Come Out of the World

Thank you, Matthew, and once again, good afternoon, everybody. It's nice to see some of you that I have not seen before. I hope I have an opportunity to meet you personally later and really welcome to our congregation.

You know, as we are baptized, as we come to the Church, we come to a point where we realize we have to come out of the world and we make a commitment to come out of the world. But it is a difficult road. We all have to admit, because we all look back and it's me and I think it's all of us. Quite often we look back and say, I'm just not as much as I wish I would be and I've got to do it a little bit better. And it feels like we bring in the world into the Church and it takes time for us to change. The reason being mainly because of our carnal mind. We are carnal. And I appreciate the sermon that we had in which Oliver quoted Matthew 11, 28, where he said, Christ said, I'm gentle. In other words, showed him a lot that Christ has a lot of empathy and care and love for us. And we are going through what it's called a transformation process. Really, it is a process that takes time. And we have left, you and I, spiritually speaking, we left spiritual Egypt. But the question is, has spiritual Egypt left with us? In other words, are we dragging Egypt with us into our life through maybe our carnal minds? Because we know the Israelites did leave Egypt, but we know that at the end of 40 years, a whole generation was not able to make it into the promised land. And we know, as we read through, for instance, various scriptures in Old Testament, including Psalm 106 from verses 8 to 25.

We see they forgot what they had been taken off. They lasted. They envied. They complained. They mingled with Gentiles. And even though God had separated them from Egypt, they continued living and absorbing some of those practices, some of them pagan practices, because we see time and time again that they brought with them their gods. But also their attitudes, which were very carnal, and so they did not completely abandon Egypt. They dragged Egypt with them. Let's just put it that way. And so we know the consequences, because they lasted and envied and doubted God's promises. We read in Hebrews chapter 3 verse 19. Hebrews chapter 3 verse 19, they did not enter. So let's just turn to Hebrews 3 verse 19.

Hebrews 3, 19. And it says, we see that they did not enter because of unbelief. And then in the very next verse, which is chapter 4 verse 1, says, therefore, and that obviously connects it with the previous statement and what was being mentioned in the previous chapter, therefore, since the promise remains of entering his rest. You see, they did not enter the rest, which meant the promised land, that generation did not enter the promised land. Let us also, as today, in today's age, as Christians, let us us fear. You know, we need to take this very seriously with due respect, lest any of us seem to come short of it as well. In other words, some of us might not. Therefore, if we don't take it seriously, might not come into our promised land. And our promised land is the kingdom of God, is being in the family of God. And it says in verse 2, indeed, the good news, the gospel, was preached to us as well to them. To us, our good news is to be in the kingdom of God. To them, the good news was to be in the promised land, liberty from Egypt. You know, and it says, but they, it says, yes to them, but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. In other words, they did not fully trust, and because they didn't trust, they didn't obey, and they allowed the wrong things to continue with them.

And what is the meaning for you and I? The meaning for you and I is that this is an example for us. I mean, you and I can read in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, 1 Corinthians chapter 10, where it very clearly says this is, their situation is purely and simply an example for us. We read in verse 6, it says, now these things became our examples to the intent that we should not last over wrong things, evil things, as they also lasted, and do not become idolaters. And then later verse 8, not commit sexual immorality. And verse 9, let us not tempt Christ. And verse 10, not complain. Some of them complained. They were critical, and they complained about things. Verse 11, now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition. It was for our instruction as upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Brethren, we are living at the end time. I've mentioned so many times I am very concerned that sometimes we don't understand how near we are the end, how near we are the end. It's upon us. It's upon us. And so we have to take this very seriously, that we have left our Egypt, which is the world, but are we allowing our carnal mind still having that carnal thinking and behavior?

Yeah, maybe outwardly, physically speaking, socially speaking, we meet on a different day. The world meets on Sunday. We meet on the Sabbath. The world keeps its holy day, holidays as they call it. We keep God's holy days. And so outwardly, we're doing things differently. But inwardly, in our hearts, in our minds, things are difficult to change. You see, because physical circumstances are very quick, quickly changeable. I can change this physically speaking. But character, our change of heart, is very difficult to change. It's a transformative process, as we heard in the sermon, that we're going to be transformed. And that transformation is not easy. It takes time. For instance, where we need to be transformed is how we speak and say things. For instance, because we know out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. And sometimes we come across sad situations in which we, over a year, whatever, some man saying things about a woman that they shouldn't say. And that must stop. That must not occur. On the other side, it's not just men, women also. It's easy to kind of say things and speak bad of others or having gossip. You know, we all, men or women, we all are subject to a carnal mind. And we know the truth. We know the truth. But are we changing our hearts by the way we present things with grace? Because, like it was mentioned in the sermonette in Matthew 11 and 28, Christ said, I'm gentle. In other words, I'm meek. I've got empathy. I've got care. Are we showing that? Because over time, as we come into the church and as years go by for us being in the church, we have to be striving to become better and overcome. We just have to. And brethren, time is short. Time is really short. You see, so just because the Egyptians, for instance, left Egypt, that was the beginning, they didn't complete it. You see, coming out of the world in that analogy and coming into God's church, in a sense, is the beginning of the road. It's the beginning of our transformation. But it's not the end. It takes time. And brethren, we all are at different stages. I mean, some people may be a little bit further ahead, and some people have this problem, some people have the other problem. We're all at different stages. We all have come out of the world, physically speaking, let's say it that way. We all have learned God's truth. But are we truly leaving the world behind? You see, the real problem is that we are intentionally dragging Egypt with us. Unintentionally dragging Egypt with us.

And we have to be intentional to be inclined towards the way of thinking that God's Spirit leads us. We have to be intentional about that because subconsciously our carnal mind takes us the wrong way. If we turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 17, 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 17, we read, Therefore come out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I'll receive you, and I'll be a father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. We have to be separate from the world, but what is really more difficult is to be separate in the way our minds and our thinking works. That is the hard part. That is the hard part. And as I mentioned, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. And so probably the biggest indicator is what comes out of our mouth.

It's what comes out of our mouth, and it can't come out of our mouth in many different ways. Like I mentioned, it could be, for instance, the way men speak about a woman, which could be derogatory, could be unclean, but it also could be the way we speak could be gossip, the way we speak could be resentment or criticism or tendency to get offended.

But what does Christ's example is to us? Like we had the blessing of little children. What is that example? We're going to be humble. We're going to show humility. We're going to have a willingness to be gracious towards others. And so coming out of the world is not just having a different association. Instead of being in this Sunday keeping church, and now I say, okay, I'm keeping the Sabbath is not just that, but it's inside. Inside my mind, your mind, my heart, your heart.

It's a change of character. It's a change of conduct. And again, we have to strive intentionally, make an effort to change. I mean, the word intentional has become meaningful to me as I become older. You know, when I was younger, he just says, I got to do this, I got to do that, and I kind of did by, you know, I'll do this, do that, and it happens.

But now as I get older, I forget to do things. I've got to be intentional. He says, hey, I've got to do this. I must make sure I do this. And that's what I mean. We've got to be intentional as following God's Holy Spirit and really working at things. In Romans 8, Romans 8, I think I'm quoting the wrong scripture, I think it's Romans 7. I'm just, I've got it written down here, Romans 8, but I'm sure it's Romans 7, so let's have a look. In Romans 7, verse 23 through 25, it says, but I see another law in my members worrying against the law of my mind.

Now, think about who was talking about here? Who was saying these things? It was Paul. Paul was saying these things. He was an apostle. In fact, just a few verses earlier, in verse 15, he says, or rather verse 14, he says, we know the law is spiritual, but I am carnal. Paul himself, an apostle, probably for 20 years or so, said, I am carnal. Now, if Paul can say that about himself, I can say that about myself, and so can we, all of us, because we're far away from the standard that Paul was already adhering in God's way of life.

And so, we are carnal. We are carnal. And as we see, yeah, Paul is saying, I see another law in my members. It's this carnality. Yeah, we left the world, but our carnal mind is still with us and will be with us while we are physical human beings. It's a war. It says, which is warring, in verse 23, against the law of my mind. In other words, with God's early spirit working in my mind, I want to do what's right, what is godly, but I'm struggling with this and bringing me to the captivity, to the law of sin. And so, what happens is you and I, at times, may say things wrong.

We all do. We may, at times, come out of our mouth, things that, I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have said it this way. Or I shouldn't have spoken this way about that person or this other person. I shouldn't have criticized this way or that way. I should not be resentful or demonstrating envy. Why should I not take enough offense? Because we need to put on the new man, which is humility. I'm not saying new man, a new woman. We've got to be humble, like that little child, humility. And Paul is saying, yeah, in verse 23, it's a fight, warring against the law of my mind.

It's a fight! And he says, verse 24 of Romans 7, O Richard man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death? Because he recognizes while he was in the flesh, he would be fighting this continuously, continuously. And you and I all have to realize, yes, we left Egypt, but our carnal mind is still, quote-unquote, Egypt-like, and we've got to be fighting that every day. We've got to fight that every day. And that's why we read a little later in Romans 12. In Romans 12, where Paul then says, we need to present our bodies a living sacrifice.

Romans 12 verse 1. You know, quite often we think, well, we come to Holy Days, and in the Holy Days, he says, bring an offering, a sacrifice. And we say, oh, well, we don't have to bring a sacrifice nowadays. Brethren, I'll say one thing. In the spiritual context, we have to bring a sacrifice. It's our living sacrifice.

Spiritually speaking, we have to bring that living sacrifice, which is our body, which is our submission of our carnal mind, to say, put that off and put on God's mind. And that's why it says, in a little bit later, it says, which is wholly acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. You know, it's the least, in a sense, that God expects from you and I to really look at ourselves and say, can I become better? And then in verse 2 says, don't be conformed. Now, Yah is an action word, conformed. In other words, to this world. In other words, don't drag the world with you. You get out of Egypt, don't drag it with you. Don't be conformed to the world. But it says, be transformed. The word, Yah, is a word like metamorphosis. And you see when a little warm in a little cocoon changes and becomes a butterfly, that is a metamorphosis. That is a complete change. And that's a miraculous change. And that's what God expects of your and my mind, a complete change.

And you and I cannot do it, but with God's Holy Spirit. I can't do it. You can't do it. We have to be close to God and ask God for his help and strength. It's a living sacrifice. And that we're going to bring when we come to God, that attitude that we are bringing to God. I am being, living every day. When others don't look, when whatever it is, I'm living this new person, a living sacrifice. And so, is it a switch that one day you are, for instance, keeping Sunday, and now you keep the Sabbath? Is it like a switch like that? No. It's a long road of an ongoing transformation. It's not overnight. It's a new heart that does not appear overnight. It's not instant change. Like maybe, I think about instant coffee, no? No, it's not. It takes work. It takes work.

And so, we come to church. We hear messages. We hear God's truth. And you know what?

For some of us, it takes a little longer than others.

Some of us have areas which they develop very quickly, but they got out of areas where they take longer to develop. Some of us take years. Some of us, we've been in the church for years, literally decades. I'm not exaggerating. Decades. I've been in the church for five decades. And you know what? I still see things in myself that say, what? I've got to change better. You know, it's like we go to the feast and we say, okay, I was inspired by the feast. And that's good. We hear messages. I was inspired by that message. But you know, maybe it's even more important to say, ever been transformed by that message. Ever been transformed by that message. Am I becoming a new person? You see, you and I need to actively strive for these godly changes to actually take serious and deep root in us to be a true transformation. Because, as I mentioned earlier, and this is the part that worries me, time is short. You know, none of us knows if maybe tonight we might not be out because our little clock stops working, you know, our heart stops. You don't know.

We have seen man speaking in church. And I don't want to mention names, but you know, you know, that people who are speaking in church, and just a few days later they were dead.

For them, the time was very short. You and I, none of us knows how much time we have. But even if it's not just that, the world around us, it's on a crisis. I believe, brethren, this year things are going to get a lot worse than ever before. I believe the trials are going to get so big that some of us are going to be caught by surprise. I might be wrong. I hope I'm wrong. But I don't see good winds out in the horizon. I see bad winds. And therefore, time is really short, brethren, and we've got to really be focused not just on being inspired, which is nothing wrong with that, but being motivated to be transformed and use God's Holy Spirit because you and I cannot do it. You and I cannot do it. And so this requires a deliberate effort. And you and I need to understand that every one of us is at a different stage. Just because I'm at this stage, I can't now look at that person and say, because that person is at a different stage. Oh, you know, yeah, whatever, this, this, this, because they haven't done this yet. Maybe on other areas, us that are looking at others, maybe we have the same situation. Therefore, the point is we gotta show grace to other people. We gotta be gracious, like God gives us grace. God is very gracious towards us. You see, they are, I could get into, and I'm going to get into some more specific details very briefly, very quickly. But you see, we gotta reject as we go through this transformation process of not bringing the world with us. We gotta reject the lusts and attitudes of the carnal mind of the world. We must put off the old man, particularly in what we say, how we say, because out of the abundance of the heart, the heart, the abundance of the mouth, the heart speaks. In other words, we look in James, he says, the tongue is hard to control. If you can control the tongue, you can control, because that reflects the heart. And thirdly, not only just putting off the old man in speech, but in speech related to being critical or super sensitive. We gotta be careful with that, because we can kind of get into premature judgments, and we gotta be careful. And so, in the end, and my conclusion, and I'm jumping to the conclusion to help you show where I'm going, is that this change is only possible with the help and the power of God's Holy Spirit. I can't do it. The Bible doesn't say try harder. The Bible says focus, be inclined, have your mind on God's Holy Spirit, not on the things of the flesh. That's what we gotta do. And so, in 1 John chapter 2, verse 15 through 16, talking about, under the context of coming out of the world, means rejecting its lasts and attitudes. I want to use 1 John 2, verse 15 through 17, as the key scripture there. And in 1 John 2, verse 15 through 17, we read, do not love the world or the things of the world. In other words, come out of the world. If anyone loves the world, love the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, and now it lists three important things, the last of the flesh, the last of the eyes, and the pride of life. And brethren, what is the last of the flesh? The Greek word is 1939 epithumia, or something similar to that, but anyway, I tried to say the word. It refers to a strong desire or craving. Depending on the context, the desire may be a proper desire, or maybe an improper desire. But in this context, here, I was talking about improper desires. These include, for instance, sexual immorality, or uncontrolled appetites, or other cravings which are contrary to God's law. I mean, in 1 Peter chapter 2, we read 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 11.

It says, Beloved, I beg you. Look at the expression that Peter uses. I beg you. As so, journers and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts.

And I think we know what we're talking about here, about fleshly lusts. And it says, which war against the soul. They war against your life, your very life, your life being.

So, we have to fight these things. As it says, abstain from these things. It is an intentional focus to change, because these desires are not harmless. These desires are not harmless. They war against your life, against your soul. And so, really, we're talking about a spiritual battle that you and I encounter. And that battle begins in the mind.

And in James chapter 1 verse 14 and 15, James chapter 1 verse 14 and 15, describes that progression, how that grows in your mind, in my mind, in our minds. It says, James 1 verse 14, it says, we are tempted first. First, there's a temptation. Now, understand, Christ was tempted like we all, but he never sinned, because that is the first warning sign, and that's where you got to turn. But he says, each one is tempted. And then we're drawn away by our desires, fleshly desires. And so those fleshly desires are there because you are carnal, I am carnal, we're all carnal, but we must not be enticed by them and drawn away by them. We got, at that moment, at that early stage, that's when we got to change. Because then, when that desire bears its fruit, says it's conceived, verse 15, then what do you have? You have sin.

And when that is fully grown, unrepented, etc., you got eternal death. And so here's the progression. We got to stop it right at the beginning like Christ did, he's our example. And so when we looked at a moment ago at 1 John 2, verse 15 through 16, and talked about three broad categories of the carnal mind, and it says the first is the last of the flesh, but the other one is the last of the eyes. That is an equal carnal influence. The eyes. It's an avenue through which wrong desires enter into the mind. Let's look at Matthew chapter 5, verse 27. Matthew chapter 5, verse 27. You have heard it was said of those, you shall not commit adultery, but I say to you, whatever looks at a woman, lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If you're... And so what do we have here? Lust coming into the eyes. And that leads to some sort of graphic details, descriptive, which I don't want to go into there, into that, but we've got to be careful with that and put that away straight away. And again, I'm not just talking about man.

Woman may also look at man or the opposite sex in an impure way. It's not just one way, because the standards of Christian purity apply to both, man and woman. Look at 1 Timothy chapter 5, verse 1 and 2. 1 Timothy chapter 5, verse 1 and 2.

It says, do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters with all purity. Treat younger women as sisters with all purity. How should a Christian man look at a young maiden as a sister, with great respect and purity?

But likewise, how should a woman look at a man as a brother with respect and purity? Go! It cuts both ways. And so this, brethren, is coming out of the world. It's not bringing the world with us. But interesting, and going back to 1 John 2, 15 and 16, where it mentions three broad categories of the common mind, the last of the flesh, the last of the eyes, but then it brings something which is more related to the mind, because it says the pride of life. So the first two are, you could call them, kind of more physical, but the third one, pride.

Many manifests itself in many ways, and it's equally worldly. It's equally bad. It could be boasting. It could be vanity. It could be the desire to impress others.

And it could affect our relationships. It could be selfish ambitions, envy, self-righteousness, criticism, whatever it may be. You know, how could that pride be represented, maybe in specific examples? It may be that, oh, my judgment is always right, or I know what his or her motives are.

Others must come and tell me that they apologize, because, and we've got to be careful, because we've got to examine ourselves, because we all sin, brethren. We all sin.

Look at Proverbs 16 verse 18. I want to mention, yeah, two Proverbs. The first one is, I'll mention various Proverbs, but this one I want to mention first, Proverbs 16 verse 18.

Proverbs 16 verse 18.

So, pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.

And we know, for instance, even in James chapter 4 verse 6, is God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

You see, this world, pride is a big thing, and it's pushed, but God teaches us humility, self-control, and love. And so, coming out of the world, as we look at these things, we have to put off that old man and put on the new. For instance, in Ephesians chapter 4, Ephesians chapter 4 verse 17 through 24. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 17 through 24.

It says, But this I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles, walk in the futility of their mind. You see, that pride of life of the mind, having their understanding darkened, being eliminated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart, who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness and work-overing cleanliness. But you have not so learned from Christ. And so it says in verse 21, put off concerning the former conduct, the old man, according to his deceitful lusts. But verse 23 says, be renewed in your mind. That is the hard part, renewed in your mind, a change of mind. And then it says, and put on the new man, which is created to God into righteousness and holiness. You see, one of the areas that we can't put off, as if we've seen that we're now still in Ephesians. Let's just look at Ephesians chapter 5, verse 3 to 4. It says, it says, but for negation and all uncleanliness, so cavernous, let not even be named among you as it's fitting for saints, neither for fulfiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of things. You know, brethren, in appropriate speech, including fulfiness and coarse jesting, you and I need to examine ourselves. Are we discussing things that we shouldn't be discussing? Maybe as a group of men saying things, you know, I would be respectful to ladies. Or do these conversations become kind of the wrong way? And you know what I'm talking about. I don't have to be descriptive. I don't have to show graphic or describe graphic details. You know what I'm talking about. Maybe there's inappropriate jokes. But brethren, it's not just men, the same thing for women, because do their conversations are going into things that should go into? And so, a point that is important to note as well, yeah, is that a conversation does not become acceptable just because we are adults. We should never make conversations seem normal.

The conversations that should not be talked about, particularly obviously in the presence of children and young people. In Matthew 12, Christ said, we all will give accounts for everything that comes out of our mouth. You see, we can claim to be spiritual mature, but we've got to be careful of what comes out of our mouth. Look at Colossians 3 verse 8. Colossians 3 verse 8. It says, but now yourselves are to put off all these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another.

Do we have some of these things still in us?

Well, we all are carnals, so probably we do have some of it, but we've got to be intentional to examine ourselves and put these things out. Fulfill language, lying. We've got to be careful. We've got to be careful. It's easy to get into conversations or gossip or say things that becomes an opinion and becomes a judgment. We've got to be careful. We've got to be careful not to attribute motives to people because we don't know the people's hearts. Look at Proverbs 18 verse 8. Proverbs 18 verse 8 reads, The words of a tailbearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body. You know, the words of a tailbearer or a gossip are hurt. They go deep. Proverbs 16 verse 28, just a page back or so, says Proverbs 16 verse 28, says, A perverse man shall so strive, and a whisperer separates the best of friends. The best of friends are separated by things that we say that sometimes we shouldn't say.

Well, quite often we say, well, we've got a problem. We've got Matthew 18, 15, etc. But you've got to read that carefully. That's actually talking about three stages. First, go to the person, then give witnesses second stage, and then you take her to the church. But do you realize what the final outcome of Matthew 18 is?

Is, as you read in verse 17, that that person then basically gets this fellowship. Is the sun big enough for you to want to go that far? Or does it get to a point where he says, I'm just going to be meek and let her go? And the approach as well, Galatians 6 verse 1, must be of gentleness and meekness. You see, it's easy for us to jump to conclusions, but is there another explanation? Look at Colossians chapter 4 verse 6.

Sorry, pages here are glued together. That's why I can't get to it. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt.

You know what? It doesn't say, occasionally be with grace. It says, always be with grace and seasoned with salt. You know, we are the salt of the earth, and there's something about that. It's just has the right taste and flavor to it. We should speak, yes, truthfully, but with grace. With grace. Why? Because that person that you and I may be talking about, God wants that person in his kingdom. He or she is made in the image of God.

And so, as James 3 talks about the tongue, you know, it's unruly evil. The tongue, in a sense, is an indicator of our true change from the old man to the new man. It's like, if you want to look at an indicator, how is your tongue? How is my tongue?

You know, so we got to look at that. Am I using vulgarity and gossip? But also, you know, am I being critical of our brother and sister? Being overly sensitive. Now, look at Ecclesiastes chapter 7. This is a very, very thought-provoking scripture. Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse 21 and 22. Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse 21 and 22. And it says, do not take to heart everything people say. Wow! Do not take to heart everything people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you.

Why? Because probably you and I have said things we should have not said. Right? Which one is, hey, I've never done anything wrong? And here is another back to the point, which is humility. We all make mistakes. We all make mistakes. And it is very unfortunate when every little remark becomes a major offense.

And if we take it to that level, we destroy relationships. We really do. Look at proverbs 19 verse 11. Proverbs 19 verse 11. Proverbs 19 verse 11.

Proverbs 19 verse 11. The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression. Overlooking a transgression can be an expression of wisdom. It's not always necessary to confront every slight, or it's not always necessary to demand xyz things. It's sometimes not worth it to escalate it to that level. Like I mentioned, Matthew 18 says, well, he is escalating something small to the level that, hey, you need to get somebody out of the church for that. Why? Because our Christian attitude must be one of extending grace.

Our attitude must be one of extending grace. Obviously, I'm not talking about ignoring abuse, or serious wrongdoing, or genuine safety concerns, but I'm speaking about ordinary misunderstandings, irritations, personal differences. And then what do we do? As we read in 1 Corinthians 4 and 5, we end up with premature judgment. But we've got to wait for God, because he'll bring everything to light, because we don't know the motives of people.

You know, it's like for instance, sometimes I'm busy with something, and I walk past somebody, I don't greet them, and they could say, well, George was disrespectful to me because he didn't greet me. But you know, maybe I was stressed about something. I want to have something done in the back of my mind. Maybe I had a burden, or could be another brethren with a sweat, you know. So, just because maybe somebody didn't greet you warmly, doesn't mean that they don't like you, or they're against you, you know. Different things could be affecting that person.

If somebody disagrees with you, or disagrees with me, does it mean they hate me? No, they've got a different point of view. I mean, you see that a lot in the Council of Elders. We talk, and what person's got this opinion? That person's got an opinion. But you know what? We talk respectfully. We respect that person. Oh, I understand your point of view. Or understand, oh yeah, okay. So, allows us to communicate, and then in the end we get something better. So, just because you disagree, doesn't mean that you're against the other person. Another example could be, oh well, I don't agree with that person. I don't like that person. Well, it is. Therefore, you, my friend, cannot speak to that person. Is that the right thing? Is that the grace that God wants from us? Brethren, we must be careful not to transform our interpretation of things into accusations. As James says, let every man be swift to you, slow to speak, slow to wrath. Why? Because we need to seek understanding, and we need to show mercy. Because mercy drives over judgment, as we read in James 2 verse 13. Mercy does not mean calling evil good. Mercy does not mean abandoning godly standards. Mercy does not mean trust without appropriate safeguards. But mercy means, I am a sinner, we all sinners, and we all depend on God's forgiveness.

You know, you got the parable in Matthew 18 of a servant that had a great debt. That's verse 21 through 35. That was forgiven, but he could not forgive somebody else for a smaller debt.

That's an example to us. We all have a great debt forgiven by Jesus Christ. Can't we forgive a small debt from one of our fellow brethren? Look at Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 31.

Ephesians chapter 4 verse 31 and 32. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, be put away from you with all malice, but be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you. But focus on the world tender-hearted. Are we tender-hearted?

God does not want you and I to be harsh, suspicious, resentful. God wants us to be tender-hearted.

This one psalm that is beautiful, and I have to share it with you. And I'm sorry I'm going a little bit over time, but it is a very, very lovely psalm and I want you to pay attention to it. It's psalm 85 verse 10. Psalm 85 verse 10. Psalm 85 verse 10. I think it's absolutely beautiful. You think about it. Psalm 85 verse 10.

Okay, about it. 85 verse 10 it says, Mercy and truth have met together, and outcome is righteousness and peace have keest. Wow! Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that a beautiful psalm?

You see, truth without mercy is harshness, and mercy without truth is permissiveness. God wants both.

When somebody is genuinely hurt, we need to listen with compassion, and when repentance is needed, it needs to be encouraged in a loving way. We need to show humility, and that is the new man. We need to help people to repent. And brethren, you and I cannot do this without God's Holy Spirit. We cannot do this without God's Holy Spirit. You know, in Galatians 5, we all know Galatians 5, verse 22 and 23, we all look at it quite often, but look at Galatians 5 verse 16. Galatians 5 verse 16.

And this is kind of, let's put it, the key lesson that I want to leave with you. The key lesson that I want to leave with you is that you and I cannot transform ourselves by ourselves. You and I cannot transform ourselves by ourselves. We've got to walk with God's Holy Spirit. Look here at verse 16. Galatians 5 verse 16.

Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the last of the flesh. That's how we overcome. Walk in the Spirit. Get your mind filled with God's words, Bible study, prayer, close to God. Walk in the Spirit. You know, and it says the worst of the flesh, and it is very, very worst of the flesh, which some are sexual and some are not, you know. And the fruit of the Spirit has a lovely qualities. They're in verse 22 and 23, but then in verse 25, as it ends, kind of encapsulates the section. It says, if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Brethren, that's the point. We've got to walk in the Spirit. And so, as I conclude, brethren, let's not bring into our lives the old ways. Just like Israel left Egypt, and they carried on the same good old way. And this was an example to us. God has called you out of this world. We've got to reject its last, its attitudes. We've got to put off the old man, put on the new man, particularly in the way we talk. And we've got to be careful of these attitudes that kind of are critical to others and judging and things like that. We've got to be careful, because in the end, Colossians basically summarizes that in chapter 3, verse 12 through 14. Colossians chapter 3, verse 12 through 14. And we read, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long suffering. That means patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another. We've got to put on these things, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. Just like Christ shows grace to us, we must do the same thing. But above all these things, above all these things, put on outgoing concern, outgoing concern, genuine love for the fellow man, which is the bond of perfection.