1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,000 Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton. Here you'll find practical, relevant, biblical information. 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:19,000 The Bible will be broken down verse by verse so that you get the full context of the scripture to better grow in your relationship with Jesus. 3 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:26,000 Hey everybody, welcome back to The Sanctuary. It's great to have you with us as always. 4 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:36,000 Today we're going to start a new series looking at warriors, specifically the centurions in the Bible and their men. 5 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:42,000 Now, you know, we know life isn't always easy for our troops, more so back in those days. 6 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:50,000 You know, now there is often confusion about soldiers versus centurions in the Bible. 7 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:57,000 It's not uncommon for soldiers to be referred to as centurions. After all, they worked in the same vocation, right? 8 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:02,000 You know, they had the same allegiances, they carried the same banners for that matter. 9 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:12,000 And really, the difference came down to rank. A centurion was the highest rank a soldier could attain in those days. 10 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:19,000 They were a commanding officer and they were in charge of a hundred men, hence centurion, cent being a hundred, right? 11 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:29,000 Now, these were battle proven troops who had worked their way up the chain of command. 12 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:34,000 And they did so on the ground leading the charge. 13 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:40,000 So, I mean, they were literally in the fray with their men every step of the way. 14 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:44,000 Even once they attained this rank, they were still out there leading from the front. 15 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:49,000 You know, they were not the armchair quarterbacks that are so common today. 16 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:54,000 You know, instead they were in the muck and doing the work with their men. 17 00:01:54,000 --> 00:02:02,000 So they were highly knowledgeable, they were highly loyal, they had earned the respect of their men and those above them. 18 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:08,000 Truly, we're talking about the best of the best, the elite guard, if you will. 19 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:17,000 Now, with that said, there are seven centurions that are actually spoken of in the Bible. 20 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:24,000 We're going to start with the centurion at the crucifixion of Christ. 21 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:28,000 A little morbid and probably not the centurion you thought we were going to be talking about. 22 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:37,000 You know, now for those with their Bible, a Bible app, or even if you're taking notes right now to go and refer back to later. 23 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:44,000 You know, turn with me, we're going to go to the book of Matthew and specifically we're going into chapter 27. 24 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:53,000 Now, Matthew 27, the first verse is 1-53. 25 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:56,000 The troops that are discussed, they were soldiers. 26 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:59,000 You know, it's not talking about the centurion. 27 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:03,000 Now, likely there was a centurion there with them. 28 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:10,000 You know, they'd be hard pressed for there not to be, especially, you know, being around, you know, Pontus Pilate and everything. 29 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:15,000 However, you know, the Bible doesn't talk about the centurion at that time. 30 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:21,000 Again, you know, that term, soldier and centurion, are used interchangeably and they shouldn't be. 31 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:25,000 The difference varies widely. 32 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:30,000 Okay, you know, let's think of it from the perspective of fighters, right? 33 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:37,000 You have that street kid, that punk bully, you know, that roams around schools and stuff. 34 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:48,000 You know, and then you have that martial artist that's trained and worked their way up, you know, from white belt up to black or whatever, you know, dance system is it that they have or whatever. 35 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:54,000 You know, then you have your amateur fighter all the way up to professional, right? 36 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:56,000 So you have your different levels. 37 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:19,000 Now, think about think of it this way that, you know, would you take that street kid or that bully or even a low ranking martial artist, say, you know, your white belt, your yellow belt, you know, and then pick them up against a professional fighter, you know, your black belts, your MMA fighters and all that kind of stuff. 38 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:27,000 You know, professional boxers and everything, you know, how well do you think that they would stand against them? 39 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:33,000 You know, how well do you think a high schooler would pick against Mike Tyson when Tyson was in his prime? 40 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,000 You know, I think they do very well. 41 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:38,000 No. 42 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:42,000 Obviously, you know, that answer stands right out for itself. 43 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:49,000 You know, it's like taking a crop duster pilot and throwing them into a jet fighter and expect them to know what to do. 44 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,000 You know, it's they're not the same. 45 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:55,000 Well, you know, on the basic level of everything, you know, certain things are the same. 46 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:59,000 They're definitely at different levels. 47 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:04,000 When it comes to the soldiers here in the Bible, the Centurions, same thing. 48 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:11,000 You know, you got your private on the ground, you know, a corporal or sergeant, you know, maybe a couple, you know, staff NCOs. 49 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:29,000 You know, working their way all the way up to the officer ranks, you know, and I said that it's you're looking at the difference between your noncommissioned officers and NCOs versus a high ranking general, essentially. 50 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:33,000 So I'm going into Matthew 27. 51 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:38,000 We're actually going to pick up, you know, in the scripture now, verse 54. 52 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:39,000 All right. 53 00:05:39,000 --> 00:06:01,000 So Matthew 27, verse 54, the Bible says when the Centurion and those with him were guarding Jesus, excuse me, when the security and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that happened, they were terrified and exclaimed, surely he is the son of God. 54 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:11,000 All right. And Mark 15, so Mark chapter 15, verses 37 through 39, the Bible says, with a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 55 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:20,000 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom and the Centurion, who stood there for Jesus, saw how he died. 56 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:29,000 He said, surely this man was the son of God. 57 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:36,000 Now, I could tell you, you spend enough time around violence and death. 58 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:42,000 It truly takes something remarkable to shake you after a certain point. 59 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:54,000 The military conditions you so that when it comes to the time to do things that you're asked to do, you could disassociate to a point. 60 00:06:54,000 --> 00:07:01,000 So certain people, you know, those people you're told are your enemy, you no longer see them as people. 61 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:05,000 You know, certain acts that would normally be detestable. 62 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:09,000 Well, when it comes to your enemy, they're now the norm. 63 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:16,000 You know, the sooner a warrior is able to flip that switch, the easier it is for them to get the job done. 64 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:25,000 Plain and simple. There's nothing normal about subduing another man, yet alone killing one. Right. 65 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:31,000 And these soldiers, they've been around for more than a minute. They've been around the block. 66 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:39,000 They were highly trained. They were highly conditioned. They've been working their stations for a while. 67 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:47,000 They'd seen if it's, you know, as the ad says, you know, they knew a thing or two because they'd seen a thing or two. Right. 68 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:53,000 This is why when you go to Second Timothy, Chapter two, verse four, the Bible says, 69 00:07:53,000 --> 00:08:01,000 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. 70 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:07,000 You know, our military is separated from civilian matters in so many respects for a reason. 71 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,000 The mindset of a warrior is different. 72 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:20,000 It has to be in order to maintain discipline, to maintain order and to function properly as a military force. 73 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:28,000 Also, to keep as many of these warriors alive as possible when they go into conflict. 74 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:36,000 You know, the warrior ethos that focuses on physical discipline, mental discipline and character discipline, you know, to be a good warrior, 75 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:44,000 you have to give up certain comforts. You have to give up certain securities that you had and known throughout your life 76 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:53,000 and implement the highest levels of discipline at all levels. 77 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:59,000 The same being for a good soldier of Jesus. You have to be able to give certain things up. 78 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:09,000 You have to be willing to give certain things up and maintain discipline to be a good soldier for Christ. It's that simple. 79 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:18,000 Going back to our reading. These soldiers and the centurion were shaken. 80 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:26,000 Having the experience that they had and being around the dead and dying in their time of duty, 81 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:31,000 they would have been numb to anything that had been in the norm. 82 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:34,000 That's really the easiest way to put it. 83 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:40,000 Luke chapter 23 verse 47, the Bible tells us like this, 84 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:47,000 Listen, the centurion, seeing what happened, praised God and said, surely this was a righteous man. 85 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:51,000 Indicating that, you know, that when he looked at Jesus and what was going on and how he died, 86 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:57,000 you know, he was seeing that he was innocent. He knew that he was a good person. 87 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:03,000 You know, again, these men, they'd been around for a while. They knew the norm. They knew what to expect from the crowds. 88 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:08,000 They knew what to expect of those on death row that were going to be crucified. 89 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:15,000 From the ways that they would react to the things that they would say to what to expect as they hung their suffering and dying, 90 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:22,000 which also speaks to just how extraordinary things would have to be in order to get their attention, 91 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:26,000 let alone to rattle them in this way. 92 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:31,000 You know, as a man on the ground, they could see he was innocent. 93 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:37,000 You know, and this extends back, you know, not just from from Jesus being on the cross. 94 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:42,000 This goes all the way back from Pilate washing his hands, right? 95 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:49,000 When after, you know, when Jesus was scorched and everything, you know, Pilate washed his hands, you know, signifying, you know, 96 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:54,000 that he was not going to be held responsible for for what was happening. 97 00:10:54,000 --> 00:11:01,000 You know, they could see that what was, you know, what was different, you know, 98 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:07,000 that he was innocent from how Jesus responded to everything that was going on and everyone around him. 99 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:13,000 You know, from that time all the way up to the cross to being hung on the cross. 100 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:19,000 You know, they could see God's involvement from the darkness that surrounded them. 101 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:27,000 Remember, the scripture tells us that the sky's got dark to the literal earthquake that, you know, we just read about. 102 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:31,000 You know, things around them, they weren't right. 103 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:34,000 And, you know, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to see. 104 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:38,000 To the average person on the ground, you could see things weren't quite right. 105 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:40,000 Something was different. 106 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:49,000 And for those soldiers, oh, buddy, you know, there was no doubt in their mind. 107 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:55,000 You know, you know, veterans, you know, really, you know, even, you know, people still on active duty, you know, 108 00:11:55,000 --> 00:12:03,000 anyone that spends, you know, some time in service, they they they become very hyper aware of their environment. 109 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:09,000 And it's something that is quickly learned and it sticks through, you know, with you throughout your life. 110 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:16,000 You know, knowing your your your entrances and your exits, what the lighting looks like, the vulnerabilities, 111 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:22,000 vantage points, you know, color points, looking for how people are acting or or dressed, you know, 112 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:28,000 in order to spot things are out of the norm or or even those, you know, who are carrying weapons like, you know, 113 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:36,000 knives, guns and other potential threats, you know, whether they're concealed or otherwise, depending on where you live. 114 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:40,000 You know, for instance, here in New Mexico, we're we're we're an open carry state. 115 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:43,000 So not everybody has a concealed carrier carries concealed. 116 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:53,000 You'll you can go places and see people, you know, with their firearms strapped to them, you know, clear as day. 117 00:12:53,000 --> 00:13:02,000 These soldiers, though, you know, along with their centurion, they they knew without a doubt that things had just taken a drastic turn 118 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:09,000 all the way to the point where the centurion said, surely this was a righteous man or as the other accounts that we read said, 119 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,000 surely he was the son of God. 120 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:14,000 You know, in any case, you know, these these are strong words. 121 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:21,000 They're really, you know, these are this power here, not simple utterances, not even a simple holy moly. 122 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:26,000 You know, I could tell you given circumstances, I've said much worse than all crap. 123 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:28,000 You know, and I'm sure everyone else here has as well. 124 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:36,000 You know, and you know, this would have been one of those moments where my guard would have skyrocketed as I'm sure it did for them. 125 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:41,000 You know, which brings us to the centurion and his soldiers after Christ died. 126 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:49,000 You know, turning to John 19, verses 32 through 34, the Bible says this. 127 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:57,000 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus and those of the other. 128 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:03,000 But when they came to Jesus and found he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 129 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:11,000 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus aside with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 130 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:15,000 Now, like I said, they're experienced. They'd seen a lot. They've been party to a lot. 131 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:20,000 They carried out executions. They knew the signs of a dead man. 132 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:23,000 They knew, you know, they knew a corpse when they were looking at one. 133 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:27,000 Those telltale signs of death. 134 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:33,000 You know, they knew the sights, the conditions the body would go through, the smells. 135 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:39,000 You know, they knew that they didn't have to go to the trouble of breaking his legs to bring about death faster. 136 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:41,000 Death had already come. 137 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:45,000 Instead, a soldier, not the centurion. 138 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:47,000 All right. Let's be clear about this. 139 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,000 It was a soldier, not the centurion. 140 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:58,000 Even though the centurion would have been there and would have been the one to give the order, it was a soldier who pierced Christ with the spear. 141 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:00,000 All right. 142 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:05,000 And we'll go into that a little bit more depth here in a moment. 143 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:06,000 All right. 144 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:23,000 A soldier doing this under the direction of a centurion makes more sense when looking at the chain of command and how troops function, you know, back then all the way up to this very day. 145 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:34,000 You know, for someone that high ranking to do something like this is not within the norms or standard of operating procedures today any more than it was back then. 146 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:39,000 It was more much more likely than just as it is today that he simply gave the order. 147 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:44,000 And what happened when he was stabbed speaks volumes as well. 148 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:49,000 When that spear was plunged into Jesus's side, blood and water came out. 149 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,000 You know, it's very graphic, but it's very specific. 150 00:15:52,000 --> 00:16:03,000 This is blood and water, which points directly to part of the physical cause of death here, going from extreme the extreme shock, you know, from his lashings to the continued abuse. 151 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:16,000 And stresses all the way to be crucified, you know, and all those things, you know, the the blood water being an indicator of, you know, what what's referred to in the medical world as pericardial fusion. 152 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,000 Basically, you had a sack that's around your heart that's filled with water. 153 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:33,000 And when you undergo extreme stresses and injury and stuff like that, like Jesus did, it fills with more water and in turn that applies much more pressure to the heart. 154 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:37,000 You know, in most cases, it's not that big of a deal. 155 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:44,000 But when you know, you had stress and how much water is there and everything, it can become, you know, deadly quickly. 156 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:50,000 You know, and so ultimately, this is why a lot of people will say Jesus died of a broken heart for the sin of us all. 157 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:53,000 Right. So that's that's where that comes from. 158 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:58,000 All that water basically crushing in on the heart, along with all the stresses and everything else. 159 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:00,000 You know, the loss of blood. 160 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:02,000 There's just so much there. 161 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:08,000 You know, so again, these new these warriors, they knew without a doubt that the man that they were looking at was indeed dead. 162 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:17,000 The fact that they were also in a partial party also speaks to the fact that when they pronounced him dead, they were the experts beyond the shadow of a doubt. 163 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:21,000 You could safely say that these were the professionals. 164 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:27,000 All right. When they when they made that declaration of death, you know, they they weren't on Jesus's side. 165 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:33,000 They weren't on the people's side. They were just they're doing their job what they were asked to do. 166 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:38,000 So, you know, when they said it's done, it was done. All right. 167 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:46,000 No, no, no pun intended there for, you know, the final words of Jesus there for gave up his spirit saying it was finished. 168 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:54,000 You know, it's just it was just a matter of fact, you know, on both parts. 169 00:17:54,000 --> 00:18:16,000 Now, going going back to what I was speaking of when I said it was a soldier and not the centurion who pierced Christ, you know, now there are various legends and traditions that are held by the legalist that claim that it was the centurion who did these things. 170 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:26,000 In fact, there's some some places that you go to where they even give a name. There's there's actually a couple of names out there that are quite frequently used. 171 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:42,000 Now, nothing that's found in the Bible or substantiated anywhere in records or anything, you know, substantiates this, you know, legends in this case being stories. 172 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:47,000 All right. Stories. Nothing of substance backs it up there. 173 00:18:47,000 --> 00:19:01,000 And therefore, when you hear people talking about and they're giving the names and these accounts, you know, of the soldiers or the centurion after, you know, the death of Christ and everything, it shouldn't be taken seriously. 174 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:19,000 What they're saying is to take it with a grain of salt. You know, I mean, don't be mean or anything. But, you know, again, there's there's nothing in the Bible and nothing that I found to this day in any kind of record or anything that indicates for sure, you know, a name or anything like that to go with any of these men, you know, or anything like that. 175 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:34,000 You know, the records are that are out there indicate that possibly, you know, there was a specific centurion that might have been in the area, but it doesn't mean that it was this guy that we're looking at in the Bible. 176 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:54,000 But even that is very sketchy from what I've read. So definitely be careful. We are hearing and reading about the centurion and the soldiers surrounding this part when it starts going into that kind of depth because there's just nothing there. 177 00:19:54,000 --> 00:20:06,000 All right. Back into what we're looking at here, though. All right. The very, you know, let me put let me say this, you know, the verification of Jesus death, you know, it's it's morbid. 178 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:12,000 However, you know, it speaks. This is something that's that's spoken to my heart for years now. 179 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:26,000 You know, being something for me is very relatable. Let me go into why, you know, you know, what this actually goes back to what I first was looking into going to the military. 180 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:34,000 Excuse me, little sneeze there. Tried to hit my mute button. 181 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:48,000 Sneezes. They just creep up on you sometimes, don't they? Give me a second here. I'll put you on mute. Try to get this out of my system real quick. 182 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:58,000 Okay, I think it's good. All right. Allergies are something else right now, aren't they? Gotta love the spring. Anyway, so I said that this is going to be kind of morbid. 183 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:05,000 And when I first spoke to the recruiter about enlisting, you know, I was looking for a specific job. 184 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:18,000 And, you know, the recruiter, he was he was honest and he explained that this is one of a handful of jobs that couldn't be guaranteed because of the training requirements to qualify. 185 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:33,000 Basically, you know, if you didn't meet all those, then you'd become open contract and you could be thrown anywhere that the military needed and not even necessarily remotely close to where you wanted to be. 186 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:44,000 What you know, basically one of the requirements, which was really the most harrowing for me, was that you had to have a first class web qualification. 187 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:55,000 I grew up landlocked for the most part. I never considered myself a strong swimmer, you know, regardless of being in creeks and lakes and rivers and all that kind of stuff. 188 00:21:55,000 --> 00:22:09,000 It just wasn't something that I considered one of my strong suits, you know, on a side note when I graduated, you know, lo and behold, I did get that swim call that was needed. 189 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:21,000 Anyway, you know, at that time, I didn't know that Jesus was preparing me to see and deal with death at a much more intimate scale. 190 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:26,000 So what had happened is I went and I was weighing out pros and cons. We weren't at war at that time. 191 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:39,000 You know, this is prior to 9-11. You know, I wanted a job that would translate to civilian life when it came time for that transition, you know, because nobody stays in the military, you know, really forever. 192 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:49,000 I mean, there's a few cases and everything, but I mean, in general, you know, we all get out sometime, whether it's after our first contract or after a career, everybody comes home. 193 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:57,000 So I ended up, you know, becoming a military policeman. 194 00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:10,000 And as such, I responded to all the typical things that law enforcement does, you know, assaults, rapes, car accidents, suicides, animal cruelty, and then some. 195 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:17,000 You know, we we saw some of the worst things that humanity and therefore the world really had to offer, you know. 196 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:27,000 And later on, you know, this would follow me and transition into the civilian world as planned, you know, working for civilian law enforcement agencies, later security. 197 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:32,000 You know, I even spent a number of years literally working in the morgue. 198 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:39,000 My desk was 30 feet away from the cooler where bodies were kept there in the crypt. Right. 199 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:51,000 And violent, you could say violence and death. These were a daily occurrence for me for years, and it took me a long time to see as a blessing and not a curse. 200 00:23:51,000 --> 00:24:05,000 You know, it came down to that point that, you know, when others were were frozen or lost focus, you know, I was suddenly able to speak to them, you know, and keep my team focused on the mission that was at hand, because I'd already seen these things. 201 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:17,000 You know, when others didn't know how to cope, I could coach them through, you know, on a on a modern day, you know, basically, you know, I was a modern day centurion being able to look at a body and know instantly that it was a corpse. 202 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:26,000 The spirit was gone. It was a skill that over the over time had become like breathing to me, just like it was to the centurion and these soldiers. 203 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:41,000 You know, to be this a cheering at the cross, you know, or one of those soldiers, you know, for all the things that were normal that day, those things that were not would have been something that stuck out and stuck with them for the rest of their lives. 204 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:46,000 You know, we've been painfully obvious. And that, you know, I said, that's why it's so relatable for me. 205 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:56,000 And I'm sure that there's some out there, you know, whether you're working law enforcement or health care or those in the military or veterans, or it's, you know, no different for you. 206 00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:06,000 You know, some trillions of ways today, they're the consummate, you know, professionals, they know when things aren't adding up, you know, and to heighten security. 207 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:15,000 You know, those little hairs on the back of your neck stand up, you know, and just let you know, you know, spidey sense starts tingling. 208 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:21,000 Now, this isn't to say that when it happens that things are just always going to go south, you know, it doesn't. 209 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:24,000 You know, sometimes you just you have to heighten your guard a little bit. 210 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:29,000 You know, however, as soldiers in Christ, it's a little bit different. 211 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:33,000 You know, we need to be vigilant for the things to come. We need to be on our guard. 212 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:36,000 Yes. Matthew 24. 213 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:47,000 Jesus warns us to be vigilant because there's going to be those that come claiming things and even using his name in vain. 214 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:56,000 However, as the Bride of Christ, we can rest assured that he will take care of us in the times to come. 215 00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:05,000 You know, that's biblical. The Bible tells us this, you know, that, you know, and ultimately we're going to be witness to his victory. 216 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:09,000 So when our guard is up, you know, as soldiers of Christ, it's up differently. 217 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:13,000 We're not sitting there like, oh, what's going to happen? What's going to happen? 218 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:19,000 You know, expecting the worst. We know things are going to be turbulent. We've talked about this. 219 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:25,000 The Bible's warned Jesus has warned us there's going to be turbulence in our lives. 220 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:40,000 You know, however, we know that God is going to get us through and we're going to be on the prevailing side in his victory, in his glory. 221 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:43,000 When it's all said and done. 222 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:57,000 You know, often God puts us in places to mold us and to test us. 223 00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:05,000 It's not until much later that we're able to see that his work was actually a blessing to prepare us for what was coming in our lives. 224 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:10,000 All right. And to the point, you know, for us to point the way to him and his glory, 225 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:18,000 the Bible tells us that every good and perfect blessing is from God, even though we may not see it that way at first. 226 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:21,000 You know, some of the things that for the longest time, I was thinking I was cursed. 227 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:25,000 Like this is, you know, not everybody can do that. I've got to do this so others don't have to. 228 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:29,000 Right. That's the mentality type of mentality that gets there. 229 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:32,000 You know, people people have deployed into combat. It's like, you know what? 230 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:38,000 Yeah. Keep me here. Extend out my tour. You know, transfer me to another unit or send me back. 231 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:46,000 Whatever. Because, you know, if I'm here, then that means, you know, that somebody else gets to go home and that's worth it. 232 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:52,000 That's the type of mindset that comes into play. You know, it's not about yourself at that point. 233 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:58,000 It's about others. And they talk about love. 234 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:03,000 Because that is exactly what that is. That is love. 235 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:14,000 So remember, even though you're in tough times, even though you're seeing things and having to do things that you might not necessarily agree with. 236 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:22,000 Those things that you take that you're taking so hard right now that are just kind of tormenting you. 237 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:26,000 It's all part of the test. Remember, the teacher is often silent during the test. 238 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:34,000 You don't necessarily get to speak to the teacher, right, until it's all said and done. 239 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:43,000 But this is this is testing your metal to see where you're going to bend, where you're going to break and what needs to be reinforced, what needs to be worked on, what needs to be strengthened. 240 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:53,000 And this is taking what's already strong and sharpening it, honing it into a fine blade. 241 00:28:53,000 --> 00:29:00,000 It's not always going to be easy. Certain things are going to stick and they're going to stick hard. 242 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:07,000 But you're to take those things because those are gifts. And at some point you're going to use that gift. 243 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:11,000 You're going to use your testimony and that's going to speak to others. 244 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:21,000 And that that is the power of the Lord working through you to bring others to him. 245 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:27,000 Be willing to go out there, step out in faith and let that light shine. 246 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:34,000 Remember, you are loved and you are blessed. Now go and be the church. 247 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:38,000 Thank you all for joining us here today at Healing Scars with Pastor Burton. 248 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:45,000 Please like, subscribe and share our podcast on any platform it is that you tune into us on. 249 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:53,000 If you do have any questions, any prayer requests or would like to know more about our ministry, 250 00:29:53,000 --> 00:30:03,000 you can find us on our website at BeTheLightSanctuary.org or on Facebook at BeTheLightSanctuary. 251 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:08,000 You can also find how to contact us there, whether it's direct message or email. 252 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:15,000 We look forward to hearing from you all. God bless.