Deeper Wk 10 - Deeper in Knowledge

Jesus Father, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, Father, in this moment, I ask that we begin to lay aside every weight every sin, everything that keeps separate says from you.

And Heavenly Father, pray God, that we run a race with endurance. The race that is set before us Looking only unto you, Holy Spirit, looking only unto Jesus Christ, looking only to the God of Jacob and Abraham.

The Father. We know that there's nothing that will separate us from the love of Christ.

It's a Holy Spirit. Move this morning, move supernaturally. Do something new today.

God, we have a posture of expectation. God changes from the inside out to transform us I pray God that your abiding presence would dwell in this house forever.

Holy Spirit, prepare our hearts, minds and ears.

To receive a word from you today.

And at this very moment. Father, I prayed that I would decrease in the spirit of Jehovah will reign in me give us wisdom and give us knowledge. But also, Father, give us understanding and application to apply your word Father, we love you. And we say this in the name of Jesus Christ, a man and a man. A man the church.

This is our last week of our deeper series. For the past couple of months, a month and a half, two months or so, we've been in in a series where we've been going deeper. Deeper is the word that God has given me specifically for our church, that this is a year to go deeper in. Over the past two months, we've been talking about five precepts, five principles about what it looks like to go deeper.

Today we were hit principle number six. So so we talked about you can't go deeper without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. You can't go deeper without a prayer life and we're not talking about now lay me down to sleep. God is good. God is great. None of that. No. We're talking about a prayer life that will get you in in a position where you know that you know that you know that you are in the inner circle of wholeness We also talked about going deeper, that you can't go deeper without a community of believers that God has called us not to do life by ourselves, but he has called us to do life together.

And then on February the 14th, we talked about going deeper into intimacy. We talked about true intimacy is intimacy with Christ.

Is being in a place with him in such a way that your rhythm and your walk and your talk would be on one accord with him and week before last, I talked about For the Love of Money, and that was our tithing series where we begin to talk about how God has asked us to set aside the 94 sin and just give him ten and then we also talked about that it is beyond our ability to give God's possibilities a man like there's no way possible that we can now give God's possibilities is I don't know about you as I've been embarked into this this season of going deeper.

It has not been easy. The enemy say, All right, you want to go deeper than I'm a sin. Every every enemy that I can to attack you and your family, your church. And so if you've been under attack, counter to blessing counter to all joy, that's what Scripture chose, that we should count at all joy, that because we have decided to go deeper, the enemy wants us to be fruitless.

Christians and then as we begin to transition and look for another piece of property to have church in, I was reminded this week that right you preach, don't wait it. I love when people preach violence. No, to me, fuels isn't good stuff. They like maybe maybe we're called to wait and in a waiting season they're waiting services we talked about waiting is the basic principle of a of a Christian is walk that you have to learn to be in a posture of waiting because the promise is in the process that requires patience the promise of the things that you've been praying for, the promise that you've been wanting to get married or the promise that you've

been waiting for takes patience and in that we gave a formula which was F plus W equal P, which is faith plus waiting, which is patience or equal the promise and so as I am reminded that we are called to wait being a pastor waiting, but God has called us also to continue to move forward, to go deeper.

So if you have your Bibles with you on the lift up first Corinthians chapter 13 verses 11 through 12 and I'm a come in from the new King James version so you have your word with you will be lifting up first going to chapter 13 to make your way to the book of Hebrews Chapter five is what if you want to just hold that space first this chapter 13 and I love the sound of pages rattling that's old school right that love.

I love a paper Bible. I love where you can kind of just touch it and still live and just grasp versus just swiping over. Hey man, that's just me. First Corinthians chapter 13 verse 11 says this When I was a child, I spoke as a child. I understood as a child I even thought as a child. But when I became a man the apostle Paul writes, When I became a man, I put away childish things.

For now, we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now no in part. But then I shall know, just as I am known. Hebrews Chapter five verses 11 through 14 says this we have much to say about this but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. It says in fact, that by this time you are to be teachers of the word you need someone to teach you the elementary truth of God's word all over again.

You need milk and not solid food. Anyone who lives on the milk being still an infant is not acquainted with the teachings about righteousness but solid food is for the mature who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil So if I had the title my lesson today, it would be It's time to grow up again.

Mm so I want you to know what you do me a favor. I want you to look to your neighbor to to the right and say neighbor. Oh, neighbor. Well, maybe it's time to grow up. And just in case that neighbors give you an ugly face, they look to the other neighbor on your left and say, neighbor, oh, neighbor, it's time to grow up a man.

A man church. We've been infants far too long, and the church have to get off the breast milk, get off the symbolic mm. Down. Go ahead, laugh at it. I'm gonna tell it like it. What it is that we have to apply God's word, not just look the part and I'll let you know getting older. It's okay if you're going to get to a point where you will begin to have little salt and pepper in your beard right.

It's all right. That's the new sexy man. What's the new sexy in my house? I don't care what you say.

Getting older may require you to lose your eyesight from time to time.

Oftentimes, even when you get older, you may wake up in the morning and you don't even have to know that it's going to rain because you feel it in your bones. A man you are your own meteorologist so you no longer look forward to those student discounts. As a as a college student, you look forward to those AARP discounts.

Hey, man, them go to shoes or go to sneakers, whatever they want to call it. That's a whole nother level of discounts. I have and begin to understand what that is.

And so you will no longer begin to hang out at the mall or friendly shopping center for my family and their friends. This target but you look forward to hanging out at Bojangles, a biscuit. Do a man you'll know what I'm talking about. There's always a group of older people sitting off to the side that will sit there for two to 3 hours in a day.

And they know that they have a circle of seat that's reserved just for them. It's unspoken, and you better not sit down and think you got to eat that section because they have our call claim on it.

Even to the point where you get to enjoy your 49 cent senior coffee. Come on scene. Just let the church say yes, yes, yes. My, my although I'm not there just yet. Not enough time Millennials and Gen Xers and these there's going to become a time where little Wayne, Little John or even little Bootsy don't don't trip okay.

What about Kane Brown Beyonce? Say it's going to come a time where they're not on the top ten playlist. It's going to come a time when their music is what we're going to consider old school music. Right Truth be told, that growing old is an absolute and growing up is not right. Because the fact remains that you can be 55, 65 or even 70 and still act like a child Now, I'm reminded by the greatest motivational coach by the name of Marty Schottenheimer, he walks into the training facility and he begins to walk around and begin and look at the players, begin to look at eyeball with him.

He's looking into their eyes and he begins to tell them that mean I did not cast the nick of players in the hope that I would get a few good fish he said that is not the case. He said I've hand-picked you specifically that I. I selected you specifically because you have a certain skill and talent. In fact, you are chosen so that we can win the Super Bowl this season.

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He said. The reason why I know why because my name is Marty. Show him right now. I don't make any mistakes he says. Because of those specific skills in that position that you have, that you are equipped to win it is no better time than right now.

But in order to do that, you have to maintain a certain level of integrity for the uniform that you are wearing Marty beginning it tells the players that the uniform that has been issued to you in such a way that you have to uphold that integrity it's not about the coaches, it's not about the other players. It's about you and this playbook he holds up the playbook.

He says, if you adhere to these plays that's been given to you by the manager, better yet by the owner, we're guaranteed to win but if you fail to maintain that integrity, of that uniform, we will lose so he said, This is what I want you to do.

I want you to stand up, strap on your pads, grab your helmet and meet me on a 50 yard line. Because the time is now. The time is now for greatness.

So in short, what Marty was telling the players is this that men, you are playing for the National Football League. This is not peewee football, but this is the NFL and it's time for you to grow up and become men.

This game is a game for men and not boys.

To grow up, suit up and let's go play See the authors of Corinthians hear the same tone as Marty, the author of Corinthians in Hebrews. What they're saying is that we have to stop acting like little children.

That the future growth of a church is truly an indicator of how healthy a church is So if I was to measure the healthiness of our church, I would take the most skilled individual and the one individual who is still a milk. And that would give me the indicator in order for you to grow up, you cannot you should not be comfortable where you're at with your walk with God To the Apostle Paul went to Corinth around 50 A.D. but he didn't write the letter to the Church of Corinth until 55 A.D. He arrived in 50 A.D. and he wrote his first episode, First Corinthians, around 55 A.D. So First Corinthians, chapter 13 verse 11 says

this When I was a child, I spoke as a child and I understood as a child I even thought like a child So the Apostle Paul writes the Corinthians church, and he says, Within five years you should have matured within five years of being a believer, you should level up Okay. How about the author of Hebrews Write? Hebrews was written in 30 years after Jesus died.

And Rose is the author of Hebrews says this I have much to say to you, but what I want to tell you, you won't even understand he says. In fact, you want to say because by the time that were you should beyond meat, you're still a milk So what do you say, Pastor? I these Hebraic Jews, the Jews converted from Judaism and they converted to Christianity 30 years later, the author of Hebrews is telling them you're a grown adult, but you still act like kids Let me translate that for you.

You're a 30 year old Christian is still acting like a one year old baby.

And let that sit in for a second. So in other words, if you've been a believer for about 30 years, there should be a certain level of maturity about yourself.

That you shouldn't be needing the elementary principles about the gospel you're still delivering and you're still in milk, or you should be eating meat So first thing you should do is this change your company change your company. In other words, change the people that you're connected to. Change the people that you are hanging out with.

There's a picture on the screen that we're going to show real quick, and it's a picture of a plane. And times when a plane is stagnant and growth it has outgrew the existing pot that is in the potter has to take the plant out of that one pot is in place it into another pot so that we can grow healthy What does that mean for you?

If we are called to go deeper, we have to get outside our comfort zone. If we are called to go deeper, that means we may have to even go to something new or even something different.

Because your community is too small, your language is too small.

Because the greatest enemy to your potential is your position.

Let me say that one more time. The greatest enemy to your potential as a believer to grow is your position What do you mean pass away is your postures where where you're settling in that it's where you are positioned at for you to reach your greatest potential. You can't be the smartest person in the room for you to reach another level.

You can't be the smartest person in the room.

Who's going to level you up. I had a mentor told me years ago, right. You know what? He just excuse the phrase, you need some unintelligible. I was gonna say dumb, but you need some unintelligent people around you and they need some some other smart people around you. Because those who are less intelligent than who you are, you begin to help them grow and mature and level up.

But then the person says they're smarter than you. They're actually sowing into you.

There's something about coaching and developing other people that that sharpens your skill set.

See, the Christians in the book of Hebrews have been, say, for 30 years, and yet they were still on the basic principles of Christianity.

I mean, let me put it this way they have the knowledge which is milk, but they don't have the application, which is me Why do you say that? They have the knowledge of the scriptures. They have the knowledge of what's been taught. They know all the concepts and precepts in the Scriptures, but yet they still mis apply or they don't even begin to apply the word to their lives and their daily living.

We're not using the Word of God to address our problems. We're not using the Word of God to address what God has called us to do. We're not using the Scriptures to give us guidance and direction Scripture says for us to turn the other cheek. But Pastor. Right? You don't know where I'm coming from. You know, when I roll out my set tells me, Yo, they hit me.

I'm coming from them, too, right? That's how we grew up now. And I'm told to tell them I'll go grab my brothers and my sisters, my aunts and uncles, and we're going to go right your front door and we're dragging somebody out of the house in Jesus name, right What about what Scripture says that you have an altercation with your brother.

What are you supposed to do? You're supposed to go to them, go to them in love and talk with them and say, you know, we have this disagreement. But yeah, you know what we do I'm going on social media. I say this about them. I'm about to call my girlfriends who want to call my boy. You know, we put everything on social media and this talk about love our enemy because I want to lay hands on my enemy right in Jesus name is is it holy is you like, hey, is this somebody that you don't like?

And did you say it in the name of Jesus is that holy now? It's not. It's not. There's nothing spiritual about that.

See, the author of Hebrew is writing this. He is saying that we have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand I have much to say, but what I need to say, you won't even begin to understand what I really want to tell you, what's going to take place.

So what what is he talking about in Hebrew? Chapter five to understand what he's talking about, Hebrews Chapter five, you have to kind of go back a few a few verses and this is what it says in Hebrew. Find versus five and six. In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest but God said to him, You are my son.

Today I have become your father. And He says to another place, You are a priest forever. In the order of Melchizedek hmm.

What does that mean? What is he talking about? So to truly understand it, you get to go back to Genesis Chapter 14 Genesis 1417, where McKissic is introduced in Scripture, says this in verse 17 after Abraham returned from defeating the kid in the war and the King's ally with him the King of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Thee.

This is the King's Valley. The images of the King of Salem, which means peace Salem means peace. Hold on to that brought our bread. And why is the connection there he brought our bread and why he was the priest of the most high God and in Greek, in Hebrew says illegal alien. In Greek, it means the Lord most high he brought up bread and wine.

He was the priest of God in most high. And he blessed Abraham saying Blessed be Abraham by God, most high, creator of the heavens and the earth and praised beat the most high who delivered your enemies into your hand the Abraham was. He just left a battle. He was in war with someone else. He meets mech, kills the deck and kills the dead, gives a foreshadow to who Christ is in this peace, in this passage of Scripture He blesses Abraham, gives him communion in this sentence on his way in verse 20, Abraham encounters another battle So what does that mean then, when we are battling this thing called life, then our communion our connectedness to Christ

matters the most and the reason why that it matters, because I don't know if you have ever been in a all out war, just a knock down fight with the enemy you're going to get tired, and at some point you need some rest. You're going to need some communion of the saints to encourage you along the way. And when we see communion first Corinthians Chapter 11, Scripture tells us that Paul said, Take E he said before that he blessed well, he he broke it first, then he blessed it So even in your breaking, God wants to bless you He wants to bless you.

So that way you can go back out, strap up your shoes and your boots and get back in the game. Coach, put me in even if I am Duke I'm sorry I had to throw that in there. That was not holy it says this for the time that you are to be teachers, you still need someone to teach you the first principles, the oracles of God and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

Because your video real quick. This is a throwback video I kind of dig myself just a little bit is back in it certainly is a big fan. It certainly is a big fan. It's a very big, fun, fluffy body. It's a very big, fluffy, fun what is the beef? Some hamburger places give you a lot less beef on a lot of luck.

Where's the beef at Wendy's? Let's have a hamburger. We might as they go on a single and Wendy's single has more beef and the Whopper, all the Big Mac, like, when did you get more beef and less bun? Hey, where's the beef? I don't think there's anybody back there. You want something better? Your Wendy's kind of people but show of his eyes was.

See how many people remember that? You remember that? I'm in good company. Praise God. Amen. Though Lady was asking, where's the beef right now?

So we have all this condiments. We have buns some lettuce, tomatoes and onions. We even have paper plates and baloney paper towels. Man, but where's the beef we come ready?

But we forgot the main ingredient you've come ready to have supper. But, yeah, you forgot the main ingredient. Now, if there's any vegetarians or whatever the other Terry is may be, that's out there. This is not a knock against you. Because holistically, we know that if you eat a vegetable die that studies show that you will be this, you'll be healthy.

Truly be healthier than anyone else. But where's the beef during this pandemic? I'm sure that we've all encountered going through the drive thru, and I remember going to Bojangles one time and had a friend. He had a similar experience going through Popeye's Chicken. You go to Bojangles a roll up, try to get myself a two piece and a snack, write a two piece in a biscuit.

I go to the order window and I'm like, Yo, can I get a two piece, maybe a three piece snack leg and thigh because, you know, dark meat, white meat, whatever, whatever you folks about, whatever you want and I'm like, you know, want some dirty rice and green beans and pinto beans. Right? And so like, I'm sorry, sir, we we don't have any legs and thighs.

Okay, well, just give me a breath. Like. Well, sir, I'm sorry we don't have any breasts. Okay. Can I get some chicken tenders? They're like, Well, I'm sorry, sir. We don't even have chicken tenders. Well, what do you have right? The sign says Bojangles, right? So when I go to Bojangles, that's the what, the country kitchen or whatever Louisiana kids maybe that's Popeye's.

Either way it goes, they're not give me any type of food to get this advertisement. So either way, the point is, this is a chicken shack. And when I'm driving up to a chicken restaurant, my expectation is to get some chicken this is. Sir, we don't even have rice the only thing that we have available is mashed potatoes and gravy and little bit of pinto beans.

My expectation to go to a drive thru of Bojangles is to get a three piece so I can refuel my body we know that when we don't get the proper nourishment that we need, there's a lack in this house we you don't get. There are nourishment that your soul needs right now. There's a lack in this house right I begin and wonder talking to our leaders now get it passed around when you have a master's degree you've been to school and seminary and all that great stuff

And so we pay you to learn Greek and Hebrew and Aramaic, right? No, you don't. Nope. If you want some student loans and by all means I can get my cash app on my app and all that stuff right now, but if you are a believer Paul writes to Corinth for five years, he says, you should be leveled up already for 30 years.

And Hebrews he is saying that you guys have been saying for 30 years and you're still acting like children.

Where's the beef we've been contemplating as leaders that, like, maybe we should have a class to help people to understand, to show them how to study God's Word.

Is no shame. Your game because if you're able to become a student, if you're able to become a lover of His word, there's a level of intimacy that your spouse, your husband, your girlfriend, your boyfriend, whoever your friend may be can't begin to touch or even scratch that you're connected to this in such a way that whatever battle that you may be going into are coming out of I am a child of God.

He split the seas so I can walk right through it. I am a child of God. And by the way, do you know who my daddy is?

For my daddy? He's the fathers of all fathers.

When I was a child, First Corinthians, chapter 13 says this after Apostle Paul paints the greatest love poetry ever. We hear this, we hear first grade this chapter 30 read all throughout almost 100 different weddings, some believers, the nonbelievers. This is what we call the love chapter.

It says, love is passion. Love is kind. Love is not puffed up. It does not routinely behave it does not seek its own pleasure. It's not provoked. And it thinks no evil why do Paul start all with this love ensemble about love is passion? It kind of and it's not puffed up and it doesn't think any evil, but then he goes to say verse 11, When I was a child, I understood as a child because we know the greatest gift is love.

So maybe Apostle Paul was telling us it may be our speaking in our understanding or even our thoughts are not where they should be, because he remind us in verse 11, when I was a child, I spoke as a child. My understanding was as a child, my thought was as a child but I became a man and put all that child and stuff away so I began to speak differently I began to understand differently.

Then I began to think differently. Point number to change your speech change your language if you cuss. And Peter or downright Betty, I just made that up. It just sounded good. Whatever. Whatever your language may be. And when I say language, I'm talking about your language just not of Christ. That's not of God.

And when we look at the scripture, there's different verb tenses that the words speak is translated into just in the scripture. In Scripture throughout the entire Bible. The most widely used speech is logos This is a derivative of that speech in this Greek context for this word, the Greek word, for this word for speech. Is the LEO, which means to disclose, which means to talk, which means to utter video, to tell So Apostle Paul is saying that you've been saying for 30 years that you have led no one to Christ Apostle Paul saying that your language, your talk, your speech, three that of Christ that you should be able to tell to utter two to present

a hope that's within you for someone else.

Then also the third point is this change your understanding change your understanding so that way. This Greek word for understanding is from Neo, which it means to be of the same mind So what Paul is saying is this is that we are called to be like Christ to be one mind with Christ, to be in the all knowing of what God wants us to do, that our thought should be His thoughts and that we should be do all of that as well.

So what He's saying is that we should be like minded of the same mind of the Scriptures you have to begin to cast on every argument, everything that sets itself against the true High Priest And lastly, this change your thoughts change your thoughts and thoughts in Greek is this word of it's like cameo, like gizmo or whatever. Ella, Elodie, Isaiah, okay.

So yes, I'll bring the team next week, Mia. But it means this that you have to take in consideration, take into account your thoughts so every time you think of something that's not wholly that you're taking captive of it, that you're shifting your thought pattern because love thinks of no evil, right?

I'd say be Mary would teach you that being in any type of relationship may or do not matter. If you're single, you have the desire to get married or even marry myself. The love thinks of no evil. Oftentimes when foolish, you know, we're in a disagreement. I'm always I'm on a level two. And sometimes because I walk into the house and I shut everything down because things didn't go my way.

But I am reminded that love thinks of no evil. That is patient, that is kind, that it's not puffed up, it's not sickness, own pleasure. And what this own desire what will happen if to begin to begin to change and shift your thought pattern as the worship team makes their way to the stage next, Brian and Jason to I just want to remind you today, in order for you to go deeper in order for us to go deeper as a church, as individuals, you have to go deeper in the word there's no other way around.

It that you have to begin to get off of the basic principles of Noah's Ark. Jesus turning water into why he's casting out demons that you need to sit down and begin to open up this this love story, this historical book.

And begin to read it and make highlights in it right in the margins and begin to go from Old Testament to New Testament in all of the other great stuff and I get it. Maybe you don't understand how to study the Bible and this is what we're going to do. And this is I haven't talked with our leadership team but I'm sure this is okay.

Our next SID group or our Connection Group semester, we will set aside a space to teach you how to study God's word. Amen. Let's just give around applause for that because I'm still a student. I some something new every single time, but there's some basic things that we can begin to show people and teach people that you can go into the margins and there's there's different roadmaps that you can connect your scriptures to.

And then if you have a dictionary and a concordance and all this other great things and there's certain websites that we will teach you that you can go to that is that is viable, that is tested and proven, that it is without error you have to be careful what you study, but you had to be careful. You too.

Because so many people get their theology from just stuff on YouTube because anybody can post on YouTube, anybody can post on Wikipedia.

So there's certain things that we want to teach you, help you grow in. But as we begin to close out our deeper series today, I just want to remind you that you can't go deeper without the Holy Spirit, that you can't go deeper without prayer, that you can't go deeper without community, you can't go deeper without intimacy.

You can't go deeper until you have the hindrance of your death. Let me put it this way of how you tithe and give to the church we're Hindu that because your faith that you have got us is he said, just test me this test me in your your faith about giving, because we know that money is the root of all evil.

And you can't go deeper on milk you got to have solid food and so today, as we close the sermon series out for deeper and truth be told, we can go another four months with this series. But I want to just outline six principles that you can take with you begin to really hone in and say, you know what, my desire is to go deeper.

That means am I to get out of this? This particular part betrays played in a different parts of the way. I can grow that way. My roots can go deeper. They can spread out a little bit more we're going to close with the song called The Blessing and my Desires is to bless you today because it's a blessing, a blessing that that's connected to our Heavenly Father, that you have access to we want to just worship and just pray that song over you today.

And my prayer is that you would live a life not only going deeper, but a life that is transformed. So let us stand. Father in heaven great is your name and greatly to be praised Father. Thank you, God, for the opportunity to the talents not only myself, God, but our church is that they won't get comfortable with where they're at, that they won't be comfortable being the Christian that they are today, that tomorrow a greater is coming So, Father, even in my discomfort, bless me Father, even in my misunderstanding, God, I pray that you will bless us today.

And God, we have that desire to go deeper. I pray that you are fair. This lean so that the world can see. See you first.

Receive a king and a risen savior. Father, have you wait today we love you. We are you is in Christ that we say amen.