(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. How you doing? I got that water for you. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Yeah. Sorry, let me interrupt. Thank you. And you got a trimming title? Yeah, I hope you got it. All right. You want it like this? You only want the white one. White one. Thanks for asking though. Text night. Text night. Here you go brother. See you. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Good to have you. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Good to have you. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Yeah, thank you. Like this cool little decoration. Yeah, me too. Okay. Perfect. Thank you. I appreciate that, thanks for coming. Whoa, they are all organic too. We are Birthday Father Baptist Church. It's good to have you all here this evening. If you would, please find your seat and we will begin our service this evening. When you find your seat, turn to song number 420, Song number 420 there's a song in the air song number four to zero And the star-range is my wild, the beautiful sea For the nature of Red blood and cradles I hear There's a school full of joy for this wonderful birth For the virgin sweet boy is the Lord of the earth And the star-range is my wild, the beautiful sea For the nature of Red blood and cradles I hear In the light of that star our mighty ages improve And the song from above has stood over the world Then my heart is aflame and the beautiful sea In the hearts of the nations and Jesus is near We rejoice in the wise and we echo the song That we shout through the night from the heavenly far We shout to the lovely and the weary And we greet in His praise, O our Savior and King And it's in Jesus' name I pray, amen. All right, turn over if you would to song number 422, just a couple pages to the right. Song number 422, Thou didst leave Thy throne. Song number 422. Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown When Thou comest to earth for me, sing it out on the first. Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown When Thou cameest to earth for me, But in Bethlehem's home was there found a room For Thy holy nativity. O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, There is room in my heart for me. Heaven's arches ring when the angels sing, Proclaim His thyroid you'll be free. God of holy earth is now come to earth In great humility. O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, There is room in my heart for me. The foxes now rest and the birds there nest In the shade of the forest tree. But Thy couch was the sod of the Son of God In the deserts of Galilee. O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, There is room in my heart for me. Thou gaveth the Lord with the living Word That shall set Thy people free. But with heart He swore and with crown of gold They bore Thee to Galilee. O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, There is room in my heart for me. When the heavens shall ring and the angels sing Have Thy coming to victory. Let Thy voice call me home saying, Yes, there is room, there is room at my side for Thee. My heart shall rejoice for Jesus When Thou comest and heart is for me. Once again, happy birthday to everyone and happy anniversary to everyone that's celebrating it this month. You know, hopefully you have a great birthday. And below that, information about our annual Christmas caroling, which is Thursday, December 19th at 5 30 p.m. Join us for a joyful evening of Christmas caroling, followed by cookies and milk at the church building. Carolers will go for approximately one hour and return to the building for cookies and fellowship. Note, this is a cookie potluck. So please bring cookies to share with the other carolers. And on the back. Attention, ladies and teen girls. You're invited to a Christmas party and gift exchange on Saturday, December 14th from 5 to 8 p.m. And here are some details. Live refreshments will be provided. Please bring a small appetizer or snack to share. White elephant gift exchange with a limit of thirty dollars. Nurselings only, please. If you have any questions or would like to RSVP, please speak to Grace Young as soon as possible. And another announcement. Ladies, please join us Sunday, December 15th at 2 p.m. for a brighter shower in honor of Isabelle Schneider. Please RSVP to Denise Furbe. Nurselings only, please. And in case you don't know, today, Pastor Mejia is going to be preaching for us. Pastor Mejia is right over there. When you get a chance after the service, please go up to him and thank him for taking the time to come over. Not just him, but his wife as well. And if you're wondering where Pastor is, he's on a missions trip. Amen. And he'll tell you all about it when he gets back. But so far, I believe one day total was either twenty four salvations or since he's been gone and been over there, he has gotten twenty four salvations all by himself. So he'll be back and let you know all about it as soon as he can. Other than that, let's go over the so many for the week. So if you got somebody save on Monday, Monday the second, we'll start on my left hand side. Just go ahead and raise your hand. Is that four? All right. And then I sign it back. Two. Amen. And four over here. Anybody else? All right. And Tuesday. How many? Seven. Three. Anybody else? And we got two for this so many team that went out. Anybody else today, by any chance? All right. That's all I got for announcements. Brother Ball, you're up. All right, there should be an insert in the front of your hymnal with a song entitled Come Thou Long Expected Jesus. Come Thou Long Expected Jesus. We'll sing this. We'll sing all four verses this evening. Come Thou Long Expected Jesus. Come Thou Long Expected Jesus. For to set thy people free, from our fears and sins release us. Let us by God rest in thee. Let us by God rest in thee. Let us by God rest in thee. Let us by God rest in thee. Let us by God rest in thee. Born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious King now reigns. For to set thy people free, from our fears and sins release us. Let us by God rest in thee. What child is this? What child is this? What child is this who lays to rest on Mary's lap is sleeping? Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds watch are heaping. This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds are an angel singing. This, this to bring him on the babe, the son of Mary. What lies he in such venous state, where oxen has not heaping? Good, precious, near for sinners here, the silent Word is pleading. Hail, spear, shall pierce him through, the cross be born for me, for you. Hail, hail, the word made flesh, the babe, the son of Mary. So great in this, it's golden good, how pleasant it is to hold him. The King of kings, salvation reigns, let loving hearts enthrone him. Praise, praise the song, my kind, the virgin sings her lullaby. Joy, joy, for Christ is born, the babe, the son of Mary. Amen. All right, at this time, we're going to pass the operating plate. And as we pass the operating plate, please turn your Bibles to Romans chapter number six. Romans chapter six, the Bible reads, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid, how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection, 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, for he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lust thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness. But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men, because of the infirmity of your flesh. For as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness, and to iniquity unto iniquity, even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things were of ye now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Dear Lord, thank you for Faith Word Baptist Church, Lord. And Lord, I pray that you'd help us all to love one another more, and to love you more, and to love the lost Lord. And I pray that you'd fill Pastor Mejia with your Holy Spirit, give us all ears to hear. And Jesus, we pray, Amen. Amen. It's a blessing to be here. I want to thank Pastor Anderson for the invitation. And I'm glad he's out there winning souls to Christ, and that he got, I think, over 20 salvation himself, and so that's a blessing to hear that. And I want to thank Faith Word Baptist Church for weathering the storm, and you're doing great. You're an example to a lot of churches, and so we're praying for you out in Orange County, not Los Angeles, by the way. Everyone keeps calling us First Works Baptist Church of Los Angeles is not Los Angeles. We're in Orange County. It's very different there. Los Angeles, bombs. Orange County, no bombs, okay? So that'll help you to distinguish between the two. But I'm glad to be here, and I was able to bring my wife, Sarah, with me. She's there in the back with our youngest daughter, Charity. And so we're just really thankful for the opportunity to come out here. Look at Romans chapter number 6, if you would, verse number 11. It says here, And the title of my sermon this evening is, I hope you die. I hope you die. And despite what you may think, this is actually not an imprecatory sermon against you or anybody else for that matter. I'm obviously using hyperbole here to communicate the fact that we as Christians should have the daily objective of dying to self. And we should have the daily objective of overcoming the persistent demands of the flesh, of the old man. And really, if we're going to be successful in the Christian life, you can't be successful. You can't experience true success in the Christian life without dying to self, without denying yourself, crucifying the flesh with the affections and lusts. And of course, by doing so, we bring ourselves into submission to God's word, and therefore God blesses us. And in fact, let me read to you from 1 Corinthians chapter 15 in verse 30. The apostle Paul speaking here says, Now he's obviously not referring to the fact that he's dying physically. They are bringing him back to life. He's referring to the fact that he's suffering jeopardy. He's suffering. He's hazarding his life. He's placing himself in situations that are not conducive to his health. He is in a lot of danger on a daily basis. Why? Because of the fact that he's putting himself second. He's allowing himself to suffer the consequences, so to speak, of being a Christian for the Lord, for the Lord's work. And another way of saying that is that he's dying daily. He's crucifying the flesh daily. The Bible says in Galatians chapter 5 verse 24, And they that are Christ have crucified the flesh with the affections and lust. It's important that we as believers make the concerted effort to reject the natural human inclinations to commit sin, right? To be selfish and live unto God through the new man by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thereby, of course, fulfilling God's will, pleasing God. But of course, this can only happen if you die. This can only happen if I die. And so the message tonight is this. I hope you die. I hope you choose to die today. I hope you die tomorrow. I hope you die on Friday. I hope, if you haven't died by then, I hope you die on Saturday. I hope you die this week, this month. I hope you make it. And please don't take this literal and commit suicide or something like that. I'm obviously referring to a very spiritual application here, okay? You know, we want to avoid self-preservation. We want to exalt Christ. We must decrease that He may increase. And of course, we know that this is done through a variety of ways, right? Through denying ourselves, maybe the status of this world, maybe forfeiting certain possessions and pleasures of this life in order to serve God more effectively and be more effective in church, in soul winning, to love our brothers and sisters in Christ and be a blessing to them. This can help us in our marriage. You know, a lot of the conflicts in marriage take place when people refuse to die, when they want to put their needs first, whereas you'll have a very fruitful and successful marriage if you put the needs of your spouse over your own, if you die in your marriage, right? You'll have a lot better friendships if you put the needs of your friends first. If you die, then you will have very fruitful, meaningful relationships in your life. You will enjoy church way more if you just learn to die and put the needs of new people first, put the needs of your brothers and sisters in Christ first. Now, we're in Romans chapter 6. Hold your place there and go to chapter 12. We're going to come back to Romans chapter 6 in just a bit. Go to Romans chapter number 12. Now, obviously, I'm not referring to the fact that, you know, we should be ascetic, meaning that we just abstain from all forms of indulgences and pleasures. We never want to take this too far and become a hyper spiritual holier than now, where it's just like it's just sin to have any fun whatsoever. And I met people like that, where it's like we're doing ministry and it's just like no laughing, no fun. You can't have any joy. You have to be super strict. And the service of God, we should always be sober and grave. And I agree with that statement. But you know what? Can we can we smile while we're doing it, though? You know, the Bible says a merry heart doeth good like a medicine. And I've been accused by people who said, oh, this guy, he laughs too much. And he he just he's just always laughing. Yeah, because I'm always merry. I have a continual feast in my heart. And obviously, there's a time and place for all those things. There's a time and place to be grave and sober. But there's also a time and place to laugh. Right. To have joy, to rejoice with the brothers and sisters in Christ. And so I enjoy those things. But the holier than thou is they hate that kind of stuff. OK, but here's the thing is that one of the the fruit of the Holy Spirit is what joy. When you win someone to Christ, you should put a smile on your face. You know, when you come to church and you are edified by the preaching of God's word by your pastor, put a smile on your face. Learn to show your teeth every once in a while and actually rejoice in the service of God. OK, we're not monks here or it's just like we got abstained from all that stuff. You know, if we're really going to please God, we can't just be laughing all the time. Well, then you don't laugh. OK, I'm going to enjoy the Christian life. I'm going to laugh about it. You know, I'm going to laugh about the enjoyable things. I'm going to laugh when, you know, my brothers and sisters in Christ are maybe poking fun at me a little bit. When we're just fellowshipping and just joking around or just cracking jokes or whatever, or just laughing about just life in general, I'm going to enjoy life. And I never want people to think that, you know, the service of God is just, I don't know, like miserable or something. You know, it's just boring because the Christian life is not boring. A lot of exciting stuff that happened. Even if you go soul winning, you'll run into a lot of scenarios out there where you may be embarrassed. Right. And at the time, you know, you may be embarrassed, you might be reproach. But then you think about it like a couple of days later, like, actually, that was pretty funny. You know, the way that guy cussed me out was actually pretty funny, actually. I didn't expect that, man. He got he got me good. That's what I think sometimes I'm like, man, that was he caught me off guard. I mean, how many times have you knocked at a door and you're ready to just invite the person and then they just slam the door in your face and you just look dumb? You're just you're like looking at the door. You're just like. All right. You know, just walk away. It's kind of embarrassing, right? But when you walk away two days later, you think about like, actually, it's pretty funny. I look dumb like at that door. But, you know, I get paid spiritually to do it. So praise God for it. And it gives you it gives us a good laugh. OK, so we're obviously not referring to having this holier than thou attitude of just, you know, abstaining from all pleasures and enjoyment in this life. You know, the Bible tells us that God has given us all things richly to enjoy. OK. And that we should use this world not as abusing it. Right. And so that's important. I'm obviously referring to the selflessness that the Lord Jesus Christ exemplified through self-denial. And the Bible tells us that we know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, the Bible tells us for your sakes became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich, essentially forgoing certain pleasures of this life for the benefit of others. I hope you experience that right. I hope that you die to self, that you deny yourself certain pleasures of this world. Let me read to you from Philippians chapter two. You're still in Romans. Philippians chapter two, verse number four is a great way to communicate this. It says, Look, not every man on his own things. And that's very natural for us to do. Right. Says, But every man also on the things of others. What does that mean? It means we should esteem the things that belong to others or the benefit of others, the health of others more than ourselves. OK, put others first is what that's referring to. And then he says, Let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus. What mind? The mind of selflessness, the mind of putting others before yourself. It says, Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. That is the poverty that the Bible is referring to there, that he essentially released the riches that he had in order to come here, become poor so that we can have salvation by grace through faith and we can enjoy the Christian life abundantly. And so with that being said, I hope you die. You know, I hope you make the decision this evening to think upon this. This wonderful truth of the Bible that we need to deny ourselves, that we need to make sure that we are putting others before ourselves. Now, why do I hope that you die? Well, number one, let's start off talking about this. Number one, it's because of the fact that it's the least you can do as a Christian. Dying is actually the least that you can do as a safe person, as a Christian. Denying the old nature, dying to self actually isn't an incredible task, especially in light of the fact that God has given us a new nature. OK, it's the least we can do. In fact, look at Romans chapter 12 and verse number one. It says here, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice. Now, what's another way of saying living sacrifice? I hope you die basically, because obviously the connotation here is regarding the Old Testament sacrifices that were killed. They were placed on the altar. They were bound and they were given as a burnt offering unto the Lord. And the Bible is telling us here that we should be somewhat symbolically representing that sacrifice as well. But the difference is we don't physically die. We live unto Christ, requiring for us to die to self. So we were supposed to be that living sacrifice. You know, a lot of times I'll talk to Christians, younger Christians, and they'll think to themselves, man, I want to I'd be willing to die for the Lord. You know, I hope the tribulation happens in our lifetime because I would die for the Lord. I'd go out guns blazing. But if you think about it, I don't know if dying for Christ is actually that hard. You know, it's really hard is actually living for Christ, because that requires daily dying. You know, if you die physically for Christ, it just happens once and boom, you know, you're under the altar, you know, for your faith and the testimony which you held. Whereas being a living sacrifice actually requires for you to die. But then you kind of hop off the altar again. Right. It's like you put yourself on the altar, you offer yourself unto the Lord and you're like, I'm for sowing. I'm for living righteously. But then the next day comes and the old man is still there and you find yourself off the altar. And you're like, oh, man, how did I get here? I got to get back on the altar. What is that called? Dying daily. Being a living sacrifice, the Bible says. You say, well, I mean, a living sacrifice, that sounds kind of hard then. Why would you say that it's the least that I can do? Well, look what it goes on to say here. It says that you present your body as a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God. Listen to this. Which is your reasonable service? Another way of saying that is it's the least you can do. The least you can do is actually be a living sacrifice and die to self. That's what the Bible tells us. It's not a very hard thing to understand. Obviously, is it challenging every single day to die to self? Of course it is. But you know what? It's possible because we have the new nature. You know, a lot of these people who think that they're saved, who have a false gospel, you know, they probably preach a lot of this stuff, but they don't know what they're talking about. They probably talk about dying to self and forgoing this and that, but they don't have a new nature. They only have the old nature. So for them, it's very hard because, you know, they're trying to hop into a nature that doesn't even exist in them. Whereas us, we have two natures. We have the new man who rejoices in the law of God, you know, who wants to hear preaching, who actually desires to read the word of God. It rejoices to hear about salvations of others. It rejoices in the things of God. And so we have tasted and seen that the Lord is gracious because we have that new man. So we know what that other world is like, so to speak. We've tasted of the Holy Ghost, right? We know what it's like to learn from the Bible. We know what it's like to have the Spirit bear witness with our spirit that we're the children of God. We know what it's like to be under the ministry of the Holy Spirit, whether it's by your personal Bible reading or while you're in church. We know that. Therefore, it's reasonable for us to crucify the flesh with the affections and lust and walk in the new man. It's reasonable. And sometimes you think to yourself, man, it's just that's not that easy, though, Pastor Mejia, you know? Well, it's not that it's not easy. It's simple. But sometimes we just need to change our attitude regarding these things. You know, a lot of times Christians are very negative when it comes to how to perform the will of God. Oh, it's just too hard. You know, I got to do all these things. It's just a list of all these rules that I got to obey. But look what it goes on to say in verse number two. It says, be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. What does that mean? It means change your attitude. It says they may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God, the Bible tells us. You know, a lot of times people, Christians often look at the commandments of the Lord as being grievous because of their attitude. They just like, oh, man, it's just going to church on a Wednesday night, going to church on a Sunday morning, going to church on a Sunday. That seems a little a little much. Actually, it's reasonable. It's reasonable. I mean, what if the Lord just put in the Bible be in church every single day? That would be different, you know, and he doesn't even require necessarily three times. It just says forsake not the assembling of ourselves together as a man or some is. But you know what? Three services a week. Reasonable. It's the least we can do. I don't think that. Well, it's because you got to change your attitude about church, change your attitude about the things of God. Well, how do I do that? You got to renew your mind by reading the word of God, by being in church, by hearing the preaching of God's word. Your attitude will be renewed. The Bible tells us, but you have not so learned Christ. It shall be the I've heard him and I've been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus that he put off the old man, which is corrupt, according to the deceitful lust and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. And then you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. What does he say? Change your attitude about certain things when it comes to the things of God. And you will enjoy being in church that much the more. I'm just a Sunday morning. And of course, I'm preaching to the choir here. You guys are here on a Wednesday night. I'm just a Sunday morning glory. I just that's all I need. Well, change your mind about Sunday night. I just can't handle that much. Well, change your mind. You'll be able to handle it. Let me read you from Matthew chapter 16 and verse 24. It says, then said Jesus unto his disciples, if any man will come after me. Now, what does that mean to come after Christ? It means to pursue the Lord, to seek God. Right. To go after him means to follow him. And this is what he says. If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. You know, what's interesting about that passage is that he says, take up his cross. And this is before the crucifixion. So obviously he's telling his disciples, what is he telling them? You need to die. You know, if you are serious about following the Lord, if you're serious about pursuing God, by knowing who the Lord is through the word of God and serving him, being devoted to him, then you need to die. You need to deny yourself and take up your cross, meaning you should be crucified to this world, crucify the flesh, and that way you can follow him. It says in verse 25, for whosoever will save his life shall lose it. So according to the Bible, if you're the type of person who just wants to preserve themselves, you just want to save your dreams and your ambitions and your goals. According to the Bible, you're just going to lose it. You want to save the pleasures that you experience and you want to save the money, you want to save the riches, you want to save your goals and ambitions, the Bible says you're going to lose it. But it says, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. Meaning that if you're willing to just deny yourself certain things, you actually end up finding out that in the long run, you actually end up keeping some of those things and then some, but you've got to be willing to lose it though. You've got to be willing to die. Denying yourself three to four hours a week to be in church is a reasonable service. Denying yourself, you know, regardless, maybe 10 minutes, 15 minutes a day to read the Bible is a reasonable service. And I'm sure there's people here who probably maybe do a lot more. Walking with God is our reasonable service. And in fact, Jesus says, so likewise he, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, we are profitable. No, he says we are unprofitable servants. We have done that which is our duty to do. What is that telling us? You know, doing what God commands is reasonable. Dying to self, denying our flesh, crucifying the flesh with the affections and lust is a reasonable task to do. It is the least you can do. I hope you die. Why? Because it's the least you can do. Can you please just die? Can you just die? Why? Because it's the least you can do? Can you just die? Why? Because it's your reasonable service. Now go back to Romans 6, if you would, Romans chapter number 6. Title of the sermon is, I hope you die. Hyperbole, of course. I'm sure there's someone on the internet who's going to chop this up and say, pastor calls for the death of congregation and hopes they die. And I hope you die. It's the least you can do, but also I hope you die. Why? So that you could overcome the sins of the flesh. So it helps us to understand the fact that when we die, deny ourselves, crucify the flesh with the affections and lust, it's the least we can do. But it also benefits us in the sense that it helps us to overcome sins. The incessant appetites of the carnal nature have to be overcome in order for us to be effective for Christ. And this requires intentionally starving the flesh, dying to self, denying the demands of our sin nature. And obviously I don't believe that you can become sinless. That's a nonsensical doctrine out there that teaches that, oh, you can just stop sinning. That's obviously not true, but we can sin less though. We can't be sinless, but we can sin less than we did a year ago, two years ago, three years ago. And obviously we can eradicate the sins of the body, but we can starve the old man and feed the new man in such a way that you're strong in the Lord and the power of his might. Maybe there's certain sins that you struggle with as a Christian, maybe some doors that you opened in times past, some habits that you have from your past. It's possible for you to not commit that sin by simply feeding the spirit, walking in the spirit so that you don't fulfill the lust of the flesh, strengthening the new man. But obviously that happens as you crucify the flesh, as you starve the old man. This is why it's important that we stay away from temptation, right? We stay away from that which would cause us to stumble and fall. And that's why it's important for us to know, you know, what our weaknesses are. Because when we understand what our weaknesses are, we stay away from that which would cause us to delve into that particular iniquity, that transgression or that sin, rendering us ineffective for the Lord. The Bible tells us in Titus chapter 2 verse 11, for the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world. Romans chapter 6 is a wonderful chapter that really lays out how to overcome sin. And I love the fact that, you know, just right off the bat it implies that we're never really going to be able to get rid of sin completely, right? Because he says in verse number 1, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin? The grace may abound. God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Now, by the way, notice that he forbids what? He forbids that we should continue in sin, but he doesn't forbid for the grace of God to abound when we do. That's always available to us. Because obviously God knows that we're going to sin. God knows that we're going to fall short. Why? Because we still have this sinful flesh that desires those things and sometimes we can't overcome it. But he forbids for us to sin. He just doesn't forbid for the grace of God to abound when we do. He goes on to say in verse 3, know ye not that so many of us were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death. Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Let's go on to verse number, let's see, verse number 11 if you would. It says likewise reckon. What does reckon mean? Consider yourself. Take this into account. Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, what does it mean to be dead indeed unto sin? Look at verse 12. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body that ye should obey in the lustre of. So this is a command from God. He's telling us, hey, don't let sin just control you. You know, don't let sin just kind of make you do the things that you shouldn't be doing. You need to bring your body into subjection. Keep unto your body, bring it into subjection. Let's by any means when you have preached to others, you yourself should be a castaway, right? So even though it's impossible for us to stop sinning, it is possible for us to bring our bodies into subjection to the word of God in order to please him. He goes on to say in verse 13, neither yield ye your what? Members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, showing us that even though our members, this carnal flesh is sinful, we don't have to yield to these members to be instruments of disobedience to God's word, right? Our feet don't have to carry us to the liquor store to get alcohol. Our mouth doesn't have to be used to smoke cigarettes or pot, right? Our eyes don't have to be used to behold that which is evil and wicked and not pleasing in the eyes of God. Our bodies don't have to be used and subjected to do those things that are not pleasing unto the Lord. Will it happen? Of course it'll happen, but it doesn't have to happen all the time. Why? Because the command is don't yield yourself as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin. You say, well, how? You know, how do I do that? Do I have to like rebuke some demon or something? Do I got to get anointed with oil? You know, here's the thing is that all you need is the Bible. You need the Bible. You need godly living that includes being in church. And you know, it's not very complicated. I've noticed that the longer you're in church, the more you're in church, the more you're around clean, godly people who are living sanctified lives. That rubs off on you, right? If you're around sinful people, you're going to be a sinful person. You know, he that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. So if you want to be a godly person, be around godly people that esteem purity, that esteem righteousness, that esteem the things of God. And I promise you that will rub off on you. He goes on to say, neither you yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Go to Galatians chapter 2, if you would. Galatians chapter number 2. Galatians chapter 2. But at the end of the day, you know, in order for us to really overcome the sins of the flesh, the sinful habits, it does require for us to put off the old man, to take the old man and crucify the affections and lust. And, you know, there's obviously sins of omission, but there's also sins of commission. Sins of omission would be that you omit doing the godly things in the Christian life, like coming to church, and you're more likely to have victory over the sins of the flesh when you don't omit those things. You know, you're more likely to conquer the flesh if you decide to open up your Bible and actually read it on a day-to-day basis. You're actually more likely to overcome the sins of the flesh when you decide, you know what, instead of sleeping in, I am going to come to church. Okay? You know, the flesh is like, no, look at this comfy bed, though. It's cold. It's cold outside. You know, it's, you know, just stay in bed and, you know, pray. God knows you. What you need to do is say, shut up. And get up, get that carcass up, and say, we're reading the Bible. We're going to church. Well, read the Bible. You know, your flesh is like Pharaoh. It's just like, it'll take what it can get. It's like, well, read the Bible. Don't go to church, though. Just read extra Bible. Well, just for that, I'm going to read extra Bible and go to church. Well, you know, read the Bible and go to church, but don't go back to Sunday night. Well, just for that, I'm going to go back to Sunday night. Okay, fine. But just make going to church a Sunday thing. Well, just for that, now I'm going to make it a Wednesday thing. You know, go to war with your flesh. You say, what does that mean, though? Like, how do I do that? You're putting the flesh to death. You're dying to self. You're denying the pleasures of this life. You're denying the comforts of the flesh in order to fulfill God's will. You know, one thing I've noticed is that the more consistently you do that, the more of an appetite you build for the things of God. And after a while, it's not hard to come to church. Why? Because the spirit desires it. And the flesh is like, please don't take me to church. And then, you know, you got the spirit and he's just strong in the Lord and the power of his mind that says, shut up, we're going to go to church. We're doing it. Get up, get clothed, get bathed, brush your teeth. You know, let's get ready for church. And the spirit is strong. It's capable of overcoming the desires of the flesh. Look what Galatians chapter two, verse 19 says. Actually, you went to Galatians two, but I'm sorry, go to Colossians chapter three. We're going to skip Galatians, but it's nearby. Go to Colossians chapter three. And verse number one, it says here in Colossians three, verse number one, if ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory. I want you to notice verse five, mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth. What does mortify mean? It means kill. Think of a mortician, right? It says, kill your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, covetousness, which is idolatry, for which things take the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience. What is he saying? You need to make it a practice to just kill these sinful habits, destroy the things that you struggle with. And yeah, obviously, if you've already opened that door, that temptation is always going to be there, but you can kill it on a day-to-day basis. Right? You open that door and he's like, the old man of loving covetousness is right there. And you just pop him. And then what? And then the next day, you open that door again, there he is again, pop. Every day, you got to go in there and mortify the flesh, put the flesh to death, kill that thing. And you know, the more you kill the flesh with covetousness, from covetousness, from misfornication, inordinate affection, it's like, after a while, you open that door and he's like, go ahead, just do it. All right, you know, just get it over with. Pop. But you know, if you're constantly opening the door and said, all right, come out, you're just giving into the desires of the flesh and of the mind, you're just giving into the course of this world, it's just easier for you to give into those sins of the flesh. This is why the Bible tells you we have to mortify the deeds of the body, right? We have to kill the flesh, you have to die. Go to John chapter 12, if you would, John chapter 12. John chapter 12, I'm gonna read to you from 1 Peter chapter 4 and verse number 1 says, for as much then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind. For he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin, that he no longer shall live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lust of men, but to the will of God. What does it mean to suffer in the flesh? Sometimes you are denying the flesh. Because, you know, sometimes you don't feel like reading the Bible. Sometimes you don't feel like going to church. Sometimes it feels like you're suffering to do so. But when you make yourself do so, what happens? You actually begin to live unto the will of God. You strengthen yourself in the things of God. What's the message tonight? The message is I hope you die. I hope you kill the flesh. I hope you make it a daily practice to mortify the deeds of the body. You know, I have to make it a daily practice to kill Bruce Mejia. You know, and I find that, you know, the sins of my youth are still there even though I'm older now. Older, I'm not old, I'm just older. But I'm like, man, I've been a Christian for this long. You know, I'm older, but there's still those temptations. They don't go, the old man is still there. I open that door and I'm like, you're still there? You're still alive? Pop! And I come back the next day and he's just alive and well. And I'm just like, bah! And it's annoying. Because, you know, as a Christian, you think to yourself, man, it's just like I've been a Christian for so long, I read the Bible, I come to church, and you know what? I still struggle with the sins of the flesh. He's still there. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death? And by the way, that's why it's important for us to emphasize the resurrection. Because the resurrection is what? The glorification of the body. It's God's promise that he's going to deliver us from this body of death one day. You know, one day we're going to open the door and he is really going to be dead. He's not going to come back. You're like, man, I've unloaded the clip on this guy my entire life. But the resurrection does what? It just permanently puts him in the ground. But until then, though, God still commands us to mortify the deeds of the body, though. You can't just be like this Christian who's like, well, I mean, I've already got the resurrection, so why even put, I might as well just like use the liberty for an occasion to the flesh. You know, I'm already saved. I'm going to get a resurrected body. Yeah, but what about obedience unto God, though? What about your reasonable service, though? What about the fact that God commands you to do that, even though you know full well that when you come back tomorrow, he's still alive, God still commands you to put that thing to death, to mortify the body, to kill the flesh, to deny the flesh, to crucify the flesh, because it's our reasonable service. It's the way we can overcome sin. But also, I hope you die because it'll help you to bear much fruit. Look at John chapter 12, verse 23. It says, And Jesus answered them, saying, The hours come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone. And if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. You know, it's a blessing that as a Christian, you have so much available to you, spiritually speaking, right? The fruit of the Spirit is there. Joy, peace, long suffering, temperance, all these godly virtues that really improve the quality of our lives. It makes our life really enjoyable. The peace and tranquility that comes with being a Christian. The contentment that we can feel and the satisfaction of just being content with such things as we have. It's a blessing to be a Christian. But, you know, in order for you to experience those virtues, you have to fall to the ground and die. You have to put the flesh to death. You know, because there's a lot of Christians out there that don't experience that. And it's not because they don't have the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit indwells everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. He's sealed there until the day of redemption. It's just that they're not walking in the Spirit. So they're constantly fulfilling the lust of the flesh. And because of that, they never really experience the fruit of the Spirit in their lives. And I pity people like that. Yeah, they're involved in sin and they might be sowing their wild oats and claiming that they're having a great time. And, oh man, yeah, it's so great and I'm saved and I can do all these things. Yeah, but deep down, you know you're miserable, though. And the fact of the matter is, let's say you're just not miserable right now. You're still missing out on a lot of godly virtue that just improves the quality of the Christian life. You know how many Christians out there just don't have any peace whatsoever? They're just losing their minds. You know, obviously not many now since Trump's already got voted in. You know, before that, though, a lot of Christians were probably just no peace whatsoever. They're just freaking out, you know. I wasn't freaking out. I was just wondering, like, am I going to preach Kamala the Whore of Babylon or not? That's the only reason I wanted to know who won. Well, don't you care about the state of our country? I care about the spiritual state of the country. But no, I have peace, actually. And I have a very fatalistic attitude sometimes. To me, it's just like, let it all burn. Let it all burn. But then, you know, I think to myself, well, we've got to get more people saved, and so, you know, I guess. I guess don't burn it yet, you know. But, you know, there's a lot of Christians that freak out about that stuff. They're just constantly thinking about all of the controversies of this world and what's going to happen in this war and this leader and China this and South Korea that. And they have no peace. Folks, peace is a wonderful virtue that allows you to serve God undistracted in spite of how the world is becoming today. In spite of what's happening in this world, the peace of God, the passive understanding, is able to keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. But that peace is only available if you died itself, though. If you go into that door and shoot that old man, which is the flesh, just to make it clear. You know, you shoot the flesh, you kill, you mortify the deeds of the flesh, and you say, you know what? I'm not going to just worry and care and just think about all of the controversies of this world. I want the peace of God in my life. I want the fruit of the Spirit. I want peace. I want temperance. That's how you bear much fruit is by denying the flesh. OK. You say, I'm just like a miserable person. Why? You're a Christian. You should have joy in your life. Joy is a true joy is available to you each and every day throughout the day. I'm not saying you have to be jovial like me, but you know, you can have some joy. You can crack a smile every once in a while and have a good time, even though nothing significantly has changed in your life. Maybe you lost your job. Maybe you're sick. Maybe your dog died. You can still have joy. Because just like the peace, it's like the joy that passes with understanding. It's just like you're able to be happy in spite of the fact that everything around you is falling apart. But that's only available to those who what? Who die. Deny yourself. Die to self. Crucify the flesh with the affections and lust. I like what the Apostle Paul said in Philippians, Chapter three and verse number seven. It says, But what things were gained to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them. But dung that I may win Christ. Go to First Peter, Chapter two, First Peter, Chapter two. I hope you die. And I hope you make the conscientious effort every day to think to yourself, I need to make sure that I die to self today. That I deny the flesh, that I crucify the flesh with the affections and lust. Because I want access to that fruit. I want to be able to win souls to Christ. You know, winning souls to Christ requires you denying yourself. You're like, what do I have to deny? An hour of your time to go out and preach the gospel? You know, you could be doing a lot of other things during that time. But if you deny yourself that hour and a half, two hours to go out there and preach the gospel, then guess what happens? You bear much fruit because of it. All right. So for this next point, I need a corpse. Yes, you heard right. I'll volunteer you. Yeah, he's coming. He's coming. All right. I get two corpses. Why not? Come on. What did you come up to? You go ahead and lay down right here. Forty three years of what? Oh, salvation. Amen. All right. Go ahead and lay down right here. I thought you were going to say like sober or something else. Yeah. Lay down as well, please. Get nice and comfortable. Don't move. Act dead. I hope you die. So that you can bear the offenses of Christ. You know, one thing, this illustration that the Bible gives us of being dead, right, like dying to self is so powerful because it illustrates a great point. Because when you're dead, nothing can affect you in this world. Right. And I'm not going to ask for a raise of hands because it would be really weird after I asked this question, if you said, yeah, I know what you're talking about. But, you know, have you ever tried to insult a corpse? I hope no one raises their hand. You know, a corpse, you can just you can tell every mama joke in the book. I can make fun of this guy's mom, his dog and say he's ugly, he's fat. But if he's dead, it's not going to do anything to him. He's just laying. He's just dead. I can say he's stupid and ugly and you dress funny and ugly beard, four eyes. But because he's dead, it's just not affecting him whatsoever. Let's go to the other corpse. Ugliest sweater I've ever seen in my life. Oh, you're alive. See what I mean? He got offended. He got offended. You know why? Because he's still alive. So let's try that again. Atrocious sweater. K-State. What is that? Unbelievable. You're not even matching. Where'd you get those shoes? You also have an ugly beard. Four eyes. But you know what? Because he's dead, he's not going to be affected by it. Because a dead man doesn't talk back. And you know what? When we crucify the flesh, when we die to self, those who offend us in this world, those who seek to revile us in this world, it's like nothing. Why? Because I'm dead. Can't really offend me because I'm already dead. And when you're dead, you don't really think highly of yourself anymore. It's when you're putting yourself first that, you know, like this guy just did, he's just like, hey, watch it there, K-State, whatever. You know? But when you realize, you know what? I've been crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I. When you realize, like, at the end of the day, I have no reputation. And when people call you ugly and fat and stupid and they say you are a hate monger and you're part of a cult and why are you still at that church and I can't believe, you're just... Because they're trying to get a reaction out of you, right? But if you're really dead, you won't react to any of that. Because to you, you're just like, maybe he's right. You're just ugly. But I'm dead. Kind of watches that. Are you a prepper? You dress like a prepper. But you know what? Because he's dead, he's not going to react because it just bounces off of him. So I can bring every single insult, every offense, I can revile him. I can say he's wasting his time at church. I can say he's hateful. I can say he's ungodly. I can say that's not pleasing to Christ. You're wasting your time. But because he's dead, it's not going to affect him. The person it affects is the person who's still alive. And I'll be honest with you, there's instances where I'm like this guy and people say all manner of evil against me, but there's other times when people make fun of my ugly sweater. You're not supposed to laugh. And you're looking at me. You're a bad, dead guy. But you're illustrating this perfectly, though. Because sometimes we do that. Because we want to defend ourselves. We want to fight back. I know I do. But then I have to realize, you know what, and just die again. I hope you die so you can bear the offenses of Christ. There's a lot of approaches that come with being a Christian. But if you die to self, if you deny yourself, it won't really affect you as much. It'll be like water off a duck's back. Thank you, corpses. You guys can go sit down now. Hope you guys die. All right. That's a nice sweater. All right. Look at 1 Peter 2, verse 21. For even here unto where ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example ye should follow in his steps. Who did no sin, listen to this, neither was gall found in his mouth, who when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously, who his own self bare our sins in his own body in the tree, that we being dead to sins should live unto righteousness by whose stripes ye were healed. What is the Bible telling us? Because it's telling us that, you know, Jesus Christ denied himself a lot when he was here. And even though he was reviled, you know, Jesus could have just like, when he was reviled, he could have just zapped that guy. He could just make him disintegrate. But he didn't revile back. He didn't fight back. As the sheep before shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth about sex. And he left us that example that we should also do the same. Be people of no reputation. Allow the world to revile you, to hate you, to say all manner of evil against you falsely, and just take it. And when they try to get it, because, you know, a lot of times they're just trying to get a reaction. They want you to react. They want to arouse your anger. And then when they say the most evil thing against you, you just, like a corpse, just... You know, you're just dead. And I found that when you do that, you know, Satan goes away for a season. And I also find that when you do that, you start realizing, you know what? The reputation of Christ is far more important than my own reputation. That I'm not really all that I thought I was cracked up to be. And so tomorrow I need to put the flesh to death again. And deny myself again. The Bible says in Romans chapter 8 verse 35, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword. Listen to this. As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughtered. We're like sheep for the slaughtered. One of the best ways to just live the Christian life, be reviled by your family members who criticize you, who say all manner of evil against you, by the world who says all manner of evil against you, is by being dead. What's the message tonight? The message is very simple. I hope you die. Merry Christmas. And a Happy New Year. And you know, for the new year, I hope you say, you know what, I'm going to kill myself. I'm going to die. Now don't like say that like online or on a post on Facebook or something like, hey, I want to announce everyone I'm killing myself. I'm going to die. And so, you know, use the other terminology, denying yourself and all that. Or just don't even make the post at all. Just do it. Just be Nike and do it. Just do it. And you find that when you the more you deny yourself, the more you realize, oh, man, I can overcome a lot of these habits. This is a reasonable thing for me to do. This will help me to be more fruitful in the Lord. And when you deny yourself, you realize, you know what? I don't walk around as offended as I used to be. I don't really care what people think about me anymore. It really doesn't bother me when people say, oh, manner of evil against me anymore. It doesn't really bother me at all because I'm dead. And I want to live on to Christ. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word. We're thankful for the example that the Lord Jesus Christ gave us. And I pray that, Lord, you'd help us to die to self, to deny the flesh, to crucify the flesh with the affections and lust on a daily basis. That we would seek to mortify the deeds of the body every single day. It has to happen every day. And of course, we know that victory today does not guarantee a victory tomorrow. Lord, we can't ride on the victories of the past. Help us each day to wake up realizing full well and determined to mortify and crucify the flesh that we may live unto you. And I pray you bless us as we go on our way. Bless Pastor Anderson on this trip, Lord. I pray you continue to help him to be fruitful and help him to see many more souls saved. Lord, continue to bless Faith Award Baptist Church as you have been over the years. Thank you for their great example. And I pray you bless us as we go on our way. Lord, we love you. We thank you. Pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. And to finish off the service this evening, please turn to song number 425. Song number 425, No Room in the Inn. Song number 425. Sing it out on the first. No beautiful chamber, no soft cradle bed. No place but a changer, no words part is fed. No praises of gladness, no thought of distinct. No glory but sadness, no room in the inn. No room, no room for Jesus, no given welcome free. Let's hear, should hear, and there is peace. There is no room for need. No seek consideration, no seeking his heart. No humiliation, no place in the heart. No thought of the Savior, no sorrow for sin. No prayer for his favor, no room in the inn. No room, no room for Jesus, no given welcome free. Let's hear, should hear, and there is peace. There is no room for need, no one to receive him. No welcome for fear, no one to believe him. No strength but a spear, no seeking his treasure. No weeping for sin, no doing his pleasure. No room in the inn, no room, no room for Jesus, no given welcome free. Let's hear, should hear, and there is peace. There is no room for need. Give everybody a great singing and have a good night. . .