Sermon

The Life I Now Live

True Life Fellowship Church Podcast

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  1. Around the 80s, sometimes the middle 80s, 85, I believe the 89 or so, we lived in Alaska.

  2. Matter of fact, we lived in the North Pole, Alaska.

  3. And so that's near Fairbanks, Alaska. And my family is retired military, Air Force.

  4. And so my dad was stationed in Alaska and we lived there. And I remember being

  5. an eight, nine-year-old boy.

  6. They had a 42-foot Santa Claus. and it was huge and you could not get around

  7. Alaska without, I'm sorry, North Pole without seeing this large Santa Claus.

  8. And Santa Claus also had a workshop and you would go to Santa's workshop and

  9. obviously everything in there was for sale.

  10. Okay. So it was about making money, but I enjoyed it as a kid.

  11. I enjoyed going to see Santa Claus. Every time we passed by,

  12. I would shout, that's Santa.

  13. Look at Santa. And we would stop by the workshop and have a lot of fun.

  14. And we went to a church called True Victory Church, True Victory Baptist Church, to be exact, in Alaska.

  15. The pastor's name is Ulysses Reed, and he is still pastoring today. Glory to God.

  16. He's in Louisiana now, and I actually spoke with him a few years ago.

  17. And so it's awesome that he is still ministering the word of God even to this

  18. day. Well, in that church, I gave my life to Jesus.

  19. It was my mom gave her life to Jesus and she grew up in church her entire life

  20. and said she had never given her life to Jesus.

  21. She was coming, going and coming to church and never actually made the decision

  22. to give her life to Jesus.

  23. Well, she did. And a few weeks later, I did. And I guess it took.

  24. Right. I guess it actually worked.

  25. God saved me, delivered me, changed me from the inside out. But today I want

  26. to go into the foundation of the gospel and talk to you a little bit about what

  27. does it mean to give your life to Jesus?

  28. Like, what does that really mean? And I want you to know that the gospel in

  29. and of itself is not advice.

  30. The gospel is the best news you've ever heard in your life. It's not a recommendation.

  31. It is news that we celebrate, that we participate in. And the gospel is this,

  32. you are more sinful and flawed in yourself than you've ever dared, dreamed, or hoped.

  33. But simultaneously, you are more accepted and loved by God than you have ever even imagined.

  34. That is the gospel. And the gospel answers life's most meaningful and deepest

  35. questions such as, Who is God? Who am I?

  36. What went wrong? How can it be made right? And what is my purpose?

  37. And so this is why the gospel is not good advice. The gospel is the best news you ever have heard.

  38. And we see here in Genesis chapter 1, verse 1, Scripture says,

    Genesis 1:1

  39. in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

  40. Notice, in the beginning, God.

  41. In the beginning, there was and there is God.

  42. In the beginning, Elohim, the creator, God himself, the source of everything,

  43. the origin of everything. In the beginning was God.

  44. No one was with him. He was all alone because he is God. and he was in the beginning.

  45. And so before anything existed, before time, space, and matter,

  46. there was God, eternal, holy,

  47. all-powerful, and out of his goodness and wisdom, he created everything we see and experience.

  48. We find out in Colossians chapter one and verse 16, Colossians chapter one and verse 16,

  49. the apostle Paul tells us, For by him, all things were created that are in heaven

  50. and that are on the earth, visible and invisible.

  51. Whether thrones or dominion or

  52. principalities or powers, all things were created through him and for him.

  53. So God is the source of all things, the originator of all things.

  54. So that tells me that you and I are not a random accident.

  55. You were intentionally created and made by a loving creator with a divine purpose in mind.

  56. And your reason for existence is to know him.

  57. In Genesis chapter 1, 26 and 27, Genesis chapter 1, 26 and 27,

    Genesis 1 chapter mention Genesis 1 chapter mention

  58. then God said, let us make man, watch this, in our image.

  59. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit in our image.

  60. That means in our likeness.

  61. Man is created in our likeness.

  62. And it says, let them have dominion, stewardship,

  63. the right to command and control over the fish of the sea, over the birds of

  64. the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping

  65. thing that creeps on the earth.

  66. Look at verse 27. So God created man in his image, and man consists of male

  67. and female, two genders.

  68. Male and female consist of man

  69. created to be together so that they could steward the earth responsibly.

  70. Man, a male and a female need one another so they could steward the earth responsibly.

  71. And so we find out that you and I are created uniquely different from the rest of creation.

  72. We bear God's image with dignity, value, and eternal purpose.

  73. We find in Psalms 139, 13, and 14. Psalms 139, 13, and 14.

  74. For you formed my inward parts.

  75. You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise you for I am fearfully and

  76. wonderfully made. You're not a mistake.

  77. You're fearfully and wonderfully made.

  78. Marvelous are your works and that my soul knows very well. God is a perfect creator.

  79. He created you perfectly, fearfully and wonderfully made in his image.

  80. Humanity is created to reflect God's character and steward his creation while

  81. living in fellowship with him. But something went wrong.

  82. Something happened, and that's when sin entered the world, when man rebelled

  83. against God's command, and it affected all of humanity.

  84. Romans 5.12, Paul tells us here in Romans 5.12, therefore, just as though one

  85. man's sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to

  86. all men because all sinned.

  87. So not only were we born into a sinful world, we were all born sinners.

  88. This is why each and every one of us need a savior to deliver us from our sin.

  89. Romans 3.23, Romans 3.23, for all have sin and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 6, 23.

  90. Romans 6, 23. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal

  91. life in Christ Jesus. Somebody say amen.

  92. So understand here that sin separated you from God and brought death into the

  93. world and left you spiritually dead and incapable of saving yourself.

  94. Anytime you see the word death in scripture, I want you to think eternal separation from God.

  95. For the wages of sin caused you to have eternal separation from God.

  96. This is why Jesus had to come live a sinless life to take your place so that

  97. he can be the substitutionary sacrifice for you and I.

  98. So that when we are in him, then God can see his righteousness and we're in

  99. him and now we're made righteous and now we're acceptable to God. Somebody say amen.

  100. Romans 5.8, Paul tells us in Romans 5.8, but God demonstrates his own love towards

  101. us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

  102. 1 Corinthians 15, 3-4, 1 Corinthians 15, 3-4, for I deliver to you,

  103. first of all, that which I also receive, that Christ died for our sins according

  104. to the scriptures. Amen.

  105. And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.

  106. We know John 3, 16. John 3, 16.

  107. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son,

  108. that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

  109. Somebody say everlasting life.

  110. Everlasting life. Romans 10, 9 and 10.

  111. Romans 10, 9 and 10. that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and

  112. believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

  113. Jesus came, lived a sinless life, died in our place, was buried,

  114. and rose again in victory so that anyone who believes in him can be forgiven.

  115. Made right with God, and receive eternal life.

  116. Somebody say amen. Now, I said all that because I want to get to this point here.

  117. The gospel does not stop at salvation.

  118. When you trust in Jesus, your old sinful life and nature is crucified with him

  119. and you begin a brand new life.

  120. I like what Second Corinthians 517 says. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,

  121. he is a new creation. Watch this.

  122. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new,

  123. or you become a species of being who has never existed before.

  124. Your new life has begun and the past is forgotten.

  125. I'm inspired by this verse today in Galatians 2.20.

  126. Galatians 2.20. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.

  127. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God

  128. who loved me and gave himself for me.

  129. I want to take some time to talk about this verse because I want you to notice

  130. here in the verse, look at the part where it says, It is no longer I who live,

  131. but Christ lives in me. Say this after me.

  132. It is no longer I who live. It is no longer I who live. But Christ lives in me.

  133. That means the person I used to be no longer exists.

  134. The person I want to be no longer matters.

  135. Now, follow me on this, and I've been meditating this for a while.

  136. I think because of teaching,

  137. because of family, because of tradition,

  138. many times we are trying

  139. to discover our identity

  140. who we are what do

  141. you like what are you good at

  142. what is your purpose why do you exist and many people including myself at times

  143. has been caught up in who am I why do I exist what is God or what am I called

  144. to do What is my purpose in life?

  145. Me, me, me, me.

  146. And we're focusing on the I in our agenda of trying to discover our existence.

  147. But I think because we focus too much on that, then we've gotten people that

  148. have lost their identity in Christ.

  149. So, for example, your source of identity must shift from you trying to figure

  150. out why you exist and trying to figure out what you are supposed to do instead of shifting,

  151. trying to discover what Christ wants me to do.

  152. Christ lives in me. I no longer live. So it doesn't matter, watch this,

  153. well what am I going to do with my life? That doesn't matter anymore.

  154. Well, what am I going to, how am I going to make money? That also doesn't matter anymore.

  155. Well, what am I good at?

  156. Doesn't even really matter anymore.

  157. When you give your life to Jesus, the I and the me becomes secondary,

  158. or you might as well even eliminate it altogether.

  159. Your focus, your mindset has to be what does Christ want to do through me in this earth?

  160. Somebody say amen to that. So Paul did not cease to exist as a person,

  161. but his source of identity shifted.

  162. He still had his personality and his gifts and his experiences remained,

  163. but he stopped trying to figure out what am I going to do?

  164. And he started thinking about what does the Lord want to do through me?

  165. What does Christ want to do in me and through me versus what am I going to do?

  166. What am I going to accomplish? And we have many people who are committing suicide,

  167. who are changing their idea around how they were raised.

  168. They're changing. They get away from home and they change their total mindset

  169. of how they were brought up because they're trying to fit in and belong.

  170. That's what identity does. Identity causes you to want to belong to something.

  171. So we try to figure out well who am I so that I can belong and so with one group

  172. you might be a gangsta I hang with the gangsters.

  173. I might be a gangster And then you come to another group and now you might like

  174. playing volleyball now why your identity is shifting because of your environment.

  175. So who you are, it seems to change. And we have people, I just don't know why I exist.

  176. I don't know why I'm here. I don't know who I am. I thought you liked football.

  177. Well, I don't like football anymore.

  178. I thought you liked, I don't like, why don't you like it? Well,

  179. you got around another group of people.

  180. And they started changing how you saw yourself.

  181. And so your experiences started to

  182. change because you wanted to belong to

  183. something I want to fit in I want to be a part of this so I will change my identity

  184. to fit right on in with what's happening around here this is why you see people

  185. cussing I thought you didn't cuss Well, I started cussing. Who are you hanging around?

  186. Who are you hanging around? When people started changing their mindset of and

  187. their beliefs and they used to believe one thing and now they believe something totally different.

  188. My first question is, who have you been listening to?

  189. Who are you hanging around? Because if you're hanging around negativity,

  190. you're going to be negative.

  191. Scripture says that bad manners corrupt good conduct.

  192. We wanted to say that good conduct would change bad manners, but it doesn't I.

  193. Amen. And so we have to start thinking about what does Christ want to do through

  194. me and not what do I want to do?

  195. Paul no longer live for himself. He said, it's not I who live,

  196. but Christ who lives in me.

  197. So his ego his self-centeredness and his sense of self-sufficiency was crucified.

  198. The the way you want people to see yourself has to be crucified the way you

  199. want people to recognize you has to be crucified you have to be a man or a woman

  200. of no reputation I don't what you think about me.

  201. I really don't care what you think. I'm going to do what God tells me to do

  202. because Christ lives in me and it's no longer I who live, but Christ in me.

  203. So therefore, I'm not even embarrassed anymore.

  204. I don't even get embarrassed anymore. I'm not easily embarrassed because I'm

  205. not trying to uphold divine.

  206. I'm trying to do what Christ wants me to do.

  207. I'm trying to perform how he wants

  208. me to perform and act

  209. Because if our identity is wrapped up in us Then we will always be someone That

  210. will try to uphold a standard Or let me say it this way A lie that's not true Oh,

  211. you know, he's so great I'm not as great as you think I am Oh, he's so wonderful.

  212. I'm not just wondering if you think I am. But when you try to wrap up your identity

  213. in yourself, you will start building a lie.

  214. And that lie then begins to be disgusting to Christ.

  215. Because it's in him we move and breathe and have our being.

  216. Paul announced a transfer of lordship. I don't run my life anymore. I don't call the shots.

  217. I don't measure my worth by my achievements or my failures.

  218. He's saying, it's no longer I who live. My identity is in Christ.

  219. My identity is through Christ. And my identity is for Christ.

  220. Say this out to me. My identity is in Christ.

  221. My identity is through Christ. And my identity is for Christ.

  222. Several years ago, I moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. Well,

  223. actually now 20 years ago.

  224. It feels like several, but it was two decades ago in 2004. I moved to Charlotte.

  225. The first job I took was at Panera Bread.

  226. And I took that job because I'm one of those guys that don't believe in sitting around with no job.

  227. I believe it's easier to get a job when you have a job. Come on, somebody say amen.

  228. I'm not sitting around waiting on somebody to give me a job.

  229. I'm going to take a job, okay?

  230. And so I took this job, and I was a little older than my constituents,

  231. than my coworkers, and my boss was 18 or 19, and I think I was 25,

  232. 26, 27 at the time, and she was bossing me around and treating me like I was a little kid,

  233. but it's no longer I who live.

  234. I'm a man of no reputation. Come on. I'm not going to let you get to me because

  235. I'm not trying to withhold a standard.

  236. Now, it did bother me a little bit, but you know what? I want Christ.

  237. To live through me.

  238. And she was bossing me around, all this and that. And then I was getting a little

  239. frustrated because I didn't move to Charlotte, North Carolina to work at Panera.

  240. I said, I didn't move here to work at Panera. I moved here to do some kingdom

  241. work, whatever, because the Lord told me to come out here and I'm ready to do

  242. what God's called me to do.

  243. And I had a bad attitude while I was working.

  244. A few days, I just didn't want to be there. And I feel like I was too old to

  245. be working there And I don't want to be here And I had a bad attitude And I

  246. just heard the Lord say to me Why is your attitude so bad?

  247. I said I don't want to be here I can do some other stuff I can make some more

  248. money somewhere else I don't want to be here And the Lord said to me,

  249. If I asked you to work at Panera for the rest of your life What would you do?

  250. Well, am I doing this for Devon or am I an instrument of Christ who has saved

  251. me and purchased me and purchased my body and lives on the inside of me?

  252. And he's my Lord. I'm not my own Lord.

  253. It's no longer I who live, but him who lives through me. He asked me,

  254. the master asked me, what if I told you to work there the rest of your life?

  255. I said, well, Lord, somebody say, Lord, that means master.

  256. I said, Lord, I'll do it.

  257. And that's all, that was the whole conversation. My attitude changed.

  258. Within a few days, that's when I get the interview for Wycovia Bank.

  259. Within a few days after that, I get interviewed at Wycovia, and y'all know my

  260. story. I get hired, and my story is history.

  261. But it wasn't until the Lord spoke to me and said, who is the Lord of your life?

  262. If I asked you to work there the rest of your life, what would you do?

  263. I would obey God because I don't live for myself.

  264. Say that. I don't live for myself.

  265. Jesus didn't save you so that you can live for yourself. If that were the case, just stay in the world.

  266. Serve Satan. He'll let you live for yourself for sure and send you right on to hell.

  267. He saved you so that you can live for him. He saved you so he could be the Lord of your life.

  268. You are the body of Christ.

  269. So this, I'm looking for my identity. None of that matters. Your identity is in him.

  270. I identify with him. And so I declare that God is shifting your mindset right now.

  271. No longer will you think about your own purpose for your life,

  272. but you will only consider his purpose for your life. If you receive that, say amen.

  273. It's time for us to stop trying to figure out how we can better our life and

  274. start trying to figure out what does Christ wants to do through me?

  275. Because it's no longer I live. I've been crucified with him.

  276. I put my desires, they've been crucified with him. I didn't want to be a pastor.

  277. I wanted to be an airplane pilot for United Airlines.

  278. But I put that aside. Come on, somebody, to do what God's called me to do. Amen.

  279. Because when you live for him, that's when you experience the most joy and the

  280. peace that you've ever experienced in your life. when you begin to say,

  281. it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.

  282. Say that after me. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.

  283. Let's put it back on the screen real quick. Galatians 2.20, one more time on

  284. the screen. I want to read it one more time.

  285. I have been crucified with Christ. That means I'm dead.

  286. I'm crucified. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me and the

  287. life which I now live in the flesh.

  288. I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

  289. I live by faith in the son of God. I don't live for myself.

  290. I'm not trying to do everything that I want to do.

  291. I don't get mad when something happens that I want to do and it doesn't it doesn't

  292. happen the way I work because I don't live for myself. I live for him and he

  293. lives through me and whatever he wants done, I tell him all the time,

  294. Lord, I'm yours to command.

  295. Whatever you want done, say that. I'm yours to command.

  296. Whatever you want done, you can do it through me. Whatever you want said,

  297. you can say it through me.

  298. Whatever you want prayed out, you can pray it through me.

  299. Whatever you want me to give financially, you can do it through me.

  300. I want to be one of God's go-to people. When he goes to Pookie and Ray Ray and

  301. they say, no, he can come to Devon.

  302. And Devon's going to say, yeah, I'm going to do what God tells me to do because

  303. I know that I'm not living for myself.

  304. This sacrifice for me was a high price, a high cost so that he can be the Lord

  305. of my life, so that he can be the master and ruler of my life.

  306. And he didn't die so you can do what you want to do or identify who you want

  307. to identify with or to be rebellious and the sin.

  308. He died to use your body To change other people's lives In the earth Come on

  309. say amen to that Well I want to do what I want to do That's the devil is a lie.

  310. I want to do what I want to do. That's what Satan says. That's not what Jesus

  311. died for so you can do what you want to do.

  312. Feel the way you want to feel. Let me tell you what. If you call yourself a

  313. saint, a believer, you can't even believe what you want to believe.

  314. You can only believe what's in the word.

  315. I believe what I want to believe. You might not be saved.

  316. You're commanded to believe what's in this word. I didn't say believe Devon

  317. I said believe what's in this word,

  318. That's what you're commanded to do So you don't even have a choice Well I just

  319. I don't believe that part of the Bible You can't do that if you are saved,

  320. Somebody say amen Somebody got me fired up over here.

  321. Acts 17 I love you I love you by the way I love you I love you Okay. All right. I love you.

  322. Must be somebody online. Got me fired up. All right.

  323. Acts 17, 28. I like it in the Passion Translation. Acts 17, 28.

  324. It is through him that we live and function and have our identity.

  325. Where's our identity found? Through him.

  326. So tell me a little bit about yourself. I don't live. Christ lives in me. Amen.

  327. And just as your own poets have said, our lineage comes from him.

  328. It is through him that we live and function and have our identity.

  329. It's through him. Now, watch this.

  330. Understanding your identity in God brings deeper meaning and fulfillment to your life.

  331. One of the reasons why people are not fulfilled.

  332. They are anxious. they don't have any sustenance that causes them to be stable

  333. and planted is because they have not discovered their identity.

  334. And their identity is in Christ and Christ will tell you who you are once you realize who he is.

  335. So let me give you an example. Matthew, I believe it's chapter 16.

  336. Or no, it's Matthew chapter 13, one of the two. Just read 13 and 16, okay?

    Matthew 13 chapter mention

  337. And so it won't hurt nothing. Just read both chapters.

  338. Jesus goes to his disciples and he says, who do men say that I am?

  339. And they say, well, you know, they say that you're Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.

  340. He says, but who do you say that I am?

  341. And then Simon says, well, you are the Christ, the son of the living God.

  342. Jesus says flesh and blood didn't reveal that to you.

  343. But now I call you Peter.

  344. So when he discovered, when Simon discovered who Jesus was The Christ,

  345. the Son of the living God Then Jesus told him who he was Now you're Peter,

  346. you're the rock And upon this rock I'll build my church Upon what?

  347. Not Peter, upon the revelation That you are the Christ, the Son of the living

  348. God I'm going to build the church So Simon didn't know who he was until he discovered who Jesus was,

  349. And then when you discover who Jesus was, Jesus in turn said, now this is who you are.

  350. And many of us are trying to figure out who we are apart from Jesus.

  351. You got to discover who Jesus says you are.

  352. And then he will tell you what your identity in him is.

  353. And it may be different than the way you think.

  354. Could God do something different than you think?

  355. Watch this it understanding your

  356. identity helps you navigate life with a sense of purpose and confidence and

  357. your identity is not something you're looking for it's something you're discovering

  358. in him well let me let me go out here let me go do a lot of sinning so i can

  359. find out who i really No, that's not how you discover your identity.

  360. Your identity is discovered in him. You find out who Jesus is,

  361. he'll tell you who you are in him. Somebody say in him.

  362. God's ultimate purpose is to shape you into the image of his son.

  363. His purpose wasn't to just make you happy.

  364. His purpose wasn't just so that you can live a good, satisfying life.

  365. The purpose was to shape you and mold you and cultivate you into the image of Jesus.

  366. In the book of Acts, they called the believers Christians.

  367. That was derogatory. They weren't complimenting them. They were downing them,

  368. saying, look at these Christians What were they doing?

  369. They were acting like Christ So they were derogatory being called Christians.

  370. Today they don't call us Christians because we act like Christ They call us

  371. Christians because we act just like them Okay, let me keep it moving, alright.

  372. Watch this. Romans chapter 8, 28 through 30. Romans chapter 8, 28 through 30.

    Romans 8 chapter mention Romans 8 chapter mention

  373. Paul tells us, and we know that all things work together for good to those who

  374. love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.

  375. Look at verse 29. For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed

  376. to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brother.

  377. And look at verse 30. Moreover, whom he predestined, these he also called.

  378. Whom he called, these he also justified.

  379. And whom he justified, these he also glorified. Now, these are a lot of big

  380. biblical words that we will break down today.

  381. Remember, God's ultimate purpose is to shape you into the image of his son.

  382. So if we look again at verse 28, if you put back on the screen,

  383. guys, Romans chapter 8, verse 28, We know that all things work together for

    Romans 8:28

  384. good to those who love God.

  385. Not some things work together, but all things work together for good.

  386. And they don't work in isolation. They work together for good to those who are

  387. called according to his purpose or the reason why he saved you or the reason why you exist.

  388. Okay. Now, listen to me. And I look at verse 29, for whom he foreknew,

  389. foreknew just simply means knew beforehand.

  390. For whom he knew beforehand, foreknew, he also predestined.

  391. Predestined just simply means prepared beforehand. If I'm going to go to a trip

  392. to Charleston, South Carolina, I'm going to predestine my trip.

  393. I'm going to prepare beforehand, right? So he knew beforehand,

  394. he also prepared beforehand to be conformed.

  395. That word conformed is the word changed.

  396. So he knew beforehand, prepared beforehand to be conformed, changed to the image,

  397. that word is picture or likeness, of his son.

  398. Watch this. So beforehand, he prepared you to be transformed, to look like his son.

  399. That he, Jesus, might be the firstborn among many brethren.

  400. There's going to be more brothers and sisters. Somebody say amen to that.

  401. He's just the first one. there's going to be more. Watch this.

  402. Moreover, whom he prepared beforehand, these he also called.

  403. Called, here is the word, invited or divinely selected.

  404. These he prepared beforehand, then he called you. He invited you.

  405. Whom he invited, that's you and I, these he also justified.

  406. Justified means he treated you just as if you've never sinned before.

  407. Or you could say declared you righteous.

  408. So he justified you. Righteous means you are in right standing with God,

  409. not because of your behavior, but because of you abiding in Christ.

  410. Are y'all getting this this morning? him.

  411. So he invited you, and those of you that received this invitation have been

  412. justified or treated like you've never sinned, declared righteous,

  413. and whom he declared righteous,

  414. these he also glorified, which simply means he wants you to shine.

  415. He wants you to be seen, and he will be glorified through you being seen and shown. Now watch this.

  416. Jesus saved you not just to get you to heaven.

  417. Matter of fact, that is the last really big benefit of salvation.

  418. Because just getting to heaven does nothing for him or you on the earth.

  419. It's the last big benefit. Thank God that I'm going to heaven.

  420. I'm excited about it, but it ain't time yet. I got another 80 years. Amen.

  421. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. So he didn't save you just to get you to heaven.

  422. He saved you so that he could live through you.

  423. His will be done. I must decrease. He must increase.

  424. He saved you so his will can be done through you. And then he said, and here's my plan.

  425. You want to know the purpose for your life? I know we all do.

  426. We all want to know the purpose.

  427. We all want to know the plan. We all want to know. We all do.

  428. God, what do you have for me? He said, I invited you and prepared beforehand

  429. because I knew you before you were born.

  430. So I am going to declare you righteous so that then you can be glorified because

  431. I'm conforming you to the image of Jesus.

  432. Glory be to God. The purpose of your life is to look more like Jesus.

  433. Well, what's the purpose? I don't know the purpose for my life.

  434. I'll tell you what it is to look like Jesus.

  435. Well, I don't know. I don't know what God wants me to do. He wants you to look like Jesus.

  436. Don't they just take all the weight off Trying to figure out I spent too long

  437. trying to figure out What does God want me to do And should I do this or should

  438. I do that No, no, I just want you to look like Jesus,

  439. I want you to act like Jesus I want you to have compassion like Jesus I want

  440. you to have conviction like Jesus I want you to demonstrate the gospel like

  441. Jesus I want you to lay hands on the sick like Jesus I want you to speak life

  442. like Jesus I even want you to raise the dead like Jesus I want you to go about doing good like Jesus.

  443. I want you to bless humanity like Jesus. I want you to help the poor like Jesus.

  444. I want you to be like Jesus.

  445. And this is why he saves you so that you can look like Jesus.

  446. God is using everything in your life to shape you so that you can look more

  447. like Jesus in your character, in your conduct, and in your compassion. Thank you.

  448. The goal is for you to look like Jesus.

  449. It's no longer I who live.

  450. Christ lives in me. He lives through me. And so this is the good news. The gospel is good news.

  451. The good news is God created you on purpose.

  452. Sin separated you. Jesus came to save you. By trusting in him, you receive new life.

  453. Christ now lives through you, and God is shaping you daily to reflect the image of his son, Jesus.

  454. Come on, somebody say amen to that. Your goal is to look like Jesus.

  455. He died on the cross and rose from the dead so that you can look like him.

  456. He didn't come so that you can, you know, play, what is this game right here?

  457. Patty cake. Yeah, he didn't want to play paddy cake.

  458. He came so that you can transform this world,

  459. take what he has done in a short three-year period of time, multiply himself

  460. into millions, if not billions,

  461. of saints all across this world to make a difference and to steward this earth

  462. well, to be like him, to change from the inside out.

  463. And you say, Pastor, but I just live in Monroe.

  464. How am I going to do all that? Start by changing your family.

  465. How do I change my family? They'll follow your lead.

  466. You can't change hearts. I can't change anybody's heart, but I trust that they'll

  467. start following my lead.

  468. I can start doing what the Lord tells me to do. When he says,

  469. don't say that back to your wife, then I better not say that back because I

  470. don't want no animosity in the home. So it's not me who lives.

  471. It's Christ that lives in me. Amen. Amen. When they write bad things about me,

  472. and they do, I get bad things written about me.

  473. I get bad things on social media about me. I just say, you know what?

  474. I'm preaching what the Lord told me to preach. Amen?

  475. And I'm not going to be moved by that. Now, in the flesh wants to fight, but you know what?

  476. The Spirit says, no, you got to have some haters if you're making some progress.

  477. If everybody like you, something wrong.

  478. Let me say again, if everybody like you, you are conforming your identity to

  479. whoever you around and relationship you around.

  480. But everybody shouldn't like you because everybody did not like Jesus.