Can You Pass These Three Questions?

Thank you for joining us for this broadcast from The Ninth Avenue Church of Christ in Haleyville, Alabama. We hope that you will subscribe and we'll share our broadcast with others. Now. We take you to the pulpit of the Ninth. Avenue Church of Christ was in a big school guy. I was a good student school didn't come easy to me. So I had to learn to study from a young age. I had parents who were very adamant that I do well in school, which I was happy to have those parents and I would have to make note cards and in no cards didn't help me because of using them. After they help me because I was riding the information down. That's how I learn by writing things down to buy doing stuff and they're not necessarily by reading but in but I'm a there's no card so I can write them down and then I can refresh my memory overtime and Remember countless and countless nights. You say? Okay. I've done studying. I am ready to take the test tomorrow and my dad was okay. Hit me or hit, me your notes. Study your notes on Hannah Munoz, to go sit down and he would quiz me or have me your book and he would quiz me and often times. He was a note. You don't know enough, go back and study more it was miserable and all. But over time. I learned how to study, we prepare me for college and because I was able to study and do well because of those habits. And those tools I had learned and they really helped except in one class. So I I was I love history and they're not as much as some people. History was a fun subject. If I'm not, if I'm doing genedge and regular core courses history. I would pick over math over science everyday. But I remember it when I was in high school. I was attempting to get an AP class. You had to pass a pee test, and I didn't end up doing that, cuz those tests are really, really hard. And I got my freshman year and Bible students need one history. Course I said, well, I just I just took a Merrick in history. I don't want to retake that class. I want one that I'll never have an opportunity to to hear again. Station. I took Western Civilization. I don't know what I was thinking. I don't know what I was doing. But I took western civilization and the teacher and the seas. Are they still make sense? As we talked about these tests. Can you pass these three questions? Cuz he's three questions to ask. Aren't this hard. I promise they seem hard. They'll be challenging but they're not as hard as Greg, Massey's test. I load those tests. He even told us at the beginning of the semester. Here's how I do my test. Because all of my questions, we'll have shoes. All of the correct answers and there will be like a b c, d e, one of them could be correct to them. Could be correct. Three of them was incorrect. None of them could be correct. And if you Circle to you don't get, you don't get all the credit. It was the worst tests I've ever taken in my entire life. You'll be like, okay, you look like a damn and every single question closely. My dad had a similar teacher at Harding. It was choose the most correct answer but the good news is I got isn't about trick question. Like all those trick questions? God's not about, let me see if I can trick you into missing a question. That's why I like essay questions cuz I can tell you what I know multiple choice questions is what I don't know but God is all about challenging us to have a closer relationship with him and I got this idea from 2nd Corinthians. Do you want to go ahead and turn the 2nd Corinthians? Chapter 13. We were studying spiritual disciplines in our Wednesday class with their teenagers. And we're talkin about all of these disciplines and training ourselves and becoming more like Jesus and being able to be transformed to not just look but to become more like Jesus and we were looking at confession the spiritual discipline of confession, Wednesday, and we looked at this passage very briefly. I want to unpack it more but polite toward the end of his letter to the Corinthians and 2nd Corinthians 13. He says in verse 5, examine yourselves to see whether you are in the face test yourself, or do you not realize this about yourselves that? Jesus Christ is in you in the unless indeed, you fail to meet the test. Do you think examine yourself test yourselves? One of the hardest things we can do is to be honest with ourselves. In part of our class with confession was learning the ability to examine ourselves, so we can prepare to confess so they can. So we can prepare to become more like Jesus. But today, I want to focus in on what that examination has to look like, what it's going to look like what it means to test yourselves. Because like I said, it's not a grade math test and Greg Massie will never listen to this sermon, but if you're out there, I still appreciate you. As a brother in Christ, your test for miserable, but God isn't about miserable test, but he is about challenging tests. And Paul is saying I need you to test yourself. Remember, Paul had to prove himself over and over, and over again, that I'm a disciple. I'm an apostle and to, to everyone he really encountered two to the Gentiles. They were saying no, we we we know who you are and you're not one of us to the those who are believing the Christians used to know, we know who you were, you are going around killing us to the Pharisees. The Jews who Trying to convert there were saying, what no, we remember you was a Pharisee, we know who you really are. But now you're just lost cuz you're no longer you've left our faith. So we had to constantly prove who he was and he's all he's challenged him on the 11 Services. Say, hey, not prove who you are. But he's also saying be honest with yourself. The Corinth church was very messed up. You can see them in first and second Corinthians. They were very corrupt, but they really weren't any different than the world. We live in today. They are full of sexual immorality. They were full of greed. They were full of murder. They were full of false idolatry, which we have in different ways, but they were so full of just Then that he was always challenging them to say, you need to live Faithfully. You need to live and walk as Jesus would to examine yourself to see if you are in the face. Like what's the first question Sly pleases is Jesus in you. That really mean is Jesus in you if he sang this that's really easy. The only other question he asked, he says, do you not realize that Jesus is in you if any kind of stops, are there any federal jobs? He says, well unless you don't pass the test. Is it is Jesus? He's asking them is Jesus in you. Examine yourself. It's so easy. It's so easy for us to to live the way we want to live. It's so easy for us to say, I want to live my way. I like doing things that I like to do. No one can tell me what I can't do is easy for us to get pulled in by the world. All those Temptations to say, none of that Ding-A-Ling the DLC in the old Geico commercial with the the dollar bill on the, on the fishing pole. And I got to be faster than that. The world is dangling. All those things in front of us saying, you know, you want this and it's so easy to give in to those things and for us to leave our life of price behind It's so easy for us to give in to our fleshly desires. Paul talks about that in Galatians, but John reminds us a little bit even so I can more so about walking in the light in 1st John 1. He says but if we walk in the light as he is in the light being Jesus, right? We have fellowship with one another, in the blood of Jesus. His son cleanses us from all sin. So many things to unpack there were you saying, we have to be walking in the light of can't be walking in our way. Maybe walking in darkness, hit me walking in the world. Can't be walking in our own foolish. Way into the blind, can't lead the blind. We have to be walking as we can see, no songs. Tell this with God's word. You'll die word is a lamp to my feet so I can see where I'm walking. We have to walk in the light walk in the way of the Cross, walk in the way of the word, but he also says, if we do that, what happens? We have fellowship with one another. We can be United if we walk in the light, but what does that really mean? I can we can say all day long walk in the light. Walk in the light. Will John also said just a few moments later and 1st. John 2 Verse 6. Whoever says he abides in him which backing up, if we walk in the light, as he is in a light to whoever says he's walking in the light, as he is all to walk in the same way in which he want. Are you walking like Jesus? Obviously, we're not talking about physical walking. He sang. Are you living a life that reflects? Jesus? A hard question a trick question. It's not one of these. Greg Massie questions is a challenging question. You saying, reflect on yourself? See it all comes down to Apollo Center. In Galatians, Galatians, 2:20. We sing the song that is to help us memorize this passage, but it really comes down to being crucified with Christ. Paul says, it's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me in the life that I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me to process. I don't live the way I want to live anymore. I don't live in say, I really want to do this way. So I'm going to do whatever I want to do. He says, no, I now live like a face. I let Christ live through me. Is Jesus and you? See, all these things lead up to this coal. Mining question is, are we walking in a way that's worthy of the calling, all sitting fees and stuff for, for any peaches for. He says, I therefore a prisoner for the Lord I plead with you. I beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. This The Honorable you've been call to walk like Jesus, then do that. Don't say you are and do something else. Does walk in on in a manner worthy of the calling to what she's been called with all and he starts giving his how to do that. Humility with gentleness, with patients bearing with one another and love isn't always easy to be around each other. But we have to love each other. Be patient with each other and he says, eager to maintain what the unity of the spirit in the bond of Peace. It's really hard just like Jesus did his whole life. He was walking in love. Now. Sometimes that causes conflict, but he didn't set out to tear down. You set up to build up. He said, up to build the church to build up his father to encourage each other to say live, like me. He came to serve, he came to die, so we could have life. Jesus, and you. Sea, of course, if we go to the next slide, we have to ask this really next hard question, but it's one of those questions where we have to say this life and I'm living has to be a daily life. It's not just of it one time decision I made and now I can live wherever I want to live. I made that choice at baptism and I was going to live for Jesus and I really meant it. But now I live my way because now I have the blood of Christ so many teach that so many teeth that you can. Once you have that salvation, you can never lose it and that you can do whatever you want in life. And that's really not what we're talkin about here. That's not what Paul says, is not what Jesus says. In fact, Jesus said in Luke 9, he says, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. I like that passage more than some of the other parallel passages, because Luke is the one that includes the daily just pick up your cross daily, that it's an every single day. Act. And I wouldn't even have been hacked. It's an everyday decision and everyday commitment. Promise a covenant, we made with the Lord. So the question is, do you still believe his living a life of Jesus? Walking the way walking in the light walking in old man in a manner. That's worthy of a calling will come with. A lot of struggles will be tempted to to give in will have trials things in life that will distract us. While Temptations things in life that will try to pull us the other way. Without persecution that. I'll try to silence us. They're trying to get us to hide less hard times and nothing is easy about following Jesus. But see nothing was easy about taking up the cross either. Nothing is easy about carrying the cross and as hard as it was for Jesus to carry the cross. He says, you have to carry your own cross to, you have to take up your cross daily. And part of that is denying yourself thing. I'm no longer to live for myself as possible, Galatians. Right is no longer. I who live, but Christ who lives in me, and now I'm going to walk by faith. I'm going to walk in a way, that's a manner of worthy of the walk in a manner. Worthy of the calling. I'm going to walk in those ways. That means I have to really believe, not just believe but then I have to have my face. He just saying all that's true is one thing, but do I really believe? Believe enough to change. Believe believe enough to say, I'm going to do something about it. That's the question. It becomes so easy for us to, to lean on ourselves, become so easy for us to lie in our own knowledge. You know, when I was, like I said, studying for, for all those tests. I never really, really got 100. I did, I did well, in school. But sometimes it's easy for us to trust our own selves, will see when it comes to Living, Like Jesus. It's not all about head knowledge. It's not all about it cuz we're never going to let her know everything. It really is all about transformation. Having had knowledge, having the heart commitment and having to Spirit Guide, our lives that we can be molded to look like him and then we can trust in him to say I'm in an understand. Anything. Is there going to be some things in life that we just want? Either never know and never understand.

But we have to say, God. I trust you. Snake slide. Who do you trust? Our where is your trust? If it's in the wrong things, our trust will can be a gust. Diminish, it can fail. Will be just trust people. If people let us down I'll trust in people. Maybe let me down. I was not, I've had friends who have trusted who have let me down who have betrayed me. I've had family members. Luckily. He was always kind of been there but what's happened there? Human have a let me down once or twice. Yeah. Is running, perfect. And he's never let us down. Jesus. But also, maybe you're sitting there like I just don't trust anyone. All these people have let me down. I'll trust myself and nobody else it is. I've gotten to where I've got. I've done all the hard work. Look at where I've gotten the spite of all the people whose let me down and we start to get that arrogance that Pride the wisest man to ever live. The richest man that ever lived. The Solomon was blessed when he asked for wisdom. He became so wise and we could say, I believe very accurately that he was the wisest man, but he also was blessed with all these riches. And when he really calculated he was very wealthy. You were talking about, possibly the wealthiest man to ever live, and we're even have people who are multi multi-billionaires today. And he sitting here riding the Proverbs and he's riding Ecclesiastes. Anything was I tried to find happiness. I tried to find completeness and everything. The ecclesiastic is known for that phrase over and over and over again, the vanity of vanity all is Vanity. So everything has everything to meaningless. That sounds really depressing until the end when he says, Hey, the point of this is to live for Jesus. This delivery guy that he forgot his honor God and live for him and ask the complete, and that's the complete, your joy will get, but over the whole book of Ecclesiastes. He's thing. I tried to find, meaning, in life and stuff and then people and all of it didn't mean a thing. In Proverbs, he's riding this wisdom literature. And he says, in Proverbs 3, trust in the Lord, with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. So why does man to ever live this, the man who had all the answers? Missing you and I don't understand everything. So maybe you didn't have all the answers. Maybe he wasn't the wisest man to ever live. As Jesus lived. God Was Here In the Flesh. Ethan trust in the Lord, with all your heart. Don't just trust your own understanding and then in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your path. I'm about you. Where's your trust is in People. They'll let you down. It's been stuff. Don't fade away. It was in yourself. You don't know anything. I remember JoJo when JoJo was JoJo with the most faithful man to ever live, except we ignore all the chapters were, he's like, God, you're being unfair and you're wrong. He never cursed God. He never stops really believing. He was deity, but he was pretty bald and saying, God, I think you're not being just because I've done nothing wrong to do believe. Like we do sometimes and accurately that bad things happen to bad people and good and good stuff. How does a good good people? And we are good. Nothing bad supposed to happen. They believe, when they are being punished and all these bad things are happening, that is because of sin, is he drove? His friends kept saying, You must have done something awful because all this bad stuff keeps happening to you. And Joe kept saying, I'm innocent, then you're going to God, listen, why are you doing this job? Had one friend who even said you deserve worse, think I'll stop being friends with that guy. But he says, you deserve worse. I'm innocent. In one of those interactions right before, God spoke in that whisper I tried before.

You always saying this is not fair. And then when the cruise lines with prepare for Action, that's okay. You want an answer? You want to fight? I want to give it to you and then God continues to ask all these questions. That Joe has no idea what they are. Just where were you? When I laid the foundation of the world. Tell me if you have understanding Guy saying you want you want this fight, you want answers. You think that I'm being unjust? You think, you know, more than I do. Let me ask you questions that you can answer and after all those questions job goes my bad. I'm the I can't answer and guy says no, here's more question. And it begins to ask more questions to prove who got is a job. It's not you who used to be trusting, you know, you can't you can't lean on your own faithfulness. You have to lean on me for strength. Here Solomon saying, you can't lean on your own understanding. The why is this undia T man to ever live? Is something I have all this wisdom. God gave me and I can't have anything apart from God. He saw him and knew where his wisdom came from. He knew that God give it had given it to him. In The Giver of that wisdom has to have more infinite wisdom than the one who gives it everything. I, I need you to understand the trust in the Lord with all your heart and see if that's easy to do. When good things are happening, that's easy to do when things are going our way. It's really hard to do that. Like, Jobe when things aren't going our way. See Psalm 56 witches, read to us. When I'm afraid, I put my trust in you and gods, whose word I shall this is different, but I want to read when I'm afraid, I put my trust in, you and God whose word I Praise In God. I trust, I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me. Green important important verse saying, what can all that stuff? Really do? What you might be thinking? What I've been through a lot. I've been to a lot of pain while suffering, lot of illness. I've been through a lot of persecution. Sorry, I've been through a lot of of person, you know, maybe conflict with others. What can you allow it to me? In the grand scheme of things can't steal. Our hope can't steal our promise of everlasting life thing. I put my trust in you and God. I trust, I shall not be afraid over and over. Where's your trust? And when we have that trust, you know what he gives us his ass piece. Paul says in Philippians chapter 4, 67. He's listening all these things and he says in and we're coming in the middle of that sentence, but he says, in supplication with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God in the peace of God. Which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. We trust in him and we go to him and give him all our requests. All our concerns. We going to say, I completely trust in you. I'm not going to lie, know what I think. I know he says the peace of God which surpasses all understanding is, we can understand it, lean on your own understanding, trust in him and he will have that piece that we can explain. When people say, how do you have that piece? we can honestly say I don't know, but I know that God is giving it to me. I don't understand how it works. I just know that I have peace because he's who has given me strength. These are the three questions each of the three tests. And Paul, going back to these people and you saying, I want you to examine yourself to see if you are in the face. You saying is Jesus in you? Do you still believe? Where are you? Putting your trust? And hopefully, we can honestly say Jesus is living. And active than me. I'm putting my complete trust in him because I believe in him because I have faced this morning if you're struggling. And anyway, this morning, if you're saying I've been through so much so much suffering. I'm going through this, the storm of life. I just need some encouragement. We're here. We're all for y'all struggle together. We all struggle at times, we can do it better. Together, Solomon said, when we're together, we're stronger than quarters. The three-fold cord is is not is what I won't be broken. What a wonderful Passage. But if you're here and you said, I'm not a child of God, just yet. If you haven't been buried in the waters of baptism, so you can be raised to walk in newness of Life. See, you can say, I've put my trust in him, I believe in him fully and now I'm going to let him live through me. Whatever you need is, please come now. I'll be staying safe.

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