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God sees it all, our good and our not-so-good. Today, Joyce discusses the condition of our hearts, our motives, and the importance of being authentic
This program is made possible by the partners of Joyce Meyer Ministries.
I'm Joyce Meyer. I've seen God's power transform my own life, and He will do it for you. Thank you for joining me today on Enjoying Everyday Life, where I will be sharing God's word with you, which is the truth, and we need that today, because there's so much deception in the world.
So perk up both your little spiritual ears and get ready to hear something that I think is going to help you. Today and really for the next couple of days, I'm going to be teaching on nothing is hidden from God. I think that you know how we are, if we think somebody's watching, we behave better, don't we?
We put on our best behavior when somebody is watching. And I remember an incidence a long time ago, when back when I was still in my not-so-godly days, and I was frustrated hollering at the kids, and my pastor rang the doorbell. You never saw anybody straighten up so fast in all your lives.
I mean, I was just like, Pastor, it's so nice to see you. Oh, the kids, they're great. Yeah, come on in.
And so really, when we, it's amazing. I really kind of learned from that experience that we think sometimes we can't control ourselves. But you really can, if you want to, enough.
And it's amazing how we'll act in front of some people. But if somebody comes around that we want to impress, or that we don't want to be disappointed with us, we can act pretty good. Well, the thing is, is God sees everything.
And I think that if we can learn that we live before what I call an audience of one, realizing that God sees everything all the time, we should be on our best behavior all the time. And so God sees everything. So we should learn to live as if we believe that nothing is hidden from Him.
Do nothing that you wouldn't do in front of Him because nothing is hidden from Him. God sees not only what we do, but He sees the heart of a person. So He sees the real us.
He sees all, knows all, and is everywhere all the time. So that's cool. He can watch all of us all the time.
Proverbs 15.3, the eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. So we don't even really need to be concerned about all the wicked people and all the things that they do, because they're not getting by with anything either. God sees it all.
Hebrews 4.13, nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom, now listen to these last few words, we must give account. See, the day will come, and sometimes we don't like to talk about these things, but the day will come, it's actually called Judgment Day, and when we will stand before God and give an account of our lives, it says in, I think it's Romans 12.14, that every man will stand before God and give an account of himself, and so we don't need to be so concerned about what somebody else is doing, and judging them, because we're not going to be asked to give an account for them.
I always think God's not going to ask me to answer for Dave, so I just need to make sure that I'm doing what I should be doing, because God's only going to ask me about me. And then Psalm 139, I've actually got 12 verses here. It's such an amazing psalm, and if we really pay attention to what it says, it's pretty awesome.
You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. And when God says he knows you, that's not like, oh yeah, I know her. I was like, I know you.
You know when I sit and when I rise, you perceive my thoughts far off, so God knows even what we're going to think before we think it. Wow. I don't even know that about myself.
You discern my going out and my lying down. You are familiar with all my ways. And I love this one.
Before a word is even on my tongue, you know it completely. So God knows what we're going to say before we're going to say it. He knows what we're going to think before we even think it.
You hem me in behind and before and you lay your hand upon me. I'm real fond of that. Have you ever felt like God had you in a place where you couldn't get away and he was dealing with you?
No way you're going to get away from it. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It's too lofty to attain.
Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go to heaven, you're there.
If I make my bed in the depths, you're there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the seed, even there your hand will guide me. And then I love this one.
If I say, well, surely the darkness will hide me and the light will become like night around me. Even the darkness will not be dark to you, God. The night will shine like the day, for darkness is the same as light to you.
So, God sees everything, knows everything. And if we really would think about that every day, God's going to see everything that I do, and maybe think about it a few times, I think it would help us be on our best behavior. Psalm 9411 says, the Lord knows the thoughts of man that they are but a breath.
And then Matthew 1225, Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. So, you know, a lot of times we may think we go on our house and close the door, and God doesn't know what's going on in there, but he knows everything behind closed doors. And one of the things that we need to be really careful of is strife.
In Proverbs 6, it says, there's six things the Lord hates, and the seventh is an abomination unto him. And the seventh one, now get this, is he who sows discord among his brethren. In order to have peace, I do think you have to work at it because the devil is always trying to stir up some kind of trouble.
If you want to know where the devil is going to be, it's anywhere where anything good is happening. That's always where he's going to be. Paul said, I try to do evil and I try to do good and evil always shows up.
Now, Jesus had a lot to say to hypocrites. And hypocrites are people who pretend to be one thing on the outside, but inside, there's something else. And we all know that you can smile at a person and be thinking, that outfit really looks stupid on you.
So, just think about that God sees what's going on inside of us, and that's what's important to him. Much more important than any pretense of godliness or supposed religiosity. And the Pharisees, you know, I'm fair, you see, the Pharisees were very much religious, but yet Jesus told them, you're like whitewashed tombs full of dead men's bones.
Wow. He said, you clean the outside of the cup, but the inside is filthy. And then he said, if you clean the inside, then the outside will automatically be clean.
So, I do think, and you can nod or shake your head, but I think that we pay a lot more attention to what we do and what people see us do than we do what's going on inside of us, all the time. And so, God cares about our attitudes, and nobody has to have a bad attitude. Your attitude belongs to you, and nobody can make you have a bad one if you don't want to have a bad one.
And I tell you, a good attitude is so valuable. I always say, I would rather have somebody work for me that maybe is not quite as skilled but has a good attitude than somebody who is just brilliant but has a stinky bad attitude. I met somebody out in the hall the other day, and I asked him, how long have you been working for us?
And he said, 25 years. And I said, well, you must like it here. He said, I don't have one thing to complain about, and I thought, I like you.
See, it's so easy to find the one thing to complain about without thinking about the multitudes of things that we have to be thankful for. And whether you know it or not, complaining is a sin. Because you don't do it by faith.
And whatever is not a faith is sin. God wants us to be thankful, not murmuring and complaining. So, Matthew 23, 25-28, and Matthew 23, the whole chapter is a great chapter to read.
Woe to you, teachers of the law. And I always have said, I don't know what woe is, but I know I don't want any of it. But it's actually, I looked it up, it's like kind of the worst kind of misery you can have.
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you're full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisees.
First clean the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will be clean. So if we pay more attention to what's going on inside of us, everything on the outside that people see, that just kind of takes care of itself, because what's in us works its way out of us. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You're like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, you're full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. I always say you can dress it up and take it to church, but that doesn't really say much about what's going on inside of you, the real person. I don't know if you're anything like me or not, but I can remember Dave and I years ago, years ago, I'm going to do this anymore, years ago, arguing all the way to church, arguing with the kids.
But boy, as soon as we got in the church, we became Mr. and Mrs. Holy. And I can remember looking at the words of a worship song on the overhead and mouthing the words while thinking inside, if Dave thinks I'm fixing him anything to eat today, he's got another thought coming. For all I care, he can starve.
He's just going to go home and watch football, and I'm going to have to clean the house all day. And so I was like, I surrender all. So, you know, that...
But God really wasn't even hearing that. What he was hearing was what was going on inside of me. So if we want to be real Christians, we have to pay attention to what's going on in us because God is a God of hearts.
In the same way that you are on the outside, you appear to people as righteous, but on the inside, he said, you're full of hypocrisy and wickedness. Now, I want to talk just a little bit today about not compromising.
It's so easy to do, to compromise. Well, everybody else does it. Well, you're not everybody else.
And you're not going to answer for everybody else. And I remember crabbing one time to the Lord about, I felt like he was, there were so many things that he wouldn't let me do. And I knew other preachers that, you know, maybe it was a movie that I wanted to go see.
And I just didn't feel like God wanted me to go see it because of something that was in it. But I knew all kinds of other ministers that were going to see it and thought it was great. And so I was crabbing, complaining to the Lord, why are you so strict with me?
And all these other people do it, and they seem to have good ministries. And he said, look, you've asked me for a lot. Do you want it or not?
So you have to remember that if you want God to do what you have asked him to do in your life, then compromise is not the way to go. And compromise, and we're all tempted to do it. The temptation to compromise is around us all the time.
We know better than to gossip about other people, but it is so tempting. Isn't it amazing how our ears perk up when we hear somebody say, did you hear? It is so hard to just walk away and think, no, and I don't want to.
It's like, we just want to know. We, you know, the, because I fell and broke my leg this year and had the problem with my other leg from a blood clot from back surgery when we put it on TV for the first time, we did it on one of the Talk It Out shows, and they called the show The Fall of Joyce Meyer. And we got more hits on that show than anything we've ever put on the air.
You know why? Because people thought I had fallen into sin, and boy, they wanted to know everything about it. You know, wonder what we'd get if we put on there the holiness of Joyce Meyer, you know, probably like, I ain't gonna watch it.
So compromise, if you really, if you look at the definition, and this was really just puts a little bit of the fear of God in you, compromise means to go just a little bit below what you know is right. Ooh, just a little bit below what you know is right. You know, we need to teach more about holiness, because God is a holy God and he expects us to be holy.
And I'm concerned because I don't, I think it's so tempting for pastors and Bible teachers to teach people what they think they want to hear. I call them dessert messages. You know, what's going to make you happy and want to come back next week.
But we, people call to preach the word, we're going to be held accountable to God if we don't tell people the truth and tell them what we really believe God is telling us to teach. And that doesn't mean that you have to be hard on people and always just preach against something, but we can't just let people think that they can do whatever they want to do anytime they want to do it. Because God is a gracious God and a merciful God, that it's okay to do that.
We need to call people to a higher standard. And so I'm saying today, stop compromising. Pay attention to what's going on inside of you, because God cares more about that than he does what's going on outside of you.
You know, let's just say you get in a bad mood today, you get depressed or whatever. Sometimes if you'll just think about what you've been thinking about, or even what you've been talking about, you can locate your own problem pretty quick. Because the things that we think can either make us happy or they can drag us down and make us sad, same way with the things that we hear.
Now, our motives are very important. And people always get quiet when you talk about motives. Because our motives are not, don't have anything to do with what we're doing.
It's why we're doing what we're doing. That's the thing that's important to God. Why am I doing it?
Is this something that I don't, I mean, you know, whatever, you sign up to do something, you agree to do something. Is this something that I'm doing because I really believe that God wants me to do it? Or am I doing it as a people pleaser because I just don't want somebody to get mad at me?
You know, you can't be a God pleaser and a people pleaser. The apostle Paul said you can find it in Galatians 1.10. If I would have been trying to be popular with people, I would not now be an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's, there again, something that should put the fear of God in us. I mean, anybody who wants to fulfill the call of God on their life, you have, I mean, there's nothing wrong with wanting to please people and make people happy, but if pleasing the person is going to displease God, then we're supposed to be led by the Holy Spirit, and he doesn't always lead you to do what people want you to do. And I tell people a lot of times, because everybody today is so busy, busy, busy, busy, and stressed out because of their schedule, and you know, if you would write down everything you're doing, and do two things, cross off everything that's not bearing fruit, it's just sucking up your time and not bearing fruit.
You know, you can even have a friend that supposedly comes to you for counseling all the time, and you can feel good about that because somebody wants your advice, but if they just keep coming and crabbing about the same thing, they don't really want to be helped. They just want to talk about the problem. And it's not doing anything for you.
It's not, it doesn't bear any fruit in your life or my life. And so if you cross off everything, it's not bearing any fruit. And if you cross off everything that you're doing for a motive, that's not right.
You know, sometimes we do things to be well thought of. Sometimes we do things to be seen by other people. And so in Matthew 6, Jesus covers all of that.
And these are just good scriptures to go and read. Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. It doesn't mean you can't do a good deed in front of somebody else, but it says if your motive is to be seen by them, then don't do that.
If you do, you will have no reward from your father who is in heaven. I don't want to lose my reward. You know?
So when you give to the needy, don't announce it with trumpets as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others' motive. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward in full already. And this is a favorite of mine.
When you give to the needy, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Now, what does that mean? Well, this is what I feel like God showed me.
It's like, if I do something good, even let's just say, we go out on a weekend and we just have a knock down great conference. I mean, it's awesome. I preached good, people were saved, it was just awesome.
Maybe in the process, we were able to help a couple of people there that were poor and needy, and so it just all around was just a great conference. Well, you know, God doesn't want me to sit on Sunday and just ruminate and think on how great I was. How much everybody, oh, I got a standing ovation.
They, they clapped, they applauded. And so you, you don't even get to sit around and think about how good you are after you're good. You just come out of the shadows.
I heard this one time, love stays in the shadows until it's needed. Then it steps out of the shadows and does what needs to be done, and then goes back into the shadows.
That's lovely, isn't it?
I think that's what it means to let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Don't wallow in your goodness. Amen?
See to it that your giving is done in secret, and that doesn't mean that everything you do has to be a big secret. Sometimes, to be honest, it blesses somebody to know that it's beneficial for them to know that you're doing something for them. But, you still don't have to blow a trumpet and announce it to everybody, tell everybody.
What you do in secret, God will reward you in the open. I love that. So when you pray, don't be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others.
Motive again. Truly, I tell you, they have received the reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, pray to your father who is unseen, then your father who sees in secret will reward you in the open.
You know, if you get up every morning and you pray the first three hours you're up, you don't really need to tell anybody that.
You don't need to take the newest little Christian at church to breakfast and say, well, how long do you pray? Five minutes. Well, yeah, how long do you pray?
Well, at least three hours. Well, right away you put condemnation on her and she feels like she can never measure up to you, and it stunts her growth. You didn't start with three hours.
Motives are very, very important. God bless you and have a great rest of the day.
I do not have one day of my life that goes by that I don't confess the Word of God out loud. Well, the Word of God changed my life, and I absolutely love it. I'd be so lost without it.
You see, years ago, God revealed to me that I had so much negativity in my mind. It was not only affecting the way I thought, but the way I spoke about everyday circumstances. God showed me that I could exchange that stinking thinking for a more powerful and effective thought life.
All I had to do was speak His truths found in His Word. I was encouraged by what God's Word revealed and could unlock in all areas. I absolutely had to write this book, The Secret Power of Speaking God's Word.
There's so much power in speaking His Word. Find out what it can do for you.
So oftentimes it's hard to just go, where was this in the Word? So with this book, you can just go to it and go, okay, I'm really going through the struggle of, say, temptation today, and you can look it up, and there are the Word's right to pray. I go to courage a lot.
I go to the section on confidence a lot.
And thanks to pray over your husband, thanks to pray over your children.
There's all those scriptures, and then you can speak them out and meditate on them. So that's super helpful to me.
Request Secret Power of Speaking God's Word today. It is available to you right now for your gift of $30 or more. Call us today at 1-800-727-9673, or visit us online at joycemeyer.org.
Let's just say you're at work and you get really mad at somebody.
Help me God, help me, help me, help me, help me. Quick, get your purple book.
Request your copy of The Secret Power of Speaking God's Word. And we will add Joyce's book, Good Thoughts, Great Life, as a bonus to you. Inside, you'll find the right mindsets to combat the wrong ones.
These books are both available to you for $30 or more. And remember, you'll not only receive Joyce's book when you give, but your gift allows us to continue to share the love of Christ around the world through our Hand of Hope Outreaches. Request your copy of The Secret Power of Speaking God's Word and Good Thoughts, Great Life today for $30 or more.
Give us a call at 1-800-727-9673 or visit us online at joycemeyer.org.
Get into agreement with God and you will see amazing things happen in your life. I can't tell you how many days I wasted being unhappy because things weren't going my way. It was all, what about me?
What about me? I was miserable and I made everyone around me miserable too. In my book, What About Me, I want to help you get yourself off your mind and find a new level of satisfaction that you never thought possible.
It's time to get out of your own way and discover the power of an unselfish life.
What About Me by Joyce Meyer. Order your copy today.
I love that magazine she sends out.
There's something in there for everybody.
The Enjoying Everyday Life magazine is free. Subscribe at Joyce meyer.org to read encouraging articles from Joyce and much more.
Reading through the magazine confirms for me, God's at Work.
We hope you enjoyed today's program. We are so grateful to our Joyce Meyer Ministries partners who make this and all we do possible, including sharing God's Word and offering help to people in need all over the world. This program has been made possible by the partners of Joyce Meyer Ministries.
Did you know success is within your reach when you follow God's perfect timing?
Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Friday, September twentieth. When our requests to God seem urgent and packed with great emotion, it's easy to want to act fast. Today, we are reminded to slow down as we keep up with God's schedule.
Do you feel sometimes that God's late? That He's either ignored you, He's not shown up somewhere, something's going on, you feel guilty, you've sinned against. Him.
Now, it's why does. He show up so late? You know, I've never heard anybody saying God was, He was just in a big hurry.
I mean, God was ahead of me. Most of the time, we were complaining about. Him being too late.
And the reason is because. He has. His schedule, we have ours.
And oftentimes, we forget the fact that. He knows a whole lot more about the right schedule than we do. And think about this, He's the one who owns the clock.
He knows all about time and. He's above time, but. He's also in the midst of it.
And so, one of the reasons we step out of. His will, one of the reasons we miss. His blessing, is because we never stop to think, what's God's schedule?
What is. His timing? What is.
He up to in my life? And simply because we can't see it, it's not a good reason to just do it our own way, manipulate circumstances so that we think, well, you know, we'll get what we want one way or the other. That's not God's way.
And what I want to talk about in this message is simply this, that is, God's schedule on. His schedule or on our schedule. What's it all about?
I want you to turn to one single verse of Scripture primarily in isaiah chapter sixty-four. I want to read those first few verses coming up to it. But isaiah chapter sixty-four, and I want us to look at these first four verses.
O that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence, as fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil, to make your name known to your adversaries, that the nation may tremble at your presence. When you did awesome things which we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.. And then verse four, listen to this, For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear, nor has the eye seen a God beside you, who acts in behalf of the one who waits for.
Him. If you want anybody acting in your behalf, you certainly want God acting in your behalf.. So, I want us to think about this whole issue of God's schedule or ours.
Which one are we going to live by? We've been talking about the ways of God. This is the sixth message in the series.
And we've said, for example, that God's ways are not only how God acts, how does. He think? What motivates.
Him? Why does. He do what.
He does? Why does. He say what.
He said in the Scripture? Who is this God you and I are worshiping? And the truth is, until you begin to understand.
His ways, you'll never understand who. He is. And so, you'll go through life missing out on life's best until you begin to understand.
His ways. So, I want us to think in terms of. His schedule, His timing, how.
He works in your life and mine. And if you'll think about it, the truth is that God's schedule is based on, listen, on. His priorities and.
His timing. God's schedule for your life and mine is based on. His priorities and.
His timing. Somebody says, well, what's God's priorities? Well, I don't know all of them for your life, but I do know this one.
God's priority in your life is simply this, to grow us into an intimate relationship with. Him. That's number one.
It doesn't make any difference how much you serve. Him, how much you give to. Him, how much you talk about.
Him. The most important thing to. Him is our personal intimate relationship with.
Him. Therefore, He's going to govern and guide your schedule and mine, our timing in different aspects of our life, so that you and I will grow in that relationship. So, sometimes that means.
He'll do things we don't like, many things we don't understand. Sometimes there'll be pain and suffering and heartache and disappointment and discouragement and rejection. Other times there'll be this awesome pleasure, indescribable pleasure and goodness and mercy and kindness of God that is so evident.
God is at work in your life and my life all the time. And the truth is, you can't think of a single moment in your life and no activity in which God's not involved. He may not be in approval, but God has a schedule for your life and mine.
And listen to this carefully. You may not be on. His schedule all of your life.
You may live in rebellion and disobedience to God all of your life. And you may say, I'm not interested in God's schedule or. His timing.
Listen carefully. There will be a moment in your life in which you will be on. His schedule.
It'll be. His perfect timing, because here's what God says, It is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment. You and I have an appointment with God.
No doctor's going to delay it. No wealth can keep you from being on schedule, nobody. They can put all kind of blood in you, give you all kind of antibiotics, pump you up, mash you on you, squeeze you, operate on you, put you back together.
You cannot extend your life one second, your own God's schedule for death. So why not get on. His schedule now and enjoy it, amen?
Well, I'll live your whole life and get on. His schedule at the last second of your life. You could have been on it the whole time, enjoying God's best for your life.
But you see, the problem is this. And that is, sometimes we think God is slow. He's not slow.
We, what we do is we translate it this way, God, you're slow. He says, no, I'm just being patient because. He knows what's going on.
So, His schedule now is scheduled not the same. Sometimes we don't look at things the way. He looks at them.
We don't see things the way. He sees them. And so, when I think about that, I think about why you and I should follow.
His schedule. And think about this for a moment. And that is, God is all knowing and having created you, having created you, He created you, listen, with a plan and a purpose for your life.
If He created you with a plan and purpose for your life, He has a schedule for your life. That means. He's intricately involved in every aspect of your life.
You can turn a deaf ear to what. He says. It doesn't keep.
Him out. You can rebel against. Him.
He still has that schedule. Listen, He still has. His plan for your life.
So therefore, if. He has a schedule and a plan for your life, then the very best for you can be living in. His schedule and.
His plan. Now, there are three reasons, if you'll think about them just soberly for a moment, why you ought to consider getting on God's plan in. His timing to live out your life.
Number one is this, He's all-knowing. He knows everything perfectly. He has no partial knowledge about anything.
He knows every single aspect of your life, past, present, and future. He doesn't have to refer back to anything. He doesn't have to look up anything.
He doesn't have to get on the computer and check you out. He knows every single thing that we have to know about us. So, that every single situation, circumstance of your life, He's got all the facts.
We make decisions based on other people's opinions, based on partial knowledge and information. He bases his on absolute perfect, infinite, accurate knowledge in every aspect of your life. Well, it would be foolish of me to ignore that.
The second basis of it is this, and that is. He's not only all-knowing, He's all-wise. Which simply says this, He not only knows all the facts, knows the absolute truth about us, knows our weaknesses, knows our frailties, knows what we're gifted to do, knows what.
His plan and purpose is, knows what we're capable of doing, He's all-wise. That is, He knows what to do in every single circumstance of our life. So, being all-knowing and having all the facts, and being all-wise, He knows when your schedule should be like this, when.
His timing and your timing should be the same. He knows exactly what will save your life facing an accident. He knows exactly what you're to say to someone to whom your witnesses are sharing your faith.
He knows how to encourage you to raise your children to be godly. He's got it all down. And He's wise enough and desires to teach us in every circumstance of life exactly how we ought to live.
But the third aspect is this, He's all-loving. And that is, every single aspect of our life, He is involved in a very loving way. And He loves us unconditionally.
You can't make. Him stop loving you. He never loves us on the basis of condition.
So think about this. This awesome God has created a plan, the purpose of your life. And the fact that.
He's all-knowing has every single thing perfectly down. That He is all-wise and knows exactly how to give direction. And He's all-loving and.
He always has the best for us. Does He not say that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love. Him, to those who call it according to.
His purpose? He has something good in store for us at every single turn of our life. Some things that you and I experience in life, we don't think are very good.
God allows some things to happen, we think, like Mary and Martha. Well, if you'd have been here, God, I wouldn't have had to put up with this and you could have changed this. We may have those feelings.
He's always on time, perfectly knowledgeable about all things and loving us through every single one of them. Now, that being the case, why wouldn't you and I be willing to surrender to. His timetable?
You see, here's the problem. We sort of like being in control, and probably not sort of, we just like being in control. And if I'm going to be in control, He's not going to be in control.
So, we have to decide, the first thing we have to do is to surrender control to God and. His schedule and. His timing.
Now, God knows that it takes time to grow us up. He knows that to make us disciples of. His, followers of.
His, and. He knows that to bring us into this intimate relationship with. Him is not something that happens the moment we're saved.
And it's because of our impatience. And when I think about the reasons, for example, that we have a problem with that, we might ask the question, is why is it that we oftentimes fail to follow. His schedule?
Why don't, why do we think that. He's a little late? Well, we're just impatient.
Now, I remember one time when my, I was just a real young lad, and my mother was going to teach me something about planting things and watching them grow. So, I remember we went out in the backyard, and she dug up this little area, probably about three feet by three. I don't remember a whole lot about it.
And we planted some seed. I don't even remember what the seed was, but I knew that I was excited. So, she explained to me that we're going to dig this little hole and put the seed in there and cover it up.
And then before long, she said, she said, You'll see this little green sprout come up, and you'll know that something is growing. And then before long, we're going to have fruit. I forgot what the fruit was.
But, and the reason I did is here's what happened. So, about every day or so, I'd walk out there and look at it. I think, Gosh, you know, we're going to have some fruit.
I'm so excited. Well, three or four days went by, and a week went by, and my mother was at work that day. And so, I went out there and I thought, I'm going to find out what's happening.
I dug it up. Well, she probably forgot to tell me it was going to take a while. So, being impatient, but what I thought was coming, and I certainly deserved to see it because my mother planted it.
And so, what happened was I dug it up. Well, how much fruit did I get? Nothing.
It at least began to teach me a little lesson about being patient. And how many times have I had to learn that again and again and again? And that is, God has a schedule.
He has time. Every farmer knows he plants. And what does he do after he plants?
What does he do after he plants? He waits and trusts for the right weather, the right water, the right temperature, and all the things that go on. So, what's happening?
What's happening is while we plant the seed, it looks like nothing's going on. Watch this. In your life and my life, every single day, God's up to something in your life and my life.
He's arranging circumstances. We call them good, bad, and different. While we think nothing's going on, God is at work in your life and my life.
This is. His schedule. He's at work in your life and my life doing what?
Bringing us into an intimate relationship with. Him. Sometimes we rebel.
Sometimes we allow other people to dig it up and to cheat us out of this wonderful opportunity God has gifted us for, equipped us for, and provided for us. And so, it's our impatience. Sometimes the reason we think God is a little slow is the fact that we have our own set of plans.
And we're taught to plan and to program our life. And yet, many people have no plans, really. And their plans are to make it through the week and get paid again so they can go to the malls and spend it all so they go back to work on Monday and do that week after week after week after week or spend it somewhere.
And so, what happens is they have plans which have totally disregarded God's plan, God's will, God's schedule for their life. And so, we could think of lots of reasons, for example, that people begin to think, well, you know, I prayed and it didn't happen when I expected it to. One of the problems we have is this, we don't have the right attitude about God's promises.
And if you'll think about this, how many times does the Bible say that God is slow? How many of you think God never say, it didn't talk about being slow? Does the Bible say anything about God being slow?
Well, think about it. What is God, what is the one area in which God is slow? He says.
He's slow to anger, which says something about. His awesome patience with us. And then, of course, look at this.
In 2 Peter 3, 9, the Lord is not slow about. His promise. God is never slow in keeping.
His promise. Now, we think. He is.
And so, we have a misconception, for example, about God's promises to us. And for example, here's a need that comes in your life, and you say, well, here's what the Word of God says. I'm going to claim it.
My God shall supply all your needs according to. His riches and glory.
If I have a need, you said, God's all-knowing, He knows my need, correct. If He's all-knowing of my need, then why doesn't. He answer it?
Well, we also said. He's always wise. He's also wise.
And if. He's wise, He knows when to answer it, how to answer it, and through whom to answer it. And He does it in such a way, listen, that.
He is expressing love toward us. For example, as a parent, your son, as my son and every little boy, wants a pocket knife very early in life before they're capable of handling one. Because they see that you have one, they want one just like you.
Would you give you a three-year-old this pocket knife? Not if you're a smart dad, you wouldn't. And He says, Well, you said you were going to give me one.
Well, I'm going to give you one. Well, why don't you give it to me now? Well, because you're not capable.
You mean, I know how to open it and I know how to close it. And so, they can give us all kind of arguments why they ought to have a pocket knife at three years of age. We do, we treat God the same way.
Well, God, here's what you said, and in fact, Lord, you gave me a special promise about answering this prayer. Well, I'm listening. And God doesn't say anything.
You know why. He doesn't say anything? He's too busy doing something good for you to be answering that question.
Listen, tell me what goes on in your life that. He's not involved in. He's interested, He's at work.
It's just like that seed you plant under the earth. There's something going on from the second that seed hits the earth and is covered up. The second by second, something's going on.
Because you and I don't see what God is doing. What I want you to see is this. Just because you and I don't see God at work and because.
He has not written down your schedule by your name and said, The following things are going to happen to you in the following days and years of your life. And the truth is, I don't want to know what the future is. Do you?
Well, some of you don't know whether you do or not. Let me ask you a question. Go back in your life if you've lived a few years and look at all the hardships, trials, terrible things you've been through in life.
Would you have wanted God to tell you at the age of sixteen, now here's what you have to look forward to. Difficulty, hardship, pain, rejection, persecution. I mean, needs, and I mean, you don't want to know that.
What we have to do is to trust. Him. His schedule is perfect.
Listen, He's all wise. He knows when to give you what you need to have. And He's all loving.
He knows all about all that. But we, because. His schedule doesn't fit ours, we misinterpret.
His promises and things don't work out when we think they ought to work out and we think God is not doing anything and the truth is. He's doing a great deal because here's what. He says.
He says, He acts in behalf of those who wait for. Him. Now watch this, listen carefully.
He's acting all the time, but. He's acting in my behalf when I'm willing to be on. His schedule listening to.
Him and following. Him. So I have a choice.
I have a choice whether to follow. Him or not. To get on.
His schedule or not to get on. His schedule. You say, Well, but let me tell you about my circumstances.
Let me tell you the truth. It doesn't make any difference what your circumstances are. God is still good.
He's still good to every single one of us. The reason. He may not appear to be good to you is because you're off.
His timing and. His schedule. You're doing your own thing.
You have chosen to have it your way instead of God's way. And so therefore, you want to accuse God and blame God for something when. He had the best plan possible.
Remember, He's all-knowing. He knows the best plan. He knows the right time.
He knows the right schedule. And if you choose to get out of. His will, do it your way, your timing, on your schedule, then listen, one of the very inevitable things that happens when you and I get on our schedule, our timing, we begin to manipulate circumstances, then all of a sudden, instead of confusion, it's not working out right, this isn't working out, why I feel this, he, she feels that, and what happens?
You're out of. His schedule. When you are not on God's schedule, you miss.
His best.
Thank you for listening to God's schedule. For more inspirational messages like this one, visit our online 24-7 station. And if you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by intouch.org.
This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
Are you single and up for today’s dating game? According to Rev. Tommy Nelson, Dating is a pain and can be a painful thing. Today on Family Talk, you’ll hear from Rev. Nelson, pastor of the Denton Bible Church in Denton, Texas, on the age-old idea of romance and what the Bible has to say about it. You’ll find yourself laughing out loud as Pastor Tommy adds his relatable humor to an otherwise serious topic in life.
To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/707/29
Well, greetings, everyone, and welcome to Family Talk. I'm your host, Dr. James Dobson. Now, I think I've shared with you before that my lovely wife Shirley and I have been married for a long time.
Can you believe that? Because we're still so very, very young. But our relationship is more solid now than it's ever been before.
But you know what? During our dating days, we were just learning to love each other. And we bumped along like two selfish people, often do.
We dated together for three and a half years before falling head over heels in love. And by the time we were married, we'd built a solid foundation. Would you like to know how to do that?
Would you like some suggestions on building a firm foundation of love? Well, I'm not going to provide that for you, but I've brought a message that I think will be helpful to you. The programs we're going to hear today and tomorrow are among the most popular recordings we have ever put on the air.
And it was that way when we first aired it many years ago, but it has stood the test of time.
Well, it certainly has, Dr. I'm Roger Marsh, and on today's edition of Family Talk, we're going to hear from guest speaker, the Reverend Tommy Nelson, who is Senior Pastor of the Denton Bible Church in Denton, Texas. He's been pastor for more than 40 years, and Reverend Nelson is certainly a delightful preacher.
He's also my friend. On this occasion, when this message was recorded, Reverend Nelson built his sermon on the Song of Solomon, and every marital couple and every dating couple should hear this Biblical message, and I'm anxious to share it with you. With that, here is Reverend Tommy Nelson as he opens the Word, the Song of Solomon, and provides analysis and exposition that I think you will find very helpful.
Here is the Song of Solomon.
Dating is a pain, and can be a painful thing.
But actually, if you want to get kind of specific about it, it's not so much dating as it is the phenomena when dates stack up with the same person, and you evolve into that institution that is known as courtship. You see, a bad date costs you a little time, money, and an annoyance, but courtship, when you have a bad courtship, that costs you a little bit of your soul. It's kind of like if you were to see somebody on a sub-zero day taking their tongue and putting it to a flagpole, and you would say, friend, that is an ill-designed and an uncommon union, and you're not going to get out of that without leaving a little part of you on that flagpole.
Well, that's kind of what courtship is. Because when you start dating the same person over and over and over, you may not do it like the quiet man with John Wayne coming and having your formal proposal, but when you date the same person, you're into courtship. Be it in Dallas or in Victorian England, you're into courtship.
Now dating takes a little bit of time and a little bit of politeness. Courtship is a different animal altogether, and it takes all kinds of sensitivity. You can't go too shallow or you frustrate it.
You can't go too deep, too fast or too far or you destroy it. Courtship takes great flexibility. It takes tenderness, sensitivity.
It takes holiness. Courtship really is just what the word says. To treat somebody in a courtly manner is to treat them like they were a prince or a princess to bring them to your way of thinking and to trust you.
When you date a young lady and you court her, you treat her in a certain way that she will want to spend the rest of her life with you. You treat a young man in your words, your responses, your actions, so that he is convinced about you and he wants to spend the rest of his life with you. Courtship takes you intentionally to marriage.
Dating is observation. Courtship is depth. Dating is marketing.
Courtship is the clothes, if you know what I am saying. Now, to have a good courtship four things have to occur in dating. The number one thing you have to do in dating is you have to have the wisdom to properly evaluate the character of the person that you are now going to court.
In other words, what you see is what you get. In other words, you are courting what they are, not what they are not, and you have to be willing to live in courtship with the character, the standard of righteousness and also the personality. If you are going to court somebody, you are saying that I have evaluated them in dating, and if it is a quiet person in dating, you can't court and then marry and make them noisy.
If it is a fellow who has the sensitivity of a stomach pump in dating, you can't try to court with this fellow and marry him and think you are going to change him. Women have been trying it forever, and it will not work. It is the job of the Holy Ghost to transform, not yours.
And so you have to have the wisdom, like this couple did, to properly evaluate that person that you have dated, that you intend to go to courtship. All right? The standard of moral righteousness and the personality.
You have got to be willing to live with them. Secondly, you have got to have consistency in dating. I see all of these couples that fight in dating and fall in and out of dating and break up and get back together so they say, look, it ain't going to work too well, let's get married.
We are not bench pressing 70 pounds, let's stack 350 on the bar. We can't get along in four hours a day, let's commit till we are 90 and never leave the house. Not wise.
Folks, your dating relationship should be easy. You should be able to negotiate it. You should have the same standard of moral uprightness, and you should be able to live with the kind of person God has made and has given you.
So I have never seen a good courtship from a dating that breaks up, breaks out and then gets back together. You just can't do it. Thirdly, this is a biggie.
In dating you have to have the sensitivity of communication. This is where most specifically girls get hurt. Now here is what I mean.
Anybody read Dave Barry this week in the Dallas Morning News? Great article. He said women are reaching for a relationship.
He said men shy from responsibility. He said if a man was a chicken breast and you put him in the microwave in July he wouldn't be ready at Thanksgiving. Men shy away from that kind of commitment.
Fellas, when you have taken her out five, six times then you have got to sit down with her and say, you know, I want you to know. I don't know if you are the girl that God has for my life or whether you would want to be, but I know this, you are certainly the type of woman that I would want to spend my life with and I so enjoy spending this time with you and I would like to ask you if I could keep taking you out as to whether I can fall completely in love with you and you can be my wife. And I want you to know that if you would like to back out of this, you owe me nothing but honesty, you have been nothing but upright with me and then here's the key, this will get her right here.
Then you say this, you say, and if I'm not the fellow, not only do you need to leave me, but I'll pray and find the guy that you should marry.
That will work. You see what I'm saying? And in the same way, fellas, if you're taking this girl, and she's a wonderful friend, but it doesn't want to go any deeper, then you need to say.
And girls, you need to give him the freedom to say. And incidentally, guys, always give a girl an out. At this point, I would hate to be a woman.
Women don't like messing on guys all the time, you know, and just putting them down. I said to my wife, I would hate to be a woman and always have some knuckle head like us, you know, kind of, you know, say, and what do you say to them? Nah, get out.
Or, why don't you die or something like this? How does a woman graciously drop a guy off? That's a hard thing to do.
Always give a girl the option to say, you tell me no and I'll go away. And in the same way, fellas, if you're taking a girl out and she's a wonderful girl, but you don't see it going anyplace, you need to say, you're a wonderful person, I so enjoy just spending time with you as a friend. I don't see my heart going anyplace.
And girls, that may not make you happy or excited, but nevertheless, he's been honest with you. And I see more couples get hurt from bad communication and the lack of it. Somebody's got to talk.
And listen, I had this done to me and I know it can be done. Maple Street dorm, 1972, a girl sat with me and said, you know, she was a Christian girl. I so enjoy spending this time with you.
However, you know, I would feel she was sharp. She said, I would feel such a peace if God were to take us now in different ways.
And it didn't take, you know, Forrest Gump too long right here to figure this out. God gives peace when I'm not around. All right, I see what you're saying.
But she was able to do it. So you gotta talk. Are you with me?
This is good stuff. Now, and this couple did this in their dating. The couple had wisdom of evaluation, they had sensitivity and communication, and they got along.
They had consistency. And the other big one is you have got to have patience in letting the relationship go on. Don't escalate a relationship too quick.
How do you escalate a relationship too quick? One way is couples share too much, too deep, too fast. You go to Denny's and you spend from seven to two on the first date.
And the guy just goes, yeah, and just lets everything out in his entire life. And sometimes you can bind too quick on that. Another way is, how can you say this?
Keep your hands off each other. You know what I'm saying? Is sometimes you get your hands too fast on somebody.
It's like those kids at the mall and energy is coming off of them like bug zappers, you know, where they're walking around with each other on the mall. And you know they're playing with fire. So you don't, and especially guys, you don't go kissing on some woman before you're willing to be responsible to hold her heart.
And so be careful of taking it too deep. And fellas, good word. Whenever a girl says thanks but no thanks, or whenever a girl shows any inclination, here's a great verse for you.
Do you see honey? Eat what you need, lest you eat too much and vomit it up. Next verse.
Let your foot not be often in your neighbor's house, lest he come to despise you. Those two verses are putting right next to each other. To show that a good thing is good, but too much of a good thing, when you become a bore, can make people hate you.
Now, once those are established. Let's take a look at chapter 2. In verse 8 we are in a new day.
And this couple that has dated with wisdom and success and consistency and sensitivity and piety and restraint. Now let's see what a man should feel in a good courtship. Verse 8, listen, my beloved, behold, he is coming, climbing on the mountains, leaping on the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. And in verse 7 she is called a young doe, a gazelle. Behold, he is standing behind our wall.
He is looking through the windows. He is peering through the lattice. This man is pictured as a stag.
And he draws, he runs, and he leaps on the mountains to get closer to this woman.
He is excited.
This is what a man should feel and a woman also in a relationship that is going into courtship. Time should not dwindle. Time kindles this relationship.
That's why one of the greatest tests of a relationship is the separation test. When you are away from each other, is it out of sight, out of mind? Or do you feel like a young stag wanting to get closer and closer to her?
Look at something else. Verse 10. What period?
Girls can answer this so well. What period of the year are we in here, ladies? Verse 10.
My beloved responded and said to me, arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along, for winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers have already appeared in the land, the time has arrived for pruning the vines, the voice of the turtle dove has been heard in our land, the fig tree has ripened, the vines and blossom have given forth fragrance, arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along, ladies, what period are we in? Yes, isn't it? It's time for growth.
It's springtime and summer that we've moved into. That's the second thing that a relationship should produce is life. How many times have you seen singles begin to date that are spiritual, godly people?
And once they get to date, their spiritual relationship goes down. And there is not life produced. There's guilt and anger.
They disappear from church. They disappear from Bible study. The guy's worried about her.
He doesn't read his Bible. That's why not just the separation test, but the time test. Time should produce life.
When I was with my wife, fellas, I wanted to read my Bible more. To keep up the pace to be able to merit this woman. I met her in a prayer group at Campus Crusade for Christ when she was heading the prayer group for an illusionist named Andre Cole that was coming and I was the MC.
And I met this woman. And I wanted to walk close with God. Just to be with her.
And if I hadn't have shown up in church, if I hadn't dropped out, if I hadn't acted immorally to her, I'm convinced Teresa would have dropped me like a hot rock as she should have. What are two things you should feel? You should feel desire and you should feel life by being around this person.
Verse 14. Now what's something that you do? Watch this.
Oh my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the secret path or place of the steep pathway. Let me hear your voice. Your voice is sweet and your form is lovely.
Fellas, what kind of position is this girl in? She is an innocent dove up in the clefts of a rock in the steep pathway back there. Solomon thought that he knew her in dating, but he didn't and now she is coming out.
And guys, to a dove in the clefts of the rock, there is nothing more frightening than a man's hands. And this girl is back there and she is slowly and surely coming out. And this is the way it is going to be, in courtship.
Fellas, how does Jesus Christ love your girl to be? Ephesians 5, he has washed her by the washing of water with the word to present to himself the church and all her glory, having no spot nor wrinkle, nor any such thing. There is no spot so nasty that he cannot get it out.
See also Paul the murderer, David the adulterer, Mary Magdalene the prostitute, Zacchaeus the tax collector. He can forgive anything and there is no wrinkle. That's something that's hidden.
There are some things in your life that only you and God, an offended person and your mate to be will know. And if you forgive like God forgives, there's no wrinkle, there's no hidden thing that you can't forgive. You talk and you cry.
And fellas, if you've got a girl that in some of these girls have been hurt so deeply and when a man puts his hands out they're going to instinctively go back in the steep place. When she tells you of how she has been hurt, of what she's been through, many of them of immorality they have been through, let me tell you, you're going to want to take that girl and hold her so close to you, you're going to love her so deeply, that your thought is going to be, sweetie, you are never going to be hurt again. You're with a man that's going to treat you with such kindness and such dignity and such love and with such gentleness and in the same way, girls, you're going to look at him and say you're going to find all of your needs satisfied in me.
You will never ever get defiled again. So you talk. You know what the next way you're going to find out about your mate is the inevitability of time.
You're going to stumble on to things. I remember. I'm not a really good pathfinder.
I get lost easily. My wife is Daniel Boone. She never gets lost.
I kid you not, on one occasion we were driving around and I said in my, I was in a place and I said, where are we? And Teresa went, there's our backyard.
Right there.
Honest. She can find her way anywhere. I can't find my place.
No place. When we were dating early on, I and my dear sweet wife-to-be, my dear precious dove. She and I would go to speak in the Metroplex area and whenever I would get kind of lost, I would do the obvious thing you would do to find your way around.
I would look for a water tower with the high school mascot on it and I knew if it was a fighting farmer or if it was a Grand Prairie, whatever, where I was, okay, smart guy. And I one time, I got mixed up and I went, I said, I don't know where we are. I went in and I said to this 7-Eleven guy, I said, where am I?
Is this Louisville? He said, no, you're in Irving. I went, ha ha ha.
And I went out and I said, Theresa, we're in Irving. We're going to be late. I thought that was so funny.
And she looks at me with these eyes and she ain't laughing. And I found out some things about my wife. And I found out little things that still today I discover about her.
My wife is of the genus species, what is called Pachyceratum.
She saves everything. We have boxes of hair from the shower. I ain't kidding you.
Does she? Not really. But that's the way she is.
Me? I love to clean house. I take a trash can bag.
And I clean like Sherman did Atlanta. All right? Everything's gone.
I've thrown away paychecks. I've thrown away bills, everything. She don't think that's funny.
Can you imagine? And she and I sometimes do this. You're going to inevitably learn things.
I hope you enjoyed part one of Tommy Nelson's sermon through Song of Solomon here on Family Talk. You know, we care about you and we'd love to help you through the ups and downs of marital life. If there's anything we can do for you, I wish you would contact us, let us know.
Let us know how we can pray for you. If today's message has encouraged you, I would love to hear about it.
Well, that's right, doctor. We do love to hear from our listeners. And friend, if you'd like to reach out, you can do so very easily on our website at drjamesdobson.org/familytalk, or by calling us at 877-732-6825.
A member of our constituent care team will be happy to take your call and whatever you need, whether it's a prayer request or a recommendation for a resource, we'll be happy to fulfill that information for you. Again, that number is 877-732-6825. Now keep in mind, as we're talking about marriage, our own Dr. James Dobson and his wife Shirley recently celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary, lasting love indeed.
If you are seeking to build a love that will stand the test of time, why not consider getting a copy of Dr. Dobson's book called Head Over Heels. It's a practical guide on how to use your head in matters of the heart, get it? And build a relationship that will last in the process.
Now we'll be happy to send you a copy of Dr. Dobson's book, Head Over Heels, as our way of thanking you for your gift of any amount in support of Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk today. So go online, just go over to drjamesdobson.org/familytalk and click the link at the bottom of today's broadcast page. That's drjamesdobson.org/familytalk.
It was former president John F. Kennedy who once said, the ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all. You know this year in particular it is crucial for us as believers who are Americans to be informed voters.
Uninformed voters on the other hand will ultimately make decisions that may be detrimental to the future of the community and our country on the whole. Our democratic system as a constitutional republic works best when voters as a whole are knowledgeable and active participants. That's why here at the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute we want to support you with a biblically based voter guide.
You can sign up to receive your free voter guide by the way when you go to drjamesdobson.org/twentytwentyfourvoterguide.
Also online, you want to check out the Countdown to Decision twenty twenty four podcast. You'll see some very familiar faces like Kirk Cameron, Eric Metaxas, Riley Gaines and more. You can listen to their interviews about important election issues when you go to drjamesdobson.org/countdown to Decision twenty twenty four and be sure to get your faith vote stickers while supplies last when you're at the Countdown to Decision twenty twenty four website as well.
We'll be happy to send you a packet of 25 of these faith vote stickers as our way of thanking you for your gift of any amount in support of Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk today. So go online to drjamesdobson.org/countdowndash to dash Decision dash twenty twenty four. Well, be sure to join us again tomorrow for the second half of Reverend Tommy Nelson's breakdown of the Book of Song of Solomon.
That's coming up right here next time on Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk. Till then, I'm Roger Marsh. Thanks for listening.
This has been a presentation of the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute.
Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Bob Wilkin and Ken Yates are looking at Matthew 7:21-23. Who are the “workers of iniquity” or “lawlessness” in this passage? Why are they called this? What is being communicated in this passage? Listen and be challenged by today’s episode of the Grace in Focus podcast!
The following is a listener-supported ministry from the Grace Evangelical Society.
Toward the end of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 7, he calls some people workers of iniquity or workers of lawlessness. Why did he call them this? And what is being communicated in this passage?
We will look at it straight ahead here on Grace in Focus. Thank you for joining us today, friend. This is the radio broadcast and podcast ministry of the Grace Evangelical Society.
We are located in North Texas, and we have a website, faithalone.org, where you can find out many things about us. You can read our articles. There are hundreds of them there.
And you can find out about our national conference and our regional conferences. That is faithalone.org. Now with today's question and answer discussion, here are Bob Wilkin and Ken Yates.
Bob, we got a question from one of our listeners. And this is from John.
Okay.
And I know who this John is. And he said, hey, thanks about the mention on your previous podcast about the eternal rewards account. That was me.
That is him.
And I got that from him. You know, he talked about IRAs.
People thought it was the Equal Rights Amendment. No, it's the eternal rewards account.
That's right. We have IRAs here. Well, in the kingdom...
IRAs in the kingdom.
In the kingdom. And I told John, when he gave me that illustration, I said, well, I'm going to tell you right now, I'm going to steal it. I'm going to use it.
But evidently, we did give him credit. So I guess I'm not as bad as I thought. But anyway, he has another question, and it's on the end of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7.
And I know we've discussed this on here before, but he had a... he has a question about it that I don't think we can ask.
Matthew 7, 21, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, Lord of the Kingdom, but he who does the will of my father.
Right.
But he's not asking about that part. He's asking about the end part where he says, depart from me, you who what?
Well, in the King James version, it says you who practice lawlessness.
And I think he says in his version, he's quoting, you workers of iniquity.
Well, you workers of lawlessness.
Workers of lawlessness.
Yeah. In this passage, as you know, Bob, what's going on is that at the judgment, people are going to say, Lord, the great white throne judgment, there's going to be people who say, well, didn't we do all these great works? In your name, in your name, you know, and cast out demons, you know, whatever.
We would say, speak in tongues, heal the sick, you know, or evangelize or whatever.
Right.
You know, you can. And we can imagine there's going to be lots of people like that.
Well, from within Christianity.
Yeah. Mormons, Jehovah Witness, even within evangelical churches where people believe they have to do good works in order to enter into the kingdom of God.
Right.
And that's what these people are saying.
Right.
What do you mean we're not going to be in the kingdom? Didn't we do this, this, this, this, this? And every one of our listeners has people in mind who says, yeah, yeah, you know, people who believe in work, salvation, that's all they've ever believed in, and they're working their way to heaven, they're going to be cast out.
Yeah, we're concerned about those people.
Sure.
And we could actually use Matthew 7, 21 to 23 to help them see that their works aren't going to get them in.
Right. And GES and other Free Grace people have pointed out that this is one of the main emphases here is that Jesus is showing that our works cannot gain us entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
Now the funny thing is Lordship Salvation people like to use this very passage to say that good works are required, and that the problem here is they didn't have sufficient works.
There's just not enough.
Right. And they go to the part about you workers of lawlessness or your workers of iniquity or you who practice iniquity, however you translate that. And they say, see, he's saying that they're sinners, not that they're righteous in their behavior.
And so that's how they pointed out. But that's not the point at all, is it?
Right. And that's John's question. He goes, why does if they do all these great works, why does Jesus call them workers of iniquity, or workers of lawlessness, or you who practice lawlessness?
Okay, well the first question is, do they do these good works? And I would think they probably did, because at the Great White Throne judgment, you're not likely going to be making stuff up, because certainly the Lord Jesus can play the tape. He's got video of everything.
Right.
And so he can show your life. So they, I believe, are convinced they've done these things.
Yeah, isn't that interesting, though, the things that they claim to have done?
Right.
Prophesied, cast out demons and done wonders in your name. And so, as Bob points out, obviously, there's some people who do these things who know they're charlatans, you know, the guys on TV who, you know, have the microphone or the earpiece in, and they're getting the information and all that other stuff from somebody in a back room.
But some people actually believe they're healing people. They believe they're casting out demons. They may even believe they're raising the debt.
Yeah, and they believe that they're prophesying. I mean, you hear people all the time, you know, God told me this in cults, you know, but even in Christendom at large, you hear it all the time.
I have a friend who taught people how to prophesy.
Yeah.
He said, Look, if you have the gift of prophecy, that doesn't mean you have it fully. So you need to learn how to get better at it.
Right. And so these people are sincere. I agree with you at the Great White Throne Judgment.
You know, didn't we do all these things?
And Jesus doesn't say, No, you didn't do it.
Right.
What Jesus says is, Your workers of iniquity depart from me. Well, why does he say depart from me? Now, John doesn't ask about that.
And John would agree with us, because I know him and his position is, the reason he says that is because they didn't believe in him for what he promises, which is everlasting life. And so they think they're working their way to heaven. Right.
That's their problem. But his question is, why are they called workers of lawlessness, if they're doing good works? Yeah.
Well, I think the answer is, we're all workers of lawlessness, or we're all those who do, I don't like the King James translation, practice. It's like we're going out practicing iniquity, like we want to get better at it. No, we're all those who do iniquity.
We're all sinners. He's basically saying, you're sinners.
Yeah, they're coming before him saying, we're righteous. We deserve to be in the kingdom because we've done all these righteous deeds. Right.
Implicitly, aren't they claiming sinlessness?
Sure.
And Jesus says, no, you're workers of iniquity.
Now, maybe they're not claiming sinlessness. Maybe what they're claiming is, our good works far exceed our bad works.
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The point I think that Jesus is making here is the only way you would have a claim on the kingdom based on your works is if your works were absolutely perfect.
Which they're not.
Right. Now, a lot of people in Christianity don't agree with this, but you remember Jesus said when he was asked by some of the lawyers and some of the religious leaders, and he said, do this and you will live, because they had brought up one of the greatest commandments. And so he said, love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbors yourself.
And so they said, great. And he said, do this and you will live. Well, what does that mean?
Well, in the Old Testament, it meant if you do these things, you're going to have fullness of life now. But they were asking about what they needed to do. At least the reason for them asking about the greatest commandments is they wanted to get into the kingdom that way.
Right.
And so he's saying, okay, do that and you'll live. And what he meant was perfectly. Well, since there's not a single person on earth, there's nobody who goes from conception to the grave without sin.
Without a whole bunch of sin. Right.
Therefore, when they stand before the Lord at the great white throne judgment, they can't claim that they were sinless. Now, they can point to some good works they did, but that doesn't mean they're also not sinners. So John's question is a good one.
You can be a person who's done good works and be a sinner. And by the way, isn't that all of us?
Absolutely.
Everybody at the Judgment Seat of Christ is going to be like... None of us at the Judgment Seat of Christ are going to be saying, wait a minute, we should get into the kingdom because we did X, Y or Z. Even if we died out of fellowship with God, and even if we died now believing in work salvation, right?
Let's say we fall away and we believe in work salvation, we die that way. The moment we die, we're like, oops, I realize I was wrong. It's just by faith in Christ, and we're going to know that we're corrected, and we have the right thinking at that point.
And this is also related to me, the rich young ruler who comes to Jesus, and Jesus says, well, you know the commandments, and the guy goes, oh, yeah, I've done all those.
And he only gives him, by the way, the second half of the Ten Commandments, the Decalogue, and he doesn't mention the Tenth Commandment, which is, you shall not covet.
Right.
And that's when the Lord says, okay, give it all away.
And so here's a guy that we don't know if he became a believer or not, but let's assume...
Who are we talking about? The rich young ruler?
The rich young ruler. Let's suppose somebody...
Yeah, he went away sad, but he could have come to faith.
Yeah, if he came to faith, great.
In fact, I think it's quite possible.
I do too, because the Lord was reaching out to him and loved him. And so, okay, but what if he didn't? He's the kind of guy who would be one of these guys and say...
Because he's deceived, but he thinks he keeps all the commandments, or at least those are the five that Jesus gave. Well, didn't I do all these things?
Yeah, well, like, wouldn't the Apostle Paul be that way? He said before he came to Christ, he was blameless according to the law. Now, of course, that's blameless in terms of the pharisaical interpretation, not blameless in the sense of Matthew 7, 21 to 23, because there's no such person.
And so, to answer John's question, the workers of iniquity are the workers of lawlessness here. One of the points that Jesus is making is you've deceived yourself, thinking that you are righteous enough, through your righteousness, to get into the kingdom, when in actuality, you're not. You're a worker of lawlessness.
And by the way, at the Great White Throne Judgment, the books are opened.
Revelation 20, 11 to 15. There are books and a book. So the book is what book?
The book is the book of life.
And what does the book of life contain?
The names of those who have believed in Jesus for eternal life.
Okay. So if you're not in the book, where are you going according to Revelation 20, 15?
The lake of fire.
Yeah. Anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. But the books are not the same as the book of life.
The books contain what?
The works of the people that are there.
The works of the deeds. And so the Lord's going to examine all this. Now, what we don't get in the Great White Throne judgment is an explanation of why the books are opened at all.
Why not just open the book of life and that's it? I think the reason is, number one, you have to show these people that they indeed are sinners. Because if there was a person there that was perfect, they could get in on the basis of, I didn't need the blood of Christ.
I didn't need to believe in Jesus.
I don't need to be in the book of life.
I don't need to be in the book of life because I never sinned. But there's a second reason why, and that is because do not be deceived, God does not mock whatever a man sows that we also reap, Galatians 6,7. And so there has to be accountability at the Great White Throne judgment.
The more light people rejected, the worse their torment will be. The worse their deeds were, the worse their torment will be. So some people are going to have a better experience in the Lake of Fire, some worse, but it's all going to be torment.
Right. And so these books are going to show that they are indeed, even though they deceive themselves, workers of lawlessness.
Right. They'll see it there. And I'm convinced that Matthew 7, 21 to 23 is the Great White Throne judgment.
Well, John, we appreciate the question, and if I steal anything else from you in the future, I may or may not give you credit for it. So thanks for the question. And in the meantime, everyone.
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Dr. Arnold will be with you in just a moment, but first, we want you to know how much we appreciate your prayers and financial support. You may help this radio ministry by donating online at yankeearnold.com or by mail at Yankee Arnold Ministries, 7028 West Waters Avenue, Suite 316, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Again, that's 7028 West Waters Avenue, Suite 316, Tampa, Florida, 33634.
Feel free to send Dr. Arnold your questions or comments to yankee at yankeearnold.com, and he will respond as quickly as possible. Now, here is Dr. Arnold with today's message.
Did you realize if there's only one truth about how to get to heaven, where do all these religions come from? Think of how many different kinds of churches there are, how many different rules and regulations there are. You would think everybody should be on the same page.
Everybody should believe exactly the same thing. There's only one Bible. But some people have preconceived ideas about what they think is right and wrong, and how to get to heaven, and how to live.
So look what he says now. In verse 4, he says, And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. Many other things there be, which they have received to hold as the washing of cups, and pots, and brazen vessels, and of tables.
Then the Pharisees and the scribes ask him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hand? You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Why aren't you doing like everybody else does?
Because Jesus knows he don't have to obey these stupid silly little laws that man makes up. So he says in verse 6, I mean, I love this stuff. I love watching and reading all this here.
Then in verse 6, then he said, Well hath Isaiah prophesied under you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. So just because you do certain things for the Lord, don't make you right. It won't make you spiritual just because you go to church.
It won't make you spiritual just because you try to, believe it or not, even witness. It can be a good thing. It can be a right thing.
But if there's something between you and God, witnessing don't change that. If there's something between you and your heart, between you and God, coming to church doesn't change that. There's a 1 John 1.9 that can take care of things.
See, God wants the heart of man more than he wants the service. Because if he gets the heart of man, he gets everything else. But sometimes we try to buy God off with the things that we do, the sacrifices we make.
Then he'll leave me alone, and then I can dabble over here in whatever I want to do, and he won't bother me. It won't work that way. Look what he says here in verse 7.
How be it in vain, in vain do they worship me. Are they trying to worship? Yes, in vain.
Accomplices nothing. All those right things they do accomplishes zero. And look in verse 7.
Teaching for doctrine the commandments of men. Not the commandment of God. They're teaching their own traditions.
They make it up. And he said to them in verse 9, full well you reject the commandment of God. Get this.
That you may keep your own traditions. So they looked like they were so holy. They dressed like they were holy.
They had on their phylacteries in their long gowns, and they had all the stuff. But they weren't holy. He says, you are a hypocrite.
Now most people would never see that. Most people would not be able to discern that. But we're talking about Jesus who knows the heart of man.
True. He can see through anything. He knows if you and I are real.
We can fool each other and deceive each other, but you can't fool God. And so he says here in verse 9, He said to them, Fool well, you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honor thy father and thy mother.
Whosoever curse father and mother, let him die the death. But ye say, if a man shall say to his father or mother, it is Corbin, that is to say, a gift by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, he shall be free. In other words, instead of them condemning the person to death, if they gave us some money, if you gave us some money, we'll forget about the wrong you did.
So the Pharisees got the money, the guy could treat his mom and dad any way he wanted to, and get away with it. So he says in verse 12, And ye suffer him or permit him no more to do aught for his father or his mother, because as they got old, see they were supposed to look after their own kind. Look in verse 13, we'll close with this verse.
Making the word of God of none effect to your tradition, which ye have delivered, and many such like things do ye. So go back over there to the Book of Colossians. So this is what is being done.
Now they're trying to take those same things that they try to do upon Jesus' disciples and put them on a church. So he says, let no man. Now over in the Book of Galatians in Chapter 1, he says, if an angel from heaven preach unto you any of the gospel, let him be a carpenter.
So it didn't matter if it was a man or if it was an angel. So they were worshipping angels as though angels was over Christ. So you only worship the true and living God.
You don't worship any man. So if they were worshipping angels, it's like these angels are superior to Christ. And nobody is superior.
And so they want to seem like they're more spiritual and godly. They can see into things and they know the spiritual realm and all this, and they know other things that you don't know and it's mysterious. And so you got to look up to them as though they're so much more intelligent and spiritually minded, and so you got to walk in all of them.
I don't know one man in this world that I feel intimidated by. I can read and study the same book he can. And there's no man that's wiser unless he gets it out of here.
You don't get it from here. You're not wise. This is the book of wisdom, the treasure, everything in Christ.
Now get to it. So he makes a statement here in verse 17, which are a shadow of things to come, but the bodies of Christ. So all these, oh, Testament thing with this shadow.
Look there in the book of Hebrews in Chapter 10. I want you to see this. Hebrews in Chapter 10.
And look in verse 1. The shadow was of good things to come, but when it comes, you no longer need to follow the shadow. Follow the real thing.
See there in verse 1, For the law hath a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers therein too perfect. Because if it could, they wouldn't have to do it every year, but it didn't. But notice what he does say, and not the very image of the things.
Christ is, as you see, the very image of the Father. He is the crystal clear image, the express image, Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 3, of God himself. So we have the supreme.
He has the right to be preeminent in everybody's life. There is no other being, angel or man or any other god, anywhere. He is it.
Now, look what he says here in verse 18. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshiping of angels. You see, never worship anyone under God.
You only worship God, the true and living God. He says, if you voluntarily submit yourselves, you did it to appease the flesh, but it was not a commandment of God to do so. You see, you can submit yourself to some angel, some man, some rule, some law.
It doesn't mean God gave it, or that was a command of God. And you'll find yourself thinking, well, I'm right because I did that. I'm right because I did this.
I'm right because, you know, you want to be right with the Lord, and therefore I did this and this and this and this because I am right with God. You see, when the Bible makes a statement, make no provision for the flesh, there's a lot of things you will not find in the Bible about what to do and what not to do. The Bible did not say, Yankee, I want you to go to Florida and become the pastor of Calvary Community Church.
Boy, that would have been easy, wouldn't it? Boy, that would have been easy. And I want you to get a Mercedes diesel.
It's right there in the book. That would have made it so easy. Thou shalt not go to the shows or thou shalt not go to dances.
Thou shalt not... Wouldn't it have been neat if God had just put on... But he says, thou shalt not make provision for the flesh.
In other words, I as an individual, I should be able to think and reason for myself. I don't want the flesh to get more powerful in my life. And if I feed those desires, it's going to get out of hand.
So as an individual, I stay back from the corners, back from the edge, so that I don't get myself in trouble, trying to protect myself. Every man has to learn his boundary. How far can you go?
And then on top of that, though I may have the liberty or the freedom to do something, I might become a bad example for somebody's wrong. So I have to back up from it just a little bit, so that I don't lead somebody astray. This is what the Word of God tells us.
That's because you are spiritually minded. You want to mind the spirit. If you mind the flesh, the flesh always wants to feel good.
And if I obey this law and this law, and just put on about the laws, it becomes legalistic in your Christian life, and you don't want to be under the legalism of it. I'll have a sermon coming up later about what about a school or a college, or even in the family about having, you know, standards. You know, your six-year-old boy that wants to stay up till 2 o'clock in the morning, and you say go to bed at 10 o'clock, and he says, Daddy, show me in the Bible where it says I got to go to bed at 10 o'clock.
If it ain't in the Bible, you can't tell me to do it. That's legalism. Oh, yeah.
What if you go to work at McDonald's, and they say, I want you to come to work at 5 o'clock this afternoon, and you're working till 3 o'clock in the morning? You've got no authority to tell me to do that. It's not in the Bible.
Where does it say in the Bible? McDonald's can tell you to go to work at 5 o'clock. So how do you justify all of that?
Well, there's a simple little way, and we'll do that later. Aren't you glad? Now you know there's other things coming down the road.
But look at what he says, when you try to seek knowledge outside of the Bible, the human wisdom of the world causes you to be puffed up in your mind, but it's empty, it's vain, it's foolishness, it's sensual, it's the wisdom of the world, and it just puffs you up and leaves you empty. It solves nothing. Well, what does it accomplish?
So he says, it's just in the last three words, his fleshly mind. Fleshly mind. So you can either be spiritually minded or fleshly minded.
Look what he says in verse 18. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshiping of angels. Your reward.
Now we know that salvation is free. If we're talking about a reward, then we're talking about service. And if we're talking about service, you don't want somebody to get you on the wrong trail, living the wrong way, for the wrong reason, even though you may voluntarily submit yourself to do it, and rob from you the rewards that you could have had when you got to heaven.
You see, you're not going to be rewarded when you get to heaven because you did what everybody else wanted you to do. You're going to be rewarded when you get to heaven because you did what God wanted you to do. So that's why he talks about being subjected to this, and subject yourself to that.
That's why you have to be strong enough in the Lord to not surrender your rights to those who want to enslave you. Look up there what he says here in this verse. You see there in verse 20 where he says, wherefore if you be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why?
As though living in the world, and you are on the line of this statement, are you subject to ordinances? Talking about the ordinances of man that they were trying to put themselves under because of the law. You don't have to.
Don't put yourself under that which Christ has delivered. That's why he made the statement in the Book of Galatians in chapter 5 and verse 1. Therefore, let no man put you back into bondage.
Keep your freedom. And it's a tremendous statement, a tremendous verse, and about not being entangled again with that yoke of bondage. Now notice what he says here.
Now verse 19, you'll see this in several scriptures, especially in the Book of Ephesians, the one that they wrote to the church there in Laodicea. But he's talking about in verse 19, and not holding the head from which all the body by joints. See, if you submit, it was voluntary, not commanded by God, and you do not want to submit yourself to anything or anyone but Christ.
That's why in verse 8 when he says that no man spoil you to the rudiments of the world after the philosophies of man and not after Christ. Don't let nobody do it. So it's not just a matter of you got to study, try to find right people.
You got to watch it. People don't ruin your Christian walk by putting up on you legislation God doesn't put. Now there are certain things like I'm a pastor.
I got responsibilities. A deacon's got responsibilities. Elders got responsibilities.
Dads got responsibilities. Mom's got responsibilities. It's not talking about the responsibilities that we have.
It's talking about that which you're trying to appear to be something that you're not. Devoting to things that supposedly make you more spiritual than somebody else. And this is gonna make me, you know, something better than someone.
You've got to watch and stay away from it. That's why he says up there in verse 21, touch not, taste not. There's always people who are trying to say, well, you know, it all depends on what you want to do and whoever your friends are.
There's some things that you shouldn't eat. But you know, you can eat pork now. Israel couldn't eat pork.
But it says, let no man judge you in meat. I like that. They couldn't eat shrimp.
Oh, I love shrimp. They couldn't eat lobster. We can eat lobster.
But you see, you do have to use some judgment about how much you eat of anything. Thou shalt not eat pizza. Oh, I'd die.
But see, there's some people that put you on a vell... and you can't do anything. You can't eat.
I'm going to die.
I'm going to die.
You can't have dessert. Where is it saying in the Bible, you can't have dessert? I said, don't say that.
But there is a balance that you ought to have in your Christian life, to know that if I eat too much of this and too much of this and too much of this, I'm going to have clogged arteries and I'm going to die early. Now, if you want to die early, go ahead, I guess. But what you have to be careful of is putting your rules and your regulations upon somebody else and saying, if you do what I do, you'll be spiritual.
No, because you can do the same thing somebody else does and not be right with the Lord. Can a lost man come to church? Lost man read the Bible?
A lost man can pray. A lost man can obey all the rules and regulations you do. It doesn't make him spiritual.
It doesn't even make him saved. So he says up here in verse 22, which all are to perish with the using, whether it's food or things you can't touch, everything in this life is all going to perish away. He's after the commandments and doctrines of men.
And that's why you want to mark down beside that verse, the book of Mark chapter 7 and verses 1 down to about verse 11 or 12 or so, down to verse 13. He says in verse 23, Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship? Remember this, there is the individual who can worship God according to the will of God, or you can worship God according to the will of man.
You see, people make up their own way of worshiping. I'll worship God my way and you can worship God your way. Well, what about, let's just let God tell us how to worship.
There's people who say, I'm going to get saved my way, and they got their own religion. Or you can get saved God's way. Well, God's way will work.
It's the same thing in the Christian life. Do the same thing. You want to have a way of worshiping the God that pleases God.
So you see, what pleases God? You don't go by what pleases you or what pleases other people. Sometimes, if you worship God, it's not going to be pleasing to man.
Hold your place right here. Worship your place right here. Just look there in the book of Galatians in chapter 1.
Galatians chapter 1, and you'll notice in verse 10, a wonderful statement that Paul makes. Look at what he says. Galatians chapter 1 and verse 10.
He says, For do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet please men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
Your goal in life can't be just to please people, but to please God. Because you can please people and not please God. The Lord has to be real to you.
He has to be your heart. That's why he says, Christ is my life. He is my life.
So whenever you read the third chapter of the book of Colossians, in the very first verse, it's about, think, heaven. Think, heaven. As he says in verse 1, If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above.
Verse 2, set your affections on things above. So we're not to set our affections on things of the earth. But whenever you do will worship or voluntary submission to whether it's angels or man and man's law, it's satisfying to the flesh because it makes you feel good.
The sacrifices. Why do you think so many people are so willing to do humanitarian needs? To go across the ocean and you give money and they're great, you know, philanthropists, and they want to give and sacrifice, that's pleasing to the flesh.
It pleases them to do something like that. And most people, when they do things like that, always want to make sure that somebody knows they did that because they want everybody to know what great sacrifices they made. Because that's why they do it.
It's about them. It's not about that lost man or that person over there, or that poor little kid. It's usually, it's about, look how compassionate I am.
I am willing to give my life for this poor little kid over there. Now, you don't think about a kid. You think about this person.
Oh, that person is so humble. Oh, oh, oh. God knows the heart.
And it's so easy for people to be deceived. And that's why you have here in the last part of verse 23 of chapter 2, which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body. I don't eat this, and I don't do that.
I don't go here. You know, there's some people that deprive themselves of thing called soap and water. They would like to be a hermit some place in a cave, and a little monk in a monastery some place, and let their fingernails grow and all the rest of it, and they don't cut their hair, and they stink to high heaven because they have no confidence in the flesh.
Oh, isn't that so humble? Oh, you're dirty and you stink. And that's supposed to show you how humble I am.
Maybe you're just plain lazy, good for nothing. And don't think that that means that they're right with God. They're so spiritual, they're so holy.
Not necessarily. He said, don't be caught up into that. Let no man seduce you and cause you to be like that.
So he says, and neglecting of the body, not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh. See, it satisfies the flesh, but not God. Otherwise, God would not even have had this written.
So God wants you. You are more important. If he can get you and get your heart, he'll get everything else about you.
If he can get your mind, he'll get your life. You can try to give him parts of your life and serve him your own way and him never get you. Those are sometimes just ways we buy God off.
You know, tipping the Lord a quarter so that he'll get off my back and leave me alone, and then I don't have to give any more than I gave my fair share. But anyway, as you read the book of Colossians, it's got a lot of wonderful things found in it. Look up here.
Letting this hand represent you and me, the wall represents sin. We all have sin on us. The Bible tells us that man cannot save himself.
We have all sinned. And to pay for this sin is eternal separation from God in hell. And the reason we have to pay for this is because God gave a law that demanded righteousness, and the soul that sinned shall die, and we've all sinned.
We're all condemned. And God wants us to go to heaven, and to go to heaven, we have to be perfect. No sin.
And that eliminates everybody in the world. So the only way God could get anybody in heaven is that he had to pay for the sins of the whole world because he's not a respecter of persons. He couldn't choose half the world and pay for their sins.
Because then he'd have to explain why he did that. And he's not a respecter of persons. God so loved the world, so he had to pay for the sins of the whole world.
And this hand represents Jesus Christ. He's the Lord God in the flesh. He came into the world because he loves us.
He hates our sin because it separates us from him. So Jesus Christ, who had no sin, took the sins of the world, paid for it on the cross, came back from the dead, said if we would believe he did it for us, he would put this payment to our account. We go to heaven all what Christ did.
He gets all the honor, all the glory. We are completing him. He did not leave anything undone.
All we can do is believe it or reject it. So if we believe it, the payment is put to our account, we go to heaven. You reject it, the payment is not put to your account, you go to hell.
So simple. But it is the best news in all the world. Let's pray, shall we?
With the head bowed and eyes closed and no one looking around, if you're here tonight, you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, or if you're watching by internet. Listen to me real good. I want you to know the Lord loves you.
He loves you with an everlasting love. He proved His love for you by sending His Son to die for you. And don't let any religion, no preacher, try to tell you that you have to keep the law and be good, and earn your way to heaven, because it's not true.
Eternal life is a gift. God loves you that much. And if you will trust Jesus Christ right now as your Savior, He said He would give you as a free gift, everlasting life.
Would you trust Him? I pray you will. Our Father, we thank you so much for your word that you've given us.
We pray, Lord, that each one of us that understand the importance. The law could not save us. It can't help us to stay saved.
It can't make us spiritual. And Father, we know that the laws of man, the commandments of man, from whatever source, for whatever reason, cannot add to the Word of God. We just thank you so much for what you've done for us.
Help our minds to be clear. Help these things to have discernment in our own minds so that we can learn which is true and which is false and be able to discern the actions and so forth of men. Help us to be wise in Christ and in His plan.
Have you ever heard that faith without works is dead? Or have you ever read James Chapter 2? Does your faith produce good works?
Some teach that if you don't serve the Lord, you're not saved. Is that true or false? Pastor Yankee Arnold has prepared just the right book with answers straight from the Bible.
The book is called Gospel Driven Man, and Pastor Yankee wants to send it to you free of charge. Simply write to PastorYankee at Yankee Arnold Ministries, 7028 West Waters Avenue, Suite 316 Tampa, Florida, 33634 and request the book. Or request by email at yankee at yankeearnold.com.
That's yankee at yankeearnold.com.
Thanks for listening to today's broadcast. We pray that today's message was a blessing to you and your family. You may help support this radio ministry by donating online at yankeearnold.com or by mail at yankeearnoldministries7028 West Waters Avenue, Suite 316, Tampa, Florida, 33634.
Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound and we will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air.
So live today and every day, believing that the Lord is coming soon. And just keep looking up.
Today, Pastor Jack teaches that if there is no ethical value to living, then why care about relationships? The result of living without the fear of God, is the danger of becoming the evil we are exposed to. This is why our morals and the way we live our life matters to God.
The post Why? – B first appeared on Pastor Jack Hibbs.
Today, on Real Life Radio.
You see, Jesus is risen from the dead, and resurrection is true, and this life, God gave it to you and I, because character matters, decency matters, morality matters to God.
This is Real Life. welcome to Real Life Radio with Pastor Jack Hibbs. I'm David Jay, thanking you for joining us today as we listen, learn, and are challenged by God's Word, the Bible.
Hey, everybody. First of all, I want to thank you, all of our Real Life Radio listeners for being so faithful, so kind. Keep praying for us.
But listen, the reason why I'm talking to you right now is to let you know that we have an amazing, wonderful offer, and it is the book titled What You Need to Know About the Rapture by Dr. Charles C. Rirey of Dallas Theological Seminary. Dr. Rirey was a profound theologian, highly respected, even though he is now in heaven.
His work continues on. I was honored and blessed to write the foreword to this book. This book will help clarify the confusion that surrounds the doctrine of the rapture.
You know, Jesus taught it. The Bible teaches it.
But do you know it?
Get a copy for yourself. What You Need to Know About the Rapture by Dr. Charles Rirey.
What you need to know about the rapture by Charles Rirey. It's available for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com/realradio, jackhibbs.com/realradio.
On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack continues his series now called First Corinthians with a message titled, Why? First Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul to the Church of God in Corinth, and he shares with us how we're to always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that lives inside of us. You see, the question why is almost extinct these days.
Our culture really is not taught to think or to question what they're hearing. So today, Pastor Jack teaches that if there is no ethical value to living, then why care about relationships? The result of living without the fear of God is the danger of becoming that evil we're exposed to.
Our morals really do matter to God. Now with his message called Why, here's Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs.
Paul the Apostle says, if Jesus isn't risen from the dead and we have no hope of eternal life, then why Paul said, am I subjecting my life willfully to such difficulty? Think about that for a minute. If this is a joke and there's no hope, what are we doing?
Why are we willingly standing up to get shot at if this is not real? When's the last time you got punched in the face? You forget what that feels like.
I'm just talking about guys. I got punched in the face yesterday by my neighbor's dog. She just got home from vacation.
She was all excited. She loves me. She doesn't love me.
I give her treats. She doesn't love me. She uses me.
She saw me and she's a puppy. She's big though. She's a puppy, and she saw me, and her tail starts wagging.
And she loses control. Her tail starts wagging, and then she starts running, and she can't yet figure out. And she's really out of control.
She's going like this. She's running, and I see her running. And she's running, and she's strong.
And she's starting to lose it, and I know she's going to fall and crash, so I bend down to grab her, and at the last second, her back legs pushed off like a rabbit, man, and she just, like a kangaroo, boom! And I go, oh no! Her name is Zoe.
Zoe! And she sprung, and boom! Hits me in the mouth.
And I could taste the blood, and I'm thinking, man, I haven't tasted this in a long time. I'm getting soft in my old age. And it made me think about this verse.
Paul, wouldn't you like to have Paul? Wouldn't it be cool to say, hey, who's your pastor? Paul the Apostle.
Who's your pastor? Are you sure you'd like to be able to say that, really? How'd you like to have a pastor who is a notorious criminal according to the legal system?
That's Paul. He was arrested many times. You know that?
Do you like to have a pastor that's been arrested many times? Hey, your pastor's a criminal. My pastor's an ex-con.
Paul the Apostle. He was absolutely hated for the gospel, right? You know what?
Got me thinking. You've heard me say this recently, because God's doing a work on my heart. For the life of me, we're in the 21st century.
The church has never been more marginalized than it is right now. America is embracing evil every day. And why, why, oh, why are there not more pastors in trouble?
Like Paul, right now. Why are, why are, why am I not in trouble? You say, man, dude, I've seen you in trouble.
You're on the Internet. You're in trouble. I should be in more trouble.
You say, yeah, pastor, you go, brother. You go get in trouble. You stand there.
You stand there and you get in trouble. Wait, wait, wait, wait. At an hour like this, when evil is advancing as it is, and your children now have been completely sold out to the world system, without your permission, why are we not crying out?
Why are we not standing? Why are we not fighting? Why are we not in trouble?
Where are we? Where's the voice in the wilderness? The pulpits of America throughout American history was the clarion to the culture.
So much so that churches were the center of a town or city's geographical location. Why? Because the pastors spoke in to the culture.
Where are the pastors? Where are the Pauls today? Everybody wants to be accepted and loved, and every, oh, we're just trying to get the world into the church, so we'll be just like the world, and we'll act and speak just like the world.
We gotta get the world in. And then the world gets in to the church, and there's no change. What's going on?
Why are not, in this dark 21st century, an antichrist system in the world in which we live in? Why are not Christians in more trouble? We think that silence and politeness is a godly virtue.
And we are silent and quiet, and we look straight ahead, and we convince ourselves from our pulpits to the pews, we're just very obedient people as they take our children away.
I don't understand it. I must have a different Bible. Paul and the disciples had to go from town to town to town because they were persecuted in the ministry.
And we have pastors who are popular today. We have evangelists who are adored. And it's almost rock and roll status.
And I don't see that in the Bible anywhere. And we have neighbors who are perishing because we won't tell them anything because we're being polite. Jesus said in Luke 6 26, woe to you when men speak well of you.
Wow. Jesus said, what? Jesus says, woe to you when men speak well of you.
He's talking about men of the world. For so did their fathers to the false prophets. But I say to you here, love your enemy.
You want to get people upset? Love your enemies. Say what?
I know. I don't get it. But love your enemies.
Do good to those who hate you. They'll hate you for doing good to them. Figure that one out.
That's insanity.
Yep.
Bless those who curse you. I have to work on that one more. Pray for those who spitefully use you.
I do pray for them. I need to pray differently. Boy, I got...
Are you guys going through the one-year Bible with us? Man, did you hear that prayer of David's this week? I loved it.
David said, Dear God, take my enemies and break their teeth off in their mouth. And I went, Amen! Hallelujah!
No, I mean, he did pray that, but we're not supposed to pray like that. But am I hated? Am I hated?
Do people hate me because I love God and His righteousness? And listen, and if I love the culture and want to speak into the culture, and if God is saying, speak to them, be a trumpet blower, a watchman on the wall, shout, be a clarion to a culture that's perishing, and they hate me back for saying, come out, come out from the world that's perishing, come out, get saved, get rescued. Am I not, am I being hated for that?
Christianity is difficult. Point number two this morning, verses 31 to 32, is why? Why, if life has no eternal meaning, who cares?
Look at verse 31. Why endanger ourselves as Christians? He says, I affirm, wow, I raise my right hand, God is my witness.
By the boasting in you, which I have, in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. The word means I am under eminent threat of death. Paul the Apostle.
This is tremendous. Church, watch this. Write this verse down.
You're gonna think I'm making it up. Watch this verse. 2 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 23.
This is amazing. Paul says, in labors, he's talking about ministry. This ought to be on the front of every ministry enrollment.
In labors, more abundant. In stripes, doesn't that sound sweet? Stripes.
I'll take a stripe. It's a whipping. In whipping above measures.
In prisons, more frequently. Do you qualify for ministry? How many times have you been arrested?
Can you imagine? In deaths, often. Within an inch of his life.
Look, verse 24. From the Jews, Paul said, five times I received 40 stripes minus one. 39 whippings, I got five times.
Because 39 was legal to beat a guy. 40 was pushing it too far. So he said, I got five times, I got whipped 39 times.
But the cat of nine tails, mind you, that's horrible because one whack equals nine. They perfected. Well, if you can only hit the guy 39 times and not 40, then how can we make each whack count?
So they invented the cat of nine tails that has nine pieces of leather with about seven each per leather strap, bone or glass or rock. Paul says, I got that five times, 39, five times. Three times I was beaten with rods, caning.
Once I was stoned. This is not California talk, not drugs. This is rocks.
These are rocks. You have to clarify that here. Three times I was shipwrecked.
Three times shipwrecked.
And night and day I was in the deep, in the ocean, bouncing around, floating on journeys, often perils of water, perils of robbers, perils of my own countrymen, perils of Gentiles, perils in the city, perils in the wilderness, perils in the sea, perils among false brethren, in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness, often in hunger and thirst, and fasting's often in cold and nakedness. Besides the other things, what comes upon me daily, my deep concern for the churches. This is ministry.
This is Paul. Can you imagine? You guys coming back from New York.
Kenan was here last weekend, did an amazing job. I was back at Harvest Christian Fellowship in New York City, got on the plane Sunday, flew through those crazy storms. Listen, I got on my phone.
You know, phone doesn't work up there. 38,000 feet, the pilot goes, I'm gonna try to go higher. It was so bumpy.
There's cups flying around. Oh, whoa, get that. It was crazy.
Watching the wings, I mean, this plane, the wings were flapping from the turbulence. It was nuts. I got up my phone.
Guess what I thought? I can't text anybody, so I'll text Lisa, and I'll just say, man, this is a really bad turbulence. It's really horrible up here.
I'm so glad you're not up here. This is bad. I don't normally do that.
See, why'd you text her for her? There's no connection up there, because my thinking was, this thing's gonna break up, dude. They'll find this phone in the Rocky Mountains nine months from now, and they'll give it to Lisa, and she'll say, it must have been a rough trip.
I did that for real. That's how bad it was, and I fly a lot. The pilot's hanging on, and then when he's talking, ladies and gentlemen, it's really bumpy.
I thought that was it. We're going down. Can you imagine?
Can you imagine? Paul goes, hey, let's get on the ship. We got ministry to do.
We're going to go share the Lord with the European dudes over there in Spain, and then Greece and all that. Come on, let's go. Let's get on the ship, and by the way, before we get there, we're going to sink three ships.
Let's go! Come on, sign up. What would you do?
Paul said, whatever, okay, whatever. Do you hear what I'm saying? This is Christianity.
If your Christianity is boring, you're not doing it right. Amazing!
You're listening to Real Life with Pastor Jack Hibbs. You know, to hear more episodes and maybe catch up in the series, just go to jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com.
And for now, let's get back to our teaching. Once again, here's Pastor Jack.
And then look at verse 32. Why put up with the effort? If there's no resurrection from the dead, why go through this?
If in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, J. Vernon McGee said, he must have had a terrible board members in Ephesus. Get it?
Fought with beasts at Ephesus. Anyway, what advantage is it to me if the dead do not rise? The word, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, it is a gladiatorial term.
That's what the gladiators would say. He lifts that term from the gladiatorial games, and he's saying, I fought for my life for the churches in Ephesus.
Wow.
He says, if all this isn't real, what in the world are we doing? And you know what? This is very comforting to me as a Christian.
Because you know what? I know some of you. I know many of you.
Some of the many are involved in very amazing places and stuff. Government, authorities, law enforcement, federal, military positions, and you're stellar at what you do, because you've done it under the glory of God. But there's people, they know you're a believer, and they're trying to undermine you, cutthroat you, tear you down, ruin your life.
Oh, because you're a believer. On paper, you're perfect. But that's not good enough for them.
They want you to deny your faith. You guys know, you saw it in the news, made national news. General Boykin, a graduate and senior officer of West Point, and the commander of the Delta Force around the world, was barred from speaking at West Point because he's a Christian.
In America, I've been asked to speak at West Point. I'm wondering what they are going to allow or say that I can or cannot say. If they say, well, you can come and speak, but you can't mention Jesus or whatever.
What do I do, church? What do I do? Because you'll hear about it when I either won't go or I'll go.
And so what do I do? You go, you go, and you say it anyway. No, what are you going to do?
What do I do? Do I obey? Do I obey ungodliness?
Do I obey? Listen, preaching the gospel is why I'm alive. It's why he allowed me into this world.
And then they would say, well, you can talk to them about having a happy thought in battle, maybe, or. But don't mention Jesus. This is a problem, because if I say, okay, then I'm lying to them, because I'm gonna go say it.
So what do you do? So you can pray for me. Interesting.
Remarkable. Crazy world, huh? Why put up with the effort?
Because Christ is the cause. That's why. Verse 32 says to us, let us eat drink for tomorrow we die.
What is this all about? Why live like there's another life? If Jesus is not risen from the dead, why live as though there's another world outside of this world?
And man, I gotta tell you, this to me, if you're a skeptic today, I mean, I hope you think about this. Listen. The Greeks lived in the Epicurean culture.
Epicurean, whatever feels good, do it. No matter what the cost. You live for now.
Sound familiar? If you want gratification, you do it. You find it, you do it, no matter what pain it causes others, you do that.
Epicurean. That's why the Roman culture, remember, you know, they would... If you went to a Roman party, there's two things that you had unending of.
Food and sex. That was a Roman, that was the parties. And you know what they would do?
They would eat, and then they would go, and they would throw up. They would provoke, they'd stick their finger in their mouth, throw up, and then go back to the next course meal. And they would eat that, it was so good and so fantastic.
And then they would go, and they would throw up and go back. Did you know that? So given over to self-pleasure, that they began to violate their own bodies, living like there's no life after this life.
And Paul lifts up a parable of their day. Hey, if Jesus isn't risen from the dead, if there's no resurrection for us, let's eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. You know what's weird about this?
That's how people live today in many ways. Think about it. We're out of time.
I can't believe this. It's ridiculous.
The other day, coming down the freeway, I saw this line of, you know, these, I don't know what they're called these days, ninja bikes. I call them ninja bikes because that's what they were called when I was, you know those incredibly fast rocket bikes? The guy's kind of in a ball.
Right? Vroom, vroom, vroom, vroom, and they're going to buy us. And then in and out of cars like this, and the thought came to our minds, because Lisa and I talked about it, if they only knew, they're this far from eternity.
All they have to do is catch a mirror on a car, somehow hit something, or a piece of metal fly up and hit the guy in the neck. Just having a ball, goofing off, and can you imagine? Freeze frame.
Do you know Jesus?
Who?
What? No, man, I'm going for it, buddy.
Get out of my way.
Can you imagine what would be said? Person getting drugs, tying off their arms, shooting up in the vein. Wait, it's a freeze frame.
What are you doing? You know you can die? You can die and go into hell?
You're going to, oh man, hey, what? Come on. Every moment of every day, if you're not a Christian, you are so on the edge.
Oh my. That between you and our, between my nose and your nose is eternity. Timelessness.
Between you and I, there's a world existing where no time exists. And one second away. And if there's no resurrection from the dead church, let's go eat, drink, and be merry.
Let's go to Wahoos, eat fish tacos until we're vomiting, and then go rent a Ferrari, and go as fast as you can, because tomorrow we may die. And that's not too far off. It's not far off from where we live.
You see, Jesus is risen from the dead. And resurrection is true. And this life, God gave it to you and I, because character matters.
Decency matters. Morality matters to God. And you will say, no, you can't do that.
You can't legislate decency, morality, or you can't. And listen, you say that. I hear what you say, but...
And in this picture, think about this. Well, you can't just make things good. And I notice people who say that to me, they say that to me all the time.
Or people who do nothing about it. That's the little thing they hide behind. But check this out.
Really? Really? Don't you think that laws should be passed or supported, enforced, that protect a child from a pedophile?
Well, you know, it's his First Amendment expression.
That's humanism, which leads to death. Well, you can't legislate morality. Did you know the Christian influence in India, under the reign of England in India?
Did you know that when a man died, his wife was buried with him alive? Oh, what are you gasping for? This is world history.
This has been going on for hundreds of years. If not thousands of years, okay. And did you know that when England brought Christianity into India, they made that illegal?
Well, they forced their beliefs on us.
No woman married to a man in India said, that's not right. They loved it. Isn't that interesting?
Think of that for a moment.
And God's law is this. All human beings have been given their lives. And I will require from them in the end what they did with it, how they lived it.
I gave them air. I gave them food. I gave them abilities.
And what did they do with it? Every one of us must give our lives back to God.
Pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio with his message called Why. Thanks for being with us today. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack's series called First Corinthians.
It's a series on the Corinthian Church and the Apostle Paul's bold call for purity. And we'll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio. Did you know that epidemics are not always physical in nature?
The most widespread epidemic that has taken over the world is not found in a lab. It's found in the disparity of the soul. Loneliness has swept the earth.
People are overcome with despair more than ever before. Our heart longs for relationships, but many times, we look for it in all the wrong places. There's really only one thing that can satisfy the soul, and that's having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and to meet with him on a daily basis.
Now, whether you're alone in your room or in a crowded coffee shop with your phone, your laptop, and latte, you really can find comfort and peace through God's Word, and with Pastor Jack's devotions. New devotions written by Pastor Jack are uploaded on a weekly basis, but previous devotions are right there for you to check out at jackhibbs.com. Easy to find at jackhibbs.com.
That's jackhibbs.com.
This program is made possible by the generous contributions of you, our listeners. Visit us at jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com.
Until next time, Pastor Jack Hibbs and all of us here at Real Life Radio wish for you solid and steady growth in Christ and in His Word. We'll see you next time here on Real Life Radio.
Many people struggle with alcohol and other addictive substances, but very few actually receive treatment. Today on Family Talk, Bob and Pauline Bartosch, authors of Overcomers Outreach: Bridge to Recovery, reveal to Dr. James Dobson their past dependency on alcohol and valium. Ultimately, they both found hope and healing in the Lord, and through support communities in Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon. Out of their experience, Bob and Pauline co-founded Overcomers Outreach, a Christ-centered addiction support group.
To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/707/29
Broadcast: Overcoming Alcoholism Guest(s): Bob and Pauline Bartosch Air Date: September 13, 2024 Listen to the broadcast Dr. James Dobson: Roger Marsh: Welcome everyone to Family Talk. It's a ministry of the James Dobson Family Institute supported by listeners just like you. I'm Dr. James Dobson and I'm thrilled that you've joined us. Well, hello friends and welcome to Family Talk, the broadcast division of the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute. I'm Roger Marsh. You know, it is no question that alcoholism can be devastating both for the alcoholic and for their immediate family. According to a 2023 national survey on drug use and health, nearly 29 million people in the United States have an alcohol use disorder, which is the clinical diagnosis for alcoholism. Here's another amazing statistic. More than 10% of the children in the United States today live with at least one alcoholic parent. That's right. 10% of the 77 million children. 3.3 million people between the ages of 12 and 20 have reported binge-drinking just in the last month alone. Alcoholism causes so many relational, financial, marital and even legal problems, not to mention all of the related health problems and the possibility of death. The fallout from alcohol addiction is almost always disastrous. Well, on today's classic edition of Family Talk, Dr. Dobson is talking with a married couple who both struggled with and ultimately overcame addiction. After finding freedom, they dedicated their lives to helping others break free from the cycle of addiction as well. Bob and Pauline Bartosch started Overcomers Outreach to assist those in search of recovery from addiction to alcohol, drugs and other substances. The focus of their ministry is to help others reach sobriety and to build and restore faith in Jesus Christ. Since the recording of this program, Bob has since gone home to be with the Lord. That happened back in 2006 and Pauline joined him in heaven in 2019. Well, although they are gone from this world, their ministry has continued on. Overcomers Outreach has over 500 gatherings that take place every year in the US, the UK, Canada and the Virgin Islands. All of these events emphasize helping people find freedom from addiction through faith in Jesus Christ. Now, Dr. Dobson interviewed Bob and Pauline several years ago, but as you'll hear from the conversation, it's just as powerful today. Maybe even more so now. 1Well, let's join Dr. James Dobson and his guests, Bob and Pauline Bartosch right here, right now on Family Talk. Dr. James Dobson: Bob Bartosch: Pauline Bartosh: Dr. James Dobson: Pauline Bartosh: Dr. James Dobson: Pauline Bartosh: Dr. James Dobson: Pauline Bartosh: Dr. James Dobson: Bob Bartosch: Dr. James Dobson: Bob Bartosch: Well, we've invited a couple of guests to be with us today who've spent their adult lives trying to prevent alcoholism and to help those who are already snared by that addiction. They're Bob and Pauline Bartosch who had a ministry called Overcomers Outreach, which we're going to hear more about in a moment. Bob and Pauline have written a book called A Bridge to Recovery, which is based on Overcomers Outreach. As a matter of fact, it's filled with stories of people who have been able to deal with an addiction of one sort or another. Bob and Pauline, it's good to have you back. It's good to be here. Great to be here. 16 years have gone by, nearly 17 since you were here. A lot's gone on. Pauline, you're about to retire or did just retire. We're just on the edge of it. Yes, we are. But I don't think we'll ever retire from trying to be involved in people's lives who are struggling with the addiction of alcohol and drugs because we've been there and we know how it feels as a family to be devastated by this terrible disease. Whyhaveyoudevoted your entire lives to that subject? I mean, it's not a pleasant topic and people who are involved in alcoholism are frequently not pleasant people for a number of reasons. That's so true. Yet you have poured your lives into them. Well, and a lot of people say, isn't that terribly depressing to work with people like that? And yet when we see the miracles that happen when God intervenes and brings recovery to families and to individuals that , for all practical purposes their lives have been blown apart, it's such a big miracle that we dare not be quiet about it. These two folks have both been addicted to substances. Pauline, yours was Valium and Bob, yours was alcohol. That's right. Let's go back and tell that story very quickly again. I was raised in a wonderful Christian home. I went to a Christian college studying for the ministry. I had my first drink at the age of 24. I was rebelling against some of the man-made rules that I had been taught, and for probably 10 years, I 2consider myself to have been a social drinker. And by that, I mean I could take it or leave it. There were times when I'd overshoot the mark and then the next morning I'd have the decision to make the physical pain, and I always decided the fun I had the night before was worth the pain I was going to suffer the next morning. But about 10 years down that road, I crossed that line where I would try and stop and found out that I couldn't. And that was really a very bad feeling because most things did not have control of me like that. But alcohol had me whipped. And the sad thing is we were raising three sons who were teenagers then, and it was unpredictable for them which dad would come home at night, the drunk one or the sober one. Dr. James Dobson: Pauline Bartosh: Bob Bartosch: Dr. James Dobson: Pauline Bartosh: Dr. James Dobson: Pauline Bartosh: Dr. James Dobson: Bob Bartosch: Dr. James Dobson: Bob Bartosch: And Pauline now, you all were married at this time? Oh, yes. Yes. And what were you experiencing? Well, I suddenly had a different husband than the one I had married because whenwegotmarried, he was studying for the ministry, and of course alcohol wasn't part of our lives at all. But then both of us went into a period of rebellion and got caught up in that lifestyle and it just destroyed us. You got into Valium because you were trying to escape from Bob's alcoholism? Well, I went to my Christian doctor and shared a little bit of the story that was going on in my homeandhesays, "You know, if you just take a little bit of this, it'll maybe ease some of your despair." And I found that it did. It was kind of an insurance policy every day to take that Valium. But then one day I realized that wedidn't have just one addict, now we had two. And here I had been looking downmynoseatBobfor his drinking, and yet I was numbing my spirit each day with a little pill. What waslife like at that time with two addicts in the same house? Well, every Sunday you would've seen us in church. That's one way life was like. Wemight have fought all the way to church, but once we hit the parking lot, on would go the big smile. Did people not know? No, wehid it from people well, and that's what's so sad. There's so many people in church that have these problems and are afraid to share them with anybody. So they're sort of forced to hide it because you can imagine what would've happened if my alcoholism had become known. In fact, one of my best drinking 3buddies was a pastor, and after I got sober, I wanted to share with him what God had done in mylife and he wouldn't return my phone calls. But if you think through his situation, where could he go for help? He couldn't go to his church board and say, guys, I'm having a problem with booze. And so it took a serious accident. God got his attention and he's sober now back in the ministry in another denomination, but lots of times the church is not a safe place to be with these kind of problems. Dr. James Dobson: Bob Bartosch: Dr. James Dobson: Bob Bartosch: Pauline Bartosh: Dr. James Dobson: Pauline Bartosh: Dr. James Dobson: Pauline Bartosh: Dr. James Dobson: Pauline Bartosh: Dr. James Dobson: Were you able to work? Yes. Of course, I was my own boss, and so I've never been fired. Yeah. There's part of the problem. And I've never been arrested for driving under the influence, although I should have many, many times. But I was able to do my job. I was the one that was hiding it. I worked harder at hiding it because I was the one that would think up the excuses and tell little lies to cover up what was happening. I was denying it too. I just couldn't imagine that this was happening to us, and so I called it by a lot of different names. Like I told our kids that he was senile early and one time I cooked up a good brain tumor for him, and I had all these reasons why he was behaving the way he was behaving, but I was every bit as crazy as he was. One of the characteristics of the families of an alcoholic is that they don't want anybody to know. The whole family begins to hide it, don't they? Oh, we're wonderful at it. And becomeenablers. Were you an enabler? Oh, absolutely. Explain what that means. Yes. In fact, I think really if I had been able to step out of the way and let my husband hit his bottom earlier, he would've gotten help earlier. But I was always there to save him. I was there to pour the booze down the sink. I was there just to make sure that nobody knew. And I really think that if I had let go and let God like they talk about in the 12 step programs... And that's difficult to do because wejust want to hang on to a corner of it. We just think that we can think of something to fix this person, and nothing that I tried fixed him at all. It just made it worse. So an enabler is someone who, by their behavior, makes the problem worse. 4Pauline Bartosh: Yes. Dr. James Dobson: Bob Bartosch: Dr. James Dobson: Pauline Bartosh: Dr. James Dobson: Pauline Bartosh: Dr. James Dobson: Bob Bartosch: In thinking that they're trying to fix it and make it better. Well, for instance, Mondays were never very good for me and they're not good for most alcoholics because we usually have done a lot of drinking over the weekend. But on Mondays, I could always rely on Pauline calling the office and telling them I was home sick. And she'd do that faithfully until finally she got involved in a 12 step group and that behavior changed. Then that was very, very painful for me. All right, that turns the corner into the way out for you all. Pauline, you sought help first. Yes, I did. And I think that's why love your book, Love Must Be Tough because all those principles are right in your book there about tough love and it's so important. But I didn't just waltz into a 12 step group on a nice warm, sunny day because I had nothing else to do. I was there because I was hurting desperately. I could see my marriage was going out the window. We had already tried divorce and had gone back together and I was at my wits end. And I had gone to a counselor and he insisted that I go to a group called Al-Anon Family Groups, and I said, "Well, maybe." And it took another year for me to get there. We resisted. By the time I got there, I walked into that room with the biggest plastic smile you've ever seen because I was used to doing that at church. In fact, I walked in with a little list of questions on a little piece of paper and all I wanted was answers to my questions so that I could rush home and fix it. Don't you wish it was that easy? They just said, "Keep coming back, honey. It works." Bob, did you know that she had gone to Al-Anon? I don't even remember whether I did or not. I must have because things were changing so rapidly around our household. Not only not calling the office, but I used to come homedrunk and beable to pick a verbal argument with Pauline. Then myresponse would be to her, "Well, if that's the way you feel..." And then that gave me permission to go back out and drink some more. Well, she gets into Al-Anon and I try and pick a fight with her and she wouldn't react. She'd just smile and say, "See you later." Then she'd take off and go to a meeting or something. They call it release with love. But the year prior to even Al-Anon, I had sought help for my problem and the first place that I went is the first place I think many of your listeners would go, and that's to my local pastor. And his suggestions to me were good. He told me to go home and read the Bible and pray and I would do that and then I'd get up and mix myself another drink. 5He wasunaware of what addiction is all about. He was looking at it strictly from the spiritual point of view and overlooking the emotional and physical. Dr. James Dobson: Bob Bartosch: Dr. James Dobson: Pauline Bartosh: Dr. James Dobson: Pauline Bartosh: Bob Bartosch: Dr. James Dobson: As though it were a rational process. Yes. And so in my case, the ministry I went to wasn't much help. My next place to go for help was my medical doctor and he prescribed Valium for me. So I was drinking and taking Valium, which in the alcohol field we refer to that as a Hollywood death. That's the way a lot of motion picture stars die unintentionally because it has a synergistic effect, mixing alcohol with Valium. Wewenttoamarriage counselor because our marriage was certainly in disarray and he washelpful in opening up lines of communication using empty chair techniques and different things, but he really didn't address the alcohol problem too much. Pauline would say, "Well ask him about his drinking." And he'd say, "Well, how much do you drink?" And I'd say, "Oh, one or two now and then." And he'd look at Pauline and he'd say, "Well, that's not very much." So he didn't lead me to any place where I could get help. It took this second year until Pauline got into Al-Anon, and then that's when I got some help. Okay, truncate that story now. You are in Al-Anon, Pauline and Bob, you haven't gotten the message yet. How do you get from there to wholeness? I had to start with myself. I had to get my focus off of Bob and put it back on the Lord again. And I learned that from a traditional 12-step group to put my eyes back on Jesus Christ. They didn't tell me to put my eyes on Jesus Christ. They talked about God as you understand him and of course that person is Jesus Christ in my life. But when we're so busy as family members trying to fix somebody and figure everything out, we don't have time to really ask for his help. And usually we go to him with a list of instructions of the things he should be doing instead of saying, God, what is it that you want for my life? I want your will in my life. And sometimes we forget that he has the best in mind for us. How'd you get Bob there? I didn't. Well, we were going to a Garden Grove community church and we were in a small, they called it talk-it-over group, and Pauline shared with a prayer partner the fact that I had an alcohol problem. Now it just happens that this couple that she shared it with worked at a large firm in Southern California that had an employee assistance counselor. And so I was invited. I didn't want to go, but I didn't have much choice. I was tired of my suitcase being out on the front porch. So I was invited down. Love must be tough is what it's called. I got it from your book. Pauline Bartosh: 6Bob Bartosch: I was invited to meet with this alcohol counselor and found out that he'd been a sober member of Alcoholics Anonymous for about 25 years. And the first thing he did, he gave me a 40 question test and I lied on every question. So I think the first thing your listeners need to know in dealing with this problem is that alcoholics are not truthful. We can't be because if we're truthful, then we have to get in touch with what's wrong and do something about it. So it took another year and then I finally went back to that counselor again and he told me about Alcoholics Anonymous and I went to my first meeting. They started talking about 12 steps to recovery and I was so foggy, it took me several months to even be able to identify what they were talking about. I pictured a building with some steps going up to it. But I finally was able to catch that idea and I had to admit that I was powerless and that I was whipped, and that's where it all started. By giving up and letting God take over. Dr. James Dobson: Bob Bartosch: Dr. James Dobson: Bob Bartosch: Dr. James Dobson: Bob Bartosch: Dr. James Dobson: The Christian community has often been critical of this 12-step program. Explain why andwhat's your answer to that? Well, you're absolutely right, and we fight this every day. In fact, Jesus is not mentioned in the 12 steps of AA. And when I say 12 steps of AA, those are the ones that other groups have adopted, either Narcotics Anonymous or whatever. This is one of the reasons why we started our Overcomers group where people could come and where we could talk freely about Jesus. But Overcomers was never meant to be a replacement. It's just a bridge between the two. As a matter of fact, in some of the preparatory material I got for today, you had said, Bob, that there's a 25% greater probability that people in the church who are involved in alcoholism will hide it than those whoYes. We think in a normal non-church population, one out of 10 people who drink will become alcoholics. We've got to be fair, that means that nine out of 10 people who drink will not. So just because somebody has a glass of wine with dinner doesn't mean they're going to be an alcoholic. But in a church situation, particularly the evangelical church, you can pretty well throw away that one out of 10. It's much closer to three or four out of 10, and wefeel that it's because we drink with guilt. And of course a guaranteed way to get rid of guilt is to have another drink. So people in churches who start drinking are really setting themselves up for having this problem. Well, we've talked several times about the Overcomers group that you all started. I understand they're between 800 and 1000 of those groups now. In every state, I think 12 or 13 foreign countries. And that has all come since you were here in 1980. That's right. Bob Bartosch: 7Pauline Bartosh: Yeah. We had a vision to start one group and look what God did. Dr. James Dobson: Pauline Bartosh: Dr. James Dobson: Pauline Bartosh: Bob Bartosch: Dr. James Dobson: Bob Bartosch: Dr. James Dobson: Bob Bartosch: Dr. James Dobson: Be moreexplicit about what goes on there. How does that differ from a 12-step program? It doesn't replace it. No. And the wonderful thing about it is we use the same 12 steps. We haven't changed a single word in those 12 steps, but we use the Bible with the 12 steps because the steps come right out of the Bible in the first place. That's right. And wegettopray together and we care for one another in wonderful ways because we're all in the family of Jesus Christ. We're trying to reach two different populations. One, people within churches whohave these problems who for whatever reason they have would not go to an AAmeeting, but they'll come to an Overcomers meeting. And we've found, however, if they use that as their only resource, many of them will fall flat on their face because one meeting a week isn't enough for somebody coming out of an addiction. So we plug them back in to a traditional group that meets their needs. But the second population, we don't want to overlook that. There are literally thousands of people in groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous who are getting tremendous help for their problem. And they know there's some kind of higher power that's doing it, but they've never identified who that higher power is. And of course, we know who that is. It's Jesus Christ. And so we invite people from 12-step groups and we have to do it in a proper way. You don't just raise your hand and say, "Hey..." Here I am. Yeah. But after the meeting, you can go to a person... Where it really comes up is where they have trouble with step three on who God is in their life. And I'll simply go up to a person and say, "I appreciate what you're sharing. And a lot of people have had that same struggle and for some of us, we found the answer for us to be Jesus Christ. And we have a meeting that meets up." And I tell them where it is, where we use these exact same 12 steps. See, that gives it... Legitimacy. Yeah. Legitimacy for them. Only we talk about Jesus. And we've had many, many people from just the local meeting that I go to who come to a Overcomers meeting and have found Christ as their savior. Let's suppose we're talking to people out there who are desperately in need of your program. How do they find one? Well, they certainly could call our office or they could call your office or write. Bob Bartosch: 8Wecould send them alisting of meetings in their state or in their area. They could get our book, the Bridge to Recovery, which gives these 31 stories of people from all addictions, not just alcohol. In fact, at the office now, more than half of our phone calls have to do with sexual addiction, which seems to be the... Dr. James Dobson: Bob Bartosch: Pauline Bartosh: Dr. James Dobson: Bob Bartosch: Dr. James Dobson: Bob Bartosch: Dr. James Dobson: Pauline Bartosh: Dr. James Dobson: Pauline Bartosh: Dr. James Dobson: Pornography is just crazy. It's where alcohol was 20 years ago. Oh, it's crazy. Absolutely. All right, we've got time left just for these two questions. The first one to you, Bob, and the second one to you, Pauline. Bob, I'd like you to talk to the person who's listening to us who's never admitted to himself or herself that they are an alcoholic and they happen to be listening to the radio today and they heard this. What do you say to them? Well, if alcohol is affecting any part of your life, whether physical, mentally, financially, or any way, you need to get help. And there is help available and the availability that seems to help more people than any other in our country is Alcoholics Anonymous. And I would suggest that you run, not walk to a local meeting of AA. And you're not likely to whip it on your own because there is a chemicalVery few Lone Rangers in recovery. We need each other. Absolutely. Pauline, talk to the families of an alcoholic who are enablers and who have not yet approached it in the way that you did. They're still trying to fix the problem. I guess the main message that I want to convey here today is that there is hope. You maythink there's just no hope at all, but I have good news for you. There is hope because I've been in that hopeless spot. I know how it feels. I've tried the divorce and I've done all those things and I am to a place now where I've seen literally thousands of people get help by reaching out and getting help for ourselves. And the Lord was there when you needed him too. The Lord was there. We have to start with ourselves, put our focus upon him. He will give us new ways of dealing with this alcoholism problem. Different ways than we've ever figured out before. I thought I had it all wired and all figured out before, but I didn't until I let go and let God and let him do it his way. Well, you guys look great. Pauline, and no one would ever believe that you'd been addicted to anything but love. And it is neat to see you here after all these years and then Bob, and to see what the Lord has done with you all and we would like to stay in touch with you. 9Bob Bartosch: All right. Pauline Bartosh: Roger Marsh: Announcer: Thank you. Well, there's always hope when you lean on the Lord. Amen. If you are struggling with alcoholism, I encourage you to reach out to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's national hotline. That number is 1-800-662 and the letters H-E-L-P. It's a free call and it's a confidential hotline that is available every day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If it's easier, you can reach them by texting them at the number 988. And by the way, if you'd like to learn more about Bob and Pauline or the ministry of Overcomers Outreach, visit today's broadcast page at drjamesdobson.org/familytalk. Pray, engage, vote. Think about those words for just a moment. We as believers need to put our faith and patriotism into action, but sadly though, many Christians don't take the time to get out and vote at all. The future of America is at stake right now, and if we stand together and vote, we really can create positive changes in our country and in our neighborhoods. If you'd like to learn more about the latest national ballot issues and policies that affect you and your family, be sure to check out the Countdown to Decision 2024 resources here at the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute. Simply go to drjamesdobson.org/countdowntodecision2024. While you're there, check out the Countdown to Decision 2024 podcast. That podcast features some familiar voices who will inform you about all the things you need to know for this year's election. It is our prayer here at the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute that all of us will have the courage as believers to get out and vote this election season, whether voting early or on November 5th. Again, for election resources from the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, go to DrJamesdobson.org/countdown-to-decision-2024. Well, I'm Roger Marsh. Thanks so much for joining us today here for another edition of Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk, the voice you trust for the family you love. This has been a presentation of the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute
Who is the Devil? Where did he come from? Is he a god possessing omnipotence? How much power can he exert on Earth?
These questions and many other Biblical facts about the anointed cherubLucifer are answered in this in-depth preaching/teaching sermon.
Inspirational, informative, and timeless in subject matter and Christian authority. What Satan does not want you to know about him how he operates through spiritual warfare.
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God doesn’t want you to try and impress him with your prayers. He already knows everything about you—and he still loves you and accepts you. In this message, Pastor Rick continues teaching about how to draw closer to God by being yourself.
* 2 Corinthians: Paul constructed Second Corinthians as a key for understanding all of the Pauline Epistles, especially for the Christians who doubt the unique teaching that Jesus revealed through this Apostle.
To undergird his controversial Gospel of Grace (Rom. 4:5; 11:13; 1 Cor. 3:10; 15:1; Gal. 2:7; Eph. 2:8-9; etc.), the Apostle Paul realized that he must defend his own unique authority against his critics and against negative comparisons to the other apostles. He does this more aggressively when writing to the Galatians, but in greater length when writing to the Corinthians, beginning with his initial letter (1 Cor. 1:1, 17; 3:10; 4:16; 9:1-2, 17; 11:1; 14:37; 15:3, 9). Then the first half of Second Corinthians (chapters 1 – 7) describes the characteristics of an apostle as Paul builds toward the defense of his own ministry to rebut the attacks against his own apostleship.
The greater eloquence of the other apostles, for example, in no way diminishes the revelation that God has given to Paul (11:5-6). And though the Lord performed miracles through all the apostles for the sick, no one should doubt the Apostle to
the Gentiles even though God never healed Paul’s own physical infirmity. For through this ordeal God has established that, “My grace is sufficient for you…” (12:9, 11). Also, Paul bluntly recognized that while the Corinthians, “seek a proof of Christ speaking in me”, they should “examine” themselves “as to whether [they] are in the faith”, but regardless, Paul’s own authority is beyond question (13:1-6).
The Ten Commandments, “written… on tablets of stone” are a “ministry of death”. Paul uses this shocking truth to distinguish between the two covenants and therefore, between two covenant peoples, for the “covenant” of the law “kills, but the [new covenant of] the Spirit gives life” (2 Cor. 3:3, 6-7). In chapters 8 and 9 Paul urges Paul’s converts to cheerfully raise funds to give to the impoverished Jerusalem believers. For as we learned from The Acts of the Apostles, the converts of the Twelve, i.e., the circumcision believers, sold their homes and lands, unlike Paul’s converts, those of “the gospel of the uncircumcision” (Gal. 2:7, KJV), who did not sell off their property. For Paul instructs us to test “the things that differ” (Rom. 2:18 KJV margin). Bob Enyart’s study of Second Corinthians helps the diligent believer understand such things!
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“Greetings to the brightest audience in the country, and welcome to Theology Thursday. I'm Nicole McBurney. Every weekday, we bring you the news of the day, the culture, and science from a Christian worldview.
But today, join me and Pastor Bob Enyart as we explore the source of our Christian worldview, the Bible.
To minister to those who I love, to those whom the Lord loves, that is more important. So even though it's difficult, even though there is suffering involved, Lord, help me to serve you and love my neighbor to the very end of my life here on this earth. By the way, when Adam and Eve sinned, they became aware of their failure before God, and they were ashamed.
They were ashamed of themselves. So before they sinned, God had created them, and they were naked, and they felt no need of a covering. They felt no need.
They had no shame. But then when they did sin, they hid themselves, and they took leaves, and they covered themselves. And then God came into the garden, and He took an animal, and He performed a blood sacrifice, and He took the skin of the animal, and He[…]”
From Bob Enyart Live: ThThurs: 2 Corinthians Pt. 11, Sep 12, 2024
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ththurs-2-corinthians-pt-11/id204644966?i=1000669354417
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