AI vs Kenotic Heresy Pt 1

0:02 Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Good afternoon, everyone, or good evening, depending on where you may be. I guess it could be good what morning, afternoon, evening, night, wherever you may be. Welcome, that's the most important thing. Welcome everyone. It is Wednesday, February twelfth, twenty twenty five. It is currently five four pm Central time, and I'm coming to you live from the Theology Central studio located right here in Abilene, Texas. We have a lot to do and a lot to talk about. We are going to be probably talking about this over the next few days.

0:46 I hope. I hope this goes well. I hope I can organize this in a way that will be somewhat beneficial. Yes, there will be maybe a little bit of repetition here, but I feel in this particular case, repetitive maybe absolutely necessary because of I can't draw any major conclusion, but what I've witnessed over the last few days is at least telling me this needs to be addressed. I can't say it's a widespread problem. I cannot say this problem is everywhere in every church. But there's something going on at least what I have encountered over the last few days that has me concerned. So we're going to address that and hopefully it's going to be beneficial. Now, if you're listening to us on the Sermon's two point zero app or maybe a sermon audio platform of any kind, you'll notice we kind of beat the rush, didn't we.

1:44 I think we did because if you look, there's currently two webcasts right now. Two that's it. One of them is well me okay, the Theology Central Podcast. The other one is Central Fellowship Baptist Church in Georgia. That's the other one broadcasting right now. What I challenge you to do is just keep watching it because in the next forty five to fifty minutes that two is going to go to like five hundred six hundred, it's going to go there's going to be all. I'm assuming the numbers are going to be large, but that's what typically happens on a Wednesday evening. So keep track of that. And of course, when I'm done, if you want to keep listening to things, you'll have plenty to choose from. And it's from listening to things on the Sermons two point oh app that has brought us to this very moment.

2:37 All right, it all started me, let me put this all together. It all started by listening to a devotional on Matthew chapter four and the temptation of Jesus. Right, and if you will remember, we did like three almost three hours of teaching based off that like ten minute devotional. It all started with basically breaking Matthew chapter four the Temptation of Jesus into two basic questions. The first question was why was Jesus tempted? We loved what the devotional said, we expounded on it, we expanded it. I thought it was good. I thought it was great. I thought that was I thought we did a good job there. The second question was, well, how did Jesus overcome the temptation?

3:23 And in asking that question, they really emphasized first the humanity of Jesus. Basically, Jesus as a man overcame temptation by relying on the Holy Spirit and basically memorizing and quoting scripture. And immediately I was like, well that's a concern because the minute you say, well, Jesus overcame temptation as a man, well there's already problems because Jesus wasn't just a man, right, he was God incarnate, God in the flesh, true God, true man. That's the hypostatic union. Right. You can't just so o one from the other. They're both there. Jesus didn't stop being God. Right, So already there's a problem number two. Even if you just focus on his humanity, he's sinless, he had no sinful nature.

4:14 So how can you somehow take that and apply it to us. There's all kinds of major problems. So that already raised a red flag. Well, then the other night, I'm listening to a sermon. In that sermon, they mentioned the hypostatic union, but I felt like they stumbled right back into kind of the same problem. The devotional kind of hinted at, and I'm like, what is happening here? So here's what I want you to write down. I want you to write down kanotic heresy, kanotic heresy. Right, I'll spell kanotic ke no tic and then of course you know word heresy, kinotic heresy, kanoticism, canosis. Those are all terms you may want to write down. But kanotic heresy, canosis, kannoticism.

5:12 I want you to know this. I want you to know this term. I want you to become an expert on the kinotic heresy. That's what I want to accomplish. I want you to become an expert on kenosis, on kannoticism. I want you to know this. I want you to understand it. I want you to be able to identify it. I want you to be able to define it. I want you to be able to explain it. I want you to be able to hear it when you're listening to sermons. Right. I cannot stress this enough. You need to know this, because what has happened is we had a devotional I'm not saying it was promoting kanotic heresy or promoting kannoticism. I'm not saying that's it was full blown that, but it definitely was leading in that direction. And this second sermon that I heard that in the Hypostatic Union that once again walked right into kannoticism, right into canotic heresy, even though they would they would have probably denied that.

6:10 They believe that that's where they end up. And and so many times a heresy, a fraudulent teaching. What happens is over time, it just it kind of everyone forgets to define it. Everyone kind of forgets it, and it just becomes adopted. It becomes almost like it merges into other forms of Christianity, and that other form of Christianity doesn't even realize. There's all kinds of Christians walking around who don't know who Pelagius is or what Pelagianism is. They have no clue. But you listen to them start talking. You're like, that is straight up Pelagianism. That is straight up the teaching of Pelagius. They would deny that, but that's what they've done. What you have to do is be so aware of heretical teaching and heretical ideas that you can identify it even when it's been incorporated into what would overall be considered. Oh that's a good church.

7:10 That's they have a good doctrinal system, they have a good statement of faith. But listen, because many cases they've adopted an idea that they may not even be able to identify. Your job is to be able to identify it. So here's what we're going to do. We're going to merge two things. Twenty twenty five is the year of artificial Intelligence. We have an entire series about AI and the future of the church. We're gonna place all of these messages in that because in this we're going to be utilizing artificial intelligence almost exclusively to address and try to deal with this issue of knotic heresy, all right, And what we're going to do is we're going to see how AI can tell Well, you're gonna first you're gonna we're gonna go through a discussion I had with AI.

8:01 But then you're going to see how AI can review a sermon and identify kanoticism and identify canotic heresy where I guess Christians can't. And this is going to be does or does artificial intelligence become our heresy detector? Does? Does artificial intelligence? Is it? Do you keep it on? You know? And when you go to church you just have AI listen to the sermon and then AI is like warning, warning, warning, warning, heresy, heresy, heresy. The person is preaching heresy, and it sounds the alarm, and everybody's looking over at your phone, going no, it's not my fault, pastor you must be preaching something wrong. AI is sending out an alarm. It sends out a text message to everyone within a you know, a five mile radius that heresy is being preached Okay, maybe I'm maybe I'm going a little like Hollywood, but well, I had AI, and AI was like, whoa, I don't know what you're listening to, but something is wrong here, okay, and AI started doing a weird thing today. I gave AI. I downloaded a sermon that the transcript of it, and I uploaded it to AI. AI ripped the sermon apart, and you know what AI did today. This is the first time I've ever seen it. It gave the sermon a rating out of like ten, one out of ten. It gave it a rating and like I think, it gave it like a four point five, and then it enlisted everything the

9:32 sermon had wrong I've never seen. I didn't ask it to rate the sermon. I just said review it, and it literally gave it a rating. That's the first time I've ever seen it. I was laughing. I was like, oh man, I don't want to Maybe I'm gonna give it some of my sermons and see what it says. I was like, this is crap. I've never seen it do that. Okay, but that's that secondary. So we're gonna use AI and this discussion about canotic heresy. So you're ready give a definition of kinotic heresy or kannoticism. Now it comes from the Greek canosis, meaning emptying, emptying. All right, now this are you ready? This kinoticism canotic kerasy is a crystological heresy that teaches Jesus emptied himself of some or all of his divine attributes such as omnipotence, omniscience, or self sufficiency when he became human, or what I would prefer to say, when he took upon himself human flesh.

10:47 Now this view misinterprets Philippians two six through seven. Now let me stop right there, all right, let me go through this again. Knoticism from the Greek word canosis, meaning empty, as a christological heresy. So it's a heresy about Christ. It teaches that Jesus emptied himself of some or all of his divine attributes, such as omnipotence, omniscience, or self sufficiency when he became human. The verse misinterprets Philippians two six through seven. So if you have a Bible Philippians two, Philippians two, Philippians two six through seven, All right, I'm gonna go to five for context. Philippians two five. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ. Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man. So he made himself of no reputation. All right now. Now again, depending on where which translation you look at, some may

12:19 have Philippians two six through seven saying something like this, Jesus emptied himself all right now, What many will do will take this idea and say that he that They will claim that Jesus now functioned only as a spirit empowered man, rather than as an eternal son of God in the flesh. Now, this is the key. What will happen is even people who don't embrace canotic heresy or knoticism, you listen to this. When someone begins to describe that Jesus operated or functioned as a spirit empowered man rather than as the eternal son of God in the flesh, I'm sorry. I don't care who they are. I don't care if they're independent, fundamental Baptist. I don't care if they're reformed. I don't care how great they're theot. I don't care if they're Presbyterian, Baptist, Bible Church, I don't care what they are. If they say something along those lines, at the very least, they have associated and they're walking right into kannoticism or kannotic heresy. So let me state it again, when you hear anyone say that. So they'll base it off Philippians two six through seven, Right, they base it off this idea that he made himself of no reputation, he took upon himself the form of a servant whenever they read that, and then they basically explain it as Jesus functioned while on earth as basically nothing

13:51 more than a spirit empowered man rather than the eternal Son of God in the flesh. They have embraced to some level kannoticism. So in the devotional when it talked about Jesus overcoming temptation, remember how it emphasized. Now, they didn't expound it, so we can't say for sure, but the way they left it was very put it. This way, they had at least driven into the neighborhood of kannoticism. They at least pulled their car into the neighborhood because they emphasized Jesus as a man overcame temptation by relying on the spirit and quoting scripture. Oh wait a minute, Wait a minute, wait, you're you're basically viewing Jesus then, nothing more, as a man who was spirit empowered. And in other sermons that we've listened to, they've made similar basically concepts, and this is what derives from it. Okay, look at Jesus. He was a spirit empowered man who overcame temptation. Well, guess what you can be in a spirit empowered Christian who can overcome temptation. You just do what Jesus did. Well, there's a million problems with that.

15:08 Jesus was not just a spirit empowered man. He was God in the flesh. He was God incarnate, and even as just a man, he was sinless. So it's a it's a categorical error. And it's at least you've driven your car into the canotic neighborhood, and I will say you've pulled your car over. I think you even getting out of the car. I think you've even sitting around talking to people. Now, what are the key errors of kannoticism or canosis heresy or a canotic heresy. Well. Number one, it denies or diminishes Jesus full dey deity during his incarnation. I want you to hear this. Any attempt when someone denies or diminishes or almost ignores the full deity of Jesus Christ during his incarnation, you're walking into kannoticism. You're walking into it. Number two, they misinterpret Philippians two six through seven wrongly, assuming that kenosis means Jesus surrendered divine attributes rather than veiling his glory. He veiled his glory. He did not surrender divine attributes because he was still God. That's the whole idea of the hyposthetic union, true God, true man at the same time a right. So Number one, knoticism denies or diminishes Jesus

16:38 full deity during his incarnation, all right, Any even if they again, and sometimes it may not even be a denial or diminished. I think it just ignores that Jesus was fully God. Number two, it begins to misinterpret Philippians too. Is basically almost as if Jesus surrendered his divine attribute. Number three, they suggest that Jesus needed the Holy Spirit's power because he lacked divine power. Now, even in the devotional I believe it said Jesus needed he needed the Holy Spirit's power. He needed it. Well, when you suggest that Jesus needed the Holy Spirit's power, you're almost implying that well, he needed it because he lacked divine power.

17:20 He didn't lack divine power. He is God. Next, this typically leads to the belief that believers can now then operate as Jesus did, if we'll simply depend on God in the same way. See, if we'll just be like Jesus was a man, he relied on the Holy Spirit quoted scripture. If we'll be if we'll just rely on the Holy Spirit and quote scripture, dun duntu nuh, we can do what Jesus did. Did you like my singing? Okay, I know, I know I probably shouldn't do that. Ever, again, the point is is that's a problem. So I've defined it.

18:00 I've given you the key errors of kannoticism. You're ready again denies or diminishes or ignores the full deity of Christ during his incarnation. Misinterprets Philippians too as somehow assuming that kenosis means Jesus surrendered divine attributes rather than simply velling his glory. Number three, it suggests that Jesus needed the Holy Spirit's power, I guess, almost implying that he lacked divine power. And number four, and this is the big one. It ultimately will lead whenever you hear sermon that basically gives this idea that, hey, Jesus operated in the flesh basically as a man. He relied on the Holy Spirit. He quoted scripture, you can do the same thing. Then we're entering, Well, we are out of the car.

18:43 We're not. We're moave, moving into the canotic neighborhood, is what we're doing at that point. Now, the origin of canotic heresy, it's rooted in nineteenth century German liberal theology. I would love to give you the names of the individuals who are kind of responsible for this, but I did not spend a lot of time trying to make sure I could state their names correctly, So I'm not even attempting. I'm going to try at this point. All right, Just note it started in nineteenth century German liberal theology. It was developed as an alternative to a classical crystological Let me state it this way. It was developed as an alternative to classical Christology. It attempted to make Jesus divine and human nature is more comprehensible within rationalistic philosophy.

19:41 So it took this idea of rationalistic philosophy. I said, Okay, how can we better comprehend the divine nature and the human nature? Right? So, and since you begin to separate them out and separate them out so that you feel like you can better comprehend them, well, the more you separate them, you begin to enter into some problems. Now immediately or even early in the nineteenth century, Orthodox theologians condemned it. And why did they condemn it? Because it contradicts the Council of Chalceadon four fifty one a d. Every Christian, it should be required that you know that at least the seven ecumenical councils, at least six of them. Okay, well go seven, Well we could go eight. Wait, you need to know at least the first six or seven ecumenical councils and church history. You need to know them and know exactly what happened during them. But for the sake of this, you need to do everything in your power to find out what happened that the Council of Calcadan and four point fifty one AD, because it was at the Council of Chalcedon that fully affirmed that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, without confusion, without change,

21:18 without division, and without separation. If you do not have the Chalcidon, well, sometimes refer to it as the Chalcedon or the Chalcidon definition, the Caonian definition, the definition of Chalcedon, I think maybe is the better way of place of putting it. You need to know that definition that gives us the hypostatic union. You need to know it. And at some point maybe we'll go back through that, but you you've got to know that. Look, I know churches love small groups, and I know the churches like fellowship's plot lugs and shaking hands and kissing babies and shopping trips and hunting trips and every other non sensical thing that really nobody really needs to go to church for.

22:03 Because you can do all of those things on your own. You don't need to get together, you don't need the church to do it. I know everybody loves all of that little nonsensical stuff. How about I don't know, maybe take the time to say, we're going to study the Council of Chalcidon. We're gonna study the Calcedonian definition, the definition of Chalcedon about the hypostatic union, because you people need to know it, because we've got this thing spreading through Christianity which is destroying and a denial of the hypostatic union. While they even use the terms and claim they believe it. There is almost like what's happening. People are using the hyposthetic union in order to prove this canotic heresy. So at the Council of Chalcinon it affirmed that Christ is fully god fully man, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation. So there's the definition. Those are the key errors of kanoticism. That's the origin of canotic heresy.

23:08 Now let's compare orthodox Christology versus kannoticism. Biblical Christology, Christology Calcedonian creed. Jesus is fully God and fully man, and his divine nature was never diminished. He voluntarily veled his glory. In comparison to kanotic heresy, Jesus reduced or set aside divine attributes and functioned only as a spirit empowered man. Anyone that focuses Jesus did it as a man. Jesus did it as a spirit empowered man. If you look at that, I'm sorry. We've got problems right here in River City. We've got tea with a we got trouble with a capital T. And that doesn't okay, I don't even remember the music. Man, you get the idea. Now, Kannoticism, this is what Ai says. Here's Ai. Kannoticism is a serious Christological error that diminishes jesus divine nature during his earthly ministry. Now it goes on to say something about the sermon, but I'm not gonna I'm not gonna say what it says about the sermon, all right, okay, But basically, it's a serious Christological era that diminishes jesus divine nature during his earthly ministry. There we go, It diminishes his divine nature during his earthly ministry. Now it goes into a lot of things about the sermon, and then I

24:38 love AI says, would you like historical references or further refinement? Now I may ask for some historical references later on, but for now, I just wanted a simple summary of it, right, And I think that does a pretty good job. I think that gives you a decent idea of what kannoticism is. Whattic haris he is, what this kinosis heresy is. I need you to know it. I need you to know it. Please know it. I think of yourself as a medical professional. You've got to be able to diagnose it. You've got to be able to identify it. You need to know the symptoms of it. Because this stuff is showing up in sermons. You gotta be able to hear it and go whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa whoa time whoa No, no, no, no, no, no, guys, guys, guys, guys, guys, we're gonna all get infected. Stop. Put on a mask, put on gloves, wash your hands, run, Isolate it. Okay, put it in isolation, close the doors. It's unclean, Okay, whatever illustration you want me to use. So what I want to do is take you on a journey between I want you to take I'm gonna take you in.

25:49 Let me say it this way. I'll take you on a journey. But this journey is gonna be about a conversation between me and artificial intelligence. So I was listening to a sermon, not the devotional. This is now a sermon. I think the name of the sermon is the philological God's Theological Continental Divide. Now that's a cool title. God's Theological Continental Continental Divide. That's a great title. I love that title. I mean, that's really cool. God's Theological Continental Divide. It has theology, something philological in the title. I do Theology Central Podcast. I'm down with this right, this is right up my alley. I'm like, okay, great. So I'm listening to this sermon, and as I'm listening to this sermon, I'm just listening to the sermon. I have AI the you know, chat GPT open, and I start typing. Listening to a sermon where the preacher just made the claim that Jesus had to depend on God. He mentioned the hypostatic union. When preachers say Jesus was dependent upon the Holy Spirit, God the Father, isn't that almost a denial of the hyposthetic union and not an affirmation. So that's what I say to AI. So I'm listening to this sermon, and again I'm gonna give you my exact words. I typed into AI listening to a sermon where the preacher made the claim that Jesus had to depend on God.

27:22 He mentioned the hypostatic union. When preachers say Jesus was dependent upon the Holy Spirit of God the Father, isn't that almost a denial of the hyposthetic union and not an affirmation? AI says, that's a great theological observation. The doctrine of the hypostatic union states that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man two natures united in one person, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation. This was defined at the Council of Chalcedon four fifty one AD.

28:16 I love that. I love that. Look you need to if you have any power to teach anyone. I don't care if it's kids, I don't care if it's someone walking down the hallway between Sunday school and church, just stop them and teach them the Council of Calcedon and the Calcedonian definition. All right, Christ is fully God and fully manned, two natures united into one person, in one person, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation, as defined in the Council of Chalcedon. Now, this is what AI says. When preachers say that Jesus was dependent on God, they often mean that in his humanity he dine perfect reliance on the Father and the Holy Spirit. However, if this statement is not carefully nuanced, it can indeed risk undermining the hypostatic union. See it's see if there's I think, well, I think this is true. Oh I cannot. I cannot be dignatic. I don't know about other professions. I can't speak for other professions, so I don't want to make an illustration. I will say this within theology, well, I don't even know if I can make this statement. All right, I'm going to say what it should be. Clearly, this is not what it is. Well maybe maybe in a seminary classroom it is, but okay, when it gets to the church it isn't and seminary when it comes to theology,

29:47 it has to be very nuanced. It has to be defined, it has to be precise. You have to make sure you're very careful or you end up an error when it gets to the church. Pastors, I don't even know why they go to seminary, because everything you learn into seminary once you get behind the pull. But you're supposed to just forget about all of that because nobody wants all of that. It's not supposed to be academic. It's supposed to be devotional. It's supposed to be it's supposed to be a don't just stop all of that nonsense. Right. The church is the you know, you know what the church is. It's the place where theology comes to die. That's where it is, right because you can't get all nuanced and precise because it takes too much time. When we may go past noon and I don't like it.

30:27 It's like being in a college classroom and I just want to feel Jesus, I don't really want to learn any Okay, I've heard all of the complaining about it my whole Christian life. I guess so sick of it. Right, It's like, well, I thought we were about the Bible and doctrine and theology. Yeah, but in preaching they want something they don't really want to be precise. So so many times in a sermon, philological nuance is sacrificed. It's killed like a like a lamb on, you know, for a burnt offering. But the minutes you're not nuanced, especially when you begin talking about Christ and human nature divine nature. If you're not careful, you slide right over into these heresies.

31:13 Now here's why it begins to undermine the hyposthetic union Christ divine nature as God, Jesus is co equal, coeternal, and con and consubstantial with the Father. He's co equal, coeternal and consubstantial with the Father, I can speak correctly and the Holy Spirit. If dependence is taken to mean that he lacked divine power or authority, this would contradict his divine nature, coequal, co eternal, right consubstantial with the Father. So if you say dependent, you got to what do you mean by that? Like in his humanity, he had no power, so he had to lie on God, the Father had to rely on the Spirit in order to have power in order to overcome sin, because he was only overcoming sin purely by the power of the Holy Spirit.

32:08 And now you're separating as humanity from his deity, Christ's human nature. In his incarnation, Jesus voluntarily assumed a human nature, experiencing human limitations, hunger, fatigue, suffering. In this sense, he demonstrated perfect reliance on the Father, not because he ceased to be God, but because he truly lived as a man. So he lived as a man, but you got to be very careful what you mean by that, because he didn't cease to be God. So you've got to understand the divine nature. You've got to understand his human nature. Now, if you're not careful, this runs into subordinationism, right, This is basically leads to the risk of functional subordinationism. Some preachers unintentionally say suggests that jesus dependence means he functioned in a subordinate manner even in his divinity, which can lead to a problematic view of the trinity. The father, son and Spirit are distinct persons but equal in power and glory. If jesus dependence is framed as a limitation of his divine will, that borders on denying his full deity.

33:22 So whenever you just say he needed or he depended on or he relied on, woa, what do you mean here? You've got to be very precise or it's a functional subordinationism, And well, I don't, I don't. I think you've got to be careful there. Now, AI says, here's a better way to articulate this is that there's a better way to articulate this is that Jesus and as human nature perfectly obeyed and relied on the Father and the Spirit, but in his divine nature he remained self sufficient and co equal with him. If a sermon fails to make the distinction, then it leans more towards a denial rather than an affirmation of the hypostatic union. See, Jesus did some things in his humanity ultimately in order to well to be our substitute, to do that which would need he would need to do in order to well provide us righteousness, obedience, and all of those types of things.

34:35 But never don't ever think that in his divine nature that it wasn't there that he lost his deity. So Ai then asked me a question. As I'm listening to the sermon, Ai basically interrupts the sermon and says, is the preacher providing any specific biblical passages to support his point? Many use Philippi two six to eight, but sometimes without fully explaining how kenosis self emptying should be understood. So so it was funny because it was like Ai was getting interested, Hey are they providing any scripture? Hey, what's going on? Hey? Talk to me, come on, tell me what's going on? And I'm like, okay, hey, hey, shsh, I'm trying to listen to the sermon. Man be quiet.

35:22 So then I respond to Ai. I said, well, he's not really he's not really providing anything. And then I told Ai, when the sermon is finished, I will attach a transcript. Uh. And then I said, it seems common that the idea, the idea preachers try to make is that Jesus relied on God just like we have to so that we can have similar level of success, power of victory as Jesus if we depend on the Spirit and the Father the same. I think this is just flawed and illogical and unbiblical. Am I missing something? And then Ai says, no, You're not missing anything. That kind of reasoning Jesus had to depend on God just like we do so we can have the same power and success he did is deeply flawed piologically and practically. And then so I'm trying to listen to the sermon. Then Ai begins to write a book. It just goes crazy at this point, and so then Ai starts breaking this all down. This is what Ai says. Ai says, here, if that basically this way of reasoning misunderstands the hypostatic union, if Jesus had to rely on God in the same way we do.

36:29 That would imply that he was merely a man with no inherent divine power. But Jesus is not just a man. He is fully god fully man. His obedience and reliance on the Father were not due to any lack of divine power, but rather a part of his role in the economic Trinity. How the prisons of the Trinity operate in salvation history well. In his humanity, he submitted to the Father, he never ceased to be fully divine and self sufficient. Right number two. It distorts the relationship between Jesus and believers. We are not like Jesus in the same way that Jesus is like the Father. Jesus is the eternal son, second person of the Trinity. We are created beings who have no divine nature. Even if we are given the Holy Spirit, we do not become like Jesus in his essence. Saying that we can achieve the same level of victory, success or power as Jesus by simply depending on the Spirit is misleading. Jesus never had to send nature, never needed regeneration, never struggled with faithlessness.

37:38 We are entirely different in our make up number three. It leads to a faulty theology of Christian power. The idea that if we just depend on God like Jesus did, we will have the same success is often used to promote the belief that Christians can walk in constant victory, free from struggles, sickness, or faith. But that is not what the Bible teaches. Even Paul, who certainly depended on God, dealt with suffering, weakness and affliction. If the logic of these preachers were correct, Paul should have been able to walk in the same power Jesus did. Yet Paul himself admitted his own weaknesses, his own struggles, and his own sin.

38:21 It misuses Philippians too. And what is fascinating is this point. AI's just going on. AI's like, okay, I don't know what's going on in the sermon you're listening to, but let me just go Like AI just takes off Ai just like I'm going all in. Hey, It's almost like AI was as bothered as I was getting so Ai says. Some preachers cite Philippians two to argue that Jesus was merely a spirit empowered man, but kenosis does not mean he emptied himself of divinity. He emptied himself by a taking on human nature in the form of a servant. Others used John five nineteen. The son can do nothing of his own accord to claim Jesus had no power apart from the Father. But this passage must be understood within the broader context of John's Gospel, which repeatedly affirms Christ's divine authority John one one through three and John ten thirty. Right, So then, now, ay, I just jumps in.

39:16 I love this. This kind of preaching often comes from the Word of Faith or charismatic movements, where there is strong emphasis on believers walking in supernatural power, just as Jesus did. However, the error comes from failing to distinguish between Christ's unique identity and our human condition. Jesus did not rely on God in the same way we do, and we will never experience the kind of divine power he possessed. We should depend on God, but our dependence is that of sinners needing grace, not that of the eternal Son who took who voluntarily took on human limitations while never ceaseem to be God. And then AI interrupts again. Hey, at this point was just going crazy. I was like, I always thought, ay, I was never going to stop.

39:59 Then finally I said, hey, do you have the transcript? When will you have it? It will be interesting to analyze where the sermon went wrong and it's reasoning. AI was like, give me the transcript. I want the transcript. I wanted to say, you can't handle the transcript. Okay, see I'm borrowing. Okay, never mind, it's a joke, people, it's a joke. Okay. But so I was like, just look, I can't help I can't help it that churches don't upload their content right after the message. So I waited and waited and waited. It was just about an hour ago that they finally uploaded the message and I was like, yes, so I gave Ai the message. Now here's the thing I could just start reading to you. AI's total AI goes crazy on this sermon. AI loses it's mine. I mean, I know it doesn't have a mind. AI just tears this sermon into shreds and just take it. Does not like this sermon. It does not like this sermon in any way, shape or form right, and it clearly says it undermines the hypostatic union. It goes crazy. But what I want to do is less. I'll let you start hearing some of the sermon. We're already at forty one minutes.

41:24 If we if we start trying to go too much, I almost could stop this right now, but I'll let you at least preview some of the sermon, kind of get an idea, and then what we'll do is we'll come back, well, well, we'll do probably a we'll end up doing probably a full review of the sermon, and I'll just respond in real time. Maybe we'll end up getting to every Maybe they'll come a point in the sermon where I can just go straight to everything AI said about it. But at least at this point you now have done I think you have a pretty under a good understanding of the hypostatic union. I think you have a proper understanding of than what kanoticism is, canotic heresy is, and that gets that. That's really the goal tonight is just so that you know it right and you know what we're looking for, what we're listening for.

42:15 So I'm gonna let you hear a beginning of this now. I skipped the introduction. It sounds like that this is some kind of like youth rally, and they've got the youth broken into some kind of guess names like the Marines the Rangers. I don't and they're playing I guess, I guess based on how many people you bring, then your group gets so many points. It's that typical youth church culture that I'll never understand in a million years. And the games I don't whatever. Okay, whatever churches do, I don't even understand. Ninety nine percent of stuff. What they do, I don't even know where it derived from. There's no biblical model, there's no biblical exemptle just it turns into like, hey, I don't know. And sometimes it's like the older people in the church are trying to create some what they think is and hip stuff for the young people, and the young people I think are just looking at them like are you serious? Maybe maybe church kids love it. Maybe church kids love it. I don't know. From not growing up in church and then becoming a Christian as a teenager entering into that world, I looked around like this is the lamest stuff I have ever seen. Do you people take this serious? Like?

43:20 What is this nonsense? Okay? Can I just learn the Bible? I don't need you to give me a pizza. I don't need all of this nonsense. Can we just learn the Bible for growing out loud? Okay, I don't need you to get I can go home and have far more fun than this lame fund you're trying to give me in church. Okay, please please just get me out of here. So, but that's maybe if you're raised in church, you're like, oh, I loved it, it was so much fun, and well, that's great. I'm glad you did it. But so I skipped all of that. I don't even know what all of it was great. And now he's about to get into the sermon. Right. We're not gonna get far, but I want you to hear it. I don't think we're even going to get to the problem where the problem starts. If we start identifying any of the problem, I'll tell you to write it down. But here's a little bit of it. I think I'm probably gonna have to increase the volume of this, but this is what we have right now. It was uploaded not too long ago, so it's hot off the press, right, hot off, Hot off the press. Even though it's not a paper, it's an audio file. The transcript. I downloaded it, gave it to AI. AI was like, oh, what is this? AI was not happy with it in any way, shape or form, And it's just weird. I just don't know how this canotic heresy kinoticism has so why it's creeping into now churches that are not even charismatic, but there when it

44:51 comes to theology, I think this is very important. There aren't walls, there aren't borders. Theology crosses all whatever perceived barrier. It enters any church anywhere, at any time. So when takes an idea, in many cases they don't even know they've embraced a heretical idea, and you'll be like, Okay, what are you talking about? Where did you get that idea from? And not even realize one of my Again, functionally speaking, most non Catholic churches are Catholic because they almost teach a form of infused righteousness and deny salvation by imputed righteousness, at least functionally. Practically, maybe on paper they say we are made righteous by an imputed righteousness, but in every other way it's functionally and infused righteousness.

45:46 And then you've got to do this, and do this and do this to prove that you're safe. Well, you can't do anything to prove you're saved by imputed righteousness, because imputed righteousness doesn't change you. But because there's no barrier, there's no walls, there's no borders, false teaching illegally enters anywhere, it goes anywhere. There's there's no way to stop it. All right, let's listen to a little of this. Well, we've been on a journey together and you probably have noticed some theming Europe about revival. And I'd like to give on the practical side of revival here tonight. If I could do that more practically speaking, one of the great truths of the revived life. And I'm gonna call the message. You're gonna start with a really long title.

46:36 But by the end of the message, I'm gonna change the title. Can I do that, and I'll give I'm gonna give you a clue. At the end of the message, the title won't have any letters in it, Okay, just numbers. Okay, So we're gonna start with a long title. I want to preach tonight on God's theological continental divide. God's theological continental divid. Now, I love the way he starts, because that's kind of cool. The title is God's Still Logical Continental Divide. But when he gets to the end, he's going to change the title, and it's not gonna have any letters. All right, he just laid out the hook. He hooked me in. All right, I'm interested. I got to hear the end of this to see how he changes the title. Now, for some weird reason, when they uploaded it, they went with the title God's Still Logical Continental Divide, and they don't actually change the title. Maybe that's maybe, actually, maybe they're smart, right because when you listen, you're like, oh, well they called it God's Still Logical Continental Vibe. That means I have to listen to see what the new title is because I don't just give it to me.

47:37 So that's actually, I guess, actually that's kind of cool, right because now you got to listen to know some of you now are gonna some of you are gonna be like, well, so what was the new title? What was the new title? What was the new title? Well, you're gonna have to go listen and find out, all right, some of you right now are fast forwarding to the end, going what was it? What was it? Right? So that's kind of cool. That's kind of brilliant, right. He lays out something that you've got to listen to the end to get. All right, I'm all for it. Let's see where it goes. Now as an evangelist, many Saturdays, I will get my truck and I'll get myself a nice big cup of coffee, hopefully dunkin Donuts or Tim Horton's. I think I told you the other night. Yea, my favorite is Tim Hortons, second is dunkin Donuts. Third, maybe McDonald's. Who knows two hundred and seventy fifth, two thousand and seven hundred and fifty fifth is the Starbucks. Okay, but anyway, but I'll get to that truck, get that cup of coffee, and head down the road. And particularly when I'm out west, guess what happens. I hit the big one. You ever hit the big one? You're towing a trailer. If you don't tow a trailer, you don't know what the big one is. It's like seven or eight miles incline. And of course when you have a stick like I've got.

48:46 By the way, isn't. It sad that these young people will never really know what a stick is. Okay, But anyway, but I get that thing in. Of course, you're in fifth gear and you hit that, you hit that, You hit that mountain hard. I mean, you come in as as as you can and not. It doesn't take long. You're dropping down to fourth gear and then your r's drop a little bit more, and then you're down shifted to the third and open like crazy. You don't head us, hit us behind a semi. And then you get behind a semi going five miles an hour and you're down shifting the second gear and you climb that seven mile mountain in second gear and toward the top, your rs start going up and you realize, oh, we're getting to the top and maybe you can upshift.

49:26 And anybody's vibe been with me? Any? Okay, okay, all the older people are okay. Yeah. You get in the third gear there and you start crusting that hill and then you see a big brown sign. You've ever seen it out west the United States Western Continental Divide. Now, what's the significance of that continental divide? Well, if you're a human being, not a whole lot. But if you're a rain drop, it's okay. So he's going to talk about the difference in the continental divide if you're a rain drop. Okay, this is interesting. I guess now, I think what he's setting up here, now that I'm listening to it a second, Tome, I think what he's setting up is now maybe he just wanted to tell a cool story to get to draw people's attention. But I think the idea is the continental divide.

50:09 You have this seven mile incline right well, that the Christian life. You can be living in Christan life and you get to this incline. How are you ever going to deal with this incline? How are you going to get to the top, How are you going to get there? How what do you do? What do we rely on to get there? How can we get there? I think that's where he's gonna go. Let's see now he's going to talk about if you're a rain drop and you fall on one side of the continental divide, where you're going to end up, versus if you fall on the other side of the continental divide, where you're gonna end up one ends up in what welly it'll he'll he'll tell you. He'll tell you significant because if you fall on the eastern side of that continental divide, you're going to go into the Mississippi River. You're going to go down river into the Gulf of America. See I got it right. Okay, Yeah, you're going to go down the river into the Gulf of America.

51:00 And you might even end up in Tampa Bay. Wow. That'd be pretty neat, wouldn't it. Oh yeah, Now, if you fall on the western side of the continental divide, you might have to go through California. What a bummer? Okay, But anyway, yeah, got to go through and go to the Pacific Ocean. Well, you know that's a big difference, isn't it. Pacific Ocean and Tampa Bay. Big difference, no doubt about it. Okay, Literally a few inches can make a determination on the destination of that rain drop. Now we know rains random, it can't control where it lands. But on God's theological continental divide, you can control where you land. But now we all know there's a continental divide when it comes to salvation.

51:43 So when it comes to God's theological continental divide, we choose which side we fall on. So there's a con So there's a philological continental divide, and you and I choose which side we fall. There's some interesting concepts here Right now, I'm more interested in the hypostatic union, the kenosis, canotic heresy. That's but all this other stuff I do want to take from it is does God have a thiological continental divide? And how do I choose which side? Now he says there is a continental divide in salvation. Okay, I think we can probably agree with this. Let's see what he does.

52:23 We all know. That if you make right a decision to trust the Lord and as your savior, and you trust him for sins forgiven eternal life, you fall on the right side of the countin avide sins forgiven on your way to heaven, spend attorney with the Lord. Wow, but if you don't get saved, you fall on the wrong side of the count little divide, die in your sins, go to a devil's hell for all of eternity. Hey, there's no greater difference in all the world than. Heaven and Hell. That's the greatest too, diametrically opposed destinations in the universe. Okay, so this falls into theological decisionism. All right, we got it. You make the decision Heaven or Hell. You make the decision all right, Now this gets into Wait a minute, So does deprave nature impact my ability to decide?

53:09 Am I totally depraved or not totally? If I'm totally depraved, then that's going to impact the decisions I make because I have a sinful nature. So, either you believe in total depravity or you don't. Now, if you don't, you're a Pelagian. If you do, you're an august If you believe in total depravity, you would be then more classified as an Augustinian. If you don't believe in total depravity, then you believe, then you're basically a Palagian. It's one of the others, Pelagianism and Augustinianism. It's one of the others. That's basically where it ends up historically theologically speaking. Now, I know so many Look, I went to who knows how many different schools, especially independent fundamental Baptist schools, who taught decisionism, and they would say, we believe in total depravity. However, total depravity somehow magically did not impact the will. I don't know how that worked. Okay. In fact, one my independent Fundamental dispatcher's pastor said, the will is insulated, it's inside of you, but it's insulated from depravity. Depravity cannot touch the will. Well, if depravity can't touch the will, then I can just will to be perfect. Therefore I can be sinless, don't even need regeneration, don't even need God, don't even need the Gospel. I just need a list of rules, and then I can do it because my will is not impacted by my depravity. Do you see?

54:24 If you make the will completely free, then people can freely choose to be perfect. They don't need God, they don't need the Holy Spirit, they don't need anything. If you say no, the will is impacted by sin, well, then how can anyone then make a decision to be saved if the will is impacted by sin. It comes down to that. Oh, this stuff drives me crazy when you get Christians talking about these things. Okay, but right, it's coming from the position of philological decisionism. Okay, fine, great, not even going to criticize it, that's okay, that's okay, all right, So but just remember, philologically and logically, if you believe in philological decisionism or soteriological decisionism or Salvafic decisionism, then you have to believe the will is free and not impacted by deprave nature. Now the minute you believe that, well, then guess what to be a Christian? To be perfect, to be holy, you don't need anything because your will is free. All right, let's continue, and.

55:29 Really you make the decision which side of that continental divide you fall on. Are you tracking with me? But I'm not preaching on that tonight. I want to preach on the continental divide in the Christian life. If you fall on the right side of the continental of vide, there's a lot of answers to prayer, there's a lot of optimism, a lot of blessing, a lot of encouragement, and there's just a lot of just a divine sense in your life. If you fall on the wrong side of the countin Loivi avide, a lot of defeat, a lot of discouragement, and not a lot of answers to prayer, not a lot of optimists, a lot of pessimisms. Okay, now this is important. There's now a theilological divide within the Christian life. If you fall on one side, you get answered prayers, you get joy, you get optimism, everything's great. If you fall on the other side of the philological divide, not many answered prayers, pessimism, cynicism, discouragement to prayer. It doesn't sound good. So are you? Are you down? Discouraged, not seeing answered prayers, don't feel like you know God is doing anything well because you've fallen on the wrong side of the philological continental divide. You gotta get on the other side of the theilological continental divide.

56:42 If you can get on the other side, boom, then God will answer your prayers. Boom. Everything will be going great. The sun will come out, Skittles will fall from the rainbow. Everything's gonna be There's gonna be unicorns, butterflies. It's gonna be happy, happy, happy, happy, happy happy. But if you're on the other side, no skittles, no rainbow, no unicorns, no butterflies. It's dark, depressing, cynical. It's like living well in those states they get horrible winter storms that looks like the end of the world. Now that I don't know about you, I want to be on the right side of the philological continental divide. How do I get on the right side of this thing? All right, You've got me hooked. Now I need to know, don't you need to know? How do I get on the right side of the continental divide? Please tell me how do I get on the right side of this?

57:36 Now? What makes the difference whether or not a Christian falls on what we could call the slopes of defeat or the slopes of victory? What makes the difference? Well, we have to make the decision which side we're gonna fall on. I'd like you to go to Classians Chapter one here tonight, Classians. All right, so it comes down to your decision. You just have to decide you will either be on You will either decide to be on the slopes of defeat or the slopes of victory. And it just is your decision. Now. Once again, this seems to imply then, all right, so this is like a not only has he gone a soteriological decisionism, this seems like, I don't know, we call a sink a sanctification type decisionism. It becomes you just decide, you just make the decision. I want to be on the slopes of victory. Dun dun, dun, duh. But what if I end up on the other side, but I feel like I've decided the other side, Well, then then I really didn't make that decision. Now he's going to Colossians one here. I'm a little nervous here, I'm very, very very nervous. In fact, Ai I think absolutely annihilated here.

58:47 Let me see here, I see here, let me look here. Okay, yes, it does not like what he does with Colautions here. AI does not like what happens to Colaussians one. Here. Let's let him quote it Colossians chapter one. I think he's going to verse twenty nine. Now he's just gonna basically rich step in and rip this verse so far out of context that context is not even going to matter. Let's see what happens here. It's chapter number one. Now, I want you to look at verse number twenty nine, and let's look at God's theological continent of eye. Look at verse twenty nine. It says the apostle Paul is speaking. Maybe we could look back to verse twenty seven. Notice what he says. It says, which is christ in you the hope of glory. He is obviously talking here about one of the key truths we talked last night about getting to be perfect and the entire wanting nothing.

59:41 Well, I'm telling. Your friends, christ in you the hope of glory is part of that, because notice what it says, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus verse twenty eight. Then Paul says this, where into I also labor talking about the Lord Jesus, this great truth that he lives in us. Where into I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. Now let me give you. A story here that may help us kind of begin to lay out what we're talking about here tonight, sylph. Okay, he just read it. He didn't explain it, Ai said, And we'll get more into this. The sermon misapplies Colousians one twenty nine, assuming that Paul's striving was a model of total self abandonment, when in reality, Paul speaks about his laboring being empowered by God, not a passive or mystical experience. Now there, he didn't really do anything with it.

1:00:34 But it does not. It basically accuses this sermon of misapplying Colossians one twenty nine. Now he just read it, whereinto I also labor striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. All right, now he's going to go tell a story. Let's see what the story. Is year's ago. I was in Wyoming in a church in Cheyenne. I was doing revival me. I think it was Tuesday night. I could be wrong about that, but. A young lady came up to me after the message out. In the lobby, and she said something to me that it was a little disconcerting as a preacher. She said, Now, brother van Gildron, she said, I've been raised in independent Baptist churches. She said, I grew up at and she named an independent Baptist church which if I named tonight, if you knew anything about the movement, you would have recognized the name of that church. She said, I grew up at some such Baptist church, she said, just a year ago. Excuse me, I moved out here to Cheyenne.

1:01:32 And she said, I have never heard what you preached the night. Never, She said, I always thought the Christian life was fifty to fifty fifty percent me and fifty percent God. So what is the Christian life? Is it fifty to fifty sixty forty maybe seventy thirty, maybe eighty twenty, ninety, ten, ninety five, five, ninety nine one? How much of the Christian life is you? And how much of the Christian life is God. Now, did you notice what the apostle Paul says. He says he's labor, he's striving. Wow, what does that mean? But he's doing it according to his working, which workethin me mightily. So how much of the Christian life is you? And how much of the Christian life is God?

1:02:13 Now? What I'd like us to do tonight is get out our. Spiritual looking glasses and could we become spiritual Sherlock Holmes tonight? And I want to give you three clues that help us understand how to answer this, because really the answer puts us on one side or the other of the continental divide in the Christian life. All right, So how much of the Christianity of our Christian life is us? And how much of it is God? Now? Remember he already said that we have to make a decision. Well, if we have to make a decision, then we're involved. I mean, if salvation is part of me making a decision, and if whichever side of the continental divide that I fall in is based off my decision, well then that's something I have to do. I have to make the decision.

1:02:57 No one is making it for me, right, so then I think you know where he's going though clearly I think what he's going to say is that we don't have any part of it, which is going to go to this weird almost Well, yeah, all right, let's I'm just gonna go let him go a little further. We're already at an hour. If I keep going, we're going to be at this all day, so all night. So let's just play just a little bit more, and. I think it will make sense as time goes on, Okay, because I want us to to get a hold of this simple truth. That's profound, but it is. It is simple. So let's go look.

1:03:39 Please, First of all, if you're in Colossians, chapter number one, go down to chapter two and verse number six. Chapter two, verse number six. Notice what it says, as. You have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walking at him now. It's a very important verse and it teaches us truth. Notice, if you would please, it has two verbs, two verbs. It's okay. The first verb is the verb received and the second verb is the verb walk. One is talking about salvation and one is talking about sanctification or the Christian life. The word received is in a different tense than walk. Anytime you're studying a versus scripture. We were taught years ago when I took the language of Greek. You're taught if there's different tenses.

1:04:21 It's usually significant. And the first tense is the Earth's tense, which views the action as a whole, which makes sense because when you got saved, it wasn't a process, it was an event. You know, somebody thinks salvation is a process. You've got to enter works into the caucasion. You know, if you walked up to somebody on the street and say when'd you get saved? Or are you saved? Hey, I'm saved. When did you get saved? Nineteen eighty one to nineteen eighty three, that'd be odd, wouldn't it. You might have conviction and you might have illumination that leads you up to a salvation moment. But there's a salvation moment. Reception means you're lost, hell bound and you receive Christ Jesus Lord, and you're saved. It's just a twinkling of an eye. It's a moment when we put our trust in the Lord. So the Bible says there's something about that salvation moment that moment of reception.

1:05:12 God says, so walky in him. That needs to be reduced or reproduced in our Christian walk. Now we know walk is already reiterated steps, but this particular walk is in the present tense. It simply means it's durative. It's a process, you know how it is. The moment you get saved to the moment you die is the Christian walk. The Christian life. We call it in theology sanctification, and that is a step by step process different than salvation because it's salvation, it's once for all, hallelujah, aren't you glad? But satisfication isn't that it's a step by step process. But the Bible Does'll say this that the same dynamic that occurred when you receive Christ, Jesus the Lord for salvation, is the same dynamic that needs to occur in.

1:05:59 Every step of your Chrystian life. Okay, now there's a lot of different I got a whole message on this, which I'm gonna can't preach obviously because we're going a different direction. But I would like to say this, when you got saved, how much of the saving did Jesus do and how much did you do none. Now that sounds very reformed, and salvation it was all God, none of you. Well, then you can't say then I decided you would have if for it to be all God, God would have to be the one who does the saving, including giving me the faith to believe. Faith is a gift. He gave me the faith to believe, So it's not me deciding. God granted me the faith to believe, meaning it's all God. If you leave the decision up to me, then I am involved. So we But it's it's such a weird that all these games that get played around this, so I know they're not reformed. So this is the idea that you making a decision is not you make a decision like but you're part of the process. But he doesn't want us to be a part of the process.

1:07:04 So then it gets kind of odd here. Let's just go a little further. Could we say that salvation is zero one hundred? Could we say that? Sure? We could? You know, I think it's good every once in a while, as a Christians say, you know, if going to Heaven depended on me one tenth of one percent, I would die in my sins or go to hell. Now, I completely agree. If salvation depended on me, even to the smallest level, I would go to hell, meaning even my decision, because I have a sinful nature. So God has to grant me faith. Right. So it's like, on one hand, I'm agreeing with this, but I know he doesn't mean it the way I mean it is because they're not reformed. They're not coming in from me. What you so may accuse of being a calvinistic perspective. But okay, but what he's setting up then is this salvation had nothing to do with you.

1:07:55 Sanctification has nothing to do with you. Zero zero. God does it all? Okay? Well, this raise, it's all kinds of questions, doesn't it. Listen, If any part of salvation depends on me, I couldn't save myself and you can't either. When you and I got saved, I'll tell you what we did. We totally trusted Jesus to do everything we could never do. Do you hear that. I'll tell you what we did in salvation. We trusted Christ. We trusted Christ. Well, then that's we doing something now. I believed because he gave me faith. I changed my mind because he changed my God did it it's this. It's weird semantics, but it's this is what we say in theology. It takes philological nuance here.

1:08:51 And it's it's totally zero one hundred. We're trusting him to do the saving and that he does it. Okay, Now, the Bible says that dynamic needs to be duplicated in the Christian life. That's clue number one. You say, on a wait a second, preacher, how could the Christian life be zero one hundred? Because if I'm zero, Paul says, he's laboring. How's that zero? Paul says he's striving. How in the world is that zero? Well, that's a good question, is so let's answer it, Okay, because I think it's important to so go We'll go to the next clue. That might be a hell. Several years ago, I was out preaching in a camp out that would be east of Los Angeles.

1:09:33 How many river flown into Lax anybody out here? Okay? Many of you have? Okay, So you know, as you're coming into Lax which is the Los Angeles basin there, you can see the Pacific Ocean off in the distance. On a clear day, you kind of see the smog laying down there in the basin, and usually there's no there's usually no not many clouds. And you see the San Bernardino Mountains there on the north and the high desert up over them, and you come over the golf courses in the desert, and then you come over a mountains, so a section of amountain into the La Basin. Well, I was at a camp in those mountains. It was beautiful, so it is really a different kind of beauty. And about one hundred and fifty teenagers there, and I was preaching every night, and I think it was Tuesday night, could have been Wednesday, something like that.

1:10:14 A young pastor twenty four years. Old from Los Angeles came and they had him give a testimony. I'll never forget that testimony because he was certainly sincere. But he said something that troubled me. You ever been sitting in the audience and the preacher says something, you're thinking, I don't know about that, And here's what he said. He meant, Well, he was sincere. I didn't blame him for sincerity, but here's where he said, Now, young people, I know the Christian life's hard, I know the Christian. Life's difficultly went on, I'm thinking to myself, man, I don't agree with that. I just do not agree with that. So the next night I just wove it into the message. I didn't want to embarrass him. But the way you think is important, isn't it? And truth is important. So I just started preaching and I wove it into the message, and I said, now, listen to me, young people.

1:11:02 The Christian life's not hard. The Christian life's not difficult. It's impossible. And you say, preacher, what's the difference. Well, the difference is this. If the Christian life's hard and difficult, you know what the answer is, try harder, grit your teeth a little bit longer, reach down inside and pull something out. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Have you ever thought about how dumb that is. We can take the strongest person in the room, put them on the lobby and and uh, you know, have them grab their shoelaces. Okay, pull yourself up. Now we could be able to do it. And so the problem is that the Christian life's hard and the Christian life's difficult.

1:11:45 The answer is try harder. But if the Christian life's impossible, don't miss this. You need divine intervention. Remember what Jesus said, Without me, you can do nothing. You see where this is going? D you see? Are you catching on how this could possibly end up with canosis? What it's canosis theology. What he's going to say is Jesus and his humanity required on God. He had to have the Holy Spirit, he had to have God. He had to rely on God to be able to do these things. And if we will we can't do it. But if we'll simply rely on God, we'll fall on the right side of the continental divide. And then the Christian life we can do it because it's impossible. But if we rely on God, then we can just I don't know. I guess we have complete and total victory.

1:12:36 That's where this is. This is where the canosis situation is getting ready to show up. We're almost there. Maybe maybe we can get right to the point and we can stop it. There nothing eternal, nothing spiritual. He means it. I will tell you, and I'm gonna be honest with you. One of the most freeing thoughts I have ever thought as a Christian is this, The Christian life is impossible because I've tried many times to live the crystial life and fall on flat on my face. I bet you you have too. And I've learned something about the crystian life in my own strength. I can't do. You know, there's something about impossible things. Yeah, this may shock you, but you know what you will learn about impossible things? They're impossible. Now let me illustrate it this way.

1:13:23 How many out here have an active dream life? You know what I'm talking about. You dream at night and you remember them. Okay? Can I see your hands laze your dream some? Okay, boy man, most of you have missed it out of life. Some of the most exciting things have ever happened to me have been in the dreams, you know, talking about some guy chasing me with a bloody knife, you know whoa and then you can't run, Like, where does that go? Where does that come from? I mean, wow, you've had that one too. I can see some of you have that one. Okay. Yeah, And then you fall off a cliff, you know I'm talking about, hurtling toward your death. Then you wake up. It's kind of nice you don't have to watch yourself go splat on the canyon floor, but nonetheless wake up. That's another one, and but I'll tell you my favorite dreams a bit a while since I've had it, I can fly. Many I've ever dreams you can fly. Wasn't that the coolest dream? I remember one time I was so convinced I can fly. When I woke up, I was so bummed out I can't.

1:14:09 Fly after all? Man that I thought, this is I'm making big plans on this flying stuff. Wow. Yeah, you know there's something about flying without any aid. Human beings can't do that. You know why. It's impossible. Doesn't matter how much you flap your wings. It doesn't matter how you we human beings cannot fly. You know, some of these young people have bought a big ten T shirt with a big superhero logo on it. I sometimes have to warn them, don't get a bath foel for mom and dad and jump out of the third story window because you're not going into the wild blue yonder. You're going to the hospital. Okay, Yeah, it's not gonna work. Yeah, why because it's impossible. Now, if the Christian life is impossible, friends, do you know what you and I need all the time?

1:14:50 Don't miss this divine intervention? Yep. So if the Christian life you need is divine intervention, and God intervenes, then I guess you can fly. I guess you can do the impossible. I guess you can basically be perfect and holy. So all right, where where is it? Let's let's I want to go just a little further. I need divine an intervention all the time because without him we can't do anything. Now, maybe I'll help you with this a little bit, because sometimes we get it when it comes to salvation, but we don't get it when it comes to the Christian life. So let's imagine you're witnessing to a next door neighbor. They actually want to get saved. And so I'm gonna ask you a question.

1:15:39 You're witnessing give him the gospel. How much self dependence can a seeking. Sinner have before he can't get saved? I mean, this guy wants to get saved, But how much self dependence can a seeking sinner have before he can't get saved? And the answer is, can't have any. Can't have any. Okay, So here's a Christian saved the way to heaven and they want victory. They're sick of defeat. They want victory. So how much self dependence can a seeking saint have who's sick of defeat wants victory. How much self dependence can to seeking saint have before they won't have victory, They'll be still to be defeated. How much self defendence can they happen? The answer is they can't have any I don't miss this.

1:16:21 We get it on salvation, but we don't in the Christian life. So in the Christian life you can see where this is going. Just you can do nothing, you just rely on God and he does it. Well, then you know how this works. Then if I just rely on God anything, I don't do anything I fall short of in the Christian life, Well, then obviously it's God because it all depends on God. But then will then somehow you'll still get blamed. Well, you're not really relying on God, You're not really depending on God, because if you're really relying and depending on God, then you would have nothing but pure victory. So you're saying anything less than pure victory. I'm not relying on God. So then it does rely It does on me because I do not have to rely on God. So it is it me or is it not me? Is it God? Is it not God?

1:17:06 Who gets the blend, it becomes very convoluted. So how much amount of self dependence sets you up for failure? And the answer is any amount. Okay, we're starting to get it. We learned our first clue that well, salvation as you receive Christ Jesus, the Lord, so walking in him, it seems like salvation zero one hundred seems like that's what the Christian life's gonna be. Then we learn secondly that we can't do anything without him. The Christian life is not hard, it's not difficult, it's impossible. We need moment by moment divine intervention. That's called grace. We talked about that Sunday morning that brings us to clue number three. Can we get clue number three? Okay, here's clue number three. Uh, for time, don't turn. Many of you are familiar with Two Corinthians, chapter twelve, and you may remember the apostle Paul played three times for a thorn to be taken away, and the Lord Jesus finally comes to him and says, this, my grace is sufficient for THEE.

1:18:08 Help me out with the next phrase. We're kind of more familiar with the first phrase, four, my strength is made perfect in the word weakness is a very interesting word. The root word is. The word strength with an alpha. Now, most of us are familiar in English that when you take a noun and you put an a before it, it negates it. We all know what muse means. You don't muse means think. You put an a before that, and you know what that means of use? Okay, you're not thinking. Okay, we understand the English. How about this one. A theist. We all know what a theist is. A theist isn't necessarily somebody saved. It's somebody who believes in deity.

1:18:48 You could have a polytheist, the mono theist, whatever, but they. Believe in deity. If you put an a before the word theist, does it change the definition quite a bit, doesn't it? How much does an a theist believe in deity? And the answer is not at all. I like what one commentator said about the root word. We get the word weakness. He said, it's strengthlessness, weakness in the sense of strengthlessness. Now I want you to think about this. How much spiritual strength do you have in and of yourself without Jesus? So how much right now? Spiritual power and strength you have in and of yourself without Jesus? How much spiritual strength do I have in and of myself without Jesus?

1:19:30 And the answer is we don't have any. Isn't that exciting? It actually should be. You know what the apostle Paul said after Jesus said that to him, He said, most likely, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. You know, the word infirmities is the same word weakness in the plural my strengthlessness. That's the idea. I'm going to glory in those why, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Now, maybe these verses will have a new meaning to you. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of Oh, who's my His min I can do all things through Christ, which so whose strength is it?

1:20:16 Well, it's his strength. Okay, notice our verse again, striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily. Now this brings us to clue number three. You know what we don't have in and of ourselves without Jesus. We don't have any spiritual strength where bankrupt. I said this the other night when I was preaching. I'll repeat it somehow when I was growing up, I got the idea that I knew I was weak as a Christian. I knew it wasn't very strong Christian, But. I got the idea that the Christian life was weak little me getting stronger and stronger. Man. By the time I'm fifty, man, I'm going to. Be a giant spiritual And all of you that are a little older know is I turn fifty and all of a sudden I realize, you know, I still got a bunch of issues. I'm not what I thought it would be. And I learned something friends, and I don't want you to miss this. The Christian life is not weak little meat getting stronger and stronger and stronger. The Christian life is weak, little meat, who will always be weak.

1:21:20 Tapping into Him who is strong, who will always be strong. You will need Jesus the much the second before you die. Then you'll need it as much then as you do right now. So if that's the secret, all I gotta do is tap into Him, and then I have omnipotence. Right, All I gotta do is tap into him. Now do I tap into him? And he gives me only fifty percent strength? Seventy percent strength twenty five percent strength. And if I seem to show a lock of strength, is it because I'm not tapping into him? Or is it because there's something wrong with his strength? And as you did when you're a teenager, we need him all the time, all the time, every second, every moment.

1:22:08 It's a constant need to say, Jesus, I can't do this without you, because I can't do anything without you. Friends, all I want us to see is that we're completely devoted of spiritual strength. So could we put it this way? The Christian life is zero one hundred. It's zero percent my will, one hundred percent his will. It's zero percent dependence on my strength because I don't have spiritual strength. I got physical strength, but I don't have spiritual strength in and of myself. So it's one hundred percent dependence on his strength because he got more than i'll ever need. Suckkeet pressure. I think I'm tracking with. You theologically, but practically, how do you live that kind of life? That's a really good question. Fortunately, all throughout the Bible, there are a lot of illustrations that help us, but the one I'd like to use tonight is something that a human being did that wasn't hard, It wasn't difficult. It was impossible. And that is walking on water. Is walking on water hired? And is walking on water difficult? And the answer is, well, no, it's impossible. You could train for twenty years and you won't be able to walk on water. Have you ever noticed there's no walking on water contests in the Olympics.

1:23:20 Have you ever noticed that you? Have you ever noticed that there are great athletes. They can skate on ice, but they cannot walk one. Yeah, I hate to say this, but Tom Brady cannot walk on water. He can deplay football. You know what I'm talking about it. Patrick Mahomes, I hate to tell you this, he cannot walk on water. He knows how to throw interceptions in the first quarter of a Super Bowl, he does not. He can't walk on water. You get the idea. I shouldn't say that. There's some Kansas City fan who I just offended, Okay, but anyway, Yes, the point is in matter who every great athlete has a bad game, none of them can. Walk on water. Now, since walking on waters not hard, it's not difficult, it's impossible.

1:24:02 No human being's ever done it, right, I mean. After all it's impossible. So we just determined it's impossible. So nobody's ever walked on water? Right? Wrong? So who's walked on water? Two people? Can you tell me Jesus And well, you say, preacher, Jesus doesn't count. He was God. Well that's true. I don't want to preach a message right now in the hyposthetic union, though I think it would be fun to do it, because I think Jesus had to depend on God just like Peter did. But let's just leave that one alone there. It was the hyposthetic union. Jesus is God, true, but he had to depend on God just like Peter did.

1:24:43 He had to depend on God just like Peter did. Ladies and gentlemen, that is not the hypostatic union. He now just walked into denial of the haypostatic union. And guess what he's going to say. Jesus relied on God. He needed God, he was able to walk on Peter relied on God he could walk on water. And if we rely on God, well we can walk on water. I guess that's where this is going. Now that gets us right where we need to be. So now we can stop, and now we have a great place to begin next. I'm sorry I went so long, but now we're set up. We're set up. Now he's going to now go into basically how to live the Christian life practically well. To live the Christian life is we live just like Jesus, we rely on God, and if we will rely on God, we can walk on water because Jesus did. It's everything I said that church after church after church they even mentioned the hyposthetic union, and then walk right into a canotic a kinoticism, a knosis heresy where you so focus on Jesus being a man and that he needed God, relied on God in order to do these things, and then therefore we would can just follow the same principle and then we well, we can't.

1:26:04 The Christian life is impossible. We rely on God like Jesus did, and then basically we get ultimate perfect victory. That is a complete misunderstanding of it. All right, we'll stop there now. If you'll look now we began I told you. Now, if you'll look at the sermon's two points oh up right now, guess what now, there's one hundred and twenty nine live webcast. There was only there was only like two going on when we started. There's one hundred and twenty nine right now, so you can go listen to one of them and then we'll finish this or pick us up tomorrow. Now we have a we're much more of a manageable way. This one had to go long. The next one probably will go long as well. But now we're ready to go, we can dive right into the whole. And this is where Ai tears the sermon into shreds, because Ai is like, this is kinoticism. This is going right into the canosis, the canotic heresy, the knoticism, going into the whole heresy about this and and that's that's what we have to learn to pick up. It has a quick statement you probably didn't even hear it, but that that's right there. We we could do a sermon on the hoppystatic union, which would be cool, but you know, and Jesus is God, but I think that would be neat or be good.

1:27:25 And then he but he says that Jesus needed and relied on God like Peter did. Jesus is God. Okay, all right, Oh, it's dividing the deity and the humanity. So we focus on the humanity and then act like Jesus was basically a man, just like we're just a man. And then we can look and then he gives us a prescriptive way to live the Christian life. And it's just a fraudulent it's it's heretical. I'm oh man, Okay, well, I want to go further, but we'll stop. Hopefully, now you remember all of the definitions we gave. We broke down kanoticism and the whole knotic theology heresy. Hopefully you've been defined. I gave you a brief origin, I gave you the points of it. We talked about the hypostatic union, the Calcedonian definition of the definite definition of Calcedon. You need to know that, the Council of Calcedon. You need to know it. And that gives you a philological framework.

1:28:24 So then when we come back the next time, we can take this apart. All right, I'll start right there. Thanks for listening, everyone, Have a great, great, great, great night. God bless