It Is Written

Great Chapters of the Bible: Matthew 5

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants:

Home

Series Code: IIW

Program Code: IIW019189S


00:19 >>John Bradshaw: This is It Is Written.
00:21 I'm John Bradshaw. Thanks for joining me.
00:24 Few transformations in American history
00:26 have been quite as dramatic,
00:28 and like so many great changes in people's lives,
00:31 this one was brought about by tragedy,
00:34 by the brutal interruption of a hard-hearted life's
00:37 chosen course.
00:39 It was May the 15th in 1972.
00:41 He was running for the president of the United States.
00:44 On that day, Governor George Wallace of Alabama
00:47 was permanently paralyzed from the waist down.
00:49 This happened following an assassination attempt
00:52 in a shopping center in Laurel, Maryland.
00:54 He was shot five times. One bullet lodged in his spine.
00:58 His life would never be the same again.
01:00 His spirit was broken.
01:02 His confident self-assurance was gone.
01:05 And until the day of his death 26 years later,
01:08 he would never experience another day without pain.
01:12 Governor Wallace had established himself in American politics
01:15 as an unabashed defender of racial segregation.
01:19 His first inaugural address as governor of Alabama
01:22 was delivered during the heart
01:23 of the American civil rights movement.
01:25 And it's best remembered for his defiant cry:
01:28 >>George Wallace: And I say segregation now,
01:30 segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever!
01:35 [Cheering and applause]
01:38 >>John: But a paralyzed man confined to a wheelchair
01:41 for the rest of his days has a tough time being defiant.
01:46 It seemed that God finally got through to Governor Wallace.
01:50 Not long afterwards, he wheeled himself down the center aisle
01:54 of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, just 500 feet,
01:57 one block away from the Alabama state capital in Montgomery.
02:01 This was the very church once pastored
02:04 a quarter of a century before by Martin Luther King Jr.
02:08 Turning his wheelchair around,
02:10 the governor spoke to a hushed congregation
02:12 in words no one present could forget.
02:16 He said, "I have learned what suffering means.
02:20 In a way that was impossible,"
02:22 before the assassination attempt,
02:24 "I think I can understand some of the pain
02:26 black people have come to endure.
02:29 I know I contributed to that pain,
02:32 and I can only ask your forgiveness."
02:34 One sharecropper from Selma, Alabama,
02:37 who had marched with Martin Luther King,
02:39 compared the governor's transformation to the conversion
02:42 of Saul of Tarsus.
02:44 George Wallace, in the sharecropper's words,
02:46 "was struck down and then got up to do good."
02:51 Now, as you might expect,
02:53 not everyone was completely accepting of Wallace's apology.
02:56 He's been referred to as one of the great villains
02:59 of the civil rights era.
03:01 And his actions caused many, many people real hurt.
03:05 But following Wallace's death in 1998,
03:08 African-American Congressman John Lewis,
03:11 a giant in the civil rights movement since the early 1960s,
03:15 wrote an editorial in the New York Times,
03:19 in which he said,
03:21 "The George Wallace who sent troops to intimidate peaceful,
03:25 orderly marchers in Selma in 1965 was not the same man
03:31 who died this week.
03:33 With all his failings,
03:34 Mr. Wallace deserves recognition for seeking redemption
03:38 for his mistakes,
03:40 for his willingness to change and to set things right
03:43 with those he harmed and with his God."
03:47 You know, no experience speaks more decisively to the power
03:50 of Christianity than a radical change of heart.
03:54 And we're gonna focus on this experience today in this episode
03:57 of our ongoing series, "Great Chapters of the Bible."
04:02 The chapter we're going to be studying is the fifth chapter
04:04 of the Gospel of Matthew.
04:07 It's the opening chapter
04:08 in Jesus' famous Sermon on the Mount,
04:10 that great cornerstone of the Christian faith
04:13 that Jesus delivered at the very start of His ministry.
04:17 Matthew 5 is truly one of the richest chapters
04:20 in the four Gospels.
04:21 It contains a lot of important material.
04:24 The chapter starts with the Beatitudes--
04:26 "blessed are the poor in spirit";
04:27 "blessed are the meek"; "blessed are they that mourn."
04:31 But we're gonna jump over the Beatitudes
04:33 because we'll look at them another time.
04:34 Instead, we'll start in Matthew 5, verse 20.
04:38 We'll see this chapter focuses on a radical change
04:41 of the human heart.
04:42 Jesus says some things that absolutely shock the people
04:46 He's speaking to.
04:47 He said, "For I say unto you, that unless your righteousness
04:52 exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees,
04:56 you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."
05:00 Now, that was a stunning statement.
05:04 The Pharisees were considered real religious leaders.
05:06 They were the spiritual elite.
05:09 They were rigorous in their obedience and very careful
05:12 to be seen to be religious and holy and in God's favor.
05:16 Jesus went on to identify what was so terribly wrong
05:20 with the professed righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.
05:24 In some of the strongest words of His entire ministry,
05:28 Jesus revealed what was wrong with the Pharisees' approach:
05:31 outwardly, religious; inwardly, it was a different story.
05:38 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
05:42 For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish,
05:45 but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.
05:49 Blind Pharisees, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish,
05:54 that the outside of them may be clean also.
05:57 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
06:00 For you are like whitewashed tombs
06:03 which indeed appear beautiful outwardly,
06:05 but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.
06:09 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men,
06:12 but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
06:17 That's Matthew 23:25-28.
06:20 So this is the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees
06:23 that Jesus was talking about.
06:25 The kind of behavior that can't qualify anybody for heaven
06:30 because it's all on the outside and not on the inside.
06:34 Now, you might have met people like that.
06:36 You might even be like that.
06:38 This surface religion that Jesus was warning against
06:40 was something the Old Testament prophets had warned
06:43 the people of Israel against for hundreds of years.
06:47 A thousand years before the time of Christ,
06:49 the prophet Samuel warned King Saul about this very thing:
06:52 "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings
06:55 and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
06:58 Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
07:02 and to heed than the fat of rams."
07:05 First Samuel 15:22.
07:07 As Jesus speaks more about this, He talks about hatred,
07:12 adultery, and one of the greatest evidences
07:15 for the power of God.
07:17 So what would be one of the greatest evidences
07:20 for the power of God?
07:21 I'll have that in just a moment.
07:24 ♪[Music]♪
07:33 >>John: Temptation is a fact of life.
07:35 But you can be successful in the face of temptation.
07:39 Be sure you get today's free offer,
07:41 "When the Lion Roars,"
07:43 and find out how you can successfully defeat temptation
07:47 instead of being defeated by sin.
07:50 To get your free copy of "When the Lion Roars,"
07:52 call us on 800-253-3000.
07:56 You can write to the address on your screen
07:57 or visit us online at iiwoffer.com.
08:03 >>John: Don't miss "The Dangers of Technology"
08:06 from It Is Written.
08:07 This electronic age presents our planet with opportunities
08:11 that were unimaginable just a few years ago.
08:13 But it also brings some real challenges--
08:16 among them, spiritual challenges.
08:18 In "The Dangers of Technology,"
08:19 you'll learn how you can protect yourself from trouble online,
08:22 how you can safeguard your children,
08:24 and simple steps you can take to avoid some common pitfalls.
08:27 You'll learn from people with real-world experience--
08:30 >>Kyla Steinkraus: Those companies,
08:31 those child predators are hunting these kids.
08:34 >>John: ...and with expertise in online security.
08:36 >>Michael Dinkins: Once it's out there,
08:37 it's out there, and it's out there probably forever.
08:40 >>John: Email, texting, social media, the World Wide Web--
08:43 it's hard to imagine a world without them,
08:45 but years ago it was impossible to imagine the dangers
08:47 they would present.
08:49 "The Dangers of Technology."
08:50 Simple solutions to safeguarding you and your family online.
08:54 Don't miss "The Dangers of Technology"
08:56 on It Is Written TV.
08:57 Watch online at www.itiswritten.tv.
09:03 >>John Bradshaw: Thanks for joining me today
09:05 on It Is Written.
09:06 I'm John Bradshaw.
09:07 A major problem facing the world today
09:09 is the lack of heart religion.
09:12 You know, it's easy to call yourself a believer,
09:15 but it's another thing altogether to be one, genuinely.
09:19 As we look today at a great chapter of the Bible,
09:21 we're looking at Matthew 5,
09:22 and we see that God speaks very clearly to this issue,
09:26 really to the problem of surface religion.
09:30 There was a lot of it around in Jesus' day.
09:31 In fact, 700 or so years before Jesus was born,
09:35 Isaiah the prophet wrote this:
09:38 "'To what purpose is the multitude
09:40 of your sacrifices to me?' says the Lord.
09:42 'I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
09:45 and the fat of fed cattle.
09:47 I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats.
09:51 When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you;
09:56 even though you make many prayers, I will not hear.
09:59 Your hands are full of blood.
10:01 Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
10:05 put away the evil of your doing from before [mine] eyes.
10:08 Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice,
10:12 [reprove] the oppressor;
10:14 defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.'"
10:17 Isaiah 1:11 and 15-17.
10:21 And then, as always, God assures His people of His power
10:24 to change them from the inside out so that the reform
10:27 of their lives won't be only a surface matter any longer.
10:31 "'Come now and let us reason together,' says the Lord,
10:34 'though your sins are like scarlet,
10:37 they shall be white as snow;
10:39 though they are red like crimson,
10:41 they shall be as wool.'"
10:42 Isaiah 1:18.
10:44 Another of the Old Testament prophets, the prophet Micah,
10:47 makes a similar appeal in Micah 6, starting in verse 6:
10:53 "With what shall I come before the Lord,
10:55 and bow myself before the High God?
10:57 Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,
10:59 with calves a year old?
11:01 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
11:03 [or] ten thousand rivers of oil?
11:05 He has shown you, O man, what is good;
11:08 and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly,
11:12 to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"
11:16 Micah 6:6-8.
11:19 The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5 speaks
11:22 of a genuine inward faith.
11:25 God wants for us something better than hypocrisy,
11:29 something better than a surface religion,
11:31 something better than outward show.
11:34 You can fool people, you can impress people,
11:38 but God sees the heart.
11:41 Right after Jesus warns His audience
11:43 against the surface righteousness practiced
11:45 by the religious leaders of His day,
11:48 He points to two of the Ten Commandments as examples
11:51 of how obedience goes all the way to the heart.
11:56 He starts with the sixth commandment,
11:58 and He says in verses 21 and 22,
12:01 "You have heard that it was said to those of old,
12:04 'You shall not murder,
12:05 and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.'
12:08 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother
12:11 without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment."
12:15 The Apostle John said something very similar--
12:17 1 John 3, verse 15:
12:20 "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer,
12:23 and you know that no murderer has eternal life
12:26 abiding in him."
12:28 Now, we understand not murdering,
12:31 but Jesus takes it much further, and He says, "Don't hate."
12:35 He gets to the heart of the matter: "Don't hate."
12:38 He says maybe you won't murder someone,
12:40 but it's not right for you even to hate that person.
12:45 Jesus continues on this theme in Matthew 5 when He turns
12:48 to the seventh commandment, the one forbidding adultery.
12:51 He says this in verses 27 and 28:
12:54 "You have heard that it was said to those of old,
12:57 'You shall not commit adultery.'
12:59 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her
13:03 has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
13:07 Jesus lays out for us the depth of what obedience actually means
13:11 and the extent to which God will go to change a human heart.
13:14 No adultery.
13:15 Now, that's one thing,
13:17 but then He goes so far as to say that lust isn't acceptable,
13:20 which might just seem a little bit old-fashioned today.
13:24 But we both know that if society just took this simple injunction
13:27 just a little more seriously,
13:31 the entire world would be a very different place.
13:34 Jesus says it's one thing not to commit the act,
13:37 but what He wants to do is change the heart,
13:41 even change the desires.
13:44 Now, if the people listening to Jesus had just gone back
13:48 and read the language of the Ten Commandments
13:50 as they were first written,
13:52 they would have seen how what Jesus was talking about
13:54 was nothing new.
13:56 The tenth commandment, the one that forbids coveting,
13:59 includes the words "you shall not covet your neighbor's wife,"
14:02 Exodus 20, verse 17.
14:05 In other words, God declared when the commandments
14:07 were first proclaimed on Sinai
14:11 that the reach of these divine commands extended directly
14:14 to the intentions of the heart.
14:17 This is what the Apostle Paul was talking about when he said
14:19 he wouldn't have understood the true depth of God's law
14:23 except for the command that said, "You shall not covet."
14:26 He wrote that in Romans 7 and verse 7.
14:30 Now, this is a bridge too far for many people.
14:33 Too much, too demanding.
14:35 Who can even do that? The intents of the heart?
14:40 Well, there's one person who can do that,
14:43 and that's Jesus, and He'll do it when He lives in you.
14:49 You know, the scribes and the Pharisees of Jesus' day
14:51 were ignoring all this.
14:53 They'd forgotten all the admonitions
14:55 of the Old Testament prophets,
14:56 from Samuel and Solomon to Isaiah and Micah and others.
15:01 They saw righteousness as something on the outside,
15:05 while the inside remained unchanged.
15:09 In this way, they'd become no different
15:11 from the heathen nations around them.
15:14 You can't help but see the stark contrast between this attitude
15:19 and the word of the Lord to the prophet Samuel
15:21 in the Old Testament:
15:23 "Man looks at the outward appearance,
15:26 but the Lord looks at the heart."
15:29 First Samuel 16, verse 7.
15:32 In other words, in their practice of religion,
15:35 God's people in Jesus' time had become incredibly
15:38 like the heathen--who they despised, ironically.
15:42 What was on the surface mattered more than what was in the heart.
15:46 It was the purpose of Jesus to draw the chosen nation
15:49 back to the principles spelled out in the Old Testament,
15:53 and away from the religion for show which had taken the place
15:57 of the transformed heart.
15:59 It's this religion of the heart that true conversion brings,
16:03 and it makes possible what Jesus urged next.
16:07 You see, Christianity isn't just about what you do
16:09 on the outside.
16:11 You can sing in the choir or shout "amen!" or look the part,
16:15 and you can say all the right things,
16:17 but God wants His children to be transformed.
16:21 As Paul wrote in Romans 12, verse 2,
16:24 "And do not be conformed to this world,
16:27 but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
16:30 that you may prove what is that good and acceptable
16:34 and perfect will of God."
16:36 Jesus spoke to Nicodemus-- and interestingly,
16:39 he was a Pharisee, a member of that very group
16:41 Jesus was correcting so strongly.
16:43 And Jesus said to him, "You must be born again."
16:47 Nicodemus had it all going right on the outside,
16:50 but inwardly he was empty.
16:52 He was failing spiritually when he wanted to be
16:55 spiritually successful.
16:57 And this is where a lot of people find themselves today.
17:00 From sea to shining sea there are people you would think
17:04 were doing great spiritually,
17:05 but on the inside they're dying, and they're failing.
17:09 And they realize their Christian experience
17:11 is not nearly what they want it to be.
17:14 Maybe you've been there.
17:16 You might be having an experience where you know
17:18 what God wants.
17:20 You know what Jesus wants your life to be like.
17:22 But you just can't deliver it.
17:24 Well, God has a solution for you, a way forward,
17:28 and that's what Matthew 5 is all about.
17:32 More in just a moment.
17:33 ♪[Music]♪
17:42 >>John: Thank you for remembering
17:43 that It Is Written exists
17:45 because of the kindness of people just like you.
17:48 To support this international life-changing ministry,
17:51 please call us now at 800-253-3000.
17:55 You can send your tax-deductible gift
17:57 to the address on your screen,
17:58 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com.
18:02 Thank you for your prayers and for your financial support.
18:05 Our number again is 800-253-3000,
18:09 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com.
18:13 ♪[Music]♪
18:17 >>Man 1: What does the Bible say about astrology?
18:24 >>Man 2: Why do bad things happen to good people?
18:33 >>Girl: What color is Jesus?
18:35 >>John Bradshaw: If you have a question,
18:37 we'd love to find an answer for you from the Bible.
18:39 Line Upon Line
18:40 from It Is Written TV.
18:43 >>John Bradshaw: In Matthew 5, verses 23 and 24 Jesus says,
18:46 "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar,
18:49 and there remember that your brother
18:51 has something against you,
18:52 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way."
18:56 He says, "First be reconciled to your brother,
18:58 and then come and offer your gift."
19:01 Clear up matters. Don't hang on to old scores.
19:05 Work things out.
19:07 Reconciliation, unity,
19:10 no grudges separating you from your neighbor.
19:14 And then this, the kind of statement that helps us
19:17 to see that in God's eyes, Christianity is the real thing.
19:22 The gospel is a living force that can change your life.
19:27 See, nobody feels good about themselves when they know
19:30 God wants them to live a certain life, but they can't do it.
19:35 Too many people today are living a double life:
19:38 Christ on the outside but the devil on the inside.
19:44 All profession of Christ, no possession of Christ.
19:49 And this is one of the things that gives Christianity
19:51 a bad name.
19:52 People call themselves Christian,
19:53 but you would never know looking at the way they live their life.
19:56 No power.
19:57 I'm not talking about people who stumble,
19:58 people who make mistakes.
20:00 That's going to happen as you grow as a believer.
20:04 It's just not necessary to live a life where you claim to be
20:07 a follower of Jesus, but your heart hasn't been changed.
20:12 Because the Christ of the Bible is in the business
20:15 of changing hearts, and He'll change yours.
20:19 Look at what Jesus said, starting in verse 38:
20:22 "You have heard that it was said,
20:24 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'
20:28 But I tell you not to resist an evil person.
20:31 But whoever slaps you on your right cheek,
20:34 turn the other to him also.
20:36 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic,
20:39 let him have your cloak also.
20:41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
20:46 Give to him who asks you,
20:48 and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away."
20:53 You know what Jesus is saying.
20:55 Instead of fighting fire with fire, fight fire with love.
21:01 If someone mistreats you, love them anyway.
21:03 They want something? Give them that and more.
21:05 Someone takes? Give.
21:07 Someone wants to borrow? Lend.
21:09 Jesus isn't talking about what you do on the outside now,
21:13 He's talking about His ability to change a heart so radically
21:17 that when someone curses you, you'll bless them in return.
21:22 In fact, He frames this in a really graphic way:
21:26 "You have heard that it was said,
21:28 'You [should] love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
21:31 But I say to you, love your enemies,
21:34 bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you,
21:38 and pray for those who spitefully use you
21:41 and persecute you."
21:43 That's Matthew 5:43-44.
21:45 Evidently, it was the belief in Jesus' day
21:47 that you should love those close to you, your neighbor,
21:50 while it was okay, even desirable, to hate other people.
21:55 Now, that certainly isn't God's way.
21:57 Christians are supposed to show their love to others,
22:00 even their enemies.
22:02 Now, I know that's tough. That's not easy.
22:04 John, you have no idea how these people wind me up,
22:06 how hard it is to show kindness.
22:09 Hard for you, sure. But hard for God?
22:11 No, it's not.
22:13 You see, God can do that in a person's life.
22:16 He can do it in your life.
22:17 Love your enemy? Yes, you can.
22:20 What was it that Paul wrote?
22:21 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
22:25 That's Philippians 4 and verse 13.
22:28 This is where Christianity shows us what it's really all about.
22:31 Nothing gives the world more evidence that the Bible
22:34 has changed a person's life as when hatred turns to love.
22:40 This is why Jesus said in John 13:35,
22:43 "By this all will know that you are my disciples,
22:47 if you have love for one another."
22:51 Too many Christians seem to have a hard time remembering that.
22:54 Holding grudges is common, even in the church,
22:56 and it's poisonous.
22:58 Refusing to forgive is common,
23:00 even though Jesus made clear in Matthew chapter 6
23:04 that people who refuse to forgive others
23:07 won't be forgiven by God.
23:08 You'll find husbands and wives, brothers and sisters,
23:11 bosses and employees, teammates, students, and teachers
23:15 holding on to grievances for years, even decades.
23:20 When Jesus said that our righteousness must exceed
23:24 that of the scribes and Pharisees,
23:26 He was saying that the righteousness we have
23:29 has to come from a changed heart.
23:32 It ought to be evidence of a changed life.
23:35 Of course, a person could look at someone
23:37 like Governor George Wallace,
23:38 who made a career out of hating people and encouraging others
23:41 to do the same, and find it hard to manifest forgiveness,
23:45 or to feel anything other than bitterness.
23:48 But to look at a person and that person's misdeeds--
23:52 now, that's a dangerous thing.
23:55 The more important question is the one that addresses
23:57 what's going on in your heart, not someone else's.
24:03 The message of Matthew 5 is that God can change any heart,
24:08 if you'll let Him.
24:10 He can still give us the grace to love and forgive our enemies.
24:15 Historians still debate whether George Wallace was sincere
24:19 in his request for forgiveness
24:21 from those he'd wronged so terribly.
24:24 And that's understandable.
24:26 Was he sincere, do you think? Was he?
24:29 Let's let God decide that.
24:32 Author Dan Carter, who wrote a biography on George Wallace,
24:35 quoted an English writer who said,
24:39 "Men's hearts are concealed,
24:42 but their actions are open to scrutiny."
24:46 Although human hearts are very much concealed,
24:49 the Bible assures us, speaking of God:
24:52 "[You, You only] know the hearts of all the sons of men."
24:57 First Kings 8:39.
24:59 And the same God who alone can read our hearts
25:04 is the One who alone possesses the power to change them.
25:10 ♪[Music]♪
25:12 >>Announcer: Planning for your financial future
25:14 is a vital aspect of Christian stewardship.
25:17 For this reason,
25:19 It Is Written is pleased to offer
25:21 free planned giving
25:22 and estate services.
25:23 For information on how we can help you,
25:26 please call 800-992-2219.
25:31 Call today
25:31 or visit our website: hislegacy.com.
25:35 Call 800-992-2219.
25:40 >>John Bradshaw: Temptation is a fact of life,
25:43 but you can be successful in the face of temptation.
25:46 Be sure you get today's free offer,
25:48 "When the Lion Roars,"
25:50 and find out how you can successfully defeat temptation
25:55 instead of being defeated by sin.
25:57 To get your free copy of "When the Lion Roars,"
26:00 call us on 800-253-3000.
26:03 You can write to the address on your screen
26:05 or visit us online at iiwoffer.com.
26:11 >>John Bradshaw: Let me pray with you now.
26:13 Our Father in heaven, we thank You in the name of Jesus
26:15 that You are able to change our heart.
26:17 ♪[Music]♪
26:18 And we don't want to be the type of person who outwardly puts on
26:22 a good show of being a Christian,
26:24 demonstrates religiosity,
26:27 while on the inside we're corrupt and full of malice,
26:31 and we're sick, and we are failing.
26:35 Lord, we know it is Your intention to change us inwardly
26:39 and outwardly, to do a thorough, complete job,
26:42 to convert us that we might be, as Jesus said to Nicodemus,
26:47 born again.
26:49 Friend, as you look into your heart, what do you see?
26:52 Do you see a heart that's at one with the heart of God?
26:56 Do you see a heart that is united with Jesus?
26:58 If so, then I want you to say, "Thank You, Lord."
27:01 But if you don't,
27:03 if you look on the inside and you see a hypocrite,
27:06 if you look on the inside and you see someone
27:08 who's just playing a game or going through the motions,
27:12 whose practice doesn't meet with his or her profession,
27:17 then right now I'd like you to ask Jesus
27:18 to give you a new heart.
27:20 Father, would You do that for me, for each of us?
27:24 Give us a new heart, a new mind,
27:27 that our profession might be demonstrated by a life
27:33 that reveals to others that there is a Savior.
27:38 We thank You, and we pray in Jesus' name.
27:43 Amen.
27:44 Thank you so much for joining me.
27:46 I'm looking forward to seeing you again next time.
27:48 Until then, remember:
27:50 "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone,
27:55 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"
28:00 ♪[Theme music]♪


Home

Revised 2022-06-21