Thank you. I'm going to have you turn to two different passages of Scripture this evening. First, take your Bibles and turn with me to the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2, and then in a little while I'll have you turn to 1 Corinthians, Chapter 2. Luke, Chapter 2. You'll take your Bibles and turn there now, where we find the first recorded word spoken by Jesus. Now note, I said the first recorded words spoken by Jesus, and we discover in this passage that the words that fell from his lips on this particular day, at the tender age of 12, I might add, were not understood words by Mary nor his stepdad Joseph. And so the very first words recorded were not understood words. Mary did not understand, nor did Joseph understand. What do we know? We know that in these verses, verse 49 and 50, that he was speaking of his real father. At the tender age of 12, Jesus was already in the know that Joseph was not his biological father, and that he was the virgin-born son of God. And so, if we know anything, we know that he was speaking of his real father. Now, my son has two fathers. I'm his earthly father, and he should listen to me. But then he has a heavenly father. And if I had to choose, Brother Jared, between my son giving me a good hearing and giving His heavenly father a good hearing I would say listen to your heavenly father over your earthly dad and so He's speaking of his heavenly father, not his earthly stepdad, Joseph, who I believe was a good man, I believe was an honorable man. And I think the Lord Jesus showed due respect to his stepdad, Joseph, and I think that he was a good example humanly speaking, for Jesus as a boy growing up to look up to. And look with me at the text and I want to read it to you hearing verses from Luke chapter 2 and we're going to look at verse 49 and then verse number 50. And verse 49 reads as follows, and he said unto them, and so Jesus had been missing, you know the story. They had been there to observe a festival and as they were leaving or as they left they thought that Jesus was with them. with members of their family and they were not worried about him which is commonplace when we're with family as long as our sons and our daughters are with their cousins and all is well and and so it was with Jesus and or Joseph and Mary, and the family of Jesus. And if you'll note here in verse 49, and he, Jesus said unto them, his mother Mary, his stepfather Joseph, how is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my father's business? And of course, his stepfather was a carpenter. We don't find him in a carpenter shop, we find him in a temple. We find him discussing doctrine and the deep things of God with leaders of Judaism at that time. They're referred to as doctors, and they're not talking about medical doctors, but talking about those who were familiar with the Scriptures. They were, if you will, experts in regards to the law and yet Jesus had them mystified. He had more wisdom as a 12 year old than they did collectively in having studied the law all their lives. With that said, let's ask the Lord's blessing on our time in his word. Father, would you bless now, would you honor this, my final opportunity to stand behind this sacred desk and proclaim your word. And Lord, though the message is not deep, it does provide us with food for thought, and Lord will help us on our way. We've been instructed. to be doers of the word and not hearers only. We've been instructed to be among those who have ears to hear. And we know in regards to Old Testament Israel, as we look at their demise, we hear a commentary from the Lord's lips, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. And so Lord, what stands between us and the evil one is the word of God. And I pray, Lord, we'd give our attention to the word. Each and every time the pastor stands and says, take your Bibles and turn. May we tune out the world and may we listen to the word of God. receive it with a ready mind and with an eager spirit. May we study to show ourselves approved, workmen that need it not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of scripture. So bless my feeble attempts tonight to proclaim this simple but profound truth May it be a blessing, may it edify and build up and nourish the hearer. And I pray and ask it in Jesus' name, with thanksgiving, amen. And let me just get in to the flow of the message by saying what do we know? This will not be the last time that Jesus speaks and is misunderstood. Now we have to ask ourselves, you know, could it be that he was not a gifted speaker? Could it be that he was not articulate or well-spoken? Perhaps he just didn't have a way with words, and that's why those who heard him were bored. The reason those who heard him went away saying, do you have any idea what he meant? As for me, I didn't understand the point of the message. And you say, how absurd. He was most definitely powerful in the work. In fact, we know that he had the testimony that He spoke as one having authority and not as described and and so Though he was misunderstood Often it was because the very ones he was addressing did not have ears in here and they were more interested in what they had to say than what he had to say. Of course, that was not the case with Joseph or Mary on this particular day. But I would call to your attention that as he rehearsed these things with them, that we are told in verse number 50, that they look at verse 50 and they understood not the same which he spoken to them. And so here we have Mary, the mother of Jesus, not understanding the very first words recorded by Jesus or recorded in the scripture. Now he spoke earlier. No doubt he spoke many times. He's 12. And so most 12 year old boys have a lot to say. And we know in regards to the encounter that's recorded, he engaged in conversation with these doctors of theology, and they were impressed with what he had to say and his knowledge. But that's not recorded. We don't know what he said. But in regards to Mary and Joseph, it's in red. If you have a red-letter edition of the New Testament, the words are in red. They're written in red. And he says, how is it that he saw me, wished he not, that I must be about my father's business? And of course, we know he was not talking about his stepfather, Joseph, and his business as a carpenter, but he was speaking of his heavenly father. in his business and providing this world a Savior. We talked about that this morning. The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. And so we're clear that the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and give his life a ransom for many. Jesus said, for the Son of Man has come to seek and to say that which is lost. Tell me, what was his father's business? His father's business was rescuing a perishing world from dying. And so we know that his business was souls. That was his business. By the way, it's our business. We are to be a light in a world of darkness. We're to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every preacher. This is sounding like the very first message I preached during the mission conference. And I'm going to have fond memories as we make our way back to the States. And so we do so with mixed emotions. I leaned over to my wife when I found out Jared was preaching Sunday, and I said, I want to stay and hear Jared speak. And one of the highlights of the trip, and I don't say this to flatter Jared, but one of the highlights of the trip was the one time he stood and taught Sunday school. And I can remember the text, and I can remember the points, and a very difficult assignment, but he did a wonderful job helping us to understand. the Sabbath in a New Testament setting. A very well-developed and well-thought-out presentation. And rest assured that what we're doing now we're going to be doing in the States, except vice versa in the sense that what we've been doing is we're here in New Zealand and we've been watching services back in the States and now I've got a feeling that We're going to do just the opposite. We're going to be in the States watching services back here in New Zealand. And so we look forward to it. So be on your best behavior because I'm going to be watching you all day. But this would not be the last time that Jesus would be misunderstood. And I'm not saying that to correct Joseph or to correct Mary. They had done nothing wrong. It stands to reason that they were not privy to what was going on. And we have the advantage of living this side of the cross. And we are in the know. We know very much about the Father's business. In fact, we were his business. We were that lost sheep that had wandered off, and he was the faithful shepherd that came seeking for us and seeking our salvation. While you're thinking about what took place then, I want you to turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 2. And keep your place there in Luke chapter 2, and we'll turn back there in a moment, or I will, and bring you up to speed on a couple of things. The title of my devotion or my message is The Very Words of Jesus. Now, my plans changed. My plans earlier in the week, and I say earlier, this is the first day of the week, so Monday of last week as I started meditating on what the Lord would have me preach on the last Sunday here at Calvary Baptist Church. I thought I knew his will and understood the direction and had me to go as early as Monday. And I was going to preach a two-part message series on the very words of Jesus. The first message that I was going to preach is the message that I'm going to attempt to deliver tonight. And think of a cat. Think of that furry animal, a cat, how you make your way home and the cat comes and just kind of rubs up and down your leg. And not all of us are cat people. I have to be very careful and not give my opinion about cats from the pulpit. But anyway, some of us are dog people. But the sermon on Sunday morning that I had purposed to preach, and I'm preaching tonight, it's like that fluffy animal, a cat, that purrs and rubs up against its owner and just lets you know that they're glad that you're there. And then it's like, where's my food? And you're here to take care of me, and you know how cats are. But then the second message, the very words of Jesus, was going to take on a new form, and it was going to be just as accurate and just as biblical as the first message but it was going to be more like a pit bulldog and so we won't get to that message but and and so when we think about Jesus we think of sweeter words have never been spoken than the words that fell from the lips of Jesus. But I want you to know, according to my Bible, sterner words have never been spoken through the words that fell from the lips of Jesus. And if I had preached the message that I had intended to preach, it would have been this message this morning, and so tonight you've been hearing about the sterner words of Jesus. But the Lord provided leadership and had me preach something different this morning. And so now I'm preaching what I feel the Lord had me preach this evening. But I just want to go on record. Yes, I'm thankful and I love when we turn to scripture or certain passages and we hear about the tender mercies of God as eloquent as they could ever be spoken or described. by man and no one was more eloquent and more tender-hearted than Jesus and yet we do know there were times when Jesus spoke sternly with his audience. Normally it was a condition of the heart that determined his delivery. And so, but this evening, I want you to see with me something that gets set forth here in 1 Corinthians chapter 2, and I want you to note the words of Paul. and I'm using what took place, what we read in your hearing, what we provided you with an exposition of there in Luke chapter 2, but I want to make a connection with with doctrine as it pertains to the scripture in our understanding or the lack of understanding. If you'll note here in chapter 2 of 1st Corinthians, if you'll note in verse number Chapter 2, in verse number 14, or excuse me, chapter 2, verse number 14, it says, but the natural man, now note, note carefully, but the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. Now, Jesus was, yes, very much the Son of God, but he was also the Son of Mary. And as a 12-year-old son, he had acted in such a way that his earthly dad and his mother thought he had acted irresponsibly. He was not where he was supposed to be. And so he was corrected, so to speak. And Jesus is not being rebellious, but he speaks truth in regards to their false assumption. He didn't just wander off. He wasn't busy satisfying the flesh and doing something for Jesus, so to speak. He was actually already engaged in ministry. He was already doing the very thing that he was assigned to do here on earth. He was ministering. the Word of God. He was speaking. He was teaching. Dare I say it? He was proclaiming the truth of Scripture. Now, with that, I want you to see, according to verse number 14, Paul is saying that no one understands what God is doing or what God is saying without outside help, without the Holy Spirit's empowerment, without the aid of the Holy Spirit. Now it makes sense, if all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, that it takes God to understand his words. It takes the same Holy Spirit that gave us the Scripture to come along as we're reading it or as someone's preaching it or teaching it for us to understand it. You'll never understand the Scriptures just because you're able to read. You'll never understand the Scriptures just because you were taught to read. It takes the Holy Spirit. He has to illuminate your mind so that you can understand. Again, the natural man. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. Now, look at verse 14. I know you're looking at me, but I want you to really see what's being said here. Paul is explaining, and the context is similar in that though Joseph and Mary were right in their own hearts with the Lord, and those to whom Paul is addressing are wayward in their hearts. The fact of the matter is, neither one understood because they lack the Holy Spirit as a teacher. An unsafe person cannot understand the scripture unless the Holy Spirit teaches them. But even those of us who are saved cannot understand the Scripture without the help of the Holy Spirit. And I want you to see here in verse number 14, it says, But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. There's a colon there, so an explanation is given. For they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. They are what? They are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. It carries with it the idea of discernment. The word judge means to discern. But you know, a man may not be intellectually recognized in a community, and yet he may understand the word of God more so than bankers and lawyers. In fact, according to the context, God delights in revealing himself to those who think that they are unworthy of having God even address them. What is man that they are mindful of him? Remember what Solomon said, And the Lord said, ask what you would have me do for you. And he said, Lord, I don't have the wisdom. I don't have the intellect. I don't have the mental capacity to go out and to come in. Now that's pretty dumb. did not know push or pull, did not know how to go out or to come in, and yet Solomon said, Lord, would you give me wisdom? You know, the Bible says, if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God who give it to all men liberally and afraid of none. And I made pretty good grades in school. I was, Not the dullest tool in the shed. But you know, I've always approached the Word of God as being inept. And I'm not talking about playing games with God. I've just come to grips with the fact that the Bible says what it means and means what it says. It says the natural man receiveth not the things of God. In Adam, the Bible says we all die. That's not good. In Christ, we shall all be made alive. And so my thing is this. There's a part of me that is influenced by Adam. In fact, it's got to be replaced, and it will be with the redemption of the body. And so each and every day, I can walk in the wisdom of this world, and I hear the word danger, danger, danger. or I can walk in the wisdom of God. And I hear safety, safety, safety. Wisdom of this world, the wisdom of God. Elvin James talks about two types of wisdom. Wisdom that descends from above, and that's the wisdom that God gives to the humble. And then there's wisdom that ascends from beneath, and that's the wisdom that God, or that the God of this world gives to the proud. God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. You know that word grace means there? It just means teaching. You remember the Ethiopian eunuch there in Acts? Remember Philip said, understandeth what thou readest? And he said, you know, remember what he said? He said, haven't you read over there in first Corinthians, where it says the natural man received it? No, he didn't say that. But he did say the same thing. He said, how can I accept some man guide me? Yeah. And it was at that moment, that Philip joined himself to the chariot. And with the Holy Spirit's help, he explained to that unsaved Ethiopian man, the tenants of the gospel, and he received Christ then and there and was baptized then and there. I preached the gospel this morning. And as I was preaching, I was praying that God would illuminate the mind. And I was saying, oh, I'd love to have someone saved today. I'd love to have someone saved. I felt there was someone present today under conviction. But, you know, I'm just praying that in the weeks to come, the months to come, I'll hear of his salvation, that he will come to realize. that he needs salvation. I pray he won't even be able to peel his head tonight. Amen? Amen. I pray he won't even be able to peel his head tonight and that he'll come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I'm not a Calvinist. If you don't know what that term is, good. Don't look it up. Stay as far away from it. But I do believe in the sovereignty of God, and I just kind of felt God was at work today. In my feeble attempt, I still believe, and I make much of Jesus, and that's all that's required in order for a sinner to be saved, is to hear about Jesus. Paul said that he said, to you with eloquence of speech. And I'm certainly not an eloquent speaker, but I tell you, if I just keep talking about Jesus, God will honor it. Amen, amen, amen. Okay, but it says here that the natural man receiveth not the things of God, neither can he know them for they are spiritually discerned. And so it's very clear from this text. Now let me just share some things with you quickly. Contextually, according to 1 Corinthians, contextually, we are corrupt in our thinking. Now note, from the moment we're born into this world, and of course we take on the nature of Adam, we are corrupt in our thinking to the point that unless the Holy Spirit moves the scales from our eyes, we will never understand. You know why the Bible says faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God? Now let me tell you, because faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. You know, when you're talking to a lost person, you're talking to a blind man. They're as blind as they can be. They don't know they're blind. They don't know they can't see, but they can't see. They cannot understand unless some man guide me. Blind. But then the gospel witness comes along and shares God's simple plan of salvation and the Holy Spirit. takes over and brings that sinner to the end of himself and confession is made unto salvation. You say, how do you know? Because it happened to me. And I've witnessed it happen to many souls over the years. Nothing excites me more. Listen to me. And I'm not saying it because I'm a preacher. I'm saying it because it's so. Nothing excites me more than a sinner What can you say? It's the most exciting thing. I love rugby. I don't know all the rules. I love rugby. I love cricket. I don't know all the rules. I love cricket. But I'm saying, and I love sports back in America, but there's nothing, brother Brian, more exciting. than a sinner getting saved. Amen. The Lord was right in comparing it to catching fish. Amen. That's the next best thing to see the psalm saying. It's saying, Pastor, it's a kingy. You've got a kingy. Sweeter words have never been spoken. And I've got it recorded, brother. Amen. Maybe for no other reason. You just need to be reminded, yeah, a lot to be thankful for that you were blind, but now you're sick. Amen? He's removed the scales. And you know, I can see it. I live in a world of blind sinners stumbling through the world. And I just want to help them find sight. And it's in and through Jesus that they can find sight. Actually, in Luke 2, Jesus speaks and is understood. I'm going back to that story. You don't have to turn there. He was in the temple. He spoke and he was understood. But it's not recorded what he said. But they understood that he understood. And they were beside themselves that a 12-year-old boy had so much knowledge that they were confounded. Then he speaks to Mary and to Joseph, and he's not understood. Now, that takes place within just a few hours of each other. And so, what gives? What's going on here? Two absolutes, listen to me, for men to understand. Two absolutes, and don't miss this. Two absolutes for men and women to understand. First, there's the matter of God's sovereignty. God is sovereign. He's in control. And the second one is a matter of the Holy Spirit. And in regards to both, it's a matter of timing. And I don't have a lot of time to elaborate on that, but it's a matter of timing. You remember when Jesus said He had healed someone and said, don't tell anyone? And it's like, wait a minute. What do you mean, don't tell anyone? The whole purpose is to noise to make everybody know that the Messiah is here. But in other words, it's not time. And what I'm saying to you, that in Scripture, and this is where the Calvinists, I think, they really missed the mark, is when it comes to God's sovereignty, it's not always God's time for a truth to register with a sinner or even with a Christian or with a saint. Because God has a plan, and he's operating according to that plan. And if you were enlightened and you knew all that was going on, you would spoil what God is doing. And God's not going to let any man spoil what he's doing. So it's a matter of timing. But in reference to sovereignty, it can be a matter of timing. But then also, in reference to the matter of the Holy Spirit, it could be timing. I remember my pastor saying, God knows your address. As a teenager, I was thinking, God knows my address. What does that mean? Then I came to realize what he was saying is you want God to work now. And you pretty much, you're frustrated that he's not working now. But he knows your address. And when it's time, you'll hear, you'll know when it's time. And what I'm saying to you in reference to the story in Luke or in regards to how God works in reference to the very words of Jesus or the Word of God, it's a matter of His sovereignty and it's a matter of the Holy Spirit. You know, I don't know where you're at in your Christian life right now. I do know this. that you're having to deal with frustration. If you're not having to deal with frustration, check your pulse, you're dead. You're going to have frustration in this life until you're no longer here. Why am I telling you that? I'm saying that God's Word contains the answer. And in God's time, all things work together for good to them who love God, who are called according to His purpose. And you're saying, well, I wish he would hurry up. Don't we all? I wish he would hurry up and act on my behalf. But I'm saying to you, that God knows what he's doing. He's sovereign. And the Holy Spirit will act. But we must continue to be his tools of righteousness. We must yield ourselves as instruments unto righteousness. What that means is we just make ourselves available to continue to speak his word and allow him to work in and through his own sovereignty and his, again, in his time, the Holy Spirit will show up and do that which no human being can do. We need but back up and read the plain teachings of Paul in verse 11 down to verse 13. We're in chapter 2, and we're almost done. Look with me at verse number 11. It says, For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so, the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. There's a reason why the Holy Spirit took up residence in your life, because you need to hear God's voice each and every day, and God is speaking to you directly via the Holy Spirit, who's taking possession of your body. As you go out again into this world, you need the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet. I light into my path, the entrance of thy word, give it light. And it's the Holy Spirit that works with the word of God to guide us and to direct us into all truth. I don't want to sound super spiritual, but I am. And so are you if the Holy Spirit lives in you. But as much as I want to share the gospel and I want to witness, there are times, Sister Lisa, that it's like, I don't feel that the Lord would have me take this conversation. Any further than I have I feel like the Lord wants me to back off. That's not me That's the Holy Spirit. You said well the devil certainly don't he doesn't want you to witness But there are times where I feel so impressed to the Holy Spirit to speak up and there are times When he would have me to stand down as he leads and as he guides we got to be so in tune with the Spirit that he's actually in control of our words in our action and that's a delicate balance and That's the reason why we have to be a clean vessel so that we can understand. the spirit of God when he speaks and directs our conversations and our comings and our goings. So here in verse number 11, it's very clear. And if you note verse number 12, it says, now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit, which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. And what a wonderful thing it is to be in possession of the knowledge of all that God has in store for us. It helps us to whistle while we work and to be positive though negative things are happening around us day in and day out. Your life could be filled with negativity and you still can have a smile because It's God in you. That's the hope of glory. You think of Joseph in the dungeon there in Egypt, and yet he never lost his song. And then when he had an opportunity to seek revenge on his own only family, he said, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. Now, he didn't just arrive at that conclusion. You know, he didn't get over his bitterness. He never was bitter. He never had evil thoughts about how he was treated. It's like Jesus, if you will, Joseph serves as a type. In all this, he opened not his mouth. So many scriptures come to mind, but we have to move on. If I ever spoke the truth from this pulpit over the past three months, it's this. God desires to teach us far more. than this present generation currently knows. And I'm talking about this current generation of Christians. But to do so, he requires that we give up on the world completely and cast our lot fully with him. That's the call of discipleship. If any man come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. That's the call of discipleship. Most Christians spend their entire Christian life with one foot in the church and one foot in the world. Yeah, I I wasn't when I first got saved, I had to learn some things. But I'm telling you, when I was a freshman in college and I got things finally squared away with the Lord, and I said, Lord, take my life, let it be wholly consecrated to you. And I'm telling you, as a 18-year-old boy, though I had been saved for a good long time, I became a fully devoted follower and it's been no looking back. No looking back. The world behind me, the cross before me. I'm telling you, I wouldn't take, hey, you say, if you could go and live your life over again, what would you change? I can honestly say nothing in this sense that I've been a fully devoted follower for 40 years. I die daily. I crucify the flesh. The life which I now live, I want you to know, I live by the power of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. My life is all about Jesus. And I have thanked the Lord. I have pleaded with the Lord over the years. Lord, if I'm going to backslide tomorrow, take me home today. That's how I feel. That's how I feel. I would not want my children to know that their dad lived one day in a backslidden condition. You say, you make it sound like sinless perfection. No, it's just as sin develops in my life, I'm quick to pull it up out of the roots and confess it and ask God for his forgiveness and to cover me with his mercy and his grace and give me wisdom from above. This is summed up in the phraseology of verse number two, and I hope you follow me. We're done verse number two Look at verse number two Paul is he's saying something, but I'm going to give you a different I'm going to reword it. I'm not going to we're not having you mark through what the scriptures said, but I'm going to put it in all words. He says, for I determined to not know anything among you save Jesus Christ being crucified. Now, if you look at that and you examine it, what Paul is saying, what he's saying, if you will, I identify with Jesus in body. I'm Paul. But in life, I'm Jesus. And that's what he says in Galatians 2.20, I'm crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. In the life which I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I want to be very careful how I say this, because no tongue-in-cheek, I'm just, in light of present reality in the United States, and I think here in New Zealand, with gender identity and all the different things, But I just want you to know, there is something to be said about identifying to be someone you're not. And it's this, I identify as a Christian. In other words, I identify as Christ. and no longer Adam. And so what I'm saying to you, and again, I'm being serious here, is when the world sees me, I don't want them to see Lamar, the sinner. I want them to see a life that's been changed from the inside out. I identify as a Christian. I identify as a Christian. I know what the world's saying, and we don't want to be linked with the world, and we don't want to have that mindset. But I identify as a Christian. That's what I want the world to see. I want the world to see Christ in me, the hope of glory. And I know the idea of identifying as something you're not is just, it turns our stomach, and rightfully so. But there is a biblical mandate for us to identify with Christ. We did in baptism. Remember, to walk in newness of life. That means you don't walk as Jared walks, you walk as Jesus walks. So it's not Jared we see, it's Jesus in Jared's body that's unselfish, that's always seeing this world through the eyes of Jesus. And the church said, Amen, Amen, Amen. Look at verse 9 and 10 and we're done. But as it is written, I have not seen nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of men, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God. Now, I'm all for thinking about heaven and what God has for us. But that's not the context here. What it says is the things that God has prepared for. It's talking about having an understanding of the reality of what God has for us now in this life, in this world. The seed Monday. as God sees Monday. Tomorrow's Monday, am I right? I'm gonna be backwards when I get to the States. We're gonna have to go, I said, you mean we're gonna have to go back and live the day all over again? I don't know if I wanna do that. But you can live Monday in the flesh, or you can live Monday in the spirit. What a difference, what a difference. Monday will not impact this world, one eye of it, if you live it in flesh. But if you live it in the spirit, Monday could be a transforming day, not just for you, but for someone you know. And the church said? Amen. Father, I pray that you take the message, apply it to our hearts, Help us to have understanding. Help us to do that which is right, which is proper, which is contrary to the world, but in harmony with your spirit. Think of Moses. the phrase that we find in Hebrews 11, that he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, rather that he was more desirous to suffer affliction with people of God than enjoy sin for a season. I pray, Lord, that you'd help us to turn our backs on this world and to embrace the life that Christ has for us. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are passed away. Behold, all things have become new. I pray, Lord, that the Holy Spirit of God would help us to be strengthened in our inner man. So as We would be, in the coming days, not a better rendition of ourself, but literally, Lord, the force of ourself and be the replica, an exact replica, facsimile of Jesus Christ in and through our daily activities. I pray and ask it in Jesus' name, amen.