WEBVTT 00:00:01.229 --> 00:00:03.950 Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton, 00:00:04.129 --> 00:00:07.269 the official podcast of Cross Christian Fellowship, 00:00:07.290 --> 00:00:10.769 Route 66, in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico, 00:00:10.990 --> 00:00:14.150 where Burton is the lead pastor. We're glad you're 00:00:14.150 --> 00:00:20.170 here. Hey everybody, welcome back to the sanctuary. 00:00:20.230 --> 00:00:22.879 It's great to have you with us as always. Now, 00:00:22.899 --> 00:00:25.179 the past couple of weeks, we've gone through 00:00:25.179 --> 00:00:29.179 2 Corinthians chapter 3, and, you know, we really 00:00:29.179 --> 00:00:32.159 broke it down. And this week, we're actually 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:34.140 going to continue forward, and we're going to 00:00:34.140 --> 00:00:38.600 go into chapter 4, as we look at our duty as 00:00:38.600 --> 00:00:42.159 Christians to preach on the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:45.759 Now, we're not going to get through the whole 00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:48.259 chapter today, and really, as you see, I'm going 00:00:48.259 --> 00:00:51.759 to be compressing a lot because we could spend 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:54.399 a few weeks unraveling everything here. So when 00:00:54.399 --> 00:00:57.679 we're done, as always, I want to encourage each 00:00:57.679 --> 00:01:00.219 and every single one of you to go back, read 00:01:00.219 --> 00:01:03.780 through this passage, and continue to study this 00:01:03.780 --> 00:01:07.200 scripture. So with that, we're going to go ahead, 00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:09.540 we're going to open our Bibles, and we're going 00:01:09.540 --> 00:01:12.379 to get right into it. So let's go ahead and open 00:01:12.379 --> 00:01:14.540 our Bibles, your Bible apps, whatever it is that 00:01:14.540 --> 00:01:22.790 you use, to 2 Corinthians 5. Chapter 4. Alright, 00:01:22.890 --> 00:01:25.989 so 2 Corinthians chapter 4, we're going to go 00:01:25.989 --> 00:01:29.709 right to the beginning, right there at verse 00:01:29.709 --> 00:01:31.290 1. We're actually going to be looking at verses 00:01:31.290 --> 00:01:34.049 1 through 6. Alright, so 2 Corinthians chapter 00:01:34.049 --> 00:01:38.909 4, verses 1 through 6, and the word says, Therefore, 00:01:39.090 --> 00:01:43.969 since we have this ministry as we have received 00:01:43.969 --> 00:01:48.640 mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:52.099 the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, 00:01:52.239 --> 00:01:56.120 nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but 00:01:56.120 --> 00:02:00.340 by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves 00:02:00.340 --> 00:02:04.920 to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 00:02:06.040 --> 00:02:13.259 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled 00:02:13.259 --> 00:02:18.129 to those who are perishing. whose minds the God 00:02:18.129 --> 00:02:21.810 of this age has blinded, who do not believe, 00:02:22.189 --> 00:02:27.289 lest the light of the gospel of the glory of 00:02:27.289 --> 00:02:31.050 Christ, who is the image of God, should shine 00:02:31.050 --> 00:02:37.229 on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but... 00:02:38.219 --> 00:02:43.319 Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants 00:02:43.319 --> 00:02:48.400 for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who commanded 00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:51.460 light to shine out of darkness, who has shown 00:02:51.460 --> 00:02:56.580 in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge 00:02:56.580 --> 00:03:00.439 of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 00:03:01.780 --> 00:03:05.520 So we start off with the word, therefore. So 00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:08.400 I want to remind you, anytime that we see this 00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:11.479 word in the Bible, it's a reminder that we're 00:03:11.479 --> 00:03:14.120 not to forget the things that we've already learned, 00:03:14.219 --> 00:03:17.479 the preceding passages and whatnot. Because what 00:03:17.479 --> 00:03:19.719 we're about to go into, what you're about to 00:03:19.719 --> 00:03:22.960 read, what you're about to hear, it's all connected 00:03:22.960 --> 00:03:25.259 to what you've already learned. So keep that 00:03:25.259 --> 00:03:29.520 in mind, especially what we've gone through the 00:03:29.520 --> 00:03:32.099 last couple weeks. Because it's all going to 00:03:32.099 --> 00:03:34.020 be connected, and it's that connection that helps 00:03:34.020 --> 00:03:37.960 to give context to what we're reading now. And 00:03:37.960 --> 00:03:40.939 as you're going to see, context, of course, without 00:03:40.939 --> 00:03:47.060 saying, is extremely important, especially as 00:03:47.060 --> 00:03:56.219 it pertains to Scripture. So, we're going to 00:03:56.219 --> 00:04:01.909 see that starting in the second verse, Paul condemns 00:04:01.909 --> 00:04:05.849 those who twist God's word. Preachers, teachers, 00:04:06.050 --> 00:04:09.870 radio and TV personalities, everybody and anybody 00:04:09.870 --> 00:04:14.729 who speaks about Jesus. All of us. We need to 00:04:14.729 --> 00:04:19.069 remember that we need to ensure that we are taking 00:04:19.069 --> 00:04:24.269 steps to fully know and truly understand what 00:04:24.269 --> 00:04:27.850 we are talking about. This is really important 00:04:27.850 --> 00:04:31.170 because there are way too many people who stand 00:04:31.170 --> 00:04:34.069 in pulpits and other places of esteem twisting 00:04:34.069 --> 00:04:38.709 Scripture as a motivational tool, or more appropriately, 00:04:38.949 --> 00:04:44.810 to manipulate and please their audiences. So, 00:04:44.930 --> 00:04:48.910 in fact, if we turn back and we go to 2 Timothy 00:04:48.910 --> 00:04:55.589 2, verses 14 -16, the Word says, Remind them 00:04:55.589 --> 00:05:00.769 of these things, charging them before the Lord 00:05:00.769 --> 00:05:05.410 not to strive about words to no profit, to the 00:05:05.410 --> 00:05:09.769 ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to prove yourself 00:05:09.769 --> 00:05:15.410 approved to God, a worker who does not need to 00:05:15.410 --> 00:05:19.500 be ashamed. rightly dividing the word of truth, 00:05:19.660 --> 00:05:24.240 but shun profane and idle babblings, for they 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:28.139 will increase to more ungodliness. You know, 00:05:28.139 --> 00:05:33.459 so we have, let me make it clear, we have a responsibility, 00:05:33.500 --> 00:05:38.139 especially given the invaluable tool that we're 00:05:38.139 --> 00:05:40.019 all equipped with. And of course, that tool being 00:05:40.019 --> 00:05:43.759 the Bible, the Word of God, you know, to study, 00:05:43.939 --> 00:05:47.420 to learn, to grow, and ensure that we properly 00:05:47.420 --> 00:05:51.439 know and understand what God has spoken to us 00:05:51.439 --> 00:05:53.480 in it. And there is a distinct difference between 00:05:53.480 --> 00:05:57.480 knowing and understanding. And we need both of 00:05:57.480 --> 00:06:00.660 these things in order to fight the cancer that 00:06:00.660 --> 00:06:02.839 has been poured out into the world, you know, 00:06:02.839 --> 00:06:05.759 that is poor theology and poor teaching and the 00:06:05.759 --> 00:06:09.069 sharing of the Word. Out of context. Remember 00:06:09.069 --> 00:06:12.709 how Satan used it when he tempted Jesus. When 00:06:12.709 --> 00:06:15.550 Jesus was in the wilderness, he twisted the word. 00:06:16.089 --> 00:06:19.250 And how did Jesus rebuke him? Well, he takes 00:06:19.250 --> 00:06:22.370 the word in its full context and throws it back 00:06:22.370 --> 00:06:25.569 at him to rebuke him. And that's why it's so 00:06:25.569 --> 00:06:29.189 important that you don't take my word or another 00:06:29.189 --> 00:06:31.870 person's word or anybody's word for that matter 00:06:31.870 --> 00:06:35.209 in regards to what the Bible says. You have to 00:06:35.209 --> 00:06:38.230 read it and study it for yourself. You have to 00:06:38.230 --> 00:06:40.769 pray on it and ask God for clarity. And I know 00:06:40.769 --> 00:06:42.709 I've said this before and I will say it again. 00:06:43.149 --> 00:06:46.810 Because this way, when we do hear something that's 00:06:46.810 --> 00:06:51.170 not right, we know how to respond. Because even 00:06:51.170 --> 00:06:53.410 if you don't know the exact wording of things, 00:06:53.589 --> 00:06:58.930 if you know it and you understand it, you know 00:06:58.930 --> 00:07:01.490 when you're being lied to. You know when you're 00:07:01.490 --> 00:07:06.250 hearing it and it's just not quite right. And 00:07:06.250 --> 00:07:09.110 so you know something's off. So coming back to 00:07:09.110 --> 00:07:15.790 our passage in 2 Corinthians 4, the gospel's 00:07:15.790 --> 00:07:20.060 open. And it's easily accessible. to everyone, 00:07:20.279 --> 00:07:24.060 right? It's not put out there for just a select 00:07:24.060 --> 00:07:27.360 few. It's not out there for just those who have 00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:30.040 been educated in certain places and hold special 00:07:30.040 --> 00:07:32.720 degrees and special titles or any of that nonsense. 00:07:33.100 --> 00:07:35.339 It's right there. The Word of God is right there 00:07:35.339 --> 00:07:39.920 for anyone and everyone to see and to hear the 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:44.980 Word of God. And it is revealed to all with the 00:07:44.980 --> 00:07:51.189 exception of those who refuse. To believe. And 00:07:51.189 --> 00:07:54.709 Satan is hard at work to ensure that we don't 00:07:54.709 --> 00:08:00.310 want to believe. Matter of fact, let's flip back 00:08:00.310 --> 00:08:02.810 a little bit here to 2 Corinthians chapter 11, 00:08:03.029 --> 00:08:06.910 matter of fact. 2 Corinthians chapter 11. Hold 00:08:06.910 --> 00:08:09.509 on a second, let me flip through it here. Usually 00:08:09.509 --> 00:08:11.009 I have this written in my notes and I don't right 00:08:11.009 --> 00:08:18.569 now, so give me a second. Okay, here we go. 2 00:08:18.569 --> 00:08:24.629 Corinthians 11, verses 14 through 15. The word 00:08:24.629 --> 00:08:29.029 says, And no wonder, for Satan himself transforms 00:08:29.029 --> 00:08:33.830 himself into an angel of light. Therefore, it 00:08:33.830 --> 00:08:38.779 is no... Great thing if his ministers also transform 00:08:38.779 --> 00:08:42.440 themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose 00:08:42.440 --> 00:08:48.659 end will be according to their works. The Bible 00:08:48.659 --> 00:08:51.379 right here, it's telling us Satan and his ministers, 00:08:51.480 --> 00:08:54.779 those fallen angels, the demons, those people 00:08:54.779 --> 00:09:00.419 in his army, they pose as men of light, men of 00:09:00.419 --> 00:09:04.200 righteousness. They pose as people in authority. 00:09:04.519 --> 00:09:07.919 But the reality is that they are actually hard 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:11.460 at work to blind and deceive you using various 00:09:11.460 --> 00:09:15.080 temptations, as the word says, to tickle your 00:09:15.080 --> 00:09:19.159 ears. They like to use these tools. And anytime 00:09:19.159 --> 00:09:21.299 that you hear these things, these are red flags 00:09:21.299 --> 00:09:24.299 that you need to be very, very careful of, all 00:09:24.299 --> 00:09:26.399 right? Because they like to talk about, you know, 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:29.580 health and wealth and power, you know, and all 00:09:29.580 --> 00:09:32.419 these various other pleasures to blind you to 00:09:32.419 --> 00:09:35.980 the true word of God. You know, they love the 00:09:35.980 --> 00:09:38.659 show. They love the limelight. They love the 00:09:38.659 --> 00:09:41.679 money, everything that's laid out, you know, 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:45.379 from the time that you enter. to that building 00:09:45.379 --> 00:09:48.820 from the paint on the walls to the way lights 00:09:48.820 --> 00:09:52.820 are on and the types of lights and all that kind 00:09:52.820 --> 00:09:55.480 of stuff. It's all there to manipulate you and 00:09:55.480 --> 00:10:02.779 your mood. Even the furniture. Most of the time 00:10:02.779 --> 00:10:04.120 you go in these places and you'll notice that 00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:09.250 there's a theme. Even music and lighting. that 00:10:09.250 --> 00:10:13.690 goes with the music on stage. Sometimes all the 00:10:13.690 --> 00:10:16.169 way down to the color scheme of the clothing 00:10:16.169 --> 00:10:19.870 that people are wearing. All these things can 00:10:19.870 --> 00:10:25.110 be and often are meticulously laid out to be 00:10:25.110 --> 00:10:28.029 the best show that they can put on. And they 00:10:28.029 --> 00:10:30.370 want to put on this wonderful show because they 00:10:30.370 --> 00:10:33.269 don't want you to just be a spectator. But they 00:10:33.269 --> 00:10:35.549 want you to be a part of it as you're sitting 00:10:35.549 --> 00:10:37.850 there in the audience. And that way you get wrapped 00:10:37.850 --> 00:10:41.690 up in the charisma and the display and all the 00:10:41.690 --> 00:10:43.610 pomp and the circumstance and all that stuff. 00:10:43.799 --> 00:10:46.840 stuff that's just being put on you know the enemy's 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:50.600 crafting he's had centuries to perfect and hone 00:10:50.600 --> 00:10:53.679 this craft you know there's even schools out 00:10:53.679 --> 00:10:56.340 there and you don't take my word for it you can 00:10:56.340 --> 00:10:59.220 look this up for yourself there there are schools 00:10:59.220 --> 00:11:03.500 out there and they actually go to great lengths 00:11:03.500 --> 00:11:06.220 to teach people how to do this stuff and it's 00:11:06.220 --> 00:11:08.500 not just for shows there's even you know what 00:11:08.500 --> 00:11:12.350 they'll call spiritual schools, not so much the 00:11:12.350 --> 00:11:15.110 seminary, but schools where people can go to 00:11:15.110 --> 00:11:17.990 and they learn about how to craft a set list 00:11:17.990 --> 00:11:20.509 and basically string along certain types of songs 00:11:20.509 --> 00:11:23.009 going from the slow to the fast and the high 00:11:23.009 --> 00:11:25.350 energy and the low energy and the lighting on 00:11:25.350 --> 00:11:28.409 the walls and all that kind of stuff. It's a 00:11:28.409 --> 00:11:31.169 whole thing that's aimed at mood manipulation 00:11:31.169 --> 00:11:34.029 and bringing somebody along in through the show. 00:11:34.529 --> 00:11:39.570 It is a huge thing out there. And this is why 00:11:39.570 --> 00:11:44.850 when Paul preaches, he points to Jesus and not 00:11:44.850 --> 00:11:49.590 to himself. This is why when we tell people of 00:11:49.590 --> 00:11:51.850 Jesus, we need to make sure that we tell them 00:11:51.850 --> 00:11:56.490 of what he's done. Not our abilities, not our 00:11:56.490 --> 00:11:59.549 accomplishments and our awards and all that kind 00:11:59.549 --> 00:12:03.789 of stuff. Because it's not about us. It is about 00:12:03.789 --> 00:12:09.309 Jesus and his glory. and introducing people to 00:12:09.309 --> 00:12:13.450 Him. It's about what He's done, what He's doing, 00:12:13.649 --> 00:12:18.629 what He's going to do. The greatest of all time, 00:12:18.830 --> 00:12:22.830 the GOAT, and His love for each and every one 00:12:22.830 --> 00:12:24.409 of us. We like to throw that term out there, 00:12:24.429 --> 00:12:26.769 the GOAT, the GOAT this, the GOAT that. Jesus 00:12:26.769 --> 00:12:28.789 is the ultimate GOAT. He is the ultimate greatest 00:12:28.789 --> 00:12:32.769 of all time. Period. Nobody compares to him. 00:12:33.129 --> 00:12:36.330 Nobody. And for anybody to be out there to be 00:12:36.330 --> 00:12:39.360 like, oh, no, this is, no. That's idolatry. Stop 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:42.740 doing that. The fact is, Jesus is the one. He 00:12:42.740 --> 00:12:45.080 went out and took our sins. He went to the cross. 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:48.299 He died. He rose from the dead, and he ascended 00:12:48.299 --> 00:12:50.820 into heaven and is going to return again for 00:12:50.820 --> 00:12:53.679 all believers, for everyone in the body of Christ, 00:12:53.740 --> 00:12:58.220 for his bride. The hope that comes from him, 00:12:58.539 --> 00:13:02.399 that as long as someone is still here, there's 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:07.330 still hope for them to be saved. Because we do. 00:13:07.389 --> 00:13:09.509 We want them to be saved. We want them to be 00:13:09.509 --> 00:13:13.370 reborn as a new creation in Him. The limelight 00:13:13.370 --> 00:13:16.070 should not be on any of us. It should always 00:13:16.070 --> 00:13:19.149 be directed to Jesus. We should always be pointing 00:13:19.149 --> 00:13:21.690 the way to Jesus and His kingdom and anything 00:13:21.690 --> 00:13:27.269 and everything that we do. Period. The good times, 00:13:27.350 --> 00:13:31.269 the hard times, all that kind of stuff. Here's 00:13:31.269 --> 00:13:33.629 a great example. You look at sports. It's like, 00:13:33.669 --> 00:13:35.750 oh, you just won the championship. And they're 00:13:35.750 --> 00:13:38.070 like, oh, praise Jesus, praise Jesus. But then 00:13:38.070 --> 00:13:40.110 they go and they interview the people who lost. 00:13:40.909 --> 00:13:43.830 How often do you ever see them bring it back 00:13:43.830 --> 00:13:49.090 to Jesus? Ah, says something right there, doesn't 00:13:49.090 --> 00:13:53.679 it? It's one of those moments where, you know, 00:13:53.679 --> 00:13:56.080 coming back into our scripture before I go down 00:13:56.080 --> 00:13:57.820 another rabbit trail, you know, it's, you know, 00:13:57.840 --> 00:14:02.059 whoa, whoa, whoa. I really feel for those who 00:14:02.059 --> 00:14:06.320 speak for personal gain and personal power, twisting 00:14:06.320 --> 00:14:10.500 that gospel and blinding, you know, blindingly 00:14:10.500 --> 00:14:14.700 following Satan, you know, and the fallen into... 00:14:16.200 --> 00:14:19.960 basically just leading people with them down 00:14:19.960 --> 00:14:25.000 a path to eternal damnation. Don't speak out 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:27.639 of turn. Make sure you know the context and that 00:14:27.639 --> 00:14:29.399 you truly understand what it is that you're talking 00:14:29.399 --> 00:14:32.039 about, not just some garbage off of Facebook. 00:14:32.340 --> 00:14:36.539 Because every time you do talk about Jesus, every 00:14:36.539 --> 00:14:38.580 time you speak to someone about their faith, 00:14:38.679 --> 00:14:41.519 their religion, all that kind of stuff, you become 00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:46.580 a teacher. And because of that, Anytime that 00:14:46.580 --> 00:14:48.799 you're in those moments, you are a teacher, you 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:52.659 will be held to stricter judgment. Because you 00:14:52.659 --> 00:14:55.620 are seen as an authority. Matter of fact, we're 00:14:55.620 --> 00:15:00.399 warned about this in James 3, verse 1. So James 00:15:00.399 --> 00:15:04.779 3, verse 1, the word warns us. It says, My brethren, 00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:08.600 let not many of you become teachers, knowing 00:15:08.600 --> 00:15:14.220 that we shall receive a stricter judgment. This 00:15:14.220 --> 00:15:16.960 is not just for those people who are teachers 00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:20.759 in title. Because a lot of people say, oh, it 00:15:20.759 --> 00:15:23.600 is. No. Because I want you to think about this. 00:15:23.659 --> 00:15:27.639 Think hard. Every time you take on that mantle 00:15:27.639 --> 00:15:31.000 and you're trying to teach someone and explain 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:35.620 things to someone, you become a person of authority. 00:15:35.720 --> 00:15:40.120 And you are seen by those people as a person 00:15:40.120 --> 00:15:44.440 speaking from authority. And you want people 00:15:44.440 --> 00:15:46.919 to see you speaking as a person of authority. 00:15:47.159 --> 00:15:51.659 So every time you speak with the intent to educate, 00:15:52.059 --> 00:15:56.700 guess what? You are a de facto teacher. You have 00:15:56.700 --> 00:16:02.379 influence. So you better be speaking in love. 00:16:02.460 --> 00:16:06.919 You better be speaking in context every single 00:16:06.919 --> 00:16:12.789 time. This is one of those places. Where it is 00:16:12.789 --> 00:16:17.870 just absolutely paramount that you do your research 00:16:17.870 --> 00:16:22.970 and you don't leave things out. You don't sugarcoat 00:16:22.970 --> 00:16:30.149 anything. You have to lay it all out. Part of 00:16:30.149 --> 00:16:33.570 how Satan twists the word and manipulates people 00:16:33.570 --> 00:16:39.470 is by leaving things out. I started to hit on 00:16:39.470 --> 00:16:41.690 this a little earlier. Let's talk a little bit 00:16:41.690 --> 00:16:43.230 about the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. 00:16:44.769 --> 00:16:46.169 We're not going to read through it for time's 00:16:46.169 --> 00:16:49.230 sake. You can find it in the Synoptic Gospels. 00:16:49.230 --> 00:16:51.470 For those of you who don't know what the Synoptic 00:16:51.470 --> 00:16:53.730 Gospels are, that's Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 00:16:54.950 --> 00:16:57.789 So any of those three books, you will find the 00:16:57.789 --> 00:17:06.670 temptation. Read up. However, point being, when 00:17:06.670 --> 00:17:09.279 you have time, go back. And look at how Satan 00:17:09.279 --> 00:17:13.440 tested Jesus. I'm going to paraphrase. Basically, 00:17:13.480 --> 00:17:15.440 you know, comes out and says, oh, you're hungry? 00:17:16.339 --> 00:17:19.660 Turn those stones into bread. And if you throw 00:17:19.660 --> 00:17:21.460 yourself in this mountain, the angels will come 00:17:21.460 --> 00:17:24.539 and they'll protect you from harm. And what he 00:17:24.539 --> 00:17:27.579 does is he omits parts of the scripture. Now, 00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:31.259 he knows exactly what he says, yet he deliberately 00:17:31.259 --> 00:17:34.900 left parts out. You know, ignoring, just kind 00:17:34.900 --> 00:17:37.730 of pushed him to the side. And he did it. He 00:17:37.730 --> 00:17:40.910 did it in a way where it sounded good. There's 00:17:40.910 --> 00:17:45.210 enough there that it sounds really good. But 00:17:45.210 --> 00:17:47.490 when you know the scriptures, when you have a 00:17:47.490 --> 00:17:50.450 relationship with God, and you do your due diligence 00:17:50.450 --> 00:17:53.549 in learning the word, when you see this, when 00:17:53.549 --> 00:17:57.049 you hear this, you're like, ah, you know, something's 00:17:57.049 --> 00:18:00.029 not right. Even if you can't quite put your finger 00:18:00.029 --> 00:18:03.109 on it, you know something's not right. It's not 00:18:03.109 --> 00:18:07.339 jiving quite right. So we look to Jesus. And 00:18:07.339 --> 00:18:11.960 after each one of these tests, essentially, we 00:18:11.960 --> 00:18:17.299 see Jesus respond. Jesus rebukes him. He puts 00:18:17.299 --> 00:18:20.380 him in his place. He corrects him. And how does 00:18:20.380 --> 00:18:24.680 he do this? He does this with the full scripture 00:18:24.680 --> 00:18:30.579 in context. And basically, it's just a nice way 00:18:30.579 --> 00:18:34.220 of saying, nope, nice try. Close, but no cigar. 00:18:34.380 --> 00:18:39.460 Not today, Satan. Be gone. And Satan, he keeps 00:18:39.460 --> 00:18:42.640 coming after him. Thing after thing after thing. 00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:46.700 And in a final act of desperation, Satan outright 00:18:46.700 --> 00:18:51.680 lies and says, I'll give you all this. And in 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:56.119 return, you just have to worship me. As if he 00:18:56.119 --> 00:19:00.440 could just give the world to anybody. It's not 00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:03.140 his to give. Yeah, sure, he's the prince of the 00:19:03.140 --> 00:19:04.700 world. He can manipulate people. But you know 00:19:04.700 --> 00:19:07.789 what? He doesn't have control of the world. And 00:19:07.789 --> 00:19:10.529 Jesus rebukes him. And understandably, when you 00:19:10.529 --> 00:19:13.529 go into there and you read this, you'll see what 00:19:13.529 --> 00:19:16.049 I'm saying. He gets a little heated in his response, 00:19:16.130 --> 00:19:18.710 saying, you know, get out of here. We're here 00:19:18.710 --> 00:19:20.910 to worship God and God only. It's like he's saying, 00:19:21.009 --> 00:19:23.950 you better back off or else. Pow! To the moon! 00:19:24.309 --> 00:19:29.430 Satan! You know, be gone! Now, none of us is 00:19:29.430 --> 00:19:32.490 perfect. Not one, right? We're going to make 00:19:32.490 --> 00:19:36.319 mistakes. It happens. That's not what I'm talking 00:19:36.319 --> 00:19:39.539 about here. I'm talking about those who deliberately 00:19:39.539 --> 00:19:43.259 have selfish motivations to manipulate people 00:19:43.259 --> 00:19:47.359 in one way or the other. Those people who they 00:19:47.359 --> 00:19:50.700 hear things like, oh, this way, I heard it or 00:19:50.700 --> 00:19:52.299 whatever, and they don't actually look into it 00:19:52.299 --> 00:19:55.099 for themselves. They don't question it. That's 00:19:55.099 --> 00:19:57.680 one thing about the Bible is we need to be open. 00:19:59.540 --> 00:20:02.720 and understand going in. And if this is something, 00:20:02.839 --> 00:20:04.279 no matter where you're at in your walk, whether 00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:05.680 you're new or you've been there for decades, 00:20:05.940 --> 00:20:09.279 you have to be ready to read it and understand 00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:11.779 that, hey, some things that you may have heard 00:20:11.779 --> 00:20:15.400 in the past, completely wrong. And the Bible 00:20:15.400 --> 00:20:18.000 will open your eyes to it. It's one of those 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:19.920 things, it's one of those pitfalls where it's 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:22.359 like, well, that's what my daddy used to say 00:20:22.359 --> 00:20:24.920 and my grandpa would say and my great grandpa, 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:29.339 so it has to be, no. Because sometimes that's 00:20:29.339 --> 00:20:32.000 legalistic looking at it, and we can't be legalistic. 00:20:32.180 --> 00:20:34.759 Because sometimes something's misunderstood and 00:20:34.759 --> 00:20:38.759 it gets passed along out of context. And that's 00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:41.539 what I was saying about, guess what, you're a 00:20:41.539 --> 00:20:44.140 teacher. Because we look to those people who 00:20:44.140 --> 00:20:47.720 we... feel are a person that we can trust, people 00:20:47.720 --> 00:20:50.640 who are an authority and we look up to. So whether 00:20:50.640 --> 00:20:54.079 it's a parent or a doctor or an uncle or a friend 00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:56.359 or whatever, you're a teacher. So you have to 00:20:56.359 --> 00:20:58.759 understand, sometimes you're going to be reading 00:20:58.759 --> 00:21:00.019 the Bible, you're going to understand, you're 00:21:00.019 --> 00:21:03.380 like, oh, what I was taught wasn't right at all. 00:21:03.420 --> 00:21:07.440 So you have to be willing to change that belief 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:13.390 because God needs to come first. Not mommy, not 00:21:13.390 --> 00:21:18.970 daddy, not that prosperity preacher or Uncle 00:21:18.970 --> 00:21:22.869 Sam down the road or whoever else. People get 00:21:22.869 --> 00:21:24.990 things wrong. There are some people out there 00:21:24.990 --> 00:21:28.509 who deliberately twist things as well. So we 00:21:28.509 --> 00:21:30.549 have to be careful and we need to be ready for 00:21:30.549 --> 00:21:33.890 it. So like I said, I'm not talking about those 00:21:33.890 --> 00:21:38.029 people who make simple mistakes. We're talking 00:21:38.029 --> 00:21:40.019 about those people who... have those selfish 00:21:40.019 --> 00:21:42.319 motivations and are looking to manipulate others. 00:21:42.859 --> 00:21:46.519 We have to be careful because we have to make 00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:49.220 sure that we don't stop caring about the true 00:21:49.220 --> 00:21:52.839 context. Because that's what these people do. 00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:55.359 They stop caring about the true context and they 00:21:55.359 --> 00:21:58.259 start trying to manipulate the scripture to say 00:21:58.259 --> 00:22:01.740 the things that they want it to say. And some 00:22:01.740 --> 00:22:03.819 of us, we try to do the same thing. It's where 00:22:03.819 --> 00:22:06.299 we start going, oh, I'm just going to take this 00:22:06.299 --> 00:22:08.799 part and I'm going to add it to this part and 00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:12.099 I'm going to just make the narrative what I want 00:22:12.099 --> 00:22:14.759 it to be. And unfortunately, it doesn't work 00:22:14.759 --> 00:22:16.579 that way because then it becomes a lie. We need 00:22:16.579 --> 00:22:20.220 to see it all. The full thing. So that we can 00:22:20.220 --> 00:22:22.000 understand the full context. Because, of course, 00:22:22.019 --> 00:22:24.700 context is king. We've all heard this, right? 00:22:25.160 --> 00:22:28.140 And it's very important. This is paramount. So 00:22:28.140 --> 00:22:31.240 when we share the gospel with others, we need 00:22:31.240 --> 00:22:32.779 to make sure we're sharing all of it, not just 00:22:32.779 --> 00:22:38.619 a little piece. Listen, there are going to be 00:22:38.619 --> 00:22:41.359 parts that we're not always going to agree with, 00:22:41.400 --> 00:22:44.259 that are going to be painful, right? We're going 00:22:44.259 --> 00:22:46.480 to be like, wait, hold on a second. But what 00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:51.430 about, no. One of the things I used to say years 00:22:51.430 --> 00:22:53.569 and years ago when I worked in law enforcement 00:22:53.569 --> 00:22:57.630 is, hey, you know what? It's like, I don't make 00:22:57.630 --> 00:23:00.109 the rules. I don't make the laws. I have to enforce 00:23:00.109 --> 00:23:05.869 them. Period. And there are certain things that 00:23:05.869 --> 00:23:08.750 we don't agree with, even in the law. But that 00:23:08.750 --> 00:23:11.930 is the law, and we are obligated to follow it, 00:23:12.049 --> 00:23:16.289 right? So we don't get to omit anything. We don't 00:23:16.289 --> 00:23:19.579 get to just turn a blind eye. All right. And 00:23:19.579 --> 00:23:22.079 I've said, I know I've said this a lot today. 00:23:23.180 --> 00:23:24.759 You've heard me say this before. You're going 00:23:24.759 --> 00:23:27.359 to hear me say it again. You can do just as much 00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:29.220 through your inaction as you can through your 00:23:29.220 --> 00:23:35.000 actions. What you say and what you don't can 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:41.460 and will have a profound impact on others, especially 00:23:41.460 --> 00:23:45.240 when they look up to you and place you in a position 00:23:45.240 --> 00:23:50.910 of authority in their lives. Proverbs 18 verse 00:23:50.910 --> 00:23:56.609 21, the word says, Death and life are in the 00:23:56.609 --> 00:24:00.750 power of the tongue, and those who love it will 00:24:00.750 --> 00:24:04.670 eat its fruit. This is one of those places where 00:24:04.670 --> 00:24:08.569 people say words don't have power. But the word 00:24:08.569 --> 00:24:13.099 tells us otherwise. There's a lot of power. In 00:24:13.099 --> 00:24:15.259 words, there's a lot of power in the things we 00:24:15.259 --> 00:24:18.900 say and how we say them. If there wasn't, then 00:24:18.900 --> 00:24:22.500 bullying wouldn't be such a big deal. People 00:24:22.500 --> 00:24:24.460 wouldn't be able to say things that hurt your 00:24:24.460 --> 00:24:28.579 feelings. And it's not just the impact that you 00:24:28.579 --> 00:24:31.299 have on others, but the impact that your words 00:24:31.299 --> 00:24:37.180 will also have on your own life. Because self 00:24:37.180 --> 00:24:40.859 -talk is a thing as well. The words you speak 00:24:40.859 --> 00:24:45.299 matter. So we need to keep things in context 00:24:45.299 --> 00:24:48.940 when we speak to others. We need to speak in 00:24:48.940 --> 00:24:53.180 love and gentleness. We need to speak in understanding. 00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:57.440 We need to make sure that we are pointing the 00:24:57.440 --> 00:25:01.339 way to Christ and not ourselves. And sometimes 00:25:01.339 --> 00:25:07.859 it's going to be hard. So it's not enough that 00:25:07.859 --> 00:25:12.720 we answer the Great Commission. We have an obligation 00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:17.299 to do so properly and in accordance with God's 00:25:17.299 --> 00:25:21.079 will for each of us. We need to tell the truth, 00:25:21.339 --> 00:25:24.519 the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so 00:25:24.519 --> 00:25:30.839 help us God, because we will all be held accountable 00:25:30.839 --> 00:25:34.599 for what we teach, for every word that we utter, 00:25:34.740 --> 00:25:37.420 every word that we think, and our intention behind 00:25:37.420 --> 00:25:41.539 it. So let's make sure that what we're teaching 00:25:41.539 --> 00:25:45.960 is the same as what's been demonstrated through 00:25:45.960 --> 00:25:52.119 the love and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Remember, 00:25:52.299 --> 00:25:56.220 you are loved and you are blessed. Now go and 00:25:56.220 --> 00:26:22.900 be the church. Until next time, take care and 00:26:22.900 --> 00:26:23.759 God bless.