Christ Un-barred - Bible Study - 21 and 22

Amen. All right. Amen. How's everyone doing? All right. Welcome to our weekly Bible study. Shout out to Anthony De La Garza. Also we have Gerald Bainbridge and Barbara. So that's three. There's the pastor cat. The Bruce Lee cat. In name of Jesus, I have defeated you. You have no power. I know. In name of Jesus. All right. There's a few of them I got to make actually. The native cat. I forgot what the other one was. I already forgot. So welcome to our Bible study. Those of you that are online. Those of you that are here. I didn't know if anyone was coming because it's hot. So I got to close All right. It doesn't. They're closed. Oh, yeah. Oh, okay. All right. So we're continuing our study. And like I said, I didn't know who was going to show up. Some of you saw the post I put on Facebook of it all icy in here. I was trying to trick you. It worked. Yeah. So, you know, it's just good to see you guys. It's good. I look forward to our Sundays. Obviously I look forward to our Wednesdays. Not just to teach. Not everything. But just to see your faces. Just to see you. You know? And whether I talk to you all the time or not talk to you much, I just love seeing you guys. You know? I just wanted to let you know that. I believe that we left off on chapter 3 of 2 Corinthians. Chapter 3 verse 4. All right. So all right. So chapter 3 verse 4, what we're going to do is read through the ESV like we always do. And then we read the same passage in the Message Bible. And we're just going to go ahead and dive right into it so we can get some good reading in. You guys drove in your hot cars and walked out. So I'm going to give you some good spiritual food here. We are going to start in verse 4 through 6. And it says this. It says, such is the confidence. Actually, I didn't even pray. What's wrong with me? Let's bow our heads. Lord God, we thank you so much, Lord God. We pray for this Bible study. I pray for every single person that's here and those that are watching through their screen. And we just pray, Lord God, for our hearts to be open, our minds to be open, to receive not only in our head knowledge but in our hearts, Lord. And I just thank you for this opportunity, Lord God, to teach those that you love. We thank you so much for your word. We give you all honor and all glory in the name of Jesus. Amen. Praise God. All right. Now we can start right.

In verse 4, it says, such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. I'm going to read it in a message, and we're going to talk about it, because some of you might be like, what? I don't even understand what it said. But we're going to read it in the message, and we'll talk about it. It says, we couldn't be more sure of ourselves in this, that you, written by Christ himself for God, are our letter of recommendation. We wouldn't think of writing this kind of letter about ourselves. Only God can write such a letter, and his letter authorizes us to help carry out this new plan of action. The plan wasn't written out with ink on paper. with pages and pages of legal footnotes killing your spirit it's written with spirit on spirit his life on our lives sunset free thank you so much brother boom darth cat thank you every single super chat gets a super cat all right so um and i like what it's saying here because you got to remember that there was a lot of Jewish people that had the law the laws of moses not only the 10 commandments but all the laws in the bible so every good jew would try to live according to the law here's the problem the law says that if you broke one law you break them off so nobody could complete it nobody could fulfill it no one could accomplish it so as Christians now guys it's not that Jesus did away with the law it's that Jesus fulfilled the law he's the one he's the only one that was able to fulfill and not break any laws at all so this is what Jesus says this is what's so important for us is we can enter into heaven because he fulfilled the law and us through him i don't know how some of you young people don't remember this but you used to be able to take a check like if i didn't have a bank account and Reuben you did i could be like hey man can i sign my check to you you piggyback the name and then you would deposit it in your do you remember that right they don't do it no more i used to do it all the time they don't do it no more because your bank was like i don't know David but i know you so because of you i'll cash David's check so that's what Jesus is letting us piggyback off of what he did on the cross that's how we we were able to enter are able to enter into heaven because we are writing off of his name his signature so why do i say that in in this portion uh we are in second Corinthians chapter three

verses four through six somebody was asking online so he's talking to Jewish people and let me read it again we'll read it a little slower he says such as a confidence that we have through Christ toward God in other words we are confident not in ourselves right we're confident in Christ not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything that's coming from us in other words he's like man it ain't it ain't nothing to do with me he says but we are sufficient because it comes from God why because he has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant what's a new covenant it's a new contract so there's this thing like a lot of times you you you you finance a car and the the the percentage is really high so after a couple years you go to your credit union and you refinance your car but you already have a contract with a high interest rate but your credit union says check it out this is what we'll do because you have been in good standing with us and you have a an account with us so we're gonna pay your car off and we're gonna give you a new contract with a lower interest rate right so that's what that is so the moment your credit union pays it off the the old bank can't say nothing to you anymore that old contract is void it's dull it is done it's a new contract well when jesus came and died for us remember when he's having in the last supper and he says this is a new covenant in my blood see because the old covenant was according to the law but nobody could accomplish that law and what jesus was saying he says you know what i'm about to avoid the old contract and i'm about to give you a new one so do you know that satan believes that he owned you see satan operates through laws because that's the way he was created just like gravity's a law if i drop something it's gonna fall if i drop something in yosemite it's gonna fall if i drop something in japan it's gonna why because there's a law of gravity so there are laws that were instituted by god that even satan cannot go out of those lines so because of adam falling he basically took over the lease of your life, and my life, and our children's life, and our children's children's life. So in essence, he has a contract, so he owns us. That's why Jesus came. I came to destroy the works of the enemy. Jesus says, I come to give a new contract because that old contract, because Satan does own you,

but you know what? I'm gonna buy you, I'm gonna redeem you. So he dies on the cross and redeems us. And he says, listen, you're already paid for. Did you guys know that after the Civil War, when all the slaves were made free, did you know that a lot of the slaves that were on plantations didn't know? Because there was no Google, no internet, no CNN, and no Fox News. So here's a whole war that was won to free the slaves. But the next day, you know what happened to slaves? They're on the field again. They didn't know. They didn't know that they had been set free. So you know what started happening? Is people started to, slaves that knew they were free, says, you know what? I'm gonna run from city to city and let them know that they're free too. Because they have no idea it's already a done deal. They're free. So these African-Americans would travel by horse, travel just to plantation after plantation, saying, hey, you are no longer a slave. You have been set free. Can you imagine? That's the good news, right? Well, guess what we are? We're evangelists by heart.

We're evangelists. Now, I'm not saying that you have a calling of evangelism, but all of us should have an evangelistic spirit in us. In other words, you have been set free, but guess what? In Modesto, there's all kinds of people that don't know they're free yet. So instead of going from plantation to plantation, we're going from city to city, neighborhood to neighborhood, house to house, saying, hey man, you have been set free. What do you mean, man? 2,000 years ago, Jesus died on the cross for you and he declared you free. All you gotta do is believe in it. That's the good news. That's why gospel means the good news, right? So that's why it says here in verse six, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant or a new contract? Not of the letter, what's the letter? The law, but of the spirit, because the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. What does that mean? Well, here's the thing, right? Is that the law only told you what not to do, but the law can't set you free. See, there's laws that say you can't go through a red light. There are laws that say you can't go carjacking people. There's laws that saying you can't do anything, but see, here's the thing though, right?

Let's say you're locked in prison. That law can't set you free. That law is there to bring punishment to those who break that law, but it can't set you free. You can have all the law books in the world, but it's not gonna set you free. So that's why this is saying, he says, it's not of the letter, it's of the spirit, because the letter or the law, it just brings death. The laws just tell you what you're doing wrong, but the spirit gives life. That's why I often, I read this and I like to quote it. Is there are two mountains that we preach from or give Bible studies from. See, Moses got the law on Mount Sinai. And from Mount Sinai is nothing but the law. Don't do this, don't do that. You can't do this, you can't do that. But there's another mountain called Calvary. And on Calvary, it's not about the law, it's about freedom. Because by his blood, we are set free. So let me tell you, which mountain are you preaching from? Because the moment I heard that, guys, years ago, it messed me up because it was hard for me to hear preachers. I was very selective on who I hear because I'm just like, that dude's preaching from Mount Sinai. I want somebody to preach me from Mount Calvary. One time I was in a prison yard and I would, it was a group of us and my day to preach in the yard

was Thursday nights. So every Thursday night I would preach. And I didn't know what I was doing. I still don't know how to preach, but I was learning to preach, learning to share the gospel. And there's certain guys in the yard that were not saved that on Thursday nights, they would come hear me. And I'm just like, wow. Because all the other nights, honestly, it was like 15 brothers. It was just us 15 preaching to each other. But on Thursday, the moment I learned this, what I'm telling you about the two mountains, I started preaching from Mount Calvary. And I'll tell you what solidified it. There's this one guy, he would always walk the track, but every time I would preach, he would sit down and listen. He wouldn't talk to nobody, didn't fellowship with nobody, he would just listen. And one day I told him, I said, hey, can I talk to you? And he goes, yeah, what's up? I said, I notice when I preach, you always sit down at the bench. Why? I said, we're not friends, we don't talk. Why do you always sit when I preach? I need to know, man, because someday I'm going to pastor a church someday. I said, and I want to know why you're sitting, because depending on your answer, you'll never want to change that. And this is what he said, he says, you know what, David? He goes, I made a mistake. And I wake up every single day knowing I made a mistake. This place, don't let me forget I made a mistake. I wake up, I'm eating a chow, I know I made a mistake. I sit at the barbed wire, I see all this, I know I made a mistake. I don't need somebody preaching to me telling me I made a mistake. I know I made a mistake. I know I'm wicked. I know I'm evil. I know I'm headed to hell.

And I said, but why do you hear me? And he says, because you don't tell me of where I'm at, I already know that. You tell me of what I can be. And that's when I said, you know what? I'm never going to preach from Mount Sinai ever again. I will always preach from Calvary, because people already know they're sinners. People already know they're lost. People already know that they're headed in the wrong direction. But people want to know, how can I get out of that? How can I be set free? How can I change? Because the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. So, verse 7 through 8, it says this. It says, now, if the ministry of death carved in letters on stone, there it is, the Ten Commandments. It's a ministry of death carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end. Verse 8. Well, actually, let's end there. Check this out. This is crazy, right? I'm going to read in the message. It says, the government of death, its constitution chiseled on stone tablets had a dazzling inaugural. Moses' face as he delivered the tablets was so bright that day, even though it would fade soon enough, that the people of Israel could no more look right at him than stare into the sun. So, Moses goes up for 40 days. God gives him the Ten Commandments. So, a lot of people, in case you're wondering, little footnote, it didn't take 40 days that God gave him the Ten Commandments.

It's not like God had a really slow printer. Marcello, what's up, brother? Let's see what I'm going to give you. The Kool-Aid cat. Nah, he don't get the J-cat, but the J-cat needs to get saved. So, it's chiseled on stone, so it's talking about that, right? So, when Moses was up there for 40 days, he didn't just get the Ten Commandments and the laws. The first five books of the Bible were given to Moses. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. That's why he was there. God was revealing creation. But anyways, think about this. So, God gives Moses the law. And so, in other words, he gives him the law that's going to condemn everyone. And when he came down, his face was glowing so bright, it scared the people. And, matter of fact, they told him, you need to put a sheet on your head, because you're scaring us. So, Moses had to walk around with the sheet over his head, because of the glow. And so, Paul is making an important point. Because he says, if the ministry of death, if that came with so much glory that the Israelites couldn't even look at his face. Look at verse 8. Will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? In the message it says, how much more dazzling than the government of living spirit. So let me tell you something. We read the Bible and we're like, wow, I wish my face could glow like that. I wish just people could see it.

Don't you realize the glory Moses had from the law? How much more is the glory of the Holy Spirit now? We have something more. We're not coming with the letters of death, we're coming with the Spirit of God. So if Moses' face was shining, how much more should our face shine? Verse 9, it says this, it says, for if there was glory, real quick, in case you're having an issue with glory, if you stare up at any of these lights, or go stare at the sun, what do you see around it? That glow, that haze, right? If I look at that light right up there, I see like this haze. There's the light bulb. So did you know that when you have a light bulb in your hand, there's that little wire in there. So what happens is electricity goes in there, and that wire is so thin and so bare that you get to see the electricity traveling through it. And then it comes back out. You don't see the glow on the wire on the floor. But in the bulb, it's a naked wire, so you can literally see the power go through that wire so much that it glows. Guess what the glow is? It's the glory of that bulb. Because the bulb is here, but the glory is here that's shining the whole room. So in essence, if you walk into a dark room, how is it that that little tiny bulb will light a whole room up? It's the glory of the bulb, right? So that's the glory of God. It is his very essence. It is his very presence that when he is there, his glory. So do you realize that sometimes when we worship God or when we praise God, have you ever felt the atmosphere shift?

Because what starts to happen is God is like, because the Bible says that God inhabits the praises of his people, when we begin to praise him, we begin to worship him, the presence of God starts to thicken and his glory starts to pour out in that place. And it starts to shine. And according to 9, it says, for if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in its glory. In other words, in the message, if government of condemnation was impressive, how about this government of affirmation? Verse 10, indeed in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all because of the glory that surpasses it. Verse 11, for if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory. I'm going to read it in the message. It says, bright as that old government was, talking about the law, it would look downright dull alongside this new one. If that makeshift arrangement impressed us, how much more this brightly shining government installed for eternity. Have you ever tried to use your phone flashlight for something and you're trying to look for something in the garage and your wife or your husband says, why don't you turn the light on? They flick the light on. See, your phone was shining in the room and you're like, oh, that's a nice little bright light, your phone. You're like, man, my phone has a good light. But then they turn the lights on of the whole thing. You can't even see your little light, that little light you had on your phone has no glory at all once you turn on the main lights. So that's what Paul is saying. He's like, man, if there was glory in the law, how much more in the spirit, how much more it's going to make the law look dull.

You know, those little things you get where the glow sticks, you break them and you shake them. After about two hours, I remember as a kid, two hours later, it's not as bright as it was at first. You don't notice it. Right. You're just walking around, playing with it, whatever. And then another kid comes along, your cousin comes and he has a brand new one. You're all happy with your glow stick. And then boom, he cracks it, makes yours look dull. So, then you go crying to your dad, I want a new one. Because you didn't even realize that the longer you had your glow stick, the more dull the light became until somebody new came along and that thing was bright. In the same way, the law had its own glory. But when Jesus came and he brought life, when he preached out of Calvary, not Sinai, it made Sinai look dull. And I'm just using different instances because I want us to really grasp what it is that Paul is telling them. Moses was one of the greatest prophets to walk this earth using a dull light. And if Moses did what he did, how much more can we do? Moses was able to pray for the Red Sea to open and allow freedom to the people and drown his enemies. And he was operating off the glory of the law. We operate off the glory of the Holy Ghost. How much more will the Spirit of God open the way for those in your family, those of your loved ones, those of your neighbors and your co-workers? How much more will he open the floodgates and open the Red Sea so they can escape into freedom? We have something better. Verse 13, 12 I mean, he says, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.

The message it says, with that kind of hope to excite us, nothing holds us back. Guys, there should be no such thing as a downcast Christian. There should be no such thing as a depressed Christian. There should be no such thing as a defeated Christian. When I see that, I see somebody that doesn't know who they are in Christ yet. You don't know who you are. He says in 13, he says, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14, he says, but their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted because only through Christ is it taken away. Let me read that in the message. We're going to talk about it. He says, unlike Moses, we have nothing to hide. Remember they told them, hey, cover yourself, hide yourself. He says, man, no, we got nothing to hide. It says everything is out in the open with us. He wore a veil so the children of Israel wouldn't notice that the glory was fading away. And they didn't notice. They didn't notice it then and they don't notice it now. Don't notice that there's nothing left behind that veil. Even today, when the proclamations of that old bankrupt government are read out, they can't see through it. Only Christ can get rid of the veil so that they can see for themselves that there's nothing there. You know, when Moses went to Pharaoh and said to Pharaoh, let my people go, and the whole plague thing happened and all that and all the different plagues, and finally the angel of death came and Pharaoh says, get your people, get out of here. All Moses wanted to do was to take the people back to Mount Sinai. That's all he wanted to do.

When God spoke to him at the burning bush, he says, go tell Pharaoh to let my people go and bring them back here so I can be their God and they can be my people. So in other words, I wonder if Moses thought he had a part-time mission. His part-time mission was like, okay, I'll go and I'll do what you say and then I'll bring the people and the same way you talk to me is you'll talk to them now. And then my job is done. I'm done. I'm finished. I came and I accomplished the mission. Because God says, just bring the people here, I will be their God and they will be my people. Boom. Clean. That's it. So Moses did all that, brought the people to Mount Sinai. And he goes up to the mountain and he says, hey God, I got your people, they're here. And he's like, cool. He goes, have them consecrate themselves, separate themselves, wash their clothes. And after the third day, I want them to present themselves at the foot of the mountain. Don't let them touch the mountain because they will die. Because my presence is going to come into town, into the mountain, and I will finally speak to my people. There was no talk of laws. There was no talk of 10 commandments. God was gonna have a relationship with his people. And Moses says, cool. The people did it.

Third day, they stood at the foot of the mountain. All of a sudden, the mountain begins to tremble. Dark clouds begin to form. Every time God spoke, it sounded like thunder. His voice shook the mountain every time God spoke. You know what the people did? They started screaming and running. They got afraid. They got so afraid that they told Moses, tell him to stop speaking. Moses, from now on, we never wanna hear his voice again. So you go and talk to God, and then you come and tell us what God says. It's almost as if God had no choice because he says, I want relationship, but since you don't want relationship with me, I will give you laws. I believe that broke the Lord's heart. He just wanted a relationship the way he used to walk with Adam in the garden. But now he's forced because he's like, without relationship, there's only laws. See, in a marriage, if I don't love my wife, then it's only by law that I don't commit adultery because I ain't supposed to. But if I love my wife, I don't need those laws. Those laws mean nothing to me because I love my wife. So God is like, since you don't have a relationship with me, I gotta give you laws and rules and regulations. That make sense, guys?

You know what's sad about that? Is some of us are still that way. And we're like, you know what? Let Pastor Armando spend time on the mountain with God. Let Pastor David spend time on the mountain with God. And then I'll show up on Sunday and then I get to hear what God told you. Because I don't wanna hear from God because it scares me, because I'm too afraid to really let God really see who I am, so I'm gonna keep a distance and I'll just show up for two hours on Sunday. What do you think that where religion comes from? See, that's why, have you ever heard Christians say, man, I'm not sharing religion, I'm sharing a relationship. But if you don't want a relationship, God says, then I'll give you laws. See, this is what it should be, is we all spend time with God. And when we come together on Sunday, it's confirmation of what God has been telling you all week long. I should not be the spokesperson for your life. That's not my job. My job is not to climb the mountain and see what God is saying and come down the mountain to tell you. My job is to preach the gospel and then you're just like, you're coming because you've been talking to God all week long and it's just what I preach is confirming

what God has been telling you already. That's what church should be. Is to spend time with him or else we're doing the same thing that people were doing. And God says, if you don't want spirit, then I got to give you law. Where am I at? Did I read out to 15? Okay. Okay, I read 13. So in 14, but their minds were hardened for to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted because only through Christ is it taken away. Yeah, 15 now. Yes, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts. 16, but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17. Now the Lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all with unveiled faith. face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image, from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." I'm going to read it in the message. It says, Whenever, though, they turn to face God, as Moses did, God removes the veil, and

there they are, face to face. They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living spirit, that old constricting legislation, is recognized as obsolete. We're free of it, all of us, nothing between us and God. Our face is shining with the brightness of His face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like Him. We are ministers of the new covenant. We don't hide our faces, we take the veil off. We don't put a mask on, we take the mask off. The glory of God should be upon us to the point that we are glowing in the Spirit. When you spend time with the Lord, it will get to the point where somebody will walk up to you at Walmart and be like, you're a Christian, aren't you? Ah, yeah, how do you know? And you look to see if you have a Jesus shirt on. Why? Why do you say that? He goes, man, because the Spirit bears witness. Because the Spirit should bear witness in the same way you should be able to recognize it in others. Because there's a glow that is there. There's a freedom that is there. I was watching this YouTube video and this guy randomly asked people, do you believe in Jesus? Anybody seen those? And people are rude. They're like, get out of here. I don't want to hear you.

They are all the rudest people and I'm like, sheesh, man. And then they'll ask somebody, do you believe in Jesus? They're like, heck yeah, I do. And they just have this glow, this smile. And then the guy was like, did you notice every time somebody said they believed that they did, they actually looked happy that they were alive. Because without Christ, there's no hope. And if there's no hope, there's nothing but misery. And that's eventually going to show in the way you live, in the way you look, in the way you live. We shouldn't be a people without hope. We want to be filled with hope. Raven, let's see. You get the, where's it at? The Cheesecake Cat. So he's trying to teach these people in the city of Corinth. He's like, there's no reason, because remember, there was a lot of issues there. There was a lot of things happening there. They weren't walking right. They weren't living right. And he's trying to show them something. He's like, guys, you have something better than Moses. Why are you not walking in victory? Why are you walking with your head down? Why are you walking around defeated? What is wrong with you? Lift up your head, straighten up your back, because the hope of the glory of God is in you. This is how we should live. A lot of times you ask people, why won't you be a Christian?

They're like, man, you guys are miserable. Why would I want to be like you? Instead it should be the other way around. It should be a coworker or somebody saying, man, there's something different about you. What is it? It's Jesus, man. It is Jesus. I think I shared it before. One time I was in the yard, and I was, because I was in Terminal Island, and you can see the ocean. It's literally almost, they had to build a road, because it was an island. They built a road for cars to go back and forth on there. But the yard literally butts up to the ocean. So there's a bunch of, there's two fences and a bunch of barbed wire, and I was out there just looking. I was looking at the water. And this guy comes, he goes, man, it's ugly, isn't it? I'm like, what are you talking about? And he's like, the guard tower, I mean, that's ugly, and all these fences, right? This reminds you, man, of where we're at. And I'm like, I wasn't even looking at that. I'm looking at the water. And he goes, how do you look at the water? Look at the big ugly tower and the fence and the barbed wire. I'm like, if you concentrate on the water, the fence becomes blurry. I said, but if I pay my attention to the fence, the ocean becomes blurry. I said, I'm in freedom, brother. And he's like, that don't even make sense, we're in prison. I said, man, my body's in prison. I said, but my soul is free.

I said, I'm freer than I've ever been my whole life. I said, and someday, my flesh will follow after where my spirit already is, because I'm in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. I'm already free. I said, this place don't do nothing. This place ain't going to win me or defeat me. I'm free. So it's the same way, right? In a sense, while we're on this Earth, technically, we're in a prison. This Earth is a giant prison that you or I cannot escape from. Not even Elon Musk can escape from it. He wants to live on Mars. We are in this prison. We can't escape it. And there is wars, and famines, and death, and high gas prices, and expensive meals, and all this, and we can't escape it. But the Bible says that we are in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So in the spirit, we are already in his presence. It's just a matter of time before our flesh catches up to it, right? So let's live accordingly. Sister Phyllis, I already know, the West Sac Cat, representing. I choose to live in freedom. How do you choose to live? That's a choice we all got to make, guys. Bless you. That's a choice we all got to make, is to live in freedom. This life is going to be what you make it. I used to live this life like, I used to always wear sunglasses all the time. Like, people didn't know what my eyes looked like before Christ.

Always had sunglasses on. And I realized that it matched the way I viewed the world. That makes sense? Dark. There's these glasses at the flea market. They have red lenses, yellow lenses, blue lenses, green lenses. And you put those on, everything looks red. Everything looks green. Everything looks yellow. See, all of us have lenses. If you have a heart of wickedness, you're going to see your whole world that way. I saw my whole world as dark. And I just thought, man, you know what? I'm always looking to come up, so everybody else is looking to come up. I'm always looking to hurt somebody or do this, or somebody is always looking to hurt me, because I'm going to, what I was putting out is the energy I was going to get back. And since the world is dark, I don't trust nobody, and this is an ugly world. There's nothing but violence. There's nothing but this. There's nothing but that. And it's like the moment I gave my life to Christ, it's like he took those glasses off, and I'm sitting in a cell. But all I saw was freedom. And now I look at this world, I'm like, man, this is a beautiful world. Yeah, there's ugly things in it.

I'm not oblivious. Yeah, there's ugly things that happen in this world. But man, I remember one of the first things I did is I went to San Francisco because I wanted to see the beach. And I used to tell my mom, I'm like, I will know I'm free when I stand at the ocean. So I got out, had to go to a halfway house, and I had an ankle bracelet on me. And in essence, I was free. But I'm like, I ain't free till this thing's off of me, and I stand at that beach over there where the cliff house is at. I'm in San Francisco. And I remember one day, it was my last day, and the halfway house called, and they're like, you can cut that thing off and turn it in in Oakland. Man, I cut that thing myself. Because they're like, we can cut it for you. I'm like, no, I'm good. I'll cut it. I took scissors to it because it was just a rubber thing that's replaceable. Cut that thing, turned it in, and you know where I went? Straight to the ocean. Is that why you picked up your mom's bracelet that day? Yeah. Yeah, because her brother met us for the Monterey bike ride. And I looked at him, those of you that were there, and I looked, and he was just standing by himself, leaning on by his bike, just looking at the ocean. Because I know.

Yeah, Abran Rodriguez and Frances Allen. Let's see. Abran, you get the turtle cap. And Frances Allen, you get the evangelist cap. Amen. The next one gets the 10 comeowments. All right. All right. You've seen him, brother? Amen. This is brother Jose. He just came from Pando, actually. He came all the way from Texas to be a part of this church, and he moved here after a 10-year sentence. So make sure you welcome him and embrace him. Amen. He actually showed up here on Sunday. The bus arrived, dropped him off at 1130 at night, the Greyhound. And he literally, huh? McDonald's. At McDonald's, yeah. That's your spot. And he says, I don't know anywhere else I want to be. He literally slept outside because he wanted to be near this church. But he's situating stuff. He just got accepted into MJC. You're busy, brother. Amen. Amen. God's going to open doors for you, brother. Amen. That's right. It's all Jesus. Huh? Amen. All right. Amen. Oh, yeah. Amen. I was with him today. He gave me a laptop today. Wow. Praise God. Yeah, he did a lot of time, man. He did a lot of time. Yeah. Okay. Where are we at? Where are we at? Where are we at? MJC is the Modesto Junior College, sis. That's where our youngest daughter just graduated from. Amen. So where are we at? I'm over here preaching. I've got lost. Chapter 4. Chapter 4 verse 1 or no? Yeah. Is it?

Yeah. That's cool. Just keep going. 747. All right. Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word. But by the open statement of the truth, we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. You're like, what? I don't know. Let's see what the message says. Since God has so generously let us in on what he's doing, we're not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. Oh, that's good. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don't maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don't twist God's word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display so that those who want to come and see and to judge for themselves in the presence of God. I love that. I love that beginning part, right? Because since we have this hope, since we have this ministry, since we have the new covenant, we don't lose heart just because we have a bad day. We don't lose heart because we don't know how to pay the bill. We don't lose heart because things are happening in your family. We don't lose heart. You have something better. You have hope in you. We can't lose heart, guys. I love the fact that Paul is reminding us that. We don't throw in the towel just because it's a hard time. You know, I hope nobody told you, hey, become a Christian and life is just going to be beautiful roses. That's not the way it's going to be. See, Christianity doesn't promise a good life. Christianity promised through the hard times he would never leave you nor forsake you. You won't go through it alone. Though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because you are with me. So that's the difference. You're going to go through dark times with him or without him, but with him, he's with you. You're going to go through hard times with or without him, so might as well do it with him. Why go through this hard life? Life is hard enough already. Everything I've done, everything I've gone through, I had to go through it no matter what, but man, it was so much better if he's next to me. Because he's there. He says, I will never leave you nor forsake you. That almost sounds redundant. I won't leave you nor forsake you, but it actually is deeper than that, guys. When he says I will never leave you, he's meaning I will never physically leave you, but some of you know that's.

Somebody could be in the same house as you, but their heart is somewhere else, right? That's either been done to you or you've done it to somebody else. And you're like, man, why are you nagging me for? I'm here, I'm paying the bills, I'm here, right? But he knows or she knows your heart's somewhere else. You ain't here. So somebody can be there, but not really be there. So when Jesus says, I will never leave you nor forsake you, he's saying, not only will I be there physically, I won't forsake you, I will never stop thinking about you. I won't have her have my mind on something else. I will be with you in spirit and in my very presence. So when he says, I will never leave you nor forsake you, he's meaning that he's never going to betray you. He's never gonna backstab you. He's never gonna ignore you. He's never gonna treat you second rate. He's never gonna, you're not gonna get on his nerves. Thank you, God, right? Because sometimes I get on my own nerves. But he says, I never. He says, don't lose heart. Even through the rough times, don't lose heart. I'll read that portion in the message again. It says, I already forgot where I was at. For one, therefore having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. Verse three and four, it says,

and even if our gospel is veiled, wait, did I read two? I did, okay. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. Sharon gets, I already know which one she wants. She, huh? Oh, I'll give you two. I gave you the super cub. I know, I promised whoever did it next time. The 10 commandments. He's holding up the 10. Yeah, I don't know. Three and four, I'll read it in the message. I really like this, guys. We're gonna learn a lot from this. But in the message for three and four, it says, if our message is obscure to anyone, it's not because we're holding back in any way. No, it's because these are people who are looking or going the wrong way and refuse to give it serious attention. All they have eyes for is a fashionable God of darkness. They think he can give them what they want and that they won't have to bother believing a truth they can't see.

They're stone blind to the dayspring brightness of the message that shines with Christ, who gives us the best picture of God we'll ever get. I read this letter, one of the letters I got from Pando. And I'm gonna address it when I do the podcast. But he said, you know, I love your guys' podcast. I love the sermons. I love the worship and everything. But you know, I still worship Santa Muerte because Santa Muerte has never left me. And I can't wait to address that one because, see, Satan's a liar. It's Jesus that, the Bible says that Jesus is truth and there is no truth in Satan. Matter of fact, the Bible says that when Satan lies and when he speaks lies, he's speaking his own language. He's a father of lies, exactly. Jesus says, I'll never leave you. And this guy, this person, this brother that needs to learn and I love his humbleness in his letter because other than that, he's like, man, I'm loving what I'm learning. And I praise God, keep watching. Because Santa Muerte is not going to be the one that will never leave you nor forsake you, it's Jesus. But here's the issue and the problem here. It says here that in verse four, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers. You can't sit here and get angry at people

who are blinded by their unbelief. that don't know truth, they are blind. And Satan has them blind. How cruel will it be if you came across somebody that was legally blind and you're at a park and you tell the blind guy, man, look at those beautiful red roses and the blind person's like, I can't see them. What do you mean? Open your eyes, bro. Look, look how pretty those roses are. I can't, I can't see them. Oh, come on. Get out of here, man. Come on. Look how pretty those roses. Can you imagine how cruel you would be for doing that and getting angry at them? That would be horrible. And if I was sitting there listening, I'd be like, hey, he's blind. Don't be that way. Well, it's the same thing when we're trying to share the beauty of God and the beauty of Christ to somebody that is blind because the God of this world has blinded them. They can't understand why you worship. They can't understand why you read your Bible. They can't understand. They are blind. As a matter of fact, Jesus is the blind leading the blind. So when sometimes we get letters from these places and they'll say things, I understand where it's coming from because the God of this world has blinded their minds. But it's our job to open their eyes. See, it's a beautiful thing to pray for somebody that's physically blind and for God to open their eyes.

You know what's even more beautiful? Is to pray for their spiritual eyes to open. Because if somebody is blind to this world and now they see and they die in sin, they're still going to hell. Matter of fact, every person that's been healed, and I have seen some amazing healings, but eventually we all got an expiration date anyways. You know what's a better healing? Is a saved soul. Because that's eternal. I say this and I'll say it again. If you heard it, oh well, you're going to hear it again. The greatest miracle I have seen, I have seen spines straighten up. I have seen, what are those stones dissipate? Somebody is in extreme pain. Pray for them and it just dissolves, boom, and all of a sudden the pain goes away. Toothaches, backaches, headaches, you name it. I've gone to the ICU, prayed for people that got healed. Out of all of those things, the greatest miracle I've ever saw was my dad getting saved and no longer drinking beer and saved from alcohol. That is the greatest miracle I have ever seen in my life. I was eight years old. I will never forget it. I thought my dad and beer were one. I didn't know that that can came out of his hand. To see my dad with the beer was a normal thing. And then for the day, I remember him walking up there, getting saved, and with tears, sits me and my brothers down and tells us, I have given my life to Jesus. I'm never going to drink again. I'm going to be the father you guys should have had all along. And we didn't believe him.

That was 46 years ago. The greatest miracle I've ever seen, man. So the greatest miracle we could ever see is somebody's eyes opened to receive the gospel. Anything above that is just extra. Back pain, extra. Cancer, extra. That's all extra, man. Why do you think the Bible says that all of heaven rejoices when one sinner repents? Barbara, all right. Let's see what we got for you. I keep them coming. The prayer cat. It's a cat laying hands on two other cats. Amen. All right. Where are we? Yes, sir. I wanted to share something with somebody. Something came to my mind, right? Go for it. Okay. So, you know, there was, I remember one time I stumbled upon a podcast where you were doing communion, right? Yeah. And I didn't have nothing. Right. All I had was water and toilet paper. But in my mind, I said, well, toilet paper comes from a plant. And then, so I got a little piece of toilet paper. You were in solitary, right?

I was in Ad Sec for 10 years. I used to be a gang member. They wouldn't let me back in population. And then, but it didn't happen once. It didn't happen twice. It happened three times that I just happened to be on that podcast for communion. So, my communion was a piece of toilet paper and water. But in my heart, it's all that matters, right? It was. Yeah. Because God honors it. Yeah. And the Lord honored it. Well, it was a little piece, not a big, big piece. It wasn't the whole roll? It wasn't the whole roll. Yeah. Yeah. And a lot of water. But how many times have I told them in there? I'm like, man, get a cracker, get a Dorito. I don't care what it is, because God's going to honor it if you mean it in your heart. It was three times, and it's weird. And finally, once, I had a soup, so. Amen. Amen. When are we going to have communion, almost? A couple weeks? You'll be able to have communion with us, brother. All right.

We're going to give you a piece of toilet paper. I said, one day, I'm going to tell them that. It's going to be an honorary piece. Yeah. Amen. We're going to give you the biggest piece of cracker. I'm serious, guys. Yeah. Yeah. Good, good. We love you. Wow. Amen. Thank you for that, brother. Thank you. It just came to my mind, and I was like, wow. Where are we at? Beautiful. Where are we? Did I read five yet? We're going to finish with five and six. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ is Lord. With ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. I love this. It's the perfect way to end the study today. In the message, it says, remember, our message is not about ourselves. We are proclaiming Jesus Christ the master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. And it started when God said, light up the darkness.

And our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful. It's not about us. It's about him. If you are already saved and you come to service on Sunday, it's not about you. It's about those others that are coming that are still blind. It's about others. It's about Jesus. It's about his light. And whatever is going to give us an opportunity to shed that light, we have to take it. If it's with somebody at the bank or somebody at the store or somebody on the street or somebody watching a podcast or somebody watching a tablet eating toilet paper, whatever it may be, we have to be that light. Nothing's going to stop that light. We have to do what we have to do to reach every person that we can. Why? Because he's worth it. He is worth it. He suffered on the cross. He is worth it. I love this. This is the message is not about ourselves. We proclaim Jesus. He's the master. And I love how it says it in the ESV. Let light shine out of darkness. Let light shine out of darkness has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. There are broken people out there. There are shattered lives out there.

There are people that don't want to live anymore. There are people that have nowhere else to go. There are people that feel they tried it all. There are people that have been church hurt. There's people that religion has hurt them. There's people that are completely lost and broken and desperate. We have to make our message about Jesus because it's about him. It will always be about him. Who cares about us? Who cares about trying to, I don't care if people remember my name, man, as long as they remember who I preached about. That's what matters. That's what matters is Jesus. He's all that matters. We wouldn't be here without him. He is to be honored and praised and worshiped. And when we want to act out of pocket, remember it's about him. Remember what he did. Every time we live our lives and the way we live our lives and the way we present ourselves to others and the way we present ourselves inside the church, outside the church, however it is that we are. It's got to be about Him, only Him, and always Him. That pulpit is not meant for me to give you politics. That pulpit is not meant for me to give you my opinion. That pulpit is meant to preach His Word, and it has to be honored as such. This is a house of God. This is meant to be a place of worship and praise and discipleship. It shouldn't be meant for nothing else. Nothing else. Everything belongs to Him.

This is His house. It's His house. So the way we treat each other, the way we are, the way we do in ministry, you sitting at the door, you're not doing it for me, brother. You're not doing it for Marcelo. You do it for Jesus. Because it's His house. We do it for Him. When we make the coffee, we do it for Him. When we vacuum, we do it for Him. When we straighten up the chairs, we do it for Him. Everything we do, we do it for Him. Because we have to let this light shine out of darkness. And if we do it for anything else, then we're going to have to answer to God for that. Guys, I have no other agenda here. I have no other agenda than to bring Jesus to you. That is it. There is nothing else. There is no other agenda. There's no nothing. It's Christ and Christ alone. Isn't He enough? He's enough. He's enough. I don't ask for riches. I'm just like, Lord, just provide. I don't ask for fame. I'm just like, Lord, let your name be famous. If it was up to me, I would preach with the paper bag on my head. I don't care.

I don't care. People know who I am or people don't. I don't care. I should have probably started this ministry. I would have been the paper bag preacher. I don't care. I just care about Jesus because I know what he did for me. He set me free and there's nothing I can do. There's no amount of sermons I can preach, no amount of studies I can give that will give and make up for what he did for me. He is my everything. He's my oxygen. He is my life. He is my love. He is my everything and everything I do is for him. And when brothers show up from Texas, you remind me, brother, of why we do it. You remind me, when I see a woman or a man come and surrender their life to the Lord and just break down in the presence of the Lord, it reminds me of why we do what we do. Because we have a light inside of us and we have to let that light shine no matter what. There's no devil in hell that's going to stop it because the gospel cannot be stopped. He says in the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. He says on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. He says you will be the head and not the tail. He says we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. He says no weapon formed against us will prosper. I believe this word. I will always believe this word. I will die believing this word. I will live believing this word. This is the word of God.

This is the anointed word of God. There is no other truth. He's the truth and that's it. There is nothing else. I just appreciate you guys coming on a hot day to hear me. You know, I don't try to impress people. I don't try to impress. I just, you know, I read his word because I know it's his word and I try to simplify it and make it relevant because that's what God told me to do. And I'm just following my instructions and he just said teach them my word and say it in a way where everybody will understand my word. That's it. That's my job description, guys. That's it. That's it. You know? Not, I don't know, personal jets or $5,000 suits or nothing. That's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's garbage. It's garbage. dying people are suffering and we have the answer how dare we try to muddle that with our own agendas how dare we it's all about him so let's bow our heads lord god i thank you so much for your beautiful word we thank you so much lord god for what you did 2 000 years ago we pray lord god for that light that in us not be dimmed we're not glow sticks that eventually the glow goes away no your glow never goes away lord we pray to be effective we pray lord god to be leaders whether leaders of our home or leaders of our neighborhood or leaders of nations where are we now now okay back to the treasures in jars of clay so i i like the fact that paul is saying that and he's basically saying that it's not about us it's about jesus we should know that but a

lot of times we need to be reminded of that and then he goes on to say in eight we are afflicted in every way but not crushed so that's the thing is that you know i i want to say like this right is that i remember as a kid being in a swimming pool and and you have those floaty things and and you're trying to push it down and and and no matter what it pops back up on this side and you push it down and it pops back up and it's kind of a fun thing for a kid to do is try to get something that has air and and hold it under but you're not strong enough as a kid if especially with something big and there's no way so in the same way guys with the spirit of god in you a lot of us want to fall into despair into depression into sadness into all these things because of the affliction because of the trauma because whatever but the spirit of god do you know what the spirit the holy spirit literally means air it's this greek word that that is air that's why jesus even compared the holy spirit to say that we don't know where the spirit comes or where the spirit goes like the wind and it's interesting because it's wind that holds that floaty up right where you blow in it and it's air in there but you can't drown it and and it's like so when you have the spirit of god in you yes we have sad moments yes we have things that could bring you to depression yes we have things that could just completely drown you but the spirit of god is like nope and you're gonna pop right back up because we are afflicted in every way but you will not be crushed you will be perplexed but you won't be driven to despair you will be persecuted but not forsaken you will be struck down but you will not be destroyed and it's not because of us we're just clay jars it's because of who is in us and that's why 10 says always carrying in the body the death of jesus so the life of jesus may also be manifested in our bodies again reading 11 for we who live are always being given over to death for jesus sake so that the life of jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh remember when we're baptized we are we we die in christ and we come out of the water because we rise in christ so if we have the death of christ in us then that means we also have the life of christ in us so andrew torres thank you thank you brother i appreciate your words and i don't know if you're doing this for this but you get cat right back so thank you um so that is important for us to understand because guys coming to christ doesn't mean life's going to be beautiful and perfect matter of fact for some of us coming to christ has made life even harder sometimes you know and and i think that sometimes depending on where you were when you surrendered your life to the lord somebody you know sold you to christ as if life was going to be awesome and beautiful

and that is not true uh that is not true so but here's the thing somebody might say then why did i become a christian then because here's the thing no matter what in life you're going to go through stuff and if you haven't gone through stuff then that means you haven't lived long enough life is full of heartbreak betrayal life is full of trauma and drama life is full of it so no matter what with christ or without you're gonna go through it anyways but might as well do it with christ though i walk in the valley of the shadow of death i will fear no evil because lord you are with me i would rather go through all of the pain of life with him than without him so the Christ does not promise a good life. Christ promises that He will be with you through this life, in the valleys and the lows, in the highs and everywhere in between, through the deserts and through the forests and through everything. And even more so, when you go through it, you will not be allowed to just drown in it because the Spirit of God in you will lift you back up. You know, so that's what I like about this, this portion right here. So we're gonna read 13 through 15. 13 says, since we have the same spirit of faith, since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, I believed and so I spoke. We also believe. And so we also speak, knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into His presence. 15 says, for it is all for your sake

so that as grace extends to more and more people, it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God. I'm gonna read it in the message. He says, we're not keeping this quiet, not in your life. Think about that, right? So you come to Christ and you're gonna stay quiet? It's funny how we'll tell everybody about a great movie we saw. We'll tell everybody about the cafe we went to. We'll tell everybody about that special taco truck that you claim is the best tacos in the world. You have no problem telling everybody, but when it comes to Jesus, we stay quiet? That's what he says, we're not keeping this quiet, not in your life. I love the fact that Paul is saying, man, God is so good, the Lord is so good, I can't keep quiet. And people say, man, is that all you can talk about? And I'd be like, man, what else is there to talk about? There is nothing but Christ. There is nothing else. And so he says, I'm reading this portion in the message. We're not keeping this quiet, not in your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, I believed it, so I said it. We say what we believe. And what we believe is that the one who raised up the master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God's glory.

More and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise. I was watching this person on, I don't know if it was YouTube or whatever, and they were evangelizing on the street, and they started debating with somebody, these two Muslim girls, right? And they're going back and forth, and the Muslim girl says, where are you gonna go when you die? And she goes, I guess we'll find out when we die. And he goes, no, I can tell you right now where we're going. If you were in Christ, and she was like, well, you don't know that. He says, no, yes, I do, because the word of God says it. The word of God says it, and God is not a liar. He does not lie. He's not a man that lies. When he speaks, he speaks truth. He is truth. So there's no ands, ifs, or buts in this. It's the word of God. I know, I know that I know that when I close my eyes to this world, that in one blink, whether that blink is instant or a thousand years, I don't know, that doesn't even matter. All that matters is where I go, is that it's gonna be in the absence of this body is to be present with the Lord. And I know people believe that you stay asleep

till he comes, and some instantly. I lean toward that it's instant, because the Bible says that God is not a God of the dead, but of the living. Sunset free, thank you, brother. You get the Bruce cap. So, I never did a Bruce Lee. I thought I was pretty good for the first time. No. So, I love the fact that he says, you know what? He wrote it, I believe it, so I say it. I've had people ask me over the years, and they'll say, man, you know what? Man, I wanna learn to preach, and man, you sound so convincing. I'm like, because I'm convinced. You know, and I'm like, I said, I'll be honest with you. It's not about how perfect your sermon is, then the wording and being eloquent in speech and having the Hebrew and the Greek and verses memorized. I said, because a parrot can do those things. I said, but when you preach the word of God, and you know that in your. heart of hearts, and your soul of soul is real, then it doesn't matter how simple or complex it is. You want to stir the hearts of the people, but you got to believe it first. You know, one time I went to, I was looking for a job, and I answered the, back then, the young people, well, they all left. They have no idea what a newspaper is. But back then, remember we looked for, in the classifieds, and it said that they needed shampooers. So I'm like, oh, I could do that. So I go, and I show up. Man, they were teaching me to be a salesman for Kirby. And I'm just like, are you serious? I thought I was going to, you know, you needed people to go.

He goes, no, you do, you do. You shampoo one room, and then you try to sell them a Kirby. I'm like, nah, I'm good. But anyways, he's like, and before, I went to lunch, and then I just kept going. I just left. But basically, they want every single salesperson to know the ins and outs of the Kirby vacuum. And they are good vacuums, actually. They're just really expensive. And they want you to believe in the product so much, because they know if you understand how good a Kirby is, that that will convey when you try to sell one. In the same way, we have something greater than a Kirby vacuum. So anyways, it goes back to what he was saying. He says, it was spoken, it was written, and I believe it, so I'm going to speak it. And I think that needs to be the attitude of every single person, whether you're a teacher, a preacher, evangelist, or whatever it is that you are. Brother? What part? Remind me what? About believing it? Yeah, exactly. I mean, if you don't believe it, then how can you convince anybody else? You got to believe it yourself. And that's what it comes down to is that, remember, being a Christian is not memorizing. Being a Christian is believing Jesus is who he says he is. It doesn't matter how many verses you know or don't know, whatever. I mean, my gosh, the guy that had Legion of Demons, when he got set free, he was sad because, Jesus, I want to follow you. He says, no. He was going to tell people what happened. He didn't know a verse. He didn't know nothing. But you know what he did? The Bible says that he went and shared in other cities, and people came to Jesus. So that means all he had was his testimony. So you can't give me this, well, I don't have seminary. I don't have time for Bible college. And don't get me wrong. I went to Bible college. That's a good thing. But ultimately, you have your story. You have your story. And nobody can argue your story with you. People can argue about the Bible. They can argue about this. They can argue about that. But how can they argue your changed life? You'd be like, man, you can't tell me what God did for me or didn't do for me, brother. Exactly. Exactly. Not only the man, the Legion with demons, but also the woman at the well, the Samaritan woman, same thing. She went and got the whole town, and everybody got saved. Why? Because she says, there's a man that knows my whole life, and I believe he's a Messiah. And boom, people got saved. So it's a good start. It's a good start. But honestly, the Bible says that we renew our mind. So the longer we are in the Lord, we should be in the word. We shouldn't just say, oh, I got my testimony, and you're sharing your testimony for 10 years and don't learn the word. No, we need to be in the word.

We need to understand the word of God. We need to read it, and that way it builds up our story. But the moment you get saved, you can start sharing about what Jesus did for you. And that's important. So I'm going to finish. I don't know if I finished reading it in the message, but it says that, and we believe is the one who raised up the master Jesus will certainly raise us up with you. Okay, that's another part too. I love that because it says, and what we believe is the one who raised up the master will just as certainly raise us up with you alive. In other words, if he rose, we will rise also. I had somebody tell me one time, and I think I've shared it with some of you. This guy says, man, that's great, David. That's great that you live a Christian life and everything, but what are you going to do when scientists find the bones of Jesus? I'm like, well, first of all, they're not going to, but just to play your little game, I said, I'll go back to the world. And he goes, why would you do that? You live such a good life now, and this and that. I said, because if he didn't rise, there's no hope. And that means I'm not going to rise. So that means the only pleasures I'll have is in this world. I'm gonna go for mine. I'm gonna make as much money as I can. I'm gonna step on whoever I have to and I'm gonna get on top of this world as much as I possibly can because this is all I got. I said, but your story is false because nobody will ever find his bones because he is risen. And if he's risen, that means there's hope and I will rise too. And those that believe in Christ will rise too. So that's why he says that here. He says, man, if he rose, then for certainly he's gonna raise us up also. You know, so, I mean, I keep checking, making sure over here. In verse 16 through 18,

he says, so we do not lose heart though our outer self is wasting away. Our inner self is being renewed day by day. Okay, for some of you that are getting older, it says, so we're in the message, it says, we're not giving up. How could we? Even though on the outside, it often feels like things are falling apart on us, but on the inside where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. You know, a crispy hundred dollar bill is the same worth as a ripped up, stained, bent up hundred dollar bill. If I would say, which one do you want? A crispy hundred or this messed up one? It doesn't matter. It doesn't lose its value. And you know what this life tells us? That you're scarred up, you got a bad past, you were an addict, you were in prison, you were this, you were that. So you have lost value. And the Lord says, that's not how I see you. I made you in my image. And even if you're wrinkled up and you're getting old and your back hurts all the time, and the Lord's like, you still have value. But this world will make you feel like you have no value because you've been through some stuff

because you got wrinkled up and dirtied up and soiled up. You know, but he's like, we don't lose heart because though our outer self is wasting away, the inner self is being renewed every single day. Adam, oh, you want the native cat? Bam, there it is, right there. All right, thank you. Actually, that's chief cat. So this is really important for us to understand, guys, is that as we get older, it feels like, man, 10 years, I can't do the same thing I used to do 10 years ago, five years ago, 20 years ago. But thank God that our soul is not getting older. You know, I remember in school, we would have these book covers because they would charge you if you gave your book back all jacked up. So I would get a paper bag, right? Because you didn't want to turn it back in and they'll be like, oh man, we're gonna ding you 15 bucks for it. You know, like, no, man, I'm not putting that thing in a paper bag and you'd write your name and you write your girlfriend's name on it with the heart and all that or whatever. And it would get really messed up. By the end of the year, man, that paper bag looked messed up. But the words on the inside were still the same.

The pages were still the same in the same way as we live this life. You know, in the same way you would write on those paper bags, some of you got all kinds of writing on your paper bag, all tatted up, all kinds of writing. But it's what's on the inside, guys. Yes. I'm just wondering if you could just say that I did 82 years old, she goes, I can't do what I used to do and she goes, gosh, she goes there every day. She goes, I get on the phone and I call and I see people that talk about the work and I'm like, I'm not gonna do that for the day I die, I don't know what I'm gonna do. Amen. And so it doesn't matter how old you get. Yeah, you don't have to preach to a hundred people. It could be whoever you come across. So, in verse 17, he says, for this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. To 18 says, as we look not to the things are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. In the message, it says these hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye.

The things we see now are here today and gone tomorrow, but the things we can't see now will last forever. You know, there's nothing wrong with hard work and getting things. There's nothing wrong with a home. I want a car that doesn't break down. I want clothes that isn't faded. I want that electric can opener. I want the bigger TV. Nothing wrong with that stuff. But here's the thing, right? If life becomes that stuff, then we got it all wrong. You know, the second you drive a car off the lot, it depreciates in value. Not a month later, not a year. The second it dries off the lot, it is now worth thousands less. The clothes you have look nice, and the first time you wash it, that sweater all balled up, faded. Your white t-shirts ain't white no more. They're yellow. Blue jeans, yeah. Man, remember I bought that Levi jean jacket, the black one? I was all happy because it was like nice and black, and then after a while, I'm like, let me throw it in the wash. Man, all the edges were like gray. I'm like, what happened? Is that what happened? Man, you got to school me on that. Exactly. Can't take it with you. All of these, can't take your TV with you, can't take nothing with you, and it's interesting, right? Because Jesus says to store up your treasures in heaven. So I'm like, well, is there a garage up there for my car? No. Is there, you know, what transfers from earth to heaven? Because it's not my material things. It's not my job, my career, my savings, my debit card, none of that. There's only one thing that transfers is souls. That is it. Yeah. So yeah. So what are we doing chasing after stuff? Stuff that depreciates, stuff that means nothing. Don't get me wrong. Those things are okay. There's not, I'm not saying, I'm not saying for you guys to sell everything you have and live in a cave. I'm not saying that, but put it in its proper place. Put it in its proper place and don't ever make life about stuff because you will never have enough stuff to make you happy. You know, it feels good when you don't have nothing to receive help. That feels good, man. I've been there. I've been at a time where I don't, I got no gas in my tank. And somebody says, man, here's 20, put some, that feels good. But you know, it feels even better giving somebody 20. It feels better to give than receive. It feels good. You know? And so in the same way,

man, I mean, we have to change our perspective about what is important in this life. Because it says here for this light momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond our comparison. So in other words, Paul is saying everything we go through, all the troubles, everything that breaks your heart, everything that breaks you down, if he put it on a scale compared to the weight of glory we'll receive later, the weight of glory will always outweigh the bad. You know, so again, this is the word, this is how we're supposed to live our Christian life. But we need to change our perspective on what is important. And sometimes we get disillusioned. Sometimes I get disillusioned. Sometimes, you know, and before you know it, you're like, man, wait a second, why am I tripping on stuff? You know, I was just telling Sharon yesterday. I'm just like, listen. And I, man, what started that conversation? It might have been something I was talking with Brother Tino about. Something that we, because we were talking for a little bit, but it spun into a conversation I had with Sharon. And I'm just like, you know what? We can say here and have a million things to complain about." I said, but the fact is this, we're driving in an air-conditioned SUV back home to our air-conditioned little house, not a mansion, little house, but it's going to be nice and cool in there. And there's going to be some eggs in the fridge. You know what I'm saying? And it's like, and then I said, and I'm sitting next to my beautiful wife and I'm just like, life is good. Life is good. You know what I mean? We have to learn to just be happy with the things we have. That doesn't mean settling. I'm not, please don't get me wrong because if you can do better at work, do it. If you can do better business, do it. If you can get a promotion at work, go for it. Because I believe that it's the believers in Christ who should be the business owners. It's the believers in Christ who should be the managers and the foremans and the CEOs. It should be those in Christ, right? Because we are the head, not the tail. We're the lenders, not the borrowers. So don't get me wrong, but just put it in its place. Does not Jesus say, he says, seek after him and all other things will be added unto you? And sometimes we start chasing stuff. So let me see. Did I finish that? Let's see. In the message, I'm saying hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish less celebration prepared us for. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But things we can't see now will last forever. You know, I think I owe a couple. Hold on, hold on.

All right, Jimmy Blaze, the Ten Comeowments, and Abram Rodriguez, I gotta give you the spread cat. Amen. So we, like it says here, the things that are seen are temporary. And that's hard to do, guys, because a lot of times we do things and we're just like, what am I doing this for? But not realizing that it carries for eternity. Sometimes we minister to somebody not realizing whether it's getting through or not. And then we run into them months later and they're on fire for God. We don't know. Sometimes we run into somebody at a store and we mention, give them a house of rest flyer or whatever. It doesn't have to be house of rest, you know, and invite them to church or whatever. And then they show up and then they get saved. You know, and it's like, that's the stuff that's worth something. A lot of times we focus on the things that we see, not realizing the things God is doing that we can't see. Because God doesn't rest. He doesn't get tired. He doesn't yawn. He doesn't get hungry. He doesn't have to go and use the bathroom. He is there at all times, every single moment. I love the fact that even when I'm asleep, I know he's watching over me. He's always at work. What's that song say? He's always working. How's it go? Even when I don't see it, he's working. Even when I don't feel it, he's working. Waymaker. Yeah. You know, and man, that's the beauty about the Lord, right? There's times where I'm going through something or Sharon or both of us are going through and we're just like, man, I can't see it. I don't see it. I can't see it. But we just like, we just keep going, you know, and then God reveals something and we're just like, man, over here, we thought God forgot about us. You know, and it's like, man, it's just, it's just so awesome, man. Chapter five. Chapter five, verse one. It's still talking about our flesh, our bodies. It gets wrinkled up and old. And he says, for we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, he's calling ourselves a tent. We have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. In the message it says, for instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven, God made, not handmade, and will never have to relocate our tents again.

Verse two, for in this tent we groan. For in this tent we groan. Some of us, we wake up, we're like, oh man, my back, like, man, what happened? You know, you know you're getting old when you get off a couch and, and like, make noise. I remember Sharon, we're like, you always have to say something when you get up. I'm like, yes. She's like, you exaggerate. No, man. Huh? You're the same way. I'm like, what happened? I remember being able to do all-nighters when I was young. Forget about it. Man. Can't do it. For in this tent we groan. Longing to put on our heavenly dwelling. And it says here, sometimes we can't hardly wait to move. So we cry out in frustration. In the Message Bible. Verse 3, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked, for while we are still in this tent, in our bodies, we groan, being burdened. Not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed. So that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Verse 5, he who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. I want to talk about that, but let me read it in the message. It says we cry out in frustration. Compared to what's coming, living conditions around here, talking about here on this earth, seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack.

And we're tired of it. We've been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies. The Spirit of God wets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less. You know, we have stayed in some nice hotels, but it's not home. You know, you have a little drawer and you put your clothes away if you're there for two or three days. That way your luggage ain't all out and messy and put your stuff away. But ultimately, you know that that hotel room is not your house. That might be temporary, two days, three days, four days, five days, however long you're there. But that is not home. We're not going to treat hotel room like home. And in the same way, sometimes we treat this life as if it's our home. But this is not home. I heard this story one time of this man, he's on an airplane. And he noticed there was a really famous rock star on the plane. And when they pulled and landed in the airport, it was one of those that has the stairs going down off of the plane. And then they, you know, they walk. And when he pulled up, he saw this from his window, a whole crowd of people. They had signs of the rock star. They somehow knew he was on the plane and they rolled the red carpet out. And there was a limousine. He saw the rock star get off because obviously he was in first class. This guy was way in the back. That's where I get my seats, right? Way in the back. And the rock star, he sees him go down and everybody starts cheering. People start signs and they want autographs and all kinds of flashes.

People taking pictures and the limo driver is there and the news was there. And all these news people are there like, wow, look at that. And this man who served God all the years of his life, sitting in the back, looking out the window, he says, Lord, how is that? How was it Lord that I have been faithful to you and I've served you all of these years. But I've never had the news. I've never had people. Nobody ever rolled a red carpet for me. Nobody ever cheered for me. Nobody did nothing. Nobody's even gonna notice me. That by the time I get off of this plane, nobody's gonna notice. The Lord told him that rock star is getting all that because he just arrived home. But when you arrive home, there's gonna be millions are gonna be shouting for your name. There's gonna be angels in heaven, they're gonna be clapping for you. And I'm gonna be there waiting for you. And you're gonna have something better than a red carpet. I'm gonna give you streets of gold. That rock star is getting what he's getting in this world, but you have something even greater. That is not your home. So I'll take streets of gold over red carpet. All right, Raven, I'm gonna give you... I don't know why, Raven, I like giving you the cheesecake cat. All right. So while we're in this life, it's gonna be hard. We're gonna go through things, guys. This is the reality of being a Christian, is that we're still gonna go through stuff. Even in ministry, I have always just kind of walked. I'm not the type of man that just plans stuff. Don't get me wrong, I don't shotgun my Christian life and just see what happens. But if the Lord says walk, I'm just walking. I don't have to... Lord, if you're telling me to walk that way, why? Why do you want me to walk that way? What's gonna happen? I don't do none of that. He says walk, I'm just walking. But I've done that and fell flat on my face too. I have lost buildings before. Things have happened in my life that I didn't think were gonna end up that way. And twists and turns and all these things, but that's life. That we can't change that. And I say that because in verse 2, he says, in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwellings. That the day is going to come where we're not gonna have to go through this. That's why Jesus says that in the book of Revelation

that he will wipe away all your tears. There'll be no sickness and no death and no pain. What does that mean? That means while we're living this life, there's gonna be sickness and death and pain. And there's nothing that's gonna change that. But he has something better for us. And in verse 5, I want to mention this. He says, he who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the spirit as a guarantee. As a guarantee. The reason you and I are even going to get into heaven is because of the seal of the Holy Spirit. That's what the Word of God says. It's our guarantee. I know in this world sometimes you try to, you buy a refrigerator and they're like, hey pay extra. You give a two-year warranty, a five-year warranty, all that stuff. But eventually it runs out. Eventually the thing breaks down no matter what. But the Bible says that when we receive the Spirit of God, it's our guarantee into heaven. It doesn't fade. It doesn't tarnish. It doesn't rip. It doesn't go away. It doesn't expire. He gives us the Spirit of God as a guarantee. So in other words, he can't deny himself. When we stand before God, it's not, see none of us, none of us are going to earn heaven. Doesn't matter how good we are. I cannot preach enough sermons to get me into heaven. You know what gets you into heaven? Is that the seal of the Spirit of God is on you. That's it. The seal of the Spirit of God is on you. In other words, he cannot deny himself stamped on you. He can't. So we're given the Spirit as a guarantee. So because of that, in verse six, six, because of that, it says, so we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. The message, it says this, it says, that's why we live with such good cheer. You won't see us drooping our heads or dragging our feet. At least we shouldn't. A lot of times when I see believers and they're just walking around depressed all the time and all these things, and I feel sorry because I'm like, man, do you not know who you are in Christ? Don't you know who you are? Don't you know you're a son or a daughter of the King, the very God that spoke planets and sons into existence? The Bible says the universe cannot contain him.

God created the whales and every little plankton in the ocean. He created the bug and the lion and the elephant and the oceans and all of these things and the cliffs. And he told the ocean, you can hit waves, but you got to stop. And I say, stop. And he calls thunder and lightning and it comes at him at this beck and call. And this same God is the one that lives inside of us, man. And you're going to walk around all depressed. How many of you right now will walk depressed right now if you won the lotto? I don't even know where it's at right now, but if you won it, I don't think you'd be all sad. You probably wouldn't be here. Yeah, but exactly. I've met people that are rich and sad. Yeah. Yes. What does that remind you of, John 6, verse 33, where Jesus was talking to the disciples and the people were saying about him, he came to bring peace in the world. It says that, I have told you these things so that in you, you may have peace in this world. You will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world. Amen. That's right. That's a good verse. Thank you for sharing that one. Because it's true. It's true. We have Christ. What else is there? Having Christ is better than the lotto.

Think about it. Think about it. Because, you know, Elon Musk, he's the first trillionaire. He has so much money. I want you to see, I can't imagine how much that money is, but I'll say this. He has so much money, he cannot spend it in his lifetime. Imagine having so much money and somebody challenged you and said, I want you to spend it all before you die. And you can't? Huh? Yeah. I mean, that's wild. He has so much money, it would take him multiple lifetimes just to run through until his balance is at zero. That's an insane amount of money. Yeah. And not even medicine can cure it. A perfect example is Steve Jobs. The owner of Apple. Go ahead. Since America is in trillions of dollars of debt, that would be one less trillion if he spent it all now. Yeah. So. I know. He could type. I mean. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's a promise. You know what I think? It's a promise. There's another Bible study I mentioned that Satan didn't make up the mark of the beast. Satan copies everything God does. So the first mark is not the mark of the beast. The first mark is the mark of the spirit of God on our foreheads. And Satan just copies. That's all he is. He just copies and counterfeits. He is not creative. Creativity comes from God. You know? Where are we here? Be of good courage? Are we there? Seven. Not by sight For we walk by faith. That's good It says cramped conditions and the message cramped conditions here don't get us down They only remind us of the spacious living conditions ahead It's what we trust in but don't yet see that keeps us going Wow, I mean we could stay on that from Where's it at I lost my oh, there it is verse 7 we walk by faith Not by sight I Think when we first come to Christ, we don't know any other way but to walk by what we see

And that's okay as a baby Christian But sooner or later you're gonna have to walk by faith Sooner or later. I'll give you a perfect example when the people the slaves out of Egypt Before they crossed the Red Sea God opened the waters first so they can see Then they can have faith to walk through it but later on when they reached the River Jordan 40 years later and And they had to cross the Jordan but there was rushing water and The Lord told them start walking in at first and then I'll open it The first one was a freebie God said The first one because you guys came out of slavery you guys came out of sin. You guys came out of darkness I'll open the Red Sea for you. Then it'll build up faith. But now the next river you need to start walking through it So that then they walk through it and then when they did the waters open so I think a lot of times I've met many Christians that They're like man I used to feel God all the time and and I felt like God is with me when I woke up and God was With me when I went to sleep and this and that or but now it's five years later And I don't feel God all the time and it's not I'm like, are you still a baby? Because when you were a baby you had to be fed every three hours You had to be fed every three hours when you were a baby you couldn't walk on your own so mommy and daddy had to carry you when you were a baby mommy had to feed you when you were a baby mom and Dad had to change your diaper But at 20 years old go tell your mom to change you Be like mom, I don't think you love me why me home cuz you don't change me no more you don't feed me You see how that goes You know, what it is is that mom and dad realized as you're 5 as you're 10 as you're 15 as you're 20 as you're 30 They can be different So, why do we want our Father in heaven to treat us like we're little babies Yeah So, you know we need to learn and this is this is what I mean is that Okay, I

Remember leaving my daughter at her grandparents and she screamed as she was never gonna see me again She was like three. I Mean it was like bloody murder. Like I was never gonna I was gonna go to the store or something But as she grew I Gotta go to work. I gotta do this. I gotta do that. They understand they know you're coming back You know, but a child will start crying when you leave because they don't understand time They don't understand other so in the same way with the Lord It is not about how you feel it is what the Word of God says He says I will never leave you nor forsake you and you're walking around saying I don't feel God What do you mean? You don't feel God? He's the universe can't contain him. What are you talking about? He is there Nothing's gonna change Nothing is gonna shift. Nothing's gonna move. So we just need to learn to be mature believers in Christ Then no matter what we do put it this way even the prodigal son What does the Bible say that he took all his portion went and lived In a way that was not pleasing unto the God or the father Spent his money had all his friends and how far did the prodigal son leave where he was no longer the son Never he was always the son Even in his right is living even in his disobedience Even when the the father wasn't pleased the fact that he took all that money and spent it with all his friends never in that moment was he no longer the son. In the same way with us. So if he walking wayward was always the son, those of us in Christ, we're in an even better situation. We are always loved by him. He always has our best interests at heart. I can prove it to you because the word of God says, he says that he has good thoughts toward us every single day. So while we're still asleep,

he's having good thoughts for you. We haven't even woke up yet. Marcello, which one do you want? Oh, no, cat the baptizer. This cat is scared of water and then he comes out victorious. Amen. All right. Okay. So, where are we? Did I do nine yet? No? All right. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. In the message it says, but neither exile nor homecoming is the main thing. Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing. And that's what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions. So in other words, you can't come to church when life is good, or forget church, because I don't want to make it about church. You can't serve the Lord when your life is good only. It don't work that way. It says neither exile nor homecoming is the main thing. Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing.

That's what we aim for, regardless of our condition. So if you can pay your bills, praise God. If you can't pay your bills, praise God. If your children are serving the Lord, praise God. If your children are lost completely, praise God. You know, it doesn't change. And I know it's easier to say than do. If the doctor gives you a bad report, praise God. And if he gives you a good report, praise God. And that's not an easy thing to do. But it's what the word of God says. Neither exile nor homecoming is the main thing. Whether we live or whether we die is not the main thing. Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing. And that's what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions. There's no excuse. There's people that you get sniffles, you won't, I won't see you on a Sunday, but you were out partying in the world with the fever. Yeah. Huh? Trying to sweat it out, right? Yeah. Talking about, oh man, it's cold. It was cold Sunday morning. Man, it was cold when you were hanging out over there by Jessica's taco truck. Yeah. Eating a burrito and then all the, it was so cold. You could see the smoke coming out of your mouth.

Yeah, no problem with that. Oh, but the church is cold. Okay. All right. I'll keep going, but no, then you'll get all mad. And then next week, nobody will be here. God is the main thing. That's what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions. Sooner or later, I'm reading the message. Sooner or later, we will all have to face God, regardless of our conditions. Man, Lord, I would have served you, but man, it was cold. I would have served you, but you know, my house payment. Oh, I would have served you, but this, I served you, but that. Regardless of our conditions, we are going to face him someday. That is not going to change. Nothing can stop it. It is a roller coaster and there's no brakes. And those of us that are older, that roller coaster keeps getting faster and faster. We are going to face him someday. You can't blame your husband. You can't blame your wife. You can't stand with your kids. And you sure can't blame me. You and I are going to stand before God alone, regardless of our conditions, no matter what. That's scary. But that's reality.

It says, we will appear before Christ and take what's coming to us as a result of our actions, either good or bad. I mean, what do we do with that? There's no excuse. Because you can try to play a judge in a courtyard, in a courtroom, I mean. You can come up with a good story, you can have alligator tears, you can have all kinds of stuff. But what do you do to a judge in heaven who knows your heart, knows your thoughts? The Bible says we will stand naked before him, and that's talking more than just clothes. It's talking about naked at our hearts and our minds. He sees it all. See you go to court now and it's like, man, there's so many cameras everywhere. You're like, no, I'm not the one that stole the car. And you're like, click. That looks like you. Matter of fact, you're wearing the same jacket in court. Can't lie. But can you imagine God says, oh, really? I can turn your thoughts on. And your intentions. And your agenda. I'm like, oh, man. I believe because of that, that's why the Bible says that those of us in Christ, that he will wipe away our tears. Now this is my opinion. I believe that when we stand before him, we're going to be so overwhelmed that we're going to say, I deserve hell. And I believe no matter how much you serve God, how much you worship, how much you tithe, how much ministry you did, how much Bible you read, that it's going to feel so dim in comparison to standing before a holy God that knows everything.

It's like you think you're super clean and then you go into a black light and you're full of lint. And you think you're super clean and super Christian and you walk in the presence of God and you look at yourself and like Isaiah says, I'm a man of unclean lips and I can't even speak in your presence, God. And tears are going to come down her face because I deserve hell. And that's why the scripture says, I will wipe away every tear because you know what he's going to say? You're right. You do deserve it. But you believed in me and because of me, because I fulfill all things and you have been washed in my blood, you will dine with me forever. We're not entering in because of us. We're entering in because of him. Sandra Vargas. Let's see what I got left. Oh, I haven't done this in a while. The Olympic cat. He has a little tank top and he's flexing. Amen. Thank you. So we're going to end the study there. And next week we'll continue in 511.