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 --> 00:00:18.449 here. Let us pray. Father, we thank you for bringing 00:00:18.449 --> 00:00:22.190 us together here today to praise you, to worship 00:00:22.190 --> 00:00:24.910 you, to grow in our relationships with you and 00:00:24.910 --> 00:00:27.649 our knowledge and our understanding of your word. 00:00:28.130 --> 00:00:30.829 and its context. We ask that you open our hearts 00:00:30.829 --> 00:00:32.789 and minds to what you have to speak to us today 00:00:32.789 --> 00:00:35.369 and help us to apply it to our lives as we leave 00:00:35.369 --> 00:00:42.229 here. All right. Amen. So last week, of course, 00:00:42.250 --> 00:00:44.329 we started off in the book of Malachi. We're 00:00:44.329 --> 00:00:47.329 in chapter one, right? This week... For the eager 00:00:47.329 --> 00:00:49.710 beavers who like to pop open their Bibles, we're 00:00:49.710 --> 00:00:51.329 going to keep on going through Malachi. We're 00:00:51.329 --> 00:00:53.049 actually going to be in Malachi chapter 2. So 00:00:53.049 --> 00:00:54.670 if you want to go ahead and open your books, 00:00:54.710 --> 00:00:56.969 your apps, whatever you use to that, we will 00:00:56.969 --> 00:00:59.630 be in Malachi 2. Of course, last week we were 00:00:59.630 --> 00:01:03.649 looking at the half -hearted, legalistic mentality 00:01:03.649 --> 00:01:06.750 that was held by the Levitical priest, right? 00:01:09.980 --> 00:01:12.799 What they practiced passed down all the way through 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:14.400 into society because, you know, they were the 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:16.579 spiritual leaders. So what they did and how they 00:01:16.579 --> 00:01:19.060 went about things had that trickle effect, just 00:01:19.060 --> 00:01:21.939 like it does today with leadership. Hey, brother, 00:01:22.040 --> 00:01:24.980 welcome. And this week, we're going to continue 00:01:24.980 --> 00:01:27.500 going through here, you know, and seeing, you 00:01:27.500 --> 00:01:29.319 know, the fact that God called them out on this, 00:01:29.340 --> 00:01:31.239 said, you know what, hey, you're not doing this 00:01:31.239 --> 00:01:34.560 right. This is insulting. You're insulting yourself. 00:01:34.659 --> 00:01:39.569 You're insulting me, right? You know, it's a 00:01:39.569 --> 00:01:41.590 good reminder even today that we need to be very 00:01:41.590 --> 00:01:44.569 careful in our attitudes and the way that we 00:01:44.569 --> 00:01:47.049 go about things, right? Especially when it comes 00:01:47.049 --> 00:01:49.489 to how we worship the Lord and how we present 00:01:49.489 --> 00:01:52.909 ourselves. Because the way that we go about our 00:01:52.909 --> 00:01:54.689 worship and our praise, whether we feel good 00:01:54.689 --> 00:01:57.790 or not, reflects our relationship with God. So 00:01:57.790 --> 00:02:01.950 if we go in and say, ah, it's going to reflect. 00:02:02.430 --> 00:02:03.629 People are going to notice it. They're going 00:02:03.629 --> 00:02:05.530 to pick up on it. But if we go in, it's like, 00:02:05.609 --> 00:02:09.580 yes, this is good. Right? Even when you're tired 00:02:09.580 --> 00:02:14.740 and you're run down, it reflects. We need to 00:02:14.740 --> 00:02:16.759 make sure that we're giving our best every time, 00:02:16.819 --> 00:02:21.139 no matter how tired and worn down we are. Right? 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:25.000 No sandbagging it. And as we go into Chapter 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:27.879 2 here, we're going to see more on the warnings 00:02:27.879 --> 00:02:31.400 from God, not only for the priest of the day, 00:02:31.479 --> 00:02:33.080 but as we go through here, we're actually going 00:02:33.080 --> 00:02:34.860 to be going through, much like last week, but 00:02:34.860 --> 00:02:38.050 more so. and to the effect that it had on the 00:02:38.050 --> 00:02:41.030 people and how the people were worshiping and 00:02:41.030 --> 00:02:43.530 going about the things of God as well. All right? 00:02:43.870 --> 00:02:46.629 So, again, we're going to be in Malachi 2. We're 00:02:46.629 --> 00:02:48.250 going to start off with the first two verses, 00:02:48.310 --> 00:02:53.830 verses 1 and 2. And the Word says, And now, O 00:02:53.830 --> 00:02:58.990 priest, this commandment is for you. If you will 00:02:58.990 --> 00:03:03.400 not hear and you will not take it to heart, To 00:03:03.400 --> 00:03:06.759 give glory to my name, says the Lord of hosts. 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:10.159 I will send a curse upon you and I will curse 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:13.219 your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already 00:03:13.219 --> 00:03:18.120 because you do not take it to heart. Here we 00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:21.319 see what we're seeing. God's holding the spiritual 00:03:21.319 --> 00:03:24.460 leaders accountable. The very people who should 00:03:24.460 --> 00:03:26.539 know better and should be setting the example, 00:03:26.699 --> 00:03:29.060 right? It's like the bar is here and they should 00:03:29.060 --> 00:03:32.389 be up here, right? But they're not. They're all 00:03:32.389 --> 00:03:33.909 the way down here. They haven't even left the 00:03:33.909 --> 00:03:39.310 ground. So he's holding the spiritual leaders, 00:03:39.430 --> 00:03:42.169 the teachers, because let's not forget, that's 00:03:42.169 --> 00:03:44.270 what they're, the teachers, they're holding them 00:03:44.270 --> 00:03:47.409 to, he's holding them to a higher standard. He's 00:03:47.409 --> 00:03:49.870 saying, hey, shake the lead out. Let's get moving. 00:03:50.150 --> 00:03:52.270 Bust off the rust. It's time to go to work, right? 00:03:53.250 --> 00:03:55.169 Put some WD -40 on those joints, whatever it 00:03:55.169 --> 00:03:56.969 takes. You know, some of us need a little bit 00:03:56.969 --> 00:04:01.900 more than others. But he's telling them, hey, 00:04:01.939 --> 00:04:13.539 get going. And in James 3, verse 1, we're warned. 00:04:13.719 --> 00:04:16.720 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:21.079 knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. 00:04:21.720 --> 00:04:25.420 Now, especially back in that day, teaching was 00:04:25.420 --> 00:04:30.230 seen as one of the highest jobs, right? It was 00:04:30.230 --> 00:04:37.230 one of the most respected professions. And even 00:04:37.230 --> 00:04:40.550 today, let's face it, our teachers, we still 00:04:40.550 --> 00:04:42.870 give them a certain reverence, don't we? I mean, 00:04:42.889 --> 00:04:45.250 we don't necessarily hold them up here like we 00:04:45.250 --> 00:04:47.649 should. And I'm not just talking in the church. 00:04:47.689 --> 00:04:50.290 I'm talking teachers in general, whether it's 00:04:50.290 --> 00:04:54.350 daycare, preschool, Head Start, grade school, 00:04:54.550 --> 00:04:58.500 secondary school, college, whatever. Right? Let's 00:04:58.500 --> 00:05:00.000 face it. You know, there's some teachers a little 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:01.600 less than would be desirable, but that's any 00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:03.879 job. There are a lot of great teachers out there 00:05:03.879 --> 00:05:07.540 that put in a lot of work. And they should be 00:05:07.540 --> 00:05:09.399 respected because they actually do want to have 00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:12.600 an impact on the next generation. They want them 00:05:12.600 --> 00:05:15.860 set up so that they succeed, so that they're 00:05:15.860 --> 00:05:20.079 doing things right. Right? So it's a profession 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:23.600 that we should be respecting. And back then, 00:05:23.720 --> 00:05:25.709 I mean, that was... The spiritual leaders of 00:05:25.709 --> 00:05:27.750 David, that's who you went to. If you had a problem, 00:05:27.949 --> 00:05:29.790 that's who you went to. If you had a question, 00:05:30.029 --> 00:05:32.069 that's who you went to. If you needed to learn 00:05:32.069 --> 00:05:34.310 something, that's who you went to. If something 00:05:34.310 --> 00:05:37.290 was wrong, someone was sick, that's who you went 00:05:37.290 --> 00:05:42.290 to. Right? In a sense, medicine back then wasn't 00:05:42.290 --> 00:05:44.589 what it is now. Yes, there were medicines. There 00:05:44.589 --> 00:05:46.529 were certain people who practiced it. But you 00:05:46.529 --> 00:05:48.350 know what? Who were you most likely to call? 00:05:48.589 --> 00:05:50.730 Your spiritual leader to come to the house and 00:05:50.730 --> 00:05:53.779 pray. Because trying to get... a doctor or a 00:05:53.779 --> 00:05:56.100 nurse or, you know, a wet nurse, whatever, there 00:05:56.100 --> 00:05:59.399 or your loved one to one of them, that was a 00:05:59.399 --> 00:06:02.139 chore. It was an undertaking. And that was if 00:06:02.139 --> 00:06:03.920 they were even available or weren't sick themselves. 00:06:06.180 --> 00:06:09.420 So your spiritual leaders, your spiritual teachers, 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:14.019 really, at that time, they were really up here, 00:06:14.120 --> 00:06:18.600 right? They set the bar. You know, and, you know, 00:06:18.600 --> 00:06:20.379 these are people, these are the people who should 00:06:20.379 --> 00:06:22.060 have been setting the standard then. Just like 00:06:22.060 --> 00:06:24.920 they set the standard today, teachers should 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:27.980 set the standard. They have the most influence 00:06:27.980 --> 00:06:30.540 on our youth. Those of us as adults, when we 00:06:30.540 --> 00:06:32.879 go back to school, we're looking to them just 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:36.699 like we did when we were kids, right? It doesn't 00:06:36.699 --> 00:06:39.180 matter where we're at in our life. Our teachers 00:06:39.180 --> 00:06:42.639 are the ones that we look up to. I still look 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:46.000 back on certain teachers with a great fondness. 00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:48.639 I'm still in touch with a couple of them that 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:55.269 I absolutely adored. A lot of us have that effect. 00:06:56.050 --> 00:06:58.889 Tess, not that long ago, had one of her old students 00:06:58.889 --> 00:07:01.269 come to her classroom who's graduated now and 00:07:01.269 --> 00:07:03.810 was like, hey, I want to be a teacher. I'm going 00:07:03.810 --> 00:07:06.189 to go to school to be a teacher. And you're still 00:07:06.189 --> 00:07:09.389 my favorite teacher. What was it, third grade 00:07:09.389 --> 00:07:13.170 you had them? Yeah, third grade. She's 21 now. 00:07:13.589 --> 00:07:15.649 Her third grade teacher is still her favorite 00:07:15.649 --> 00:07:18.370 teacher to this day. Right? Like how awesome 00:07:18.370 --> 00:07:22.930 is that? So we do. We revere our teachers. We 00:07:22.930 --> 00:07:26.089 love them. We absolutely do, and we should. You 00:07:26.089 --> 00:07:32.009 know, and it's, you know, because of the impact 00:07:32.009 --> 00:07:34.129 on our lives, it's why we remember those teachers 00:07:34.129 --> 00:07:37.569 that had a big impact on our lives, you know, 00:07:37.569 --> 00:07:39.689 and just absolutely cherish them. And then those 00:07:39.689 --> 00:07:43.670 poor teachers that we look back on, and they 00:07:43.670 --> 00:07:45.589 just really let us down. They disappointed us, 00:07:45.629 --> 00:07:49.250 right? And there are certain other people in 00:07:49.250 --> 00:07:51.350 this room, myself included, who had that teacher, 00:07:51.410 --> 00:07:55.240 like, you will never. amount to anything, you'll 00:07:55.240 --> 00:07:57.980 never count. You'll never, you know, go far, 00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:01.060 right? And it's just like, ha -ha, showed you. 00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:07.779 That's right, Twinkie. That's right. But, you 00:08:07.779 --> 00:08:12.120 know, God's already warned them, though. God 00:08:12.120 --> 00:08:14.500 has a warning out there. He's saying, hey, you 00:08:14.500 --> 00:08:16.639 better straighten up and fly right. Get your 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:21.660 act together. Stop using my name in vain. Stop 00:08:21.660 --> 00:08:24.500 using the platform I gave you in disrespect, 00:08:24.980 --> 00:08:29.060 right? It's like you better teach these people 00:08:29.060 --> 00:08:31.500 and you better set the example because if you're 00:08:31.500 --> 00:08:33.639 not going to set the example, I will make an 00:08:33.639 --> 00:08:38.200 example out of you. My kids hate when I say that. 00:08:38.639 --> 00:08:41.120 Even now, working in APS, get the kids that are 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:43.299 acting up. It's like, hey, you're the older kid 00:08:43.299 --> 00:08:45.620 in here. You should be setting the example. If 00:08:45.620 --> 00:08:46.860 you don't want to set the example, I'll make 00:08:46.860 --> 00:08:49.200 an example out of you. Ooh, they don't like that 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:58.110 one. I learned it from God. But either way, these 00:08:58.110 --> 00:09:00.909 teachers, they didn't listen. The Levitical priests, 00:09:01.029 --> 00:09:02.889 they did not listen, and the people didn't listen. 00:09:02.970 --> 00:09:05.649 Instead, they went about their days very nonchalant, 00:09:05.669 --> 00:09:07.970 right? They had stopped loving God. They had 00:09:07.970 --> 00:09:10.029 turned. They had walked away. They could have 00:09:10.029 --> 00:09:12.629 cared less. How sad is that? They could have 00:09:12.629 --> 00:09:19.330 cared less about God. And because they could 00:09:19.330 --> 00:09:21.649 have cared less, they didn't hear his warnings. 00:09:21.690 --> 00:09:25.110 Whatever. Phooey. It's like, you don't mean it. 00:09:26.190 --> 00:09:28.730 You love us, right? Yeah. Sure. Where are you 00:09:28.730 --> 00:09:32.210 at? And that's what I'm saying. Our mindset, 00:09:32.289 --> 00:09:34.750 it's reflected in what we do. It's reflected 00:09:34.750 --> 00:09:39.690 in our relationship with God. And if you love 00:09:39.690 --> 00:09:42.149 God, if you have a good, strong relationship 00:09:42.149 --> 00:09:44.309 with him, you're going to listen to the things 00:09:44.309 --> 00:09:47.299 he tells you. When the Holy Spirit convicts you 00:09:47.299 --> 00:09:49.220 of something, you're like, oh, whoa, hold on 00:09:49.220 --> 00:09:51.679 a second. You're going to hit the brakes if you're 00:09:51.679 --> 00:09:54.139 going to listen, right? But okay, I'm messing 00:09:54.139 --> 00:10:04.940 up. But if you don't listen, hmm, right? So those 00:10:04.940 --> 00:10:06.620 things that lead us into those addictions and 00:10:06.620 --> 00:10:08.820 those other things that are bad for us. It's 00:10:08.820 --> 00:10:13.679 like, hey, you probably shouldn't do that. This 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:16.320 weekend, for example, you know, Tess's birthday. 00:10:18.120 --> 00:10:19.899 We had some food that we don't usually have there 00:10:19.899 --> 00:10:23.580 in the house. I overindulged in some cherry pie. 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:28.860 It wasn't just my body saying, hey, you shouldn't 00:10:28.860 --> 00:10:30.279 have done that. She was reminding me as well. 00:10:35.019 --> 00:10:39.279 But little things that remind us, hey, you probably 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:41.879 shouldn't do that. Or we go a little far, a little 00:10:41.879 --> 00:10:44.580 bit later, that heartburn sets in like, oh, oh, 00:10:44.679 --> 00:10:48.220 okay, I'm paying the price. Shouldn't have done 00:10:48.220 --> 00:10:51.720 that, right? It's like, what caused that? It's 00:10:51.720 --> 00:10:53.340 probably that last donut that fell on his chest. 00:10:55.980 --> 00:10:59.799 Right? Even with the little things, it happens. 00:11:00.919 --> 00:11:04.539 And this didn't happen overnight, right? I joke, 00:11:04.620 --> 00:11:07.840 I'm a growing boy, I shouldn't be. None of it 00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:17.700 should be. Looking at you, Albert. But our mindset, 00:11:17.720 --> 00:11:21.379 it reflects in how we live our lives. Our relationship, 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:24.220 it starts by hearing the word. Just hearing it, 00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:27.039 reading it. And we take it to heart, we take 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:30.720 it to mind, we meditate on it. And very soon 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:33.240 afterwards, we start applying it to our lives 00:11:33.240 --> 00:11:35.840 because now we're actually, we're not just hearing 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:38.799 it, we're listening to it. And there's a difference 00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:42.200 between listening and hearing, right? But we're 00:11:42.200 --> 00:11:43.559 listening, so we're applying it to our lives. 00:11:43.639 --> 00:11:45.279 So we start doing things differently. We start 00:11:45.279 --> 00:11:47.639 talking differently. We go about our lives differently. 00:11:49.320 --> 00:11:52.059 And things really start to change at that point. 00:11:53.159 --> 00:11:57.820 A lot of things for the better. Not saying it's 00:11:57.820 --> 00:12:01.259 easy street, because it's not. You know, in Psalm 00:12:01.259 --> 00:12:06.340 119, verse 105. This is one a lot of us are familiar 00:12:06.340 --> 00:12:08.059 with. Matter of fact, a lot of Bibles, when you 00:12:08.059 --> 00:12:10.080 open them up, one of the first pages in there 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:14.299 typically has this in there. Right? Psalm 119, 00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:17.480 verse 105 says, your word is a lamp to my feet 00:12:17.480 --> 00:12:20.659 and a light to my path. And it's because when 00:12:20.659 --> 00:12:22.759 we have a relationship with Jesus and we truly 00:12:22.759 --> 00:12:26.179 love him, he becomes our shepherd and he guides 00:12:26.179 --> 00:12:31.179 us. He guides us daily. And his voice guides 00:12:31.179 --> 00:12:37.419 us daily. John 10 verse 27 puts it like this. 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:43.279 Jesus says, my sheep hear my voice and I know 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:50.259 them and they follow me. Why do we know his voice? 00:12:50.360 --> 00:12:58.279 Why do we follow him? Anybody? Why do we hear 00:12:58.279 --> 00:13:02.279 his voice? Why do we follow Jesus? What's that? 00:13:03.470 --> 00:13:05.990 Yes, he is the good shepherd. It's because we 00:13:05.990 --> 00:13:09.309 have a relationship with him. Plain and simple. 00:13:09.389 --> 00:13:12.929 We know who he is. We recognize his voice. So 00:13:12.929 --> 00:13:14.549 we trust what he's saying and we're going to 00:13:14.549 --> 00:13:18.210 follow what he's telling us to do. Right? And 00:13:18.210 --> 00:13:22.009 there's those of us in this room. We have someone 00:13:22.009 --> 00:13:24.190 that we looked up to, someone that we admired, 00:13:24.289 --> 00:13:26.529 someone that we trusted with our very lives. 00:13:27.049 --> 00:13:29.370 Maybe they're not here with us. Maybe they live 00:13:29.370 --> 00:13:31.649 far enough away. Maybe they're not with us here 00:13:31.649 --> 00:13:33.580 on earth anymore. Maybe they've been... Called 00:13:33.580 --> 00:13:36.399 home by the Lord, right? But something comes 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:38.960 along, and we can still hear their voice in the 00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:43.419 back of our head, right? My Grandpa Flick has 00:13:43.419 --> 00:13:49.340 been dead a long, long time. Long time. 2002, 00:13:49.840 --> 00:13:54.559 2003, something like that. He's been gone a long 00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:56.620 time, and I can still hear his voice in the back 00:13:56.620 --> 00:14:00.179 of my head. Do the right thing for the right 00:14:00.179 --> 00:14:06.080 reason, even if nobody's looking, right? and 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:10.259 a number of other things. Sports comes on the 00:14:10.259 --> 00:14:15.179 TV. I can still hear him in the background. What 00:14:15.179 --> 00:14:17.000 are you doing? Do something, even if it's wrong. 00:14:17.059 --> 00:14:20.600 I, too, wah -wah. Yelling at the TV, especially 00:14:20.600 --> 00:14:22.919 at the Cubbies we're on. He loved the Cubs. He 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:27.399 loved the Bulls. He was a Chicago fan, which 00:14:27.399 --> 00:14:29.000 is interesting, being that he was a Hoosier from 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:33.360 Indiana. But I can still hear his voice. And 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:34.799 we all have those people that are just like that 00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:36.440 in the back of our heads. We can hear them, and 00:14:36.440 --> 00:14:39.200 we can hear their sayings, right? All right, 00:14:39.220 --> 00:14:40.659 let's pick back up on our reading. We're going 00:14:40.659 --> 00:14:44.419 to go back to Malachi chapter 2. So Malachi chapter 00:14:44.419 --> 00:14:48.200 2, picking up from where we left off. And, oh, 00:14:48.379 --> 00:14:51.139 okay, I thought I had a slide there. Apparently 00:14:51.139 --> 00:14:54.700 not. But we're going to be verses 3 through 6. 00:14:57.019 --> 00:14:58.500 Now, obviously, from the slide that came up, 00:14:58.539 --> 00:14:59.519 you know where we're going to be going after 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:02.509 that here in a bit. But Malachi chapter 2, verses 00:15:02.509 --> 00:15:06.169 3 through 6, the word says, Behold, I will rebuke 00:15:06.169 --> 00:15:09.309 your descendants and spread refuse on your faces, 00:15:09.690 --> 00:15:15.210 the refuse of your solemn feast, and one will 00:15:15.210 --> 00:15:19.409 take you away with it. Then you shall know that 00:15:19.409 --> 00:15:21.570 I have sent this commandment to you, that my 00:15:21.570 --> 00:15:25.169 covenant with Levi may continue, says the Lord 00:15:25.169 --> 00:15:33.799 of hosts. My covenant was with him. One. So he 00:15:33.799 --> 00:15:42.299 feared me and was reverent before my name. The 00:15:42.299 --> 00:15:46.120 law of truth was in his mouth and injustice was 00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:51.139 not found on his lips. He walked with me in peace 00:15:51.139 --> 00:15:55.899 and equity and turned many away from inequity. 00:15:56.500 --> 00:16:01.039 So God... made a covenant with the leaders, in 00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:03.220 other words, right? He made a covenant with Levi. 00:16:03.860 --> 00:16:06.720 What's a covenant? A promise, a deal, a legal 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:13.940 binding deal, right? He had an agreement. There 00:16:13.940 --> 00:16:15.740 are certain stipulations in there, though, right? 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:19.299 This contract. And it's an agreement that said, 00:16:19.399 --> 00:16:22.379 in return for the Levites becoming the spiritual 00:16:22.379 --> 00:16:29.269 leaders in the temple, and leading people to 00:16:29.269 --> 00:16:34.710 him and teaching his word, right, that he would 00:16:34.710 --> 00:16:39.850 bring peace and life to the people. But they 00:16:39.850 --> 00:16:44.330 were obligated to do this, right? That was the 00:16:44.330 --> 00:16:46.110 deal. It's like, you want it? Okay, you got it. 00:16:46.169 --> 00:16:48.370 Here's the stipulations. Let's go to it. And 00:16:48.370 --> 00:16:52.309 they became the spiritual leaders, the go -to 00:16:52.309 --> 00:16:55.009 guys, the creme de la creme, the top shelf, right? 00:16:56.080 --> 00:17:01.940 The top guys. The numero uno in the temple. They 00:17:01.940 --> 00:17:03.799 took care of the temple they were supplied for 00:17:03.799 --> 00:17:06.819 and cared for. When we actually go back and we 00:17:06.819 --> 00:17:10.480 look at tithing and everything, this is a group 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:13.680 that was made for because they had no other source 00:17:13.680 --> 00:17:16.599 of income to take care of themselves. That's 00:17:16.599 --> 00:17:21.700 how much God provisioned for them. And God ordained 00:17:21.700 --> 00:17:25.000 them to lead the people righteously. However, 00:17:28.299 --> 00:17:33.480 They corrupted it. They corrupted the laws that 00:17:33.480 --> 00:17:36.660 had been handed down from Levi. The teachings 00:17:36.660 --> 00:17:40.640 that had been handed down. The example that had 00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:44.640 been set and that they had been taught. They 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:47.859 corrupted that as well. Basically, everything 00:17:47.859 --> 00:17:51.559 that had been taken and set as precedent, crumpled 00:17:51.559 --> 00:17:58.180 up, tossed it away, right? And because of that, 00:17:58.339 --> 00:18:02.980 they were directly responsible for the state 00:18:02.980 --> 00:18:09.400 that society had fallen into. They were directly 00:18:09.400 --> 00:18:13.160 responsible. All the corruption and all the stuff 00:18:13.160 --> 00:18:15.180 that had taken over society, they're the ones 00:18:15.180 --> 00:18:21.579 to blame. They had become so corrupt that just 00:18:21.579 --> 00:18:27.480 the name of priest or teacher had a bitter taste 00:18:27.480 --> 00:18:30.720 in people's mouths. Just those titles alone were 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:33.079 corrupted because they had failed so poorly, 00:18:33.220 --> 00:18:38.279 so badly. The title priest had become a word 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:41.700 of contempt. And that's something the church 00:18:41.700 --> 00:18:45.440 still struggles with today, isn't it? Certain 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:47.200 people, they want to stay away from certain titles. 00:18:47.319 --> 00:18:50.299 Oh, I'm not a priest. I'm a minister. Oh, I'm 00:18:50.299 --> 00:18:53.700 not a minister. I'm a pastor. All different titles 00:18:53.700 --> 00:18:58.420 for the same thing, right? It's like, are you 00:18:58.420 --> 00:19:00.220 still not a teacher? Are you still not a spiritual 00:19:00.220 --> 00:19:04.740 leader, a spiritual teacher? But it leaves a 00:19:04.740 --> 00:19:07.259 certain disdain out there. And if I just say 00:19:07.259 --> 00:19:10.500 the word priest, and let's face it, we're all 00:19:10.500 --> 00:19:13.079 adults in here. All of us have heard some pretty 00:19:13.079 --> 00:19:16.740 distasteful jokes just around that one word by 00:19:16.740 --> 00:19:23.220 itself, right? Some of them not so bad. You know, 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:26.019 a priest, a minister, and a rabbit walk into 00:19:26.019 --> 00:19:29.740 a bar. I think there was a typo. It wasn't a 00:19:29.740 --> 00:19:37.000 rabbit. It was a rabbi. You know, little kids' 00:19:37.059 --> 00:19:39.420 jokes. But most of the time, we say priest, and 00:19:39.420 --> 00:19:41.819 it's like, ah. It has something to do with a 00:19:41.819 --> 00:19:43.519 little boy comes out of someone's mouth, right? 00:19:44.980 --> 00:19:46.720 Something very distasteful, something very ugly, 00:19:46.859 --> 00:19:52.920 disgusting. So it's something that's still struggled 00:19:52.920 --> 00:19:55.740 with today. Why? Because the choices, the very... 00:19:55.920 --> 00:20:00.480 Bad choices of a select group, of a select few 00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:06.299 at that, right? But that's anywhere. That's anywhere. 00:20:06.420 --> 00:20:08.299 You look at law enforcement, a lot of people 00:20:08.299 --> 00:20:11.680 hate police. Oh, they're all a bunch of pigs. 00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:14.779 They're all a bunch of scumbags, right? Why? 00:20:14.940 --> 00:20:17.400 Because of the actions and the choices of a few. 00:20:19.079 --> 00:20:22.619 And because of those few, all of them are getting 00:20:22.619 --> 00:20:24.819 put on the spotlight as if they're doing the 00:20:24.819 --> 00:20:28.089 same thing. Right? What have we had going on 00:20:28.089 --> 00:20:29.490 here in Albuquerque for the last couple years 00:20:29.490 --> 00:20:32.690 now? The DWI scandal, right? And because of that, 00:20:32.769 --> 00:20:36.109 every single cop in the city, in the county, 00:20:36.210 --> 00:20:38.349 in neighboring areas are in that spotlight like, 00:20:38.430 --> 00:20:42.450 oh, they're all dirty. Are they all dirty, though? 00:20:42.990 --> 00:20:45.490 No. We actually have some really good people 00:20:45.490 --> 00:20:47.109 out there that really want to do good for their 00:20:47.109 --> 00:20:51.109 community. But because of a few people, they 00:20:51.109 --> 00:20:56.109 have a target on their chest. That's how bad 00:20:56.109 --> 00:21:00.910 it was with these priests. You know, our politicians 00:21:00.910 --> 00:21:03.950 today, we forget they're supposed to work for 00:21:03.950 --> 00:21:05.710 us. Instead, we hand all the power over to them, 00:21:05.710 --> 00:21:09.549 though. We expect them to fix everything, but 00:21:09.549 --> 00:21:13.569 they're men. We should be looking to God. Absolute 00:21:13.569 --> 00:21:15.549 power absolutely corrupts, right? That sounds 00:21:15.549 --> 00:21:18.630 familiar. And what happens? We have a bunch of 00:21:18.630 --> 00:21:20.829 career politicians that are as corrupt as they 00:21:20.829 --> 00:21:23.049 come. They should be wearing, you know, I'm sure 00:21:23.049 --> 00:21:24.250 we've all seen like the memes and everything, 00:21:24.390 --> 00:21:25.930 and I absolutely agree. They should be wearing 00:21:25.930 --> 00:21:27.910 like the NASCAR tech jackets with all the patches 00:21:27.910 --> 00:21:29.869 and logos of all the people who have bought and 00:21:29.869 --> 00:21:36.529 paid for them. Right? You look at people like 00:21:36.529 --> 00:21:40.569 AOC, went from living in poverty to being a blowhard 00:21:40.569 --> 00:21:45.529 that's worth millions overnight. That doesn't 00:21:45.529 --> 00:21:48.049 happen unless you're being paid and bought. Or 00:21:48.049 --> 00:21:52.509 I should say bought and paid for, right? I don't 00:21:52.509 --> 00:21:54.609 care what party they're a part of because it's 00:21:54.609 --> 00:21:58.349 on all sides. All sides, Republican, Democratic, 00:21:58.490 --> 00:22:01.910 Green, Independent, you name it. People are bought 00:22:01.910 --> 00:22:03.670 and paid for. Why? Because they're representing 00:22:03.670 --> 00:22:10.690 someone. We should be looking to him and not 00:22:10.690 --> 00:22:16.730 them. Plain and simple. But continuing on, before 00:22:16.730 --> 00:22:19.410 I go down any more rabbit trails, draw us out 00:22:19.410 --> 00:22:22.170 any longer. Sorry about that, guys. All right, 00:22:22.190 --> 00:22:24.430 slide's already up. Perfect. So Malachi 2, verses 00:22:24.430 --> 00:22:28.130 7 through 9. So verses 7 through 9, the Word 00:22:28.130 --> 00:22:30.650 says, For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, 00:22:30.910 --> 00:22:34.630 and people should seek the law from his mouth. 00:22:34.809 --> 00:22:37.150 For he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. 00:22:37.289 --> 00:22:39.950 But you have departed from the way. You have 00:22:39.950 --> 00:22:43.809 caused many to stumble at the law. You have corrupted 00:22:43.809 --> 00:22:46.950 the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts. 00:22:47.869 --> 00:22:51.230 Therefore, I also have made you contemptible 00:22:51.230 --> 00:22:55.730 and base before all the people, because you have 00:22:55.730 --> 00:22:59.210 not kept my ways, but have shown partiality to 00:22:59.210 --> 00:23:03.549 the law. See, priests, they hadn't just angered 00:23:03.549 --> 00:23:06.930 God. There were a lot of people there. who knew 00:23:06.930 --> 00:23:08.710 right from wrong. And they were getting pretty 00:23:08.710 --> 00:23:12.069 angry as well. Right? Because there were people 00:23:12.069 --> 00:23:15.029 who still loved God, still had the passion in 00:23:15.029 --> 00:23:16.529 their heart, they were still on fire for Him 00:23:16.529 --> 00:23:20.089 the way that we all should be. You know, even 00:23:20.089 --> 00:23:21.809 today, a lot of people remember how churches 00:23:21.809 --> 00:23:24.809 used to be before a lot of churches started preaching 00:23:24.809 --> 00:23:30.970 this happy, feel -good, joy -joy, you know, prosperity 00:23:30.970 --> 00:23:36.630 gospel. Plain and simple. It's not what the word 00:23:36.630 --> 00:23:37.910 is. Yeah, there's a lot of really good stuff 00:23:37.910 --> 00:23:39.430 in here. There's a lot of stuff to be very happy 00:23:39.430 --> 00:23:41.430 about. But there's also a lot of warnings that 00:23:41.430 --> 00:23:43.150 we should heed and a lot of other stuff that's 00:23:43.150 --> 00:23:44.470 going on that we need to be paying attention 00:23:44.470 --> 00:23:52.670 to and for. We don't get to skew it. You know? 00:23:57.069 --> 00:23:58.789 Matter of fact, we have churches now that actually 00:23:58.789 --> 00:24:02.500 celebrate sin, don't we? And when I refer to 00:24:02.500 --> 00:24:04.400 them, I refer to these churches and fellowships 00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:07.420 very loosely as churches and fellowships because 00:24:07.420 --> 00:24:10.519 they're not churches of God. We should not be 00:24:10.519 --> 00:24:15.579 celebrating anyone's sin. It should be, oh, you're 00:24:15.579 --> 00:24:18.039 a drunkard? Okay, come in here. Let's talk about 00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:21.299 Jesus. Not let's fly a flag and be like, hey, 00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:23.299 all you drunks, come here. We're going to celebrate 00:24:23.299 --> 00:24:24.920 it. We're going to have a kegger afterwards, 00:24:25.240 --> 00:24:28.940 right? I'm using one sin as an example. That's 00:24:28.940 --> 00:24:30.539 how it is for a lot of sins in a lot of places. 00:24:34.619 --> 00:24:37.099 You know, there's churches out there. Adultery, 00:24:37.180 --> 00:24:39.140 not a big thing. It's okay because even the pastor 00:24:39.140 --> 00:24:46.819 is sleeping around. It happens. You think I'm 00:24:46.819 --> 00:24:49.980 joking. It's sad. It's out there. It happens. 00:24:50.319 --> 00:24:52.220 It shouldn't be. We shouldn't be tolerating these 00:24:52.220 --> 00:24:58.289 things. We shouldn't be celebrating them. But 00:24:58.289 --> 00:25:03.410 instead, these places, they try to justify it 00:25:03.410 --> 00:25:04.529 for themselves. They make their own excuses. 00:25:04.970 --> 00:25:07.690 They like to say that they're inclusive, right? 00:25:09.089 --> 00:25:10.869 That's a fun word these days. Oh, we're inclusive. 00:25:10.970 --> 00:25:15.289 It's okay. Come on in. It's like, no, come in. 00:25:15.349 --> 00:25:18.650 We can talk about your sin. But you know what? 00:25:18.710 --> 00:25:20.410 Let's talk about Jesus and how he can help you 00:25:20.410 --> 00:25:24.069 with that sin. Because that's really what it 00:25:24.069 --> 00:25:27.940 should be about. and how Jesus can heal us all. 00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:33.180 Right? And back then, that's exactly what these 00:25:33.180 --> 00:25:35.099 priests were doing. They were inclusive. It's 00:25:35.099 --> 00:25:37.799 okay. It's okay. Like I said, they're supposed 00:25:37.799 --> 00:25:40.799 to be the creme de la creme, the elite. And so 00:25:40.799 --> 00:25:42.839 they left the path, and because they left the 00:25:42.839 --> 00:25:44.759 path, they themselves had become lost, and they 00:25:44.759 --> 00:25:46.900 were leading other people astray. And God was 00:25:46.900 --> 00:25:51.000 calling foul, like, hey, guess what? It's all 00:25:51.000 --> 00:25:57.259 on you, buttercup. We see the same thing. Even 00:25:57.259 --> 00:26:00.579 churches today with poor theology, other unbiblical 00:26:00.579 --> 00:26:05.740 teachings, you know, the word taken out of context 00:26:05.740 --> 00:26:07.940 and twisted to try to drive a certain point, 00:26:08.039 --> 00:26:09.799 trying to make the word say what they want it 00:26:09.799 --> 00:26:12.660 to say. That's why I like going through things 00:26:12.660 --> 00:26:14.619 like this, verse by verse, chapter by chapter. 00:26:16.279 --> 00:26:18.059 Because then you can see it yourself, you can 00:26:18.059 --> 00:26:20.480 hear it yourself, and you know it's in context, 00:26:20.759 --> 00:26:23.849 right? If I do something wrong, you can call 00:26:23.849 --> 00:26:25.250 me. I'll be like, hey, I don't think that's quite 00:26:25.250 --> 00:26:28.089 right. Maybe we should talk about this, right? 00:26:29.529 --> 00:26:30.930 In fact, there's been a couple times where I've 00:26:30.930 --> 00:26:32.670 said something, I didn't necessarily say it the 00:26:32.670 --> 00:26:35.390 right way. I have to have conversations with 00:26:35.390 --> 00:26:37.910 people afterwards. In fact, even Brian and I 00:26:37.910 --> 00:26:39.250 have had, he's like, hey, I got a question about 00:26:39.250 --> 00:26:43.509 what you said. The way I said it wasn't necessarily 00:26:43.509 --> 00:26:46.430 the best way I'd done it, right? We talked about 00:26:46.430 --> 00:26:48.369 it. We're good to go afterwards. It happens, 00:26:48.490 --> 00:26:49.910 you know. I appreciate my brother calling me 00:26:49.910 --> 00:26:54.019 out. It was a good conversation. It's the way 00:26:54.019 --> 00:26:55.539 it needs to happen. That's the way our family 00:26:55.539 --> 00:26:58.220 should be, right? When we love each other, we 00:26:58.220 --> 00:27:00.700 do that. Like, hey, let's talk about this. I 00:27:00.700 --> 00:27:02.500 don't necessarily know if that's what you meant 00:27:02.500 --> 00:27:05.220 or if I misunderstood, you know, but you said 00:27:05.220 --> 00:27:07.339 this and this is the way I interpreted it, whatever. 00:27:07.640 --> 00:27:09.680 Can you clarify that? Can you explain it? Can 00:27:09.680 --> 00:27:11.180 we go into depth on this? You know, whatever. 00:27:15.460 --> 00:27:18.640 That's a good thing. But not only that, the priest 00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:23.099 at that point, Much like society today, they 00:27:23.099 --> 00:27:25.779 started allowing people of influence, people 00:27:25.779 --> 00:27:29.619 of wealth, to just slide, right? To break the 00:27:29.619 --> 00:27:33.660 law. Excuse their sin. Oh, it's okay. You know, 00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:39.299 they got the money. You know, the reason being 00:27:39.299 --> 00:27:41.299 is because they've become so dependent on men 00:27:41.299 --> 00:27:46.380 for their support. instead of leaning into God 00:27:46.380 --> 00:27:48.460 and trusting that God was going to continue to 00:27:48.460 --> 00:27:50.160 provision for them. I mean, you look at all the 00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:52.180 things that God had done. You know, they no longer 00:27:52.180 --> 00:27:54.940 had land. They no longer had property, right? 00:27:55.200 --> 00:27:58.839 No sources of income, no livestock, none of this 00:27:58.839 --> 00:28:00.259 stuff. Instead of saying, hey, you're going to 00:28:00.259 --> 00:28:01.700 be here. You're going to take care of the temple. 00:28:01.799 --> 00:28:04.700 And all these tribes, they're going to come together, 00:28:04.819 --> 00:28:06.980 and they're going to do, this tribe's going to 00:28:06.980 --> 00:28:08.119 do this, this tribe's going to do this, and they're 00:28:08.119 --> 00:28:10.200 going to go in this order so that we're not just 00:28:10.200 --> 00:28:12.559 draining one person or all of them at once. And 00:28:12.559 --> 00:28:14.839 because they're all going to be doing this, And 00:28:14.839 --> 00:28:16.559 they're all going to be doing this tithe. You're 00:28:16.559 --> 00:28:18.140 going to be supported. You're going to have everything 00:28:18.140 --> 00:28:21.539 that you need. Instead of trusting in him, right? 00:28:21.640 --> 00:28:25.579 That's what faith is, is trust in God. They put 00:28:25.579 --> 00:28:28.720 their faith over here. Like, oh, hey, you know 00:28:28.720 --> 00:28:31.039 what? We got this. If you just put, you know, 00:28:31.059 --> 00:28:33.779 500 more in the box over here, we'd be great. 00:28:34.339 --> 00:28:38.440 You know? And it's like, oh, you slept with, 00:28:38.539 --> 00:28:41.640 yeah, it's kind of, you know what? It's okay. 00:28:41.720 --> 00:28:43.819 Just throw another 100 in the box. We're good. 00:28:44.580 --> 00:28:47.660 We're good, right? That's how they treated it. 00:28:49.599 --> 00:28:51.039 It's not the way it should have been handled, 00:28:51.079 --> 00:28:56.440 though. They were looking the other way. So long 00:28:56.440 --> 00:29:00.220 as the money was coming in. A little pride, a 00:29:00.220 --> 00:29:03.019 little greed, right? Sin started coming out. 00:29:03.579 --> 00:29:07.119 That corruption. Sound familiar? It's like, hey, 00:29:07.180 --> 00:29:08.680 you're a person of influence. I'm just going 00:29:08.680 --> 00:29:11.079 to look the other way. It's okay. Didn't see 00:29:11.079 --> 00:29:14.640 anything. Hey, what about this? I don't know 00:29:14.640 --> 00:29:20.839 what you're talking about. Right? Yeah, I smoked, 00:29:20.920 --> 00:29:24.420 but I did not inhale. Everybody remember that 00:29:24.420 --> 00:29:27.619 one? I did not have sexual relationships with 00:29:27.619 --> 00:29:32.339 that woman. Yeah. Yeah, you did. Yeah, you did. 00:29:34.859 --> 00:29:37.319 But that's how they treated it. And as a society, 00:29:37.319 --> 00:29:39.720 we still treat people like that, depending on 00:29:39.720 --> 00:29:41.779 what their background is. That special treatment 00:29:41.779 --> 00:29:45.299 that just lets them slide, right? Their prominence. 00:29:45.920 --> 00:29:48.960 What they can do for you, right? Like, you scratch 00:29:48.960 --> 00:29:51.779 my back, I'll scratch yours. And that mentality 00:29:51.779 --> 00:29:54.779 comes in at the end to justify the means, which 00:29:54.779 --> 00:29:58.880 isn't right. Because, you know, you got to the 00:29:58.880 --> 00:30:00.519 end. Yeah, but did you do things right? Did you 00:30:00.519 --> 00:30:02.599 set a good example? Did you, you know, do what 00:30:02.599 --> 00:30:04.539 the Lord instructed? Were you pointing the way 00:30:04.539 --> 00:30:06.200 to Jesus? Or were you taking care of yourself, 00:30:06.519 --> 00:30:10.569 right? Your own selfish needs. But unfortunately 00:30:10.569 --> 00:30:13.329 today, for most people, it's their own selfish 00:30:13.329 --> 00:30:16.410 needs. You know? It's that double standard of 00:30:16.410 --> 00:30:17.970 like, oh, hey, this is a person of prominence. 00:30:17.990 --> 00:30:19.349 We're going to let them slide. But we're going 00:30:19.349 --> 00:30:21.049 to drop the hammer on this little guy for the 00:30:21.049 --> 00:30:25.390 smallest infraction. Right? Now, unfortunately, 00:30:25.490 --> 00:30:27.470 there are a lot of people in jail for that very 00:30:27.470 --> 00:30:30.569 thing today that shouldn't be. And people who 00:30:30.569 --> 00:30:33.410 are not locked up who absolutely should be. Right? 00:30:34.309 --> 00:30:36.309 And that's just going by the laws of our land. 00:30:39.980 --> 00:30:41.700 You know, it's not very Christ -like. It's not 00:30:41.700 --> 00:30:43.460 the example that we've been given, but we allow 00:30:43.460 --> 00:30:47.140 it. We put our parties front and center, you 00:30:47.140 --> 00:30:52.460 know, health, wealth, all that good stuff. And 00:30:52.460 --> 00:30:55.720 certain people, we put them up on a pedestal 00:30:55.720 --> 00:30:58.339 like they're gods themselves, and then we act 00:30:58.339 --> 00:31:00.180 shocked when they fall from grace. I'm going 00:31:00.180 --> 00:31:05.500 to throw out some names. O .J. Simpson, Bill 00:31:05.500 --> 00:31:09.440 Cosby, Michael Vick, right? Lance Armstrong, 00:31:09.799 --> 00:31:15.380 Kevin Spacey, Tiger Woods. Ellen DeGeneres recently, 00:31:15.579 --> 00:31:20.839 right? She's had a pretty gnarly fall. I'm not 00:31:20.839 --> 00:31:23.039 going into their political background. Just the 00:31:23.039 --> 00:31:24.400 fact that a lot of people looked up to them because 00:31:24.400 --> 00:31:25.900 they're celebrities. They have a lot of wealth 00:31:25.900 --> 00:31:28.339 and a lot of power, right? And a lot of people 00:31:28.339 --> 00:31:29.920 absolutely adored them. They were up here, and 00:31:29.920 --> 00:31:38.319 then what happened? Epstein Island, right? How 00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:40.119 about the big one that's been all over the news 00:31:40.119 --> 00:31:43.359 for the last few months? Who wants to take a 00:31:43.359 --> 00:31:53.160 shot at that one? P. Diddy, right? Sean Combs. 00:31:55.339 --> 00:31:58.099 That's a big one right there, a nasty one. But 00:31:58.099 --> 00:31:59.500 we need to remember when we're looking at these 00:31:59.500 --> 00:32:02.039 people like, oh, that's pathetic. That's disgusting. 00:32:03.740 --> 00:32:07.880 Are we really any better? We all have sin, don't 00:32:07.880 --> 00:32:12.960 we? Holy Spirit's convicting us of things. We 00:32:12.960 --> 00:32:14.599 have things in our lives that we need to change. 00:32:17.299 --> 00:32:18.779 And that's where the whole thing comes in. Pull 00:32:18.779 --> 00:32:24.039 the plank from your eye before you, right? Instead, 00:32:24.079 --> 00:32:26.140 we come down hard on all these guys. Like, oh, 00:32:26.160 --> 00:32:27.700 they did this. Like, yeah, but you know what? 00:32:28.779 --> 00:32:32.339 You're sitting too. This guy just hit somebody 00:32:32.339 --> 00:32:34.940 and killed him for drunk driving. And what are 00:32:34.940 --> 00:32:37.630 you doing this weekend? Oh, you're getting wasted, 00:32:37.690 --> 00:32:44.309 aren't you? Yeah. It's like, oh, this person, 00:32:44.369 --> 00:32:46.369 you know, they got busted. They're sleeping around. 00:32:46.950 --> 00:32:55.650 But you've got an addiction to porn. Hmm. We're 00:32:55.650 --> 00:32:58.529 no better. We're just as corrupt. We can be corrupted 00:32:58.529 --> 00:33:04.230 to the max just like anybody else. Only our falls 00:33:04.230 --> 00:33:08.500 as a little guy. It won't be so publicized, right? 00:33:10.460 --> 00:33:12.279 Unless we do something where it ends in a big 00:33:12.279 --> 00:33:14.779 fiery ball or blocks traffic for miles on end 00:33:14.779 --> 00:33:16.119 and then we end up on the news for about five 00:33:16.119 --> 00:33:23.599 seconds, right? But I mean, it's still sin. And 00:33:23.599 --> 00:33:26.240 no matter how popular we are, no matter how wealthy 00:33:26.240 --> 00:33:28.839 we are, we're still committing the same sins 00:33:28.839 --> 00:33:36.200 as these people. And to God, we're just as guilty 00:33:36.200 --> 00:33:39.200 as these people. So we need to be careful. We 00:33:39.200 --> 00:33:40.519 need to ensure we're doing the right thing for 00:33:40.519 --> 00:33:45.160 the right reason. And we need to make sure that 00:33:45.160 --> 00:33:47.799 we're doing things within God's will. That we're 00:33:47.799 --> 00:33:50.240 spending time in God's word. We're spending time 00:33:50.240 --> 00:33:53.559 in prayer. Learning more about him and his will. 00:33:53.599 --> 00:33:56.019 Growing in our relationship with him. You know, 00:33:56.039 --> 00:33:57.079 this is one of those places where I can call 00:33:57.079 --> 00:33:58.839 my wife up because there's times where I'm just 00:33:58.839 --> 00:34:00.920 absolutely miserable with something, right? It's 00:34:00.920 --> 00:34:03.099 tearing at me, right? Kind of poking me in the 00:34:03.099 --> 00:34:06.630 gut. And just like anybody else, there's times 00:34:06.630 --> 00:34:07.930 where I don't think, like, hey, we should pray. 00:34:08.050 --> 00:34:09.730 And my lovely wife will be like, hey, you know 00:34:09.730 --> 00:34:13.829 what? We should pray on that. And it's a good 00:34:13.829 --> 00:34:17.250 thing. Like, yeah, absolutely, we should. Thank 00:34:17.250 --> 00:34:23.150 you, wife. Right? And in the last part of the 00:34:23.150 --> 00:34:25.489 chapter that we're going into now, we're going 00:34:25.489 --> 00:34:27.550 to see how the people, because of all this and 00:34:27.550 --> 00:34:29.409 because of this example, were being unfaithful 00:34:29.409 --> 00:34:32.269 to God, how they were rejecting Him with their 00:34:32.269 --> 00:34:36.039 actions. And it's because they're living lives 00:34:36.039 --> 00:34:39.099 as though God didn't exist. It's because they 00:34:39.099 --> 00:34:41.380 themselves have separated themselves from him, 00:34:41.420 --> 00:34:44.780 just like the priest had done. The spiritual 00:34:44.780 --> 00:34:46.440 leaders of the day, they were justifying themselves. 00:34:46.500 --> 00:34:51.900 They were giving excuses. Basically, I don't 00:34:51.900 --> 00:34:53.420 have to worry about punishment because he didn't 00:34:53.420 --> 00:34:55.239 even exist. Or I don't have to worry about it 00:34:55.239 --> 00:34:56.460 because he loves us anyway. We're the chosen, 00:34:56.559 --> 00:35:01.739 right? Placing themselves higher than, better 00:35:01.739 --> 00:35:04.840 than, that holier -than -thou attitude. So this 00:35:04.840 --> 00:35:06.119 is one of those areas where we really need to 00:35:06.119 --> 00:35:08.119 pay attention and learn from their mistakes so 00:35:08.119 --> 00:35:11.460 that we don't fall into the same snares and pitfalls 00:35:11.460 --> 00:35:15.119 that they did. So picking back up in Malachi 00:35:15.119 --> 00:35:20.440 2, verses 10 through 12. So 10 through 12, the 00:35:20.440 --> 00:35:25.159 Word says, Have we not all one Father? Has not 00:35:25.159 --> 00:35:29.940 one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously 00:35:29.940 --> 00:35:32.380 with one another by profaning the covenant of 00:35:32.380 --> 00:35:35.980 the fathers? Judah has dealt treacherously, and 00:35:35.980 --> 00:35:38.019 an abomination has been committed in Israel. 00:35:38.360 --> 00:35:40.739 And in Jerusalem, for Judah has profaned the 00:35:40.739 --> 00:35:44.099 Lord's institution, which he loves. He has married 00:35:44.099 --> 00:35:48.079 the daughter of a foreign god that the Lord cut 00:35:48.079 --> 00:35:51.559 off from the tents of Jacob. The man who does 00:35:51.559 --> 00:35:54.940 this, being awake and aware, yet who brings an 00:35:54.940 --> 00:35:58.219 offering to the Lord of hosts. At this point, 00:35:58.340 --> 00:36:00.079 I mentioned it last week, the temple had been 00:36:00.079 --> 00:36:02.420 rebuilt. People were able to go and start worshiping 00:36:02.420 --> 00:36:05.449 again. And initially, people were really excited. 00:36:05.550 --> 00:36:07.590 They were stoked, like, hey, the temple is back. 00:36:07.789 --> 00:36:10.670 Yeah, baby. We're going to get to go and spend 00:36:10.670 --> 00:36:13.130 some time doing, you know, and worship and praise 00:36:13.130 --> 00:36:14.650 and doing the things that we used to do. It's 00:36:14.650 --> 00:36:17.349 going to be wonderful. You know, and their passion 00:36:17.349 --> 00:36:21.710 was on fire. As time went by, their excitement 00:36:21.710 --> 00:36:26.849 started to wand down, right? That fire started 00:36:26.849 --> 00:36:31.190 to die out. That excitement, that passion was 00:36:31.190 --> 00:36:35.280 going away. Why? Because they expected the prophecies 00:36:35.280 --> 00:36:37.519 that they had been told about for all this time 00:36:37.519 --> 00:36:39.340 were just going to start happening. Boom, boom, 00:36:39.380 --> 00:36:41.539 boom, boom. Right? That the Messiah all of a 00:36:41.539 --> 00:36:44.059 sudden was going to come and was going to destroy 00:36:44.059 --> 00:36:48.000 their enemies. Boom. Right? Like all this excitement 00:36:48.000 --> 00:36:50.780 that they had been waiting for and that they 00:36:50.780 --> 00:36:53.179 had been promised, hey, it's coming. They thought, 00:36:53.260 --> 00:36:55.199 oh, hey, we're back here now. The temple is back 00:36:55.199 --> 00:36:57.380 up. It's just boom. It's open. The floodgates 00:36:57.380 --> 00:36:59.920 are open. But then it didn't happen the way they 00:36:59.920 --> 00:37:01.980 expected to. It wasn't happening in the time 00:37:01.980 --> 00:37:05.760 frame that they expected. Like, hey, it's here. 00:37:05.860 --> 00:37:11.980 We're here. What's going on? And because it wasn't 00:37:11.980 --> 00:37:15.699 in their way, it wasn't in their timetable, their 00:37:15.699 --> 00:37:18.760 faith started to one with it, right? Their trust 00:37:18.760 --> 00:37:21.780 in God. They become complacent in the way that 00:37:21.780 --> 00:37:24.800 they live their lives. You know, in the military, 00:37:24.880 --> 00:37:27.079 we say complacency kills, and it absolutely does. 00:37:27.219 --> 00:37:29.820 The problem here, especially, is when it comes 00:37:29.820 --> 00:37:32.460 to spiritual things, when you become complacent 00:37:32.460 --> 00:37:34.659 and you become complacent in your worship and 00:37:34.659 --> 00:37:37.300 your time with God, it kills you spiritually. 00:37:38.559 --> 00:37:41.280 And unfortunately, we have a very limited time 00:37:41.280 --> 00:37:44.380 here on earth to actually snap out of that complacency 00:37:44.380 --> 00:37:49.159 and come back to God before it's too late. Right? 00:37:49.780 --> 00:37:55.559 It's a very limited time. You know, and unfortunately, 00:37:55.659 --> 00:37:58.139 if we don't find it, we don't correct it in that 00:37:58.139 --> 00:37:59.719 time frame, we don't come back to Jesus. Well, 00:37:59.760 --> 00:38:01.840 there's no recovery, is there? Unfortunately. 00:38:04.480 --> 00:38:07.179 So carrying on in Malachi 2, verses 13 through 00:38:07.179 --> 00:38:12.079 14, the Word says, And this is the second thing 00:38:12.079 --> 00:38:14.760 you do. You cover the altar of the Lord with 00:38:14.760 --> 00:38:18.380 tears, with weeping and crying, so He does not 00:38:18.380 --> 00:38:21.960 regard the offering anymore, nor receive it with 00:38:21.960 --> 00:38:25.099 goodwill from your hands. Yet you say, for what 00:38:25.099 --> 00:38:28.900 reason? Because the Lord has been witness between 00:38:28.900 --> 00:38:32.340 you and the wife of your youth, with whom you 00:38:32.340 --> 00:38:34.840 have dealt with treacherously. Yet she is your 00:38:34.840 --> 00:38:39.539 companion and your wife by covenant. So people 00:38:39.539 --> 00:38:41.820 were going in with alligator tears, in other 00:38:41.820 --> 00:38:45.179 words, right? They're upset. It's like, oh, really, 00:38:45.380 --> 00:38:47.420 I've got to give this? I don't want it because 00:38:47.420 --> 00:38:51.090 I have to. Right? So their heart wasn't in it. 00:38:51.150 --> 00:38:53.170 We've talked about this. They were pointing the 00:38:53.170 --> 00:38:55.690 finger at everything bad that was happening in 00:38:55.690 --> 00:38:59.050 their lives instead of accepting the fact that 00:38:59.050 --> 00:39:01.789 a lot of what was going on was their own fault. 00:39:02.030 --> 00:39:04.170 They did not accept the responsibility for their 00:39:04.170 --> 00:39:09.150 own actions. And we do the same thing today, 00:39:09.230 --> 00:39:14.090 don't we? We look at politicians. We look at 00:39:14.090 --> 00:39:16.829 policies. We look at employers and all these 00:39:16.829 --> 00:39:19.010 other people and be like, oh, it's all because 00:39:19.010 --> 00:39:22.309 of them. We don't take time to actually reflect 00:39:22.309 --> 00:39:24.030 back like, oh, what did I contribute to this? 00:39:24.849 --> 00:39:30.030 How did I get myself in this situation? Unfortunately, 00:39:30.130 --> 00:39:32.150 there's a lot of times where we want to say the 00:39:32.150 --> 00:39:34.210 devil made me do it. The devil didn't make us 00:39:34.210 --> 00:39:37.690 do anything. We chose. It's on us. It was our 00:39:37.690 --> 00:39:41.030 fault. But we don't even take a moment to consider 00:39:41.030 --> 00:39:45.079 that, do we? You know, people... The people, 00:39:45.119 --> 00:39:48.820 they'd been unfaithful to God and to each other. 00:39:49.300 --> 00:39:50.960 They'd been warned by the prophets. They'd been 00:39:50.960 --> 00:39:54.099 warned by God himself. Yet they wouldn't change 00:39:54.099 --> 00:39:56.739 the ways. You know, and we hear the same excuses 00:39:56.739 --> 00:40:00.599 today. Oh, I was born this way. Right? Oh, God 00:40:00.599 --> 00:40:03.099 doesn't care. I don't have time for it. I'm too 00:40:03.099 --> 00:40:05.719 busy. Right? Oh, I'm pretty good. I'm a good 00:40:05.719 --> 00:40:08.579 person. I have a pretty good life. I don't need 00:40:08.579 --> 00:40:13.219 that religion stuff. Right? Oh, it's legal now. 00:40:13.239 --> 00:40:17.639 It's okay. We can do it. And here's a fun fact 00:40:17.639 --> 00:40:20.579 for you. This is why when Jesus came, he said 00:40:20.579 --> 00:40:22.199 he didn't come to get rid of the law, right? 00:40:23.699 --> 00:40:26.539 Why didn't he come to get rid of the law? Because 00:40:26.539 --> 00:40:31.980 the law shows us the sin in our lives. That's 00:40:31.980 --> 00:40:37.139 why. It lets us know, hey, this is wrong, so 00:40:37.139 --> 00:40:41.760 I shouldn't be doing it. And instead, even to 00:40:41.760 --> 00:40:43.900 this day, we've taken that and we've corrupted 00:40:43.900 --> 00:40:47.409 that as well. Because now we try to create laws 00:40:47.409 --> 00:40:53.949 that allow us to sin. It's like, hey, it's okay 00:40:53.949 --> 00:41:00.250 if I do this. It's legal now. It's like, really? 00:41:00.849 --> 00:41:06.909 What does the Word say, though? Hmm. And even 00:41:06.909 --> 00:41:08.449 back then, people didn't hold to their vows or 00:41:08.449 --> 00:41:10.530 promises to each other. They're promises to God. 00:41:12.489 --> 00:41:14.070 They didn't do things the way that they should 00:41:14.070 --> 00:41:17.409 do. You know, you think about it. It used to 00:41:17.409 --> 00:41:19.630 mean something. When somebody came up and you 00:41:19.630 --> 00:41:21.769 were talking, and like, you know what? Hey, I 00:41:21.769 --> 00:41:27.110 give you my word. Even 30 years ago, that still 00:41:27.110 --> 00:41:29.510 carried a lot of weight, didn't it? These days, 00:41:29.530 --> 00:41:30.869 though, somebody comes up and they say something 00:41:30.869 --> 00:41:35.010 like that. I don't know. We're kind of hesitant 00:41:35.010 --> 00:41:38.630 when we hear that, aren't we? It doesn't carry 00:41:38.630 --> 00:41:41.829 it like it used to. But it should. It absolutely 00:41:41.829 --> 00:41:44.610 should. But now it's just empty words. It's a 00:41:44.610 --> 00:41:49.360 husk. Right? It's worthless. Kind of like when 00:41:49.360 --> 00:41:52.039 someone says, oh, I promise. Oh, I swear. I swear 00:41:52.039 --> 00:41:56.840 I'm going to do it. It's like, really? That's 00:41:56.840 --> 00:41:58.619 a dangerous word you're using there, buddy. Because 00:41:58.619 --> 00:42:00.139 I don't believe a word coming out of your mouth. 00:42:02.059 --> 00:42:03.420 They're hollow words that have been stripped 00:42:03.420 --> 00:42:05.760 and raped of all meaning. And because of that, 00:42:05.820 --> 00:42:11.559 we're skeptical when we hear it. And it's really, 00:42:11.780 --> 00:42:14.039 bless you, a big part of it is because when people 00:42:14.039 --> 00:42:16.340 say these things, As we've been conditioned and 00:42:16.340 --> 00:42:20.460 as we know now, people say these things and they 00:42:20.460 --> 00:42:26.719 have meaning until they don't. Right? It's like, 00:42:26.739 --> 00:42:29.099 oh, it means something now. But all the way over 00:42:29.099 --> 00:42:33.780 here, it's like, oh, I changed my mind. And all 00:42:33.780 --> 00:42:35.800 that meaning goes away. We're going to go into 00:42:35.800 --> 00:42:37.400 our last few verses here. We're heading for home. 00:42:39.980 --> 00:42:44.559 So still Malachi 2. Verses 15 through 17, these 00:42:44.559 --> 00:42:48.239 are our last, last verses, guys. So Malachi 2, 00:42:48.360 --> 00:42:52.460 15 through 17, the word says, But did he not 00:42:52.460 --> 00:42:56.480 make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? 00:42:56.780 --> 00:43:03.340 And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore 00:43:03.340 --> 00:43:07.380 take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously 00:43:07.380 --> 00:43:10.820 with the wife of his youth. For the God of Israel 00:43:10.820 --> 00:43:14.800 says that he hates divorce, for it covers one's 00:43:14.800 --> 00:43:17.400 garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. 00:43:17.980 --> 00:43:21.360 Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you 00:43:21.360 --> 00:43:25.260 do not deal treacherously. You have wearied the 00:43:25.260 --> 00:43:29.599 Lord with your words, yet you say, in what way 00:43:29.599 --> 00:43:32.739 have I wearied him? And that you say, everyone 00:43:32.739 --> 00:43:35.739 who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, 00:43:35.860 --> 00:43:39.829 and he delights in them. Oh, where is the God 00:43:39.829 --> 00:43:44.849 of justice? Skepticism had become the root of 00:43:44.849 --> 00:43:49.289 people's religious indifference. Skepticism had 00:43:49.289 --> 00:43:53.670 become the root of people's loose morals. That 00:43:53.670 --> 00:43:56.630 mentality of why should I? What's in it for me? 00:43:58.369 --> 00:44:00.889 Just like today, divorce was running rampant 00:44:00.889 --> 00:44:05.030 at that time. Right? Men were using marriage 00:44:05.030 --> 00:44:08.139 as a way to go. shack up with the woman, and 00:44:08.139 --> 00:44:09.719 then as soon as he was done with her or the next 00:44:09.719 --> 00:44:14.300 thing came by, cut loose. Here, I give you your 00:44:14.300 --> 00:44:22.340 divorce. I'm marrying her now. Right? That's 00:44:22.340 --> 00:44:25.219 what happened. It was a tool to hook up, sleep 00:44:25.219 --> 00:44:27.000 with who they wanted, and then on to the next 00:44:27.000 --> 00:44:30.699 conquest. It completely disregarded the fact 00:44:30.699 --> 00:44:33.880 that they were making vows, not just to one another, 00:44:34.059 --> 00:44:37.199 but to God. So I went to a lot of weddings that 00:44:37.199 --> 00:44:39.960 says, you know, we come before God. Something 00:44:39.960 --> 00:44:41.880 along those lines are typically the words that 00:44:41.880 --> 00:44:46.800 are uttered first thing, right? Because it is 00:44:46.800 --> 00:44:52.139 a holy thing. And we're making a promise, not 00:44:52.139 --> 00:44:58.539 just to one another, but to God. We're making 00:44:58.539 --> 00:45:03.659 vows. We're making a covenant, in other words. 00:45:05.360 --> 00:45:07.980 So it carries weight, as it should. But these 00:45:07.980 --> 00:45:11.860 people, they were just disregarding it and doing 00:45:11.860 --> 00:45:15.340 what they wanted to do. And the reason why God 00:45:15.340 --> 00:45:18.059 hates this is because when we make these covenants, 00:45:18.179 --> 00:45:22.079 when we get married, just like when we make a 00:45:22.079 --> 00:45:23.699 bargain and we come into an arrangement with 00:45:23.699 --> 00:45:25.780 somebody else, whether it's business or whatever, 00:45:26.139 --> 00:45:29.219 we make these promises, these vows, these covenants, 00:45:29.219 --> 00:45:33.039 just like in marriage. And having a family is 00:45:33.039 --> 00:45:36.880 supposed to demonstrate our union with God as 00:45:36.880 --> 00:45:40.880 a family. It's not just, hey, I have a relationship 00:45:40.880 --> 00:45:43.579 with God. It's like, hey, I am part of God's 00:45:43.579 --> 00:45:47.739 family. And when we come to our family, those 00:45:47.739 --> 00:45:49.239 should be the people that we're closest to, that 00:45:49.239 --> 00:45:51.059 we love the most, not the people that we just 00:45:51.059 --> 00:45:53.659 disregard because, you know, a new cow comes 00:45:53.659 --> 00:45:56.920 over and like, ooh, we got, that cow's ready 00:45:56.920 --> 00:46:00.119 for slaughter. I want this one now. We got fresher 00:46:00.119 --> 00:46:01.920 milk over here. We get some calves out of it, 00:46:02.000 --> 00:46:07.079 right? Bring that heifer on over. Maybe we shake 00:46:07.079 --> 00:46:08.519 it a little bit. We'll get a milkshake out of 00:46:08.519 --> 00:46:13.179 it. I don't know. But that's how people treated 00:46:13.179 --> 00:46:18.059 it. So we need to be wise. We need to be cautious 00:46:18.059 --> 00:46:20.099 not to break our word when we give it. When we 00:46:20.099 --> 00:46:22.059 promise something, we need to do our best to 00:46:22.059 --> 00:46:23.940 make sure that we come through on it. And if 00:46:23.940 --> 00:46:25.699 we're not able to come through on it, it should 00:46:25.699 --> 00:46:27.619 be because of something that's not... in our 00:46:27.619 --> 00:46:31.719 control. So when we come through and say, hey, 00:46:31.739 --> 00:46:33.840 you know what? I did my best, but I'm not able 00:46:33.840 --> 00:46:36.699 to deliver. Here's why. And why people respect 00:46:36.699 --> 00:46:38.519 that at that point. Because they know you didn't 00:46:38.519 --> 00:46:41.820 break your word. You did your best. And that 00:46:41.820 --> 00:46:46.840 matters. That means something. Right? We need 00:46:46.840 --> 00:46:48.920 to do everything that we can to hold true and 00:46:48.920 --> 00:46:51.869 recognize that our vows are not just They're 00:46:51.869 --> 00:46:53.809 not empty words, but they're contracts. They're 00:46:53.809 --> 00:46:56.750 verbal contracts between one another and God, 00:46:56.809 --> 00:46:58.449 and it demonstrates our love, our relationship 00:46:58.449 --> 00:47:01.789 with Christ. It's not something we should just 00:47:01.789 --> 00:47:05.190 throw around or break on a whim because we're 00:47:05.190 --> 00:47:10.949 angry with somebody. Right? Holding to our promises 00:47:10.949 --> 00:47:14.650 ensures that we include God in our lives. Because 00:47:14.650 --> 00:47:16.869 especially in the hard times, It's like, you 00:47:16.869 --> 00:47:18.309 know what? It's like, ooh, I want out of this 00:47:18.309 --> 00:47:20.309 contract. But you know what? God, let me talk 00:47:20.309 --> 00:47:28.590 to you. And God brings us through, right? We 00:47:28.590 --> 00:47:30.389 need God. He should be first and foremost in 00:47:30.389 --> 00:47:34.289 our lives in everything that we do. And by loving 00:47:34.289 --> 00:47:36.789 each other as we're commanded to and honoring 00:47:36.789 --> 00:47:42.449 each other, we honor him. We honor Jesus. We 00:47:42.449 --> 00:47:43.989 have to remember, we've all fallen short. We've 00:47:43.989 --> 00:47:46.610 all sinned. But, you know, the point of all this 00:47:46.610 --> 00:47:49.829 is that while God hates sin, he hates when we 00:47:49.829 --> 00:47:52.889 lie, when we break our promises to one another. 00:47:53.789 --> 00:47:56.449 If we recognize what we do and we repent of it 00:47:56.449 --> 00:47:58.170 and we come to him and we leave it, it's like, 00:47:58.269 --> 00:48:02.250 hey, Jesus, I'm sorry. I messed up. I can't do 00:48:02.250 --> 00:48:04.989 this on my own. I need you. And we come to him 00:48:04.989 --> 00:48:07.610 and we drop it. We stop. We walk away from that 00:48:07.610 --> 00:48:11.269 sin and ask him, hey, teach me. Teach me how 00:48:11.269 --> 00:48:13.719 to break free of this. I need you to break this 00:48:13.719 --> 00:48:16.119 chain. I can't do it. I need your strength. And 00:48:16.119 --> 00:48:19.059 guess what? He will help you with that. He will 00:48:19.059 --> 00:48:21.739 help you get through it, and he will forgive 00:48:21.739 --> 00:48:24.360 you because he loves you. And that's the biggest 00:48:24.360 --> 00:48:25.860 thing is because he's waiting for us to take 00:48:25.860 --> 00:48:28.480 it to him and truly leave it with him and repent 00:48:28.480 --> 00:48:31.380 of it so that he can forgive us because he loves 00:48:31.380 --> 00:48:34.119 us. He loves you. He wants what's best for you. 00:48:35.619 --> 00:48:38.460 And that's why he has warned us time and time 00:48:38.460 --> 00:48:42.400 again to leave that sin. return to him, and he's 00:48:42.400 --> 00:48:45.000 excitedly waiting there with arms wide open because 00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:48.239 his prodigal child has come home. And we're all 00:48:48.239 --> 00:48:50.340 prodigal sons and daughters, every single one 00:48:50.340 --> 00:48:54.039 of us. It's not too late. It's time to come home. 00:48:54.340 --> 00:48:58.659 And on that note, let us pray. Lord, we thank 00:48:58.659 --> 00:49:00.840 you for this time together in your word, a reminder 00:49:00.840 --> 00:49:02.880 of all the warnings we've received and the lessons 00:49:02.880 --> 00:49:05.260 that we can learn from the past and apply to 00:49:05.260 --> 00:49:08.559 our lives today. Please forgive us for our sins 00:49:08.559 --> 00:49:11.869 and shepherd us. Lead us as only you can in your 00:49:11.869 --> 00:49:15.170 actions and your words. Help us to live in your 00:49:15.170 --> 00:49:17.170 will and be the light that you can use to reach 00:49:17.170 --> 00:49:20.590 others. Help guide us and remind us that we need 00:49:20.590 --> 00:49:23.030 to come to you when times are hard. We feel like 00:49:23.030 --> 00:49:25.269 we're floundering because we can't do it on our 00:49:25.269 --> 00:49:26.889 own. We need your strength to guide us through. 00:49:28.769 --> 00:49:32.449 Help us to be the light and the salt as you called 00:49:32.449 --> 00:49:34.969 us. Help us to find the ways that you would have 00:49:34.969 --> 00:49:41.159 us go. And help us to... to remember our oaths 00:49:41.159 --> 00:49:44.139 to one another and to you, and how important 00:49:44.139 --> 00:49:46.260 it is that we keep them in Jesus' name. All those 00:49:46.260 --> 00:49:49.699 people said? Amen and amen. Remember, as you 00:49:49.699 --> 00:49:51.460 leave here today, you are loved and you are blessed, 00:49:51.519 --> 00:49:57.780 so go and be the church. Thank you for joining 00:49:57.780 --> 00:50:01.179 us at Healing Scars with Pastor Burton. If this 00:50:01.179 --> 00:50:03.380 message spoke to you, or if you would like to 00:50:03.380 --> 00:50:06.320 help us reach more people, please like, review, 00:50:06.460 --> 00:50:09.800 and share our podcast. You can learn more about 00:50:09.800 --> 00:50:13.519 our ministry or how you can support us at www 00:50:13.519 --> 00:50:20.400 .thecross66 .org Until next time, take care and 00:50:20.400 --> 00:50:21.039 God bless.