1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:07,680 Well, good morning, everyone. They, they left my cage unlocked 2 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:10,040 and I got out. So that's why I'm here. 3 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:15,800 For those of you who don't know me, my name is Vance Furtado and 4 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:19,800 I'm a volunteer teaching pastor here at Resurrection Church. 5 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:25,640 And I have the privilege of bringing the last message on our 6 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:29,080 series, The Way of Wisdom. And we're going to be taking a 7 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:33,720 look momentarily in Proverbs chapter 24, and we're going to 8 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:39,920 be looking at verses 27 to 34. Now, I don't know about you, but 9 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:43,200 I have gotten a lot out of this series, and I hope you have as 10 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:45,600 well. Matter of fact, I was talking 11 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:49,560 with a friend just a few days ago and he would like to study 12 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:52,280 both of us doing it together, the book of Proverbs. 13 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:55,880 And I was telling him, I said, you know one thing you have to 14 00:00:55,880 --> 00:01:00,240 remember when you read Proverbs, and that is you need to read it 15 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:07,760 slowly because if you read it fast, you miss the gems that are 16 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:10,360 in this book. All right, So we read it, we 17 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:13,160 ponder it, we ask God to teach us through it. 18 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:16,720 And that's especially going to be true in what we're looking at 19 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:20,360 today. Our topic is hard work and 20 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:24,240 savings. All right, now, before we get 21 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:28,120 into that, I want to tell you first of all, a true story. 22 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:34,680 It's about a woman. Her real name is Joanne, but her 23 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:41,280 friends call her Joe and Joe. Seven years after she graduated 24 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:45,920 from university, she really felt her life was a failure. 25 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:53,480 Her mom died of multiple sclerosis. 26 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:58,120 She had no relationship with her father. 27 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:05,600 She was divorced, being in a marriage with a very abusive 28 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:09,600 husband. She is now a single parent 29 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:15,440 raising a young daughter. Joe is barely surviving on a 30 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:18,800 part time job and public assistance. 31 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:25,640 She wrote about that time Rock bottom became the foundation on 32 00:02:25,640 --> 00:02:32,360 which I rebuilt my life. For all her troubles, Joe did 33 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:38,040 have two things going for her. First of all, she loved to write 34 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:44,840 and she was very good at it. And secondly, a few years before 35 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:49,840 all of this was going on, she began imagining and writing 36 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:58,080 about a young orphan boy. A boy that was unloved, who had 37 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:05,480 survived certain death. A boy that had a scar like a 38 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:08,480 lightnings bolt right in the middle of his forehead. 39 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:16,280 The boy's name that she created was Harry Potter, and Harry 40 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:23,880 Potter made Joanne JK Rowling a very, very wealthy woman. 41 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:29,560 She became one of the most successful writers in modern 42 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:33,640 times, Rowling would later write. 43 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:40,640 It is our choices that show what we truly are more than our 44 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:45,040 abilities. OK, let me ask us throw a 45 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:46,720 question out there for all of us, all right? 46 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:50,720 What if Rowling had simply given up? 47 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:54,360 What if she refused to keep working? 48 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:59,440 She refused to keep trying at what she was really good at? 49 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,880 She could have chosen that. She could have made that choice. 50 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:10,800 You see, every one of us makes choices, choices that will 51 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:16,640 either help us or hurt us. Which will we choose? 52 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:24,080 Now? Again, this sermon is on hard 53 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:33,400 work and career, How we approach choices, what we choose to do. 54 00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:37,160 That affects not just what we do for work. 55 00:04:37,840 --> 00:04:41,520 It affects our opportunities. It affects our time. 56 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:44,600 It affects our resources. It affects our talents. 57 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:48,360 In short, it affects every single thing that God has 58 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:53,800 entrusted to all of us. Our main idea guys, is this. 59 00:04:54,680 --> 00:05:04,520 We look like our choices. Now, in this passage, Solomon is 60 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:09,720 going to present three different choices that we all have to make 61 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:13,360 all the time, and we're going to again, focus this specifically 62 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:17,000 on the area of work and career. So the first choice that we're 63 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:23,240 going to see, and that's in Proverbs 24, verse 27, is choose 64 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:29,560 priorities wisely. Second choice is in verses 28 65 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:32,720 and 29. Choose integrity. 66 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:37,120 Third choice, that's the rest of the passage. 67 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:41,240 Choose to learn. All right, let's go ahead and 68 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:44,920 take a look now and read the passage starting at Proverbs 24, 69 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:46,360 verse 27. Read with me. 70 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:50,600 Please prepare your work outside. 71 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:52,760 Get everything ready in the field. 72 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:55,760 After that, build your own house. 73 00:05:56,640 --> 00:06:00,320 Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do 74 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:06,600 not deceive with your lips. Do not say I will give to him as 75 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:10,400 he has done to me. I will pay him back for what he 76 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:14,640 has done. I passed by the field of 77 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:19,720 sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, 78 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:22,520 it was all overgrown with thorns. 79 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:27,440 The ground was covered with nettles, and the Stonewall was 80 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:31,200 broken down. Then I saw and considered it. 81 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:33,520 I looked and received instruction. 82 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:39,320 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the 83 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:44,320 hands to rest and poverty will come upon you like an armed 84 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:47,800 robber and want like an armed man. 85 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:54,360 OK, first choice, verse 27. Choose priorities wisely. 86 00:06:56,080 --> 00:07:00,200 This picture that he's giving us, Solomon is giving us what? 87 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:03,240 They would have seen that all the time, because people live 88 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:06,000 very close to the land in the ancient world. 89 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:12,600 But the idea of seeing a field, a farmer's field with nothing 90 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:16,040 growing, but then seeing a very nice house in the middle of that 91 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:18,800 field, that made absolutely no sense. 92 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:23,400 Because what happened then was a person. 93 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:27,200 Whoever was the knucklehead who did this, they're putting their 94 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:31,120 home before their work. They're putting their comfort 95 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:35,840 before a way to earn a living. You know, Pastor Daniel was 96 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:39,160 telling me about this TV show that he really, really likes. 97 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:43,400 It's called Alone, and I've never seen it, but I understand 98 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:46,200 it's something like they take a bunch of people and they give 99 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:49,800 each of 1, I don't know, maybe a pocket knife and a paper clip, I 100 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:53,800 don't know. And then they send them out, out 101 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:57,480 into the the wilderness, the boonies somewhere, and they tell 102 00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:02,000 them, survive. You don't get any help, You're 103 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:05,640 alone. They have to get their own food. 104 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:08,120 They have to prepare their own shelter. 105 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:11,720 The question is, who's going to make it? 106 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:19,040 Who's going to quit 1st? And I understand that the people 107 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:24,520 who make it, who survived the longest out there are the people 108 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:31,440 who prioritize getting the food. They're not worried about having 109 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:33,640 a shelter shoot. They can sleep underneath a tree 110 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:37,240 if they need to, but they work at getting the food. 111 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:39,919 The people who don't make it figure out, oh, I'm going to 112 00:08:39,919 --> 00:08:42,200 build myself a nice place. And by the time they're halfway 113 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:44,840 through, they're starving. They quit. 114 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:51,560 You know, work has gotten a bad Rep. 115 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:58,560 And I can prove that to you. How many of us have been tempted 116 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:03,440 recently to buy a lottery ticket? 117 00:09:10,180 --> 00:09:15,900 You know, by the way, it really is dumb, isn't it? 118 00:09:17,460 --> 00:09:29,160 One chance in 292 million? Come on, you know, when we do 119 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:34,680 something like that, it's an attempt to avoid something that 120 00:09:34,680 --> 00:09:41,240 we actually were created to do. And let me show you, OK, two 121 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:46,280 important facts about work. First fact about work is this. 122 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:54,280 We were created to work by God himself and I could prove that 123 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:59,440 in the book of Genesis, very first chapter of the Bible it 124 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:03,200 says this. So God created man in his own 125 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:05,520 image. He created them in the image of 126 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:08,800 God. He created them male and female. 127 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:14,840 God bless them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply. 128 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:18,800 Now catch this, fill the earth and subdue it. 129 00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:25,680 Rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and over 130 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:28,480 every creature that crawls on the earth. 131 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:33,640 Subdue, rule. Then the next chapter, God is 132 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:37,360 now placed Adam and eventually Eve will be there too. 133 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:38,880 They're in this beautiful garden. 134 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:46,200 It says Genesis 215. The Lord God took the man Adam 135 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:53,040 and placed him in the garden to work in it and watch over it. 136 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:58,680 He's not in the garden laying around on the grass sticking 137 00:10:58,680 --> 00:11:06,840 daisies in his ears. He's working, He's caring for 138 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:10,760 it. He's doing and enjoying what God 139 00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:14,800 created him to do now. Yeah, we know what happens in 140 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:20,040 the next chapter, Genesis 3. That's when Eve and Adam both 141 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:23,400 sinned. They both basically bring sin 142 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:25,760 into the world. They disobey God. 143 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:29,160 They experience God's judgment, which we still struggle with 144 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:32,520 today. And one of those judgments was 145 00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:36,000 the fact that the ground became much, much harder to grow food 146 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:38,760 in. But that does not change the 147 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:41,840 original mandate, the original purpose. 148 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:49,520 Work is good. Repeat that after me. 149 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:54,240 Work is good. I don't think some of you all 150 00:11:54,240 --> 00:12:04,440 believe that, but it is. OK What's your attitude about 151 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:08,040 work? Yeah. 152 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:09,920 I'm retired now. OK. 153 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:16,720 But for decades, you know, Sunday night rolls around. 154 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:21,160 Am I looking forward to going back and teaching my students? 155 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:27,960 AM I looking forward to returning back to interact with 156 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:30,240 my kiddos for another school year? 157 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:38,440 You know, some of you all know this story, but I'll, I'll go 158 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:42,200 ahead and share it. I was originally trained to be a 159 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:43,680 pastor. I wasn't trained to be a 160 00:12:43,680 --> 00:12:47,200 teacher, although that's what I spent over 30 years of my life 161 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:51,200 doing. So I came back, along with my 162 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:53,920 wife. We came back to Bakersfield and 163 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:57,760 I began pastoring a small church over in the northwest part of 164 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:01,800 town. I ended up having to resign. 165 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:08,000 I felt like a failure. We also lost the house that we 166 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:11,000 were staying at because the house that the church was 167 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:14,560 renting was the Parsonage. No pastor, no Parsonage. 168 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:16,960 We had to move in with my parents. 169 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:22,840 Linda was seven months pregnant with our first child. 170 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:34,360 I had to work. I had to work at whatever jobs 171 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:38,960 God brought my way. I worked in a diesel shop on 172 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:43,000 34th St. for a while, sweeping, cleaning, taking care of their 173 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:47,520 tools. I've worked for a while at at 174 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:52,320 office and classroom furniture place, fixing up stuff and 175 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:55,440 delivering it and making contacts with customer. 176 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:57,760 After that I went back to school. 177 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:01,320 I had to get a teacher's credential and I started working 178 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:06,680 as a sub. By the way, I hated being a sub, 179 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:18,000 but let me tell you, family and friends helped, but ultimately 180 00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:25,760 God took care of us. About a year after that, the 181 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:30,560 Lord gave me another job working in the previous church that used 182 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:33,720 to be here. He gave us another place to 183 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:36,200 live, an apartment that we were able to rent. 184 00:14:38,040 --> 00:14:41,160 He took care of us. And you know, I learned some 185 00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:44,400 valuable lessons in doing jobs I didn't really want to do, but 186 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:48,080 nevertheless, those were the jobs that God provided for me, 187 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:56,240 for my family. Are you honoring God by how you 188 00:14:56,240 --> 00:15:04,160 approach work? Are you honoring your family by 189 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:11,240 how you do your work? You see, there's 2 problems we 190 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:13,320 often have when it comes to work and career. 191 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:18,640 First problem, we overdo it. We basically make the job, We 192 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:22,080 make the career our idol. We sacrifice our home, we 193 00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:26,720 sacrifice our kids, we sacrifice our marriage to this job. 194 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:32,240 Wrapping up all of our identity in that job, putting in 607080 195 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:38,600 hours plus and then wondering why our life and our family 196 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:48,080 falls apart because we created and made that job an idol and 197 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:54,480 God hates idols. So we overdo work. 198 00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:59,760 The other mistake that we make is we underdo it. 199 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:03,840 God brings an opportunity our way. 200 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:09,320 We need the job, and for whatever excuse we don't take 201 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:15,800 it. You see, to overwork is sin. 202 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:21,040 It's selfishness. God expects us to take care of 203 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:25,400 folks around us, and we're basically treating this job as 204 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:30,080 an idol. Underwork is also selfishness. 205 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:37,080 Our comfort is more important to us than doing the right thing. 206 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:43,120 And you know what? Selfishness is sin, pure and 207 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:51,210 simple. Something else we need to 208 00:16:51,210 --> 00:16:57,810 realize about work is this. Our ultimate boss is the Lord 209 00:16:57,810 --> 00:17:04,490 Himself. Before the 1st service, bunch of 210 00:17:04,490 --> 00:17:09,040 us were over in the side room and Justin was taking us through 211 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:11,280 how the service was going to work and how things were going 212 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:14,520 to flow. And a certain somebody in that 213 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:21,640 room, Pastor Daniel at one point mentioned that well, maybe we 214 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:26,200 could use this particular song and the song was take this job 215 00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:30,480 and shove it. Of course, somebody had 216 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:35,720 mentioned that to him, but thankfully Justin said no. 217 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:38,680 Justin has more sense than us. OK guys. 218 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:44,640 But the idea is, is that our ultimate boss is the Lord 219 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:46,720 Himself. We're told that in the Bible. 220 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:50,320 So here's what it says in Colossians 3. 221 00:17:51,120 --> 00:17:58,920 Whatever you do, work heartily As for the Lord and not for men. 222 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:03,800 Knowing that it's from the Lord Himself, you receive the 223 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:10,160 inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 224 00:18:12,120 --> 00:18:16,360 See what we can sometimes do. And I, I made this mistake too. 225 00:18:16,360 --> 00:18:18,640 We all have. We have the job. 226 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:20,440 We don't really like the job very much. 227 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:23,160 And So what do we do? We slack off on the job. 228 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:28,040 We piddle. We know what we're supposed to 229 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:32,240 do, but we're not doing it with our whole heart. 230 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:34,840 We're just going through the motions. 231 00:18:37,120 --> 00:18:41,760 Our ultimate boss is the Lord Himself. 232 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:46,240 Not the boss. The human boss we may not like, 233 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:48,640 not the manager we may not get along with. 234 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:53,560 We're a Christian. We work for Jesus. 235 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:58,680 Regardless of whether we get a paycheck from the church or some 236 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:06,800 other place, we work for Jesus. You know what's kind of cool is 237 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:10,400 that the Lord Jesus told this parable. 238 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:12,200 It's called the parable of the talents. 239 00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:16,040 It's in Matthew chapter 25. I'll let you read it on your 240 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:21,760 own, but the parable is about these three servants, each of 241 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:25,200 which was given a task. They were given some money and 242 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:30,240 the idea of the master told them was invest this, use it. 243 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:33,840 So two of the servants did exactly what they were supposed 244 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:36,320 to do. They doubled the masters money, 245 00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:42,760 they worked one, went away and hit it, did absolutely nothing 246 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:47,280 and then tried to pass that off as basically the master was a 247 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:52,080 hard man, why work hard for him. But the two who did exactly what 248 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:55,160 they were supposed to do, when the master came back and found 249 00:19:55,160 --> 00:20:00,360 out what they did, he said to both of them, Well done. 250 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:04,920 Good and faithful servant, you've been faithful in a 251 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:07,680 little. I will entrust you with much. 252 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:14,520 Enter into the joy of your master one day. 253 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:18,520 Scripture is absolutely clear about this. 254 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:23,280 We will give an account before Jesus for what we have done. 255 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:37,000 Do we want to hear him say well done, good and faithful servant? 256 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:49,440 He is our ultimate boss. He's the one who really signs 257 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:54,560 the check. Who are you really working for? 258 00:20:55,600 --> 00:21:01,960 Who's your real boss? Again, first priority choose or 259 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:06,280 excuse me, first choice, choose priorities wisely and that 260 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:09,600 includes how we approach work. All right, let's move on to our 261 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:15,520 second choice. That's in verses 28 and 29, it 262 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:23,920 says choose integrity. That's I bring up the idea of 263 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,000 integrity, even though it's not mentioned here in these two 264 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,520 verses, but I think you'll see where I'm going on this. 265 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:31,000 All right. So just kind of bear with me. 266 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:35,240 Let me first of all give you a good definition of integrity. 267 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:40,040 Here it is. It's what we do when we think no 268 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:45,640 one is going to catch us. Run that past you one more time. 269 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:51,320 Integrity is what we do when we think no one's going to catch 270 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:58,120 us. Now I need to confess something 271 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:00,880 to you all. I have an addiction. 272 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:10,290 It's to peanut butter. I'm sure peanut butter is in 273 00:22:10,290 --> 00:22:17,130 heaven. It has to be ten, 11:00 at 274 00:22:17,130 --> 00:22:21,330 night. The peanut butter jar is 275 00:22:21,330 --> 00:22:25,600 calling. Nobody else is in the kitchen. 276 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:31,240 I slip out, take a piece of bread, maybe 2 pieces of bread, 277 00:22:32,360 --> 00:22:37,960 put a bit on it, chew it up, eat it before anybody catches me, 278 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:44,480 and then I go back to bed. The sad thing is I always get 279 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:50,480 caught and what always catches me is the scale. 280 00:22:53,920 --> 00:23:01,040 You see, I really was not practicing integrity because 281 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:06,400 integrity, it includes not doing a wrong choice. 282 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:11,360 And what we have here in these two verses, verses 28 and 29, 283 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:16,080 Solomon who wrote Proverbs, he's given us 2 examples of a wrong 284 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:18,000 choice. So verse 28, that's the first 285 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:21,960 one, and that is don't be a false witness. 286 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:26,200 Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause. 287 00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:28,640 Do not deceive him with your lips. 288 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:34,720 In other words, don't lie. Don't slander another person. 289 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:41,680 You know, it's interesting in earlier in this book, Solomon 290 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:44,640 writes first he says 6 things and then he says, no, wait a 291 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:47,120 minute. It's seven things that God 292 00:23:47,360 --> 00:23:55,320 absolutely despises and one of them is a false witness, a liar. 293 00:23:56,760 --> 00:24:01,000 And then the next verse do not say I will do to him as he has 294 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:03,320 done to me. I will pay back the man for what 295 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:07,000 he has done. The second example of a wrong 296 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:12,680 choice is a vengeful person, a person who refuses to leave 297 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:17,560 justice with God, a person that wants to kind of forget that the 298 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:24,840 Lord says justice is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. 299 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:30,560 Solomon's point is if you want to practice integrity, don't do 300 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:36,200 what it says in verse 28 and 29. Now let's flip this. 301 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:46,760 Integrity begins with obedience. Obedience to what Jesus tells us 302 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:49,800 to do. Of course, Jesus tells us a lot 303 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:53,080 of things, but let me just focus on one passage in particular, 304 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:56,320 OK? Choosing integrity means 305 00:24:56,320 --> 00:25:01,320 obedience, especially to those things that are extremely 306 00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:02,760 important. Let me show you. 307 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:07,560 This is from Matthew 22, verses 34 and 40. 308 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:12,800 The words are partly by Jesus. Hearing that Jesus had silenced 309 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:15,400 the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 310 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:19,840 One of them, an expert in law, tested him with the question, 311 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:24,960 Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law? 312 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:29,320 Jesus replied. Love the Lord your God with all 313 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:31,640 your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 314 00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:35,760 This is the first and greatest commandment, and the second is 315 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:39,320 like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. 316 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:45,160 All the law and prophets hang on these two commandments. 317 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:50,760 So practicing integrity means obedience. 318 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:58,000 It means trying to live out those two ideas, loving God with 319 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:02,960 everything that's that's within us and loving people around us 320 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:10,040 just like we love ourselves. Does it mean we're going to be 321 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:12,840 perfect? No, certainly not. 322 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:17,840 But it means that as we trust God for the strength and 323 00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:23,040 ability, we keep striving, we pick up, we keep moving, we keep 324 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:31,480 working out, we keep practicing. You know my daughter Kathleen, 325 00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:34,840 we call her cat. Several years ago, she ran a 326 00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:37,960 marathon. And if that wasn't crazy enough, 327 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:40,200 she went away and she ran another marathon. 328 00:26:42,120 --> 00:26:49,960 I don't understand my daughter, but that second marathon I 329 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:52,440 distinctly remember. She did the same thing in the 330 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:55,160 first, but also I remember better about the second because 331 00:26:55,360 --> 00:26:58,200 she knew what that first marathon was like. 332 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:02,120 So when she decided to run a second, her and her husband 333 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:07,080 Weston set up a schedule. She trained for months, 334 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:14,000 practicing, practicing, practicing to run 26 miles in 335 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:19,520 one day. That's what the Lord is calling 336 00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:22,800 us to do. It's not like, hey, somebody 337 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:24,440 like me, I'm going to go run a marathon. 338 00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:26,120 I won't even make it out of the parking lot. 339 00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:33,760 But the Lord expects us, if we practice integrity, to keep 340 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:42,920 pushing and obeying Jesus. By the way, something else 2nd 341 00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:51,240 choosing integrity means we love people just as Jesus loves us. 2 342 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:54,360 quick facts about that kind of love that Jesus gives us. 343 00:27:54,360 --> 00:28:00,880 Here's the first one. His love drew people to him 344 00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:07,040 despite their sin, so we're told in Luke 15. 345 00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:12,080 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to 346 00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:16,720 hear him, and the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled. 347 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:23,320 They did that a lot, saying this man receives sinners and eats 348 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:27,480 with them. In other words, these people 349 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:31,840 didn't avoid Jesus. They sought him out. 350 00:28:32,120 --> 00:28:36,080 They wanted to be with him. There was something about Jesus 351 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:39,920 and it was at least his love that was drawing these people to 352 00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:44,560 him. So the question for us, are we 353 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:50,560 drawing people to or are we repelling people away from 354 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:53,600 Jesus? Let me put it to you this way. 355 00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:59,480 Are we a doughnut or are we a yam? 356 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:04,400 OK, No, I haven't gone crazy. Just bear with me on this, OK? 357 00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:10,520 What's a yam? A yam is something about this 358 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:14,680 big that's masquerading as a potato, and it's the grossest 359 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:16,560 thing you could ever possibly eat. 360 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:21,680 There's a lot of things I used to be able to eat in East Africa 361 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:25,440 when I was teaching at the seminary there in Uganda. 362 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:28,960 But I do the lot of two things. Number one, no flying termites 363 00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:35,160 and #2 no yams. They're repulsive. 364 00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:41,040 Now, if you like yams, I'll pray for you. 365 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:46,760 OK? Contrast that with a doughnut. 366 00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:51,960 Somebody walks into the office, has a box of doughnuts. 367 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:55,240 Woo. Everybody comes to the box. 368 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:57,280 All right? And other than the weird people 369 00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:00,480 who just want yams, but everybody else comes to the 370 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:02,120 doughnuts. Why? 371 00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:07,840 Because they're drawn to them. OK, then, 2 miles of this 372 00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:10,760 church, There must be at least half a dozen doughnut shops. 373 00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:19,360 Do you know a yam shop anywhere? The point is that I'm. 374 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:21,840 I know I'm being silly, but the point is simply this. 375 00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:26,880 Are we demonstrating Jesus in such a way to the people around 376 00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:31,440 us that people want to know Jesus by what they hear from us 377 00:30:31,440 --> 00:30:35,840 and by what they see in us? That's what we're called to do. 378 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:43,200 That's practicing integrity. Secondly, his love. 379 00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:51,800 He gave us an example to follow. OK, so Jesus says in John 15, he 380 00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:57,680 says to his disciples and to us, my command is this love others 381 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:02,320 as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than 382 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:06,680 this, that he laid down his life for his friends. 383 00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:13,600 And of course, less than a day after he said this, that's 384 00:31:13,600 --> 00:31:17,440 exactly what He did. He laid down his life. 385 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:22,000 He died on that cross for his disciples, and he died on that 386 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:29,560 cross for us. He gave them personally an 387 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:33,040 example of his love that cost him everything. 388 00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:37,040 But by the way, before he did that, he gave them another 389 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:42,080 example of his love. In that same room where Jesus 390 00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:46,800 said what we just read earlier, the disciples had all sat down 391 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:48,920 for a meal together. It's called the Passover. 392 00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:53,080 It's really a big deal with the Jewish people, still is today. 393 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:57,600 But the deal is you want to clean yourself up to celebrate 394 00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:00,120 the Passover. And part of that involved 395 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:05,240 washing your feet because every place they walked in the ancient 396 00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:08,720 world, they wore sandals and their feet got super gross. 397 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:13,520 Well, the deal is why having to wash other people's feet? 398 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:15,960 It's like the lowest or the lowest kind of job. 399 00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:20,240 Nobody did that other than a slave who couldn't do anything 400 00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:23,080 else. So they're all around the 401 00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:29,320 Passover reclining in AU shaped table with dirty, stinking feet 402 00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:38,960 because nobody wants to do that. So Jesus got up, took off his 403 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:44,760 robe, put on the garment of a slave, and lovingly went from 404 00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:49,480 disciple to disciple, washing their dirty, stinking feet. 405 00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:53,760 And by the way, he even washed the feet of Judas, the man who 406 00:32:53,760 --> 00:33:00,760 was going to betray him. When he was done, he said this. 407 00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:05,640 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 408 00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:11,440 If I then your teacher and Lord have washed your feet, you also 409 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:15,560 ought to wash one another's feet, for I have given you an 410 00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:20,600 example that you should do as I have done for you. 411 00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:26,120 Now people get hung up on the idea of foot washing. 412 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:28,880 Should we do it? Should we not do it? 413 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:31,360 You know what? I've been in foot washing 414 00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:34,640 things, ceremonies and services. Here's the deal. 415 00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:37,640 Nobody ever goes to a foot washing service in dirty feet. 416 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:41,440 They always wash them ahead of time. 417 00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:43,880 And then the debate back and forth. 418 00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:46,400 It's even split churches as to whether you should do this or 419 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:50,400 whether you're not. You know what that's missing? 420 00:33:50,560 --> 00:33:56,360 The point. The point that Jesus was putting 421 00:33:56,360 --> 00:34:01,040 a cross and we need to get this is showing real love. 422 00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:06,520 Showing real integrity is focused on others. 423 00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:14,679 It's loving somebody and putting ourselves out to do something 424 00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:17,719 that may be dirty, it may be stinky, but you know what? 425 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:23,800 It's what God wants us to do. That's integrity. 426 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:31,520 That's the love Jesus shows. You know, several weeks ago, 427 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:36,520 Linda and I went down to San Marcos to visit Beverly, our 428 00:34:36,520 --> 00:34:38,600 granddaughter. Yeah, we're visiting the 429 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:40,000 parents, too. Yeah, whatever. 430 00:34:41,719 --> 00:34:44,600 And we went to the beach, all of us, to Carlsbad Beach. 431 00:34:45,440 --> 00:34:50,199 And this little toddler, I mean, she couldn't have got more dirty 432 00:34:50,199 --> 00:34:53,600 on that sand in that beach if you had taken her and just 433 00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:58,880 rolled her on the sand, OK, She was absolutely filthy with sand, 434 00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:03,520 but very happy. Well, eventually they had. 435 00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:06,880 Everybody had to go home. And so Kat and West and her 436 00:35:06,880 --> 00:35:12,840 parents took her out of her seat, and before they put her in 437 00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:17,960 her car seat, they lovingly, very carefully washed off as 438 00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:23,440 much as that sand as they could. All the time she's fussing and 439 00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:27,160 screaming. Not really, but she was some. 440 00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:33,640 Why? Because that was showing love to 441 00:35:33,640 --> 00:35:40,400 their child. None of us deserves the love 442 00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:45,840 that Jesus gives us, but he loves us and he gives it to us 443 00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:50,600 anyway. That's the same kind of love we 444 00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:54,760 need to extend to others. So the second choice is to 445 00:35:54,760 --> 00:36:01,000 choose integrity. Third choice, choose to learn. 446 00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:05,280 Let's take a quick look at verses, beginning at verse 30 to 447 00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:09,040 verse 34. I passed by the field of a 448 00:36:09,040 --> 00:36:14,320 sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, 449 00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:16,840 it was all overgrown with with thorns. 450 00:36:16,840 --> 00:36:19,840 The ground was covered with nettles, and the Stonewall was 451 00:36:19,840 --> 00:36:23,320 broken down. Then I saw and considered it. 452 00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:25,760 I looked and received instruction. 453 00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:30,720 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the 454 00:36:30,720 --> 00:36:36,840 hands to rest and poverty will come upon you like a robber and 455 00:36:36,840 --> 00:36:48,360 want like an armed man. Imagine you're coming down I5 456 00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:53,280 from the top of the Grapevine into our valley, and you have we 457 00:36:53,280 --> 00:36:57,280 have that long decline to the valley floor. 458 00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:10,320 Do you speed on that decline? Don't try to tell me you don't 459 00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:12,960 because you probably do, because I do. 460 00:37:14,960 --> 00:37:24,720 But speed limit says 65. But when we're going too fast 461 00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:33,200 and we see the CHP guy and he pulls someone over to give him a 462 00:37:33,200 --> 00:37:34,880 ticket. And those are expensive, by the 463 00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:39,920 way. Is it better for us or for the 464 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:43,920 other guy to get caught? Yeah. 465 00:37:44,160 --> 00:37:45,160 OK. Yeah. 466 00:37:47,120 --> 00:37:50,560 See, we can always learn from our stupidity. 467 00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:53,520 Amen. But isn't it better to learn 468 00:37:53,520 --> 00:38:00,440 from another person's stupidity? So let's focus on what we see in 469 00:38:00,440 --> 00:38:03,720 this passage. OK, What's wrong with this guy? 470 00:38:03,720 --> 00:38:06,600 He's called the sluggard. I'll call them lazy bones. 471 00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:08,040 What? At least two things are wrong 472 00:38:08,040 --> 00:38:11,800 with him. OK, first of all, he has a case 473 00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:17,160 of the littles 3 times. Little Bit of folding his hands, 474 00:38:17,160 --> 00:38:19,760 little bit of putting his head down, little bit of a nap. 475 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:25,520 Point is, is that the guy keeps choosing the soft choice the 476 00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:31,640 easy way, over and over and over again until finally his 477 00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:35,880 opportunities have gone and he's not even aware of it anymore. 478 00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:45,160 Second problem, He lacks sense. Literally what Solomon wrote. 479 00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:53,000 He lacks heart. Now remember Jesus said what we 480 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:56,120 have to do, the first and greatest commandment is we love 481 00:38:56,120 --> 00:38:59,960 the Lord our God with all our will, with all our strength, and 482 00:38:59,960 --> 00:39:06,000 with all of our heart. Lazy guy is heartless. 483 00:39:08,280 --> 00:39:13,400 He sacrifices what he could have been because he chooses to take 484 00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:18,840 the easy way. Here's the deal. 485 00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:24,400 Physical laziness and spiritual laziness are both thieves. 486 00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:30,400 They rob us of what we can experience. 487 00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:37,640 Now guys, the key verse is actually verse 32 where it says 488 00:39:37,640 --> 00:39:39,880 then I saw it and I considered it. 489 00:39:40,240 --> 00:39:42,120 I looked and received instruction. 490 00:39:44,040 --> 00:39:48,800 In other words, Solomon saying I chose to learn. 491 00:39:50,560 --> 00:39:55,440 A fool never learns anything, partly because they're too 492 00:39:55,440 --> 00:39:59,280 interested in expressing their own opinions and making excuses. 493 00:39:59,400 --> 00:40:05,280 A fool never learns anything. A wise person learns from their 494 00:40:05,400 --> 00:40:10,040 mistakes. The wisest person learns from 495 00:40:10,040 --> 00:40:17,160 the mistakes of others. Is there something right now 496 00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:23,400 that God wants you to choose to learn, but you're not listening? 497 00:40:31,370 --> 00:40:36,010 Last week, this last week, Pastor Daniel came into my study 498 00:40:37,810 --> 00:40:43,090 and he did what we call on the staff, a hard conversation, and 499 00:40:43,090 --> 00:40:48,690 I needed it because I had screwed up big time. 500 00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:54,760 You see, we get feedback from other people on our teaching 501 00:40:54,760 --> 00:40:58,440 team on these messages and I got some really good feedback, but I 502 00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:01,120 was not in the right place to receive it. 503 00:41:01,120 --> 00:41:05,200 Why? Because I was being a jerk and I 504 00:41:05,200 --> 00:41:09,640 hurt some people. And so my pastor came in and 505 00:41:09,640 --> 00:41:15,440 talked to me and we had this hard conversation and it was a 506 00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:26,920 good thing, really good thing. When we are corrected, are we 507 00:41:26,920 --> 00:41:32,160 going to choose to learn or are we going to let our pride get in 508 00:41:32,160 --> 00:41:38,200 the way? That's the choice we always have 509 00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:43,520 to make. If we don't choose to learn, you 510 00:41:43,520 --> 00:41:46,280 know what happens? God brings things around and we 511 00:41:46,280 --> 00:41:53,360 have to learn that lesson again. And if we still won't learn, He 512 00:41:53,360 --> 00:41:56,880 brings things around and He challenges us again. 513 00:41:57,880 --> 00:42:00,360 Why? Because He loves us. 514 00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:05,880 So the third choice, choose to learn. 515 00:42:08,120 --> 00:42:14,400 So the main idea again, is we look like our choices. 516 00:42:16,200 --> 00:42:20,640 Now, maybe you've, this is perhaps your first time here at 517 00:42:20,720 --> 00:42:23,520 Resurrection Church. And if so, we're glad you're 518 00:42:23,520 --> 00:42:26,120 here. Maybe you've been here a number 519 00:42:26,120 --> 00:42:31,200 of times before, but you're thinking I'm not a believer, I'm 520 00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:33,760 not a Christian. What does this have to do with 521 00:42:33,760 --> 00:42:36,120 me? Yeah, I know choices are 522 00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:39,520 important, but what does it have to do with me? 523 00:42:40,800 --> 00:42:42,880 Well, let me explain something. All right. 524 00:42:43,920 --> 00:42:48,240 You see, Jesus chose to reach out to you. 525 00:42:50,200 --> 00:42:51,680 Yeah, you didn't know it, but He did. 526 00:42:53,080 --> 00:42:58,240 He chose to reach out to you to provide for you by His sacrifice 527 00:42:58,240 --> 00:43:02,640 on the cross. The only way you can get to know 528 00:43:02,640 --> 00:43:09,720 God and experience eternal life. The most important choice any of 529 00:43:09,720 --> 00:43:15,560 us will ever make is what will we decide about Jesus? 530 00:43:17,600 --> 00:43:21,360 Will you ask Him to be your Savior and Lord? 531 00:43:21,800 --> 00:43:24,680 In a way that is a very easy choice. 532 00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:26,560 You know why? Because He did all the work. 533 00:43:27,200 --> 00:43:33,280 We can't save ourselves, so He reached out to help us, to save 534 00:43:33,280 --> 00:43:39,360 us in another way. Choosing to accept Jesus can be 535 00:43:39,360 --> 00:43:40,640 a hard choice. Why? 536 00:43:40,720 --> 00:43:47,480 Because we have to admit we need Him, that we're a Sinner, that 537 00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:51,680 we're separated from God, and that we absolutely have to have 538 00:43:51,960 --> 00:44:00,040 what only Jesus offers. Will you choose now to follow 539 00:44:00,080 --> 00:44:02,880 Jesus? All right, I'm going to ask us 540 00:44:02,880 --> 00:44:06,240 all, please, to bow our heads, close our eyes, simply so that 541 00:44:06,240 --> 00:44:14,320 there's not any distractions. If you want to choose to accept 542 00:44:14,320 --> 00:44:18,040 Jesus, I'm going to ask you either out loud or in your heart 543 00:44:18,040 --> 00:44:24,600 to pray this prayer with me. Jesus, I ask you to enter my 544 00:44:24,800 --> 00:44:30,520 life, to enter my heart. I ask you, Lord, to save me, 545 00:44:32,440 --> 00:44:40,960 take over my life, heal my heart, let me have a 546 00:44:40,960 --> 00:44:47,840 relationship with you. If you prayed that prayer, would 547 00:44:47,840 --> 00:44:50,160 you just raise your hand so I can see it? 548 00:44:50,200 --> 00:44:55,440 Nobody else, but just me? Thank you. 549 00:44:55,440 --> 00:44:58,160 You may put your hands down. Listening to Pastor Venus's 550 00:44:58,160 --> 00:45:02,400 sermon today about good choices and I was just thinking about 551 00:45:02,400 --> 00:45:04,520 all of the bad choices I have made. 552 00:45:06,520 --> 00:45:09,680 Maybe you can relate to that. Maybe you, you listen to this 553 00:45:09,680 --> 00:45:11,960 sermon and your only thought was, man, I wish I could make 554 00:45:11,960 --> 00:45:16,080 good choices and I can, I can relate to that. 555 00:45:18,480 --> 00:45:22,520 The beauty of the gospel was that all of the Bible is about 556 00:45:22,520 --> 00:45:25,120 how many opportunities that humanity had to make good 557 00:45:25,120 --> 00:45:27,960 choices and our inability to consistently make them. 558 00:45:29,840 --> 00:45:33,840 To such an extent that God would send his only Son to die on a 559 00:45:33,840 --> 00:45:39,320 cross to rise again. So that you and I would be 560 00:45:39,320 --> 00:45:43,200 empowered with a spirit that would begin to change us from 561 00:45:43,200 --> 00:45:45,360 the inside out. So that when God says that He 562 00:45:45,360 --> 00:45:48,440 will give you the desires of your heart, it's not the desires 563 00:45:48,440 --> 00:45:52,280 you had yesterday because He's changing the very desires of our 564 00:45:52,280 --> 00:45:55,560 heart. The beauty of the gospel is that 565 00:45:55,560 --> 00:45:58,440 we are incapable of making good choices and we needed a Savior. 566 00:45:59,480 --> 00:46:03,200 And so maybe today, in the midst of just feeling some shame of 567 00:46:03,200 --> 00:46:06,000 where you're at, you have a realization you need to throw 568 00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:09,160 yourself desperately at the foot of the cross and remember that 569 00:46:09,160 --> 00:46:13,120 God loves you and that he is here to change the very desires 570 00:46:13,120 --> 00:46:15,960 that make you choose poor things so that you can choose well. 571 00:46:15,960 --> 00:46:20,720 I want to pray for you as we leave here today and go out into 572 00:46:20,720 --> 00:46:23,720 a dark and fallen world. And I want to remind you that if 573 00:46:23,720 --> 00:46:26,240 you're new or you haven't had a chance to connect with any of 574 00:46:26,240 --> 00:46:29,000 us, we're going to a group of us can be down here for meet the 575 00:46:29,000 --> 00:46:31,520 team. And also going to remind you 576 00:46:31,520 --> 00:46:34,360 that there are brownies. And should you not come and I 577 00:46:34,360 --> 00:46:36,680 have to eat all of them, that will be yet another poor choice 578 00:46:36,680 --> 00:46:39,560 I made in my life. Let me pray for you. 579 00:46:39,960 --> 00:46:43,120 Father God, thank you so much for this people, those that are 580 00:46:43,120 --> 00:46:45,720 here, those that are watching online and God just worshipping 581 00:46:45,720 --> 00:46:47,920 with us. So I thank you that you love us 582 00:46:47,920 --> 00:46:51,480 so much that you did not leave us where we were at, yet you 583 00:46:51,480 --> 00:46:54,400 came for us. You clothed us in your 584 00:46:54,400 --> 00:46:56,720 righteousness. You didn't die for us once. 585 00:46:56,720 --> 00:46:58,440 And tell us, I hope you do better next time. 586 00:46:59,080 --> 00:47:01,320 You didn't preach to us the gospel of self effort. 587 00:47:02,840 --> 00:47:04,680 No, you came and filled us with your Spirit. 588 00:47:05,960 --> 00:47:09,800 You gave us a calling to leave this place today to be on 589 00:47:09,800 --> 00:47:12,800 mission, to be ministers of your gospel, to be ambassadors of 590 00:47:12,800 --> 00:47:15,120 heaven. Like how would you fill us with 591 00:47:15,120 --> 00:47:19,360 encouragement as we go out into this Dark World to lean on you? 592 00:47:19,880 --> 00:47:23,040 It's all your Spirit to help us to choose well, to be learners, 593 00:47:23,040 --> 00:47:26,880 to accept correction and to love others in Jesus name, Amen.