WEBVTT 00:00:01.250 --> 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 --> 00:00:17.929 here. As we get started, let's go ahead and go 00:00:17.929 --> 00:00:20.530 into prayer. I'm going to ask everybody to join 00:00:20.530 --> 00:00:25.489 me in the Lord's Prayer. As we start, Our Father, 00:00:25.589 --> 00:00:28.510 which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy 00:00:28.510 --> 00:00:46.119 kingdom come, thy will be done, Amen. A little 00:00:46.119 --> 00:00:47.859 different there. Remember a few weeks ago I said 00:00:47.859 --> 00:00:49.100 we have homework, and that was the homework. 00:00:49.320 --> 00:00:51.200 I encourage everybody, keep doing it. It is a 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:55.740 great way to start your day, all right? And happy 00:00:55.740 --> 00:00:58.219 news for some people. This week, we're actually 00:00:58.219 --> 00:01:02.140 going to bring this series to an end, all right? 00:01:02.219 --> 00:01:04.719 So our misquoted, sir, don't be so happy about 00:01:04.719 --> 00:01:09.359 that. The last few weeks, well, last five weeks, 00:01:09.540 --> 00:01:11.719 we've been working on our misquoted series, basically 00:01:11.719 --> 00:01:14.319 talking about how the Bible's taken out of context, 00:01:14.340 --> 00:01:17.620 some of our bigger passages, right? And it's 00:01:17.620 --> 00:01:20.180 good to know what these are. And of course, as 00:01:20.180 --> 00:01:22.579 always, as we finish up here and as everybody 00:01:22.579 --> 00:01:25.739 goes their ways, I encourage everybody to be 00:01:25.739 --> 00:01:27.719 like the Bereans. Study the word for yourself. 00:01:27.780 --> 00:01:30.599 Don't just take my word for it. But get into 00:01:30.599 --> 00:01:33.700 the scripture and discern it for yourself. Okay? 00:01:34.260 --> 00:01:37.000 Wow. Somebody out there is definitely rocking 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:41.099 in the street, aren't they? My goodness. So it's 00:01:41.099 --> 00:01:44.120 good to have everybody here. Some faces we've 00:01:44.120 --> 00:01:45.980 been missing for a few weeks are back, which 00:01:45.980 --> 00:01:48.120 is great. Welcome back. It's great to have you 00:01:48.120 --> 00:01:56.519 guys. We have a family here. What's that? Probably. 00:02:00.099 --> 00:02:03.159 Our lovely family that's usually been sitting 00:02:03.159 --> 00:02:05.140 over here for the last few weeks. Many of us 00:02:05.140 --> 00:02:07.920 have noticed they're not here. Tess and I have 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:09.219 already been praying over them. I'm going to 00:02:09.219 --> 00:02:10.840 encourage everybody to continue praying over 00:02:10.840 --> 00:02:14.039 them. When we finish with service and we move 00:02:14.039 --> 00:02:16.599 next door for our barbecue, let's pray for them 00:02:16.599 --> 00:02:21.460 as well. So James, Rose, and their kiddo, they're 00:02:21.460 --> 00:02:25.060 not here. Rose actually reached out to me just 00:02:25.060 --> 00:02:29.599 yesterday asking for prayer. She was having some 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:32.539 back issues. They were severe enough. She had 00:02:32.539 --> 00:02:35.270 to have her husband take her to the ER. And when 00:02:35.270 --> 00:02:37.050 they got there, I found out she's having some 00:02:37.050 --> 00:02:40.610 kidney issues. So very painful, not comfortable. 00:02:41.229 --> 00:02:44.189 So definitely let's keep a rose in prayer. And 00:02:44.189 --> 00:02:45.509 then, of course, the family, because as we all 00:02:45.509 --> 00:02:47.129 know, as we go through ailments and we have different 00:02:47.129 --> 00:02:49.710 things, it impacts our loved ones as well. All 00:02:49.710 --> 00:03:02.889 right. So. Okay. Perfect. So you may know that. 00:03:02.930 --> 00:03:04.819 All right. Well, we will definitely pray for 00:03:04.819 --> 00:03:09.620 him at the same time. Yes. Excellent. Yes. So 00:03:09.620 --> 00:03:12.719 when we wrap up and we go next door before we 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:15.000 eat and everything, let's pray over them as well. 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:21.860 Absolutely. All righty. So, all right. So we're 00:03:21.860 --> 00:03:24.219 going to jump right in today because I have a 00:03:24.219 --> 00:03:26.620 whole lot. And trust me when I say, well, I'm 00:03:26.620 --> 00:03:28.509 sure. You guys are already used to it. Now, I've 00:03:28.509 --> 00:03:30.930 done my best to condense this. I might get a 00:03:30.930 --> 00:03:32.789 little long -winded today, and I apologize in 00:03:32.789 --> 00:03:35.009 advance if that's the case, because I promise 00:03:35.009 --> 00:03:36.830 you I'm not trying to create a hostage situation. 00:03:38.909 --> 00:03:41.930 But this topic in particular, there's really 00:03:41.930 --> 00:03:45.590 a lot with it. So let's open up our books, our 00:03:45.590 --> 00:03:52.629 Bibles, our apps, to James 3. So James 3, and 00:03:52.629 --> 00:03:54.909 we're going to be looking through verses 1 through 00:03:54.909 --> 00:03:59.180 12. We're going to read through this, that way 00:03:59.180 --> 00:04:01.000 we have it in the back of our mind, because this 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:04.979 is really at the heart of our topic today. All 00:04:04.979 --> 00:04:13.379 right, so James 3, verses 1 through 12. All right, 00:04:13.400 --> 00:04:16.639 in James 3, 1 through 12, the word says, My brethren, 00:04:16.819 --> 00:04:19.699 let not many of you become teachers, knowing 00:04:19.699 --> 00:04:23.180 that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For 00:04:23.180 --> 00:04:25.879 we all stumble in many things. If anyone does 00:04:25.879 --> 00:04:28.980 not stumble in the word, he is a perfect man, 00:04:29.199 --> 00:04:34.459 able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we 00:04:34.459 --> 00:04:37.360 put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:41.839 us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at 00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:45.000 ships. Although they are so large and driven 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:48.420 by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small 00:04:48.420 --> 00:04:53.060 rudder, wherever the pilot desires. Even so, 00:04:53.199 --> 00:04:56.339 the tongue is a little member and boasts great 00:04:56.339 --> 00:05:01.259 things. See how a forest a little fire kindles. 00:05:03.399 --> 00:05:07.899 And the tongue is a fire, a world of inequity. 00:05:08.259 --> 00:05:11.399 The tongue is also set among our members that 00:05:11.399 --> 00:05:15.560 it defiles the whole body and sets fire on the 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:19.199 course of nature, and it is set on fire by hell. 00:05:19.980 --> 00:05:23.600 For every kind of beast and bird of reptile and 00:05:23.600 --> 00:05:27.240 creature of the sea, it is tamed and has been 00:05:27.240 --> 00:05:35.379 tamed by mankind. But let no man, excuse me, 00:05:35.399 --> 00:05:38.959 but no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly 00:05:38.959 --> 00:05:43.829 evil full of deadly poison. With it. We bless 00:05:43.829 --> 00:05:46.490 our God and Father, and with it we curse men 00:05:46.490 --> 00:05:50.170 who have been made in the similitude of God. 00:05:51.230 --> 00:05:54.930 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. 00:05:54.990 --> 00:05:59.389 My brethren, these things ought not be so. Does 00:05:59.389 --> 00:06:03.670 a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from 00:06:03.670 --> 00:06:06.470 the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, 00:06:06.550 --> 00:06:11.459 bear olives? Or a grapevine bear figs? Thus, 00:06:11.480 --> 00:06:15.740 no spring yields both salt water and fresh. It's 00:06:15.740 --> 00:06:18.759 a lot, right? And these days, there's a lot of 00:06:18.759 --> 00:06:23.360 people who believe we can alter situations in 00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:26.839 our life through just something like the power 00:06:26.839 --> 00:06:30.240 of positive thinking, right? That positive speaking. 00:06:30.439 --> 00:06:33.000 As people like to put it out in the last decade 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:37.180 or so, good vibes, right? It's like the only 00:06:37.180 --> 00:06:39.259 good vibes I want to hear is when I'm... playing 00:06:39.259 --> 00:06:41.319 my bass or up here with my wife playing guitars, 00:06:41.680 --> 00:06:44.720 right? Maybe on my motorcycle cruising down the 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:47.420 road. Like, ooh, good vibes. I don't know what 00:06:47.420 --> 00:06:50.040 people are talking about. You might as well be 00:06:50.040 --> 00:06:54.480 talking Greek, right? So let me be clear. It 00:06:54.480 --> 00:06:56.759 is important. We do need to think positive. We 00:06:56.759 --> 00:07:01.180 do need to speak positive. Absolutely. You know, 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:03.319 it's very important that we actually do this. 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:07.850 However... There is nothing that we can say, 00:07:07.910 --> 00:07:10.069 there's nothing that we can speak that will ever 00:07:10.069 --> 00:07:15.910 be as powerful as the word of God. Not only that, 00:07:16.029 --> 00:07:20.350 but when you think about it, our words are corrupt. 00:07:21.129 --> 00:07:24.029 Right? We're all fallen. We've all sinned. Our 00:07:24.029 --> 00:07:28.389 words are corrupt because we're sinners. And 00:07:28.389 --> 00:07:33.920 because of that, our words need healing. And 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:35.500 there's only one person who can provide that 00:07:35.500 --> 00:07:40.360 healing, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So 00:07:40.360 --> 00:07:44.100 let's start by looking at one of the big influences, 00:07:44.180 --> 00:07:47.600 especially over the last few decades, that have 00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:50.399 really encouraged the behavior that we see out 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:53.519 in the world and this line of thinking that we 00:07:53.519 --> 00:07:57.639 see today. And really, it's New Age spirituality. 00:07:58.660 --> 00:08:00.920 That's one of our biggest culprits out there, 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:05.300 right? There's been several books out there written 00:08:05.300 --> 00:08:07.680 on it. I'm sure all of us are aware of at least 00:08:07.680 --> 00:08:10.120 a couple of them. I'm going to name one specifically 00:08:10.120 --> 00:08:13.920 here in just a little bit. Matter of fact, I'm 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:15.620 just going to go straight into it. There's a 00:08:15.620 --> 00:08:18.519 book that came out probably around 20 or so years 00:08:18.519 --> 00:08:23.100 ago called The Secret. It might sound familiar 00:08:23.100 --> 00:08:26.120 to a lot of us, right? It's a really popular 00:08:26.120 --> 00:08:28.180 book. It was on the bestsellers list for a long, 00:08:28.259 --> 00:08:31.910 long time. But the line of thinking that's in 00:08:31.910 --> 00:08:34.570 there has infiltrated Christianity. And specifically, 00:08:34.649 --> 00:08:37.490 it goes towards the whole name it and claim it 00:08:37.490 --> 00:08:41.610 prosperity gospel. Right? It's that idea that 00:08:41.610 --> 00:08:46.049 we can ask for literally anything and we're entitled 00:08:46.049 --> 00:08:49.370 to receive it because we've asked for it and 00:08:49.370 --> 00:08:52.549 therefore we will get it. Right? Like we're a 00:08:52.549 --> 00:08:56.070 bunch of entitled children. It's not the case. 00:08:59.629 --> 00:09:01.850 You know, this line of thinking, it misquotes 00:09:01.850 --> 00:09:06.529 scripture. And it tries to convert God into a 00:09:06.529 --> 00:09:11.190 tool. Like an ATM of sorts. I want this. Give 00:09:11.190 --> 00:09:16.590 it to me. I want it now. Right? What's, was it 00:09:16.590 --> 00:09:19.450 J .J. Wentworth, it's my money and I want it 00:09:19.450 --> 00:09:24.850 now? Right? A lot of us, we go to God in the 00:09:24.850 --> 00:09:29.799 same capacity. It's like, this is mine. I want 00:09:29.799 --> 00:09:31.580 it now. You're going to give it to me because 00:09:31.580 --> 00:09:33.960 you said you'd give it to me. No, that's taking 00:09:33.960 --> 00:09:36.200 everything out of context. It's not at all what 00:09:36.200 --> 00:09:41.279 the scripture meant. Author Barbara, I'm probably 00:09:41.279 --> 00:09:45.379 going to butcher the name, Ehrenrich is a critic 00:09:45.379 --> 00:09:47.159 of this type of thinking in the books that have 00:09:47.159 --> 00:09:49.759 been published, especially when it comes to like 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:52.279 the secret saying that they promote political 00:09:52.279 --> 00:09:57.200 complacency and a failure to engage with reality. 00:09:59.210 --> 00:10:03.850 And she's on to something. She really is. Because 00:10:03.850 --> 00:10:06.049 why engage with reality if you can just make 00:10:06.049 --> 00:10:11.490 your own reality? Sorry, but last I checked, 00:10:11.549 --> 00:10:13.250 none of us are little gods walking the earth. 00:10:14.009 --> 00:10:16.690 We don't get to alter it. That's not our capacity. 00:10:17.669 --> 00:10:19.850 It's no different than saying, well, that's your 00:10:19.850 --> 00:10:25.690 truth. This is my truth. Ooh. That's a nice way 00:10:25.690 --> 00:10:33.240 of calling someone a liar, isn't it? Author Mark 00:10:33.240 --> 00:10:37.820 Manson, another critic, specifically talking 00:10:37.820 --> 00:10:40.899 about the secret. He says, this book is full 00:10:40.899 --> 00:10:44.879 of misplaced cliches, silly quotes, and superstitious 00:10:44.879 --> 00:10:48.100 drivel, and calls it a playbook for entitlement 00:10:48.100 --> 00:10:51.500 and self -absorption, which anybody who reads 00:10:51.500 --> 00:10:54.639 it and implements its advice will likely make 00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:57.080 themselves worse off in the long run. The biggest 00:10:57.080 --> 00:11:00.279 issue aside from promoting a doctrine of false... 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:05.000 is that this line of thinking isn't actually 00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:11.460 new at all. It's not. It's taking an age -old 00:11:11.460 --> 00:11:14.500 technique, putting the smoke and mirrors to it, 00:11:14.620 --> 00:11:18.320 wrapping it up in a nice shiny wrapper, and then 00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:20.240 putting it out there like it's some kind of a 00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:23.620 mystical, magical new thing that's going to improve 00:11:23.620 --> 00:11:28.620 your life immensely by putting you in control. 00:11:29.740 --> 00:11:35.779 And taking the control away from God. Hmm. Now 00:11:35.779 --> 00:11:38.500 there's a tactic for you. What does it sound 00:11:38.500 --> 00:11:41.799 like? Sounds an awful lot like Satan, doesn't 00:11:41.799 --> 00:11:45.960 it? Doesn't want you turning to God. He doesn't 00:11:45.960 --> 00:11:48.179 want you giving the control over to God. He wants 00:11:48.179 --> 00:11:51.159 you to turn to him or try to take it for yourself. 00:11:51.220 --> 00:11:53.460 Whatever it takes to take you away from God. 00:11:54.340 --> 00:11:58.570 Plain and simple. Moving along, the first verses 00:11:58.570 --> 00:12:01.710 that we read here today, they do, however, point 00:12:01.710 --> 00:12:04.490 out that words do have power, and they absolutely 00:12:04.490 --> 00:12:07.490 do have power. All right? And it's reinforced 00:12:07.490 --> 00:12:12.029 in Proverbs 18, verse 21. So in Proverbs 18, 00:12:12.309 --> 00:12:17.350 verse 21, the word says, Death and life are in 00:12:17.350 --> 00:12:20.029 the power of the tongue, and those who love it 00:12:20.029 --> 00:12:24.029 will eat its fruit. So the word is saying that 00:12:24.029 --> 00:12:26.669 our words are a lot stronger than any of us think, 00:12:26.870 --> 00:12:29.750 right? It's kind of like growing up. I'm sure, 00:12:29.809 --> 00:12:31.830 you know, we've hit a friend or sibling or something, 00:12:31.870 --> 00:12:33.570 and they're like, you know, they get mad. They're 00:12:33.570 --> 00:12:35.230 like, you know, you don't realize you hit a lot 00:12:35.230 --> 00:12:37.750 harder than you think you do. You don't know 00:12:37.750 --> 00:12:40.070 your own power. And when it comes to the way 00:12:40.070 --> 00:12:42.570 we speak and the way we say things and who we 00:12:42.570 --> 00:12:47.169 say it to, it's very much the same thing, you 00:12:47.169 --> 00:12:50.870 know? Remember years and years ago, we'd get 00:12:50.870 --> 00:12:54.200 picked on. You know, all of us have been picked 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:56.059 on. Every single person out there has been picked 00:12:56.059 --> 00:12:57.820 on at some point. And what was the big thing 00:12:57.820 --> 00:13:02.139 that we said for a long, long, long time? That's 00:13:02.139 --> 00:13:05.220 right, sticks and stones may break my bones, 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:08.500 but words will never hurt me. What a lie from 00:13:08.500 --> 00:13:12.440 hell. Because those words still hurt, did they 00:13:12.440 --> 00:13:17.120 not? They absolutely did. Words have power. If 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:19.220 words didn't have power, they wouldn't hurt. 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:25.519 They absolutely would not. Matter of fact, words 00:13:25.519 --> 00:13:27.960 are so strong, when we look at the very beginning 00:13:27.960 --> 00:13:30.460 of the Bible, we go to Genesis, what do we see? 00:13:31.080 --> 00:13:35.740 God speaking everything into existence. And it's 00:13:35.740 --> 00:13:40.200 recapped nicely when we go to John 1, John 1, 00:13:40.279 --> 00:13:44.460 1, excuse me, John 1, 1 through 5, right? John 00:13:44.460 --> 00:13:47.039 writes, in the beginning was the Word, and the 00:13:47.039 --> 00:13:51.480 Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was 00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:54.000 in the beginning with God. All things were made 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:56.379 through him, and without him nothing was made 00:13:56.379 --> 00:14:00.139 that was made. In him was life, and the life 00:14:00.139 --> 00:14:02.759 was the light of man, and the light shines in 00:14:02.759 --> 00:14:05.480 the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:14.440 it. Wow. Words do have power. Absolutely. You 00:14:14.440 --> 00:14:16.879 know, and we're talking the word, the word of 00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:24.370 God. There's a lot of power there. So to say 00:14:24.370 --> 00:14:26.570 that our words don't have power in itself is 00:14:26.570 --> 00:14:30.710 a lie. Can't say that they don't. But we do have 00:14:30.710 --> 00:14:32.769 to look at the context in which our words have 00:14:32.769 --> 00:14:38.470 power. Right? What do we use to communicate? 00:14:40.309 --> 00:14:46.590 Words. Even if you're mute, our sign language, 00:14:46.769 --> 00:14:53.620 right? communicates words when we read things 00:14:53.620 --> 00:14:59.960 written word you're blind Oh Braille hmm word 00:14:59.960 --> 00:15:04.840 Morse code put together to form words there are 00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:08.879 so many ways come on looking back in history 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:13.409 smoke signals flashing lights There are so many 00:15:13.409 --> 00:15:15.509 things that have been used, and what happens? 00:15:15.590 --> 00:15:17.970 We see them, and what happens is they're interpreted, 00:15:18.149 --> 00:15:20.230 they're put into words, and they're read out, 00:15:20.309 --> 00:15:26.049 oh, this is the message. So we use words. And 00:15:26.049 --> 00:15:29.070 with this in mind, there's a lot of people who 00:15:29.070 --> 00:15:31.029 step off the trail and get lost here, right? 00:15:31.129 --> 00:15:33.769 They just wander right off the beaten path, right 00:15:33.769 --> 00:15:38.590 into the woods. So what people do get right is 00:15:38.590 --> 00:15:42.769 the fact that God's word does create. God's word 00:15:42.769 --> 00:15:48.110 is creation, right? However, it is God who has 00:15:48.110 --> 00:15:53.870 that power. Not people, not man. Sure, we're 00:15:53.870 --> 00:15:56.950 made in his image, but does that mean that we 00:15:56.950 --> 00:16:00.649 have everything that is his? No. That's why he 00:16:00.649 --> 00:16:01.990 gives us things. That's why we have blessings. 00:16:02.070 --> 00:16:03.570 That's why our treasures are stored up in heaven. 00:16:04.269 --> 00:16:06.710 Why would we need any of that if we had that 00:16:06.710 --> 00:16:10.759 power of God? Why would Jesus need to have come 00:16:10.759 --> 00:16:13.100 and gone to the cross and died for our sins if 00:16:13.100 --> 00:16:17.539 we had that power? It makes no point, right? 00:16:18.019 --> 00:16:21.419 We do not have that strength. We do not have 00:16:21.419 --> 00:16:24.379 that power. We're not exactly like God, but we 00:16:24.379 --> 00:16:27.879 are in his image. People fail to recognize the 00:16:27.879 --> 00:16:31.360 fact that there is a difference between God and 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:35.500 man. The word of God and the word of man are 00:16:35.500 --> 00:16:37.820 two different things. Word of God being up here, 00:16:37.899 --> 00:16:41.220 the word of man being down here. Pales in comparison. 00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:49.059 Now, to say that God's the only person who can 00:16:49.059 --> 00:16:54.200 create something for nothing, yes. God is the 00:16:54.200 --> 00:16:55.340 only one who can create something for nothing. 00:16:55.500 --> 00:16:57.480 We like to think, oh, I'm going to speak it into 00:16:57.480 --> 00:16:59.759 existence, but we can't. We don't. That's not 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:02.419 our place in life. That's not our place on earth. 00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:09.119 Right? What we can do is work with what we've 00:17:09.119 --> 00:17:11.099 been blessed with, what we have. Now, I can think 00:17:11.099 --> 00:17:14.700 to myself, you know what? I'm hungry. I want 00:17:14.700 --> 00:17:18.980 a turkey sandwich. Now, if I had the power of 00:17:18.980 --> 00:17:22.700 God and that same power of my word, I could just 00:17:22.700 --> 00:17:26.200 think it and boom. I have a nice, juicy turkey 00:17:26.200 --> 00:17:30.059 sandwich, some lettuce, some pickles, some mustard, 00:17:30.259 --> 00:17:36.140 right? That perfect type of bread, right? Absolutely. 00:17:36.859 --> 00:17:41.140 Maybe a nice beverage to wash it down with. Some 00:17:41.140 --> 00:17:45.220 chips on the side. Who knows? I don't have that 00:17:45.220 --> 00:17:48.299 ability though, right? None of us do. However, 00:17:48.500 --> 00:17:51.420 what can we do? Like, you know what? I'm hungry. 00:17:51.519 --> 00:17:53.660 I want a turkey sandwich. I'm going to go in 00:17:53.660 --> 00:17:55.569 the kitchen. I'm going to open up the refrigerator. 00:17:55.809 --> 00:17:57.470 I'm going to take out the turkey. I'm going to 00:17:57.470 --> 00:17:59.009 take out the pickles. I'm going to take out the 00:17:59.009 --> 00:18:01.430 mustard, maybe some cheese. Who knows? I'm going 00:18:01.430 --> 00:18:03.470 to come over here, and I'm going to build it. 00:18:03.809 --> 00:18:05.569 I'm going to take all these building blocks that 00:18:05.569 --> 00:18:07.509 the Lord has blessed me with, and I'm going to 00:18:07.509 --> 00:18:10.789 build that monster sandwich, right? And boy, 00:18:10.890 --> 00:18:12.230 am I going to enjoy it. My wife will tell you, 00:18:12.250 --> 00:18:16.369 I love me some turkey. I might be shaped like 00:18:16.369 --> 00:18:22.440 a turkey, too. I love me some turkey, yes. I 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:23.859 know I'm probably getting everybody a little 00:18:23.859 --> 00:18:25.400 hungry and ready for that barbecue after service 00:18:25.400 --> 00:18:32.259 today. Wasn't my intent, you know. You know, 00:18:32.259 --> 00:18:34.380 unfortunately, you know, none of us can just 00:18:34.380 --> 00:18:36.200 wave our hands in the air, bibbidi -bobbidi -boo, 00:18:36.279 --> 00:18:38.299 and have that nice glass of lemonade or an Arnold 00:18:38.299 --> 00:18:41.160 Palmer appear in our hand, right? That's just 00:18:41.160 --> 00:18:43.160 not there. It'd be absurd to think that we could. 00:18:43.720 --> 00:18:46.299 Smoke and mirrors if it actually happened. Because 00:18:46.299 --> 00:18:48.480 obviously we know it's not just going to appear. 00:18:51.720 --> 00:18:53.819 So we take things, we take the building blocks 00:18:53.819 --> 00:18:56.240 that God has given us, and we use those things 00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:58.660 to create something new. Because in and of itself, 00:18:58.779 --> 00:19:00.460 here's a loaf of bread. Oh, it's sliced up. Now 00:19:00.460 --> 00:19:02.240 I've got sliced bread. I've got a turkey. I'm 00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:04.420 going to take that thing, gut it, roast it, have 00:19:04.420 --> 00:19:06.539 it 100 different ways from Sunday. We all do 00:19:06.539 --> 00:19:08.759 that every November and going through December, 00:19:08.920 --> 00:19:13.660 right? It's coming up quick. You know? Matter 00:19:13.660 --> 00:19:15.339 of fact, here, next month is October. We're going 00:19:15.339 --> 00:19:16.480 to be doing the same thing with some pumpkin. 00:19:17.380 --> 00:19:21.609 Mm -hmm. So we take all these things, we combine 00:19:21.609 --> 00:19:24.450 them, and we create something new. That's the 00:19:24.450 --> 00:19:27.849 closest that we come, though, in that sense. 00:19:28.410 --> 00:19:31.450 Now, there's another way that we can create things 00:19:31.450 --> 00:19:36.430 with our words. And we see this every single 00:19:36.430 --> 00:19:42.250 day. We hear this every single day. Books, TV 00:19:42.250 --> 00:19:46.150 shows, music, right? The Lord has blessed us, 00:19:46.230 --> 00:19:48.289 well, certain ones of us. There are some people 00:19:48.289 --> 00:19:50.170 who can't carry a tune, so I can't say for everybody, 00:19:50.369 --> 00:19:53.430 right? I sing through my hands more so than my 00:19:53.430 --> 00:19:56.109 mouth for a reason. My wife's smiling over there 00:19:56.109 --> 00:20:00.670 because she knows it's true. I have to work really 00:20:00.670 --> 00:20:02.089 hard to sing, otherwise the dog wants to run 00:20:02.089 --> 00:20:07.009 out of the room too. But you have people out 00:20:07.009 --> 00:20:10.009 there, they write books. They'll write a whole 00:20:10.009 --> 00:20:14.549 series of books, right? Great books. They're 00:20:14.549 --> 00:20:17.109 entertaining. Some of them are very educational 00:20:17.109 --> 00:20:19.750 as well. Some of them are far from educational. 00:20:20.109 --> 00:20:22.809 We look at them purely for entertainment purposes, 00:20:23.009 --> 00:20:29.309 right? Television shows, movies. And we all can 00:20:29.309 --> 00:20:31.329 get pictures in our heads, but especially these 00:20:31.329 --> 00:20:33.130 days, more and more so with movies. You look 00:20:33.130 --> 00:20:34.690 at the spectacle that some of them are putting 00:20:34.690 --> 00:20:36.970 out there. They take years to make, but then 00:20:36.970 --> 00:20:40.480 you go in there and you're just like, whoa. Especially 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:42.779 some of these, you know, they have the 3D movies 00:20:42.779 --> 00:20:45.700 now or the 4DX where they get the mist and all 00:20:45.700 --> 00:20:47.660 that stuff coming at you. It's like, wow, who 00:20:47.660 --> 00:20:49.720 created this stuff? Who thought of this? It's 00:20:49.720 --> 00:20:53.420 pretty cool. Right? We can all think of probably 00:20:53.420 --> 00:20:56.980 a few names even that comes to mind. You know, 00:20:57.000 --> 00:20:59.380 Stan Lee who created many of the most popular 00:20:59.380 --> 00:21:01.539 comic books that are out there today. Right? 00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:05.059 People like Lee Falk back in the golden age created 00:21:05.059 --> 00:21:07.920 characters like the Phantom. Right? That's just 00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:10.619 comic books. That's me being a nerd. You know, 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:13.759 we look at other people with all sorts of other, 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:18.319 you know, Weber out there and assortment of others 00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:21.880 that, you know, science fiction and military 00:21:21.880 --> 00:21:25.240 operations and, you know, sci -fi and all this 00:21:25.240 --> 00:21:28.240 other stuff. So the power of words can create 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:31.039 other things. Unfortunately, there's another 00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:35.039 place where it goes. Where does our self -image 00:21:35.039 --> 00:21:38.200 come from? Has anybody ever thought of that? 00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:42.019 Where does our self -image come from? It comes 00:21:42.019 --> 00:21:45.180 from the things, the truths, and the lies that 00:21:45.180 --> 00:21:47.619 we are told throughout our lives from a very 00:21:47.619 --> 00:21:53.339 young age. Remember, I talked briefly about illusory 00:21:53.339 --> 00:21:55.400 truth effect over the last couple weeks, where 00:21:55.400 --> 00:21:56.920 you hear something over and over and over again, 00:21:56.980 --> 00:21:58.460 and even though it's a lie, you start to believe 00:21:58.460 --> 00:22:01.670 it because you hear it so much. Somebody tells 00:22:01.670 --> 00:22:03.809 you you're a loser enough times or enough people 00:22:03.809 --> 00:22:05.569 tell you you're a loser, at some point you're 00:22:05.569 --> 00:22:07.109 going to start to believe it. And it takes a 00:22:07.109 --> 00:22:10.049 lot to break that chain, right? Like you have 00:22:10.049 --> 00:22:14.890 to go to Jesus and have that chain broken. But 00:22:14.890 --> 00:22:16.930 even deep down inside, it's still going to leave 00:22:16.930 --> 00:22:22.609 a scar. So our self -worth comes from there. 00:22:23.470 --> 00:22:25.869 How about the image that we place with other 00:22:25.869 --> 00:22:31.500 people? You go... and you're talking with a co 00:22:31.500 --> 00:22:34.799 -worker about a friend, you say some things that 00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:38.220 you probably shouldn't have, right? Some kind 00:22:38.220 --> 00:22:41.259 of mean things. Whether they're true or not, 00:22:41.380 --> 00:22:44.039 it's beside the point. Well, word gets back to 00:22:44.039 --> 00:22:45.400 your friend. Your friend comes to you and they 00:22:45.400 --> 00:22:48.900 confront you. Hey, did you say this? And you 00:22:48.900 --> 00:22:59.220 lie and say, no, I did not. Right? Now, You've 00:22:59.220 --> 00:23:01.599 created an image for them and they're living 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:05.640 in a false world. They're living in a lie because 00:23:05.640 --> 00:23:08.579 they're your friend. They trust you. They love 00:23:08.579 --> 00:23:11.039 you. So when you lie to them, they take what 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:15.619 you said as gospel and they believe you. So they 00:23:15.619 --> 00:23:17.200 don't believe that you were talking trash about 00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:19.539 them. The reality of the matter is you were. 00:23:19.660 --> 00:23:21.859 And at some point, whether it's here on this 00:23:21.859 --> 00:23:25.940 earth or when you answer for it before the throne, 00:23:26.119 --> 00:23:33.579 the truth is going to come out. Now, it's not 00:23:33.579 --> 00:23:35.920 to say maybe you said something that could be 00:23:35.920 --> 00:23:40.480 a little hurtful. It was true, right? The best 00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:41.700 thing to do is they come to you and be like, 00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:44.440 you know what? Here's why I said it and explain. 00:23:45.380 --> 00:23:49.599 Because sometimes true things need to be heard, 00:23:49.700 --> 00:23:51.819 and it's the only way to get someone's attention. 00:23:58.579 --> 00:24:03.279 So we have that power to create an image. To 00:24:03.279 --> 00:24:07.519 impact someone's life. So it puts what James 00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:09.039 wrote in today's scripture into perspective. 00:24:09.720 --> 00:24:12.519 Our vision from what we read earlier is starting 00:24:12.519 --> 00:24:17.240 to come into focus now, right? He's talking about 00:24:17.240 --> 00:24:19.079 the fact that when we talk to other people, we 00:24:19.079 --> 00:24:22.759 need to be honest. We need to speak in love. 00:24:25.059 --> 00:24:30.640 Turn to Ephesians 4, verse 15. So Ephesians 4, 00:24:30.779 --> 00:24:36.190 verse 15. The word says, but speaking in the 00:24:36.190 --> 00:24:39.130 truth and love may grow up in all things into 00:24:39.130 --> 00:24:43.750 him who is the head, Christ. Now, really, I think 00:24:43.750 --> 00:24:45.289 the NIV and a couple of the other translations 00:24:45.289 --> 00:24:46.829 probably do it a little bit better than what 00:24:46.829 --> 00:24:51.009 we have here. But right here, remember what I 00:24:51.009 --> 00:24:54.950 said today when we started. Our words need healing, 00:24:54.990 --> 00:24:57.430 and the only person who can heal them is Jesus 00:24:57.430 --> 00:25:00.710 Christ. And that's exactly what we're looking 00:25:00.710 --> 00:25:03.210 at here because if we're going to tell someone 00:25:03.210 --> 00:25:08.109 what they need to hear, or excuse me, if we're 00:25:08.109 --> 00:25:09.670 not going to tell somebody what they need to 00:25:09.670 --> 00:25:11.670 hear, if we're not going to tell them the truth, 00:25:12.029 --> 00:25:15.789 the question begs to be asked, do we really love 00:25:15.789 --> 00:25:20.309 that person? If you can't tell them the truth, 00:25:20.470 --> 00:25:29.079 do you love them? It's that simple. Now, Living 00:25:29.079 --> 00:25:32.779 that is not so simple because nobody wants to 00:25:32.779 --> 00:25:36.299 hurt anybody's feelings, right? That's part of 00:25:36.299 --> 00:25:38.000 why we've gotten to where we are today. Everybody 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:40.880 has to be nice. Everybody wants to paint Jesus 00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:43.460 as this man who lived and walked the earth and 00:25:43.460 --> 00:25:46.359 was kind all the time. However, if they've ever 00:25:46.359 --> 00:25:48.319 actually read the Bible, they will see that is 00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:51.400 not the fact. That is not the case. There were 00:25:51.400 --> 00:25:54.880 times when he did not act out with what would 00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:59.599 be so kind and loving. The image that's out there 00:25:59.599 --> 00:26:01.539 that's very popular is the fact that he flipped 00:26:01.539 --> 00:26:04.299 over tables and chased men out of the market 00:26:04.299 --> 00:26:06.839 with a whip, right? Does that sound very loving? 00:26:08.059 --> 00:26:10.420 If I were to take my belt off right now and come 00:26:10.420 --> 00:26:19.099 running at you, you are my... Just kidding. Oh, 00:26:19.240 --> 00:26:20.680 he's armed now. Look at that. He's got a cane 00:26:20.680 --> 00:26:24.700 up. I'm going to get caned. Just kidding. No. 00:26:30.049 --> 00:26:32.430 But it's not very loving. If I had to come through 00:26:32.430 --> 00:26:34.250 here and start throwing, you know, pews to the 00:26:34.250 --> 00:26:36.670 side or anything, coming after any of you, it 00:26:36.670 --> 00:26:40.349 wouldn't be seen as very loving. Jesus didn't 00:26:40.349 --> 00:26:42.349 do it to be loving. Jesus did what he did to 00:26:42.349 --> 00:26:45.569 make a point, to get people's attention, right? 00:26:48.910 --> 00:26:50.710 It's kind of like when you're messing up and 00:26:50.710 --> 00:26:54.140 the parents say, you better stop. and they had 00:26:54.140 --> 00:26:57.619 that tone of voice where you're like, ooh. Not 00:26:57.619 --> 00:26:59.900 the usual you'll be able to stop, but that specific 00:26:59.900 --> 00:27:03.420 tone of voice where you're like, I'm poking the 00:27:03.420 --> 00:27:08.579 bull. I'm poking the bear. You start thinking, 00:27:08.680 --> 00:27:11.180 do I want to keep doing this or not? Most of 00:27:11.180 --> 00:27:13.640 the time we wisen up and we stop, right? Not 00:27:13.640 --> 00:27:16.319 always, but most of the time. Let's face it, 00:27:16.319 --> 00:27:17.920 we all got our fair share of licks because we 00:27:17.920 --> 00:27:23.269 didn't wisen up until after the fact. You know, 00:27:23.289 --> 00:27:27.009 sure, the things that we might say might hurt 00:27:27.009 --> 00:27:28.509 people's feelings if we're saying it in truth. 00:27:28.630 --> 00:27:30.369 But the fact is, if we're saying it in truth, 00:27:30.369 --> 00:27:33.450 then we're saying it in love. We're telling them 00:27:33.450 --> 00:27:35.890 the things that they need to hear. Someone's 00:27:35.890 --> 00:27:38.450 drinking too much. You tell them, hey, you're 00:27:38.450 --> 00:27:42.880 drinking too much. You need to stop. Right? You 00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:45.019 see someone who's living in sin, hey, whatever 00:27:45.019 --> 00:27:47.079 that sin is, you're gambling, you're smoking 00:27:47.079 --> 00:27:49.700 dope, you know, you're snorting this, you're 00:27:49.700 --> 00:27:52.380 injecting that, whatever, you know, adultery, 00:27:52.519 --> 00:27:54.920 cheating on your spouse, you know, going out 00:27:54.920 --> 00:28:00.660 and getting hookers, and the list goes on. But 00:28:00.660 --> 00:28:02.319 you care about somebody, you should care about 00:28:02.319 --> 00:28:06.099 them enough that you speak up and say, hey, you're 00:28:06.099 --> 00:28:11.559 messing up. You need to fix this. What help do 00:28:11.559 --> 00:28:17.960 you need to fix this? Right? Because let's face 00:28:17.960 --> 00:28:20.400 it, when it comes to hearing things, it's really 00:28:20.400 --> 00:28:21.900 nice when you can hear the things that you're 00:28:21.900 --> 00:28:26.680 doing good, right? We like to hear that. It's 00:28:26.680 --> 00:28:28.099 like, oh, hey, you did a great job with this. 00:28:28.180 --> 00:28:30.200 Oh, that thing that you did the other day, marvelous. 00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:31.720 Oh, and this thing that you helped out with, 00:28:31.799 --> 00:28:36.039 beautiful. You feel good, right? You get a little 00:28:36.039 --> 00:28:40.440 puffed up. You go home. Guess what Brian said? 00:28:41.900 --> 00:28:43.599 He said, I drank that root beer like a champ. 00:28:46.339 --> 00:28:49.980 What came after guzzling that thing wasn't so 00:28:49.980 --> 00:28:55.200 much. But that's how we go home, right? That's 00:28:55.200 --> 00:28:56.839 how we talk with our families, our loved ones, 00:28:56.880 --> 00:28:59.920 our friends, right? Let's be honest, we're all 00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:06.759 adults in here. Is that? Yeah, root beer has 00:29:06.759 --> 00:29:08.420 that extra carbonation, really brings it out, 00:29:08.460 --> 00:29:14.980 doesn't it? Somebody can record that sound and 00:29:14.980 --> 00:29:20.940 put it to the next Jurassic Park movie. It feels 00:29:20.940 --> 00:29:24.380 good. But if we're loving and we're doing what 00:29:24.380 --> 00:29:26.839 Jesus did, then we're going to speak the truth. 00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:29.420 Because when we're thinking about it, we need 00:29:29.420 --> 00:29:32.140 to remember the fact when Jesus preached, not 00:29:32.140 --> 00:29:36.559 everybody liked what he had to say. Not even 00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:41.109 a little. Right? Not everybody accepted what 00:29:41.109 --> 00:29:44.250 he had to say. And it wasn't because he was up 00:29:44.250 --> 00:29:47.470 there spinning lies or saying hateful things. 00:29:48.130 --> 00:29:51.569 He was up there speaking the truth, right? The 00:29:51.569 --> 00:29:53.230 truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, 00:29:53.269 --> 00:29:56.109 so help me God, right? We all know these words. 00:29:57.000 --> 00:29:58.420 He was up there and he's putting the whole thing 00:29:58.420 --> 00:30:00.279 out and it was convicting people. It was the 00:30:00.279 --> 00:30:02.240 stuff that they did not want to hear because 00:30:02.240 --> 00:30:04.400 people don't want to hear that they're wrong. 00:30:04.779 --> 00:30:07.400 People don't want to hear that they need to change. 00:30:08.279 --> 00:30:10.920 People don't want to hear, hey, you're a sinner. 00:30:11.880 --> 00:30:13.880 And if you don't change this and you don't come 00:30:13.880 --> 00:30:15.640 to the Lord, there's a place you're going to 00:30:15.640 --> 00:30:17.279 head to and you're not going to like it. It's 00:30:17.279 --> 00:30:25.059 called hell. Right? Matter of fact, when you 00:30:25.059 --> 00:30:27.500 think about it, and you look at the word, we 00:30:27.500 --> 00:30:29.720 need to remember, there weren't just 12 disciples. 00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:32.859 The 12 disciples were his closest. Those were 00:30:32.859 --> 00:30:36.559 his closest friends, right? But there were many 00:30:36.559 --> 00:30:41.339 more. Many, many, many more. And when Jesus preached, 00:30:41.480 --> 00:30:43.759 the word actually records the fact that some 00:30:43.759 --> 00:30:47.000 of them got up and left him. They walked away. 00:30:48.299 --> 00:30:52.079 How heartbreaking is that? One of the saddest 00:30:52.079 --> 00:30:55.440 verses in scripture. talks about exactly that, 00:30:55.559 --> 00:31:03.839 that they got up and left. It's no different 00:31:03.839 --> 00:31:07.799 today. People turn away for the same thing. They 00:31:07.799 --> 00:31:14.779 get convicted. They get convicted. Right here, 00:31:14.799 --> 00:31:17.960 right in their heart. The Holy Spirit goes to 00:31:17.960 --> 00:31:20.660 work, man. When the Holy Spirit goes to work, 00:31:21.519 --> 00:31:29.319 It can be downright painful. Absolutely. And 00:31:29.319 --> 00:31:31.019 unfortunately, because of that, because people 00:31:31.019 --> 00:31:32.980 don't like pain, people don't want to be hurt, 00:31:33.220 --> 00:31:36.359 all of a sudden that change that they need to 00:31:36.359 --> 00:31:38.400 make in their life becomes too hard. That weight 00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:44.240 is too heavy. And when that happens, Christians 00:31:44.240 --> 00:31:50.119 stop growing. They stop growing in Christ. Instead, 00:31:51.440 --> 00:31:57.200 They become stagnant. And ultimately, becoming 00:31:57.200 --> 00:31:59.720 lukewarm. We know what the Bible has to say about 00:31:59.720 --> 00:32:01.759 being lukewarm. It's better to be hot or cold, 00:32:01.819 --> 00:32:06.279 right? But they become lukewarm, and they start 00:32:06.279 --> 00:32:08.359 going back to the things that they did, the things 00:32:08.359 --> 00:32:10.799 that made them comfortable, that made their flesh 00:32:10.799 --> 00:32:16.000 comfortable. And they ultimately turn and walk 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:19.940 away from Jesus. They go right back to sin. They 00:32:19.940 --> 00:32:25.579 go back to that bondage. And Satan wins. They 00:32:25.579 --> 00:32:31.140 become paralyzed with fear. Because that conviction 00:32:31.140 --> 00:32:33.779 hits. And what happens is they start looking 00:32:33.779 --> 00:32:36.700 around. They look at the people in front of them. 00:32:36.740 --> 00:32:38.180 They look at the people to the side of them. 00:32:39.140 --> 00:32:41.160 They're seeing other people on TV. They're reading 00:32:41.160 --> 00:32:42.920 about others. They're hearing some on the radio. 00:32:43.099 --> 00:32:46.799 They're like, wow. That guy has much stronger 00:32:46.799 --> 00:32:51.619 character than I do. That guy is a lot more godly 00:32:51.619 --> 00:32:54.980 than I am. That woman is amazing. She's making 00:32:54.980 --> 00:32:58.319 a change in people's lives. And they believe 00:32:58.319 --> 00:33:02.420 the lie that they are not good enough for Jesus. 00:33:02.500 --> 00:33:04.960 That lie that Satan likes to spin out there. 00:33:05.059 --> 00:33:07.400 You're not good enough. You're worthless. He's 00:33:07.400 --> 00:33:10.839 never going to want you. You're useless to him 00:33:10.839 --> 00:33:19.039 now. And they believe it. It's unfortunate. So 00:33:19.039 --> 00:33:23.240 they go right back to bondage. They see their 00:33:23.240 --> 00:33:27.740 own weakness. They don't recognize that everybody 00:33:27.740 --> 00:33:29.720 around them also has weakness. They just see 00:33:29.720 --> 00:33:33.700 their own. They're blinded by the forest, by 00:33:33.700 --> 00:33:35.039 the trees, right? You can't see the forest for 00:33:35.039 --> 00:33:39.920 the trees? So they start comparing themselves. 00:33:42.589 --> 00:33:45.109 But they're only comparing their weaknesses to 00:33:45.109 --> 00:33:49.930 what they foresee as strengths. They don't recognize 00:33:49.930 --> 00:33:51.470 the fact that maybe what they're seeing as strength 00:33:51.470 --> 00:33:53.150 in somebody else might actually be a weakness. 00:33:55.450 --> 00:33:57.250 Why? Because we're not conditioned to think like 00:33:57.250 --> 00:34:03.089 that. We should be. And so they come to that 00:34:03.089 --> 00:34:06.730 conclusion that they don't need to keep on going 00:34:06.730 --> 00:34:08.889 to the Lord. They need to stop in their life. 00:34:08.929 --> 00:34:10.329 They need to stop in their tracks where they're 00:34:10.329 --> 00:34:13.099 at. And they need to try to fix things themselves. 00:34:16.159 --> 00:34:18.500 Here's the thing. We can't fix things ourselves. 00:34:19.079 --> 00:34:22.980 That's why we go to Jesus. When we start thinking 00:34:22.980 --> 00:34:25.460 we can do it ourselves, that's our biggest mistake, 00:34:25.599 --> 00:34:29.559 and it will never get fixed. And we hear this. 00:34:29.639 --> 00:34:32.119 You go to somebody. You go to a friend. You invite 00:34:32.119 --> 00:34:34.860 them to come to church service, right? Especially 00:34:34.860 --> 00:34:36.860 somebody you know is struggling. And what do 00:34:36.860 --> 00:34:40.039 we usually hear? Oh, no, no, no, I've been drinking 00:34:40.039 --> 00:34:41.699 too much. You know, I need to get right with 00:34:41.699 --> 00:34:49.639 God before I go. Right? Things like that. You 00:34:49.639 --> 00:34:54.360 know, or, oh, I need to work on this first. How 00:34:54.360 --> 00:34:56.380 can I get right with God if I can't overcome 00:34:56.380 --> 00:35:01.300 this? They stop thinking about the fact that 00:35:01.300 --> 00:35:03.260 the hospital isn't a place for perfect people. 00:35:04.500 --> 00:35:07.179 Jesus didn't come for perfect people, right? 00:35:07.710 --> 00:35:10.309 He didn't come for the good people. He came for 00:35:10.309 --> 00:35:15.690 the broken. People confuse the church. The church 00:35:15.690 --> 00:35:18.710 is the people. We are the church. People should 00:35:18.710 --> 00:35:22.030 come to us and recognize the fact that we are 00:35:22.030 --> 00:35:24.670 here to help them with their healing process. 00:35:25.289 --> 00:35:27.210 And part of that process is getting them to come 00:35:27.210 --> 00:35:32.489 to the place of service. It's a building, right? 00:35:33.030 --> 00:35:34.769 Sometimes it's an office. Sometimes it's a community 00:35:34.769 --> 00:35:38.300 center. Sometimes it's a place in the park. He's 00:35:38.300 --> 00:35:40.360 like, come with us. Hear the word. Faith comes 00:35:40.360 --> 00:35:45.539 by hearing. When you start to believe, when you 00:35:45.539 --> 00:35:48.099 hear the word, you start to believe, you start 00:35:48.099 --> 00:35:50.260 to come into a relationship with Jesus. Jesus 00:35:50.260 --> 00:35:54.480 can and will heal you. It's not an instant process. 00:35:54.619 --> 00:35:57.639 It will take time. Some of it will be downright 00:35:57.639 --> 00:36:02.519 painful. I'm not going to ask if anybody here 00:36:02.519 --> 00:36:06.780 has ever done this, but all of us are aware. 00:36:07.260 --> 00:36:09.179 What happens when somebody stops using drugs 00:36:09.179 --> 00:36:14.159 or smoking or drinking? They begin to detox, 00:36:14.400 --> 00:36:20.360 right? The DTs. It's a painful process. Some 00:36:20.360 --> 00:36:23.960 of us in here have been through that. Some of 00:36:23.960 --> 00:36:26.679 us know people, they can't go more than an hour 00:36:26.679 --> 00:36:28.980 without a drink of alcohol before they start 00:36:28.980 --> 00:36:33.820 trembling. Right? It's a painful thing to see. 00:36:34.980 --> 00:36:38.119 But you know what? When we break away from the 00:36:38.119 --> 00:36:40.079 sin in our lives, we come into that relationship 00:36:40.079 --> 00:36:44.739 with Jesus. And we hear the power of his word. 00:36:44.840 --> 00:36:47.059 And that word starts working in our hearts and 00:36:47.059 --> 00:36:48.820 our lives and changing us from the inside out. 00:36:49.019 --> 00:36:51.019 Guess what? It's going to be painful as well. 00:36:51.119 --> 00:36:53.699 Why? Because he's cutting the cancer out. He's 00:36:53.699 --> 00:36:57.440 getting rid of it. He's throwing the sin back 00:36:57.440 --> 00:37:00.159 to Satan. And he's filling you with his light. 00:37:01.519 --> 00:37:04.559 Nobody has ever gone to the doctor with a broken 00:37:04.559 --> 00:37:07.579 bone. And not have them do something painful 00:37:07.579 --> 00:37:11.280 in order to fix it. Sometimes pain is needed 00:37:11.280 --> 00:37:13.480 in order to fix things and bring about the best 00:37:13.480 --> 00:37:16.019 good. And the truth will do exactly that. The 00:37:16.019 --> 00:37:22.360 word of God will do exactly that. Our words need 00:37:22.360 --> 00:37:25.639 healing. Just like our hearts do. Just like our 00:37:25.639 --> 00:37:30.320 souls do. And as we come to close, I'm going 00:37:30.320 --> 00:37:32.639 to leave you with a couple more verses. We're 00:37:32.639 --> 00:37:34.219 going to go to prayer really quick here. I promise 00:37:34.219 --> 00:37:35.539 you, you're going to be surprised how fast we 00:37:35.539 --> 00:37:40.119 do this. So Matthew 12, verse 34. Jesus said, 00:37:40.239 --> 00:37:45.239 Brood of vipers, how can you? Being evil, speak 00:37:45.239 --> 00:37:47.320 good things, for out of the abundance of the 00:37:47.320 --> 00:37:51.980 heart the mouth speaks. And in Proverbs 4, verse 00:37:51.980 --> 00:37:56.239 23. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out 00:37:56.239 --> 00:38:00.900 of it springs the issues of life. When you come 00:38:00.900 --> 00:38:02.980 to Jesus and you let him start healing you, you'll 00:38:02.980 --> 00:38:06.260 find that the words you speak, even just starting 00:38:06.260 --> 00:38:08.340 with the way you think, because we think in words, 00:38:08.539 --> 00:38:11.860 right? When you come to Jesus, you start to have 00:38:11.860 --> 00:38:14.019 that relationship. The Holy Spirit convicts you. 00:38:14.099 --> 00:38:15.960 When you start healing, you'll find that the 00:38:15.960 --> 00:38:17.820 words that are coming to your mind and coming 00:38:17.820 --> 00:38:22.519 out of your heart will change. Right? There's 00:38:22.519 --> 00:38:24.340 a lot of us that have gone through that process. 00:38:24.599 --> 00:38:26.559 I know when I came out of the military, especially. 00:38:28.969 --> 00:38:31.869 Vulgar language was the biggest part of my vocabulary. 00:38:33.409 --> 00:38:36.909 Big part. Like a lot of veterans. That's right, 00:38:36.949 --> 00:38:41.690 keep your head down, Albert. It's true, right? 00:38:42.230 --> 00:38:44.789 Brian, I'm sure you can attest to this. Yep. 00:38:46.849 --> 00:38:49.429 And a lot of us, oh, I need to work on my cursing. 00:38:51.769 --> 00:38:54.250 And it's not just cursing. A lot of us are out 00:38:54.250 --> 00:38:56.659 there, we have other... Biased, nasty things 00:38:56.659 --> 00:38:59.860 that come out of our mouths. Things that come 00:38:59.860 --> 00:39:03.679 out of our minds. Things that come out of our 00:39:03.679 --> 00:39:06.800 hearts. Because it's not the fact that you need 00:39:06.800 --> 00:39:12.199 to work on your vocabulary. It's the fact that 00:39:12.199 --> 00:39:17.460 you need to work on your heart. Sometimes easier 00:39:17.460 --> 00:39:21.420 said than done. Somebody cuts you off in traffic. 00:39:23.549 --> 00:39:25.469 You want to say some choice words and maybe throw 00:39:25.469 --> 00:39:29.690 them a choice finger or two, right? Exactly. 00:39:29.889 --> 00:39:33.650 Give them the finger, right? Is that how we should 00:39:33.650 --> 00:39:36.230 be responding? No. But why? Why is that coming? 00:39:36.329 --> 00:39:38.030 Because that's what's in our hearts. That's an 00:39:38.030 --> 00:39:40.150 area that we need to work on. That's an area 00:39:40.150 --> 00:39:44.010 that we need to go to Jesus, pray on, leave at 00:39:44.010 --> 00:39:46.769 his foot, and then let the Holy Spirit work to 00:39:46.769 --> 00:39:51.190 heal. These days, I don't cuss nearly as much. 00:39:51.820 --> 00:39:53.519 Am I going to stand here and lie and say I never 00:39:53.519 --> 00:39:56.119 cuss? No. There's nobody in this room who never 00:39:56.119 --> 00:40:00.980 says a bad word. Right? Maybe David, I don't 00:40:00.980 --> 00:40:07.460 know. But we all have this problem. We all have 00:40:07.460 --> 00:40:10.039 this conviction, right? But that's how we overcome 00:40:10.039 --> 00:40:12.780 it. We don't overcome it on our own. We don't 00:40:12.780 --> 00:40:14.579 fix it. We need to recognize the fact that these 00:40:14.579 --> 00:40:17.539 things that we say and the reasons why we say 00:40:17.539 --> 00:40:21.809 them are because of what's in our heart. And 00:40:21.809 --> 00:40:24.909 we need to change our heart. The only way we 00:40:24.909 --> 00:40:28.610 heal, though, is going to Jesus, accepting him 00:40:28.610 --> 00:40:34.349 as our Lord and Savior, taking our sins to him 00:40:34.349 --> 00:40:38.809 and repenting of them. Ah, there's the key. I 00:40:38.809 --> 00:40:40.710 had the sinful nature. It needs to change. I'm 00:40:40.710 --> 00:40:45.210 sorry. Forgive me. Help me to change it. That's 00:40:45.210 --> 00:40:49.750 the key, though. Help me to change it. Plain 00:40:49.750 --> 00:40:53.519 and simple. Before you could change what comes 00:40:53.519 --> 00:40:54.900 out of your mouth, you had to change what comes 00:40:54.900 --> 00:40:57.739 out of your heart. The less of the world that's 00:40:57.739 --> 00:41:03.139 in it, the more the Lord is in it. And the more 00:41:03.139 --> 00:41:08.059 the Lord is in you, I don't know what you're 00:41:08.059 --> 00:41:12.400 pointing at, but okay. Yes, I'm aware. Thank 00:41:12.400 --> 00:41:15.639 you, though. The more of the Lord that's in you, 00:41:15.679 --> 00:41:19.460 though, the more life that you will bring to 00:41:19.460 --> 00:41:22.510 the world that's around you. And on that note, 00:41:22.530 --> 00:41:26.429 let us pray. Lord, we thank you for bringing 00:41:26.429 --> 00:41:29.090 us together in fellowship and worship of you. 00:41:30.409 --> 00:41:32.469 We recognize that we've all been tainted by the 00:41:32.469 --> 00:41:36.530 world and the places that we've been, and we 00:41:36.530 --> 00:41:39.969 fail when we should be speaking in your love. 00:41:40.750 --> 00:41:44.250 We ask that you do the work in our hearts that 00:41:44.250 --> 00:41:46.230 we can't do. We ask that you fix the things that 00:41:46.230 --> 00:41:48.309 we cannot fix and guide us to the places we need 00:41:48.309 --> 00:41:51.789 to be and heal us. And we recognize the fact 00:41:51.789 --> 00:41:53.690 that sometimes that healing is going to be painful. 00:41:55.389 --> 00:41:57.690 But please heal us and please use us to speak 00:41:57.690 --> 00:42:01.070 your word of life into the world. And let us 00:42:01.070 --> 00:42:04.349 show you to a world in our thoughts, our words, 00:42:04.369 --> 00:42:08.030 and our actions. And all his people said, amen 00:42:08.030 --> 00:42:12.409 and amen. Remember, as you leave, you are loved 00:42:12.409 --> 00:42:14.409 and you are blessed. So go and be the church. 00:42:15.909 --> 00:42:18.929 Thank you for joining us at Healing Scars with 00:42:18.929 --> 00:42:39.570 Pastor Burton. Until next time, take care and 00:42:39.570 --> 00:42:40.449 God bless.