WEBVTT 00:00:01.230 --> 00:00:03.950 Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton, 00:00:04.129 --> 00:00:07.269 the official podcast of Cross -Christian Fellowship, 00:00:07.290 --> 00:00:10.769 Route 66, in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico, 00:00:10.990 --> 00:00:14.150 where Burton is the lead pastor. We're glad you're 00:00:14.150 --> 00:00:17.309 here. Father, we thank you for bringing this 00:00:17.309 --> 00:00:19.510 together. Once again, we thank you for another 00:00:19.510 --> 00:00:23.070 opportunity to grow with you and get to know 00:00:23.070 --> 00:00:31.760 your word better. You know, we ask that as much 00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:34.140 as we want to learn that you open us up. As we 00:00:34.140 --> 00:00:37.420 know, sometimes learning is hard. Sometimes there's 00:00:37.420 --> 00:00:41.159 distractions going on in our lives. And so we 00:00:41.159 --> 00:00:44.679 just need you to help us to open up to it, not 00:00:44.679 --> 00:00:48.439 just to listen to it, but to hear it and see 00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:50.380 how to apply it to our lives as we leave here 00:00:50.380 --> 00:00:53.820 today. And we lift up those who cannot be here 00:00:53.820 --> 00:00:56.270 with us today that are... that are healing from 00:00:56.270 --> 00:00:58.509 surgery, such as our brother Dale, you know, 00:00:58.509 --> 00:01:01.210 and those who are dealing with sicknesses and 00:01:01.210 --> 00:01:03.689 other issues. We lift them all up to you and 00:01:03.689 --> 00:01:07.370 your healing hands in Jesus name. Amen. So again, 00:01:07.450 --> 00:01:09.650 everybody, good morning. Welcome to the Cross 00:01:09.650 --> 00:01:13.269 66. There's our slide. There we go. All right. 00:01:14.370 --> 00:01:17.150 This weekend, of course, just yesterday, we saw 00:01:17.150 --> 00:01:20.939 Valentine's, right? It's kind of a big. deal 00:01:20.939 --> 00:01:22.719 these days don't worry we're not going to be 00:01:22.719 --> 00:01:24.840 talking about that a whole lot we're really not 00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:27.879 don't let this slide fool you you know um matter 00:01:27.879 --> 00:01:29.879 of fact my wife and i we really don't celebrate 00:01:29.879 --> 00:01:33.359 valentine's as i know a lot of other people don't 00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:36.280 because it's just it's become this commercialized 00:01:36.280 --> 00:01:40.859 holiday right um So when we are looking at holidays, 00:01:40.959 --> 00:01:42.540 I want to remind everybody, do your research 00:01:42.540 --> 00:01:45.359 to see what the holiday is and why we celebrate 00:01:45.359 --> 00:01:48.519 it. You know, the origin of Valentine's Day actually 00:01:48.519 --> 00:01:53.459 goes back several centuries to Valentine, who 00:01:53.459 --> 00:01:57.450 was a priest in Rome. And the reason why Valentine's 00:01:57.450 --> 00:02:00.329 is celebrated is in his memory. It was a feast 00:02:00.329 --> 00:02:05.030 that was designated to celebrate him as a person 00:02:05.030 --> 00:02:07.810 for his work, as well as his martyrdom. He literally 00:02:07.810 --> 00:02:12.680 lost his head. um to to be able to marry soldiers 00:02:12.680 --> 00:02:14.620 because there's a decree that soldiers could 00:02:14.620 --> 00:02:17.620 not be married because the the it was believed 00:02:17.620 --> 00:02:19.520 that they'd be more efficient at their jobs and 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:21.620 he's like no that's nonsense and so he fought 00:02:21.620 --> 00:02:23.099 so they could still be married and he would marry 00:02:23.099 --> 00:02:26.099 them in secret and so he was imprisoned and later 00:02:26.099 --> 00:02:28.819 uh put to death for it so that's really what 00:02:28.819 --> 00:02:31.039 valentine's is all about and that's why there's 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:34.360 that connection um you know to love It's because 00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:36.960 of these weddings that were done. There's also 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:39.939 a whole lot of folklore and legends and all that 00:02:39.939 --> 00:02:44.300 kind of stuff that goes with it. If you're interested 00:02:44.300 --> 00:02:46.620 in more information, I do recommend you go online, 00:02:46.740 --> 00:02:48.120 do some research. There's actually some really 00:02:48.120 --> 00:02:51.879 cool stuff surrounding him and his life. Just 00:02:51.879 --> 00:02:53.639 be careful about the sources that you use because, 00:02:53.719 --> 00:02:55.280 like I said, there's a whole lot of mysticism 00:02:55.280 --> 00:02:57.439 and folklore that's placed around it as well 00:02:57.439 --> 00:02:59.840 because it has been centuries and people like 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:04.729 to embellish things a bit. Today, though, we 00:03:04.729 --> 00:03:06.650 are going to be talking about a different kind 00:03:06.650 --> 00:03:08.750 of love. We're going to be talking about one 00:03:08.750 --> 00:03:11.050 of the many ways in which God shows his love 00:03:11.050 --> 00:03:13.169 for us. So we're going to be sticking a little 00:03:13.169 --> 00:03:16.669 bit with the theme of love, right? You know, 00:03:16.689 --> 00:03:19.379 we've all heard that the Bible... You know, it's 00:03:19.379 --> 00:03:21.639 the ultimate love letter from God to his people. 00:03:21.759 --> 00:03:24.759 You know, that's said a lot over the years. And 00:03:24.759 --> 00:03:26.599 really, when you look at it, it's not just a 00:03:26.599 --> 00:03:30.300 love letter, but it's a letter with many stories, 00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:32.340 with many types of love and many other lessons 00:03:32.340 --> 00:03:34.419 within it, right? There's a whole lot to it. 00:03:34.460 --> 00:03:37.199 It's not just a love letter. You know, it's... 00:03:38.460 --> 00:03:41.819 It really surpasses that. So, you know, as much 00:03:41.819 --> 00:03:43.979 as it's like, yes, it is a love letter, I feel 00:03:43.979 --> 00:03:45.460 like we kind of diminish it a little bit when 00:03:45.460 --> 00:03:47.060 we just put it like in that little bracket because 00:03:47.060 --> 00:03:48.919 there is so much to it, you know, there's so 00:03:48.919 --> 00:03:57.120 much life to it. All right. So we're going to 00:03:57.120 --> 00:03:59.780 be looking, like I said, at one of the ways that 00:03:59.780 --> 00:04:02.099 kind of sticks out here and how he shows his 00:04:02.099 --> 00:04:04.870 love for us. And really, it's a way that sometimes 00:04:04.870 --> 00:04:07.490 we forget about, you know, or when we're reading 00:04:07.490 --> 00:04:08.930 through the Bible, we don't necessarily even 00:04:08.930 --> 00:04:13.370 see the way that we should, you know. And it's 00:04:13.370 --> 00:04:15.810 the fact that God loves runaways. It's a little 00:04:15.810 --> 00:04:17.230 hard to see on the screen back here. Yeah, you 00:04:17.230 --> 00:04:18.829 can see it better behind me. It's right there. 00:04:18.850 --> 00:04:21.110 It's titled God Loves Runaways because God does 00:04:21.110 --> 00:04:24.250 love a runaway. You know, and if you think about 00:04:24.250 --> 00:04:30.029 it, we see a lot of runaways in the Bible, right? 00:04:30.949 --> 00:04:33.220 It goes all the way back to the beginning. Adam 00:04:33.220 --> 00:04:37.420 and Eve tried to run away from God, right? So 00:04:37.420 --> 00:04:39.519 after they partook of the fruit, they're in hiding. 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:43.420 I go, no, right? It's like, we done messed up, 00:04:43.459 --> 00:04:46.579 you know? And then you go forward and we see 00:04:46.579 --> 00:04:50.120 lots of other stories out there. Moses tried 00:04:50.120 --> 00:04:52.720 to run after he committed murder, right? Tried 00:04:52.720 --> 00:05:00.720 to hide. You know, what's that? Yeah, Jacob. 00:05:01.180 --> 00:05:03.720 There's a lot out there. How about the disciples? 00:05:05.079 --> 00:05:08.100 Has anybody ever thought of that? We don't tend 00:05:08.100 --> 00:05:11.959 to, but even the disciples ran. Let me refresh 00:05:11.959 --> 00:05:16.500 your memory. They're in the garden. Judas just 00:05:16.500 --> 00:05:19.420 came up, betrayed Jesus, and sealed it with a 00:05:19.420 --> 00:05:21.060 kiss because he used a kiss to identify him, 00:05:21.079 --> 00:05:23.899 right? And what happened? Where did the disciples 00:05:23.899 --> 00:05:28.360 go? They fled, right? They ran. They went into 00:05:28.360 --> 00:05:31.689 hiding. So even the disciples who we hold up 00:05:31.689 --> 00:05:35.310 so high and hold so dear because they've done 00:05:35.310 --> 00:05:37.129 so much, yes, they did come back around eventually, 00:05:37.290 --> 00:05:42.149 but they did run. And we've all run from God 00:05:42.149 --> 00:05:48.069 at some point in our lives. But God loves a runaway. 00:05:51.069 --> 00:05:56.689 So much so that he's given us various examples 00:05:56.689 --> 00:06:00.680 of it and that it's okay. You can still come 00:06:00.680 --> 00:06:03.139 home. Matter of fact, that's why he gave us the 00:06:03.139 --> 00:06:05.540 story of the prodigal son, which we're not going 00:06:05.540 --> 00:06:09.420 to dig too deep into. Matter of fact, if you 00:06:09.420 --> 00:06:14.319 want to read that, turn to Luke 15, verses 11 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:15.660 through 32. Matter of fact, just go ahead and 00:06:15.660 --> 00:06:17.420 go to Luke 15, because we're going to look at 00:06:17.420 --> 00:06:22.540 a couple of verses here in just a moment. In 00:06:22.540 --> 00:06:23.879 fact, we'll just go ahead and dive right into 00:06:23.879 --> 00:06:27.779 it. Go to Luke 15, verse 20 specifically. All 00:06:27.779 --> 00:06:34.750 right. So Luke 15 verse 20, Jesus said, and he 00:06:34.750 --> 00:06:38.750 arose and came to his father. But when he was 00:06:38.750 --> 00:06:40.910 still a great way off, his father saw him and 00:06:40.910 --> 00:06:44.529 had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and 00:06:44.529 --> 00:06:48.029 kissed him. Now to the whole story of the prodigal 00:06:48.029 --> 00:06:51.029 son, which is a wonderful story. This itself 00:06:51.029 --> 00:06:54.110 is probably the single most important verse of 00:06:54.110 --> 00:07:00.389 the whole thing. I'm going to kind of paraphrase 00:07:00.389 --> 00:07:02.689 a little bit, right? The son thought he knew 00:07:02.689 --> 00:07:04.850 better. He demanded his inheritance. He took 00:07:04.850 --> 00:07:07.029 off. He went off into the world, and he squandered 00:07:07.029 --> 00:07:09.009 that inheritance. Later on, he decided, you know 00:07:09.009 --> 00:07:11.089 what? You know what? Things are better back home, 00:07:11.149 --> 00:07:12.649 but I'm not deserving, so I'm going to go home. 00:07:12.750 --> 00:07:15.930 And basically, he's going to beg to be an indentured 00:07:15.930 --> 00:07:17.750 servant, right? He's going to be a servant on 00:07:17.750 --> 00:07:19.209 the land. He's going to go and live in the quarters 00:07:19.209 --> 00:07:20.490 with the rest of the servants the whole bit. 00:07:21.150 --> 00:07:24.389 Right. And typically when we read this, yes, 00:07:24.509 --> 00:07:27.129 you know, a lot of the focus is on the son and 00:07:27.129 --> 00:07:31.550 how his life reflects our lives. Right. And a 00:07:31.550 --> 00:07:34.250 little bit of time is spent on the father, but 00:07:34.250 --> 00:07:35.709 not a whole lot because we recognize, you know, 00:07:35.730 --> 00:07:37.629 this is Jesus in the parable. This is God. Right. 00:07:38.189 --> 00:07:41.250 Say, hey, it's OK. Come on home. But we look 00:07:41.250 --> 00:07:45.949 at this and we recognize, you know, a father. 00:07:46.029 --> 00:07:49.069 He sat and he watched for his son. He was patient. 00:07:50.189 --> 00:07:53.230 He gave him time. He wasn't going to force anything 00:07:53.230 --> 00:07:56.750 on him. He knew he was dealing with a human being 00:07:56.750 --> 00:08:01.810 with free will. And like a lot of us, that will 00:08:01.810 --> 00:08:05.089 was pretty wild, right? Because we all go through 00:08:05.089 --> 00:08:08.709 these stages where we think we know better. And 00:08:08.709 --> 00:08:10.470 even once we get through one stage, later on 00:08:10.470 --> 00:08:12.069 another stage comes up, we think we know better 00:08:12.069 --> 00:08:16.110 all over again, right? Part of free will. It's 00:08:16.110 --> 00:08:18.410 also part of our battle with the flesh. And God 00:08:18.410 --> 00:08:20.069 knew this. He knew he was dealing with a human 00:08:20.069 --> 00:08:23.110 being with that will and that he needed to wait. 00:08:23.170 --> 00:08:25.970 He needed to be patient. And because God is the 00:08:25.970 --> 00:08:28.930 same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, he was constant. 00:08:30.209 --> 00:08:32.230 He was very patient with this. He just kept waiting. 00:08:36.889 --> 00:08:39.629 When the son realized the error of his way, he 00:08:39.629 --> 00:08:42.250 came back around. He came home. And what we saw 00:08:42.250 --> 00:08:44.870 is the father was welcoming. He still stayed 00:08:44.870 --> 00:08:47.450 constant. Hey, it's okay. I love you. Welcome 00:08:47.450 --> 00:08:50.769 home. It's good to see you. Right? Which is good. 00:08:50.830 --> 00:08:54.529 We recognize that. He wasn't going to force his 00:08:54.529 --> 00:08:56.610 child to see things his way. He wasn't going 00:08:56.610 --> 00:09:00.389 to force his will upon him. Right? And there 00:09:00.389 --> 00:09:02.730 are a lot of those out there that do try to use 00:09:02.730 --> 00:09:06.830 force to get people to see their way. Doesn't 00:09:06.830 --> 00:09:10.490 always work though, does it? God knows this. 00:09:12.750 --> 00:09:15.370 He knew that this child needed to go out. He 00:09:15.370 --> 00:09:17.350 needed to see the world. He needed to collect 00:09:17.350 --> 00:09:20.070 the information, see it for what it really was, 00:09:20.169 --> 00:09:26.429 and make the choice himself. But there's something 00:09:26.429 --> 00:09:28.870 else here that's at play, something that we need 00:09:28.870 --> 00:09:32.789 to realize that really makes this story and this 00:09:32.789 --> 00:09:37.090 verse in particular so much more powerful. What 00:09:37.090 --> 00:09:42.620 did the father do? He ran to his son. He ran 00:09:42.620 --> 00:09:45.480 to him. He met him on the path. He threw his 00:09:45.480 --> 00:09:47.779 arms around him. He embraced him and pulled him 00:09:47.779 --> 00:09:50.240 in close, right? It's like he fell on his neck. 00:09:50.279 --> 00:09:53.720 He's hugging him. He kissed him. This is a big 00:09:53.720 --> 00:09:57.440 thing. He was excited. He's like, yes, my kid's 00:09:57.440 --> 00:10:02.580 home. Okay, great. What makes this so important? 00:10:04.179 --> 00:10:06.960 Well, we have to recognize what's at play, especially 00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:10.139 in that society at that time, in this culture. 00:10:13.289 --> 00:10:14.850 Because normally we would read this and we'd 00:10:14.850 --> 00:10:16.669 be like, well, yeah, the dad ran to him and he 00:10:16.669 --> 00:10:18.509 hugged him and kissed him. That's what any good 00:10:18.509 --> 00:10:20.850 parent would do, isn't it? Well, no, it's not. 00:10:22.230 --> 00:10:24.549 Because especially at this time and in this culture, 00:10:24.649 --> 00:10:26.789 this is the opposite. It's kind of like what 00:10:26.789 --> 00:10:28.549 we were just studying with the Beatitudes. They're 00:10:28.549 --> 00:10:30.330 the opposite of what you expect. This is the 00:10:30.330 --> 00:10:32.970 opposite of what the world tells you needs to 00:10:32.970 --> 00:10:36.009 happen. Because in that culture at that time, 00:10:36.009 --> 00:10:37.929 in that society, and what we see today because 00:10:37.929 --> 00:10:42.090 of all the machismo, is the father wasn't supposed 00:10:42.090 --> 00:10:44.860 to run. The father was supposed to stand his 00:10:44.860 --> 00:10:53.240 ground. Very stoic. Oh, he's come home. It was 00:10:53.240 --> 00:10:56.720 on the child to run to him. Not the other way 00:10:56.720 --> 00:10:59.659 around. Here's the child. He's like, oh, man, 00:10:59.799 --> 00:11:04.019 I hope. How's this going to go? The kid's like, 00:11:04.120 --> 00:11:06.980 woohoo. The dad's like, woohoo. And he goes running 00:11:06.980 --> 00:11:09.100 to him. This is totally opposite of the norm. 00:11:09.920 --> 00:11:14.179 Not only that, but in this day, it was on the 00:11:14.179 --> 00:11:17.240 child basically to kneel down and give reverence 00:11:17.240 --> 00:11:22.940 to the father. Right? Go down, kiss the ring, 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:26.279 so to speak, like he would with royalty. You 00:11:26.279 --> 00:11:29.700 know, go in there and just automatically just 00:11:29.700 --> 00:11:32.200 submit. Father, I'm so sorry. You know, forgive 00:11:32.200 --> 00:11:34.919 me. Begging for forgiveness and everything. And 00:11:34.919 --> 00:11:37.139 the father just sits there and be like, okay, 00:11:37.220 --> 00:11:39.570 I've had enough. Get up. Come on. No, he ran 00:11:39.570 --> 00:11:41.190 up there and said, nope, come here. I love you, 00:11:41.210 --> 00:11:44.029 man. Welcome home. He's excited. He wants to 00:11:44.029 --> 00:11:52.509 throw a party. It's exactly the opposite of the 00:11:52.509 --> 00:11:54.470 world. And the world still tells people, no, 00:11:54.570 --> 00:11:57.730 that's not the way. You don't do that. You're 00:11:57.730 --> 00:11:59.509 a man. You've got to be a man. You've got to 00:11:59.509 --> 00:12:03.450 be macho. Make them come to you. You stand your 00:12:03.450 --> 00:12:07.470 ground. You're the king of the house. Completely 00:12:07.470 --> 00:12:11.289 the opposite though. It was a big deal to the 00:12:11.289 --> 00:12:15.009 Father because it's a big deal to God. You are 00:12:15.009 --> 00:12:22.950 a big deal to God. It's a challenge to the world. 00:12:23.970 --> 00:12:26.429 It's a challenge to us as followers to see that 00:12:26.429 --> 00:12:28.389 the world and what the world tells us isn't always 00:12:28.389 --> 00:12:31.470 right. Most of the time it's wrong. We have to 00:12:31.470 --> 00:12:33.830 challenge that and we have to see it. The old 00:12:33.830 --> 00:12:37.610 adage, what would Jesus do, right? That's what 00:12:37.610 --> 00:12:39.190 this is. And he's telling us that this is how 00:12:39.190 --> 00:12:43.009 we would do it. It's a challenge. And he shows 00:12:43.009 --> 00:12:47.649 us the right way to respond. And he shows us 00:12:47.649 --> 00:12:52.809 the right way in his love. Every person has to 00:12:52.809 --> 00:12:55.129 make that decision though, right? Just like this 00:12:55.129 --> 00:12:56.730 child returning, we all have to make the decision. 00:12:56.929 --> 00:12:59.789 Are we going to turn back to Jesus? Are we going 00:12:59.789 --> 00:13:02.009 to come to Jesus? Are we going to trust him with 00:13:02.009 --> 00:13:04.850 our very lives? And when it happens, it is a 00:13:04.850 --> 00:13:06.590 very exciting thing. If we actually go back a 00:13:06.590 --> 00:13:10.409 few verses to verse 10, Jesus said, Likewise, 00:13:10.490 --> 00:13:12.990 I say to you, there is joy in the presence of 00:13:12.990 --> 00:13:16.129 the angels of God over one sinner who repents. 00:13:16.289 --> 00:13:19.690 Just like this father was excited, right, that 00:13:19.690 --> 00:13:22.649 his son was coming back to him, when a sinner 00:13:22.649 --> 00:13:26.039 turns to Jesus, And as adopted back to the family, 00:13:26.059 --> 00:13:28.340 when we repent and we accept Jesus as our Lord 00:13:28.340 --> 00:13:30.899 and Savior, it's an exciting time. We are that 00:13:30.899 --> 00:13:34.000 prodigal child returning and the Father rejoices. 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:37.019 All of heaven rejoices. The angels rejoice. There 00:13:37.019 --> 00:13:39.700 is a party. Just like the Father said, hey, bring 00:13:39.700 --> 00:13:43.179 out the finest robes, get the food going. The 00:13:43.179 --> 00:13:45.220 same thing is happening in heaven. There's a 00:13:45.220 --> 00:13:48.299 party waiting for every one of us when we go 00:13:48.299 --> 00:13:53.299 back. It's a beautiful thing. And God is eagerly 00:13:53.299 --> 00:13:57.309 being patient. Just like here, he is being patient. 00:13:57.610 --> 00:14:00.929 He's giving time. He's being constant. And he's 00:14:00.929 --> 00:14:03.269 waiting for every single person to make that 00:14:03.269 --> 00:14:06.389 choice to come back to him. And the big thing 00:14:06.389 --> 00:14:08.289 that we have to remember, though, is he loves 00:14:08.289 --> 00:14:11.710 you so much that whatever choice you make, he 00:14:11.710 --> 00:14:13.990 will honor it. You know, a lot of people say, 00:14:14.090 --> 00:14:16.490 what kind of God condemns people to hell? He 00:14:16.490 --> 00:14:18.649 doesn't. He waits and he gives us a choice. And 00:14:18.649 --> 00:14:21.889 when we turn, we condemn ourselves. We walk away. 00:14:22.029 --> 00:14:24.710 And as much as it hurts him, he loves us so much 00:14:24.710 --> 00:14:26.669 that he allows us to make that choice because 00:14:26.669 --> 00:14:28.990 he doesn't want to force it. He wants us to want 00:14:28.990 --> 00:14:33.730 to be with him. It's a big love. It is a big 00:14:33.730 --> 00:14:37.370 love. Which is actually going to bring us to 00:14:37.370 --> 00:14:39.710 our main focus today. So I'm going to ask everybody 00:14:39.710 --> 00:14:42.470 to open up to one of the shortest books in the 00:14:42.470 --> 00:14:44.830 Bible. I believe it's the third shortest book 00:14:44.830 --> 00:14:46.850 in the Bible. We're going to look at Philemon. 00:14:50.860 --> 00:14:54.379 Sometimes it's pronounced as Philemon. There's 00:14:54.379 --> 00:14:58.759 a few ways to pronounce it, but Philemon. And 00:14:58.759 --> 00:15:03.259 I'm going to point out, this is so short. I could 00:15:03.259 --> 00:15:06.299 say, open up to Philemon chapter 1. There are 00:15:06.299 --> 00:15:11.179 no chapters. It is 25 verses. It is short. A 00:15:11.179 --> 00:15:13.460 blink and you miss it. Depending on your Bible, 00:15:13.500 --> 00:15:17.720 it might be on just one page. And specifically, 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:20.440 we're going to be looking at verses 8, through 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:26.159 21. So Philemon, skip down a few verses, pass 00:15:26.159 --> 00:15:27.779 the intro and everything, and we're going to 00:15:27.779 --> 00:15:33.179 go straight into verses 8 through 21. The word 00:15:33.179 --> 00:15:36.940 says, Therefore, though I might be very bold 00:15:36.940 --> 00:15:40.399 in Christ to command you what is fitting, yet 00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:44.019 for love's sake I rather appeal to you, being 00:15:44.019 --> 00:15:49.850 such a one as Paul, the aged. and now also a 00:15:49.850 --> 00:15:52.690 prisoner of Jesus Christ. I appeal to you for 00:15:52.690 --> 00:15:56.029 my son Onesimus, also sometimes pronounced Onesimus, 00:15:56.129 --> 00:16:00.710 whom I have begotten while in my chains. He was 00:16:00.710 --> 00:16:05.370 in prison. Who once was unprofitable to you, 00:16:05.470 --> 00:16:09.409 but now is profitable to you and to me. I am 00:16:09.409 --> 00:16:12.710 sending him back. You therefore receive him. 00:16:12.750 --> 00:16:15.970 That is my own heart, whom I wish to keep with 00:16:15.970 --> 00:16:19.340 me. that on your behalf he might minister to 00:16:19.340 --> 00:16:22.759 me in my chains for the gospel. But without your 00:16:22.759 --> 00:16:25.799 consent, I wanted to do nothing that your good 00:16:25.799 --> 00:16:30.059 deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:36.299 but voluntary. Or perhaps he departed for a while 00:16:36.299 --> 00:16:39.700 for this purpose, that you might receive him 00:16:39.700 --> 00:16:44.799 forever, no longer as a slave. but more than 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:48.000 a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, 00:16:48.179 --> 00:16:53.220 but how much more to you, both in the flesh and 00:16:53.220 --> 00:16:57.960 in the Lord. If then you count me as a partner, 00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:03.279 receive him as you would me. But if he has wronged 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:05.779 you or owes anything, put that on my account. 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:10.779 I, Paul, am writing. With my own hand, I will 00:17:10.779 --> 00:17:15.240 repay, not to mention to you that you owe me 00:17:15.240 --> 00:17:20.359 even your own self besides. Yes, brother, let 00:17:20.359 --> 00:17:24.000 me have joy from you and the Lord refresh my 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:28.279 heart in the Lord. Having confidence in your 00:17:28.279 --> 00:17:34.480 obedience, I write to you knowing that you will 00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:39.920 do even more than I say. Now, when it comes to 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:42.720 Onesimus, we don't know much about him. We know 00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:45.579 he was a slave. We know he ran away. The circumstances 00:17:45.579 --> 00:17:49.059 of which, we don't know. It's not important. 00:17:49.980 --> 00:17:53.500 That's why it's not recorded. It's the fact that 00:17:53.500 --> 00:17:58.779 he did it. And along the way, he ran into Paul. 00:17:58.859 --> 00:18:01.599 He made Paul's acquaintance, right? He was running 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:06.750 away from Philemon, though. Paul's writing, and 00:18:06.750 --> 00:18:08.970 states that as an elder, as a man of authority, 00:18:09.289 --> 00:18:13.789 he very would, or very could, reach out and just 00:18:13.789 --> 00:18:21.410 demand that he be forgiven. Right? However, he's 00:18:21.410 --> 00:18:23.509 not doing that. He's reaching out in Christian 00:18:23.509 --> 00:18:31.089 love. He's reaching out in the love of God. And 00:18:31.089 --> 00:18:35.599 he's saying, you know, hey, Yeah, there's some 00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:37.359 wrongs that have been committed. Forgive him. 00:18:38.119 --> 00:18:39.839 Forgive him. It's like, there's a lot at play 00:18:39.839 --> 00:18:41.640 here. I would love to have him here. I'd love 00:18:41.640 --> 00:18:44.019 to have him with me. I love him. You know, he's 00:18:44.019 --> 00:18:45.799 come to me. He's now a fellow brother in Christ. 00:18:45.940 --> 00:18:48.579 He's learned of Jesus. Accept him as a brother 00:18:48.579 --> 00:18:52.180 in Christ. So he's appealing to him in love. 00:18:53.539 --> 00:18:55.680 He's throwing it all out. He's basically, you 00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:57.519 know, hey, one brother to another brother. This 00:18:57.519 --> 00:19:00.619 is what's going on. This is what's up. See him 00:19:00.619 --> 00:19:06.230 as such. Right? He's appealing to him. You know, 00:19:06.230 --> 00:19:12.009 and it's a big thing because Paul, Onesimus, 00:19:12.069 --> 00:19:15.150 Philemon, everybody there in that culture, especially 00:19:15.150 --> 00:19:20.470 at that time, knows good and well that none of 00:19:20.470 --> 00:19:23.190 that has to happen. The fact that this is a runaway 00:19:23.190 --> 00:19:30.190 slave, Philemon would be 100 % within his right 00:19:30.190 --> 00:19:34.329 to kill him as punishment. He could just kill 00:19:34.329 --> 00:19:37.059 him and be done with it. He could beat him. He 00:19:37.059 --> 00:19:38.559 could whip him. He could put him in chains. He 00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:40.720 could do all this stuff. But ultimately, the 00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:44.900 ultimate punishment at that time was up to or 00:19:44.900 --> 00:19:50.099 including death. No wonder he's on the run. Who 00:19:50.099 --> 00:19:52.839 wants to go back and face that? That's scary, 00:19:53.000 --> 00:20:03.160 isn't it? And so we learn from this. Again, you 00:20:03.160 --> 00:20:07.000 know, he's on the run. He comes in. To Paul's 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:09.880 presence, he makes that acquaintance. Paul's 00:20:09.880 --> 00:20:14.480 imprisoned. And he goes and he helps him. And 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:16.259 in return, Paul tells him about Jesus. He shares 00:20:16.259 --> 00:20:19.660 the gospel. And he himself accepts Jesus as Lord 00:20:19.660 --> 00:20:22.400 and Savior and is saved as well. He's now gone 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:27.099 from just being a slave, a lost soul, to now 00:20:27.099 --> 00:20:32.579 being a child of God. This is a big deal. Paul 00:20:32.579 --> 00:20:35.519 is able to minister him, and he became a believer. 00:20:37.500 --> 00:20:40.880 And this needed to be recognized. It needed to 00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:43.000 be recognized. And Paul recognized, you know, 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:45.319 it's like, hey, you know, I can do this. And 00:20:45.319 --> 00:20:47.380 I could just say, hey, forgive him and be done 00:20:47.380 --> 00:20:49.859 with it. But that wasn't what would be the right 00:20:49.859 --> 00:20:53.500 thing. That's not what God would want. He'd be 00:20:53.500 --> 00:20:55.200 like, you know what? I'm going to be his advocate. 00:20:55.680 --> 00:20:57.859 He's going to come back to you. He has my letter 00:20:57.859 --> 00:21:02.339 in hand. This is what's going on. Stop seeing 00:21:02.339 --> 00:21:06.890 him as a slave. Right? And a lot of people today, 00:21:06.970 --> 00:21:08.269 you know, they hear the word slave and they think 00:21:08.269 --> 00:21:10.670 of just property. At that time, yes, in some 00:21:10.670 --> 00:21:13.650 cases, a slave was just property. But in many 00:21:13.650 --> 00:21:15.930 cases, it wasn't. There were limitations. There 00:21:15.930 --> 00:21:18.390 were laws. Slaves had rights as well, and they 00:21:18.390 --> 00:21:20.849 weren't always going to be slaves. Right? In 00:21:20.849 --> 00:21:23.430 this case, we don't know. Could have fallen in 00:21:23.430 --> 00:21:27.529 either category. Either case, though, he's now 00:21:27.529 --> 00:21:29.369 part of the family of God. And in doing this, 00:21:29.470 --> 00:21:33.960 Paul shows us God's character. And he shows a 00:21:33.960 --> 00:21:38.559 wonderful example of how to deal with disputes 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:43.380 amongst people. I myself can learn from this 00:21:43.380 --> 00:21:49.480 sometimes. All of us can. Because when it comes 00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:50.839 to dealing with disputes, this is a piece of 00:21:50.839 --> 00:21:52.900 scripture that oftentimes kind of goes to the 00:21:52.900 --> 00:21:57.480 wayside we forget about. There are five steps 00:21:57.480 --> 00:22:01.980 in dealing with disputes. First, identify those 00:22:01.980 --> 00:22:04.720 who are involved. And he does that. He calls 00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:09.519 Philemon brother. And he calls Onesimus my son. 00:22:12.140 --> 00:22:17.779 So he's showing relation. Right? He's already 00:22:17.779 --> 00:22:19.960 calling out the parties. This is who you are. 00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:25.460 This is who we are to each other. Second, make 00:22:25.460 --> 00:22:29.259 a request. He makes a request. He doesn't order. 00:22:29.819 --> 00:22:33.119 Even though he can, he doesn't do that. He makes 00:22:33.119 --> 00:22:37.539 a request, and the request is simply, hey, do 00:22:37.539 --> 00:22:42.579 the right thing for the right reason. And let's 00:22:42.579 --> 00:22:44.839 accept facts for facts. Sometimes that's easier 00:22:44.839 --> 00:22:46.440 said than done. Sometimes that's really hard 00:22:46.440 --> 00:22:49.180 because it's not what the world wants. It's not 00:22:49.180 --> 00:22:53.319 what the world expects, right? The world counters 00:22:53.319 --> 00:22:57.150 with other stuff. Secondly, which is the most 00:22:57.150 --> 00:23:00.809 important part, seek consent. Because he was 00:23:00.809 --> 00:23:03.150 looking for Philemon's consent. He wanted him 00:23:03.150 --> 00:23:06.750 to make the choice on his own without coercion. 00:23:06.750 --> 00:23:09.529 This is why he didn't order him. Because much 00:23:09.529 --> 00:23:11.670 like when we run away from God, we have to make 00:23:11.670 --> 00:23:15.650 the choice to return to him. And here, Onesimus 00:23:15.650 --> 00:23:17.369 is making that hard choice, knowing, hey, he 00:23:17.369 --> 00:23:19.529 might be being put to death, but he's still going 00:23:19.529 --> 00:23:22.299 to do the right thing anyway. He's writing and 00:23:22.299 --> 00:23:24.339 saying, hey, Philemon, you need to do the same. 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:25.839 You need to do the right thing for the right 00:23:25.839 --> 00:23:28.819 reason. You need to act in love, which takes 00:23:28.819 --> 00:23:32.700 us into step four, right? Appeal to Christian 00:23:32.700 --> 00:23:35.619 love. Do it in love. We have to remember love 00:23:35.619 --> 00:23:38.660 isn't just this cushy, ooey -gooey feeling inside 00:23:38.660 --> 00:23:45.960 makes you all warm and tingly. It's action. It's 00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:50.660 how you treat others. We were just talking about 00:23:50.660 --> 00:23:52.740 this over the last couple of weeks a little bit, 00:23:52.740 --> 00:23:54.720 right? The golden rule, do unto others as you'd 00:23:54.720 --> 00:23:56.900 have them do unto you, right? It's like, here 00:23:56.900 --> 00:23:58.599 comes a brother in Christ. Yeah, maybe there's 00:23:58.599 --> 00:24:00.119 some wrong there, but you know what? You need 00:24:00.119 --> 00:24:02.380 to have them forgive you or you need to forgive 00:24:02.380 --> 00:24:04.160 them because you'd want them to forgive you if 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:08.599 he did them wrong, right? So it's a place of 00:24:08.599 --> 00:24:12.200 love. And then not only that, eat the cost. Step 00:24:12.200 --> 00:24:15.920 five, eat the cost. Restoration is more important. 00:24:16.880 --> 00:24:18.619 Paul said, you know what? If there's something 00:24:18.619 --> 00:24:21.079 there, I don't care how much it costs. I don't 00:24:21.079 --> 00:24:23.279 care how much it costs me. Put it on my tab. 00:24:23.420 --> 00:24:26.539 I will pay it. I will take care of it. It's not 00:24:26.539 --> 00:24:28.740 their responsibility anymore. I just absorbed 00:24:28.740 --> 00:24:31.740 it. Give it to me. Because the restoration between 00:24:31.740 --> 00:24:36.579 the two of you is more important. Not just as 00:24:36.579 --> 00:24:38.859 master and slave, but as brother and brother. 00:24:39.019 --> 00:24:40.980 Because now we're both brothers in Christ. All 00:24:40.980 --> 00:24:42.859 three of us are brothers in Christ. We are family. 00:24:42.980 --> 00:24:48.420 And restoration is needed. Restoration is more 00:24:48.420 --> 00:24:51.180 important than anything else. Without that restoration, 00:24:51.579 --> 00:24:53.920 how are you acting in love? How are you showing 00:24:53.920 --> 00:24:56.740 God's love? How are you showing obedience to 00:24:56.740 --> 00:24:58.980 the Lord and obeying his commandments to love 00:24:58.980 --> 00:25:03.460 one another and to love your neighbor? How are 00:25:03.460 --> 00:25:07.500 you loving yourself? Because without that forgiveness, 00:25:07.619 --> 00:25:08.940 without that restoration, what are you doing? 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:13.910 You're being selfish. He could have taken him 00:25:13.910 --> 00:25:15.329 out. He could have put him to death. And then 00:25:15.329 --> 00:25:17.069 later on, you know what happens? It starts eating 00:25:17.069 --> 00:25:19.170 away at him. So I don't care what the circumstance 00:25:19.170 --> 00:25:21.930 is. Death eats away at you. It comes back and 00:25:21.930 --> 00:25:24.329 it haunts you. And it would have come back and 00:25:24.329 --> 00:25:26.930 haunted him. Even if he didn't physically do 00:25:26.930 --> 00:25:30.890 it himself, he still gave the order. So he's 00:25:30.890 --> 00:25:32.849 saying, hey, you know what? Restoration is more 00:25:32.849 --> 00:25:34.910 important. Come back together. Don't worry about 00:25:34.910 --> 00:25:40.349 the cost. And in the scheme of things, that is 00:25:40.349 --> 00:25:47.069 not important. You know, stuff is just stuff. 00:25:47.109 --> 00:25:50.589 We don't take it with us anyway. Let's focus 00:25:50.589 --> 00:25:55.990 on the important stuff. Relationship. Right? 00:25:56.809 --> 00:25:59.750 Not just with each other, but with God. Because 00:25:59.750 --> 00:26:01.549 when we don't focus on our relationship with 00:26:01.549 --> 00:26:03.150 each other, we're not focusing on our relationship 00:26:03.150 --> 00:26:06.650 with God. So it's a great example of how we should 00:26:06.650 --> 00:26:09.950 approach people, not just to deal with the dispute, 00:26:10.170 --> 00:26:13.859 but to build a relationship. especially when 00:26:13.859 --> 00:26:16.140 hurt's involved, because hurt stops a lot of 00:26:16.140 --> 00:26:19.000 things. Hurt hinders things, right? It's a big 00:26:19.000 --> 00:26:21.920 roadblock. We become resentful, even if we don't 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:23.759 necessarily realize it at first. And if somebody 00:26:23.759 --> 00:26:25.599 says, hey, you know what? You sound kind of resentful. 00:26:26.779 --> 00:26:28.380 Sound like you have an issue at play here that 00:26:28.380 --> 00:26:29.960 you're not dealing with. And even then, we're 00:26:29.960 --> 00:26:34.059 like, oh, no, no. But really, it's there, and 00:26:34.059 --> 00:26:37.799 we need to deal with it, right? We have to recognize 00:26:37.799 --> 00:26:41.740 the fact that this is also... How our relationship 00:26:41.740 --> 00:26:45.880 with God is built. That's a big one right there. 00:26:46.500 --> 00:26:50.380 We have to recognize the fact that because we 00:26:50.380 --> 00:26:53.799 all hurt in our lives, at some point, we all 00:26:53.799 --> 00:26:57.099 become hesitant. We have to recognize that the 00:26:57.099 --> 00:27:01.640 world has lied to us. We went into the world 00:27:01.640 --> 00:27:04.799 trusting. We accepted things that face value. 00:27:05.420 --> 00:27:08.009 We accepted the things that we were told. sometimes 00:27:08.009 --> 00:27:09.569 by people we shouldn't have listened to in the 00:27:09.569 --> 00:27:16.130 first place. And so we harden our heart. It's 00:27:16.130 --> 00:27:19.410 not supposed to work that way. And unfortunately, 00:27:19.650 --> 00:27:21.490 when it comes to Jesus, when it comes to God, 00:27:21.589 --> 00:27:25.549 we take that hurt with us and we use it as a 00:27:25.549 --> 00:27:27.690 barrier. We use it as a shield, especially when 00:27:27.690 --> 00:27:30.369 we don't really know him, when we don't have 00:27:30.369 --> 00:27:32.890 that relationship with him. We're like, hey, 00:27:32.970 --> 00:27:35.089 I've already been lied to. I've already been 00:27:35.089 --> 00:27:37.269 hurt. Yeah, I hear that this guy's different, 00:27:37.390 --> 00:27:44.950 but how do I know? And so we are on guard. We 00:27:44.950 --> 00:27:47.869 hinder the relationship ourselves without even 00:27:47.869 --> 00:27:50.390 recognizing it because we're waiting for that 00:27:50.390 --> 00:27:55.529 other shoe to drop. We're testing that water 00:27:55.529 --> 00:27:58.130 and seeing just how far we can trust Jesus. We're 00:27:58.130 --> 00:28:00.329 testing that water to see just how far we can 00:28:00.329 --> 00:28:02.569 trust the word of God and every word that's written 00:28:02.569 --> 00:28:08.910 in that Bible. People don't just come and hear 00:28:08.910 --> 00:28:10.910 about him and go, oh, you know what? He's the 00:28:10.910 --> 00:28:12.809 one for me. I'm signing up. Let's do this. Let's 00:28:12.809 --> 00:28:16.349 get baptized right now. There isn't a single 00:28:16.349 --> 00:28:18.509 one of us that got all happy and giddy and did 00:28:18.509 --> 00:28:23.700 that. Not one of us. We all came to a point where 00:28:23.700 --> 00:28:26.700 we made that decision. Absolutely. But it wasn't 00:28:26.700 --> 00:28:28.900 just an instant thing where it's like, that's 00:28:28.900 --> 00:28:34.599 it. We had to hear about it first. Oh, looks 00:28:34.599 --> 00:28:36.859 like something behind me just died. That's okay. 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:46.420 We'll keep going. But it takes time. Time and 00:28:46.420 --> 00:28:50.039 space because we have to learn. We have to come 00:28:50.039 --> 00:28:54.900 to that decision ourselves. We recognize that 00:28:54.900 --> 00:28:58.220 we all have run away from God. We've all failed. 00:28:59.140 --> 00:29:03.440 Just like Onesimus, we ran away, and the rightful 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:09.259 punishment is death. We've turned from God to 00:29:09.259 --> 00:29:13.539 sin at that point. The Word tells us in Romans 00:29:13.539 --> 00:29:17.180 6, verse 23, so in Romans 6, verse 23, we've 00:29:17.180 --> 00:29:21.039 all heard this, the wages of sin is death, but 00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:24.829 the gift of God, is eternal life in Christ Jesus 00:29:24.829 --> 00:29:36.190 our Lord. So, just as Paul's pleading for the 00:29:36.190 --> 00:29:39.670 power of love to do that which is right, it's 00:29:39.670 --> 00:29:43.990 because of that example, the precedent that had 00:29:43.990 --> 00:29:47.130 already been set by God and Jesus Christ taking 00:29:47.130 --> 00:29:51.259 the Christ for us. God himself who has shown 00:29:51.259 --> 00:29:53.559 his love and has forgiven all who repent and 00:29:53.559 --> 00:29:59.299 come back to him through Jesus Christ. It's a 00:29:59.299 --> 00:30:01.759 big deal. We're coming towards the end here, 00:30:01.819 --> 00:30:05.740 I promise. Who in here knows what Romspringa 00:30:05.740 --> 00:30:12.099 is? Romspringa. Yeah. I know my wife knows. Anybody 00:30:12.099 --> 00:30:14.900 else in here? Never heard of it. That's okay. 00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:19.099 A lot of people haven't. It comes from Pennsylvania 00:30:19.099 --> 00:30:20.519 Dutch, which already tells you where I'm going 00:30:20.519 --> 00:30:23.960 with it, right? This is an Amish rite of passage, 00:30:24.119 --> 00:30:28.619 typically undertaken by teens around the age 00:30:28.619 --> 00:30:31.700 of 16 or so, sometimes a little younger, sometimes 00:30:31.700 --> 00:30:34.220 a little older, but right around that age group, 00:30:34.279 --> 00:30:37.799 right? And this is a time when basically they're 00:30:37.799 --> 00:30:42.920 allowed to leave their community. We know you're 00:30:42.920 --> 00:30:45.160 here. We know this is what you're used to, but 00:30:45.160 --> 00:30:47.019 you need to make the choice for yourself. We 00:30:47.019 --> 00:30:49.119 want you to go out into the world and experience 00:30:49.119 --> 00:30:52.299 it. You get to dress like everybody else. You 00:30:52.299 --> 00:30:57.299 get to go and do all this stuff, right? We're 00:30:57.299 --> 00:31:00.799 not going to ask questions. And they're given 00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:04.319 a window, a period of time in which to make this 00:31:04.319 --> 00:31:08.319 decision in. Now, for some, they go out right 00:31:08.319 --> 00:31:09.700 away like, nope, this isn't for me. And they 00:31:09.700 --> 00:31:11.539 go right back to that community. That's home. 00:31:13.890 --> 00:31:15.670 Some people, they get all the way to the end 00:31:15.670 --> 00:31:19.970 and they have to make that decision. And for 00:31:19.970 --> 00:31:21.750 some, it's not a hard decision. For some of them, 00:31:21.750 --> 00:31:23.490 yeah, you know what? I'm going back. You know 00:31:23.490 --> 00:31:25.789 what? This is fun. This is dandy. I saw a bit. 00:31:25.809 --> 00:31:27.490 My eyes have been opened up to the world. It's 00:31:27.490 --> 00:31:30.930 not for me. I'm going back. For others, they 00:31:30.930 --> 00:31:34.430 make that decision. No, I like this more. I'm 00:31:34.430 --> 00:31:38.490 staying. But either way, once that decision is 00:31:38.490 --> 00:31:41.670 made, that decision is made. They don't get to 00:31:41.670 --> 00:31:43.710 change their mind. They don't get to go back. 00:31:46.230 --> 00:31:47.750 If they decide they want to stay in the world, 00:31:47.789 --> 00:31:49.670 matter of fact, if they try to go back to that 00:31:49.670 --> 00:31:51.549 Amish community, they're going to be shunned. 00:31:51.569 --> 00:31:54.089 Like, who are you? You're dead to us. Get out 00:31:54.089 --> 00:31:59.269 of here. Decide they want to go back. It's like, 00:31:59.329 --> 00:32:00.549 you know what? You got to go in the world for 00:32:00.549 --> 00:32:01.730 something. You got to go pick up some supplies 00:32:01.730 --> 00:32:03.109 or something. Okay, cool. Go for it. We'll see 00:32:03.109 --> 00:32:05.509 you when you get home. But they're already back. 00:32:05.630 --> 00:32:10.450 They're home, right? It's kind of a rough illustration, 00:32:10.710 --> 00:32:15.529 but the underlying circumstance is the same. 00:32:15.609 --> 00:32:20.309 We have limited time to make that decision for 00:32:20.309 --> 00:32:23.349 Christ. Now, for those of us here in this room, 00:32:23.450 --> 00:32:27.450 right, as believers, we didn't need all that 00:32:27.450 --> 00:32:30.950 time. We already made that decision. We're growing. 00:32:31.789 --> 00:32:33.829 We're building our relationship. We're learning, 00:32:33.970 --> 00:32:37.299 right? This is family. This is our community. 00:32:39.259 --> 00:32:43.039 For some people, unfortunately, you could tell 00:32:43.039 --> 00:32:44.319 them and you could tell them and you could tell 00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:45.559 them, you could give them a Bible, you could 00:32:45.559 --> 00:32:48.160 give them another Bible, the whole bit. And unfortunately, 00:32:48.539 --> 00:32:51.019 they'll take that time all the way up until about 00:32:51.019 --> 00:32:52.460 the point that they take their last breath to 00:32:52.460 --> 00:32:56.279 make that decision. Maybe they make the decision 00:32:56.279 --> 00:33:01.200 for the better. Maybe they don't. We don't know. 00:33:03.000 --> 00:33:07.210 Some people, they just outright deny it. You 00:33:07.210 --> 00:33:09.069 know, this is one of those hard things. We all 00:33:09.069 --> 00:33:11.509 know some people that just deny, deny, deny, 00:33:11.670 --> 00:33:14.869 deny, deny. And this is where it gets hard, especially, 00:33:14.950 --> 00:33:17.309 you know, for people like me, because somebody 00:33:17.309 --> 00:33:19.029 dies and like right away, like, oh, they're in 00:33:19.029 --> 00:33:20.750 a better place now. It's like, are they really? 00:33:21.569 --> 00:33:23.970 Because I know some people, they say that about, 00:33:24.089 --> 00:33:27.470 and I know for a fact it's not true. As much 00:33:27.470 --> 00:33:31.869 as it hurts to say, I think of my father. I know 00:33:31.869 --> 00:33:35.079 he's not going to be there. Because he didn't 00:33:35.079 --> 00:33:36.579 believe in Jesus. He didn't believe in Christ. 00:33:36.859 --> 00:33:38.599 He was very agnostic. Yeah, he believed that 00:33:38.599 --> 00:33:40.819 there's a God, but then it's very much, who made 00:33:40.819 --> 00:33:42.940 that God? Who made that God? Who made that God? 00:33:43.000 --> 00:33:44.720 He was always looking for an answer he wasn't 00:33:44.720 --> 00:33:46.799 going to find because he could not accept the 00:33:46.799 --> 00:33:54.819 Bible at value. And that's how he died. We actually 00:33:54.819 --> 00:33:58.000 had a conversation about that just weeks before 00:33:58.000 --> 00:34:01.619 he died, that very thing. I showed him the paperwork 00:34:01.619 --> 00:34:03.460 for my first ordination. He just kind of laughs 00:34:03.460 --> 00:34:06.700 like, oh, that's cute. Didn't take it seriously 00:34:06.700 --> 00:34:11.400 at all. And as much as that pains me, and that's 00:34:11.400 --> 00:34:15.739 a hurtful point in my life, we all know people 00:34:15.739 --> 00:34:20.420 just like that. Every single one of us. If we're 00:34:20.420 --> 00:34:23.179 honest with ourselves, we know at least one person 00:34:23.179 --> 00:34:27.079 who is just like that. If not more, most likely 00:34:27.079 --> 00:34:33.869 more. Right? We were prodigals of a sort. They're 00:34:33.869 --> 00:34:39.070 prodigals of a sort. We made that decision to 00:34:39.070 --> 00:34:42.610 come back from the world. We're in it. We're 00:34:42.610 --> 00:34:44.469 not of it. But other people are making that conscious 00:34:44.469 --> 00:34:46.550 decision to go into the world and to stay there. 00:34:49.489 --> 00:34:51.730 You know, yes, we're in the world. We experience 00:34:51.730 --> 00:34:55.869 it just like everybody else. Just like these 00:34:55.869 --> 00:34:57.929 young adults experiencing the world for a limited 00:34:57.929 --> 00:35:03.500 time. Right? The difference, however, for us, 00:35:03.519 --> 00:35:08.059 and the difference even for them, they make a 00:35:08.059 --> 00:35:10.119 decision over a short period of time that's going 00:35:10.119 --> 00:35:13.900 to impact their immediate life here. When it 00:35:13.900 --> 00:35:16.079 comes to Jesus Christ, it's a decision that we 00:35:16.079 --> 00:35:20.840 have to make that impacts our eternity. That's 00:35:20.840 --> 00:35:22.780 a whole lot longer. This is a blink of an eye. 00:35:25.559 --> 00:35:27.880 So we have to make that decision. And just like 00:35:27.880 --> 00:35:29.780 these examples that have been set, when we go 00:35:29.780 --> 00:35:31.460 out into the world and we talk to people about 00:35:31.460 --> 00:35:35.360 Jesus, we need to be the same. We need to understand 00:35:35.360 --> 00:35:36.940 that they're not always going to accept Jesus 00:35:36.940 --> 00:35:39.980 right away. There might be one who does, but 00:35:39.980 --> 00:35:41.659 for the most part, most of us are kind of like 00:35:41.659 --> 00:35:45.719 Johnny Five, need more input, right? We need 00:35:45.719 --> 00:35:50.320 more info. It wasn't that long ago, Brian and 00:35:50.320 --> 00:35:51.920 I, we had a friend here who was a little upset. 00:35:52.239 --> 00:35:54.199 He, you know, he was asking, hey, how do I get 00:35:54.199 --> 00:35:56.400 this person to accept Jesus? Because he wanted 00:35:56.400 --> 00:35:58.380 to force him on Jesus. And it was very much like, 00:35:58.400 --> 00:35:59.679 aren't you afraid you're going to go to hell? 00:35:59.920 --> 00:36:01.559 He's like, I went and I took him and I took him 00:36:01.559 --> 00:36:03.659 down the Romans road and they're from India and 00:36:03.659 --> 00:36:05.119 we got done. You know, I was asking him, it's 00:36:05.119 --> 00:36:07.260 like, so do you believe this? Do you accept Jesus 00:36:07.260 --> 00:36:09.159 Christ? And the person was like, I don't know. 00:36:11.239 --> 00:36:13.579 And it was very upsetting to him. Unfortunately, 00:36:13.780 --> 00:36:16.400 this is the honest truth. As much as, you know, 00:36:16.400 --> 00:36:17.940 I want to say, yeah, I take people down the Roman's 00:36:17.940 --> 00:36:19.539 road. Yes, we should tell them. We should share 00:36:19.539 --> 00:36:22.340 the word with them. You know what? Expecting 00:36:22.340 --> 00:36:23.980 someone to make an immediate decision just off 00:36:23.980 --> 00:36:27.239 of a little glimpse right away is not realistic 00:36:27.239 --> 00:36:31.219 in most cases. People need info. People need 00:36:31.219 --> 00:36:35.199 time. They need to be able to come and see that 00:36:35.199 --> 00:36:37.659 Jesus for who he is and who he is in their life 00:36:37.659 --> 00:36:42.119 and what he will do for them. That he will forgive 00:36:42.119 --> 00:36:46.429 them. Expecting anything. Beyond that is unrealistic 00:36:46.429 --> 00:36:48.969 and we can't do that. We need to be like the 00:36:48.969 --> 00:36:51.750 father. We need to let people go, let them experience 00:36:51.750 --> 00:36:53.750 things for themselves and let them make that 00:36:53.750 --> 00:36:55.929 decision for themselves, not try to force them 00:36:55.929 --> 00:36:57.610 to make that decision and especially not try 00:36:57.610 --> 00:36:59.170 to force them to make that decision, Johnny on 00:36:59.170 --> 00:37:01.429 the spot. As much as we want to say, hey, time 00:37:01.429 --> 00:37:03.489 is limited. You're not guaranteed tomorrow. You 00:37:03.489 --> 00:37:06.230 know what? That's still pressure. And for some 00:37:06.230 --> 00:37:08.030 people, that's enough for them to walk away. 00:37:10.530 --> 00:37:16.099 Yeah, tell people they have time. But also reminding 00:37:16.099 --> 00:37:18.079 that time is limited. They have up until they 00:37:18.079 --> 00:37:21.360 take their last breath. For some people, that's 00:37:21.360 --> 00:37:22.780 okay because that's going to be how much time 00:37:22.780 --> 00:37:25.460 it's going to take. What you should be doing 00:37:25.460 --> 00:37:29.920 is praying for them. Ask them, hey, can I pray 00:37:29.920 --> 00:37:33.340 for you? Very rarely is somebody going to say 00:37:33.340 --> 00:37:36.019 no. Will it happen? Yes, there will be people 00:37:36.019 --> 00:37:38.079 who say no. There will be some people who laugh 00:37:38.079 --> 00:37:41.619 at you and be like, take that away from me. But 00:37:41.619 --> 00:37:43.780 other people will be perfectly okay with it. 00:37:44.300 --> 00:37:46.880 Most people will be perfectly okay with it. Why? 00:37:47.079 --> 00:37:48.940 Because they already feel the tug of the Holy 00:37:48.940 --> 00:37:50.699 Spirit working and trying to pull them back. 00:37:53.179 --> 00:37:58.760 That's a good thing. Just recognize that everybody 00:37:58.760 --> 00:38:03.199 has their time and their way to process the information 00:38:03.199 --> 00:38:07.099 that they've been given and make that choice 00:38:07.099 --> 00:38:10.980 between God and His kingdom or the world which 00:38:10.980 --> 00:38:15.480 will lead them all to hell and damnation. We 00:38:15.480 --> 00:38:16.980 don't get to choose for them. We don't get to 00:38:16.980 --> 00:38:18.780 force it upon them. If we try to force the issue, 00:38:18.860 --> 00:38:22.260 we will chase them away. Don't chase them away. 00:38:24.420 --> 00:38:26.320 For those of you who are still making the decision, 00:38:26.500 --> 00:38:28.619 they're listening into the podcast right now 00:38:28.619 --> 00:38:33.039 or watching on the live stream. God is still 00:38:33.039 --> 00:38:34.639 waiting for you, arms wide open, just like the 00:38:34.639 --> 00:38:36.199 Father. You have time to make that decision, 00:38:36.360 --> 00:38:41.260 but don't take too long. This is the time to 00:38:41.260 --> 00:38:43.039 get the information that you need. Ask somebody 00:38:43.039 --> 00:38:47.340 if you have questions. Because God loves you. 00:38:47.360 --> 00:38:49.320 He loves you so much that he sent his only son 00:38:49.320 --> 00:38:52.539 to die for you, to forgive you, to redeem you, 00:38:52.619 --> 00:38:55.519 and bring you back to the table. It is a free 00:38:55.519 --> 00:39:00.199 gift. All you have to do is accept it. He loves 00:39:00.199 --> 00:39:02.760 you so much that regardless of your decision, 00:39:02.960 --> 00:39:07.199 he will accept the decision that you make, regardless 00:39:07.199 --> 00:39:10.000 of how much it hurts him or how much it brings 00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:13.139 him joy. But if you choose him, just remember, 00:39:13.280 --> 00:39:14.739 he's not just going to meet you on the path. 00:39:15.559 --> 00:39:19.480 He's going to run to you, arms wide open, and 00:39:19.480 --> 00:39:22.119 he will embrace you, and he will love on you 00:39:22.119 --> 00:39:30.079 as only he can. You just have to let him. It's 00:39:30.079 --> 00:39:32.920 been said that love is pain and sacrifice, and 00:39:32.920 --> 00:39:34.659 indeed it is. I agree with that wholeheartedly. 00:39:35.559 --> 00:39:38.039 And through the work of Jesus Christ, the Father 00:39:38.039 --> 00:39:42.000 has loved us just like that, through pain and 00:39:42.000 --> 00:39:45.460 through sacrifice. And through it, He's been 00:39:45.460 --> 00:39:50.159 able to show us his mercy and his grace. He's 00:39:50.159 --> 00:39:52.300 done so much to demonstrate his love. What are 00:39:52.300 --> 00:39:54.579 you willing to do to demonstrate your love for 00:39:54.579 --> 00:39:59.840 him? Let us pray. Father, we thank you for your 00:39:59.840 --> 00:40:01.639 love for each and every one of us, a love that 00:40:01.639 --> 00:40:07.559 knows no bounds. We're grateful that it knows 00:40:07.559 --> 00:40:09.420 no bounds because even though we know we don't 00:40:09.420 --> 00:40:11.440 deserve it, you give it to us freely and willingly 00:40:11.440 --> 00:40:15.789 anyway. We thank you for your patience with each 00:40:15.789 --> 00:40:21.469 of us as we decided our own ways to turn back 00:40:21.469 --> 00:40:26.550 to you, especially when we know that time runs 00:40:26.550 --> 00:40:32.230 really fleetingly thin for some of us. We thank 00:40:32.230 --> 00:40:35.250 you for taking us back and embracing us as your 00:40:35.250 --> 00:40:39.510 own when we do decide to return to you, not only 00:40:39.510 --> 00:40:41.449 return to you, but to come back to you in your 00:40:41.449 --> 00:40:44.969 perfect ways. We love you and we recognize that 00:40:44.969 --> 00:40:47.210 sometimes we don't show it the way that we should. 00:40:47.250 --> 00:40:51.949 We don't do the things that we should. Sometimes 00:40:51.949 --> 00:40:53.849 we recognize it, sometimes we don't. But please 00:40:53.849 --> 00:40:55.510 forgive us for those missteps, for those sins. 00:40:56.130 --> 00:40:58.070 We recognize the fact that we don't share your 00:40:58.070 --> 00:41:02.510 love as we should. So please continue to teach 00:41:02.510 --> 00:41:06.010 us and guide us on how to do that. Not only to 00:41:06.010 --> 00:41:08.550 show your love, but to actually love just like 00:41:08.550 --> 00:41:12.230 you do. Show us how to take your love to the 00:41:12.230 --> 00:41:14.710 world so that the world can know not just of 00:41:14.710 --> 00:41:19.809 you, but of your love. Build us in our relationship 00:41:19.809 --> 00:41:22.250 with you and help us to build our relationship 00:41:22.250 --> 00:41:26.510 with one another in the love of Christ. And all 00:41:26.510 --> 00:41:29.269 of his people said, amen and amen. Remember, 00:41:29.469 --> 00:41:31.070 as you leave here, you are loved and you are 00:41:31.070 --> 00:41:35.889 blessed, so go and be the church. Thank you for 00:41:35.889 --> 00:41:38.630 joining us at Healing Scars with Pastor Burton. 00:41:39.099 --> 00:41:41.500 If this message spoke to you or if you would 00:41:41.500 --> 00:41:44.179 like to help us reach more people, please like, 00:41:44.280 --> 00:41:47.900 review and share our podcast. You can learn more 00:41:47.900 --> 00:41:50.699 about our ministry or how you can support us 00:41:50.699 --> 00:41:57.940 at www .thecross66 .org. Until next time, take 00:41:57.940 --> 00:41:59.500 care and God bless.