WEBVTT 00:00:01.269 --> 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 --> 00:00:10.750 Route 66, in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico, 00:00:10.990 --> 00:00:14.150 where Burton is the lead pastor. We're glad you're 00:00:14.150 --> 00:00:17.570 here. Well, good morning, everybody. Welcome 00:00:17.570 --> 00:00:22.309 to Cross Christian 66. Let us pray. Lord, we 00:00:22.309 --> 00:00:24.190 thank you for this day, this time in fellowship, 00:00:24.329 --> 00:00:26.649 this time in your word, and this time of growth. 00:00:27.449 --> 00:00:29.609 We ask you to open the eyes of our hearts and 00:00:29.609 --> 00:00:32.030 minds. to everything that you have to teach us 00:00:32.030 --> 00:00:34.490 today and show us how to apply it to our lives 00:00:34.490 --> 00:00:38.329 as we step away. And help us to, you know, appreciate 00:00:38.329 --> 00:00:41.250 your Beatitudes and your teachings even more. 00:00:41.350 --> 00:00:44.250 In Jesus' name, amen. Good morning, everybody. 00:00:44.929 --> 00:00:47.689 Welcome to the Sanctuary. Welcome to everybody 00:00:47.689 --> 00:00:50.070 following us online or on the podcast. It's great 00:00:50.070 --> 00:00:51.670 to have everybody with us. Of course, last week 00:00:51.670 --> 00:00:55.090 we started this new series. We're going to be 00:00:55.090 --> 00:00:56.969 kind of working our way through the Beatitudes. 00:00:59.990 --> 00:01:02.049 You know, I'll remind you, Jesus, when he started 00:01:02.049 --> 00:01:04.090 with the Beatitudes, he was starting his Sermon 00:01:04.090 --> 00:01:06.290 on the Mount, and he was using this as a way 00:01:06.290 --> 00:01:11.230 to challenge the disciples' way of thinking, 00:01:11.370 --> 00:01:13.650 right? Not just the way that they thought about 00:01:13.650 --> 00:01:16.189 the world that they lived in, but the way that 00:01:16.189 --> 00:01:21.450 they interacted with it. Right? And, you know, 00:01:21.450 --> 00:01:24.829 in doing so, we see the same thing in our world, 00:01:24.890 --> 00:01:28.150 that we are in an upside -down kingdom, right? 00:01:29.629 --> 00:01:31.409 as they should be. There's a lot of things that 00:01:31.409 --> 00:01:33.609 are wrong, and the reason, because of sin, right? 00:01:34.790 --> 00:01:38.849 Plain, straightforward sin. And so we're going 00:01:38.849 --> 00:01:40.670 to move forward on that today as we look more 00:01:40.670 --> 00:01:43.090 at it. Now, as we get started, though, I want 00:01:43.090 --> 00:01:47.569 to backtrack a little bit. And just to remind 00:01:47.569 --> 00:01:49.750 you, for those who want to turn early, we're 00:01:49.750 --> 00:01:53.290 in Matthew 5. Yes, really, it's Matthew 5, not 00:01:53.290 --> 00:01:55.189 Mark. Last week, that was a little boo -boo. 00:01:55.530 --> 00:01:59.930 It's Mark 5. All right. Like I said, this is 00:01:59.930 --> 00:02:02.549 when Jesus was kicking off a sermon on the mount, 00:02:02.730 --> 00:02:06.609 right? It's a big sermon. It's one of the, you 00:02:06.609 --> 00:02:08.849 know, one of what we as believers like to say 00:02:08.849 --> 00:02:10.849 is one of the big moments in the Bible. Not that 00:02:10.849 --> 00:02:12.490 there's really small moments. They're all big 00:02:12.490 --> 00:02:14.009 moments, but this is one of like the really like, 00:02:14.090 --> 00:02:17.629 ooh, right? That a lot of people come back to 00:02:17.629 --> 00:02:21.310 fairly frequently. And he kicked it off with 00:02:21.310 --> 00:02:25.949 the Beatitudes. And it was a shock to everybody 00:02:25.949 --> 00:02:28.560 who was there. It's still a shock to people who 00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:32.780 hear it today. Why would he start with something 00:02:32.780 --> 00:02:40.360 like this? Does anybody have an idea? Has anybody 00:02:40.360 --> 00:02:42.879 in here ever taken a speech class? What's that? 00:02:46.060 --> 00:02:48.680 Well, yeah, everything he was saying was counterintuitive 00:02:48.680 --> 00:02:51.120 to us, absolutely. But he started his sermon 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:54.120 like this for a specific reason. All right. If 00:02:54.120 --> 00:02:56.620 you've ever taken a speech class, if you think 00:02:56.620 --> 00:03:02.580 back on that, right, it is a concept with speeching. 00:03:02.580 --> 00:03:05.860 I think I created a word there. With speeches 00:03:05.860 --> 00:03:10.219 and teaching, right? In fact, in the military, 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:12.300 the Marine Corps, we would start off with these 00:03:12.300 --> 00:03:14.039 if you were teaching a class called an attention 00:03:14.039 --> 00:03:17.060 grabber, right? A lot of places, like you turn 00:03:17.060 --> 00:03:18.520 on a TV show, what do they have? They have the 00:03:18.520 --> 00:03:21.560 little jingle, right? A lot of us learn the little 00:03:21.560 --> 00:03:23.520 songs. It's like some of us in here could probably 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:26.560 still recite the lyrics to Gilligan's Island 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:30.860 or Three's Company, right? I know I can. Yeah, 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:33.039 I'm not alone. I'm in good company. Good. All 00:03:33.039 --> 00:03:35.319 right. But it's an attention grabber, right? 00:03:35.780 --> 00:03:39.240 It's like people are like, oh, what? Now he has 00:03:39.240 --> 00:03:42.719 their undivided attention. All eyes are on him. 00:03:42.840 --> 00:03:45.159 They're like, whoa, what's going on here? Did 00:03:45.159 --> 00:03:48.120 he fall off of his rocker? Right? I assure you 00:03:48.120 --> 00:03:52.300 he did not. That's what it was. It was to get 00:03:52.300 --> 00:03:56.860 that response from everybody and have them locked 00:03:56.860 --> 00:04:01.099 in on him. All right? So he had everybody's undivided 00:04:01.099 --> 00:04:04.719 attention. So let's... Let's go ahead, and if 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:06.520 you haven't already, let's open our Bibles, Bible 00:04:06.520 --> 00:04:10.259 app, whatever you're using, to Matthew 5. I made 00:04:10.259 --> 00:04:11.560 sure it was right this week, and I made sure 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:14.939 we can actually read it this week. Verses 1 through 00:04:14.939 --> 00:04:17.420 5. We're going to go through and refresh. I hope 00:04:17.420 --> 00:04:18.740 everybody went through and refreshed themselves 00:04:18.740 --> 00:04:22.199 over the week as well. If not, that's okay. We're 00:04:22.199 --> 00:04:25.480 going to do it anyway. All right. Matthew 5, 00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:29.199 verses 1 through 5. The word says, And seeing 00:04:29.199 --> 00:04:32.079 the multitudes, he went up on a mountain, and 00:04:32.079 --> 00:04:34.699 when he was seated, His disciples came to him. 00:04:34.759 --> 00:04:37.540 Then he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, 00:04:37.779 --> 00:04:41.839 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is 00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:45.040 the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who 00:04:45.040 --> 00:04:48.420 mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are 00:04:48.420 --> 00:04:52.600 the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. We're 00:04:52.600 --> 00:04:54.100 not going to go any further than that today. 00:04:54.399 --> 00:04:58.769 That's what we're focused on today. I said, when 00:04:58.769 --> 00:05:00.730 you get a chance, write your week, come back, 00:05:00.850 --> 00:05:02.810 read it all the way through. See what sticks 00:05:02.810 --> 00:05:04.970 out. See what looks confusing. You know, what's 00:05:04.970 --> 00:05:08.569 hard to understand. All right? And then pray 00:05:08.569 --> 00:05:14.050 on that. All right? So, all together, when you 00:05:14.050 --> 00:05:16.449 read through it, Jesus gave eight Beatitudes. 00:05:17.009 --> 00:05:21.949 And the Beatitudes should be treated as characteristics 00:05:21.949 --> 00:05:27.329 to those who belong to the right side up, to 00:05:27.329 --> 00:05:29.730 those who belong to the kingdom of God. Right? 00:05:30.790 --> 00:05:34.149 These are characteristics that all of us should 00:05:34.149 --> 00:05:37.589 look towards and embody. A little different. 00:05:38.449 --> 00:05:41.029 And if you notice, each beatitude starts with 00:05:41.029 --> 00:05:45.350 the word blessed. And again, as I mentioned last 00:05:45.350 --> 00:05:49.490 week, it most closely translates to happy or 00:05:49.490 --> 00:05:52.050 fortunate. It's not an exact translation because 00:05:52.050 --> 00:05:53.850 we don't have an exact translation for that in 00:05:53.850 --> 00:05:58.500 English. I don't mean to give you an English 00:05:58.500 --> 00:06:00.079 class or language class, but that's the way it 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:03.360 is. Some things just don't translate well. And 00:06:03.360 --> 00:06:06.139 for those that are out there listening, to give 00:06:06.139 --> 00:06:10.360 you an example, why we don't harp on these things 00:06:10.360 --> 00:06:12.839 too much, we move forward. Some things cannot 00:06:12.839 --> 00:06:17.180 translate. Now, here in the U .S., we've all 00:06:17.180 --> 00:06:20.680 heard of the man in the moon, right? We've grown 00:06:20.680 --> 00:06:23.899 up with it. Maybe those of you who grew up in 00:06:23.899 --> 00:06:26.149 England did not. I don't know. The man in the 00:06:26.149 --> 00:06:28.730 moon is something here in the U .S. If you were 00:06:28.730 --> 00:06:33.910 to go over to Asia, Japan, or especially China, 00:06:34.250 --> 00:06:37.389 you might as well be speaking in Greek because 00:06:37.389 --> 00:06:39.329 they will have no idea what you're talking about. 00:06:39.370 --> 00:06:42.269 They don't know the reference. It's not even 00:06:42.269 --> 00:06:44.790 in their comprehension wheel. Like man in the 00:06:44.790 --> 00:06:47.069 moon, is this a cartoon back home? What's going 00:06:47.069 --> 00:06:54.120 on? No. But the rabbit and the cheese. which 00:06:54.120 --> 00:06:56.920 is a whole other thing, translates for them. 00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:01.079 So if somebody were translating English into 00:07:01.079 --> 00:07:03.959 their language, and I were to say the man in 00:07:03.959 --> 00:07:05.839 the moon, they would shift it over and start 00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:08.740 talking about the rabbit and the cheese. Now 00:07:08.740 --> 00:07:11.300 here in the U .S., it's like, huh? What are you 00:07:11.300 --> 00:07:14.819 talking about? And blessed translates the same 00:07:14.819 --> 00:07:17.399 way. We have something close enough to it, and 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:19.139 that's as good as it's going to get for us. All 00:07:19.139 --> 00:07:20.740 right? There's your language class. You're welcome. 00:07:20.899 --> 00:07:25.540 Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. But in the 00:07:25.540 --> 00:07:27.800 first two statements, as we get back to what 00:07:27.800 --> 00:07:30.519 we're looking at here, Jesus tells us that those 00:07:30.519 --> 00:07:33.720 who are poor in spirit will inherit the kingdom, 00:07:33.839 --> 00:07:39.120 right? And those who are sad and depressed and 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:42.459 lonely will be comforted. Right? That's what 00:07:42.459 --> 00:07:44.500 it's saying. Those who mourn. What's mourning? 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:48.439 Sadness, depression, loneliness. You have a hole 00:07:48.439 --> 00:07:56.819 now where there didn't used to be one. However, 00:07:56.920 --> 00:07:59.199 I want everybody to notice what it does not say. 00:08:01.500 --> 00:08:06.899 It does not say that you will never be sad. It 00:08:06.899 --> 00:08:10.050 does not say you will never be lonely. It does 00:08:10.050 --> 00:08:15.870 not say you will never be depressed. It will 00:08:15.870 --> 00:08:21.250 never say you will not have those low lows. There 00:08:21.250 --> 00:08:22.949 are those people who try to preach the opposite. 00:08:23.949 --> 00:08:27.490 The Bible has made it very clear. We will see 00:08:27.490 --> 00:08:32.250 the lows. That's part of life. All right. However, 00:08:32.350 --> 00:08:36.779 as believers, as we see here, we have. Promises 00:08:36.779 --> 00:08:40.580 made to us. We have assurance being made to us. 00:08:42.440 --> 00:08:49.940 Right? We have inheritance in the kingdom. We 00:08:49.940 --> 00:08:55.620 have comfort. Those are those times when we're 00:08:55.620 --> 00:08:57.580 really low and we get that comfort that just 00:08:57.580 --> 00:09:00.039 surpasses all understanding, right? We don't 00:09:00.039 --> 00:09:01.500 have a way to explain it. We just know we're 00:09:01.500 --> 00:09:03.960 comforted. And it's the Holy Spirit at work in 00:09:03.960 --> 00:09:11.269 us. You, as a citizen of the right side up, as 00:09:11.269 --> 00:09:14.669 a citizen of God's kingdom, will find comfort 00:09:14.669 --> 00:09:19.730 when you go to Jesus. You have inheritance waiting 00:09:19.730 --> 00:09:21.710 for you greater than anything you will ever find 00:09:21.710 --> 00:09:27.710 here. Those are a couple pretty good benefits, 00:09:27.850 --> 00:09:32.889 wouldn't you say? I know I would. Pretty extreme. 00:09:35.309 --> 00:09:39.190 And you look at the comfort. It's safe to say 00:09:39.190 --> 00:09:41.610 everybody in here has lost somebody at some point, 00:09:41.629 --> 00:09:45.970 right? Matter of fact, yesterday was the anniversary 00:09:45.970 --> 00:09:53.250 of my dad's death. I can tell you, there are 00:09:53.250 --> 00:09:54.850 a lot of people, when it comes to the anniversary 00:09:54.850 --> 00:09:58.830 of a loved one's passing, it is a hard time, 00:09:59.009 --> 00:10:01.889 right? Sometimes we refer to it as the death 00:10:01.889 --> 00:10:08.279 -iversary. It's kind of grim. Right? But it's 00:10:08.279 --> 00:10:09.799 because that's how it impacts us because that's 00:10:09.799 --> 00:10:12.679 where we have a big piece of hurt waiting inside. 00:10:13.919 --> 00:10:15.779 And when we look inside and we turn our thoughts 00:10:15.779 --> 00:10:18.340 towards them, yes, we remember the happy times. 00:10:19.500 --> 00:10:21.600 Unfortunately, we also remember they are no longer 00:10:21.600 --> 00:10:24.759 with us. Now, sometimes there's that comfort 00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:27.399 that comes from knowing, hey, they are a believer 00:10:27.399 --> 00:10:31.960 and we will see them again in the kingdom. Now, 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:36.039 that's some great comfort. That is a joy to have. 00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:41.220 Unfortunately, we also know that those who have 00:10:41.220 --> 00:10:46.120 passed who are not believers, they will never 00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:48.379 be able to take the joy in seeing them again, 00:10:48.519 --> 00:10:55.139 being reunited with them. That hurts. You know, 00:10:55.159 --> 00:10:57.240 it should hurt any time that we think of somebody 00:10:57.240 --> 00:10:59.279 that we know is not a believer and their time 00:10:59.279 --> 00:11:08.279 has ended. It hurts Jesus. So when we hear that 00:11:08.279 --> 00:11:14.980 the poor will inherit the kingdom, it is a promise. 00:11:17.200 --> 00:11:21.100 Even though we're spiritually unworthy. Is there 00:11:21.100 --> 00:11:25.039 anybody spiritually worthy in here? Good. I see 00:11:25.039 --> 00:11:28.320 no hands up. That's good. No hands should be 00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:33.419 up. I didn't raise mine to say I'm worthy. I'm 00:11:33.419 --> 00:11:34.779 not. I was just doing it as an example. Raise 00:11:34.779 --> 00:11:39.620 your hand. Because I'm there with you. I'm there 00:11:39.620 --> 00:11:42.860 with you. None of us is worthy. Not a single 00:11:42.860 --> 00:11:48.740 one of us. But even though we're unworthy, because 00:11:48.740 --> 00:11:52.860 of Jesus and what he did for us, we still have 00:11:52.860 --> 00:11:55.120 something waiting for us in heaven. We still 00:11:55.120 --> 00:11:58.580 have inheritance. We still have reward in heaven. 00:12:01.079 --> 00:12:02.720 That's pretty big in addition to the comfort. 00:12:02.820 --> 00:12:04.179 It's not like just, hey, it's going to be okay. 00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:06.720 We're being promised. Not only is it going to 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:09.740 be okay, you have something awesome waiting for 00:12:09.740 --> 00:12:11.419 you. It's a surprise. I can't wait for you to 00:12:11.419 --> 00:12:13.259 see it, but you're going to love it. It's going 00:12:13.259 --> 00:12:18.679 to be great. All of this, though, speaks very 00:12:18.679 --> 00:12:21.740 much against what the world has to say. As Pastor 00:12:21.740 --> 00:12:23.980 Mike was saying, it's counterintuitive to what 00:12:23.980 --> 00:12:27.720 the world tells us, right? It's a huge contradiction 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:30.559 in the way the world wants us to think and the 00:12:30.559 --> 00:12:34.259 way the world wants us to live. Plain and simple. 00:12:34.379 --> 00:12:38.820 The world says, you can have your best now. You're 00:12:38.820 --> 00:12:41.620 entitled to it. Name what you want. Claim it. 00:12:41.700 --> 00:12:45.200 It's yours to have. You should have health and 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:48.879 you should have wealth. You should have position. 00:12:49.799 --> 00:12:56.000 Ooh. That's a big one. You know, the world treats 00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:58.200 it as a J .G. Wentworth commercial. It's yours 00:12:58.200 --> 00:13:04.080 and you can have it now for a price. Give us 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:06.440 this much or call us and give us this much and 00:13:06.440 --> 00:13:09.440 we'll tell you how. There's the catch, right? 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:13.759 Fortunately, you can't buy it. You can't pay 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:20.799 for it. You can't bribe it away. Let's turn back 00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:25.960 to chapter Matthew 4. Matthew 4, verses 8 through 00:13:25.960 --> 00:13:31.580 9. This is when the devil was tempting Jesus 00:13:31.580 --> 00:13:37.340 in the wilderness. Word says, again, the devil 00:13:37.340 --> 00:13:40.259 took him up on an exceedingly high mountain and 00:13:40.259 --> 00:13:42.960 showed him all the kingdoms of the world and 00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:47.120 their glory. And he said to him, all these things 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:51.179 I will give you if you fall down and worship 00:13:51.179 --> 00:13:58.669 me. You can have it now for a price. The price 00:13:58.669 --> 00:14:03.730 is your soul. Sound familiar? We see these things. 00:14:03.809 --> 00:14:05.730 We hear these things. This is a quick way to 00:14:05.730 --> 00:14:10.129 identify a false teacher. You can have it. There's 00:14:10.129 --> 00:14:12.210 a price. Don't forget to pay me on your way out. 00:14:13.450 --> 00:14:22.149 Hmm. Let me tell you what. Anyone who says you 00:14:22.149 --> 00:14:24.289 don't have to wait for heaven is a liar. The 00:14:24.289 --> 00:14:28.830 devil is a liar. The devil is straight up a liar. 00:14:30.250 --> 00:14:33.210 Going back to the Beatitudes, Jesus was challenging 00:14:33.210 --> 00:14:36.529 the status quo. He was challenging the world 00:14:36.529 --> 00:14:38.929 and what the world was feeding to everybody. 00:14:39.830 --> 00:14:42.710 He was saying that if you live for God, if you 00:14:42.710 --> 00:14:47.690 love him, you have to be ready to do things. 00:14:48.459 --> 00:14:51.200 You have to be ready to start thinking about 00:14:51.200 --> 00:14:53.700 things differently. You have to be ready to start 00:14:53.700 --> 00:14:56.519 living differently. And the world is going to 00:14:56.519 --> 00:14:59.419 come against you and say, no, you're wrong, but 00:14:59.419 --> 00:15:05.860 the world is not right. It's upside down. As 00:15:05.860 --> 00:15:08.120 Lou Costello would say, I fell on my mother's 00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:11.620 mixed master this morning. That's where it's 00:15:11.620 --> 00:15:16.179 at. You're going to have to be willing to do 00:15:16.179 --> 00:15:18.639 things that are strange. You're going to have 00:15:18.639 --> 00:15:21.179 to be willing to do things that come foreign. 00:15:23.580 --> 00:15:28.139 Things that make absolutely no sense yet. Jesus 00:15:28.139 --> 00:15:31.679 said, you don't know what I do now, but you will. 00:15:33.100 --> 00:15:38.399 Will. That is all contrary to the world that 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:40.940 we live in. All these things that we have to 00:15:40.940 --> 00:15:43.059 do as believers. It's not so much that we have 00:15:43.059 --> 00:15:46.740 to. When you come into a relationship with Jesus, 00:15:47.399 --> 00:15:50.100 You want to start doing these things? You feel 00:15:50.100 --> 00:15:51.679 compelled to start doing things? You start seeing 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:53.740 things differently? What is the greater good? 00:15:54.059 --> 00:15:56.659 Is this within the character of God? Is this 00:15:56.659 --> 00:15:59.419 what Jesus would have me do? You start asking 00:15:59.419 --> 00:16:01.720 these questions. Does this line up with what 00:16:01.720 --> 00:16:06.779 the Bible says? And when it doesn't, you start 00:16:06.779 --> 00:16:09.700 changing the way you go through life. You start 00:16:09.700 --> 00:16:14.200 changing the way you think. And unfortunately, 00:16:14.379 --> 00:16:18.200 because you will change, You will not be the 00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:22.519 same person that you were. People are going to 00:16:22.519 --> 00:16:28.200 come against you. There will be spiritual warfare. 00:16:29.659 --> 00:16:32.200 Things going on that you won't even see, but 00:16:32.200 --> 00:16:36.299 you will feel it. It will tear at your life. 00:16:38.980 --> 00:16:42.080 People are not always going to be accepting regardless 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:45.549 of what they say about. People are not always 00:16:45.549 --> 00:16:47.210 going to be tolerant regardless of what they 00:16:47.210 --> 00:16:52.509 say about tolerance. And when you reach out in 00:16:52.509 --> 00:16:55.370 love, there are those who are going to smack 00:16:55.370 --> 00:17:01.690 you away with hate and discontent. You're going 00:17:01.690 --> 00:17:06.089 to reach out to serve people. That's what we 00:17:06.089 --> 00:17:10.190 as followers do. We serve. We follow Jesus' example. 00:17:11.549 --> 00:17:14.319 There are going to be those who are going to 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:18.559 not only refuse your service, but respond with 00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:24.539 abuse. They will say hateful things. They will 00:17:24.539 --> 00:17:30.220 do hateful things towards you. Their hearts are 00:17:30.220 --> 00:17:33.740 going to be hardened. And why? Because they do 00:17:33.740 --> 00:17:37.380 not truly know Jesus. And that is the difference 00:17:37.380 --> 00:17:43.470 between someone who is born again, child of God, 00:17:43.549 --> 00:17:47.890 and someone who belongs to the world. Because 00:17:47.890 --> 00:17:50.750 there are lots of people out there who, just 00:17:50.750 --> 00:17:54.009 like Satan, know the word. They memorize it verse 00:17:54.009 --> 00:17:57.410 by verse. They could spit it out at you, book, 00:17:57.490 --> 00:18:00.130 chapter, the whole bit. It maybe even gives some 00:18:00.130 --> 00:18:04.250 historical context. But they don't know Jesus. 00:18:05.150 --> 00:18:11.069 To them, it was a book to memorize. The devil. 00:18:12.299 --> 00:18:19.799 knows Jesus. He knows the word. But is he loyal 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:26.059 to God? So it's okay, as far as he's concerned, 00:18:26.220 --> 00:18:30.539 if you read the Bible. You can know it inside 00:18:30.539 --> 00:18:33.420 and out, front to back, back to front. It's when 00:18:33.420 --> 00:18:36.099 you start applying it to your life and that change 00:18:36.099 --> 00:18:40.740 happens in your life. That he has an issue. That's 00:18:40.740 --> 00:18:43.380 when he sends his ministers against you. That's 00:18:43.380 --> 00:18:48.240 when he sets the world against you. And it's 00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:53.980 going to hit and it's going to hit hard. The 00:18:53.980 --> 00:18:55.599 world comes against you because they don't know 00:18:55.599 --> 00:18:59.559 Jesus and they don't understand his values. It's 00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:02.839 simple. The next beatitude that we have here 00:19:02.839 --> 00:19:08.890 tells us as believers to be meek. Now, Meekness 00:19:08.890 --> 00:19:13.170 is all too often confused with weakness. It is 00:19:13.170 --> 00:19:24.970 not. It's not even close. Meekness, the way it's 00:19:24.970 --> 00:19:28.470 defined is gentleness and strength. Okay? Gentleness 00:19:28.470 --> 00:19:32.049 and strength. It's backing off when you have 00:19:32.049 --> 00:19:37.299 the power to do some serious damage. Right? You 00:19:37.299 --> 00:19:40.859 easily have the strength to absolutely overpower 00:19:40.859 --> 00:19:44.299 someone or destroy somebody, but you choose the 00:19:44.299 --> 00:19:49.140 higher road and you don't do it, right? Best 00:19:49.140 --> 00:19:52.299 way to think of this, even if you're not a fan, 00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:55.460 we've all seen fights, right? Whether it's MMA 00:19:55.460 --> 00:19:58.660 or boxing or karate or, you know, whatever, right? 00:19:58.740 --> 00:20:01.500 Kung fu. And you get some of these fights out 00:20:01.500 --> 00:20:02.720 there and they're filming it and you got these 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:05.750 tournaments and they're going at it, right? You 00:20:05.750 --> 00:20:07.450 got hooks, you got jabs, you got uppercuts, you 00:20:07.450 --> 00:20:10.869 got kicks, you got all this stuff. And this dude 00:20:10.869 --> 00:20:14.750 lands a hit on his opponent and they drop like 00:20:14.750 --> 00:20:19.250 a sack of potatoes, right? Meekness is the fighter 00:20:19.250 --> 00:20:22.369 who doesn't just keep going into him needlessly. 00:20:23.390 --> 00:20:28.690 Meekness is that fighter who backs off and lets 00:20:28.690 --> 00:20:32.269 the ref do his job. Or the one who immediately 00:20:32.269 --> 00:20:35.119 falls to his knees and starts praying. Right? 00:20:35.180 --> 00:20:41.259 And is worried about their opponent. That's meekness. 00:20:44.940 --> 00:20:47.339 That fight where they're easily, they know that 00:20:47.339 --> 00:20:50.299 their opponent is done. They're just tapping 00:20:50.299 --> 00:20:52.039 them and their opponent's ready to fall over. 00:20:52.160 --> 00:20:53.619 And they're trying to get the ref's attention 00:20:53.619 --> 00:20:54.960 because he's not doing it. He's just saying, 00:20:55.019 --> 00:20:57.299 hey, look at this guy. He's about to go over. 00:20:57.380 --> 00:21:02.019 I don't want to kill him. End this. Meekness. 00:21:03.459 --> 00:21:06.400 gentleness, and strength. You have the power, 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:09.359 you have the ability, but you choose not to. 00:21:09.460 --> 00:21:11.799 You look out for the greater good. You look out 00:21:11.799 --> 00:21:16.539 for your fellow man. That's meekness. It's not 00:21:16.539 --> 00:21:20.200 weakness. This is where the saying, do not confuse... 00:21:20.200 --> 00:21:27.640 Ah, just lost me. Yes, there we go. Do not confuse 00:21:27.640 --> 00:21:29.339 my kindness for weakness. Thank you. You guys 00:21:29.339 --> 00:21:31.200 knew exactly where I was going. Praise the Lord. 00:21:32.220 --> 00:21:35.259 That is meekness. So you hold back. It's that 00:21:35.259 --> 00:21:37.859 thought of saying, that way of living that says, 00:21:37.880 --> 00:21:42.660 even though I can, I'm not going to. I'm not 00:21:42.660 --> 00:21:44.500 going to flaunt it. I'm not going to sit here 00:21:44.500 --> 00:21:50.539 and beat my chest in your face, right? That's 00:21:50.539 --> 00:21:55.079 not meekness. That's a whole other kind of weakness 00:21:55.079 --> 00:22:00.980 right there. You know, it's not saying, hey, 00:22:01.059 --> 00:22:03.460 even though I can prove it, I'm not going to 00:22:03.460 --> 00:22:07.519 act like I'm better than you. There are those 00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:09.019 people who think that they are better than you 00:22:09.019 --> 00:22:11.980 and they can't even prove it. They just built 00:22:11.980 --> 00:22:16.059 up a legend in their own mind. It's not meekness. 00:22:16.839 --> 00:22:21.339 It's weakness. You know, when it comes to being 00:22:21.339 --> 00:22:24.779 meek, meekness is very much like self -defense. 00:22:25.900 --> 00:22:28.000 Anyone who's ever taken a self -defense class 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:32.519 has been taught. Even those who have worked in 00:22:32.519 --> 00:22:34.680 security or law enforcement has been taught. 00:22:35.059 --> 00:22:39.539 You only do what's needed to stop the action 00:22:39.539 --> 00:22:43.859 or to be able to break away and get away. That's 00:22:43.859 --> 00:22:46.859 it. Once it stops or you're able to break away, 00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:54.740 you stop. Done. You're not Johnny Lawrence. You're 00:22:54.740 --> 00:22:58.740 not Cobra Kai. You're not sweeping the leg. Plain 00:22:58.740 --> 00:23:02.640 and simple. You only do what needs to be done. 00:23:03.519 --> 00:23:08.900 Nobody likes a showboat. Nobody deserves to be 00:23:08.900 --> 00:23:13.539 hurt so bad that their life might be altered 00:23:13.539 --> 00:23:17.579 or end. Which is the opposite of what the world 00:23:17.579 --> 00:23:19.440 teaches because the world teaches us to be tough, 00:23:19.579 --> 00:23:22.289 right? There's a lot of machismo in the world 00:23:22.289 --> 00:23:24.849 these days, even with women. A lot of machismo. 00:23:24.849 --> 00:23:33.549 I'm the queen bee, right? The world wants us 00:23:33.549 --> 00:23:35.990 all to be tough, wants us to be aggressive, wants 00:23:35.990 --> 00:23:42.049 us to be hardened. As my grandpa would say, those 00:23:42.049 --> 00:23:46.789 are some tough hombres. That's what the world 00:23:46.789 --> 00:23:51.920 wants, a bunch of tough hombres. It is not what 00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:55.720 the word teaches us, though. The world teaches 00:23:55.720 --> 00:24:00.019 us that we should get revenge. We should be out 00:24:00.019 --> 00:24:03.680 looking for what's ours, what we're owed. Last 00:24:03.680 --> 00:24:05.140 I checked, the world doesn't owe us anything. 00:24:05.880 --> 00:24:08.259 You're not entitled to anything, but the world 00:24:08.259 --> 00:24:11.940 will say you are entitled to everything. Absolutely 00:24:11.940 --> 00:24:14.619 everything. You know, think about back in the 00:24:14.619 --> 00:24:17.599 day. You know, the 80s and the 90s, somewhere 00:24:17.599 --> 00:24:19.700 in the 2000s it's changed, but it used to be 00:24:19.700 --> 00:24:22.240 the telephone tough guy. You had the guy pick 00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:23.779 up the phone on the other end and he'd be like, 00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:27.880 ah! Right? These days it's the internet tough 00:24:27.880 --> 00:24:31.839 guy. They'll hop on social media and they'll 00:24:31.839 --> 00:24:34.700 just flood it with garbage. Meet up with them 00:24:34.700 --> 00:24:37.519 face -to -face and it's a different story. Right? 00:24:43.299 --> 00:24:44.940 Unlike the internet warriors, though, we are 00:24:44.940 --> 00:24:48.940 called to be meek. We are asked to humble ourselves. 00:24:49.859 --> 00:24:55.720 Humble ourselves. That the meek will inherit 00:24:55.720 --> 00:24:59.759 the kingdom. It is not your job to be the baddest 00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:02.799 dude in the room. I don't know if anybody even 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:09.140 says that anymore. Probably not. The disciples, 00:25:09.240 --> 00:25:11.599 they didn't quite get this concept. Even after 00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:13.920 this, even after this powerful sermon, they didn't 00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:16.839 quite get it. They were still battling each other 00:25:16.839 --> 00:25:20.819 for position. They all were still fighting and 00:25:20.819 --> 00:25:23.240 bickering amongst one another as to who should 00:25:23.240 --> 00:25:27.200 be at the right hand of Jesus. And that one we 00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:31.420 do see in Mark, this time, Mark 10, verses 35 00:25:31.420 --> 00:25:42.349 through 45. So Mark 10, 35 through 45. It is 00:25:42.349 --> 00:25:43.549 kind of long, so I'm just going to go ahead and 00:25:43.549 --> 00:25:44.890 go through it while you're turning there. And 00:25:44.890 --> 00:25:49.170 the word says, And James and John, the sons of 00:25:49.170 --> 00:25:53.069 Zebedee, came to him teaching, Teacher, we want 00:25:53.069 --> 00:25:58.410 you to do for us whatever we ask. And he said 00:25:58.410 --> 00:26:01.250 to them, What do you want me to do for you? They 00:26:01.250 --> 00:26:05.279 said to him, Grant us that we may sit. one on 00:26:05.279 --> 00:26:07.660 your right hand and the other on your left in 00:26:07.660 --> 00:26:15.380 your glory. But Jesus said to them, you do not 00:26:15.380 --> 00:26:19.299 know what you ask. You are able to drink the 00:26:19.299 --> 00:26:23.299 cup that I drink and be baptized with the baptism 00:26:23.299 --> 00:26:32.960 that I am baptized with. They said to him, we 00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:36.150 are able. So Jesus said to them, you will indeed 00:26:36.150 --> 00:26:39.970 drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism 00:26:39.970 --> 00:26:43.789 I am baptized with, you will be baptized. But 00:26:43.789 --> 00:26:49.529 to sit on my right hand and on my left is not 00:26:49.529 --> 00:26:54.470 mine to give, but it is for those whom it is 00:26:54.470 --> 00:26:58.910 prepared. And when the ten heard it, they began 00:26:58.910 --> 00:27:02.390 to be greatly displeased with James and John. 00:27:02.569 --> 00:27:06.329 But Jesus called them to himself and said to 00:27:06.329 --> 00:27:09.869 them, You know that those who are considered 00:27:09.869 --> 00:27:14.269 rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and 00:27:14.269 --> 00:27:17.769 their great ones exercise authority over them. 00:27:17.849 --> 00:27:23.829 Yet it shall not be so among you. But whoever 00:27:23.829 --> 00:27:27.009 desires to become great among you shall be your 00:27:27.009 --> 00:27:30.769 servant. And whoever of you desires to be first 00:27:30.769 --> 00:27:36.170 shall be slave of all. For even the son of man 00:27:36.170 --> 00:27:40.750 did not come to be served, but to serve and to 00:27:40.750 --> 00:27:44.529 give his life a ransom for many. He's saying, 00:27:44.569 --> 00:27:49.849 guys, knock it off. What are you doing? This 00:27:49.849 --> 00:27:54.299 isn't right. Everybody's jockeying for a position 00:27:54.299 --> 00:27:58.440 of power these days. That is very worldly. This 00:27:58.440 --> 00:28:01.339 person did this. This person did that. But nobody 00:28:01.339 --> 00:28:04.660 wants to admit that there's fault on both sides. 00:28:09.180 --> 00:28:14.599 They want to yell and talk over people. Right? 00:28:15.500 --> 00:28:17.539 They don't want to listen to what the other side 00:28:17.539 --> 00:28:20.539 says. They want to tack down on them. Right? 00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:22.720 And I do say attack down on them because it's 00:28:22.720 --> 00:28:27.799 not talk down. It is attacking. Right? This person 00:28:27.799 --> 00:28:29.980 doesn't have their right. This person doesn't 00:28:29.980 --> 00:28:34.380 have that right. We see it all the time. We see 00:28:34.380 --> 00:28:36.740 it in our own lives. We see it on TV. We hear 00:28:36.740 --> 00:28:39.920 it on the radio. All over the place. It is the 00:28:39.920 --> 00:28:46.039 world at work. It is not Christ -like. And the 00:28:46.039 --> 00:28:49.099 disciples very much were still falling into that 00:28:49.099 --> 00:28:52.059 worldly way of thinking, just like a lot of us 00:28:52.059 --> 00:28:57.819 today are. They wanted position. They wanted 00:28:57.819 --> 00:29:00.400 to be esteemed, like, ha ha ha, I'm the right 00:29:00.400 --> 00:29:05.859 hand of Jesus. I'm the left hand of Jesus. I'm 00:29:05.859 --> 00:29:09.119 better than you, ha ha ha, right? So they were 00:29:09.119 --> 00:29:11.579 trying to one -up each other. They were bickering 00:29:11.579 --> 00:29:17.099 like a bunch of children. And they were so caught 00:29:17.099 --> 00:29:21.579 up as to who belonged at the hand of Christ, 00:29:21.779 --> 00:29:25.819 they forgot the most important thing in the room. 00:29:26.440 --> 00:29:32.519 The most important one in the room. Jesus. Jesus, 00:29:32.579 --> 00:29:34.000 who they should have been going to in the first 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:37.559 place. Jesus, the one who should be first amongst 00:29:37.559 --> 00:29:42.730 everything. And they were arguing over position 00:29:42.730 --> 00:29:45.150 at his side like he wasn't even a part of the 00:29:45.150 --> 00:29:46.990 conversation, like he wasn't even in the room. 00:29:48.430 --> 00:29:56.630 Nobody appreciates that, do they? It all became 00:29:56.630 --> 00:29:59.450 about them. And when we do this, when you do 00:29:59.450 --> 00:30:01.609 this, it becomes about you. When I do this, it 00:30:01.609 --> 00:30:03.910 becomes about me. It is a very selfish way of 00:30:03.910 --> 00:30:07.609 thinking. It's like that basketball player who 00:30:07.609 --> 00:30:11.329 started humble as a rookie. And as their skills 00:30:11.329 --> 00:30:13.730 and their talents improved and they spent a little 00:30:13.730 --> 00:30:15.190 bit more time in the limelight, all of a sudden 00:30:15.190 --> 00:30:18.789 it became about them. They go to interviews and 00:30:18.789 --> 00:30:20.309 it's not even so much about the team. It's me, 00:30:20.450 --> 00:30:22.910 me, me, right? They become the ball hog. The 00:30:22.910 --> 00:30:24.730 ball has to go to them. They have to get the 00:30:24.730 --> 00:30:27.789 shots. If the team isn't setting them up so they 00:30:27.789 --> 00:30:30.089 can get the shot, then the team is at fault, 00:30:30.210 --> 00:30:36.009 right? It's all about them. The Marine Corps, 00:30:36.230 --> 00:30:38.170 the way we put it is Semper Fi, forget the other 00:30:38.170 --> 00:30:41.930 guy. That's probably the cleaner way of the way 00:30:41.930 --> 00:30:44.269 we would say it. Semper Fi, Semper Fidelis, meaning 00:30:44.269 --> 00:30:47.130 always faithful. The Semper Fi, take away all 00:30:47.130 --> 00:30:49.890 the rest of it, and it's just I. It's not supposed 00:30:49.890 --> 00:30:51.990 to be about I. It's supposed to be about Him. 00:30:55.049 --> 00:30:57.630 So the disciples were competing for this place 00:30:57.630 --> 00:31:03.049 of prominence. And they forgot. Look at Jesus. 00:31:05.509 --> 00:31:07.250 Even though they were talking about Him, it wasn't 00:31:07.250 --> 00:31:09.349 about Him. When it should have been about Him, 00:31:09.740 --> 00:31:12.460 It was about them. And Jesus taught them that 00:31:12.460 --> 00:31:18.720 they needed humility. They needed to become meek 00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:21.039 in order to get what they wanted so badly. They 00:31:21.039 --> 00:31:23.599 needed to live humbly. And the funny thing is 00:31:23.599 --> 00:31:25.759 when you do that, that thing that you thought 00:31:25.759 --> 00:31:28.640 you needed so badly to have suddenly isn't so 00:31:28.640 --> 00:31:31.119 important. Whether you get it or not, you get 00:31:31.119 --> 00:31:35.380 it, cool. If not, why? Because it's not the most 00:31:35.380 --> 00:31:37.180 important thing in the room. It's not the most 00:31:37.180 --> 00:31:41.529 important thing to have in your life. But by 00:31:41.529 --> 00:31:44.289 humbling themselves and becoming meek and being 00:31:44.289 --> 00:31:50.130 patient and serving one another, that not only 00:31:50.130 --> 00:31:52.410 would they have the experience to look forward 00:31:52.410 --> 00:31:54.869 to of being with Jesus forever in the right side 00:31:54.869 --> 00:32:00.829 up for eternity, but receiving his approval and 00:32:00.829 --> 00:32:04.630 his praise. Because they weren't putting themselves 00:32:04.630 --> 00:32:09.150 first, they were putting others first, which 00:32:09.150 --> 00:32:12.259 is hard. It's the opposite of what the world 00:32:12.259 --> 00:32:17.079 tells us. Instead, we get upset when things change. 00:32:17.180 --> 00:32:19.400 We get upset when things don't go our way. We 00:32:19.400 --> 00:32:21.039 get upset when we're not being told the things 00:32:21.039 --> 00:32:24.119 that we want to hear. You know, we think because 00:32:24.119 --> 00:32:29.960 of our job or our position or our education or 00:32:29.960 --> 00:32:32.839 whatever, that what we want and what we have 00:32:32.839 --> 00:32:34.700 to say is more important than what others do. 00:32:35.180 --> 00:32:42.329 We're wrong. That way of thinking is wrong. Not 00:32:42.329 --> 00:32:43.809 only that, but we need to accept the fact that 00:32:43.809 --> 00:32:46.869 sometimes we're wrong. That's a hard pill to 00:32:46.869 --> 00:32:52.670 swallow. Who likes to eat crow? Be a little embarrassing, 00:32:52.730 --> 00:32:55.710 huh? You can also be very humbling, which is 00:32:55.710 --> 00:32:57.569 a good thing. It's what we need in our lives. 00:33:00.130 --> 00:33:03.829 We get upset and forget that it's supposed to 00:33:03.829 --> 00:33:07.269 be about him and not about us. And again, we 00:33:07.269 --> 00:33:10.690 cannot bribe our way or buy our way into heaven. 00:33:12.460 --> 00:33:16.000 And for those who try, you need to stop. You 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:20.119 can't do it. Psalm 25, verse 9, where it says, 00:33:20.240 --> 00:33:22.519 the humble he guides in justice and the humble 00:33:22.519 --> 00:33:26.680 he teaches his way. God will teach and guide 00:33:26.680 --> 00:33:30.579 the meek, not the boastful, not the arrogant, 00:33:30.740 --> 00:33:35.740 not the selfish, not the self -centered, but 00:33:35.740 --> 00:33:41.660 the meek. Why? Because When you're up high on 00:33:41.660 --> 00:33:46.180 that horse and you're pompous and arrogant, self 00:33:46.180 --> 00:33:50.680 -centered, right? Even if you recognize God, 00:33:50.900 --> 00:33:52.559 you don't feel like you need him. You feel like 00:33:52.559 --> 00:33:54.380 he's already blessed everything that you're doing. 00:33:55.200 --> 00:33:59.180 So he no longer becomes first, right? As the 00:33:59.180 --> 00:34:04.519 word says, you forgot your first love. But when 00:34:04.519 --> 00:34:07.240 we're meek and we're humble and we make it so 00:34:07.240 --> 00:34:11.340 it's not about us, It's about others and what 00:34:11.340 --> 00:34:14.800 we're called to do, what we're doing our best 00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:19.219 to answer in that calling. Now, God has a position 00:34:19.219 --> 00:34:21.599 to actually step in and speak to you. You're 00:34:21.599 --> 00:34:23.800 not forcing him out the door. You're leaving 00:34:23.800 --> 00:34:28.500 the door open for him to come in. When things 00:34:28.500 --> 00:34:32.300 go wrong, you're not stopping like, oh, really? 00:34:32.940 --> 00:34:36.039 What's going on here? Why me? Why does this got 00:34:36.039 --> 00:34:38.900 to happen now? And that stinking thinking creeps 00:34:38.900 --> 00:34:42.639 in. No, instead he's like, okay, this isn't going 00:34:42.639 --> 00:34:45.019 according to plan. Something's wrong. Lord, help 00:34:45.019 --> 00:34:46.920 me see what I need to see here. What's going 00:34:46.920 --> 00:34:49.159 on? What's gone wrong? Where do I need to be 00:34:49.159 --> 00:34:54.920 steered? Right? Guide my path. God becomes number 00:34:54.920 --> 00:35:04.639 one in your life. And so he can teach you. They 00:35:04.639 --> 00:35:07.420 ask him for the things that are needed, the things 00:35:07.420 --> 00:35:11.420 that are... Most important, direction, comfort, 00:35:11.679 --> 00:35:18.380 rest. They recognize that without him, they are 00:35:18.380 --> 00:35:20.920 nothing. That all their stuff that they're doing 00:35:20.920 --> 00:35:26.340 means nothing. But with Jesus, they are somebody, 00:35:26.519 --> 00:35:31.119 you are somebody, and you are loved, and what 00:35:31.119 --> 00:35:35.820 you do matters. Because with Jesus, everything 00:35:35.820 --> 00:35:40.239 and everybody is something. I promise we're heading 00:35:40.239 --> 00:35:42.639 for home. This is our last verse. Turning back 00:35:42.639 --> 00:35:49.000 to Matthew 23. Matthew 23, verses 11 through 00:35:49.000 --> 00:35:54.920 12. Jesus said, He who is greatest among you 00:35:54.920 --> 00:35:57.400 shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself 00:35:57.400 --> 00:36:02.019 will be humbled. And he who humbles himself will 00:36:02.019 --> 00:36:06.000 be exalted. You want to be great, you need to 00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:11.940 humble yourself. You need to learn to serve others. 00:36:13.420 --> 00:36:16.380 Right? Back in the 90s, the term came about, 00:36:16.460 --> 00:36:19.179 check yourself before you wreck yourself. The 00:36:19.179 --> 00:36:21.159 word tells us, pull the plank from our eye before 00:36:21.159 --> 00:36:26.139 we examine the splinter in our brothers. Dale 00:36:26.139 --> 00:36:28.699 Brawner once said, if serving is beneath you, 00:36:28.880 --> 00:36:32.219 then leadership is beyond you. Meekness helps 00:36:32.219 --> 00:36:39.800 you put away your own agenda. Humbleness. opens 00:36:39.800 --> 00:36:44.760 you up to the needs of others. Sometimes it's 00:36:44.760 --> 00:36:47.059 kind words. Sometimes it's nothing at all. Sometimes 00:36:47.059 --> 00:36:50.199 it's just being in here. Sometimes it's a whole 00:36:50.199 --> 00:36:54.400 lot more. Sometimes people need work. Right? 00:36:55.619 --> 00:37:00.340 Let's face it. That's just the way it is. It's 00:37:00.340 --> 00:37:02.760 not going to be about you right now. Your time 00:37:02.760 --> 00:37:07.800 will come. So put away your own agenda. Humble 00:37:07.800 --> 00:37:10.809 yourself. Become Meek. Look to serve others. 00:37:12.050 --> 00:37:16.070 Don't worry about your moment. Don't worry about 00:37:16.070 --> 00:37:20.469 what's going to come. Instead, you look to the 00:37:20.469 --> 00:37:23.769 others. You look to their moments and you build 00:37:23.769 --> 00:37:27.130 them up. We don't need to crowd people where 00:37:27.130 --> 00:37:29.210 we have 10 people. You have one person shaking 00:37:29.210 --> 00:37:30.989 it on them. Okay, cool. Don't overcrowd them. 00:37:33.190 --> 00:37:36.309 As a problem comes, there's two issues that come 00:37:36.309 --> 00:37:42.159 across. When you crowd in on people. One, they 00:37:42.159 --> 00:37:44.480 have a whole bunch of people around them. They 00:37:44.480 --> 00:37:47.840 get uncomfortable. Ooh, walls are closing in. 00:37:49.300 --> 00:37:52.820 Right? A lot of first responders, a lot of veterans, 00:37:52.960 --> 00:37:56.440 we deal with this. Go out to a tight spot. We 00:37:56.440 --> 00:37:58.219 sit in a certain place. We sit in a certain way. 00:37:58.320 --> 00:38:00.900 We have our visuals set. We don't like it when 00:38:00.900 --> 00:38:02.719 we have 10 people. We don't like it when we have 00:38:02.719 --> 00:38:04.119 10 people coming to us with the same question. 00:38:04.199 --> 00:38:08.670 Are you okay? How are you doing? I just told 00:38:08.670 --> 00:38:13.250 Pastor Mike, he didn't tell you? Right? I just 00:38:13.250 --> 00:38:17.309 told Brian, he didn't tell you? So they end up 00:38:17.309 --> 00:38:22.690 setting up walls and pushing away. Or the opposite 00:38:22.690 --> 00:38:25.190 comes. You got 10 people around you and all of 00:38:25.190 --> 00:38:26.530 a sudden you're the limelight. You're standing 00:38:26.530 --> 00:38:28.789 in the spotlight. Ooh, I like this. I'm important. 00:38:28.929 --> 00:38:31.269 I'm somebody. Right? We feel like Steve Martin 00:38:31.269 --> 00:38:32.829 in The Jerk when he finds his name in the phone 00:38:32.829 --> 00:38:40.320 book. I'm finally somebody. Right? And they eat 00:38:40.320 --> 00:38:42.539 it up and they want more. If for some reason 00:38:42.539 --> 00:38:44.360 somebody's missing and they don't come to... 00:38:44.360 --> 00:38:51.619 Uh -oh. Something's not right. They'll either 00:38:51.619 --> 00:38:53.260 worry, they'll panic, or their feelings get hurt 00:38:53.260 --> 00:39:00.039 way too easily. So don't crowd people. One or 00:39:00.039 --> 00:39:01.780 two of us come to them, look to your brother, 00:39:01.860 --> 00:39:03.400 and unless help is needed, then you call help 00:39:03.400 --> 00:39:06.199 in. Hey, guys, we need to come in. We need to 00:39:06.199 --> 00:39:11.989 partner up on this. I think most of us would 00:39:11.989 --> 00:39:15.710 be much more accepting of that, right? That's 00:39:15.710 --> 00:39:19.489 the way it should be. It's like a family. I know 00:39:19.489 --> 00:39:24.949 if I call my mom and something's going on, maybe 00:39:24.949 --> 00:39:28.230 she just needs someone to talk to her. Or maybe 00:39:28.230 --> 00:39:30.829 I need to get on the phone, call my brother or 00:39:30.829 --> 00:39:32.630 whoever else, be like, hey, something's going 00:39:32.630 --> 00:39:34.289 on. We all need to kind of partner up on this, 00:39:34.329 --> 00:39:38.070 right? We're like, hey, you know what? I went 00:39:38.070 --> 00:39:39.469 over there. She's okay. She just needs some space 00:39:39.469 --> 00:39:43.550 right now. That's how the family works. That's 00:39:43.550 --> 00:39:45.309 the way our family, our church family should 00:39:45.309 --> 00:39:48.030 work as well. You know, just like when I got 00:39:48.030 --> 00:39:49.610 that text from Marvin this morning saying, hey, 00:39:49.670 --> 00:39:51.110 sorry, I'm going to miss you all this morning. 00:39:51.170 --> 00:39:54.110 I'm out of town. Hey, we miss you, Marvin. Hope 00:39:54.110 --> 00:39:58.349 you're having fun down there though. Right? It's 00:39:58.349 --> 00:40:00.329 good stuff. It's like, you know, those of us 00:40:00.329 --> 00:40:01.630 who are here in the sanctuary, those of you who 00:40:01.630 --> 00:40:03.730 are out online and, you know, following on the 00:40:03.730 --> 00:40:05.250 podcast, you don't hear it. But before service, 00:40:05.289 --> 00:40:08.010 we come in. If we have a report on somebody like, 00:40:08.070 --> 00:40:10.030 hey, somebody's sick or whatever, we share it. 00:40:10.110 --> 00:40:11.829 You know, Marvin's case, he's not with us today 00:40:11.829 --> 00:40:13.550 because he's at a birthday party. I think it 00:40:13.550 --> 00:40:17.110 was, yeah, down in Las Lunas. Getting tongue 00:40:17.110 --> 00:40:19.170 -tied here. That's the way communication should 00:40:19.170 --> 00:40:22.909 work. That's the way this should work. Don't 00:40:22.909 --> 00:40:26.130 worry about your time. Your time will come when 00:40:26.130 --> 00:40:31.409 it's due. And the thing is, when you're so caught 00:40:31.409 --> 00:40:35.449 up looking for your moment, for your time in 00:40:35.449 --> 00:40:39.070 the limelight, for your time to be great, you 00:40:39.070 --> 00:40:42.309 miss the moment. You miss that moment that you 00:40:42.309 --> 00:40:45.489 were supposed to be great. Because it wasn't 00:40:45.489 --> 00:40:47.150 great for yourself, it was great for somebody 00:40:47.150 --> 00:40:52.510 else, and you may not have even known it. That 00:40:52.510 --> 00:40:55.289 moment that you had to share a word with somebody, 00:40:55.429 --> 00:40:59.360 it changed their life forever. introduced them 00:40:59.360 --> 00:41:01.920 to Jesus, or made sense of something in the word 00:41:01.920 --> 00:41:03.420 that they were struggling with as a new Christian, 00:41:03.500 --> 00:41:05.960 and now all of a sudden, and a light comes on, 00:41:06.079 --> 00:41:08.199 and they're able to carry on forward, and things 00:41:08.199 --> 00:41:11.739 are good. But you miss it because you're focused 00:41:11.739 --> 00:41:16.179 on you, not them. So don't worry about it. Your 00:41:16.179 --> 00:41:21.239 time's going to come. As we leave here today, 00:41:21.480 --> 00:41:24.559 remember, don't look for your own greatness. 00:41:24.599 --> 00:41:26.769 Don't look for your chance. Think of how you 00:41:26.769 --> 00:41:28.489 can be meek and how you can show that to the 00:41:28.489 --> 00:41:33.130 world. Look for ways to become meek for others 00:41:33.130 --> 00:41:37.190 and show that compassion that they so greatly 00:41:37.190 --> 00:41:43.150 need. Compassion comes in many forms. Let that 00:41:43.150 --> 00:41:48.650 sink in. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for 00:41:48.650 --> 00:41:52.130 opening our eyes more and more to this upside 00:41:52.130 --> 00:41:55.460 down world that we live in. and how we should 00:41:55.460 --> 00:41:58.000 be responding and how we should be thinking as 00:41:58.000 --> 00:42:02.599 your children. We ask that you forgive us of 00:42:02.599 --> 00:42:04.860 our egos and our pride and the things that we 00:42:04.860 --> 00:42:07.760 continue to do even though we know we shouldn't. 00:42:08.019 --> 00:42:11.860 We know it's a struggle. We ask that you do continue 00:42:11.860 --> 00:42:17.559 to speak to us and guide us constantly, daily, 00:42:17.659 --> 00:42:22.000 as we leave from here today. Protect us as we 00:42:22.000 --> 00:42:25.619 go down that path. And let us be the tool that 00:42:25.619 --> 00:42:30.619 you use to work in this world and the light that 00:42:30.619 --> 00:42:35.579 shines its way towards you. As people said, amen 00:42:35.579 --> 00:42:37.440 and amen. Remember, as you leave here today, 00:42:37.539 --> 00:42:39.260 you are loved and you are blessed. So go and 00:42:39.260 --> 00:42:44.940 be the church. Thank you for joining us at Healing 00:42:44.940 --> 00:43:05.699 Scars with Pastor Burton. Until next time, take 00:43:05.699 --> 00:43:07.260 care and God bless.