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. Father, we thank you for this time together
in fellowship. We thank you for this time in
your Word. Please open us up to what you have
to speak to us and how to apply it to our lives
as we leave from here today, in Jesus' name.
Amen. All right. So, of course, it is a new year.
Happy New Year, everybody. Last week, of course,
for most of you know, I had a broken tooth I
was dealing with, so I got that fixed. And then
right after that, Tess and I went out of town.
So, Reverend Mark Tross was here filling in the
pulpit. Was he not awesome? I was watching online.
I love Mark. We went to the Shepherd School together.
He's been in ministry, though, about as long
as I've been alive. For him, it was just another
school to go through to keep learning, keep improving.
But he is awesome. I was very appreciative. I
reached out to him again to thank him for coming
and filling in, especially on short notice. He
had no problem doing that. So, yes, that's exciting
times. Sometimes it's good to have things like
that, a little something to change things up,
right? That's kind of what we're looking at with
the new year. The new year, a lot of people,
they go out there like, oh, it's a new year,
a new me. And I say hogwash, and I usually have
a message that goes along with that because New
Year's resolutions are typically the first lie
of the year that most people break, right? I
say, hey, set yourself a goal and keep that goal
until you reach it. Don't worry about resolutions.
Because a lie is a lie, and a lie is sin. That's
right. This year, I'm going to go in a different
direction, though. I'm not going to talk about
that. That's all I'm going to talk about it on
that one. Instead, we're going to take a look
at what it is to be a new creation, what that
means. I did condense this a little bit because,
well, let's face it, I can already get long winded.
I'm a pastor and you don't have to agree so quick,
Albert, stop it. It's what we do, right? We come
out of the pulpit and we'd be as quiet as can
be. When we come up here and it's time to speak
about the word and teach and well, we just kind
of vomit at the mouth. I'll admit it. So I did
condense this a bit. Hopefully I didn't condense
it too much. If I did, if there's anything afterwards,
please let me know. Let's go ahead and let's
open our Bibles or Bible app, whatever it is
that you use, to 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17. So
2 Corinthians 5, verse 17. And the word says,
therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation. All things have passed away. Behold,
all things have become new. It's a good starting
point for us, right? When you accept Jesus as
your Lord and Savior, you profess him as the
Lord and Savior, the King of Kings, the person
who is the master of your life and who you are
and your path, guess what? You become a new creation.
The old is gone. Now, I'm not saying things change
overnight for you. No. That would just be ridiculous,
right? Some things might, but it takes time.
But you do become a new creation when you become
a follower of Jesus Christ. In church knees,
it's what we call when you become a believer,
right? We have to be careful with the lingo.
But in other words, what it means is you pledge
your faith. also known as trust, to Jesus Christ,
right? Trust is another way of saying faith.
Most of the time, you can use it pretty interchangeably,
right? Sometimes people like to make it sound
like it's this magical, mystical thing. It's
not. It's not. Because it comes from relationship.
And the stronger your relationship is, and the
bigger you build it up, the more trust you have,
the more faith you have, right? So you become
a new person on the inside. You're not reformed.
You're not rehabilitated. You're not re -educated.
You know, that's the stuff that people try to
say, you know, the mystical. Unfortunately, that's
why we lose people in the church, right? Because
they buy into it. You know, it's kind of like
a prosperity. Gospel, right? So you come, you
be a believer, and that injury is going to be
miraculously healed just like that. You're not
going to have that pain anymore. You're not going
to need that surgery anymore. You're not going
to need that medication anymore. That's nonsense.
That's not how it works. As much as we wish it
would, that's not the way it works. Like I said,
you are changed. You're not the same person anymore.
You're no longer a person of the world. You're
not the person you used to be. You're now a person
in Christ. Christ who is in you now, right? It
fills you with the Holy Spirit. So what happens
is you start to look at the world differently.
You think about things differently. You speak
about things differently. You understand things
differently. You see things through a new lens.
You see things through the lens of Christ instead
of the lens of the world. You see things through
a lens of hope. And not a lens of despair. That's
a big one. Especially in the world that we live
in, right? So when each of us becomes a new person,
as Paul was speaking about, there's much more
to it than just that. You're not just changed
from within. You're filled with the Holy Spirit.
You're held under a new covenant. Covenant meaning
promise, right? Contract, if you will. And it
changes because you're no longer a citizen of
the world. You're now an adopted child into the
kingdom. We turn to Philippians 3, verse 20.
It's a firm reminder. Philippians 3, 20, the
word says, for our citizenship is in heaven.
From which we also eagerly wait for the Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, you're not
under the same contract as the rest of the world,
the same covenant as the rest of the world. You're
part of a new community, a new family. And that's
what it's supposed to be, is a new family. Not
just friends, but family. With all that entails,
the ups and the downs, do we always get along
with family? No. We always agree 100 % with family.
Sometimes they're right and we're wrong though,
huh? But other times it's very joyful, it's very
peaceful. Sometimes things happen, someone gets
sick, someone gets hurt, and we worry. Right?
That's family. That's a good thing. You no longer
look to experience the superficial changes of
the world. Those superficial things that fade
away. Yeah, they might be tempting. Oh, you know
what? That's cool. That's an awesome car. I'd
love to have a car like that. But you know what?
It's not as enticing as your relationship with
Jesus and what you can do to serve the kingdom.
Those superficial things that all just fade and
disappear. Instead, we see things from a new
perspective that puts Jesus Christ front and
center in our lives. We want to do the things
We're not compelled to. We want to do the things
that he's asked us to, to go the directions that
he's directed us to go. I could tell you years
ago, if you told me I'd have been up here in
this pulpit, I would have told you you're out
of your mind. I'd have told you, take it, Jesus,
squat and pound sand. Change. Things change for
the better. You see things differently. You see
people differently. However, when this happens,
there are a few things that need to occur in
order for all this to take place. Let's turn
to Isaiah 43. Isaiah 43, verses 18 and 19. Isaiah
43, 18 and 19, the word says, Do not remember
the former things, nor consider the things of
old. Behold, I will do a new thing. Now it shall
spring forth. Shall you not know it? I will even
make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the
desert. We have to let go of the past. Plain
and simple. We have to let go of the past. This
is one of the hardest things that has to change,
one of the hardest things that has to occur,
because we want to cling to it. There's a security
that's there, and that's why we cling to it,
because it is a known factor. We know what happened.
We know how it impacted us. So we reach out and
we cling to it. But here's the thing. Not everybody
might get this reference. I understand that.
But none of us is Al Bundy. None of us gets to
relive those four touchdowns in a single high
school game of football, right? Silly enough.
But that's what we do. We cling to the past.
We want to hold on. We want to relive the glory
days. We all know those people who relive the
glory days constantly. I got a friend. I talk
to him every so often. I've known him since middle
school. We called it junior high. I know not
everybody here has junior highs. I mean, I was
in middle school for like 50 years here. I don't
know. But that dude still clings to the past.
He still collects toys. He still talks about
wrestling. He still talks about the stuff that
was on TV 30 stinking years ago. 30 years ago.
Who in here wants to pick up the phone and talk
about the Smurfs? I don't. I might give you five
minutes talking about dressing up like Elf for
Halloween, but, you know, that's as far as it's
going to go. You know, maybe the rabbit costume
that my mom made for me when I was knee -high
to a turtle, and no, it wasn't pink like a Christmas
story, it was blue. But still, that's the stuff
people cling to, right? They hold on to it. Instead,
the past, we need to learn what it was there
for. We had the past there for a reason. Things
happen for a reason. We came through things the
way we did for a reason. There are things there
that we need to learn from. And it's not just,
hey, what was it? It's what needs to happen in
my life now. We learn from it. We apply those
lessons to our life and we move forward. We move
forward. Unfortunately, this is also one of the
problems that we deal with when it comes to PTSD.
I can speak to that from my own experience. Because
the mind doesn't want to let go. And the slightest
thing takes you back to a time and place that
you don't want to be. And it's just as real as
if you were there, you're there at that moment,
even though you know you're not. It's a crossed
wire and it's hard. It's like, okay, there's
still something here I need to learn from. What
do I need to learn from? Unfortunately, a lot
of people don't learn from it. They turn to drugs,
they turn to alcohol, they turn to all these
other things. Try to avoid it. Avoidance isn't
an answer. Avoidance is not a cure. At some point,
you are still going to have to deal with it,
or it will deal with you. Plain and simple. You
have to move ahead. We don't get to dwell on
days long gone. Those days will not come again.
They are not supposed to. Instead, we should
be looking to a future, a future of hope with
God. A future that we should eagerly be looking
forward to and be running towards. Away from
the darkness and into the light. So things happen
in our lives. There's changes that we have to
make. God's put them in front of us. Don't hesitate.
Make the change. The word explains this clearly
in Matthew 6, verse 24. Matthew 6, verse 24.
The word says, no one can serve two masters.
Either he will hate the one and love the other,
or else he will be loyal to the one and despise
the other. Now, of course, This right here, when
you look at the full context of the passage,
it's talking about treasures in life, right?
The things that you hold dear, those things that
could potentially become your idols. Well, the
same thing applies here, though. Because basically
what it's saying is you have to choose Jesus,
you have to choose God, or you have to choose
the world. You don't get one and the other, right?
It's where people like to say you don't get to
have your cake and eat it too. My birthday's
coming up. I'm going to have my cake and I'm
going to eat it. Either way, you have to make
a choice though. You have to look towards the
kingdom of God or the world. You can't serve
both. You serve the world, you're going to be
missing out on heaven because you turned your
back on it and you're going to be marching straight
into hell. You serve the kingdom and the world's
going to reject you. It's going to attack you
with everything it has. That's just the way it
works. In other words, you look at what it's
saying here and you look at the context when
it's talking about your treasures, right? You
had to choose because everything is tied to one
of two masters, right? God of this world, God.
Jesus Christ or Satan? Those are the choices.
Because when we look to the world and everything
that's connected in it and all that stuff that
we want to hold on to, we have to let go. Why
is it important that we let go? What's it all
connected to? At some point down the line, it's
connected to sin because it comes to our own
selfish wants. Plain and simple. We have to grow
up. We can't keep living like children. In other
words, we have to put childish things away. 1
Corinthians 13, verses 10 through 12. The word
says, but when that which is perfect has come,
then that which is in part will be done away.
When I was a child, I spoke as a child. I understood
as a child. I thought as a child. But when I
became a man, I put away childish things. For
now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to
face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know
just as I also am known. You were part of the
world. You spoke as the world. You looked at
things as the world. You understood things as
the world does. You thought of things as the
world does. You did all this stuff the way the
world says to do it. As a follower of Jesus Christ,
you put that world behind you. You put those
ways behind you. You stopped looking at it through
that lens, that worldly lens. Christ -like lens.
A lot different. It's a bit like the saying,
you can't go home again. Because you can't. Once
you know the truth, once you know the word, try
and try as you might, you can turn your back
on Jesus, you can go back to the world, but it's
still never going to be the same. Because once
you know the truth and you know what the lie
is, you can never look at it the same as you
did before. You can never live in it the way
you did before. It won't happen. It can't happen.
You are changed forever. It's never going to
be the same. Your eyes have been opened. People
like to take that and look at it politically.
Ooh, the woke movement and all that. No. Because
both sides are still looking at it through a
worldly lens for the most part. It's not about
the donkey. It's not about the elephant. It's
about the lamb and its sacrifice for you and
for me. Following Jesus, you're not just changed.
You're born again. You're born again. We turn
to John 3, verse 3. Jesus said this. Jesus answered
and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God. Here, Jesus is having a conversation
with Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a very devout Pharisee,
right? He knew what he'd been taught. He knew
what had been said in the synagogues for years
and years. He knew what the scripture said. He
knew the way it had been twisted and had been
passed on from generation to generation. And
Jesus is here and explaining to him that in order
to spend eternity with the Father, you have to
be born again. He's like, well, what do you mean
born again? It's like I've already been born.
How am I going to go back in the womb and come
back out? Right? But he already had a pretty
good idea. He understood what, he's trying to
understand what Jesus is saying. He's been taught
something much different. Jesus is opening his
eyes and his mind. Nicodemus, he knew from scripture
that the kingdom, God was coming. He knew it
was going to be restored on earth. He knew the
meaning behind it all. It wasn't just one group.
It wasn't just going to be the Jews. It wasn't
going to be the Gentiles. It wasn't going to
be just the country of Israel. It was going to
be the entire world. Entire world. It's going
to be changed. And it was going to, once it was
rebuilt, it was going to incorporate God's people.
Right? The believers, the followers of Jesus
Christ, God's people. Not just these people who
are over here doing things, trying to earn their
way. You don't earn your way. When you do things
under compulsion because you're told you have
to do this, and that's why you do it, it means
nothing to God, nothing at all. You have to do
things because you want to, because in your heart
it's saying, hey, you need to go do this, and
so you do it. It is an act of love. And that
love comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ,
not religion. Religion says you do things, you
earn your way. Relationship says you do things
because you want to, not because you have to.
And Jesus only requires a little repentance of
sin and a spiritual rebirth. That's it. repentance
of your past and repentance of the world and
the world in your life and acceptance of him
as your Lord and Savior. And then it becomes
really easy to see that the change that God's
making in the world is already happening. It's
already happening because it starts in here.
It starts in the heart of every single follower.
The heart of you and the heart of me. So you
have to let him become the master of your life.
That's what Jesus was explaining to Nicodemus.
It's also similar to what he was explaining to
the woman at the well, right? It is also talked
about in John 4, verses 13 through 14. John 4,
verses 13 through 14. Jesus answered and said
to her, whoever drinks of this water will thirst
again. But whoever drinks of the water that I
shall give him will never thirst. But the water
that I shall give him will become in him a fountain
of water springing up into everlasting life.
We have holes in our hearts. We have these big
gaping pits in our spirit. And when we try to
fill them on our own, we fail. Time and time
again. Every time. We try to fill them with the
things of the world, and that's why we fail.
We fill them with things like gambling, porn,
sexual relationships, right? Drugs, alcohol,
gambling. The list goes on and on. Cars and houses,
you know, status, wealth, right? That whole thing,
you know, he with the most toys dies. Well, guess
what? He with the most toys still just dies,
period. You don't win nothing. You ain't taking
any of it with you. None of it. You can sit there
and you can focus on building all that treasure
up here. Guess what? You're going to miss out
on the treasure that's there because you're not
going to make it. You're not going to make it
if that's what you're focused on. We never find
that truly lasting happiness. Because we're trying
to fill this void with the world. And there's
a reason why it never gets filled up. Because
there's only one thing that can fill that void,
and that is the Holy Spirit. That void is in
you because that is the home of the Holy Spirit,
right? The Word tells us that we are the temple.
You think back to it, all the way back to before
Jesus was crucified, what happened? They had
the temple, right? They had the veil. That was
the place, that was the holiest of places, right?
That's where the Lord resided. There was still
a separation between him and man. Jesus came,
Jesus died for you and died for me. The veil
was torn. Not from bottom to top like man did
it, but from the top to the bottom. Something
that no man could do. And it brought us back
into relationship with God. It gave us access
to God. And when Jesus died, he said he was going
to send the Holy Spirit. Why? Jesus was a man.
He could only be so many places at one time,
right? Because he was a physical man like you
and I are. So instead, he sent the Holy Spirit
because the Holy Spirit could be everywhere.
And the place for him to reside is in his temple,
which is in us. We never think of it that way,
though, right? Like, ooh, the Holy Spirit. What's
up, dude? Don't worry, I won't call Ghostbusters.
Right? I joke, but I mean, that's the way we
look at it. He's supposed to reside in us. Don't
push him out. Don't close the door. Let him in.
Let him in. He's called a gift for a reason.
And you're going to keep on struggling until
you open that door and you let him into your
heart. Not to say you're not going to struggle
afterwards, but the struggles are going to be
different. Because at that point, you're going
to have hope. You're going to have love. You're
going to know the warmth of his embrace. You
know, Jesus here, he's talking. It's something
that was known at that time. It was giving water,
drinking water. It can be dangerous. It can be
dangerous. You got people that go out there and
they have these silly challenges online they
have for years now, right? It's like, oh, we'll
pound like two gallons of water real fast. What
happens? They get sick. There's been recorded
incidents where people have been impacted so
bad that they've died, right? Drinking water,
while it's good for you, done improperly can
hurt you. You go to somebody who's in shock.
You're not supposed to give them water. But one
of the first things that people do, oh, you're
in an accident. Let me give you a bottle of water.
No, I'm going to tell you right now. I'm a medical
professional. Don't do it. There's a reason.
Somebody's in shock. Somebody's hurt, right?
You got somebody who's suffering from heat stroke.
You give them that water. They start chugging
it and chugging it. They're never going to quench
that thirst. What's going to happen is it's going
to do even more damage because that water is
going to the body, the body is trying to distribute
it, and blood is being pulled away from those
vital organs where it's needed most. They may
not recover from that. You can drink and drink
and drink. You can drink yourself to death on
the water of the world. You're going to be thirsty
like a diabetic. Sugars are out of whack. Keep
chugging and chugging. You go to the Lord, you
go to Jesus Christ. One little sip and you're
good. Everlasting life. All your ailments will
be healed. Not overnight. Not some miraculous
thing where you're just going to wake up and
everything is good to go. And be fit as a fiddle
again. No. Word tells us, When we're called home,
when we go to the kingdom, we will be renewed
in a new body with no pain. That's a good one
right there. I don't know, the last couple of
weeks, I was hurting. That tooth is screaming.
But it happens. And, you know, that's what's
going to happen in this world. But ultimately,
we will be healed. We will have a place in eternity
without any of those issues, no sickness, no
pain, just healed. And to remember, Jesus is
our great physician. He will look out for us.
We need to go to him. It may not be the healing
that we want in this world, but there will be
healing. I promise you that. When you think about
it, when you really need medical help, you're
hurt. You go to the emergency room or you call
911. Are you sitting there and you're barking
at them? Hey, you got to do this. You got to
do that. Nope. I can tell you it never happens.
There's a nurse for, what, 40 -some -odd years
sitting right there. 50? Yeah, before she retired.
She could tell you, that doesn't happen. You
get these people out there, oh, and I told them
this, and I told them, no, you didn't. An emergency
happens, you go to the medical professionals,
you trust that they're going to do what's needed
to be done, that they're going to do it right.
That's called faith. You're surrendering yourself.
To their care. To their direction. Right? They
tell you to roll over, you roll over. Tell you
to cough, you cough. They tell you to stop throwing
up on them, you do your best and aim for a garbage
can. But you're under their management, right?
You're under new management. And I promise you
all, we're going home pretty quick. When you
are converted, right? When you become a follower
of Jesus Christ, when you become a believer,
You aren't just turning over a new leaf and life.
You're beginning a new life under the leadership
of Jesus Christ. I'm going to say that again.
You're not turning over a new leaf. This isn't
a new chapter. This is a new life, a new book.
We turn to Colossians 2, verses 6 through 7.
Colossians 2, verses 6 through 7. I heard that.
Yeah, 6, 7. I heard it. No, no, no. Right there.
I did not start that one, I promise you. It is
everywhere. Colossians 2, 6, 7. The word says,
as you therefore have received Christ Jesus,
the Lord, so walk with him, rooted and built
up in him and established in the faith as you
have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
You see, becoming Christian, new life, being
born again, becoming a new creation. It doesn't
start. Until we have fully surrendered ourselves.
What's up, Marvin? Well, it's... The way it took
off, that song was around long before this term.
That song, people just kind of tie to it. There's
actually something entirely separate from that.
Oh, yeah. There's a lot of stuff out there. We
still have to be careful, but we as Christians,
we can still have some fun, right? Like I said,
we can talk about that. The change doesn't start.
You're not born again until you fully surrender.
As long as you're clinging to that past, as long
as you have even a foothold, a toe holding that
door open, it's not going to happen. Some things
might start to change, right? You're cold. You
go to a door. You crack it open. A little bit
of heat comes through. You get a little bit,
right? But do you get the full warmth? No, because
what happens? That door can close again, right?
You're shut out. Shut out. And it's no different.
We have to fully surrender ourselves to Jesus.
We have to fully acknowledge him as the Lord
of our lives. Now, it doesn't mean you're not
going to mess up. It doesn't mean you're not
going to mess up. We all mess up. We're human,
right? Anybody in here perfect? I didn't think
so. You. We got jokes today. I love it. But we
have to acknowledge him. You know, he's a leader,
not just who we are, but what we do. What we're
going to do. Life's messy. You're going to mess
up. Ministry's messy. We mess up all the time.
It happens, right? You are going to fall down.
We all fall down. It's not about falling down.
It's about getting back up. You're going to get
knocked down. Proverbs 24 tells us exactly that.
Proverbs 24, verse 16, the word says, for a righteous
man may fall seven times and rise again, but
the wicked shall fall by calamity. Get knocked
down seven times, get back up eight. Get knocked
down eight times, get up nine times. Get up,
right? You get knocked down, you tell the world,
keep trying, do your best. You're not going to
keep me down. You can't keep a good dog down.
My Lord's going to keep picking me up. My Lord
has a much heavier hand than you do. You're going
to find that one day. Right now, he's reaching
down, he's extending it to me, and he's helping
me back up. Plain and simple. Jesus has a much
heavier hand than the world is ever going to
have. So take the hits. Don't shrug them off.
Don't shrug them off. Don't laugh. Don't laugh
at the world. It's also the other part of this.
The wicked shall fall by calamity. You're gonna
get knocked down. You're gonna get back up. When
the world gets knocked down, don't laugh. Don't
laugh. Because you know what? There's always
an opportunity for us to introduce Jesus Christ
to one more person. That time that they get knocked
down might be the moment. that changes their
life and they come to know Jesus Christ. It's
all in how you respond. When you have these incidents
in your life, it's about what you learn from
them. And then you listen to Jesus, you adapt,
and you overcome. And the key is listening to
Jesus. Psalm 119, verse 105, this is our last
verse for the day. Psalm 119, verse 105. A lot
of Bibles actually have this very beginning at
the front of it. Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path. Jesus will take care
of you. Don't let the world have the last say.
The world doesn't get the last say. Jesus Christ
does. Jesus Christ knows what's best for you.
He's told you what you need to do and how you
need to live. He's telling you where you need
to go for good reason. The world is going to
come after you. It's going to come after you
with everything it has. It doesn't want you to
have a relationship with Jesus. Period. It doesn't
care that you pick up your Bible and you know
it forward and backward. The devil knows the
Bible forward and backward. He was there when
it was written. Right? He was in heaven. He got
to look face to face with God. He knows what
the word says. So he doesn't care if you know
what the word is. He cares if you apply it to
your life and that you decide to follow Jesus,
that you believe in Jesus. So he and his ministers
are going to come at you with everything that
they got to get you to change your mind and to
turn away. But no matter how hard that hit, just
remember, Jesus is going to come back. And they're
not going to get back up when Jesus comes and
lays down that heavy hand. He knows what he's
doing. He's not going to let harm in the sense
of eternity befall you. He will look to his sheep.
That's why we make the introduction to him one
by one, right? the one that strayed from the
99. The church comes together, we're safe, but
there's still those who are lost. Jesus is going
after them. You want to do some, hey, this is
Jesus. And then they make the decision if they're
going to follow him or not. He brings them back
into the herd, right? Brings them to the flock.
Plain and simple. And on that note, let us pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for spending time
with us. We thank you for taking your word. into
our hearts. We thank you for bringing your word
into our lives. We ask that you, in addition
to spending time with us, though, show us not
only how to apply this stuff to our lives, but
how we can apply it when we talk to those who
are lost. How we can take it to the world and
share that hope and that love that you have for
everybody. Forgive us for those times that we
failed to surrender. Forgive us for those times
when we've misstepped. And help us to overcome
all these hindrances. Let go of those chains
that you've already broken so that you have full
charge and full control over us and our lives.
Mold us and mold our character into that which
is Christ -like and not world -like. Help us
to forgive those places we still need to forgive,
whether it's others or ourselves. and help us
to refocus that lens so we see things in the
world the way you'd have us look at it, and not
with hate, discontent. In Jesus' name, amen.
Remember, when you leave here today, 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.