Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW210017S
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00:02 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:08 Hello, friends, and welcome 01:10 to another edition of 3ABN Family Worship. 01:13 And we just want to say a Happy Sabbath 01:15 because this is the Lord's time and we are excited 01:18 that we have arrived at the Sabbath. 01:20 It's a time in which we can commune together, 01:22 be together as family, study together, 01:24 and also take time to be with again, 01:27 other family and to be with our Lord and Savior, 01:30 our Creator. 01:31 That's what the Sabbath is all about. 01:33 It points back to Him and His creative power. 01:35 And we want to welcome you and thank you 01:37 for joining us during this time. 01:38 We know you could be doing anything else, 01:40 but you're here with us. 01:41 And so we encourage you to stick with us though, 01:43 because we have a powerful study here tonight. 01:46 And the study is entitled Living Above the Crowd. 01:50 In this world that we live in, 01:51 sometimes it can be a challenge to live above the crowd 01:54 or to live separate from the world, 01:56 but we're going to examine the challenges, the solutions, 02:00 and the practicalities of how we can live 02:02 as peculiar people, yes, 02:04 living in the world, but not of the world. 02:07 And so before we go any further though, 02:09 I'm going to introduce our family 02:11 that's around the table. 02:12 I'm excited about who we have with us. 02:13 I guess I'm going to start on this side 02:15 and I'll work my way down to the left. 02:16 We have Brother Eric 02:18 and Sister Marilyn Durant with us. 02:20 It's a blessing to always have the both of you. 02:21 Very, very happy to be here. 02:23 Anytime you guys have a worship, 02:25 we're always blessed, 02:26 and we're looking forward to today. 02:28 Amen. Praise the Lord. 02:29 Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here. 02:31 Amen. Thank you guys so much. 02:33 And then over here across this big table 02:35 to my left is Brother Jason and Miss Francine Bergmann. 02:40 It's always a blessing to have you guys as well. 02:41 It's good to be here. Thank you. 02:42 Amen. Amen. 02:44 So we're going to get right into our topic, 02:46 we have a lot to talk about. 02:47 And we know this is going to be a blessing for you. 02:49 There may be someone watching right now, 02:51 perhaps maybe, you know, a family member or a friend 02:53 or someone who may need 02:54 to hear this message right now is a great time, you know, 02:57 gather the family around, 02:58 get your notepads and your pencils together, 03:00 and your writing utensils 03:02 and get ready to take some notes 03:03 because this is something that I think affects all of us. 03:06 Living in a, what, challenging world, 03:09 a world in which is not following the will of God, 03:12 but yet we are called to be separate, 03:14 we are called to be God's peculiar holy people, 03:17 a holy royal nation 03:19 under the banner of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 03:21 So before we get right into our content, 03:23 let's go right ahead and have a prayer. 03:25 I'm going to ask you, Brother Eric, 03:26 if you would have our prayer for us. 03:29 Dear Heavenly Father, 03:30 we ask that whatever we say and do 03:33 is according to Your will, 03:35 please speak through us, 03:37 despite of us Father 03:38 because we love You and we want Your message 03:41 and Your gospel to go out to the world. 03:43 So please bless this time, Father. 03:47 Allow us to bless others through you 03:51 so that whenever we say, 03:53 Father, is right and true in Your eyes. 03:57 We thank You, Father, for hearing this prayer. 03:59 For we pray it in Jesus' name. 04:01 Amen. Amen. 04:02 Amen. Amen. 04:04 Thank you, brother. 04:05 You know, it becomes overwhelmingly clear 04:08 as you study the Word of the Lord. 04:10 You run into those texts, you come up on those passages, 04:13 where God makes it very clear. 04:16 He says, "Look, you know what, 04:17 this world is not the way I intended it to be." 04:19 When God created the world in the beginning, 04:21 it was according to His perfect plan, right, 04:23 as he placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, 04:25 that perfect paradise, that garden of pleasure, 04:28 where there was this beautiful, perfect, 04:30 uninterrupted communion between God and man, 04:33 but we know sin came into the picture 04:34 and sin pretty much ruined those plans, right? 04:37 And since then we have been living in a world 04:40 that is just degradating 04:42 and just eroding at every corner. 04:45 And now as we are getting closer 04:47 and closer to the Second Coming of Jesus, 04:49 I hear my brothers and sisters crying out all the time 04:51 and they're asking me saying, 04:53 "Ryan, you know, why hasn't Jesus come back yet? 04:55 How much longer do we have to endure this?" 04:57 Because living in this world is hard, 04:59 trying to be a Christian 05:01 during these times is difficult. 05:03 And so you know, 05:05 I just want to just take 05:06 some time in the beginning of this study 05:07 and we'll just kind of throw it out. 05:09 This is a laid back, 05:10 that is what I love I love about Family Worship, 05:11 because we could just sit around and just have 05:13 like a family discussion around the table. 05:15 And that's what we're going to do now. 05:16 So let's just talk about 05:18 and go to some of those passages, 05:19 some of those prominent texts, 05:21 where God shares His attitude 05:22 about how He feels about this connection 05:25 between the carnal and the spiritual, 05:27 the world, obviously, being separate from the world, 05:30 living in the world, 05:31 but being separate from the world 05:33 and living according to the will of God. 05:34 So who wants to start us out? 05:35 And you guys got any text that you want to share with us 05:37 as we begin our study? 05:39 I'll start out. Yeah. Go ahead, brother. 05:42 Well, really quick testimony. 05:43 Sure. 05:44 I guess it happens to everybody 05:46 when you're young and you're kind of learning 05:47 how the world works. 05:49 One of the first things you want to do is be accepted. 05:51 You know, you want to be accepted by your friends, 05:53 you want to be accepted by the crowd, 05:55 and you wear the right sneakers, 05:57 and the right clothes and do the right things. 05:59 And unfortunately, in my case, 06:02 the ones I grew up with, 06:04 they were setting the wrong example 06:05 and I was trying to impress the people 06:06 that were setting the wrong example. 06:08 And then the Lord came along and said, 06:12 "You're supposed to be special." 06:13 Right. 06:14 And what impressed me 06:16 about that was that special means different. 06:19 I'm not supposed to be like everybody else, I'm special. 06:21 Right. 06:23 And so by telling God, 06:24 "Well, I want to be like everybody else," 06:25 I'm telling God, "I don't want to be special." 06:27 Right. 06:28 And that sort of challenged me a little bit. 06:30 And one of the verses that I like and it's down here, 06:35 it says, "Do not love the world or the things in the world." 06:39 And this is 1 John 2:15-17. 06:43 Right. 06:44 "Do not love the world or the things in the world. 06:48 If anyone loves the world, 06:50 the love of the Father is not in him. 06:52 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, 06:55 the lust of the eyes, 06:57 the pride of life is not of the Father 06:59 but is of the world. 07:01 And if the world is passing away, 07:03 and the lust of it, 07:06 but he who does 07:08 the will of God abides forever." 07:11 It's convicting because what this is saying is 07:14 all the things I love of the world, 07:18 I shouldn't be loving, I should be loving Jesus. 07:20 That's right. 07:21 And when you focus on Jesus, you can't go wrong. 07:23 When you focus on the world, as you said it's fallen, 07:26 it's living in sin, 07:28 you're going to follow that same path. 07:29 Absolutely. 07:31 And praise the Lord for the Bible and the Word 07:33 because over time I grew, and I still have a ways to go, 07:37 but I think I'm moving in the right direction. 07:39 You know, it's interesting too 07:41 in today's life there's parallelisms, 07:44 you know, you have, or polarization. 07:47 And you see a lot of that. 07:48 And, you know, just reading Matthew 6:24, 07:51 it shows kind of that parallelism 07:54 and what you're saying too. 07:55 And if I may read that. Absolutely. 07:58 It says, "No one can serve two masters. 08:00 Either one will hate the one and love the other, 08:04 or else he will be loyal 08:06 to the one and despise the other. 08:08 You cannot serve God and mammon or riches." 08:10 Right. 08:12 And when you look at this world and how, 08:14 you know, everyone's you know, going after the buck, 08:17 and since I'm in finances, I see it a lot, 08:19 and maybe I'm just sensitive to it. 08:22 But when you get down 08:24 to who are we and where are we going, 08:29 you know, 08:30 focusing on that instead of the things of this world, 08:33 which kind of it rusts, it gets old. 08:36 I mean, I just turned 50 and I'm like man. 08:42 So I'm starting to divest my things 08:46 because I don't need it all. 08:48 And so this is a great text where, you know, 08:51 know what you're going to serve 08:52 and think about it and go in that direction. 08:55 Right. Absolutely. 08:57 I love that text you just read because it puts it out 08:59 there plain and simple. 09:01 The idea is some people say, "You know what, 09:02 I can have Jesus as my Lord and Savior, 09:06 and He loves me so much that He recognizes 09:08 that I've got to live in this world." 09:10 And you know what, there's just certain things 09:12 that you can't avoid, right? 09:13 And some people's mentality 09:14 is this one leg in the church or one leg in, 09:17 you know, in the gospel and one leg in the world 09:20 and they go, God loves me either way. 09:21 But yet, as you just specified clearly from that verse, 09:24 Jesus makes it clear it's just makes logical sense. 09:27 You can't serve two masters. 09:29 At some point you're going to give into one or the other. 09:32 And in this case, we want to make sure 09:34 we're serving the right master, right? 09:36 But, Ryan, the world is very, very seductive. 09:39 It is. 09:40 The social media, 09:41 I was watching something a few weeks ago 09:43 on the science behind them, 09:46 grabbing the attention of you in social media 09:49 and holding on to it. 09:51 And I said to myself, "Wow, 09:54 if I spend all my time on social media 09:56 instead of spending any time with God, 09:59 my God's going to be social media." 10:00 And whatever they're teaching me 10:02 is what I'm going to cling to. 10:03 Right. 10:05 So it's very seductive world 10:06 and we almost have to make a conscious decision 10:09 that we're going to focus on God and not on, 10:12 I won't say the name of the applications, 10:16 not on those internet applications. 10:20 Yeah, absolutely. 10:21 And one of the verses I have always liked 10:23 was 1 Psalms, 10:25 or Psalms 10:29 101:3-4. 10:35 All right. Go ahead and read that for us. 10:36 It says, "I will set no wicked thing 10:38 before my eyes. 10:40 I hate the works of them that turned aside, 10:42 it shall not cleave to me. 10:45 A forward heart shall depart from me, 10:48 I will not know a wicked person." 10:51 And at the time, 10:52 I was hanging out with a lot of wicked people. 10:54 So everything I've read says, 10:58 take your eyes off the world and put it on Jesus, 11:00 and you'll be blessed. 11:02 And God's blessed me ever since. 11:03 Amen. Praise the Lord. 11:05 So you know the Ten Commandments 11:06 that talks about how God is a jealous God. 11:09 And when I first read it when I was younger, 11:12 I thought, you know, that, that's kind of strange. 11:15 But then when you look at it in a more, I would say, 11:19 mature now that I, you know, 11:21 understand a little bit more 11:23 that Jesus loves us so much that He wants 100% of us. 11:29 He doesn't want 50, He doesn't want 70, 11:32 even He doesn't want 99, He wants 100% of us. 11:35 And He will do everything 11:37 in order for us to get that 100%. 11:39 The other thing you said was pretty interesting too, 11:42 that I really appreciate. 11:43 You know, I've gotten into getting on to YouTube. 11:47 I love learning things. 11:49 However, what I find though, 11:51 even with good things 11:53 you could just suck 11:54 all your time in the good things, 11:57 but then you realize some of the things 12:00 that are important to you... 12:01 Like your wife. 12:03 That's right. 12:04 You know, you find out that your wife is saying, 12:07 "Well, what about me?" 12:08 And so what I did one time, 12:10 I realized that I had a problem. 12:13 So I said, "Okay, that's it." 12:15 I turned it all the way off for like two weeks and I said, 12:18 "Okay, reconnect." 12:20 Absolutely. It's what is important. 12:22 Absolutely. 12:23 You know, and that brings me 12:24 a little thought in Leviticus 20:26, 12:28 and it says, "And you shall be holy to Me, 12:32 for I am the Lord am holy, 12:34 and I am separated you from the peoples, 12:36 that you should be Mine." 12:38 I see God wanting us 12:41 as much as He could possibly show us 12:44 that He wants us for Himself. 12:45 And that goes to that text. 12:48 And, you know, as a parent, sometimes I see my daughter, 12:51 and sometimes she struggles 12:53 because all her classmates might be doing something 12:56 that she knows and she's struggling with. 12:59 And I can only identify 13:01 some of the conversations 13:02 that some other parents at home might be having but, 13:06 and how she still needs to stand up 13:08 for what is right and be able to communicate 13:11 that either to her teacher, 13:12 to her parents somehow to be able to be different. 13:15 And sometimes I can only tell her stories 13:19 that I can only imagine Jesus 13:20 had to be separated from himself. 13:23 And as a young boy, I see Jesus... 13:27 Of course, he didn't go to their local schools, 13:30 which were, you know, well known there. 13:34 And yet, he wasn't playing 13:36 and going along with the teasing 13:39 that other kids were doing. 13:40 And yet, he was already, even from a child, 13:43 I think that's a challenge for all of us, 13:45 that we have to live that example 13:46 because how much 13:48 more important is it for our children to see that. 13:51 That's right. 13:52 And so for me that's very important. 13:54 And Amanda was learning 13:58 this this week with her teacher, 13:59 who happens to be Mrs. Day. 14:03 But I know that she's learning 14:04 the Romans 12:2 and it says, what is it? 14:08 "And do not be conformed to this world, 14:12 but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, 14:16 that you may prove that is good 14:19 and acceptable and perfect will of God." 14:21 Yes, yes. 14:22 I think that, to me, is the most important thing. 14:25 It can't necessarily be 14:26 oh, well, we have to acknowledge that. 14:28 We want to first put God's will. 14:30 That's right. That's right. 14:31 That's a great point that you just made there. 14:33 And I love that text that she's read Romans 14:35 because it really gets down to the heart of the matter. 14:37 We have to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. 14:40 What does it say in Philippians 2:5? 14:43 "Let this mind be in you which is also in Christ Jesus." 14:46 And, you know, when you think about it, 14:48 that's really the ultimate struggle is... 14:51 I go back to that rich scripture 14:52 you read at the very beginning. 14:53 I love it from 1 John 2:5-17. 14:56 I'm going to read it again, 14:57 just to kind of hone in on a couple 14:58 of these details. 15:00 It says, "Do not love the world or the things of the world. 15:02 If anyone loves the world, 15:03 the love of the Father is not in him." 15:05 Right? "For all that is in the world..." 15:07 And then he, then obviously the writer gives a kind of 15:10 a summation of what all sin falls under, 15:12 which is "The lust of the flesh, 15:13 the lust of the eyes and the pride of life." 15:15 So in the scripture says that Jesus was tempted 15:17 in all ways like we were yet without sin. 15:21 These are the thing... Every sin, while it can... 15:24 Like obviously, I heard someone say one time well, you know, 15:26 Jesus didn't have cell phones, 15:27 so He don't know what it's like to be tempted, 15:29 you know, with cell phones and media and all these things. 15:32 But yet, all of the sins and all of the distractions 15:35 and the temptations that we deal with today 15:37 falls under that banner of the lust of the flesh, 15:39 the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, 15:41 the same principles and the same concept 15:43 with Christ in His day. 15:44 May not have been cell phones, may not have been media, 15:46 may not have been, you know, 15:47 media addiction or all those things, you know, 15:50 drug addiction and things like that, but nonetheless, 15:53 Christ was tempted and always like 15:56 we were under that banner of the lust of the flesh, 15:58 the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. 16:00 And then it goes on to say, 16:01 "Is not of the Father but is of the world. 16:03 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it, 16:06 but he who does the will of God abides forever." 16:11 When we're trying to allow God to transform our mind, 16:15 when we're trying to adopt that mindset of Christ, 16:19 to have the mind of Christ, 16:21 that's a struggle. 16:22 In fact, it's a lifelong struggle. 16:25 You know, I have been, again, 16:27 not patting myself on the back or bragging any way, 16:30 but I've been a devoutly Christian 16:31 now for about 13, 14 years. 16:33 And I can tell you, 16:35 here I am 14 years later and I still wake up every day, 16:39 and I'm just pleading and saying, Lord, you know... 16:41 There are still things in my life as an adult 16:44 that the devil just comes at us with every single day. 16:47 And there's times even I have moments of weakness, 16:50 where I'm just like, "Oh, Lord, Jesus, please come. 16:54 I can't stay in this world any longer. 16:56 It's just killing me." Right? 16:58 But that's the fight. 16:59 You know, Paul called it the fight. 17:01 And, you know, there's a couple of text here 17:03 that I might read here in a little while. 17:04 But if there's another text you guys want to read it, 17:06 I'm just talking about, you know, 17:08 God's attitude towards the separation 17:10 of the spiritual from the carnal. 17:12 It's funny that you mentioned that because I had a discussion 17:14 with somebody just yesterday. 17:17 And one of the things I hear a lot of Christians say 17:20 is that "I got the victory." 17:23 Right. 17:24 And that's a great thing, you got the victory. 17:26 But just because you got the victory over the battle 17:29 doesn't mean you got the victory over the war. 17:32 And I know that when the children of Israel 17:35 crossed over into the Promised Land, 17:38 God gave them victory after victory after victory, 17:42 but those were victories over battles. 17:44 And sometimes they had to fight in case of the Philistines, 17:46 sometimes they had to fight them more than once 17:49 because even though you got the victory 17:51 doesn't mean that you're free and clear, 17:53 and there's no longer any problem, 17:54 there's no longer any struggles. 17:56 It's a constant victory, 17:57 even after you cross over into the Promised Land. 17:59 So we have that battle that we have to fight. 18:01 And like you said, Paul said, "I die daily," 18:03 and I think we all have to do that. 18:05 I think we have to consciously make an effort 18:07 each and every day to withstand that temptation 18:13 and stay in the Word of God. 18:16 That's the only way that you will have that victory. 18:18 That's right. Absolutely. 18:19 And that in and of itself is a challenge, right? 18:21 Right. 18:22 You know, when you're in that moment 18:23 and you're being tempted or you're, 18:25 you know, you're experiencing a moment of weakness, 18:26 you know, how many of us were willing, 18:29 hopefully we do, but how many of us go, 18:30 "Oh, let me find my Bible and pray about this." 18:33 You know, a lot of times it doesn't happen that way. 18:37 And sometimes it's in hindsight that you realize, 18:40 "Oh, man, I messed up." 18:41 You know, that you realize if only I had prayed 18:42 in that moment, if only I had meditated on, 18:44 you know, thus saith. 18:45 If only I had had the mind of Christ to say it is written, 18:47 you know, man shall not, you know... 18:50 Sometimes we don't do that. 18:51 In fact, when you were just talking 18:53 about the old man coming out, you know, I can... 18:55 I love that you said earlier. 18:57 You said, oftentimes 18:58 we can gain the victory in the battle, 19:00 but we haven't necessarily gained 19:02 the complete victory in the war. 19:04 I can say that with confidence that that's true 19:07 because I think about 19:09 how I used to be back in my heathen days. 19:12 And I was a hothead, I was an angry person. 19:18 I had a filthy mouth, and I was a fighter. 19:22 Anyone I couldn't stand bullies 19:24 because I was bullied when I was younger. 19:25 So when I would see someone bully somebody else, 19:27 I was ready to fight. 19:28 And if I hurt someone, 19:30 and it just wasn't nothing for me, 19:31 so I got in a lot of fights and I got in... 19:33 I mean, I was just a brawler and I was an angry person. 19:36 But when Christ came into my life, 19:38 He transformed me. 19:40 But does that mean that I still don't have 19:42 those temptations from time to time? 19:44 There's times, you know, 19:45 I get out in the world and I see somebody 19:47 doing something or saying something 19:48 or acting in a certain way, 19:50 and that old man wants to just come back 19:51 and I'm just like, "Man, if only I could just..." 19:54 You know, I have to say, "Lord, help me. 19:56 Help me bury this old person." 19:57 It's tough. 19:59 It's not an easy, but yeah, that's what Christ said, right? 20:01 In Matthew 7, He was talking about 20:03 the straight and narrow path 20:05 versus the broad path that leads to destruction. 20:07 The New King James Version says, 20:10 but straight is the gate and difficult 20:13 is the way that leads to life. 20:15 Christ never said it was easy. 20:16 And it's not easy because there's an enemy. 20:18 That's right. 20:19 So you look at our culture today 20:21 and everyone is telling you, well, 20:23 in order for you to be successful 20:24 or in order for you to be accepted, 20:27 you have to have this, this, this, this. 20:30 And that's where what you said, 20:33 Brother Ryan, is our focus is critical. 20:37 And if we don't have that focus, 20:39 then we're going to go on a left turn or a right turn, 20:43 and Jesus is right in front of us 20:46 down the road and right beside us, 20:49 and we need to have that focus 20:51 on what He wants to do with our lives. 20:54 Interesting text that I want to share. 20:58 That's okay, as Mark 8:36. 21:00 And it says, "For what will it profit a man 21:05 if he gains the whole world, but loses his own soul?" 21:09 Right. 21:10 I mean, you look at that, a lot of the media, 21:15 the culture is you need to do it now, you know. 21:19 But we as Christians, 21:21 we take the long road, we take the narrow road, 21:24 we take the road with the understanding 21:27 that we're going to have to go through some hard times. 21:29 The culture is going to tell us what we need to do 21:32 and how to do it and why to do it, 21:34 but we need to stay focused to Jesus 21:36 because He has the right path for us. 21:39 So we don't get distracted 21:42 in what culturally is accepted, 21:46 but focus on where we are and where heritage is, 21:51 and who we're going to be with very soon. 21:56 And to tag along with that, 21:58 we have to understand that we're not alone. 22:01 I think it's important for us, now fortunately, 22:04 I have my spouse that I can talk to, 22:05 and that can encourage me when I'm down and I astray, 22:09 or vice versa. 22:11 But even those that are at home alone, 22:14 they need to see Jesus as a friend or have somebody 22:17 that can help them be accountable. 22:19 I think we have to realize that, yes, 22:21 there's Jesus as my friend and He's my personal friend. 22:24 But there's times, 22:25 where it's sometimes important to talk it out 22:27 with somebody else that you look up to 22:29 and see Christ, 22:31 I mean, the life of Jesus in their character. 22:34 And so I think that's important because that is encouraging 22:37 to us that we can do it too, I think. 22:39 Not that we put somebody on a pedestal 22:42 and look at them as a hero, 22:43 but more like we can do this together. 22:46 We can relate. Right, right. 22:48 Absolutely. 22:49 These are great points. 22:51 I'm just thinking as we're talking through this, 22:53 you know, why do you think it is that people 22:55 struggle with living separate from the world? 22:57 Like, you know, what are some of the challenges, 22:59 the scruples that they may have to deal with 23:02 in overcoming or dealing with that thought process 23:05 of making that transformation from a life of self 23:10 to a life surrender to the will of God? 23:12 What are some of the things that come to your mind? 23:13 Maybe something you went through 23:15 growing up as God was making, 23:17 you know, as you were transitioning 23:19 from that old man to that new man? 23:21 What are some challenges that people have to deal with 23:23 and why do you think they struggle with it? 23:25 Well, I think we're bombarded daily 23:28 with media, work, family, friends, 23:32 just every little thing in life can bring you down. 23:38 And I think also, 23:44 if you show a little bit of something 23:46 like you were saying, 23:47 you were watching YouTube and you were like, 23:49 turn it off for two weeks. 23:51 I think Satan picks up those things 23:53 and he'll tempt you. 23:56 You know, but I think if we stay in the will of God, 24:01 that's why He gives us the Ten Commandments. 24:03 Right, right. 24:04 Absolutely. 24:06 I think the world... 24:08 I think it tries hard to almost 24:09 make you insecure with who you are. 24:11 Yes. 24:13 I remember when I grew up in high school, 24:14 there were the magazines with people on the cover 24:17 and they were good looking beyond belief. 24:20 And everyone wanted to live up to that look, and no one could, 24:24 and it made them insecure. 24:25 Right. 24:26 And I think that you grow up wanting to impress 24:29 other people to fight against that insecurity 24:33 in a way trying to belong saying, 24:35 I'm okay. 24:37 You know, I'm... 24:38 And they prey upon that. Right. 24:42 And I think if we don't focus on God, 24:45 we're going to be shrouded 24:47 in something that we don't want to be shrouded in, like, 24:50 you know, the clothing. 24:51 They say clothing of righteousness, 24:53 you want to be clothed in God's righteousness, 24:54 not that in the world's righteousness. 24:56 And if you wrap yourself up in the social media 24:58 and those other things, it's going to overwhelm you. 25:01 Absolutely. 25:03 You know, I liked what Sister Marilyn said 25:05 that kind of struck me, 25:06 and that is sometimes we have to know our weaknesses. 25:10 Yes. 25:11 And I think if we understand 25:13 and know our weaknesses because, 25:15 you know, we know the unseen 25:17 knows our weaknesses better than we do. 25:20 So what are we going to do about it? 25:22 So if we know that that is a very sensitive area 25:25 so we need to start working. 25:27 And that's where a transforming of the mind 25:31 to going in that direction that builds us 25:33 in the direction of understanding 25:36 how to strengthen some of these weaknesses 25:38 in putting off the weaknesses, 25:40 but focusing on those things that will strengthen us. 25:43 Right. Right. 25:44 Absolutely. Can I read 1 Samuel? 25:45 Yeah. Absolutely, go ahead. 25:47 1 Samuel 16:7. 25:50 The Lord said to Samuel, 25:52 "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, 25:55 because I have refused him. 25:57 The Lord does not see as man sees, 26:01 for man looks at the outward appearance, 26:04 but the Lord looks at the heart." 26:05 Wow, okay. 26:07 So this is getting at the heart of the issue, 26:08 which is ultimately 26:10 all of these that we're discussing, 26:11 it's the heart issue. 26:12 Correct. 26:14 God can see what we can't see. 26:15 And that's what we have to be dependent on Him, right, 26:17 to be able to call out to Him and say, "Lord, 26:19 I don't know myself as well as You know me." 26:23 You know, sometimes we think that we know more 26:24 about ourselves than sometimes God does, right? 26:26 We get this idea that I know me, 26:28 I know what I can do, 26:30 and I know what my weaknesses are, and I know... 26:31 You know, for instance, in Jason's situation, 26:33 I'm just going to watch one video, 26:34 that's all I'm going to do. 26:36 I'm just going to get on YouTube 26:37 and watch one video, 26:38 and that's all it's going to be in before you know it. 26:40 One video turns into two videos, 26:41 and two into four, and four into eight. 26:42 And then you wasted, 26:44 what we're meant to be only four minutes 26:45 turns out to be an hour, right? 26:47 Absolutely. 26:48 And it happens so fast. 26:49 And then your wife tells you, 26:51 "Hey, Jason, you know, 26:52 you've been on this thing for an hour." 26:54 And okay, he's setting an example. 26:56 So, you know, 27:00 but I think that's something 27:01 that God is constantly working toward us. 27:03 Absolutely. 27:04 And, you know, I think it's also our time, 27:07 but it's also, again, what our will is. 27:11 Is it our will? 27:12 I mean, do we consciously dying daily? 27:16 Refocus our lens to focus on Jesus 27:21 because we get sidetracked. 27:23 I mean, and we will continually get sidetracked. 27:27 But I think the coming back to is like, 27:30 I have to refocus what my goal is every day 27:34 because if we don't have that focus 27:35 to turn to Jesus each day, 27:38 we're going to get sidetracked. 27:40 And whether it's, you know, of a prideful mind, 27:42 or climbing up a ladder, or in the workforce, 27:47 I mean, or, just whatever status, 27:49 so you need material things, whatever it is, 27:52 we need to know which direction we need to go 27:55 because we do get hung up on these different things. 27:57 I always call that recalibrate your faith. 27:59 Yeah. 28:00 Because as an engineer, 28:02 you have equipment and every once 28:03 in a while you have to recalibrate it 28:05 because it's constantly drifting 28:06 either to the left or to the right. 28:08 That's true. 28:09 And recalibration requires one important thing, 28:12 it requires a source to recalibrate it against. 28:16 A reliable source. 28:17 A reliable source. 28:18 Coming from the computer man... 28:20 That's good. Yeah. 28:22 And we all know what that source is, 28:23 it's the Word of God. 28:25 And John 15:5, it says, 28:27 "I'm the vine, you're the branches." 28:28 That's right. That's right. 28:30 So we need to know that it's the vine 28:32 because if the branch is cut, 28:34 what happens to the branch? 28:35 It gets withered and it dies. 28:37 That's right. Absolutely. 28:38 I think, you know, 28:40 I remember this is an example of me. 28:43 When I was in college, 28:44 I have a friend 28:45 and her parents were really well off. 28:48 And I was kind of envious of that 28:51 because she had a full... 28:53 Her school was paid for, I had to work. 28:56 You know, she had the finer things of life, 28:58 and I had things. 29:00 So, you know, but then as my relationship, 29:05 when I made the conscious choice 29:07 to build my relationship with Christ 29:10 and know that He loves me, 29:12 I felt kind of sorry because she's looking 29:16 at material things. 29:17 And that's not going to get you into heaven, 29:20 you know, all this stuff is not going with us. 29:23 Wow. Yeah. 29:25 And so I'm more appreciative 29:28 of where I'm at now with my walk with Christ 29:30 than when I was young, 29:32 getting in college and looking at everything 29:34 that other people had. 29:35 And that's not important. 29:38 Absolutely. 29:39 Yeah. Yeah. 29:41 It's kind of interesting. 29:43 I look at that and I see, you know, 29:47 I've struggled with trying to build. 29:50 You know, when you're younger, 29:51 you want to start building 29:53 your, I don't know, your family, 29:55 your life, the things around you. 29:59 And you get older and then you realize, well, 30:01 the more you have, the more you need 30:03 and then you're focusing on all this stuff. 30:06 You're slave to it. 30:08 Oh, yeah. 30:09 So have we ever been a slave to our stuff? 30:11 And I have. 30:13 And I find myself saying, "Okay, it's time to put away." 30:17 And someone talked with me something about, you know, 30:21 I want to get this investment or buy this stock 30:24 and it's going to go up. 30:26 But you know, when you look at it 30:29 from a holistic perspective, 30:31 everyone dies the same. 30:35 Whether we're richer, we're poor, we die the same. 30:39 And it doesn't matter after that. 30:41 Oh, no. Right. 30:42 What does matter is what, where have we put our focus. 30:47 Because the Lord will say, "Did you know Me?" 30:50 Right. 30:51 "Did you spend time with Me? 30:53 Did you focus where I wanted you to focus 30:56 instead of our own motives and own desires?" 30:59 Because we get into that rut, and I have. 31:03 I get in that rut all the time, 31:05 because I want to focus on this 31:06 and I'm interested in doing this, 31:08 or I think this in the market is going to go up 31:11 whether I, you know, 31:13 work at 3ABN 31:14 and look at the finances or even personally. 31:18 But then I have to step back and say, 31:20 what's really important here, 31:22 and where is my time spent, 31:25 because that's the greatest commodity. 31:27 One of the things that really shook me up. 31:30 I mean Marylin is familiar 31:32 because we kind of went through this together 31:33 was being at the bedside of family members 31:37 who were passing away. 31:38 And the reason why it shook me up 31:40 was because I always said, if I was in that situation, 31:44 what would be the last two things on my mind? 31:47 On pretty much anyone's mind. 31:49 And it always came down to what's next? 31:52 God, eternity, and my family. 31:55 And I said to myself, well, I have this pretty good career, 31:57 but I'm not focusing 31:59 on the two most important things, 32:00 which is God and family. 32:03 Yeah. 32:05 Yeah, how many people 32:06 have you ever heard of on their deathbed, 32:08 you know, got, you know, in their last moments of life. 32:11 And it's like, man, 32:12 if only I could have bought that Ferrari, 32:14 you know, if only I could have had 32:16 a few more thousand acres of land. 32:18 It changes your perspective. 32:21 It really does and your priorities in life. 32:24 You realize that this life is very short. 32:29 And having the finer things in life is not important, 32:33 and I think that's something Eric and I learned 32:35 when our parents passed away. 32:39 How we're living, 32:40 that's not what God wants for us. 32:42 My last thought will never be, boy, 32:44 I wish I made CEO of that company. 32:46 Right, right. 32:47 If only I could have added 32:49 5,000 more square feet to my home. 32:51 I wish I invested more stock. 32:52 It's just not going to be there, 32:54 it's going to be on Marylin, family, and God. 32:57 And those are the priorities in life 32:58 that I think we should all focus on. 32:59 Right. Amen. That's a great point. 33:01 You know, I remember this sermon 33:03 that was shared with me, and it really stuck with me. 33:06 And it was a scenario 33:08 where the pastor was talking about 33:10 how this person was going down the road, 33:13 and a deer came out. 33:15 And as you know, 33:16 we have a lot of deer around Southern Illinois, 33:18 and so you really have to watch as you're, 33:21 you know, white knuckling at home in the evening. 33:23 And we have this great option 33:28 of the subconscious 33:29 that if we know what we're going to do, 33:32 our subconscious takes over. 33:34 So what this pastor was saying is, 33:37 you don't want to veer off and hit a tree, 33:39 because that's really hard, 33:41 you're better off hitting the deer 33:43 and not veering off. 33:44 And I think that's, like my Christian life, 33:48 is you need to focus 33:51 and know that you've trained your subconscious. 33:54 So when a quick situation needs to be decided, 33:58 you know, your subconscious takes over and says, 34:01 "I'm going to do this." Amen. 34:02 That's a good point. 34:03 In fact, there's an even an object lesson in that 34:05 as I would turn you describe that I'm thinking to myself, 34:07 oftentimes people try to avoid the obstacles in their path. 34:11 You know, if you can, 34:12 that's great from a spiritual perspective, 34:13 but sometimes we need to take them head on. 34:16 You know, Christ didn't avoid the temptations of the devil, 34:19 oftentimes He had no option, right? 34:21 So He just, He took it head on and it was always 34:23 with an it is written, thus says the Lord. 34:26 You said something earlier, Francine, 34:28 that really sparked me. 34:29 As he was describing his scenario you said, 34:33 you become a slave to it. 34:34 And the text that come to my mind was Romans 16, 34:37 excuse me, Romans 6:16. 34:40 And I love this text because it really 34:42 is just a lot of truth here. 34:44 It says, "Do you not know that to whom 34:46 you present yourselves slaves to obey, 34:49 you are that one's slaves whom you obey, 34:53 whether of sin leading to death, 34:55 or of obedience leading to righteousness?" 34:59 And I think to myself, 35:00 it really comes down to the fact 35:02 that we're either a slave to self 35:05 or we're a slave to God. 35:06 You know, Paul often starts a lot of his, 35:08 most of his letters, his epistles with, 35:11 you know, Paul, a bond-servant of Christ. 35:13 That's right. 35:14 He recognizes that he is a slave, 35:16 but he would rather be a slave 35:17 to the King of the universe, right, 35:19 than to be a slave to sin, and to be a slave to himself, 35:22 and his own pride. 35:24 I'm thinking of, you know, these different scenarios, 35:26 where we were talking about why do people struggle, 35:27 you know, living separate from the world, 35:29 or, you know, what are some of the scruples and challenges? 35:31 You know, I'm thinking of like some people have a problem 35:34 as we're just kind of narrowing these down here. 35:36 Some people have a problem with pride and self-glory. 35:38 And that was one of the things 35:40 that is mentioned in those three banner 35:42 positions that's mentioned 35:44 in 1 John there that we read earlier. 35:45 You know, the lust of the flesh, 35:47 the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. 35:49 Some people have a problem with pride and self-glory, 35:52 they can't separate themselves from the world, 35:55 they can't separate themselves from the old man 35:57 or the carnal man to the spiritual man 36:00 because self wants that glory and that gratification 36:04 because of the pride 36:05 that they've built up in their own heart and mind. 36:07 For instance, Matthew 6:2 and 5, 36:10 I just want to read this really quickly. 36:12 It says, "Therefore, when you do 36:14 a charitable deed..." 36:15 This is Jesus speaking of the Pharisees, 36:17 the spiritual leaders, right? 36:19 It's like, "No, no." 36:20 You know, Jesus is going to tell us a parable 36:22 and He's going to talk about these sinners over here, 36:24 but, man, He goes right to the top and says, 36:26 "No, no, I'm going to tell you about your spiritual leaders, 36:28 you know, you look up to them, 36:30 but yet their heart isn't right either." 36:31 And he says, "Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, 36:34 do not sound a trumpet before you 36:36 as the hypocrites do in the synagogues 36:38 and in the streets, 36:39 that they may have glory from men." 36:42 And in verse 5, again, he says, 36:44 "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. 36:47 For they love to pray standing in the synagogues 36:49 and on the street corners, that they may be seen by men. 36:54 Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward." 36:57 And so that's one of those things 36:58 that often people they can't, 37:00 they struggle with that separation 37:04 of the holy and the profane or, 37:06 you know, the carnal from the spiritual 37:07 because they feed that that beast 37:10 within them that says, you know, 37:11 I just got to have more and more attention. 37:13 I want people to think highly of me. 37:15 And there comes that pride aspect involved there. 37:18 What about the material things? 37:19 Obviously, some people can't break away from the world 37:22 because of their material things. 37:24 Why don't, Francine, 37:26 why don't you read Matthew 13:22 there? 37:30 Jesus is speaking about the material things 37:33 of the world. 37:34 Making sure I have it, 37:35 "Now he who received seed on the good ground 37:39 is he who hears the word and understands it, 37:42 who indeed bears fruit 37:44 and produces some 100 fold some 60 fold 37:49 and some 30. 37:51 Was that Matthew 13:22? 37:52 I am sorry. No, that's okay. 37:53 Matthew 13:22. 37:55 You're in the right area, though. 37:56 "Now he received seed among the thorns, 37:59 and he who hears the word and cares of this world, 38:02 and the deceitfulness of riches 38:04 choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful." 38:07 No, we don't want to become unfruitful. 38:09 Oh, my goodness. Right. 38:10 So can I tell you a scenario 38:12 that I think my wife kind of hit on 38:16 and that made me think of it? 38:17 So we were married for about five years 38:20 and we decided to build another house. 38:22 Okay. 38:23 And we built this house and it was "our dream home." 38:27 And we put all our time in it. 38:29 And for three years all we were doing 38:31 was putting our time. 38:33 We didn't spend any time with our friends, our family, 38:36 it was just adding to this home. 38:39 And I realized 38:41 that I was so involved in this that nothing else mattered. 38:47 So the Lord said, "It's time for you to go." 38:49 So we decided we had to... 38:52 We want to do the Lord's will, 38:53 that was something 38:55 that was really ingrained in us. 38:56 So we decided to sell this house and leave. 38:59 And as I'm driving to the new place, 39:01 and it was from, 39:03 it was from Michigan to Seattle, 39:04 so I had, you know, two and a half days of, 39:08 you know, just that road noise and the thinking of three years 39:12 just being a slave to this house. 39:13 And I told my wife, I said, 39:16 "I am not going to do this again." 39:18 I mean, the people that came into our house and my friends, 39:23 they didn't even want to sit down 39:25 because it was so clean, it was so, you know... 39:28 They would say does anybody really live here? 39:30 That's right. And it was like... 39:32 And I was thinking of all these thoughts 39:35 and I realized that I lost relationships, 39:37 I lost talking with my neighbor. 39:39 So then this is what I did. 39:41 I changed 180 out and I just said, 39:45 "You know what? 39:46 I'm going to talk with my neighbors. 39:47 I'm not going to care about my house anymore, 39:49 well, within reason." 39:50 I was gonna... Mowing the lawn. 39:51 So, and there's mountains, and I wanted to see it all. 39:57 And I built relationships with neighbors. 39:59 And it's amazing when you talk with your neighbors, 40:01 how much Jesus can come in the picture 40:05 and how you can witness. 40:06 I didn't have that. Right. 40:08 Because my focus was on this house 40:09 instead of people, 40:11 which that's what God sees 40:13 the most valuable focus for us 40:17 is our brothers and sisters 40:19 building relationship, not only with God, 40:21 but with our brothers and sisters. 40:22 That's right. Amen. Amen. 40:24 And so I learned that, yeah, 40:25 material things are important for us to live, 40:29 but I think there's a balance 40:30 that you really need to focus on what's important. 40:32 Absolutely. That's right. 40:34 And focus on people, focus. 40:35 And I love mountains, 40:37 so I climb, you know, Whitney, 40:38 and Baker and Adams and it was great. 40:42 But it was those times that I was separated 40:45 from all the things of the world 40:46 that I realize what's really important. 40:49 Wow. I like that. 40:51 That's powerful. Powerful. 40:53 What about family 40:54 and the social pressures around us? 40:56 Could that be a hindrance to some people? 40:58 They say, you know what, I want to follow... 41:00 This has happened so many times, 41:02 let me just, let me paint this picture very clear. 41:04 So, you know, where I'm coming from. 41:06 There are so many times and it breaks my heart, 41:08 I've went out on the road, 41:09 I've preached an evangelistic series, 41:11 and you come down toward the end of the series where, 41:13 you know, you've provided opportunities 41:16 for people to make a decision. 41:17 And you get those decisions, 41:18 you get those individuals that they see the truth, 41:21 they know what's truth, they hear it, 41:23 and it's like, they get excited about it, right? 41:25 And it's like, "Yes!" You know, 41:26 I want to join God's remnant church 41:28 and I want to be a remnant Christian 41:30 who keeps God's commandments. 41:31 And, yes, and so they commit to that, 41:33 but then it's just a matter of time 41:36 before family, friends come along, 41:40 and they get in their ear, 41:41 you know, what's that church you're going to? 41:43 What's that they taught you? 41:45 And then before you know it, that person that was coming, 41:48 you know, consistently they will they stop coming. 41:50 That's right. 41:51 And then you investigate the situation and find out 41:53 oh, family got to them, friends got to them. 41:57 Because they allowed 41:58 that social family relationship pressure 42:02 to kind of blind them and crowd out, 42:05 almost like the thorns, 42:06 almost like the seed that was sown again 42:08 by the, you know, on the stony ground. 42:10 It wasn't able to take root, 42:12 the devil swoops down 42:13 and he plucks that right up real quick. 42:15 And so the text that has come to my mind, 42:17 maybe, Marylin, if you want to read this. 42:19 Luke 9:57-62. 42:23 Luke 9:57-62. Read the text there. 42:26 Okay. 42:27 "Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, 42:30 that someone said to Him, 42:32 'Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.' 42:35 And Jesus said to him, 42:37 'Foxes have holes 42:39 and birds of the air have nests, 42:41 but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.' 42:45 Then He said to another, 'Follow Me.' 42:48 But he said, 42:49 'Lord, let me first go and bury my father.' 42:52 Jesus said to him, 42:54 'Let the dead bury their own dead, 42:58 but you go and preach the kingdom of God.' 43:00 And another one also said, 43:03 'Lord, I will follow You, 43:05 but let me first go and bid them farewell 43:08 who are at my house.' 43:11 But Jesus said to him, 43:13 'No one, having put his hand to the plow, 43:17 and looking back, 43:19 is fit for the kingdom of God.'" 43:20 Wow. 43:22 I have a friend and Marylin knows who he is, 43:26 who is going through this right now. 43:28 He's accepted the message. 43:30 He said, "You've taught me things 43:32 I had a suspicion about, 43:33 but I didn't know when we've covered 43:35 the mass of subjects." 43:37 But he said, before he starts going, 43:39 he needs to convince his wife and family to go with him. 43:45 And he's been going through a battle with them 43:47 where they said, you're trying to tear apart the family. 43:50 You know, they come from another denomination, 43:52 historical family lineage of this singular denomination. 43:57 And he said, 43:58 "I need to convince my wife and so forth to go with me." 44:01 I said, "No, you don't want to do that." 44:03 And that reminds me of Matthew 10:37-39. 44:09 I didn't say this to him 44:10 because I didn't want to discourage him. 44:11 It's kind of a strong verse. 44:13 Yeah, go ahead. 44:14 But it says, 44:15 "He who loves father or mother 44:17 more than Me is not worthy of Me. 44:19 And he who loves son or daughter more than Me 44:21 is not worthy of Me. 44:22 And he who does not take his cross 44:24 and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 44:27 He who finds his life will lose it, 44:30 and he who loses his life for My sake will find it." 44:32 Wow. 44:34 The one thing I told my friend was, 44:37 "You have to lead and set 44:40 the example for them to follow." 44:42 And he's a military guy like I was, 44:44 and I compared it to a general, 44:46 the generals on the White Horse, 44:48 they would lead and inspire the troops to follow them. 44:51 So I said, "If you want to inspire your family 44:53 to truly follow you, 44:55 you need to show them your heart, 44:57 and show them the church and the gospel." 45:00 And then they'll be impressed enough 45:02 to follow you, 45:03 but don't wait for them 45:05 because Satan's going to make sure 45:06 that they never go. 45:07 Absolutely, absolutely. 45:09 You know, it can be tough. 45:11 It can be tough when you have a close bond 45:14 with friends, family members, 45:15 and then God brings you this light. 45:17 And, you know, 45:20 Jesus never said that it was easy, 45:21 it wouldn't be easy, 45:22 but yet Jesus knows what's best for us. 45:25 And sometimes the toughest decision to make 45:26 is to follow Christ and His will 45:28 over even what our family is, 45:31 tells us or what is expected of us. 45:33 I had a friend years ago, I witnessed too. 45:35 He's my best friend. 45:36 And I'd share with him all these powerful truths 45:39 that I was learning. 45:40 And he became so convicted 45:41 that he went back home and he decided... 45:44 He was living with his parents at the time. 45:46 And we were both in our first year of college. 45:48 And I remember he said to me, he said, 45:50 "You know, I'm still so convicted. 45:51 I'm know my family's not going to like this, 45:54 but I'm just going to follow God. 45:55 I just feel convicted that is his truth." 45:57 And so I prayed for him 45:58 because I knew his parents and I knew his dad, 46:00 and his dad was very hardcore. 46:02 And so there came that day when his dad 46:05 gave him this big long list of tasks to do. 46:08 And it was on Saturday. 46:09 And my friend told him, 46:11 "Dad, you know, I feel convicted. 46:13 You know, I've recently learned that the biblical Sabbath 46:15 is Friday night sundown to Saturday night sundown. 46:17 And so during that 24-hour period, 46:18 Father, I don't want to do anything. 46:20 So if you could just, you know, 46:21 I can do it maybe on Sunday or do it one day this week." 46:24 And his dad got so infuriated with him, 46:26 because this happened week after week. 46:28 And so finally his dad kicked him out. 46:29 His own dad, his own dad said, "Get out of here." 46:32 And I couldn't... 46:34 It's been a while since I've talked to this friend, 46:35 but I think even still to this day, 46:37 his father has nothing to do with him because of his choice. 46:40 But yeah, I have to say 46:41 the Lord has just been working through this young man 46:44 because he loves his father, 46:45 he wants to have a relationship with his father, 46:47 but he recognizes that his relationship 46:50 with his Father is more important 46:52 than his relationship with his father. 46:54 And this is the concept you were just reading. 46:56 You know, what Jesus just said in Matthew 10:37-39, 47:00 he who loves his father and mother more than Me 47:02 is not worthy to Me or his son or his daughter. 47:04 Jesus isn't saying, you know, don't love your father, 47:06 don't love your mother, don't love your kids, 47:08 what He's saying is this relationship won't work 47:12 unless this relationship works. 47:14 And oftentimes, you know, 47:15 oftentimes this relationship 47:17 will cause a severing of relationship here. 47:21 And then there comes the real challenge. 47:22 Can you take the heat? 47:24 And are you willing to say, Father, 47:25 I don't know why this is happening, 47:26 but I trust you even though it seems this is unrepairable? 47:31 So I would say, Francine, we actually can attest to this. 47:36 When we left Michigan to go to Washington, 47:39 we left our family, 47:41 we left our friends, 47:42 we left everything we knew to a place, and I grew up... 47:46 I mean, I was born in New Jersey, 47:47 I grew up in the East Coast, and then we went to Michigan, 47:50 and so everything was there, everything that we loved, 47:54 everything that we knew, 47:56 but we had that calling because we serve God first. 48:00 Amen. 48:02 And even though we loved our family, 48:03 and we had really good connections. 48:06 It did sever. 48:07 It did sever, and it was hard. 48:10 And still today we talk about a little bit, 48:13 but the Lord blessed us 48:14 in other ways that we would have never seen it 48:17 if we had stayed. 48:18 That's right. That's right. 48:20 And so, you know, you need to take that leap. 48:23 You need to take that step forward 48:26 and the Lord will help you 48:27 as long as you're abiding in Christ. 48:29 Amen. Right. 48:30 And knowing what His will is. 48:32 And, you know, there's multiple ways 48:34 to test it and understand it, 48:36 but when the Lord impresses you, 48:38 you cannot deny it. 48:39 Amen. But it's hard. 48:41 I mean, it was a struggle for us 48:42 because we loved where we were. 48:44 I told you... 48:46 Lots of tears in between. That's right. 48:47 We built our dream home, 48:48 we didn't want to leave it after the three years. 48:50 Right. We left it all. 48:52 And that's where the focus came back for us 48:55 that the things of this world, it's just, it's a big anchor. 48:59 It is. It is. 49:01 That's where you have to trust in God. 49:03 I don't know if this is similar, 49:06 but kind of like a lot in his wife, you know, he said, 49:09 don't look back and she looked back. 49:10 Yes. 49:12 That's kind of like a materialistic thing. 49:14 You know, what am I leaving behind, 49:16 but we have to have faith and trust in God that, 49:20 you know, He's going to take care of us. 49:22 And those relationships that may be broken, 49:24 may be mended later on. 49:26 Amen. You know, God wants us. 49:29 He has to know 49:30 whether or not we're on His side or not. 49:32 And there are some determining factors 49:34 that categorize if a person is on His side. 49:37 And this is where our viewers at home 49:39 definitely need to tune in at this moment 49:41 because now I want to talk about 49:42 what are some of the determining factors 49:45 that categorize a person as being on God's side or not, 49:48 in other words, in the world 49:50 or being led by the Spirit of the Lord. 49:52 So why don't somebody read for us Matthew 7:21-23. 49:57 So it says in 21, 50:00 "Not everyone can say to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' 50:03 shall enter the kingdom of heaven, 50:05 but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 50:09 Many will say to Me in that day, 50:11 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, 50:16 cast out demons in Your name, 50:18 done many wonders in Your name?' 50:21 And then I will declare to them, 50:23 'I never knew you, 50:26 depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" 50:30 Wow, that's deep. 50:31 That's deep, 50:32 because He essentially just said, 50:34 there's people that call out to Me, 50:36 "Lord, Lord," you know, right? 50:37 There will be people 50:38 who will say to Him, Lord, Lord, 50:40 have we not done this and this and this, 50:41 and they start listing their Christian attributes. 50:43 You know, I was an elder in the church. 50:45 Lord, I was a deacon, I returned my tithe every week. 50:48 I helped that, you know, soup kitchen down the road, 50:50 I helped feed the poor. 50:51 So they're listing off 50:52 their Christian attributes, you know. 50:54 I've done this and I've done this, 50:55 and I've done this, but yet God knows the heart. 50:58 And so what did He give? 50:59 We got right to the heart of the issue. 51:00 He says, I don't know you, depart from Me, 51:02 you who practice lawlessness. 51:05 And that's the key there. 51:07 Notice at the top of that verse there in verse 21, 51:11 it says, but he who does the will of my Father, 51:14 which is in heaven. 51:15 But this is also interesting. 51:17 This is where a little bit of study 51:18 and little word search comes in. 51:19 But if you simply search, you know, will of God, 51:22 it will lead you to Psalm 40:8, 51:25 when determining what is God's will. 51:26 This is a good text to read here. 51:29 Psalm 40:8, the Psalmist writes, 51:31 "I delight to do Your will, O my God, 51:34 And Your law is within my heart." 51:38 If we're going to be on the Lord side, 51:40 and we're going to make sure 51:41 that we're not living in the world, 51:43 that means we need to be a commandment, 51:44 keeping people, honoring God's commandments. 51:47 And, you know again, I do not know you, 51:50 just to confirm this even more, Francine, 51:53 why don't you read 1 John 2:3-6. 51:57 So again, Christ just said, you know, depart from Me, 52:00 you who practice lawlessness, I do not know you. 52:03 And so the question is, how do we know God? 52:05 And we said, the will of God is to keep His law. 52:07 Notice what 1 John 2:3-6 says. 52:10 "Now by this we know that we know Him, 52:13 if we keep His commandments. 52:14 He who says, 'I know Him,' 52:17 and does not keep His commandments, 52:19 is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 52:22 But whoever keeps His word, 52:24 truly the love of God is perfect in him. 52:28 By this we know that we are in Him. 52:30 He who says he abides in Him ought himself 52:34 also to walk just as He walked." 52:36 That's pretty powerful. 52:38 You know, what you said in the beginning, 52:41 I did this and I did that, 52:43 basically you're just taking Jesus, 52:46 the only I am out of the picture. 52:49 That's right. And when... 52:51 And you know what's great about the Lord? 52:52 He'll let you. 52:54 He'll let you do it. 52:55 That's right. 52:56 Because He wants someone to partner with Him 53:00 to be a part of Him not to be, 53:03 you know, I want you to do this and, 53:06 and if you don't do this, it is... 53:07 If you want to do that, this is what's going to happen. 53:10 So it's, you know, 53:12 allowing Christ to be the part in you 53:16 that will guide you instead of, 53:18 I've done this, take the I out and say, 53:20 he's doing it in me. 53:22 You got it, man. You got it. 53:23 It all comes down that He must increase 53:25 and I must decrease. 53:26 So we have... 53:28 I'm looking at the time here, we have about four minutes. 53:29 I want to get into this last section, 53:30 because we're talking about being separate from the world, 53:33 but we got to get to these last three scriptures 53:35 of our study guide here. 53:36 And the question I'm asking here, 53:38 I think is a relevant one, 53:39 what benefits will come as a result in living for God 53:44 separate from the world? 53:45 There's someone at home that says right now, 53:46 "You know what, Ryan, I want to be separate from the world, 53:48 I want to live separate. 53:49 I want to trust God, 53:50 I don't even know what that means, 53:52 but you know what are the benefits 53:53 that if I follow God 53:55 and I trust Him and do His will? 53:56 What are these benefits?" 53:57 So, Marilyn, why don't you take Psalm 119:165? 54:01 And then, Eric, why don't you take John 8:32? 54:04 And then my brother, Jason, 54:07 why don't you take 1 Peter 1:22? 54:08 So we'll start with you, Marilyn. 54:09 Okay. 54:12 165? 54:14 Psalm 119:165. Okay. 54:16 "Great peace have those who love Your law, 54:19 and nothing causes them to stumble." 54:22 So if we follow the Lord, 54:24 and we are commandment keeping people, 54:26 and we're obedient to Him, 54:28 what does He promise us? 54:29 I'll give you peace. 54:30 Isn't that what the world is seeking? 54:32 Don't you hear more and more... 54:33 We live in a stressful world. 54:34 And I hear people say all the time, 54:36 oh, if I can only have peace, 54:37 God can provide that peace, right? 54:39 Amen. 54:40 All right, Brother Eric, John 8:32. 54:42 "And you shall know the truth, 54:43 and the truth shall make you free." 54:45 How many desire to be free here today? 54:48 Amen. Amen. 54:49 Everybody wants freedom, right? 54:50 And sometimes we feel like we're a slave to ourselves 54:53 into the world around us, but Christ says, 54:54 "Follow Me, accept My truth, and it will set you free." 54:58 All right, and then 1 Peter 1:22, brother. 55:01 "Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth 55:05 through the Spirit in sincere love of your brethren, 55:09 love one another fervently with a pure heart." 55:13 I love that. 55:14 God promises that we will have 55:15 a purified soul if we just follow Him. 55:19 He wants to purify us, He wants to cleanse us. 55:21 So we have about two minutes left, 55:22 any final thoughts 55:23 as we are gathering down to our final moments? 55:25 I think everything comes down to... 55:28 And it took me a long time to realize this, 55:30 sadly enough, everything comes down to love. 55:34 How much do you love God? That's right. 55:36 How much do you love your neighbor? 55:37 How much do you love your wife and your kids? 55:40 And that's really what it comes down to 55:41 because if I choose the world, 55:44 if I choose my career and make that my identity... 55:47 That's right. 55:48 Rather than making Christ my identity... 55:50 That's right. 55:51 There's going to be problems. 55:53 Absolutely. 55:54 You know, in Psalms 19:7 starting there it says, 55:57 it will convert the soul, 55:59 make wise and rejoice the heart 56:01 and great is your reward in heaven. 56:06 God just wants that relationship with us 56:08 for eternity. 56:10 And we don't want to separate ourselves from God. 56:13 I think to me that is His love petition. 56:17 I mean, there's so many benefits, 56:18 but He wants us. 56:19 I think, you know, it's all about relationships. 56:21 It is. 56:23 And, you know, you look at the Ten Commandments, 56:25 the first three are, you know, 56:27 you got to have a relationship with me first. 56:29 All right. 56:30 And then our brothers and sisters, 56:31 and the great one is that fourth commandment 56:34 that brings us all together, 56:35 so we can commune together in love. 56:37 I love that. I love that. 56:39 Thank you guys so much for joining us today. 56:40 I love you guys and appreciate all 56:42 that you've shared with us today. 56:44 And we thank you at home, 56:45 who have taken the time to be with us 56:47 during this Family Worship here at 3ABN. 56:50 And you know what? Jesus is coming soon. 56:52 And I want you to know at home, my friends, God loves you. 56:54 Jesus loves each and every one of us. 56:56 That's why I love the first verse in, 1 John 3. 56:59 It says, "Behold what manner of love 57:00 the Father has bestowed upon us, 57:02 that we should be called children of God!" 57:06 We are His children. 57:07 And therefore He says, I know what's best for you. 57:09 Trust Me, I will give you peace, 57:11 come to Me I will lift your burdens. 57:13 And so be not of the world, live in the world. 57:16 We have to for a short time, 57:17 but separate yourself 57:19 from the world to be in Christ. 57:21 Again, we thank you so much 57:23 for joining us here at 3ABN Family Worship. 57:25 And we just declare a blessing upon you 57:27 because we know that Jesus loves you. 57:30 And until next time, God bless you all. 57:32 We'll see you again. |
Revised 2021-06-10