I follow Apollos. Are you not mere human beings? Listen that that teach all about itself. That's it. It says there's a crisis of carnality. This is important. Now, pastor, I want to go here. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. There's a Greek word here, carnality or worldly that literally means it's sarikos, and it literally means fleshly or of the flesh. That's right. Let's explain something. The flesh is not the when the scriptures use the word flesh, it's not talking about the meat on my bones. It's talking about a nature that resides. Come on. On the inside of us. Yes, sir. that is, watch this, rebellious toward divine design. That's what it is. That's good. It it it's it's a nature. Paul says, I in Romans 6, he says 6 and 7, he said, I see another law at work in my mouth. When I want to do evil, he said another law. There's a nature. Uhhuh. That's right. And Paul even talks about the result of He even talks about, excuse me. Yeah. The result of your spiritual life or the quality of your spiritual life is going to be determined by what nature you allow to govern you. That's right. Because being s being saved doesn't eliminate the fleshly nature. That's right. It empowers you to put the fleshly nature to death. To death under subion to to put it under subjection. Put it under to crucify. To crucify. Paul said, "I die daily." That's what he said. You're right. Is that the book, Doc? Yes, sir. We in the book. Yes, sir. And so I think what Paul is saying is like it's desire management. You don't lose desires, but with the assistance and the aid of the Holy Spirit, you should have desire management. That's it. So my desire for the things of God, that's it. Should be greater. Yeah. Than the desires for the world. And I think that's what um the writer of Romans says. It says that that that we have to be renewed. Our minds have to be renewed. Be ye not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed. Yeah. By the renewing of of of your mind that you won't fit after the pattern of this world. So, so, so, so desire management has to be I have to renew my mind. Yes. That's it. I have to renew my mind in order to manage my desires. That's it. That's it. Cuz what Paul is saying is I don't think he's critiquing them having what he's critiquing is the absence of management. That's right. He's saying that's right. You are governed by like your mind is governed by your actions are governed by this nature that rebelss against divine design. There's a way God designed you and I to operate as humans. That's right. There's a way he designed for us to handle um injury and offense. That's right. That's forgiveness. There's a way he designed us to handle our resources. That's generosity. There's a way he designed us to handle our soul. That's guarding the heart with all diligence, for out of it flows the issues of life. Don't be reckless emotionally. There's a way he designed for us to raise our children. There's a way he designed for us to engage and interact with our spouses. There's a way he designed for us to handle and manage leadership and those that are in authority over us. He's got there's a design that the divine had in mind for us. But there's a nature in us. That's right. That was
Passed down to us from Adam and Eve. That's right. That's right. That wants to rebel against divine design. That is the flesh. That's right. And when that is guiding and governing most of our attitude and our actions, that sir, that ma'am, is carnality. It doesn't matter what your title is. That's Come on. Come on. It doesn't matter what your gift is. Come on. Come on. Did you hear what I just said? That's right. The gift, like the way you are used by God, has a whole lot more to say about your gift than it does your actual spiritual state. Come on. Come on, pastor. Because being used by God isn't always an indication that God is pleased with the person that's being used. I love it. Being used by God. It's often an indication that God deeply loves those that the person he's using is ministering to. And so, he won't allow those people to go without what they need because the person that he's using is spiritually immature.
An example of this is Moses. The Bible says, remember, God told him to speak to the rock. That's right. And he hit the rock twice. That's right. But water still flowed. He was wrong. Yes, he was wrong. He rebelled against divine instruction, and water still flowed. The water didn't flow because God was pleased with Moses. The water flowed because God didn't want his people to go without what they need because of the disobedience of a man. Come on. Come on, pastor. That's good. That is so good. That is But I want you to I want you to understand this. Carnality is a cage. It keeps you caged in. That's right. From experiencing God's best. My God. Did you hear what I just said? It keeps you caged in from experiencing God's best.
And so what happens is when a person is carnal, they they can God will use their gifts to usher other people into a place in him that the people are missing themselves. That's right. There are people that are preaching, and the people they're preaching to are more spiritually advanced than they are. That's right. My God. Because the gift does it for other people. But the fruit of the spirit, which is only displayed when you go see the fruit of the spirit, which is the evidence of spiritual maturity. That's right, pastor. Is is is not an indication of how much of the spirit you have. The fruit of the spirit is an indication of how much the spirit has you. You you you know it's and I and I think we see it in the life of Moses, man, just how well you said it, how God used Moses to take people to a place that his uh mismanagement of a of a moment disqualified him from. That's right, he missed it himself. And even when it and even when it comes to Jesus, when we talk about this desire management and how he models being in the flesh but not of the flesh, even when he was in the wilderness and the Bible said after fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry. Right? Notice when the devil showed up. That's the book. He showed up after he finished fasting and after he was hungry, and he presented stones to him and he said, Jesus, turn these stones into bread. Right. Jesus was hungry. Yes, sir. Cuz I think he's the perfect model. And Jesus shows us throughout scripture that as human as the as the model human, we have desires. But he shows us what to do with that desire. Desire management. Desire management. He submitted it. Good gosh. He submitted it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Unto the will of God. He was hungry. Yes. But he didn't let his desire Pastor, here's one of the things. Let's Let's be honest now. How real can we be? Let's Let's go, pastor. We real. I'm looking real. Rose Davis, how real can we be? Jason Williams, how real can we be? Michelle, how real can we be? Hey, that's Dr. Sin. I see Dr. Sin from New Orleans. Yes. The Pines. Yes, sir. Hey, you remember you remember we was out with No. No. No. No. No. Go ahead. Come on. Let's go. Let's go. I was about to make a point. I forgot my point. I was about to talk about in college with uh we was going to college. You remember we was in college. It seemed like them uh them girls like them dudes who talk that New Orleans accent. Hey, I was Hey, stop talking like Hey, I went to New Orleans for a minute. What's up, baby? What's going on, baby? I said, man, you from Coffee Be from New Orleans now. I'm from New Orleans today, boy. I went down there, ate some shrimp and grits and gumbo, red beans, and rice, man. I'm from New Orleans, boy. I'm from the ninth ward, New Orle. What's up, Wy? Oh, that was funny to me. That man was talking like he was from New Orleans. Hey, what's up, baby? Soldier Slim. Yes, sir. could carry your project. That's the P. Yeah, that was way back the hot boy. Oh, man. We We swear we from New Orleans. But do you remember you remember we took that uh that boom box and we uh See, some of y'all don't know about this. It was a It was a boom box. And so it had a a CD player on top. You remember that? And then it had cassette sir. uh tape places in the box. So you could play the CD, then you could put a blank tape in and then press record and then um you could wrap over. We plug the mic in there and we had some headphones that we used as a mic. We had no real mic. We didn't have a mic. We couldn't afford no mic. We got them headphones. We didn't even have an instrumental. No, we were rapping over the actual lyrics. Yeah, we were rapping over them. Hey, we was freestyling over there. Hey Doc, we almost didn't make it, y'all. We almost didn't make it here cuz Hey, if we would have got signed. Hey, we almost didn't make it here. Hey, if we would have got signed, it would have been God, we almost didn't make it. Remember, you already know what I'm talking about. I'm not going to say his name, but he's from Alorn and he could sing. We had this one guy coming in singing hooks. singing hooks. We was rapping. He was trying to rap. Like, no, you don't need to rap. You You just seen the hook. We don't want you to rap. Singing hooks, y'all. We almost didn't make it. That's all. God God inter He intervened when I tell you. We'll just be coming in now. We just We be done. Slow down. Just coming in. We will. Let me get serious about the Lord now. Yeah, we be 40. Yeah, nothing about you. God, you done played 20 years away. God, you that man say little boy. What's up, boy? Hey, what's up, man? Anyway, here's the point I was about to make. One of the things that I think happens in Corinthian churches, man, is that because charismatic churches because we believe in the dynamic presence and power of the spirit, there are times I think where we subliminally send the message that the spirit sweeps the flesh away. That's good, pastor. I love it. Yeah. There is no altar call, right, that will deliver you from the flesh. Yeah. Now, the spirit may liberate you from a habit, a yoke. That's right. Um, chains, addictions, but the flesh is something that is never evicted. Not in this life. That's right. That's right. It's not evicted until you get a glorified body. In this body, it has to be crucified. And Paul says, "Daily, daily, daily." And so I think sometimes we use the altar for that which God never intended for it to be used for. That's right. That's right. God's like, I'm not answering that prayer. I'm not taking the flesh away. That's right. You know, is it is it Romans 6 or 8 where Paul says that the spirit and the flesh are direct enmity between enmity? That they are always wrestling. Enmity. Yes. Wrestling for control. Yes. And whichever one you whichever one you feed, yes, is the one that's going to lead. Listen, and here's the truth, pastor. Paul says, if he says, "I die daily," this means that daily, Yeah. you have to make a choice what nature you're going to be governed by. That's right. That's right. This is why it is This is why a person's spiritual life isn't linear. That's So, we need we need to do away with that also. That's right. It's not linear. There might be days where you wake up and that struggle is different than another. There may be an offense or betrayal that hit your heart and your first inclination is like That's right, man. I responded to that in the flesh. That's right. Or I got in the flesh. That's right. And it's important to recognize that and get out. And what what spiritual growth does, watch this, is spiritual growth and spiritual strength doesn't free you from those desires, but it does free you from their grip. That's so good. So in one season of your life when you were not as spiritually strong, anger may have had you. When you grow, it doesn't mean you no longer have anger, but it just mean it means anger doesn't have you. You don't have you. You have it now. That's right. You have it. That's right. That you can sense it and you can put it in submission to the spirit. In submission. Yeah. That's good. Instead of you being in submission to it.
Now, watch watch these verses, pastor, because in these four verses, I see three things here that I think um there's a compilation of three other issues that creates this crisis of carnality. So this this big crisis of carnality is a result of a compilation of three areas of challenge with the believers in Corinth. We need to examine this. We still on point one, y'all. We need to examine this because this could be areas of challenge in our own life. And here's the first one. He says, I could not address you as people who live by the spirit but as people who are still worldly, mere infants in Christ. So there's a crisis of lack of spiritual development. That's right. And this exists in the body. And I'm going to say something. I'm going to say something. And I mean this. I'm standing 10 toes down on this. The Pharisees prove the the existence of the Pharisees prove this point. They corroborate this claim I'm about to make. The acquisition of spiritual knowledge is not the same as spiritual growth. That's right. That's right. That's right. That's right. That's right. Now, you have to know to live, but knowing doesn't mean you're living. I'mma say it again. You have to know to live. But knowing it doesn't doesn't mean you're living it. That's right. That's right. Knowing about prayer doesn't mean I pray. That's right. And so there's this crisis here of arrested development where Paul is like you all are not as formed as you need to be as you need to be. And pastor what this really you know what this is is this is the the definition of spiritual immaturity. It says spiritual immaturity is the condition in which a believer remains underdeveloped in faith, character and understanding despite exposure to the spiritual truth. And so spiritual immaturity is remaining elementary and entangled after exposure. Yes. Yes. And that's what Paul Paul said. I I don't again I don't have a problem with you being infants. Yeah. But I do have a problem with you not growing. Yes. Yes. Everybody has to be an infant, right? His issue is you're staying in infancy, right? After you've been exposed to the truth. Yes. After you've been you've been exposed to the right things. Yes. You've been exposed to the truth. Yeah. Now, go back because you mentioned it is it is uh a condition that shows up in you say faith. What was it? Character and understanding. All right. So, this is important because what happens is someone can hear this and say, "Oh, this part doesn't apply to me." Come on. because I'm developing the area of character. Well, based on that definition, we could say, okay, well, maybe there's not spiritual infancy infancy infancy infancy in character, but maybe there's spiritual infancy in faith. That's right. That's the first one, right? That's right. Faith. It's like your character's developed, but where's your faith? Where's your faith? Because that is actually a critique and question Jesus asked his disciples on a few on a few. And it was like he framed the question almost like it was a rebuke. There are times where he framed that question as a rebuke, right? He'd be like, "Wait, where where your faith? Where you Where is your faith?" Because you've been exposed to it. You've been exposed to enough teaching, right? Come on. And enough crisis. That's right. I have come through enough. All right. Come on, pastor. Wait a minute. Come on. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I've been through enough. Come on. And I have come through enough. Yes. Well, there should be there shouldn't be the kind of questions that exist regarding my credibility. How many more times do I have to come through for you to believe I'mma come through? Yes, Lord. How many more times do I have to make a way to prove to you I'm going to make a way? That's right. How many times do I have to open a door to prove to you I'mma open this door, too? There has never been a time where he has not come through. And so when when we really look at it from that perspective and that faith is still underdeveloped. That's right. Then the only explanation for that is spiritual immaturity. That's right. Because it's it's illogical. My God. My God. So there's this there's arrested development. Development. Yes. There's arrested development.
Now, what you said was so important, pastor, because it gets is getting ready to lead to this second piece we're getting ready to talk about here because you mentioned this after you've been exposed to the truth some infancy. Infancy, some infancy, this word is killing me tonight. Some infancy, did I say it right? No, you got you. Okay, you got it. Is a result of a lack of exposure to truth. That's Uh, yeah, you're right. Wait a minute. Yes indeed. You're right, pastor. Yes, indeed. You're right. Yes, indeed. You're right. Yes indeed. Yes, indeed. Thank you. Thank you. Ace. Lord have mercy. I want to say this in the most honoring way possible. I want to say this in the most honoring way possible. Uh because I'm getting ready I'm getting ready to to to make this point as we get into verse two. Okay. Paul in verse two makes a distinction between one kind of spiritual diet and another because so here's the second point, right? It's a compilation of crisis. So it's compilation of issue of of development, but there's also issue of diet. Paul's like your development is a problem, but your diet's a problem. So watch what he says. Lord, I'm give I want to say this in the most honoring way possible. But Paul makes he uses two words, milk and meat. So he's saying all presentations, all gospel presentations, all biblical teaching is not equally substantive. That's right. That is right. This is Paul himself saying, "Hey Paul said, I am giving you." It's not like milk isn't teaching. It's teaching. Paul's saying, "I gave you milk. I gave it to you." He was like, "But that's all I can give you, but that's not all I have to give." So, there's a connection between their diet and their development. You're still a babe. You're still on milk cuz milk is all babes can digest. That's right. That's right. And I'm going tell you something. Babes can't really take teaching. They can take exhortation. They can take encouragement. They can't take that teaching. They can't take teaching. Can't take teaching cuz that's meat. And so some issues is a diet issue. That's right. That's right. We are inspired but untaught. That's right. Listen to me. I see when I tell you I see this every day on social media. Something as simple as be quick to hear, slow to speak. It's like, how you sitting in church every week and you commented that under that post, you couldn't you didn't you didn't you couldn't have read the C. Slow to speak, quick to hear. A contemporization of that might be quick to hear and quick to read. Mhm. But but but it it it's you see what I'm saying? It's evidence. It's it's like Okay. Yeah. There's a development issue there. That's right. But that's a milk diet. It's a milk diet. That's right. And pastor, just like desire, when when diets are left unmanaged, it leads to dysfunction. Leads to dysfunction. Um it leads to dysfunction. Your diet determines your desires and eventually your destiny. That's right. That's right. Think about that. That's right. Your diet determines your desires. And so here's the thing, guys. This Spina Spina, here's the thing. When I tell y'all my biggest Achilles heel physically has always been my diet. Working out consistently Yeah. isn't an issue. That's right. But you don't No matter how much you work out, That's right. You don't get results until you line the diet up. Line your diet up. And the diet has to be balanced. Mhm. And Paul's like, "Hey, I I you need some you need some you need something that is more substantive." That's right. Now, here's the issue. The issue is what is meat. Yeah. Because some people assume meat is more academically inclined. Others assume meat is more mystical. So now you slide out of biblical boundaries. That's right. And now you're into mysticism. Now you in the Now you in the third heaven. Paul didn't even stay there. H how how are you there all the time? Paul didn't even stay there. No, that's what happens. people like, man, I could tell you like stories and like um it's it's it's like listen like I could tell you some stories of some weird things people do in the name of the spirit. Yes. And it is like no you're spiritually bored because you don't understand development is actually becoming like Jesus. You think development is learning more, knowing more. It's it what is really spiritual is practical. You spiritual, right? When you're able to actually put into practice the teaching. You're not spiritual if you can just take notes on teaching that seems deep. It's like, bro, you know how to love your neighbor. What are we talking about? You understand what I'm saying? It's like, you No, no, no. I I need, you know, I was in the spirit seven hours, but you still came out and you didn't respect your husband. That's right. M brother, you still you didn't love your wife. What? So that could that experience couldn't have been what you thought it was. It was mysticism. It was emotional. But it doesn't mean it was godly. And that happens when people don't have meat. That's right. Sound biblical exegetical teaching. the drawing out of meaning of scripture. Exog to draw out the drawing out of meaning that where there's a linguistic and a historical and a cultural analysis of the text being done by a teacher and then that teacher is taking that linguistic, cultural and historical analysis of the text and allowing the Holy Spirit to illuminate meaning. So they draw that meaning out. And then share that meeting with the people and they're taking timeless truth. Yes. And teaching it in a timely manner. That's right. But Pastor Jay Cook says something and that you alluded to that you cannot out exercise a bad diet. And I think what you saying it is so important. Yes sir. Getting in places and spaces where you get godly meat. where you get godly sustenance because I think sometimes we try to compensate for a lack of meat. Yes. With disciplines. We try to out pray a lack of substance. We try to outship out worship. If I dance enough today, I will compensate for my lack of substance. And that should spiritual discipline should be on the plate. That's right. On your spiritual plate should be the prayer and the fasting and the worship and the serving and the solitude and the meditation. But on that plate has to be bread. That's right. Has to be meat. Has to be scripture. Has to be sound biblical teaching.
Now here here's what becomes a challenge, right? Because there's a sect in the body of Christ. So let me just be very frank here. Let me be very clear. All right. So I grew up Baptist, but then the the two branches of my spiritual experience are like Pentecostal and experience. And then I went to Princeton, which was associated with PCUSA. So that was that was Presbyterian. So it was heavily reformed theology even though there was no theological procilitizing at Princeton. Right? So basically they presented a bunch of views to you. You formulated your own; you just had to properly represent all the views and then accurately defend what you came up with. So I appreciated that because there were no views forced on me. So there were people there that were like staunch Calvinist, and then there were people there that were like very fluid people who were influenced by Bart. So almost like universalists, right? So you had like legalist and then you had universalist. Yeah. So I got experienced kind of like in both of those camps, right? that Pentecostal tribe and that reformed tribe and and we and we have and I say this lovingly, we all have to be aware of like the
Tendencies of our tribes. And there can be a degree of, um, factitiousness, schism, elitism, unfounded in both of, like, illogical elitism. At my point, it's like we don't have much to be elitist about, but elitism that exists kind of in those things. And and it's almost like, um, meat for one is like highly academic, and then meat for another is like highly experiential. And it's like, okay, so you're talking about the preeminence and the supremacy of Christ over here. But even the way you're talking about that displays no fruit of the spirit at all.
That's right. You understand what I'm saying? It's like you don't seem joy, peace is abek, temperance is absent. So it's like definitely if you're teaching the word of God under the power of the spirit, then the fruit of the spirit should be in display in your presentation of the gospel and in your own life. Right? So in my encounters like with some of them, like it was like, man, you seem to be so heavy into doctrine, but your life and my engagement with you feels way more like the Pharisees than it does interaction with Jesus. And academically, you you've been trained in a theological echo chamber. So you really think your argument is better than it is because you're just around people who think like you, and if you came out of that echo chamber, you would get ate up a little bit, and you'll be you'll be you'll be a little more humble because you see that's not as profound as you thought it was. It sounds really profound to people who don't read the Bible at all.
So and and then you got this other, you know, this like Pentecostal arm. And I'm not talking about I know I'm not making I don't want to make generalizations here, but we experience some of this where it's like if you're not baptized in this name, it ain't right. You in Jesus Jesus name is you wrong. Like and I'm like, even the way you telling me that don't sound like you governed by Jesus. I mean, you you know what I mean? It's like it's like it's like wait a minute. Uh uh and so no no no man, it is so it's we reject this tribalism that exists, but what we're saying, man, is it am I being taught scripture principles from scripture that I apply to my daily life? And um, you know, there are people who even in our church in our ministry like I want more I want more I want more, and I'm like, I understand wanting more of God.
Mhm. My question is, do you want more information you're not going to apply? Like so you you know what I mean? So like I want to talk about another level of prayer. So you want to talk about the level of prayer called God consciousness because that's actually praying without ceasing. It's God consciousness.
That's right. Yeah. That's when you But so you want me to be talking about God consciousness, but you cussing your kids out. You need temperance. [Laughter] You need temperance. Yeah. It shouldn't take God consciousness for you for you for you not to do that. Don't provoke your children around like how how about that one? But I think sometimes people want the acquisition of more knowledge because it requires nothing of them practically. My God. It it doesn't require you to actually do it.
That's right. Yeah. Let's wrap up. Doc, so it's development, is the diet, and then the third thing he says is this. There's division. He says, "You're still worldly because there's jealousy and quarreling among you. Are you not acting like mere humans? For one says, I follow Paul. I follow Apollos. Are you not mere human beings?" So that like schism that I'm talking about that's evidence, bro, of carnality.
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. And it keeps you carnal because you're not exposed to a perspective that's different than yours.
That's right. Do you understand what I'm saying? So if all you ever exposed to is a woman shall not wear anything pertaining to a man, a woman shall not wear anything pertaining to a man, a woman shall not wear anything pertaining to a man, that means pants, that means pants, that means pants, that means pants, that is this it becomes factitious. Like we form these factions and these silos, and you never get exposed to someone who may have a different perspective on the text that asks a simple question like, "Okay, cool. That's what it says. What did men wear those days?" They didn't wear pants either. What did Jesus wear? Not Levites.
You right. Right. Not Levi's. And pastor, what what I love about what Paul does here is he teaches us that division is just not about disagreement, but it's also a diagnosis. Come on. Like division is a diagnosis of one that worldliness, and then it's a it's a diagnosis of one this this immaturity. Come back to this. There are going to be certain teachers and spiritual leaders that you that have a presentation of Jesus that aligns with your spiritual path.
Yeah, that's so Paul isn't um I think levying a criticism on that. But what Paul is speaking to is I'm getting ready to talk about here is the division that people like if you go over there, go over there.
That's right. Like if Yeah. Yeah. Don't Don't pit us against each other.
That's right. Yeah. I'mma go over here. They get a word over here. No, they get we we get a word over here, they get a word over there.
That's right. You may need a presentation. You may need a certain presentation. So certain people are in a season of life where they got to hear every week not to sleep with somebody you're not married to. They in a season of life where every week that's what you got to hear.
Yes, sir. And if you're in that se there's nothing wrong with that. But everybody not in that season of life. Come over, bro. Other people want to know, okay, what does the Bible have to say about me raising my kids? What does the Bible have to say about me managing my mind? What does the Bible have to say about empty nesting? What does the Bible how how can I continue to be discipled in these different seasons of life that I'm in? How can I have comprehensive discipleship so that you're doing more than just talking to me about my ethics and morals? Now, if somebody need that, I'm like, that's what they need. Go get that. That ain't what I need in this season.
But pastor, I think sometime it's there's an emphasis on what not to do. There's a overemphasis on what not to do, but there's an under emphasis on teaching me how not to do what you telling me not to do. Like it's one thing to tell me what not what not to do.
Yes. But where is that practical application where you walking me through, hey, I'm not just telling you what not to do, but one, I'm teaching and I'm showing you and I'm modeling what not to do. Now, here's one of the things, too. Now, I ran into this a little bit, and of course, these are generalizations. I mean, they're they're exceptions, but I ran into this kind of like both tribes I kind of talked about before where there is this fussing.
That's right. But not for me. Fussing isn't for me. So, telling me what I shouldn't be doing is important. You want to reveal to me the prohibitions of scripture. This is God's loving me. I I get that. But then after you tell me I'm not supposed to do it, what does the Bible say explicitly or in principle about what I'm actually supposed to be doing or like how to do it? Now, here's where your personal life limits your preaching and teaching ministry. Cuz if you not living it, you can't tell people how.
That's right. And this is why some people who scream the loudest about certain things are the very people that eventually you see were doing the very things they were screaming the loudest about. It's like man you really screaming you you you really talking a lot about this.
That's right. you would, but you're not telling people how be pure, but you're not telling people how to be pure because that's where the limitation of your own personal development shows up in your preaching presentation.
That's right, pastor. I'm in a season. I can I can do correction, but I can't do no fussing. You ain't going to correct me. Be studied at that stage. You listen. No, I can't. I'll be the I remember early in my pastoral ministry, man. I remember I'm talking about like man the stuff that was said this is why some stuff that people particularly minorities
Uh-huh. And when I say, let me be more specifically African Americans have been so accusto like the sociological legacy of trauma.
That's right. Has conditioned us to tolerate things in church. Come on, man. That's so good. Come on. That is really spiritual abuse.
That's right. But we It's almost like we call it a spiritual standard. Like literally I I'm thinking about early in my pastoral ministry places I've been and people at one point or another that even spoke that you know I was young in pastoral ministry didn't know early 20s and like people just coming I mean and just like berating the congregation you're nasty you d you d and I'm like okay this this is kind of like beyond this is beyond the pale sir it's not charitable it is not um tactful.
Mhm. It's not pointing them toward Jesus, right? And it was like, and I think about how we sat in that and we were screaming. I'm talking about like screaming while being insulted.
That's right. That's right. That's Now I'm grateful we live in a day in an era now where I think and of course I think we live in a hyper-sensitive era era but I'm grateful that we live in an era now where we've woken up as a people and we don't tolerate that.
That's right. But because of kind of the sociological legacy of trauma, being called boy and uh having to to bite your tongue and all sit on the back of the bus, like all those sorts of things conditioned us, I think for abuse that showed up in the pulpit and then and then and then ultimately you start seeing these people not living none of the stuff that they um screaming about. It's like, "Bishop, that's your daughter."
That's right. But that's your wife.
That's right. What? What's going on? What's going on, pastor? I remember I used to call you, man. You know, I used to be I used to be big about uh revoking the right hand of fellowship. I'm talking about for seeds of discord. You got to go. I used I used stand up and tell them in a minute. I'm I revoke that right here in a fellowship. You ain't got to worship him. And I'm like, God had to tell me like, bro, I sent you to bring people in the church, not to put them out, you know. But but I understand like see I think there are biblical grounds where uh extreme measures like that are
Yes. But here's the thing. This whole series is on correction.
That's right. So we're not anti-correction. Correction. No, it's the whole premise of this series is crazy church is there are some things in us that need to be correct that need to be corrected. But hopefully what you're getting is spiritual formation.
Come on. Yeah. And not fussing.
That's right. And it is like I am just I'm telling you it is not it's not spir and I'm going to tell you something. The more I leaned into like inner healing.
Yes. Yes. Yeah. I've never seen a healed pastor talk to people like that. Cuz the people know them on the pulpit. I know some people off the pulpit and I'm like I know this. I know I know stuff.
Mhm. A a healed person don't talk like that. A saved person can talk like that. But a healed person don't talk like that because you you know you didn't get fussed in the healing. M and I'm just saying and and I love us, you know, and I and I love I love these streams of thought, but I'm just telling you particularly, you know, and I we wouldn't be talking about this if we don't love these traditions. We're part of these traditions. We got baptized in the Holy Spirit as a part of these traditions. But some of the stuff that we just kind of subjected oursel to, it doesn't mean those people were um bad.
That's right. It was just It was definitely misguided.
Yeah. Misguided. Yeah. Yeah. Our time is up. We went a whole hour. Good pastor. Good man. Listen. Yeah. Good stuff. Good stuff. Yeah. We got the one point. Crazy church. We got the one point. We're going to what you said, man. And I think I thank God for this for this uh this series because what happens is and I think what we're trying to bring attention to is how we've associated crazy church with good church.
Yes. Yes. Like how some of the craziest we've we've we've been conditioned.
Yeah. Like there's good church. Turn our head to some of the stuff.
Yeah. No, that's crazy.
Uh-huh. Yep. It is. And I think some of the stuff I feel like church is going through two things at the same time. Spiritual warfare um from culture and then God using stuff in culture to correct some of this crazy stuff in church that we that we refuse to. I mean you said that was wrong when you said that. I love man. Two things that h can happen at the same time. One the enemy is using culture to mute the mouth of the church and to and we should not do that. It's like, no, we're going to teach this Bible and we're not going to let people who are not a part of the family of God tell us how things should be done in the family of God. Right? So, we got to we got to resist the cultural we got to resist the spirit of Jezebel showing up in cultural cultural critique. Then at the same time, you have to acknowledge just like when God in Judges would use an enemy
That's right. to align and correct Israel.
Yes, Lord. Then we got to acknowledge like okay on the flip side this cultural critique can be expression of the spirit of Jezebel and then God also that's right can be using that's right can be using some of this stuff to bring correction to some stuff in the church that needs to be corrected that we won't that we won't correct cuz some of this stuff we're sitting in church and we're saying this is crazy come on we've all been sitting in services like yo this is this is crazy and like now I'm just at a age and stage in my life where it's I can't do it. I'm not going. I can't do it. I'm not going. I was like, "Okay, we're about I know the antics. I know what's about to happen." You know what I mean? Sometimes I've been in services just like, "Hey, bro. Just tell us how much you want."
Mhm. Like you don't you don't have to promise us nothing. We understand God's ministry should be supported by God's people. We understand. We don't give to a church. We give through a church. So, but so you don't have to do all of that.
That's right. How much you asking for? I got it or I don't. I don't. Yeah. Yes, sir. That's it. Yeah. You talking to me or you not? You You get out of my range. You ain't talking to We just sitting here 45 minutes. We sitting here 45 minutes waiting on you to finish. And it's like, bro, I still don't have it. You understand what I'm saying? I got it. After the 45 minutes, I got it. I don't have it. What am I supposed to do? And so it's almost like people think if you if you say, "Hey, that needs to be corrected." You're saying generosity is not important. Seowing seeds not important. And it's like, "No, we we believe in all of that." But it's like some of this stuff we just kind of sit through and tolerate. And we're like, well, the Bible says not not out of compulsion. It's just it's right there. It's right there. Not grudgedly, necessity. And so it's just like, man, I'm not I can't do it.
No. We used to borrow money though. Borrow from your neighbor, man. Give me that dollar. Give me that dollar. We had for Burger King. Give me that dollar, man. We going to Burger King now.
Right. Splitting the splitting the uh for that uh what that junior chili burger and some fries.
Yes, sir. Or trying to trying to talk hopefully you find somebody ain't te at the drive-thru. You talking talk to them. Let me take a tea. Give me some of them fries. Give me some of the fries. Can I get a sample of fries? Put aside, baby. Baby, I got you. Here. Take these fries. Yeah. So, yeah. I I think I think you know, hopefully you guys hear our heart with this, man. We're super passionate about and we're going to keep leaning into this.
That's right. We're not pumping the brakes on this. We're going to lean into this like each week. Like, we're getting ready to make an off an appeal for generosity right now just like Paul did in 2 Corinthians chapter 8. 2 Corinthians chapter 9, 1 Corinthians what 16. like we are we're going to do it. But we don't it's no games.
That's right. No, you understand what I'm saying? What does God's word say about generosity?
That's right. The liberal soul will be made fat. He who sows sparingly shall reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will reap bountifully. Judge and you're going to be judged according to the measure that you get. And you if you give, you're gonna you're gonna receive good measure pressed down, shaken together, run it over. me. So, like we just teach God's word and teach God's promises and trust God's spirit to touch God's people's heart to respond in generosity. Yeah. Cuz some of this stuff is crazy. Crazy church. Yeah. It's crazy. And we have to we have to uh we got to learn from it. We got to learn from it.
All right. Well, listen, man. Bless you guys. Listen, we're gonna we're gonna pick up point two. Point two. Yeah. next week. Oh, next week. We're going to pick up a part two. Yeah, we'll see. So, hopefully we'll be done with this by We'll see when we're done. Listen, this Yeah, this next one. I I wanted to get on that, too. But we'll pick that up next week. Listen, man. We love you. Uh lower thirds are going to be put on the screen now uh to encourage you in your generosity. Thank you for supporting sewing into God's work through this teaching min ministry. Third way teaching. This is the message God has given us. That's what we're responsible for. Stewarding the message that God has given us. Not first way, not second way, third way. And uh so ways to give are on the screen. Thank you guys in advance for your generosity. We're going to see you next week. Take care. God bless. Love you. Take care.