Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton,
the official podcast of Cross Christian Fellowship,
Route 66, in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico,
where Burton is the lead pastor. We're glad you're
here. Hey everybody, welcome to the sanctuary.
It's great to have you with us as always. This
week, a little bit different. So on Sunday, you
know, typically for the last few months, I've
been recording everything live as I've been giving
my sermon there in the sanctuary. And unfortunately,
we had a little bit of a software update. And
when it finished, it actually took out our audio
and we didn't even know right away that we didn't
have audio. So try, try, try as my guys might.
Unfortunately, they weren't able to get the audio
up and going for our online or our recording
in time. However, rest assured that has been
fixed. However. It actually kind of brings things
home for me because I actually like being able
to sit down and record like this. So I'm going
to go back through my notes and everything. Of
course, it's going to be a little different than
when it was live, unfortunately. You know how
I am. Sometimes I go down rabbit trails, right?
But with that said, we're going to get into it.
And I am recording last Sunday's sermon. right
here right now just for you here on the podcast
if there's something that's a little different
well that's a good thing that's a unique it means
you're going to get a little something that uh
you know we didn't have uh when we're there in
the sanctuary so we'll see how this goes because
you know it's me let's just be honest all right
so again good morning everybody welcome um well
i shouldn't even say good morning there's uh
some of y 'all might be evening who knows but
anyway the last few weeks they've been really
gloomy for a number of reasons right So it was
on my heart to look at something a little bit
happier. And to do that, today what we're going
to be doing is we're going to be looking at a
song of praise. Before we do that though, I would
like to give a couple of praise reports and a
couple of shout outs because I know sometimes
I kind of forget to do it when we're live. I
do it beforehand when we're doing our praise
and worship and everything and when we're praying
with each other. But I like to give those shout
outs because they're due and these are people
that we need to keep in prayer. So first up on
the checklist, Rico. Rico's surgeries have gone
well. He's still at home. He's still recovering.
He's had a couple of little setbacks in there,
but nothing. Too big for our Lord. But overall,
though, he is recovering well. So keep him in
prayer. Also, Josh Knight also had his big neck
surgery that he'd been waiting on, waiting on,
trying to deal with paralysis and everything,
these issues he's been having. That went as well
as could be. He is also at home now and recovering.
Chaplain Ron out in Arizona, he also had a procedure
done. He's back home and recovering now as well.
So definitely keep them in prayer as well. There's
a lot going on in their lives, and they can use
it. As can we all, right? Also, here in Albuquerque,
we're kicking off the Balloon Fiesta, the International
Balloon Fiesta, which, if you don't know, is
the biggest one in the world. So keep all of
our balloonists, our pilots, the chase crews,
the passengers, everybody who's traveling out
here just to see it, as well as everyone locally
because it does a lot. It backs up traffic. It's
a great event, but unfortunately certain things
happen. So just keep everybody in prayer that's
out here being a part of this as well. a big
event and a lot of things can go wrong as we've
seen in the past, but also a lot of things can
go right. So let's, let's pray for everything
that can go right to go right and nothing to
go wrong. And with that said, let's open our
Bibles. Let's dive in. That's enough of a rabbit
trail there. We're going to jump into Isaiah
12. So Isaiah 12, the word says, and in that
day, you will say, Oh Lord. I will praise you.
Though you are angry with me, your anger is turned
away, and you comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation.
I will trust and not be afraid. For Yah, the
Lord, is my strength and song. He has also become
my salvation. Therefore, with joy, you will draw
water from the wells of salvation, and in that
day you will say, Praise the Lord. Call upon
his name. Declare his deeds among the peoples.
Make mention that his name is exalted. Sing to
the Lord for he has done excellent things. This
is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout,
O inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy One
of Israel in your midst. As we get started here,
I want to point out something here. You might
have noticed it's a little bit different. When
we go to verse 2, it says, for a Yah, right?
Normally we see Yahweh. This right here is actually
a very poetic way of writing it. So it actually
is a way of giving reverence and still lifting
the Lord's name up on high the whole bit. It's
not meant as disrespect. It is very poetic in
the way it's written. So that's why it's a little
bit different, right? It's kind of like with
me, right? So it's saying Bert and it's Bert,
right? Okay, I probably diminish it a little
bit when I put it like that, but it's still lifting
it up and just trying to, you know. explain the
splendor and the beauty of the name. But anyway,
when we come back to this, Isaiah, he wrote this
hymn of personal praise. It was a day of triumph
that God had used to basically put these words
into Isaiah's mouth and into his mind and therefore
to the pen as it got written out. If you would,
you could say that this is a song from the hymn
book of heaven, right? You see, it's a strong,
description of the joy that we as Christians
will all have within us on the day that Jesus
Christ returns to reign over the earth. These
verses, they're a firm reminder that we need
to have an attitude of gratitude towards God.
We've all heard that before, that attitude of
gratitude. Basically, we need to be thanking
Him. We need to be praising Him. We need to be
telling Others basically telling anybody and
everybody about him every single day. And remembering
that it's important for our hearts to be filled
with gratitude for the Lord. And I know someone's
out there, why is that important, Pastor? What's
the deal with this? Well, you know what, let's
break it down. Let's start with a definition.
And when I pulled it up, looking at Merriam -Webster,
Merriam -Webster defines it simply as thankfulness.
That's it. thankfulness. However, a quick Google
search actually brought up a better definition.
I'm going to share that with you now. It says,
the quality of being thankful, readiness to show
appreciation for, and to return kindness. Now,
I like that more because it's actually a little
bit more accurate, I want to say. I think Merriam
-Webster tried to be a little too simple with
theirs, whereas this definition that Google returned
for me, I think, is much more rounded, much fuller.
So when our hearts are filled with gratitude,
basically it's saying our thankfulness is running
deep. It's strong. Not only that, but we become...
And in our love for the Lord, we find a strong
desire to share the good news that is the gospel
of Jesus Christ with others. We look forward
to stepping out and answering the call. That
is the Great Commission. You know, we get excited.
It's like running up to a friend with something
you can't wait to share, right? It's like, Bobby,
Bobby, check this out. I found this great biker
hangout. You have to come out. They've got all
the root beer you can drink, right? Okay, maybe
not. I mean, the excitement's there though, right?
The difference though is, you know, as Christians,
we go out about it a little bit differently.
As Christians, when we get lit up on fire like
this, when we're fired up and we have this passion,
We're more like Andrew in John 1, verses 40 through
42. So let's turn there real quick. So in John
1, verses 40 through 42, the word says, One of
the two who heard John speak and followed him
was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found
his own brother, Simon, and said to him, We have
found the Messiah, which is translated the Christ.
And he brought him to Jesus. Now, when Jesus
looked at him, he said, You are Simon, the son
of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas, which is
translated a stone. You see, when we're like
Andrew running to Simon Peter, we're like, Bobby,
Bobby, Bobby, check it out. I have to tell you
something. This is amazing. Dude, I found Jesus.
Actually, Jesus found me. He found me, man. And
he's looking for you, too. He wants to have a
relationship with you, too. You've got to meet
him. Dude, he loves you so much that he died
for your sin. He rose. He ascended to heaven.
And he's coming back for all who believe in him.
Would you like to know more? Come to church service
with me at The Cross 6 -6 next Sunday at 1030
in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Okay, I died. Little
rabbit trail there, yes. You get the point. That's
the trail that we go. We're pumped, right? It's
like that little kid coming home from school.
Mommy, mommy, check it out. I got my first day
ever. I thought I was going to fail and I got
an A. I aced it. Filled with passion. We're excited.
We're absolutely on fire for the Lord. And it's
amazing. It's beautiful. It's wonderful. And
we want to tell everyone about Him. Right? It's
one of those things where, you know, the old
term is like, go out and shout it from the rooftop.
I mean, that's where we are. That's what we want
to do. All right? That's how we're filled. Going
back to Isaiah 12, verse 2. Isaiah 12, verse
2, it says, Behold, God is my salvation. I want
to bring everybody's attention to this verse
specifically because this verse is also part
of a scene in Jerome Hines' opera, I Am the Way.
Those of you who know me, I'm not a big opera
guy. I learned about this, and this is pretty
cool, and I want to share it because it actually
pertains to what we're talking about here. So
Jerome Hines, he wrote I Am the Way, and it's
an opera about Jesus. Now, Hines, for those of
you who are like me and aren't familiar with
him, I had to look him up. He was a famous operatic
bass singer, and he was a composer. Now, all
the way back in the early 90s, around 1991, he
had already had this play out. It was going well,
but he felt this weight on his heart. He felt
a calling on it. And it basically was saying,
hey, this opera needs to go to Moscow's Bolshoi
Theater. Now, the Bolshoi at this point had never
allowed an American opera to be performed. It
wasn't even a consideration. It was a big thing.
And this is at the tail end there of when the
USSR was falling and everything. So it was a
very chaotic time as well. So what Hines did
is having this wait, he called another opera
director that he knew who lived in the D .C.
area by the name of Patrick Cavanaugh. And basically
he called him up, he told him about this weight
on his heart, this calling that he had on it,
and basically said, hey, do you know of a way
to make this come into fruition? Can you help
me out with this? Can we make this happen? And
they had a nice conversation about it. Matter
of fact, it was so good that Kavanaugh himself
felt this calling fall onto his heart as well.
And so he's like, you know what? We'll find a
way. And so what Kavanaugh did is he got on a
plane to Moscow. And keep this in mind. Like
I was just saying, this is at the time USSR had
just collapsed. The dissolution was just being
finalized. So it was a very turbulent time to
be over there. Not that Americans are exactly
welcome over there today, but this time especially
was... It was huge. We weren't friends with them.
So to put it lightly, Kavanaugh, he got on this
flight and he went over on a wing and a prayer.
He didn't know anybody there. He didn't speak
any Russian. All he had with him, aside from
his passport, was a handful of phone numbers
to go over with. So he flies over. He's landed.
He's truly a foreigner in a foreign land. So
he takes out this list of phone numbers when
he gets to where he's going. He had four phone
numbers. So he calls the first one. Nope, not
going to happen. Calls the second one. Hard no.
Calls the third number. D, Reich 3. Nope, not
going to happen. You've got to be kidding me,
man. No, dude. No way. Get out of here with that.
No, go back to America, right? So things aren't
looking good at this point. He's down to his
last number. Things are looking really grim.
This is already looking like it's about to turn
into an expensive washout of a trip. So he pulls
himself back. He pulls out this last number.
He looks at the phone and he dials it. Somebody
picks up on the other end and they're able to
talk. It turns out that the person at this last
phone number happened to be classmates with the
current Bolshoi's director at that time when
they were in school. He's like, you know what?
Let me set up a meeting for you. Let's just sit.
We can sit down. We can talk about it. Ooh. So
now there's a chance. You're telling me there's
a chance, right? So the meeting's set for a couple
days later. So Kavanaugh, he's able to go out,
try to make the best of his trip that's there,
see something he's probably never seen before.
So a couple days go by, and Kavanaugh goes to
the meeting to meet with these officials. And
he sits down with them. He tells them about this
opera that Heinz had written. He has their attention.
Things are going... All right. Nothing exciting
is happening yet. But then he does something
that absolutely blows the minds of all these
people. He tells them that not only was his company
willing to go over and perform this opera, but
that they were all willing to go over and do
it. For free. That's right. Free. F -R -E -E.
Free. This is astounding. It blows their minds.
Like, what? Are you kidding? What? So it takes
them a moment. They've got to get over the shock
and then come back and make sure that they heard
them right. Right? So they hear it and they come
to terms. And you're like, you know what? We're
going to allow this to happen. Not only are we
going to allow it to happen, but we're going
to allow you to do it. Twice. You get two shows.
So basically, two years later, in 1993, you get
two shows. You've got time to prepare. Oh, boy!
So he gets back on a plane. He flies back to
D .C. He gets his crew together, his troops,
and he tells them, hey, great news. This is what's
up. We've got two years to set this up. We're
going to fly back over here in two years, in
1993, and we're going to perform. This opera,
just shy of 200 people, flew back over to rehearse
and get things ready to go. And we're talking
costumes, building the sets, rehearsing the play
itself, getting everything down, the backups
in case somebody gets sick and all that kind
of stuff, advertising, the works. They're going
to town. They're doing all this stuff. So fast
forward July 1993. They get their two performances.
First one goes, all right, cool. Second one goes,
incredible. In the aftermath of this opera, nearly
1 ,000 Russians gave their lives to Christ right
there at the Bolshoi. If that wasn't enough,
I mean, that's pretty incredible, right? I mean,
that's right there. When I gave this sermon on
Sunday, I said, oh, amen. And absolutely, amen
indeed. But if that wasn't enough, a recording
of this opera was made. And it was shown a little
bit later on Russian national television. So
we went from never having an American play to
the doors being blown off the hinges to now.
Not only is it being done there on stage, but
it's on TV. So more people are able to come to
Christ. Kavanaugh was awarded a medal by Yeltsin's
Ministry of Culture. The dream of Heinz that
became Kavanaugh's was a vision come true. It
came to life. And talk about miracle after miracle
after miracle, right? God's at work. And I say
all this to make a point. When we trust in God
and we step out in faith and take the passion
that's within us and the thankfulness that we
have for Him to the world, God will use us to
do absolutely incredible things, to do amazing
things. Looking back at our first few verses
in Isaiah 12, God has shown us His love. He has
shown us His desire, that desire for us all to
be delivered back to Him from our sin. And when
we have a relationship with Him and fill our
hearts with gratitude for Him, it becomes so
much easier for each and every one of us to share
Him and to share our love for Him with the world.
Your love for Him, your passion for Him, it's
infectious. Some might even say it's contagious.
You can be a contagious Christian, and because
of that, it can soften even the hardest of hearts.
Whether you see it or not, it makes a difference
because it's planting a seed of faith in somebody
who didn't have it before. When you let it float
out of you, instead of bottling it up, you become
a walking... talking testimony pointing the way
to Jesus. Yes, you are a walking, talking poster
board. Right? It's like, well, those of you who
have seen me at work or throughout the day, you
know, I regularly wear Jesus shirts. You know,
I like the carousel ones that are done up like
the bottle of mustard and ketchup and the mayo
and the relish and the barbecue sauce and all
that stuff, right? And why? Because people see
it and they're like, oh, that's cool. Oh, wow.
I like that shirt. That's awesome. And it opens
up the door so you're able to talk, right? And
it's just little things like that. And when you're
on fire for the Lord, something happens. You're
going to say something. You're going to throw
up that praise, you know, or whatever it is.
You're going to do something that blesses somebody.
And guess what? The doors are blown wide and
you're able to give that testimony. You're able
to talk to somebody about Jesus. And another
miracle can happen. Another miracle can happen.
I know some of you are thinking, hey, Pastor,
I don't have it in me to talk to a bunch of people.
I'm not the kind of person who goes out and stands
up in front of a big group. And guess what? You
don't have to. How you live your life, how you
talk to people, how you treat people does that
for you because you're always being watched.
And the biggest impact is when you speak to someone.
And it only has to be one person. That one person
that God has placed in front of you. If we turn
to Luke 15 verse 7. So Luke 15 verse 7, Jesus
said, I say to you that likewise there will be
more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over 99 just persons who need no repentance.
That's right. For every one sinner that turns
to Jesus Christ, there's a party in heaven. When
you turned your life over to him, there was a
party in heaven. And every single person who
turns their life over to him, there's a party
in heaven. The angels rejoice. Every single person
is precious to God. And he grieves every single
loss and celebrates every single child who returns
to him. So you don't have to speak to the masses.
You don't have to speak to the crowds. You just
have to speak to the one person that the Lord
places in front of you. Share your story. What
Jesus has done for you. So that they can come
to know him too. Because your testimony is also
a hymn of praise. A hymn of how Jesus has saved
you. And why you have so much joy and so much
thankfulness in your heart. And on that note,
let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you. We
thank you for reminding us of your greatness.
We thank you that we should never take that greatness
and what you've done for us for granted. As we've
been reminded that you can and will work great
things through us if we step out in faith. We
ask that you help us to overcome the fears that
hold us back, those chains that put us in bondage.
We ask that you break those so that we can step
out boldly into a world where we're able to proclaim
your greatness and your truth and point the way
to your light and your hope and your kingdom
and your glory. Please look over us all as we
go our own ways and walk the paths that you've
laid out before us. Help us to take your word
into those places that you've put out for us
and share it with those that you place in front
of us. We thank you and we love you. Amen and
amen. And remember, as you go forward from here,
you are loved and you are blessed. So go and
be the church. Thank you for joining us at Healing
Scars with Pastor Burton. Until next time, take
care and God bless.