The Desires of the Eyes | Dethroned | Brian Pacheco | Flatiron Church

I never have enough. I’m constantly desiring, seeking and looking for the next best thing. How do I break a cycle of sin? All I can do is want more and feel like I need more. What should I be looking for instead? Join Flatiron Church and continue in our Dethroned series. We're no longer slaves to sin, and pastor Brian Pacheco is diving into Desires of the Eyes. How we crave more and more, but feel like less and less. Desires of the Eyes Scripture References: 1 John 2:15-16, 3:11-18 Genesis 4:
The Desires of the Eyes | Dethroned | Brian Pacheco | Flatiron Church

Source: The Desires of the Eyes | Dethroned | Brian Pacheco | Flatiron Church Channel: Flatiron Church Published: May 11, 2026 | Archived: May 16, 2026


Video: The Desires of the Eyes | Dethroned | Brian Pacheco | Flatiron Church
Channel: Flatiron Church
Published: May 11, 2026
Duration: 37:23
Views: 99
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Description

I never have enough. I’m constantly desiring, seeking and looking for the next best thing. How do I break a cycle of sin? All I can do is want more and feel like I need more. What should I be looking for instead?

Join Flatiron Church and continue in our Dethroned series. We’re no longer slaves to sin, and pastor Brian Pacheco is diving into Desires of the Eyes. How we crave more and more, but feel like less and less.

Desires of the Eyes

Scripture References: 1 John 2:15-16, 3:11-18 Genesis 4:1-8

Sermon Timeline: 0:00 Introduction - Desires of the Eyes 4:04 Big Idea and Reading from First John 5:52 Prayer 6:49 Three Temptations Reviewed 10:06 John Introduces Cain 13:05 Back to Genesis - Cain and Abel 15:41 Cain’s Anger and God’s Warning 18:53 Cain and Abel in the Field 20:41 What John Says to the Church 24:48 How to Overcome the Desires of the Eyes 28:40 Love in Deed Not Just in Word 31:31 What Yielding to God Looks Like 34:24 Closing Prayer

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Transcript — YouTube panel (human-authored)

0:00 Hey, my name is Brian, lead pastor here at Flat Iron Church. Uh, we’re going to be continuing our series called Dethrone. Pastor Brandon introed this last week as we talked about kind of the three big temptations that the enemy will use on us to varying degrees. And that is the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life. And today, what we’re going to do on what is going to be a interesting Mother’s Day topic, desires of the eyes.

0:25 So, there you are, mothers. Uh, it’s not for you. It’s for Jesus, but you’re welcome to attend. Um, here’s the thing. It could have been Desires of the Flesh, and that would have been even more awkward. So, switching it up. Desires of the eyes. That’s where we’re heading today. And, and here’s the thing. There’s a We’re going to cover, I would say, something that each of us has experienced. Um, and some of us, it’s ongoing. And that is uh this idea of of how do we love those that we find it especially hard to love? You’re thinking, “That’s odd. I thought we were talking about desires of the eyes.” What what we’re going to do is we’re going to be looking at Pastor John and how he unpacks what desires of the eyes are.

1:02 And as we examine that, we’re going to discover that most of the time desires of the eyes are the temptation to covet or be jealous or um want something that is somebody else’s. And it’s very easy to think of it in terms of just things, right? We see a house that we like. We see a boat that we like. We see a car that we like. But it also is sometimes what we see in people is how they’re how they’re viewed. We we get jealous of how somebody is viewed. We get jealous of the status that they have. We get jealous of the comforts they have. We get jealous of how respected they are.

1:40 So just kind of being vulnerable with you a little bit this morning as I was praying and asking the Lord to soften my heart for this text. I was asking them, Lord, where do I struggle with the desires of the eyes? And what came was fairly shocking, but the Lord began to reveal to me just through his word and in prayer that there’s a certain type of person I struggle with. There’s a certain type of person that I find it difficult to love.

2:12 You’re thinking, “Crap, I hope it’s not me.” I don’t know. Might be. Who knows? Might be me. It’s the person that gets things easy in life. Struggle with that person. They have like the mightest touch. Everything they do turns to gold. I’m like, you did nothing to earn it. What’s wrong with you? I find that person easy to write off, hard to love, and I begin to justify bitterness, anger, hatred.

2:50 Here’s the thing. Each of us sit in this room and there is a person that we find difficult to love. Sometimes it’s singular and it’s due to something that’s happened in our life. family member, father, sister, brother, mom, and we have a hard time loving that person. Sometimes it’s groups of people or temperaments. I shared mine is a temperament of person. When somebody I think has gone through things easy in life and hasn’t had to suffer or haven’t had to pay the the penalty or tax to get where they’re going, I struggle to love that person. For some of you, you what you struggle with is boldness of personality. You don’t like it when somebody just kind of tells you things you don’t want to hear. Probably not going to like me today.

3:38 Here’s the thing. We each have these temperaments or types or people we find it hard to love. It’s the desires of the eyes. And you can’t play with it. You can’t entertain it. You can’t say, “Well, I’ll just let that simmer in the background and be okay.” No. No. No, it produces death. That’s where John’s going. And that’s what we’re going to look at today. Here’s the big idea this morning. To overcome the desires of your eyes, you must see something better.

4:13 Another way you could say that is you must see someone who is better. The only way you overcome the desires of the eyes is something has to replace that affection. His name is Jesus. It’s the only way. So, I’m going to have this on the screen as we read from our text. We’re going to be in 1 John 3:1. I invite you to stand with me in deference to the word as we read this morning.

4:42 Chapter 3 11 of First John through verse 18 says this. For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brothers righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.

5:19 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love that he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. For if anyone in this world has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need yet closes his hearts against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.

5:52 Let’s pray. Lord Jesus, I ask that you would in each and every one of us this morning reveal our hearts that we would not be able to overlook the areas where we harbor bitterness, anger, wrath, or hatred. that we wouldn’t allow those things any corner of our heart. And at the same time, Jesus recognized there’s only one that fixes that. There’s only one name that can heal that. There’s only one love that can actually fulfill that, and it is you, Jesus.

6:38 Let us walk in all repentance and obedience to you. Ask this in your name. Amen. You may be seated. I’m going to invite you to well, it could be challenging, but I think it’ll be helpful. Be honest this morning with the Lord. Be honest. Some of you think you’re very loving people, and you probably are to most. There’s someone you struggle with. It’s interesting to me is the way John’s going to deal with this is he’s going to a story way back in the book of Genesis, and we’ll get there shortly. But to set up our sermon this morning, I want to bring us to the kind of text that Brandon, Pastor Brandon, looked at last week when he unpacked his sermon about how our parents sinned in the garden and that they were tempted by these three things. It says this in verse 15, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him.” Begs the question, what is the love of the world? He goes on to say, it’s three

7:42 things. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not from the father, but is from the world. Three aspects that we’re seeing within this one, two, and three. Let’s go ahead into some detail here. Desires of the flesh. When we think about desires of the flesh, this is often times what Pastor Brandon said last week, thinking naughty things. It is some of that for sure, but it isn’t just physical appetites. It’s also emotional appetites.

8:16 It can be desirous of different relationships or companionships. Some of those in and of themselves are not bad and some of them are. Desire of the eyes. It’s a craving of possessions. But it’s more than just possessions. It’s also this craving of recognition. And this is where it can get tricky. Do I desire or envy how others are perceived or received? For me, this is where I struggle with the category of person who’s perceived and received well even though they’ve done little to earn it. I struggle with that person.

8:52 Moms in here, you can understand that. I’m sure times your kids are not acting the ways that you thought they should. It’s very easy to judge in the grocery store before you’ve had any. When we have kids, they’re not going to act like that. Until you have kids and then they act like that. Sometimes it’s not a group of people, it’s a person. It’s someone who’s hurt you. It’s someone who’s betrayed you.

9:20 It’s someone who’s was supposed to be there and stand in the gap. And now you find it not just impossible to be reconciled. And again, there’s some relationships that won’t be reconciled, but you find it impossible to forgive. And that that is not optional for those in Christ. Pride of life is craving authority. It’s wanting to set up the world in the dictates of your own manner that you rule yourself and then God comes along and blesses it and pleases it.

9:50 But the Lord has laid out exactly how the world is ordered. And he didn’t ask for you or my opinion. Do we yield to him? So these are the three and we’re going to be focusing a lot on the desires of the eyes this morning. John begins for this is the message that you have heard from the beginning that we should love one another. Where’s that message come from? It comes from Christ and that he loves us. And because he loves us, we are to love others. We should not be like Cain. It’s interesting that he brings up Cain.

10:21 We’re going to discuss him in greater detail. John’s going to give us a few insights that don’t come from Genesis, but they do give us a road mapap for how to understand Genesis. It says this of Cain. He was one of the evil ones. That is to say, he was in the service of not the Lord, but the service of self and ultimately the service of Satan. He was governed, directed, led, encouraged to heinous acts. He murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? This is amazing. Again, John’s giving us insight into this that Genesis 4 does not actually dictate. It lends itself to it, but it doesn’t dictate it. John is going to say, “He murdered him.” Why?

11:04 Because his own deeds were evil and his brothers were righteous. This is endstage terminal case of the desires of the eyes. You end up hating the very things of God and hating the very people of God and hating anything that is good and shows you as lacking. You hate it with a hatred that will cause you to be murderous. It’s the end stages. It’s terminal and it leads to death. But here’s the thing. A lot of us are not terminal. A lot of us have stage one.

11:42 And it’s very easy to live a normal life with stage one desires of the eyes. Here’s how we justify it. I’ve never murdered anybody. I’ve never pulled the trigger. Yes. But do you have hatred in your heart? Are there people you find it extraordinarily difficult to love? Let’s go one step beyond that. Are there people that you’ve ever dreamed about killing? In first service, I had one man who was brave enough to say, “Yep.” rather loudly. Said, “Thank you for being honest.

12:21 Let’s get a meeting together.“ But you said something that I think many of us, if we’re being honest, we felt. Have you had someone you’ve thought, and maybe you’ve never gone down the rabbit hole of it, but you thought it would be better if they weren’t there? Of course you have. Of course you have. Stage one, it’s very easy to hide, but it’s just as lethal. It’s just as lethal.

12:48 He murdered him because when Cain looked at his brother, he saw the ideal, what he should be. And rather than reaching for it, he destroyed it. Take a look with me in Genesis. Now, we’re going to go back to that time in primordial history when there’s not many humans on the earth. There’s Adam and Eve. They’ve fallen. They’ve been pushed east out of Eden. They now have their first two sons recorded, Cain and Abel. And so there’s not many on the earth. And you’re about to see what happens. Adam knew his wife.

13:21 She conceived and bore Cain. And she says, “I’ve gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now, Abel was the keeper of sheep. And Cain was the worker of the ground. And in the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering. And so far so good. The first three and a half verses, we’re seeing that Cain is doing exactly what one would expect of the oldest brother. He’s bringing a sacrifice. He is sensing that the Lord has blessed him, has allowed him to cultivate the works of his hands. And now he’s bringing a portion of that back to the Lord.

13:54 Here’s what I’ve done with the things you’ve given me. Here’s what I’ve done with the life you’ve given me. I’m trying to steward it well. Things seem good. He brings the fruit of the ground. But in verse four, we notice that Abel also brings something. He brings the firstborn of his flock. He brings their fat portions, the most delicate portions, the sweetest smelling portions, the tastiest portions.

14:21 And then in something that is been growing in Cain’s heart is spoken for the first time. The Lord had regard for Abel, but for Cain and his offering, he had no regard. Pastor John informs us that it was because Cain’s deeds were evil and Abel’s deeds were righteous. And here what we’re starting to see is that Cain looked at how the world was created. He looked at how God had authored it. And he had hatred in his heart primarily because Abel was better.

15:03 Abel was better. And because he’s better, I’m murderous in my heart because I can’t be as good as he is. And that is the genesis. That is the seed. That is where all aspects of the desires of the eyes are born from. This is why for me when I see people who have things that I felt like they didn’t do anything to earn just going back to the same temptation of Cain. Now what’s unique here is that it informs us Cain was angry. His face fell. His countenance fell.

15:41 He’s distraught. He’s upset. He doesn’t know what to do. And he gets into a conversation with none other than God. This is fascinating. Could you imagine speaking to the Lord face to face? He says to Cain, “Why are you not or why are you angry? Why is your face fallen?” God clearly knows the answer. But he’s inviting Cain into a moment where he can reflect, a moment where he can actually process, a moment where he can lay bare what’s happening within his heart.

16:15 And God often does that. In fact, today might be one of those days for you where you’re asked to laid bare what’s actually happening within your heart. And notice what the Lord says to him in verse 7. He says, “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” What does it mean to do well? Well, John has told us from the beginning that we’re to love as Christ has loved us. Cain, if you will love as I have loved you, if you will give as I have given to you, if you will create as I have created you, if you will steward what I have called you to be, will it not go well with you?

16:52 But here’s the thing, Cain doesn’t like the rules. He doesn’t like how the Lord has orchestrated it, and he’s furious that his brother is better at it. And the Lord speaks to him. says, “If you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you.” Anytime we act not in accordance with how we were created to be, to love others as Christ has loved us. That’s how we were created. Sin separated us. Christ reconciled us. And now in Christ, we are to love as he has loved us.

17:29 Anytime that doesn’t happen, sin is crouching at the door and it wants to rule. It wants to master. Apart from Christ, that’s all your life is. Thinking, “No, I’m benevolent. I’m kind.” Yes. To those that you like. Never to your enemies. Never. Spent a lot of time on college campuses. It was amazing to me those who pushed and promoted the tolerance more than anything. You could tell who they hated.

17:56 And they had a righteous anger in them, a vitriolic anger, an anger that would even murder. Why? Because they’re evil. We got to stamp it out. What did Christ do for us? He laid his life down. There’s no king like Christ. And there’s no love like his. The Lord looks at Cain. He says, “You must rule over it or it will rule you.” What does Cain do? Does he pause? You know, you’re right, Lord. Let me just take 10 years in a cave and think through this one.

18:37 And maybe I’ll come out at the end of it and I’ll apologize. And I’ll go to my brother and I’ll confess, I’m envious of you and it’s wrong. Please forgive me. What does he do? Cain spoke to Abel. I wonder what that conversation looked like. I know how it ended. But how did it begin? Was there wrestling? Did Kane start off thinking, “Hey, well, you know, I’m sorry. I just I’m really trying here.” And but if you just didn’t do things so well, if you just if you could just like not have that smug look on your face when your offerings accepted and mine’s not, I I think we could bridge the gap.

19:26 I I think we could make this work. If you would just change a little, we we could probably deal with this. And you got to imagine Abel looking at his brother. Cain, I’ve always loved you and I love you still, but I will not and cannot change my heart towards the Lord. And in that moment, while they’re in the field, Cain rises up and he takes the life of his brother. It’s the first murder recorded. Only took one generation.

20:10 See, Cain didn’t just look at Abel with disgust. He looked at God with disgust. God, I know you’ve created this world and I know you’ve created us to love, but I don’t like it and I’m going another direction. He’s shaking his fist at the God who made it. And that’s truly the end stages of what happens when we fire follow the desires of the eyes. Here’s how John speaks into it. He says, ’ Don’t be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.

20:49 Because the world does not know God. And so, the world is not going to love you as Christ loves you. The world is going to love you as Cain loves you. What can you do for me? Are you on my side? Do you make me look good? Do I enjoy being around you? But here’s what’s interesting to me is verse 14. Here’s what John says of believers. He says, ‘We know that we’ve passed out of death and into life.’ Why? Because we love the brothers.

21:23 Whoever does not love abides in death. John is turning it now. He’s used Cain as the example. Now he’s going to the church that he’s teaching this to in Ephesus. He was a pastor there for many years and he’s saying look as you have received Christ’s love you don’t have the option to not pour that out to those around you. You don’t. So if you’re still harboring anger, bitterness, wrath, envy, those things are leading to death.

22:00 One of the ways you know you’re a believer what you love those who are difficult to love. And love is different than acceptance. Some people in our world think if you love something you have to agree with them. No. God loves us. He doesn’t agree with a lot of what we do. Love is to be and say what is true. And it is also to have a heart for what is best for the person and not just what feels good.

22:33 But too often we allow the pride of our eyes, the desires of our eyes to lead us to just low levels of bitterness, anger, hatred towards that type of person or him or her or I can’t believe she would do this. And what it begins to produce within us is not life but death. And at the end stages in verse 15, it says, “Everyone who hates his brother as a murderer.” You know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. It’s amazing to me how much John informs us that we know. We know these things are true. We don’t have to sit there and wonder. We don’t have to sit there idly.

23:15 We don’t have to sit there and somehow begin to creatively think through in our minds what if and what should be. No, he says, “You know that those who have murder in their heart do not have eternal life within them. You’re thinking to yourself, “How can this be? How can this be?” Here’s what Pastor Spurgeon had to say on the topic. He says, “When you see a man filled with hate and envy and malice, it is because his own life is not holy.” Isn’t that something?

23:50 You see a man filled with hate, envy, and malice, you’re looking at an unholy life. And here’s what I love about this. There is no exception. You cannot get more black and white with that. No exception. True holiness and love always go together. So if you tell me you have love for somebody but your life is not holy unto the Lord, you’re fooling yourself. If you tell me you love but you disdain those who are different or you disdain those who have hurt you or disdain those with whose temperament rub you the wrong way, something’s off.

24:36 Spurgeon says, “Wherether love is absent, holiness must be absent, too.” So, how do we do this, pastor? This seems unapproachable. We’ve already confess that our hearts at times will struggle with the temptation or desires of the eyes. So, how do we move forward in this? To overcome the desires of the eyes, you must what? See something better. You must fix your eyes upon something that is greater. You must fix your eyes upon someone who is greater.

25:10 How do we do that? Verse 16, John informs us. He says, “By this we know love.” What? That he laid down his life for us. What does this verse tell me? Tells me something of my sin. that my sin was great enough that it cost Jesus to lay down his life. This was no mere, sorry, I’m taking a mulligan on this. Not that big of a deal. My sin’s pretty minimal compared to the real murderers of this world. No, my sin put him on the cross. Your sin put him on the cross. Does that not tell you the seriousness of your sin?

26:02 There’s no simple payment here. It was a sin that meant he had to endure the wrath. He had to endure the pain. He had to take himself and place it before God and receive judgment. Our sin is costly. Our sin cost the Lord Jesus everything. I didn’t know the cost of my sin until I saw the cross. I didn’t know the depth of it. What else do I see? I see that God has a great love for me. How do I know? He gave his life.

26:45 Why in the world would he give his life for me? I’m filled with wrath and rage and bitterness and contempt. I’m an enemy to him. There’s nothing I did that made myself beautiful. Nothing I did that earned his affection. Nothing I did that actually caused him any great concern to say, “This one’s worthy. This one right here.” And he still gave his life for me. Tells me something about the love of our God, isn’t it?

27:17 That he would move towards us, that he would bear a penalty even though we were enemies. But it tells me one more thing. It tells me we’re safe within him. That anyone who comes to me in my brokenness, in need and still chooses to give his life for mine, what could I do to remove that? There was nothing I did to earn it. I see the cross now shows me the depth of my sin. shows me the depth of his love and it also shows me the depth of his ongoing mercy in my life that he continues to be steadfast and loving.

28:03 Even when I fail, even when I look at others, those created in his image and I find it hard to love, he still loves me. And there’s some people in this world that are hard to love. You have some men and women in your mind that if you just could be honest, you want to tear them apart. And yet look at how Christ sees you. Look at what he’s done for you. And look at how you’re safe in him.

28:40 Brothers and sisters, that is what unlocks our love for others. not to make excuses and not mere acceptance, but genuine love down the line. Here’s the truth of God. This is why John could pastor his people and say, “We ought to lay down our lives because the perfect one laid his life down for you and me.” He goes on to say, “If anybody has the world’s goods, that is to say, if anybody has been given and sees a brother in need, sees somebody in the church who’s struggling or failing, and closes his heart against him, ah, well, he should have just done better, procure his own finances, ah, he should have just been more, you know, connected with us in the family, God, if he wasn’t so difficult to deal with, maybe we’d invite him in.

29:36 How does God’s love abide in you? Let’s just be very honest. We’re particular. We like who we like and we don’t like who we don’t like. And there’s a lot of people we keep at arms distance. And there’s a lot of people that we do not invite in. And honestly, we look no different than the world. We look no different. And here’s the thing. I’m with you. Like it’s comical I’m your pastor because I by nature I’m not like a warm and fuzzy dude.

30:14 I’m like a go to war dude. And if you’re not going to help us then get out of the way. So God’s constantly wrecking me and allowing my house to be a place that we’re constantly inviting people. And there’s times I don’t like it on the front end. But you know what? On the back end, I’ve always noticed there’s a joy. There’s an actual joy of opening up the house. There’s an actual joy of living my life for the glory of his name and seeing people meet Jesus. There’s a glory of knowing that his people, the bride that he’s given, invest your life in him.

30:51 There’s a glory of knowing that life group, even though it might be taxing at seasons, there’s beauty in others. And there’s amazing men and women. The stories he’s weaving amongst this community. And what you’re going to begin to see is that you cannot follow Jesus and harbor the desires of the eyes. You can’t you can’t follow Jesus without him eventually calling those things out and revealing them. And you’re probably wondering, okay, well, what does that look like then? Because Pastor John has told us that we have no inheritance in the life to come. If there’s evil or anger or hatred in our hearts and yet we we’re we’re like saved and redeemed and yet we still struggle to just be bitter and hate some things.

31:29 Take a look. He says this, “Little children, let us not love in word and talk, but in deed and truth.” Let me tell you how Jesus responds to us. He knows that your heart kind of curls up and starts to make that little shield and defense against anything that might cost you something. And what he’s going to do is not all at once, but over time begin to pull back. He’s going to show you something even today. Hey, this is a person you’re struggling to love. You need to love them. This is a person you’ve kind of had a defense posture with. Go after them. This is a person that you’ve decided in your heart isn’t worth your mercy. That’s not how I’ve given you mercy. Show it to him. And one by one in those steps of obedience, what you do is you look at God. You say, “Okay, you’re king. I’m not I’m going to obey you.” And here’s what begins to happen. Those defenses begin to un to fold out.

32:29 and your hand posture begins to open. And over time, the Lord takes you, who are once bitter, angry, everyone’s an enemy, and he makes you a person that’s ministering and loving to people. There’s not many fathers of the faith. What I mean by that is men and women who have yielded themselves to the Lord that by the end of their life, they’re just lovegiving people. But I got to spend time with one this week. Wayne Cordderero. I don’t know if you’ve ever read his book Leading on Empty. I got to spend time with him at his house. This is a man who’s in his 70s. Just planted a church five years ago. I’m like, “You’re nuts. That’s crazy.” And man, I couldn’t. I was just being in this man’s presence. I was like, “I want to be you. I want to be like you. You have a love for people and a seriousness against sin.

33:22 You have eyes that pierce the soul. And yet you meet people with grace. And you know who that’s a reflection of? It’s just it’s Jesus. Here’s what I want from you, Flat Iron. I want our community to look different. I want our community to look different. And the only way it begins is by us yielding to the Lord and saying, “Lord, not my will, but your will be done.” yielding those areas of our hearts that we’ve been holding back and just saying, “No, I’m justified to feeling angry and hatred.” No, no, no. Because if that same justification was against you, you’d never be saved.

34:02 And you start to daily walk and ask God, “Teach me to love. Teach me to love.” And love, don’t confuse it. Love is an acceptance. It’s what our world thinks. It’s totally backwards. Love is what is truth, what is good, what is his word, and you point people to that. Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to pray, and I’m going to give you time to just be honest with the Lord. If there’s a person you’re harboring or if there’s a type of person you’re harboring hatred with, you got to lay it down at his feet. But I’m also going to ask those who know of God, but they’ve never followed him to follow him today.

34:41 Because right now you’re on a path of the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, the pride of life, and it’s leading you to hell. That’s the path you’re on. And I don’t want that for you. I want you with the creator that made you and be filled with his love that you might love as he does. Let’s pray. Jesus, we we come to you. We thank you, Lord. I thank you for pastor John all those years ago in his old age writing with boldness.

35:18 Lord, if there’s areas of our heart, would you search us? Would you reveal those areas that we would not walk in them any longer? If it’s bitterness and anger towards a person or a group of people, if it’s bitterness and anger or murderous threats towards someone that we’re jealous of or envious of, Lord, would those be confessed? Lord, would you fill us with a love that comes only from you?

35:53 And Lord, would you strengthen us to be the body? Strengthen us to be people who open our doors, who open our homes, who open our wallets, who care for the flock of you because you’ve done so much and more for us. Lord, I want to lift up right now the man or woman in here who knows of you. They don’t know you as Lord and Savior. Lord Jesus, they’re on the path to hell of their own making.

36:20 Father, right now, by the power of your spirit, through the working of your word, By faith, would they believe that you are the risen son, that you are the risen king, that you died on that cross, that you bore the sin and penalty and punishment, and that you did not stay dead. Lord, you rose again over Satan’s sin and death. You’re victorious now, and they can have a relationship with you by faith. You’ll fill them with your spirit, and you’ll begin to plant within them, Lord, giftings and talents and skills for the advancement of your kingdom. And Lord Jesus, would you allow Flat Iron to be a family that comes around those men and women to walk with them in the seasons that you would give?

36:56 Lord Jesus, in particular right now, I pray for those young boys and girls who were born into this church that they would be raised to love you, raised to fear you, raised to know you, and that you would strengthen those parents’ hands. Lord Jesus, we ask these things because we want to be a church that looks like you. for the glory of your name. Amen.


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