1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:04,600 Today, my, my horny title is Pride Comes before Stupidity, 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:10,600 and it really fits. But Lord, I just lift up this 3 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:12,080 time. I lift up everybody here. 4 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:14,880 Lord that you would fill this room in order that I would 5 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:17,080 disappear. Lord that you'd not only be 6 00:00:17,080 --> 00:00:19,320 speaking to everybody, but Lord, you'd be speaking to me. 7 00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:24,080 And Lord, just that we would grow, grow in our relationship 8 00:00:24,080 --> 00:00:28,400 with you more and more every day, every hour, every minute, 9 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:33,080 more that you would just fill us, fill us to overflowing, that 10 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:38,520 we would flow out into this community at our workplaces and 11 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:44,000 that when we're shopping or just that we would be in the midst of 12 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:47,200 this community and more that you would make a difference through 13 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:48,600 US. And I pray this in Jesus name, 14 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:54,480 Amen. So James 4 starting in verse 15 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,400 one, what causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? 16 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:00,920 Is it not this that your passions are at war within you? 17 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:05,040 You desire and do not have, So you murder and you covet and you 18 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:07,480 cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. 19 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:09,520 You do not have because you do not ask. 20 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:12,600 You ask and do not receive, because you asked wrongly to 21 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:16,400 spend it on your own passions. You adulterous people, do you 22 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:19,400 not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? 23 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:23,520 Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes 24 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:30,280 himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no 25 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:34,360 purpose that the Scriptures say He yearns jealously over the 26 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:39,240 Spirit that He has made to dwell in us, but He gives more grace. 27 00:01:40,320 --> 00:01:44,000 Therefore he says, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to 28 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:46,680 the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to 29 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:49,160 God. Resist the devil, and he will 30 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:51,200 flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will 31 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:54,040 draw near to you. Cleanse your hand, you sinners, 32 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:56,680 and purify your hearts. You double minded. 33 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:01,480 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned a 34 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,920 mourning, and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the 35 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:09,080 Lord, and he will exalt you. Do not speak evil against one 36 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:13,320 another, brothers that one. The one who speaks against a 37 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:16,720 brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and 38 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:19,160 judges the law. But if you judge the law, you 39 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:21,640 are not a doer of the law, but a judge. 40 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:28,680 There is only one lawgiver and judge he who is able to save and 41 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:31,200 to destroy. But who are you to judge your 42 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:34,840 neighbor? Come now you, come now, you who 43 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:38,600 say today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and 44 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:40,880 spend a year there, and trade and make a profit. 45 00:02:41,640 --> 00:02:44,080 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. 46 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:48,800 What is your life? For you are a are a mist that 47 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,120 appears for a little time and then vanishes. 48 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:55,640 Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will live and 49 00:02:55,640 --> 00:02:59,840 do this or that. As it is you boast in your 50 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:02,400 arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 51 00:03:02,640 --> 00:03:06,760 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it for 52 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:11,760 him, it is sin. Now that chapter we could beat 53 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:15,680 each other up for hours, right? It is it. 54 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:18,080 I mean when you look at what James some of the some of the 55 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:21,240 big words James uses his quarrels, fights, passions, 56 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:24,480 desires, murders, covets, fights, squirrels, passions, 57 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:30,440 wars, adulterous enemies of God, a proud sinners, double minded, 58 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:34,800 wretched mourn. And what James is trying to do 59 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:39,280 here is make a point and and I think he does a pretty good job. 60 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:42,600 Right starts off with verses one and two. 61 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:45,360 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? 62 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:48,960 Is it not this that your passions are at war within you? 63 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:52,480 You desire, you desire, and you do not have. 64 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:56,320 So you murder and you covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and 65 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,240 quarrel. You do not have because you do 66 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:03,200 not ask so like James does. James is asking the reader a 67 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:06,360 question again, and there and then he's making, you know, 68 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:10,840 blunt points about it. You know, why are you being 69 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:15,160 nasty to each other? He then tells them why. 70 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:19,120 It's because they are focused on themselves, their own passions, 71 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:23,400 the things they get excited about with pride and judgement. 72 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:26,840 They think you don't think like me. 73 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:31,400 You were wrong and an idiot. This, this should never be 74 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:37,760 because because when I look at others, I always go back to me. 75 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:46,400 Me before I was a believer, but especially me after I became a 76 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:49,840 believer, right? I became a believer and I had 77 00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:54,360 some, some crooked thinking. You know, I got, I got saved 78 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:56,240 when I got saved, I believed in evolution. 79 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:02,080 I believed abortion was a political issue that the church 80 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:07,360 should stay away from. Now, today, I obviously think 81 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:11,480 completely differently. And that's because God came in 82 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:17,080 and showed me truth, right? Sometimes knocked me upside the 83 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:22,080 back of the head with it. But God meets us where we're at 84 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,480 and all of our stupidity, right? And that that goes for each and 85 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:28,000 every one of us. Last, I think last Saturday we 86 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:31,360 were having a conversation at the men's group that was, you 87 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:35,440 know, God Forgives me for all my sin, including my bad theology. 88 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:39,720 Right now there is there is things that we believe as 89 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:43,800 Christians that make us Christians who Jesus is how we 90 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:46,480 get to heaven. You know, grace is the only way. 91 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:51,080 It isn't grace plus anything. It's grace and Jesus was the Son 92 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:54,120 of God. He died, died and rose again on 93 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:56,080 the third day. These are things we believe as 94 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:58,720 believers. But then there's stuff that we 95 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:02,280 can, you know, we can, we can start talking about and, and 96 00:06:02,280 --> 00:06:04,960 there are there and denominationalism would be a 97 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:09,120 great example of how we can get off the rails and start pointing 98 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:11,440 at each other. And and really, that's the kind 99 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:14,080 of conversations James is having here with people. 100 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:18,280 But if you look at Galatians 516 through 18, it says, but I say 101 00:06:18,280 --> 00:06:21,600 walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the 102 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:25,040 flesh, for the desires of the flesh are against the spirit and 103 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:27,200 the desires of the spirit are against the flesh. 104 00:06:27,840 --> 00:06:31,840 For these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the 105 00:06:31,840 --> 00:06:34,200 things you want to do. But if you are led by the 106 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:36,560 Spirit, you are not under the law. 107 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:41,640 So that's that conversation that I have with people very often 108 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:47,800 and even myself is my job is, is to listen to the Lord in my 109 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:50,720 life. You know, mission work is a good 110 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:54,440 example of what that looks like for me is over the years, you 111 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:59,280 know, the I have, I have taught a lot of studies on missions 112 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:03,040 because I'm the guy that goes to Uganda and spins and is in the 113 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:04,800 mission field. And I was a missionary for 114 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:07,280 years. So people call me and ask me to 115 00:07:07,280 --> 00:07:10,520 come teach on missions. So I come, but I do not teach 116 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:13,360 and say you need to go to a third world country and be a 117 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:18,880 missionary because that is not for me to say that is, that is 118 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:21,240 for God to speak to you about, right? 119 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:25,600 And when we look at when we look around us and say this person or 120 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:30,240 that person should do something different, they should act more 121 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:33,280 like me, then we're, we're in sin, right? 122 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:36,040 We, we start to think that I have something to offer. 123 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:38,520 That's that pride comes before stupidity, right? 124 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:43,480 When I think I'm doing it right and they're doing it wrong, I'm 125 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:45,640 really focused on myself and not Jesus. 126 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:50,360 A a story. And it's really kind of a fun 127 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:52,760 story of how this is supposed to work. 128 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:56,120 If you guys ever read the hiding place with Corey Tim Boom. 129 00:07:56,120 --> 00:08:03,680 And so she she and her family hid, hid Jews in their in their 130 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:08,200 home during during World War 2. And in order to do that, there 131 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:14,400 were obvious moments that she was lying her first lie and it 132 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:18,000 she brings it out. Her first lie was she had they 133 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:19,960 had two radios. They had a big fancy radio and a 134 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:24,640 little tiny radio. And they went to the Nazis 135 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:27,520 wanted their wanted everybody to turn in their radios. 136 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:32,000 So they she turned in a radio and when asked if she had 137 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:35,720 another radio, she said no. And when she was coming home and 138 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:40,200 she goes and the, and the, the sky didn't open up and lightning 139 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:42,200 didn't splash. You know, I mean, it was serious 140 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:45,640 to her that she was lying. So she did recognize it. 141 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:52,760 Now she had a she had a cousin that refused to lie and her 142 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:57,400 cousin when I, when I say refused to lie, did things like 143 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:03,120 there were the Nazis broke in looking for her brothers and 144 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:05,760 they were eating, they were eating dinner at the table. 145 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:09,920 And she said they, they said, where are your brothers? 146 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:13,400 And she said under the table and they, they looked underneath the 147 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:14,960 table and her brothers weren't there. 148 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:18,400 And they, they thought she was just being obnoxious. 149 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:21,520 And they leave. Well, her family is beyond angry 150 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:25,080 with her because her brothers were under the table, under a 151 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:31,880 hatch, under the floor. And then years later there, 152 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:36,960 she's in a room with, with a, a Colonel, a German Colonel or 153 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:39,280 something. And the, and, and another lady 154 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:41,720 that did not look Jewish at all, but was Jewish. 155 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:45,920 And so she was living out, she had some fake papers and she was 156 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:49,560 living out in public. And the German said, well, is 157 00:09:49,560 --> 00:09:52,440 she Jewish? And she said, yeah, So I 158 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:54,800 literally, I mean, didn't, didn't lie, just yes, she is. 159 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:59,960 And so everybody's mad at her because she's telling the truth, 160 00:09:59,960 --> 00:10:02,760 because that's, that's God leading her to do that. 161 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:08,280 Now the, the, the good news on the so the, her brothers weren't 162 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:12,040 found underneath the table and that the, the fun with that 163 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:14,720 particular story of that Lady and it doesn't happen this way 164 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:17,800 all the time. But that particular story is she 165 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:21,160 got arrested and thrown in, thrown in a holding area. 166 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:24,960 I think it was at a theater. Well, in the next few days that 167 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:29,720 theater was liberated. They the resistance broke in and 168 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:33,000 got them out. So because because her cousin 169 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:38,600 just stood and told the truth on everything, this lady ended up 170 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:40,320 in jail and everybody's mad at her. 171 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:45,560 Well, because she was in jail, she got set free right Now that 172 00:10:45,560 --> 00:10:50,320 whole time Corey is, is doing things like making up food 173 00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:56,240 vouchers, lying about where the Jews are now, I will never stand 174 00:10:56,240 --> 00:11:01,920 up here and tell you that she was required to lie, right? 175 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:06,960 Because you don't know. It's it's, it's like a brother, 176 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:14,120 brother Andrew snuck Bibles into behind the Iron Curtain and he 177 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:17,680 used to pray that that the guards would be blind, you know, 178 00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:20,320 so he had he do, he wouldn't lie about what he had in his trunk. 179 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:23,880 He wouldn't hide it. He just, they just let him 180 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:27,040 through like they didn't hear what he said or they didn't see 181 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:29,120 what was in it. So God can do it, however God 182 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:34,120 wants to do it. But my point is that what your 183 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:38,920 job as a believer is, is to truly be doing what the Lord is 184 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:41,960 telling you to do, not not looking at somebody else and 185 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:45,480 deciding they're not doing it right, right? 186 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:52,520 Be be in your own business in that right and, and not be 187 00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:55,160 focused on what others should or shouldn't do. 188 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:58,680 Now there is obvious sin in people's lives that we do get to 189 00:11:58,680 --> 00:12:00,000 talk about, and I'll get into that. 190 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:04,840 Verse 3 and 4 says you ask and do not receive because you asked 191 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:06,800 wrongly to spend it on your own passions. 192 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:10,520 You adulterous people. Do you not know that friendship 193 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:11,960 with the world is enmity with God? 194 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:15,520 Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes 195 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:22,280 himself an enemy of God. So when we're praying, what's 196 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:25,720 our motive? Are we praying to make our lives 197 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:28,600 easier? And guys, I, I will tell you and 198 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:30,880 I, and I can imagine that we've all been there. 199 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:35,200 You know, I, I joked about the, when I was going through my 200 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:38,880 divorce and somebody, I just wish Jesus had come back. 201 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:41,720 Well, the reason I wanted Jesus to come back was because my life 202 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:44,720 sucked and I wanted out of it, right? 203 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:48,160 That's not the right reason, right? 204 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:52,360 The reason, the reason that I want Jesus to come back is 205 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:58,320 because no more can be saved and, and we can all get out of 206 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:02,360 here and the next step because there are more they get saved 207 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:10,800 after that, right, That turn to him, but they require a lot more 208 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:14,360 pain, right? This is the, this is, this is 209 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:17,000 the time we're in and, and we don't, we don't want Jesus to 210 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:19,360 come back early, right? I don't want Jesus to come back 211 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:23,320 until everybody that can be saved has been saved and I 212 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:26,760 definitely don't want him to come back early so that I get to 213 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:29,960 be comfortable and some other people get to burn in hell 214 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:31,600 eternity because he came back early. 215 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:35,120 That doesn't right that that is definitely not. 216 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:39,760 I mean when you when you put it in that that level, it shows you 217 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:43,440 really how self focused it is to say Lord, our country's falling 218 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:44,760 apart. Come back now. 219 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:50,680 Well, and, and I do want him to come back if it's time, I want 220 00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:53,000 to, I want to be waiting for him. 221 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:58,800 But when we're praying, so God wants, wants to take care of his 222 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:01,480 children. He loves us and wants to give us 223 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:04,360 nice things. But when we're praying, do we 224 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:07,800 pray like spoiled brats? Give me more, give me more, give 225 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:10,440 me more. And, and you guys all know what 226 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:13,880 that's like when you, you, you have, you have young children 227 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:17,760 and you give them one thing and then they want something else. 228 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:19,360 They want to add to it. You gave them an inch. 229 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:20,760 They want a mile kind of thing, right? 230 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:24,520 Is our prayer life like that right? 231 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:27,320 When when I look at my life and the blessings that are in my 232 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:31,040 life, you know, one of the blessings that I I talk about a 233 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:34,760 lot is my wife. But when I look at my life and I 234 00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:37,680 look at all the blessings in my life, I don't got anything to 235 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:41,480 ask for. That is, you can't I mean God, 236 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:45,040 you, you blessed me beyond what I ever could have asked or 237 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:50,560 imagined. And The funny thing is, is very 238 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:53,640 few of those things that I look at in my life as blessings are 239 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:57,120 the things that I prayed about like I need this or I need that, 240 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:00,240 right. He knew the things that I needed 241 00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:02,800 before I need before I before I did. 242 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:08,640 And so trusting him in that we need to be when our prayer life 243 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:17,560 should be others focused. We we we need to be praying with 244 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:20,400 the heart of Lord. What? 245 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:25,720 What do you have for me? What? 246 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:27,800 Yeah. And not what do you have for me 247 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:30,040 to get? What do you have for me to do? 248 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:35,160 What what burdens do you want to put on my heart that I get to 249 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:36,600 pray for people about? Right. 250 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:41,080 What do I, how do I get to pour into this world until the day 251 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:48,080 you come back or I go to you Galatians one verses 3 and four. 252 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:51,280 And this is just the God we serve grace to you and peace 253 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:54,760 from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself 254 00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:59,560 for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age according 255 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:01,720 to his will of our God and Father. 256 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:07,320 Does he owe us anything else? If that's all I got, that's 257 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:11,360 enough. And he gives us so much more 258 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:18,480 than that. But he also didn't just say he 259 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:21,280 gave us directions. I guess we'll be the when we 260 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:23,920 look at praying and and what does praying look like? 261 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:28,920 And how are we not just like, how do we not act like James 262 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:32,280 says we're acting and we're praying for ourselves and 263 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:37,280 looking at ourselves. We look at Matthew chapter 6, 264 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:40,840 verses 8, one through 15, and this is Jesus taught teaching us 265 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:42,800 how to pray, right? He was talking to the disciples, 266 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:45,960 but he says do not be like them. And he's talking about the 267 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:48,400 hypocrites. And that's people that act one 268 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:50,400 way in public in a different way in private. 269 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:53,800 He says don't act like the hypocrites for your father knows 270 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:55,320 what you need before you ask him. 271 00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:59,440 Do you trust that that that when I'm looking at something that I 272 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:04,839 need, he already knew that I needed it, so it's coming or is 273 00:17:04,839 --> 00:17:08,480 it just something I want? Very often it's what I want and 274 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:10,480 there's there's no guarantee for that. 275 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:15,119 Verse 9, it says pray like this, our Father in heaven, hallowed 276 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:19,599 be your name, your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it 277 00:17:19,599 --> 00:17:22,319 is in heaven. And that's a prayer for others. 278 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:25,760 We're going to start off with that your Kingdom come, Lord, 279 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:29,280 your will be done on earth that is in heaven, right? 280 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:33,240 Care for this country, care for this world. 281 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:37,720 Use use your body as you need to. 282 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:40,960 And then verse 11, give us this day, Our Daily Bread. 283 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:44,080 Do we trust him? Do we trust that he has my needs 284 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:48,000 in order before I do, before he knows more about what I need 285 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:52,280 than I ever will? Verse 12 and forgive us our 286 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:55,360 debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. 287 00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:58,040 And that's also once again others, right? 288 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:01,760 Looking at others and saying, Lord, change my heart, change my 289 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:06,960 heart how I look at the rest of the world, right, verse 13 and 290 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:10,400 lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 291 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:14,480 And that's that's just Lord, help me to trust you and follow 292 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:16,800 you. Help me to rely on you. 293 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:20,320 And if you go through that in that order, right, that you're, 294 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:23,480 you're praying for others, you're praying for you to just 295 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:26,320 be trusting that he has it in control. 296 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:30,960 And then remembering that that he also has has will in your 297 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:35,040 life to be in others lives. So, so praying for others and 298 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:40,080 your ability to pour into them and then just ending that with 299 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:43,560 trusting and following him saying, Lord, I don't know what 300 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:47,280 the plan is, but I'm willing to do what you want me to do Teach 301 00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:50,280 me, show me your way. Jesus adds. 302 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:54,120 Add some commentary at the end, verses 14 and 15. 303 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:58,120 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father 304 00:18:58,120 --> 00:19:01,160 will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others 305 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:04,760 their trespassers, neither will your your Father forgive your 306 00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:09,720 trespasses. And that is when you come to the 307 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:14,920 Lord with, with bitterness in your heart, with this, this 308 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:18,120 quarrels and fightings and desires for yourself. 309 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:24,000 He's he's working on you, right, that, that the conversation 310 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:26,920 stops because he's he's needed to change your heart. 311 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:30,560 What you're what you're doing here is saying, Lord, do I have 312 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:34,440 anything against anyone or change my heart on that? 313 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:37,480 Show me your heart for them. Do you understand what Jesus did 314 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:40,200 on the cross, right? We talked about it last week. 315 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:43,200 We'll we'll talk about it a lot. But what he did on the cross, 316 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:46,640 there was no deserve in it, right? 317 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:48,720 So when you look and say I don't deserve this, well, there's no 318 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:53,640 deserve in it, right? That there's a Facebook thing we 319 00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:56,800 posted years back that then, you know, had a whole list of the 320 00:19:56,800 --> 00:20:00,160 things that God that you deserve from God. 321 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:04,960 You know, it's money, wealth, power, family. 322 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:07,200 Now there's one at the very bottom. 323 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:10,240 It's death. That's what you deserve, right? 324 00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:12,800 The day you were born, that is what was deserved. 325 00:20:14,120 --> 00:20:18,520 Everything else is a gift. Everything so. 326 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:22,360 And that's, that's his grace when we, when we look at our 327 00:20:22,360 --> 00:20:28,680 lives and we think at any moment I have, I'm this guy and I'm, 328 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:31,640 I'm here. And then there's these other 329 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:34,080 people over here, they need Jesus. 330 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:43,080 I'm, I'm in that awful place that Satan wants me, right? 331 00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:47,640 He wants me in that in that space of thinking that I have 332 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:57,920 something to bring to the table and when I'm there, I'm in God's 333 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:03,680 not impressed right at verse 5 it says or do you suppose it is. 334 00:21:04,120 --> 00:21:06,840 It is to no purpose that the scriptures say he earns 335 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:10,000 jealously over the spirit that he has made dwell in us. 336 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:11,600 So I want to give my life to the Lord. 337 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:15,920 He fills me with his spirit and when I when I decide things like 338 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:23,360 I have something to offer, then I am I am lost, right? 339 00:21:23,360 --> 00:21:28,240 I'm literally Genesis 65 says the Lord saw the wickedness of 340 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:33,040 man was great in the earth and that every intention of thoughts 341 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:37,480 of his heart were only evil continually outside of Christ. 342 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:41,880 That's who I am, right? I don't care if you got saved 343 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:46,920 when you were five years old or you got saved last week outside 344 00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:49,040 of Christ. That's who we are. 345 00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:51,560 Our hearts are dreadfully wicked. 346 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:55,400 Who can know them right there is it isn't it isn't. 347 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:58,280 Hey, I've been a believer for 30 years and I've learned a bunch 348 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:01,360 of stuff and now I'm now, now I am. 349 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:04,160 And now I can look down my nose at these other people that don't 350 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:07,760 know as much as me. We're never those people because 351 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:11,680 when we, when we actually understand what the Lord did, we 352 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:17,160 understand that I got nothing to offer and all I have to offer is 353 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:19,840 that submission to him and his will in my life. 354 00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:26,320 And when we do anything in our own strength as a believer, 355 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:30,320 Jesus will not allow us to move deeper with him in that right. 356 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:35,440 If I'm in my own strength, it's it's that pride comes before 357 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:38,080 stupidity, right? I'm just heading for a ditch 358 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:42,840 the, the day that I think that I, I, I say it like this. 359 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:48,040 Stand back, Lord, I got this one is the day that I, I fall into a 360 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:51,960 ditch, right? And and it's not a ditch because 361 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:54,080 so I, I have two choices at that point. 362 00:22:54,240 --> 00:23:00,000 When I fall in that ditch, it's either a God stuck his foot out 363 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:08,640 and tripped me so I can see my mistake and turn or the devil's 364 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:10,960 beat me up like the middle school bully that he is. 365 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:14,880 We've talked about him, right. So the outside of Christ, I got 366 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:17,320 nothing. I got, I got no strength. 367 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:23,400 I, I don't even, I don't even compare in the in the strength 368 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:24,840 game. It's not like, well, we're, 369 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:28,640 we're I'm, I'm wrestling Satan and no, there's, there's nothing 370 00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:31,080 that I got no ability to win that battle. 371 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:34,800 Now Jesus does. My dad does right? 372 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:38,280 He's got the complete power to to ignore that. 373 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:42,520 And I mean, you can look at that, like I said, you can look 374 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:46,720 at God's grace literally like the dad walking up to the middle 375 00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:51,360 school bully, right? I got a buddy here this week and 376 00:23:51,360 --> 00:23:57,640 he is probably 6 foot five couple £100. 377 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:03,160 And when he walks in the room, the middle school bully doesn't 378 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:04,160 go. I got that. 379 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:06,880 You know, he runs away the other direction, right? 380 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:11,080 He's a he's a Superintendent at the school that he's in and and 381 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:13,800 he doesn't middle school bullies don't don't mess with him. 382 00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:16,440 They don't. I mean, it's not even like he 383 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:19,080 shows up and says, well, I'm here now. 384 00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:21,520 No, they don't even they don't even think about it. 385 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:29,640 That's the God we serve. Now when the elementary kid 386 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:33,520 wants to wrestle the middle school bully, you don't stand a 387 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:40,640 chance. But when God shows up, it's not 388 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:42,960 even a conversation, right? And that's what we need to 389 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:47,600 understand is that we don't have at any point anything within us. 390 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:52,440 All we have is the grace of God. And that's verse 6. 391 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:55,680 But he gives more grace. Therefore, he says God opposes 392 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:58,160 the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 393 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:03,760 And the reason he is able to give grace to the humble is that 394 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:06,320 we recognize our position in him. 395 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:15,760 We recognize all I've got is dwelling and and abiding in his, 396 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:27,720 his plan and his guidance, submitting yourself therefore to 397 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:30,320 God. Resist the devil and he will 398 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:37,720 flee for you from you. And that's the my, my picture 399 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:45,480 for that one today is think of jumping in an airplane and you 400 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:49,080 know, I 747 it's a, it's a big plane. 401 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:53,920 I have no idea how they work. You know, they're, they got big 402 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:56,640 engines and they go fast. And I, I kind of understand 403 00:25:56,640 --> 00:25:59,160 lift, but that's a big plane to get off the ground. 404 00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:04,280 But somehow, some way, it flies me over the North Pole and lands 405 00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:09,720 in Dubai and then we jump on a 777 and fly to Uganda. 406 00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:13,080 And I, I don't, I don't do calculations in the seat. 407 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:15,720 I get in and put the, I get in and put the seat belt on and 408 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:23,000 watch TVI submit to the plane. I submit to the pilot, right. 409 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:27,280 I submit to the law of aerodynamics now at any moment. 410 00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:32,240 I don't think the planes are built like this, so I couldn't 411 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:35,080 actually do it. But if I if I could, I could 412 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:37,280 walk over to the door, open the door and jump out. 413 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:41,440 How quickly, how quickly when I jump out of the plane does the 414 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:46,280 law of gravity take over? It's it's instant. 415 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:49,720 I mean, I don't think there we don't, we don't live in a 416 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:53,360 cartoon world, right? Gravity takes if I fall off the 417 00:26:53,360 --> 00:26:55,480 roof Outback gravity takes over instantly. 418 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:59,560 It isn't a there isn't a pause moment where I go, Oh no, I'm 419 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:02,880 going to fall, right? There's just falling. 420 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:08,440 Well, that's there is there is the law of sin and death and 421 00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:14,080 it's real and everybody outside of Christ is under that law. 422 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:17,120 And then there's the law of grace. 423 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:23,840 And if you're in Christ, you're you have grace when you step 424 00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:28,240 outside of Christ, you're not under sin and death, but you are 425 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:34,080 able to be beat up, stomped on, kicked that played with, 426 00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:44,680 manipulated by the enemy. And that's why it's so important 427 00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:48,520 that we we drop our pride and we understand. 428 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:51,160 Lord, I can't, you have to in everything. 429 00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:53,120 When I wake up in the morning, before I put my feet on the 430 00:27:53,120 --> 00:27:56,600 floor, Lord, fill me with your spirit guide and direct me 431 00:27:56,600 --> 00:28:00,040 through my day because Lord, I can't. 432 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:04,680 If you don't do this. And that, that is in all that we 433 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:06,440 do. I mean, at no point on the 434 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:09,360 airplane do I knock on the pilot's door and say, I got 435 00:28:09,360 --> 00:28:11,640 this. I read a book. 436 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:16,800 I know the things I don't. I don't ever go to the airport 437 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:19,680 and decide I'm going to climb on the outside of the plane. 438 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:22,440 I figured it out. I'm just going to hold on really 439 00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:27,040 tight out here. None of that works. 440 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:29,840 There's only one place that that gives us that right. 441 00:28:30,360 --> 00:28:32,280 And that's being completely submitted. 442 00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:35,360 And and we have to be completely submitted to the Lord. 443 00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:40,000 And first Peter 58, says be sober minded, be watchful. 444 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,600 Your adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion 445 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:49,480 seeking someone to devour. And if you think of, if you 446 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:57,960 think of the enemy like gravity, gravity is, is seeking people to 447 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:01,120 fall. And all it takes is for you to 448 00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:05,240 step out, right? Gravity's always there. 449 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:10,080 The enemy is, is willing, ready and unable to mess with each and 450 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:16,240 every one of us. And if and if we're not, if 451 00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:19,280 we're not in our word, if we're not spending time with the Lord 452 00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:21,880 and, and, and telling him, Lord, you got to change me because I 453 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:25,920 am, I'm wretched. My, my heart is wicked. 454 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:30,520 Then then I'm losing, right? I'm, I'm not moving forward. 455 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:36,280 Verses 8 through 11 say draw near to God and he will draw 456 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:38,760 near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, 457 00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:42,920 and purify your hearts. You double minded, say James 458 00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:45,080 agrees with me that, that I'm pretty wretched, right? 459 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:48,920 Verse 9 be, be wretched and mourn and weep. 460 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:52,520 Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 461 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:55,480 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you. 462 00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:58,320 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. 463 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:02,040 The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, 464 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:04,480 speaks evil against the law and judges the law. 465 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:08,360 But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a 466 00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:11,480 judge. So I've talked about it. 467 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:15,440 Whenever we think we can do it, our own strength, we should cry 468 00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:18,920 and weep because we're going to fail and we're going to fail 469 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:24,800 because God isn't willing. Just just like you look back at 470 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:29,080 Gideon, He wasn't willing to for Gideon to show up in any way 471 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:32,160 that made it look like Gideon was going to win the battle, 472 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:33,920 right? Gideon showed up with an army 473 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:37,120 that was too small to win. But if they won, they could have 474 00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:39,080 claimed they were the reason they won. 475 00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:42,720 So God cut it in half and then looked at it when it's still too 476 00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:46,280 big. And then he cut it down to 300 477 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:48,160 men. He said, OK, So I believe that 478 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:51,880 at this point, you guys might get the idea that you didn't win 479 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:53,440 the battle. Now, when that battle was over, 480 00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:54,560 does anybody remember what happened? 481 00:30:55,720 --> 00:30:58,680 They all wanted to crown Gideon King because he had won the 482 00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:00,080 battle. He's like, are you guys smoking 483 00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:04,400 something? Did you do drugs at the battle? 484 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:07,480 Because there was 300 of us. I was not the guy that did this. 485 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:11,240 He's bigger than that. And he wants us in that position 486 00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:16,400 all the time to recognize that he does the work right, that it 487 00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:20,600 isn't about, it isn't about us. It isn't about what we can do 488 00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:27,680 and, and how, how well I can apply scripture, how well I can 489 00:31:27,680 --> 00:31:35,040 apply my wisdom to a situation, but to be in his word, asking 490 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:37,640 him continually throughout. That's why when it says pray 491 00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:41,600 continually, it's, it's not those out loud prayers. 492 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:43,920 It's that inner talk that we all have, right? 493 00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:48,160 Those those conversations in our in our heads that be talking to 494 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:55,200 the Lord about about the person in front of you in line the the 495 00:31:55,280 --> 00:31:58,800 the stuff. I mean guys, I I on on Thursday, 496 00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:05,600 I will tell you that that is a time to pray Thursday I knew the 497 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:08,760 end of the bat. I knew I knew how the council 498 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:12,320 meeting turned out. So I had that. 499 00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:16,520 I felt bad for everybody that watched it on Wednesday because 500 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:18,600 you guys didn't know how it turned out and you had to watch 501 00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:23,120 the same thing. But it's just a time to pray. 502 00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:26,800 There are lost people, right? There are lost people. 503 00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:33,160 And am I, am I angry with them? I'm angry with their sin, right? 504 00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:37,040 And that and that is that that is what we're supposed to be 505 00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:39,840 angry with the sin, not the Sinner, right? 506 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:46,480 They're lost and dying and so to be but but watching 4 hours of 507 00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:50,280 it or listening to four hours of it, it is it is definitely a 508 00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:53,720 time that that lots of prayer the whole time. 509 00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:58,680 And that's because if not, I get I get arguing with the last guy 510 00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:02,760 that spoke or wishing somebody had said it different or 511 00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:04,400 whatever. And so I'm just praying. 512 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:08,680 So Lord, you use this, you use this is a lot of a lot of 513 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:14,800 information was given at that meeting and and I can hope that 514 00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:21,640 that people went away and maybe somebody heard something they 515 00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:23,400 hadn't heard before. Right in the middle of it. 516 00:33:23,400 --> 00:33:28,480 There was a lady that she was I don't I don't know anything 517 00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:30,200 about her, can't remember her name or any of that, but she 518 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:35,160 shared she just went, she went, she had a pass. 519 00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:38,320 She said, you know what, I got rescued out of that past and and 520 00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:41,880 guys, Jesus loves you. God wants to do great things. 521 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:45,400 He will meet you in your, in your, in your depths, in your 522 00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:47,040 gross and he will take you out of it. 523 00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:49,200 That's what we need to be sharing with people, right? 524 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:52,280 I mean, that was, I mean, she right in the middle, right? 525 00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:57,440 I mean, like probably right at the 2 hour mark, like she, she 526 00:33:57,440 --> 00:33:59,800 was like the, the brush of fresh air right in the middle of it's 527 00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:05,480 like, Hey, by the way, we serve a living God who can, can, can 528 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:09,760 love you, can take care of you, can fill you with his spirit 529 00:34:09,760 --> 00:34:14,520 and, and do amazing things in your suck, right. 530 00:34:15,679 --> 00:34:21,760 And so just be in prayer about all of that stuff. 531 00:34:23,159 --> 00:34:28,560 And then remember at all times, CS Lewis, obviously way smarter 532 00:34:28,560 --> 00:34:32,840 than me, had the perfect line about what the the opposite of 533 00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:36,679 pride is humility. But humility is not thinking 534 00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:38,840 less of yourself. A lot of times we think that 535 00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:41,840 humility means that I need to say I suck and I'm horrible and 536 00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:44,280 I'm awful. No, because that's like reverse 537 00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:48,040 pride of of like now I'm just going to beat myself up. 538 00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:51,800 No, it's thinking less of yourself or thinking of yourself 539 00:34:51,800 --> 00:35:00,680 less, right is I? I do not in every situation the 540 00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:07,040 Lord puts me in when I grasp that I don't matter. 541 00:35:09,640 --> 00:35:13,600 Like Lord, you need to do what you need to do. 542 00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:16,680 You know, it's when I went through my divorce, something 543 00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:22,680 that people I had lots of loving people around me and and there 544 00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:26,440 there's a whole story there. But the thing I learned, and 545 00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:29,280 this always takes people off guard is no one cared. 546 00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:31,560 Doesn't mean they didn't love me. 547 00:35:32,280 --> 00:35:36,520 Doesn't mean that they didn't take care of stuff and feed me, 548 00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:40,240 dude. But when, when I, when I wasn't 549 00:35:40,240 --> 00:35:42,880 in their sight, they weren't, they weren't in the, they 550 00:35:42,880 --> 00:35:45,920 weren't in the ache I was in, right. 551 00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:47,200 And that isn't because they didn't. 552 00:35:47,480 --> 00:35:50,800 It's that guys, we're, we're generally selfish people. 553 00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:59,760 We we think about ourselves a lot, you know, and God and only 554 00:35:59,960 --> 00:36:03,680 through his work can we be others focused. 555 00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:07,880 It isn't something that I well up inside me and go Lord court. 556 00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:09,720 I'm going to work really hard at this today. 557 00:36:10,720 --> 00:36:14,440 It's it's something that he has to put inside of us right 558 00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:22,160 Hebrews says for the law made nothing perfect, but on the 559 00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:26,360 other hand, a better hope is introduced through which we draw 560 00:36:26,360 --> 00:36:30,240 near to God. Better hope is Jesus. 561 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:35,800 So Hebrews pretty pretty bluntly says something that we hate to 562 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:39,800 hear for the law made nothing perfect. 563 00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:44,200 I memorize that I can memorize the Bible from Genesis to 564 00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:51,320 Revelation and there are there are scholars out there that know 565 00:36:51,320 --> 00:36:58,120 it back to front, but they are lost because they they are not, 566 00:36:59,080 --> 00:37:02,880 they are not giving themselves to Christ and his work in their 567 00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:05,440 lives. And that's what our job is, 568 00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:07,640 right? Our job is continually to go, 569 00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:10,800 Lord, I can't, you have to. And I will say that probably 570 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:13,840 every Sunday or every other Sunday for the rest of time 571 00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:15,440 because I can't. He has to. 572 00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:17,760 That's why we serve a living God. 573 00:37:17,760 --> 00:37:20,480 We don't, we don't have a religion, right? 574 00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:24,080 I mean, if you look at if you look at Buddhists, they have a 575 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:27,040 they have a religion and they have a set of things they're 576 00:37:27,040 --> 00:37:30,960 going for that are moral. They're even holy. 577 00:37:31,280 --> 00:37:34,080 I mean, they are, they are going for enlightenment. 578 00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:38,240 And guys, they ain't going to get there because outside of 579 00:37:38,240 --> 00:37:45,920 Christ, it's impossible. And if we come to others like 580 00:37:45,920 --> 00:37:51,080 James says in in chapter 3, we went over last week, we come to 581 00:37:51,080 --> 00:37:54,520 others with pure motives, peaceable, gentle, open to 582 00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:57,960 reason, full of Mark mercy, impartial and sincere. 583 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:01,440 And the only way we do that is in him. 584 00:38:03,640 --> 00:38:07,640 We were able to use God's wisdom to desert discern a matter. 585 00:38:10,240 --> 00:38:16,960 So this this judging topic and James, James gets into it. 586 00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:23,080 But Jesus, Jesus says in Matthew 7, and I'm sure we have either 587 00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:28,600 quoted this verse, had this first quoted to us, or had a had 588 00:38:28,600 --> 00:38:30,680 a long lengthy conversation about it. 589 00:38:32,520 --> 00:38:36,640 Chapter 7 verses one through 5. Judge not that you be not judged 590 00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:38,800 for the judgement which you pronounce. 591 00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:42,120 You will be judged and with the measure that you use, it will be 592 00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:46,120 measured to you. Why do you see see the speck in 593 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:50,520 your brother's eye but do not notice the log in your own eye? 594 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:54,720 Or how can you say to your brother, let me take that speck 595 00:38:54,720 --> 00:38:57,160 out of your eye. And when there is a log in your 596 00:38:57,160 --> 00:39:00,720 own eye, you hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye 597 00:39:00,720 --> 00:39:03,600 and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your 598 00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:07,040 brother's eye. Anybody heard that one judge? 599 00:39:07,040 --> 00:39:08,480 Not that you'd be not judged, right? 600 00:39:09,680 --> 00:39:15,280 But in context, if you look at the whole SEC, the speck was 601 00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:17,440 still removed from the eye, right? 602 00:39:18,200 --> 00:39:24,080 It was the he removed the speck, but after he removed the law, 603 00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:28,040 right? So the log is when I look, when 604 00:39:28,080 --> 00:39:33,840 when I see somebody in sin and I think that they're in sin and 605 00:39:33,840 --> 00:39:39,040 I'm better than them because they're in sin and I can, I can 606 00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:43,600 judge them because I'm not sinning, then then I have a log 607 00:39:43,600 --> 00:39:45,160 in my eye and I'm missing the point. 608 00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:51,160 My job is to with truth and love, pull them out of that sin 609 00:39:51,160 --> 00:39:55,760 to Jesus right to shine, to shine Jesus's life light into 610 00:39:55,760 --> 00:39:58,640 their life. And the only way I do that is by 611 00:39:58,640 --> 00:40:05,920 reflecting Jesus into their life right and because Jesus just to 612 00:40:05,920 --> 00:40:08,880 be clear on the judging thing on our our ability. 613 00:40:08,880 --> 00:40:13,640 So in in Matthew 7 after he said judge not that you be not 614 00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:16,360 judged. So that we get that in context, 615 00:40:16,360 --> 00:40:18,440 we still get to judge sin as sin. 616 00:40:19,880 --> 00:40:23,440 Verse 15, it says beware of false prophets, prophets who 617 00:40:23,440 --> 00:40:26,840 come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly A ravenous world. 618 00:40:26,960 --> 00:40:32,320 Wolves, you will recognize them by their fruits, grapes gathered 619 00:40:32,320 --> 00:40:36,480 from thorn or grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from 620 00:40:36,480 --> 00:40:39,080 thistles. So this is literally Jesus 621 00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:41,640 saying judge not be not that you be not Judge goes through the 622 00:40:41,640 --> 00:40:45,280 whole thing and then says now judge, teachers, are they? 623 00:40:45,280 --> 00:40:48,080 Are they actually? Are they actually teaching God's 624 00:40:48,080 --> 00:40:51,240 word or not? Are they, are they actually out 625 00:40:51,240 --> 00:40:52,600 doing what they're supposed to be doing? 626 00:40:52,880 --> 00:40:57,800 And that's for you as believers to be able to see and judge and 627 00:40:57,800 --> 00:41:03,240 discern. And that's the point of that is 628 00:41:03,920 --> 00:41:07,000 the judging that he's talking about, that we shouldn't judge 629 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:09,520 is to ever think that I'm above somebody else. 630 00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:11,240 We are all in the same playing field. 631 00:41:11,440 --> 00:41:14,080 The middle school bully, the middle school bully and the 632 00:41:14,080 --> 00:41:17,240 elementary kid are in the same school, right? 633 00:41:18,240 --> 00:41:24,000 If it's if it's that kind of school, we're not any better. 634 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:32,560 We're just different. And in that we need to recognize 635 00:41:32,560 --> 00:41:38,240 sin and we are completely allowed to judge sin, not the 636 00:41:38,240 --> 00:41:41,320 Sinner, which it sounds Christian speak. 637 00:41:42,440 --> 00:41:47,920 The goal is at all times that we're the rescuers, right? 638 00:41:48,120 --> 00:41:51,240 That we're the first aid station, that we're, that we're 639 00:41:51,240 --> 00:41:53,440 there to care for the sick and dying. 640 00:41:53,800 --> 00:41:56,240 And that is hard. It's messy, right? 641 00:41:56,240 --> 00:42:02,800 I mean, I'm, and it's, it's not a pretty thing, but the only way 642 00:42:02,800 --> 00:42:07,600 we do it is if we're prayed up and we're focused on what the 643 00:42:07,600 --> 00:42:12,800 Lord has for us. Verse 12, it says there is only 644 00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:17,440 one law giver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. 645 00:42:17,440 --> 00:42:19,640 But who are you to judge your neighbor? 646 00:42:19,840 --> 00:42:24,640 And that's simple guys. God's in charge, right? 647 00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:28,880 He has given us a mission and our mission is to go out and 648 00:42:28,880 --> 00:42:33,000 save the lost and dying by sharing with sharing with them 649 00:42:33,320 --> 00:42:45,480 what He gives us. The key is for us to remember 650 00:42:45,480 --> 00:42:52,440 our role and the day you gave your life to Jesus, you accepted 651 00:42:54,760 --> 00:42:56,280 that he's in charge of your life. 652 00:42:56,640 --> 00:43:03,840 You submitted to that. And when we finish this up with 653 00:43:03,840 --> 00:43:08,560 verses 13 through 17, and this is this is that full submission. 654 00:43:08,560 --> 00:43:12,000 And I just it's James cut seemed like it would be off topic from 655 00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:14,240 what he's talking about. But if you put it in this full 656 00:43:14,240 --> 00:43:20,560 submission context, it says in verse 13, come now you who say 657 00:43:20,560 --> 00:43:23,880 today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and 658 00:43:23,880 --> 00:43:26,680 spend a year there and trade and make a profit. 659 00:43:27,360 --> 00:43:29,480 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. 660 00:43:29,920 --> 00:43:34,360 What is your life for? You are a mist that appears for 661 00:43:34,360 --> 00:43:37,080 a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, if the 662 00:43:37,080 --> 00:43:39,880 Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. 663 00:43:40,960 --> 00:43:43,120 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. 664 00:43:43,400 --> 00:43:47,680 All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing 665 00:43:47,680 --> 00:43:50,640 to do and fails to do it, for him, it is sin. 666 00:43:51,120 --> 00:43:54,560 So once again, pride comes before stupidity, right? 667 00:43:57,000 --> 00:44:00,960 When we look at our lives in this context and we say Christ 668 00:44:00,960 --> 00:44:04,360 came 2000 years ago, walked around, walked around the 669 00:44:04,360 --> 00:44:09,440 streets of, of Jerusalem and, and in Israel, he was crucified 670 00:44:09,720 --> 00:44:11,800 and three days later rose again on the third day. 671 00:44:12,120 --> 00:44:17,280 And in that time he told, he told Nicodemus in John 316, it 672 00:44:17,280 --> 00:44:20,360 said, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son. 673 00:44:20,360 --> 00:44:23,360 Whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal 674 00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:27,000 life. And this is a free gift, right? 675 00:44:27,160 --> 00:44:29,080 And we, we talk about it's free gift. 676 00:44:29,080 --> 00:44:33,120 It's free gift. In Uganda, free gifts are 677 00:44:33,120 --> 00:44:40,600 actually almost despised because of a welfare society that that 678 00:44:40,600 --> 00:44:45,480 the Western world has helped helped make. 679 00:44:46,240 --> 00:44:48,640 So when you say a free gift, it sounds like that means it's a 680 00:44:48,640 --> 00:44:56,440 cheap gift and the free gift of grace that God gives us it. 681 00:44:56,480 --> 00:45:05,120 It not only cost the Son of Man or the Son of God, the cross and 682 00:45:05,120 --> 00:45:10,320 crucifixion, but the day you received it, it cost you 683 00:45:10,320 --> 00:45:14,240 everything you are. If you haven't received it, it 684 00:45:14,240 --> 00:45:15,840 will cost you everything you are. 685 00:45:16,480 --> 00:45:20,480 It is complete submission to the God of this universe. 686 00:45:20,480 --> 00:45:23,480 It isn't, it isn't. I'll give you a little bit. 687 00:45:24,920 --> 00:45:29,680 It isn't Lord, I, I would like you in my story is complete 688 00:45:29,680 --> 00:45:33,000 submission to his authorship of your story. 689 00:45:33,560 --> 00:45:36,320 I was talking to somebody the other day and Can you imagine 690 00:45:36,680 --> 00:45:43,240 one of Stephen King's characters halfway through the book jumping 691 00:45:43,240 --> 00:45:46,480 off the pages and saying, no, I don't want to do that. 692 00:45:47,720 --> 00:45:52,080 Can you imagine that? They gave your life to the Lord. 693 00:45:52,160 --> 00:45:55,760 That's what you signed up for. He wrote your story. 694 00:45:56,600 --> 00:46:01,720 He, he has a plan to use you. Are you willing to be used by 695 00:46:01,720 --> 00:46:05,280 him in any way that he wants to use you? 696 00:46:05,280 --> 00:46:10,800 I mean, up and up, up to and including a story like Job's 697 00:46:12,840 --> 00:46:14,520 right? And, and they're all through. 698 00:46:14,520 --> 00:46:19,200 I mean, Uriah the Hittite, not a happy ending, guys. 699 00:46:20,280 --> 00:46:22,120 You're right. Uriah the Hittite stood exactly 700 00:46:22,120 --> 00:46:24,120 where you're supposed to stand, did exactly what he's supposed 701 00:46:24,120 --> 00:46:25,000 to do. And you know what it did? 702 00:46:25,000 --> 00:46:28,320 It got him killed and he didn't know why. 703 00:46:30,480 --> 00:46:36,640 That's what we're signing up. And The thing is, I wouldn't 704 00:46:36,640 --> 00:46:40,920 have it any other way. It's an amazing, it's an amazing 705 00:46:40,920 --> 00:46:44,120 adventure to be in this with the Lord. 706 00:46:46,240 --> 00:46:49,800 But it takes full submission, all right? 707 00:46:49,800 --> 00:46:55,880 You can't you can't climb on the outside of the plane. 3 verses 708 00:46:55,880 --> 00:47:00,640 to close with on that Luke 923 to 20 or three places to close 709 00:47:00,640 --> 00:47:05,680 39 Luke 923 to 24 And he said to all, if anyone would come after 710 00:47:05,680 --> 00:47:08,920 me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and 711 00:47:08,920 --> 00:47:12,160 follow me for whoever would save his life will lose it. 712 00:47:12,680 --> 00:47:16,240 But whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 713 00:47:18,920 --> 00:47:20,520 I don't think Jesus is being poetic. 714 00:47:22,720 --> 00:47:26,360 Paul goes on with in Galatians 220. 715 00:47:26,520 --> 00:47:30,040 I've been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but 716 00:47:30,040 --> 00:47:31,720 Christ who lives in me in this life. 717 00:47:31,720 --> 00:47:34,320 I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the Son of 718 00:47:34,320 --> 00:47:36,280 God who loved me and gave himself for me. 719 00:47:37,560 --> 00:47:44,040 Crucifixion's pretty dead. Jesus goes on and Luke and says 720 00:47:44,040 --> 00:47:48,080 so therefore if anyone of you who does not renounce all that 721 00:47:48,080 --> 00:47:54,840 he has cannot be my disciple. So is it all his or is it just 722 00:47:54,840 --> 00:48:00,640 what you want to give him? It is completely giving up my 723 00:48:00,640 --> 00:48:05,440 right to self, submitting to His rule and reign in my life, 724 00:48:06,040 --> 00:48:10,040 repenting from all myself and following him. 725 00:48:12,360 --> 00:48:14,360 That's giving your life to the Lord. 726 00:48:14,840 --> 00:48:21,320 That's relying on Him. We need to be listening to Him 727 00:48:22,080 --> 00:48:24,960 being in our word. We need to be speaking to him, 728 00:48:25,200 --> 00:48:27,920 praying. We need to be in his community, 729 00:48:27,920 --> 00:48:30,840 his body, being in fellowship with each other. 730 00:48:31,880 --> 00:48:35,120 And then we need to be out sharing and witnessing for him. 731 00:48:35,800 --> 00:48:39,080 But this isn't this isn't. Those are none of those are 732 00:48:39,080 --> 00:48:41,800 boxes to check. Those are conversations to have 733 00:48:41,800 --> 00:48:45,640 with him. So spend time with your Lord, 734 00:48:45,640 --> 00:48:48,680 spend time with each other. Have a great week. 735 00:48:50,680 --> 00:48:52,840 Dear Lord, I just thank you for everybody here. 736 00:48:53,760 --> 00:48:55,440 Lord, I thank you that you did come. 737 00:48:56,400 --> 00:49:00,240 Lord, I thank you that you did the work you did on the cross. 738 00:49:00,400 --> 00:49:03,600 Lord, I thank you that you rose again on 3rd day and that Lord 739 00:49:03,600 --> 00:49:08,160 that you've washed us clean. Lord that you've given us, given 740 00:49:08,160 --> 00:49:11,960 us the seat to belt ourselves into. 741 00:49:11,960 --> 00:49:16,560 Lord and Lord, that we would just submit to your rule in our 742 00:49:16,560 --> 00:49:19,880 lives. Lord, that we would rely on You 743 00:49:19,880 --> 00:49:23,400 and your plan, that you would guide and direct us. 744 00:49:26,600 --> 00:49:30,920 Thank you for all that you've done, all that you're going to 745 00:49:30,920 --> 00:49:33,360 do. Lord, be with everybody here. 746 00:49:36,360 --> 00:49:41,640 Help us to grow more and more in you every day. 747 00:49:41,760 --> 00:49:43,520 I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.