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Well, we're going back to almost
the very, very beginning today. 

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We're going to be in Genesis 
chapter 3. 

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It's our second step in the 
pursuit of a life of holiness. 

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We all know we're supposed to 
live a holy life as Christians, 

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but most of us wouldn't say my 
life is very holy. 

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But today, today the whole 
message centres around a phrase 

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that gets repeated a lot in 
church culture, and it is this 

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Guard your heart. 
How many of you have said that 

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before? 
It's a show of hands. 

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How many of y'all have heard 
that before, right? 

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Guard your heart is something 
that gets said a lot. 

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And if you've gone to church for
any length of time, you're going

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to hear it. 
Parents say to teenagers, youth 

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pastor say it's teenagers 
pastor. 

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Satan sermons, friends Satan 
conversations sometimes. 

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Somewhere along the way, though,
I think guard your heart became 

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one of those phrases that 
everybody knows and almost 

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nobody questions. 
If you ever seen like if if you 

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say a word enough times, it 
starts to lose its meaning. 

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It doesn't even sound real. 
It's like, give it to God. 

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OK, well, guard your heart. 
What does it mean? 

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What does it actually mean to 
guard your heart? 

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That's what we're going to be 
looking at today because I think

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that a lot of us have 
misunderstood what it means at 

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times. 
And I think this is actually 

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central if you want to pursue a 
life of holiness. 

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For some people, guarding their 
heart has become an excuse to 

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keep their distance from people.
It's become a reason to avoid 

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difficult relationships, hard 
conversations, or uncomfortable 

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situations or anybody who might 
challenge them. 

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We justify it by building walls,
and sometimes we use it to 

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explain why we stay uninvolved 
or away from anybody who might 

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be different from us. 
I guess you could say we use it 

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to protect ourselves from the 
messiness that comes with 

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loving, real people. 
But I would like to ask you a 

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question before we enter into 
the scripture today. 

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If we are only supposed to be 
around places that are 

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completely safe or completely 
comfortable or completely set up

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to help us prosper, why would we
need to guard our heart at all? 

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If God wants you in a place 
where everything is tailor made 

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and set so that you have no 
challenges, no obstructions, 

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nothing to overcome, why would 
His Word even tell you to guard 

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your heart? 
For me, if there's no danger and

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no deception in the world, if 
there's no temptations or no 

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risks in the world, what are we 
expecting to guard ourselves 

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from? 
To drive this home? 

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I want to share something from 
my own life, which is this. 

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I am allergic to bees. 
I know I held it back for so 

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long. 
Scandal. 

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Listen, though, when I was a 
kid, I got stung and it was a 

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big deal. 
I was young enough that I don't 

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remember it super well. 
I remember like this is 

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dramatic. 
I, I used to be dramatic. 

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So I please save that for the 
jokes. 

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I, I remember screaming. 
I remember like a panicked voice

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when my mom was speaking. 
I remember like glimpses of the 

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hospital like from this bee 
sting. 

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And then I remember as I got a 
little bit older, we went to go 

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and we we went to visit my 
family down in the Houston area 

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of Texas. 
And I cannot remember if I was 

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trying to be Batman or Indiana 
Jones. 

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All I know is I had a jump rope 
and there was a wooden fence and

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I was trying to sling it and get
it stuck so that it was like a 

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grappling hook so I could climb 
like against the fence. 

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And apparently I had really good
aim. 

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The the problem is, what it hit 
was a hornet's nest on the other

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side of the fence, right? 
So of course I remember screams,

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I remember Benadryl. 
You don't remember a lot after 

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Benadryl, but you remember the 
stuff that leads up to it, 

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right? 
Here's the thing. 

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I've been stung a few times 
throughout life, but it doesn't 

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always hit me the same way. 
So I'm obviously not allergic to

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every single stinging insect, 
but I really don't know the 

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rhyme or reason of what I am 
allergic to. 

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I know this though, I used to 
say bees are my kryptonite. 

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So if I saw a bee buddy I was 
running, which is crazy because 

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have you ever seen me run? 
OK, so I would run just in case 

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it was bad for me. 
I was scared of it. 

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I had been indoctrinated by 
myself that this is dangerous 

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and I need to be away from it. 
However, in 2022 my family and I

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took a quick trip down to 
Williamsburg, VA. 

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We were looking at the Colonial 
Williamsburg area, very 

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beautiful, lots of flowers, and 
I want to show you this picture 

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of a bee I got. 
Look at that. 

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Look how close up I am to that 
bee, right? 

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I'm telling y'all that I am. 
This is my last Sunday. 

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I'm going to work for National 
Geographic. 

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It is a little zoomed in, but 
not by a lot. 

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I got up in that grill, man. 
I I was This bee was busy, OK, 

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He was preoccupied. 
She whatever. 

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I don't know. 
How did I go from being somebody

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who ran away from bees to in 
2022, getting up there and 

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taking pictures? 
I took other pictures of bees 

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since, too, because I think it's
so cool. 

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It's like I'm fascinated with 
getting close to them now 

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because for so long I was 
fascinated with all the ways to 

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be away from them. 
Well, one year before this, in 

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2021, good friends of mine, Mr. 
Jerry Morris and his wife 

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Christine, invited me over to 
the house. 

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They, they have bees at their 
house on purpose. 

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They they make honey and really 
good honey, by the way. 

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And, and they invited me over to
see if I would help relocate a 

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new queen into the hive. 
And my heart said no. 

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My pride probably said, yeah, 
I'll do it. 

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Here's the thing. 
Jerry knows that I'm allergic to

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bees. 
He wanted to help me overcome my

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fear of it. 
So next slide, please. 

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I suited up. 
They happen to have an extra 

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suit, right? 
I look real professional there, 

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don't I? 
Unless you see how Jerry's 

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looking at me in the background 
of that picture. 

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So with my family there, my 
wife, my kids, another family in

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the church, we were just all 
there and we were relocating the

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queen. 
We were seeing a little bit 

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about how the honey's produced 
all that stuff. 

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It was a really cool day. 
And I'm just, I'm telling you 

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that the way that I felt while I
was there, my adrenaline was up 

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more than any roller coaster at 
Busch Gardens. 

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Because they're, I mean, if 
you've ever been around bees 

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that are all flying, it's like 
the air is electric. 

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I mean, you don't really know 
where they're coming from. 

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They're all small. 
I'd look down and I could see 

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them like crawl on my arms 
sometimes and things like that 

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night. 
I know there's ways to make them

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a little more docile. 
And I've always heard like 

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they're more scared of you. 
They're not, They're not. 

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But they can be unbothered by 
you. 

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I was scared, but the longer I 
stood there and helped with the 

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process, the more that my 
anxiety went down and eventually

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everything was successful. 
Relocated the queen. 

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I don't wish you could have just
relocated herself, but drama, 

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she's the queen. 
She gets what she wants. 

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But at the end of it, as I took 
the suit off and everything, I 

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thought, man, I did something 
that was scary to me. 

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And do you see that box back 
there? 

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Like that's kind of held up with
the screen. 

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It's actually a trophy that I've
got at the house. 

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And now Jerry wrote on it for 
me, wrote the date. 

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So the day that that we 
accomplished this together and 

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that I overcome, overcame a 
fear. 

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It's really cool. 
I'll never get rid of it. 

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It's got honeycomb inside of it,
remnants of what we did. 

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And it is a constant reminder of
something that I overcame. 

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Now let me ask you something 
before we move on and put 

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scriptures up there. 
Why would anybody wear a 

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beekeeper suit if they weren't 
going to walk into the middle of

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bees? 
It exists so that I could be 

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guarded while walking into an 
area that could be dangerous. 

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Why? 
Because there's purpose in an 

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area that can be dangerous. 
And Christians, we're all called

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to get out there where it's 
dangerous. 

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It's the Great Commission. 
We are out there with people 

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that belong to the world or 
people that have sold out to the

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enemy. 
We've been given this gift of a 

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fresh chance and we hoard it for
ourselves. 

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But we are supposed to be out 
there making a difference, being

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salt and light in the world. 
I'll never forget that day. 

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And because of it, now I take 
pictures of bees and make you 

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look at them. 
What I discovered is there's a 

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difference between being exposed
and unprotected, and there's a 

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big difference there. 
A lot of us are afraid of being 

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exposed to something that's 
dangerous because we feel like 

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we'll be unprotected. 
I was completely protected even 

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while I was amongst my 
kryptonite. 

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That day was pretty memorable 
for me. 

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I didn't change the hive. 
The suit changed the way that I 

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entered the area around the hive
though, right? 

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So when you guard your heart, 
you can enter into areas you 

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would have normally avoided and 
still know that you are 

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protected because you're 
entering into it with the right 

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heart. 
Guys, there's a lot of things in

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this world that we want to 
accomplish for the Kingdom. 

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Most of us don't want to do the 
hard work of making sure that 

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what's inside here is driving 
the engine the right way. 

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So think about this. 
Daniel lived in Babylon, Joseph 

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lived in Egypt, Esther lived in 
Persia. 

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The disciples lived under Rome. 
We live under Christian radio, 

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Christian clothing lines, 
Christian movies and The Chosen.

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And I'm not bashing any of those
things. 

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I'm glad we've got them. 
Does it make us a little scared 

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to get out there in the world 
where we need to be to make a 

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difference? 
Why would I go and do that when 

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the last season of The Chosen is
coming out? 

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You know that's not really 
Jesus, right? 

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A lot of Christians, if they're 
being honest, and I love The 

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Chosen by the way, I enjoy 
watching it. 

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A lot of Christians, when they 
picture Jesus, they start to 

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picture Jonathan, who plays him 
on The Chosen. 

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Listen, Christians were called 
to remain faithful in the middle

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of environments that are 
constantly challenging their 

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faithfulness. 
If you're never somewhere in a 

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conversation or an atmosphere 
that challenges your beliefs, 

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you might have insulated 
yourself. 

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But I want to take us all the 
way back to the beginning and 

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see what it means to guard our 
hearts. 

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If you are there around Genesis,
we're in Genesis chapter 3. 

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Creation has happened. 
We're right here at original sin

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starting in verse one. 
Here's what it says. 

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It says the serpent was the 
shrewdest of all the wild 

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animals that the Lord God had 
made. 

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One day he asked the woman, did 
God really say you must not eat 

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the fruit of any of the trees in
the garden? 

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She said of course we may eat 
fruit from the trees in the 

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garden. 
She said it's only the fruit 

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from the tree in the middle of 
the garden that we are not 

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allowed to eat. 
God said you must not eat it or 

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even touch it. 
If you do, you will die. 

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And the serpent said to the 
woman, you won't die. 

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God knows that your eyes will be
opened as soon as you eat it, 

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and you will be like God, 
knowing both good and evil. 

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Well, the woman was convinced. 
It says in verse 6 she saw that 

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the tree was beautiful and it's 
fruit looked delicious and she 

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wanted the wisdom it would give 
her. 

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So she took some of the fruit 
and ate it and then she gave 

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some to her husband who was with
her and he ate it too. 

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At that moment their eyes were 
open and they suddenly felt 

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shame at their nakedness, so 
they sewed fig leaves together 

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to cover themselves. 
Out of all the questions we ask,

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and we ask a lot of questions 
when we read through this, if 

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Adam was with her, why didn't he
do something? 

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00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:21,680
You ever hear that question 
before, right? 

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How about why did she do it in 
the first place? 

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Why didn't she just say no? 
This is why you don't talk to 

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strangers, guys. 
Have you ever wondered like man,

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what would have happened if she 
ate both the fruit? 

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00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:36,440
Well, that probably would have 
been awful because she would 

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have had eternal life in this 
fallen, sinful way. 

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So God and his goodness kicked 
them out eventually. 

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00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:45,560
Here's a question that I've 
never asked before this sermon 

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00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:49,240
study. 
Why didn't the serpent touch the

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fruit? 
Why didn't the serpent get it 

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00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:55,520
himself? 
I don't think he could have, but

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00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:57,840
I wonder about it. 
Well, I asked my wife and she 

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said because he didn't have any 
arms. 

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00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:08,600
Thank you. 
Why didn't he get the fruit and 

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bring it to Eve and say, here's 
some fruit, eat this. 

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That also would have been 
deception, wouldn't it? 

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Here's why. 
It was a greater win for him, 

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00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:21,760
not to get her to do the wrong 
thing, but to think the wrong 

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00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:24,480
thing. 
So what he had to do first was 

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00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:27,080
get inside of her thoughts, 
inside of the Jewish thought of 

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00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:30,400
what your heart is, your mind, 
your will, your emotions, your, 

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00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:34,280
your center of being, and get 
her to have some doubt. 

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00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:39,040
That serpent never climbed over 
the tree and forced her hand. 

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00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:42,120
He never dropped that fruit into
her mouth. 

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00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:45,560
Before there was ever action in 
Eve's life, there was a 

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00:12:45,560 --> 00:12:48,160
conversation, and before there 
was ever a bite, there was a 

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00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:50,920
question in her mind. 
Before there was ever 

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00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:53,840
disobedience to God, there was 
an idea that got introduced into

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00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:57,040
her heart. 
Most of us have been taught to 

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focus on the fruit in this 
story, but the fruit wasn't the 

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00:12:59,960 --> 00:13:02,320
real battle. 
By the time Eve reached for the 

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00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:04,920
fruit, something had already 
happened inside of her. 

254
00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:07,640
The fruit was a result of 
something sinful that had 

255
00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:09,960
already happened here. 
A seed of doubt had been 

256
00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:12,560
planted. 
And so the enemy didn't begin by

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00:13:12,560 --> 00:13:15,720
attacking her behaviour. 
He began by influencing what 

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00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:19,000
entered her heart. 
And This is why Genesis 3 is 

259
00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:20,640
actually one of the most 
important scriptures in the 

260
00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:23,400
whole Bible when it comes to 
understanding holiness. 

261
00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:28,800
The first temptation was not 
about an appetite or desire 

262
00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:31,360
even. 
It was about influence. 

263
00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:35,680
I remember my second time 
visiting this church back in 

264
00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:39,160
2004, Pastor Tom, who was the 
pastor at the time, he pulled me

265
00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:42,560
to the side and I was a ADJ at 
the time. 

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00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:45,480
And he said, hey, what you do, 
it sounds like you have a lot of

267
00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:47,960
influence. 
And I said I wouldn't go that 

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00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:49,920
far. 
And he said, well, he said John 

269
00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:52,960
Maxwell, if you ever read a John
Maxwell book, he said John 

270
00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:55,440
Maxwell says all leadership is, 
is influence. 

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00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:57,400
Whatever influence you do have, 
use it. 

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00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:00,240
Well, I was like, nice to meet 
you too. 

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00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:02,520
Thanks for putting all that 
pressure on me. 

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00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:05,600
He's correct. 
Think about it, just for a 

275
00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:06,640
moment. 
Think about whoever you have 

276
00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:11,760
influence on. 
Kids, friends, family members or

277
00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:13,600
Co workers, whatever. 
Think about the people you've 

278
00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:17,440
got influence with. 
It's a responsibility and John 

279
00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:21,840
Maxwell calls it leadership. 
Notice how settled the serpent 

280
00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:23,760
was here. 
He didn't start by telling Eve 

281
00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:27,800
to reject God. 
He begins by asking a question 

282
00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:30,960
about God. 
He doesn't start with 

283
00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:35,680
challenging her to rebel, he 
just starts by confusing her and

284
00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:38,840
distorting the truth. 
Anytime we're in a conversation 

285
00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:43,040
with someone or ourselves and we
feel confused, it's enough to 

286
00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:44,880
make us feel unsafe or 
unguarded. 

287
00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:47,280
And that's why deception is so 
dangerous, isn't it? 

288
00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:49,400
Because if deception looked 
obviously evil every time, 

289
00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:53,120
nobody would get deceived. 
It normally arrives dressed up 

290
00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:57,600
as wisdom or insight or freedom 
or self discovery or even worse,

291
00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:00,840
common sense. 
Think the phrase guard your 

292
00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:02,680
heart matters a lot more than we
realize. 

293
00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:06,680
Remember as we move forward 
today, OK, that the heart is not

294
00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:09,360
just a place of emotions, it's 
the Control Center of a person. 

295
00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:12,640
It is where all of your beliefs 
and desires and convictions and 

296
00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:15,360
priorities and all your 
decisions come together. 

297
00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:19,440
So what are we allowing to 
influence or lead us? 

298
00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:23,560
It matters because that's what 
leads other people that we have 

299
00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:26,960
influence on too. 
The first thing, which is kind 

300
00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:28,760
of obvious, we have to guard 
what enters the heart. 

301
00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:32,560
So let's talk about that. 
If Genesis teaches us anything, 

302
00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:35,080
it's that not everything 
deserves access to our hearts. 

303
00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:37,720
In a moment, we'll be in First 
Samuel 15 if you want to read 

304
00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:40,120
along. 
But it's important to know that 

305
00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:42,880
we can't allow everything and 
everyone access into the heart. 

306
00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:46,840
Because when modern people hear 
the word heart, we almost always

307
00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:48,280
do think about emotions, don't 
we? 

308
00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:51,200
If you don't believe that, wait 
until Valentine's Day is coming 

309
00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:52,760
up again. 
And by that I mean wait until 

310
00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:55,520
the week after Christmas because
that'll be what's in all the 

311
00:15:55,520 --> 00:16:00,000
stores. 
Candy hearts, mushi, Gushi, 

312
00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:02,000
things written on cards. 
We buy them. 

313
00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:03,680
We don't even write them. 
We're just like, this sounds 

314
00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:04,960
like something I would say to my
wife. 

315
00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:07,680
Here you go. 
I found this and picked it out 

316
00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:12,560
for you. 
It's all centered around hearts 

317
00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:15,320
and love, right? 
But in the Jewish school of 

318
00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:17,360
thought, writers understood the 
heart differently. 

319
00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:19,840
It was much bigger than that. 
Like we were saying, it's the 

320
00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:21,920
Control Center. 
So I want you to remember that 

321
00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:25,200
This is why the Serpent's 
strategy in Genesis was so 

322
00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:27,520
effective. 
He wasn't trying to change Eve's

323
00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:29,080
behaviour. 
He was trying to influence her 

324
00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:31,120
thinking. 
Because then everything she does

325
00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:33,800
will come out of a wrong place 
of wrong thinking and wrong 

326
00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:35,480
motives. 
He doesn't have to keep 

327
00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:37,240
convincing her to do wrong 
things. 

328
00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:40,080
Now she's on the wrong track. 
She's just going to continue to 

329
00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:43,680
do wrong things. 
He worked smart, not harder, 

330
00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:47,640
essentially, but he was trying 
to change what she believed 

331
00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:49,960
about God and what she trusted. 
And once that happened 

332
00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:52,400
internally, the external 
decision wasn't far behind. 

333
00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:53,920
It's the same thing for you and 
I. 

334
00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:57,280
As soon as we get confused about
what God has asked us to do, or 

335
00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:01,280
who God has revealed Himself to 
be in our lives, actions always 

336
00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:04,839
follow it in some way. 
The same principle shows up over

337
00:17:04,839 --> 00:17:07,160
and over in Scripture. 
Long before people drift away 

338
00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:08,960
from God, there's normally 
something that's been 

339
00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:10,720
influencing them in an unseen 
way. 

340
00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:14,119
That is why guarding your heart 
isn't just about avoiding bad 

341
00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:16,000
influences. 
It's about being intentional 

342
00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:19,319
with what we allow to actually 
go deep into the Control Center.

343
00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:21,880
One of the clearest examples of 
this is what we're going to read

344
00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:24,480
in just a moment in the life of 
King Saul. 

345
00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:27,680
But before we get there, I want 
you to know this. 

346
00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:30,920
When most people think about 
King Saul's downfall, they think

347
00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:32,520
about the moment he disobeyed 
God. 

348
00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:35,680
They think about him chasing and
persecuting King David, who 

349
00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:39,280
would later become King David. 
All valid, all makes sense. 

350
00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:43,480
But the real story, just like 
Eve, starts before the action. 

351
00:17:44,120 --> 00:17:47,000
By the time that Saul disobeyed 
God publicly, there was 

352
00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:49,240
something that had already been 
happening in his heart. 

353
00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:52,720
Fear had been gaining influence 
in his heart, pride had been 

354
00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:56,760
gaining influence in his heart, 
and maybe most dangerously, the 

355
00:17:56,760 --> 00:17:59,520
opinions of people had started 
carrying more weight than the 

356
00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:02,560
voice of God. 
And this is the first king that 

357
00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:06,160
the nation of Israel ever had. 
So before we read that story, 

358
00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:07,880
you need to know what has 
actually happened here. 

359
00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:11,200
God gave Saul a very specific 
instruction regarding the 

360
00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:12,920
Amalekites. 
It was a direct command. 

361
00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:17,680
OK Marines, when you're told 
clean your desk, you pretty well

362
00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:19,560
clean your desk is my 
understanding. 

363
00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:24,080
Or there's consequences. 
It's not like, well, his 

364
00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:26,680
definition of clean is different
from my definition of clean. 

365
00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,200
From what I understand, your 
definition of clean doesn't even

366
00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:33,880
exist where you work. 
Only the commanding officer's 

367
00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:35,760
definition of what clean is 
exists. 

368
00:18:36,360 --> 00:18:40,720
And so the Amalekites had a long
history of of coming against and

369
00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:43,640
opposing God's people all the 
way back to the days of Moses. 

370
00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:47,880
And so God tells Saul, carry out
judgement against them. 

371
00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:50,560
And this is one of those dark 
moments where he says wipe them 

372
00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:53,600
all out. 
He said not one of them to to 

373
00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:57,320
remain destroy everything they 
have, all their livestock, all 

374
00:18:57,320 --> 00:18:58,360
of that. 
Don't plunder them. 

375
00:18:58,360 --> 00:19:00,920
Don't bring anything back from 
this evil and wicked 

376
00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:04,640
civilization into your camp. 
Pretty direct, right? 

377
00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:10,720
It's a heavy order, so instead 
of it, Saul spares King a gag 

378
00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:14,320
and keeps the best of the 
livestock, convincing himself 

379
00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:16,640
that partial obedience is still 
good enough. 

380
00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:21,000
Let's not be too judge mental of
him though, before we start 

381
00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:25,040
thinking about our lives. 
We'll start in verse 13, First 

382
00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:28,520
Samuel 15. 
Verse 13, the prophet Samuel 

383
00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:31,520
arrives, says when Samuel 
finally found him, Saul greeted 

384
00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:34,120
him cheerfully. 
May the Lord bless you. 

385
00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,600
I've carried out the Lord's 
command, by the way. 

386
00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:42,400
I think you really meant it. 
Verse 14 Then what is all the 

387
00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:45,080
bleeding of sheep and goats and 
the lowing of cattle? 

388
00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:47,320
I hear Samuel demanded. 
It's a valid question. 

389
00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:52,480
You didn't bring that livestock 
into battle, Saul says. 

390
00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:54,840
Well, it's true that the army 
spared the best of the sheep, 

391
00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:58,800
goats and cattle, Saul admitted.
But they're going to sacrifice 

392
00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:02,160
them to the Lord your God. 
We've destroyed everything else.

393
00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:05,000
Yeah, I know I cheated on my 
taxes, but I'm going to put a 

394
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,520
bigger check in the offering so 
God would be happy with that. 

395
00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:10,520
You ever have that moment? 
You were like, oh, God blessed 

396
00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:12,400
me because they gave me back $20
too much. 

397
00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:20,320
No, you just got somebody fired.
All right, then. 

398
00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:22,200
Sorry. 
That hit somebody. 

399
00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:25,000
Then Samuel said to to Saul, 
stop. 

400
00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:27,160
Listen to what the Lord told me 
last night. 

401
00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:29,720
What did he tell you? 
Saul asked. 

402
00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:32,600
And Samuel told him, Although 
you may think little of 

403
00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:37,320
yourself, are you not the leader
of the tribes of Israel? 

404
00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:41,480
The Lord has anointed you king 
of Israel, and the Lord sent you

405
00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:43,920
on a mission and told you, go 
and completely destroy the 

406
00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:46,280
sinners, the Amalekites, until 
they're all dead. 

407
00:20:47,120 --> 00:20:50,720
Why haven't you obeyed the Lord?
Why did you rush for the plunder

408
00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:53,000
and to do what was evil in the 
Lord's sight? 

409
00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:56,560
See, that's very specific too. 
It wasn't evil in Saul's sight. 

410
00:20:57,600 --> 00:20:59,880
It made sense. 
Look, we're going to sacrifice 

411
00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:01,880
these to the Lord. 
Of course, there's also the meat

412
00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:03,080
that they're going to have 
afterwards. 

413
00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:04,360
I bet they would have feasted 
there. 

414
00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:09,160
Verse 20, he says. 
But I did obey the Lord. 

415
00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:11,160
I carried out the mission He 
gave me. 

416
00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:14,840
I brought back King Agag, but I 
destroyed everyone else. 

417
00:21:16,360 --> 00:21:20,840
OK, then my troops brought in 
the best of the sheep, goats, 

418
00:21:20,840 --> 00:21:24,480
cattle, and plunder to sacrifice
to the Lord your God and Gilgal.

419
00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:28,920
But Samuel replied, what is more
pleasing to the Lord, your burnt

420
00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:32,760
offerings and sacrifices, or 
your obedience to his voice? 

421
00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:38,520
Listen, obedience is better than
sacrifice, and submission is 

422
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:40,240
better than offering the fat of 
Rams. 

423
00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:46,920
Verse 23, Rebellion is as sinful
as witchcraft, and stubbornness 

424
00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:50,000
is bad as worshipping idols. 
So because you've rejected the 

425
00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:52,360
command of the Lord, he's 
rejected you as king. 

426
00:21:54,560 --> 00:21:57,120
In other words, he got rejected 
in the place of influence that 

427
00:21:57,120 --> 00:21:58,920
the Lord gave him in the 1st 
place. 

428
00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:02,240
And in the last verse we're 
reading here, then Saul admitted

429
00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:06,920
to Samuel, yes, I have sinned. 
I've disobeyed the instructions 

430
00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:10,600
and the Lord's command, for I 
was afraid of the people and did

431
00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:15,880
what they demanded. 
Do you notice that Saul seems 

432
00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:19,680
genuinely surprised by Samuel's 
response when he gets there? 

433
00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:22,320
Hey, blessings of the Lord upon 
you. 

434
00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:24,400
You're here. 
He's like, what is, What is 

435
00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:25,320
this? 
What are you doing? 

436
00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:29,720
When Samuel arrives, Saul's not 
hiding there. 

437
00:22:30,120 --> 00:22:32,280
He's not acting like someone who
has been caught. 

438
00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:36,040
He walks right up to him and he 
says he's carried out the Lord's

439
00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:38,040
command. 
Somewhere along the way, Saul 

440
00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:41,640
convinced himself that partial 
obedience was still obedience to

441
00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:46,080
the God that he worships. 
Partial obedience is 

442
00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:48,840
disobedience. 
Delayed obedience is 

443
00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:52,600
disobedience. 
And so in his mind, he took 

444
00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:55,440
God's clear instruction, 
adjusted it to fit what seemed 

445
00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:58,520
reasonable, and then expected 
God to approve the edited 

446
00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:00,320
version. 
Don't we do the same thing? 

447
00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:03,720
So the more I studied this, the 
more I realized that the 

448
00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:07,240
greatest problem Saul had isn't 
what he spared, it was what he 

449
00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:10,560
allowed into his heart. 
Somewhere along the way he said 

450
00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:13,440
that the opinions of other 
people started carrying weight 

451
00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:15,480
inside of him. 
In other words, the opinions of 

452
00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:17,520
other people started carrying 
more weight than the voice of 

453
00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:22,240
God itself. 
The appearance of success 

454
00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:23,920
started carrying more weight 
than faithfulness. 

455
00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:26,760
The the wisdom of the cultures 
around him started carrying more

456
00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:30,960
weight than simple obedience. 
You know, a lot of the cultures 

457
00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:33,960
and civilizations around Israel 
in that day, they did this 

458
00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:35,600
practice, they would capture the
king. 

459
00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:38,080
And why would they do that? 
You would think it would make 

460
00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:40,240
sense. 
Kill the king, you conquer them.

461
00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:41,760
Kill the king. 
That way they can't rise up 

462
00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:43,040
again. 
Here's why. 

463
00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:46,960
It's all centered around pride. 
You can kill the king, and 

464
00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:49,560
that's the smart move. 
But if you can keep him 

465
00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:52,240
captured, if you can chain him 
up and walk him through the 

466
00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:56,000
streets of your Kingdom, if you 
can parade him around and put 

467
00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:59,920
him on display, it is a show of 
dominance and it's meant to 

468
00:23:59,920 --> 00:24:01,840
intimidate the other nations 
around. 

469
00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:05,320
And so you basically keep him 
like an animal for a while, if 

470
00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:08,800
not the rest of his life, and 
make him be humiliated in front 

471
00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:11,760
of your people, because then it 
raises your esteem in their 

472
00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:13,440
eyes. 
But it makes you a symbol of 

473
00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:15,520
fear in the eyes of people 
around. 

474
00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,360
Does that sound like the God 
that we worship? 

475
00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:22,080
But he took something that 
culture said was wise and 

476
00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:24,000
applied it to what God said was 
wise. 

477
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:28,760
Came up with a hybrid idea and 
thought it would be fine, but 

478
00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:30,760
his area of influence got taken 
because of it. 

479
00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:34,080
And I'll just tell you all 
today, something that you 

480
00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:36,960
already know. 
The culture around us already 

481
00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:39,880
has opinions, doesn't it? 
It's got opinions about 

482
00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:41,760
marriage. 
It's got opinions about money, 

483
00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:45,240
opinions about our identity. 
It has opinions about our 

484
00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:47,920
success. 
Social media has got opinions. 

485
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:52,280
News outlets have opinions. 
In fact, I'm finding that most 

486
00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:54,760
news outlets don't really have 
news, they just have opinions. 

487
00:24:56,600 --> 00:25:00,320
Family members have opinions, 
but you know what's even scarier

488
00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:03,840
than that? 
Our fears have opinions, our 

489
00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:07,000
wounds have opinions, and 
everyday there's voices that are

490
00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:10,720
all competing for influence. 
The question is not whether or 

491
00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:13,360
not those voices exist. 
Obviously they do. 

492
00:25:13,360 --> 00:25:16,200
The question is whether we 
recognize when they're beginning

493
00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:18,560
to influence us more than the 
voice of God. 

494
00:25:19,840 --> 00:25:22,240
So we also tend to think that 
temptation begins with our 

495
00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:23,640
actions. 
I could do the right thing, I 

496
00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:26,400
could do the wrong thing, but a 
lot of times we've already 

497
00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:29,160
gotten so close to something 
that was going to lead us into 

498
00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:31,320
temptation. 
We could have cut it off at the 

499
00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:35,240
pass long before, before Saul 
spared A gag, he was listening 

500
00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:38,200
to other voices. 
And long before something comes 

501
00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:40,920
out of our lives, normally 
something has to enter our 

502
00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:42,600
hearts. 
And so I just tell you all this 

503
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:45,600
church, we can't be careless 
about what is speaking into us 

504
00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:50,040
and still expect to remain holy.
And I'm not saying that you need

505
00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:53,160
to only watch. 
I don't know, I forgot the name 

506
00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:56,280
of it. 
The Christian movie streaming 

507
00:25:56,280 --> 00:26:00,000
platform Disney. 
That's it. 

508
00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:06,320
Follow your heart. 
A dream is a wish your heart 

509
00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:08,520
makes is my favorite scripture. 
I'm just kidding. 

510
00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:10,080
It's not a scripture, in case 
you're wondering. 

511
00:26:10,120 --> 00:26:12,920
All right, Pure Flix. 
Thank you. 

512
00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:15,400
Yeah, I'm not saying that you 
have to cut everything out and 

513
00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:18,280
only watch Pure Flix. 
You are called to be out in the 

514
00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:20,680
world, right? 
I don't even subscribe to Pure 

515
00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:23,000
Flix. 
But what I am telling you is you

516
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:26,560
have to use discernment. 
I went to go watch ATV show that

517
00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:28,360
I used to watch when I was a 
little bit younger and I 

518
00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:29,480
thought, man, I haven't watched 
it in a long time. 

519
00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:31,440
That'd be fun to rewatch it. 
I got halfway through the 

520
00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:33,160
episode and I went, that one's 
not for me. 

521
00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:36,920
Why did I do that? 
I was listening to him. 

522
00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:39,720
I won't even tell you what the 
show was not because I'm 

523
00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:41,600
embarrassed about it. 
I don't want you to make your 

524
00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:43,560
decisions based off of what the 
Lord told me. 

525
00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:46,480
I want you to go to him and have
him tell you what you can allow 

526
00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:49,000
into your heart. 
Because there are things that I 

527
00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:51,920
watch and sometimes somebody's 
like, man, I'm not comfortable 

528
00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:53,560
watching that and I'm like, 
cool, don't come over to my 

529
00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:57,360
house when I'm watching it. 
We agree. 

530
00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:01,720
But also I know stories from 
some of you that I've talked to 

531
00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:03,880
that you've watched things that 
I feel convicted over. 

532
00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:09,120
It is possible that sometimes 
one person is able to watch 

533
00:27:09,120 --> 00:27:11,680
something, listen to something 
and the other person is not. 

534
00:27:12,120 --> 00:27:14,480
I only have two kids that live 
in my house and I can't parent 

535
00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:17,520
them the same way. 
What makes you think that the 

536
00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:20,080
Father in heaven who created 
you, invented you, knit you 

537
00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:22,080
together in the womb, is going 
to treat you identically? 

538
00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:25,160
But He does know specifically 
what is good for you, and He 

539
00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:27,840
knows what is not good for you. 
You've got to know His voice. 

540
00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:30,000
If you don't know His voice, 
you're going to hear voices from

541
00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:32,480
everybody else. 
And if you don't have a vision 

542
00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:33,800
for your life, any vision will 
do. 

543
00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:38,760
So again, when we talk about 
guarding our hearts, it's not 

544
00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:41,840
always an extreme. 
It's not a temptation to swing 

545
00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:44,160
too far in the other direction 
where instead of listening to 

546
00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:45,800
everybody, now you don't listen 
to anybody. 

547
00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:49,080
A lot of times when you hear a 
message like this, you start 

548
00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:52,120
making a list of people to avoid
or conversations to leave or 

549
00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:54,080
situations you'll no longer be 
around. 

550
00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:56,880
But the problem for Saul wasn't 
the proximity to the battle. 

551
00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:59,280
Actually, he's the king. 
He was supposed to be out there 

552
00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:01,360
in the battle. 
He was supposed to be out there 

553
00:28:01,360 --> 00:28:04,320
amongst enemies. 
And furthermore, he was supposed

554
00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:07,040
to be out there amongst his 
people and leading them. 

555
00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:09,840
But instead of leading them, he 
was listening to them. 

556
00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:13,360
They were leading him, and once 
they got into his heart, they 

557
00:28:13,360 --> 00:28:15,000
were leading him and he didn't 
even know it. 

558
00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:17,600
So now they're looking at him 
for guidance, but their opinion 

559
00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:20,200
is what's leading him. 
So now he's leading them using 

560
00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:22,320
their opinions. 
Do you see how this is going to 

561
00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:24,880
be a problem? 
And you wonder how we ever got 

562
00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:27,600
out of that book of judges where
previous to this it was 

563
00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:29,400
everybody did what was right in 
their own eyes. 

564
00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:32,800
You also can't withdraw from 
everything. 

565
00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:34,480
That's difficult, guys. 
You just can't. 

566
00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:37,400
Sometimes you want to. 
Sometimes you need a Sabbath. 

567
00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:40,720
We'll get to that next week. 
But you were made for the 

568
00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:44,240
battle. 
Holiness is not the same thing 

569
00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:47,680
as isolating yourself from the 
difficult parts of the job of a 

570
00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:50,520
Christian. 
Yes, the Church Fathers and even

571
00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:52,400
Jesus did withdraw to lonely 
places. 

572
00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:54,120
But you know why they went to 
lonely places? 

573
00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:57,000
So that they could hear His 
voice more clearly. 

574
00:28:57,320 --> 00:29:00,600
So that when they were around 
other people, they could also be

575
00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:04,400
a conduit for God's will to help
others hear Him more clearly. 

576
00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:07,600
You can't just be completely 
separated from everybody. 

577
00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:11,840
God has called us to remain 
faithful within our difficult 

578
00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:14,840
circumstances. 
Saul's responsibility as a king 

579
00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:18,040
is not to avoid the danger, but 
to deal with it according to 

580
00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:21,600
God's instructions. 
His obedience would have 

581
00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:24,720
protected the nation that he was
leading if he would have just 

582
00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:26,880
done it completely the way that 
God wanted him to. 

583
00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:29,000
His story could have been 
completely different. 

584
00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:32,760
Instead, he allowed fear and 
public opinion and human 

585
00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:35,160
reasoning to be the decision 
making process. 

586
00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:38,400
In other words, the issue is not
that Saul was surrounded by 

587
00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:41,080
competing voices. 
Every leader is surrounded by 

588
00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:44,160
competing voices. 
Every parent is surrounded by 

589
00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:47,920
competing voices. 
Every Christian is surrounded by

590
00:29:47,920 --> 00:29:50,440
competing voices. 
The issue is that he stopped 

591
00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:53,240
filtering those voices through 
what God had already said. 

592
00:29:54,200 --> 00:29:55,920
And I'm just telling you right 
now, if somebody gives you what 

593
00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:59,520
sounds like good advice, but God
has already spoken to you, it is

594
00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:01,200
OK to look at them and say I 
love you. 

595
00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:06,840
But God said fill in the blank. 
Most people that give you 

596
00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:08,720
advice, they're not trying to 
tear you down, they're trying to

597
00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:11,240
help you. 
But you have to be wise enough 

598
00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:14,400
to choose God first. 
This is about becoming 

599
00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:16,080
intentional gatekeepers of our 
heart. 

600
00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:18,320
It's learning to ask hard 
questions. 

601
00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:20,160
Who am I listening to? 
What am I believing? 

602
00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:22,360
I want you to think about a 
pilot for a moment. 

603
00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:25,320
Every time a pilot takes off, 
that pilot is surrounded by 

604
00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:30,120
voices and information. 
I've only flown in a simulator 

605
00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:33,520
twice, and the first time I 
crashed it and got this colorful

606
00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:36,680
screen of death. 
The second time I did better, 

607
00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:40,160
but there's a lot going on in 
there. 

608
00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:43,160
The instruments, they provide 
constant feedback. 

609
00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:45,640
There's weather reports and 
there's warning systems and then

610
00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:48,200
there's other flight crew. 
And if you're flying commercial,

611
00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:50,600
then you've got you've got 
people like me who are walking 

612
00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:52,760
on board and trying to be funny,
being like my grandma told you 

613
00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:55,480
to tell you that you've got 
precious cargo, so fly safe. 

614
00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:58,600
I always think it's funny. 
And one time one of them laughed

615
00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:02,160
One time. 
I'm going to see if I can get 

616
00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:06,320
one to high 5 me this year. 
All of the beeping, all of the 

617
00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:08,720
sounds, all of the data streams,
all coming in. 

618
00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:11,920
The problem isn't that they've 
got all this information. 

619
00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:14,960
All the information is actually 
helpful, but not if they give 

620
00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:18,680
all of it equal attention. 
You do not want a pilot that is 

621
00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:21,440
flying you to give equal 
attention to every single piece 

622
00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:23,840
of information. 
Could you imagine a pilot 

623
00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:26,200
deciding that all those voices 
deserve equal weight? 

624
00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:30,000
Could you imagine air traffic 
control giving one instruction 

625
00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:32,280
while another pilot on a 
different frequency is 

626
00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:34,040
suggesting that they do 
something else? 

627
00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:38,400
Well, you know, when I fly, I 
would do this, but air traffic 

628
00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:41,000
control's got some information 
that this guy doesn't have. 

629
00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:44,760
You have to be able to discern 
what voice is more important. 

630
00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:47,520
How do you do this? 
How do you even guard what 

631
00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:49,360
enters? 
How do you take those steps 

632
00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:51,520
towards holiness if you're going
to guard your heart? 

633
00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:55,000
And the first thing is to pay 
attention to what captures your 

634
00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:57,800
emotions, to be observant. 
And here's, I'm going to be very

635
00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:00,320
specific on this. 
A lot of times when we're 

636
00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:04,440
tackling a sin issue, one of the
steps is to notice where we fail

637
00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:06,800
within it. 
I'm asking you to notice what 

638
00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:10,120
captures your emotions. 
What situations or people make 

639
00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:13,880
you angry the fastest? 
What is the situation or the 

640
00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:16,360
person that will instantly put 
you into a melancholy place? 

641
00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:19,200
Who is the person that will 
instantly make you feel insecure

642
00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:22,200
in what you thought you knew? 
Pay attention to where your 

643
00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:24,480
emotions go. 
Emotions never sit in the 

644
00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:27,760
driver's seat for a Christian or
they're not supposed to, but 

645
00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:29,640
they're important information. 
This is part of what you're 

646
00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:31,040
going to hear as you're 
navigating. 

647
00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:33,840
Every emotion tells you 
something different, so pay 

648
00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:35,600
attention to what captures your 
emotion. 

649
00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:38,200
What is it that's harder for you
to let go of and that you find 

650
00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:41,400
yourself thinking about 345 
hours later, maybe later in the 

651
00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:42,920
week? 
Keep circling back even though 

652
00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:45,280
you thought you made your peace.
That's the first thing you need 

653
00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:47,200
to notice if you're going to try
and guard your heart. 

654
00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:50,880
We've been trained to be really 
suspicious of the conversations 

655
00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:52,680
we have with other people. 
I'm just going to challenge you.

656
00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:55,560
Secondly, get a little 
suspicious of the conversations 

657
00:32:55,560 --> 00:32:57,280
you have with yourself when 
you're upset. 

658
00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:01,280
Most of us don't know this is 
what we're doing, but most of us

659
00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:05,120
are trying really, really hard 
to justify how we already feel. 

660
00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:08,920
The emotion comes up, right? 
And because the emotion comes 

661
00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:11,320
up, we spend a lot of time 
talking to ourselves. 

662
00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:13,640
We spend very little time 
challenging ourselves. 

663
00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:17,400
And because the emotion comes 
up, we're saying, huh, well, why

664
00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:21,240
would I feel angry? 
And when we get there, we say it

665
00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:22,920
must because they did blah, 
blah, blah. 

666
00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:25,840
And we convince ourselves no, 
no, no, no, no, no. 

667
00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:28,200
Be suspicious of the 
conversation you have with 

668
00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:30,520
yourself. 
Your conversations you have with

669
00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:33,160
yourself are what will make you 
double down or if it's a thing, 

670
00:33:33,160 --> 00:33:35,600
triple down on your opinion. 
And they cause a lot of 

671
00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:38,800
division. 
I'd be really careful with that.

672
00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:42,440
You know, anybody know the 
comedian Jim Gaffigan? 

673
00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:45,160
It's one of my favorite 
comedians of all time. 

674
00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:50,640
And he has this really, really 
iconic to me set that he he 

675
00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:52,040
does. 
And no, it's not Hot Pockets, 

676
00:33:54,160 --> 00:33:57,040
but he talks about McDonald's. 
And I love it when he talks 

677
00:33:57,040 --> 00:33:59,040
about McDonald's. 
His joke about it is this 

678
00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:02,880
McDonald's has become so woven 
into our culture that people 

679
00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:04,800
just stop evaluating it all 
together. 

680
00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:07,960
He talks about how many billions
of hamburgers they've served 

681
00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:09,280
throughout the years on their 
sign. 

682
00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:11,520
And he's like, but everybody I 
talk to, they're like, oh, I 

683
00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:13,320
don't eat McDonald's. 
It's so bad for you. 

684
00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:14,679
And he's like, look at all those
burgers. 

685
00:34:14,679 --> 00:34:19,320
Somebody's eating them. 
And he says, maybe you just go 

686
00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:21,400
for the fries. 
Maybe it's for the MC Rib, maybe

687
00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:23,800
it's for like the hot apple pie 
or whatever it is. 

688
00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:25,719
But everybody's got something. 
And he said, and maybe you 

689
00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:26,880
don't. 
Maybe you're one of those people

690
00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:29,000
that never eats at McDonald's. 
He said, but would you look at 

691
00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:31,440
the gossip magazine when you're 
going through the the checkout 

692
00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:33,440
lane? 
And he starts saying, like, Oh 

693
00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:35,440
my gosh, did she cut her hair? 
Why do I care? 

694
00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:37,679
This is none of my business. 
I can't believe these two people

695
00:34:37,679 --> 00:34:42,199
I've never met got divorced. 
And he says it's all McDonald's.

696
00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:46,600
McDonald's did not sponsor this 
sermon. 

697
00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:48,560
And I don't think they would if 
they had read my notes. 

698
00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:51,880
But I'm loving it. 
Get it? 

699
00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:55,800
All right, That was that wasn't 
in there. 

700
00:34:57,400 --> 00:35:01,200
I'm asking you, listen, most of 
us will pay more attention to 

701
00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:04,680
what we eat than what we put 
into our soul. 

702
00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:07,480
I'm asking you to be observant 
this week. 

703
00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:10,040
Pay attention to what is feeding
your soul. 

704
00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:12,800
Pay attention not just to what 
you watch or listen to. 

705
00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:15,080
Pay attention to the 
conversations you have, to the 

706
00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:17,960
ideas you entertain. 
And do they line up with things 

707
00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:21,680
that God has already told you? 
We've all got some McDonald's 

708
00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:24,760
out there and you're going to 
feel real guilty if you go there

709
00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:27,720
after church today. 
All right, the last thing I 

710
00:35:27,720 --> 00:35:30,440
would tell you here, and this is
a really practical step that 

711
00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:34,720
every Christian can do and 
probably should do, how about we

712
00:35:34,720 --> 00:35:37,240
intentionally give God the 1st 
and final word in our day? 

713
00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:39,960
I don't want this to become 
something where you're like, 

714
00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:41,400
well, what does that mean? 
So let me walk that out. 

715
00:35:41,440 --> 00:35:43,800
Not the first text message, not 
the first opinion. 

716
00:35:44,360 --> 00:35:48,080
God's voice. 
Before your head hits the pillow

717
00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:51,880
at night, pause long enough to 
ask yourself, God, did I listen 

718
00:35:51,880 --> 00:35:54,600
to you more than I listen to 
anybody else today? 

719
00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:58,760
These are important questions. 
When you wake up, can you get to

720
00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:01,600
the place where you say, God, 
what do you want me to do today?

721
00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:04,040
The other voices, they're going 
to come. 

722
00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:08,280
You don't have to look for them.
Seek first the Kingdom of God, 

723
00:36:08,280 --> 00:36:10,200
right? 
And all the other stuff that you

724
00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:11,400
need, it all gets added in 
there. 

725
00:36:12,760 --> 00:36:14,880
That's probably the most 
challenging step of all is to 

726
00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:18,560
give him first and last. 
And when you ask him at the end 

727
00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:21,080
of the day, was there anything 
that captured my heart in a way 

728
00:36:21,080 --> 00:36:23,560
that it shouldn't? 
That question will probably be 

729
00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:26,520
uncomfortable, but if you ask it
with the right heart, it'll be 

730
00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:28,080
revealing and you'll be better 
for it. 

731
00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:31,640
Well, you have to guard what 
enters your heart, but you also 

732
00:36:31,640 --> 00:36:33,600
have to guard what leaves your 
heart. 

733
00:36:34,840 --> 00:36:36,680
So let's go ahead and talk about
that. 

734
00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:39,280
How many people here consider 
themselves to be fairly 

735
00:36:39,280 --> 00:36:45,080
unfiltered in what they say? 
I'll buckle up, Marie. 

736
00:36:47,320 --> 00:36:49,920
I have found that I am 
increasingly unfiltered as it 

737
00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:57,000
gets later in the day. 
That's where I get it's it's a 

738
00:36:57,000 --> 00:36:58,560
form of funnier, but it's a 
little meaner. 

739
00:36:58,560 --> 00:37:03,680
So sometimes I just go to bed. 
Cassie always says she loves it 

740
00:37:03,680 --> 00:37:06,480
when I get like that, unless, 
unless I'm talking to her. 

741
00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:11,200
So let's go to Jonah, chapter 4,
Old Testament. 

742
00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:13,280
You know Jonah and the big fish,
Jonah and the whale, right? 

743
00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:16,280
While you're getting there, I'll
just tell you this, as important

744
00:37:16,280 --> 00:37:19,040
as it is to guard what enters 
the heart, I think a lot of 

745
00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:21,320
Christians that really do 
endeavor to live for the Lord 

746
00:37:21,320 --> 00:37:23,600
stop there. 
You hear guard your heart. 

747
00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:25,800
And it's like a gate where 
you're just careful about what 

748
00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:28,640
enters, but you pay no attention
to the exit gate. 

749
00:37:29,480 --> 00:37:31,320
And Christians have to guard 
both. 

750
00:37:32,520 --> 00:37:35,360
We might become careful about 
what we watch or listen to or 

751
00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:38,920
read or what influences us. 
But Jesus also taught 

752
00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:41,680
consistently that the condition 
of the heart is revealed not by 

753
00:37:41,680 --> 00:37:45,240
what enters it, but by what 
comes out of it, right? 

754
00:37:45,560 --> 00:37:47,880
So that's important because it 
is completely normal to 

755
00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:50,280
experience that wide range of 
emotions we were talking about 

756
00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:51,960
earlier. 
We all have moments of anger. 

757
00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:53,880
We all have moments of 
disappointment and hurt and 

758
00:37:53,880 --> 00:37:56,440
confusion and fear. 
We all have doubts. 

759
00:37:57,200 --> 00:38:01,360
Having a thought is not a sin. 
Just so you know, having a dream

760
00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:03,440
is not a sin. 
Having an emotion is not a sin. 

761
00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:05,480
The question is what do you do 
with all those things once they 

762
00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:08,120
arrive on your doorstep? 
One of the things that I have 

763
00:38:09,080 --> 00:38:11,680
learned through the travel that 
I have done is that countries 

764
00:38:11,680 --> 00:38:13,680
don't just pay attention to what
enters their borders. 

765
00:38:13,680 --> 00:38:17,000
They they also pay attention to 
what leaves their borders. 

766
00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:21,120
I remember being on a trip with 
teenagers one time and one of 

767
00:38:21,120 --> 00:38:24,520
the teenagers got pulled to the 
side because they had a sandwich

768
00:38:25,040 --> 00:38:28,760
that they would not allow into 
America, even though they gave 

769
00:38:28,760 --> 00:38:32,720
her the sandwich on the flight 
from Guatemala to America. 

770
00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:37,600
So you can have it in the air, 
but you can't have it on the 

771
00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:39,920
soil, and she was pulled to the 
side. 

772
00:38:40,400 --> 00:38:43,320
They're very, very specific and 
they have their rules for it. 

773
00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:46,240
Why don't we have rules for what
comes in and what goes out of 

774
00:38:46,240 --> 00:38:49,080
our hearts? 
We have to be specific about 

775
00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:51,680
what we allow out. 
Now, of course, when it comes to

776
00:38:51,720 --> 00:38:54,040
a country, a lot of times 
they're very worried about 

777
00:38:54,440 --> 00:38:59,400
agricultural things or things 
that are, you know, not supposed

778
00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:01,360
to be travelled or you're 
trafficking something across 

779
00:39:01,360 --> 00:39:02,720
country borders or things like 
that. 

780
00:39:02,720 --> 00:39:04,600
And I get it. 
But it's really not that 

781
00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:06,400
different with the human heart 
when you think about it. 

782
00:39:09,080 --> 00:39:10,360
The same thing is true 
spiritually. 

783
00:39:10,360 --> 00:39:12,640
We can spend all day talking 
about what we're allowing into 

784
00:39:12,640 --> 00:39:14,520
our hearts, but I would just 
tell you this. 

785
00:39:14,520 --> 00:39:17,520
If you're allowing, as best you 
can tell, only good things in, 

786
00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:21,200
but what's coming out of your 
heart is bitterness and division

787
00:39:21,200 --> 00:39:26,000
and resentment and pessimism and
gossip and constant negative 

788
00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:29,080
thoughts and words. 
We're not really guarding 

789
00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:32,640
ourselves, are we? 
I would tell you this, a guarded

790
00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:35,200
heart is not a heart that never 
feels anything difficult. 

791
00:39:35,280 --> 00:39:37,960
A guarded heart is a heart that 
refuses to let every feeling 

792
00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:41,120
become a declaration that they 
now have to act on. 

793
00:39:42,080 --> 00:39:45,000
So whether you're looking to to 
vent or someone's asking you for

794
00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:47,600
advice, remember that if you 
want to live a holy life, it's 

795
00:39:47,600 --> 00:39:52,000
still your job to keep an eye on
what you export as well as what 

796
00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:54,160
you import. 
That's what makes the story of 

797
00:39:54,160 --> 00:39:58,120
Jonah fascinating to me. 
By the time we get to chapter 4,

798
00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:01,800
Nineveh has already repented. 
And and just so we're all on the

799
00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:04,560
same page, Jonah was given this 
job where he was told, go to 

800
00:40:04,560 --> 00:40:07,080
Nineveh, preach that my 
judgement is coming. 

801
00:40:07,360 --> 00:40:09,760
And the whole reason he wanted 
Jonah to preach this was so that

802
00:40:09,760 --> 00:40:11,400
the people of Nineveh would 
repent. 

803
00:40:12,200 --> 00:40:15,720
And he said, go to the left. 
Jonah said. 

804
00:40:15,720 --> 00:40:19,120
I'll go to the right. 
And so he takes off and he ends 

805
00:40:19,120 --> 00:40:21,880
up getting thrown overboard, 
gets swallowed by a big fish or 

806
00:40:21,880 --> 00:40:24,720
a whale or whatever, you know, 
depending on your translation, 

807
00:40:24,720 --> 00:40:28,120
gets spit out a few days later, 
according to this scriptural 

808
00:40:28,120 --> 00:40:31,280
story. 
And he goes and he says, all 

809
00:40:31,280 --> 00:40:33,640
right, all right, you've 
convinced me I will go to 

810
00:40:33,640 --> 00:40:34,720
Nineveh. 
And he goes there and he 

811
00:40:34,720 --> 00:40:37,480
preaches about God's warning and
revival breaks out. 

812
00:40:38,600 --> 00:40:41,440
Revival. 
I mean a genuine like nationwide

813
00:40:41,440 --> 00:40:45,760
turning towards God from the 
leadership all the way down of 

814
00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:48,760
the nation, everybody turns 
towards the Lord. 

815
00:40:49,160 --> 00:40:52,160
Now, for somebody who loves God,
should this not be the biggest 

816
00:40:52,160 --> 00:40:55,280
victory? 
Could you imagine? 

817
00:40:55,360 --> 00:40:57,920
Would you not want to go back 
home and be like, I have to tell

818
00:40:57,920 --> 00:41:00,600
you about the goodness of God? 
He sent me into the heart of the

819
00:41:00,600 --> 00:41:03,560
enemy country, and I saw lives 
get changed. 

820
00:41:03,680 --> 00:41:06,360
We all worship the same God. 
They've returned home to their 

821
00:41:06,360 --> 00:41:08,680
Father, their creator. 
Can you believe God would use 

822
00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:11,400
somebody like me even after I 
got swallowed by this fish? 

823
00:41:11,440 --> 00:41:15,440
I know I need a shower, but I 
had to tell you about what God 

824
00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:18,440
did, and that's not what 
happens. 

825
00:41:18,720 --> 00:41:20,560
And if you've read the book of 
Jonah, you know this. 

826
00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:24,800
We find him sitting outside the 
city that is now rejoicing 

827
00:41:24,800 --> 00:41:27,200
because they've been spared. 
And he's angry. 

828
00:41:27,440 --> 00:41:29,880
And I don't mean he's irked or 
mildly frustrated. 

829
00:41:29,880 --> 00:41:32,560
He's furious. 
The ugliest parts of him are 

830
00:41:32,560 --> 00:41:36,280
leaking out as he sits alone. 
And I won't get into the 

831
00:41:36,280 --> 00:41:38,800
breakdown of the words, but the 
Hebrew language in this chapter 

832
00:41:38,800 --> 00:41:42,160
actually paints a picture of 
someone who is highly offended 

833
00:41:42,160 --> 00:41:46,600
by God's mercy. 
But again, before we judge him, 

834
00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:49,160
have you ever seen a blessing 
hit somebody that you felt like 

835
00:41:49,160 --> 00:41:53,160
deserved a judgement? 
You might have been offended by 

836
00:41:53,160 --> 00:41:59,240
God's mercy if that's the case, 
it's a ridiculous sentence for a

837
00:41:59,240 --> 00:42:01,840
Christian, isn't it? 
But as you read through the book

838
00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:04,360
of Jonah, Jonah had no problem 
receiving grace for himself. 

839
00:42:04,360 --> 00:42:06,840
He just struggled with God 
extending that same grace to 

840
00:42:06,840 --> 00:42:08,320
people he believed didn't 
deserve it. 

841
00:42:10,120 --> 00:42:14,320
Starting in verse one of Jonah 4
said this change of plans when 

842
00:42:14,320 --> 00:42:17,600
the Lord was merciful to Nineveh
greatly upset Jonah and he 

843
00:42:17,600 --> 00:42:20,120
became very angry. 
So he complained to the Lord 

844
00:42:20,120 --> 00:42:22,680
about it. 
Didn't I say before I left home 

845
00:42:22,680 --> 00:42:25,080
that you would do this, Lord? 
That's why I ran away to 

846
00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:28,520
Tarshish. 
I don't know if he was trying to

847
00:42:28,520 --> 00:42:31,480
insult him, but he says I knew 
that you're merciful and 

848
00:42:31,480 --> 00:42:35,280
compassionate God, slow to get 
angry and filled with unfailing 

849
00:42:35,280 --> 00:42:38,280
love. 
You're eager to turn back from 

850
00:42:38,280 --> 00:42:43,440
destroying people. 1st 3C says 
just kill me now. 

851
00:42:45,280 --> 00:42:46,600
He does. 
He says just kill me now. 

852
00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:49,360
Lord, I'd rather be dead than 
alive if what I predicted will 

853
00:42:49,360 --> 00:42:50,800
not happen. 
So here it is. 

854
00:42:51,280 --> 00:42:53,320
He went there and said God's 
judgement is coming. 

855
00:42:54,120 --> 00:42:56,800
And when God's mercy arrived 
instead, because their hearts 

856
00:42:56,800 --> 00:43:00,720
changed, his heart changed as 
well and it was filled with 

857
00:43:00,720 --> 00:43:04,560
pride. 
And the Lord replied, is it 

858
00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:06,880
right for you to be angry about 
this? 

859
00:43:07,360 --> 00:43:08,960
It's like a biblical 
understatement. 

860
00:43:09,680 --> 00:43:11,760
And Jonah went out to the east 
side of the city and made a 

861
00:43:11,760 --> 00:43:14,040
shelter to sit under as he 
waited to see what would happen 

862
00:43:14,040 --> 00:43:15,560
to the city. 
I think he's still looking to 

863
00:43:15,560 --> 00:43:17,640
see like, well, maybe some 
judgement still going to come, 

864
00:43:17,920 --> 00:43:19,520
maybe just in the bad corner of 
town. 

865
00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:22,360
I don't know. 
And it says in verse 6 that the 

866
00:43:22,360 --> 00:43:24,680
Lord arranged for a leafy plant 
to grow there. 

867
00:43:25,680 --> 00:43:27,760
And soon it spread its broad 
leaves over Jonah's head, 

868
00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:30,600
shading him from the sun. 
And this eased is discomfort. 

869
00:43:30,880 --> 00:43:32,560
And Jonah was very grateful for 
the plant. 

870
00:43:32,560 --> 00:43:35,120
Oh, he does like that grace when
it comes his way. 

871
00:43:36,080 --> 00:43:40,800
But God also arranged for a worm
and the next morning at dawn, 

872
00:43:40,800 --> 00:43:43,040
the worm ate through the stem of
the plant so that it withered 

873
00:43:43,040 --> 00:43:46,880
away and as the sun grew hot, 
got arranged for a scorching E 

874
00:43:46,880 --> 00:43:51,000
wind to blow on Jonah. 
The sun beat down on his head 

875
00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:53,200
until he grew faint and wished 
to die. 

876
00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:56,920
He said death is certainly 
better than living like this. 

877
00:43:57,240 --> 00:44:00,160
And then God said to Jonah, 
here's this question, Ian. 

878
00:44:00,240 --> 00:44:05,120
Is it is it right for you to be 
angry because the plant died? 

879
00:44:05,640 --> 00:44:09,040
Yes, Jonah retorted, even angry 
enough to die. 

880
00:44:10,120 --> 00:44:13,760
Oh, he got him, didn't he? 
Then the Lord said you feel 

881
00:44:13,760 --> 00:44:16,600
sorry about the plant, though 
you did nothing to put it there.

882
00:44:16,840 --> 00:44:18,320
It came quickly and died 
quickly. 

883
00:44:18,640 --> 00:44:21,840
But Nineveh has more than 
120,000 people living in 

884
00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:24,720
spiritual darkness, not to 
mention all the animals. 

885
00:44:25,000 --> 00:44:26,960
Shouldn't I feel sorry for such 
a great city? 

886
00:44:29,240 --> 00:44:32,720
See, he feels bad for the plant 
because the plant was beneficial

887
00:44:32,720 --> 00:44:35,960
to him. 
And to some extent, this is 

888
00:44:35,960 --> 00:44:38,040
natural, right? 
When you lose a loved one, it 

889
00:44:38,040 --> 00:44:40,760
normally hits you harder than 
when somebody you know loses a 

890
00:44:40,760 --> 00:44:43,320
loved 1. 
You can still feel for them, but

891
00:44:43,320 --> 00:44:45,840
it hits you deeper. 
That's not what we're talking 

892
00:44:45,840 --> 00:44:47,960
about here. 
This is all built around 

893
00:44:47,960 --> 00:44:50,440
benefit. 
This is all built around pride. 

894
00:44:51,400 --> 00:44:54,160
I wonder what it would be like 
if every time we felt like 

895
00:44:54,160 --> 00:44:57,200
Jonah, the Lord simply asked us 
the same question He asked him. 

896
00:44:58,040 --> 00:44:59,920
Is it right for you to be angry 
about this? 

897
00:45:02,720 --> 00:45:07,480
Not do you have a reason because
I just want you to know most of 

898
00:45:07,480 --> 00:45:11,720
us have reasons. 
The question is not were you 

899
00:45:11,720 --> 00:45:13,920
hurt? 
Because sometimes we genuinely 

900
00:45:13,920 --> 00:45:17,440
are hurt, aren't we? 
The question isn't even did 

901
00:45:17,440 --> 00:45:20,000
something unfair happen? 
Because often something unfair 

902
00:45:20,000 --> 00:45:22,560
happens. 
The question got asked Jonah is 

903
00:45:22,560 --> 00:45:25,000
deeper than all of those. 
He just says is it right for you

904
00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:28,960
to carry anger over it? 
How many arguments would end 

905
00:45:28,960 --> 00:45:31,440
differently if we stopped and 
asked that question before we 

906
00:45:31,440 --> 00:45:33,440
spoke to the people we say that 
we love the most? 

907
00:45:34,480 --> 00:45:37,560
How many? 
How many angry tweets would 

908
00:45:37,560 --> 00:45:41,120
never be posted? 
How many bitter conversations 

909
00:45:41,120 --> 00:45:43,320
would have never happened? 
How many relationships would 

910
00:45:43,320 --> 00:45:45,200
heal faster? 
And I wonder how many wounds 

911
00:45:45,200 --> 00:45:48,920
would stop spreading? 
Because there are times when we 

912
00:45:48,920 --> 00:45:52,840
don't just feel anger. 
We feed it, we rehearse it, and 

913
00:45:52,840 --> 00:45:55,360
we nurture it until it grows 
roots just like that plant. 

914
00:45:57,240 --> 00:45:59,720
It's because what leaves the 
heart has often been living 

915
00:45:59,720 --> 00:46:01,280
there longer than we really 
realized. 

916
00:46:01,280 --> 00:46:03,200
We allowed it to be there. 
It was small. 

917
00:46:03,200 --> 00:46:05,320
We didn't think it was a big 
deal, but it grew. 

918
00:46:06,160 --> 00:46:09,040
What amazes me about Jonah here 
is that God keeps pursuing him 

919
00:46:09,040 --> 00:46:11,480
even there. 
Wouldn't you think, Well, I 

920
00:46:11,480 --> 00:46:13,680
saved 120 thousand of them. 
But Jonah's a little bit of a 

921
00:46:13,680 --> 00:46:16,440
lost cause. 
God doesn't even abandoned 

922
00:46:16,440 --> 00:46:18,360
Jonah. 
He doesn't shame him. 

923
00:46:18,880 --> 00:46:24,040
He patiently exposes sin in him.
He uses a plant, a worm, and 

924
00:46:24,040 --> 00:46:27,320
wind. 
He's trying to help Jonah see 

925
00:46:27,320 --> 00:46:29,720
something that Jonah could not 
see in himself until his 

926
00:46:29,720 --> 00:46:34,360
circumstances changed. 
So somewhere along the way, 

927
00:46:34,360 --> 00:46:36,520
Jonah's heart had become so 
consumed with his own 

928
00:46:36,520 --> 00:46:38,520
perspective that he could no 
longer celebrate. 

929
00:46:38,520 --> 00:46:42,000
Was God what God was doing? 
It's a really dangerous place to

930
00:46:42,000 --> 00:46:44,800
be. 
But his words revealed his 

931
00:46:44,800 --> 00:46:47,800
heart. 
And our words, they also reveal 

932
00:46:47,800 --> 00:46:50,440
our hearts. 
The way that we talk about 

933
00:46:50,440 --> 00:46:53,120
people reveals our hearts. 
The things that we repeatedly 

934
00:46:53,120 --> 00:46:57,200
complain about or criticize or 
mock or obsess over, they all 

935
00:46:57,200 --> 00:46:59,320
show what's been growing under 
the surface. 

936
00:46:59,920 --> 00:47:01,960
And I do want you to know this. 
It doesn't mean to suppress your

937
00:47:01,960 --> 00:47:04,120
emotions. 
It doesn't mean that we become 

938
00:47:04,120 --> 00:47:06,240
fake Christians who smile 
through everything either. 

939
00:47:06,240 --> 00:47:08,800
If that's who you want to be, I 
got some churches to recommend 

940
00:47:08,800 --> 00:47:11,760
to you. 
I want real people here. 

941
00:47:12,720 --> 00:47:14,960
It does mean, though, that we 
have to learn to process our 

942
00:47:14,960 --> 00:47:18,280
frustrations with God before we 
weaponize our frustrations with 

943
00:47:18,280 --> 00:47:20,840
other people. 
A few years ago I had an old 

944
00:47:20,840 --> 00:47:23,880
coffee maker that was sort of 
like on its last leg. 

945
00:47:24,320 --> 00:47:27,080
And no matter what we tried to 
do with like the coffee filter, 

946
00:47:27,080 --> 00:47:30,720
it would always put coffee 
grounds in the, in the coffee. 

947
00:47:30,800 --> 00:47:33,240
And it was like, man, it was a 
crapshoot. 

948
00:47:33,360 --> 00:47:35,240
One day was fine, the next day 
it wasn't. 

949
00:47:35,520 --> 00:47:37,840
And we would just tried to make 
the best of it. 

950
00:47:37,840 --> 00:47:39,360
And then I thought, well, I'll 
just drink the top half of the 

951
00:47:39,360 --> 00:47:41,520
coffee. 
You know, I'm cutting back, 

952
00:47:41,520 --> 00:47:42,360
right? 
It's healthier. 

953
00:47:42,680 --> 00:47:45,320
I don't know. 
But the problem is then you'd 

954
00:47:45,320 --> 00:47:47,000
have One Cup or two cups and it 
was fine. 

955
00:47:47,000 --> 00:47:48,760
And then the third cup, you'd 
get a mouthful of grounds. 

956
00:47:49,720 --> 00:47:52,360
And it was really gross. 
And if you have you ever had? 

957
00:47:52,360 --> 00:47:53,520
Am I? 
I'm not the only one. 

958
00:47:53,520 --> 00:47:55,040
You've done that before. 
You get that mouth full of 

959
00:47:55,040 --> 00:47:57,040
grounds and you're like, oh, 
that's not what I some of you 

960
00:47:57,040 --> 00:47:59,840
are weird. 
And you're just like, I'll chew 

961
00:47:59,840 --> 00:48:01,200
it, I'll drink it. 
I just love it. 

962
00:48:02,600 --> 00:48:03,680
Yeah. 
God bless you. 

963
00:48:03,720 --> 00:48:09,160
Church is a place for the sick. 
But for me, every time I try to 

964
00:48:09,160 --> 00:48:13,000
drink it, it just, it ruined it.
And So what I ended up doing was

965
00:48:13,000 --> 00:48:15,440
just not even drinking coffee 
the same amount I wanted to 

966
00:48:15,440 --> 00:48:16,400
before. 
I was like, you know, I just 

967
00:48:16,400 --> 00:48:18,160
need a new, I need a new coffee 
maker. 

968
00:48:19,160 --> 00:48:21,880
The problem with that coffee 
maker wasn't that it couldn't 

969
00:48:21,880 --> 00:48:24,640
still process water through 
coffee grounds. 

970
00:48:24,640 --> 00:48:27,400
The problem was that it couldn't
filter it properly. 

971
00:48:28,280 --> 00:48:31,640
And because it couldn't filter 
it properly, I avoided it. 

972
00:48:32,640 --> 00:48:33,960
Well, why do I bring that up 
today? 

973
00:48:35,320 --> 00:48:37,720
As I was thinking about the 
story of Jonah, I thought about 

974
00:48:37,720 --> 00:48:40,320
my coffee maker. 
May it rest in peace. 

975
00:48:42,400 --> 00:48:44,680
It just hit me. 
Some of us wonder why certain 

976
00:48:44,680 --> 00:48:46,440
people don't come to us like 
they used to. 

977
00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:50,560
We wonder why fewer people seek 
our advice, or share their 

978
00:48:50,560 --> 00:48:52,920
struggles or or bring us into 
important moments. 

979
00:48:53,240 --> 00:48:55,240
We're still available. 
We're still willing to talk. 

980
00:48:55,240 --> 00:48:58,320
We're still pouring into people.
But we haven't realized that 

981
00:48:58,320 --> 00:49:01,480
what we're pouring is not what 
it used to be. 

982
00:49:02,600 --> 00:49:06,560
If we haven't guarded our heart.
If every conversation contains 

983
00:49:06,560 --> 00:49:09,240
bitterness, people notice it 
over time, not in one or two 

984
00:49:09,240 --> 00:49:11,200
conversations. 
If every discussion eventually 

985
00:49:11,200 --> 00:49:14,760
feels like criticism. 
If every story turns into gossip

986
00:49:14,760 --> 00:49:19,400
or permission for what they want
to do, or or outrage and anger 

987
00:49:19,400 --> 00:49:21,760
and negativity, people notice 
over time, and even if they 

988
00:49:21,760 --> 00:49:23,880
don't make the conscious 
decision, they start to avoid it

989
00:49:23,880 --> 00:49:25,800
because they're tired of getting
the grounds in their cup. 

990
00:49:28,560 --> 00:49:30,600
Eventually people stop coming. 
And it's not because they don't 

991
00:49:30,600 --> 00:49:32,640
love you, and it's not because 
they don't need encouragement or

992
00:49:32,640 --> 00:49:34,560
wisdom or friendship. 
They just stop coming because 

993
00:49:34,560 --> 00:49:37,680
they've learned what settles at 
the bottom of the conversation. 

994
00:49:38,640 --> 00:49:41,080
How do we guard what leaves our 
heart? 

995
00:49:41,920 --> 00:49:44,160
It's even harder, right? 
Because it's already in there 

996
00:49:44,200 --> 00:49:46,440
and God can take care of it. 
But what do we do with it? 

997
00:49:48,040 --> 00:49:50,640
One practical thing that might 
change your life is learning to 

998
00:49:50,640 --> 00:49:53,280
delay your response when your 
emotions are running hot. 

999
00:49:57,320 --> 00:49:59,560
Jonah felt something, and he 
immediately started talking. 

1000
00:49:59,960 --> 00:50:02,520
Most of us do the same thing. 
We fire off the text or make the

1001
00:50:02,520 --> 00:50:05,800
phone call. 
One of the easiest ways to guard

1002
00:50:05,800 --> 00:50:08,280
what leaves is to create space 
between what you're feeling and 

1003
00:50:08,280 --> 00:50:11,560
what you're speaking. 
A lot of times when you say 

1004
00:50:11,560 --> 00:50:13,920
something, you're expressing the
emotion, but you're not 

1005
00:50:13,920 --> 00:50:17,080
expressing the facts. 
But the problem is, once you've 

1006
00:50:17,080 --> 00:50:19,920
expressed it, they're going to 
take it as a hard opinion, and 

1007
00:50:19,920 --> 00:50:20,960
you're in a lot of trouble 
there. 

1008
00:50:21,520 --> 00:50:23,800
I'll just tell you this, Very 
few people that I know of have 

1009
00:50:23,800 --> 00:50:25,960
ever regretted waiting. 
But I know a lot of people that 

1010
00:50:25,960 --> 00:50:27,360
have regretted speaking too 
quickly. 

1011
00:50:28,440 --> 00:50:32,160
Another habit you can do. 
Yeah, I enjoyed writing that. 

1012
00:50:32,160 --> 00:50:36,080
Stop treating people as 
emotional dumpsters, OK? 

1013
00:50:36,960 --> 00:50:39,320
We all need trusted people and 
we all need accountability. 

1014
00:50:39,320 --> 00:50:42,280
We all need wise counsel. 
It's not what I'm talking about.

1015
00:50:42,720 --> 00:50:45,280
I'm talking about the tendency 
that when you haven't dealt with

1016
00:50:45,280 --> 00:50:47,520
an issue in your life, it 
becomes what you have to talk 

1017
00:50:47,520 --> 00:50:50,120
about with everybody. 
And now we unload our 

1018
00:50:50,120 --> 00:50:52,640
frustration on whoever happens 
to be nearby. 

1019
00:50:52,960 --> 00:50:54,880
They walk away saying, why would
they tell me this? 

1020
00:50:55,800 --> 00:50:58,760
Some people process every 
disappointment out loud, and 

1021
00:50:58,760 --> 00:51:00,440
then they wonder why they've 
become negative. 

1022
00:51:01,640 --> 00:51:04,440
Before you share something, just
ask yourself, am I looking for 

1023
00:51:04,440 --> 00:51:06,160
wisdom or am I looking for 
agreement? 

1024
00:51:06,720 --> 00:51:08,360
Two different conversations 
happen there. 

1025
00:51:08,560 --> 00:51:11,440
They're not the same thing. 
If all you're doing is 

1026
00:51:11,440 --> 00:51:13,520
recruiting people to join your 
offence, you're not solving the 

1027
00:51:13,520 --> 00:51:14,960
problem. 
You're actually not even 

1028
00:51:14,960 --> 00:51:16,760
containing it to you. 
You're spreading it. 

1029
00:51:18,640 --> 00:51:19,880
And here's a practical 
challenge. 

1030
00:51:19,880 --> 00:51:25,520
I'm I'm going to ask you for a 
show of hands in a moment, but 

1031
00:51:25,520 --> 00:51:26,880
don't lie in the House of God, 
all right? 

1032
00:51:29,400 --> 00:51:32,200
How about we spend one week 
refusing to speak negatively 

1033
00:51:32,200 --> 00:51:35,520
about anyone who's not in the 
room in any way. 

1034
00:51:36,320 --> 00:51:40,480
Just one week. 
Not one week of lying, not one 

1035
00:51:40,480 --> 00:51:42,520
week of pretending problems 
don't exist. 

1036
00:51:42,840 --> 00:51:47,680
I'm saying one week of refusing 
to criticize or gossip or mock 

1037
00:51:47,680 --> 00:51:50,440
or complain about or tear down 
somebody who can't even respond 

1038
00:51:50,440 --> 00:51:52,520
to you. 
Who's willing to do that? 

1039
00:51:52,520 --> 00:51:59,160
All right, I won't know. 
But you know who will? 

1040
00:51:59,840 --> 00:52:01,520
Come on VBS season, Who's going 
to know? 

1041
00:52:02,520 --> 00:52:03,200
Jesus. 
That's right. 

1042
00:52:03,200 --> 00:52:07,480
OK, number one. 
Number one thing that I would 

1043
00:52:07,480 --> 00:52:09,960
tell you, it's the fourth step, 
but it's more powerful than 

1044
00:52:09,960 --> 00:52:11,800
everything else we've talked 
about on how to do this. 

1045
00:52:12,200 --> 00:52:14,960
Start replacing your complaints 
with prayers. 

1046
00:52:15,560 --> 00:52:18,480
This is something that has been 
standard in my life for a long 

1047
00:52:18,480 --> 00:52:20,280
time. 
If I'm really struggling with 

1048
00:52:20,280 --> 00:52:23,960
somebody, I'm a pray for them. 
It's very difficult to stay at 

1049
00:52:23,960 --> 00:52:26,720
the same level of angry with 
somebody when you're interceding

1050
00:52:26,720 --> 00:52:29,360
for them. 
And let me be explicit in this 

1051
00:52:29,360 --> 00:52:32,880
for you because I remember 
talking to Christians before 

1052
00:52:32,880 --> 00:52:35,360
where I'm like in different, 
different areas, Hey, are you 

1053
00:52:35,360 --> 00:52:36,800
praying for the president? 
They're like, I'm praying for 

1054
00:52:36,800 --> 00:52:39,440
him to be impeached, praying for
him to get out of office or 

1055
00:52:39,440 --> 00:52:42,000
whatever. 
All right, so you could have 

1056
00:52:42,000 --> 00:52:47,160
said no would have been fine. 
I don't care if it's your 

1057
00:52:47,160 --> 00:52:49,640
politics or not. 
Every president we've ever had, 

1058
00:52:49,760 --> 00:52:52,440
as far as I know, has been 
somebody made in the image of 

1059
00:52:52,440 --> 00:52:56,480
God who needs Jesus. 
Not more or less than you, the 

1060
00:52:56,480 --> 00:53:00,120
same amount as you. 
So when I'm saying pray for 

1061
00:53:00,120 --> 00:53:01,920
someone, it doesn't start with 
Lord. 

1062
00:53:01,920 --> 00:53:07,160
You know how they are. 
Well, not because he doesn't. 

1063
00:53:07,160 --> 00:53:10,440
He does. 
He knows how you are too though.

1064
00:53:10,440 --> 00:53:13,480
So. 
So when you go to him and you 

1065
00:53:13,480 --> 00:53:16,880
start praying blessings over 
them, God create unity in their 

1066
00:53:16,880 --> 00:53:18,880
family. 
God, would you just make 

1067
00:53:18,880 --> 00:53:20,640
yourself more present in their 
life? 

1068
00:53:20,800 --> 00:53:23,640
Would they become a godlier man 
or a godlier woman? 

1069
00:53:24,120 --> 00:53:27,600
Not would you help me be 
redeemed in their eyes or would 

1070
00:53:27,600 --> 00:53:29,160
you help like stand up for me 
there? 

1071
00:53:29,160 --> 00:53:31,000
No, don't worry about being 
defensive. 

1072
00:53:31,000 --> 00:53:34,240
It's not about you. 
Pray blessings over somebody and

1073
00:53:34,240 --> 00:53:37,480
then let him do what he does. 
You know the New Testament, it 

1074
00:53:37,480 --> 00:53:39,640
says that vengeance is for the 
Lord, right? 

1075
00:53:40,400 --> 00:53:42,720
When you show honor, it actually
says you're like raking hot 

1076
00:53:42,720 --> 00:53:44,440
coals over their head. 
But don't let that be your 

1077
00:53:44,440 --> 00:53:47,920
motive either. 
Oh, I'll show you about to catch

1078
00:53:47,920 --> 00:53:49,240
a blessing. 
You're going to feel so bad 

1079
00:53:49,240 --> 00:53:54,600
about it. 
One thing that I'm very big on, 

1080
00:53:54,600 --> 00:53:56,800
I'm trying to make sure every 
time I preach that I always talk

1081
00:53:56,800 --> 00:54:00,720
about Jesus. 
Jesus had a lot to say about the

1082
00:54:00,720 --> 00:54:02,040
heart. 
And I've got 2 scriptures I want

1083
00:54:02,040 --> 00:54:05,080
to share with you before we get 
out of here today, and before 

1084
00:54:05,080 --> 00:54:06,880
you drive right past McDonald's 
and pivot. 

1085
00:54:07,000 --> 00:54:13,000
Choose somewhere else to eat. 
As we close today, I keep coming

1086
00:54:13,000 --> 00:54:14,760
back to the picture of that 
beekeeping suit. 

1087
00:54:17,760 --> 00:54:19,880
Two things I know. 
First of all, the goal was not 

1088
00:54:19,880 --> 00:54:22,600
to remove every bee from the 
environment so I'd feel safe. 

1089
00:54:23,240 --> 00:54:25,520
I'd be pretty silly in that bee 
suit if there was no bees. 

1090
00:54:26,720 --> 00:54:29,480
But the goal was also not for me
to lash out and smash every bee 

1091
00:54:29,480 --> 00:54:31,560
I could find. 
Mr. Jerry would have been very 

1092
00:54:31,560 --> 00:54:35,920
upset with me. 
The goal was for me to be 

1093
00:54:35,920 --> 00:54:38,560
prepared for the environment 
that I was entering. 

1094
00:54:39,440 --> 00:54:43,720
I needed to make sure that who I
am on the inside was safe from 

1095
00:54:43,720 --> 00:54:46,680
outside sources. 
But I also couldn't use what was

1096
00:54:46,680 --> 00:54:50,360
inside the suit to wound those 
that were outside of me. 

1097
00:54:50,520 --> 00:54:53,840
Does this make sense? 
Matthew chapter 10. 

1098
00:54:54,120 --> 00:54:58,320
Jesus says this. 
Look, I am sending you out as 

1099
00:54:58,320 --> 00:55:02,000
sheep among wolves. 
We talk a lot about. 

1100
00:55:02,000 --> 00:55:03,760
Look out for the wolves in 
sheep's clothing. 

1101
00:55:03,760 --> 00:55:07,680
Don't get deceived. 
He sent us out as sheep among 

1102
00:55:07,680 --> 00:55:09,440
wolves. 
Does that sound like a safe 

1103
00:55:09,440 --> 00:55:11,440
place to send your sheep? 
I don't know how many farmers we

1104
00:55:11,440 --> 00:55:15,200
have here, but I'm guessing no, 
he said. 

1105
00:55:15,200 --> 00:55:17,440
Be shrewd as snakes and harmless
as doves. 

1106
00:55:17,680 --> 00:55:20,720
But beware, for you'll be handed
over to the courts and you'll be

1107
00:55:20,720 --> 00:55:22,320
flogged with the whips in the 
synagogues. 

1108
00:55:22,520 --> 00:55:25,600
You'll stand before you, stand 
trial before governors and kings

1109
00:55:25,600 --> 00:55:28,960
because you're my followers, but
this will be your opportunity to

1110
00:55:28,960 --> 00:55:31,240
tell the rulers and other 
unbelievers about me. 

1111
00:55:31,240 --> 00:55:34,360
Now, most of us aren't going to 
be flogged in a government 

1112
00:55:34,360 --> 00:55:35,920
building. 
Most of us aren't going to have 

1113
00:55:35,920 --> 00:55:37,760
to stand trial because we're 
Christians. 

1114
00:55:38,120 --> 00:55:40,800
And God willing, I hope that we 
never get to the place that we 

1115
00:55:40,800 --> 00:55:42,800
have to stand trial for being a 
believer. 

1116
00:55:44,280 --> 00:55:47,800
But you are going to endure hard
conversations and judgement and 

1117
00:55:47,800 --> 00:55:51,240
criticism, and some of the 
criticism will be valid and some

1118
00:55:51,240 --> 00:55:52,840
of it won't. 
And you're going to have to 

1119
00:55:52,840 --> 00:55:56,040
endure a lot of things. 
And do you know what Jesus said?

1120
00:55:56,040 --> 00:55:59,000
He said that will be your 
opportunity to tell others and 

1121
00:55:59,000 --> 00:56:02,720
unbelievers about me. 
We look at it as an opportunity 

1122
00:56:02,720 --> 00:56:05,400
for us to withdraw and then feel
safer. 

1123
00:56:06,040 --> 00:56:07,960
And Jesus looked at it 
completely differently. 

1124
00:56:09,000 --> 00:56:10,960
And you may say, I don't even 
know what I would do if I tried 

1125
00:56:10,960 --> 00:56:12,360
to do that. 
Well, I'm glad you would, He 

1126
00:56:12,640 --> 00:56:14,880
said in verse 19. 
When you're arrested, don't 

1127
00:56:14,880 --> 00:56:16,560
worry about how to respond or 
what to say. 

1128
00:56:16,560 --> 00:56:18,880
God will give you the right 
words at the right time. 

1129
00:56:20,600 --> 00:56:22,920
It is not you who will be 
speaking, It will be the Spirit 

1130
00:56:22,920 --> 00:56:24,560
of your Father speaking through 
you. 

1131
00:56:24,560 --> 00:56:26,840
I'm telling you guys, in this 
pursuit for holiness, if you 

1132
00:56:26,840 --> 00:56:29,480
will guard what comes into your 
heart, and if you will guard 

1133
00:56:29,480 --> 00:56:32,240
what leaves your heart, which is
the true evidence of who you 

1134
00:56:32,240 --> 00:56:35,280
are, God will give you the right
things to say. 

1135
00:56:35,440 --> 00:56:37,480
You won't have to sit up late at
night and agonize. 

1136
00:56:37,480 --> 00:56:39,880
Well, how do I witness best? 
How do I say this to this angry 

1137
00:56:39,880 --> 00:56:41,720
person? 
How do I handle this situation? 

1138
00:56:41,720 --> 00:56:44,440
How will I do this? 
Because God Himself will speak 

1139
00:56:44,440 --> 00:56:47,120
through you, and you can't 
prepare for it other than to 

1140
00:56:47,120 --> 00:56:53,360
prepare your heart. 
If you prepare your heart, God 

1141
00:56:53,360 --> 00:56:56,120
will give you the words. 
It's not my promise, it's right 

1142
00:56:56,120 --> 00:56:59,280
there. 
Isn't it interesting that Jesus 

1143
00:56:59,280 --> 00:57:01,200
uses some of the same imagery 
that we've been talking about 

1144
00:57:01,200 --> 00:57:04,400
all morning when he talks about 
them being sent out amongst 

1145
00:57:04,400 --> 00:57:06,320
wolves? 
He never promised that the 

1146
00:57:06,320 --> 00:57:09,240
wolves would disappear. 
He's trying to turn those wolves

1147
00:57:09,240 --> 00:57:11,680
into sheep. 
He doesn't promise that the 

1148
00:57:11,680 --> 00:57:14,120
environment is going to be safe.
Hey, now that you work for me, 

1149
00:57:14,320 --> 00:57:19,280
welcome to Team Christianity. 
I got a real nice I got a real 

1150
00:57:19,280 --> 00:57:23,640
nice assignment for you and 
that's what we saw in Genesis. 

1151
00:57:23,640 --> 00:57:26,160
Also, Eve wasn't guarding what 
entered her heart. 

1152
00:57:26,800 --> 00:57:29,880
It's what we saw in Saul. 
Other voices became louder than 

1153
00:57:29,880 --> 00:57:32,880
God's voice. 
It's what we saw in Jonah would 

1154
00:57:32,880 --> 00:57:35,240
have been growing in his heart 
eventually began leaving through

1155
00:57:35,240 --> 00:57:38,760
his words and his attitude. 
And here's your last scripture. 

1156
00:57:38,760 --> 00:57:41,440
We started with a tree and we're
going to end with a tree. 

1157
00:57:42,120 --> 00:57:45,640
Luke chapter 6. 
Jesus tells us this. 

1158
00:57:46,440 --> 00:57:52,240
A good tree can't produce bad 
fruit and a bad tree can't 

1159
00:57:52,240 --> 00:57:56,000
produce good fruit. 
A tree is identified by its 

1160
00:57:56,000 --> 00:57:58,480
fruit. 
Figs are never gathered from 

1161
00:57:58,480 --> 00:58:01,000
thorn bushes and grapes are not 
picked from Bramble bushes, in 

1162
00:58:01,320 --> 00:58:05,000
case you were curious. 
But listen what he says in verse

1163
00:58:05,000 --> 00:58:07,280
45. 
He says a good person produces 

1164
00:58:07,280 --> 00:58:13,320
good things from the treasury of
a good heart, and an evil person

1165
00:58:13,320 --> 00:58:17,520
produces evil things from the 
treasury of an evil heart. 

1166
00:58:19,080 --> 00:58:21,160
I wish evil hearts didn't have a
treasury, but they do. 

1167
00:58:22,600 --> 00:58:25,600
He says what you say flows from 
what is in your heart. 

1168
00:58:26,200 --> 00:58:27,880
And you may say, well, there's 
some people that are really good

1169
00:58:27,880 --> 00:58:29,240
at lying and saying the wrong 
thing. 

1170
00:58:29,360 --> 00:58:32,920
I know, I know. 
Eventually, though, the fruit 

1171
00:58:32,920 --> 00:58:35,600
tells the truth. 
Not every single word, but when 

1172
00:58:35,600 --> 00:58:37,680
you look at somebody's life, 
you'll always see what kind of 

1173
00:58:37,680 --> 00:58:39,680
fruit is there. 
We can all manage our 

1174
00:58:39,680 --> 00:58:42,320
appearances for a while. 
We can all explain ourselves for

1175
00:58:42,320 --> 00:58:44,480
a while, and we can justify 
ourselves for a while, but 

1176
00:58:44,480 --> 00:58:47,560
eventually what's in the heart 
will find its way out into the 

1177
00:58:47,560 --> 00:58:49,400
open. 
But I want you to know this 

1178
00:58:49,400 --> 00:58:51,080
church. 
That's good news. 

1179
00:58:51,800 --> 00:58:53,840
It's really good news. 
Because the point of this 

1180
00:58:53,840 --> 00:58:56,440
message is not to make you 
suspicious of every thought or 

1181
00:58:56,440 --> 00:58:57,880
ashamed of every emotion you 
have. 

1182
00:58:58,200 --> 00:59:02,000
The point is that you would know
that God cares enough to help us

1183
00:59:02,000 --> 00:59:05,080
pay attention to the places in 
our lives that are being 

1184
00:59:05,080 --> 00:59:07,600
developed. 
Your quest for holiness will 

1185
00:59:07,600 --> 00:59:09,320
never be perfection. 
We talked about this on 

1186
00:59:09,320 --> 00:59:11,640
Wednesday night. 
But integrity means wholeness or

1187
00:59:11,640 --> 00:59:13,760
completeness. 
It is not perfection. 

1188
00:59:14,160 --> 00:59:17,840
You can be complete in the Lord 
and still battle your sin life. 

1189
00:59:18,400 --> 00:59:21,240
Your goal is not perfection. 
It is to be completely and 

1190
00:59:21,240 --> 00:59:24,320
wholly turned over and devoted 
to Him and Him alone. 

1191
00:59:25,760 --> 00:59:28,880
Holiness is cooperation with the
Holy Spirit, letting God choose 

1192
00:59:28,880 --> 00:59:32,280
what comes in and letting God 
choose what comes out. 

1193
00:59:32,680 --> 00:59:35,440
So this week, just to remind 
you, pay attention. 

1194
00:59:35,960 --> 00:59:38,480
Pay attention to the voices that
are influencing you and the 

1195
00:59:38,480 --> 00:59:40,080
conversations you're having with
yourself. 

1196
00:59:40,080 --> 00:59:42,560
Pay attention to what 
consistently comes out of your 

1197
00:59:42,560 --> 00:59:46,240
mouth when life gets difficult. 
Why do we pay attention to these

1198
00:59:46,240 --> 00:59:48,880
things? 
So that we can invite God back 

1199
00:59:48,880 --> 00:59:52,080
into these places in our lives. 
What God reveals, He can 

1200
00:59:52,080 --> 00:59:56,240
transform. 
So God, I'm just asking for you 

1201
00:59:56,240 --> 00:59:58,880
to reveal things we don't want 
to be revealed, but reveal them 

1202
00:59:58,880 --> 01:00:02,000
to us in your kindness. 
You're creative when you 

1203
01:00:02,000 --> 01:00:04,200
revealed it to Jonah. 
Be creative as you reveal it to 

1204
01:00:04,200 --> 01:00:06,320
us. 
Be a good Father and walk with 

1205
01:00:06,320 --> 01:00:08,040
us through the transformation 
that we need. 

1206
01:00:08,560 --> 01:00:11,560
We want to lift holy hands that 
come from holy arms that are all

1207
01:00:11,560 --> 01:00:15,000
fueled from a holy heart. 
We want to be set apart for you,

1208
01:00:15,000 --> 01:00:17,640
and we're just not able to do it
on our own. 

1209
01:00:18,400 --> 01:00:21,760
So we come here and we ask you. 
We are still desperate for you. 

1210
01:00:22,120 --> 01:00:25,560
Make us more like you. 
In the name of Jesus, Amen.