1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,760 So good to spend today with you. I want to welcome all of our 2 00:00:02,760 --> 00:00:06,000 different locations, those of you watching online and those of 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:09,200 you who are part of our Inside Family Quick report. 4 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:12,800 Last week was Easter weekend. Many of you were joining me and 5 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:16,320 praying for 16,000 people to come to our services and more 6 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:18,520 people to hear the gospel than ever before in the history of 7 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:20,840 our church. And I'm pleased to report that 8 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:23,920 God heard our prayer. He did what we asked Him to do 9 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:27,240 and it took place at all of our locations. 10 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:30,920 I'm telling you that because listen, this is not about the 11 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:32,479 crossing. This is just about the fact that 12 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:34,880 God hears our prayers. And when you are praying to God 13 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:38,280 about people finding a relationship with God, He is not 14 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:40,800 the enemy that you are trying to convince to do the thing that 15 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:43,240 you want to do. He is your greatest advocate in 16 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:45,920 helping people come into an intimate personal relationship 17 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:49,000 with Jesus Christ. And if you are joining us again, 18 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:51,640 you came maybe for the first time or the first time in a long 19 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:53,920 time on Easter weekend and you came back. 20 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:57,160 You need to hear me say this. We are so very glad that you are 21 00:00:57,160 --> 00:00:58,280 here and we want to encourage you. 22 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:02,160 Swing by the new here booth day before you leave. 23 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:06,880 Today we are launching A5 week sermon series. 24 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:10,480 And to be honest with you, we are launching what I believe 25 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:15,080 will be the most contested season in our church is from a 26 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:16,840 preaching and teaching standpoint. 27 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:19,560 We're going to be spending five weeks on the family, then we're 28 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:22,200 going to spend three weeks on generosity, and then we're going 29 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:24,040 to spend 4 weeks on the Holy Spirit. 30 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:26,880 And if you want to know where the Holy Spirit loves to attack, 31 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:29,440 it is in those areas. It is in how we handle our 32 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:32,560 finances, whether or not we are attuned to the Holy Spirit and 33 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:36,040 what he wants us to do and how to handle things at home. 34 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:40,240 And we called this sermon series Lovers and Land Mines. 35 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:42,680 You picked it when you voted on the app. 36 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:45,760 And the reason we called it lovers and Land Mines is because 37 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:48,800 there are land mines all over our world. 38 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:52,480 There's land mines emotionally, spiritually, financially, 39 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:55,840 sexually. And stepping on them can be 40 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:58,360 disastrous. And I know that many of you know 41 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:02,080 all about that. But I believe that there is no 42 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:07,440 more field populated with land mines than when two people fall 43 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:13,040 in love and start a family. And this series was born out of 44 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:16,520 a desire to kind of take our whole church through premarital 45 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:18,960 counseling. I wish I could sit across the 46 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:21,720 table from every single one of you and walk through the land 47 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:27,120 mines that exist or will exist, and keep you from stepping on 48 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:29,680 them. Just so you know, we have an 49 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:32,720 incredible staff at all of our locations who will be a 50 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:35,680 fantastic resource for you if you find yourself, as we're 51 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:39,000 going through the series, needing somebody to talk through 52 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,120 some of the land mines you may have already stepped on. 53 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:44,920 And I want you to know they would love a chance to meet with 54 00:02:44,920 --> 00:02:48,320 you, but there might be others of you who you're in a season 55 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:50,840 where you're going. I think I need a little bit more 56 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:53,520 elevated help, some elevated coaching. 57 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:57,160 And if you find yourself with an issue that's maybe more serious 58 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,480 or more complicated, I want you to know that we have Vineco 59 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:03,640 Counseling Company. And if you want more information 60 00:03:03,640 --> 00:03:07,360 about that, it is in your app. It's always down at the very 61 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:10,280 bottom, but this week it'll be near the top of your For you 62 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:12,560 section. And if you're going, I could 63 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:15,280 probably use some coaching, some help that's a little bit more 64 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:18,680 intensive than what Clayton's giving on stage or what maybe 65 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:22,480 our pastors can provide. They are incredible people, 66 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:25,600 people that I would trust myself to, and you should have no 67 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:27,320 worries trusting yourself to them. 68 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:31,280 Now additionally to that or in addition to that, right now we 69 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:33,600 have a team of people here at our church working behind the 70 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:37,400 scenes to roll out an even better premarital counseling 71 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:40,040 program. And our plan is to certify a 72 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:43,400 majority of our staff so they will be more than qualified to 73 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:45,240 serve you even better in the future. 74 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:48,000 We are all in here at the Crossing. 75 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:53,640 We want to be in your corner. We love you, we love your 76 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:58,680 family, and we want to help you learn to trust and believe that 77 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:02,880 God's way is the best way in every area of your life, 78 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:06,720 including how to navigate family. 79 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:09,360 So let me give some disclaimers, OK? 80 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:13,760 No matter what stage of life you are in, as we are going through 81 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:18,720 this series, there will be challenging stuff for you if you 82 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:22,360 will allow it to challenge you. You might be going to Clayton. 83 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:23,800 I'm not in that season. Hear me. 84 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:28,760 There will always be either a wisdom for you to apply or a 85 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:33,440 wisdom for you to pass on. You will either need that tool 86 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:37,320 for yourself or God will allow you to use that tool to be a 87 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:40,120 blessing in somebody else's life. 88 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:42,240 And there are going to be some of you as we're going through 89 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:45,000 this series, that you're going to start praying for something 90 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:48,040 that God will not give you. You're going to start praying 91 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:52,800 for a time machine so you could go back in time and do it 92 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:54,920 differently. And you need to hear me say 93 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:58,120 this. God does not give time machines. 94 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:00,240 How many of you wish there's some areas in your life where 95 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:02,400 you had a time machine and you could just go back and not do 96 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:06,760 what you did preach. God does not give us time 97 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:12,480 machines, but He does give us the gift of repentance, and He 98 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:15,920 promises that His mercies are new every morning. 99 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:19,240 You might have dug yourself into a pretty big hole. 100 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:20,880 I have a really good news for you. 101 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:23,160 The Holy Spirit has a really big shovel. 102 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:30,520 OK, there's this obscure passage in the book of Joel of the 103 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:32,960 prophet. It's Joel chapter 2, verses 12 104 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:34,760 through 14. This is what He says to the 105 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:37,360 people even now, declares the Lord. 106 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:42,840 Return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping 107 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:46,840 and mourning. Rend your heart and not your 108 00:05:46,840 --> 00:05:48,840 garments. In other words, do the internal 109 00:05:48,840 --> 00:05:51,360 work. Don't just do this big spectacle 110 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:54,120 on the outside. Do something deep right here in 111 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:57,080 the heart. Return to the Lord your God, 112 00:05:57,520 --> 00:05:59,000 because what kind of God do we serve? 113 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:03,680 For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, 114 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:09,320 and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity. 115 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:16,360 Who knows, he may turn and relent and leave behind a 116 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:19,320 blessing. Joel is crying out to his 117 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:23,480 people. Get right with God. 118 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:26,720 Do what he says. Hear me. 119 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:29,200 God loves it when you turn to Him. 120 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:32,800 God loves it when you turn from sin. 121 00:06:33,280 --> 00:06:37,080 And look what God promises to do when we do that, when we turn to 122 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:43,280 Him and away from sin. Verse 25I, I will repay you for 123 00:06:43,280 --> 00:06:45,800 the years the locusts have eaten. 124 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:51,800 In other words, God will allow you to make up for time lost. 125 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:55,480 He's not going to give you a time machine, but he is saying I 126 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:59,480 will redeem the wasted years. I will undo the punishment of 127 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:03,360 sin. So as we get ready to go into 128 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:05,480 the series, I want to kind of give you a little bit of context 129 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:08,520 today. I'm it's going to be somewhat 130 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:09,880 depressing. Turn to your neighbor and say 131 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:13,680 depressing. OK, this is a 5 week series. 132 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:18,800 This one's a little depressing. There's some good stuff in 133 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:21,600 there, but you're going to feel like it's going to feel a little 134 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:24,400 chicken a little, it's going to feel a little the sky is 135 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:27,600 falling. OK, so let's just kind of talk 136 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:30,120 through land mines. Where are all these land mines 137 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:32,640 and why are there so many land mines? 138 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:37,800 Well, one, Satan wants to to destroy your marriage and your 139 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,800 family. John chapter 10, verse 10, 140 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:42,200 you've heard us talk about this all the time. 141 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:47,160 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 142 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:52,800 In other words, your marriage and your family, and for that 143 00:07:52,800 --> 00:08:00,240 matter your very life, have a very real and powerful enemy. 144 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:06,080 Real and powerful. Well, why does Satan attack the 145 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:07,240 family? I'm going to give you at least 146 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:10,880 three reasons. One, because there is no pain 147 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:16,600 like family pain. There is no pain like family 148 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:20,120 pain. Nothing can destroy, can destroy 149 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:27,440 a faith like problems in the family. 2 Research has caught up 150 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:30,920 to what the spiritual world has always known from the very 151 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:34,200 beginning. A strong family is the backbone 152 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:37,960 of a strong society. If Satan can destroy the family, 153 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:42,400 he can destroy a society. And if he can destroy a society, 154 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:46,440 then he can destroy a nation. I want to give a word of 155 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:53,760 caution, slash rebuke to those of you who are like all in 156 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:58,120 American patriots, and maybe you're a better American patriot 157 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:01,240 than you are a Christian. Can I just issue this 158 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:05,120 encouragement to you? One of the most patriotic things 159 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:07,160 you can do is raise a godly family. 160 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:16,200 Three, the spiritual world knows that the family is the primary 161 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:20,840 way that faith is passed on to the next generation. 162 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:27,360 So to those of you who are super upset at whatever generation 163 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:33,320 came after you, I want to remind you, you raised them. 164 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:39,000 So this might not be a them problem. 165 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:43,440 This might be a you problem. OK. 166 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:48,320 And I'm saying, I mean, OK, let me pause for just a second. 167 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:51,360 All right, here's what you need to know. 168 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:54,240 Everything we're going to do over this series is highly 169 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:55,520 spiritual. And it's not just going to be 170 00:09:55,520 --> 00:09:56,880 this series, it's going to be the next two. 171 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:01,120 And you need to know that this stuff is incredibly real. 172 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:03,120 And I am not trying to step on anybody's toes. 173 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:05,760 I'm not trying to be mean. I'm not trying to make you feel 174 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:08,200 bad. And I have this deep concern 175 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:11,440 going through the series that some of you who are not yet 176 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:14,840 spiritually qualified are going to start grabbing a hold of 177 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:17,640 promises that you're not ready to take a hold of. 178 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:20,640 And then others of you who are more than spiritually qualified 179 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:23,040 will be too passive to actually engage in them. 180 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:28,120 And I have this other burden, which is as you're going through 181 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:33,800 the series, you may feel, watch this, things get worse at home 182 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:38,720 and you'll be going, I'm going to church and I'm listening to 183 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:41,640 what he's saying and I'm in my word and things are getting 184 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:43,920 worse. And at home, I'm going to tell 185 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:47,720 you why, because Satan is attacking you because you are 186 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:51,120 trying to go into his territory that he's already claimed and 187 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:53,960 reclaim it. I'm not saying this as a martyr, 188 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:57,160 but you just need to know what it looks like in my world, every 189 00:10:57,160 --> 00:11:00,760 time it is Christmas or Easter, I just know that someone's going 190 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:04,040 to Chuck a grenade in my home. I don't know if that grenade is 191 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:06,920 going to show up in my marriage or in my parenting or at work. 192 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:10,560 I just know that when it means the most, there's going to be 193 00:11:10,560 --> 00:11:14,120 attack. Every time I do a family series, 194 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:19,960 every time I do a family series, I write that series in pain in 195 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:23,920 my own house. Now I've done it long enough 196 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:27,320 that I know to expect it, but the reason why I tell you that 197 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:29,880 you may be fighting more on your way to church. 198 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:31,920 Have you ever noticed that that sometimes you get into your best 199 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:37,360 fights on the way to church? Hear me, that's spiritual. 200 00:11:38,560 --> 00:11:42,400 If he can get you angry before you worship, you won't worship. 201 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:46,160 If he can get you so upset at your spouse that you can't hear 202 00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:49,000 the word of God, and then he will keep you from applying the 203 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:51,800 word of God and you'll walk out of church, justify that you 204 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:56,560 showed up for church and they didn't, or you came to church 205 00:11:56,560 --> 00:11:59,320 and you came away with a really clear message from God. 206 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:04,400 They're the problem. I need you to see this. 207 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:10,120 You are at war with an enemy who is real and powerful and takes 208 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:13,000 no days off. Satan knows that by attacking 209 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:16,720 the family he can get you to abandon the faith, destroy 210 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:20,520 society, and as a result the nation, and he can keep your 211 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:23,960 family from finding the life changing message of Jesus. 212 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:30,880 So gear up for this series. Second reason is that when you 213 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:40,720 step into your marriage, what marriage does is it is an idle 214 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:43,840 crusher. This is actually a good thing 215 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:47,680 that God sets up in your marriage because marriage and 216 00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:51,640 family are one of the ways in which God sanctifies us. 217 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:56,600 Sanctification is making us more like Jesus, and you thought you 218 00:12:56,600 --> 00:13:04,400 were pretty awesome until you got married and then your spouse 219 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:08,520 told you you're not. That's because your spouse is 220 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:12,800 starting to step on your idols. It is one of the blessings that 221 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:15,560 God gives to us to make us more like Him. 222 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:19,040 In order for us to become more like Him, the idols in our lives 223 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:20,960 have to be torn down and dealt with. 224 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:24,120 And dealing with idols is painful work. 225 00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:28,880 You see, marriage is a lot like money and power. 226 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:32,760 It is a magnifier. Let me explain. 227 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:37,120 Money doesn't change you, it magnifies you. 228 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:41,520 If you're a greedy person and you're poor, nobody notices. 229 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:47,080 If you're a greedy person of means, everyone knows. 230 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:53,600 If you're a generous person with very little and you come into 231 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:58,040 money, you coming into money will only magnify your impact. 232 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:03,080 If you are a selfish person with almost no influence, very few 233 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:06,920 people will be hurt by you. If you are a selfish person with 234 00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:11,960 lots of power and lots of influence, tons of people are 235 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:16,200 impacted. A person who desires to serve 236 00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:19,240 people and bless people, when they find themselves in a 237 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:22,840 position of power, their impact is magnified. 238 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:27,320 Money and power do not change you, they magnify you. 239 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:31,440 And the same is true in marriage. 240 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:37,120 When you're single with no kids, it's hard to tell how selfish 241 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:39,920 you really are because nobody cares. 242 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:44,480 You just get to do you all the time, but then all of a sudden 243 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:46,960 you find yourself married and you have kids and your 244 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:50,000 selfishness will be on full display. 245 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:55,680 Marriage magnifies you. There will be land mines 246 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:58,800 littered in almost every room of your house, and the people that 247 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:02,040 you love the most will step on them every single day. 248 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:05,840 If you're a control freak, maybe nobody really notices at work. 249 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:09,520 They don't see how deep you're crazy goes. 250 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:17,440 But you get married and you have kids and boom, landmines 251 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:22,800 everywhere. The problem is that in your 252 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:26,200 marriage and your parenting is that these pain points 253 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:32,440 associated with your sin, they're not to destroy you, but 254 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:37,360 to make you more like Jesus. Your marriage and your family 255 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:42,000 are tools that God uses to reveal the shortcomings in your 256 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:45,200 walk with Him. When was the last time when you 257 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:47,720 were dealing with an issue in your home? 258 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:51,320 You went, I think God is using this to make me more like Him. 259 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:57,840 I'm guessing about 0. Instead, you went, This person's 260 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:01,320 crazy. It's always them. 261 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:06,360 So when this happens in your home, you have two choices. 262 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:11,840 You can defend your sin and get mad at your family, or you can 263 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:15,280 repent of your sin and become more like Christ. 264 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:20,880 And if you choose to repent of your sin and become more like 265 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:25,280 Christ, you will become the person your family desperately 266 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:30,440 needs. Here are three common areas 267 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:34,400 where I see Satan at work in marriages and families. 268 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:37,040 I'm going to go by categories, so let me talk to the single 269 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:40,520 people for a second. Satan will get you to think that 270 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:44,720 your identity is tied to your relationship status, that you're 271 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:47,040 worth is tied to who you're with. 272 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:50,440 I just need you to know, I just need you to hear me say this. 273 00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:53,520 Jesus was single, so was the apostle Paul. 274 00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:56,080 And I would say that those two people are two of the most 275 00:16:56,080 --> 00:16:58,080 influential people who have ever walked planet earth. 276 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:01,880 So you can be one of the most impactful people on planet earth 277 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:03,480 and never settle down and get married. 278 00:17:04,079 --> 00:17:08,200 In other words, your ability to serve God is heightened in your 279 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:11,640 singleness. If God chooses to bless you with 280 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:14,720 a marriage, so be it. But being single is in and of 281 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:19,040 itself a blessing to those of you who don't have the gift of 282 00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:19,839 singleness. You're going. 283 00:17:19,839 --> 00:17:21,400 I need to get married. Great. 284 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:25,680 Satan gets you to spend all your time trying to find the right 285 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:28,160 person instead of becoming the right person. 286 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:32,680 You can either spend your time looking or growing, but you 287 00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:36,280 can't do both. What I would encourage you to do 288 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:39,720 is grow in such a way that other people come looking for you. 289 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:42,640 I've heard it said by what can I go? 290 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:44,600 Great single people, parents. OK, there we go. 291 00:17:46,360 --> 00:17:48,960 I've heard a lot of pastors say this, so I have zero clue who to 292 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:50,280 attribute it to, but it's really good. 293 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:53,040 It's really complicated sentence, but it's a really gold 294 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:54,560 sentence. You'll think about it throughout 295 00:17:54,560 --> 00:17:56,360 the week. Here's the question that a bunch 296 00:17:56,360 --> 00:18:01,000 of pastors have posed. Are you becoming the kind of 297 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:06,640 person that the kind of person you're looking for is looking 298 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:09,880 for? Are you on the process of 299 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:14,080 becoming the kind of person that the kind of person you're 300 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:17,040 looking for is actually looking for? 301 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:21,640 In other words, if you are a gift from God to your future 302 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:28,360 spouse, what kind of gift are you becoming to the dating and 303 00:18:28,360 --> 00:18:30,800 engaged community? This is going to be my spiciest 304 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:37,120 to take. I see two major landmines. 305 00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:41,200 Satan will get you to spend more time on the parties around your 306 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:43,880 wedding than in preparation for your marriage. 307 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:47,480 There's the engagement party, the wedding shower, the bachelor 308 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:50,040 party, The Bachelorette party, the rehearsal party, and the 309 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:53,400 reception. Tons of time and money are spent 310 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:55,960 on colors, flowers, videographers, invitations, DJs, 311 00:18:55,960 --> 00:19:00,240 menus, and almost no time is spent developing a game plan for 312 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:05,040 success in your marriage. It is like people are going out 313 00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:07,880 and buying a plane and never bothering to get a pilot's 314 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:10,520 license and then wondering why they crashed. 315 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:14,880 Here is my free advice. This is not in the Bible. 316 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:17,440 Turn to your neighbor. Say this is not in the Bible. 317 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:21,400 I don't want you guys putting this on anybody. 318 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:25,280 Don't even put this on Jesus. This is just Clayton's advice. 319 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:30,040 But it's good. You're one of the biggest 320 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:32,800 challenges that couples face, especially young couples. 321 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:36,520 You know, one of the number one things cited as a as a cause for 322 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:41,960 divorce, money problems. Watch how crafty Satan is. 323 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:46,080 I tell fathers to make this offer. 324 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:48,240 Here is the budget for your wedding. 325 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:51,840 Do whatever you want to do. If you want, do the wedding for 326 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:57,600 $5000 and take the rest and put a down payment on your house. 327 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:01,680 Or if you want, take the rest and put it in a retirement 328 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:05,040 account and leave it alone. Let me give you some stats to 329 00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:07,400 stress you out. The average wedding last year in 330 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:10,720 America was between 30 and $36,000. 331 00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:13,520 The average. So if you this is the first time 332 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:15,400 in your life you've ever wanted to be below average. 333 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:17,680 You're like, I want to get AD OK? 334 00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:21,720 I, I, we are not getting an A, we're getting AC minus on this. 335 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:23,760 OK, Can I just walk you through it? 336 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:28,360 In our region the average house is $170,000, which means if you 337 00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:30,880 were to put $30,000 on the down payment of your house, one, 338 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:33,000 you'd save yourself from PMI which is about 100 bucks a 339 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:37,040 month. Two, it would say save $200 a 340 00:20:37,120 --> 00:20:40,400 month or a month off of your house payment, which means 341 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:45,520 that's putting 2400 or that is putting $2400 a year back in 342 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:48,000 your bank account. Which means that over the life 343 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:51,600 of the loan it would give you back north of $70,000. 344 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:55,840 That is a 2X return and you just reduce the financial stress in 345 00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:59,760 your home. If you want you ready for this, 346 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:05,520 don't put it on the House, put it in a retirement account and 347 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:09,160 leave it alone until you're 65 and that $30,000 will give you a 348 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:13,840 53 X return and you'll retire with $1.6 million in the bank. 349 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:16,840 By saying no to the dress instead of yes. 350 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:22,360 I'm just telling you, I've done a lot of weddings. 351 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:26,080 I've done a listen, I love being a part of people's special days. 352 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:28,080 I'm doing almost 0 weddings this year. 353 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:29,600 I love being a part of those special days. 354 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:33,120 And I want you to know I've been in weddings in my office that 355 00:21:33,120 --> 00:21:35,040 were just two people and their parents, and they were 356 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:37,720 beautiful. And I have been on top of a 357 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:41,480 private mountain in Aspen, Co doing a wedding. 358 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:46,200 I've seen the extremes. And I want you to know neither 359 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:48,240 one of them is more guaranteed for success. 360 00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:52,240 It will have everything to do with who they become in that 361 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:55,280 marriage. Spend the time on becoming who 362 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:57,840 you need to be. So in other words, regardless of 363 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:00,840 whether or not you overspend on the wedding, make sure you 364 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:05,120 overspend on your marriage. Do intensives, read books, 365 00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:08,600 attend retreats, get guides to help you navigate all aspects of 366 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:13,400 your marriage, whether whatever you don't talk through, whatever 367 00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:16,800 you don't talk through before your marriage, you will likely 368 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:23,080 fight about in your marriage. Are we OK? 369 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:28,160 Someone was going time machine, time machine, time machine, time 370 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:32,800 machine, OK married people. Here are two landmines that I 371 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:36,760 see over and over again. The 1st is that Satan gets you 372 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:38,720 to think that you married the wrong person. 373 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:43,560 After the wedding dress is hung in the closet, the thank you's 374 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:46,360 have been sent and life starts to get normal. 375 00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:51,840 It starts to get hard. You shifted from pulling off a 376 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:55,480 wedding to trying to pull off a marriage and there will be all 377 00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:59,160 kinds of problems and challenges to navigate and Satan will get 378 00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:02,360 you to think that they are the problem. 379 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:07,400 You married the wrong person and you'll spend all your time 380 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:10,040 trying to talk yourself through marrying the wrong person 381 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:13,880 instead of you trying to become the right person. 382 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:25,440 How often in your marriage do you go I'm the problem, own your 383 00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:28,960 part? Or is it always your spouse 384 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:33,040 who's the problem? And just because they don't, 385 00:23:33,120 --> 00:23:36,240 just because they have major flaws, doesn't mean that you 386 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:40,000 don't have any. Hear me? 387 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:45,920 Your wedding vows were a declaration of war against your 388 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:49,400 feelings. Your vows were commitments, 389 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:54,680 promises about how about who you were going to be in the 390 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:58,120 marriage. Remember the lines for richer or 391 00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:04,880 for poorer, in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow. 392 00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:10,800 You were saying regardless of the situation, you can count on 393 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:15,680 me. My word is good, and with Christ 394 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:20,760 as my example and my strength, I'm going to keep it. 395 00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:25,440 Imagine what would happen if that is who walked into your 396 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:28,200 marriage when you got home from church today. 397 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:32,000 The second area where I see Satan at work inside of 398 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:36,920 marriages is that when trouble comes, he gets you to fight with 399 00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:41,320 the wrong weapons. Here's a couple of the weapons. 400 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:45,080 When trouble comes knocking, we're going to pull out the 401 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:48,880 weapon of volume. We're just going to get loud, 402 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:52,080 really, really loud. And when I say it like that, it 403 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:56,960 sounds stupid, but a lot of you have done it. 404 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:02,400 I know what this problem needs me to yell louder. 405 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:07,040 And can I just ask you, how often has that ever worked? 406 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:11,320 We don't even like circle back and go, hey, has yelling really 407 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:15,160 improved our marriage? Has screaming just magnified in 408 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:19,560 a positive way? My parenting, Nobody can point 409 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:20,120 to it. Oh, yeah. 410 00:25:20,120 --> 00:25:23,320 When we started yelling, things really started going the right 411 00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:26,600 way. We don't even evaluate whether 412 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:28,560 or not the weapon we're using is the right weapon. 413 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:32,120 And so guess what? Our weapon becomes a landmine. 414 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:35,880 How many of you were going? Yeah, everything's going better 415 00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:37,400 because we just. We just made a commitment. 416 00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:39,760 I looked at her and I go, babe, let's yell more. 417 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:45,680 Look what Proverbs 15 one says. A gentle answer turns away 418 00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:49,000 wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. 419 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:54,840 Another weapon that couples love to use when trouble shows up in 420 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:58,680 their marriage that's also from Satan is the weapon of 421 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:02,320 withholding. They withhold their words. 422 00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:04,800 They withhold their emotional connection. 423 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:09,800 They withhold sex. They're choosing to starve their 424 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:14,320 spouse. How many couples problems have 425 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:19,920 ever been solved by silence? How many challenges have been 426 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:22,120 solved by you know what, let's just stop connecting 427 00:26:22,120 --> 00:26:25,520 emotionally. How many problems have been 428 00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:29,880 solved by not having sex? Can I show you how crafty Satan 429 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:32,000 is? First Corinthians Chapter 7, 430 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:38,720 verse 5 Do not deprive each other, except perhaps by mutual 431 00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:41,280 consent. In other words, hey, do we both 432 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:43,760 want to not have sex like that would be a question. 433 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:47,200 You'd have mutual consent, which I'm guessing most of you haven't 434 00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:51,600 had that conversation. How about we both stop so that 435 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:53,280 we we can devote ourselves to prayer. 436 00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:57,120 This is a 2 parter babe. I'd like us to dial down the 437 00:26:57,120 --> 00:27:00,200 amount of sex that we have in our home so we can pray more. 438 00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:06,200 Said almost no Christian ever. The wives are like, oh, we're 439 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:11,240 supposed to pray? Yeah, then watch this, then 440 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:15,800 Satan watch, then come together again so that Satan will not 441 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:18,080 tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 442 00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:22,760 Do you see this When you are depriving each other sexually, 443 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:26,760 you are giving Satan another foothold in your life. 444 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:32,800 Do you see how crazy this is? In your pain of navigating the 445 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:37,840 landmines of life, Satan convinces you to use a tool that 446 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:40,720 gives him more access and power in your home. 447 00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:47,200 To those of you who struggle with volume, this is a 448 00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:51,080 self-control issue. In the moment you are not able 449 00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:56,240 to temper yourself, calm yourself, steel yourself, and so 450 00:27:56,240 --> 00:28:00,160 you're prone to being angry and saying things you regret. 451 00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:05,480 This is a self-control issue. People who withhold is 452 00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:09,800 premeditated. You're trying to find a way to 453 00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:15,400 hurt your spouse. This is a special kind of evil 454 00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:20,240 because you're not trying to get even, you're trying to punish. 455 00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:26,520 And the sad thing is, none of us need trainings in these weapons. 456 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:30,280 We are all proficient at day one. 457 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:34,440 They are as natural as our flesh and our sin. 458 00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:38,560 When I've counseled people, this is one of the questions I asked 459 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:40,840 to try and get them to get perspective. 460 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:46,960 How would you feel if you saw someone doing to this this to 461 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:53,000 your son or your daughter? How would you feel watching 462 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:57,360 somebody yell at your daughter and fear washed across her face 463 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:02,320 immediately? You see these couples go, Oh my 464 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:06,280 goodness, I would want to go hold that emotion. 465 00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:13,720 How would you feel if somebody that you knew that you loved was 466 00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:17,280 being withheld from? You looked at your son or your 467 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:20,840 daughter and you saw their spouse withholding from them to 468 00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:25,840 punish, intentionally being cruel, choosing not to serve. 469 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:32,680 They are a daughter and they are a son to God our Father. 470 00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:37,720 Have you ever thought that the way you treat your spouse in 471 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:40,840 your home is an act of worship to God? 472 00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:45,680 Here's the good news. Depressing part over. 473 00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:49,400 The good news is that Jesus offers a better way. 474 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:53,720 The rest of the verse in John 1010 is this. 475 00:29:53,720 --> 00:29:56,120 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 476 00:29:56,680 --> 00:30:00,720 But I have come that they may have life and have it to the 477 00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:03,240 full. That's where we get the phrase 478 00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:10,000 God's way is the best way. And Jesus has a plan and He has 479 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:15,680 the power for you and I to live a full and abundant life. 480 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:23,280 What that means is that your worst days in your marriage can 481 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:27,200 be behind you and your very best days ahead. 482 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:32,840 That means that your worst days of parenting may be behind you, 483 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:36,120 and your best days could be ahead. 484 00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:40,040 Hear me? There may be land mines 485 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:46,360 everywhere, but you don't have to step on them if Jesus is your 486 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:50,240 guide. And when you see him through his 487 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:53,800 power and his strength, you can remove them. 488 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:56,400 And I hope you'll start doing that. 489 00:30:56,640 --> 00:30:58,240 We're moving to a time of decision. 490 00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:07,280 To those of you here today and watching online who don't yet 491 00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:10,200 have an intimate personal relationship with Jesus, I want 492 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:14,280 to be very clear to you. You cannot have a godly home 493 00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:16,920 until Jesus is the leader of your home. 494 00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:20,600 And Jesus will not be the leader of your home until he is the 495 00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:25,320 leader of your life. You cannot avoid the land mines 496 00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:29,760 if Jesus is not your guide. You can't remove them if Jesus 497 00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:34,720 is not your strength. You cannot recognize them if he 498 00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:40,080 is not your wisdom. You cannot disarm them if he is 499 00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:46,240 not your teacher. So if you're here today and 500 00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:49,280 you've never started an intimate personal relationship with Jesus 501 00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:54,600 Christ, you are not giving your family the spouse or the father 502 00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:57,920 or the OR the mother that they desperately need. 503 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:02,520 And so today, maybe one of the best things you could do for the 504 00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:05,680 future generations that will come after you as you start a 505 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:09,320 path to getting right with God. And in just a few moments, the 506 00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:11,200 people around you are going to stand and sing and some of them 507 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:12,440 are going to come to the steps and pray. 508 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:15,880 And I want to encourage you to walk right over there underneath 509 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:18,680 that screen next to the baptistry and go. 510 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:21,320 I need to start asking some of the questions that have been 511 00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:23,840 holding me back to the rest of you in the room. 512 00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:26,880 To those of you who know Jesus, I'm going to kind of get paint 513 00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:28,960 with a really wide breast for just a second. 514 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:32,040 Maybe not all of these are going to hit you, but some of these 515 00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:34,080 will hit you. Maybe just one of these will hit 516 00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:37,080 you. Is there something in your life 517 00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:40,760 right now that is being magnified that you don't want 518 00:32:40,760 --> 00:32:45,240 magnified anymore? The Bible clearly teaches that 519 00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:52,520 you reap what you sow, so maybe today, through God's help, you 520 00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:58,560 will stop sowing into that area. You're tired of all the anger in 521 00:32:58,560 --> 00:33:01,120 your house and yet you keep sowing words of hate. 522 00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:05,840 You keep using volume. You want your family to be warm 523 00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:08,360 and cozy, and yet you keep withholding. 524 00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:11,280 Maybe today you'd go. You know what? 525 00:33:11,280 --> 00:33:13,160 This is an area where I've been sowing for too long. 526 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:15,360 You listen. You can sow grass and you can 527 00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:19,200 sow weeds, but if you sow weeds, you can't get mad at the yard. 528 00:33:21,120 --> 00:33:23,640 You hear me? Some of you need to go. 529 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:25,200 You know what? I've been sowing into this and I 530 00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:28,120 need to stop. Maybe for some of you today, 531 00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:31,840 there's a weapon that needs to be laid down, A weapon that 532 00:33:31,840 --> 00:33:34,160 you've been using your whole life and you've justified it. 533 00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:37,080 You've justified it because of how you were raised and you've 534 00:33:37,080 --> 00:33:40,200 justified it because of how tough your job is and you you've 535 00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:41,800 done it because of how things are happening. 536 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:44,200 I'm just saying if you're using the wrong weapon, things will 537 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:47,000 never get better. I don't care how many excuses 538 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:49,600 you wrap around it. The wrong weapon will never 539 00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:51,360 bring about the right conclusion. 540 00:33:53,080 --> 00:33:55,120 Is there a weapon that needs to be laid down? 541 00:33:55,960 --> 00:33:58,240 A sin that needs to be repented of? 542 00:33:59,240 --> 00:34:02,920 And if for some reason none of those two things apply to you, 543 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:11,159 that is a scary self-righteous position for you to put yourself 544 00:34:11,159 --> 00:34:15,840 in, which means that you may have a hard heart spiritually. 545 00:34:17,639 --> 00:34:20,320 And that means that maybe you need to start repenting and 546 00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:22,400 going. God reveal the things in my life 547 00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:26,239 that I'm not doing or that I'm doing that are causing harm. 548 00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:32,719 And at the very least, at the very least, would you use this 549 00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:39,920 time to pray over your spouse and pray, pray over your kids? 550 00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:44,520 One of the consistent things that I do, you'll hear this in 551 00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:49,000 the one of the later series is I pray over my kids future spouse 552 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:53,760 six days a week. I don't know who they are. 553 00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:57,760 They could be in this room. Pencil boys like older women. 554 00:34:57,760 --> 00:35:01,200 So, I mean, my boys are in junior high, you just graduated 555 00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:02,560 from college. Be on the lookout. 556 00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:06,040 They're going to have a good credit score and they want to 557 00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:08,640 put the money towards retirement and get married in my office. 558 00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:16,120 Can I just say this to you, of all the regrets I have as a 559 00:35:16,120 --> 00:35:18,760 father and as a grandfather, can I just tell you one of the 560 00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:22,080 regrets I do not have the prayers I have prayed over them. 561 00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:24,600 Would you use this time to do that? 562 00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:27,000 Would you stand with me? Heavenly Father, you've been 563 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:31,080 great and gracious to us. Thank God as we go into the 564 00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:33,120 series, truthfully, I'm just nervous. 565 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:36,400 I know that there's just a lot of landmines and there's some 566 00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:39,360 that people are going to step on today after the service and all 567 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:41,600 throughout the week. There's me some people that are 568 00:35:41,600 --> 00:35:43,160 here this week and gone next week. 569 00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:44,920 They're just going to get blown up by stuff. 570 00:35:45,720 --> 00:35:47,640 But God, I'm asking that you just right now put a hedge of 571 00:35:47,640 --> 00:35:51,320 protection over our church during this series, Not just as 572 00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:53,960 the church, but and not just the body, but the individuals that 573 00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:58,400 are here, the guy you'd begin to do something significant and 574 00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:01,600 mighty in their life that would change things for the days 575 00:36:01,600 --> 00:36:03,240 ahead. And your name I pray. 576 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:03,800 Amen.