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Alright guys, avoiding self-sabotage. That's what this sermon is titled, and we're going to talk about Romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2. What does Paul mean when he says, And be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind? What does that look like? What does that require? Think about this. Paul's addressing the saved here. They've already got the new man. They're already born again. They're already saved. And he's telling them, Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. And here's what you're going to find. If you don't remember anything that I say in this sermon, remember this. Real transformation comes through mind renovation. And for some of the naysayers out there, remember this. Salvation is free. It's a free gift. Once you're saved, you are always saved. But the transformation takes place after salvation, and it's up to each and every one of us. It's up to you. It's up to me whether or not we're actually going to do those things. I hope this blesses you guys. I hope you find some encouragement in this. If you do, do us a favor. Share it with somebody else. And here is Brother Skulk reading Romans chapter number 12. Romans chapter 12, starting in verse 1. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith, or ministry, let us wait on our ministering, or he that teacheth on teaching, or he that exhorteth on exhortation, he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity, he that ruleth with diligence, he that showeth mercy with cheerfulness. Let love be without assimilation, abhor that which is evil, cleave to that which is good, be kindly affectionate one to another with brotherly love, in honoring referring one another, not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer, distributing to the necessity of saints, given to hospitality, bless them which persecute you, bless and curse not, rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep, be of the same mind one toward another, mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate, be not wise in your own conceits, recompense to no man evil for evil, provide things honest in the sight of all men, if it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceable with all men, dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath, for it is written, vengeance is mine, our repay save the Lord, therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him, if he thirsts, give him drink, for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head, be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Brother Chris, you want to pray for us? All right, amen. Romans chapter number 12. So I've been promising you guys for like years to really do a detailed extraction on Romans chapter 12 verses one and two to talk about this transformation that Paul's always mentioning. You know, I use these verses all the time. I just kind of throw them out there and apply them here and there. And so this morning I'm actually going to fulfill that promise. And we're going to actually, obviously we're going to use more than just these two verses, but we're going to really break these down and really learn what it means to actually be transformed and what that looks like, what that doesn't look like. And so I titled the sermon this morning, avoiding self-sabotage, avoiding self-sabotage. Now, when I was younger, you know, I got saved at an old IFB church. They would, you know, put us on a bus and take us to church for a while. And, you know, I can remember all kinds of, you know, different things that were taught. Obviously, you know, some definite truth, you know, the right gospel, the right Bible, all that stuff. And one of the things that just kind of floats around in Christianity is that just, you know, if you're really saved, you're just going to be good. You know, you're just going to be transformed. It's just kind of this automatic process with every year that you age, every birthday you have, you're just going to get better. Okay. And I'm telling you right now, that is not the truth. That is definitely not the truth. And from time to time, we got to be reminded of these things and talk about these things because it's important. Okay. So how do you, how do we avoid self-sabotage? What does that look like? You hear this all the time preached. Well, you just got to be better. You just got to transform. You just got to, you know, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Okay. Well, great. What does that look like? Does that, does that mean I just got to have this super strong internal will, what's going on? Do I just got to get disciplined? Do I got to watch a bunch of YouTube videos every morning to psych myself up? Like how do we go about doing this? Okay. And one thing that I want to make sure that everybody understands is that life transformation comes through mind renovation. Okay. Life transformation comes through mind renovation. Think about it like this. And I see this all the time because I'm in people's homes every single day of the week, practically. And who's ever been through a remodel or who's ever had a flood. Yeah. I see some heads shaking. You've seen you maybe, you know, you had a leak behind the fridge or your dishwasher started leaking one drop every other minute, you know, and then two weeks later, your floor in the hallway is bubbling, you know, it's like, Whoa, what's going on here? That process to get that fixed seems more life disrupting and more messy than actual, just new construction. You know, I remember when I moved here, what almost six years ago, you know, we were driving around, it was just such a nice place. It's a great place to be. And it's, you know, not a lot going on. And then like all of a sudden, all these neighborhoods just started springing up, like whole entire subdivisions with hundreds and hundreds of houses and apartments, just springing up everywhere. And you see this all the time. Even some of you guys have just moved here recently, you know, you're like, Hey, I've seen this new apartment complex and I'm looking on Google maps. Like it's still not on there. What the heck's going on here? You know, so construction is easy. And that's what Jesus did for us. Obviously, salvation free gift. You're born again. You know, you got that foundation. You're in Christ, once saved, you're always saved. It's a done deal. Okay. But the transformation process, or this remodeling process, that's our responsibility. And it has to be from us. We have to learn how to do it correctly. Okay. So you can kind of think of this renewing process, almost like construction versus remodel. Remodeling is hard. It's messy. It's not easy. You're going to fall. You're going to make mistakes. There's going to be issues with that. But just remember this life transformation. Okay. It comes from mind renovation. If you don't have it up here and you don't understand it up here, it's never going to happen. You can get motivated because you saw a YouTube clip or a rumble clip or something like that and be good for a little while. But if it's not up here, if you have not internalized it, you don't understand the why and how you will self sabotage. You will go back to the way you were. And that is not to say you've lost your salvation. So everybody in here should understand that is not what I'm talking about at all this morning. We're talking about transformation this morning. Okay. So with that being said, let's look down at verse number one of Romans chapter number 12. So Paul says, I beseech you therefore brethren. So let's just stop right there. Okay. I beseech you therefore brethren. What does therefore mean? Well, it means because of. Okay. So just real quick, let me just show you something here just so that you got this context in your mind. Go back to real quick. Go back to chapter number 11 and look over at verse number seven. So the Bible says this. Okay. So Paul, obviously in this chapter, he's explaining the simple fact that you know what? We are Israel. Okay. The physical nation, they failed. They're done for. Okay. But that doesn't mean that every single person is going to be without hope forever. It's not like they're all reprobates. Although today we'd say a lot of Jews aren't, but look at verse seven. So Paul says, what then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for, but the election. Okay. That's the same, but the election hath obtained it and the rest were blinded. So this here is what he's teaching. Okay. He's teaching that the election hath obtained it. Every believer in every part of the world collectively makes the body of Christ and the Israel of God. Okay. Now I go back real quickly to Romans chapter number 12. Okay. And so he's teaching on that subject there. Okay. And so that's why he says here in verse number one, and we don't have time to go through the rest of the chapter. Just, I just want you to understand what he's talking about here. He says, I beseech you therefore. Okay. So he's urging us to be different than them and for a reason. Okay. Just like old Testament, Israel was sanctified, set apart, and they had, they were separate and different from the world. Okay. They had laws that varied from other nations and customs that were different from other nations. It's supposed to be the same for us. Okay. So that's why he says here in verse one, I beseech you therefore. So for that reason, brethren. So notice who he's talking to here. He is talking to the saved brethren. I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that she presents your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. So yours collectively. Okay. So the idea here is that everybody learns how to become transformed. Okay. Through this renovation process in our mind, which we're going to, we're going to talk about here. And then collectively we get better. Collectively, we can do more. We can reach more people. We can help more people. So on and so forth. But what I think a lot of times gets overlooked is the fact that Paul is talking to the saved. Okay. So what does that mean? Well, that means this transformation process is not automatic. It is something that has to be learned. So the first point this morning is this. Transformation takes place after salvation through application. Okay. You guys have heard me say this many times. If you're not applying, you're dying. And if you're not applying the Bible, then you're dying. You are failing. You are self sabotaging. Now go to Ephesians chapter number two, real quick. Ephesians chapter number two. But obviously, you know, keep your place right there in Romans chapter 12. We're going to kind of come back and forth throughout the morning. So point number one, transformation takes place after salvation through application. Okay. Through applying. Salvation without application. You know what that is? That is simply information. Okay. You become a person that's just got a lot of good information, which is kind of cool. But over time, what happens? What did Paul say? Knowledge puffeth up. Okay. Knowledge puffeth up. And then, you know, some people read that, you know, when you get them caught, like in a debate and they'll be like, ah, knowledge puffeth up. You know, you're being too puffed up. And it's like, well, not really. You know, I'm just trying to educate you here. And so some people try to use that as a cop out. But the point is when we apply the Bible, what happens? Well, you make mistakes. You have to learn, you get humbled. Right. And so that process keeps knocking you down so you can never really reach the ceiling. Okay. So you take the knowledge and you use it on an everyday basis. Okay. And of course, we're going to look at the end of Romans chapter 12 here, the things that Paul actually wants us to use. Okay. The actual applications. And that alone is going to turn that knowledge into proper knowledge that's not going to puff you up. So again, transformation takes place after salvation through application. Now let me show you guys something here. Okay. Ephesians chapter two, look at verse number one. So Paul says this says, and you hath he quickened who were, look at this, dead in trespasses and sins. Verse two, where in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. Okay. You see that there. So before salvation, what does the Bible say? The Bible says a person is dead in trespasses and sins, but obviously if you've been saved, you're quickened, you're made alive. You were born again. You have the Holy Ghost inside of you. You have the ability to now learn truth. So what that means here is that a person that is not saved. Okay. A person that is dead, that is not born again. They cannot offer a living sacrifice. Okay. The best that they can do is a dead sacrifice. Kind of like the dead animal sacrifices that they would practice in the old Testament. Okay. What are we called to do in Romans chapter 12? Offer living sacrifices. Okay. So don't look at people and be like, wow, I mean, they got 10,000 people in their congregation and they got all this stuff going on and they give so much to the homeless and so much over here and so much over there. That's all dead if you're not saved. Okay. It's all dead sacrifices. It might look good. It might sound good. So on and so forth. But the problem is if you're not saved, if you don't have internal, everlasting life, anything that you do is for what? It's for not. It's a dead sacrifice is what it is. And that's why I'm saying transformation takes place after salvation. So important for us to understand through application, if you're not applying, you are dying. And that is not to say you've lost your salvation. Now go to Philippians chapter number two. Philippians chapter number two. What I want you to kind of maybe think about here regarding transformation. Think about a caterpillar going to butterfly. Okay. Think about that cycle. Okay. We've probably all saw the cartoon in high school or not high school, probably elementary school. Maybe it's high school now. Things are different, but probably high school now and it's probably all rainbow color or whatever. But hopefully nobody has to go through that. But think about the butterfly. Okay. Let's start with the butterfly. What does a butterfly do right before death? Lays its eggs somewhere like on a leaf. Right. And then what happens? Well, the caterpillar comes out, eats the shell and begins to grow, eats the leaves, starts to eat vegetation. The Bible talks about caterpillars devouring, you know, vegetation. And then through the process of time, it grows, decides, you know what? It's time for me to change. It's time for me to actually stop crawling and start flying. And so it goes through this transformation process. Right. I mean, God designed this. Okay. And then it makes a cocoon, you know, go on YouTube and just type in like caterpillar to butterfly. I got hooked on watching these yesterday. Those are YouTube shorts. There's a million of them out there. Okay. And you know, during this process, you know, things are shaking around and just transforming violently inside there. It is just kind of interesting to see. And then what happens? Oh, eventually a butterfly comes out, you know, and it's transformed. You know, you take a butterfly next to a caterpillar, look totally different. Okay. But that's kind of what Paul's saying here. Hey, you've already got the tools. You've already got the shell. You've already got the vegetation. You've already got the food, the meat from God. Okay. Allow that to transform you from crawling to flying. We could just say that. Okay. So that's the type of transformation that Paul wants from all of us, that God wants from all of us, and it's not automatic. And if you're not saved, it's not going to happen. Okay. It's just the way it is. Philippians chapter two, look down at verse number five. So the Bible says this, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Look at that first word there. Let. Okay. Let. What does that mean? That means to allow. Okay. So we're supposed to allow this mind be in us, which was in Christ Jesus. So the question is, well, what mind, what does this look like? Well, back up a verse, look at verse number four. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. You know, hammer this type of stuff home all the time. You know why? Because it's almost on every single page of the Bible. Okay. We are supposed to take care of each other. First and foremost, you take care of your brothers and sisters in Christ. And then if there's leftovers, then fine, you know, take care of the world. If that makes you happy, whatever. Okay. But the point is here. Okay. Transformation takes place after salvation and only, only through application. Okay. It's not all that person just was made smarter than me and God just gave them better genetics. You know, just, just, just, you know, I, I'm just, I'm just dumb. I just suck over here. No. Okay. Everybody has their measure of faith. And if you've made Christ the object of that faith, guess what? God has given you gifts and abilities, and he's given us all this mindset that we can allow inside of us. Okay. And once that's inside of us, guess what? You don't have to worry about the self sabotage. You're going to be transformed. You're going to do great things for God. Go to Romans chapter number six. Now Romans chapter number six. Romans chapter number six. So let's move on here and go to the second point. So pretty simple first point, right? Transformation takes place after salvation and only through application, applying the word of God learning. Hey, obviously, you know, if you hear something at church, you're not doing, or you're doing good, or that you could do better or whatever, obviously you want to apply that. Okay. But really the best transformation is going to take place with you, the Holy ghost and the Bible, you reading this thing on your own, studying the word of God by yourselves. Okay. That is going to really accelerate your transformation. So let's move on here and look at the second point, which we're going to take from verse six and then 11 through 12. So look at verse six here. So Paul says, knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin now. Okay. About sin. Everybody wants to make everything, Oh, it's about the sin, the sin, the sin. The Bible says very clearly that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. He is the propitiation or the sacrifice for not just our sins only, but also for the sins of the entire world. Okay. And so what that does is that eradicates the problem of sin, but it does not alleviate the, uh, the I'm sorry, it eradicates the sin debt, but it doesn't eradicate the problem of sin. So we still have free will. We still have the old nature. Okay. We still have this old flesh and we're still able to sin and still able to make stupid decisions. And that's Paul's point here. Okay. He's saying, Hey, understand something that that old man, that old nature of yours is crucified. It is dead. Why is it dead? Why is it old? Well, because inside of you is something new, something that God created a new person and that new person cannot sin. It's impossible. He's protected. Okay. But we have a choice. We can consult, we can converse with the old man every day and just kind of be conformed to the world. Or we can say, you know what? I understand that's actually damaging to the body of Christ on this earth. It's a bad testimony and it doesn't please God. Okay. It's a dead sacrifice. So I'm going to do the opposite. Okay. And I'm going to be transformed by the renewing of my mind and talk to the new man. Now look at verse number 11, same chapter. Look at verse number 11. It says, likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin. Notice the self-application of that verse here. Okay. Understand what he's saying. Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to what? Be dead indeed unto sin. Okay. Again, this is a humongous slap in the face to those people that say, well, okay, salvation's a free gift, free gift. Okay. But you still got to do the works. You still got to work hard. And you're like, wait a minute, how can it be free? But I still got to do works. Oh, because if you're really born again, if you really gave your life to Christ, then he's inside of you, making you better on a daily basis. So now he's making me do all the right things. Why is this verse in the Bible then? Okay. Application after application, page after page, what are we told? Hey, let, allow this mindset to be in you. Okay. Allow yourself to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Okay. That is action. That is individual self-action that every believer has to take. That's why he says, likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Verse 12, let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body that you should obey it. Here it is. And the lusts there of. Okay. And the lusts there of. So what are you saying here is that you've got a choice. Okay. Everybody sins. You got the old man. The Bible says the thought of foolishness is sin. We all sin every single day. And I think that's pretty easy to understand. Even a lot of these people out here will admit that. Hey, if you, you really start explaining stuff to them, they're like, okay, yeah, I did that. But you know, as long as at the end of every night, I asked for forgiveness, I'm going to be fine. You know, I'm just every single night. He's obviously, obviously nothing wrong with doing that unless you're trusting that for your salvation. See what I'm saying here. So what's Paul's point here? Well, his point is this. Salvation without application is defamation. It's defamation of character because that old man is dead. You have a new person inside of you. And when you allow, okay. And you say, you know, I'm just going to go ahead and just do whatever I want. Take the grace and run. Okay. I know I'm saying, I'm just going to, I'm not going to go to church. I'm not going to read the Bible. Those things are good. I got my slot in heaven anyways. I'm good to go. Right. I'm good to go. Okay. When we do that, we're defamating. We are damaging the reputation of the new man inside of us. And it reflects poorly upon Christianity. Go to Ephesians chapter number four. And so there's, that's why I'm saying there's a necessity. There is a need for application today. And this stuff's not taught in a lot of churches today because it's not popular. Okay. It's not popular because it's hard. Hey, if you want money and you want a lot of people, what you do is you do the opposite of what the Bible says. Okay. Instead of preaching application, you just preach for the fluff and just preach that everybody's good. Just give everybody a pat on the back, every single service. And guess what? The people will come in and they will stay and they will give because you're making them feel good. You're literally scratching their backs, but that's not what the Bible does to us. And we have to be honest. We have to preach it the way that it's written, the way that it's seen, the way that Paul taught it, the way that the rest of the apostles taught it, the way that God meant it. Okay. So let's talk about this here. Salvation without application is defamation. Okay. You basically, okay. I live, look, I live my life a lot of years like this. I got saved when I was very young. My parents finally got fed up and said, you know what? We're not going to let you go back to that church anymore. And of course my mom's like, well, you're Catholic. So you were never a Baptist. Anyways, you're, you're not able to go back and blah, blah, blah. So of course, over time, I just kind of started doing my own thing and, you know, got into a lot of trouble and definitely wasn't being transformed by the renewing of my mind because it wasn't reading the thing to actually renew my mind. Okay. It wasn't until later on in life, I started going back to church and started reading the Bible and saying, you know what? I need to make some changes. I need to, I need to get back to this, that there was any transformation process at all. So let's look at this here. Ephesians chapter four, look at verse 21. So the Bible says this, if so be that ye have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus. So if you've heard him, you've, you've bought on this truth here, you're saved. Okay. Look at what he says next. That she put off concerning the former. Here's that word conversation, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lust. Okay. That old nature is corrupt. Our old man is corrupt. It's just prone to deceit, to lust of the world. And of course, we're going to get into it here in a minute. Okay. We're told not to be conformed by the world. That's what the world wants to do. It wants to mold you. It wants to conform you into what it wants for its purpose. Okay. We're called to be the separate from that. Okay. And so Paul says that he put off concerning the former conversation, the old man, meaning what? Meaning free will, meaning that is our choice that we have to make after salvation, that we're going to do this, that we're going to go and allow ourselves to complete this transformation process. Hey, look at verse 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Look, this is all throughout the Bible. This is all throughout the new Testament to allow ourselves to be renewed in our mind. Why, why does the Bible say this over and over again? Because it starts in the mind. Okay. It doesn't start with this heartfelt feeling. I just got this feeling in my gut. I got a burning in my bosom. Right. Isn't that what the Mormon say? I got a burning in my bosom. And that's how I know this is true. No transformation starts in the mind. Okay. And we have the ability to allow the mind of Christ to reign inside of us. And if we do that, this is what will happen. Okay. Verse 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Why does he say true holiness? Because there's a false holiness out there. That's why, Hey, there's a false holiness, a false sanctification that's out there. And that is what we need to understand and be able to recognize by the way, Hey, look at verse 25. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor for we are members one of another. We who are saved are members one of another. We talked about this a few weeks ago. This is again, important and why we need to understand who our neighbor is. Now, sometimes your neighbor is the guy next door, like this, this church building, all of us right now, we have neighbors. There's people in this office over here. There's people in these offices over here. Okay. But they're not my neighbor. They're not my brother in Christ. Okay. And so what Paul is saying here is, Hey, there's a certain way we ought to treat one another. And that's part of the transformation process, respecting your brother and sister in Christ and doing the best for them. Okay. So go back to Romans chapter number 12. So point number two, salvation without application is defamation. If we allow this old man to reign and we converse more with him than we do the new man, guess what happens? Hey, we're defaming. Hey, we're dishonoring the new man. Okay. We're basically walking around with a black eye and we're giving the world the ammunition it's looking for to attack us. Remember what this battle is all about. Hey, we're after the people that are out there hanging in the balances. Okay. Obviously a lot of people have already made the decision to convert to something else and they're never coming back. Okay. I get that. But a lot of people have not made up their minds yet. And when we act stupid all the time. Okay. And we just give the enemy cause to blaspheme God. What are the odds of us getting that person saved? What are the odds of us actually getting through to that individual? It's very slim. It's very difficult, very, very difficult to do. So salvation without application is defamation. And of course we already talked about transformation takes place when? After salvation and only through application, only through our choice, our decision to want to be transformed for the better of the body of Christ. But it's also a reasonable service. I mean, Christ did the hard work. Didn't he live the perfect life? Didn't he die on the cross? Didn't he raise, I mean, raised from the dead, right? He did the hard part. I mean, it's pretty reasonable to just allow ourselves to actually do what the Bible says. You know, Jesus said that my yoke is not grievous. Okay. My burdens are light. It's not a hard thing. It's man that makes it a hard thing. It's the Pharisees out there that make it a hard thing. Well, if you said, if you do this, Oh, if you played checkers, you played chess, Oh boy, you're not, you're not Christian. You're not, you know, if you had any joy in your life this week, if you had any fun, Oh, you went to a baseball game. Oh boy. You know? Okay. Understand there's balance and understand there is a false sanctification and we're going to talk about it in a false holiness that's out there and we got to understand it. We got to be able to recognize it. So let's move on. Look at, we're look at Romans 12 verse number two. Just going to look at the first part of this verse here. Hey, look at what this says right here. And so in addition, okay, in addition to offering up living sacrifices versus dead sacrifices, in addition to understanding that we need to be transformed, look what he says, because this is the beginning of how we do this and be not conformed to this world and be not conformed to this world. Think about that. Think about that. Why does he say that? Because the world wants to conform you. Okay. What does conforming? It means to behave according to the patterns of the world. Okay. The world has its patterns. What did Ephesians two say? Well, Ephesians two basically taught us that the devil, that Satan or the prince, the power of the air, so to speak, is in charge of the courses, the patterns, the cultures, the ways that the world operates. Okay. And guess what the world wants. They don't want people going to church. They don't want people knocking on doors and giving them the gospel. They don't want people separating from it. Okay. They don't like that. They want total 100% control and domination. And the way they go after doing that is through conforming. And wasn't it the Black Rock CEO that said you have to force behaviors. You have to force change. And that's what they're basically going to do to people in the world. They're going to force changes on us. Okay. That's, he's just speaking from his boss, Satan. He's speaking his truth from his God, ultimately. Okay. And he said the quiet part out loud. In other words, you have to force these things, but isn't God so much better because even though you're saved, you're given the option, right? God's just like, Hey, this is what you should do. You're saved. You're born again, but guess what? It's reasonable for you to just make the choice to allow the word of God, to allow it, to transform you into something better. Okay. So what's point number three, you go to the world to get conformed and you're going to come out deformed. That's what's going to happen. You're going to come out deformed. Now, obviously the new man is good to go. Always good to go. Okay. But I want to show you what this looks like. Go to Philemon. Go to the book of Philemon. So if you're looking for Philemon, it's right before Hebrews. Okay. Very short epistle, very short book. Oh, and by the way, because Paul wrote this, we can go here. And you guys need to wake up. Philemon. I'm just joking, of course, but Philemon, we're going to look at verse number 24 and Philemon verse 24. Look what it says. It says Marcus, Aristarchus. Now look at this name here. Demas, Lucas. Now look at this last word here. Fellow Laborers. You see that name there, Demas? And you see that last word in that verse there, fellow laborers. Okay. Go to second Timothy chapter four. Basically says the same thing about, Paul says the same thing about Demas and I think it's Colossians. I forgot which chapter, but I know it's that book. Now go to second Timothy chapter four. So remember what happens. Okay. You go to the world to get conformed. You're going to come out deformed. That's what's going to happen to you. Second Timothy four. Look at verse number 10. The Bible says this for Demas hath forsaken me. See that? So he's described in Philemon as a fellow laborer. He's described in Colossians the same way as a servant with Paul. Okay. A fellow laborer, a buddy on board with the truth. Good to go. Okay. Now Paul's second letter to Timothy, he has to tell him something. He's like, Hey, I've got a problem here. I don't have any help. I need you to bring me some things. Okay. And then he says for Demas hath forsaken me. Well, how did he forsake him? Look at the rest of the verse. Having loved this present world and is departed unto Thessalonica, Cretans to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Okay. So at some point, and we don't know when, but at some point Demas figured, you know what? Boy, that world looks pretty good. He got a little bit of lot syndrome and he's like, wow, the well-plained or the well-watered planes over there in Las Vegas, man is good to go. I, you know, I just want to go spend some time over there. Okay. Just a little bit of time. Maybe that's kind of, you know, the way he put it. And then the world just basically molded him. That's what the world is trying to do. Hey, it's trying to grab you and prevent you from doing something. Now, why would the world want to do that? Okay. Because the world doesn't want to lose any more members because who's running the world? The devil. Hey, understand that man is made in the image of God and devil hates all of mankind. Even the people that worship him and have given him their allegiance, he hates them as well. And what we do is we disrupt the course of the world. We go out there and we throw a monkey wrench in his plans by giving people the gospel and God forbid actually discipling people and training them up to do the same things that we do. Hey, that is a humongous issue for the devil. That is a huge problem to the world. And so what the enemy has to do, and we talked about this before, is he has to go into overdrive. Okay. He has to get aggressive and the world wants to hold on to its people. You know, you go all the way back to Genesis chapter, what is it? Chapter 14. Okay. When Lot gets kidnapped, kidnapped with the Sodomites and Abraham has to go rescue him. What did the King of Sodom say to Abraham? He's like, you could keep all the money and you could keep all the goods. Just give me the people. I just want the people back. Okay. That is a picture of the world and how they operate. They want the people. And if it comes down to money, goods, or people, they're going to choose the people every time. Why? Because they need to control. They need to dominate people. And when we take people out of their system, it's not a good thing for them. Okay. It hurts them. Just like it hurts us when people leave church and they go back to the world and they quit on God. Okay. We lose that. That's what, I don't know, maybe 30 to 50 doors a Sunday or a Saturday that don't get knocked. Now you see where I'm going with this. It's harsh and it hurts. Go back to Romans chapter number 12. Okay. So that's what that looks like. You go to the world to get conformed and you come out deformed. Demas got deformed. Why? Because he allowed the world to conform him. And how did that start? Well, we don't know exactly, but again, we know that at some point he learned to actually love the world. Okay. And the Bible tells us we can't serve two masters. So if we love one more than the other, we're going to do the will of the one that we love. Okay. And Demas made the choice in his heart, unfortunately, to go back to the world. Okay. Now does that mean he lost his salvation? No. Okay. No. But he became unprofitable for the kingdom of God and left Paul here in a very bad situation. Self-sabotage is what happened to Demas all because he allowed the world to conform him. All right. Let's look at some stuff here. We're getting closer to being done. Okay. Romans 12. Look at verse number three. So this is where Paul really starts to go into overdrive here and give us some application. Okay. How do we transform? How do we renew our mind? Okay. And you're going to find this every single time in the Bible. It's through applying. It's through actually doing. Okay. Look at verse three. He says, for I say, through the grace given unto me to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly according as God has dealt to every man, the measure of faith. Okay. I hope everybody remembers this and I'm pretty sure I've said this here before. And sobriety is not just us abstaining from alcohol and drugs and things of that nature. Okay. I think the most toxic poison that's out there, the most addictive drug out there is high mindedness or pride. Okay. Don't we have a month of pride? Don't they try to make another month in September around here, dedicated to pride? Hey, it's toxic is what it is. All throughout the Bible from Genesis one, all the way to the end of revelation. Okay. Pride is toxic. Pride will cause you to become drunk. That's why Paul says, but to think soberly. Okay. So if we're thinking that we're better than we actually are, we're actually drunk on pride. We are not sober. And you know what is a command, even in the new Testament, it's to be sober. Okay. It is to be sober every, Oh, I'm sober because I don't drink alcohol and do drugs. Hey, that's great. A lot of people don't do that. Okay. But do you think you're better than other people? Do you got this pompous, conceited, arrogant attitude? Hey, do you got an attitude problem? You think you're better than other people? Well, then guess what? You aren't sober. My friend, you are drunk on pride. You are drunk on yourself. And that's what Paul is saying. Hey, if you're going to be transformed, you better understand something. Don't be puffed up with pride. Don't think you're better than other people. Okay. Because you're probably not. Verse four, what he says, for, as we have many members in one body, and obviously that's us believers in Christ and the body of Christ and all members have not the same office. Okay. Why, why is he bringing this up here? This office, these positions, verse five, he says, so we being many are one body in Christ and everyone members, one of another. So he's reinstating something here. This is very important. Verse six, having then gifts. You see that having then gifts, this is what happens. Okay. Some person has a gift to sing. And in some Christian circles, people are like, Oh man, wow. Wow. That person, oh, the pastor daughter can sing and does all these specials. And they start to idolize her, right? They start to idolize these people in some churches. And this is why we don't allow the special music. It's not, I'm not saying it's a sin. And if you guys want to have a choir, you have out of just don't invite me because you already know what's going to happen. It's going to suck. But the point being is we don't want to be puffed up. And one thing that can get people puffed up is when we start looking at someone's gifts and being like, wow, that gift is so much better than this gift. And that means you're so much better than this person. Now, nobody ever says that out loud. Okay. But we start to treat people with certain gifts better, right? The Pentecostal circles. Okay. They treat people that can speak in tongues way better than the people that can't, don't they? If you don't believe me, just go talk to some of those people and you'll find out that's exactly it. And old IFB, you know, who do they, a lot of these people worship or idolize all the people that can stand up and sing real well, or people that make a lot of money. New evangelical Christianity. It's the same thing. Oh, you're a lawyer. You're a dentist. And they just want to lift you up to the high heavens and treat you with, you know, with respect of persons, violating the wisdom, which is from above that James taught us and so on and so forth. Okay. And that's Paul's point here. Having then gifts differing verse six, according to the grace that is given to us. Look at that. According to the grace that is given to us. Grace means unmerited favor, favor that you and I don't deserve. Okay. We don't even deserve these gifts, but God has given them to us. So why respect one more than the other? Why respect one person above another in Christ? It doesn't make any sense and it's not good. And if that's taking place, we're not transforming. We're not doing that renovation in our mind. We're not knocking down those walls and building up better rooms and refurnishing with better furniture. Okay. So he says, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the portion of faith, verse seven, or a ministry, let us wait on our ministry or he that teaches on teaching. Okay. This is why we don't pit other people against each other. Okay. Because these gifts have come from God. These offices are given to us by the grace of God. Verse eight, or he that exhorteth on exhortation. He that giveth, let him do it with simplicity. He that ruleth with diligence. He that show with mercy with cheerfulness. So whatever gift that you have or somebody else has. Okay. Respect the fact that came from God. Hey, that it's for everybody, not just to puff a person up. Now look at verse number nine. Paul says, let love be without dissimulation. Let love be without dissimulation. What does that word dissimulation mean? It means to conceal your true feelings about someone. Okay. And then, you know, I should have said this last week when I, when I preached about conflict, you know, one of the things that I'll often do if I know somebody doesn't like me or I can sense it, I'll oftentimes try to just escalate it. I mean, I just try to just bring it to the surface. You know, I might say something, I would just try to just try to just get it over with, you know, I do this to Jessica on a regular basis, maybe not too regular anymore, but you know, like, if I could tell she's mad, Oh, nothing's wrong. Nothing's wrong. I'll just try to start a fight, man. Just get it out there. You know, I'd rather just explode, have a big war and be done with it. It's just so much easier, you know, but this back and forth, I'm not mad. I'm not mad. You know, it's like, I know something's wrong. I can feel everybody's walked into a room before and have felt tension. Okay. You know, when someone's got beef with you and it's like, all right, how long are we going to play this game? Let's just start a war, man. That's my thing. That's what I like to do. I don't even know why I'm talking about this, but Oh yeah. Dissimulation. Okay. Dissimulation. Okay. Concealing your true feelings. Okay. Let love be without that. You know, somebody sent a video the other day of a street preacher and he's bullhorning a bunch of sodomites at a pride thing. And then these, these two ladies come up to them. They got pink and green and you know, every color hair you can think of. And they're like, do you love me? And he's like, yes, I love you. She's like, no, you don't. And I'm like, look at this guy. Like, I know you don't love these people. You're lying through your teeth right now. You're violating this verse here. We're called to let love be without dissimulation. And so just be honest. Okay. That's all he's saying. Be honest. Don't be trying to hide how you feel about somebody. Just be honest. Let love be without dissimulation. Now look at this here. Abore. You know what that word means? It means to strongly hate. Oh no. The Bible teaches us to hate. Hate's bad. Hate's wrong. You should hate hate. Well, no. Abore something here. What does he say? Abore that which is evil. Cleave to that which is good. Okay. Cleave to that which is good. Now go back just a couple of verses here. Romans chapter 12. Let me see here. Probably easier to flip here. Look at verse number one again. Look at verse number one again. It says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Okay. Which is your reasonable service. Now look at verse number two. He says, and be not conformed to this world. Okay. So if we follow verse one. Okay. And we say, okay, I got it. We need to be separate from the world. Cool. Okay. Be not conformed to this world. Okay. We're not going to allow the world to mold us. I get it. Okay. But be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Can we understand that transformation of life takes place through renovation in the mind? He says this, this is what's going to happen. That ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Prove. Okay. Prove. How do you get to the point in life to where you can look at a situation and actually prove, Hey, that's actually good. That's actually evil. How do you get there? Well, first of all, okay. You got to be saved is a good idea. Okay. Having salvation, actually being able to go through this renovation process. Okay. But that's the whole goal here. That's what you get out of this. Okay. You get discernment. You get life discernment. Okay. Not just discerning false prophets and things of that nature, which we desperately need today. Okay. But you can actually look at something going on in the world because you would now an outsider. Okay. You're an outsider and you can now look at the world and be like, Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That is not right. I know Christianity is saying that that's good. They're going to accept that behavior or whatever, but uh-uh. Okay. I'm out here. I'm not part of this. So I've got a better view and I can prove beyond reasonable doubt that that is evil. We're not going that direction. We're not going to do that. We're not going to follow in those footsteps. You know, when I used to work for the government, they would always bring in people outside of what we were doing to audit us. And the reason for doing that is because they get basically, they have no idea what we did, the struggles we went through. They understand the final picture. Okay. And they've studied that final picture only. And so that's all they're looking for. Okay. And so they can come in and be like, Oh, Hey, this is missing. That's missing. And whereas we looked at it a hundred times and didn't see that, you know, I think that's a good thing. You know, another quick example, I became forklift certified. I became a certified, what are they, what do they call it? The JLG is these big man lifts that lift people up high in the air and they give you a high pay. I was able to basically issue out fall gear and actually inspect those things, but I never drove one. I never went up in one and did a job. I never drove a forklift, but yet I'm like able to inspect, you know, people's paperwork and, and observe them driving. The government does that so that they can have a good system of checks and balances. And that's what this is here. Okay. When the further away from the world we get, the better we're able to prove what is good and acceptable. And so I'm just gonna leave it at that, but back to the last part of that verse there. Okay. A bore. Okay. Again, this goes back to application. A bore that which is evil in cleave or hang onto that which is good. Now I like to use this as an example and this is going to get some people maybe a little bit mad, but just bear with me. Okay. Cuss words. Okay. Cuss words. Obviously if we're out there cussing in front of the world, I get what message that sends. Okay. That sends a bad message that says, oh, you're just like me. I understand that. Okay. This isn't a sermon about cussing, but here's the thing. I've noticed this, that people that are just hyper aggressive towards cuss words. Okay. That are just like, oh, that is so evil. Okay. I've noticed that they have a inability to prove what is good and acceptable. They have a, they have a problem. They have a hard time cleaving that which is good. Let me give you some examples. So back in the early two thousands, I think it was there's a, a sodomite rapper by the name of Will Smith. Anybody ever heard of this guy? And I remember he got some kind of a Grammy award or some kind of a music award. And in his speech, he's like, I got here and I never used a single curse word. Okay. And then this rapper named Eminem comes out and he makes a song about him. It's like, well, bleep you, you know, and just back and forth, you know, unsaved pagans, you know, battling over this. But now in today's day and age, what do we see? I mean, Will Smith raised a sodomite kid. He is a sodomite himself and all kinds of just, just wickedness and, and in trouble. And you say, well, that's one thing. There was a big battle going around in the Christian circles that I got kind of involved in. Cause I was studying Christian music and there's this Christian rapper by the name of Andy Moneo. I was friends with a guy named Lecrae. And he was having this big argument over cuss words. Cause another Christian rapper had said, some mileage SH word or something like that in one of his songs or whatever. So worst thing in the world. Okay. And so I'm studying this guy and I'm reading his website, I'm reading his biography and he's talking about how much love he has for transvestites and sodomites and things like that. And I'm like, there's a pattern here, you know, the world's going on. And then you're out here talking with these people. About three weeks ago, I was doing some work for somebody, super nice person and giving me all sorts of stuff. I'm like, okay, just stop. Candies, pies, you know, giving me, she gave me this like chart from the NIV. It's like the fruits of the spirit. I took it. Okay. Thank you very much. You know, just super nice person. Right. And she's like, you know what the worst thing and the biggest problem with today is? I was like, what? And she's like, it's people using these cuss words. I'm like, Oh, like in the songs, you know, she's like, yeah, on the songs and you know, on the stores. And I was like, I get it. Society has become more wicked. And I didn't say this to her, but I was just thinking this in my heart and I was like, Oh, okay. I was like, you think that's like the main thing that's wrong today? Yes. Yes. And she tells me what church she goes to. And I look up that church and I'm like, all is welcome here. And I'm like, what is, what is going on here? Yeah. I mean, seriously, go out and talk to some of these people that go to rock Harbor to go to Eagle life church. Okay. You know, Oh, you said it comes where you're such a bad person. You're so evil. It's so evil. So evil. Okay. But you allow these perverts into your church. So why is it that people that are hyper aggressive towards cussing always have some sort of sexual sin to hide from? Why is that? You say that's anecdotal maybe, but it's a pattern that I've recognized and I attribute it to people, not a boring, that which is really evil. You know, obviously common sense tells you, Hey, you know, you don't want to be going out there and doing that in front of people. I get that. We all get that. Okay. But is that in and of itself evil? Is that what the Bible says is truly evil? No, I'm sorry, but it's not. Okay. People that hurt little kids are evil. People that stand up in front of their congregations and say, you know what? This and the original manuscripts wasn't here. Okay. This doesn't mean what it says it means or ad works to salvation. Where's the aggression? Where's the anger towards that stuff? That's what I want to know. Okay. You show me people that are anger or angry and that hate real evil. And I will show you somebody that's got discernment. They might be rough around the edges. They might not have it all put together, but you know what? I can tell you for sure that that person is going through a transformation process more than likely. Okay. So let me just leave it at that. Let's move on here now to verse number 10. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love and honor preferring one another. Now when the world wants to conform. Okay. How do they conform regarding this? Okay. Well again, they say, well, your church, pastor Jones is terrible. And you're such horrible human beings. Not only do you pound on people's doors early in the morning. Okay. But you also don't give to the interfaith sanctuary right off of I-84. You're right. I don't. And I never will. Okay. Verse 11, not slothful in business, fervent in spirit serving the Lord. Okay. And so these are things here. I mean, I'm going to read through these and make quick comments, but really these are things that you ought to go back in your own time. Read and just meditate. Just think, really digest what he's saying here because all of this stuff here is what's going to transform you from that caterpillar Christian to the butterfly Christian, so to speak. Okay. So of course, verse 10. Hey, we want to be kind to one another, being honest, but being kind. Okay. You don't have to be best friends with everybody, but just be kind and be honest. Okay. Nothing wrong with that. Brotherly love. Okay. The world says no neighborly love. You got to love everybody. If you don't, boy, you're in trouble. You're a horrible human being. And you got to go to the chopping block. Verse 12, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation. Hey, what does the world say? Oh, you got some tribulation, man. You got to hire David Goggins. You got to go find a Navy seal and bring them on your team and really get after it, man. And wake up at four o'clock in the morning and eat nails and, you know, do all this crazy stuff and spit out bricks and you'll be fine then. Now be patient in tribulation. You should be instant in prayer in those types of situations. In fact, I think that's what he says, right? Patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer. Hey, that's the solution. These are all part of your transformation. Verse 13, distributing to the necessity of the saints given to hospitality. Of course, the world says, oh, you guys just take care of each other. Cult. You're a cult. Cult member, cult member, cult member. Oh, cult. Hey, you're a cult. Okay. If that's the definition of a cult, if this is the definition of a cult, then we're in a cult. Fine. I'll eat it. I'll take it all day long. Okay. No, obviously we're not a cult. Okay. I don't force anybody to do anything. You see, I don't want to do any of that stuff. You say, cool. I know this is my spot three times a week and then, you know, that's it. Okay. I'm not trying to Lord over God's heritage, but we're called to distribute to the necessity of the saints given to hospitality. Again, what's that in reference to? That Philippians chapter two, mind of Christ, allowing that to be in us. Verse 14, bless them which persecute you, bless and curse not. See, don't curse. Okay, great. But he's really, you know, talking about cursing someone like, hey, I hope you drop dead. I hope your neck falls off when you walk out. I hope you hit your head on that. Hey, those are like, that's far worse than saying the S H word or F word. I mean, look, it is okay. Curse not. Verse 15, rejoice with them that do rejoice and weep with them that weep. You know, by doing these actions and by actually following through with these things, that's allowing yourself to be transformed. That's that renovation process that's going to happen up here. Okay. You're knocking down walls and rebuilding better ones and putting better decorations on and refurbishing. Okay. Verse 16, be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Again, reference to your sobriety. Okay. Not thinking higher of yourself than ye ought. Now, are we better off than the heathen? Of course. Okay. Are we better than them? Some of them. And that's the, basically the answer you want to have. Verse 17, recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. You know, so when someone does evil to us and we don't repay with evil, we let the Lord avenge. Again, that takes you from up here. Okay. You still got knowledge, right? But it takes that bubble and it just brings it down. Okay. It prevents you from hitting your head on the ceiling, so to speak, and just being high. Okay. Knowledge puffs up. Knowledge without application puffs up. It gets you high. If you're high, you're not sober. Okay. You're intoxicated. You're drunk. So verse 17, recompense no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of men. This is hard. When someone does me wrong personally, I'm like, I'm going to get you, man. It's over. I'm going to swing. You say, you know, and these are conversations that I have in myself. So I know if I'm having them, there's some of you are having them. Okay. And the Bible says, let love be without dissimulation. So don't be pretending like you're over here. No, I don't do that. Yeah, you do. Everybody does at some point. Okay. Don't lie. Verse 18, if it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Why does he say that? Because it's not always possible. There are some people you can't placate. There are some people you just, it's war. As soon as you see them, it's going down, man. There's just not really a whole lot you can do, but if it is possible, choose peace when available. Okay. Verse 19, dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath for it is written, vengeance is mine. I will repay saith the Lord. Okay. Look again, like that butterfly process. When you watch that caterpillar transforming into a butterfly and he's violently shaking. This is me following these verses here. Just picture pastor Jones. Just like, just shaking like, cause I want to hurt. I want to just go smash somebody. It's like, man, I can't believe you said that to me again. I'm not, that is it. Vital straw. And then the Bible is just, the Holy ghost is no, you know, not a brawler. Just stop. What are you doing? What do you think you're doing here? Okay. That's the process though. That's normal. That's natural. That doesn't mean something's wrong with you. Okay. That means you're trying. It means you're going through this transformation process and then eventually you're going to get it. You're going to see the fruits from that. You're going to see the results that you can make. Oh, that's what God was talking about. Okay. I let the Lord repay. And guess what? And he always does. And he always will. Verse 20, we're almost done. Therefore find enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirst, give him drink for in so doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. So again, even when you do this and you do good for your enemies, okay, you're still doing damage, but you're doing it God's way. God's way is the best way. We all know that last verse, verse 21, be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. But you can't do this man, unless you understand what evil is. Okay. And honestly, evil is also not doing a lot of these things. Evil is saying, Oh, you said that about me. Hey, that's evil. Hey, that is evil. I'm telling you that's evil. Even though that's what I want to do a lot of times. Hey, it's evil. And it's just not, it's not right. And it's not what really is going to lead us to that transformation. It halts that renovation process. You ran out of money. Your workers left the building. Okay. And you're sitting here in a kitchen with no stove, no dishwasher, no refrigerator, because the floor, half the floors ripped out. You know, we want to finish that process. Okay. Constantly be doing these things and all will go well. So be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. And of course, you know, if you don't remember anything, remember this life transformation comes from mind renovation. Okay. You can't change your life by changing your life. Okay. You can't change your life by changing your life. You change your life. You transform your life through the renewing, which takes place in the mind. And if you meditate on these things, the end of Romans chapter 12, and you actually say, you know what? I'm going to try this this week. This week, I've got somebody that's been saying this to me, and you know what? I'm going to go buy them a soda. I'm going to be nice. I'm going to actually bless them. Okay. Watch what happens. Watch the fruits that comes from those actions. Okay. And guess what? It's addicting. You're going to want to do more and apply more and apply more. And you're going to transform more and transform more. And before you know it, you're looking back like, man, wow, life is so much better. I'm able to actually now look at these situations and actually be able to prove what is good and what is acceptable, the perfect will of the Lord. So we're going to stop right there for this morning. Let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Thank you so much, Lord, for this church, for all that you do for us. I just pray that you bless the soul running after the service and the fellowship and bring us back again safely tonight. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Oh, happy day that fixed my choice on thee my Savior and my God. Well, may this glowing heart rejoice and tell its raptures all abroad. Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away. He taught me how to watch and pray and live rejoicing every day. Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away. Oh, the second. Oh, happy bond that seals my vows to Him who merits all my love. Let cheerful anthems fill His house while to that sacred shrine I move. Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away. He taught me how to watch and pray and live rejoicing every day. Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away. Oh, the third. Tis done the great transaction's done. I am my Lord's and He is mine. He drew me and I followed on, charmed to confess the voice divine. Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away. He taught me how to watch and pray and live rejoicing every day. Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away. On the last. Now rest my long divided heart fixed on this blissful center rest not ever from my Lord depart with Him of every good possessed. Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away. He taught me how to watch and pray and live rejoicing every day. Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away. All right, good singing everyone. Let's bow our heads and dismiss ourselves in a word of prayer. Dear Lord, thank you for this time we had to hear your word be preached. I ask that you please help us to remember these things and apply them to our lives. I also ask that you bless the fellowship after the service, the soul wanting to come, and tonight's church service as well. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. We are dismissed.