One God Pt 2

0:02 Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is the Theology Central podcast, making Theology Central. Ladies and gentlemen. I have found my pencil. I have found my pencil. Do you remember the last episode? It ended with a cliffhanger, where is his pencil? He lost his pencil? Where did the pencil go? And you tuned into the same bat channel at the same bat time. Okay, I'm pulling from the old Batman TV series from the sixties. Okay, all right, are the seventies with sixties seventies? I don't remember which decade a long time ago, so but yes, I left you with a cliffhanger about a pencil. And you know why that last episode ended on a cliffhanger about a pencil, because I don't know what we did for the rest of that hour plus, But it wasn't any discussion about Ephesian's chapter, which left me completely frustrated. So I got so frustrated I could not find my pencil. But I have found it. And it's kind of sad that over an hour of teaching it really came down to where is his pencil? Not well, that was a great discussion about Ephesians. It was very frustrating, and unfortunately we have to do a little bit of more. We have to do more of that to bring this to some kind of conclusion. It's not going to be a satisfying conclusion,

1:35 but I feel that we have to. But before we do any of that, I just I knew. I know all of you been. You weren't able to sleep last night. You're like, I hope he finds his pencil. I hope. I know. So now you can be like, yeah, right now you can be texting people he found his pencil. He found and everybody like, oh, thank goodness, I've been up all night worried about it. So you can tell that. Okay, I know, and that's ridiculous, and I know I'm being ridiculous, but hey, that's so in review, was ridiculous. All right, Okay, maybe is that. I'm not trying to be negative, but it feels negative. But I say all of that to say first, well, I say all of that, but I need to actually say this. Good morning everyone. It is Wednesday, August the seventh, twenty twenty four. It is currently eleven forty three am Central Time, and I am coming to you live from the Theology Central studio located right here in Albilene, Texas, and it was in this studio where the pencil I'm holding it up. I know you can't see it, but this pencil was found, So all right, so I have that pencil. I have my journal where that pencil was supposed to be, but it fell out of the journal and rolled under my chair. And when I kept looking for it during the live broadcast, I couldn't see it because while it was underneath my chair.

2:48 But we we forget all of that. We've got work to do. Are you ready? Okay? So everyone remember for the Sermons two point zero app sermon Challenge, you're supposed to be this week listening to messages from the twenty twenty four Salt and Light Conference from Tyler Primitive Baptist Church, Right, that's what you were supposed to be doing. So as you're doing that, there's thirteen messages. I said that I would try to review some of them, right, I mean, it'd be great to review all thirteen, but we know by the time I did that, it would be twenty twenty six. Okay, so in reality, we know that's not possible. But I started reviewing the first one and we found ourselves, well, at least I found myself very very, very frustrated. Not only that, another thing you're supposed to be doing is you're supposed to be reading Ephesians chapter four over and over and over, and you're also supposed to be trying to determine how the contents of Ephesians chapter four relate to the things in Ephesians one, two, and three. Because I took it upon myself to kind of give you a study of the structure of Ephesians. Ephesians one, two, and three is still logical exposition. Chapter four, verse one.

4:03 You see the word therefore, and it transitions that therefore is a transitional term, a transitional word that transitions us from the philological exposition to the practical exposition. So as you're reading chapter four, you're supposed to be writing down, Okay, this is there because it connects to the philological exposition of chapter one or chapter two, and you're supposed to be writing down those references. Also, I give you an assignment about salt and light. We will get to that at some point. Now. The first message, however, that we reviewed, deals with one God and one Father. All right, that's the first message that we reviewed. After reviewing, I think over half of it now he said basically as he was getting done with that first half, that it was just his introduction. But I can't really his introduction had nothing to do with Ephesions. From my estimation, it really turned into kind of a discussion about authority and truth that Hey, the world out there, they don't have any truth, they don't have absolute truth, they don't have any authority, but we do. It's the word of God. And I challenged that, I think in a very blunt way, in a way that a lot of Christians don't like. Well, it's easy for us to say that we have the truth, it's God's word, But the reality is we do what is right in our own eyes and what and the reality is we take the Bible and we interpret it the way we want and then we say it's right.

5:30 And that's why Christians can't agree on anything. So I really challenged his perspective. But the most and the reason I had to challenge his perspective is because he really wasn't doing anything with Ephesians Chapter four. He wasn't doing anything with it. He didn't really He did say that this section had something to do with unity, but he did not really, he didn't connect it to the word therefore and how it connects to chapters one, two, and three. It was it was just bizarre. Like I'm still baffled. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to offer us a little bit of actual teaching about Ephesians four five. Then we'll complete this sermon review. And the only reason I even feel obligated, the only reason I even feel obligated to finish this, because I definitely don't want to, but I feel obligated is because he himself said in the sermon that this is all that everything we reviewed was just his introduction. So it'd be unfair for me to criticize the introduction as having nothing to do with Ephesians four when possibly the rest of the sermon is going to be this brilliant exposition of Ephesians four five, and I would have misrepresented the entire sermon.

6:48 So I feel obligated that we have to finish it. But let's do this. Ephesians four, verse five, let's read it. I'm reading from the New King James. Are you ready? Ephesians. I'm going to go Ephesians four four because I think maybe we can't. Actually, I'm gonna go to verse three, so I don't think you can. I know that their conference, the twenty twenty four Salt and Light Conference, is the focus is on verse five. But can you understand five without three? Right? Please note you have the word endeavoring and verse three endeavoring. Do you see that word endeavoring. I'm gonna look this up in the King James. Look, this is the New King James. Where's my King James Bible.

7:31 It's over here. I'm gonna reach down. Okay, I'm gonna grab it. See if it's the same word. I think I think we're gonna I know I'm supposed to be reviewing. I think i'm gonna end up all right, well, and I think I'm gonna end up just taking over and doing this myself. But okay, Ephesians four to three, you see the word endeavoring. It's the same word in the King James. Ephesians four three endeavoring, the New King James endeavoring. All right, so let's look up the word endeavoring. Let's let's look this up. All right. I'm gonna go open up the Blue Letter Bible. App I'm just gonna. I'm just gonna. I'm gonna. I want to give us some solid teaching because this the sermon review is not providing any and I'm not trying to be mean. You can draw your own conclusion if you think it did wonderful. I think it just I think it raised more questions than it did and giving us any answers. And it definitely didn't cover anything in Ephesians.

8:28 But endeavoring is this Greek word or it comes from this Greek word? You're ready. Strongs g forty seven four. Spoo dodzo spoo dodzo, spoo. Dodzo, spoo dodso. That's a cool word to say, spoo dodzo, spoo dodzo. All right, so I need you right now if you have kids around and say, hey, spoo dodzo spoo dodso. You can say it to your spouse spoo godso, you can say it to your dog, spoo dodso, you can say it to your cat spoo dog. You can call your friends right now, spoo dodsoh spoo dodso, come on, spoo and you gotta slap your hands spoo dodso. And why because spoo dodzo means to use speed, to make effort, give diligence, to be diligent, to endeavor, to hasten, make haste, to exert oneself, endeavor, give diligence. Hey, hey, spoo dodso, make haste, hurry up, give diligence, work endeavor. Come on, exert oneself, spoo Dodso. If you're homeschooling your kids, spoo dods, oh, come on, put forth some effort, make haste, finish that up.

9:41 If someone's in the kitchen cooking for you, spoo dods, oh, come on, let's make haste. Let's speed this up. Come on, put in some effort. I want that food to taste good, spoo Dodso. Now I am really emphasizing that I'm going above and beyond. I'm doing overkill, spoo dodso. Why because Ephesians one, two, and three is the theological exposition, and Ephesians four we have therefore that therefore transitions us to now the practical exposition. And look what happens therefore the uh their I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you.

10:23 I beseech you, I beg you, I plead with you. I challenge you to do what to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called? And how are you going to walk worthy? Well? You do so with lowliness, gentleness, long suffering, bearing with one another in love, speedodzo spoo dodzo, spoo dodso, endeavor, make haste, put forth, effort, give due diligence to what, spoot dodso to what to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. Put forth the effort to maintain unity. Put forth, spoot dodzo.

11:06 Hurry up, put forth effort to maintain unity. Now, so what is he doing? Therefore? Then, in verse four, he says, there is one body, one spirit, just as you were called into, one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all. Well, how do we understand this? And light of the philological exposition, it makes perfect sense here and the practical exposition, right, Hey, maintain unity, do so, spoot dodzo, put forth, effort, work for it, put give it every bit of effort you have to maintain the unity within the body. And then it seems he's kind of reminding them of the philological reality. Hey, why should you do this? Because here is the philological reality. Now.

12:02 I was looking up and trying to see how others handled this. So here is what I found. And Ephesians four to one. Paul uses the word therefore to mark a transition from the philological teachings and the first three chapters to the practical applications. In chapters four through six, I said the exact same thing. This shift indicates the practical instructions are built on the philological foundation laid out earlier in the letter, exactly what I stated. Ephesians four or five states one Lord, one faith when baptism. To interpret and understand these this verse and the context of the transition, consider the following points. Unity in the Body of Christ. This verse emphasizes the unity that should characterize the Christian community. In the early chapters, Paul explains the spiritual blessings and unity believers have in Christ. So please note see we have and I stated this in the last message, but I really want to stress this. Everyone needs to get this down. We endeavor we spoo dodzo for unity practically because we already are unified in Christ.

13:15 The practical unity flows from the spiritual unity that we already possess in Christ. We are one. In Christ. There is neither jew gentile. There's not male, there's not female. There's not black, there's not white. There's not Texan versus someone from some other, you know, inferior state. We're all just one. We're all just I know, I made a little joke there. Okay, We're all just one. That is true. Positionally, we are all righteous, we are all perfect, we are all obedient. We're all new. The old is gone. Positionally speaking, practically, now we have to endeavor spooddzo. We have to put forth work, we have to put forth effort to now live out practically what is true philologically, that is the that is the Christian life. Like if you want to understand the Christian life, the Christian life has two realities.

14:14 Our positional reality where we're perfect, we're righteous, we're new, all of that. Then there's the practical reality. We are not new. We are sinners, we have a sinful nature, we are ungodly, we're disobedient. So what we have to attempt to do is now live out and practice what we are positionally. And this is true even when in regards to unity. So so Ephesians four five. This verse emphasizes the unity that should characterize that should characterize the Christian community and the early chapters Paul explains the spiritual blessings and unity. Paul explains the spiritual blessings and unity believers have in Christ. In chapter four, he urges believers to live in a way that we're lects that unity.

15:01 Live in a way that reflects the positional reality. Now we don't do a very good job of it, do we. Two thousand years of church history, there is very little practical unity. There is not practical unity in many cases. In local congregations, there is definitely no unity. And Christianity at large there is just no unity because we disagree on everything the fact, so there's unity in the body of Christ. This this goes on to talk about one Lord. This reverse verse. This refers to Jesus Christ, who is the central figure of the Christian faith. Acknowledging one Lord means recognizing Jesus as being Lord and reinforcing the call to unity under his leadership. So the idea, if there is one Lord, then we should be all submitted to him.

15:54 He should be Lord, not us. Right, So look, so in depth to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of piece. There is one body and one spirit, one body, one spirit. But then there is one Lord, so we should be surrendering to him. He should be the authority one faith. This signifies the shared belief and the core doctrines of Christianity. Despite diverse backgrounds and perspectives, Christians are united by their common faith in the Gospel message. Now, no, we are called to have one faith. We should endeavor to have one faith. But we don't. You could say, no, no, we believe the essentials. That is completely a lie. Christians don't agree on the Gospel. We don't agree on baptism.

16:44 We don't agree on the Lord's Supper. We don't agree on the word repentance. We don't agree on the Gospel. We literally don't agree on anything one baptism. We don't agree that. So the point is that Ephesians four to five is saying, hey, guys, this is what you should be endeavoring to do. Is we should be endeavoring to keep the unity, and we should be living as if there is one Lord, one faith, one hope, one baptism, and all of those types of We should endeavor to live that out right? What is the Greek word class?

17:25 What is the Greek word for today? You're gonna go around the house seeing it. Today, Strongs g forty seven four. Spoo doodzo, spoo. Doodzo, spoo dodzo, spoo dodzo. Come on, spoo Dodso you got to slap your hands. You got to really emphasize that. Spoo dods oh, spoo dods Oh, all right. If you need your dog to hurry up and go outside, spoo dodso. If you need your dog to hurry up and come back in, spoo dods so. If you need your kids to clean up the room, spood whatever you need, all right, Because we need to endeavor, we need to make haste, we need to put forth effort to be diligent. That's what's going on in Avisians four. Now, I did all of that in what I don't know, five ten minutes now so far. Unfortunately, the sermon we are reviewing after I don't know, we spent over an hour and we we got nothing. We got nothing, all right, So, and I hate to say that, but maybe, just maybe, for some weird reason, he really felt this desire to talk about well, nobody out there has truth, and we have truth, and here's the authority. He didn't obviously deal with all the questions that should be that should come to your mind, but maybe he felt an overwhelming desire to talk about this even though he's supposed to be preaching on Ephesians four five. Look, I've done that. Sometimes I'll sit down here to do a broadcast or a podcast and my goal is to do this, But then I'll realize that I'm talking about something. It's like it's two separate messages.

18:54 So maybe he's gotten that out of his system and now we're going to get to the actual thing. I don't know. I don't know why it's going to happen. To remember, when I do these reviews, I don't listen first, So you're gonna find out with me. Are you ready? All right, Let's hope when this is over today it won't be about where is his pencil Today? You're just gonna get up and go spoo dods, Oh, spoo dods. So that's why, hopefully that's the only thing you remember today is spoo dodsoh just go go around saying it all day everywhere, Just spoo dods. So everywhere just you say, that's ridiculous. I know it's ridiculous. But you're gonna remember Ephesians four or five, well, three, four and five, you're gonna remember that section by that Greek word spoo Dodso now let's see where he takes this. Probably not as exciting as spoo dods. So well, let's see.

19:48 But your first requirement, I don't care who you are, each and every one of you in this room, here's your first requirement. Love the Lord that God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. That is the most baffling there. What does that got to do with Ephesians four? What does that got do to do with Ephesians For even if you find a way to connect it to Ephusians four, let me just make sure you may say that is the requirement of everyone listening to love the Lord that God with all your heart, mind, body, and soul. Even if you tell everyone that's their requirement. If you're going to have a proper distinction between law and gospel, let me just go ahead and tell everyone you will never accomplish it. Therefore you are perpetually guilty of that command. That's why you need Christ, Jesus. In Christ, you love God with all your heart, mind, body and soul. Because Christ loves to the Father. That perfect love is imputed to your account.

20:56 So you stand as if you love him perfectly, but practically you do not. So you need the imputed righteousness because this is a law that condemns you. It's not a law you will ever be able to commit, be able to obey. I know Christians teach that you can obey it, but I'm telling you you will never love God with all your heart, mind, body and soul. You cannot. It is impossible as long as you live in the flesh and you still possess a sinful nature. And you did not lose that sinful nature in salvation. And anyone who teaches you that you did, they are out of their ever living mind. Right now, let's continue.

21:39 Mark twelve thirty. That's what we're required to do, just to love God. Now if I in this, I think my cell phone is running too fast. But anyway, we want to talk about one God. We want to talk about Father, we want to talk about God being in the believer. And lastly, and I hope more importantly, in some ways to go along with what Brother Tim said earlier, reverence for God, particularly in our worship services. Our text declares that there is one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all, and in you. All.

22:32 The scriptures declare that there is one God. I quoted Tewod Corinthians earlier where he talked about God's many and Lord's many. But to us there is only one Lord and one God. But I direct your attention to Isaiah chapter forty three. This approach to the text baffles me because he's looking at it as an apologetic. Hey, this this is a text where we get to talk about the fact that there's one God. The idea is spooddzo put forth effort to maintain unity. And how do we maintain unity is by remembering, by understanding, by living as if there is one God, one Lord, one spirit, one body, one faith.

23:23 This is all. This is all to push and to challenge and practically apply this in a in a practical way. He's turning it into this is an apologetic to prove to people there's one God. No, this is not unapologetic to prove there's one God. This is an argument that because there's one God. We should then be unified. We only have time to read a couple of these. There are many of them. The math are you that there is only one God? Is God's word Isaiah forty three, Verses ten through thirteen. Ye are my witnesses, Saith the Lord and my servant, whom I have chosen, that ye may know and believe me and understand that I am here.

24:23 Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. And by the way, I won't have time to get into all of this. But this God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, verse eleven. I even I am the Lord, and beside me there is no Savior. I have declared and have saved, and have shown there was no strange God among you. Therefore you are my witnesses, Saith the Lord, that I am God.

25:12 Yay before the day was and leave that I am out. Well, you could just say I am really, I am He before there was any day God was there, I. I am just I don't get this, like the whole structure of Ephesians is being ignored, the whole, the whole like I don't even understand. I really do believe, I really do believe that, and I hate to say this, I really do believe. I believe the majority of Christians who go to church they really don't care if the text is even being remotely handled correctly. And sometimes I don't even know why people go to you. I don't even know why we even have church. I don't because I mean, he's speaking at a conference, so he obviously is more well known enough to be invited to a conference.

26:12 He's speaking at a conference. I mean, I don't. I don't. Sometimes I don't get what it seems like if you really put forth the effort in the time to really hold to the text and try to figure out the text and question the text and challenge the text, that you're there's no place for you anymore in Christianity. Because I don't, I don't. I just don't understand this, Like this is not a personal thing. Look, I'm not saying anything he's saying is incorrect. This is not challenging or calling someone a heretic, nothing like that. It's just I don't understand the approach. This verse literally is all a part of this spood dodzo endeavor, endeavor to keep the unity.

26:54 It's connected to that, it's connected to the therefore and for one, it's connected to this the philological exposition, and one, two, and three. Like it has structure, it all fits together. There's a logical progression of thought. And then this has just been ripped out and it's like, well, I'm gonna take these phrases one God and one Father, and we're going to make it an apologetic argument for monotheism. This is not an argument for monotheism. This is not the point here of the text in any way, shape or form. Then we'll get to the I am Lord William, and there is none that can deliver it out of my hand.

27:41 I will work and who shall let it? And by the way, let me pause for just a moment. In the midst of all of the chaos and turmoil that's going on in this world and in our nation, God's still on the throne. It's not out of control with him. So look unto the Lord. Looking to the Lord. Don't worry about evening news. They'll lie to you. Whether it's liberal or conservative, it doesn't matter. Look to God.

28:24 Okay, now I'm getting irritated. Okay, because this has nothing to do with Ephesians for none, none. But I am sick and tired of Christians constantly saying, don't worry about the evening news. They'll lie to you, they'll lie to you. Well, if all the news is lying, then how do you know anything? Like, I get so sick of Christians with their nonsense about fake news, fake news. Stop that political talking point. Look, you get information from so right. I'm so sick of it. If you don't like the information, it's fake news. If you like the information, it's true news.

29:07 And if all the news is fake, then how can you know anything because where are you getting your information from. If all news is fake, then you don't know anything going You don't know anything going on in the world. So stop acting like you know what's going on in the world because all the news is fake. If you think there's chaos in the world, maybe there's not actually chaos in the world because all the news reporting it is fake. If everything is fake, then you don't know anything. Man. I guess so sick of that, so sick of it. Next time I hear someone say fake news, I'm gonna just leave. I'm gonna I'm gonna find a way to leave the planet. So sick of that. Man. Now, I don't like bias in the news. I don't like when news is misleading. I don't like it. But you can't just say the way this is true. If I don't like it, it's fake. I've seen this play out. If say someone's a Trump supporter and they're like Trump this and Trump this and Trump this, and you'll be like, well, this is not actually true and that's not actually true.

30:14 No fake news. I saw this with the situation in the Olympics with the boxer. You're like, who whoa wa, Wait a minute, wait a minute, that's not accurate. That that's fake news. That's fake. Oh so it's all fake. But guess what isn't fake? Your your truth isn't fake. See what you think is true. See everyone thinks that what they think is true is right in their own ice. Literally this goes right back to my His entire first part of this message was we have one authority, the Word of God, and the world out there they can't find truth. Well, when you start saying fake news, fake news, fake news, well then what but everything you think happens to be true? See, you make yourself the authority, and it just becomes this. I get so sick of it that as soon as you don't like what someone If you state something about Trump and someone's like, well that's not actually true, or that's not actually true. You say something about a boxer in the Olympics, well that's not actually true and that's not actually true, then immediately it's fake news. Well then you know what, isn't it interesting that what you think is real but what I try to give you is fact is fake because you don't like the facts. Do you understand how foolish that makes us?

31:25 Do you understand how you know we can't function as a society that way. There are facts, Those facts may go against your little worldview, and it may lead you to have to apologize for saying all the foolish things you did, but you won't apologize because you just keep saying, oh, it's fake news. I'm so sick of hearing that. And what does any of that have to do with Ephesians? For it has literally nothing to do with Ephesians. For I see, the whole reason I started this was like, oh, this is a conference, it's all on Ephesians four. What a great we can make this a great week by digging into Ephesians four. And now I've got to sit here and address the whole fake news phenomenon that I'm so sick of hearing Trump utilized that as a weapon anything he didn't like. Fake news, fake news, everything's fake.

32:15 I know every except what you say happens to be true. Now am I saying every news article is factual? Now I'm saying everything has to be checked and verified. But we're getting news from some source. We're getting something right. So it requires work. It requires spoo dodzo, make haste, put forth effort, be diligent and looking for information. You know, you can hear my anger there because I'm just so sick of it, and I'm sick of it being that concept being promoted from the pulpit, because what you're telling people is don't trust anything. But who can I trust them?

32:58 Can I trust him? Can I trust you? As the preacher? Because maybe you're giving me fake news? Who can I trust? And what almost inevitably it is? You know, people are trusting things like I don't know. If you're conservative, you only trust Fox News even though they were sued for what a billion dollars and had to pay what seven hundred and something million dollars for their lies about the election. Oh no, no, no, we're not going to do all the lies Christian media and other media said in regards to the election, where people had to come back and apologize and correct their mistakes. Look, the thing is is, you have to get information from multiple sources. But when you basically create an environment where people don't trust anything except the sources they choose, and then all of a sudden they inevitably think the the sources they choose are true, it's not that simple. Help people navigate the confusion. Don't perpetuate the very thinking that only leads to misinformation, disinformation, and people living inside an echo chamber where they can never be challenged with any facts that contradict their little, tiny worldview. All right, now, I'm frustrated now because see why I didn't even want to do that. I didn't want to do that. I just want Ephesians four. It's all I'm asking for. Just Ephesians four. It's all I'm asking for.

34:24 Now. I've already I already, within about ten minutes, I gave you Ephesians one through three. The structure I gave you four. I gave you the idea of therefore I went back endeavoring spudadzo. I gave you the Greek word, and just within a couple of minutes I was able to break it all down for you, and hopefully a meaningful way. Sad part is, we're supposed to be listening to this, and it's supposed to be about Ephesians four or five. I'll give you one other Isaiah forty four versus six to eight. Six. They're eight the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts. You know what that Lord of host is. That's the Lord of all the angelic hosts. He's the lord of it all. Anyway, the Lord of Host. I am the first, and I am the last. And beside me there is no God.

35:25 There's no god beside this God. He's not a god above all gods. He's the only God. There's one God, and he has specific kind. He's a particular kind of God. But anyway, and who as I shall call and shall declare it and set it in order before me for me, since I appointed the ancient people, and the things that are coming stop there. The things that are coming, God appointed Justice. God in history prepared history for the first coming of Christ. He's still on the throne. He's preparing history for the second coming. That's another sturbance, studious. You know, brothers act that we could go into and the things that are coming and shall come.

36:28 I I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to analyze. I don't know how to I don't know what to do. I literally don't know. What to do. All I can do is, I guess just keep playing a little bit more. I don't think we're going to finish this because I don't at this point, I feel like I'm just going to spend the next I don't know to twenty thirty minutes, how much is left, thirty five minutes, whatever is left, just basically saying I don't know what to say, I don't know what to do, and then when he says something when he chases a little rabbit, then kind of address the rabbit. But it's just getting us further and further away from Ephesians four.

37:08 So I'm gonna let it play a little bit longer. But I want you to be in Efesians four that's what I want you. I want you to live in Ephesians four. That's what I want you to do. Now, don't let that stop you from listening to the other twelve messages in the conference, because maybe the next message you'll be radically different from a different speaker and it'll get much more into Ephesians four. I'm just very this is the opening message, really, and I just like there's no discussion of the structure of Ephesians four. There's no there's no discussion of the actual media context. If you're going to go to five, you have to go to Spoodadzo. You've got to go to Endeavoring. You gotta go to Endeavoring.

37:49 You've got to go there. You have to, I mean, because that's that's literally where the context where this all falls in. Let them show unto them, fear not neither be ye afraid? Have not I told? Have not? I told thee from that time and have declared it. Ye are my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? Yay? There is no God. I know, not any one God. One God. He's one of a kind, He's not one among many. One God. You might look at Isaiah forty five verses five through twelve. I won't take the time.

38:43 I've got it written down, but there's a lot of others. You can look them up on your own. And all life revolves around a philosophy, and your philosophy ultimately refine defines your idea and view of God. And you either believe there's one God or you don't. I don't know what you will believe. I'm assuming that you do, but I asked the questions earlier because I can't assume too much.

39:26 But you, who are sitting there, you must answer these questions for yourself. Not mother, not daddy, not the preacher, not the husband, not the wife. You've got to answer that for yourself. You need to know for yourself. You need to have a conscious awareness of what you believe, not just some vague idea, not just what Tyler Primitive Baptist Church believes, or your particular congregation, but for yourself individual.

40:19 As Jerome's Ankus put this in fifteen hundred, the will of God is so the cause of all things as to be itself without cause, for nothing can be the cause of that which is the cause of everything. First time I read that, I had to stop and reread it for about thirty minutes to let it sink in. But I hope from what I've already said, maybe some of it will sink in. Modern day philosophers and the movers and shakers, both conservative and liberals, never come to the understanding of how to fix the problem because they've never come to the understanding of one God. And many conservatives were quote Bible, then make applications from the Bible, but it's their twisted applications of what they think the Bible means, not what it says.

41:29 It's their twisted interpretation of what they think the Bible says. But it's not what the Bible means. It's not what the Bible means according to what you think it means. Because if they're quoting it and you're questioning their interpretation and twisting of the scripture, how do I know then the year interpretation of the scripture is right. See, it all comes down to everyone's own interpretation. That's what his whole argument it constantly, Hey, they're twisting the scriptures and they're going and they're offering an interpretation and not what scripture means according to you. According to them, it would be what the Scripture means according to you, it's not what it means. Does anyone know what it actually means? Now, see, that's a good conversation to have in a lot of effusions for where it's about unity endeavoring. Spidazzo, spudazzo. Let's, in fact, let's just play the Greek word again, because I'll start I mean, I get so frustrated with all this other stuff, I start saying it incorrectly, so let's say it correctly.

42:32 Strongs g. Forty seven four Spudazzo, spudazzo, spidazzo. I was saying it correctly. I think I was. Who knows, spodotzo, but say a lot of that. Hey, we need to endeavor to keep the unity. Well, how do we keep the unity when the reality is we are all our own and own Pope, were our own magisterium, we're our own interpreter, we're our own everything. So we say, hey, you're you're twisting the scriptures and you're going gets what they actually say according to who according to me? Well then someone will look at you and go, no, you're not going with the script Who gets to determine who's twisting the scriptures and who gets to determine who's actually teaching the scriptures correctly. Every individual gets to make that determination.

43:15 So then how do we maintain unity and light of that reality? See that's a good question. Since Ephesians four is about spoodazo, hurry up, make haste and keeping the unity? Well, how do we keep unity in a situation like that? See, that's a good theological question to discuss. That's a good hermit, that's a good challenge to figure out. Genish is one. One is not what you think it means, just what it says. What it says.

43:56 Well, then it should be simple. Hey, guys, the Bible it's not what you think it means. It's what it says. All right, great, all right, we have two thousand years of church history. Ladies and gentlemen. Baptism is not what you think it means. Is what the Bible says it is? Well, we can't agree on it, all right. Repentance is not what you think it is, it's what the Bible says. Well, we don't agree on that. Hey, the Gospel isn't what you think it is. Well, we don't agree on that. The Lord's we don't agree on that. Divorce we don't agree on that we don't agree on anything. But hey, hey guys, it's not what you think. It's just what the Bible says. Okay, as he's preaching Ephesians four to five, not focused on what the text actually says, do you not find that ironic?

44:49 And I'm sure that you understand and know that God is eternal, and God is I Am, and God is Jehovah. I've got several passages of here, but time is going on, but I want to turn to Exodus, and I'm sure you know the passage well, and your particular minister should be able to help you with all of this. But in Exodus, I'm just gonna stop. I wanted to make it to the end, but I look, obviously people can do whatever they want with the text, they can.

45:37 And if you want to turn effusions four five into I guess an apologetic by saying, hey, there's one God, and we're going to look at all the scriptures that seem to indicate that there's one God and then the scriptures of who that God is and utilize it almost in a category, almost in a kind of catechisis kind of way like you know, hey, hey, how many gods are there one. Who is this guy? I mean, I don't have my Luther's Small Catechism. Where is it? I don't have it. I think it's probably sitting at the church. Well, he does that exact same thing. How basically, how many Gods? Who is this God? And it goes through the attributes of the God, the oneness of God, the eternality of God, the sovereignty of God, all the attributes of God, communicable and noncommunicable. Okay, I guess, I mean you have every right to do it that way.

46:22 You have every right to do it that way. I mean, that's the way you want to do so. So it's not that he's saying anything that's incorrect, it's just how do you take five and ignore the whole context here, spoo doadzo to keep the unity? You endeavor, you strive, you make haste to keep unity, and that unity, then that whole thing there has everything to do with five, and five has everything to do with one, two, and three, because for one agains with a transitional term, therefore transitioning to a practical exposition from the philological exposition in one through through chapters one through three, like do we listen to a little bit more. I'm just gonna I'll let him finish the point that he's on.

47:22 This chapter three, when God met with Moses on Mount Sinai in the Burning Bush and verse thirteen, and Moses said into God, behold, when I come and to the children of Israel, and say it to them, the God of your fathers has sent me unto you, And they shall say to me, what is his name? And what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I am that I am. And you know what God is today? He still I am hes I am. You see everything going on in history with us is yesterday, today, and tomorrow. But yesterday, today and tomorrow is I am.

48:27 With God. Everything is now. You say that blows my mind. I can comprehend it. Good if you could comprehend it. That means God can fit into your cranium. God can fit into your brain. God can't fit into your brain. God is bigger than you are. God is bigger than I am. And what God wants us to know about him is what he has said in his word. You can ask more questions than I can, and you can ask questions that are not in the Bible. And all I needed to do is say I don't know. I appreach the revelation. Not some years back, one minister said he'd been listening to my sermons about revelation. I said, well, what did you think? He said, you said, I don't know a lot. I took that as a compliment. You can say, well, I think it's this. I think it's that.

49:29 You can think one thing, I can think another, and both of us may be wrong. But if we'll just take it for what it says and leave it at that, and say I don't know how it's going to fall out, just leave it there. Got to take care of his own. He said, what's six sixty six? I don't know, but when it's time for God people to know what it is, he'll let us know. I believe that. I just leave it at that. I don't have to worry about it. I have to figure out the unknown. I have enough trouble with the non I am. I am. Your preachers can preach a whole lot of things about I am, and I'll just leave it at that. I'm just touching the I'm like a barn swallow flying across a body of water that right a load gip barely tipping the surface of occasionally. For you city folks don't know what a barn swallow is. I'm just kind of like somebody's skipping along and just kind of hitting the ground occasionally.

50:52 But knowing God, I would give you, well, there's too much, uh, I want to give you one verse John seventeen three. Yeah, I don't know it. I don't understand it from a like what he's said. I'm not what he's saying. It is true, right, I'm not going against that. I just don't understand it would have been better. It would have been better to structure it this way from my perspective. Tonight, we're going to do a little bit of apologetics. We're going to start with a basic concept. How many gods are there one God? The Bible declares the oneness of God boom, how many persons are in the godhead? Three?

51:55 What are the characteristics and attributes of this God? This God is? And not even worry about Ephesians four other than maybe go to Ephesians four for the support text of go back to it of there is one God and one Father of all, using it as a as a support text, but not really say we're dealing with we're working on Ephesians four five, because to work on Ephesians four five, you can't take four five out of four one, two, three and four, especially three and four, which is the spoo dadzo is the What are we endeavoring here? For? He even acknowledged that this section was about unity. He even acknowledged that at the beginning of his sermon, But then somehow that got completely forgotten, and I, I don't understand. So there you go, I hope I've to help you under What can you take from this? Well, yesterday we left with a lost pencil. We found it. Unfortunately, that's what we left with. Today we leave with the Greek words boodadzo, make haste, be diligent, put forth every effort to do what to maintain unity? How can you and I, as Christians maintain unity within a system like the non Catholic system because we don't have a magisterial authority,

53:27 we don't have a pope. How do we maintain unity and a system where you pick up the Bible, you offer an interpretation, you believe that interpretation is right. Then you judge what everyone believe on the basis of your interpretation. You judge the preaching in your church on the basis of your interpretation, and you can tell the preacher you're wrong, and you can literally leave that church and go to another church that agrees with your interpretation. And everyone else interprets the Bible and they say you are wrong, and you say, no, you are wrong. You say, well, you just need to go with what the Bible says, and they no, you go with what the Bible. I go with what the Bible says, you don't. And then back and forth, back and forth. How do we maintain any resemblance of unity when everyone is their own pope, everyone is their own authority. I know you say no, the Bible is the authority. No, your interpretation of the Bible is the authority. That maybe we just leave with that question.

54:25 I don't know. You can email me. News if Yahoo dot com news. If it Yahoo dot com, that's news. I f it yahoo dot com. I do apologize for getting so upset of with a fake news. Comment, but man, I am so utterly sick of hearing it, especially within the Christian world, because you create an atmosphere where, well, nobody knows. I can't trust anything. But it's amazing how everyone says everything is fake news, but everyone has an opinion about everything, and they stated as dogmatic fact that they know. Well, where did you get your information? If all news is fake? Then where did you get your information to draw those conclusions about You just named the situation, situation in Israel, situation about the Olympics, you just name the situation about the economy, the stock market dropping dramatically.

55:22 About where do you get your information from? Then how do you draw these strong conclusions and opinions if all news is fake? Well, no, where you get your news from. You've determined it that's true, and then anything that disagrees with your news source is fake. Do you understand how utterly foolish and illogical and how you cannot you can't have meaningful conversations and that kind of an environment. The church should be the last place promoting set idea. And if the media is full of fake news, well then what do we do? I Stead of worrying about the media being full of fake news, let's worry about the church being one of the biggest sources. This is a fake and false and fragile in information. Okay, maybe not the biggest source, but you get the idea. I hear lots of completely fraugile things from the pulpit constantly. All right, I don't know what else.

56:19 I don't. Hey, Ephesians four, it's there. Don't let this distract you from it. Keep working on Ephesians four. I will at least preview the second sermon from the conference and see if I feel like it's going to go in a better direction, and maybe we'll do some review for there. For now, I'm just going to take a break because it's been an hour and I don't know. I want to. I feel like I need to get like fifteen things done today. Now I'm just disheartened and disillusioned and kind of frustrated because I spent almost two hours, well yeah, over two hours, but when I'm talking about moving, like two and a half hours probably at this point, and I just I don't I'm going to spoo Dadzo downstairs and try to make the best of my day. All right, Thanks for listening, God bless