WEBVTT 00:00:01.270 --> 00:00:03.950 Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton, 00:00:04.129 --> 00:00:07.269 the official podcast of Cross -Christian Fellowship, 00:00:07.290 --> 00:00:10.769 Route 66, in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico, 00:00:10.990 --> 00:00:14.150 where Burton is the lead pastor. We're glad you're 00:00:14.150 --> 00:00:18.670 here. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank 00:00:18.670 --> 00:00:22.629 you for this day. It's a day you've made, and 00:00:22.629 --> 00:00:26.210 we'll find a joy in it. Joy in all you have to 00:00:26.210 --> 00:00:30.530 speak to us. Joy in each other. and joy in everything 00:00:30.530 --> 00:00:33.869 you've placed before us in our paths in this 00:00:33.869 --> 00:00:37.729 world. Allow us to hear your word with open ears, 00:00:37.890 --> 00:00:40.670 open hearts, and open minds, and show us how 00:00:40.670 --> 00:00:43.009 to apply everything that you have to teach us 00:00:43.009 --> 00:00:47.609 to our lives. In Jesus' name. Well, again, everybody, 00:00:47.789 --> 00:00:50.310 good morning, and welcome to Cross 66. Great 00:00:50.310 --> 00:00:52.869 to have you with us, and welcome to those who 00:00:52.869 --> 00:00:58.390 are joining us online. Today, as we get started, 00:00:58.429 --> 00:01:02.049 I'm going to share a story with you. Some of 00:01:02.049 --> 00:01:05.629 you may have heard this before. It's a little 00:01:05.629 --> 00:01:06.870 bit long, so I'm going to be kind of looking 00:01:06.870 --> 00:01:08.469 down here at my notes because I want to make 00:01:08.469 --> 00:01:12.390 sure I don't miss anything on this. It's an old 00:01:12.390 --> 00:01:15.950 story of a king and his clown or jester. We all 00:01:15.950 --> 00:01:19.230 know the court jester. This jester sometimes 00:01:19.230 --> 00:01:23.480 said some very foolish things. One day, The gesture 00:01:23.480 --> 00:01:27.159 had said something so foolish that the king handed 00:01:27.159 --> 00:01:31.780 him a staff and said to him, take this and keep 00:01:31.780 --> 00:01:35.540 it until you find a bigger fool than yourself. 00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:39.480 Some years later, the king was laying on his 00:01:39.480 --> 00:01:43.200 deathbed and his courtiers were called. His family, 00:01:43.219 --> 00:01:45.219 his servants were also standing around him at 00:01:45.219 --> 00:01:49.159 his bedside. And the king addressing them said, 00:01:49.299 --> 00:01:52.620 I'm about to leave you. I'm going on a very long 00:01:52.620 --> 00:01:55.620 journey, and I shall not return again to this 00:01:55.620 --> 00:02:00.000 place. So I have called you all here to say I 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:03.079 love you and to say goodbye. Then his gesture, 00:02:03.200 --> 00:02:06.519 his gesture stepped forward, addressing the king, 00:02:06.579 --> 00:02:10.620 saying, Your Majesty, may I ask a question? When 00:02:10.620 --> 00:02:12.800 you have journeyed abroad, visiting your people 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:15.620 or paying diplomatic visits to other courts, 00:02:16.360 --> 00:02:19.120 Your heralds and servants have always gone before 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:21.860 you, making preparations and getting things ready 00:02:21.860 --> 00:02:25.159 for you. May I ask what preparations your majesty 00:02:25.159 --> 00:02:28.639 has made for this long journey that he's about 00:02:28.639 --> 00:02:33.120 to take? Alas, replied the king, I've made no 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:36.280 preparations. There's no preparations I can make. 00:02:37.139 --> 00:02:41.400 Then the jester said, Take the staff with you. 00:02:41.740 --> 00:02:44.379 For now I have found a bigger fool than myself. 00:02:48.780 --> 00:02:52.680 Yeah. It's kind of fun, huh? So now that I shared 00:02:52.680 --> 00:02:54.900 that story, I have a question to ask. Who in 00:02:54.900 --> 00:03:03.039 here likes to be called stupid? Anybody? I didn't 00:03:03.039 --> 00:03:06.379 think so. Nobody likes to be called stupid. It's 00:03:06.379 --> 00:03:08.719 not a word that people generally like, is it? 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:14.229 We don't consider it a very nice word. People 00:03:14.229 --> 00:03:15.949 don't like to be called stupid. They don't like 00:03:15.949 --> 00:03:18.030 hearing the word stupid. Unless, of course, they're 00:03:18.030 --> 00:03:19.949 the one who's using it. Like, oh, what is up 00:03:19.949 --> 00:03:22.830 with this moron? Right? We've all been there. 00:03:23.310 --> 00:03:25.430 Some of us probably sometime this week, right? 00:03:29.069 --> 00:03:32.129 There you go. Just driving over here. I understand. 00:03:35.689 --> 00:03:39.569 Here's the thing, though. It's been said that 00:03:39.569 --> 00:03:41.389 if a man wants to make a fool of himself, he'll 00:03:41.389 --> 00:03:44.250 always have plenty of help. Not that we need 00:03:44.250 --> 00:03:46.949 a whole lot of help, do we? Some of us do a pretty 00:03:46.949 --> 00:03:51.870 good job of that on our own. Anybody in here 00:03:51.870 --> 00:03:53.870 ever spent time in a bar? You know exactly what 00:03:53.870 --> 00:03:59.469 I'm talking about. Amongst other places. But 00:03:59.469 --> 00:04:03.870 when it comes to the word stupid, the Bible has 00:04:03.870 --> 00:04:09.550 another word for it. Fool. The Bible uses the 00:04:09.550 --> 00:04:13.580 word fool. and other various versions thereof. 00:04:13.780 --> 00:04:16.939 But fool is the most common one. In fact, there 00:04:16.939 --> 00:04:19.000 is a book in the Bible, we're going to be looking 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:22.660 at it today, Proverbs, that has quite a bit to 00:04:22.660 --> 00:04:27.540 say about fools. Quite a bit. In fact, the word 00:04:27.540 --> 00:04:32.259 fool and its variance appear 79 times in this 00:04:32.259 --> 00:04:37.740 book alone. Now, there's contrast to this, of 00:04:37.740 --> 00:04:43.360 course. What is contrast to the word fool? Close, 00:04:43.399 --> 00:04:46.259 yes. That's right there with it, wise. So yes, 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:48.939 wisdom, absolutely. Jeopardy, that'd probably 00:04:48.939 --> 00:04:56.540 be close enough. Absolutely. So being that fool, 00:04:56.720 --> 00:04:59.160 and this variance appears 79 times in the book 00:04:59.160 --> 00:05:05.160 of Proverbs, wise and wisdom appear 111 times. 00:05:05.579 --> 00:05:08.220 So if we break it down and we do some Bible math 00:05:08.220 --> 00:05:13.769 here. That means 25 % of the book of Proverbs 00:05:13.769 --> 00:05:18.050 is directly speaking about foolishness and wisdom. 00:05:19.350 --> 00:05:23.649 25%. That's a lot. This isn't one of the smallest 00:05:23.649 --> 00:05:28.189 books in the Bible either. However, if we step 00:05:28.189 --> 00:05:32.310 back and we look at it in its entirety, 100 % 00:05:32.310 --> 00:05:36.230 of this book is talking about wisdom or the lack 00:05:36.230 --> 00:05:41.709 of it. 100%. In fact, Proverbs defines foolishness 00:05:41.709 --> 00:05:45.810 as the lack of wisdom. With this in mind, God 00:05:45.810 --> 00:05:50.750 foretells us how we can be fools, how we are 00:05:50.750 --> 00:05:57.370 fools, and how we can be wise and have wisdom 00:05:57.370 --> 00:06:00.470 in our lives. With that said, if you haven't 00:06:00.470 --> 00:06:02.910 already opened up to the book of Proverbs, go 00:06:02.910 --> 00:06:04.949 ahead and go to it and got the verse right there. 00:06:05.050 --> 00:06:06.350 We're going to be looking at the foundation. 00:06:07.319 --> 00:06:10.040 of this entire book right here. So we're going 00:06:10.040 --> 00:06:14.279 to specifically be going to Proverbs 1, and just 00:06:14.279 --> 00:06:16.300 to get you ready, verse 7. And we're going to 00:06:16.300 --> 00:06:17.459 be looking at the, like I said, we're going to 00:06:17.459 --> 00:06:19.160 be looking at the foundation of this entire book. 00:06:19.300 --> 00:06:21.000 And I say that this verse is the foundation because 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:24.620 it truly sets the stage for what all we're taught 00:06:24.620 --> 00:06:26.800 here, right? For everything that falls into it. 00:06:26.899 --> 00:06:28.980 It's basically, this is something that we can 00:06:28.980 --> 00:06:32.259 use as a measuring stick of sorts or a litmus 00:06:32.259 --> 00:06:35.079 test, you know, however you want to. You know, 00:06:35.079 --> 00:06:38.899 look at it to test just how wise or how foolish 00:06:38.899 --> 00:06:43.300 we're being in our lives. Right? So, and not 00:06:43.300 --> 00:06:47.660 only that, I say test because if we actually 00:06:47.660 --> 00:06:50.120 test it and we take a look at what we're doing 00:06:50.120 --> 00:06:53.959 versus what the word is telling us, we know what 00:06:53.959 --> 00:06:57.500 corrective action we need to take so that we 00:06:57.500 --> 00:07:00.300 can start living a wiser life and stop acting 00:07:00.300 --> 00:07:05.550 the fool. Of course, If we continue to act a 00:07:05.550 --> 00:07:08.529 fool and we don't learn that there's folly in 00:07:08.529 --> 00:07:11.050 what we're doing, well, we're going to be a jester. 00:07:11.170 --> 00:07:14.689 Plain and simple. Sometimes we laugh with them. 00:07:14.750 --> 00:07:18.889 Most of the time we laugh at them. Right? So 00:07:18.889 --> 00:07:23.550 Proverbs 1, verse 7, where it says, The fear 00:07:23.550 --> 00:07:27.089 of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but 00:07:27.089 --> 00:07:33.259 fools despise wisdom and instruction. If we're 00:07:33.259 --> 00:07:35.060 looking to be knowledgeable and we're looking 00:07:35.060 --> 00:07:39.420 to have wisdom, this verse gives us our starting 00:07:39.420 --> 00:07:42.800 line, right? Now, I do want to point out, there 00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:45.139 is a difference between being knowledgeable and 00:07:45.139 --> 00:07:50.279 being wise. There is a very big line between 00:07:50.279 --> 00:07:55.819 the two. Because you can have a PhD and still 00:07:55.819 --> 00:07:58.160 be ignorant. I'll tell you what, I've worked 00:07:58.160 --> 00:07:59.879 with engineers and I have worked with doctors. 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:03.680 And as smart as some of them are, they can also 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:07.639 be some of the biggest idiots I know. Right? 00:08:07.920 --> 00:08:10.279 And they will all agree with me, just not necessarily 00:08:10.279 --> 00:08:11.839 about themselves, but about their colleagues. 00:08:12.699 --> 00:08:17.540 It happens, right? It is the truth. We all know 00:08:17.540 --> 00:08:19.939 people like that. As Benjamin Franklin once said, 00:08:20.040 --> 00:08:22.500 the learned fool writes his nonsense in better 00:08:22.500 --> 00:08:25.620 language than the unlearned, but it's still nonsense. 00:08:29.149 --> 00:08:31.069 Likewise, you could come from the street and 00:08:31.069 --> 00:08:33.649 you could have the very word that everybody needs 00:08:33.649 --> 00:08:39.169 to hear. Hmm. How's that little morsel taste, 00:08:39.350 --> 00:08:43.809 right? So what we're going to look at here is 00:08:43.809 --> 00:08:49.049 right here, as we go partway into it, we see 00:08:49.049 --> 00:08:52.049 the word beginning in this verse, right? The 00:08:52.049 --> 00:08:55.950 beginning of knowledge. And some translations, 00:08:57.519 --> 00:08:59.779 It's not translated as beginning. It's translated 00:08:59.779 --> 00:09:04.860 as foundation. And foundation, quite honestly, 00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:08.960 is probably the better translation for this verse. 00:09:09.639 --> 00:09:13.279 Fortunately, not enough use it. That's okay, 00:09:13.320 --> 00:09:15.080 though, because we can still see what we need 00:09:15.080 --> 00:09:18.179 to see here, right? See, the word foundation, 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:20.740 it falls to the point right here that breaks 00:09:20.740 --> 00:09:25.769 this verse into two parts. We're going to take 00:09:25.769 --> 00:09:28.350 a look at this. Foundation means the most important, 00:09:28.549 --> 00:09:31.490 the starting point, the capstone, the right place 00:09:31.490 --> 00:09:36.830 to begin, the essence, the beginning. So what 00:09:36.830 --> 00:09:39.629 we see in this verse, we'll break it down a little 00:09:39.629 --> 00:09:43.409 bit more, because what comes before foundation 00:09:43.409 --> 00:09:47.149 is the essence of what's being said. It's the 00:09:47.149 --> 00:09:50.110 essence of the word, right? It's where things 00:09:50.110 --> 00:09:54.350 begin. Whereas what comes after, It's really 00:09:54.350 --> 00:09:57.409 the most important part. It contains the essence, 00:09:57.549 --> 00:10:06.549 but it also has the meat. So when we're looking 00:10:06.549 --> 00:10:10.190 at this, what comes after foundation? What comes 00:10:10.190 --> 00:10:12.690 after beginning? What's the first thing that 00:10:12.690 --> 00:10:16.850 pops out to everybody? Knowledge. Knowledge is 00:10:16.850 --> 00:10:19.830 the first thing, right? Right there. And when 00:10:19.830 --> 00:10:21.169 we look at knowledge, we tend to think of it 00:10:21.169 --> 00:10:25.250 like dragnet, right? I think most of us in here 00:10:25.250 --> 00:10:27.909 probably know Dragnet. I think there's one person 00:10:27.909 --> 00:10:32.029 who might not. It's just like, all we want are 00:10:32.029 --> 00:10:35.870 the facts, man. Don't think of it as just the 00:10:35.870 --> 00:10:37.830 facts, man, because that sentence was never actually 00:10:37.830 --> 00:10:39.929 uttered once in that show. That actually came 00:10:39.929 --> 00:10:42.710 from a parody of the show and stuck. There's 00:10:42.710 --> 00:10:46.970 some nerd knowledge for you. I am a nerd. It's 00:10:46.970 --> 00:10:51.879 true. Yet knowledge is more. than just gathering 00:10:51.879 --> 00:10:57.539 the facts. The facts lead to wisdom, they lead 00:10:57.539 --> 00:11:00.440 to knowledge, but it's much, much more than that. 00:11:00.500 --> 00:11:02.759 So let's break down the word knowledge within 00:11:02.759 --> 00:11:08.940 the biblical context of its meaning here. It 00:11:08.940 --> 00:11:11.299 means perception, discernment, awareness, and 00:11:11.299 --> 00:11:14.340 understanding. There's a big one right there, 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:18.500 understanding. Because you can have knowledge 00:11:18.500 --> 00:11:22.779 and still not understand something. It's when 00:11:22.779 --> 00:11:25.259 you call out a troubleshooter. A nail, right? 00:11:27.019 --> 00:11:28.659 He'll go out there and he'll apply it all. He'll 00:11:28.659 --> 00:11:37.360 fix you up. So it looks a lot like the end of 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:38.879 the verse here when you think about it, though. 00:11:39.419 --> 00:11:42.139 Because what do we see here at the end? Wisdom 00:11:42.139 --> 00:11:48.320 and instruction. Wisdom and instruction. But 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:49.860 this is another place where some translations 00:11:49.860 --> 00:11:53.139 are a little bit different. Some of them say 00:11:53.139 --> 00:12:00.740 wisdom and discipline. Discipline fits in there 00:12:00.740 --> 00:12:03.879 real nicely, doesn't it? Because in order to 00:12:03.879 --> 00:12:06.059 gain the wisdom, you have to follow the instruction 00:12:06.059 --> 00:12:07.940 and you have to look at how it applies to things. 00:12:08.100 --> 00:12:10.960 You have to look at how the pieces come together, 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:13.700 right? It's not just taking the facts and be 00:12:13.700 --> 00:12:15.159 like, oh, okay, I know this. We all know the 00:12:15.159 --> 00:12:17.419 know -it -all. Who likes the know -it -all? Nobody. 00:12:18.240 --> 00:12:19.960 Every single one of us, when we hear that know 00:12:19.960 --> 00:12:21.450 -it -all, like, Go sit in your corner and leave 00:12:21.450 --> 00:12:25.330 me alone. Right? Don't bother somebody else. 00:12:27.990 --> 00:12:31.429 So, discipline. Because in order to gain knowledge, 00:12:31.549 --> 00:12:33.570 we have to be disciplined in gathering knowledge 00:12:33.570 --> 00:12:37.190 and how we apply it. Knowledge applies to our 00:12:37.190 --> 00:12:41.590 lives, our everyday lives. Everything that we're 00:12:41.590 --> 00:12:43.389 going about. It's how we view life. It's how 00:12:43.389 --> 00:12:45.789 we understand life. How we react to things. How 00:12:45.789 --> 00:12:49.389 we live life. If you want a good life and you 00:12:49.389 --> 00:12:51.750 want to live it with purpose, you want to live 00:12:51.750 --> 00:12:54.529 it to its full potential, then you need to have 00:12:54.529 --> 00:12:57.570 what the Bible says is the essence, the starting 00:12:57.570 --> 00:13:01.929 point. God's word needs to be the bedrock of 00:13:01.929 --> 00:13:05.409 your life. Not just the important part to start 00:13:05.409 --> 00:13:08.570 your day with. It's not cereal. It's not breakfast. 00:13:09.090 --> 00:13:11.090 It has to be a part of what leads you through 00:13:11.090 --> 00:13:18.090 your entire day, every single day. And that's 00:13:18.090 --> 00:13:20.009 where all this comes in. Because it takes the 00:13:20.009 --> 00:13:21.929 essence, it gathers it up, and it pulls it together, 00:13:22.049 --> 00:13:23.610 and it puts it in front of you so you can apply 00:13:23.610 --> 00:13:26.929 it. There's another important word in this verse 00:13:26.929 --> 00:13:32.250 though. Love this one. People don't like to see 00:13:32.250 --> 00:13:35.509 this word sometimes. They think it negates everything 00:13:35.509 --> 00:13:37.409 that comes before it. Sometimes that is true, 00:13:37.549 --> 00:13:41.250 but not always. And in this case, it's not one 00:13:41.250 --> 00:13:44.870 of those always points. The next word that we 00:13:44.870 --> 00:13:49.220 see here that's really important is But fools 00:13:49.220 --> 00:13:52.740 despise wisdom and instruction. Whenever you 00:13:52.740 --> 00:13:56.940 see this word used in the Bible, it's not negating 00:13:56.940 --> 00:14:01.240 things. What it's doing is it's letting you know 00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:06.019 is you're about to see a contrast, which is what 00:14:06.019 --> 00:14:08.159 we see here. Fear the Lord is the beginning of 00:14:08.159 --> 00:14:12.259 knowledge. However, fools, right? It's going 00:14:12.259 --> 00:14:15.360 from the wise to the foolish. It is a contrast. 00:14:16.490 --> 00:14:18.350 So whenever you're reading the Bible, whenever 00:14:18.350 --> 00:14:19.850 you're doing your studies and you see the word 00:14:19.850 --> 00:14:22.429 but, keep that in the back of your mind. It'll 00:14:22.429 --> 00:14:24.090 pull things into a different perspective for 00:14:24.090 --> 00:14:25.990 you than what you had before. It'll start making 00:14:25.990 --> 00:14:32.750 more sense. So the person, in other words, that 00:14:32.750 --> 00:14:35.230 we see in the first part is not going to be the 00:14:35.230 --> 00:14:38.049 same as a person we see in the second part and 00:14:38.049 --> 00:14:41.610 vice versa, right? It's two different things. 00:14:41.649 --> 00:14:46.299 It's two different actions. Think back to how 00:14:46.299 --> 00:14:49.240 we started today. What's the contrast to a man 00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:52.139 of wisdom? What's in contrast to a person who 00:14:52.139 --> 00:14:55.279 knows how to live and fully go through life to 00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:59.259 the utmost? The fool, right? The jester, the 00:14:59.259 --> 00:15:06.340 fool, the clown. It's like the old highway safety 00:15:06.340 --> 00:15:09.259 commercial PSAs. Remember the crash test dummies, 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:12.480 Larry and Vince? You can learn a lot from a dummy. 00:15:12.519 --> 00:15:16.009 Buckle your seatbelt. They were tragic, but hilarious. 00:15:17.129 --> 00:15:20.090 They were absolutely hilarious. And people are 00:15:20.090 --> 00:15:22.669 like, oh man, really? Seriously? Are they calling 00:15:22.669 --> 00:15:24.330 people stupid? I'll tell you what, when you go 00:15:24.330 --> 00:15:26.429 back and look at the statistics, when they ran 00:15:26.429 --> 00:15:31.149 those commercials, there was a 15 to 16 % increase 00:15:31.149 --> 00:15:32.970 in people actually buckling their seatbelts. 00:15:32.970 --> 00:15:35.929 The commercials worked better than anything up 00:15:35.929 --> 00:15:42.740 to that point in anything since. So is it really 00:15:42.740 --> 00:15:48.539 stupid if it works? Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I 00:15:48.539 --> 00:15:51.179 love those commercials. They were comical, but 00:15:51.179 --> 00:15:55.320 they were serious. The Latin word, though, before 00:15:55.320 --> 00:15:58.879 I go off on any more rabbit trails, the Latin 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:03.940 word for a fool or foolish is insanum. It's where 00:16:03.940 --> 00:16:09.039 we get the word insane from. Right? A fool is 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:12.769 someone who is arrogant. and or self -willed. 00:16:12.850 --> 00:16:15.750 Sometimes they're not arrogant, but they're self 00:16:15.750 --> 00:16:19.210 -willed. They're selfish. And a person who doesn't 00:16:19.210 --> 00:16:23.789 have the essence of life will live life as a 00:16:23.789 --> 00:16:27.929 fool. In other words, the person who doesn't 00:16:27.929 --> 00:16:30.830 have the fear of the Lord is going to live life 00:16:30.830 --> 00:16:34.340 as a fool. People need to have the word. They 00:16:34.340 --> 00:16:37.440 need to know God or else they're going to live 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:40.379 a life of ignorance and selfishness. And sadly, 00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:43.240 this is not a place where we can say ignorance 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:48.919 is bliss. Because we're all held accountable. 00:16:49.960 --> 00:16:52.059 There's enough of God's essence in everything, 00:16:52.220 --> 00:16:55.620 as the word tells us, that we can discern right 00:16:55.620 --> 00:16:58.740 from wrong. And there's enough resources out 00:16:58.740 --> 00:17:00.759 there, especially here where we live in the U 00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:04.470 .S. to actually come to know Jesus. So nobody's 00:17:04.470 --> 00:17:13.250 without excuse here. Now, fortunately, there 00:17:13.250 --> 00:17:18.250 are a lot of fools on the highway to hell and 00:17:18.250 --> 00:17:21.490 walking down that road of damnation, which begs 00:17:21.490 --> 00:17:23.569 the question, what is the difference between 00:17:23.569 --> 00:17:26.890 someone who has the right foundation and a person 00:17:26.890 --> 00:17:31.180 who's a fool? I'll give you a clue. We see it 00:17:31.180 --> 00:17:40.339 at the beginning of that verse. Fear. Now, when 00:17:40.339 --> 00:17:42.220 we look at this, we have to keep in mind, fear 00:17:42.220 --> 00:17:47.920 does not mean to be scared. This is not meant 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:52.759 to be some boogeyman. It means to be in awe of 00:17:52.759 --> 00:17:56.579 God, to be obedient to him, to respect him and 00:17:56.579 --> 00:17:59.710 his position. that's something we don't see nearly 00:17:59.710 --> 00:18:02.190 enough today, is it? That's something that's 00:18:02.190 --> 00:18:03.549 kind of dwindled. The word told us that would 00:18:03.549 --> 00:18:08.269 happen. But respect. Think of it this way. When 00:18:08.269 --> 00:18:10.369 all of us were growing up, we all had our parents 00:18:10.369 --> 00:18:12.910 or our parental figures, right? Because let's 00:18:12.910 --> 00:18:14.990 face it, some people are adopted or whatever 00:18:14.990 --> 00:18:18.390 circumstances being what they are. Right? Like, 00:18:18.450 --> 00:18:20.470 my parents were foster parents. We had Adam in 00:18:20.470 --> 00:18:22.630 the house. And Lord knows, probably had the rest 00:18:22.630 --> 00:18:24.829 of my friends too at any given time. But still, 00:18:25.009 --> 00:18:31.259 you know, It happens. So we can't negate that. 00:18:31.480 --> 00:18:33.200 So you had your parents, you had your parental 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:35.519 figures, people you were close to, your grandparents, 00:18:35.940 --> 00:18:38.700 right, or an uncle or an aunt, whatever. You 00:18:38.700 --> 00:18:44.720 looked up to them. You trusted them unquestionably. 00:18:46.140 --> 00:18:48.680 If they said something like, hey, this needs 00:18:48.680 --> 00:18:51.700 to happen, it wasn't a question of, unless you're 00:18:51.700 --> 00:18:53.079 a teenager, of course, you're hormonal. It's 00:18:53.079 --> 00:18:55.420 like, really? Do I have to wash dishes? Why can't 00:18:55.420 --> 00:18:59.849 we just use paper plates? Right? As adults, sometimes 00:18:59.849 --> 00:19:01.470 we still think that. My wife's pointing at me 00:19:01.470 --> 00:19:02.869 for a reason because there are times when we'll 00:19:02.869 --> 00:19:03.849 make something and I'm like, you know what, I'm 00:19:03.849 --> 00:19:04.890 going to have paper because I don't want to clean 00:19:04.890 --> 00:19:07.250 those dishes. Really, on those nights, I'll be 00:19:07.250 --> 00:19:11.069 honest, it's because I'm feeling lazy. There's 00:19:11.069 --> 00:19:12.650 enough dishes and pots and pans to do all the 00:19:12.650 --> 00:19:18.190 rest. But still, there's no question. And when 00:19:18.190 --> 00:19:20.089 you messed up, you knew punishment was coming. 00:19:20.589 --> 00:19:22.410 There is no question whether or not punishment 00:19:22.410 --> 00:19:25.470 was coming. Matter of fact, you knew you deserved 00:19:25.470 --> 00:19:27.490 it. You probably deserved more than what you 00:19:27.490 --> 00:19:32.609 got. Right? Not always, sir. There are those 00:19:32.609 --> 00:19:34.349 abusive parents that go just a step too far, 00:19:34.369 --> 00:19:36.720 but for the most part. Most of us got off a little 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:38.640 bit lighter than we probably should have. Now, 00:19:38.640 --> 00:19:40.259 some of us were stupid and we continued to buy 00:19:40.259 --> 00:19:42.039 our mom's wooden utensils for the kitchen every 00:19:42.039 --> 00:19:43.900 Mother's Day, which she would proceed to bust 00:19:43.900 --> 00:19:45.660 over us throughout the rest of the year. And 00:19:45.660 --> 00:19:47.119 if she ran out of that, then whatever else was 00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:48.940 in hand, whether it was a fly swatter or flinging 00:19:48.940 --> 00:19:52.299 her clog off of her foot at you, whatever, things 00:19:52.299 --> 00:19:55.119 happen, right? I know I'm not alone on that. 00:19:55.640 --> 00:19:57.420 She might be turning red, but I know I'm not 00:19:57.420 --> 00:20:00.960 alone, right? Someone in here has had a chancla 00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:05.960 thrown at him at one point or another. It happens. 00:20:06.220 --> 00:20:10.819 You earned it. As adults, we own that. We earned 00:20:10.819 --> 00:20:17.200 it. We've all been the clown. But what was worse 00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:20.279 than the punishment, though? There was always 00:20:20.279 --> 00:20:21.519 something that was worse than the punishment, 00:20:21.700 --> 00:20:24.359 especially when it was the person that you held 00:20:24.359 --> 00:20:28.200 in the most esteem, right? The disappointment, 00:20:28.299 --> 00:20:30.619 that's right, the shame. The fact that you let 00:20:30.619 --> 00:20:35.950 them down. The beating was nothing. Going to 00:20:35.950 --> 00:20:38.089 your room was nothing, and the extra chores or 00:20:38.089 --> 00:20:42.289 whatever was nothing. Letting them down had the 00:20:42.289 --> 00:20:44.769 most profound impact. I'll use my grandpa flip 00:20:44.769 --> 00:20:48.549 for an example. Here's a man, he never raised 00:20:48.549 --> 00:20:51.309 his voice, not once. He never raised a hand, 00:20:51.450 --> 00:20:58.109 not once. No twitch, no belt, none of that. We 00:20:58.109 --> 00:21:02.490 just talked to you, calmly. And the look on his 00:21:02.490 --> 00:21:07.750 face. Look at his eyes and him telling you that 00:21:07.750 --> 00:21:10.630 he was disappointed in you was enough to make 00:21:10.630 --> 00:21:16.470 you feel like you were reduced to nothing. Absolutely 00:21:16.470 --> 00:21:19.650 nothing. And he would just say, I'm very disappointed. 00:21:21.190 --> 00:21:24.170 That was all it took. That was worse than a beating. 00:21:24.190 --> 00:21:26.589 Honestly, I'd rather he took a belt and just 00:21:26.589 --> 00:21:31.859 whooped me. But he never did. Not once. The only 00:21:31.859 --> 00:21:33.279 time you ever heard him raise his voice is when 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:34.980 he was getting excited watching a ball game. 00:21:37.160 --> 00:21:39.119 Or somebody cut him off or did something stupid 00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:41.980 in traffic. I can still hear him. Put your brains 00:21:41.980 --> 00:21:43.720 in a jaybird's butt, it would fly backwards. 00:21:45.019 --> 00:21:46.660 And he'd be watching his cubbies. What are you 00:21:46.660 --> 00:21:50.960 doing? Do something, even if it's wrong! You 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:53.220 know? Or the Bulls. Those were his two teams. 00:21:53.400 --> 00:21:55.039 Those were the only two things he cared about 00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:56.380 when it came to sports, was the cubbies and the 00:21:56.380 --> 00:22:00.019 Bulls. Everything else, whatever. Like he played 00:22:00.019 --> 00:22:01.980 tennis, he'd watch it, but he didn't get that 00:22:01.980 --> 00:22:04.000 into it. He didn't care who actually won. He 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:07.420 just enjoyed it. But that was it. You disappointed 00:22:07.420 --> 00:22:11.799 them and that was enough. And that is the reaction 00:22:11.799 --> 00:22:15.259 that we should all have. That childlike reaction 00:22:15.259 --> 00:22:18.859 is what we should be having when it comes to 00:22:18.859 --> 00:22:22.759 our response to God. Plain and simple. That's 00:22:22.759 --> 00:22:32.069 what healthy biblical fear is. Turning to 2 Timothy 00:22:32.069 --> 00:22:39.809 1, verse 7. 2 Timothy 1, 7, the word says, For 00:22:39.809 --> 00:22:42.109 God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of 00:22:42.109 --> 00:22:46.430 power and of love and of sound mind. So fear 00:22:46.430 --> 00:22:48.650 is not meant to be some kind of a boogeyman. 00:22:51.109 --> 00:22:54.220 That's the world. What the enemy wants you to 00:22:54.220 --> 00:22:56.759 think of it as, that's what Satan and his ministers 00:22:56.759 --> 00:23:02.119 have twisted to mean, to become, right? They 00:23:02.119 --> 00:23:05.000 want us to be scared. God doesn't want us to 00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:12.819 be scared. Instead, when we look at here, what 00:23:12.819 --> 00:23:16.279 we should be thinking of is that reverence of 00:23:16.279 --> 00:23:21.170 God. That's really what it is. Like, hey, I know 00:23:21.170 --> 00:23:23.230 I'm going to mess up. I know I'm going to deserve 00:23:23.230 --> 00:23:27.509 punishment. That's okay. I deserve it. I own 00:23:27.509 --> 00:23:32.690 that. I don't want to disappoint God. That's 00:23:32.690 --> 00:23:36.630 the hard part. That's the worst part. That's 00:23:36.630 --> 00:23:40.049 why when it comes to accepting that forgiveness, 00:23:40.289 --> 00:23:43.349 right, that grace and that mercy that we have 00:23:43.349 --> 00:23:47.569 because of Jesus Christ, forgiveness is already 00:23:47.569 --> 00:23:52.180 there. Who's still holding it? We are. That chain's 00:23:52.180 --> 00:23:53.980 been broken and we're still picking it up and 00:23:53.980 --> 00:23:58.319 dragging it behind us like we still own it. Because 00:23:58.319 --> 00:24:03.799 we feel this big and we shouldn't. Because God 00:24:03.799 --> 00:24:06.460 hasn't given us a spirit of fear. He's given 00:24:06.460 --> 00:24:08.519 us a spirit of power and love and a sound mind. 00:24:11.640 --> 00:24:15.319 So if you want to know how to live a life fully 00:24:15.319 --> 00:24:18.599 and with purpose, it starts with a healthy, fear 00:24:18.599 --> 00:24:23.599 of God, a healthy reverence of God. You see, 00:24:23.640 --> 00:24:26.480 when we have awe and reverence and obedience, 00:24:26.920 --> 00:24:30.319 respect, and we submit ourselves to him and his 00:24:30.319 --> 00:24:33.759 word and his ways, well, we have some wonderful 00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:37.240 outcomes. These outcomes, matter of fact, we 00:24:37.240 --> 00:24:40.180 can look at them as blessings or rewards, right? 00:24:40.680 --> 00:24:42.740 Because what happens? We gain an understanding 00:24:42.740 --> 00:24:45.990 that God is great and there's no other. That 00:24:45.990 --> 00:24:48.829 God is holy and worthy, that God is more important 00:24:48.829 --> 00:24:55.450 than our own will. The will of God is more important 00:24:55.450 --> 00:24:58.609 than our own will. God deserves all that we have 00:24:58.609 --> 00:25:01.750 and all that we are, all that we're going to 00:25:01.750 --> 00:25:06.950 be, right? All of us need to think of it and 00:25:06.950 --> 00:25:09.809 remind ourselves, the best that I was, the best 00:25:09.809 --> 00:25:12.049 I am, and the best I ever will be is because 00:25:12.049 --> 00:25:17.009 of God. Plain and simple, it's because of God. 00:25:17.049 --> 00:25:21.730 God is greater than any other being ever, period. 00:25:22.349 --> 00:25:28.109 No one and nothing will ever match him. Bar none. 00:25:30.029 --> 00:25:32.970 So when you fear the Lord, when you fear God, 00:25:33.210 --> 00:25:37.509 your life isn't wasted on foolish things, on 00:25:37.509 --> 00:25:42.039 foolish pursuits. Instead, you become... and 00:25:42.039 --> 00:25:44.779 that focuses on those eternal things, the things 00:25:44.779 --> 00:25:47.660 that matter, the things of real substance that 00:25:47.660 --> 00:25:55.480 have true meaning. That feels pretty good. People 00:25:55.480 --> 00:25:57.740 will start to look at you differently. Why? Because 00:25:57.740 --> 00:26:00.900 you start to live differently. You don't sweat 00:26:00.900 --> 00:26:03.000 so much of the petty stuff anymore. Let's face 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:04.420 it, we're human. There's still going to be some 00:26:04.420 --> 00:26:05.819 petty, minutial stuff that's going to stress 00:26:05.819 --> 00:26:09.000 us out. But some of the other stuff that... We 00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:11.059 used to freak out about, not such a big deal 00:26:11.059 --> 00:26:13.259 anymore. Like, wow, really? In the scheme of 00:26:13.259 --> 00:26:21.940 things? I'm only here for a little while. And 00:26:21.940 --> 00:26:23.859 once we understand this and we apply this to 00:26:23.859 --> 00:26:27.980 our lives as a follower of Jesus Christ, we instantly 00:26:27.980 --> 00:26:29.759 start living differently than those who are in 00:26:29.759 --> 00:26:34.880 the world. Of all the things in the Bible, we 00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:42.579 were only told to fear. One thing. And nothing 00:26:42.579 --> 00:26:47.359 else. And that is to fear the Lord. If we turn 00:26:47.359 --> 00:26:51.579 to Luke 12, verses 4 through 5. Luke 12, verses 00:26:51.579 --> 00:27:01.400 4 through 5. So in Luke 12, verses 4 through 00:27:01.400 --> 00:27:04.079 5, Jesus said, And I say to you, my friends, 00:27:04.259 --> 00:27:06.960 do not be afraid of those who kill the body. 00:27:07.720 --> 00:27:10.079 and after that have no more that they can do. 00:27:10.660 --> 00:27:14.579 But I will show you whom you should fear. Fear 00:27:14.579 --> 00:27:20.519 him who, after he has killed, has the power to 00:27:20.519 --> 00:27:24.539 cast into hell. Yes, I say to you, fear him. 00:27:24.819 --> 00:27:31.660 Fear God. If we turn to Philippians 1, verse 00:27:31.660 --> 00:27:38.960 21, simplified. I'll paraphrase if you will. 00:27:39.019 --> 00:27:42.099 So Philippians 1 verse 21, the word says, for 00:27:42.099 --> 00:27:46.660 to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. So 00:27:46.660 --> 00:27:51.079 the only one who we should fear is God. And again, 00:27:51.180 --> 00:27:53.220 that's the person we should have our most reverence 00:27:53.220 --> 00:27:55.960 to. That's what it really means. God's in our 00:27:55.960 --> 00:28:01.599 corner. God has your back. So why should we fear 00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:07.410 God? Why should you ever be fearful of the Lord? 00:28:09.609 --> 00:28:11.609 And I promise you, we're heading for home here. 00:28:11.650 --> 00:28:16.809 We're almost done today. The reason why the word 00:28:16.809 --> 00:28:19.750 fear is used here is because whatever you fear, 00:28:19.930 --> 00:28:23.970 whoever you fear is what controls you and controls 00:28:23.970 --> 00:28:27.930 how you live your life. That is the controlling 00:28:27.930 --> 00:28:30.910 factor in every single person's life is what 00:28:30.910 --> 00:28:36.269 do we fear the most? Do we fear God? Do we fear 00:28:36.269 --> 00:28:39.630 the world? Do we value God's idea of us and what 00:28:39.630 --> 00:28:42.029 he thinks of us and what he plans for us? Or 00:28:42.029 --> 00:28:45.250 do we fear living up to the world's expectations, 00:28:45.509 --> 00:28:47.930 being the cool kid with the most stuff and all 00:28:47.930 --> 00:28:50.049 the clothes and the bling and all, you know, 00:28:50.049 --> 00:28:52.950 the prestige and the money, right? What do we 00:28:52.950 --> 00:28:57.109 fear more? Because if you're afraid of being 00:28:57.109 --> 00:28:58.509 hit, let's put it this way. If you're afraid 00:28:58.509 --> 00:29:03.009 of being hit, right? So let's see. Who wants 00:29:03.009 --> 00:29:06.190 to be punched? Nobody wants to be punched, right? 00:29:07.869 --> 00:29:11.529 However, if you're afraid of being hit, you're 00:29:11.529 --> 00:29:13.170 going to do everything in your power to keep 00:29:13.170 --> 00:29:16.930 from being hit. Plain and simple. You're going 00:29:16.930 --> 00:29:18.170 to duck. You're going to weave. You're going 00:29:18.170 --> 00:29:22.410 to bob, right? You're going to step. You're going 00:29:22.410 --> 00:29:24.849 to counter. You're going to do all this stuff 00:29:24.849 --> 00:29:32.140 to keep from being hit. If you're afraid of the 00:29:32.140 --> 00:29:36.420 dark, make sure there's something lighting the 00:29:36.420 --> 00:29:39.740 room, right? Or lighting the hallway. A little 00:29:39.740 --> 00:29:43.299 nightlight, right? If you have kids, you're probably 00:29:43.299 --> 00:29:44.500 going to have one because you don't want to step 00:29:44.500 --> 00:29:47.960 on a Lego. But let's face it, we live in the 00:29:47.960 --> 00:29:49.680 Mexico. Our dogs bring in go -aheads, and that's 00:29:49.680 --> 00:29:55.500 just as bad. Right? Or in some cases, cats, right? 00:29:55.740 --> 00:29:58.099 If you have outdoors. If you're afraid of bugs, 00:29:58.299 --> 00:30:03.210 what do you do? You spray. Right? You go out, 00:30:03.250 --> 00:30:05.950 you get some bug spray, or you call pest control, 00:30:06.170 --> 00:30:10.569 you start taking care of business. The point 00:30:10.569 --> 00:30:13.150 is, your fear controls you, so you take actions 00:30:13.150 --> 00:30:17.410 to deal with that fear. So if the only thing 00:30:17.410 --> 00:30:23.750 that you truly fear is God, then guess what? 00:30:24.789 --> 00:30:29.170 You'll do whatever you need to do to ensure That 00:30:29.170 --> 00:30:32.269 you don't let him down. You will do everything 00:30:32.269 --> 00:30:33.789 within the best of your ability and you will 00:30:33.789 --> 00:30:41.369 do it for him. Not out of compulsion, but because 00:30:41.369 --> 00:30:43.789 you want to do the right thing. You want to do 00:30:43.789 --> 00:30:51.690 what he's told you to do. You're the Lord. And 00:30:51.690 --> 00:30:55.630 at that point, there is no chain that the enemy 00:30:55.630 --> 00:30:59.750 can put on you. To hold you down. To hold you 00:30:59.750 --> 00:31:05.049 back. Or to keep you from God. Those chains are 00:31:05.049 --> 00:31:09.210 broken. And the nice thing is, is when you fear 00:31:09.210 --> 00:31:11.750 God, and you know he has your back, and he's 00:31:11.750 --> 00:31:16.230 in your corner, and he's cheering you on, you're 00:31:16.230 --> 00:31:18.329 no longer afraid to step out. You're no longer 00:31:18.329 --> 00:31:22.470 afraid to talk to people about him. Not even 00:31:22.470 --> 00:31:24.890 a little. You're not afraid to take chances. 00:31:25.900 --> 00:31:27.660 And that's a big thing because that takes you 00:31:27.660 --> 00:31:30.240 out of your comfort zone. And the only way for 00:31:30.240 --> 00:31:32.519 real change to happen is to get out of your comfort 00:31:32.519 --> 00:31:38.119 zone. Plain and simple. When you become a person 00:31:38.119 --> 00:31:41.900 without boundaries, you become a dangerous person 00:31:41.900 --> 00:31:46.539 to the enemy. Because you can no longer be contained 00:31:46.539 --> 00:31:51.599 by the world or the ways of it. You belong to 00:31:51.599 --> 00:31:55.589 Jesus. and you now live and move in the freedom 00:31:55.589 --> 00:31:58.769 he has granted you so that you can go out and 00:31:58.769 --> 00:32:03.369 share the word and share the gospel. You need 00:32:03.369 --> 00:32:08.609 to recognize that fear, as we've known it, is 00:32:08.609 --> 00:32:11.630 a product of the world that the enemy uses to 00:32:11.630 --> 00:32:20.170 control people, to turn us away from God. God 00:32:20.170 --> 00:32:26.329 doesn't use fear. God uses love. He doesn't raise 00:32:26.329 --> 00:32:34.289 his hand. He speaks to you gently. While you 00:32:34.289 --> 00:32:35.589 have that little voice in the back of your head 00:32:35.589 --> 00:32:38.349 like, man, should you have done that? Isn't the 00:32:38.349 --> 00:32:43.569 right thing you do to fix it? Right? Fiction. 00:32:46.910 --> 00:32:49.269 Is he using a heavy hand? No. Is he using a heavy 00:32:49.269 --> 00:32:54.079 voice? Yes, but no. That little voice, I'm disappointed 00:32:54.079 --> 00:33:00.779 in you. Those couple words carry a lot of weight. 00:33:02.920 --> 00:33:07.200 They'll slow you down. Fear is a product of punishment. 00:33:07.960 --> 00:33:12.900 Fear is a chain that binds the fool. Freedom 00:33:12.900 --> 00:33:17.460 is a product of love. And God loves you. So you 00:33:17.460 --> 00:33:20.059 have nothing to fear because God is bigger than 00:33:20.059 --> 00:33:24.880 any of yours. So if you're going to fear something, 00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:31.099 you fear the Lord, you become something greater 00:33:31.099 --> 00:33:33.880 and someone greater than who you were. You become 00:33:33.880 --> 00:33:36.380 a warrior. You become a spiritual warrior. You 00:33:36.380 --> 00:33:40.640 become a soldier of Jesus Christ. And that is 00:33:40.640 --> 00:33:44.400 a soldier that the enemy can't keep at bay, no 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:48.099 matter how hard he may try. So think about your 00:33:48.099 --> 00:33:53.839 fears and then go to God to overcome them. And 00:33:53.839 --> 00:33:58.279 take them out of your life. As greater is he 00:33:58.279 --> 00:34:06.019 who is in you than he that... Let's pray. Father, 00:34:06.119 --> 00:34:07.759 we thank you for reminding us not to play the 00:34:07.759 --> 00:34:11.039 fool. We thank you for reminding us not to give 00:34:11.039 --> 00:34:14.900 in to the world's folly. That if we keep you 00:34:14.900 --> 00:34:19.219 at the forefront of our lives, not just in the 00:34:19.219 --> 00:34:21.119 mornings, but daily and throughout the entire 00:34:21.119 --> 00:34:24.559 day, every day, Not only will we find wisdom, 00:34:24.639 --> 00:34:26.559 but we'll find knowledge and how it applies, 00:34:26.860 --> 00:34:32.139 how to use it properly. And in doing so, we become 00:34:32.139 --> 00:34:34.519 better people because of you and through you. 00:34:34.880 --> 00:34:38.059 We become better people to serve your purposes 00:34:38.059 --> 00:34:42.420 and your kingdom. So we ask that you continue 00:34:42.420 --> 00:34:45.360 to guide us. We ask that you continue to mold 00:34:45.360 --> 00:34:48.539 us as you've promised never to leave us and never 00:34:48.539 --> 00:34:55.369 to forsake us. Allow us to hear you. Not just 00:34:55.369 --> 00:34:56.989 listen, but to actually hear what you're telling 00:34:56.989 --> 00:35:00.409 us and follow you and your lead and all that 00:35:00.409 --> 00:35:04.309 we do and everywhere that we go, everyone we 00:35:04.309 --> 00:35:09.769 come in contact. As people said, amen and amen. 00:35:09.829 --> 00:35:13.650 Remember, as you leave here, you are loved and 00:35:13.650 --> 00:35:44.300 you are blessed. So go and be the church. Until 00:35:44.300 --> 00:35:47.400 next time, take care and God bless.