Sunday Evening Worship Service

You can start making your way back to your seats. Just remain standing and grab your Bibles. Tremendous spirit that's been here all day. Timely word we heard this morning. Amen. And I'm thankful for the love of Jesus. I'm thankful for the love of his church and the love of the saints. We are blessed, aren't we? We are a blessed people. And I'm thankful for all the Lord has done for us. Go with me to the book or the letter of Ephesians. Going to read a few verses here in this first chapter. Ephesians chapter number one. and give honor to all of our leaders, our bishop, our pastor, Pastor Anthony, all of our leaders, all the saints of God. We honor you this evening. Amen. Ephesians chapter number one, we're going to begin reading at verse number three. Ephesians chapter 1, beginning at verse number three. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. If you want to do a little study, highlight, underline every time that Paul says in Christ, in Jesus or in him just in this one chapter alone. It's several times. according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy without blame before him in love, having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to be the praise and glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, with he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him. in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of him who workketh all things after the counsel of his own will, that we should be to the praise of his glory, who trusted first trusted in Christ, in whom you also trusted that after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of an our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of his glory. Paul gives us picture after picture, metaphor after metaphor of the blessings that we have in Jesus and shows us who we are in him. And so tonight, briefly, I want to walk through this letter of Ephesians, especially this first chapter tonight with this thought in mind. Identity crisis. Identity crisis. I want you to put your Bibles or your tablets down and just lift up your hand or lift up both of your hands and let's pray for his word to go forth as seed today. Father, we're so thankful for all that you have done for us and through us and in us. But Lord, I pray that you would open up our eyes that we might behold wondrous things from your law. Lord, touch my mind and my heart and anoint my lips, Lord, and allow me to communicate with clarity and understanding and simplicity the wonders of your word tonight. In Jesus name we pray. And everyone said, "Amen." Now clap your hands unto Jesus tonight. Come on, somebody. You can be seated in the name of the Lord. Identity crisis. In recent years, psychologists and cultural commentators have described what many refer to as an identity crisis in the Western world. People are feeling unmed or unanchored. Many are uncertain about their identities beyond their online or social media presence, the approval that they receive or their performance. And as a result, identity has become very fragile. It is now something to be curated rather than something to be truly inhabited. Author Jonathan height describes the smartphone as a portal people carry around in their pockets that takes them to an alternate reality. And in that alternate reality, reinvention of self is rewarded. It values the version of yourself that attracts attention, likes, follows, shares. Therefore, people spend hours crafting a persona, refining an image and editing a narrative, all in an effort to become someone who is deemed acceptable. You know, we had a a crisis and we still have a crisis like this called stolen identity. But this is not really stolen identity. It's makebelieve identity. It reflects the exhausting attempt to live as something or someone that they really aren't truly. And social media, social media identity is just one form of this identity crisis, especially uh in in the church. This is not just confined to the world. Many professing Christians struggle with how to live as followers of Jesus. They may believe that being a Christian is something you do on Sunday instead of being something that they live out and they actually are the rest of their week. And so they live far beneath their God called purpose. And so the world tells us to reinvent yourself or be true to yourself or live out your truth. But the Bible, the scripture presents a different message altogether. The gospel doesn't urge you to create a new image. Instead, it proclaims that Christ gives you a new identity and a new name. And that's just one of the reasons why Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians. Now, let's get some context here. Ephesus was a city rich in competing identities and they were characterized by idolatry and a multitude and a myriad of gods, temples, status, power and cultural pressures. The temple Artemis loomed over the city creating a long shadow, one of the great wonders of the world at that time. And people sought their worth through religion and rituals and wealth and ethnicity and reputation. Their worship influenced their lives and their lives in turn reflected their beliefs. So in other words, they lived out what they believed. And so in this context, Paul writes this letter to believers living in this culture, living in this uh this this world that they were living in day in and day out. And he has a remarkable declaration that through Jesus, God has created a new people with a newity. And so that's why Paul opens up this letter, chapter number one. He begins this letter and he begins it by declaring the blessings that Jesus Christ has wrought for us and how he has changed our lives and our identity. Everything that we are to do and to be comes from what Jesus has already accomplished. The Christian life flows from a settled identity. When identity is rooted in Jesus, obedience becomes overflow. Relationships find order and the armor of God fits over the life that it covers. Everything begins in what Christ has done for us and in us. Someone say amen. >> So Paul doesn't begin this letter with commands and imperatives. He doesn't start by telling believers what to do. He begins by telling believers what God has accomplished and the effects of that in their life. In other words, what they believe will shape their behavior. And because until identity is settled, obedience will always feel like a striving. Until belonging is clear, holiness will feel like pressure. Put another way, holiness and godly living will feel like rules to keep instead of being the overflow of a life living in union with Jesus. So, so Paul doesn't begin with here's what you're to do, here's how you're to act, here's here's the behavior, here's the imperatives. That's not where he begins. He begins in what is already done. You see, religion is about do do this, do that. But in Christianity, it is finished. He cried from the cross, "It is finished." Religion's about doing, doing, doing. In Christianity is about receiving what Jesus has done because we could not do it for ourselves. So that's why Paul begins here. We want to flip that. We want to say, "Well, WHAT? JUST TELL ME WHAT I'VE GOT TO DO." AND PAUL SAYS, "Let me show you what's already done." Because if you realize what's already done, the being is going to be the easy part. Someone say amen. So Paul begins the the the the letter with spiritual blessings that belong to every believer. and he piles image upon image, metaphor upon um upon metaphor until the believer can no longer define himself by his past, his failures, or the world's labels. Now, let me just say this. before you try to get your relationships right or before you try to become a better man or a better woman or before you ever lift the shield of faith or take up the sword of the spirit, you must know who you are in Jesus. >> Before you ever fight a spiritual battle, you must know what Christ has already accomplished. Grace comes before works. Grace comes before the change in your life. You must understand who you are in him before you can start to work this salvation out for yourself. And so he gives us metaphor upon metaphor. Let me give you a few of them here in this first chapter. And I'm I think I'm missing some, but let me give you let me give you a few of these. Number one, chosen. Chosen of verse four, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Paul begins with the foundational truth that God chose you in Christ before the world was even formed. Your salvation wasn't an accident. It was not a lastm minute decision. It is not plan B or plan C. It was God's plan from the very beginning to save the people from their sin. Yes, he chose you. Yes, he chose you with all of your hang-ups and all of your flaws and all of your failures. Yes, he chose you with all of your issues. Yes, he chose them with all of their messiness. Yes, he chose you. He chooses He chooses those who are the outcasts and the rejected. Yes, he chose me. Yes, he chose you. And if that doesn't stop to give you PAUSE TO SAY, "LET ME WORSHIP HIM. I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE WILL BECAUSE HE chose you. You did not choose him." >> Come on, somebody. He chose you. HE PICKED YOU OUT of the MIGHTY CLAY. HE BROUGHT YOU UP AND SET YOU ON A STURDY PLACE. HE BROUGHT YOU OUT OF DARKNESS INTO HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT. HE chose >> you. It's Valentine's Day yesterday. You know what I'm thankful for? She chose me. She could have picked anybody in this world. She had her pick of the litter and she chose this little CHUBBY BALD-HEADED GUY WHO THINKS HE'S A PREACHER. THAT'S WHY I'M THANKFUL and that's why I love her. I owe her a debt of my covenant BECAUSE SHE CHOSE ME. NOW, HOW MUCH MORE SHOULD WE LOVE Jesus today THAT HE CHOSE YOU WITH ALL OF YOUR HE KNOWS ABOUT YOUR FLAWS. HE KNOWS ABOUT YOUR MISTAKES. HE KNOWS ABOUT YOUR PAST. HE KNOW WHAT YOU HE KNEW WHAT YOU WOULD DO, but he chose you anyway. He elected YOU ANYWAY. AND I THINK WE SHOULD GIVE HIM SOME PRAISE BECAUSE he chose. Come on, somebody. He chose us. It's >> not because you're worthy or impressive. It's because of his grace. You didn't find God. He found you. Someone say, "Amen." >> The next one is adopted. Having predestined us unto the adoption of children. In that same love, Paul says God pres predestined you for adoption through him. Adoption here is not a cold legal term. It's a family word. You've heard me preach about adoption over the years. It's one of the greatest pictures of salvation in the Bible. It is the again, it is the choosing of this. Now, people give birth to children that they don't want. But no one adopts a child they don't want. >> Yes, he chose you. Yes, HE ADOPTED YOU. WITH ALL OF YOUR ISSUES, HE SAID, "I WANT that one. YES, I WANT THAT ONE." THERE'S NOT ONE HE WILL TURN AWAY. WHY? BECAUSE HE HAS CHOSEN AND ADOPTED US. HE HAS BROUGHT US IN. WE'VE BEEN GRAFTED IN. WE'VE BEEN BROUGHT INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD. Isn't that nice? Isn't Listen, I'm not sure if you've ever been to an orphanage. I'm not sure if you've ever been somewhere where somebody gets chosen. I'm telling you, you wouldn't sit there looking like somebody who doesn't know what they're talking WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. If you knew that he chose you and he picked YOU, HE PICKED YOU OVER EVERYBODY ELSE. YOU WOULD GIVE HIM PRAISE. COME ON, SOMEBODY. YOU'D GIVE HIM SOME WORSHIP. WHY? BECAUSE HE CHOSE ME. I preached on adoption many years ago in the old building. I've preached it here before. Sons in the sun, a theology of adoption. I preached that on a Sunday night. And afterwards, I turned around and Bishop Mcool was sitting there behind me on the platform in the blue chairs. And he stopped me and he said, "That was a good that was a great sermon, brother Nate. That was a great sermon." He said, "Let me tell you something. in the state of Tennessee. He said there is a law that says once you have been adopted, you cannot be unadopted. >> He said because YOU CAN'T BE REJECTED MORE THAN ONCE. My God, I feel like PREACHING RIGHT NOW. I'M TELLING YOU, WHEN HE CHOSE YOU, WHEN HE ADOPTED YOU, HE'S NOT GOING MY GOD, HE'S NOT GOING TO KICK YOU OUT OVER A BAD DAY. HE'S NOT GOING TO GET RID OF YOU OVER A BAD MISTAKE. I'M TELLING YOU, YOU ARE HIS CHILD. YOU ARE HIS SON. YOU ARE HIS DAUGHTER. AND SOMEBODY SHOULD PRAISE HIM. Come on. HE'S OUR HEAVENLY FATHER. HE'S OUR HEAVENLY FATHER. HE'S OUR ABBA FATHER. >> Somebody say amen. Amen. >> Then he says this, that we have been accepted in the beloved. If you you can read that and speed over it and miss it. Accepted. You go to the grocery store and you go to the fruit and vegetable section. I've been trying cooking the last few years. You all see me try to cook, you know, trying to trying to be a a chef of some sort. and you got to go get tomatoes or you got to go get fruit and you begin to examine the fruit or the vegetable and you begin to look make sure there's no splits in it. Make sure there's no bruising on it. There's it's it's not deformed. You're looking for something that's perfect. But I want you to know that you have been accepted in Christ. that when he saw you with all of your flaws and bruises and brokenness and failures, he doesn't throw you out. He says, "That's the one that I want." Come on, somebody. Every one of us CAN BE ACCEPTED. HE THERE THERE ARE NO REJECTS IN THE CHURCH. THERE'S NO REJECTS. He said, "Go out into THE HIGHWAYS AND THE BYWAYS. GO OUT THERE AND GET AND COMPEL THEM TO COME IN." WHY? BECAUSE HE WANTS TO ACCEPT every accepted. When you're playing basketball on the on the on the on, you know, at the at the gym, recess, playing football, you don't want to be the one standing there being last, right? No one wants to be. No one wants to be because you want to be accepted. You want to be in the first round. Come on. THERE'S NOT A first round or a second round or or a third round. HE SAYS, "IF YOU'LL COME unto me and I'll give YOU REST." HE ACCEPTS THOSE WHO WILL COME TO HIM IN FAITH WITH ALL OF YOUR NONSENSE AND ALL OF YOUR PAST. HE ACCEPT THERE'S NO ONE GOING TO BE TURNED AWAY IF YOU WILL COME TO HIM IN FAITH. >> I wish I was preaching better. I'm sorry. I wish I was preaching better. >> Accepted. Accepted. Then he says this that who in whom we have redemption through his blood. We have been redeemed. We've been chosen, adopted, accepted, and redeemed. Redemption signifies that a price has been paid. What was the price for our redemption? PAUL SAYS, YOU HAVE BEEN BOUGHT WITH A PRICE. And that price, the Apostle Peter said, it is with the precious blood of Jesus. YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW MUCH YOU'RE LOVED? YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW MUCH YOU'RE ACCEPTED? YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW MUCH YOU'RE CHOSEN? THAT HE SHED his blood for you. >> That's the price. What a price to pay. That he paid the ultimate price for your redemption. Redemption brings freedom, forgiveness, and a SENSE OF PURPOSE. IF BEING CHOSEN isn't enough to cause you to worship, then knowing that he paid the price in blood for you should bring you to a PLACE TO WORSHIP. WHEN YOU COME IN here on Sundays and Wednesdays and you say something like this, I don't understand that song and I don't like the rhythm that of that song. You don't understand worship. OR YOU COME IN here and say, I don't feel like worshiping. I don't know what to say. YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WORSHIP. BUT IF YOU KNOW YOU'VE BEEN CHOSEN, IF YOU KNOW YOU'VE BEEN ADOPTED, IF YOU KNOW YOU'VE BEEN ACCEPTED, IF YOU KNOW YOU'VE BEEN REDEEMED, THAT'S ENOUGH FOR YOU TO LIFT UP YOUR HANDS AND SAY, "I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE SAYING UP THERE, BUT LET ME SAY, LORD, I'M THANKFUL THAT YOU PURCHASED ME WITH YOUR OWN BLOOD." >> That's enough to give us worship. Someone say, "Amen." I'm going fast. Sealed. When you receive the spirit, you are sealed with the promise. You are sealed. In the ancient world, a seal marked ownership. Circumcision in the Old Testament was a sign of covenant relationship, but it was also a sign of ownership that I belong to a God. Baptism and the Holy Spirit is a seal. It is a sign of ownership that you belong to Jesus. The Holy Ghost, listen to me now, the Holy Ghost is more THAN JUST SPEAKING WITH tongues and goosebumps. The Holy Ghost is the down payment of our inheritance. IT IS A SEAL THAT WE ARE HIS. Come on, somebody. I want you to know when you get the Holy Ghost, you are being a part of Jesus. You are taking He is taking ownership OF YOUR LIFE. THAT I'M NO LONGER MY OWN. >> I'm a son. I'm a bondervant. I am his. Moving fast. I'm going fast. Promise. Hope I'm not boring you tonight. Then he says, you've been made alive. Chapter 2 verse one. You were dead in the trespasses and your sins. But here comes the gospel that but God rich in mercy made you alive together with Christ. Salvation is is not self-improvement. It's not a light editing. It is resurrection life. You are no longer dead. So stop acting like it. I'm going to say that again so you can just let it settle into your spirit. When you are made alive in Christ, you're no longer dead. So stop acting like it. >> You're made alive in Christ. And if you're alive, that means you got to live LIKE YOU'RE ALIVE. THAT means you're going to have to walk AROUND WITH A SMILE ON YOUR FACE. I'M NO LONGER DEAD. >> Come on. Jones mortuary puts the smile on the corpse because they can't smile no longer. But when you're alive, I'M NO LONGER DEAD. THAT MEANS I NEED TO HAVE A LITTLE JOY IN MY STEP. THAT MEANS I GOT TO HAVE A LITTLE SMILE ON MY FACE. THIS JOY THAT I HAVE, YOU'RE NO LONGER DEAD. SO STOP ACTING LIKE IT. You are, he then he goes on verse 10, chapter 2, you are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good work. You're not random. We're living in a world that says that this this the universe is random. It's chance. It's coincidence. That means that we're just kind of just floating around in the universe. But that's not true. that God has given us a purpose through this salvation. You are God's handiwork. You are his workmanship. You're not random. You're not a mistake. You're not useless. God has created you with intention. And though you have experienced brokenness in your life like the potter in Jeremiah, he puts you back on the wheel and begins to recreate your life. I'm telling you, there's purpose in your life. When you've been chosen, adopted, redeemed, accepted, now you've got purpose. What is that? To give him glory in all that I do. >> You're created for something. Chapter 2 verse 19. You are no longer strangers, aliens, but fellow citizens, members of God's household. I'm talking about identity crisis. I'm talking about identity here. that when you are you are not isolated, independent, you are a part of a living organism called the church. You're no longer an outsider. This is a part of a community. There should not be anybody that walks through the doors of this church who feels like they're an outsider. Everybody who walks through the doors of this church and this school needs to feel the welcoming presence of a family of people who've been chosen, adopted, redeemed, and accepted. And they want you to experience what they've experienced FOR THEMSELVES. THERE SHOULD NOT BE ONE PERSON, NO MATTER THEIR ECONOMIC SITUATION, NO MATTER THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN, NO MATTER THEIR PAST, NO MATTER their hangup, YOU SHOULD SAY YOU'RE WELCOME HERE BECAUSE WE'VE ALL BEEN ACCEPTED HERE. AND I'M NOT GOING TO RE COME ON, SOMEBODY. I'M NOT GOING TO REJECT ANYBODY because he accepted me. >> Come on. Come on. We This should be the most welcoming place. >> Yes, we're going to use wisdom. Yes, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SAFETY, BUT WE'RE ALSO GOING TO UNDERSTAND that Jesus can change anybody's life. >> Someone say, "Amen." And he says this last one I've got in my notes, a living temple. He says we are a dwelling place for God by his spirit. The glory that once filled the tabernacle fills the church now. God doesn't simply visit his people like a distant relative only on Thanksgiving and Christmas and birthdays. Oh no, he lives. He dwells among his people. And all of these images and metaphors come to this one truth tonight. And I want to try to really press this is that you are not who you once were. You're no longer an addict. You're you're no longer a liar. You're no longer an alcoholic. You're no longer a failure. You're no longer dead in your sins. In Christ, you are chosen. In Christ, you are adopted. IN CHRIST, you're redeemed. In Christ, you're sealed. In Christ, YOU'RE ACCEPTED. IN CHRIST, YOU'RE MADE ALIVE. IN CHRIST, YOU'RE HIS WORKMANSHIP. IN CHRIST, YOU BELONG. I'M TELLING YOU, I'M NOT WHO I USED TO BE. I AM WHO HE SAYS I AM. >> COME ON. I don't HAVE AN IDENTITY CRISIS. I'M HIS CHILD. I'M HIS SIR. I WISH SOMEBODY WOULD give him praise right now. I wish somebody would clap their hands. I wish somebody get that in THEIR SPIRIT. I KNOW WHO I am. Someone say amen. Moving quick. Moving quick. Y'all right. Those are the first three chapters of Ephesians. Chapters four through five. Paul talks about walking worthy now of that identity. Now, let me just pause and bring this to application for a few moments. The commands of chapters 4-6 stand on the grace of chapters 1 through3. To walk worthy means to live consistently from who you are. And so until you get your identity settled, you can't walk worthy. Until you know who you are, you're not going to be able to walk worthy or to walk wisely as you should. And so he gives all of these this outflow of or overflow of who you're who you are and your identity. He talks about unity. unity among the church, the the wall, the partitions broken down, making one body. There's unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Then he says this in chapter 4, put off your old self and put on your new self. Put off your old self and put on your new self. Do you want to know what becomes in between putting off your old self and putting on your new self? There's something that comes in between that. He says, "Be renewed in the spirit of your mind." So when you take off your old self, you need to change your mind about who you used to be and then change your mind about who you are now. You're going to have to get rid of your stinking thinking >> and start getting into some spiritual thinking in your spirit. AND SO YOU CAN'T WALK the Oh, come on. Come on, SOMEBODY. YOU CAN'T WALK THE way you used to. You can't live the way you used to. And that begins by changing YOUR MIND. THAT'S WHY YOU GOT TO GET IT IN your heart and IN YOUR SPIRIT THAT I'm his. I'm his. I'm his. I'm not what I used to be. YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR MIND. SO PUT OFF YOUR OLD SELF, renew your mind, AND THEN PUT ON YOUR NEW SELF AND WALK IN HOLINESS, GODLINESS, WISDOM, RIGHTEOUSNESS. >> A lot of our issues in our relationships and in our life stems from not knowing who we are in Christ. Come on, somebody. He goes all the way. Look at how practical it is. First three chapters are doctrinal. The last three chapters are very practical. Talks about love. Walk in love, forgiving one another. It becomes easier to love when you know you are loved in Christ. What pastor talked about today, submission. He says, "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." I wish my wife would submit to me. Uh have you submitted to Christ? >> And have you submitted to her? Uh uh uh that's what he says before he talks about husbands and wives. He says submit to one another. Now let me just stop and say she's my wife. Yes, she's your wife. And you know what else she is? I know I'm in Tennessee. Uh but don't clip this. She's also your sister in Christ. Come on. Uh, is she a believer too? Has she been chosen, adopted, redeemed, accepted? And if she chose you, I'm going to look in the mirror before you start telling her to submit. Look at your spirit. Look at your heart. Look at your attitude. Watch your words. submit to one another. Why? Because we are all on the same level in Christ. And until we understand who each not only who we are and who the others are in Christ, we're going to be out of order. I was talking to brother Jackie Dillard at marriage retreat. He's talking about uh he had just retired, put up his his his wings from the military working at Y12. He's talking about the new dynamic in in his in his team, in his organization. He's talking about his his leader and we were talking about the dynamics of leadership and something came to my mind and I was as I was studying this. When we think of Ephesians, we want to go to chapter number six and it says, "Put on the whole armor of God." We want to take up the shield of faith and the sword of the spirit, the helmet of uh we want to we want to do all of that. But order comes before orders. >> In the military, you can't take orders until you've learned order. >> Come on, somebody. If we're going to take up the orders, if we're GOING TO DO SPIRITUAL B, YOU KNOW WHY A LOT OF US ARE losing spiritual battles? We're out of order somewhere else. SOME OF Y'ALL ARE GETTING BEAT UP IN YOUR BRAINS by the devil. IT'S BECAUSE NOT YOU YOU'VE NOT learned how to take up the helmet of salvation. IT'S BECAUSE YOUR family's out of order. >> Oh, you ain't going to help me now, are you? >> Order comes before orders. I want to BE A PREACHER. I WANT TO BE A PASTOR. LET ME LOOK AT YOUR HOME. That's what Paul would say in first Timothy. He said, "If he can't lead his his home well, HE'S NOT GOING TO LEAD THE CHURCH OF GOD WELL." BECAUSE ORDER COMES BEFORE ORDERS. BEFORE PAUL EVER GETS TO THE THE THE the armor of God, he wants to make sure the man's right. >> He want to make he wants to make SURE THE MARRIAGE IS RIGHT. HE WANT TO MAKE SURE THE THE FAMILY IS RIGHT. HE WANTS TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS IN ORDER BEFORE I PUT AN a a weapon in your hand. >> That's why Paul didn't begin with the armor in chapter one. It's the very last thing he deals with because we would rather try to do spiritual battles than get along with one another. Oh man, this went off the rails quick tonight. No, I'm I'm right on my notes. I'm teasing you. If you want to do spiritual battle, it begins with having the right mindset of who you are in Christ. This is the pattern. This is the example of the Christian life. Paul begins of what Jesus has done and then the outflow of that and what he has done in us and through us and then the overflow of that is in our relationships. It's in our jobs everywhere we go comes from this simple idea. Who are you in Christ? If you want to be a better husband, if you want to be a better wife, if you want to be a better parent, it begins with knowing who you are in Jesus. And until you know who you are in Jesus, everything else is going to constantly feel out of step. Order comes before orders. Come on, praise team, get ready. Bail me out. No, I'm teasing. Thank you for listening to me tonight. Everything flows from our identity in Jesus. Being better Christians, everything comes from that. Christ, listen to me. Christ's lordship reaches everyday life. If you think that Christianity is only what you do right here on Sundays, there's going to be chaos the rest of your life. If I'm afraid I'm afraid I'm trying to say, let me say this the right way. Apostolic Pentecostalism, we have created a culture of being able to be dualistic in our personalities. Listen to me. What I mean by that is this. We can come in here with our suits and our dresses and our little hair that we've got left in a right way. And we can come in here and we can do our Pentecostal calisthenics and we can jump and lift up our hands and do all of that. We can cry and we can weep and we can feel goosebumps and then walk right out of here and live like the devil. We can act like Listen, I'm telling you, it's not it's not just here. It's everywhere. I understand that. And if we're not careful, we'll learn to have dual personalities. One way here, one way there, and all we will have is chaos. Until you take Christ's lordship beyond the walls of 5020 Pleasant Ridge Road and take it to your home address, you're not going you're going to live so far beneath what God has called you to be. And it begins with knowing what he has done, what he's doing through me. And I get my identity all the time. Someone say amen. you you I say this in in leadership sessions. There is no such thing as part-time ministry. There's both there's