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 to the sanctuary. It's great to have you with us as always.

4
00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:33,000
Now, before we get started, I'd like to remind you real quick if you have any questions, something you'd like to hear discussed,

5
00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:40,000
maybe something that's been discussed but you'd like to have it elaborated on a little bit more, and even your prayer request.

6
00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:48,000
Definitely keep those coming in to us. Our contact information is posted on our website at BeTheLightSanctuary.org

7
00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:54,000
or you can find us on Facebook at BeTheLightSanctuary. I'd love to hear from all of you.

8
00:00:54,000 --> 00:01:03,000
Now, with that said, we're going to keep going in our series on the centurions of the Bible and their men.

9
00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:11,000
Today a little bit more so their men. But nonetheless, we'll still be in the book of Acts as we move forward today.

10
00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:19,000
Now, in the military especially, but not just there, you know, any job really, but the military a lot, a lot of times,

11
00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:28,000
and even, you know, in first response, it's not uncommon to find yourself on a detail that you may find questionable, right?

12
00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:39,000
Those details, you know, that are even a waste of time, you know, or flat out even, you know, you have so many people

13
00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:43,000
or so many of one thing or another that is overkill, right?

14
00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:51,000
Other times you wonder if you have enough manpower, let alone the resources to get a job done.

15
00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:59,000
You never feel that you're properly equipped, supported, or that things are properly planned out though.

16
00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:06,000
However, when a mission comes, you go. That's just the way it is, right?

17
00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:14,000
You know, and these things, it happens a lot. And unfortunately, you know, a lot of times

18
00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:20,000
we get caught up in things where it's just very humdrum, just doop-da-doo, doop-da-doo, you know?

19
00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:26,000
All the way up until that moment that it's not anymore.

20
00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:31,000
Now, turning to Acts chapter 23.

21
00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:36,000
As we begin, I'm going to briefly go over several verses here.

22
00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:42,000
However, I do encourage you, go back, read it yourself. We should all be like the Bereans, you know, and do what they did.

23
00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:44,000
And study the Word for ourselves.

24
00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:54,000
Now, in Acts 23, verses 1 through 11, alright, Paul stood before the Sanhedrin and, you know,

25
00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:59,000
basically called the Sanhedrin out for their sins, their hypocrisy.

26
00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:03,000
And then he spoke as to why he was standing before them.

27
00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:07,000
And by, you know, when he did it, he caused some dissent.

28
00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:13,000
Things got heated, to say the least. In fact, it became so heated that in verses 10 through 11,

29
00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:21,000
the Word tells us the dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them.

30
00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:31,000
He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.

31
00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:35,000
The following night, the Lord stood near Paul and said,

32
00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:44,000
Take courage, as you have testified about me in Jerusalem. So you must also testify in Rome.

33
00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:55,000
So, the commander was on site, right? He had feet on the ground. He was there.

34
00:03:55,000 --> 00:04:04,000
And things got so fired up that he felt he had to intervene in order to protect Paul.

35
00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:11,000
A commander! This is someone who had put in time, had knowledge, experience, respect from his men,

36
00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:15,000
though not as high as the centurion, but getting there.

37
00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:24,000
You know, for someone of this status to be rattled to the point of taking action, this is no small feat.

38
00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:30,000
You know, modern military, you get troops who haven't deployed before, the slightest sound or alarm has them all jumpy, right?

39
00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:37,000
However, for those that have been in the field for a while or redeploying back to it, not to downplay it,

40
00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:43,000
but at a certain point it's no big thing, it's just another day in the life, right?

41
00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:47,000
Nothing to get worked up over.

42
00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:53,000
And they'll sleep through the various alarms like a baby. They only wake up for certain things.

43
00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:57,000
And when they do need to move, they move like it's just another day.

44
00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:00,000
It's like, okay, let's do this. Right?

45
00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,000
The commander here, he's the latter of the two.

46
00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:16,000
At this point, he's on high alert, which is showing things have gotten serious, so much so that he has to take action.

47
00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:23,000
Now, for Paul, the situation is going to get a little bit worse, right?

48
00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:25,000
Verses 12 through 22.

49
00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:33,000
Paul learns that there's an ambush being set to kill him, that's being set up by the religious leaders,

50
00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:40,000
and that the Roman soldiers are going to be lied to in order to accomplish this.

51
00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:45,000
So he sends a messenger to tell the soldiers, what's up?

52
00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:55,000
And this is sent right up the chain of command to the centurion, and all the way up to his commander as a result.

53
00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:58,000
So this is a big deal, right?

54
00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:06,000
The Roman army, they didn't mess around, and to escalate things like this is a big deal.

55
00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:12,000
It's serious business. You know, 40 men were waiting to take Paul out, right?

56
00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:17,000
And in order to do so, they'd have had to have taken him from the soldiers that were escorting him.

57
00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:24,000
So most likely, they'd have killed the soldiers that Paul would have been with as well.

58
00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:26,000
So let me ask you this.

59
00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:33,000
How well do you think that would have gone over with the higher-ups?

60
00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:45,000
The last thing anyone serving wants is for something to happen to the troops they serve with.

61
00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:52,000
You ask anyone that served in the military, you ask anyone in law enforcement, EMS, fire, you know,

62
00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:57,000
depending on what kind of security certain people do, same thing there.

63
00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:04,000
However, they're being told at this point that that's exactly what's going to happen.

64
00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:11,000
You want to upset some lawyers who were trained and made a career in a vocation of violence?

65
00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:17,000
This is a fast way to do it. This is how you tick people off.

66
00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:21,000
The troops at this point are now on high alert.

67
00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:28,000
And I will tell you, when troops are on edge and assessing the area around them for immediate threats,

68
00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:32,000
things can escalate a whole lot quicker than you think.

69
00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:37,000
As far as they're concerned, it's already go time, baby. Let's do this, right?

70
00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:44,000
They're fired up. They're ready to go to it and do what they've been prepared to do.

71
00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:53,000
This is why the commander tells this kid not to say anything else to anyone.

72
00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:58,000
He doesn't want to tip off the would-be assassins for one,

73
00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:05,000
nor does he want his troops to hear something that could trigger hostilities

74
00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:11,000
while things could still be dealt with in another way.

75
00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,000
So keeping the peace, in other words, right?

76
00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:16,000
Something else to note here.

77
00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:21,000
Often, we like to think kids are just kids.

78
00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:24,000
The little, right? What do they know?

79
00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:33,000
We forget, especially in countries like ours, we forget just how valuable they can be as assets.

80
00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:36,000
Not just in the military, but in the civilian world.

81
00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:39,000
I'll give you an example from when I was still in law enforcement.

82
00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:43,000
I can remember early on in my career at that point,

83
00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:50,000
I was being told, and I'm trying to put this in terms that are easy for everyone to understand.

84
00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:53,000
Basically, our pre-shift briefings, right?

85
00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:59,000
The beginning of shift, you'd go into a room, you'd have a briefing, this is what went on, da-da-da, so on and so forth.

86
00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:04,000
But our sergeant would be there and he'd say,

87
00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:09,000
don't sit in your cars waiting for something to happen.

88
00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:18,000
Get out of them, walk around, be proactive, and get to know the people in your area.

89
00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:24,000
Now, he was absolutely correct, and there's a reason for this.

90
00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:30,000
Unfortunately, we don't get to see this a lot in policing today.

91
00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:37,000
The world's changed, unfortunately. The way policing itself has done has changed.

92
00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:41,000
At some point, we still see this, but not as much as we used to.

93
00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:45,000
But when you get out there and you start talking to people,

94
00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:49,000
you get to know them, and they get to know you, they know what you're about,

95
00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,000
and they know that they can trust you.

96
00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:57,000
They're no longer seeing the badge, they're no longer seeing that shield, they're seeing you.

97
00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:03,000
And when they hear things or they see things, you know, or even when the rumor mills kicked up,

98
00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:06,000
they tell you about it.

99
00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:12,000
And youth are a great source of intel.

100
00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:21,000
And this child just happened to be in the right place and knew who he could speak to.

101
00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:29,000
So to say the least, he was instrumental in saving his Uncle Paul's life.

102
00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:32,000
The Lord definitely knew what he was doing there.

103
00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:35,000
Our children, they're important.

104
00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:40,000
They are important, and we are remiss when we forget this.

105
00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:44,000
Matthew 18, verses 2 through 6, the word says,

106
00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:51,000
He called a little child to him and placed a child among them, and he said,

107
00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:58,000
Truly, I tell you, unless you change and become like little children,

108
00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:01,000
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

109
00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:09,000
Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of a child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven,

110
00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:14,000
and whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

111
00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:24,000
If anyone causes one of these little ones, those who believe in me, to stumble,

112
00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:29,000
it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck

113
00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:33,000
and be drowned in the depths of the sea.

114
00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:38,000
Being that they're this important to God, you better believe

115
00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:41,000
they'd better be important to us.

116
00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:45,000
It's talking like it'd be better for them to be drowned like this,

117
00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:47,000
just for causing a child to stumble.

118
00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:50,000
Imagine, something worse, what the punishment is?

119
00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:53,000
Oh my goodness, no.

120
00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:57,000
Like I say, you need to believe that our children are important to us.

121
00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:04,000
And for those of you who have strained or even non-existent relationships with your children,

122
00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:10,000
this is your call to do everything you can to address those issues.

123
00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:17,000
Now, we won't always agree with the things that our youth do,

124
00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:20,000
but then again, our elders didn't always get us either.

125
00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:25,000
They didn't always agree and still don't agree with everything that we do.

126
00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:29,000
This is to be expected.

127
00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:35,000
However, they are the future, as are each generation that comes

128
00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:38,000
until Jesus returns and calls us all home.

129
00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:45,000
So we need to ensure that they know the Lord, that they know the Word,

130
00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:49,000
and how much they are loved by Him,

131
00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:53,000
that they know about having a relationship with Him

132
00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:58,000
and are guided so that they can come into that relationship.

133
00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:01,000
There's no price that can be put on this.

134
00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:05,000
This is one of our greatest missions in life.

135
00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:07,000
I digress here.

136
00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:13,000
Picking back up our reading Acts 23 verses 23 through 24.

137
00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:17,000
So that's Acts 23 verses 23 and 24.

138
00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:19,000
The Word says,

139
00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:22,000
Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them,

140
00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:28,000
Get a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen,

141
00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:31,000
to go to Caesarea at nine tonight.

142
00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:38,000
Provide horses for Paul, so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.

143
00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:43,000
Wow.

144
00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:48,000
So, safety measures have been deployed.

145
00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:59,000
Not one, but two centurions were sent under the cover of darkness

146
00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:11,000
in force to extract a Roman citizen and escort him to the safety of Caesarea.

147
00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:18,000
This is how highly born citizens were regarded.

148
00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:25,000
They were doing everything they could to ensure the safety of Paul and their soldiers.

149
00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:34,000
But just in case, they're ready to go to battle within the city if need be.

150
00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:38,000
To go to war, right?

151
00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:48,000
And this is how God feels about each and every one of us as his children.

152
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:52,000
It's interesting to note that while they were in Jerusalem,

153
00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:56,000
which was the Jewish government hub,

154
00:14:56,000 --> 00:15:00,000
you know, that's where the Jewish government resided,

155
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:04,000
they went in and they extracted Paul to Caesarea.

156
00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:11,000
Now, Caesarea is important because that is where the Roman headquarters

157
00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:14,000
for the area was located, all right?

158
00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:18,000
So, today it'd be like pulling somebody out of Washington, D.C.

159
00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,000
and then securing them in the Pentagon.

160
00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:23,000
Are you seeing the gravity of this yet?

161
00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:29,000
Of all the ways that God could have interceded on Paul's behalf,

162
00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:32,000
he sent an army to take care of him.

163
00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:43,000
Not one, but two centurions and a whole lot more.

164
00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:46,000
So now you know what's picked up.

165
00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:50,000
You don't just have one, but you have two with extra forces.

166
00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:58,000
They have backup, they have reinforcements, the whole nine yards.

167
00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:03,000
All right, continuing on in Acts 23 verses 25 through 30 now, the word says,

168
00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:06,000
He wrote a letter as follows,

169
00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:13,000
Claudius Lysius, to his excellency, Governor Felix, greetings.

170
00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:17,000
This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him,

171
00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,000
but I came with my troops and rescued him,

172
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:26,000
for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen.

173
00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:30,000
I wanted to know why they were accusing him,

174
00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:34,000
so I brought him to their Sanhedrin.

175
00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:40,000
I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law,

176
00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:47,000
but there was no charge against him that deserved death or even imprisonment.

177
00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:51,000
When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man,

178
00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:54,000
I sent him to you at once.

179
00:16:54,000 --> 00:17:04,000
I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.

180
00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:10,000
So a flag's been thrown on the play and a foul has been called.

181
00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:15,000
A quick and concise summary has been made.

182
00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:23,000
A Roman citizen with no charges against him had to be pulled from a lynch mob.

183
00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:28,000
So now, not only is Paul being extracted and sent to a safe zone,

184
00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:37,000
but his accusers have also been summoned to give account for all the shenanigans that have been ongoing.

185
00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:40,000
So say, hey, you know what, you wanted to do this,

186
00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:46,000
but now you've got to stand tall before the man and you've got to answer.

187
00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:52,000
Now, I'll remind you, everything that's going on up to this point has been absolute chaos.

188
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:57,000
A lot of heated things happening.

189
00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:02,000
I'll remind you that God is a God of peace and order.

190
00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:04,000
Peace and order.

191
00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:09,000
1 Corinthians chapter 14 verse 33, the word says,

192
00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:14,000
For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace,

193
00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:19,000
as in all the congregations of the Lord's people.

194
00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:24,000
And he has provided Paul with just that blanket of comfort here, right?

195
00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:28,000
A situation that started off as just another humdrum day to most,

196
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:39,000
escalated to the point of reacting in force to ensure the safety, order, and discipline of the area was being maintained.

197
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:47,000
God used men, the Roman soldiers, all the way through the centurions,

198
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:58,000
who were viewed as worthless, not worthless, but ruthless warriors to protect his sheep, as we're seeing.

199
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:06,000
Now, under normal circumstances, the Jews were allowed to govern themselves.

200
00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:11,000
And if Paul hadn't been a Roman citizen, guess what? He probably would have died pretty quick there.

201
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:19,000
However, it was the governor who was in charge of the army and maintaining the peace.

202
00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:21,000
So we're going into the homestretch here, everyone.

203
00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:26,000
So let's go back to Acts 23. We're looking at verses 31 through 35 now.

204
00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:31,000
So that's Acts 23 verses 31 through 35.

205
00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:34,000
And the word says,

206
00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:42,000
So the soldiers carrying out their orders took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipateris.

207
00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:48,000
The next day, they let the cavalry go on with them while they returned to the barracks.

208
00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:57,000
When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him.

209
00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:03,000
The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from.

210
00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:08,000
Learning that he was from Cilicia, he said,

211
00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:12,000
I will hear your case when your accusers get here.

212
00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:17,000
And then ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod's palace.

213
00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:23,000
Seeing this, some might say Paul was a made man.

214
00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:28,000
And to a certain degree, they'd be right. You know, he knew people, right?

215
00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:38,000
He's escorted under heavy guard, you know, just this massive detail that most couldn't even fathom, let alone, you know, they're seeing this happen.

216
00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:45,000
It's like, holy moly, right? And then not only that, but he was kept under guard.

217
00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:53,000
Essentially, he had his own security detail assigned to him. So why? Why keep security around him at this point?

218
00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:59,000
Well, think of this way. The Jews were set to kill a man without charges, really without cause, other than they were just angry with him.

219
00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:05,000
They didn't like what he was saying, right? He had offended them.

220
00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:14,000
Gee, that sounds familiar today, doesn't it? You know, not only that, but they're looking to take out a Roman citizen.

221
00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:19,000
They were willing to take him from the soldiers that were escorting him.

222
00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:32,000
And they were enraged and willing to ask in haste. It was a hot situation. It was a hostile situation, something that would have been viewed as an act of war against Rome, against the Romans.

223
00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:45,000
Meanwhile, the Romans were doing everything they could to de-escalate things, to de-escalate the situation and maintain the peace.

224
00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:56,000
The Roman soldiers who were the so-called ruthless conquerors, they were the ones that were actually doing the right thing and securing Paul, showing compassion, showing mercy.

225
00:21:56,000 --> 00:22:03,000
Not the first time an occupying military force has been viewed this way, either, you know, is it? Nor is it the last.

226
00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:23,000
You know, Romans, they weren't leaving anything to chance here. They were doing everything possible to calm the fire of the Jews while ensuring the right thing was being done for the right reason.

227
00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:34,000
You know, there's so many things in our lives that we become complacent with. We start looking for shortcuts, ways around things, ways to get out of things.

228
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:46,000
You know, we try to justify our actions in our own heads. You know, even little things, things like speeding or not stopping for a school bus, a stop arm, you know, budging headcounts, skipping a medicine count.

229
00:22:46,000 --> 00:23:03,000
You know, dozens of little things every day in every person, in everyone's lives. You know, I don't care if you're a stay at home, you know, mom or husband or whatever, everyone, in everyone's lives.

230
00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:17,000
But, you know, things are in place for a reason. Rules are made for a reason. Things that typically aren't going to cause harm, but, you know, there's that one time where it does.

231
00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:26,000
Now, it's never wrong to ask why. Why do I have to do this like this? What's going on? Why do I even need to do this? The whys are important, right?

232
00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:35,000
We need to know the whys of things. However, it's more important to follow the standards that are set even when we don't agree with them.

233
00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:51,000
Because what might be menial one day could be huge on another day. Absolutely huge.

234
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:59,000
You know, it's those things that we do where it's like, ah, it's never going to happen to me, all the way up to the point that it does.

235
00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:08,000
See, what we need to remember is at the end of the day, it comes down to service, your service, my service, all of us, our service.

236
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:18,000
See, God's not only interested in how you serve Him, but why you do it.

237
00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:29,000
Colossians chapter three verses 23 through 24, the word tells us, whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for human masters.

238
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:39,000
Since you know, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward, it is the Lord Christ you are serving.

239
00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:51,000
And in second Corinthians chapter nine, verse seven, the word says, each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion for God loves a cheerful giver.

240
00:24:51,000 --> 00:25:02,000
And finally, in Matthew six, verse 21, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

241
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:09,000
It's not about what you have or what you will get.

242
00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:15,000
What the word's telling us here is, you know, well, it's already told us our rewards are stored in heaven.

243
00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:18,000
In heaven, not here, in heaven.

244
00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:28,000
And when we work, when we give, when we serve, all of these things, it's all to be done in the love of Jesus.

245
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:39,000
If you're just doing something simply because you've been told, oh, you have to do it, it's a command, you have to do it.

246
00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:45,000
And especially, you know, you're doing it under duress, this is why it's saying don't do it under compulsion.

247
00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:53,000
Guess what? When you're doing it simply because you've been told you have to, you've neutralized what you've done.

248
00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:55,000
You've castrated it.

249
00:25:55,000 --> 00:26:05,000
God only wants what we give him willingly, willingly, with a happy heart, with a joyful heart.

250
00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:13,000
You know, it's like, hey, you know, I got this. I want to do this. I want to give this.

251
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:21,000
Anything less is legalistic and worthless in the eyes of the Lord.

252
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:27,000
Our actions, every single one of them, need to be done in love.

253
00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:33,000
And not just in love, but in love of him, in love of Jesus.

254
00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:41,000
So make do with what you have. Do the best thing that you can with what you have.

255
00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:45,000
Without expectation of receiving anything.

256
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:48,000
Be bold.

257
00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:51,000
Adapt and overcome.

258
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:57,000
Because God will bring you through to the other side.

259
00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:03,000
Do the right thing for the right reason and do so in the love of Jesus.

260
00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:06,000
That is where your focus should be.

261
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:17,000
Especially when you're questioning what's going on in the world around you and what you need to do, why you need to do it.

262
00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:22,000
Alright, that's our time for today. Remember, you are loved and you are blessed.

263
00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:25,000
Now go and be the church.

264
00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:30,000
Thank you all for joining us here today at Healing Scars with Pastor Burton.

265
00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:37,000
Please like, subscribe and share our podcast on any platform it is that you tune into us on.

266
00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:44,000
If you do have any questions, any prayer requests, or would like to know more about our ministry,

267
00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:54,000
you can find us on our website at BeTheLightSanctuary.org or on Facebook at BeTheLightSanctuary.

268
00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:59,000
You can also find how to contact us there, whether it's direct message or email.

269
00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:14,000
We look forward to hearing from you all. God bless.