WEBVTT 00:00:01.249 --> 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 --> 00:00:18.030 here. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this 00:00:18.030 --> 00:00:20.250 day. We thank you for bringing us together in 00:00:20.250 --> 00:00:23.129 another chance to worship and praise you and 00:00:23.129 --> 00:00:26.609 to learn more about you and your word, growing 00:00:26.609 --> 00:00:29.289 our character. We ask that you open the hearts 00:00:29.289 --> 00:00:34.700 of our minds. in our hearts, and allow us to 00:00:34.700 --> 00:00:37.780 hear, understand, and actually apply the knowledge 00:00:37.780 --> 00:00:40.700 that we gain and understand how to apply that 00:00:40.700 --> 00:00:42.799 knowledge to everything in our day -to -day lives. 00:00:43.179 --> 00:00:45.659 Help us to be the beacons of light that you called 00:00:45.659 --> 00:00:48.320 us to be, and reach out to the world. In Jesus' 00:00:48.399 --> 00:00:52.259 name, amen. All right. The last few weeks, we've 00:00:52.259 --> 00:00:55.380 been going through the book of Malachi. This 00:00:55.380 --> 00:00:58.140 is the last week. This is the end of the road. 00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:00.759 And as you'll see, today is actually the more 00:01:00.759 --> 00:01:03.000 happier end of it. We've been seeing a lot of 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:05.939 warnings out here. The people have been pointing 00:01:05.939 --> 00:01:08.079 the finger at God, and God's like, really? No. 00:01:08.340 --> 00:01:09.579 And he's drawing that line in the sand. We're 00:01:09.579 --> 00:01:12.760 going to stay a little bit there. One last reminder 00:01:12.760 --> 00:01:16.459 before we go into the outcome and everything. 00:01:17.319 --> 00:01:19.459 But really, it's dealing with the half -heartedness 00:01:19.459 --> 00:01:23.519 of man. Because... Common today, just as it was 00:01:23.519 --> 00:01:26.519 then, we like to blame people other than ourselves. 00:01:26.700 --> 00:01:28.739 We don't like to take accountability for our 00:01:28.739 --> 00:01:31.180 own actions, right? And unfortunately, a lot 00:01:31.180 --> 00:01:33.439 of people, they want to put the onus on God. 00:01:33.500 --> 00:01:35.799 Like, oh, it's his fault. Why would he, right? 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:38.079 And I said, well, I'll remind you, we don't have 00:01:38.079 --> 00:01:43.859 a God of chaos. We have a God of peace. And God 00:01:43.859 --> 00:01:45.079 got to the point where he's like, you know, you 00:01:45.079 --> 00:01:47.120 guys are being silly. I've had enough. Stop, 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:51.599 right? And we're going to continue on that. You 00:01:51.599 --> 00:01:57.560 know, not only that, but as a people, we tend 00:01:57.560 --> 00:01:58.980 to treat each other pretty poorly, don't we? 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:05.799 We really do. You know, and I'm trying to think 00:02:05.799 --> 00:02:07.099 of how it was worded. I actually heard something 00:02:07.099 --> 00:02:12.319 on the radio this week. It said, oh, Jesus didn't 00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:15.360 die on the cross so that we could keep treating 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:19.819 each other the way we treat him. Is that not 00:02:19.819 --> 00:02:24.539 just summing up? Because we do. The way people 00:02:24.539 --> 00:02:26.520 treated Jesus is the way that we treat each other. 00:02:27.180 --> 00:02:28.939 It's not the way we're supposed to treat each 00:02:28.939 --> 00:02:34.439 other. Not even a little. You know, everything 00:02:34.439 --> 00:02:36.479 that we've been going through these last few 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:41.139 chapters, it's a good reminder that if God has 00:02:41.139 --> 00:02:43.639 become of very little importance or of no importance 00:02:43.639 --> 00:02:46.060 in your life, it's time to take a step back and 00:02:46.060 --> 00:02:48.210 reevaluate the way you're living. The way you're 00:02:48.210 --> 00:02:51.009 treating people, what's truly important in your 00:02:51.009 --> 00:02:54.509 life, you know. We tend to take him and put him 00:02:54.509 --> 00:02:56.449 to the side like, oh, you know, it's an afterthought. 00:02:56.590 --> 00:02:57.810 It's like, oh, he'll still be there when I get 00:02:57.810 --> 00:02:59.509 back. I've got to take care of this. But really, 00:02:59.610 --> 00:03:01.849 we should be putting him at the forefront of 00:03:01.849 --> 00:03:04.370 everything. You know, it's like we expect his 00:03:04.370 --> 00:03:06.629 blessings, but we don't want to give him a couple 00:03:06.629 --> 00:03:09.590 minutes in return. So we need to make sure we're 00:03:09.590 --> 00:03:12.050 giving him that time. And I said today as we 00:03:12.050 --> 00:03:13.289 go through, as you'll start to see as we get 00:03:13.289 --> 00:03:15.270 further and further in, it's a much happier tune 00:03:15.270 --> 00:03:17.819 than what it has been, though. However, to get 00:03:17.819 --> 00:03:22.039 started, Malachi, we're finishing up chapter 00:03:22.039 --> 00:03:23.419 3, and then we're going to go through chapter 00:03:23.419 --> 00:03:26.539 4, which is very short. So let's go ahead and 00:03:26.539 --> 00:03:28.280 open up our Bibles, your apps, whatever it is 00:03:28.280 --> 00:03:31.740 that you're using, to Malachi chapter 3, verses 00:03:31.740 --> 00:03:43.199 13 through 15. So Malachi 3, 13 through 15. And 00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:46.800 the word says, Your words have been harsh against 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:50.919 me, says the Lord, yet you say, what have we 00:03:50.919 --> 00:03:54.060 spoken against you? You have said, it is useless 00:03:54.060 --> 00:03:59.560 to serve God. But what profit is it that we have 00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:03.020 kept his ordinance and that we have walked as 00:04:03.020 --> 00:04:06.740 mourners before the Lord of hosts? So now we 00:04:06.740 --> 00:04:10.000 call the proud blessed, and for those who do 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:12.939 wickedness are raised up. They even tempt God. 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:21.160 And go free. What's this sound a bit like? It's 00:04:21.160 --> 00:04:22.620 not the only place in the Bible where it talks 00:04:22.620 --> 00:04:23.980 about these types of actions. But, you know, 00:04:23.980 --> 00:04:25.779 the last days, you know, people will call good, 00:04:25.899 --> 00:04:28.759 bad, bad, good, so on and so forth. Exact same 00:04:28.759 --> 00:04:32.379 thing. It was already happening. We still see 00:04:32.379 --> 00:04:37.959 it today. You know, we need to examine ourselves 00:04:37.959 --> 00:04:40.459 and we need to be very careful that we don't 00:04:40.459 --> 00:04:44.720 fall into that mindset of... what can God really 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:47.360 do for me? What does God do for me, right? What 00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:50.819 has he done for me lately? And we just kind of 00:04:50.819 --> 00:04:53.000 brush things to the side. It's like, eh, really, 00:04:53.139 --> 00:04:55.920 really? No, I did that. We like to take the credit, 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:58.199 right? We bolster ourselves up. We put ourselves 00:04:58.199 --> 00:05:00.939 up in that limelight that we truly do not deserve. 00:05:02.779 --> 00:05:05.019 You know, and it's very easy to get caught up 00:05:05.019 --> 00:05:06.680 in this thinking. It's very worldly thinking. 00:05:06.759 --> 00:05:10.790 It's also very human thinking, right? So it's 00:05:10.790 --> 00:05:11.990 one of those things that unfortunately we can't 00:05:11.990 --> 00:05:14.769 necessarily blame the devil for because it's 00:05:14.769 --> 00:05:19.870 our own doing. You know, but it's also one of 00:05:19.870 --> 00:05:20.889 those points where I'd like to remind you it's 00:05:20.889 --> 00:05:23.850 not about us. Not even a little. It's all about 00:05:23.850 --> 00:05:26.889 him, right? It's all about God and his kingdom 00:05:26.889 --> 00:05:31.589 and what we can do for him. It's one of those 00:05:31.589 --> 00:05:35.189 things, it's like the old JFK quote, you know, 00:05:35.209 --> 00:05:37.470 ask not what you can do for your country, but 00:05:37.470 --> 00:05:40.540 what you, you know, all that, right? but what 00:05:40.540 --> 00:05:42.519 you can do for your country. That's not what 00:05:42.519 --> 00:05:43.800 your country can do for you, but what you can 00:05:43.800 --> 00:05:46.199 do for your country. There we go. It's the same 00:05:46.199 --> 00:05:49.060 thing with God, though, right? That's not what 00:05:49.060 --> 00:05:50.720 God can do for you, but what you can do for God, 00:05:50.759 --> 00:05:53.300 what you can do for the kingdom. Because that's 00:05:53.300 --> 00:05:55.519 really what it's all about. As much as we're 00:05:55.519 --> 00:05:59.100 very linear here because we're kind of grounded, 00:05:59.240 --> 00:06:02.139 right? But our time here is very limited. It's 00:06:02.139 --> 00:06:05.819 very short versus eternity. And it's like, well, 00:06:05.899 --> 00:06:08.000 do we want to take that time to prepare? And 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:09.639 to go to the kingdom and prepare other people 00:06:09.639 --> 00:06:11.360 so that they can learn and come into a relationship 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:13.920 with Jesus and go to the kingdom as well? Or 00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:16.259 do we want to sit on our laurels, point fingers, 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:19.879 and end up out of God's sight for eternity in 00:06:19.879 --> 00:06:22.540 hell? You know, gnashing your teeth in darkness 00:06:22.540 --> 00:06:25.199 and all that? That doesn't sound very good to 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:30.660 me. How about you? Picking back up, though, we're 00:06:30.660 --> 00:06:31.939 going to go through this a little bit further. 00:06:35.529 --> 00:06:38.170 I'm scrolling up here on my pad here to go to 00:06:38.170 --> 00:06:41.110 the next slide. I'd like to remind you, the other 00:06:41.110 --> 00:06:42.470 thing that we have to be careful of is when we 00:06:42.470 --> 00:06:44.910 get this mindset, we begin to idolize ourself. 00:06:44.970 --> 00:06:47.750 When that happens, we also begin to idolize other 00:06:47.750 --> 00:06:53.029 things. So we put other things before God. Idolatry 00:06:53.029 --> 00:06:55.089 is easy. It's a very slippery slope. It's one 00:06:55.089 --> 00:06:59.170 of the easiest snares to get caught up in for 00:06:59.170 --> 00:07:02.240 a good reason. Because that temptation that's 00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:04.639 there, it feels good. It's exciting. It gets 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:07.100 you fired up for a moment. But we have to be 00:07:07.100 --> 00:07:09.399 careful. Like I said before, we have to be putting 00:07:09.399 --> 00:07:12.120 God first, even before things like football. 00:07:13.500 --> 00:07:16.279 I know, a couple people are laughing. I'm getting 00:07:16.279 --> 00:07:18.480 an ugly look from Albert over here. It's okay, 00:07:18.540 --> 00:07:20.220 he's a Cowboys fan, so that ugly look doesn't 00:07:20.220 --> 00:07:25.180 matter anyway. But no, we have to be careful, 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:26.459 though, because there are people like, no, I 00:07:26.459 --> 00:07:28.720 got to miss. I'm doing this. I'll do something 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:30.120 else to make up for it, but I've got to watch 00:07:30.120 --> 00:07:32.500 the game, right? We all know those people. Sometimes 00:07:32.500 --> 00:07:34.660 we might have been those people. We need to make 00:07:34.660 --> 00:07:36.579 sure that we're putting God first, though, and 00:07:36.579 --> 00:07:40.759 not as the exception. All right, so again, picking 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:44.439 back up Malachi 3, verses 16 through 18. We're 00:07:44.439 --> 00:07:47.160 going to finish up this chapter real quick. All 00:07:47.160 --> 00:07:50.399 right, and the Word says, Then those who feared 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:53.160 the Lord spoke to another, and the Lord listened 00:07:53.160 --> 00:07:57.660 and heard them. So a book of remembrance is written 00:07:57.660 --> 00:08:01.480 before him for those who fear the Lord and who 00:08:01.480 --> 00:08:05.660 meditate on his name. They shall be mine, says 00:08:05.660 --> 00:08:09.240 the Lord of hosts, on the day that I make them 00:08:09.240 --> 00:08:13.540 my jewels, and I will spare them as a man spares 00:08:13.540 --> 00:08:17.620 his own son who serves him. Then you shall again 00:08:17.620 --> 00:08:20.759 discern between the righteous and the wicked, 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:24.680 between one who serves God and one who does not 00:08:24.680 --> 00:08:32.080 serve him. So a scroll of remembrance. Now, this 00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:34.399 could be a literal thing. We don't know. It may 00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:38.179 not be. It could just be a scroll that's before 00:08:38.179 --> 00:08:41.639 God and God alone. It doesn't matter, though. 00:08:41.679 --> 00:08:45.090 The whole point, it's not the book. The point 00:08:45.090 --> 00:08:47.750 is the fact that God is paying attention. He's 00:08:47.750 --> 00:08:50.970 watching. He's listening. He's actively involved 00:08:50.970 --> 00:08:56.850 in observing us every moment of our lives. Not 00:08:56.850 --> 00:09:00.149 only that, but he's taking note of what it is 00:09:00.149 --> 00:09:01.850 that we're doing, what it is that we're saying, 00:09:02.009 --> 00:09:03.929 what it is that we're thinking, how we're treating 00:09:03.929 --> 00:09:08.570 one another. It's all there. Remember, the word 00:09:08.570 --> 00:09:10.789 even tells us that one day we'll have to answer. 00:09:13.679 --> 00:09:18.200 You know, so with that, you know, it says right 00:09:18.200 --> 00:09:20.320 here, he's going to remember those who love him, 00:09:20.379 --> 00:09:22.860 who respect him, who are faithful to him. And 00:09:22.860 --> 00:09:24.220 again, with faith, it comes down to a matter 00:09:24.220 --> 00:09:26.659 of trust. Do you truly trust him to take care 00:09:26.659 --> 00:09:29.860 of you and to meet your needs? Are you willing 00:09:29.860 --> 00:09:36.580 to sacrifice for him with that trust? You know, 00:09:36.600 --> 00:09:38.620 is your book or is your name going to appear 00:09:38.620 --> 00:09:42.460 in the book of life? Or are you going to have 00:09:42.460 --> 00:09:45.320 those dreadful words saying, depart, I never 00:09:45.320 --> 00:09:48.960 knew you? It all comes down to that scroll of 00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:53.000 remembrance, right? Say, okay, where are we going? 00:09:53.100 --> 00:09:54.480 Are we going this way or are we going this way? 00:09:58.659 --> 00:10:05.799 We're all so concerned about stuff, right? We 00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:10.090 all want stuff, things. And even if it's not 00:10:10.090 --> 00:10:12.250 like a physical, tangible thing that we can hold 00:10:12.250 --> 00:10:14.470 in our hand, sometimes those things that we're 00:10:14.470 --> 00:10:17.269 so concerned about are those opinions of other 00:10:17.269 --> 00:10:20.269 people, right? What's this person going to think 00:10:20.269 --> 00:10:21.750 of me? What's that person going to think of me? 00:10:21.970 --> 00:10:23.830 What about this group here? What about that group? 00:10:23.909 --> 00:10:25.470 Well, if I do this, I'm going to lose these friends. 00:10:25.570 --> 00:10:27.210 But if I do this, I'm going to gain these people, 00:10:27.330 --> 00:10:32.889 right? We get so caught up, and it runs through 00:10:32.889 --> 00:10:38.429 our minds daily. But this is the type of thing 00:10:38.429 --> 00:10:43.490 that Jesus had in mind in Matthew 6, which we're 00:10:43.490 --> 00:10:45.029 going to go to in a second. You know, it's one 00:10:45.029 --> 00:10:46.629 of those things that, you know, we want all this 00:10:46.629 --> 00:10:48.090 stuff, but we want to hold on to it. We don't 00:10:48.090 --> 00:10:52.009 want to let go. And sometimes letting go of things 00:10:52.009 --> 00:10:56.110 is hard, right? Maybe there's an emotional attachment, 00:10:56.529 --> 00:11:01.429 right, memories. And those are really the hardest 00:11:01.429 --> 00:11:04.450 ones to let go. A different time, a different 00:11:04.450 --> 00:11:07.379 place. You know, but it's one of those things 00:11:07.379 --> 00:11:09.440 that as people, we've developed this mindset 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:11.940 of he who dies with the most toys wins, right? 00:11:12.200 --> 00:11:15.580 But the fact is, do you take any of that stuff 00:11:15.580 --> 00:11:18.139 with you? Do you take the money, the TVs, the 00:11:18.139 --> 00:11:22.019 cars, right, the houses, the clothes, the jewelry, 00:11:22.279 --> 00:11:25.799 you know, that high esteem that your friends 00:11:25.799 --> 00:11:30.179 held you in or whatever, right? The nice comments 00:11:30.179 --> 00:11:38.590 on Facebook? None of it goes with us. And in 00:11:38.590 --> 00:11:42.769 Matthew 6, verses 19 through 21, exactly the 00:11:42.769 --> 00:11:44.309 type of thing that Jesus is talking about here. 00:11:45.110 --> 00:11:49.590 So Matthew 6, verses 19 through 21, Jesus said, 00:11:49.649 --> 00:11:51.549 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, 00:11:51.610 --> 00:11:54.269 where a moth and rust can destroy and where thieves 00:11:54.269 --> 00:11:56.750 break in and steal. But lay up your treasures 00:11:56.750 --> 00:12:00.250 in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys 00:12:00.250 --> 00:12:02.370 and where thieves do not break in and steal. 00:12:03.529 --> 00:12:07.090 For where your treasure is, your heart will also 00:12:07.090 --> 00:12:16.830 be. But you know who doesn't die? God. God's 00:12:16.830 --> 00:12:20.129 eternal, right? Always is, always was, always 00:12:20.129 --> 00:12:27.129 will be. And he's built up a kingdom for those 00:12:27.129 --> 00:12:28.769 who believe, for those who trust in him, for 00:12:28.769 --> 00:12:30.669 those who have faith, those who follow Jesus. 00:12:31.370 --> 00:12:34.129 are covered in His blood and forgiven, readopted 00:12:34.129 --> 00:12:37.809 into the family. And as much as we're like, you 00:12:37.809 --> 00:12:40.110 know, we want that adage, it's mine and I want 00:12:40.110 --> 00:12:43.830 it now, right? But how's the ad go? It's my money 00:12:43.830 --> 00:12:46.669 and I want it now, right? That's how we treat 00:12:46.669 --> 00:12:52.149 things. Let's say, okay, do you want the sucker 00:12:52.149 --> 00:12:53.850 that's going to melt and be gone in a couple 00:12:53.850 --> 00:12:57.570 minutes right now? Or would you like the never 00:12:57.570 --> 00:13:01.139 -ending feast in heaven, right? Those treasures 00:13:01.139 --> 00:13:02.700 that don't perish and are greater than anything 00:13:02.700 --> 00:13:07.759 that we can imagine here on earth now. And yeah, 00:13:07.779 --> 00:13:09.679 we have hard spots, but we've been told, we've 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:11.019 been warned, hey, there's going to be hard patches 00:13:11.019 --> 00:13:13.539 in life. Some people are going to be gifted more 00:13:13.539 --> 00:13:22.879 than others, right? And we see it. But that treasure 00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:24.639 that's in heaven is of more value. It's of more 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:27.139 importance. And the ultimate treasure that's 00:13:27.139 --> 00:13:31.000 there is that relationship with God. To be able 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:33.940 to sit with the Father at the table. Right? To 00:13:33.940 --> 00:13:39.559 be in His presence. But what's the most precious 00:13:39.559 --> 00:13:45.259 treasure to God? Each and every person made. 00:13:47.860 --> 00:13:50.799 It is the relationship with people who truly 00:13:50.799 --> 00:13:56.340 love Him that He desires the most. And that's 00:13:56.340 --> 00:13:59.179 the thing with creation. Did God really need 00:13:59.179 --> 00:14:02.179 to create us? No. But it's one of those things 00:14:02.179 --> 00:14:04.419 that we need to keep in mind. God was there and 00:14:04.419 --> 00:14:08.600 he created everything, right? The heavens, the 00:14:08.600 --> 00:14:11.740 universe, planets, stars, so on and so forth. 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:13.919 And he looked down here and he looked at our 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:17.559 little planet, our little, not even speck, right? 00:14:17.919 --> 00:14:20.080 And the mind of greatness and said, you know 00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:24.370 what? My world needs a test. My world needs a 00:14:24.370 --> 00:14:26.110 Lois. My world needs a Darren. My world needs 00:14:26.110 --> 00:14:27.950 a Mike. My world needs a Brian. My world needs 00:14:27.950 --> 00:14:33.909 Albert, right? My world needs a Doug. And when 00:14:33.909 --> 00:14:36.169 he created each and every one of us, he did it 00:14:36.169 --> 00:14:40.750 perfectly with exactly what he had in mind, but 00:14:40.750 --> 00:14:42.929 with free will, whether or not we wanted to choose 00:14:42.929 --> 00:14:47.110 him in return. But we get so caught up in ourselves 00:14:47.110 --> 00:14:48.690 trying to think that we're at this level when 00:14:48.690 --> 00:14:51.830 really we're all the way down here. God sits 00:14:51.830 --> 00:14:57.240 alone at this level. And people get so confused 00:14:57.240 --> 00:15:00.000 about their gender or what their calling is, 00:15:00.220 --> 00:15:03.779 you know, what their orientation is. It's like, 00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:05.799 no, God didn't make a mistake. Sin captive came 00:15:05.799 --> 00:15:09.139 in. The devil's tried to confuse you. And he's 00:15:09.139 --> 00:15:11.820 done a pretty darn good job. But you know what? 00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:13.740 When you come in and you sit down and you come 00:15:13.740 --> 00:15:16.379 into the spiritual hospital that should be each 00:15:16.379 --> 00:15:18.399 and every church, you have a chance to come and 00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:23.019 get to know Jesus. Know what his actual will, 00:15:23.059 --> 00:15:26.529 what his actual... for each of us is and what 00:15:26.529 --> 00:15:31.210 it should be. And coming into that, we learn 00:15:31.210 --> 00:15:33.610 how we can lean into him and we're not so tempted 00:15:33.610 --> 00:15:40.049 to stray, right? We put those other sins behind 00:15:40.049 --> 00:15:42.490 us. We learn how to repent and actually come 00:15:42.490 --> 00:15:48.629 into a relationship with Jesus. You know, none 00:15:48.629 --> 00:15:52.309 of the things that we could ever... Offer God. 00:15:52.450 --> 00:15:55.269 We can add up everything that we have and we 00:15:55.269 --> 00:15:57.669 can come together as a church family and give 00:15:57.669 --> 00:16:00.289 it all up to him. But absolutely nothing we can 00:16:00.289 --> 00:16:03.269 offer, nothing we can give, nothing we can say 00:16:03.269 --> 00:16:09.149 or do will ever amount to anything compared to 00:16:09.149 --> 00:16:12.250 what God's given us. What God has sacrificed 00:16:12.250 --> 00:16:17.870 for us. The ultimate sacrifice at that, right? 00:16:18.090 --> 00:16:22.590 He sent us a sacrificial lamb. You know, and 00:16:22.590 --> 00:16:25.169 it's one of those things, as a parent, I want 00:16:25.169 --> 00:16:26.830 to say it's probably a little easier to relate 00:16:26.830 --> 00:16:29.330 to than others. I mean, to a point, you know, 00:16:29.330 --> 00:16:31.789 as a pet owner, right? But it's like when you 00:16:31.789 --> 00:16:36.190 have kids, that relationship is different. There's 00:16:36.190 --> 00:16:38.129 an unconditional love there. And that is the 00:16:38.129 --> 00:16:40.870 most comparative thing that we have to relating 00:16:40.870 --> 00:16:44.590 to God. Because it doesn't matter how much, you 00:16:44.590 --> 00:16:46.889 know, our kids mess up. We're going to forgive 00:16:46.889 --> 00:16:48.409 them. We're going to love them. Like, come back 00:16:48.409 --> 00:16:52.649 in. We can fix this, right? Maybe we need to 00:16:52.649 --> 00:16:55.149 pay some dues in order to do so, but we can fix 00:16:55.149 --> 00:17:01.250 it. Come on in. And when something happens to 00:17:01.250 --> 00:17:04.750 our kids, it hurts us. We don't like it. It doesn't 00:17:04.750 --> 00:17:10.109 feel very good, right? The same thing could be 00:17:10.109 --> 00:17:11.789 said, you know, things happen to our friends. 00:17:11.869 --> 00:17:14.269 We don't like it. But when things happen to people 00:17:14.269 --> 00:17:16.730 that we care deeply about, even if it's not our 00:17:16.730 --> 00:17:20.990 kids, could be our best friends, right? Our parents. 00:17:21.640 --> 00:17:27.079 cousins whatever it hurts and when we mess up 00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:30.859 and we misstep just like this it hurts god it 00:17:30.859 --> 00:17:33.559 really does but just like any other parent and 00:17:33.559 --> 00:17:36.220 there's a reason why the bible refers to him 00:17:36.220 --> 00:17:38.140 as the father why jesus when he taught us how 00:17:38.140 --> 00:17:42.259 to pray says the father right is because it is 00:17:42.259 --> 00:17:49.700 a relationship with him as our father And it's 00:17:49.700 --> 00:17:56.279 also there to demonstrate the relationship. You 00:17:56.279 --> 00:18:01.299 know, but it's, the things that we love and cherish 00:18:01.299 --> 00:18:03.019 the most, it's not necessarily the things that 00:18:03.019 --> 00:18:04.599 our kids are able to bring us anyway, which is 00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:08.220 why the things that we take to God don't have 00:18:08.220 --> 00:18:09.819 the kind of value that we might think that they 00:18:09.819 --> 00:18:13.500 do. What matters to us the most is the relationship, 00:18:13.779 --> 00:18:20.099 that they're a part of our lives. And that's 00:18:20.099 --> 00:18:23.720 how it is with God. It's that relationship that 00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:27.680 brings us the most joy. Just knowing that we're 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:31.579 still a part of their lives. And that's really 00:18:31.579 --> 00:18:33.279 what God's asking for. He's like, hey, let me 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:35.000 be a part of your life. I want to be a part of 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:44.380 your life. 1 Peter 2, verse 9. So 1 Peter 2, 00:18:44.500 --> 00:18:47.839 verse 9 puts it like this. But you are a chosen 00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:50.940 generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:53.960 His own special people that you may proclaim 00:18:53.960 --> 00:18:56.900 the praises of him who called you out of darkness 00:18:56.900 --> 00:19:02.019 and into his marvelous light. It doesn't matter 00:19:02.019 --> 00:19:04.900 where you are in this world. You could be at 00:19:04.900 --> 00:19:09.160 the highest of highs, king of the mountain, or 00:19:09.160 --> 00:19:12.559 the lowest of lows, rolling along in a gutter 00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:14.400 or living in a sewer. It doesn't matter to God. 00:19:15.419 --> 00:19:18.880 None of that matters. He loves you. He wants 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:25.240 a relationship with you. Plain and simple. He 00:19:25.240 --> 00:19:27.720 wants the relationships that we ourselves don't 00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:31.220 even want with one another. Right? Sometimes 00:19:31.220 --> 00:19:32.660 there's people who come to the door and we're 00:19:32.660 --> 00:19:36.619 just like, ugh. We go to work and that one person 00:19:36.619 --> 00:19:43.329 comes in their room, just ugh. Right? Sometimes 00:19:43.329 --> 00:19:46.109 we had that one coworker, like, how did you get 00:19:46.109 --> 00:19:48.509 this job, and how do you get the heck away from 00:19:48.509 --> 00:19:56.589 me? Ew, right? No, don't lie. We'll miss you 00:19:56.589 --> 00:20:00.549 in heaven. But no, that's how we respond, right? 00:20:01.069 --> 00:20:02.930 But to God, none of it matters. He's like, you 00:20:02.930 --> 00:20:05.509 know what? I put you there. I really hope you 00:20:05.509 --> 00:20:07.730 choose me. I really hope you decide you want 00:20:07.730 --> 00:20:10.190 to come back to me and have a relationship. I 00:20:10.190 --> 00:20:15.599 love you. Please talk to me. Give me a chance 00:20:15.599 --> 00:20:18.500 to help, but I can't help unless you actually 00:20:18.500 --> 00:20:21.900 come and talk to me and give me the chance to 00:20:21.900 --> 00:20:28.000 do so. But that's really what it comes down to, 00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:34.799 right? All he wants is that relationship. He 00:20:34.799 --> 00:20:37.839 asks so little in return. So much he's given 00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:41.539 us. Our very lives, a chance to be reunited with 00:20:41.539 --> 00:20:43.839 him, the whole bit. He asks for very little in 00:20:43.839 --> 00:20:45.680 return, just that we talk to him. We have a relationship 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:48.119 with him. We come to know him. How awesome is 00:20:48.119 --> 00:20:52.539 that? How often does somebody give you something 00:20:52.539 --> 00:20:55.700 and truly expect nothing in return other than 00:20:55.700 --> 00:21:02.599 just a relationship? Not very often, is it? It's 00:21:02.599 --> 00:21:03.599 like, oh, I'm going to do this, and it's going 00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:07.630 to come back to me. Say, oh, I'll do this for 00:21:07.630 --> 00:21:09.069 you, but only if you do this. You scratch my 00:21:09.069 --> 00:21:12.210 back, I'll scratch yours, right? Especially at 00:21:12.210 --> 00:21:16.769 work or out in the world. All right. Moving along, 00:21:16.869 --> 00:21:20.869 though. Let's continue. Malachi chapter 4, verses 00:21:20.869 --> 00:21:23.490 1 through 6. And that's the beauty part. It's 00:21:23.490 --> 00:21:25.190 only verses 1 through 6. Like I said, it's a 00:21:25.190 --> 00:21:29.029 really, really short chapter. All right. And 00:21:29.029 --> 00:21:31.470 the word says, for behold, the day is coming, 00:21:31.549 --> 00:21:35.289 burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes. 00:21:35.950 --> 00:21:40.289 All who do wickedly will be stubble, and the 00:21:40.289 --> 00:21:46.869 day which is coming shall burn them up. It says, 00:22:07.849 --> 00:22:11.109 And you shall go out and grow fat like stall 00:22:11.109 --> 00:22:14.430 -fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, for 00:22:14.430 --> 00:22:16.710 they will be ashes under the soles of your feet. 00:22:17.269 --> 00:22:20.809 On the day that I do this, says the Lord of hosts, 00:22:20.910 --> 00:22:25.990 remember the law of Moses, my servant, which 00:22:25.990 --> 00:22:29.789 I commanded him and Horeb for all Israel, with 00:22:29.789 --> 00:22:35.930 the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send 00:22:35.930 --> 00:22:39.670 you. Elijah the prophet, before the coming of 00:22:39.670 --> 00:22:43.910 the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And the 00:22:43.910 --> 00:22:48.130 hearts of the fathers to the children and the 00:22:48.130 --> 00:22:50.349 hearts of the children to their fathers, lest 00:22:50.349 --> 00:22:56.950 I come and strike the earth with a curse. The 00:22:56.950 --> 00:23:02.230 final words of the Old Testament. Jesus is coming 00:23:02.230 --> 00:23:04.890 back. Plain and simple as being told. Jesus. 00:23:05.549 --> 00:23:07.930 It's coming. At this point, it's Jesus coming. 00:23:08.029 --> 00:23:09.529 At this point now, where we're at now, Jesus 00:23:09.529 --> 00:23:13.609 is coming back. Right? We know. He's told us. 00:23:14.410 --> 00:23:17.069 He's never broken a promise. It's been prophesied. 00:23:17.650 --> 00:23:20.349 And time after time after time, the Bible shows 00:23:20.349 --> 00:23:23.210 us its truth. It answers these things, right? 00:23:23.950 --> 00:23:27.250 Over and over again. Jesus is coming back. And 00:23:27.250 --> 00:23:29.009 for those of us who follow him, for those of 00:23:29.009 --> 00:23:31.990 us who are faithful to him, respect him, obey 00:23:31.990 --> 00:23:36.700 him, trust in him. that's going to be a really 00:23:36.700 --> 00:23:40.119 great day. It's going to be the day when the 00:23:40.119 --> 00:23:50.859 wrongs are righted. My battery's died here. It's 00:23:50.859 --> 00:23:52.240 going to come on and off. We'll see how long 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:54.480 this stays on, but maybe we can swap out the 00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:58.480 batteries with another mic. We'll see what happens 00:23:58.480 --> 00:23:59.960 here. But anyhow, it's going to be a really, 00:24:00.039 --> 00:24:02.740 really... Oh, it's blinking again. Hold on. We're 00:24:02.740 --> 00:24:33.640 going to pause here. All right, there we go. 00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:37.319 It's green. It's not blinking. We should be good. 00:24:37.380 --> 00:24:43.279 All right. Sorry about that, guys. Well, thank 00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:47.039 you. I love you, too. I love you, too, man. All 00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:49.279 right. It's going to be a really good day, right, 00:24:49.339 --> 00:24:51.200 going back. You know, when the Lord comes back, 00:24:51.259 --> 00:24:52.960 when Jesus returns, it's going to be a really 00:24:52.960 --> 00:24:55.299 good day. You know, the wrongs are going to be 00:24:55.299 --> 00:24:58.819 righted. Justice is going to be meted out. Pain 00:24:58.819 --> 00:25:01.880 is going to be healed. Right? Our brokenness 00:25:01.880 --> 00:25:05.279 is going to be mended. You know, I mean, how 00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:07.940 cool is that? Here's a good one. Our addictions 00:25:07.940 --> 00:25:11.839 will be gone. Right? That's part of the healing. 00:25:11.900 --> 00:25:13.960 The addictions are going to be gone. All the 00:25:13.960 --> 00:25:17.700 addictions. Well, minus one, our love for God. 00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:19.380 Is that really an addiction though? Come on. 00:25:22.140 --> 00:25:23.960 You know, it's going to be a great day. It's 00:25:23.960 --> 00:25:25.599 going to be a day where it's like, yes, this 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:31.220 is awesome. Let's party. Right? But it's also 00:25:31.220 --> 00:25:33.680 why we've been given the Great Commission. Because 00:25:33.680 --> 00:25:36.220 for those who don't believe, for those who don't 00:25:36.220 --> 00:25:40.400 know Jesus, right, it's not going to be a great 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:45.440 day. It's going to be the worst day or the first 00:25:45.440 --> 00:25:51.759 worst day of their existence. Because like the 00:25:51.759 --> 00:25:53.880 example that's been given here, they're going 00:25:53.880 --> 00:25:55.119 to be burned out, right? They're going to be 00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:58.819 ashes beneath everyone's feet. They're going 00:25:58.819 --> 00:26:00.960 to be gone. They're going to be struck away and 00:26:00.960 --> 00:26:05.720 sent away from God. They will never, ever have 00:26:05.720 --> 00:26:10.299 the chance to come into his presence again. And 00:26:10.299 --> 00:26:14.519 that's the worst punishment right there. Separated 00:26:14.519 --> 00:26:19.779 from the Father for eternity, right? Which is 00:26:19.779 --> 00:26:22.539 why it's also important that we actually do what 00:26:22.539 --> 00:26:24.960 we can to answer the Great Commission, whether 00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:27.880 it's praying with people. inviting them to church, 00:26:28.180 --> 00:26:31.119 right? Even just sitting down, you know, we know 00:26:31.119 --> 00:26:32.720 somebody's going through a hardship and just 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:35.299 lending an ear for them to talk to or a shoulder 00:26:35.299 --> 00:26:39.440 to cry on. Not always the easiest of things. 00:26:42.180 --> 00:26:45.240 But when we minister to people like this, and 00:26:45.240 --> 00:26:46.920 it is all minister because we are all ministers, 00:26:47.140 --> 00:26:49.960 right? We are all given these opportunities throughout 00:26:49.960 --> 00:26:52.759 our lives. Guess what? We're taking the light 00:26:52.759 --> 00:26:55.799 of Christ and we're introducing it to them. And 00:26:55.799 --> 00:26:57.460 now they have a chance to be like, oh, what is 00:26:57.460 --> 00:27:01.380 this light? Right? Like a moth to a flame, they're 00:27:01.380 --> 00:27:04.140 drawn to it just like we were. And it gives them 00:27:04.140 --> 00:27:06.799 that chance to actually come to know Jesus before 00:27:06.799 --> 00:27:09.839 it's too late. And as the Word tells us, for 00:27:09.839 --> 00:27:14.960 every single soul that's saved, just one, there's 00:27:14.960 --> 00:27:17.880 a party in heaven. The angels rejoice. They get 00:27:17.880 --> 00:27:20.220 excited. They're pumped. They're like, yeah, 00:27:20.279 --> 00:27:21.960 check it out. We got another one right here. 00:27:22.039 --> 00:27:28.279 This is great. Just for one. And every person 00:27:28.279 --> 00:27:32.000 in here and every person out there has the ability 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:35.539 to bring just that one. That's how important 00:27:35.539 --> 00:27:39.119 one person is. Every single person. Each and 00:27:39.119 --> 00:27:41.720 every one of us. That when one of us is saved, 00:27:41.859 --> 00:27:49.940 it is a cause for the heavens to rejoice. Nothing 00:27:49.940 --> 00:27:52.039 else can do that. Nothing else has that effect. 00:27:53.869 --> 00:27:56.569 Of somebody coming to God. Someone coming to 00:27:56.569 --> 00:28:00.630 know Jesus. You know, the problem, though, is 00:28:00.630 --> 00:28:05.029 we give in to the world. Because the world is 00:28:05.029 --> 00:28:09.890 the most addictive thing out there. We are surrounded 00:28:09.890 --> 00:28:13.349 by it 24 -7. We can't escape it. And we're being 00:28:13.349 --> 00:28:15.789 bombarded by all the stuff that the world has 00:28:15.789 --> 00:28:20.589 put out there. That, you know, Satan and his 00:28:20.589 --> 00:28:23.099 fallen ministers. have put out there and are 00:28:23.099 --> 00:28:26.759 whispering in the background. So it's real hard 00:28:26.759 --> 00:28:29.019 to escape. And even after a while, you know, 00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:30.460 it's like, you know, this is a lie, but you hear 00:28:30.460 --> 00:28:31.779 it over and over and over again, so you start 00:28:31.779 --> 00:28:37.940 to believe it. You know, it's been filled with 00:28:37.940 --> 00:28:41.680 these temptations. And that is one of the devil's 00:28:41.680 --> 00:28:44.519 favorite tools, are temptations. Just enough 00:28:44.519 --> 00:28:47.259 to make you question things enough that you try 00:28:47.259 --> 00:28:50.750 the things that you shouldn't. Right? Goes all 00:28:50.750 --> 00:28:52.769 the way back to the Garden of Eden, right? Because 00:28:52.769 --> 00:28:56.410 what did he do? He put out that temptation, or 00:28:56.410 --> 00:28:58.509 he pointed to the temptation, and then put that 00:28:58.509 --> 00:29:02.549 little spin on it just enough to get Adam and 00:29:02.549 --> 00:29:04.950 Eve to question everything that they knew about 00:29:04.950 --> 00:29:09.210 God, the relationship with him, right? It's like, 00:29:09.250 --> 00:29:12.890 well, he said this, but did he really? There's 00:29:12.890 --> 00:29:18.670 only one way to find out. Right? And now mankind's... 00:29:19.079 --> 00:29:24.779 been cursed, cast out of the garden. And ever 00:29:24.779 --> 00:29:28.200 since then, because it took us out of a relationship 00:29:28.200 --> 00:29:31.339 with God, and make no mistake, they had a relationship 00:29:31.339 --> 00:29:33.980 with him. They walked with him in the garden. 00:29:34.500 --> 00:29:37.640 They saw him face to face, the only humans to 00:29:37.640 --> 00:29:41.660 do so ever. Right? People are like, oh, no, Moses 00:29:41.660 --> 00:29:45.440 saw God. No, he didn't. He saw God's back. Because 00:29:45.440 --> 00:29:47.339 even God said, no, you see my face? You will 00:29:47.339 --> 00:29:53.920 be smited. You will cease to exist. How crazy 00:29:53.920 --> 00:29:58.380 is that? So we all have this brokenness because 00:29:58.380 --> 00:30:02.240 we have this separation. It's kind of like my 00:30:02.240 --> 00:30:06.200 dog. When we go to work, she has that separation 00:30:06.200 --> 00:30:10.920 anxiety. It's wrong, right? Kind of freaks out 00:30:10.920 --> 00:30:12.559 a little bit. Goes into a depression, a little 00:30:12.559 --> 00:30:17.480 bit of a funk. We're all the same way because 00:30:17.480 --> 00:30:21.680 of our separation from God. We have a brokenness. 00:30:21.680 --> 00:30:24.799 We have a hole that only he can heal. A place 00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:26.640 that's meant for the Holy Spirit to reside within 00:30:26.640 --> 00:30:33.400 us. You know, like I said, life is going to be 00:30:33.400 --> 00:30:36.700 hard. We're going to have pains. We're going 00:30:36.700 --> 00:30:40.980 to have struggles. But the words told us that 00:30:40.980 --> 00:30:43.960 there will be a way to get through them. Not 00:30:43.960 --> 00:30:47.279 that we can do it all on our own. Don't get it 00:30:47.279 --> 00:30:51.619 wrong. But God will be there, and he will provide 00:30:51.619 --> 00:30:57.579 a way through for each of us through him. Right? 00:30:58.240 --> 00:31:01.039 There's nothing that we cannot overcome without 00:31:01.039 --> 00:31:07.880 him. Right? It's said in several places. Philippians 00:31:07.880 --> 00:31:10.079 4 .13, I can do all things through Christ who 00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:13.819 strengthens me. Right? It's not that we can do 00:31:13.819 --> 00:31:16.880 it on our own. It's that we do it through him. 00:31:17.299 --> 00:31:21.240 With him. We let him lead us through. Carry us 00:31:21.240 --> 00:31:28.779 if need be. We put our trust into him. You know, 00:31:28.819 --> 00:31:31.980 but unfortunately we don't do it. God's told 00:31:31.980 --> 00:31:34.180 us lean into him and he will take care of us. 00:31:34.220 --> 00:31:35.619 He will lead it through us. But we don't do it. 00:31:35.619 --> 00:31:40.359 We try to go it on our own. I'm a strong, empowered 00:31:40.359 --> 00:31:42.759 person, and I don't need no one but myself to 00:31:42.759 --> 00:31:47.700 carry me through, right? It's kind of become 00:31:47.700 --> 00:31:52.000 the war cry for a lot of groups. But it's all 00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:53.980 wrong because we do need someone. We need Jesus. 00:31:55.559 --> 00:31:57.980 You know, another saying that's out there, time 00:31:57.980 --> 00:32:03.039 heals all wounds. No, it don't. That's garbage. 00:32:03.539 --> 00:32:07.579 That is absolute nonsense. Time does not heal. 00:32:07.960 --> 00:32:09.779 All wounds. There's plenty of people that are 00:32:09.779 --> 00:32:11.799 out there and they've been hurting for a long, 00:32:11.960 --> 00:32:15.420 long, long time. Some people will go decades 00:32:15.420 --> 00:32:19.599 and will die in pain because they don't know 00:32:19.599 --> 00:32:23.420 Jesus. Jesus is the only one who can heal those 00:32:23.420 --> 00:32:28.980 pains for us. Can fill those gaps for us. Right? 00:32:30.259 --> 00:32:33.400 God does all this for us. But in order for it 00:32:33.400 --> 00:32:35.500 to happen, we have to have a relationship with 00:32:35.500 --> 00:32:37.779 him, and we have to be obedient, and we have 00:32:37.779 --> 00:32:44.380 to trust in him. Much like the blind beggar, 00:32:44.380 --> 00:32:48.720 Bartimaeus, right? For time's sake, I'm not going 00:32:48.720 --> 00:32:50.940 to go and read through the whole thing. But for 00:32:50.940 --> 00:32:53.660 those of you who are unfamiliar with who Bartimaeus 00:32:53.660 --> 00:32:56.759 was, you'll find his story in the book of Mark. 00:32:58.019 --> 00:33:00.410 And basically... I'll kind of go through the 00:33:00.410 --> 00:33:02.829 cliff notes here for you. Jesus was leaving Jericho. 00:33:03.450 --> 00:33:06.509 And people were following him and all that. And 00:33:06.509 --> 00:33:11.150 here's this blind beggar, Bartimaeus. And he's 00:33:11.150 --> 00:33:13.410 on the side of the road. And he's calling out 00:33:13.410 --> 00:33:18.029 for help. And people are telling him, hey, be 00:33:18.029 --> 00:33:22.630 quiet. Just shut up. You're interrupting us, 00:33:22.769 --> 00:33:26.710 right? Leave us all alone. Leave him alone. Just 00:33:26.710 --> 00:33:33.930 stop. But here's the thing. He knew of who Jesus 00:33:33.930 --> 00:33:39.849 was. He put his hope in Jesus. So he ignored 00:33:39.849 --> 00:33:42.670 them. Every time they said, be quiet, just stop. 00:33:43.329 --> 00:33:49.670 He got louder and louder and louder. He wasn't 00:33:49.670 --> 00:33:54.369 going to listen to worldly people. And so he 00:33:54.369 --> 00:33:57.849 yelled out, finally, son of David, have mercy 00:33:57.849 --> 00:34:04.039 on me. And Jesus stops and walks over to him. 00:34:04.539 --> 00:34:10.300 He says, what would you want me to do? What can 00:34:10.300 --> 00:34:12.739 I do for you, right? How can I help you? How 00:34:12.739 --> 00:34:17.239 can I be of service, in other words? And Bartimaeus 00:34:17.239 --> 00:34:23.860 just says, can you give me back my vision? And 00:34:23.860 --> 00:34:28.719 Jesus tells him, go your own way. Your faith 00:34:28.719 --> 00:34:34.280 has healed you. Your faith has healed you. And 00:34:34.280 --> 00:34:37.380 sure enough, he got his vision back, and that 00:34:37.380 --> 00:34:41.980 was that. He was healed. But go on your way. 00:34:42.400 --> 00:34:47.219 Your faith has made you well. It's not the first 00:34:47.219 --> 00:34:49.699 parable that we've heard with this in it either, 00:34:49.780 --> 00:34:52.420 is it? Not the first story that we've heard with 00:34:52.420 --> 00:34:58.739 this. Our faith, our trust in God is the big 00:34:58.739 --> 00:35:02.900 thing. In his blindness, Bartimaeus saw this 00:35:02.900 --> 00:35:07.760 better than any of us. You can have eagle -like 00:35:07.760 --> 00:35:13.280 vision and a blind man saw Jesus better than 00:35:13.280 --> 00:35:23.320 any of us. In fact, in John 20, verse 29, we 00:35:23.320 --> 00:35:25.579 can see perfectly how this applies to us. So 00:35:25.579 --> 00:35:34.289 in John 20, verse 29. Jesus said to him, Thomas, 00:35:34.489 --> 00:35:37.369 because you have seen me, you have believed. 00:35:38.250 --> 00:35:42.110 Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed. 00:35:43.030 --> 00:35:46.650 Jesus, our ultimate physician, right? We have 00:35:46.650 --> 00:35:48.750 people who walked with him. They got to know 00:35:48.750 --> 00:35:53.449 him. With the exception of one, every single 00:35:53.449 --> 00:35:55.929 one of them was brutally murdered and martyred 00:35:55.929 --> 00:36:00.380 for him. People don't die for a lie. People stand 00:36:00.380 --> 00:36:03.159 up for their convictions and the truth. And for 00:36:03.159 --> 00:36:05.940 people who truly have faith in it, they will 00:36:05.940 --> 00:36:09.219 not waver. They become a rock, right? They're 00:36:09.219 --> 00:36:14.980 a stone. It's really hard to break a stone. Really 00:36:14.980 --> 00:36:21.739 hard. All he wants is a relationship with us. 00:36:22.079 --> 00:36:24.519 Our ultimate physician, our ultimate healer wants 00:36:24.519 --> 00:36:28.829 a relationship with us. He loves us all. He loves 00:36:28.829 --> 00:36:34.309 you beyond measure. You just have to have faith 00:36:34.309 --> 00:36:37.869 and seek him out. Call out to him. Talk to him. 00:36:38.730 --> 00:36:41.690 And he's asking us all the same question. What 00:36:41.690 --> 00:36:45.750 do you want me to do for you? Think about that. 00:36:45.789 --> 00:36:49.329 God is asking. Jesus is asking. What can I do 00:36:49.329 --> 00:36:53.369 for you? What kind of answer do you have for 00:36:53.369 --> 00:36:58.059 him? Because we should all have an answer, right? 00:36:58.980 --> 00:37:01.599 We're all told to be prepared with an answer 00:37:01.599 --> 00:37:06.340 for why we have our faith. So what can I do for 00:37:06.340 --> 00:37:08.800 you? What's your answer? What can Jesus do for 00:37:08.800 --> 00:37:13.480 you? What is your response? How can the brokenness 00:37:13.480 --> 00:37:17.559 that you have be healed? How can your trust in 00:37:17.559 --> 00:37:21.179 him, your mistrust, your skepticism, how can 00:37:21.179 --> 00:37:24.139 that be healed to bring you into a relationship 00:37:24.139 --> 00:37:30.349 with God? That's really the question, right? 00:37:31.510 --> 00:37:34.070 How can we fix this relationship? How do we fix 00:37:34.070 --> 00:37:38.989 this bridge and get you home? What will it take 00:37:38.989 --> 00:37:41.849 for you to take your hand off your aye -aye, 00:37:41.909 --> 00:37:43.570 right? Take your hand off of your boo -boo and 00:37:43.570 --> 00:37:45.710 let the Father look at it and heal it, right? 00:37:46.949 --> 00:37:49.849 That's really what it is. You know, these last 00:37:49.849 --> 00:37:53.010 few verses of the Old Testament, it's a reminder. 00:37:53.070 --> 00:37:54.250 It's like, yeah, you know what? You're doing 00:37:54.250 --> 00:37:57.039 this. You're wrong. But you know what? Just stop 00:37:57.039 --> 00:37:59.380 and come back because I love you. It hurts me, 00:37:59.460 --> 00:38:01.659 but I forgive you. That pain's going to go away. 00:38:01.699 --> 00:38:04.599 I love you. Just come back. We can take care 00:38:04.599 --> 00:38:07.000 of all this. It'll all be taken care of. It'll 00:38:07.000 --> 00:38:10.019 all be healed. It'll all be good. Just come home. 00:38:10.920 --> 00:38:15.400 Return to the Father. We trust in Him. We honor 00:38:15.400 --> 00:38:18.380 Him. We obey what He's told us, right? And it's 00:38:18.380 --> 00:38:22.079 not always the easiest, but the best way that 00:38:22.079 --> 00:38:24.190 we do it, the best way that we honor Him... And 00:38:24.190 --> 00:38:26.269 show our faith and our commitment to him is just 00:38:26.269 --> 00:38:28.650 to give him our very best day after day. Sometimes 00:38:28.650 --> 00:38:31.130 certain days our best is different than on other 00:38:31.130 --> 00:38:34.170 days, right? Some days we have more, some days 00:38:34.170 --> 00:38:37.369 we have less. But we give him that top shelf 00:38:37.369 --> 00:38:44.230 treatment. Time and time and time again. And 00:38:44.230 --> 00:38:47.329 for us as believers, we know that when that judgment 00:38:47.329 --> 00:38:50.050 day comes, it's not a day for us to fear. It's 00:38:50.050 --> 00:38:53.199 not a day of dread for us. And while, yes, for 00:38:53.199 --> 00:38:56.659 a very brief moment, we'll be heartbroken for 00:38:56.659 --> 00:38:59.559 those who aren't going to make it, it will only 00:38:59.559 --> 00:39:01.699 be for a moment. Because when we're in heaven, 00:39:01.820 --> 00:39:04.780 all that pain, all those tears will be taken 00:39:04.780 --> 00:39:08.059 away. When we're reunited as a father in the 00:39:08.059 --> 00:39:11.139 ultimate love with the ultimate being that can 00:39:11.139 --> 00:39:14.139 ever love us and able to worship him for eternity 00:39:14.139 --> 00:39:20.380 and praise him for eternity, right? And the treasures 00:39:20.380 --> 00:39:22.420 that we have here will be nothing compared to 00:39:22.420 --> 00:39:26.619 what he has, those perfect gifts that are better 00:39:26.619 --> 00:39:28.159 than what we can imagine. They're stored up for 00:39:28.159 --> 00:39:31.260 us there. So it's time for us to all take account 00:39:31.260 --> 00:39:34.559 for ourselves, to reflect on ourselves, our actions, 00:39:34.719 --> 00:39:37.260 our words. It's like, you know what? I messed 00:39:37.260 --> 00:39:39.440 up. I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have 00:39:39.440 --> 00:39:41.800 done that. I can do better. How do I do better? 00:39:42.159 --> 00:39:43.920 Because that's how I honor the Lord. That's how 00:39:43.920 --> 00:39:48.630 I honor my Father. Right? So it's time to come 00:39:48.630 --> 00:39:52.210 home. It's time to heal. Jesus is waiting. You 00:39:52.210 --> 00:39:54.349 just have to open your heart up, talk to him, 00:39:54.389 --> 00:39:58.789 and let him in. All right? And on that note, 00:39:58.829 --> 00:40:04.329 let us pray. Lord, we come to you knowing that 00:40:04.329 --> 00:40:08.389 you keep your promises, that you want what is 00:40:08.389 --> 00:40:14.030 best for us. We recognize that we're responsible 00:40:14.030 --> 00:40:19.170 for our own sins. and have no one to blame for 00:40:19.170 --> 00:40:24.289 ourselves. We ask for your forgiveness. We open 00:40:24.289 --> 00:40:27.250 the door to our lives, the very door to our hearts, 00:40:27.269 --> 00:40:31.449 to you. And we proclaim that you are our Lord, 00:40:31.510 --> 00:40:42.710 our Father, our ultimate in life, our ultimate 00:40:42.710 --> 00:40:47.369 love. You are the Lord of our lives, our Savior. 00:40:47.469 --> 00:40:49.409 We thank you for the warnings that you've given 00:40:49.409 --> 00:40:53.010 us here and the multiple examples that you've 00:40:53.010 --> 00:40:57.769 called out and pointed out. So these various 00:40:57.769 --> 00:41:01.349 reminders that you're looking out for us and 00:41:01.349 --> 00:41:03.329 you're trying to help us so that we don't make 00:41:03.329 --> 00:41:09.289 those mistakes. So we ask for your help. Help 00:41:09.289 --> 00:41:11.190 us to overcome ourselves and to get out of our 00:41:11.190 --> 00:41:16.710 own way. Help us to find the words and the know 00:41:16.710 --> 00:41:19.550 -how to come to you to mend these broken bridges 00:41:19.550 --> 00:41:22.230 that are between us and heal our relationship 00:41:22.230 --> 00:41:26.750 with you. We ask that you guide us in how we 00:41:26.750 --> 00:41:30.849 can better serve each other and you and the kingdom 00:41:30.849 --> 00:41:33.369 and all the ways that you would have us do it. 00:41:34.969 --> 00:41:36.929 We ask that you open the doors that need to be 00:41:36.929 --> 00:41:38.610 opened and close the ones that we don't need 00:41:38.610 --> 00:41:41.800 and remove all the temptation from us. To strike 00:41:41.800 --> 00:41:46.400 it from our lives. You know, only those things 00:41:46.400 --> 00:41:49.340 that you need to build our characters, to make 00:41:49.340 --> 00:41:51.559 us more Christ -like each day, be what's there. 00:41:51.900 --> 00:41:53.860 And then strike it once it's no longer needed. 00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:58.920 You know, let that character withstand all that 00:41:58.920 --> 00:42:02.280 the world and the enemy has to throw at it. And 00:42:02.280 --> 00:42:04.980 heal us from the inside out, from the tops of 00:42:04.980 --> 00:42:08.840 our heads to the bottom of our feet. And we pray 00:42:08.840 --> 00:42:11.530 all this, we ask all this. In the name of Jesus 00:42:11.530 --> 00:42:13.989 Christ, and we love you. And all his people said, 00:42:14.210 --> 00:42:16.889 amen and amen. And remember, as you leave here 00:42:16.889 --> 00:42:20.489 today, you are loved and you are blessed. So 00:42:20.489 --> 00:42:28.769 go and be the church. Thank you for joining us 00:42:28.769 --> 00:42:31.869 at Healing Scars with Pastor Burton. If this 00:42:31.869 --> 00:42:34.070 message spoke to you, or if you would like to 00:42:34.070 --> 00:42:36.969 help us reach more people, please like, review, 00:42:37.150 --> 00:42:40.500 and share our podcast. You can learn more about 00:42:40.500 --> 00:42:44.219 our ministry or how you can support us at www 00:42:44.219 --> 00:42:51.119 .thecross66 .org Until next time, take care and 00:42:51.119 --> 00:42:51.739 God bless.