WEBVTT 00:01.516 --> 00:04.896 Welcome to the Valley Baptist Church sermon podcast. 00:04.896 --> 00:06.396 We're so glad you're here, 00:06.396 --> 00:08.356 and we hope this message inspires you, 00:08.356 --> 00:09.476 builds your faith, 00:09.476 --> 00:12.536 and moves you toward a deep relationship with God. 00:12.536 --> 00:15.616 Today, you'll find great insight into the Bible 00:15.616 --> 00:18.276 and learn how you can apply it straight to your life. 00:18.276 --> 00:20.696 So welcome and enjoy the message. 00:21.327 --> 00:29.807 If you have your Bible, please open it with me to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and a message I'm calling Walking with Jesus. 00:30.667 --> 00:35.987 Today we come to the end of the Apostle Paul's letter to the Thessalonians. 00:36.700 --> 00:43.500 And as Paul comes to the end of his scroll, he ends by talking about the main thing, 00:43.940 --> 00:47.520 which is our personal relationship with God. 00:47.860 --> 00:53.400 Now, we're going to see that included in that are a bunch of rapid-fire commands that he gives us, 00:53.440 --> 00:56.280 but really all of those commands, in one way or another, 00:56.967 --> 01:00.907 Relate to our personal relationship with God. 01:01.547 --> 01:06.027 You see, God desires a personal relationship with you. 01:06.487 --> 01:11.227 That's the Christian message, that because of our sin, we've been separated from God 01:11.227 --> 01:14.527 so that we don't have a personal relationship with Him. 01:15.027 --> 01:20.107 But God loved us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to reconcile us to God, 01:20.167 --> 01:24.547 that is to reconnect us to God in relationship. 01:25.587 --> 01:32.587 And so as Christians, you and I, we are offered a personal, intimate relationship with Almighty God. 01:33.127 --> 01:38.327 Now, there's a number of metaphors in Scripture that describe this relationship. 01:38.987 --> 01:41.247 Jesus said in John chapter 15, He said, 01:41.247 --> 01:43.987 I am the vine, you are the branches. 01:44.367 --> 01:48.067 He who abides or remains in me will produce much fruit. 01:48.267 --> 01:51.007 The Bible is filled with metaphors like that. 01:51.541 --> 01:57.741 that help us get our minds around what it's like to have a relationship with the Lord. 01:57.841 --> 02:01.161 Metaphors like Jesus is our shepherd and we are his flock. 02:01.621 --> 02:04.821 Jesus is our bridegroom and we are his bride. 02:05.161 --> 02:08.161 God is our potter and we are his clay. 02:08.281 --> 02:09.921 On and on we could go. 02:10.627 --> 02:17.707 But perhaps my favorite metaphor, which also happens to be the most prominent within Scripture, 02:18.207 --> 02:21.447 is the metaphor of walking with God. 02:21.907 --> 02:27.407 Adam and Eve, before they sinned, while they were in the Garden of Eden, they walked with God. 02:27.407 --> 02:33.107 And throughout God's Word, God invites His children to walk with Him. 02:33.104 --> 02:36.704 Now, I love going on a walk with my wife, Kelsey. 02:36.804 --> 02:39.384 It's like our relationship just lights up. 02:39.464 --> 02:46.604 Our communication goes to another level as we walk and we talk and we laugh and we spend time with each other. 02:47.004 --> 02:50.204 Well, God invites us to walk with him. 02:51.211 --> 03:00.171 Now, before Jesus ascended back into heaven, after the resurrection, he said, I am with you always, he tells the disciples, even to the end of the age. 03:00.211 --> 03:03.951 And so Jesus is with you and I through his spirit. 03:04.611 --> 03:10.491 So sometimes I like to think about our personal relationship with God as walking together. 03:10.499 --> 03:15.979 With Jesus, because I can kind of visualize that, visualize Jesus walking with me. 03:16.399 --> 03:20.939 So let's look at how Paul begins wrapping up his letter in verse number 16. 03:20.939 --> 03:21.979 He says, 03:21.979 --> 03:31.899 He says, 03:31.897 --> 03:34.517 What an amazing verse of Scripture. 03:34.677 --> 03:36.477 Paul says, this is God's will for your life. 03:36.617 --> 03:38.377 And then he rattles off three quick commands. 03:38.877 --> 03:42.237 And all of them are very closely related. 03:42.437 --> 03:47.277 The first thing we see is that walking with Jesus involves having a joyful attitude. 03:48.097 --> 03:50.297 Paul says, rejoice always. 03:51.117 --> 03:55.977 Now, this word rejoice and the word joy come from the same root word. 03:56.477 --> 04:03.097 Rejoice means to rejoy, meaning to have joy over and over again. 04:03.217 --> 04:08.677 Now, I think everyone loves having joy, but the kicker is this little word always. 04:09.057 --> 04:13.037 Have joy over and over again in your life, always. 04:13.037 --> 04:13.796 Always. 04:13.797 --> 04:15.777 Well, how can we have joy? 04:15.897 --> 04:18.897 How can we rejoice when bad things happen in life? 04:18.977 --> 04:22.657 How can we rejoice when life is full of pain and trouble? 04:22.877 --> 04:28.317 Well, I think we need to realize there's a difference between joy and happiness. 04:29.035 --> 04:35.115 Happiness is connected to the happenstance of life, the circumstances of life. 04:35.335 --> 04:39.035 Well, when circumstances change, that means our happiness changes. 04:39.415 --> 04:40.755 But joy is different. 04:41.195 --> 04:44.775 Joy is anchored in something that never changes. 04:45.415 --> 04:48.515 Happiness is based on what's going on around us. 04:48.935 --> 04:52.035 Joy is based on what's going on in us. 04:52.035 --> 04:54.995 And more specifically, it's based on who. 04:55.664 --> 05:02.144 is in us. Philippians chapter 4, verse number 4 says, "'Rejoice in the Lord always.'" Again, I will say 05:02.144 --> 05:10.264 rejoice. Notice, our rejoicing always is rooted in the person of Jesus. Rejoice in the Lord. 05:10.885 --> 05:14.845 You see, whenever we're walking with Jesus and He's walking with us, 05:14.965 --> 05:17.445 that changes our perspective, doesn't it? 05:17.605 --> 05:20.405 It changes our outlook on everything. 05:20.405 --> 05:24.485 And He puts a spirit of joy in us. 05:24.805 --> 05:28.405 You see, joy is actually a fruit of the Holy Spirit. 05:28.756 --> 05:32.196 The Bible compares our life to a tree on a number of different occasions. 05:32.616 --> 05:33.895 Psalm chapter 1 says, 05:33.896 --> 05:36.916 Blessed is the man who delights in the law of the Lord. 05:37.136 --> 05:40.996 He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, 05:41.116 --> 05:44.696 whose leaf does not wither, and whatever he does, it prospers. 05:44.776 --> 05:46.696 That means his life is fruitful. 05:46.936 --> 05:48.216 It is productive. 05:48.989 --> 05:59.809 Our lives as Christians are to be rooted in the rivers of life, rooted in Jesus, so that we produce the fruit of the Spirit. 06:00.129 --> 06:11.609 And as you know, that as a Christian, God expects the fruit of the Spirit to remain on our tree, on our life, even in the midst of the storms. 06:12.277 --> 06:17.577 Now, the fruit can fall off if we let it, but it doesn't have to fall off. 06:17.857 --> 06:19.197 Paul says, rejoice always. 06:19.637 --> 06:25.937 Choose the fruit of joy for it to remain in your life even in the storm. 06:26.557 --> 06:29.997 And so when Paul says rejoice always, he isn't saying fake it. 06:30.586 --> 06:34.086 You know, as Christians, you've got to put this plaster of this smile on your face, 06:34.106 --> 06:38.786 even if you're grieving, even if you're deeply troubled by these circumstances of life. 06:38.846 --> 06:45.286 No, he's saying there is real, actual, legitimate reason to rejoice. 06:45.286 --> 06:48.986 Not in your painful circumstances of life, but in the Lord, 06:49.466 --> 06:53.346 who's walking with you, who's present with you in your life. 06:54.006 --> 06:56.246 Now, Paul also gives us a command. He says, pray. 06:57.130 --> 07:02.490 without ceasing. We learn here that walking in Jesus involves ongoing prayer. 07:03.310 --> 07:10.610 Now, I think it's important for every Christian to have some dedicated time of prayer with the 07:10.610 --> 07:16.130 Lord, where we go into the prayer closet, so to speak, as Jesus described, and we spend some 07:16.130 --> 07:21.110 dedicated time with Him in prayer. But this verse isn't talking about that. It's talking about the 07:21.110 --> 07:27.890 It's not talking about that as much as it's talking about having this ongoing dialogue with the Lord beyond our prayer closet. 07:28.330 --> 07:35.370 It's talking about recognizing that God's presence is in our life and that we speak to him because he's with us. 07:35.450 --> 07:36.830 We speak with him all the time. 07:36.830 --> 07:41.970 Not in vain repetitions as Jesus condemned, but in honest dialogue. 07:42.970 --> 07:49.490 I know some people in our church who at the end of their prayer time each morning, they don't say amen. 07:50.708 --> 07:53.928 Because for them, amen means the prayer time's over. 07:54.328 --> 07:58.728 And so they don't say amen, so they're reminded that this is ongoing prayer. 07:58.868 --> 08:00.468 My prayer time is not over. 08:00.848 --> 08:03.668 Now, so what does this look like, pray without ceasing? 08:03.768 --> 08:09.588 Well, it looks like inviting God into every aspect of our lives because he's already there. 08:10.385 --> 08:16.465 recognizing that there's no aspect of our lives that are unimportant to Him. 08:17.085 --> 08:20.225 Sometimes people feel like, even Christians feel like, 08:20.285 --> 08:26.265 well, I don't feel like I should bother God unless it's something that's really big, 08:26.345 --> 08:28.545 like a really big issue in life. 08:28.605 --> 08:29.424 Then I can bother God. 08:29.425 --> 08:30.583 Listen. 08:30.584 --> 08:32.264 There are no big issues to God. 08:32.484 --> 08:37.624 So every issue that we might bring to him is a very small issue in his mind. 08:38.764 --> 08:43.584 It's worthy of his attention, but it's very easy for him to accomplish. 08:43.864 --> 08:47.644 You see, the Bible teaches that God delights in hearing from us. 08:48.004 --> 08:53.204 Jesus said, what father doesn't love giving good gifts to his children? 08:53.204 --> 08:55.404 He also said that we have not. 08:55.844 --> 08:56.403 Why? 08:56.404 --> 08:58.024 Because we ask not. 08:58.023 --> 09:04.883 That means there are things in your life that you do not have simply because you have not asked God for them. 09:05.543 --> 09:10.983 So praying without ceasing is bringing every aspect of our lives together. 09:12.282 --> 09:19.222 To him. Asking him for advice when we need it. Asking him for help all the time. You're driving 09:19.222 --> 09:25.282 down the road and someone cuts you off and you start boiling with anger. Well, tell the Lord 09:25.282 --> 09:30.782 about it. I mean, he already knows about it, so talk to him about it. Lord, I'm so mad right now, 09:30.822 --> 09:31.882 I can hardly think. 09:32.768 --> 09:38.248 Lord, would you call me? Would you give me a peace that comes from you? Or maybe you're faced with a 09:38.248 --> 09:44.448 challenging situation. Lord, would you give me the wisdom to be able to navigate this situation 09:44.448 --> 09:51.768 with your wisdom, to see it as you see it, so I can make a wise decision? Or maybe you're 09:51.768 --> 09:55.648 struggling with anxiety at a particular time in life. Lord, would you 09:55.955 --> 09:57.575 Would you please calm my nerves? 09:57.915 --> 10:02.815 I've recognized I'm so nervous about this because I don't have control over this issue. 10:02.935 --> 10:04.515 But I know you have control. 10:05.075 --> 10:07.155 Lord, so I'm trusting you with it. 10:07.175 --> 10:08.835 I'm just going to let go of it. 10:08.975 --> 10:11.595 And I'm going to let you take it from here. 10:11.595 --> 10:15.935 Or maybe you're just walking along and you see this beautiful sunset. 10:16.735 --> 10:18.229 Lord. 10:18.230 --> 10:20.350 wow, you really outdid yourself today. 10:20.810 --> 10:24.790 What a beautiful sunset that you have given us to enjoy. 10:24.910 --> 10:27.490 What I'm saying is start talking with God. 10:27.830 --> 10:31.730 Keep talking with God and never stop talking with God. 10:32.506 --> 10:34.186 Now, Paul also gives a command. 10:34.306 --> 10:37.246 He says, in everything, give thanks. 10:37.326 --> 10:38.365 Imperative. 10:38.366 --> 10:39.665 A command. 10:39.666 --> 10:44.266 Now, notice he doesn't say, give thanks for everything. 10:44.386 --> 10:45.565 That would be ludicrous. 10:45.566 --> 10:48.366 He says, give thanks in everything. 10:48.366 --> 10:53.726 In every circumstance of life, find something to be thankful for. 10:54.286 --> 10:59.046 You see, walking with Jesus, it involves having a grateful attitude. 11:00.106 --> 11:01.926 Now, how many times... 11:02.105 --> 11:05.525 Do we overlook all so many of God's blessings 11:05.525 --> 11:09.285 because we're focused instead on what we don't have 11:09.285 --> 11:11.645 instead of what we do have? 11:11.645 --> 11:14.625 I know I'm certainly guilty of that at times. 11:14.625 --> 11:17.165 So I'm trying to remind myself more and more 11:17.165 --> 11:19.825 that even in the midst of my challenging circumstances 11:19.825 --> 11:22.425 to look for things I ought to be thankful for 11:22.425 --> 11:24.965 and when I locate and identify those things 11:24.965 --> 11:26.505 to articulate it to God. 11:26.505 --> 11:30.325 Thank you and be very specific about those things. 11:30.320 --> 11:37.380 Now, I've tried to start doing that more with the little aches and pains I have in my body. 11:37.380 --> 11:44.080 My boys are wrestling and I have not yet fully come to grips with the fact that I'm getting 11:44.080 --> 11:45.800 quite a bit older. 11:45.800 --> 11:49.840 And so, I'm still trying to get into the wrestling room and to wrestle some. 11:49.840 --> 11:55.260 And so, it seems like every time I get in there, I hurt something. 11:55.260 --> 11:58.120 Two years ago, I hurt my right shoulder. 11:58.754 --> 12:01.194 Last January, I hurt my left shoulder. 12:01.654 --> 12:04.354 This fall, I hurt my knee and my hip. 12:04.434 --> 12:06.874 And about six weeks ago, I hurt my ribs. 12:07.954 --> 12:15.774 For the last two years or so, I nearly every day doing some form of YouTube-guided physical therapy because stuff hurts. 12:18.481 --> 12:22.761 I'll tell you, sometimes I wake up in the morning feeling sorry for myself. 12:22.761 --> 12:24.161 This hurts. 12:24.161 --> 12:25.161 That hurts. 12:25.161 --> 12:27.421 Man, I can't move quite like I used to. 12:27.421 --> 12:30.021 If I'm not careful, I'm not inviting. 12:30.021 --> 12:33.301 I don't invite the Lord into my painful situation. 12:33.301 --> 12:38.901 Subconsciously, I think that my self-inflicted pain is too trivial for Him, which goes against 12:38.901 --> 12:41.541 everything I'm trying to teach our church family. 12:41.541 --> 12:43.501 He wants to hear about it all. 12:43.501 --> 12:45.861 He wants to hear about it all. 12:45.869 --> 12:47.689 when I don't bring it to Him, 12:47.769 --> 12:50.049 I end up being way more discouraged 12:50.049 --> 12:51.109 than I ought to be. 12:51.489 --> 12:53.769 So I'm learning more and more 12:53.769 --> 12:55.329 to come back to thankfulness, 12:55.729 --> 12:57.849 to thank the Lord for the mobility I do have. 12:58.109 --> 12:59.749 Thank you, Lord, I have a shoulder. 13:00.635 --> 13:02.535 that has the ability to ache. 13:02.535 --> 13:04.875 Thank you, Lord, that while my knee hurts, 13:04.875 --> 13:08.315 I can still walk and live a very normal life. 13:08.315 --> 13:10.755 And you know, that perspective of thanksgiving, 13:10.755 --> 13:15.755 it completely changes my attitude about a lot of things. 13:15.775 --> 13:18.835 You see, pain is inevitable. 13:18.835 --> 13:20.915 Misery is a choice. 13:21.678 --> 13:23.238 You don't have to be miserable. 13:23.238 --> 13:25.098 You're gonna experience pain and suffering. 13:25.098 --> 13:27.218 You don't have to choose misery. 13:27.218 --> 13:28.057 Why? 13:28.058 --> 13:29.298 Because Jesus is with us. 13:29.298 --> 13:30.658 He's dealt with our biggest problem 13:30.658 --> 13:33.158 of being separated from him because of our sin. 13:33.158 --> 13:36.578 He's walking with us, we're walking with him. 13:36.578 --> 13:38.198 Perspective matters. 13:38.198 --> 13:42.078 I heard about a donut shop that had a sign on the wall 13:42.078 --> 13:46.298 that said the secret to life is to focus on the donut 13:46.298 --> 13:48.018 and not the hole. 13:48.018 --> 13:50.778 Well, that's pretty good advice. 13:51.158 --> 13:55.838 What are we focused on here? Now, these three commands, rejoice always, 13:56.238 --> 14:02.818 pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, all three commands are very closely related to 14:02.818 --> 14:08.198 each other. And the key to all three, the key that's going to unlock these three 14:08.198 --> 14:15.058 things within your life is to develop a conscious awareness of God's presence in your life. 14:16.252 --> 14:20.272 to be consciously aware that God is with you. 14:20.272 --> 14:21.872 God is with you right now. 14:21.872 --> 14:24.632 As you hear his word and you're receiving, 14:24.632 --> 14:26.332 he's right here, he's with us. 14:26.332 --> 14:28.272 As you leave this building in a moment, 14:28.272 --> 14:30.092 when our service is over, you walk out to your, 14:30.092 --> 14:31.712 he's there with you. 14:31.712 --> 14:33.312 You go and you grab a bite to eat, 14:33.312 --> 14:34.752 you lay down for a nap, God is with you. 14:34.752 --> 14:36.592 He is with us all the time. 14:36.592 --> 14:39.332 And when we have an awareness of his presence, 14:39.332 --> 14:42.692 it then becomes very, very natural to rejoice always. 14:42.678 --> 14:46.558 to always be thanking him for this and that because he's with us giving us those things 14:46.558 --> 14:54.338 and to always go to him for help verse number 19 he gives another command he says do not 14:54.743 --> 15:02.563 quench the Spirit. We see here that walking with Jesus also involves not quenching the Spirit, the Holy Spirit. Now, 15:02.923 --> 15:08.683 what in the world does it mean to not quench the Spirit? The word quench 15:09.483 --> 15:11.803 literally means to put the fire out, 15:12.443 --> 15:16.243 to extinguish and smother the fire. 15:17.223 --> 15:20.083 See, when we get saved, we 15:20.309 --> 15:24.709 The Holy Spirit, he comes upon us and he starts a fire in us. 15:25.589 --> 15:27.709 And Paul says, don't you put that fire out. 15:28.209 --> 15:29.529 Don't you quench that fire. 15:30.049 --> 15:33.849 Now, that means, first of all, that it's possible for us to put the fire out. 15:33.849 --> 15:39.149 And second, it means that if the fire does go out in our life, we're the ones who put it out, not God. 15:39.732 --> 15:43.272 Now, the flip side to quenching the Spirit, 15:43.892 --> 15:46.432 the opposite of that, the more positive way to say it, 15:46.552 --> 15:49.232 is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. 15:49.532 --> 15:51.712 And the word filled is a nautical term. 15:51.852 --> 15:54.092 It speaks of a sailboat that is out at sea, 15:54.092 --> 15:59.592 and it lifts its sails in order to be filled with the wind that's blowing. 16:00.235 --> 16:04.355 For the Christian, the wind of the Spirit is always blowing in our life, 16:04.495 --> 16:07.995 and we've got to lift the sails of our own volition, lift the sails of our will, 16:08.155 --> 16:11.815 so we're filled and empowered by the Spirit of God in our life. 16:11.815 --> 16:19.435 And if we don't, we are choosing instead to extinguish the fire of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 16:20.495 --> 16:23.255 Sometimes a Christian will wonder, 16:24.215 --> 16:25.835 How did I get like this? 16:25.835 --> 16:29.155 I mean, I used to be so on fire for the Lord. 16:29.155 --> 16:31.555 I used to be so close to God. 16:31.555 --> 16:32.394 What happened? 16:32.395 --> 16:34.215 I'll tell you exactly what happened. 16:34.215 --> 16:37.875 At some point, you quenched the spirit. 16:37.875 --> 16:40.555 God convicted you of something. 16:40.555 --> 16:42.835 You chose to ignore that conviction. 16:42.835 --> 16:46.335 You smothered the Holy Spirit's fire in your life. 16:47.890 --> 16:55.230 I heard about an old farmer whose wife would ride with him in his pickup truck everywhere he went out on the farm. 16:55.310 --> 16:59.790 And one day as he was driving along, she said to him from the passenger seat, she said, 16:59.850 --> 17:01.110 Well, what happened to us? 17:01.450 --> 17:03.630 I mean, we used to be so in love. 17:03.710 --> 17:04.809 We used to be so close. 17:04.810 --> 17:07.490 Whenever you'd be driving, I'd snuggle up against your arm. 17:07.530 --> 17:09.670 I'd put my head upon your shoulder. 17:09.810 --> 17:11.270 What happened to us? 17:12.270 --> 17:15.390 The farmer said, Well, I never moved. 17:15.390 --> 17:18.872 Ha! 17:18.873 --> 17:25.393 See, if we're no longer on fire for the Lord and we're no longer close to Him in an intimate relationship, 17:25.573 --> 17:27.193 we're the ones who smothered the fire. 17:27.753 --> 17:31.653 We're the ones who move away from God, not Him. 17:31.913 --> 17:35.393 He is exactly where you left Him. 17:35.393 --> 17:37.993 Verse number 20. 17:39.494 --> 17:43.834 He says, do not despise prophecies, test all things. 17:44.194 --> 17:48.934 You see, walking with Jesus involves testing all prophecies, not despising them. 17:50.024 --> 17:51.664 See, God is a God of truth. 17:51.764 --> 17:55.924 He cares deeply about truth because truth comes from him. 17:56.164 --> 17:56.943 He is truth. 17:56.944 --> 17:59.264 Jesus said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. 17:59.704 --> 18:01.524 The devil is the opposite, though. 18:01.604 --> 18:03.363 The devil is a liar. 18:03.364 --> 18:06.364 There's no truth found in him, which means as Christians, 18:06.364 --> 18:09.664 because the devil also is giving messages as God is, 18:10.044 --> 18:12.624 it means as Christians we must be very, very careful. 18:13.109 --> 18:17.149 when we're listening to someone who's speaking on behalf of God. 18:17.969 --> 18:19.029 And that's what a prophet does. 18:19.129 --> 18:22.029 They receive a message from God and they speak. 18:22.189 --> 18:24.529 They deliver that message to others on God's behalf. 18:24.669 --> 18:29.709 So what does God mean and the Apostle Paul mean when he says, 18:29.989 --> 18:33.389 don't despise prophecy but instead test the prophecy? 18:33.389 --> 18:39.749 Well, I think we need to understand the context in which 1 Thessalonians was written. 18:40.312 --> 18:48.252 At that time in history, God was speaking new revelation of himself to the church through the apostles and the prophets. 18:48.892 --> 18:51.132 That's how we have our New Testament. 18:51.512 --> 18:53.412 Some of that prophecy, it was written down. 18:53.512 --> 18:56.872 It became scripture after much testing. 18:57.632 --> 18:59.632 And Paul says, I don't want you to despise it. 19:00.152 --> 19:03.152 Don't reject this new revelation, this new scripture that God gave you. 19:03.152 --> 19:05.192 This is a wonderful, wonderful blessing. 19:06.113 --> 19:07.473 but you do need to test it. 19:07.953 --> 19:12.733 It needs to be compatible with the other things that God has revealed of Himself. 19:12.853 --> 19:16.413 It needs to stand under careful scrutiny. 19:17.773 --> 19:19.012 Why? 19:19.013 --> 19:20.673 Because there's false prophets out there. 19:21.267 --> 19:26.687 In fact, we know that the Apostle Paul said in his second letter to the Thessalonians, 19:26.787 --> 19:31.987 he referenced one of these false prophets who had actually written to the Thessalonians a letter, 19:32.327 --> 19:34.507 claiming himself to be Paul when he wasn't. 19:34.607 --> 19:37.387 He forged a letter as a false prophet. 19:38.067 --> 19:40.907 And so Paul's saying here, he said, not all prophecies come from God. 19:40.907 --> 19:41.947 Some are. 19:42.067 --> 19:49.607 So don't despise when you hear someone claim to have God's word, but you better be testing it. 19:50.866 --> 19:57.546 Now, what does this mean for you and I, since we're living during a time where Scripture is complete? 19:57.686 --> 20:02.086 God said in the book of Revelation, let no one add or take away from this book. 20:03.426 --> 20:09.346 I think some natural application for you and I could be the preaching and the teaching of God's Word. 20:10.407 --> 20:14.707 When someone teaches and preaches God's Word, the Holy Spirit's at work, right? 20:14.947 --> 20:16.347 The preacher explains. 20:16.567 --> 20:17.606 He elaborates. 20:17.607 --> 20:18.967 He applies the Word. 20:19.047 --> 20:22.927 Well, whenever that is happening, don't despise what's being said. 20:23.687 --> 20:26.387 But you absolutely should test it. 20:27.147 --> 20:29.707 In other words, everything that comes out of my mouth. 20:30.505 --> 20:37.165 As a church body, you're responsible to test what I'm saying with the Word of God. 20:37.965 --> 20:44.105 Now, there are some who become hypercritical in the church. 20:44.225 --> 20:46.245 My dad used to call these people heresy hunters. 20:46.621 --> 20:50.421 All they do is look for things they can attack the preacher on. 20:50.461 --> 20:51.641 They're parsing every verb. 20:51.741 --> 20:57.041 They're looking for every little slip of the tongue that might be close to something that could be problematic. 20:57.461 --> 21:02.381 I don't think Paul is saying look with a hypercritical attitude at the preacher. 21:02.661 --> 21:04.681 Because that's not going to be good for your soul. 21:05.541 --> 21:13.281 I think what he's saying is make sure that what he is saying is tested with Scripture before you receive it and ingest it into your life. 21:14.887 --> 21:18.647 Verse 21, he moves on to some more commands. 21:18.767 --> 21:24.567 He said, hold fast what is good, abstain from every form of evil. 21:24.887 --> 21:26.087 Now he starts praying. 21:26.087 --> 21:30.367 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. 21:30.927 --> 21:36.487 And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming, the 21:36.487 --> 21:38.407 parousia of the Lord Jesus Christ. 21:39.147 --> 21:43.727 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. 21:45.076 --> 21:51.696 Now, the word sanctify that Paul prays for here, it means to be made holy, 21:51.816 --> 21:56.636 to be set apart for a specific divine purpose, to be set apart to God. 21:57.296 --> 21:59.196 So let's follow what Paul is saying here. 21:59.676 --> 22:02.176 First of all, he says abstain from every form of evil. 22:02.276 --> 22:03.637 Get rid of that. 22:03.638 --> 22:04.718 Stay away from it. 22:05.078 --> 22:07.718 Cling instead to everything that is good. 22:07.798 --> 22:09.158 He's saying here, be holy. 22:09.898 --> 22:13.258 Be set apart from sin, dedicated alone to God. 22:13.378 --> 22:14.638 And then Paul prays. 22:15.018 --> 22:16.838 He says, now may God... 22:17.257 --> 22:20.837 sanctify you and set you apart as dedicated to him. 22:20.897 --> 22:21.897 So which is it? 22:22.337 --> 22:27.457 Do we set ourselves apart to God or does he set us apart to himself? 22:27.797 --> 22:29.317 Well, it's both. 22:29.917 --> 22:31.117 Yes, it's the answer. 22:31.657 --> 22:34.017 Philippians 2, verse 12 says, 22:34.017 --> 22:36.957 Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 22:37.372 --> 22:42.672 For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure. 22:42.772 --> 22:45.072 In context, this is talking about sanctification. 22:45.472 --> 22:47.432 Paul's not saying work for your salvation. 22:47.432 --> 22:51.032 He's saying work out the implications of your salvation. 22:51.712 --> 22:55.712 Live out what God is already doing and has done in you. 22:56.272 --> 22:58.732 For it's God who works in you. 22:58.955 --> 23:03.315 So we cooperate with the Spirit of God as He sanctifies us. 23:03.315 --> 23:10.755 But while we cooperate with Him, ultimately speaking, it's God who does the heavy lifting, right? 23:11.095 --> 23:12.955 Because what Paul says here, he says, 23:13.255 --> 23:18.655 He who calls you is faithful, He will do it. 23:18.884 --> 23:20.444 Look at Philippians 1, verse 6. 23:20.544 --> 23:22.444 It says, being confident of this very thing, 23:22.664 --> 23:24.504 that he, that's God, 23:24.824 --> 23:27.624 who has begun a good work in you 23:27.624 --> 23:31.504 will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. 23:31.564 --> 23:32.864 He didn't say he might complete it. 23:33.144 --> 23:36.484 Maybe he'll complete it if you are really good. 23:36.584 --> 23:37.584 No, he says he will. 23:37.884 --> 23:38.964 He will complete it. 23:39.264 --> 23:40.444 You see, walking with Jesus, 23:40.444 --> 23:45.044 it involves being fully dedicated to God. 23:45.547 --> 23:46.587 That's what Paul is saying. 23:46.987 --> 23:50.587 He's saying abstain from evil, cling to that which is good, 23:50.707 --> 23:56.107 and allow God to completely satisfy your life, your soul, your spirit, your body, 23:56.307 --> 23:57.947 the totality of who you are. 24:00.768 --> 24:07.428 Some Christians have a little bit trouble understanding this fancy word sanctify. 24:07.788 --> 24:12.928 So I want to give you a couple examples of being sanctified and being fully dedicated. 24:13.028 --> 24:15.348 The first is that of a wedding dress. 24:15.348 --> 24:19.148 A wedding dress is purchased and then it's set apart. 24:20.039 --> 24:22.539 It's dedicated for one use. 24:23.099 --> 24:27.119 It's only to be worn by the bride on her wedding day. 24:27.519 --> 24:29.839 I mean, all this money is spent on the wedding dress. 24:29.899 --> 24:35.799 It's the most beautiful dress that a woman will ever own, yet she completely sanctifies it. 24:36.119 --> 24:40.519 She dedicates it completely, exclusively to be worn on her wedding day. 24:40.919 --> 24:46.939 Well, we are to be dedicated completely to God in a similar way. 24:47.596 --> 24:53.996 Now, I've heard Pastor Brian compare being sanctified to a toothbrush. 24:54.576 --> 24:57.516 And it's now my favorite illustration about being sanctified. 24:57.676 --> 24:58.615 Think about your toothbrush. 24:58.616 --> 25:02.936 Your toothbrush is set apart and dedicated for one person, right? 25:03.516 --> 25:05.296 You and no one else. 25:05.296 --> 25:09.016 Your toothbrush also serves only one purpose. 25:09.556 --> 25:12.656 It serves as a tool to clean your teeth. 25:12.655 --> 25:17.515 It's not to be used on the ground and the tile floor in the bathroom. 25:17.615 --> 25:20.375 It's not to be used to scrub the toilet. 25:20.695 --> 25:24.135 It has been sanctified by you, right? 25:24.135 --> 25:29.055 It is exclusively dedicated to clean your teeth and only your teeth. 25:30.375 --> 25:33.875 God says throughout his word, you're my child. 25:34.677 --> 25:35.717 I've made you clean. 25:36.017 --> 25:38.837 I've cleaned you from all the filth that you were in. 25:38.917 --> 25:42.997 I'm setting you apart for me, dedicated for me alone. 25:43.117 --> 25:47.697 Now, in Pastor Brian's illustration, we're actually the toothbrush, aren't we? 25:47.797 --> 25:50.077 And God is us in that illustration. 25:50.797 --> 25:54.617 He sets us apart for himself, and yet, unlike the toothbrush, 25:55.437 --> 26:00.457 since we have a will of our own, sometimes we walk back to the toilet of life, don't we? 26:01.417 --> 26:03.657 And Paul is saying, don't do that. 26:04.748 --> 26:07.448 God has cleansed you. 26:07.688 --> 26:08.267 He's sending you. 26:08.268 --> 26:09.968 Don't go back to the filth. 26:10.008 --> 26:12.348 Don't go back to that nasty stuff. 26:12.728 --> 26:13.848 Come to God. 26:14.128 --> 26:16.648 Let him sanctify you completely. 26:17.768 --> 26:20.448 Now, verse number 25, he gives us another command. 26:21.048 --> 26:25.208 He says, brethren, brothers, pray for us. 26:25.748 --> 26:29.568 We see here that walking with Jesus, it involves praying for others. 26:30.382 --> 26:32.742 And Paul knew very well the power of prayer. 26:32.962 --> 26:37.502 In chapter 1, he begins his letter by saying, I am praying for you. 26:37.602 --> 26:41.102 And now he ends his letter by saying, will you pray for us? 26:42.835 --> 26:50.815 I hope that you regularly pray for your loved ones, those in your family, those in your life group, 26:50.935 --> 26:54.995 those in whatever ministry you serve in, those in our church family. 26:54.995 --> 27:03.715 And may I be so bold to be like the Apostle Paul and to ask, would you, brothers and sisters, pray for us as your pastors? 27:04.095 --> 27:07.615 I know many of you do, and we're so very thankful for it. 27:07.996 --> 27:15.536 Verse 26, he says, another command, greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. 27:16.176 --> 27:21.036 We see here that walking with Jesus involves warmly greeting other Christians. 27:21.916 --> 27:24.896 Now, I wouldn't suggest that you go around kissing people in the church. 27:24.896 --> 27:27.336 That's a good way for you to meet our security team. 27:28.236 --> 27:29.296 Let's not do that. 27:31.503 --> 27:34.863 But greeting with a kiss was part of their culture. 27:35.183 --> 27:36.963 It was part of their greeting culture. 27:37.083 --> 27:39.003 It still is in many parts of the world. 27:39.863 --> 27:42.483 The point, though, is not the kiss. 27:43.003 --> 27:44.743 It's that it's a holy greeting. 27:44.983 --> 27:50.003 And it's directed towards those who are brothers and sisters in Christ, part of the family. 27:50.763 --> 27:57.883 I believe that a warm greeting from one Christian to another is a ministry that is often neglected. 27:59.043 --> 28:07.303 Do not underestimate the power of a warm smile and looking someone in the eye and saying with your eyes and saying with your face, 28:07.403 --> 28:11.063 I love you, I care for you, you matter to me. 28:11.063 --> 28:19.423 I believe God can use a handshake and a high five and an appropriate hug, a greeting to minister to a person's soul. 28:21.385 --> 28:27.145 I've been thinking about it for a while, and here at some point, we're going to try something 28:27.145 --> 28:29.905 we haven't done for a long time at Valley. 28:30.045 --> 28:35.625 We're going to set aside a little bit of time in our service to give some warm greetings 28:35.625 --> 28:38.965 one to another, those people that are sitting around us. 28:39.505 --> 28:44.485 Now, I know that makes those of us introverts a little nervous, okay? 28:44.485 --> 28:45.060 Okay. 28:45.061 --> 28:46.981 You're interested? Just sit on down, okay? 28:47.081 --> 28:48.921 You're fine. When that time comes, just sit down. 28:49.441 --> 28:52.181 We have plenty of extroverts who are going to find you, okay? 28:54.899 --> 28:56.659 When that time comes, let me encourage you. 28:57.059 --> 28:59.419 We're not going to keep doing it if it's just perfunctory. 29:00.079 --> 29:00.518 No, no, no. 29:00.519 --> 29:03.359 What I'm talking about is let's warmly greet one another. 29:03.579 --> 29:06.579 Let's let people around us know we love them and we care for them. 29:06.739 --> 29:08.339 We're interested in their life. 29:08.639 --> 29:12.199 Greet one another, he says, with a holy kiss. 29:12.199 --> 29:20.439 Verse 27, he says, I charge you by the Lord that this epistle, this letter, be read to all the holy brothers. 29:21.713 --> 29:27.133 That's what we're doing right now, over 2,000 years later, because this is Scripture. 29:28.093 --> 29:34.753 For several months now, we've been reading this letter out loud and walking through it together. 29:36.053 --> 29:40.213 Paul ends in verse 28, the very last verse. 29:40.353 --> 29:41.572 He says, 29:41.573 --> 29:46.333 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. 29:47.033 --> 29:50.573 Here's the last point, and it is the most important point. 29:51.363 --> 29:56.363 Walking with Jesus is only possible by the grace of God. 29:58.483 --> 30:00.383 Now, it's been a few months, 30:01.606 --> 30:06.526 since we started this letter, but do you remember how Paul first started the book of 1 Thessalonians? 30:06.586 --> 30:15.066 The very first verse of his letter says, grace to you. And now the very last verse of his letter 30:15.066 --> 30:22.966 says, the grace of Jesus be with you. From beginning to end, 1 Thessalonians is all about 30:22.966 --> 30:30.346 God's amazing grace, and that is because the Christian life from beginning to end is all about 30:30.346 --> 30:31.170 God's amazing grace. 30:31.171 --> 30:32.251 Amazing grace. 30:33.611 --> 30:35.030 Now, 30:35.031 --> 30:38.251 if your Christian walk with Jesus 30:38.251 --> 30:40.931 is a burden to you, 30:41.951 --> 30:45.571 if you hear all these additional commands 30:45.571 --> 30:46.030 and you're thinking, 30:46.031 --> 30:48.131 man, that's going to be so much work 30:48.131 --> 30:49.611 to do this and do that, 30:49.671 --> 30:51.171 and you feel weighed down 30:51.171 --> 30:52.631 and you feel like that's a burden, 30:52.811 --> 30:55.531 then you don't get the grace of God. 30:55.991 --> 30:57.491 You missed the point. 30:58.771 --> 31:00.212 But, 31:00.213 --> 31:08.653 If your Christian walk with Jesus is a delight, if it's a delight, now you understand grace. 31:09.713 --> 31:10.713 What is grace? 31:10.873 --> 31:13.273 Well, grace is unmerited favor. 31:13.933 --> 31:16.773 It's when we get something that we don't deserve to get. 31:18.053 --> 31:20.873 When we get God, we don't deserve to get Him. 31:20.893 --> 31:21.912 We get His forgiveness. 31:21.913 --> 31:24.039 We don't deserve that. 31:24.040 --> 31:27.980 You know, most people think that God simply gives us what we deserve, 31:28.240 --> 31:32.920 so that we've got to work really hard to live a good life so God is going to accept us. 31:32.980 --> 31:37.760 The problem with that is that none of us have lived good enough. 31:38.857 --> 31:40.356 Not even close. 31:40.357 --> 31:45.957 We have all taken our lives into the toilet of sin and we've been stained by sin. 31:46.937 --> 31:50.797 We're not worthy of having a close relationship with God. 31:50.917 --> 31:54.597 We're filthy into God's pure, holy presence. 31:54.597 --> 31:56.737 And so what we need is we need to be cleaned. 31:57.957 --> 32:01.517 Cleansed by the washing of the blood of Christ. 32:01.637 --> 32:03.442 The message of the Bible. 32:03.443 --> 32:10.003 Is that even in our sin, in our filth, in our unrighteousness, that God looks on us with love. 32:11.083 --> 32:12.482 And He loves us. 32:12.483 --> 32:17.003 And even in the midst of our corruption, He loves us. 32:17.003 --> 32:20.683 And so He sent His Son, Jesus, His only begotten Son. 32:21.163 --> 32:25.083 And He came to die on the cross for our sin. 32:25.823 --> 32:30.603 So that we can be forgiven by Him and be made clean. 32:31.760 --> 32:36.800 The Bible says that if we confess our sins, our filth, 32:38.500 --> 32:44.100 He, God, is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us 32:44.382 --> 32:46.902 from all unrighteousness. 32:46.902 --> 32:51.782 There is nothing like being clean in the presence of God. 32:51.782 --> 32:53.502 There's nothing like it. 32:53.502 --> 32:55.962 Because we don't experience that 32:55.962 --> 32:57.862 until we come to faith in Christ, 32:57.862 --> 32:59.522 until we have a relationship with Him. 32:59.522 --> 33:04.062 What we experience instead is guilt, shame. 33:04.962 --> 33:07.482 All these failures, they start piling on us. 33:07.482 --> 33:09.642 The more we live, the heavier it gets. 33:10.682 --> 33:14.022 And so we carry around all of this burden 33:16.445 --> 33:20.445 The message of the Bible is that Jesus came to take the burden off our shoulders, 33:20.665 --> 33:23.085 our sin, our guilt, our shame, to take it. 33:23.745 --> 33:28.485 And he wore it upon the cross, paying for the penalty of our sin. 33:28.765 --> 33:32.705 And if anyone calls upon the name of the Lord, they will be saved. 33:32.705 --> 33:36.625 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, 33:36.705 --> 33:43.265 that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. 33:45.166 --> 33:47.426 Let's bow together in an attitude of prayer, if you will. 33:48.186 --> 33:50.526 This is a holy moment in the life of our church. 33:51.986 --> 33:56.546 If you don't have a personal relationship with God by His grace, 33:56.906 --> 33:59.866 I want to invite you to experience His grace right now. 34:00.746 --> 34:02.066 Maybe you have an awareness, 34:02.866 --> 34:06.306 an awareness of your sin. 34:07.566 --> 34:10.166 Maybe you haven't even known the right words to call it, 34:10.246 --> 34:11.365 but you sense it. 34:11.366 --> 34:12.125 You've known it. 34:12.126 --> 34:13.246 Something's not right. 34:17.043 --> 34:19.443 You've longed for meaning and significance and purpose. 34:19.603 --> 34:24.503 You've longed for life to really matter, but it hasn't. 34:25.723 --> 34:26.722 Not really. 34:26.723 --> 34:31.463 You've pursued significance in things that are outside of God, and it's left you wanting. 34:32.563 --> 34:36.863 I want to invite you right now to admit the sin in your life. 34:38.563 --> 34:39.603 To fess up. 34:40.603 --> 34:43.083 To recognize and acknowledge how... 34:43.250 --> 34:45.230 dirty you are because of your sin 34:45.230 --> 34:47.430 in God's eyes who is pure and clean. 34:49.270 --> 34:51.710 I want to invite you to turn from the filth 34:51.710 --> 34:52.990 and to turn 34:52.990 --> 34:55.430 to Jesus in faith. 34:59.450 --> 35:00.009 Maybe 35:00.010 --> 35:03.610 you're listening and you are a Christian. 35:04.970 --> 35:07.270 You have a relationship with God 35:07.270 --> 35:08.966 but 35:08.967 --> 35:18.487 Somewhere along the way, that wonderful relationship with God that started by grace has now turned into a lot of effort on your part. 35:20.387 --> 35:21.986 Self-effort. 35:21.987 --> 35:23.487 I've got to do more. 35:23.487 --> 35:29.047 I've got to be better to prove I'm a Christian or to be what I'm supposed to be. 35:29.227 --> 35:33.967 And it's become a burden because you keep falling short. 35:36.946 --> 35:43.746 Maybe as a Christian, you need to renew your sense of understanding about what grace is. 35:44.746 --> 35:48.366 That it's not about your effort, it's about what Jesus has already done. 35:49.486 --> 35:59.426 And that we walk freely and with a lightness because of what Jesus has done for us. 36:00.571 --> 36:06.151 And that our obeying of the commands of God, whatever they might be, 36:06.211 --> 36:13.291 some of the commands here of rejoicing and being thankful and greeting one another warmly and things like that, 36:13.351 --> 36:15.111 that's not a burden, that's a delight. 36:15.674 --> 36:19.954 That's the greatest thing in the world, to walk with Jesus in that way. 36:20.354 --> 36:25.514 But somewhere along the way, it stopped feeling like a delight and became a burden to you. 36:25.514 --> 36:34.094 I want to invite you to renew your understanding and your invitation into your life to fully acknowledge the grace of God. 36:35.174 --> 36:38.554 Because our Christian life, it starts with God's grace. 36:38.834 --> 36:41.234 It continues with God's grace. 36:41.494 --> 36:44.494 And it ends by God's grace. 36:47.450 --> 36:53.250 Maybe you're a Christian, but you've never gone public with your faith. 36:53.350 --> 36:54.449 You've never been baptized. 36:54.450 --> 36:56.970 Or maybe you'd like to join our church family. 36:57.090 --> 36:59.510 Well, in just a moment, we're going to give you a time to respond. 36:59.630 --> 37:02.790 I'm going to pray, and then we're going to stand to our feet. 37:02.910 --> 37:05.010 And as we stand, we're going to sing a song together. 37:05.110 --> 37:09.530 And there's going to be pastors and other leaders and prayer partners here at the front. 37:09.530 --> 37:13.930 And we're going to invite you to step out from wherever you're at, wherever you're at in the building. 37:14.510 --> 37:15.730 Walk down one of these aisles. 37:15.870 --> 37:17.130 Walk down one of these staircases. 37:19.850 --> 37:23.030 And if you don't have a personal relationship with God by grace, 37:23.090 --> 37:24.990 I'm going to invite you to give your life to Jesus. 37:26.110 --> 37:27.290 Just come as you are. 37:27.970 --> 37:28.789 Say, you know what? 37:28.790 --> 37:30.649 It's time. 37:30.650 --> 37:31.650 I've heard about Jesus. 37:31.790 --> 37:32.950 I've known about Jesus. 37:32.950 --> 37:36.630 But now I need to personally meet his grace. 37:37.570 --> 37:38.229 Come. 37:38.230 --> 37:38.929 Let us know. 37:38.930 --> 37:40.490 We'd love to pray with you and help you about that. 37:40.530 --> 37:42.450 Maybe you want to join our church or be baptized. 37:42.670 --> 37:45.330 We'd love to visit with you about that. 37:46.647 --> 37:51.587 Maybe, just maybe, you don't need someone to pray for you. 37:51.687 --> 37:56.607 We would love to pray for you, but also you can just come pray at these steps and let them serve as an altar. 37:57.287 --> 38:05.607 My heart's desire is that we'd have more movement at the time of the invitation for people to feel free to get up and go to these steps and pour out their heart to the Lord. 38:05.667 --> 38:13.407 I think some people are nervous about doing that from time to time because they think, hey, people are going to be wondering what's going on in whose life or her life. 38:13.527 --> 38:15.384 Listen. 38:15.385 --> 38:19.845 Why don't you just come up here and pour out your heart of gratitude to the Lord? 38:20.525 --> 38:23.745 Maybe there's not some big sin that you need to be confessing at the steps. 38:24.025 --> 38:25.825 Maybe you just need to be thankful. 38:26.827 --> 38:32.027 and articulate to the Lord, let this serve as a meeting place between you and him in our church 38:32.027 --> 38:37.187 family, in the midst of our church family, and just say, thank you, God. Thank you for this. 38:37.287 --> 38:42.467 Thank you for that. Thank you for all that you have done. However God leads in a moment, 38:42.527 --> 38:45.947 I want to invite you to come. Let's pray. Father, thank you so much. 38:48.275 --> 38:52.175 for your amazing grace from beginning to end and everything in between. 38:52.735 --> 38:59.035 We only can walk with you, not based on how good we are, but based on what you did for us. 38:59.175 --> 39:01.254 You came to us. 39:01.255 --> 39:02.795 You sought us out. 39:02.935 --> 39:05.575 We love you because you first loved us. 39:05.575 --> 39:07.195 And so we want to say thank you. 39:07.975 --> 39:10.175 And we want to acknowledge your presence. 39:10.295 --> 39:12.321 Lord, how rude. 39:12.322 --> 39:20.402 How rude for someone to live in our constant presence and for us not to acknowledge that person. 39:20.822 --> 39:27.942 And how rude it is for Christians, for those of us at times, when we don't acknowledge that you're with us. 39:28.482 --> 39:36.582 Help us develop an awareness of your constant presence in our life through your Son and through your Spirit. 39:38.073 --> 39:40.153 And I pray, Lord, that that would change everything. 39:41.453 --> 39:44.213 That relationship that we have would change everything 39:44.213 --> 39:50.073 about how we see the world, the good and even the bad. 39:50.893 --> 39:51.772 Help us, Lord. 39:51.773 --> 39:55.193 I pray that you give people the courage that's going to take the step out and come 39:55.193 --> 39:57.259 and give their life. 39:57.260 --> 40:05.160 to you. Give them the courage, Lord. We love you. We dedicate and sanctify this time 40:05.160 --> 40:09.920 to you and you alone. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. 40:11.063 --> 40:12.103 Thanks for listening today. 40:12.463 --> 40:13.943 We hope you enjoyed this message. 40:14.183 --> 40:17.303 And if you did, we would be so grateful if you left us a review. 40:17.963 --> 40:20.063 Also, go ahead and subscribe to the podcast 40:20.063 --> 40:22.943 if you would like to be notified when a new sermon is released. 40:23.543 --> 40:26.663 If you feel the Lord calling you to take the next step in faith 40:26.663 --> 40:30.543 through salvation, service, or giving, don't wait. 40:31.178 --> 40:34.278 reach out to us by texting podcast to 88988. 40:34.618 --> 40:36.898 That's podcast to 88988 40:36.898 --> 40:39.858 or connect with us on one of our social media platforms. 40:40.518 --> 40:43.618 You can also visit our website, valleybaptist.org 40:43.618 --> 40:45.618 to find even more great resources. 40:46.178 --> 40:47.958 No matter where you are in your journey, 40:48.538 --> 40:49.777 know that we love you. 40:49.778 --> 40:50.918 We're praying for you 40:50.918 --> 40:53.938 and we can't wait to see what God will do in your life.